#Next story will definitely be all about Kaede and how gay she is

[magioftheseas]

Cheer Up, Cheer Up, Shut Up

Somehow I finished this at just over 9.1K wooooords!

Probably going to be part of a series. Probably.

We shall see.

Summary: Akamatsu Kaede's his dearest childhood friend. Saihara Shuuichi is the cute new shy transfer student with an unfortunate crush. Amami Rantarou's a guy who just goes with the flow... Isn't he? (It’s a regular high school AU, but would I really call it non-despair?)

Warnings: Shouldn’t it go without saying that I write characters with mental hangups and at least some mental instability? Well, I do. There’s nothing graphic and even suggestive stuff is pretty minimal, like just vague dirty jokes between teens. But yeah.

Notes: Amami and Kaede are childhood friends and also gay. Still, their relationship is important. Yep. Aside from Shuu’s one-sided crush on Kaede and Amami’s kind of crush on Shuu, this really isn’t a story about romance as it is about overall relationships. Still I hope you like it.

**Alternate Ao3 Link**

People are talking about his childhood friend again.

“Oh, there’s Akamatsu-san.”

“She really is stunning, isn’t she?”

She laughs, and the two sigh after her. With a smile playing on his lips, he only watches them with a narrowing gaze. One of them notices, and they can’t help but nervously laugh.

“You uh, really are one lucky guy, Amami.”

“Oh no,” Amami laughs in return. It’s not as bright as hers, he knows, but it’s calm all the same. “Kae-chan can be really unattractive in the mornings. She gets grumpy.”

The guy laughs again, more genuinely. “Oh man, I’d pay to see that.”

His friend is nodded in amused agreement.

Amami’s tempted to say more, to go further into Kaede and her insistence on eggs being an essential part of breakfast, Kaede and her abject refusal to hitch a ride on his bike, Kaede and that irritating habit she has of tapping her fingers along the table’s surface, as though the smooth wood were piano keys.

Kaede who would gush for hours on end about the cute girls in their class if he let her. Kaede who could spend as much time staring at skirts as she did piano sheets. Kaede, his dearest childhood friend and mutual confidant, beloved Class Rep and a natural born leader in some respects.

Admired by many with so few aware she would never have any semblance of interest in getting a boyfriend.

“Kae-chan is something else,” he says, and they agree just as before.

--

His parents remarked that he had always been mild-mannered and mellow as a child. And how lucky that was—because wasn’t it ideal for an older brother to be gentle? Admittedly, he doesn’t remember much past that.

But he does remember that Kaede loved the piano even when she couldn’t pronounce any of the famous classical songs or composers. He does remember the way she dazzled others even early on. His sisters and his parents adored her. His parents were proud.

The two of them had been subtly pushed together for longer than either of them would care to remember. Supposedly they kissed once, maybe twice. And each time upon recalling that, Kaede would wrinkle her nose in discomfort. For him, it was also an uncomfortable thought.

That thought being pushed on them may have resulted in a falling out or two. He’s really not sure. He can’t quite remember. There’s a lot of things he can’t remember. His memory’s terrible.

But—it’s hard to forget Kaede’s stricken face, and it’s hard to forget her crushingly desperate grip on his hands.

“Please don’t be mad,” she said, she pleaded. “Please, Tarou-kun, don’t be mad.”

At you or Yurika? He wondered, and then wondered what this concern was for. It’s not like he had it in him to be mad at one of his sisters and his dearest friend over—whatever this was.

What had it been?

“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Kaede had whispered into his shoulder. “Please... Don’t tell anyone...”

“Okay, Kae-chan.”

Somehow, that had become their relationship. If nothing else, he’s sure of that much.

--

“Harukawa-san wore her hair in a single ponytail today,” he said, watching with amusement as Kaede froze, a shiver almost visibly going up her spine. “Momota-kun kept complimenting her. For someone so stoic, Harukawa-san looks really pretty when embarrassed, doesn’t she?”

“Harukawa-san is always pretty,” Kaede finally replies, stiffly and almost a little huffy. “But I find it suspicious you take notice of that now. Are you jealous since Momota-kun was complimentary?”

“Momota-kun’s a fine fellow, but I don’t think he's my type, Kae-chan,” he said cheerfully, picking trash as he did. Kaede huffed again, and pushes a desk with her hip so that she could sweep better. For a moment, his gaze lingers on her arm band. “Say, Kae-chan...”

“Ouma-kun,” she groans, suddenly and staring down at a marked-up desk with dismay. “I keep telling him not to write on it...”

“If he’s not bullying anyone, I say leave him be.”

“Urgh, Iruma-san keeps sticking gum under her desk...”

“I don’t think she’ll ever stop doing that.”

“Shirogane-san left her sketchbook... She’s really going to be aggravated when she realizes."

“Do you think she and Angie-san share notes?”

“There’s a ladybug in Gokuhara-kun’s desk.”

“We should probably open a window and let it out.”

A pause. Kaede went over to the window and opened it. The ladybug flew off her hand and into the orange sky. Kaede stared after it, and then she stared at the clouds, almost with a contemplative, unreadable gaze. The pale purple of her irises almost seemed glassy before she blinked a few times, and turned to him, leaning against the window sill with only an easy smile.

Kaede frowns, and looks back towards the sky.

“It’s just another day, isn’t it?”

“Well, it certainly isn’t a night, is it?”

“Are you going to call your family today?”

Amami pauses for just a moment, just before answering. “I don’t think so. Not today, at least. I just saw them for Erika-chan’s birthday, after all.”

“I see,” Kaede says. “I’m thinking of talking to my mother. She’s going to be happy to hear I’ve been doing so well...”

“Yes, she will,” Amami agreed.

“...It’s a lot of hard work but I'm managing...”

“That’s part of what makes you an excellent leader, Kae-chan,” he said cheerfully. “I’m sure she'll be proud.”

“She’s going to ask about Tarou-kun, too,” she adds, almost absentmindedly, twirling a strand of blond hair around her fingers. For a moment, he stares at her silver musical note clips and how they reflect an almost sharp light. “What do you think I should tell her about the trouble you’re getting into?”

"What trouble?" he asks, chuckling as he did. "I'm anything but a troublesome guy, Kae-chan."

“You aren’t?” she asks, sardonically and disbelievingly. “Oh, well, if you say so.”

He laughs again.

“I should still keep an eye on you,” Kaede goes on. “After all, some people are just too suspicious to be left to their own devices.”

“I’m not a suspicious person, Kae-chan.”

She just gives him a look.

It takes a while for the two of them to return to cleaning with how long the staring contest lasts.

--

The transfer student is one who has his attention almost immediately.

Saihara Shuuichi introduces himself with a nervous bow, eyes down, fidgety hands, and a pink blush coloring his pale cheeks. Amami can hear some girls quietly giggle, some guys chuckle lightly, and he swallows. And he listens closely, focusing intensely on Saihara’s mumbly words that were barely above a whisper.

“I...like detective mysteries and I, er, hope I can...get along with all of you.”

“Pleased to meet you, Saihara-kun.” The polite response, directed by Kaede, is in near perfect harmony.

Kaede gives her usual sunny smile. Amami can see the way Saihara stares back, gray eyes slowly widening, and lips parting because he hurriedly nods.

Oh, of course. Just a little, his smile strains. Just a little, he’s disappointed but hardly surprised.

Just a little, he feels bad for Saihara, getting more and more flustered as Kaede greets him formally as is expected of the Class Rep. Poor Saihara, who chokes on his ‘yes’ as Kaede says the two of them should be friends.

Poor Saihara-kun, Amami thinks as his smile steadies itself.

--

“Saihara-kun... He’s really shy, but he’s a good person,” Kaede says easily as she picks at her rice. “Don’t scare him off, Tarou-kun.”

“Why, whatever do you take me for, Kae-chan? I’m one of the most nonthreatening people out there!”

Kaede snorted.

“Nonthreatening,” she repeated, quirking a brow. “You’re the kind of person who’d be a mastermind in the novels Saihara-kun likes to read.”

“That’s a vicious show of prejudice, Kae-chan, and I expected better from you.”

Kaede rolled her eyes. “No, you’re definitely a suspicious guy. I’m just being honest.”

“Should the class idol and Class Rep really have such a sharp tongue?” he wondered.

“Ooh, for someone so nonthreatening, you sure are cheeky.” Kaede took a bite of her rice, tapping her chopsticks against the bento’s edge. “Do you like Saihara-kun?”

“He’s a pretty likable person, isn’t he? I certainly don’t have any reason to dislike him,” Amami said.

“He’s your type,” Kaede said, pretty dryly. “I think you two would get along.”

“Oh yes, I can see us maintaining a really deep friendship,” Amami’s tone lowered into something undoubtedly suggestive, and his smile didn’t change a little. “Don’t you think so?”

“Saihara-kun would have to get used to you first, Tarou-kun," Kaede replied flippantly, even as she gave him a not quite disgusted look. But it soon softened as she asked, “Would you help him settle in? For some reason, you’re cordial enough that people feel calm around you.”

“What kind of person would turn down such a pure-hearted request from his dearest friend?”

“I take it back,” Kaede snapped, pointing at him with her chopsticks. “Stay away from him.”

“Oh Kae-chan, have mercy on my impudent soul!”

“I really will tell Saihara-kun to be wary of you if you don’t stop.”

At Amami’s pouting face and puppy eyes, she didn’t even falter.

“You’ve definitely got it wrong if you think that look will work on me, Tarou-kun.”

Really for someone so sunny, Kae-chan is frigid!

"Kae-chan!" he whined.

Kaede just turned away with an hmph and puffed out cheeks. Amami poked her cheek, prodding the rosiness of it as though it could just burst any second now.

“Kae-chan,” he says again, voice dragging. “Kae-chan, Kae-chan, please.”

Kaede nearly bit him.

“You're dangerous,” she answered matter-of-factly. “I’m definitely going to keep Saihara-kun safe from you.”

“Oh, fine,” he just sighs. “It’ll give me more opportunities to cry to Iidabashi-kun, and he’ll hear about how mean you are.”

Kaede stiffened. “That’s low.”

Amami’s grin turned cheeky. Kaede smacked his shoulder.

“That’s LOW! You know he’s going to take you completely at face value!”

“Oh, you’re concerned about that?”

“He gripes at me enough, Tarou-kun!”

“Isn’t that because he thinks highly of you?” he asks in a sing-song tone. “You’re so flustered, Kae-chan!”

“Ugh. Don’t make me complain about you.” Kaede very nearly sounded threatening. “Gokuhara-kun already thinks your manners could use some work. And Chabashira-san already has suspicions about you like the suspicious person you are. Not to mention, you’d leave a bad impression on Saihara-kun.”

Amami stiffened for just a moment.

“If you’re nice to me, I’ll put in a good word for you,” Kaede goes on, matter-of-fact and to the point. “That way, you’ll have better chances of winning him over.”

That’s if he likes guys. And isn’t he already enamored with you? Still, that’s...

“A tempting offer,” he concedes nonetheless. “So, can I introduce myself to him later?”

“You don’t need my permission for that, Tarou-kun,” she said.

“Ah, alright. Can I have your bun, then?”

Kaede slapping his hand away answered that particular question.

--

One day, a perfect opportunity arises after class in which everyone else hurries out for one reason or another, but Saihara stayed behind in his desk. Kaede, of course, has places to be so she’s on her way out as well, but she paused. And she turns back to Saihara, smiling.

“Saihara-kun, I’ll see you later.”

“Y-Yes!” Saihara stammers back as Amami watches. “I-I’ll...see you, Akamatsu-san.”

Kaede’s smile brightens, but then she catches his gaze, and she acknowledges him. The only other guy still at their desk, cheerful as ever, and of course Saihara notices as well. Saihara especially pays attention when Kaede addresses him with,

“Tarou-kun.”

“Kae-chan,” he returns easily, unaffected as ever. “I’ll be seeing you too, won’t I?”

“Of course you will,” she responded dryly, hand on her hip and eyes narrowed. “But you can’t oversleep tomorrow. You said you’d help me plan the upcoming sports event. Remember?”

“My terrible memory has been refreshed, Kae-chan, no worries.”

“And that just makes me worry more,” Kaede sighed before managing a smile in spite of herself. Her stare flickers between him and Saihara. Saihara flinched and quickly ducks his head in shame. With Saihara no longer observing, she shoots him a meaningful look to which Amami just widens his smile.

“I’ll see you, Kae-chan,” he repeats.

“Yeah,” she agrees, and waves him off as she goes. “See you, Tarou-kun.”

And just like that, they’re alone. Saihara is staring hard out the window. His cheeks are noticeably pink.

It’s a perfect opportunity so, Amami stands, gathering up his bag, and heads over there.

"Saihara-kun, greetings.”

“Oh, greetings, er...” Saihara quickly turned to him only to pause, looking him over briefly, before giving a small smile. “Ah, Amami-kun, was it?”

“Right-o. Amami Rantarou, at your service.” He winks, smile widening as he leans back against one of the desks. Saihara blinks, but he doesn’t seem sure how to react other than to maintain that polite air. It’s cute. He’s cute. “How are you? How would you say you’re getting along with everyone thus far? I’m ah, only asking out of curiosity, of course.”

“I’m...fine...” Saihara’s mumbling a bit. He’s not really looking at him anymore, instead seeming fixated on the room’s corner.

Surely I’m a much more interesting sight than that...

“Oh, that’s good!” Amami exclaims with a joyful clap, smile so brilliant it was almost blinding. “See, I’m someone who worries a great deal for my classmates, and it’s really important that no one feel left out, regardless of where they came from.”

“Oh, thanks,” Saihara replies with a firm nod. “Er, for worrying about me, I mean.”

“Think nothing of it!” he chirped. “After all, you’re my precious classmate, Saihara-kun.”

Saihara’s blushing quite darkly as he just nods a few times. It’s adorable. He’s adorable.

“So I was thinking, since you’re new, I can help show you around,” Amami goes on. “Let’s be friends, Saihara-kun, I’ll be sure to take very good care of....”

“You’re Akamatsu-san’s boyfriend, right?”

The sudden question, burst so abruptly from Saihara’s mouth, and stammered so preciously, startled him into silence. He may have recoiled, blinking several times, and then he took in Saihara’s expression. That downcast, insecure, dreading expression with only a flicker of damning hope in his eyes.

Oh. Right. The thought is almost sobering as Amami relaxes, and the corner of his smile twists. Poor Saihara-kun.

“You mean Akamatsu Kaede-chan, right?”

“Who else...?” Saihara asked, quietly and almost agitatedly. Amami, internally, rolls his eyes at himself.

Who else, indeed.

“Ah, so you did mean Kae-chan.”

That pet name has Saihara flinch. Saihara does furiously nod, but he’s somehow even more uncertain than before.

“Y... Yeah. So, Amami-kun, you and Akamatsu-san...?”

“Oh, we’re...”

He’s supposed to say yes. When a guy is clearly interested in Kaede, it’s almost his duty to step in before they pursue her a little too aggressively. This is a role Kaede trusts him with, and of course, he may tease her more than anyone else, may give her the hardest time, but...at the end of the day, they look out for each other. He keeps away the guys, she keeps away the girls.

They look out for each other. And Saihara may be cute, but he really shouldn’t be allowed to get his hopes up where Kaede’s involved.

...But. Saihara is doing a poor job at looking up at him with these big gray eyes that are so insecure and almost pleading. He's clearly getting more and more unsettled, but there's also that hope, tightening his features and allowing him to steady himself. Or maybe, just maybe, Saihara is learning here and now how to be more confident.

Amami would hate to deflate him.

And, more seriously, does he really have it in him to lie to a face like that...?

Sadly, he already knows the answer.

“We’re just childhood friends. We’re not dating or anything like that, Saihara-kun.”

“Oh, really?” Saihara almost looked relieved, but he reeled himself back with, “You two are...just friends?”

"We’re just friends, and we have absolutely no interest in being anything more than that."

Of course, there’s more to it, but the conviction in his tone is something Saihara is the kind of person to take at face value. At least, at first. The way Saihara nods understandingly, and the way he seems to get sheepish for having received such an answer is endearing.

Amami, despite feeling an undeniable tenseness to the atmosphere, can’t help but have a softening smile. “Kae-chan is a wonderful person though, isn’t she?”

“Y-Yes, she is,” Saihara stammers, blush deepening and he plays with the dark blue strands obscuring half his gaze. Kaede used to pinch at her fringe the same way before she grew out her bangs. Amami chuckles, and Saihara just goes on. “Um, I’m, really sorry for asking something like that, Amami-kun.”

“It’s nothing. I get that question a lot,” Amami says with a laugh.

Saihara just ends up wavering. “You do?”

Oh, goodness, he’s almost hopelessly cute.

“Often by Kae-chan’s friends,” he explains, lightly and good-naturedly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Saihara-kun but I, like Kae-chan, am also quite popular and good-looking.”

Saihara perked up, snorting before slamming a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. At Amami’s crooked grin and flirtatious wink, Saihara started shaking.

Somehow after a short while, he managed to regain himself, clearing his throat and waving his hand.

“I-I wouldn’t doubt it,” he said. “Amami-kun, you definitely...have a strong personality like Akamatsu-san... I’m rather envious...”

“Envious?” Amami echoes cheerfully. “Really, Saihara-kun, you leave quite the impression on people yourself.”

“Really?” Saihara asks, laughing. He’s not meeting his gaze, and his smile is faltering before it falls completely. “Not that I doubt you, Amami-kun, but I do find that hard to believe...”

“Saihara-kun...” He starts. But Saihara has taken up his bag and finally stood from his seat.

“I really should get going,” Saihara mumbles. “Amami-kun, thank you for talking to me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Amami replies easily. “You really don’t need to thank a friend for being friendly. We’re friends, aren’t we, Saihara-kun? Or is that pushing it?”

“I-If you’re really alright with that, I...won’t refuse...” He swallowed, and he’s still not meeting his gaze, instead looking closer towards the ground. But he is smiling a little, at least. “Um, please take good care of me.”

“Of course.”

Saihara nodded. Amami nods back.

“I’ll see you, Saihara-kun.”

With that, Saihara bows respectfully before heading out. Amami watches him leave with a fond smile, one that fades as soon as he’s left alone in a classroom flooded with the low orange sunlight of the afternoon.

--

“Hello, hello, Saihara-kun.”

“Good morning, Amami-kun.”

“Kae-chan is showing you around the school today, isn’t she?”

“Ah, yes...”

“Perhaps I should go with you two so that you don’t get lost?”

“T-That’s...”

“A bad idea,” Kaede finishes, making Saihara jump at her sudden appearance. Still, Kaede was giving a look for Amami and Amami alone. “Your sense of direction is terrible, Tarou-kun. You can never remember where anything is.”

“Hey now, I have good enough intuition leading me the way,” Amami replies, even as he looked a bit embarrassed. “I’ve even gotten better at recalling at least some landmarks.”

“Once I had to call Hoshi-kun to find you because you somehow ended up at the athletics department,” she shot back. “And then there was that time you got lost in the library. You’re lucky Shinguuji-kun was there.”

“I know where my apartment is, Kae-chan.”

“And that’s about the extent of it, right?”

“Um,” Saihara kind of steps between them, or at least he shuffles a bit uncomfortably. “You really don’t have to trouble yourself, Amami-kun.”

“But we’re friends now, aren’t we? And safety in numbers!” Amami chirped matter-of-factly. “That way you have two people to protect you just in case, Saihara-kun.”

“But if you two just keep on fighting...” Saihara began, hardly looking at ease. “I don’t think the situation will be...ideal.”

“No, wait, Tarou-kun might have a point,” Kaede spoke up suddenly, eyes gleaming. “If someone corners us, we can sacrifice him and escape to safety.”

“That’s true! I can sacrifice myself for the greater good!” Amami exclaimed cheerfully.

“You don’t have to sacrifice yourself, Amami-kun...”

“I could sacrifice myself,” Kaede offered, to which Saihara immediately shook his head furiously in protest.

“No, I don’t want anyone sacrificing themselves!”

The two traded looks at how flustered Saihara really got from exclaiming that.

“We were just joking around, Saihara-kun,” Kaede said, sweetly and comfortingly. “Sorry—did we upset you?”

“N-No, Akamatsu-san, but...” Saihara’s head bowed. “I... Sorry. I just get overwhelmed easily.”

“Ah, oh dear, I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, Saihara-kun,” Amami said, frowning as he did. “I sincerely apologize. Shall I just leave you and Kae-chan be?”

“No...” Saihara rubs at the back of his neck, swallowing. “I don’t mind your presence, Amami-kun. Besides... It’s a good opportunity to refresh your memory on where everything is, if what Akamatsu-san says is true.”

Amami hums contemplatively. Kaede just sighs.

“You wanted the refresher, didn’t you, Tarou-kun?” she asked. “You should’ve just said so. It’s not like I would’ve minded. And I don’t think Saihara-kun would’ve judged you.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Saihara agreed, nodding along.

And, so quickly it could have been imagined, Amami saw Saihara’s soft gaze flicker towards him hesitantly before averting just as suddenly. He stiffened for a moment, especially when mentally comparing that look to Kaede’s unwavering, scolding stare, before he just laughed.

“You two are quite the reliable pair, aren’t you? Our class really is fortunate!”

Kaede perked up as Saihara’s face darkened and he immediately denied with, “Not, uh, really, I’m not...”

“Tarou-kun’s not the person who’d bother with false flattery,” Kaede said, quickly but also gently as she flashed him a smile. “Accept his compliments with a smile and a thank you, alright?”

Saihara stares back for a moment, but he does turn to Amami with a small smile and a, “Thank you, Amami-kun.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Amami lies with ease, even as his heartbeat skips. “Well, well, we should go, shouldn’t we?”

“Yes, yes,” Kaede says cheerfully. Saihara nods along.

The tour had been very nice and very refreshing indeed.

--

The days in general seemed to just pass by with a general ease, even when it came to Saihara being integrated with everyone else.

Because, unsurprisingly, the other classmates take to him quickly. They had quickly taken to Kaede as well. He knows them all well enough to know they’re generally quite the...overly familiar bunch.

Sometimes, he’d see Saihara, and he’d almost immediately call out to greet him. He’d just stop, because he’d then notice Momota happily talking with him, an arm around his shoulders. Or because he’d see that Saihara was already being badgered by Iruma. And sometimes, it’d be because Iidabashi was already calling his name, wanting Saihara’s opinions on some robotics project of some kind. Saihara, who could still be so shy, could converse with their eccentric classmates with a building ease.

It really isn’t a surprise—and really, he’s already used to the situation being this way with Kaede.

He can’t count the number of times he’d see and almost greet his childhood friend, only for any and all words to die with someone else got to her first.

Like when Yumeno took her arm, when Shirogane grabbed her hand, or when Chabashira bumped shoulders with a loud laugh.

And, well, Kaede’s probably been in this very position where he’s involved as well. They’re all friends, after all. It’s a tightly-knit group, all things considered. If Ouma isn’t harassing other students or trying to talk Kaede into joining his secret organization that may or may not have existed, he was latched onto Amami’s arm with a wide grin. Toujou is such an easy person to converse with that he favors her company when times are stressful. Angie’s certainly made sculptures in his likeness as she has with Kaede and the others.

They’re a class. There’s a camaraderie that just comes with being all in the same classroom. Saihara was newer, so some latched onto him quickly. Saihara lacked the usual confidence and assurance—but that, too, was a draw for some of the students.

It’s hardly a surprise. People are social creatures by nature. Even someone like Saihara, in spite of his insecurities, would flourish in a community.

He’s happy for him, of course. He’s a little relieved, absolutely.

Something like that.

...Something like that.

--

Harukawa has a lovely voice and Kaede plays in a way to enhance it. It always takes some urging, gesturing, and Kaede’s sweetest, rosiest pleading, but there’s no denying that the two of them sound wonderful together. Harukawa sings, voice rising and falling in harmony with the piano keys, and it’s the very essence of grace and beauty.

Of course, Kaede, with her delicate fingers and elegant playing, looked all the more angelic. But, Amami would catch her quick, ardent little glances, the subtle twisting of her smile, and how she colored in just the way it’d be concealed by her blush and the light.

There’s something almost tragically ironic as guys sigh and admire, and Amami would be lying if he said he wasn’t envious. Sweeping his hair from his face, he just sighs on his own, and... Well, he finds his stare wandering over to Saihara, taken and positively fixated with the scene.

Maybe it’s Kaede’s playing. Maybe it’s Kaede’s serene smile. Maybe it’s the way Kaede’s soft blonde hair looks almost like a halo. They all make for a pretty attractive image after all, supposedly.

One time, Kaede tried to lean against the piano in a way meant to be seductive, eyebrows raised and smirk suggestive. Harukawa hadn’t been very impressed, and Kaede was so quick to play the whole thing off as a joke. Iruma laughed at her, of course, as had he, and the usual pretty pink of Kaede’s cheeks burned into quite the furious red.

Kaede playing painted such a different image than Kaede flailing in frustration.

It’s hard not to wonder if both images would be viewed with the same positive appraisal. It’s hard not to wonder exactly what the case would be for Saihara Shuuichi, someone who has the sincerest disposition Amami has ever seen.

One of the sincerest, at least. He might meet someone sincerer with time, some other fool he’ll be a little too fond of. He really should keep his options open, but...

It hadn’t take long for him to realize how much he’s both drawn to and intimidated by Saihara’s sincerity. Saihara with his soft-spoken words and insecure gaze—Saihara who can’t seem to really meet anyone’s eyes is quite the intimidating person.

When Harukawa bows, with that stoic expression, and Kaede enthusiastically applauds while praising her. The audience, as always as expected, follows her lead.

Saihara too, claps hard enough that it almost sounds like it hurts, but he’s pushed back by the crowd of admirers that latch onto the opportunity to fawn over the oh-so-beloved Class Rep and one of the most mysterious class beauties. Saihara rocks on his heels, trying to catch a glance or perhaps trying to catch the slightest sliver of Kaede’s attention, and Amami’s smile strains just a little, just for a moment.

He can’t help but think to himself he’s going to give Kaede a harder time than usual the next time the two of them interact. They’ve been so civil with each other as of late, after all. Picking at one another is such an effective way to relieve their frustration.

But, it’s funny.

When Saihara manages to catch Kaede’s attention, when Kaede laughs and smiles and thanks him for his flattery... The way Saihara blushes so darkly even against his dark, dark hair, and the way he preciously looks down, biting his lip as Kaede so gently teases him...

Frustration has fizzled into something hollow. And Amami is not quite sure what he’s supposed to do about that.

So, he just bows out.

--

It’s a very rainy day, so the bus is running late. Not that he’s using it, considering his hatred of all automobiles with buses included. The bus stop just makes for a convenient shelter from the rain. His bike is getting even more soaked and he’s already shaking from dampness and cold.

“Tarou-kun?”

Kaede has her pink umbrella, held steadily against the wind with a curious frown. She looked him over, up and down, and her frown twitched, deepening with dismay.

“What did I tell you about remembering to bring an umbrella?” She puts a hand on her hip as she glares. Then she scoffs, “This is what happened when you’re unprepared.”

“But you know me,” Amami replies, light-heartedly as ever. “Just a go with the flow kind of guy.”

“You could catch a cold,” Kaede pointed out, lips pursed.

“Ouma-kun says that’s impossible,” Amami said cheerfully. “Because I’m too stupid to get sick.”

“Urgh, Ouma-kun,” Kaede muttered with a grimace and a roll of her eyes. “I’m going to have to scold him again.”

“You do you, Mom.”

“Wow, gross.”

At Kaede’s unimpressed look, he really couldn’t help but laugh. Kaede kept that frown of hers, but the atmosphere lightened all the same, and she took a seat next to him. Her dripping, bunched up umbrella laid propped up against the bench.

With a hum, she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and offered it.

“Here. Wipe your face, at least.”

“Thank you, Kae-chan.”

The fabric is expectably soft, with Kaede’s name embroidered in the corner, but flourished to look like the symbols were the notes on a music sheet, with a curly treble clef in front and a pair of eighth notes in the back. Really cute, and completely expected from the style to the pinkish tint. He hums contemplatively.

“So, what were you doing, Kae-chan?”

“Oh, me?” Kaede blinks back at his glance, but answers nonchalantly all the same.  “I was walking Angie-san home. She also forgot her umbrella, you see.”

“Ah, so you shared with Angie-san,” Amami notes, chuckling as his gaze not so subtly flickers down. "That explains how your skirt got wet in spite of the umbrella.”

“Buh! Because she jumped in a puddle!!” Kaede insisted, flushed and fuming. Then with a huff, she turned away in irritation. “I swear sometimes you’re worse than Iruma-san. More insidious.”

“Ooh, that’s a disservice to Iruma-san,” Amami droned. “Because she’s actually a shy maiden, remember?”

“She’s definitely a lot purer than you are,” Kaede said.

“And you, right, Kae-chan?”

Kaede flinched. For a moment, she looked very, genuinely troubled.

Then, shakily, she just laughs.

“That’s... That’s really low... Are you angry at me, Tarou-kun?”

“Oh, no,” he says easily, perking up. “I didn’t really mean anything by that, Kae-chan, I...”

“You’re a liar.”

Ah. Amami shuts his mouth. And she goes on.

“I don’t really have much room to talk, of course... But I like to think I’m managing the best I can... It’s just hard not to fold under everyone’s expectations of me.” She pauses, and then, “I sometimes feel like I’m being dangled like a marionette on strings to the point where my limbs seriously ache... But I can’t just rest. And I can’t just give up, give in, or anything like that.”

“Yes,” he agrees, feeling almost numb. “That is...true, isn’t it?”

“You know it’s the truth, Tarou-kun,” Kaede said matter-of-factly, standing and looking up towards the gray, downcast sky above. “You’re one of few people who do.”

“It’s a mystery how I got to be so privileged,” he replied sardonically, but with a smile playing on his lips.

Kaede just laughs, and it doesn’t sound completely sincere, but it sounds more like her than a lot of the laughs he’s heard throughout their school days.

“It’s a mystery,” she echoes, smiling back at him, looking truly bright against the clouds.

It’s no wonder Saihara-kun and so many others look towards you. He thinks, and despite the strain, his smile widens just a little more. You’re really something else, aren’t you?

--

Saihara is not the first guy to be taken with his dearest childhood friend. He certainly won’t be the last. He’s not even the first guy that he was taken with, only to be stuck watching them fawn over Kaede instead.

He likely won’t be the last. Kaede’s a wonderful person after all.

It’s not as though he’ll love her any less, even as these unfortunate happenstances keep piling up. And, well, he’s certainly had more than a few of Kaede’s crushes confess to him. And Kaede very maturely didn’t say anything to him after he turned them down, even as some had come crying to her after.

He knows all too well what it's like to cry on Akamatsu Kaede’s shoulder. She must have been very careful, letting them sob into her blouse, holding them oh so gently as she cooed and comforted.

And the most grief she’d give him about it was a pained smile. She didn’t even scold him. And, why would she? He hadn’t done anything wrong, per say.

Still, it was...difficult to take at times. Kaede flailing, Kaede flustered with frustration, Kaede smacking his shoulder and turning away with a high and mighty huff... Those times were so much easier.

But, maybe it’d be easier if he accepted that sometimes, he and his dearest childhood friend truly, genuinely, if only for the moment, resent one another.

It’d make all their mockery and jokes at the others’ expense come across as so much crueler, but, hey, at least the two of them would be honest for once.

It’s just that honesty is a dangerous thing.

He knows it.

Kaede knows it.

Honesty can be really, really dangerous and terrifying.

--

“Oh, I know that novel.”

“You... You do?”

“Yeah, a senpai of mine really liked it.” Amami smiles as he recalls, “He gushed about it for a while. I never read it myself, but it sounded really interesting. How funny you’re a fan of it too, Saihara-kun.”

“That’s definitely an interesting coincidence,” Saihara agreed. He stares down at his open book in a way that clearly wasn’t reading, and then he asks, “Amami-kun, you seem to like a lot of different novels. Do you have a favorite genre?”

“Oh, hmm, do I seem like the kind of person who does?”

Despite the joking nature of his grin, and the almost sing-song way he asked, Saihara’s eyes sharpened with a sudden focus.

“You pick a lot of different novels, but, more often than not, they have a dystopian setting. About characters forced to survive in either a crumbling society or a chaotic anarchy. It’s interesting you'd continuously visit that kind of plotline...” He trails off, and then, discomfort distorts his features into something more familiar, expectable, but with a more strained version of Saihara’s small smile. “Or, something like that?”

“Your attention to detail is impressive. Was it picked up from reading so many detective stories?” Amami asks, eyes half-lidded with an undercurrent of amusement. “For a second, Saihara-kun almost looked like a completely different person.”

Saihara ducks his head. Almost like he’s ashamed.

“Ah, but, I don’t mind,” he goes on. “Learning more about Saihara-kun is so enlightening!”

“I-Is it really?” Saihara’s almost unspeakably quiet. His eyes are still hidden by those dark strands.

“Saihara-kun,” Amami says, a little duller but also a little sterner. “You really should have more confidence in yourself, I think. After all...” He’s almost immediately back to cheerful smiles and carefree tones. “It’s much more attractive on you!”

Saihara almost scoffs. “That’s... That sounds ridiculous...”

“It’s true!” he insisted. “Keep in mind, I’m not saying insecurity is a repulsive trait. Most people are insecure. But I think that because it’s such a common hindrance, people are all the more drawn to those who can overcome it with supposed ease. Even people who seem really confident themselves will admire someone who exudes the same level of assurance.”

Saihara blinks at him, eyes looking awfully wide.

“I think one of the most common human desires is to be reassured, be it in that their feelings are validated or that there’s perhaps hope for them in one regard or another,” Amami’s smile widens as he lays his head down upon crossed arms, eyes positively twinkling. “Do you perhaps feel the same way, Saihara-kun?”

“I...” Saihara hesitates. “I, I just...”

“Haha, you don’t have to answer now. I do feel this way quite strongly, but I don’t mean to make the atmosphere so heavy,” Amami practically chirps, “Cheer up, cheer up, it’s just me!”

“Sometimes I really have to wonder about your seriousness, Amami-kun,” Saihara mutters. “Akamatsu-san said something similar to that, but...”

“Oh dear, has Kae-chan been gossiping? I expected so much better of her!”

“It’s...not like that... Akamatsu-san, she...” Saihara almost hisses as he seems to struggle with the words. His frustration is almost palpable, and enough to get Amami’s smile pulling into a downwards frown. “I just...”

“Hey, Saihara-kun, how close would you say you are to Kae-chan right about now?”

“Huh?! I—! T-That’s...!” Saihara’s back to being all flustered and stammering. “I-I haven’t been here for that long, Amami-kun! So how... How am I supposed to...?”

“Well, she’s pretty fond of you,” Amami says matter-of-factly. “When we’re together and when we talk about you, Kae-chan always has nice things to say.”

“Oh, does she...?” He’s definitely embarrassed, and he’s definitely happy if the tugging smile at his lips is any indication.

“Kae-chan likes you,” Amami says, and then, almost blankly, “Just like how she likes everyone.”

“Akamatsu-san’s that kind of person...” Saihara mumbles, nodding in agreement. He didn’t seem to notice. That should be a good thing. But he doesn’t feel all that good when Saihara glances back up at him with an almost rueful smile. “Even if she’s kind to me, I doubt she sees me as a close friend like she does with you, Amami-kun.”

“Ah, but, close friends are all we are,” Amami replies coolly.

Is that really true? It’s not like all close friends are confidants.

Saihara just smiles more, even though it’s clearly forced. “If that’s what you say...”

“You don’t believe me?” he asks, curious. "Do I really come across as someone who would lie about that, Saihara-kun? Especially after all this time?"

“It’s not that you lie, per say...” Saihara muttered, quietly and almost with frustration. “But I can’t help but suspect there’s more to what you do say... Amami-kun.”

“Oh, that’s cold,” Amami says, folded hand against his cheek. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I would’ve thought that’d imply at least a little faith.”

“I-It’s not that I think you're a bad person... You’re free to keep secrets to yourself...”

“Then what’s with that troubled expression, Saihara-kun?”

Saihara doesn’t answer. And so, Amami stood, pushing himself up.

“Come to think of it, I’ve seen Kae-chan with that face before,” he starts, humming contemplatively. “It’s not like I don’t understand. I’ve been around enough people to pick up on how they are.”

“Amami-kun...”

“Saihara-kun,” he returned, seriously enough that Saihara shut his mouth, letting Amami go on, unimpeded. “I really like you. You’re the kind of person that’s easy to root for. Almost an underdog, of sorts, except I think such a term downplays your talents. But, would you like me to be honest?”

“I...” Saihara hesitated. “When you say honest, what do you mean exactly?”

“Oh, that’s an interestingly phrased question,” Amami noted, impressed. “But, of course, what I mean is that I’m going to say something you don’t want to hear. I’ve been sparing your feelings up until now, but it’s starting to risk outright dishonesty towards you. I don’t really want that.”

Saihara swallows, and though he’s still speaking quietly, there’s a firmness to his tone as well. “If you have something to say, you should say it.”

...That's definitely something Kae-chan would say. He can’t help but think. His smile falters. If nothing else, her admirable traits have rubbed off on you. But you’re still so adorably reserved.

“Kae-chan...is off limits, you see.” He’s almost careful in how he words it. Almost. “I was not lying about Kae-chan being my friend and nothing more, but that doesn’t mean I tolerate other guys trying to pursue her.”

“That’s...” Saihara snapped up, almost disbelieving. But he keeps his stare down, muttering, “There’s more to it, isn’t there?”

That isn’t obvious?

“Well, of course there is. People and their relationships are complicated. I, Kae-chan, and our relationship are not exceptions. But you’re not going to get a detailed explanation on that from me.” His smile saddens, just a bit. “I’m sorry, Saihara-kun. That’s a little too personal.”

Saihara stands, almost knocking the chair back, and he’s much louder than before.

“Amami-kun...”

Amami simply pushes in his chair, humming as he did.

“Amami-kun.”

Saihara’s normally soft voice is harder, more aggravated. He’s never heard it quite like that before. He can’t say he’s too fond of it. In the very least, he’s definitely not happy about it.

“I am terribly sorry for not speaking up sooner,” Amami finds himself saying. “As I said, I didn’t wish to upset you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything, Amami-kun?” Saihara asks, clenching his fists tight. When Amami doesn’t immediately answer, and just keeps on smiling sadly, Saihara slams his hand down on the table’s surface. “Please, just say something!”

Amami didn’t even flinch. His smile just pulls down a little more.

“Please don’t hurt yourself, Saihara-kun.”

Saihara doesn’t say anything to that. He just draws his hand back, sighs, and shakes his head before shutting the still open book. He returns the book to its place on the shelf. He had marked where it had been earlier—Saihara really was such a diligent person.

Amami tugs a bit at his cover, noting that Saihara’s eyes are almost completely hidden by those dark blue strands. He can’t help but think about how there’s probably a reason that Saihara has allowed his bangs to grow so long and doesn’t even bother to clip them back. Flickering his gaze downwards, Amami gives a sigh of his own.

“Saihara-kun, if you’re angry at me, I understand.”

“I’m not angry,” Saihara says, but he’s still not looking his direction at all. “I’m just very frustrated, Amami-kun. How am I supposed to understand your feelings if you don’t talk to me? I’m not a detective.”

“You are very perceptive,” Amami argues. “And you’d be very dependable—if only you just had more confidence...”

Saihara trembles for just a bit.

“Even if it’s something you can say easily...”

“No, I didn’t mean to imply anything untoward,” he quickly says. Maybe, just maybe his usual smile is more forced this time. “I haven’t forgotten that you do try, Saihara-kun. My memory is terrible, but—I do try to remember significant things.”

Saihara looked at him this time. Saihara’s gentle gaze then was—very sad, honestly. He wonders how his smile must look now when it doesn’t feel like anything.

Have I always felt this way? Have I always been this way?

Goodness. What a despairing thought.

“Amami-kun... I...” Saihara hesitated, but then, with surprising assertion, he said, “I’m going to talk to Akamatsu-san about this.”

“Do you think you’ll get a straight answer from Kae-chan?” A bit of detestable resentment tugged at the edge of his smile. “Okay. Go ahead, Saihara-kun.”

“I...” Saihara swallowed, but then, “I will.”

With that, Saihara left with purpose. He pulled himself away from the scene with such drive that really, Amami could have resented him too.

You’re supposed to be reserved. It’s part of what makes you cute.

Having such resolve is...really intimidating, Saihara-kun.

His face felt hot. He really couldn’t tell from what. He really—wasn’t sure what he’d do if he realized.

A part of him hoped to forget it quickly—and another wanted to hold onto it tight and never let go.

How troublesome.

--

His mind went mercifully blank soon enough. He can’t really remember what happened or—how he got here, for that matter.

He does vaguely recognize these flowers. Oh, he knows the type without a doubt—red tulips, right? His parents had considered naming their third daughter that, but it was too eccentric of a name, so they went with Sumire, instead—but he’s struggling a bit to recall which class planted and tended to this garden.

No one in our grade, right?

Humming thoughtfully, he presses his chin into his palm, elbow digging a little harder into his lap.

Oh, yes, wasn’t it one of the classes below ours...?

“Tarou-kun.”

He perks up, and turns with a carefree smile and a cheerful greeting as would be expected.

“Ah, hello, Kae-chan,” Amami pauses, taking her in, the way golden light is casted against her, still making her look so bright in spite of how darker it was getting outside. He soon goes on, “Lovely, isn’t it? Our underclassmen sure are an impressive bunch.”

Kaede doesn’t say anything.

And he laughs.

“I’m really glad you’re here, actually. As happy as I am to have found this garden, I have no idea where I am.” His smile widens, just a bit more. “I’m hopelessly lost, Kae-chan.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she replies quietly. “I figured you would be.”

“Oh, you really do know me so well!” he chirped.

...doesn’t she?

“Tarou-kun,” she says, and she doesn’t miss a beat. “You told Saihara-kun the truth.” There’s barely even a pause. “Why?”

He blinked a few times, perhaps taken aback or taken by confusion. But he sees that her fists are tightening.

“He confessed to me, Tarou-kun.”

Oh, so he did.

“So he did...” he muses aloud, almost absentmindedly. He chuckles, but it’s blanker, more obviously vapid. “Well, obviously, you turned him down. I hope he didn’t get upset.”

“Saihara-kun, he...” She trails off and stops before shaking her head. “You really liked him, didn’t you?”

“Well, of course,” Amami says easily, still with that shallow smile. “Saihara-kun is such a likeable person. And so endearing. I’m definitely quite fond of him.”

“I...” Kaede hesitates, and then, “I’m sorry, Tarou-kun.”

“For what?” he asked. This time, he’s nothing but confused. His posture’s straightened. He’s gotten more attentive.

“I think... Saihara-kun will grow to like you quite a bit, too...” She goes on, quietly and almost sheepishly. “You’re a good person, and...you have your good points... As your best friend, I know that better than anyone... So, surely, Saihara-kun will...”

“Kaede.”

She stops almost immediately.

Then, with a sigh, she returns, “Rantarou.”

“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” he says, and he’s looking back at the flowers.

And so they don’t.

Instead, she wipes her hands off her skirt. Instead, she kneels by his side. Instead, she bumps him with her shoulder. She bumps him twice, in fact.

She’s not really looking at him. It’s almost like she’s ashamed. Like she feels guilty. Or maybe she’s just upset. But, eventually, she glances back, meeting his gaze and—her usually stern eyes look almost...piteous.

Something inside him is bubbling up, harsh and hot—and whatever it is just fizzles completely out when he leans in, presses his face into her shoulder, and lets out a coldly cheerful laugh.

“Kae-chan,” he starts. “I’m sorry.”

Kaede is very, very still at first. Slowly, but surely, her arms begin to circle around him.

And he just can’t stop talking.

“I really quite liked Saihara-kun.” His whisper is as soft as it is smooth. Like stating a cold fact. “I really liked him, but, Kae-chan, I’m starting to wonder if I’m even capable of having deeper feelings for someone like that. I don’t—I like him, but I don’t...”

He hasn’t started shaking. But she holds him as if he has, tight and close.

“Kae-chan, how long have I been this worryingly shallow? Do you know? Kaede, do you know? Have I always been this way?” He laughs and, “How despairing—that’s so despairing.”

“Stop. Just—stop talking like that.” Kaede took a deep hitched breath and pleaded, “Please.”

He does. He’s quiet. So quiet it’s a wonder if he’s breathing. He’s not even sure himself if he is.

“Tarou-kun,” she says. “I’m...sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Well, I forgive you.”

He doesn’t struggle in saying that. Not even a little.

Neither of them don’t say anything else. Kaede just gives him one last squeeze before the two of them really have to be on their way. And, almost like she’s worried about him drifting off and away, she grips his hand tightly as she tugs him along.

There’s a nostalgia to this moment, but—

While Kaede no doubt recalled it, he simply couldn’t remember at all.

He doesn’t say anything about that, either, unsurprisingly.

--

The daylight of a school morning was as bright and imposing as others, with many missing the fleeting taste of their three-day break. But the students were quick in catching up and bustling, laughing about what happened on their eventful or not-so-eventful days, and as always, Kaede was quick in greeting everyone with a wave and a sunny smile. She shone as always, perhaps even more so due to the recent piano recital in everyone’s minds where she played spectacularly and movingly. As always.

There’s some distance between the two of them, and he doesn’t mind at all. He really doesn’t. Kaede is laughing, Kaede is smiling, but there’s a cold silence whenever they brush past each other and—it’ll pass. It’s passed before and he can’t even remember what their last slightly significant feud was even about.

So this too, will pass, and he’ll forget all about what caused it. So someday, it’ll be insignificant.

Insignificant—

“Oh, Saihara-kun,” Kaede says, a little too loudly to be natural, but still as friendly as ever. “Good morning!”

He looks back. Saihara has tensed, but he nods, not meeting Kaede’s eyes—he never meets anyone’s eyes, does he—and despite everything, he manages a small smile.

“Akamatsu-san,” he returns, shutting his eyes and smiling a bit wider, even with that tense little corner of his lips. “Good morning. It’s good to see you’re doing well.”

Amami moves without thinking, and he really isn’t thinking about how Kaede nods back, how Kaede waves one last time before being on her way, and how—how Saihara stares after her so pensively, so full of thought and emotion.

“Saihara-kun,” he says, getting Saihara’s attention. Saihara perks up, turns back, but he quickly ducks his head.

“Good morning, Amami-kun.” His voice is low. Everything about him is as uncertain as it is—tense.

It’s a kind of stiffness that hurts a little.

But still, he laughs, lightly as always.

“Haha, greetings, greetings, Saihara-kun. How was your break?”

“Oh...” Saihara paused. “It was nice.”

“Oh,” Amami says so brightly. “How good. I’m glad. Did you visit your uncle?”

“Yes...” He nodded quickly. “I did.”

“Oh, was he of good health?”

Another nod.

“I see, I see. How nice. I...”

Really? He stops himself. For just a moment as thoughts come through. You’re seriously bothering with a one-sided conservation this dreary? Something you’ll undoubtedly forget the second it’s over?

“I...”

How disgusting.

“I’m... I’m glad. Haha. Haha.”

And yet.

“You seem to be doing well as well, Saihara-kun. How lovely. I’m glad.”

Have you always been this way?

“Thank you...” Saihara’s almost too quiet. But he’s still being polite, even when so uncertain. “Um, Amami-kun, look...”

“Huh, huh?” He tilts his head, smiling and feeling nothing of the sort. “What is it, what is it?”

Why?

“Akamatsu-san...turned me down as you probably guessed,” he mutters it, like it’s something he’s not sure if Amami knows already or not. That’s fine. That’s fine. “But we’re still friends so I’m...alright.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Saihara goes on. “I’m fine, really—it hurts a little, but I know I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Haha. That’s great. I’m glad.”

Why?

“Um...” Saihara hesitates just a little move, never meeting his gaze or his smile. Amami’s eyes are shut, but he knows well enough how Saihara’s physically reacting without the need to see it for himself. “So... Ah. I...also wanted to...”

“Wanted what?” he asks cheerfully.

“Um...” Saihara hesitates even more. He shuffles uncomfortably under a cool, blank green gaze. “I just wanted...”

Amami waits.

“I wanted to know if you were alright,” Saihara mutters, fixated on some indistinct corner. “We’re also friends so, if something’s bothering you, Amami-kun...”

“Oh...” He just smiles more. “Haha, I’m fine. But thank you for worrying about me, Saihara-kun.”

Please help me.

“It’s nothing,” Saihara says, shrugging. “I mean, we’re friends so...”

“Oh, of course,” Amami agrees. Distantly, except he sounds as he always does, smiling merrily as he always is. But—for some reason, he reaches out and—

So very gently—

He brushes the hair from Saihara’s face to get a proper look at his eyes. Saihara’s pretty eyes going immediately wide and—ah, that’s definitely fear like one would see in a cornered animal. That’s definitely alarm and there’s never been a sound that’s resounded in his head quite as much as that of Saihara slapping his hand away.

His hand stings. He thinks. He doesn’t really feel it, even as he rubs at it.

“O-Oh...” Saihara’s completely lost face and confidence now. He looks beyond guilt-ridden and apologetic. He swings down for a bow. “I’m—I’m sorry! I just... I’m so sorry, Amami-kun... I’m so sorry...”

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” he says. He’s still smiling. “You’re still a very good friend, Saihara-kun.”

Saihara flinched at that. But otherwise, he seems to be paralyzed.

Thankfully, Amami can tell with a quick glance that no one’s really paying attention to them—at most, their gazes are very purposely avoidant. It’s a good thing none of their nosier classmates are present. It’s fortunate.

“I’m very sorry, Saihara-kun,” Amami goes on. For once, his tone is a little lower, more solemn. “Ah, please forget about all this. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine—and I’ll be seeing you, Saihara-kun.”

Saihara perks up, just a little, slowly straightening himself but not quite.

“Amami-kun, I...”

I really like you.

For a moment, his smile feels pained.

But that moment soon passes.

“I’ll be seeing you,” Amami repeats, and he goes on his way.

“I’ll...see you...” Saihara tentatively responds as he does.

For a while, he can feel Saihara staring after him, no doubt worried and uncertain, and for a while, he quickens his pace just a little until that feeling goes away.

There’s a glare through the windows from the sun, and with a grimace, he threw his arm up to guard his eyes from it.

[violeswaifu]

🌸YUKIMURA CHARACTER/ROUTE/EVENTS SPAM!!🌸:

Lately I’ve done a lot of spams that I hope people have liked. I’ve done a spam on a lot of shadow routes but also 2/3 of the top rated Slbp rated characters.

(Saizo✅ and Masamune✅)

(I combined Saizo’s with his little brother, both different summaries ofc)

So I guess it’s time to include Yukimura in a spam? Here’s my collection of photos of him and lengthy opinions as always. Like a lot of words ahead

Our lovely Donut lover. I actually like donuts a lot and this is something we have in common so like +500 for you

The Sanada brothers are so amazing and adorable haha. Nobuyuki was actually in an event recently, idk what to think yet but he’s hilarious in the routes/events. Yukimura has a really fun and unproblematic family so it’s always refreshing 😂 (totally not hinting at Saizo and mainly Masamune)

Our so called shy boy seems to know what he’s doing hey?

☝🏼these screenshots were right next to a picture of my husbands (like my real life one) sleeping face and idek why but it was hilarious.

Did you read the claim me at last epilogue or remember it? If you want more screenshots of it let me know 😂it’s a will do

I always like including these type of pictures, considering giving a girl a hairpin or Kanzashi, often were signs of marital status, class, etc. But right here samurai give their women hairpins as in a marriage proposal, correct me if I’m wrong though

So before we begin: I tried my best with this review, for some reason writing this review had me on like 100 with being hyper. I also asked a friend to assist me since it’s been awhile since I’ve done Yukimura’s

Route summary as always kinda spoilers:

Remember how I said Masamune’s route gave me my virginity back? Yeah Yukimura’s is full on cavity sugar filled rom-com with the dark military drama

He’s kinda like a “I SHALL GIVE MY LIFE FOR MY CLAN AND MILORD SHINGEN! 😈” but mixed with a “😳🥺”

Sanada Yukimura , The Sword of Japan. One of the Sanada Ten Braves and second son of the Sanada clan

favorite food consist of donuts🍩

His weakness: women

So basically as most light routes go:

you get sent off as a poison tester in place of your younger brother Yahiko. Disguised as Yahiko you arrive to Shingen’s castle with a big pat on the back.

No really Yukimura was quick to welcome you into the ranks of men. Gotta be with the bros right? He’s so cheery about it too, like he’s so pumped up about MC being there that his retainer even had a: “I didn’t know you were doing that kind of recruiting” statement

I’d also like to add, Yukimura and Masamune visit each other’s routes quite often 😂

(tbf the only reason Masamune found out MC was a girl was because he pulled out his sword on Masamune and it cut her. SO THANKS YUKI!)

This was from a recent event story 👇🏼

Anyways, as Yuki starts to experience confusing attractions to MC (his whole experience with this is fucking hilarious)

But bam all of a sudden Yukimura finds out the MC is actually a woman because silly MC ups and slips off the roof one lovely evening and by accident he touches her chest while grabbing her. He puts two and two together then realizes, “oh shit” she was a girl.

He’s so horrified from having done this to her that he later swears to protect her and help keep her identity a secret. (He’s so cute isn’t he 😂)

Long story short, this fails because Saizo figures it all out (ofc he did lmfao) tells Shingen

she almost died

Spoiler: After Saizo and Shingen engage in a conversation about this, they concluded that MC might be a spy for the Oda. So they ordered her to be beheaded (ouch)

and then Yukimura is like

“WAIT SHES MY WIFE!”

then next thing you know they’re on their way to meet the Sanada fam.

So although there is the cute, happy parts, you’ve gotta expect the sadness ahead.

So one thing, as always the parents in this game aren’t always angelic..or alive.. haha sorry

Yuki’s dad well his dad’s expectations for Yuki is to die in battle basically. So that’s pretty interesting to look for in this route. Especially because MC’s father died giving his life up to war.

MC is pretty badass in this one too, she’s got her risky battles and their hard challenges.

MC is awesome because yk she’s not gonna just let this guy go and kill himself.

So she does something special

Spoiler:

She gave her dads hairpin to him before battle so as a promised he’ll live to return it for her.

To conclude:

MC: 9.5/10

Funny and cheesy vigin 101: 10/10

Sadness and angst: 7.8/10

Hot and bothered: just wait for the claim me at last event

Anyways Yuki is really fun and events don’t do him justice with his goofiness. I’d say it’s definitely worth it. Saizo and Yuki are definitely a good pair to do

Hell finish off the family and do Nobuyuki and Shingen next if you haven’t done it 😂

If you haven’t done Shingen’s yet: Beware, his is literally so smutt filled 🌝

Any questions or want recommendations just comment below.

Want me to do another character that I haven’t done?

(Someone actually asked about the top three the other day @gay-noodle-clan thanks for the idea 🥰)

-Raaven

-(Thanks Phebe for the help with this!)

Oh yeah I wrote this at 1:20am exactly for no specific reason.. it’s currently 9:20am and I’ve edited this so if you saw this before the edit..I’m sorry you had to see the hyper

Shadow routes I’ve reviewed:

Naraukami Kyoichiro

Kirigakure Hotaru

Mitsuba Kaede/Sogo

Routes I’m currently doing: Fujibayashi Genya

Routes I’m doing next: Fujibayashi Sakuya

My Favorite routes:

Hotaru and Kyoichiro (they are the best pair to do in the shadow routes)

[bullshittierlists]

Spoiler Warning!!! - This review will contain spoilers for all of SDR2 and the first chapter of DRV3 as well as slight spoilers for DR1. You’ve been warned.

I see no god up here other than me

Gundham Tanaka- His name is GUNDHam TaNAKA

Sonia Nevermind- This is my third time typing this rant. I literally don’t know why people hate her so much?? There are two main arguments that I’ve come across. The first is that she is boring and shouldn’t have survived, but that’s the same as Asahina and everyone seems to love her. (Don’t get me wrong, I also love her, but all she had were donuts and her relationship with Sakura) She’s just a cute girl with some occult-ish quirks and I don’t see why that has to be such a bad thing. The other, more prevalent, argument is that since she’s at the center of the infamous love triangle, she must be the root of all its problems. It’s really frustrating when people blame her for Kazuichi’s faults. I’ll talk more about Kazuichi later, but his terrible qualities are a result of his own actions, and Sonia shouldn’t be blamed for being the object of his affections. It’s honestly blaming the victim and I’m sick of it. Obviously, she hasn’t treated him perfectly and I understand why people are frustrated with it. The only example of this, though, is in chapter four when she goes back-and-forth between treating him coldly and praising him when she should’ve just rejected him a long time ago. However, I think I can understand where she’s coming from in this chapter. I think it was kind of a Shuichi/Kaede situation. She had already figured out that Gundham was the killer, but didn’t want to admit it to herself, and definitely didn’t want to tell everyone else even though he was more than ready to admit it. Therefore, she treated Kazuichi coldly whenever he was getting close to the truth (or treating her poorly) and praised him whenever he was leading the group in the wrong direction. I don’t have any evidence that these were the times she treated him this way, but that’s how I remember it. Anyway, Kazuichi should stop being a creep, and apologists should stop rationalizing it. Her one slip-up in this case when she was panicked and worried for her closest friend does not make up for all of the other times Kazuichi treated her terribly.

You’re the best

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu- Boss baby boss baby boss baby. Also, he’s a fantastically fleshed out character and his relationship with Peko makes me cry literally every time :)  I just wish his character development had been a bit more stretched out, instead of on-the-spot like it was. I also kinda wish his sudden development had been a result of the despair disease, but you can’t have everything.

Nagito Komaeda- Recently, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how SimpleFlips calls softlocking in SM64 “gay baby jail” and Komaeda makes me think of that.

Chiaki Nanami- I’m not quite as attached to her as everyone else seems to be, but I totally see the appeal. Cute girl, cute backpack, and plot-relevant??? Incredible.

Ibuki Mioda- She’s just so fun. I don’t typically like characters who are loud for the sake of being loud, but I can’t help but love her. This was the first game I fully voice-acted for fun (the girls, at least) and Ibuki was definitely one of my favorites. It just feels good to yell sometimes, you know?

Hey, I think you’re pretty cool, I like you a lot

Peko Pekoyama- I’m a simple woman. I think of chapter two, I cry. At least, the epilogue of that case. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Twilight Syndrome Murder Case and I definitely didn’t like the, albeit fake, serial killer twist. It didn’t feel natural and just felt bad. Loved hearing Sonia say “Sparkling Justice!”, though.

Hiyoko Saionji- I totally understand why people hate her. I get it, I do. But I just can’t bring myself to hate her. She’s obviously not a good person, but I have shit taste. Byakuya and Kokichi aren’t good people, but everyone loves them anyway. I just think she’s so funny and terrible, I can’t help but get attached. I’m not usually the type to like little sister characters, or even bullies, but she’s just such a perfect combination of the two that I can’t help but love her. I also obviously am not the biggest fan of Mikan (I’ll explain, I swear) so the bullying didn’t really affect me too much.

Hajime Hinata- He’s the protagonist. I don’t really know what to tell you. I used to believe in Hajime supremacy, but I’m starting to understand the Shuichi supremacy now, so idk, Hajime might end up lower after I finish V3.

Byakuya Togami/Ultimate Imposter- He’s just such a good guy. I know that the real Byakuya is an ass, but the imposter is so nice and supportive. I can’t even take him seriously as Byakuya anymore because of how supportive he is. The real Byakuya could never. I just finished his last free-time event and he really feels like his own person now, which I can imagine is all he’s ever wanted. He isn’t Byakuya to me anymore, he’s himself. I just don’t have a unique name to call him by.

I remember you

Mahiru Koizumi- Her photography thing was cute, I liked it a lot. I don’t know the basic stance people take on her crush on Hajime, but I thought it was really cute and believable. I don’t know if I ship it, but I can see it in canon. It makes sense and works well.

Akane Owari- She’s a jock. I feel pretty neutral about jocks unless they have another prevalent thing that fits my interests.

Nekomaru Nidai- Again, a jock. I’m just not the biggest fan. I know that his backstory makes up for a lot of his inherent jock boringness, but I just can’t get into him as much as some other people can. I definitely see the appeal, though.

Usami/Monomi- She’s a mascot. Cool. Honestly preferred Monophanie.

You are literally the worst. Actual scum. Leave this planet and never return

Mikan Tsumiki- I told you I’d explain. First, I need to explain some personal reasons I didn’t like her, rather than objective characteristics. Like I mentioned with Ibuki, I voice-acted the whole game with each of the girls. Never before has a voice physically affected me as much as Mikan’s. In order to make her voice so high and quiet, I have to close my throat and tighten my jaw. It makes my throat, jaw, and head hurt all at the same time and it feels awful. The only time this wasn’t the case was during her breakdown and that’s because I couldn’t make her say those things with that voice, it didn’t make sense. Which brings me to my next point: her breakdown. I didn’t like it. At all. It wasn’t interesting and it didn’t make sense. I know that everyone else was sad because she was bullied a bunch and began to romanticize it, and yeah, I feel bad, but it wasn’t enough to make me like her. Her breakdown made a little more sense after watching the anime, believe it or not, but it was still not great. She could’ve been easily redeemed for me if she had a different motive for killing Hiyoko. I don’t really have an opinion on whether or not Ibuki should’ve lived longer, or even survived, but I definitely agree with Hiyoko dying during the third case, I just wish the motive had been different. It would’ve been so powerful if Mikan’s despair disease had made her remember her past with the bullying, and then she realized how much she hated it. She started to notice how Hiyoko was treating her and finally snaps. She kills Hiyoko in cold blood on purpose, instead of on accident, and covers it up in a more reasonable way instead the literal impossibility that we actually got. Then, in her breakdown, instead of pleading for forgiveness, she tries to rationalize her actions and convince everyone else that she was in the right by killing her. It would’ve been much more interesting and would’ve made much more sense. I also wish she had made use of Ibuki’s despair disease (which made her gullible) and commanded her to hang herself instead of staging the other thing, because it was a lot of extra work that was really unnecessary and it would’ve made more use of the despair disease other than a plot contrivance for Junko’s entrance. This kind of turned into my review for the third chapter, but still. Killers are always more fleshed out in their respective chapters, so their existence is often pretty much tied to the events of that chapter, since everything typically revolves around them. I might as well add here that her execution was really basic and underwhelming, but as far as I’ve seen, I’m not alone in that opinion.

Monokuma- It’s kind of an ironic hate with Monokuma. Sure, he makes me laugh, but he’s also fuel for the killing game, so... I don’t know. He pisses me off sometimes, but he’s also pretty funny at other times.

Kazuichi Souda- This is basically a continuation of the Sonia rant, so here we go. I would like to preface this by saying that in the context of Kazuichi’s free-time events, he’s one of my favorite characters. However, in the main story, I placed him here. I would normally average out my opinions of his different forms, but his optional events don’t make up for his actions that are required to be experienced. While some of his quips toward Sonia made me laugh, they still made me uncomfortable to some extent. It’s honestly frustrating to see him try so hard when she obviously isn’t interested in him. Some people choose to see this as an underdog story, but I think it’s just annoying and low-key creepy. He’s constantly fetishizing Sonia and keeps making moves on her even after she treats him coldly. He isn’t brave or cool for doing this, like the media would like you to believe, he’s creepy and persistent, and not in a good way. While I do agree that Sonia should’ve just turned him down from the very beginning, I still don’t put all of that blame on her. I’m sure she’s had her fair share of creepy guys making advances on her and she’s just had to take it, since she’s a princess and it would hurt her noble reputation. Kazuichi should also be able to think for himself and see that she’s not interested. It shouldn’t be completely up to her to get him to stop. He should be able to take a hint and back off, whether she tells him directly or otherwise. She definitely hints to him that she’s not interested in some of the later chapters, but he completely ignores it and keeps trying anyway. I wouldn’t have such a problem with him if he didn’t represent a very real issue that we are facing in the world today. Nice guys will, unfortunately, always be plaguing our society and it doesn’t look like they’re getting any better. It doesn’t help that the media continually raises them up and convinces them that they are in the right, even though they definitely aren’t. No man is entitled to any woman and people need to stop sympathizing with men who are rejected and keep pushing. In almost every post I’ve seen from Kazuichi apologists, they explain that Sonia should’ve given him a chance. Really? She did give him a chance. She gave him several chances, in fact, more than she was entitled to. The first time she acted coldly towards him was at the end of chapter 4. That’s four entire chapters, plus a prologue, of chances that she gave him. She was always polite and talked to him when he approached her. Maybe she saw this as her noble duty, but either way, she didn’t reject him outright the first time she saw him. She tried to be friends, he was creepy, and then she started to hint that she wasn’t interested. This is a natural progression for her character and is in no way wrong of her. He is not entitled to her attention and should learn to back off when he’s not wanted. The other big reason I see that people don’t like Sonia is because she basically ruined any chance of Kazuichi and Gundham having any sort of relationship other than rivals. Again, it’s not Sonia’s fault that they both liked her. It’s also not her fault for choosing Gundham over Kazuichi, since he treated her respectfully and they also shared interests. She also didn’t need a specific reason to choose Gundham over Kazuichi, because she is free to make her own choices based on anything she wants, including nothing. Even though I said all of this, I do actually wish that Gundham and Kazuichi could’ve had some kind of relationship. I think it could’ve been very interesting, but it didn’t need to be devoid of Sonia. I think it would’ve been just as interesting for Gundham and Kazuichi to talk with Sonia as it would’ve been for her to introduce them to each other more formally and get them to become friends. I think it could’ve been fun for Kazuichi to have a little playful resentment towards Gundham for getting the girl, but instead, he went completely off the deep end. If he had just backed off like I suggested earlier, maybe they could’ve had that relationship that everyone longed for. I am also obligated to say here that I think all of his free-time events were absolutely adorable and the fact that he gets motion sickness is the single best piece of comedy every written.

Teruteru Hanamura- I’ve been doing a lot of rants and I’m kind of tired of it. You know why I don’t like him, I don’t need to explain it. He’s shitty, blah blah blah. His tiny bit of plot with his mother didn’t really do anything to redeem him for me and I just plain don’t like him. Sorry, not sorry.

Wow, this took way too long. I forgot I had so many opinions on these characters. I would’ve said a lot more about Gundham, but it’s kind of my thing here to say more about my second favorite characters and characters that I don’t like than my favorite characters, and I knew there were going to be several rants, so I decided to keep his very short. My definitive favorites list is Gundham and then Sonia, with a pending Fuyuhiko in third. The four dark devas are the best characters and I’m so upset they weren’t on here. I would apologize for my Kazuichi rant, since it had two parts, both of which were very long, but it all needed to be said because I’m sick and tired of Kazuichi apologists. They keep coming across my dash and I would like to be rid of them. If you like Kazuichi, that’s fine, I actually quite like him, too, you just need to acknowledge his faults instead of just rationalizing them in a bad way. If someone wants to send me reasons why Sonia is terrible, I’ll listen, because I’m sure I’m probably being a bit of a Sonia apologist, although I feel like her actions were a lot less impactful. Sondam supremacy, thank you, goodnight.

[cynthiaandsamus]

Custom Toonami Block Week 66 Rundown

Code Geass: Lelouch has to stop the execution of all his side characters while dealing with his Fake Za Warudo little brother. Eventually he hacks his way into Rolo’s tragic backstory and plans out a cheesy sitcom character arc for him where found family wins out even though they’re enemies which someone as lovestarved as Rolo can’t help but eat up. It’s almost like sending someone who does exclusively assassinations and has never been in social situations long enough to form a personality and stops time to murder people at the drop of a hat to do a deep cover year long infiltration mission where he has to get emotionally close to the target was a terrible idea. Anyway Lelouch has Rolo on his side now and I’m sure that won’t backfire in any way.

Inuyasha: Muso continues to try and capture Kagome before getting Wind Scar’d into an existential crisis and going back to Onigumo’s cave to remember his shit. Kaede immediately puts together who Muso is and leads Kagome there but Inuyasha and co. are too stupid to figure it out so Naraku straight up takes Kagura out of gay baby jail for betraying him to send her to go tell them the answer. Naraku goes to brag about being able to go kill Kikyo like Voldermort touching Harry in Goblet of Fire but it backfires since apparently simping for Kikyo is engraved in his soul and he still can’t hurt her which makes his attempt at bragging really awkward and he has to go get Muso back. Meanwhile Muso’s turned into a demon scorpion, and stabs Inuyasha through the gut, as you do.

Yu Yu Hakusho: Kuwabara starts up his fight with Byakko, the beast that chases Botan and Keiko in the opening even though they’re barely in this arc. Weirdly enough he shows off his new powers BEFORE the fight so there’s no suspense to getting his new move when he finally pulls it out. Not sure if this is cool or not, on the one hand it means that Kuwabara has to do more than just show a new technique to be cool enough to finish on, on the other hand the fight is still basically using that technique and slightly altering it, and knowing that his sword can get long now takes some of the punch out of it, kinda mixed on this one.

Fate Zero: Okay so this first episode is long so I’mma try to cliffnotes this shit. Basically the Grail War starts up ad we have our combatants, a high schooler because every anime needs one of those, male Homura Akemi, Priest Alucard who’s acting more like Father Anderson in this role, Rin’s dad Miles Edgeworth, the current host of the Aburame Clan’s secret bug jutsu who’s just trying to save a child and must be punished for it, and that one racist teacher you had in high school that everyone has to pretend to respect. Last person’s still unaccounted for but this seems fun so far, the fucking lore is still dense as stone but the premise is ‘bunch of assholes want fight for big wish’ so I can get around that part.

Konosuba: Kazuma is run over by a car and… BECOMES A SPIRIT DECTIVE, FIGHTING GHOSTS AND DEMONS WITH HIS FINGERTIP LASERS! Wait, wrong anime, still kinda makes me laugh though out of all the weird isekai premises that kill off the main character, Konosuba ups the anty on the whole “Oh no, the person you saved would’ve been better off if you left them alone” thing from Yu Yu Hakusho. Anyway I’m pretty sure you guys all know the story of Konosuba by now, useless goddesses, RPG worlds, isekai shenanigans. I kind of really like how even though it’s cynical and sarcastic, it’s not a dour hopeless affair, there’s this odd upbeat charm that even though nothing’s going our heroes’ way that they’ll still be okay and find happiness where they can. This very easily could’ve become an Everybody Hates Chris thing where the world’s just shitting on them all the time and the story becomes predictable because you know nothing will every work out for them but this does a good job of making them underdogs while still throwing them bones every now and them, underbones for underdogs.

Sailor Moon Crystal: Usagi is an average kid, that no one understands… actually she’s quite a bit below average, she kinda gives Aqua a run for her money in uselessness, she’s essentially High School Dropout Barbie in this episode which is weird but I also know it’s to give her room to grow and also that she’s not meant to carry the whole show by herself. It’s just kinda amusing how the whole episode paints Usagi as not particularly good at anything or even all that nice, even after she gets her powers they essentially run on autopilot and beat the monster for her. Still it is a good spot that she wants to help her friend and I like how they keep Tuxedo Mask’s involvement to a minimum, like he doesn’t actually do anything (memes) and is just like “you got this” which is not necessarily the reaction you’d have to someone who literally beat a crowd into submission by crying at them but it’s nice to have him in an emotionally supportive role for this first outing. I’m not quite sure how this series will sit with me overall but I feel like I’ll get a better feel for it once we have the ensemble gathered and hit our stride here.

Durarara!!: The Human traffickers from Episode 1 screw up and take a totally legit Japanese man who’s definitely not an Italian illegal immigrant for Seiji’s sister’s fucked up pharmaceuticals experiments. Unfortunately said totally legit Japanese man is a tertiary friend of Dotachin’s group and they hunt their asses down. Celty’s also on the case but by the time she gets there they’ve already found them and given them manga-based torture sessions to find out their secrets so everything’s cool. Man these guys ride or die like nobody’s business, they freaking love this Italian dude for getting their friend tickets to an Idol show and giving language-based malapropisms, what bros they are.

Overall the three new shows worked out pretty well this week, Sailor Moon’s a bit of a rocky start but I knew that getting into it. I like the setup for Fate Zero a lot better than the start of Unlimited Blade Works so I’m excited for where that’ll go. And Konosuba did put a big dumb smile on my face with its hard luck lighthearted antics so I’m looking forward to the future of the block for the next few weeks.

[murasaki-murasame]

Danganronpa V3 Liveblog Part 13 [Chapter 4 - Deadly Life]

I think it took me nearly half of this entire post to actually start talking about the investigation and the murder case as a whole because I got deep into Retrospective Mode [tm], lol. The latter part of this might seem disjointed and confusing because I kept rewriting parts of it, and in general I’ve been writing this post on and off for hours now while doing other stuff so I wasn’t perfectly keeping track of the flow of it.

Thoughts under the cut.

Before I talk about this part, I kinda forgot to actually talk about the plot-related hints we got in the last part. There was so much other stuff to talk about that I kinda forgot to get around to that part.

So now we have a whole collection of assorted vague hints about what happened before the killing game and what the state of the outside world is, and the question is how they interconnect. I might be forgetting some stuff, but to list it out a bit, we have the hints about Rantarou being a survivor from a previous killing game who actively wanted to participate in this one. We have the references to the Ultimate Hunt that was seemingly about hunting down and possibly killing Ultimates, which seemed to lead to everyone voluntarily undergoing amnesia in order to forget their talents and become ‘normal people’ who won’t be hunted anymore. We have the weird flashback to what seemed to be a joint funeral for the main cast, which is strange for a variety of reasons, including the question of why they’d be grouped together if they were all from different schools. We have the memories of meteorites falling to Earth and threatening some sort of apocalyptic scenario. We have the memories of a cult or some such that popped up at the time, preaching that mankind deserved damnation. We have references to a plan called the Gofer Project that was apparently designed to stop the meteorties but somehow failed. And now we have the whole scenario of everyone stuck in this walled-in academy playing a killing game. Which is obviously normal enough for this franchise, but the really weird thing is that Monokuma’s been very consistent in saying that ‘nothing exists outside of the End Wall’, and that because of that point, he’s not doing this out of a desire to broadcast the killing game to the outside world. Which throws a lot of things into question, since the goal of the killing games has basically always been to instill despair in the population by having it be publicly broadcasted.

It’s also worth remembering that the game started with what seemed to be some kind of time loop where, originally, everyone woke up in regular uniforms and no memories of even their talents, but then when they met Monokuma and the Monokubs, things got ‘reset’ somehow, and things started over in the exact same way, but with everyone wearing their more unique and personalized uniforms, and with memories of their talents. Kaede and Shuichi also woke up in classroom closets that were placed right next to each other, which still feels a bit fishy to me. Oh, and I imagine that sometime after this, Rantarou probably found and watched the video that his past self seemingly left for him, and that was probably how he knew about the Ultimate Hunt at the start of the game. I forget if he knew that in the ‘original loop’, though. And on the note of him, we still don’t know what his talent is.

There’s also been all sorts of fairly wild theories thrown about in-story about what might be going on, mostly involving the idea that maybe everyone really did die, and they’re currently in some kind of afterlife, which would at least explain certain fantastical things that have happened.

We also have a mysterious tile in the courtyard with writing on it that fills in more and more each chapter. Not sure what to make of that yet, but it seems to be saying something about the state of the world.

And in terms of various references made to the state of the outside world, it might be important to remember that Kirumi’s whole motive in chapter two involved her remembering that the prime minister of Japan had decided to make her the de facto prime minister in order to have her assist in saving the country. Which, in hindsight, sounds like it might have related to her being called into the Gofer Project, somehow. The question then is what happened to her after that, and how things lead to her being involved in the joint funeral everyone remembers, and her being part of this killing game just like everyone else.

I think that’s a good enough run-down of all the clues we have. There’s certain other mysteries and plots twists in the making that I can already guess about, like Kokichi probably actually being the Ultimate Prisoner, but I don’t know how much that sort of thing relates to the ‘overall story’.

Obviously it’s pretty difficult to piece these clues and hints together coherently, but the thing that keeps sticking out to me the most is that this is apparently intended to be a proper continuation/conclusion to the Hope’s Peak Saga, and not a reboot of some kind. So the question then is, how exactly did the events of the Hope’s Peak Saga set up this game’s story? It’s really hard to tell, especially since things seemed to be on a more or less good path after the DR3 anime, with Naegi becoming the new headmaster of Hope’s Peak, the whole DR2 crew being alive, Junko presumably being entirely destroyed, etc. I’m not entirely sure how that situation could have devolved enough to get us to what sounds like a literally apocalyptic scenario that also involved some kind of mass murdering/capturing of Ultimates. I mean the meteorites could have just been a really unfortunate natural disaster, but the Ultimate Hunt is what really sticks out to me. It kinda sounds like what happened around the time period of DR0 and Despair Arc, with the untalented people lashing out against Hope’s Peak academy.

I can’t really figure out where this is going. There’s way too many seemingly unconnected and wildly different sorts of plot threads to consider. Like, on the one hand you have some kind of literal apocalypse going on, and then you have some kind of revolt against the Ultimates, and then you have the implication that the V3 cast died and are in the afterlife, and then you have the references to some kind of prior killing game we haven’t heard about before, and it’s just really difficult to tell how the heck these things relate to each other. It’s also, as said, difficult to guess what Monokuma’s motive is intended to be this time. I also can’t help but wonder who’s going to be the Mastermind this time. In the last two games it was Junko, but I highly doubt it’s gonna be her. I guess it could technically be Monaca [or however you spell her name], since she’s still kinda a hanging thread, but I prefer the idea of her sticking to being a space NEET.

I should say that even if there’s still one or two spoilers I have relating to character deaths, I genuinely have no idea where the actual story is going to go, beyond the fact that it’s apparently really controversial and polarizing. That’s what everyone seems to be saying, at least. Which still feels weird to me, especially since I’ve seen people say that it’s even more divisive than DR2′s ending, which I thought was already incredibly love or hate because of how it involved plot points like virtual reality simulations and Junko being the villain for a second time. I wonder how this game could top that one. Thankfully it sounds like most people still like the ending even if they acknowledge that it’s somehow divisive, but it all sounds so make-or-break that I can’t help but be afraid that it might retroactively ruin my opinion on the game as a whole.

And on that note, I do really like the game thus far. It’s not perfect, but for the most part it’s really good. It’s really refreshing to finally be playing one of these games for myself instead of just watching LPs of them.

There’s a whole lot of things already that are pretty divisive, especially Kaede’s death, and I can’t blame anyone for being put off by points like that. But I just can’t help but like the game a lot. I think a big part of it is that I really love this game’s cast, especially the main trio [if you want to call them that] of Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki. I’ve talked about them before, but I really truly love them as characters. I get why a lot of people are probably bored by Shuichi as a protagonist, especially after the Kaede bait-and-switch, but I love him. I find his development and his emotional struggles to be really compelling. I’ve liked him as a character from the start, but I also can’t deny that him clearly being gay as fuck also makes me love him even more. It’s just a really nice feeling to be able to play a game with a protagonist who I actually feel like I can identify with on this specific level. But I promised myself I wouldn’t go on another big discussion rant thing so I’ll just cut myself off right here, lol.

I’m not entirely sure how I’d compare this game’s cast to DR2′s, but I think I definitely prefer them to DR1′s cast. I don’t really have any interest in pitting them against each other, but it’s hard not to make the comparison when your feelings toward each game’s casts hugely dictates how you feel about each game as a whole. DR2 definitely had more of a focus on being more fun and light-hearted and friendly than DR1, which I think helped make that game’s cast feel more likeable, but V3 is going for something in the middle. At least by this point I like most of the cast members in V3. I think the only characters who I actively dislike are Kiyo and Kokichi. I wouldn’t really like Miu or Angie as people in real life, but they’re at least fun and interesting enough for me to like them as characters. Kiyo was basically just outright unpleasant from start to finish, though, and his whole presence in the story was capped off with a bizarre and disturbing backstory about incest and ritualistic serial killings. And I just kinda . . . hate Kokichi. A lot. He’s slightly endearing sometimes but oh man especially with how this chapter’s going I just kinda despise him. Thankfully I’m clearly meant to hate him.

Other than that, I think the only characters I feel ambivalent about are Tsumugi, Keebo, and to a lesser extent Gonta and Himiko. But Himiko’s definitely getting up there with her recent development, and I have a soft spot for Gonta even though he really is kinda pointless as a character. So it’s mostly Tsumugi and Keebo who I just don’t feel much of anything for.

I actively like everyone else to anyone degree or another.

Anyway I should finally start talking about the actual specific part I just played, lol.

But before I do that, I wanna say that I decided to get the skill that lets me focus on one conversation at a time in mass panic debates. I still feel a bit hesitant about it, since I haven’t really had trouble with any of those parts yet, and I’m a bit worried that with this skill I might just get hyper-focused on one conversation at a time, and it might take longer to figure out the answer. We’ll see. I might take it off after this trial if I dislike it. I was debating between it and the one about revealing the first keyword in each scrum debate. That would have been really helpful earlier in the game, but as the game goes on those parts get a lot easier since the number of participants decreases. So unless they add in multiple rounds of it, I feel like that skill is just getting progressively less useful.

Either way, let’s just get to actually talking about this investigation segment.

I figured that this case was going to get a lot more complicated in this segment, and that it’d involve the implication that Miu died inside the virtual world and not outside of it, and lo and behold, that’s what happened.

There’s a lot to unpack here about how this case is set up, so I’ll just cut right to the main point and say that I think a major plot twist is going to be that the virtual world is actually arranged so that the big wall is in the middle of it, and the ‘world loading screen’ is actually more of a set-up to do with the edges of the map being connected like a portal. Basically if you just take Miu’s map and swap the two sections then you get what’s clearly meant to be the actual layout. So we actually have a scenario where the chapel and the mansion are relatively close to each other, with a wall between them. This explains why Shuichi and Tsumugi heard Keebo’s voice, because it wasn’t actually being interrupted by the world loading screen since they were well away from it. I guess we just have to assume that sound can somehow pass easily through the wall.

This also explains what happened with the signboard. I think I commented on it seeming a bit odd, but I didn’t think about it too much. But I probably should have guessed what was happening based on the flow of the river, and the fact that the signboard was stuck on the left side of the rock in the river, and not the right side. So instead of the signboard going down the river and then traveling left, it actually traveled right, looped around via the world loading screen at the edge of the map, and continued traveling right along the river until it hit the left side of the rock. I think they also established that objects, though not humans, can travel through the wall, so the signboard wouldn’t have been obstructed by that.

And obviously it also explains how Miu could have been seen near the mansion. With what we learned about the modifications she made to herself, she clearly just moved through the wall and thus immediately ended up near the mansion, where she got seen. Then everyone heard the crash of something hitting the chapel, and her presumably being killed.

One of the major points I noticed with all the evidence we got in this part is that it’s incredibly obvious Miu set this up as an opportunity for her to murder somebody, and that somebody was probably Kokichi. She obviously rewrote and lied about the game’s set-up in order to make it easy for her to navigate the map without anyone else being able to, and the rule about Kokichi freezing if she touches him was probably so that she could stop him from running away or resisting her. It’s also why she knocked away the signboard, to make sure everyone was as isolated as possible.

So I guess the big question is what exactly went wrong with her plan. And that answer probably also lies in Kokichi, who obviously knew what she was planning, and probably used his key card thing, and/or whatever he got from it, to mess with her plans and get her killed instead. I’m not entirely sure how, though. I’m also not even entirely sure if Kokichi is the one that killed her. He just seems too obvious, and as I’ve said before, I doubt he’ll die this [relatively] early. He seems too pivotal to the group dynamic to not stick around longer.

The way Miu’s body ended up makes me feel like she basically slid down the mansion roof on the lattice thing, and she flew through the wall and smashed into the chapel wall. I might be under-estimating the distance between the two buildings, but signs point to her having been up on the roof, and the layout of where her body ended up makes it seem like she crashed into the chapel wall at high speeds while holding the cell-phone and hammer and riding the lattice, and everything ended up flung about at the base of the chapel wall. Which I guess raises the question of how that happened. I feel like either she did it in an attempt to escape that back-fired and lead to her dying upon hitting the chapel, or she was somehow pushed off the roof by the killer. In which case she could have either been alive or dead by that time. It’d seem more difficult to set up that scenario if she was alive, so maybe she got killed on the roof, and then the killer pushed her off the roof using the lattice to make it look like she’d been killed near the chapel.

I guess the obvious conclusion to draw then is that she went up to the roof, met Kokichi, and then got killed by him, and since he probably knew about all the tricks with the virtual world, he set up her body to make it look like she’d been killed by the chapel, which would have seemingly removed him from suspicion.

I at least think that he’s going out of his way to implicate Kaito, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he remotely logged Kaito out in order to make him suspicious. It’s at least obvious that someone used the phone to log Kaito out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kokichi did it, and then planted the phone on Miu to make it seem like another thing that he couldn’t have possibly done. He might have needed to steal the phone off her, but that wouldn’t be too hard I guess. Though the whole ‘he freezes if she touches her’ rule might make that pretty difficult. I’m not sure.

It definitely seems like a big part of this case will boil down to whether we believe Kokichi’s or Kaito’s testimonies, but I can’t help but trust Kaito more. Especially since, if we take the log-in/log-out report and the stated time of death at face value, then he logged out over an hour before Miu died. And anyway, she clearly died IN the game, and not long before everyone found her body, so if Kaito really had logged out way before then and hadn’t logged in, I don’t really think he could have killed her. But part of me can’t help but worry that maybe Kokichi set up some sort of plan so that Kaito would somehow end up killing Miu without intending to. Possibly something to do with the ‘avatar error’. Maybe Kokichi tampered with Kaito’s avatar before the program started, or something.

I’m not sure what to make of the detail with the roof door lock, but clearly Miu got up there somehow, and Kaito got logged off early enough that he might have just not seen anyone come up after he left.

The worrying thing here is that, even if Kaito doesn’t seem like he actually did it, I also find it hard to suspect Kokichi, but I can’t really imagine anyone else having done it. Knowing the gist of the trick, I think that Maki, Keebo, and Himiko are free of suspicion since 1: they all seemed genuinely unaware of the trick, and 2: even if they were aware of it, as far as we know at the moment none of them could have moved through the wall of crossed the river, so if Miu really did die on the mansion roof, or get pushed off the mansion roof and die upon hitting the chapel wall, then the killer must have one way or another been stationed in the mansion part of the map. So, ignoring the possibility of someone in the chapel group knowing more than they’re letting on, we can probably write those three off the list, and focus on the five people stationed in the mansion.

We can presumably immediately cross Shuichi off the list, and I feel really hesitant to suspect Tsumugi or Gonta when they seem so innocent and motive-less, which just . . . gets us right back to Kokichi and Kaito. And honestly I’d be willing to expect that the game would prefer to keep Kokichi around so that he can continue being an antagonist, while killing Kaito off in this chapter just to make us all feel miserable. So even if I doubt that Kaito willingly murdered Miu, I wouldn’t be surprised if even via some sort of manipulation or technicality he ends up being the killer. It’d be lame if it was the character who immediately got suspected, though, even if it might play out differently than what we might expect. It’d also feel more than a bit lame for the game to kill off yet another person who Shuichi believes in. It’d just feel a bit too much like a repeat of the Kaede thing, but far less clever and unexpected. And considering how Kaede’s death was emotionally difficult to deal with when she just had like one and a half chapter’s worth of screen-time and interaction with Shuichi, Kaito’s been by his side for the entire game since her death, so it’d hurt a lot more, but in a way that’d feel sorta . . . unnecessarily tragic. Especially if it really is to do with Kokichi manipulating things to basically force Kaito to be a culprit without his knowledge. That’d feel a whole lot more shallow than Kaede intentionally murdering Rantarou in a sincere attempt to save everyone. It’d just seem like a kinda lame repeat of that whole thing with much less of the substance.

I mean, as I said, it’d definitely hurt more because there’s been more set-up and development between them, but it’d just make me more annoyed at the game if that’s where this is going, rather than sad but on board with what the game was doing, like how I felt with Kaede’s death. It’s kinda difficult to explain, but I guess it’s just the difference between something feeling natural and something feeling forced.

I know that in my last post I had my whole discussion-rant-ramble-thing about the prospect of Shuichi being gay, and that I said I didn’t really wanna talk about that sort of thing much since it’s the type of thing I’ve talked about a lot over the last year or so in relation to other fandoms, but on a sort of related note to all that, this whole chapter really feels like it’s heading in the direction of being one big complicated gay love triangle. In the sense of Shuichi being into Kaito, and Kokichi being violently jealous of Kaito because he wants Shuichi for himself. The moment at the end of the daily life part that I mentioned in my last post seems to be pretty bluntly pointing at him more or less being a yandere who’s obsessed with Shuichi, and in this section he got even more aggressive about pinning all the suspicion on Kaito and getting him away from Shuichi so he could replace him as Shuichi’s investigation partner. It’s at least pretty clear that he has an issue with Kaito specifically, which is why he decided to pin all this on him and not someone else.

[Fake edit: I ended up talking about Gay Stuff [tm] again for like three or four paragraphs so if I wind up being completely wrong and all of this is completely pointless to even discuss or speculate about, you can skip past it.]

If that’s basically Kokichi’s motive in setting all this up, then it makes me wonder if/how it might come up during the trial. And, as an extension of that, it’d make me wonder if the game might explicitly acknowledge Shuichi’s crush on Kaito for what it is. It’d be hard not to, if it’s a major part of what made Kokichi want to take Kaito out like this, if that’s what he’s doing. Mostly I just hope that it doesn’t get handled in a way like ‘Shuichi’s feelings for Kaito are ~pure and platonic~, but Kokichi? The crazy evil antagonist who has misogyny issues and probably has a criminal record? Yeah he’s gay’. That’d just be incredibly groan-worthy. It’d at least work better if the game acknowledged that both of them are gay, so the framing of it is less ‘Kokichi is gay and evil while Shuichi is straight and good’ and more ‘Kokichi is just, as an individual, a bad person’. That’d work better. It’d still be all sorts of painful if this chapter really does end with us finding out that Kokichi really was able to set Kaito up for being executed simply because he saw him as a romantic rival, but still. Not that I’m sitting here holding my breath in the hopes that maybe this will finally be the video game that has a gay male protagonist, or anything. I don’t even expect the game to acknowledge him as potentially being bi. In general I’m bracing myself for the worst, if only because it feels like this’ll end with Kaito dying, and that would be fundamentally horrible to sit through.

Even though I can’t help but worry about potential issues with framing and presentation and blahblahblah if Kokichi does end up basically being a gay yandere, it’d be interesting if it ends up showing off a more . . . petty and selfish and child-like side to himself, to crack that facade of him being some sort of cool and calculated manipulator who’s always above everyone else. It’d be messy, but I kinda like the idea of us seeing a more messy and unstable side to his personality, especially in a trial setting.

I didn’t really want to go on another whole spiel about this sorta thing immediately after what I said in my last post, but I guess this is technically about a different character so whatever. And for the most part, if I end up somehow being right about this, even though I almost don’t want to be, then it’s probably for the best that I get my thoughts down before the trial happens so that I can say that I called it in advance. And if I’m wrong then it just preserves my wrongness for posterity, like my glorious fuck-up in Chapter 2 which I still feel embarrassed about.

ANYWAY, that whole topic aside, I may as well wrap this up because this post has been going on for far too long. I’m not really sure I have a solid grasp on HOW the murder happened, exactly, beyond the idea of Miu maybe getting killed on the roof and then getting pushed off the roof and into the chapel wall, but I’m still sticking to the idea that the only real suspects I can think of are Kokichi and Kaito, and specifically I can’t help but imagine that Kokichi somehow things up so that Kaito would kill Miu without even intending to. Somehow. Maybe I’m just being paranoid and bracing myself for the most depressing option. Though I guess the most depressing option would be if Kaito turns out to be, like, genuinely evil or something and is lying about everything. I guess that’d technically be a lot more depressing. But considering how I’m completely clueless about certain pieces of evidence like the toilet paper, the roof door lock, the unique attribute of Kokichi’s avatar, and the set-up with the visors, I’m probably going to wind up confused and overwhelmed by a majority of this trial and it’s explanation of how this murder happened. Oh well.

[murasaki-murasame]

Danganronpa V3 Liveblog Part 2 [Chapter 1 - Daily Life]

Yeah I may as well put the rest of this under a read-more right from the start since I wanna get right into spoilers.

Just to jump right to the end of what I played because it’s the elephant in the room, I called Rantarou being the first death before the game even came out in Japan. But I think everyone did. It was really obvious that either he was going to survive for most/all of the game, or be killed off immediately to troll everyone because he’s set up as being so mysterious and presumably plot-important. I’m not really angry about it, but it’s just kinda funny that I called this nearly a year in advance. Thankfully the rest of the game should be less predictable than this, since this was the only real thing I confidently predicted back then. Also for the record I had no actual, genuine idea about this in advance, it was just a guess of mine.

It’s weird that in the demo version they had him [and Keebo] sit out of the trial, when he ended up not surviving long enough to take part in a trial in the main game.

Either way, it’s at least kinda amusing that he died immediately when he felt so similar to Komaeda. Obviously it’s still lame to see him die so soon, but at least his character played out differently to Komaeda.

[Also for the record I’m hoping that Kokichi saying ‘my dearest Rantarou’ was just him making an inappropriate joke, because hoo boy it was bad enough when DR3 ended with the Bury Your Gays trope. I’d be genuinely angry if this game STARTED with it. I’m pretty sure it’s just a joke, but it does remind me that Kokichi/Rantarou was actually a relatively popular crack ship in the fandom, at least back before the game came out in Japan]

I stopped playing directly when the investigation officially started [so technically I played a few minutes of the Deadly Life segment but that was because the game didn’t let me save for a while], so I can’t exactly speculate much about the case, and I don’t want to. I’ll save that for after I play the investigation, since I’ll actually have proper clues to work with then. I know that the investigation part will probably be a lot shorter than this part, but I want to take a break between it and the trial so that I get a chance to sit down and post some speculation before I go through the trial and figure out what happened. So my next post might be a bit short. Maybe. Knowing me, it probably won’t be.

Since I was scared this would happen, I tried to talk to him as much as possible, but I only managed to have one actual scene with him. I also had one with Shuichi. Now that Rantarou’s out the way, I guess Shuichi will be the person I prioritize most in free time events. Not sure who else I’d go with. I’m kinda curious about Keebo since his backstory seems interesting, but I dunno. I kinda want to see what Kokichi’s deal is, but part of me also feels like he’s probably gonna stick around for a long time so I’m less inclined to prioritize him. Maybe I should talk to Maki more, since she seems like the type who I’ll need to really get to know before I see more sides to them.

Overall, I was sorta surprised by how much I really liked this part. I mean, I’m a big fan of the series in general, but I’ve been a bit worried about whether or not I’d actually enjoy this game and it’s cast. Thankfully those fears are getting dissipated. I was also afraid that it’d feel too similar to the first two games, but there’s enough different things happening that it’s enjoyable.

One of the things that surprised me most was the motive. Or, well, motives. I did not expect the stakes to get so high that quickly. The whole idea of ‘the first murder will happen consequence-free’ is actually really interesting, and an effective way of motivating a murder. But it definitely makes Monokuma seem way more desperate than he used to be. Especially when, like a day after the first motive, he was like ‘oh and if nobody dies soon, you all die’. At that point he’s literally forcing people’s hands, more or less. Which isn’t a criticism, really. It’s an interesting approach to take. Especially since nobody ended up actually using that motive to kill. The whole part where nobody outed themselves as being Rantarou’s killer, and Monokuma announced that they’d hold a class trial in that case, was really intriguing. It’s really making it hard to guess at the culprit’s motive.

On a similar sort of note, I was not expecting the part where Ryoma suggested that somebody murder him so they could escape and find help. I thought at first that he’d just generally suggest the idea of someone going through with murdering someone, but I probably should have expected him to be all self-sacrificial, given his attitude. I said it last time, but I REALLY like Ryoma as a character thus far.

I said I wouldn’t speculate much about the murder, but lol I can’t help myself now that I’ve seen the body. I can only make vague judgments about it, though. Like how it seems pretty obvious that Rantarou wasn’t directly murdered by someone, but instead somebody probably set a metal ball on the bookcase so that it’d roll off and hit his head when it opened. Maybe that’s just my first guess because Kaede already brought up the idea of Rube Goldberg machines earlier in the chapter. It’d also explain how the murder will remain mysterious even with photographic evidence. There probably wasn’t anyone else in the room. I assume that Monokuma would still consider the identity of the hypothetical ball-placer to be the culprit, so then the big mystery is figuring out who did that, when there’s presumably no evidence. But then again the ball could have only, in this scenario, been placed on the bookcase after the equipment was set up, otherwise Shuichi would have noticed it at the time, or the alarm would have gone off. Unless he’s the killer, which I’m really doubting.

Ignoring the option of Shuichi being the killer, he and Kaede at least have alibis. I don’t know if anyone else would have. I’ve kinda forgotten if the equipment got placed early in the morning, or right before those two hid in the classroom, so I’m not sure what time frame to work with for this one, in terms of figuring out alibis.

I feel like the seven people who went to the game room are probably being set up as people who all have mutually-verified alibis, at least. Which leaves like seven other people.

Oh well, I won’t think about it too hard until I finish the investigation.

On the topic of Shuichi, I also really like him as a character. I liked him after the prologue, but learning a bit more of his story made me like him even more. He’s a really interesting take on a detective character. I’m glad he’s not just another Kirigiri. I can really get why he feels so uncomfortable about the idea of pursuing the truth, when he ended up exposing someone who did a revenge-killing for sympathetic reasons.

I also just really like his dynamic with Kaede. They’re just adorable and mutually supportive and I love it. I’m not gonna lie, I kinda low-key ship them already. I have low standards for this sorta thing, lol.

Kaede’s also pretty interesting as a protagonist, especially in terms of how people react to her. It was kinda sad seeing everyone [well, nearly everyone] hate her for being optimistic and leader-y and wanting everyone to keep trying to escape. Considering how it’s already giving her confidence issues, I wonder if that’ll be an ongoing thing, with most of the cast not wanting to be bossed around by her. I couldn’t really blame them after how the Death Road of Despair part went, but they still took it too far.

Also on that note, fuck the Death Road of Despair. That was so awful to experience. Considering how the story played out, I imagine that the game was genuinely rigged against you, and it sure as hell felt like it. I hope that if this game ever shows up again in a less evil context, the controls aren’t so weirdly floaty and hard to control. I kinda wish I could have recorded the way my reaction to it went from ‘oh this sounds simple, just run and rump’ to ‘wait the fuck why is everyone dead’ in ten seconds.

Anyway, I’m really enjoying seeing more of the characters, and seeing them start to form their own dynamics and stuff. It’s only just starting, but it’s already interesting to watch unfold. I’m especially surprised by how Tenko pretty much immediately got a crush on Himiko and is now just following her around and acting so excited about the idea of magic. It’s really endearing me to her.

This part also continued to reaffirm my love for Gonta. He’s an incredibly sweet boy who doesn’t deserve the death that he’s presumably going to experience. He tries his best.

I’m happy that Kaito is at least trying to be on Kaede’s side. He’s a good dude thus far.

Conversely, I probably should have expected that Maki would be rude and unsociable. I’ll probably still try and spend free time with her and get to know her, though. It makes me feel like there’s something really interesting under her cold exterior that I’d never get to see if I just avoided her.

Angie’s kinda starting to creep me out, which I wasn’t expecting. Like, the blood sacrifice joke was one thing, but now she’s talking about happily accepting imminent death because Atua will welcome her into his kingdom, or Atua punishing liars, and stuff. But then again she also unironically says bye-onara and that makes me really like her.

I guess I may as well comment on Rantarou’s character in general, since this might be my last time to. I wish I could have gotten to know him better, but the one event I had with him didn’t tell me much. I’m still not sure what to make of him. He’s also kinda creepy, but I still like him. I’m not gonna deny that most of my bias toward him is still because I love [most of] his design, though. I wonder if we’ll ever learn what his talent was, since that’s still a mystery. Maybe it’ll be a plot point during the trial. I’m also curious about the fact that he seemed to have some memories related to the Ultimate Hunt, which is still suspicious to me in general as a concept. I really can’t help but feel like this game is set in some future post-DR3 where the rest of society decided to criminalize talent or something. Or they had a grudge against the whole Ultimate Initiative, and Hope’s Peak Academy, and thus they decided to hunt down everyone related to it, or something. Who knows.

I’m really surprised by the fact that none of the characters have said anything about the implication of them being criminals, with how they’re in an academy for Gifted Juveniles. You’d think that’d raise some questions from them.

Also, I wonder if everyone’s labs are going to be actual places we can at least see on the map. I think thus far we can only see Kaede’s and Miu’s rooms. Maybe the rest will open up as time goes on. On the note of their labs, I should check and see if I can go to Kaede’s one now. I kinda forgot to check it out. I think I tried to check once but the plot was railroading me elsewhere and I forgot about it after that.

Oh, and before I forget, I didn’t miss that one line from one of the Monokubs where they were obviously teasing at what’s going on in the big picture, but basically blotting out the important info. I can’t quite remember exactly what he said, though, but I remember it seeming immediately important.

And also, on the note of Monokuma, that one Monokuma Theater joking about the idea of getting confused about what happened and in what part of a long-running franchise really felt like a self-deprecating joke about how long this series has gotten. [Also the Yokai Watch reference was pretty hilarious]

I guess that’s all I have to say for now. I’ll probably just play the investigation part tomorrow, even if it might be kinda short, and then I’ll do the trial the day after. I don’t really have any predictions about who the killer is, other than that Shuichi seems really damn suspicious right about now.