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love when men cry about body hair bc "it's hygiene" and yet 15% of cis men leave the bathroom without washing their hands at all and an additional 35% only just wet their hands without using soap. that is nearly half of all men. that means statistically you have probably shaken hands with or been in direct contact with one of these people.
love when men say that women "only want money" when it turns out that even in equal-earning homes, women are actually adding caregiver burdens and housework from previous years, whereas men have been expanding leisure time and hobbies. in equal-earning households, men spend an average of 3.5 hours extra in leisure time per week, which is 182 hours per year - a little over a week of paid vacation time that the other partner does not receive. kinda sounds like he wants her money.
love that men have decided women are frail and weak and annoying when we scream in surprise but it turns out it's actually women who are more reliable in an emergency because men need to be convinced to actually take action and respond to the threat. like, actually, for-real: men experience such a strong sense of pride about their pre-supposed abilities that it gets them and their families killed. they are so used to dismissing women that it literally kills them.
love it. told my father this and he said there's lies, damned lies, and statistics. a year ago i tried to get him to evacuate the house during a flash flood. he ignored me and got injured. he has told me, laughing, that he never washes his hands. he has said in the last week that women are just happier when we're cooking or cleaning.
maybe i'm overly nostalgic. but it didn't used to feel so fucking bleak. it used to feel like at least a little shameful to consider women to be sheep. it just feels like the earth is round and we are still having conversations about it being flat - except these conversations are about the most obvious forms of patriarchy. like, we know about this stuff. we've known since well before the 50's.
recently andrew tate tried to justify cheating on his partner as being the "male prerogative." i don't know what the prerogative for the rest of us would be. just sitting at home, watching the slow erosion of our humanity.
#writeblr#warm up#ps edited so it is more clear where “half” of men is coming from:#15% literally don't even touch water#an ADDITIONAL 35% ''wash'' by just running their hands under water WITHOUT SOAP#15+35 =50%#like that is not washing ur hands. go back and use soap#btw the numbers for women are 4% never washing and 15% ''just water''#which is still gross but like. sooo much better yikes#ps i know we're all gay on this site but watching ppl ''correct'' my math on this has been wild#i have a learning disability im genuinely bad at math so i check EVERY time someone corrects me#but no they're just confidently wrong.....#182 hours is a week babes. 182/24 (number of hours in a day) is ~7.6#that's where i got that number from. also from rent we know there's 168 hours in a week.#ALSO btw if u read this and ur response is ''men are also struggling rn tho'' like babe you missed the point of it tho#this doesn't even make fun of men it's legit just pointing out that bigotry against women isn't founded#in anything men actually CARE about . like they don't actually CARE about ''being clean'' when they make fun of armpit hair#or they would be WASHING THEIR HANDS.#men pretend to be rollin' in cash and Apex Predators and instead they are trained to be lazy and unwilling to act in emergencies#i have never and will never make fun of men for asking for more support on important topics like DV and mental health.#this is so clearly not about men; it's about how common just being plainly misogynistic has become.#like they don't try to hide it anymore.
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adding to the "there should have been more genuine tension within the seven" train of thought, it would have been funny if the Argo II, technically being a ship, meant it fell under Percy's power domain and he could control it all at whim, rendering all the carefully crafted controls Leo built useless if Percy felt like being an asshole
#Leo “this ship is my destiny” Valdez vs Percy “ships fall under my daddy's domain which means Im the captain now ” Jackson#real talk we could have gotten a part where the seven disagreed on where they should be going next#maybe its a 4-3 split#and its just getting more and more heated (with Leo and Percy on opposing sides)#and it turns into this thing where they're both trying to direct the ship#which only gets the others involved and pissed#(actually its been so long since I read hoo I can't remember if the argo 2 was self-flying or if Leo had to actively guide it)#mine
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Time and Time Again comes back tonight!
Thank you all for being so patient with me, I know it was a long hiatus.
My health was struggling, my arm was (is) hurting, and I decided it wasn't worth it. I'd rather be slow!
So thank you for giving me that grace, and I hope you'll be there with me for the rest of the series.
#like straight up. it's not worth it. idc how many people get mad at me#i would rather work fuckin. anything else than maintain this impossible schedule and keep hurting myself#if thats what it takes to do comics full time. then i can't do comics full time. simple as that!#i hope that for my next work i can have a healthier schedule and still make this work as my job#but if not. I'm never going back#i can't do it. 3 more years at this pace will take my ability to draw#anyways. its really good!!!#like genuinely i can feel a marked improvement in my skills#which is WILD!!! And I'm extremely happy about that!!!#just one more step into being better built to give people the quality stories they deserve.#ive not properly had the fire under my ass to finish stuff up but. its fine.#like i said? not worth it.#if i have to pause again then ill pause again. like i literally simply can not my body can't handle it#so. hopefully stuff goes smoothly but whatever happens will happen#whatever will be will be#i keep getting distracted lmfao#im excited about it coming back#and also. will. probably be distracting myself...#other creators dont read their comments. I'm like straight up not capable of that LMAOOO#i check for comments like all the time#love seeing em. love reading people's thoughts about my work#it makes me a better writer and keeps me connected to what matters most. which is my audience!#so i dont regret doing that but also. jts extremely distracting#i get straight up nothing done on big update days#cause im in the comments absolutely massive eyed refreshing.#this sounds obsessive. and it is. no jk#its just fun and keeps me in touch w peoples perception which helps me learn to write better#plus people are nice and ask me questions that i wanna answer#or if someone is being an ass. then i wanna tell them to leave (cause i cant block people) cause i consider it my responsibility#time and time again
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foremost scholar of yuri theory
#yesss tell me more about the ways in which#theyre reading yuri zine#binghe is on the seventh year of her phd which is so strange she was on track to finish early.. the timeline is all off??#she survived grant writing hell to spend a few more years under professor shen's care#sqq wears sheer black stockings you know the ones#sv academia au#lesbingqiu#shen qingqiu#fem!shen qingqiu#luo binghe#sqq#lbh#bingqiu#rule 63#svsss#scum villain#genderswap#fem!luo binghe#cursed scum villain academia au
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(ID in alt) hi sorry for back to back marvel fanart I swear I still have dc stuff lmao. However I did recently read X-Men: first class and got a bit carried away doodling this after Lmao
#marvel comics#x men#scott summers#jean grey#hank mccoy#bobby drake#warren worthington iii#charles xavier#anyway#picked X-Men: First Class#out of sheer curiosity and desire to know more about the X-Men and I really enjoyed it!#Idk how in line with canon it but. Whatever tbh. Anyway that was the inspo behind this#just the og 5 fooling around and being silly teens#jean being the flirty one probably isn't very in character at this time period (jean doesnt really show any interest in scott in first clas#but it was too cute to pass up#also charles looks so much more pissed off than i intended 😭 there's this one issue of first class where he's just BERATING the xmen#just yelling at them psychically and eventually its revealed that it wasn't actually Charles but i didn't question it at first#which is kind of mean to charles. but idk i haven't gotten far with the x-men (im being very casual in my reading rn)#so maybe he deserves it#also i keep making bigger and bigger drawings bc i know that those print well#but i keeo forgetting that tumblr murders the quality of the image when you upload it. bwahhh#anyway i think i am finally going to knuckle down and open commission slots for part of july#idk how much a bad boy like this (lined coloured and shaded w/ multiple characters) would cost but we're gonna figure that out#honestly i might slightly under price them just to encourage ppl to spring for them#okay that's all for now I PROMISE I HAVE DC DRAWINGS TO SHARE i was just in a serious drawing funk and drawing some characters-#-that I'd never drawn before (like shulkie and now the xmen) helped break that funk!#mine
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DAY 71: shy
#codacheetah#isat#loop isat#isabeau isat#isat spoilers#i'll never get over loop being described as 'shy'. what a wonderful image#top one casual remarks from isabeau that cleaves loop's facade#like loop's personality is just a targeted missile to piss siffrin off. they're not at all confident and snarky#they're doing like the physical manifestation of winning an argument against yourself in the shower#second they see the party though Oopsies we're in scary territory. That's your family and they dont know it's you Oops#ok anyways ever since i saw that post i was like damn. this is just how i view loop in party postcanon#for as much as I think they SHOULD go explore around and be their own person for a while i think realistically they would not do that.#theyre going to go be a weird freak hovering around the party and refusing to socialize with anyone but siffrin and theyre gonna feel awful#(read: they're going to antagonize siffrin and it fails tremendously bc now The Rumor Come Out and siffrin knows what loop is doing.)#like loop as much as they can barely stand to even look at isabeau (for instance) i think their claws are sunk far too deep in.#onehats maybe the circumstances are different because there is a gap in understanding. there's no point forcing siffrin to confront the#obvious conclusion that loop is them (and thus siffrin's happy ending nails loop's coffin)#(THIS IS IGNORING TWOHATS PREREQS GOTTEN ONEHATS. BC THATS ITS OWN CAN OF WORMS)#but twohats. idk. for as much as it lets loop release some of their rage and process their feelings a bit. i think it might also be the pus#that makes loop consider their own existence as a person a bit more. theyre not a sponsor->corpse theyre just loop#theyre just somebody who wants desperately. they want to stay with them#theyre still siffrin. if also loop.#i think loop would force themself to reconnect with the party in the same vein as siffrin forcing himself to communicate more.#but of course having conviction and living an experience are not the same thing. so siffrin's going to flounder the emotional honesty thing#tremendously and loop's going to be. blair witching it in the corner.#hey i might have forgotten which post i was writing the tags under. oopsies#idk if these tags are comprehensible at all. i just really want to see loop fail upwards into friendship with everyone
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I'm a sucker for Twin Reveals, idk if you know that. So I have to ask about "you're joking, right? gala pranking turned twin reveal"
ngl this is the flavour of the month for me rn, I've really hopped straight back on the demon twins au with a passion! you get 500 words of the intro here because I have no restraint :)
———
Tonight is becoming, as often happens with a gala, a dismal affair.
Bruce has (finally) managed to extract himself from a torturous conversation with Mrs. Johnson, and is allowing himself a quiet breath with a glass of apple juice masquerading as whiskey when someone taps him on his shoulder.
“Mr. Wayne?”
It’s a voice he recognises, despite only meeting the man once. He doesn’t groan—he even resists the urge to throw his glass at him and make a break for it—but it’s a close affair. He’s not Superman, after all, and there’s a limit to his strength.
With a deep breath and the customary ditzy smile of Brucie Wayne plastered on his face, he turns towards Mr. Masters.
Only to immediately freeze.
“Ah, yes, I don’t believe you’ve met.” Mr. Masters turns and presents a young boy to him, gently pushing him forward slightly. His dark hair is ruffled and there’s a thunderous look on his face as he flashes Bruce a glare before stubbornly fixing his gaze back on the floor. “May I introduce to you my son, Daniel Masters?”
This is the fourth gala Vladimir Masters has been to since his reintroduction into high society, only the second one he and Bruce have attended together, and, as Bruce is silently lamenting, there is still so little known about the man. Yet, he doesn’t strike Bruce as someone that would pull a joke like this.
After 20 years locked away in his house suffering from an unnamed illness, his return had been completely unexpected and not entirely welcome, from what Bruce has heard. Too many years spent away shrouded in mystery has people weary about forging new connections, but his recent successes with his business might persuade a few brave—or foolhardy—individuals into making some investments.
Which must be why he’s now back on the gala scene.
Which must be why he’s chosen to become Mayor of a little unknown town in Illinois, as baffling as the choice may be.
Which must be why he’s pulling this stunt. This practical joke. Something to break the ice, to share a laugh with Bruce. To start a conversation.
The only real question is why Damian is going along with it.
“I’m sorry?” Bruce says, chuckling awkwardly.
Poor Damian looks just about ready to pull out a sword and start swinging, so perhaps he’s not as comfortable in going along with it as Bruce first thought. There's a tension in his shoulders, his whole body as taut as a bow string. Did Dick put him up to this? It’s definitely something his eldest would find funny.
“My son, Daniel. Daniel, say hello to Mr. Wayne.” There’s a flash of annoyance in Mr. Masters’ eyes as he gives Damian another nudge to introduce himself.
“Hello, Mr. Wayne.” Damian growls out, eyes still stubbornly lowered, his jaw tensing painfully. His voice sounds different, almost like he’s affecting Mr. Masters’ accent. Just what is he playing at? Bruce is struggling to find the funny side in all this.
Is this a case they’re working on? Not a prank, but rather some investigation that Bruce isn’t privy to? It wouldn’t be the first time his children have kept him out of the loop, but to do it in a gala, and a Wayne gala at that, where they’re sure to be recognised…
No, it has to be a joke. They’re planning to embarrass him, they have to be.
#dpxdc#i chickened out and put it under a read more which then made me add more to the snippet haha#i was 'working' on this in the shower and then got out and immediately forgot everything i thought should happen next 😔 rip me#demon twins au#oh man it gets so juicy it gets so juicy vlad is a dick and bruce's 'dad-vision' is activated fairly quick ahhh!
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let! him! have! his! octopus! plush! >:[
(messy extra stuff----)
meanwhile,back at NRC:
(+ here’s a WIP >:] )
#twst#twisted wonderland#jade leech#harveston sledathon#azul ashengrotto#i'm. tagging him because. he's there in spirit in the pic--- and he's under the read more-#ram's art#i mainly used this as a practice for something - which is why it's messyyyyyy#anyways i think he should have been allowed an octopus :[ to limit him to land animals only is mean :[[[[[#also i am. enjoying this event so much fr#oh yea - i sorta tried to wing the fabrics that jade picked----#i. think. at least---#i didn't actually re-read that part so i probably mis-remembered what he picked aha---#oh also also dont look at the sled <3 i sorta . skimmed drawing it#anywaysss mush! mush! little plush octo!!! you can do it!
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i don’t think rhyme’s relationship to her gender identity is particularly important to the larger picture of twewy, but i do think beat’s perception of her as a girl, as his younger sister, is very very important. cause masculinity as equal to strength is important to beat, and it explains a lot of his relationship to rhyme. rhyme protecting beat, her kindness when they were alive, succeeding at pushing him out of the way in the same way beat failed, it’s an indignity. rhyme, a young girl, his family, then his partner in the Game, like every category of ‘what a man should protect’, is stronger than beat. beat fails to protect her time and time again. and he resents that. that he’s so weak. that she had to protect him.
liiiike, what kariya says to beat after ganking rhyme, “[rhyme] isn’t gone because of us. she’s gone because of you. you failed to protect your partner. […] she protected you. gave her life for you. […] you want payback? then man up” <- thats what its all about. and ‘she’s gone because of you’ stinging twice cause he failed and that’s why she was in the Game at all. later, as a reaper, beat says to neku “you man up any yet? cause i don’t believe in hittin’ women and children” it’s cyclicalll and beat clinging to the ideal of masculinity in the face of his own powerlessness
#‘it got old— being pitied by my lil sister. so i pushed her away’#it’s an indignity!!! paved with good intentions but a blow to his pride nonetheless#beat#rhyme#twewyposting#twewy#daisukenojo bito#beat bito#rhyme bito#such to say. nonbinary rhyme could be real sure. but i do think her being a girl as far as the text is concerned is important#like as far as beat knows#the eng localization obviously uses she/her up the wazoo cause english is like that#but afaik in the orig jp rhyme isn’t obviously gendered until beat calls her his sister#so nonbinary rhyme is a fairly popular reading#which is cool and fine i just think it exists under fairly limited parameters without contradicting the text or undermining the bito’s deal#rambles#actually i recind that last bit. i think it works in way more possibilities than i first thought#but i do think ‘rhyme is out and their gender identity is respected without comment or any other changes’ specifically Would undermine stuff
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Poppy for N2 au, it took me so long to make her design cuz I didn't really know what I wanted to do only because I feel like her design is pretty perfect.
But then I just thought about fun outfits to give her or outfits that I would find comfortable if I was wearing them and it all came together.
Poppy here is pretty much the same as here movie counterpart, as nothing really changes on her end of things other than having more insight on Branch through his brothers, and through Lief. Shes also a bit more understanding a bit earlier on because of it but it doesnt do much to change her own character arc I would say.
Bonus
Part of Poppys design was based off a design I had made for previous rulers of Troll Village/Tree
Namely Queen Protea who I designed as Poppys grandmother
Named after the Protea flower which part of her design is based off :D
In the context of this Au Protea was the one who conceptualized the tunnels while her son, King Peppy, was the one to follow through after her death
#my art#dreamworks trolls#trolls#trolls 3#trolls au#trolls band together#trolls branch#trolls poppy#trolls oc#trolls oc lief#trolls oc protea#its really hard to mess with poppy at least in the context of this au cuz like i said nothing really changes on her end#whats changed in this au was just stuff on Branchs side of things#Poppy can witness these things but she herself isnt really changed by them#she of course would have more insight on Branchs life through his brothers and the addition of Lief as a character#but idk if that would fully change her approach with him other than what ive displayed#where shed try to relate to branch rather than trying to force him to relate to her#which would then most likely make her more understanding going forward than she was in canon#im still figuring her out#also since im in the tags and nobody really reads this#i feel brave enough to say#that secretly#ive been kind of sort of#posting a fanfic of this au under the name not the only one#on ao3#and thats where Protea comes from#its not well written in the slightest#but its just for fun and practice so in my mind it doesnt really have to be entirely#but i am having fun with it#so if you see this and check it out please be so very nice to me please
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maybe its just me and my love of all things gothic, but i've been really surprised by the classification of saltburn as a (poorly executed) 'eat the rich' satire. i would've said it was primarily gothic fiction and that the class commentary was more a backdrop to that than the major thesis of the film, so it's interesting that a lot of people seemed to interpret it mostly or entirely through the lens of class satire. i'll be interested to see if the interpretation/reaction to the movie changes at all between the theatrical release and the digital one in a couple weeks; my perception is that a not insignificant number of people went into saltburn expecting something like parasite and were justifiably disappointed. not me though i'm a sucker for a fucked up gothic romance
#saltburn#barry keoghan#jacob elordi#emerald fennell#like the structure of the movie follows gothic romance/horror pretty perfectly up until the twist#at which point my interpretation was that the whole point was taking gothic tropes and then flipping them around#honestly found myself thinking of crimson peak quite a bit while watching!#honestly i would make a list of all the gothic tropes in saltburn but it would be so spoiler-ridden and long#itd have to be under a read more 😭
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Specifically having Travis and Jackie have sex is so interesting because both of them, I feel, are doing it to fulfill something they feel like needs to happen for them to be secure in gender/sexuality. And in the end it has consequences and is iffy at best because neither of them have the proper vocabulary or positive examples needed to navigate that!
With Travis he says yes because he misses Nat and is insecure that she's slept with multiple people while he has been with no one. When it comes to how this might affect his relationship had the night not gone batshit insane, he doesn't think because the ideals he has tell him he NEEDS to have sex to be a better man for Natalie as opposed to just being there for her and communicating normally. Toxic masculinity n all that with him desperately trying to hold onto anything that makes him feel more masculine, more capable, more desirable- but it's an ill fitting role (transfem Trav truthers I see you).
As for Jackie, there's a lot going on there. First up is the fact that she's essentially given up on survival at that point and is preparing for death accordingly in a passively suicidal sort of way (which might I add Travis also experiences. Just later) so she feels the need to Do Things. As for the sex stuff itself, from the scene in the pilot and Shauna's admittedly less reliable meat shed conversations, it's pretty clear that it wasn't comfortable at the best of times and his pressuring sounded like it was pretty consistent. Jackie's view of virginity and sex sounds almost transactional at times; a "he's waited long enough" type deal. Then there's the fact that it was wrapped up in Shauna: telling Shauna while wearing her flannel, looking at Shauna, having sex in Shauna's bed.
Jackie seems to not know how to not involve some pressuring because Jeff always did that, and she's pretty past caring about being nice. Travis doesn't know how to not take what he should want, and later on he's tripping out. Add the emotional detachment of not having negative history, a poor mental state, toxic yuri, and shrooms, and you've got a recipe for vaguely unhealthy casual sex while thinking about other people!
All this to say it was a perfect storm for the two people most insecure in their sexuality/gender presentation to use each other to feel affirmed about it only to face massive consequences (however disproportionate) for something ultimately unfulfilling ("so that was sex?"). Those old standards they live by don't fly out here. It's still a society, they're just still unlearning the rules of the old one.
#not a ship post. to be clear#lu rambles#yellowjackets#jackie taylor#travis martinez#yellowjackets meta#long post#im not even a huge travis fan but i do find the way he clings to masculinity as a crutch interesting#which is probably why i like travis most under a transfem reading#and of course with jackie it's more sexuality wise though idk let her get weirder with it too
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The Chapter 4 Essay Part 1: Kokichi Ouma
A metapost on my thoughts on Kokichi’s overall motivations and Gonta’s actions during ch4. Split into two parts. You can find the Gonta half here: (LINK)
I think the way Kokichi acts when he’s telling the truth says something crucial about his personality. When he’s telling the genuine truth, his expression becomes carefully neutral.
(post trial, chapter 1)
To me, it feels like he’s trying very hard to keep this face of neutrality. Normally, he’s able to expertly express any emotion that he wants to. In these moments, its almost like the emotion he’s feeling is so overpowering that he’s trying to repress it in order to maintain control over the face he presents to everyone else, but isn’t quite able to do so.
Kokichi is very careful about keeping people from seeing the parts of himself that he doesn’t choose to show. His villain persona and constant lying is part of this- He wants to keep people away from him. During the events of the killing game, he uses the distance that he creates in many ways. Part of it was that not having many close alliances allowed him to go off and do whatever he wanted during daily life. This let him explore the school and investigate the truth of the killing game without interruption or much attention. Lying also gave him distance between the game and himself. Pretending that the killing game was fun might’ve been his way to cope with everything that was happening. I think Kokichi is really damn good at separating himself from his emotions, lying to himself to do what he thinks needs to be done. This line from Chapter 1 is pretty telling…
(post trial, chapter 1)
This was also something he says himself to Kaito in the exisal hanger during chapter 5.
(post trial, chapter 5)
I’m inclined to believe everything that Kokichi says to Kaito in the exisal hanger. As Kiibo says when Kaito questions it, “I think his dying words may have been the honest truth.” Knowing he was about the die, and that he absolutely needed Kaito’s help to get his plan to break the killing game to work- to achieve his genuine, true goal- I don’t see any reason for him to lie.
This emotional distance extends past just the killing game. I think it's a key part of how he interacts with others around him.
Kokichi is an ultimate leader. I think he uses his talent throughout the game in an attempt to “lead” everyone from the shadows. He wanted to stop the killing game and escape with as many people as possible. However, his methods are very ends-justify-the-means. I believe that he did genuinely care about everyone at the ultimate academy, but in the detached way a distant king might care about his subjects. On the other hand, if he had to use or sacrifice a few as pawns for the greater good, that is what had to be done. It’s not like it didn’t emotionally affect him, but I think he was deliberately trying to keep his distance so that it would not impact him as much, and so that he could continue trying to tear the killing game apart with as many tools in his arsenal as possible.
(post trial, chapter 5)
With this core motivation in mind, this brings us to Chapter 4.
In my opinion, the Killing Game Busters was never a plan that was meant to succeed. From an in-game perspective, the idea that he was originally going to follow this mercy kill plan doesn’t make sense to me. Firstly, Kokichi already had suspicions that they were being watched as early as chapter 3.
(post trial, chapter 3)
…and he later confirms that he was fully convinced of this fact when Monokuma agreed to reuse the chapter 4 motive in the virtual world.
(post trial, chapter 5)
He knew that this killing game was for somebody else’s entertainment. I’ll go a bit into the secret of the outside world in a moment, but considering this, I don’t think he ever fully believed in it. Choosing to mercy kill everyone, in the name of a “truth” that was incompatible with what he had discovered… just doesn’t make sense to me.
Not to mention, from a narrative standpoint, I think the idea that he was completely for this mercy kill plan, decided to throw out the plan mid-trial, and then start an entirely different plan to end the killing game in chapter 5, isn’t very compelling. It weakens Kokichi’s overall character by making his motivation less cohesive and making him seem less organized over all, which I think is one of his strengths as a character. A Kokichi that is this fickle with what he’s trying to do would not have been able to write the script for chapter 5.
I think he always had different goals in mind with the Killing Game Busters. The first was something that is made very clear in chapter 5, but started here in chapter 4: He wanted to stop the killing to give himself room to break the game while minimizing deaths. The second was to further villainize himself, for all the reasons I talked about above, and some more I will get into in a little bit.
Seeing the secret of the outside world was undoubtably disturbing, regardless of whether he believed it or not; there is a noticeable shift in how Kokichi acts before and after he swipes that card key. Combined with discovering that Miu, someone he’d been working with closely, was planning on murdering him, I believe that seeing the destruction of the outside world pushed him towards more drastic measures than what he had been doing in previous chapters. He decided that in order for his plan in chapter 5 to work (which he had almost certainly already been planning at this point, considering how elaborate it was), he needed to make everyone question if pursuing the truth was the right thing to do at all.
After Miu’s body discovery, nobody was really worried about losing this class trial. Everyone had seen how Shuichi had guided them all to the truth and caught the blackened three times in a row, despite the unique difficulties in each case. They had full confidence in his abilities.
(investigation, chapter 4)
Shuichi is also not really doubting his abilities as a detective anymore. One of Shuichi’s core internal conflicts is his fear of the consequences of revealing the truth. Up to this point, it seems like he’s been moving past it. Especially after catching Korekiyo “Actual Serial Killer” Shinguji, who had no regrets or grey motivation for his killings. Shuichi’s morale, and subsequently everyone else’s, was at an all time high. (Of course, he was starting to feel a lot of pressure to solve these cases and save everyone on his own… but that’s another issue. ily Shuichi)
If Kokichi could take the wind out of Shuichi’s sails, really destroy the confidence he had built up so far, he could set up his impossible trial in chapter 5 to be more likely to work as intended. Everyone will be less motivated to try and figure out what happened if they are uncertain that finding the truth would actually result in anything good.
And I do believe he was trying to knock Shuichi off balance specifically. Damaging his confidence is one thing, but he was also deliberately trying to drive a wedge between him and Kaito. He antagonizes Kaito all chapter 4 investigation, including making up a nickname for Shuichi (“Shumai”) that directly riffs off Kaito’s closeness with Maki. He insists into the trial that he and Shuichi are partners now.
(class trial, chapter 4)
(Sidenote: Kokichi’s behaviour during trial 4 is genuinely really interesting to me. On top of the direct digs like this, he says a lot more subtle things to get under Kaito’s skin during trial 4 that I think are super neat to pay attention to.)
Theoretically, pushing Kaito away from Shuichi, combined with the powerlessness he’ll feel in the wake of the truth of both trial 4 and the outside world, could make him easier to convince to join Kokichi’s “side”. He even directly asks Shuichi to team up with him before leaving the virtual world:
(daily life, Chapter 4)
This leads me to believe that Shuichi was originally the one that Kokichi intended to use to build his impossible trial. I mean, if Shuichi was the one in the exisal hanger and presumed dead instead of Kaito, the chances of everyone else solving that mystery drops Significantly. Everyone else, aside from maybe Kiibo, was 100% convinced that Kokichi was the mastermind at that point. No one except Shuichi would’ve tried to dig as deep as he did, for better or for worse. I think this idea is supported by the note that Kokichi wrote next to Shuichi’s face on the whiteboard in his room (“trustworthy?”). He was clearly considering Shuichi as a person for one reason or another, and I believe this is it.
By condemning Gonta, who everyone else perceived as a kind soul who would never hurt anybody, someone who was struggling to understand what the virtual world even was with his amnesia, would be perceived by the others as kicking someone when they were down. Gonta has an absolutely miserable time through the accusations and wholly blames himself for how things turned out in the end. That, and Gonta’s actions were even well-intentioned. The secret of the outside world was apparently so horrible, Gonta thought it would be kinder to mercy kill everyone rather than force them to face it. This result would make everyone question if the truth was really as undoubtably good as they had come to think so far; Not only did Gonta suffer because they had to find the truth, but seeking the secret of the outside world would apparently also only lead to suffering. This would make them hesitate during Kokichi’s impossible trial.
(class trial, chapter 4)
As I said before, Kokichi’s second goal for trial 4 was villainizing himself even further. He says that this was a goal himself to Kaito in chapter 5.
(post trial, chapter 5)
Part of this villainization was just adding to the persona he had already created for himself and that I already talked about his motivations for before. The other part was what he says here. He specifically wanted everyone to think that he was the mastermind. This gave him leverage in two main ways. First, making himself appear to be the mastermind with an actual mastermind as hands off as Tsumugi genuinely gave him power over everyone else. He used this in chapter 5 to put a pause to the killings and give himself more room to enact his plan to break the killing game from the inside.
(daily life, chapter 5)
Although he then says “You guys can commit suicide together or kill each other… / Or, you can change your mind and stay here! You’re welcome to do that too!”, having experienced the secret of the outside world already, I think he’s pretty confident in what they will be feeling in this moment. No one is going to kill each other, and he knows that. He wants them to take that second option for the time being while he sets up his plot.
Making himself appear like the mastermind also benefited his impossible trial plan directly. Everyone would be much more likely to vote for someone they were convinced was the mastermind rather than one of their friends. No one would suspect that it was really him that was the victim.
“Using Gonta and making him into a murderer” was a significant part of how he villainized himself, but the way he treated Gonta during this whole experience was also a major factor. Starting as early as just after Miu was killed, he begins to be really aggressively mean to Gonta. He just straight up bullies him throughout the second half of the trial.
(daily life, chapter 4)
(class trial, chapter 4)
And then, after all this, he acts remorseful and sides himself with Gonta at the very end. It isn't genuine emotion like he felt before Kaede's execution, shown by his neutral expression. To me, this uncharacteristically open expression of grief feels like it was just set up to exacerbate the impact of his cruelty after Gonta’s execution. At this point, everybody’s little faith in Kokichi has been shaken significantly. With the shock of the trial, maybe you Could start to believe they were on the same side, as a team. Then, at the reveal of the extent of Kokichi’s manipulation, that is all ripped painfully away again.
(post trial, chapter 4)
(post trial, chapter 4)
Even if these parts of trial 4 make my stomach turn, I don’t want to imply that Kokichi is completely cold-hearted and unfeeling. Actually, I think there were multiple moments in chapter 4 that show him struggling to regulate his emotions and keep face around everyone else while he enacted this plan.
1: I don’t think Kokichi initially planned to make the reveal that Gonta was the killer as dramatic (or frankly, a bit traumatic) as it ended up being. He had been carrying himself a certain way during the first half of the trial, and I think Shuichi lying to his face in front of everyone about Kokichi’s own alibi dramatically changed his attitude. I mean, Shuichi lied (as he had done almost every trial and gotten 0 flack for) and Tsumugi even called him out on it, but everyone believed him over Kokichi anyways. So when Kokichi lies, it’s completely inexcusable, even though he’s been working tirelessly on his own trying to save everyone?* But when SHUICHI lies, and gets caught in it, people go along with him? They don’t doubt their trust in him for even a second? This double standard infuriated him. It’s at this point that he completely shifts in energy. If Shuichi, no, everyone, is going to disrespect him like this, he was going to make them suffer for it.
(class trial, chapter 4)
2: Kokichi only goes full villain after Kaito says “Kokichi, If you really cared for Gonta, explain yourself to everyone” in the post trial. I think that even though he was always going to paint himself as the villain, he was legitimately affected by the things that had just happened (Gonta’s death, Miu’s attempted murder, the secret of the outside world, even if he knew it wasn’t real) and what he’d just done. Even if he was trying hard not to be. The sudden shift he has from not saying anything to cackling about how little he cared about Gonta feels to me like he was kicking himself back into gear after trying to process some genuinely difficult emotions. 3: After Kokichi punches Kaito down, and everyone completely ignores him in favour of helping Kaito up, Shuichi says these iconic words to Kokichi: “Kaito always has us by his side, see? But no one wants to be around you. / You’re alone, Kokichi. And you always will be.” Kokichi responds like this:
(Post-trial, chapter 4)
There’s something about the way he cuts himself off, pauses, and then his mask falls. I think Shuichi’s words got to him more than he wanted them to. Honestly, Kokichi’s attitude towards cooperation, keeping everyone at arm’s length, and insisting (to himself) that he (as a leader) must fix the killing game completely on his own just seems so lonely to me. Even if he is intentionally trying to alienate himself and get everyone to hate him, being so viscerally cut into like this must have hurt. Especially from someone he was trying to work to get onto his side. It’s no wonder he quickly left after this moment.
This is what I think drove Kokichi in chapter 4. He’s a leader who wants to “lead” his classmates into safety, but he isn’t afraid to use underhanded, cruel tactics if he thinks it will get him ahead in the game for the greater good. He viscerally represses his emotions in order to keep himself going and keep everyone else away from him. He tried to destroy Shuichi’s confidence and drive a wedge between him and Kaito to get him on his side for his plan. He used and made Gonta into a murderer to villainize himself and discourage everyone else from seeking the truth.
Whenever I imagine Kokichi on his own, out of the spotlight of the Audience or the eyes of his castmates, he’s never as expressive as he is in the open. I think in reality, Kokichi is a pretty depressed and lonely person. His clownish personality isn’t entirely a facade, and outside of a killing game scenario, I think he would act pretty similarly to how he does in game. But I do think that he uses it as a mask for his true emotions. While I feel like the “evil villain” persona is a genuine part of Kokichi’s personality, outside of the killing game he probably doesn’t act on it as deeply as he does in-game. I also think Kokichi struggles with letting people become close to him, even without anything on the line. The killing game just caused him to lean into these aspects of his personality hard, and in potentially the worst ways.
*I feel like here it’s important to mention that personally, I still think the collateral damage he caused in his attempts to stop the killing game matters. A lot. I don’t think he should be excused for the things he did, even if he had good intentions. This makes him a really interesting, morally grey character, and I like that about him. EDIT: I can't believe I have to add this, but please do not use this essay as ammunition for harassing people who ship ougoku… I don't agree with doing that at all. I hope I made it clear that I find Kokichi to be a complex character whose mistreatment of Gonta was never targeted, and more just an aspect how how he isolated himself and how he manipulated others to end the killing game, even if it caused suffering to them in the moment. Kokichi cares about everyone in the ultimate academy, in his own weird, detached way. He's not completely heartless nor is he an abusive monster. And even if none of that was the case, it's never an excuse to harass people for disagreeing with you. Please be cool!! Thanks <3
#kokichi ouma#danganronpa#danganronpa v3#drv3#ndrv3#ouma kokichi#kokichi oma#oma kokichi#drv3 spoilers#meta post#long post#(Sorry- I'm not putting this under a readmore because in the case where I change my username or deactivate#I still want this post to be readable)#id in alt text#Caveat that this interpretation is entirely based on the english localization#which I still think is valid#Part 2 coming in literally a couple minutes- just need to read over it one more time and add tags#shut up me
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First of many
So much had happened. Nasiens had found her biological family, she found out about herself, she almost died... but now her hero was with her again.
When the battle was decided, a few words were exchanged and someone gave Percival a cloak so he could cover up. He hadn't even realized he was naked. He apologized, though it was clear he didn't see the issue.
After a while, her new family (she had to present them to Ordo as soon as she could!) left her alone with him, sharing knowing smiles.
Nasiens couldn't stop looking at him.
Percival... She smiled.
"So you are a fairy now? That's so cool!" Percival's voice was so soothing to her. How had she missed his smile!
"Yes... I'm not used to flying, though..."
"But now we can fly together!" Percy said, laughing. He grabbed her hands and gently lifted them up. Nasiens was shocked but soon started smiling again. A little spin in the air, and she was laughing along with him.
"I just can't get used to the height..." she admitted looking down, feeling cold sweat in her forehead. It had been fine in the battle, but now... She looked up at Percival, thinking how silly she was being. Something gleamed in his eyes.
He threw her one of his winning smiles and she felt her heart stop.
"Well, that's easy! Just keep looking at me!" His face was too close to hers, but then again, he had never been good at respecting people's personal space.
And Nasiens couldn't think of anything better to look at than his eyes. He always managed to calm her down. She could do anything as long as he's with her.
"See? You can fly really high if you want!" Like a spell being broken, she looked down. She almost let out a scream. They were so high up she could barely see the ground!
Her arms moved on their own, hugging Percival. She hid her face in the crook of his neck, trembling.
Percival was shocked. Not because of the hug, he loved Nasiens' hugs, as different as this one felt. However, she felt like dead weight. Had she stopped flying?! Of course she wasn't in any real danger as long as he was there to hold her, but...!
"Nasiens?!" He could hear her mumbling nonono again and again, "I'm sorry! I thought...! Are you ok?" He was so worried about her and Nasiens was still trembling, but she managed to answer,
"Ye-yeah..." she looked up. She was again at a loss for words. She knew Percival was still Percival inside, but he was really big now, and tall, and... she could feel her face aflame. "Yeah, I'm... I'm good. I was shocked, I guess..." she couldn't look him in the eyes anymore.
Percy was silent for while before he spoke again.
"You really feel different now, uh..." Nasiens eyes widened at his comment.
"Wh-what do you mean? Is it bad?" Percival's silence made her a little nervous. He wasn't looking at her anymore. She forgot to ask again though, since they landed in the hollow part of a cave, up in a mountain, and the sight amazed her.
"It's beautiful..." she said. Percy agreed, but he wasn't looking outside. His eyes were fixed on the pretty girl he was holding by the waist.
Screw pretty, he thought. Nasiens had always been beautiful, but now... It was like a whole other level. The way she held herself felt different. Also,
"You got boobs now!" he shouted, almost giving her a heart attack. She almost tripped, blushing like crazy.
"Ye... yeah..." she put her hand on her chest. They weren't even that noticeably, but... "the whole thing feels weird..."
"Bad weird?" he sounded genuinely curious.
"N... no, I don't think so. I never felt bad being called a boy, but now... I like this. Being a girl, I mean. It feels right, but I'm... not used to it yet. Not completely, at least. Is that weird?"
"I don't think so! Anyway, Nasiens is Nasiens, no matter what! You are amazing!" when he looked at her, he could see that gentle smile of hers that he loved so much.
Nasiens was so grateful. Of course Percival wasn't fazed. He was just Percival. He hadn't even questioned her change, something which she she was grateful for. She couldn't even imagine how she could start explain the whole thing to him.
She was thinking how much she loved this side of his and was so deep in her thoughts, she didn't realize when Percival got behind her.
"You gotten slimmer too, right? Right?" his poking sent shivers down her spine. What was his obsession with her back?!
Nasiens felt her face aflame again.
"Please, don't do that!" she almost screamed, taking a step back.
"Why? Can't I touch you?" he sounded so innocent, she almost felt bad. But when she looked up again she saw how serious he was. She felt taken back. He had never looked at her like that before, not like this.
How could she tell him that the only thing she wanted was for him to touch her all over... it was just so embarrassing to admit!
She felt her true feelings coming forward before she could stop herself.
"Well, if you a-!" a flashback made her stop. A painful memory crossed her mind and she felt silent.
Anghalhad.
She felt her blood boil.
"...you know what. I think it's best that you don't." She turned, not before giving him the iciest look he had ever seen. That kind of look was never directed at him! Percy got worried.
"N-Nasiens?! Are you angry at me? I hate it when I make you angry!" he ran to her. He grabbed her hand so she couldn't get further away from him. She flinched and stopped, but she didn't look at him. "I'm sorry, did I say something bad?"
"You got Anghalhad to touch, don't you?" she said, immediately regretting her words. It wasn't Percival fault, or Anghalhad's for that matter. Plus, she knew Percival didn't understand these kind of things! She barely could, after all.
"Yeah, I guess..." Percival's voice made her angrier and she felt so ashamed. She took her hand back, snapping at Percy.
"See?! Go to her for all I care!" she looked down, hiding her eyes as best as she could. She couldn't face him like this...
"Wha...?! No! I don't want to! I want to stay here with you! Nasiens!" he grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking her a little. He had to make her understand...!
Were those tears?
"Nasiens...? What's wrong?" she lifted her arm, trying to wipe her tears with her sleeve.
"I... I'm a horrible friend! I don't hate Anghalhad, I actually like her... but thinking about you two...!" she put her hands on her face, trying to control herself. "Who am I to say anything? You are free to do whatever you want...! But I hate it! I hate the thought of you two-!"
Percy hugged her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe. She felt his hand grabbing her hair, same way he had done early that day.
"P... Percival?"
"I won't touch anyone else!" he exclaimed, shocking her. "I don't really get it, but I thought of some else touching you and that made me angry, so I guess it's the same for you? Is that it?"
"Ye... yeah."
"Is it because you love me?" Nasiens felt trapped. She was about to protest when...
"Cause I love you too!" he said, his smile so bright it blinded her. He caught her so out of guard she almost fainted.
"Well," he continued, "I love all my friends... but with you... love falls short. Does that make sense? I want to hold you forever..." Percy said, snuggling to her. Looking down he saw her eyes, so full of hope and love, he couldn't help but smile. Nasiens smiled back.
"Y-yes, it makes sense. I... I feel the same way." Nasiens couldn't believe it. She confessed! She managed to do it and now...
"Good!" he grabbed her waist again, lifting her from the ground, "then it's settled!"
Nasiens felt tears forming again, this time from happiness. Things could be so easy with him sometimes... but then she remembered their little argument. She blushed again.
"A-about before... I don't mind, you know... but, you have to ask."
Percy was confused for a moment. Then it hit him.
"Really?!" he had pulled her down a little. His face was so close to hers...!
"Ye-yeah."
"Can I, then?" he asked. His lips were so close to hers, she felt her heart about to explode.
"Yes..." she tried to close the distance and...
"NASSIE! Percy! Dinner time! Come on, where-! Oh, there you are!" Tioreh shouted, appearing out of nowhere.
"...what are you two doing?" she asked, innocently.
It was a rare sight, if you asked her. Nassie with her face all red, pushing Percy away. Her hand was on Percy's face and he looked miserable, ignoring Tioreh and trying to get close to Nassie.
"But you said I could...!" he whined.
"QUIET, PLEASE!"
Tioreh had never seen Nassie so embarrassed. It was fun!
Later that night...
Nasiens couldn't believe it. They had almost...!
But the moment had been ruined.
She put her hands on her face, sighing. Maybe some other time... She was fixated in the fire next to the log she was sitting on, deep in thought.
"Nasiens! I was looking for you! Look!" Percival's voice took her out of her trance. She looked up to see him better, confused in what was she supposed to be looking at.
He placed a white flower on her hair.
"I knew it! It suits you!" he said, making her blush yet again. She gently touched the white flower with her fingers. "You look beautiful, you know!" Nasiens felt her blush deepen. She was going to get a fever from blushing so much...
"Thank you, Percival..." she smiled at him and he smiled back, love in his eyes. He sat down next to her and she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing.
"Man, that sucked, uh?" he suddenly said, looking down at her. "I really wanted to kiss you."
Nasiens was definitely getting a fever.
"Re-really? Honestly, I did too..."
Without much thought, Percy turned and grabbed her by the waist, surprising her. He flew them away from the dinner and the rest.
In the air, with the moon shining brightly, he looked at Nasiens. He smiled, closing the distance between them.
"Can I?" he whispered.
Nasiens laughed. He really took it to heart to ask first.
"Of course...!"
Their laughter filled the night. At least for tonight, everything was going to all right.
#persiens#percival#nasiens#4kota fanfic#4kota#im getting ahead before 153 breaks my heart lmfaooo#did i read all 4kota chapters in under three days cause i fell in love with a ship?#yes. yes i did.#btw im a firm believer in the blanchefleur theory and that anne is a red herring#i love anne so no hate to her but yeah#also im using she/her pronouns for nasiens cause i believe nasiens is a girl now#tho only time will tell! maybe nasiens will prefer he/him or they/them#who knows!#im changing them depending of what nasiens chooses#my writing#first fic tho lol#also pls don't come at me#i know you dont need anything to be one gender or the other#this was just for this fic and my headcanon that nasiens feels more comfortable being seen and living as a girl#which again this headcanon can be shattered into pieces in a few days lmfao
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#more Mustachio'd angle under the cut#this is one of those pokémon that my brain has only ever read and for some reason decided to say in the most bizarre way possible#i know how it's obviously supposed to be pronounced but for some reason my brain has come up with the pronunciation#[sɑ̃.t͡si.'skoʁʃ]. which is my best approximation of the way that i say it in my head#it's a very french way of saying it. but i think i've talked about how my brain just chooses a language to say pokémon's names in#centiskorch#thank you nose rater for reminding me to tag this one
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the Identity lacking knowledge of its identity
[fun alt repeating thing above & neat alt versions below]
#“understand whats going on behind my eyes” but different kinda#this is kinda shitty on purpose ?? kinda#idk im slapping soul with my own crisis he can deal with it/silly#bright lights#bright colors#i dont have a favorite guy™ but soul hits different yk#soul and its ideas of itself & his views on being whole need to be talked about more i swear#put that bitch under a microscope & study him cos lord knows he knows itself less than you would#also soul he/it my beloved. youre so close to being counted as canon in a way#chonny jash#chonnys charming chaos compendium#cj soul#-atlas art-#also if you cant tell [which you probably cant for all of it] the lyrics to Dream(OfC). NMtK & part of TSE are in there#also the necklace loose like the red noose from slys art#fun lil fact about my designs for HMSW:#Heart & Mind each have one of the drumsticks from the necklace. Both on opposites hands as a bracelet#gives a more them being halves vibes to me#soul has the left over chain that looks normal turning like as i said before over the course of Cacophony#lack of the drumsticks gives him the “if im not the main part then what am i?” yk#im not the “point” of the necklace so what is my purpose if any or smth#if that makes sense#but of course you couldnt wear the drumsticks as a necklace WITHOUT the necklace. a happier realization toward the end of Cacophony#And Whole has the whole thing together [ha whole]. “all good things come in threes” nd all#ty if you read all this btw & hi :D#ily/p
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