#and it feels like for all that junko is supposed to be smarter here she's dumber

[aparticularbandit]

okay, so admittedly, i'm not completely through the ending of dr2 yet.

(hajime just went super saiyan etc. i stopped. i'll finish it later.)

but like.

dr2 was very ambitious in what it was trying to say particularly in its ending and i don't think it pulls it off because so much exposition happens at the ending (and i know that happened in the first game, too, and i didn't like it there either, but at least it didn't feel like all of this talk talk talking at me with junko occasionally oh, yeah, i should be asking you a question re: game rules - there was still a lot of talking at me, but not so much) - and like. part of the point of the game in the other trials is being able to puzzle out the mystery of things, right? but so much of this final mystery is just here at the end with - yes, there's lead up, there are threads, but not, like, stuff you could figure out over the course of the game? in a more frustrating way?

also the fuck with the loop i hated that i didn't know what i was supposed to do is that really just go through the loops so many times until suddenly you can do stuff because like i get the point but also i hated it i hated it so much because i didn't know what i was supposed to do and i was just stuck in this loop pressing every button i could and going through the buttons again and the cheat sheet and just stuck

and, yeah, i get that that's the point but. ugh i hate it.

and like? up to this point i was squarely on dr2 is significantly better than dr1, i'm loving what they're doing here, this is super cool - and i like what they were trying to do in terms of theme and stuff - and, yeah, the game mechanics of the loop to show what being stuck in despair looks like is cool - but like.

after literally an hour and a half of junko and makoto and fake makoto and monokuma etc. talking at me.

i'm bored. i'm tired. i'm ready for them to wrap it up. and i'm frustrated with the game mechanics because i feel like i'm doing something wrong when it's not that i'm doing something wrong i just have to wait more. when i've already been reading through so much.

and as a player, that's. just. frustrating.

i like the concepts and themes they're playing with here! but there has to have been a better way they could have done this that's not just info-dumping at the end for over an hour until i'm caught up to where they want me to be for the big moments.

[purpli-writes]

Makoto Naegi Becomes Someone Else

Summary:

Itsuki Nozomi is a mysterious future foundation member, he keeps to himself and has a strange interest in the remnants of despair.

Or, an AU where Junko targets Class 78 and somehow Makoto lives his execution.

You can read it on AO3 here

It starts off hard, as most things do.

“I loved you,” a voice whispered in a dark apartment, damp with tears. “Why wasn’t that enough?”

The question went unanswered, a silent plea by a person supposedly dead.

It was useless anyways, he already knew the answer.

It didn’t make it any easier.

Life moves on regardless.

“Nozomi-kun,” his coworker, Shimizu said softly as he glared at the paper. “Why are you so concerned about the remnants?”

He frowned, biting his tongue. “I want to understand what brought them to despair, don’t you?”

“We already know it was Enoshima,” Shimizu countered, staring at him concerned. “Is there something more, Nozomi-kun?”

Memories of sweeter days rung in his mind, a high-strung hall monitor confessing his love to an average boy.

“There has to be more than that,” Itsuki said instead. “And I thought we were on a first name basis, Usagi-san?”

The girl puffed her cheeks at him, still not entirely convinced. “You can’t just change the subject like that, Itsuki-kun!”

He sent her a slight smile, “Really, there’s nothing I can really explain about my interest.”

It wasn’t like he could say that they were all his friends once.

Some preserve, despite tragedy.

Shimizu was smarter than Itsuki gave her credit for, he often found himself thinking as he stared at the file she left on his desk.

Ishimaru Kiyotaka was printed plainly on the manila envelope, nothing like the man himself.

There was a bright pink post-it, with cutesy handwriting accompanying it.

“Since you’re always worrying about this one I got his file for you! You owe me one, Itsuki - Usagi.”

He smiled slightly at the note, taking it off the folder.

Maybe he wasn’t as good at hiding his feelings as he originally thought.

A person cannot erase themselves, no matter how hard they try.

“You know,” Shimizu began, dropping her voice to a whisper. “If I didn’t know any better I would suppose Hagakure-san’s disappearance was at least a little related to you.”

“Good thing you know better then, Usagi-san,” Itsuki responded coolly.

“Good thing, yeah,” Shimizu smiled. “Anyway, I want to meet your new roommate Itsuki-kun!”

A person can hope for a better future, at last.

“Are you sure you want to help us?” Hinata asked, staring with hope in his eyes. “You do know you’d be seen as a traitor, right?”

“I’m a remnant, Hinata-chi,” Hagakure said, staring blankly at Hinata. “Of course I’m going to try to help my friends.”

“I’ll follow Itsuki-kun to the ends of the earth!” Shimizu said cheerfully. “And as a member of Division 7 it’s my goal to cure despair.”

“I won’t let Enoshima win,” Itsuki said simply. “I have to save my classmates from her despair.”

Enoshima had attempted to kill Naegi Makoto, failing but just barely.

I know I can’t bring you back with love alone, he thought. But this time I’m sure to win with my friends behind me.

And maybe in the end, lovers and friends can be reunited.

[sanchoyo]

54 and 24, Mukuro and anyone of your choosing.

Soulmate AU + Secret Relationship 

OHH I LOVE THIS ONE I decided on Mukuro/Mikan and fuck the dynamics from the anime ok. My canon now. And I think both these girls deserve good things and to be Far Away From Junko :”)

_______________________

Junko didn’t know Mukuro had a soulmark. Her twin didn’t have one, and they were both supposed to be ruthless- there was no reason for the soldier to have one- Junko would have killed her for it. 

Soulmarks were weaknesses; ever since it appeared on her wrist at age fifteen, she’d kept it carefully hidden under tactical gloves, or behind a layer or makeup swiped from Junko’s huge collection. And it wasn’t like her sister was looking- why would she? (Her sister called her a brute, a vicious, ugly killer with no style and a flat chest and- quite frankly, Mukuro believed it; why would she get a soulmate and not her clearly more beautiful, talented twin?)

It was a strange shape, a little cross, even on all sides, pink in color. When she’d first discovered it, she’d tried to scrub it off, tried to cut it off, tried everything; no matter what, it faded back in. And being on the wrist, she couldn’t cut too deep, so, regardless-

She knew the little thing had damned her, so she hated it. She hated the concept of soulmates, that someone would look at her and love her, that Junko didn’t have one and she already knew if this person stumbled across her, her sister would kill them. So. She hid it, and denied having it. It was easier. 

Really. It was. It didn’t bother her in the least. Emotions were a footnote in the line of duty.

Mikan found Junko in their first year, a devoted girl at the first sight of affection. Junko had grabbed the girl’s wrist with her claw-like, blood-red nails, and laughed at her soulmark, assuring her no one would love her like Junko could. 

Mukuro saw the tiny knife in pink, and felt nauseous. 

____________________________________

Her and Junko had been sparring; Junko had landed a particularly nasty hit, and then skipped out to go to a shoot for a magazine. In the silence, Mikan treating the gash, Mukuro did something she never dared to do: She spoke against her twin.

“You shouldn’t let her treat you like that.”

“Um, what? What d’you mean?” Mikan’s voice was barely a whisper. “You’re the one all cut up, she’s nice to me-”

“My sister has never been nice a day in her life. You should- you can go. I have to stay and look after her, but you-”

“I like being with Junko! She loves me.” Mikan mumbled. “So..please don’t say things like that. Besides, you’re here, too.”

You’re here too. You’re here too. The words echoed in her brain for the rest of the week, warming  her cheeks. She stole glances at Mikan, who would avoid her gaze. It was too taboo, too risky to do around Junko, but she couldn’t help it. The soldier and the nurse; soulmates. Could it really be true?

A few weeks later, she tried again, more gently.

“Mikan. Junko will be in Paris for the week. Why don’t we go out?”

“G-Go where? I can’t, you know I- I can’t.” Mikan’s thumb touched her wrist, like a nervous habit. “Why would you wanna go out with me, anyway? I’m not- I’m boring, I can’t really- I’m n-”

“I enjoy your company well enough. I might be boring, too, according to my sister.” She held her hand out, letting her glove stretch forward, to show the soulmark. Mikan’s eyes widened. 

“Y-you have a..is that a…a medical cross?” Mikan had paled, turning away. “I..you? But- But Junko said-”

“I know. She’ll be gone for an entire week, though. You don’t need to feel obligated, if you don’t want to go, but I’d like to talk more about..this. She doesn’t have to know; I’ll make sure she doesn’t.”

“I um..Can I think about it?” Mikan flinched away, like she wasn’t sure saying ‘maybe’ was allowed, and Mukuro felt her own heart sink; so many of her own mannerisms were reflected back at her; it made her want to be stronger, so she could support this girl, protect her. Mikan probably believed Junko when she told Mikan that her twin was a killing machine- merciless and horrible, but…

But she was determined to be more; for the first time, she saw a girl like herself, and she wanted to disobey. She wanted to give love unconditionally, not the harsh love Junko gave, but something kind. 

“Think all you need; and don’t worry about disappointing me. If you don’t want to, I won’t push. But i’ll be here regardless.”

“T-Thank you.” Mikan gave her the tiniest smile, and she felt like a glacier under the sun, melting and warming all at once.

 _______________________________

Mikan was humming something under her breath, and smiling gently. Mukuro watched her with a smile of her own; Mikan thought she was alone in the classroom- her and Junko had been assigned after-class cleaning duties today, and of course Junko had skipped out, dumping it on Mikan. But Mikan didn’t seem bothered, she seemed at peace.

“Do you need help with that?”

“Mhm, you can if you want.” Mikan didn’t flinch when she saw her, or squeak out in fear like she’d done the first few weeks. This was routine; when Junko discarded the girl, Mukuro would arrive, dutifully helping her, quietly, not pushing for anything, and if she was any kind of judge of that sort of thing, Mukuro would think Mikan enjoyed their time, too.

“I was thinking..um, if it’s not too weird, I like your short hair, Mukuro! I..was thinking about cutting mine, but hair salons..they make her nervous, strangers with scissors…”

She met the other girl’s eyes, blinking.

“Oh. Would you..do you want me to cut it, then? I don’t know how to do it properly. I cut mine with my knife.” Junko always said it looked awful and uneven and that she had a million split ends. Knowing Mikan thought it was nice was enough, though, and made her face redden if she thought too hard about it. 

“That’s fine! I-I trust you.” Mikan sat on one of the desks, pulling her hair back with her hands and batting her eyelashes towards Mukuro. “Is now okay?”

“Yeah,” She swallowed, taking her knife out and closing the distance. She was careful to pull the hair far away from Mikan’s neck, behind her, and slide the knife across quickly. The hair fell on the floor; they’d have to sweep again. 

“Does it look okay?”

“It’s cute.” Mukuro said, tucking a strand of it behind Mikan’s ear. They both had short hair now. Mikan was looking at her intently, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Thank you.” Mikan whispered. Then, she kissed her, only for a moment. “S-sorry, I just wanted to know how that would feel...I want to be close to you, but..Junko…”

“I know.” She put her forehead on Mikan’s. “I hate seeing her hurt you.”

“I-I wonder how you think I feel. You’re her sister, but she always- m-maybe I don’t deserve better, but you do-!”

She couldn’t help but laugh; that’s how she felt when she saw Junko bully Mikan- maybe they were suited to each other after all. 

“She doesn’t have to know. And maybe..maybe we could even…” Leave? Where would they go? With what money? How would they get away from Junko’s reach? It didn’t matter right now; it was a nice thought, and she still felt like she should be protecting Mikan, so she’d do anything to reach that seemingly impossible goal. 

She grabbed the other girl’s face with just her fingertips, hesitant to let her own calloused, rough hands be forceful at all; Mkain leaned in again, closing her eyes, and Mukuro kissed her again. 

_________________________________

That was how it started- secret meetings, assuring each other of their worth, and slowly, surely, protectiveness and affection bloomed into something more. Keeping it a secret was hardly as hard as either of them expected; they could fall into their roles easily enough, around Junko, but as frequently as she was at shoots these days or in other countries, they had plenty of time, so many moments together, and every moment they had to pretend otherwise was agony. Their soulmarks turned from a soft pink to a bright, passionate red; and soon…

Between them, they’d saved up enough to run away. Nothing was certain, but..Mukuro looked over the money again, double checking the math; Mikan was smarter than she gave herself credit for, and had figured it all up. They were both terrified, and excited. Junko had a two week stay in Italy, so the day she left, they were leaving shortly after. 

An old pickup truck with survival kits, clothes, and food and water, and blankets; that was all they were carrying. Mukuro had the survival skills; Mikan had the first aid skills if anything happened. They’d go up north, try and find somewhere to hole up. Mukuro had safe houses from her soldier days, but using any of them ran the risk of being found. So it was a lot of unknown factors; they’d deal with it as it came. Together, they’d escape Junko.

Her fingers intertwined with her soulmates, though, she felt at ease. Mikan gave her a real, genuine smile with no hesitation, and they stepped into the unknown together.

[ryouverua]

Trial 6 - Flashfiction (4)

FLIP THAT CHESSBOARD, SWEETCHEEKS!

Trial: 1 / 2 / 3

it’s what kokichi would have wanted

DRV3 HOW DARE YOU HOLD OUT ON THE CUTEST DAMN TSUMUGI SPRITE OF THE ENTIRE GAME

how can mirrors be real if our eyes aren’t real

And we found it in Kokichi’s lab of all places. Why? Had he been able to get access to it ater all? Why was it just lying there so awkwardly - not hidden or neatly put away at all, but just tossed on the floor like an afterthought?

...... thinks about the state of Kokichi’s dorm room

yeah the chance that he left it on the floor like a bored 12 year old or me is not 0%

Wait.... is there??? The only one that stands out to me is the method of applying vs being scouted...

So we go over the events again, or as the game would probably put it, comb over The Longest, Most Ridiculous, Most Despairing Backstory to look for discrepancies.

Don’t look so pleased with yourself!

YES THANK YOU SHUICHI THANK YOU FOR STOPPING HER BEFORE SHE GOT STARTED AGAIN

It.... it doesn’t???

as;dflksdjf

U-Uuuuh Monokuma??? Are you just allowed to namedrop the title like that???

A-Anyway, this one was sort of vague - not sure if the game did too good a job of hiding it or not, but I certainly didn’t clue into this immediately because, well, I’d argue that Junko was ultimately the cause of this? And she was the original Ultimate Despair, even if Mukuro got roped into it with her? This felt a bit like being at a multiple choice exam where there are a few answers that are sort of right but not exactly right and then I cry

AND MUKURO!!! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS MUKURO ERASURE, DAMN IT!!! can you tell she was one of my favourites in the first game if not my favourite

“And that’s why, even though you are technically right, you are also wrong, and therefore will not get any points for your answer to this question.” sweetcheeks you sonuvab -

despite the mukuro erasure, consider me team maki

“Can it, nerd.”

It would have been really nice to have Maki in the first game.

We really are going over this piece by piece.

Okay, so now we’re reviewing the first game. They were forced to kill each other, then Junko was found out and killed herself in the end, which led to the eventual end of the Despair side....

Shuichi is clearly onto something that I haven’t quite latched onto yet. 8′D

This makes me think of how cool it would have been to have this text style in the previous games. Have I mentioned enough about how much I like the typography in drv3? Because I don’t know if that’s possible.

OOOH that’s right - I forgot! Or, well, I didn’t forget, but it didn’t really occur to me that we were remembering that they were literally trapped in the school by Ultimate Despair, I guess.

I guess the gist of it is that they’re remembering - well, not witnessing the events, but being told things were one way vs another. They would have been too young to have been alive at the time though, right? It seems to me that, though the game clearly wants us to take it a different way, we can also interpret this as them just being told the wrong thing within the memories themselves as opposed to the actual memories being entirely falsified. What if the reports at the time or the commonly-known story was that they had been locked in by Ultimate Despair, and it’s only the properly researched books like this that have the correct accounts? It’s not exactly an uncommon phenomenon for there to be widely-held mistaken knowledge/generalizations of famous events, unfortunately... 8′D

Anyway, I’m getting distracted because like I said, this is really not the angle the game is going with at all.

BULLSHIT

AND ALSO

WHY WOULD A BOOK EXIST THAT DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS THE MEMORIES YOU GAVE THEM

LIKE

WHY DOES IT EVEN EXIST IN THIS PLACE AT ALL

I’m seriously fixated on this book!

also

I love Shuichi just casually ignoring Junko!Tsumugi lmao

I’m calling her Junko!Tsumugi I refuse to call her Tsumugi!Junko I REFUSE TO GIVE UP ON TSUMUGI’S AUTONOMY

This.... this one has to be it, right? This was the one thing I remember getting really confused by when they talked about applying! In fact, I had thought the whole reason Shuichi was considered the Ultimate Detective was because of the homicide case and if that resulted in him being at Hope’s Peak, it was because word of that had traveled - but then if it was an application, that means either his parents or his uncle would have applied on his behalf, right?

this was a detail I remember remarking on and loving btw I got really sad when in Chapter 5 it started looking like they were all in the same class

I think more than the others, this is the big one. All that other stuff can be attributed to mistaken hearsay - but this? This is something they would have ‘directly experienced’.

Oh apparently he chose to come... despite feeling awkward about his title.

I wonder if he was pressured into it by his family....?

Or, uh. Let me correct myself. I wonder if, in this mistaken memory, he remembers being pressured into it by his family?

I-I feel like I would trust the book over you guys especially considering the whole ‘we remembered Kokichi Ouma as a Remnant of Despair and got him killed as the fake mastermind’ situation tbh.

well technically ultra despair girls is

That is a good point. I mean, it could quite possibly happen underground, but I suppose the same could be said of the Jabberwock Island one - there’s no reason that should be public knowledge.

“I mean, I know it’s nothing new, but bear with me here.”

H A L L E L U J A H

REALLY

REALLY

MAKI, REALLY

YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW BETTER

FUFCKFUCKING HELL GUYS YOU’RE KILLING ME HERE

sdfkdslfj fukging

noOOONONO

aND YOU! YOU SHUT UP TOO!!!!

“Also have you seen their outfits? Do you realize how terribly they would clash? ‘Oh Saihara, why would that matter what do uniforms have to do with anything surely Kokichi and his uniformed clown posse could just be a branch under the Remnants’ NO THAT WILL NOT FLY WHEN THE HEAD OF THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION LITERALLY DOUBLES AS THE ULTIMATE FASHIONISTA!!!”

this level of reasoning is possible for saihara shuichi

.... what do you think, everyone?

And he still has the Supreme Leader title, even if these aren’t really their talents... there has to be something to that, right?

Shu -

Shuichi

The words DICE were written in big words over his giant hella awesome throne

He has a checkered scarf which brings about a certain ‘game’ feeling

he literally challenged you to card games

I’m.... I’m just gonna throw it out there, but there’s a pretty good chance the group he led was called ‘DICE’.

YOU SAW THE VIDEO YOU SAW IT DAMN YOU MAKI I KNOW YOU’RE BETTER THAN THIS YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THIS!!!!

“Maki also said he literally said he didn’t know what she was talking about when she interrogated him with a crossbow literally aimed directly at him but surely that’s unrelated -”

s o b s

I 100% bet Tsumugi was not counting on them finding this room. So.... beginning the trial, she tried to do a Kaede/Kaede’s twin mastermind thing. Then she switched tactics to being solely ‘Junko’ and her lackey Kokichi setting up the game with the last survivors of humanity as... revenge for Hope’s Peak, I guess? Or something.

So where are we going from here? Are we about to discover this was all a simulated scenario then?

Sort of like they’re trying to test different outcomes and scenarios - with different talents, maybe? Is there the selected 16 (15? 14?) talents that can be switched around at will, or is there a larger database of students’ talents? That’s what I really want to know.

But “there are an endless possibilities for lies,” a certain person may say.

why are you all ganging up on me also how when two of you are literally the same person and the other one is an AI acting as an extension of you -

It sort of hit me but this is a weird echo of Korekiyo’s trial, with Junko and Tsumugi switching back and forth with each other the way Korekiyo and his sister did. I wonder if there’s something to that, or if it says something about Tsumugi in general...

(one hangman’s gambit later...)

TALENTS ARE NOT THEIRS AND POSSIBLY ARBITRARY CONFIRMED

I WOULD KILL FOR KOKICHI TO POP OUT OF THE GRAVE TO SHOUT IT’S A LIE RIGHT NOW

FUCK YOU BEAR

ghggkhgkh

that is a dangerous precedent to set

But you weren’t planning on revealing this, right??? Right???? Your hand was totally forced! Don’t play this off like it wasn’t!

I swear I had a similar idea when I was coming up with how they could see themselves in photos/pictures if the students weren’t actually who they thought they were - about how their brain filled in the gaps and placed their own faces where they’d expect to see them (like in the funeral scene with the portraits, etc). Glad to know I was kinda right on that regard!

I really like it when they combine Junko and Tsumugi here. There’s probably something to that - when it’s Tsumugi herself acting as the mastermind, as opposed to just being ‘Junko’.

T-Those are some pretty big inconsistencies though? Why would there be incorrect options in those flashback lights in the first place? What was there to gain for their being options where ‘Ultimate Despair trapped the first class in’ and ‘Junko is the end-all of Ultimate Despair’? At least Kokichi’s made sense to have on standby, but the other stuff? Isn’t their existence a bit weird?

It’s... nice to see Shuichi focusing on Kokichi. Being posthumous and all it’s a bit late, but it’s still nice - especially after all that talk of ‘not understanding him’ and ‘the embodiment of a lie’, having him finally clue in to Kokichi’s real place in all of this - a victim of the mastermind - is good. It’s the perfect example of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ and Kaito figured that out last chapter, so it’s long past due for Shuichi to drag himself and everyone else to that conclusion, kicking and screaming if he must.

(he was jealous of Angie)

because he was trying to stop the game!!!!!

Which, honestly, was pretty clever on her part. I think overall Kokichi will come out of this looking the best - he had so little going for him and almost succeeded in his coup - but the fact that Tsumugi was able to counter his surprise attack still says a lot about her own intelligence and her ability to adapt, because in that moment she also had limited options.

THANK

YOU

LORD

WE HAVE GATHERED HERE TODAY TO SAY FAREWELL TO REMNANT!OUMA THEORY

REST IN PIECES AND NEVER COME BACK

Pretty damn successfully, too.

While the fact that her first inclination was to straight-up murder Kokichi was very Not Good, it’s at least good to know that it took the extra nudge of the flashback lights to push her over the precipice. Basically, it took turning Kokichi into a complete monster in her eyes - Despair with a capital D - to strip away his humanity entirely. I do wonder if she still would’ve staged a rescue mission of sorts to rescue Kaito? For that matter, I wonder if Kaito had been on the outside (with the Flashback Light used on him and everything) and it was someone else being held hostage like Shuichi, would he have been able to talk Maki down?

It’s interesting how they’re turning hope itself into a weapon here. I think Junko talked about this in the first game, the idea of giving hope out to maximize despair, so it’s not the first time the mastermind has actively used hope as a weapon - but it’s never felt quite as dirty as it does here.

!!! We’re seeing her as herself in the room!!! I guess it’s the flashback light classroom, but still!

That is so unfair considering they were all being threatened with death, you were straight up messing with their brains and also that airlock exists??? And they straight-up collapsed after being exposed to the outside??? I’m 

I think Shuichi managed to break away from that a bit at the end... maybe. He seems more motivated by righting the wrong in Kaede’s case at this point, and of avenging everyone who died - but the same can’t be said of the others.

Man I even wondered what it would be like without Kaito and Kokichi there considering they’ve been the strongest ‘movers’ on both sides - and the answer ended up being ‘I’ll give you artificial motivation to act’.

SHE’S.... REALLY A KILLING GAME FAN GIRL AFTER ALL..........

Oh, this does feel dirty. She’s lusting after them in an abstract way - like pieces on a chessboard. Kokichi was able to compartmentalize and make people take certain actions to an extent, but even he had attachments that he wasn’t able to shake. I knew it felt like she had managed to keep herself from getting too close to them, with the sole exception of the protectiveness she felt for Gonta (which?? I want to know if we’ll hear anything about that specifically???) but this is... wow.

Actually, this is very Komaeda-esque isn’t it? She wants to see them succeed in their battles against each other in a similar way...

Junko only gets that look when she’s actually mad. So if Tsumugi is sporting that... well, she must be smarting a bit underneath all the gloating she’s doing. She was happily spouting off ‘hints’ before, right?

Oh??

me too tbh

OH THE TURNABOUT MUSIC IS HERE

THAT TRANSITION WAS SO GOOD AND SMART WHAT A GREAT WAY TO USE THE PORTRAIT STAND

oooh! OOOOH! OH WHAT A FANTASTIC POINT!

SHUICHI MY BOY YOU’RE ON A ROLL NOW! GET HYPED GET HYPED GET HYP -

AAAAAAAAAAH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hajimemed

[themattress]

7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 21, 22, 23, 25

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

It’s actually incredibly rare for me to like something and then just…not like it anymore. Or at the very least, there will be things about it that I will always like even if the rest of the product goes to shit. With that said, if there’s one thing I used to really enjoy that I just don’t anymore, it would have to be the Nostalgia Critic web series. While there have been some enjoyable episodes here and there, for the most part it’s felt like a big step down in quality ever since it was un-cancelled in 2013. Doug Walker himself has gotten more obnoxious and unlikable on a personal level. And that’s to say nothing of the absolute shitshow that was the abuse going on at Channel Awesome that Doug and his brother are culpable in (#ChangeTheChannel). The Nostalgia Critic used to be a really fun thing that I looked forward to. And now it’s not.

Have you received anon hate? What about?

Yes, about perceived “wrong opinions”. I usually just delete it and move on.

Most disliked character(s)? Why?

When you get down to it, there are two types of characters I hate: characters who do terrible things in canon and you are thus supposed to hate, and characters who the writers constantly and hamfistedly push for you to like and sympathize with regardless of whether or not they deserve it. I usually enjoy hating the former type, but am just frustrated with the latter type.

Examples of Type I: Peter Pan from OUAT, Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ghetsis from Pokemon, Gendo from Evangelion, Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls, Ragyo from Kill La Kill, Junko from Dangan Ronpa, The Joker from any given incarnation of Batman, etc.

Examples of Type II: Regina Mills from OUAT, Lana Lang from Smallville, Mon-El from Supergirl, Lea and even kind of Riku from Kingdom Hearts, pre-Book 3 Mako from Legend of Korra, Paul from Pokemon, Meiko from Digimon, (Insert name) Uchiha from Naruto, etc.

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Several, but the one who immediately springs to mind is Iris from the Pokemon anime. The fandom hates her because they’re by and large misogynistic pissants who can’t stand that she routinely emasculates their beloved surrogate Ash, but since I’m not one of them I can actually enjoy how cute, cool and amusing she is, and how well-written her character development is - especially in comparison to her successor, the fandom’s darling Serena. 

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Right off the top of my head, I think of the exercise in shark-jumping that was Euphemia’s brainwashing and death in Code Geass, some of the worst writng in anything ever. Instead of that contrived bullshit happening, I would have made Schniezel hijack the SAZ plan for his own benefit, turning it into just another form of oppression for the Japanese people but wrapped in a benevolent appearance. The Black Rebellion could still happen, and Euphie could remain alive to receive more character development and become a smarter political player ala Lacus from Gundam SEED whom she already greatly resembles.  

What are your thoughts on crack ships?

They’re fine, I love plenty of crack ships! Just don’t take them too seriously.

Popular character you hate?

I recently talked about Steve from Stranger Things, and that called to mind a character who, while I don’t hate per se, I don’t particularly like as much as most people seem to: Chief Jim Hopper. I’m sorry, but this guy is a fucking asshole! He usually treats people like shit, he solves most problems by punching people in the face, he pursued the Will Byers case mostly for his own personal reasons rather than for the sake of the boy or even his mother, he sold the kids at the school out to Brenner in the Season 1 finale, and he entered nigh-unforgivably abusive territory with Eleven in Season 2. Also, I’m salty that it looks like Bob, a better guy in every way, got killed off partly in order to set up a Jim/Joyce ship. So yeah, not a fan.    

Unpopular character you love?

Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy is hated by most hardcore comic purists for not being faithful enough to the 616 version of MJ, and by other viewers who hate her being a damsel in distress all the time, for being “bitchy” and messing with the feelings of male characters around her, or for not being beautiful enough. I, however, understand that adaptations need to cut corners and do what works best for them and the medium they’re in, and think that they did just fine with Mary Jane and that Kirsten Dunst plays her wonderfully. I’m also not a misogynist in any way, so I understand that people without superpowers are usually vulnerable and I don’t victim-blame MJ for being kidnapped and commend her for handling herself better with each passing incident, I don’t begrudge her as a woman for having faults while excusing the male characters for the same, and I know that comic book beauty is an idealized, unreachable standard and that it’s asinine to hold real-life women to it. Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson is a great character, period.

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

You’re kidding me, right? There’s way too much examples here! How can I choose just one? Ugh, whatever, here’s this for Once Upon a Time.