Today I'm writing about an entry through a small bit of a headache. This one takes me a border city between Arlus and Lower Zehou, a place 'protected' by a behemoth of a... I'm not really sure? He called himself a "Growlmon", I couldn't tell if he was a dragon, a dinosaur, or somewhere in between.

For those unfamiliar with the region, Arlus is a thick rainforest for the first few miles, before giving way to a swampland where most of its inhabitants live in one of the most dangerous places on the planet for mortals, the hardiness required to live here meaning that it's often only lived in by reptiles who can take the harsh conditions and make them something their own, with the ruling class (before and after their noble oligarchy was overthrown) being rare reptiles.

The town on the border was only a little bit of the way into the rainforest, still closer enough to Zehou to have its unique Eastern-flavored architecture of the Shinto Pantheon that Lower Zehou worships. And then out there, I met this guy, this very, very intense guy standing at sixteen feet tall.

Our first meeting was him storming up to me asking if I knew "the rules" and saying "obviously not if you're in my town" and immediately attacking me! I chose to defend myself with my normal defenses instead of my magic, mostly because I didn't know what this guy was, why he was so aggressive, and what was up with his fashion sense. We brawled for what felt like forever before I eventually got frustrated after he swiped out of a scale and we headbutted each other, with my thick skull winning out and knocking him over. Once he was pacified (and regained his balance), he just started laughing, having enjoyed the brawl. When I asked if he was quite done because I had no harm in mind for this town, he chilled out with a laugh before telling me he could respect a head as thick as his, so now I was his 'bro'.

He introduced himself as Kenta Brawlclaw, the "Boss" of the town with a sense of brash pride, crossed arms and a firm nod. He told me he ended up on this world from his own just a few months ago, having been separated from his gang of brothers and sisters and left all alone. After taking the time to figure out the where and how, he picked himself up quick and went about building up a new "Bancho" gang - a phrase I had never heard before and one he was pretty happy to educate me on his perspective of at least, having had to introduce the villagers to it when he took over.

He described them as rough and tough brawlers, street thugs and toughs, they banded together and fought together over turf with rival gangs, carving out their own little chunk of their home city where they depending on perspective were either respected by or roughed up the locals for goods and services and to make a point that they were 'theirs'. When I asked which the two he was, he just snorted and said he hadn't had to rough any of the locals up cuz they knew better, but he had needed to punch out bandits, raiders, and the stray dragon (hence why he immediately attacked me) so they showed him the respect due of his position with respectful bows and steep discounts of services that he pays for with the money he roughs out of his foes.

Conversation with the villagers afterwards confirmed that they did see him as a slightly aggressive protector, so they were happy to play along with his claim of this being his territory, especially since the political strife in the capitol meant the soldiers weren't always on hand to save them from outside threats. While he shakes them down for "tribute", because the stores in this town are the only stores in practical distance, most of the coin just ends up back with them anyway. Whether Kenta is aware of this and just following this culture he seems fond of or not, I wasn't going to point it out.

Even though I probably could have beaten him more decisively, I was thankful after the conversation that I held back and earned this big guy's respect. Mostly because I didn't want to have to keep fighting him on hostile terms. Though he did defensively ask me to drop it when I asked about his own homeworld, apparently something of a sore spot, I'm not sure if that's just because he's still mourning having lost his old gang (understandable) or if he had stuff about the world itself he didn't want to talk about. The only reason I asked being that he had a... strange sensation about him. It wasn't divine or demonic, it may not even have been strictly magical, but it felt incredibly odd and out of place, an energy I had only felt in the past from Kichiro's paramour Kei-nu, which makes me wonder if they may not be from the same world.

I chose to bid him a respectful farewell before heading home to write down my experiences and tend to the headache he had given me from our final blow, with a boisterous invitation to come back since I was 'cool' with him now. I may take him up on that offer later, maybe I can pry a few answers out of him if he becomes more comfortable with my presence.

Just be warned to be on your best behavior... I'm still not entirely sure what "Bancho" is, but I do know it makes him happy to punch or eat people at the slightest provocation, so even if he is a protector figure, he's one you give a wide berth or respectful tribute.

- Veluren Thanazel, the Sights and People of Vakkert Sedd

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Neeew character!

Recently, I had been going through Digimon World: Next 0rder with my mate, and the entire thing kind of reawoke a fairly buried love of Digimon that had been buried away. After thinking and sitting on it for a while about my favorite, I ended up with the Guilmon line as my answer. With the kind of good timing that tells me it was fate, I saw this guy a short while later and knew I just had to have him!

There's apparently an entire gang of Bancho-themed Digimon in one of the pieces of media that this inspired (Next order only had BanchoLeomon, who left a pretty painful impression), so I figured I'd play into the theme of him being a bit of a thuggish brute with a sense of honor but a bone to pick over the slightest things, which can result in getting pummeled at best.

Got some fun stuff with him I'm gonna put on the backburner until the 8th... you already know.

Kenta belongs to me!

Original adopt was by  westernmon!