#i've been trying to get evil or mad or maniacal for SO long and finally i have one of them. so i can be maniacal scientist

[chalkrub]

my part of an art trade with @sourdeer ! love a shapeshifting space deity who is also a shameless corporate shill

[battiesart]

How do you feel and what is ur opinion on people saying Kazuya is irredeemable for having killed people n such? since i've seen alot of people say that kazuya liking kaiji and being nice somewhat is unrealistic and ooc and saying he's violent and evil and will never became a decent human being

Uhmmm I'm gonna go ahead and answer this since I was talking about it the other day on twitter, but I should preface this by saying that questions like these feel a bit out of place for my art blog 😅 I'm not mad at you for not knowing, since I don't advertise it much, but you can always send questions like these to my main blog or my CuriousCat (I'll probably edit my sidebar on this blog with those links)

Anyway long-winded answer below the cut, since I love to talk about Kazuya

Whether or not you really believe Kazuya is redeemable or not comes down to just personal opinion. At the end of the day he's a fictional character. Me interpreting him as a redeemable person isn't me justifying or defending a murderer. If you disagree with me then it's fine because the whole point of fiction is facilitating different interpretations. It really doesn't bother me if people dislike my boukai works or how I depict him.

I've reread parts 3-5 about 3 times in the last year and I believe that despite Kazuya having killed people, the narrative makes it apparent that it's something he's never taken pleasure or joy in doing. In a lot of ways, I think his violence is a symptom of his upbringing, especially considering who his father is. But, having people grovel for him, having to push them to do violent things in his gambles, it's never something he seems to enjoy -- instead, I think it's him trying his hardest to be vindicated for his twisted worldview, wanting to be confirmed that his nihilism is justified and that he's correct in thinking people are irredeemable.

This scene in particular towards the end of part 3 I think is really telling towards his feelings, his anger prompts this response from Muraoka and he's clearly sick of people kissing up to him.

A lot of the violence in his gambles serve as motivation for the players to act out of "true human nature," AKA what Kazuya believes to be the truth, not necessarily because he wants to see people suffer. Kaiji immediately refutes him in this scene anyway, which you agree with as the reader.

As the Friendship Game progresses without issue, Kazuya loses motivation and interest to continue. He literally slumps over lmfao.. but I think it's indicative of the fact that these life and death gambles are just methods to affirm his own beliefs (especially when you consider how much he messes with the actual game to get the result he wants through the interviews, extending the time limit, etc etc).

As a character, Kazuya's whole schtick is that he hates his status and wants friendship. It's not even subtext, Kaiji literally says this to him towards the end of One Poker. It's mentioned constantly beforehand, too.

Much like Kaiji, Kazuya is a victim of violent & predatory capitalism, but in a different way, where his upbringing in the Hyoudou family has resulted in his inclinations towards violence and distrusting others (though I doubt sadism, considering he doesn't seem to enjoy the actual acts of violence, more just proving himself right when people start going insane).

Towards the end of One Poker, Kazuya begs for someone to rescue him, thinks back on his life with regret, and fully drops his confident persona as he fears for his life. He pushes back against Kaiji's claims that he's lonely (he is), refuses to back down even an inch and claim defeat, and it results in what would have been his actual death. In his final moments, all he can do is think about the love his mother showed him, realize he closed himself off from affection following her death, and sob.

So, I think that experience, his complicated feelings towards friendship and love, and realizing someone like Kaiji saved him just because he's a person, and not despite his cruelty or status, would really shake him to his core. He loses for the first time, is proven wrong entirely by Kaiji's resolve, and he'd probably reflect on everything and realize how wrong he's been about other people. Of course, that's what I think would be the natural course of events for his character -- especially considering his cruelty is a symptom of capitalism, and transcending what the system does to us is a core theme for all of FKMT's works. I think having a character who embodies predatory capitalism itself learn to trust others, abandon cruelty, and heal from his past is extremely powerful and what the story of Kaiji as a whole is about, in a lot of ways.

Anyway thanks for letting me write all this out LOL I love my insane little maniac and his struggles ❤️ Again, this is my interpretation of a fictional character, if you disagree, it's fine!

P.S. "kazuya liking kaiji and being nice somewhat is unrealistic and ooc" The man builds a grave for his gambling rival and people think he's not nice? Have we no chivalry? He reserved the entire restaurant that night just for them! 🙄

[goatmompositivity]

hey queen mom lady, uf!sans here. i've been trying really hard lately to find some new memories, and it's (kinda) working, but the more i remember, the more it seems that my timeline wasn't, um... "edgy" enough to count as Underfell. but i know for a fact that it was this au, so i don't know why this one's different. most people i see who have the same kintype talk about everyone back in UF being really awful, but my timeline wasn't like that. [1]

yeah, it wasn’t great being there, but people didn’t just tolerate each other. my bro wasn’t the cruel, egotistical jerk everybody seems to think he was. sure, he could be kinda crabby sometimes, but even then he mostly just got revenge through petty pranks ‘n stuff. undyne wasn’t a bloodthirsty maniac, she just wanted to protect people and get justice for innocent people in a world practically built to screw them over. [2]

even alph, the literal mad scientist, wasn’t completely evil. yeah, she had an even worse lying problem than the canonverse, and her sense of humor was an acquired taste, but other than that she was a great friend and she stood up for me when nobody else could. the ranking system made it so pap and undyne couldn’t do much to help people without getting punished, but alph didn’t let rules get in her way, no matter what. (she was kinda the biggest ravenclaw ever) [3]

so, I guess what i’m saying in the long run is, i’m worried i shouldn’t be… well, me. i know my timeline was an underfell one, but everybody else seems to have it much worse. i really don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable about it 'cuz of the differences, but at the same time, i wish i could talk to people who understood what it was like. idk if that makes sense, but… can i please hear some positivity? thank you for listening. [4 - final] 

Howdy, Sans! It’s totally okay for your canon to differ from the source! It’s what makes you unique! (And also easier to find canonmates, in theory!) I know some people who didn’t even look like them in their source material! It just happens by chance, I suppose! You’re still you, even if your source doesn’t match up with your canon!♥Mom