#kaede is the protagonist we deserve

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Ooooooh~ I really like your ideas for the alternative mastermind au, especially with them having a somewhat romantic relationship with protag Kaede. Would you have the mastermind (and this goes both for Rantaro and Kokichi (and maybe Saihara?)) become yandere-ish towards her, or would they have a different kind of dynamic?

Okay, so I looked though my stuff because I didn't think I had an alternate mastermind AU???? The only one I can find that might fit is Ricochet, from my fic title game, so that's one I'm using.

Recap, bc i'm too lazy to link: Kaede managed to accidently kill Shirogane in chapter 1, they discover she was the mastermind, and just when she thinks they can all escape, Team Danganronpa hits the reset on their game, but for some reason, only Kaede remembers the previous start and things are different. She's labeled the Ultimate ???, Rantaro knows his talent (adventure, not survivalist), Shirogane isn't evil, and there isn't a secret mastermind room. Kaede has to figure out what's happening and how to keep everyone alive.

So, this au needs a different mastermind if Shirogane is normal. Honestly, I think the best Team DR could do on short notice is make Keebo the mastermind, or at least a spy or agent while they scramble to find a different mastermind. They mess with his memories so he has a false memory of being in a previous killing game with Kaede where she made it to the final chapter (making her the Ultimate Survivalist in this game), so he's really nice because he considers them friends and costars.

I like the idea of Keebo being a yandere in that context. Like, during the day, he's super sweet and supporting towards Kaede, but at night he's brooding, trying to make motives that would manipulate the others that are interested in her and make them kill each other.

Kaede tries to stick with the people who have changed the least after the reset, since she's more comfortable with them and is worried she might do something that makes her look sus. The people who have changed the least are Himiko (who is my chap 1 murder vic), Angie, and Kokichi. Angie and Kokichi switch between being Kaede's love interest and foil until one of them gets killed (probably Angie bc I can't bare to kill Kokichi). The remaining one becomes overly protective, but not necessarily yandere. Border yandere, maybe.

Rantaro will likely fill in after that death and Kaede discovers that he's a genuinely good person now that he isn't a walking mystery. Rantaro definitely has a dark side, though; he got to the final chapter of his first game for a reason, after all.

Team DR changes Shuichi to make him incredibly sus of Kaede, thinking she's the mastermind. He would treat her coldly bc of this.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

Now that submissions are closed, we can talk stats. There were 881 valid, unique submissions for 474 characters! Woof, women have it rough out there!

The most submitted characters, with a relevant propaganda snippet included, are:

1. Sakura Haruno (Naruto): 28 [where do i even fucking begin]

2. Cordelia Chase (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel): 21 [OH SO MANY THINGS]

3. Misa Amane (Death Note): 20 [The author of Death Note invented new forms of misogyny just to apply them to Misa.]

4. Kaede Akamatsu (Danganronpa V3): 15 [Oh, you thought we would have a female main character in one of our mainline games? With a cool defining talent, no less? That's stupid of you]

5. TIE: Kairi (Kingdom Hearts): 14 [I'm so mad. I think she deserves a gun.]

5. TIE: Stephanie Brown (DC Comics): 14 [She does eventually get retconned as surviving the event and hiding out in Africa (don't ask, it does not make more sense in context)]

The canons with the most submissions, with a relevant propaganda snippet included, are:

1. DC Comics: 61 [DC has SO MUCH sexism it's laughable]

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 35 [Fuck Joss Whedon, man.]

3. Naruto: 33 [because Kishimoto hates women]

4. Warrior Cats: 26 [Warriors is one of the most misogynistic children's series I've ever seen]

5. Danganronpa: 25 [I honestly had to think about it just to decide which woman is treated the worst because this series hates them so much]

The canons with the most characters submitted, with a relevant propaganda snippet for a specific character included, are:

1. DC Comics: 21 [Free her from the huge tits back breaking pose.]

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 12 [Anyways she was so hot and for what. 10/10 my lesbian awakening.]

3. Supernatural: 11 [Yeah, she got randomly killed off-screen for shock value and manpain, but she sent an email right before she died so at least her death wasn't in vain, right?]

4. TIE: Star Trek: 9 [She literally gets teleported out of her clothes in one episode.]

4. TIE: Yu-Gi-Oh!: 9 [One loss is particularly brutal as she falls from a large height directly onto her head and goes into a coma (again. yes this was the second time).]

5. TIE: Warrior Cats: 8 [I'm sure she'll get submitted again just ask any reasonable fan they'll tell you about her and her sister]

5. TIE: Attack on Titan: 8 [As a child soldier, she does commit some war crimes]

And here are some charts to show how some of these entries fucked the scale on my charts:

Look at Sakura, fucking up my chart with her numbers.

On a similar note...

Good god, DC, I know what you did, but add fucking up my charts to your list of crimes.

And now, enjoy some rankings of my favorite things:

My favorite universal sentiment quotes from propaganda are:

She lived she served cunt and then she got killed off super early so that the male characters could experience man pain and also because I guess she would have been too powerful if left alive. [Wen Qing (Mo Dao Zu Shi)]

That design. Dear god. I don't want to live on this planet anymore. [Mitzi (The Queen's Corgi)]

In the end she may have girlbossed too close to the sun, but I support her anger. [Ling Wen (Heaven Official's Blessing)]

the victim of “writer doesn’t understand women and also hates them” disease. [Naomi Misora (Death Note)]

She could 100% kill somebody but nobody ever effing lets her. Rip queen. [Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)]

My favorite raging at a writer quotes from propaganda are:

1. You took every single protagonist to weird lion heaven, Clive, but suddenly Susan isn't good enough. [Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)]

2. Being a woman written by Joss Whedon should automatically entitle her to financial compensation tbh. [River Tam (Firefly)]

3. A lot can be summed up in a couple words, namely, "Furman, why?" [Arcee (Transformers)]

4. Can you tell respect women juice ran in Tolstoy's veins. [Lise Bolkonskaya (War and Peace)]

5. TIE: (specifically a guy called Dan Didio, who we all hate) [Stephanie Brown (DC Comics)]

5. TIE: until Geoff motherfucking Johns comes into the picture [Pantha (DC Comics)]

My favorite quotes from propaganda that have nothing to do with misogyny, y'all are just funny:

I wish I could use bold here, because there's no such thing as uppercase numbers. [Arcee (Transformers)]

the most convoluted and lore dense piece of media this side of the afton criticality. [Jane Crocker (Homestuck)]

ended up starting a gang war by accident [Stephanie Brown (DC Comics)]

Ashfur, who later turns out to be a murderous incel [Squirrelflight (Warrior Cats)]

Hawkfrost is actively seeing Brambleclaw and his evil father in cat hell. [Squirrelflight (Warrior Cats)]

[funishment-time]

what i would personally want from another DR game

(note: not all at once, since some of these are Mutually Exclusive in fact ha)

realistically:

preferably not a Killing Game. this sounds like Blasphemy but DR was never "about" Killing Games. i'll accept it if it happens, but i'll be Very Skeptical. there's plenty to say about that universe and its themes without throwing another new 16 into the mix. leave that to the Fangans, as i think only Fans can produce something that feels fully "new" w/r/t Killing Games now

preferably uses mostly characters we already know with some great additions. a la UDG

could be serious or a spinoff. racing game, RPG, rhythm game, fighting game, game where we use the Kumas like Pokemon...

if a spinoff, would prefer it still has something of a Narrative to it where everyone's somewhat in character, even if it's silly. think Usami forcing Kamukura to participate in Dangan Kart and he does because he's Bored or some dumb shit like that. give me that Stupid Content

just...another game with Kodaka's involvement specifically. this is filed under "realistically" because Kodaka has recently stated he would like to do it, and that after v3, he was on break from Danganronpa, not Done With It 5ever. considering he still does Birthday Posts and constantly answers questions about DR, he is clearly quite attached still, but ultimately by his own admission it's up to Spikechun

non-realistically:

End of HPA/adjacent timeline. IF, Everyone Is Here UTDP/Summer Camp etc

as a corollary to the above, would prefer that it is not V3's timeline. and V3 is, in fact, a Separate Timeline/"setting reset" according to Kodaka. it is not a retcon/continuation of previous games. BUT: i think that world would be best explored in novels/manga via the Rantaro series Kodaka wanted to do. BUT: i think if it is explored, it will be in a game

further: would prefer an Everyone Is Here game. it would unite the fandom, from old-time fans to folks who came in mostly thru V3 and stick to it

however, of these personal wish fulfillment settings, i think the most realistic of them is an IF-like timeline, esp if released on the 15th or 20th anniversaries. what better way to Celebrate than with everyone from DR1 being alive

Kyoko game that's like Ace Attorney because i don't know it'd just be funny. can you imagine. can we use Komaru to channel Yui

i want a Mukuro game but that's not going to Happen

unless???

???:

female protagonist that lives. for real this time. could be a new one or not but the Universe Needs Balance. Komaru and Kaede need one more for their team!!!

a UDG-type game in that it Expands on an existing character who desperately needed it. this is under ??? because i imagine no one expected Toko to get her own game that transformed her from kind of a Joke Character into a Fully Fledged Baby. even Kodaka admits he didn't know what to do with her in the latter half of DR1, and she became one of the most Beloved Girls in the franchise in her game

Miu:

Miu

please Kodaka

give her the Arc she deserves

pls............

[wasted-women]

ROUND 1A, MATCH 3 OUT OF 8!

Cause of Death & Propaganda Under the Cut:

Kaede Akamatsu

Cause of Death: Framed & Executed; Hanged

Propaganda:

At first she seems like the main protagonist (first girl protag of a main series game, yay!) Stuck in a death game, she was framed for murder and executed in order to give the REAL male protagonist Angst. Was killed cruelly and unjustly and replaced with a much less proactive and interesting character. Justice for Kaede.

Kaede Akamatsu is the first female protagonist of a mainline Danganronpa game! JK of course she's not! Her death in the first trial gives emo shy boy Shuichi Saihara the motivation he needs to become the *true* protagonist of the game! She has so much wasted potential as a protagonist... truly pain and misery on planet earth.

Kaede was the first female protagonist of the mainline Danganronpa games, and also the first protagonist with a notable talent! She was a very fun and interesting character who was taken away from us in the first trial, thus making the protagonist of the game another random detective boy. Her death is mostly used to fuel his story, and she quite literally had no reason to die. Her death was also extremely brutal, and it felt like the devs spitting in our face to make a character with such potential into a “dead waifu.”

Akane Hyakuya

Cause of Death: Murdered by a Vampire

Propaganda:

[No Propaganda Submitted]

Kuina Shimotsuki

Cause of Death: Accident; Fell down the stairs

Propaganda:

she's a sword fighter! she wanted to be the best sword fighter in the world and was until she died the best in her class. while practicing with zoro she was giving him tips on how to improve (even before they become friends). she has a really cool sword (which zoro takes after she dies to "carry on her legacy" or something). we dont know anything else about her :)))))))))

Listen Oda normally writes the women characters well but this... this was not it. Other than giving Zoro motivation she doesn't really have much of a role in the main story and idk she could've had a more "honorable" death or something

[tobiasdrake]

Alright, gonna take a moment to say this about Shuichi.

I'm probably going to say a lot of unkind things about Shuichi over the course of revisiting V3. He is my least favorite of the Danganronpa protags, and I hate the bait-and-switch they pull with Kaede - Which is something I will be talking about when we get there.

I do not find this guy interesting at all.

But to give credit where it's due, his actor's surprisingly great at his character's Talent. There is an interesting friction inherent to a lot of V3 characters between their "real-life" actor and fictional character. Shuichi's got that friction too, in his disdain for the thing that his persona is supposed to be all about.

Shuichi's dislike of mystery-solving sets the stage for a fundamental theme of V3. This is a mystery-solving game about how much mystery-solving fucking sucks. A running theme through its cases is that they are miserable to solve. Even when hope prevails over despair, it's a twisted hope in service to a twisted game made by twisted developers for a twisted fandom, and it means somebody is going to die - most often someone that doesn't deserve to.

Ultimately, the villain here is the Danganronpa brand itself. The cases are designed to hurt. To make winning feel like a failure. That is embodied through its protagonist Shuichi, a detective who hates revealing the truth because the truth is always fucking miserable.

Unfortunately for Shuichi, his curse is that he's good at it. We see this right here, up-front: He's been here one day and he's already found Tsumugi's secret base. He hasn't cracked the door yet but he found it. This is a huge accomplishment. Good work, Shuichi.

Too bad only horror will come from this discovery. Because in Danganronpa V3, the truth always sucks.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Mod, I have a genuine question and I mean this in the least disrespectful way possible.

What were you going through while creating Kuripa? Cause you have to be the most deranged person in the world to come up with a character like this.

//Originally I planned on doing a full-length character analysis of Kuripa, but kind of wanted to save doing any more mod talks for when I was less busy, but I can give you some points now and then maybe reiterate them later.

//Kuripa is a moral quandary of a character. He's fucked in the head, and willingly admits that, but he is generally still on the side of good. He just has an obsession with justice and vengeance that drives him to commit atrocities and spill copious amounts of blood.

//When you boil it down and get to the roots, he comes from a good place. The reason he kills is because he figures that someone has to in order to rid the world of evil, but at the same, he doesn't want that responsibility to be pushed onto anyone that doesn't deserve it. Likewise, when he falls into despair, there's no stopping him, as you've just seen today.

//In terms of my overall thoughts, I wanted Kuripa to be different from every other DR protagonist that came before him, especially the ones that are also on the blog. And I don't know if anybody else has ever noticed it, but I kind of take to extreme in the sense that everything Kuripa embodies as a character, in ideals and in terms of actions is the COMPLETE ANTITHESIS to EVERY other DR protagonist.

//Makoto usually embodies ideas of Hope, and how that no matter what happens to you, life keeps moving on and you can find a way to move on with it, even if it means you have to rely on others. Kuripa on the other hand is mostly a lone wolf despite his dedication to Makoto, and thrives in situations where he's either feeling, or causing, Despair for his enemies. He's emotionally damaged to his core and has been for a long time to the point where it's questionable whether he can even be saved or redeemed.

//Hajime and by extension his friends embody the idea of moving on from the past and creating a better future for yourself, but Kuripa can't do that. He's stuck in the past, unable to move on from the death of his sister, and has spent so many years of his already short life hunting Matta with the intent to murder him, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, all from this one obsession.

//Kaede and Shuichi embody truth and how even if it's scary, it's important to understand reality as it is, and face it to better yourself. Kuripa however is a capsule of deceit, manipulation and lies at his absolute worst, and still hides many secrets about his life even now.

//And as I mentioned in the Toko analysis I did, Ultra Despair Girls' unspoken theme is Companionship VS Solitude, with Toko and Komaru's companionship being a key factor of their story and their progression as characters. Meanwhile, we literally had an ENTIRE ARC about Kuripa (and Uchui) turning their back on and betraying the people they love to suit their own interests and motivations.

//Now, I love writing Kuripa, he's hands down my favorite on the blog, but I'm not going to outwardly defend any of his actions because that's not the point. Everybody knows he's messed up, and even he's aware that he's broken and unfixable, so he just rolls with it.

//Early on, quite possibly the biggest inspiration for Kuripa's character was Goro Akechi from Persona 5, a character who is in a very similar situation, having suffered a lot in the past and spent his entire life obsessed with revenge, letting it shape him into the monster that he became. A story as tragic as it is pitiful.

-Mod

[plushiehamuko]

Komaru? For the character opinion thing

HELLO FRIENDS i am responding very late bc umm. i fell asleep while writing this and then i forgor BUT when i got a second ask about komaru today i thankfully REMEMBERED and i could never pass up the chance to talk about my absolutely beloved komarus SO HERE WE GO :))

favorite thing about them - oughhhghh what i really love about komaru is that she’s such a kind and accepting person… i mean, toko is obviously not the easiest girl in the world to love but komaru loves her ANYWAY and is always patient with her no matter what. and i especially like that she doesn’t make toko feel like she has to change to be lovable - she doesn’t love her despite the way she is, she loves her because of the way she is. komaru’s ALSO kinda a bit of a fail loser dork sometimes and i LOVE HER for that… the fact that she complains so much gets her a lot of criticism but i think it just makes her so much more real

least favorite thing about them - hmmm… i really can’t think of anything that i don’t like about komaru. i think she’s a well-written character whose flaws complement her really well. so i will say that my least favorite thing is that she’s not married to toko yet

favorite line - OK SO DO YOU REMEMBER THAT PART OF THE DR3 ANIME WITH TOKO’S FANTASY AND THEN KOMARU JUST SHOWS UP AS AN ADORABLE LITTLE CHIBI CHARACTER AND SAYS “hi! i’m chibi komaru!” BC I THINK ABOUT THAT EVERY DAY. EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. like toko, why are you including your “best friend” in your fantasy 🤨🤨🤨 that’s kinda… yk… a little GAY… genuinely the best thing to come from dr3 by far

brOTP - not to be super squishy-ish rn with this one but i think komaru and kaede would be SUCH CUTE FRIENDS and i actually think about it a lot. they just have such silly, positive energy and i feel like they could be the bffs of all time… they’d totally have girl’s nights and paint each other’s nails and talk about how much they each love their girlfriends

OTP - once again. just like for my toko post, my answer is tokomarus. NOBODY is surprised. there is just no other ship for either of them, they are meant to be together!! they are the girlfriends of all time!!

nOTP - so komaru doesn’t have many ships outside of tokomaru but i have seen people ship her with yuta. like, hina’s brother that was there for 5 seconds. and like… that really rubs me the wrong way. i mean toko is RIGHT there. why would you ship her with some random guy when she basically has a wife?? like do you hate toko that much or do you just hate lesbians… either way i want no part of it

random headcanon - i feel like komaru is such a pinterest date girlfriend. like she just finds the most cutesy, over-the-top date ideas and she actually puts in the effort to replicate them for toko… toko makes fun of her for it but deep down she loves it SO MUCH and is so flattered someone would put in that much effort for her. (tenko is also a pinterest date girlfriend to me. and her and komaru share pinterest girlfriend date ideas bc they are best friends. bonus brotp for you right there)

unpopular opinion - komaru is my second favorite protag and i would put her above all of the men in my personal ranking!! she’s always in solid last in favorite protagonist polls but i think she deserves MUCH BETTER and i wish she received the acknowledgment she deserves… i get that udg isn’t as popular of a game for. pretty understandable reasons considering the game’s problems. BUT KOMARU IS SUCH A WONDERFUL CHARACTER WHO DESERVES BETTER

song i associate with them - BOYFRIEND BY DOVE CAMERON she can be a better boyfriend than togami for REAL. tokomaru song

favorite picture of them - CHIBI KOMARU FOR THE AFOREMENTIONED REASONS

[fragments-of-despair]

Fav characters from Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair?

Ooooh that’s a toughie. My top five changes for those games quite often. It’s hard to pick. 

I guess if I had to select a few, these are my faves as of this ask. (Also included my faves from V3 too). 

This is in no particular order. These are just my Top 5s. I’ll also sum up my reasons in one sentence. 

Trigger Happy Havoc:

Sakura Ogami: I hope to be as good a friend as her someday. 

Aoi Asahina: She’s just so sweet, and one of the more underrated characters in the game in terms of looking at their nuance. 

Kiyotaka Ishimaru: I wish my boy got a bit more development before he met le bonk. 

Mondo Owada: I love his integrity regarding promises and how far he’s willing to go to keep them. 

Chihiro Fujisaki: I too want to become stronger in similar ways and Chihiro voices my thoughts on that pretty damn well. 

Goodbye Despair:

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: One of the best character arcs in the entire series and it made me go from wanting him dead to wanting nothing but happiness for him. 

Peko Pekoyama: I’m a sucker for literation and Bodyguard/Charge dynamics. 

Chiaki Nanami: She’s so cute and I want her backpack!

Ibuki Mioda: I feel like she and I would get along at concerts featuring weird instruments. 

Gundham Tanaka: I want the confidence and fortitude this man has to wear a scarf 24/7. 

V3 Killing Harmony: 

Kaede Akamatsu: One of the most interesting protagonists in the entire series and while I wish she stuck around longer, she was fantastic for as long as we had her. 

Ryoma Hoshi: My blorbo, my love, my sweet cat loving king, I wish you had more time with us. 

Shuichi Saihara: Probably my second favorite protagonist in the series and I adore him and his growth. 

Gonta Gokuhara: MY SWEET SUMMER CHILD YOU DESERVE THE WORLD. 

Maki Harukawa: Such a fun, fantastic, and interesting character and honestly I think her story is one of the best in the entire series, right up there with Fuyuhiko. 

And I guess if anyone’s curious, I adore Komaru and Toko in UDG too, and Nagisa is my favorite of the Warriors of Hope. But they don’t quite make the top 15 for me at the moment. 

And these are my current most faves of the Danganronpa franchise. 

[vulpiximisa]

Anyway chapter one

I’ve had my suspicions. Maybe from spoilery fanart (that I wasn’t sure if it meant what I thought it did) or some text I’ve seen recently seen but also that I knew that Shuichi was technically also a main character so I knew there had to be a reason that Kaede would not have stuck around until the end. I was hoping it either happened way later or they switched POVs every once in a while like we did in 2-4 with Komaeda Escape Room.

I was also hoping it had been an accident but that would have maybe felt a little too much like 2-5, because the Horror I felt when the realization that one of us poisoned him with the bottles was Unreal. So on one hand, it didn’t feel like a repeat (fine), but on the other hand I felt like offing her so early is just making her a stepping stone for Shuichi.

And it’s like, there’s nothing wrong with Shuichi, but it really could have been the other way around? The first time we are playing as a female protagonist and they’re like “no never mind lol”

Anyway, rip Rantaro, rip Kaede, neither of you deserved that. Not gonna lie, not super excited in playing as Shuichi as much. (Especially seeing what the popular ship for this series is. *strangles shimono*)

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

AnotherShift: Despair Island

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ZWAmGl9

by Wooglebear

Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy!

Here, we focus on building and nurturing the talents of our students. We give them the title of Ultimate to show the level of skill they possess in their field of work because they deserve it!

We have a variety of blood pounding trips to participate in. And we have a great time with class activities--

Blood...

... wild adventures--

Screams...

... and many other thrilling events that'll get your heart pumping!

If you want to enjoy, you should... join us!

Words: 4496, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Dangan Ronpa Series, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F

Characters: Sora (Dangan Ronpa), Makunouchi Hajime, Magorobi Emma, Otonokoji Hibiki, Otonokoji Kanade, Yomiuri Nikei, Maeda Yuki, Otori Teruya, Chiebukuro Setsuka, Kagarin Yuri (Dangan Ronpa), Akamatsu Kaede, Taira Akane, Kabuya Yoruko, Nijiue Iroha, Sannoji Mikado, Mitsume Kokoro, Monocrow (Dangan Ronpa)

Relationships: Chiebukuro Setsuka/Sora, Chiebukuro Setsuka & Sora, Kabuya Yoruko/Sora, Kabuya Yoruko & Sora, Chiebukuro Setsuka/Kabuya Yoruko/Sora, Sora (Dangan Ronpa) & Everyone, Sora & Taira Akane, Otonokoji Hibiki & Otonokoji Kanade, Akamatsu Kaede & Kabuya Yoruko & Sora, Akamatsu Kaede/Sannoji Mikado, Sannoji Mikado & Yomiuri Nikei

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Talentswap (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Different Motives (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Different Mastermind (Dangan Ronpa), Canon Rewrite, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Female Protagonist, Angst and Humor, Different killing game ordr, Fangan Ronpa: Super Danganronpa Another 2 - The Moon of Hope and Sun of Despair, This is gonna have a 2022 vibe, An attempt to improve my writing btw, This is a mastermind kanade au btw

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/ZWAmGl9

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Oh, more fic title ask... Games? Is it technically a game? Either way: Ricochet, with NDRV3!

(this is a protag-kaede blog, i refuse to stop)

Kaede, Ultimate Rube Goldberg Enthusiast, makes her death trap far more complicated than in canon and it ends up hitting Shirogane in the face, killing her. They discover the Motherkuma and find the secret passageway to the girls bathroom and learn that Shirogane was the mastermind, so they win!... right?

Only, not really. Despite the fact that they did techniqually win by defeating the Mastermind, the devs at Team Danganronpa aren’t too happy about their show ending two weeks early and demand a reset. 

Kaede wakes up in a locker, only this time, she remembers. She knows that she lived through the beginning of the killing game before, knows that Monokuma won’t kill them all at once, knows that Shirogane is the Mastermind and should be dead. 

But things are different this time. No one else remembers. Shuichi is more closed off, Shirogane is more energetic and friendly. Rantaro knows his ultimate ability this time, yet despite Kaede knowing she’s the Ultimate Pianist, all her official documentation says Ultimate ???. There is no secret passageway to the Mastermind’s room.

It isn’t until Himiko coughs up blood in the cafeteria that Kaede realizes that they have to play this killing game whether she likes it or not. Will her limited knowledge of what happened before give her an edge? Or will she lead her classmates to their deaths?

(Damn, now I really want to write this. Hold on, I’m putting this on my list of things to write.)

[funishment-time]

for the DR ask question: 8, 15, 17, 24, 39 O:

8. Who is your favorite protagonist?

if Kaede counts, then...Kaede, for being a weird, adorable little lesbian. if not, Komaru, for being a sweet, adorable little lesbian. the POV ladies of DR are exquisite homie!!!

15. Which character do you think could benefit from a total rewrite?

you all will most certainly chase me off this Got Damn website if i talk about how i think Nagito could be improved upon, so, second place: Teruteru. i thoroughly enjoy the few moments of humanity we get from him: his protectiveness of people, his hopes to make them happy with food, his love for his Mama. he seems like he'd be genuinely sweet if he wasn't one of the grossest-ass Sex Pest predators in the franchise.

it actually doesn't even need to be a total rewrite with him. just tone him down and i could handle him, and i think a lot of the Fandom could too. pervy characters are whatever for me, but he's a little too much, and i'm saying this as a Miu fan

17. List five headcanons for your favorite characters!

just five? wahhh. someone keep asking me this question so i can keep talking about it

Kaede is autistic and has issues with self-hatred; she once tried to destroy her beloved childhood piano out of pure confused loathing

Miu is also autistic, but in the Opposite Direction

Akane is mostly asexual and pan-romantic. would love on anyone who could give her a good fight and feed her, regardless of gender

Hina wants lots of kids someday, and regardless of who she's with, she absolutely gets that. can't have bio kids? she adopts 40 forlorn SHSLs. she's been thru a lot okay

Imposter is intersex AFAB, prefers he/they

BONUS: Sakura loves cats, has many at the dojo

24. Which character do you most identify with?

Kotoko and Toko. they have similar backgrounds to me and reacted in very similar ways (just exaggerated, ofc)

39. Which character do you feel deserves more love?

Mukuro OUT OF HER DISGUISE. i hope spikechun takes note of how insane social media went over her dress sprites etcetera. i'd kill for games in the IF timeline

Sakura, because she's often ignored even in pieces of all the DR1 girls, i assume because she's not a "traditionally" cute anime girl. nonetheless, even if that matters to you, her personality more than makes up for it

you all know i want Miu to have her own UDG type experience or game but she's fairly beloved it seems, so maybe only count her as a half here

[sillyguyhotline]

i’m gonna die mad about the fact that kaede was a genuinely unique protagonist who already had clear motivations and drive from the beginning and she still got so horribly fucked over by the writing. unlike makoto and hajime, she actively asserted herself as a leader from the beginning and was the most committed individual to finding the mastermind and helping everyone escape. and this lent perfectly to flaws; she was too optimistic, she pushed people too hard, and she ultimately let her dedication to her goals lead her to immoral actions such as attempting murder. she was a dynamic and interesting protag with a fucking PERSONALITY and legitimate flaws!! like imagine if she hadn’t died in the first trial and the group started to suspect her because of her willingness to commit murder!! or what if she attempted a similar murder later in the game and the characters reacted to it appropriately?? i’m so pissed because kaede was such a fascinating protag and they could have taken her character in so many directions but instead they opted to go for the tired old “female character gets killed off to advance male character’s development” trope.

[valfeathers]

how we feeling this afternoon hopes peak au havers!?

i like the concept of school id’s and photos so i decided to sit down and draw the dr protagonists as a little style practice! and so i drew their id photos from their first year (+ komaru bc she deserves to be included too)

hcs below the cut!

i like to format hpa a little more like a japanese high school which means these guys (minus komaru) are around 15 in these bust shots

and i like to draw all of these guys like teenagers who are a little out there & modify their appearances rather than naturally having bright eye/hair colours bc i like the vibe of obviously dyed hair :)) 

also i decided that over the like, four years that they’re at the academy each of them try out different hairstyles/colours before finding their ‘signature’ appearance which is closer to canon 

...

giving kaede pink streaks was probably the best thing ive ever done not gonna lie

same with komaru’s split dyed hair! i tried it out and said ‘wow ok keeping this’ 

...

anyways hopes peak au hcs when 

[shinidamachu]

In the original inuyasha who do you believe is the most underappreciated character?

Well, to me — and I say this unironically — it's definitely Kaede.

There are some other Inuyasha characters that I feel like could be more appreciated. Kagome and Inuyasha (funnily enough) are on my list because some people just like to be unnecessarily hard on them. Miroku, Sango and Shippo also come to mind, since I frequently see them get sidelined and most often than not, in favor of characters that are... not as important to the plot or general dynamic of the main group.

And don't get me started on Inuparents. It still blows my mind to this day that we know so little about the love story that generated the main character of the show.

But the thing is: in those cases, it's not uncommon to see posts calling out how underappreciated those characters are and, as a response, they do end up getting at least some kind of "recognition." It also helps that they're protagonists.

Even controversial characters such as Kagura, Koga, Kikyo and Sesshomaru (although I'd argue the latter is painfully overrated), receive their fair share of attention and love from their so called defense squads, despite the fact that it's not an universal thing and they could definitelly be more loved.

All of those characters are the target of valid criticism, but also of unreasonable hate and appreciation posts as a counterpoint. But Kaede? She has none of that. Rare are Kaede fanarts and scarce is her role in fanfictions, even though she is a hardcore badass.

And her life story is fascinating as well. We have no idea of who her parents were, or what happened to them, but I think it's safe to assume she lost all of her family (except for Kikyo) at a very young age. All she had, all she knew was her big sister, whom she has always admired and looked up to.

But let's face it... being such an important person, in charge of such an important task, Kikyo were too busy being a priestess to actually be Kaede's big sister rather than her tutor or mentor. As a result, I also think it's safe to assume Kaede had very little of a childhood, which sadly is probably an echo of Kikyo's lost one, in a cycle that should have been broken but wasn't. It's very tragic, but at least they had each other...

Until they hadn't. Kikyo died and whatever was left of Kaede's childhood was gone with her. She took upon herself to follow her sister's footsteps and she does look more happy being a priestess than Kikyo ever was, but it doesn't mean it didn't come at a great personal cost.

At the very least, she spent fifty years mourning her sister while the very man who supposedly betrayed Kikyo — betrayed them, if you consider the anime canon — and killed her, was peacefully "sleeping" on a tree of the nearby forest.

Then she had her beloved sister forcefully brought back from her well deserved rest by a dark witch, but it's not the sister she remembers. She is full of rage and malice. She is feeding off innocent souls. She is becoming the very thing she used to fight against. And the man who had actually plotted her murder was the one they tried to save all those years ago.

The narrative always tend to make us feel sorry for Kikyo's fate, which... totally valid. But it never really addressed in depth how awful everything must have felt for Kaede. Especially about how helpless she must have felt.

That being said, she had a strong personality since she was a little kid, as you can see in the first painel. She is wise, she is fair, she is funny:

Her kid character design was gorgeous (and I wish we had gotten to see a little bit more of young Kaede), but even though she is already an old woman and it's not as close to the action as the others, she is still holding her own when she could have simply retired.

You can see how much of an excellent job she has done protecting the village for those fifty years and she is also a first class bullshit detector:

Not to mention she is a female character who has lost an eye as a colateral damage of a battle, but this has never defined her and most importantly: she never gets her eye magically fixed in the end. It's just there, because that's the way it is: not a big deal. And it doesn't refrain her from doing anything. That's very good, very rare representation.

Finally, I must say: I think the lack of hype concerning Kaede comes from two main reasons.

First, writting. It feels like exploring the her sisterly relationship with Kikyo would have been the most logical, realistic and organic way to go. Both of them would have greately benefited from it, since it would have made the duo even more sympathetic, relatable and appealing, creating an amazing, emotional charged conflict. But they had very few scenes together, compared to other characters that aren't even blood related to them.

I often felt like Kikyo cared more about claiming Inuyasha's life and defeating Naraku than for her little sister and like Kaede, in returned, had a stronger bond with Inuyasha than with Kikyo herself. Which is just, you know, not good. Especially when you have the obvious parallel with Sango and Kohaku, that was used for Inuyasha and Kikyo instead. Such a good opportunity wasted in favor of the dragged out love triangle. What a shame.

And second... I really think it also has something to do with the fact that Kaede is old, fat and not exactly what the kids would call "shipping material" although a few people have pointed out that it would have been cute to see Kaede and Grandpa Higurashi developping a relationship of sorts, even if platonic, which is something else that could have been addressed in the writting, although harder to find the time to.

My point is: people would have been all over Kaede if she was a young, skinny pretty thing they could ship with some equally hot character. I guess even fictional women have an expiration date.

But Kaede is an awesome character. She has taken in Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippo as if they were her own, dumb gradchildren. Same with Rin. And we just don't love her enough for it.

Hashtag peace.

[sendouakira]

A comprehensive essay on the effects of Sakuragi Hanamichi on Rukawa Kaede from Slam Dunk

 Over the years, there have been quite a few rivalries portrayed in great detail between “dual protagonists” from famous shounen manga. Yet the relationship between Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede from the most influential sports manga Slam Dunk was and still is regarded as “the gold standard” for this particular type of dynamic. However, as great as the bond that these two share, it’s puzzling that there seems to be a greater focus on the impact that Rukawa has on Sakuragi. I have read some analyses that even claim “Rukawa, at best, thinks of Sakuragi as a really hard-to-get-along-with teammate,” or that, “Sakuragi only helps Rukawa build better teamwork to some extent”. 

In this essay, my goal is to explore the natural progress of the relationship between these dual protagonists as well as the apparent development and growth of Rukawa Kaede as a character after he meets Sakuragi Hanamichi. For the purpose of this essay, I will focus only on Rukawa Kaede’s perspective as the effects that Rukawa has on Sakuragi deserve another essay entirely. 

The first thing that we all need to agree is that, we, as readers, rarely have a chance to know what exactly Rukawa is thinking. Even when he does open his mouth, he has nothing but nasty things to say which may make him look detached and distant (minus very few instances when he actually encourages Sakuragi). We always get a glimpse of other characters’ internal turmoil, their struggles and emotions such as Mitsui’s regret, Akagi’s memories, or Sendou’s plan. But Rukawa is always this mysterious character who never truly reveals his thoughts and his intentions to the reader. This is precisely why he is often misunderstood as a cold person, or that the relationship between him and Sakuragi is overrated.  

If we look at the early dynamic between the two, we can see that  Rukawa indeed doesn’t care about Sakuragi. “An annoying teammate” is likely how he would describe Sakuragi. 

Slam Dunk chapter 20, when Sakuragi is learning how to do a layup shot, Rukawa shows annoyance as he is forced to teach Sakuragi the techniques. 

If his senpai is not there, he would not lift a finger to help Sakuragi. 

Similarly, he’s again put on the spot and has no choice but to teach Sakuragi how to defend in the practice match with Ryonan (Slam Dunk, chapter 43).

Or in Kainan match, Rukawa instructs Sakuragi what to do as they are the first to arrive for defense. 

Initially, Rukawa really has no interest in helping any of his teammates improve, let alone Sakuragi, even though he instinctively understands that the improvement of his teammates benefits him and Shohoku as a whole. 

In the early stage of Slam Dunk, Rukawa doesn’t have any regards for Sakuragi whatsoever, even if he does give Sakuragi guidance from time to time. The only reason he does it is because he’s forced to do so, and he only guides Sakuragi enough to help Shohoku win since he himself wants to win as well. 

So when does the shift in his attitude towards Sakuragi take place? In actuality, it’s a gradual, slow process. It starts with his encouragement for Sakuragi. Note that he doesn’t encourage anyone on his team. He may recognize other teammates’ abilities and talents but still, the only person who has this “privilege” is Sakuragi alone. 

Let’s take a look at the first scene that Rukawa gives Sakuragi encouragment in chapter 95, when Sakuragi is afraid of committing fouls in the match with Shoyo

Even if you argue that, in this scene, he only does it because not being able to catch rebounds seriously hurts Shohoku’s chance to win against Shoyo, such words from Rukawa are profound and unprecedented since this is the first time Rukawa actually acknowledges out loud Sakuragi’s ability to catch rebounds. But what’s even more interesting is another scene from the match with Shoyo. 

 While previously we saw Rukawa helping and encouraging Sakuragi just enough to help Shohoku win, the same interpretation doesn’t work here. Sakuragi is leaving the basketball court. What good does it do to encourage him now? In my opinion, this is the first time that Rukawa temporarily sets his ego aside to acknowledge Sakuragi’s talents, not just because he wants to win; but because Sakuragi deserves it. 

Then comes our most favourite scene between these two, when Rukawa “consoles” Sakuragi after Kainan loss. 

Again, we have no idea what Rukawa truly thinks. We only know that other Shohoku players never blame Sakuragi for passing the ball to Takasago of Kainan. 

Let’s shift our focus to Inoue sensei’s intention of not showing Rukawa’s thoughts. It’s very clear that Rukawa is...planning something. The panel which shows his eyes only is subtext, and the underlying message is that Sakuragi is no longer the annoying teammate that he couldn’t care less about. Here, it is HIGHLIGHTED by Inoue sensei (Rukawa is being SINGLED OUT) in that one panel that he’s thinking about Sakuragi not showing up for practice.

We can only guess what’s going on in his mind at the time. Is Rukawa thinking about finding Sakuragi and confronting him about not coming to practice? I think not. A safer bet is that Rukawa is thinking about how to talk to Sakuragi about it, and the reason which leads me to believe so is this scene. 

This is Haruko’s failed attempt to cheer Sakuragi up after the loss against Kainan. This scene is the key reason why she fails. She unintentionally confirms that it’s indeed his fault by saying, “even geniuses make mistakes sometimes.” Thus, Sakuragi is still stuck in the same thinking pattern that he is to blame. 

It takes Rukawa, who understands a newbie’s feelings and who previously thought carefully about what to say to Sakuragi to cheer him up. Rukawa knows Sakuragi still thinks it’s his responsibility that Shohoku loses against Kainan, therefore, the only way to get him out of that thinking pattern is for Rukawa to assume that responsibility. 

I firmly believe that this scene shows that Rukawa really cares about Sakuragi as a teammate. Everything may look coincidental, that Rukawa happens to see Sakuragi in the locker room, that he arrogantly takes the blame for the Kainan loss which so happens to cheer Sakuragi up. But it’s only on the surface. Rukawa has now from this point on, grown to care about Sakuragi. 

The direct impact that Sakuragi has on Rukawa doesn’t stop here. Sakuragi always has his own way to rile Rukawa up like no one else can. We know that Rukawa loves challenges, and characters like Sendou Akira or Sawakita Eiji are the ones who can provoke Rukwa on the basketball court but it’s because Sendou or Sawakita are truly skilled players, so it is understandable that Rukawa would be provoked to go all out in order to defeat them. 

However, why does Rukawa go all out in a one-on-one game with Sakuragi back in chapter 191? Is it because Sakuragi is so arrogant that Rukawa wants to teach him a lesson? Is it because he takes basketball so seriously that he must always do his best?  Or maybe it’s his personality since Mitsui and Miyagi somehow know that he would not go easy on Sakuragi?

Again, we never find out why Rukawa does the things he does. The narrative on his thoughts is always left out, silent, mysterious. What’s true is that unlike Sendou or Sawakita, Sakuragi doesn’t have skills on par with Rukawa in order to actually demand him to give it his all. It must be something else in Sakuragi that has this effect on Rukawa. 

There is another curious detail which I would like to point out. When Rukawa consults coach Anzai about his decision to go to the US, he is advised to stay in Japan to become the number 1 high school basketball player first before moving to the US. This matter is of Rukawa’s concern only, yet somehow Sakuragi is involved. 

I have always asked myself this question. What does Sakuragi have anything to do with this? Actually, a better question is: why does Inoue sensei intentionally let Rukawa become aware that coach Anzai values Sakuragi as much as Rukawa himself? Not to mention that Sakuragi is never brought up in his conversation with coach Anzai, but Sendou is. 

Rukawa has shown us repeatedly that he’s actually impressed with Sakuragi’s raw potential, but this time is different. This is the first time Rukawa understands that in coach Anzai’s mind, the 2 of them are equal in terms of talents and it would be wrong to assume that Sakuragi is not regarded as highly as Rukawa himself. 

Back to the question above: why Rukawa goes all out with Sakuragi in that one-on-one game. Is it because of what coach Anzai’s wife reveals to him, Rukawa now truly sees Sakuragi in a new light? I find it interesting that right after Rukawa’s flashback in the two pictures above, we have the match between Rukawa and Sakuragi in which Rukawa shows no mercy. 

We will get back to this point later. Let’s move on to another important scene. 

In the death match with Sannoh, when Sakuragi is hurt, Rukawa is perhaps the first person to notice something is wrong (it’s not clear if coach Anzai notices if first or if it’s Rukawa). Either way, he actually knows something is not right even before Mito Yohei. 

By the time Shohoku meets Sannoh, Sakuragi has been playing basketball for only 4 months. In the span of 4 months, Rukawa has learned enough about Sakuragi to notice Sakuragi’s small slip of concentration, as if he’s been watching Sakuragi play all along. 

Next, we have one of the clearest examples of how Rukawa truly feels about Sakuragi. 

In this entire page, we see Sakuragi’s emotions, thought process, his flashbacks, and his gaze. But there is one panel that does not belong to his internal monologue: the closeup of Rukawa’s expression. I don’t think I have much to say about this panel. Rukawa’s worry is written all over his face. 

Of course, this is not the first time Rukawa shows his worried expression like this. When Akagi leaves the court in the match with Kainan (chapter 105), he also shows the same reaction. 

Or when Mitsui collapses in the match with Ryonan (chapter 180).

While it is shown that Rukawa is just as worried when other Shohoku regulars have to leave the court, it is important to note that he only shows this expression when an important player is hurt or injured. Rukawa may taunt Sakuragi for being a newbie, for looking clumsy; but just like Akagi or Mitsui, Sakuragi has earned this worried look from Rukawa as an important player in the Shohoku lineup. 

And even more than that, it’s also hinted that Rukawa seems to be the person who understands Sakuragi the most as a fellow athlete. 

The scene in chapter 270 which shows Hanamichi gundan (his loyal friends, including Mito who is his best friend) understand that Sakuragi has made up his mind, that he will not be persuaded to do otherwise. 

And there is Rukawa who understands Sakuragi without the need for words. 

Rukawa seems to know an aweful lot about Sakuragi, even more so than Mito Yohei when it comes to basketball. While everyone wants to convince Sakuragi not to come in, Rukawa is the only person that understands Sakuragi’s stubbornness without having to talk to him. 

Finally, the infamous scene in which Rukawa encourages Sakuragi for the last time. 

At first glance, it seems that Rukawa is only encouraging Sakuragi here. But on the 9th reading of Slam Dunk(yes, I have actually read the manga 9 times), I suddenly realized it may be deeper than that. This scene takes place right after Rukawa gives Sakuragi a compliment on his desperate attempt to win against Rukawa in the one-on-one game (chapter 191), which is also around the time when Rukawa becomes aware that coach Anzai values both him and Sakuragi equally. 

I believe, this is not just encouragement. Here, Rukawa also indirectly acknowledges Sakuragi’s genius AND shows his willingness to pave the way for Sakuragi. He is no longer the person who is unwilling to guide Sakuragi, or to instruct him on the spot like what we saw above. After the suicidal save, Sakuragi has earned Rukawa’s respect and admiration as a fellow athlete. Rukawa now readily shows Sakuragi the way as long as he is willing to follow his examples. He always knows what’s best to do to cheer Sakuragi up or how to encourage him to keep going. He’s not the cold scoring machine that everyone hails him to be, but a caring teammate who understands Sakuragi well.

In conclusion, while it seems that Sakuragi has very little impact on Rukawa as a character, it’s actually the opposite. Rukawa rarely reveals his thoughts and intentions to anyone and initially, his method of communicating is unconventional in a sense that it always makes him look distant and detached. However, as the story progresses, Rukawa gradually becomes more sympathetic and caring towards Sakuragi. He shows his obvious admiration towards Sakuragi and eventually regards him as an equal.