#episode 1

Just pressed play and I already want to cry

Also I know everyone loves WuJi (rightfully so) but all the music needs some appreciation like damn

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let it be said I DESPISE the other cultivators. fuckin hypocrites

"oh yin tiger tally bad.... but me want it give me"

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imagine if Lan Zhan just straight up killed Jiang Cheng right there

I mean I'm glad he didn't but just like imagine

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SIZHUI MY BABY!!!!

JINGYI MY OTHER BABY!!!

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mysterious man with a fan i wonder who that could be

probably not important ( ¬ᴗ¬)

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Mo Xuanyu: I didn't want to place a Sacrificing Curse on you

Wei Ying: YOU FUCKIN WHAT?!?!?!?

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ugh xiao zhan is so pretty (in general and as wei ying)

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Oh crazy dramatic Mo Xuanyu!Wei Wuxian my beloved

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Love when he also calls out the other cultivators for being hypocrites

But of course the Lan clan would use the spirit flags if they're under the direction of Lan Zhan, his wife made those

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I love how immediately Sizhui feels a pull to Wei Ying

thats his mama (੭ ;´ - `;)੭ ♡

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Madam Mo: HE KILLED MY SON

Wei Ying: I'm literally just chilling

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"We gotta send a signal to Hanguang-jun"

Wei Ying: WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT

And then Lan Zhan entering like a fucking heavenly official

Yibo my beloved

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Watching Sizhui and Jingyi work together I'm just sitting here like "Look at them go! Best boys!!"

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UGH the way Wei Ying looks at Lan Zhan after taking down the corpses and then comments he's still wearing his mourning clothes

YOUR HONOR THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH

The D-3 Digivices were still the only models that could open a gate to the Digital World, but not all new Chosen children received them. Izzy wasn’t sure why certain partners got them and others didn’t, but new Digidestined were still occasionally appearing with the older models that Tai and the others had. Izzy spent hours pouring over both versions– comparing, analyzing, tinkering… but whatever he’d discovered hadn’t accumulated into much of anything yet. 

Recently the connection to the Digital World had been closed off, so even if they tried to open a gate it wouldn’t actually be able to connect. This wasn’t unusual, but some of them had been growing concerned over how long the disconnect was lasting. They hadn’t seen any of their partners since last summer, making it one of the longest periods they’d gone without seeing them.

The Digimon couldn’t stay permanently in the Real World, as much as they’d like them to. There was only so long a being could stay in a world they weren’t naturally from– so the Digimon had to spend periods of time in the Digital World to balance themselves out. 

The Real World was still only vaguely aware of their existence, despite several incidents involving Digimon over the years. Everyone in the Digidestined Network kept what they could of them a secret, but humans naturally liked to block out things they don’t understand, or can’t explain. Most of the time the population would come up with some sort of explanation, or cover-up, because trying to describe the real thing would just make them seem crazy. It didn’t help that a lot of the footage capturing the Digimon had mysteriously gone missing or been erased over time, which Izzy speculated could be the Digital World’s doing. 

However, there were some things even the Real World couldn’t ignore. The residents of Odaiba all remembered being held captive by a strange monster at Tokyo Big Sight in 1999, and in 2002 there had been thousands of reports all over the globe of monster sightings in the sky– not to mention the appearance of thousands of Kuramon all across Tokyo in 2003. TK’s mother was a reporter, and alongside Sora’s dad, a well-known anthropologist, they were dubbed ‘Digimon Critics’ after being wholly responsible for covering up the kid’s involvement in interviews to the press. The kids were able to remain anonymous and avoid any publicity thanks to their parents stepping up to protect them. 

Thankfully things had been peaceful since 2003, and their parents didn’t have to do quite as much damage control. TK checks the Digidestined Network message boards every morning, just to see if anything has happened overseas, or if any new Chosen have appeared– but it’s been fairly quiet.

A chiming sound rouses him from his thoughts, and he looks over to his phone where it sits on his bed. Scooping it up and flipping it open, TK smiles as he’s greeted with an obnoxious message. 

FROM: Meatball.

‘Quick come downstairs!! I’ve got something to show you!! Stop sleeping!’ 

TK laughs under his breath, typing out a quick response to Davis before he gathers the rest of his things for school. Before he leaves, he remembers something and pauses to quickly text out a message to Cody as well. The younger boy was supposed to be leaving on a school trip this morning, so TK sends a quick ‘have fun this weekend!’ before pocketing the device and heading out of the apartment. 

Davis is waiting on the street corner outside TK’s building, hands in his pockets. His uniform is untucked, his hair is messy, and he has a big eager grin on his face. But wait—TK’s eyebrows raise in surprise.

“Not wearing the goggles today? I thought they were your thing,” he asks, giving Davis a once-over. 

Davis shrugs, “I gave them back to Tai yesterday.”

“Really? Why?”

“Kari told me that they once belonged to their Grandpa, he was a pilot. I just felt bad, y’know? Feels like I’m taking a family heirloom, and I mean– they were really Tai’s look to start off, weren’t they?” Davis explains, and then holds up a finger. “But– I seriously leveled up, and decided on a new look!” 

TK snorts, “is that what you wanted to show me?”

“Just wait!” Davis rummages through his school bag, pulling out a small object and with a flourish, placing it over his eyes. “Tah-dah!”

TK pulls back, squinting suspiciously, “...sunglasses?”

Davis scoffs, “they’re coloured sunglasses! I bought a bunch of them at Diver City. Aren’t they cool? I like these orange ones the best, but I also bought blue, green, yellow, and red ones.”

TK can’t help but laugh, despite Davis’s excitement. “Super stylish. Kari will like them, don’t you think?”

Davis ‘whoops’ in excitement and TK takes a quick peek around the intersection. “Did she not walk with you today?” 

“Hm? Oh, nah. Tai forgot his lunch so she left way earlier to drop it off for him.” 

Looking down the opposite street towards Davis and Kari’s apartment complex, TK notices a big moving van parked to the side with men hauling furniture towards one of the buildings “You have new neighbours?” He hums, looking back to Davis. The other boy swings his head around to check and shrugs. 

“I guess? But I haven’t seen them yet. Just the van,” Davis glances down to his watch, not particularly interested, and clicks his tongue. “We should get going, I need Yolei’s opinion on these shades before she heads to homeroom,” He flashes a grin and slaps TK on the back, using the momentum to push them in the opposite direction. TK almost stumbles but manages to right himself and keep pace with Davis.

They find Yolei near the front gate of their school, talking with one of the other girls in the computer club. Though, when Davis calls out loudly for her the other girl turns bright red and promptly excuses herself. Yolei quickly calls “see you later!” to her before turning an annoyed expression towards the two boys. “What do you want?”

Davis proceeds to flash her his new sunglasses, and her reaction is about as enthusiastic as TK’s was, but Davis soaks it all up anyway, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Oh yeah, I meant to ask you both,” TK starts, as they head towards their homerooms. “About Matt’s gig coming up this weekend, are you guys able to come?”

Yolei’s expression turns apologetic, “I double-checked but the computer club has an event that day… sorry, TK. But-- you can probably expect my big sister to be there, she’s a huge fan.” 

Davis crosses his arms, “I would man, but it’s my Mom’s birthday and we’re all going out with her to celebrate. Besides, don’t people bring dates to those kinds of things?” Davis’s expression sours, and Yolei hums.

“So, Kari said no, then?”

Davis turns red, “Shut up! Who says I asked her?” 

“How many times is that now?” TK looks to Yolei, and she shrugs.

“At least seven or eight times.”

“It has nothing to do with that! She had plans already, okay?” Davis turns to TK, finger pointing at him in accusation. “Not everyone is an apparent stud like you. How many ‘friends’ are you bringing with you this time, huh? How do you even get them to agree to go out with you?” 

“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” TK smiles innocently, before becoming distracted by the chiming of his phone.

“Look at him! Look at him ignoring me! It’s probably a text from one of his girlfriends!”

“What, are you jealous?”

A scuffle between the two seems to break out but TK turns himself away from them as he reads his newest text from Izzy. Someone had just posted in the Digidestined Network, and this time it was from a Japanese kid. Izzy briefly says that they noticed some weird electrical flares happening in and around the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, and advises them to be cautious. TK briefly wonders if it could be Digimon related, or just a regular power surge. It was hard to say, but soon Davis is shouldering him onwards, towards their homeroom class, and he waves a quick goodbye to Yolei.

TAI

“A soccer game?”

It’s later that afternoon, and school has just let out for the day. Izzy looks up from his laptop towards Tai, who’s leaning against a tree in the main courtyard of their high school complex. Students were all casually making their way home after the last bell, leaving in groups with friends or heading to club activities. Tai had reached out to Izzy to meet briefly before heading home, so the younger boy now sat in the grass beside him, laptop propped open on his lap. 

Izzy’s eyebrows furrow apologetically, and Tai already knows what his answer will be.

“Sorry… I appreciate it, but that’s my parents’ wedding anniversary.”

“So, you can’t come?”

Izzy shakes his head, but then says hopefully, “have you asked Matt?”

It was Tai’s turn to shake his head, “He has a gig that day, and I can’t really ask Joe since he’s studying for mock exams already. I’m gonna ask Kari and TK but– who knows…” Tai trails off and frowns sulkily. It wasn’t like the soccer game was especially important or anything. But the idea of no one at all coming to watch made him feel like a bit of a loser.

Izzy thinks, “what about Davis? Ken? They like soccer, I’m sure they’d enjoy watching you play.” But his encouraging smile fades when Tai scowls.

“I already asked them all. Davis is celebrating his mom’s birthday; Ken is out of town with his parents and Yolei has a club event.” He blows out a sigh, “and I asked Cody but he hasn’t responded all day.”

“I don’t know whether to feel insulted or not that I was the last person you asked–” Izzy says dryly, but quickly adds, “I believe Cody left on a field trip today, so he’ll be away all weekend.” 

Tai’s sulking intensifies, and Izzy truly does look apologetic, reaching to close his laptop. “It’s hard to get everyone together these days.”

“That’s okay… I just figured you might be free, so I asked.” 

Izzy grins, “don’t worry, I know.” The red head reaches into his pocket then for his phone, opening his contacts. “How about I text Mimi for you, just in case?”

Tai barks out a dry laugh, leaning over to peek at Izzy’s phone screen as he types out a message to the younger girl. “She’s in America, no way she can come.” 

“But it’s Mimi. She’s gotten here before with unexpected ease. If anyone can do it, she can.”

Tai straightens as he considers it. Izzy wasn’t wrong. Mimi’s parents were seriously loaded, and she’d bought plane tickets at the drop of a hat before. She flew out when Diaboromon showed up in the middle of Tokyo Bay—Tai doesn’t even know how she managed it so quickly. Wasn’t that like– a 14 hour flight? But surely this was different. That was a Digimon emergency— this was just a soccer game. 

“I wonder how she’s doing over there…”

Izzy makes a sound of surprise as his phone immediately chimes out an alert, and he opens the response to read it out loud for Tai. “’Hello! Thanks for the invite. I’d love to come to your game, so cover my airfare, okay? – Mimi’.”

They’re both silent for a moment, Izzy staring at the message before Tai suddenly lurches forward to look at the screen more closely. “What– She’s coming?” It had to be a joke. She was joking, right?

“Round trip weekend airfares from New York to Tokyo aren’t cheap. The full fare is 1.08 million yen. Plus, all major airlines slap on extra fees, like fuel surcharges, which they add on top of the base price. I can find a comparative fare chart of all the airlines… but,” Izzy pauses to look at Tai. “It’s Mimi, so we’d better check business-class fares.”

Tai runs a hand through his hair in exhaustion, “forget it.”

“Hey– what about Shuu? I could ask him for you.”

“Shuu? Joe’s brother? Isn’t he studying in Kyoto?” 

Izzy nods, “He was, yeah. Joe said he switched majors from medicine to anthropology, and Sora’s dad was one of his professors. But he’s finished school now and apparently moved back to Tokyo. I think the last time I spoke to Joe he mentioned that Shuu got a new government job here, but he couldn’t explain exactly what it was. So, I wanted to meet up with Shuu and ask him myself. I’m interested to hear about his studies with Mr. Takenouchi., too. I know they were working on some small research projects related to the Digimon.”

“Has Shuu seen his Digimon at all recently?” Tai asks curiously, since he couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Shuu’s partner. To be honest they all hadn’t seen their partners in a while, and it was getting annoying how long the connection between the two worlds was staying closed off. What was even going on? 

“No, I don’t think he’s seen Labramon since last year… same as the rest of us.”

Tai frowns and kicks at the ground, scuffing the grass under his shoe. Izzy begins to pack his laptop away and Tai pauses for a beat before speaking again, “earlier today… our career counsellor asked me about my future.” 

They did it every year. At the beginning of the year they would have all the students fill out career sheets and hand them in, and then they would do it again at the end of the year to compare. Everyone else had handed theirs in already but Tai had kept putting it off, claiming forgetfulness. His career counsellor was starting to actively chase him through the halls in order to get him to hand in his paper. But in reality, Tai just didn't know what to write down.

All he wanted to do these days was play soccer and see Agumon again. He was already 17, but he hadn’t spent any time seriously thinking about his future before.

Izzy looks at him curiously, noting the subject change.

“I couldn’t give him an answer. I don’t really think about it, but… I mean, do you know what you wanna do? Have you thought about it?” Tai glances up and Izzy looks thoughtful, considering the question seriously.

“Well, I technically already have a job.”

“What–”

“I got a job working part-time for an American firm. Mostly programming and security development– but they’re covering all the costs for the equipment I use, though the benefits are a bit lacking. I mostly agreed because they offered me my own private office.” Izzy smiles, and Tai groans.

“Nevermind, I asked the wrong person.”

Izzy gets up off the ground and wipes stray grass from his uniform pants. “Don’t worry, you’ve got time,” he says, “and about the Digimon– we’ll see them again soon. The D-3’s can still open gates, even if it’s hit or miss right now.” Izzy gave him a small pat before glancing at his watch and excusing himself. “Gotta get to work!”

Tai watches him go, huffing out a short sigh before turning the opposite way to head to the subway.

“I wonder what Agumon’s up to…”

 SHUU

Shuu smooths out the wrinkles from his suit after having sat at his desk for most of the day. His boss had just returned from back-to-back meetings all morning, and he knew she had even more during the second half of the day, so he wanted to touch base with her before continuing his work.

He had taken up a job as an Information Officer for a new experimental department called the Information Management Office, a branch of the National Data Processing Bureau. The department was barely a year old, and his boss was constantly in and out of meetings with various government officials as they were handed off more and more work to do. 

Shuu had been personally selected to work there by his boss– but she also happened to be his aunt. 

Shuu knocks gently on her office door, and when he hears her acknowledgement from within, he steps inside. “Hello, Ma’am. Do you have some time?” He asks, and she looks up and smiles at him, motioning for him to close the door.

“Yes, thank you for coming in, Shuu. I meant to speak with you today but it’s been…. hectic, as usual,” she playfully blows a strand of dark hair from her face, before tucking it behind her ear neatly. “How has your first day been?”

Ryoko Hirabayashi was Shuu’s maternal aunt, and he’d spent the last four years working alongside her while he studied anthropology with Haruhiko Takenouchi. He had initially been studying medicine, which was what his parents had pushed him towards. The Kido family came from a long line of successful doctors. His grandfather, his father, his older brother Shin, and now his younger brother Joe was also studying to get into Medical University.

It had never felt right to Suu, though, and he can clearly remember the day he’d been on the phone with Joe, confessing that he was going to change his major in school. Joe had been supportive of his decision, but breaking the news to his parents had been… rough. They dismissed his desire to study anthropology, deeming it a lesser education compared to medicine. They’d also stopped helping him pay tuition, so he’d been entirely on his own financially going forward. But he didn’t regret it in the least, and he was doing something he was passionate about now. He only wished the same for Joe, who still seemed to be struggling under their parents’ hopes and dreams for him.

His aunt, Ryoko, had previously worked in Information Technology and had ended up working on several projects concerning Digimon alongside him and Mr. Takenoushi in Kyoto, where she had lived with her family.  She provided the technical insight while Mr. Takenouchi and Shuu focused on the societal impact, they had even published a few papers together as well– which clearly caught the attention of the Japanese government. This is what prompted them to offer a Management role to her for their new department.

She had accepted and moved to Tokyo, and after discussing the nature of her work with him, she offered Shuu a position in her office once he’d graduated. 

Shuu had been hesitant at first, wondering what he could offer, but Ryoko had explained it was a chance for Shuu to really make a difference in the information that was published to the world regarding Digimon. Even before becoming a Digidestined himself, Shuu had loved the Digimon and the Digital World when he’d learned about it all. He wanted to protect them and work towards a future where both worlds could coexist peacefully. 

Due to the nature of Digimon, and the conflicts they brought about, it was easy for the public view to skew towards fear, and apprehension. But Shuu wanted to change that. He would protect the Digidestined and their partners.

“It’s been steady, but I’ve been going over some of the reports you e-mailed out earlier this morning, and I’m a little concerned…” he trails off, holding up a small stack of documents he’d brought into the room with him. 

“Oreintation’s over so soon? That’s good, you’re already starting off strong,” Ryoko grins, and slides out some of her own folders, flipping them open and spreading out several reports.

“There have been recent reports of strange sightings in the city, all concerning electrical disturbances accompanied by 'hallucinations'," Ryoko reads, and looks up to Shuu, who nods in confirmation.

“The Bureau thinks it could be related to Digimon, based on the nature of the aforementioned ‘hallucinations’. Each report involves strange electrical disturbances– static, or power failures– followed by unexplainable visions of windows into another world, like portals, before the image disappears.” Shuu explains, glancing through his notes briefly before looking up again. “These sorts of things certainly are common occurrences when it comes to Digimon activity, but I’m concerned that we’ve had over 50 reports submitted in less than 48 hours.”

Ryoko nods, her expression becoming tense, “it’s certainly abnormal, we haven’t had this much potential activity in months. Not since the initial founding of the Office, anyway. If you have enough time before the end of the day, I would like you to compile a report of similarities noted between each occurrence. We will be investigating these further but we need to be quick about it.”

Shuu nods, “Of course. Do we know yet what’s causing this sudden burst in activity?”

“That’s what we’re working on. I’ve been encrypting some of the data from the sites of the electrical disturbances. But we need to get a handle on this because we’re the primary source of information that the media will look to. If we’re not quick enough they’ll start finding other sources, which could mean reporting unreliable or dangerous information to the public.” Ryoko glances towards her computer screen as she continues, clicking through documents that Shuu can’t see from his angle. 

“Should we… tell the Digidestined about it?” Shuu wonders, curious how their role might play into situations like this. “Maybe they could help?”

Of course they were all still children, so they couldn’t be ‘hired on’ to help, officially. But they also had so much more practical experience when it came to Digimon, and he wondered if the government was interested in utilizing that expertise in any capacity.

Ryoko pauses, considering his question, before firmly shaking her head. “No. Reducing their involvement is the best option as we build our own understanding and protocols. At the end of the day, they are still children.” She sighs, “We’ve seen how destructive Digimon can be, and while the Digidestined and their partners have previously proven themselves to be capable, we can’t continue to put children in the line of fire.”

“I understand,” Shuu says.

“We can utilize them as backup if a dangerous Digimon manages to get into the city, but that will inevitably come with risks, not to mention destruction that the city will have to pay for. The Information Management Office is still in its inaugural year, and in time we will have the resources and fire-power to handle these situations ourselves… but I’ll admit this level of activity is more sudden than I was anticipating, we’ll have to work twice as fast to understand what’s going on.”

Shuu nods in agreement, “yes, Ma’am.”

“More importantly, we need to protect the children and their partners. That includes how the public will perceive them when disturbances like this occur. We need to provide safe, and reliable information, because the kids won’t stay anonymous forever.” Ryoko looks at Shuu, and smiles. “Can I count on you to do that?”

“Yes ma’am!” Shuu nods confidently, matching her smile. 

Ryoko passes him some extra material for his review, and he holds all the papers neatly to his chest. This was exactly what he had accepted this job for, and as serious as it was, he couldn’t help but be excited. “Is there anything else you need from me before I get to work?”

“No, thank you. You are dismissed. I will be in meetings again for the rest of the day, but you can e-mail me your report when you are finished. I will contact you with any new information if it becomes relevant to your work.” Ryoko gently gestures towards the door of her office and Shuu bows respectfully, thanking her before turning to head back to his own desk in the next room. 

CODY

Earlier that morning…

It’s an early start for Cody that morning, leaving his apartment at 7am rather than the usual 8am. His mother had gotten up early to make him breakfast and ensure he had everything he needed packed and ready to go. He was more than prepared, of course, and had already pre-packed everything a day prior. He’d even double-checked it all before bed, and again the next morning. 

He was only going to be away for three nights, but Cody reliably prepared for anything. 

The two classes from their year were going on a weekend school trip, returning Sunday in the early evening. He’d packed his Digivice just in case, even if he was unsure that he would need it, as well as his phone.

Laden with his big, overnight bag, he can see the large coach buses in the distance parked in front of the Elementary School. He can also see a small crowd of other students with their own luggage, lining up in rows in front of their homeroom teachers to sign in. Said teachers were looking up and down between the kids and their clipboards, making sure everyone was accounted for.

Cody’s just passing though the large park located next to the school complex when he hears his phone chime, and he pauses to take it out. He sees a text from TK appear on the screen and smiles to himself, just about to open the message so he can respond. But another sound distracts him then.

He looks up, eyebrows furrowed, and waits to see if it was just his imagination. It almost sounded like... 

There it is again! 

It’s the hum of electricity, but it almost sounds too close to him, like a static buzzing in and out of his ear. Cody looks around, but there’s nothing particularly unusual around him.

Then the sight of something in his periphery catches his eye, and his gaze tracks towards the small alley between the park wall and the side of the school building. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, he slowly walks over to check it out, but after peeking around the wall it seems like whatever it was that had caught his eye is gone now. 

Shrugging it off, Cody moves to continue walking towards the school entrance.

“…ody…” 

“Huh–?” he straightens. 

“… Co--…dy..”

Cody looks back sharply, and this time he sees a clear… something, further in the alley. It almost looks like the bricks of the school building are glitching, their image going fuzzy while that static sound returns in his ear, louder than before. He moves closer, and it sounds like a garbled voice is trying to get through. 

“Who is it?” He calls out, and the distortion suddenly stops, the static sound increasing until suddenly a portal stretches open wide right in front of him. The edges of it are erratic and unstable, and Cody stares through what appears to be a gate to the Digital World in shock. He takes a step back instinctually but before he has enough time to truly react a human hand reaches out of the gate, grabbing the front of his shirt violently.

“W-wait..!” He calls, but it happens too fast, his bag and phone clattering to the ground as the hand yanks him through with abnormal speed. The gate closes up tight behind him without another word. 

The static stops, and it’s quiet.