I'm afraid that you cannot remove the helmet — despite the "droplets" at the front seemingly being loose, the swim cap is intrinsically tied to Ranamon's being, and tearing it off would likely be equivalent to tearing off the top of her skull. ^^;
If you're willing to risk shortining your lifespan if you get it wrong, you can probably mess with your own code to add in bits that allow you to remove it safely.
Also, just as a sort of small poll question — I plan on linking to Digimon wiki pages going forward for visual reference, but both obvious options have problems. The one I've been using personally is... well, a fandom domain wiki, and infested with ads if you're on mobile/not using an adblocker. However, Wikimon, the most viable alternative, uses JP names and levels by default, which I imagine may make things confusing, since this fic will be using EN/dub names and levels. As readers, which would you find preferable?
huh, it has been a long time since I've seen frontier. I honestly thought Ranamon would have to use her water powers to move between levels and completely forgot about the gravity elevator.
Also, just as a sort of small poll question — I plan on linking to Digimon wiki pages going forward for visual reference, but both obvious options have problems. The one I've been using personally is... well, a fandom domain wiki, and infested with ads if you're on mobile/not using an adblocker. However, Wikimon, the most viable alternative, uses JP names and levels by default, which I imagine may make things confusing, since this fic will be using EN/dub names and levels. As readers, which would you find preferable?
Honestly I like wikimon more since it has better branching options instead of the more linear digivolutions of the fandom wiki but I will admit it does take me a second to remember what all the Japanese names are for champion/ultimate/mega (adult/perfect/ultimate if I recall correctly) but I feel most people reading a digimon story would have enough knowledge to piece it together. Plus if you are just using it solely for pictures I guess it wouldn't really matter much either way outside of which one shows a bigger picture.
...i really am not used to keeping up with stories that update frequently. because im surprised this got another chapter so soon
Anyways! Not much to say on the chapter itself this time. Just that I completely forgot that the base looked like that on the outside. XD aaaand...yeah. Now that I think about it, you don't have the means to do anything about Duskmon (yet?). Best leave that alone for now.
Also, just as a sort of small poll question — I plan on linking to Digimon wiki pages going forward for visual reference, but both obvious options have problems. The one I've been using personally is... well, a fandom domain wiki, and infested with ads if you're on mobile/not using an adblocker. However, Wikimon, the most viable alternative, uses JP names and levels by default, which I imagine may make things confusing, since this fic will be using EN/dub names and levels. As readers, which would you find preferable?
If it's just images, both work. But in terms of personal preference, I prefer wikimon. Not only does it have, as mentioned, more branching digivolutions, which I really like, but it's also got more official art that you can use that isn't just the standard art style or from an anime.
...well. most of them at least. Of course some don't have as many appearances and subesequently don't have much artwork.
But most of the time they do. Which is nice since then you can notice details that are hard to tell/see with the standard artwork.
Calmaramon really isn't especially ugly, no. There's no note of it made in Ghost Game, and it's really only played up in Frontier because of Ranamon's pointless rivalry with Kazemon — well, that and one other reason, but we'll get to that later. She's also sometimes depicted with this pale green eyeshadow that looks like it's running from tears? In Frontier this is treated as another mark against her, but frankly if you ask me it just makes her look like she's into metal.
Also, just as a sort of small poll question — I plan on linking to Digimon wiki pages going forward for visual reference, but both obvious options have problems. The one I've been using personally is... well, a fandom domain wiki, and infested with ads if you're on mobile/not using an adblocker. However, Wikimon, the most viable alternative, uses JP names and levels by default, which I imagine may make things confusing, since this fic will be using EN/dub names and levels. As readers, which would you find preferable?
I just checked the two wikis for their Ranamon articles. Personally, I found Wikimon better. Better-organized, and better reference images. It also gave me English by default, which was convenient but confusing? Maybe it's a desktop vs mobile thing.
With the whole "Calamaramon is ugly" thing. I think for the show (as in frontiers) she was supposed to be ugly to represent her inner self who is vain, selfish, and cruel but Calamaramon as a digimon in general isn't actually ugly.
Hell since ranamon isn't herself anymore perhaps when she finds her beast sprit she won't be as off putting to other digimon since her new personality isn't nearly as shallow as her old self.
."occasional"? That was when he started rampaging for real. Amnesia + corruption + memories warring in his head + inherent savagery as Velgemon... mess of complexes, like I said.
to explain what was meant: wikimon uses english translations and transliterations of the japanese names and terminology instead of dub names and dub terms when they differ.
Always wikimon.
Directly linking images from fandom is annoying, since you need to edit the image link so it properly shows.
Anything past the file ending has to be removed for it to show up properly, fyi.
Out of curiosity are you using expanded material stuff? Cause if she needs a boost the digi-eggs exist. Courage might make her a berserker but love hope or kindness would be pretty damn valuable as a just in case thing
I'll use whatever feels appropriate for the story I'm telling/that I feel I could justify existing in Frontier's version of the Digital World. Whether or not this includes the armor digi-eggs/digimentals, I'm not going to say — but I will note that I could probably make an argument for including them if I really wanted to, mostly by virtue of the fact that there are so, SO many armor evolution Digimon running around in this season. Seriously, you'd think we were in Adventure 02 with how many of them there are; it's actually kind of ridiculous.
They're generally (besides Lowemon, darkness spirit is apparently just kind of nuts) just treated as being one level above what they are in performance but digimon being able to do that at all isn't too abnormal, though only Kazemon sticks out as having that level of issue. But that can also be chalked up to Frontiers treatment of Zoe in general, she's treated even worse in the manga where she instead gets her spirit entirely offscreen, then loses it on the literal next panel. Like it's kind of hard to say at times if the impression is meant to be that Zoe just kinda sucks at this at times.
And that is exceedingly stupid. God I hate when shows do this to their female characters, especially their only main ones. Hell, I hate it when shows do this to any character (which this show itself gets around to doing later), but man it especially sucks when it feels targeted at the girls specifically. Quit wasting perfectly good characters and making your own property worse for it! Arrrrrgh!!! o(≧口≦)o
If you're willing to risk shortining your lifespan if you get it wrong, you can probably mess with your own code to add in bits that allow you to remove it safely.
...and how would you suggest Ranamon!me accomplish that, exactly? Just, concentrate and hope that somehow lets me alter my new DNA equivalent? Tear myself open somehow and start literally poking at the code within until something happens? As aforementioned, the Digital World does not come with a convenient built-in code editor, so like... what exactly is the plan here? ¯\_( ͡ಠ ʖ̯ ͡ಠ)_/¯
With the whole "Calamaramon is ugly" thing. I think for the show (as in frontiers) she was supposed to be ugly to represent her inner self who is vain, selfish, and cruel but Calamaramon as a digimon in general isn't actually ugly.
Hell since ranamon isn't herself anymore perhaps when she finds her beast sprit she won't be as off putting to other digimon since her new personality isn't nearly as shallow as her old self.
That would have been the way I'd have framed it, for sure. It unfortunately was not the way it actually was framed, which was instead pretty explicitly based purely on surface appearance (and voice, I suppose, since Ranamon as Calmaramon sounds like a hag/witch in the English dub). We'll just have to see how that goes here, if it does at all.
Worst potential apocalypse? No. Worst active apocalypse? Kind of! Excepting seasons I haven't seen, Digimon Frontier is the only one I recall where that sort of thing is already underway from the get go. Could be wrong, but... well, the *degree* to which Ranamon!me is in trouble in that regard is kind of academic by the time you reach "apocalypse" in the first place.
silly flairnamon, the legendary warrior version of Flamon is held by background info to be equal to high end champions. Flamon probably had nothing to fear from any any man portable weapon! You would likely be a great deal more downgraded than he was!
I mean, it wasn't necessarily instant death. Might be the record for how fast I could into a situation where the potential for death exists straight out of getting away from a different one though, I'll grant you that.
to be fair, royal knight digimon are almost disgustingly OP. initially one of their attacks blows away the entire group to the moon, and thet only survive due to digital world weird-as-heck rules.
Average, and scrub by royal knight standards still are scary even to your average mega.
Than again this series also has a random Gallentmon show up as a one off character so perhaps the only ones that come out looking good from Frontier are Lucemon themselves and the afformentioned mid tier at best RKs.
Bear in mind that The Royal Knights are a group of specific individuals, not species. Not every Gallantmon/Dynasmon/Crusadermon/etc is a Royal Knight, and the Royal Knights themselves straight up do not exist in Frontier's version of the Digital World. So debating how powerful they should be in comparison to each other is entirely pointless. ^^;
Yeah, Ranamon!me has already kind of ditched that plan. Though, that doesn't mean it's outside the realm of a certain proto-omake that may or may not be sitting at the bottom of my writing document...
Anyways, seems like there's a unanimous consensus to switch to Wikimon, and while that could be survey bias, I'm inclined to think that's the better path going forward anyways. Time to go fix some links I guess. ^^;
Mawile: No Jubileus: No
Ashtaroth: No legs Monika: Debatable. Since they are "off-screen" it could be argued that they don't exist. Clover: Technically yes, but those crimes against feet are possibly worse than nothing.
That said digimon are beings of emotion/wishes to a notable degree, at the end of the day training usually matters less for becoming their strongest self than the Power of Friendship and this gun it gave them.
... Aggressively befriend Duskmon/someone not crazy plan?
> "couldn't I have at least woken up as something with shoes-"
Well, lets see.
Mawile: No Jubileus: No
Ashtaroth: No legs Monika: Debatable. Since they are "off-screen" it could be argued that they don't exist. Clover: Technically yes, but those crimes against feet are possibly worse than nothing.
...once again I find myself being clowned on for my apparent inability to SI into a character with proper clothing. When will these acts of Flairrorism end? <(＿＿)>
(Also, Ashtaroth, still not actually me — though at this point I wonder if I should even bother denying it, since a large number of readers seem to have sort of just decided she is anyways. ^^; )
Oh yeah, I'll just pop out of one of those holes in the lair and stroll down to the nearest shop that sells completely waterproof shoes, shall I? My bad, should've thought of that myself.
Yeah, a very common mistake that people tend to make is assuming a character's strength based on their species, and it doesn't work like that.
The best way I can think of to heavily simplify if in a way that is easy to understand is this:
The Strength of a Digimon depends on the amount of Data they have.
Data is pretty much Experience Points for a Digimon.
If you have more Data (Experience Points), you are a higher Level.
And the Level is separated from the Species.
You could have a Level 20 Omegamon and a Level 90 Omegamon (Probably a Royal Knight with that absurd Level), and the Level 20 would get thrown around like Team Rocket.
You could also have a Level 50 Ranamon, and it would also beat the crap out of the Level 20 Omegamon.
Species give Abilities, not raw Strength.
You gain more and better Active and Passive Abilities, not raw Stats.
The Strength/Stats come from your Data/Experience Points/Level.
This is a simplification, of course, but I think it's a pretty good rule of thumb on how to think about a Digimon's strength.
That's how it tends to works in the games at least, yes. Without precise numbers to work off in the anime, it's slightly more debatable in that context, but simply having more data does seem to boost one's abilities (as demonstrated by both the initial and "real" final bosses of Frontier), so I suppose the point remains.
Hey remember Download Evolution? Kill many of the same Digimon species, gain the ability to turn into that Digimon. Was only used in that Asian online game but technicaly possible.
Cue Ranamon getting a "disguise" that way and also a form to fall back into if her Spirit gets stolen.
wouldn't really help here. especially since most of the digimon she could kill in mass would still be far weaker than anyone she would actually end up fighting to the death. so she's still back to square one.
and considering Mercurymon already used a similar ability to turn into ShadowSeraphimon and Cherubimon mocked him for it, i doubt annything of lower quality would help her.
Two major problems with this. 1) We have no indication this was even a thing in Frontier, or even the anime series in general, because I'm pretty sure it never happened there, and 2) Ranamon!me therefore does not remember this, because I was unaware it was a thing until you mentioned it just now. As such, I'm unlikely to consider that plan/idea without somehow coming across an example of that or the information describing it first, which... well, how would I? ^^;
You know, I watched all these digimon cartoons when I was a kid, like, a real little kid, and it's only now, trying to parse even a fraction of all this talk in the comments, that I'm realizing just how friggin' long it's been since that was. You could be posting all these names and power levels and abilities in wingdings and I'd have about as much Idea what you're all talking about.
Don't worry, Ranamon!me is similarly rusty on all this, and probably wouldn't consider a lot of it to even apply, since I'm mostly only concerned with stuff that showed up in Frontier proper. While some elements from other Digimon properties may sneak in, you can expect me to elaborate on them if they do, so no need to get into the Deep Lore/Mechanics if it just seems confusing.
I remember there was a group of humans that an Angemon was protecting, seeing their number and sex the group should be the most appropriate to receive other digi spirits, there is only one girl in this group if anyone were to be Ranamon's partner it would be her.
The other option would be Zoe since Digimon tend to have same-sex partners in most cases, but in any case, any of them should be able to give energy to be a level above Ranamon's current level.
She should probably partner with Zoe anyway, if only to help her train. Flair might need the help with that too, depending on what innate skills she gets.
the problem is that normal partner evolution doesn't exist in the Frontier universe. so that one is unfortunately out of the equation. at least without crossovers.
Yeah, partners were... not really a thing in this season. Chiaki (the girl in question) doesn't have a D-Tector, and even if she did (or I went to Zoe), it most likely wouldn't aid in linking me and her together that way, simply because the D-Tectors weren't made to do that. Similarly, Ranamon!me would be highly concerned that, should I allow myself to be used as just my spirit so that someone else could spirit evolve into Ranamon, I may not actually come back out of that, since I might just turn back into the original inanimate spirit once the person in question de-digivolved (seeing as that's how it works with every other example we know of). So unless any of that changes, I'm probably on my own here.
Mind it's just a tendency, we've had two female human-male partner duos (Yolei and Hawkmon, Ruli and Angoramon) and a male human-female partner (Kiyoshiro and Jellymon) pair at this point, though the latter was a first for a main character. We did see a minor boy partnered with a Witchmon in hunters too. The same thing only really becomes notable here because of the turning into a digimon element and would likely end up touching on some stuff if it wasn't the same. If it's just partners then doing it with whoever is likely fine.
I've only really seen this sort of thing referenced with frontier itself in terms of JP given he thought the wind spirit was his at first.
Catch me throwing myself into one of the male MC's digivices to forcibly genderbend them. Sure, it might permanently turn me into an inanimate object in the aftermath, but when else would we ever see that happen?
Actually now that I think about it Frontier is kinda merciful because digimon can only absorb the fractal code which takes everything aside from what is needed for a digitama and digimon can evolve on their own rather easily in comparison to the other digital worlds… I mean let's be real a dedicated rookie could most likely eat enough floor or other things that aren't digimon to evolve because everything has fractal code in it… it would take a while but it would work!
The one series were digimon can grow fast by hunting eachother without (most of the time) the risk of true death and the protagonists are children that turn into digimon… that's just wasted potential for a Digimon only anime… though I must admit nostalgia is keeping me from calling frontier bad for all its faults it was still enjoyable.
Bear in mind that this system isn't quite as merciful as you might think. The eggs themselves can be destroyed on their own, and going by what happens with Seraphimon, they also don't rehatch until their original data is released by whatever took it. Granted, it's possible that only worked that way for Seraphimon specifically, or even that the egg deliberately waited to hatch until it was released so Patamon could keep a few of his powers, but if it's more general than that... well, the implications aren't great.
See, that's the funny thing about Frontier. This is undoubtedly the truth for the majority of such cases in the franchise, yes. In the context of this particular version of the Digital World, however? The (non-existant) shoe is most certainly on the other foot. Ranamon here, for example, is, in fact, not just some standard, random, plain old Ranamon. On the contrary, she is very much THE Ranamon of this Digital World, by virtue of being one of the two post division aspects that have manifested themselves from the power that was previously wielded by THE AncientMermaidmon of this specific setting that exists within the wider context of the Digimon series. Which, I would say, is something that deserves mention in regards to not only the whole "punching above your weight class (except for the times when that doesn't happen) despite the Human Spirits being, at base, equivalent to the Champion level" thing on the one hand and the feats of water manipulation seen in the anime on the other but also in the more general sense.
This might even be an aspect of the story that is worth if not exploring then at least an off hand mention, maybe? Though, all of this is, of course, a point that I am bringing up regardless of the fact that regular representatives of the various Legendary Warriors associated species*, by all accounts, don't actually exist in Frontier's take on the Digital World, because I think that said point does, as the saying goes and due to it being entirely appropriate given the subject matter that is being discussed being what it is, hold at least some water. 😅
I promise you, the fact that Ranamon!me is also the only Ranamon in this world (and the other legendary warriors are the only exemplars of their own species) is definitely going to come up. Though, that still doesn't mean Ranamon!me is going to have an easy time of things in combat unless I've practiced enough to know what I'm doing, and Ranamon is already more limited in that sense than the other legendary warriors due to being heavily reliant on the environment — but you'll just have to wait and see how that goes later.
...and how would you suggest Ranamon!me accomplish that, exactly? Just, concentrate and hope that somehow lets me alter my new DNA equivalent? Tear myself open somehow and start literally poking at the code within until something happens? As aforementioned, the Digital World does not come with a convenient built-in code editor, so like... what exactly is the plan here? ¯\_( ͡ಠ ʖ̯ ͡ಠ)_/¯
Apparently emotions already rewrite digimon in small ways, so concentrating might work.
maybe finding a Memorial Stella?
Edit the future to have your body already edited?
I promise you, the fact that Ranamon!me is also the only Ranamon in this world (and the other legendary warriors are the only exemplars of their own species) is definitely going to come up.
Apparently emotions already rewrite digimon in small ways, so concentrating might work.
maybe finding a Memorial Stella?
Edit the future to have your body already edited?
I'm looking forward to when Ranamon remembers/finds out she's a pop idol in this world and has fans who will probably want to see her put on a show when they meet her. And the fun thing is these fans are useful so it's probably a bad idea to just blow them off... especially since that would probably be a major red flag to Ranamon's allies that something is wrong with her.
Plus in the show the original Ranamon got them to steal the digivices of the kids multiple times and if they have a way to communicate with other fan groups they could probably make for a decent spy network so another reason why going along with it could help with new Ranamon's survival.
That's how it tends to works in the games at least, yes. Without precise numbers to work off in the anime, it's slightly more debatable in that context, but simply having more data does seem to boost one's abilities (as demonstrated by both the initial and "real" final bosses of Frontier), so I suppose the point remains.
I would like to add to that analogy you were quoting from. I don't think it's canon (as in I don't remember it ever being hard confirmed beyond how game mechanics in Digimon RPGs work and this is all just me extrapolating from seeing anime and reading lore and stuff), but considering there are Digimon levels, on top of the whole thing of Digimon having different levels separate from their Digimon species, I like to think of it kinda like...Pokémon(? I guess?). Basically, yes, to use an example in the quote, you can have a lvl 20 Omnimon and another Omnimon that is lvl 90, but I think by default you can expect an Omnimon to be at least, hypothetically, lvl 20, because to become an Omnimon in the first place, you need that much Data/Exp to be Lvl 20, and each form of Digimon have, essentially, level caps (or rather Data caps), that get higher when they Digivolve. And thus why typically a Mega level Digimon can beat lower Champion and below Digimon, because by default they're higher leveled than them, but some Ultimate level Digimon can stand a chance against Mega because the gap in Exp/Level is a lot smaller, like how MagnaAgnemon tends to be portrayed (ok im mainly remembering adventure but shhh) to be able to have a chance against Megas despite being an Ultimate. And also thus why Magnamon, despite being an Armor Evolution and those tend to be treated like Champion level in power, can still go toe-to-toe with Megas because it happens to be an Armor Evolution with a much higher level cap.
All of this is basically me saying: sure a Rookie Digimon that's trained enough to have a ridiculously high level could in theory beat the crap out of a Omnimon
But usually rookies have a level cap of, to use Pokémon levels, level 16-20, and you need to be level 60 or something to be an Omnimon in the first place. Like how you don't expect a Deino to beat a Haxorus—er, Charmander beat a Venusaur because, sure, Charmander could beat the Venusaur if Venusaur was level 1 and Charmander is level 16, but by default, a naturally ocurring Venusaur is level 32, so the Charmander is gonna need a lot more levels than that...but at that point it should already be a Charmeleon. But in a Digimon case, it can only reach level 16 and then it either becomes something else in order to be able to take more data/increase the level cap or just stays stuck at level 16.
But since Ranamon is a Digimon of the Ten Warriors, and those Digimon types have a type of Level (as in Digimon Evolution stage Level) that is more flux in its level (as in exp level) cap, yes, in terms of Digimon, Ranamon is more likely to eventually be able to do as the example of "level 50 Ranamon can beat level '20' Omnimon".
"Tldr" Digimon Levels (as in Evolution stages, like Rookie, Champion, etc) are indicative of a Digimon's level cap and higher stage ones have higher level caps, hence why Rookies usually don't beat Megas, Megas can usually trounce anything lower and why Magnamon can still be as powerful as a Mega
...i hopefully worded that right
I am just very fascinated with how Digimon works in-universe and trying to make sense of it.
Especially Level.
Because the times when they don't deal with it are always a headache when you wanna compare Digimon from that series to the rest of the franchise (specifically for balancing reasons) but it's hard to tell the power level because it doesn't match the way they deal with level like the rest of the franchise.
...yes it's because of frontiers and fusion/xros wars, most xros wars, that i have had that headache
and the level cap thing is partially inpsired how in Digimon Story you can only reach some Digivolutions by increasing a Digimon's level cap but also explaining why in the world aren't there Rookie Digimon beating up Megas (usually; plot typically trumps/ignores levels). ok apologies for that ramble bye
Staring down once more at the pool I so recently climbed out of, I can't help but think to myself that it somehow looks even tinier than I initially thought. While I know from experience that it's quite deep, in terms of width, you couldn't even fit three of me stacked head to toe in this. Honestly, it's more of a bath than a pool, or even just an oversized fish tank... which I suppose would really only be appropriate.
I scowl. Not only the prettiest belle at the ball, but also the prettiest fish in the bowl. Joy.
Granted, it's at least a nice bowl. It wasn't exactly my focus earlier, but the edge of the pool is ringed by a stylish design of engraved bubbles, which feels like a surprisingly nice touch given how utterly rough and unadorned everything else around here is. There's also a faucet on one side of the pool that's continually pouring new water in, and is shaped like the head of some scaled, vaguely-humanoid fish man, but that's less nice, and more just... weird.
Regardless.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I hop into the water feet-first. As I slip beneath the surface, that same strangely right feeling from when I first woke up here returns, the pressure of the surrounding water enveloping me like an all-encompassing hug.
...yet I still find myself unconsciously holding my breath.
Tensing against my will, I try to make myself breathe in, but some part of me stubbornly continues to resist. Specifically the logical part, which hasn't yet fully adjusted to this rather illogical situation. In theory, I'm fully aware that Ranamon should be capable of breathing underwater, but in practice, it's hard to make myself believe that I can simply take in water like air, especially since I'm not exactly seeing any gills on me. Attempting to override that very basic survival knowledge is like trying to assure myself that I could claw my own eyes out and still be able to see — it just doesn't really compute.
My chest begins to burn, my body growing increasingly desperate for oxygen, or whatever this world's equivalent of that might be. Can't wait much longer...
Desperately trying to assure myself that I would have just drowned in my sleep if I couldn't breathe down here — and my isn't that a cheery thought — I forcibly pry my jaw open and suck in a small gulp of water. It instantly rushes in past my teeth, my tongue, pouring down my throat so fast that for a moment I'm certain I was wrong-
Until my lungs abruptly stop burning.
Relieved more than I probably should be, I take another strange, heavy-feeling breath of liquid, letting myself adjust for a few moments longer before sighing in relief and opening my eyes.
"Phew..." I sigh- before realizing that my voice came out sounding perfectly clear, despite my being underwater at the moment. "...huh. Neat."
I look around. As before, the interior of Ranamon's pool both looks and feels startlingly peaceful for what it actually is. The water seems to almost dance around me, the sourceless light suffusing it creating a natural spectacle that could undoubtedly entrance me for ages if I let it. It's almost enough to make me forget that I'm essentially just floating in a giant hollow cylinder right now, empty aside from the water it contains.
...or is it?
Inverting my position, I begin kicking my feet, swimming down towards the bottom of the pool. At a glance, I'd guess it has to be at least fifty feet deep... and consequently, the water pressure begins rapidly rising around me as I go, first doubling, then tripling, then more than quadrupling before I lose the ability to accurately estimate it. Were I still human, my ears would undoubtedly be hurting like hell by now, and I'd likely be developing a pretty bad headache — but bizarrely, the extra pressure only seems to make me more comfortable now, rather than less.
At least this body comes with a few perks, I suppose.
Putting that out of mind for the moment, I keep my gaze on the pool's distant floor — but I don't even need to reach it before I can confirm that it isn't as featureless as I thought. Not completely at least, as a large, intricate, vaguely circuit-like symbol appears to have been carved into the exact center of the space, surrounded by three thin rings of unknown script. Promising...
Setting down above the floor proper, I lean over to inspect the odd symbol. Seeing no obvious way to interact with it, I slowly brush my fingers over the stone, searching for a hidden latch or the like-
The instant my fingertips meet the rune at the center of the carving, the entire thing lights up, as though empowered by my touch. As the crevices of the digital glyph flash with color, the portion of the floor it covers literally vanishes, revealing another water-filled chamber below.
...hah. Thank you, Duskmon.
Easily slipping through the newly-revealed trapdoor, I slowly sink down into a large, open, and surprisingly colorful nexus of underwater tunnels. Patches of technicolor sea grass decorate the sand-covered floor, while shattered seashell fragments and glistening pearls make the smooth stone walls seem to almost glitter. The tunnels stretch out in all different directions, their destinations a mystery — or would be, if not for the square metal plaques embedded in the wall over each one's entrance, inscribed with geographical designs that I'm heavily inclined to assume represent specific parts of the Digital World.
I smile. Seems I've found my exit... not that it makes any physical sense that this little secret hub can exist, since I already saw that there's nothing underneath this towering "treehouse" other than giant roots, but again, Digital World. No real sense in questioning these things.
Now I just need to figure out which of these will get me closest to that island with the Toucanmon...
Deciding to try and make use of one of my few available resources, I pull myself back up through the trapdoor, idly noting it revert to its original state as soon as I'm all the way out, and swim upward until I've breached the surface of the pool again. The switch back to regular, non-liquid "air" feels a bit strange, but only takes me a brief moment to readjust to as I paddle over to Ranamon's computer, shaking my hands off as best I can before setting my fingers on the keys.
Conveniently, the moment I do so the monitor lights up, and I find myself presented with exactly what I was hoping to find — a literal map of the Digital World. Somewhat less conveniently, the map in question appears to have had large swathes of itself cut out for some reason, which on a physical map I could maybe understand, but on a digital one seems utterly nonsensical. What kind of glitch-
My expression thins as I realize the answer before I've even finished formulating the question. Right, probably not a glitch, or even incorrect — those areas likely just literally don't exist anymore, thanks to Cherubimon.
...well. At least I know where I want to go should still be intact.
It takes me a couple of minutes to figure out how to work the computer's basic functions, as it isn't exactly a normal one. Lacking a mouse, the squid-shaped cursor is instead controlled by a quartet of keys, which in a show of flagrant disrespect for common sense aren't even situated next to each other on the keyboard — though, that admittedly may be due to Ranamon's gauntlets making a closer spacing slightly awkward for her fingers. Further experimentation leads me to discover another pair of keys used to zoom in and out, one that serves as the replacement for left click, several more that type mysterious red O, X, and Δ symbols into the top left of the screen — Digicode, presumably? —, and one that brings up innumerable semi-transparent colored ovals to overlay parts of the map.
My discovery of the latter function causes me to squint, a long-buried memory slowly dragging itself out of storage. I think Ranamon used this to mark the parts of the planet she had already searched for her beast spirit? In fact, I think that might be the entire point of this map, and possibly the computer in general. Which... wow, nearly every single landmass is covered; no kidding Ranamon has been looking for a while. I'm not entirely certain the spirit didn't ultimately turn out to be in an area she'd already searched though, so...
I turn the function back off and go back to scanning the map for my intended destination. The planet appears to be divided into ten continents and "areas" named after this world's ten elements, which is simple enough. Less simple are their extremely vague boundaries, which lack any concrete delineations, and the far more esoterically-named towns, cities, and presumed landmarks sprinkled about within them. Thankfully, I'm currently looking for an island completely separate from any of the larger land masses — which, after a little searching and a lot of zooming in, I'm eventually I'm able to find.
...I can't imagine the vaguely fish-shaped land mass in the middle-left corner of the map labeled "Toucan Paradise" to be anything else, at least.
I do my best to quickly commit the portions of the map near the island in question to memory. I don't really know how long or hard this trip is going to be, and I really would prefer I not make it longer by getting lost along the way. That would be just what I- ow!
Hurriedly opening my mouth, I prod my tongue against the spot where I unconsciously bit down on the inside of my lip. It's a nervous habit that I've never quite broken, but...
I draw my tongue back and carefully run it over the rest of my mouth. Yep, no real choice but to break it now — Ranamon's teeth don't feel too different from a human's on the whole, but her canines are quite sharp, to the point I'd bet they look almost shark-like when she smiles. Feeling them now, I'm surprised that they don't seem to inhibit my speech, or that I didn't notice them before I cut the inside of my mouth with one.
...although... for as deep as it feels like I just bit into myself, I don't seem to be tasting any blood...?
My eyes drift down to my fingers again — my smooth, completely nail-less fingers — as I process the ramifications of that. I haven't really thought about it much yet, but... what exactly does my now being "digital" imply? Other than the fact that my essence can be absorbed by another Digimon if I'm injured badly enough, what does this actually mean for me? Ranamon may be humanoid, but I have no idea how accurately her body reflects the needs and functions of a physical one. I don't bleed, yet I need to breathe? Why? I probably don't even have internal organs anymore; am likely just raw code beneath my surface appearance, so what's the point? Do I still need to eat? How about sleep? I'd assume those are still necessary, as I think they are for most Digimon, but Ranamon is also a normally-inanimate spirit made manifest, so how can I be sure? I guess the fact that I "woke up" like this does imply the latter is still at least possible, but-
I squeeze my eyes shut and clap my hands to my cheeks a few time, feeling the lure on the end of my swim cap bounce up and down a bit with the motion. No- stop, I'm getting distracted. I can worry about all this stuff later, once I'm hopefully in at least slightly less danger.
Shoving my assorted smaller concerns to the back of my mind for the moment, I plunge back down into the pool, vanishing the trap door with another touch and reentering the nexus below. Even after looking over the map in detail, some of the plaques look unfamiliar — but I do recognize one that shows what appears to be a finger-shaped peninsula, which I'm pretty sure is just to the east of Toucan Paradise. It's not in the island's immediate vicinity, but it's probably as good as I'm going to get.
Hoping I'm right about where this leads, I enter the tunnel in question and begin slowly making my way down its length. The passage isn't completely straight, twisting and turning several times along the way, sometimes even straight up or down, and the walls don't remain smooth for very long, becoming rough, gouged-out rock after only the first hundred feet or so. It's actually rather eerie, as even with the sourceless light of the water itself remaining constant, I can't help but keep in mind that I'm basically in an underground shaft right now, with no way out that isn't forward or back.
If this tunnel happened to collapse right now, with me inside of it, no one would ever know...
I wince, the thought speeding me forward until I finally come to an actual feature — namely, a dead end. Before I can be too crushed about that though, I notice another circuit-like symbol carved into the ceiling just above the end of the hall, identical to the one from my pool, save for being a bit smaller. Swimming upwards, I brush my fingers over it-
The ceiling around the glyph shines with light, then disappears just like the first one did, revealing open water above.
I smile thinly, then brace myself. Here goes...
Pushing my way out of the tunnel, I find myself rising up out of the center of a massive coral reef, perched upon the zenith of an underwater hill. Draped in scintillating rays of sunlight and all but exploding with vibrant color, the sight of it all briefly stuns me — especially when combined with all the other Digimon I suddenly find myself surrounded by. A small pod of Bukamon passes me by even as I watch, a number of wary Betamon following in their wake like some sort of amphibious protection detail. A massive school of small, sharp-toothed fish Digimon I don't personally recognize dances along the currents, several shadows cast upon them by the manta rays elegantly "flying" not far above. There's even a bunch of coral-like Digimon scattered about the area, having obviously made their habitat along the reef itself.
...a portion of which appears to be composed of the either abandoned or unmoving homes of some rather large Shellmon, now that I look.
Slightly unnerved by that last one given how aggressive the one I remember from the first season was, I manage to pull myself away from the sight, swimming upwards until I finally can poke my head back above the water. Just as hoped, the evil warriors' lair is no longer anywhere in sight, the tunnel having seemingly dumped me out smack dab into the middle of the ocean. The only thing that is in sight is a large chunk of land a ways in the distance that I'm pretty sure is the northern edge of the peninsula, a tiny island slightly less in the distance that I think I recognize from the map, and...
Well. Nothing.
Literally.
I can't help but stare, despite the quite non-figurative lack of anything to stare at. Beyond a certain point not far behind me, the water simply... ends, hovering on the edge of a desolate canyon that seems almost to stretch on for eternity. The walls of earth in the distance, presumably belonging to the next continent over, are only visible due to being of a size beyond imagination, so massive that I can scarcely even comprehend the scale of their existence. Every layer of the planet is fully exposed and visible, like the end of a freshly amputated limb, while a thick black fog boils up from the abyss below — a thin, obscuring curtain over a wound bored straight to the planet's heart.
The edge of the Digital World's destruction, as things stand.
I nervously paddle back a bit, despite being nowhere near it. I really shouldn't be so shocked, I suppose. I already knew that a good amount of this world had already been destroyed, the data that composed it forcibly torn away by beings that were once its heroes... but I don't think the sheer scope of that destruction fully sunk in until just now, seeing it in person. This void probably goes on for dozens, if not hundreds of miles, and it's only one of many...
Not wanting to linger any longer on the sight, I turn away, trying to look on the bright side — at least the water having a literal edge should help me navigate. However reduced it may be, there's no road signs out here in the ocean, and I couldn't exactly bring Ranamon's computer along with me. While the island I'm trying to get to isn't yet in sight, I know at least roughly which way it has to be.
...though, if I can't even see it yet...
I sigh.
Better get swimming.
Genuinely, I think Frontier's world having literal continent-sized holes carved out of it is a really cool worldbuilding detail. I just wish that would have turned out to have any actual relevance while the kids were circumnavigating the planet — you'd really think the giant gulfs and literally erased locales would have proved a significant impediment at some point. Ah well.
A huge thanks to @Pheonix14, @Warclam, @ScorpioBot, @Captain_Skipjack, Leaf, Bertucchi, Jordan Juengel, Alxariam, and my eight other Patrons not named here, as well as an extra special thanks to a certain generous patron who wishes to remain unnamed. Each of them receives a Tamagotchi based off of Ranamon's computer, complete with fin and antenna accessories! These things are so cute... and also technically contain proto-Digimon, come to think of it? Wait, does that make it immoral for me to distribute these, or...? Eh, I'm doing it anyways; just be conscious how you treat the tiny digital beings that live inside them. 💻
Staring down once more at the pool I so recently climbed out of, I can't help but think to myself that it somehow looks even tinier than I initially thought. While I know from experience that it's quite deep, in terms of width, you couldn't even fit three of me stacked head to toe in this. Honestly, it's more of a bath than a pool, or even just an oversized fish tank...
Now I have this image of Cherubmon as a really bad pet owner who just casually gets a fishtank that's way too deep and way too narrow, and completely empty except for one sad goldfish.
"Yeah, I thought I'd get one to see what the fuss is about, but it's just boring..."
I mean, I never saw Frontier, but do they show the carved out chunks of the Digital World, where they originally where? (Other than a 'this is one that just happened', since it'd be weird to not show any of them.)
I could see the Digital World just sort of 'stitching up' locations, or at least providing new routes. A sort of extension of whatever lets Hubs work.
I mean, I never saw Frontier, but do they show the carved out chunks of the Digital World, where they originally where? (Other than a 'this is one that just happened', since it'd be weird to not show any of them.)
I could see the Digital World just sort of 'stitching up' locations, or at least providing new routes. A sort of extension of whatever lets Hubs work.
