#Why must I relate to him so much after analyzing him a bit via headcanons?! Like

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Random Togami Headcanon 11

I can say with 100% confidence that, if anyone in his class or like, anyone, took a picture of him in a dumb angle or a warped top-down perspective, he'd fucking HATE it! Like, a fish-eye lens! Byakuya's all about looking elegant, powerful, and presentable. So, looking anything NOT like that is the worst for him. Not to mention, he doesn't get why anyone would wish to have or take pictures of themselves in weird states like this. Byakuya also has a lot of pride in his appearance, so, even if he didn't hate it out of the principle, he'd also just be like uncomfortable about it too. Another one of those "Byakuya being out of his element and being pissed about it" moments. I kinda feel ya, my buddy. At least with not be the kind to take those pics. Not a selfie person so that stuff just makes me uncomfy warping my face like that T-T The ONLY way I could see him being like, SOMEWHAT fine with a weird picture or unflattering angle of himself is if there's super strict rules or guidelines. Like, "Oh my gosh, Byakuya! Calm down" type strict. For instance, the pic would probably have to be: 1. Beyond subtle. Like, basically him blinking or mid-blinking. Something close or along those lines. 2. The person who took the picture was himself or someone he HEAVILY trusts. Even then, he'd still be salty about it. 3. The picture was immediately wiped afterwards and quickly forgotten about ever existing to begin with. Yeah. Byakuya is DEF not overdramatic about this stuff. Though, at least one can understand him on this end. He's got a title to uphold and takes it very seriously. It's very apparent with how much he mentions his name and his title as both The Ultimate Affluent Progeny and the heir to the Togami Conglomerate. Guy is NOT messing around with that info! Another thing to note is that Byakuya's also not a "go with the flow" kinda guy. So, being casual about pictures is both not his style but also something he's not used too. Specifically the playful kind of pictures with friends. Cus well, yeah. Bastard's never had friends like that of any kind and you cannot convince me that he did! Took the guy forever to gain empathy in the main canon of Danganronpa! Also, since I mentioned it. AMEM!

He forehead so beeg. I just felt compelled to do this to him cus why not. I will exaggerate it more one day. For now though, here he is!

[hysperia]

Is Skimbleshanks really Charon, the ferryman of the death?

Let's talk about the musical connections within the show and some really obscure Skimbleshanks headcanon I've come up with. We often read deeply into characters, backstories and their relations Usually we get into the visuals with that. But there are some quirks in the score that I have questions about, so I'm getting a bit into Sideways story telling through music territory here.

One very big question for me: Why does Moments of Happiness contain the Leitmotiv for Skimbleshanks? It's only seven notes, but very much there. To me it doesn't sound like something that needs to really be there a simple embellishment. So I'm wondering if it is deliberately put there it actually is just a simple embellishment.

That Moments of Happiness is more or less a slower and more dramatic version of Glamour Cat is pretty obvious. Tying the song to Grizabella. Especially after we hear Deuteronomy singing it right after his deliberation during intermission. The Moonlight section by Sillabub/Jemima and joined in by the full ensemble ties it to the climax of big Memory and Journey to the Heavyside layer in the finale. These musical connections are pretty well thought out by ALW, so I have a hard time thinking that the Skimbleshanks doesn't have a deeper meaning. That little motiv must be there for a reason that connects Grizabella and Skible together.

I've taken these two sections from the Definitive Edition Piano/Vocal score and put them side by side in Musescore. In Moments of Happiness it's the part were Old Deuteronomy sings "of many generations ... not forgetting". (Right here: video) In Skimbleshanks the motiv repeats multiple times, it's every "Skimbleshanks, the railway cat ..." in the song. I have kept it in the key and time signatures as the appear in the printed score. But it's the same pattern of notes shifted an octave. Or two octaves, as Deuteronomy sings a full octave below the kitten that joins him in the opening of Skimbleshanks' song. (Depends on the production; the score says Rumpleteazer, in the 1998 film it's Jemima.)

My theory:

It signals Skimbleshanks to be Charon, the ferryman that carries the souls of the deceased across the river Styx to the realm of the death. Skimble's song only tells us about the journey away from London, not passengers coming back. The train literally falls apart on stage, with only Skimble being left to return in the Junkyard at the end of his song. I'd say that you can read the line "the northern part of the northern hemisphere" as an analogy to "up, up, up past the Russel Hotel, up, up, up to the Heaviside layer."

Depending on where in London the Junkyard is located (do we know that?), you could go past the Russel Hotel, now known as the Kimpton Fitzroy, in order to get to Euston Station. The Russel and Euston are about half a mile apart, and the station is the starting point of the West Coast Mainline on where Skimble's train would run.

In his song we also see Skimble getting paid/bribed by Cassandra, with him biting the coin to check before pocketing it. Traditionally the death are given coin to pay for their crossing over the Styx. Either by putting it in their mouths or covering their eyes.

So after Grizabella leaves the junkyard she will board Skimble's train, to travel across the river Styx, which might be represented by the English-Scottish border, to the realm of the death: the Heavyside Layer. With Skimbleshanks as the train conductor as a stand in for ferryman Charon, and her journey already been paid for by Cassandra.

So maybe I'm reading way too much into it, but those seven notes just stand out like a sore thumb to me. And it was a lot of fund spending the better part of my evening over analyzing this.

Skimble checking the coin he just got from Cassandra: (via @noriseyebrow)