#komaeda vs everyone

[mars-ipan]

hey folks did you know i love super dangan ronpa 2

[thegreatyin]

no greater feeling than getting into something your friend and/or tumblr mutuals have been into for years and learning the goofy silly character they call babygirl is actually the most insane person you've ever seen

[bzil111]

i see a lot of debate on komaeda’s music taste, and i want you all to consider a komaeda that exclusively listens to classical music.

he doesn’t know what’s popular or mainstream, you pass him the aux chord and he starts playing shostakovich like it’s lady gaga. bed time? he puts on his night gown and cap and starts blasting prokofiev’s dance of the knights. class 77-b throws a party and everyone knows that komaeda added a song to the playlist because coriolan overture starts playing in the middle of rave music and he’s giggling and clapping his hands talking about how it represents despair vs hope

[vampelune]

ill have peace when people realize that theres barely any romantic implications beyond waifubait with hajime & chiaki in sdr2 (hajime is even like “what is up with this girl” multiple times because she cant hold convo, love her) meanwhile there’s immediately romantic implications between hajime & nagito

hajime and chiaki’s relationship is not inherently romantic beyond it being a boy and a girl who care about each other, and people thinking that needs to be romantic. it makes more sense as an important friendship. because chiaki is important to and cares about ALL of her classmates in the same way.

but ultimately chiaki COULDN’T save hajime. not in dr3. it’s true that a vision of her manages to talk hajime out of his despair in chapter 6. but the REAL chiaki could NOT save him from himself, because she has a fundamental mismatch and doesn’t truly understand his feelings on worthlessness and lack of talent. she has a talent, she even says to him that it’s “harder” to be talented than not, and she’d prefer it. that’s completely ignoring his feelings on the matter.

while it can be argued that dr3 shows more romantic implications between them, it’s also where she’s least compatible and helpful for him. she can’t understand why he’s so upset about talent, so she can’t talk him out of his mindset and prevent him from doing the project. even if she doesn’t know that’s what her words are doing, she still fails.

i won’t say komaeda would talk him out of it, because i don’t think many people could. hajime hates himself deeply enough to become another person, it’s hard to talk anyone out of that mindset. but komaeda understands hajime in a way no one else does - because everyone else in sdr2 is talented, and doesn’t really ride or die for the whole “talented vs untalented” dichotomy, but they don’t not participate in it. 

komaeda isn’t really talented on the other hand, and he even wishes he wasn’t, and treats himself like he isn’t. because he believes he doesn’t deserve the title. just like hinata, he believes strongly in the worth of ultimates and the worthlessness in comparison of those beneath them - like himself and hinata.

komaeda’s worldview is nearly the exact same as hinata’s, just pushed a bit further and a bit more twisted. hinata’s worldview isn’t any more healthy than komaeda’s, either - a healthy worldview doesn’t lead to you lobotomizing yourself. they understand each other in a way no one else in sdr2 can because they both have this inferiority/superiority complex about talent.

that’s why the narrative revolves around them so much. their stories begin and end with each other.

chiaki is important to hajime, yes, but not in any romantic sense. they’re friends. and that’s fine. a male and a female character don’t have to be romantic to be deeply important to each other. danganronpa is not above putting an m/f ship as endgame, this is obvious with naegiri, and if that was ever the intention with hajime and chiaki they would’ve. but instead we see a literal scene where hajime leaves his memory of chiaki behind and moves on from her, as he needs to, as they all need to, carrying her memory with him but not living in the past, and as he leaves her he joins nagito instead.

and this is the FINAL shot of them. to end the series.  i think it’s pretty clear what they intended with this.

essentially, nagito and hajime complete each other. they are soulmates. end of ramble

[doctor-hopper]

I'm really tempted to comb through his lines about luck and write meta on it, because even off the top of my head, looking only at DR2/Dangan Island content, it's like

His FTEs frame bad luck as being part of good luck: bad thing leads into something good enough to compensate

But he has at least one Dangan Island line where he anticipates something bad after experiencing something good

And interestingly considers nothing much happening to him to be bad luck in Dangan Island's ending, even though he had a good time, which warrants some unpacking (my current hypothesis is it's because his impending death is making him desperate to make his life meaningful, not 'waste' his remaining time)

Not all of his examples fall neatly into his luck cycle model, especially not the FTE version where the events are connected. The diagnosis and HPA admission were separate-ass events, in DI's ending he expected his convo with Hinata to go well because of the aforementioned general '''bad''' luck too, the events of chapter 5 are hard to sort into the model, some DI interactions make it sound like he just has extreme outcomes sometimes (eg. he'd win capture the flag first try every single time), etc etc.

I have a feeling at least some of the way he talks about his luck is copium, especially in his FTEs since he really had to focus on the idea of bad -> good in the killing game. But as you say, he could have been intentionally oversimplifying... and if he actually thought the cycle worked both ways, saying he lives in fear of bad things every time something good randomly happens might've veered too close to genuine vulnerability. Which he avoided (by his standards anyway- I think he lacked awareness of how bad the kidnapping + plane stories were) until the final FTE.

Either way, I definitely need to scrutinise his lines more :'D

A ton of good points! Komaeda’s luck is fascinating and nowhere near as clear-cut as he originally makes it sound. Fics where he tries to “game the system” and finally gain some sort of control over his luck are interesting—but honestly, I feel like he’s already been trying to do that for as long as he’s lived. And he exercises an impressive amount of power under those restraints! But…also.

As for anticipating something bad after experiencing something good, I do think the way Komaeda portrays the order of events is just what he tells himself and/or Hinata. In reality, good and bad luck are two sides of the same coin to him—the real important part isn’t the order, it’s that nothing good can happen without something bad happening too. Everything has a price. Luck is a zero-sum game.

(He touches on this again in 2.5 when he says there’s “a fixed amount of luck in the world” and so he’s content to suffer the bad luck for everyone else’s benefit. In the dream-world sim, the luck he experiences is apparently “ideal”, but it still has to exist. There still has to be an Omelas child of sorts. Komaeda would just rather it be himself.)

As for good being caused by bad vs. just following it, it definitely happens both ways and he’s definitely contradicted himself. Beyond that, even, there are cases in the game where it’s not totally clear what sort of cycle is involved in the luck he experiences. In 2-1, he draws the short straw simply because he wanted to. Was the bad…offscreen? Was it the killing game itself? Would “being forced to clean” actually count as bad luck even if he wanted it? Was it then followed by the good luck of finding the secret passage? People hypothesize that his luck works differently in the simulation according to his own belief, which would complicate things even more, but I’m sort of back-and-forth on that theory. There are arguably examples of luck working the way Komaeda claims it does in DR2, also—such as getting the Despair Disease the worst out of anyone thanks to his compromised immune system, but being able to discover in the hospital that Tsumiki was the culprit. ending up in the hospital but meeting a lovey-dovey nurse GONE WRONG

I’ve always read the Island Mode ending as copium myself. I do definitely think he was hoping for a chance to die meaningfully on the island, and I guess in his mind that could be bad luck, but it doesn’t really fit his model. The way he tries to nudge Hinata into agreeing it’s bad luck, the scene reads to me like he just needs to believe it’s bad luck so he can solemnly ask Hinata to be his friend. (And I think it’s notable that in the word he uses for friend here is 友達 tomodachi, which in this context could be understood as more of a personal friend—everywhere else, he’s used the word 仲間 nakama, comrades, to refer to the whole class as a unit.) And remember, being loved by someone is another way that Komaeda’s death could have meaning—so even if he didn’t end up in the climactic situation he was expecting, perhaps he’s realized there’s another way to get what he wants. :’)

But, yeah, what decides if something is good or bad luck for Komaeda though? I think even that’s not always clear to him.

I’ve heard the view that it “gives him what he immediately wants while taking away what is subconsciously valuable to him” (from TheAmityElf, I think) which is interesting, especially to play with as a writing tool, but not ultimately convincing. Some events could be loosely mapped to that pattern, but others contradict it a bit—you can’t tell me he just wanted money, and he did actively try to turn down his invitation to Hope’s Peak.

Which is now also making me think: Since the diagnoses and the invitation weren’t directly related, do you think he even connected them in his mind at first? What if he didn’t, and so he was afraid that by going to Hope’s Peak he would be invoking even more bad luck yet to come?

One more interesting dimension of his luck to think about is whether it hurts others vs. himself. In 2.5 it only hurts Komaeda, but that’s not quite the direct opposite of his real luck, because his real luck gave him cancer and dementia! However, it also does seem to be proactive in protecting him from actual death in both 2.5 and the rest of canon.

I’ll conclude this reply with this…relevant blackout poetry (blackout infographic?) I made years ago and which you suddenly reminded me of, lmao.

Silly coda: This is why Komaeda’s favorite word is eucatastrophe.

(…How lucky, then, that people say “Komaeda, eucatastrophe!” to him all the time!)

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

EVENT POLL: ROAD TO FICTIONAL WRESTLEMANIA

MATCH 11: TEAM ACE ATTORNEY vs. TEAM DANGANRONPA (for bragging rights)

Storyline so far

It’s the climax to this mini-feud between the Ace Attorney stable and the Danganronpa stable. Despite this not being that heated of a rivalry (they just want bragging rights, nothing too personal), there’s determination on both sides not to lose this.

This will be a mixed tag-team. Representing Ace Attorney is the team of Miles Edgeworth and Ema Skye. Representing Danganronpa is the team of Hajime Hinata and Aoi Asahina.

[the-bar-sinister]

Sinister System terminology, differences in fronting vs shifts

Some people seemed interested in our internal experience, so I've written up a little bit of a guide to help it make sense.

system member: a distinct person/soul who is one of many sharing this body.

kintype: the identity of a soul during a particular lifetime experience.

kin source: the media in which a kin life/kintype is reflected.

kin shift: a particular system member experiencing a greater psychological, emotional, and/or spiritual state where they are embodying a particular kintype in the present moment. A sort of psychological/emotional/spiritual regression to or manifestation of a specific kintype's traits and experiences.

collective shift: when several different system members are experiencing a kin shift to their various personal identities during the same source lifetime.

fronting/taking the front/switching: A particular system member takes control of the body. A fronting member experiences the direct sensory input from the body, has a distinct internal monologue which is 'louder' than the internal thoughts of members who are not fronting, has primary control over the actions and reactions of the body.

Sinister system:

Has roughly 25 distinct system members

Each system member has around 19 kintypes in addition to their overall personal singular identity.

A system member may be experiencing a particular kin shift at any given time. Often multiple system members are in a collective shift.

Let's walk through some abbreviated examples.

Some sinister system members are

😼🔪 (Jas)

🌀���� (Akechi)

🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri)

Each of these system members shares the same kin sources. They experienced several lifetimes in which they were born and interacted with separate identities in the same world.

Some of their kin sources are: Homestuck, Danganronpa, Resident Evil, and Great Ace Attorney.

That means that each distinct system member has a kintype that aligns with each source.

😼🔪 Jas' kintypes are: Vriska Serket (Homestuck), Toko Fukawa (Danganronpa), Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil) and Yuujin Mikotoba (Great Ace Attorney)

🌀😎 (Akechi)'s kintypes are: Cronus Ampora (Homestuck), Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa), Albert Wesker (Resident Evil), and Kazuma Asogi (Great Ace Attorney)

🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri)'s kintypes are: Dave Strider (Homestuck), Kyoko Kirigiri (Danganronpa), Tyler Howard (Resident Evil), and Barok Van Zieks (Great Ace Attorney).

When 🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri) is fronting, that means that 🔍⚔️ is the person primarily processing data from the body's senses, making decisions, acting using the body, and experiencing a loud inner monologue.

When 🔍⚔️ (Kirigiri) is fronting, 🔍⚔️ is still Dave Strider, Kyoko Kirigiri, Tyler Howard, and Barok Van Zieks all at once, because these are all lives that 🔍⚔️ has experienced. He has access to the emotions and memories relevant to all of his kintypes, and they all motivate him to a greater or lesser degree.

However, if/when 🔍⚔️ is experiencing a particular kin shift, then the experiences, emotions and memories relevant to that particular shift will be dominate over his other experiences while he's experiencing the shift.

So for example, in a Homestuck kin shift 🔍⚔️ will act more like Dave Strider, because his thoughts, memories, emotions and preferences will be more closely aligned with who he was during that time, and the experience of his other lives will still be present, but have less priority over his actions and thoughts. His experience as Dave will have more immediate relevance to whatever he's doing, and will be experienced more heavily and as if it were more current than his other lives.

If the system is in a collective Homestuck shift, then it means that 🔍⚔️is in a Dave shift, 🌀😎 is in a Cronus shift, and 😼🔪 is in a Vriska shift, all at the same time. The lifetime of Homestuck is most immediately relevant to the entire system if we're experiencing a collective Homestuck shift.

However, not everyone is always in a collective shift. There are times where 🔍⚔️ is in a Dave/Homestuck shift, but 😼🔪 is in a Toko/Danganronpa shift, etc.

We are open to answering any questions, clarifying or otherwise that people might have about our experiences.

[biggie-chcese]

1, 7 and 13 for the choose violence ask game

The questions that are the foundation of why I hate certain characters (or how they're perceived) lmao

you didnt say the fandom so im gonna choose different ones from my fandoms based on how strongly i feel about them (rain code and tgaa)

(rain code) the character everyone gets wrong OOOO okay imma say vivia twilight. feels like a lot of the fandom either slots him into a "komaeda" archetype (which he just straight up Isn't), a stereotypical emo boy character, or just kinda only making him thirsty for yakou? his admiration for yakou is a pretty decent chunk of his character but it's got major case of "character acknowledged only for shipping" vibes to it if that makes sense. if he's gonna simp make it more in character dammit!!! (/lh) it's a shame to me because i really do love vivia's entire arc and story about "comfortable lies vs uncomfortable truths" and his general non-confrontational, deflective behavior (especially when using poetics to avoid ever being straightforward about something, love him for that). i'd love to make more art/fic of him. unfortunately i also am not the vivia expert (that title i'd gladly hand over to loremaster) and kinda struggle to capture his voice lol (i do wanna get good at this someday) so i wouldn't really tout myself as someone who gets him "right" either lmao. but you don't gotta be a chef to know when the food is off, yknow?

(tgaa) what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them? kazuma asougi i got so sick of his ass thanks to the fandom (especially because a LOT of kazuma enjoyers were also massive BVZ haters and also made ryunosuke's character all about shipping him with kazuma) but nowadays im more neutral about him. i still dont really care much for him anymore even though i miss the time when i was really obsessed w him.

(rain code) worst blorboficiation martina electro oh my god. (jigsaw voice) rain code fandom, as you can see, there is a giant cubing compressor surrounding you. i have before you a picture of marina electro. you have to say what you like about her character without simply saying she's hot or using some variation of "girlboss." you have five minutes. on top of that, many fans like to pretend she's yomi's helpless victim when she's just as fucked up and complicit in his shit right up until she gets sent to die. i already voiced my opinion on what happens afterwards in my "why yomi should've died" post (which btw isnt a yomi hate post just me talking about missed story potential) but that's spoilers for you lemon so im leaving it at that

[rubberduckyrye]

i replayed sdr2 and v3 at the same time, and honest to god the way komaeda's classmates treat him vs how ouma's treat him is... fucking insane. with komaeda, he's exponentially more unstable and dangerous and yet most of them at least TRY to understand him, and when he died, everyone was horrified that someone could do that to him, even if at that point he was an active threat and nobody liked him

but with ouma he was ostracized from the START, and when he died, nobody actually... gave a single shit. sure, it could be because nobody knew he was dead until the very end of the trial, and that was kaito's time in the sadness spotlight, but... idk. it rubs me the wrong way. and the sdr2 kids were horrified at the idea of komaeda being tortured, but when maki confesses to ACTUALLY torturing kokichi, literally nobody gives a fuck

like. i like maki, shes an interesting character!! but the shit she gets away with narratively that's way worse than the stuff kokichi does, and yet kokichi is treated way worse.... I Don't Like That! its giving big "bullying the weird kid" vibes and idk it just makes v3 seem more hostile as a game

sorry this turned into a whole rant in your askbox but like. i am so mad i am So Mad. v3 did kokichi so dirty

No anon continue you're so right tbh

There was a rumor of Kodaka saying he liked Kokichi as a character, but hated him as a person. It kind of shows.

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony vs Peter Pan from Once Upon A Time

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

Kokichi Ouma:

LOVE: - "hes a bitch and that makes a lot of people hate him and a lot of other people love him. no one can decide on his motives and i think thats kind of the point. i like him personally but hes a raging asshole <3" - "Not a single DR fan I've ever met is neutral about Kokichi, he's perfect for this poll. I think he's a clever character with consistent internal logic, and his interactions with the other characters are as compelling as they are hilarious. He looks like a dog squeaky toy, and he plots like Artemis Fowl. He's one of my favorite characters in the series and I love him dearly." - "NOBODY CARES ABOUT THIS BOY'S PSYCHOLOGY AT ALL. HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF AND HIS IMAGE AND MADE EVERYONE HATE HIM AND CONSIDER HIM A MONSTER ON THE SLIGHT CHANCE HE COULD USE HIS LIFE TO HELP EVERYONE ELSE ESCAPE AND SURVIVE AND NOBODY CARES. THEY SHOW HIS BREAKDOWN AND NOBODY BELIEVES HIM. I'M SO TIRED" - "not only is he a danganronpa character (inherently controversial) he is also the antagonist and constantly lying because That's His Whole Deal. people either love him or hate his guts. he's a little piece of shit. i would submit komaeda but i feel like views on him are more positive, generally. sorry i have bad taste in video games" - "he's a horrible little guy trying his best in not very good ways what more could you want" - "I don't know, people say he's badly written because they don't pay attention to his arc beyond the cartoonish facade he very obviously forces, and they don't like him because he caused someone's death which like..fair (he did feel super bad about it though so its fine.) Some people also don't enjoy his wonderful personality and think he's a mean piece of shit, which he is, but it's fine. They're just sensitive." - "I know people don't like him because he's like. a shittier version of Komaeda. But that's what's so GOOD about him. He's a shitty asshole of a person, playing pretend at being a villain because he's desperate!!! I think that's really fun. He's dooming himself and I want him to be okay after everything ends, but he dies so he can't even have that much :(" - "so i saw you got submissions for him. but not enough i need to submit him myself he is my favorite character from anything ever. he is the silly man he is so funny one time (actually, two times if you count one optional interaction) he asked a robot if he had a dick and it's absolutely iconic i love him"

HATE: - "(dangan spoilers ahead if that matters) look ok i didn’t originally feel too strongly about kokichi. i think his character is interestingly written (can’t say well-written bc danganronpa but yaknow) and he adds a lot of charm to v3. i understand why he’s popular- he’s one of the few characters in v3 to have both a personality and plot relevance. but oh my GODDDDD he is not a good person!!!! and i am so SICK of seeing him woobified into ‘ooh little baby he did his best he wasn’t doing anything wrong’ JUST BECAUSE you find out he was trying to end the killing game after he dies doesn’t mean he wasn’t incredibly fucked up throughout the game!!! like he was incredibly manipulative, a bully, encouraged infighting, Literally Orchestrated A Murder And Protected Himself From Danger By Getting The Big Stupid Sweetheart To Do It which caused TWO unnecessary deaths and- oh yeah- tricked everyone into believing he was the mastermind and the world had ended to make them so depressed that they just wouldn’t do anything anymore bc can’t kill someone if you’re rotting away in your room!!! AUGH like he’s a good character but it’s BECAUSE he sucks that he’s interesting. maybe this is just the komaeda fan in me but sometimes!!! the character is cooler when you understand that they’re a bad person. at least komaeda gets an actual redemption arc. kokichi’s just an asshole that the game tries to make you sympathetic for at the very end but he spends the entire game being an asshole so why the hell would i like him??? and then i go in a fandom tag and it’s constant unending ‘kokichi did nothing wrong’ the whole point of his character is that he does EVERYTHING wrong. i truly feel like the dr team was trying to replicate komaeda’s popularity but it was messy and poorly handled bc he’s not even a bad person in an interesting way like komaeda he’s just got trust issues that lead him to be stupid and An Asshole. then again people eat it up so what do i know lmao. i love to hate that little shit i wanna punt him into the goddamn stratosphere. score a field goal with that asshat. this is all lighthearted btw i love to die on small hills" - "WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE HIM OH MY GOOOOOOD HES SUCH A FLAT CHARACTER HES A SODA I LEFT OUT FOR 3 DAYS kokichi oma is easily the WORST written danganronpa character. it has been a while since i was into danganronpa so the details are a bit fuzzy but my rage has NOT subsided. following the success of Easily One Of The At Least Top Three Best Written Danganronpa Characters known as nagito komaeda, kokichi had some shoes to fill. he instead showed up in clown shoes. kokichis whole premise is that you dont know if hes lying or not, him being a huge clown and causing shit for like a good third of the cast. kokichi was a simple character. hes a bitch, he sturs shit up, he eat hot chip and lie, it was FINE. not GREAT, but FINE. and then he died. suddenly— kokichi was from modest beginnings. he was actually a genius who was actually doing all of this to save everyone. he was a martyr. they TRIED to follow up on the success of nagito komaeda, and failed miserably. the guy literally has nazi imagery he didnt need to be complex he just needed to be an asshole and force the plot. for assholes that force the plot with actual good depth, may i interest you in byakuya togami? for guys who lie all the time with actual good depth, may i interest you in sou hiyori the beanie man himself from your turn to die [similar genre]? seriously. you guys could do SO much better. just... get better taste oh my GOD JUST BECAUSE HES A TWINK DOESNT MEAN HES WELL WRITTEN" - "Omg I hate this guy,,, people either baby him & make him a uwu soft boy or a funky clown dude, & both those types of people forget all the things he has done??? even if he "redeemed" himself in the end (which i don't think he did--) that still doesn't negate all of the things he did before??? actions speak louder than words but he could never rely on that bc all the does is lie anyway-- i have some strong opinions about him."

Peter Pan:

LOVE: - "My propaganda is that like. Half of the OUaT fandom is OBSESSED with this guy and the other half write fanfiction about their self-inserts beating the shit out of him. The tumblr sphere might be a bit too biased in favor of love and I doubt he'll make it far but from what I've seen people either adore this guy or want him dead in the streets"

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Mikan Tsumiki VS Fluttershy [Danganronpa Survivor VS My Little Pony]

Hifumi: Mikan Tsumiki, the not-so eloquent Ultimate Nurse...

Leona: And Fluttershy, the not-so submissive Element of Kindness.

Hifumi: Kindness is compassion and love in perfect harmony. It is loving yourself enough to love those around you.

Leona: But despite their power, it seems these two clumsy, skittish, yet sweethearted companions are gonna need a little help with that...He's Hifumi, and I'm Leona!

Hifumi: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, talents and skills, to see who will win a DEATH BATTLE!

Leona: Back to standard procedure folks!

Hifumi: As we're already all familiar with by this point, Hope's Peak Academy is a school committed to assisting in the training of high school students who are at the top of their fields.

Leona: And as we mentioned before, when everyone at the academy thought their lives were set in stone, Tragedy struck! Literally

Hifumi: That of course, being the arrival of Junko Enoshima. Alongside her manipulation, scheming and casual feats of murder that she did for a bit of fun, her most notable feat of the Hope's Peak Tragedy was the brainwashing of Class 77, turning them into the Ultimate Despair, who then proceeded to wreak havoc on the world as we knew it.

Leona: Yeah, we've been over this...Though it is pretty sad. All of these guys were living such fruitful and happy lives before she came along...

Hifumi: Well, I wouldn't say ALL of them...Truth be told, aside from the likes of Izuru Kamukura and Nagito Komaeda, there is one member of the Ultimate Despair who stands out more than others...That would of course, be Mrs Mikan Tsumiki.

Leona: Huh...She seems pretty meek...

Hifumi: Well, that would be...HALF right. Mrs Tsumiki's early years were difficult, and that's putting it VERY lightly! She suffered from emotional and physical abuse at the hands of both family members and people she knew outside of that. She has talked about getting burned by cigarettes, getting smeared with mud, and getting splashed with water, among other things. The bullies would make her pay for their debts, make her eat bugs and make her act like animals, beat her up, cut her hair, draw on her, and use her as a dart target. At times, she was even told to undress.

Leona: Jesus fucking Christ! Those people are MONSTERS!

Hifumi: It's actually a lot worse than you may think. Because of the things she was subjected to, Mrs Tsumiki became so twisted, she began to see abuse as AFFECTION. Consequently, she turned into a very shy individual who believed that receiving negative treatment was preferable to receiving none at all.

Leona: What the FUCK man! Jesus, how can humanity be so fucking cruel! What did SHE do!?

Hifumi: So, it's no wonder that she ended up falling to Despair first. She was the first victim of the brainwashing, serving as Junko's guinie pig, and she took to it VERY well...Better than Junko could have dreamed.

Leona: I'm afraid to ask what you mean by that...

Hifumi: It's unclear what happened or why, but Mrs Tsumiki became sickeningly obsessed with Junko Enoshima. Like Harley Quinn with the Joker, she subjected her body and soul for the sake of Junko, and to causing as much despair as possible in her name. Her obsession was so strong, it broke through the memory suppression of the Neo World Program when she and her classmates were trapped in it, and following Junko's death, not only did she try to copulate with her corpse, but she cut out her own uterus and replaced it with the corpse's

Leona: I'm gonna be sick...!

Leona does indeed go a shade of green and turn around to vomit in the corner.

Hifumi: I had figured you already knew this...I apologize. 

Leona: Can we like...maybe take a step back? We're moving through this a bit too fast...

Hifumi: Right, right, of course...Mikan Tsumiki learned how to take care of herself at a very young age because no one was there to tend to her wounds. As her proficiency in this area increased, she developed an interest in nursing and was eventually brought on as the Ultimate Nurse by Hope's Peak Academy.

Leona: Because of this, she's very intellectual about medicine and healthcare, and on multiple occasions, she's been able to save her allies even when they're basically as good as dead. She also knows exactly how much anesthetic and painkillers to exhibit to a person to knock them out without killing them.

Hifumi: Which is extremely important to her own unique way of fighting and taking down her opponents, because believe it or not, past all the emotional damage and timid nature, this skittish nurse lady is...kind of a badass!

Leona: Mikan seems to give this idea that she's a harmless, good-for-nothing girl who couldn't hurt a fly, but NONE of this is true. If you let your guard down around her or find yourself at the end of her anger, you might find yourself being thoroughly PENATRATED by her MASSIVE...! GIRTHY...! Syringe!

Hifumi: You had me for a minute.

Leona: Given the shit this chick does, I think the dirty jokes are appropriate here.

Hifumi: In all seriousness, Mrs Tsumiki has used this syringe a few times, most notably during her confrontations with Future Foundation's Ultimate Elite Task Force, specifically the Ultimate Nail Artist, as well as Nagito Komaeda.

Leona: Why does EVERYONE want to fight Nagito Komaeda!?

Hifumi: It's not like we want to, it's just that he's VERY punchable. But the difference between her and the others whom have fought him is...believe it or not, she was able to take him out.

Leona: SHE DID!?

Hifumi: Well...KIND of...She was able to run circles around him and trap him, applying her skills with stealth and smarts to get the victory, but ultimately knocked him out by distributing repeated shots of sleeping drugs to him. This only took effect AFTER his fight with Izuru Kamukura though, so it's more like she came and got the last hit in when he was already on low health. Doesn't take away from her other achievements though.

Leona: The syringe can be used to scratch and stab a bitch with it's needle, but it also holds what is basically a tub of anesthetic medicine. If she impales someone with it and gets all up inside them, she can let her juices flow through them, and this she-devil's juices are DEADLY, even more than usual.

Hifumi: You need to stop.

Leona: If I didn't say it, you would!

Hifumi: Dirty jokes aside, anesthesia and sleeping drugs are a powerful weapon when used right, especially in the hands of someone experienced giving shots to people. Distributing enough of this can have some heavy side effects. Agitation, disorientation, lightheadedness, somnolence, dysphoria, changes in hearing, tinnitus, perioral numbness, metallic taste, and dysarthria can all result from an overdose. These warning signs and symptoms can develop into seizures, respiratory arrest, coma, and ultimately death if they are not properly identified and treated quickly.

Leona: But that thing sure looks big dumb and heavy. Wielding it can't be easy. How much does it weigh exactly?

Hifumi: Oh, about 150 lbs.

Leona: Oh, ok-WHAT!? 

Hifumi: Not only is the syringe pretty hefty on it's own, but Mrs Tsumiki has stated that the syringe can hold up to 18 gallons of sedative liquid inside it. The density of the anesthetic is obviously much thicker than water, but that would at least put it to at least 150 lbs, which for reference, is about the weight of a dirt bike.

Leona: And she's just lugging that thing around no problem?

Hifumi: Obviously, Mrs Tsumiki isn't something like Mr Nidai, who could probably wield the heavy thing like a spear if he wanted, so her attacks using her trademark weapon are usually a little sluggish, so assuming you can outspeed her, it won't be much of a problem. However, if a hit DOES land, kiss your ass and your consciousness goodbye!

Leona: And even if it doesn't, Mikan's got ways around this problem...In the form of OTHER weapons! MORE NEEDLES!

Hifumi: She is indeed a Trypanophobists nightmare, as well as a nightmare for everyone else. On top of having a giant syringe as her main weapon, Mrs Tsumiki has also been known to employ smaller syringes as weapons, which she uses kind of like throwing knives. The syringes have a unique property in that the moment they pierce flesh, they apply whatever liquid is inside them, which again, is usually sedative anesthetic, albeit on a much smaller level than her main weapon.

Leona: They also sometimes contain painkillers or other sorts of medicines, usually created with Seiko Kimura's help, that Mikan can use on herself and her allies to pep them up. And she's got killer accuracy too. Plus, she has a surgical scalpel on hand for an emergency. It's honestly kinda weird...I wouldn't expect such feats from someone this emotionally unstable and...honestly, clumsy.

Hifumi: Yes, it's a well known fact that Mrs Tsumiki has a tendency to accidentally fall over in compromising positions, however, though she doesn't always outright admit it, it's implied that this was all an act. Due to her diseased mind, Mrs Tsumiki didn't become a nurse mainly out of her desire to help people, but actually upon recognizing the likelihood that she could feel in control of sick and injured people. After all, people who are sick are, by default, weaker, and they would have to rely entirely on her since they were the weaker party, and she would be in charge of their lives.

Leona: That's...kinda fucked up actually, but hey, I get it. She's seen some shit.

Hifumi: Fortunately or unfortunately, this endless abuse didn't stop even as an Ultimate Despair. Though she gave her life and everything else to Junko's cause, and claimed COUNTLESS victims, possessing one of the highest kill counts among the remnants, she was eventually captured and placed into the Neo World Program by the Future Foundation, which was then taken over by Junko's AI, and she was subsequently forced into the second killing game.

Leona: During which, her abilities and own physical capabilities really shone through. As we said already, Mikan was the only one who was able to remember her life as a Remnant of Despair, likely because her love for Junko was so insanely strong. Shortly after Monokuma hit the group with the Despair Disease, Mikan concocted and pulled off a plan of her own, which resulted in the deaths of BOTH Ibuki Mioda and Hiyoko Saionji. Speaking of which, let's talk about that quickly!

Hifumi: Nobody looks upon this moment favorably, let's be honest, but to be frank, this plan was BEYOND impressive in terms of how it's pulled off! Namely because of the amount of speed and timing that would be needed to pull it off.

Leona: We don't really need to go into specifics, but to summarize, during her plan, Mikan ran from the hospital to the music venue, smashed a bunch of electronics, changed the temperature of the room, tore off the wallpaper hiding Hiyoko's body, glued the door shut and runs all the way to the motel just as Hajime is meeting up with his friends. Based on the relative amount of time it takes for Hajime to meet up with the others, Mikan's window of opportunity was a minute at least and 2 minutes at most.

Hifumi: Which is frankly an almost impossible feat of strength and power coming from someone like her, but we can talk more about that in a minute. Following the conclusion of the Killing Game, Mrs Tsumiki was one of the first people to be brought back to life in the other side, but unfortunately...the influence of the disease remained.

Leona: Perhaps it's because Mikan technically got two doses of the brainwashing, or because she remembered during the Killing Game; but either way, Mikan came back still as a remnant self, and caused a lot of trouble, especially since the object of her affection didn't remain in the world any longer, with both her real and AI self having been wiped out. Fortunately, Hajime and the others weren't about to give up on her, even after everything she did.

Hifumi: Ironically, Ibuki Mioda, a fellow Remnant, was the primary defender of Mikan's second chance, despite being one of her victims in the Killing Game. She assisted Mikan in recovering from the trauma and returning to a generally stable state of mind. And there was a lot of trauma to work through, in case we didn't convey that already.

Leona: I guess in the end, all she ever needed to get over her damaged body and mind was a healthy relationship. And she got MORE than that when it came to Ibuki! Turns out our loveable nurse isn't TOTALLY terrible with women! Then again, as simple as I am, I wouldn't be quick to enter a loving relationship with a girl who murdered me once before...

Hifumi: Mrs Tsumiki went on to rebuild her classmates' faith and trust in her, helping the Future Foundation with medical needs and healing people this time for the right reasons. Even though she is still emotionally hesitant and timid most of the time, she makes an effort to apply herself in the fight for good and works on growing rather than letting her past or her flaws define her. With all that being said...there WERE some problems.

Leona: Yeah, it turns out that even after restoring her honor, she still felt an itch...a craving for Despair...But she tried her best to suppress it for the sake of her classmates around her. She would never have dreamed of hurting her friends anymore, but she continued to relish the thoughts, and hated herself for it. However, she eventually learned to follow the old saying "If you can't lose it? USE it!"

Hifumi: I think you're misremembering "If you can't beat them, join them," but I suppose that works better here. Whenever things are at their bleakest, Mikan Tsumiki learned to instead of giving in to her lingering psychopathic tendencies, she would WEAPONIZE them. 

Leona: We in the analysis business give this idea a neat little name of "DESPAIR RAGE!" You know that meme of the doctor with the gun? "I'm a healer, but..." that one? Yeah, that's Mikan when she's in this state.

Hifumi: Not only does she become inherently more violent and destructive in this state, throwing most of her morality and conscious decisions to the wind, but Mrs Tsumiki also becomes more sociopathic, sometimes outright toying with her enemies, like she did to Nagito Komaeda when she had him at her mercy. While the state doesn't necessarily make her STRONGER, it does stop her from holding back in any way, shape or regard. 

Leona: On that note, to close out this segment, why don't we quickly go over some statistical feats? We've already established that she's really strong and fast, but despite her surprising strength, Mikan has a hard time applying that to fights. She IS a medic after all, not really a soldier, and applies most of her skills to healing wounds instead of causing them, unless it's as a last resort.

Hifumi: Which is why when Mrs Tsumiki is faced with combat, she chooses to less rely on strength and durability, and opts more for speed and smarts. Like hiding in the shadows to land a sneak attack, or setting and luring her opponents into traps. It helps that she seems to have an innate stealth ability and keen strategical prowess.

Leona: I guess when you're not capable of setting off nukes by taking a shit, this is the best you can do. Speaking of traps and durability though, I'd have to say her most impressive feat is the fact that she fought Nagito Komaeda in such a confined environment! And when he was an Ultimate Hope too!

Hifumi: I'm inclined to agree. Do you remember how we mentioned in our first matchup that Makoto Naegi was able to survive being thrown through a solid ceiling and walls? Well, during her fight against Komaeda, Mrs Tsumiki did the same thing! SEVERAL MORE TIMES IN QUICK SUCCESSION in fact!

Leona: As a reminder, we calculated in the third episode with Akane that the amount of energy required to send someone crashing through a solid stone wall 31.572 grams of TNT, since Akane herself did it with Nagito earlier in the same arc. Mikan's feat is significantly less impressive since the number of walls she was thrown through were thinner and fewer, but it's still an unbelievable feat for someone to survive, and that's not even mentioning what happened afterwards!

Hifumi: Mrs Tsumiki's penultimate plan was to keep Mr Komaeda distracted until the Future Foundation had enough time to blow up the building with the both of them inside it. This ultimately didn't do much in terms of stopping Komaeda, but the entire buildings collapse didn't kill HER either! She escaped with several wounds and a completely mangled foot, but with her life.

Leona: So all in all, just remember that if you ever tick this seemingly timid and sweet caretaker off, you may find yourself in a state worse than death. An apple a day keeps the doctor at bay!

Leona: We're about to get into some serious shit with this one, and no, I'm not kidding, so hold your horses.

Hifumi: Was that a pun, or did you say that on accident?

Leona: Welcome to the land of Equestria, a magical kingdom full of rolling plains, beautiful mountain ranges, and rainbows! A place where you just can't help but be happy! One of the places you'll find in this magical realm is Cloudsdale! Home of the Pegasuses...or Pegasi...or...Pegacivilians...Take your pick.

Hifumi: While Unicorns are known for their magic, and Earth Ponies are known for their connection to nature, their ability to fly, walk on clouds, and manipulate the weather are what makes the Pegasi unique.

Leona: Here's some juicy lore for you folks out there who stupidly thought that this was a simple toy franchise for little girls - The Pegasi are portrayed as a militaristic, organized tribe with a well-established fighting force and a cloud home filled with war-themed monuments. Members of the original Pegasus Tribe were in charge of weather control in exchange for food harvested by Earth ponies. To sum it up, the Pegasissies in the world of My Little Pony are kind of like Saiyan's in Dragon Ball, or at least a similar premise. Yes, really.

Hifumi: And just like it was with the Saiyan's and Son Goku, there's one Pony in particular who doesn't quite fit in line with the legacy of their bloodline. We can certainly see the warrior influence in Rainbow Dash, a previous DB competitor, but far from it in her best friend...The peace-loving, hug-mongering Fluttershy.

Leona: As someone who, to probably no one's surprised, is obsessed with MLP, allow me to take over most of the historical analysis here. As Hifumi just mentioned, Fluttershy, even as a filly, was not like the other Pegasusans in Cloudsdale. In fact, she was quite a notorious outcast who didn't fit in, nor get along with many of the others around her.

Hifumi: Mainly due to how she had a taller, ganglier body and larger wings, but also wasn't a very good flier, despite that basically being the Pegasi's thing. It would kind of be like if someone made fun of you for not being able to walk properly because you have a bonky leg, which...Yeah, that's...

Leona: Yeah, kinda fucked up, right!? My Little Pony addresses ABLEISM, and very early on in fact! She was given the rather disgraceful nickname of "Klutzershy" from the colts because of her clumsy nature, but a young Rainbow Dash stood up for her. She challenged Fluttershy's bullies to a race, but then...things went a LITTLE wrong...

Hifumi: During the race, Rainbow Dash and the bullies accidentally knocked Fluttershy off the clouds and down to the ground below, but she was conveniently saved by landing on a group of butterflies. However, this was the first time she had ever been outside of Cloudsdale and was unfamiliar with the world around her, and Fluttershy was overwhelmed by seeing the beauty of the animals and the greenery for the first time.

Leona: So much so that she started to sing a merry tune. You know, as you do. But a few moments later, Rainbow Dash, who had been frightened by Fluttershy's fall, burst in so fast to find her, she created a sonic rainboom that startled the animals and scared them into hiding.

Hifumi: Fortunately, it was here that Fluttershy discovered her true calling in life. She might not have been as fast, or as brave as the rest of her people, but learned that she had a gift for talking to animals, after managing to quiet the critters down after the scare. Moments later, she earned her Cutie Mark.

Leona: And no, that's not a euphemism for something. The cutie marks are obtained when Ponies discover a unique characteristic that sets themselves apart from others. Effectively, if she existed in our universe, this would the the symbol of Fluttershy's Ultimate Talent.

Hifumi: With time, Fluttershy established herself as one of the members of the Guardians of Friendship, or as the community calls them, the Mane 6, alongside Rainbow Dash, as well as Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Unfortunately, even once she was a fully grown adult pony, her timidness and shyness didn't go away. I mean, it's in her name obviously, but she's typically very pacifistic and somewhat cowardly, possesses severe stage fright, and she was so shy in the first half of the series that she could hardly speak in front of strangers and that she was unable to say "no" when asked to do something that she didn't want to do.

Leona: But again, that's what makes it so weird and baffling, because just like her opponent, this "crouching moron" is a "hidden badass!"

Hifumi: Even early on in the series when it's most sold that Fluttershy is weaker than most Pegasi around her, it's also proven to NOT be the case. It may mainly be because of her lack of confidence in herself, but at her peak when she throws this to the wayside, usually out of fear or anger, she has the potential to be stronger AND faster than even Rainbow Dash.

Leona: She WAS able to outfly Rainbow Dash while towing two other ponies in a hot-air balloon, and kept up with her when creating a tornado. Something that the Pegasussusamongus do as part of their rituals in Equastria, and even though she's noted to not be as good at base level as the rest of her people, she SHOULD realistically be capable of this feat at her full potential.

Hifumi: You did that one on purpose...

Leona: Maybe I did, maybe I didn't?

Hifumi: You DEFINITELY did!

Leona: She's also ran the entire Running of the Leaves, a very intense running race, without showing a notable decrease in stamina, and her ability to empathize and communicate with animals has helped both herself and her allies in tight jams before. However, on top of all these wacky powers and abilities, there's one that really stands out that only she possesses...THE STARE! DUN DUN DUUUUUN!

Hifumi: The Stare is, in short, Fluttershy glaring at you angrily like a disappointed mother, and she usually uses this look on misbehaving animals. While this doesn't sound THAT intimidating coming from a soft-spoken pony like her, it's proven to ACTUALLY be quite powerful, so much so that Fluttershy openly says she only employs it in life or death situations, or to maintain order. It's so effective, she was able to use it to tame a cockatrice!

Leona: Kind of like Medusa, staring a cockatrice in the eyes turns you to stone, which it did once to Twilight Sparkle. However, Fluttershy employed the stare on it, looking it dead in the eyes, and actually got it to RELENT, causing her own petrification to be reversed, as well as Twilight's.

Hifumi: However, despite how powerful this "Stare" really is, it has it's limitations. Namely, it's shown not working on powerful and/or chaotic and unrelenting creatures like the infamous Discord, who merely laughed in Fluttershy's face when she tried to use it on him. It also seems to have absolutely no effect on more aggressive creatures like Flash Bees.

Leona: But even amongst the incredible feats of the Pegusfring's, and her own powers like the stare, Fluttershy's main source of power comes from her own special magic. The Mane 6 are capable of wielding these special artifacts called the Elements of Harmony.

Hifumi: In the My Little Pony universe, the Elements of Harmony are commonly described as "the most powerful magic known to Ponydom." Thousands of years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna discovered them and removed them from the Tree of Harmony. Every artifact symbolizes a facet of friendship and becomes active only when the wielder possesses the matching trait and when all six are used together.

Leona: That being said, Twilight Sparkle was able to use the Element of Magic by herself in Equestria Girls, so the latter part isn't exactly true. In the case of Fluttershy though, she wields the Element of Kindness!

Hifumi: The Kindness Element is represented by a pink butterfly-shaped gem set in a gold necklace, resembling the butterflies in Fluttershy's Cutie Mark. Though it's only really ever used as a last resort, using the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy can restore peace and balance in moments of complete and total anarchy. Aside from granting Fluttershy special magical powers like generating forcefields, the Element can be used to banish different villains to different planes of existence, like the moon, Tartarus, or limbo, or it can be used to imprison something, like when it was used to imprison Discord in stone.

Leona: Yeah, Tartarus is a thing in My Little Pony. I told you, the lore fucks! And if you didn't think THAT was crazy, the Element can also summon a rainbow tornado that no matter what, completely engulfs its target! If they are evil or opposed to harmony, this tornado will completely change their morality and they will show remorse for their actions!

Hifumi: A very fitting power for someone like Fluttershy, who even without the Element's power is already kindness and sympathy incarnate? Do you remember how we brought up Discord? He's a Draconequus who is LITERALLY the physical embodiment of disharmony and chaos, and was originally one of the ponies most terrifying foes.

Leona: Emphasis on "originally," because thanks to Fluttershy's kindness and her willingness to see the good in people; even after he went on to cause even more trouble for her and her friends, she was not only able to REFORM Discord of his evil ways, but became his best buddy! And potential love interest as a lot of the fandom will tell you, but that's a discussion for another time. So yeah, if anyone's gonna wield the Element of Kindness, it's Fluttershy!

Hifumi: To make things even worse for any enemy that might have the gall to underestimate her, Fluttershy is also capable of boosting her power through the last means you might expect from MLP, but then again, that seems to be a running theme...Transformation!

Leona: We could be here all day talking about this but to sum it up, there's basically this tree that has a chest, and unlocking this chest unleashes this ancient power inside it that allows the Mane 6, including Fluttershy, to take on the POWER OF THE RAINBOWS! Or...Rainbow Power as it's called. 

Hifumi: The Rainbow Power is only briefly seen, but following the opening of the chest, Fluttershy and her companions all gained more magic and underwent physical transformations. The Mane 6 used this power to defeat Lord Tirek, after he stole Twilight's powers, along with the magic of the entire population of Equestria! And that includes, Celestia, Luna and Discord's power!

Leona: The Rainbow Power and transformation bestows Fluttershy with all the same powers as the Element of Kindness tenfold! When she and her friends used it following the overpowered Tirek's rampage, she returned the stolen flight, strength, and magic back to the ponies of Equestria, even the Alicorns, and it also gives her powers like unlimited flight, powerful forcefield creation, summoning a gigantic spiritual Alicorn to aid in battle, and even increased Banishment powers like when she sent Tiren back to Tartarus with it.

Hifumi: And to top it all off, that's not the only transformation that Fluttershy possesses. She's also capable of taking on her own unique, and honestly rather deadly form...the Flutterbat!

Leona: So not only is Fluttershy at her peak a weather controller, multiversal goddess and the living embodiment of the concept of Kindness, she's also a FUCKING VAMPIRE! MY LITTLE PONY EVERYBODY!

Hifumi: To be more specific, Fluttershy became a vampire fruit bat-pony hybrid when Twilight unintentionally transferred the vampire fruit bats' desires to her. Her cutie mark transforms into three pink bats, and she gets fangs, bat wings, red eyes, and bat-like ears. She was able to outmaneuver the other ponies in the air with ease while squeezing the juice from apples and spitting out their seeds in this form.

Leona: So think a vampire that sucks on apple juice instead of blood. Twilight eventually managed to restore her back to normal, but at the end of the episode, Fluttershy retained a small fang, and later took the form of Flutterbat again to help Princess Luna defeat the Tantabus.

Hifumi: All in all, there's a LOT to Fluttershy than meets the eye, and thinking she's an easy target is a recipe for one's downfall. She has so forcefully bucked the back ends of two garbage wagonloads that they have flipped over to the vertical position and back again, skillfully wrestled a bear while trying to give it a massage, and withstood an attack from Sunset Shimmer when she herself was using the Element of Magic.

Leona: In one episode, she and Bulk Biceps, a very muscular Pegasoo, collided into a mountainside with such force that an indent was formed, and Fluttershy was crushed beneath Bulk's larger body. She is stuck on him when he flies off, but she appears surprised rather than pained, and in the following scenes, she is perfectly fine! She's also successfully defended herself against Iron Will, a really buff minotaur dude, fought and overpowered Cozy Glow for a time, stood up to a giant dragon despite her innate fear of them, and fought an army of Changelings, insect-like beings who feed off the love of others to gain power for their own.

Hifumi: Fluttershy may easily lose her cool when she's angered, and she may be cripplingly afraid of many things, but there's one indisputable fact about her. She's a VALID and DESERVING member of the Mane 6, and will pull her weight when she needs to, no matter what comes her way.

Hifumi: Alright, the combatants are set! We've run the data through all possibilities!

Leona: IT'S TIME FOR A DEEAAATH BAAATTLLLLLLEEE!

WARNING:The following battle contains actions of extreme violence committed on a character from  My Little Pony. We understand this sort of graphic content and description can perturb some readers, so while we don't normally give this warning, we will here. Should you wish to skip straight to the results, by all means do so.You have been warned.

The scene opens to into a peaceful setting within the middle of a quiet orchard on a sunny day in Equestria. The birds are singing, the animals are casually playing around.

This peace however, is interrupted by a terrified scream, as Mikan Tsumiki comes bursting into the clearing, crying and panicked, literally pulling her hair out.

Mikan: Where am I!? What's going on!? WHERE AM I!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?

Freaked out and scared at having randomly ended up in this strange and unfamiliar location, Mikan's mental state is rapidly crumbling, and the animals around her run for safety, feeling  threatened by her frankly overwhelming presence.

Meanwhile, not too far away, several more animals gather around a yellow and pink pony, tending to them and singing to them while doing so.

Fluttershy: ♪ I like the quiet, I like the calm...To turn it up, to sing along...I'm not just shy...Look close, and you will see...There's so much more to♪ -HUH!?

Fluttershy's soothing melody is swiftly interrupted as the animals cries from beyond the shrubbery grow closer. She lifts her head and sees several critters scurry from the bushes, followed by a clumsy, stumbling, purple-haired nurse, who trips over the branches and lands on her face. She quickly lifts her head to see Fluttershy staring back at her with astonishment.

Fluttershy: A human...!?

Mikan: KYAGH!? A-A t-t-talking horse!?

Fluttershy: How did you get here!? A-And why are you scaring the precious little animals away!?

Mikan: Wh-What!? No, no, no! Th-That's not what I

*CRUNCH!*

Fluttershy: HEEE!?

Mikan: EEEP!

Fluttershy, the animals and even Mikan herself gasp in horror, as Mikan gets to her feet and accidentally steps forward on top of a small mouse. The mouse squeaks in pain as it's crushed beneath her foot.

Fluttershy: Oh no! H-Hold on! I can help-!

*WHOOOSH!*

Mikan: AAGGGGH I'm SORRRYYYYY!

*SMACK!*

Fluttershy: GUGH!

Mikan: Agh...TCH!

Mistaking her approach for her trying to avenge the creature, Mikan fends Fluttershy off by grabbing her syringe from behind her back and swatting her away with it when she flies in to supposedly attack. Mikan looks back and forth between her weapon and her now opponent, her expression darkening as she realizes it's far too late for peaceful negotiations.

Though Fluttershy seems hesitant, she agrees to the duel regardless. With the exception of one deer who quickly grabs the poor mouse's body first, the rest of the animals quickly scarper, leaving the area open, as the fight begins!

Though initially trying to go in for the first blow, Fluttershy starts the fight by staying on the defensive. Mikan hoists her giant syringe up and takes some hefty swings. Though even in a panicked and confused state, Fluttershy easily avoids them.

*SHUNK!*

Fluttershy: KUGH!

Mikan: HUAGH!

*POW!*

Fluttershy: Haah...! U-Uwagh...Ngh...CHAGH!

Mikan: OOF!

When Mikan eventually gets a hit in while Fluttershy is at her most vulnerable, he punches the plunger to inject Fluttershy with the viscous anesthetic fluid inside. Fluttershy manages to break free just in time, and despite feeling lightheaded due to the anesthetic's effects, she counterattacks by using her front hooves to kick Mikan.

Fluttershy takes a moment while she has breathing room to check her wound. Seeing that she's slightly bleeding, she quickly wipes the wound with her hoof as Mikan recovers from her previous attack.

Mikan: What is going on...!? A-Am I hallucinating!? Is this some kind of dream...!?

Fluttershy notices that Mikan is panicking and in this moment, takes some sympathy on her.

Fluttershy: Hey, um...It occurs to me that we...may have jumped to conclusions before...You don't have to be so scared-

Mikan: N-No! GET AWAY FROM ME!

Mikan pulls out a bunch of smaller throwing syringes from her apron. Crying her eyes out in fear, she throws a barrage of them at Fluttershy, trying to turn the Pegasus into a pincushion.

Fluttershy: EEK!

Fluttershy's eyes widen as she sees these needles incoming, and she quickly rolls to the side and dashes out of the way. She flies forward, but looks back, worried that the needles might hit any of the animals.

Fortunately, they collide with the trunk of a thick tree and get stuck. Unfortunately, Fluttershy, not looking where she's going, bumps into Mikan. The two clatter to the floor, the latter in a rather compromising position that she quickly covers up.

Mikan: KYAAGH!

Fluttershy: Oh, sorry! I'm so sorry!

Mikan: No, that was my-Ugh...It's ok...Hold on, let me-

Fluttershy: N-No, let me get this for-OOF! My, this is REALLY heavy!

Mikan: No, no, I've got it! Thank you though...

Fluttershy: Sorry, I wasn't looking!

Mikan: No, seriously, thank you!

Fluttershy: Anytime!

Mikan & Fluttershy: Huh? Wait...Oh, DANGIT!

After a brief distraction, in which Fluttershy helps Mikan to her feet and tries to hand her back her primary weapon, the two forget that they're supposed to be fighting and cuss themselves out for it. Mikan takes the first strike, almost pinning Fluttershy to the ground with her heavy weapon before the Pegasus shoves her backwards.

*WHOOSH!*

Mikan: Huh!? WAH-!?

*CRACK!*

Mikan: GUAAAGGH!

*SLAM!*

Mikan: OHOUGH!

Fluttershy: HEEEH!

In quick succession, Fluttershy darts between Mikan's legs, kicks her square in the back from behind, grabs her legs and pins her to the ground, similarly to how she does when she's massaging bears, though this is done with the intention of holding Mikan still on the ground.

Fluttershy: Please, just listen to me! I'm sorry I scared you! We don't have to be fighting like this!

Mikan: Haah...! Haaah...! Haaaah...! NRGH!

Fluttershy: YOWCH!

Fluttershy's wishes for peace aren't granted. Mikan gets Fluttershy off of her by grabbing another small needle and stabbing her in the ankle, injecting more of the fluid. Mikan throws Fluttershy off of her, grabs her big weapon, and dives into the trees.

Fluttershy: Wait...! C-Come back...!

Fluttershy calls after her, but the anesthetic makes her even more dizzy, and she's unable to see straight for a moment. Mikan on the other hand, hides behind a rather thick tree trunk in a darker part of the orchard, cradling her body and starting to hyperventilate.

Mikan: What do I do...!? What do I do...!? I don't even know where I am and I...I...!

You hurt them...

Mikan: Geh!?

It never ends...You hurt everybody...

Mikan: Stop...!

She'll kill you...

Mikan: No, no...!

She should...

Mikan: Grrgh...!

Die, you piece of shit...!

Mikan: Forgive me...! Please...forgive me...! I...

She slowly rises to her feet. She then slowly lifts her head, her expression having changed dramatically. The tears stop flowing, her lips stop quivering, she holds her syringe with a tight grip, and her eyes become swirled with layers and layers of anguish and darkness.

Mikan: I won't stop...until you FORGIVE ME!

Fluttershy: Please, c-come out...! I can help you...!

Fluttershy stirs as she suddenly hears the sound of something fast through the leaves behind her. She quickly turns around, but only sees traces of something that was there. She hears the same sound again and turns again, seeing the same thing.

Fluttershy: Human...? Wh-Where are you...!?

Mikan: Here...!

Fluttershy: HUH!?

*SHUUNK!*

Fluttershy: GHAAAAGH!

Fluttershy screams in agony as without a word of warning, besides Mikan's sadistic teasing, she feels the incredibly sharp pang of the giant needle in the back of her body! Though being restrained, Fluttershy turns her head enough to see that Mikan's timid demeanor has gone, and now the look in her eyes bares naught but a despairful rage.

Mikan: Heeheheheheheh! KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAGH!

Fluttershy: OOPH! RRGGGH!

Mikan: Heeeehehh...Hehehehhehehhheeegh...!

Mikan grabs Fluttershy by her jaw with one hand, holding onto the pony tightly as she uses her other to pump her full of the drugs in her weapon. Fluttershy's vision slowly begins to go dark, and the more the anesthetic enters her system, the weaker she gradually becomes, allowing Mikan to dominate her; baring a sadistic and perverse smile all the while.

Mikan then, to add insult to the very painful injury, kicks Fluttershy onto the ground and bounces off her into the air. While airborne, she once again reaches into her apron and produces several more syringes, which she holds between her fingers. She smiles down at Fluttershy, sticking out her tongue, sweating, and with a face-wide blush of ecstacy.

Mikan: Here's your PRESCRIPTION!

*SHUNK!* *SHUNK!* *SHUNK SHUNK* *SHUNNKKK!*

Fluttershy: KYAAAAAAAAAAAGGH! 

The pain is agonizing! Fluttershy is injected with multiple sharp objects all over her body, pumping her full of drugs and rendering her nearly incapacitated and in immense pain, despite the needles causing little bleeding. She begins to lose sensation in her legs and her vision begins to warp. Mikan lands, picks up her enormous syringe, and moves slowly toward the Pegasus, raising the needle above her head for the final blow. All Fluttershy can do is crawl forward helplessly.

Fluttershy: No...Please...d-don't...! Huh?

Though her vision is still shaky, Fluttershy looks forward and meets eyes with a lone fruit bat, which is passing through, unaware of what's really going on with the situation and just looking for apples to eat in the orchard.

The bat glares into her eyes, and despite her agony, something stirs within Fluttershy, and her eyes widen, only to morph into an enraged and deranged frown as she feels her body begin to change...! Meanwhile, Mikan finally lets her chunky syringe fall down towards her head!

Mikan: DIE!

However, much to Mikan's surprise, as soon as she brings the needle down on Fluttershy, the pony disappears. This time, it's HER turn to be surprised when she senses a presence behind her...!

Flutterbat: *HIISSSS*

Mikan: GUAGH! GAGH! *SPLUTTER!*

Fluttershy, now FlutterBAT, smacks Mikan with her now hefty tail, sending her crashing into another tree trunk. Mikan lazily crawls to her feet and glares back at her attacker, who menacingly hangs upside down from a tree branch sucking on an apple.

Mikan: Filthy fucking rabies infested CREATURE!

Flutterbat: *SCREEEECCH!*

Mikan yells these enraged words out while hoisting her syringe over her shoulder before sprinting back into the fray. Similarly, Flutterbat drops from her perch and flies toward the Ultimate Nurse like small plane.

The sheer force of Flutterbat's wings almost knocks Mikan over, but she manages to stand and stabs Fluttershy with her syringe once more. This time, though, she sees that it does much less to slow Fluttershy down.

Mikan: What in the hell ARE you, freak!?

Flutterbat: *SCREEEECCH!*

Flutterbat, naturally, has nothing to say in response, and Mikan's frustration at not being able to gain the upper hand over her opponent grows. But Flutterbat also has trouble dealing Mikan any significant damage. She attempts to bite Mikan in retaliation, but the nurse dodges it and kicks her out of the way, only to have a gust of wind throw her back in turn.

Flutterbat: *HIISSSS*

Mikan: KYRRAAAAAGGH!

Mikan and Flutterbat trade violent blows, with Mikan using her syringe to hit Flutterbat and the former using her tail, sending each other flying back into the trees.

Flutterbat: Agh...Ngh...Hm?

Mikan: Haah...Hagh...HRGH! Huuh! Huuh! Huuh!

The blow into the tree has an interesting effect on Flutterbat as the transformation and continued fighting frees her of the initial effects of Mikan's drug-induced lunacy, making her vaguely come to her senses. When the pony sees the Nurse hyperventilating, clearly in a state of a panic attack, her reason comes back to her.

With it, Flutterbat drops out of her transformation and becomes Fluttershy again. Mikan's panic attack leaves her open to another blow, but Fluttershy refrains.

Before she can do or say anything, the animals from earlier slowly poke their heads out from the bushes, sensing a break in the fighting. Among them, Fluttershy sees the mouse Mikan stepped on earlier, now feeling a lot better, as it squeaks happily, but then squeaks in concern as it looks back towards Mikan. 

Fluttershy also looks back at Mikan, who is still on the ground, breathing heavily. She smiles and nods towards her animal companions, as they prepare a plan.

Fluttershy: I...think I understand it now...! Everyone was so afraid of you...but you've been afraid this whole time, right? You must have end

Mikan: Grrgh...Hngh...

Fluttershy: I guess it's true, huh? It's so sad. I'm so sorry...But still...

Fluttershy stamps her hoof on the ground, drawing the panicked and crazed Mikan's attention. Fluttershy then employs her most deadly technique - THE STARE!

Fluttershy: That's NO excuse for your behavior! You need to calm down!

Mikan: ...

Fluttershy: ...

Mikan: Are you making fun of me...! Please! DON'T PICK ON ME!

*SHWOOSH!* 

*CLINK!*

Mikan: Huh!?

Fluttershy: Yeah, I somehow knew that wouldn't work...!

Fluttershy giggles, embarrassed that her trick didn't work, but also clearly not having expected it to. But to Mikan's shock and surprise, as she throws another array of needles towards Fluttershy, they seem to bounce off her. In reality, they collide with a forcefield the Pegasus puts around herself.

While distracting Mikan with The Stare, Fluttershy's animal companions hang the golden necklace that is the Element of Kindness around her neck, and Fluttershy does not hesitate to use it's power to protect herself.

Mikan panics and throws more needles, but they also bounce off. Fluttershy bears an expression of sympathy, but also determination as she and her animal friends stride slowly towards the Ultimate Nurse.

Fluttershy: I meant it when I said I don't want to hurt you...But without my friends here...I need to do this...!

*SHIIIIIINE!*

Mikan: KRRGH! H-HUH!?

Mikan is nearly blinded by a light that erupts from Fluttershy's body, and once it dissipates, she looks up in horror to see Fluttershy in her Rainbow Power form.

Fluttershy: I think you should be careful...

Mikan: Wha-!? WAAAGHAAAGH! WHAT IS THIIIIS!?

Fluttershy: It's the most powerful magic in all of Equestria...Friendship!

Mikan: KYRAGH! KYAAAHAGH!

Die...Kill...No...NOOOOO...! STOP! NOOOOOOOO!

Mikan: H-Huh!?

Mikan's eyes shut tight as she's suddenly swept off her feet by a tornado made of rainbows that completely envelops her. However, they shoot open again, not in fear, not in shock or horror...but in clarity.

The voices in her head that drive her into despair...the foundation of her despairing rage...she feels them being washed away, and for the first time in her entire life...she feels free.

However, despite this, her nightmare doesn't appear to be over, as she stares back up at Fluttershy, who's body glows with a white light, and her eyes white out as she's filled with power.

Fluttershy: Heehee...!

*POYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!*

Mikan: K-KYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGH!

Fluttershy, with a warm and cheerful smile, and with the animals of the orchard hovering around her in bliss and tranquility, fires a golden beam of light down onto her opponent, and Mikan screams in fear as she sees her body slowly but surely begin to turn into stone! Starting with her feet and working it's way up into her head, the broken Ultimate Nurse becomes a solid frozen ornament.

Fluttershy slowly descends to the ground with her animal friends, and returns to her base form. She's completely healed of every wound she suffered during the fight and her vitality is restored to normal. She and the animals approach the statue and carefully watch it.

Fluttershy: Once my friends arrive, we'll let you go free, and I'll gladly let you join my tea party! ...But for now, I'm sorry, but I have to sit you in time out...

Leona: Ah, poor poor Mikan. First a victim of batshit Danganronpa lore, now a victim of even more batshit My Little Pony lore. But hey, at least she didn't "DIE" die...

Hifumi: Unsurprisingly, this match was pretty clear cut. Though despite the one-sidedness in terms of how each combatants abilities stack up to each others, Mikan Tsumiki DID possess her own fair share of advantages. 

Leona: To start with, Mikan's primary way of taking out enemies is using her needles to either rip them to shreds, or inject them with enough anesthetic to send them into comatose. Despite it still being pretty high when scaled to other characters in My Little Pony, Fluttershy's defense is easily her weakest stat, and she's evidently not immune to drugs...and I genuinely can't believe I just said that.

Hifumi: Tsumiki's best shot at winning this fight would be to catch Fluttershy off guard, and inject her with enough sleeping drugs that she falls unconscious and deliver an easy killing blow that way, assuming Fluttershy doesn't somehow die from the overdose. And with her evidently unmatched stealth and speed skills, as well as the fact that she's undoubtedly far more strategic than her Pegasus opponent, it was entirely possible she could get the jump on Fluttershy, who all things considered is very gullible and easily duped, and achieve exactly that!

Leona: That being said, while not IMPOSSIBLE, it was still very unlikely. It took SEVERAL shots, and even Mikan having to distribute basically all of the drugs contained in her claymore needle to render Nagito Komaeda unconscious. This is most likely because Nagito's Ultimate Hope abilities gave him an exponential increase in stamina that allowed him to resist the drugs for a long time, only taking effect with one final shot following several battles in succession.

Hifumi: And based on the calculations of her feats, as well as scaling her to Rainbow Dash in particular, it's likely that Fluttershy's max stamina was MUCH HIGHER than even that.

Leona: As were MOST of Fluttershy's stats at that. Mikan was fast, being able to outpace Nagito Komaeda, who possesses above superhuman speed and reactions, but Fluttershy was DEFINITELY faster, so much so that it's hard to even lock down her maximum speed. Scaling it to Rainbow Dash though, who she was able to keep up with when creating the tornado, we know she's at least faster than light.

Hifumi: In terms of physical strength, in both their base form and Despair and Flutterbat forms respectively, they might have been equal in terms of attack potency, but to reiterate, Mikan Tsumiki's primary weapon is a 150 lbs syringe, and though she IS able to wield it, she does so sluggishly, in a way that Fluttershy just can't NOT dodge easily.

Leona: Another advantage Mikan held was that based on the way the ability works, it's most likely that in her Despair Rage state, she would be immune to Fluttershy's stare, just like Discord and the Flash Bees were, since Mikan is also a very aggressive creature in this state that honestly relishes on fear more than it perturbs her.

Hifumi: However, what Mikan would NOT have been immune to was the Elements of Harmony, and there was no way in hell she was EVER going to beat Fluttershy in her Rainbow Power form. In fact, Fluttershy's power of the Element of Kindness basically countered every ability she had left.

Leona: Her powers could easily allow her to generate a barrier that blocks all of Mikan's weapons and projectiles, and would cleanse of her any lingering effects of the drugs if there were any. And to top it all off, Fluttershy's rainbow tornado would wipe every trace of evil and Despair away from Mikan, effectively taking away her Despair Rage state and every ability and bloodlust along with it. She could also just as easily use the Element of Harmony to turn Mikan to stone like with Discord and the other villains in MLP. You know, if Mikan really is struggling to cope with her past and the Despair still inside her, she should probably ask Fluttershy for therapy. Pretty sure it would do her wonders!

Hifumi: Let's be honest, if these two ACTUALLY met, there's NO WAY they would fight. They have a lot in common, with both of them being pretty wimpy, timid and sweet in their base forms, and not being able to fight at full potential unless angered or despaired. Despite their far from intimidating appearances, both Mrs. Tsumiki and Fluttershy have shown feats of strength and ability far beyond the average human or pony.

Leona: But that is the exact reason why Mikan falls so far of the victory here. One is a human, and the other is a pony. Mikan possesses no form of special combat abilities or powers, but Fluttershy has used her unique abilities alongside her friends to take down opponents like Discord and Tirek; both godly beings far beyond anything Mikan could ever HOPE to take down.

Hifumi: Mikan Tsumiki was a terrifying foe, but Fluttershy's total dominance and undefeatable power of Kindness and Friendship put the Ultimate Nurse in her stone-cold place.

Leona: Though she was Flutter-SHY of victory, fortunately for Mikan, forgiveness is the NEEDLE that knows how to mend!

THE WINNER IS FLUTTERSHY!

Next Time:

The world is under attack and the robot invaders are taking over! But don't worry! These two unlikely teenage heroes are going to step up, fight for and with their families, and take back humanities world! But when the odds collide, which one of these average teenage girls is gonna come out on top?

[starlingbowels]

On the effect of the despair disease

Ok so i was kind of in doubt about the despair disease inverting personalities in 2-3. Because my first impression upon playing the game is that the people who are under the effect of the disease become kind of...realer with themselves, saying what they truly think despite it being "out of character". Logically Akane should feel more upset by Nekomaru's "death", and she only recovered so quickly bc it was more in her optimistic, upbeat character to do so. Mikan remembers her "lover," and despite being meek, she went on to kill people and want to reunite with Junko under the effect of the disease. Poor girl had been through so much in her life that it's only natural she wants a break from all that misery, and she was fascinated with horror movies bc of the blood and gore...the disease seems like a push towards the direction of her true, dangerous desires, right?

one could argue that Ibuki went from being rebellious to gullible and completely compliant, and that's clear evidence for a personality shift. But we can see Ibuki going along with the friend group, both in the case of Twilight Syndrome and when Hiyoko bullied Mikan, and she never did anything upfront to challenge her friends' decisions. Her musical genius is presented as iconoclastic, yes, but does she really strike you as a "doesn't listen to what other says and bravely raises her own point and does her own thing" person? I love Ibuki, but what i see in the game makes me think my girl isn't a rebel in anything besides music.

But a more obvious problem is that we know Nagito's symptom was compulsive lying when he said "I'm not Nagito Komaeda", and here what does it say?

Technically he's not Nagito Komaeda, and definitely not someone who is Makoto Naegi, right? So at least Nagito's not telling a full lie.

Then what do we make of him not wanting Hajime to stay in his room? There are certainly shippy interpretations, but I want to expand on the possibility of Nagito recognizing "the hope inside" Hajime, aka the Ultimate Hope, Izuru Kamukara. Nagito talks all about upholding hope, yet in the OVA, in his inner world he said he would rather live a normal life in a world without talents, right?

That would mean deep down, Nagito doesn't really think hope will solve everything, that a world saved by Ultimate Hope would be the perfect world. Hence he behaves kind of negatively to Hajime under the effect of the disease, hajime who had helped everyone reach the correct conclusion in every trial and seems to harbor a secret that directly links him to hope; also, on a meta level, Nagito's talking to us players, right? It's only because we played and watched danganronpa that the killing game as well as hope vs despair continued. Something to consider here.

Now i do think the OVA rushed Nagito's character and isn't very well executed in exposing his true motives and such, but at least it adds another possibility to what Nagito really wants. And I think not being as confident in hope as he seems to be, and fully revealing that insecurity when he caught the despair disease, could be interesting interpretation of Nagito's character and behaviors in 2-3. After all, the disease really do just cause them to go OOC, but that would on a surface level mean they are going against their own tropes and/or the tropey way the game had made them to be, and not completely subverting their own character. If you think about it, they are teenagers in a killing game, and Akane sure should've mourned Nekomaru a little bit longer and felt more in despair after seeing a friend dying for her, if dangan is less psychopop and more realistic and gruesome, which she was given an opportunity to do because of the disease, riiiight?

(a last point: we see how Junko, by leading herself into situations of despair, broke the consistency of her character and subverted the trope of gyaru. We also see how at the end of v3, by revealing the fictionality of the dangan world, Tsumugi plunged everyone into despair, making them wonder who they really are and have been. At first glance despair makes ppl go ooc, but it also makes dangan characters more complex and nuanced, reaching into the realm of fiction and calling them out in a way, bc people irl would have contradictions instead of sticking to a personality trope.)

[bloodpen-to-paper]

I love the disparity in reception between the Sans vs Reigen poll and Cecil vs Sans. 

Sans is dunking on Reigen, he’s destroying the man. Reigen is going down just as dramatically as he lived. There is blood, sweat, and angst in the form of Nagito Komaeda coming down from Tumblr heaven to encourage his lover to fight for his life. Its hype, its the talk of the town, people are foaming at the mouth with chaotic energy. The memes are unhinged, everything is, always has been. The Queen is dead. Sans and Reigen are now making out (with tongue, but like without Sans having one you feel me? its the vibe).

But the second time around? Cecil and Sans are OGs, legends. They respect each other, they understand each other. Everyone says they would be friends and they are. They crack jokes during the fight and then go out for drinks later. The vibes are chill, a new friendship is being formed and its reminding everyone of their roots. The fandoms fought hard but are at peace, each showing their pride for their team and walking away feeling satisfied. Cecil and Sans talk about their husbands to each other and promise to have a friendly rematch someday like old joke rivals.

They are making out with tongue.

[thecrackshipawards]

Sans from Undertale x Nagito Komaeda from Danganronpa 2 vs TS Woodrow x Phantom of the Bwahpera from Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

Propaganda for TS Woodrow x Phantom of the Bwahpera:

It started out as a random crackship one of my mutuals came up with like, a year ago and now everyone in the fandom loves it. One is a nervous poet whose poems cause bad luck whever he recites them, the other is a pompous opera ghost who thinks very highly of himself, and somehow it works

[edgelord-battle-bracket]

THE OFFICIAL EDGELORD LOSER BRACKET

After the intense battle for the title of Official Tumblr Edgelord, the battle of the Official Tumblr Losers will begin!

The loser's bracket will consist of everyone who was fairly or unfairly defeated in the first round; the battle pairs being:

William Afton (fnaf) vs Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney)

Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts) vs Noisemaster (Cucumber Quest)

Revenant (Apex Legends) vs Zuko (atla)

Kaneki Ken (Tokyo Ghoul) vs Kurapika (hxh)

Nightcap (pvz) vs Ulquiorra (Bleach)

Kylo Ren (Star Wars) vs TKO (okko!:lbh)

Nico de Angelo (Riordanverse) vs Dark Pit (Kid Icarus)

Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa) vs Tokoyami Fumigake (bnha)

[windcarvedlyre]

Making these tags their own post actually:

To also add that... you're telling me his besties outside of Hinata are Souda and Kuzuryuu now? Them??

That's hilarious and I'm all for it; their dr2.5 interactions sell me on them being a fun trio even if those were Komaeda's perceptions of them, not actually them (lmao @ his version of Naegi). Their low tolerance for his bullshit could be a good influence for him, and since not-Kuzuryuu lightly challenged his lack of ambition in 2.5 Komaeda might want, deep down, to have more vulnerable conversations with them. Both Kuzuryuu and Souda might benefit themselves from Komaeda being unfazed by... basically everything. There are situations where he'd somehow be the most level-headed person.

But dear god would I kill to see an organic progression from their relationships in DR2 to that. Everyone regaining all of their memories makes it understandable for there to be little bad blood from the game; they've all committed atrocities and they'd know Komaeda would behave differently outside of the killing game.

But that's boring! It sweeps so much under the rug for the entire cast! I'd find it much more compelling if their memory recovery was flawed, and/or slow, and/or it felt separated from them somehow- like knowing something intellectually vs it genuinely sinking in. That way you could have the DR2 cast know they should give him a chance, that they can't really hold themselves above him, but still struggle to forgive him for anything or stay alone in a room with him.

I could see Kuzuryuu and Souda start off hating his guts/fearing him, feel really conflicted once they realise his ch5 actions were understandable, become even more so if they start finding out more about his past, and then slowly, painfully start to accept he isn't malicious and has a more human side somewhere in his head. Probably with Hinata mediating every single interaction at first, forcing Komaeda to tone himself down a bit and whoever else is there to endure what he lacks the self-awareness to change.

Maybe there could be turning points where he throws himself into something dangerous for the sake of the group, or regresses into killing game mode after he thinks his bad luck's harmed someone else, and it becomes more obvious to others that he genuinely cares and the 'hope' rhetoric is a coping mechanism?

I kind of want to write this now.