#for anyone !! but i had towa in mind

[grievedifferent]

❝ yeah. i've, uh, been calling out recently. ❞ the last week actually. ❝ they won't fire me, but they'll cut my hours until i quit. ❞ // * @twilium like for a one-liner from fujita akira !!

[chirpy-poppy]

Our Pin

When Darkwick allows you to choose one of the houses to join, how will they convince you?

Inspired by this ask/post.

Frostheim “Wait,” Jin grunts at you as you approach the door, done with his errands for the day. He tosses something at you which you barely manage to catch. When you do, you recognize the deep blue pin. “You’d be set for life with the connections you make here. Choose wisely.” Jin is a man of few words, but you’d hear most of Frostheim’s pitch from Kaito who basically begs you to join them. Lucas would come with a few logical points about why you should choose Frostheim, and Tohma would keep you so busy with tasks, you wouldn’t be able to visit other houses during your decision period.

Vagastrom “It’ll be pretty cool if we lived a little closer together, Senpai. I’ll cook for you every day.” Sho is the only one who’d want you at Vagastrom. Alan gives you a stern warning not to do something so dangerous. Leo’s existence alone convinces you to stay far away.

JabberwockThey use their fluffy animals to their full advantage. Haru takes you on a Cappybus tour to see all the cutest animals while Towa engulfs you in the most fragrant flowers. Ren might actually beg you to join them too since you are actually willing to do the chores. Towa gives you such a puppy look while Haru discreetly pins the orange brooch onto your lapel. Peekaboo lets out the saddest “Booo” when you leave for the day. How can you ever refuse them? 

SinostraRomeo had given Taiga a lecture on their objective just before you were scheduled to meet them, so the captain actually remembers who you are when you walk in. “Hello, Kitten,” he purrs as you come in with some documents. He somehow gets you strapped into his torture chair and is about to stab the brooch into your jacket when Romeo bursts in. “You’re supposed to convince her, not force her!” “Why? It’s so much easier this way.” Taiga spins his revolver before placing it on your temple. Ritsu steps in at this moment to quote some law that no one is really paying attention to. Taiga and Romeo get into such an argument that no one notices you slipping away and running for your life.

Hotarubi The three invite you over for tea. At the end of it, Subaru presents you with the amethyst brooch in an intricately carved wooden box. “We would love it if you would join Hotarubi, PC. Of course, we want you to make the decision you believe is best for you, but you should know you are always welcomed and appreciated here.” As Haku walks you home, he purposefully takes a scenic route through Hotarubi. He’d gently pitch his own house but reminds you they are here for you no matter what decision you make. 

ObscuaryWas unfortunately not one of the options available to you. Rui is quite relieved though. He isn’t sure how he can live constantly worried about touching something as weak as a human. He also knows he could never live with himself if something happened to you, and the risk of it increases so much more if you stayed in his dorm. Lyca is completely bummed though. He thought he had a chance to finally have a friend at the dorm. He does not understand why you can’t stay at Obscuary since he’s here and he’s human too. Ed thinks it’s a shame, but he is sure you’d visit often still.

Mortkranken“Humph! You should feel honored to even be considered joining Mortkranken,” Yuri gloats, dangling the brooch in front of you. “He desperately wants you to join,” Jiro deadpans. “Jiro! Can you shut it! I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you did since you are a very interesting subject.” Yuri’s blush isn’t fooling anyone as he shoves the teal accessory into your hands. Despite his shyness, he still keeps you around for another three hours helping him pipette. As you get ready to leave, he calls your name. “Consider it. You… You aren’t repulsive, at least.”

A/N: Thank you to those who sent in prompts. I'm sorry if I don't get to yours, but I will only be writing those that spark an idea. I don't want to write something bleh just to fulfill an ask. Thank you for your submission though!

[ox-imagines]

Tokyo Debunker as Romance Tropes

Feel free to ask me to write a longer imagine/oneshot for any of these!

Pt. 3 | Jabberwock

Pt. 1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 4 | Pt. 5 | Pt. 6 | Pt. 7

Haru - Love at First Sight

Haru is a very busy man. He’s always on the go, rarely ever thinking about romance because he’s got thirty-thousand other things on his mind. One day, all these things weighing on him distracted him enough that Peekaboo managed to get out of his pen, wandering off out the back door that Ren had left open again. When he realized Peekaboo was missing he almost lost it, flying into a full panic and racing out the door. He found him playing with you in a large clearing in Jabberwock, you sitting on the ground picking wildflowers and handing them to Peekaboo, who’d sort them into piles based on their color. He was so relieved he came to a dead stop on the spot, a horrid crunch coming from one of his ankles from the sudden force of his momentum. He fell over, wincing softly, and you quickly moved over toward him, asking if he was ok. When he looked up at you, his breath caught in his throat. The sun was behind you, framing you and lighting up your loose hairs like they were glowing, and you wore a soft, concerned look on your face, which as far as he was concerned may well have been the prettiest face he’d ever seen.

“I, um, I’ll be fine, it, it happens! Thank you for watching my baby, I can’t believe I let him escape… whaddya say I, uh, treat you to dinner tonight as a thank-you?”

Towa - Soulmates

Towa has always loved the idea of soulmates. Towa loves love, period. Unfortunately, his love and devotion to Haru get in the way of him finding his own soulmate. At least, until you come into his life. He thinks you’re perfect: you understand him better than anyone ever has before, you’ve got an uncanny way of keeping his rapid mood swings at bay, and soon, he listens to you and does things for you unlike he will for anyone but Haru. The two of you can often even communicate without words, you adapting to his nonverbal tendencies so well you sometimes adopt them when you’re around him. You’re a bit free-spirited, but grounded enough that his wild, free spirit is calmed around you. Even if you don’t believe in soulmates, Towa does, and he’s certain that you’re his and won’t hesitate to let you know that on a regular basis. He regularly comes to you with R&R permits asking you to go off campus with him.

“~~~. You’re the one for me, Dandelion. Please never change~”

Ren - Roommates

All things considered, Ren is a good roommate. He doesn’t really help clean, but he also doesn’t spend much time outside his room to make much of a mess in the first place. He minds his own business, he never makes much noise, and sometimes, you can convince him to play video games with you. Ren loves video games. Sometimes, Ren loves video games more than he cares about his personal space, at least considering you’re also laid-back and mind his boundaries, so every once in a while he’ll even invite you into his room to play something with him, or watch game playthrough videos. One day, he does something you wouldn’t have ever expected of him, inviting you to watch a movie with him. You agree and go make popcorn, only to realize he’d meant in his room rather than the living room. You end up sitting up at his headboard together rather than perched on the end of his bed like you usually do when you’re in there. This becomes more frequent, the space between your shoulders decreasing little by little each time, until the night you fall asleep on his shoulder. He gets flustered, not even realizing you’re asleep at first, but he can’t deny that it’s a nice feeling to have you cuddled up next to him like that.

“So, uh. There’s a new movie that came out a couple weeks ago and it’s available to rent now, do you maybe wanna watch it tonight? I know you don’t love horror stuff, but…”

[berrygoodjob]

PLEASE I NEED MORE TOKYO DEBUNKER PERVERT HC I’M GONNA GO CRAZY THE FANDOM IS SO NEW THERE’S PRACTICALLY NOTHING 😞😞😞😞

Mdni 18+

Pervert!TD hcs

Ft: Yuri, Haru, Rui, Ritsu, Romeo

Part one part three

Yuri Isami

—pervert!Yuri who is a MASSIVE tsundere, but accidentally mutter how badly he’d like to strap you to his medical table

—pervert!Yuri definitely thinks you’re using some sort of psychological mind games to make him want you as desperately as he does

—pervert!Yuri who will sneak peaks during his exams and scold you for being careless. He gets very embarrassed if you catch him and might leave the rest of the exam to Jiro

—pervert!Yuri who definitely insists that the hand restraints are necessary during your check ups, just in case….. and will be fucking his fist so desperately the second he’s home

—pervert!Yuri who is so tired, and your body looks so soft and nice, like the ideal stress ball for him to just hold or squeeze

Haru Sagara

—pervert!Haru who checks out your ass every time you see him, and might even brush a hand past it “by accident”

—pervert!Haru who brings you around semi-dangerous anomalies just keep an arm around you and have an excuse to pull you close to him. He will be smelling your hair though.

—pervert!Haru who remembers the smell of your hair, the feeling of your waist and the little gasp you let out when he pulled you closer at the most inconvenient times (middle of class, trying to advertise for the park, and when he’s running away from Taiga). Very poor times for him to get rock hard,,,

—pervert!Haru whose feelings and odd behaviors are noticed by Towa. So next time you head to Jabberwok, it just happens to start pouring rain all over your white t-shirt. Towa smiles and shrugs at you, but gives Haru a wink and a knowing smile.

—pervert!Haru who insists stretching is a must before going out and about around Javberwok (he’s not wrong, but he won’t be stretching as much as he’ll be watching you stretch and imagining all the positions he’d like to have you in) He will jokingly offer to help you stretch, but if you take him up on it, he’ll get too nervous

Rui Mizuki

—pervert!Rui who gets very frustrated knowing that he can’t touch you for real

—pervert!Rui who keeps his distance but will watch you, not intending to be creepy, but then he sees you bend over to pick up something you dropped. He will be undressing you with his eyes in that moment

—pervert!Rui who went to go find you at the cathedral once, but you weren’t home. Although a pair of your dirty underwear was right on top in your laundry pile. He looks at it and sighs deeply. He swears he’s better than that and walks past……. but he goes back and stuffs it in his pocket. After all, it is the closest he’ll be able to get without fear of killing you..

—pervert!Rui who plays with his dick keeping your underwear pressed to his face. He knows it’s a violation of your privacy, but he so desperately wants you, and this is the only way he can even get close

—pervert!Rui who would love nothing more than to be inside of you, but understands how unlikely it is due to both of you being cursed. he still holds hope nonetheless.

Ritsu Shinjo

—pervert!Ritsu who had no idea how deeply his desire for you would hit him and was fully unprepared it.

—pervert!Ritsu who finds himself listening to every recording of your voice, and whose mind starts wander to how you’d sound calling his name. And from there it gets very perverted very quickly,,,, he is shocked at himself, but he knows fantasizing in itself isn’t a crime… so what’s the harm…

—pervert!Ritsu who will want to fuck you and record the audio

—pervert!Ritsu who knows better than to cross physical boundaries, but will picture what’s under your clothes often…. Very often….

—pervert!Ritsu who you accidentally touched one time, so he sat you down and gave you a lecture on harassment….. (he doesn’t want you unknowingly causing problems for yourself or touching anyone else, but he struggles to convey that he’s not actually mad at you for it. He just emotionally shit himself and didn’t know how else to handle it). He will think of this moment in bed at night and get ridiculously turned on by how nice it felt.

Romeo Lucci

—pervert!Romeo who thinks it’s cute how desperately in love with him you are (he’s a little delulu, you barely know him), but then again how could you not be?

—pervert!Romeo who convinces himself that you’re the one obsessed with him, and definitely not the other way around…. He even asks you if you’d like to be kept in one of his cages so he can give you more attention

—pervert!Romeo who almost tries to convince you to go gamble away all your money so you have to be indebted to him (he decides not to at the final moment when he sees you smile at him)

—pervert!Romeo who still imagines how’d you look stripped to your undies locked in a cage, begging him for mercy…. He cums every other night to the thought

—pervert!Romeo who still has half a mind to forgive all of Kaitos debts if you offer yourself to him and obey his wishes. He has come very close to suggesting it, but he thinks it’d make him look desperate. And desperate is ugly on anyone. So someone as good looking as himself should never stoop so low (he fucks up into his hand so desperately wishing it was you he was cumming into).

[sorchathered]

Requiem-Rafael Barba x reader

Summary- ADA Barba has one thing he can’t live without, fear of losing it consumes his dreams.

Warnings- smut smut smutty smut, dirty talk, language, bit of a daddy kink, just me being self indulgent and salivating over Barba.

———————————————————————————

He should’ve known it would never be easy.

Get the girl, fall in love, live happily ever after…those were not things he’d ever expected to happen in his life. His job was grueling, the hours chaotic; how could someone be expected to sign up for that? The media scrutiny that came with his high profile career alone should have sent you running for the hills. But none of it deterred you, you kept him grounded when things got too dark, you soothed his troubled mind in a way he could have only dreamed of, and now the one thing he’d wanted more than anything was most likely being ripped from him.

It was supposed to be a simple night out, it had been a migraine inducing week and all Raphael wanted was a nice dinner and to spend the weekend buried in you. He’d texted that he was on his way to the restaurant, but no reply came from his girl. That should’ve been the first red flag. You were chronically on your phone during the work week, he had to pry it from your hands most nights to get you to rest, sometimes he even hid it on the weekends just so you would pull yourself away from your cases and take a minute to breathe. You made his level of professionalism look meager sometimes, and that was truly saying something.

On the third round of calls it picked up and he felt relief flood his system. “Amore, you had me worried! I-“

“Barba? Is that you?” His blood runs cold at the voice on the other side; Olivia Benson had your phone. “Liv- please don’t say it.” “We got a call to this location, a town car with the driver shot, signs of a struggle in the backseat.” “Text me the address.” He was already running, two blocks was nothing over something like this, his worst fear playing out before his eyes.

-

Waking with a shout, Raphael nearly falls from his bed in his Upper East Side penthouse, drenched in sweat and tangled in his fancy Egyptian cotton bedsheets. The alarm clock by his bed read 2 am, and despite his outburst you slept soundly beside him, blissfully unaware that he’d just had a nightmare that rocked him to his core. It was his worst fear, going public with your relationship meant putting you directly in the public eye; opening you up to media scrutiny and allowing anyone with a grudge against him the perfect target to send him to his knees.

He swiped the stray tears that had formed and tried to regulate his breathing, he couldn’t get his heart rate down and it felt like he was choking on the air he tried desperately to take in. You were fine, peaceful even, a serene look on your face as the lights from the New York skyline glowed across the exposed skin of your body. Gorgeous, and totally unaware of how terrified he was to lose you.

He padded down the hall to the bathroom, splashing cold water across his face, still in a daze. Hearing the door crack open, he glanced behind him in the mirror reflection. Of course you’d come to find him. He must look a mess, wild green eyes trained on you as you crossed the threshold to wind your arms around his waist, body pressed against him tightly and he finally felt himself relax.

“What’s wrong Raf? You getting sick baby?” You turned him in your arms to press a hand to his forehead and he melted into your touch, curling himself around you and nuzzling his scruff against your neck.

“Bad dream Amore, I’ll be ok.” You quirked a brow at him, you didn’t believe him a bit, he looked unmoored; his cool exterior rattled in a way you’d never seen before.

“I don't know that I believe you darling, but I’m patient. I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me. For now, what do you need?” He stroked your cheek and his eyes softened as he took you in. “You, just you.”

-

He had you in his arms and was carrying you back towards the bed immediately, soft kisses pressed to his hair as you let your hands slide around his neck. He needed this, just the closeness and love only you could provide would be enough to bring him the peace he needed. Spread out on his mattress you looked like an angel, the glow of the city illuminating your body as he undressed you in the moonlight. “Love me Rafi, let me make it better baby.” He felt a shiver roll down his spine as he sprawls across your body, chests pressed together as he takes your face in his hands and kisses you softly. You sigh as he becomes more urgent, tongue mingling with yours as his palms slide down your sides to grip your hips, pressing his hard length against you and groaning low in his throat.

You whine at the feeling, grinding your hips down into his to get more, it will never be enough until he’s filled you, but ever the tease he plays your body like a well loved instrument until he has you panting and writhing into the mattress. His cologne, the heat from his skin, the filthy words he whispers as he brings you to the edge with his hands and mouth become almost too much to bear, it has you begging him to fuck you and he can’t help the chuckle that bubbles up, his sweet girl reduced to tears over the pleasure he gives. It’s euphoric, knowing he can get you like this. No one else gets to have you this way, only him.

“You want my cock, cariño? Look at you, so good for me. Mi hermoso, mi corazón, I love you. You’re everything to me. Tell me you want it sweet angel, I’ll give you what you need.” His words felt like a brand on your skin, your heart so full for this man, he was otherworldly, truly a gift. He brought his mouth back to yours, nipping at your bottom lip as you bucked up into his hand, you couldn’t form the words it was all too much and yet you needed so much more. “Daddy please, please fuck me- need you close” you stuttered out and he freed himself from his briefs. oh he was mouth watering, toned chest slick from sweat, your eyes followed the trail of chest hair down his happy trail, whimper escaping you as you took in his thick cock in his hand, pumping slowly with mirth in his gaze as he watched you squirm. He would never admit it to anyone, but he really did love it when you called him daddy, the age gap wasn’t even that large honestly, but something about it made him impossibly harder for you, and he couldn’t be bothered to hold himself back anymore.

“Beautiful girl, you make me crazy you know that?” He said as he ran himself through your folds slowly, deliberately, before sinking himself into you and watching as your back arched off the mattress. Sliding his arms under your back he slams himself into you, setting a brutal pace that has you crying and shaking in his hold. So good, it feels so good, and he knows neither of you are going to last long at all. Pressing his thumb to your clit he watches as your release shudders through you, your pussy pulling him in like a vice and he comes deep, moaning your name against your mouth like a prayer.

You both fall asleep like that, connected as intimately as possible, and the nightmares stay away for another night. When morning comes he’ll shrug it off as if it was nothing; but in the back of his mind he’ll be making a list to update his and your security at work, and holding you a little closer than usual before he leaves for the office. It won’t ever fully leave his mind, but little moments of peace with you will make it worthwhile.

Tagging- @arcane-vagabond @attapullman @baezen @ryebecca

[stinkyturd]

Sweet Wishes

Haru Sagara/Reader

Comments: Spicy? At what point do I say it's NSFW? Would have made this longer guys, but I got a Fever Dreams Chappie to get on. Featuring 90's classic anime nosebleeds. Some of you may not be old enough to get it, bahaha.

"Did you ever find your soul mate, Dandelion?"

Towa sits with you under the stars near the Jabberwock House. The two of you had been sprawled out in the grass, looking for constellations, until the ball of sunshine popped the random question on you. Towa turns his head to meet your gaze, wearing an angelic smile. You wonder what prompted him to ask, as it had been months since he first brought it up.

"I think so," You reply. And you did, but it was more wishful thinking than anything.

Towa sits up, his eyes as wide as saucers. "Really? Who is it?"

"Well, I think it's entirely one-sided... so I don't know that soul mate is the right word, then," You explain with an airy laugh, staring up at the night sky.

Towa scoots forward, hovering his face a little too close over yours. "So? Who is it?"

Your eyes meet the Jabberwock vice-captain's again, as his face is now blocking your star gazing. "It's Haru."

Towa blinks, his mouth hanging open in awe at your admission. "Haru...?"

"Yup. He's really grown on me," You add.

You weren't sure exactly when you had first realized it. It was a gradual build up. After you were inspector for Jabberwock, you found yourself helping out Haru a lot when you had free time. The eccentric Captain had a ton on his plate and the other two members of Jabberwock didn't really pull their weight like Haru did, so you decided to drop by one afternoon. When you so quickly picked up on the routine and memorized all the anomalies feeding schedules and clean up times, Haru timidly asked you to return whenever you were available.

"Does he make your heart flutter, Dandelion?" Towa asks, tilting his head curiously.

"Yeah..." You say with a nod. "Haru's very caring and sweet. I like working with him and he's so easy to talk to. Plus, his nurturing nature towards the anomalies here really does something for me. I don't have a Daddy kink, but if I could call anyone Daddy, it'd be him. Ya know?"

Towa didn't know. He nods anyways.

"I've tried flirting with him, but it usually goes over his head. Or he's just swerving me," You ramble, mindlessly running your fingers through the grass at your side.

Towa hums, his expression pensive. Tilting his head up, he looks at the sky. "Dandelion, look...! It's a shooting star." The Jabberwock vice-captain points at said star's location.

You follow his line of sight and he's right. "It is, isn't it?"

"Make a wish, Dandelion."

"Hmm... I wish Haru would notice me. As a potential romantic interest," You say aloud.

Towa giggles. "If you say it out loud, it may not come true."

"Whoops. Maybe, next time."

"That's okay," Towa starts, looking back down at you. "I think I can help make your wish come true."

"For real?" You wonder what the little ball of sunshine has in mind.

Towa nods, getting to his feet. "I think so."

"Haru, (Y/N) says you're her soul mate."

Haru sits on the floor in the main living area of the Jabberwock house, portioning out bags of feed for the next day. The Captain is currently concentrating on resetting the scale he is using for the task and the darn battery must have been going out, because the tare function had been acting up.

"That's nice, Towa," Haru replies, though it's evident he's not really listening. The red-head sighs in exasperation, flipping over the scale and opening the back compartment that held the battery.

You had already left for the night back to the cathedral and Towa is determined to get the ball rolling with making your wish come true.

"Did you really hear me?" Towa persists, peering over his shoulder.

Haru pulls out the dead battery from the scale. "Yes, yes I did! Now, can you help me with this please, Towa? There's batteries in the drawer by the kitchen sink."

"Hmph..." Towa puffs out his cheeks. Towa knows Haru didn't hear him, but he goes to get the batteries for the Captain, anyway. Once he pulls two out of the drawer and brings them back, he holds them out to Haru in the palm of his hand.

"Thanks, Towa!" Haru takes them from him, his lips pulling into an appreciative smile. The Jabberwock Captain makes haste to change them out so he can be done portioning within the hour.

"(Y/N) says she would call you Daddy," Towa deadpans.

Haru drops the scale in his hands onto the floor, causing the cover he just set to pop out again. The Captain tilts his head up at Towa, his jaw going slack. "W-W-WHAT...?!"

Towa beams, nodding fervently.

"T-TOWA...! T-That's not funny! Don't joke like that, my poor heart will explode! Who will care for Peekaboo, then?" Haru dramatically motions his hand over to the rabbit-like anomaly, sitting idly in it's playpen.

"But it's true," Towa protests.

"Do you even know the implication of that word? You can't just go around saying things like that," Haru chastises, his voice gradually getting calmer as he replaces the cover again.

Towa exhales. "...I didn't say it first."

"If you hold the bags open, I can pour the feed in and we can tag team this faster! Easy peasy," Haru suggests, completely dodging any more talk of the subject.

"...Fine, okay."

Towa resigns, sitting by his Captain's side. He would try again later.

--

Attempt Two.

A few days later, you're once again at the Jabberwock House. It was now evening. After your classes, you had come to help after Haru sent you a text asking for your assistance. You had been there since the early afternoon. The Jabberwock Captain recently had said something about winding down for the night and said he would be right back. Currently, you sat in an armchair looking over your emails on your phone.

"Dandelion."

Glancing up, you find Towa in front of you, holding out his hand.

You shoot him a skeptical glance, but you place your hand in his anyways. "What's up, Towa?"

"Come with me," Towa urges, gently pulling at your arm. "I have something to show you."

"Uh... sure." That is vague, but unsurprising coming from the source. You get to your feet and allow Towa to pull you along.

Towa drags you around the house for a bit, sprinting in between rooms. At first, you wonder if there is any real destination in mind and by the time you become suspicious enough to ask, the vice-captain stops in front of a door. If you're not mistaken, you're pretty sure it's one of the bathrooms.

You flit your dubious gaze on the white-haired man. "Uh... you need to pee, Towa?"

Towa giggles and shakes his head. The vice-captain opens the door, ushering you in, before shutting it behind you.

"--What the heck, Towa?" You blurt out, tilting your head in the direction of the now shut door behind you.

You hear movement from somewhere within the room. Looking forward, you make an attempt to spot the source of the disturbance.

Okay, so the steam emanating around the room makes it obvious that this bathroom is in use, or had just been used. Directly in front of you is a partition separating the changing area from the soaking area. And you happen to spot a few articles in the hamper just to the side of you that look awfully familiar.

A flashy orange jumpsuit, in particular.

Subconsciously, you think back to Towa's promise a few days ago. He couldn't have...

Footsteps pad from behind the partition, approaching where you stand. You know you should turn heel while you still can, but your pervy temptations take over and you stay grounded. Besides, Towa brought you in here! Anything that happens after is the consequence of circumstances entirely out of your control. You were just an innocent bystander who--

Haru appears from behind the divider, humming a tune that sounds vaguely familiar. Save for the wrapped bandages around his right arm and the small towel around his waist, he's completely nude. Haru's toned musculature is completely bare for you to admire. All those countless hours tending to the little farmland the young man had cultivated, really paid off. In fact, so much so, you're pretty sure you feel blood draining from your nose. Haru has yet to notice you so far. Right now, he's smiling pleasantly and pulling his clean clothes off a hook attached to the wall.

It wasn't until Haru slips his shirt on that he spots you from the corner of your eye. The Captain yelps in surprise. "AAAGH! W-WHAT ARE YOU...?!"

You watch as the Jabberwock Captain's face flushes a deep shade of crimson. Your heart beats violently in your chest when you realize he's getting closer to you, his shock faltering into a look of concern.

"(Y/N)...! Y-You're bleeding!" Haru brings a hand to your face, a look of panic on his own. "Are you okay?! I can get you a washcloth to clean that up! Stay right there!"

You stand there like the pervy goblin you are, as Haru rushes on the other side to get a cloth to clean your face. Closing your eyes, you inhale sharply. You thank whatever deity that may be looking out for you. There must be one, for you to have been blessed with such a sight. Or maybe you should just thank Towa.

A very warm, damp, cloth pats your face. You lean into the contact unconsciously, finding comfort in the heat. A hum of contentment escapes you.

"I should have shown you where the rest of the bathrooms are! And I forgot to lock the door, looks like, too," Haru clicks his tongue, making a displeased sound. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this! Ah, I really ought to be more careful."

"Don't apologize. I would have been thoroughly disappointed had I showed up any later," You say. It's meant to be flirtatious, obviously, but…

Haru nods, pressing his lips into a thin line as he finishes cleaning your face. "Right? I wouldn't have been able to find a washcloth for you!”

"..."

"Do you need me to take you to Mortkranken? I can, if you need to," Haru offers, tossing the now bloody cloth into the hamper next to him.

"No, it will be fine. Probably just the uh… weather changes. Between houses," You fib. “... Anyways, I'll let you finish getting ready.”

Haru regards you skeptically, before nodding. “Well, if you're sure!”

–

Attempt Three.

“Hey, honor student.”

“Hey, Ren,” You reply back, not diverting your eyes from the paperwork in front of you. A few days have passed since the bathroom incident took place. At the moment, you were going through vaccination records for the anomalies. You were trying to figure out which ones were due for their newest rounds.

“Here,” Ren says, tossing something at your side. Paper crinkles as the object lands, and you shift your attention to focus on it. It's a bouquet of assorted flowers, wrapped neatly in decorative paper.

You glance up at Ren, your lips quirking into a mischievous smirk. “Trying to confess to me, huh?”

Ren rolls his eyes. He plops down on the loveseat across from you, returning his attention to the handheld gaming device in front of him. “Read the card on it. It's not from me.”

“Oh…? Where'd you find it?” You peel back the paper surrounding the bouquet and pick up the card.

“Was on the porch,” Ren replies simply.

“To (Y/N), with love Haru,” You read aloud.

It's from Haru?

“Why would Haru leave this outside, though…?” You wonder.

“Dunno,” Ren says with disinterest. “Maybe he got shy. He's still outside trimming those weird sheep anomalies.”

Well, if this was really from Haru, you were absolutely ecstatic. A blush crept up your neck at the idea of him arranging the flowers. Did Towa help him? Were they sorted by meaning? Either way, you're going to thank him.

You get to your feet, flowers in hand, with intention to look for the Jabberwock Captain. Exiting the house, you walk through the grass and head towards the part of the field that Haru typically shears at. After a few minutes of searching, you spot him kneeling in the grass as he bags up piles of wool.

“Haru…” You call out as you approach him.

The red-head glances up at you, a smile spreading across his features. Haru stands up, dusting himself off. “Heya, (Y/N)! Whatchya got there?”

Assuming he's being coy, you walk right up to him and wrap your arms around his waist, eagerly pulling him into an embrace. “Thank you, Haru! You're so sweet!”

Haru yelps in surprise at the sudden contact, though he doesn't make any attempt to shy away. “Ah… You're welcome, (Y/N).” The Jabberwock Captain timidly wraps his arms around you, returning the hug. Though, he notably pats your back in a comforting gesture like you're his cousin, or a younger sibling, rather than a love interest. “... But what are you thanking me for, exactly?”

Haru does sound genuinely confused. Shit.

“Oh…” You lean back slightly, looking up at him. “Um… You didn't leave me these flowers?”

“Flowers…?” Haru repeats, his lips downturning slightly.

You step back, reluctantly parting from the contact to hold the bouquet and card out to him. “These?”

Haru takes the card from your hand and reads it. After a beat, the Jabberwock Captain sighs, shaking his head. “I'm sorry, (Y/N). This is Towa's handwriting.”

So, that's it.

Towa must be still trying to fulfill his promise. It's cute and you appreciate it, but you do feel a little disappointed. Maybe you should just be even more direct with Haru to save the vice-captain the trouble?

“Oh, I see,” You mutter, making an effort to sound particularly bummed out by the revelation.

“Yep. I'm not sure what's gotten into that little rascal lately! Maybe he's trying to tell you something, but he's embarrassed?” Haru guesses, but you know he's grasping at straws.

“Towa isn't shy,” You say point blank. It was true. The guy puts his face centimeters away from yours on a regular basis. Haru knows it too!

Haru laughs weakly, scratching the back of his head in a nervous manner. “Well, you caught me there! I'm not sure what's up with him, but I'll let him know that it's not nice to play tricks like that on you.”

“Haru, I think I need to tell you something,” You start with determined resolve.

The Jabberwock Captain's expression shifts into a more serious one, maybe because of the tone in your own voice. A bullet of sweat drips down Haru's cheek. “... Okay. You can tell me anything, (Y/N.)”

Just as you're about to open your mouth, a thunderous noise reverberates from somewhere behind the two of you. Haru flips around to identify the source and you follow his gaze.

For whatever reason– probably a petty one��� Towa was in the background summoning lighting on the Capybus again. The now burnt creature groans blaringly, before collapsing to the ground. You feel the earth quake underneath you on impact and Haru immediately begins sprinting towards the vice-captain’s side.

Turning his head for a brief moment, the Jabberwock Captain shouts back at you. “Hold that thought, (Y/N)!”

You watch as Haru begins scolding Towa for his mischievous behavior and makes an attempt to tend to the defeated mammoth sized creature. Needless to say, the whole debacle took longer than anticipated to resolve.

You didn't hold that thought.

–

Attempt Four.

You had just returned to the cathedral not even an hour ago. The classes scheduled today had come to an end and you were now sitting at your couch in your room, reading a book. A vibration on the coffee table breaks your attention from the novel in front of you. Leaning forward, you pick up your phone and notice a text notification from Haru. You open the message without hesitation.

‘Please come over tonight so we can have a date! 🥰🥰🥰’ 2:22 pm

Holy shit. Is this for real?

‘Yes, okay. What time?’ 2:22 pm

You wait with anticipation for probably another several minutes before another text comes in.

‘I'm so sorry, (Y/N)! Please disregard that message. (╥﹏╥) Towa took my phone and just started typing smzjdjwnsvehwjsv.’ 2:27 pm

Damn. Well, you can't say you're too surprised. But why let this opportunity go to waste? You almost confessed to him not that long ago, anyway.

‘Really? I was really hoping it was for real this time 😫💔!’ 2:27 pm

This time, a reply doesn't come for so long that you begin reading again.

‘Haha! Always goofing around, I like that! I'll make sure to put a lock on my phone so it doesn't happen again. Sorry for the trouble! ヅ’ 2:39 pm

‘Haru, I'm not joking.’ 2:39 pm

Surely. SURELY he can't dodge this one. You even left out emojis this time!

A minute or so later, your phone starts ringing. Haru is calling you.

Promptly, you answer, bringing the phone to your ear. “Good afternoon, Haru~”

You hear background noise on the other end. It's distorted, but you're pretty sure it's the nonsensical jabber coming from some of the anomalous farm animals. “(Y/N), I got your text. I wanted to call you to be sure of your tone before responding properly!”

“That's very cute of you,” You flirt shamelessly.

You hear Haru's adorable nervous laughter on the other end. “Aaah, I try? Actually, no wait! I wasn't trying there. Scratch that!”

“I really like you, Haru,” You confess with conviction. “I don't want you to mistake my text as a joke. I wanted to tell you a few days ago, before Towa zapped the Capybus. And Towa knows too.”

You can practically hear the nervous panic in the Jabberwock Captain's voice. “Aah, really? I guess that explains a lot, haha… Okay. Let's do this properly, then.”

You feel your stomach flip at his words.

“You can come over tonight and we can have dinner. How does that sound?” Haru asks.

“That sounds like a dream,” You reply.

“Ahaha, you're such a flatterer…! Come by around seven? I will make us something! But it probably won't be done until around eight, I think. I just don't want to make you walk around past dark!”

Ugh, he's so cute.

“Okay. I would love that, Haru.”

“GYAAH…! Wait, come back here!” You hear Haru shout at an anomalous animal. “Sorry. I'll talk to you later, (Y/N). Gotta bounce!”

“No problem, see you soon.”

With that, you end the call and immediately run towards your wardrobe to plan your outfit for the night.

You arrive at the Jabberwock House around the planned time. Usually, you would just barge in, but this time you're practicing date etiquette, so you knock on the door and wait.

You definitely made sure to put effort into your appearance this time. Before arriving, you went to the trouble of applying makeup and even styling your hair. Most of the time, you didn't do either. After all, when you weren't taking classes or running errands for Darkwick, you were getting all sweaty tending to the farm at Jabberwock.

Accompanying your glam, you chose a modest dress and cardigan to go over it. You wanted to make it obvious that you were serious about this for the dense Captain, but didn't want to do so much that he would find it off putting.

It didn't take long before Haru opened the door. He was wearing his normal casual wear, with an apron over it all. Haru even had oven mitts on, likely from still being in the process of cooking.

God he's so…

“(Y/N)...! Sorry for the wait–” Haru's words die in his mouth, as he assesses your appearance. “Aah… t-this is really happening isn't it?”

You take a step inside, boldly standing just inches from him. It wasn't as if you hadn't gotten close to him before, but this is the first time he understood your intentions.

“Need help?” You ask, your lips tugging into a playful smirk.

Haru closes the door behind you, staring down at you rigidly. “I, uhm… N-No, I can take care of it! You look so cute! I'm sorry, I didn't have much time to dress nicer.”

“You look very handsome, as always,” You assure him.

You can't help but notice that he spritzed some cologne before your arrival. Traces of sandalwood and amber fill your nostrils at the proximity. If Haru had the idea to use cologne, he must have planned on getting close like this, right? The mere notion leaves your heart hammering like a drum.

“Ah, you really think so?” Haru asks and the question sounds sincere. Like he hasn't the faintest clue of the effect he has on you.

“Of course.” You slip your arms around his waist, pulling him into a gentle hug. “It's been a couple of days since I've seen you. I really missed you.”

Haru's heart beats rapidly against his chest, so loud that you can easily hear it right now. “I really missed you too, (Y/N),” The Jabberwock Captain replies, his voice raising an octave at the admission. This time, he returns the hug without patting you platonically.

The sound of the stove going off startles Haru out of the embrace. “Oh! I'll be right back, the oven is preheated.” The Captain begins walking briskly towards the kitchen.

You look around. There's currently no sign of Towa, Ren, or even Peekaboo. That makes you wonder if they already know about your date. You remove your shoes and make your way over to the couch, before plopping down.

It wasn't long before Haru returned, frantically making his way over to you. The Captain sits to your left, a few feet from you, reaching for the remote to the tv on the coffee table. He immediately relinquishes it to you. “Ah, here! You can pick whatever you want to watch.”

You hum, pointing the remote in the direction of the TV. It rested on top of an entertainment center in the middle of the room. Clicking the power button on, you watch the television come to life. “What do you like to watch, usually?”

“It's been so long since I've had time, I can't really remember!” Haru admits, laughing awkwardly. “I will be okay with anything, though.”

“I'll hold you to that,” You tease. Daringly, you scoot right next to Haru to where your hips are touching. An audible gulp sounds from the man next to you when your legs meet.

“Where's Peekaboo?”

“... I pleaded with Ren to watch him for the evening,” Haru answers. He regards you tentatively, as if he's not sure what to do with his hands.

“I see.” Helping him out, you lace your fingers with his left hand as you look for a streaming platform. “Is this okay?” You ask for his permission softly.

“Yes! Yes, of course it is!” Haru attempts to relax back into the couch behind him, though his posture remains somewhat rigid– you can only assume from nerves.

He is too freaking cute.

Following by example, you settle yourself back into the couch cushion, then nestle your head against Haru's shoulder. This was seriously the pique of comfort and you couldn't be any more elated. You randomly select a movie, a thriller you think. The description hadn't been interesting enough to hold your full attention before you played it, though you're not sure anything could right now.

At some point during the intro of the movie, you feel Haru's free hand slip onto your partially exposed thigh. Butterflies stir in your stomach as you observe his gloved thumb rubbing small circles against your skin.

“Haru,” You say.

The Jabberwock Captain stills his hand, for the moment. “Y-Yes…?”

“Did you feel anything for me before I confessed to you today? Romantically.”

Haru haltingly resumes the subtle movements of his fingers against your skin. “Ah… it might be more strange if I didn't. You are always helping me, even when I know you have your hands full. You're so good with Peekaboo and the other animals. And you're very pretty, (Y/N).”

You absorb his answer for a while after he says it. Your eyes are unfocused on the movie playing in front of you. Some guy is getting his ass kicked on screen. You're pretty sure you don't even know the main character's name.

“You could have told me that all those times I was hitting on you, ya know,” You tease.

“I-I wasn't sure if you really meant it,” Haru counters.

“You're so cute.” Craning your head forward, you land a chaste kiss on the closest place your lips would land in your current position. That place happens to be the side of Haru's neck.

The Jabberwock Captain's hand clamps firmly on your thigh as he gasps involuntarily from the contact. Warmth crawls up the base of his neck and you admire with satisfaction as the tips of his ears turn bright red.

“Y-You really know how to make a fella nervous,” Haru remarks, a nervous chuckle tumbling from his mouth.

You nestle yourself back into his side, thoroughly amused by his jitters. “Don't be, it's just me. We can just watch the movie and I'll let up… for now.”

The last bit of your sentence was meant to be glib, rather than a reflection of your actual intentions, but Haru appears even more restless after the words leave your mouth. You return your attention towards the screen ahead. It takes a bit of time, but eventually his heart rate slows to a more normal pace as he relaxes fully into the cuddling.

You're not sure what Haru has in the oven, but it's taking a while. The movie you picked was boring enough that it wasn't really holding your interest. Hopefully Haru liked it more than you did. The warmth of the kind Captain at your side brings so much solace and relief that you find yourself inevitably drifting off to sleep.

By the time you wake, the lights are already off, but the dimly lit screen of the flat screen just ahead, illuminates the room you're in. Something else plays, it looks like an animation you don't recognize and the volume is now exponentially more quiet. You're also in a new position, lying your head on a throw pillow, with a thin blanket covering you. And you happen to be laying on your left side. You must have been moving around a lot in your sleep.

Shit, wasn't Haru cooking something for the both of you? And you went and dozed off for how long?

Mild panic settles in and you really hope you didn't offend the Jabberwock Captain. You knew it was highly unlikely that was the case, but this was your first date. Haru probably wouldn't often have the time for such things. Where was he, anyways?

You're about to sit up when you feel a hand move to your hip. Said sneaky hand begins tracing small languid circles, not dissimilar to the ones you felt earlier. Though, this time it felt more suggestive based on your current position. You're so touch starved at this point that you begin to feel heat pool in your loins from something most would consider so kosher.

Haru must be lying behind you. And who else? Certainly not Towa. He was touchy but you can't imagine he'd do this considering how you felt about Haru. You want to turn around to confirm, but for some reason that typical bravado you try to maintain around him is completely flopping right now. Maybe you could try to ask.

“Haru…?”

The hand, now on your waist, stills. But it doesn't leave. “Oh, you're awake. I hope this is okay. You were flopping around like a fish once you fell asleep, so I tried to make it more comfortable for you,” Haru explains, amusement lacing his voice.

The idea of him still taking care of you long after you had fallen asleep on him makes your stomach do backflips. How was this man so effortlessly sexy without even trying? Is it too soon to start making advances? Because at this point, you don't know what to do with yourself.

“Haru, I don't mean to alarm you, but I'm warning you now. I'm extremely turned on right now.”

You swear you hear the Jabberwock Captain choke on air behind you at the declaration. “... O-Oh?” Haru's hand tenses on your waist.

“I'm going to turn around. If you have any objections, you should let me know now,” You warn.

Haru remains silent for a few moments and for a second you worry that you're about to be rejected. “... No. No objections from this guy.”

Without hesitation, you flip around on your side. Haru's face is just inches from yours, his expression a mixture of trepidation and anticipation. He's flushed beautifully as he peers back at you. You pull your hands up from underneath the blanket cloaking the both of you, then delicately bring them to cup his face.

“So sweet,” You murmur as you close the distance fully, joining your lips with his.

Haru responds immediately, scooping you in as close as possible with his left hand. He returns the kiss eagerly, abandoning all shyness he may have felt moments before.

Haru's lips taste like lavender salve, something he must have put on in preparation for your date to cure any chapped skin that may have been there before. You don't mind. Your lips continue to interlock with his over and over again in an onslaught. Eventually, you find yourself wrapping your arms around the Jabberwock Captain's neck, searching for a closeness that only intertwining souls might achieve.

Haru takes the initiative, slipping his tongue past your lips, coaxing you to take it all a step further. And you oblige, tilting your head as you press yourself flush against him, allowing the kiss to deepen. Haru is warm, he tastes like spearmint. Haru is inviting, like the sun. You want to explore the light he radiates and the heat that comes with it.

You feel your cardigan begin to slip from your shoulders. You're so preoccupied with the fervid makeout session that you don't even realize that Haru is peeling it away on his own. It wasn't until the red-head broke the kiss to relocate his lips to your neck that you piece it all together. You gasp for air, partially from the lack of it during your heated exchange. But mostly because you feel his tongue press against your throat as he litters you with countless clumsy kisses. You feel his teeth graze once your twice, each time it elicits a pathetic whimper from your lungs.

“Fuck, Haru. I want you,” You blabber out, mindlessly.

Maybe it was reckless, considering you just addressed your feelings. But how the hell do you just stop now?

Haru, who had already been making his kisses trail farther down to your clavicle, barely separates himself from you to respond. His voice comes out raspy. “Y-You… You're sure?”

It seems almost ridiculous to ask such a thing, considering that you're already hyper aware of the tent having formed in his pants that was now pressing invasively against your thigh.

“I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life,” You deadpan.

Haru hums in contentment, wrapping his arms securely around you as he buries his face into your chest. “Anything you want, I'll be happy to be of service,” He murmurs against you.

You're seriously in love with him.

Just when you're about to continue getting this show on the road, the overhead light flickers on. The sudden change in the room's brightness startles Haru enough to sit upright from you.

“It worked!” Towa declares from the front entrance. The ball of sunshine is beaming brightly after he voices his snap judgment assessment of your compromising position. You suppose there is nothing else to think, with Haru basically on top of you.

“GYAAAH…!” Haru removes himself from you so quickly that he almost stumbles off the couch. “T-TOWA, AT LEAST ANNOUNCE YOURSELF! HOW LONG WERE YOU THERE?”

Towa merely snickers impishly, blatantly ignoring the question directed at him to address you. “I'm glad your wish came true, Dandelion!”

Your face burns bright, but you manage a smile, paired with an awkward chuckle. Sitting up fully yourself, you respond to him. “Yeah, you're like a real life fairy, Towa.”

“What wish?” Haru interjects, cluelessly.

Towa’s face splits into a shit-eating grin before he bolts up the steps.

“H-Hey, wait you didn't answer…!” The protest dies in Haru's mouth as his vice-captain makes a hasty retreat. “Aaah, and he's gone.”

“Pfffft,” You stifle a laugh when you notice Haru's aghast expression. “Well… in his defense, this isn't the most private place to be fooling around at.”

Haru lets out a breathy sigh. “Yeah, you're right.” The Captain gets to his feet, holding his hand out for you to take. “My room?”

Your heart flutters, as you admire him in the now bright light. Placing your hand in his, you nod. “Kay.”

Once the two of you begin to make your way to Haru's bedroom, he pops the question again.

“So what was the promise Towa mentioned?”

[somniumfaults]

so i have buch of omegaveush headcnaon iwould moslty hedacnon jin as alpha soem eomga to be be bue funny so cuase jin as oemga suttf plese not him with thoma idont like my top 3 boys are haku towa and leo and i like all the boys exuceo form thoma out m top 3 boys haku ican see anyu towa and leo dneilfy oemgas

thanks for the request! I ended up writing some headcanons for omega Leo, omega Towa, and omega Haku <3

warning: NSFT under the cut!

Omega Leo

Leo as an omega is territorial. His room is his place and he doesn’t want just anyone sullying his space with their stink. He doesn’t even let Sho into it unless absolutely necessary.

During his heats, he shuts himself up in his room and gets angry if anyone even tries to get near him. He’s bristly and on edge of almost everyone who would dare get near him, even if they’re trying to bring him food and water. He doesn’t trust easily.

Even though you’re his partner, he’s still begrudging about letting you come into his room and help him. He doesn’t mind your scent—as huffy as he is, he does like you and his brain recognizes your scent as comforting—but it doesn’t mean he’s comfortable letting himself be this vulnerable around you, especially during the early stages of your relationship. 

Early stages being relative, because you weren’t even allowed into the room at first and had to work your way up to actually being able to physically help relieve him.

If you’re an alpha, forget about it. You had to wait ages before he even felt comfortable letting you anywhere near his room, much less into it. You could leave food and water by the door, and if you really wanted to help, leave him a shirt or something. But he was not letting you even think about the opportunity of getting to touch him during his heat. There was no way someone like you would be able to hold yourself back from an omega who looked and smelled as good as him. It’s only after a looooong time that he finally feels comfortable enough to let you help him through his heats.

The same is more or less true for your ruts, although he’s a little bit more willing when it comes to those. At least then he isn’t the one horny out of their mind and fucked up because of it, even if his body does react in order to accommodate the neediness of an alpha during rut. If you’re the needy mess, he can be in control and take over the pace if necessary. He can be the one wringing whines and moans out of you, and he’s not above tying you down if you’re being too unruly and he has to. That’s the only way he even agrees to help you through it the first time. It was a hesitant agreement to begin with, and he had needed a failsafe in case your self-control slipped. He may have been a bottom, but he was the dominant in the situation.

If you’re an omega, his willingness to allow you into his room cracks much earlier. You’re far less susceptible to the scent of another omega in heat, so he doesn’t have to be so wary of you being like one of those brutes. It definitely helps that your scent is soothing to him, and while it doesn’t necessarily take the edge off in the way having sex with an alpha would, it makes getting through the whole process a lot more bearable. And after a certain point, he sure wouldn’t be against accepting your help and having a little bit of fun together in the meantime! He likes seeing your reactions; you’re so cute and he’ll wring the both of you dry. Bonus points depending on how quickly and easily he can get you to cry :)

Omega Towa

omega Towa does not give two damns about anything. Haru practically has to beg him to stay home whenever he has a heat, but it’s always a coin toss as to whether or not Towa actually listens for that day. Normally, I’d imagine he probably does… if only because he’s more focused on getting his needs taken care of, but sometimes he just feels like he needs some fresh air, and it wouldn’t be too odd to find him wandering around campus, especially if he wants to track you down. He’s in the middle of his heat, and he wants to spend it with you, regardless of if you’re an alpha, beta, or omega! Although… things might get a little rough, especially if you’re a beta… Towa has a crazy high sex drive even when he’s not in heat, so when he’s in heat? Forget about it. You’re not leaving his side for the next week. Scratch that, the next two weeks, because god knows you won’t be able to walk for at least a week after.

It might actually cause some problems for you (well, the both of you, but he certainly cares much less than you do) in tha Towa has absolutely zero problem with PDA and will pin you down wherever you are to have a taste of you. There’s been more than one occasion that you’ve been glad the tree he cares for is well out of the way, because he’s take you apart at the foot of that very tree more than one before, and the only reason it didn’t happen more was because you manage to convince him to take things back to a room. A closet, at the very least.

Omega Haku

omega Haku would be pretty open about his condition if he were to go into heat, and typically you would get a WickHive message saying he wouldn’t be able to meet up with you for a while until it was over. He didn’t like to impede your schedule much, especially considering how busy he knows you are as well as the fact that you already miss quite a bit of classes as it was due to missions and such. He wouldn’t say no if you were to come visit him in the dorms and offer yourself up to him though… Even just coming over to help bring him food, water, and fabric with your scent on it to help make things more comfortable and add to his nest was appreciated, but offering to physically help him through the week was something that would leave him feeling soft, over the moon, and more importantly, ready to have fun.

He would ask you if you were really sure about your decision, but once it was clear that you were certain and not going to back down from taking care of him, he wouldn’t challenge your decision and instead let you into his room in order to help him through his heat. Haku as an omega isn’t a docile, helpless little thing like people stereotypically imagine an omega to be, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t also above being spoiled. He wouldn’t give up all control if you wanted to take the lead between the two of you—even if he wasn’t doing anything, you can tell he’s ready to take back control of the situation at any moment if he so desired—but as keen as he normally would be to be the one exploring your body and making you feel loved, he’d be more than content to lay back and let you take care of him for once.

If he were to go into heat when around you on campus, he’d first try to get himself back to his rooms before things can get worse, but there have been a time or two where his symptoms escalated a little too quickly for him to properly avoid being in public like he’d prefer… When that happened, you found yourself pulled into an empty classroom or closet and pinned to the wall as he kissed you with fervor and worked his hand up your shirt. You’d be embarrassed about it of course, but Haku is good with his hands even when his brain is foggy from arousal; he’d be quick to distract you from thinking about anything other than his hands on your body and the press of his cock against your thigh as he murmurs an apology and promise that it’s just until he can get his symptoms to wane a little bit. He just has to make sure you’re quiet enough in the meantime <3

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

What's Your Type? - Jabberwock Edition

This was originally requested by Anon who asked: "What kind of personality would each of the characters be drawn into?"

I had to split it up into a few sections, separating the boys by their houses so here's the next part. The links to all the others are below. I hope you like the headcanons!

Fandom: Tokyo Debunker

Characters: Haru Sagara, Towa Otonashi, Ren Shiranami x gn! Reader

Frostheim | Vagastrom | Jabberwock | Sinostra | Hotarubi | Obscuary | Mortkranken

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What sort of personality are the characters drawn to?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haru will definitely be initially attracted to anyone who has a kind and caring disposition. It’s not a requirement once he gets to know someone better but it’s something he notices straight away in strangers.

Since he’s a mom friend as well, I can see him being drawn to that in others. A small part of him hopes they treat him the way he’s so used to treating others.

If someone’s good in a crisis, it’s going to get them on Haru’s radar. So much is always happening over at Jabberwock and he needs someone as his partner who can handle that.

I think he would also be drawn to someone who’s more on the observant side. Always noticing the little things and helping keep everything and everyone running smoothly.

Towa’s a romantic at heart so he’s going to be immediately drawn to people who are romantics or who are very loving.

He’s also going to be drawn to people who are patient, especially in complex situations. He knows his lack of speech can be confusing or difficult so being with someone who’s willing to be patient with him is a must.

In the same vein, it’s really important for Towa that the person he’s interested in is open minded enough to accept him. That also extends to being open minded about other things and people but as long as you accept him, he’s fine with just that.

I feel like he would also be very drawn to anyone who’s a bit whimsical. He’s going to be offering you flowers to eat so if you accept the offer, he’ll be delighted that he’s found a kindred spirit.

First of all, you’ve got the be patient with Ren but in a very different way to Towa. Ren’s not used to being in any kind of relationship with others and he’ll take a while to get used to thinking about someone other than himself.

You’ve also got to be firm in what you want. Ren might not have much experience, but he’s got to learn somehow. Anyone who’s patient but firm will draw his attention.

I feel like Ren would also be attracted to anyone who’s particularly persuasive or is good at getting him to do things. It shows that you’ve got backbone and that’s a good thing in his mind.

And special interests are an absolute must in his eyes. He’s got his B grade movies and video games, the person he’s interested in has to have something they’re passionate about as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, did you enjoy this? If you like my writing, please consider donating to my Ko-Fi page! This will allow me to make some money off my writing, something I enjoy doing.

ko-fi.com/justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms

Important Note: Please only donate if you are financially able to. If you are currently in a position where you can't donate, a like, comment or reblog will mean just as much.

[woniefull]

Jealous

it's my right to feel hellish i still get jealous

sypnosis: you were always the jealous one, but what if one day the roles were reversed?

warnings: fem!xjay, jealousy, just a bit suggestive if you squint

a/n: not proof read + feedback is always welcomed

wc: ??

"not now ______."

jay goes to grab his cologne sitting on top of you vanity.

"right because we can only talk things out when you're in the mood for it."

that was a lie and you knew it. but you were so frustrated that you couldn't seem to care.

jay and you rarely got into arguments. however, when arguments did arise they would get pretty heated.

this one seemed to be your fault. you had spotted jay with a girl earlier today. it was so obvious she was flirting and you couldn't believe that jay was just standing there like an idiot.

you were the jealous and heated one in the relationship. whereas jay seemed to be more laidback. but at the same time, you never gave him a reason to be jealous. you never entertained anyone who would try to get at you.

deep down you knew jay wasn't doing it on purpose. he was a bit naive at times. but it hurt because it was a recurring problem that he seemed to brush off almost all the time.

"look babe let's just try to enjoy our time at the party okay? let's not let this fight ruin our night."

jay is facing you now and his arm reaches for your waist. you step back to avoid his touch causing him to furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"you're always dismissing my feelings jay."

"i promise we can talk about this after the day is over. this is our last college party. i know how much you were looking forward to this day."

jay tries his best to sound sympathetic. he knows how much of a party freak you are, in fact, both of you had met at a college party during your freshman year.

"honestly not so much anymore. i'll be leaving with karina, don't wait up."

and with that, you were gone. jay was left alone with his thoughts and a deep sense of guilt.

"ooo girl you look nice."

and you did. you wore a short black dress that stopped right above your mid-thigh. it had an open back and tied around your neck.

you smiled at karina as your hands tied the straps of your black heels.

"thank you love, you look gorgeous."

karina always made your mood better. so when you finally arrived at the party, your argument with jay earlier was already off your mind.

"okay i can tell you're feeling down and i know what will cheer you right up!"

you laughed as she dragged you by your wrist into what seemed to be the kitchen. karina started talking to a blonde-haired guy. she quickly looked back at you, and the guy did the same.

"this is my friend jake! jake this is my best friend _____!"

he was a good looking guy, didn't seem to be too far off from jay's age.

"nice to meet you jake! care to let me know why karina seems to want to introduce me to you?"

jake chuckled as he ran a hand through his fluffy hair.

"she said you weren't in the best mood and let's just say..."

he picks up some of the alcoholic beverages that were spread out on the table and presented them to both you and karina.

"i know a couple ways we can have fun."

it had been around an hour since you first started drinking. you were dancing with karina drunk off your asses.

"i swear jake's drinks hit different karina. what does he put in them?"

karina wraps her arms around your neck and you both sway to the beat of the music together.

"i honestly don't know bu- wait isn't that jay over there."

oh right jay

you had completely forgotten that he was even here.

okay maybe not completely. however, you tried your best not to think of him at all, because every time you did, it made you upset.

you couldn't help but look at where karina was pointing.

"ofcourse."

another girl touching up on jay and there he was allowing it. although he wasn't paying any mind to her and was scanning the room with his eyes, it was honestly infuriating and annoying.

jay's eyes met yours and he started to walk towards your direction.

"i heard a game starting let's go karina."

it was now your turn to drag her and lead her away from the crowd. you spotted jake sitting in the living room with about 15 other people.

"what game?"

jake looked up at the sound of your voice and smiled once his eyes laid sight on you.

"truth or dare or take a shot."

"nice, we want to play."

jake scooted over to make space for the both of you. karina was giving you a worried look knowing how bad you'd get when pissed off and drunk.

Ignoring karina's concern, you shrugged her off. jay's behavior irritated you, prompting a desire for revenge. you wanted him to understand your frustration. watching him sit across from you, his frown deepened at the closeness between you and Jake. an idea immediately popped up in your head.

karina leaned her ear towards your lips as you whispered in her ears. her face of alarm instantly shifted into a sly smirk.

"you got it girl."

jake had started off the game so your turn had come up almost immediately. trying your best to not smile, you looked over at karina after you had chosen dare.

"don't make me do anything too crazy."

karina giggled and looked over at jay.

"i dare you to sit on any boy's lap here for 15 minutes."

jay's head perked up. he processed what karina had just said, his calm demeanor started to turn into an anxious one. turning his focus back to you he positioned himself, ready for you.

"hmm okay."

you got up, with your dress riding up a bit. jay's eye twitched at the way jake looked at you.

"i choose...."

you turned to jake. poor guy, his eyes brightened almost right away. maybe it would've been him if he sat somewhere else. but for now, the guy sitting next to jay would have to do.

let's see how he feels having something he wants so close to him but can't have.

turning towards jay's direction you saw his toungue poking at his inner cheek. you screamed internally. he only ever did that when he was heavily ticked off.

he quickly realized what you were trying to do as you began to eye the guy next to him.

"i choose you."

pointing at the guys beside jay you turned to plop yourself on his lap.

tried to.

a pair of arms wrapped around your waist and you found yourself on someone else's lap.

jay.

you squirmed trying your best to get away.

he only held onto you tighter as he slowly nibbled at your ear.

"i think that's enough."

"you don't get to tell me what's enough!."

somehow you managed to break free from his embrace and started making your way outside.

jay followed right behind you.

thank god he couldn't see the smile forming on your face right now.

"______ stop walking."

"no."

"c'mon let's go home and talk it out."

"now you want to talk? well i don't want to."

talking back to jay was your favorite thing to do. he always looked his best when he was pissed off.

"sweetheart please."

"i said no! now fuck off."

honestly, you don't even know where that came from but you might have regretted it.

key word, might.

because before you knew it jay had you slumped over his shoulder, with one hand laid on your ass and the other reaching for his keys.

"i don't know who you think you're talking to but i know it's not me."

"jay let me down!"

"stop acting like you don't like this princess."

and with that you stayed silent.

he knew you so well.

you slowly opened your eyes as light began to make it's way into your shared bedroom. rubbing at them you turn away from the window just to meet jay's eyes already looking at you.

"i'm sorry."

his hand starts to caress your face.

"jay you apologized about a thousand times already. and i've said it's okay about a thousand times now too."

jay pouted and pulled you to his chest.

"i know but i want to make it up to you. i feel horrible. i promise i'll never make you feel like that ever again."

wrapping your arms around his waist, you took his scent in.

"i think last night was enough of an apology from you."

jay chuckles and looks back down at you.

"hmm maybe trying to apologize again wouldn't hurt?"

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The Future is Dark

According to Rantaro's schematics, we're still a bit of a distance to get to the hangar. It's basically on the other side of the factory.

I don't suppose there's some kind of shortcut we could take to get there?

How about it Uchui?

I don't know about "shortcut" but I remember going this way when I was trying to get Fuyuhiko and the others out of this place.

So it's at least a step in the right direction.

On the plus side, with Zetsubou's forces so spread thin and with a group this large and powerful, there's no need for any detours this time.

Thank GOD...Crawling through those tunnels was a nightmare.

YOU thought it was a nightmare? Imagine the rest of us having to put up with your whimpering!?

H-Hey! I think I was pretty brave all things considered!

Sometimes I wonder how it is you guys put up with him...

I ask myself the same question every time I happen to run into him.

Hey, Yasu can be brave when he needs to be.

Yeah. I mean, he was the one who came to us when we formed the Ultra Despair Gang a few years back.

Towa killed my mom. I had good reason to confront him.

But uh...I wasn't really expecting my revenge to go the way it did.

Oh my fucking god, I am NEVER living that shit down, am I?

God help us if you do.

...

Toko, give Kuripa a break for once. I know he's powering through, but he's not exactly in a good state of mind either.

When is he ever? Look I know I'm not one to talk, but the fact is Kuripa is a murderous psychopath when he-

SHUT IT TOKO!

!!?

Seriously!

...

...You're right...I'm sorry...I shouldn't be saying that here...

No, it's ok. I get it. And you're not exactly wrong either...

Oooookay...I think we should move on...Where to?

I think the hangar is in that direction, but you're gonna have to give me a second. We need to get this door open. Anyone with hacking materials wanna help?

*Uchui leads Komaru and Kanon over to a panel on the wall. He pries it open and fiddles with a few wires, then points at it to tell them to shoot.

You ready?

Got it!

*POW!* *POW!* *POW!* *CLUNCK!* *KER-CHUNK!*

*With that, the large door starts to slide open slowly.

[yukirayu]

Towa’s Hair Color, and the Change Thereof (in Taku’s Route)

Here's yet another meta that connects Maya's influence on Towa with Taku's own influence on the younger man. This time, Towa's appearance takes center stage (for the most part) in this poorly-constructed analysis; though I did briefly discuss it in a previous meta. Do bear with me. 

No one's denying that Towa looks almost exactly like his mother. But inheriting her appearance has mostly been a curse on him. While he forgot about Maya after she died, the trauma she heaped on him had reached its peak by then. 

And so, his personality changed, with his experience in Euphoria causing his masochism and his promiscuity to manifest. At some point, it also caused him to be more temperamental. 

That stage of his life was also defined by him bleaching his hair. 

It's easy to assume he did that just because. He was in his more rebellious phase, and most unruly teenagers tend to dye their hair just to make clear their desire to not conform to anything or anyone.

In this case, that may only partly explain Towa's decision to dye his hair. 

Once again, he looks a lot like his mom. But even in the depths of his subconscious, he hates that very idea. And he was still young back then. He had yet to grow as numb as he is at present to whatever is haunting him but he could never truly recall. 

Back then, he could have looked at himself in the mirror and felt a greater sense of unease at his reflection as the afterimage of *that woman* comes close to manifesting in full in his eyes. 

So he may have felt that he had to change something about his looks. 

He didn't feel the need to mutilate his face until *after* he remembered Maya. Before that, she was a forgotten memory, even in his younger years where his trauma was still fresh and raw.

And so, he may have sought to change only the color of his hair. 

It had been at least a few years since he last bleached his hair up to the timeline the game takes place in. It's why only the edges of his hair remain bleached. 

This could represent the identity crisis that he doesn't know he has.

Whether he regains his memories or not, his mother's abuse and what she desired for him still has left a bad seed that can bloom into something beautiful yet undoubtedly ominous  - as shown best in Fujieda's Madness ending.

He knows who he is... but he also doesn't.

He never really faces his past in Taku's route but he still gets hints about it. He doesn't remember the gory details, but there is still even a teensy bit of closure to be had by Taku confirming to him that his home life was wrought with problems. 

And as I had mentioned in yet another meta, Taku's presence in his life slowly smothers Maya's own. Maybe it won't completely go away, but it would still be weakened and shoved into a lonely and dark corner where its cries will soon fall on nothing but deaf ears. 

This means that there are now parts of his past that he's subconsciously at peace with (more or less), as shown in a scene near the end of Taku's route. 

To recap, Towa didn't want to remember his childhood since the sight of even a single relic of that time had his mind warn him to stop while he was ahead.

Yet when shown a picture of himself in his youth, of when he was still his mother's prisoner, he didn't feel any dread. Not even a slight pang of discomfort. At most, he only muses that if he was a sweet and quiet boy back then, he had long since grown out of that.

But the irony is that by the time he and Taku see each other again after spending a year apart, Towa had become that young boy again, in a way. He's still Towa, but he regains a semblance of the innocence that had been robbed from him when he was still Haruto. 

This shows in how his hair grew long, with the bleached tips now gone. He looks more reminiscent of his younger self. Even though this technically would also have him resemble Maya more, it never becomes an issue. 

He didn’t consciously grow out his hair - though he joked that he did for Taku to see how long he had waited. Even then, it’s not purely an aesthetic choice that he now has that kind of hairstyle. 

This, plus his change of wardrobe to one of lighter and softer material and color, demonstrates that while Towa’s still the person we know him to be, that Taku knows him to be, he’s not exactly the same anymore, albeit in a positive way. Like a child, he openly seeks affection, more openly expresses his affection, is happy to live in domestic bliss with Taku and acts spoiled as a way to both dote on Taku and be doted on by him. 

In a way, it mirrors how the scene where Towa and Fujieda splash water at each other whilst on the ocean as a means of getting to reclaim a moment of innocence they never got to have or share, given what they've been through. 

Even when things play out differently with Taku, Towa can still let loose a little more. He can act childish but in an undoubtedly devoted manner. Because he can love and feel completely safe in someone's arms, which he never got to truly have back then but can do so now.

He can reclaim a part of himself from when he was Haruto, he can look more like his younger self - and consequently, his mother - and it wouldn’t add any weight onto his heart. 

For Taku, it’s all more than worth it. 

[more-than-a-princess]

Closed starter for @caramialunaestelle!

She had lasted two days after returning to Hope's Peak Academy before emerging from her dormitory. The summer holiday was approaching quickly, though the weather seemed to indicate it had already arrived (despite their workload saying otherwise). Sonia knew that many of her classmates were likely preparing for their exams prior to the start of the month-long break from school, and while she hated to bother any of them, she didn't feel as if she had much of a choice.

The only option available to her, really, was skittering through the hallways when they were as empty as she could manage for them. Often, she didn't mind stopping to converse with her classmates and peers but this was a delicate situation. Quite literally, from the way her skin stung.

Though it felt positively gentle in comparison to her pride and self-esteem, which now ached due to her current state. Sonia was torn between feeling hideous and feeling foolish, and she didn't quite trust anyone to see her at present save for, she supposed, someone she felt could help and wouldn't tease her for how she now looked. It had taken effort to dash through the hallways mostly unseen, only to arrive at the door to Mikan's lab on the main building's third floor. With a deep breath of resignation, Sonia raised her knuckles to the door and knocked.

"M-Mikan-san..." She began, her voice feeble but hopefully loud enough for her classmate to hear. "Are you in, and would you be willing to have a look at me? I am in quite an uncomfortable state...everything is just so itchy after returning from the countryside."

She'd worn a shorter sundress just to show how badly she'd taken to the early summer days in Japan. She'd visited one of the rural, warmer areas of the country, even warmer than Towa City, and while the visit had gone well in representing her father and her country's interests, it had gone poorly on a personal level. Sonia had been eaten alive by the mosquitoes, with her arms, shoulders, legs, and hands now dotted with pink and red bug bites. It was impossible not to scratch them for even a little bit of relief, much to Sonia's own shame and embarrassment.

"I believe the insects here...they must show more attraction to me than the insects at home. And none of the ointments I have are working," She continued to babble on to the closed door, hoping no one else was around to see her in such a humiliating state. With so many bites, she nearly resembled a case of chicken pox.

[eve6262]

happy birthday komaeda

Someone sits on a ledge in a ruined city and thinks about jumping.

The fall is deadly. His body has always been weak, frail and untrustworthy; even his own luck couldn't save him. There's nothing soft down there, harsh edges and rusty rebar tempting him into a fate guaranteed. Few things in his life have been guaranteed, and something about that promise feels comforting, like it's the one thing he'll always have up his sleeve.

In his mind's eye, he jumps. He falls. His imagination has always been lively, but for some reason, this part is blank. "I die" is the only thing he can come up with- the image eludes him. He's scared, maybe, of truly seeing it- the same thing happened when he was kidnapped, mind hazy and gone, wondering: "what happens if he forgets to feed me?" He doesn't want to remember that.

He remembers it anyway, because the one thing the cancer refuses to take his is memory.

When Kamakura looked at him, he thought he might implode. Not for the reason the others thought- something about hope and despair and a name that tastes like sweet poison on his tongue. Not because he was infatuated, even if he is. Because Kamakura looked right through him and saw whatever vines twisted a thousand times over his heart and had the gall to say, "What was the diagnosis?"

He already knew. Komaeda doesn't know why he asked. But he did, and Komaeda answered, and then he huffed, turned on his heel, and walked away.

(That wasn't Komaeda. That was Servant, someone who doesn't exist, a shell of a person.)

Are the children looking for him? He doesn't care, and they don't care; this is a moment to himself, while everything falls apart around them. Monaca could manage on her own if she wished; there's a cruel boredom to her smile, but no matter what anyone seems to think, it's different. There's something hollow about it, something lonely, something sad. Something like the look in his own eyes when he smiles in the mirror.

And Towa City is at least calm. Already destroyed in some sense, largely intact in another. So of course he ended up here. There's no battle for him to fail through or politics to ruin. He just has to sit here, and mess up whatever job given to him, and be laughed at.

He thinks of a serial killer and writer sharing a body and laughs.

He thinks about Kamakura and stops.

He thinks about jumping.

---

"Komaeda, are you sure you're okay?"

They're sitting in a room together. Outside Future Foundation headquarters, but not far- they want to keep tabs on the group, considering heavily whether they'll be let in or not. Some are a given- Fuyuhiko, Hajime, Sonia. Others are questionable- Mikan, Teruteru, himself. Komaeda isn't sure what the suits think, but he imagines Hajime will be staunch about it, and he'll be let in as the group will. Even if he's only a patient for Mikan to fuss over when there's little to do, that's fine.

He has never minded being just a body for the machine. As long as the machine is working towards good ends, he can be a nothing gear.

"Of course. Don't worry about me."

To be specifically accurate, Hajime is half-sitting half-laying in bed, blearily looking at him from across the room, as Komaeda sits at a desk on a laptop. He woke up an hour ago and wanted to be busy with something, anything as a distraction, and he keeps the apartment spotless out of the same urge. But there isn't much work anyone piles onto him, so he's just sitting here, wondering a bit aimlessly why he opened the accursed thing.

Why he woke up is irrelevant, really. People wake up at four AM sometimes, it's nothing strange.

(He remembers stale wind and red skies, and a building, and thinking about plumetting. Except, in his dream, he actually falls, and falls, and falls, and then there's a spear in his heart and-)

Hajime closes his eyes, and falls back on the bed. Komaeda turns back to the laptop, and decides that if he can't do anything productive, he can at least try to bring Hajime's files into some semblance of order.

For a moment, he thinks that's all it'll be. And then he hears the blanket shuffle, and footsteps, and he says, "Am I keeping you up?"

"No," Hajime tells him, circling his arms around his front. Breath hitches in his throat- he can't stand to look back. Disappointment could fill his eyes, or annoyance furrow his brow, or pity worry at his lip, and all three of them would destroy him like a shattered porcelain doll. So he doesn't look back, even if he does sit back in the chair a little. "I'm not really sleepy anyway."

("I'm don't get tired easily," a quiet Kamakura tells him unprompted. He's rarely responding to questions, anticipating them and answering before they leave your lips. "They wanted efficiency." Servant hears what's unsaid and stores it in the shell he's got left of what he was.)

"Did you want to use the laptop?"

Silence meets him. Anxiety frays at his heart- what's Hajime thinking? Is he waiting? Hoping he'll come back to bed so he can make sure Komaeda is sleeping enough for his condition? That's Mikan's job, to worry over his health- he hopes Hajime isn't back to that old haunt that Kamakura used to take up when the two of them were in Towa City. To this day he isn't sure what about it drew the man in.

"You should tell me what it was," is what Hajime settles on.

Komaeda smiles. It's an instinct, like a deer in headlights; if something's too prying, smile and wave it away. "Nothing, really. Just couldn't sleep."

"...That's not true," Hajime insists. But there's sleep still stuck in his throat, thick and syrupy; if he plays his cards right. maybe Hajime will decide he's too much trouble and go back to bed.

("You're trouble," Kamakura states. It's not a question and doesn't sound like a complaint, and it's not like Servant could respond to such a thing while bedridden. There are more words, but sadly, his consciousness fails him, and they all sound like static.)

"...It's nothing I can't deal with myself. You should go to bed- you sound tired."

Hajime just makes a noise, properly bending down into a hug. His arms tighten, and Komaeda almost wants to look back, but doesn't. Now it feels like cheating, peering at an answer he's supposed to solve himself. And he's never been opposed, but the shame curls around him like a serpent.

"I'll join you in a minute," Komaeda promises.

"...I wasn't having a great dream either," Hajime tells him, and course he knew the whole time. It doesn't take a genius to have figured that out. But he was hoping it could be kept in its box where it's contained, not growing, simply existing. A therapist would tell him that's a bad idea, but Komaeda thinks he knows his own brain well enough to cope nowadays. "It was about Towa City."

"Ah."

"You were standing on a high rooftop. I was across the street in a building, watching from a window."

Komaeda puts a hand on his, tentatively and slowly, in case it'd be rejected. Hajime takes it in his, tight and secure. "You were looking down. And I couldn't move."

"And then?"

Hajime pauses. "And then I felt cold, so I woke up. I don't know what was going to happen."

"I see."

"But I think Kamakura does."

Komaeda says nothing. Kamakura's powers of observation are second to none, and of course the husk that Servant was never cared to hide anything he didn't need to. If Kamakura had looked at him for even a nanosecond while he was up on a building, he'd probably see the image in his mind.

(They're on top of one such building. Servant is staring at the edge in lieu of disgracing Kamakura with his eye. He does not notice the arm moving until it's already around his shoulder, tugging him closer. He assumes, in this moment, that Kamakura is cold, or maybe that he thought the ground was going to collapse that close to the edge.)

"You were thinking about jumping," Kamakura states plainly.

"Yes." Hiding from Kamakura is silly. It's like trying to socialize in a hospital bed. "Back then, anyways."

"Come to bed," he states plainly. "It is worse alone."

Komaeda obliges, because he knows there isn't much getting out of it. He shuts the laptop and gets up, Kamakura trailing him into the bed. Laying down is awkward, unsure of what Kamakura wants- which turns out to be fine, because he doesn't care much about taking it for himself, burying his face in Komaeda's neck and pulling him close.

It's warm. With whichever one of them- Hajime, Kamakura, both if they'd prefer that thought- it's hard to think about that moment, because in the memory it is cold and dry and distant and lonely, and now there is a beating heart so loud in his ears it's hard to think.

"...I am glad you never did," he says. "While I was there I would have stopped you. But there were moments you could have."

"There were," Komaeda says. And, truthfully, he thinks that black void is the reason he didn't. The lack of an idea, the sudden fear of the plunge when he imagined the end- Servant could only do things he could imagine, and he couldn't imagine the final moment. Even in the end, he was scared- it would make him hysterical if not for the calm, collected beating heart he feels under his hands. "...That's over now."

"Even if it isn't," Kamakura tells him, "I would rather know you are safe."

He thinks about saying something in response, but they really were tired. After a few more moments, their breathing evens out so suddenly he thinks Kamakura must be able to enter REM on command- the thought is almost funny.

But, really, it's hard to be distracted by anything when there's a beating heart so close to his own.

[shockersalvage]

Danganronpa 3: Future Arc Rewrite (Part 1: DISTRUST Life)

Now this has been something that's been about years in development. Okay, for this Rewrite in particular, it would probably be about a year and half, but since 2016 I've always wanted to try my hand at a rewrite to DR3. For me, while it is not the worst in Danganronpa's entries (that honor goes to Killer Killer) it is still not exactly my favorite for a variety of reasons. Personally, while it does have some good moments in there, overall I do not really believe that it ends the Hope's Peak story on a satisfying note to really end things on. That isn't to say anyone else can't like it, it's just some of the writing decisions it made just didn't land home for me. Throughout the rewrite, I'll be gradually going about each decision when I feel it's a good time to discuss it and why I changed things the way I did.

This is rewrite is essentially how I would go about things, with a pretty big one just off the bat. In this version, instead of alternating between a Future and Despair Arc, it's just simply a 24 'episode' outline that covers Future Arc with Despair Arc elements acting the new 'main story' of DR3.

I've done it this way because I believe that, while it was an interesting decision, the current format of DR3 lead to both sides characters, story and concepts being underdeveloped as it bounced between a killing game and trying to give the full-ish story of the Tragedy. So I thought it was best to give each their own section, with Despair Arc being its own thing for a separate date.

Regardless, I hope, at the very least, this becomes a nice read for you all! Happy New Years!

Distrust Life 1-12

(Episode 1)

Now this starts off with the first major change being Asahina being promoted to Director of the 13th Division. Now one of the issues, on the minor scale, was the 13th Director never showing up and being seemingly forgotten. Nowhere in media concerning DR3 do they ever appear. So off the bat, we’re rectifying this by just having Hina be the Director upfront, with the explanation that its a recent promotion.

As for the former Director, who I will call ‘Yoshiko Yoshino’ (who is the old PE. Teacher shown briefly in DR3 - who got blown up by Junko. Here its the other PE Teacher, yes there were 2, that gets blown up instead)  she had been heavily injured in an attack prior to Hina coming onto the Division. Yoshiko is retiring after chronic pain still persisted. She compliments Hina for her efforts that have been non-stop since she arrived and how she genuinely feels she can leave the Division to her hands.

We get a flashback to Hina watching over the reunion of her friend's loved ones who were Targets in the Demon Hunting Game (except Komaru whose still in Towa). Though upon learning that her brother, Yuta, didn’t make it out of it, she smiles and wishes them all the best before eventually slinking off. Tears down her face, and blaming Junko’s forces for it. With an urge to do more surging through her veins, she tranfers over to the 13th Division to deliver supplies to areas still incredibily afflicted by Despair's wrath. Through a montage, we see Hina going about wrecked areas of Japan dutifully giving supplies, fighting off foes and being kind to those who need all. All while keeping the image of her brother in mind. In the present, by the time she leaves her office, nervous yet determined to give a speech to her new underlings, she is instead greeted by Togami and she gets the news that Naegi has been arrested.

Another flashback shows that once Makoto, Togami and Kyoko has arrived back to FF mainland, Kyosuke had arranged to have Makoto taken away in handcuffs and taken to Division 6th Detention centre. Kyosuke, Juzo and Chisa were there in person to greet the trio on the docks. Kyosuke and Juzo, naturally, were both furious concerning the whole ‘Makoto taking the Remnants’ incident and were it not for Makoto’s popularity, would have killed him on the spot. Instead, the Ultimate Hope is being confined.

Concerning Kyoko and Togami, given their positions as both Director and Vice Director of the 14th Divison, as well as being celebrities for going against Junko, they can’t just fire them outright. Instead Kyoko is temporarily suspended from her duties and kept under watch by the 5th Branch, for questioning and to keep a close eye on her well. Since only one ‘Director’ is needed present with the 14 Division, Togami is sent back but is a close eye is being kept by Kyosuke’s forces.

Thus, the only one who can realistically visit Makoto to help him is Hina (Hagakure got kicked out due to both not being a Director and because the prison staff is sick of dealing with him & his antics normally). Though at the moment, despite being a Director, she is barred from the facility given her connection with Makoto. Now Asahina has been thoroughly out of the loop for a while now, so Togami catches her up to speed with the basic summary of the Havoc Crew, barring her, Toko and Hagakure (though the latter two got to know, eventually during the operation itself), having initiated a plan meant to rehabilitate the Remnants. The results of which are shaky at best (to Togami anyways). She’s shocked and a bit hurt given such a secret was kept from her, but tries to push that down. She needs to check up on Makoto. But, the only way she is getting into the facility is with permissions from seven other Directors of the Foundation, which came from the prison staff themselves when she visited in an attempt to try to sway them.

Thus leading to the scene where storms out and runs smack dab into a drinking Koichi Kizakura to end the first episode.

(Episode 2)

Now this stretch is what I like to call the ‘Directors of the Week’ episodes! Where each episode we get to learn a deal about the Directors, ideally that being two an episode. In this case, Koichi is our handy-dandy support that shall assist Hina in her (mis)adventures. Truth be told, she’s kind of weary of him wanting to pal around with her for a time since she knows since back from her HPA days he’s kind of a weak alcoholic. He wins her over with him dangling his knowledge of the the Directors in her face and his promise to hand over his recommendation from the get-go. It’s also him that suggests meeting the others in person since the Directors would likely be on their feet or busy with personal matters more often than would be sitting back reading emails a whole lot. Koichi had been in the area getting a drink from the nearby pub, but running into Hina like this, he believes it must be fate working its hand.

In terms of dynamics, the idea behind Asahina and Koichi being together, is for Koichi to be essentially the enabling drinker and bit a of cheeky teaser, with a touch of a manipulative side, to Hina’s impulsive, hot-blooded and cheerful attitude. That said, this is a Hina that has matured since her DR1 days and will have no problem snipping back at Koichi’s intentions and being more aware of the seedier side of humanity.

First stop Great Gozu at the 12th Branch via helicopter. Now with Gozu, his focus would concern fleshing out a bit of a peculiarity that the original DR3 didn’t go into. Namely, how come a Wrestler is in charge of public restoration efforts. In addition, despite revealing he’s been with the Foundation since it was first established, why is he apart of the 12th one? Well, in this case, he notes his status as Director of 12th Branch is more because of his ‘image’ than anything. During the heyday of the Tragedy, any attempts at restoration was stopped by criminals, from petty thugs to Remnants seeking to keep chaos. It was believed that Gozu, who got into more than his fair share of fights against the Remnants and criminals, being named a Director could essentially work to scare off such threats, thus allowing his men to work in peace. Of course, both Gozu and an armed security detail are always deployed as well - just in case scaring off people doesn't work. To prove a point, the episode would show Gozu suplexing some poor troublemakers trying to cause havoc at a youth centre Restoration site.

This episode would also address something that was never brought up in the anime: His relationship with Tengan and his backstory. During his talk, he explains how he was a rising star of a professional wrestler back during his youth and Tengan happened to be watching his shows. As such, he got scouted by for Hope’s Peak. He became Tengan’s bodyguard as a means of repaying such a debt, and is a bit worried about the old guy since taking up the Director mantle since he can't do his old job as much. Concerning the Makoto debacle, while he's doing hold some reservations given that it was the Remnants being taken, he decides to trust in Makoto since he likes his attitude and sees him as being a worthy Symbol of the Future Foundation - as its Ultimate Hope. Thus, he’s willing to give support to Hina by handing her a Rec Letter. He also decides to come with her to meet with the Director of the 11th Branch.

The next part is Daisaku Bandai focused…yeah. Now, in the original, he’s sadly the most forgettable ‘just there for the body count’ participant ever, lasting one episode and a few minutes. So what can we do with him? Well, in the relationship charts, Bandai is listed as being apart of two neutrals in the Foundation, alongside Miaya. So, this version has said neutrality and mediator nature be more pronounced. If Gozu is the friendly giant that’s willing to fight you for his ideals, Bandai’s the gentle giant whose going to want both of you to sit by the fire and talk things out. In addition, as for his sayings, his intent with them is to say their meaning is for something you have to figure out yourself (better than him just saying they're meaningless).

As for why he’s in charge of the 11th Branch despite also being with the Foundation from the start, originally Bandai didn’t want to be caught up in the drama concerning politics that comes with being an official Director, and even then Junko’s forces made getting a formal Branch set up for his duties a pain. Following her death, and the mass suicide of good chunk of her followers, that chance of peace had him finally cave to the higher-ups requests and establish a formal branch. In general, he sees the Foundation’s inner turmoil as being a thorn he very much wanted nothing to do with, especially since he prefers everyone elected to bury the hatchet and be good comrades working for the goal of Restoration.

His meeting with Hina has him hug it out with Gozu and both just really enjoying each other’s company, with Gozu trying and failing a bit to figure out Bandai’s sayings and Bandai agreeing to wrestle with him during their off days (what kind of wrestling will leave that to one’s disclosure). His meeting Hina has all four in his branch's personal garden rest area that he always tends to, full of fruits, water and, in general, just having a refreshing atmosphere anyone (even the most uptight of people) could enjoy. When it came to getting his Rec Letter, he’s pretty willing to give it to Hina no strings attached. Though its with him, we get his view on the matter.

On one hand, he also wants to give trust to Makoto since he doubts someone who would stand up and stop Junko Enoshima of all people could do something nefarious. That being said, he also fully recognizes why other Directors might be angry - bringing up the Remnants status as wanted criminals that did hurt the world. It’s then that Bandai brings up a question to Hina: What does she think of her friends trying to rehabilitate the Remnants? 

Hina, try as she might, struggles to even open her mouth as the question brings conflict to her mind. Flashes of her dearest friends, no, her only family…and the thought of her dead brother dying because of them. Ultimately, Bandai hands over the letter and tells her that, by the time they do meet again, she should take a step back to clear her head and form her own opinion on the matter. Not as a Director or even a friend of Makoto, but as Aoi Asahina. Taking in such advice, both Hina and Koichi wave off the burly Dads as they head to the 10th branch.

(Episode 3)

Ryota Mitarai is the Director of this branch and we see that he spends most of his time cooped up in his personal office. Blinds closed and hunched over drawing his weary eyes out only for him to yawn, look back and see a perky athletic woman and a semi-drunk wingman looking at what he was doing from behind his shoulder. Needless to say, he freaks out. Now, in this episode, while Mitarai isn’t trying to be difficult about it, if they’re needing to get that letter first things first is ensuring Mitarai takes care of himself. After some coaxing, they get him to at least lay back a bit while they get him some proper food. 

He’s extremely grateful for the food and introduces himself, though a thing sticks out in Hina's mind. Namely, that Mitarai was a part of the 77th batch of Hope’s Peak students. While no one blatantly says anything, he is aware of the stigma of being a survivor of the bunch since he knows almost all students in said batch besides him were murdered during their tenure at Hope’s Peak or had defected to Junko Enoshima’s side. There have been some odd rumors from others and even within his own branch of his own loyalties. Something that clearly gets to him as he showcases his desperation of trying to do better and show he can help fix the world just as much as the others.

Hina comforts him and begins trying to uplift his spirits, showcasing more of a big sisterly attitude with him (even though she’s younger, but hey, some people have that energy to them). It’s then, after Mitarai hands over his Rec Letter and is asked about his thoughts, does he get a bit nervous. Truth be told, he doesn’t really want to get involved too deep with the whole affair with Makoto and Kyosuke. So while he gives up the letter, he even requests not to involve him in that, though upon Koichi reminding him of the upcoming trial with the other Directors, he flinches. Hina presses both for more and Koichi spills the details that Hina never gotten. (Mostly since she never read the email, but that’s neither here or there...)

At the end of the month, Makoto is to be put on a secret trial with the other Directors. Depending on the majority vote, it could mean Makoto might walk free or more than likely get convicted of treason, thus leading to him either being imprisoned, executed, or altogether exiled from Japan. Depends on how things’ll play out. This just makes Hina anxious more about getting to Makoto quickly before that happens. Anyways, Mitarai goes to head out, but upon it dawning on Mitarai that they’ll be going out and about for the other Directors, he asks if he could come too. Chances are that they’ll meet someone he has business with and it’ll probably save him time tagging along with them. Eager, Hina takes her new friend by the arm and goes about running along to their next venture.

Sonosuke Izayoi, in this version, his strong silent type attitude takes prominence. Mostly since I feel a non-verbal attitude, strangely enough does work better for him being remembered than when he speaks occasionally. It just needs to be presented in a way that he doesn’t fade in the background. For example, he can be very visibly expressive, with his features becoming colder or even cartoony depending on the situation.  In Team Hina’s talk with him, he’s slow to anger, but has his limits. Limits that Hina completely breaks because she keeps bugging him for his letter as he tries to do his job. Koichi, being the dutiful scout that he is (and mostly to give Hina some insight) explains that Sonosuke Izayoi was from the 76th batch and came from a long lineage of blacksmiths that was pretty cushy with the former government and potentially underworld for their forges.

When he became Director, he reestablished the ties that remained to put them to usage for Future Foundation weapon development. Eventually, after being annoyed to the brink, he goes to kick them out, but is stopped after Hina pulls out a donut to eat.  His sweet tooth wins out, and he begrudgingly joins the team for a quick snack break. In truth, following a donut, he does seem more friendly and approachable, even muttering his iconic ‘dewicious’ here. 

However, he refuses to part with his letter at least, not until they win favor with his lover. At least, that’s what Mitarai guesses, which Izayoi gives a thumbs up in response. Hina tilts her head in confusion. Lover? But, it was the truth and that was someone they had to deal with next. As she’s the Director for the 8th Branch. 

(Episode 4)

Ruruka Ando rules over the 8th Branch with a surprisingly large amount of popularity. Izayoi tags along and the crew greet Ruruka at the doors to her branch. She immediately and lovingly embraces him. As Team Hina follow the couple, they witness just how pleasant and friendly her subordinates are to her, even going ecstatic over just being in her presence (something that gets Mitarai somewhat jealous). Hina is astounded by her popularity, though Koichi is scratching his chin at the sight of so many people liking their boss. Or, rather, worshipping her.

Eventually, all four reach into her office and Ruruka begins trying to get Hina to eat some of her sweets. In addition, she also happily explains her past as apart of the 76th batch of HPA students, though claims that was small potatoes to her famous bakery that was even known worldwide. However, Hina is quite reluctant about accepting the food since she just had her donuts, up until Ruruka offers one of her own. Hina happily accepts it, but Koichi reminds her of her mission. Hina asks about getting a Rec Letter from her, but she flat out refuses. At once, the bubbly, friendly woman from before is now narrow eyed and looking pretty stern herself.

She speaks for both herself and Izayoi in that she sees Makoto as absolute scum for trying to help the Remnants and probably would have executed him on the spot had she been in charge of the Foundation, his status as Ultimate Hope be damned.

“Dealing with one rotten traitor is bad enough…but several leading the divisions? Rotten food needs to be tossed out.” Hina is confused over the first traitor spiel, but Ruruka had made her stance clear and orders both to get out and takes Hina’s donut from her! Concerning Izayoi, in this version, he looks conflicted on refusing the matter with Hina and Koichi, but sighs and continues to back up Ruruka.

With that failure, the duo heads towards the 7th branch office - directed by Miaya Gekkogahara. Now given her involvement in making the Neo World Program that was used by the Havoc cast, by the time the trio arrive she is understandably both stressed and frazzled. She had been interrogated pretty intensely after they found out the Havoc Crew were using her technology like that. Were it not for Miaya’s role - finding ways to negate despair among one of them - and her contributions to FF, there was a high chance she’d be arrested as well. Likewise, running into one of Makoto’s friends puts her back on edge, though she still tries to be friendly after a bit. It helps that Koichi is there, which she is grateful for and a bit exasperated with at the same time. She’s speaking through her high-tech wheelchair and using her Usami Vtuber avatar to speak. She has a hereditary disease that affects her legs, making them rather weaker than usual, so she uses her wheelchair to compensate. 

Concerning her story, back during Hope’s Peak, Miaya was the school’s guidance counselor - in name. In practice, as much as she wanted to help, she was swamped with work from the late Steering Committee and didn’t have much time to really help people as much as she'd like. Especially since, well, its an old wound. She laments being unable to really help the Reserve Course from rioting and taking their lives. Any attempts at counseling or trying to pacify those students were blocked or ignored. Koichi reveals that she’s from the 65th Batch of Hope’s Peak Academy students (putting an end to the weird plot detail of no one knowing what class is supposed to be in, and her counselor explaining how she could still go about her NWP activity with Chihiro and Yasuke). He tries to raise her spirits, though that only gets her exasperated since his alcoholic breath gets on her face. 

As she gives the duo a tour, a familiar face pops up during so - Alter Ego. Hina eagerly greets her friend who had helped her during the Killing School Life. He is also happy to see her again, though is apologetic to Hina after hearing how Makoto was arrested. AE informs her of his role in the rehab plot and how ashamed he was to let the Junko AI takeover.  Both Miaya and Hina try to comfort him, but it gets Hina thinking on why he’s with Miaya now. 

Here we learn of Chihiro’s involvement with Miaya with the Neo World Program, and how both were co-workers to help create it. With her friend and protege dead, Miaya ‘took in AE’ so to speak, being the one to salvage him from HPA after they rescued the Havoc Crew and receiving him once FF apprehended Makoto. Hina pushes on to ask the obvious: Why create the Neo World Program?

Well, for Miaya - her life’s goal is to find a way to rehabilitate anyone. She wanted to help people so badly from their own issues that drove to the pits of despair and vileness, but while she can help anyone with a large degree of success, there were the sort that just were too far gone. The NWP was made to ensure even the worst of the worst or the most badly hurt of them all could have a second chance. It being a concept thought up way back when she attended HPA. However, while she got the resources over the years and even approval from FF to initially put that dream to reality it soon became clear that the consensus was that criminals, especially the Remnants were to be put down instead of saved. That such a high-cost procedure was both too long and too ‘inefficient’. Thus, her project and JW Island was left abandoned and she was forced to back to square one….

Up until she had gotten into contact with Makoto who learned about the project from a list of scrapped projects that the Future Foundation organized. He was really interested in it and he shined with so much determination and genuine optimism for the future that Miaya disclosed its location to him and even gave him the reigns to the facilities that the Havoc cast would use. It was risky, but she could just feel she could trust him. As such, she gives Hina a Rec Letter, believing she could bet on the swimmer too. That being said, she also advises against bringing her into the conflict during the trial since, yeah. That’s way too scary for her heart to take!!!

Next up is someone all three are dreading as they arrive to his branch: Former Hope’s Peak security guard, Ultimate Boxer and real pain in the ass for most - Juzo was running Division 6.                                                                                                                    

(Episode 5)

Now, when Hina arrives, she’s combing all over the building, but Juzo is nowhere to be found. During her search, she meets several of his underlings: Ikue Dogami, Mekuru Katsuragi and the Ultimate Make-Up Artist. They explain that Juzo tends to be out and about often, but thanks to Mekuru, they direct Hina to wait towards the main lobby for him. It should be noted that, aside from those three, most of his other employees seem nervous or on edge when he’s mentioned. 

When Hina finally meets Juzo, naturally, he’s aggressive and has no patience for her. Likewise, he refuses to hand over a Rec Letter to Hina since he is an avid supporter of Kyosuke’s ideals and is enraged over Makoto’s actions. Now, Hina actually does remember Juzo a bit - where we now get a flashback of him acting as HPA’s most aggressive security guard.  She had witnessed him being rough concerning students relating to the Reserve Course, so she isn’t surprised he’s being a hardass now. Being reminded of the discourse concerning that time, Juzo is getting more pissed off and looks ready to throw down before an idea occurs to him. Of course, this being Juzo, he decides to give her a ‘chance’ to prove herself. In the ring. 

So Hina takes on Juzo in a five-minute exhibition match. If she manages to last until the time limit, Juzo will hand over the Rec Letter. If she fails than, well, nighty night! Hina, determined and unwilling to backdown, opts for it. Koichi, naturally, is concerned by this move, but she reasons that she wants to get to Makoto as soon as possible. If she can just last five minutes, she’ll be able to do that faster (not trying to think about the setback she would make if she would fail).

Juzo is confident he’ll win and toys with her early on, allowing to go for some strikes, effortlessly dodges them and proceeds to wail on her with jabs. Enough to knock her down and he thinks she’ll quit, but she gets up. A bit annoyed he tries to do the same thing, but Hina has found her rhythm. She has had multiple experience dodging attacks from scattered Remnants and criminals as a member of the 13th Divison. Thus, she’s now found a footing where she can stay, if barely, ahead of Juzo. She even manages to get in a solid hit or two!! Things are looking up and there’s a few seconds left on the clock.

Enraged, Juzo is trying his damndest to score a hit, but nothing seems to be working. A crowd has gathered, cheering for Hina and Juzo, eager to see who will win. For a moment, Hina remembers both Sakura and Yuta, strengthening her more to see things through to the end and prove herself useful - that can she be of aid to someone she calls family!! But, it also distracts for a split second, and in that moment Juzo scores a devastating haymaker. Hina is knocked down and eventually falls unconscious. Juzo is the victor. Koichi and Mitarai goes to Hina, trying to rouse her whilst Juzo walks off, not feeling particularly good about this win.

In the meantime, scene shifts to Kyoko working in her office when she meets Chisa again. Considering what she knows about Juzo and Kyosuke, Kyoko is naturally on guard against Chisa who is trying to be friendly with her and have some tea. We also get a bit of insight concerning Kyoko’s situation: armed guards all around her and she also voices her good guess of the room itself being bugged. Naturally, the only thing she can really do is read and try to prep Makoto’s case from inside her ‘cell’. Namely, getting knowledge of the prior incidents of the Remnants, rehabilitation efforts with the Neo World Program and others that were scrapped, and in general just learning more about the other Directors. Anything to give her side the edge concerning the trial.

Speaking of which, she does ask where the trial will take place. Now, given the severity and whose life is at stake, Chisa reveals that it’ll be on an island meant originally to be the new international Hope’s Peak branch. However, with the Tragedy causing HPA to close down, it was instead refurbished into a private separate office of sorts—meant only for high profile usage. Like a trial for treason! Kyoko asks, if only for confirmation, given Chisa’s closeness to Kyosuke as being one of the first Directors of FF and his former classmate, if she herself also holds intense hatred of Despair.

Now to this, Chisa is quick to differ. She loves Kyosuke and goes along with him because she trusts his judgement and heart - that he makes decisions trying to fully bring peace to all afflicted by the Tragedy. Thus, she goes along with the decision and believes in that Hope. However, even if she goes along with it, she does hold a different stance concerning the Remnants…

How she can’t help but still hold love for her dear students.

(Episode 6)

Hina wakes up, finding herself in an infirmary. Koichi informs her of her loss and who managed to treat her - Seiko Kimura. Now Seiko is constantly fretting and checking up on Hina given the situation concerning her knockout. Thanks to her drugs, any concussions should be healed up pretty quick, and Hina is pretty grateful for the support. Seiko happened to be in the 6th Division’s office by chance, so Hina should be lucky she was on site to help ensure she didn’t get put into a worse position without her fast action.

Once Koichi reminds her that Seiko was a Director, we get a formal introduction of her, including her class. We also learn that Seiko was the daughter of the head of Kimura Pharmaceuticals prior to the Tragedy, though she notes that was water under the bridge now.  Hina, remembering that the 76th class also had Ruruka and Izayoi, asks both were her classmates. Instantly, Seiko’s face darkened and she glared at Hina. She asks her not to mention their names. Ever. Hina gulps and takes the hint.

Trying to move the conversation along, Hina brings up the topic of getting a Rec Letter for her, thinking Seiko was so nice she would agree to it. However, after a bit of conflicting thought, Seiko firmly refuses. Her loyalty lies solely with Kyosuke and she knows for a fact that he wants them dead. For good reason too, and she has personal stake in seeing the Remnants dead given how long she’s spent trying to treat their victims and seeing some die. She apologizes, but her mind is made up, and she personally shouldn’t expect much from her concerning Makoto’s trial.

She leaves, though outside waiting is Juzo, who was overhearing the conversation. She informs him of Hina’s condition. How it’s going to be stable though is curious why he still stuck around. Annoyed, Juzo pokes at her forehead in like a mean big bro-esque way, much to her chagrin, telling her to mind her business before prodding off. Still, with yet another Director refusing to hand over a Rec Letter, Hina is getting desperate and runs off to the 5th Division - Chisa’s workplace.

At said workplace, Kyoko is a bit shocked after hearing about Chisa’s ties to the Remnants. Well, Chisa quickly clarifies it was really only for about just some months and she could really be described more along the lines of their Advisor. You see, the Remnants of Despair back when they were in Hope’s Peak gained a bit of a reputation for being ‘delinquents’, whether intentionally acting out or not, and so these teens from various parts of the 77th batch were assigned to attend a ‘mandatory’ Student Correction Program (was not quite a fan of the series having Class 77 all be Remnants from the exact same class. The change, in addition to other plot developments in the future, is to get the group together, while having them be scattered across the 77th Batch).

The program was meant to at least get them to mellow out and not either wreck the school or harm others. She looks back fondly over the time with the fifteen of them…hm? Fifteen? Kyoko is wondering about her current connections and if anyone else knows about it. Chisa is quick to assuage her concerns. Her connection with HPA is well known by every other Director, though following her dismissal with the Remnants, she was assigned to the Reserve Course, which clearly didn’t end well for the other students there. Something shown by how upset she looked concerning their collective suicides. Chisa tries to quickly perk herself back up. 

Anyway, she explains, while she doesn’t quite understand why Makoto really decided to risk his neck this much to help pretty much the worst of the worst, but given how such a procedure could have given her students back, she was at least grateful for the attempt. While she won’t ever betray Kyosuke, she might be willing to offer a hand to at least get him to see a bit more reason. Though, Chisa is curious.

Why is Kyoko, logical woman incarnate, siding with Makoto in saving the Remnants? Surely someone like her would have wanted to see them dead, right? Well, for Kyoko, her decision was based on logic. The world, while its making steady efforts, is still struggling quite a deal both internationally and even locally. From pollution, to food management, to the obvious  factor of stray Remnants and criminals wreaking havoc. While the spearheads of Ultimate Despair may be gone, it would take decades before the world could ever hope to get back to how it was pre-Tragedy. If they could reform the Remnants with the Neo World Program, even just the mooks of them, they can add to the Restoration efforts to get the world back faster. The fact that the initial Remnants they gathered happened to be Ultimate were a solid coincidental bonus. Luck…though given what nearly had happened, it couldn’t really be called good luck, right?

Chisa nods her head and seems to accept this…though has to wonder how much of it just trying to honor Makoto’s wishes. After all, she wasn’t that different from Chisa in that they were trying to support the Hope of their lives and not just in terms of being the Ultimate Hope. But Hope to their own respective groups as well - Makoto was the glue that helped keep them together after all. In that same vein, Kyosuke was the glue that kept Future Foundation and his own core group stable as well. She recollects a time before she got to know him. In order to raise money for her sick single mother,  a teenage Chisa Yukizome became a housekeeper and was hired by the Munakata Family. A wealthy family that was notorious for raising leaders in almost every industry of the world, their mansion was quite the chaotic mess of people at each other’s throats and too busy to ever really care for an insignificant girl that was tidying up behind them.

Yet, Kyosuke was different. He aided her when everyone else ignored her or treated poorly because she was ‘the help’. He went out of his way to lighten her load and even work to see her smile. It was his assistance that allowed her to truly want to shine as a housekeeper and got her scouted. He was literally her Hope back in those horrible days. It’s why even now she’s that devoted to him.

Kyoko asks her to get to the point.

“Everyone is chasing that Hope - that reason to keep on going. But it’s also good to be aware of who represents that Hope as well. A lesson all of us can learn ,hm?” She glances to the door and it turns out Team Hina was there, eavesdropping. Chisa welcomes them in and doesn’t hesitate to give Hina a Rec Letter. Even if she’ll go wholeheartedly with Kyosuke’s choice, she figures its nots a bad idea to at least let one of Makoto’s friends check in on him.

From there, Hina goes to see if Kyoko was okay, but the detective waves her off. She’ll always be fine, what’s vital is bouncing info off each other. So they get each other up to speed with what’s happening, with Hina’s Quest and the upcoming trial. Kyoko is more than aware that their case seems pretty hopeless given whose in charge and the influence he holds. Hina is a bit more optimistic since she feels its an even split, except its not. Kyoko reminds her its more of 6 against a number of neutrals who could easily be pressured to go with the other side if an argument is weak enough or the enemy is convincing enough. The other half’s loyalty is not guaranteed. It’s then that Hina glances at the two allies she had befriended so far. Mitarai is looking as shy as ever but Koichi, after a swig, shrugs and merely says they’ll have to see. Though if it’s anything to what he would have wanted, well, he’ll do his best to get an outcome that Kyoko would find favorable. Complete with a friendly smile, though Kyoko tries her best to ignore him. 

In any case, Kyoko says its best for Hina to get the last letters as quickly as possible but just before Hina leaves, Kyoko does stop her briefly. Her wounds from fighting Juzo is clearly visible and even Kyoko could obviously see how winded the swimmer was. In her own way, she’s concerned and does apologize to Hina for putting her through all of this. But Hina quickly brushes it off. Their friends, well, more than friends!! Family even!! The Havoc Crew looking out for each other is a no-brainer!! It doesn’t bother her! With a deal of optimism, Team Hina leaves, leaving Kyoko in her thoughts once more.

“Huh, didn’t know you could lie like that.” Koichi said and Ryota gives a concerned look to Hina. She’s leading the charge, but the camera never points to her face. Her voice, though, is shaky. “I don’t know what you mean…it’s time for the next stop.”

Episode 7

The next destination for Team Hina? Why it was Koichi’s branch! The atmosphere for his place was rather casual, with many people at least on goods terms with him enough to even tease him a little about his drinking habits. Koichi allows both Ryota and Hina into his office, which resembles more of a host lounge than anything. Bottles of alcohol was scattered everywhere, there was a large couch off to the side, and large amounts of paperwork lay on his desk.

Both Hina and Ryota criticize Koichi for his messy office, but he waves it off as him being busy with meetings with Jack Daniels and Gin!~ Hina rolled her eyes and gives glances towards all about his office as Koichi fishes to make a Rec Letter. During this time, Hina finds something. A photo of Koichi with Jin and a little Kyoko.

Koichi confirms at this point that, yes, he was best friends with Jin and wouldn’t have minded being considered an ‘uncle’ to Kyoko prior to her getting raised by Fuhito Kirigiri, her grandfather. When asked more about Kyoko’s family, Koichi just waves dismissively. It’s a long story full of drama that he himself isn’t fit to tell.

He does go into detail of him meeting Jin back when they were kids and still keeping in touch when Koichi went to HPA...eh? Koichi was an Ultimate? Turns out he was the Ex-Ultimate Talent Scout, though is dismissive of such things. He himself doesn’t feel like its anything special and requests that they just refer to him as a regular talent scout. Honestly, he himself only agreed to be a talent scout because his best friend, Jin, really requested him when he began working with HPA in earnest. Throughout it all, Hina can see Koichi give a melancholic smile and relates to his quiet pain with her own losses. She reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder, but he smiles and waves it off.

Well, no use dwelling on the past. Koichi hands over his Rec Letter and waves at them goodbye for now.  He advises that if the options are just Tengan or Kyosuke left, then yeaaaaah, its best to try and win Tengan’s favor. He’s a lot more reasonable than Kyosuke…or, rather? 

He’s more coolheaded? He wants to be alone for a bit. Getting the hint, Hina nods and they begin to walk out. However, not before Hina stalls at the door, asking if he’ll support Makoto at the trial. Koichi informs her that he can’t make any solid promises, but is willing to hear him out. Once Ryota and Hina leave, he leans back in his chair. Thinking about Jin, he vows he’ll protect ‘her’.

Now down to a duo, Team Asahina starts wondering about Koichi, whether he’ll truly be alright. Hina is concerned, but Ryota says its best if they just leave him be to focus on Tengan. Now, its here that Ryota reveals his connection with the Chairman - namely how Tengan personally saved and recruited him back when the Tragedy was rampaging. Right when he was about to be killed by some Remannts, Tengan appeared on scene to fight them off. Hina is very impressed since she knows Tengan is kind of old, though Ryota mutters how he can be strong and frightening when he wants to. Anyways, he’s been working closely with him and believes that there’s a solid chance. Though he does warn Hina to watch what she says.

When they arrive, they noticed the hallway of Tengan lined up and down with various people in visors. Ryota introduces them as being the best of the Ultimate Elite Taskforce. As their names suggests, they are the very best gathered from the remnants of Hope’s Peak alumni’s that serve as The Special Forces needed for only the most intense or important assignments. Each of them are more than strong enough to give anyone, even an Ultimate Remnant, a run for their money.

Granted, with the 77th Batch of Despairs seemingly gone, these days all they really seem to do is just guard Tengan in Gozu’s absence. A fact that gets them to give Ryota a bit of a dirty or hurt look before he frantically starts waving his hands, trying to say he didn’t mean it. Tengan allows the two to enter and he pretty much gets right to the point. He’s received news of Asahina going about the other Directors trying to get their Rec Letters and from both sides he’s received calls to let her have one or to not give her one.

With that in mind, he’s willing to hear from the source concerning her motivations. Taking a deep breath, Asahina explains she’s worried about her friend and is really trying her hardest to make sure he’s alright. She knows that charges against Makoto are heavy, but she expresses her faith that everything he does is only to help everyone, not hurt. He’s not a traitor! By the end, she’s looking quite desperate, pleading with Tengan to give her the time of day.

When he speaks, Tengan murmurs about personally witnessing this fire of Hina for those she holds dear resurfacing. He says for her to simmer down and that, by now, he’s already thought this situation through to the best of his abilities. Offering Hina butterscotch, he explains that, yes, what Makoto has done is shocking and, at the moment, he can’t blame anyone for being angry or thinking he might be a traitor…

But he also states his belief in the Ultimate Hope that blossomed during that sixth trial. That optimism that he showcased and used to beat back Junko Enoshima and helped spurn the world in its current Restoration efforts. Yes, Tengan does believe that Makoto isn’t trying to be malicious and knows that he ‘is going with what he believes will be the right move’.  He goes on to ramble a bit about Makoto coming along ways from tangoing with a petty thief to humanity’s Symbol. Something that confuses Asahina, but Tengan brushes it off.

Yes, at this point, he’s more than just a little aware of the younger generation following their ambition and deciding that what they believe is right for all. Chairman or not, he has come to terms that he can’t match the passion of the others and is more than willing to take a backseat to give their ways a chance. After all, that’s essentially what he has been doing with Kyosuke. At this point it probably won’t be too long until he figures Kyosuke will organize an ‘intervention’ to pressure Tengan into stepping down. He already has the support of the public and agents all across the branches for his decisive attitude and on-hands efforts that Tengan had to retire from.

Oh! He apologizes for rambling and hands over the needed Rec Letter to Asahina. With that, she’ll be able to visit Makoto. Tengan wishes him the best of luck. Now, while he did order for the guards not to harm Makoto, if a Director decided to do something, well, he urges her to check in with him at her earliest convenience.  Asahina nods and thanks Tengan for handing over the Rec Letter. She asks if Ryota was coming as well but he declines. With a hug of support, Hina leaves. Still in the office, Tengan chuckles and asks if Ryota was finally getting out there, much to the animator’s blushing dismissal! Hina’s just a friend!! To this, Tengan merely chuckles in amusement. Before the scene ends, he questions if Ryota  has made a decision of sorts for the future. Ryota opens his mouth…and the episode ends.

(Episode 8)

The episode, and next day, opens at the prison Makoto is being held at. He has bandages and scratches on his face, looking a bit down on his luck as he recalls what happened to get him to this state.We get a flashback back to when he was initially arrested and seperated from Togami and Kyoko. He get’s thrown into his cell and has to deal with the brunt of a beatdown from a very angry Juzo. Kyosuke stops him before he could ever really go too far on Makoto but it is brutal. From there the scene switches to Makoto, patched up and at a table. Kyosuke is at the other side, looking coldly at Makoto.

Kyosuke, half-heartedly, apologizes for the actions of Juzo, though he does cut off Makoto when the lucky student tries to tell him its no big deal. Instead he asks: Why? Why help the Remnants of Despair? Why not just turn them in so the world can be done with them? Straight to the point. 

From Makoto’s point of view we get flashbacks briefly to what had occurred concerning him finding Izuru, learning of the Remnants identities and him firmly choosing his resolve when Kyoko and Togami await an answer for him. Back to the present day, he states that he understands everyone being angry and that, if he were in their shoes, he’d be furious as well. But, his decision has to go back towards faith. The potential to save others from the awful influence that gripped them in the past.

A flashback shows the Havoc Crew walking throughout their new branch with Kyosuke and Tengan giving a tour of the place. Tengan gives the background that, with reports of UD members killing themselves, they wanted a Branch that can effectively reach and focus on spreading FF’s message of hope. And who better to lead that than the survivors who inspired loads to carry on and beat back Despair’s effects. 

Togami is a bit miffed over essentially being the public relations branch, and that Kyoko was their leader, but she notes such power is really just a formality between the two of them. Plus, it might have to do with their ‘performance’ during the killing game. Hiro, Asahina and Togami have proven to be ‘problematic’ and Toko is only really allowed as an intern for being Genocider Syo. While some might want Makoto in charge given his role in the final class trial, he truly didn’t want the power/isn’t quite suited for leadership of an entire division. Hence Kyoko winning by default. 

While Togami begrudgingly admits defeat, both Hiro, Toko, Makoto and Asahina are astounded over their new headquarters. Makoto in particular is quick to bring them back together, speaking on his confidence that, with all six of them together, they can really help make a difference. One that clearly resonates with his friends and is noticed by the FF leaders. As both Tengan and Kyosuke leave, Tengan smiles as he notes that Makoto really reminded him of Kyosuke back in the day and that the Foundation is lucky Makoto is with them. Kyosuke quietly clenches his fist, and gives a brief look back at Makoto. The lucky student notices, but is dragged away by his pals long enough for Kyosuke to leave. 

A montage shows off Makoto and others helping out in the communities under Future Foundation’s protection, all clearly trying their best when, in the last shot, Makoto is suddenly pounced upon. It’s a Remnant of Despair, and by that I mean just a regular one that seems to have had better days. Makoto’s guards easily are able to pin down the Remnant and even remove his mask. As he’s being taken away, Makoto asks why he’s still trying to hurt others. Junko’s dead so what gives? It’s then that gets a good look at this Remnant - or rather his expression. Miserable, frustrated, utterly sad, and, well, hopeless. “Because there’s no point in trying to rebuild for someone with no future...” 

These words haunt Makoto and he’s gets to thinking. Is there a way to rehabilitate even the Remnants? He goes through files and asks around concerning Future Foundation rehab techniques and finds the plans for the Neo World Program. Delighted, he goes to Kyoko and Togami to get their opinion on trying to rehabilitate the Remnants? Their answer? 

“You’re an absolute buffoon.”

“This…is certainly a plan, I suppose?”

Yeah, he isn’t too surprised Togami is more harsh with his rebukes, but Kyoko also isn’t holding back with her criticism. The Remnants are dangerous criminals that put them through the Hell in the Mutual Killing Game. Why bother trying to save them? 

To this, Makoto asks this in a quiet voice: If they had connected more with Mukuro or Junko back then, would they have stopped both from destroying the world? He says its silly, but he can’t stop thinking about it. The friends they lost, would they still be alive if he bothered to spend more time trying to get to know both to get them help? Noticed Junko’s warped mental state beforehand? Get Mukuro to reconsider going along with Junko’s plan? The soldier didn’t seem completely convinced during their free talks during their killing game. Anything at all? 

This had both fall silent for a deal before Kyoko gives her thoughts. Personally, she believes that both Junko and Mukuro were too far deep by the time they met them. When she had the time, she looked into a bit of their background, finding evidence of the twins causing atrocities, like a massacre of a junior high school. That was covered up from either corrupt police or some other shady means. She believes that if there was to be some way to help the Despair Sisters, it would have to have been years before they even reached Hope’s Peak. She goes on to say he shouldn’t be harsh on himself for the horrible actions of other people, nor feel responsibility for why they turned out that way.

Yet, Makoto just can’t seem to let the thought go. His mind flashes back to his talk with Mukuro during her days as Junkuro. How she admitted she wasn’t sure that the path she was on was right. It’s a thought like those that gets Makoto in being unable to fully write off the Remnants that were still around. If one of the leading figures of the end was still having seconds thoughts, maybe the others could be as well, deep down. And, if the Neo World Program works as intended, they could be potentially rehabilitated into becoming allies to fix what their wrongs! It’s this optimistic outlook that ignites Makoto’s passion. While reluctant, both Kyoko and Togami eventually concede to at least try Makoto’s idea.

Makoto is happy and the next scene shows him heading to the site of the destroyed New Hope’s Peak Academy building. Apparently the 12th Branch was going to begin its plans for its demolition? Well, if that’s the case, he thought it would be best to leave ten flowers for those he lost and explore it one last time. What was left of it anyway.

Only to see Izuru Kamukura standing in a classroom with his own flower in some ruined classroom.

(Episode 9)

In this episode, we see Makoto, Kyoko and Togami looking after about fifteen ‘survivors’ sitting around in their offices. They were dirty, covered in either old cloaks and bandages, and looking around with intense gazes. Some of whom looked to be in quite the awful conditions, being either malnourished or very sickly. Yet they were all intent on refusing medical treatment from any staff offered.

It had only been a few days after Makoto met Izuru - or rather? Hajime Hinata - that’s what Izuru told them instead of his actual name at that point? Allegedly he was a survivor affiliated with Hope’s Peak that had just come back into town to pay respects to the dead. Following that, he explained that he was apart of a group of survivors who had been traveling the wastelands and it just so happens these survivors were upperclassmen of the 78th class. Students that came from various parts of the 77th batch that barely manage to escape the destruction of the Main Course building, but circumstances had them flee into the unknown as much as possible because of the riots. Given what they’ve experienced, they are very weary against even help from the FF and its prone to having them on edge.

Makoto is actually ecstatic to run into survivors of that incident, since he knew many of the 77th batch perished or went missing.  However, Kyoko and Togami are rather suspicious of the situation. In particular, seeing these fifteen for an extended period of time has her leave to check out some files.

Concerning the Remnants themselves, the more Makoto interacts with them, either by trying to give them supplies or wanting to know them better, he’s either ignored or given cold blank stares. Just like that one Remnant from before. Maybe…

Still there is one that acts friendly to him, Nagito who usually kept one of his hands wrapped. He’s appreciative of the Ultimate Hope and grateful for his efforts, glad someone ‘insignificant as him’ could be in Makoto’s presence. Makoto, being the humble guy, denies ever being that important and that he just wants to help others. He believes everyone is indispensable and tries to get Nagito to see more of himself in a brighter light. Though, similar to the others, the despair Nagito is in is quite evident and he believes that a guy like Makoto should really not bank his hopes too much on the fallen. As Makoto goes to pull him back as he leaves, he notices some of Nagito’s bandages are slipping…and, hm? Was…was his nails painted under there?

As they separate, he runs into Kyoko who takes him to Togami’s office. Kyoko shows Makoto a database of ‘suspect Remnants’. A nurse wearing a surgical mask, a group of masked Monomafia lead by masked people with similar hair styles to Fuyuhiko and Peko. A concert with a thin singer in a gas mask taking spotlight. In Novoselic, a Monokuma controlled country, forces were being lead by a masked figure in a cloak, but a few locks of golden hair could briefly be seen. Evidence upon evidence…

They didn’t just take in survivors - they took in the Remants of Despair. It wouldn’t be long until the higher-ups, who were informed of such survivors existence, would realize this as well. Yet, would it be fast enough to arrive to intercept fifteen dangerous criminals?  As it stands the Remnants doesn’t seem aware that they knew their cover was blown. If they were going to act, they needed to do this quickly. Togami suggests getting their security forces to immediately apprehend and put the remnants in holding cells of their division, but Kyoko notes the possibility of good number of forces being killed in this attack given how notorious the Remnants were when it came to fighting against even the Directors. Togami then suggests that maybe drugging their food could work best and the others seem on-board with this idea.

It’s then that Makoto suggests his own idea that, once they were all knocked out they don’t put them in cells. Rather, they put them on the boat intended to take them to Jabberwock Island. Togami really asks if Makoto is serious about having these Remnants - Ultimate Remnants - be the ones that they opt to save, but Makoto is dead serious about it. After all the NWP is supposed to be capable of saving even the worst of the worst. What better way to prove to everyone that it works and that it is viable if not by saving the literal worst of the worst. Both Kyoko and Togami are hesitant, but eventually both opt to go with Makoto’s plan. After all time is of the essence still.

The scene transitions to the boat, where the Remnants have been place in cells containing two each (or three in Mahiru, Ibuki and Hiyoko’s case). Their cloaks and bandages have been stripped away and we've got to see what a few had of Junko’s body, classic like Fuyuhiko getting Junko’s eye and whatnot. Over an intercom, Makoto announces his Foundation’s intent to take them to Jabberwock to put them in the NWP…

“Just like what the intelligence said…” Kamukura mutters to himself as the scene transitions to show of the Remants being worked into their pods and of brief flashes to the Island Killing Game, where Makoto is horrified over seeing history repeat itself, but flashes to determination  from both him, Kyoko and Togami. As the screen flashes to them entering the simulation we cut back to Kyosuke.

“In short…” said Vice Chairman. “You went on an operation, risking it all for criminals that should be executed on the spot…and came back with nothing.” Makoto refutes this saying he believes it worked out from what he saw of the survivors. But Kyosuke is pretty adamant about this position. How can Makoto be sure they were not faking or they’ll revert back to who they were? How can they be trusted to not go down that dark path again?

In truth? Makoto admits he can never be 100% sure, but he has faith they won’t go back. How they resolved to keep moving forward – he was sure that was going to still be a reality. Kyosuke shook his head, looking disappointed. 

“To think people ever had high hopes for you. A naive foolishness like that can never be called Hope.” Standing up, he announces, he doesn’t want to even look at Makoto again until the trial to decide his fate. And may mercy be shown upon this blind soul. All while Makoto looked at Kyosuke with his own frustration, but even sadness. Is there no way for them to reconcile or come to an understanding?

The flashback ends when we see the present Makoto shoot up from a knock at his door. It’s Asahina, who came in the very next day, who quickly goes to glomp her poor buddy whose been through a lot. Asking him how he’s been and growing angry over the fact the guards had taken to hurting him. As they both catch up on what’s been going on - Hina finally asks that’s been flowing through her mind:

“How come you all didn’t trust me?” she asked, referring to the fact that half of Crew went off to do their own thing while leaving the others in the dark to carry out the Remants rehab. Makoto, looking super remorseful, apologizes. He, Kyoko and Togami didn’t want to put the others at risk, especially if this operation failed. Concerning the operation, Hina goes to ask Makoto why he bothered to help the Remnants, when an explosion gets out.

A loud alarm blares through the building.

“People are raiding the prison!! All personnel on deck! Stop the prisoners from going free!”

(Episode 10)

This is a chaotic battle that has invaders, mooks of the Remnant forces, all rush through the building, attacking anyone with bats, pipes, even a few guns so to speak, as they pushed through. Throughout the facility, electromagnetic locks on the cells are disabled and prisoners rush to join in on the riots. The main attackers were also incredibly organized, ordering about the freed prisoners to help free more them and ordering more of their forces to go in deeper. “They’re in there!! Get them at any cost!! Don’t waste our chance!”

Hearing this, Makoto wants to help, but Hina remind him that 1. He is also a prisoner and 2. People would really be gunning for him at the moment given his status, so its best that he stay put in the cell where he would be safe. Makoto wishes her luck as Hina dashes out. Outside of Makoto’s cell there are four other occupied cells in his block: The maximum security block. Luckily, once Hina leaves it’ll be placed on lockdown that only a Director could have access to with their key card. Grabbing a baton, Hina rushes out and saves a guard from being killed by a prisoner before joining in the fray. 

Bodies are flying and more people are being released.  Hina is holding her own but the number of people able to handle this is dwindling: until a cry of pain is heard and a prisoner can be seen tossed into a wall. There is the Great Gozu, Juzo and Kyosuke backed by reinforcements. Tengan is at the furthest back watching the proceedings. Kyosuke leads the forces into subduing the prisoners and invaders, eventually getting it all under control. Though during this chaos, Kyosuke can’t help but wonder about the odds of a jailbreak occurring on the day when Makoto gets a visitor and four other Directors wanted to visit it. “Luck tends to be perplexing…” Tengan says.

By the end of it, most of the prisoners have been suppressed, but when they head into the max block, the prisoners from there have escaped, except for Makoto. Juzo and Gozu are ordering the staff about, sending out red alert for all units to be on the lookout for the escaped. The ones who escaped are known as the Four Sinners in Future Foundation and represent the Four Horsemen. They were previous Ultimates that graduated from Hope’s Peak but had gone rogue  during the Tragedy.

Plaguebearer - Former Ultimate Exterminator: Jun Ueda/Pestilence(Gas Mask Man)

Immovable Force - Former Ultimate Sumo: Daisuke Tomioka/War (Sumo Wrestler Design)

Dead Walker - Former Ultimate Lab Assistant: Harue Yuki/Famine(Zombie Girl)

Spawn of Malice - Former Ultimate Criminal: Shiori Hikari/Death (Ultimate Criminal beta)

With everything over, Asahina checks in on Makoto who was unharmed. Kyosuke arrives and announces that, given how this prison is clearly compromised, Makoto will be moved to another location effective immediately and has Juzo escort him out. Hina wants to talk to him, but the other Directors refuse to hear her out, with Makoto only reassuring her that things will be fine.

The news of the attack is relayed to Togami, & Hiro, the heir already suspicious of the whole affair. He finds it way too unlikely that this was just a random attack on dates where both Asahina and the other Directors were supposed to arrive. This was planned, but by whom and what do they gain from freeing the Four Sinners other than general unrest?

Kyoko hears the news as well and, in private, and theorizes that, yes, this was definitely planned. But there was so many oddities. Why attack on the same day that high-ranking, strong Directors were arriving there? Wouldn’t have it been safer to do so when it was just the regular guards to deal with?

Conclusion that she and, soon even Kyosuke (at another location) reaches: The Mastermind behind it wanted it to be known that there was someone orchestrating this. Furthermore, from reports from the guards, the attackers were highly organized and mentioned something about ‘someone’ giving them a ‘chance’. “But why?” asked Juzo (He, Kyosuke, Chisa and Seiko were gathered together) What do they gain out of this risky mission? Could it be….

“Fear…” Tengan muttered alone in his office. An irrational emotion made to throw people off as the Trial for Makoto’s fate draws nearer. Regardless if the attackers succeeded or failed, the fear and paranoia they would leave behind would be irrefutable but of what kind of fear…

Simply put…a Traitor amongst the Directors. Someone had to give the attackers an access card to open the max cell block, after all. A conclusion all leaders of Future Foundation seem to reach as it flashes by to all fourteen of them.

In a dark location, the Four Sinners are standing in line looking at a large monitor that shows Monokuma’s head looking at them. A garbled voice announces the need for the Blights services.

After all, the next game is soon to begin!

(Episode 11)

A traitor…

A word like that hangs heavy as Togami meets with Asahina and Hiro, in Hiro’s room (because why would anyone bother with Hagakure). It’s one thing for a mole to be in something like a killing game, but a Director possibly going rogue? It could lead to disaster for not just the other Directors but the entire world. Asahina shudders, though wonders about the possibility of it being a Sakura situation: where her family was threatened. But Togami is quick to shut it down. No use in pondering the motivations of a possible Traitor when they still haven’t caught them yet. He stops Hiro from just barging out to ‘investigate’ and reminds Hiro that he can’t just go out and do whatever he wants. If he tries to grill the Directors, chances are he’ll just get thrown in the slammer for being a nuisance and just worsen the situation.

Instead, Togami has informed both he’s sent some of his own private personnel on the case. While any Directors or the Havoc Crew would be on clear suspicion and be monitored, would anyone bother keeping tabs on Togami’s butler or his eyepatch wearing secretary? Not likely. So he’ll leave it to them.

Asahina asks about Makoto, and what they should do for him given the incident. Togami believes at this point they should forget about seeing him until the Trial. Makoto has been taken to a private holding cell in the 2nd Division Branch. With the max cell compromised, he’s staying there under Kyosuke’s watchful eye. Until then, its best to focus on other matters. For example, if this incident comes up during the trial, it would be best to gain some sort of evidence to be on even footing during it. But, all knew if they tried, chances are Kyosuke might get his goons to chase them away. But, Asahina realized that, even if they couldn’t she could probably get someone to not only help them out, but even inform Kyoko. 

The scene shifts to Kyoko’s room and there its revealed Koichi was the one to help out, handing over a good deal of evidence from the crime to her. ‘A gift from that charming swimming lady’ Koichi mentioned, though Kyoko is as stoic as ever. Koichi tries to get closer with Kyoko more, showing more of his concerned side from her (and even a brief scene of him seeing Jin die during the KG), Kyoko brushes him off. If he really wants to help her, he needs to support Makoto’s side. Koichi chuckles. Kyoko’s as blunt as ever. He walks off, claiming he’ll think about it over a drink or two!

For Team Munakata, Juzo and his branch are investigating the scene of the crime, looking pissed about what happened still. While they had managed to suppress the truth of the incident, there was no telling what could be leaked. Seiko responds that, despite using the truth serum on the surviving invaders, they couldn’t tell much about who was organizing them to do this. They can only say that they were ordered by someone in a cloak who was connected with the former Remnants. Who warned them that their actions will spurn on the Third. “The third killing game…what nonsense.” Kyosuke orders Seiko, Chisa and Juzo not to spread this info out to anyone for the time being. Doing so without all the facts would just lead to chaos brewing. When he asks for further details about where the escapees could be, Chisa informs that they have all unist on the lookout for them, but there has been no signs of where they went. One of the transport vehicles is missing so its likely they took that to make their getaway, but the footage for that period is missing due to the attackers managing to get inside the security office. How convenient. But nevertheless Kyosuke is confident that they can defeat whatever plans Despair has for them. “Security measures will be increased tenfold and for the Trial…we’ll invoke the usage of the Elite Taskforce. No matter what - judgement will reign on those who stray from the path…” His crew nod alongside him, albeit to varying degrees (Juzo is smirking and pounding his fists together, Seiko is a bit nervous but hurriedly agrees with him and Chisa looks rather solemn before she nods as well).

We get some brief cuts to what some other Directors are doing. For Ruruka and Izayoi, she feeds him a macaron, with her (and by extension his) minds made up: Makoto is clearly guilty in her eyes and sooner they axe a traitor the better. Miaya is talking with Alter Ego, the latter wanting to do something to help Makoto. He can’t let someone he saved get hurt or sentenced to die, right? Miaya tries to reassure him that things will turn out okay, and that AE did enough already for Togami recently, but hears a knock at the door before she could really finish. Bandai is at his office seeing a text from Gozu on how the wrestler would be coming back a bit late given he’s with the Chairman. As for Ryota he’s nervously going between his phone and the e-mail. Obviously conflicted on something.

We finally shift to Makoto in his cell, unable to to do anything. Can’t investigate, can’t be with his friends. All he can do is wait...huh? Entering his cell is Tengan with Gozu accompanying him. Due to Tengan’s status as the Chairman, he’s able to gain clearance and visit Makoto. 

He comments on the misfortune brought about Makoto recently, and laments that the trial has to happen at all. Makoto asserts his innocence, that everything he’s done was truly meant to help people. That is something Tengan has no doubts on and even finds it a commendable dream to work towards. Even at his old age, his reason for joining FF is to bring the most aid to humanity as possible. He was just the same when he was younger and laments that Makoto is in such a position now. Being stuck trying to follow your heart and being obstructed by others is a frustrating balance to tow.

Tengan remarks on what Makoto plans to do at the trial. Given the severity of his crimes, there isn’t much hope that he’ll be freed. If Tengan is to be frank, were it not for Makoto’s Ultimate Hope status, anyone else would have been prosecuted immediately and likely executed. What’s Makoto endgoal?

For Makoto, he responds earnestly: his goal is always the same as its been. He’s nothing special, he just wants to help people that need it. He completely understands why people want to kill the Remnants, why those who are in the know thinks he's being foolish or even traitorous. But if there's a chance that even the worst of the worst can be rehabilitated and gain a second chance to make things better, then shouldn't they at least try to take it?

Tengan chuckles. Yeah, the same Makoto as he saw back during the sixth trial of Danganronpa 1. Even Gozu seems impressed with his resolve. Both leave the room, Tengan mentioning that when the trial comes: while he can't make any promises, he'll at least try to ensure Makoto has a sporting chance. Makoto sighs as he leans back in his cell. A chance is all that he’d ever want.

Back to Asahina, she’s left brooding in her room. There wasn’t much else she can do now, except wait and try to prepare her own defense for Makoto. The trial. Hina’s recalls Bandai’s words and the statements from all the Directors, friends and foes, come back to her. What does she think of this entire thing? 

She was left out of the loop and is now trying to catch up to a story that’s she’s never really been apart of. Having to risk it all for the sake of the Remnants? Who ended up getting her brother killed? Can she really do it? No doubt Makoto and the others hearts are in the right place, but could she truthfully still say she has no misgiving about it?

If only Sakura were here, she’d know the answer…

After the credits, time skips to the day of the trial. The scene is in a shadow room and there is a figure typing on a computer screen, sending messages out.

‘The pieces are in place. Let the third mutual killing game…begin.”

(Ep 12)

Now this episode is somewhat sort of the same as Future Arc ep 1, with a few twists. For example, the Ultimate Task Force is littered around the headquarters, watching for potential threats. Hagakure is actually let inside (and not on the helicopter pad awkwardly) for instance. Well, at first anyway! He’s not allowed in the meeting room so is just wandering about the rest of the building.

Asahina is looking between Kyoko and Makoto, words from Bandai still echoing in her head. How does she feel about this. She wants to support her friends - her family - through thick and thin. But, these guys helped get Yuta killed and is the reason their class is now down to six in the first place. Can she really vouch while so conflicted? Both Makoto and Kyoko grow aware of her looking so down, but can’t really be afforded the time to help her as they are called into the meeting room.

Kyosuke calls the meeting to order: This is the secret trial to determine the fate of Makoto Naegi - member of the 14th Division of Future Foundation - who is accused of treason and harboring dangerous criminals: the Remnants of Despair. This is the first time we now get to see the Jabberwock Crew in their Despair forms, unobstructed, with Kyosuke explaining that such intel was scrounged up and provided during the DR2 killing game, after FF realized they were the Remnants. A fact that Kyosuke is rather bitter about, but presses on with the matter at hand:

“Makoto Naegi - how do you plead?”

With a Not Guilty verdict in hand, the trial shifts, metaphorically, to be reminiscent of a Class Trial. Together with Kyoko and Hina, Makoto is doing his best to shoot down incorrect or slanderous claims about his situation. For example, claiming he had something to do with the jailbreak, which he couldn’t go given his confined state at the time. For Team Naegi, they’re arguing the Remnants can be saved and, for those that were awake, they deserve at least a fair shot at proving that they were rehabilitated. For Team Munakata, they’re arguing that no matter what form the Remnants take, they are still a danger to others and need to be eliminated. Both sides are at an impasse, and the others begin to chime in their thoughts as well.

Gozu, Miaya, Bandai, Tengan and Koichi do at least want to give testing the Remnants a shot. In Koichi’s case, when its mentioned that he did scout out the Remnants, its in the vein that he should have a grasp on the DR2 crew in spades. While he’s confident that, if given another shot, they’d be alright, he also admits he may or may not have been a biiiit too drunk that day and maybe can’t remember approving a good chunk of them? (Hina sighs and calls him out for being so irresponsible). Yet, there was still those like Ruruka or Izayoi who were adamant that the Remnants couldn’t be saved, and Ryota was too meek to say where he stood.

Eventually, a vote would commence. Kyoko and Makoto aren’t allowed to vote given their involvement in the matter, but Hina is allowed since she was away during the debacle and, at least to Tengan, she should at least be given the benefit of the doubt. A majority of seven would decide Makoto’s fate. Each Director gives their vote until its a split between Guilty (Kyosuke, Juzo, Seiko, Ruruka, Sonosuke and Chisa) and Not Guilty (Koichi, Tengan, Ryota, Bandai, Gozu and Miaya)

The only person left to vote is Hina and she’s feeling happy. She’s the tiebreaker and can save her friend’s life! She can help him! She can get him out of this situation! They’ve won! But, Kyosuke wasn’t done just yet. He chuckles and remarks that Hina must really be a strong woman. After all: she’s sparing the left of someone who saved those who got her brother killed.

Hina freezes and the room falls silent, except for Kyosuke. He gets into Hina’s head, reminding her of all the damage that the Remnants done. Because of Ultimate Despair, millions of people are dead and the world was brought to ruin. Because of them, her little brother, Yuta Asahina, will never come back. He’s another casualty; a victim who has never received justice for the crime brought to him! To Kyosuke, he’s not trying to be the bad guy - he doesn’t want to do this, especially to the ‘Ultimate Hope’ who helped stopped the Mastermind behind that terrorist organization. But what else can he do when the last major executives of the worst organization in human history were prevented from their just punishment for their actions? And doesn’t Hina want that? Want them to pay for blowing up her brother, whose remains are still at the bottom of the ocean? Does she really want to them off the hook for someone who values the lives of 15 murderers than her own flesh and blood?!

At the end of it, Hina is in tears and her conflicted mindset comes to a boil. She can’t think straight and has broken down, overwhelmed with such an awful choice to make. Both of her friends rush to her to try to get her to calm down, but as soon as Makoto touches her arm, she shirks away from them and runs out of the room. Something that causes Kyosuke to call for a temporary recess. Makoto is stopped from leaving by Juzo, but Kyoko is permitted to go after the swimmer. The rest of the Directors shuffle off, though Tengan wonders out loud if Kyosuke truly had to bring up the deceased just to sway the vote. For Kyosuke? He remarks that it’s better for Hina to truly understand her choices. Lest she makes one that she’ll live to regret. As for Makoto, he’s carted off to a nearby room to be treated by Chisa after Juzo handled him a bit too roughly. It’s there we get her revealing her past to Makoto as well, a condensed version of it, and her beliefs right to the luckster. Of both Kyosuke and Makoto coming together to create even bigger Hope for the world. If Kyosuke was the Hope of Justice- one that promises punishment to sinners who wronged others, then Makoto was the Hope of Faith - that promises that there was respite even in the worst of times. She encourages him to see Kyosuke’s point of view and meet somewhere in the middle with him.

Kyoko would go on to find Hina, sobbing bitterly in the girl’s bathroom. Hina apologizes for her actions. After all, Makoto’s life is on the life. She should have just ignored Kyosuke and voted for her friend’s safety! But, Kyoko shakes her head and tells Hina not to be sorry. After all, what was done to Hina can be considered a genuine betrayal given what UD have done to Yuta and what half of her friends did in spite of that. None of the others ever contacted her about it, nor even discussed it with Hina. They let their friend remain hurt for so long…and for that, Kyoko, kneels down and can only offer her humblest of apologies - even offering Hina to hit her if necessary if it means getting everything out of her systems and making amends.

But Hina doesn’t want that. She gets out of the stall, and just hugs Kyoko, crying into her shoulder. A while pasts, and Hina calms down, now willing to head back to the trial. They head out, only for Kyoko to notice something. The door to the supply closet wasn’t fully closed. Hina went to shut it, but finds the security guards of the place murdered. She freaks out and that’s when chaos ensues.

By now we get to see the Elite Task Force luring away guards, and quietly murdering them.  During this process, Hagakure, is strolling on by lost, getting back from the men’s restroom when he opens the wrong door and sees some operatives stuffing the dead into body bags.

Hagakure ends up running away, which leads him to escaping the building right before the shutters close on the roof of Future Foundation. During this time, the scenes cuts to Togami whose in a meeting with his secretary and Aloysius. They have a flash drive containing some secret information concerning some hidden email they managed to dredge up with help from a special program A.E. gave to Togami some time ago. Secretly, they planted a special virus in each of the 14 Branches meant to automatically track any suspicious emails or files and send it straight to Team Togami. The fruits of their labor lies in that drive. Taking it and placing it into his laptop, Togami begins rummaging through all suspicious files and his eyes hardened considerably:

“...The third mutual killing game…and…a nation wide att-!!!” he gets up and orders both to make preparations. The scenes shifts throughout the various branches which are facing attacks from various agents of destructions, from rogue Remnants, to criminals/hitmen to even the likes of various operatives in the division going rogue out of nowhere and killing their own. It was complete chaos and no one can reach the Directors.

Back at Future Foundation HQ, the main cast are in a state of panic as they find themselves trapped in and reports of the guards being dead come to surface. Like in the original show, they are knocked out by sleeping gas. When they wake up, however, they find themselves in a rather demonic, yet regal looking area with monitors all over. The monitors come to life with Monokuma alongside four other mascots. He announces that these five are the MonoKast - hosts of the third mutual killing game!

Monokowl - a white and grey owl in a cowl and a graduation hat. Vice Headmaster of the MonoKast

Monokan - a white and orange kangaroo wearing a black apron. The teacher that helps runs the ‘school’.

Monokrown - A white and purple bee with a tiny crown. The security guard that keeps things safe.

Monokrony - A black and dark brown vampire bat with a gold star. A teacher’s assistant that helps out. Or tries to help out at least.

But if the Directors refuse to believe that they’ll kill each other, Monokuma is proud to announced that this killing game has already started. Everyone is confused, but it suddenly clicks to Kyosuke. Where is Chisa? The cast look up and see her murdered on the chandelier before it crashes, leaving Kyosuke just as distraught as he was before in the original.

DISTRUST LIFE - END

---

This ends the first part of the rewrite!! I'm open to questions concerning it if needed and hope anyone that read this got some enjoyment from this rendition! Who know when the next part will be up, but will try to make it for at least this year!

[kiyfra]

Chapter 2 of Scorpio is complete! Can be read here or on AO3. PokéRus AU belongs to @monsoon-of-art

“I can bear scorpion's stings, tread fields of fire, in frozen gulfs of cold eternal lie, be tossed aloft through tracts of endless void, but cannot live in shame.”

——————————————

Ingo had come back to the Pearl Clan settlement and was outside Irida’s tent with the other wardens, all of them baying and scratching at the door as they waited for her to join them.

One by one the infected had lost their minds and turned into monsters, lacking even the nobility of animals. They might have superficially looked like pokémon, but they didn’t contain the spark of understanding and markings of a rich inner soul that real pokémon had.

She was going to be the last to turn after Calaba. The two of them had bunkered down in Irida’s living quarters and spent their remaining time listening as the beasts prowled the deserted camp, breaking into storerooms and rummaging through abandoned tents in their search for food.

They could have easily broken in to get at them; the flimsy tents wouldn’t stand up against several determined alphas. But they merely whined and begged for them to join their pack while the last two remnants of the Pearl Clan could only wait for the inevitable.

“It wasn’t supposed to end like this,” Irida lamented with her face buried in her paws.

The Pearl Clan had dissolved under the young leader’s watch, her people forced to leave the grounds where Almighty Sinnoh had appeared before their ancestors. She wondered where they went after they were sent away, if any of them chose to stay in Hisui or if they had all left for better lives overseas. Did they stick together or did the Pearl Clan disperse across the world, it’s people scattered to the winds?

It had been a close race between her and Paulina to determine a successor to lead the Pearl Clan, with Irida winning out in the end. Paulina had been happy for her, even presenting her with the headpiece she was seldom seen without.

Irida had often secretly believed that the older, more experienced woman that had felt more like a parental substitute than a rival would have made a better clan leader than her. Now she was forced to listen to her whimpering and impatient barking at all hours of the day, demanding to know how she could keep her locked out.

“Rarely do we get a choice in such matters. I thought that I had made my peace with that, but life never manages to stop surprising me,” Calaba said.

There was nearly a century’s worth of lived experience behind her words.

The old warden turned towards the young leader. “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself, I’ve made a real mess of things myself.”

Bitter and paranoid accusations were slung about from people that wanted something or someone to blame. A warden with no Noble to tend to was easy to point fingers at, whether they were a foreigner that kept their pokémon in strange capsules or a Pearl borne that refused to force their Noble’s remaining child to take their place.

Calaba’s insistence that a curse had been brought upon the clans had fuelled nasty infighting in the final weeks leading up to the clan’s exodus. They had latched onto her words in the absence of any other explanations and the old warden had inadvertently turned a member of the Pearl Clan into a pariah.

Irida knew the she never wanted that, but it was far too late for her or anyone else to make amends.

“You weren’t the only one who made mistakes. I wasn’t helping when I raised the possibility our predicament was caused by the false Sinnoh the Diamond Clan worships,” Irida said. “I don’t think our words or anyone else’s could have effected the outcome.”

“Don’t interrupt a foolish old lady when she’s going over her regrets on her deathbed. You know I made this far more painful than it needed to be,” the woman turned bibarel chided.

In spite of her misgivings towards the odd man, she never wanted to see him driven out. She suspected that despite his gratitude towards the people that had taken him in, Warden Ingo was never truly happy in Hisui and one day he would want to leave. Such thoughts had not abated over time, even after years had passed. How could Calaba think the man belonged with the Pearl Clan when he didn’t even believe so?

Ingo had dutifully complied with every prescribed exorcism and cure despite his skepticism and Calaba had done everything she could for a patient she believed was a lost cause.

“What would we have done without such a knowledgeable medicine woman treating everyone tirelessly? I wouldn’t have fared nearly as well as I did without you,” Irida insisted.

Calaba was always one of the people she turned towards for advice, along with Gaeric and Paulina. Her parents had been one of the causalities of a famine that had ravaged the ice lands in a cruel winter many years ago. Irida was too young to remember them, neither did she have any grandparents to raise her. She spent her childhood moving between the care of different adults and being supervised by older kids well into their teens. Most of them considered themselves babysitters with a few that took it upon themselves to act as mentors.

Paulina showing her how to care for and bond with the eevee her parents left behind, Gaeric teaching her how to endure the cold and not let it bother her, and Calaba guiding her through recipes for medicine and meals.

If Irida forced herself to try and remember her parents, they were the only people that came to mind.

Calaba remained doubtful and looked as though she was about to argue, but thought better of it. Sensing the line of conversation was going nowhere, she decided to change the subject.

“Was there anything you wanted to say or get off your chest?”

Irida pondered the question for a moment before shaking her head.

“I can’t think of anything in particular.”

A harsh cry mixed with a scraping sound came from outside and made Irida jump. The dissonant wailing of a glalie originated from Gaeric who was begging to be let in and banging on the door to make his displeasure known.

Calaba barely reacted to his forlorn crying, merely scowling and clucking her tongue as she felt a headache coming on. The old bibarel walked towards Irida’s kitchenware to put on the kettle, hoping some tea would calm their nerves.

She turned back to the glaceon, returning to the matter at hand.

“It could be any trifling thing.”

Irida thought back to when she was little and her eevee had gotten a scratch on its eye. She didn’t see what caused it and had run over to Calaba’s tent in a panic with her partner dangling from her arms.

Ursaluna’s warden calmly assessed the damage before concluding it was a minor and easily treated injury. She crafted two medicines for her eevee, one to speed up the healing and prevent infection, another to relieve the pain.

When she was older, Calaba taught her several common remedies, spending many evenings gently correcting her on dosage and how long to let plants simmer.

“Thank you for teaching me how to cook for myself and make medicines. And for always being there.” Irida looked away from Calaba and down at the floor.

“I wish I could be thanking Lina too.”

Calaba seemed momentarily at a loss, wondering where this was coming from before her expression softened in understanding.

“I was happy to do so and I’m glad you found it useful. Thank you for staying by my side when I was so sick.”

Calaba had fallen gravelly ill several years ago, leaving her so weak that she had been rendered bedridden. At her age it could easily prove fatal and it was an unspoken understanding by her and the rest of the Pearl Clan that she was at the end of her life.

Irida was busying herself with preparing a damp cloth and medicinal tea for the warden while forcing down a sickly anxiety when she called the girl over to her bedside.

She told her that she was happy with how she lived her life and she didn’t have to cry for her. It was Sinnoh’s will whether she stayed or left and that wasn’t something Irida could control. Why fight against the inevitable?

Everyone was quite surprised when her fever broke and she made a full recovery, Calaba most of all. Her death would come one day and it served as a sobering reminder that it may not be far off. It almost made Irida appreciate the Diamond Clan’s reverence for time.

A wavering whistle came from the kettle, rising in pitch to signal the water was ready.

Calaba carefully looked through her host’s tea selection before settling on one. It was a nice one from overseas, one Irida purchased from the Ginko Guild and had been saving for a special occasion.

After the tea finished steeping, she poured out a cup for each of them, making sure one of them was wide enough for Irida to lap out of. They drank their tea in silence for a minute before Calaba smirked to herself, amused by some private joke.

“I want to thank you for the buneary you brought me. It was quite thoughtful of you.”

Irida nearly snorted into her tea and the tips of her ears grew warm with embarrassment. Warm for a glaceon, anyways.

She had returned during a memory lapse one morning with a buneary she had apparently managed to hunt and left it on Calaba’s doorstep. It was certainly awkward trying to explain that to the warden and anyone else that witnessed her off putting behaviour. What exactly her thought process was in bringing that to a species that was strictly herbivorous remained a mystery.

“Lord Ursaluna was very appreciative of the offering. He wanted me to let you know,” Calaba continued, somewhat facetiously.

Irida pulled her ears down and hid her face in the flaps from her crest, wishing she could sink through the floor.

“Ugghhh... no...”

The warden chuckled at her mortification as she resumed drinking her tea.

The near incessant scratching and banging from the former humans grew louder and their yowling more pained and indignant. Irida worried their patience had run out and they would try to force their way in.

If Calaba was perturbed by the ruckus, she didn’t show it. But her gaze grew more distant and expression more somber.

“I’m not afraid of dying, I haven’t been for a long time. My greatest fear was being in pain.”

Tent framing started to creak as the howling reached a fever pitch, claws catching on fabric with the constant pawing that could tear a hole in their shelter. The clan leader’s eyes grew wide and her fur started bristling at the monsters looking to force the two of them out.

Calaba merely sighed and looked down at her cup morosely.

“I wouldn’t expect someone your age to easily come to terms with something like this. You did the best that could have been done and I’m proud of you.”

They were shoving each other out of the way for their turn to pound at the door, fighting amongst themselves for the chance to break it off its hinges. Irida desperately tried to think of some way out, her nerves completely shot.

Could they run away? The beasts had them surrounded and they would stand little chance in a fight. She wasn’t sure Calaba would be inclined to try either, still sitting down and sipping away at her tea in the very picture of resignation.

The frantic pounding and caterwauling carried on for a long time, long enough for Calaba to pour and finish a second cup. Irida listened anxiously for the cracking of timber or the tearing of cloth, twitching and jumping at every sound before the commotion finally slowed down and devolved into the usual pathetic whimpering.

The clan leader remained on edge, worried their reprieve wouldn’t last and the frenzy would flare up again. It was nearly an hour before she allowed herself to relax somewhat.

Her half finished tea had gone cold and Calaba collected their cups to wash and put away.

“...Thank you. If it’s alright, could we just pretend things are normal?”

The warden nodded in agreement and the two of them talked about anything and everything that came to their minds well into the night, falling asleep to the background noise of relentless crying from the mad alphas. The next morning, Calaba was gone. She had slipped out sometime in the middle of the night to join the caravan of beasts, leaving Irida as the only one left.

She spent a few more days holed up in her tent hearing her wardens yowling, not understanding why their leader wouldn’t join them and her blackouts growing more and more frequent.

Irida woke up one morning and knew deep in her soul that today was the day. She felt eerily calm as she accepted her fate; there was nothing she could do and nothing she could have done. Why fight against the inevitable?

Maybe Dawn and the Galaxy Team would find a solution in the end, but it was entirely out of Irida’s hands.

She didn’t have any beliefs about what would happen next, but she truly believed Almighty Sinnoh hadn’t forsaken them. Aide or comfort would be doled out solely at it’s discretion, in this life or the next in all of its divine wisdom.

Hopefully the Nobles would find it within themselves to carry on their duty to the clans and watch over them, for their sakes and for anyone unfortunate enough to be a victim of their madness.

She spent several hours making sure everything in her living quarters was tidied up and put away in preparation for her last meaningful decision. If she was praying for the grace and mercy of Sinnoh, the least she could do was not leave her space a mess.

When she was satisfied, she set about attending to her final matter of business. Working patiently, she twisted her head around and used her teeth to untie the knot in the back of her robe. She managed to get a tooth under one of the loops and tugged, loosening the cord holding the outfit together and sliding it off. Irida would no longer have any need of it.

That too was put away and after taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she leapt up to open the door with as much dignity as she could muster while scrabbling at the knob. The door swung open and Irida strode purposefully into the crowd of beasts, their ceaseless baying falling quiet at last. All of them regarded her silently as she walked towards the centre of the camp.

Ingo was perched atop a tent like an unmoving gargoyle, save for his eyes following her, with no doubts about where he belonged. Calaba, Paulina, Gaeric; there were no hints of recognition or familiarity in the eyes of any of the wardens, just the expectation that she would fulfill her obligation towards them.

The inky shadows that were now omnipresent in her mind were angrily threatening to suffocate her, to drown and snuff out her psyche.

It could do so whenever it pleased.

Far across Hisui, a young man came to a similar decision, relieved the waiting was over. Two clan leaders sat poised before their pack of wardens, ready to join them and ready to let their minds slip away into the darkness where they might never be found again.

[sizhui]

hello clari i hope you’re doing well! how do you feel about rei’s ending in slow damage? i know a lot of people don’t like that he drops his femininity but i feel like his happy end is accepting the masculinity he spent so long denying and i was wondering what you think! ^-^

Hello, hellooooo! Ok (cracks my knuckles) ive been silent on slowdam for a while with some thoughts cooking in my head and i feel like its time to let a few of them out - to talk about how i feel about rei's route, i must first explain my understanding of slow damage in its entirety... i talked about it here and there to emery and dove but here comes a synthesis!

I warn you: this is only my unconventional analysis, and I think that many will find it unsatisfying and disagree. If anyone wants to discuss or criticize any of my points, i am open to having my mind changed.

Huge thanks to Renne who introduced me to Surodame and set me on the path of studying it!

Under the cut TW: rape, csa

Slow Damage is a story about the consequences and the cyclic nature of abuse. Abuse sticks its claws into you and rakes down, leaving behind four ditches - orderly in some cases, and more chaotic in others. Either way, even as the skin and flesh heal, there is now a generous amount of empty space in you, and Slow Damage poses a question - what will you fill it up with, hmm?

I went into this VN knowing only that Towa enjoys rather extreme forms of self harm, and I have to admit that this was precisely what captivated my attention at first - the promise of a severely damaged protagonist, and the hope that he is more than a run-of-the-mill masochist. I was not disappointed.

The extent to which towa relates injury to sex and pain to pleasure immediately made me suspect the sort of trauma he must have endured in childhood. For a moment, I thought: Isn't the solution to this mystery a little too obvious? Looking back at the lack of subtlety, though, I don't think that Towa being a CSA victim was supposed to be some kind of a grand reveal. The point wasn't in cracking the mystery, in understanding motivations and getting concrete answers - the point was observing onr case of the consequences of abuse that will tell us - no, ASK us - something about all of them. HOW does the thing that happened to Towa keep happening over and over, and in silence too? What mechanisms allow it to happen, and to stay hidden? What all sorts of people, some of them generally good and kind, participate in these mechanisms?

Let us retrace our steps.

Maya forced her own son into violent prostitution from a very young age, all the while teaching him how to use charms to his advantage, how to manipulate people and fulfill their desires in order to gain control over them. The WAY she taught those things methodically seems to insinuate that this was something she herself had been taught at a young age and passed on; the art of assuming the exact persona you need to prod into people's insides. This isn't to say that her actions classify as excusable - in fact, isn't the fact that she's putting her child through the horrors she experienced herself even more disgusting? I wonder if her lessons in human psychology were all for the self-obsessed purpose of turning her son into a copy of herself... or was she, in a twisted way, thinking it would hell him endure and rise the way that she did? I am going to let that question hang in the air - after all, the point of Surodame isn't to review individual motivations, but to ask questions about the grander scheme of things. That is precisely why I cried together with Towa upon reading the strangely frail account of Maya's diary: I just can't make this work... realizing that the slow-growing disease had spread beyond that mother-son duo, beyond the walls of Euphoria, beyond Shinkoumi... in every corner of the world, there are hundreds of Mayas and Towas, and millions upon millions of Silent Takus wondering what they could have done differently.

For starters I want to focus on Towa himself. When I think about him, the first phrase that comes to mind is 'a void filled with the dregs of abuse'. Though he himself doesn't remember his abuse throughout the first three routes, his every move is a reflection of it: every sexual encounter both a self-inflicted wound and an attempt to affirm: IT'S ME WHO CHOSE TO DO THIS TO MYSELF, which is why Towa's breakdown upon realizing that not even his scars are his own is especially painful. I like the choice of stating that Maya did not like nor understand art. She COULDN'T understand it. Though the penchant for uncovering people's dark desires and the ability to read them were all influenced by Maya, the instinct to paint those is Towa's. The art that almost died together with him was the one thing that belonged to him alone - and yet, there is comfort in the fact that the true route ends with him saying that he doesn't know whether he'll paint anymore or not. What matters is that he quit performing euphoric episodes, closed the cycle of abuse and perpetuating Maya's ideals, and began walking towards a peaceful life. The sight of the atelier in the main menu all clean and bright upon Towa's vision returning to normal made me strangely emotional; the reveal that the painting was never dark and muddy, that the atelier was never that dark and scary... the final tour around Shinkoumi with everyone telling Towa that he looks like something good had happened to him... at the end of a very painful road, Towa still found some comfort in existing.

But what of Fujieda? Of Madarame, of Rei, Taku? For a BLVN, isn't it strange to go 6 paragraphs deep without mentioning any of the love interests?

I will preface this by saying that, to me, the very point of Surodame lies in the fact that none of them are ultimately good boyfriends to Towa. I really wanted to interpret the actions of the three sans Madarame more charitably than I do now, but in reasoning with myself, I failed at every single attempt. They are, to varying degrees and each in their own way, a deadend.

Let's go route by route.

Murase Takuma is a kind man in a way Towa is not - this is driven into our heads from the start, he is a doctor. He cares for children, workers and the elderly. He even lends an ear to them outside of his responsibilities as their physician, overworking himself to the brink of death. His role as a caretaker of a hopeless, bleak person like Towa, an addict who is destructive towards both himself and others, can certainly be percieved as saintly. Even his actions of keeping Towa's past from him, burning letters and throwing away packages, were all for the sake of preserving Towa's sanity! However, though Taku's intentions are pure, I can't read them as benign. Well - he is probably the most benign of the four men Towa involves himself with, being the only one who never physically lashed out on him. Neither abuser nor victim, Taku is a third thing entirely - an observer. A hider, a savior, a carer... and at its core, though not intentionally, an enabler. I do agree that there was nothing Taku could have done to save Towa as a child. There just wasn't a way to take Towa away from Euphoria while Maya lived. I do believe that he did the best he could, patching Towa up time after time... staying throughout the years, changing the bedding, throwing out the liquor bottles. Eat something, Towa. Smoke less, Towa. Once Towa got a lot older, Taku grew to love him romantically. Though I find it unsavory, Towa is over twenty-five at this point so it's not really some big deal. The much more dreadful power imbalance than that in age is the fact that Taku is holding the entirety of Towa's past, his abuse, and his identity over his head. Once again, I'm not calling Taku out as a gaslighter here - not in this route, at least, since Towa had no interest in his true identity at this point anyway. But you can't deny that their happy ending - embracing under the cherry blossoms with a calmer, more mature looking Towa, his hair a clean black, an orderly cardigan billowing behind him - is a sort of a quiet misery. Taku loves the man he saved (raised?), the man who presumably quit painful sex for his sake, and Towa doesn't even know what it is that he's being saved from. Towa is a hole. I really might not have interpreted this ending so negatively if it wasn't for the scene of Taku showing Towa a photograph of him as a little child in a restaurant with his mother. This smiling child prostitute in an orderly little boys' getup, dining with his pimp mother and his future lover. It felt to me like a means of truly driving into our brains the extent of Taku's helplessness, delusion, failure, and LIES. The photograph is a fabricated reality, a fabricated happy past that he feeds to Towa. In this route, this is what Towa filled the ditch with - a daydream, and sweet vanilla sex that doesn't scratch his itch. I can't give them more than five years before Towa falls back into his old habits. The end.

Now we get to Rei, who you originally asked me about. I am sorry I dragged it out to this extent, but I truly can't talk about Rei alone without addressing the grand scheme of things. Rei is also a sort of a carer to Towa, though a more casual one. A friend friend rather than a dad friend, I say this with half a scowl hanging off my face. Let us review Rei's situation with gender - due to his toxic, abusive dad (who was also a child sex trafficker, might I add!) degrading him for his homosexuality and saying it made him less of a man, Rei developed an aversion to masculinity, speaking in onee-kotoba and growing out his hair and such. At some point he attempted to cut off his own penis in Towa's presence, but ended up hesitating and not going through. All in all, he decided to drop all things associated with traditional masculinity other than street fighting, which he uses to vent out his frustration. This is the key word here - FRUSTRATION. Rei's frustration grows to hundred percent when he is forced to enter to-the-death matches. Killing opponent after opponent, Rei grows more frustrated and less and less like his friendly effeminate self. I think the key solution to the question of 'how is the writing of rei's gender handled?' Is the fact that Rei rediscovered his masculinity through violence. And Slow Damage is not a game that... likes violence, encourages it, or overall relates it to anything remotely positive. I don't think that Rei reconnected to his masculinity in a healthy way, and I don't think it's meant to be read as a cool finding himself arc. Most of all, it's not his or Towa's happy ending. Towa... the thing is that Rei only realized a sexual attraction to Towa once the amount of violence in his life amplified to the max. As his level of 'manliness' grew. Their sex scene is very frank about this - after he and Towa beat each other into bloody pulp, he says something along the lines of 'I'm a man and I want to fuck you.' I think it drives the point further that he was the only virginal love interest to that point - when he percieved himself as a woman, he had no violent sexual appetites, or at least didn't see a way towards realizing them. Once he 'reverted' into a man though, he could fuck Towa. He could claim his prize - who has no objections, given that it feeds perfectly into his own penchant that I described at the start. And their ending, showing us a casually manly Rei biking with Towa? We have no proof that he's in any way abusive, nor that they're unhappy, but... this 'new gender' of his, he built it up with bricks made of blood, some of it Towa's. I don't think Rei reached a happy ending. I think Rei is a feminine person, or at the very least a gender nonconforming man who retreated back into the closet within the violent festa that his father brought upon him... many will disagree, but this is how I read it - a manhood built up on violence equals unhapliness for two. I think Towa and Rei might stay together longer than Towa and Taku would, but it won't bring either of them any healing. The end.

Madarame's route is the simplest, since Madarame does not hide himself behind any masks. He is a violent, shameless pedophile rapist who gladly continues paving the road of self-destruction that Maya had left off half-finished. I think that placing this ending behind Taku and Rei's serves as a bit of a wake up call who felt pacified by the former two - um, hey, hello? Did you forget? This is not a 'happy story'. For some three hours you watch Madarame break Towa psychologically, repeatedly rape and torture him - only to release him back to Taku and Rei for Towa to find that he can't truly fit im with them anymore. What purpose does it serve? Well, I think it just shows us that there never was any long-term happiness waiting for Towa with either of those men. I think the purpose of the Madarame route, beyond preparing us for the true route, is to totally nullify the effect of the first two. A 'forget what you thought you knew' type of detail. Broken into obedience, a wild blond Towa kissed Madarame after a boxing match. The end.

Fujieda.

He perplexes me the most, and I'm still not entirely certain in the answer I arrived to. Why would the author who penned this painfully real story about abuse have Towa end up with a man who - midway through the route - raped him? I tried to work wonders to explain this to myself, try to interpret it differently, but the truth is concrete. Fujieda raped Towa in a fit of rage, and then with a sober mind refused to apologise for it. Why would this be in a 'painfully real story about abuse?'

...precisely because it's painfully real. It happened to Towa. It happened to a million others. It might happen to you. When you hit your knee, do your fingers not venture to fondle the bruise, press down for a small reminder of what the pain felt like? The fingers are usually kind, but once in a while, they press down.

And again - Fujieda does not consistently abuse Towa. In fact, he gives him his first taste of truly pleasurable sex in a scene that pushed me to the brink of tears in its sad honesty. When Fujieda has a good day, he gently washes the remnants of assault out of Towa. But when he had an extremely bad way, he was the perpetrator of the assault. I think it's 'painfully real' for Towa to end up with such a man. After coming to terms with his past, this was the best he could do. This was as much as he could save himself. The VN ends on such a note - don't be too happy for him, and don't be too sad. I do believe that Fujieda brought Towa some comfort and clarity, but I can't say that this isn't a deadend, too. Just a more peaceful one in the light. In the ocean.

What's the point then, if Towa ends up stranded no matter what choices you make? Let's return to the beginning, to the ditch abuse made in you. Sometimes you fill it in with fantasies, sometimes with violence, sometimes with the 'next best thing', a 'he's a good man you know, he's only rough when he drinks' typa marriage... no matter what, fact is that all abused kids seek to fill it in with something familiar. Something they know and recognize. It yearns to be filled, it aches for it - whatever you're ready to dish out, just put it in! I think this merry-go-round of victims and perpetrators is what Surodame is tryong to turn our eyes towards, or at least force us to stop averting them. So that you may not scorn the Towa in your life, so that if you are a Towa yourself, you may find comfort in knowing that someone somewhere dreemed you up, empathized with you and lead your hand along the path. Why, then, do we not see our Towa free?

Well, the future is long. He was in an ocean. Maybe he walked out.