#stuck to canon connections to make it easier

[aingeal98]

I don't think Damian was insecure because Cassandra was a closer part of the family than he was, especially considering that at that point in time he was wasn't fully invested in being a part of the family as he is now (also lets be real, its not like Cass is the center of the family or anything.)

I think it was more of case of him putting her on a pedestal based on what he heard about her, since her reputation probably made her seem like the ideal version of himself that he was told to aspire to all his life, so he was probably hoping that she was similar to him in some way as a form of self-validation, but when he did meet her it probably made him feel very conflicted since she didn't live up to his exceptions.

So in his mind it probably started out like "I'm supposed to be perfect and Cassandra Cain is already perfect, so she's probably very similar to me and I need to aspire to be more like her, which would be easy since we're already very similar to each other" then when he did meet her it went on to become" "Wait that's Cassandra Cain? But she's nothing like me?! Does that mean I'm not perfect after all and everything I'm doing is wrong? No.....its her who is doing everything wrong" so him butting-heads with her was him grasping at straws since putting her down would be easier than for him to accept that what he was aspiring to become all this time was the wrong image and he didn't want to start from scratch by believing in a new version of the ideal him (which thankfully he did end up doing at the end, he just was unsure if it was really what he wanted for himself at that point.)

Either ways its crazy that this plot-line didn't have any follow ups and no writers tried to have interact with each other again in almost 15 years.

I half agree with this, because I do think that Damian would have put Cass on a pedestal before meeting her. And I feel like part of him would have felt betrayed when they did meet and instead of being someone he could relate to, she was chatting with Dick and Tim and connecting over their shared history. The framing in those panels from Gates of Gotham where the trio are strategising and Damian is sitting away from them watching feels very deliberate. But I do think insecurity plays a role in that. You came to a new country all alone to meet your father but now he's dead and you're stuck with a bunch of older people meant to be your siblings and here comes one who was trained from birth to fight as a league funded project and yet... She clicks with your other siblings more than you? I think it would for sure make Damian feel more insecure even if he wasn't fully invested in becoming a part of the family, and he'd almost feel irrationally betrayed by Cass for not living up to the version he had in his head that was meant to ease said insecurity over this new "family" of his instead of making it worse and making him feel even more alone.

I can definitely see that thought process you describe in his head though. He's a genius technically but he is only ten and if something is wrong then either he's the problem or Cass is the problem, no room yet for emotional complexity. And he refuses to be wrong (similar to a certain sister of his who refuses to lose shhh who said that) so he's just going to have to butt heads with Cass until everyone including her understands that he's right and she's wrong, simple!

We deserved so much more of them working together. Gates of Gotham was a great start and I love that it's forever canon that their first act of sibling bonding was blowing up the batboat together. But we deserved so much more.

[quitealotofsodapop]

After the whole mess with the Brotherhood is handled in Soft Boiked au, Wukong has another situation to handle. MK now knows he's a Stone Monkey, the same species as Wukong himself. He may also suspect Wukong to be his biological parent, although Wukong goes on record to say that no, Yubei was the only kid he actually birthed, MK may be his cub in his heart, but they share no biological connection that Wukong is aware of.

But even if MK isn't biologically Wukongs, they have the situation of his true form. Specifically, teaching MK how to Monkey. Wukong thinks it'd be easy, MK already acts so much like a monkey it's hard to imagine him struggling, but the problem isn't that he can't act like a monkey. It's that he doesn't have the confidence to do so knowingly. He can climb and groom just fine, but when it comes to things like diet and soaring through the trees, the way macaques do, he struggles. He gets grossed out at the thought of picking through someone's hair and eating bugs, he hesitates when he should use the branch he just climbed as a springboard to reach the next tree, he feels uncomfortable doing thinks like chirping and hooting. His upbringing makes him hesitate to listen to his natural instincts, and while it's nothing against Pigsy or Tang, it's just that societal expectations of modern China are causing MK to hold back.

Wukong had faced a similar problem when he'd gotten back from the Journey, after spending so many years being punished for 'hyperactive and unsocietal behavior' up until Tripitaka had it beaten over his head that Wukong was not only pregnant but that these were normal monkey things and not disrespectful in nature at all, he struggled to adapt to being a monkey again.

The fact that MK was already dealing with self esteem issues and then got stuck in a scroll with a ink demon in the shape of his monkey form that would only dig at those insecurities only made it worse.

Prev.

MK is in for a loooong learning montage after learning he's a Stone Monkey, thats for sure!

It's not an easy road.

Lots of "George of the Jungle"-esque mishaps involving tree climbing occur.

Could have it been a little easier if MK had been raised as a monkey demon? Yes. But he also would have faced greater social challenges, not to mention if any of Wukong's enemies "sensed" what he actually was.

And don't even get MK started on the "picking bugs out of each other's fur and eating"-part. He found a tiny garden spider crawling in Macaque's fur during a troop grooming session and nearly passed out.

MK, trying to psyche himself up to eat the bug: (*gags*) Macaque, sniffs himself thinking that's the problem: "What? I showered recently." Yuebei: (*reaches up and steals the bug from MK, eating it instead*) MK: (*very grossed-out sigh of relief*) "I love you, mooncake."

He feels like he's behind even little Yuebei of all people when it comes to learning to Monkey! At least she can chirp and hoot without anyone looking at her weirdly...

Wukong sighs and jokes it's like teaching two cubs at once.

Luckily, MK isn't alone. Turns out, Wukong has gone through the very same thing he has nearly twice over! Subodhi canonically strikes and punishes Wukong for happily jumping and hooting when he's excited for class, so Wukong literally had his instincts beaten out of him. And later still when he became Bimawen and a Peach Attendant, he found himself subconsciously suppressing his "monkey" habits in order to avoid criticism from surrounding celestials.

While the Tang Monk had been confused by Wukong's monkey habits, he adapted to them - with a lot of "gentle" persuasion from Guanyin, Ao Lie, Sha Wujing, and many of the allies they made along the way of course. Afterall, part of Tripitaka's character development is him starting out close-minded and opening himself to the fact that people just gonna act and be different. After Tripitaka learned that Heaven and even Wukong's first master had punished and resented his nature, he especially made sure Wukong understood that he didn't want him to see his behaviours as "unnatural". Just him.

MK also gets a lot of encouragement from the rest of his "troop".

Pigsy and Tang feel really bad not being able to indulge MK's natural behaviours as a cub, but they were always understanding that he was just their special little guy. If he was hyperactive or overstimulated, they had ways to address it. I love hcs of Tang being neurodivergent, so he when sees Baby MK throwing tantrums and just be like "Mood."

Red Son and Mei secretly begin flexing their own natural behaviours so MK doesn't feel as left out. Though MK was def confused the first time he got friendly-headbutts and nips.

[crystalandrose]

So my idea for my version of evil ford is that his timeline splits at the science fair incident. This ford was paranoid enough to know stanley would somehow fuck up his chance, so he fixes the machine and takes the toffee peanut bag as evidence (maybe he also pulls security footage). So ford makes it into his college and stan gets punished (but not kicked out). Stanley runs away of his own volition due to the anger at ford leaving him behind and also ratting him out to their parents. Stan partly wants to prove hes just as good as his brother and also wants to prove it to himself.

This means Ford never met Fiddleford in college. Instead, after getting a lot more grant money than from Backupsmore, he goes to Gravity Falls and works alone. Eventually, after he makes the deal with bill, he realizes he doesnt have enough experience making computer things (sourcing parts and such) to do this alone (even if bill is helping him). So he puts an ad for a research assistant good with computers. Perhaps some of this extra grant money went towards pay, and Fiddleford took the opportunity. But having no real connection to Fiddleford, Ford is more up to use him as a tool to get what he wants. So when Bill says his use is up and its time to get rid of him, Ford obliges.

Maybe since he went to this fancy college he had an easier time making connections or doing schooling quicker. So this extra time means he spends more time in partnership with bill and the connections make it easier for him to make side money he can also funnel into the portal project.

This Ford also learns more about Bill's backstory because he connects more to Bill (disconnect from family, not feeling recognized, wanting a home with people that get him/etc). So this guy is more sympathetic and knows more about Bill's desires (create a nightmare realm). Maybe Ford rationalizes it as a good thing or thinks he can talk Bill out of some destruction, or maybe at this point he wants some revenge on the world himself. So hes still on board with the portal when Bill reveals its actual purpose.

However, maybe Stanley needs another place to sleep on the couch at and sees his brother in some headline or mentioned as an inventor for some product. Or his brother needs a test dummy that can speak for the portal so he calls him. Or maybe Ford wants to potentially say his last goodbyes before he goes into what he knows is potentially the end of earth.

Fight still happens, Ford wants Stanley to thank him for money hes sent the family, for not completely ostracizing him from the family after what he did, offering him a place to stay, idk. Ford fights him, Bill possesses Ford at some point as another try to prevent Ford from getting sucked into the portal. This freaks Stan out and he pushes him. Ford, holding journal 3 (which does not have pages ripped out), chucks it at stans head (not to help him but to literally hurt him). Stan is like "wtf did i just do" and shuts the portal down, reads through the journals and thinks Ford is unwillingly possessed by a demon and spends his days trying to get him back.

Ford and Bill are now stuck in the portal, going through dimensions trying to get back to Earth in order to reopen the portal and finish what they started. I think Stan is fully anti-cipher-ified, planning on killing bill as soon as he shows up again in order to save his brother. Im thinking this Dipper and Mabel got killed by zombies or something. So when Ford does get back, stan is there super unhinged and angry and somehow eventually kills bill, leaving no statue behind. Evil ford is like "wtf" and devastated, but keeps looking for a way to bring him back. Maybe this Bill, having not gained sympathy from the axolotl, decides hes not worth rehabilitation and so hes actually dead in this reality.

(Then "canon" bill opens up a reality rift and evil ford comes through, hoorah)

[hunter-sylvester]

Skullflower is Autistic: A Breakdown.

Buckle the fuck up.

Disclaimer: Don't take any of this too seriously.

Also all of this was written over a year ago with only minor edits. I'm just posting it now cause it's been rotting in my drafts and, like, fuck it.

I've wanted to try and make a comprehensive breakdown like this for a while just because I love these characters and very heavily interpret them all as autistic (with ADHD as well.) But this is just the perspective of one guy. And I probably overstate it but the fact that we can all have our own very personal interpretations about media is what's great about analysis & fandom.

Hunter Sylvester.

Yes I'm doing Hunter first, what do you think I am? Unbiased? Please.

Autistic Perfectionism. Hunter's autistic perfectionism is something I've mentioned before and somewhat struggle to describe satisfactorily. But to me the most obvious example is his inability to deal with the idea of Emily joining Skullfucker as a cellist. Obviously, there's the queer angle to this but I think two reasons can play a role at once. He's in love with Kevin so he doesn't want a girl that Kevin picked to be a part of their band. Additionally, I'd argue that he can't deal with the idea of having a girl cellist as their bass player because it in NO WAY fits the mental image that Hunter has in his mind of what he wanted Skullfucker to be. It doesn't match the perfect idea that he's dreamed of, that he holds onto for dear life, so he can't deal with it.

Hyperfixations. "Hunter's been into a lot of things since I've known him but he's stuck with metal longer than any of them." - Kevin. Need I say more? Well, I will anyway. The guy hyperfixates. I think the closest thing we have to a canon confirmed hyperfixation is Dungeons & Dragons. Because of what in my mind is a combination of Autism and ADHD in Hunter, they don't fully leave him. He still likes and plays D&D, but he's not as obsessed with it as he used to be when he made his dad buy him the most ridiculous game terrain that fucking lights up.

Special Interests. I think one of the easiest claims to make is that metal is a special interest for Hunter. He entrenches his entire life in it and reaches for it when a stressful situation happens to try and make himself feel more okay. (getting his hair cut off by Skip and relating his new look to Jason Newsted) It's clearly something that comforts him, having been obsessed with it ever since his mom left. Which, regardless of the specific circumstances, is a horridly stressful situation for any 12-13 year old.

Struggles with social interaction. He doesn't seem to have a lot of friends. He gets along with Robbie, Kevin (obviously) and the people he plays D&D with but that seems to be it. Especially whenever the situation gets very stressful, Hunter's mind immediately reaches for his comfort interest to try and make it through (or to lash out). He can't easily just be comfortable in a strange social situation. Or a strange situation in general.

Stims. Hunter stims by playing guitar. That's it, that's the whole point. And there's this little move:

Kevin Schlieb.

Neutrality. The way Kevin just takes Hunter and Emily as they are feels autistic to me.

Struggles with social interaction. And he clearly wants it to be easier for him. He wants to connect to people but he doesn't know how. It's not like he doesn't understand people. He does. He understands Hunter better than Hunter understands himself. "sometimes he's not so nice to people when he's uncomfortable" "You are afraid of everybody" "you treat everybody like shit and you make them hate you" But that understanding of how people think and work doesn't translate to his direct interactions with most of his peers. Maybe because he understands other neurodivergent people but not neurotypicals. The fact he does have a decent read on, at the very least, his best friend could also be indicative of the extra work Kevin has had to put in over the course of his life to try and understand people to begin with.

Directness. A lot of Kevin does feel direct to me. I suppose in a 'what you see is what you get' sort of way. He obviously has the whole protagonist thing going on which tends to end you up with pretty neutral, earnest and open characters.

Stims:

Emily Spector.

Gets overstimulated. Emily's outbursts could be attributed more to a struggle regulating her emotions. It's not a huge stretch to assume her mystery medication is a mood stabilizer. However, the idea of it being a combination of being overstimulated and then no longer being able to deal with her anger on top of the distress she's already feeling feels apt to me. This is a stretch, but, we only ever see her have outbursts at school. A nightmare environment for the stimuli sensitive. Emily is by far the character out of the main three we spend the least time with, which could easily explain my previous point away. We hardly see her out of school to begin with. But I think there can be merit in taking it as a part of the story, rather than an incidental effect of her being left by the wayside.

Black and white thinking. "So first you tell me that I should hate him, and now you want me to help him?" - Emily. No, he didn't say you should hate him, Emily. "You have every right to be mad- especially at Hunter!" - Kevin.

Directness. I mean she literally calls up Kevin to ask him if he wants to go fuck in a parking lot and more power to her. But it is very direct.

Struggles with social interaction. And apart from Skip & Co. having a particular hate-boner for Hunter, Emily might actually be the most widely ostracized for her lack of social finesse. Which would check out because society is brutally cruel to girls. Kevin is shown to have some positive interaction outside of the other two main characters, so is Hunter. And, yes, so is Emily. But it's only with the janitor of the school, who she is implied to have had previous interactions with. Having your only friend at school be the fucking janitor is not a neurotypical experience. I know I certainly got along easier with a handful of teachers than I did with my peers back when I was at school.

Whatever this is. Fam, I've BEEN there...but it's not neurotypical:

A 'little' note to end on: I want to state that I love all three of these character very dearly. I don't pretend that I don't have a favorite, but they are all amazing. There's various reasons why Metal Lords is such a comforting movie, but a big one, is that the characters act in a way that feels incredibly familiar. They act like me. They act like my autistic friends. We make weird facial expressions, we understand the world and each other through our interests. The way all of them talk feels so close to home. (The swearing is actually part of that. A lot of real people swear and over-censoring of that tends to bug me but that's kinda beside the point lmao)

[justsigma-bsd]

Eighteen

Honestly, way too many warnings.

TW for: starvation, abuse, dehumanization, human trafficking, (more or less off-screen) death, violence, etc.

Basically me trying to use the panels of Sigma's canon backstory and trying to make it into a short story. And likely making it worse.

People who might be interested:

@respiratory-kristem @my-taintedsorrow @fukuzawa-armeddaddyagency @currentlyeatingrocks

Pain. That's one of the first things he felt, learned. 

The pain of hunger, of thirst and of the sun burning his skin, of hot sand burning the soles of his feet.

The people who'd found him had seemed... not nice, not kind, not gentle, but safe. They gave him water and food, even as he all but fell face first into the sand in front of them. They brought him out of the sun and into a cold building, dragging him along by his arm. He'd passed out somewhere along the way, exhaustion catching up like a tidal wave. 

When he'd come to, he'd found himself waking in a cold place with stale air, quite whispers reaching his ears. Something metallic rattled, every now and again, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dim and dirty room with a dozen other people in varying states of awareness, some asleep and some talking in hushed murmurs.

No one seemed to have noticed him being awake.  

None of them looked all that healthy. Sunken faces, thin frames, clothes and faces and hair dirty. They looked as exhausted as he felt. It took him a moment before he realized yet another thing they all shared in common. Heavy metal shackles wound around these people's wrists, and a glance down showed him that he was no different. 

The metal was cold and unyielding, sharp edges digging into his wrists and leaving them aching. He couldn't tell how to get them off, and thus didn't even try. 

If anyone noticed him being awake, nobody felt the need to talk to him. 

~

Over the course of the next days he found himself stuck in a routine. 

Early in the morning all of the people in the cramped room would be ordered out and into yet another cramped space, told to do one task or another. Sometimes they'd be allowed to eat, sometimes they weren't. Sometimes they dug for hours in the sands, sometimes they stood at assembly lines putting firearms together until their hands couldn't move anymore. 

He hated it with a passion, but he saw what happened when someone paused for even a moment too long. When someone tried to stop themselves from messing up by taking a few seconds to just breathe and didn't resume quickly enough. 

Sometimes, it was a whip that lashed through the air. 

Sometimes, it was a fist that connected with someone's face or ribs. 

Sometimes, and those were the ones he found most horrifying, a bang would echo out. 

Most of the time, the person wouldn't get up again after the shot. Rarely they did, and were gone the next morning. It didn't take a genius to figure out why. 

He didn't want to end up like that, no matter how exhausted he was. He didn't want to die, even if giving up seemed so much easier, half the time. 

Still, he never found himself working enough, no matter what he did, how hard he tried. He'd always find a kick connecting with his ribs, a slap causing his head to snap to the side. How he hadn't broken a bone yet, he wasn't sure.

He just knew that pain was a constant companion. 

~

Among the other people stuck in this place with him was an older man who tended to sit next to him in the cramped room, quietly murmuring words in a language he couldn't understand- he'd later learn, in a different conversation a few days after their first, that the words were Greek and that it was the alphabet he had been whispering to himself. 

He didn't know it, then, but the alphabet was the only bit of Greek he'd learn. 

They didn't talk with each other though, not at first. They didn't talk until his second week in this place- or perhaps his third. He couldn't quite tell anymore. 

It wasn't the other who initiated the conversation. No, the older man had only passed him the bit of bread he'd been given. And he'd stared down at the additional ration, face blank and confused. 

"This is yours" he'd found himself saying, and blinked at how raspy his own voice sounded. It was as if sand was scratching across his vocal cords. He couldn't remember the last time he'd talked. Or drank, for that matter. 

The old man smiled, and even in the dim room he could see the odd... warmth, in the other's eyes. A sort of warmth he'd never seen on the faces of their captors. "It's alright, Eighteen. I don't need it. Eat" 

He winced at the name, the name their captors had bestowed upon him. But who was Eighteen to complain? It wasn't like he had a different name to go by- he couldn't remember one. 

He tried to argue, tell the other, Four if he remembered correctly, that he doesn't have to share. But Four was adamant, and Eighteen was hungry. He hadn't gotten a lot the last few days, a consequence of not doing enough work, which had led to him doing an even worse job. 

In the short time, he'd already accumulated more injuries than he could count, and he doubted many of them would fade entirely. 

Others, quietly, whispered about wanting to leave. He didn't fully understand. Leave? To where? The desert? Certain death? He hated the pain and fear and hunger, but the thought of leaving left him just as scared as the thought of staying. 

~

Over the course of his first month he occasionally shared rations with Four, who he'd learned was actually called Alexandros. Alexandros was different. Not just from him, but most of them. He was treated differently, wasn't made to work as much as the rest of them. Simply because out of all of them, he was the only one with an ability. 

"The Boundless Garden" he'd whispered, once, when Eighteen had asked why Alexandros was given more rations than the rest of them and watched him share some bread with a young girl he dimly remembered being called Seven. He remembered her mainly because of her pride and her insistence that they'd all make it out alive, one day. 

He never knew her real name. 

The Boundless Garden was such an odd name, Eighteen couldn't help but think. It sounded so grand, so beautiful, so free... but all it was, was an ability that could tell apart lie from truth. An ability that, so Alexandros told him, was quite valuable to their captors. 

To Eighteen, the ability seemed like a blessing, with how it seemed to make the other's life a little easier in this dark place.  

He'd learn soon enough that it wasn't the blessing he thought it was. 

~

Eighteen bit back a pained groan when his knees hit the cold, hard ground. Th muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of his head, a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder, holding him in place. "Y'know, Boss was thinking of just selling ya to get at least a bit out of ya, useless as you've been" 

It wasn't the first time the word 'sell' had fallen around him. Alexandros had mentioned similar things, and in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he was afraid of being sold or hoping for it. It could be a worse fate, or one far better. 

He stayed silent, even as the grip on his shoulder grew painful. "Useless as ya are, making a bit of profit off of you might even work, ya know? You're an odd one, you rat. You'd fetch a nice price for your appearance alone, only issue is that you're good for nothin'" 

Eighteen didn't understand why his appearance would have anything to do with it, but it wasn't like he actually cared. He knew that he stuck out among the others, that he looked different- but he didn't care enough to pay it any mind for too long. 

"That's why I think gettin' rid of ya would do us a lot more good" 

He felt his blood run cold, a sharp, dark sense of understanding filling his chest. He knew what would happen, and he wished, desperately, that he could stop it. He didn't want to die. He didn't. He'd only seen the desert and this building- he knew nothing of the world out there... and he wanted to live. 

The white-purple haired man didn't want to die. "Please, I can... I can do better" he found himself begging, and flinched when he received a harsh hit with the handle of the gun. Not hard enough to knock him out, but hard enough for pain to blossom on the back of his head. 

"Eighteen, Eighteen, Eighteen... always begging, yet never useful" There was a quiet click, the safety of the gun unlocked. And Eighteen couldn't help but wonder: How can I be useful? How can I survive? Did anyone else ever survive this? 

His thoughts whirled wildly, and the next thing he knew was a wave of thoughts not his own crashing down upon him. Then, he knew no more. 

~

They tested it, a few times. 

It took weeks until he properly knew how his ability worked, and even longer until he managed to be useful. 

Day in, day out he'd get harsh words. If he got lucky. They didn't hesitate to do worse if they deemed it necessary. There wasn't a day where he didn't feel pain. 

Sometimes, when he failed to activate his ability, he got slapped. He preferred that, since other times he found a knife slashing across his back, or his head slammed into the wall or ground as a consequence for his failure. 

Other times, when he did activate his ability but didn't get the information correctly (and how was he supposed to if they didn't give him specific orders and made him guess?), they threw punches and kicks until he thought he couldn't breathe, until he thought he'd pass out. 

A couple times they dunked his head under water and refused to let him up no matter how much he struggled and clawed at everything in reach. Refused to let him up until he went limp and was about to pass out. Sometimes waited until he inhaled water if they were being especially cruel, only to leave him hacking and coughing on the ground until he calmed just enough to repeat the process. 

A permanent thing was the new cell. It was small and empty. Lonely. He spend more than one night curled up against the wall, trembling so bad that it left his shackles rattling, crying himself to sleep. He would've preferred the cramped cell, solely because he wouldn't have been so alone. Eighteen didn't even want to talk with them- he just didn't want to be so alone. 

 They refused to leave him with the others, and he guessed they were afraid that he would spill some of the information he'd acquired from their captors. 

There was no Alexandros to share rations with anymore, either. Either he received food, or he didn't and had to deal with it. His stomach ached. He'd been hungry before, but now it was flat out painful. They barely gave him anything, just enough to keep him alive. 

Eighteen thought it'd get better once he was finally useful. 

Instead it felt so much worse. 

He was alive, but at what cost? Day in and day out he was in pain and hungry, alone with nothing but his own thoughts and afraid of what the next opening of the door would bring. 

~

If he thought it couldn't get worse, reading Seven's memories did make it worse. It was the first time he read memories off of a corpse and her open, lifeless eyes were still burned into his own. The memory of a knife sinking into his (her chest) and choking on his (her) own blood still echoed through his mind. 

Eighteen doubted he'd ever be able to forget it. The blood staining once only dirty hair. He hadn't known her well. He hadn't talked with her much before, but he knew of her ambitions to leave this place. 

He understood now, and silently wondered if escaping even was possible. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get out. 

That night he didn't cry himself to sleep, and instead remained awake until morning, silently mourning for a person he hadn't even known. A person who's name he'd never learn. By morning, he'd come to a decision. 

He wanted to get out. 

~

Eighteen met Alexandros only once after being transferred into the solitary cell, in the hallway. The old man looked shaky on his feet, and he looked paler than usual. The younger man couldn't help but think that he looked like Seven, with the difference that he was clearly still breathing and moving. 

"It was nice knowing you" Alexandros murmured to him, and Eighteen frowned. "Alex?" he found himself whispering, a hint of fear creeping through his veins. He tugged on his shackles, trying to stop in his tracks. The guard dragged him along mercilessly, leaving his feet to drag across the floor. 

Alexandros didn't look back, even as Eighteen struggled and fought to turn around, craned his neck to watch him walk away. He knew the room the old man was led to. Had seen the doors open once in passing, had seen the decaying bodies inside. 

The old man who'd shared his rations so long ago with him, who'd occasionally indulged him with stories about a world he'd never previously seen, who'd told him about abilities and a life in freedom, was being led to a fate not unlike Seven's. 

"ALEX!" Eighteen shouted, and cried out in pain when the bottom of a gun connected with his ribs harshly. He doubled over, but the pain was enough to distract him from his attempts of escaping. So he was dragged along, throwing only one last glance back, and watched as Alexandros was shoved into the room. 

A minute later, he heard the bang of a gun going off. 

He never saw Alexandros again. 

~

Pain, hunger, dizziness, loneliness. 

Those were his constant companions, staying with him day and night. 

Pain from the constant injuries, hunger from the lack of food, dizziness from the lack of sleep and over-use of his ability and loneliness from the solitary cell. The only words spoken to him were either orders, or rageful fits over his incompetence and failures. 

He was less and less sure how long he'd be able to keep going like this. 

He wasn't even sure how long he's lived like this. He could've sworn he heard one of the guards say something about a year having passed since a specific deal had been struck, remembered that the deal had been made not too long after they'd picked him up. 

If that's the case, he couldn't help but numbly think, then I've been 'Eighteen' for a year. Been in this hell for a year. Have suffered for a year. 

He missed the desert, if he was honest with himself. He missed the desert, for even if out there was nothing but certain death, it was still better than this. 

Eighteen glanced down at his shackles, and silently made a choice. 

~

Dizzy, that's what he felt like. Everything hurt and he didn't bother moving after he was thrown into his cell. He just laid there, staring at the ceiling numbly. The familiar click of the lock didn't reach his ears, though. 

Eighteen waited and waited, but nothing happened. He sat up slowly, wincing at the feeling of water droplets dripping from his hair and running down his face. The door wasn't fully closed. He couldn't believe his luck. 

He stumbled to his feet, slowly walking closer. It truly wasn't closed fully. He sneaked a glance outside. Nothing. Not a single guard in sight. His eyes burned, and he couldn't tell why, but he didn't bother to hesitate longer. Instead he slowly walked out of his cell, down the hallway. 

Nothing. 

Slowly and carefully he made his way down the hallways, peaking around corners carefully and doing his best to stay quiet. He was absolutely terrified. If he got caught now, he was a dead man. No matter if his ability was useful or not. 

But he wasn't caught, somehow. He made it all the way out and waited, patiently, until the gates opened for one person or another.

He felt bad, in all honesty, for leaving all of these people behind. But if he didn't take this chance and instead went back for the rest of them... would he manage to free them? Manage to get them all out of here, like Seven had wanted? 

He didn't know, and guilt clawed it's way up his throat at the thought of not even trying, but the gate opened and nobody had noticed him, the alarm wasn't blaring yet and he stopped thinking for a split second- 

And Eighteen ran. 

He ran like his life depended on it, because it certainly did. 

Baffled shouts and angry yells filled the air behind him- they recognized him instantly. How couldn't they, when his hair gave him away so easily? 

Shots filled the air, caused the sand to explode next to his feet, but he kept running on and on, not stopping even as the hot sand burned his soles. He ran until his chest ached, ran until his knees felt like they'd give out any second. 

Eighteen ran until he was certain he was safe, and collapsed in the shade of some rocks. 

Somehow, he was still alive. 

~

Only a few days after his escape Eighteen would find himself be picked up by seemingly kind strangers, who asked for his name. 

And Eighteen, who wished to forget that horrid number yet didn't know any other name, remembered his time with his captors. Remembered the shackles that had been broken off by these nicer people. Remembered Seven and Alexandros and the shared rations and the quite murmuring in a language he couldn't understand. 

And he would choose a name that he wasn't sure he'd one day regret or find happiness with. 

For even if it was a new name, there was still a piece of his old name in it. 

"Sigma" 

[theheirofthesharingan]

Hi, I want to share with you, I am very annoyed by Sakura fans, they really believe that for Sasuke his wife is more important than Itachi, they say that Sakura is his soul mate, if there were no Uchiha massacre, he would devote himself entirely to Sakura, and do not compare them,Sakura will always be in any universe more important than his brother, I don't understand how they can think like that,how they read manga to come up with such a thing, Itachi will always be more important than any person in his life,and I can hardly believe that in parallel universes he marries Sakura, I understand that Itachi is not perfect,but the bottom line is that for Sasuke he he is perfect, he always puts him above everything, I'm sorry that I'm writing all this, but I'm offended for Itachi, a man who devoted his life for the welfare of his brother was equated with a stupid fan who does not even understand the person he loves

Her fans are delusional when they say that. If Sasuke loves her that much then what kept him from visiting her all those years? The basis of her fans saying this is apparently the handful of novels whose writer(s) themselves have said their Sasuke is a different character/different interpretation of his character from how he's in canon. And SS fans always use those novels as "proof" that she's his soulmate or they're grasping at the straws in Manga canon to prove how special she is to Sasuke.

In no universe does Sasuke care about her more than he did in Manga. Sure, his trauma plays a bigger role that he is aloof and doesn't want anyone to come close to him. But while he had his family, he was still very much focused on his family and found comfort in Itachi's presence.

If there was no massacre, Sasuke would have loved to spend more time with Itachi. The brothers are (platonic) soulmates.

I was reading Sasuke's wiki page for my fic a while ago and all I see is Sasuke on his journeys alone. He doesn't feel any connection with his "soulmate" that he wants to be with her at all. He leaves his "family" and goes away. He finds his loneliness to be more comforting than her company. Would he be like this if he had Itachi? Would he want to leave Itachi alone? Would he want to leave without Itachi? Itachi would be with him all the time.

Her fans saying nonsense like that offends me too. On Twitter I saw many people do that and I couldn't help but wonder what were they showing in Boruto that her fans have started to think that she's more important to Sasuke now. Then realised that Sasuke, too, doesn't think about Itachi at all, so it's easier to assume she's become more important.

Honestly, if Sasuke could be happy and move on from Itachi, and find happiness with his new family, I would be happy, because he deserves it, but with her... It's just not it.

If we love these brothers, it's obvious we have to endure this, because they suffered the worst kind of injustice and pain. Even if Itachi's sufferings ended with his death, Sasuke's go on. And it doesn't help that he's stuck in a loveless marriage where the narrative makes a constant effort to make Itachi irrelevant as if what he did and what happened to him don't matter.

[4pplec0re]

Are we ever gonna get the context for the wolf in sheeps clothing drawing? it's just been stuck in my head because it looks BEAUTIFUL and Im curious/nf

the children yearn for the pretty awesome lore

okay i'm going to try my hardest to not explain this in the most complicated way possible... the lore goes deep guys never start a roleplay friend group /lh

The most notable characters here are Noel Vincent (Vin for short) Gruber (he/she) and Misha Oleksandrovych Bachynskyi (he/him). They make up the ship "Pretty Awesome" (technically they're also dating one of the Rickies--their full ship name is Pretty Freaking Awesome (PFA). It's dumb and I love it). Here are some short descriptions for each of them--

Vin is Moni's character. He is Noel at his core, based off of RVJ's Noel, but I like to call him fucked up Noel. She likes gossip and attention. She's often referred to as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" (HE SAID THE THING!), because on the outside he portrays himself as innocent, as if a lamb, but can often be selfish and loves to cause drama for her own gain. Her lore goes much deeper than this but we are not going to get into the Vin lore right now. He's not entirely bad but he is a very flawed character.

Oleksandrovych is played by yours truly. He's basically just my personal interpretation of Misha--he's the Misha you see in TCI (however, multiverse Oleksandrovych's lore is NOT connected to TCI Oleksandrovych. TCI has separate lore. No multiverse stuff over there). I'm not going to explain his personality you know what Misha acts like.

It all starts in a roleplay server called The Zolarian Star Cluster (which I'll be referring to as 'ZSC' from now and forward). The premise of this server is pretty simple. It's a Ride the Cyclone roleplay server, it's pre-Cyclone, and there are several slots for each character. So, a multiverse of sorts! Vin and Oleksandrovych met here. Blah blah roleplay plot stuff, they're dating now. Real corny.

Move on to RPTW, another RTC roleplay server. In RPTW, there is a category called the Sandbox, where people can claim whoever, whenever, with no limits, no submissions, and no approval (for a bit of context, in ZSC you're limited to two or three canon characters, and you can't have two of the same character (e.g. two Noels), because there are limited slots for each so it's easier to manage. None of these rules apply in the Sandbox.) We started adding on some lore to the Sandbox. One important thing to note is the Deja vu phenomenon; although the lore starts over in Sandbox, if a character meets another character in the Sandbox that they knew in a separate roleplay server (ZSC or Sugar Cloud (SC)), they'll experience a sort of Deja vu, noting them and things they do as familiar.

Clearly, I'm sure you know where this is going. Misha does not like Vin in the Sandbox. Vin has constantly been very passive-aggressive towards Noel Oscar (the Noel in Oleksandrovych's choir (TCI Noel!)), and Misha is pissed off about it. Despite this, he feels... drawn to her. He tries to ignore her, but ends up responding every time (even if he's dry about it). It doesn't help that Vin feels the same sort of connection, but gives into it, flirting with and teasing Misha.

Now blend all of this together-- Vin is ill-intentioned. Misha knows this; he's seen it himself! He hated seeing her insult his friend. Vin beckons, "Ohh, mon soleil... no need to be so cold. After all, I'm just a sweet little lamb... don't you agree?" Misha is frustratingly enticed by her. Despite all of his anger... something about this lamb is just so familiar.

I also want to point out some details of this drawing that I liked. First of all, Vin's eye is supposed to look like a wolf's eye (furthering the metaphor). Second of all, if you take a look at their eyes, you'll notice the highlights in them are heart-shaped. I have decided that when two characters who were in a romantic relationship in another universe look at each other, the highlights in their eyes appear heart-shaped. (Not related to the drawing, but this is the same for close friends, except those highlights are star-shaped. Thanks Nym!)

i love my son and his evil wife-from-another-universe i need them to get on that rollercoatser right now here's them interacting in zsc vs sandbox if u even care

[flashfuture]

The flashes have:

• weird found family that is a mix of a found family and blood family and most of them actually truly get along and care about each other even if some of them are little sassy.

• have powers where the upper echelon of their brood, with the most power are verging on multiverse and time gods and the ones just starting out still range on the side of most destructive meta humans on earth, if they are still human at all.

• their most interesting villains are crime syndicate with a amazing dental and medical plan who usually have something approaching morals.

I think they make other heroes only a little jelly beans cause they have all these boons and they are still interesting as characters to watch.

like it's actually so crazy if you think about it. in 1938 the DC universe time began. but the way time works in DC it's easier to think of time as the addition of every second. it's static not accumulative. 1 second 1 second 1 second 1 second and on to eternity. A life is made up of seconds coming together 1 2 3 4 5 6. But this didn't happen not for 18 years. Until 1956 when Barry Allen was struck by lightning in both canon and out of universe. Things started moving Forward

(The Flash: Rebirth)

And he made the speed force. He keeps the present in the present and the rest of time away by generating the kinetic force that makes the lightning that gives the Flashes their speed.

Barry canonically moves Time forward by existing but he can also force it. He did so twice once fighting reverse flash/zoom and once fighting the turtle. When fighting Turtle, Barry connected himself to every living being except Turtle and pulled them all into the future by a few seconds to thwart his Turtley plans.

And Wally well I have a theory that Wally stores the memories the moments added together that make a life. In 1986 Barry reset the universe and everyone's minds got Fucked. Before Final Crisis when they bring back Wally from the speedforce it causes Bruce and Hal to remember Barry and incorrectly assume he's the one coming back. In 2011 when Flashpoint happened Barry did it Without Wally. Wally who was in the speedforce and got stuck again and once again everyone's backstories reset and their memories were fucked. In 2016 when Wally breaks out he returns memories to people. With Infinite Frontier this is the first universe reset where Wally's speed force is actively contributing to what happens and not only do people retain their current memories they start getting All their old memories back.

Reverse Flash represented paradoxes in time. But in the most recent run Barry phases through him giving him some speed force. And Eobard gets reset to how he should have been. Becoming connected to Barry fixes his Present. That kinetic wall between the present and time.

Bart I have no idea what they're doing with him they should be remembering that he's the best Fighter of the flashes. That he's vicious and blitzes enemies like Godspeed. Also how Bart is the most scatter brained and seemingly can not slow down unlike his grandpa and cousin. Yet he also is the only one of the entire family to be able to retain what he's learned forever. And has I think the greatest feats of cosmic awareness basically teaching himself about the meta of the DC universes reboots. Bart I think should represent the inevitability of the future coming. No matter how many changes you think you can make a future will always be there. Something to be said for him being a character created during Zero Hour year too I'm sure of it.

[witchofthesouls]

Lately all I can think of is TFP Optimus being demon bait. Amongst every iteration that I seen with the Matrix, he feels more like a placeholder involving the relic than an actual Champion for Primus. Plus TFP is the only one who doesn't retain any knowledge about his past as Orion Pax.

Placeholders are easier to tempt than champions since they aren't fully protected or warned of the danger. The Matrix of Leadership practically rats him out to anything supernatural when you consider it acts more like a vessel unlike other relics. Optimus is gonna have a mixed time should a demon hone in on him.

I get what you're saying. All the strange and, let's face it, very sus Artifacts are painting a very wild picture.

Personally, while I do believe TFP Optimus is a legitimate Prime, he isn't a fully realized one. It gets weirder with the Canon lore in the Aligned verse that the Matrix was housed with Prima's Star Saber and that Optimus is supposed to be the reincarnation of the mysterious Thirteen. Plus, Metroplex from the games vouched his status as a Prime: "Metroplex heeds the call of the last Prime." (Fall of Cybertron game)

I wonder how come the writers didn't go with the Primal Artifacts being semi-sentient? It would really make sense with the mythos and immense powers, especially since those tools can be only wielded by a Prime. So the building blocks were there. Or, have the ghost of Prima within the Matrix that's controlling new ordained champions, and it's intefering with Thirteen's connections? The Matrix has an established history of reformatting new bearers, so is it a big surprise that they're turned into Prima's thoughts of a prefect guardian? Prima has different Aspects and Domains compared to his youngest brother.

The themes of identity and self-determination are there. I think he internally struggled with it. Is he Orion Pax of Alpha Trion? Optimus Prime of Prima? Are they one and the same mask? Does he remember the Wilds in his dreams? Did he have hopes and plans for reconstruction? At night, does he recounts all the steps that brought him to that point?

But yeah, TFP!Optimus would be a succulent prize for a supernatural entity. The Matrix is both a beacon and lighthouse. To see a mortal God-King or a divine champion drowning in uncertainty would turn the very dangerous or very desperate towards him because a contract could be established.

Weirdly enough, out of all the Autobots, I think Optimus would have the easiest time navigating any potential entities. Orion Pax lived and breathed in doublespeak as an archivist directly sponsored by Alpha Trion himself. He knows the intricate dance to steer between treacherous allies and hostile enemies and how to be very leery of certain agreements. Orion was stuck between impossible contradictions of his status.

Ratchet has had certain privileges afforded by his function and frame. He's comfortable taking over things and saying his piece, especially among the current team. He also has a poor opinion of non-Cybertronian anything. He would either be killed for insolence and disrespect or be ensnared in a dream that gives him his deepest wishes. Arcee, depending on your viewpoint, is either lucky or unlucky, especially since she survives all her partnerships. Even Jack Darby, no matter how careful, has a human lifespan, which is seafoam to a Cybertronian. Something would latch onto her anger and grief. Bulkhead can be a very considerate soul. Some being would be charmed by the mech. Bumblebee is kind, and Smokescreen can be impulsive and so very clever. Traits that are endearing to many entities in old tales.

Optimus would have his hands full should something start sniffing around the base.

[jmtofp]

In response to this post:

I think it's because it has the best story progression and build up.

Everyone appreciates a story with rising action, climax, and resolution. You need the "lows" in order for the "highs" to stand out, and vice versa. A small problem some other chapters had was the use of too much "high", tense moments, which results in feeling like the player was just thrown into the climax of a story.

One thing Xkour also does with its "low"s is set up a growing sense of unease, teasing the player with mystery.

Xkour starts with a friendly tutorial into the game, the player feels welcomed as no imminent threat is found. However, that changes as the tutorial goes slightly haywire and with the newly learnt fact that dying actually has consequences. This unease steadily grows until the third quest where it reaches its peak. So, what does the summoner do? Flee this "peace" and "fun" to find out the dangerous truth behind it all. One exposition later, and we've reached the first climax and subsequent resolution. Beautiful.

But of course, the story isn't done. After the first resolution, we get another moment of "low"s getting "higher" as the guardian trials start, but similarly with that unease that something is wrong back at main and even here. This time, instead of reaching its peak when the exposition drops, the story suddenly goes into a relative "low" with the reveal that the threat, the creator, wasn't here all along. But of course, it almost immediately shifts back into a "high" once another similar truth is revealed. So then we have the big climax of the whole two chapters, and then the story somewhat manages with its resolution.

Another thing would be the story's relatability.

What I mean is that players can easily connect with the characters that appear since everyone is a player here. (Also, who doesn't like the idea of a VR parkour game?) So this connection makes the stakes hit harder.

The ultimate threat of this chapter is the imprisonment and brainwashing of the players. And I assume it's easier to understand the dread of being trapped forever as opposed to other fantastical threats.

The story also uses Cyto as a way to personalise the danger of being potentially stuck in a game forever. Something about feeling more for one person's story rather than a general populace's. Although that may be the case, the story kind of fails to deliver on his anguish and thus people, us, are going to rewrite that sh** because it's too good to give up on.

(Luna's emotional anguish with herself as a program rather than a real being was also a treat.)

Another neat thing about Xkour is that it's the only chapter to have a clear connection to Luni that isn't about the swords of corruption.

There are a plethora of other minor things about this story that compile up to make this my favourite two chapters in Gacha World, some of which may differ from individuals.

tldr:

The Xkour storyline applies story writing 101 (the hill) well enough and is quite relatable, allowing the player to easily get invested into the story.

Cyto is an underrated character with almost as much emotional baggage as DJ X, and that's something this small community likes to see.

(I say that with a straight face as I continue typing out my currently 2600 word count analysis on Vale in canon and her despair with being trapped under C!Kilios' rule.)

Goodness, I love Xkour.

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Your twin theory stuff has been going on for quite some time, have you considered making a run down on it because it’s a bit hard to find all your points and information on it because of how long you’ve spent on it and I’m very curious but struggling to put it all together

(Alright, take two since I got stuck for a loooong while)

This is a basic explanation of the Ouma-Monokuma twin theory! I will do my best to condense the concepts down in a way that flows simply and is easily understandable, but it will be hard to cover everything while keeping to the most relevant information. So if this doesn't do the job, I might finish the much longer meta on ao3 at a later date, in which I will cover… everything I possibly can, no holds barred and without the blog links. Which will take considerably longer and need very careful execution. (Yeah, this is the short version…)

General disclaimer: this is a view informed by at least six years of trial and error, ruminating in canon for patterns and their meaning. Through all this, I recognise that it is still a theory, and it doesn't make others’ ideas less meaningful. All the same, I need you to understand that this theory and its analysis is fundamental to my view of Danganronpa as a whole, not just my feelings about Ouma. And in my opinion, the presence of bad writing in DRV3 does not negate that view, either. So if you believe that it does, I hope we can agree to differ on our reader responses instead, after all is said and done. Thank you.

Alright, with that out of the way, dropping this under a cut as it's lengthy. Though rather than a lot of detail on what this means for Ouma's character right now, I'm going to dig through the surface with the basis of reframing, roles, academy history, psychology, narrative style for the mastermind, and the broader consequences, with feelings from my perspective to wrap up. I hope that will help give a perspective of the theory world, so that any evidence I give should fit easier in the future.

⚠️ Reader discretion is advised- this content details abuse further on and will be marked like this! ⚠️ 

[‘Then this story's not over.’]

The way I see this situation is basically like a 3D sculpture with two different pictures- ‘the fiction’ and ‘the conspiracy’. That is to say- in the ‘fiction’, there are things that are effectively motifs or throwaway remarks (such as, Ouma's comment about having a brother in his FTE), but in the ‘conspiracy’, they become clues to a hidden interconnected situation. A puzzle in the meta, essentially.

To begin, I’ll outline components of this framing, as these are necessary to understand how this turnabout works.

Catbox world: the question hanging in the air, 'is HPA fiction, or is it real'? What would the consequences of the latter be for the game and outside world of DRV3? In order to begin answering this, I think this way:

Domino effect: 'when you learn a new fact, you learn something else along with it'. Ex: if HPA is real, a very large and clandestine organisation may also be real, since one was connected to HPA's library. With that possibility opened, there are… a lot more potential threads coming from it.

Unreliable narrator: is there something Shuichi is missing? In Ouma's lab, along with the complete history file there are monitors and a hatch, and in his dorm room there’s a whiteboard with pictures and notes scrawled on, the latter two Shuichi doesn't even notice. There are things he cannot verify too - such as Rantaro's odd memory of the forgotten Prologue - which is left up to us, the players.

Contextual reframe: with the new information, we can infer for example that record keepers of the past are made obsolete, and since the HPA history was in Ouma's lab, this could make him a viable record keeper. If TDR's agenda is with historical record, its identity may be the secret society involved in conspiracies. This can greatly affect some of Ouma's comments in hindsight- one relevant to this is his FTE remark about ‘tricking the entire world’.

With doubt already on the most basic aspect of the 'fiction' narrative (that is, ‘HPA is fiction’) we can apply this principle to the Flashback Lights and by extension, the idea that the cast must also be fiction, too. 

Ex: Shuichi and Kiibo were made to see the Flashback Light panel in a way that was rigged up to be seen- it should not have been visible to multiple persons, so it's likely to have been tampered. We know Shuichi to be helpless with computers, so he would not be able to verify if anything else is amiss (ex. Kubs Pad and other options being withheld). What's more, with ‘fiction things’ - such as the Shukuchi method for Ryoma - being relevant in both the ‘weird backstory’ and in the main narrative, there's a possibility that some of the Lights are real memories or at least closely based on their real experiences.

[‘A liar like me knows their own kind.’]

When you reframe the context in an excessive manner like this, it can also affect known roles, even events and relationships. I reason it beginning like this:

Tsumugi becomes a patsy for Monokuma. Just like the fake Makoto in DR2 led the narrative to trap Hajime, Tsumugi misled others similarly, with incomplete knowledge of her own cospox. That is, her cospox being real in the sense of the effects on her person, doesn't necessarily mean that HPA is fiction, because it's about her perception

Kiibo becomes a patsy for Monokuma, someone whose true (military) nature was obfuscated to himself on a metaphysical level, via code-hijacking. This means that high-powered functions he has are strange to him, and he’s easily manipulated into believing lies about his function (such as ‘strength of a senior citizen’, and the ‘audience surveys’ that he cannot verify) 

Ouma becomes Monokuma’s double, like Mukuro taking the identity of Junko, as the monitors and hatch are a direct parallel to Junko. This means that Ouma has a deeper relationship and notably intrinsic connection to Monokuma as well as less freedom from him, likely has extensive knowledge of everyone, and has his own memories. And from that, an incentive to guide people he considers his friends, to minimise himself and his own struggles while working against Monokuma subtly, even to manufacture his disappearance in ch5 to take the fight to Monokuma alone

Shuichi becomes the ‘shadow mastermind’, like Izuru- the ‘traitor protagonist’ who sealed and sabotaged the group’s will to live, while losing his memory of that. This is reflected by Chapter 1's case, wherein he had created the perfect setup for Kaede to enact her own plan to kill, and had conflict over his actions that he had tried to shut away. It also provides context for Ouma being especially wary of Shuichi, noting on the whiteboard to ‘be cautious’ of him, especially if he has a relationship with Monokuma as well.

These are the big four as far as the mastermind agenda is concerned, but another interesting role-reframe is the Monokubs. Remember that Shirokuma and Kurokuma were fragments of the mastermind, and Shirokuma’s role in UDG is to deceive the player? What if the Monokubs had such a situation, split up into comedic personality fragments? Were the melodramas telling some sort of story as well- the story of Monokuma?

If so, there may be some clues from them. But first…

[‘Designed like a school’]

As to the academy’s lost mystery, it’s possible it was originally an experiment. Rantaro’s hunch was that there was ‘someone behind Monokuma’, and in Salmon mode he points out that Monokuma could have ‘taken over the facility’. A bunch of files in Shuichi’s lab suggest that the culprits of the scenarios were noted for their ‘tricks’, likely pertaining to their Ultimate talent. 

A concerning matter is that the details of the Gopher Project’s plans were crossed out, with us unable to see why youngsters of Ultimate status were required. Doubly concerning is that Ouma himself appears to have amazing, even supernatural ability, demonstrated in ch5 with his scripting- a talent such as that is in line with Junko’s abilities. 

Speaking of that, it must be said that Junko's true ability was left a mystery by the game's end. It was also a subject of much curiosity by HPA, so if Ouma is a supernaturally talented person, that could speak volumes as to his own position. His status as an 'invisible Ultimate’ alone raises questions as to why it has to be hidden, or rather, why he has to obscure it. It could be that he is oppressed by the talent system itself, and if that's the case, perhaps he is its guinea pig along with V3's Monokuma. But it's not just about Ouma's ability- if Monokuma too had a similarly strong supernatural talent and/or circumstance, that could explain not only his posing as a ‘god’, but Angie’s mysteriously intimate knowledge of others' personal ideals through such a ‘god’. That is, if she was possessed by someone with knowledge of the cast's ideals, and who was exploiting them in the Love Hotel. 

Moreover, if Ouma and Monokuma were supernaturally gifted, there's a good possibility that if the vault clues were a layered clue symbolic of them- the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ Monokumas depicted on the ‘twins’ clue for the vault - then they were not only siblings, but twins- identical twins. This allows for another ‘report card misidentification’ a la Junko-Mukuro, while the Flashback Light panel refers to the ‘Gamemaster’ rather than ‘ringleader’ (meaning an identical double could interact with it), and from a lore perspective, twins were known in Danganronpa Kirigiri to be the subject of (highly unethical) research, and identical twins would be the most sought after for genetics reasons.

Such research could eventually wind up creating Ouma and his brother - seemingly the highest of any known talents - through a form of eugenics, not unlike Byakuya’s backstory. From there, there's no telling what could have happened…

[‘Eh…?’]

Now I can get to the psychology behind the bear. If a person behind Monokuma had such a past with this academy, traits can be speculated:

⚠️ Content: incest, child abuse, sexual abuse, psych torture/institutionalisation. ⚠️ 

Vengeful: in ch2, Monokuma suggests he may hate the cast for something, and tells them to ‘work for the answer’. Interestingly, Monotaro (leader persona) makes note of ‘red lies’ in the Salmon mode, and red lies are for revenge. 

Extremely traumatised and mentally ill: if it is Ouma’s brother, and he’s wearing a straitjacket, this could imply institutional abuse. Monokuma’s behaviours in ch3 (a mental shutdown) and ch4 (depression) could denote severe mental damage, and having the academy cleared of bugs gives credence to him having an affliction with bugs like Ouma ( foaming at the mouth and passing out).

Depraved: in ch4, Ouma noted he would ‘strangle the one he loves’ to ‘keep his eyes on him’, and appears to play a similar threatening, possessive role in the Love Hotel. Implied in the Monokubs’ melodrama, Monokuma may have coerced his own sibling into having relations- though he may have forgotten his sibling entirely due to trauma.

People pleaser: Ouma says that he ‘lies to entertain people’ in his Salmon mode ending, which could reflect his persona (Monokuma)’s desires. It may be that his desire to ‘not be boring’ feeds into this persona, too, as it's something so serious to him that it was shown as basically a dying wish.

In this sense, the mastermind can be similar to Monaca- as she took control over the city (while Monokuma stated to have taken over the country), became mentally ill as a result of the abuse inflicted on her, lied (about an injury) in order to make her abusers nicer to her, and became depraved in a way childish and sadistic (in how she toys with Kotoko and Nagisa, for instance). There's also the narrative effect of obscuring her trauma with unreliable narrator, and even Monaca’s own warped sense of humour that obscures it in tandem.

[Twin with supernatural talent (Junko Enoshima), a result of experimentation (Izuru Kamukura), childishness complex (Monaca Towa) and all combined (Kokichi Ouma)]

For narrative styles, DRV3's Monokuma is a culmination of approaches to make the game’s mystery truly warped to its core. Taking the masterminds’ actions from the past games:

Junko selectively picked photographs to sow discord about the group’s reality

AI Junko (a plant by Izuru) tried to lead Hajime into making a choice without proper context

Monaca led Komaru through a growth journey to use her for impact at the end

These can be attributed to: 

the Flashback Lights- some real, others ‘rotten apples’, but overall context is dubious 

the ‘It is fiction’ declaration- may be a leading question, again with dubious context

Shuichi’s ‘confidence growth’- that makes him more credible to those watching outside

(As for ‘context being dubious’, it should be noted that the Twilight mystery has a similar vibe in terms of how it is chopped up and misrepresented on the first viewing. This is particularly interesting when you factor in the mixed Kubs Pads giving other characters information.)

Speaking of ‘using’, Monokuma talks about how someone could be used by expressions of gratitude. In parallel to this, Shuichi is talking about how he was happy to be ‘useful to others as a detective’, and regards their gratitude personally. But it’s concerning that Shuichi and his history is a topic for ‘Monokuma Theatre’, when you factor in what Monaca did in UDG.

The basic concept is: with Monokuma’s agenda towards the end being to throw out foreshadowing and mystery - to deny its purpose - he wants you to make the decision of ignoring the heart, discarding the mystery and the path to the answer. In this sort of vague and unnerving way, a ‘hidden mastermind’ is like a progression of Monaca’s style. Symbolically, Shuichi’s journey seems to be one where he is on the fringe of going astray the entire time, and in this reading, he ultimately does with the loss of the game's mystery. 

What follows is the player's re-examination of the canon context and in this case, a ‘salvage effort’ of what was lost. And ultimately, in the quagmire of broken context, Ouma's mixed relationship with Shuichi is fuel for thought, because his cryptic behaviour - like the game he plays in his FTE - keeps you guessing on what he's been trying to say.

[Members… of what?]

So, factoring in earlier recontextualisation - of the large organisation likely spanning the world - is the idea brought up during Ouma's FTE, that I question like this: could Shuichi have joined a nefarious organisation after all, and following in Salmon mode: is there any indicator Ouma has concerns about Shuichi’s intentions in general (that is, regardless of whether or not his past self would have been capable of less-than-moral decisions)? 

What about others in the cast- a Prime Minister who had run away from her post, a military robot, a super inventor, an assassin? An artist with odd brainwashing powers, a musician with the ability to connect to others’ hearts through music? Because given that the DR2 group had affected the world with their talents after being manipulated, it's possible that the V3 group’s talents had a similar part to play, too. For instance, Kaito’s FTE detailed the possibility of communicating with aliens, and trading technology with them- and as it happens, there is notably a very weird technology in the academy, capable of ridiculous feats. This kind of unknown in the narrative speaks of a whole world that we barely know, even now. 

If this kind of world is what Ouma is burdened by, something beyond the protagonist's understanding, that too is a story waiting to be told. And his strange interactions with Shuichi could be at the heart of this story…

[‘Just hit the reset button on your feelings’]

As for the relationship with Shuichi, that is particularly difficult to give in evidence- partly given the culprit in his backstory, and how if Monokuma was that culprit - someone with a strong agenda against Shuichi - that might link to both twins. But due to the death of one of the siblings in that backstory, it warrants a supernatural idea such as resurrection, that has yet to be proven viable in-universe. If we remember Angie having a weird supernatural air about her though, and that she was implied to be in a cult, you could still infer that cults were involved in the supernatural. It’s entirely possible that a high-profile cult had come to the point of using resurrections, although that’s very much deeplore, as is the supernatural in general.

So while I can’t say too much about technical lore, like with the organisation, I can talk about the vibes I have with the theory, to focus on a sense of grounding in character instead: 

“Ouma and Monokuma are both sidelined by the narrative. A not-insignificant part of that was caused by Shuichi in his past, even if he was led into the cause unwittingly, and the actions of Shuichi’s present self in missing memories. As a result, Ouma is in a nerfed position during the game despite his supernatural talent. Unable to say anything without surveillance, he is under a great deal of stress and pent up, ambivalent feelings - not least towards Shuichi and Monokuma -  that he tries mostly to deflect. After all, it would not do to give too much away, and ruin his own plans.”

I have a detailed ‘song lyric analysis’ of sorts to tie to this, as a way of exploring feelings. Part of the reason I’d go this far, is Ouma as the designated ‘narrative scapegoat’ has always just fit well for me, given that the cast is shown to struggle with their treatment of him. Even leaving analysis aside, I feel it would be very satisfying (cathartic, even!) to explore an angle where he was suppressed, and that his position was legitimately the consequence of others actions right from the start, making the whole ‘pretending to be a villain’ situation even more painfully ironic. 

Plus it would be a welcome change from the notion of ‘misguided morally-grey antagonist who needs to change’, in my opinion, as Ouma’s unchanging self is something I hold particularly strongly. So instead of the arc of drastic change, the thing to explore would be how he functions and struggles with others (in mundane as well as grand ways), and also gets them to change, to understand him. It would also be interesting to expand on the theme of talent abuse, to have a Monokuma who was a product of the corrupt talent system- rather like Izuru was, but this time fully present in the narrative, and in tandem with someone else connected to him.

Overall, I feel that a situation where the protagonist thinks he’s won, while a mysterious someone has been struggling in the sidelines to affect change, is a real goldmine for a mystery situation. Especially from replaying the game, and picking up odd signs that something may not have been what it seemed. There may not be much to go from there (as things stand right now, at least) but the palpable frustration means that through this perspective, I can - at times very viscerally - imagine Ouma’s frustration and powerlessness. That alone colours the game and the interactions in a whole new light for me.

I hope this helped clarify at least some of what the heck is going on- and why I would even see Ouma this way at all, if it’s so convoluted. I have struggled to put it into words all this time, but with the pieces flying in my face from every direction, it’s hard to not try putting them together. I usually don’t game on Hard Mode like this, but something about Ouma compels me- whatever Kodaka’s intentions, I believe him when he says Danganronpa V3 is without end.

Thank you for reading!

[fandom-hoarder]

Grabbing these tags by @deanwinchesterpregnant from this post to expand.

Because yes, this is a very important part! Sam says it, too!

And while there ARE Sam haters that will say "Sam doesn't know how much Dean sacrificed!" and mean it as a JUDGEMENT and omg wooby!Dean; there are also people like me, who started writing s1 Sam POVs to understand him better, and suddenly connected him to my little brother like, 'OH. Sam doesn't KNOW. How COULD he know??😭' and it's not a judgment of his character or his love for Dean! And he's not stupid! They're both just kids who have yet to work through their own shit enough to realize they don't know EVERYTHING about each other, despite their shared history. It's part of why Sam says in In My Time of Dying that they were "just starting to be brothers again."

Obviously it's a necessary part of s1 to give us, the viewer, expositional glimpses into Sam and Dean's inner workings. But the way they each react to certain new revelations about each other are still canon even if there are Doylist reasons.

It's canon that Sam didn't know Dean carried him out of the fire. It's canon that Dean has felt responsible for Sam almost being eaten by a shtriga since he was 9/10 years old, and it's canon that Sam never even knew that happened. It's canon that the memory of Mary was so coveted by Dean and John that Sam has virtually no connection to her; no stories and no echoes of her in the way they live other than the infamous Winchester Surprise.

It's canon that Sam doesn't really have any happy holiday memories, and Dean does. It's canon that their perspective on the same shared holidays is completely different. It's canon that Dean stole Christmas decorations and presents for Sam and apparently none for himself. And it's canon that Sam realized Dean did that for him and gave him his only present. And it's canon that remembering that made grown-up Sam want to give Dean Christmas even though it meant admitting something hurtful to himself. (John not showing up for Christmas/Dean's last Christmas)

If you put yourself in Sam's shoes--- a kid left alone for most of his formative years; unable to put down roots and make friends; whose best friend, the only one who could even try to understand him, is his good little soldier brother--- it's easier to understand why Sam felt lonely and became a much more introspective person. Because he was literally stuck with just his thoughts and anxieties and the TV for days at a time. When you think about how sick he must've been about it, every time Dean and John would leave. Waiting for that next phone call. Biting his fingernails when the call was late. Wanting to be invited to prove yourself, but also because if you're THERE at least you KNOW what happens.

But then, too, if you can put yourself in Dean's place: it's not necessarily something a kid or young adult can fully appreciate--- especially a somewhat emotionally immature young adult--- that their little sibling is a completely autonomous person with their own inner life. They don't just pause when you leave their sight. Dean throws himself into the hunt, and isn't thinking about how much Sam is worrying about them. He's thinking, "Sam is safe, so I can focus on backing Dad up."

It sounds selfish, but it's simply a fact of the maturing brain that it takes some time to comprehend someone else's existence outside of you as a real thing and not just a vague concept.

So, to touch on another aspect that gets discoursed:

There ARE a lot of things about Dean's parentification that Sam doesn't know at first, but he has always known about it to SOME degree. He had his own perspective on it, and for sure I wouldn't say that Sam thought of Dean as his parent. Dean has definitely always been his older and somewhat overbearing big brother. But who do you think Sam took his problems to? Who threatens to rip his bully's lungs out in After School Special? Who remembers what fucking play Sam did in drama?

And a short related aside--- thinking about how Sam was surprised about the things of his John had in storage. His surprise that John kept an eye on him at Stanford. And relating these things that changed Sam's understanding of his father, to the way his understanding of Dean shifted with each revelation of what Dean had done for him. And despite everything Sam ALREADY knew, his adult brain and life experiences gave him new perspective on things.

This maybe is a little rambley, but oh well. What was I saying...

Oh yeah. So sometimes people get upset about Dean being given like. More praise than he deserves or something, by having those "you practically raised me" lines and things. As if it's a retcon. But it's really not.

It's Sam growing up, and his brain constantly taking in new information and reshaping his understanding. It's Sam seeing how much Dean blames himself for things that weren't his fault, and wanting Dean to see the good he's done. It's Sam being able to see Dean's heart underneath his codependent or selfish decisions, and reaching out. It's Sam trying to remind Dean he can lean on Sam, too.

I've gone off on a tangent and made myself tear up lol. I don't remember where I wanted to end up anymore. Somewhere in the ether there's another rant about how Dean has a harder time allowing himself the introspection on his perception of Sam, and how this leads to Sam having to do a lot of the leading on the emotional maturity of their relationship, and how hard this is when the person you're leading still sees you as their kid, in whatever capacity.

But ultimately, of COURSE Sam does as much for Dean. Of course Sam has agency in this and isn't Dean's baby that had a pampered childhood vs Dean's horrible one. Sam and Dean acknowledging the actual circumstances of their childhood dynamic doesn't have to be a Samgirls vs Deangirls fucking situation lol.

[arins-art-alley]

How exactly is the were-kraken form triggered?

transcript and more mumblings under cut! Thanks for the ask!

theres 3 ways a werekraken can be triggered:

Full moon: happens almost monthly, and if a blue moon occurs ( two full moons in one month ) the extra stress on the inkfish body can be dangerous.

At Will: If an werekraken is experienced enough, they can shift into werekraken at will. This lasts usually a couple of hours at most, and easier to come out of at will, unlike a forced one, which lasts two days and is much harder to come out of. Typically seen in middle-aged werekrakens, such as Callie and Marie's Moms.

Special Overload! Prefacing with a bit of canon lore here, specials are connected to emotions, as seen with Pearl's MC princess cannon in octo expansion, and in the Splatoon 2 Super Smash Bros splatfest art, where Pearl gets so upset that she charges her special. In the werekraken au, if this happens to a cursed inkfish and they don't make an effort to calm down, it can trip the signal to summon a werekraken, getting them stuck in form for 2 days, similar to a Full moon.

Using Callie as a model, some signs of a incoming shift include milk eyes, frothy mouth/drooling, being sometimes confused or unresponsive to langauges they typically speak, their form melting into ink, and occasionally an charged special effect where the tentacles glow and shine.

~~~ more rambling, transcript ends there.

With the special overload, comes even more increased strength: an perfectly calm werekraken has lots of power, but the special overload gives an adrenline kick, which can be dangerous for everyone, including the Werekraken. The increased stress can make the heart fail, along with inksac failure.

So while it's pretty rare to happen, your average werekraken still might take precautions to not get too worked up. Even then, not everyone can control their emotions! Say if you're a young, 17 year old pop star. You and your cousin are having a intense fight, both of you pitted against each other, on live TV. After spitting back, the both of you, so angry with each other, you have to take a small break from filming, cause you started to trip the werekraken... hmm...

( this is about the final fest. )

[pinchan]

i had a question about your latest kenjaku art! did geto have the piercings and they kept them, or did kenjaku get the piercings after taking geto's body? either way i wish the facial piercings were canon they look sooo good🥰🥰🥰

sorry for the late reply oops. this ask and the recent conversation of kenjaku altering the bodies they inhabit after there's no longer any need for pretenses just really got me thinking since it's an idea i never considered before. before i always imagined they just keep the looks of the body as is because it's easier due to the habits ingrained to the muscles of the body. but kenjaku is a silly guy who likes to have fun, i should've thought this sooner

anyway a quick redesign and a not-so quick rant

they'd swap out the ear gauges for ear tunnels, and get a custom centipede ear cuff that goes through the hole. in contrast to tengen i always imagine their OG body to have a more elaborate hairstyle. something in my brain decided kenjaku really likes braids when i designed the eraswap au, so that stuck. they're particularly fond of side-braids; they work as some sort of continuation to the stitches, i don't see why kenjaku wouldn't play more into that trait of theirs

they're a busy brain though, so they can't really do fun hairstyles everyday with their packed schedule. but that's no longer a problem now that they have curses to help them out with. after acquiring tengen they make her help them do their hair. they're normal and well-adjusted like that

i've seen some ppl say they should swap out the buddhist robes, and while i agree it'd be good to distance kenjaku even more from geto i think it'd be thematic if they keep it to spite tengen and her teachings (it also makes a nice pair with uraume's robes). and in relation to that, they also wear beads around their wrist to have a more physical connection with her

[pixthefuckup]

crack that could be taken seriously fanfic idea:

the only reason lex, hannah, and ethan never get to california as a single unit is because...

it's all the way across the country, they are fucking broke, and they'll always get stuck in the midwest no matter how far they plan or how much cash they have because gas is expensive and they cannot hitchhike to save their lives because either lex or ethan piss the driver off or hannah keeps saying strange overly accurate riddles relating to the driver's life that scares them and makes them dump the trio back onto the side of the road. technically it fits canon considering that one scrapped nmt episode i heard about where they just cannot budget to save their lives.

so one day, lex switches the plan around, deciding to go to new york city - although you can choose whatever other famous northern city that somehow has an equal reputation of people becoming celebrities in (listen i am a new yorker i can and will talk shit about other states) - to make it easier. their luck changes to the point where it's almost unbelievable. they find an affordable apartment like a goddamn miracle. hannah isn't tormented by odd visions and settles with her powers, lex keeps getting job after job, and ethan is winning with the nyc and (if we have to include them) nj mechanics, becoming a son to the italians.

if we wanna get extra cracky, Webby blessed new york bc of the innate connection to spiders and insects and that's why Alice lives because she's tied to it for college. even more cracky is the idea that technically any other small town bordering Michigan is safe but the lords in black just has a stronger pull to stay in Hatchetfield or fly to places farther and quick to make you broke (their Internet is flooded with shitty ads about gambling in Nevada, hiking in Colorado, partying in California, instead of any northern state nearby. you go there, you run out of money, you suffer, so you have to go back for "safety") than Webby does with encouraging others to flee to safer areas. she almost succeeded with Emma Perkins and her runaway trip and was going to get her to live in some other weird place for weed farming but the Lords in Black just had to kill off Jane.

[chubbylittlebumblebee]

Please read the whole post before commenting. I’ve never made a public post like this before so bear with me if it seams long-winded.

Recently @hg-aneh has been bombarded with extremely upsetting comments since they confirmed that they do ship Crowley and Muriel.

First off, it is never okay to dog pile on someone who is not already in the wide scale public eye. Calling someone a pedophile because of fictional ships is never okay. Lashing out at someone is not going to help them see your point of view, it automatically puts them on the defense and no one makes any progress either way. If you see someone has commented the same thing you were going to say, don’t. It is a terrible feeling to see 100 notifications and know they will all be people tearing you apart.

Quelin Sepulveda is an adult. Muriel is canonically thousands of years old. They might find solace in Crowley, who I know would deeply care for them. Crowley is a character who fosters curiosity and wonder in other characters. Muriel has that inherently, and it is logical to assume that as Crowley is alone they would naturally come together in some way.

From Muriel’s perspective, Crowley is one of the first people to like them for simply being themselves. He is going to be their first constant in 6000 years that isn’t demeaning or critical. He will introduce them to earth and all the beautiful things within. (Just like he did with Aziraphale.) For the first time they will experience affection compassion; they will be important.

Crowley would have someone who needs and loves him. Muriel is also someone who isn’t critical and would see Crowley for who he really is. Muriel mirrors pre-fall Crowley in so many ways, it would be imposible for him not to care for them. They won’t shut him down like Aziraphale would, it would probably be easier to tell what they want.

Crowley also knows more about earth, heaven, and hell than any other being has except God and The Metatron. He understands the inherent traumas that heaven and hell inflict on everyone. He knows what’s coming. He knows what is at stake.

Throughout their life Muriel has only spoken to people once every 300 years. Yes they take records so they probably know some things, but only from Heaven’s point of view and without context. Most of those they do meet are unkind as they see Muriel as the lowest in their ranks. You can see how nervous they are when Saraqael brings them to speak to Uriel and Micheal about Gabriel’s matchbox. Muriel knows so little about earth that they have to be taught how to drink tea. They do not have any idea how to interact with anyone because they never got the chance to. During the season they are in an entirely new place with new people and they have no experience with any of it, so much so that they are easily manipulated twice. Once about Aziraphale and Crowley’s secret meeting, and again when Crowley gets them to “arrest” him. They don’t have enough experience to know that they even could be manipulated or abused. They think that everyone has their best interest at heart.

The knowledge gap between Crowley and Muriel’s is reminiscent of that of movies like Tron Legacy, Fifty First Dates, Fifth Element, the original Planet of the Apes, and Splash. If you have made it this far Pop Culture Detective does a great job at explaining it.

Muriel is definitely autism coded and autistic people are frequently infantilized, but most of us know basic things about the world. We haven’t been stuck in an empty room for thousands of years. It is common for those with immense trauma to find a romantic connection for the first person who was truly kind to them. That’s why doctors can’t date their patients, teachers can’t date their students, and therapist can’t date their clients. Muriel doesn’t even know what romance is or what it entails for them or Crowley. (Aziraphale has also been super autism coded this season so we don’t just have Muriel)

But that’s only the case for the current cannon. It’s okay to retcon things in your own works, to go through different scenarios with characters that would allow them to interact differently. It’s okay to wonder about different characters and see them as a couple. It’s always important to take a step back to see the whole picture before commenting on something like this. I love the Good Omens fandom, it has allowed me to be myself and meet new people. I don’t want this fandom to become a toxic place. We already have to deal with homophobia and transphobia bearing down on us from the outside. We just want to make and experience art together.

Thank you so much for reading through all of this, it is really important that we support each other right now and I hope that everybody, especially @hg-aneh is doing well (I can’t imagine how exhausting this whole ordeal has been). If this conversation does continue please do so from a place of respect. If you wish to bring anything else to my attention, please do so. I am always looking to learn more and I am always open to different ideas and ways of thinking.

Keep being beautiful beautiful humans, and take care of each other.