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ranchthoughts · 2 years ago

Text

thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President

and here she is! the full text all together, not split into the three parts previously posted here: part 1, part 2, part 3

I also go more in detail about a lot of the terms and concepts I use here (indexes, conventions, genres, intertextuality, etc) in this post here, in case you would like more context

[strap yourselves in, this is loooooong]

The BL “genre” has so many conventions - in narrative, characterization, themes, settings, iconography, filmic techniques, and of course, tropes.

Bad Buddy and MSP do not lack these genre conventions (both are stories about boys in love, both are set in schools which is very common in Thai BLs especially, both explore a budding relationship and other social and emotional problems of youth, both hit familiar plot beats like confessions and narrative/emotional climaxes, both utilize many editing and sound effect techniques seen in other BLs, and both deploy many BL tropes like cheek kisses, head pats, forced proximity, looming, etc.). However! Bad Buddy and MSP are atypical in their deployment of genre conventions, especially with regards to trope usage and pacing - they go against genre and trope expectations to subvert seme/uke roles and dynamics and they space their narrative beats differently than other shows. As a result, the shows feel familiar but also fresh to BL audiences.

Bad Buddy, MSP, and tropes

BL tropes index so much information to audiences familiar with the genre (e.g., the nature of the relationship between characters, the seme/uke dynamics, other social information, etc.). Bad Buddy and MSP take these familiar indexes, with their well established meanings, and mix them up, give them new contexts, and use what they normally tell us about the characters, social context, relationship dynamic, etc. to tell a new story.

There are SO many examples of this so I have decided to focus on two “subcategories” of tropes: the faen fatale and tropes which are strongly associated with seme/uke dynamics.

Faen Fatales

In most BLs, the faen fatale (thanks to AbsoluteBL for the term) is a character (male or female) whose sole purpose is to drive a wedge between the main pair, often serving as a catalyst for their relationship/confession, and who generally does not get much character development or identity of their own.

In Bad Buddy, Ink seems like a classic faen fatale: she is introduced as an old high school friend that Pat was interested in and Pran was jealous of because of that fact, and now in the present day of the show Pat pursues her again and Pran is once again jealous, especially since it seems Pat is succeeding (they get food together, they hang out a lot, Pat wears the bracelet Ink gave him in high school, etc.). Pran believes that Pat likes Ink and that they are well on their way to being together, if they aren’t together already. Pat even tells Pran he likes Ink. However, it becomes clear quite quickly that Ink is not a typical faen fatale. Her interactions with both boys feel platonic, she shows just as much interest in fostering a friendship with Pran, and when Pat uses Pa’s patented “Four Ways to Tell if Someone Likes You,” Ink fails in every category. She does act a a catalyst to Pat and Pran’s romantic relationship in some ways (e.g., Pat using Pa’s patented Four Ways he learned to assess Ink to realize his own feelings for Pran), and she does act as a barrier to their relationship as some of Pran’s hesitation post their ep.5 kiss comes from his understanding that Pat has a crush on Ink (though of course their family and friends present the main barrier). However, Ink has her own personality, interests, and crucially, her own romantic arc. She is a fully fleshed out character who never had anything but platonic feelings for either lead: ergo, a subversion of the faen fatale trope.

In MSP, there are a couple of potential faen fatales, but neither develop that way in the end. Sound is introduced as Tinn’s rival, and romance media logic would suggest he will fulfill a love rival role in the show, competing with Tinn for Gun’s affections (especially as Sound is interested in music like Gun and he joins Chinzilla). Even Tiw suggests Tinn should look out for Sound moving in on Gun. However, Sound never shows interest in Gun and quickly gets acclimated into the band, only briefly presenting a threat to Tinn and Gun’s relationship when Tiw witnesses them having a seemingly intimate moment but that is sorted by the end of the episode. Like Ink, Sound never has anything other than platonic feelings for either lead and ends up with his own romantic arc. The other possible faen fatale in MSP is Nook, though she is present so briefly. I think other shows would have stretched out her plot line more and had her fill more of a faen fatale role. As it stands in MSP: Gun sees her give a gift to Tinn and compliment him, he gets jealous and snaps at Tinn, and then the show/Tinn immediately reveal to us and to Gun that it was a case of mistaken identity (Yo was catfishing with Tinn’s picture). In a matter of minutes, Nook went from being a faen fatale set up to simply someone involved in another character’s arc, part of a problem that Tinn and Gun could work on together.

Neither Bad Buddy nor MSP have faen fatale characters, though there are characters that could, and indeed seem to be set up to, fill that role. Both shows subvert our expectations and BL tropes by having potential faen fatales be uninterested in either lead and possess more character development than most other examples of the trope (including their own, completely separate, romantic arcs). In the case of Ink, this also subverts typical BL handling of female characters, who tend to be few and far between and generally relegated to the under-developed role of faen fatale.

Seme/uke Tropes

Most BL shows can be read through a lens of seme/uke dynamics, which originated in yaoi. The seme is the “pursuer” character and the uke is the “pursued”. There are certain physical (height, skin colour, etc.), social (age, wealth, social capital, etc.), and personality (active vs. passive, extroverted vs. introverted, flirtier vs. shyer) markers which are typically associated with either the seme or the uke. For example, semes tend to be taller, wealthier, older, flirtier, tanner, more active, and have a higher social status, while ukes tend to be shorter, poorer, younger, shyer, paler, and have a lower social status. “Seme” and “uke” roles are also sometimes conflated with masculinity and femininity (semes are “masculine” and ukes are “feminine”) and sexual preferences (semes are dominant and tops and ukes are submissive and bottoms). There are also tropes associated with either the seme or the uke, like ukes typically give cheek kisses and semes forehead kisses.

Thus, things like height, age, wealth, personality, presumed sexual preference, and the role they take in tropes can index the character’s status as a seme or a uke, and in turn the character’s identity as a seme or uke in the narrative (pursuer vs. pursued) indexes a character’s personality, sexual preferences, etc., however unrealistic and simplistic that is in real life. In a BL, we would expect the seme (pursuer) and uke (pursued) characters to exhibit most, if not all, of the associated seme or uke traits and roles in tropes, though this is not always true (and some BLs have little to no seme/uke dynamics at all).

In terms of physical, social, and personality markers in Bad Buddy, Pat exhibits slightly more “seme” traits than Pran, like his larger size and more “rugged” and “typical” masculinity compared to Pran’s neatness. However, both Pat and Pran take the seme or uke role in tropes about the same amount of time, with Pran having several significant moments where he embodies the seme role (looming over Pat, licking his fingers, drying his hair, etc., not to mention the post-sex scene in ep.11) and Pat many significant moments where he embodies a uke or even “feminine” role (casting himself as the girlfriend at the bus stop, being clingy, pretending to be sick so Pran will give him a sponge bath, etc.). In fact, tropes often happen twice, with Pat and Pran taking turns in the seme and uke role (e.g., both take turns cleaning the other’s face, both cook for the other, both kiss the other’s cheek, etc.). Furthermore, and I’ve spoken about this before here: both Pran and Pat deliberately take on the seme role during their ep.7 Flirt-Off bet (”whoever falls in love first loses”). To win the bet, they have to be the pursuer (i.e., seme), and thus spend the episode taking it in turns to exhibit the seme role in tropes (Pat takes off his shirt multiple times, Pran looms over Pat, they wash each other’s faces, they take the seme roles with Ink and Wai at the noodle shop to make the other jealous, etc.), thus also spending the episode taking it in turns to fulfill the uke role in tropes. The fact that the seme and uke roles in Bad Buddy are so interchangeable and balanced (they sometimes ever play the narrative roles of pursuer and pursued at the same time) demonstrates the show’s upending of traditional seme/uke dichotomies.

In MSP, Tinn and Gun are pretty much the perfect seme and uke in terms of physical and social markers: Tinn is taller, wealthier, has a higher social status, and even has a female “faen fatale” (more typical for seme characters), while Gun is shorter, poorer, from a marginalized club at school, and has a male “faen fatale” (more typical for uke characters). Some one on Tumblr (and I cannot for the life of me find this post again) mentioned that Tinn is a little “feminine” coded when it comes to romance (he is the dreamer, the romantic, always imagining romantic situations), while Gun is more what we’d think of as “masculine” when it comes to romance (more brusque, less sappy), though I am not sure how applicable these types of divisions are to BL. In term of preference markers, there isn’t much sexual content to go off of, but MSP does mention the TinnGun vs GunTinn divide in ep.12, never coming down on either side, and one of the things the homophobic teacher says is that he thought Gun was more “masculine” so he is surprised to see him dating a boy. Overall, the show deliberately eschews and criticizes the association of top/bottom or masculine/feminine with the pair. Furthermore, Tin talks a lot about wanting to be Gun’s boyfriend, to belong to Gun - and as @cinna-bin points out here, for a genre that equates seme with dominance, the one who shows and has ownership of the other, it is pretty subversive to have the seme character in the narrative express a desire to be “owned”. Like Pat and Pran, Tinn and Gun are fairly egalitarian when it comes to which role they take in tropes (Tinn catches Gun when he falls, Gun touches Tinn’s chin constantly, they both kiss the other’s cheek). I’ve talked about this here too, but often Tinn will imagine a moment with himself in the seme role (e.g., wiping Gun’s face) that won’t come to fruition, but when it does happen in real life, the trope is reversed and Gun takes the seme role (e.g., when it happens in real life, Gun wipes Tinn’s mouth). In MSP, the deployment of tropes is more about natural moment and real life, and less adhering to strict role divisions. This back and forth feels more accurate, more high school - they both take it in turns to boldly initiate and then to be shy (all the aborted kiss chances, etc.).

Finally, I’d like to add that there are many moments in both Bad Buddy and MSP where the characters are aware of the romantic tropes and intentionally utilize them to further a romantic agenda. We aren’t exactly subverting tropes here, but we are playing with them deliberately and consciously in a way you don’t get in a lot of BLs so I thought it worth mentioning here. Most of these instances come in the Bad Buddy ep.7 Flirt-Off or from Tinn’s day dreams and include:

Pat employing the “drinking from a water bottle/pouring water on yourself” and “shirt off” tropes to try and get Pran hot and bothered in ep.7

Pran looming over Pat during the bet

Pat and Pran trying to make each other jealous by employing various classic tropes with Ink and Wai respectively while eating noodles (opening their water bottle, feeding them, wiping their mouth, etc.)

Pran symbolically losing the bet by wiping Pat’s mouth

Tinn imagining himself wiping Gun’s mouth

Tinn imagining a Ghost moment while cooking with Gun

Tinn making a joke about a “hot underwater kiss”

Pacing

Both MSP and Bad Buddy are also slightly unconventional when it comes to pacing. Both shows hit the standard BL narrative beats (falling for one another, confessions, first kiss, confirmation of relationship, conflict, beach eps, etc) but at unconventional timings, they utilize a lot of time skips, and they also condense plot lines which in other shows might have been much longer.

The Placement of Narrative Beats

I will focus on two of the main places where both Bad Buddy and MSP diverge from the usual BL placement of narrative beats. Firstly, the first kiss on both shows: while there is a lot of variety in the timing of first kisses for BL shows, Pat and Pran’s rooftop kiss at the beginning of ep.5 is perhaps a little earlier than usually, especially since the two do not truly confess or get together until the end of ep.7; and in MSP, their first kiss comes quite late, especially given the numerous near-kisses that happen throughout the latter half of the show. The first kiss for MSP coming in ep.12 is not unheard of for a low-heat BL and really makes sense given the tone and setting of the show (lighthearted, high school), but combined with the early confession of feelings (hinted at as early as ep.3, and fairly confirmed in ep.6) as well as those fake-out kisses makes it feel unusual.

Secondly, both shows eschew the typical ep.11 of doom structure of a BL, where ep.11 sees peak emotional angst and the narrative/plot climax, in favour of a ep.10 (and even ep.9 in Bad Buddy) of doom, an ep.11 denouement, and an ep.12 conclusion. Eps.9 and 10 in Bad Buddy are when Pat and Pran’s friends and parents, the two biggest barriers to their relationship, find out about them. Pat is shot, they learn the real story behind their parents feud, there are a lot of emotions, etc. In ep.10 of MSP, there is the finale of Hot Wave and Gun’s mother’s illness (culminating in her receiving surgery at the end of the episode). Neither show has the main couple break up in their eps. of doom, like is common in other BLs’ ep.11 of doom, though they do have their relationships tested. Ep.11 in both Bad Buddy and MSP are instead the denouement, a quieter, more introspective look at the emotions and plot event of the previous episode(s). Pat and Pran run away from their families for their “honeymoon” on the beach and come to terms with everything they’ve learned, and MSP focuses more on the aftermath of Hot Wave and the tensions and emotions among Chinzilla, though there is of course parts about Tinn and Gun’s relationship in the face of disappointment. The final ep. for both show is thus given a bit more breathing room than in other BLs - they don’t have to wrap up the emotions and plot lines of an ep.11 of doom AND conclude the series, and can instead focus on wrapping up the series and even introducing new ideas and a look into the future (there are timeskips in both ep.12s, Bad Buddy does their PatPran breakup fake out, and MSP explores homophobia).

Time Skips

While time skips aren’t unheard of in BLs, especially in the final episode, Bad Buddy and MSP’s usage of them interject a level of realism into the series that isn’t always seen. The time jump of 6 or so months at the beginning of ep.7 in Bad Buddy means the tension build of the Flirt-Off doesn’t happen over a matter of days or weeks but in fact months. Pat and Pran are stubborn, this won’t be resolved quickly, and it give time for the tension to realistically reach a breaking point. MSP features several time skips in ep.9, ep.10, and ep.12, stretching both the Hot Wave competition schedule and Tinn and Gun’s budding relationship over a much more realistic full school year, instead of pretending the competition and build up of tension or feelings could be happening over a span of weeks. Paradoxically, the fact that the shows use time skips instead of showing (either in full, in part, or in a montage) the parts they skip (the Flirt-Off, the weeks of Tinn and Gun coming closer together and Chinzilla practicing) connects to my next point: the shows aren’t afraid to speed things up sometimes. The use of time skips both slows down the narrative and emotional arcs over a longer period of time while also demonstrating that the shows feel confident in their narratives: there is no need to stretch story lines out over episodes and episodes.

Condensing Plot Lines

The most striking thing about Bad Buddy and MSP’s pacing is how fast they move through plot lines, especially compared to other shows. In Bad Buddy, the plot line where Pat and Pran are anonymously and unknowingly flirting with each other through gifts and notes left at each other’s doors could have been the plot line for most of a show, if not a whole show, but it is introduced and resolved within ep.2. Ink is introduced in ep.4 and seems to be a potential faen fatale, but by the end of ep.4 this seems somehow unlikely and by halfway through ep.5 it is confirmed that she won’t be. The Flirt-Off happens in large part off-screen, in the 6 months or so time skip between eps.6 and 7, and is shown to us and resolved in ep.7. Other shows could have spent episodes if not half the show exploring that plot line.

I've talked at length about the pacing of MSP here and a bit here - like Bad Buddy, MSP moves quickly through plot lines that might have spanned episodes or even a whole season in another show. By the end of the first episode, MSP establish that Tinn is soft and pining hard over Gun (instead of keeping up the premise that he is cold and out to get the music club), the finale of Hot Wave comes two episodes before the end, the plot lines around Gun’s mother’s health are resolved in about one episode (the conflict around Tinn keeping Gun’s mother’s illness from him is resolved in a couple of scenes, and she has surgery and is pronounced ok by the end of the episode), any jealousy plot line around Nook is resolved in two scenes, the conflict introduced by Sound joining the band is resolved in one episode, and so on. Pretty much every problem introduced at the beginning of an episode is resolved by the end.

Bad Buddy and MSP feel confident, like they know they have narrative material to spare and don’t need to stretch plot lines out with twists, miscommunication, and jealousy. Thus, they move through plot lines much more quickly than other shows would.

Both shows feel so fresh because of this - they keep things moving, they surprise us by resolving things faster than other shows would, they don’t linger in jealousy and miscommunication like many other shows do, they skip over parts that other shows might have lingered on for the biggest punch, and they break the patterns that us, the audience, have come to expect from BLs (like the ep.11 of doom). Even the progression of the relationships, which we know will be romantic and probably happy in the end (these are BLs after all) and conform vaguely to enemies-to-lovers and will-they-won’t-they conventions, stay fresh: Pat and Pran have kissed and all but confessed their feelings, but they now embark on a months long Flirt-Off bet that delays them actually getting together. We know Tinn has a crush on Gun from the end of the first ep. and we begin to see hints that Gun might like him back from ep.3 onwards, and at first the show seems like it is going to go the typical romcom route wherein Gun doesn’t realize Tinn’s crush is on him (especially with him offering to help Tinn flirt with his crush), but like I talked about in my post here, they don’t and instead have Gun know it is him Tinn has a crush on, he’s just uncertain and a bit scared. Bad Buddy and MSP are both quicker and slower than other shows: they move through plot lines without lingering, but they use time skips to create realistic long term development of the core relationships, allowing the characters to build tension, live in hesitancy, and in the case of Tinn and Gun, be realistically slow in the physical progression of their relationship.

Conclusions

Bad Buddy and MSP subvert audience expectations with regards to tropes and narratives - like their handling of the faen fatale trope (both shows give us characters that could be faen fatales, and probably would be in other shows, that do not fulfill the narrative role of a faen fatale and receive character development and arcs of their own unlike other faen fatales) and how they play with expectations surrounding seme/uke dynamics (those who embody the seme or uke role in tropes aren’t necessarily the ones who exhibit the most seme or uke physical, social or personality markers; tropes iterations are balanced and reciprocal). Both shows change up the usual BL timelines and expected pacing - they hit their peak narrative, emotional, and angst climaxes before the standard ep.11 peak, plot beats come quicker than in other shows, and story arcs that are usually dragged on in other shows are concluded more quickly. On the other hand, both shows are “slower” than other BLs in other ways, like their usage of time skips to create realistic progressions of the core relationships. As a result of these subversions of BL genre conventions, the shows are familiar but also fresh to BL audiences.

But what does this say about Bad Buddy and MSP, and the BL genre in general?

Firstly, these shows remind us again of the importance of intertextuality. Texts (and this includes television shows) are intertextual; they all refer to one another and cannot exist separately from other texts. BLs especially are very intertextual - they have so many shared elements (tropes, characters, locations, etc.) they always (deliberately or unintentionally) draw parallels to other BLs. We would never notice how Bad Buddy and MSP diverge from other BL shows if we did not by necessity/automatically think of all previous BLs while watching them. Furthermore, where and how Bad Buddy and MSP divert from genre conventions and previous examples of the genre demonstrates their relationship to the genre and underlines the messages the shows are trying to send. Bad Buddy and MSP subvert the particular genre expectations they do and in the way they do to make a point - by giving new meanings to familiar conventions and juxtaposing typical meanings of genre conventions with their own (either explicitly, or through the audience’s intertextual analyses) the shows ground themselves in a different world view than other BL shows and give a more nuanced and realistic look at human and queer experience.

For example, the way Bad Buddy and MSP move quickly through plot points (avoiding extended plot lines centering on jealousy or miscommunications) and the reciprocity of their trope usages (deliberately balancing the seme and uke dynamics of their lead pairs) is unusual in the world of BL. It serves to emphasize the reciprocal and egalitarian nature of the lead pairs’ relationships which we also see in their treatment of one another (communicating, understanding each other’s needs and taking turns acquiescing to make the other happy, e.g., ep.11 where Pran agrees to run away and stay on the honeymoon to make Pat happier and then Pat agrees to return home to make Pran happier, or Tinn and Gun being so supportive and understanding of one another’s dreams and physical boundaries, etc.). In this post @miscellar argues the lack of miscommunication as a plot device in Bad Buddy is inherently queer and that the show as a whole does away with heterosexual/heteronormative tropes. In their reciprocity, egalitarianism, and communication, Pat and Pran and Tinn and Gun eschew the standard power dynamics of BLs which come as a result of BL’s encoded seme/uke dynamics, which in turn come from heteronormative and misogynistic ideas in the het romance genre and beyond about men and women. Defying genre conventions in some ways (e.g., subverting tropes) strengthens and underlines how the shows defy genre conventions in other ways (queerer, more realistic stories; fairer treatment for women; less heteronormativity, etc.) - these smaller, more obvious subversions of genre conventions and expectations indicates to us, the audience, that we should be prepared for larger, more subtle and implicit shake ups of genre conventions and expectations, ones that might rewrite the BL genre code for the future.

By reflecting on what Bad Buddy and MSP change, we can understand and identify the standard BL world view and set of assumptions. For example, by weakening and subverting seme/uke dynamics and their associations with things like dominance/submission, masculinity/femininity, and top/bottom, Bad Buddy and MSP reject the heteronormative and misogynistic assumptions that underlie most BLs: that gay couples have a “man” and a “woman;” that the penetrated must be feminine, weaker, sex averse, etc. like women are in heterosexual relationships; that there is always an unbalance of power (social and/or sexual) in relationships. While these are “just” romance tropes, or you might say that it’s odd to be so absorbed by the dynamics between two characters (particularly when it come to analyzing seme vs. uke and top vs. bottom), in a world where these tropes and their execution, and the preferred sexual position of a character and what that says about their personality etc., are so tied to other things and issues like misogyny, homophobia, etc., refusing to engage and deliberately obscuring are pretty radical things that say a lot about the message and view point of the shows.

Bad Buddy and MSP feel more realistic than a lot of other BLs. This is not to say that shows have to be realistic to be good, or even that viewers/that I prefer realistic shows, but it is certainly something that strikes me when I think about Bad Buddy and MSP. The relationship progression is slower, there is less dwelling in miscommunications, they even have not entirely happy but hopeful endings (Pat and Pran are continuing to hide their relationship from their parents, but it seems they are coming around; Tinn and Gun face homophobia from people in their lives, but also receive support from their classmate and parents). And beyond being realistic to the “real world,” they also feel more realistic to the queer experience: queer relationships don’t usually have such strict relationship roles and power dynamics, adhere so strictly to heteronormative ideals, or exist in world without homophobia or disapproval. They are varied, often deliberately contrasting and rejecting hetero norms, and sometimes involve being scared to come out (even to accepting parents), facing homophobia, and living in a “glass closet” limbo.

Many people have talked about how Bad Buddy walked so MSP could run - Bad Buddy was more heavy handed and noticeably deliberate with its trope subversions, intentionally trying to correct problems that have existed in the BL genre since the beginning, and this allowed MSP coming later to be more subtle with their changes, working them even more seamlessly into the style and the tone of the show. After MSP, what will be next? Where is GMMTV, and BL as a whole (in Thailand and beyond) heading? I’m excited to find out.

Bibliography

@absolutebl, specifically these posts: 1 (faen fatales), 2 (seme/uke), 3 (seme/uke tropes), 4 (GMMTV correcting for its mistakes), and all their posts about BL tropes

Agha, Asif. 2003. “The social life of cultural value.” Language & Communication 23: 231-273.

Ahearn, Laura. M. 2012. Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. Hoboken: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Bakhtin, Mikhail M. 1982. “Discourse in the Novel.” In The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays by M.M. Bakhtin, edited by Michael Holquist, translated by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist, 260- 422. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners. http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel//Documents/S4B/semiotic.html

Chandler, Daniel. Genre Theory. http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel//Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html

@cinna-bin: https://cinna-bin.tumblr.com/post/704496825511641088/his-boyfriend-words-matter

Irvine, Judith T. 1996. “Shadow Conversations: The Indeterminacy of Participant Roles.” In Natural Histories of Discourse, edited by Michael Silverstein and Greg Urban, 131-159. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Laineste, Liisi, and Piret Voolaid. 2017. “Laughing Across Borders: Intertextuality of Internet Memes.” European Journal of Humour Research 4, no. 4: 26–49.

@miscellar: https://www.tumblr.com/miscellar/674021449476997120/here-are-a-few-things-off-the-top-of-my-head-1 AND edited to add this post, which is so crucial to understanding how intentional all this is when it comes to Bad Buddy: https://www.tumblr.com/miscellar/710442440997371904/hello-in-a-convo-we-were-having-about-qls-that

Proctor, Devin. 2020. "Intertextuality." In The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society, edited by Debra L. Merskin, 849-50. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

@ranchthoughts (myself): 1 (signs, symbols, icons, indexes, genre and BL), 2 (Bad Buddy and seme/uke tropes), 3 (MSP and imagination vs. reality), 4 (MSP being a good-natured show), 5 (MSP and narrative structure and pacing), 6 (Gun and knowing about Tinn’s crush); and everyone I referenced in those posts as well

Wiggins, Bradley E. 2019. The Discursive Power of Memes in Digital Culture: Ideology, Semiotics, and Intertextuality. London: Routledge.

#bb #bb meta #msp #msp meta #bl meta #ranch thoughts #bad buddy #my school president #this post is a monster... it's a full thesis basically #ppt thoughts

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hijinks-n-lowjinks · 10 months ago

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One of my favorite parts about Mitsuri's character is how she's totally not what you'd expect. She's the Love Hashira—not of romantic love—but of self-love because that's the entire point of her character!

When we first meet her after the Spider Family Arc, she appears as if she's totally out of touch and is the classic flighty, romance obsessed girl character that's overemotional about everything. Especially with how she's designed! Huge rack, deep cleavage, pink hair, she very much comes off as a feminine stereotype. I mean, she's even called the "Love" Hashira, which I rolled my eyes at upon my first read/watch of the story because I had an idea of her in my mind just based upon that first encounter.

But the thing she totally subverts that expectation once we actually interact with her in the Swordsmith Village Arc. She's smart and kind and passionate about using her skills to help people. She's emotional, sure, but she sees that as a strength to try to understand and connect with others. She gives Tanjiro praise as well as advice when he wants to grow stronger.

Mitsuri is also one of the few demon slayers who hasn't had a tragic backstory. She wasn't from a broken home, her loved ones didn't die when she was young, and she gets along with almost everyone. Instead, her backstory is based in our own reality.

When she was younger she was very open about showing off her passions and strengths, but as she became older those things were seen as a flaw (very similar to how things that girls traditionally enjoy are shit on). She's mocked for her appearance and even though the audience knows she's beautiful, her world sees her vibrant hair as an abnormality that should be covered up. Even thinking back to my own childhood, if a girl came to school with her hair they would have been ruthlessly teased about it for being different.

She has a massive appetite and talks about being hungry more often than not in the scenes she's in which is typically an unsavory trait for women to have. She incredibly strong which makes the men she's interacted with look at her would distaste (and most likely insecure jealousy).

All of this leads to her arranged marriage falling through because her fiance is too insecure about marrying someone "like her". Because of this, she starts to hide the things that make her her. She begins to starve herself, dyes her hair, and acts frail because that's what a woman is supposed to be: dainty and impressionable.

That is SUCH a relatable character especially for female readers!!!! I instantly related to Mitsuri because of the traits we have in common and the desire to hide what other people could judge us for. She doesn't have a tragic backstory, but her struggles are based in our reality! I deadass cried when I first read it because it felt like I was seen and my insecurities were taken seriously!

Mitsuri is the Love Hashira, but not because she's obsessed with romantic love as one might assume, but because her character and backstory is all about self-love!

Once she starts to embrace the parts of her that others thought were unsavory, she grew into her own strength and found a place where she found companionship. She feels belonging with the Demon Slayer Corps and like she can use her gifts for good while also wanting to find love! And that's beautiful!

Her desire to want to get married and fall in love isn't a character flaw and I'm sick of people boiling her down to that one aspect. It's a total dismissal of her character and how important she is as a female character.

#i'm sorry this was so long but holy FUCK i love her so much she means so much to me #kanroji mitsuri #mitsuri kanroji #demon slayer #kny #jinx talks

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laiqualaurelote · 1 year ago

Note

41 and 45 for the questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the ask! (from this list)

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

The God Abandons Antony by counterfog - this is my favourite Miss Fisher fic, and it's really not like any other fic in the fandom. When I read it I thought it was like someone had transmuted poetry into fic form. One of its tags is 'porn with philosophy', which is a great tag, but it's also a lot more than that - it's a tissue of literary allusions, a profoundly beautiful character study, the culmination of a slow-burn love story between a woman who fears to be known and a man who comes to acknowledge that some things will always be unknowable. It's best to quote directly from it, so this is my favourite paragraph:

It was wrong, too, come to think of it, to believe any person was less than a casing for an invisible city—peopled by riddles, inconsistencies, and whims, selves lost and selves found—a city governed by habit and in all things rich with secret ways and means. He thought of the city he was and the city he had met in her. He thought, too, of that other city they had got to in the night. He didn’t know that it could be reached again, not for certain. But he knew where it was now—and that it was—and he thought he might find his way again when he needed to, if he asked her, if she remembered.

This author has only ever written this one fic on AO3 and nothing more, and sometimes I still wonder who they are, what they're up to, if they ever wrote anything else again.

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

EVERYTHING. Plotting, dialogue, worldbuilding, even historical research. The thing I think that fic has helped me with the most, however, is an appreciation of tropes. This is especially because I work most often with AUs, and AUs really teach you to navigate tropes - what it is that makes a particular trope such a beloved shorthand to readers, and how to operate within the expectations of the trope or subvert them while staying true to the essence of the original work and characters.

#fic ask game #procrasktination #miss fisher's murder mysteries #fic rec

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jimmycarterghostland · 1 year ago

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Why I hated Vengeful by VE Schwab

1 It ruined Victor's character by making him into someone who murdered innocent people. This sequel made him just like Eli, and I absolutely hated that. The appeal of Victor was that he was truly gray. Not evil, but not all that good, either. Unfortunately, VE Schwab ruined him in the second novel. That's the biggest reason why I hated Vengeful.

2 Victor didn't even get to kill Eli. Sydney did it. That huge interpersonal conflict was ended by someone who had less of a reason to kill Eli. It should've been Victor who killed him.

3 Marcella was frustrating. All she did was whine about how bad she had it. And the high heels thing with her was repetitive. Not to mention she seemed like a self-hating, misogynistic woman. She wasn't even an interesting villain.

4 June was an unnecessary character. And her unexplained attachment to Sydney was creepy and out of place.

5 Mitch wasn't utilized enough.

6 Victor was mean to Dom as he died. Victor was never unnecessarily cruel. He never would've insulted an ally like that, especially after that ally saved his life. Why would he insult a man who just rescued him? This book turned Victor into an unlikable character.

7 The whole book read like a badly written fanfiction. No, I don't want to know about Marcella's sex life.

8 Marcella and June were unnecessary characters. They made Vengeful more bloated than it already was. Too many characters who didn't deserve the spotlight.

9 I didn't have anyone to root for in this novel. It was so bad that I actually ended up looking forward to Eli's chapters. And I hated the guy in Vicious! Eli is a cruel murderer, but he's supposed to be. Victor ended up being a disappointment, and I couldn't cheer him on anymore. Such a shame.

10 There were too many cop-outs. Like the mad scientist guy making that anti-power serum, which wasn't foreshadowed at all. How convenient that this scientist made a serum, and used it to get rid of Eli's powers near the end of the book. The serum should've been foreshadowed more.

11 The book was a mess, simply put. The characters were unlikable. Victor became unlikable, murdering innocent EOs like Eli did in the previous book. Too many unnecessary new characters. Too many cringe coincidences, like Victor bumping into June at the strip club.

12 Expectations were subverted in a bad way. What's up with fiction nowadays ruining their characters and plots by subverting expectations in a horrible way near the end of the stories? Vengeful was Game of Thrones season 8 level bad. That show and this book ruined their once likable characters. I can't stand it.

13 The character arcs in Vengeful were awful. Victor became just like Eli. And it wasn't even Victor who killed him. Victor killing Eli would've been predictable, but it was thematically the best way for Eli to die. Their conflict was too deep for Victor to not kill him. It had to be Victor. But nope, what we got was Sydney shooting Eli in an effort by Schwab to subvert expectations. It was horrible. Victor had more of a reason to kill Eli. He hated him more. For Sydney to kill him was another disservice to the fans. Victor killing him would've been way more satisfying. Plus, Eli killed him in book one. How fitting would it have been for Victor to kill Eli in book two? Eli was Victor's "Frankenstein's monster". Victor needed to put him down. After all, Victor made him into what he was. An EO and then a murderous monster. Sydney killing him had zero thematic value. Not to mention it wasn't satisfying, because it wasn't Eli's worst enemy who took him out.

14 The time jumps were even more confusing and jarring than the ones in the first book, which were actually easy to follow. Especially because of the smaller cast.

I can't remember everything, because I only read the book once, a few years ago. But these points are the main reasons why I couldn't stand this book, with Victor being an actual villain as the top reason why I despise this novel.

Vengeful isn't a good book. It has a high rating, but just because a novel is popular, that doesn't mean it's a great one.

#ve schwab #vengeful #reading #bad books #vicious ve schwab

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aspiringwarriorlibrarian · 2 years ago

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But what if that ended up being a misdirection in the same vein as Jacques being seen as the bad guy, but ultimately was right about Ironwood?

Like, don’t get me wrong, Salem is a deeply toxic person that falls into many of the same traits as other abusive types, especially towards Cinder…but something that other theories have been making me think is in regards to the Midnight episode. The obvious interpretation is that Cinder has only fallen under the abuse a person who is basically a smarter version of the Madame…but what if that was an intentional misdirection, and Salem actually meant it when she decided to stop tormenting Cinder, but due to how the audience has been set up with past abusive figures, and Cinders own deeply warped perspective due to her own past traumas, we’re inclined to believe she’s ultimately no different?

A large recurring element of the way abusers are portrayed is that all of them are people who doubled down on their abusive behavior, but what if that ends up being portrayed in the reverse with Salem? Someone who realized what she was doing, but has to contend with the toxic reputation she’s cultivated and also had forced upon her by others? Someone who, through a combination of her own past mistakes and the mistakes of others, is basically stuck in a terrible position with no real good way out parallel to Ozpin?

We fundamentally assume that she must be proven wrong and that she is wrong, similarly with Cinder…but can we really be sure that’s the case, when a large part of RWBY’s story is about how messy and complicated the truth really is, how the narrative we are told isn’t always necessarily correct? That what we assume is true isn’t always the case?

Because RWBY has shown a willingness to actively challenge our expectations, to really skewer and question the perceptions we develop based on unreliable information.

Jacques was a bad person. He just had less power than Ironwood.

Like I said, I don't see any real reason for Salem to be more complicated or secretly not that bad besides the idea that "maybe they'll subvert expectations". It's interesting speculation, but it isn't likely. Sometimes the cigar is a cigar. And as Ironwood's arc demonstrated, it's not your intentions that count, but your actions.

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tempestmothstorm · 2 months ago

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Ok I have a whole section about this in the ddlc theme analysis that will take months to actually finish but the way the theme of nihilism plays directly into the game’s meta existence as a dating sim parody aughhughhhhh

Like most parody visual novels and parodies in general don’t expect you to get invested in the world it presents. Like who actually cares about the in-depth worldbuilding in the kernel sanders dating sim? Like unironically. Its setting either exists to make fun of the world or subvert it, never actually taking its base concept seriously.

And ddlc is like it too, making all the characters the embodiments of their tropes and having a dozen dumb contrivances to fill its cutesy quota. And the player base before playing the game expects it too, either joining for the hype, the horror, the lore, or the parody. Heck even I was like that, knowing all about the cool scares and meta stuff but none of the actual good writing until literally this year. Like no one told me about it the span of seven years. Apparently it wasn’t a selling point. This game has actual heart in it but from an outside perspective it was just another indie horror genre parody. Nobody came in actually expecting to get attached to the world of cute anime girl game featuring beloved anime tropes such as the tsundere and yandere.

And when Monika has her own epiphany she ends up having a pretty similar view too. A lot of things fuel her apathy and overall disillusionment with her life, but I think a big part of it is the fact that not only are the club members fictional, but they’re also badly written anime tropes. It’s like an insult to be compare to that, and yet here she is having to tolerate her existence being a poorly written joke. Nobody would actually want to care for unrealistic cliches, getting attached to badly written characters means you have bad taste allegedly. Why should she care for these tropes that are supposed to be her “friends”, when they have no meaning and can’t care about someone on a real deep or intimate level. Unlike an actual person, a cliche parody can’t have enough substance to mean something. They don’t feel real. They don’t even feel real emotions. Why would they change your life? Why should they mean something to you?

And being forced to live with npcs lab grown to appeal to the very specific fantasies of a stereotypical anime fan while they involve you in their insignificant shenanigans that mean nothing in the end where they get to enjoy the one thing you want more than anything while not being able to understand how lucky they are compared to you?

…Yeah it kinda sounds like hell. Especially for miss manga hater. And when you’re in hell looking at heaven, why wouldn’t you do anything just to get a closer look?

(Also shoutouts to AM in that one audio drama of ihnmaims specifically)

Uh. Problem with all of this. None of it is actually true with the club. They’re fully fleshed out people with depth and complexity. They are just as sentient as Monika is, and by the end of the game a lot of people cared about these characters, this world that was meant to be a parody ended up meaning the world to people. A world that is meaningless in the grand scheme of things holding value nonetheless. Because even if the world wasn’t made to be cared about, people still cared.

This was all probably intentional btw. Maybe not ddlc being labeled a viral mascot horror, but it did help in a different way. While Dan Salvato mentioned a lot about making this game as anime tropey as possible, he also wanted to tell a good story with good characters. He ended up putting his and others’ real human experience into these characters and making them real, characters who are still supposed be the embodiment of their tropes. It’s clear he love and cares about all of them, and it’s even clearer that the internet loves them just as much. Despite being cliches, they had real impact on people’s lives, teaching people new perspectives, allowing people to grow into something better, etc. By ddlc+, they ended up as characters that grew beyond their tropes and became their own people, something that was a big focus within its art and the side stories.

There’s something so genuine about these games that I never got to see as an outsider looking in, and I feel like a lot of people think about it the same way. The same way as Monika. The way that goes against the whole point of the secret ending. Even if they were a parody, the world still loved them. Even if they’re a bunch of ai in an existential science experiment, they could still love and care for each other. Even if they aren’t real. Even if nothing else is real. Even if their existence is meaningless. They can still love each other and find meaning in that.

And I think this meta narrative is just really sweet man. The game still ends with everyone in a bad situation, but that little spot of hope means a somewhat happy ending wouldn’t be antithetical to the game’s themes like other games with sad endings. Because even if the world goes against it and everything else sucks, they can still be happy, together. They deserve it. It’s ok to want them to be happy. There’s the chance for something better

Ok that’s it Ddlc is cool idc if it sounds cheesy I like it

#doki doki literature club #ddlc #yay I love meta narratives Charlie I LOVE META NARRATIVES #idk the impact and value of art and fiction even if it isn’t real and aaugh #idk if this post is too optimistic for this game but man what if I want to imagine Sisyphus happy #no idea if any future ddlc projects will give them a somewhat happy ending but seeing the way the characters are talked about I don’t think #it will be overly cruel #anyways this post was just me trying to summarize that one section of the theme analysis but it might have made that section longer oops #I have a lot more thoughts about this but considering my theme analysis is reaching 5k words I think I can save it for later #I’ll save you my yapping for another day🫡#tempestmothtalk #analysis

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emmym1 · 10 months ago

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My thoughts on... Avengers Arena 2012 (#1-6) "Kill Or Die"

So after reading through Avengers Academy and the X-23 comics I was very excited to start this series! It's really nice to catch up again with the cast of Avengers Academy as they're a really fun group. Although the fun didn't last long as they were put in a killing game! When I first learned about this series I was very surprised about Marvel doing a Hunger Games-style comic with a bunch of their young heroes, but I was also very intrigued. And so far it hasn't dissapointed! The first issue alone had me shook when they killed off Mettle. A really sad moment honestly, everytime Mettle and Hazmat find some sense of peace and happiness with each other it gets ripped away from them. It was really gutwrenching to watch how Mettle exploded in mere seconds. Red Raven was also a character that didn't survive the first issue. I really wish she would've because her design is really cool! It was also very interesting to meet other unfamiliar characters, such as the Braddock Academy. I really love how at first they kind of seem to mirror the Avengers Academy. But then as you get to know them it turns out they're all horrible people who hate each others guts. Kid Briton especially. When you first meet him, you think he's this likeable guy but then as the story progresses you really come to learn how messed up, terrible and self centered he is in all the worst way. Although in the end he didn't survive the first 6 issues as well. But I really loved how they set up the Braddock Academy and subverted expectations with it. Another really cool thing about this series is how besides all the craziness of a killing game, they still make time to explore some of the characters on a more personal level. Rebecca Ryker and Chase Stein especially stood out. They both had some very interesting exploration in this. With Rebecca you have this seemingly innocent girl who went through a lot and really is in over her head in this killing game while seemingly having a secret darker side. I'm really intrigued as to where that storyline will go. And with Chase you have someone who's more affraid of winning that dying, which I found to be a really interesting mindset. And they explored it super well! It was really nice to see the Avengers Academy group up and take care for each other even though Hazmat is very on edge due to what happened to Mettle. I didn't like how they acted towards the Runaway members in the game though. They've been through some stuff together and litterally have stood in each others shoes, yet the Avengers Academy members really don't treat them in the right way and trust them a lot less than they should've. It was kind of sad to see the Runaways get chased away like that by them. I'm also very worried for Laura Kinney as she's been exposed to a seemingly new version of the trigger scent, so I wonder what's going to end up happening to her. The preview of day 29 in the first issue doesn't seem to indicate she will be affected by the trigger scent for a long time! These first 6 issues were a strong start for this series. Each issue left me wanting to read more immediatly and it hooks you so well into the story. They balance all the different groups really well while still making them to explore characters on a personal level. It's going to be interesting to see how things will evolve from here on out. Especially with the Braddock Academy being at each others throats and a trigger scent exposed Laura running loose.

#avengers academy #avengers arena #laura kinney #x 23 #comics #marvel #earth 616 #marvel comics

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koichi-talks · 10 months ago

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Hi, I keep coming back to these types of posts about DRDT, especially this one and I decided I wanted to give some more thoughts and what-not in a re-blog than constantly commenting them. (Lowkey for the most part with the Death order prediction since sometimes it is fun to talk about).

I do agree with you down below with what you said about Xander possibly being a take on the "traitor" role. I also think tho compared to other characters like say, Mukuro, he's more-so someone who isnt aligned with the MM in terms of being a traitor.

I...still my conflictions on Eden being the killer this chapter (even putting my bias aside for best girl...), with her giving Teruko such a hopeful speech only for her to be the one to kill Arei would be wild; Ngl as well, I'm also conflicted on the whole "true blackened" rule in the trial since...at least to me comes across a lil vauge and how it'll come into play. But I have been thinking that while the "one day I'll make you understand that" part of her speech will be lost if she dies this chapter, the rest of what she says probably will still being important to Teruko, especially if she says smth similar right before she's executed.

Levi being an accomplie instead of a killer is lowkey a possibility that I'm probs alot more cool with than him being the killer. Does a good way of subverting expecations, which this Fangan does good at with it's characters imo. Confirms theorists suspicions (including mine admittedly) about him being involved in the case somehow, but not making getting him killed off this soon and keeping him in the story for us to learn more about him and helps out for his unresolved relationship with Ace; and possibly the group.

I'm also on the "Charles dying, Whit surviving" train as the days go by. Whit is my fav character of the cast, but Charles has grown on me a good ton; I love how he's a take on the support role, Bro has two of the best dynamics in DT, I love on Whit has made an impact on him to where despite him still being "a-bit" rude as times, but doesn't look down on the others anymore and is more compassionate. But lowkey, if Whit has made an impact on Charles' character, it would sense if the opposite happened later down the line. Also, I feel this could be another subversion; since it's a thing of "who does everyone expect between to the two to die, and who to survive, the frivalours comedic relief, or one of Teruko's main support". I also think it would be interesting if Charles died by his own custom weapon, whether it happens during the daily life, or even the during the middle of the trial (could be daily life if the effects of the poison are instant).

Arturo also makes sense to die next chapter, whether as a victim or even a killer (or one of depending on the Dev handles the CH3 case this time; but I have faith that the case will be handled well). Victim could make sense given how bro has been suspected of being a killer already but ig anything can happen.

Nico I also agree could end up dying either CH3 or 4, easily tho more than likely as a victim as well. Not too much to say but hopefully we get more insight on their character and more depth before they go though.

Hu, based on her hidden quote, could maybe be a killer perhaps, but a victim could be just as likely. Hu, with a themes of change with her butterfly symbolism, could end up having some interesting arc during the KG and I'm interested to see where that goes, and hopefully we get her backstory, or some bits next chapter, as well.

Veronika I also kinda agree could end up being involved in the CH5 case. I think as well too that Veronika could end up being a possible antagonist (depends on how her character would be over the next couple of chapters). If this could happen, I think it would be interesting for an event to take place that she'd be involved in the CH3 case. Since Veronika is the kind of character people expect to die in this type of case, it would be interesting if she'd be in a similar to David is rn except, she is involved but of her own will. And while her being an antag could be a bit obvious too, but the potential is there I'd say. And I lowkey also agree that while Veronika "could" be a MM candidate, but if she made it to CH6 with the rest, she'll be instantly suspected by everyone to be the MM (Also doesn't help since she does share similarities with characters like Junko; it's the obvious pigtails lol.)

David I also feel could be in a weird spot on how his character go, especially with how his character is rn in terms of complexity with how the events of CH2 are of right now, but as you stated, someone like David, if the theories about the hidden depths of his character are true (which those theories I agree with since I'm sure the Dev is pushing the narrative of a morally-grey/human cast and not with people who are outright villains), could be a great survivor. Especially alongside Teruko, his narrative foil bestie :)

Danganronpa: Despair Time Mastermind Ranking (Least to Most)

Yeah, I should’ve known that I needed to get around to this someday.

You see, the reason why I hadn’t made a theory about the identity of the Despair Time mastermind is that… I'm not totally convinced on any one person being the mastermind. Like, look at these clowns! They’re all so weird! I love them all for it, obviously, but none of their personality quirks or roles in the story stand out to me as particularly mastermind-y. There are a lot of characters that I believe could be the mastermind, but it’s also pretty easy to convince me out of it for one reason or another.

However, it’s not like I had any idea about who the P:EG mastermind would be, either! At least with two chapters under its belt, I can feel more comfortable that I’m not just fully mischaracterizing the Despair Time cast. And I definitely have things to say about various DRDT masterminds, just… in a way that’s kinda hard to rank.

But, that’s no reason for me to be cowardly! I’m sure that seriously scrutinizing all of the characters’ mastermind potentials and ultimately coming up with who I think the most likely candidate is will be super fun. It’s just… going to be really long, so, buckle in. And maybe prepare to take breaks in the middle.

(Spoilers for all three main canon games and DRDT.)

Why is it going to be so long? Well, it’s because, when it comes to DRDT, I think that my predictions will be at least partially based on how long I think each character will make it into the story. If I have a particularly strong inclination that a character is going to die in Chapter 3.456, no matter how unfounded, it might make me feel worse about their prospects of being the mastermind. That’s not to say that a mastermind can’t appear to die (or actually die) before Chapter 6 rolls around, of course. However, it is an uncommon additional hurdle to the story that would require some justification and a little suspension of disbelief if I’m trying to call it years before it transpires.

So, if we’re going to talk about the mastermind, I need to share my current feelings about where each character might place in the death order. Should I update the title…?

Danganronpa: Despair Time Mastermind Ranking (Least to Most) AND ALSO Death Order Predictions

These are my mastermind rankings, so my opinions on where the characters might be headed will obviously be used as the baseline. Naturally, you don’t need to believe in anything I'm about to throw out here. I’m just trying to explain my thought process so that nothing I say later on will come as a total surprise.

Also, since it’s kind of long, here’s the top of the death order section. I think it’ll provide some important context, but if you want to skip it, look for the other green, bold text.

Some of my thoughts were inspired by anderscim’s death predictions theory, as I read that pretty soon after I joined the fandom. I encourage you to go read their work as well!

The tiers are mostly pretty self explanatory– 3-4 means I think they’re at risk of dying sooner and 4-5 means I think they’re at risk of dying later. But, I’ll give everyone what I hope to be a quick rundown on each character just to explain my thinking.

Xander: Xander canonically died as the Chapter 1 victim.

Min: Min canonically died as the Chapter 1 blackened.

Arei: While I respect the concept, I personally don’t believe in the “J and Arei swapped places and Arei is actually still alive” theory, and I will be writing the rest of this post accordingly. So, to me, Arei canonically died as the Chapter 2 victim.

Eden: Pretty much anyone who’s seen my DRDT theories at this point shouldn't be surprised that I’m listing Eden as the Chapter 2 killer. The logic behind this belief has been explained by my lovely mutuals here and here.

Levi: Alright, on to the ones I don’t have any concrete evidence to support! (There is concrete evidence behind the ch2 murder, even if you believe it points elsewhere.) Levi has had a decent amount of focus already in his trainwreck of a relationship with Ace and discussions of morality with Eden and Teruko. If he does serve as an accomplice to the Chapter 2 killer (see the first link in Eden’s section), then I feel like his clock will really be ticking. He’d be trapped with the branding of a bad person, his greatest fear, and left without any relationships to lean on. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone targeted him as a victim they “believed deserved to die after what happened,” or even if Levi decided that he was doomed to be a villain from the start and decided to kill. Alternatively, he could try to redeem himself as a classic Chapter 4 buff curse sacrifice in some way. In either case (or even in the case of him just being the Chapter 2 killer), I have my doubts that he’ll be making it too much later into the game.

Arturo: To me, Arturo doesn’t feel like a character set up for incredible longevity. That doesn’t mean I’m pigeonholing him as a one-dimensional villain or pure comedic relief, just that Arturo seems like a character who might be set up to have his ideology lead to his downfall. I don’t think he’s dying in Chapter 2, as I believe the narrative would want to see how he reacts to J burning the bridges between them, but I could definitely see the story only needing one more round of daily life (or possibly a trial as well) to resolve wherever his character is going.

Charles: Look, it’s not only because he’s already been pronounced dead at 3. As I elaborated upon in Charles’ section of this post (The Jerk), Charles feels like he’s speeding towards the end of his character arc far ahead of schedule. It could just be that he needed to learn to make friends quickly before Whit makes an early exit, sending him on a secondary arc where he learns to process his current grief and fears as a parallel to regaining memories about Elliot. However, I find it much more likely that the Inevitable CharWhit Doom Scenario plays out in the opposite direction. He makes a lot of sense as a Chapter 3 victim to me.

Nico: Similar to Arei and J, I am writing all of my theories with the assumption that it really was Nico who attempted to murder Ace in Chapter 2, because I think it makes the most narrative sense. (I could keep typing out a “well, unless” every time, but I don’t really want to eat up my time writing or your time reading all of that.) Through that lens, the fact that Nico has already murdered someone and “gotten away with it,” more or less, puts them in a really weird situation. I don’t really see them killing again, as it feels like we’ve already explored the emotional and narrative implications of that happening through Chapter 2. Although, I can’t deny that it would be interesting to see the fallout of Ace being proven totally right and Hu 100% wrong. Still, if they were to be a survivor after doing something so severe so early into the game, it seems like they would have to undergo some sort of redemption for the audience to accept them as a face of hope in the end. I don’t currently see any great paths to that happening, although there’s obviously still plenty of story time for something to open up. For now, though, I feel more confident in placing them as a early/mid-game victim, likely as a consequence of choosing to harm someone else.

Hu: Given her overall lack of focus in the story thus far, I find it likely that Hu will be one of the focal characters of the Chapter 3 daily life. That could be bad news, considering how Xander and Arei fared after being focused upon in their respective daily lives, but… I dunno, I just feel like Hu would survive it, somehow? Wouldn’t be too surprised if she didn’t, but my gut instinct is that she would. I kind of see her character exiting the story in Chapter 4, no preference on killer vs victim.

Veronika: Veronika is a very weird character (an “oddball,” I’ll call it), and thus, my predictions for her are strongly based on the patterns that oddball characters normally follow. I’ll be using canon characters only, because I believe that those are the only killing games that I have the right to assume every DRDT fan has seen. But, you can apply these same kinds of patterns to many fangan characters. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for fangans breaking from typical Danganronpa norms and following their own paths. But, in the case of how oddballs are treated, I think these characters generally tend to follow these patterns because they’re sensible writing practices. I’ll try to explain why each of these conventions makes sense in the following bullet points.

Oddballs tend not to die in Chapters 1 or 2. This is because oddball characters are generally created to supply a very niche kind of comedic relief– examples from DRDT could include Arturo’s commentary on ugly people or Ace’s bizarre remarks of cowardice. Any character deemed worthy of being included in a fangan occupies one of 16 highly contested slots. So, if you include a character for the purpose of making jokes with them, you'll want to get your bang for your buck! It’s hard to fit every joke you have in mind into only a chapter or two. The best example I could come up with for a (canon) oddball who dies early is Teruteru. In his case, the writers likely anticipated that his hyper-flirtatious nature would get tiring if it continued on for too long, and thus, exhausted all of the jokes they wanted to make in Chapter 1 before his exit. An oddball who dies this early has a limited shelf life, and is likely accompanied by other oddballs who can pick up the comedic slack.

Many have pointed out that silly oddballs often die in Chapter 3 (Hifumi, Ibuki, Tenko) as a way to signify the death of fun and innocence. You also have a chance to get rid of some of the more sinister oddballs (Celeste, Kiyo) at a point where it seems unfeasible for them to have stuck around this long without… well, killing someone. In either case, it’s because Chapter 3 is a great balance of letting a character stay in a story for long enough that they achieve whatever strange effects you wanted from them, while also clearing them off the stage before you get into the really serious business. Silly oddballs especially may not be equipped to handle the often turbulent natures of Chapter 4 without breaking the serious tone too much, so it’s best to axe them at the midpoint.

Endearing oddballs (Gundham, Gonta) have a hard time making it past Chapter 4. If Chapter 4 is serious, Chapters 5 and 6 are even more so, and the Chapter 4 killer slot in particular is a viable dumping ground for characters who don’t really have a place in the finale. Their deaths are meant to pull at your heartstrings and prove how a killing game can make literally anyone– yes, even that guy– a killer. (Miu is an outlier; more like an extended Chapter 3. Unlike THH, which has its tonal shift at the end-of-Ch3-Sakura Traitor Reveal, and SDR2, which has its tonal shift at Mikan’s insanity and death, v3’s tonal shift comes at Kokichi's accusation and Kaito and Shuichi's argument, or possibly even Miu's death itself. The Chapter 4 Daily Life isn’t all that serious in and of itself. Thus, Miu dying as a Ch4 victim functions more like killing off a silly oddball before she has to deal with all the betrayal and scheming that occurs later on.)

Oddballs really only die in Chapter 5 to the extent that you can count major antagonists like Nagito and Kokichi as Weird Dudes. As the precursor to the big, showstopping, mind-bending Chapter 5 Trial, the mood is typically pretty… straightforward. Depending on the overall plot’s arc, Chapter 5 is either the point where most of the surviving students are concluding their character arcs and learning how potent a weapon teamwork is (THH, SDR2), or a “dark night of the soul” type moment where all of the slowly growing inter-character conflicts are finally coming to a head (v3). It can also be Version A for some characters and Version B for others, but, either way, hijinks are not ensuing, basically. Plot relevant things happen here, and as such, plot relevant characters are the ones who are dying. It can be hard for an oddball to find a place in the narrative relevant enough to serve as one of its final, poignant deaths without also being a major antagonist.

Despite everything I’ve said about oddballs dying, it is definitely possible for oddballs to survive. Danganronpa is, at its core, a dark comedy, and as such killing off all of your funny joke characters before the ending is probably a bad move. Hiro, Toko, Kazuichi, and Himiko are all characters I’d call oddballs that survive until the very end. The difference in their case is that part of their oddball nature is being… kind of pathetic? I think it helps them fade into the background more. It's also probably easier to give them a character arc than some others... like Veronika.

I’m sure that you can find exceptions to these “rules” I’ve laid out, especially amongst casts that have a high percentage of oddballs (which you could certainly argue fits DRDT). However, pattern recognition brain go brrrr. I don’t think that Veronika fits the description of a Chapter 1-2, Chapter 4, or survivor oddball particularly well. That leaves Chapter 3 (sinister) and Chapter 5 (bewildering antagonist). I don’t know if it’s that Veronika doesn't seem to have much of a reason to kill at this point in time or all of Veronika’s weird mastermind coding that makes me think DRDTdev might have greater plans for her. Either way, I’m leaning Chapter 5, probably victim. Jeez, that was a long section for one character. Favoritism, I guess?

J: J gets her own category because, honestly, I have no idea what to do with her. Could J make it to the end? Sure! Could J die in a Chapter 3 scheme? Sure! Could J be the Chapter 2 killer? Well, I personally believe the evidence points elsewhere, but in terms of narrative? Sure! The only real inclination I have is that I think it’s more likely that she would be a killer than a victim, mostly because Ultimate Effects Artist is a talent that could lend itself to some really creative and fun murder setups. Given that I have more characters pegged as early game deaths right now, I lean towards J late game, but… man, I don’t know!

Teruko: Teruko is the protagonist, and also is a Lucky Student who allegedly “can’t die.” Especially after she made that claim, it would be silly if she died before the ending– it’d just kinda make her look like a fool. I’m not averse to theories where Teruko is no longer the protagonist by the end, whether by her death or someone else taking up the role for whatever reason, but in the sense that “Survivor” = “Chapter 6,” I think Teruko will survive. I’m not here to predict crazy last-minute Kiibo-blowing-himself-up twists.

Rose: I think that Rose has a really nice arc of overcoming her fears and becoming less passive set up in front of her. We spent enough time establishing her relationship with Teruko that I could see her being a good potential friend/support character to Teruko in the endgame if relationships with people like Eden or Charles fall through. (And, at this point, you know what I think about Eden and Charles…) She’s also good at delivering low-key jokes that can provide some levity without totally ruining the tone. We already saw some of that in this scene. The main things that I think could be standing in her way are her photographic memory and history of debt. The photographic memory could be too annoying of an obstacle to write around for the entire game, and instead be an ongoing effect set to expire in in Chapter 3. Additionally, a money motive paralleling THH’s in Chapter 3 could be too tempting for Rose to pass up. Really, what I’m saying is, if Rose can make it through Chapter 3, I think she’s golden. We’ll just have to see how that Chapter pans out in the future.

David: Oh, David. Currently serving as Teruko’s largest antagonist, I can see why people would think that he would die in Chapter 5. However, I’m not going to beat around the bush and pretend that I’m the only person who thinks David might survive, either. As an inspirational speaker, David is established early on as a character who should be a beacon of hope, before revealing that he’s more of a hope-sucking black hole. It would make sense if, alongside Teruko, he learns to find more of a balance between blithe optimism and cynical depression and heal as a person. He has a lot of very obvious depth that I think a lot of people want to see explored, and whose exploration would be very on-brand for the themes of a typical killing game story. Plus, if Teruko ever does stop being the protagonist, David probably needs to be alive at that point to pick up the slack.

Ace: Similar to Nico, it seems like we’ve already gotten a taste of what Ace being a victim would be like, in a way where I don’t think we’re going to see it again. He could still be a killer, but would the cowardly Ace even want to attempt killing someone and throwing himself into the scrutiny of a Class Trial? Well, it is true that Ace believes that “[neither] dying young or living a long, shitty life of suffering… are as bad as this” (the killing game?). So, he could simply grow fed up with the killing game and decide that risking a Class Trial is worth it, even if he does wind up dying young. However, if that were to occur, Chapter 2 seems like the narratively best time to do it, as it’s when his emotions are most potent and probably when others would least expect him to do it due to his weakened state. Like Rose, I feel the period Ace has most to worry about is this upcoming Chapter 2 killer slot, but if he makes it through, his arc of learning to escape his fear by bravely rising above it instead of lashing out to try to knock everyone down feels very viable.

Whit: The pro of the Inevitable CharWhit Doom Scenario is that, hopefully, one of the two would manage to make it as a survivor after the other one dies. And, I’m Team Whit Surviving! Not just based on which of the two I like better (they’re my first and second favorite characters, so I’m taking a massive L either way), but because I think it makes more sense for it to be Whit that lives further on. Unlike Charles, who feels like he’s already in the final lap of the character arc race, Whit has barely left the starting line. The laundry scene in Chapter 1 and Whit’s secret in Chapter 2 have both been used to establish that Whit focuses on his and others’ bliss in hopes of remaining ignorant of everything that stresses him. The main offender, of course, being that Whit lies about his mom being alive to presumably stave off his grief. The easiest way to give him a character arc that resolves that issue is to give him something to grieve– namely, Charles– and soon. If Whit’s main character struggle is pretending that people dying doesn’t bother him, he might need an entire Chapter or more to stubbornly show off his central flaw. Now, it is possible that, if Whit can’t overcome this flaw, he could die soon after Charles and meet a tragic fate. But, those just… aren’t the vibes, to me? A post-character arc Whit who knows how to grieve fiercely but healthily might come in handy if Teruko finds herself handling her own emotions about Xander, Min, and/or anyone else at the end of the game.

And here’s the bottom of the death order section!

Finally finished writing something that nobody asked of me at all. Well, I still think it was important, and I hope you feel the same.

Now that we’ve laid all that out, I think it’s finally time to actually see who I think the Danganronpa: Despair Time mastermind might be! Although, please keep in mind that, despite the large preamble full of story predictions, I’m still pretty uncertain on who I think the mastermind is. So, my points might not be the best supported, and I might change my mind again pretty soon after I post this theory. I expect to be far better at disproving why everyone is the mastermind rather than proving why anyone would be, because that’s generally how I feel… but, onwards we go!

#17: Arei Nageishi

(Forgive me for reusing art here, I’ve drawn these bastards ENOUGH /j)

If I were writing this after Despair Time’s prologue, like I did with P:EG, there’s a pretty good chance that Arei, at the very least, wouldn’t have placed dead last. But, well, now Arei is dead. And also last.

Obviously, there are other dead characters too. But still, Arei is the one who I most struggle to see as the mastermind. Given that Arei died as a victim whose body was thoroughly investigated by several parties, it’s pretty hard for me to believe that anyone could have missed any signs of life. I don’t get the sense that DRDT is in some kind of simulation where everyone can magically be alive again at the end either, so I think Arei is, sadly, well and truly dead.

On top of all that, we know a lot about her backstory from her Chapter 2 breakdown, and none of it seems to point her towards masterminding a killing game specifically. She doesn’t have any particular ties to any big organizations that would have helped her accomplish it, either. While she is NOT just a temporary weather spell whose absence will be celebrated and then forgotten, David… I have a hard time believing that the audience would find her character relevant enough(?) to be a good twist mastermind come Chapter 6 several years down the line.

I don’t think I really need to keep elaborating on this. Arei isn’t the mastermind.

#16: Charles Cuevas

I know it’s a bit of a bold move to put a character who’s currently alive below characters who have already died, but… man, I really just don’t see how Charles could pull this off.

And it’s not (just) because I think he’s going to die in Chapter 3 as part of Whit’s character arc, or that I want to believe that he’s a good person. Really, it’s mostly because of his phobias. How is a guy who started gagging at the sight of blood splattered on the floor supposed to be the one who orchestrated an entire death game? Could he get through the process of creating a brutal execution like Min’s without freezing up and freaking out? Even if he could do it, why would he? Sure, he didn’t seem to remember the fact that he had necrophobia until Xander died, but that might be even more of a problem. Wouldn’t the mastermind, who’s certainly had to consider the others’ deaths before, remember that they were afraid of death? He would almost certainly have to be lying about at least the scale of his reaction, although that’s probably a given if he is the mastermind.

Of course, there are mastermind subcategories that could better benefit Charles. If DRDT is actually a simulation, especially one in which the participants don’t actually die, that would definitely make it easier for him to be the one behind it. We’re also meant to believe that Charles has childhood amnesia, so he could have amnesia in other areas as well and be a mastermind who forgot they were one.

However, as I said before, I don’t particularly believe that DRDT is going to be a computer simulation or that Charles is an amnesiac mastermind. I just… don’t see this one in general.

#15: Xander Matthews

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not trying to argue that Xander is actually still alive. The concept that he would be able to fool not only Min, making her believe that she dealt him a fatal blow, but also everyone else as they identified his body, seems outlandish to me. However, just because Xander is dead doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have entered this game as the mastermind.

We know for a fact that Xander wanted to kill Teruko due to his dialogue regarding the note he received, which lines up well with the popular theory that Xander is the individual speaking in the first scene with the papers and the blood. If we assume he is that guy, then it may seem a little counterintuitive to think that the person who says “I have to end the killing game” would be the one behind the killing game. However, he also says, “Even if I can’t do that… I have to kill Teruko Tawaki,” implying that killing Teruko is of a higher priority than ending “the killing game.” Thus, if, for some reason, Xander thought that orchestrating the killing game was the only way to kill Teruko, it’s possible that he would be willing to let the death game roll for as long as it takes to eliminate his bigger target.

However, I can’t deny that the Xander mastermind theory has some massive flaws to it. For one, Xander is dead. I don’t think we’ve technically seen any evidence that the mastermind has to still be alive as of Chapter 2, but a mastermind-less Chapter 6 would be… an interesting challenge to write, to say the least. Also, while Xander betraying Teruko and the others was a great surprising hook the first time, if it happened again, it would be kind of… underwhelming, in my opinion. It’s the same kind of concept I brought up in my Eden’s Garden ranking:

Then, in Chapter 6, we’d be faced with the revelation that, wow, the mildly antagonistic character was actually a really antagonistic character all along! It just doesn’t seem like enough of a dramatic hook to me, I guess?

“Wow, the guy who betrayed Teruko and became a killer actually betrayed Teruko and was the mastermind all along! And now, he’s not even around to reap the social or karmic consequences of it!” You see.

And then, there is the literal interpretation of the text that Xander (if he is bloody hands man) obviously stands against the killing games. He’s also the Ultimate Rebel, someone who stands against corrupt institutions in general.

If Xander is revealed to be evil later down the line, it would make much more sense if it was as a traitor type. As for being the one and only mastermind, I think the odds are pretty low.

#14: Ace Markey

Hey, it’s another character that’s alive! And, this one doesn’t even have a crippling fear of death. However, he is a massive coward, and that’s the main thing that’s dragging him down for me.

Similar to Charles, what would Ace stand to gain from hosting a killing game such as this? Ace doesn’t seem to have any interest in notoriety, money, the destruction of society, despair, or any other things that I can think of that would motivate a typical mastermind. We’ve seen time and time again that Ace cares most about having control over both his life and how other people see him, even though he often fails on both fronts. I guess both of those things could be solved by hosting a killing game, but… Come on, there have gotta be easier ways to do that which don’t threaten your precious life.

Furthermore, what exactly would Ace being the mastermind have to say about the story as a whole? Jockey has to be in the running for “talents that are least relevant to a potential killing game host.” How about the idea that the mastermind nearly died in Chapter 2, only to go off the rails threatening and blaming his assailant? I… always knew that Nico was… fully in the right for doing that, because it would have killed the big bad early??? Ace Mastermind is the preferred ending for those who believe that Nico can do absolutely no wrong, lol.

I can’t remember where I saw it, but I once saw a theory of writing that said that there are two major kinds of character arcs. One is the typical character arc, where the narrative pushes a character's traits to change over the course of the story for better of for worse. The other, this theory posited, was an arc on the part of the viewer, where they learn that a character that they thought was flawed was actually not as flawed as they thought all along. You could potentially apply this kind of thing to Eden: in the first chapter, some people may have seen her as a dim-witted positive girl, but in Chapter 2, we firmly establish that her kindness is not stupidity and learn how her optimism is a strength.

So, you could say that the character arc DRDTdev is going for with Ace is something more like that, where we spend the entire game learning to treat him more seriously just in time for him to be a real threat as the mastermind? It still feels like a bit of a stretch, though– I don’t know exactly what Ace would do to make us take him more seriously that wouldn’t either send him on a growth arc not super befitting of a mastermind or wind up with him being a blackened. Ace as the mastermind certainly isn’t impossible, but I obviously found it unlikely enough that I placed him below one character who is currently (presumed) dead.

#13: Arturo Giles

Arturo’s role in the story so far is not very mastermind-ish, in my mind. In the prologue, we establish him as a cold and judgmental person who puts his own opinions of how the world works over everything else, especially how other people feel. This already feels like how a mastermind would act, so if he turned out to be the mastermind, it would be more of the same.

Then, in Chapter 2, we establish that he’s a massive simp for celebrities, to the point of transforming into something adjacent to comedic relief. We’re meant to think that his over-the-top sprites and refusal to actually listen to anything J is saying is hilariously pathetic. Other characters are constantly dunking on him, such as Teruko calling him a “bigoted” “crazy person,” and even the narrative gets in on the action when highlighting how he cares less about the fact that J’s life was at risk than that she didn’t come out of it with drip. Narratively, we’ve already seen these characters get the better of Arturo. If we the audience interpret that as confirmation that the surviving cast could easily beat Arturo should he ever come to stand in their way, it could diminish the stakes upon his mastermind reveal.

However, for all of his negatives, there are some definite positives to Arturo being the mastermind, too. Despite his comedic effects, we have seen through his threats to Eden that Arturo is very capable of being very scary in a way that I don’t think we have with Ace. The horror factor of a plastic surgeon as the mastermind could be a really fun and creepy design theme to explore. And, Arturo is obviously super obsessed with celebrities. If hosting a deadly TV show is what he thought it would take to get him in with the Hollywood celebrity scene, he might be willing to go for it.

I don’t really know why he would have made his secret what it is if he was going to get that upset about it, though. I guess if there just weren’t any better options that wouldn’t tip his hand…? Also, Arturo would blend in terribly as a survivor. If you’re heading into Chapter 6 and you have to pick the evil character out of (let me spin a wheel real quick...) Teruko, Eden, Rose, Charles, and Arturo, Arturo is definitely the evil one. (Okay, that was actually a terrible randomized draw for Arturo on the innocence front, but I hope you can imagine how he would oddly stick out of most groups.) Like I said in his death predictions, I find it hard to imagine a character arc for Arturo, which is why I find it hard to believe that he would make it as far as Chapter 6.

#12: Min Jeung

Honestly, if Min weren’t (most likely) dead, she might be pretty high on my list of mastermind choices. While not as suspicious as the Spurlings, XF-Ture Tech is pretty suspicious, even more so with the introduction of that one altDRDT character. Min is related to XF-Ture Tech, so if that company has anything to do with the operation of the killing game, she could have been the one behind it. Min is also very smart, and her talent has obvious applications for how it could have been used to set up/influence the killing game. The fact that her talent is so similar to Teruko’s, Ultimate Student versus Ultimate Lucky Student, could have also set them up for some great parallels and duality down the line.

However… Min’s role as the Chapter 1 killer throws a pretty big wrench in her chances. Beyond the dying part, Min’s role as the blackened was incredibly evitable. It’s not like she was thrown into a situation where she had to kill or be killed, or even one where a motive was particularly difficult for her. If she wanted to be the mastermind and survive until the end, all she had to do was walk away from Xander stabbing Teruko and pretend she never saw it. However, if Min’s goal was the inverse of ol’ Bloody Hands (keep the killing game running, but most importantly, keep Teruko alive), her actions could line up. And then, perhaps Min could have falsified her own execution early to draw suspicion off of her, much like Junko did by killing Mukuro.

Beyond her death, though, it’s really Min’s reaction to being the blackened that makes me think she can’t be the mastermind. The stellar voice acting in Min’s breakdown scenes makes me really believe both that this was the first time she had ever hurt anyone as gravely as she did to Xander, and that she fully believed that she was about to die. Those are two things that a mastermind, especially one headed into a fake execution, would not be feeling. Maybe Min memorized how to be a great actress too amongst all those textbooks, but I doubt it. I can still see several reasons why Min would have been a good mastermind, but her actual death and her reaction to being told she was dying knock her down several pegs in my mind.

#11: Hu Jing

Hu is a bit more suspicious to me than some others just because I think she has something to hide. Between her refusal to share whose secret she received or had herself, mysterious “I want to pay for what I’ve done” hidden quote, and intense desire to be relied upon, there’s definitely something about Hu as a person that the narrative has yet to uncover. Could that something be “Hu is the mastermind”? I dunno, maybe.

Hu also has a tendency to react to things with her temper. That could be a sort of foreshadowing to how she would act as the mastermind, much like how David’s brief spell of apathy during the prologue hinted at the way he would act further down the line. Hu’s defense of Nico could act much the same way. Our overall impression of Hu at this point is that, while she is a flawed person, she’s one of the nicest and morally best people in the game, who’s always looking out for others. Defending Nico to the point of babying them might cross the line a little, but she’s only trying to help everyone…! Hu could make it to the end as a believably heroic survivor and then reveal that all of her presumed poor decisions were actually active malice, and I think she could pull that off.

All that being said… I don’t, like, actually think that’s going to happen. In fact, I’m probably overexaggerating the extent to which people think that Hu is nice and morally good. I’ve seen several people discuss the unjust amounts of hate Hu gets in this fandom, which implies that a lot of people hate her, even if I haven’t particularly seen much of it myself. At the very least, I definitely over exaggerated the extent to which people believe Hu could survive! As implied in the death order predictions, I do personally think Hu is going to die, possibly as a consequence of getting too invested in everyone else’s business when they don’t want her to be and/or wearing herself too thin. There are paths which I believe could lead to Hu being the mastermind, but they seem to be the roads less likely traveled.

#10: David Chiem

While I have no doubts that David has the fame, charisma, and worldview to pull off a killing game… I’d have to wonder about how he would see himself playing into all of it. As we saw in Chapter 2, David knows that his career has a lot of value, possibly to himself but definitely to other people, and therefore, he doesn’t want to jeopardize it. In fact, the reveal of his manipulative secret was the inciting incident behind his massive change in characterization. So, if he were the mastermind of a televised killing game… How would he think that would play out to his viewers?

Now, to be fair, there’s a lot we don’t know about the worldbuilding of DRDT. MonoTV claims that the TV show will be broadcast to a widespread audience. Perhaps that indicates that, in the world of DRDT, publicly broadcasting talented young peoples’ violent deaths is normal, or even sought after. Maybe the cast of DRDT forgot about it.

However, David seems to think that people learning that he sees everyone as manipulable would do damage to his reputation, so it’s a bit of a contradiction either way. If the world has been wracked with despair and craves intense violence on TV, then David’s reaction to his secret is either an elaborate lie or the result of the mastermind erasing his own memories regarding the situation. (Or, I guess the public could see death as fine and dandy but manipulation as a cancellable offense, which is… one of the interpretations ever.) Otherwise, in the scenario that the DRDT world is a normal one, David wouldn’t care about being revealed as a manipulator if he’d already committed to the mastermind bit. If his career was already preemptively ruined by agreeing to commit literal murder, why get so worked up about the thought that people might abandon ship over you not being 100% honest?

And then, there’s also the whole “surprise factor” thing that I keep bringing up. Admittedly, it’s been a longer hiatus between the start of Chapter 2 and the end of Chapter 2 than DRDTdev might have been hoping for, but that doesn’t change the fact that this part of David’s characterization happened in Chapter 2. DRDT fans far and wide have written thousands of words gushing over “the David reveal” or “evil David.” If David were unveiled as the mastermind, we’d have to start writing stuff about “the first David reveal” or “when David showed his true colors again.” You see how it kind of takes the hype away from such major plot points? That’s the sort of concept I’ve been trying to get across with some of my other choices too, but a bit more clear cut.

I don’t know why I sound so much like a hater in this section (in my opinion) when I’m literally putting David at #10, above seven other characters. I guess it’s because I can see why his theatricality and traits foiling Teruko could make him a good mastermind, but also have some major issues with the logistics of him getting there. A lot of good points versus a lot of bad points settle out to him winding up someone in the middle.

#9: Levi Fontana

With our first single digit number, we’ve also reached our midway point of mastermind candidates: Levi!

Levi would be a really interesting mastermind choice because of how his character centers around grappling with his morality. I think it would be really intriguing to have a mastermind outwardly struggling with their attempts and failures to be a good person throughout the entire game, only for the player and the characters to receive the full context of the debacle at the very end. I guess in this situation, it would be pretty likely that Levi would be redeemed at the end? That’s not necessarily a problem. (Honestly, I don’t know if I think the DRDT mastermind could be redeemed or not based on the fangan’s themes… that’s a post for another day, perhaps.)

Anyways, I think that what we know of Levi’s backstory could work well with him being the mastermind. If he does have the “murderer without remorse” secret, that would be in line with orchestrating a killing game. We also know that he’s “been disowned” and that he and his family were “all bad influences on each other.” We’re meant to assume that Levi was fortunate enough to escape a bad/abusive situation (and in all likelihood this IS what actually happened!!!!), but we are hearing about the situation from his point of view alone. There is a small possibility that, if Levi is actually a despair enjoyer, his family cut him out because they thought he was a danger to their lives.

I will reiterate again, though, that I don’t think this is the case. Levi seems like he’s a chill guy, or at least that he’s trying very hard to be one despite how he’s been told to react all his life. The whole “mastermind wanting to become a good person” lens also makes less sense given how channeled Levi’s development is through Ace. Like, I would imagine that, if this were the angle DRDTdev was going for, Levi would be making an effort to get along with everyone as part of his atonement. The mastermind randomly choosing to focus on just one person out of the crowd seems kind of strange, especially when that person is someone as disagreeable as Ace. That kind of plot would have big “the mafia CEO vampire prince fell head over heels in love with me, the random average girl” vibes. Repenting mastermind Levi is the preferred ending for pining lovers to enemies to lovers AceVi shippers, lol.

And then there’s the part where I think he’s going to die. I don’t think Levi is the worst mastermind choice, but I think there are better out there.

#8: Nico Hakobyan

Yay, we finally got to one of the characters that Anon thought was suspicious! It only took… 7k+ words. Oh boy.

I definitely think that the cat coding is the strongest thing that Nico has going for them. It would be pretty funny if the extent to which “Ultimate Pet Therapist” is relevant to the plot is the climactic reveal that “yeah Nico has been talking to a (robotic) animal the whole time.” That’s a joke, as Ultimate Pet Therapist is already quite relevant to Nico’s characterization as someone who prefers communicating with animals over people, but it would be funny as hell from a character designing perspective.

There are less silly reasons to believe that Nico is the mastermind too, though. While it seems like, similar to David, pulling the trigger on Nico’s change in behavior in Chapter 2 would be a bit early, I don’t think it’s as destructive to mastermind Nico as it is to mastermind David. There’s a lot more doubt in people’s minds that Nico even did anything to Ace, to the extent that a decent number of people (in the story and out of it) think that it was someone else trying to kill Ace entirely. Nico also has a stalwart defender in Hu, which adds an extra level of intrigue to the situation. Instead of confirming that everyone was right to be suspicious of David, at least some amount of focus could be placed onto Hu being wrong for trusting Nico and failing to see someone’s true colors again, which could be interesting for her characterization if she was alive at that point.

On the other hand, the biggest reason that I think Nico isn’t the mastermind is also because of the attempted Ace murder. Why would Nico, as the mastermind, try to kill Ace at this time? If Nico wins the Class Trial, then the killing game is over, which is probably counter to the mastermind’s goals. If Nico loses the Class Trial, well, we’ll say that the possibility of Nico dying isn’t an issue, as they could just fake their own death or deny entering the execution. But still, why?

It could be that Nico was trying to remove themselves from the killing game on purpose, but I don’t see why it would be necessary. No one was particularly suspicious of Nico being the mastermind, and if they were worried about their gender identity getting out, they could have simply made their secret something else. A mastermind could kill to avoid the killing game falling into a standstill, but tensions were really high at the time that Ace almost died! With a full day left to go before the motive secrets were revealed, such drastic action wasn’t yet forced. I guess the best option would be that Nico was just really angered by what Ace said, and wanted to retaliate as part of their vicious mastermind nature. Is that worth taking yourself out of the killing game and risking the show’s termination, though…?

There is also the possibility that Nico is the mastermind, but didn’t try to kill Ace. In that case, suspicion of Nico would be such a huge in-universe coincidence that I’m doubtful DRDTdev would have included it as a major plot point.

Speaking of “show’s termination,” I also don’t know why Nico would have any involvement in creating a TV show, both from a backstory/talent perspective and a personality one. Nico doesn’t like interacting with people. Therefore, I don’t know what would possess them to want to create and join a TV show for which the major draw is a big stressful discussion between a bunch of people.

I guess I had fewer reasons why I thought Nico would be the mastermind than I thought. I would love to hear more details about why you suspect Nico though, Anon! I’m definitely willing to believe that they could be the mastermind.

#7: Eden Tobisa

Make no mistake, I still think that Eden is the Chapter 2 killer. However, in the case that she isn’t… mastermind isn’t a terrible choice for her.

The biggest draw of Eden being the mastermind would definitely be the shock value. The seemingly nicest character suddenly being revealed as the mastermind would create a huge hurdle for the surviving characters to overcome. Teruko especially, given that she probably would have grown at least a tad closer to Eden if they survived five chapters together. It would be a little mean to give Teruko a trustworthy friend just to rip it away from her again, but I could see the opportunity being used to highlight Teruko’s growth. When Xander and Min betrayed Teruko, she panicked and shut everyone out, but when Eden betrays Teruko at the very end, she’s able to remain strong and rely on the other friends who she continues to trust. Or DRDT could have an unconventional feel-bad ending, I suppose.

If some kind of time loop is at play within DRDT, then Eden’s talent would obviously be thematically and perhaps practically relevant as well. I could see a lot of comparisons being made regarding a killing game being run “like clockwork.” Her secret quote “you can’t go back, no matter how hard you try” is... actually kind of anti-time loop, but at least the concept of going back in time is somewhat related…? Speaking of secret quotes, her Mai quote, “she kept calling the number, even though no one picked it up” is also really weird. That suspicious hidden evidence could point to her being the mastermind.

However, Eden’s personality is a pretty major issue when it comes to her being the mastermind. Shock value is great in the moment, but it can ring hollow in retrospect if people find that the twist doesn’t make any sense. Masterminds aren’t typically known for their kindness or optimism. So, if Eden is the mastermind, it seems like her whole “even if this world is cruel, I’ll still make the choice to be kind” speech is a complete lie. And, that would be a shame! I don’t think that having an unexpected mastermind at the end of the game is worth the cost of completely demolishing a character that we’ve come to know and love over the course of six chapters and several years. (I’m not saying that complete demolition has to be the case if Eden is the mastermind, but I think it’s a reasonable worry that many people have.)

And, I know that all this talk about how wonderful Eden is might sound rich coming from someone who strongly believes that she just killed someone who wanted to be her best friend. But, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? As someone who thinks that Eden is the killer, I know very well how a lot of people have a really hard time believing that Eden could do something as terrible as killing Arei. I can only imagine how hard it would be to accept that Eden was the one who put Arei, Min, Teruko, and everyone else in danger, and the one pulling the strings behind every execution.

Eden as the mastermind, to me, is more tempting in concept than it would be viable in execution. And also, I don’t even think she’s going to live to see the light of Chapter 3 day. However, there’s also some definite emotional power behind the accusation that makes me see how shooting for this ambitious choice could be worth it in the long run.

#6: Whit Young

Alright, it’s finally time to talk about Whit. I know that he’s a really popular mastermind choice, but… I just don’t see it, personally. Even though I put him at 6th place. (I do not enjoy putting him in 6th place.) Is that just because he’s my favorite and I’m attached to my interpretation of the character? Perhaps. But, I’d still like to explore some points that I find faulty.

Perhaps the biggest reason behind suspicion of Whit that I’ve seen is the way that he breaks the fourth wall. People connect his asking people to pause for the evidence list to MonoTV invoking similar mechanics, and lines such as “do you really think she’d be hanging out in the playground” to him knowing more than he’s letting on. However, there are a couple of ways that this accusation can be depowered, in my opinion.

Firstly, Whit isn’t the only person who says stuff like this. Veronika alludes to the killing game before it begins, Teruko also breaks the fourth wall to tell the viewer to pause (albeit only in her thoughts, not out loud), and Arei makes the same kind of “hanging” wordplay in Eden’s flashback that Whit did. I won’t say that characters addressing the fourth wall can’t be important at all, because I believe there are some moments where the other characters commentate on how weird it is that MonoTV is talking to no one. However, I also think that breaking the fourth wall may simply be part of DRDTdev’s humor, as exemplified by that “make sure to like and subscribe so that Teruko has enough mental strength to carry on” joke. Whit is a funny guy, so it just makes sense that if DRDTdev’s brain generates funny meta jokes, Whit would get some of them. Everything that Whit says reminds me more of Mia AceAttorney saying “hit tab to open the Court Record” than some sort of groundbreaking DDLC-Undertale direct communication with the viewer. However, I can see why others would think otherwise.

The second is that I think some of Whit’s comments (more so the “dead at 3” and “hanging in the playground” than the pause) are just meant to showcase his intuition. And, yeah, it could be that DRDTdev has been leaving crumbs of Whit’s intuition behind so that in Chapter 6, he can use it to exploit everyone’s insecurities and greatest despair. To me, though, Whit’s intuition has always reminded me of the myth of Cassandra.

For those who don’t know, Cassandra is a figure in Greek mythology who was blessed/cursed to receive prophecies, but for no one to ever believe them. By my interpretation, Whit is a really smart and perceptive guy who has strikingly accurate gut feelings about how things will play out down the road, even when he doesn’t realize it himself. However, the curse of his own coping mechanism– choosing to act like an eternally cheerful goofball– leads the majority of the other students, and perhaps some of the viewers, to never take his point of view seriously. He can only realize the accuracy behind what he said after the bad things have already happened, leading him to blame himself more and more for not being able to speak up and help when times were tough.

This kind of behavior would line up with two different themes we’ve seen from Whit before. The first, that when he jokes around without thinking, he can accidentally say hurtful things that he later reprimands himself for. We saw that when Charles blew up at him at the end of their shared FTE. The second is Whit’s major theme of good things hiding a darker undercurrent. Being the Ultimate Matchmaker is great until you’ve never had a successful relationship yourself. Having an awesome mom is great until the truth comes out that she’s actually dead, and you’ve been covering it up. Growing super close to someone is great until he dies. Having an amazing intuition and understanding of everyone is great until you can never actually use it to help those you care about. Joking around is great until it's all you can do. Pretending everything is fine is great until it’s not.

Like I said, very specific interpretation. I promise I was not citing classical literature to make my argument sound smarter than it actually is. I am aware that my interpretation of Whit is no less or more valid than everyone else’s. However, it’s one that I hold very close to my heart, and thus, I personally have a hard time seeing around it.

However, I’ve also seen a lot of people argue some valid points for Whit, so I can at least acknowledge that he deserves to be in the upper echelon of choices. There’s a lot of weird stuff regarding him in Literature Girl Insane, and he’s certainly an option of someone who felt so much grief that they became totally empty inside as shown in that one hidden quote. I would be appropriately surprised and heartbroken if Whit revealed himself as the mastermind in Chapter 6, so he checks the box in that regard. There isn’t anything from his backstory that opposes the notion that he set up the killing game, and, to quote what I said about our other Ultimate Matchmaker, Toshiko…

While Ultimate Matchmaker might seem like a silly talent to give the mastermind, it could also be a ruse to distract us from the fact that [Whit] has a talent that allows [him] to read people well and make choices that will impact their lives dramatically.

I don’t like it, but I can see the argument… kind of. To me, most mastermind Whit interpretations feel like mischaracterization, but as a theorist, I always try to keep in mind that I’m the one who could be twisting the text to my whims as well. In this my-opinions-based list, though, he’s not getting any higher than 6th.

#5: Veronika Grebenshchikova

Ooh, what spooky art for a spooky mastermind. Let’s be real, though, Veronika is way too obvious of a mastermind candidate to actually be the mastermind. Unless… she’s so obvious that she loops back around to not being obvious, and thus, is the perfect mastermind candidate?!

Veronika is in a really weird place. I obviously have no doubts that she would have any moral qualms about hosting a killing game, because she’s told us herself that she doesn’t. She knows what Monokuma is in immense detail, but claims to have no idea what a killing game is. She’s dressed really similarly to Junko, though. Is that just a coincidence? Are giant pigtails also a symbol of fear in the DRDTverse? I need ANSWERS, LADY!!!

The biggest problem I see with Veronika is the potential for obviousness. Similar to Arturo, if she actually made it to Chapter 6, I feel like it would be pretty obvious what’s going on. An oddball like Veronika is not the typical survivor type (although she could break the mold). Because Teruko’s character arc is all about trusting people, it would make sense if the reveal of the mastermind was someone who challenged her trust to some degree. With Veronika being obviously unhinged the whole time, I don’t think that Teruko would have any particular difficulties with kicking her to the curb.

However, Veronika clearly has the motive to start a killing game, and potentially to spread despair. DRDT has taken inspiration from Trigger Happy Havoc in the past, so it could make sense if DRDT’s mastermind was also inspired by THH’s. Having a so-obvious-it’s-not-obvious mastermind could also be another way to mess with theorists like me, as DRDTdev did with the comments section portion of Literature Girl Insane. “bro Veronika being the mastermind would be WAY too obvious” sounds EXACTLY like “I just hope XXXXXX doesn’t go crazy and kill in chapter 3. That would be way too predictable” or “XXXXX will obviously die in ch5”. If part of the point of DRDT is to make know-it-all analysts rethink the rules they believe to be set in stone, I could see Veronika as a subversive choice.

Veronika definitely seems to be building up to something, but I don’t know if being the mastermind is exactly it. I think that Veronika could make it pretty late into the game, but I still struggle to see her making it all the way to Chapter 6. I would absolutely love to see what DRDTdev does with her writing if that is the case, though.

#4: Mai Akasaki

(Well, now I feel bad that I’ve never made a colored portrait of Mai.)

As you may have noticed back at our first entry, Arei, I started the countdown off at seventeen, not sixteen. (If you didn’t remember that, I don’t blame you– it was a WHILE ago.) That’s because I thought it was only fair to include DRDT’s best kept(?) secret, the lovely Unnamed Student herself, Mai Akasaki, as an option! Because, man, is she mysterious in some suspicious ways.

“But, didn’t MonoTV tell the students that the mastermind was one of them? Mai isn’t one of the students in the killing game (unless prosopagnosia is REALLY going crazy), so she can’t be the mastermind, right?” Well, yes and no. The scene where MonoTV confirms the existence of the mastermind is SUPER weird. Let’s take a look at it.

On one hand, MonoTV is still in the Movie Screening Room, where it was JUST talking to the student body, so it would only stand to reason that it’s a continuation of the scene we just saw. However, the setting also seems to be doing everything in its power to tell us that this is NOT the same scene we just saw. The lights have been turned off, even though they were on in the scene just before this. They return to being on in the first scene of Chapter 1, which the students treat as being directly after the scene during which the lights were on before. The widget denoting the time, chapter, and episode has completely disappeared, placing this at an even more unknown time than “Time Unknown.” The text indicating that the speaker is MonoTV has even disappeared! I mean, I assume that MonoTV is still the one saying it, considering that it’s on screen and the speech bubble is pointing right at it, but we don’t even know that for sure!

Additionally, MonoTV refers to the viewers directly (“dear viewers”) two speech bubbles after this one, which makes it seem more like MonoTV is talking to us the audience rather than the students in the room. But then, if the mastermind is “one of you,” and MonoTV is talking to us, wouldn’t that mean the mastermind is someone in the audience? That could lead in to some really meta interpretations of the text (i.e. “DRDTdev is the mastermind of DRDT because he’s the one who created the killing game”) or it could indicate that I’ve gone fully off the rails.

A midpoint between those two ideas is that the mastermind is part of the in-universe audience watching the killing game, as in, a fictional character who is watching the real-to-them TV show that is Danganronpa: Despair Time. That could include Mai, a very notable character who is not one of the sixteen participants in the killing game.

Side note, I’ve seen some people fight back against the concept that Mai could be the mastermind with the idea that making the mysterious character the mastermind would be too obvious. While I sort of agree, I feel like we’re somewhat overestimating the extent to which Mai is obvious. It’s not like no casual viewers would know who she is, because her image was shown pretty obviously in Chapter 1. However, the name “Mai Akasaki” is only accessible by finding the hidden quotes on the optional associated website’s character profiles. To learn anything about her beyond that, you have to have the thought to type the name into the website URL, and then solve another puzzle just to see the bare bones of what’s there.

I’m not trying to assert any sort of dominance or superiority over DRDT fans on YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, or anything else, but from what I’ve gathered, Tumblr is the place you want to go for deep analysis and theories on DRDT (possibly because of Tumblr’s longer word count). Therefore, anything about DRDT that may seem like common knowledge on Tumblr may only be common knowledge to the fans who specifically bothered to come to the deep lore and crack theories website to find deep lore and crack theories. Essentially, this:

Sort of similar to what Gravity Falls did with the reveal of Bill Cipher back in 2012 (at least I think, I wasn’t actually in the Gravity Falls fandom at that time), I think it would be reasonable to plant clues about an overarching villain that people who want to analyze can analyze ahead of time, such that the villain’s arrival can come as a victory to the puzzle solvers and an exciting new development to the more casual viewers.

However, while I believe that Mai has an awesome setup that she could use to become the mastermind, whether she would actually fit the role is another question entirely. As I alluded to back in the first Mai paragraph, I’m rolling with the widely held (among theorizers) belief that the Unnamed Student in Xander and Min’s bonus episodes is supposed to be Mai. In those episodes, Mai seems to be incredibly caring, peppy, and sweet. She knows a ton of little heartwarming details about Min and Xander, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the same is shown to be true with Arei and whoever else’s bonus episodes in the future. Those hidden quotes on Mai’s profile also give off the impression that everyone in the cast really loves Mai– one could call them a “portrait of a person dearly loved,” perhaps.

While it’s possible that these scenes are supposed to highlight Mai’s social prowess and how much she can get people to fall in love with her, they… don’t really seem to be giving off those vibes. We see her thoughts in those bonus videos, and she really does seem to be dedicated to helping Min and Xander out. Mai’s change from someone who wanted nothing more than to help out her friends to someone who was willing to throw all of them into the killing game is something that would have to be explained, and it could be difficult to communicate that shift within the confines of bonus material, if Mai’s content is mostly kept there. There is the concept that Mai could have put her friends into a killing game to protect them somehow, which could be a way to avoid Mai’s character seemingly doing a total 180, but that rationale would need a lot of explanation too.

Otherwise, there’s also the problem that Mai is almost certainly dead. I won’t get super into it myself, because the amazing @1moreff-creator has already done a great job explaining why here (starts in the XI. God is Dead section). I don’t think I need to elaborate on why Mai being dead potentially before the killing game even began would be detrimental to the idea of her being the mastermind.

To be honest, I don’t know how much this idea actually makes sense. I think I’m personally more inclined to believe that Mai could be the mastermind just because I really don’t get mastermind vibes from pretty much anybody in the cast. If the mastermind simply wasn’t one of the members of the main cast, that could solve that issue, right…? Mai is very likely involved in the inception of the killing game somehow, so extending that role to one of being the mastermind isn’t the biggest stretch. However, her personality and living status do throw in some pretty big question marks, so I don’t think she should go any higher.

#3: Teruko Tawaki

Teruko was definitely the first character who I believed could be the mastermind after I watched the series for the first time. However, over time, I’ve sort of fallen off of the idea that she would be. Is that because I’m forgetting key details of the plot, or because I’m drifting closer to the truth…? Honestly, I have no idea.

Let’s start with the strongest “evidence” we have against Teruko, her motive secret: “How could I even select which secret to make your motive? Just about everything you’ve done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault.” Although “the killing game [being] all [Teruko’s] fault” sounds pretty damning, there’s the obvious counterargument to be made that this isn’t even Teruko’s motive. In fact, the board currently shows it assigned to Xander. However, the majority of people (including myself) seem to believe that David was lying, and this secret is Teruko’s. So, let’s analyze under that assumption.

Teruko did admit to Veronika that she doesn’t know what secret could be used as her motive because there were so many. Even if that motive secret isn’t hers, that still means that Teruko has done a lot of shady stuff. Teruko’s decision to live on set forever could line up with the mastermind's goal of wanting to keep the cameras rolling as well. The very first scene of DRDT shows that someone who wants the killing game to end also wants Teruko dead, which implies that Teruko and the killing games are on the same side.

Teruko also has a prior history of concealing things about herself from us, the viewing audience. We knew basically nothing about her past or trust issues before Xander stabbed her, causing her sudden change in attitude to come as a blindside. Teruko apparently has a “risky” killing game-ending plan in mind for the end of the second Class Trial that she’s told us absolutely nothing about. And, most notably, Teruko clearly knows things about Mai that she’s decided not to share with viewers at home. (I do believe that Teruko genuinely can’t remember Mai’s name, but she does remember that Mai is similar to Xander and wanted to help, which is more than anything we would have known from the main text on our own).

Point is, DRDT is written in a way where we don’t hear a ton of Teruko’s thoughts. That would make it much easier for her to scheme something behind the scenes, as opposed to someone who we get a lot of emotional reactions or logical theorizing from. It’s actually kind of similar to the difference between Kaede and Shuichi’s styles of narration, as pointed out by ShortOneGaming in their impeccable v3 playthrough! I recommend watching their entire letsplay if you're in the mood for v3, but I found one time where they talked about this concept here. I’ll transcribe it for anyone who doesn’t want to open YouTube right now:

Gina: I do want to call– as my final sort of note– what’s interesting is that you called out immediately that Kaede’s narration was weird. That, it was always, like– dictation? Allison: Yes! Gina: It’s always, like, speaking directly to a person– Allison: Yes! Yes, I did say– It never really felt like actual internal monologue. Like, she never was expressing her thoughts or anything to us. I mean, yes, she was, but then there were those weird moments where she was, like… y’know, hiding it from the player, and… probably from herself, too, to some extent. Like, she was just like, “and then I had to go do this thing.” Um, and like, “we won’t really address how I’m feeling about this.” Gina: Yep. Allison: And at the same time, it hides it from the– the player. And that was very clever. Really good. I mean, her– yeah, her narration was always kind of weird. But, she did have moments where she had internal reflection.

Hopefully, you can see the comparison. By putting a greater emphasis on actions as opposed to what Teruko is feeling (“I kneeled down and touched his neck” after finding Ace’s presumed-dead body; “Everyone else started filtering in” when people walk into the Playground and find Arei’s corpse), it becomes much easier to have Teruko hide exactly what she knows or exactly how she feels about certain events. It’s actually the opposite of the kind of narration that Damon had (“I’m trapped in a killing game… with people who despise me. How… how did this happen? I just wanted to help… I wanted to make sure we didn’t trust each other too easily… and now I’m being treated like the bad guy” after the 0th Class Trial) that made me believe he wasn’t the mastermind!

So, do I think that Teruko would be a mastermind who remembers, or a mastermind who forgot? Well, I could kind of see it either way. Personally, I think that Teruko being a mastermind whose memories are intact is the more interesting version, and I do believe it’s possible. I also don’t understand why someone with as many trust issues as Teruko has would want to remove her own memories if it weren’t necessary. Then again, Teruko being an amnesiac mastermind could make up for some of the… issues that arise with her as a mastermind candidate.

What? She’s in third place, not first. Despite how long I’ve already talked about Teruko, there’s still more to say!

First, the problems if Teruko did retain her memories: why would she ask MonoTV about the mastermind’s identity when the two were alone? Why would she be creating a plan to end the killing game? Why would she pretend to not know who Mariabella Rosales was even though everyone else clearly knew?

And then, the problems that persist even if Teruko did lose her memories: where would Teruko have gotten the resources to plan a killing game of this caliber? Even if she had them, why would she use it on this? Assuming that secret is hers, why would she write that about herself in a plausibly public place (beyond the swapping, Arei looked over Whit’s shoulder)?

Oh yeah, back to that secret. Just because “the killing game is all [Teruko’s] fault” doesn’t mean that she’s the one who planned it. In fact, the wording sounds very accusatory and hostile for something that Teruko would have theoretically written to herself. From the first scene, we already know that there is a person or group of people somewhere who are out to get Teruko. It could make more sense if that entity is the mastermind, and wrote the secret to blame Teruko for whatever she did that got her on their bad side.

There’s probably more to be said, but hopefully you can see why I have so many mixed feelings about Teruko. I definitely think she’s one of the more likely mastermind candidates out there, but I still don’t know exactly how likely that is, y’know?

#2: Rose Lacroix

Once upon a time, a wise and powerful theory alchemist known only by the epithet @1moreff-creator postulated that Rose could be the mastermind of Despair Time, and then never elaborated on the idea at all. For centuries (a couple of weeks) the townsfolk (me) were baffled by these dark and mysterious ramblings. However, as seasons passed by, as travelers came and went, as the tide advanced to kiss the land before slinking back to its home once more– the idea… started making more and more sense?

Rose is a really smart character who has already shown her proficiency in Class Trials. In the first, she utilized her ability to perfectly capture the scene and her knowledge of chromatography. Although her talents haven’t been as useful so far in the second, she’s still managed to keep up with the conversation despite never looking at the scene of the crime. Thus, I can see why, from a writing perspective, DRDTdev would choose to make his mastermind the Ultimate Art Forger.

There’s also the angle that Rose is a criminal, and therefore could be willing to do illegal or immoral things. However, she does seem to be pretty remorseful about it, and she’s already been caught for her criminal behavior before. Unfortunately for her, her relationship with her saviors the Spurlings only makes her all the more suspicious. Even if Rose didn’t want to be the mastermind of a killing game, if the Spurlings forced her to do it, she might have not had a choice. (Xander is very against the Spurlings… Xander is bloody hands guy → stop the killing game → stop the Spurlings?)

I also like the angle of “the Spurlings forced her to do it” because of what I talked about back in Mai’s section– the concept of the mastermind not being among the students. In Rose’s case, you can get the best of both worlds. The entity behind the killing game, the Spurling Foundation, would be a group outside of the killing game for MonoTV to contact, but there would still be a student among the cast’s ranks to suspect and accuse come Chapter 6.

What’s the argument against Rose? Well, I would ask why Rose would want to put herself in this kind of situation, but if it was the Spurlings’ choice, then that explains that. You could say Rose has been too helpful to be a bad guy, but everything she’s done so far has been to help the students win a Class Trial. That keeps the killing game running, which keeps the show on. The biggest problem I’m thinking of at the moment is the notion that the Spurling Foundation would have chosen to make Rose’s secret about how her backstory led her into their clutches. However, the secret doesn’t actually acknowledge the Spurlings by name, and it also frames Rose’s crimes in a way that makes her look like a good person– the opposite of what someone would think of as a mastermind. The secret was also only intended for Rose’s eyes, so it could have functioned as more of a low-key threat to remind her why she needs to stay in line.

Shouldn’t all of this talk of Rose lacking agency make her a bad mastermind candidate, though? If a villain doesn’t even believe in their villainous motivations, the story could end on a really flat note, with the good guys steamrolling an evildoer who doesn’t really care. How are we supposed to reach a satisfying conclusion if the mastermind hardly has anything to be held accountable for?

Those are normally things I would argue, but as many have pointed out, Teruko isn’t a normal protagonist. Actually, I think that this kind of mastermind setup for Rose could be a great way to end Teruko’s arc about learning to trust other people. Rose is the mastermind, somebody who shouldn’t be trusted…! It would be so easy for Teruko to just crush this person who betrayed her into dust– Rose isn’t even putting up much of a fight. But in the end, Teruko will choose to be patient, and see that Rose never wanted to betray Teruko. Even if her actions wound up hurting Teruko and many others, she still deserves a second chance, or at least a second evaluation.

As you saw in the death predictions, I obviously believe that Rose has the potential to make a late game run, whether as a survivor or something else. Writing all of this out, I can see even more clearly why Rose just might be the DRDT mastermind. However, despite all that I wrote, the idea still feels kinda more like a fun AU than the actual truth to me…? So, I still think there’s one person whose chances I like slightly better.

#1: J Rosales

Whaddya know, J’s personal ??? tier catapulted her into the lead. It is probably true that my uncertainty about where she might land is contributing to me deeming her the mastermind– it’s a really weird space in the kill order, as someone who survives long enough to theoretically have a positive character arc while sometimes not being counted among the survivors at the end.

Part of why I put J this high is that I really like the theory of J being the mastermind along with her brother, Ryan. Sadly, I cannot find any of the original theories that postulated this idea to link to, so I’ll try my best to explain what I remember myself. Basically, some people found the scene in c1e4 where Rose doesn’t remember who J is suspicious. They combined this scene with J’s younger brother, Ryan, and J’s talent, the Ultimate Effects Artist, to suggest that J could be using her FX talents to disguise Ryan as herself and have them occasionally trade places. From this Q&A, one of the few things we know about Ryan is that he enjoys crossdressing, which furthers the idea that he could enjoy pretending to be J. Ryan is also (to my memory) the only DRDT character’s sibling whose name we have seen in the main text, which could indicate that he’s more important than Arei’s sisters, Levi’s brothers, or other potential siblings.

I think it’s a really fun idea that I would at the very least want to see come to fruition, regardless of how likely it is. If J was working with Ryan, you can once again repeat the argument that there’s both a mastermind for MonoTV to talk to outside the game and one to be accused within the game. The biggest issue with it is that I don’t know how Arturo wouldn’t see the differences between the two, even if Rose may have. Maybe if J and Ryan haven’t swapped since the Rosales secret got out, and won’t swap again until Arturo dies…? I don’t know, I’m getting ahead of myself.

The thing is, other than just being a unique and interesting concept, I’m not really sure what the point of having J and Ryan swap would be, in universe or out of it. (This is why I wish I could’ve found a link to the original theorist... :,( ) My best argument for in universe would be that there are some things that only J has the skill to do, her being the Ultimate Effects Artist while Ryan is not. However, they couldn’t just have Ryan be the one in the killing game full-time, because he’s too young and therefore wouldn’t have been part of the original Hope’s Peak class. Thus, there are some points in time where J needs to be working behind the scenes (like on the executions or something), and during those intervals, Ryan subs in. Metatextually, I guess it could show how every person in the entertainment industry can be cutthroat, or that every child of a celebrity is bound to get messed up about it somehow…?

Regardless, even if Ryan isn’t involved at all, there are plenty of reasons to suspect J on her own. Ultimate Effects Artist is a highly suspicious talent when it comes to the deception of a killing game (just check out how many people think J already used it to kill Arei), and in connecting her to Hollywood. J may claim to specialize in theater as opposed to television, but 1) she could have been lying, or 2) that could be true, but she’s making an exception this time. Even if she normally works in live theater, if you were a TV executive approached by the daughter of Mariabella Rosales who is also a Hope’s Peak Ultimate student in her own right, would you really turn her away…?

J’s custom weapon is also pretty suspicious. Even if it doesn’t seem to be able to trigger traps like the one used on Levi (though that could be another lie), I could still see it being pretty helpful for subtly operating MonoTV, turning on a monitor, starting an execution, or stuff like that. Charles essentially confirms that the custom weapons were in the students’ rooms since they all woke up, which means that J could have had this remote on her the entire time.

J’s relationships also seem potentially mastermind-y. Thus far, the two characters with which she’s been associated most are Arei and Arturo. Those two (at least, prior to Arei’s change of heart) have been so clearly villainous and hateful that J would obviously look like a nice person in comparison. Why is this helpful? It means that J can get away with doing more objectionable things without raising any huge red flags. If J is the mastermind, we can look back on her demolition of Arturo in the Chapter 2 Trial as a brief early glimpse into how cruel she can really be. But, for the moment, although it’s definitely memorable, many people (including myself) can react to it with a, “yeah, but based on what Arturo was doing to her, it’s kinda justified…” (Not saying it isn’t somewhat justified either way, just that it could also be something more.)

J could also have a range of motivations related to her hatred for her mom. Maybe she’s trying to turn people against the Rosales name to ruin Mariabella’s reputation. Maybe this killing game is a plan to finally have a big artistic success all on her own (or with Ryan) to prove her mom wrong. Maybe she thinks that a world so enamored with fame and glamor deserves to rot in a pit of despair. I don’t know which of these options would be the most likely, but I could see how any of them could be possible explanations for how J got to this point.

I think my biggest argument against J once again comes back to the “why”. I think that J has a lot of potential to be a good mastermind, but I don’t know if that carries over to being a good mastermind for Teruko. Unlike with Rose, I don’t have a good sense of how J being the mastermind would tie into a satisfying ending to Teruko’s trust arc.

@venus-is-thinking and I sometimes like to run randomized killing games as a fun writing exercise (randomize the cast, motives, and mastermind; see where it takes you), and we’ve generally found that the most compelling protagonist-mastermind duos either have the protagonist sharing the same worldview with the mastermind, or being the only person who believes the opposite.

If the protagonist starts with the same beliefs as the mastermind, then defeating the mastermind is a showcase of the protagonist’s development. Hajime and Izuru work as protagonist and mastermind because Izuru is the manifestation of Hajime’s belief that only talented people are important and can make an impact on the world. By renouncing Izuru, Hajime proves that he’s learned that anyone has the chance to change their future if they put in the effort.

If the protagonist has the opposite opinions from the mastermind, then it proves how crucial the protagonist is to the narrative because they are the only one who could deliver the critical message. A great example of this is Shuichi and Tsumugi. When Tsumugi tries to set up the conflict of “hope good, despair bad” that will keep the killing games going, all of the other surviving students fall for it. Shuichi being the only character who has spent the entire game learning the importance of balancing two extremes makes his callout of Tsumugi incredibly satisfying, and justifies the protagonist swap by proving that Shuichi is the only hero who could have saved this day.

That’s why I think that J would be a great mastermind for a protagonist who has issues with family or stardom, but might not be the best choice for a story with Teruko at the helm. Those are only my observations, though, so I’d understand if DRDTdev planned things differently.

And that is finally the end! Here’s the final tierlist I wound up working off of, which I fiddled with a TON while writing:

(It’s based off of Ocean Unknown’s tierlist!)

Since this has already gone on so long, I’ll try to keep the conclusion brief. Please take all of this with a grain of salt, as I wound up making a lot of claims about writing that don’t necessarily have the strongest foundation. I didn’t write anything that I think is blatantly false, obviously, but whether it’s good advice or not doesn’t necessarily mean that DRDTdev considered it. We may have different priorities in telling a compelling story. And, we’re less than two chapters in! Even the end of the Chapter 2 trial could throw a positive or negative wrench in any of these profiles.

Thank you so much for reading through this whole thing, and if you got through it and still have anything you want me to elaborate on further (a specific character, a specific theory, a specific aspect of fangan writing, etc), I would be happy to do so. I, uh, really hope that this answered the question that Anon asked, haha. Until next time… stay wary. There could be masterminds lurking about...!

#drdt #drdt spoilers #danganronpa despair time

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spidermilkshake · 1 year ago

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Rethink Gemini--Chapter 1

(This is an AU Buso Renkin fanfiction, with an alternate canon that massively subverts the source material! Read at one's own risk of confusion and/or entertainment!)

Trigger Warnings for this story: References to death, references to child abuse including systemic child abuse.

10:29 p.m., Monday, June 24th 2002

Night, though not a dark one. Moonlight—and a lot of it—streamed down on Ginsei, the modest-sized city in the western part of Saitama Prefecture. Tonight, the luminous orb had risen with a distinctive and smoky-blue tint to it. The Blue Moon, the literal kind and not the quite common occurrence of the “Blue Moon”—the second full moon in a single month. Semantics of selenophilia aside, it was a beautiful, clear night. The Japanese summer’s usual fierce heat and humidity had eased back a few degrees and now the faint breezes rustling through the uptown nature park were balmy and comfortable. Perfect, and lit with the full moon’s shimmering face looking down upon the Earth and its creatures.

Not all the Earth’s denizens met the moon’s gaze, but one such creature admired upwards, minutes at a time between ambling lengths of brush-lined pathways. He was instantly recognizable—passably human, as most of his kind of course were, but close scrutiny showed those hints of inhuman nature beyond just being “strange” or possibly disfigured. This was slight, subtle, but impossible for the result of some surgery, disease or accident. Lanky legs and arms were ever slightly too long, and most obviously his facial structure gave him an elongated and angular set of features. His chin protruded too far on a jaw too slender for it, his brow sloped off sharply into a thin, thin nose, with his pale blue irises such that they were almost blended with the whites flanking it. And angled just slightly too far outwards, his cheekbones just a bit too high and far back along his skull which set his ears just a few degrees flatter against his head than you’d expect from a human. His hairstyle of choice seemed to mirror the jut of his pointy chin, almost as if he cared little for the idea of “blending in” and wished to emphasize his crescent-like profile.

One had to appreciate one’s namesake, after all. Especially if it was a celestial feature. At the very least, it was currently handsomer than himself. Appearance goals need be attainable—and he already looked moony with the near-constant smile he wore.

Despite having the silvery lighting and the time to study everything about him, the boy ducked down in the shrubbery had no idea the man strolling along the path with careless joy was anything but ordinary. Preoccupying anything was the thought he was fallible. No feature was more noticeable for the desperate, shaking child than the clean, nice suit jacket, shirt, tie and slacks he was wearing. And his seeming inattention. A person dressed that well had to carry at least some money. That degree of skinny, regardless of height, with lack of initiative meant even a child could take him.

R-right?

Shusui’s small hand closed tighter around the shard of glass wrapped in dirty cloth. All he would need to do is jump out, close enough to knock him down, and hold the point on his back or throat until he gave up something. Then he could beat a hasty retreat loot in hand.

As the man grew closer the boy could hear him humming, amongst other grunts and odd vocalizations. He stole a glance across the path at where he knew Ouka was hiding. She’d cut her foot. She was weak and shivery, feverish with something. The difficult task of robbery had to be his alone, but she could keep watch and back him up. Just in case the stranger noticed, or had someone with him.

Shusui felt the loose chunk of stone walkway shift under the weight of the man stepping down. Now!

Moonface had slowed, taking another long glance upwards into the blued moonlight. The tiny footfalls alerted him; he turned to peer over his shoulder in a sharp movement, pale eyes widening and smile giving a rare falter.

The boy quickened his pace, lunging towards the man even as the turned head produced an abnormal silhouette against the moon. His shoulder thrust forward at a full run, aiming low at the backs of the knees.

A sharp scuff announced the lightning sidestep. The boy realized he’d missed a second later, just as the hand with long, thin fingers clamped onto the back of his shirt. He was dragged to a flailing stop.

“What’s this~?”

Shusui panicked and scrabbled for purchase against the path’s flagstones; the man’s voice wasn’t upset but quizzical—too unbothered for comfort as a robbery victim.

Moonface briefly released the small figure’s tattered smock and let him stagger in surprise before clamping a three-fingered grip onto the top of his head. A sharp twist had spun the child to face him, his own head tilting this way and that to better study the tiny person.

“Mnh, you’re no hardened criminal,” he murmured, a smiling expression returning to him, one of astonishment and intrigue, “You’re just a kiddo—and a small one at that!”

With a scowl and spike of fear Shusui swung out and up, just missing the edge of Moonface’s sleeve as the Homunculus jerked his arm back. Swift as light his hand snaked back in and grabbed the boy’s wrist. A single finger-squeeze on nerve and the kid’s hand spasmed open and dropped his weapon.

“Easy now,” the strange man chuckled, “no need to be so bloodthirsty.” His gaze dropped to the glass shard, realizing this attacker could never have hurt him even if he’d landed the blow. “What is a kid your age doing leaping out of bushes at passersby like this, hn? Odd behavior if you ask me…”

“L-lemme go!” Shusui writhed and leaned back with his full but puny weight. Even so, there was no change in the stranger’s inexorable strength.

“Stop that now,” Moonface jointly scowled and smirked—a terrifying combination of expressions on a face like his, “I deserve an explanation for why you’ve startled me and swung a shank my way. Stop squirming!” He gave the boy’s arm a firm tug, just enough to pause the child’s struggles a second.

“Please stop!” A second, far shriller child’s voice cut through the darkness with the sound of rustling leaves. The odd fellow jerked with surprise at the second tiny figure that emerged from the other side of the path, “He didn’t mean it! We’re sorry! Just please let him go!”

Never speechless for too long, the Homunculus held up his free palm in a placating gesture.

“Easy, easy there,” he tried sounding a bit calmer, chirpy tone softening around the edges. “I don’t mean you kids any harm.” He chuckled, “I just want to know why this little guy thought to take me out just now.”

“W-we…” Ouka choked, eyeing the man’s grip on her brother’s arm with uncertainty. She’d learned, unfortunately, that the assurances of adults rarely meant more than their dark actions, “Please, we don’t have money for food. We w-wouldn’t try to steal if we didn’t have to.”

Moonface blinked and tilted his head.

“Are you two lost?” Silence, but for stifled sniffs, “You have parents nearby?” Again silence, “Maybe… orphans?” As the young girl nodded, the Homunculus’s hand released Shusui and brushed through his own upswept forelock with a stumped look, “Well, this is something I’ve never come across before—unchaperoned twin primary school muggers…”

Shusui yanked his arm back and put a few wary feet between him and the strange fellow. Moonface bent down with palms braced on his knees, pasting his typical jolly visage on but unable to fully cover the hints of concern.

“Look here, I may not know much about kids, but I would like to help you—” he tilted his head the other direction, “—or at least I know some folks who can. That’s if you’ll trust me.”

“Hell no,” Shusui growled, but Ouka flinched as she took a step forward on her injured foot, glancing imploringly to her twin. “You’ll go to the police!”

Moonface threw up both palms, looking baffled.

“No, no, no—I wasn’t suggesting that at all. The help I’m offering is civilian!” He winced as he gestured to the darkened park, “I just don’t feel entirely comfortable leaving a pair of youngsters out here alone, no matter how tough,” he added with a sharp wink to the young boy.

“S-so long as… you don’t make us stay anywhere,” the boy replied with a heated glare.

“Of course, of course,” the Homunculus nodded.

“Do you think we could have some medicine?” Ouka piped up again. The Homunculus gave the girl another scan, noting the feverish and pale sheen of sickly sweat on her brow, and how tenderly she was standing and her raw bare feet, all weight on one.

“Absolutely,” he said, a flustered note creeping back in.

“You promise, no police?”

“No police,” he smiled, “You have my word. You’ll be allowed to leave if and when you like.”

Finally, Shusui relaxed his tiny shoulders, casting a worried look over to Ouka limping a step closer.

“If we have to walk, I can make it, but…” the boy was hushed gently as Moonface raised a few fingers.

“Not a problem. I’ll carry her. Er, if that’s alright?”

The twins were nervous to believe the stranger but their choices were nil. As the young girl was scooped off her feet, her brother swore he could see the sudden thought flash across the strange man’s face:

“Mmhn!” he chuckled, shaking his head at his own foolishness, “I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lunnara Nikolaev, but everyone calls me ‘Moonface.’”

“I’m Shusui,” the boy murmured, following close beside the Homunculus to not lose sight of his sister.

“Ouka,” she squeaked herself.

“A pleasure,” Moonface’s chuckles broke the relative quiet of the park’s edge, “and a surprise. May I ask—how did the two of you end up out here in this park alone?”

The kids hemmed and hawed. With an awkward grin Moonface dismissed the inquiry.

“Never mind—I suppose that can wait until you’ve had a bite and some looking after.”

--------------------------------------------

It took a little less than a half hour for Moonface, careful to set a pace the small boy could keep up with, to cross the near-empty streets of the late night Ginsei City and enter the wooded hillside beyond the private academy. Shusui glared suspicion into the shadows of the trees and began to have second thoughts. Conversely, Ouka found renewed security in being carried, and already exhausted and relieved by being off her injured foot she ended up slumping heavily against the Homunculus’s shoulder. The darkened shape of a large and empty factory building loomed out ahead of them as the last twinkle of streetlights disappeared in their wake. The boy spied a single source of faint light coming from the crack underneath the smallest entrance, as if to subtly mark it out for those it was meant for.

Moonface made a beeline for it. With a soft creak he pushed it open, and Shusui ducked in ahead of him. He felt like getting a good look at the interior, and the stranger’s true intentions, before he could end up being led into an unknown.

“Watch your step!” The Homunculus’s lilting voice echoed in the metallic corridor, “On your right here there’s stairs to the sublevel. Don’t bother going straight ahead. It’s just the factory floor and it’s nothing but rust and dust.

“Wait a bit—” with one hand negotiating free, Moonface paused the kid’s forward push with a tap on his shoulder. The boy flinched and stopped in jaw-dropped alarm as a yellowish glow spread outward from the man’s upraised hand. Moonface’s gaze flickered from Ouka (eyes widened and silently awed) to Shusui (brows furrowing at what looked patently supernatural) before he snickered and shrugged, “—the light in the stairwell doesn’t work, you see.”

“I… see,” Shusui quivered. It seemed late to be frightened; sure, this Moonface looked strange to the boy, but this gold bright glow was like magic.

“This way~,” the odd-faced man stepped ahead once more, and Shusui scrabbled to catch up to the fleeting light he carried. At the foot of the stairs three halls split off, another light humming above the nearest door.

Someone was apparently within, as the sound of the footsteps nearby prompted a deep, severe-sounding voice to call:

“Who’s out there?”

“Just your Moonface!” the Homunculus said, cheerily, “—plus two, and in great need!”

“What?” A second voice, softer but with a rasping quality, gasped out. Before either voice had a chance to say anything else the strange man flicked out his free hand as if to shake off the light like fire from a match and pushed the heavy door fully open.

Shusui had the distinct sense he was being guided somewhere he was not supposed to be as his guide sauntered in, and he chose to follow while hiding behind the long legs. Two men were now fully visible inside the small, clean room that didn’t at all match the rest of the dark, dreary factory. They were halfway to standing and looked to be in their thirties, one with slate-brown hair and slightly tan skin and the other fairer with sleek dark hair, and while neither of them was as abnormally-featured as Moonface they each had their subtle irregularities. Their eyes, in particular, gave Shusui an immediate shudder of the extraordinary.

Moonface’s teeth flashed in a guilty-looking smile as he paused a short way from the table the men had been seated around. The larger of the two men had piercing gray eyes and a broad, naturally dour mouth, and with these he fixed the lanky man with a half-irate and half-nervous snarl.

“Where did you find those two,” the man stood fully and growled, several inches taller than even already-tall Moonface, “And why did you bring them here, of all places?”

“Mita-kun, old buddy, lower your voice. You’ll spook ‘em,” the odd-faced man giggled and drew back slightly.

“They’re not in trouble.” The man seethed, eyes narrowing to slits, “It’s you who should be scared.”

“If you were worried about scarin’ those kids why would you bring ‘em out here?” the raspy, soft-voiced man was quite a lot shorter than his cohorts (wider too) with normal almond-shaped but abnormally yellowish eyes and short, oil-black and ramrod-straight hair. He seemed far more anxious than angered by the intrusion, “If anybody here happened to be… well, you know.”

“Wh—well, I couldn’t just take them anywhere,” Moonface floundered, grin growing more into a strained grimace. “Couldn’t leave them either—they were out on the streets this late, by themselves, no parent or anything. And doing rough by the look of it, see there?”

Mita’s eyes were as sharp as they looked, and on catching the lankier man’s gesture towards Ouka’s bare feet he spotted the telltale signs of the infected puncture.

“You didn’t think to take them to a doctor or hospital?” he hissed, looking more and more aghast with every second.

“Well someone’d follow up at a place like that. There’d be a report of unattended minors at least, and there’d be police, Mita,” Moonface noted in a loud whisper.

“We’re not s-scared,” Shusui peeked out around his legs, drawing the attention of all three mystery men, “We don’t like them… th-the police never helped us… and they took us to the bad place. We got away and we won’t go back! You can’t make us go back!”

Mita opened his mouth to give Moonface another scold but seemed to rethink it with an exasperated groan and shake of his head. Ouka studied the man who had yet to be named, his rounded face creased with concern and abnormally yellow-tinted eyes flicking between the two children and Mita.

“Dammit, Moonface,” the gray-eyed man bade him bring the young girl over. “I don’t know why but you’re getting a pass here. What’s done is done,” Moonface exhaled with relief as he carried Ouka over to the chair Mita had vacated. She was set down with great care. “There should be a first aid kit stored over there. Bring it here.”

“Hey now,” the shorter man said, tone coaxing. “Come sit down while your sister gets looked after. What’s your name?”

“Hayasaka Shusui…” the boy craned his neck to see what his sister was going through as Moonface retrieved a small duffel marked with a familiar red cross symbol. Mita opened it as he knelt to survey the damage with a furrowed brow.

“And you?”

“Ouka,” she flinched. Apparently, the state of her injury was far worse than the kids had been aware. Mita gave a soft grunt and, if possible, examined the cut more gingerly.

“I’m sorry, but this is going to be painful to treat,” he sighed, “Try to hold still and this will be over much quicker.”

“Well, Shusui and Ouka,” Moonface grinned and leaned against the table, “You’ve met me, and I think you’ve picked up Mita’s name alright, so this is Norinaka. There’s other friends about too, I think. At least they ought to be—hopefully you’ll get to meet—”

“Oh no, Hanabusa…” the soft-spoken man paled, “she’ll be livid, oh no…” Mita shot Moonface another look of reproach.

“Eheh, well, we can wait ‘til later on that, I guess,” the lanky Homunculus hunched his shoulders. Norinaka cast another look of concern towards the boy. He was still nervously watching his sister as she remained stoic through the belated first-aid.

“How come the two of you’ve been on the streets?” As Shusui met the man’s gaze he had to blink to undampen his eyes, prompting him to add, “If it’s somethin’ you’re okay with talkin’ about, that is.”

“Uh…” The boy sat back hard. Fears retreating, the boy’s other desperate needs rushed in at once, and the weakness would have knocked him flat were he standing. Moonface straightened up, chewed his lip in thought a second, and took initiative.

“You two talk, and you two mend,” he chirped as he turned on heel, “I’ll be back in a flash. You kids look like you could use some chow.”

“Th-thank you,” Ouka said in a sharp gasp and closed her eyes through Mita’s murmured apologies as he finally fastened bandages over her wounds.

After a long pause, Shusui felt compelled to speak and rambled out:

“We don’t have parents.”

“Poor things,” Norinaka muttered, “I’m sorry to hear that. If it’s not too much, can you tell us, er, how, and also what the trouble with police was?”

“We were… locked in the house when mom died,” Shusui blinked, sucked in a breath and tried again, “well, no, she wasn’t really mom… mom and dad were just gone.”

“Eh?”

“The policeman said she took us as babies. She didn’t let us go outside because it was dangerous, but it wasn’t really. She played with us a lot, but she left us alone and locked us in.

“One day she didn’t wake up. She was dead and we didn’t know where the keys were. We were yelling for help—and—and—her body came apart… then later a few police broke the door to get in.”

Norinaka and Mita’s eyes widened, simultaneously shooting each other a brief glance of horror. But they remained silent, transfixed and not wanting to discourage the boy’s account.

“So we got put in the bad place,” the boy choked, face reddening with shame and anger, “because our real dad and mom didn’t want us. We were there a long time and nobody came for us. There was a doctor who didn’t like us. He told us to give up and get used to… get used to nobody caring. I think he said… it wasn’t good. We ran away one night. That was two weeks ago.”

“God damn…” Ouka was close enough she couldn’t miss this, plus the other stifled epitaphs, under Mita’s breath as he slowly put away the first aid kit. “… Now what?” he said, peering to Norinaka with keen eyes full of questions, who sat frozen with shock by the twisted story.

“We can’t leave these kids to the state,” he finally shuddered, drawing a further intense look from Mita, who had stood and leaned against the table in a tired way.

“I know.”

Shusui had a fleeting jab of terror at Norinaka’s words, reminded of Moonface’s promise to let them go free if they wished. He glared wide-eyed and level into the fierce gray eyes as Mita noticed him sitting up straight.

“Y-you’re not gonna make us go anywhere,” he hiccupped at a sob. The man’s hardened gaze softened with concern and alarm. “Moonface promised we could go. He promised.”

“I understand,” Mita said, seating himself on the chair next to Ouka’s perch, across from the boy. Something about the man’s serious, unsweetened manner brought Shusui’s mounting upset to a stall. He felt compelled to listen in a way he’d not felt in his living memory. “We don’t plan to force you into any kind of arrangement. But we do feel like we need to help you.”

“And considerin’ how you’ve managed so far,” Norinaka piped up, “we have no plans to involve that ‘bad place’, or anyone to do with it.”

“For now, I think it would be best for the two of you to take shelter here,” Mita nodded, “if you’ll have it.”

Ouka noted a puzzled but strained look passing over Norinaka’s rounded face before he whispered:

“Here though? We would have to let the others know,” he grimaced and wrung his hands, “I don’t want anything bad to happen…”

“That’s obvious,” Mita said, tone clipped, “They’ll become familiar in time, regardless.”

“…Familiar with what, Mita-san?” Ouka’s voice was quiet but not completely innocent. Her eyes glittered with a mixture of worry and curiosity as the larger man’s met them.

“Er, kids, there’s no need to be afraid—” Norinaka began, but Shusui interrupted with a bright spark in his eyes.

“Are you both like Moonface too?”

“…How do you mean?” Mita was instantly nervous, touchy enough for the pair of children to see it.

“He sort of made a light with his hand.”

Mita blinked and relaxed. He gave his left temple a slight rub.

“I was hoping he’d wait before doing something so rash…” he grumbled, “but yes. We are the same kind as him.”

“Don’t let it scare you,” Norinaka smiled apologetically, “we are not humans. No—but we are people.” He chuckled, also demonstrably nervous, “generally good people, I hope.”

“You mustn’t reveal what you have seen and heard here to anyone who isn’t already aware.” Mita’s voice lowered dramatically, imploring the two five-year-olds with his sharp stare. “There are people out there who would hurt us if they knew, and some of them are violent or evil enough to target you as well. Keep these details a secret.”

“We won’t tell,” Ouka squeaked, a bit more resolutely as she sat up and gave her bandaged foot a flex. It was far less sore than she expected for how short a time it had been looked after. Even at her young age she had the sense that the men’s’ odd “magic” was at play in that as well, and a bead of trust had formed like condensation in her mind.

“Thank you,” Mita gave a faint smile at this, “for how on top of things Moonface is, he can be careless. I suppose he figured you wouldn’t notice…”

“Actually—!” the man himself took a step back into the subterranean room with a chirp. Also present was an armful of vending machine spoils—a menagerie of pre-arranged mini-bento types and two bottles of something super-sweet and carbonated clasped in two long fingers each on the same hand. “Actually, I was more hoping these two youngsters wouldn’t care as much. Young kids are a bit better that way, eh?”

Norinaka gave the boxes Moonface set down a scrutinizing look and then an even more critical one of the sodas.

“Vending machine food and Coke? Really?”

“You try finding something healthy open this late,” the lanky Homunculus sassed back, sweeping around to find an open seating place, “Anyways, hungry kids now introduced to nosh, mission accomplished.”

“Point taken,” Mita sighed, glancing over to the boy now voraciously tearing the tape holding the box of tempura and rice shut. Ouka ripped open one of her own with similar fervor, keeping an ear cocked to the trio of Homunculi continuing the discussion.

“You really didn’t need to be so obvious, though,” Mita snorted, prompting a low hum and shrug from his odd-faced companion.

“Hush, it was inside. No chance of being seen,” he snickered under his breath, “except by the kids which was the point.”

“A pair of Familiars this young is going to be Hell to keep tabs on,” Norinaka fidgeted, “Maybe we should see if Karin and Shishaku would be willing to house them?”

“They’ve got enough to worry about that they don’t need more. Especially not more children, and especially not with extra needs.” Mita noted.

“We let young Homunculi stay here,” Moonface tilted his head, “Why not young humans?”

“Nikolaev.”

“Mmnh?”

“Word choice!”

“Oh. Oh,” he grinned in a cheeky way. “They may as well hear it. They’ll hear it soon enough from us, and more often.”

“They have a right to know,” Mita urged Norinaka to calm a bit, “So long as they stay here. They’re far more trusting than I thought they’d be, considering.”

“I just,” the shorter man huffed, casting a protective glance towards the wolfish twins a moment before continuing, “They’re kids. I just think they should be allowed to be kids, eh?”

“Hn?” Moonface’s chin jutted further, begging further elaboration.

“The truth can be too much for adults,” Norinaka shook his head, “These kids can’t be much older than five, and that’s at most. I don’t think an L.X.E. Safehouse is necessarily the best place for their adjustment. Think of what they’ve been through.”

“Yes,” Mita came to a firm agreement with a slow, thoughtful rumble, “It’d be the best-case scenario for them to be fostered or something. I know I wouldn’t want them caught here if this place was found out, if it does.”

Norinaka shuddered. Moonface wore a more subdued, contemplative smile.

“I can return to HQ tomorrow. Would be worth putting the word out there for prospective adopters in my opinion. There’s more than three hundred Familiars in Northern Kantou—surely one would want to adopt some kiddos.”

“We can see to that tomorrow. Let them rest for now until they decide themselves what they’d want,” Mita replied, observing the kids hard at work picking the last of rice and soba from the bento for a moment before he stood. “Consider that they may not want to be adopted by just anyone.”

The twins gave a concerted glance up at the tall, stern man before meeting each other’s eyes. Mystifying, each thought, that an adult had any consideration for what they wanted.

Moonface sighed. “Well, we’ll see,” and he turned to the pair with his grin still toned down but now chipper, “Are you full up yet?”

“Yes, sir,” the two said, albeit not quite in tandem.

“Thank you,” Ouka added.

“Good, good,” he chuckled, pawing one of the unopened bento back across the table towards him and earning a bizarre look from Norinaka. “Well, the two of us will be down here tonight if you need anything. Let us know when you get tired—we’ll figure out some space for you.”

“Moonface, why?” the short man jabbed a finger critically at him—currently picking out and happily munching on the tempura shrimp.

“I like shrimp.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to leave it all for them tomorrow?”

“Can’t I just enjoy a few shrimp?” Moonface growled around his mouthful, adding with a smirk, “Killjoy.”

“I don’t give a damn about your joy compared to these kids not starving.”

The pair continued their banter as Mita, preparing to leave, gathered a suitcase and a small cellphone from close by and finally paused by the twins.

“These two should be able to help you if you need anything tonight. I’ll be nearby though, just in case.”

“Will you come back?” Ouka said, fear completely banished.

“Tomorrow, yes,” he said softly. “We’ll sort something out then, if you’re ready.” He snuck a quick look towards the shorter fellow, a smirk twitching at one corner of his mouth a moment, “Though… you’ve made an impression on Norinaka already. I wouldn’t be surprised if he offered his own home for you.”

The two kids were stunned, quietly though as they bade the elder Homunculus a polite goodnight. Warm and confusing to the twins, still smarting from their short and bitter lives, was the idea that anyone would want them, or even care deeply for their small selves.

Something unbelievable was happening in their lives, even excluding the supernatural truth they’d just begun to dip into.

--------------------------------------------

Well, here it is! I quite like how this is going so far as an AU reworking of this mediocre manga by a terrible gross man. Can't help liking the shonen--and would like to really heck with its premise and enjoy it divorced from its origins. Which of course is also a critique of its origins. This story in particular is chronologically before the events of the main series and focuses on the reworking's story of what happened to the Hayasaka twins. It has some elements that are the same as canon (including that just... jarringly dark, dark backstory for a random mediocre shonen manga, with the child abuse and kidnapping) but most of it is wildly different. This will likely be a three-parter! I have most of the bulk written and done, just needs several more revisions on the latter parts.

Chapter 1 basically entails the retelling of the discovery of the Hayasaka twins by Homunculus and Creation Alchemist society... and vice versa, since kids can tell if you're supernatural creatures when you do some obvious sciencey magic right in front of them. Moonface. XD

It's also a good way to introduce a lot of the Homunculus characters as their natural and balanced selves, and introduce the AU in general and its vast departures from canon. It's… well, it's so different I doubt you would actually need to know much about the source material in order to enjoy it as just modern fantasy.

Next Chapter: https://www.tumblr.com/spidermilkshake/722429484529270784/rethink-gemini-chapter-2?source=share

#buso renkin #au #homunculus #homunculi #ouka hayasaka #shusui hayasaka #headcanon #headcanon bs #hayasaka twins #Rethink Gemini #chapter 1 #Moonface #Mita #Norinaka #homunculi OCs #fan fiction

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