#this definitely has to have been discussed before. i'm just too lazy to dig for it rn. but yeah. its a fascinating concept either way

[telesodalite]

Been thinking about idw1's outliers lately, and how sort of wild the whole concept is from a worldbuilding standpoint, and it struck me that most confirmed outlier abilities tend to be really useful, or flashy, or powerfully dangerous, and few to none tend to be like, really boring, or totally impractical, or even entirely useless? Which, doesn't really make sense when considering the fact that outlier abilities are seemingly random.

Surely not everyone who's born an outlier gets something useful?

And I don't mean like, "good" useful, but any sort of useful, even if that means you can kill people with your voice, or give a power boost by exploding yourself, those are still "useful".

But surely there had to be some with abilities that were totally impractical, or nonbeneficial, or at the very least just insignificant or purely aesthetic and pointless?

[kreideprinz69]

I don't think they were going for anything angsty. The writers were probably just catering to the fan perception of Nagito, and being incredibly ableist by having him received "justified" scorn from his classmates. But of course it kind of backfired in that made the rest of Class 77-B come across as uncaring at best, and unsympathetic and meanspirited at worst. To the point that I'm actually wondering if the 2.5 OVA was written by someone else. Because that genuinely is the best part of the anime, in that it's one of the few things that adds extra layers and depth to Nagito. Still...the part of me that has a hunger for angsty fanfic can see some potential. Like I actually could imagine a scene where the others are trying to put him at ease with the idea that he deserves a second chance just like they do. Only for that to backfire and royally piss him off. "...Are you kidding me? None of you gave a damn about me before we were Ultimate Despair. Hell, you didn't even give a damn about me when you were all just as filthy and despair-ridden as I was. And now you're pretending that I'm part of the family? No. The only thing you people want from me is validation. If I decide that I'm too far gone to deserve a second chance, well that would mean the rest of you are irredeemable now wouldn't it? And you can't stand for that. All that you want from me is to hear me say that you're shining symbols of hope once more. After that? I could keel over the next day and none of you would bat an eyelash."

honestly, i wish i knew what was going through the heads of those working on that show. though i don’t really think they ever made his classmate’s treatment towards him look “justified” in any way, it always felt like they treated it as a grey area or an attempt to make people feel bad for nagito. which, i guess worked, because i’m here. but that was such lazy writing, and it did the whole class so dirty. It didn’t come off right at all (assuming there is a right way for it to come off) and just felt… so weird. that’s really the best way i can describe it. weird, out of place, did not make sense. the reason i don’t think they were trying to make his classmates look justified and nagito look bad, is because of how ineffective it was. the treatment started off before he even did anything wrong, and he was noticeably much more polite/normal(?) but that’s just how i interpreted it, i 100% get what you’re saying. whatever they were going for, it was not accomplished. with how redundant it was, it’s entirely possible they weren’t even going for anything specific. man.

the 2.5 OVA was much better. i did some brief digging and from what i could find, its the exact same people working it as the rest of the show. which again, really makes me wonder what exactly is going through their heads. i thought the OVA was a great expansion on nagito’s character and his worldview. not only that, but it was very refreshing to see him get along with the rest of the class. they could still recognize his abnormal behavior, but they treated it like they treated the other oddballs in the class. it felt much more in character to me.

i definitely get that angst craving too. i imagine that after they woke up, there would have been a discussion about his treatment in the class. they’re all working together to build a future, where everyone has a second chance. i’m sure nagito would need a lot of encouragement to take that second chance, and he’d probably be quite upset at the class having a sudden change of heart and attitude. i think he’d have a lot of confusing emotions to sort through though. first, he’s starting to see the class as actual people, since they’re no longer symbols of hope (and the whole hope thing comes with its own giant baggage.) second, there’s the difference in treatment he’s getting from them, which is probably confusing. especially because of what happened in the game as well. but i think on some level, he must care for them. i cant quite say whether it’s personal, or lingering feelings of admiration for his idols. i say that because im thinking back to the hug he gave fuyuhiko and kazuichi after waking up lol. so maybe he did learn to just strive for the future.

but i think i’m starting to get a little off topic, so, yeah! theres definitely a lot of angst potential there and it would for sure make for some interesting fics!! theres a lot that can be done with that whole idea.

i really hope this was coherent and made sense, i am fighting insomnia demons at the moment and i’m not even going to acknowledge the time right now!