Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Name: Naomi Sterling

Age: 17

Partner: Shoutmon

Stats:

Fight: D6

Flight: D12

Brains: D10

Brawn: D4

Charm: D20

Grit: D8

Strengths:

-Easygoing: Naomi gains 2 Adversity Tokens for a failed roll instead of 1

-Intuitive: Naomi can spend 1 Adversity Token to ask the GM gain information about her surroundings, an NPC, or the like

-Protective: Naomi adds a +3 to her rolls when protecting one of her friends

Flaws:

Naomi is perverse and insecure

Fears:

Naomi is shown to be afraid of heights and bugs

Tamer Skill: [REDACTED] (unlocked after Partner Digimon reaches Champion level)

Inventory:

-Smartphone

-Digivice (orange)

-Status Chip (x1)

Relationships - POSITIVE:

"What item did Grayson give you that you treasure?"

He got me a DVD copy of Mermaid Melody for my birthday when we were kids. Well, more like he made it. And the subtitles are actually big enough for me to read!

"When did you first realize that you loved Riot?"

It's funny, he used to bully me back in middle school. Dad said it was because he liked me, because kids do that sometimes, when they don't know what to do about how they feel. So, one day I start teasing him back, and you should've seen his face!

Relationships - NEGATIVE:

"You hurt ER years ago. Why can't you apologize?"

Because he kept saying it wasn't my fault.

So basically, I might have gotten... a little scared of the monkey bars at recess as a kid... and was kicking and screaming bloody murder because I couldn't get down... and I may or may not- may or may not- have kicked him in the knee and knocked him off and he almost busted his head.

Relationships - Character You Don't Know (Reiner):

"What bad thing have you heard about Naomi that you can't believe is true?"

She made a prop suicide note for the play and somehow convinced at least a quarter of the student body to sign it. Even put "Urlvista" instead of "Westerburg." Surprised she didn't get expelled for it...

Relationships - Character You Don't Know (Gary):

"Who does Naomi have a very public feud with?"

This mechanic I go to every so often to get the van fixed. Seems to get along with his kid, though. Like, really gets along with him. He was giving her the whole “anything you do to him, I do to you” talk and she said “Whatever I do to him, you should already be doing.” Wonder what that was about? …

Chapter Text

Level: Rookie

Type: Data

Classification: Small Dragon

Category: Nature Spirits, Virus Busters

Partner: Naomi

Stats:

Fight: D20

Flight: D4

Brains: D6

Brawn: D8

Charm: D12

Grit: D10

Strengths:

-Dragon's Wrath: Shoutmon gets a +1 to any Fight, Brawn, and Grit rolls

-Not Done Yet: Using 5 of Naomi’s Adversity Tokens, Shoutmon can remain at 1 HP when damage would reduce him to 0

Flaws:

Shoutmon is hot-tempered and secretive

Fears:

Something happened in Shoutmon's past that left him afraid of "losing control"

Attacks:

-Bellow Blaster

-Firey Fastball

-Rock and Roller

-Man of Fire Straight

Chapter Text

Our story begins in a dark tower, its walls a combination of metal and stone. Walking towards the center of this tower is a cloaked figure. They make their way towards the back wall, and there, they raise their hand up, and a light springs forth from the wall. A command console- a keyboard displays itself and there is a monitor shown before them. They begin typing frantically. As they're typing, they hear a pounding from the back end of the room. They take a deep breath, looking over what they've typed into the console.

"I have to hope this is enough."

And with that, they hit the enter key. There's a progress bar as the message begins to send: 70%, 99%- the console shuts down. The doors to the tower fling open, and a silhouette stands in the doorway.

"You have... so much to answer for, Admin..."

"Maybe," the cloaked figure responds, looking up into the far reaching above of the tower. "But I have friends on the way..."

Naomi reached into her pocket for her music player and turned the volume down just enough to hear herself think. Fidgeting with the plastic red seashell around her neck, she rolled the acrylic orb inside beneath her thumb. “It’s fine,” she told herself, staring up at the large letters on the front of the hospital building. “You’re gonna be fine. These people are gonna help you, that’s their job. Everything is going to be okie dokie- whether you like it or not, dare I say!” Clasping the locket shut, she strode with newfound confidence towards the automatic doors.

This was a long time coming. While most other teenagers spent their home alone time on sleazy websites, Naomi was researching the exact kind of help she needed, and who best to provide it. The hardest part was finding a place within walking distance. She didn’t have a license, and it’s not like she could ask her parents to drive her. She hadn’t told them yet. She wasn’t scared of them disowning her or anything, she knew they would be there to support her and that she could never do anything to make them stop loving her, but she wasn’t sure she could survive… the cooing…

She was able to check herself in with little issue. She didn’t feel like an immediate threat to herself or those around her, so she felt comfortable taking a seat in the empty waiting room. After a few minutes of absent-mindedly gluing her eyes to the receptionist typing away, a notification went off on her phone. It was a text from a number she didn’t recognize, or rather, a web address. She knew better than to click on it, so she deleted the message, but it came back a second later. It continued to do so every time she tried to delete it. Eventually, she decided to just block the contact. The moment her finger fell upon the "Block" button, another message came through.

"You can't do that."

"Who are you?" she texted back.

"I'm your partner."

"What does that mean?"

"Just relax. Feel the beat."

"Feel the beat," huh? It was safe to say whoever this was had her curiosity now. She bit her tongue and tapped the link.

A gif file opened of an egg bouncing in place. It was a dark red with little black music notes all across it. Naomi knew each of the notes by shape- quarter, pair of eighths, dotted half, even a bass clef- but they weren't arranged to form any sort of score, not that she would even know how to read it if they were. Suddenly, a bright light shone from the screen, blinding her...

And now, here she was, waking up face-to-face with a giant lizard. Except, "giant" as in maybe the size of a toddler. Which is still technically gigantic, considering how big lizards are supposed to be.

"About time you woke up," it grunted. "For a second there, I thought I just summoned a dead body to be my partner. Name's Shoutmon, by the way."

Naomi squeaked in surprise, scurrying backwards a good few feet.

"Hey, hey, don't freak out," the lizard spoke, dropping the large microphone it was carrying and holding its hands out defensively. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. Heck, I'm here to protect you!"

"Protect me? Protect me from what?" The words had barely escaped her mouth before she heard a buzzing in the distance.

A loud, horrible buzzing.

"Well, that for example."

The buzzing drew closer and closer, until finally, flying over the pair into the clearing proper, was a creature Naomi could only describe as a literal giant wasp. It landed with its maw inches from her face, an extra jaw on either side. Its wings- magenta in color, each with their own pattern resembling an eye which lined cascading data- continued to flap, continued to create that awful, terrible sound.

Naomi shrieked.

Initiative
Naomi - Flight - 5
Shoutmon - Flight - 3
Tamer and Digimon combined Flight roll - 8
Flymon - Flight - 2

Start of Turn Order: Shoutmon

"Hey! Buzz off, pal!" Shoutmon sneered at the beast, conjuring a fireball in his hand. "Get your own partner! Firey Fastball!"

Shoutmon - Fight - 6
PENALTY: -1 (Champion vs Rookie)
PENALTY: -1 (Virus vs Data)
+1 (Dragon's Wrath)
End result: 5

Flymon - Flight - 11

Flymon's wings buzzed harder as it lifted itself out of the way of the attack, which singed the ground in front of the girl. "Dang it!"

Easygoing: +2 Adversity to [Naomi]

Running back the other way across the clearing, Naomi hid behind Shoutmon. She felt around her pockets for her phone. Everything would be fine if she could just call for help.

No service.

The bug stared the pair down before turning its thorax towards them. The stinger at its bottom fired out. "̴̨͚͇̤̭̒́͐͋͂͗̾͜͝͠͝͠D̵̨͖̩̟̟̟̫͉̗̩̳̮̎̾͊͂̑̑̽̿͌̿̅̿͠e̴̛̜̔͗̿̋̈́̎̌̎̚͝ą̸̱̱̼̰̱͓̰̺͗͒̒͒̄͜d̴̢̛͉̫̱̥͋͘l̵̙̋̅̿̇̆͘y̶̢̨̛̩̺̱̮̪̼͍̥̤̠̭̺͐͂́͆̑̀̀͑̽̉̈́ ̸͇̲͖̤͖̔̽̏̋̍̋̎͌̉͝Ṣ̵̢̖̰̾͌̏t̵͕̗̝̜͎̣̃͛̈́̍́̋̔̿̄̄̕̕͜͝͝͠ȋ̴͓n̴̹̝̹͎͕̆͆̇̄̄͊͌͋͆̈̚͜͝͠g̵̪̱̘͎̫̼̤̲͔͉̙͓̮̀̒̓͗̀̿͜͜͝.̴̧̛̦̼̲̗̳̣̋͐̀̏̀͘͝͝͠"̷̨̡̨̮͚̹͎̳̮̺͖͌̔̉̃̕͠ͅ

Flymon - Fight - 1
+1 (Champion vs Rookie)
+1 (Virus vs Data)
End result: 3

Shoutmon - Flight - 2

"Watch out!" Shoutmon grabbed Naomi's arm, attempting to pull her out of the way with him. He fell just short of not being grazed by the stinger. He could still move, that was a good sign, but he could feel something eating away at his being.

Easygoing: +2 Adversity to [Naomi]
Shoutmon: 2/3 HP

"We're totally out of sync," the little dragon sighed. "I can't feel any beat coming from you."

Beat? Yeah, the message she got did say something about "feeling the beat." Maybe the little guy just needed some boss music. Naomi reached into her pocket to pull out her music player.

It wasn't there.

What was this thing?!

Hesitantly, she pressed the center button on the strange new device, turning it on. She was relieved that it still had all of her music on it. Without looking, she hit "Shuffle" and hoped for the best...

I know I said I'd keep my distance
But you're becoming an addiction
You gave me a taste, can't stay away
Got so much going on in my brain
Now I can feel you moving
I know that this'll get confusing
I don't know the goal, but you're in control
Give me direction for playing my role

Shoutmon set his microphone down beside him and stretched his hands out, cracking his knuckles. "Now, that's more like it!" Swiping his microphone back up, he called out, "Bellow Blaster!"

Shoutmon - Fight - 16
PENALTY: -1 (Champion vs Rookie)
PENALTY: -1 (Virus vs Data)
+1 (Dragon's Wrath)
End result: 15

Flymon - Flight - 8

When will I say goodnight?
Let me know if I'll be sleeping alone
Don't deny it takes you high
Are you in, or am I taking you home?
Our reason forever
Was I drunk or did you get inside my head?
When will I say goodnight?
You should know
Don't let me dream alone

A yellow beam coalesced from the head of the microphone, shooting out towards the Insectoid Digimon. It tried to dodge, but even the enhanced size of its wings couldn't get its fat little body out of the way fast enough. A direct hit. "Alright!"

Flymon: 1/4 HP

Flymon fell to the ground with a hefty thud. It pulled itself to its feet, hissing as it limped towards the two. Suddenly, it froze, and a white ring formed around it. The strange device that replaced Naomi's music player rattled in her hand, beeping and vibrating up a storm. It began to pull her towards the dreadful creature, stopping just shy of what would presumably be its personal space, should it possess human sentience. The ring around it condensed into a stream of light that shot into the little box in Naomi's hand.

I can't stay away, you're killing me
I can't help but think you're feeling me
I can't stay away, you're killing me
I can't stay away

Flymon fell to the ground once more, unconscious. The cascading data vanished from the eye patterns on its wings.

Initiative ended
Obtained 1 Status Chip

"What was that?!" Naomi cried, panting. "What did you do to my music player?!"

"First of all, I didn't do anything!" Shoutmon retorted. "That is your Digivice. It's supposed to replace your phone- I think- but since the System already chose me to get a partner, I guess it wanted someone with taste in music."

"I'm sorry, it's supposed to what?!"

"And as for the giant bug, like I said, it's my job to protect you! Um..." Some partner he was turning out to be. Amidst all the chaos, he never got the chance to ask her name.

"Oh! I'm Naomi." She offered her hand to the little lizard. "Nice to meet you, Shoutmon."

Shoutmon smiled, reaching out to shake her hand, only to curl it up against his own into a fist bump. "Likewise. Now, onward and backward to Data City! We gotta get you caught up with the others!”

”Others?”

”Yeah! I’m not the only one with a human partner, y’know. Heck, I wouldn’t have even got the idea if not for those guys.”

”I thought you said this “System” or whatever chose you.”

Shoutmon tensed, eventually letting out a nervous laugh.

Chapter Text

What are the characters’ zodiac signs?

I’ve been thinking about it, and I wanted to say she’s a Pices for the Mermaid Melody reference but it didn’t feel right. I also could’ve picked something “compatible” with Leo (Riot’s sign), but that would be stupid. Since it does still kind of fit her character and she’s basically a self-insert anyway, I’m gonna go ahead and say she’s a Capricorn.

What was the inspiration for your character?

Solely to be shipped with Riot because I felt bad about the IRL age difference (fun fact: that's why her Flaws are Perverse and Insecure), but I am making it an effort to give her more to her character than that!

On the topic, her name was originally Amy Pasternak (she was conceptualized before the reveal of Henrietta) because as a kid, I used to love the trope of “rival’s sister is in love with MC.” Her design was also very different in this stage, being basically Sayo from Cyber Sleuth but blonde.

What is your favorite Digivice design?

I have some nostalgia for the Xros Loader ngl

What has been one of your favorite moments in-game so far?

When Riot kicked Salamon-

If Naomi was turned into a Digimon, what Digimon would she be?

Morphomon

What is Naomi’s canon height?

5’6". I wanted her to be shorter than Riot, but not super short.

What is Naomi’s favorite season of the year?

Autumn. To quote a meme my cousin sent me: Sweaters and scarves, pumpkin-flavored everything, but mostly because the bugs have gone back to Hell where they belong.

What is Naomi’s favorite hobby outside of school/work?

Naomi is a theater kid through and through! Constantly listening to musical soundtracks, working on choreography for a scene, downloading script pdfs and reading along with the performance, etc. She just hasn’t gotten to perform since the Heathers incident…

If the guys had female Digimon in place of the ones they have now, which evolutions would they have and which evolution would you stop them at?

Let’s see… I could just say Shoutmon again but the yellow one from that one arcade game, but if I can’t have that, then I wanna hone in on the theater kid aspect, so… Gazimon (kinda looks like a lil diva) to Meicoomon to Meicrackmon (it and Vicious Mode could kinda be an allusion to Jekyll and Hyde?) to NoblePumpkinmon (I mean, look at it.)

Have you ever backtracked a joke/idea?

Let’s Start A Riot is an upcoming work that has gone through many changes in terms of its scenario, but I will not elaborate at this time.

What is Naomi's favorite song?

Open Wounds by Skillet because it reminds her of Riot

But I’m also gonna say Not Listening by Papa Roach. That’s the one she fantasizes to.

Which Digimon that you've encountered so far is your favorite?

Sammi’s partner Salamon Digivolving to Sistermon Noir was a nice surprise. I think the plan is for the siblings’ Megas to match, because they talked about picking out a line for her and they all lost it when they saw Salamon, so I looked it up and I found this:

It’s kinda unfair though that Digimon is just treating Salamon- a puppy- as “the cat Rookie” instead of giving us an actual cat Rookie. But mainly I just think nun-binary is funny.

Is Terriermon a dog or a bunny?

Por que no los dos?

What do the characters watch off of YouTube?

Like I said, musical performances and OSTs

What does Vanmon think about its current passengers?

*sweats in inevitable cartoonish wobbling*

What other media besides Digimon Abridged is canonized within the campaign?

The Death Note musical got an English run. And Mermaid Melody had its English dub released.

If you would play your human characters in a superhero campaign, what would your superpowers be?

Naomi is a Mew Mew with the DNA of a jaguar. Her costume has a 1% chance of turning black when she transforms. This is a Wild Kratts reference.

Chapter Text

“Tadaima!” Shoutmon called out as the pair entered the residential tower. He waved down the concierge- a small, dog-like Digimon. “Hey, are the other humans still around here?”

“W- uh- y-yes,” the puppy stammered, startled. “But, I believe you just missed them, I’m afraid. They just went out a little while ago.”

“Well, do you have any idea where they went?”

“I’m sorry, they didn’t say. Not that I bothered to ask, anyway.”

“And no clue when they’ll be back, huh?” Shoutmon huffed. “Y’know what? This is fine! It’s all gonna be fine, I just gotta wow the crowd like I usually do and they’ll come to us!”

“O-oh! This again. Um… are you sure you wouldn’t like to-”

“Positive~!” Shoutmon was already out the door again before Salamon could finish his sentence. Naomi quickly followed, calling out to the little lizard to wait for her.

—

“Step right up, step right up! Let’s see if your head’s as strong as you say it is!”

“Aw, man!” Shoutmon whined. “Veemon’s in my usual spot again!”

“You know that guy?”

“Not really. Just a fellow street performer.” Shoutmon replied. “You learn to get familiar with the competition. On the bright side, though, it looks like he’s got the other humans reeled in for us.”

Naomi squinted at the group of boys amongst the crowd surrounding Veemon. “Hey, wait a second, I know those guys!”

“Ya do?!”

“I mean, I recognize a few of them from school or just around town, but… See that one with the… hammer-lookin’ thing over his shoulder? Black hair, blue eyes, little bit of scruff?…”

Shoutmon eyed the boy across the street and nodded, before the lightbulb went off in his brain, and he flashed a spit-eating grin at his new partner. “Oh, so that’s the one you like, huh?”

“I-… guess you could say that…”

Shoutmon huffed, more confidently this time. “Alrighty then, it’s showtime!”

“No, wait! Shoutmon-”

“WHAT’S UP, EVERYBODY!!!” Shoutmon cheered, amplified impossibly louder by his microphone. A good few passersby were drawn in by the noise and began to gather around. “I got a special guest here to help me with the beat tonight. Let’s give it up for Naomi!”

Naomi winced, still covering her ears. Suddenly, her Digivice began playing music all on its own.

Shoutmon paused, having noticed the anxious nature of the girl. “Oops! I uh… guess we should start with a little warm-up. What do ya say?”

It’s here, it’s now

And it’s all gonna come together somehow

This time, you’ll see

That it’s all gonna come together for me

I may not have it all figured out

But what I got

I just gotta scream about

And that’s the way it makes me feel

Knowing you

Veemon lifted up a metal cube, about the same size as the log prior, and set it down on the platform. “Now this one is usually the stumper, but you seem like a tough Digimon, so give it a shot!”

Brawn check: DC 14

Monodramon - Brawn - 11

-3 Adversity from [ER] to meet DC

Monodramon leapt into the air, bringing his skull smack down into the center of the cube. Almost like a samurai sword, he sliced clean through it, sending it clattering to either side in two perfectly even pieces.

The Digimon around him erupted into applause again, even giving a few hoots and hollers. Monodramon smirked.

Veemon moved the metal rectangles aside and hopped up onto the platform. “Alright, you’ve made it to the final challenge! Now you’re onto the real fight!” He clapped his fists together and pointed at the yellow v-shaped mark in the center of his forehead. “Give it a shot. Let’s see if you’ve got some moxie~”

—

I like the way you kept me ‘round as your weakness

Keychains and flowers couldn’t fix what I was

Silence and habit made me think we could keep this away from the fray

Left with nothing to say

My mama said those who don’t listen’ll feel this

What doesn’t kill me makes me worse than I was

If I close my eyes, then it still feels like the first kiss

Around for the sound

But I’m bringing you down

The duo had garnered a fairly sizable crowd of their own by this point, even managing to rival Veemon. If there was one thing about this gig that Shoutmon could say he loved more than the clink of BITs into the tip jar, it was the roar of the crowd.

Maybe this time was the last time

I think we’re runnin’ outta luck

Maybe enough was just too much

Thinkin’ this time, it could be fine

I think we’re falling out of touch

My words are always off the cuff, yeah

Yeah

Yeah, yeah

—

Charm check: DC 12

Gary - Charm - 15

Veemon’s sweating. I don’t think he’s gonna pull a fast one on us, though. He probably just didn’t expect anyone to get this far.

Gary walked over to Monodramon’s side and gave Veemon a once-over. He squinted at the mark on the blue Digimon’s forehead, and eventually wagged his finger, making a “tuh-tuh” sound. Letting out a sigh, he knelt down to Monodramon’s level and placed a hand on the Small Dragon Digimon’s shoulder. “After what you do to Veemon, I’ll pay for his recovery.”

“Wha…?”

Gary looked back to Veemon with a sympathetic look in his eyes, as though pitying a bug about to be squashed on the street. “It’s gonna be okay, buddy. You’re gonna make it outta this…”

Brawn check: DC 18

Monodramon - Brawn - 6

[ER] expends Adversity

Monodramon - Brawn - 6 12

-6 Adversity from [Gary] to meet DC

Monodramon jumped as high as he possibly could, using his wings to get just a little bit more leverage, before coming back down in a divebomb. Veemon looked up at him with a confident smirk, until he looked back down at Gary, who was still giving him the sympathetic puppy dog eyes. His stance faltered for only a moment, but a moment was all it took. He looked back up, and realized just how close Monodramon was. “Oh no.”

Monodramon’s skull impacted into the mark on Veemon’s forehead, sending the latter flying into the grate behind him.

Naomi had an uncomfortably unusual amount of trouble taking her eyes away from Riot. He wasn’t even doing anything, he was just standing there, in a weird little bancho pose, cheering on his new friend. She almost felt like she was leaving Shoutmon hanging, but her Digivice was doing all the work, so it was fine, right?

Speaking of her Digivice, another song began to play without her input. Shoutmon smirked. “Looks like this next song’s goin’ out to a special somebody~ On behalf of another special somebody.” He winked at his partner.

Thought it would be easy

But it ain’t for me

It’s kinda hard when you lay your heart on a one-way street

I really thought by now

You would’ve slipped my mind

But the kinda love sent from above is the killin’ kind

Put my mind to rest and try to sleep it off

It’ll be alright when the morning comes

Or am I wrong?

Ain’t no doubt about it

I can’t live without it

Tried to forget you, but I

Can’t get you outta my head

Just when I think you’re gone, you

Come back and turn it on and

Just like a simple song, I

Can’t get you outta my head

“So, what now?” Reiner asked as Veemon lay motionless on the ground, aside for the occasional twitch.

“Well, he’s not dead, so we can’t just take all the stuff he was supposed to give us.” Terriermon let out a defeated groan. “Guess we’ll just have to wait for him to wake up.”

“Wait a minute, Gary, didn’t you say you were gonna take care of him, whatever I did?”

“I was just trying to psych him out!” Gary defended. “I mean, I’m sure he’s fine.”

Even if I tried

‘Cuz Lord knows I’ve tried

I can’t escape and I can’t shake the pain inside

Oh!

Riot tapped his hammer over his shoulder along to the music. “Crazy when she comes and crazy as she goes, holdin’ out my hands with nothin’ left to show.”

Guess that’s the way it goes

Ain’t no doubt about it

I can’t live without it

Tried to forget you, but I

Can’t get you outta my head

Just when I think you’re gone, you

Come back and turn it on and

Just like a simple song, I-

“CAN’T GET YOU OUTTA MY HEAD!”

Shoutmon froze. Everything around him seemed to stop as a record scratch played in his brain. He took a deep breath to compose himself. “So, you’re the guy, huh?”

“Riot, what the heck did you run off for? Oh hey Naomi.”

“Hi ER.” Naomi giggled to herself internally. She didn’t mean for it to sound like an AA meeting.

“Wait, Naomi?! How did you get here?!”

Naomi sighed and pointed over her shoulder with a thumb to her new partner.

Obtained: 183 BITs

“THERE’S A ROYAL KNIGHT HERE?! What- why?!”

“Is- that a big deal?”

Shoutmon whipped his head around towards his partner. “Are you kidding?! That’s the equivalent of saying the President’s in town!”

“Well dang.”

“What’s a president?” asked Magimon.

Shoutmon tensed, then let out a sigh, placing a hand on the Puppet Digimon's shoulder. “We have much to discuss…”

“Wait, hold on- when you say royal, are they, like… “family tree looks like a racecar track”-royal?”

Shoutmon sneered at his partner. “How dare you… Anyway, what’s going on? Why’re they here? Did you get a name, anything?”

“All we heard from Veemon is that he was lookin’ for a nice bite to eat.”

“So, dinner and a show, got it. What’dya say, partner?”

Naomi froze. Something about this felt like it was gonna lead to a bad stim… She nodded stiffly.

“Then it’s decided!”

She was absolutely going to regret this…