#dr diary

[lylabueno]

One thing I’m really going to miss a lot now that I’m in Pittsburgh is football.

Football is deeply in both sides of my heritage, but every time I mention it here and people say SOCCER 😣 it breaks my heart a little more every fucking time.

[startnewgame-pt2]

A small diary entry by me ✧⁠*⁠。

(Pokémon DR)

"a long while ago, before I started training, I always had my hair up-- it stuck up like a bunny tail, though.

at some point, we arrived in Paldea around my teenage years. and then came this trainer (from Naranja Academy) with a wooper; I met her during a competition of sorts. (she initially confused me for a guy, funnily enough). after the event, we became friends. [I] stayed for about a year before returning to Unova (my home). and although we had grown close, I haven't been able to contact her much ever since we left. but I didn't worry too much- we did promise to meet each other again, and by then to be the best of the best.

around that time, I was 11 and still lived with my parents. we moved to the Johto region for a little while, and there I met my Sentret... with a star on its belly instead of a circle. (for some reason, I accepted it as the most normal thing ever). after he had decided to help and join my journey, we didn't hesitate to start travelling. we crossed at least 2-3 regions within a few years, and we've learned so much and made many new friends...

I believe in her.

and I was right to do so.

soon, I will see a person who grew with all their effort. I hope that person sees that I too have grown, and that I've been waiting for very, very, long.

I wonder if I'll recognize her, or if she'll recognize me."

- Rosario

Edit: decided to add in the doodles I have in the original journal entry of this post 😋

[goshdangronpa]

DR Diary #6 (1/16/22): Ultra Despair Game

I haven't mentioned it much on here but I finally finished my first playthrough of Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls! It was certainly a mixed bag: many more things I liked than this I didn't like, but the things I didn't like ... I really didn't like them.

Let me start with gameplay: I'm totally onboard with DR spin-offs tackling different genres, and taking direct action against a hoard of Monokumas across a variety of psychopop environments is pretty rad. That said, actually aiming and shooting was sometimes tricky or even frustrating. Auto-aiming at the nearest enemy sounds useful until you have to hit a Siren Monokuma in the distance while surrounded by the goons it summons. Then you have BS scenes like the raids on the adult survivors' hideout, where I could barely save anyone no matter what I did.

The story is typical Danganronpa: an average teen is thrust into extraordinary circumstances by a bunch of killer youths with colorful personalities and outfits, stopping them one at a time by teaming up with equally quirky characters to solve puzzles while getting to the bottom of a greater mystery and finding a way out of her prison. Komaru is fun as the most basic young girl you've ever met, Toko gets a major upgrade from her THH simpering, and the Warriors of Hope are compelling as tragic antagonists. Maybe I'll get into my thoughts on everyone's characterization in a separate post.

Unfortunately, Danganronpa's creators plunge into the minds of abused kids with all the sensitivity you'd expect from Danganronpa. The hands-off game is probably the worst thing a video game has ever forced me to do, and Kotoko's portrayal as a CSA survivor is shockingly wrong. This theme continues with other characters: Komaru recounting instances of male predatory behavior against her with a more innocent lens; Toko accusing Komaru multiple times of asking for assault; Haiji Towa brazenly admitting to being a friggin' pedo and Komaru calling it "kinda hot" ... By the gods, what the hell is wrong with this game and its makers?!

So yeah, that's all messed up. At least the game is mostly fun to go through, and the story is interesting if sometimes terribly wrongheaded in its approach. More importantly, I can finally play DRS!

[goshdangronpa]

DR Diary #4 (12/25/22): The Ultimate Gift

Watching and playing are different experiences. For example, my first DR experience was watching a full playthrough of THH. But I only entered the world of Danganronpa in earnest exactly a year ago today, after booting up Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair on my Switch.

If I have the story right, Danganronpa Decadence - the Switch collection of the three mainline games plus Danganronpa S - was a sudden gift. My partner initially got me WarioWare but thought, "Well, I'm at GameStop, and my partner has fun with that playthrough - why not?" It worked out nicely - WarioWare was fun, but this isn't a WarioWare blog for a reason.

I expect that I would've liked SDR2 more than THH anyway, for reasons I'd like to get into in another diary entry. Actually playing it, though, was so much more immersive. Instead of basically watching a 45-hour movie, I stepped in the shoes of the protagonist and went through the story myself. I explored new locations, investigated crime scenes, and fired truth bullets.

Best of all, unlike the THH playthrough I watched, I got to see Free Time Events. Instead of getting attached to characters, I felt like I was making friends. (Don't cringe, I was still in lockdown.) From my observations of the fandom, people seem most fond of this game's cast. I'm the same, but some of that is surely affected by these crazy kids being my first.

This isn't to besmirch people who stream games - a pastime I've never been interested in as either creator or audience, though I can see the appeal. Nor is this to deride those who make commentary-free playthroughs - a cause that, I can say from my own experience, is so vital for attracting newcomers and entertaining existing fans alike. In just saying that watching wasn't what got me hooked on DR. It was playing the game myself that made me fall in love.

Before we fell asleep on the night of Christmas Eve (really several hours into Christmas Day), my partner turned to me and declared that it was the anniversary of them ruining my life by getting me Danganronpa Decadence. Thanks, my love~ While we're being mushy on this mushiest of holidays, thanks to all of you for helping me get the worms out of my brain. I'm honestly amazed at the response some of my posts have gotten, and I'm grateful that everyone who's interacted has been both chill and cool. Now let's see what the next year brings!

[goshdangronpa]

DR Diary #3 (12/6/22): How It Started, How It's Going

I'm probably well past the anniversary of when I got into Danganronpa, and my starting this tumblog is firm evidence that my fascination with it has only grown. I've been meaning to analyze why I love it so much, but maybe I should take the Mad Hatter's keen writing advice and start at the beginning.

It began with a hoodie. My partner owned (still owns?) a white-and-purple jacket with a strange mascot on it. Years ago, I asked them what it was. They went on about a creepy bear called Monokuma and a game whose complicated title would always slip my memory. As with many of their interests, I had no idea what they were talking about but they seemed to enjoy it. "Cool," I said, and carried on with our day.

There is a cycle to these things. My partner would tell me about something they enjoy and say that I should totally try it. I would say that I would give it a whirl, but we just wouldn't get around to it. Not because they'd insist and I'd refuse, but just because. This could go on for months, even years. Then one day, on a whim, we're watching a playthrough of a game that feels more like a motion comic than an interactive experience. (This is how they got me into the Pokémon video games, RuPaul's Drag Race, and a truly staggering number of anime.)

I may discuss Trigger Happy Havoc in greater detail in another post, but the experience was strange. I wasn't actually playing the game, which affected things more than you might expect. Most notably, I didn't witness any Free Time Events. The person doing the playthrough would go to bed each time, eager to reach the meat of the story faster. (My partner and I called it Depression Mode.) This may be why I didn't connect with the cast as much as in the games where I was in control and did every FTE I could.

Even without that key element of the Danganronpa experience, though, I had a blast. We watched virtually nothing else for over a month as we marathoned more than 90 half-hour long videos. The twists, the drama, the intensity, the emotion, and the zaniness all combined into a unique atmosphere that engrossed and still engrosses me. It's also one of my favorite kinds of story: one that pits huge personalities in an extreme situation that requires extreme measures for escaping or just coping. This allows characters to do ridiculous things and take huge swings that would normally feel unrealistic, but are totally rooted in who they are (see also: Season 1 of Riverdale).

45 hours of content can wear one out, even if it's enjoyable. I told my partner that I'd like to wait a bit before tackling the next one in the series. Then I realized that maybe instead of watching someone else have the full experience, I could try to play it too. And wouldn't you know it: the mainline games plus an extra one were all collected for the Switch, and Christmas was around the corner ...

[goshdangronpa]

DR Diary #2 (11/28/22): Where I'm At

I’ve already got a follower after one day and a few pleasant interactions with just a couple of posts? Didn’t expect that. Thank you all!

With people possibly wanting to chat about DR with me, I should say where I’m at right now. Spoilers are central to these discussions, and I’ve still got at least a couple of things to avoid talking about for now

I’ve experienced:

Trigger Happy Havoc (more accurately, I watched a playthrough)

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Danganronpa V3

Danganronpa IF

I haven't experienced:

Ultra Despair Girls (currently playing, still on Chapter 4!)

Danganronpa S (but I've seen a couple of clips)

Any of the anime (though I've heard some of the discourse and read some things on the DR Wiki's character pages)

I'm not obsessed with avoiding spoilers or anything - if something’s genuinely good, it'll hold up either way. Heck, I heard online about the mastermind's identity in THH like halfway through my experience with it. But I do enjoy watching things unfold without knowing what’ll happen next, for just that first time. I hope you see this before striking up a convo!

[goshdangronpa]

DR Diary #1 (11/27/22): Rock You Like a Hurricane

I started my actual Tumblr account as a diary of sorts. Then I neglected the actual diary part over time. Then my partner introduced me to Danganronpa, and I got obsessed.

Maybe "obsessed" is a strong word. I haven't sought merch (the major marker of fandom in this consumerist media landscape). I haven't looked for translations of official prose works and light novels (still working my way through the games). Heck, I haven't even seen any of the anime (I'm watching a lot of things!). But I've devoted more thought to the Danganronpa series than anything else I've consumed. Mind you, this is really weird for me: I never get hooked on anything like this. The closest I've gotten to this level before was with Smash Bros, but even that's just for the hype cycles surrounding each new game.

Anyway, DR stuff eventually took up more of my Tumblog than the stuff I actually wanted to do with it. More pressingly, I've got that brainrot. The only person with whom I can talk about this series is my partner, and I deeply appreciate that they support my interest (they are the person who showed it to me) but I also don't want to tax their patience too much with my prattle (they've never expressed impatience with me but I won't let things get to that point).

So, I started a side blog. Tada! Never thought I'd get to this level of obsession, but here I am ... rock you like a hurricane.

The real reason I wanted to do this is because I've been keen to do some fanart. I enjoy drawing, and I used to write comics all the time. Then I learned that today is the birthday of Ibuki Mioda, my fave character in the whole series, and I felt compelled to draw something, which was fun. With DR's colorful characters as muses, I might do stuff like that more often c: I'm also working on something bigger ... but all in good time.

This is another goshdang Danganronpa Tumblog. What to call it ...

[alienravings]

Nunca sabes lo que tienes hasta que lo pierdes. Tal vez hice lo mejor que pude haber hecho en ese momento. Tal vez fui una cobarde. Sera que no estoy lista.