Talents: The Ultimate Blessing Or Curse? A Speculation On The Ethical, Societal, And Moral Issues Of

The existential crisis that is waking up in a body that isn't your own in a life that isn't your own but it really is yours and your perception of fiction and reality has been warped so much you still believe you're the person you were written to be in the simulation even though you know that person is fake because it's the only sense of identity you have left.

It's like having two people trapped in your body the person you were in the simulation and the person you used to be.

honestly, i really hope tsumugi lied A Lot at the end of V3 because if she is even telling 90% of the truth, the survivors are exiting the game into an existential nightmare

Why Post Game AUs Hit Different

Hear me out, okay? Post-Game AUs in the sense of Danganronpa hold a special place in my heart. They’re what first brought me into the fandom space, they’re some of the first fics and fanart I made, and yeah, I know it’s kind of weird, but there’s just something about them that I can’t shake.

When I first sat down to write this, I stared at a blank screen for hours. I really wanted to talk about this topic, especially since no one else seems to have tackled it in depth before. But I was stuck. At first, all I could think was, "I want the V3 cast to be happy and alive," and, "I love angst."

However, after re-reading some of my favorite post-game fanfictions and really reflecting on them, I realized there’s so much more to this AU than I initially thought.

Post-game AUs are so compelling because they dive deep into themes like healing, found family, rediscovering happiness, self-identity, and the truth about fame.

These themes are what make the stories emotionally impactful and really connect with readers. They make you think, and they allow the audience to resonate with the characters and the world they inhabit.

For example, when I read about Kaede digging her nails into her neck, desperately trying to pry off the chain that dragged her to her execution—a chain she never actually wore—it makes me stop and think. It makes me feel something.

Or when I read about Maki having nightmares about killing people and being tortured, even though she never actually did. Those moments resonate deeply, and I find myself thinking about them long after I’ve finished reading.

Then there’s Kokichi, atoning for his past mistakes and opening up, allowing himself to be vulnerable. And when I see Ryoma discovering that there are people who genuinely care about him, it hits so hard.

It’s like watching that final, epic battle in a movie that everything’s been building toward. It’s satisfying, and it gives you an ending you can feel content with.

I know a lot of people complain about V3’s open ending, but honestly, if there had been a definitive conclusion, we might not have gotten all the creativity that’s poured into post-game fanfics and fanart. The beauty of that open ending is that it left so much room for fans to craft their own narratives—nothing feels too absurd because there was no ending at all.

And I’m not going to talk about every single post-game fan art or fanfic that’s completely changed my view and perception of post-game, but some of these fics have inspired thoughts that go beyond just the post-game world For example, It’s Just Showbiz got me thinking about the reality TV side of fame and made me start headcanoning Tenko as a trans woman, which I hadn’t considered before.

Here Comes the Sun shifted my perception of Kiyo, showing me a different side of him that I hadn’t thought about in the context of the original story.

The Friends We Used to Know led me to a rabbit hole of exploring platonic Chabahara, which opened my mind to new dynamics between characters.

These fanfics didn’t just change how I think about post-game—they expanded how I view the characters and their potential after the events of the original game.

There are so many vastly different takes on what happened to the V3 cast after the events of the game. (Well, all the casts, but V3 is the most prominent in the post-game space, followed by SDR2.) Some interpretations focus on the survivors struggling with guilt, forced to carry the weight of everything that happened. Others bring back the dead students in different ways—some with injuries reflecting how they died, some as puppets controlled by Team Danganronpa for publicity, and some just living happily together in a one-bedroom apartment.

Some fics depict V3 as the final game, while others frame it as just the beginning of something even bigger. Some characters signed up willingly; others had no idea what they were getting into. Post-game AUs are completely open to interpretation, with no right or wrong answer. Sure, you could say the same for Hope’s Peak, non-despair AUs, or even pre-game stories, but there’s something about post-game that just hits different. Maybe it’s the characters. Maybe it’s the themes. Maybe it’s the perfect balance of angst and healing. I can’t fully explain it—but it works.

Post-game AUs are more than just a way to keep the story going—they’re a way to explore what happens after the cameras stop rolling, after the killing game ends, after the characters are left to pick up the pieces. They allow for healing, for growth, for alternate interpretations that make us rethink everything we thought we knew. And maybe that’s why they hit so hard.

No matter how many versions exist, no matter how different the interpretations may be, post-game AUs will always be special to me. They take everything I love about these characters—their struggles, their resilience, their ability to change—and push it one step further. They remind me why I fell in love with Danganronpa in the first place, and why I keep coming back.

I love post-game aus so much and I can’t wait to see what other incredible stories and art will come from this space, because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that post-game AUs aren’t going anywhere.

How I would rewrite the utilization and timing of Tenko's flipping ability (That also slightly changes the narrative.)

Tenko's flipping ability had the power to change the entire narrative of DRV3 but the game barely used it here's how it could have made a really impact.

This is an excerpt to a 25 page essay I wrote inspired by @whattheskyknows' post about the underutilization of Tenko’s flipping ability. Check out their original post below.

https://www.tumblr.com/whattheskyknows/766230450261884928/i-wish-drv3-utilised-tenkos-flipping-technique?source=share

The first reveal of Tenko’s ability

The first time Tenko’s power will be revealed is late chapter two early chapter three. Here she will flip Shuichi and Himiko just like in the original game, but this time instead of being the only time her ability is ultilized it will be used to give the player an inclination of Tenko’s power with characters that we already know enough about to deem Tenko’s analysis correct making her ability seem reliable and trustworthy.

The next time Tenko’s power will be utilized is in the middle of chapter three.

Maki's flip

Here she would flip Maki. I know you probably think I don’t know if that would work out, etc., but at this point, Maki is getting closer to Kaito and Shuichi, and even though Tenko was one of the many people who were wary of Maki after her talent reveal she did eventually come around and had a nice chat with Maki in chapter three.

Tenko could guise it as sparring, especially after her dojo opened up and flipped Maki telling her something along the lines of:

“You hide from us because you believe that we’ll all hate you, but Tenko can tell, deep down, you’re a caring girl, Maki. You’re afraid, just like the rest of us, afraid of hurting your loved ones, which is why you lie to build up walls. You don’t want us to shun you, and you don’t want any more blood on your hands, at least not if you don’t have to.”

And then Maki would obviously (and understandably) be shocked, probably asking Tenko how she knew that just by flipping her.

I think the two would grow closer and make that conversation between them before Angie’s death a bit more impactful.

Either Shuichi would have to be in the room or Maki would have to tell him (and Kaito) after the fact since Shuichi is the protagonist and we find out all the information through him, and then he would do that thing where he has a thought or an internal monologue, but it pops up as text that reads:

‘It’s nice that those two are getting along with their combined strength; we might be able to find a way out of here.’

Kokichi’s flip

Next would be Kokichi, which wouldn't be an on screen moment like Maki's because Kokichi dropping his mask is a big reveal for the end of the game.

Tenko would either flip Kokichi out of pure annoyance or reluctant curiosity, then say:

"Tenko can see you're putting up a villainous facade, but she can tell that there’s more behind it."

And Kokichi gets so scared that he’s vulnerable and just runs away.

Maybe he even writes on his little whiteboard an insult under Tenko’s name, then erases it and writes interesting or useful under it.

They can then have little interactions where they talk, combining their skills to try and figure out the mastermind or the truth of the game, and we see them getting closer to each other.

Then I wrote two separate storylines because I love Tenko so much I created two alternate universes for her ability to be used correctly, and I wanted to make this harder for myself because I can't take the easy way out.

Here's how Tenko’s flipping ability could play out in two possible narratives option being closer to the canon and option two deviating further from it.

Option one:

Tenko dies like she was supposed to and all the secrets die with her. Kokichi and Maki are upset, but of course, in typical fashion, don’t show it in front of the others.

After Tenko’s death, Tsumugi looks happy/relieved, and Kokichi gets suspicious, but it’s not enough evidence to determine anything yet.

In late chapter three or early chapter four, before everything happens, Kokichi finds out that Tsumugi was happy Kiyo killed Tenko because she found out too much and goes into his plan even more determined to end the killing game and get revenge on Tsumugi for everything she's done to them (and Tenko).

Option two:

Kiyo kills Angie locked room mystery style, he then tries to kill Tenko but it fails (it still hit her in the arm or a non-vital part of the neck.) Tenko still dies, though, and everyone believes that it was from blood loss.

Later Kokichi discovered that Tsumugi killed Tenko using the power of the first-come, first-served rule to save herself because Tenko flipped her and found out way too much.

Kokichi would then find out and confront Tsumugi in a confrontation that would go something like:

“You did it, didn’t you?” Kokichi said, his voice filled with emotion, Tsumugi turned around, confused and angry. "You killed her."

Here bits of Kokichi's mask would start to drop , the usual mischievous smirk replaced with a rage-filled scowl.

Tsumugi would walk closer, their faces almost touching.

“She was learning too much, sticking her nose into places it didn’t belong. The game wouldn’t have been as fun if there was a reveal so early… I had to get rid of her; she was a threat to me. You understand, don’t you, Ouma?” (referencing chapter four).

Kokichi would then curse her out and say something along the lines of he'll ruin Tsumugi's game for her and everyone watching, either Tsumugi directly or the cameras, and continue his plan to end the game.

Tsumugi would then either be amused that Kokichi would try or genuinely concerned seeing Kokichi as a threat and trying to stop him herself, once again changing the narrative.

This one is especially nice because it shows the parallel of Kokichi and Tsumugi as a sheep in a wolf’s clothing and a wolf in a sheep’s clothing and also them both having scripts and doing whatever is necessary to make their narrative happen.

Kokichi is manipulating Gonta to kill Miu and Tsumugi killing Rantaro and framing it on Kaede.

This also gives Tsumugi more of a role as the mastermind in the game, also allowing Tenko to use her power multiple times without the consequences of an early reveal or boring game.

Then for either one or two, the ending would pretty much go the same except for maybe Tsumugi subtly mentioning that Tenko (and Kokichi) already found out a while ago, but the rest of the ending is perfect and wouldn’t be affected.

Conclusion

And that is a rewrite of how I think Tenko’s flipping ability could have been used to its full potential.

Of course, there were a few things that I couldn’t stress as much as I wanted to, like Tenko and Maki and Tenko and Kokichi's friendship, and the others would be like:

“Tenko and Kokichi/Maki are close these days, aren’t they?”

But this is getting long, so maybe I'll talk about it in another post.

Tenko had a really amazing power that had the chance to change the narrative and be a really cool arc, especially since she's a character that expresses her emotions wholeheartedly and wants others to do the same, but it instead was just like so many other things about Tenko's character overlooked, underutilized, and forgotten about, during and after its reveal.

Tenko deserved better. We deserved better and it's a shame to see such a great opportunity go to waste.

And if anyone wants to read the full essay if requested I will make a comment or another post (unlikely though it's very long 😅)

I decorated a box with a bunch of my pre-game Kokichi pen doodles I made at work, and now I have a Bonkichi box! It will hold all of my treasures :]

I Accidently Made a Game: The Origin of The Duck Game

Hey, pausing the not so regularly scheduled Danganronpa rants to talk about a passion project of mine that has complety taking over my brain for the past several months.

You ever start a joke and then wake up one day realizing it’s gone way too far? Yeah. That’s The Duck Game.

It started with a simple board game, a dumb conversation, and a Danganronpa fanfic idea that spiraled completely out of control.

And now, somehow, it’s a real, fully fleshed-out narrative RPG about the dark side of ambition, success, and power.

Let me explain.

One day, my friend Jensen brought in a board game called Abducktion by Very Special Games.

It’s a strategy game where you move colored ducks into formations to score points. The game had this story where you’re an intern at a UFO company abducting ducks, and in the single player mode you could gain promotions based on how many points you earned.

So, as my friends Jensen, and Braylon were playing, we started joking around. What if Abducktion wasn’t just a fun little game? What if the boss was actually using it to weed out the weak to find the best interns, promote them and get rid of the rest?

And that’s when I thought: Wait. This would make a great fanfic.

I didn’t want to write a fic about me and my friends, so I did the next logical thing—turn it into a Danganronpa fanfic. That same day, literally hours later, I had a draft for the first chapter, multiple endings planned, and a whole choice-based structure where readers would click links to different chapters based on their decisions.

Then I realized... that would be alot of work even for an over-obsessed Danganronpa fan.

So, I told my friend Braylon about the idea, and he said:

"If you come up with the ideas, me and my team could make it a game for you."

And just like that, me and his team partnered up. But there was one little problem:

Copyright.

I couldn’t just submit a Danganronpa fanfic as a standalone game and try to market it off as my own that would be a legal disaster.

But then I remembered—my stupid brain had already come up with HCs so OOC they twisted the characters beyond reconigtion.

So I took my favorite (sadly) non canon friend group—Tenko, Kokichi, Maki, Shuichi, Kaito, and Kaede—gave them new names, new roles, new backstories, new trauma, and new relationships and boom.

The Duck Game was born.

What started as a ha-ha funny idea spiraled into something way bigger than I ever expected.

When I was writing the idea down for the first time I literally wrote "The Duck Game, lmao no way this will go anywhere"

And now, several months later, here I am—actually making a real game. And honestly? I’m really proud of myself (which is rare, so that’s how you know this means something).

It's also really weird to be super fixated on something that isn't Danganronpa for once.

So What Is The Duck Game?

It’s a narrative-driven RPG about climbing the corporate ladder at a shady company called Luxus Enterprises. You play as Bennett Brooks, an anxious intern who slowly gets tangled in a world of corruption, power, and moral compromise.

Every decision you make shapes his relationships, his career, and who or what he ultimately becomes.

With multiple endings, branching choices, and a heavy focus on ethical repercussions, The Duck Game asks one question:

"How far would you go for success?"

If you're into narrative driven games, power struggles, and complex characters you'll love The Duck Game. It's got drama, tough choices, and dark themes, with a unique twist on corporate ambition and moral dilemmas.

It's still a WIP but I'm excited to share as it develops. Follow @theduckgameoffical for updates!

If you're intrested I'd appreciate you checking it out! Your feedback and support let me know people are invested, but no pressure.

Thank you so much for all the support you’ve shown on my rants and projects in the past—I’m really excited to work towards making The Duck Game a fully fledged game with all of your help!

(No sound)

Sakura shows a little parlor trick, based on that one DRS interaction.

Happy I finished some animation already, trying to really keep to it :]

If Rantarou survived first chap+

The True Horror of Danganronpa V3 Isn't the Killing Game It's the Aftermath

I've always been terrified of body horror, not just because of the grotesqueness but because of how it strips away your autonomy, turning you into something monstrous in the eyes of the world. It's the fear of losing control of your own body, of becoming something unrecognizable not just physically but mentally, and I believe Danganronpa V3 follows this same theme.

Not to the same extent as body horror, but the true terror of V3 isn't the killing game, it's what comes after-the unraveling of your very identity, realizing that everything about you, your relationships' backstories and personalities are all written by someone else. You're left not as who you once were, but someone else entirely a puppet to the whims of a creator.

And the worst part, there's really no one you can confide in. You don't want to hang around the people from your past, the ones who cling to the person you once were and now only see you as a celebrity on their favorite show, but the people who have been through the same things as you remind you of your past trauma. The people who should bring comfort only bring more ghosts.

And Team Dr could have changed anything to fit their mold of a perfect character your body something minor from eye color to hair texture to more major things like body type or gender your backstory if they make your character unlikeable, you're remembered like that forever think Kiyo and Miu or give you such a horrible yet detailed backstory that you have nightmares about it like you actually lived it (Maki and Ryoma) the identity crisis is the true killer.

It's also the horror of freewill. Before, all of your choices were pre-written. Now you have control of your own body, but it's terrifying when you don't even know who you are, you don't have any foundation to build your future on. You also lose your sense of purpose in the killing game. At least you had escape to push you forward and motivate all your decisions, but now you have nothing what you are supposed to do with your life.

Get a job? Where you'll be heckled for being in the latest season of Danganronpa by coworkers and fans alike, which brings me to my next point. You'll just be seen as the fictional character you were inside the game, and you know how some fans act theuy would admire you ridicule you treat you like an animal in a zoo like how some people act with celebrities stalk them have tattoos of them try to hurt them sexually, or otherwise it would be hard to go anywhere, and you may not even be safe in the privacy of your own home.

And sticking on the path of being a celebrity Team Dangaronpa using the cast for the press, especially if Shuichi actually ended the franchise, they would have to milk them for all their worth to try to hold onto straws as their biggest series falls apart around them invasive QnAs, forced smiles for photoshoots fake relationships to appease to the fans use your trauma annd suffering for content.

And wherever you go, you're haunted by your trauma. People dressing up as your friends in videos talking about your death, fans raving about your execution even after you escape. The pain isn't over.

That's the true horror of Danganronpa V3 not the blood, not the executions, not the killing game, but the aftermath. The terrifying questions of: were you ever real in the first place? How do you figure out who you truly are? And what does it mean to truly live?

Tenko character design is amazing- so why did Danganronpa S fail her

Tenko's original character design character design screams her, so why did Danganronpa S take that away from her?

Tenko’s original character design embodies her as a character especially her personality. Her extra frills (which she added by herself to make them more appealing to women) and her abs (which only women are allowed to touch) socks and sandals multiple hair accessories. Kodaka literally described it as "a fashion disaster that shows off the light-heartedness of a sportsy girl mixed with the harmonious Japanese essence."

(I personally headcanon that when Tenko was at the temple she was reading those teen girl magazines and it said something like "girls love accessories and frills" and she said bet and went a bit overboard.)

Just by looking at Tenko, you can tell that she is a very passionate girl who puts her heart into things and is bubbly and eccentric and that is part of what a character design is supposed to do.

It doesn't just stop at her original design even her Tenko's 10th anniversary outfit reflects her personality. I love the suit top skirt combo, the top hat, her hair etc . I think it's very Tenko, and very pretty.

I don't, however, like Tenko's Danganronpa S swimsuit. In the game, Tenko wears a pink and plaid, two-piece that completely takes away everything I complimented about her character design. Tenko is supposed to be this eccentric character with a bad fashion sense (I guess plaid is a weird pattern for a swimsuit, but still.)

Where are the frills, the cutesy additions to make it appealing to women? It's just plain.

I guess there isn't much you can do with a swimsuit, but on the other hand, I've seen people design way better swimsuits for Tenko that really portray her well and encapsulate what I wish her original design had done. So I guess the devs wanted it to be boring.

Examples that I believe fit Tenko really well:

@chibigaia-art redesign is really Tenko and captures her essence and personality with her extra frills and abs. You can view her amazing redesign here.

https://www.tumblr.com/chibigaia-art/661063246304985088/gave-tenko-the-abs-and-frills-she-deserves?source=share

@cl4ret-10ko redesign looks like something Tenko would wear and differs from the basic two pieces all the other girls wear especially with the added additions of the inflatable armbands bands and the abs. You can view their amazing redesign here.

https://www.tumblr.com/cl4ret-10ko/657459375318941696/redesigned-tenkos-swimsuit-closeup?source=share

And then there's the other side of Tenko's design problem in Danganronpa S, the abs Where are the abs! Kodaka explicitly said she had them so where are they? None of the athletic girls except Sakura have abs, and knowing the fandom i'm pretty sure the majority would love seeing more muscular girls with scars, so I don't know why the devs were being cowards about it.

Tenko's character design was eccentric, passionate, and bold. But Danganronpa S stripped that all away, leaving her with a swimsuit design that could have literally belonged to anyone else. No frills. No chaotic choices. No abs. Just the shell of a girl that was never meant to blend in. If fan artists' swimsuit designs can capture Tenko's essence, what excuses do the devs have? They played it safe and, in doing so, gave us an okay swimsuit and erased everything that made Tenko her.

Tenko deserved so much better.

(And if either artist is uncomfortable with me doing that I will remove it. 👍)