A Flare Star for the Dramatic

this is all an ABSOLUTE mess of headcanons and overall, a bit of tiny bonus lore for some of my posts. please enjoy

SO irl monkeys GENERALLY emote more with their entire posture and big grandiose movements than with their tails, their tails are too busy doing more important stuff. but i think that's boring and i'm sure ffix thinks so too, so im gonna write down my thoughts after staring at zidane doing things for a billion years, after watching lots of youtube videos about monkey behavior, and also after stealing things cats do because everyone loves whatever insane things cats are doing at any point in time. cheers

while kuja is capable of tight control of his emotions when it comes to his face, voice, and overall body...... what he is NOT is accomplished at is controlling what his tail is doing, ever. he's kept it invisible the majority of his life! its business hasn't been his business! so what this means is you can use it as a fun cheat sheet for his Real Feelings.

his tail isn't ALWAYS emoting. a lot of the time it's doing its job -- keeping him upright! he's a very.. tall guy... he kinda needs it.

some of this is probably obvious in context but i'll list it anyway. i'll add more as i think of it.


inward spiral curl / @ symbol pose: ( ! ) bubble over head! intrigued! activated! positively so! it's the equivalent of a cat "prrrrrt?"

slight upward curl, ranging to ALMOST a spiral curl: good, or at least an energetic mood. more arc means more intense the feeling!

high up, small curl only at very tip: alert.

end of tail curling around ankle/lower leg: - sad or nervous! "i'm not a threat rn leaf me olone"

tail looped around body: this is basically hugging yourself.

straight behind, very low to the ground, no curl: defensive, i'll fight you.

low to the ground, curled tip: often for balance, but can also signify a neutral or lower mood.

end of tail curling around something nearby: this is a 'try to stay stable' thing. as body language it's a way of trying to get comfortable/when he's at rest.

sudden sweeping motion, back and forth: mad. usually does this one to three times, a little less intense each time. might do it again if the thing he's mad at does something to make him madder. look, kokichi, it's your personal scoreboard.

looped around in front of himself: defensive, uncomfortable, wary.

looped around IN FRONT OF SOMEONE ELSE: protecc

just kinda slowly, loosely waving or flexing: relaxed, balance adjustments if he's ambling along.

jaunty flex/flick: chatty! usually matches to him doing something showy with his hands.

big flop, when seated/laying down: like kicking your legs cuz you're bored or just chillin'.

I have a lot of these for Kuja. I try to keep all my takes from making him too unrecognizable as a character, but some of them are just, like, too integral to me to let go.

( extrapolation station )