#mondo/taka implied

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

"Really dad...?"

HELP MEEEEEEE

Come on, Mon. Let Kaito use the shirt fjebebe

[dysaniadisorder]

i think all the dr1 characters get very watered down by the fandom but in reality. they are all so weird

[is-your-name-anronpa-cause-dang]

Re consuming trigger happy havoc because I haven’t since I started this god forsaken obsession (I will be going over the entire series again I am a loser) and the amount Makoto has unhelpful thoughts in the elevator is absurd like DAMN I just wish, for ONE singular trial instead of telling us about the slow narrative plot about the rumbling of the elevator going from being something terrible to keeping him company over the course of three or so trials, I’d instead hope for something like roadtrip thoughts:

‘I need to pee’

‘how long until we get there’

Are we there yet

‘can we hurry this up the warehouse is closing soon and I haven’t had lunch yet’

This? Is that so much to ask

sorry about my last post btw, I live in Australia. the heat stays at a cool Minecraft nether and I was not taking it like mondo and Taka in the sauna room did

[nite-puff]

I was watching a video about Roger Rabbit today and it reminded me of your Roger Rabbit AU and... in light of the "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way" line implying that toons aren't naturally born but made.... Takaaki as just the most haggard looking deadline-crunching animator of all time with his silly little bunnyboy.

YES. i had a similar idea about this after wondering how takaaki could possibly fit into the au. old man and his oc. just begging to be screwed over by the studio he works for and end up with no ownership over the character.

if i ever do make develop this au into a full-fledged story, i might just find a way to include takaaki. even if the original creator of roger was never a thing in the original movie, maybe the investigation could lead them to the original creator of taka to get some more information. what information?? hell if i know. i just know we’d get takaaki in on this.

also i was thinking. who’s mondo’s original creator?? it might just be takaaki wanting to give his creation a love interest. we could go the “parent” creating “child” route and have whoever the hell mondo’s dad is create him. or daiya. i feel like, in the case of daiya, it’s one of those situations where a closeted animator just wanted to create the most overtly queer character they could. and the character somehow got onto the screen. i mean, that idea doesn’t have to be exclusive to daiya, but still. fun to think about.

[mmani-e]

Part 3 of the lineart teasers for Danganronpa Demix: THH, featuring:

Moral Compass Junko

Fashionista Kiyotaka

Biker Mukuro

Soldier Mondo

Sparkling Justice

Disguised Mondo (as Taka)

As always change will surely come for these designs and have some design insights below. Thank you for peeping, the final piece with all of them should be in the next few weeks.

Junko - Junko's a moral committee member known for being really really weird and off-putting but stupidly effective. She crocks up silly plans to basically cause everyone around her to sweat and be terrified of her despite her not really doing anything wrong. Essentially she's a fucking psychopath still but her focus is more on constantly entertaining herself rather than just dipping into despair, and mass-social engineering is the most fun thing for her. The easiest way to access that sorta thing is become part of the school morals committee.

Kiyotaka - Kiyotaka's family ruination goes a little worse in this AU, as Kiyotaka's family's grief really gets to him, he reminesces over the perfect world he had in his life, and seeks to create a world without pain or poverty or hatred... through eliminating free will, and establishing permanent control through despair! Can't have corruption when nobody's motivated to do anything right?

Mukuro - The events of Mukuro and Junko's early years still occur in this timeline, and Mukuro is convinced to run away to Europe, for what particular reason matters little, and Mukuro gets found by a gang of bikers in eastern europe, the violent variety, one she climbs up in and becomes leader of in record pace. Also she's still weird about her sister, but in a less screwed up way, she's just really clingy and the way she and Junko become better friends again is when Junko messes with her so much Mukuro gets fed up with her and bad mouths her to oblivion, something Junko highly appreciates.

Mondo - I'm still cooking this one up, but essentially Daiya's death sparks a way, way bigger catalyst than Mondo could ever hope to believe and his gang are impressed and indebted into becoming a private paramilitary group used by one of the people they'd wronged in the past. But this ends up being something Mondo would prove to be way too good at, something that'd blow up stupendously in the face of the person that initially forced them into working for them.

Sparkling Justice - He has a gun, a revolver and shoots bad people, bc in danganronpa 1 Makoro uses guns and truth bullets, I thought it'd be neat to give that to our serial killer. Also I gave him an ahoge styled after Takumi Hajirahara because it's heavily implied he is sparkling justice, also gave him a bit of a simpler mask. Probably will tweak it more.

Disguised Mondo - Yeah thtere's not really any kind of rhyme or reason for this I just think it'd be really funny if "Taka" didn't even remotely look like Taka but for some inexplicable reason Mondo can just do a perfect Taka impression and everyone's like "yep works for me."

[ultimateplaylistmaker]

That reminds me, I think I've said it before but I find it interesting how Taka's FTE and distain for "geniuses" sorta implies that the word talent has alot more weight. It seems that when Taka talks about why geniuses are bad he tends to describe talented people in general. It gives off the impression that Taka, and anyone that had praised his grandfather, thought it wouldn't be right to say he's talented.

It just sounds like some interesting food for thought, that praising someone for being talented is probably not as common in DR cause it's "reserved for Ultimates".

Taka has SO MUCH pride in not being like the "other" students to the point he finds makoto as another 'regular person' to be the most relatable and its SO INTERESTING

Like he genuinely came into Hope's Peak expecting for no one to be able to relate to him at all and to be a lone 'normal' person in a sea of people who never had to try or fail. Dude fucking hates talent, he's so determined to prove he got here on his own merits, on his own skill, and not some inherent skill he was born with, and its SO INTERESTING but NO ONE TALKS ABOUT HOW ISHIMARU IS BASICALLY A RADICALIST ABOUT SOCIETY IN THIS SENSE and when you think of it like that of COURSE he ended up friends with Mondo who is himself an outsider to society who has to carve his own space in it, they're both people left behind by society going "fine! I'll make my own society!"

[silverraindropliliacsky]

I absolutely HC Chihiro as a Trans Woman. The whole "He was so brave to want to work out and be more mainly" plot line reads to me like desperation to not be perceived. Like literally stating, "he was happy as a girl, and good at it too." And then back tracking with uh oh everyone is gonna know your secret better beef up so no one makes fun of you... Or worse...

And then she outs herself to Mondo who immediately kills her. Like valid fear.

People don't want to admit Chihiro is legitimately trans because DR is so checking bad at representation and is in many cases actively homophobic (especially in THH). Admitting the nature of Chihiro's relationship with gender identity and expression asks some really tough questions about the rage Mondo felt that caused him to commit murder. Not to mention the clearly queer subtext happening between Mondo and Taka, can easily be implied as internalized homophobia brought on through social expectations and his role in his gang being brought into question.

Suffice it to say, I feel a personal pinch in my heart when people refer Chihiro as he. Although it isn't explicitly stated in Canon I feel like to continue to call Chihiro he actively goes against what the character is and is implied to represent

[theamityelf]

Oh God, I need more zombie au interactions. The whole thing is just too morbidly precious. Like...Nagito coming back from a scavenging hunt to surprise Chiaki with a new game cartridge. Or Gundham trying to recall magical seals to protect their luckster. Or Mahiru implying through facial expressions and grunts that she'd like him to open up about his life before Hope's Peak. Meanwhile Makoto is like Class 78's teddy, and they take turns nuzzling up to him each night.

You're so valid for that, and thank you! (Okay, I'm going to try to do a series of little snippets/vignettes here, but I've failed at this in the past by getting too into a particular scene, so wish me luck)

...

It was really cozy at first, but now Makoto kind of needs to get up, and the arms around him are more stubborn than usual.

"Come on, guys," he tries to insist. "If I don't get up now, I won't have time to catch enough food for all of you."

A head pointedly nuzzles the injury that Mukuro had to wrap for him yesterday. It wasn't that bad; they're just overprotective.

"I know," he soothes. "But it's not going to happen again. I was just clumsy. I'll be fine."

He notices that Sakura is standing at the door, making sure no one takes his state of incapacitation as an opportunity to sneak out. But when the door opens behind her, she moves aside to let Taka back in. He's followed closely by...

Oh. This is a little embarrassing.

"Hi," Makoto says to the upperclassman.

Nagito looks slightly rattled when he first walks in, but he relaxes considerably at the sight of Makoto's...encumbered state. "Oh, good. I was a little worried when Ishimaru knocked on my door alone."

"I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be making a food run soon, but these guys are still upset that I, uh...tripped, yesterday." He does a bad job covering it, but he's actually not entirely sure what happened. He was just walking through the grounds when suddenly some kind of rope trap activated and might well have held him fast, if he hadn't managed to trip at exactly the right time and land on some key mechanism with his arm. As it stands, his bleeding arm and a small amount of rope burn around his ankles is all he has to show for it.

Nagito laughs lightly. "They're worried about you. You should take it as a compliment."

"I know. I do. It's just...well, they still need to eat, and they won't let me get up."

"I can bring them something. Unfortunately, it might be human; Akane broke out again recently."

Makoto's brow furrows in sympathy, both for the poor reserve course student and for Nagito. "You're having a hard time with Akane."

"She's an Ultimate-level athlete," he says, with perhaps too casual a shrug. "There's not much I can do to stop her. Do you need anything?" He walks closer to Makoto– on the Mondo side rather than the Byakuya side, which is a wise call. Chihiro, spread over-top of Makoto like a blanket, is watching him but doesn't look apprehensive.

"Water, maybe?"

He smiles. "Coming right up."

...

Most of the 77th class descended right away on the new catch that Nagito dragged in (even the Imposter leaving his fort to join them), but Chiaki and Kazuichi were more interested in the bag Nagito was carrying. The three of them went to sit in their usual spot on the floor, and Nagito went through the bag's contents one by one.

"Let's see...He had his wallet on him; Akane will like that. He had his phone-"

Chiaki perked up at once, enticed by the prospect of new mobile games.

Nagito laughed fondly. "It's yours, of course, Chiaki, but we'll have to take it to Fujisaki first to get past the passcode. And while it seems to be fully charged, he didn't have a charger on him, so we're out of luck in that regard."

Kazuichi made a small grunting sound.

"Yes, you can have it when it dies, if we haven't found a charging cord for it by then."

A happy sigh.

Nagito turned back to the bag. "He had...Huh. He had raw onions. The last one had some, too. I wonder if they think these repel the undead. Ah well. Maybe Teruteru will want to do something with them. Some school supplies...Oh! A pen with Hope's Peak's crest on it. Makoto will like this." He smiled at the thought. "And Ishimaru or Togami might enjoy the books. I shouldn't bring it all by at once, though; that might make him suspicious. Just the pen and the phone, today."

Kazuichi nudged the bag impatiently.

"Right. What else...A flashlight. Yes, you can have that. A pack of trading cards? Oh, Pokémon! I wonder...Ah, yes, he has the games, too." Nagito freed a GameBoy Advanced and a zipper pouch of four Pokémon games, which Chiaki eagerly took and held like they were treasures.

Kazuichi tugged insistently on Nagito's pant leg.

"Huh? That's everything in the bag."

Kazuichi made an agitated noise.

"Oh, you want the GameBoy. Well, the cartridges are compatible with Chiaki's DS. What do you think, Chiaki? Will you let him have the GameBoy?"

She let the GameBoy fall onto Kazuichi's lap, gently bit Nagito's hand in thanks, and crawled off to Sonia's fort with her treasures.

...

"You're getting good at that," Nagito observed.

He could have been speaking to Makoto or Hiyoko. Makoto, who was getting noticeably better at cutting Taka's hair, or Hiyoko, who was close to mastering the small-scale dexterity required to finger-flick Nagito in the temple over and over. (The undead weren't good at precise hand movements, relative to their former selves.)

Makoto, of course, was the one to say "Thank you." Holding down Taka's ear to better trim at the hairs nearest it, he added, "I know the faculty is keeping a tight lid on who can see any of this, but I still feel like I should try to make him look the way he'd want to be seen. The first few times he asked me to do this, I felt guilty for how it ended up."

"You gave it your best. And I suspect he's more preoccupied by the feeling of his hair being too long than the prospect of it being cut unevenly."

Mahiru clicked her tongue and grunted mildly.

"Sorry. I'll keep still, now." Nagito was seated in a chair next to Taka. When Taka had shambled up to Makoto with a pair of scissors in hand, Mahiru had taken it as an opportunity to sit Nagito down, as well, to have a go at his tangles.

Most of the rest of their classmates were watching a movie; Makoto had found a DVD in one of the teachers' desks. It wasn't everyone's genre, but being mesmerized by bright colors on a screen was enough to draw most of them. Chiaki and Akane had fallen asleep already. Sayaka was humming along to the background music, and Hifumi was drawing on the walls.

"Done," Makoto sighed, blowing away the excess hair. "Do you like it?"

Taka patted his head and made a grateful sound.

"That's great! Now you can go watch the movie with the others, right?"

Of course, he couldn't get out of it that easy. Taka got out of the chair and was soon ushering him into it, taking the scissors from his hand.

"Good luck," Nagito whispered, and Makoto sat very still.

Taka was careful. As careful as he could be. He only nicked Makoto's ears and forehead a little– which was, in his defense, the worst he'd ever done. It wasn't his fault that it was inherently terrifying to have him wielding scissors around someone's head, and it wasn't his fault that he felt a need to return the favor every time Makoto gave him a haircut.

Taka patted Makoto's head when he was done, and the tension in Makoto's shoulders finally relaxed.

"Thanks, Taka."

Taka made a noise which was loud and the right amount of syllables to be "You're welcome," and then he went to responsibly put away the scissors and then sat with Mondo to watch the movie. Mondo handed Taka an arm that he had already eaten half of the meat from, and Taka ate gladly.

A human arm.

Makoto didn't know what to do with his unease over how often the 77th class seemed to be eating human. How casually Nagito brought it to share with them. Of course, if it would otherwise just be going to waste, then there was no point refusing, but it just...He just didn't like it. His heart beat uneasily whenever he thought about it.

When Hope's Peak finally found a cure, how was everybody going to feel about having eaten raw human? Poor Akane...

"Makoto?" Nagito said.

Makoto smiled a little, despite himself. Nagito had been calling him "Makoto" lately, instead of "Naegi". They'd been spending a lot of time together. Combining their classes more and more often. He loved his classmates, but...it was just nice not to be alone in this.

"When Mahiru is done with my hair, do you want to watch the movie, too?"

Why did that question make him blush?

A drop of blood rolled down the middle of his face.

"Oh. Maybe after we've done something about those cuts," Nagito said lightly.

Mikan, who had started crawling over at the smell of blood, sprang suddenly to her feet. "H-Hurt!" she accused, with a big smile on her face. "Hurt!"

"Uh-oh," Nagito sighed. "Do you mind letting her...?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Makoto said.

"Go ahead, Mikan."

In a startling demonstration of the inhuman speeds the undead occasionally exhibited, suddenly Mikan was behind Makoto's chair and winding a bandage around his head, tightly enough to hurt more than the injuries themselves.

"O-Ow," Makoto said thoughtlessly, and then regretted it when Sakura looked over with immediate concern. "Don't worry; enjoy the movie," he quelled.

"You can tell her to stop whenever you want," Nagito added, with a rueful smile in Mikan's direction. "She has plenty of people to play with."

For some reason, the statement gave Makoto an intense sinking feeling. "What does that mean?"

"Hm? Oh, when the others get hurt, she likes to bandage them up, too. They don't really bleed the same way humans do, though, so I'm sure she prefers it when one of us gets hurt."

Oh. Of course. Of course that was what he meant.

Mahiru pulled the comb from Nagito's hair and handed it to him. With a heavy sigh, she went to watch the movie with the others, and Hiyoko likewise stopped finger-flicking Nagito's temple to follow her.

"I have some snacks in my backpack," Makoto said, managing to turn toward Nagito while Mikan tied off the (patently excessive) bandage. "Do you want to sit in the back, or in that free spot next to Gundham, or...it looks like we could sit up there with Hiro, if...?"

"Let's sit in the back."

...

"I could've sworn we sat in the back," Nagito teased.

They had, but gradually the group had concaved around them, and now Chiaki was asleep in Nagito's lap, Sayaka was cuddled against Makoto's other side, Byakuya was holding Makoto from behind, Hiyoko was hiding paperclips in Nagito's hair, and so on.

"Yeah." Makoto laughed mildly. "This...isn't bad though."

Nagito slid his hand subtly closer to Makoto's, interlocking their fingers without Byakuya noticing. "This isn't bad."

[chinchillasinunison]

this is wishful thinking on my part but what if they made an OVA that's like a slice of life set during Class 78's lockdown year and while we're following Makoto doing whatever when he encounters Mondo and Taka after talking with them the two of them casually kiss and it's not treated like a big thing in the scene implying that they're dating. fastest way to dramatic irony heartbreak ever in like 5 frames. if they're ever in that situation some in-betweener intern should just take the shot.

[danganronpa-kinda-sucks]

also Mondo and Taka are gay. I heard this after I beat the game and went "nah, just friends" and then I played through all their free time and love events. And maybe they aren't gay for each other, but Mondo for sure is implied to be attracted to guys in some of those scenes (like the aren't we supposed to talk about cute girls we like? scene) and I would not be surprised if Taka is too.

On the other hand, Aoi and Sakura are gay because I said so, thanks. :3

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

Mondo: You and Chi have been hangin' out a lot more...even walkin' home together. S'there somethin' ya wanna tell me? I just wanna know if...

Kiyotaka: Mondo, I would never cheat on you! Chihiro's my brother! We're step-brothers!

Mondo: Huh?

Chihiro: O-Our dads are dating...

Mondo: Oh! Wait what–

Kiyotaka: Don't ask...

[tobiasdrake]

You know what bothers me about "A Man's Fantasy"?

Like. The optional fanservicey CG where all the guys make creeps of themselves is what it is. I don't think you need me to explain why this is kinda gross.

What gets me is that a) it isn't really optional. Unlockable, but not optional. If you have A Man's Fantasy in your inventory, then Makoto will go for it. The item description says that it gives the holder "the courage to seek out a true man's fantasy". Implying that the only reason Makoto wouldn't leap at the chance to peep on Kyoko, Hina, and the others is because he's a coward.

Not because he finds it wrong, but because he lacks the courage to take the leap. As long as he has the courage-granting item, he will make that leap. Taking that choice away from the player and then phrasing it like this means that this is his true desire. It's his character shining through, not your player choice. Makoto is apparently a bit of a creep.

But the other thing is b) the way it describes this as a true man's fantasy. Right here, the item shames all men. It says that every real man would do what Makoto did. This is just raw masculinity shining through.

And this comes right on the heels of Case 2, which was a complex and comprehensive examination of masculinity through the lens of Taka, Mondo, and Chihiro, all of whom are influenced by and demonstrate masculinity in very different ways.

And you know what gets me? Taka, Mondo, and Chihiro all have profoundly different experiences with masculinity.

But I can't imagine a single one of them actually going after the true man's fantasy. Like, technically Taka does, but he's basically catatonic at this point. They're more or less carrying him around like a cardboard cut-out. I don't think that counts.

So that really makes me have to wonder: Creeping on women is a true man's fantasy by what metric? Because we just had a whole-ass chapter dedicated to the experience of manhood and it wasn't about this at all.

(Also, the true man's fantasy is made even more ironic by the fact that the person who even comes up with the idea of peeping in the first place is Junko Enoshima trying to be one of the boys.)

[cryogenically-frozen]

I've started reading Jealousy by @chinateacup recently. I should have done it sooner. It goes without saying as an Ishimondo fan I love it. It's holding my attention and reading doesn't usually do that so that speaks to the quality of it.

SPOILERS and implied SPOILERS beyond this point, both for the Danganronpa fanfic Jealousy and the musical Bloody Elle.

I have made this post because the whole thing reminds me of a musical called Bloody Elle. It's about a woman getting a crush on the new girl at her workplace and slowly realising that she is gay. It's available on Bandcamp but I can put songs here so I will because, if you like Jealousy, I may be able to provide you with some new songs for your favourite blorbo:

1)Stop the World:

This reminds me of Taka realising he's got a crush on Mondo. It has the lines "I don't know what I've been feeling but it hasn't gone away" and "what the f**k is happening?" to give you an idea of what the general idea of the song is. Makes me think of early Jealousy Taka as he's having realisations.

2)What Am I Feeling?

This one reminds me of Mondo's reaction to Taka and Aoi being touchy feely at the carnival and finding out they kissed. The entire thing takes place while the singing character (Elle) is stress smoking, and Mondo does smoke in Jealousy. The song has the lyric "When he grabbed her hand, I couldn't understand... And then he kissed her... F**king Hell." And "My heart just spat out my chest and I realize I'm shaking I'm a right f**king mess, don't know what to do with my hands." It's very Mondo but also slightly Taka, just to a lesser extent, mostly the urgency and quick rhythm and, as a fellow sensory buddy, this feels like when I'm overstimulated.

I don't know if Mondo realizes he's crushing on Taka don't spoil it please I'm only on chapter 5.

3) You and Me

Literally either of them. They are enamoured. They are in love. The song is great and cute. If your a fan of Mondo using slang there's some at the end. Basically they entire musical features it. Granted, it's British slang but it counts. "I think you're mint, I'd put your name in gold print, I'd buy you a car if I wasn't skint."

That's all I've associated with Jealousy for now. I may find more as I keep reading but if you want to listen to the whole album you can. It's all very ishimondo, it's just these are like direct parallels I've noticed. Just trying to my bit for my fellow Ishimondo lovers.

[local-pr1nter]

EVEN MORE AOT X DA DRABBLES CAUSE SOMETHING JUST HIT ME-

TW!!! Same as the rest of the series of posts, canon typical murder and death (AoT), along with implied thoughts of harm to ones self (it's mentioned very briefly and I don't go into extreme detail- but still, please avoid or skip past this post if you're uncomfortable with that sort of thing!!!)

Okay so Mondo would be the armored titan and one of the warriors sent to Paradis right. Physically he's the strongest out of them, and has the strongest capabilities as a leader. He still has his flaws of course, mostly his big heart and how quickly he gets attached to someone he cares about. He definitely got distracted from the mission while posing as a cadet, enjoying his freedom as a soldier instead of a warrior back on Marley.

He however doesn't have much waiting for him back at Marley. His father isn't present, potentially leaving him with his mom. He may have had friends in the other warriors, but they all had families to go back to. What did he have?

This is where the angst comes in.

I'm thinking that it was mostly him and Daiya growing up. Their father was never there and their mother was either dead/disappeared/or was working 24/7 and couldn't do much else but send them money so they had food on the table. So, the two brothers had to watch each other's back- they were all they had.

Then, Daiya considers the warrior program.

Maybe, if he became an honorary Marleyan, their father would come back. Maybe his mother wouldn't have to work so hard. Maybe he wouldn't be forced to break his back so he and Mondo can barely survive. Maybe, and just maybe, Marley would give them a break

And so, Daiya decided he would become a warrior candidate- and he aimed to inherit the armored titan. Mondo would've joined him, to try and inherit a titan of his own- but Daiya said no, as he was doing this for Mondos sake. He wanted Mondo to live a long, happy life, even if it was in the zone. He couldn't let him throw all of that potential away for a mere 13 years.

And so, Mondo could only watch as his brother trained alongside the other candidates- he was older than most of them, but he was determined, pushing himself to catch the attention of Marley- to show that he was capable of wielding the power of a titan.

And it would've worked, if he hadn't gotten caught up with the resistance. It only brought him the wrong kind of attention.

And so, Mondo was left alone. His mother was never there, his father was gone, and now Daiya was being sent to Paradis.

To say Mondo was devastated would be an understatement. He had no idea what to do anymore- he was only just hitting fifteen years old- what could he even do?

He thought about giving up, only to be stopped by another warrior candidate- specifically, Kiyotaka, who knew Daiya. Taka relates to him and pushes him to keep going- he can't give up now.

And so, encouraged by Taka, Mondo does the one thing he can do; join the warrior program and inherit the armored titan. He would finish what Daiya started once and for all.

And holy shit he's probably the perfect candidate to inherit the armored titan. He proves his loyalty to Marley through his dedication and hard work, quickly putting him up with the rest of the ones to inherit a titan.

He finally has something he can be proud of- something positive in this shitty world. And now, believing he's proven to Daiya that he's just as capable as he is, redeeming his name, he puts all his effort into being the best armor there ever was.

So imagine how torn he becomes when hes forced to head to Paradis and kill the devils- only to discover they're just like him and Daiya. He gets attached quickly, finding friends in the 104th and relating to a lot of them. This is probably the happiest he's ever been- and most importantly, he's free.

But then he would be presented with the hardest choice of his life; betray his fellow warriors and pursue a good life, like Daiya wanted, or betray the 104th and ensure his name and Daiyas legacy were redeemed.

GAHHH THIS IS SORT OF INCOHERENT AS ITS MIDNIGHT BUT IT JUST POPPED UP IN MY HEAD AND I HAD TO WRITE IT DOWN BEFORE I PASSED OUT

[nite-puff]

Just finished listening to Hope, Despair, Musical! Overall, it was very, very good, but...... if you'll allow me to be a bit biased.... I feel like someone else should have been cast for Mondo. I feel like the actor's voice really didn't match him as a character at all and it kinda took me out of it. I also wish Taka and Mondo had even a little bro moment, but it literally just smashed from the sauna contest right to Chihiro's death, which makes me sad ngl. But otherwise, it was good.

No, i totally hear you! It felt like they were aiming to do something with the way Mondo and Chihiro were casted, but I feel like it ended up as a miscast for Mondo. (Chihiro was fine though.) His actor is really talented, I feel like they could’ve really shined through in a different role. But being cast as Mondo kinda forced them to act in a way that sounded kinda awkward, like they weren’t used to acting like the kind of character Mondo was. Again, not trying to insult the actor. Listen to the album, they are good at what they do! But maybe Mondo wasn’t the best role for them.

And in terms of that song, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that that song fell victim to how musical numbers are often recorded for albums, where chunks of dialogue that happen during the song get cut out to keep the song itself more compact. So maybe there is supposed to be an interaction that shows how close Mondo and Taka got during that song, but it just wasn’t recorded for the album. It would make the timeline make more sense too, because if we were to take the way things happened according to the album recording at face value, then it would imply that the sauna battle and Chihiro’s death happened on the same night. Which… doesn’t really add up, man.

These are also really my main gripes with the album. There’s not a lot else.

[gontagokuhara]

Okay I finally just now got a break from work and holiday business right now to actually comment and reread the newest chapter of pointy objects and honestly, I absolutely love lore drops in this story so I'm still like screaming and crying and throwing up, you have so much skill when it comes to writing its insane omg

Anywho I stopped by to say that and ask a boring question! Just for clarification, when Maki and Kaede were being gay and messy in Fuyuhiko's house, that line "ducking beneath her dad's hesitant touch" for sure means Mondo right?? For a minute I thought it was referring to Fuyuhiko because he's her godfather. The family tree makes a lot more sense now though, but just for clarification's sake I'll ask! I definitely don't want to reach the point of questions where I'm treading into the spoiler zone, because every surprise and reveal in PO has made me scream and shout and let it all out.

hi hello! happy holidays, i'm glad you've got some time for yourself! <3

this did not start out as either a long Or lore heavy answer Whoopsies....there are no actual spoilers (beyond talking about the reveal in the most recent chapter) but i do skate around the concept, just a little

as to your question (which i don't think it's boring at all): kaede is meant to be referring to taka in that instance! the full relevant line is "…still just another traumatized demigod, ducking beneath her dad’s — not her godly parent’s, never him — hesitant touch..." the most recent chapter established mondo as maki's godly parent, the one that she is biologically related to, though both him and taka are equally her 'dad's. there's also a line that describes how taka has visited camp a handful of times, but the same isn't said of mondo, which is intentional.

as for why that is...it is alluded to, but i don't make explicit the reason. doing that now would get into slightly spoiler territory, but in rereading it, i do think someone could make a reasonable inference based on what was said in ch19, and also in things that have been touched on waaay back, as to why mondo isn't present in ways taka has been said to be. i'm keeping my wording vague because to be 100% honest, certain aspects of this lore are so deeply established and it's just been a given for Me in My head for so long that i forget sometimes what has been revealed and what quite hasn't yet, and funnily enough that's mostly in relation to the broader concept i'm referring to now. i don't want to drop something in passing in a reply and then end up with an inbox of "wait what?!?!?!" from unintentionally spoiling something 💀 good news is, on the maki front at least, i expect the why to be answered...relatively soon.

i will say, your mention of the family tree wrt: maki is relieving because in my planning docs. GOD what a mess. not necessarily for her but for All the kids and their parents. i havent tried to physically map it all yet but i will someday and it will probably kill me. the entirety of maki's has been stated or at least implied in-story though, so for clarification's sake:

taka and mondo (godly parent) are maki's fathers. mondo and fuyuhiko are good friends/"business partners" (lmfao). as a gesture of mutual respect/a showcase of their close bond, fuyuhiko was designated maki's godfather (in the traditional sense [but also to me, connorlizabeth bazwrites, as a dumbass nod to their gang/mob/yakuza connections]). and mondo was dubbed tenko's godfather by fuyuhiko (godly parent).

WOW this got long and so very very off topic Oopsie. however in rereading this 800 times it seems a waste not to post it when i've made sure there's no spoilers beyond what can be (imo) sussed out through a close reread (or what will become more relevant as more is revealed in canon). this has Also reminded me to give the most recent chapter a reread, as i plan to get started on 20 around new year, so thank you! hope the predictably massive word dump is worth <3