EXTRA!!-- FOREIGN SCHOOL SYSTEMS ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE...! *sigh*
(i'll be back and add the icon later...
right now, my connection is not cooperating.)
*sigh*
ok, this has been ripping my brain for the best part of a year, and i'm going to be done with it TODAY so i can move on and start writing the STUPID chapter.
*sigh again*
here's the thing. for a long time i've been wanting to write the second chapter to my fanfic the missing link, but i keep having trouble with my canon timeline. and since i'm just totally anal-retentive when it comes to canon (it has to be absolutely perfect or i won't be able to write at all-- and it's funny because i'm only like that with my writing, you should see what a mess every other aspect of my life is #_#), i haven't been able to write it. i need to know exactly how old and in what grade my characters are at any given moment in their lives even if it doesn't really matter all that much to the overall plot of the story >.<
it's because i live near the goddamn equator; my school system is radically different than those of most other countries located further towards the north or south of the hemispheres, respectively. it can't really be compared to any of the school systems used as reference, such as the US, japan and most other european countries. it's just not similar to any of them. so i get completely confused when it comes to writing high school (fan)fiction situated in any other country besides mine. and i've been sitting here for two days, looking up all kinds of sources, from the digimon encyclopedia, to any information on digimon in the wikipedia, to sites on japanese education such as this one, trying to make it make sense to me.
it still looks strange to me... but i guess that feeling will never go away, since i'm used to my own (weird) school system. just tell me if i got this right! *crosses fingers*
DIGIMON TIMELINE! =3
for simplicity purposes, i'm assuming all the kids age around the same time a year (let's say they all stay one certain age through the whole schoolyear (from april to march)-- as in, tai's 11 throughout the whole of 5th grade, and such).
1995 -> summer break, maybe? it doesn't really matter...
"digimon: the movie" happens.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 7 (1st grade?)
-jyou: 8 (2nd grade?)
-mimi, koushirou: 6 (not in school? kindergarten? WTF? O_o)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 4 (not in school)
-miyako: 5 (not in school)
-iori: 2 (awwwwww! ^.^ *pinches cheeks*)
does this seem right to you guys? starting first grade as 7-year-olds? dear lord, how the heck can their parents stand them until then? O_o it sounds totally weird to me. in my country we enter kindergarten at 5 and first grade at 6, which is why more than half the kids graduate as 17-year-olds. a lot of people turn 7 before leaving first grade, but basically everybody enters with 6 years of age. though i guess that could happen in this case, as well... but i thought mimi and koushirou would at least be in school by the time the whole digimon universe thing starts happening. and then, some of my sources, like this one, state that kids start as 6-year-olds. urgh, this is the main part that doesn't make any sense to me.
SUMMER BREAK 1999 (AUGUST)
season 01 happens.
they're all in primary school (shougakkou) save for iori.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 11 (5th grade)
-jyou: 12 (6th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 10 (4th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 8 (2nd grade)
-miyako: 9 (3rd grade)
-iori: 6 (not in school yet... i guess...)
NOVEMBER 1999
drama CD "whistle" happens.
ages assumed the same as previous.
SPRING BREAK 2000 (MARCH)
"bokura no war game" happens.
ages assumed the same as previous, as the school year hasn't started yet.
jyou will move onto lower secondary (chugakkou), as he's studying for/taking entrance exams.
MAY 2000
crests are lost. also drama CD "telephone" happens.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 12 (6th grade)
-jyou: 13 (7th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 11 (5th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 9 (3rd grade)
-miyako: 10 (4th grade)
-iori: 7 (1st grade)
SUMMER 2000 (AUGUST)
ken gets infected.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
OCTOBER 2000
drama CD "letter to my father" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
APRIL 2001
drama CD "chat" happens.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 13 (7th grade)
-jyou: 14 (8th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 12 (6th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 10 (4th grade)
-miyako: 11 (5th grade)
-iori: 8 (2nd grade)
SEPTEMBER 2001
drama CD "video mail" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
SPRING BREAK 2002 (MARCH)
drama CD "as i play the bass" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
APRIL TO SUMMER 2002 (AUGUST)
first half of season 02 happens, until crest of kindness appears.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 14 (8th grade)
-jyou: 15 (9th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 13 (7th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 11 (5th grade)
-miyako: 12 (6th grade)
-iori: 9 (3rd grade)
hmmm... so right here, jyou isn't going to the same school as the rest of the 01 chosen because... why...? >.< i take it he's going to private school? i can't remember ^^;;;
SUMMER BREAK 2002 (AUGUST)
"golden digimental" movie happens. i'm ignoring some possible continuity errors here.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2002
second half of season 02 happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
SPRING BREAK 2003 (MARCH)
"diablomon strikes back" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
jyou will move onto upper secondary (koukou) and he's studying for/taking entrance exams.
AND ALL OF THIS MEANS~
APRIL 2003 TO MARCH 2004
-taichi, sora, yamato: 15 (9th grade)
-jyou: 16 (10th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 14 (8th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 12 (6th grade)
-miyako: 13 (7th grade)
-iori: 10 (4th grade)
APRIL 2004 TO MARCH 2005
-taichi, sora, yamato: 16 (10th grade)
-jyou: 17 (11th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 15 (9th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 13 (7th grade)
-miyako: 14 (8th grade)
-iori: 11 (5th grade)
APRIL 2005 TO MARCH 2006 (WHICH IS WHERE I NEED THEM TO BE)
-taichi, sora, yamato: 17 (11th grade)
-jyou: 18 (12th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 16 (10th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 14 (8th grade)
-miyako: 15 (9th grade)
-iori: 12 (6th grade)
IS ALL OF THAT CORRECT?
*crosses fingers and prays*
right now, my connection is not cooperating.)
*sigh*
ok, this has been ripping my brain for the best part of a year, and i'm going to be done with it TODAY so i can move on and start writing the STUPID chapter.
*sigh again*
here's the thing. for a long time i've been wanting to write the second chapter to my fanfic the missing link, but i keep having trouble with my canon timeline. and since i'm just totally anal-retentive when it comes to canon (it has to be absolutely perfect or i won't be able to write at all-- and it's funny because i'm only like that with my writing, you should see what a mess every other aspect of my life is #_#), i haven't been able to write it. i need to know exactly how old and in what grade my characters are at any given moment in their lives even if it doesn't really matter all that much to the overall plot of the story >.<
it's because i live near the goddamn equator; my school system is radically different than those of most other countries located further towards the north or south of the hemispheres, respectively. it can't really be compared to any of the school systems used as reference, such as the US, japan and most other european countries. it's just not similar to any of them. so i get completely confused when it comes to writing high school (fan)fiction situated in any other country besides mine. and i've been sitting here for two days, looking up all kinds of sources, from the digimon encyclopedia, to any information on digimon in the wikipedia, to sites on japanese education such as this one, trying to make it make sense to me.
it still looks strange to me... but i guess that feeling will never go away, since i'm used to my own (weird) school system. just tell me if i got this right! *crosses fingers*
DIGIMON TIMELINE! =3
for simplicity purposes, i'm assuming all the kids age around the same time a year (let's say they all stay one certain age through the whole schoolyear (from april to march)-- as in, tai's 11 throughout the whole of 5th grade, and such).
1995 -> summer break, maybe? it doesn't really matter...
"digimon: the movie" happens.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 7 (1st grade?)
-jyou: 8 (2nd grade?)
-mimi, koushirou: 6 (not in school? kindergarten? WTF? O_o)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 4 (not in school)
-miyako: 5 (not in school)
-iori: 2 (awwwwww! ^.^ *pinches cheeks*)
does this seem right to you guys? starting first grade as 7-year-olds? dear lord, how the heck can their parents stand them until then? O_o it sounds totally weird to me. in my country we enter kindergarten at 5 and first grade at 6, which is why more than half the kids graduate as 17-year-olds. a lot of people turn 7 before leaving first grade, but basically everybody enters with 6 years of age. though i guess that could happen in this case, as well... but i thought mimi and koushirou would at least be in school by the time the whole digimon universe thing starts happening. and then, some of my sources, like this one, state that kids start as 6-year-olds. urgh, this is the main part that doesn't make any sense to me.
SUMMER BREAK 1999 (AUGUST)
season 01 happens.
they're all in primary school (shougakkou) save for iori.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 11 (5th grade)
-jyou: 12 (6th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 10 (4th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 8 (2nd grade)
-miyako: 9 (3rd grade)
-iori: 6 (not in school yet... i guess...)
NOVEMBER 1999
drama CD "whistle" happens.
ages assumed the same as previous.
SPRING BREAK 2000 (MARCH)
"bokura no war game" happens.
ages assumed the same as previous, as the school year hasn't started yet.
jyou will move onto lower secondary (chugakkou), as he's studying for/taking entrance exams.
MAY 2000
crests are lost. also drama CD "telephone" happens.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 12 (6th grade)
-jyou: 13 (7th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 11 (5th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 9 (3rd grade)
-miyako: 10 (4th grade)
-iori: 7 (1st grade)
SUMMER 2000 (AUGUST)
ken gets infected.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
OCTOBER 2000
drama CD "letter to my father" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
APRIL 2001
drama CD "chat" happens.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 13 (7th grade)
-jyou: 14 (8th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 12 (6th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 10 (4th grade)
-miyako: 11 (5th grade)
-iori: 8 (2nd grade)
SEPTEMBER 2001
drama CD "video mail" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
SPRING BREAK 2002 (MARCH)
drama CD "as i play the bass" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
APRIL TO SUMMER 2002 (AUGUST)
first half of season 02 happens, until crest of kindness appears.
-taichi, sora, yamato: 14 (8th grade)
-jyou: 15 (9th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 13 (7th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 11 (5th grade)
-miyako: 12 (6th grade)
-iori: 9 (3rd grade)
hmmm... so right here, jyou isn't going to the same school as the rest of the 01 chosen because... why...? >.< i take it he's going to private school? i can't remember ^^;;;
SUMMER BREAK 2002 (AUGUST)
"golden digimental" movie happens. i'm ignoring some possible continuity errors here.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2002
second half of season 02 happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
SPRING BREAK 2003 (MARCH)
"diablomon strikes back" happens.
ages are assumed the same as previous.
jyou will move onto upper secondary (koukou) and he's studying for/taking entrance exams.
AND ALL OF THIS MEANS~
APRIL 2003 TO MARCH 2004
-taichi, sora, yamato: 15 (9th grade)
-jyou: 16 (10th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 14 (8th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 12 (6th grade)
-miyako: 13 (7th grade)
-iori: 10 (4th grade)
APRIL 2004 TO MARCH 2005
-taichi, sora, yamato: 16 (10th grade)
-jyou: 17 (11th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 15 (9th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 13 (7th grade)
-miyako: 14 (8th grade)
-iori: 11 (5th grade)
APRIL 2005 TO MARCH 2006 (WHICH IS WHERE I NEED THEM TO BE)
-taichi, sora, yamato: 17 (11th grade)
-jyou: 18 (12th grade)
-mimi, koushirou: 16 (10th grade)
-hikari, takeru, daisuke, ken: 14 (8th grade)
-miyako: 15 (9th grade)
-iori: 12 (6th grade)
IS ALL OF THAT CORRECT?
*crosses fingers and prays*