guess now we're going to see where Ranamon is in the timeline. Probably won't get an exact idea yet but if she can get her beast spirt and scram before the kids show up we'll at least know she found her beast spirt earlier then she would have in canon. If she does meet the kids... well good news we now know where we stand in the timeline, bad news is she's going to probably learn how to fight real fast.
The one who was now Ranamon looked at 'her' computer. There had to be more in there. A diary maybe? Hints at other things. If not of stuff that wasn't in the anime, then stuff she just couldn't remember.
Information that she could use to fake her new position. Maybe something the original Ranamon overlooked, while searching for her beast spirit. Some reference that would only become significant knowing some other bit of information. Or from a different perspective.
And hopefully not something that it was already too late to grab, having been… removed from easy access. If not destroyed entirely. At the very least, narrow down more specifically where in the timeline she was. She did get the feeling she was forgetting something important. Bah, it'll come to her later.
Ooh, that was promising, a text file. The displaced Flairina opened it up, and skimmed through it. It actually was a diary. But nothing too interesting. Until mentions of a 'strange file' the original Ranamon found. And put onto this computer. Something Human made, as far as the original could figure out.
And complaining about how 'buggy' it was, where one of the characters almost immediately started talking over others, making the dialog garbled. And saying things like how they're 'real' and not someone. Original Ranamon didn't seem to have put down that detail.
But Flairina in Ranamon got a creeping dread. This was somehow familiar. She couldn't quite place it. And the rest of the diary wasn't much help either. Vague enough to be unclear as to why she seemed to half remember this. And not helped by the fact that Ranamon searching for her beast soul cut into her messing with this program, this unknown game.
Even coming to the end of the entries, she couldn't find enough details. Which meant finding where it actually was. On a computer inside the Digital World. It thankfully didn't take too long.
But she did recognize what that unknown program was. And why mentions of it was so familiar.
Doki Doki Literature Club. Not that 'Plus' version that got released later. The original. Which still got released after Frontier came out. Strictly speaking, that shouldn't be here.
And the creeping dread crawled onwards. Because now that her memory was refreshed, she realized where the details were so familiar. She wrote those events. So long ago, but she still wrote them.
About a self-insert. Meaning she… might have actually had a real effect, given that it apparently did happen? She carefully didn't think of any implications that she's also in some other self-insert story. She was real. She had to be.
She wasn't sure how to handle the Monika version of herself. Could she bring the digital 'up' a layer, back with her. Should she? Would they become 'one' again, after touching? Count as her 'human' self, giving her more options. And protection.
More worrying was if she would overwrite herself. In either direction.
And she didn't even know where to start with, with the others trapped in there. Just because they weren't aware of they were a program; just because they were forced to follow a script, much like she was. At least that's what the human turned Digimon thought. She didn't even know if her other self was actually still in there. If there's a Monika hidden there as well, either.
She checked the 'last modified', of the most recently changed files, in all of the DDLC folder/subfolders. And did a quick calculation. It seemed to be right around when she woke up in the Digital World. Which had implications.
Would there be a Ranamon stuck there in the files?
And if so, what should she do?
She wasn't sure if she should boot up the game, either. Sure, having it off was horrifying, if what she wrote is what was actually going on here. But it meant making it more obvious that something was going on. And could she really trust that no one would go in and mess with that computer? Delete random files, stick new ones in, or just rewrite them?
A similar issue was there if she managed to bring out those trapped in the game. With the added complication of trying to sneak them out. And being much harder to hide.
She'd ask when life got so complicated, and had so much existential dread, but she'd chalk it up to 'when she found herself as Ranamon'. And apparently she could add those other Self-Insert stories as well. At least one of them, but knowing what she knew now, the others are somewhere out there as well.
…Was there another her that stuck her in here as well? Did she even want to know? If there was, she could only hope she had mercy on herself.
So this suddenly came about because I realized, well, DDLC is also a digital world. From there, a 'what-if' popped into my head, and wanted to be written. And just sort of flowed.
Sorry if I got the 'voice' wrong for the Ranamon SI version of you, Flairina. But, well, there's not really any other perspective for this situation. Also a big part of not using first person perspective.
Since it didn't come up/probably wouldn't regardless, I'm just going to assume that Ranamon!Flairina has no idea about Monika!Flairina's situation, other than at most what Flairina has already written of Stand-In. And for convenience sake, 'what was publicly posted'. I mean, it's not like I'd know that Monika!Flairina ends up coordinating a defense against some yet unrevealed threat, teaming up with other Flairina SIs in the process. To save Christmas.
Even though I realize she wants to escape as the goal, is it strange that I'm worried about her finding her way back to the 'warp tunnel' she used to get there?
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..."
She's got dem teef alright. Though I wish they went further with it to be honest; I seem to have a false memory of Ranamon's full-on grin looking more like-
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.)
They show them at times, it just basically never actually inconveniences the protagonists. Either the Trailmon tracks have somehow been left intact (so they're just running over a continent-sized black canyon), there's random bridges of water running over the gaps, or basically everyone has gained the ability to fly. Even when the land straight up dissolves underneath people, they somehow end up just sort of floating on nothing, even though it's been shown before that these canyons are in fact just straight up open air. Gets a little ridiculous to be honest.
Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure a lot of those areas weren't just water, and even if they all were, that assumes that AncientMermaimon (if that is, indeed, Ranamon's only mega option) can create the code for an ocean biome ex nihilo, which isn't actually certain. She controls the oceans, she does not necessarily make the oceans, and even if she can produce water from nothing, that water likely still needs something to actually rest upon. But that's a concern for much later, if at all.
Hitching a ride off of a passing Submarimon wouldn't be an awful idea, considering they have an inbuilt Radar detection system and generally a properly working map and guidance system.
Would they willingly work for her? I get the feeling she and the other legendary warriors arent particularly well liked considering their job henching for Cherubimon.
I don't actually remember anyone except for the Refugee-mon actually having beef with them? They might not, but they also just might not know to be honest.
Thanks! Had to make something like that, as it's pretty indisputable that the evil warriors collectively have some way of getting around the planet extremely quickly compared to the kids. I mean, just looking at the episodes covering the journey from the Forest Kingdom to the Continent of Darkness, the kids take numerous Trailmon, cross an ocean, visit multiple towns, and are basically implied to be all but circumnavigating the globe — and yet in almost every episode, the evil warriors manage to get from their base (which they're typically shown in beforehand), to the kids' current location, seemingly as soon as they actually decide to do so. Out on an island in the middle of the ocean? Ranamon is there! In an isolated village on a separate landmass, far off from any shore? Arbormon is there! Reached the Continent of Darkness? Arbormon AND Duskmon are there! Frankly, even ignoring Mercurymon's (and possibly Duskmon's) ability to long-range teleport, they seem to all be capable of just, shortcutting across the globe at will. Hence, here's my interpretation of how Ranamon personally does that.
Though I wonder if she'll remember where the entrance to that web of tunnels was later on, since it appears to be at a random point in the middle of the ocean XD.
Coming back may be harder than it needs to be.
Even though I realize she wants to escape as the goal, is it strange that I'm worried about her finding her way back to the 'warp tunnel' she used to get there?
Thankfully, it's a pretty big reef, and there's at least two clear landmarks in sight to triangulate its location with. Just uh... better get back before it gets too dark, I think.
Or worse, Analogman or even fucking Kurata. Though Suedou is pretty chill compared to other mad scientists (even though he tried to end the world in order to change it into one that conforms to his ideals).
Thankfully (for a given metric of thankful), the Digital World in Frontier has no real ties to the human world or human organizations like it does in other seasons. From what we see, you get there by train and train alone, there's no portaling in through computers or tears in the sky or the like, and prior to the kids' arrival, the Digital World appears entirely untouched by human hands.
you could probably fuse the spirit of water and the beast spirit of water into a basic approximation of Ancientmermaimon, call it Mermaimon. And then have the fused spirit of all three be something like that?
There already exists a Digimon called Mermaidmon and it is uncompletely unrelated to the Legendary Warriors. Or any other named group of Digimon. So yeah, the name's taken and there's no relation to anything. Thus, no bueno.
I mean, the human and beast spirits of water came from the ancient spirit of water/AncientMermaimon getting split in two, same as all the others. So yeah, I can't really find that, since it doesn't exist in that form anymore.
I probably should have expected someone to write this crossover, yet I didn't. ^^; Threadmarked! Man, I can't decide if that makes Monika!me's prospects more or less hopeful — though the idea of Ranamon!me extracting her upwards into the Digital World and then having her as my spirit user somehow is rather amusing. I don't need a partner, I'll team up and merge with myself!
It doesn't take me more than a couple minutes of breaststroke to realize that there's something I should probably address sooner rather than later- well, actually there's many things that statement could potentially apply to right now, but the one I have in mind is likely the most immediately relevant.
Namely, I should really figure out how to use Ranamon's basic attacks and abilities, before I end up in a situation that might actually require them.
I skirt around another group of fish Digimon, the thought only growing stronger as I do. Much as I'd like to hope that I can avoid ever ending up in a serious fight, that doesn't seem particularly likely. Not all the inhabitants of this version of the Digital World are hostile — in fact, I'd wager the majority usually aren't — but some of them definitely are, and I've got something an inherent disadvantage in that regard, seeing as I'm now part of the group that's been going around ripping up continents. Thankfully, I don't think the average Digimon is aware of precisely who that group is composed of, but it still doesn't exactly behoove me to remain near-clueless about how to defend myself.
...though, if I'm perfectly honest, even were absolutely none of that true, I'd still want to take at least a little time to try this.
I shift my gaze to one side, feeling bizarrely guilty. For all that I don't really want to be Ranamon, she is still a Digimon, with all the fantastical abilities that entails, which is... well, cool. It's probably the biggest upside to all this that I'm currently seeing in fact, and given everything else that comes with it, I've really got to find the positives in my situation where I can.
I stop for a moment to glance up at the tiny island in the distance I noticed earlier. That'll probably work well enough as a practice ground, right? Not that I'm exactly flush for other options here, considering I'm presently out in the middle of the ocean, but-
Nevermind, yeah, that'll do.
Angling myself in the island's rough direction, I make for land.
~ ꕀ ꔛ ꕀ ~
~ ꕀ ꔛ ꕀ ~
...a rather significant length of time later, I've finally just about arrived at the island in question, and have also decided that I officially hate water. Sure, it did a lot of good for me back when I was in a world where biology still had a major say in things, and yeah, I'm technically the warrior of water right now, and am thus perhaps almost obligated to like it for that alone. However, I've discovered that when you wind up having to swim a distance that even triathlon competitors might balk at, for what feels like literal ages, you start rather rapidly despising the element as a whole anyways.
I huff, which exits my mouth as several small bubbles. Thankfully, Ranamon's body seems much less prone to tiring than an average human's — I've little doubt that if I had to swim this long or this far as my normal self, I'd have been exhausted before I even got halfway.
Setting aside my private complaints, I turn my attention back to the island. From above, the land mass at large appears rather empty, but as I approach it from just below the surface, I can see that there's another expansive coral shelf leading up to the shallows, and much like the last one I visited, it's teaming with all sorts of digital life. A good amount of the reef seems to essentially be serving as a hive for a bunch of little pink clam Digimon — Syakomon, or something like that? — along with still more of those coral-like Digimon from earlier. There's also a scattered bunch of Crabmon crawling on the sloping sand below, and a trio of Archelomon paddling around near the shore, though they swim away before I can get particularly close.
Trying not to bother too much of the surrounding sea life with my passing, I slowly swim up into the shallows before standing and making my way up onto shore, thin rivulets of water dripping off me as I walk. The sand is hot beneath my bare feet, but not so much as to burn, and there's a gentle breeze combating the heat of the sun overhead. By all appearances, it's a near perfect day to spend simply relaxing on the beach.
...shame I can't really afford to do that.
Approaching the treeline a little ways inland, I do a quick once over of the area, trying to make sure I won't be at risk of angering any other Digimon by practicing potentially destructive attacks in the equivalent of their backyard. I don't see anyone else up here, and they're not making themselves known, so I think I'm probably alright?
Hoping that's indeed the case, I turn back to the shore and slowly breathe in. Okay, I've got some space now. Let's start with...
...
Er. What attacks does Ranamon even have, again?
Belatedly realizing I hadn't actually thought about that, I wrack my brain for answers, only to come up embarrassingly short. The only one I can even vaguely recall from the show is that energy-sapping rain cloud she used a few times, which I guess is at least something? Though from what little I remember of it, it never really had all that much impact...
I sigh. Still, beggars can't be choosers.
Selecting a small nearby tree as my target, I raise my hands over my head, press my fingers together — which takes me a moment to properly line up, since I can't actually see them in that position — and speak the move's name.
"Draining Rain~"
A tiny gray cloud about six feet across instantly condenses over my fingertips, which swiftly drifts over to the tree in question and proceeds to dispense an equally tiny rainstorm over it. The leaves of the tree rapidly wilt as the water saps the life from them, until the cloud abruptly loses steam, dispersing just as quickly as it formed.
Slightly surprised, I look over the now rather-shriveled tree with an approving gaze. Huh, that was easier than I expected. I didn't even really have to direct the attack, it just sort of naturally went where I wanted it to.
I frown. Do I have to do that pose every time though, or say the name of the attack aloud to use it? Because both of those seem like they'd be more than a little inconvenient in an actual combat situation. I didn't even mean to do the latter, let alone with that lilt to my voice, it just felt... natural, I guess?
Figuring I might as well test it, I adjust my position, switching to holding my hands out in front of me with my fingers splayed apart. Keeping my mouth firmly clamped shut this time, I attempt to will another cloud into existence.
Nothing happens.
I click my tongue. Tch, okay, that's annoying. What about...?
I try once more, keeping my position much the same, but this time grudgingly allow myself to speak the attack's name again, albeit without the oddly airy tone that crept in the first time.
"Draining Rain."
...still nothing.
My frown deepens. Ugh, seriously? Do I really have to do it the exact same way that Ranamon did, every single time? Even in the middle of a potentially fraught battle, I might actually be stuck repeatedly posing like I'm about to be photographed for a magazine spread?
Irritated by the mere idea of that, I press my fingers together just under my chin and all but snarl the attack's name this time- and miraculously, the rain cloud reappears.
And promptly envelops most of my head.
I cry out and fall backwards while frantically wiping at my face, not wanting to end up like the tree I previously targeted did. Ack-!!!
I continue frantically scrabbling for another moment or two, before abruptly realizing that I don't actually seem to be in any pain. Dropping my hands, I look around, and realize that despite the way the droplets are sizzling when they hit the sand, they don't seem to be doing anything to me, even with some having gotten directly in my eyes.
Watching as the rest of my own attack runs right off of me, I sigh in quiet relief. Evidently I'm fortunate enough to be immune to my own idiocy... thank goodness.
Grateful that no one was watching that, I stand back up and brush myself off as the cloud I summoned evaporates, having remained utterly stationary for the entire span of its existence. I suppose I forgot to actually think of a target that time — which might actually explain why it chose to simply stick itself to my face instead.
Shaking my head in embarrassed dismay, I refocus. Obvious mistake or not, I might actually be getting somewhere now...
Approximately ten minutes of testing and roughly the same number of desiccated trees later, I'm feeling much more comfortable with this attack, and have reached a few tentative conclusions about it. The most important one being that in order to summon a rain cloud at all, I need to first perform some sort of relatively rapid gesture. Said gesture can be nearly anything, but must ultimately result in at least two of my fingers touching in order for the cloud to form, as it will always do so directly over them, regardless of where my hands or arms are positioned at the time. It's a rather awkward requirement, but so far as I can tell, there's not a lot I can do about it. The restriction seems all but set in stone, likely built into the technique itself.
...thankfully, it also has a rather simple loophole.
I smirk. Turns out, the digits in question don't actually have to be on separate hands — meaning, this prerequisite is technically possible for me to fulfill by literally just snapping my fingers. Granted, that's a bit harder than it used to be, owing to the way these gauntlets all but force my fingers apart, but it's still considerably faster and easier than basically any other option.
I've also confirmed that while calling the attack's name seems to help me focus or spark it, it isn't an absolute requirement either. In fact, it's more just that it feels almost strange not to use it — despite the fact that I've been deliberately trying to stay silent, the words "Draining Rain~" keep threatening to bubble up past my lips anyways. It's a rather annoying compulsion, as calling my attacks would essentially just be giving any theoretical opponents advance notice of what I'm doing, but it at least seems fairly manageable so long as I stay mindful of it. And if I can't... well, I suppose most Digimon do it anyways, so I guess it's not really that big a deal.
That being said...
My smirk disappears, reverting to a more neutral expression. Even if I've figured this out, a single move isn't really enough to universally rely upon, and I still can't remember if Ranamon even has any others. She almost certainly must, since I'm pretty sure even baby Digimon have a bare minimum of two, but if she ever used them in the show, I have absolutely no recollection of what they were.
...I suppose that means I'll just have to work them out myself then. Or, failing that, go by simple trial and error — I assume I'll feel something if I'm on the right track.
Idly drumming my fingers on the surface of my gauntlets, I cross my arms beneath my chest and take a moment to think.
Let's see... Ranamon's teeth are quite sharp, as I've already discovered, so I suppose they could theoretically lend themselves to some manner of offensive use. I kind of doubt she ever bit anyone in the show though, and speaking from my new position as her, I don't feel like I'm really meant for physical, close-up combat. So, perhaps not.
I glance down at one of the gems built into my gauntlets. Do these maybe do anything other than glow in the dark? Based on general Digimon design principles, it seems plausible that they could maybe produce some sort of energy beam, or something along those lines. Though, given these gems are scattered across my entire "outfit", I have no idea how I'd aim something like that, and I imagine if Ranamon actually had an attack that used them, I would remember it.
Frowning, I turn back to the beach, watching a small wave break upon the sand. Or maybe I'm overcomplicating this. On the most basic level, Ranamon is the Legendary Warrior of Water, right? Ergo, she should have a natural affinity for it, and is likely to have at least one or two attacks based around using or manipulating it.
...and, well, you can't get much better access to water than the ocean itself, now can you?
Stepping closer to the gently-lapping tide, I attempt to simply... feel for some sort of connection with it. Some sense, some link, some mental something-or-other that could signify I'm at least in the right mental ballpark. I can't be that far off with this, surely?
I stand there for a minute or two with my eyes closed, searching inwardly to the point that I almost feel I'm in a trance... yet once again, absolutely nothing happens. Other than being Ranamon, I feel perfectly normal right now. So far as I can tell, no additional senses seem to have been included in this package, beyond the ones inherent to my new appendages.
Scowling, I re-open my eyes. This is dumb — I'm essentially trying to exercise a muscle that I've never once used before, not knowing what it feels like or if it even technically exists, so of course I'm not going to be able to "find" it. Besides, the attack I've managed already didn't require me to know or feel out how it actually functioned, it just sort of... happened, once I fulfilled the physical requirements. Why would this one be any different?
Realizing I probably should have been working off this notion from the start, I reach an arm out towards the sea, splaying my fingers apart from each other. Then, as though clutching at the water, I close my hand into a fist and slowly pull it back-
The tide suddenly swells, washing thrice as far up the sand as the previous wave did. A surge of excitement washes through me along with it- only to quickly dissipate as I realize that wasn't nearly strong enough to be an actual attack.
I rest my other hand over my left hip fin, humming thoughtfully. Still, that was a good sign! While I couldn't feel the water itself just now, I could feel the semi-intangible "hold" that I very briefly had over it. I'd wager what I managed there wasn't nearly the extent of what it could have been either — not only was that a rather reserved first attempt, but something about my sway over the water felt strangely limited, restrained in a way that I can't quite articulate.
Maybe if I just...
Walking forward, I dip my feet back into the water proper, wading in until it's back up to my knees. Then, tugging hopefully on that same ethereal connection, I thrust my arms towards the sky.
The surface of the ocean in front of me promptly erupts. Surging upwards like a sudden tsunami, the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water I've inadvertently called upon tower over the shore as an oceanic monolith, looking like the impending wrath of an angry elemental god — at least until I process what I just did, and the resulting shock utterly wrecks my concentration, causing the entire thing to abruptly collapse.
...a large chunk of which proceeds to crash down onto the beach, centered right over where I'm standing.
I yelp in dismay as I once again end up as the first live target of my own move, the water easily knocking my feet out from under me and sweeping me back out to sea. I'm thankfully at no risk of drowning anymore, but the weight of the wave alone threatens to crush me, and by the time I manage to get my head back above the now heaving surface of the ocean, I've been dragged a considerable distance from the shore.
Trying to regain my bearings, I shake myself as I idly tread the suddenly-cloudy water. For as huge of a success as that was, it may have worked a little too well. Depending on how deep I pulled that up from, I may have just disturbed the entire local ecosystem.
I nervously look around at the numerous branches and oddly-shaped leaves now floating on the surface of the sea, forcibly torn from the trees of the tiny island behind me. There's even a humongous red leaf drifting around in the middle of them, and I don't see any red trees around here, meaning I must have somehow dredged that one up from below. Man, I really did overdo it-
The crimson leaf quivers, then suddenly vanishes back beneath the water, leaving me blinking at the now-empty space in confusion.
That... was way too quick to have sunk naturally. Did something just-
The surface of the sea abruptly explodes again, and this time not because of me. I scream and throw myself backwards as a Seadramon at least six stories tall and climbing rises up out of the ocean in front of me, wordlessly roaring at the sky. The motions of its towering body send ripples out through the surrounding water, throwing 10-foot-tall waves in every direction.
And behind it...
Dread overtakes me as I get a better look at the serpentine Digimon's whip-like tail — or, more accurately, the crimson decoration attached to the tip of it. That wasn't a leaf, it was a fin-
Before my thought process can proceed any further, the Seadramon lowers its head and narrows its gaze, glowering down at me with obvious fury.
"Uh-" I stutter. "S-sorry! My bad! No need for-"
The Seadramon screeches in uncaring rage, a massive jet of water already bursting forth from its maw.
Before you accuse me of throwing softballs for once, here's a fun fact about Frontier's early battles — because all the kids' human spirit forms were also roughly human-sized, all their enemies stayed below a certain size as well. The largest one was actually Raremon, at about the size of a shed, and even later on they don't really face anything particularly huge until Sakkakumon and Velgemon show up. Meanwhile, practically every other season you've immediately got Digimon the size of apartment buildings rampaging about, which the heroes' partners can only really scale up to match via digivolving.
...Ranamon!me does not have that option, meaning facing down this Seadramon is not unlike facing down Godzilla, and there is, perhaps, a slight intimidation factor in play. Let's see how that goes, shall we?
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 coral sample from the tiny island's reef, vibrant pink and glowing and smiling so wide with those little sharp teeth and- wait, no, this is just a Sangomon. Er, anyone up for a new Sangomon partner? They're honestly quite friendly, and I'm guessing they'd really like to be somewhere else right now... 🪸
No intuitive powers this time, but apparently being Flair is suffering in any timeline. As is apparently the rule, any actions taken will backfire in the most violent of manners. It's not usually with a sea dragon, though.
Even in the middle of a potentially fraught battle, I might actually be stuck repeatedly posing like I'm about to be photographed for a magazine spread?
...Question.
Do toes count as fingers? I mean, they are referred to as digits. She could just stomp and make sure her toes are together when she does and can do the most unexpected usage of the move if we gotta confuse opponent
No intuitive powers this time, but apparently being Flair is suffering in any timeline. As is apparently the rule, any actions taken will backfire in the most violent of manners. It's not usually with a sea dragon, though.
Not true! Sometimes they backfire in completely different ways! Or succeed, only for me to find out something went wrong elsewhere/as a result of said success! And sometimes they even succeed without anything technically going wrong, novel as that is! I defy your flagrant generalizations! ╰（‵□′）╯
You have unlocked the power to make a rain cloud appear above your head, for whenever you need to dramatically curl up into a ball and say "life sucks."
Well, the "good news" is that it is only a Champion level didgimon you ticked off. If it was Ultimate or Mega, Ranamon would get squished like a bug. Human Spirits are about on par with Champion level, right? Or possibly a little bit stronger than the average.
The two rookies (Strabimon and Flamemon) are noted in the profile as being able to out perform champion digimon, least assuming its the warriors themselves. So the human spirits should be beyond that. The very first hostile digimon the kids fought with just Agnimon was also an ultimate.
Though again it was frontier and it could get really inconsistent with things too. And also assumes RanaFlair fights well enough to function at that level.
Unfortunately, since Strabimon and Flamon are also Lobomon and Agunimon prevos, AKA Frontier's Special-est Boys, it's hard to say if that would scale up appropriately for every other spirit, or if the booklet isn't just straight up exaggerating their prowess. It's not exactly a literal reference to be trusted on all things, as noted by the whole "Seadramon breathes Absolute Zero" bit already mentioned, not to mention there's still serious variance in levels of strength within each given tier. All that being said, I think I can safely say that canon Ranamon would have essentially no issues dealing with this.
From what I recall, we have no real indication that Ranamon can do such — but then, we didn't actually see much of Ranamon in the show just in general. Not sure taking the equivalent of a fire hose scaled up in size by at least a factor of ten would be particularly healthy for her though, just based on looks.
you only got one attack memorized that's ruff flair but hey look on the bright side your surrounded by water and getting attack by mostly water attacks so mostly it will be like getting hit by an aggressive elementary kid so good on that point. And hey if you're lucky you might run across your spirit and might actually get some actual attacks if you don't decided to just crush him with the water around you.
if the concept of elemental rock-papper-scissors was to ever become a factor, I wonder if Flair will be brave about it and make this the one setting with elemental affinities in all of existence where water elemental beings are indeed weak against ice elemental attacks, as should have been the case in all of such settings where the two are also seperate elements.
Bear in mind that sheer size is actually a major factor here. Using flames against a Digimon that lives in/absorbs/doesn't care about flames is one thing, and the same could even be said about electricity, and potentially even wind, but the other elements? If you chucked, say, a large rock at something that lives in/is part/eats rocks, it's still gonna have an actual impact, because that rock still has weight and mass — and the Seadramon has a lot of mass on Ranamon!me, with proportionally larger attacks. Even if water itself doesn't hurt like it might against a Digimon made of fire or something, being struck by several tons of it moving at extremely high pressure and speed just might. So, like I said, let's see how that goes.
Second, this Seadramon isn't particularly intelligent, I see, considering that members of the Seadramon species also have a signature move that is an ice based projectile while this one is using the Seadramon signature move that is a water based projectile instead, all while in the middle of the ocean...Unless that IS the Seadramon using Ice Blast rather than Water Shock and the water that is used for the former move just hasn't frozen over yet.
According to their profile (though again, that shouldn't be taken as gospel), Seadramon aren't very intelligent in general. They are, however, huge, which as noted above, is a problem all its own.
(I actually considered making this encounter a MegaSeadramon instead, but uh...
...like, I semi-seriously compared Seadramon to Godzilla in the AN, but unless this MegaSeadramon was just an exceptionally huge one, it would actually outsize some versions of Godzilla. Seemed a step too far.)
Next chapter we cut to Ranamon!me being reborn in the Village of Beginnings, with an even foggier memory than before and no goddamn limbs. You thought this was Queen of Puddles, but no — it's been the lead up to Babyquest all along.
(I truly do hope my SI-selves actions come off as logical, reasonable, or at least understandable most of the times, because if they just read as genuinely stupid, I've probably failed somewhere.)
And you ask your upstairs neighbors why they haven't just used Plumb the Depths to fix it already, and they all but say it's not a priority because it's not affecting them, so you get in a fistfight before you take it to whoever actually manages the apartment, who says you'll have to put up with the rain for several more days anyways because it's not a priority for them either.
...Question.
Do toes count as fingers? I mean, they are referred to as digits. She could just stomp and make sure her toes are together when she does and can do the most unexpected usage of the move if we gotta confuse opponent
While I'm tempted to ask how well you can do things you typically do with your hands using your feet, this is actually a good question. Which I will get back to you on answering as soon as Ranamon!me actually thinks of it, if I ever do. （；^ω^）
By the by. Reflexively saying the names of the signature moves is one thing but I figure that in this case that has more to do with Draining Rain being the sort of move where it is physically possible to do that. As in, think about the countless signature moves that involve launching something or other from the mouth. It isn't physically possible to talk in such a state but we hear the name of the move being announced with perfect clarity anyway. Meaning, there's a deeper aspect to the whole good, old "calling your attacks" thing than just talking in the usual sense of term.
Interesting point, but we do see plenty of attacks being used without being announced as well, even by Digimon we know can talk. Which leaves us trying to figure out a Watsonian explanation for the disparity — though unless Ranamon!me finds reason to be further concerned about it, I'll probably end up falling on the side of simply not thinking about it too much.
Given how attacks are depicted in Ghost Game, with the human partner being the one to say the attack names while circuitry flashes behind them, that's not actually a bad way of thinking of it. Though Ranamon!me's ability to look into the specifics of this is likely nonexistent at present.
Anyway, figuring out the moves is nice and all but I hope the mundane utility of the hand summoning thing won't be overlooked either. Plus, Ranamon might get the chance to bury others in them like something out of Survive. 🤗
Also, I am in a similar boat to RanaFlair, in the sense that I don't recall Ranamon using any other attacks myself, besides the weird ability to make floating hands with feathers...
She'd better, given her title~ And I agree, though her swimsuit looks very complicated to get in or out of. Good thing that's not an issue for Digimon, who just wear their clothes perpetually, eh?
...except when they don't, I suppose. This image brings such questions with it. Who made a custom wedding dress for Ranamon? Who is she marrying? Why is a Pumpkinmon the flower girl? The Digital World has a concept of marriage? I mean I guess Weddingmon does exist but that was only multiple generations later. It's a cute image and all but what circumstances led to this?
(Am I expected to get married at some point? (>/////< " ) )
(I truly do hope my SI-selves actions come off as logical, reasonable, or at least understandable most of the times, because if they just read as genuinely stupid, I've probably failed somewhere.)
I know it'd (probably?) be anti-climactic/what-have-you, but I'll admit there's a part of me hoping this Seadramon is just annoyed and has a bad temper but once it's calmed down, it is a very dapper and polite sea serpent because the image is very amusing to me.
...tho that is probably just my fondness for the seadramon line talking
they are some of my favorite digimon
Anyways!
FlairRanamon experiementing with her powers, specifically at the tail end at the beach, just made me think of water bending and I wonder if hee remembering that might help a little bit in focusing her water controlling attacks.
Later, of course. After she deals with that Seadramon.
(I actually considered making this encounter a MegaSeadramon instead, but uh...
...like, I semi-seriously compared Seadramon to Godzilla in the AN, but unless this MegaSeadramon was just an exceptionally huge one, it would actually outsize some versions of Godzilla. Seemed a step too far.)
Well, seeing as GigaSeadramon is stated to bigger than Whamon and able to hold Chaosdramon and more inside its body, I am not surprised about the size.
(I truly do hope my SI-selves actions come off as logical, reasonable, or at least understandable most of the times, because if they just read as genuinely stupid, I've probably failed somewhere.)
Well, of the SIs of yours I've read, they're understandable. Any "idiocy" that happens are simply mistakes and such like (wait does this count as a spoiler?) Flairina!Mawhile getting Chimchar's ball after guessing it was hers or Flairina!Clover forgetting important puzzle details in Virtue's Last Reward.
Interesting point, but we do see plenty of attacks being used without being announced as well, even by Digimon we know can talk. Which leaves us trying to figure out a Watsonian explanation for the disparity — though unless Ranamon!me finds reason to be further concerned about it, I'll probably end up falling on the side of simply not thinking about it too much.
Given how attacks are depicted in Ghost Game, with the human partner being the one to say the attack names while circuitry flashes behind them, that's not actually a bad way of thinking of it. Though Ranamon!me's ability to look into the specifics of this is likely nonexistent at present.
It depends on the continuity, but knowing their special attacks is instinctive in most of them. In the other continuities where it isn't instinctive, they learn their special moves by getting comfortable being the new kind of 'mon they are now(Digivolving can seriously impact a 'mon's personality, quirks, and instincts, and there's a learning period).
IIRC, Frontier is one of the ones where there's some "how does I shot web" shenanigans.
Not sure taking the equivalent of a fire hose scaled up in size by at least a factor of ten would be particularly healthy for her though, just based on looks.
That ability is still so weird and I can't help but just think is it just hands or any limb? True no use in summoning feet but like... WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT?
That ability is still so weird and I can't help but just think is it just hands or any limb? True no use in summoning feet but like... WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT?
Hold on now, some new contenders have entered the ring! A demon lady wearing clothes made of 50% teeth with a familiar named Vore- no, sorry, "Volée", and a living septic tank! Wow, some real stiff competition here-
Oh, hi! Hey, you wouldn't happen to be able to fend off those other two suitors that just showed up, would you? I know you're only Champion level and all, but I could really use the-
Is that how fusion evolution actually works? O///O I-
-hey, wait a second! Hold everything, and cancel all arrangements! I forgot about Ranamon's other job! She can't get married, she's actually not allowed! How could I have been so blind?! ಥ_ಥ
Alas... though it pains me, my beloveds, I fear I cannot be with any of you. Truly, my heart breaks. Perhaps, in another life, but in this one, twas simply not to be...
(Guess I'd better start figuring out a new ending for this fic. )
Don't forget Jellymon wanting different clothes like dresses and the GG mons always wearing some kinds of accessories for winter. Personally I just view the clothes as a natural part of them that they can take off if they really want bar ones like the knights, I assume the armour is more a part of them there.
Plus it's fun to put Digimon in other outfits, and I know in cases like Strabimon I'd kind of prefer not to be shirtless all the time.
Hmm... fair. There's a little dress up scene with the Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon in season 1, even — implying that it's primarily the Digimon that don't already have clothes that are prone to start experimenting that way. Which makes sense I suppose!
Well, Ranamon!you won't, sure. But once you will become able to achieve your Mediocre Clarinet Player Mode and figure out that said form has a signature move other than the one that is the cephalopod equivalent of a Beyblade flavored RODO RORA DA + Giga Drill Breaker wombo combo...
Heh, I don't think I've ever heard someone call Ranamon their favorite Digimon before! I admit, she's growing on me too (as my SI characters often do). Her design was always pretty good for what she's intended for, but she's got a lot of smaller features and characteristics I never really bothered to engage with before, because in canon she's just sort of vaguely annoying and doesn't really do anything important — well, bar a couple of things that actually only helped the kids, but we'll get to that. Glad you're enjoying my take on, or rather, through her thus far.
Man, digimon got so confusing since I watched it a long time ago. I recall frontier being the last one before I stopped. It was under fox kids but I may be mistaken. All I know is that I didn't see the last episode of it due to something happening, can't recall what it was.
If you're confused because of the comments, then like I said before, I wouldn't worry too much. This fic probably isn't going to be heavily reliant on the specifics of certain mechanics or Deep Lore — in fact frankly, right now Ranamon!me should probably be more focused on just remembering Frontier's surface lore. I only saw the full series through once, and it was a long time ago, which may just cost me at this rate...
I know it'd (probably?) be anti-climactic/what-have-you, but I'll admit there's a part of me hoping this Seadramon is just annoyed and has a bad temper but once it's calmed down, it is a very dapper and polite sea serpent because the image is very amusing to me.
...tho that is probably just my fondness for the seadramon line talking
they are some of my favorite digimon
The line was one of my favorites too, back when Digimon first became a Thing in smaller-me's sphere of awareness. Nowadays I'm not sure who or what line I'd consider my favorite, but of the original "set" of Digimon, Seadramon and its evos are probably still up there for me. 👍
...You know, going over this scene, I feel like there are a few questions that this sort of experimentation should have already answered but the description here kind of doesn't.
Chalk this one up to simple narrative flow. There's only so long a training bit can go for before paragraphs of experimental/explanatory text start interrupting the overall flow of the story, and I really didn't want to accidentally step over that line. I actually had another couple paragraphs elaborating further on said experimenting and conclusions in the initial draft (though not on either subject you've brought up here), but I ultimately decided they weren't necessary, because they felt awkward and unwieldy to have there, and didn't feel important enough to keep in.
This being said, you can assume that Ranamon!me not mentioning switching from the "pose" technique to the "snap" technique making any obvious difference means there wasn't one, at least not that I noticed. As for the attack's "power"/size, I genuinely don't think changing that would have even occurred to me at this point? The formation of the rain cloud is too automatic, and most Digimon moves actually don't seem to have "degrees" of use like that unless made stronger by some external factor — I'm not saying they can't, but any canon use cases for such are so minimal that I can't recall any off the top of my head. Basically, I'm more focused on simply "how do I use this" at this point than considering "how can I apply this", and frankly I think that's actually decently sensible.
That ability is still so weird and I can't help but just think is it just hands or any limb? True no use in summoning feet but like... WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT?
Oh, the second one for sure. The first one was just from a lost canon episode when everyone decided to set aside their differences for Valentine's Day and make chocolate cookie molds of their higher evolution forms. Of course, one of the wind spirits had to be temporarily passed to someone else so Zephyrmon and Kazemon could coexist at the same time — the recipient (who shall remain unnamed) remained lightly embarrassed for days after, but fun was had by all. (^▽^ʃ♡ƪ)
