#and i know dr0 plays with that /a bit/

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Honestly I think people's tendency to do this sort of all or nothing thinking is silly. I've yet to write things down concisely but since finishing the game I like playing around in the sense where I pick one or several flashback lights (or other 'facts' mentioned in the game) to be true and see how that affects the pre and post V3 story. This in turn really gives you more playroom to interpret and understand certain aspects of the story and characters. Sorry, I'm not sure how to word it. Like yeah, what if Makoto really did make a new Academy? What if the world didn't end, but the virus is fact? What if V3 was fictional, but that doesn't mean the 'peaceful outside world' we were presented is real? Not only does that make fandom play more enjoyable, it also makes you really think about things beyond taking things at face value like I've sadly seen many fans do.

To disclaimer a bit that I have no qualm with people taking the 'All-Fiction' reading at its face if they like the pregame concept (I've seen some fun ideas like the meek Kokichi who wanted to become a good liar, that's a favourite I've seen anyway) or like, whatever other reason. It's just- yeah!! It's absolutely not the only possibility for canon nor is it particularly satisfying to those of us who want to play with canon context as opposed to like, imagined character-to-character progression to the canon, even if those can make for great stories on their own

*cue me going off in 3... 2... 1...*

And speaking of affecting pre and post V3, the dire consequences probable for any/all of the pre chapter 5 Flashback Lights being true- the mixed-motive videos involving characters, especially- knowing that dr2 used a distorted past as a motive, is just too juicy to pass up?? Especially if that involves characters who were otherwise trusted acting in untrustworthy ways, and this is gleaned in hindsight? Imagine if there was later content - a novel perhaps - to expand upon the world we dismissed as fiction and little by little we have to reckon with the consequences if we search it out, like how Dr0 told us of how the Tragedy came to be?? And DRV3 will never look the same again?? Especially if all this was gradually steamrollered by an unsuspecting Makoto opening up new hopes peak and that started to go spectacularly awry not least due to the collective tensions against Ultimates and-

-Just. FRICK!! The possibilities enough to drive one crazy

At least the hindsight part is how it's most meaningful for me, imagining the world itself - beyond the dystopian security tech Nanokumas, wwoah geez a lot to unpack - is so much harder to do, and can get extremely messy (probably because I'm at an overload with all the information-misinformation combo buuut also because of conspiracy themes nonsense) so like, a lot of work to do there.

...Oh! This reminds me of how Dr:Togami is apparently layered in this kind of cerebral shit that makes you think outside the box as to what the fresh hell is going on and pick apart false narratives, so all of these potential alternate if-not-x-then-y sorta threads you mentioned here, could be pulled together just like that! (I hope I'm understanding right- I need to actually READ DR:Togami but uh.)

[fma03envy]

I finished Killer Killer btw. General thoughts:

As someone whose favorite DR media is Zero (and thinks that IF is like. solid), I was kind of hoping it would be more on that level in terms of writing 😔

That said, I'm honestly not *that* bothered by the writing issues. It's kind of the same as with dr3 for me, where I'm not invested enough in the first place to feel let down when it doesn't make sense. I'm more just "ok so we're doing this now" about it, and then am pleasantly surprised whenever the writing is good

Hijirihara is by far my favorite character introduced in this. It makes me sad that afaik he only appears in Killer Killer because he's So Much. Creative choice of coping mechanism over here

I REALLY like how much influence Hijirihara's trauma has on Everything. I feel like normally if a DR character survives a killing school life, they'll probably only return in a supporting role and and there isn't much focus on their recovery. Like even with Makoto in dr3 and Toko in UDG, they're are obviously scarred by their experiences and all but. It's not like the primary focus of either media, and each has to deal with Topical Plot Issues that take precedence over their past (I suppose Soshun in dr0 is an exception since basically all he does is Be Traumatized, but like he's hardly a main character. He's really only around long enough for Matsuda to kill him over it)

In Killer Killer though, the entire plot is driven by what Hijirihara's been through. There would be no Killer Killer if his experiences at Giboura hadn't driven him to take on that role

Can't say I'm exactly a fan of Fujigawa given how cartoon villain I'll kill everyone-y he gets at the end but. The character feels like he could've had potential if he was written in a less over the top way, yk?

Like the flashback scenes of him and Hijirihara are definitely some of my favorites in this manga. Also ik this is silly but near the end when Fujigawa has trouble getting out of the locker and Hijirihara does that little "it's a boy" gag, it's like. You still care about him enough to be jokey huh. Argh. If Fujigawa's characterization had been played a little differently I would be going insane rn over these two

I do prefer the earlier slice of life stuff, but I feel like them trying to turn when the story is set into a plot twist was a mistake. It just makes the beginning seem bizarre in retrospect once you know that this is supposed to be post apocalypse. Why is everything So Normal society seems a bit too functional here

On the topic of the timeline. I wish they made character's ages more clear sometimes. Like since Kyoko + Hijirihara are coworkers, are we supposed to assume he's the same age as class 78? Aka, when Junko had Mukuro stab all those middle schoolers to death, were J+M still middle schoolers themselves? (wouldn't exempt them from blame ofc but I do feel like it's an important distinction)

Fave Killer Killer execution was definitely the copycat one. I <3 Hijirihara's little Monokuma grin there

Sidenote a lot of Killer Killer's victims remind me so much of how Mikan acted in dr2 chapter 3 with how outlandish they are. I feel certain that at least some of them were acting under the influence of Junko's brainwashing (I'm thinking more of how brainwashing victims in dr0/dr2 are depicted, like as undeniably altered but not without free will/opinions of their own. As opposed to like the dr3 remnants or the Monokuma kids in UDG)

Wish there was more focus on Asano. She gets set up like the main character at the very beginning but is pretty quickly demoted to Hijirihara's sidekick/love interest/damsel in distress. She NEEDS more personality and an actual backstory and a life outside of him :/

That's all I can think of really

[aparticularbandit]

...I really should the ToonTown Haruko and Junko are the same Toon thing because that's my Jess crossover and then you can see how ABSOLUTELY SCREWED UP that relationship was.

....

I thought at first that Junko and Haruko should be separate Toons but in all honesty? Looking at how Haruko treated Jess? That's just Junko. And then it would make sense for that Toon to play a character who is so much like who she is offscreen.

....

And then we can play around with a fake DR0 anime adaptation and Haruko reaching out like, look, Jess, I know we have our differences, but I got a gig for you, and it's just hey, you play Ryoko while I play Junko, it'll be just like old times. ;)

And the thing is Toon lives run on being known, on fame (the only real surefire way to kill a Toon is through Dip, but they can Fade, too, slowly, bit by bit losing themselves as they're forgotten - it's a much more painful process AND A LOT HARDER TO DO, particularly in the internet era), so Haruko's reaching out with hey, this will keep you alive, hot stuff, but in reality?

Haruko keeps herself alive by keeping Jess alive because Jess will never EVER forget her.

(Jess is probably not the only Toon who has this issue.)

[idiotwhotalkstoomuch]

Explanation on DR3 Brainwashing

I admit it felt a bit cheap at first glance but it suddenly makes so much sense once you look into Junko’s character

This could be considered DR0 spoilers but it’s outright stated in the anime so it’s safe

Something common I see is

“WASTED OPPORTUNITY”

And while I admit it would’ve been cool to see Junko break these people down one by one something to remember is while the idea is cool would Junko even do it?

People tend to see “can” as “did” in Danganronpa which is something that should not be done

While it’s true with Junko’s super analytical abilities she CAN manipulate all of them one by one but did she?

No and here’s why

Junko’s whole character is defined by despair but the question is.... why is she so obsessed with despair?

Despair is a feeling of emotional feel over loss or anything that can cause them grief

Examples are the loss of loved ones and the failure of something you worked hard on

Junko has been born with extreme intelligence and can be talented at anything and see through anything and anyone with no issues and hardly any effort which bored the shit out of her

She likes to use despair as a way to not feel the boredom of knowing everything and to let it consume her by any means necessary

Examples are (okay there are actual DR0 spoilers now so stop looking at this paragraph if you’re sensitive): Killing Mukuro Ikusaba, her beloved twin sister and killing Yasuke Matsuda, her childhood friend and the one she loved most

These actions cure her boredom because she can predict it but the emotional pain she feels of losing these people are wonderful to her.

Now.... WHY THE H E L L would the crazy bitch who literally kills her loved ones waste her time manipulating those 15 fuckers when she can just brainwash them?

I’m not gonna say she was always gonna do brainwashing but her meeting Mitarai is what caused her to decide brainwashing

She can see through anyone’s character immediately due to her powerful analytical talent so she already knows everything about everyone without even speaking to them.

Well maybe not everything but she already has a solid idea.

She even went for people who were kinda transparent in their character like Mikan and Chisa first

Mikan clearly had mental issues and Junko saw it and just took her cause she was easy.

Chisa was clearly devoted to her class, her friends and the children of Hope’s peak which makes it easy to use the student council killing game on her.

People say this devalues her targeting the 77th class since she could’ve brainwashed ANYONE

N o

Just

N o

She chose the 77th class because of their tragic and traumatic pasts would make them mentally weaker than a normal person and make them easier to brainwash

Why do you think she resorted to lobotomy on Chisa?

Chisa had a stronger mental state on them and the reserve course were all insecure and sad blue fucks the despair video did the job

To put it simply, Junko manipulating the 77th class would give her the last thing she wants

Boredom

People say “ohhh but that brings her despair!”

NO IT DOES NOT

Despair and boredom are different. Boredom is numb misery and despair is emotional and mental destruction. Very different

Brainwashing was quick and easy and she could get straight to her despair without the pointless road of talking to 15 people who she already knew what to do and say to make them her bitches

It’s like playing a visual novel already knowing the full plot and the effects of every choice made. There’s no point

Saying that brainwashing devalues Junko is devaluing Junko’s character which is defined by despair and boredom

(This rant just came out because I actually like the brainwashing now and want to see more content of it so here’s outing the reason)

[magioftheseas]

Junko

Junko……. Well.

I think that for dr1, she’s a very suitable villain, both thematically and functionally. In a game that’s about people pushed to their limits and trying to persevere and band together, even when the environment is designed to turn them against each other on all sides, the human embodiment of despair is like…good for that kind of story. You don’t need a complex villain for an effective conflict and message.

Even for sdr2, I’d argue that she’s good as representation of all the casts’ crimes (among just plain bad decisions) and serves that function pretty well in Chapter 6, throwing out some pretty valid points against Naegi and co.

Junko is also still a villain with loads of character potential because she’s very well-written in IF, being someone who loves Mukuro but is frustrated by her sister’s inability to understand her, even shoving Mukuro out and trying to “kill her with kindness” (in the metaphorical sense) in what’s definitely a pretty emotional scene. Junko still has her humanity in patches, but she’s fundamentally twisted and cruel and it’s at least interesting to have her be so insistent on it that she reacts with total offense when others try to offer her compassion and understanding.

There is a bit of a tragic undercurrent to how Junko herself can’t ever be happy with anything short of violence and destruction to the point where the only source of contentment she even finds in canon is when she’s got medically severe amnesia, although Ryouko is her own brand of tragic, too with the situation she finds herself in.

I do admit that I do appreciate that she’s a female villain who isn’t motivated by a male character (in fact the opposite; Matsuda’s more a restraint than anything which also plays with the usual gendered expectations and she kills him so like yyyeah). I also kind of like how it’s a fashionista that throws the world into despair, I feel like there’s like…some kind of social message you could make about that although I don’t…really know what it is.

I think Junko on her own is pretty competently structured, with her playing into gyaru stereotypes (and certainly being bitchy and fickle and definitely, erm, provocative) while also defying them (being…not an idiot). But what does help is that what largely gets focus is the effect she’s had rather than her herself. When you see just how much her personal influence has driven people (for better and worse, mostly the worse), you get much more of a feel of how dangerous she is. I think that in dr0 and drae, that’s pretty well-handled for the most part.

Yeah.

There’s my defense. 

[plateauofmemories]

buanyway as I obsessively play the talent development plan mode (+monokuma’s test) I can’t not think about an au that’s basically that but More because I have a problem. Thoughts so far:

-So like the Talent Development Plan everyone’s just students at HPA, and there’s no despair apocalypse. But everyone’s in the same year (I assume that’s the implication of being able to talk to any of them throughout the whole 3 years).

-HPA is still studying talent but like, they’re less bonkers about it. Like, still maybe a bit ethically questionable at times, but definitely not conducting illegal human experiments in the basement this time. But they will happily teach other people’s former human experiment subjects. Also, rules about ultimate talents are a little more lax - you can have multiple people with the same shsl title. And we’re gonna say there’s one shsl luck per homeroom instead of just per year.

-For our characters’ year there are 4 homerooms, 16 students per homeroom.

-Classroom A is the NDRV3 gang, with the shsl versions of themselves being the real versions of themselves. Some changes to backstories are in order - like Kirumi is still a super maid but she’s probably not the de-facto prime minister of Japan, and like i’m keeping in my order for the same changes to kork’s background that I ranted about before, etc - but they’re personalities are basically the same. Rantaro is the class’s shsl luck since survivor isn’t an applicable position, but he still does a shsl amount of traveling and adventuring. Maki is definitely listed as the shsl child caregiver. Miu is probably actually an augmented human but records on illegal experiments are sketchy at best.

-Classroom A is definitely barely contained chaos at all times, with Kaito and/or Kaede doing most of the containing. “Or” because neither of them are immune to being baited into the fray. Homeroom teacher is Koichi Kizakura, which is no help in controlling the situation.

-Classroom C is the SDR2 crew, -Hajime and +Sato (who is not in the goddamn reserve course goddamnit). Chiaki’s a real person a la DR3. I hated that and them being one homeroom class in DR3 but this plot isn’t going to DR1/SDR2 so it’s fine.

-Chisa is their homeroom teacher. Class C is a lively and dynamic bunch, and they most notably have most serious drama. When someone has a problem with someone else shit gets real really really fast.

-Classroom B is my B-sides, aka hpa students from other DR media that I want in here. Hajime and Izuru are not actually B-sides but they’re in this class. otherwise, current roster includes Yasuke Matsuda, the weird octuplets from dr0 but they only count as one student because they are pretending to be one student as the shsl bodyguard, the student council president from dr0, ryota mitarai, and natsumi kuzuryu (who is also definitely not in the reserve course!! Fuck you!). Also, I don’t actually know anything about what’s canon for santa shikiba, but unless something makes me decide otherwise I’m gonna stick him in here. Also, in naegi makoto’s worst day ever or whatever that was called, there was a female student originally selected to be shsl luck instead of him, and I don’t know if she actually had a name but in any case I’m gonna use that tiny bit of obscure trivia to build a character to be this class’s shsl luck. Which brings me to 9 people, so I’ve still gotta come up with some - probably gonna review the student council to pull some from there, and also see if I can think of anyone else.

-Hajime and Izuru are different people for the sake of having them both available like in the talent development plan. Though i haven’t actually played as either of them, so I don’t know if there’s any sort of explanation given/if they’re ever implied to exist at the same time. Current convoluted story I’ve come up with for my au is they’re identical twins, and they were born conjoined at the head. At some point they were surgically separated and Hajime was fine, but Izuru was not. At which point some sketchy (but incredibly skilled) neuroscientist on the surgery team was like, hey, this is the perfect opportunity. And so maybe he kidnaps Izuru after faking his death or maybe not but in any case he DOES step in to try save Izuru’s brain but also like, make him a superhuman genius talent machine at the same time, because why not. I’m thinking the kidnapping thing because maybe it’s a longer experiment that involves multiple surgeries and raising the kid in a specific way and also changing his name to izuru kamukura before he’s eventually stopped and izuru is returned to his birth family and it’s all very awkward. But anyway, the other point is that Hajime still doesn’t have a shsl talent, but he gets an exception to attend HPA’s main course because this is the more lax HPA and if there’s anything better for research than and augmented genius human, it’s an augmented genius human with a non-augmented identical twin. It’s still maybe a bit too convoluted though. Also I haven’t decided if they wear the normal HPA uniform or if Hajime has to wear the reserve course uniform and so Izuru wears it too, because fuck you (and then in the meta level I get 2 maintain that classic izuru aesthetic).

-Idk who the homeroom teacher is for Class B but former hpa student Miaya Gekkogahara is definitely employed as an assistant teacher for them. It is definitely on purpose that the ex-shsl therapist and the shsl neurologist are in the classroom with Izuru and Hajime. Anyway, other students sometimes find this class intimidating/scary, but that’s just because there are several intense aloof/arrogant assholes in the class and one snake person, or snerson, that seems capable of being in too many places at once.

-Classroom D is just the DR1 gang. I can’t decide if Junko is like herself but not obsessed with despair or if she’s like herself but not determined to cause the apocalypse, just invested in her personal despair. Also mukuro definitely gets to attend class as herself, not disguised as Junko like in the talent development plan that did not want to make her a new set of sprites just for their bonus game.

-Their homeroom teacher is the phys. ed teacher that makes a couple appearances in DR3. Class D notably becomes a very close friend group. The other students mostly don’t notice day-to-day, except if a) you go to talk to someone in their homeroom before class begins and you have this inexplicable feeling like you’re intruding or b) it’s the school festival or some other event that pits homeroom-based teams against each other. Class D gets reeeeaaaaallly intense at these competitions (and works together frighteningly smoothly).

[the-apocryphal-one]

(Part 2 of my Junko question) I think the reason why many people hated that plot point is that it greatly neuters her threat; not being able to make anyone fall to despair without extra help. Also, the fact the she stumbled upon Mitarai, in which 80% of her plan was dependent on, made it look like that she's so incompetent as a villain that she literally only won because, well, plot stuff. The fact that she's just a one-dimensional force-of-nature type doesn't help. How can all these be fixed?

Like I said about making people fall to despair, she’s already shown she can do that without outside help (the endgames, Ryota, Yasuke). She can manipulate people without outside help (Izuru, Warriors of Hope). But I don’t think she could do that to over 2,000 students, much less the greater world, in one year, and I think people overplayed or overhyped her charisma to think she could. So yeah, I think the brainwashing anime was totally necessary for the greater masses.

For the individuals of Class 77, I think she could have manipulated several into unhinged despair by herself (Mikan, Nagito, Hiyoko). The rest, I think she could either make fall into regular despair or would have a hard time doing so (like I said, Nekomaru and Ibuki are pretty well-adjusted), especially once the class becomes united. Which is why I think brainwashing them to become especially unhinged would have been necessary…but after she’d despairified them.

Basically, the anime should have been a tool for Class 77, not a crutch.

^ completely agree about Ryota. I think this could have been done better in a couple of ways:

- She knows she wants brainwashing tech, and is working with Yasuke on it (Ultimate Neurologist would so know about that). While they’re together, Ryota shows up to ask for advice on the brainwashing aspect of his anime, and Junko oh-so-sweetly offers that they all work together. Still coincidental, but she was already creating something of her own, and just adapted his aspects into it.

- She knows she wants brainwashing anime specifically from the start, and seeks out “Ryota” to help her. She’s pretty surprised when all the manipulations she prepared for “Ryota” aren’t working, so after a bit of research discovers his true identity. From there, she manipulates/blackmails him into stealing Ryota’s anime and helping her (since he can copy talents, its reasonable that he could pull off the same thing).

- She knows she wants brainwashing anime specifically from the start, and knows “Ryota” isn’t Ryota. She hunts down the real Ryota and events play out similarly to canon.

The one-dimensional aspect can’t really be helped, because Kodaka says that’s how he wanted to write her–as something so evil, such a “force of nature”, it can’t be reasoned with, pitied, or understood. Like it can be helped, just give her more backstory in a DR0 way, but not while Kodaka was going to write her.

[lore-a-lie]

Chapter 3, Act 6: Our True Selves...

Daily Life  

When Kaede woke up the next morning she noticed a tablet on her table, much like the ones from the second motive. But the frame was different, and not like the standard Monokuma tablets either.

The new motive sitting before her parodied the black and white she was used to with tones of sepia, nearly wood-like shades of brown from a cream to a dark umber. Smooth as piano’s cover, with accents of a bright green wherever Monokuma’s would have a red of the same intensity.

She considered waiting until later to view it, but worries about how badly the motive videos turned out quickly drowned out the idea. So, like Angie had pointed out that dreadful night, Kaede chose to risk seeing it by herself first, to see what she’d be dealing with.

But as soon as she started it up the tablet fell from her hands as the world fell out from under her. She was looking at a face she knew all too well.

“Number 42. My name is %@^#^ @%@^@!$*, and if I’m selected I’ll definitely make for a memorable run no matter what role you put me in!”

Kaede could only stare dumbly at her smiling face giving this introduction, the tablet thankfully saved by landing on her bed rather than the floor. But as she continued to watch she couldn’t help but wish it had broken instead, regardless of any consequences she might have faced for it.

“I’m perfect for a Killing Game, I don’t have any faith in humanity,” the girl in an unfamiliar navy sailor suit went on. “That’s what you’re looking for, aren’t you? I can fake an innocent facade easily, and if you wanted me to play a part like Sayaka or Sonia I’d absolutely nail it.”

Huh? What is she talking about?! I’m not- I wouldn’t ever want to be a part of this! And no, that’s wrong! Right? I mean… Maybe not in humanity as a whole, but I like to think I believe in others well enough. I mean if I didn’t then… Then all of these murders and betrayals wouldn’t have hurt so much, right?

“You’ll make tons from merch of me, even if I’m not the one with the best rack. Which let’s be real, I probably am. You have nooo idea how pumped I was to learn I matched the Junko Enoshima in that department!- Ahem, sorry got a bit off topic I guess.” She continued with a bit of a blush at her overzealousness.

Junko Enoshima, first death of the first file found in Shuichi’s lab. So “Sayaka” should mean “Sayaka Maizono” from that file’s first case and Sonia should be “Sonia Nevermind” from the second file right? Nice girls on the surface, but only because those pretty facades were needed for their Ultimate talents.

“What I mean is, guys claim to “fall” for me all the time, as if any of them could ever really mean it. So I definitely know I have the looks to knock ‘em dead in more ways than one. It makes things waaay easier for me too, all it takes is a pout or smile and they practically start begging me to play them like a violin.”

Real or a lie, the things she was hearing was making Kaede’s blood freeze. She didn’t have any memories that lined up to what her living echo was referring to, but she couldn’t be sure that meant this was fake. Even if it was, seeing herself brag about being such a callous manipulator made her question herself more than she’d like to admit. (Is this part of why I could bond with Kokichi? Why everyone trusts me?)

“Speaking of, I’m pretty good at piano, so a musical talent would be a pretty good match for me. Not like Sayaka, Ibuki, Ami, or Yumi you know, just like a focus on a particular instrument. Could make for a good “conductor” pun too, depending on how I’m used~” She winked at the camera for emphasis.

Well, that doesn’t sound good. And more names from other files. But if this is true then what does this mean about my memories of my family? Is everything I remember a simulation to “get” this talent? … Is my Ultimate Talent even really mine? Where else did it come from? How could this me “choose” it? If you could be given talents why would they still matter so much?! What does any of this mean!?

“I’ll show you I have what it takes to win this. Just you wait.” Her living shadow finished with a grin.

And with that the other Kaede Akamatsu faded from the screen, leaving the real Kaede with only a black mirror and her own thoughts. Thoughts that couldn’t stop racing and refused to make any sense as they rushed after any and all possibilities, regardless of how contrary the theories that came up could be.

Kaede’s head ached in the aftermath, and she hoped she wasn’t the only one to have watched their tablet. She needed to have someone to share what she saw with, anyone who could help her make sense of it.

Even as a motive it didn’t make sense at a glance. If it was true, and it proved even her childhood memories could be flawed or compromised, what reason would she have to leave anymore?

So much of it was about pianos, and how it affected her relationship with her parents, her sister, her friends… If being a “piano freak” wasn’t true then what in her life was? What was there to go home to?

But Kaede couldn’t afford to think like that. She had more than herself to consider now. Her friends had lost too much for her to lose faith in escaping this hell. There were no better options.

So, regardless of if the words were fact or fiction, Kaede resolved to prove her other’s words true.

She’d show whoever the sick bastard yanking them around was that she and her friends would beat them.

They had to be getting close to the truth to get a message like this, so at odds with what they seemed to know. Which meant they’re almost there. So she couldn’t let anyone give up just yet.

Kaito nearly missed the screen sitting in his room as he got ready to head to breakfast. Considering the aftermath of the previous “video” motive, he almost ignored it and headed out anyway.

Alas, his curiosity got the best of him.

He took a seat on his little-used chair and turned on the odd brown framed device, bracing for an emotional impact. But the only feeling he got from the footage was confusion, so that hadn’t helped.

Seeing himself looking so confident and arrogant while standing in some sort of gym, wearing clothing he didn’t recognize from any previous memories, nearly made him lose focus and miss what was said. But only nearly.

“Number 343, #@!^* #*#*^@ here! So let me give you guys the low down, listen up and listen good! I’m not just gonna be IN Dangan Ronpa, I’m gonna kill EVERYBODY and win!”

Oh Jesus fucking Christ, talk about whiplash. I mean, what the fuck is he talking about? “Dangan Ronpa”? Is THAT what this fucking game thing is called?! Who the hell do you think you are?! Are you me???

“Yeah, yeah I can hear ya’ll bitchin’ already. “But #@!^*, what about the other contestants? You can’t just wreck their shit like that, you’ll take all the fun outta it if you don’t go a little easy on ‘em.” right?” The bastard mocked whoever he was expecting to complain with a terrible falsetto.

Oh my God since when was I such an asshole?! I mean if it looks like me, and sounds like me, it’s gotta be… wait. Holy shit do I have an evil twin? Or some sort of clone? I FUCKING KNEW IT WAS POSSIBLE! POP LIED TO ME!

“Already got it covered, don’t worry. Just leave everything to me! Make me the mastermind or not, doesn’t matter. I’ll be the badass Izuru DR0 offered us and DR3 screwed us outta seeing in action. Total party kill, no need for a fucking trial. ‘Cause there won’t be bodies to find when I’m through with ‘em.”

… Ya know what? New plan. After I get to space I’ll volunteer to be the first man to be sent back through time, with the sole purpose of punching this fucker’s lights out on the off chance it is a past me.

“Only exception I’m making is if some pretty lil’ thing gets my ignition going. Don’t matter how scared shitless they are, with the dough we’d be rolling in all thanks to me. And with that fame, it’d be easy enough to trade her out with some other sweet little honey if she gets too scream-y or squeamish when she finds out about the truth behind her “heroic knight”. After all, ironic talents are the fuckin’ best.”

So this is what it feels like to be angry enough to murder somebody. Fuck, I feel sick. God, I hope it’s not my symptoms acting up again, this room would already give anyone with some luminol the wrong idea.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the red shirts have their time to show off a little. And nobody, and I mean nobody, is gonna see me coming. Trust me, this is one star you’ll never regret investing in!”

Boy, there’s a lotta bullshit to unpack here. Assuming any of this is true at all, which it probably isn’t. What am I thinking “probably”, It can’t be! And not just because I don’t WANT to believe it either, no matter what Kokichi or the others would like to tease me about. It just genuinely can’t.

I could never be a rising star. I’m a dying one.

There’s no benefit to giving someone a fatal illness if they were willing to sign up for this. It’s not cost effective, simple as that. Even for the “drama” potential if this was a show it just doesn’t make sense.

Unless it was maybe to spite this guy for being such an asshole? Or someone close to him/me if it’s personal? But still, why sink resources into “natural” ways to kill people for a sick killing game show?

Maybe it could be left over from a previous “kill or be killed” motive. MAYBE. Or just to make the flashback videos feel more “real”? Assuming the audience already knows about my condition. I mean I'm not sure how you could hide it from them, since even our rooms gotta be bugged or somethin.

Kaito furiously scratched his head as he leaned forward in hopes of quelling what was hopefully bile rising in his throat. Even if it might not have done his lungs any favors either, much less his stomach. But goddamn if vomit doesn’t seem more “normal” and appealing than that recurring sick taste of iron.

If it’s to help the “setting’s” verisimilitude then why use this motive at all?! Could be a sign that this “audition” is the only thing here that’s been scripted? Except again, they’d know I’d never buy it!

It can’t give me any “false hope”, my body’s giving out too much. I know I don’t have time left. And if I was sick before auditioning, and that was real, then why wouldn’t “I” have pointed out why I needed the money? Did he worry it would be more a hindrance to getting picked? Is that why he wanted “fame”?

No. Even if that bastard was gunning for a quick game in order to get his blood money in time to save himself this isn’t me. They could have swapped him out, but I’m still here despite being on a time limit.

So let’s just focus on the bright side. People are watching this, hopefully some more normal than this implies. Can’t really hope for “most” folks watching a snuff series to be any better than that, can I?

This sick son of a bitch won’t be the “Kaito Momota” that people remember. I am. Hell, this freak might not even have that much in common with “me”, who knows what name was censored for this stunt. Still!

No matter what this place takes from me I’m always me. I’m the Luminary of the Stars that will live on even after this body of mine dies! Watchers know full well the kind of man I am! Hopefully I’m encouraging at least some of them to be the best they can be. Examples to look up to are important. Ideals are important.

I can die here knowing I did my best to live up to mine. Knowing I tried to help everyone else here live the best they could. It’s a man’s duty to help and encourage those around him. To go as far as he’s able to, and enable others to do the same.

Nothing’s changed for me because of this. Maybe I should count myself lucky for that. I don’t need it.

I can’t say the same for everyone else. I don’t know how much messages like this could help or hurt them. Could really help Ryoma, or destroy someone like Kiyo. Those rooted in their “pasts” are at the highest risk here.

I can still be a constant for anyone who needs one for as long as my health can hold out. And if it’s not as long as I’d like it to be, Kaede’ll be there too. She’s strong, there’s no way this motive could break her.

Not with a sidekick like Kokichi to help support her. Not with how much everyone cares about her.

Kaito smiled to himself as he nodded as a show of resolve to the viewers at home. Not that they’d know what he was thinking, but he’d figure it’d be obvious he made his own peace with his conclusions.

He almost considered taking a page out of Kokichi’s book, to look for a camera and even give a little speech to the empty room and hope to god he doesn’t just come across like an idiot. Again. (God, Maki will give me so much shit for that next time I see her. I can practically hear her sniping at me already.)

Instead, he just decided to head to the cafeteria and hope he wasn’t too much later than normal. It’d be pretty embarrassing to be the last one there over something like this. Shouldn’t make any of them worry, he thought.

Schedules help keep people from panicking, and any amount of normalcy helps endure insanity like this.

Besides, it’s not like there was any other way he’d like to spend the rest of his time than how he has been.

Despite his previous experience, the second Ryoma saw a new tablet before him he wasted no time to turn it on. Though as it played he reconsidered his decision, in case it was trying to trigger him again.

But at least this time the contents seemed promising from the get-go. He was wearing some sort of suit. Possibly a blazer style school uniform based on the crooked red tie and what was unmistakably a gym floor behind him.

And most importantly the version of him looking at the camera had nothing but determination in his eyes. A far cry from the ones he had now. And this Ryoma’s first words only sweetened the deal.

“Number 21. My name is &%*#@ #*$#! and I’m auditioning for this game because I know someone important to me is.”

There it was. “Important to him”. Whoever this was, even if it was only an actor, they suggested there might be something left for Ryoma outside the dome he was trapped in. Something beyond prison.

But still, I can’t let myself get my hopes up. This could just be baiting me so that pulling the rug out from under me again will hit as hard as Monokuma wants it to. The second things could start going downhill I’ll stop. Watching this whole thing could be a deadly mistake if videos can really “rewrite” who we are.

“I’m not expecting that to affect either of our chances of getting in too much, since it’s not like the audience would know about us unless you wanted them to, I just couldn’t stand by knowing she was going into this alone. I’m well aware of all the risks here. Just like I’m aware my odds of getting in, either with her or in her place, are probably a little higher because of my look. Gotta have a joke entry, yeah?”

“Joke entry” huh? So what, could my depression be something whoever’s behind this “game” forced on me in hopes I’d be an early death? All things considered, it nearly worked. If they can rewrite memories other forms of brain manipulation might not be so far fetched. Thank god for the idiots that saved me.

Or heck, I’ll even thank “Atua” if it’ll make Angie have a more natural smile for a change. I’m really lucky I got stuck with all of these clingy weirdos. Even the ones I could do without by this point.

“I know my folks’ll be horrified when they find out about this, but honestly? I don’t give a fuck. ‘Least they won’t need to find out I asked for it. Unless the stuff they say on the net about you “kidnapping” potential players for the sake of plausible deniability is a load of crap I guess. Either way, it’s better than the alternative, and if I die then it’ll be my own damn fault. ‘S not like I was able to talk her out of this.”

And that’s all Ryoma needed to hear to turn the video off. He was almost surprised it worked, since Monokuma seemed like the type who’d rig one of these so that if you tried to stop it it’d continue just to spite you. But he wasn’t going to complain or question it. He was more bothered by how numb he felt.

It didn’t matter if anything this motive said was true or not. It was enough. More than enough.

It was everything he had been hoping for the first time the motive videos were announced.

He did have people who cared about him outside of this hell after all. People he could come home to. Hell, the way this was claiming it was an “audition” and that his connection to… Whatever that girl was to him, could be missed by outside “viewers” like he hadn’t killed anybody before entering this game. Just like Angie said about Korekiyo. (But unlike that bastard if I haven’t before I still haven’t now. Maki’s still all his fault even without Kirumi's blood on his hands.)

Girlfriend, sister, crush, or whatever she was, she could even still be out there waiting for him. (Or she might be stuck in here with me. Could be dead already if she was. There’s no way to know for sure yet.)

He didn’t know if the burning ache in his chest was worry, anxiety, or a twisted sense of relief, he only recognized the hope this gave him. Regardless, it was probably a good sign that stopping where he did was a good call for now. No way to know if any of this was true in here, but false hope was better than none.

But if he really hadn’t killed all of those people, if he hadn’t spent so long rotting in jail, if his life wasn’t worth any less than the innocent victims trapped in this cage with him, he wasn’t sure what to feel now.

Should he be any more comfortable with the idea of someone else dying if he could give everything to save them? Would the people who destroyed his self-worth and years worth of his memories pay for this?

Would he ever be able to be normal or “happy”, or were even those memories of better times a lie?

Would whoever still loved him forgive him for everything he’d done? Was he still who they’d want to see?

Did that mean the years of suffering he remembers really meant nothing? That he can’t at least know that while he did the unforgivable over a hundred times over he didn’t even save future victims from the monsters he put in the ground? And where would that leave Maki and her “true enemy”? Or his own?

For now he tried to ignore these questions the best he could. Like how he’d clear his head before a match, if any of that were ever true. Maybe watching more of his video later would elaborate on that.

But Ryoma didn’t need to do that yet. He just had to bring this with him when he went to get breakfast, same as always. If everyone got messages like this then trading notes could be important, and if Kokichi was still paranoid about motives rewriting personalities then not seeing all of his own could be a benefit.

He doubted Kaede’d ever want to see them all together again, but having someone with him would be nice if he tried to continue this video later. Nice to know, or be able to think, he could be worthy of that. Of having friends without his demons whispering all the ways they were wrong to think he was decent.

He couldn’t afford to think like that too much though. He needed to stay focused on his goals. To get his friends out of this alive. To keep Korekiyo from hurting anyone else ever again. And now, to return to his family.

To his parents. People who wouldn’t be ashamed to share his name. Who wouldn’t be looked down on because they raised a murderer. Ryoma couldn’t even remember the last time he was able to see them.

Finding out about the girl that meant more to him than the world could come later. Would come later.

For now, he’d just need to take things as they came. And that meant being prepared to help his friends should any of their videos had worse implications for them than his did.

After all the support he’d gotten from them, it was the least he could do.

When Gonta saw the tablet when he woke up he hadn’t known what to do at first. Angie had told him the motive videos were bad, and the way they had corrupted Kirumi and Korekiyo before was proof of that.

But Kokichi told him it had been for the best that they watched it together, to make brainwashing them less likely than had they seen them alone. And Kokichi had been right more often than Atua had so far. Atua's rules did nothing to save people, but Kokichi's attempts failing at least had human error to defend it.

He could take this straight to Kokichi, to see if he thought watching it together would be a good idea, but he didn’t want to burden his friend any more than he had to. So much of the Killing Game Busters’ work was already resting on Kokichi’s small shoulders just because Gonta wasn’t smart enough to support him.

Kokichi’d never phrase it like that, Gonta was sure. He and Korekiyo liked to say it was a confidence thing instead, since that would be easier for Gonta to fix. But Gonta knew the truth. It was kind of them to lie.

Still, Gonta chose to try and take this burden for himself for now. If the video seemed dangerous he could always turn it off, and if it wasn’t then he could at least try to offer some ideas of his own when he took this to Kokichi to see what in the motive video could be useful.

“Number 156, @*^^@ @*%^#@$@. Let’s cut to the chase,” yet another Gonta said from the other side of the screen. Unlike Kibo’s Mini-Gonta this one looked a lot more like himself, but something felt far more wrong with this one. While it’s easy for intent to get lost when filmed this person’s angry aura was unmistakable. And as uncomfortable as the young man’s uniform looked on him, done up so tight it looked like it could rip and send buttons flying at any moment, Gonta suspected that wasn’t it.

But still why there so many Gontas now? Gonta should be the only Gonta! Unless new Gonta wants to be police Gonta, it be cool if Gonta had twin like that. Like Kaede has twin Kaede. But if new Gontas don’t stop coming, friends might get me-Gonta confused with a not-friend-Gonta! No one want that!

“This is Dangan Ronpa, you’re gonna need at least one guy built like me.” He flexed a bit for emphasis, tearing at some of the seams of his ill-fitting jacket. “I want in. And I’m no softy, got that?”

Hmm. That no sound right. This is very different Gonta, because Gonta definitely softy. Lots of friends tell him so, soft like the squishy fuzzy larva of the Pyrrharctia isabella!... That kinda got confused when making itself a chrysalis to go from woolybear to tiger moth, making it a bit too scary looking. But Kokichi say that still cool! Like a beary-bear mixed with a teddy-bear, perfect for protecting kids!

… Why did Kokichi keep laughing whenever Gonta call himself a bear anyway?

“Viewers always think the big guys are soft and sweet. This time they’ll be wrong.”

Viewers sound like smart people, that is exactly how real Gonta is! Sorry not-soft-Gonta is misjudged.

“I’ll crush them. Those expectations, those hopes, and these participants. I’ll squash them all like bugs.”

… huh?

Squashing… Bugs?

Hurting people?

HOW?! WHY?!

WHY MONSTER LOOK LIKE GONTA?!

“Speaking of bugs, that’s my talent. Don’t care how, but I want bugs. Spiders, centipedes, scorpions, killer bees, fire ants, dung beetles, cockroaches, every creepiest crawly you got.” Not-Gonta smiled, but the expression looked foreign on his face. Not at all like Gonta’s smiles, there was far too much malice to be seen there and there was little doubt that feeling was genuine. Like a predator toying with its prey. “Nature’s perfect little machines. Optimized for everything. Always knowing their place and keeping things going without any complaints.”

I don’t understand. I-I can’t understand! What’s “Dangan Ronpa”? Who is this person?! He’s a terse talker, but his grasp on this language is leagues better than mine. It can't be someone pretending to be me, can it? It'd have to be another Ultimate or something if he was, and not even Tsumugi could manage this I think.

But... It doesn't feel like someone else.  He sounds like how I feel when I get too riled up, but that... That can't be right. Emotions don't define how people are! How you handle them is, and I always try to keep control of mine. Even when it gets hard. Because that's what a gentleman should do, to BE a gentle man.

How can he claim that he has a bug talent and want bugs to care for when he doesn’t CARE about them?! Even Korekiyo genuinely loves his studies! This is more like… Like he just likes having power over them. That… That can’t be “love”, right?

What is any of this supposed to mean?

“Guess that’s all I gotta say. So see ya.”

Gonta didn’t know how long it was he sat there, trying to dry his eyes and rationalize what he saw.

All he knew was that he just couldn’t do it. Nothing about it made any sense to him, no matter how hard he tried to process it. He wasn’t smart enough to understand what sort of motive this was.

But Kokichi would be. He always is!

So that’s where he headed, as fast as his legs could carry him.

As the video came to life Kokichi wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was a video of him, obviously, but he was wearing some school uniform he’d never seen before in his life and he was talking up at a camera in a gym or something. The him on the screen felt different though. Nervous. Scared.

He had a bit of a false start at his introduction, but after yelling at some kids who started chanting “Do it, do it!” off-screen to shut up he seemed to get his bearings. Well, he got them better at least.

“N-Number 413. H-hello, my name is #*#!@#! *%^ and I’m only doing this because SOMEONE won’t stop bugging me about it! I-I’m not doing it because I love the show or anything, really.”

… Oh my god. LOOK AT THIS THING! WHAT EVEN IS THIS? IT’S LIKE A LIL’ BABBY BIZARRO ME! Is he even like honestly trying to lie right now? He’s soooo pathetic I can’t even.

“But… Um… Since I am auditioning I would still really want to get in ya’know? J-just for the screen time and the money and stuff! I mean just look at this cute face, audiences would love me!”

Okay, confirming what we already know, assuming this has any truth to it. Which it probably does, since those guys off screen were obviously my guys from D.I.C.E., I’d know those voices anywhere. Finding one sound-a-like might be possible, but nine? Not a chance.

“I can toootally play like the adorable funny best friend sidekick character, and if the theme of this season is going to be “truth vs. lies” I’d be great at that! I’ve always loooved the theatrical mysterious liars in previous seasons, like Nagito and Celeste. Though, I’d rather not be a murderer if I can help it.”

… Yeeeeah, hate to break it to you kiddo but I don’t really think that’s me. Except for the no killing, that’s still me so no worries there. Unless Kaede’s our actual protagonist instead of Discount Kamina or Captain Kibble, in which case maaaybe I could come across like that? Oh fuck wait, did I make myself the sassy gay best friend character type?! I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS! I TAKE IT ALL BACK, I DEMAND RESHOOTS!

“I-I mean… It’d be way too easy to win a killing game like that right? Where’s the fun in that?”

… Not sure I’m okay where this is heading, why’re we going to Joker town? There IS no “fun” in here!

“As far as talents go… Uh… I kinda sorta maybe have kleptomania so Ultimate Thief would be a good fit I think. But I’m practically king of our school’s chess club- God wait, fuck that sounds so fucking nerdy why’d I say that- W-well I mean it’s still true! So Ultimate Chessmaster could also work I guess? Since I’m pretty sure the Ultimate Lucky/Unlucky kids have been waaay overdone. Even if my name would work well for that pun.” He nervously shifted his weight from side to side as if trying to think about how to say what he was really after as a part of this “role”.

Nuh-uh, not being taken in by how adorably dorky you are, you can’t make me fall for my own act kid. You showed your hand, so what’s the fucking catch?

...Ayyy, wait a sec. Mister editor might've missed something here."Kokichi" can be a luck pun, and with my height being a "little lucky" would fit like a dream. So much for censoring "my" name, unless they only kept the reference here because the one I have now still worked for it.

Still, food for thought. They might have scrambled the audition names just to make us extra paranoid.

“Buuuut Ultimate Chessmaster might be a bit too on the nose though if I’m allowed to try for our season’s mastermind spot or anything though, you know? Er, only if that’s okay to ask for at all!”

what

“I-I mean wouldn’t that be a fun twist?! And being a victim would still be totes okay too, or I could fake my death like Junko did after really pulling at the audience's heartstrings by being so lovable all the time.”

This isn’t funny anymore fucko

“I mean I get it if that spot has certain limits applied to it, like duh they’re THE big bad, but I think I could pull it off! But I’d definitely wanna be a REAL mastermind, not some wannabe with amnesia like Hajime was. Well Izuru, same thing. The sort that’s hidden in plain sight that reeeeally makes you wanna rewatch it all again to see what sorta crafty bastard they’ve really been this whole time you know?!”

No. No no no no no. Non. Nein. Nada. Niet. Nope. This isn’t fucking funny you sick fucks!

But it’s also not a lie. He was completely and utterly honest about his intentions. Unless somehow that person could hide what a great liar he is as a fake out or he really isn’t me on some level.

That’s really unlikely though. It’s hard to fake tells without being too obvious, even I have trouble with it. And he definitely had my tremors whenever he starts getting nervous. This has to be real. It’s gotta be.

Kokichi clasped his hands in front of his face as he tried to control his breathing. He tried to process what this motive was trying to tell him as the “audition” ended. God he’s lucky they didn’t watch these things as a group like the first batch of motive videos, he’d be sooo dead. Unless he’s not the only one.

On the plus side this did give some clues about things, assuming any of it can be true. Which… It probably was. Or more of this setting was faker than he thought, since he knew those voices. But it COULDN’T be faker than he thought, Kiyo and his weird deal with his sister proved that already! Unless there’s some way to fake a guy magically growing and losing boobs on a dime that he doesn’t know about yet. (If it does exist I’m not sure if I want to slap the person responsible for being gross or shake their hand for it having both practical and hilarious potential. Maybe I’d just high five them while wearing a joy buzzer.)

This is some sort of show or game. People know about it and like it enough to willingly sign up for this shit. They might not know how real this is though, they might think it’s like reality TV or something. Hopefully that’s what they think it is, and they’re not talking like deep web red room shit or anything like that.

Masterminds change for each game, or this “season” with how he mentioned rewatching it like that, or at least this one needed to have someone new take the reigns. Some previous masterminds are people named “Junko” and “Izuru”, though the latter played in his or her game as “Hajime”. Deaths in this game can be faked, or they could in previous seasons. Memory alteration has also appeared in past games.

Wait. Hajime? As in Hajime Hinata? From the second of the 52 case files. Are these things acting as the motives now just because Shuichi’s lab already touched on some of this information? Interesting. There might have been a Junko in the first too, but if she was a mastermind that data was expunged. Izuru definitely didn’t come up in the second or sidenotes, so that could be standard procedure. Moving on.

“Talents” are a part of this game, so the Ultimate Hunt stuff was probably just this season’s “backstory”. This likely tied into how the flashback lights work. But flashback lights can’t completely change who you are, even if they can mess with most of you. This Kokichi talks like he does, but doesn’t think like him.

How much of these auditions reflect the actual people they used to be is unclear. This Kokichi’s a terrible liar to be certain, and not just in a Holden Caulfield slang sorta way, but these are still just auditions. Everyone has to be prepared to show off some sort of persona if they want to be picked for these things.

… But what can he do with any of this information? He can’t risk showing anyone this video, obviously. Not even Kaede or Gonta. He’s not that stupid. Not unless maybe he can watch theirs first. If everyone “wants” to be the mastermind in these it won’t be so bad. As unlikely as that case may be if they’re real.

If these were faked then of course they’d all claim they wanted to be the bad guy, the star of the show. But in reality, they’d only need so many people gunning to fill a particular niche in the game’s formula. Killers, victims, leads, rivals, survivors, and all the smaller audience grabbing archetypes in between.

At least Kokichi knew what his desired role was. And he knows that’s not who he is anymore. He doesn’t know who the person he was used to be, but they’re “dead” now. Kokichi Oma isn’t, and that person’s not coming back on his watch. He’s not planning on going out without putting on one hell of a show.

One bad enough that this whole goddamn genre would crash and burn.

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[munasak]

So I’ve been talking a bit about my post-dr0 madarai au and I thought maybe I’d share it here just because I really like it tbh?

this is terribly written btw I’m just like unloading what I have in my head I might actually write something later but I’m too lazy rn honestly

First of all this takes place w/ my personal headcanon (if you can call it that I guess) that he was in love with Murasame but that comes into play later

So before dr0 even starts, Isshiki Madarai is captured and taken underground to Enoshima’s secret hideout and basically forced to watch the student council killing game live, and then a bunch of times after while he’s used as a guinea pig for the version of it that brainwashes and sends people into despair.  He ends up narrowly (and I mean...narrowly) evading brainwashing by convincing Enoshima and her followers that he’s dead before the video is edited to the point where it works instantly

He gets out though and ends up joining the Future Foundation eventually in the sixth branch, Sakakura doesn’t really mind him since he keeps to himself and genuinely does care about eradicating despair even if he never shows just how deep that grudge is 

When he’s in the ff he’s like.  really, really heavily grieving and has not been able to actually work through or process it until Sakakura sends him to Jabberwock Island  to personally oversee the containment of the reformed remnants.  And once that happens he’s actually out of survival mode long enough to think about what happened to his family and the student council and he kind of almost starts to lose it

He cuts his hair to like...right at his shoulders because he can’t stand looking in the mirror and seeing someone who looks exactly like his dead brothers and reminds him of them :/

Anyway he goes into this with a secret plan to kill Hinata because of his involvement with the student council killing as Izuru, but at the last second he can’t bring himself to do it because Izuru let Murasame live 

He still hates Hinata so fucking much and doesn’t even want anything to do with him until eventually he totally breaks down and they end up talking and he asks Hinata if he remembers what happened, if he remembers Murasame specifically

After that they kind of begrudgingly (on his end anyway) get closer and after like.  A long, long time they start to fall for each other and start seeing each other in secret 

Also Madarai has always liked the sound of the piano but couldn’t really learn it because learning something his brothers didn’t know could break their unity but like...Hinata’s talented ass teaches him and it’s cute 

this was badly written but anyway

[murasaki-murasame]

Danganronpa V3 Liveblog: Part 1 [Prologue]

So now that my several week-long adventure in trying to secure the necessary equipment to legally play this game has come to an end, I’ve finally gotten a hold of it and have begun playing it, so I’m going to start my liveblog!

For the sake of keeping my followers as spoiler-free as possible, I’m going to try and heavily tag these posts, and put about 99% of each post under a readmore. I’m also going to keep the labeling pretty vague for each post. My basic plan is to play each section of the game in one sitting [if we imagine each chapter being split into three sections of daily life, investigation, and trial] and then make one post for each of them. For now I’m going to label them with what part I played, for convenience, but I can’t help but be a little afraid about the possibility of there being some shift in structure later that might be spoiled via my labeling. We’ll see how it goes. If people want to completely avoid spoilers I guess they can just blacklist the tags and stuff, but I’m still going to try my best to avoid major spoilers, so the majority of these posts will be under read-mores.

This is going to be a pretty interesting experience for me, since even though I’m a huge fan of this series and have been following it for a few years now, I’ve only ever watched LPs of the game, so this is my first time actually playing one for myself.

Anyway I’m just gonna put my thoughts on the prologue under the cut since this is already getting long. [Fake edit: this got super long but mostly because half of it was me posting my initial reactions to characters and stuff, so with that out the way, maybe the rest of these posts will be shorter. We’ll see]

I don’t really wanna waste time talking too much about my history with this franchise and whatnot, so I’ll just get right into things and say that I have no goddamn clue what to expect from this game. I’ve almost completely managed to avoid spoilers on it, beyond what was shown in pre-release material. Well, mostly. There’s a few vague, context-less things I’m aware of, but I won’t say what those things are in case anyone is reading these posts without having played the entire game. [Though as a warning, I’m not gonna hold back on openly talking about every other part of the franchise that came before this]

I’ve heard that this game’s ending is ‘divisive and controversial’, but I have no idea how, and honestly that’s kinda been the trend with this series for better or worse, so it’s not really a surprise.

Thankfully I’ve also heard that this is maybe possibly the best game in the series so that’s cool! It’s not like I’m expecting greatness from it.

I’m really glad that I haven’t seen any LPs or anything besides the demo, because wow did things start off in a way that I wasn’t quite expecting. The whole beginning part was . . . bizarre. I got so thrown off by how everyone was wearing normal school uniforms. In general the whole way that things play out but then, like . . . loop back on themselves??? was really weird and unexpected. I feel like the game is already throwing out major hints about late-game twists, to the point where it all feels so ‘obvious’ that it’s probably some kind of misdirection. The whole shot we got of Kaede wearing some kind of science experiment helmet thing in particular felt like a ‘peeking behind the simulation’ moment, but DR2 already had a simulation twist, so the fact that they seem to be hinting at a similar thing feels like misdirection.

On the one hand I feel like I shouldn’t think too hard about it in case I guess the twist in advance, but on the other hand all of this signalling is so blatant and in your face that I feel like I may as well talk about it.

Even beyond the weird time-looping thing, there’s also a pretty heavy focus on the idea of amnesia and deja-vu [amnesia is pretty common for the series but the deja-vu element is interesting], and there’s some really interesting hints given out about the outside world, with references to stuff like the Ultimate Hunt, I think they called it, and how that apparently ties in with how everyone had forgotten their talents in the ‘first loop’, if I should call it that.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that this game is set in the Hope’s Peak Saga universe, since the first opening movie literally spells out that this game is a continuation of it, so it’s hard not to work with what the previous games set up story-wise to try and guess where the hell we’re at in this game.

I’ve always wondered how the whole concept of Ultimates would have been handled post-DR3, and how Hope’s Peak would function. It definitely seems like we’re hinting at the idea that something went pretty wrong down the line. It almost sounds like maybe the concept of being an Ultimate is, like, treated as a crime now, but it also feels like it might be another DR2-esque thing with how that game’s cast were all the Remnants of Despair who were in the simulation for rehab purposes. I don’t think it’ll be exactly the same sort of thing, though at the same time it’s also hard to believe that the whole Despair thing completely died out after DR3 so who knows.

It’s interesting to compare this with DR2, in how that game really started out as a legit rehab program of sorts that tried to hide the truth from everyone, while this game is upfront about the idea that this game’s cast are criminals who are being punished for something. So it’s kinda easy to guess that maybe they really are all criminals who’ve just been made to forget their crimes.

[Fake edit: I was just about to finish this post but I just realized that I forgot to point out how incredibly suspicious it is that the prologue is literally called ‘Ultimate Revival’, when we already had the weird time loop thing happen]

I’ll try not to think too much about the overarching plot until it becomes more relevant, but yeah to put it simply I’m already getting huge DR2 vibes from this set-up.

Anyway, enough talking about serious Speculation [tm] and Theorycrafting [tm], let’s talk about the stuff we’re all here for! AKA the characters and the flashy visuals and whatnot.

Just to get it out the way, I’m stuck with shitty dialogue audio quality because I had to import the US Vita version of the game because 1: I don’t own a Windows computer [and for some reason the Steam version is only on Windows even though the first two games are also on Mac], 2: I don’t own a PS4, and 3: I have an NZ PSN account but I literally cannot obtain an NZ Vita copy of the game because no online or retail distributors have it available, and because for some godawful reason the NZ PSN store only has the voice patches for it, and not, y’know, the game itself. So I’m stuck with the US version of the game since it was the only one available, and because the voice patch is treated as DLC, and DLC is region-locked, I can’t get the high-quality dialogue audio even if I wanted it. Which I do. It’s not THAT terrible, but it’s noticeably bad. Especially for certain characters, like Shuichi and Kaito. But I literally cannot do anything about it, so I’m stuck with it.

On the topic of voices, I still do like most of the voices, even if the audio quality isn’t great. A lot of the voices sound a lot more . . . plain, I guess, than I was expecting. I dunno how to explain it. I kinda like it. It makes them sound more like real people, though some of them sound like, well, middle-aged people trying to voice-act teenagers while barely bothering to try and sound like teenagers.

The music is still high-quality and sounds great. I still love this franchise’s music style. Most of the tracks in the prologue sound either similar to or the same as stuff from previous games, which is fine, but the Monokids track is . . . certainly something. Definitely in a similar vein as how weird Monomi’s track was in DR2, but this one’s less cute. Still good, though.

The game’s visuals are still on-point, though the image quality isn’t great at times. The colours are really vibrant, but things often seem really pixel-y when they’re even slightly far away. I think that’s just how the series looks in general though, and it’s just easier to forget since I’ve only ever watched LPs of them. I do really like the more dark and earthy sort of atmosphere and colour palete this game has compared to the other ones, though. The other games look great, but I like that they did something a bit different. I get what they meant by calling this game ‘psycho-cool’.

Getting to the characters, I like them already, though I obviously haven’t seen them in action much yet. Visually, I honestly think they’re one of my favourite casts in the entire series. It definitely feels like they had a bit more restraint in designing a lot of these characters, compared to earlier games, while still keeping the same DR character design charm. I don’t know how the hell this series’ character designer is still managing to churn out unique and interesting designs after so many franchise entries, but here we are.

Since there’s so many characters I think I’ll just address them one by one.

Kaede: First of all, it still makes me happy that we got a female protagonist for this game. It’s a nice detail. Secondly, I’m just gonna lay it out and say that I’m expecting some major plot twist relating to her identity. It’s not a difficult thing to assume after how DR2 [and DR0 I guess] had big plot twists relating to their protagonist’s identities, in different ways, but still, the writing’s kinda on the wall for this one. I don’t know if Kaede will end up having anything uniquely shocking about her compared to the rest of the cast, but still. The way the beginning scene played out, with the focus on her not knowing who she was, immediately made me suspect that she might not actually be ‘Kaede’, somehow. We’ll see. I honestly would not be surprised if she’s a ‘decoy protagonist’ and someone else is the real protagonist. Especially considering the fact that the first characters shown off were Maki, Kaito, and K1-B0, nearly a year before we saw Kaede, which makes me suspicious on many levels. Anyway, I really like her design. It’s been a favourite of mine since we first saw her. The yellow/white/pink-purple colour palette is really nice. And on a related note, the goddamn magical girl transformation she had when she got put into her main uniform was amazing and glorious and exactly the sort of bizarre thing I wanted to see out of this game. There’s not much to say about her personality thus far, but I like her. And I also like that she’s a pianist. It’s refreshing to get a DR protagonist who’s talent is something other than ‘hope’ or ‘literally nothing’. I guess you could count Ryouko and Chisa as DR protagonists with actual talents, though. But you get what I mean.

Shuichi: It really surprised me that he was immediately presented as being the secondary protagonist. Or, at least, the ‘helper’ character. I like how, in contrast to people like Kirigiri and Komaeda, he isn’t really doing this out of his own volition, and was literally just stuck in the same room as Kaede. Which is still kinda suspicious in and of itself, really. He’s really great, though. I was so worried that he’d be a complete copy of Kirigiri, but he’s really not, thus far. He’s honestly really adorable, with how humble and easily-flustered he is. I also really like his design, and how simple it is. I wonder how his role in the game will be, going forward. He’s definitely the helper/assistant/etc right now, but who knows if that’ll change. I hope he has a different role overall compared to Kirigiri, at least, to shake things up a bit. Oh, and before I forget, I’m already guessing in advance that he might actually be a girl, although that’s almost entirely based on him being voiced by Megumi Hayashibara in Japanese [and on that note, boy am I annoyed that on top of not being able to get the high-quality dialogue audio, I also can’t get the JP voice pack for the same reason :/]. He definitely sounds much more like a boy in English, so I’m inclined to think that maybe they weren’t trying to hint at anything by giving him a really feminine voice in Japanese.

Rantarou: I already adore this dude and I plan to immediately do all of his free-time events. OK fine I’ll do other people’s ones as well, but he’s the one I’m most interested in talking to. Partly because I’m really inclined to think that he might die relatively early on so I want to get to know him immediately. He at least comes across like the sort of character who might get killed off early as a big plot twist, to contrast with how mysterious and plot-important he seems right now. I don’t really know what to expect from his role in the story, but it’s hard not to get Komaeda vibes off of him, especially in the parts where he gets vaguely sinister. Thankfully his personality is already pretty notably different. He definitely seems like the character who’s probably most ‘plot-important’ other than Kaede and maybe K1-B0. It makes me wonder what his deal is, especially since he doesn’t remember his talent. I hope the inevitable reveal isn’t lame or anything. I also can’t help but wonder if maybe he’ll become some sort of love interest for Kaede, but I guess Shuichi would probably fit the mark better at this point. Who knows. I imagine that Kaede will have a love interest of some kind, since the other DR protagonists did. Anyway, I like his design as well. His outfit honestly seems like the sort of thing I could imagine a normal person wearing without it being weird at all. It’s neat. His hair looks mostly cool, like 90% of it does, but I can’t get over how weird those two upward-poking wavy bits at the top look. They’re so weird. Also, I’m still slightly thrown off by how deep and mellow his voice is, but it more or less fits his personality. I guess that in general his personality is a bit different than what I expected. I expected something a bit more fun and light-hearted.

K1-B0: OK first of all I might eventually just start calling him Keebo because it feels more natural than typing a name that has numbers and stuff in it. I still love his name, though. It never stops being the silliest thing ever to me, that his name is literally just a robot-y version of the Japanese word for hope. It’s great. I’m still kinda surprised that he didn’t end up being the game’s protagonist, given that he was front and center on the game’s first poster. He’s even the only character shown on the limited edition box design for the game. So who knows what’s up with him. Either way it’s hard not to see him as being potentially plot-important, with how immediately different he is to everyone else. We’ll see. His design is still kinda amazing and I love it. There’s a lot of places where V3′s character designs show restraint and realism, but hahaha not with this dude. In terms of his personality, I’m still really surprised that he’s mostly kinda nervous and defensive and high-strung, while also being pretty desperate to appear normal while being really unaware of normal things. Which is a fine way to write a robot character, and I prefer his ‘over-emotional’ portrayal over the more typical ‘emotionless robot’ characters we usually get. My main concern is that the game seems to be framing him as some sort of joke about “““SJWs”““, and it’s just bizarre and out of place. I also don’t know how the heck we’re even meant to view it thus far, since his whole ‘I’ll take you to court for your robophobic comments!’ attitude seems like it’s meant to be a joke, but at the same time his whole intro scene involves Kokichi literally questioning and denying his identity because he’s a robot, and being really inappropriate and invasive in general, so it’s kinda hard to view his defensiveness towards ‘robophobia’ as some sort of a joke we’re meant to laugh at. I guess we’ll see how it gets handled in the long run. Also let me just say that I’m REALLY happy they didn’t attempt to put some sort of obnoxious voice filter on him to make him seem more like a robot.

Maki: As I said above, I’m still suspicious about her prominent placing on that first poster we got. It’s even the reversible cover of the game, which is why I got reminded of it. I’m really curious to see what her deal is. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about her yet, since she’s mostly quiet and cold to people, which isn’t really a personality type I like seeing. I could see her potentially being a prominent part of trials, though, since she seems like she’d probably be calm and logical and whatnot. Also just to be blunt I kinda want her to be Kaede’s love interest, or at least one of them. I’ve kinda low-key shipped them since I first saw them. But do I really trust Kodaka to give me a healthy and mutually-alive same-sex ship after how DR3 ended? Not really, lol. I really like her design, though, even if her personality is a bit meh thus far. The red and black looks really nice, and it contrasts well with the brighter colours of Kaede’s design. Although there’s something weird about how her mouth is drawn. It looks a little wonky.

Kaito: I’m even more confused about what the hell this dude was doing on that promo poster, especially after seeing him in person. He basically seems like the Soda of this game, but thankfully way less weird and creepy. He seems like a really great dude all around, even if he’d be a bit too, uh, intense for me to enjoy being around in real life. I’m also still kinda amazed that he’s an astronaut, of all damn things. I remember that one coming out of nowhere. His whole conversation about how he illegally cheated to become an astronaut and when he got caught they just decided to keep him on board anyway was amazing. It’s a pretty hilarious way to address and basically gloss over the question of how a high-schooler could possibly be an astronaut. Also, his design is kinda hilarious. The simple white/purple theme works really well, but jesus christ his goddamn hair is amazing. I love it. It’s so silly. It’s like someone took a normal hairstyle and then messed with it in Photoshop. I wonder what it’d look like if they ever try and make figures of him. But I unironically love that the inner part of his jacket has a space design on it. That’s a nice detail, even if it’s hard to see normally. I can also tell that some of his expressions are going to be hilarious.

Kokichi: I can already tell that this dude’s gonna be a major player in this game, especially in trials. To the point where I’d be amazed if he doesn’t survive for at least four chapters or so. I feel like he’s going to be such a central part of the trial experience that cutting him out would leave a bit of a void. He’s obviously going to be sorta Komaeda-y in how he messes with people but he never actually kills anyone or anything. I’m just guessing, though. I’m also basing this on the demo I watched someone play, where that’s exactly how it went. [Though on the topic of trials, it’s still interesting to me that Rantarou and K1-B0 were specifically excluded from the demo trial]. I don’t know if I’m a huge fan of his overall personality, though. He just seems a bit annoying for the most part, even if he’ll probably be pretty compelling overall, partly in a ‘love to hate them’ sort of way. And obviously I disliked how incredibly shitty he was toward K1-B0. That was unpleasant. His design’s cool, though. I like how he seems to be wearing some sort of a loose straitjacket. His huge checker-print scarf is also pretty neat. Not sure how I feel about his hair-style. It’s a bit odd. I’m also curious to learn more about his talent, since it’s hard to imagine him genuinely being what he says he is. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he’s actually lying about his talent.

Gonta: I love him so much but he’s so obviously going to die because the baras always die. That’s not a spoiler though. I don’t actually know if he’ll die or not. I’m just assuming that he will because every character of his vague ‘type’ have died previously. He’s great, though. I love how much of a gentle giant he is. He just wants to be a gentleman and everyone’s just immediately intimidated by him instead. But then again he does get genuinely scary whenever someone insinuates that they dislike bugs. So that’s a thing. The fact that his whole talent is about how much he likes bugs is strangely endearing to me. It feels like such a gentle, delicate, and studious sort of field that it clashes with his design in a fun way. Also he has Harry Potter-y glasses and that’s adorable.

Miu: She’s kinda already turning into a problematic fave of mine. I totally get why she’d be too much for most people, and I’d hate her in real life, but as a character she’s really fun to watch, and adds a lot to the group dynamic. I’m not really expecting much from her in the long run though, since she’s obviously meant to be this game’s fanservice-y and kinda dumb character. I can’t help but wonder if she has some sort of connection to K1-B0 though, or if they might develop one, since her talent as an inventor who knows her way with machines seems sorta fishy in a game with a literal robot character in it. Her design’s also pretty nice, though the weird BDSM-y equipment she has is kinda hilarious and bizarre to look at. I love her aviator goggles, though.

Kirumi: I already like her a lot, though it’s sorta hard to pin down why. I think it’s mostly to do with me really liking her whole aesthetic. The spiderweb/broken glass pattern on her dress in particular is really cool. The only weird part is that it’s kinda weird how her eyelashes are drawn visibly through her hair. It just looks strange. There’s not much to say about her personality, though her whole ‘I’ll do what people tell me to do’ attitude is very worrying given, you know, the situation they’re all in. I don’t exactly expect her to survive. Also I’m still a bit confused what the difference in talent is between her being a maid and Chisa from DR3 being a housekeeper.

Tsumugi: She’s unexpectedly funny but I feel like she won’t last long, so that kinda sucks. Her overall design is still by far the plainest in the game, but I like how it’s an intentional choice that’s contrasted by her personality. I appreciate that she’s not, like, super wacky or anything, but she’s still pretty hilarious. Especially her realistically surprised reactions to stuff other characters say. It’s also a really neat detail how when she gets excited about something and clearly starts forgetting things like social boundaries, her sprite gets bigger and bigger like she’s entering your personal space. It’s also an interesting concept to have a cosplayer character who’s just wearing a really plain and boring school uniform, and cares mostly about the actual production of the costumes. I can’t help but wonder if her talent will end up leading to her being able to disguise herself as someone else. That’d be a really interesting thing to use in a murder case. Also I seriously hope there’s a scene in the game where she’s just cosplaying as Junko for no real reason, and you’re tricked into thinking for a moment that Junko’s genuinely back in this game. That’d be amazing.

Korekiyo: I have no idea what to make of this dude thus far. He didn’t really get many lines outside of his intro scene. He definitely seems like the most ‘creepy’ character. I kinda like him, though. The way that he talks about the beauty of humanity makes me really curious to see how he reacts to the killings as they happen. It’d be a bit amusing if he lives for the entire game and just keeps being really fucking weird about the whole thing while everyone just averts their eyes. His entire design is incredibly weird to me, and it’s kinda hard to tell what they’re going for beyond ‘this dude’s incredibly super chuuni’. It doesn’t seem to fit his actual personality much. You’d think he’d be way more, well, chuuni, I guess. It also kinda surprised me when I looked at his profile and saw that, at least relative to average Japanese heights, he’s actually really tall. It’s kinda difficult to tell people’s relative heights in VN-esque games like this. Also, I actually think it’s really cool that he’s an anthropologist. It’s cool to see an actual academic field like this in the franchise. There’s not too many characters with talents like that. I hope he gives out lots of random trivia about anthropology-related things.

Himiko: She’s not exactly my sort of character, but I like her. I mostly like the little ways in which she’s handled differently than how you’d expect her to be. Like how the only fanciful part of her design is her witch hat, which isn’t very fancy itself, and how she’s really chill and mellow but also a little childish. Even when she’s trying to be bombastic, it’s pretty chill. Also her whole ‘magic is real’ thing reminds me so much of Beatrice from Umineko, and that just makes me immediately like her, even if they’re [presumably] very different characters.

Angie: I keep mentally grouping her and Himiko into the ‘short, cute girl’ category for some reason, even though they’re very different. She’s definitely very . . . unique, that’s for sure. I’m still thrown off by her accent. I get what they’re going for, but for some reason it just sounds sorta French to me, so it feels like they told her VA ‘put on a foreign accent’ without telling her WHICH accent to put on. I don’t know if her accent is necessarily inaccurate for the part of the world she’s from, but ‘French’ is my first thought upon hearing it, so it feels odd. I like it, though. It’s a unique voice. Her design as a whole is definitely really cool. I love how bright and cheerful it is, colour-wise. I like her bright and bubbly personality a lot, though she can be a little creepy at times, like in the whole ‘blood sacrifice for Atua’ scene.

Ryoma: Thus far he’s immediately my favourite ‘cartoon-y and unrealistic-looking’ character, compared to ones like Hifumi and Teruteru. For one thing, he’s not a perverted creep, so that immediately puts him about fifty levels above those two. I also genuinely adore the way that he acts and talks like he came out of some kinda detective noir film, and has a Dark Backstory [tm] involving him murdering mafia members with a goddamn steel tennis ball. It’s so melodramatic and angsty but so incredibly hilarious because he’s like a three-foot tall teenage tennis player dramatically talking about how he used his tennis-playing talent to kill, and that he’s now just an empty shell of who he once was. I love him already. If he gets killed off, that’d be a real shame. But his character type also never survives, sadly. I don’t have much else to say about his design itself, but I think he has a chain around his ankle like a stereotypical ball and chain put on prisoners and that’s just the icing on the cake of how amazingly emo his design is.

Tenko: Not gonna lie, I almost forgot she existed and had to look at the cover of the game to figure out who I was missing. She’s probably my least favourite character thus far simply due to me liking everyone else more, and also due to me just not being a huge fan of her design. It’s mostly just the way that her uniform looks like it’s five sizes too small, but her giant green hair ribbons are also a bit weird, and so is the weird DNA helix-y way her hair is braided. It’s a bit of a bizarre design all around. But I absolutely adore her facial expressions so much. They’re fantastic. I love how unrepentantly weird and gross some of them are. That fucking smile-smirk-grimace-thing she does when she first talks about ‘degenerate males’ is one of the funniest things in this game thus far. Although on that note, her whole man-hating thing is already a little grating. It’s not terrible, but still. Although it looks like the game might do some funny things with it, like how in the demo she couldn’t say which guy walked into the cafeteria because she just hates men so goddamn much that she basically blocked him out of her vision and then couldn’t remember who it was later. That sorta thing is amusing.

Monokids: I almost forgot to comment on these guys, but I may as well, since they’re a noteworthy new aspect of the game. They’re definitely very fitting for the franchise, but it’s almost overwhelming having so many variations of Monokuma running around. It was also really weird how it felt like half of the script in the prologue was just them talking, and the actual main characters just responding to them sometimes. I hope they don’t hog the screen-time that much for the rest of the game. I’m pretty interested to see what the hell their deal is, though, since presumably someone is controlling them, but they seem to be operating independently from Monokuma. I guess they might just be actual autonomous robots though. But still.

I don’t think there’s really any point to me saying anything about Monokuma, since he’s not exactly a new character. But I can’t help but wonder who’s controlling him this time, if he’s not also an autonomous robot. Presumably it’d be an all-new character this time around, unless they somehow bring back an old character. But if it’s a new mastermind, will it be one of the main characters of this game? If so, how? If it’s not, then who would it be? I doubt that the mastermind would end up being a completely, entirely new character. I guess we’ll see.

Anyway that got really really long but oh well. I have a lot to say about this game already, lol. I’m really excited to finally be sitting down to play one of these games on my own terms, rather than just seeing someone else play it on Youtube. Even if it’s been a bit of a nightmare trying to get the necessary equipment to legally play it.

I’m very curious to see where my opinion falls in the long run, since this seems to be a very ‘love it or hate it’ kinda game. I don’t really have super high expectations though, at least after I disliked DR2′s ending, and I thought UDG was kinda weird, and I thought DR3 was a bit of a trainwreck. I love this franchise a lot, but it can also be kinda terrible at times, so I’m keeping my hopes in check for this one.

[kristielynnhiggins]

Looking for a book like the Dragonriders of Pern? Fly on wings of dragons.

"Read fantasy chapter sample below" - Download free dragon book dark fantasy fairy tale "AabiLynn's Dragon Rite #0 Dragon's Brood" http://www.kristielynnhiggins.com/DR0.html Chapter One: The sun peeked over a grass-covered hill and brought morning to Thatchman's farm.  There was a bit of a chill in the air as spring forced winter out.  Thatchman harnessed his horse and prepared to continue plowing his field to make it ready for seed.  He still had two days of work before he could sow.  Thatchman finished buckling the last strap on the harness when he noticed dust rising in the distance.  A group of riders approached his land, and he had expected they would come.  He went over to his hut that housed himself, his third wife, and his four children; three were by his first wife who suddenly disappeared and the other child was by his second wife who passed on about five years prior in childbirth.  Thatchman grabbed his spear and returned to his horse.His third wife, Hellen-Mary, attended to the pigs along with his youngest and only daughter, Cara-AabiLynn.  By tradition, women of the Northern Grass Plains Tribe carried their mother's name as their second name to honor the one who bore them, so Mary was the mother of Hellen and so on."Girl, bring the bucket of slop the rest of the way for me," Hellen ordered as she set the bucket down and leaned against the fence to rest her weary and very pregnant body.Cara hobbled her nearly five-year-old body toward the only mother she ever knew.  Cara had been born early which caused her left arm and leg to be stunted.  Her leg, inches shorter than her other, caused her to limp but since she was born this way, she knew no different.  Her arm bore the brunt of the deformity.  It was about half the size of the other and appeared to others to be of little use.  Cara hurried over to Hellen, grabbed the bucket handle with her strong hand, and lifted it into her arms with the help of her other hand.  For a child her size, the bucket of yesterday's unwanted food was huge.  Its water slushed about the bucket as she walked the last ten feet to the gate.  Part of the slop splashed her brown dress which was already stained by a week's wearing.  Hellen waddled over, holding her back and opened the gate to the pigpen.  Cara entered and walked across the cool muddy ground to the trough, and then she lifted the bucket as high as she could and poured most of the slop into the trough while some of it spilled onto her bare feet.  She started back with the bucket and fell as her shorter leg sunk too far into the mud.  Cara didn't cry, but she got back to her feet and made her way to Hellen.  Dark mud covered her face and along with nearly every inch of her front.  Cara thought it would be fun to play in the mud, but she knew Hellen would disapprove."Look at you!" Hellen complained as she took her apron and wiped her dirt-stained face.  Hellen questioned once she finished, "What am I going to do with you?  You are nearly as useless as the old sow in there."She motioned to the large female pig in the pen, and Cara turned and stared at the creature that was three times her size and what her father called infertile.  She didn't understand why they considered the pig useless or what the word really meant."I am sorry, Hellen," Cara stated as she bowed her little head.  "I am sorry I am useless."The riders neared the farm, and the horses' hooves thundered across the dirt road.  Hellen noticed the riders and straightened her dress and hair somewhat as Cara hid behind her.  The lead rider halted his horse, and the four others with him also did so in turn until they stopped behind their leader.  The five men with swords approached Thatchman on foot.  All the riders were clad in leather from the band around their head, to the vest that covered their bare chests, and to their pants and boots.  Thatchman kept his spear at his side with the blunt end resting on the ground ready to use if the men decided to draw their swords."Bork," Thatchman cautiously spoke as if he greeted a wolf he'd surprised in the woods who may be hungry.Bork was the leader of the Northern Grass Plains Tribe which Thatchman and his family belonged to.  Most of the tribesmen raised horses, yaks, and/or sheep.  Thatchman was one of a few farmers who tilled the land."Thatchman, you know why I am here?" Bork questioned.He nodded, and then he replied, "You have come to collect."Bork looked at Hellen and noticed the small child hiding behind her, and then he turned back to Thatchman and asked him, "Do you have the silver?""I do not," he replied."That is a problem," Bork stated.  "I cannot give you any more time."  He scanned the area around the hut, pen, and field but saw no one else there.  Bork said, "I shall have to take from you something of equal value."  He looked at the distant hill and then to the roads winding behind the farm, and then he questioned, "What of your sons?  Where are they?  They usually work the farm with you," Bork spoke, and then he stated, "I could take one of them as a soldier for a year.""They are not here," Thatchman said, and then he added, "They are visiting my brother.""Convenient, I would say," Bork muttered, and then he stated, "Your crop is a season away."  He looked at the pen, and then he questioned, "What of your pigs?"Thatchman replied, "I have four young ones and one large one."The day before, Thatchman sent the piglets' mother with his sons as they headed for his brother's farm a couple of valleys away.  He wouldn't give up a fertile sow, not for a gambling debt.Bork walked over, looked over the feeding beasts, and then he said, thinking the sow was the piglets' mother, "I shall take the large one for payment.""One moment, my lord," Hellen spoke as she walked over to her husband and whispered into his ear.Thatchman's eyes lit up as if he had never even thought of such an ingenious idea, and then he said, "Bork, why not take my daughter, Cara.""Your daughter?" Bork uttered as he turned and looked at the young girl.  "Would you not prefer to give me your pig?"Cara ran over to Hellen and hid behind her again.Bork looked her over a second time before she hid herself, and then he stated, "She is too young to give to one of my older sons or soldiers.""Take her as a slave," Thatchman said.  "She is a hard worker.""And deformed," one of the other riders exclaimed."He is right," Bork stated.  "She shall be limited to what she can do and unsightly to give as a wife even to one of my slaves.""You could always make her a breeder when she comes of age," Hellen spoke, then turned, and positioned herself so that Cara stood in front of her."Breeder?" Bork questioned, and then he asked, "She is the fair AabiLynn's daughter, is she not?""Yes," Thatchman replied.  "She is my beloved's child."Hellen glared at her husband when he mentioned the wife before her, and then she squeezed Cara's shoulders, taking out her jealousy of a dead woman on the child.Bork peered at the girl, not as she was but as she would be.  In the Northern Grass Plains Tribe's tradition, male owners slept with their breeders to create slaves with no inherent rights.  Bork had wanted Thatchman's wife AabiLynn when she first appeared in their territory, but she married Thatchman instead.  It created much strife between the two men until AabiLynn died."AabiLynn's child," Bork muttered to himself, and then he thought maybe Cara might turn out to be as beautiful as her mother.  "Are you sure you want to give up AabiLynn's child?  She is your daughter."Thatchman glanced at his wife, and then he answered, "I am sure."Bork turned to one of his riders and told him, "Grab the child, and let us take her back to the plains."The rider nodded, then he went over, and scooped up the child as she attempted to flee from him, limping as fast as her little legs would allow her.  She kicked and beat at him with her arms and legs, and then she turned to her father and Hellen and screamed for them."Hellen!  Hellen, help me!" Cara cried out.  "Help me, Hellen!  Hellen!"  She managed to free herself of the rider, drop down to the ground, and ran to her shouting, "Hellen!  Hellen!"Cara fell down as she overstepped her stride but quickly got back up and continued for the woman as she cried, "Hellen!  Hellen!"The woman turned from her and headed for the hut, allowing the child's plead to fall on indifferent ears.Cara cried all the more, "Hellen!  Don't go, Hellen!"  She fell again and this time Cara didn't get up as she shrieked, "Mamma!  Mamma!"Hellen paused in her tracks as the maternal words left the child's lips and rattled her very core.  Never once had Cara called her mother.  Hellen had never taught her that name but insisted that Cara call her Hellen.  It allowed her to place some distance between herself and the other woman's child.  Thatchman's sons were old enough that they easily called her Hellen.  Cara must have picked up the word from the nearby farmer's children as she watched them play.  Hellen started to turn toward the child, but then she realized Thatchman had already given her to Bork.  Whatever feelings might have been sparked by the child's utterance was now too late.  There was nothing she could do about the debt or the payment; it had been completed.  She placed a hand on her belly.  She might just be too emotional because of her own coming baby.  Hellen continued walking to the hut as a tear streaked down her cheek.  She wiped it away as she wiped the memory and the name of the child from her mind.  Hellen placed a hand on her belly again.  She would soon have a baby of her own to replace any emptiness caused by the forgotten one's departure.When Hellen ignored her pleads, Cara turned to Thatchman and called out to him, "Daddy!  Daddy!""Quiet, child!" Thatchman scolded her.  "You are no longer mine."  He turned from her and walked away as he mumbled, "You were never mine."As both of her parents abandoned her to her fate, Cara lifted her tiny hands and wept into them.  The rider easily picked up the child and carried her to his horse, and then he, Bork, and the other riders headed back toward the plains.  Cara cried herself asleep and slept the whole way back to Bork's abode.Chapter TwoJourney To FiredrakeSeven years later...Darkness covered the land like a blanket of nighttime fancy, and the smell of horses and leather permeated the air as Cara held onto the back of her adopted father's waist.  She leaned the side of her head against Bork's strong back as they rode on his horse.  He was warm and comforting against the cool air.  Cara was still sleepy as they had rose hours before she normally did so they could take this important trek.  Sleep and dreams lingered with her as night and a young girl's fantasy remained a few moments more.They left the plains with three other riders, heading for a great destination.  All was grand in Cara's world.  She had people who cared for her and a special place she belonged.  She couldn't ask for anything more.Bork steered his horse up a hill, and she held on tightly so not to fall off on the incline.  The moon had long since gone, and the land waited for the sun to make its appearance.  Cara glanced back at the three riders following them.  One of the boys was Bork's son, Turk, the brother she never had.  Thatchman's sons had mostly ignored her existence, but not Turk.  He always noticed her, always knew where she was.  Here with Bork and his family, she had found a place to belong, a place where she was needed and cared for.Twilight broke at their backs as a red-orange light burned across the grasslands.  A horse neighed, and a few flying birds greeted the morning, and all was grand in Cara's world.  She had people who cared for her and a special place she belonged.She squeezed Bork's waist as if giving him a hug and then turned her head so she could view the lands on their right side as they sped by.  She overheard Bork speaking to the boys before they left his hut.  He told them of the place they were going, that it was important, and they had to do well or was it, it was important that they do well at the place they were going?A golden wren flew overhead, and Cara turned her head to follow the beautiful bird in its flight as it sparkled in sunlight.  She thought when it came time for her to select a totem animal, as those in Bork's family had, she might pick the golden wren.  It was free to go where it willed, but the females still had a family they returned to and cared for.  The time of naming a totem animal was also the time she was given new clothes like the leather the riders wore.  She was ready to burn her dingy tunic in a fire.  She had seen other children use the fire to burn their old clothes when they came of age.  At that time, she could...Cara caught a glimpse of Turk eyeing her, and she sleepily and bashfully hid her face in Bork's back.  She smiled, knowing Turk was with them too, and it warmed her heart to know Turk was thinking about her.  Cara adored him as an older brother.She turned her head and looked again to the left side as they rode on.  The plains were so different than the lands around the farm she once called home.  An incidental tear trickled down her cheek as day started to break up the dreams night allowed, and she quickly wiped it away before anyone saw.  She was to never speak unless spoken to, and she was never to cry.  Those were the rules ingrained in her since arriving at Bork's hut, and Bork's wife was the one who fiercely taught her these simple rules.  The rising sun finished burning the sky, and the blueness of the day appeared over them and with night gone, so were dreams and a young girl's fantasy.  Cara would have to face reality until the sunset again and she was able to close her eyes.All was grand in Cara's world, but it all vanished back into her mind.  She had people who cared for her and a special place she belonged, but those ideas and sentiments were only in her head.  She, after all, was only a slave, someone they would sometimes refer to as a breeder.  Cara was more alone with Bork and his son than she had ever been with her father, her brothers, and Hellen.  She had no rights as a human, no one she could emotionally depend on and though she had a place she belonged, she wasn't loved.The riders moved on as did the morning, and the harsh reality of her existence smacked her again like one of the slaps Bork's wife would frequently give her.  This was the world Cara lived in but not the one she wanted to linger in.  The time she spent in her perfect world was far too short.She was barefoot and wore a sackcloth tunic, and no totem animal decorated any part of her clothing.  Cara was an object to own and order about and nothing more.  She thought of Bork as her adopted father, but the only thing he adopted was a harsh tone and leering eyes that seemed to want something from her.  Turk was still the brother she never had for he was neither a brother to her nor a friend only her constant tormentor.  This was the reality of Cara's life, a reality she wished was a nightmare and the imaginary world she envisioned was the real one.  There had to be more in this world than pain and hardship.  Those would be bearable if she had joy and love but without joy and love, pain and hardship were becoming more intolerable with each grim day. End sample

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[oumakokichi]

I'm of the belief that the ndrv3 students' talents are based on interests or hobbies they had prior to being brainwashed. Kaede even says that she has something she likes to "pour her heart into" in the first part of the prologue. The Remembering Light and the placebo effect probably filled in the gaps.

I definitely agree with this! Ithink to every “lie” or “fiction” that Tsumugi created for the killing game,there was at least some element of truth to it which was then exaggerated orembellished for the sake of making it “more entertaining.”

Each character’s likes anddislikes interest me quite a bit, actually, because they seem to confirm asmuch, while also suggesting which parts were embellishment. Kaede, for example,has “keyboard” listed as her likes. Since she’s a classical pianist fromeverything we see about her talent in-game, it would make sense if most of herexposure to piano music was actually via the keyboard pre-game, in my opinion.

Much more realistic than herbeing an actual naturally-gifted SHSL Pianist is the idea that she probablyowned a keyboard back home and that it was something she “poured her heart andsoul into” while she practiced. This love for the keyboard and for classicalmusic was what probably influenced either her request or Tsumugi’s decision tomake her into a pianist in-game—but it’s still notable that her likes justinclude the keyboard, rather than any kind of grand piano.

Tenko is similar. I’ve pointedit out a few times, but her likes include “nunchakus,” which interestinglyenough have nothing to do withaikido. There are a very few close-combat weapons occasionally used in aikidotraining, but nunchakus aren’t one of them, and it’s hardly surprisingtherefore that we see no nunchakus in Tenko’s lab or in the scenes where she “trains”with Himiko or Saihara. Still, “nunchakus” are listed as her likes on herofficial profile.

This suggests to me thatpre-game Tenko was very much interested in martial arts in the general sense,but that she perhaps didn’t know much about the subject. Either she likedvarious kinds of martial arts and close-combat weaponry, or she simply watchedmartial arts films without knowing much about them, but clearly she was noexpert.

The glimpse we get of Tenko inthe prologue suggests that her personality is every bit as energetic andoutgoing as her in-game counterpart, but it’s true that she seems to have noidea how to fight in self-defense. So clearly her aikido talent and expertisein-game was something based on a personal interest, but something Tsumugiherself also embellished a little bit and added her own touches to.

There are actually a fewtheories floating around that even Ouma’s love for games/chess might besomething similar. A few Japanese fanartists seem to headcanon or theorize thatpre-game Ouma was something of a hikkikomori gamer who entered the killing gamein order to put a stop to it (meaning that whatever games he might have played,he definitely wasn’t a fan of Danganronpa, haha).

While the small glimpse we getof him in the prologue certainly suggests that he was more timid/scared thanhis in-game counterpart, it might not be a stretch to theorize that his in-gamepersona is much more based on how Ouma actually played within games/chessmatches rather than when he was simply scared or socially awkward around people.Not only that, but if he was given atalent anywhere close to SHSL Analysis as I’ve speculated about, then thatwould also account for quite a lot of the difference in his pre-game andin-game behavior. There’s a notable difference between Ryouko and Junko’sbehavior in dr0, after all.

So I definitely think it’s truethat each character’s talents and backstories were probably based on some kindof personal interest they each had. Tsumugi is an otaku, so it makes sense thatshe would want to stretch these things to their limits or exaggerate them forentertainment value. This is what allows for possible headcanons like pre-gameAngie having been openly religious but not a fanatic, or Korekiyo havingperhaps had a sister in real life (the mask he wears in the prologue suggestshe might have been taking care of someone) but wasn’t involved in any grossrelationship with her.

It’s fun to speculate sincethere’s so much that’s been left open-ended, but I really love seeing the bitsand pieces of solid information we do get, such as the character likes anddislikes, and the line you mentioned about Kaede putting all her heart intopracticing the piano. Tsumugi herself claims in Chapter 6 that remember lightscan’t exactly make you into an “entirely different person”—they just supplementwhat’s already there, and they’re only at their most effective if you have noidea how they actually work.

This was a lot of fun to writeabout, thank you so much for asking!

[magioftheseas]

Heart Over Head Over Heels

Summary: Two times Matsuda Yasuke gets forced into developing and furthering his bonds; one time he wasn't. Island Mode AU where Matsuda Yasuke survives the events of dr0 and goes onto be placed within the NWP with the rest of the remnants of despair.

Rating: T

Warnings: Mild medicinal drug use. Also Matsuda’s filthy fucking mouth. Some mentions of illness. Also this fic is like, ~10.7K.

Notes: Few things are more indulgent than this, lbr. I just...got nothing. Please read dr0. Do it for him. Also MatsuKamu is the most criminally underrated pair. MatsuKoma and MatsuHina are pretty good, too. I honestly would not be opposed to writing Matsuda interact with the other sdr2 kids, but I’m really not sure if literally anyone except myself would give a shit about that.

**Alternative Ao3 Link**

Commission? Donate?

This whole thing was bullshit. Absolute bullshit. Everything about this was bullshit.

Jabberwock was a nonsensical bullshit island befitting its nonsensical bullshit name, and he wanted no fucking part of it. He barely had time for idiots in middle school, why did he have to have nothing but time for idiots now?

Lovey-Dovey Heart-Throbbing Island Adventure. God. What was his life now, a shitty harem game? Ew.

He supposed with Usami here, it could be like the third movie of Heretic Angel ☆ Mochi Mochi Princess Buko—but Usami was too sugary saccharine even for Buko. She’d be at-place in a knock-off wannabe brand of S@nR*o, but nothing actually refined or respectable. He wouldn’t mind her too much—

“Matsuda-kun, uuu... You really should be making friends...”

If not for her insisting on this bullshit.

“That’s no good, Matsuda-kun! Friendship is very important and leads to a long, hopeful life!”

“Unless you’re dying of a brain disease,” Matsuda said bluntly. “Then friendship don’t do shit.”

“Awawawa!!!”

The sun was shining through the windows. The beds in the hospital were comfortable if anything else, and the hospital itself was very conveniently the quietest place here. And this idiot rabbit was flailing at him in distress. What a comical sight. Not as comical as his manga, mind you, and he really was extra pissy that the volume he’d be waiting for wasn’t in the library. Still, this hospital bed wasn’t half-bad to just lay on and the ceiling wasn’t half-bad to stare at.

If only his cabin could be this comfortable and quiet. But after being waken up the third morning in a row by a screaming punk rocker, he didn’t much care for it, so he made himself home at the hospital building instead. Read up on the texts there. Studied. Played with the scalpels. Threw them at Usami when she showed up.

“Matsuda-KUN!!!” He stared past her at the punctured holes in the wall that could be connected to create the tacky outline of a tacky rabbit thing. Needed more holes though. “Enough is enough! You NEED to go out and make friends!”

“I’m working to be a competent doctor, not a well-adjusted person,” he said. “So why don’t you take your tacky saccharine sweetness and spread it on some cupcakes instead of bother me?”

“H-Harsh! So harsh!” Usami whined. “Uuu, my darling student...so harsh...! You’re only seventeen, Matsuda-kun, you needn’t be so harsh...”

Matsuda’s brow quirked, and he pushed himself up.

“I do my chores,” he said. “And I study. You really shouldn’t expect more.”

“B-Bu...” Usami sniffled. “Matsuda-kun... You mustn’t be so...hopeless... Please won’t you make friends? If you collect enough hope fragments—they become stars that grant your wishes!!”

“Wow, sounds like bullshit.”

“Matsuda-kuuuun!”

“But you’re just going to keep on bothering me until I go out,” he said, running his fingers through his hair with a sigh. He slipped off the bed and slipped his feet into the hospital slippers. “Well, I have been getting tired of seeing your face, so... Maybe a new face to get sick of wouldn’t be so bad.”

“Yes!” Usami cried tears of hurt and relief. “Go out and make friends, Matsuda-kun! Love, love!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

--

...make friends, huh...?

He wasn’t sure where to start. Everyone here was a nutjob to varying degrees and in varying ways so how was he supposed to choose?

With the sun beating down on his nape, his irritation festered just a bit more.

Friends... Friends.. Friends...

For some reason, it just annoyed him more and more to the point of giving him a migraine, of all things.

“Urgh...” Matsuda rubbed at his temples, biting his tongue with a hiss. “Ah, geez, what even the hell?”

First thing’s first, he should go to the market and grab some extra medicine for his headaches. He had been popping pills more often for—some reason, and he had a feeling he’d really need it for the moments to come.

He made his way there in long, swift strides, glare narrowing and scowl deepening.

All this is temporary anyway. I don’t have to waste that much time, it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine—

The doors opened as he stepped through. There was a low buzz in the air from the air conditioner, and Matsuda made a beeline for the pharmacy aisle.

Someone else was there and this would either be majorly convenient or majorly aggravating. Perhaps both. But, aah, well...

“Ah...!”

Fluffy white curls swept through the air as Komaeda turned on his heel, blinking those wide, gray-green eyes back at his dull stare. Matsuda’s frown deepened just as a smile spread across Komaeda’s thin lips—and why was he looking so hard at this guy’s face again?

“Matsuda-kun! Good morning! Fancy meeting you here!”

“Yo,” he said, raising a hand alongside his brow.  “I guess even headaches can get headaches.”

Komaeda laughed, backing away from the shelf.

“Aha! Sorry, sorry, was I in the way? I don’t...mean to cause you trouble, Matsuda-kun, of course not...!”

“You’re not in the way, you’re just there,” he said, stepping forward and plucking a bottle of the shelf. He pocketed it without a second thought.

“You’re right!” Komaeda explained. “Someone like me could only ever take up space with my worthless self! Ahaha, I’m so sorry, Matsuda-kun!”

...Urgh...

For some inexplicable reason, this just irritated him further.

...But, that said...

“Do you have any plans?” Komaeda flinched, almost cowering back in the sparkling presence of the shockingly pink ticket Matsuda held up. “If not, we’re hanging out.”

“M-Matsuda-kun...!”

Matsuda barely batted an eyelash. “We don’t have each other’s hope fragments, right?”

Never mind that I don’t have any hope fragments at all...

“A-Ah, well...” Komaeda’s cheeks enflamed. Gross. “If... If someone as amazing as Matsuda-kun is asking, then... I can’t refuse...!”

“Kay,” he said, placing the ticket in Komaeda’s hand. Immediately, it dissolved in a flurry of sparkles. It was as if he signed a devil’s contract. “Kay. Let’s get going. Hurry up or I’m going to leave you behind.”

“Y-Yes, Matsuda-kun! Right away, Matsuda-kun!”

With how long Komaeda’s legs were, it was almost irritatingly easy for him to keep up with Matsuda’s stride. There was almost a really weird sense of nostalgia to having someone follow him like a lost puppy—but thinking about it gave him a headache so he popped a pill and proceeded to just stop thinking about anything at all.

“So,” Komaeda chirped, fluttering every bit like a nervous bird. “Where are we going?”

“Dunno. Just started walking.”

But from the look of things, this was the direction of...the fourth island, right?

Ah, there’s an amusement park, there.

Well, that was a typical venue for dates, right? Better than sitting on his ass for hours while staring at a screen while picking at popcorn stuck in his gums. If he had to get up and “make friends”, he might as well be active. Or something.

At least the hospital slippers were comfortable for walking around.

“...um...” Komaeda’s smile twitched as he fiddled with his fingers. “So, we’re...going to the fourth island, right?”

“Sure looks like it,” he said and they crossed the bridge. Waves rolled underneath their feet. “How do you feel about amusement parks anyway?”

“I haven’t been to any since I was a kid,” Komaeda mumbled. “Um, Mioda-san wanted to go with a large group, but... She also wanted to ride the roller coasters and that’s...absolutely...not an option...for someone like me.”

“Someone like you,” Matsuda mimicked. “Well, I’m not one for being jerked around either. So it’s whatever.”

Komaeda laughed lightly.

“It’s...really more than just that,” he said. “It’s far too dangerous.” His breath caught and then his eyes began to swirl. “So many people can die in roller coaster-related accidents! For someone like me, someone like me...! It’s just...not an option...!”

Matsuda glanced at him as he wheezed, voice cracking, pitching, and distorting.

Without thinking, he reaches out and takes his cold, clammy hand, making Komaeda nearly choke.

“M-Matsu...?!”

“No roller coasters,” he said. “Got it. Like I said, I don’t really care. I’m not one for being jerked around.”

Komaeda swallowed back saliva as though his throat ran dry.

“I... Um...” He blushed and hurriedly nodded. “Okay...”

With that, Matsuda tugged him along.

--

“Riding...on the mouse...is a must...!!”

“A must, huh...?”

“A must!!”

“Kay.”

Matsuda did not ride on the mouse but instead lounged on the unmoving carousel. He watched Komaeda straddle the mouse however and grip the pole as it rose and fell. For that brief moment, Komaeda looked utterly delighted and like a real little kid.

...ah, huh...

The music played on an on in a looping, saccharine melody. Komaeda giggled with glee. Matsuda was this close to falling asleep. In fact, his eyelids grew heavy and with time, slowly, but surely, they fell.

“Mm...”

“Matsuda-kun!”

Matsuda perked up, blinking blearily a few times. The merry-go-round wasn’t moving, and the music was no longer playing. Komaeda, however, was smiling brightly down at him, fingers clasped behind his back.

“I know I’m not the most terribly interesting company,” he said. “But, sleeping like this is bad for your neck, Matsuda-kun!”

Matsuda’s joints popped and scraped against one another in agreement.

“Not the worst position I slept in,” he yawned. He took Komaeda’s offered hand and helped himself up. “Did you enjoy yourself, at least?”

“O-Of course!” Komaeda stammered out. “How could I not?!”

“...I could think of a few ways,” he said but didn’t elaborate further on the topic. He stretched. “So, what else are we doing?”

“Eh...” Komaeda blinked at him dumbly. “What else...?”

“Yeah, what else,” Matsuda repeated, unimpressed. “Just going on one ride would be too half-assed even for someone like me.”

“But...!” Komaeda gasped. “Someone like me... Just one ride is more than I could ever ask for from someone like you, Matsuda-kun!”

Matsuda scowled.

“Are you saying you don’t want to go anywhere else?”

“It’s not about what I want...!”

“Then shut up,” he snapped and Komaeda’s mouth did indeed snap shut. “If you keep overthinking, you’ll overheat and that worthless brain of yours will end up melting. You’re already stupid enough so let’s not add further brain damage to the mix, Komaeda.”

Komaeda blinked up at him and then swallowed, nodding in return.

“Come on,” Matsuda said, gesturing him to follow with his shoulder. “I wanna try the Ferris Wheel next.”

“The... Ferris Wheel...?”

Matsuda stopped, spinning around on his heel.

“Yeah,” he said. “Do you have any problems with that?”

Komaeda’s smile twitched.

“I... A few... Like if it breaks...or stops...” Once again, his eyes swirl. “Or stops, breaks, and then rolls away.”

“What kind of shitty action movies have you been watching? You should be watching more worthwhile flicks—like Home Alone or something.”

Komaeda blinked up at him, eyes bright and shimmering.

“...I don’t watch action movies. They’re loud and uncomfortable. And voyeuristic. Not to mention I’ve been in those situations before...” he trailed off.

“I get it,” Matsuda said, huffing. “We can go on something else. There’s a train ride around here, right...?”

A train...

“Oh, no!” Komaeda gasped out. “No, no! If you want to go on the Ferris Wheel, then you can, Matsuda-kun! But...” He fiddled with his fingers. “It’d be such despair if something happened to you because a lowly worm like me was there, so...”

Like a merry-go-round, this conversation is going in irritating circles.

“Are we going or not?” he asked. “Yes or no?”

“W-Well, I...”

“Yes,” Matsuda repeated, stressing out the word between his teeth in a hiss. “Or no?”

Komaeda flinched, hesitated, and then shakily he nodded.

“Um, um... Y... Yes. Yes, we’re going. Sorry, Matsuda-kun.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said coolly, turning back so they could resume going on their way. “Like I said, you just shouldn’t think further on the matter at all. Idiot.”

Komaeda shivered but soon enough skipped up after him with a giggle.

“Matsuda-kun, you’re sharper than a scalpel! Hahaha!”

Matsuda hmphed at that.

--

Komaeda looked up at the Ferris Wheel with the strangest expression, at each passenger car rising to meet the sky before descending, each pausing at the ground to potentially welcome someone inside.

Matsuda shrugged off his thoughts and the two of them stepped inside and settled on the cold plastic seats as the doors creaked shut.

“...it’s very different,” Komaeda murmured, looking out dazedly, shifting the slightest bit. “I never rode the Ferris Wheel before...” He smiled faintly. “I was too scared of it rolling away, but... It really isn’t so bad...”

“Yeah?” he droned. “I rode it once because...”

He stopped.

Ah... Huh...?

“Because...?” Komaeda frowned. “Matsuda-kun...?”

Matsuda rubbed his temples as they began throbbing again, this time more fiercely like there was a violent recoil inside his head.

“U-Urgh...!” He quickly fished out that bottle of pills, and swallowed another one dry. He groaned, rubbing as the pain dissipated. “Fuck... Christ... Do I have a fucking tumor or something?”

“A-A tumor?!” Komaeda paled with a look of utter horror. Irritably, Matsuda waved his hand with a sigh.

“No, it’s nothing, it’s nothing.” The words almost felt planted on his tongue. He couldn’t really explain it and—he felt the compulsion to just ignore it entirely. “Honestly with how ridiculous the whole situation is... Chronic headaches developing suddenly isn’t that weird.”

Even though deep down I know there’s more to it—

I feel pressured to just ignore it.

“Ah...” Komaeda faltered like a wilting flower. “Matsuda-kun... Please take good care of yourself...”

“Geez,” he grumbled. “I shouldn’t have you of all people telling me that.”

Komaeda smiled sadly and Matsuda averted his eyes from that sight to the one of the amusement park as well as the rest of the island spreading out before them. Matsuda straightened his posture as he stared out further, to the endless blue of the ocean and sky.

“...when the sun sets,” Komaeda spoke up suddenly. “This is sure to be quite the stunning sight, don’t you think, Matsuda-kun?”

“I guess,” he replied. Komaeda laughed.

“With how vibrant orange complements blue, it’ll really be radiant to see, I’m sure,” he said. “But... As it is now... This is...nostalgic to look at... I was worried but... This...really isn’t so bad... It’s calming, I think.”

Matsuda turned and Komaeda had a gentle, serene smile that seemed different from the rest of the calm, vapid smiles he’d toss around so carelessly.

...This is nostalgic for me, too, he thought. But... It’s still really different.

Their car creaked as it continued to rise. Komaeda suddenly shivered.

“A-Aha...” He wrapped his arms around himself. “Ah, ah, um, sorry... Sorry... I don’t know why, I really was fine but then—!”

“Oi,” Matsuda said, voice lower. Slowly, he began to move. “Komaeda, are you...?”

Komaeda shook his head furiously.

“I-It’s just! We’re so high up! So high, so high! If we got stuck here—or if we fell with no way of protecting ourselves—that would just be the worst, wouldn’t it?!”

His breath hitched.

“That makes this really dangerous, doesn’t it, doesn’t it, doesn’t it—!”

And then suddenly, the wheel stopped and Matsuda toppled forward. Komaeda yelped.

And then, Matsuda’s hand smacked against the other end of the car, his knee hitting the seat and making him shudder, all while Komaeda’s nose was crushed against his chest.

“...Ow,” Matsuda cursed colorfully, wincing as he pushed himself away. Komaeda’s eyes were wide like dinner plates, and Matsuda plopped back down on his seat. Both his hand and knee seriously ached right now.

“M... Matsuda-kun...” Komaeda looked around, and then wheezed out a laugh. “I-It stopped! It completely...utterly...stopped!”

“I noticed,” he said, frown deepening. “Well that’s just fan-fucking-tastic.”

Komaeda burst out laughing.

“I-I knew it! I just—I just knew it!” he gasped, giggling manically as his fingers tangled into his hair and pulled. “I knew this would happen and now we’re stuck here—someone like me got someone as wonderful and amazing as the Matsuda Yasuke-kun in this despairingly unlucky situation! I really am the worst! Just—the worst! The lowliest, most disgusting, most deplorable—!”

Matsuda’s hand smacked over his mouth, silencing him.

“Komaeda,” he said lowly and sternly. “Shut the hell up. None of that is even accurate. I was the one who said I wanted to be here, right?”

Komaeda quivered, his breath hot against his hand. Irritably, Matsuda shoved his hand against his mouth harder to utterly muffle any possible sound.

“I’m taking complete responsibility for this one and you’re not to fucking take that from me,” he said firmly. “This whole thing is the result of my dumbass decision making. Got that?”

He pulled his hand away to run his fingers through his hair with a sigh.

“...That fucking rabbit bitch better get our asses down soon,” he grumbled. He noticed Komaeda was staring at him with sparkling eyes and glared. “What the hell’s with that stupid look?”

“Matsuda-kun, you’re...even more tsun than Hinata-kun!” Komaeda gasped. “It’s incredible! Amazing! There’s no way Hinata-kun’s talent can be Ultimate Tsuntsun Hair when you exist!”

“...well you’re back to a level of acceptably stupid.” Matsuda sighed. “Geez, you... So what’s wrong with you anyway?”

“So many things!” Komaeda exclaimed cheerfully. “I’m wrong just by being here!”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Matsuda snapped. “The way you talk, the things you say, the way you act—it’s all creepily familiar to someone I knew.”

It hurt, a bit, both in his head and in his chest.

Komaeda’s face fell, and he laughed softly.

“...Matsuda-kun’s the Ultimate Neurologist,” he said. “I kind of figured...you’d just know.”

“So you’re tight-lipped now, huh?” Matsuda rolled his eyes and folded his arms. “Well... It doesn’t matter... If I’m right, then I’m right.”

“Right,” Komaeda agreed, smile twitching at the seams.

“And if I’m right,” Matsuda went on. “I’ll be...seeing a lot more of you after all this is over. That said, I’m still keeping a close eye on you. You’re my responsibility now, too, Komaeda Nagito.”

Komaeda’s smile widened.

“Matsuda-kun.”

Matsuda perked up, and then he was almost blindsided by how bright Komaeda’s smile seemed in that moment.

“Please take good care of me.”

--

“M-Matsuda-kuuuuun! Sensei is... Sensei is so sorryyyyyy~!”

“Yeah, you better be.”

Usami wailed to his annoyance. At the very least, Komaeda was in a good mood afterwards, laughing without any worries whatsoever.

“Well, this thing should be working properly from now on,” Souda said. “Probably... It looks like it should.”

“Do you really think that?” Hinata asked. “A Ferris Wheel is...much more complicated than anything that can be worked on in a shed, right?”

“Hinata-kun, you’re talking to the Ultimate Mechanic!” Komaeda scolded. “If anyone knows, it’s Souda-kun!”

“Yeah, what he said!”

“Didn’t you just say probably?!”

Usami sniffled.

“S-Students... Please... Please don’t fight... We should all be happy that Matsuda-kun and Komaeda-kun are okay...”

“And it’s all thanks to Souda-kun!” Komaeda gushed, making Souda preen even more.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Hey, uh... Matsuda...?”

Matsuda perked up, Hinata shrinking back a bit under his unimpressed stare. Averting his gaze, Hinata rubbed at the nape of his neck.

“Are you, uh...feeling alright...? Komaeda seems fine, so...”

“I’m fine,” he said. “That wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to me. Compared to being kidnapped without warning by a freaky rabbit to some freaky island in the middle of fucking nowhere... The Ferris Wheel getting stuck is hardly a misfortune worth writing home about.”

Usami and Hinata both flinched.

“I...see... Well, I’m glad both of you are doing alright...?”

“Yeah,” Matsuda said. “Yeah...”

He idly dug his hand through his pocket. His fingers grazed through something warm and smooth. Polished like a gem. He paused, and he glanced towards Komaeda, laughing and smiling and perking up at his stare and brightening in response.

Matsuda’s hand closed around the hope fragment and squeezed until it dissipated.

“Matsuda-kun, I really did have a lot of fun!” Komaeda chirped. “Next time, let’s go someplace like the beach! Hopefully my luck won’t bring a tidal wave raining down on us!”

Matsuda just gave a thumbs-up in response.

“Souda-kun, come to think of it, we were supposed to gather materials!” Komaeda exclaimed, making Souda perk.

“Oh yeah, now that ya mention it...”

“We should get going!!” Komaeda ushered him without further discussion on the matter. “Go, go, go! If Sonia-san hears you’ve been slacking off, she’ll be very disappointed, Souda-kun!”

Souda didn’t need much ushering after that, and with one last wave from Komaeda, the two of them ran off.

“How diligent!” Usami cooed.

Matsuda blinked a few times, unimpressed.

“...well, I should probably...”

He was only half-prepared to head back, honestly, so he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“...wait. Uh, Matsuda...?”

He stopped, and he wasn’t oblivious to Usami practically twinkling with delight. For now, he ignored her and focused on that hideous pink ticket that Hinata was holding out. Hinata himself looked awfully flustered.

“It’s...still early enough in the day,” he mumbled. “And we haven’t really...hung out at all since we got here.”

Matsuda just blinked.

“If you can make Komaeda that happy, then you must not be so bad, right?” Hinata asked with a wince. Come to think of it, Matsuda’s knee was probably going to make one ugly bruise. “So, uh...what do you say?”

Usami’s sparkly, expectant gaze was burning holes into his back.

Matsuda sighed.

“...Sure thing.”

What the hell.

“Love, love!” Usami chirped oh so happily. “Then I’ll leave you two be!”

Matsuda took the ticket and both it and Usami dissolved into another flurry of sparkles. The devil’s contract claimed more of his soul.

--

They went back to the hospital on the third island so that he could grab some ointment for his knee. It throbbed as he walked which was a literal pain, so the ointment helped a lot. And that was a good time for Hinata to just...look around his makeshift bedroom in slight awe.

“You, uh...really, uh...” He swallowed, glancing at the haphazard stacks of manga and textbooks on the table and a few neat stacks of various snack boxes. “You really made yourself at home...in this patient room...some of this is from your cottage, isn’t it...?”

“A couple of the books from the bookshelf, others from the library,” Matsuda said, and rummaged through one of the boxes for a few packages of rice crackers. “I wasn’t allowed to take the television and Usami most certainly whined at me, but y’know I don’t...give a shit...so it’s whatever.”

“It’s pretty quiet out here,” Hinata mused, looking out the window. “Even though the music venue’s on this island too, you can’t hear it at all from here. This hospital is...actually pretty isolated.”

“Yep,” he said. “Hence why it’s my preferred place of stay.”

Hinata nodded along. Matsuda tossed him a rice cracker and he caught it with a jump.

“Er... Thanks...” He pocketed the snack, swallowing as he did. “So you... Do you actually talk to anyone? Besides Komaeda, obviously, uh... What about Tsumiki?”

“That bitch?”

“Urk...” Matsuda looked so incredulous then that Hinata couldn’t help but falter, the corner of his lips twitching. “Well, she’s not like...an actual licensed doctor like you apparently are, but... She’s the Ultimate Health Committee Member and that...counts for something, right?”

“Hardly,” Matsuda huffed, affronted. “That’s like putting a hall monitor on the same level as a police officer. Oi, I may have skipped ahead a few years, but I did not suffer through grueling medical school to hear this level of bullshit.”

“...ah, sorry...” Wincing, Hinata ducked his head in apology. “I didn’t...mean anything by it.”

Matsuda waved him off with a sigh.

“It’s fine,” he grumbled. “Ms. Bitchtits Health Committee Member actually is more qualified than the typical idiot with a first aid kit. Sometimes she stops by, but... Well...”

He trailed off, thinking of crying and wailing that left his ears ringing for hours.

“...we’re not exactly amicable.”

That said, Tsumiki Mikan was someone who seriously, personally bothered him so much so that he tended to steer clear of her, metaphorical allergy to her sniveling aside.

“Yeah,” Hinata said, giving him an unimpressed look. “I’m not surprised to hear that. Tsumiki is...” A pause. “She’s...fragile. And you’re kind of a complete asshole.”

Oh, honey.

“Fragile and disturbed,” he quipped. “And you know it.”

Hinata flinched, and then his frown deepened.

“...Asshole,” he huffed back.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Hinata Hajime...really was an unremarkable oddity. Painfully average but still among the talented and still one of the talented—urgh, his headache was starting up again like there was something intimately wrong with those words—then again, being typical in an atypical crowd technically flipped things around, right?

Though not knowing your own talent—that was just plain weird.

Then again... I feel like my memory’s not the best either. A lot of things are...a blur...and a headache.

He might need to take another pill soon.

“...Um... So...”

Ah, Hinata was talking again. And Matsuda remembered.

“Right,” he said. “Our date. Alright, let’s get going. I think I can walk.”

Hinata, eying him ever warily, nodded in response.

“I... Yeah...”

“Yep.”

Once again, the two of them were off.

--

He shouldn’t be surprised; thus, he shouldn’t be disappointed, but... Still...

“We...were on the third island anyway,” Hinata muttered lamely as Matsuda’s eyes narrowed. “A-And hey, the movies here actually aren’t too bad.”

Well, he told himself. It’s not like I’m with Hinata because I sought him out or anything.

“You take all the boys here, huh?” he asked. “Wow, you really are a manwhore.”

“Shut the hell up!” Hinata screeched. “You didn’t have to come!”

“Yes I did,” he retorted. “That’s the point of this trip, right? Collecting hope fragments. It’s okay. I’m used to being used. Let’s just make this quick and painless.”

Hinata flushed so red-hot that steam poured from his ears. Ever nonchalant, Matsuda shrugged it off.

“Y-You...” Hinata shook his head furiously. “You just...say whatever the hell you want, don’t you?”

“Yep.” He wouldn’t deny something that obvious. “This trait is hardly exclusive to me though so if you’ve been whoring yourself out as much as I know you have, you should be used to this kind of shit now, right?”

“I haven’t been...!” Hinata choked on air before he could even taste the word. “You... God, you’re beyond insufferable. I don’t have any idea how Komaeda could stand you.”

“Komaeda could also stand sucking my dick and it's a mystery to me too,” Matsuda said without thinking.

Hinata’s mouth fell open, eyes going blank. He did not speak. He did not even breathe.

“...joking,” Matsuda said, and Hinata wheezed.

“O-Oh my god, just fucking go!” he hissed and shoved Matsuda further. “G-Go... Go pick out a seat or...fucking something...!”

He very nearly shoved Matsuda into the glass door and...

He...definitely deserved that.

Honestly.

--

The inside of the theater smelled like salt, butter, and mistakes. He did rather like the font they used for the neon signs reading Ticket and Screen. Fucking brilliant. A real arthouse.

Already, rather eerily, there were snacks for selection and no one at the table. Usually this kind of situation would go horribly badly, but—this whole trip started with a talking magical stuffed rabbit thing. He’s probably not going to be poisoned or cursed if he eats the popcorn.

Not that he even wants any popcorn or anything.

“Popcorn’s a must, right?” Hinata asked as if he read his mind. Gross.

“I think... I’m good with my own snacks.” Aah, but... “I’ll grab a drink. I’m fucking thirsty.”

He grabbed the large cup and went straight to the soda machine. Thankfully, they had the good brands like Dr. Hopper. Actually pretty pleased with that, Matsuda filled his cup.

“Right,” he said and sipped his straw. “So, Hinata, what movie were you thinking of taking me to?”

Hinata froze, hand hovering over the hotdog he was prepared to grab. Seeming to think better of it—thank fucking god—Hinata dropped his hand.

“I don’t really know,” he admitted. “I didn’t actually think you’d go with me.”

“Ooh boy,” Matsuda sighed and took another sip.

“B-But there are all kinds of selections!” Hinata exclaimed hurriedly. “Like, uh... Horror?”

“Pass. I hate gore.”

“I, oh, but aren’t you—never mind that.” Hinata shook his head. “Uh, what about an action flick?”

“Action...” He paused, thinking about it. “Ehhhh, no. I’m not crazy about that either. Those can get pretty violent, too.”

Hinata gave him a withering look.

“Um... M... Mystery...?”

Poor thing looked completely lost. He really should spare some mercy.

Nah.

“Most mysteries about solving a murder case, right?” he asked. “Again. Not a fan of gore. Even if it’s only a little bit.”

“Then what do you want to see?!” Hinata demanded, sputtering.

Matsuda gave another pause and popped his lips before taking yet another sip.

“Mm...”

What I want, huh...?

He thought about it.

Well, if I was going to sit on my ass for two hours and stare at a screen, what I’d want to be playing on the screen would probably be...

“Anime.”

Hinata blinked once, twice, and seemed to have aged ten years in ten milliseconds.

“...anime,” he repeated.

“Anime,” Matsuda said. “Preferably one of the Ponpon movies. The fourth one is objectively the best but the seventh one is my personal favorite.”

“I’m not familiar with that series,” Hinata replied blankly.

“Aw, really? That’s a shame.” He sipped. “It’s a mainstream classic, y’know.”

Hinata once again just blinked at him. At least this time, he inhaled, exhaled.

“Anything...stand-alone?”

Matsuda hummed.

“...The Tale of Princess Kaguya.”

Hinata straightened up at that, perking.

“...Kaguya...?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know who Princess Kaguya is,” Matsuda sneered in disgust. Hinata quickly waved his hands.

“No, no! I do...! I just... That’s...” He bit his tongue. “Never mind. Let’s go see if they have it. Maybe they will? I... Hopefully they will, yeah...”

Hinata hurriedly scampered off to find the film reels. Matsuda went with him since he might as well, but he didn’t really need to be there. Hinata found the film reel he wanted, and the two of them could just go into the theater and take a seat without any problems.

Matsuda refilled his cup when he had the opportunity. He would have just taken a seat without any problems... But, Hinata, of course, made him go to the bathroom before they sat down.

Jerk.

--

Well... That went as expected.

Hinata seemed rather dazed as they walked out. Satisfied, Matsuda tossed his empty cup.

They hadn’t really spoken during the movie. If anything, they were almost obscenely quiet to the point where even when Hinata nibbled on his rice cracker, the sounds were as soft as crunching could be. And then, Hinata cried. And he tried in vain to hide it by rubbing his eyes until they swelled up more. Matsuda just watched the credits as Hinata shifted and squirmed.

Then they went to the bathroom, and Matsuda headed out of that quickly so Hinata could “discreetly” wash his face in peace. And now they were both here, standing in the lobby and not really looking at each other.

“...that was really good,” Hinata said finally, tugging at his tie. “It was...uh...really good. Really...pretty...”

“What can I say?” Matsuda asked. “I may half-ass a lot of things, but my taste is as refined as can be.”

“Uh...huh...” Hinata swallowed. “But, yeah, I actually really enjoyed that. Thanks.”

“This movie date was your idea,” he pointed out. “So, shouldn’t I be thanking you?”

“...uh.”

“What is that shit over there.”

“H-Hey, wait!”

Too late, Matsuda had already made a beeline for the table in the corner.

“What...is this?” Matsuda squinted as he picked up the tote bag, and he grimaced at the sight of a cutesy pick outline of Usami’s face in the corner. “Are they prizes or something...?”

“Oh, yeah, they are,” Hinata said, rubbing at the nape of his neck. “You’re supposed to get a free tote bag after your first movie, so uh... Guess Usami left one here for you.”

“Free shit that I’ll never need. Amazing.” A pause. “Well... Actually, a tote bag has a lot of use. I guess...this isn’t so bad, then...”

Hinata snorted. “Yeah, it’s not.”

“...These stickers, though...” There was a neat little stack of them, and Matsuda could almost feel Hinata grimace with how quickly the mood dropped at the mention of them. “Gross... Aren’t these of that creepy bear thing?”

“Urgh, yeah. Just...ignore those. Everyone else does.”

Matsuda wanted to, but he couldn’t help but see the text.

I’m sorry, I was born stupid.

“Wow. Charming.” Not that he didn’t have any room to talk and—urgh looking at the damn thing was giving him a major headache. How much of an eyesore could one tacky sticker be? “Mmgh...”

“Are you alright?” Hinata asked, suddenly worried. “You got...really pale for a moment there, Matsuda...”

“Did it...?” He winced as he rubbed at his temples. “Urgh...”

What even the hell is this?

“We should, uh, probably go back, right?” Hinata asked and for some reason, Matsuda felt his headache worsen, his vision blurring, Hinata’s very

figure

flickering.

What?

“O-Oi, Matsuda?!” Hinata seized his arm, and his focus snapped to attention with a recoil that left him stinging. Matsuda very nearly shuddered, and Hinata squeezed his wrist. “H-Hey... Can you hear me? Are... Are you alright, Matsuda...?”

Matsuda’s eyelids fluttered and he shook his head furiously.

“I...”

“Come on,” Hinata pulled at him. “You’re really not looking so good—I can go get Tsumiki...”

“No.”

Matsuda stood his ground, resisting the pull for now. Scratching irritably at his neck, he shrugged.

“I think... I just need to lie down for a bit.”

“I... Are you sure?” Hinata frowned. “If something’s really wrong...”

Hasn’t something been really wrong from the start?

He shoved that thought away.

What the hell ever.

“It’s whatever,” he said. “Just take me back to my room. Specifically, my room at the hospital, but saying take me to the hospital doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence that I’m fine or whatever, huh?”

“Not really,” Hinata agreed and sighed. “I... Alright... Come on, Matsuda. L... Let’s go back.”

“Yeah, yeah...”

--

It was starting to set and—it really was as radiant as Komaeda said it would be, with everything awash in a vibrant orange and pink.

Matsuda popped in one of his pills and took a swing from one of the water bottles he had stocked up.

“...long day,” he said, cracking his shoulders. “It seemed to go by so quickly.”

“That usually happens when you spend time with people,” Hinata said before pausing and adding, “I...think so anyway. I guess it depends on the person you’re spending time with.”

Well, he couldn’t disagree with that.

“...hey, Matsuda...?”

Matsuda perked up. Hinata seemed sheepish, almost tense as he averted Matsuda’s cool blue gaze.

“How are you feeling?”

Huh?

“You’re still worried about me?”

Hinata reddened considerably, scowling.

“Of course I am,” he snapped. “You acted really weird all of a sudden. It’s normal to still be a little concerned about that...”

Huh...

“Well, I’m fine,” Matsuda said. “So you don’t need to worry, yeah?”

“I see...” Hinata exhaled as if in relief. “Well, that’s good. Just be careful alright? Take it easy, or at least...try to...”

It’s almost like you actually care about me or something.

“Mm...” Matsuda set his water bottle aside to grab and toss Hinata another bag of snacks. Hinata once again caught it. “Here. Why don’t you take something for the road?”

Matsuda could see the gleam of a hope fragment with the snacks in Hinata’s grasp. With a squeeze, Hinata pocketed them both.

“...Thanks,” he said, still not looking at him. “For agreeing to go with me, and... That movie was nice. So...thanks for that, too.”

“You’re welcome,” Matsuda replied. “Thanks for taking me in the first place. You’re not so bad to hang out with... I guess...”

Hinata smiled wanly, the edge of it twisting.

“That’s something,” he said, laughing just a little. “Then... I’ll be seeing you later?”

“Yeah,” Matsuda said, raising his hand. “See ya.”

Hinata waved back, heading out, shutting the door with a soft click.

Matsuda plopped onto his bed.

...geez...

Well, that was something.

What even was that, anyway—

“Matsuda-kuuuun, you did so well, love, love!”

Whoosh, thwack.

“H-Huuuuuuueh?!”

Despite that initial freak-out, Usami’s ears drooped with resignation as she turned to see the familiar scalpel stuck in the wall. Another dot for the connect-the-dots outline. “U... Uuuu... Matsuda-kun... Why do you always throw knives at me?!”

“Shut up,” he chided. “Don’t show up without warning at a weird fucking hour. That’s rude. At least knock on the fucking door like a regular person.”

“I-I’m...!”

“Right,” he recalled. “Not a person.”

“I may not be human but I have the heart of a maiden!” Usami whined. “P-Please don’t think badly of your teacher... Uuu...”

“You’re too pitiful to think badly of,” he said. “So if you’re worried about that, you shouldn’t be. You’re just weird in a lot of ways—such as weird in that you’re afraid of a little tiny scalpel.”

“Yaaaaay!” Usami cheered, and Matsuda could only turn away and stare into the void.

...this is my bullshit life now.

“I am really proud of you, that said!” Usami went on with a chirp. “Are you feeling more hopeful now, Matsuda-kun?”

“That is one of the stupidest, most inane things you could have asked me.”

“U-Urk!” Usami flinched but admirably, kept on trying with that sugary, pleading smile. “Then... How do you feel now that you’ve deepened your bonds with a couple of your classmates, Matsuda-kun?”

She tilted her head. Matsuda pushed himself up, brushed past her, and reached out to pull out the scalpel from the wall. He observed the sheen of the blade, his reflection.

“...nostalgic,” he said. “Haunting.”

“H-Haunting?!” Usami squeaked. “Matsuda-kun, that’s such a worrying word to use! W-What’s wrong?! How can teacher help?!”

“You can leave,” he said. “Your squealing is making my headache worsen.”

“U-Uuuu!” Usami shrank in on herself. “Matsuda-kun... I really do just want to help...”

...I can believe that much. It’s just the method that I can’t help but question.

Something really does feel...incredibly wrong about this.

Urgh, and he kept getting headaches. It really was irritating.

“...it wasn’t bad,” he said, sighing. “Hanging out with people like that...wasn’t so bad.”

Usami lit up.

“Yay!” She positively beamed. “Just keep at it, Matsuda-kun! Strong bonds lead to a stronger heart!”

Not always.

Aah, that really hurt for some reason.

He looked towards the window, at that setting sun, at wine-dark ocean waves rolling underneath.

It really was nostalgic...and haunting.

But...not so bad, he supposed.

“Love, love!” Usami chirped. “A bright and shining hopeful future awaits on this lovey-dovey heart-throbbing island trip!”

“...if you say so.”

--

The birthplace of hopeful and shining futures—Hope’s Peak Academy. Revered and admired by the world at large, cradling the world itself at its fingertips. Yep, Hope’s Peak Academy was one hell of a place.

Nothing like a paradise built on the backs of the disenfranchised.

Matsuda couldn’t care less for this damned place at this point—by all accounts he should care even less for what was to become the Ultimate Hope Marionette in a sea of puppets where HPA cheerily pulled the strings.

And, yet.

He finds himself in the madman’s basement, scowling at the fucking cryptid in the middle of the room, atop the neatly made bed, staring at nothing with the creepiest pair of blood-red eyes.

“God, what are you—a fucking lamp? Or a houseplant?”

The cryptid perks up, red eyes gleaming in a way that totally wasn’t creepy or just plain fucking weird at all. Yeah, right. Seriously why the hell did they do that?

“Matsuda Yasuke-kun,” he acknowledges, cool and smooth. “Hello.”

Gross.

“Yo,” Matsuda said, raising his hand and shoving the cart forward. It only rolled ahead two feet. “Three guesses as to who the fucking idiot in charge of your daily examination is today and the first two don’t count.”

“It is you.”

“It’s me,” Matsuda replied, waving his hand. “Good, you’re still able to pick up on basic context clues. You need to exercise your brain to prevent atrophy just like with any of the other muscles in the body.”

“False.”

“Wow, do you hear that? It’s the sound of an input I didn’t fucking ask for. I’m taking off marks for that shit, no flower circle for you today. Nor a gold star, if that’s what you prefer.”

Blink. Blink.

“How boring.”

“I can’t believe the fucking lamp has the audacity to say that to me. That’s it—you fail the course. Try again next semester, you little shit.”

“You seem to be in a worse mood than usual,” he simply observed, shifting the way he sat ever so slightly. “Things have been harsher on you as of late, haven’t they?”

“Ew, did you just ask a question out of concern? Fucking stop that.” Matsuda pushed the cart a little more. “If you really want to know, Kamukura, it’s because I really don’t want to fucking be here right now.”

“You may leave, then,” Kamukura said. “You know as well as I do that this procedure is unnecessary.”

“It’s protocol you fucking idiot savant, necessity isn’t the issue here.” Somehow, he managed to push the cart enough that it was in the necessary vicinity. “Even if I did just leave to tell them there were no issues, I’d still have other shit on my plate I’d have to put up with. What I need is a break from fucking everything.”

Sighing, he started with the examinations, taking Kamukura’s temperature and checking his heartbeat.

“...Actually,” Matsuda found himself saying and almost couldn’t believe it himself. “A break sounds great. How about we go out for a bit?”

Blink. Blink. At least he didn’t have to worry about those creepy fucking eyes shriveling up anytime soon.

“We?”

“Look,” Matsuda sighed, pulling away. “Hinata used to have this healthy tan. You’re pallid like a goddamn corpse. It’s beyond creepy. For the sake of my sanity, you need to get out of this shitty lab every now and then and do fucking something.”

“...how dull...”

“It can’t be worse than sitting in a dark, empty room all day, right?” he snapped, pointing at him accusingly. “Well, whatever. I can’t actually make you do anything. Tch.”

He resumed the examination.

“After I finish with this,” Matsuda said. “I’m gonna postpone all other plans and leave campus for a bit. I’ll be waiting at the front gates for five minutes exactly. If you want to go, there’s your one and only window of opportunity. Got it?”

No response. Kamukura didn’t even seem to be looking at him.

With a scowl, Matsuda knocked him with the back of his fist. Even for a normal person it barely would’ve hurt, so, of course, Kamukura didn’t so much twitch. But, he did glance at him.

“Goooot it?” he droned. “Do you understaaaaaaand?”

“...Yes.” Kamukura nodded blankly. “Of course I do.”

“Good,” Matsuda huffed. “Geez, you’re so fucking obnoxious.”

--

The examination went as expected. He did his reports as expected, not so much as batting an eyelash at the leering and sneering from a bunch of gross older men whose faces blurred into a series of wrinkles. The same shit as always. What was he supposed to do at this point besides dish the usual salt and spite?

In the end, he was still under their thumb.

Theirs and hers.

For a place called Hope’s Peak, I’m being crushed, aren’t I? Ha. Ha.

Aah, what even was the point of it all?

He could ask himself that endlessly, but regardless of what answer he came up with, it’s not like he would live any other way.

Which is why a break wouldn’t just necessary, it was downright optimal. If he continued down this path without taking any breaks, he might end up snapping and trying to strangle the fucking Class Rep or something.

Yeah, that’d be...bad.

So no hard feelings about just fucking off today. None whatsoever.

The sun was as merrily bright as ever, the sky a sickeningly vibrant blue, and Matsuda had never been happier to just fucking leave this hellhole.

But he told himself he was going to stick around for five minutes, and he actually set a timer on his phone to make extra sure.

That asshole wouldn’t even appreciate this level of dedication. Then again, his brain didn’t even have room for appreciation with all that supposed talent stuffed in.

Why am I even doing this, then?

The situation was the same with the last question.

“Gross,” he grumbled. “Am I a fucking softie deep down after all?”

Were those reserve girls right about me? Ew. Ew.

“Urgh, I need to stop thinking about it...”

He checked his timer, and then...before he really realized it, he was watching it count down.

He might not even show up.

He might not even bother.

So why should I?

Why should I—

Beep, beep, beep.

“Matsuda Yasuke-kun.”

Matsuda perked up, and, sure enough, there Kamukura stood, broody nonchalance as expected, right on the dot.

“...Could have showed up earlier, asshole.”

Unsurprisingly, Kamukura ignored that remark.

“Where did you plan on going?”

“Out,” he said. “Of here and this place. At least for a bit.”

“That is vague,” Kamukura replied. His expression didn’t change but Matsuda could just tell the guy was unimpressed.

“You’ll figure it out,” Matsuda scoffed and held out his hand. “Now, come on. Let’s hurry so that we don’t miss the train. We’re holding hands so that I don’t have to risk you wandering off, i-di-ot.”

Kamukura reached out and took his offered hand. He squeezed it once and then went limp like any doll would. Still, he followed Matsuda’s stride when Matsuda tugged him along.

And, really, wasn’t that the only thing that mattered?

I should just stop bothering with the whole thinking thing altogether.

--

He bought them both tickets, and he really shouldn’t have been surprised that with all the empty spaces on the train, Kamukura deemed appropriate to sit right next to him.

“You could have at least tied your fucking hair back.”

“Boring.”

“Urgh, you’re worthless at conversing.”

“False. One of my talents is Ultimate Conversationalist. I simply have no interest in exercising it.”

“...you’re worthless in general.”

No response to that. Kamukura just sat and stared at nothing as he always did.

Matsuda only sighed.

“This is your first time leaving the nest,” he said. “The least you could fucking do is fidget or something.”

“Boring.”

“Yeah that’s what I figured.” Another sigh. “Then just keep lookout, alright? I don’t want anyone who knows me to see us together. Can you do that?”

“I can.”

“...will you?”

“Boring.”

Matsuda’s eye twitched.

“...Taking that as a yes, you braindead talent gorilla. Consider yourself lucky.”

“Correct. I have Ultimate Luck as well.”

Matsuda stared into the void.

I might just be a masochist after all.

“False. You are more likely a mere sadist.”

“What the actual FUCK did I tell you about reading minds, you fucking fuckwit?!”

“Not to do it.”

“THEN DON’T DO IT?!”

“Boring.”

At this rate Matsuda was going to strangle him. And that would just go badly for everyone involved, he just knew it. Especially if it turned out he did have a sadistic streak, like Kamukura suggested.

Urgh. And Kamukura’s fucking hair was in his face. Urgh.

--

In the end, one of the first things he did after reaching their destination was buy a hair tie. He had to pull Kamukura’s hair back himself, and, unfortunately, he had enough experience with this kind of bullshit to actually pull it back into a pretty neat ponytail.

Gross.

“Wow, now you actually look like a human and not that fucking creepy-ass ghost bitch that apparently enters via TV,” he said, pulling away. “Too bad you’re never going to feel human. Despairing.”

Matsuda’s face twisted a bit at the taste of that last word, but, of course, Kamukura didn’t comment on it.

“...Right. Let’s keep walking.”

The city was bustling as ever, several people just walking about and minding their own business. Flashing billboards and traffic lights, cars rushing by, skyscrapers that really matched the name... It was noisy and obnoxious and he felt better already.

Kamukura stuck by closer than he had to, but Matsuda overlooked that for now.

“Let’s see,” he hummed. “What to do, what to do... Hey, Kamukura, one of your talents is Ultimate Tourist, right?”

“Yes. That said, I do not care.”

“Man,” Matsuda whistled. “You really are such a waste of science and space that it seriously pisses me off sometimes.”

But, at this point, I’m just resigned to it like I’m resigned to all the other shitty stuff in my life.

“Let’s just go around and do whatever meets my fancy,” he said. “Since you’re worthless, I’ll have to pull both our weights. I won’t hear any complaints.”

Kamukura said nothing to that. Good.

The talent gorilla could listen after all.

--

True to this word, they just did whatever he felt like.

The walked around for a bit to observe different buildings, and he did some shopping for new slippers and sandals. Kamukura followed him around like a dutiful dog, but remained rather quiet and largely disinterested even when Matsuda wandered around a museum to stare at various sculptures and paintings. Or when Matsuda dragged him to a rather high-end restaurant. Kamukura only seemed interested in nibbling on bread. But, when Matsuda ordered him a soup, he was more focused on ‘fixing’ it with spices than actually eating it.

It really, really was to be expected. But, at least Kamukura did eat it all. No reaction, though. At least, on his face.

“The food at Hope’s Peak is vastly superior to this. So why eat here? Is it just for the experience?”

“Of course it’s for the experience, you dumbass.”

They still got ice cream at one of the stands afterwards.

“I’m getting strawberry, and you’re getting...?”

“I don’t care.”

“Vanilla, then. Got it.”

Kamukura finished his ice cream as swiftly as the soup. Again, no reaction, and this time, not even so much as any additional commentary afterwards.

And so it went.

“There are various shows at the theatre,” Kamukura said after they passed the theatre in question. “Do you have no interest in that?”

“Do you?”

“...No, I do not.”

And went.

“This city doesn’t have much, but even here there are binoculars,” Matsuda muttered as they waited in the glass elevator, watching the city go lower and lower as they got higher and higher. “I wonder if that’s a must-have for any big city... Or something like that?”

“How boring,” Kamukura replied. “So boring.”

Matsuda snorted.

“At this rate, you might upgrade from lamp to animatronic. I guess that’s impressive in a despairing way.”

And isn’t that what the researchers want? Ultimate Hope Puppet.

Either way, Kamukura gave no further verbal comment. Matsuda sneezed.

“Urgh.”

They arrived at the highest floor. People were more scattered and there was a lot more space to walk without having to avoid brushes of accidental contact. Matsuda made a beeline for the binoculars mounted on the stalk. Kamukura followed, ever dutiful, and for a moment, Matsuda paused to look out the wide windows showcasing endless blue. There were barely any clouds in sight.

“Alright, let’s see what fuckers are jaywalking.”

“You would really waste money and time on such a worthless activity?” Kamukura asked.

Matsuda merely flashed the yen coin before slotting it in.

“Of fucking course.”

He had plenty of coins and plenty of time to kill even now, so why the hell not, right?

“Hey,” he said after a few attempts. “Try this. I want to know how many you get. My record’s fourteen.”

“How boring.”

“Fucking do it, Kamukura.”

Kamukura rolled his eyes but he did step forward, poised and ready. Matsuda entered the coin and sucked in his breath.

Kamukura only moved as fast as the binoculars would allow him but it was still pretty fast. People were even staring. This might’ve been a bad idea.

Aah, to hell with it, Matsuda decided, rubbing at his neck. It’s only for what, two minutes and a half?

“Seventy-seven.”

“Wow. What the fuck.”

“I could sense hundreds more,” Kamukura said. “But with these binoculars I could only explicitly observe seventy-seven.”

Matsuda nodded, unsurprised yet mildly impressed. Not that he’d ever show it.

“Do you think you could observe more if I slot in another coin?”

Kamukura’s eyes narrowed.

“That would be a waste of time and money.”

“I’m doing it.”

Matsuda didn’t even skip a beat and slotted in another coin.

--

Before he knew it, the sun was setting, and they’d definitely need to get going. Well, shit.

“Time really flies,” Matsuda sighs. “I guess it’s a matter of what you’re doing and who you’re spending your time with. Or something.”

“Time passes as it always does,” Kamukura said. “It is merely your awareness of it that shifts.”

Matsuda gave a harder, heavier sigh.

“We really should hurry back,” he said. “It’s risky for you to be gone for this long although, I’m sure you can circumvent any issues that arise.”

“I can.”

“It must be nice,” Matsuda went on. “Having no worries and no feelings whatsoever.”

Suddenly, Kamukura stopped in his tracks. Matsuda paused as well. Others continued to bustle about, the world continued turning. Matsuda, however, did not turn back.

“You got something to say?” he simply asked.

“I...” Kamukura paused. “It is not nice. It is merely nothing at all. It is boring.”

“Is that it?” Matsuda asked, turning to him with a raised brow. “You’re really disappointed about us not having time for the theatre after all, huh? It’s your fault. You took so long to eat your damn food.”

Kamukura said nothing, his lips drawn in an impassive line.

“Maybe next time,” Matsuda said. “With any luck—which I know you have—there’ll actually be something decent playing. Or something. We could also try an amusement park or something. They might have a Ferris Wheel, which would probably be better for jaywalker-spotting. That might be something.”

One of the first rides I ever went on was the Ferris Wheel because that bitch dragged me onto it.

Still, no response.

“C’mon,” Matsuda said, gesturing with his shoulder. “We got a train to catch, remember?”

He walked back and took Kamukura’s hand to pull him along.

“God, you really are so fucking hopeless.”

--

There wasn’t anyone else in the train car with them on the ride back. This time, at least, Kamukura sat across instead of right next to him. With the orange, dulling light, Matsuda felt his eyelids flutter. He yawned and began to slump.

“Mm... Wake me up when we’re nearing our stop... Mmgh...”

“Matsuda Yasuke-kun.”

Matsuda perked up blearily, squinting with confusion and irritation.

“...what is it?”

“Tell me,” Kamukura said. “What was your true motive for all of this? Leaving campus, insisting I go with you, dragging me along to all these mundane locations, subjecting me to unremarkable experiences... Would you truly have done all that if you were alone?”

“Aah, what’s this? The supposed savant of everything actually asking a question he doesn’t know the answer to?”

“It is not like that,” Kamukura replied, almost snappily. “I merely wish to hear your answer in your own words.”

“...does that matter to you?”

No initial response.

“Answer my initial question,” Kamukura demanded coldly.

If he were anyone else, he most certainly would have been intimidated. But, he was himself, so he didn’t really care. With a sigh, Matsuda leaned his head back and sighed.

“...seeing you sitting despondently in that empty lab, all day, every day, really seriously pissed me off. I wanted to drag you out of there if only for a little bit. But, as you know, I can’t exactly force you to do anything...”

“Why?” Kamukura asked when he started to trail off. “Do you have a personal reason as to why you had such a desire?”

...a personal reason...

Matsuda’s gaze narrowed sharply.

So that’s what this is about.

“...back when I was a kid, my mom died from sickness,” he found himself saying. “Her condition had been so bad that my dad, the fucker, had packed his bags and fucked off somewhere. When she finally died—unsurprisingly, I didn’t take it well.”

But I wonder if you already figured all that. It’s on my file.

Did Kamukura care enough to read that?

It didn’t matter.

“I didn’t leave my house for over a week. I barely left my room if I could help it. I mostly ate snacks, pissed in some bottles, spent most of my time sleeping or...lying around reading manga...” Matsuda laughed softly and dismally. “It got so despairing that even that stupid, dumb cheap bitch got worried.”

How long ago was that...? What day was it? What was even the season?

He didn’t remember. He knows that the sky must have been the same, at least.

“If that idiotic childhood friend of mine didn’t take matters into her own hands... If she hadn’t dragged me out then...and again...and again...when I otherwise would have been content to just wasting away like any other corpse...” Matsuda shook his head. “Well, even now I’m a dead man walking...all thanks to that girl. So I guess...seeing you like that... I couldn’t help but interfere.”

And Kamukura merely sighed.

“...I see,” he said. “So you had an underlying compassion after all. How boring. I predicted this.”

“Now don’t get the wrong idea,” Matsuda said, just as coolly. “It’s definitely not like I’m a good person for doing all this, y’know?”

With the harshness of the orange, the shadows looked so much darker. The world looked all the duller under such vibrancy.

“A good person wouldn’t have helped make you.”

Without even a pause.

“...I know this.”

“Good,” Matsuda huffed. “It’s best not to forget something like that. After all, my childhood friend—she is, without question, the worst person to ever live.”

“...you’ve told me as much before,” Kamukura said, quieter than usual.

With that, Matsuda let his eyes fall shut.

--

It was starting to get dark when they returned to the gates of Hope’s Peak Academy.

“Aah... Wow, it’s...late.”

“Yes.”

Matsuda scratched at his scalp, grumbling.

“Wow, I seriously wasted a day like that... Pretty impressive for a waste of space.” A pause. “Sorry. Two wastes of space.”

“You seem proud of yourself.”

“I’m a pretty proud waste of space,” Matsuda said. “That’s all there is to it.”

Kamukura hummed noncommittally.

“Before you go and become one with the fucking night like I’m sure you’ve always wanted to do,” he went on. “Remember what I said, alright? Don’t stay in that dinky empty lab all the damn time if you can help it. Even if I’m not there to take you somewhere, it wouldn’t hurt to just...go for a walk by yourself.”

There was a rustle from the cold late breeze. It really was quiet, save for the hooting of some owl he’s sure tamed by the creepy wannabe goth freak from the class opposite of his.

“You never know what you’ll find, even if you just stick to here,” he found himself saying. “There are all kinds of colorful characters at Hope’s Peak Academy.”

“How boring.” Kamukura’s look seemed to darken—or maybe that was just the shadows. “I could not care less for the lesser talented individuals frolicking about.”

“I figured you wouldn’t,” Matsuda sighed. “But I think it’s best to not limit the faces you see to the ugly mugs of the researchers and mine. That’ll definitely make your brain molder.” He waved his finger. “And if nothing else, blue skies and green grass are more stimulating than gray floors, gray walls, and that gray as fuck ceiling I’m sure you memorized by now.”

“I have,” Kamukura said.

Matsuda snorted. “Of course you have; so you see my point.”

“Yes,” he replied. “But I could offer an easy counter.”

“Well, don’t,” Matsuda scowled. “Instead just listen to what I have to say. Let the words fucking soak into that overstuffed brain of yours.”

Kamukura stared back, and in this increasing dark, those crimson eyes were the only source of light save for the scattered stars above.

Fucking. Creepy.

“I’m done talking,” Matsuda said. “So go...disappear off into the fucking night like a goddamn ghost. I won’t keep you waiting.”

And yet, Kamukura waited a little while longer.

“...today was not unpleasant,” he said. “When do you predict we will be able to do this again?”

Matsuda blinked.

“...Aah, what’s this?” he asked. “The supposed savant of everything actually asking a question he doesn’t know the answer to?”

“...I am not omniscient, Matsuda-kun,” Kamukura said. “You know that. You know me better than anyone or anything.”

...do I...?

Another rustling breeze.

Do I really?

...

When you put it like that, it’s almost like we’re friends or something.

Disgusting.

“...Kamukura, I...” He stopped himself, ducking his head. No... “I don’t know. Hopefully sooner rather than later, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Good night.”

Kamukura reached up and pulled out his hair tie, shaking his head and letting his hair fall freely. He returned it quietly, and Matsuda took it back.

Of course. The researchers would question if he suddenly had a hair tie on him.

Matsuda squeezed it, and by then, Kamukura was already long gone.

It would be a cold, lonely trip back to his dorm. But it was alright.

Tomorrow would be another bright and shining day at Hope’s Peak Academy—and it would be hell as it always is.

--

Bright. Shining. Hopeful.

“This is an announcement from Hope’s Peak Academy’s School Trip Executive Committee! Good mooooorning, everyone, love, love! It’s another hopeful, shining, tropical day! Everyone, do your best and give it your all! Love, love!”

Hell.

“Urgh... Too early for this shit...”

Matsuda threw an arm over his eyes with a heavy sigh.

I’m in charge of collecting materials today, right? Troublesome.

Considering he tended to get partnered up with one of the aggressive athlete meatheads, he’d risk the door keeping knocked off the hinges if he took too long to show up. And then he’d have to ask that simpering neon shark-face mechanic to fix the damn thing.

For fuck’s sake... I don’t want to do that.

And so, Matsuda pushed himself up.

...But I need to keep collecting hope fragments, huh...?

“Mmm...”

I need to keep a closer eye on Komaeda out of principle... And Hinata... Well, he’s...

...also someone I feel the need to be close to...for whatever reason...

Ugh. It was way too early for a headache.

Matsuda scowled as he popped in some pills and swallowed.

“...making friends...” He sighed. “Geez, I’ve never had friends before in my life. What makes that rabbit bitch think I could possibly make friends?”

After mom died... No, even before that... I’ve never been close to anyone before...

...right?

“Ugh...” His head really was throbbing, but the medicine would kick in soon enough, and he would, rather blissfully, just stop thinking. “Doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter.”

He slid his legs off the bed and stood, going straight to the window, showcasing what really was, for all intents and purposes, an island paradise.

“Another vacation day in hell,” he muttered sardonically, and yanked the curtains closed.

[the-apocryphal-one]

I finished the game a few hours ago! I inhale visual novel-type games like books, what can I say?  It just takes longer because there’s gameplay.  I’m glad I finished it so quickly because I was able to do it before I started forgetting a bunch of little details.  

First, before I forget, Makoto!  I like him a lot more now.  Not because of his character, though; he’s not really a character, but he’s the personification of the main themes of the game.  He threw a wrench in Monokuma’s plan to get rid of Kyoko because he trusted her.  He was able to deduce Sakura’s suicide while Byakuya couldn’t because he knew that people thrive off of each other, much like he does.  He was able to pull the remaining students back from despair because he was able to hold out on hope, and literally had to give people his own hope to make them keep fighting.  He’s all the themes of the game implemented into a single person: trust in others even if in blind faith, and undying hope. 

It gets better too.  While he’s the personification of the themes to the game, Junko’s the personification of the exact opposite–his perfect foil: Junko’s individualistic where Makoto’s communal.  She’s selfish where he’s giving.  She has no one because she killed them through betrayal.  He only has people around him because he kept them unified.  Junko has everything she thinks she wants and that caused her failure and ultimate demise.  Makoto doesn’t have much but has everything he knows he needs and that allows him to thrive.  She’s a fun character and Makoto’s less interesting than a pile of bricks.  And, of course, the most obvious one.  I don’t think I need to spell this one out.

It even foreshadows the importance of community with Byakuya!  His weakness is that he’s so cold, he doesn’t know how people work emotionally and as such, isn’t able to figure out what happened with Sakura so it comes and bites him in the ass.  Kyoko explains why he wasn’t able to understand, and he learns, even a little bit.  He decides to work together with everyone and he succeeds in what he does.  Because he learned the importance of all of that, he’s given the chance to bring back his family’s name.

You know how I said that Makoto’s trusting nature and naivete got him in trouble?  By the end of the game, it’s come full circle; at the beginning it got him in trouble but at the end of the day, it was the thing that saved him.  I think that could really be how natures like his work in real life–trusting people can get you in trouble and hurt you, but it can also save you.  I think that random NPC from Breath of the Wild says it best.

Yes, Makoto is a boring character and doesn’t really have a story arc, but he makes up for it.  He’s the very core of the game and represents every single message the game tells us.  Sure, the title “Ultimate Hope” is kind of…cheesy and maybe a little pretentious, and seeing the update message thing for it got a chuckle out of me (“I got a better ability than good luck!  Gotta update that ASAP so my peers will stop making fun of me.”), but it’s exactly what he is.  It’s very fitting.  Sure, I would have preferred an actual character, but I still love everything he represents.  

…All that said, I still would have preferred it that he was more of a character than what we were given.  And non-stop of repeating the words hope and despair got a little much.

Friendships are a big part of the too (Taka and Mondo, Hina and Sakura, Alter-Ego and the students, primarily Makoto and Kyoko), but I don’t really want to talk about it because those plotlines honestly didn’t grab my attention very much.  The one with Alter-Ego was definitely the most compelling but it was still kind of given the shaft in the grand scheme of things.

The Tragedy was definitely not what I was expecting, even though looking back, I should have seen it coming from a mile away.  The bloody classroom really, really threw me off.  I guess it was a red herring?  I really, really want to know the story behind that room, though.  Did I miss it?  Was it ever said to be part of the Tragedy, or just assumed by the students and they completely forgot about it later?  Will it be picked up on later?  If it was a red herring I completely took it hook, line, and sinker.  I don’t know what I was expecting about the Tragedy, but it wasn’t as dramatic as I thought as it would be.  Covering the world in Monokuma’s face was pretty dramatic but not what I was expecting.  I really want to know how the hell people thought complete and utter despair was good for the world.

The thing with Mukuro was really neat and I love how “Junko”’s death, that came out of nowhere and awful, suddenly became that much more tragic.  I love how a random conversation about PhotoShop at the beginning of the game became vital to the endgame.  Speaking of Junko, I love her.  She was crazy, she was funny, she was a complete psycho and it was fantastic.  Her different personas were a blast.  I love how she broke the fourth wall, and even gave you a bit of gameplay but changed it so all the options were the same thing.

As for my overall thoughts?  I really, really liked this game.  Even barring the remaining six students, all of the characters were very memorable.  Even Byakuya got better when we were nearing the end of the game.  I don’t know if that was just because I was warming up to him or he became less of a jerk.  Both?  All the mysteries were fun to investigate and the gameplay never got old for me.  The overarching story was a little weak for all the build-up, but with everything on the line like it was, the game made it work.  The game was great, and I’m really looking forward to playing the second game.  I want to wait a little while before starting it, though.  I haven’t started the “School Life” mode, I think it’s called?  The game told me that it was a what-if scenario so that’ll be interesting to play later.  I’m really disappointed Hiro never became useful.

I don’t really want to end it off here, but I can’t think of anything else I want to talk about off the top of my head. 

—-

YES, that’s it exactly with Makoto! He’s the literal personification of hope, and Junko’s the literal personification of despair. You see how that hurts him (Sayaka and Kyoko’s ‘betrayals’) and how that saves him (believing in Kyoko, inspiring the students). It works well because he not only represents the theme of the game, but because he lets others bounce off him and change for it (Byakuya, as you said, and Kyoko).

You are really going to like the protagonist of the second game, if you’re looking for a character who’s more a character and less a symbol. I like Makoto, but SDR2′s protag is legit my favorite character in the franchise.

No, the bloody classroom was legitimately part of the Tragedy (the Tragedy of Hope’s Peak, to be exact, and led into the Tragedy of the world). The light novel DR0, SDR2, and the anime DR3 all go into detail about what happened there! If you don’t mind picking up fan translations (it currently has no localization) I’d recommend checking out DR0 before SDR2, since it sets up a few things there.

I know, my mind was blown about how that random Photoshop mention was actually foreshadowing! I never saw it coming because I know that’s a thing, so I was just like “okay, yeah, that’s plausible” and never paid it any more mind. Junko was great here, just the perfect combination of terrifying and hilarious. I despise her as a person, but I get a kick out of her as a character and villain.

Haha, yeah, I think it’s a bit of both in Byakuya’s case. The second game improves on everything from the first, so the gameplay’s even more fun (except “Improved” Hangman’s Gambit)! School Life mode is essentially a mode where Junko randomly gives up her plans, and you get to bond with all the students (including Mukuro). Kind of like a dating sim but without the dating? And yes…Hiro will forever be the disappointment of the DR fanbase. Sad, sad deadweight.

Glad you liked the game so much! Hope you enjoy the next even more!

[oumakokichi]

Don't have much space sorry if this doesn't come out as well. I would like to offer a counter point to what you previously mentioned in one of your metas, the one about how Ouma was set up to be an Ultimate Dispair and mastermind from the beginning, I disagree. The fact that Ouma was given that title was an act of retaliation through the mastermind after he took the "game board." If a remembering light would have ever shown him that I doubt he would have accepted it, given how his true intention

(part 2) given how his true intentions were never malicious. Personally I think Shirogane got a little starry-eyed when making talents and didn’t consider exactly how much of a problem Ouma could actually be, but whenever she saw her mistake she was quick to correct it.

These are all goodpoints! However, I’m still pretty sure Tsumugi pretty clearly intended a verynegative role for Ouma right from the start, and that it was only a matter oftime before she pulled (or at least attempted to pull) a similar stunt as theHope’s Peak remember light in Chapter 5. She actually implies as much when she’sactually caught in the trial: she basically says that she “had wanted to save [theHope’s Peak remember light] for a little bit later on” but that the currentsituation in Chapter 5 had gotten so bad that it “forced her hand.”

This suggests to me that for the killing game show, settingup a definite “bad guy” or “antagonistic” figure separate from the realringleader was nothing strange or new. In the same way that Tsumugi wasperfectly fine with framing Kaede for a murder she never committed all the wayback in Chapter 1, I think she had no qualms whatsoever with the idea offraming Ouma or anyone else (“Kaede’s twin sister,” haha) to be the “SHSLDespair” figure. It’s even quite possible she tried this tactic and got awaywith it in other killing games, though we have no way of knowing for sure.

The thing is, everything about Ouma suggests a very clearrole intentionally set up for him by Tsumugi and the producers, even from wellbefore Chapter 5. His SHSL Supreme Leader talent is fake—all the evidence wehave in-game and in bonus mode content suggests that any actual “evil secretorganization” never existed in the first place. Yet even this “fake talent”portrays a considerably more negative image than any of the talents the othercharacters have. Even characters with confirmed multiple talents, such asRyouma or Amami, don’t have anything that quite screams “hello yes I’m the badguy” as much as an “evil Supreme Leader” talent.

Even Ouma’s design seems to suggest he was meant to be setup to look ominous and imposing. His in-game clothes, like all the characters’,were very likely designed for him as part of his “role,” and were probablydesigned by Tsumugi herself. This means that everything from the hat and capemeant to make him look like a villain, to the tattered, almost ratty-lookingstate of his shirt and scarf upon closer inspection, was part of a carefullyplanned character design. The chain on the left side of his shirt and thestraps on his sleeves and pants legs serve the same purpose.

If we take into account the fact that each and every character’sdesign was meant to convey a certain trope or genre or role to not only theplayer but the ndrv3 audience as well, then what we can theorize is this:Tsumugi and the DR producers pretty clearly intended for Ouma to give off anegative and villainous vibe right from the start.

Even his research lab is considerably different and otheredfrom the rest of the group’s. While everyone else’s labs are located on one ofthe school floors and accessible by normal means every time a new floor orlocation opens up after each trial, only Ouma’s is distant and hidden away fromplain sight. The fact that it’s underground and very removed from the rest of the labs, plus the fact that itresembles something like a “super-villain lair” as Saihara remarks, suggeststhat even this was something planned and meant to make Ouma look very ominousand sketchy compared to the rest of the characters.

I think you are absolutely correct, however, in that even ifTsumugi had been able to use a remember light on Ouma to try to make him think he was the leader of theRemnants of Despair or “Junko’s successor” or anything of the sort, it wouldn’thave worked. Remember lights lose their effectiveness the moment the person inquestion either suspects or knows for a fact that they’re fake. And Ouma wasperceptive enough pretty much from the beginning to doubt and suspect all the remember lights, meaning therewas no way to convince him to really believe those memories were his own.

But the thing is, I think Ouma’s real talent, provided tohim by Tsumugi and the producers, is actually the reason they thought all ofthis would work.  We have no confirmationon this, but I’ve theorized in other meta posts that I believe Ouma’s realtalent is something along the lines of “SHSL Chessmaster.” Given everythingthat we know about Ouma and his incredibleability for predicting situations and responses from others, I don’t think it’sa far cry away to say that he was probably given something very, very close toJunko and Kamukura’s SHSL Analysis.

He analyzed and predicted so much of the actual events ofthe game. For pretty much every trial excepting Chapter 1, he knew who theculprit was in every single case before the trial even started. He suspectedand theorized about the virus that accompanied the meteor showers in Chapter 3,well before it was “revealed” in the Hope’s Peak remember light in Chapter 5.He predicted that the killing show was a game and that there was an audiencewatching, and he knew that their memories were by and large fake anduntrustworthy. And, of course, there’s the script from Chapter 5, where hewrote about 300-or-so pages that predicted multi-branching routes for nearly every possible response in the Chapter 5trial so that Momota could respond and act accordingly.

If these things don’t suggest that Ouma either had SHSLAnalysis or something very close to it (I theorize “Chessmaster” because Oumadeals much more with hypotheticals than Junko, and because of his determinationto treat everything as a game), I don’t know what does. If this is true, thenit’s worth noting that this specific SHSL talent is particularly associated with what it means to “despair.

In the DR universe, beingsuper-intelligent is often associated with finding absolutely nothing fun orinteresting around you, is the worst-case scenario imaginable. Boredom meansknowing everything around you—and it’shorrible. The reason Junko and Kamukura both turn to “despair” as a solution isbecause despair promises what seems like the only excitement in a world inwhich you know everything (and this is all very Umineko once again). Dr0 is aperfect display of how analysis and prediction of everything inevitably leadsto the worst kind of despair, as we gradually see Ryouko descend into becomingJunko once again because, despite Matsuda’s best efforts to ensure otherwise,she’s simply too smart for her own good.

My main point is, analysis is equated with despair again andagain in the DR series. There is, of course, a lot that could go wrong withgiving someone such an incredibly useful ability—but I think that Tsumugi andthe DR producers believed that it was a talent so undeniably tied to the ideaof “despair” and that it would cause even the best person to want to despair.In other words, the fact that they very likely gave Ouma an ability sointentionally similar to Junko’s and Kamukura’s suggests to me that this wastheir “trump card” for making sure Ouma would play the villain role later on.

Of course, we come back to the fact that if this is true, it’sprecisely the reason why Ouma became so much of a pain in Tsumugi’s ass lateron. His predictive and analytical abilities are precisely the reason why he wasable to snatch the gameboard away and throw so many wrenches into her plans, aswell as the reason why he was able to do all of this largely under the radaruntil unveiling his true intentions in Chapter 5. Because she and the DRproducers believed Ouma was such a perfect villain character and pawn to theirplans, they failed to notice the ways in which Ouma was actually planning andmoving behind the scenes—and that became their undoing.

These things were always a possible risk from the start, butI don’t think either Tsumugi or Team DR really thought that it would come downto this. After all, in most cases, and even with Junko and Kamukura both, acharacter having SHSL Analysis was definitely enough to make them become fed upwith everything around them. Despair is the preferred choice for characterswith this sort of talent.

What was unexpected was that Ouma would take his “despair”and his boredom, and refuse to take it out on others. The only ones he wantedto make “despair,” as he himself says in a flashback during the Chapter 5 post-trial,were the ringleader and the audience themselves. Even without having beensubjected to a single remember light about Hope’s Peak, I find it interestingand worth noting that Ouma doesmention words like “despair” and “hope” on several occasions in both Chapters 4and 5. Even though he wasn’t actually the villain and was trying to strike backat the real ringleader the whole time, he clearly understood himself that hewas meant to play the villain, embraced that role, and strove to instead turnit against the real ringleader.

I think because of how hard Ouma struck back at her and howdesperately he tried to force the entire game to a halt, Tsumugi had to reviseand adjust her plans drastically in Chapter 5. And I do agree that she stroveto set Ouma up even more maliciously and thoroughly than before because she wasdefinitely pissed off at him for having nearly brought the whole killing gameto an end.

But considering her own remarks in Chapter 6 about havingalready planned the Hope’s Peak twist even from the beginning, and about havingwanted to save it for later on, I think it’s fair to say that this was never afar cry away from her original intentions. Ouma’s design, talent, lab,everything about him, all of it was very deliberately different from thetreatment the rest of the characters received.

If Kiibo was clearly supposed to be a Naegi-type figure andeventually come to embody “SHSL Hope” the way that Tsumugi wanted him to fromthe start, then I don’t doubt at all that Ouma was her intended “SHSL Despair”target long before she actually used the Hope’s Peak remember light in Chapter5. It would even explain why Kiibo and Ouma’s promotional artwork was featuredtogether, and why they were both very likely next to each other in the samelocker when they woke up in Chapter 1—the promotional materials, after all,were intended just as much for the ndrv3 audience as they were for us, theplayers. Even the actual game opening is shown in the middle of the Chapter 6trial to emphasize this.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts on it. As per usual,quite a lot of this is theorizing and speculation. It’s entirely possible that myguess is wrong! I don’t mind if that’s the case either, because theorizing tothis degree and picking apart all these clues. And on the off-chance this sortof thing ever does get confirmed by Kodaka at one point or another, I’llprobably just cry. Thank you for stopping by, these were very fun points to discuss!

[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.