#and we can probably add Haruka there too since he is gonna attempt and we only have one doctor

[seariii]

Not gonna lie I absolutely love the moral dilemma of Putting the abused child under more trauma (voting guilty) vs Risking the life of other people (voting innocent) it feels very

And I'm thriving

[red-moon-at-night]

you are not losing your mind by yourself about this. we are losing our minds together. 🤝. i went through the drama cds and made a list. es has hit every single male prisoner except, ironically, fuuta. (which is interesting, because fuuta tried to attack them twice in the first interrogation. instead of responding with violence, they just make fun of him.) that being said, here’s my Es Violence Compilation:

1. Haruka: Slapped “with all [their] might” for his self-deprecating comments. (Es got mad that he said they would abandon him.) First trial.

2. Haruka (again): Slapped for attempting to attack them and “being an idiot”. Second trial.

3. Shidou: Kicked in the shin (hard) for treating Es like a child and patting their head. First trial.

4. Mikoto: Smacked to wake him up after being knocked unconscious by Kotoko.

5. Kazui: Slapped in the face to prove a point after Kazui speculated that since they couldn’t attack Es, Es couldn’t attack them, either. (Understandable, given the initial panic caused by Kazui’s little stunt at the beginning.) First trial.

6. Kazui (again): Punched in the face (hard) for being condescending and staring at them. Second trial.

7. Amane: Held in place briefly to prove a point about her “God complex” or something.

8. Muu: Shoved away when she tried to shake them while they were having a breakdown over their identity and free will.

My main takeaway from this is that they don’t like to be touched. For starters, their reaction to Shidou patting their head is… genuinely worrying. Like… man (horse). Part of it is Es being mad about Shidou treating them like a child, but the shaken voice and shaky deep breaths following the little head pat are backstory crumbs, I can feel it. Probably. Also, after punching Kazui in the second trial, they say “it was an instinctive reaction.” The common denominator between these two events is Es saying “[Relieved sigh] I feel much better now.” (I compared the actual audio to double-check the translations I was reading. Es says “sukkiri” in both instances, which translates to “refreshing” or “I feel better”. It’s the kind of thing you say when you get a nice glass of water after being out in the sun for a while, or something. Very funny detail to me.) The other obvious instance that leads me to this conclusion is that time Es was having a breakdown during Muu’s first trial interrogation. Muu shakes them when they don’t respond, and they shove her away and shout, “Shut up! Don’t touch me!” (There’s a sound effect here that implies they gave her another shove or smacked her away from them, too.) Of course, the clearest problem presented by this incident is the fact that Es has a mental breakdown when asked if their decisions are made with their own free will, but I’m not focusing on that right now. I don’t know why I suddenly switched to proper capitalization and punctuation in this. I am filled with both dread and excitement at the prospect of learning more about Es’s backstory. There’s Something Going On There.

anon I want you to know that when I received this ask I practically exploded into fireworks out of sheer joy and delight. thank you for this addition!! thank you!! 💜

I dont have anything to add at this point in time because I think you did such a great job of succinctly putting this together... I completely agree with your analysis!

There's definitely Something Going On Here and I think we're slowly gonna be drip-fed crumbs of their backstory and it's our job to pay attention and piece it together. Unless of course they give us a huge infodump at the end of t3 and then I shall simply go feral on sight

You are so super cool by the way for going back and checking all the voice dramas!! I'm really grateful for this list it's a good reference so thanks again!! you're a legend ilu

[yakuzadumpingground]

Well since I'm feeling contrarian I'm gonna rank all of the yakuza games I've played (which is everything except the original 1 and 2, Dead Souls, and the Japan only games) which is guaranteed to piss someone off. Starting with the best-

1. Yakuza 0

Ok, not a controversial choice. I'm sorry. But the general consensus is correct. On top of having one of the best stories in the series, a really fun combat system (albeit not very challenging, but it's not like i play yakuza for challenge), and some of the most memorable sidestories, the setting really gives this game a certain style that nothing else in the series has. Also, one of the few yakuza games that's decently paced. Honestly, most of my complaints about this game are nitpicks (such as how grindy maxing out your character is) it's just a kind of boringly perfect game, really.

2. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

"BuT iT's TuRn-BaSeD" ok cool guess you're just gonna miss out on a fantastic fucking game. I gotta say, it was a real hard choice between "I wanna see the side stories" and "I GOTTA know what happens next in the story" sometimes. I don't know else I can say about this game: great story, great characters, just a great time. Admittedly, as an RPG it.... needs work. The encounter rate is WAAAY too high and the job class system is pretty busted. Even still, the genre change is a breath of fresh air and honestly pretty charming at times. Play this, goddamn

3. Yakuza Kiwami 2

It was a real toss up between Kiwami 2 and the game in the 4th slot, but in the end, Kiwami 2 wins by being more consistently enjoyable. Unlike the first two games on this list I can't say Kiwami 2 had a good story exactly, but I can say it's an entertaining one. I was rarely bored playing this, and in terms of sheer fun, Kiwami 2 wins that crown. I was *howling* at the ending, my God.

4. Yakuza 5

I'm of two minds when it comes to this game. On the one hand, some of my favorite stuff is in this game. The intro is very unusual but hit me in a weird way that really stuck with me. It finally made Saejima likable. Playable Haruka. Shinada, my beloved. On the other hand, while Yakuza games having pacing problems is pretty much the norm, whoo boy does yakuza 5 test your patience. Sloths move at the speed of fleas on meth compared to this game. Also, the actual overarching story is pretty weak and uninteresting. It's really best viewed as a collection of loosely connected stories. This game definitely has it's flaws, but the high points more than make up for them

5. Yakuza 6

Someone's gonna get mad that this game isn't lower, I'm sure. Yeah, it's flawed. It's not best send off for Kiryu. It's lacking in content. The ending is fucking terrible. But there's still plenty here to love. I love Onomichi, it's honestly one of my favorite locations in this series, even if there's nothing to do in it. It's just wonderful to look at and walk around in. I like the Onomichi cast. Beat Takeshi is there. Having Kiryu's saga cap off with a game about family is a great idea, and until this game's awful fucking ending it's a touching exploration of that theme. But fuck this game's ending. Seriously.

6. Yakuza 3

This is... a weird one. I can both see why the fanbase rejected it at the time and why fan appraisal has gotten so much kinder to this game. Like y6 (honestly y6 is really an unofficial remake of this game) it's a game about family. That being said, I rank it lower than 6 because of the relatively lower stakes and weak plot. It takes a long time for the main plot to actually start, and honestly it can take it's dear sweet time. Whenever I was going main story quests all I can think was about how much I'd rather be dinking around doing mundane shit for the kids. But I can't say this game isn't charming as hell. It's really one of the few times you really see Kiryu as just a... guy. Raising his kids, just living his life. For a series all about high octane melodrama, slice of life is a welcome change of pace

7. Judgment

Ooh, HERE'S the controversial take! Yeah, I didn't really care for Judgment. Judgment is the opposite of y3, where instead the main plot is actually very interesting but we spend. So. Much. Time. On. Bullshit. It's not a short game either. I spent so much of this game wondering when we're getting to the goddamn fireworks factory. Putting the pacing problems aside, the characters are fun but apart from Yagami and arguably Sugiura they don't get much in the way of meaningful development (it feels like Higashi's character arc is almost entirely off screen). The "detective" gameplay is meaningless fluff and adds nothing (note to game developers: tailing missions always suck. They sucked in Assassin's Creed and they suck here) and the attempt to bring back style changing is half-baked. I didn't hate my time with this game, but it left me underwhelmed

8. Yakuza Kiwami

This was actually my first yakuza game. And thank goodness Kiryu is hot because this game is... rough. First off, the story is just not very good. It spends a lot of time with tedious red herrings and extraneous shit with characters we don't care about. I honest to God had a hard time following the plot on my first playthrough because the cast is like 90% unmemorable middle aged Japanese men that show up like once in the first hour and then once in the last (but you're expected to remember them). It doesn't fare any better gameplay wise. It does make one good decision, bringing back style changing, but then for some reason they decided to make every boss fight an awful chore by having them regenerate their hp several times a fight (unless you happen to have the heat to do a heat action, and even then they regen hp so fast it may not help that much). What. The fuck. This snowballs into the Majima Everywhere which... look. I know. Goromi. But this system is still one where you have to fight a boss over and over and over again (in a game where fighting bosses is a chore). I've seen people slide off the series after going from 0 to kiwami, and that sucks. Maybe it was best i started here; if I liked this game, I'll probably like the rest

But there's one game I'd say that'd worse

9. Yakuza 4

When I played Yakuza 4 the first time, it was the ps3 version and I hadn't played 3 yet (it was more expensive.) So when I replayed 4 it was after playing 3, and honestly I was appreciating the game a lot more. After the slog of 3 it was nice to have a game with a snappier pace. And Akiyama was a fun change of pace. Him and Hana have a fun dynamic. I remembered not liking this game; was I too harsh? Could I have appreciated 4 more if I could see the improvements from 3? Then I got to Saejima's section then I remembered why I don't like this game. Honestly, I could go ON about how much Saejima's part sucks, it is easily the worst time I've had playing a yakuza game. I'll spare you that novel for now tho. And from here, the game never really recovers. We move on to Tanimura, the worst yakuza protagonist by the sheer virtue of how boring he is. By the time Kiryu shows up again I was so damned thrilled to see him. But he doesn't really save this game. Yakuza plots are usually convoluted and sometimes hard to follow, but 4's just gets exhausting to keep up with. By the time you get to your 28th betrayal you just can't care anymore. And it all caps off with a lazy fucking ending and the absolute worst final boss fight in the series. Oh Curryman. You deserve a better game.

[sparklingichigo]

Human World Adventures

Part 6

After lunch, Haruka gives them an idea of playing Uno which the younger siblings and Solomon agree without any hesitation. The older brothers (e.g Lucifer) are confused since they never played such games and Uno if Lucifer remembers correctly means "one" in Spanish. So...what game is this "one" specifically? Of course, this avatar of pride didn't ask and just watch from a distance as his brothers play along with the two girls.

Haruka: Why don't you play with us too, Lucifer?

Lucifer: No thank you, I'm too old for such games.

Haruka: Oh, come on! it's a fun game! You should join us!

Lucifer: No thank you^^ Perhaps the next round?

Haruka: Next round it is.

Belphie: I'm definitely defeating you two! >:D

Asmo: I'm still surprised Belphie is not asleep during this game...

Solomon: Same...

Mammon: Me three-

Satan: You can win if you have a strategy.

Belphie: Well, let's start, shall we?

Ichigo: We shall^^ [shuffling the cards and start to distribute them]

With that, they all start playing. Belphie is surprisingly determined today, he's obviously trying his best to at least defeat one of the humans.

Belphie: And I'll add +2 to that!

Ichigo: Oh? Bullying Monsolo I see. Let's go +4!

Satan: Which color?

Ichigo: [checks her cards] rED!

Satan:...

Ichigo: What? You got no reds? Or more +4?

Satan: Jokes on you, I do! Switching to green!

Asmo: You're so mean! >:( Fine! [gets the 4 extra cards]

Solomon: Pfft, your attempts of making me lose has gone out the window~

Belphie: Shut it! Beel, I believe in you! Please defeat that sus of a sorcerer, my twin~;-;

Beel: Ah, a green one. I have one! [puts in +2]

Solomon: What?!

Belphie: Thank you so much, Beel!

Solomon: ....sht

Satan: What's wrong, Solomon? Cat got your card?

Solomon: tsk. [gets two more cards]

As they were playing, Simeon passes by to watch them. Yes, unfortunately, this angel doesn't join them. Luke is in there though playing with them.

Simeon: How did it go?

Haruka: Overall...we're winning. Currently bullying Solomon.

Luke: Look, Simeon! I only have 4 cards!

Simeon: Oh that's great! You're close to victory!

Levi: [casually shows his two cards]

Simeon: Ah, no surprise^^

Mammon: How?!?! [sobs in 12 cards]

Satan: That's clearly because you're an idiot.

Ichigo: Belphie is improving his game skills though^^ Great job!

Belphie: Yeah to defeat one of you >:(

Levi: Since when are you this competitive?

Belphie: Since I keep on losing to those two >:((

Satan: Perhaps might wanna say goodbye to such victory

Ichigo: ...woops^^ [shows 1 card]

Mammon: Again, HOW?!

Haruka: She's the master of this game, I'm not even surprised [sigh in 5 cards]

Solomon: can we just go back to the game? [currently holding around 9 cards]

Asmo: Alright back to the game. Haruka, your turn.

Haruka: Hmm, it's green and a +2 huh? I have just the solution! [puts another +2 but in red]

Levi: Ha! UNO! [yeets his +2 but in yellow]

Mammon: Yes!!! [puts in lots of +2]

Luke: That's a lot!

Mammon: Sucks to be ya, Fido.

Luke: Shut it! [throws in a +4]

Belphie: Are you guys going against me now?!

Luke: no??;-; I'm just trying to save myself! Simeon!! Help me!!

Belphie: Just kidding, kid. Which color?

Luke: Uh... [checks his cards] Red?

Belphie: Great! [throws in a red card but he still needs to get that much card wow poor Belphie]

Ichigo: Uno game~!

Belphie: You! [tackles Ichigo while the others laugh]

Ichigo: Hey, hey! Why are you so worked up?! [laughing because Belphie is attacking her with tickles]

Belphie: Because you keep on winning!

Satan: [sigh] There's still Haruka and Solomon. You obviously can't defeat the master of Uno, Belphegor.

Beel: Come on, Belphie. There's still hope!

Belphie: There's still hope huh? Well, it's your turn, Satan.

Satan: Don't mind me^^ [puts in the same card but in yellow]

Asmo: Do you have a live problem with me?!

Satan: Clearly not. That's the only card I have that matches.

Asmo: [huffs but gets another card]

Beel: Ah? A yellow? I have the all-color one, is that okay?

Ichigo: Yes! Yeet it out!

As soon as Beel does that, everyone anticipates the color. Obviously, Belphie hopes it's the color that Solomon doesn't have so he can actually win against that sus of a sorcerer!

Beel: I'll have green^^

Solomon: Tf-

Everyone instantly laughs. Yeah, their target is obviously to give Solomon as many cards as possible but oh well.

Solomon: Man, you must have beef with me don't you-

Beel: Oh of course not^^ Just your cooking skills and that one thing [smiling but this scared Solomon]

Solomon: Right... [getting one card]

Haruka: Yas! Beel, thank you so much! [throws in three-card that matches]

Belphie:...

Ichigo: You can still defeat Solomon, Belphie^^

Belphie: True...he has like 9 cards or so...

Levi: Hmmm blue.... jokes on you! I have one! [throws in a block blue card] also Uno!

Mammon: U- Dang it! Why ya gotta block me like that?!

Levi: Because you deserve it^^

Levi: Well, Luke, give us your best shot!

Luke: I will! Take this! [throws in one reverse card but in blue]

Mammon: Holy sht, Fido! Thank you! [lol he throws in another reverse card but in red]

Luke: [whispering to Ichigo who's now beside him] I have lots of reverse cards...should I put it in?

Ichigo: [nods]

Luke: [puts in another reverse card but in yellow]

Mammon: Why?!

Luke: That's all I have!

Mammon: Geez, sorry to anyone who sits me. [puts in block but in yellow]

Levi: Dude, fck you!

Asmo: pfft at least you're not like him adding more and more cards to my pile.

Satan: It's called playing with a strategy^^

Asmo: Strategic playing my ass!

Haruka: Ah a block card^^ I have one too and U-

Solomon: Uno! Jokes on you! You gotta pick up two cards~

Haruka: [rolls her eyes and gets two more cards] You're blocked though.

Solomon: And you have more cards^^

Beel: Hmm a block card... Asmo, I'm sorry:")

Asmo: Beel no-

Too late bestie, he puts in that block card. There there, Asmo...

Asmo: What even have I done to you, little brother?! [dramatic whining]

Beel: :( I'm sorry that's all that matches-

Satan: Uno game. [puts a normal card but in the same color as that block card]

Haruka: How?!

Ichigo: Wow, guess his strategic playing does work.

Satan: Perhaps next round, just the two of us?

Ichigo: You're on, raging ball of chaos.

Solomon: not again- can we just proceed?! Yo Belphie! Your turn!

Belphie: Ah, a normal card. Alright then^^ [switches the card color]

Luke: Why?!?!

Belphie: Because I want to, kid :)

Luke: [grumbles but gets the card because he has none of that color or number]

Mammon: Ah yes, time to reduce my card amount! [throws in around 5 cards with the same content in it]

Levi: All that to go back to Yellow?!

Mammon: Does it matter?!

Levi: Of course you idiot! I got none of that! Fck you!

Mammon: Pfft, bye-bye to your victory, weeb~

The other sighs at the sight. This is gonna be a long game. Lucifer and Michael are both now interested though. This seems to be a fun game but can be pride-crushing as well.

Michael: That seems fun

Lucifer: Indeed. Willing to join for the next round?

Michael: [shrugs]

Rosaria: It does seem fun!

Michael: Hon-

Rosaria: Hm? I mean look at them! They're having fun and I think we should too ^^

Michael: I think it'd take a long time for them to actually finish considering how competitive they are.

Rosaria: That's true [laughs slightly] it's so refreshing to watch it though^^

Suddenly they all hear a rumble outside. Turns out today is raining, lucky for them that they're not going anywhere and are just staying in.

Beel: Oh? It's raining.

Belphie: It is. Quite a strong thunder as well

Haruka: Probably just Thor passing by.

Asmo: Or Zeus, finding another target to put his lust on~

Simeon: Asmo, I'm this close to drench you in holy water-

Asmo: Hey! I'm the avatar of lust! These kinds of things are obviously my thing!

Simeon: Sure it is, but Luke is literally over there!

Luke obviously has 0 idea what Asmo is talking about nor is he even listening so Luke isn't that bothered.

Haruka: Uh...everyone! Back to the game!

Finally, after a few minutes, Levi came out as the second runner up causing another groan of frustration coming from Belphie. Of course, he can still defeat Haruka and Solomon but now defeating Haruka would be difficult since she has 3 cards but defeating Solomon... now that's one thing he's after!

Beel: Go Belphie! Defeat him!!

Solomon: Babe, why aren't you rooting for me?!

Asmo: I'm obviously trying to survive myself!

Mammon: Can't yall just have mercy on me?!

Asmo, Solomon, and Belphie: No!

Levi: When Ichigo said Uno is fun to watch, she is 1000% correct!

Haruka: Complete agreement, 1000%

They all watch the bottom four play until Belphie appears to be a winner against all four of them.

Belphie: Finally! I defeated one human! [laughs evily]

Mammon: Can't you at least have mercy on me?! I'm your older brother!

Belphie: no^^

Asmo: Definitely a no^^

With that, Mammon lost the game. Asmo and Solomon of course won against him but still lost to the others nonetheless.

Asmo: Well that was fun^^

Solomon: It is.

Mammon: [sobs in I lost] Man why are you all so competitive-

Satan: It's a game. Losing and winning is normal^^

Ichigo: As he said ^^

So, the whole day is spent hanging out in Lucifer's mansion. Playing here and there or just talking. Now, this comes to Ichigo and Satan. Ichigo needs to get things straight with this rage of a demon. She was of course relief that there's no tension between Satan and Beel anymore but she needs to put him in place so here they are in the library. Of course, Ichigo told Beel, luckily Beel let her so here she is in the library talking to Satan.

Ichigo: We can still be friends. I just don't feel that way about you.

Satan: Yeah, I know.

Ichigo: Oh come on, you're turning cold again. Just focus on healing yourself okay? [pats his shoulder] I'm sure if you healed completely everything will turn normal.

Satan: I suppose...

Ichigo: and stop being an ice prince towards Haruka. I know she left you for Simeon and all, but you have 0 feelings for her right?

Satan: Well romantically no. But it still grills my pride seeing her with someone else furthermore an angel when I'm clearly trying my best to be better.

Ichigo: I know.... you're actually a good demon, Satan. I'm sure you'll find your love soon. But for now please heal yourself. I don't want you to have more drama in your life okay?^^

Satan: Then...we're friends?

Ichigo: We are^^ [handshakes with Satan]

Satan: You're still helping me with those pranks right?

Ichigo: Of course! What kind of friend am I if I'm not helping you?!

Satan: Yeah, let's start working on it! >:D

Ichigo: >:D mwahahahaha-

Satan: I've taught you well^^ [pats her head]

Ichigo: Perhaps I'm slowly turning into a gremlin, like you^^

Satan: Hey! :(

The next day, everything returns to normal. Satan surprisingly turned friendly in just one night. Everyone is surprised by this, especially Simeon. He doesn't mean to think of the worse because he's not supposed to but due to recent events.... he starts to think so about him.

Haruka: Are you sure it's not because he has bad intentions?

Simeon: I hope that's not the case. I'm sure Ichigo has talk things out to him.

Haruka: ...well true

Michael: Now, now^^ I'm sure he's trying his best to change. Having negative thoughts on this would just make his effort useless right?

Simeon: That's true.... [sees Satan just having fun creating more pranks with Belphie]

Haruka: I'll try talking to him....just trying

Simeon: Be careful!

Haruka: Of course^^

So Haruka walks towards him as Belphie and Satan are practicing another hex to prank Lucifer.

Haruka: Hey, Satan, Belphie what are you two doing?

Satan: Just practicing another hex to prank Lucifer. Is there something you need? ^^

Haruka: Oh just curious. You two need to tone it down with the pranks though, we don't want more trouble don't we?

Belphie: it's just Lucifer. What's the worse that could happen?

Haruka: ...hangged by the chandelier....?

Belphie: I can sleep upside down, that won't bother me much.

Haruka: Oh well.... :]

After saying that, Haruka returns to Simeon to tell him what happened. Simeon is of course glad that Satan is changing for the better good or at least good in demon standard. Let's hope this lasts and there won't be any romantic problems.