Happy Birthday, Sensei! 🥳🎂💖

I wonder if something could be said about Ashley's apparent penchant for drawing.

Leyley used to draw a lot. This, in itself, is nothing special: many kids draw as a hobby. The most noteworthy thing is that Leyley loved to draw so much, she'd do it on the walls, which Andy had to clean...

... and on Andy's notes, which made it difficult for him to study.

I don't need to say that this is just one of the many ways Leyley begged for attention and approval, which most surely had the opposite effect.

However, what made me pause a bit are three completely separate scenes.

This is in the very opening of the game:

We don't see Ashley drawing as an adult, but she doesn't seem to be very confident in herself. Then again, at this point in the game, it could be just goodhearted self-deprecation. It does say something, however, that she's still clinging onto that drawing, both because it's so old and not good-looking, and what it represents.

This is after Ashley, as a teen, has a meltdown over Andrew "seeing Julia":

Andrew is being mean, but to be fair to him, he's also angry and interprets the torn drawing as a way to make him feel bad, so I'll let it pass. The artstyle is so crude, I assume this is another old drawing: the lemon muffin is a reference to a way Andy celebrated Leyley's birthday when they were kids, so it's possible she drew it back then. And then kept it for years, before destroying it in a fit of heartbroken rage. It's how she conveyed her love for her brother, and it was that important to her, that apparently, she still had it in grabbing and tearing vicinity. Her hate for Nina is as important as her love for Andrew.

(the other option is, of course, that it's a much more recent drawing, and yes, this is a pretty abysmal way of drawing for a teen who apparently has been doing so for years. I still wouldn't call it garbage though, Andrew, she meant well :<)

Not much after that scene, Andrew also tells us this:

Whether Ashley still draws in her teen years or has stopped, at least we know it's more important to her than her homework, and enough for Andrew to comment on it.

And this is an offhand comment Renee makes to her mother while pretending she doesn't regret her life choices and children.

This is how Renee chooses to paint Ashley in a good light: by praising her art. Which is a lie, of course, because even back then she wasn't exactly Leonardo Da Vinci, but hey, grandma doesn't need to know about that. Worthy of note is that, despite doing everything in her power to interact with her daughter as little as possible, she did notice how much Leyley likes to draw (although afawk it could be because she once saw her drawing on the walls, so it's even more of a backhanded compliment).

So I suppose Leyley's cry for attention did work, in part.

It's a running gag that Ashley is a pretty bad artist. More than once, people point out she struggles to draw circles.

Speaking of attention seeking behavior, and how Renee keeps denying it.

So, what do I take from this?

That Ashley had a predisposition for drawing, clearly enjoying it regardless of her talent, and partially did so as a way to yell "look at me! I'm a person too! I have feelings, here they are!" at the world; but that predisposition was never nurtured, neglected as she was. Her art was ugly at best, a bother at worst. So she never developed her artistic skills, stagnated, and now she's a "bad" artist, which she resents. It's quite a shame, because of all the ways you could vent your feelings, art is by far the healthiest. Perhaps she would have been less destructive.

Naturally, this is part of one of the game's key themes: Ashley never grew up. She wasn't given the tools to, and now, she doesn't even want to. So she never developed past the "Leyley" phase of her life, still drawing in a childish way, still "playing" with her bunny plushies in her mind, still clinging onto her child self when Andrew wants nothing more than to grow up (or so he says). Much like her art, she too was seen mostly as an embarrassment, and so never improved. But every scrap of attention Andrew gives her? Means the world to her. And that's why she keeps going.

Lastly: every ending of the game comes with a crude crayon drawing.

It makes me believe that Ashley's art, ugly and childish as it is, is an important part of her, and her perception of the world.

reposting my fumus memes from twitter

The two best reasons to ship anything are:

1.Incredible, deep and detailed narrative themes. The parallels that seem to hit just right, the narrative foils that they can be to each other, the intricate dynamic that's both extremely complex and easily understood. The juxtaposition between something that's harsh and undoubtedly toxic, with the softer undertones, the parts where you read in-between the lines and find a mutual feeling of loneliness from both parts, their intrinsic understanding of each other comes from the mere fact that they're each others mirrored reflections and shadows. In the end both sides will be together forever, and you as an audience can clearly see their tragedy laid out before in a path that blurs pure anguish and tender romance

2.It would be so fucking funny

Antis when you tell them toxic ships are darkships:

Spoilers for DR Zero

When you’re reading Danganronpa Zero and despaircest hits you in the face.

While [Mukuro] spoke, it was like she fell into a fever, the expressions on her face turned into ecstasy. It was so completely absurd that it would have been hard for anybody to think of it as anything but a joke, but I understood that this was real. It might’ve been because the memories of Junko Enoshima inside me led to that conclusion.

“Hey, you don’t get it right? I don’t think anybody could. But you know, only I can understand it…”

Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba-san’s breaths began to become ragged.

“Only I am able of understanding her. That’s why she needs me. She still hasn’t realized that but, maybe she is only pretending not to realize. Ufu, that’s because she’s so shy. Ufufufu.”

Seeing this intoxicated Ikusaba-san continue to talk like that, repelled me.I knew that she definitely didn’t have normal feelings for Junko Enoshima, but that sort of thing shouldn’t have anything to do with me.

“…That’s right, it has nothing to do with me.” (x)

One of the things I love about Vi in s1 is how unafraid she is of Jinx. Sure, she's afraid Jinx has done/will do bad things, but she isn't afraid to get in close. Jinx holds a mini gun to her face, and she knocks it away like it's not a big deal. She watches Jinx look like she's having fun trying to kill the firelights and she's not afraid of her, she's concerned about how much she's changed and goes to run towards her.

Jinx shot at her and caitlyn, set off all those firelight bombs on the bridge, but Vi still came running back to get her sister after she set caitlyn down. Jinx kidnaped her and had her tied up in the dark with her pistol, and Vi isn't afraid her sister is going to hurt her. She is afraid she'll hurt someone else. That she’ll leave. That she won't believe she loves her.

Sure Vi thinks she can "get powder back," but she still loves her even though this person she met after 7 years of being apart is so different.Vi defies everyone who says her sister isnt there anymore. Vi doesn't blame jinx for being how she is, she blames herself for not being there. She needs to be as close to Jinx as possible to let her know she doesn’t want to go anywhere.

At that tea party, even after everything that happened Vi is still asking Jinx to be with her. Telling Jinx the only reason she could keep going in prison is the thought of getting back to her. She's afraid of a lot of things but not her sister. Not of loving her. She's never afraid of loving her. She's afraid of losing her again. And when Jinx leaves her there, that's the beginning of the end for her.

She has all of this love for Jinx and gets rejected. She's left behind with only caitlyn to fill the void. The one thing that hasn't changed since everything else around her is different. The one purpose she had for 7 years was to get back to her sister, and it was shattered after Jinx rejected her. In s2 Vi is finally afraid to love her sister because she knows it might not be enough. That throws her whole sense of self off balance, and then Vi is clinging to anything to keep her grounded even if it goes against everything she's ever believed in.

I can't wait to find long, detailed analyses of that scene in the new episode

So who said that while Andrew is genuinely attracted to Ashley, she sees sex as a way to keep her brother close? Because will you look at that. Andrew told her that he was considering getting back together with Julia (not that he wanted to impregnate her to "seal the deal" though), they argued, he beat her black and blue in a scene I found very upsetting, and what's Ashley's reaction? Beg Andrew to fuck her even though she's not even into it, because it's not about the need for sex for her, she just wants to be sure, for once, that Andrew loves her. And clearly, she thinks sex is the only thing worthwile she can give - when asked why Andrew should keep her alive and with him, she has no solid answer other than "I can bake", because cooking and fucking are the only two things a woman is for, and if she can do both for Andrew, he will never abandon her no matter how much he hates her.

She even pressures Andrew into drinking because she knows that otherwise, he'll pull away once more, even if he, for once in his amoral life, seems to be genuinely unwilling to "prey on his baby sister".

now this is some toxic shit that leaves my guts all sad and confused. i love it <3

EDIT:

You are an extremely fascinating creature, Ashley. I can't even begin to unpack all of this.

Using an anti-shipper's logic against them

Mfs when you're not shocked that ur toxic ship is toxic

istg i'll see ppl say shit like "im fine with media depicting abuse/rape/whatever as long as it isnt glorifying/romanticizing it" then turn around and say cannibalism is a metaphor for love and that murder conveys devotion. i hate to inform you but youre romanticizing violence