#currently listening to Rats Died like a true dr fan and that inspired me to think abt this (as well as reading DM and TDP scripts)

[kotaerukoto]

Thinking more abt DR1. The tragedy of the DR1 characters has a unique strength to me, precisely because we know that absent of Junko's Mutual Killing, they all eventually end up getting along pretty decently! Probably one of the most relevant examples for my muse is Makoto's relationship with Maizono-- in settings without the Mutual Killing such as Development Mode and Talent Development Plan, their interactions are nothing but friendly, supportive, and even sometimes a little intimate. It's not difficult to infer that during the single regular year at Hope's Peak, they got along just as well or were moving towards that. And all of that just makes what happens during the main game to the whole cast, not just Makoto and Maizono, even more of a bitter pill to swallow since along with their memories Junko stole even intangible things like relationships. Another example of this is Oowada and Fujisaki: that picture Monokuma (Junko) "dropped" really says it all...