#ALSO SAKAKURA WAS

[drawbauchery]

thought we'd check in on the Lost in the Hallway(tm) crew

SO it's still the same with the og survivor group joining, but more of the class is hopping aboard too (taka, chihiro, and sakura jumped at the chance). i think the only reason ff relented and allowed the remnants to use their hospital was because all of the thh class pulled sad puppy eyes & promised to take care of them. it's not all roses, but i think whatever wariness/resentment 78 feels towards 77 won't make them turn their backs. they are makoto's class after all.

no no the lil remnants have a more punch-on-sight adversary to watch out for. if not just to make their lives a little more difficult than they need to be ヾ(*´ ∇ `)ﾉ

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

Juzo really doesn't like Nagito right now LMAO

[haunted-xander]

Chiaki and Ryota had been traveling together for a while now. Surviving the apocalypse isn't exactly... easy. So grouping together is always a good idea, even if it means you'll have to split your resources. At least all those survival games made it seem like it. Teamwork is always better than working alone, I think.

"...Huh? what's that sound?" Looking up from where she'd been seated on the ground, she noticed a pair of lights in the sky. "Is that... a helicopter?" As the sound of harsh wind resistance got louder, she could confirm that it was, indeed, a helicopter. And not only that but... "HEY! YOU TWO, DOWN THERE! WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE FUTURE FOUNDATION, AND WE ARE HERE TO SAVE YOU!" a voice shouted from the airborne vehicle. Oh, and is that...?

The helicopter descended nearby, and out walked two men and a familiar woman. Yukizome-sensei... "You two. Based on your uniforms, you must be former Hope's Peak students, right?" A gruff man spoke out. I feel like I've seen him before... Ah, right. He worked security... I think. "Oh, there's no need to wonder. Nanami-san, Mitarai-kun! It's so lovely to see you again! I'm so happy you two are safe and sound, your dear old teacher was so worried!" Chisa ran towards them with her arms outstretched, clearly aiming for a hug. Both Chiaki and Ryota flinched and side-stepped her.

"Huh...? Aren't you happy to see me? C'mon a little reunion hug won't hurt!" Chisa looked confused and upset at their rejection, but Chiaki could see the underlying frustration at the lack of trust. ...I want to be happy to see her but... I know she's still brainwashed. If only I... "Come now, Chisa. They're probably just shaken, is all. I'm sure they will be more open to your affections once they've calmed down." The other man, wearing white, said placantly at Chisa. A light scoff could be heard coming from the gruffer of the two, unheard by other.

Looking back at the white-dressed man, Chisa smiled softly. "Ah, of course. You're absolutely right as always, Kyosuke!" Ah, so his name is 'Kyosuke'. "I'm so sorry if I scared you two, I was just so relieved that you where safe!" Liar. Kyosuke and the gruff man then approached them and gestured for them to enter the helicopter. "Ah, but first things first, we should introduce ourselves! Of course, you already know your dear old teacher, Chisa Yukizome - former Ultimate Housekeeper and currently the director of the Future Foundations 5th division! Buuuut these two men are probably total strangers to you, right?" Looking slightly embarassed, Kyosuke let out a small chuckle. "Yes, of course. How impolite of me. I am Kyosuke Munakata, the vice leader of Future Foundation and the former Ultimate Student Council President." With what seems to be a perpetual scowl, the gruff man followed suit, "I'm Juzo Sakakura. You might've seen me around Hope's Peak since I worked security there. I'm the former Ultimate Boxer and currently the director of the 6th division."

As they entered, Chiaki noticed that Chisa was still standing outside with her back turned to them. Even though she couldn't see her former teacher's face, she felt her form oozing with malice. Munakata-kun and Sakakura-kun don't know she's brainwashed... I'll need to tell them eventually.

I need to make sure Yukizome-sen- ah, san? Yukizome-san doesn't cause any more despair.

[rainbow-crane]

Junko Enoshima supports equality for LGBT+ in the sense that she wants them to feel just as much despair as cishet individuals. Despair is indiscriminate in that regard

[metamatronic]

oh thank goodness the d1 polycule is in tact. FALSE ALARM GANG

[carbuckety]

did anybody ever tell makoto naegi that juzo sakakura made a fake corpse of his body as a patsy in an underground serial killer betting ring because he doesn't like naegi

[despairmakoto]

*Reads Makoto's crush answer...*

- give them something warm to drink

- give them his scarf

- doesn't want to look silly on his tippy toes if his crush is taller than him while giving said scarf

- Straight up mentions Togami

*Glances at the image*

- Togami is sitting in a chair to give Makoto the height advantage

- Togami is wearing a scarf. Makoto is not wearing a scarf despite mentioning having one.

- Makoto is giving Togami something warm to drink.

....

REAL SHIT?

Whispers of Love ♥ Message Cards ~Winter Ver.~

(from the January 2017 Otomedia. thank you to @belligerence for sharing scans and permitting me to translate!)

We’ve gotten some heartwarming, touching winter comments from these seven SHSL Mirai-hen men ♥ Who will you try to make some memories with this winter?

Monomi Love, love, everyone!

Makoto Naegi Q: If your crush looked cold, how would you warm them up? A: I guess I’d give them something warm to drink… I’d like to try being cool by offering them my scarf, but I’d be a little embarrassed to. I think that kind of thing would suit someone stylish like Togami-kun, but I’d rather not look weird standing on my toes… so.

Byakuya Togami Q: What would you do if it suddenly started snowing during a date? A: You mean, other than take out an umbrella? Were you trying to suggest I should frolic in the romantic snowfall? It’s always such a grueling ordeal to attempt to understand the thoughts of you commoners.

Yasuhiro Hagakure Q: What kind of winter fun would you like to go out and have? A: Worshipping at a shrine first thing in the New Year! The key is to put on a big hood and go to the biggest shrine you can find. Try to look like you’re deeeeply religious and have a very important prayer to make, and worship there for a long time, so that you build up a lot of coins that were thrown from behind you. It’s fine to go alone, but if you can get someone to go with you, that’s just more profit you’ll be making!

Juuzou Sakakura Q: Tell us about a winter memory. A: When we were in school, Munakata got a crapton of chocolate for Valentine’s Day. It looked like a scene ripped straight out of a manga. He tried to hand some off to me and Yukizome because he said he couldn’t eat that much, but I was on my diet at the time, and Yukizome said “You can’t just delegate people’s feelings for you like that” or whatever and refused to take any, so for once he was losing his cool… I wouldn’t say this to his face, but it was pretty funny seeing him so flustered.

Kouichi Kizakura Q: If your crush looked cold, how would you warm them up? A: Personally, I’d like to give ‘em a hug, but, well, you gotta respect their personal space and all that. Holding their hand to warm it up, though… That’s a romantic situation I’d like to bring about. Lemme have that much, will you? I’m an adult.

Kyousuke Munakata Q: Who do you know that would be the best escort on a winter date? A: Sakakura, most likely. He’s accompanied me out often enough with Yukizome as a group of three. Since he likes sweets, he’ll take us out to the popular cafes and such, and since he’s resilient against the cold, he’s taken us out to look at all the lights on display as well. He might have complained about it, but that doesn’t stop him from being casually considerate, so wouldn’t the same apply to a woman he was dating? He wouldn’t be a boring date.

Ryouta Mitarai Q: Would you rather go out or stay in for a date on a cold winter’s day? A: On those kinds of days, I’d really rather stay home and enjoy some anime. We could even marathon some anime that aired during the winter. That’d be fun. And after that, I think it would be romantic if we each tried to compile some anime with good art of the snow.

[makedamnsvre]

dr3 liveblog sitting here like . i thought komaeda was supposed to be back from getting expelled by now ...... oh no

[aparticularbandit]

The thing about writing a what if Tohru died and then Akito leaves and etc. fic is like.

Akito is gone, yeah? Separated from the Sohmas.

Means I need to bring in characters for Akito to interact with that aren't any of the canon characters in Furuba and aren't connected to any of the canon characters in Furuba.

Which means either I make a host of OCs or I pull from something else entirely.

And my mind is immediately reaching for Danganronpa and like Akito can not be in the vicinity of Junko ever. I have talked about how BAD that would be.

I'm debating having Akito get adopted by Chisa (for VA doubling funsies), but really Akito + Yui is probably where I'm heading.

Which means Tohru Dies gets combined with Yui Lives which like.

I'M GONNA WRITE A FIC THAT IS SO SELF-INDULGENT.

[crayonverse]

might kms (/nsrs) becuase of this fucking danganronpa hyperfx. hfuasgfuaiuwasjkd

[theamityelf]

My Danganronpa AU Masterlist

Because I realized I need some organization on my blog, lol.

First, my actual fanfiction is mostly on AO3; these will be just Tumblr stuff. Feel free to send an ask about any of these!

AU's are listed in alphabetical order, and the bullet points for each AU are in the order I think would be most coherent for anyone unfamiliar with the AU. I had to limit the amount of posts I included as bullet points, because this post really tested the hyperlink limit at first, lol. In the future, I might make separate masterlists for some of the longer, more detailed AU's in this post, so I can just link the masterlists here. That'll give me room for more links, lol.

Also, check out my Danganronpa analysis tag for posts I've made or reblogged that I just think are interesting from a meta perspective.

If you enjoy something I've posted, please leave a reply/comment. It encourages me to write more.

Crossover AU's (DR Characters placed in Other Fictional Universe)- has its own masterlist

Plot/Premise AU's

Aikido Makoto AU (someone teaches Makoto aikido)- full tag

Both Classes Despair AU- full tag

Premise

Makoto and Class 77

Bowtie Polycule AU (Naegamigiri/Kamukomaegi)- full tag

Living arrangements

Assassination attempts

Food shenanigans

Chiaki Vampire AU- full tag

Class 79 AU (where V3 cast is class 79)- full tag

Celeste and Angie

Junko and Angie

Makoto and Shuichi (+Naehara book club- full tag)

Upperclassman Taka

Gentle Parenting AU (Makoto gentle parenting Remnants)- full tag

Premise

Hinaegi School AU- full tag

Hinaegi schooltime luck shenanigans

Main Course reaction

Reserve Course reaction

Hajime insecurity

Sakakura incident

Izuru insecurity

Kamuegi introspective cuddles

Hope's Peak Debate Club AU- full tag

Premise/Polyamory web

Kyoko and Makoto

Hope's Peak Deradicalization Class AU

Premise (Nagito and Angie)

Immortals AU- full tag

Kaede in THH AU- full tag

Kamuegi Hope Tutor AU- full tag

Premise

Kamukuras AU (other characters undergo Kamukura Project)- has its own masterlist

Komaeda Chaperone AU- full tag

Premise

Nagito and Monokuma

Misc Nagito Moments in Chapters 1-3

Komaegi-ish in Chapter 2

Komaegi in Chapters 3-4

Komaeda Intern AU- full tag

Premise

Sick Day (+bonus)

Komaegi UDG AU- full tag

Premise

Nagito, Makoto, and Yuta adventure

Caretaker Nagito

Offshoot: Successor Makoto arc- full tag

Komahinaegi School AU- full tag

Phone wallpaper

Nagito's Internet presence

Naegami rebound arc (Komahinaenami polycule forms after Naegami breaks up)- full tag

Makoto in Other Killing Games AU's- has its own masterlist

Memory Kidnapping AU (Yandere Kamukura)- full tag

Premise

Realization

Aftermath: keeping memory ; losing memory

Mini Classmate AU's (doll-sized DR characters cared for by normal-sized DR characters)- has its own masterlist

Naejunko Breakup Komaegi AU- full tag

Premise

Patron Celeste AU (Celeste/Angie)- full tag

Premise

Celeste pining part 1, part 2

Separate Izuru AU- full tag

Premise

Shuichi in THH AU- full tag

Soniakanedam Apartment AU- full tag

Soulmate AU- full tag

Variety list

Makoto and Junko (+bonus)

Makoto and the whole class

Survivors Killing Game AU- full tag

Premise

Naehinahara

Hajime prioritizing lives

Ultimate Makoto AU (where Makoto is Ultimate something)- full tag

Brainstorm

Multiship brainstorm

Undead AU (lucksters care for infected class)- has its own masterlist

Vampire AU- full tag

Premise

Blood rationing

Hope blood vs. Despair blood

How it happened and why it's this bad

THH Survivors locked away

Kamukomaegi feeding time

Vampire Makoto arc- full tag

Werewolf Makoto AU- full tag

Werewolf Pandemic AU- full tag

Wings AU- full tag

Crossover AU's (Characters from Other Fictional Universe placed in Danganronpa)

Disney Descendants Danganronpa AU- full tag

Ultimates List

Masterminds

Riordanverse (PJO/HOO/TKC) Danganronpa AU- full tag

-----------------------

I hope you enjoy, and I hope this masterlist is useful! (At the very least, it's useful to me, lol.)

[danganfixationronpa]

Not only did Juzo Sakakura beat up and degrade Hajime (a student), driving Hajime to make the decision of becoming Izuru, but he also lied to Kyosuke about Junko Enoshima being innocent, allowing her to continue causing despair for all of mankind, all because she blackmailed him into Kyosuke finding out about his romantic feelings for him.

Oh, and he punched cinnamon roll Makoto in the gut.

Juzo is a piece of shit. An interesting character who clearly has struggles with his weaknesses despite being so physically strong, but a piece of shit all the same.

[more-than-a-princess]

It was then that the pain she'd felt began to fade. Sonia had half-mumbled a 'thank you' to those who had helped her up, but her focus was elsewhere. Not of the bruises she'd likely develop or the crowd's commotion. But of the fact that Shinobu had insisted the situation, the fight, was a family affair.

Sonia looked over the man she'd been escorting around campus: through the blood and swelling in his features, she noticed a similar jawline, similarly shaped eyes, a beauty mark in the exact same place on their faces. Shinobu's hair was a deep shade of red, clearly dyed, while his was left as a more naturally-occurring shade, and yet they were undeniably related. His reflexes were sharp like hers, but his gaze was softer, kinder, less intimidating. He lacked the pressure, Sonia realized, that Shinobu was under, and in return he smiled, entirely unconcerned with the obsession of talents that Hope's Peak had. Maybe he had been an Archer at one point, but from his distinct absence from Shinobu's home the time she was permitted to visit, she had a feeling he was an archer for the Yaguchi family no more.

It was then that Anzu had pushed through, Sonia so deep in her thoughts that she barely noticed her make her way through the crowd. But her efforts to dissuade Shinobu were equally in vain. She felt frozen in place: if even Anzu had no effect on stopping her, what chance did anyone else have? Shinobu was in a fit of rage that seemingly no one understood, including her brother, and yet she refused to stop. She wouldn't, likely until he stopped breathing. That second year student had gone to get help, hadn't he? She couldn't imagine what the school's Board of Governors would think of this-

But all thoughts of verbal punishments, suspensions and expulsions and the like, were silenced as a larger, burlier figure than Anzu's made his way forward. And unlike her, the crowd parted easily for him: Sakakura-sensei was intimidating even just standing still, but with anger and disappointment over his face? Even some of the alumni shivered, and they might have very well been his classmates. But niceties and barked orders were ignored in favor of Sakakura's fist being firmly planted in Shinobu's cheek. Harder than her brother may have retaliated in defense. Perhaps even harder than Shinobu herself had thrown at him.

But hard enough to bring Shinobu Yaguchi down, a shriek ripping out of Sonia's throat before she even realized she was screaming. "SHINOBU!" She cried out, causing several turned heads to look at her, assuming Sonia Nevermind was just another one of Cold Prince Shinobu-kun's many fangirls. Not that Sonia paid any heed to the stares: her hands were clapped over her mouth in shock. At Shinobu's defeat, at the fact she'd just screamed her given name, terribly rude and informal, loud enough for the entire courtyard to hear.

"Wait, hold on, what are you doing!?" She demanded. She probably should have seen to the elder Yaguchi, as she'd been responsible for showing him around campus. But for the meantime, she passed him, bleeding and bruised and likely bewildered about what had just happened, to reach out for Juzo Sakaura's free arm. His other hand was occupied in dragging Shinobu to her feet, presumably to haul her off somewhere the visiting alumni would not have to interact with her. Considering she'd beaten one of their own to a near pulp, it would only tarnish the school's image further to keep her around. "Where are you taking her, Sakakura-sensei?"

"It's none of your business, Princess!" He shouted back, forgoing the respect of utilizing her last name as teachers were supposed to. Frustration barely held back, he seemed to be in no mood to deal both with an angered Shinobu Yaguchi and a girl with way too much power and authority showing a large amount of concern for her. A call from Sonia Nevermind's parents was enough to make every school staffer's life hell, and if Masaru Yaguchi decided to press charges against his own sister, well...the Board of Governors would make things difficult for Kyosuke Munakata.

And Jin Kirigiri, but that was beside the point.

"This is a family matter, Miss Nevermind. Please don't interfere." For an instant, Shinobu had turned her attention to Sonia, a flicker of clearf concern overriding her features until she'd quickly determined that the other girl had sustained no great harm - except, perhaps, to her pride. It was understandable that she'd felt the need to interfere at first - Sonia was a kind person, after all, and must have mistakenly believed that she was breaking up some other sort of altercation. Perhaps now she realized her error. Up close, they wondered if she could see the ways in which their faces were similar - their eyes, their lips, their jawlines, even the same mark under the bottom left side of their mouths.

Still, given the choice, Shinobu would have preferred that Sonia not see her like this. There was no coming back from this sort of impression, was there? Shinobu had long been considered some sort of violent beast by a number of her classmates and peers, and surely this moment, with her brother's blood on her hand, would cement that belief for Sonia as well. Beneath the searing hot rage, they could feel the faintest pangs of disappointment and regret - but what else could they do? She'd wanted Masaru dead for years, and she wouldn't pass up the chance for her revenge so easily, not when it might never come again.

"Shinobu-chan! Stop!" The sound and sight of a small crowd assembling had been Anzu's first clue as to where Shinobu was, and though it stung to know she was too late to stop anything from beginning, she could at least try to shield her best friend from the worst of it. Maybe if everything stopped right now, she'd get off with just a slap on the wrist. "I know you're really, really angry, but try to calm down! If you don't, you might not be able to come back from this!" If she got expelled, it was over - everything would be over.

Anzu... Well, she was looking out for them, wasn't she? So like her, a girl who had pushed down her negativity in favor of a permanent smile, making herself the butt of every joke, a clownish jester by design. What could she possibly understand about this? "Stay out of this, Anzu," Shinobu barked, as Masaru barely caught her fist. "This has nothing to do with you, either, so don't get involved." This wasn't supposed to be such a spectacle. Dammit, why was everyone so irritating?

It had been a while since Masaru had needed to be quick - needed to be tough, needed to anticipate. The bar was a gentle place, where he could let the world melt away for himself, and for anyone else who needed it, when he sat behind his piano. His greatest concerns in the moment were if someone needed a refill, or if the crowd was more in the mood for "Embraceable You" or "Cantaloupe Island." That said, he hadn't lost his touch. He'd lived his teenage years jumpy and skittish, always reacting to something or other. Someone trying to hit him wasn't something he was inexperienced with, and if all he had to do was dodge and block, he could keep it up all day.

If only it were that easy. "Shinobu...?" He hadn't looked too closely, but they were wearing makeup, weren't they? And now, thinking about it, that jacket sat a bit strangely on their chest, didn't it? As a voice called out, he couldn't help but look. That person was... Anzu? And behind, "Haruna..." He wasn't ready to see her - not ready to apologize for everything, even as his red eyes lingered on her amber ones, watching her watching him.

"Don't look away from me!" Her palm crashed against Masaru's cheek in the moment of distraction, before she followed it up with drilling her fist against his mouth, spurting blood out from his lip as his teeth sliced against the inside. His concentration was broken, and Shinobu took advantage to drag Masaru to the ground, one knee on either side of him as she threw punch after punch towards his face. Anzu, Sonia, Haruna, they were all just distractions! This was about her, and her life, and her pain - nobody else's.

"It's just never enough for you, is it?" She'd meant to see him dead at the estate, laid in the rock garden or on the polished dojo flooring as if to say to her father, 'he's gone, and I'm not just a replacement anymore!' This, though... this would do, in a pinch. If she had to kill him on school grounds, to tell the world that there was only one Ultimate Archer, then so be it. "You stole from me my childhood, my happy family, my future, my LIFE!" Each indignity she'd suffered paired with another strike, blood starting to coat her knuckles. "And now, when almost everyone has forgotten you, when that hideous specter you cast over me has almost faded, you show up again to steal my friends, to steal whatever meager life I've pulled together!"

In some recess of her mind, Shinobu was aware that a hand was at her back, fingers curling and bunching up the fabric of her jacket. "I hate you! Just die!" Before she could continue punching, she was spun around, and a meaty fist collided with her face. For a moment, Shinobu wondered if she even had an eye anymore - if the punch had blown her eyeball free of its socket. She crumpled instantly, legs losing all stiffness as she dropped to the side, cradling her face with both hands, barely clinging to consciousness. No. No! Just a moment more, please, just enough time to kill...

[jankydem]

I have a really strong dislike to anybody who ships Mitamiki (Ryota/Mikan).

(Danganronpa spoilers, Tw for SA)

“It’s just a ship, DJ!” Mikan sexually assaults Ryota in the anime. On SCREEN. It’s not even implied or said, we SEE it happen. Usually there are some ships that I don’t like but I’m like “yk what, it’s not that bad, a little weird but it’s fine”. But when it comes to Mitamiki, you’re shipping the assaulted x the assaulter. Ryota was trying to kick her off, he even results to kicking her in the face when she tries to do it AGAIN. Ryota would never hit a woman, we can see it’s against his morals to even speak to a woman with as much disrespect as Sakakura was giving Asahina in the 3rd anime. But he was so scared, because he knew that if he didn’t stop her, something terrible would happen to him. Something he didn’t want or consent to.

It also annoys me when people DEFEND Mikan. Yes, she was brainwashed. But that does NOT excuse the fact that she tried to r&pe ryota. The only reason why she didn’t was because Enoshima intervened. Her being brainwashed doesn’t excuse anything, the despair video doesn’t change who they were as people, it just mad them.. more evil. Despairing. It just made them desire despair, it didn’t change who they were as people. Mikan was going to do that to Ryota to bring despair to him, it WAS Mikan. Not a different person. The remnants of despair are responsible for what they’ve done, not for being brainwashed, but what they still did. So why should Mikan be any different?

And it’s not like Ryota DOESN’T have any sort of trauma from what happened, in the 3rd anime/manga, whenever he sees something such as a simple touch on the hand without consent, his mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that it’s SA since that’s what he went through. He doesn’t wish for anyone else to go through what he went through so at any moment he jumps the gun and calls someone out on it.

“I ship them in the non-despair au” The non despair au isn’t canon. It’s unimportant, that argument is invalid.

I understand that they’re able to relate to each other with their terrible anxiety, being bullied, and relatively shy personalities, but after the SA scene in that episode it’s just gross to ship them.

[danganronpadedication]

DAY 16: DANGANTOBER

Day 16: Favorite Scene

There are so many scenes that I could call my favorite of the series. I like scenes that are silly and lighthearted, and some that are bone-chilling. There were scenes that I was delighted by, and scenes that left me with a sinking pit of dread in my stomach. The scene that I decided to go with is one that caught me off-guard on first viewing. When it played out on my screen late one Wednesday night, it EMBEDDED itself in my memory, and crosses my mind at least once a week. Yep, the GIF is a dead giveaway, it's a scene that I call "Makoto's Despair".

Original Uploader: Nagito Komeada on YouTube (yes, it's spelled that way in their user)

When I say my jaw dropped during this scene, I meant it. I'm someone who really appreciates when things get more disturbing in this way, even if the scene itself involves subject matter that scares me. It shows guts, and its a good way to make me feel the stakes and tension that is needed to become invested. Readers of my posts will know exactly the reason this scene freaks me out, and if you're unfamiliar, I have my makeup post for yesterday coming out very soon and it will talked about on there. Some background information and summary on the scene for those of you who didn't watch the anime, or are too chicken to watch the scene. This scene takes place in Episode 11 'All Good Things' of Future Arc. After Kyoko's death in episode 10 'Death, Destruction, and Despair', Aoi finds a journal underneath her body. Written in the journal is Kyoko's deduction and conclusion on who the traitor in the Future Foundation killing game is. She hypothesized that there was no traitor, and that the monitors placed throughout the hallways of the facility were somehow brainwashing whoever was closest to them between rounds to commit unalive. To test her theory, Makoto decides to use himself as the subject for the experiment. He is tied to a chair in front of a monitor, while everyone else goes into a room without monitors. The round ends, and everyone is put to sleep. Makoto is woken up shortly afterwards by the red glow of the monitor. The monitor begins to play a video of Monokuma, and begins the brainwashing sequence. Makoto finds himself in a strange, void-like place. Kyoko and Sayaka appear, taunting him with reminders of the Hope's Peak killing game. Sayaka reminds him that he was unable to get her out like he promised, and Kyoko blames him for her death. His other deceased classmates also appear, and their bodies start to change to resemble how they looked when they died. Makoto tries to apologize, saying he just wanted everyone to be together and happy.

Outside of this void, which is assumedly his mind, Makoto is screaming and struggling to get off the chair. He gets himself free, and a knife drops from the monitor. He picks it up, and in his mind, Kyoko and Sayaka tell him to join them. Makoto has a strained grin on his face, and opens his eyes, now swirling with red spirals. He says he'll join them, but he's stopped by Juzo Sakakura. Juzo uses some 'not so gentle' means to get Makoto to snap out of it. Makoto then returns to the others with confirmation for Kyoko's theory.

This scene is one that provides good insight into who Makoto is as a person. In my Day 3 post for Dangantober, I briefly talked about Makoto having survivor's guilt, and this scene is my basis for that claim. It's very on the nose about it. Survivor's guilt is a trauma response that can happen when someone feels guilty over surviving an event where others died. It can cause similar symptoms to PTSD and other traumatic disorders. It's the idea of "why was I the one to live, and not these other people?", which is obviously an unhealthy mindset.

Makoto hides it well, but he does display certain symptoms of survivor's guilt. In episode 6, 'No Man Is An Island', Makoto has a vivid nightmare of Kyoko's death, with Munakata blaming Makoto for her death. Specifically, saying that Makoto was at fault for thinking he would be able to go through the entirety of this game without sacrificing someone close to him. Intense and vivid nightmares that harken back to whatever traumatic event happened or is currently happening, is one of the main symptoms of survivor's guilt.

Aside from serving as excellent foreshadowing for episode 10, this nightmare is a sign that the active stress from being in this new killing game is getting to him. His survivor's guilt would worsen as a result of Kyoko's real death, since the circumstances would lead him to believe it was his fault for just surviving.

See, the Future Foundation killing game has a special twist to it. Everyone has a bracelet on their wrist, that has a "Forbidden Action" on it. Doing this action will result in your death via the release of a certain poison. For example, Makoto's forbidden action is running in the halls, so Aoi gives him a piggyback ride. Kyoko's forbidden action is "Passing the 4th time limit with Makoto Naegi alive". If he lives past the fourth round, which he did, she would die. She deliberately hides this from him, not wanting him to worry.

Now that she's dead, he learns about her forbidden action, and he nearly shuts down with grief. Yet another person he cares about, gone instead of him. From this point onwards, he spends a lot of his time doing more reckless actions in order to stop this game, from confronting Munakata (who wants Makoto dead or captured) to this very incident with the video.

The guilt is pushing him to move without regard for himself, which is very close to more self-destructive symptoms of survivor's guilt. That's also why Kyoko plays such a big part in this scene. It's fresh trauma, fresh pain, that only serves to amplify these feelings within him.

Of course, Makoto manages to recover and pick himself back up with help from the people around him, like Aoi, and Munakata after a change of heart. He's a strong person, he's resilient, and he is the Ultimate Hope for a reason. There is no easy wrap-up for dealing with survivor's guilt. He's always going to be dealing with these feelings, but hopefully, as the world heals, so will he.

Besides, it definitely helps that Kyoko actually survives.

-Mod Tsumugi

[thebruno65]

What if Future arc had exactly two more characters? (Sato AU)

Kameyoshi Sato:

He is a cold, emotionless and heartless guy who has prefered logic thinking over emotional one, or at least on the outside: Kameyoshi wears a shock wrist collar in which, everytime he shows an emotion/too much of it, he gets shocked.

The reason he berates and hates Haruka as mush as he does, is because before she was part of the family, he had another sister that he unfoetunately lost to a car accident back when he was around 6. So the Sato family decided to adopt Haruka Sakakura from the Sakakura family.

When he met her, he saw her sister on her, but he wanted to deny it, he wanted to deny that someone could replace her. So he berates and talks bad to her as a coping mechanism and denyalism.

Haruka Sato:

Juzo's biological sister and Kameyoshi's adopted one. Haruka has humbled herself throughout the years of the tragedy, but she still has some anger issues and coldness in herself. But she is now nicer and more understandable in terms of mental issues.

She gets extremely mad and somewhat jealous when her brother acts nicer to people around them more than her. Its more or less because she never got the same treatment of him.

Which is why she has a little grudge on Seiko, not because she doesnt like him, but because she gets treated better than her. Same with Makoto as Kameyoshi praised him for his hope, but she changed her mind abt him after he did what he did and both of their opinions switched.

Plot:

Both Haruka and Kameyoshi survive the tragedy, Haruka survives after going into hiding and switching schools for the murder of Natsumi. And Kameyoshi because he got involved with the Seiko-Ruruka fight by defending Seiko and saying it must have been a set-up against her.

Since they weren't at HPA, neither would get involved in its tragedy in it. And eventually would get scouted and join the Future Foundation, with Kameyoshi as the lead head and Haruka as his assistant.

They help the foundation with the capturing of the ROD members; they're the ones that capture Mahiru, Hiyoko and Ibuki, much to Haruka's distain and heartbreak.

Of course, they also have to be part of Makoto's trial, while originally Kameyoshi was the only one supposed to be there, Haruka begged him to go too as she also wanted to know the rods fates. He reluctantly agreed after a lot of time.

Their views on what they should do to the ROD members are, of course, opposite of each other:

Kameyoshi wants to exterminate all of them since they were the cause of his parents death, but he excuses it as they are just a big threat. And immediately agrees with Juzo and especially Seiko to execute Makoto for that.

While Haruka wants to keep them alive and sides with Makoto since Mahiru is part of that group. But she is obviously shunned since she is not only an assistant, but they bring up the fact that she was a reserve course student which signified how little important she is in the foundations vocal opinions.

Everything goes the same until after Daisaku's death where they all split up. Kamayoshi gord with Seiko since they are both, surpisingly, good friends. He was originally going to make Haruka accompany them, but he saw that she escaped and left when Kyoko threw the fire extinguisher. After Seiko dies in the second time limit, he temporarily teams up with Kyosuke and Juzo to hunt down Makoto's group, as all of them have someone theyre against in that group.

Haruka joins Makoto's group before the first time limit comes on, when they're blocking the entrance. At first they're skeptical of her, but she reminds them that Mahiru was her best friend and that she is on Makoto's side. She stays with them until her death, where Kameyoshi activates her NG code by shooting her in the stomach, which the bracelet classifies the bullet as a weapon.

After she berates Kamayoshi in her last breath like how she treated strangers better than her, and that its obvious she'll never be like her (Kamayoshi's biological sister) and that she thought that he had some heart left, but she seemed like she was wrong. He decides to put the gun in his mouth and, with the last bullet, shoots himself.