22 | chaotic college senior trying her best | huuuuuuge dr trash | KawaiiGroovycat on AO3 | I write stuff! And sometimes it's really good! READ MY STUFF
Trigun is objectively hilarious if you look at it from a dnd perspective.
Vash is the main character energy pc who has a direct relationship with the bbeg (knives) and an extensive backstory including a dead adoptive mom and a severed arm that one of the villains uses for his powers, who thought that everyone was going to make a complex character and thus put a lot of work into his.
Wolfwood is the emo dude who wanted to do a whole betrayal arc but got too attached to the group and also got way too invested in torturing his character but he somehow still comes off cool as hell despite being an edgelord.
Now depending on which series it is, 98+manga meryl and milly are the two people who made joint joke characters with just a little lore for the dm to attempt to sew into the rest of the story. Stampede+stargaze meryl and Roberto are basically the same except Roberto’s player moved right before the main fight against the bbeg so they had to kill him off, milly is the new player who joined halfway through and is still getting the hang of dnd.
so women are supposed to grin and bear the books, the comics, the movies, the plays, the tv shows, the stories, the sci-fi, the translated ancient poems, the fucking millennia of men writing about their self inserts torturing women and it being declared as High Art by other men, we’re supposed to read it in our free time, study it in classrooms, include their styles in our own writing, accept their cultural influence as natural, watch it in the cinema, write about it, talk about it, accept it, aspire it, but men can’t tolerate three seconds of female wish fulfilment of a woman snapping the wrist of a creep without feeling personally kicked in the balls.
This reminds me of something I observed in college while I was doing my honors thesis on women in modern horror films. I watched a LOT of horror during that time as part of my research, and sometimes that was done with my family around.
And my dad and brothers? Were deeply disturbed by the movie Jennifer’s Body. I was flabbergasted. It’s not scary! It’s not even that gory. But they were horrified by it. These men who grew up on 70s slashers were legitimately shook by 90 minutes of Megan Fox eating a few teenage boys, mostly off-screen.
Similarly, my all-male reading panel for my thesis? Were so disturbed by my synopsis of the film Teeth that they couldn’t even talk about it. One of them said he couldn’t look at his wife for a week after reading it.
Again, grown-ass men who study and teach media for a living. Who definitely watch and enjoy horror movies. One of whom was a huge Tarantino buff. We watched and read worse in his intro to mass media class! But one movie about a girl whose vag could bite was enough to haunt him.
Then of course you have things like the Gone Girl backlash–men yelling that Amy Dunne is evil and women clamoring to assure everyone that they know she is not someone to emulate–the backlash against Carol Danvers, and, more recently, the griping from MRAs against the upcoming film Hustlers, which is about strippers scamming their Wall Street clients.
My conclusion? Most men–at least most straight, cisgender men, who are both my sample population and most of the ones whining that Carol is a “villain”–are perfectly fine with, and desensitized to, media where men do violence to women (horror movies), or men do violence to men (horror and action movies). They’re even sort of fine when women do violence to women (“ooooo cat fight!”).
But they get intensely uncomfortable when women are depicted doing any kind of violence to men, especially in films that tilt the balance of power to the other side of the m/f gender binary beyond a single moment or scene.
So woman as flesh-eating monster with men as her preferred cuisine? Woman who responds to unwanted sexual contact by biting it off? Woman who frames her cheating husband for murder? Woman whose response to harassment–behavior that many of the loudest whiners know is both creepy and reflective of their own thoughts/actions–is to break something?
Too scary. Unacceptable. Disturbing. These men hate being presented with the idea, even in fiction, that their position of power is socially constructed, that it could easily be flipped the other way. It terrifies them.
In feeling that terror, they experience a tiny modicum of what living, existing, moving, being perceived as a woman in the world is like.
I really do think it comes down to desensitization and a lack of learned sympathy. Imo it’s why cishetperisex white abled majority men tend to react so badly when the protagonist of a game or movie or whatever is a woman. I think when society more or less caters to you via media and representation you never have to learn to sympathize with people who don’t look like you, or at least not in the way marginalized people do. Black men and boys have to learn to see themselves in white ones, women in men, queer folks in straight, disabled in abled, we do not get catered to, so we learn to find ourselves in places we don’t exist and we learn fast. It sucks, and it never feels 100% natural, but we learn.
And yes, we all are supposed to learn to see ourselves in others by default, that’s an important part of being a person and also engaging with stories, I should be able to understand why my lesbian neighbor is upset that her amazon package got dumped on someone else’s porch even though I’m not a lesbian, and I feel like Clark Kent and I could talk about growing up in the middle of nowhere and find common ground even if I’m not a white male alien superhero but like, it’s different when you HAVE to do it ALL the time JUST to engage in media and feel represented and seen. And that’s what we do and we get really good at it because if we didn’t we’d never enjoy anything.
Quick obligatory disclaimer that plenty of men are perfectly capable of learning to do this, as well as everyone else, and do it all the time, this is not a natural state of white manhood this is something chosen that can be discarded–but your average white dude who grew up with all the media around him being about him just straight up does not have years of hard training in “seeing myself in the other” because he doesn’t have to. He doesn’t have to try to find himself, he’s Luke Skywalker, John Wick, Superman, he’s always seeing a reflection of himself.
So what happens when suddenly he’s looking in a mirror and sees someone else? He gets uncomfortable, angry, confused. Which at it’s core is understandable, this is a skill that you have to learn and it’s normal for your brain to respond with discomfort or anger when you don’t know how to do something, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to let it fester into resentment and bigotry and hate….which is what these dudes do. He can’t relate to this person, he doesn’t know how to look for things that are similar like where they grew up or shared interests, things that we look to when connecting with a character to relate to them enough to be invested in their story. And some are so bad at dealing with that discomfort they lose it at the thought of having to think that hard about relating to a story, get pissed that they’re being asked to consider that humans exist who aren’t like them and who also deserve to be in the spotlight sometimes, but I think at the core it’s insecurity born of a lack of a skill our society necessitates everyone but these men learn. They don’t know how to do this and they have no idea how to handle that.
That’s similar to the logic of the horror stuff, women and minorities spend so long learning to like horror despite us being the fucking bad guys and victims in everything, but I remember I thought of this originally after people got mad at the Charlie’s Angels remake having the biggest male character turn out to be a villain. These guys weren’t just mad that there wasn’t more men, they were mad that they were specifically being painted as the bad guy, and I was like…confused? At first, because like yeah dude that doesn’t actually say much about you as a person, sometimes the bad guy looks like you….and then I was like oh. Oh. The bad guy never looks like you, does he? And you don’t know what to do now that you’re looking at a character you’re supposed to hate and seeing yourself.
Because the other thing we as minorities have to learn to do is love the bad guys because WE’RE the bad guys. The torn queer kid who wants to be Aladdin but sees so many of his mannerisms in Jafar and has to just…deal with that. It’s like horror for me, I love horror, but I’m disabled and mentally ill. I am almost always the bad guy in horror. The face in the mirror is my own, and I like horror, so I and everyone else in the same place learns a delicate act of like, sympathizing and seeing yourself in the characters but also not and trying to root for the good guys who aren’t like you or just not doing that and rooting for the bad guys the whole time, like I’m not describing it well, but it’s hard to articulate despite being something again, almost all of us have to go through at some point.
And god I remember Ghostbusters 2016 having the bimbo be a himbo instead, dudes were SO fucking uncomfortable and I was just laughing because yeah wow that….that sure is just how some men write women!! And they do it all the time, and it’s really fucking stupid and sexist and weird especially seeing it come from a male character, but like dude fr me @ these men do you seriously have absolutely 0 tolerance for a depiction of a person who looks like you in a story being negative??? You literally never learned how to deal with that???
But they didn’t. They never had to. Because even when the bad guy looks like them there is always a good guy who does too. Charlie’s Angels and Jenifer’s Body and Ghostbusters make them uncomfortable and angry because the bad guys look like them and the good guys don’t. They have no tolerance for that discomfort, they are not desensitized to their only representation being the villain or the victim or the idiot, and they also seemingly have no idea how to not internalize the idea that the bad guy looking like you doesn’t mean the story is saying you are the bad guy.
I mean they do to the rest of us but for majority white men it doesn’t because:
I mean fuck half the horror movies out there explicitly just say “all mentally ill people are crazy dangerous murderers you should never trust” and I learned to live with that somehow while Charlie’s Angels just says “this one particular dude sucks” and it’s the end of the goddamn world to every white dude who suddenly forgets other people aren’t them. Almost funny if it wasn’t so infuriatingly immature and deeply bigoted.
It plays out in smaller ways, white people failing to see themselves in folks of color, skinny people refusing to humanize fat ones, hell it even plays out in adults refusing to attempt to relate to children, every axis has a side that is not asked to see themselves in the other as often and it leads to this disconnect and discomfort and anger and lashing out when you actually do get asked to do it. To learn to like a story even if the bad guy is wearing your face, to relate to a hero you know has nothing in common with you, seeing yourself in the other is not something asked of everyone, and not being able to do it messes you up.
I think that’s why it’s so uncomfortable for men to see themselves as the victims of women or as the bad guys, they never have to learn to be okay with being treated like shit by a narrative, or at LEAST just not being the main character, and they hate that.
But they’re just experiencing what the rest of us have been for all of human fucking history and we’re perhaps a bit too exhausted by it to humor it for long and just gotta give a firm
You are a mystery detective that solves fake monster crimes. When you finally meet real monsters, they reward you for being their most trusted agent against identity crimes
If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.
1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.
2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.
3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.
4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.
5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.
Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.
Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.
protagonists can and will be sexist, racist, insensitive, cruel, stupid, etc, especially towards the beginning of a story. these are called character flaws and they are a surprise tool that will lead to narrative fulfillment later
And sometimes "narrative fulfillment" doesn't mean "the character overcomes their flaws" or even "the antihero is punished for their flaws"! sometimes it means the narrative says "wow was that fucked up or what? anyway i'm rod sterling"
hello....... come here..... look at my wares (KNH Fanfiction Starter Pack).......... in no particular order, just vibes
We Will Blame the Grand Imperial Amphibian for This by GlitterFix
e, multichap, ongoing. haven't seen a single person in the fandom who hasn't read this one yet. probably changed my brain chemistry forever.
darling, answer me this (who am i to you?) by Anonymous
e, multichap, complete. shimao! shimao! shimao! i love shimao! so beautiful i had to stare at my ceiling for the next 4-5 business days
Garden Snake by Drakoloach
t, multichap, complete. huge win for pathetic jinshi lovers everywhere. also has an incredible sequel. actually, read the entire series. bllleease
When the Moon Wears Silk by smol_sorrows
t, series. cross dressing jinshi. sword fighting maomao. suffering gaoshun. ah-duo mention. whats not to love
aftereffects by ryo (reviiely)
t, series, complete. i run from high school aus... but this one. good god. i love you jinmao angsty fluff
If it takes all night I will be on your side by hadalplumes (Akaivampire)
t, multichap, complete. read everything they've written ever. right now. i was quaking in my boots trying to pick which one to put here. huge fan of president of Jinshi Torment Nexus & Maomao Hand-Kink Agenda
The Golden Flower by Alexis_Trvlyn
m, multichap, ongoing. oughjiougjj.... i mean this in the best way possible, i had a horrible time reading this. ← this is a good thing. its possible i don't own a heart anymore
like blowfish poison by justjstuff
e, oneshot. best jinmao smut is achieved when maomao goes, yk what. this isn't about him. it's about me. i love that for her. i love this for existing
The Tree Whisperer by CJ_R
g, oneshot. YOUR CAT IS STUCK ON A TREE
Maomao and the Cafeteria Caper by Karizard
t, oneshot. no one fucking understands the amount of times ive quoted, “Will you pray with me to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?” at my friend group in which im the sole non christian
we come undone without our pride by warsfeil
e, oneshot. tentacles❤️ yay❤️
The Lie Closest to the Truth by Jaina (Eta_Carinae)
t, multichap, ongoing. save me delusional maomao...... delusional maomao save me......
The Truthful Familiarity of Dreams by DreamyMarry
e, multichap, complete. having dream sex would fix them. having dream sex DID fix them
This post will contain spoilers up to the end of the first part of the chapter 3 DRTA trial
I would like to explain a popular theory in the Japanese DRTA fandom, the theory is about Coco Hashizawa and Kokona Arumada being the same person.
The main reason for this, is the strange factors revolving Hashizawa's death.
First of all, the Body Discovery Announcement does not play for her death. The guys chalk it up as it being drowned by the loud music, but it's worth noting that even the other group only hears the BDA for Marin's murder.
Next, we have the Monokuma File. Its wording is very vague, and uses the term "All victims", rather than naming the victims, or even just saying "both victims". "All" could stand to mean just a single person, and it's even highlighted.
This brings us to two possible conclusions: either Hashizawa is still alive, or her body is a fake.
Let's examine both options:
1. Hashizawa is still alive
To explain this, I need to introduce another theory. Simply put: Hashizawa's body was put into the display case, then the display case with Hashizawa inside was put inside of the cooler, and then the contents were frozen. This would explain the missing display case, and Seki witnessing Hashizawa in the morning (with him waking up around 9AM, and Hashizawa's body being found around 2PM), in spite of Hold Nova's testimony about a large body taking at least 6 hours to freeze.
This would also mean Hashizawa had a small space to breath for a few hours, which could have preserved her life for a little time.
There is only one problem with this: according to the school rules, students who don't take part in the class trial get punished. Which would mean that if this applies Hashizawa was silently executed, was spared since she physically couldn't go, or did make it to the class trial grounds. It is also possible that her punishment is being postponed since Hold Nova and the mastermind are currently busy with the trial.
2. Hashizawa's body is fake
A second possibility would be Hashizawa's body being a fake, with the real one having been killed somewhere else. In fact, we never get to see her after Chisa asks her for help with serving, and Hashizawa doesn't do as asked despite agreeing to it. So, there was the option that she was killed early and a dummy was used to mimic her body. Unfortunately this theory doesn't work well, since she was witnessed by both Arumada and Seki after that point in time.
However, if we use both these theories there's another possibility: what if Hashizawa's body was a sort of disguise or doll that was frozen with the display case trick? And Arumada and Seki witnessed someone else with that disguise on?
With this in mind, let's talk about Kokona and her behaviour, especially in relation to Hashizawa.
First of all, she's the one who set up the speakers, something that might have given everyone the illusion that they simply didn't hear the BDA, even though it played.
She also tried to stop all attempts to defrost Hashizawa
She's also the only one who could have used the dumbwaiter that connects the green room to the home-ec room...
She also displays a lot of suspicious behaviour unrelated to the incident, such as what Seki explains during the investigation, her lack of surprise towards how two-faced he is, the fact she had an e-Handbook and was such counted as a student but was able to avoid all trials, and of course, knowing things she couldn't possibly have known if she only just joined everyone else.
However...if she was Hashizawa all along, her knowledge would make sense.
She could have just been imitating a designer she liked
Or perhaps Coco Hashizawa was Kokona Arumada all along, since she's repeatedly been presented as very talented in various fields, and she might have needed to hide her identity to be succesful, as she is the daughter of a skilled conductor who is also a big misogynist. Then, she'd just be reusing an old design she came up with in the past, before coming up with a second identity. Or if she was only impersonating Hashizawa during the killing game, this might have been her only true design work, which she then re-used.
If Kokona and Hashizawa were the same person it would also solve the problem of mandatory participation during the class trial, after all she is participating! With the fake body being her disguise.
There are also other little reasons which might sound silly but add up with the above context, such as "Coco" and "Kokona" being similar names, and the two of them never have been in the same place at the same time.
On a meta level, it would also solve the matters of "Kokona dying in the chapter she was introduced in" and "Hashizawa not getting enough screentime"
