Ougoku - Tumblr Posts
So @toadollie was answering some asks about different ships, I was gonna reblog and write my own thoughts on what he said, because i very much agreed with him. And then i realized "WOW this is a lot" and it would probably seem like i was trying to obscure or upstage his post. So here's a separate one to briefly talk about my feelings on Ougoku, because it makes me feel and think about a lot. This is the original post here, so check it out for context.
Oh and just a sidenote– this isn't meant as any disrespect to people who like this ship! I just think about it a lot and this post finally motivated me to write my thoughts out. Might do a more in depth thing in the future i dunno?
Ok let's go!
So to start, um.... their dynamic? Could have been VERY fuckin solid– in another world. The opposite personalities trope is always appealing (to me anyways), but the fact that Kokichi takes advantage of Gonta really ruins them for me, platonic or otherwise. Now hear me out, because i do think they have chemistry; it's just a bit more complicated.
So don't get me wrong here: i love Ouma's character, AND i know he manipulated plenty of people besides Gonta. But it feels worse knowing that not only was he tricked, but he was tricked into doing something that he would never do, if he'd understood how truly wrong it was.
Like for example with Miu (again, someone who holds a a very special place in my heart), she was a lot more selfish and desperate than Gonta. If her and Gonta's roles were reversed in chapter 4, it wouldn't have been as powerful when she was eventually accused and executed. The reason I say that is because it's more likely that she would have agreed to Kokichi's plan to benefit herself, more than she would have because she thought it was the "right" thing to do. That would result in less empathy or pity for her actions, because she would have showed that her classmates didn't really matter to her in the end.
I think you could say similar things about all the other characters as well. They all would have known that Kokichi's whole plan was immoral, and going along with it would make them no better than Miu, if she was in that situation. Gonta however, was the only one who wouldn't realize this, which unfortunately, made him the perfect (and only) target. That innocence of wanting to do anything to help his classmates, a lot of which he barely really knew, makes it so much more painful when he realizes that his kindness was taken advantage of, and that his actions had hurt more than they helped.
In another universe where this all didn't happen and where Kokichi didn't mess with Gonta specifically because of his naivety, i think they could be an absolute unit of a pairing. Imagine the possibilities if they helped each other instead of... well, everything that happened. Their opposite skill sets and personalities would make for amazing character development, and i'm honestly sad we didnt get more of it in the game.
Kokichi helping Gonta think strategically, or teaching him how to lead a crowd. Or reminding him that you probably shouldn't immediately trust every single person you meet, because really, that's not the best idea. And Gonta showing Kokichi that most people are NOT out to get him, and how things are often nicer and more "worth it" than they appear to be, if you can spare some kindness, patience and support. Demonstrating that support and trust is the opposite of weakness. And showing that maybe bugs aren't quite so bad. They would just keep building the other person up until they became nearly unstoppable, and I think that would be an AMAZING story in and of itself. That kind of Ougoku? 11/10. Maybe... a fic is in order?
Confession: It really burns me up that people think Kokichi hates Gonta or just wanted to use him. Look at how broken he was before his execution. He had no reason to fake that level of distress and when he blank faced after the execution too. The entire time I see desperation and sadness that he had to be brave for and cover up. He doesn’t deserve this
...
I feel called out
Me: I ship ougoku solely in a platonic way
Also me: *has tons of fanart saved of them that are clearly romantic*
I agree with this post
Underrated Parallel
Keep reading
old ougoku/gontaouma and need to draw some more of this ship oop - shane
Small animation I made around July of last year
the movement is based on the petz5 cat haha
