#it was connected to ftes…

[iiizuru]

Making ANOTHER meme

Cant get myself to want to finish the original one lmao

[protect-namine]

shuichi and maki both having talents that are uniquely suited for killing games and are only reliable during an investigation. the two of them plus himiko all hesitated to open up to people, but learned to do so anyway despite, or even more so because of, their friends dying along the way. that the three of them have character arcs about facing life forward and believing in others and, more importantly, believing in themselves, no matter how much they want to shy away from who they are. which is all the more fitting because they're fiction, but they're determined to make themselves real. to love is to be made real, etc etc

I'm just really glad they all had their character arcs dragged through so many chapters because it really feels like they "earned" their place as the survivors of the game. I can believe that these three can face any truth and obstacle they'll encounter on the other side of the wall. survivor trio you're so precious to me

[strawberrysweater]

i sorta hc that shuichi is the only member of the polycule who can cook or bake... he's not amazing at either but he's pretty good. i think kiibo could follow a recipe but he just hasn't practiced very much yet, and kaede has never tried because what if some freak accident in the kitchen burned her hands? what if she hurts a finger chopping vegetables? she can't take that chance

BUT i think she and kiibo should try at least once... maybe they make some cookies or little pastries for all of them to enjoy together (not kiibo though LMAO)

they would be so silly about it, they get themselves some nice kitchen aprons just for the fun of it... and both of them spent a lot of time beforehand, total coincidence, researching interesting types of cookies to make and recipes they thought would be fun because they're both So into this and got really excited and focused on making The Perfect Little Treat... and they come together like oh haha this is so silly of me but i had all these ideas... wait no that sounds great you're so right YEAH LET'S DO IT

[tobyisave]

Trust & Insecurity in Kiibo & Miu's relationship

(In response to @strawberrysweater ! Thanks for opening this can of worms and sorry for this huge post lmaooo)

To preface this: I do love them together!! I just enjoy looking for the places they might clash at times if they were actually in a relationship... So this is about the things that keep them from fully understanding/trusting each other. And ofc this is just my interpretation!!

My short answer:

(1) Miu only thinks she is valuable as an inventor and sexual object, (2) Most people only care about Kiibo as a scientific novelty, and (3) they both have JUST enough evidence to convince themselves that this is also how they view each other. Even if deep down they're only playing these roles in an attempt to get closer to another human being.

On top of that, even though they're especially vulnerable with each other, I think there's still a lot of misunderstanding between them that would be difficult for them to reconcile. First because they have some genuine points of conflict, and second because they each have problems communicating and reading people (i.e. reality distorting levels of abandonment issues & obligatory robot autism coding, respectively)

Elaboration under the cut:

PART A - Insecurities

You can see (1) and (2) a bit in their other relationships:

Miu is of course hypersexual at all times, and she gives inventions to Shuichi (FTE) and her fantasy lover (love suite) because, as she confesses herself, inventing stuff is the only way she knows how to show affection for other people besides offering them her body.

Her inventions and hypersexuality are also the only explicit points of connection between her and Kokichi, arguably the only other character she is remotely close to besides Kiibo and Shuichi.

So given that most of her onscreen relationship with Kiibo is sexual or scientific (or both) in nature, it’s easy for her to go on believing these are the only things she has to offer. It’s a bit self-fulfilling of course because she’s arguable the one controlling the direction of their relationship in the first place, and at this point I’m not sure she believes there’s anything else to her.

[Shout out to @cloudysonder for helping develop this take :P]

I get the impression Kiibo has met a lot of people over his life who only want to talk about how cool it is that he’s a robot, even though that’s not a part of his identity he initially likes to bring up.

In his FTE with Shuichi, he goes straight into 'demonstrating my functions' mode as if it's the only way he knows how to talk to people

We see him treated in this fetishized way in-game too: with Kokichi chasing him to be “friends with a robot”; with Kaede’s FTE asking him invasive questions and touching his buttons without asking; and in postgame with Kazuichi basically assaulting him and trying to take him apart out of scientific curiosity --- all of these within just his first or second interactions with these people!

So it's a BIG thing for him to willingly let Miu sit there and take him apart, when he already spends so much time fending off virtual strangers who don't respect his bodily autonomy. And he's not used to people taking a genuine interest in him as a person so he’s hesitant to let himself believe Miu is any different, especially when her interest is so explicitly centered around his biology.

Plus as long as Kiibo is physically dependent on Miu, there's going to be a lot of room for insecurity to fester on BOTH sides:

"Does Kiibo really need me or does he just need my technical skills? Does he want to do these favors for me or does he feel like he has to?"

"Does Miu really care who I am or does she just want to gawk at my body like everyone else does? Does she care who I am or am I just the first boy(?) to give her the time of day? Does she want to help me or does she just know she’s the only one who can?"

This is the biggest hurdle IMO because it's a necessarily unbalanced relationship, and it will have to continue for the foreseeable future, no matter how they feel about each other.

PART B - Respect/communication

Another thing is that I don't think they fully respect each other — kind of for the same reason the rest of the group doesn’t respect them either

Miu might not consider Kiibo a person. We know Kiibo was worried about this; when asking Shuichi to use the electrohammer on him he explains, "The outcome will settle once and for all how Miu perceived me." This, and the fact she says robots aren’t people in trial, make me pretty confident that she has never looked him in the eye and said "I consider you a person."

I think she has a complex relationship with Kiibo’s personhood. On one hand if he’s a thing then it’s much easier for her to control him (esp given what we see of their relationship) and this soothes her anxious heart by ensuring that he can’t abandon her.

At the same time, if this is the case, then his coerced/artificial love isn’t worth as much as it would be if it came from an autonomous human person — to her insecure mind, it becomes Miu alone in her room playing boyfriend girlfriend with a doll, if that makes sense. 

To clarify, I’m not saying she BELIEVES he’s just an object, but it’s an idea that both comforts and torments her.

It's worth noting, too, that Miu doesn't always respect people's consent. This is especially risky when you factor in their mechanic-robot relationship (which already comes with a difficult power dynamic) and Kiibo’s naive/somewhat people-pleasing personality.

On Kiibo’s end: I think it’s safe to say he finds her rude/inappropriate at first (though I think it's really sweet that he uses the much more euphemistic description 'brash and spirited' after getting to know her). They also have some pretty stark moral differences --- Kiibo is distraught to learn that Miu wasn't above murdering their classmates, for example.

More importantly, I headcanon he has a lot of difficulty understanding her at all  – on an emotional level, yes, and and on a literal level he just straight up doesn’t understand many of the sentences she says either

K: “Most of that was unintelligible nonsense, but…” after Miu explains her “secret woman weapon." IMO his decision to phrase this as an insult helps mask the fact he's not familiar with all the lewd references she just made

He also has problems understanding emotions from the start, and Miu is DIFFICULT to track because she cycles through emotions so rapidly.

+ he might find it hard to extrapolate that many of the things she does are part of a facade. The crass egotistical miu who says he’s not a person is equally as real to him as the deeply insecure miu wants to believe he is a person (if not more real…)

PART C

Also these bullets from my personal doc I don't have the willpower to expand on atm:

They are both so prone to misinterpreting people unkindly

They’re also both so misled about how committed a relationship is supposed to be. Like I think Kiibo would consider a confession from literally anyone to be tantamount to a proposal (based on his love suite scene). And Miu wouldn’t be quite so fast but i do think it’d still be a huge deal for her because she falls very hard very easily (based on her FTE). Which is all very cute but being plunged into a big commitment like that can be crazy stressful, esp for two teens who have never dated before (imo) and have no frame of reference. [I was actually just going to post about this part lol]

PART D

All that said... I love them together and I DO think they could make it work without too much heartbreak. A lot of the things I describe as problems here could easily be taken as strengths.

e.g. Their misunderstanding of how relationships work ironically makes them more compatible, since they're both ready to go whole hog (if Kiibo determines that he actually likes her that is). Miu's rapidly fluctuating emotions are confusing, but on some level I think he'd admire how deeply and obviously she is able to feel things. And of course Miu as an inventor has a deep (almost objectum like??) respect for machines that helps Kiibo accept that he can be a robot and a person at the same time, and is probably the only one in the class who understands just how impressive he really is.

Thanks thanks THANKS for reading if you seriously read all that!! Mwah!!!!

I would love to hear anyone's takes on my takes too :P I haven't been rotating them in my head for too long yet so I'm still developing my interpretations...

[rainbow-crane]

Ways Hiro Could've Been Plot-Relevant

I'm upset. We cope with listmaking

Expand on his business dealings. Hiro's supposed to be using his fortune-telling as a moneymaker, and by playing his ftes, you know he's wildly successful via exorbitant prices. So why not have him take advantage of everyone's panic in the killing game and start making sales? Sure, a good chunk of the cast will be able to see through it, but there are plenty of characters that could buy it (Makoto, Hina, Toko in the early-game, to name a few).

Have him and Makoto connect over both being framed. They literally set up the easiest way for the two of them to bond in chapter 3 and just. Didn't use it. I feel like this is the easiest way to make him feel more connected to the story (and player!) without having to alter the main plot all that much.

Investigate the supernatural! Hiro is pretty quickly established as having a ton of interest and belief in it, but believes it to be separate from his fortune-telling from a business perspective. If Sayaka and Kyoko both canonically have supernatural abilities, couldn't Hiro's own interest in the extraterrestrial play a role? After Kyoko reveals to the group her amnesia, Hiro could be the one to offer to help her figure it out, and potentially have the ability to pick up on her connection to the god of death (I could 100% see him referring to her as an 'angel of death' and misinterpreting his own reading as her being the cause, as more of a clue-in before she just drops that on us lol.) Also, having him know something's different/off about Kyoko would make him work as more of a role in the story and allow him to connect to Kyoko, trying to investigate in his own bumbling way but eventually sees her as a friend and wanting to trust her despite it. It'd double as a good reason for Kyoko to feel connected to the other survivors as well.

Accidental-older-brother-figure him. He's canonically several years older than the rest of the group; watch him accidentally start worrying over the rest of the survivors as the game goes on and give him a sibling-like relationship with them, particularly Hina and Toko. They all argue all the time anyway, so why not go that extra mile and sibling-code it? They squabble a ton, but when it comes down to an emergency, he should be the one putting himself between Monokuma and the survivors in the gym, defending Makoto and Kyoko in the ch 5 trial, checking on Jill after the bomb sends her flying. Let him worry about the others more!!!

This applies to everyone really, but you know how sdr2 and v3 have those unlockable scenes you can trigger by having the right items in your inventory? I really wish THH had those (besides the bathhouse one that doesn't count) so we could hang out with the other characters and let them develop more bonds with each other. I could see one with Hiro by getting him a new glass ball in chapter 2 and him giving out a free reading to 'test' the glass ball first, with Makoto, Chihiro, and Hina all getting readings. (Bonus points for Hiro supporting transfem Chihiro w/o expressly saying it. I'm imagining something like "I can see you're much stronger than you think you are, and self-doubt is your greatest enemy; keep being true to yourself" and her misinterpreting it as 'oh maybe I am cis and just haven't acknowledged it' and just. Tragic downfall)

[nerd-cat-rambles]

please ramble to me about hinazumi i’ve never met someone who shipped this specific pairing so hard and i need to Know i need to experience this too

OH MY FUCKING GOD IVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY TO COME THANK YOU SO MUCH MOOTIE MWAH!!!

Hinazumi is in my eyes, the PERFECT AMAZING AWESOMEST ship of sdr2. I can understand why you'd like other ships though.

For starters, many people assume it's a rarepair because they haven't many interactions in the main game, with Mahirus death early on and all. I feel like if she lived longer this would totally flesh out the relationship, and she would be a sort of Chiaki kind of character, but we already have a Chiaki, so bye bye Mahiru *hits with a metal bat*

Spoilers from her on I guess

The main reason I ship this is because of mahirus ftes, if you play all of them in order you'll see EXACTLY what I mean.

"MAHIRUS A LESBIAN MAHIRUS A LESBIAN!" No??? She loves Saionji, yes, but she also has canonical attraction towards Hajime.

In her Ftes she starts as a tsundere. Well she's a tsundere until she dies, and technically I'm pretty sure hajime is too.

As the time she spends with Hinata grows, so does the personal connection that they have. Mahiru reveals that she had a bad father figure and her mother got her into photography, this shows that Mahiru doesn't really hate males at all. She just dislikes laziness and because of her father's actions in her mind all males are lazy. (This is entirely different to Tenko by the way).

Mahiru begins to act nervous in her final FTE and Hajime asks her if she's alright, she tells him that it'd be better to "do it" somewhere better and so she takes him to a beach.

Hajime pretty much assumes that its a confession of love and Mahiru tells him "no nevermind ill tell you when we're off the island" and with that they begin to take photos.

As they do so she promises that she will give him her camera once she gets off the island, which is because she trusts him (gift giving is a love language is it not? And based on Mahirus experience with other men it all seems to match - she assumes men are greedy and lazy, so if she liked one itd only make sense to give them something)

She also says that photos are the best way to see people, and that Hajime taking a photo of Mahiru is the equivalent to how he sees her as a person. This is both personality-wise and physically. She seems disappointed (something along the lines of "wow am I really that bland") which is something that usually wouldnt bother her because she's all about hard work and less about presentation.

Hajime promises to get off the island with her and be friends together, and then the FTE ends. That chapter she dies. That's very doomed isn't it? Like... danganronpa doomed lovers? Like?????

Anyway, throughout the game Hajime never loses his temper at mahiru for assuming things (but he does with Nagito) which might be a possibility to show his affection towards her.

Im also pretty sure they have interactions in the dr3 anime which I haven't seen.

I haven't played the games in a while so this is all from memory, but that's all the Canon proof of the main game that i can think of to why I ship Hinazumi.

I totally respect people who ship komahina, hinanami, mahiruxhiyoko, mahiruxsato etcetera. But hinazumi is just adorable and she should've lived longer to get the development she needed.

Its such a fun fluffy ship that I'd totally reccomend getting into. And her ftes make her a much more likeable character so check those out if you can!

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Your twin theory stuff has been going on for quite some time, have you considered making a run down on it because it’s a bit hard to find all your points and information on it because of how long you’ve spent on it and I’m very curious but struggling to put it all together

(Alright, take two since I got stuck for a loooong while)

This is a basic explanation of the Ouma-Monokuma twin theory! I will do my best to condense the concepts down in a way that flows simply and is easily understandable, but it will be hard to cover everything while keeping to the most relevant information. So if this doesn't do the job, I might finish the much longer meta on ao3 at a later date, in which I will cover… everything I possibly can, no holds barred and without the blog links. Which will take considerably longer and need very careful execution. (Yeah, this is the short version…)

General disclaimer: this is a view informed by at least six years of trial and error, ruminating in canon for patterns and their meaning. Through all this, I recognise that it is still a theory, and it doesn't make others’ ideas less meaningful. All the same, I need you to understand that this theory and its analysis is fundamental to my view of Danganronpa as a whole, not just my feelings about Ouma. And in my opinion, the presence of bad writing in DRV3 does not negate that view, either. So if you believe that it does, I hope we can agree to differ on our reader responses instead, after all is said and done. Thank you.

Alright, with that out of the way, dropping this under a cut as it's lengthy. Though rather than a lot of detail on what this means for Ouma's character right now, I'm going to dig through the surface with the basis of reframing, roles, academy history, psychology, narrative style for the mastermind, and the broader consequences, with feelings from my perspective to wrap up. I hope that will help give a perspective of the theory world, so that any evidence I give should fit easier in the future.

⚠️ Reader discretion is advised- this content details abuse further on and will be marked like this! ⚠️ 

[‘Then this story's not over.’]

The way I see this situation is basically like a 3D sculpture with two different pictures- ‘the fiction’ and ‘the conspiracy’. That is to say- in the ‘fiction’, there are things that are effectively motifs or throwaway remarks (such as, Ouma's comment about having a brother in his FTE), but in the ‘conspiracy’, they become clues to a hidden interconnected situation. A puzzle in the meta, essentially.

To begin, I’ll outline components of this framing, as these are necessary to understand how this turnabout works.

Catbox world: the question hanging in the air, 'is HPA fiction, or is it real'? What would the consequences of the latter be for the game and outside world of DRV3? In order to begin answering this, I think this way:

Domino effect: 'when you learn a new fact, you learn something else along with it'. Ex: if HPA is real, a very large and clandestine organisation may also be real, since one was connected to HPA's library. With that possibility opened, there are… a lot more potential threads coming from it.

Unreliable narrator: is there something Shuichi is missing? In Ouma's lab, along with the complete history file there are monitors and a hatch, and in his dorm room there’s a whiteboard with pictures and notes scrawled on, the latter two Shuichi doesn't even notice. There are things he cannot verify too - such as Rantaro's odd memory of the forgotten Prologue - which is left up to us, the players.

Contextual reframe: with the new information, we can infer for example that record keepers of the past are made obsolete, and since the HPA history was in Ouma's lab, this could make him a viable record keeper. If TDR's agenda is with historical record, its identity may be the secret society involved in conspiracies. This can greatly affect some of Ouma's comments in hindsight- one relevant to this is his FTE remark about ‘tricking the entire world’.

With doubt already on the most basic aspect of the 'fiction' narrative (that is, ‘HPA is fiction’) we can apply this principle to the Flashback Lights and by extension, the idea that the cast must also be fiction, too. 

Ex: Shuichi and Kiibo were made to see the Flashback Light panel in a way that was rigged up to be seen- it should not have been visible to multiple persons, so it's likely to have been tampered. We know Shuichi to be helpless with computers, so he would not be able to verify if anything else is amiss (ex. Kubs Pad and other options being withheld). What's more, with ‘fiction things’ - such as the Shukuchi method for Ryoma - being relevant in both the ‘weird backstory’ and in the main narrative, there's a possibility that some of the Lights are real memories or at least closely based on their real experiences.

[‘A liar like me knows their own kind.’]

When you reframe the context in an excessive manner like this, it can also affect known roles, even events and relationships. I reason it beginning like this:

Tsumugi becomes a patsy for Monokuma. Just like the fake Makoto in DR2 led the narrative to trap Hajime, Tsumugi misled others similarly, with incomplete knowledge of her own cospox. That is, her cospox being real in the sense of the effects on her person, doesn't necessarily mean that HPA is fiction, because it's about her perception

Kiibo becomes a patsy for Monokuma, someone whose true (military) nature was obfuscated to himself on a metaphysical level, via code-hijacking. This means that high-powered functions he has are strange to him, and he’s easily manipulated into believing lies about his function (such as ‘strength of a senior citizen’, and the ‘audience surveys’ that he cannot verify) 

Ouma becomes Monokuma’s double, like Mukuro taking the identity of Junko, as the monitors and hatch are a direct parallel to Junko. This means that Ouma has a deeper relationship and notably intrinsic connection to Monokuma as well as less freedom from him, likely has extensive knowledge of everyone, and has his own memories. And from that, an incentive to guide people he considers his friends, to minimise himself and his own struggles while working against Monokuma subtly, even to manufacture his disappearance in ch5 to take the fight to Monokuma alone

Shuichi becomes the ‘shadow mastermind’, like Izuru- the ‘traitor protagonist’ who sealed and sabotaged the group’s will to live, while losing his memory of that. This is reflected by Chapter 1's case, wherein he had created the perfect setup for Kaede to enact her own plan to kill, and had conflict over his actions that he had tried to shut away. It also provides context for Ouma being especially wary of Shuichi, noting on the whiteboard to ‘be cautious’ of him, especially if he has a relationship with Monokuma as well.

These are the big four as far as the mastermind agenda is concerned, but another interesting role-reframe is the Monokubs. Remember that Shirokuma and Kurokuma were fragments of the mastermind, and Shirokuma’s role in UDG is to deceive the player? What if the Monokubs had such a situation, split up into comedic personality fragments? Were the melodramas telling some sort of story as well- the story of Monokuma?

If so, there may be some clues from them. But first…

[‘Designed like a school’]

As to the academy’s lost mystery, it’s possible it was originally an experiment. Rantaro’s hunch was that there was ‘someone behind Monokuma’, and in Salmon mode he points out that Monokuma could have ‘taken over the facility’. A bunch of files in Shuichi’s lab suggest that the culprits of the scenarios were noted for their ‘tricks’, likely pertaining to their Ultimate talent. 

A concerning matter is that the details of the Gopher Project’s plans were crossed out, with us unable to see why youngsters of Ultimate status were required. Doubly concerning is that Ouma himself appears to have amazing, even supernatural ability, demonstrated in ch5 with his scripting- a talent such as that is in line with Junko’s abilities. 

Speaking of that, it must be said that Junko's true ability was left a mystery by the game's end. It was also a subject of much curiosity by HPA, so if Ouma is a supernaturally talented person, that could speak volumes as to his own position. His status as an 'invisible Ultimate’ alone raises questions as to why it has to be hidden, or rather, why he has to obscure it. It could be that he is oppressed by the talent system itself, and if that's the case, perhaps he is its guinea pig along with V3's Monokuma. But it's not just about Ouma's ability- if Monokuma too had a similarly strong supernatural talent and/or circumstance, that could explain not only his posing as a ‘god’, but Angie’s mysteriously intimate knowledge of others' personal ideals through such a ‘god’. That is, if she was possessed by someone with knowledge of the cast's ideals, and who was exploiting them in the Love Hotel. 

Moreover, if Ouma and Monokuma were supernaturally gifted, there's a good possibility that if the vault clues were a layered clue symbolic of them- the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ Monokumas depicted on the ‘twins’ clue for the vault - then they were not only siblings, but twins- identical twins. This allows for another ‘report card misidentification’ a la Junko-Mukuro, while the Flashback Light panel refers to the ‘Gamemaster’ rather than ‘ringleader’ (meaning an identical double could interact with it), and from a lore perspective, twins were known in Danganronpa Kirigiri to be the subject of (highly unethical) research, and identical twins would be the most sought after for genetics reasons.

Such research could eventually wind up creating Ouma and his brother - seemingly the highest of any known talents - through a form of eugenics, not unlike Byakuya’s backstory. From there, there's no telling what could have happened…

[‘Eh…?’]

Now I can get to the psychology behind the bear. If a person behind Monokuma had such a past with this academy, traits can be speculated:

⚠️ Content: incest, child abuse, sexual abuse, psych torture/institutionalisation. ⚠️ 

Vengeful: in ch2, Monokuma suggests he may hate the cast for something, and tells them to ‘work for the answer’. Interestingly, Monotaro (leader persona) makes note of ‘red lies’ in the Salmon mode, and red lies are for revenge. 

Extremely traumatised and mentally ill: if it is Ouma’s brother, and he’s wearing a straitjacket, this could imply institutional abuse. Monokuma’s behaviours in ch3 (a mental shutdown) and ch4 (depression) could denote severe mental damage, and having the academy cleared of bugs gives credence to him having an affliction with bugs like Ouma ( foaming at the mouth and passing out).

Depraved: in ch4, Ouma noted he would ‘strangle the one he loves’ to ‘keep his eyes on him’, and appears to play a similar threatening, possessive role in the Love Hotel. Implied in the Monokubs’ melodrama, Monokuma may have coerced his own sibling into having relations- though he may have forgotten his sibling entirely due to trauma.

People pleaser: Ouma says that he ‘lies to entertain people’ in his Salmon mode ending, which could reflect his persona (Monokuma)’s desires. It may be that his desire to ‘not be boring’ feeds into this persona, too, as it's something so serious to him that it was shown as basically a dying wish.

In this sense, the mastermind can be similar to Monaca- as she took control over the city (while Monokuma stated to have taken over the country), became mentally ill as a result of the abuse inflicted on her, lied (about an injury) in order to make her abusers nicer to her, and became depraved in a way childish and sadistic (in how she toys with Kotoko and Nagisa, for instance). There's also the narrative effect of obscuring her trauma with unreliable narrator, and even Monaca’s own warped sense of humour that obscures it in tandem.

[Twin with supernatural talent (Junko Enoshima), a result of experimentation (Izuru Kamukura), childishness complex (Monaca Towa) and all combined (Kokichi Ouma)]

For narrative styles, DRV3's Monokuma is a culmination of approaches to make the game’s mystery truly warped to its core. Taking the masterminds’ actions from the past games:

Junko selectively picked photographs to sow discord about the group’s reality

AI Junko (a plant by Izuru) tried to lead Hajime into making a choice without proper context

Monaca led Komaru through a growth journey to use her for impact at the end

These can be attributed to: 

the Flashback Lights- some real, others ‘rotten apples’, but overall context is dubious 

the ‘It is fiction’ declaration- may be a leading question, again with dubious context

Shuichi’s ‘confidence growth’- that makes him more credible to those watching outside

(As for ‘context being dubious’, it should be noted that the Twilight mystery has a similar vibe in terms of how it is chopped up and misrepresented on the first viewing. This is particularly interesting when you factor in the mixed Kubs Pads giving other characters information.)

Speaking of ‘using’, Monokuma talks about how someone could be used by expressions of gratitude. In parallel to this, Shuichi is talking about how he was happy to be ‘useful to others as a detective’, and regards their gratitude personally. But it’s concerning that Shuichi and his history is a topic for ‘Monokuma Theatre’, when you factor in what Monaca did in UDG.

The basic concept is: with Monokuma’s agenda towards the end being to throw out foreshadowing and mystery - to deny its purpose - he wants you to make the decision of ignoring the heart, discarding the mystery and the path to the answer. In this sort of vague and unnerving way, a ‘hidden mastermind’ is like a progression of Monaca’s style. Symbolically, Shuichi’s journey seems to be one where he is on the fringe of going astray the entire time, and in this reading, he ultimately does with the loss of the game's mystery. 

What follows is the player's re-examination of the canon context and in this case, a ‘salvage effort’ of what was lost. And ultimately, in the quagmire of broken context, Ouma's mixed relationship with Shuichi is fuel for thought, because his cryptic behaviour - like the game he plays in his FTE - keeps you guessing on what he's been trying to say.

[Members… of what?]

So, factoring in earlier recontextualisation - of the large organisation likely spanning the world - is the idea brought up during Ouma's FTE, that I question like this: could Shuichi have joined a nefarious organisation after all, and following in Salmon mode: is there any indicator Ouma has concerns about Shuichi’s intentions in general (that is, regardless of whether or not his past self would have been capable of less-than-moral decisions)? 

What about others in the cast- a Prime Minister who had run away from her post, a military robot, a super inventor, an assassin? An artist with odd brainwashing powers, a musician with the ability to connect to others’ hearts through music? Because given that the DR2 group had affected the world with their talents after being manipulated, it's possible that the V3 group’s talents had a similar part to play, too. For instance, Kaito’s FTE detailed the possibility of communicating with aliens, and trading technology with them- and as it happens, there is notably a very weird technology in the academy, capable of ridiculous feats. This kind of unknown in the narrative speaks of a whole world that we barely know, even now. 

If this kind of world is what Ouma is burdened by, something beyond the protagonist's understanding, that too is a story waiting to be told. And his strange interactions with Shuichi could be at the heart of this story…

[‘Just hit the reset button on your feelings’]

As for the relationship with Shuichi, that is particularly difficult to give in evidence- partly given the culprit in his backstory, and how if Monokuma was that culprit - someone with a strong agenda against Shuichi - that might link to both twins. But due to the death of one of the siblings in that backstory, it warrants a supernatural idea such as resurrection, that has yet to be proven viable in-universe. If we remember Angie having a weird supernatural air about her though, and that she was implied to be in a cult, you could still infer that cults were involved in the supernatural. It’s entirely possible that a high-profile cult had come to the point of using resurrections, although that’s very much deeplore, as is the supernatural in general.

So while I can’t say too much about technical lore, like with the organisation, I can talk about the vibes I have with the theory, to focus on a sense of grounding in character instead: 

“Ouma and Monokuma are both sidelined by the narrative. A not-insignificant part of that was caused by Shuichi in his past, even if he was led into the cause unwittingly, and the actions of Shuichi’s present self in missing memories. As a result, Ouma is in a nerfed position during the game despite his supernatural talent. Unable to say anything without surveillance, he is under a great deal of stress and pent up, ambivalent feelings - not least towards Shuichi and Monokuma -  that he tries mostly to deflect. After all, it would not do to give too much away, and ruin his own plans.”

I have a detailed ‘song lyric analysis’ of sorts to tie to this, as a way of exploring feelings. Part of the reason I’d go this far, is Ouma as the designated ‘narrative scapegoat’ has always just fit well for me, given that the cast is shown to struggle with their treatment of him. Even leaving analysis aside, I feel it would be very satisfying (cathartic, even!) to explore an angle where he was suppressed, and that his position was legitimately the consequence of others actions right from the start, making the whole ‘pretending to be a villain’ situation even more painfully ironic. 

Plus it would be a welcome change from the notion of ‘misguided morally-grey antagonist who needs to change’, in my opinion, as Ouma’s unchanging self is something I hold particularly strongly. So instead of the arc of drastic change, the thing to explore would be how he functions and struggles with others (in mundane as well as grand ways), and also gets them to change, to understand him. It would also be interesting to expand on the theme of talent abuse, to have a Monokuma who was a product of the corrupt talent system- rather like Izuru was, but this time fully present in the narrative, and in tandem with someone else connected to him.

Overall, I feel that a situation where the protagonist thinks he’s won, while a mysterious someone has been struggling in the sidelines to affect change, is a real goldmine for a mystery situation. Especially from replaying the game, and picking up odd signs that something may not have been what it seemed. There may not be much to go from there (as things stand right now, at least) but the palpable frustration means that through this perspective, I can - at times very viscerally - imagine Ouma’s frustration and powerlessness. That alone colours the game and the interactions in a whole new light for me.

I hope this helped clarify at least some of what the heck is going on- and why I would even see Ouma this way at all, if it’s so convoluted. I have struggled to put it into words all this time, but with the pieces flying in my face from every direction, it’s hard to not try putting them together. I usually don’t game on Hard Mode like this, but something about Ouma compels me- whatever Kodaka’s intentions, I believe him when he says Danganronpa V3 is without end.

Thank you for reading!

[barid-bel-medar]

I wouldn't mind learning more about such an interesting villainess.

Star Heart was born Andromeda Astraeus, a wealthy Greek family that is rumored to have some rather...unsavory contacts. No one has been able to prove that however, and even following her becoming Star Heart no one has managed to find anything.

Star Heart was originally part of a group of thieves who targeted museums and archives. They generally sold what they stole on the blackmarket. Originally they were fighting low tier heroes, but due to her strength upper level heroes started to get involved involved. Everything went to shit when Legacy became the hero involved.

Star Heart slaughtered her former teammates due to deciding she wanted to go solo and deciding she wanted to 'clean up loose ends' by eliminating people who thought were friends. She wanted Legacy's attention to herself, rather than split between her and her 'teammates'. She has several times targeted villains fighting Legacy for similar reasons.

No matter the world a version of the Star Heart incident occurs, with the worst happening in FtE. She happened to be in Japan due to a contact reaching out to her over a potential bioweapon. The contact in question was connected to Dr. Garaki and All For One. As a result of Rishi City she never managed to make her meeting with them.

Star Heart is more than a little obsessed with Legacy, with Legacy herself having more than a little obsession in finally taking Star Heart down. Absolutely no one is sure if they're attracted to each other in some fashion and no one is willing to ask.

Star Heart's Quirk is very similar to the hard manipulation abilities of a DC Green Lantern. While no where near as strong, there is a very, very good reason she's an S-level villain. She falls in the unfortunately category of being both strong and skilled with her Quirk.

[shslpookiebear]

as much as i love soniakane for its seeming simplicity of two girls who find each other and fall in love the reality is that for me this ship is so much more and serves to emphasize the themes of sdr2 while additionally serving as an example of how trauma can guide people who otherwise would have opposite lives together.

one of the themes of dr as a whole is coping with the loss of a loved one-- however, within sdr2 its especially heightened with numerous characters experiencing earth shattering loses which alter their characters. fuyuhiko loosing peko, hiyoko loosing mahiru, sonia loosing gundam, akane loosing nekomaru, hajime loosing chiaki (which differs from hajimes loss of nagito as thier relationship is a lot more fucked up than a simple sense of adoration and mutual friendship even if you do all of is fte)

however, what marks sdr2 as different is how it emphasizes the growth from said loss as demonstrated within all of the above characters as how they grew following the deaths of their "person." additionally, sdr2 is a story about redemption and atonement for past sins-- hajime has to face his actions as izuru and the death of chiaki and embraces those tragedys to grow as a person dedicated to making a future with his new friends. Its a journey which the other survivors go through as well.

which is why i think soniakane is so important to weigh into this analysis because sonia and akane growing following the loss of someone important to them and the realization that their past selves where horrible people is essential to highlighting how redemption is possible. sonia and akane should be allowed to love each other because theyre embracing their paths and making an effort to bring light into their lives and the lives around them-- it illuminates the beauty of their connection and how the two of them have grown out of past immaturity.

additionally, i am of the belief that none of the survivors would've been friends if not for the events of the nwp (which i will explain in a future post) but thats especially true for sonia and akane. sonia was a princess born into her talent and akane was a poor girl who had to fight in order to survive creepy men leering on her. not only in circumstances can it be substantiated the two would never cross paths but in personality they clash with each other-- akane has no understanding of manners in a way thats glaringly obvious and sonia isolates herself due to her weird interests which prevents people from getting too close.

overall i think people gloss over soniakane too quickly or see it as an attempt to couple up every character or make room for a ship but thats not true!!! these two characters have so much more merit than the fandom gives them and their relationship is compelling and fascinating to explore especially from a themes perspective as it can be extremely telling of the overall point which the danganronpa narrative holds

anyways live laugh soniakane

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

Yeah idk about the student council either sorry T-T

But as for Kiyo, I think he's a great connection to both the lies/truth theme and the fiction/reality theme for like a whole lot of reasons

His talent for starters, while it's localized to be anthropology, is technically more specifically centered around folk tales. Most of his FTEs are him explaining these stories and kind of playing into the themes other anons were talking about with "lies become the truth when you believe them". A lot of his explainations have to do with the fact that folk tales are inherently tied to the reality of the people telling them. (Especially his 4th FTE, I highly reccomend that one to get a lot of this.) Folk tales and religion walk the line of fiction and reality because they are made up stories to convey the truths of life. The best example he uses is the story of Medusa, which he sites as a story about the fear of death

His murders also play into this imo because of A.) how he was found out, and B.) how he did them in the first place. A big criticism I see of him is that it was super fucking obvious who killed Tenko, and that much is true, but I think it was at least slightly intentional. Even in the trial, he relatively easily admits to Tenko's murder, while he has a whole mental breakdown before confessing to Angie's. Tenko's murder was very poorly hidden, he had the idea for a seance, he carried it out in front of everyone, he led the whole thing, everyone heard the very second Tenko died. Where with Angie, she was locked in a room, taped up to keep her from bleeding, even the way he locked the door he hid with the other effigies. (Also, to tie it into Kaede anon's argument, he used the thematic embodiment of a lie to do so.) If Kokichi couldn't pick locks, nobody would have ever found out she even died in all likelyhood. There's an additional part of the argument here if you personally interpret Kiyo's sister to be Angie's killer, but I don't, so I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that aspect

Last point before getting into uncomfortable territory, Kiyo's consistent ties to death. While Korekiyo himself says he is unafraid of death, this is not shown to be the case, at least outside of himself (which doesn't mean a whole lot as he's canonically suicidal). All his stories end up tying to death, it's implied a lot of his field work was focused around death and trying to bring his sister back to life, he developed a whole delusion because he could not properly process that she was gone. He's not afraid of dying because he is so afraid of not being with his sister, which is, in turn, a fear of death.

Going on about Kiyo's sister from now on, nothing explicit but yk

Kiyo's sister is, of course, a main focal point in this theme in terms of Kiyo's character, both in her appearance as an alter/tulpa/ghost/what have you, and how Kiyo talks about her. Going back to how she is spoken about in FTEs, it is pretty obvious to most players that this was not a healthy sibling relationship, even aside from the incest. Though not intentional, there was the constant pressure of her death looming on the horizon (see Kiyo's lies about death). He's only an anthropologist because she was. She didn't like his original uniform, so she made him a new one that she liked. He becomes so obsessed with preserving her after her death that he begins to make himself look like her, growing out his hair and wearing makeup. She loves him, but he is not her friend. This point especially, at least to me, says a lot about why Kiyo has the complex he has about her. At least through my interpretation, Kiyo's sister was the way she was because what she really wanted was human connection. She was a young girl who grew up sick, who never had friends or a boyfriend, and all she ever had was her brother. He couldn't give her what she really wanted, and now she was gone, so he copes with the idea by "sending her friends".

Even everything we know about his sister is a good example of the truth/lies theme. We only ever hear about her from Kiyo, even through his alter/tulpa/ghost/whatever. It is his interpretation of her, and he is not shown to be a very reliable narrator. She could have been much more abusive than we see her, and Kiyo's supportive voice for her is just another lie to himself to keep himself sane. Or she could have done nothing like what we assume, and Kiyo was the problem, leading her ghost to kill him the way she did. We'll never truly know which is the truth, or if Kiyo really was being 100% unbiased in his interpretation of her.

I could go on, but like. This is a lot already, sorry lmao

OHHHH I Think you had a really interesting point about Korekiyo's talent and the themes of the game... Searching for meaning through stories parallels really nicely with v3 as a whole. This is a really really good analysis of Korekiyo imo. Like, he might not be in the main group of 5 I think about when I think about characters relevant to v3's themes, but he definitely adds to it.

[danganronpa-another-scenario]

Danganronpa Another Scenario (DRAS) Introduction

Retelling by Mod Bird, and the original story(Danganronpa Another) by LINUJ! Thank you for reading <3

Special thanks to @turkeyinnovember and @bezearts for being my alpha and beta readers! Love you pookies <3

- This is a Recreyo x Danganronpa Another AU. It is similar to the formers DR scenario, but not.

- The sequel is not taken into account in this story. I cannot connect the two games together.

- This will also get posted to ao3, when daily/deadly life is finished. It is easier to chronologically see it there, but it is slower in releases.

- This blog posts it scene by scene, and has polls to vote on who each crew member can spend time with in ftes. Maybe something else, you tell me.

- The original story is toned down as best as we(mostly just me) whilst keeping the energy and purpose of the story.

- The art style will just be my own, since I'm trying to get back into art after some rough times. I hope you like my artstyle!

Trigger Warnings:

Blood / Gore (VERY IMPORTANT)

Death

Self destructive behaviour

Emeto(aka vomit)

Suggestive things at times (toned down)

Rest Below. This will be updated.

Tags: TBA!

[secretgarden02]

Random but i just saw your ship chart stuff and holy shit HigaxMaki feels like a feever dream to me and i still can't believe they have canon basis that feels,, unreal

He is such a weird case like, i get the impression that Linuj didn't intend for people to hate him THAT much and so he tried to do damage control via those flashback scenes in Ch6 so you just have him and Maki having flirting a bit, him being even a little heroic with kicking out that Monokuma and giving a motivational speech to the boys which is just,, wow, that will never enter my head, it simply does not compute,,

(Also the Ayame thing irks me so much but i'm so glad that Linuj's weirdness stayed confined in that character sheet because the game itself hardly goes out of it's way to sexualize her, at most there's the seemingly obligatory Dr fanservice scene and the weird angle in that CG showing the cut in her leg, and i just know it could have been SO much worse-)

I'm glad to see you understanding the POV of mine :') because I felt the same way

From what I have read in most character sheet of Linuj did, Linuj somewhat have an obsession to make a bad character be redempted in some way....? So people would feel bad still for them- Except in some cases like Kanade and Syobai. But especially with Higa, it feels especially forced with him because even in flashback and the whole FTE, he feels disconnected from the class more than Utsuro does....? (Mind you, he's an intruder in first place but he's more connected to the class thanks to Yamato and Mikako keep accompanying him) So him having a bit of redemption arc with him saving Maki and suddenly being a motivator never really sits right with me.

Same thing with Kinji. Though in his case, I feel like his breakdown during class trial feels unnecessary and feels like Linuj just wanna follow the og trend of ch3 culprit being unhinged in some way- which ended up making Kinji being OOC during that whole class trial part.

Not gonna lie, I mostly cringed reading the whole Ayame's character sheet. You know that feeling when you want to know the creator's thought process on creating your fav character, but then it ended up being.... yeah. That's what I feel when I want to know more about Ayame 😭 the other character's sheet is pretty normal per-se, just only her man,,,, But yeah, I feel glad that at least Linuj keeps it in that rather than exploring it more in the game because boi, it will not help at all.

Sorry this ended up being a bit of a rant haha. As much as I like Linuj's charas and writing, some of them frustates me sometimes when I look at it again.

[aparticularbandit]

also like. i would rather motives be something that you can figure out from information that you're given explicitly in game.

like, sure, you can maybe guess at kiyo's stuff re: his sister if you've done all the extra stuff (she's mentioned in one of the ftes and i think in one of the extra scenes? i took a few months off, so i might be remembering that a little wrong) - i think i'd guessed at her being a split personality like norman bates and mother...i think. (yep. made that connection here.)

but like.

kaede's grows out of what we know of her as a character that is presented in the main story and flows really well.

kirumi's grows out of what we know of her as a character that is...mostly presented in the main story. that she gets hired for really high up stuff is set up during the prologue, so like. you can kind of get there in the main story, and it doesn't feel completely out of nowhere. (and that ryoma let her kill him so that she could get out? also made sense.)

but kiyo wanting to kill girls to give his sister 100 dead friends. just like. how would you get to that. from anything that is shown in the main story. (or even in the ftes - i can see it now that i know things but like. you know?)

like. i guess you can have a twist like that, but like. set up for it?

[sholmeser]

okay i’m probably like. the literal last person to notice this but replaying through thh has gotten me thinking about how interesting it is that byakuya and kyouko’s narratives are literally SO similar. negative familial relationships have had such a huge impact on both of their lives and in making them the people who they are, despite being affected by them differently (kyouko was abandoned while byakuya was kept in an arguably-abusive and manipulative environment)—and the experiences that come about because of that also affect their relationships with makoto. and makoto—who has a very positive relationship with his family and with komaru in particular—can’t wrap his head around what their lives are like. how could byakuya have exiled all of his siblings? how could kyouko want to completely cut all ties with her father? it doesn’t make any sense to him.

idk i just. i’m so fucking shit at articulating myself but i just think it’s interesting to think about how closely-tied family is to both of their identities; being a kirigiri or a togami is like. literally The Biggest Thing in their lives. and it especially kinda sucks because, unlike kyouko’s—which plays a significant role in chapters five and six—byakuya’s past is relatively ignored within the game outside of FTEs. it’s a little unfortunate how the game chooses to focus so much on kyouko in the climax of the game, because—even though her connection to jin is obviously plot-important and her development is really touching to watch—it feels like byakuya’s own relationship with his family could have been explored a little more within the game, instead of being left more up to player interpretation of what it was like. like u cant drop these on me and expect me to be normal

[rainbow-crane]

Anyways I can't stop thinking about how back in the early days of DR creation, it was gonna be a choose-your-own-adventure murder mystery where your interactions affected the outcome. And I can't help but wish we'd gotten Distrust bc I would've loved to see all the potential branching pathways depending on the connections you make

For example, what if doing Sayaka's FTEs in chapter 1 (the government mandated one doesn't count) led Makoto to pick up on the fact she was lying when she tries to get him to trade rooms? Or what if maxing out Chihiro before the end of chapter 2 allowed her to come out to you, and you encourage her to accept help from Hina and Sakura? And what other potential murders could you craft by doing so? If Sayaka doesn't go through with her plan, maybe Monokuma forces Sakura to kill Hina in the first chapter. Maybe there's a world where Hifumi doesn't trust Celeste and kills her instead. So many possibilities

[nerd-cat-rambles]

Can you slander Makoto? I hate him too tbh but I rarely saw slander of him

Waited my whole life for this ask /j

Aight let's begin:

He's average, he has no redeeming qualities and could literally be replaced by any character in the franchise.

He has no unique hobbies or interests at all, he would have nothing interesting or fun to talk with you about.

He gets no development throughout the franchise

He got in HPA as the Ultimate Luck but spends his time fucking getting punched and stuff.

He doesn't care about other characters, he didn't care about Taka when he went catatonic, he didn't try to empathise with Leon, he never heard Hiro out in the third chapter, he never says anything to stop people from being rude to Sakura.

All ships with him are super bland and annoying, they don't work because he's so average and boring.

His personality is only put positively, he has NO flaws and I mean NONE. This makes for a bad protagonist because he has no room to improve and that makes him uninteresting to the audience. I would've forgotten about him if he wasn't a placeholder.

He lets characters be mean and bitchy to him (mainly byakuya)

He never trains with Aoi, not even after Sakura dies. SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAINING ALONE GUYS, ALONE!

he's not relatable or realistic at all (tf are "The Meat Teens")

He's super annoying especially around Maizono-Chan

Poorly written and kinda bland

He has the most BASIC VA making him super forgettable, his VA is in every other anime on the planet and so he's easily forgettable.

He did nothing to get granted the title of Ult. Hope???

Average ass design, bro your jacket is BOOORING even Hifumi has a better fit tbh

He has no personality and no FTEs (bc he's a protag) so he seems super 2D compared to the other characters.

He's given too much credit as a protagonist when literally Kyoko does all the work.

Every time he's on screen I cry /hj

I skip his dialouge in UDG bc I can't stand his voice.

Milk Toast kinda guy

His suit design makes him look like an offbrand Fuyuhiko

His "hopeful attitude" is there until Sayaka needs him for support, he never asks further about her issues??? Until Leon needs some empathy for his situation, he goes "YOU MURDERED SAYAKA YOU BAD!!!" he wasn't there when Chihiro had a complex, they could've bonded "hey you may think you're weak but I KNOW I'm average" wasn't there for Mondo to help him in his final moments, wasn't there for Kiyotaka when he didn't even eat. I DID TAKA'S FTES IN CHAPTER 3 AND HE DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO HELP ("..." "..." "..." "Taka and I stood in silence for some time") he doesn't stop Toko and Hiro from calling Sakura ogre, and is scared of her for most of the game even though she's a sweetheart! He never sympathises with Yasuhiro (they were both framed at one point or another). He never helps Aoi after Sakura died, he never hears Toko/Jill out in ANY situation!

He keeps being accused of lying and nobody trusts him (chp.1 trial, chp.5 trial twice - masked figure attack, and his execution-)

He never works for anything, information is always given to him

The cast should've killed him and used his ahoge as a radio antenna to call for help, or connect it to alter-ego and get a radio signal.

A virtually untouchable character

All of his superfans go "He's such a pure innocent baby who did no wrong he's so cool!" but this list exists...

He never had any reason to kill, his motive/secret could've been hella interesting, he could've tried to kill, but we got nothing.

He's dense and any fics with him in it are boring.

Any other character would be a better suited protagonist.

Yeah this isn't the full list but I hope the anon enjoyed the ramble!

This is a hate against Makoto, yes, but this is my opinion, take this as you will. Please refrain from hating because at the end of the day we're all entitled to our beliefs.