The Archsimp Index of Comically Long Theses (among other things)
Hello! Since it's a pain for me to scroll and I want to make sure all my relevant content is accessible, I made this post compiling both character analysis, headcanon and fanfiction posts, all of which I take very seriously. For now, it's mostly Nagito Komaeda-related because he's the main subject of my research, but I can yap about anything Danganronpa in general and I'll likely diversify in the far-off future. This means this index is gonna be subject to a lot of change but that is neither here nor there for now. I am very approachable and love to yap so ask me whatever (currently in the mood for headcanon-related or translation-related stuff)! Without further ado, though:
General Things
Character Accuracy in Fanfiction
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Danganronpa
Headcanons
The Archsimp Ship Headcanon Asks Index
Miscellaneous
on V3's Hajime and Sayaka Ultimate Talent Development interactions and what that says about them
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Danganronpa 1
Makoto Naegi Research
on Makoto and Kiyotaka's Free Time Events
on Makoto and Sayaka in Chapter 1
on Chadkoto and Sayaka in Chapter 1
on Makoto and the Chapter 1 trial aftermath plus Komaeda parallels
on Makoto and overall impressions of Chapters 2 and 3 (Celeste in particular)
on Makoto and his behaviour in Chapter 4
on Makoto and Komaeda parallels relating to seeking someone relatable
on Makoto and his empathy for Alter Ego
on Makoto and Ultimate Hope
Miscellaneous
on Makoto being a JoJo fan
on the parallels between Makoto and Komaeda based on Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 1
on Aoi Asahina and her characterization
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Danganronpa 2
Nagito Komaeda Character Analysis
Big Text
Nagito Komaeda and the H-Word
Nagito Komaeda and RNG
Does Nagito's Luck Truly Kill Everybody He Loves? Ft Canon Facts
Nagito Komaeda and Makoto Naegi
Nagito Komaeda and Chapter 1
Nagito Komaeda and Hajime Hinata
Nagito Komaeda and His Free Time Events (add-on: The Nagito Komaeda Free Time Event Document for Busy People)
Nagito Komaeda and Chapters 2 and 3
Nagito Komaeda and Island Mode
Nagito Komaeda and Despair (Part 1)
Nagito Komaeda and Despair (Part 2)
Nagito Komaeda and True Hope
Opinion Pieces
Lest We May Forget About the H-Word
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retranslating and recontextualizing Nagito calling Hajime a nobody in Chapter 4 and how that affects Hajime
highlighting and retranslating Nagito POV observations from Chapter 4
demystifying the Danganronpa 3-related Otomedia magazine spread from 2016
retranslating and recontextualizing Nagito talking about how he's not the crazy one
Contemplating Nagito's attitude towards Monomi in Chapter 4's Final Dead Room
Nagito Komaeda and All These Files He Found in the Final Dead Room
Asks
on Nagito and feelings of guilt
on Nagito and shame relating to Chapter 4's attitude shift
on Nagito and how he felt about Chapter 5
on Nagito and becoming Ultimate Hope by erasing despair
on Nagito and the thematic parallels between him and Junko
on Nagito and translation quirks of his third hope shard event
on why Nagito was hoping for casualties in Island Mode
on the significance of the translation choice of Nagito's final Free Time Event line in my Free Time Event document and interpretation of the event
on how Nagito knew about the Neo World Program and Izuru Kamukura at the end of the OVA
Nagito Komaeda Headcanon and Opinion Stuff
Asks
Nagito Komaeda and Eyesight
on whether I consider drama CDs/character songs canon
on my opinion about the Servant
on Nagito handling strong negative emotion
on Nagito and Sonia
on what kind of magical creature Nagito could be
on theories related to Nagito's diagnoses
on Nagito and getting isekai'd
on Nagito getting isekai'd to Persona 4
on Nagito if he was cursed with immortality
on Nagito and pets
on Nagito and food
on Nagito's handwriting
on Nagito and Pokemon
on Nagito and children
on Nagito and scars
Miscellaneous
The Post-Island Mode Komahina sales pitch
Komaeda Cog in the Machine office AU
Nagito Komaeda and Teruteru Hanamura (April Fools)
Cat House Komaeda
General Danganronpa 2 Posts
Miscellaneous
Speedrunning defeating Junko Enoshima
on Hajime and Gundham's Free Time Event and Island Mode content
on Hajime in a Danganronpa 2 office AU
Identifying the Statue Curse Believer Squad
Happy birthday Chiaki!! 💘
Miscellaneous Asks
Akane saving the world (by which I mean Danganronpa 2)
Sharing thoughts I have about Hiyoko
Checking translation and yapping about the use of the word "friend" in Danganronpa
Checking translation and yapping about trust for Chiaki, Akane, Hajime and Sonia in Chapters 3 and 4
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Fanfiction
Nagito Komaeda
Main Project
Danganronpa Another Episode: Hope Starved Theater
Rated M for the dark themes (not the sex sorry to say), Nagito/femReader
Summary as per ao3:
In a building too uncanny to be considered a hospital, you wake up from a coma struggling with the loss of years of memory. However, the gaps begin to fill when you come face to face with the only other person present, an old friend named Nagito Komaeda. He seems to have been responsible for you while you were unconscious, and was eagerly waiting for your awakening in preparation for something, but what exactly compelled him to transport you to this location? That question soon becomes inescapable, and whether the answer carries hope or despair is up to you to unravel…
Status section deprecated in favour of keeping you updated in blog posts about my progress. Originally updating monthly, but currently on break to finish the second draft as per this post. Any questions welcome!
Respective Main Project Chapter Author's Notes
Prologue: Predetermined Checkmate
Chapter 1: Cemetery Under the Unfamiliar Ceiling (First Half)
Interlude: Lost Golden Years (1)
Chapter 1: Cemetery Under the Unfamiliar Ceiling (Second Half)
Interlude: Lost Golden Years (2)
Chapter 1: Cemetery Under the Unfamiliar Ceiling (Checkpoint)
Interlude: Lost Golden Years (3)
Chapter 2: What Does Oolong Tea Wish Upon the Seven Stars? (First Half)
Random Short-Form /gnReader Fanfiction
(which have been bundled on AO3 too!)
Shooting Star 🌠
Calm After the Storm 🌈☔️
Snow Globe ☃️
Nightfall 🌃
Sunrise 🌇
First Meeting 🪟
Rose🌹
Through Slumber and Fire 💤🔥
Requests
General Ideas on Reader x Nagito Komaeda in a Kakegurui Setting 🃏🎲
The Luckiest Person Alive 🍀
The Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist 💸
on Nagito discovering ao3
on Nagito museum headcanons
on Nagito falling in love with a girl from the Reserve Course
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And as for the least important thing here, myself! I'm known as Archsimp! I wanna write fanfiction that appeals to me, and what appeals to me is the commitment to portraying a character with clear basis on their canon characteristics, to the point you can really imagine them doing and saying those things. Because of this, I do a lot of research and use this account to dump said research for the funsies (and to prove that I'm not just making it up).
I'm a fan of multiple things, but right now I feel like I might forget Komaeda if I don't see him every day and that's why this is just Komaeda all the time every time right now. I read for characters individually (as in, I filter solely for x character) and so I have no specific shipping preference. If at all, the rarer the pairing is, the more I'm intrigued because of the challenge of trying to accurately portray characters in unlikely scenarios, so you could say I'm more of a rarepair shipper at heart but I have no one OTP. As for blorbo sharing status, I'm somehow not a selfshipper! But I also consume x reader and x OC content.
So I suppose the bottomline is I'm a bit strange and all over the place! Though, it's also with this in mind that I try to be conscious of making posts that are accessible to any person regardless of their stance, and want to respect people's headcanons as much as possible. Whichever it is, I'm in for it! The more variety the better! Anyway, nice to meet youuuuu and I hope you have a nice day <33333333
Hello! Archvacationsimp here! As we (hopefully) know, I finally got around to posting the text wall about Chapters 4 and 5 that got decided on from the poll! Yay! I had things to say about that from the beginning but kept being awake until hours so ungodly I didn't have the energy to make the kind of status post I tend to do. At the very least, it's a good thing because I no longer feel like I'm doing nothing with my vacation days! The shipping asks saga (truly never over in my heart) was like a month long, and I dealt with that before I wrote the text wall because I had various complications in deciding exactly what structure to use to write it. That's also why I ended up posting about the files Nagito found in the Final Dead Room like essentially the leftovers from those olden times, but I think that despite everything, I ended up with a result that touches on the things I wanted to talk about. In the process, I may or may not have fused what I planned to be a text wall about absolute hope with it, so maybe I have a pattern of actually fulfilling two text walls instead of one whenever there's a poll ohohoho
From here, I think I might make smaller posts about Nagito, and leave something big for whenever inspiration strikes. This is also because with all the stuff above, I didn't much touch writing my fanfiction, and like I said before, I'm very eager to get to it because I have major rewrites to do and want to get a move on. Because of that, I'm very much in a fanfiction mood and would want more excuses to yap about that than anything else 🙏🙏 When I was celebrating 200 kudos and made that one post that's just a recap interview with Junko Enoshima, at first I was thinking of how potentially embarrassing that is, but in hindsight, cringe isn't real and I think you gotta give it to me that posed with the problem that I can't yap about my fanfiction I make Junko Enoshima do it for me. However, I admittedly would like to diversify and generate hype about it within my blog, without necessarily having Junko Enoshima next to me...
Otherwise, thoughts I have are about the potential for me to make posts of my volition about stream of thoughts I might have about ships in my mind, in case that might be interesting, but there's also!! Something I've been wanting to do since forever!! Which is the idea of Nagito Komaeda being the storytelling to some kind of eerie horror story or mystery! I've been waiting for Summer time to try to make it happen, but this itself has always been experimental because I'd want Nagito to tell this to "someone", but don't want the focus to be on that "someone" but on the concept of him telling a story in his specific character voice, and what I could draw from it. The issue is, these types of stories aren't necessarily easy to come up with, and the logistics are something I've been wrestling with since when in the process of trying to write that I ended up writing wholesome established relationship /reader snippets instead. Same thing, really--
I might develop further on these things in the coming days, while I hopefully have fun and free time and all the good things. The drawer for content is neverending... But I'd like to be able to accomplish these things as a baseline. Gonna take the chance to once again thank everyone for their patience with the matter of the text wall and I may or may not self-reblog it for more exposure...
Hi I just read the "hopesexual Komaeda" posts and I think people have already explained but I guess I could add what I remember of the context.
It did started as a joke and at the time I'm pretty sure I did find it funny but it was one of the big spam jokes like 11037 seesaw etc so pretty sure that contributes to the annoying factor
Since in my head it was always meant to be a cheap joke, I just never considered it could be seen as a genuine point to make, or anyone actually taking it seriously enough to do something with it until I read your post. Also, it's not related to a specific person or event that happened (at least that I'm aware of?) and more so to the number of people who repeated it
What I think is the main problem with it is that the intention behind it never was born out of a genuine want to explore his character as it was just boiling down his whole character to one thing (putting emphasis on Komaeda as a character since I think it was more him being perceived like this that was then translated into whatever ship than the ship itself). Like, not used in the way of "he would be more attracted to hopeful individuals" but more used as a way to shoot down people who were trying to talk about other aspects of his character. I also associate the hopesexual thing with yandere Komaeda but I'm not sure how much people actually put them together and how much my brain made that up
So as I view it, the reason people dislike it is because it feels like it's dismissing entirely whatever head canon or analysis or ship dynamic they were pointing that
Like imagine I see one of your text walls and instead of reading I go and comment "it's not that deep, he's just a freak who's obsessed with hope" or alternatively you're trying to open a discussion about let's say the servant and see everyone else taking him as a joke and refusing to consider any other nuance
I feel like this is a bit long and I may be missing something but you were asking for context and I tried to explain why people are generally upset about this, hope it makes sense. Though I don't think I've seen anyone say it in a good while
Hi!! I did indeed say I would be happy to read more context and there's no way I wouldn't be happy getting it from YOUUUUU--
But yeah I have pretty much zero experience with these memes, like the ones you mentioned alongside this context, and had this pre-conception that usually, people who aren't interested in in-depth analysis would be outside of that circle doing memes and vice versa. However, it can explain that these disclaimers are concentrated in posts that analyse the character if there was some specific period of intrusion by these types of people. Or maybe also if how common the meme is was at the time getting to a point it was warping perception? Like how Junko and Izuru talk about the memetic waves dare we even say--
I think fanfiction I came across shaped the thought process that seriously contemplated this because seeing in practice people depicting states in which hope is a point of arousal that is existent in Nagito's character in engaging with someone else, I felt like it was a take like any other. Flipped the other way around, though, I think it makes sense that if the experience is this term that's being thrown around as a meme, it would make sense that it would be seen for what that experience was, as in, just some meme. Because of that, I end up thinking the other way around because I haven't seen people make use of this word around me, where it would be kind of a waste if people were discouraged from their ideas if they might have them because other people handwave Nagito interpretations and his whole character.
Either way, if there's a decrease in these annoying people who want to shut down headcanons, I'd also be happy. I guess for the people who know me it's the day you find out I'm some kind of unicorn... Thank youuuuu for chipping in with more information and!!! I hope you're having a nice day <3
I feel like normally (unless I'm missing banger conversations that I'd love to be involved in), character accuracy in fanfiction is only ever talked about when it comes to the difference between in-character or out-of-character. As in, that it's only referenced to talk about the existence of these two states, and it's passively assumed that this understanding is either universal across all parties, or that it's too subjective that it can be whatever you want. The objective here to introduce nuance into this topic because I feel like not only can it be interesting to think about fanfiction in this way, but also because it might help both people who appreciate accuracy and even those who don't much care for it.
Of course, there's no real established science to it, so it's gonna be my two cents on the subject. Though, since I don't see a lot of two cents on the subject around, that's precisely why I thought that throwing mine in here could be recreational. I'd more so want to give ideas than to assert some form of authority over this, but to do that, I need to give out my own perspective anyway. I feel like just talking about character accuracy on its own is probably confusing, so I've broken it down to its meaning, and the characteristics of character accuracy both in what accuracy is and how it manifests. In the end, it's basically yapping, but hey if it made you think then I'll be satisfied.
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Variance in Art
I think that in Tumblr, it's not a hot take to refer to fanfiction as an art form (hopefully??). Fanfiction is writing with a source material as basis, so it falls under writing, which itself is an art form. Still, when it comes to fanfiction, I've not seen the character accuracy aspect be considered in this same manner. Fanfiction is indeed the writing of a novel, so people (I believe) are becoming more open to the idea that fanfiction authors can produce content comparable to published novels, but this is just the idea that the fanfiction as its own novel is of quality. Not so much whether or not the fanfiction in its unique trait of taking reference from a source material is of quality or not.
This is something I say because I know a lot of (or I suppose some is more sensible to say) people who do read fanfiction will do so even if that fanfiction is of a source material they know nothing about. There's nothing wrong with doing this. If anything, many become motivated to look at the source material based on the banger fanfiction they read, and if the story itself is good, you're only ever winning out from doing this. It's only natural to see that someone's fanfiction has value on its own quality and merit as a narrative. However, this being a post about character accuracy, I'd like to shine a spotlight on the fact that fanfiction's inherent property of adapting from a source material makes it have additional elements that require their own skill sets.
Basically, that characterization in the context of fanfiction would be its own form of art. I think it's not talked about because it feels like it would bring more controversy than it would productive discussion: accuracy can end up elitist in its nature by demanding certain standards for which there may be little to no backing, and most people generally enjoy fanfiction regardless of how accurate the characters are to their source material, so long as they can be minimally reminiscent of their basis. This, though, assumes that there is a clear and antagonistic dichotomy at play regarding fanfiction characterization: in-character vs out-of-character.
I'd like for people to step back and think about characterization the same way we think about other art. Let's assume you want to paint a forest. By itself, you can think it literally means to paint a forest to the best of your ability, but then again... When you see someone's drawing of a forest in a style that's more cartoony, or a forest with fantasy elements, does that become a "wrong" forest? It's not the forest you see in real life, after all. However, it still is a forest, and its expression still has meaning. If someone makes an assortment of squares in the colour scheme and arrangement of a forest, that would still express a forest, and executed to its intent, would probably be a banger piece of art. Truthfully, people enjoy and want to see a variety of forests, regardless of discourse people make about art.
For example, there are many people who believe that certain abstract art is not art, because it has nothing to do with real life and because of that doesn't express anything concrete and meaningful. These people, however, are incurring the misunderstanding that "real" art is to be able to have the most technically perfect piece possible, where it will practically look like real life. It's biased by default, and if anything, what's the meaning of painting a forest just like it exists in real life? Do we not have eyes to see it already? This thought process that rejects certain art as not real art only serves to extinguish the sole avenue people have to express things that aren't real, which makes no sense. On the other hand, though, there is of course meaning to recreating something as accurately as possible: it's not only a technical achievement, but it can convey something to people who don't have it accessible, or it can just be a reminder of that real thing in another form. Personally, I enjoy art that looks to me like something in real life because I can see it play out in my mind, and that's enough meaning for me. However, it doesn't mean that a super cool tentacle forest wouldn't be amazing to see to me or that it isn't an achievement of its own. The real truth is that how cool art is depends on what the artist wanted to do with the piece to begin with, and people's own preferences.
And I believe the same principle applies to characterization in fanfiction. Where there are people who prefer the most realistic forest they can find, there are people who want to see it specifically surreal. OOC is only uncool if you yourself feel like you want to improve on your characterization and want to feel like these are things that character would do or say in canon, rather than a matter of good or bad objectively. After all, what a character would truly do or say is what canon is for, so there's no need for pressure on this unless you want to run that simulation yourself. If you want to see variance in a character, or if that character is to you the set of characteristics you enjoy about them without the parts you don't like, then your forest is just stylized. And that's okay. However, in that sense, I'd want to make people wonder if they've ever even been aware of the criteria they want for this forest to begin with. When you write, are you trying to write something in-character? If so, how much? How much is it worth it for you? Do you consider that the actions you make your character do are plausible for the character you're writing, or do you feel that deep down, it doesn't sound like that character at all?
I ask not only as a matter of honest curiosity since I almost never see this being discussed in-depth, but also because I feel like in the fear people have of certain levels of self-indulgence, that it's customary to boil down accuracy to something that is just oppressive. The reason, as far as I can see, is because there are people who impose their headcanons as canon and their criteria can scare those who are just trying to write their fanfiction. I understand that, because I too am a hater of people and their authoritative dictatorship of the headcanon, but I feel like it's also a waste of people's efforts to study and explore the characterization from the source material to say that it's all just a matter of feeling and that there is no such thing as in-character or OOC. To me, it's like turning to someone who painted a very realistic forest and saying that their forest will always be just as cool as if it was a bunch of random scribbles, so they might as well draw the scribbles. If this person didn't want or prefer or feel the need to paint it in that way, then they wouldn't be painting that forest at all, and it sounds more saddening than anything if afterwards that painter wouldn't be praised for their attempt to emulate that real forest. It feels like the wrong target is being painted here, because the real enemy is that one guy who turns to your cool stylized forest and says it's not real art because it doesn't look like the forest in his local park.
Unfortunately, it's a fact of life that people either don't really know or haven't even stopped to think about these nuances and will mouth off takes that are hurtful to people creating art. In a way, to be able to appreciate technical prowess, it's always best to be knowledgeable in that technique yourself, and in the context of fanfiction, this comprises a pretty ridiculous amount of knowledge about 2D people and their 2D setting. It's also a fact of life that people are at times easily influenced by knowledge that isn't truly certain: you can sound convincing with a text wall of this size about how x thing is canon and nothing else is, and people may flock to condemn what isn't if they value that canon over other canon facts (I think this is the worst part personally: there's a huge layer of hypocrisy to all people who persecute others for neglecting canon lore). I feel like this itself could be the source of its own post, but if people can see characterization and the playing around with the source material as the flexible thing it is, I'd say it's much healthier than just making it obscure altogether.
Your forest is probably really cool. It's just that like anything else, there are preferences for the art people consume. In this case, as this is a post about character accuracy, and also because I feel like I don't need to clarify further on how OOC is just as valid as I think other people have done it effectively before, the perspective (keyword truly being perspective since this is all just my experience) I'd want to introduce is one of attempts at character accuracy. Or rather, how it could be looked at as a point of free discussion rather than just canon or not canon. Because in the end, this is all fanwork, and in-character does not equal and never will equal to canon. But it would probably make one wonder...
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What Is Character Accuracy Anyway?
Let's introduce a hypothetical fictional character into the fray to help us understanding my points from here on: meet Brooklyn Bookson, a librarian who really likes books. It's very easy to chalk character accuracy up to, "If I make Brooklyn like books, then this is Brooklyn Bookson!" but the truth is, you'll have two friends into books and they'll be completely different. We can tell that Brooklyn likes books, but for the things Brooklyn says to resemble their actual character, it would have to resemble the things that they actually say in the hypothetical source material they appear in.
Which, admittedly enough, is really freaking hard and complex. There are three (off the top of my head) big reasons:
Your own human limits (mostly your memory)
Lack of data
The very concept of accuracy applied to people
One of these sounds more philosophical than the other, so before the other simpler things, I want to first clear that up and have you consider the accuracy of human beings to begin with as a starting point to the concept of accuracy.
Accuracy Applied to People
Now, we don't know any parallel universes to tell for sure, but whenever you are in any given situation, you can think you'll do x thing, but more likely than not, there's a spectrum of actions you'll be able to take.
This is because no one situation is the exact same, and also because you yourself are not the exact same even if the situation is. This is why getting yourself accurate is also really freaking hard: even if you know yourself at your very core, you have to contend with the volatile factors of human nature, such as your own reflexes, your mood, and whatever external circumstances outside of the situation you're imagining has affected these things, etc. And this is already not accounting for the very simple variance in your spoken word by itself: even if you'd say something with the same meaning in the same situation, chances are you aren't guaranteed to word it the exact same way again. If you're thinking of the same thing again after you've thought about it before, many similar words and phrasing will probably appear, but if you are able to talk about it the exact complete same way as that time before, you're kinda running into some statistical miracle also by not having stuttered that one time. Basically, people are not fully predictable, meaning that if you for example spend your whole life studying a person, you'll still never really know what they'll say next for sure.
"Does that mean accuracy is not real??" Kind of, but I find that point-of-view reductive. This is because even if you can't predict the correct answer, the singular timeline to someone all the time, it doesn't mean that suddenly, that person could literally do anything right off the bat. Otherwise, you would have no way to differentiate the people you love from strangers. People close to you are people who you know their mannerisms, the things they like, the types of attitudes they usually have, and this knowledge and familiarity tends to be enough that these attributes will bleed into yourself. If there was no consistency to them, you'd be hard-pressed to assimilate into anything of them. I think that there are indeed people who argue that someone could just about do anything, but I feel like realistically, we all know that this is very dependent on the circumstance, and that even then, the decision someone makes under those circumstances will always be parsed by their personality. There's no point to denying someone's characteristics just because we can't derive the one true answer, like how for example we shouldn't deny people's identities just because of existent nuance.
Then, if people won't actually do just about anything possible, but do have some kind of pattern in their behavior, we know that there is no a single correct answer to a situation on a micro level, but it should be possible to derive clearly wrong answers. If your bestie suddenly changed writing styles completely in your texts, you'd probably (depending on who you are) notice, even if you might not actually be able to replicate that style yourself. Said bestie would probably die over reading a book on economics out of the blue, so if they recommended said book to someone unironically, it would probably be weird. To preface, inconsistency in people isn't bad or wrong at all, but simply that when it does exist, it is noticeable provided you have the data for it.
Of course, since there are so many situations in the world, the data you have won't account for a lot of specific and special situations, so you might consider someone's actions to be suddenly out-of-character when it might've actually been consistent the entire time, but that's life. You're no ultra genius. What you know is solely what you can observe by yourself, and we don't know that much about people most of the time, making our observations be based on assumption. Regardless, assuming you're trying to predict yourself, meaning you have the knowledge of all instances you can remember in your life (which unfortunately won't be enough, someone you know remembers something cool about you that you don't), you'll find that there are things you feel sure about that you wouldn't do, making that the wrong answer for that instance of yourself at that time. And for writing, what people are truthfully capturing are instances, rather than truthfully real people.
Which brings us back to the realm of fiction. It's gonna be a hot take, but characters aren't real people. We want to make them as close to real people as possible (occasionally, because truthfully characterization is just like the forest example from before and we just wanna partay), usually for the sake of immersion and other things, but to perfectly emulate the realistic nature of an individual, it takes such a level of brain power that what we'll generally find are approximations and shorcuts to simulating the experience of real people emotion, actions, and behaviour. However, when consuming media, people will comment on how real a character felt to them, and it's not put to question the status of a character as a person (if they are a person). This is because even if a character isn't a person in terms of all possible variation as well as all possible sense of consistency that a real life person can provide, usually they capture the instance of real life behaviour. What we normally interact with are instances anyway, so it passes plausibly to us as people.
An instance here is what I'm basically passing for a profile of an individual: their thought process, attitude, background, interests, etc. Whenever a character is made, usually they have a profile that gives this character a set of traits and basic consistency. Whenever you feel like you might do something rather than another, you're technically profiling yourself, usually based on observations you've had on past events or thoughts. This type of profiling can be accurate, but it also tends to be simplified for consistency because you're not going to account for every extreme situation in life nor can you predict the exact ways you're going to change down the line. Put into perspective, a character that develops changes their instance and introduces variety, making their character more dynamic than before. By combining these instances together, you gather more data from which you can maybe think about what a character will do next. Thankfully, too, because a character is not as 3D as you, they'll be inherently more predictable. Though, this doesn't mean that there is a single correct answer for the actions of a character either.
This is important to reiterate and contemplate when researching a character, but there is no single correct answer to accuracy. There is only a plausible spectrum. This is also because characters are written by people: if you're depressed that day, you'll probably write your character differently than if you were in a great mood. If you were thinking about sushi that day, you might say your character is into sushi. Things as spontaneous as this can decide canon for life, and you can't predict the moods of someone you've never even met your whole life, nor can even said person do so for themself. This means the principle is still the same, just on a more simplified scale. For example, bringing Brooklyn back for our discussion, we can say that a Brooklyn who hates books would be a wrong answer. Wrong answers are cool to explore too, just in the same way inconsistency is valid, but if Brooklyn were trashing their beloved books in broad daylight randomly and without assigned meaning, it probably wouldn't reflect as the Brooklyn Bookson we all know and suddenly love. However, as for what exact Brooklyn will say next, there's no one singular answer. And this is a good thing.
People have always approached approximation for accuracy, and this doesn't make the concept any less meaningful. You can have Brooklyn Bookson written by the original author who's actually never been written by a librarian before, and so if they had to answer for a question about libraries and it was vague due to lack of knowledge, it would become a canon answer, but it wouldn't become THE sole possible answer for Brooklyn. Some cool person who actually was a librarian at some point in their life could appear, take from their experience and conceive of an answer that not only takes into account Brooklyn's personality, but also the real experience of Brooklyn's workplace. And would you say that this is inaccurate? If nothing about Brooklyn contradicts this person's real life experience, then is it not just a plausible answer? Fanwork will never become canon, the same way that there's nothing more accurate to an object than the object itself, but it doesn't mean that we'd stop painting the forest just because it'll always be a canvas. By tapping into our own knowledge, we can explore the potential in a character, and this potential will never be set for a single answer. This means that we can all hopefully please thank you hold hands about what a character could do, rather than what a character will do for sure, and it still being in the realm of character accuracy.
To hammer this point home a bit before moving on, it's also hopefully a given that humanity has not truly uncovered all knowledge about most fields of study. Things are ever-evolving, and people in the same field look to understand their subject regardless of the uncertainty that exists. I believe that dismissing the efforts because of uncertainty in a way stunts progress, when we could all just vibe instead. Thus, even if we're not all psychology majors, and even psychology itself has not unlocked the secrets behind human personality, that it still is worth discussing concepts of human and character consistency respectively. Naturally, whatever I say is just my own take, but I'm here to invite thought based on my opinion and am hoping beforehand that you don't completely just accept my take but use it as reference for your own.
Lack of Data
And now that we're on the topic of ambiguity because of clarifying that there's no such thing as one correct answer, let's talk about the ambiguity in Brooklyn Bookson. We all know Brooklyn likes books, but what about chocolate? What about hiking? What would Brooklyn do if they were in a flower shop instead? Unfortunately, these are all things that we don't uncover from the source material. There simply is no answer in the profile of Brooklyn pertaining to these specific topics.
What does that mean for character accuracy? I think some people believe that it's a matter of how likely Brooklyn is to enjoy certain things based on their personality. The issue is this is a slippery slope. For example, someone could say Brooklyn would never enjoy hiking because they like books so they must be an indoors person and a nerd and hiking is not for nerds. But how do you know that? What if on the sequel, Brooklyn shows up hiking and having the time of their life? What'll happen to the nerd theory then?
At some point, there will appear things that have neither a plausible spectrum of answers or even a clear wrong answer. At points, you'll have answers that seem unlikely, but in a way, you can't completely deny them. You might think Brooklyn is not into inflation, but how do you know? Would the author ever truly give us the window to look into Brooklyn's intimate life? In some respects, lack of data is where our personal bias kicks in the strongest, because we won't have any samples from the source material to base decisions off of. This doesn't just apply to small things like interests. It can also apply to that one character you love that unfortunately only had like 10 minutes of screentime in the show. Does that mean you should just stop writing the character because whatever you create will be too subjective to hold up to scrutiny?
Absolutely not! Because what's fandom for if not presenting a take based on the character you're thinking about? Sure, the author might think up something completely different, but how could you have guessed? You made up a take that's just as coherent with the material you have. Is that not just as valid? It still is an attempt for accuracy within the data you have. Lack of data is both the existential threat of accuracy but also the coolest thing about writing fanwork in general. Gaps in knowledge from the source material are exactly what the fans can fill for themselves and this freedom means we can have multiple co-existing stances about a character, all of which technically plausible because there's no evidence against.
Of course, when it comes to minutia, such as what opinion would Brooklyn have on recycling, you'd want to be able to phrase it like Brooklyn would say it, but if you have no idea what kind of opinion they would have, it simply stands that what you're doing is nothing more than guesswork. This guesswork can often paralyse people and make them not want to approach writing. For example, a lot of fanfiction will take situations from canon so as to not have to go too outside of the confines of the known character facts. However, it doesn't mean that what you came up with based on the facts that isn't related to canon isn't plausible, too. It means you're taking a risk, and that hopefully it pays off.
Your Own Human Limitations
People's creativity ties heavily into their knowledge. This means that, for things that you don't know at all, it's very unlikely that you'll have thought of them. This also relates to people: if you have a very specific personality and the people you know also have nothing to do with the type of character you're writing, plus you've never much observed this type of character before, chances are you'll have a hard time replicating this character. This applies at a deeper level, too. We normally project our own thoughts and experiences into our own writing, to the point that can affect the accuracy of what is being written (whether on purpose or by accident). But what if your personality and experiences have nothing to do with that character's?
The thing is, this phenomenon isn't necessarily conscious, and it's also impossible to completely erase bias. Besides, in a way, I'd argue that the full erasure of bias isn't that meaningful for accuracy, regardless. I mean, you're writing not to have it be the writing of practically someone else, but for your own thoughts to make it in, even if the aim is accuracy. So, if you erased your individuality, what would be the point of fanwork? Still, to some degree, the portrayal of different people implies also the awareness that those people may do things that have nothing to do with you. Becoming aware of that, as well as amassing knowledge of these people and actions is actually pretty tough, especially the more counter-intuitive it is to you.
Still, even if someone or something has nothing to do with you, it doesn't mean you're doomed to forever only replicate your self-insert, or even that you'll produce less accurate work (not that I feel like anyone probably needed this encouragement but still). The name of the game is knowledge: the same way a writer will research a location or subject matter to better write their book that necessitates these assets, the knowledge you have will make you able to think more about that character. Amazing, I know. But it bears being said since sometimes I feel that people will start believing it's all talent. It's effort. Knowing a character and adapting yourself to that knowledge is just like how knowing someone in real life doesn't just come out of nowhere. It's a process.
Though, this is just the facet of human limitation that I find the most subtle. The general death and despair of characterization in fanfiction relates to how hard can your memory cooperate. You might have consumed the source material once, but you'll find that this singular time will not unfortunately have you remember even half the things that happened there. Of course, let alone every line of dialogue Brooklyn has ever spoken in their life. And honestly, as someone who has been in the trenches of research, you don't have to. Paint that cool forest please. What you have to consider is do you want to dedicate your limited lifespan to compensating for the human limitations of your memory? The more you remember about a character, the more nuance you can give them based on the source material. However, depending on what you want to write, general knowledge might just be enough to have a just as good result.
For example, if Brooklyn was just a side character in your fic, and they appear just once, how much would you truly need to know for their appearance to do its job? It would be a world of difference between the amount of things to consider if Brooklyn was a main character, or if you were shipping them together with another character. I guess the real point here is to treasure your health and time, do not be like me, human limitation is something to consider but only as far as it would stop you from having fun trying to simulate what a character might do.
Okay, But What Is Character Accuracy Anyway?
As hopefully it may have been possible to glean, character accuracy is an approximation based on the samples of data you have from the source material. It's something that has a level of correlation and plausibility, and contemplating this to try to write something that a character might do is what I would consider character accuracy. Basically, what you're thinking really hard about in your head about what a character could do is an instance of attempting character accuracy. Even if you're not writing fanfiction, if you've thought of a headcanon at any point, you've probably engaged with it at least once.
However, nothing is truthfully more accurate than the source material instances themselves. You will never become canon (and that's a good thing). Accuracy in fanwork is an approximation because it presents just as plausible alternatives, seeing as accuracy itself is on a spectrum of plausible actions. It's an act where data is taken from instances of canon to profile an existing character, and to fill gaps that may exist to insert that character or profile them in a way that they can react to your scenario, your own knowledge and bias will inevitably be there to spice up your cool fanfiction. In that sense, OOC is not so much all the things that you don't like, but more so just whatever technically contradicts canon, which you can bend to your will regardless of accuracy for whatever personal reason you have.
3
Elements of Accuracy
Like everything here so far, I'm just presenting these as takes, but now that there's an idea of accuracy at its core, it can still beg the question of accuracy in practice. In other words, if just making Brooklyn say they like books doesn't truthfully make up accuracy, what does? And why is that, anyway?
Well, if you meet someone who likes books, and you're talking to them normally about your day, maybe they won't just say to you, "This is just like my books!" or "This reminds me of books, which I love!" To be fair, what an iconic character, but the point is that a character isn't so much the facts that they are made up of, and more that the facts are summarizing the dialogue and actions that exist in the story proper. This means that just taking the trivia or the theory of a character profile results in growing distance from the character's nature.
So, assuming Brooklyn's love of books is for real and it manifests in the story, the question would be how? Let's just make it so that the love of books Brooklyn has is part of the story's overarching theme of art, and Brooklyn is a character representing literature as a whole. So, Brooklyn loves books and also loves writing, and is writing a novel while being a librarian. And then, when talking about these things, they are in moments when Brooklyn is alone, towards close friends, because Brooklyn is afraid like most of us that their writing is cringe. Then, when it comes to books read, they may only reference writing tropes and devices if they come into play to be associated with the art forms their friends are into, like to compare to painting, sculpting etc. Then suddenly, we can't just think about it based on the very fact that Brooklyn likes books. In a way, we need knowledge of that pattern and how that pattern works to be able to make copies of it in dialogue.
This to me would be the content of Brooklyn's dialogue. The substance that makes up the character, which is recognizable the closer to canon it is. Because, if Brooklyn is inserted into a situation where they're just waking up, and this doesn't include the theme of art or books, we're looking into the realm of speculation if we never saw Brooklyn's morning, and that inevitably creates a layer of ambiguity relative to if the fic had Brooklyn talk about books with a character that was antagonistic to their favourite literature. Like I said, this ambiguity is okay and can be made to transition into other content seamlessly, but knowledge of the content makes for a recognizable set of actions and dialogue, and aid in increasing accuracy. Conversely, if Brooklyn was talking about writing in its specific prose and grammar when they normally reference general writing tropes, plot points and device, it would be a form of nuance, but if we're comparing to the established hypothetical canon, would that be something that Brooklyn would say? Does it not sound different from the core aspect?
One thing that can muddle the waters is a thing called character voice. This is also very important to make a character recognizable. Basically, if a character is in the habit of saying, "'Kay" or "My word!" and then you dished out none such words, it would seem as though something was missing. Character voice is something honestly way more nuanced and complex than this example, and has a lot of variance because of the general nature of phrasing, but this simplification exists to pose this question: how much would you notice that what someone said is off if it sounds like that person? If Brooklyn said in Brooklyn words that they enjoy carnage and books are just the side hobby to hide murderous tendencies, would that be accurate just because it's in Brooklyn words, or would we maybe take into account Brooklyn's meek nature and fear of blood to think that this might not sound very plausible? This to me separates the content and character voice into two different categories, in which I can't immediately assume that something said in the style of a character is feasible by that character necessarily.
Still, you might have noticed a pattern: the fact that either thing is about the character being more recognizable. The point to me personally would be that if I can read that and imagine the dialogue as similar to the canon dialogue in my mind, then it would sound plausible to me. This is probably how most people evaluate accuracy if they even do. Though, there truly is more to being recognizable than just if character does something similar to canon or says something similar to what they said. I feel like for example, a similar scenario or a similar tone can technically invite more accuracy just by the very nature of it being similar to the source material, provoking similar reactions from the characters involved. This is a given, but it's there to say that accuracy and being recognizable are flexible also in that it doesn't just depend on the character. It doesn't mean that you can't throw the character into a completely different setting without it being OOC: as far as I can see it, it's more like a bonus or a crutch, something that you can use but don't necessarily have to.
Nuance here can be endless: the pauses a character can take, the tone of their voice, the details in their surroundings, their background. How you choose to apply them is up to you and recognizable factor doesn't necessarily need to come from just the comparison to canon. Like the example of someone who worked as a librarian, by calling to a trait of a character from something out of the story's scope, it does still probably make you think of that character, because Brooklyn is a librarian. This could be probably its own post that I'll never make because this one is enough, but I wanted to leave some kind of basic reference point for someone who'd be lost on where even to begin.
4
Conclusion
I yapped a lot, mostly to release opinions into the wild. Whether they're valuable or not would really depend on whether you'd find the topic interesting in the first place, or if it made you think at all about this when it comes to fanfiction. What I find is that it's rare to see people talk about character accuracy unless it's to say that OOC exists or to say that there is no such thing as accuracy, and I don't usually see the topic being developed much further. I find that for people who might be interested in accuracy like me, it implies a lot of insecurity and not knowing where to begin, and then for people who aren't interested in accuracy, it would paint it as though these things are just in the way of banger fanfiction. I feel like all fanfiction has its place in the larger community, whether in-character or out-of-character, and that the topic of character accuracy is broad and nuanced.
And this will all probably boil down to nerdisms that maybe only I care about but that's okay. Thankfully my name is Archsimp so I don't have shame. Thank you thoughhhh for braving through this masive wall you warrior <3
What's your opinion on people who call Komaeda "Hopesexual"? Honestly? It's annoying and irritating to hear that, even when it's not a joke
So, I'm not sure if this is because I only entered this fandom like November last year, but I essentially don't have any experience of seeing this designation cause tangible harm to someone and as a result, I honestly don't understand why it's controversial or frowned upon. As far as I know (and it's merely speculation because I have pretty much never seen this debate take place, only people hating on the hopesexual designation), it seems to be because this avoids the topic of Nagito's sexuality concretely by putting it, I suppose, in the realm of "fantasy"? Is that the reason? But personally, I don't see why most people have to "face" the topic of Nagito's sexuality to begin with when contemplating his character. Rather, I feel like it wouldn't be too strange to go a lifetime without having to think deeply about which or whatever ways Nagito swings, thus moreso strange to me that it has to be something policed by the fandom and community.
Then otherwise I mostly remain perplexed because, doesn't being hopesexual basically mean that Nagito would be aroused by hope? Wouldn't that also include the prospect of banging Hajime for Hajime anyway? As in, that it wouldn't take away from reasons that aren't hope for liking and wanting to bang Hajime? I just really don't see why assigning an element of sexual arousal for hope would necessarily be horrifying for the fandom, unless I'm missing some massive conspiracy here about how Nagito's attraction for hope would somehow deprive him of the chance to bang Hajime. Considering for example how he reacts in the anime, I'd say if someone really wanted to make the case for a fetishistic nature to hopeful actions or talent or whatnot, they would have a bit of sampling they could use, the same way any one of us can grasp at straws and be just as much shut down by someone else because the matter ends up so subjective that anyone is going to just exercise bias and say they don't see it and that you're wrong and etc. I'm not sure if maybe this is something that other fans use when wanting to talk about how Nagito experiences romance, but I wouldn't reject this possibility by itself because if there are fetishes for so many things, it wouldn't be out of the left field for the potential to explore this in Nagito's character in the context of fanwork. The same way for example I've had interesting times reading fanfiction about Nagito being into choking or bdsm or fanfiction exploring that he actually feels no sexual attraction or no romantic attraction to begin with, I don't really feel the need to have Nagito and whatever reactions he has in his crotch area be limited to one particular sexual orientation or experience if one's heart so desires.
I guess the tldr is I can't even begin to be annoyed because I've never been in a situation where I've seen Nagito being called hopesexual unironically and widespread, only people talking about how bad it is. Thus, I'm more confused than displeased, and unless I see some justifiable tea for this, I wouldn't find a reason to shun it from the realm of possibility. And honestly even if someone else caused some form of tea over it, I wouldn't say it would justify shunning someone's otherwise non-problematic exploration of the theme... Unless I'm missing something here? Either way, thank you very much for the courage and time taken to ask this question because I've long wanted to talk about this, considering I've been perplexed whenever I saw it mentioned. I don't go on reddit, don't have tiktok and ignore twitter for the most part, so I might have a different community experience from everyone else. Either way, if strange redditors are spamming weird things, you have my condolences and I hope you're otherwise doing well 🫂
Hello! If there's anyone who would still be interested in giving me more context, I would be happy to read it (whether inbox, DMs, comments, etc)! The understanding I'm getting from what I've received is that there are people who use this language because 1. they want to joke about Nagito being a weirdo probably based off of certain sprites etc (which I'd say has a good chance of not necessarily being harmful) 2. they want to do away with the idea of Nagito being queer by attributing all implications to solely loving hope. I've heard stories of sexuality tier lists outside of tumblr that feature like the entire cast being labelled straight, but I'm gonna dish out what apparently could be a hot take and say that Danganronpa 2 is pretty queer. In that vein, the same way I wouldn't assume Ibuki is straight, or that Teruteru is straight, or that Mikan is straight and etc for like the whole cast, I also don't subscribe to the idea of Nagito being straight. Rather, I don't feel like it makes much sense to look at characters with the assumption that they're straight "until proven otherwise" to begin with.
Basically, if there's someone out here in this blog who is very adamant about Nagito having never been gay in his life, they also should just unfollow me. The kinsey scale goes both ways, and I don't think it's cool that people have to justify their headcanons as if they have to answer to canon, especially when that canon is just someone's take. I've had a fun time reading fanfiction in the past about Nagito exploring his relationship with Hajime (as in they're dating they're together established relationship) from a standpoint of not feeling romantic or sexual attraction carnally but in relation to concepts and traits, and feel like even besides this, there could be merit to exploring an attraction to hope recreationally. Because of this, I'd want to keep to the principle of not policing fanwork and encourage people to explore these types of ideas, and will otherwise not show respect to bad faith in the use of the word hopesexual.
Anyway, pride month, am I right? <3 Let's be happy about the Nagitos in our hearts...
Read the Hopesexual post and wanted to share my thoughts as anon because frankly I'm a coward lol
Conceptums exist, being attracted to a concept is absolutely a thing that exists. As someone very passionate about philosophy and music, can confirm.
That said, I mostly have come across this take when done as a meme, or a comment of how Nagito "loves all the ultimates" and they love seems centered on the hope inside them.
Thinking about that more, there's a thing to consider that due to Nagito's experiences, he actually does value and love the concept of hope so much that he could potentially be "hopesexual" or "hoperomantic", though that definitely enters the realm of headcanon. But there's also the psychological aspect to consider, what other reasons would Nagito have to react like he does to hope? Because of his history of trauma, I'd venture that his reactions are more due to extreme C-PTSD and other things, and that he clings to hope as a concept as a philosophical coping mechanism that gives meaning to his suffering and helps contextualize his luck. That said, sexual or not, Nagito has a deeply intense and visceral response to hope, if his reaction to Izuru is any indication.
For Nagito's sexuality in general, Absolute Hope Birthday, Zanka, and Poison all point to Nagito loving some guy. Probably Hajime/Izuru. This in addition to a few other smaller throwaway lines and nods seem to convey that at the very least, Nagito is interested in men. That doesn't preclude him from liking women, though. My hc is that he'd be pan, with a preference for men, and that he might be excited by especially hopeful circumstances or people. Oh, and I hc Hajime as a trans guy.
Seen a few people throwing hate towards female selfshippers with Nagito. When it comes to loving a comfort character, who has no fully established canonical sexuality, I honestly don't think it matters. If you love him, draw him hugging or whatever with your OC. As long as you aren't out there forcing your hc's onto other people or being phobic or hateful, I don't see any issue. Heck, some AFAB people can explore and maybe even learn they are trans because they were interested in a mlm ship, or they had a crush on a "gay-coded" character.
Thought rant over, thank you for reading
I don't tend to see going anon as cowardice necessarily because personally I'd find it scary to post as anonymous, which is why I tend to thank people for their courage, too. Like, I'd fear being clocked as archsimp immediately hahaha I am too paranoid to go anon
Anyway, it's also okay because I was fishing for the context with my response, knowing that if there were a lot of disclaimers, that probably something happened, and that I just don't know because I wasn't there. My guess was that probably people could have potentially used that shut down shipping headcanons involving Nagito, which to me would be uncool. However, I end up also feeling like the fact that these people existed to spoil the well this way with shitposts or being imposing is a waste on what could be the exploration of themes relating to sexuality and hope, so I think that I personally won't make a point to discourage it in my blog (as in, in so far as it's in good faith), unless something darker is looming that I don't know yet 😱
Anyway, I was aware of the whole I love him and want to understand him thing from poison but I'm gonna have to go review Zanka and Absolute Hope Birthday for a hot second brb-- So I checked and I'm not sure where the guys are coming in for the latter two? Zanka doesn't have a subject that I could find (translation uses "you" but original lyrics don't have a subject, I think there are a bunch of roads that could be taken from these lyrics that I'd be here for a long time), talking mostly about inner feelings, and Absolute Hope Birthday has a "you" involved, but that you doesn't seem to have gendered implications and Nagito is talking about wanting to see hope and how despair comes in etc that I didn't consider that it was a love song before and more about the H-word (but I guess it could be on account of like the sex up stuff I'll take it, just that it hadn't popped to mind before), also in consideration for Absolute Hope Birthday being a song about the surface and Zanka about the other side of that coin which is something I heard about when it comes to the two songs (but I have no source so maybe not necessarily true). For gekiyaku, I find myself thinking about it because people debate on which guy is the guy that Nagito loves and wants to understand, which to me is understandable, but maybe it's me and my nosy h-word, but my eyes tend to go over the lines before it
Like, if I had to point to a specific guy in this song, I'd maybe say Makoto just because this song seems packaged into an Ultra Despair Girls single (as in the ending song for it) and the lyrics make references to Chapter 0 and Ultra Despair Girls Nagito lines, so in that context, as Nagito seemed fixated on a hope that would surpass Makoto's, maybe that could be him? Though I can't say any of it for certain. I feel like this would all end up going down a subjective path from which neither of us would successfully leave, so I'm going to sort of drop my other two cents for food for thought purposes, but the reason I think about these first lyrics is because not only is the English shaky in general, but it talks about Nagito's search for a strong hope, and how he wants it to shine bright. So then, I start wondering if "him" is meant to be a third party that is necessarily gendered, or if maybe it isn't general knowledge that they can be used as a gender neutral pronoun for a hypothetical person, meaning that there might be no specific guy and more like a general "guy". Though, besides that, the song references a "you" one time and the lyrics would be (making it into poetry and look like lyrics is unfortunately above my archsimp paygrade):
絶望を踏み越えて
After overcoming despair
希望が輝くと 【信じて】
Believing that hope will shine
グラスに注ぐ 劇薬を すぐさま飲み干すか 迷って捨てるか
Will you drink the poison in that glass whole or will you hesitate and throw it away?
最期の選択を 委ねられた君を
I am merely observing you
ただ瞰ている
Who has been entrusted with the final choice
人類史上最悪事件で
The most prosperous bud that sprouted in a dead land
死に絶えた土地に芽吹いた
In the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History
至幸の芽は 力強く雄々しく 花開くはずだと…
Will strongly and bravely bloom for sure...
"Final" here is using a word for the last moment of life, while the final lines remind me of the following:
These buds I can't necessarily tell if it's singular or plural but went with what would be from this line considering the line references from the rest of the song from the Servant. Taking this to be the Servant due to the references, he would be observing someone making a choice that would determine said person's final moments, but personally, when thinking about someone who has to make a choice in Ultra Despair Girls which incurs massive risk to their life that the Servant is observing from above...?
I honestly think this might be Komaru I'm so sorry-- So I'm not sure if we maybe should assume that this is a love song when potentially we could dig through it within the context of Ultra Despair Girls. I honestly never made a deep dive into the character songs themselves, so the topic is interesting to me now that it's being brought to the table. Either way, I can't necessarily dictate what people can say implies an attraction to dudes, but I suppose it'll end up being that my take about these character songs is that I don't really have a take for either or in that spectrum.
Also just realized I switched paragraphs there's the part about Nagito's response to hope and I think that it's a bit of a rock and a hard place for me here because I'm not necessarily the hopesexual advocate to say that he must be attracted sexually to hope as opposed to having it as a coping mechanism, so I think that this type of inner response would end up at the discretion of the individual and what they want to do with Nagito. I feel like while Nagito cope and hope go hand in hand, that I personally don't associate hope with something that's like a mask or all that bad necessarily but this is also in the realm of my own headcanon which I use to try to simulate dialogue that would appear similar to the source. In other words, I mostly just think I'm grateful that you're bringing these possibilities here.
Also realized I could be neglecting the part on what originates your headcanon that isn't about character songs (got sidetracked thinking about them I'm really sorryyyy), but essentially, I don't deny there are moments that can imply Nagito would be attracted to men, nor would it be in my actual interests to shut down Nagito ships with men. The reason I don't partake in debate surrounding these moments and their kinsey scale is that I noticed people will easily handwave the implications the other party noticed, depending on which side they are taking. So then, if someone says x part can imply attraction to women, it will be handwaved because there's actually a very gay explanation for it, and if someone says y part can imply attraction to men, someone could then start talking about the non-gay explanation and so it doesn't feel productive as a discussion and just a quicksand of people's intuitions being taken as common sense. I talked about the character songs because I was intrigued as I hadn't seen this myself, as well as also because I don't see it as a topic often other than to wonder which guy Nagito loved, but even that to me isn't in the realm of trying to discern Nagito's kinsey scale but in the realm of analysis possibility in what the songs would mean for Nagito's character. In that sense, I also would have to celebrate your headcanon, because I don't really have any reason or motivation to say anything like, "You're saying he PREFERS men?" because what if he does? He certainly could. I don't know what that man is thinking with his intimate space and it's pride month baby let's go trans Hajime pan Nagito !!!!
But yeah so I think we seem more or less on the same page? Hopefully it wasn't like a takedown rant that I'm being oblivious over hahaha since how I feel about Nagito and how people headcanon him would be the same, that it's a matter of personal experience and should be whatever you want. Though, I think that the point you brought about about how the selfshipping process can lead to self-discovery is actually a good point that I wouldn't have been able to think about because my path of Nagito is one paved with mad scientist suffering for our relationship is strictly professional-- But I feel like it's also because of how this personal experience is enriching for the people in them that I would want people who have different takes and experiences to be able to come forward and talk in the open. Open as in anon works too I mean just the takes are there and I can view them !! Anyway thank you again for your input and I hope you're doing well <3333
What's your opinion on people who call Komaeda "Hopesexual"? Honestly? It's annoying and irritating to hear that, even when it's not a joke
So, I'm not sure if this is because I only entered this fandom like November last year, but I essentially don't have any experience of seeing this designation cause tangible harm to someone and as a result, I honestly don't understand why it's controversial or frowned upon. As far as I know (and it's merely speculation because I have pretty much never seen this debate take place, only people hating on the hopesexual designation), it seems to be because this avoids the topic of Nagito's sexuality concretely by putting it, I suppose, in the realm of "fantasy"? Is that the reason? But personally, I don't see why most people have to "face" the topic of Nagito's sexuality to begin with when contemplating his character. Rather, I feel like it wouldn't be too strange to go a lifetime without having to think deeply about which or whatever ways Nagito swings, thus moreso strange to me that it has to be something policed by the fandom and community.
Then otherwise I mostly remain perplexed because, doesn't being hopesexual basically mean that Nagito would be aroused by hope? Wouldn't that also include the prospect of banging Hajime for Hajime anyway? As in, that it wouldn't take away from reasons that aren't hope for liking and wanting to bang Hajime? I just really don't see why assigning an element of sexual arousal for hope would necessarily be horrifying for the fandom, unless I'm missing some massive conspiracy here about how Nagito's attraction for hope would somehow deprive him of the chance to bang Hajime. Considering for example how he reacts in the anime, I'd say if someone really wanted to make the case for a fetishistic nature to hopeful actions or talent or whatnot, they would have a bit of sampling they could use, the same way any one of us can grasp at straws and be just as much shut down by someone else because the matter ends up so subjective that anyone is going to just exercise bias and say they don't see it and that you're wrong and etc. I'm not sure if maybe this is something that other fans use when wanting to talk about how Nagito experiences romance, but I wouldn't reject this possibility by itself because if there are fetishes for so many things, it wouldn't be out of the left field for the potential to explore this in Nagito's character in the context of fanwork. The same way for example I've had interesting times reading fanfiction about Nagito being into choking or bdsm or fanfiction exploring that he actually feels no sexual attraction or no romantic attraction to begin with, I don't really feel the need to have Nagito and whatever reactions he has in his crotch area be limited to one particular sexual orientation or experience if one's heart so desires.
I guess the tldr is I can't even begin to be annoyed because I've never been in a situation where I've seen Nagito being called hopesexual unironically and widespread, only people talking about how bad it is. Thus, I'm more confused than displeased, and unless I see some justifiable tea for this, I wouldn't find a reason to shun it from the realm of possibility. And honestly even if someone else caused some form of tea over it, I wouldn't say it would justify shunning someone's otherwise non-problematic exploration of the theme... Unless I'm missing something here? Either way, thank you very much for the courage and time taken to ask this question because I've long wanted to talk about this, considering I've been perplexed whenever I saw it mentioned. I don't go on reddit, don't have tiktok and ignore twitter for the most part, so I might have a different community experience from everyone else. Either way, if strange redditors are spamming weird things, you have my condolences and I hope you're otherwise doing well 🫂
Nagito Komaeda and True Hope
also known as Nagito Komaeda and Chapters 4 and 5
The long-awaited...! Kind of. Chapters 4 and 5 of Danganronpa 2 are rich with Nagito Komaeda content such that not even two text walls could address it in full, so I decided to just focus on what I personally find the most juicy:
How did we get here? What could have Nagito Komaeda been thinking? What was his deal here anyway? What about all the lingering mysteries from Chapter 4? How does hope develop to this point?
It should go without saying I wasn't the only person posing these questions at that point of the game. There are questions here that even to this day have no real concrete answer. I generally operate under the belief that no one should feel dumb for not knowing Nagito Komaeda: his is a character founded on contradiction as per official source, and the game presents him as elusive and mysterious throughout. This is why, for a topic as important as this one, I'm not here to tell you about the "obvious" truths of Nagito's character arc here. I'm here so we can all think about Nagito, what happened to him from Chapters 4 to 5, and about the role of Ultimate Hope in all of this.
The Ultimate H-Word, dare we even say--
1
Nagito Komaeda and the Ultimate H-Word
Let's rewind away from the end of Chapter 5, and establish our baseline one chapter prior, by the end of Chapter 4:
It's the first time in the game Nagito mentions the Ultimate H-Word, but that's not the only reason I'm putting the spotlight on the end of Chapter 4. These scenes are also important because Nagito does not have a single classmate in his vicinity. The first scene has Nagito alone in his own cottage, meaning he has no need to lie or pretend. It can be reasonably surmised Nagito's words inside his cottage are all true, unless you'd like to make space for a theory where Nagito is deceiving himself. While a choice one can make, in the interesting of diving deeper into the content presented, I'm going to have to align us into the idea that generically, Nagito is probably saying things that to him are true, and just his own thoughts.
The next scene, meanwhile, features Monokuma, someone who Nagito perceives to already be aware of the whole truth. If we notice, the lines he tells to Monokuma aren't very different from what he said to himself: he can't rely on everyone else, so he has to do it... And then, he completes this by saying he could become Ultimate Hope. We see Nagito trying to see if he can deceive Monokuma, but it fails, leading Nagito to reveal this content and continue onwards with deductions he's made about the truth. I'd want the credibility of Nagito at this scene to be pondered here, too: what is the practical benefit to tricking Monokuma into the idea that he wants to become Ultimate Hope? Either which way, Nagito is already planning on sacrificing his life, and this angle won't net him the identity of the traitor, one of the key things Nagito was trying to extract from Monokuma. In other words, I also want to posit the likelihood that we can trust Nagito's words in this scene pre-Chapter 5.
Which might all sound a little pedantic here, but the reason I feel like this has to be established is because Nagito doesn't tell the cast the full truth post-Final Dead Room, as evidenced by the fact he lied about only having found information about Hajime. Personally, I don't dabble in easily saying that x or y words were a lie, since the moment we throw that ball out there, it'll be hard to pick it back up: we could start saying everything could be a lie, the same way it could turn out you and I aren't real oh no-- However, because there is indeed deception at play in these chapters, as well as multiple instances which are vague and elusive, there's the chance someone could say, "Archsimp, can we even trust Nagito wanted to become Ultimate Hope?" And now, for the fanfiction we write whether physically or in our heads, we can fill the blanks however we want. In the end, I'm just a lil guy. But basically, if I want to offer something that can constitute as food for thought for other people, I'd have to give out something more or less credible, which is why I'm covering my bases for this question and introducing the framework this way.
Thus, Ultimate Hope is real here, and we're going a step further thinking about this premise. After all, next to this mention of the Ultimate H-Word are two sets of h-words which normally plague the Komaeda mind: absolute hope and true hope, which are actually synonyms so they mean the same thing. Nagito equates the status of Ultimate Hope with that of true hope, and it's no secret that true hope is exactly the thing that Nagito has been looking for this entire time:
I included an extension of this scene in Chapter 4 that's pre-class trial in case it could be argued that Nagito here changed his mind from the Nagitos before him that I just gave out as an example. We can see here that Nagito is saying that this killing game is not actually one of hope, and that's why it's wrong. Not that true hope is not attainable necessarily. Throughout the game, Nagito is observing and trying to be in support of this true hope, to the point the individuals at play could all be sacrificed for it, regardless of who they are and how Nagito feels about them. This by itself might be countered by the idea that Nagito in that very scene is wondering why he cares about Hajime, but that to me is the point I'm trying to make: he doesn't go out of his way to make an exception for Hajime in his head when picking sides in the investigation, meaning that if someone else were true hope and they were the killer for example, Hajime would have to die. Now, this doesn't mean you can't say that maybe Nagito deep down wishes that this doesn't happen, or that he'd want Hajime to be this hope, or that because of that he'd actually try to stop that outcome in practice etc, those would be interesting explorations of the character on their own. The point I'm trying to make isn't one that throws our poor Hajime under the bus and stops you from steamy komahina action. I'm just trying to emphasize to you how important hope is to Nagito here. It's important enough that Nagito would sacrifice his life and the lives of others, and this is not only natural but obvious to him if for the sake of hope.
With this in mind, if Nagito has been seeking this hope throughout the game, telling Monokuma that he could become this hope is probably going to be an important and serious matter. Nagito in his cottage talked about resolving this situation "for the sake of hope", and he talks about how his core way of thinking hasn't changed to Monokuma. The h-word remains active in Nagito's mind post-Final Dead Room, and has always been from the start of the game, making this another reason why we could posit it likely that Nagito is telling the truth in the scenes from the end of Chapter 4. So, Nagito would be actually gunning to become true hope himself, by becoming Ultimate Hope. This isn't the only point of interest to that baseline, however, or else I wouldn't have screenshot practically all his lines from it and cry at the time it took.
Let's synthethise the findings we can have with a handy-dandy bullet point list:
"Yep... I'm definitely lucky! I never expected to obtain so many valuable things from a simple game of Russian Roulette... Thanks to that... I was able to learn the identity of our true enemy. And before everyone else, too!"/"Am I? I actually think I'm very lucky. Wouldn't you say that coming across this much despair is a rather rare opportunity?" - Nagito is attributing the elements that got him to the position to become Ultimate Hope to luck. The fact that he's seeing this much despair is lucky. Thus, luck is a factor in these circumstances.
"Regardless, I was saved. Things would get complicated if they found out."/"There's no way I can let this run loose... I'll be the one who stops this once and for all. Even if it costs me my life..."/"I can't rely on anyone in this island... That's why I have to be the one who does it..." - Everybody is else markedly distanced from the possibility of taking this very title. No one else can be trusted with this, except Nagito.
"No matter what situation I find myself in, my core way of thinking will never change... In order to create absolute hope that shines brightly, stepladders such as myself and despair exist..."/"I don't know who you're talking about, but if someone as worthless as me reminds you of some other person... They must be extremely unlucky." - Nagito's self-esteem is still poor in this scene, when he's already set on possibly becoming Ultimate Hope. He's still worthless, different from the Ultimates, something he also goes out of his way to say in Chapter 4 pre-class trial, which is after he finds out the truth about everyone (evoking trust me bro rights to conserve image limit).
"You know me well... Is what I'd like to say but, unfortunately, I haven't learned that yet."/"If that's the case, I might be able to cooperate somewhat too. However... in exchange, I want to know who the traitor is." - Nagito pointedly has no clue who the traitor is at this point, meaning that the reliance on his luck and the general logic of his murder in Chapter 5 have a high degree of credibility, since it's to the point he offers to cooperate with Monokuma for the information.
All of this, plus the part about Ultimate Hope that I just broke down! Oh, and the cute lil Makoto parallel inserted in, which has the contradiction-backed answer marking Makoto as extremely unlucky (but from Nagito's Free Time Events, we can find that Nagito considers bad luck and good luck to go hand in hand, adding nuance to this response that can be interpreted a number of different ways). We can take these as the pins we'll be removing throughout this post, so that we can put further thought into Nagito's mindset about his own demise, since they're going to connect to content from Chapters 4 to 5. Speaking of which...
2
Nagito Komaeda and Chapters 4 and 5
It technically sounds intuitive to approach this topic chronologically, listing each scene that's relevant since the Final Dead Room to work our way into Nagito's final message. However, it ultimately wouldn't anchor us any faster to the details I wanted to highlight, because they appear insignificant on first appearance, but to me contribute to putting more thought into Nagito at this point of the story. After learning various truths from the files Nagito found in the Final Dead Room, he lashes out at Hajime while revealing that he's a Reserve Course student, and also has a shift in behaviour which makes him ill-humored even at what used to be the targets of his admiration. I think that this intuitively leads people to the conclusion that Nagito hates them for being Remnants of Despair, and that this hatred had him lose all respect for the people in the cast. While I can't deny this possibility, I would like to offer leeway based on the language Nagito uses while speaking about his classmates post-Final Dead Room.
It's not just in the name of trying to make it seem like Nagito actually liked everyone all along, to clarify. One of the interesting questions lingering in my mind is why Nagito believed he could only trust himself with the task of eliminating despair from the island, why he had the right to Ultimate Hope. If he hated his classmates and excommunicated them for their standing as Remnants of Despair, wouldn't he be included considering he is part of them? I think the interpretation that this is actually the reason why Nagito sacrifices his life to be valid enough, since it has his death as a consequence of being a Remnant of Despair, but I personally wonder about the language Nagito uses to describe himself as Ultimate Hope. Through it, he would stop being a stepladder... Nagito doesn't express hatred for himself as part of the enemy he's trying to face throughout the game, and his final message closes with the wish for him to be praised, so is his sacrifice a form of punishment? An inevitability, or a choice? Basically, there are roads we can take here, especially when taking into account what Nagito says. He can't rely on anyone else, so he has to do it... Is it really because his classmates are Remnants of Despair, considering he's no different?
For the longest time, I've paid attention to the instances Nagito's had of talking down on his classmates in the game (barring specific insults during the investigation, which apply to Nagito's personal evaluation of the people involved that are surfacing due to his poor mood like telling Akane to not get in the way if she can't use her head) and there's one pattern I notice:
That Nagito's disillusionment still presumes in his classmates the potential they have as Ultimates. Their lacking willpower puts their talent to waste, but that still means they have talent. Nagito points at the lack of forethought from his peers, at the fact that they remain stagnant, but these are still supposed to be the Symbols of Hope. Rather, that's what Nagito says before the class trial, too:
What he denies is the fact that the killing game was one of hope, but not necessarily the part where he and Hajime are just stepladders. After all, even in Chapter 5...
He's assigning this standing to Hajime, and like we saw before, he referred to himself as a stepladder to Monokuma. In other words, I find myself wondering if to Nagito, his peers still have the potential to accomplish something in theory, that they are still Ultimates to him, and if so... Other instances of Nagito speaking become intriguing to think about. Such as Chapter 5, at the food stalls when Nagito was saying they were just running around in circles, he gets told by Sonia that she doesn't like the current him, with others chipping in to say that they don't like Nagito right now either. He reacts like:
And if Hajime tries to hang out with him on his free time in Chapter 5, his reactions are also interesting:
(taking from my free time event document because I can)
The first time Hajime can invite Nagito out, he uses language we're more used to: he refers to himself as inferior, for Hajime not to worry about someone like him and to just go have fun with everybody instead, saying he's happy Hajime asked. It's a much softer rejection this first time around, where from his mood shift in Chapter 4, Nagito didn't really have to refer to himself as if not someone worthy of being hung out with by Hajime, who he knows is not actually superior to him in any way. There are generically two paths we can take here: either Nagito is just being polite to try not to rouse any particular suspicion, or that reaction had some tinge of truth to it. This affects how we look at the second reaction, where Nagito pushes Hajime away full stop, bringing up Fuyuhiko from early in the game as if to say that while he's not quite that bad, he still isn't going to be friends anymore, likely because he has other things to do at this point in the game. We could say it's that his polite front slipped the second time around, to shoo Hajime away.
However, the game can't assume that you decided to get Hajime going up to Nagito that first time, so we can't actually reasonably assume a sequence here and have to take this second rejection as standalone within the context of the situation. Nagito pushes Hajime away, when he could have otherwise been nicer about it like last time. Would it be that he didn't have the time to afford speaking as usual? But he already was disgruntled from Chapter 4. Is it really that this second time around, he's showing how he really feels, or the other way around? Or, is it that he truthfully feels both ways? Nagito suggests Hajime spend his time with the others. It could be fully just to drive Hajime away, but we could also have the leeway to wonder if that also means it's what Nagito thinks Hajime would be happier doing in his ignorance. The food stall scene carries significance when pursuing this angle: Nagito puts distance between himself and the others, because they can't understand the burden of truth he carries.
He has no reason to pretend to be sad off the top of my head, because it doesn't benefit the practical purpose for his visit in the food stalls, which related to asking about the traitor. If it's sad, though, what does that mean for his classmates? That he would still like not to be hated? But they're the enemy, right? Why does he pity their ignorance? In other words, are they in their ignorance pitiable even though they are also the despair that he's pitting against the traitor? Or, basically, is their state where they don't know they're with despair something that Nagito is keenly aware of, and because of that what he hates isn't them themselves, but the despair that occurs because of their presence? This killing game continues so long as everybody is there, because it's just perpetuating the despair for the survivor of the Killing School Life to drop by. Thus, does Nagito have to necessarily personally hate the people around him? These are the questions I'd want you to take away here, because the caveat about interpretating a complete grudge is that, if you try to simulate Nagito with this take, the result would lean towards more bitter and hateful sentences, where these moments of melancholy may not pop to mind. Not to say that it isn't possible to interpret it that way, but more so that it requires caution on the nuance. I think that there's the potential for Nagito's feelings about everyone to be complex in nature, going past solely how he feels about despair rampant in Jabberwock Island. The fact that he's aiming to kill them all isn't exactly news in hindsight, when he was prepared for them all to die if the killer was true hope to begin with.
Rather, this initiative in Chapter 5 comes from the separation between the traitor, the one likely to be true hope, and everybody else, the Remnants of Despair who got in for the sole purpose of drawing out the survivor from the Killing School Life, meaning that the events are solely for the sake of despair. So, there's a question that can be posed here when wondering exactly how hateful he was of everyone when putting his plan in place? Is the malice Hajime refers to in Chapter 5 a new thing to begin with? Hajime detected something like that since Chapter 2, which is why the topic of how everyone's lives were all liable to sacrifice for the sake of hope is a sufficiently important detail to think about when it comes to his mindset in Chapter 5. Does his plan, his dedication to it truly reveal a hatred for his peers, or more so the will to erase despair and have true hope win? Maybe, in that process, everybody else are just the contributions to the refinement of this hope, the necessary casualties in the process, and that would in some way explain the pity he seems to express in Chapter 5. There's other interesting dialogue throughout:
These scenes have multiple implications, for which multiple roads can be taken, but I'm going to first approach the theme of belief that is pushed in Chapter 5, and how Nagito is expressing something that Chiaki thought was his faith in everyone, that they would move as he thought they would, because his plan hinged on belief to work. Nagito believed in the time he spent with everyone, and I think this can be taken not just in the positive, or not just in the negative, but maybe even in both at the same time, in what can be potentially part of the malice that looms in the shadows Hajime sees with his vibe check. This belief regardless has the potential to be complex, especially in the implications of what he's said prior. Nagito goads everyone under the assumption that they are considered Symbols of Hope (the English line looks like that, but the original line doesn't go specific with Nagito saying that it makes him laugh that he thought they were Symbols of Hope, more so that this title is laughable when applied to the implication that their limit was at that particular moment, which to me doesn't necessarily carry the same past nuance), finding their resignation to run counter to the hope that they're meant to hold towards finding the traitor. Maybe that's the attitude Nagito thought would get them to move, so we can argue that's the manipulation taking place, but at the same time, his peers don't have a history of reacting necessarily well to this, and even at his grumpiest, Nagito referred to them as Symbols of Hope... It could be either or, but it's interesting to consider how Nagito still speaks to them as if they were different, having singled out Hajime as someone who can only be fodder for them. Is there a need to pretend on this matter? After all, Nagito talks out loud about becoming Ultimate Hope in their presence at the start of Chapter 5, in that food stall scene:
In other words, we can say that Nagito doesn't particularly need to use this language that specifically categorizes his peers as different and superior to him by nature, especially when he's become disillusioned by them and is planning on becoming hope himself. What does it mean? It's up to your headcanon to truly find out... On my end, I have two other points that I'd want to highlight from all the text I showed above. Nagito talks about how this concern with the traitor not immediately revealing themself could if anything make hope shine brighter, while talking about the final fight between hope and despair... This would be understood as the fight between the traitor and everyone else, especially since it's what Nagito is saying outright, something that gains significance with the hindsight of knowing what happens and is revealed later. Or is it?
I think that it would be the most intuitive interpretation, thus making it valid, but the nature of despair becomes muddled with the nuance I'm haunting everyone's brains with. I think that even with it, we could say that hope is the traitor and despair everyone else, just that it involves the clarification of everyone else representing that despair but what I want to say most of all here is that this fight between the two is apparently also being refined through the ordeal that Nagito is seemingly putting everyone through. Nagito expresses also not only a belief for everyone and his luck, but also hope. He talks about how absolute hope can't lose, and leaves talking about how believing in hope will open the path, a statement that doesn't just apply to himself, but everyone else. Isn't that a little strange? Why do these Remnants of Despair have to believe in hope? Or is it that he's trying to communicate with the traitor, having to also refer to everyone else in the process?
Basically, there's a chance, from the way Nagito talks about everyone, that not only does he still think he's worthless compared to them even if innately or as a lingering emotion, but also that he pities them and may not necessarily resent them, while still classifying them as the real enemy. In the process, we run into another point I was on about previously, the part about why Nagito feels he can't rely on anyone else. If he doesn't actually hate everyone, and the truth he bears truly is a burden, why IS he choosing to take up this burden himself? There's no real answer to this, especially because even if we assume that Nagito doesn't rely on them because they're Remnants of Despair, it would put to question why he can rely on himself just because he knows the truth. Of course, it doesn't have to necessarily make sense: Nagito's character can be beholden to contradiction, so we can also just chalk it up to Nagito's contradictory thought process that conveniently makes him the only guy able to eliminate despair. I am always an advocate for Nagito contradiction, but I also find myself thinking if the reason Nagito finds he can't rely on everyone is because of how he is disillusioned by them: he incorporates the existence of their talent but criticizes an element that's present in his own definition of hope, which is their willpower. I'm wondering if maybe Nagito believed that if he told this truth to everyone, they wouldn't back down and continue to perpetuate the killing game, or that they wouldn't be willing to sacrifice themselves for hope. That they might lack that resolve, or not be in the position to exercise their roles if they knew this truth, because they don't love hope like he does, and they'd fallen to despair before. We can take his reaction to Mikan in Chapter 3 while contemplating this, because Nagito had discarded her for her having fallen to despair from the Despair Disease. We could say that maybe, everyone was similarly discarded as able to fall into despair, so he wanted to settle the matter before any of this could occur to all parties.
Or, from this occurrence that makes everyone out to be a Remnant of Despair, Nagito could be looking at the matter more broadly, that those capable of hope would be able to turn to despair, but that the reveal of this truth would lead to a situation where, if they rejected his idea of the traitor as hope, he wouldn't be able to get back his advantage. Or, we could say that his rejection of other people learning the truth could be this subconscious desire to be the only one to accomplish becoming Ultimate Hope, something that if people talented like them could access, it would make them accomplish this, while Nagito had the chance to do so and finally be praised and recognized. The tldr is that as you can see, we have a myriad of possible reasons, of which multiple can involve a complex stream of emotions. It also means that Nagito's potentially complex feelings about his peers and his distrust in them could co-exist, and if anything contribute to this distrust. Nagito felt them unable to move forward from their current point, and took advantage of that to guarantee he could eliminate despair from the island. He saw them as hesitant to open the path before them in the class trial of Chapter 4, so that hesitation could linger in Nagito's mind when thinking about this situation, that it would mean they wouldn't accept the elimination of despair and that it would inconvenience his strategically good position to do so, one that makes him able to become true hope.
This brings me to another point to tie all of this together, which relates to the way Nagito's self-esteem appears to be the same despite the fact that he's trying to become true hope. It makes one wonder, right? Rather, I've noted Nagito being interpreted to find the Ultimates as below him for being on the side of despair, and his rise to Ultimate Hope hinging on the idea that he could become that when the Ultimates are despair anyway, but he's still worthless, still "someone like him" and so is that simple habit in his words? Or because he still holds that idea? But if so, why is he so confident in the idea that he could become Ultimate Hope? I have an idea, personally. When I say personally, I of course mean it's a headcanon. I have no supporting evidence, and it could be completely wrong. Still, I'm gonna say it, in the interest of offering food for thought, but I'd want Nagito's luck to have the spotlight in this topic.
Nagito talks about how lucky it was that he got all those files from the Final Dead Room. How lucky it was that there's this much despair in one place, and that since he can't rely on everyone else, he has to do it and thought it, he can become Ultimate Hope. It makes me think about what got him in a position to be able to plan this out in the first place. To Nagito, does it have anything to do with his personal ability? No... It relates to his talent, something that's outside of his actual powers. He's in a position to eliminate despair from the island because of his Ultimate Luck, something which has never erased Nagito from his standing as an unremarkable person. What do I mean?
(from his first free time event)
(from his fourth free time event)
Nagito doesn't consider accomplishments of his luck as something amazing that he does, but just being lucky. It's not a power he believes he can fully control, and if we consider that while he can influence and believe in it, it didn't always lead him to the outcome he expected (considering Byakuya died in his stead in Chapter 1), we can draw a conclusion where Nagito's position as being able to execute this plan to become Ultimate Hope comes purely as a result of his luck, and doesn't say anything about himself personally. Thus, it doesn't make him feel any better about himself, but it doesn't have to when he can be valued by others in the end, and that's part of the lucky opportunity given to him, the chance to become true hope after the complete despair of the situation. At least, it explains to me why it results still in the sacrifice of his life, in a lingering lack of self-esteem when he ends up telling people to praise him, build a bronze statue of him, etc... But there's another reason I think about the matter from this angle.
It's because of Island Mode.
3
Nagito Komaeda and the Absolute H-Word
I know most people didn't play Island Mode and don't worry, there is no universe in which I'd judge you for this, but I'm also not gonna deny the sauce that Island Mode packs for supplementing characterization, which is why I'd want you to look at this passage from Nagito's ending:
(also taken from my Island Mode document because I can and also the mistranslations involved sorry friends)
From here is when Nagito asks to be friends with Hajime, an outcome that doesn't come to pass in the base game, but what I want to focus on is on Hajime's line, and the fact that it's this conclusion that transitions us to that request from Nagito for Hajime to be his friend. Hajime talks about how, because Nagito now knows hope is inside him all along, that he can't just say he'll die or kill someone that easily. It counters Nagito's willingness to sacrifice himself and others directly as the conclusion to this ending, implying that this hope which is inside of Nagito rather than external is one that makes Nagito treasure life, and would make him no longer throw it away. In other words, that with hope in his heart, and the confidence to ask someone to become his friend, he wouldn't be able to pull a stunt quite like the one in Chapter 5. The latter revolves exactly around the sacrifice of Nagito's own life for a hope outside of him, a position he got into due to nothing he would attribute to inner ability, as well as the sacrifice of everyone else, and the implication we can take from Island Mode is that it was because he had no hope within. I think that Hajime referring to Nagito's willingness for sacrifice would be important since this is something important in the scope of how Nagito treats hope throughout the base game, in that he could stake both his life and other people's to see it come to fruition, in his search for a hope in his reach. Island Mode puts hope as something inner, and that it's by having it that he can have enough self-worth to take a step forward and ask to be friends with Hajime.
Island Mode is also generally the content from the game that touches on what hope could be in its ending, a line which comes from Nagito:
Unlike the flashy strength Nagito envisioned for the hope that he was trying to find, hope is defined in the ending of Island Mode as something easy and simple, with an effect that is subtle but enough to have one keep going. It's something that Nagito in the base game never ended up realizing, and Nagito instead seeks to become Ultimate Hope, praised by others for that achievement after death, which ultimately means he's not alive to feel fulfilled in that manner. It cuts off his life, for which he didn't have hope for to begin with, is the angle I'm trying to introduce to you here to lay the groundwork for the parallel I believe may exist between Nagito's ending in Island Mode and his fate in the game proper. Following this thread, we can deduce Nagito's mindset to be one where he still has that inferiority complex, the desire to be special while believing he is worthless, and that this fate indicates that he could not treasure life because he has no hope for it, and that his mindset was one of clinging to the external hope that could carry him to the closest thing, and continue to put his faith in his luck til the very end. In other words, we can paint Nagito's characterization based on the concept that's been flashing us throughout the whole game: the absolute h-word.
Which is why we're taking a detour from Chapters 4 and 5 to address Island Mode. Now, I can't actually tell you what absolute hope truly is or was in the end, because this is left open-ended for it to be interpreted as one sees fit, but the possibility I'm positing is going to touch on this concept, because the interpretation in my mind is one where absolute hope wasn't. As in, that Nagito sought it out, thinking it would come from a clash between hopes, borne of sacrifice... But that absolute hope isn't real, and hope is instead something that comes from self-worth, confidence in oneself because that forges the path forward. We could also say that this means the real absolute hope was all the friends we made along the way, but I think that the friends we made along the way is more so the means for which self-worth can be attained, and that self-worth gains relevance here when thinking about the climax of Danganronpa 2, where Hajime pushed past his own feelings of inferiority because he could forge the future with his own two hands. Island Mode talks about hope as something that makes life better off than otherwise, and it gives Nagito the initiative to ask for Hajime to become his friend, something that implies the expectation for the future in that relationship. In other words, by viewing hope as connecting with self-worth and tying it together with the themes of Chapter 6, as well as how self-worth has a part to play in Danganronpa 2, we can end up seeing absolute hope as having a part to play in having been the representation of the despair Nagito already had for his own prospects, whereas true hope was all the self-esteem we had along the way that we can use to look forward to the future. Or at least, so goes essentially my complete speculation on this matter. That Nagito's character in Chapters 4 to 5 is defined by the feelings of inferiority and his search for hope that shaped him to begin with, and he died seeking to be special based off of the hopeless that comes with those two factors. And that this ties directly to the way Nagito does not treasure life in the base game, leading him to pit everyone against each other while taking his life in the process.
From here, we can try to think about the other mysteries in Chapters 4 to 5, understanding that Nagito's character resolves within itself, in the context of the base game as a tragedy, one of elusive, contradictory and complex feelings. This doesn't mean that this framework comes up with all the objective answers instantly, but more so that it means we don't have to depend upon anything other than Nagito's own character for them, and can continue to see the events as open to interpretation as they are. We have for example, the 'What is he trying to determine?' conundrum from Chapter 4:
The original line here actually has no verb to it (evoking trust me bro rights to conserve image limit), so the translation assumed that from context, it would be the verb to say. This is because it's assuming that since the last line is "Is he talking about the traitor?" then the next line would be, "If so, why is he (talking about determining the traitor) all of a sudden?" However, from the context, I'm inclined to think that Hajime would be thinking, "If so, why is he (trying to determine the traitor like this) all of a sudden?" Because Nagito would be talking about determining as part of his reasoning to begin with, whereas Hajime wouldn't know why determining the traitor would come up in the middle of the class trial. Anyway, this means that we have the easy road of assuming that Nagito is trying to determine the traitor through the trial, but this poses a few questions. After all, how would figuring out the murderer lead to figuring out the traitor? Nagito does talk afterwards about how he didn't figure out who the traitor is, but it isn't imminently intuitive that his standard would be how smart that traitor is. After the culprit is determined, Nagito talks about how the class trial and killing game are just an opening act, something Junko will echo in Chapter 6, but is this because he fails to determine the traitor, or because he has no further business with the class trial to begin with?
To begin with, what happens from the class trial? The culprit is deduced, but otherwise, everyone dies. Nagito expresses not wanting to die alongside everyone, but wants them to figure the answers for themselves to determine something. This passage pops to mind:
Nagito here is presenting these mysteries as solvable by Symbols of Hope, taunting Hajime who he seems to believe not to be the traitor, and it makes me wonder... Nagito seemed to want a battle between hope and despair to happen. He brought the items from the funhouse since the class trial, meaning he had this clash in mind. For it to happen, though, the people involved would have to offer each other a sufficiently okay challenge without him to lead people anywhere, and this could maybe be determined through the outcome of the class trial, where people's deductive prowess comes into play. Since everybody could solve the case with Gundham, Nagito deems this passed to go onto his next plan since he doesn't know who the traitor is, where the traitor would be pit against everyone else, whoever they are. Or, it could just be that Nagito believed the traitor would slip up while talking about the funhouse. Who knows?
I talk about this hypothesis with determining everyone's mettle because it can relate directly to how Nagito doesn't know who the traitor is, so he would have to assume that anyone there excepting maybe Hajime would get through Chapter 5 with his support. However, I don't feel like this would be the only hypothesis, and just comes from me reverse engineering what the meaning behind this determining process is. To me, when I think about the determining conundrum, I start thinking about this passage from Hajime in Chapter 5:
Hajime says he's overthinking, probably because he feels like Nagito isn't truly hoping for everyone to be united in this way in the process of overcoming despair, but I find his words compelling. This was inserted at the end of the first half of Chapter 5's class trial, referencing absolute hope, and it reminded me of how Nagito believed absolute hope would come from the clash between two hopes. Nagito wanted hope to shine from this incident, where there would be a fight between hope and despair, the traitor and everyone else... But since the everyone else side don't even know they're on the side of that despair, what they're fighting for is technically their hopes, right? Then, by having to go up against the traitor, they would be clashing against each other inevitably, meaning that this resulted in a clash of hopes of Nagito's making... I find myself wondering if that clash hopes matters here for Nagito's reasoning, and why he was trying to determine something in Chapter 4. While it could potentially explain this aside... It could also just be me making stuff up because the aside could also just be to reference that actually this unity between everyone is the closest thing to absolute hope we can get and that conversely, Nagito didn't get that. However, I find that maybe, it could mean that this clash and the way everyone is united to solve this mystery, only to find out its result, would be part of the process of going up against despair, and result in absolute hope.
Or, I could just be making stuff up and it's truly the opposite way around, with Hajime just doing a lil philosophizing to the audience. It could truly be either or, but I presented this hypothesis not only because it ties back to hope, but because it will also come around to tie in to a pertinent question, relating to for some reason, the OVA. I don't have the screenshot of the quote, because I believe it might not have been correctly translated, but the premise to begin with is that Nagito knows about the Neo World Program, and when he wakes up, he talks about how he believed that everyone would be able to reach the truth, which is something strange to imply if Nagito was only banking on the traitor winning. I say this because the original line was translated as deepest stratum, but I don't know how Nagito would be aware of these strata in his mind from Danganronpa 2, and "deepest statrum" and "truth" sound the same, which is why I'm assuming it would probably be truth... But anyway, we're in this pickle where the implication from Nagito is not one of disappointment that his plan to get the traitor to win foiled, but that he finds it expected that Hajime and the others won. Why is that? I'd say as an answer that it makes these lines from his final message become further food for thought:
In Chapter 5, Nagito talked about how hope would never lose, but in his final message, he easily admits to the possibility of his hope losing out, while saying he'll talk so that both sides understand. Why would he do that, when his plan hinged on faith? He supposedly believed in hope wholeheartedly, but he's accounting now for it losing out, and despair winning? And if so, why would he benefit them by talking in a way they understand, anyway? Because he's a good sport? We can think about it that way, but then the OVA and it's quirks get quirkier, whereas if we jump into the just as speculation-based hell of the potential that Nagito saw both sides as able to praise him for his contributions to hope, that the hope which lost in the scenario of this final message would be more so the one that was banking on the traitor winning, when in fact the other side won, but that this still means a path to hope would be built, as the hope of the other side was stronger. It's something I've thought about before, one that recontextualizes to me his final words, because he says that he believes his actions will contribute to hope, and if so, for him to be praised and called Ultimate Hope. I had the thought that maybe, if he's talking about it considering both sides, and if one side was one that would shun this wish entirely, would that have still been the same wording?
It really could've been, but putting it to perspective, his dialogue in Chapter 5 becomes even more elusive, because we can wonder if the hope he's talking about is the hope of the traitor, or hope itself. That when he says that hope will never lose, he meant it even if hypothetically the traitor were to lose. Then, it would fit into the way he puts faith in hope, but I think that in all fairness, we can't make true conclusive statements about how much is referring to this idea, and exactly what Nagito means with the truth that he believed everyone would reach, as well as how much of that line isn't a retcon from the OVA where the game might not have followed through with this necessarily. However, there's reason to think that it might have, so we can extrapolate that maybe, Nagito was setting up a clash between hopes, and that either hope would resolve the despair in the island, but his hope was that by the traitor winning, the despair that comes in the form of everyone's existence as Remnants of Despair would be erased and in that sense he would have been responsible for ridding the island of despair. But that in the event that isn't the case, he still contributed to hope, because he gave everyone the tools to deduce the truth. Or something like that? Maybe? It'll depend on your mood and fanfiction of the day...
Whichever way it is, we can put meaning into his actions based on his search for hope, as well as in his desire to become Ultimate Hope and erase despair, where there could be a tangible stake in his personal victory besides one where hope naturally always has the last laugh. While the OVA can set a path of ambiguity like that, it's still an implication, where Danganronpa 2 has the road of everyone else as despair, and the facts on the table make that remain viable. In the end, Chapters 4 and 5 set up this downfall of Nagito, and the nuances of this mindset are an important part of thinking about it, making up as a result the scope of my post on these two chapters.
4
Conclusion
As you can see, most of the content I presented boiled down to speculation and headcanon, as the presented facts don't have necessarily clear conclusions to take. There's a reason these parts can be debated in their purpose, the same way any piece of literature has specific gaps that the readership will interpret as they see fit. This isn't an indication necessarily of us missing something, but of the natural construction of a narrative where a character like Nagito, who is designed to be mysterious, would leave mysteries in his wake.
I normally like to be conservative with the personal speculation I bring to the table. This is because I don't want to induce people into the idea that my speculation is fact, when I'm just saying my interpretation of events. I go over these things when they might be interesting to think about, but if I were tackling Chapters 4 and 5 normally, I would have ommitted most of these things from the post, aggregating more facts into highlights about the chapters, but in so doing, I realized something. I realized that in the process, I wouldn't be able to lay the groundwork to introduce possibility just from giving out these facts. I would leave people to intuitively fall into the idea that the blanks to be filled could maybe only be filled with Hajime shapes, because of the popular theory centering Nagito's taking of his own life on his love for Hajime.
Which is, naturally, speculation like any other. However, this speculation at times takes a dangerous quality, where it becomes assumed fact to the point that supposedly, Nagito's character can only be contemplated with this speculation in mind, and that thus Nagito's love for Hajime and his core actions in the base game are inseparable because of the way they are tied intrinsically to Chapters 4 and 5, despite the fact that there is no conclusive evidence that makes this assumed fact into actual fact to begin with. I've been asked before, "If not x, what else would it be?" Which changed my mindset, because if truly only x is repeated, maybe it conditions the mind to believe that indeed, x must be the most likely. Because of this, I feel the need to present the y in this equation, so that everyone can know exactly how not clear, obvious or clear-cut this topic is. The answer is not necessarily x, because we don't actually know the full answers. Nagito Komaeda is not that simple, and less so enough that you have to be looked down on for not imminently nodding along to x.
Though, outside of this mindset, I always wanted to talk about the nuances of the implications in Nagito's behaviour to begin with, because I find this to be the standout matter for Chapters 4 and 5. I think that introducing that nuance can be important, because it would aid in letting others think on it and hopefully encourage variety. I've had this cooking for long, and even thought it might need two parts, but I'll have to be real and say that the highlights reel compilation would probably be better as just the separate posts with their own highlights so I can properly address them. Because this post was voted for through a poll, my earnest hope is that the content was worth the wait and can answer expectations when talking about Chapters 4 and 5, in that I don't just want to explain the obvious but to introduce nerd minutia that insane people like me have archived to begin with. Chapters 4 and 5 in this sense aren't completely over since I'd have more to yap about, but in the format of a big text wall, this would be the main and closest thing. Thank youuuu for your time and I hope that you all have a wonderful day because I am awake super late ohohoho--
Nagito Komaeda and All These Files He Found in the Final Dead Room
Hiiii so are you interested in some nerdery of all time? :3
Because I had a draft for a text wall which had like, all of the text pertaining to the details on the things that Nagito found through the files in the Final Dead Room so if anyone wants to use as reference... Here you are?
In Chapter 4, Nagito chooses to go into the Final Dead Room for the investigation of Nekomaru's murder because he figures that the killer must have cleared it in order to commit the crime, and that he would be the suitable sacrifice to go through the Final Dead Room in the Ultimates' place. There, he gets to the Russian Roulette segment, where he takes the hardest difficulty in the game, 5 bullets out of 6, and because of that gets the biggest prize. Part of this prize is in the form of the files Monokuma hands him once he's in the Octagon:
The Future Foundation file that Nagito is referring to is the one the cast receives after riding the roller coaster, which talks about the Killing School Life and is where Byakuya is introduced as a survivor. Monokuma refers to the file he gives in the Final Dead Room as an extension of that, and the Hope's Peak Academy files as student profiles. Nagito corroborates this information when he reunites with Hajime:
Truth is, though, this corroboration has a touch of lying attached to it, as Nagito's doing a lil trolling in the name of monopolizing the information advantage. Because of this, his testimony here takes more value by combining it with other instances like when he's by himself, with Monokuma, or his final message, where he makes multiple implications about the nature of the files he's received:
So, the deets we have on the nature of these files is that the Hope's Peak Academy side has 16 student profiles. Nagito hid this truth from everyone just to say that Hajime's Reserve Course student status is all he knows, but maybe the same way Mukuro Ikusaba's profile from Danganronpa 1 was how Kyoko knew that Mukuro was part of Ultimate Despair, these student profiles contained information pointing to the cast being Ultimate Despair. Meanwhile, the Future Foundation files talk about the Killing School Life to the point Nagito knows about the murders that occur there and is able to draw parallels between them and it's through these parallels probably that Nagito takes another conclusion that he reveals at the end of Chapter 4, but with more detail at the start of Chapter 5:
Nagito believes that Monokuma orchestrated this killing game for the purpose of drawing out a (I'd say or multiple but translation is assuming one) survivor from the Killing School Life, since this killing game is a parallel of it and is meant to show the despair of the cast who are being led on with the expectation of finding the mystery out. Additionally, our fake Makoto Naegi from Chapter 6 supplies the Ultimate Despair side of the matter:
Basically, this information can lead us to conclude Nagito knows about everyone being Remnants of Despair, the fact that his plan was to kill everyone except the traitor, as well as that he knew intimately about what happened in the Killing School Life, and that he figured Monokuma was waiting for someone to arrive based on the huge despair taunt that was his current killing game, this deduction having been correct from the onset as we finding out in Chapter 6, Junko's plan having been to draw out Makoto from the start. Now, there's nuance here, since fake Makoto Naegi isn't necessarily the most trustworthy source, but there's also no particular reason Makoto has to lie about what's meant to be one of the key plot twists of Chapter 5: the fact that Nagito was aiming to single out the traitor, and for the traitor to win as the killer. In other words, it wouldn't be that intuitive to shut out what this Makoto says as a lie, either. It boils down to how you want to take the game information about the files.
Crucially, I think it paints the picture on Nagito's deduction about how there's a survivor from the previous killing game meant to arrive in the island. The files from the Future Foundation had detail on the murders that occured and their specific going-ons with enough detail that Nagito was drawing parallels between them and the murders taking place in the island, and it's after he takes the files from the Final Dead Room that Nagito uses the term Ultimate Hope, which is also something that was mentioned in the Killing School Life.
Regarding the truth about this world Nagito mentions in his final message, there's no confirmation on where exactly this comes from that I'm aware of except that the fact the traitor must know this was the lightbulb for it, and there's also the matter of whether Hajime's student profile would contain something mentioning the Izuru Kamukura project, since these files are prepared by Monokuma. It's all up in the air! This is itself the topic of another post, so I'll have to recommend that one instead. Either which way, this is as far as I know practically all the information I could condense on the matter of what exactly Nagito finds out in the Final Dead Room (maybe I could have added the bits of how Monokuma messed with the Hope's Peak files regarding the traitor but that's what it would boil down to in the end too), which I think can be liable to get mixed up since it's relatively minute stuff. These logistics alone fill up a lot of image count though so here you gooo have fun thank you for your timeeeee
swoosh I am here there is some contract-related and business-related terminology here yikes for which there are probably better words in English but like I do with work I read business texts from vibes, the general gist and meaning should be okay I think any fellow who can chip in please feel free
Purpose for the Execution of this Project
After clearing all phases of this project, the subject will have attained all possible talents. The subject is to become the one and only hope for this world, representing the academy's belief that hope for humanity is in talent. This project is the will of Izuru Kamukura, the founder of Hope's Peak Academy, as well as the will of the world all of humanity subconsciously desires. For the sake of the world, we must lead this project to a successful outcome at all costs.
Regarding Information Control
In the event information about this project leaks to the outside, large societal backlash is to be expected. Not only would the project be halted, but Hope's Peak Academy would be led to suspension of its activity. Please exercise rigorous caution in the control of information. The disclosure of this project is strictly forbidden even to academy staff.
Regarding the Subject 1
From the results of examination up to the current stage, nothing that can be called a talent was detected in the subject. Futher meticulous examination will continue, but the likelihood of a result that would overturn the current conclusion is extremely low. It should be safe to assume that the interference of a talent originally there onto a new talent would be practically impossible. Additionally, there are no abnormalities to speak of in body and spirit, so it can be said this is a fine base model to serve as the vessel for Izuru Kamukura.
Regarding the Subject 2 (Hinata's History)
The subject has harbored a strong admiration for Hope's Peak Academy and frequenting the academy since young. He continued to search for a talent of his own with the objective of being able to step foot through the gates of Hope's Peak Academy's Main Course. However, unable to find any special ability that could be considered a talent, he almost quit enrollment into the Hope's Peak Academy's Main Course.
Izuru Kamukura Project Surgery Consent Form
I agree to accept the various surgical procedures within the scope of medical practice, including internal, external as well as psychological measures admistered by this project while fully aware of the project's intent/purpose. Furthermore, should any physical or psychological anomaly surge as a result of these surgical procedures, I also agree not to use this to file a complaint, lawsuit or any other action with the purpose of returning this responsibility to the academy.
Parental Consent Form
Addressing the Hope's Peak Academy General Affairs Department
I (legal reprensative parent), as the following minor's (contractor) legal guardian, consent to the academy's proposal/execution of the external, internal as well as psychological measures included in the surgical procedures taken with the purpose of mental health and physical ability enhancements, with the consent of the contractor. (...) (screenshot cuts off from here)
Nothing brightens my vacation week quite like running into "Komaeda would never touch a woman and I must seethe about it" posts on my dashboard that had been otherwise peaceful for months (I don't even follow the Komaeda tag get away from me?)
I personally think any argument is grasping at straws and is hypocrisy compared to any other fandom and character so I'm gonna also be real if you're one of these people who feel they can pixel perfect measure a character's kinsey scale then just unfollow me
Having this realization that my writing style for big tumblr posts isn't the same as it used to be. I leave things in my index under the belief that they "hold up", but there are posts where I wonder if they really do, when I technically have now more updated and intricate knowledge than I did back in November 2025. Even if the basic premise is still the same, the nuance with which I talk about it isn't the same as how I'd do it now, but at the same time, even if I edit the posts themselves, reblogs of them with the old content still exist. In that sense, tumblr at times makes it feel like it can be easy to run into outdated information.
I wanted to self-reblog a text wall but currently feeling like by now, I'd reword it including much better knowledge as well as hopefully phrasing that makes people understand better that I'm not offering THE answer, but a possibility. This is food for thought for me because does that mean I should recreate the entire text wall? Make smaller posts for now? I might end up rewriting certain text walls and then replacing them with the ones I have in my index, but I'm not sure when and how that will pan out. I think the archsimp from last year was a very different archsimp, because back then, I followed the Nagito Komaeda tag for one (big mistake), and also felt more alienated from my surroundings. I like to think that the people here and now who follow my blog know me, and that whether they may come and go or not, this is a sizable number. It provides some reassurance, because my principles have always been the same from the beginning.
What isn't I guess is the knowledge pool I have now, both about Nagito, about Danganronpa in general and about the fandom and people inhabiting it. Well tldr maybe not all archsimp text walls are up to my standard now, and so I may or may not do something about it...
Now that I finalized the ship asks arc (does not however mean someone can't just throw an ask on any at me at any time disclaimer rather anyone can nag me at any time!!), I have hopefully successfully proven one part of the archsimp profile and can for now focus on the other important things in life: science and of course my fanfiction. I have other things I'm thinking about, but until I develop some kind of impulse for it like this ship asks arc, it'll remain somewhat in the backburner, especially comparatively to wanting to get a move on with the aforementioned important things in life.
About the Chapter 4 text wall, I'd want to get on the grindset for it next week. My current plan is that I'm going to scrap what I had before to probably make a two part structure focused on an overarching point that to me might be more important than the details. I mean, I don't necessarily have the best results in conveying information with big posts but I think that regardless it's good to have some to condense the general information since macro and micro will always be different layers of information. Still, like I was doing before, I'll probably make smaller posts out of things in Chapters 4 and 5 of the game that won't make it in the text wall proper. Either way, my current mindset approaching Chapters 4 and 5 is centered on the theme of True Hope.
As for my main project, I'm going to be writing it at the same time but then put more focus on it after the text wall is out not only because I've been in the mood, but in light on what the next chapter is supposed to be. The next chapter in the story is going to be an interlude, but it's also going to be one of the most important moments in the entire story. Maybe because of this, I reviewed the second draft I had for this interlude and... I decided to scrap it! It's third draft time! It's really imperative that the end result isn't just okay but good (debatable prose notwithstanding), so I'll want to focus on not only getting this chapter redone, but also trying to give the more complete experience for it before it releases. With this in mind, I'll be on the grindset of tweaking content and this will probably mean that a new upload will take a while, but perhaps... Mayhaps... I won't be that quiet on the AO3 side... I have plans :) My hope is that they come to fruition!
I'm also doing better! I'm still a bit sick but practically recovered. I'm gonna be on vacation so I would like to take that chance to be productive but also have fun. The aim is for both when it comes to this blog, also in a way where hopefully I won't pressure myself too hard. Otherwise, I just hope that this is nice for everyone else as well. Thank youuuuuu and I hope everyone is doing well <3
Gonna store all Danganronpa shipping headcanon and thoughts-related asks in their own post because I know my big boy index is gonna hit the link limit at some point, so this post is going to be linked to that index beforehand! Anyone can feel free to stimulate my brain and ask me about ships, even if one already in this index!
As a rule of thumb, I'll use Character First Name/Character First Name rather than a ship name just because there are times the ship will be too rare to have a ship name and I'd want a uniform format for all entries. It's all in alphabetical order to show no bias! Also, all entries are standalone, so the numbers are just because the same ship was asked for more than one time. Without further ado!
A
Akane/Sonia
Aoi/Sakura
B
Byakuya/Celeste
Byakuya/Chihiro
Byakuya/Yasuhiro
C
Chiaki/Nagito 1
Chiaki/Nagito 2
Chiaki/Nagito 3
F
Fuyuhiko/Teruteru
G
Gundham/Nagito
Gundham/Nekomaru
I
Ibuki/Ultimate Imposter
Izuru/Nagito
J
Junko/Makoto
K
Kazuichi/Leon
Kiibo/Kokichi
Kiibo/Nagito
Komaru/Toko
Kyoko/Nagito
M
Mikan/Tenko
-
Thank you very much for your time and I suppose for anyone who finds this in the wild, hello! It's nice to meet you... It would be nice if this gradually got bigger, but it will regardless serve at least me well to be able to revisit my posts without having to scroll around hahaha
aaaaa hello and maybe you did fully purify my inbox since for the longest time I had a phantom additional ask showing but now it only shows 1 for yours!! Officially clean once I press this button 😤
Thank you very much for not just the initiative to send them to me but also your patience with the massive walls I'd send in return! Because of that, I got fed for like the whole month of May hahaha it was very delicious thinking that made me reconsider the types of posts I could make on this blog. I've always been interested in writing or yapping headcanons, but I tend to have difficulty in finding my own initiative when it comes to ships not just because I don't proactively think text wall tier content due to my neutrality, but also because I tend to wonder if maybe my follower base would not only be not interested but maybe put off by the degree of variety in shipping that my brain can fit in.
I can't be completely certain, but since my follower count stayed the same, I'd like to assume that the people who follow this blog probably and especially through the way I've answered this many asks about ships know or are prepared for the fact that I'm very much okay with any! Though I think people will have their different reasons for following this blog, I'm thinking that if maybe there are people who enjoyed the yapping I could make, that maybe the types of thoughts I have idly in my mind about one ship or the other could make it as their own posts in this blog. That mayhaps I could post my ship thonks here instead of just keeping them in my mind...
Overall, I was also surprised at the variety of asks I received, as well as the fact that despite including common ships in my summons, I didn't get any komahina ask hahaha The amount I received was also surprising! It made me think a lot about my time management, and I just hope that whenever I would send status reports, that it appeared sincere enough because I was there for all the asks I received. Rather, I'm still pretty open to them if anyone feels like throwing any Danganronpa ship at me. I'll most definitely bite. On that topic, since it was like 20 posts, the plan is to make a separate index for them linked in my pinned index! Coming soon as in probably this week!!! Thank youuu again and I hope you're all doing well <3
