#IN A META SENSE it's kinda funny bc it's pretty fitting for the character with identity issues to not have a solid design tbh 💀

[nulltune]

LAST DOODLE I PROMMYYY but i'm just losing my mind here looking at hakuno art i have saved and seeing how inconsistent her design is like . sgdjfhw girl are u hatsune miku cuz damn your character design is versatile af !!! sure makes finding a proper ref for her difficult tho ngl 😭 (especially for the colors!!! gotdang!!) buuut that is also why i hath taken creative liberty myself ohoho 😳✨️

ngl this is kinda me just will smith pose-ing @ my hakuno interpretation like teehee WITNESS SHE

[steventhealmighty]

ineffable d&d characters pt. 1

not to be That Guy but i kinda wanted to roll aziraphale and crowley as d&d 5e characters. but like, i couldn’t decide what way i wanted to go with it so i have three + 1 different options for them. each focuses on different parts of their characters or dynamics, highlighting or imagining different bits. i’ll put all the deets under a readmore lol. (yes i also rolled the stats for these bc apparently my own backlog of PCs weren’t enough for me.)

tl;dr: ineffable husbands as d&d characters-- three different race/class/etc setups plus one meta idea. all are really gay.

no beta we post like men.

scenario one: angelic clerics

This setup focuses on them being angelic beings, on them being very similar to each other and different sides of the same coin. For those who aren’t as familiar, aasimar are to angels what tieflings are to demons, in a sense.

Aziraphale: Aasimar (Protector); Cleric (Life Domain)

Crowley: Aasimar (Fallen); Cleric (Trickery Domain)

What I like about this is that it emphasizes how they are both “from the same angelic stock.” Yes, Crowley is a demon technically, which might suggest a Tiefling, but I think it’s better to say he’s a fallen angel. Thus, Fallen Aasimar!

I think cleric of life very much fits azirphale, and I vastly prefer trickery domain for crowley than any “death” or “eeeeeevil” domain. Really, most of crowley’s miracles seem to fall into the trickery and chaos regions, just setting humans up to be their own downfall.

scenario two: human warlocks

This setup brings forward how human or “native” they’ve become after spending so much time on earth. They find and practice their own sense of free will and other very human-y things. Being human PC’s i think would give us a chance to examine their human-ness and their relationship with choice and agency. And the warlock class adds a clear source of their power (Above or Below) and retains the conflict with their respective sides.

Aziraphale: Human; Warlock (Celestial Patron); Pact Boon- Tome (booooks) or Blade (Flaming Sword)

Crowley: Human; Warlock (Fiend Patron); Pact Boon- Chain (snek)

Bonus points for “Warlock” jokes and them taking care of Warlock, who ends up being a wizard or some shit. I was torn between warlocks and paladins, but I think warlocks better reflect the relationship between them and their superiors. They aren’t as loyal to the cause or “oath” as paladins tend to be and their bosses are distant beings with very little regard for them. (Obvs not all warlock patrons are like them; some are super involved and rules based. but i’d say it’s a definite option for patrons) aziraphale might pay lip services to the power of heaven and the great plan, but the few times he’s been able to directly communicate with the head office have not been promising. crowley dead ass has no loyalty to hell, but they have some measure of control/impact over him as they are the source of his powers and they are powerful beings in their own right.

While I think an argument can be made for Aziraphale to have a flaming sword as his pact boon, i much prefer the pact of the tome for him, perhaps in the form of a book of prophecy by agnes nutter. i thought about giving Crowley a squirt bottle as a pact of the blade boon, but the holy water wouldn’t come from a fiend patron, would it? Still, funny mental image.

scenario three: character abstraction!

aka the halfling aziraphale everyone needs. besides Aziraphale being a halfling, i’ve gone back and forth a lot with this scenario. i think tiefling makes a lot of sense for crowley, less so for the demon-y-ness and more-so with the “society hates me and i hate me let me project my insecurities via swagger and feigned apathy as i can’t meet my own eyes in the mirror.” also, snake eyes.

Aziraphale: Lightfoot Halfling; Bard (College of Lore)

Crowley: Tiefling; Rogue (Arcane Trickster)

now hear me out. i think arcane trickster is pretty straight forward for crowley. not a heavy hitter damage wise, but an able and magical manipulator behind the scenes, using magic to set up the proverbial dominoes. very rogue-y, slick and sly like a serpant.

but aziraphale. imagine for me, if  you will, bard!aziraphale. college of lore makes sense, with his expansive library and reading habits. he’s best at telling stories and remembering long lost histories. but is that what he tries to do? no! that would make him a competent d&d character who plays to his strengths and we will have none of that nonsense here. rather, he is a college of lore bard that thinks he is a very capable performer of magic tricks. sure he can use some cantrips, but where’s the fun in that? he picked up some sleight of hand tricks and card tricks and will perform them whenever possible. is he proficient in performance? he thinks so! is crowley behind the curtain making actual magic happen so his angeling doesn’t get put out by a dead dove? absolutely.

my favorite part about this scenario is that with these two characters together, they would be absolutely incompetent at any normal d&d quest. which is true to character, book, and spirit. amen.

part two coming soon: meta hell aka if aziraphale and crowley were roped into playing d&d by the Them and made their own characters. Considering two approaches:

1) Aziraphale and Crowley briefly flip through the basic rules/PHB and make characters in order to humor Them

2) If they (for whatever reason) had access/knowledge to all of the d&d 5e character options, which would they choose?

[imtheperfectvoid]

So I’ve been REALLY fixated on Danganronpa the last few weeks (replayed the last two games and recently finished DRV3 as well) and I realized I have many many thoughts about certain characters and their respective arcs/stories/behaviors/etc. and bc I enjoy shouting my thoughts into The Void That Is The Internet I’m just gonna mash em into one post and send it out to sea. Spoilers for DR1, SDR2, and DRV3 under the cut (and sorry, it gets looooooong)

DR1:

My biggest thought I’ve had is that, over time, I’ve slowly begun to realize that I just... don’t like Kyoko as much as I thought I did. Like, when I first played the game back a couple years ago, I thought she was pretty alright. Not a favorite, but perfectly fine. However, after replaying recently, I kinda realized she just... rubs me the wrong way? I guess? Like, I understand why she is the way she is, but she just constantly comes across as being so abrasive and distant and mildly unwelcoming. Byakuya is the same way, though - hell, he’s even more abrasive and unwelcoming - but I enjoy his character more. I couldn’t figure out why until it hit me about nearish the last chapter; it’s because Kyoko switched gears and started opening up to Makoto in a way that just didn’t feel natural or earned, y’know? Byakuya was an absolute shitheel, through and through, but his character shift (as small and hardly noticeable as it was) still made sense because he came to realize that him neglecting the feelings and thought processes of others can really bite him in the ass (a la Sakura’s trial) and he starts to cooperate a bit more with everyone. Kyoko, on the other hand, just kinda... decided to open up to Makoto a bit too fast for not really any clear, distinctive reason. Maybe I glossed over it? Maybe I just didn’t read deep enough into her lines or take enough interest in her Free Time events? I don’t know. All I know is this: Kyoko’s character development in terms of her connection with Makoto and the others felt too forced and disingenuous overall, like it lacked sincerity.

I enjoy Hagakure. Like, people seem to generally find him irritatingly dumb, which I get, but honestly? Sometimes his shit is just so wild that I can’t help but enjoy it.

Same with why I like Byakuya so much. He’s a dick, but he’s pretty entertaining to watch and listen to, especially when he’s thrown off guard. That shit’s the best.

I have no idea why but... I also would’ve liked to learn more about Ishimaru? He just seemed fascinating to me, especially in his Free Time events when you learn about his family and his history of harassment and whatnot

Junko being the mastermind was really unexpected and I enjoyed that twist a lot. I did not see it coming when I first played, and the small clues they left throughout the game pointing to her were very clever!

This first game will forever be iconic in many ways, but it is sadly my least favorite of the trilogy only because they just kept getting better

SDR2

*slams fists on table* I! WANT! MORE! GUNDAM! TANAKA! (I am fully aware that he was given quite a decent amount of development, both throughout the story as well as in Free Time events, but god, I don’t know what it is but I just fucking love this guy)

People seem surprisingly divided on Kazuichi??? Which is understandable but I liked him plenty. Sure, his thing with Sonia was a bit... much... but aside from that, he’s pretty enjoyable and funny. Like Hagakure, but less dumb, I suppose.

Honestly??? I wish the blackened in chapter 4 had been Sonia- please hear me out on this one. By no means do I dislike Sonia - she’s great, I love her! - HOWEVER, I think this could’ve led to a lot more interesting development for everyone. Imagine the insanity of realizing Nekomaru, a giant, strong, agile, keen robot who couldn’t even be killed by a bazooka to the chest being killed by Sonia goddamn Nevermind. That would be a mindfuck and a half (granted, they’d have to do some serious explaining on how she’d have done it. I don’t doubt she’d take on the Final Dead Room, though - she seems plenty capable of challenging that tbh). Not only that, giving her the same motive Gundam had is just as fitting and sad enough to boot - she’s the Ultimate Princess, of course she’d want to motivate everyone and use her influence to keep their morale up in such a seemingly hopeless situation, right? Hearing her post-vote explanation for why she did it would be heartbreaking. And possibly my biggest reason for wanting Sonia to be the blackened? Imagine Gundam and Souda after her execution. Now wouldn’t that just be a moment of despair? Gundam, likely, would be very steely and unflinching on the outside, probably saying something about how “the Dark Queen no doubt knew this was her moment to take flight from this world and prevent you mortals from abandoning the lives you’ve been so fortuitously bestowed” or whatever, but god, I genuinely feel like he’d be torn up about it inside (I should add: I’m not a sondam shipper, by any means - I don’t ship Gundam with anyone - I just like the idea that Gundam is so unaccustomed to kind gestures and compliments that he just gets nervous about them coming from literally anyone (like with Hajime in Free Time events)). And Souda???? He would either try to play it tough or he would be a fucking wreck. And as much as I like Souda, I’d love to see how he carries through the rest of the game after Sonia’s execution.

Komaeda is vastly overrated. Like, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy his character - I think he’s complex and interesting and his batshit insanity is goddamn hilarious at points, but he’s waaaaay too overhyped. Bouncing off this thought, I also feel like his character went through a lot of ups and downs in terms of enjoyability. Like, first trial? Very enjoyable - we learn he’s fuckin cuckoo for Hope Puffs and it’s great but also awful but also great. Fifth trial? We see how far he’s truly willing to go to fuck with others and bring despair so that hope can shine through, and it’s fascinating. There are other times, though, where he’s just... annoying. Not really adding anything new and just babbling about hope and despair and saying the same tired shit again and again. But what makes him a neat character is that he’s at least fun to hate. Granted, not all the time, but most of the time, yeah, it’s fun to hate this guy. Getting frustrated at how he holds back information crucial to a case or how he turns his nose up at those he thinks are below him - it’s done in a way that I at least don’t get annoyed by hating him, and I have a good time doing so.

Y’know who’s not fun to hate, though? Saionji. I fuckin hate Saionji. I honestly do. Nothing fun about hating her. Nothing fun about her at all.

I am fascinated by Twogami/Imposter’s story and character as a whole. I would love to know even more about them.

Junko being brought back again was a bit... much, yeah, I’ll agree - I as a bit disappointed that they just made her the Big Bad again, but honestly? The whole Izuru Kamukura twist made up for it. Same goes for the simulation twist; yeah, had it just been “it was all a game!! nothing really happened!! your friends are fine and monokuma ain’t real lmao”, that would’ve been real shitty, BUT by making them all Remnants of Despair, leaving the dead people most likely dead (though it’s implied that they can actually wake up, it’s just unlikely), and making Hajime technically the mastermind behind this killing game, it became a really good twist ending.

This game had some bomb-ass music, especially with the 8-bit mixes and stuff. V v good

FUCK (IMPROVED) HANGMAN’S GAMBIT. “””IMPROVED””” MY ASS. YOU RUINED A PERFECTLY GOOD GAME MECHANIC IS WHAT YOU DID. LOOK AT IT - IT’S GOT UNFAIR PLAYABILITY

This game used to be my favorite of the installments, but then... but then...

DRV3

Yup. This game’s my favorite. It’s got the best overall cast (but I’ll give SDR2 credit for having my favorite character of the whole series - my sweet boy Gundam), best music, best debate game mechanics, AND best post-game content.

GONTA GOKUHARA IS A BIG FRIEND WHOMST I LOVE VERY MUCH

A lot of people seem to be divided on how the protag switch from Kaede to Shuichi was either good or bad. Personally? I liked it. Yeah, it would’ve been really cool to have a female protag for a change, but Kaede felt too... complete, I guess? She felt like a very self-realized, confident character. While yeah, that would also be cool to see, having a very confident, strong character as the protag from the get-go, I like seeing a protag go through something like this starting out weak or unrealized and coming out on top with more of a complete character than they started with. I love Kaede, and I love Shuichi. I thought the protag switch was acceptable.

People also seem to be divided on how they feel about Ouma. And by “divided” I mean a lot of people love him a lot and some people hate him a lot. I really liked Ouma’s character a lot. I don’t like Ouma as a person - God, Christ, I do not like Ouma as a person - but his character was absolutely fascinating to me. Having a character being the total embodiment of a lie was so interesting, especially in a situation where truths and lies can gravely affect the outcome of a vote. And much like Komaeda, he was enjoyable to hate, but to an even greater extent. So many moments with Ouma were fucking hysterical. He’s got some of the best lines (”Stop making such dumbass comments and keep your smelly breath in your dirty mouth” still cracks me up with the delivery he gives for it. Also any time he yells and his voice does the screechy thing is fuckin great) and his sprites are a goddamn trip (his creepy smile sprite that just keeps getting creepier over time???). There’s a lot I can say about Ouma but I’ll just keep it at that. I don’t love him by any means, but I greatly enjoy watching him throughout the game.

People are also very divided on the ending. I loved it. I love when shit gets so meta that it blows me outta the water. And it’s really easy to fuck up a metagame ending like that, but I don’t think DRV3 did (well, I’m a bit let down by the post-credits bit - kinda would’ve preferred for it to just cut off where it did before the credits - but even that wasn’t enough to really detract me) I even liked the twist of the mastermind (even though I definitely had my suspicions solely bc Tsumugi was just too boring, and Danganronpa wouldn’t make such a nothing character for no reason, even if being plain and boring was literally her character trait, y’know what I mean?)

I’m gonna be real upfront about this - I really liked Korekiyo at first and am subsequently really disappointed with how they chose to develop his character. Granted, the whole “I’ve killed nearly 100 women in order to appease my dead sister whom I was supposedly in an incestuous relationship with and is also a tulpa in my own mind who speaks through me sometimes” was definitely something that threw me for a loop and a half and was a surprising twist, but “surprising” doesn’t equate to “good”, not in this case. See, I loved the mysterious and creepy vibes Korekiyo gave off - doing his Free Time events, I saw how intelligent and composed and fascinating he was to interact with. His views on humanity, his views on a lot of things, were just so interesting. I wanted to see more into him, see what more he had to offer, and I thought we’d get something like that in chapter 3 when we unlocked his research lab, and I was really looking forward to it. When they threw that twist out there, I was... really let down. Making him something that was just so objectively vile and inhumane seemed unfair and not as interesting as it could’ve been. I was expecting him to be more Gundam-like (looks like they’d kill you but is actually pretty nice and likely would not kill you) or maybe even slightly Komaeda-like (his obsession with the beauty of humanity drives him to say and do some weird shit, which ended up being kind of true, but not to the extent I was expecting) Kiyo’s development felt too over-the-top, too, in that sense; like, it wasn’t enough that he’d killed nearly 100 women - he also had to have a tulpa who was his sister that encouraged him to do these things, and he also had to be in an incestuous relationship with said sister when she was still living. That’s just... a lot. Like, waaay too much. Had they thrown that out, kept his weird shtick about how “humanity is beautiful, even when ugly” and all his other overall strangeness, I think he could’ve had a far more compelling backstory and character arc. Honestly, maybe get rid of the serial killer bit, get rid of the incest, and he becomes more interesting while still being a character who eventually kills someone for the wrong reasons (i.e. maybe to see “the beauty of a life leaving its physical body” or something, not for his own survival or escape). Hell, maybe even keep the tulpa to give a twist on his story that focuses on how he’s unhealthily coped with his sister’s death. Maybe his sister tells him to do these things but he doesn’t listen to her and tries to avoid causing harm to others and block her out. Or maybe she’s more rational. Or maybe it’s not a tulpa and Korekiyo knows she’s not really with him but he pretends to help himself cope. Any of these would’ve been interesting to delve into (albeit assuming they’re done properly, as well). I didn’t anticipate to linger on this for so long but goddammit, I really wanted a cool character out of Korekiyo and was cheated out of it and it really disappointed me.

(also some people like korekiyo way too much and it frightens me)

(same with ouma like guys c’mon)

But on the bright side, I do love me some good “seesaw” memes

I’m also amazed at how there wasn’t a single character in this game that I didn’t enjoy to some degree. DR1 had Kyoko, Hifumi, and Celeste whom I never ended up feeling very strongly for one way or the other (though Celeste freaking tf out in the 3rd trial is always enjoyable to watch), SDR2 had Saionji and also had Mahiru and Akane who were kinda “meh” for me. But DRV3? Yeah, Angie got pretty annoying in chapter 3, and yeah, I can see in what ways people would get annoyed by Tenko or Himiko or Ouma or Miu or... most of them, really, but everyone in this cast was interesting and enjoyable for extended periods of time. Some, all the way through the game! (Looking at you, Gonta, Miu, and K1-B0)

THE DEBATE SCRUM SONG IS A FUCKIN BANGER

AND THE DEBATE SCRUM IN GENERAL IS AWESOME

Thank God they fixed Hangman’s Gambit

A lot of the music in this one was really really good!! I have the soundtrack CD in my car and I very much enjoy it and will probably blast it during my drive back to campus on Monday

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk