#also im just biased cause it's one of my favorite stories

[i-am-the-n1-trash]

i think everyone who says bruce wayne is the mask should read bruce wayne: murderer & bruce wayne: fugitive immediately. for their own health

[carrierofpretzel]

Y’all said wild… im gonna go wild…. Guest characters typically pretty fun!! im gonna talk about how I felt about them besides Ashe cause I don’t have PD

Spoilers

I’m gonna go in order and try not to be biased

Pokay or La “lmmortal” Alma: Pokay is a variety youtuber started out in smp live and work with carson which led him to being friends with the jrwi boys, He himself is very funny and I love him but there were quite a few times where La Alma seemed to little like a character and more like it was just Poke which he’s funny so its not terrible but…. dnd is a rp game… you play as who you want. I will say! the battle against and the battle with La Alma are both amazing!! it just felt kind of bland at points.

Jschlatt or Duke Duke D. Dukem Duke of Dook: Jschaltt is another variety youtuber that did Lunch Club with Slimecicle a few years back and then after that ended they were together doing Chuckle Sandwich. Schlatt is rather funny as well and Duke is very funny but… I remember watching that episode and after it ended I felt like nothing was changed about the story. It barely felt like it was Riptide.

Jocat or Captain Tastrius: Jocat was a youtube animator who made such videos as “A Crap Guide to DnD” I don’t know much about JoCat for i never watched his content. I love Captain Tastrius he is such a cool character and his reasoning for his actions did not! make me cry I promise! Everything he does it is more so for his crew. The reason he wants to break the curse is because he sees how badly his crew is affected by it… especially EZME AELINOR, I’ve already spoke about Ezme and how much I love them so he def gets bonus for also making a npc to be there along with his character.

Jonah Scott or Icabodh: Jonah Scott is known for his roles in Beastars as Legoshi, Akudama Drive as Courier, High-Rise Invasion as Sniper Mask, Dying Light 2 Stay Human as Aiden Caldwell, and SK8 the Infinity as Joe (I did copy and paste that i have no idea what that any of that is) But he plays the lovely Ichabod!! he has one of the coolest entrances in my opinion and I love his determination to pursue what he wants. I love that hes one of the few guests that always thinks before acting. Ichabod’s arrival brings with it many funny moments and so many important plot points.

You guys can try to guess who my favorite is! I think I did good to hide my bias towards them so!

[faoluoo]

hihi i saw your crk update ranking on twitter, but since i have a priv twitter account i cannot reply... i am so happy someone agrees with me about the holiday express being a good update, seeing people shit on it for being "boring" made me go crazy because it was a simple and fun update. maybe im biased because linzer cookie is one of my favorites, but idk this fandom just loves to shit on every single this cause it didn't cater to them specifically, LOL

(context)

THANK YOUU glad to see another holiday express truther !! I'm gonna ramble a bit here

lowkey may have put the three winter updates *a bit* too low cuz they're generally boring for me to dislike them. IDGRAF tier tbh. i would rank the cookie odyssey update higher cuz its also quite an interesting story its just! the mission to get the keys is so tedious (at the time) it made me unmotivated to continue the story. BUT ITS GOOD TOO. their character design peaked here imo

[fictionfixations]

twisted wonderland (and talking about visual novels)

TWISTED WONDERLAND SPOILERS.

and brief mystic messenger mention

okay. so. im getting into twisted wonderland

and. can i just ask. why does the story actually seem cool? also DESIGNS??? WOAHHH.

Maybe I'm biased, I've had the story a bit spoiled to me cause. Okay so I got into Twisted Wonderland because I was reading Katekyou Hitman Reborn! fics, and there's this series filled with Skull being characters from Twisted Wonderland (and other stuff ofc). And I decided, why not, and it seemed so cool (I adore bamf skull), and also. Honestly. My favorite is Riddle Rosehearts. (Also the 'OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!' ability. 1. Ayo CoLLAR ME PLS HAha- 2. I don't know if it gets more extreme but in the fics its been used to kill a bunch of people at once because, y'know, off with your head. The ability seems very cool.)

honestly i have no complaints about the story?? and maybe thats on me because the most experience i have with japanese visual novels is they're all romance games. and i really appreciate it not being that. HELL YEAH. give me my fantasy adventure with disney villains everyday!

i cannot tell you how much i LOVED Ever After High. And then there was Descendants (i think it got so popular that Ever After High got discontinued, which NOOOO)

Anyway I got so obsessed with Descendants. And then I went to a store and there was Descendants stuff and I bought a lot. I don't know why but I even bought like a Mal wig?? I don't even know why, I don't cosplay.

I'm not sure whose related to who and where exactly it fits in the universe (like, for example, if Riddle's related to the queen of hearts or something, no idea), but there's basically these dorms for seven of these like.. villains. Introduction to who they are in the prologue imo is kinda portraying it in a way that you want to be inspired by them? Like, oh, Scar just wanted equality between the Hyenas and the Lions (I think? I haven't watched that movie in so long), and while technically that's kind of true.. I think other stuff happened but I honestly can't remember.

Or like... The. evil queen? I think that's from Snow White's story. Uhh, that she wanted to be the fairest in all the land and was willing to do whatever it takes, which that was something to be admired about. Honestly don't hang on my word if you don't know about the game's story and reading this anyway because I don't remember a lot from the movies.

(ALSO for once not a story where we're assumed to be like, a girl? again, my only experience is those romance games sadly, but oh my god. I've been trying to get back into Mystic Messenger cause I never had the patience for it before, but the

me: I'm not a girl [dialogue option]

707 I think: ..Then why are you here??? Did you miss the 'something something. It was like [for females] or [female-oriented]'

it was 'youdidntreadsweetfantasyforladies?'

apparently its cause korea wasn't supportive of lgbtq stuff so even the more gay-er routes (COUGH COUGH jAEHEE MY BELOVED) were risky, sad.

but i don't know man. (can we talk about how guys are pushed to like those really overly muscular and buff men.? Wouldn't that technically make them possibly more gay? like idk. question:

if a boy were to play with, say, a barbie doll, would that be more gay then

playing with muscular half-naked men??? i really wonder why it's not flipped the other way around to promote f/m instead of f/f or m/m admiration lol)

anyway i got so off topic. and then i got distracted and i dont remember what i was talking about

segway to my next topic:

also. also. can we just. talk about the overblot designs? okay so im spoiling myself and going on the wiki but im not that patient

LOOK AT HOW GORGEOUS. ALSO HEELS. and i cant tell if its heeled boots but STILL. that little dress part that hangs around the body, the thing behind the head i dont know the name of but ive seen it before, the marking on the face reminding me of like one of those widow veils, the flowers around the waist is a nice touch

and the mark on his neck is 👀

like just SQUEEE, its very pretty, i would LOVE to play him but I'm pretty sure that's not possible

and cause overblotting is like a dangerous thing

(ive read that its like a rare thing in a fic but kept happening often since we arrived [one overblot for every 'book' or dorm] but idk if its canon cause i havent gotten to the explanation in the game and i dont think the wiki mentions it)

[adventures-in-teyvat]

so um

tighnari’s eng va huh

me rn (confused and sad)

i would like to add though that we can separate a character from their voice actor. it may take some time for some people to feel okay with the character again, for some no time at all, and its okay if you are either one. its also okay if you never end up feeling comfortable with the character again. you cant help what you feel. just know that if you do love tighnari, this does not spell the end of him, nor do the actions of the VA reflect the fictional character. you aren’t evil or bad if you still love tighnari—i think everyone really enjoyed elliot’s portrayal of him. and it’s okay if you still do. you are not a bad person if you still like that portrayal of the character. please remember that elliot’s actions in no way reflect tighnari as he is a fictional character, and you are not a bad person if you like his voice.

you dont have to invest yourself in the drama and the cancelling—in fact, i’d encourage anyone who struggles with these sorts of things or is in a bad mental spot to not engage in the drama at all. it will do no good for you—it will only cause you stress and grief that you don’t have to experience if you simply continue to play genshin and enjoy the characters. i am not downplaying the seriousness of the situation at all, but i am simply saying that elliot is a stranger to you—you do not know him, and you don’t have to get emotionally involved with the drama. you can sympathize with the victims and feel lots of things still, but you can be informed in a way that does not break or hurt you in the process.

anyways, im not super sure what the point of this post is. i think i just hope that everyone can take care of themselves amidst this discovery, since we can be so emotionally invested in fictional stories and characters—and if something happens that bridges the gap between fiction and reality in a negative way, it can shatter you. so i just want everyone to be careful since there will be so much drama and confusion going on.

tl;dr you don’t have to be emotionally invested in the drama—in fact, it is probably better if you do not get invested at all, especially if it will only hurt you and cause you stress. please please take care of yourselves. it’s not your responsibility, not your moral obligation, to know everything about what he did or said or what’s going on. you can know the basics of the situation, pray for and care about the victims, and you can still live your life. please take care!

p.s. also.. if you previously used the eng VO and no longer wish to because of elliot.. may i recommend.. the korean vo.. tighnari’s korean va is absolutely delicious (at least in my opinion) and i would highly recommend giving it a listen :] i mean, in my opinion, the entire korean VO is severely underrated and it is my favorite voiceover so i might be biased but ehhhhh :]

[raspbeyes]

Ignorance Is Bliss: Gonta's Tragic Fall To Killer

edit: THIS IS VERY LONG I'M VERY SORRY I DID NOT INTEND FOR IT TO BE THIS LONG LMAOOO (ig i really like talking about gonta)

i suggest reading it in parts if it helps im so sorry -___-;;

Some of my own biases first

Before I get into anything, I’ll just state my biases here hehe. I freaking love Gonta and I’m not writing this to bash him, I sobbed and still sob over trial 4 of Danganronpa V3 and it is by far one of my favorite trials in the franchise. He is such an amazing character who I adored every moment he was on screen and DAMMIT I WISH HE WAS ALIVE HE DESERVED NONE OF THIS (i’m gonna go cry in the corner now)

BUT … Kokichi is also my favorite character of the series. I can ramble on forever about why I love this character, but just know that I think he is both a fascinating and entertaining character throughout the game who I can spend hours trying to analyze. 

However, I do not at all defend this little bastard’s actions in the game … Well no more than I think is necessary (For example, I do believe his emotional response during the trial and before Gonta’s execution, as well as his hatred for the killing game were all genuine). But it may be possible that I can be biased so sorry if some conclusions I draw may be due to Kokichi being my favorite character coloring my perception. But don’t take this as me tryna push the blame all off Kokichi and onto Gonta. More like tipping the scales a bit more to the middle (Though it is more leaning as Kokichi to being the guilty party lol) to shed light on the gray area that I feel went untouched in the story and fanbase. Moreover, I really want to go in-depth about how Gonta's character arc is set up and how taking in all of Gonta's actions leading up chapter four, it makes full sense why he agreed to Kokichi's plan.

Now onto this essay (Idk how long this is even gonna be … im worried) (update from future me … oh dear … I have created a monstrosity -___-;;)

A little refresher and me babbling about why I love this trial

So … One of the most deciding chapters in the game, trial 4 by far is one of my favorite chapters on an emotional level, spiraling the story into the craziness of chapter 5 with the amount of pressure it puts onto everyone involved. Yes, there is Gonta and Kokichi - I’ll get to them ofc - but it also officially causes the schism between the workout trio’s dynamic, with Shuichi taking a reluctant stand against the extreme belief Kaito has been peddling all game, siding with the asshole of this whole situation. It is the make-it-or-break-it chapter for a whole lot of people for so many reasons, with the rivalry of Kaito and Kokichi - and their respective ideals - ramping up to a toxic level as the fanbase itself will grow decisive over the justifications of both characters. You will get Kaito haters saying how he is stubbornly ignorant throughout the trial, hindering and in a sense, endangering the lives of everyone by fighting for Gonta’s behalf. Meanwhile Kokichi haters will point out the contradictory actions Kokichi takes along with the millions of loathsome things he spews out by the end, all onto of making Gonta the patsy. (Though, at the end of the day, I love both of these characters a lot … ughhh liking Kaito and Kokichi at the same time is painful) 

Then there’s the dramatic reveal of Kaito’s illness to the rest of the group, breaking a sense of security in the group after already being dealt a blow to morale. Then there is the hint of the horrors of the outside world that pushed Gonta to kill. With prior knowledge of the games, more clues to the endgame revealed is dropped here in chapter four.

Not to mention the emotional gut punch of just .. Gonta, the gentle giant who only wants to protect everyone, who is forced into a situation where he must come to terms with something so heinous for him that he does not even have memory of doing. Major props to the voice of Gonta (both English and Japanese) to bringing me to tears everytime, as well as Kokichi and Kaito’s VAs delivering extreme performances as the two characters clash. By the end of the chapter, the characters and audience are distraught as the comedic relief of Miu and Gonta have their lives ended in tragic ways. The contrast between the group’s unity after Kiyo’s trial to the end of Gonta’s trial is night and day. All in all, this chapter juggles so many dramatic beats excellently and AHHH RIGHT RIGHT I’M MEANT TO ANALYZE THIS NOT RECAP WHOOPS THIS CHAPTER IS SO GOOD

I: Why ‘Personality Change’ Inherently Makes This Trial Dumber

However, my issue lies in how even the story seems to simplify the complexity of Gonta’s actions. The prime example of the story watering down Gonta’s actions is during Shuichi’s closing argument segment in which he theorizes that Gonta may have had his personality changed during the avatar error to explain his actions. 

“Maybe the cord affected the avatar’s personality … because I still can’t believe that such a kindhearted person willingly killed someone” 

Now, yes, there is reason to doubt this conclusion in the text itself: With Shuichi having his own biases, the group not knowing of the motive yet, and this personality change never being brought before during the trial, it can be assumed it’s only Shuichi’s speculation and not factual. 

BUT WHY DID THE WRITERS/CREATORS LEAVE THE LINE IN? Personally, as much as there should be doubt put on the statement, Shuichi is the protagonist, so what he says will be taken as the truth as players would assume that is what the writers want you to believe. So, I will be arguing under the pretense that this line is meant to be taken seriously, as I am sure that a good chunk of people came away from this trial under the impression that Gonta killed due to a personality alteration. 

We don’t get to see a lot of Gonta in the virtual world - well no more than the others - so whatever few lines there are must count for a lot. 

(Though I’d say one actual plausible shred of evidence pointing to a personality change is the fact Gonta is the last one to speak upon entering the virtual world, being oddly silent for the first 3-ish minutes of the start of the virtual world segment. But I think I can dispel that with just the avatar error causing memory issues or Gonta getting acquainted with the world.)

Now Gonta’s first concern upon entering is his lack of strength, saying the following when he is told strength is equalized: 

“N-no! If Gonta not strong, Gonta no can protect everyone!” 

So far, it is in line with Gonta’s personality, with the first thing he thinks of is his ability to protect others. Of course he would be concerned if he cannot help them with his strength. I believe if you choose to chat Gonta up for the optional dialogue during these scenes, he would be upset he wouldn’t be able to protect everyone. All of which are in line with his character up to that point (I’ll get into that later), so him exhibiting that great anxiety is not OOC for him. Gonta’s first priority is to help and to believe he is stripped of that already makes him nervous. Not because of a personality change, but because that is how he is as a character.

Ah, let’s get to the moment Gonta officially screwed himself over. When Kokichi is about to leave for the forest, Gonta volunteers to follow Kokichi:

“Gonta not understand what’s going on. Gonta not sure how helpful he can be … But Gonta can watch Kokichi so he not do anything weird!” 

And as Gonta is about to leave, he assures the group: 

“It’s okay! Leave it to Gonta! Gonta keep eye on Kokichi!”

Once again, I do believe this is not Gonta acting out of character either. As I said earlier, Gonta now believes he has nothing to help his friends, so first thing he will do is find a way to help everyone that is not regarding his strength. So he offers himself up to do the ‘dirty’ work of keeping an eye on the brat, Kokichi. So in these scenes where Gonta is under no influence such as despair, he acts completely like the Gonta we know and love. Anything after this will be disqualified as he would be in despair (“A despair that makes you want to die” as Kokichi explains) so his morose sprites can be explained away by that.  In the Danganronpa universe, despair can be such an intense feeling that it can change the way a person acts. We see that with Kokichi after he swiped the key card (Acting even more antagonistic) and with Gonta, acting more reserved and nervous. And hey, can you blame them? They did just recall the memory that everything they have been fighting for is a lie and everybody they love is dead :))

But hey, "a personality change can’t be too apparent during these early scenes. Otherwise the clue to who had the avatar error would be given away very easily." So … What about the times the audience/characters are not privy to? Surely that is the time to demonstrate Gonta acting out of character to prove the personality change. Hmm … If only there was a flashback to something like that - OH RIGHT WE GET A FLASHBACK TO THE MOMENT OF THE CRIME DURING THE POST-TRIAL. Let’s see what ‘alter-ego’ Gonta says as he does the unthinkable. 

First thing Gonta says as he ambushes Miu is: 

“S-Sorry …! Gonta so sorry …!”

Gonta does not take any uncharacteristic joy or apathy from this action, instead apologizing first thing without hesitation. If there was a personality change, have him be silent, not saying anything to Miu as she dies. But no, during a scene in which the audience only sees after the verdict, Gonta acts like how Gonta would in this situation, spluttering out apologies right away. 

Of course, Kokichi, wanting to distance himself away from the violence, turns away and explains: 

“Don’t be sorry, Gonta. She was trying to kill me, too. She said it was for the world or whatever, but that was just a poor excuse. We’re doing this to stop the vicious cycle of misery! So you don’t need to apologize.”

Kokichi and Gonta should be on a similar enough wavelength here, since Gonta agreed to Kokichi’s plan after all. And here Kokichi is, giving Gonta the justification he would need to explain away the deed (and probably something Gonta agrees with). 

Except, even as Miu falls to the ground, Gonta weakly still tries to object: 

“B-But … but …! Ergh … nrgh …! Gonta sorry! Gonta so sorry, Miu!”

This final bit dialogue here is the nail in the coffin to the possibility of Gonta not having a personality change to me. Even though he is partnering up with Kokichi here and should agree with what Kokichi is saying, Gonta still defies Kokichi’s command to not apologize, continuing to do so in distress. He felt no joy, only misery, even when he did agree to this plan. (And as I will argue later, Gonta did willingly choose to do this.) But like normal Gonta, Gonta in the virtual world is extremely torn, even after the deed is done. 

Once again, the writers had the opportunity here to write Gonta acting differently to demonstrate the personality change. Have him explain to Miu about how “Gonta needs to do this. Gonta no can let Miu to continue this violence.” (So essentially, what Kokichi is saying). If they chose that as his dialogue instead, that would be OOC for him. It would come across off as if Gonta believes he knows better than Miu, similar to how Kokichi views himself in this situation. It would make this ‘alter-ego’ Gonta think he knows better than others, solidifying the supposed personality change.

But the writers don’t do that. Because Gonta never thinks he is smarter than the others. Gonta is unsure of himself to the very end of the line, and even after committing the crime, he kneels on the ground and weeps. This decision pains Gonta greatly and not something he took lightly. He completely ignores Kokichi’s reasoning here, choosing to apologize nevertheless, knowing he is in the wrong. Yes, I am sure he believed he was doing the ‘right’ thing and agreed with Kokichi on a conceptual level to the plan. But in that moment, Gonta is aware of how wrong his action is. Just like normal Gonta. As such, there is literally zero evidence to Gonta acting OOC to elicit the possibility of a personality change during any part of the virtual world. 

So then why? 

Why put this contradictory line in there? It can be said that it was just a theory Shuichi made up, and it doesn’t matter anymore since the motive is explained post-trial. But it is still just unnecessary and muddies Gonta’s character in the long run. Personally, my theory is that it is there as a safeguard measure to dispel any doubt in the player’s mind of Gonta’s actions. Once again, I will explain why I think Gonta is totally capable to killing, but upon first viewing, I’m pretty sure a good amount of players (including me!) would see this as an extreme heel-face turn for Gonta’s character (Cue Kaito saying “I STILL BELIEVE IN GONTA” lol). So to alleviate that criticism, the writers snuck in the possibility that Gonta was under some external influence to explain it away. Is it backed up by the story? No … Does it overall weaken the trial with its inclusion? Yes … But it does quickly offer an easy explanation to skeptics of Gonta being the killer. 

But it only ruins the trial. The purpose of the avatar error/memory loss is solely for Gonta to have a ‘defense’ (Let’s be honest, if Gonta remembered, he’d be so obvious unfortunately) and twists the knife for the reveal.

And why does this error occur? All cuz Gonta is left-handed and doesn’t know his left and right apart. I … don’t love this (Since it once again casts Gonta as someone who is incompetant to not know his left and right) but I am willing to accept it since the effect of this mistake is dramatic and heartbreaking for everyone (Kokichi’s outburst, Gonta’s denial and realization, Kaito’s stubborn defense, etc etc). 

But when you add the personality change layer to it, it drags the entire trial down with it. If Gonta took the plunge due to this ‘personality change’, then that would mean it is all because he switched up the cords. So … if what Shuichi believes is true, THE WHOLE REASON MIU DIED WAS CUZ GONTA WAS LEFT-HANDED AUGHHH. It makes this whole entire thing become ten times stupider. Not only does it make this trial shallower and the death more preventable, it ruins Gonta’s character, making him look both idiotic for making such a silly mistake and diminishes his agency in his morally dubious actions during the chapter. Instead of allowing Gonta actually challenge the viewers’ perception of him as completely pure, the writers take the easier route of writing it off as ‘personality change’. Yes, it is tragic but a whole lot less compelling. I dislike that it makes Gonta become a one-dimensional character who is the pinnacle of good. And I’m saying this as someone who adores Gonta! But I want Gonta to be treated like a human, and I want to have my perception of him challenged, flaws and all. I feel like chapter 4 had the chance to do so, but could not fully commit to it, leaving a good chunk of the fanbase shoving all the blame onto Kokichi and making Gonta lack any of the agency in his own dang story. So when analyzing chapter 4, I will look at it under the reasoning that Gonta is acting completely like himself, even under the influence of despair. 

II: Gonta’s Character: A Tragic Fall 

“Gonta Idiot”

I’m just gonna say it: Gonta is smart as shit, or at the very least, he’s on par with most people in his class in terms of cognitive thought. As much as I do love Gonta’s caveman talk in the localization (Idk, I personally find it endearing and adorable), it does him dirty in terms of how general English speaking audiences will view him. It makes him come across as considerably ‘behind’ everyone compared to his portrayal in the Japanese version of the game (Where he speaks normally, just in third person like some other characters in the franchise i.e Tenko and Ibuki). Even though he literally was able to grasp language and become an Ultimate after being isolated from humanity for 10 years! It is impressive how quickly Gonta must’ve adapted to get to where he is now.  However, being isolated for so long has its negative effects, stunting Gonta in terms of language and his gullibility. 

To get language out of the way first, I feel like just because Gonta cannot fully communicate the extent of his thinking, it does not make him inferior to others in terms of reasoning. He is shown during trial 1 to be capable of making logical arguments about why he cannot be the culprit (After the joke about finding an alibi, Gonta reasons how he should have been spotted if he left the AV room). Then during trial 2, he was able to determine Kirumi’s rope trick regarding how she constructed the ropeway. I don’t think people should take Gonta’s inability to communicate fully as a reflection of his intelligence. He is shown to be competent like everyone else and grasps the situation he is in … outside of a few gags stemming from his gullibility. Speaking of which …

Guilbility does not equate to incompetence, but it is something Gonta falls short on. Most definitely from his many years of isolation in the forest (And judging from what he said about his childhood, he likely was isolated from children his age from the very start), Gonta does not have the experience to fully grasp the motivation behind what others tell him, leading him to get roped into Kokichi and Angie’s schemes. However, I don’t think his gullibility plays as much of a factor in any of the things he supposedly gets ‘tricked’ into doing via Kokichi. With a less severe example, the Insect Meet and Greet is usually the incident most people point to as Gonta’s gullibility leading to disaster. But if you go to either Kokichi or Gonta’s second free time event, Shuichi would be interrupting their little ‘strategy meeting’.

When prompted in the second FTE in chapter 2, Gonta will say:

“Oh! Shuichi! You here to help Gonta think of way to get everyone to trade motives?”

(Also, I find it so funny how Shuichi interrupts their meetings together during chapter 2 twice, so whenever you want to hang out with one of them during chapter 2, you gotta shove yourself into their discussion. idk I’m such a sucker for Gonta and Kokichi being friends … ugh chapter 4 emotionally wrecks me everytimeeee …) 

It is interesting that Gonta is well aware of why Kokichi wanted Gonta’s help, and shows that, even before chapter 4, he has been on board with Kokichi’s plans of his own volition. Without the FTE, the story makes it appear Gonta was completely strung along blindly by Kokichi. Yes, it is likely that Kokichi realized that the best way to get everyone in a group is to tell Gonta they all hate bugs. But it seemed Gonta was thinking hard of some plans with Kokichi beforehand with the goal of showing everyone the motive videos.

And yet, even though Gonta demonstrates having the same understanding as everybody else, how come everyone is convinced that he is too incompetent to make his own decisions? Well, it definitely doesn’t help that Gonta is usually the first one to criticize his intelligence before anyone else, having been completely convinced of his inferiority even before entering the Ultimate Academy. 

Idk but to me, I feel like Gonta’s constant over-critical view of himself is often overlooked and never fully addressed by anybody else in the cast. It is depressing to me that nobody had ever truly noticed how these thoughts influence Gonta’s actions, and the longer they were left unaddressed, the more they festered. I believe that it is this feeling of incompetence that pushed Gonta to kill. Not some personality change, but Gonta’s own character flaw finally coming into fruition. Where characters like Shuichi and Maki have developed over the course of the game into better characters, there are tragic characters like Gonta who fall due to their tragic flaw. It is his self-loathing that I think is the cause of his descent and drive to enact the plan in chapter 4.

I mean, his final line in the whole game is:

“Gonta is so sorry … for being stupid!”

Ughhh … It hurts smmmmm he deserved none of this, especially that brutal execution :(

(The disrespect of the writers paying off Monophanie’s weird incest baby side plot during Gonta’s exectuion smh … the disrespect makes me so upset … at least his execution music is a bop) 

Yes, technically that is Alter Ego Gonta’s final line, but like I argued previously, I believe that is essentially Gonta. And in Gonta’s final moments, he believes he has truly failed everyone due to his persistent feelings of inadequacy. He feels both stupid for the plan forcing him past a moral breaking point in killing Miu and that he could not even complete the plan correctly. (I’m sobbing over the fact this is the final line for him T___T)

However, these final words almost parallels Gonta’s introduction during the prologue, showing that this descent in his character had hints dropped from the start.

As Kaede walks up to Gonta for the first time, she mentions feeling a bit unnerved, and the first-time players may also have the expectation that Gonta would be an intimidating musclehead judging from his huge physique. Maybe like a Nekomaru/Sakura kind of character.

Until…

“... Hm? Oh! Thank you!”

[Kaede] “Huh? Thank you?”

“Oh! Sorry for scaring! Gonta scary-looking. Most people not wanna talk to Gonta when meeting for first time. So, like gentleman, Gonta say thank you! Thank you for talking to Gonta!”

AHHHH MY HEART MY GUY IS LITERALLY THANKING KAEDE FOR EVEN TALKING TO HIM WHY IS HE SO SWEET (sorry sorry, I’m already distracted)!!

But right away, Gonta’s first act is to apologize for his appearance - Almost like he comes full circle, Gonta’s first bit of dialogue is him apologizing for scaring Kaede and the last thing he says is an apology for failing everyone. 

Anyway, Gonta apologizes based on his perception that he looks scary, something he (accurately) assumed Kaede felt. So apologetic that he even thanks Kaede for even talking to him. As explained later during his introduction, Gonta has always been called scary at a young age, so his negative concept of himself is already well in-grained into him. So Gonta from the start has a very poor self-image of himself. It is why he constructs the goal of being a ‘gentleman’ something he reflects his ideals onto. 

As stated in third FTE:

“Gentleman behave like like a gentleman! Kind, earnest, refined, polite … Oh, and gentleman always treat lady with respect. That very important”

He does go on to list some other attributes, which are more so based on the people he looks up to than the definition of gentleman, but his goal remains the same. Gonta is constantly striving for a perfect standard, which for anyone, is impossible. Gonta has this pillar of perfection (Which he already is ofc >///<) that he constantly compares himself to. Though played off as a joke, during this same free time event, when he mentions other ‘traits’ of a gentleman, such as saying clever things and solving mysteries, that are clearly based around his classmates. It shows how Gonta looks up to his classmates, believing that he should be able to do all the things they can do as well. Gonta believes his friends are all closer to being the standard of “gentleman” more than he is, deepening his inadequacy. 

As revealed in his fourth FTE, his rich and esteemed human family flat out rejected him after being raised 10 years in the wild:

“So they get mad at Gonta. Say Gonta not worthy of family name. They blame Gonta’s forest family. Say it their fault.”

Gonta’s upbringing is rough man, with being isolated as a kid only to be dismissed by your human family once he returned. Once again, Gonta brings up not being ‘worthy’ of the family name, showing how Gonta is demeaned for who he is, likely regarding his intelligence and ignorance to social life. As such, he makes the resolve to be a gentleman to satisfy his human family. So not only does he think himself below others, he is constantly striving for an impossible goal. 

With his low view of himself, it is seen throughout the entire game that Gonta is constantly apologizing, even when he is unknowingly helping the group (For example, finding the manhole in chapter 1). He doesn’t believe himself to ever be intelligent enough to help, constantly striving for it but believing he is always coming up short. Out of everyone in the cast, Gonta points out his stupidity the most, and honestly, I can’t put every example here because we’ll be here all day. But it is disheartening watching Gonta never be willing to accept himself as competent, choosing to apologize first as he believes anything bad that happens (and this game sure does have a lot of bad things happening) is due to his own failings as a person. 

For him, his first priority when the killing game starts is to protect everyone. And I want to emphasize the word protect. Gonta believes himself to have very little that he can offer to the group, but with whatever he is able to do, he is more than willing to throw himself and give it his all if it means helping everyone. At any opportunity where he believes he can help, Gonta will take that action. He does it because he doesn’t believe he would be able to help out any other way because of his perceived ‘stupidity’, so Gonta always attempts to take the initiative and do what he is told. And when he fails in that action, something he believes is the only thing he would be able to do to help, he believes he is a failure and it is his fault when something he couldn’t prevent occurs. 

Another point I would like to mention is his emotional outbursts. Likely due to growing up with no social convention put in place, Gonta gets emotional quickly, as seen in his introduction when he believed Shuichi may not like bugs. Paired with his great empathy and he is likely the student who takes each death to heart the most. 

Sorry about this getting into a Gonta character analysis. I wanna make sure I get across how I believe this character is written and I wanna stress Gonta is not by any means intellectually challenged, but rather suffers from a very critical view of himself. This is the fatal flaw that ends up pushing him over. So with this disaster in the process, let’s see how it spirals >:)

The Downward Spiral

That’s right, baby >:D 

I’m going to go through all the chapters until the virtual world and highlight key points that I believe show the mental state Gonta was in to commit the crime. So strap in, folks, this is gonna get long :)) 

… 

Though this is small in the grand scheme of things, during chapter 1, Gonta shows dismay since he wasn’t able to stop the fight between Ryoma and Rantaro in the dining hall. 

“O-oh … Sorry. Gonta not where he needed most …”

Yeah this is minute, but establishes Gonta is quick to blame himself for the issues between others. 

During the strategy meeting set up by Kaito in the Game Room, Gonta was one of the participants. I think it only makes sense that Gonta will be a part of something if it means he can help. But during the investigation for Rantaro’s death, Kaede asks why Gonta was alone in the AV room, with Gonta explaining:

“Gonta happy to be invited to meeting. But Gonta think he not be much help, cuz he not smart … So Gonta in here alone, watching bug movie!”

I totally believe I am looking too deep into what essentially was a red herring, but it is the first example in a pattern I notice with Gonta. Gonta did join the strategy meeting. Yet due to believing he would be useless, he strikes out on his own (To watch the most inspiring movie of them all, Bee Movie starring Jerry Seinfeld lol). Gonta decided to be alone for his own plan to help because he believes he would fail the others. This could connect with him growing up isolated in the forest, being cast out by kids his age for who he was. Gonta is used to sticking to himself when stressed, thinking he would fail people in a group setting. That anxiety overpowers him, so he while he takes a proactive step, he usually does so by himself. However, this ended up screwing him over in the end in making him appear more suspicious. So yes, this really is just a fun joke in the game to pad out the first class trial’s time, it is indicative to the actions Gonta will take later on as in the next chapters. 

Also during his interrogation in the AV room, Gonta says this when trying to prove his innocence to the group:

“But … you guys not gonna believe Gonta, huh!? Cuz Gonta so big and scary-looking, huh!?”

[Kaito] “C-Calm down … You’re making a really scary face!”

“Cuz … Gonta feel so useless!”

Even though Rantaro’s death was nothing to do with Gonta, he still blames himself for the tragedy. He thinks it is because he wasn’t present during the strategy meeting, he caused this to unhold :(((

But I think this shows that Gonta wished he actually collaborated with everyone else instead of being alone. And we will see this new drive to help others in their plans in chapter 2 and 3, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.  

One last thing in chapter one, when Kaede is about to be wheeled off to her execution, Gonta is one of the three who at least attempt to stop it and face off against the Exisals. We see that Gonta is willing to put himself in danger for the sake of others, and he does value his strength greatly as an asset to make him useful. Once again, Gonta will take action whenever he can, unflinching of what it could do to him. 

After chapter one, the killing game has officially begun, and in Gonta’s eyes, he believes he has already failed to protect two of his friends. 

Ahh chapter two … hmmm now what did Gonta do in chapter two - THAT’S RIGHT, LET’S GO, INSECT MEET AND GREET TIME WHOOOO (random titbit - the lie bullet for “Insect Meet and Greet” is called “Insect Flee and Plead” HONESTLY THE LIE IS MORE ACCURATE THAN THE TRUTH)

Gonta took the deaths of Rantaro and Kaede with a lot of guilt and sadness, and in some part, believed he should have been able to prevent it. Though Kokichi does rope Gonta into listening to his schemes at the start of the chapter, I do think Gonta agreed with the motive video sharing idea. As I stated previously, in the FTE for Gonta, Gonta acknowledges Kokichi’s goal and is helping Kokichi brainstorm. In my eyes, I see it as Gonta again trying to take initiative to protect his friends (like watching the bug movie to motivate himself to fight), agreeing with Kokichi’s plan as he wants to be useful with someone else this time. Last time, he went at it alone, so this time, he will make sure he follows along with Kokichi to stop the motive together.  

After torturing getting Kokichi to like bugs for a night, we arrive to the morning of Himiko’s magic show. As everybody watches in tense anticipation for Himiko to get out - The red flags waving like crazy - Gonta says:

“Uhh … Gonta starting to worry. Should we do something?”

When the timer hits 20, Gonta then leaps out of his chair and rushes over to the tank to save Himiko. Against Angie’s protests, Gonta argues:

“B-But … If Gonta do nothing, Himiko get eaten by piranhas -”

As this plays an instrumental role later as a clue to the piranha tank trick, it makes sense out of anyone for Gonta to be rushing ahead to stop the act. Notice how Gonta shouts about how if he does nothing, Himiko would be killed. It is another prime example of Gonta taking action to stop a death, believing it would be his fault if he did nothing (Even though, once again, Gonta couldn’t have done anything in this situation). Gonta never is a bystander during the killing game. He is always, in his own ways, trying to take steps to protect his friends.  

But it is all in vain, with Ryoma’s body being found in the tank instead. 

During the investigation, when asking Gonta, you are met with his crying sprite with him saying: 

“Gonta coulda saved him … No, Gonta shoulda saved him!”

Where last time during Rantaro’s body discovery, Gonta was more in shock. However, the fact that it happened again is deeply upsetting to Gonta. The whole reason he agreed to Kokichi’s plan and also interrupted Himiko’s show was to prevent something like this to happen again, only for Ryoma’s body to be found dead. Here, not only does he think he was somehow capable of preventing Ryoma’s death, he corrects himself to say that he was also responsible for stopping it.  Even if that meant putting his life in danger (Jumping into piranha-filled water), Gonta believed he should have done so anyway, apologizing to Shuichi and Kaito for being a coward. Gonta puts a heavy pressure on himself for things outside of his control, which definitely does not help alleviate any of the stress in a killing game, only doubling it for Gonta. Not only does he deal with the pain of losing his friends, Gonta’s high standards of himself make him feel even more guilty. 

Out of everyone in the cast, Gonta appeared to be the most affected by Kirumi’s reveal as the culprit (I mean, Gonta did want Kirumi to be his mom lol). When Shuichi accuses Kirumi, Gonta is the first to react in shock. He agrees with everyone else as they start to doubt Shuichi’s accusations. But once it is confirmed and we arrive at post-trial, Gonta asks Monokuma:

“Can Gonta be blackened instead of Kirumi?”

[Shuichi] “What?”

“Gonta … Not smart boy, but even Gonta understand what everyone is saying. Kirumi should live, not Gonta! World needs her!”

Though it goes unaddressed in the chapter, it is a recurring toxic trait of Gonta to constantly use himself as the shield to protect others. And here, he quite literally believes he has less worth than Kirumi, which is why he should die instead. Gonta clearly is fond of Kirumi, and his protective nature is sparking him to act, pushing him to ask the question. He wants to save Kirumi and everyone else, and because he believes he is stupid, he is convinced the action he must take action now is to die in Kirumi’s stead. It is Gonta who instigates the other students to surrender their lives, and though Kokichi points out that Kirumi steered the group in that direction, Gonta is the one who brought it up first. Because that is Gonta’s character. Yes, Kirumi may have relied on the knowledge that Gonta would be willing to do anything to help everyone else, but Gonta is not gullible for falling for it. It is just how he thinks unfortunately, which Kirumi only could hope would get him to make such a request.

To Gonta, his life only has value if it is to protect others, and he seems willing to throw it away now, especially under the extreme stresses of the killing game. That is quite a drastic measure under normal circumstances, but Gonta is starting to become desperate due to his attempts earlier this chapter have failed in stopping anything. Though it is his own life, it shows Gonta is willing to risk a life if it means protecting everybody he loves. 

But … unfortunately, Kirumi is executed, regardless of Gonta’s push to change the outcome, leading to now four deaths Gonta believes he should have stopped. Despite all of his actions in this chapter, nothing stopped his friends from being killed horrifically, and the pressure is only further mounting on Gonta. 

Chapter three rolls, and though I will get to Gonta and the student council, I would like to point out some dialogue during the exploring segments of the game. 

[Gonta] “Anyway, if you find dangerous area, come get Gonta. Gonta will protect you!”

Though he offers it with a wide smile, Gonta wants to be always present in case something dangerous could happen to everyone, willing to risk his life if it means helping others. 

After receiving the Necronomicon as the fresh, new motive, Gonta is quick to wonder if that means all the deceased are actually alive, citing the courtyard message as a connection. And ofc Gonta would make the connection, since he truly wants to believe that all his friends are alive and he hasn't failed them yet. This prompts Angie to thank him since he provided a plausible evidence to justify Angie using the book:

[Angie] “Nyahaha! You’re so smart for telling us, Gonta. You’re a savior to those four people.”

Angie had perfectly pinpointed what Gonta would want to hear in that moment, being told he is smart (The one thing he has said time and time again that he isn’t) and that he is a savior (affirming that all of his actions were not in vain). 

Ignoring the logistics of how Angie managed to hug Gonta (I would like to believe the student council all volunteered to be Angie’s step stool lol), Angie says the precise things to win Gonta over. 

[Angie] “You work so hard, Gonta. You’re always trying to keep everyone safe. Even when you go berserk, you’re still considerate of everyone else, aren’t you? I know this … because Atua is always watching you.”

It may seem that Gonta fell for this because Gonta is just gullible and would fall for anything Angie would say. But in my opinion, Angie does tactfully alleviate the exact concerns Gonta has been worried about throughout the whole game. No, Gonta doesn’t want to hear praise or recognition for his efforts. But he does want to have confirmation that he is on the right track. And Angie says exactly what Gonta would want to hear due to her ability to manipulate, not because Gonta is naive. When Angie says that there is Atua, a god that is watching over Gonta, it provides Gonta with some relief from his own guilt. He is provided a safety net that if he follows Angie’s commands, he can prevent more suffering once again. Though he does mainly abides by Angie’s wishes throughout chapter three’s daily life, he does so because he believes he finally has a set purpose. He even asks when given the offer to join student council: 

“... You need Gonta? Okay! Gonta join student council too!” 

Gonta is actually in disbelief that Angie has found him useful enough to join the student council. And since he looks up to Angie like he does with everyone else around him, he wants to go along because Angie/Atua must know what is best for Gonta, right?    

The next morning, Gonta covers up the manhole, all in attempt to stop more misery. Yes, he is brainwashed just like everyone else in Angie’s little cult (aside from Tenko) but I believe this stems from Angie knowing what Gonta needed to hear in his state rather than Gonta just being ‘dumb’.

Gonta finally found some stability and a voice that can guide him to help everyone until whoopsie daisies, look turned out to be dead the next day :D

I’m getting a bit repetitive here, but once again, another pillar for safety, one that Gonta really had hope for, is ripped away from him in an instant. He is seen crying over Angie’s body, weeping at the prospect of her death being a murder: 

“B-but … why would someone do such awful thing!?”

“Well, duh Gonta, you are in a killing game, what do you expect by now?” … Except Gonta truly believed that helping out the student council will be able to set everything right again. But again, his genuine, whole-hearted efforts turn out fruitless. To him, he once again failed to save a friend. 

“If so … Gonta could saved her! If only Gonta saw! But Gonta was sleeping … Sorry, Angie … Gonta no could save you!”

I could only imagine this stung more for Gonta since he went to bed properly to enforce student council rules. But since Angie died at night, Gonta would likely see himself as slacking off in his duty to protect everyone, ending up blaming himself all over again. Just like Ryoma’s death, Gonta blames himself. The mindset Gonta continues to hold on to is extremely debilitating for him to handle, further adding to Gonta’s already poor self-image. (It could explain why he decided not to join the seance, since usually Gonta would be proactive and do anything to help his friends. Angie’s death must have been hard for him to swallow.) 

And just as they all process Angie’s death, Kiyo swoops in with his majestic see-saw murder tric and takes Tenko down with the rest of his remaining braincells. During the body discovery, Gonta straight up just weeps and spouts apologies. He only just enters the room, but already he blames himself for Tenko’s death. 

Surprisingly, where chapter one and two provided sympathetic murders, chapter three throws Gonta for a loop, it being the one time Gonta actually is angered by the killer. 

“Th-that right … Killing two friends for your dead sister!? That … wrong! That so wrong!”

Yeah, you tell Kiyo off, Gonta >:D

Where trial 1 and 2 had Gonta see people he loves die, Gonta always could sympathize for the killer. Yet, at least in my interpurtation, I think Kiyo’s trial showed Gonta the murderous intent hiding amongst his peers. Though, I might just be reading too much into it. But if I am correct, Gonta would be disheartened that someone he could trust like Kiyo would kill with such little remorse. 

And here we are, chapter four. 

A little recap of Gonta’s state leading up to this chapter: Gonta shows time and time again to make attempts to help everyone, either alone or following a leader like Angie or Kokichi. He takes proactive steps to protect the people he cherishes, but because of factors of his control, nothing he has been able to do can stop his friends from dying. However, due to his low self-esteem, he instead blames himself for everyone’s deaths and grieves the loss of the seven students (Well … idk about Kiyo lol) greatly. So like a cycle, Gonta feels ever more useless as more and more people die around him without him being able to control or stop it. 

Okay, chapter 4 time let’s go (sobs)

After Kokichi swipes the card key and Kaito bolts after him, the conversation between the seven remaining students continues. When everyone takes turns to praise Shuichi, Gonta says: 

[Gonta] “Shuichi is so amazing. Gonta wanna be useful to everyone too.”

[Maki] “Don’t worry. When the time comes, we’ll use your body as a meat shield.”

[Gonta] “Okay! Gonta hope time come soon!”

Oh buddy … You really don’t want to hope that …

It seems ever since Kirumi’s trial, Gonta has been more and more willing to use his life to protect the others, this being the second time he has been fine with being used a meat shield (The other time being chapter 3, during the exploration segment). Being that Gonta thinks he’s useless (Admitting in the dialogue above that he strives to be useful to everyone), he is beginning to value what little he does have to help the others. And yet, it barely goes addressed amongst the students how much Gonta is okay with throwing his life away. 

In his final FTE in chapter four, when approaching Gonta in the AV room, he will say:

“What can Gonta do …  to be useful for everyone? Gonta think he could protect everyone … in underground passage. [...] Gonta … no can take it anymore! Gonta not wanna lose anyone else!”

As mentioned in the dining hall scene earlier, Gonta did open up the manhole once again, believing he could be used as a meat shield in the underground passage. Similar to how Kaito becomes desperate in the next chapter, Gonta is now ready to do anything because he swears he will not lose anyone else. Right now, his goal to have everyone escape due to Angie’s plans of staying idly in the academy only led to her death. So in Gonta’s eyes, escape is the only option he has to save everybody, not keeping them trapped in a killing game where murderous intent can fester, like Kiyo. By chapter four, after the loss of three people in the last chapter, Gonta has reached his breaking point in how many deaths he can deal with.

I do love his final FTE, even though with what we know happens in this chapter, it is clear that with Shuichi’s words or not, Gonta is dead set on his self-destructive goal. 

(But something I just love in the final FTE is that Shuichi affirms to Gonta that he already is helpful 

[Shuichi] “I don’t think you need to work so hard to be a gentleman. You’re already incredible.”

[Gonta] “B-but, Shuichi! Gonta must become gentleman! For forest family”

[...]

[Gonta] “But … Gonta no help to anyone right now.”

[Shuichi] “You are! You saved me before, remember? I almost fell down the staircase!” (referring to first FTE where Gonta catches Shuichi from falling down some stairs)

[Gonta] “Oh!”

[Shuichi] “Gonta … you’re a more amazing person than you think you are.”

[Gonta w/ a crying sprite] “Sh-Shuichi!”

Ughh this entire interaction just warms my heart, especially now sifting through how much grief Gonta goes through the game and how often he self-deprecates. And the fact he grows emotional when Shuichi motivates him, maaan he really needs a hug. I just needed to show this.)

Moving along, when Shuichi heads out to meet up with Kaito and Maki at night time later, Gonta does intercept him before he goes:

[Gonta] “Oh, Shuichi? You should go back to room. It’s nighttime.”

[Shuichi] “Ah, it’s just that … I promised to meet up with Kaito and Maki …”

[Gonta] “O-oh … Um, Angie’s gone, and student council not around anymore … But Gonta still think it best to not go out at nighttime. Cuz Ryoma got killed at nighttime. And Angie, too.”

[Shuichi] “That’s true … But the promise I made to Kaito is really important to me. I can’t break it. I promise, I’ll go right back afterwards. And I’ll make sure we stick together.”

[Gonta] “... Gonta careless just now. Gonta not know you make such important promise to Kaito. Gonta … so useless.”

[Shuichi] “No, no! Not at all, Gonta. Don’t worry about it. We all know how much you care about us.”

[Gonta] “...”

[Shuichi] “Gonta?”

[Gonta] “Shuichi, Gonta come to decision!”

[Shuichi] “Huh? What have you decided …?”

[Gonta] “Um … well … Hmm, actually … Gonta will tell everyone tomorrow, when everyone together.”

Now this alludes to Gonta’s plan the next morning, but let’s break this conversation down. At first, Gonta still brings up Angie’s idea of prohibiting people from walking around at nighttime, a line of reasoning which makes total sense, especially since Angie proceeded to die at nighttime as well. How come nobody in the student council other than Gonta bring up and try to enforce the rule after Angie died? Because out of anybody there, Gonta truly wanted to take initiative and saw the student council as an avenue of doing so. He saw the logic behind Angie’s rule and followed through with it because she isn’t exactly wrong (Having everybody forced to sleep at the same time could decrease a killer being able to freely roam). 

But after Shuichi mentions his promise to Kaito, Gonta grows despondent, calling himself useless for somehow failing to notice that Shuichi went to see a friend (Again, not his fault in the slightest). When Shuichi assures him that Gonta shouldn’t worry, Gonta becomes silent, contemplating, and judging by the fact Shuichi has to ask Gonta’s name, he must have grown quiet for a good while.

I think this is the key moment where Gonta shifts slightly as a character. Where before he wanted to have more cooperative solutions like joining Kaito and Kokichi’s strategy meetings in chapter 1 and 2, and then joining student council in chapter 3, he has realized that he must stop the game alone. He realizes quietly to himself that he alone has to stop the killing game, and with his self-destructive tendencies having been built up for the past chapters, he will make his own plan. He has come to a decision where he will end this by himself, no matter what.   

Now let’s see what Gonta’s decision is . The next morning, the dining hall is in uproar: 

[Gonta] “But we gotta do it! If not now, then when!?”

[Tsumugi] “L-Like I said before, it’s reckless! There are still two Exisals, right!?”

[Gonta] “Gonta know that … but … Watching friends disappear … Seeing everyone get weaker … Gonta no can take this anymore! That’s why Gonta go fight Monokuma!”

Just like Tsumugi said, this is beyond reckless for Gonta to do. But Gonta illustrates his thought process clearly: He can’t stand being useless anymore, not for a second longer. The build-up from the chapters have been clear from the start, with every action Gonta takes failing in the end, more bodies are piling up. And ofc, Gonta blames himself. 

When Himiko explains further that it is reckless, Gonta acknowledges it:

“Gonta know it reckless … but it only way to save everyone. Waiting around, doing nothing just make more victims … That why Gonta risk his life! Real gentleman would risk life! Gonta gladly give up life to save everyone!”

Gonta really can’t take it anymore. He needs to act. Now. He will do something, even if it is on his own. For someone so gullible, Gonta has become ironclad in his resolve, not succumbing to any of his self-doubt in his plan nor is he relying on someone else anymore. This is the clear set-up to his actions in the chapter, Notice how he fully acknowledges what he is doing is reckless. But he believes it is all he can do. His decreased value of himself and his inferiority to everyone else around him makes him fully willing to take his own life if it means he will do the right thing in his eyes.   

But thankfully (or un-thankfully if you really think about it) Miu intervenes before Gonta can go through with his plan with her own brilliant idea: The Virtual World. So with all of this recap and build-up underway, it is all about to crumble when Gonta is exposed to the truth.

III: 'Stupidity' is Bliss, After All 

During his time in Virtual World after being exposed to the flashback light, Gonta almost never speaks, and when he does, it is usually one phrase and some ellipses with a sad looking sprite. He is seen following along with Kokichi, rushing ahead with Kokichi in silence towards the chapel. When deciding on splitting up in the chapel, Gonta says nothing, just agreeing when Kokichi recommends coming along to the mansion. He uncharacteristically lacks any of his usual questioning nor enthusiasm. Though when they are about to split off in the mansion, Gonta is about to take his leave:

[Gonta] “... Gonta go now.”

[Tsumugi] “It’s surprisingly cold out there, so be careful. You should come back here to warm up.”

[Gonta] “Thank you … but Gonta okay. Gonta not smart enough to get sick.”

[Kaito] “Someone who isn’t smart wouldn’t want to save everyone … They’d only think of themselves.”

[Gonta] “Oh … thank you.”

Ouch ... looking back at this knowing it is the last interaction Gonta had with the group while his hands still were clean … maaan. This seems like the one time, at least to me, where Gonta accepts the compliment of his intelligence rather than denying it. He appears shocked, especially with how much Kaito’s words ring true for what Gonta is about to do. In some ironic way, it affirms to Gonta that he has to be doing the right thing … right? He is doing this to save everyone. He doesn’t want to kill Miu for himself, he’s doing it for everyone else. After all, Miu is the one who is killing for themselves. She will be forced to know the truth if she doesn't get caught. (Hell, during Alter Ego Gonta’s confession post-trial, he literally says “Gonta just … want to … save everyone.”)

Upon first playthrough, I barely even noticed how weird Gonta was acting, since the characters of interest were Kaito, Kokichi, and Miu for me so far. So Gonta being bossed around by Kokichi didn’t strike me as anything unusual. However, now that I look back at it, Gonta being this reserved is actually jarring from what I expect from him. But this is not a personality change, this is the effect the despair from learning of the outside world had on him. 

During the flashback to Kokichi and Gonta out in the woods, Gonta wanted to tell everyone about the flashback light first. But Kokichi asks the weighted question of whether Gonta should trust Kokichi’s assumption that the flashback light holds the secret. 

Now yes, that is manipulation on Kokichi’s part, taking advantage of Gonta here to expose himself to it. However, Gonta was susceptible to it for the same reasons he wanted to fight Monokuma earlier in chapter 4: He has made the resolve to stop the killing on his own. It is not like Gonta mistrusts others, but he wants to rely on himself now. He can’t just stall for time and round everyone up. He has grown desperate and if what Kokichi has been saying is a lie, Gonta does not want to waste time gathering everyone for something that would turn out useless? So Gonta acts, choosing to expose himself to the truth first because he can’t wait around. He has to end this killing game and protect everyone now. 

Unfortunately, he recalled the end of the world and the destruction of humanity. And as Monokuma mentions later, the flashback light simulates a ‘deja-vu’ feeling, so it tricks the brain to think that it experienced the memory before. So it is not like Gonta was just told that the world ended. No, he recalls bearing witness to it with his own eyes. The effect of such knowledge is completely devastating, which we see with Kokichi and everyone else in Chapter 5. 

I think Alter Ego Gonta put his conflict into words best:

“Inside is hell! Outside is hell! What should Gonta and friends live for!?”

Gonta has put so much effort and energy into getting everyone out of the killing game, willing to throw his life away at the sight of danger many times. But it now is all completely pointless, because even if Gonta succeeded in his plan, he would just be sending his friends to an outside that will hurt them all. People like Kirumi and Kaede killed to go outside, and yet in the end, all the deaths were even more meaningless. Their hopes, efforts, and suffering has all been rendered meaningless to Gonta in a matter of seconds.  

Gonta’s sole motivation, his plan, everything he pushed himself to do were all based on his ignorance to the truth. And now that he knows, he can only feel stupider for trying. 

The flashback light puts Gonta through so much pain, and now he realizes that if his friends learned of such a truth, they would all suffer like him. But the last thing he wants is for his friends to feel that pain. He is more than willing to be their shield and protect them. But while before it was the killing game, now Gonta will become their shield and protect them from the despair-inducing truth. 

It is then Kokichi proposes his plan: A mercy kill. A plan that involved Gonta taking the life of everyone else and bearing the brunt of the outside world by himself. In some ways, it parallels Gonta’s decision to take on Monokuma earlier in the chapter, with Gonta recklessly risking his life to the sake of others’ safety. Yes, Gonta may be alone in the end, but at least he finally would be useful to his friends in protecting them. Except with Kokichi’s mercy kill plan, it has twisted to become the inverse, where Gonta protects everyone by having them be killed while he sacrifices himself by living his life in an apocalyptic Earth alone. Just like much of his life, Gonta will end up alone and isolated from the others. Something he unfortunately is used to. 

Throughout this essay, I have been emphasizing the word “act” and “proactive”, because that is what Gonta has been doing. He is constantly shoving himself into plans. He doesn’t want to sit back until he is finally ‘useful’. He wants to be constantly of use to someone, to prove that he can be relied on. Because that is what gentleman does. 

So here Kokichi is, relying on Gonta to commit an action to save everyone. And Gonta in chapter four has mentioned that he is at a breaking point, that he can’t take any of this anymore. He had tried to act before, but they all failed. So, with the weight of the despair heavy on his shoulders, he fully accepts after Kokichi explains his plan. Kokichi did rely on knowing how Gonta functions to get him to agree, but it could only be Gonta who would have agreed to it. 

But not because Kokichi thinks Gonta is dumb. 

During the fourth trial, after Kokichi finally name drops Gonta as the culprit, Himiko is about to argue that Gonta is not smart enough to commit a murder, only to be interrupted by Kokichi the moment she is about to say the word smart. How come out of any of the points Kokichi could have interjected, it was Himiko’s?  

It is because Kokichi knows that out of anybody there, Gonta wants to end the killing game, and unlike Kaito, Gonta has shown to be desperate enough to act on that goal whenever he can. Kaito constantly talks the talk but he sure as hell never walks it. Kaito says what is inspiring to the group, but when it comes to a concrete plan to end the killing game, Kaito is too straightforward to think of something. Meanwhile Kokichi has noticed Gonta’s attempts before, especially with his decision in chapter four. So when Himiko is about to call Gonta stupid, Kokichi interjects due to that be completely false. Gonta has thought through so many ideas and plans throughout the entire game. Yet, everyone else fails to recognize that because of their poor understanding of Gonta. 

(Personally, I think Kokichi could notice such a thing due to his distrusting nature. With him being a foil to Kaito's belief, he must doubt everyone and everything - It is what allowed him to learn more, at the expense of being the asshole of the group. Whenever Gonta claimed he was dumb, Kokichi's first instinct is to doubt that, possibly thinking Gonta might be trying to lower Kokichi's guard. So Kokichi keeps careful watch of Gonta, realizing Gonta is not what he claims he is)

He is a fully capable student nor was he tricked into this. There is nothing naive about Gonta’s intentions here: This is completely his volition in taking part in the plan. 

To provide a crappy analogy of how I think Kokichi’s manipulation went, I’d say think of it more like Gonta is walking down a road and has reached a fork in the road, one left and one right. And say Kokichi, for some odd reason, really wants Gonta to go down the left side. Now, if Kokichi were to somehow directly shove Gonta down the left path, you can’t say that it is Gonta’s decision to go left. That was directly Kokichi involving himself and forcing Gonta to make a decision. This kind of like what Kokichi does in chapter 5 with Kaito, blackmailing and forcing Kaito’s hand at the prospect of Maki becoming the blackened (Though I do think Kaito did end up agreeing with Kokichi’s plan to end the killing game, but he needed an extra push into that direction). 

Rather, it is far more indirect. Like as if Kokichi just built a huge, shiny sign at the intersection that says to go left. Now people could look at that sign and choose to ignore it (Probably Kaito, who only goes right out of spite for the sign lmaoo). But just because Gonta is the kind of person who would likely follow the sign’s direction, he decides to go left. See, Kokichi did set up the decision for Gonta to make, but Gonta, at the end of the day, made that choice because of who he is as a character. 

Then again, that is a gross simplification but that is how I see Kokichi’s extent of manipulation. He provided the plan and Gonta agreed with it because he wanted to act. The events of the killing game have slowly been chipping away at Gonta, so now that the opportunity has provided itself, Gonta takes it willingly. Yes, this action may be to kill Miu, but it is something Gonta can do at this point. He needs to have control to protect everyone.

Gonta killed because of his own tragic flaws of constantly looking down on himself. This constant inadequacy forced him to need to prove himself as useful. Coupled with his strong sense of selflessness, it becomes clear that Gonta killing is fully in character for him. It is built up from the start, and the stresses of the killing game fostered an unhealthy mindset that everybody’s deaths are his fault. So he grows the most desperate to put an end to everyone’s misery, no matter what becomes of him. 

Almost similar to Kaede, if only Gonta had been a bit more selfish, he wouldn’t have done this. He wouldn’t feel the need to protect everyone from the truth. It may seem like Gonta would never hurt anyone, something he claims during the trial, but Gonta’s main goal is to protect them all from danger. So if that means he has to hurt something to protect the people he cares about, then he will do it. 

Where the fanbase fails Gonta

So why did I do this? Why did I … checks word count … WRITE 10K WORDS (holy crap I rambled a bit too much) JUST TO ARGUE THAT GONTA WORKS AS A KILLER. 

Well, I think it is because the fanbase overall has been guilty of simplifying and dumbing down Gonta’s agency. Now, that’s common enough. I mean fanonized characters are only natural, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I suppose my issue lies in the overlooked aspect of how much Gonta had a say in his decision.

Yes, Kokichi plays a major factor in this, and I am biased to not place all the blame on Kokichi. But the reason I wanted to prove Gonta’s motivations is because I dislike the notion of Gonta being treated like he is solely a gullible person, who just was under some kind of influence (Whether that be Kokichi or the personality change or despair) to commit such an action. Gonta is like everyone else as in he is fully capable of committing a crime when the right pressures are applied. And like most killers in this franchise, Gonta inevitably fell victim to his most toxic tendencies: His self-loathing and selflessness culminating to a self-destructive level. 

I like Danganronpa for how it twists my understanding and perception of characters. So having trial four counter my belief that Gonta as this sweet character and reveals the deep guilt and pain Gonta has been harboring throughout the game is fascinating to explore, it makes me love him all the more for being a three-dimensional character with a complex motive built from his own flaws. As much as argued why Gonta did the mercy kill, and as I do understand the motivation behind it, I still think it is not the correct thing to do in this case. By no means am I condoning Kokichi and Gonta’s actions, only understanding why they agreed to the mercy kill plan.

But much of the discussion around this case is “I will never forgive what Kokichi did to Gonta”. As if Kokichi did something so drastic that it pushed Gonta like this. No, Gonta’s fall was set up from the start slowly. Kokichi didn’t trick Gonta, but he did initiate the plan for Gonta to carry out

But Kokichi has more blame since he instigated and thought of the plan, with the meeting the Monokuma, luring Gonta out, and introducing him into the plan. But Gonta chose to go with the plan because he believed that was the right thing to do, he also has some fault in this. It is not solely Kokichi’s fault just as it is not solely Gonta’s fault. In my eyes, both played a part and agreed in Kokichi’s morally dubious plan.  

But at the end of the day, trial four was just an emotional trainwreck for everyone involved. We see Alter Ego Gonta fully accepting his punishment, saying;

“It’s okay, Kokichi. Please let Gonta sacrifice himself … for everyone’s sake. That’s all … Gonta can do anymore …”

Like always, Gonta is concerned about what he can do for others, and now, with nothing, he will give up his life. He can no longer fight the killing game, he’s given up fully into despair. And thinking that the others may try to interfere and get killed, Gonta takes the punishment willingly, guilty of his actions and deciding to succumb to the rules of the killing game if it means the least amount of suffering overall. During his final moments, Gonta admits he is not scared, he only hates himself for not being enough. 

“Gonta love you all …!”

“Gonta is so sorry … for being stupid!”

[todayisafridaynight]

No for real the Should've Adapted Yakuza 2 take is the only one that doesn't make even a little sense to me. I will say it. I feel like a lot of people still think it's a movie (even though I literally wrote it was a TV series...) and so they're mad they're "redoing the first movie instead of making a sequel" when that's not even what's happening.

Plus the show has no relation to the (at this point almost twenty-year-old) movie; completely different companies, completely different people working on it, completely different approach (RGGS actually having a say vs. Miike and co more or less just doing whatever).

Technically, it's even a different game--like, on top of it being Yakuza Kiwami rather than Yakuza, the series itself has changed drastically from what it was when the movie came out. I think the reason a number of people are disappointed by the movie is exactly that. Like IMO the movie is more or less (at least tonally) representative of what the appeal of the series was at the time, which is all it was trying to do. But most fans today haven't even played PS2 Y1 and Y2, let alone only played PS2 Y1 and Y2, so it can leave something to be desired.

With casting, my dream of a Tomoya Nagase Kiryu 'cause he's partly based on him was shattered so I'm biased lol, but I appreciate that Takeuchi's been bulking up for the role and changing his public image, and I'm excited to check out some of his previous work. I love Kaku already from Super Salaryman and other roles (DW AT ALL BTW GUESS WHO STILL HASN'T WATCHED EP 2 OF FIRST PENGUIN KLJSJKLFG) but I have yet to see him in a serious role so that'll be fun :)

But like. While I tried to pick images that were close to our images of Kiryu and Nishiki, these are promotional shots, not styled and costumed in-character. I think people are also kind of glossing over the timeskip. Like yeah, Takeuchi's only 30, but pre-timeskip Kiryu is 27 and he has to believably play him too. That's especially notable when the story of Y1 could easily be told in like 5 or 6 hours, so perhaps what we're doing for the other 2-3 hours is spending more time pre-timeskip. I'm kind of speculating even some 0 scenes may make it in, because they were described as being dressed in "flashy suits and patterned shirts" at the shoot.

Overall, I do personally regret starting the series with K1 and it's my least favorite starting point (out of 0, Y1/K1, 7, and Judgment), but at the same time it's the only story that can be properly told within one eight-hour season. So. Y'know. It makes the most sense. I'm of course hoping it turns out enjoyable regardless because I'm obligated to watch it either way for the wiki lmao (and hey, maybe if it does well enough to get renewed, my faves will get a turn). I do think it's got the most potential of any of the adaptations so far, at least, aside from the other upcoming Judgment one.

Anyways uhhhhhh I hope we see Kiwamine in the background of a shot just vibing

no like thats what i mean: it makes total sense as to why they'd start from Y1 it just makes the most sense for a brand new adaption independent of the past iterations 😩 in any case im interested to see what everyone brings to the table and how they handle adapting Y1 now with all of the games and content that have come out since the initial movie/stageplay releases ♪(´▽｀)

[asherasgayagenda]

ik you're sleeping but i wanna talk about my fav enstars songs unit wise cus I love talking about songs

fine: The Tempest Night (very original i know /s) and Neo Sanctuary

Trickstar: UNSTOPPABLE LOVE!!!! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY THE RAP IS SO GOOD!!!

Ryuseitai: their music is not my style. but Ryusei Hanabi. so so feel good

ALKALOID: VERMILION. you get it.

Eden: how do i choose,,,,,it may not look like it but Eden's music is the one i dig the most i love LOVE EDM,,,,,sigh. Eden's Psyche Butterfly.

Valkyrie: URUWASHI NO AA NIGHTINGALE AA NIGHTINGALE SONO UTAGOE DE,,,,,Eternal Weaving close second

2wink: SWEE2WINK LOVE LETTER SWEEP

Crazy:B: Honeycomb Summer,,,, even though all of their songs are bops

UNDEAD: both Nightless World and FORBIDDEN RAIN. but like. in different ways. to me Nightless World is Fireboy and FORBIDDEN RAIN is Watergirl (both gender neutral). do you get it

Ra*bits: sorry Ra*bitsP I don't vibe w their music at all. FALLIN' LOVE=IT'S WONDERLAND

Akatsuki: earlier i liked Kengeki no Mae before i got to know of the imperialism,,,,so Akatsuki Iroha Uta it is

Knights: sorry they aren't my type as well,,,,Mystic Fragrance or Knights the Phantom Thief

Switch: Romancing Cruise or Omoi no Kakera. their music is so *chef's kiss*

MaM: HELLO, NEW YEAR!

Double Face: =EYE=

Shuffle Units: MOONLIGHT DISCO. IT CHANGED ME AS A PERSON

Fusion Units: YORU NI KAKERU!!! closely followed by Artistic Partisan <333

this turned out too long LMAO im sorry

THE THING IS i don’t want to rank my favorites by unit because i’m literally biased and half of my favorites are just crazyb songs and like. none of them are akatsuki for ex.

anyways you don’t mind if I judge your taste!! right (it gets suuuuuper long)

fine: yeah no you’re totally right!! I respect you. I went and listened to the first few seconds of neo sanctuary and I feel like it’s a song I could definitely like?? pending judgement. I’ve got owaranai symphonia stuck in my head recently though,,,

Trickstar: …what song is that? (< clearly not a TrickstarP) I only know I really like rebellion star and I looove playing the beatmap of infinite star

Ryusetai: girl I know like One (1) song of their by name and it’s like comet HALATION or something and the only reason I know it is because of the last event

ALKALOID: HELL YEAH VERMILLION!!!!!!!!!!! but let me add kiss of life because it was like the first alkaloid song I listened to and I was like HOLYFUCKINGSHIT THIS SONG BANGS!!!!! set off my era of learning abt alkaloid and the main story. (living on the edge gets a mention as the honorary aira center song)

Eden: hey EDM and eden sound kinda similar dontcha thi(gets shot) ANYWAYS. I keep hearing about psyches butterfly but I’ve NEVER LISTENED TO IT !!!?!! sorry i’m basic but , THE GENESIS SWEEP !!!! don’t ask me how I remember but that song was the FIRST beatmap I played on eng.

Valkyrie: HEY ETERNAL WEAVING LIKER!!! I loove the little talking parts in it and the spam of notes at the start. also acanthe has my heart

2wink: LITERALLY THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but i’m a liiittle biased towards play tag cause I keep pfcing it and also LEMON SQUASH CHEERS (bc crazyb!!)

Crazy:B: THEIR SONGS NEVER MISSS LETS GOOOO HONEYCOMB SUMMER HELTER SPIDER ARIADNE NOISY BEEP RISKY PENIS ETC ETC EYC

UNDEAD: PERSONALLY i’m in love with valentine eves nightmare cause it was the first undead song that made me like them (THE GUITAR SOLO!!!!! DO YOU HEAR IT))x nightless world is fun to play but a not really my thing.., I hear forbidden rain is really good though.

Ra*bits: pocket ni uchuu. that is all. WAIT NO SHIT UR RIGHT. FALLIN' LOVE=IT'S WONDERLAND IS ALSO SOOO GOOD.

Akatsuki: you are speaking a Different language and I have no idea which akatsuki song is which. help. sorry tbh they all sound the same to me.

Knights: OKAY phantom thief isn’t too bad!! IT SHOULDVE WON THE POLL BTW im partial to silent oath cause its my event grinding song b I don’t actually like it that much. HAVE U HEARD PROMISE SWORDS THOUGH AAUUGUGHHHHHHH I DONT KNOW WHAT IT IS ABOUT IT THAT MAKES ME GO DHJFKGNGKFFNFJ (aaand. grateful allegiance it’s the one ingame song I like rn)

Switch: SHUT UUPPPP OMOI NO KAKERA IS NOT EVEN THAT GOOD /lh . I Like switch a lot but also their music AND THE FUCKING DANCING is BYE. the ONLY one I like is Magic for your switch. natsume’s “shunte utsumuiteru my girl” HAS BEEN PLAYING ON LOOP IN MY HEAD THE WHOLE DAY HELP

MaM: Nods. but I mean,,,, as a solo unit his solo song should count too right???? so I’d have to say see you again is my favorite, sorry

Double Face: YEAHHHH THE VOCALS THE STAGE THE OUTFITS THE DANCING EVERYTHING IS CHEFS KISS !!!!! Stippling has my heart though <333 (god. the piano)

Shuffle Units: NEVER SHUTTING UP ABT MY ATOZ AGENDA!!!! I don’t get what’s so good about moonlight disco help. (also i’m gay so noir neige)

Fusion Units: YES.

HAHAHHA IMAGINE. MY RESPONSE BEING LONGER THAN YOURS. ok thank u this was super fun to read and reply too!! even if it took like three days. oops. anyways

[grimelven]

Merrill for the ask game?

first time i saw merrill was in dao, i really didnt think much of her then. however, first time seeing her in da2 i had no idea she was the same persons from dao😭😭 they changed her look so much, i didnt recognize her until i looked it up. plus, her voice was different, which really threw me off.

my impression of her now; y’all ima be honest i really love merrill. she’s such an intriguing character who’s heart is always in the right place, even if her actions are hella questionable. i don’t care tho, i still love her unapologetically.

ughhh there’s too many! heh, i do love the “isabela is gonna teach me how to do something called…body shots???” line—her little one liners make me laugh. but, i really love how there’s party banter of her taking about how much she loves hawke. like, aveline questions why the hell merrill is still following them around and she straight up just says “because i love hawke.” and then when aveline asks again, she repeats that she loves hawke and says something like “i know i said that already, but its something that needs to be said.” which is really heartwarming. her morals or ambitions may not line up with hawkes, but to her it doesn’t matter, cause she’d do anything for them out of love. AND RIGHT BACK AT U MERRILL, me and all my hawke’s will die for her :’)

okay, so i have a really fun and odd story that i’ve been working on since February. however, i haven’t had the guts to post it to ao3 cause im too nervous ppl will make fun of me or laugh at my terrible writing. But, here’s the summary for it: “Hawke and friends swap bodies due to some magic going awry and it’s thanks to everyone’s favorite cottagecore blood mage.” which was focused around merrill trying to fix said problem and switching between everyones povs as they freak out/try to adjust to being in different bodies LMAO i swear it’s really funny, like i usually write things very ironically, but then out of nowhere angst gets splashed in. it was a fun story to write.

unpopular opinion, i hate the rival romance- i know, I KNOW, hear me out. so, i’ve heard ppl say they liked this version better than the friendship one, so i thought id give it a try, but honestly…it just felt like hawke was controlling merrill’s life and i didnt vibe with that at all.

favorite relationship (other than her and hawkes) has to be her and isabela’s, they are so cute together :’) i love how merrill looks up to her and isabela watches out for her and protects her. i also love her and varrics, cause i just live how they vibe together. varric looks out for her and she likes listing to his stories, its just really sweet.

favorite headcanon, ima be biased and say one that i came up with, but i like the idea of merrill moving in with hawke even if they arent in a relationship with them. merrill calls it “a never ending sleepover.”

[cassyapper]

Very random question but what's your favorite color scheme for Kakyoin? (In terms of hair color/eye color combo)

this is a really good question!

uh long story short: it's a very very close race but ultimately i just love the manga bright red hair/orange eyes

short story long:

honestly i love and appreciate all of the variations in some form or fashion: the anime's violet/desaturated red is iconic, orange is my favorite color and my favorite classic element is fire so the combo of orange/bright red for the manga makes me smile so much, the brick red/green they use for the capcom game creates such a nice contrast that suits his uniform well, and of course the browns the ova use are so pretty and honestly make him quite charming

it's also hard to narrow down cause i kinda mix and match a lot of these into my personal canon: im big on the hc that kakyoin's a natural brunette but he dyed his hair bright red just for fun at the start of high school and he stuck with it for a while. as for his eyes i can see him having sectoral heterochromia in some form or fashion, whether that be his eyes are normally brown with purple flecks or purple with orange flecks, etc. i also sometimes give credence to his various eye colors by giving him one color for his irises and then sunglasses where the lenses are another color (such as for my part 4 kakyoin design, where he has orange colored lenses)

ultimately it's hard to pick

in the end though i prefer the manga colors because: - orange is my favorite color and honestly what can i say dude im biased - the bright red hair contrasts against his uniform sharply which draws your eye to him and also most importantly, red and green are complementary colors, and considering i have a whole "complementary duality" analysis on kakyoin's character, i love his design then incorporating that in this fashoin

[newspecies]

actually im making a whole post about my opinions on modern pokemon because otherwise im going to explode.

okay so first issue is the story. both swsh and pla feel like they have no breathing room between really long dialogue exchanges story plot points. the stories themselves are fine and i really like pla's story! the way it mirrors modern sinnoh is really fun to me and i had a good time playing the game but i felt like all the exposition and everything i had to do leading up to the frenzied noble fights was a chore, even if the fights themselves were fun. i really wish researching the pokemon was a bigger part of the main plot because that was the part of the game i enjoyed the most.

swsh had a similar issue with exposition and dialogue. the final battle in swsh with eternatus felt like it came out of nowhere to me, even if i liked the battle itself. every single interaction with sonia was just saying "there were two heros" over and over again. i never felt like there was any real payoff to talking to her and it really frustrated me because i felt like it had so much potential! i also just felt like a lot of stuff was just really in your face to the point where it got annoying. dialogue exchanges should have been shorter and the dialogue options were just redundant. if the only two options were saying yes in different words whats even the point. having a no option will always be better than two yeses, even if it just causes a loop, theres still an illusion of choice that i like.

moving on to one of my least favorite parts of modern pokemon, exp share. because of the different way exp share was used in past games, theyre more difficult and more time is spent grinding. i know some people dont really like that, but for me personally i really like grinding so i would like a way to just turn off exp share all together, which i dont think is an option in newer games. keep in mind that every criticism i make of exp share is with an option to turn it on and off in mind. also this is just my opinion, these next things apply specifically to my experience with pokemon and if you disagree and play the game with a different goal in mind thats perfectly fine, im not judging you. the exp share makes me a lot less incentivized to train individual pokemon which is an issue for me because getting attached to my teams is one of the most important part of a game. im also a lot less likely to actually train my pokemon. i get through recent games a lot faster than old ones because of the exp share which makes it more difficult to connect with the characters because im not spending as much time with them. overall i just really dont like the exp share and i want the option to not use it.

my third problem is pokemon encounters. this is a little shorter and honestly probably my own fault but a lot of new pokemon in swsh i never encountered EVER despite playing the game multiple times over. i have never seen a galarian ponyta or eiscue ever, much less caught one. i barely even remembered they exist.

my fourth and final issue is the models. the majority of pokemon were designed in a pixel style and so look much better in that same style. i talked about specifically liepard's model:

some of them do look nice but a lot more just dont! the colors look dull and the anatomy and walk cycles look unnatural. theyre boring and lack the character the pixel sprites had. the battle animations are also kind of boring compared to the pixel ones but i might be biased there because i just really love the pixel battle animations.

okay im done now. ill probably have more complaints when scarlet and violet come out so look forward to that. or dread it. either or.

[luc1d-dr34m5]

Oh man I wasn’t expecting a response so quickly! And thank you for putting it in the main tags lol.

But I really like the idea of dreadful harmony! Those two really are the toxic yaoi/yuri of all time (though I don’t find them to be all that toxic lol)

I def have more questions but I’m worried about flooding your inbox a little sorry. Like how did DH lose their humanity? (I know that HC lost it due to the UW fusing him with half of I-no but I’m curious what the UW could have done to DH)

Im also curious about Lethargy too. Does HC/DH consider them their kid? Or what do they think of lethargy and vice versa?

Or hell I’m curious what other people think of HC and DH’s unique dynamic. (Especially Asuka damn. )

Sorry if this is long!

I only call them toxic YaoiYuri depending on the current roles they're playing, these two are so versatile in vibe cuz one drawing they could be having the most toxic moment ever and the next drawing theyre like sleeping on a couch after watching movies together and both situations fit them a lot atleast to me

And dw dw pls flood my inbox with more questions im going to explode about them in a good way

DH lost their humanity bc of the information flow from the Backyard being far too concentrated, while HC got the luxury of basically becoming fused with a god's powers, DH did not and their own abilities stem from the fact theyre basically a walking Tome of Origin that haw a super genius mind that can constantly revise and create new spells all the time. In this way Both DH and HC are equal in power. Also why would The Universal Will throw and trap DH into concentrated Backyard info area is cuz it was a desperate decision and they assumed DH would die but... like... thats, thats the one who weaves the spells. Universal Will had a dumb moment but hey it threw the Original off. To esplain Further DH had managed to make a way that they can survive by taking in the information influx from the Backyard but it came at the cost of their humanity, they managed to keep their memories and biases tho.

And YEAH DH ans HC lovingly(and annoyingly to Lethargy) consider them their child.

HC to Lethary - is like that annoying kind of parent who likes to poke their nose into ur bussiness but they genuine love and care abt you, Hes probs taken to the role as the Overprotective Parent just to stir drama every once in a while, i like to think during the earlier parts of Lethargy's story when theyre their panicky and terrified of their own strength self Happy Chaos just teleports sweets to them, Regional sweets, they both got sweet tooths. Havent got a full concrete thing on how he thinks of Lethargy cuz he has too many thoughts in his head but the basis of it all is fondness and horror, the closest he could feel to it cuz Lethargy is stronger than both HC n DH combined but Lethargy prefers being human than to become anything else. But the fondness overpowers the horror tbh he cares for the kid

Lethargy to HC - Basically think of someone in their rebellious phase, Lethargy loathes the fact they and HC have similarities, Easy to rile up n all. They tend to start bickering with HC on random topics HC started rambling abt. They think hes annoying n all, but when they do get along oh boy, Oh Boy. Prepare ur popcorn besties this boutta be the best show of ur life.

DH to Lethargy - Bias exists here, though they cant feel emotion they do try to show Lethargy that they care for em. They take on the role of 'Damage control' parent, this family has 1 braincell and DH has it half the time, the other half is when HC and Lethargy cause joint chaos together. Theyre the type of parent to be chill and such but WILL put their foot down if needed. They're the one who mainly teaches Lethargy how to use their own abilities since Lethargy can grasp Circle theory. Same case with HC there is both fondness n horror in their own unique way but as always the fondness overpowers the horror. Theyre the favorite parent and they know it.

Lethargy to DH - Favorite parent. No he will not let HC fight DH for the spot of favorite parent. DH is the favorite parent and Lethargy will forever shove that fact into HC's face. Lethargy is thankful to DH for being so goddamn patient with them bc Lethargy can be so clumsy and dumb. Lethargy wonders where DH got all this patience from (DH got it from knowing and dealing with HC for years lmaoo)

Regardless thought the two like to be embarrassing parents, always like, bragging abt Lethargy's accomplishments and they of course inherited DH and HC's immeasurable IQ's they just have a morality to hold back themselves.

I dont know that much about the Conclave members individually yet so i cant say for them, Asuka on the other hand... he's semi used to it, he was clueless they used to date eachother tho lmaoo.

Like, as their student he had no idea The Original and The Architect were dating, he had suspicions but he didnt wanna ask them. To picture how ridiculously oblivious Asuka was during this time, The Original and The Architect could be smooching out in the open and he'd be like "Something fruity going on here... But probs isnt" /J/J those two were a bit more subtle but yeah Asuka truly is bad with relationships, even seeing em.

Adding sum tidbits here on The Architect/DH and Asuka's own dynamic. DH and Asuka were much closer actually, DH even when human was stoic and rarely showed visible emotion even verbally. Only diff betwene them is that DH isnt clueless on emotions, they acknowledge the importance of feelings even as who they are now. Its why betwen DH and HC, DH causes less casualties and suffering due to this. tbh DH would be scolding Asuka for not taking how he himself felt into account even in a scientific way. Emotions are a variable regardless, why ignore such a vital thing?

and i like to think that as a parallel to HC's "Asuka Asuka Asuka Asuka... You're a natural born lunatic" and the response of "Quiet down, Teacher."

DH's line is "Asuka Asuka Asuka Asuka. You're an unnaturally oblivious person." In a more scolding manner, response is "Louder please, Tutor?" in a sheepish tone

If u have more questions u can send em in i will be very happy to answer wjdnw sorry if im a lil late i had things to do

[poisonouswritings]

Help I'm tryna write smut but Ugh it's so hard for me

Do ya have any tips??

-disney anon

Bestie why are you asking me?? I'm horrible at writing smut. I mean I know that I write a lot of it but I'm really bad at it.

Also obligatory NSFW discussion under the cut (obliviously)

Firstly, I think it's good to read other people's work to kinda get the vibe. Personally I really like Nia's stuff (especially this one and this one) but she doesn't go onto that blog anymore so (which is a shame cause I was really looking forward to the Corrupt!Sage in heat post she mentioned,,, yes im calling myself out for it but idc you all know I'm a pervert). There's that. Idk what other fandoms you're into so I'm not too sure who else to recommend. I could recommend some of my own stuff but that would be biased. If any of you wanna tell me your favorite NSFW posts I've done feel free to do so (totally is not being an attention whore I just wanna know what y'all like so I can decide how to write future smuts).

Secondly, identify the specific subgenre you want to focus on and look for works in that field. I would recommend using Reddit for research. Personally I'm not too comfortable watching irl porn, so I typically defer to hentai-based subreddits. Those also have the added benefit of (usually) being more comic/dialogue based, so you can get a good feel for what type of verbage can help you really set the right tone. Like, the way you're going to describe a soft, loving, vanilla scene (something like r/wholesomehentai) is going to be pretty different from the way you describe a BDSM session (r/hentaibondage is a good starting place). Personally I struggle a lot with being descriptive/vulgar because I get really embarrassed (yay intense catholic guilt and anxiety over sex /s) so being able to see examples can be really useful.

Thirdly, depending on how realistic you want it to be, do some research into real sex. I don't mean porn. If you're writing for a specific kink then try looking up guides on how to safely and properly do it. Don't be afraid to look for horror/fail stories. Not to bring up Reddit again but r/askreddit has plenty of threads where people talk about realistic sexual encounters, usually in the forms of 'whats the worst/weirdest sex you ever had' or 'whats something porn gets wrong about sex' or so on and so forth. Depending on what kinks you're writing about, I would highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the golden rules of BDSM, since it's pretty widely applicable. You could also do some research into the relationship between kinks/fetishes and psychology (especially trauma) if you wanted to go that far with it. Not really necessary for a simple straight-forward smut, but incredibly useful if you wanna highlight (or allude to) a character's backstory and how it affects them in the present or just their characterization in general.

I think the biggest thing is, don't be too self-conscious about it! Writing smut is hard. Even if it doesn't come out right the first time, you can always go back and edit it later. And it does get easier the more you do it.

Hopefully this is useful!! If there's anything else I can do to help, let me know!

[patt-writes-stuff]

Beach Days with The Genshin Characters!

Wc: 1.7k+

Type: Headcanons

CW: umm nothing except mentions of alcohol and maybe people being creeps? (None of the chars or you tho it’s very brief)

A/N: HI IM BACK FROM THE DEAD! These were supposed to be a lot shorter but I got too excited. If you by any chance wanna see some for your fav character lmk! I know it says request are closed in my bio but since it’s just hcs it’s a lot less (and I really enjoyed writing these so ajdhdhdk)

🔥Diluc:

This man cannot swim. Tell me otherwise, I dare you.

Kaeya tried to jokingly push him off a lil diving cliff area when they were kids.

He almost drowned. Kaeya was in a lot of trouble.

So, good luck getting this man to actually get in the water. The most he’ll do is sit on the shore where it’s very shallow.

He usually prefers to just stay under an umbrella on the sand and keep an eye on you.

Calls you every two hours in advance and helps you reapply sunscreen.

He’s very pale so I feel like he burns pretty easily, meaning he needs to reapply super frequently otherwise he will become a tomato. He brings like three bottles of the good shit. Tch, rich boy.

If you ask him to build a sandcastle, he will pretend to be annoyed but do it anyways. Ends up finding it kind of enjoyable.

He has the maids prepare a nice picnic basket for the two of you!! It’s got all your favorite foods plus grape juice cuz y’know.

If any creepy peeps approach you, don’t worry. He brought his vision and his claymore.

Of course, he won’t have to resort to such violent lengths. Everyone in Mondstadt knows who Diluc is and they probably know you’re his s/o, so they’re usually smart enough to mind their own business.

If they don’t, don’t worry. Diluc’s glare is more than enough to scare them away.

All in all I definitely recommend a beach day with him! I’ll give it a solid 8/10 (-2 for not wearing floaties and getting in the water with you or letting you teach him how to swim.

🖌Albedo:

You guys definitely 100% take Klee out with you on a beach day.

You guys bring snacks, beach toys like buckets and shovels for optimal sandcastle building, a picnic blanket, etc.

Jean definitely packs a lot more stuff for you guys to take with you than you actually need.

It’s only cuz she’s worried for Klee and is nervous about not being able to go with you guys though! It’s very sweet really.

Klee tries to bomb the fish and cause havoc at the beach 😭

I think Albedo is a good swimmer and gets in with you and Klee so that he can help her (which is very cute omfg)

He’s set total workaholic, as we know, so it took a lot of convincing to get him to put down his experiments and accompany you to the beach (however, he’s particularly weak to yours and klee’s puppy dog eyes so he caved eventually)

Though, looking at you and Klee happily building sandcastles and decorating them with pretty seashells of all shapes and colors, he can’t really find it in himself to complain.

He, of course, takes this opportunity to take out his sketchbook and draw the waves, seagulls, you… Of course he won’t let you see the sketch book no sir. He’s a bit embarrassed to be honest, but an artist such as himself recognizes beauty when he sees it so he simply had to draw you. (God I love him so much)

If a creepy person approaches you,- well don’t worry. The sight of a small arsonist child blowing up fish is enough to scare them away 🥰

At the end of the day, all three of you are all ticketed out. Albedo has to carry Klee back to Mondstadt because the poor baby fell asleep the moment you started drying her hair with the beach towel. You’re, of course, carrying back Dodoco and your bags. (You also manage to sneak a peak at Albedo’s sketchbook and find some very pretty drawings of you and Klee with your sandcastle)

At the end of the day, you guys tuck Klee in and read her a bedtime story (she woke up and insisted). Afterwards Albedo takes you back home and thanks you for coming with you and Klee (which you ofc say wasn’t a problem because how could you not???)

All in all? I’ll give it a solid 10/10. You’ve got tasty food, fun times, your boyfriend and his cute kid adoptive sister (yes I am very biased idc)

🦋Xiao:

I think it would take a lot of convincing to get Xiao to go out on a beach date with you.

He’ll probably see it as a distraction getting in the way of his slaying of monsters and demons.

However, he also worships the grounds you walk on (hehe, simp XD), so I don’t think it’ll take that much convincing on your part (especially because it’s is self appointed duty to keep you safe so if you insist on going with or without him, he supposes he’ll have to go)

Is definitely a bit tense at first. He doesn’t know how to let loose and chill so while you’re sun tanning on a beach chair he’s like 🧍‍♂️ahdgshjsjd

Eventually calms down a bit though! You get him to relax and eat some almond tofu you brought along with you. It definitely gets him to perk up.

I don’t think he would mind getting into the water but I do think he’d rather walk along the shore and collect pretty seashells and sea glass.

He later gives the ones he deems pretties to you (he hands them over to you with a blush on his face and pretends it’s not a big deal and he definitely gets all pouty and grouchy when you coo at how adorable he is)

As for creeps, Xiao is both intimidating and well known in Liyue. No one is brave enough (or, let’s be honest, dumb enough) to approach you with any bad intentions.

Sure, Xiao has sworn never to harm a human/citizen of Liyue but that doesn’t mean he can’t scare the absolute shit out of them.

I think Xiao would definitely enjoy a beach day 🥺🥺. He’d find it very relaxing to go out with you and just hear the sound of waves and feel the sand under his feet.

He’d definitely hint at wanting to do it again later. Of course, he won’t tell you. No, that’s a foolish mortal activity and he has much better things to do.

Wait no, don't turn around, yes he will go with you next month.

All in all, I give Xiao a 9/10. It’s a very relaxing day (which he deserves 😤). And you get to see a whole new side of him.

💎Ningguang:

OK SO ORIGINALLY I WASN'T GONNA WRITE ONE FOR HER (at least not in this post) BUT THEN I THOUGHT OF LADY NINGGUANG TAKING YOU TO A WHOLE ASS PRIVATE BEACH

She knows you don’t care about how exclusive the beach you go to is (in fact, the fact that you don’t care about where you are or what you do is one of the things that make her fall more and more madly in love with you) but you deserve the best so she’s gonna go all out.

She’s a busy lady so days like this where the two of you get to go somewhere and be together are few and far between.

She knows it’s hard to be in a relationship with someone who is busy 24/7, so she appreciates how you remain by her side despite all hardships. (Y’all are a whole ass power couple istg)

The two of you spend your day relaxing. Sun bathing, drinking piña coladas, maybe taking a dip in the ocean. It’s all very pleasant!

Ningguang doesn’t quite feel like the type of person who would sit in the sand and make sandcastle, however you’re more than welcome to make some yourself. She finds it endearing <3

If you insist on her helping, she’ll eventually comply. She loves you too much to say no. I feel like she’ll either be terrible at it or like a total architect.

Sand is technically like tiny rocks right? So maybe she can use her vision to help her? If that’s the case, she’s making a replica of the Jade chamber out of sand.

If any creepy person comes up to you don’t worry. Ningguang will buy the whole beach and then use her right of admission as owner to permanently ban them from the beach you’re at.

The only downside to a day at the beach with Ningguang might be that there’s a big chance she’ll be called to tend urgent matters, seeing as she is the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing and all.

If that does happen, she’ll be sure to make it up to you somehow, whether it be rescheduling or taking care of the matter as soon as possible so that the two of you can get back to your day of relaxation and fun.

All in all?? Lady Ningguang will treat you like total royalty and the two of you will have an amazing time! I give her an 11/10 (she would literally buy a whole beach for you to be comfortable I mean c’mon)

🍃Venti:

BEACH DAYS WITH HIM ARE SO FUN!!

Swimming? Yeah, he’d love to! Sunbathing? Sure! He’ll ever conjure up a light breeze for the two of you. Sandcastle building? WELL OF COURSE WHY DO YOU THING HE BROUGHT ALL THESE BUCKETS AND SHOVELS?

No but seriously, he might be the best person out of everyone here to go to the beach with. He’s fun, free spirited, and he’s a traveling bard who’s been alive long enough to know where all the best beaches in Teyvat are. (He also knows a guy- er, well, dragon I suppose- who is willing to fly them to any place).

He’ll play some soft tunes while you doze under the sun.

HE PICKS PRETTY SHELLS AND GIFTS THEM TO YOU!!!

He will bring booze. I’m pretty sure this is a necessity. If you’re a little upset about it, he’ll probably “eheh~” his way out of it. That slick bastard.

If you really insist on him not drinking, he won’t consume much alcohol.

If some creepy person approaches you and tries to ruin you your day of beach time fun, all of their stuff will suddenly be blown away, causing them to scramble back to their spot and (almost embarrassingly) flail around trying to catch everything. What a shame…

At the end of the day, he’d be a little sad to leave. Definitely makes plans about tbe two of you going back soon.

I gotta give him a 10/10 he’s just so fun omg.

[cringemonkey]

Hiiiiii uhhh haha *twirls hair on finger* have u maybe..... Seen nezha reborn...... Any thoughts if yes... I thought it was GORGEOUS and the drama hit well but idk im curious abt ur impression!!

YESSSSSS I DID LIKE 5 TIMES and YES its absolutely gorgeous and i cant state this enough i fucking loved this movie im biased obviously but its genuinely like. top 10 favorite zixuan movies for sure also...…. many many thoughts..... i loved how it took very distinct inspiration from old chinese mafia films and the difference in aesthetics right down to their style choice between them like wukong is very old school with his wardrobe and the decor around him like his mancave(tm). it reminds me of old hong kong or at the very least a fantasy reimagining hong kong like the type of shit you would find off a highly anticipated triple AAA game (chefs kiss) ao guang and ao bing reminds me of the modern shanghai type mafia movies, i really like the contrast between the two. ao guang's power is shown through the iron fist he has on donghai's water supply and the exploitations of it while wukong's is very passive power, where he plays by the rules and can easily slip under cracks. very mischievous i love it. just like the wukong i know and love

and god.GOD THE FUCKING BACKGROUNDS again everything was so gorjus im shitting and crying i also really love the mashing of different geographical locations and landscapes in a singular city, such as shanghai, hong kong, macau, and xuankong si. theres probably more that i missed but the vibes were there.

and the lore....... we only touched the surface but its literally so cool and the fact we got glimpses of other cities GOD i started bawling when i saw erlang shen in the end credits scene along with tiangou FUCKKKKKKKK I CANT WAIT also i took alot of inspo from this movie for my own reimaginings but ANYWAYS.... gonna talk about the movie some more but ill spare those who dont wanna listen or havent watched it (also some doodles sprinkled in)

the way ao guang treated ao bing was kinda WEIRD like i could very much tell he cared about him and loved him because he literally got him a new spine and tried to talk to li yunxiang like heh sorry about your friends leg lol and the cat and also heres your motorcycle back (slips you 70 gold bars) but he also seemed out of character sometimes such as. like. the confrontation yunxiang and ao bing had together cause IF YOUR SON DIED TO THIS KID

and THE FUCKING KID IS STANDING RIGHT THERE

YOU SAY DONT EMBARASS ME? INSTEAD OF SCOOPING HIM UP AND RUNNING? i get that the story has to follow its actual mythology (ie. ao bing gets turned into a jump rope) so i guess i cant get too mad but i do wish we got to see more of father son dynamics. also speaking of dynamics ao guang is very much a tough love type of guy, since he was doing all of this child murdering behind ao bing's back in order to protect him but like. come on making your son fight the guy whose soul is the reincarnation of the fucker whose sole (get it lol) job is to kill your beloved son maybe. dont leave him in a room alone with him

also shifu wukong.... chefs kiss yes...... it just made me just a TAD bit emotional when he was like.... hi nezha long time no see when yunxiang summoned him like WAHHH THEY WERE FWIENDS........

i honestly expected the movie to have a wukong and yunxiang falling out like yunxiang finding out wukong was supposed to kill him but thinking about it now im thankful they didnt because wukong knew what he wanted from the start he just wanted to throw himself off ao guangs trail for awhile

also. i love how they interpreted the yaksha in this movie, with him being the bodyguard (caretaker in ao bings case), i love how so many nezha movies make their own little takes on the yaksha since he was a minor character in the legends. its a lovely reoccurring detail and his facial features make it kinda obvious he was the yaksha since theyre very distinctly..... scary

ALSO. final note

FUCKINNGGG one of my favorite scenes was the exposition scene done by ao guang where hes like “是他爽了我，我，东海龙王” then he stomps his fucking cane and we get to see a sexy ass floor transformation scene and his voice is all echoy and the music goes all crazy DUDE. its so fucking awesome when i first watched it i recorded that entire scene (with ao bing being thrown to the ground too L) and would just rewatch it 4827 times its awesome.

yunxiang is also a very lovely character i didnt talk about him alot till now but hes such an endearing protagonist especially since his life went to pure shit cause some stupid gay mafia boy wanted his custom made motorcycle like just fucking commission yunxiang if you wanted one asshole now youre spaghetti on the ground. hes humble and hotheaded but he loves his friends and family all dearly, when his dad died i started beating the shit outta my pillow i was so sad

ao bing was just rich boy but I LOVE IT and it works very well only thing that unnerved me was that he looks and dresses and almost acts exactly like my fucking brother like hair and all. he used to scare me by saying he was part of the chinese mafia and he proved it by showing me this arm sleeve tattoo he got from china when he visited and one time when he was driving me home from middle school i heard banging coming from the back of the car and got scared and he said he had a guy tied up in there with a monkey and they were trying to get out and each time i heard the bang he would shout SHUT UP OR ILL THROW YOU BOTH INTO THE SEA WITH YOUR ARMS AND LEGS TIED BY ROCKS and i literally fucking CRIEDDD i was so scared Turns Out it was Fucking Soda bottles.

also.sorry i know i said final note and wrote 3 more fucking paragraphs but last thing. i literally love chinese fantasy films so much cause they always end the same: with a giant fucking boss battle where the cgi goes HAM and everything gets all funky and crazy and people almost die or DO DIE and I LOVE IT SO MUCHHH its so outta left field sometimes and other times its just so DRAMATIC GODDD I LOVE IT I DONT CARE its literally my favorite cause every time it happens i Know where the movie's budget went into

anyways thats it..... my thoughts...... i also drew alot of nezha reborn fanart these past couple days for no reason i just got a burst of energy for it which ill post! also so sorry sneakystorms for replying so late i dont know when you sent it but i just kinda forgot i had an ask box when i came back BUT THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!!!!!!!! and hearing me if you or anyone else managed to make it this far <3

[stormyoceans]

love your ideas!! I would kill only to have Jay helping them find Kuea and spend time with Foei even if just for a second. Tbh I see their relationship as a lost opportunity since it'd be so easy for them to meet and have at least a friendship. Jay is Lian's business parter so I bet he and Foei had at least talked on the phone?? or be in the same room for any type of legal document??? Wish they would've given us something like that T_T -🌻

im so happy you liked my ideas, anon!!! and okay im gonna give an INCOMING RANT WARNING because believe it or not i do try to keep my jayfoei feelings on the down low most of the times but i AGREE WITH YOU SO MUCH and need to get some stuff off my chest now that the show is ending, so save yourself while you still can!!

the thing is.. this show will always remain dear to my heart for a couple of different reasons, but i also think it has A LOT of wasted potential, and jayfoei is definitely a big part of it. even if we don’t consider them as a pairing, but we just take their characters separately, i feel like the show could have done so much more with them, and i know im biased, but i do really believe they are two of the most interesting characters in the story and also have a place in it that it’s very unique and no one else has, which is knowing both lian and kuea and what is going on between them, but not being overly involved with it in an emotional way, and i honestly think they could have done something very interesting with it??

like i know they confined foei into the comic relief role, and he is still lian’s employee, so he couldn’t have done THAT much, but they also clearly have a relationship where foei is allowed to tease lian to a certain point, so it would have been nice to maybe have him give some more serious advice to lian about his relationship with kuea, especially since foei took care of moving the keerati’s properties under lian’s name. speaking of which, it’s so weird to me that they never made kuea even just consider the idea of using foei to find out what lian was doing? maybe im just.. a bad person because i know it would potentially put foei in trouble, but honestly kuea trying to squeeze some information from literally the one person who knows EVERY LITTLE SECRET about lian and his business would have made a lot of sense to me (how much of a bad person i am exactly if I kinda wanted a scene with kuea and diao trying to get foei drunk to get some info out of him and jay being like ‘why must you do that in MY PUB’)

and the same goes for jay tbh. once again, it’s so weird to me that they took the time to give us a pretty long scene about jay and lian becoming business partner, and then literally did nothing with it. i really expected at least some amount of drama to come from it, maybe kuea finding out and getting mad with jay, or maybe kuea thinking about giving up his singing career, which would have caused jay some major losses since they said multiple times the gemini barely makes an income and it’s mostly thanks to kirin. jay in general is such a fascinating character to me, because he is cunning and calculating, but also a dork who built a business from scratch all on his own, which is something that could have made lian relate to him, so i would have loved more scenes between them

and okay, because i AM biased and a bit bitter, i WILL say it: jay and foei as a romantic pairing would have made THE MOST SENSE out of all of them and i will die on this hill. like, don’t get me wrong, nuea and syn are my favorite canon couple so i would NEVER (let me repeat it, N E V E R) give them up, but i also think you can easily see how their storyline suffers from the fact that yes, they are kuea’s friends, but they’re not involved in the major drama with lian in any way, so they feel pretty detached from the main story, which also means it can be hard to integrate them in it without making their screen time feel out of place. with jay and foei they wouldn’t have had this problem AT ALL, because they are deeply connected both with kuea AND lian, and making them meet would have been SO EASY. like you said, lian and jay are now business partner. am i really supposed to believe they NEVER met or spoke to each other at all??? when foei literally takes care about every single part of lian’s business??? do you know the betrayal i felt in episode 5, when jay went to the pentagon to talk with lian, and i was SO SURE we were about to get a scene with jay and foei, just to then have some random guy show up to take jay to lian??? i was like WHO IS THIS DUDE WHERE IS FOEI.

anyway.. sorry for using your ask as a chance to talk about my feelings for them and the show. just like you, i also really wish they would have given us something more with them, because i feel like it would have made sense and would have been easy to write it in the show, so it’s a pity that they didn’t BUT THAT AIN’T GONNA STOP ME FROM SHIPPING THEM