#i would never be normal again if he got the 3* instead of kaito

[lovely-showtimes]

new wxs event soon ... manifesting ocean-themed cards again & also tsukasa has a 4* in it because i want an ocean-themed tsukasa card DESPERATELY

[archived-gtronpa-account]

I’d love to see a giant!Shuichi with Kaito and Maki. Perhaps a modified training time?

Absolutely! This is one of the top 3 asks that's been in the inbox and I'm a little sad it took so long to deliver, hope you all enjoy either way!

____

Word count: 1500

Summary: Kaito drags Maki far from school for training. She already isn't fond of training itself, but she likes it even less so when a dangerous individual joins them tonight.

____

It hadn't crossed Maki's thoughts that as a space enthusiast, Kaito would know the best spots for stargazing. But as he lead her through the dark depths of the woods, she thought it was the only reasonable explanation.

"We're almost there, just a little longer," the boy tugged her hand and walked ahead, leading the way as if she could somehow get lost on her own. She didn't retreat her hand, though.

Soon enough, they reached what Maki guessed was a clearing, exceptionally clear of trees too; a stark contrast to the thick woods they'd walked through with its closely-knit trees. Kaito cupped his hands and called out in the air, "Hey, Shuichi! Look who I brought."

She followed his eyes up towards the sky. Her mind blanked when she didn't see the starry sky but rather two moons- no; a pair of eyes peering down at her. The longer she stared, the clearer the shape of a head followed the eyes, likely taller than her whole, and the more she felt the nerves in her brain tangle up.

"Kaito!" She breathed out, in unison with whatever monstrosity hid in the shadows. The voice made her step back despite her best effort not to.

"Relax you t- Whoa whoa whoa whoa, hey! What's this?" Kaito pointed an accusatory finger at her. She followed his glare and found a knife in her fist she hadn't realized she'd grabbed. She wouldn't drop it, though.

"Kaito, you didn't tell me we would- you didn't tell me about this." She pointed with her knife at the giant- human- thing that stood a good thirty meters above her head. "Of course I'll bring something to defend myself if you bring me into your death traps all the times." She grabbed his arm and dragged him back on their track.

"Hold on, he's an okay guy, trust me! We train together every night and I thought you two could become good friends so that's why-" a sharp yank made him stumble forward and silenced him. She hurried on before she could feel any tremors following them.

"An okay guy? Do you hear yourself? That's what I mean by deathtraps, you can't make the entire world into your own big friend group." She replayed his words in her mind and sucked in a sharp breath. "How long have you been coming here? You're not meeting that- whatever again."

Maki felt a hand fall on her shoulder to make her halt, or at least attempt to. She only stopped to glance back at taller (but at least human) boy, still more focused on their surroundings.

"Why can't you trust me? Shuichi is a good guy and my friend. You could try to see for yourself, but if you won't then you can leave and I won't stop you." Before she could reply, he slipped from her grip and walked back.

The crazy moron. He surely didn't have anything to defend himself besides his fists and speeches. If anything happened to him she would be left alone to deal with the aftermath. Knowing him, no amount of force or reasoning would change his mind. Maki felt like tearing her hair off, but instead, she followed after him and made sure to smack the back of his head when she caught up.

"You'll regret this," she kept a firm grip on the knife under her skirt. Kaito only gave her a bright grin and didn't reply.

Once back to square one, it took a moment for the impossibly large face to appear above them again, half-hidden behind thick leaves.

"Kaito, this is a bad idea, you should let her leave." Maki watched the boy move and talk. Nothing looked odd about his face or behaviour, nor his speech. How strange it felt to look at someone so normal-looking, only scaled up to tower over her.

"How is this bad? He invited me to train, so I'll stay." Time crawled by before the being stepped out and sat across from her. Somehow assigning a body to the head made it less freakish, if only a bit.

He lifted his hand, and rather than grabbing her he only gave a feeble wave. "Besides Kaito I never got anyone to stay long enough to converse. Humans usually run away when they see me, so I don't know what to say... But hi, I don't bite." Kaito moved beside the giant... and gave him a pat on the knee.

"Well, this didn't go so bad, now did it?" Two glares settled heavy on the boy, and he audibly gulped. "R-Right. Anyway, it's fifty push-ups and sit-ups for today, and no slacking off." Kaito took his coat off and got to work right then. The girl looked up at the giant boy and he stared back; both looked at Kaito, blatantly ignorant or blissfully unaware of his absurdity. They followed his suit.

Maki finished the 'training' in a breeze. "I'm done," she didn't wait for a reply before stepping back to lean on a tree and watch over the duo. Kaito lay on his back without a care for push-ups, but Maki was more interested in the giant moving in what seemed like awkward warm-ups.

Even his smallest movement sent tremors under her threatened to make her lose balance. More than once did his feet get stuck between two trees, bending them and breaking twigs in dozens with only a twitch of his limb. Anytime he caught her peeking, his face would flush and he would look away, as would she. Kaito was as crazy as she'd judged seeing how close he stayed to 'Shuichi', who at least did try to keep his distance. What stupidy did he have stored in his brain, if he could stand to be so close to a guy so tall a flick of his fingers could snap his spine?

"I'm really glad you two met. Training with two people separately every night was starting to wear me out... Forget I said that." Kaito held his hand up to the sky and formed different angles with his fingers. Maki wondered which constellations he was looking at; she also wondered how training could tire him out when he always ended up stargazing halfway through.

The- Shuichi (the name left a strange aftertaste in her throat) abandoned training as well in favour of laying down on his stomach and laying his head down in crossed arms much too close to Kaito, who didn't acknowledge him. She had to wonder just how long the two had known each other; Kaito could make a week-long friendship feel like a lifelong one.

"Maki, right?" The voice startled her enough to flinch. She re-tightened her grip on her knife and looked at the giant boy, acknowledging him with a short nod. "Kaito's told me a bit about you.'

"He did? What did he say?" The idea of her conversations being laid bare to a stranger made her hair stand on its ends. She took a couple steps closer to the two boys.

"Nothing too interesting, the usual 'I'll befriend her whether she likes it or not' that he says about everyone. I only remember your name since he kept bringing it up." Large hazel eyes drifted to Kaito's resting form, pensive. "There was something you kept saying, too. What was it...?"

"Hey, not cool!" Kaito's eyes shot open, "You can't reveal the private stuff-" His face bumped into the giant's nose, silencing him.

"I remember now!" His hand came towards Kaito. Whatever he was about to say or do, Maki would never know, as she charged for his hand and ran her knife through its palm.

"Maki!" An arm reached around her waist and pulled her away. She turned around and found something almost hurt in the boy's expression that made her mind stop for a second, before looking him up and down and reminding herself she was responsible for his safety.

"No, it's fine. Being around me takes some getting used to." She glanced back at Shuichi, who kept his hand on the ground, as if hiding his scar in embarrassment. She would have liked to at least see her work. "Do me a favour, though, and don't ever aim for my eyes or something, 'cause that would end badly," He got up and stepped back away from them, but she swore there was a threatening hint in his tone.

Silence stretched on as the two underwent a stare-down, with Kaito stuck in-between and stuttering to sort the situation out. "Ah- look, it's getting late. We should get going. See ya, Shuichi."

"Right. Good night, Kaito," And when she turned around to leave, certain he would ignore her (and glad if he did), "I'll look forward to seeing you again, Maki."

She didn't reply and kept going forward. Kaito soon caught up to her. "I didn't know you were the scaredy type. Anyway, this didn't go as bad as I thought... if only you could put that knife away. Wh-Where'd you even get that? Anyway, you're coming tomorrow?"

A frown tugged at her lips, and she was quick to pull it back. She still had to come to make sure Shuichi wouldn't try anything. "We'll see."

[elyvorg]

Anonymous asked:

i was wondering, how different do you think it would it be if Kaede had remained the protagonist, and Shuichi had been the one to die in chapter 1? do you think she and Kaito would have become as close friends as Shuichi and him did, or would their dynamic be too different for it to happen? i mean, i can't see her becoming his sidekick lol anyways love your blog and your analysis <3

[Got this ask over on my commentary blog but answering it here, partly because nothing about the ask or my answer to it is commentary-specific and it reads more like one of my AU posts, and partly because this ended up being Rather Long, even for my ask-reply standards, and readmores don't work on asks on my commentary blog's theme.]

  In general, I love to imagine Kaede and Kaito hypothetically being friends! They are both so good and so similar and so selflessly focused on supporting and encouraging everyone around them with little heed to their own wellbeing that it just feels right that they should be friends with each other if given the chance.

And because of how similar they are, I like to think that the friendship they’d have would be very healthy and beneficial for both of them. They’d be equals – and more than that, they’d able to keep each other’s selflessness in check. Each of them would worry more about the other than themselves and therefore notice how self-destructively selfless the other can be and advise them to look after themselves more. Through this, they’d both have no choice but to realise just how similarly too-selfless they themselves can be and that maybe this isn’t always a good thing. They’d come to a mutually-supportive agreement of “I’ll try to look after myself more, so long as you promise to look after yourself more, too.” It would be so good!

But, well, that’s the most ideal scenario. The problem is, even without the stress of the killing game, Kaito is really not great at making friends outside of his sidekick thing – and Kaede is not a potential sidekick. In UTDP, Kaede and Kaito somehow aren’t properly friends with each other despite having a mutual friend in Shuichi, which makes me sad. (I don’t know why Shuichi never tried to do anything about this and get his two best friends to befriend each other as well; come on, Shuichi.)

In canon, Kaito clearly really wanted to befriend Kaede during chapter 1, but asking her for a hug out of nowhere was extremely not the best way to go about it. And on Kaede’s end, she appreciated Kaito being on her side but otherwise seemed to wholly underestimate him and not realise how amazing a person he is. All she saw from him in chapter 1 were his unfulfilled promises of being the kind of hero who can Get Shit Done – because Kaede herself was already filling the role of luminary-hero and preventing Kaito from really shining as much as he could.

So, would they actually have been able to reach that ideal mutually-supportive friendship if Kaede had continued to live, despite the stress of the killing game and their respective issues? Let’s break this down!

Chapter 2-ish

Kaede would be pretty torn up by Shuichi’s death in this AU (and his crime, for that matter – if Shuichi died instead of her then presumably it’s because he was the one who tried to kill the mastermind and missed). But she’s more emotionally resilient than Shuichi, so she’d be better at dealing with it than he was in the reverse scenario.

Naturally, realising that she’s bound to be having a hard time with the events of the first trial, Kaito would reach out to Kaede, much like he did for Shuichi at the beginning of chapter 2. He’d check in on her, making sure she’s all right, passing on his own experience in dealing with grief that she presumably doesn’t have. But as resilient as Kaede is, that’d be all she’d need. She’d have been able to bounce back and continue to do her best to lead and encourage everyone, without needing any more targeted action from Kaito. He wouldn’t have needed to invite her to training and make her into his sidekick.

Still, Kaito would keep letting Kaede know that he believes in her, that he’s on her side, that all the encouraging and rallying she's been doing is great and she shouldn't let what happened with Shuichi, nor any of Kokichi's anti-cooperation bullshit, discourage her from continuing. With how she’d have needed to hear something like this after Shuichi’s trial, Kaede would probably come to realise more than before how good Kaito is. Kaito would definitely have stood up for Shuichi in his trial, too, just like he did in canon for Kaede, and Kaede would likely have noticed and appreciated that from him.

But even so, they’d be more like just friendly allies at this point, rather than anything approaching close personal friends. Again, Kaito is really bad at making friends with people unless he can make them his sidekick first.

Chapter 3-ish

Maki might end up being a big turning point in all this. Her talent would still have been revealed one way or another, Kaito would still have believed in her and sidekicked her, and she’d still have agreed to it. None of that needed Shuichi around to happen.

Kaede, as lovely as she is, would have also got the sense that Maki is a fundamentally good person and not wanted to just write her off as a dangerous monster like everyone else was trying to. So she’d have really admired what Kaito was doing for Maki and come to see from that, if she still hadn’t already, exactly what an amazing person Kaito is. After all, Kaede would have wanted to help Maki herself but been somewhat less able to do so than Kaito. She’s not quite as stubbornly persistent as him (because literally no-one is), and she doesn’t make quite such an overt point of being there to support people through their issues, both of which are things Maki needed for Kaito to get through to her.

Perhaps, seeing how Kaede also cared about helping Maki, Kaito would have invited her to Maki’s second training session, too, not precisely for Kaede’s sake but so that she could also help Maki? …Though that would be when Kaito’s phobia was beginning to be a thing, damn it, thanks a bunch, Tsumugi. Maybe instead, Kaede sees that Kaito isn't well and worries about - well, about Kaito, but also about how Maki will do without him. So Kaede starts talking to and helping Maki in Kaito’s absence, she and Maki become friends that way, and then maybe when Kaito is back to normal they become something of a trio and Kaede does get roped into training with them? I want to imagine that happening, and this is a way it could feasibly happen, so shush, we’re going with this.

Reminder: Kaito has issues

At this point I need to point out the fact that Kaito would absolutely be jealous of Kaede. I’m pretty damn sure he already canonically was chapter 1. Kaede was all the things that Kaito values in a person and strives to be himself, but apparently better at it than him.

…Though, really, it’s less that she was better at it and more just that Kaito’s inability to control his emotions meant that Kaede got the chance to start encouraging and rallying everyone together first. Kaito might have been able to realise initially that that’s the only reason for Kaede overshadowing him. But because that’s not what it looks like on the surface, it would be very easy for him to forget that as time went on, especially as he started feeling weaker and more useless himself thanks to his illness.

And, consider: in this AU, Kaede didn’t kill anyone. In canon, seeing that she’d grown desperate enough and weak enough to resort to murder probably shattered Kaito’s idealised image of her a little bit and made her realise she was still human. But here, there’d be none of that. She’d have had some vague, nebulous insecurities here and there after the tunnel thing and Shuichi’s death, but those mostly didn’t affect anything and would be very easy for Kaito to forget had ever happened at all. Just like he did with Shuichi’s much more noticeable weaknesses.

What I’m saying here is that not only would Kaito be jealous of Kaede, but he’d come to see her as an invincible hero, rather like he did for Shuichi but without her paradoxically also being his sidekick at the same time.

(He maybe wouldn’t idolise her quite as much, since she wouldn’t be as obviously super-competent in the trials like Shuichi was – the impact of a luminary rather than an action hero is a lot harder to notice. But Kaito would notice her impact, all the same. He notices the impact of everyone except himself.)

Chapter 4-ish

Despite the fact that he’d be idolising her like this, would Kaito try to sidekick Kaede anyway in an attempt to feel important and needed and more associated with her success as his illness gets worse? I think he might, sort of. Making her his sidekick is actually something he brought up in his FTEs with Kaede in chapter 1! He let it slide when she brushed him off, but still, the fact that he suggested it at all says a lot. He has to have known she didn’t really need his support, but all the same, in chapter 1 he was desperately floundering around without a sidekick or any way to feel important in this deadly situation, which came through just a little bit there.

Here in chapter 4-ish, Kaito would have Maki as a sidekick to let him feel like he’s making a difference to at least someone, but otherwise his illness would still be breaking him down and making him feel weak and useless. He’d be just as desperate to compensate for that as he was in canon chapter 4. And maybe, if Kaede really had joined the trio – and if she’d been helping Maki in Kaito’s place during his phobia-driven absence – it would be all too easy for Kaito to feel like Maki didn’t need him and would have been just as well off with Kaede alone.

It would probably be quite easy for Kaito to subtly shift his behaviour towards Kaede from “you’re here to help me help Maki” into “you’re here because you’re totally my sidekick and also need me too, right,” as his co-dependency gets worse. Which on the one hand probably would be helpful for Kaede, because she’d probably be pushing herself quite hard to keep supporting everyone at this point and shouldn’t be carrying that burden alone. But on the other hand, this wouldn’t exactly be the healthiest reason for Kaito to be doing this.

Of course, Kaito’s reasons for doing this would all be pretty subtle, partly because Kaito doesn’t want anyone to know he has issues, and partly because even he isn’t really that consciously aware of how he needs to be needed. But it would probably be more noticeable with Kaede than it was with Shuichi, in which Shuichi was already officially Kaito’s sidekick and was supposed to need his support (since the part where Kaito increasingly felt like he didn’t was mostly happening in Kaito’s head). And even in canon with Shuichi, Kaito’s attempts to insist that Shuichi totally needed his advice, right did get rather noticeably aggressive in his final FTE.

So, maybe Kaede would notice what’s going on with Kaito. See, on the one hand, she’s not nearly as perceptive as Kaito is, so I don’t think she’d have been able to pick up on his illness on her own like other people might have if they’d been close to him. But if Kaito was being this needily co-dependent towards her, I feel like Kaede might just be able to spot it and realise that the root of this behaviour is some kind of insecurity on his end.

She wouldn’t be able to automatically equate this to “he’s literally dying”, but it’d be something – something she could call him out on and nag him about and ask him what’s wrong and offer to help. Kaede’s not as perceptive as Kaito, but she is pretty persistent in wanting to help with others’ personal problems once she’s noticed them, because she has that same kind of supportiveness as Kaito himself. So maybe she wouldn’t drop it even as Kaito inevitably told her that, what, no, he’s totally fine.

Kaito actually admitting it???

Still, I don’t think Kaede’s persistence and supportiveness would quite be enough on its own, because she’s still not perceptive enough to figure out the problem without being told what it is. I think Kaito would have to meet her halfway and willingly open up to her about what he’s going through.

But… if it’s to Kaede, maybe that actually would be possible, more than it ever was with Shuichi and Maki in canon. With less of an image to live up to as only Maki’s “hero”, and having never really thought of Kaede as his sidekick for whom he has those same expectations to fulfil, admitting to his vulnerability should be at least a little bit easier for Kaito. And Kaede would be right there as someone he knows he can trust and turn to for support, because she’s been doing such a great job of supporting everybody else. She’s already a hero to him.

This wouldn’t even be about Kaede saving his life, either. It never even crossed Kaito’s mind that telling someone about his illness would potentially save him, because the obvious resulting path of everyone rallying to escape in order to not lose him is something he’d never have imagined. Other people risking their lives for his sake? Nope, that’s backwards, that doesn’t exist in Kaito’s head. Shuichi was a hero to him, but even so, he had no idea that Shuichi could have literally saved his life.

Kaede’s not an action-oriented kind of hero like Shuichi was, though; she’s a luminary. What she does for other people is support them emotionally, helping them believe in themselves and feel stronger. Kaito may be convinced that he’s not surviving this, but that’s not what he’d expect Kaede to do for him anyway. Talking to Kaede about what he’s going through should help him feel at least a little bit less scared and helpless about his impending death. During some of those lonely nights in which he can barely sleep due to his illness and doesn’t have anything to distract himself from how awful he’s feeling, maybe he’d realise that Kaede’s support could help ease this at least a little.

Perhaps most of all, Kaito would have less to lose if he confides in Kaede and admits that he needs her support right now. With Shuichi, Kaito had built up this image of himself as the invincible hero whom Shuichi definitely relies on, and he was clinging to that as the source of most of his self-worth even as he increasingly felt it was all just an illusion. Admitting that really he’s the one who needs Shuichi would have shattered that supposed illusion and left him with nothing to cling to, and there’s no way he’d have willingly done that. But with Kaede, there isn’t nearly as much of an illusion of that in the first place, especially if she’d already been nagging Kaito to open up and offering her support.

Kaito would also have less to lose in the sense that he only has one sidekick to potentially let down, instead of two. In fact, this’d be less than half as bad. For one, there’s always the option of confiding in Kaede privately and making her promise not to tell Maki so he can avoid “failing” her at all. And even with that, he’d know there’d still be a risk of Maki finding out anyway – but, if it’s Maki, and not Shuichi, that’s perhaps not so bad. What Kaito has going with Maki as his sidekick is much less of an illusion to him. It’s clearer that Maki really does need him, so maybe, even if Maki ends up finding out about all of his weaknesses, he can still at least do something for her and not be a complete and total failure, maybe?

(Also, I should point out that if Kaito did confide in Kaede while making her promise not to tell Maki, Kaede would immediately tell him that that’s stupid. Obviously Maki will still be inspired by him and care about him even if she knows what he’s going through! Kaede would settle on, “since you trusted me with this, I won’t tell Maki – but you should,” and keep giving Kaito pointed nagging glances every time the three of them were together until he caved.)

A better chance than normal, at least!

I maaaay have kind of nudged this AU into the direction of Kaito learning to accept support and surviving, because this is a Me Post and I always want things to end up there if it’s even remotely feasible. And realistically, I probably shouldn’t be saying that this would definitely happen. At the end of the day, it’s still Kaito, and he is still so instinctively averse to talking about his issues of his own volition.

But I really do think that it’s at least significantly more possible that Kaito might have bitten the bullet and talked about things willingly than it ever was in canon when Shuichi was there instead of Kaede, which is pretty fascinating. It’s not even specifically because of how good and supportive Kaede is, though that obviously helped quite a bit.

Rather, this thought experiment essentially just led me to the conclusion that Shuichi being alive – him in particular, not anybody else – is one of the factors that killed Kaito. And that’s heartbreaking. But it’s also probably kind of true?

Shuichi happened to show Kaito a paradoxical combination of traits. He was somebody who really obviously needed Kaito’s support (at first) and whom Kaito therefore officially and firmly took on as his sidekick, thus setting up all those expectations as a hero who Must Not Fail Him. Yet at the same time, Shuichi was someone Kaito very quickly began to see as heroically invincible, to the point that he felt like the only way for him to match up to that and still be worthy of calling Shuichi his sidekick and keep being needed and not fail him was to somehow be even more invincible than Kaito already usually feels like he needs to be. There was no way he was ever going to willingly admit to anything approaching weakness in that state, to an even worse extent than his already-messed-up standards.

Meanwhile, with Kaede, Kaito would still see her as something of an invincible hero – but she was never also an obvious sidekick whom Kaito cannot afford to let down by admitting that he’s the one who needs her. And then there’s Maki, who very obviously does need him and is an official sidekick of his – but he doesn’t also see her as invincible in any way like for Kaede and Shuichi, so maybe it wouldn’t matter quite as much to her sidekickhood if Kaito admits he isn’t invincible either.

With Kaede and Maki, one would be a hero to him and one a sidekick, but neither of them would be both at once like Shuichi was. That was the thing that really broke Kaito and made it so completely inconceivable for him to admit what he was going through.

(And, geez, please don’t ever tell Shuichi this. It is not remotely his fault, just a result of the way Kaito’s issues responded to him, but you know Shuichi would blame himself and aaaaa. God I love Kaito’s delightful self-destructive issues and his messed-up relationship with his best friend.)

[the-black-birb]

2. Rekindle [Futakuchi]

Pairing: Futakuchi x Reader

Summary: Futakuchi isn't ready to see you again, but that's not stopping him.

Warnings: foul language, divorced parents, mentions of alcohol and gambling

A/N: thank you miyu for helping me come up with names and my beautiful beta readers for fixing my dumb mistakes <3

pt 1 . [pt. 2] . pt 3

The apprehension of seeing you only sunk in when Futakuchi stood in front of your door, bag at his side and knuckles just about to knock.

He’d spent the past week masterfully avoiding the thought of you. When asked his weekend plans he’d simply deflect (“I’ve got a hot date-” “Oh? Nice, dude!” “-with my volleyball.”) and any time he spent home alone was easily able to distract himself by diving into a new TV show. Effective? Yes. Healthy? Probably not.

But all of that work was for naught because he was still standing here, exactly two o’clock (because although he was never particularly punctual, he was never late when it came to you) standing in front of your door like a fool. His knuckles were turning white with how tightly he was holding his fist. He stared at the red plastic in his hand, adorned with a familiar logo. Why did I buy this? He bemoaned. It was from your favorite ramen restaurant, three blocks away from his home. Why couldn’t I have just gotten something chill like fast food?

Well, it was too late now and every second he wasted the ramen was getting colder. He raised his hand again to knock on your door.

Am I overdressed? He was wearing jeans (fancier than usual, for him) and a pair of beat-up sneakers. He definitely wasn’t giving off “reliable boyfriend” vibes that he was sure he’d need for his upcoming escapade (but did he ever?). Too bad, he couldn’t exactly go home and change.

He raised his hand again to knock.

What if-

“Kenji!”

Futakuchi almost jumped out of his skin when he turned to stare at you, bewildered. You had a wire basket propped against your hip as you stared up at him with a glowing smile. You looked so relaxed it almost got his grip to loosen before he remembered, right, you’re still his ex and this is still incredibly bizarre. But he’d grown in the past few years, and he wasn’t ready to let you unravel him just yet.

“[F/N],” he replied with a lazy drawl. “You’re looking comfortable.” He eyed her up and down, taking in the view. Your getup was simple, a college hoodie pulled over a pair of tight running shorts, but in all the time he’d spent dating you he’d never seen you wear something so cozy. Your mother cared a lot about keeping up appearances, and so even for casual dates, you’d always dress to the nines.

It was a nice change of pace.

“Give me a break, it’s laundry day,” you huffed at him, shooing him away from your apartment door to open it. Futakuchi followed you inside, taking in all of his surroundings.

He hadn’t ever visited you before (he hadn’t even spoken to you!) but the instant he walked in he was shaken to the core with familiarity. Everything screamed you. The art hanging on the walls, the color of the pillow, even the smell of sage made the apartment feel like home. 

Frankly, it made him anxious. Even if you were allowing him inside and letting him sit next to you on the couch, he wasn’t your boyfriend anymore. He wasn’t allowed to indulge in this.

The silence between you makes Futakuchi uncomfortable so he panders, wondering what will catch your attention. “I brought ramen,” he offered, holding up the bag for you to see.

Immediately, your eyes lit up. Guess she recognizes it. 

“Kenji, you shouldn’t have!” you jest, but it doesn’t stop you from grabbing at his hands, eager to get to your lunch. Futakuchi is quietly relieved that it, in fact, is not awkward to bring his ex-girlfriend her favorite food of all time. Glad he got that cleared up.

You start on your food with haste, barely even taking the time to whisper a quiet “thank you for the food,” before you’re chowing down. Futakuchi supposes you don’t have much time to travel the half-hour to the restaurant just for a quick bite, but at least you could’ve warmed it up, right? Whatever, he rolls his eyes, putting it out of his mind.

“Do you even taste it?” he wonders aloud as you devour your meal. You look up at him accusingly but your glare is balanced out by the puff of your cheeks from all the food you’ve stuffed in it. Futakuchi can’t hold back his laughter as your face heats up, but it doesn’t stop you from slurping loudly.

“I can.”

Slurp.

“And it tastes delicious.”

Slurp.

“Is that a problem?”

You swallow the last of it, wiping your face with the back of your hand and looking once again at Futakuchi. Though your eyes are cunning (they’ve always made Futakuchi feel like you were seeing through him rather than what he wanted you to see), they are also familiar and Futakuchi vainly tries to ignore the ache in his chest when he locks eyes with you. Instead, he tries to focus on another part of your face. Your nose, maybe, or your lips (no, definitely not the lips) before he settles on a speck on your cheek.

“Missed a spot,” Futakuchi teases, reaching forward to wipe a pit of garnish from your cheek. It’s only when he’s already pulled back and sees the way your eyes clouded over that he thinks maybe it’s a bad idea to immediately be touching the face of his ex-girlfriend.

Before he has time to apologize or at least look embarrassed, you’ve rushed to your feet and are smiling in a way that doesn’t quite meet your eyes. “I’ll grab some tea,” you insist, taking your dishes out of your living room.

As you leave, Futakuchi lets out a sigh he doesn’t know he was holding in and relaxes against your couch. The two of you ended on good terms, he reminds himself, so any tension should be the normal residual worry from not seeing a friend in a long time, right? That’s got to be it, he assures himself until you’re walking in the room again, right in front of him.

And those shorts really are tight and they hug you in the best way possible. They’re short, too, and he wonders if you turn just slightly if he’ll be able to see the strawberry-shaped birthmark on your right-

“My eyes are here, Kenji,” you tease. To his surprise, the possibility of friendly banter has Futakuchi letting down his guard. Friendly banter means the two of you can still exist side by side, without this awkward wall.

Although, there’s nothing friendly about the thoughts of you clouding his mind.

You sit beside him and sip on your tea, offering some to him. He accepts, gingerly taking the cup into his palms. Somehow, everything in your house feels fragile to him.

He sees you swallow and sit up straighter so he follows suit, preparing for the worst, but your words don’t come. For the first time since you called him, he considers the fact that you’re just as nervous about this as he is.

“So,” he decides to try and ease the palpable tension. “How’s the family? Still dysfunctional?” You’d always be painfully honest with him about your ‘situation,’ and he hoped the years you spent apart wouldn’t change that.

You let out a dry chuckle and he feels his shoulders ease. “Kaito,” that’s your brother if he recalls correctly. “Is ridiculously happy. His fiance is a keeper, that’s for sure.” Despite this, there’s something in your expression that says you’re not happy at all. He’s not sure if it’s the way your lips pressed together to make a fine line or the way your brows furrow just slightly, but he gets the feeling that you’re not exactly comfortable thinking about marriage.

“And I’m glad he found that special person for him. But now that the focus is off him, my mother keeps nudging me about tying the knot.”

Bullseye. 

He knows you never really got along with your mother. She kept custody of you and your brother during the divorce, but you’d always held a grudge against her for ending the marriage so abruptly. “They weren’t meant to be, she told me!” you used to shout. “How can there be any meant to be if you don’t even fucking work for it?”

“And that’s where you come in,” you finish, looking at Futakuchi, eyes full of equal parts hope and fear. He simply nods, letting you continue. He wasn’t planning on taking his eyes off of you for a second.

“You don’t need to stick around after the wedding I just need a convincing date so they can ask me about things that matter, like my job and life, instead of who I’m sleeping with,” you try to make an expression that says Futakuchi should laugh as you joke, but the way your hands twist in your lap and your feet keep moving says otherwise.

“I’m not going to run away on you,” Futakuchi assures, placing an affectionate pat on your head. “Just tell me what I need to know.” He doesn’t know why he’s so calm all of a sudden, all of his nerves receding. He supposes seeing you all wound up distracted him from his own worries. Besides, it’s not like this will really hurt either of you.

“So, we need to make sure our stories are the same in case they start asking nosy questions,” you smile and even though you don’t say it everything about you radiates a quiet thank you to Futakuchi’s comforting presence. His lips tug up at the corners.

“What kind of questions?” Futakuchi smirks and he swears he sees your eyes dart away from his before settling in the couch to face him fully.

“What do we do on weekends for dates?” you ask, matching his playful tone.

“Have hot passionate sex,” Futakuchi suggests.

You hit him in the arm playfully, but your smile only grows. “Only after you win volleyball matches,” you counter.

Futakuchi raises an eyebrow at you. “How do you know I still play volleyball.” He gasps mockingly. “Have you been stalking me?” He pretends to forget that after you called him (but before he tried to avoid you), he checked your Instagram and Twitter for the first time in months

“What else would be doing, captain,” you quip, a clever look in your eye that Futakuchi could never forget. He pretends to live in a world where the way you say ‘captain’ doesn’t get him hot under the collar.

“Well don’t you have me all figured out, sugarcube,” is his reply before he stops and his playful act stops. “Am I allowed to call you sugarcube?” In the heat of the moment, he forgets he was supposed to keep all his insecure questions about what is alright to do with an ex-girlfriend to himself and says it out loud for the both of you to ponder.

You got the nickname before he knew anything about your family. At the time, he thought the massive amounts of sugar you put in your tea were because you wanted to die young, and not because the bitter taste reminded you too much of the coffee your dad would sometimes let you drink from his mug when you were younger. In his moment of recollection, Futakuchi also realizes you’ve gotten out of the habit and seem to have put a normal amount of sugar in the tea you’re drinking, to his surprise.

“You probably should,” you settle on, snapping Futakuchi out of his trance. “Wouldn’t it be weird if you didn’t?” Futakcuhi nods, your whole family knew he called you that.

“So who’s going to be at the wedding?” he asks, racking his brain with all the relatives of yours he’s met. One of the (incredibly minor) perks of dating someone with divorced parents was that he got to celebrate three Christmases, one with his parents, another with your mother, and the final one with your father (although he only ever got you for the day after Christmas, he made sure to celebrate like there was no tomorrow). But all the different celebrations also meant the privilege of meeting practically everyone in your family.

You sigh at his questions, and he wonders who could be so bad to get that sort of reaction out of you. Your Aunt Fuyumi? Or maybe your cousin Sora?

“Everyone,” you moan and Futakuchi almost does a spit take.

“Everyone?” he repeats.

You nod your head somberly. “Kaito’s fiance wanted a big wedding and he didn’t know how to say no. It’s going to be chaos,” you whine.

“It’s going to be world war three,” Futakuchi agrees. “I mean, can Makoto and Touma even stand being in the same room as each other?” They were your uncles from opposite sides of the family and after the divorce and one casino trip gone haywire, they were constantly at each other’s throats. You shook your head defeatedly, mumbling a tiny no.

“And Yui-” She was your aunt on your mother’s side but you’d never dare refer to her as such. “Has finally stopped drinking, so don’t be around her with wine,” you explained. You went on to list more uncertainties to be aware and Futakuchi racked all of them away in the back of his mind. He didn’t really mind, it was like gossiping in high school, but with your relatives. Most of what you said he’d already known, anyways, and it seemed to simply help you get it off your chest.

“And finally,” you sighed. “We’re going to have to explain why we’re dating again.” Fake dating, Futakuchi wants to correct you so as not to get his own hopes up, but he doesn’t want to disturb your flow. “They all knew we split up. They were disappointed.” So was I, Futakuchi swallows his words. You two left each other on good terms.

“You came to one of my matches?” Futakuchi suggests and at this point, the two of you have relaxed to the point where you’re lying on either side of the couch, legs a tangled mess.

For the first time since you mentioned your family, your whole face lights up and you shoot up, shocking Futakuchi enough that he almost falls over. “And we fell in love all over again!” He almost wishes it were true. “Perfect!”

Your smile is wide as the two of you work out the details. How you’d watched one of his games, saw him, and knew immediately you needed to contact him. How he’d run for an hour in the pouring rain and thunderstorms (“Do we need to include the rain and thunder? We’re making me desperate, not stupid.” “They already know you’re stupid, Kenji.”) just to see you when you called. And finally, the passionate lovemaking that ensued-

“They don’t need to know about that!” You laughed unhindered and it was the first time that day that you’d look fully and completely like the girl he knew in high school, a little scared and worried but unafraid to live nonetheless.

“That should cover all our bases,” Futakuchi sighed when you’d covered every possible detail that your family could care about. “Now, what color are you wearing?”

You looked at him curiously. “Purple, why?” Had you forgotten he was your date?

“I need to match you,” he says it so seriously that you can’t help from bursting into a fit of giggles, again.

“This isn’t prom!” you exclaim. “Just dress nice.” Despite your assurance, he remembers your mother once again, always concerned with keeping up appearances and dressing your best. He gave you a pointed look.

“I’ll give you a fabric patch so you can get a matching hanky but don’t go insane,” you sigh, standing up to head to your room.

As the reality of what he’s doing sinks in, Futakuchi almost wants to laugh. It’s like those shitty rom-coms you would make him watch where two people end up pretending to date for their own reasons. Except, he was certain there was no falling in love at the end of this road and no magical moment where he’d realize he didn’t want this to be fake at all.

After all, he already knew that.

When you came back with the fabric, he was quick to dismiss himself. “It’s getting late,” he insisted, but it sounded more to him like I’m getting attached. He hadn’t asked if you two would be on talking terms when all of this was over, far too afraid of your answer. “I’ll pick you up an hour before the wedding?” he asked, putting his shoes back on in your entryway.

“Two hours,” you challenged. “So we can go over the details.”

Futakuchi nods, ready to leave and pretend that you don’t exist again when you’re pulling him by the arm into a tight embrace. 

“Thank you, Kenji,” you talk into his neck and he wraps his arms around your waist. He wonders how he can hold you in his arms and still feel so far away from you.

“I’ll make it up to you, somehow,” you promise, pulling away from him.

He wants to tell you that you don’t have to, that he’s just doing it out of the good of his heart. But he knows that’s inappropriate for an ex-boyfriend with an awful personality to say to his ex-girlfriend who still looks so damn good, even when all she’s wearing is a sweatshirt and shorts, so he settles on “sure,” instead.

He can’t even look you in the eyes as he closes the door behind him.

[epic-potato-crisp]

Courtship [1/2] (AjinWeek2020/3)

Day 3: Favourite Ship/Romance/Lover

By: @ryokasmagic

Note: I have two OTPs in Ajin (Tosaki/Izumi and Kou/Kei) and I honestly can’t pick between them. Decided to go with KouKei for this one though. This has two parts, so far part 2 is supposed to be posted for Day 7. I hope you enjoy!

…..

“You’re amazing.”

And ever since that fateful day, the words haven’t left Kei’s mind.

At first, he thinks there is nothing redeemable about Nakano.

He is too loud and gets overly excited about everything, always barging into Kei’s private space. He seems earth shatteringly optimistic and ready to take on whatever obstacle the world is ready to present him with an energy that Kei can barely begin to comprehend.

In hindsight, this might have been what has fascinated him about Nakano so much to begin with.

They gradually begin spending more time together, but then, this is bound to happen, Kei thinks, when you’re stuck in one hideout with eight other people with little choice in the matter.

It has nothing to do with the fact that he actually enjoys Nakano’s company.

No, he certainly hasn’t stooped down to that level.

Of that he is certain.

…….

It starts innocently enough.

They’re sitting outside the hideout, taking a break after hours of training.

“What if we weren’t Ajin?” Nakano Kou asks.

“What?” Kei frowned, “That is the most stupid question I’ve heard in weeks.”

“No, think about it.” Kou gestures with his orange popsicle. “What if we were…you know, normal high schoolers.”

“We are normal.” Kei frowns. He is a perfectly respectable member of society, thank you very much. He may have an above average regenerational ability that might classify him as “immortal” in some instances, but he has no duty to disclose that to anyone.

He isn’t a dropout runaway that can barely memorize the kanji required to graduate.

“You know what I mean.” the other boy says, “Like…what if we weren’t on the run from the government?” His gestures got broader.

“That’s a rather pointless scenario. You might as well ask me what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten hit by that truck.” Kei rolls his eyes and moves his hazelnut-chocolate cone out of reach, away from potential Kou-induced hazards.

He catches Kou eyeing him from the side.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously.” the redhead replies indignantly, giving him a light nudge that has Kei scowling, “Isn’t it fun to think of what-ifs?”

“No, it isn’t.” Kei replies, and then relents under the expectant stare. He takes a bite of his ice.

“Well, fine. Let’s say I wouldn’t have gotten hit by the truck.” He pauses, considering the possibility and comparing it with his schedule at the time. “I would have had to turn in a physics project that week. Write a biology exam the week after. Not to mention our assignment in history about the reformation of- “

“Dude, I mean like, fun things.” Kou says, exasperatedly, “Like, you know. The next party you got invited to- “

Kei is excellent at politely turning these invitations down-

“Or like, an outing to a karaoke place or an arcade after school?”

After-school is reserved for math-club-meetings and further study-

“Or like, you know, getting a girlfriend!”

“I never had one.” Kei replied bluntly.

“What?!”

Kou’s shocked enough that he drops his popsicle. It rolls a few feet away from them, out of the shade and into the scorching afternoon sun. He stares wistfully at its departure.

“Oh man, I was going to finish that.”

“Get a new one.”

“Noo, they’re rationed. In any way I don’t feel like walking anymore than I need to today.” He pouts, slumping against the cooling wall.

Kei sighs, before wordlessly offering him his chocolate cone.

“Really, dude?”

“Call me dude ever again and you’ll have bigger problems than this.”

“Thanks, man.” Kou says, which isn’t much better and gives him a genuine smile that Kei wishes wouldn’t make him so happy on the inside.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“So, coming back to the topic at hand- “

Kei suppresses a groan. He has been relying on the convenience of Kou’s short-term memory to prevent them from ever continuing the previous conversation.

“What about it?” he asks instead, reaching for the water bottle and taking a large sip.

“Like, really? Never?”

Kou looks a bit like a Golden Retriever whose owner has forgotten to take him on a walk.

“No.” Kei shrugs, “Is that so weird?” It’s a serious question.

He’s never considered that his social life could be boring, by others’ standards, being far too focused on becoming a diligent student that represented his family well.

“Ah, no, no, it’s cool.” Kou waves him off, words encouraging, “Not everyone has to have a girlfriend in High School.”

Kei doesn’t let him notice any of the relief he feels at those words.

“Some of us just aren’t dating our homework, ya know?” He breaks out into laughter.

“Die.”

“I can’t. I swear man, I’ve tried!” Kou throws up his hands in desperation, shaking his head and Kei turns away so that he can’t see the traitorous hint at a smile on his face.

“Would you ever want one, though?”

“What?” Kei arches an eyebrow.

“What do you think? “

A day full of peace and quiet, with no training or social interactions, preferably locked away in my room, Kei thinks, but he’s certain that’s not what Kou’s referring to.

“A girlfriend. Or, you know, a boyfriend.” Kou shrugs, and Kei feels the blood freeze in his veins.

His friend-by-default notices his incredulous expression.

“We’re in the 21st century, right? It’s not that weird.”

Kei doesn’t dignify that with an answer.

“You’re expected to marry someone of the opposite gender.” he says, remotely, “Unless you can avoid it.”

“In theory!” Kou has finished his ice cream and wipes his hands on the grass, “Like, maybe it’s not that you just haven’t found the right girl? Maybe you’re just- “

“Okay, enough.” Kei cuts across him. His heart thunders in his chest and thoughts of Kaito resurface in his mind, which is more than he can bear after hours of training exhausting him to the bone.

“Are you too much of a chicken to find out?” Kou’s grin is teasing, and competitive.

“Find out what?”

“If it’s perhaps not just girls you’re interested in?”

“When would I find that out?” Kei answers, ignoring the inexplicable jump his heart takes all of a sudden, “We’re fugitives in a battle. We barely have time for this.” He gestures vaguely and checks his watch, “Speaking of, we should get back to training.”

“Come on, ten more minutes.”

“You said that half an hour ago.” Kei deadpans, “No ten more minutes. This second.”

“Is that what you want me to say when you refuse to get up in the morning and want me to cover for you?” Kou teases.

Unfairly, he has a point.

“Whatever.” Kei sighs, chalking it up to the heat that he doesn’t feel like debating Kou on this particular topic.

“I propose a challenge. No, a bet. If you chicken out, I’ll assume you’re too much of a coward after all. Ready?” Kou asks, pointing at him, brimming with self-confidence.

“And what makes you assume I care?”

There’s the Golden Retriever look again. “Oh, come on, Kei.”

Kei sighs. He’s a good person, he tells himself, a respectable member of society. He’s doing Nakano a favor by not subjecting him to alienation from the only one in his peer group and the devastating consequences that might have for his social development.

“Okay, tell me what it is.”

“We pretend to be boyfriends for a week!”

Kei stares at him, dumbstruck, but before he can get a word in edgewise, Nakano cuts him to the chase: “No, wait. I’m serious. Nothing, strange, like, ya know.” He blushes scarlet, clearing his throat and Kei thanks the Gods above that he doesn’t elaborate on the subject.

“Like hand-holding and that stuff. Maybe a date night where we watch movies.”

“That sounds dumb.” Kei replies before he can stop himself.

“Dumb, but not impossible?”

“We don’t even have time for a…” Kei pauses, wrestling with the unfamiliar word and its embarrassing implications, “date night where we watch movies. We have to train. Fight Sato, in case you forgot?”

“Consider it a team-building exercise!” Kou grins widely.

“I could think of a way more interesting exercise where my IBM gets to practice attacks on you.”

Kou laughs.

“Yeah, we have to train.” he admits, “You’re right. But seriously. Do you really…not want to try it out? Or does it just sound unusual to you?”

Kei bites his lip. He can’t believe that Kou goaded him into this conversation.

“If we were, theoretically- “he cuts in sharply, as Kou’s eyes widen in excitement, “To try that out. We would need to have some rules.”

“Sure, definitely.” Kou nods along.

“And it would not cross a week.”

“Nope, that’s the idea.”

“And if I didn’t like it, we could end it at any time.”

“Yeah.” Kou replies without skipping a beat, “Consider it, like…a social project.” He stretches out his hand. “You’re on board?”

Kei has to admit he’s not completely adverse to the idea. He’d pay money to see the expressions on the others’ faces when he told them about their plan.

And also, for some strange, unspeakable reason, having a movie night with Kou doesn’t seem like the worst of ideas.

Kei clears his throat.

“It’s a deal.” he says.

[toku-explained]

The Immortal Swordsman Reborn

SSSS.DYNAZENON: Fuuma explains that Kano had a.ways been cheerful, but she became more withdrawn prior to her death, which is believed to be due to someone called Futaba, Yume never heard of him, he had been club vice president and started dating Kano, and after her song was picked she may have been bullied by other girls, and agrees to share some other videos from the time with Yume. She tells the team she wants to learn more about Kano. Juugabis now willing to kill the team in Order to get Gauma back, Mujina has no opinion of her own and Sizumu is against killing them, believing Dynazenon is the reason kaiju keep appearing. Koyomi meets again with Inamoto-san, recalling him running away after she showed him a hidden bag she'd found, before their table is joined by Arata, her husband, and spend several hours talking, Ararat keeps getting his surname wrong. In Koyomi's room, Chise finds a white seed. Koyomi by chance runs into Mujina. Yomogi and his mother dine with Kamijo again, trying to ignore the conversation. At a bar, Mujina apparently paying, Koyomi moans about Inamoto-san leading him on with her complaints about marriage but then inviting Arata, Mujina says she herself has no wants for herself, which Koyomi relates to, at home Chise continues to brood. Yume gets sent a link for a video of a questionable prank on Kano, arguably bullying, which Kanae was the ringleader of. As Koyomi continues stewing, Mujina spots DynaStriker next to him. Yume thinks in class while watching Ranka and Kaneishi tease Yomogi. Chise decides to train in place of a hungover, who realises he's lost DynaStriker, Gauma is naturally furious, and Koyomi realises Mujina took it. Onija wants to use it to rampage, Juuga wants it to bargain with Gauma, Sizumu wants to return it, asking what Mujina wants. Gauma is able to use DynaDiver to track it, Yume rejects help from Yomogi, and the argument continues to Mujina's annoyance as Gauma and Koyomi arrive, Chise sneakily followed. Koyomi charges in and tackles Mujina, enabling Gauma to grab DynaStriker, his attack attempt fails. Sizumu asks if Yume is okay, then passes Yomogi as he leaves, the pair soon get called. The current Kaiju, Bullbind is not responding to Onija's attempts to Instance Domination, Sizumu convinces Mujina it needs her, and she awakens the enormous quadraped, shared with Onija. Gauma is bothered by the whole team seeming depressed before they jump into action. Dynazenon is helpless against Bullbind's gravity manipulation, and as Mujjna asks if that's all they've got even Onija notices a character change in her. The pilots sans Gauma are also crushed under the weight of their worries, but Gauma is able to pull through and switch to DynaRex, but even then it's hopeless against Bullbind. As Sizumu senses something, from the sky appears a purple giant. I definitely expected a guest appearance from at least somebody from SSSS.GRIDMAN before the end, we know that Gridman, and now the Assist Weapons can appear in various worlds. But the fact that it's GridKnight appearing, maybe we're in Akane's world after all?

Heroes' Odyssey: Z joins Zero while Haruki is asleep, and tells him about Ultroid Zero, and the reaction of Kaiju to it, the 3 way battle between Z, Juggler and Celebro, Ultroid Zero's rampage, it's evolution into Destrudos and defeat of Z, followed by the beginning of STORAGE's operation against it.

Saber: The Northern Base members regroup. Kento notes that minor details of the future are changing, but the end remains the same, this time there's a vision of Sophia seemingly deliberately taking Luna's place in the spell tight before the world is unmade. Master Logos orders the Shindais to watch Touma and capture Luna should she appear, and hints he may release Bacht, which Ryoga is against. As soon as the siblings leave he releases Bacht, refusing to give him the Book of Ruin, but offering him the chance for revenge on the Swordsmen, Bacht is intrigued by how different he is from past Masters. Saber and Saikou duel, Touma hoping to recreate the conditions to see Luna, but while Rekka glows, Wonder Story doesn't react. Bacgt arrives, Yuri stating his intent to seal him again. Saber and Falchion fight, Reika watching at a distance, when Touma's books, Rekka and Wonder Story all react Falchion takes note and stops, intrigued that Touma is the chosen one. The void opens again, but again vanishes before Touma or Reika can do anything. Rintaro, Ogami and Daishinji look for Ren. Yuri explains that he, Bacht and another were Swordsmen, until one day in a battle against Megiddo, one of their own killed Bacht's family, causing him to lose himself, believing humans would always betray one another and so sought to end the world, leading Yuri to wield Saikou and Kurayami against him. Ryoga confronts Rintaro, who is able to use his new abilities to counter Kaiji's time ability, when Falchion arrives, initially fighting Durandal until he flees, he then survives Blades to backstab, preparing to kill as Touma, Mei, Yuri arrive. Bacht tells Touma he'll become more powerful and destroy everything, something Kento affirms on arrival, Yuri admonishes his lack of faith in Touma, leading Bacht to call him a hypocrite, Yuri acknowledging he had not had faith in humanity before meeting Touma. Jaou Dragon battles Eternal Phoenix, soon joined by X Swordman and Elemental Dragon, Saikou asks Caliber to help seal Bacht, but he refuses, and a finisher from Caliber and Falchion strikes Saikou, who expresses his envy of Kento for the faith Touma has in him before vanishing, leaving Saikou and his books. Caliber does prevent Falchion from attacking Saber, but in the confusion Reika manages to steal Saikou, Kin no Buki, Gin no Buki and X Swordman. As Saber and Caliber face Falchion, Touma's emotions flair, causing the reaction of his books again, and as they defeat Falchion, Luna appears behind the Swordsmen, returned at last.

Zenkaiger: As part of his promise, Zox is making the others pay for things, he spots Mahiru World and chases, a squad of Kudakks holding the Zenkaigers save Zyuran and Kaito. When Mahiru World takes a hostage, Zox doesn't care, Kaito arriving uses Megaranger to Cyber Slider in to save the hostage. An annoyed Kaito chases Zox onto CrocoDaiOh, demanding explanations until a frustrated Flint shows a picture of the Goldtsuikar family, with Riki and Katana as humans. Flint was able to reverse engineer Tojitendo tech so they could travel between worlds, and while they were in SDtopia the brothers got trapped in their current forms, and they can't get back to undo it because SStopia is now a Tojiru Gear, and they can't get into Kikaitopia to steal the gear, Kaito brings up his parents. Boccowaus is annoyed about Twokaiser still being a threat, Gefe trying to calm him, Barashitara believes an alliance is possible. The team discusses things, Zyuran and Magine don't know if they're worth worrying about. It's then people start noticing it's still noon, and start feeling the effects, still working well past they would normally, but the team doesn't realise anything is actually wrong until seeing a news report from Brazil, where it's also noon. Being in space, the Goldtsuikar's have been unaffected, but there are many lights in the sky. Zox hunts down Mahiru World, and fights him as Twokaiser, there being plenty of collateral damage as the Zenkaigers arrive, saving civilians from rubble. Zox thinks this risk of life is stupid, risking never finding his family. As Twokaiser uses Shinken Form, the Zenkaigers change, taking deflected bullets, but still defend the crowd. Switching to Ohren Form, he uses he Choriki Star Knuckle to finish Mahiru World, restoring night. Dai Mahiru World summons way more suns, now the light is blinding, Magine flips out and has ZenkaiOh VrooMagine form, Kaito at the control is barely awake, they darken the sky briefly, but sun viewing glasses do the thing, allowing them to finish things. Everyone falls asleep, Zox fells Flint to leave them as long as they don't get in the way.

Dogengers Nice Buddy: Maid Shitsuji wakes Tanaka up, and shows that Yamashiron and Fukuokaliber have gone to a Great Z show, Ohgaman grabs various items for a day out and drags Tanaka off, nobody noticing he's left his changer. The show is pretty formulaic, Great Z fighting some Karamis, until right as Great Z is meant to get his heroic wind there's the sudden arrival of Yamashiron Kugakusei Mode, inserting himself in the role of the Villain. Aoiron and Daidairon give advice or rebuke, causing I believe Yamashiron to mentally apologise to Midoiron, and then Fukuokaliber appears to highjack the hero spot. Tanaka and the disguised Ohgaman are confused on arrival, Fukuokaliber making a point about heroism to Yamashiron, using the crowd to do so. Gulf appears via Affect System, evidently mid attack on Kitaqman, and is shot by Fukuokaliber. The pair leap into battle, Yamashiron demonstrating his specially modified Nice Buddy gun, Gallia attends to his brother, wondering how they got there. In flashback, immediately after they were teleported away, Great Z admonished El Brave and Kitaqman's heroics while beating them, after knocking down El Brave he gives Kitaqman the chance to fight, expecting him to run, Kitaqman instead relates El Brave's backstory. Great Z gives El Brave some acknowledgment, and an emboldened El Brave fights with all his might, grabbing El Brave, Kitaqman shoots and destroys a drone, thanks to switching with El Brave. Great Z is about to fight harder when he gets a call, and warps all 3 of them. Kitaqman and El Brave appear right next to Fukuokaliber and Yamashiron, while Great Z appeared nearby, next to the Great Z onstage, who he turns to face.

[cosmic-goddess-leo]

First Love / Late Spring Pt. 4

Kuroo Tetsuro x Reader

Series Summary: Reader was once a nationally recognized volleyball player until an injury she suffered her last year of high school. She and Kuroo knew each other vaguely through a mutual friend but lost contact after her injury. Now they attend the same University in Tokyo and are beginning to reconnect.

Chapter Summary: Kuroo and (Y/n) lose contact until he forms a study group. (Y/n) throws another party.

Warnings: There will be some heavy themes in this chapter, including violence and attempted sexual assault. If you don’t feel comfortable reading please sip this chapter.

Word Count: 3827

Author’s Note: We had to get in on that angst at some point since this is a p angsty Mitski song.

(Y/n) never called Kuroo to come back after Bokuto had left. He had heard some of their discussion through the walls. He didn’t mean to be nosey, but in his defense it was a very LOUD discussion.

He had waited patiently on his couch, watching his cellphone for the call that never came.

30 minutes after he heard Bokuto leave, he heard a knock at his door that he sprinted to answer.

He flung the door open, expecting to see (Y/n) standing before him. Instead, his unfinished plate of breakfast sat at his feet.

Kuroo frowned, picked up the plate, and retreated back inside to reheat the food.

He willed himself to give her space and just see her during class the next day.

Though she did show up to class, she only gave Kuroo a curt wave before sitting down.

He scribbled on the corner of her notes sheet, asking if she was alright.

-Fine.

Kuroo nibbled his lip, looking her over for a moment before replying.

-If you need to talk, just let me know

(Y/n), seemingly ignoring the note, began scribbling down the information their professor had written on the board.

Kuroo repressed a sigh before opening his laptop and typing his notes. He couldn’t help but steal a glance at her every now and then, noticing a new detail about her the more he looked.

Puffy eyes. Dry lips. Her hair askew despite her attempts to tie it back. She looked like she barely got any sleep the night before.

Once class ended, she had her things packed and her bag over her shoulder before Kuroo could even blink.

It was the same in their next class together, and the two they had the next day, and all the days after that until a month had passed. 

She was at least looking more rested than before. But that would be coming to an end since Mid-Terms were coming up.

Kuroo guessed he would see even less of her, given how hard she typically studied.

Study...

Kuroo had flyers printed the next day specifically for the hardest class he shared with (Y/n). He casually handed them out to the rest of the class, making small talk here and there before he got to (Y/n).

He slid the flyer in front of her, smiling brightly as she read through the information before looking up at him.

“Didn’t realize you were social enough to invite the whole class to something like this...” She hummed, glancing around at the flyers scattered all over the room.

“Ah well, so far I’ve only gotten 3 ‘yes’s. I think it’s for the best because the study room I booked can only hold 8.” He said, scratching the back of his head.

“Save me a seat then...” (Y/n) smiled, standing up and packing her things.

Kuroo couldn’t help but smile wide before stuttering out a promise to save her a spot next to him.

The two walked out of their class, Kuroo turning to head to lunch until (Y/n) stopped him.

“Aren’t you going to walk me to my next class...?” she asked, shifting her weight onto one foot as she cocked her hip.

Kuroo bit back another smile, opting for his signature smirk instead. “Thought you’d never ask...”

————————————————————————————

That Friday night was the first night the study group would be meeting. Only 5 people had shown up, not including (Y/n)...

The group was already about a half hour into their work when Kuroo began to slowly lose hope. He tried masking his disappointment by being more vocal with the group, but it wasn’t long until she was brought up.

“I thought I’d heard (Y/n) tell you she would be coming...”

It was one of the random guys Kuroo had handed a flyer to. He thought his name was Kaito or something like that. 

“She said to save her a seat... she’s been pretty busy though.” Kuroo said dismissively. 

The guy huffed, continuing to thumb through his textbook mindlessly. “Sucks... kinda came just to hang out with her.”

If Kuroo’s hair wasn’t already naturally standing on end, it would have started to from that statement.

“You’re friends with her, is she single?” He asked, unable to read how the aura had shifted in the room.

“That’s none-”

The door suddenly opened. (Y/n) hastily entered and flopped into the empty seat beside Kuroo.

“I-I’m so sorry. I got caught up with something.” She apologized, taking her laptop out of her bag.

“It’s alright, we were just talking about you.” The guy spoke up, causing Kuroo’s eye to twitch.

“I forgot my textbook...”(Y/n) sighed, ignoring his statement and holding her head in her hands.

Kuroo saw a faint mark on her neck peeking out from under her hoodie. He felt his heart sink.

He swallowed the lump in his throat before sliding his book between the two of them and offering her a small smile. “We’ll share...”

(Y/n) smiled back, leaning closer to him and reading from the page he and the others had left off at.

The rest of the group had begun talking while (Y/n) began catching up on the study guide they had started. Kuroo saw a chance to ask her about her neck as cooly as possible while the others wouldn’t be paying attention.

He leaned in close, tilting his head away from the others and whispering to (Y/n). “Kaito is totally into you...” he snickered, noticing how his breath fanning against her neck had her shiver.

“Sick.” (Y/n) giggled, keeping her eyes on her laptop screen.

Kuroo hummed softly, lightly hooking his finger on the neck of the hoodie and brushing his knuckle over the mark.

“Should I come to your rescue and tell him you’re taken? It looks like you are...”

(Y/n) shivered again, her smile slightly dropping as she waved his hand off and fixed her hoodie.

“I’m not...”

Kuroo tilted his head at her, looking deep into her eyes once she finally looked at him.

“It’s just... Bokuto being Bokuto... It’s really nothing.” she admitted, shifting slightly under the intensity of Kuroo’s gaze. “Is it that noticeable...?”

Kuroo brushed his knuckles over hers, giving her a small reassuring smile. “Only if you’re looking at you the way I was...”

(Y/n)’s lips parted for a moment, as if she were going to stay something. Instead she licked her lips before quickly looking away from Kuroo and back to her laptop.

The group left the library about an hour later, leaving Kuroo and (Y/n) alone and on their way home.

“Does that mean you and Bokuto made up?” Kuroo suddenly asked.

(Y/n) shook her head. “He was coming over to try and make up... I made him leave.”

“What’s been going on with you two...?”

“For these past couple weeks? Or in General?” She asked, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

“Either? Both?” he offered.

(Y/n) sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “We liked each other in high school, it never really went anywhere... And it’s still not going anywhere...”

Kuroo nodded slightly, looking her over as they entered their building’s elevator.

“Why do you ask?”

The question slightly caught Kuroo off guard.

Because I want you.

“Because I haven’t heard from you in a month... which is pretty crazy since we’re classmates and neighbors... and I thought friends...”

(Y/n) frowned, her eyes glued to the floor. “I didn’t want you dragged into it...”

“I’m not being dragged into it if I’m asking you to let me help.” he sighed, walking with her to her door.

“Tetsu...” (Y/n) looked up at him, taking his hands in hers. “It means a lot that you want to help, it really does... Things are just really complicated and I don’t want that to influence...” she stopped, her grip tightening slightly.

“Influence what?” Kuroo asked, brushing his thumbs over her hands.

(Y/n) huffed, looking down at their hands.

“Influence the way you look at me...”

They both went silent, (Y/n) refusing to meet his gaze. She slowly let go of Kuroo’s hands, turning towards her door and fishing her keys out of her pocket.

“I’ll see you tomorrow...” she mumbled, pushing past her door and into her apartment, leaving Kuroo alone in the hallway.

The next week of class was just like the last, (Y/n) silently sitting by Kuroo, trying to pretend they hadn’t had their talk about Bokuto.

Kuroo didn’t regret bringing up the issue, he did regret not going after (Y/n) after she shut her door.

He had talked about how much he wanted to support her but then just let her leave. There was only so much he could do while also giving her room to breathe.

She thankfully continued attending the study group twice a week despite their talk, never forgetting her textbook. 

Kaito began to get more forward with his advances towards (Y/n). Much to Kuroo’s dismay, she didn’t do much in terms of rejecting him.

Midterms eventually came to a conclusion, meaning Kuroo wouldn’t have to sit and deal with Kaito’s incessant flirting.

Kuroo was leaving class when he noticed Kaito had stopped (Y/n) and a couple of the other people from their study group in the hallway. He wondered if he had been purposefully left out of the loop.

“I hear you throw great parties! Since we all obviously passed that test, how about we celebrate?” Kaito smiled, wrapping an arm around (Y/n). “I can even help you get everything set up.”

“I-”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Kuroo spoke up, moving beside (Y/n). “We still have the journals to turn in next week, everyone will be busy.”

Kaito glared up at Kuroo, tightening his arm around (Y/n)’s shoulder slightly. “I don’t think you speak for the host, do you?”

Kuroo normally wouldn’t have an issue dealing with a guy like this, but the way (Y/n) slightly tensed against his hold made Kuroo’s blood boil.

“Listen man-”

“A party sounds great!” (Y/n) interjected, pulling away from the two. “It’s great. Friday night. Study group and anyone you want to bring. I’ll text my address later.”

Before Kuroo or Kaito could respond, (Y/n) speed-walked out of the building.

Kuroo could just feel the smug look on Kaito’s face. He turned and left to lunch before his skin had a chance to crawl off his body and to the other side of campus.

————————————————————————————

Kuroo was sure he got the text about the party last minute for a reason. A costume party in the beginning of October seemed odd, and he wouldn’t really have time to find a costume. Especially since (Y/n) texted him 2 hours before the party started. 

He went digging through his closet for anything doable, settling on an old pair of sweats and some hand wraps he had stowed away.

Black sweatpants, a black hoodie unzipped with no shirt, and wrapped hands. A boxer... a really sad looking boxer.

He didn’t bother making his way next-door until he already heard people laughing and music blasting.

Akaashi, surprisingly, was the one to open the door for Kuroo. He breathed a sigh of relief as Kuroo entered. “You need to help me...” He groaned.

“What? Have a blood deficiency?” Kuroo smiled, laughing as he pointed at the fake fangs Akaashi had stuck in his mouth.

“Shut the fuck up.” he rolled his eyes. “It’s (Y/n)”

Kuroo straightened up, looking around the crowded room for her. Surprise, more strangers in her home, taking up all the elbow room.

“What happened?”

“She’s drinking.” Akaashi said, searching for her as well, “and now I lost her.”

“Put it in my mouth!”

A familiar voice screaming in the kitchen caught their attention. Kuroo didn’t like the sound of that at all.

He and Akaashi pushed past the dancing partygoers just in time to see (Y/n) laying on her dining room table, Kaito standing over her and pouring vodka down her throat.

She swallowed the liquor, sitting up and squealing as the crowd around her cheered.

Kuroo rushed over, fists clenched while Kaito lifted (Y/n) off the table and onto her feet.

“What the hell is going on?” Kuroo growled, lightly taking hold of (Y/n)’s shoulder and turning her to face him.

“Tetsu!” she squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into his hug. “You made iiiiit!”

Kuroo gingerly placed his hands on (Y/n)’s waist, setting her back down and holding her in place as she swayed slightly. She was dressed in a black leotard and tutu, her eyeliner painted to look like black swan’s wings, though some of it had smudged.

“Why are you drinking?” Kuroo asked sternly.

“It’sss a party!” (Y/n) giggled.

“Exactly, so why shouldn’t she drink?” Kaito challenged, wrapping his arm around (Y/n)’s waist and pulling her close.

“Because she doesn’t drink, jackass.” Kuroo snapped.

(Y/n) pouted slightly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Well I do now!”

She went for a solo cup on the table, but Kuroo lightly took hold of her wrist. “(Y/n), cmon. You’ve had enough.”

“She’s a grown-ass woman, let her make her own choices.” Kaito intervened, smirking while (Y/n) took the drink with her other hand and pulled away from the two men, entering the crowd with Akaashi following after her.

Kuroo, now alone with Kaito, glared down at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing...”

It was more of a demand than a question.

“Comforting her.” Kaito answered simply, grabbing his own cup from the table. “Some spikey haired spaz showed up just before the party and made her cry. She told me all about it.”

Of course she was deciding to spiral now instead of cancelling the party.

“Lucky for her, her knight and shining armor showed up to give her some liquid comfort.” Kaito smirked before downing the last of his drink.

“You better fucking watch yourself-”

“Or what?” Kaito growled, locking eyes with Kuroo. “You wouldn’t make a scene would you? She’s already so sensitive from what happened with that Kou asshole. Anything else and she’ll snap.”

Kuroo’s jaw tensed, his eye twitched, but he stayed silent.

“So I’ll ask again. Or what?” Kaito said.

When he received no response, he made himself another drink and pushed past Kuroo, going to look for (Y/n).

Kuroo sighed deeply, feeling tempted to get a cup full of that nasty vodka and down it in one go. But he knew if (Y/n) wasn’t going to be sober, he had to be.

He tried staying in the corner of the room that offered the best bird’s eye view of the apartment. Even then he still lost her in the crowd every now and then.

He ignored the various women who approached him, offering to get him a drink along with the pleasure of their company.

Once the crowd died down, he felt like he could finally relax and take a seat on the couch. There he could still see (Y/n) no matter where she went.

Kuroo went to the couch, leaning against it for a moment while looking around for the familiar black tutu.

He froze in place once he finally saw it.

His blood was freezing cold but boiling over at the same time, his throat went dry, his jaw hardened.

Kuroo didn’t know when his feet began carrying him towards (Y/n) and Kaito. He couldn’t hear the protests and curses from the people he pushed out of his way. It was just a pounding in his ears.

All Kuroo knew in that moment was that Kaito was dragging (Y/n) towards her bedroom.

Next thing he knew, Kaito’s flannel was bunched up in Kuroo’s fists as he slammed the smaller man against the nearest wall.

“W-what the fuck are you doing?” Kuroo asked lowly, his voice wavering while his eyes bore into Kaito’s.

“I was just going to take her to the bathroom for a glass of water-”

“There’s water out here you f-fucking weasel.” Kuroo had never been so angry that he shook and stuttered like this. He was a fairly reasonable guy. That was all out the window right now.

Kaito scoffed for a moment, trying and failing to push Kuroo off him. “Oh please, you really think I’m the type of guy to do that to her-”

“You shut up- you shut the fuck up right now. You know exactly what you’re doing.” Kuroo growled, gripping the shirt tighter.

For a moment, Kaito looked scared, but he quickly regained his composure and smirked. “You’re just mad because she’d rather fuck me than you, huh? She’s an adult, she can make her own choices.”

(Y/n) had fallen into a slump against the wall, watching the exchange with blank eyes. Some of the partygoers even quieted down to look on as well.

“You get the fuck out. Right now.” Kuroo shoved Kaito away, clenching and unclenching his fists. He turned towards (Y/n), trying to help her up.

Then a fist collided with the back of his head, knocking him off balance and onto his knees.

Gasps erupted throughout the room, the music even got turned down as Kaito took another swing at Kuroo, this time hitting him square in the jaw.

(Y/n) shrieked, watching helplessly as Kaito tackled Kuroo and continued throwing punches at him.

Kuroo couldn’t BELIEVE he was getting his ass kicked by someone who wasn’t sober. He exchanged a couple punches with Kaito, but Kaito still had the high ground since he had straddled Kuroo.

(Y/n) stood up and tried taking hold of Kaito’s fist as it was cocked, begging him to stop.

Kaito pulled from her grasp and jutted his elbow into her lip. The collision immediately left her bottom lip bloodied and sent her to the ground.

“Stay in your fucking lane, bitch!” Kaito yelled, sending a glare her way as he grabbed Kuroo’s hoodie and began slamming him against the floor.

Hysterical cries of pain emitted from (Y/n)’s collapsed form, causing something to bloom in Kuroo’s chest and spread to his toes.

In a flash, Kuroo had grabbed Kaito’s wrists and flipped them over to straddle him. He began wailing on Kaito, ignoring the blood on his wraps and the screams from the nearby spectators.

“You piece of shit! You put your fucking hands on her! You piece of shit!” Kuroo screamed, his throat becoming hoarse from those few words.

“Kuroo!”

Akaashi’s voice was what caught Kuroo’s attention. He finally stopped, staring down at the mess he had made. 

Kaito, who was surprisingly still conscious, turned his head and spat up blood onto the floor.

Kuroo breathed hard, turning to see Akaashi cradling (Y/n) as she sobbed into his chest.

Without another word, Kuroo grabbed Kaito’s shirt and stood up, bringing him to his feet. He ushered him to a group of people he assumed were Kaito’s friends, shoving him their way.

“You get him the fuck out of here... Tell him I better never see him around here again, or I’m calling the cops.” 

The group nodded before hastily leaving the apartment. The rest of the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving Kuroo with Akaashi and (Y/n).

He kneeled beside (Y/n), gently cupping her cheeks to get a better look at her lip.

She whimpered at first, flinching away from him.

“No no, love. I just want to see it. Can I see it?” he cooed, only taking her face in his hands when she nodded.

The soft flesh was busted from the rough blow. Blood had trickled down her chin and she was already starting to bruise.

Kuroo was grateful he had worn those wraps, or else his knuckles would be cut up and bruised as well.

“You should go home Akaashi...” Kuroo sighed, running a hand through his messy hair.

Akaashi looked from Kuroo to (Y/n), speaking in a gentle voice so as not to spook her. “Do you want me to leave you with Kuroo...?”

(Y/n) sniffled and slowly nodded, quietly thanking Akaashi as she leaned out of his embrace.

“You call me if either of you need anything...” Akaashi said, looking back at Kuroo.

Kuroo nodded, watching Akaashi turn and go to the front door. Kuroo whispered against (Y/n)’s hair that he was going to lock the door before he took care of her lip.

When he returned, he lifted (Y/n) bridal style and carried her to the bathroom, sitting her at the edge of her bathtub.

Retrieving her first aid kit, he began gently cleaning the wound on her lip, shushing her as she whined in pain.

He rubbed a bit of ointment on it and checked her for any other injuries. Once he was sure she was fine, he looked at himself in the mirror, wincing at the site. 

A black eye, bruised and bloody cheeks, and a busted lip to match (Y/n)’s. At least he wasn’t as roughed up at Kaito was.

Kuroo was halfway through cleaning his wounds when he heard (Y/n) begin to sob beside him.

He looked down at her, frowning before kneeling to meet her eyeline.

“What’s the matter...?” Kuroo asked, gently brushing a stray tear off her cheek. 

(Y/n) looked away from Kuroo and down at her feet, roughly gripping the fabric of her tutu. “He was gonna-” another sob tore through her throat, leaving her shaking in front of him.

“I would never let that happen.” Kuroo promised, cupping her cheeks and tilting her head to lock eyes with her. “I’ll make sure he never comes near you.”

(Y/n) slowly nodded, quickly wiping her cheeks and taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. “M-my ankle kind of hurts...”

He nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear and lifting her up. “Let’s get you in bed then.”

Once (Y/n) was on the bed, Kuroo was ready to sleep on the couch again. But the familiar feeling of (Y/n) pulling at the sleeve of his jacket stopped him in his tracks.

“Please don’t go...” (Y/n) sniffled, her eyes becoming glossy again. “I can’t be alone again...”

Kuroo silently nodded, sitting at the edge of the bed to test the waters. (Y/n) weakly pulled him beside her, positioning him to face her.

He was fine until she pulled off her tutu, leaving her in her leotard. Heat rushed to his cheeks and he suddenly felt ashamed of the situation.

“I want you here...” (Y/n) assured him, moving between his arms and hugging his waist tightly. “Is that okay...?”

Kuroo swallowed thickly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to cuddle him. “It is...”

[paipayaseeds]

As viewers would about to discover, whatever contents that had been in Anya's pockets didn't matter. : )

---------

78%....

79%

88%...

97%...98%..99%..100%.

Granting administrative permission to 'wake up.'

Yes No<

Yes < No

Yes < No

Understood. Please hold while neuron signals are sending to control center.

.

.

.

.

.

Welcome back, Hoshiyama, Anya.

-----------------------------

Bright lights blurred her already Impaired vision as she opened her eyes slowly but surely as she reintroduced herself back to the world, eyebrows furrowed both from her lack of glasses.. And from the sudden odd dream from just a minute ago. Though, before she could begin to question anything, she had MUCH bigger problems.

Problem one: .. She was extremely cold. So cold in fact, that her body began to shiver, actual slight bits of ice being on her hand. She knew her body's homeostasis had been off but, this.. This was ridiculous. Why was she this cold in the first place?!

Problem Two: She had a SPLITTING headache, causing her to make a low whining sound. She slowly moved her arm to her head holding it in hopes the pain would cease soon. Why the hell had she been like this in the first place.. Why was she in pain?.. Did.. Is the game over?Did she..

No.

She needed time to think.

For now.. Where was she?

She decided to answer that herself, her vision clearing finally to reveal an investigating Shuichi, Kaede, and a saddened space himbo-I mean Kaito. She wanted to get her notebook but.. It wasn't on her. If only she could... If she could...

....

..

"Shhh... Shuuuu.. Shuichi..?"

-------

Kaede watched Kaito and Shuichi, having been about to calm the situation until a quiet and frail 'Shuichi' was heard. It was a voice very unfamiliar to her that's for sure.

She looked around the room to see who could've done it but.. Everyone was doing their own thing.. So.. Who was..

Her eyes widened, slowly looking back, then down at the source. It was then she realized the source of the voice was new because,

It belonged to the Ultimate Violinist. The late Violinist.. But.. Then..

How was she..?

"A-A-Anya..?!Oh my god oh I-Rantaro!Kirumi!EVERYBODY!"

Without a real explanation she grabbed Shuichi's hand from the pocket and got on her knees, softly plopping a confused and tired Anya's head on to her lap without any real hesitation. She didn't seem to mind the remaining bits of blood that had been on her skirt now.

"H-Hey Anya can you..oh my gosh how are you even.?!"

Miu had been confused at the blondes yelling. She rolled her eyes as if she's been inconvenienced by the girl.

"What the fuck you WWWWWWHAT THE FUCK-"

"Oh dear it.. It seems our Violinist wasn't deceased after all.."

Angie peaked over the Anthropologist shoulder before a relieved squeal left her. "Nya haha!It seems the Killing Game never started!"

"Anya alive?"

"Y-yea?Is this ice?!How is she this cold? Anya can you.. You can hear me right?"

A small shivering nod is all the small girl could manage at the moment.

Shuichi tensed as he heard his name, eyes widening as he could feel movement against his hand that had been shuffling in the pocket of Anya. He... He imagined that, right? 

He looked over to Kaito and turns out he wasn’t the only one who heard the meek voice cue, he could tell by Kaito's own shocked face. Shuichi wasn't sure whether to be relieved or fearful; it... sounded like Anya, but she was dead, right?

Instead of reacting like a normal person — aka Kaito who had practically been screaming Anya's name — Shuichi began doing what he did best, investigating and detecting. He looked more or less, pretty calm even as Kaede took his hand out of her pocket, even as Anya nodded like an alive person would.

There was practically no reasonable reason why she was alive, why she was now conscious. It bothered Shuichi — but as everyone started crowding the girl, he realized it probably shouldn't have. I mean, he should be relieved, right? He couldn't lie, he did feel relieved that she was alive - but,,, how? Why? Wasn't it too good to be true? It wasn't humanly possible... Her blood loss.. She wasn't even breathing —

Rantaro's small, but careless nudge to Shuichi broke him out of his uncertain state. Shuichi could only watch in stunned shock as Rantaro quickly collapsed to Anya's side, only gawking at her in hesitation awe as he was afraid if he touched her, he would lose her once again. A miracle; that seemed to be the only reasonable explanation as to why she was alive, but little did they know... Even miracles don't happen like this without sensible reason.

Even so; Rantaro, nor Kaito could give less of a shit. She was alive, nothing else mattered.

With a voice quiet and broken from pure worry, Rantaro couldn't help but grab the trembling girl's hand as he tried speaking to her, "... Anya, why did you-" He creased his brow and gulped down the thickening lump in his throat; he would ask her about what she had done later, right now, his priority was her prolonging her conscious state. "Just- Just listen to my voice, okay..? Don't fall asleep." He was somehow able to calm himself through it all, all the pain, confusion and panic; he was able to conceal it with an assuring grin.

Looking around the room in urgency, Rantaro's face hardened as his mind immediately started grinding for ways to keep her awake, and to treat her wound. "She can't lose any more blood. We have to take her to the- No, there's no... Argh... Does anybody have any- any bandages? Any clean clothing?" With a voice fast and slightly panicked, Rantaro struggled as he tried to think of other ways to prolong her conscious state, he wasn't sure he could take it if he lost her for the second time.

As if things could get any worse(or better), Kokichi decided to pop out from behind the crowd that had practically swallowed the short boy whole. There he stood, in all his glory, waving a small box of Toy Story bandages. "That'll stop the bleeding for sure, nishishi! Look, it says, '#1 recommended brand for minor injuries'!" Kaito looked at him in shock, "Does her head bleeding and skin ice-cold, seem minor to you!?"

Kokichi promptly ignored Kaito and ripped open the box in an inconvenient way, taking out a few before applying a good 3 to her ouchie.

To his very own surprise, Rantaro didn't even stop him.

Why didn't he stop him-

"... I'll run to the dining room quickly to retrieve the first aid kit; I've used it before, and there should be some... real and effective gauze to stop the bleeding, as well as supplies to clean her head. I won't be long." Kirumi, without another word, excused herself and hurried out the door, an urgency in her step — greatly differing from her usually calm and graceful walk.

Kaito gulped as he could feel the urge to just cradle her in his arms, nearly take over her. But he couldn't, it'd be reckless, and they certainly didn't need reckless. Already shrugging off his jacket, Kaito took a knee and softly draped his jacket over her without a word, pursing his lips as he could feel Rantaro's questioning gaze on him.

Kaito's eyes widened in shock as his hand just briefly brushed against her skin, it was as if she was freshly taken out of a freezer. "Anya, y- you're shivering, is that- is that- what does that mean??" His first instinct was to look at Rantaro for any type of help, but he forcefully jerked his head towards Kaede instead.

"Maybe she's a vampire! Or better, a zombie!" Kaito paled, frantically looking at Kokichi for any indicator that he was — oh god, please be — joking.

[commentaryvorg]

entirely fair and accurate takes on kaitos love suite event, honestly one of main reasons kaitos event is my favourite is because it doesn't get uncomfortably nsfw vibes like some of the others' (especially considering they're all teenagers AND it's pretty non-consensual... big yikes). but also, as his "ideal", the best outcome would be the object of affection returning his feelings, but in the fantasy, again, his "ideal", he didn't believe it would happen. that seems pretty bad.

Yeeaah, I’ve very deliberately never read a lot of other characters’ Love Suite events and am even more sure about never ever doing so, based on what I’ve gathered about them. Compared to those, I’m sure Kaito’s really is pretty tame and reasonable and one of the better ones, not that there’s a very high bar here.

I get what you’re saying now about how he theoretically should expect his feelings to be reciprocated at least in this “ideal fantasy” where he gets everything he wants - I didn’t quite pick up on that specific point before. That’s an interesting thought, but after considering it… I’m not entirely sure that’s how the fantasies work?

If it really was 100% perfectly “ideal”, then every single thought and action should be something that makes the character happy. But if that was the case, then it might just come across as too perfectly ideal for them to even be able to feel like it’s realistic at all. I went and reread some of the other tamer scenes that I’d read before to check how this is generally handled (Rantaro’s, Ryoma’s and Gonta’s are all nicely platonic), and, yeah, they’re all like this. Rantaro’s sisters are still missing and he’s having to abandon his surrogate younger-sibling-figure to search for them; most of Ryoma’s loved ones are still dead and he outwardly insists that his former manager wouldn’t want to stay with him; Gonta messes up in his attempts to be the perfect gentleman because he knows he still has a lot to learn. The events are still bound by that person’s reality and by how they expect things to work for them. They’re getting a nice reprieve from their troubles, but things aren’t completely perfect and happy. (The one partial exception to this is that Maki never became an assassin in her fantasy and seems to genuinely not remember that part of her life during the dream. That’s interesting, but I’m not sure if there’s actually a significant reason for why she’s the only one, given that Ryoma’s problems are just about as bad as hers. She’s still an orphan, though, so things still aren’t perfect for her.)

So I don’t think that the fact that love-suite-Kaito doesn’t expect his feelings to be reciprocated is any more meaningful than him hypothetically not expecting that in real life. The hotel’s magical dream powers (usually) don’t actually warp a person’s outlook to make them see the world any differently to how they normally do, nor to expect things they wouldn’t reasonably expect in reality, no matter how much they might want them.

(anon also added some tag commentary in their reblog of the initial post that I want to respond to a bit as well)

#i never really thought that the love suite events were *really* that character heavy so mostly the ask was a sudden realisation p late

I agree with you that evidently most of them really aren’t that much about the characters at all (well, presumably, though of course I’ve only seen some of the tamer ones). But here’s the thing - at least some of them could be, in theory, and a couple of them are. Rantaro’s and Ryoma’s are really pretty good - they’re relevant to their issues and give some more insight into their backstories and how they deal with their difficulties in ways that we don’t get to see much of in canon, considering that they both die so early on. (Rantaro’s in particular I might even go so far as to call my favourite piece of Rantaro content - when I reread it earlier I found myself having some Thoughts that may turn into a post of their own.) The “ideal fantasy” concept has potential to be more than just a lazy excuse for romantic and sexual stuff and to actually be used as a tool for some interesting character exploration. It’s just that, unfortunately, most of the time that either didn’t occur to the writers, or they just didn’t care.

It’s kind of like how most characters’ Harmonious Heart events are about something reasonably superficial or at most the character worrying about something they’d already told Shuichi about in their FTEs. Nearly all of them just range from almost no character insight at all, to maybe some but not much more than what we got from their FTEs. …Then there’s Kaito’s, which makes absolute maximum use of the potential of the “Shuichi gains inexplicable mindreading powers” premise to explore the core of Kaito’s issues and allow Shuichi to help him with them to an extent that is simply not possible in any of Kaito’s more regular content, and it’s the best. And, sure, I don’t think anyone else quite has such stubbornly-hidden issues that practically require mindreading to fix them to the point that their Harmonious Heart events could ever be quite as good as Kaito’s. But there’s definitely some characters who I feel could have had one that’s more relevant to their most interesting issues than what they actually got, if the writers had really thought about using this concept to its fullest potential for them.

So, well, I do think it would have been possible for Kaito’s Love Suite event to genuinely be really character-driven (and if that were the case I would personally have also preferred it to not be romantic at all). There are things you could do with the “ideal fantasy” concept that could absolutely be very deliberately about his issues.

What if it drew off Kaito’s deeply-buried subconscious need to have someone he could safely talk to about his weaknesses and worries, without having to be afraid of letting them down by telling them all this? And then, as Kaito vents to him about his worries in the dream, Shuichi realises with dawning horror that he’s the person Kaito’s terrified of admitting any of this to in reality, and that Kaito has no idea that Shuichi’s actually hearing every bit of it right now. And to keep up the “ideal fantasy”, because Kaito reacts very negatively if he tries to do otherwise, Shuichi has to just play along and agree with Kaito’s unhealthy outlook and be all, “Yeah, don’t worry, I won’t tell any of this to your sidekicks, your secret’s safe with me,” even though he wants to do the exact opposite because he knows that’s the best way to help. (That’d be a neat deconstruction of the dodgy non-consensual aspect of the place in a way that didn’t even have to get all nsfw about it.) …Admittedly this would be along rather similar lines to the Harmonious Heart event Kaito already has and probably not quite necessary next to it, but, you know, just as a proof-of-concept example.

Or, instead of that, to make it something different, they could have still made it about the rival thing, but not have the romance be the main point (or not even there at all). Instead, we’d actually spend the scene properly exploring the concept like you talked about: that in some ways Kaito feels more at ease around a rival than a sidekick because there’s no expectation to be completely invincible, that if they’re evenly matched then he’s supposed to lose sometimes as well as win, to be weak as well as strong, and that’s okay. We could even sort of combine this with my previous idea and have Kaito end up kind of accidentally venting a little to his rival about his worries, and then saying, “Y’know, it’s weird. I could never tell any of this to my sidekicks. But it doesn’t matter if you know all this, ‘cuz that doesn’t change the fact that I’m gonna beat you!” Or something like that. Your asks made me realise that I’d actually really enjoy some proper exploration of how Kaito feels about the concept of rivals, and it makes me so frustrated that the only time the game does touch on this topic to any extent is unnecessarily focused on obligatory romance and not really about his issues at all.

#anyway thanks for answering my ask i really loved your commentary it really made me think about why i liked kaitos arc so much

You’re welcome; I’m glad you enjoyed the commentary! Again, I am so happy I could help people who already liked Kaito realise even more of how great he is. :3

[stillebesat]

The Blue Exchange (1/3)

Detective Conan/Magic Kaito: Hakuba Saguru, Kuroba Kaito, Nakamori Aoko, Baaya Blurb: Of all the things Saguru expected to find upon coming back to Japan after accidentally getting dyed blue while on a case in London, having Kuroba Kaito offer to help return his appearance to normal wasn't one of them.  Editor’s Note: Takes place after An Expression of Gratitude but you don’t need to read that fic to understand what’s happening in this one. Fic Type: General Overall Fic Warnings: Near Death Experience (mentioned), Death talk (mentioned) 

Ao3 Link  FF.net Link

Saguru never thought that he would be relieved to open the door to 2B’s classroom at Ekoda High and see that Kuroba had somehow managed to prank the entire class. 

But he was. 

Everywhere he looked color assaulted his eyes. Reds, Greens, Kuroba’s favorite shade of Pink, Purples, and of course, thankfully, Blue. 

The place looked like a tye-dye bomb explosion, and Saguru found himself relaxing for the first time since he’d fallen into a giant dye vat while attempting to capture a suspected thief at London’s largest Textile Factory a week ago.

Here. Here, he could actually blend in for a little while and not worry about his appearance somehow making the papers or getting stared at everywhere he went as his currently blue complexion wouldn’t be considered at all out of the ordinary when one Kuroba Kaito was present. Especially when all of his fellow classmates, with the exception of Kuroba himself, were also dyed different colors of the rainbow. Though none of them had their skin or hair the exact same shade of blue as Saguru’s. 

Even if Kuroba hadn’t decided to do a class wide prank, his KID suspect had singled him out often enough that Saguru showing up to school dyed blue wouldn’t have caused much comment beyond condolences from his classmates. 

After all, it was well known that he wasn’t well liked by KID’s ‘number one fan.’

In all the chaos, it wasn’t surprising Kuroba was the first to notice his late arrival to class. The magician was in the middle of a handstand on top of a desk when he caught sight of the British Detective standing in the doorway, and Saguru had the pleasure of seeing the briefest of cracks in his mask. 

A slight widening of his eyes, the tiniest of wobbles in his balance, showed his surprise  at his appearance before Kuroba twisted, landing upright on the floor, his usual smirk in place. He snapped his fingers, covering Saguru briefly in a cloud of smoke before he could react.

“Hakuba.” He gleefully stated, giving a performer’s bow as the smoke cleared and Saguru glanced down to see what the magician had done to him this time. 

A wave of relief washed through him upon seeing that only his white shirt had been switched out for a blue one. 

He had honestly expected him to do worse considering the state of the rest of their class.

Kuroba raised an eyebrow, spreading his hands. “I didn’t know you were feeling blue--”

“BAKAITO!!” Aoko yelled, her usual uniform replaced with a bright pink dress that perfectly matched her dyed hair as she swung her mop at him. “What did you do to Hakuba-kun?” 

Kuroba snickered, dodging the mop with ease. “Same thing as everyone else in case you hadn’t noticed, Ahoko. Now his outward appearance matches his damp personality.” He back-flipped as she stabbed the mop at him, somehow ending up in the corner on the ceiling out of her reach. 

Wait. 

Saguru quickly smoothed out his features to hide his surprise as he moved to sit at his desk. 

Was Kuroba actually taking credit for his blue state? 

Why--why would he do tha--Kuroba had nothing to do with him being blue! 

After all, he had come straight to school from the airport. A delay in his flight meaning that Saguru had arrived almost two hours later than he’d originally planned--and no one in Japan had been aware he’d be returning today, especially since he’d ended his vacation earlier than expected.

So why would Kuroba choose to pretend that he had just barely dyed him? Why not point out to the rest of the class that Saguru had somehow turned himself blue without Kuroba’s or, he supposed, KID’s interference?

It didn’t make sense. 

Sure, he didn't expect his classmates to know what had happened in London as somehow Saguru had managed to avoid being noticed by the press in London thanks in part to the efforts of the police department in keeping his involvement in the case on the down low so no one knew what had happened at the Factory beyond the thief getting caught. And yet--

“Is that why you didn’t use Pink this time around?” Saguru asked offhandedly as he pulled his books from his bag and placed them on the desk, cautiously testing to see if Kuroba was actually choosing to take the blame for his blue skin and hair.

Usually his classmate favored that bright color when it came to him. So it would have made more sense for him to use that rather than blue.

Saguru tensed in his seat as Kuroba landed on top of his desk, grinning like the Cheshire Cat as he met his eyes. 

Crap. 

Had he just given the magician the idea to turn him Pink?! It was bad enough he was dyed blue in the first place, but if Kuroba decided to use his own dyes on him--Saguru couldn’t imagine what the end result of that would be. Well, beyond likely never looking normal ever again. 

“I thought I’d branch out a bit today. I do that every blue moon or so.” Kuroba winked and vanished to his own seat two rows over as Aoko’s mop slammed down on the spot he’d just been crouching on. “Mah mah, Aoko,” he complained, waving a hand around vaguely, ignoring how half the class flinched at the movement. “You’re so violent today, you don’t need to beat me black and blue over this.” 

“Kaito.” She growled, staring daggers at her childhood friend. “Undye Hakuba-kun! He just returned from London. Give him a break before you start pranking him again.” 

Kuroba lazily stretched in his seat before flipping over his desk to the aisle as Aoko advanced. “Why should he? Hakuba had plenty of prank-free time there.” 

The glimmer in his eyes as he raised an eyebrow to Saguru suggested he knew otherwise. And while it wasn’t surprising that Kuroba may have kept tabs on him while he was out of the country and therefore unavailable for any KID heists...it seemed rather unusual for his KID suspect to know of this particular situation considering the circumstances.

“Hakubaka could use a bit of color in his life. I mean.” The magician gestured to him. “At least people can see him coming now when he’s going to rain on their parades.” 

Saguru shook his head. While it hadn’t been a result of a prank, his blue complexion hardly meant he’d been relaxing while back in London. “Aoko-san, it’s fine.” He said, drawing her attention back to him. “It’s not like I haven’t experienced this particular issue from Kuroba-kun before.” Seventy-eight times before to be exact, though not all of those had been in class. Some had been at KID’s heists as well. He ran a hand through his blue hair, his shoulders tensing again. “It will wash out easily enough once I return home.” 

If only that was true. Kuroba’s colors faded after a week if he was unable to find the right solution to the dye. Neither his or KID’s concoctions were meant to be permanent.

However, this particular job wasn’t either’s doing and his skin had stayed this same shade of blue after multiple showers in every solution Saguru could think of. At this point, he was nearly certain he’d scrubbed his skin raw for nothing.

He looked up in time to see Kuroba erasing the traces of concern from his face, instead choosing to grin back at the detective. “Maybe, maybe not.” He teased. “Perhaps this time it will be permanent.” 

Saguru flinched despite himself and Kuroba’s eyes grew more piercing

“That…” Saguru drew a steadying breath, aiming for a more neutral tone. “That would make further pranks rather boring if I’m always the same color, Kuroba-kun.” He managed to retort.  

“True, true.” Kuroba mused aloud, dancing away from Aoko once more. “It would limit my options.” 

“How about you make the choice to return us all to normal?” Aoko demanded, lowering her mop in favor of pulling her pink hair out of it’s bun. It had already half fallen out anyways. “That would be different.” 

Kuroba pouted. “But Hakuba just got here!” he whined. 

“And he’s probably tired, Bakaito.” 

Kuroba rolled his eyes. “Blue hair doesn’t affect his ability to sleep, Ahoko.” 

“Nor my ability to learn.” Saguru cut in. It wouldn’t do any good anyways. Kuroba would be able to undo his own prank, but that would still leave him fully blue. With everyone else colored like the rainbow...it did help him feel a bit more at ease here. He flipped open his book to the chapter they were covering today and froze, barely masking his surprise at seeing a single slip of paper laying there.

After School. My Place. 

Simple. Concise. No way to directly implicate Kuroba had been the one to place it there--Saguru barely stopped himself from looking to his KID suspect. How had--it had to have been when the magician jumped on his desk, but how had he known exactly where in the book to slip his message so Saguru would see it? 

He swallowed, looking to Aoko instead and offered her a placating smile as he slipped the strip of paper into his pocket. “I’m fine Aoko-san. I promise.” 

“See!” Kuroba grinned in a near echo of KID’s smile. “No need to make yourself blue in the face over something you can’t change, Aoko. Hakuba’s already done it for you.”

Saguru drew in a shaky breath, unclenching his fingers from around his pen as he forced himself to look at the board where their teacher, dressed all in yellow, was attempting to draw the classes’ attention back to the topic at hand.

If only Kuroba knew just how permanent his blue state was--was that why the magician wanted to meet with him after school? To find out? Saguru pursed his lips together, daring to glance at his classmate from the corner of his eye. 

What exactly was Kuroba plotting?

To Be Continued Chapter 2

[archived-gtronpa-account]

Hey @impytricky I saw a post of yours (I'll try to link it here when I find it again) about how annoyed you were to see Gonta 'fans' talking about how Kokichi should've died in chap 4 ! I agree with that and I just wanted to say, first, I'm glad I never stumbled across something like this, second,,, aah

Now, I love Kokichi and Gonta as much as the next person, and not the 'pure cinnamon roll Gonta' but the boy who's intellect is severely underestimated, who constantly gets babied for absolutely no reason and feels extremely inferior to his peers as a result. I like Kokichi and Gonta's relationship, how you can often find them spending their free time together (which I don't remember seeing in a previous game? I'm not sure) and how Kokichi (despite popular belief for some reason?) Was the one to treat him best in how he understood how smart Gonta really was and trusted him- like how he took his word about seeing tiny bugs and didn't brush it off as 'Gonta idiot' like the rest of the class. Grumble grumble.

Aaa but I'm not gonna go on a tangent for this since I know ur blog and I think we're on the same line regarding those two!

I just wanted to share an idea I had like, right as I was watching Gonta's execution for the first time, an execution for Kokichi in chapter 4!

Like, Kaito voted for Kokichi in the trial. But imagine if maybe Maki had joined him- like how she always sides with Kaito in scrum debate after he learns her real talent (I think? I'm not sure about this info) or if Tsumugi had voted for him to spice things up. And if for some reason, Kokichi had kept no rational sense at the end of that trial and was just completely crushed under the weight of his emotions and decided to vote for himself since he couldn't bring himself to vote for Gonta, even if too many people voted for him and he became the blackened right at that moment he really wouldn't care anymore and at least their plan would have worked and he wouldn't've had to live with his sin.

Anyway, that makes 3 votes for Kokichi, and the player's vote! So yeah I think it's abundantly clear now that I'm going for an alternate route where you -the player- vote for Kokichi and both he and Gonta are blackened. I've seen takes on this scenario and so far haven't found the gem among the stones- especially now that I'm imagining those Gonta 'fans' posts wanting to kill Ko out of spite, yikes. I just wanted to share my thoughts with a fan who's got taste wink wonk ;]

So: Monokuma stays unclear about the two blackeneds tho and just drags Gonta gets taken to his execution, except that unlike the normal version this time there's a those lock things on the metal chains and Kokichi jumps in to try to lockpick those and free Gonta.

Haha I've already got the scenario somewhere written I'm feeling a lil lazy lemme just copy paste it.

So imagine: Gonta is taken to be punished. He's attached to the pole and Monokuma walks in and the execution song starts. But then Kokichi runs in in front of Gonta and alter ego and fumbles with the chains to try and free him, Gonta panics and urges him to go back and not die and he's not the murderer and Gonta can't die knowing he couldn't even protect his classmate one last time only because of those chains. Such despair! Kokichi doesn't listen and desperately tries to get rid of the chains and pick the many locks one by one. Monokuma starts shooting the bugs at them and Gonta is still struggling to try to get Kokichi to move out of the way and Kokichi is growing nauseous from the bug stings and his face gets blue then purple in Danganronpa fashion and Monophanie's stomach grows bigger and bigger and just then Kokichi finds a last lock hidden between the chains he lockpicks it with shaky hands- but Monophanie's stomach bursts open and the lock clicks and right as it falls in Kokichi's hands the giant bug bursts out of Monophanie. Gonta pushes the chains off his arms and legs, falls to the ground, limbs finally free, and jumps in front of Kokichi with his back to the bug to protect him, but right as he's about to push him out of the way of danger the giant bug strikes them both, its his claw digs in their abdomens and they both fall to the ground. After a beat the wooden pole creaks and falls on their on top of their bodies with a heavy thump. Monokuma looks with disgust at the bodies still twitching a little and the nasty bug on top and he throws a match on the pole and everything catches on fire. The fire crackles and the music fades out and the image cuts to alter ego Gonta at their feet looking sad before his screen glitches and goes black and a dark grey puff of smoke comes out of it.

(Dramatic much, I know, but I'm a sucker for despair and tragedy.)

After that you get a shocked text from Shuichi who doesn't understand why Kokichi did that and something like how till the very end he confused them all with his lies (nothing much too grand and emotional, your typical killing game shuichi after chap 4 talking here). After that you get a weird disturbing ending like that of dr1, with a last CG of all the students aged up smiling at a camera, Maki and Shuichi holding up Kaito's portrait since he died of his disease, and with that awful music to disturb you further at the weird image and to really rub it in that you fucked up by being spiteful and voting Kokichi, bad choice you silly player.

I just kinda think it's a cool response to those who could hate Kokichi and get petty and vote for him- only to have a bad ending as a result and a surprise regarding Kokichi's character. I also thought of it as more of a Kokichi's execution, kinda like how it would have Kokichi elements: lockpicking, his leadership quality and how he puts his people before himself and is pretty selfless, also willingly putting himself in front of Gonta so he doesn't get bug stings- which is cool with Kokichi disliking bugs. And just how by being a petty hater you give Kokichi a somewhat peaceful death where he doesn't live with his sins, but you the player get a bad end instead as a result. On Gonta's side, I just like the despair of him ultimately dying unable to protect his friend.

All in all, I just thought it'd be a cool take on chap 4, especially with how… tasteless Gonta's execution feels to me. I also kinda just like this as a Kokichi execution that exploits some of his aspects well enough without being overly dramatic- like the many popular fan excutions I've seen that have him on lie detector forced to tell the truth about his intentions and how he cares about his friends and yadda yadda simp stuff- like, you should be able to see a Dr character's execution and not be able to tell if this character is important or not based on that alone; executions don't discriminate between the popular and the lame, so I think this is a fitting enough execution for Kokichi that works for his character, isn't too lame but isn't too grandiose. This has it's flaws for sure, like how that ending doesn't fit the fictional world reveal of chap 6 and some minor details, but ah, eh, uhm, you know.

I'm a sucker for discussions I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Since you too have a respectable good view of Gonta and I think I saw a post about you thinking of a Kokichi execution? Aaa you know whatever I'm getting awkward now—–-

[phxse-shifter]

Love Fool [Chapter 3- Final]

Summary: Elaine is accused by many of trying to betray Dr. X because she refused PROJECT-X. Eventually, he began to believe those accusations, forcing her to prove her loyalty. A rewrite of the original story posted on my art blog.

Chapter 3: Elaine begins to wallow in sorrow, missing Dr. X. It takes a push from a familiar pair to get him to make up with Elaine.

*There will be an epilogue to this story.

Word count: 1780

A month passes, and Elaine delves deeper and deeper into sorrow.

She can no longer recreate the image of her husband smiling, nor can she remember what it was like for him to hold and kiss her. They have not spoken since she left that night, and anything that had to be asked of her or addressed to her was told through Kaito or Sharon. It became as if they were strangers. All of this grew the sorrow in Elaine’s heart. It exhausted her to the point of no return. Even the power she’d gained through this no longer pleased her. It made her bitter and cold, and she told everyone not to speak with her unless it was absolutely necessary.

Elaine spent her time locked away in her suite, ordering food and other necessities when she needed it, and then lying in her bed for hours on end, not even so much as flipping on the television on for white noise. She was left to cry alone, wishing that there could be some way to fix this situation. No matter how many times she thought of scenarios to mend her pain, she felt the execution to initiate said scenarios did not exist. So, Elaine would lie down and do nothing.

Her sorrow eventually caused her to look dull and unkempt, with her eyes red from crying and her hair a mess. She no longer chose to freshen herself up, and only kept herself from getting sick by eating small meals and drinking water, nothing else. Usually, the one to deliver these meals would be Sharon, and she would try to talk with Elaine to get her to come out, but it would never work. Elaine would thank her, and excuse herself, once again locking herself in.

There was no reason to come out to see anyone, nor was there any reason to work and do research. She normally conducted such things with her husband, so without him, it was pointless. Elaine was not needed and hence, she would stay secluded, only called upon if it were a dire emergency. After all, it was a month since these events and nothing changed about her situation.

Elaine reached into a bowl for the last bit of grapes she had but frowned when she realized there was none left. It was still fairly early and not yet dinner time, so she would not be able to get her meal just yet. Sighing, she called for Sharon, and on the phone, asked her to bring a large bowl of themalong with water when she had the chance. When she got conformation, she hung up and plopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

---

Of all the things Dr. X expected, a hard cover dictionary to his face was the least on his list. Rather, it was nonexistent.

Sharon fumed, glaring at him. It took all of Kaito’s strength to prevent his wife from throwing a textbook on archeology at him next, holding her firmly in place while Dr. X looked at her in shock and anger.

“Daichi. Explain yourself! NOW!”

“You are a complete and utter moron,” Sharon hissed. “You have your WIFE secluded and wasting away in a suite and you have no goddamn remorse nor do you even want to TRY to rekindle your relationship with her!”

Dr. X grit his teeth. He didn’t need to be reminded that Elaine basically thought of him as so repulsive that she didn’t even to see his face, especially from Kaito and Sharon, who were ones to openly express their love for one another in public.

“It’s none of your business! Remove yourselves from my office!”

“Vaffanculo! I will not remove myself! You will see to Elaine and you WILL make up with her!”

Kaito sighed. Whenever Sharon broke out her Italian, she meant business. All of this yelling was about to give him a headache. He released Sharon, giving her a small glare as to say ‘do not throw another textbook’ and turned to the moving cart which had a sealed bowl of grapes and a glass of water on it and took both off of the cart, and placed both in front of Dr. X on his desk. When he looked at Kaito in confusion, it took all of his strength to not roll his eyes.

“Dr. Elaine asked Sharon to give her some grapes and water. She’s been doing this for the last month,” Kaito explained. “She eats very little meals, and does not come out of her suite as you obviously know. It’s very unhealthy. You will give these to her and speak with her and make sure that she cleans herself up. Sharon isn’t the only one who’s pissed off by your actions.”

“What exactly do you mean by your last statement?” Dr. X asked him darkly.

“Exactly as it sounds. Go see your wife. If Dr. Elaine does not get her food, we will know. Don’t knock, but use this card she gave us in order to enter. If you knock, she will not answer.”

Kaito placed the card on his desk and then took Sharon’s hand and left immediately without another word, leaving Dr. X to stare at the bowl of grapes and ice cold water as if the pair was foreign items he’s never seen before. He buried his face in his hands. He would have to see her, but he was not ready to do so. All of this time, he wanted to see her. He wanted to make up with her, but he didn’t know how. Now he was being forced to.

He missed Elaine, but he was terrible at this. He was a mess just as she was. Knowing Elaine was eating small means and refused to come out, even for experiments pained him. She truly did not want to see him. Because of his suspicion and lack of better judgment, he accused his wife of trying to betray him, and thus completely severed their strong connection with one another. It would be a long process to mend that connection.

Would Elaine even want to see him? Would she slam the door in his face, and yell at him to get out? Since he last saw her in their suite, she made it clear that she did not want to see him. He didn’t have time to think fully on what he would say to her or how he would even be able to explain himself. Elaine was waiting for her food, and she would get suspicious if it wasn’t sent to her.

Taking a deep breath, he stands, taking the card, grapes and water and going to the suite number that was on the card. He dreaded to see her unprepared, and didn’t know how he himself would react once seeing his wife again. For once, he was at a loss. He was confused, he didn’t know what to do. His thoughts get the better of him, so much so he almost misses the door where he’s supposed to enter.

A shaky hand places the keycard in it’s slot, opening the door. When he enters, he does not immediately see Elaine, which worries him.

“I’m in the bathroom,” Elaine says casually, thinking it was Sharon that entered. “Bring it in here, please.”

Hearing her voice made him smile. He couldn’t help it. He loved to listen to Elaine. Her voice was strong and powerful, yet laced with a sweetness only he could hear. It reminded him of when she would hum when he held her, nuzzling into his chest.

“Please hurry. I’m hungry,” she calls out.

He takes a deep breath, and slowly enters the bathroom with the grapes and water. When he sees Elaine, his eyes widen.

She was lying as if she was lifeless in a large bathtub, staring at the lights. When she turns her head to finally face him, she gasps and sits up with water splashing on the floor. He was prepared to get yelled at, but it never comes. Instead, Elaine just stares at him. It prompts him to approach her and hand her the grapes . Elaine opened the container and ate them greedily, and then took the water and drank as if her life depended on it.

“Thank you.”

He nodded, looking at the ground. He still didn’t know what he could possibly say to her, hence the silence that followed for a good couple of minutes. Then, he reaches his hand out to stroke her cheek. He expected her to pull away, but instead, Elaine nuzzled his hand softly. Feeling his touch again, she could not help it. He smiled when she did not pull away. Seeing this smile, Elaine’s eyes widened.

“…I miss you,” he says to her. “I really miss you. I miss being around you. I miss hearing your voice. I miss holding you. I’m sorry. My words are quite a mess, aren’t they? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know. I’m sorry. I wish I could say more. I’m trying to find the proper explanation, but I can’t. I am truly at a loss.”

“It’s okay,” Elaine said simply. “It’s fine.”

This time, he frowns.

“No. It’s not. It’s not okay. I hurt you, and I should not have. Because of my fucking indecision and vulnerability, you’re here in this tub dead to the world.”

Elaine could not get a word in as he continued. She could see he was visibly shaken, and the look of despair on his face as well as some odd redness on his face didn’t help, either.

“For a month I did not come to you. I did not try to come to you. It took Sharon yelling at me for me to come to you. That’s pathetic. I did not come to you, and let you stay here, getting more and more sorrowful. I will understand if you… If you wish for me to leave but… I am sorry, Elaine, I am a bit selfish. Even after all of this, I am selfish.”

She tilted her head in confusion. How was he being selfish?

She lets out a small sound as he cups both of her cheeks. He tries to force himself to keep composure, but he cannot. The tears, which look so out of place on his cheeks roll down.

“I love you. I love you, my Elaine… Please do not go. Please do not leave me.”

And just like that, Elaine broke down. Her shaky hands wrap around her husband.

“I love my Casimir,” she sobbed. “I love my Casimir so, so much!”

[meimi-haneoka]

Thoughts on Chapter 34 of CCS Clear Card

Aaaaand here we are again, at that time of the month, ready to talk and scream (?) about another of Clear Card’s chapters! Sakura and Syaoran have sorted out their problems, no more lies and secrets between them, Sakura even had the chance to witness in front of her eyes how her wishes can instantly turn into “incidents”, and her resolute face at the end of Chapter 33 hinted that she’s not gonna succumb to her fate!

What possibly could go wrong?

CLAMP:

UNDER THE CUT!!

The calm before the storm

First of all, I have to admit it. Those talking with me on the Clow Kingdom discord server might have already heard this, but this chapter left me totally disoriented. I don’t know whether it’s due to CLAMP not planning the storyboard properly (unlikely) or because it was supposed to feel like this, as the focus is all on the cliffhanger on the final pages (after all, this is future volume 7′s last chapter), but the feeling I got is that the flow of events is a bit rushed. We have many POV in this chapter, first we’re with the kids, then Kero and Suppi, then Nakuru and Yukito, then the kids again. 32 pages might not have been enough to develop everything properly, but we had to arrive to that cliffhanger.

And some things look definitely off. Like, Tomoyo is finally made aware of the fact that Sakura is the one creating the cards. And her reaction is “Oooh.” . She’s totally....unfazed? o_o Even seeing the Clear Card that represents her, she just comments with “まあ”?! Ok, Tomoyo might not be a drama queen ok no scratch that, she totally is, but I expected a bit more of surprise from her. Instead, she gushed over the Rewind card’s cuteness and started her usual ranting about recording this and that. It’s getting a bit repetitive and stereotypical, CLAMP? Tomoyo is so much more than that. She may not be my favorite ever but I do like her and her perceptiveness. I went so far that I even imagined she already knew Syaoran was the one behind the Sakura Card’s disappearance. So much for that. I hope CLAMP will find the time to bring out a shiny moment for Tomoyo, as I understand that the pages are what they are, and they have to develop the plot for the new characters, so they inevitably have to sacrifice the screen time of other characters.

We have a brief moment of Suppi explaining everything to Kero, and here I go “eh?” again at the story: Sakura says “Kero-chan is at home, this morning a guest came over” .... Ok? Did Sakura see that it was Suppi??? DIDN’T SHE INSTANTLY GO “WHERE THE FUCK IS YOUR ELUSIVE MASTER?” on him??? Ok maybe not with those terms, but....isn’t she surprised, didn’t she ask him why he was there? Again, a totally confusing part. We’ll see if that’ll get explained later on. We have a cute moment between the two small guardians, and again we have a character who acts nonchalantly about the situation, justifying it with “It’s Sakura. She’s gonna do something about it.”

DUDE

I wouldn’t want to break your world made of unicorns and tasty gourmet dishes, but this is exactly the reason why Sakura is in the situation she is, right now!!  It’s a problem she’s got in herself and she can’t do much about it, at the moment. This is what she is. A 12/13 year old girl with a scary amount of power in herself, that is growing by the minute (and we’ll see how, in this chapter). A power she can’t control. Sakura being Sakura is the source of the problem in itself.

I know, it’s supposed to show that he’s totally trusting his mistress, like he effectively says to Suppi. But he’s the 2nd character out of 3 who is acting in a  way too relaxed manner, in this chapter.

The third one is Yukito. It’s Nakuru to remark this fact, adding that it’s better that way. Sure, if everyone started feeling gloomy it would be a big mess. But even being too relaxed, in a situation like this, might lead them to overlook important things. BTW, it seems Eriol arranged paperwork to enroll Nakuru in college! That’s totally an Eriol move! XD Keeping Nakuru and Yukito together without disrupting Yukito’s normal life, great idea.

Sakura’s anxiety

But it’s when the kids arrive to the classroom, that the “fun” starts. The girls are talking about the swimming class they will have today, and Sakura is her usual cheerful self.

Then, Akiho arrives.

Sakura turns around normally, but when she sees her, anxiety start churning inside of her.

Sakura, who never ever felt anything about Akiho, not even after Kaito rewound time, feels something is wrong with her friend. The moment we’ve been waiting for 26 chapters. But there’s more, she can’t shake the feeling even during the swimming class (OFFICIAL SCHOOL SWIMSUITS, BTW!! they’re even more conservative than before and it’s alright XDD).

Of course, eh, her frown doesn’t escape observative-boyfriend-Syaoran's stare. She asks him if he can feel something from Akiho, and he says no, AND HE’S NOT LYING DAMMIT, he really can’t feel anything, but how can he explain ALL THE REST to her, with the spell placed upon him? Of course, this is Syaoran we’re talking about, so he tries to say something anyway, and finds himself not emitting a single sound. See, there’s so much to talk about in so few pages, like how we’re again presented with the fact that Akiho is similar to Sakura in the good reflexes too, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER Sakura’s smile to Akiho is so forced and lukewarm that you CAN really feel something is terribly wrong. Or, how we cannot talk about the first YAMACHIHA FLIRTING SCENE EVER?? I was so happy, in a moment of such tension those two managed to give us a breather before going back to the utter mess that is about to unfold. I love those two and their relationship <3

BUT LOOK WHO’S BEING A TOTAL CREEPER WATCHING KIDS IN SWIMSUITS? Our legendary asshole Yuna D. Kaito, of course!! XD Now, I have to be sincere. This is another of those “???” scenes because, ok, they try to explain that he’s there to cause some trouble now that Sakura knows the origin of the cards, but I still didn’t get why he’s doing that. What’s the connection between the two things? He smiles warmly while taking out his staff and he’s the usual smartass we love to hate!

Shit definitely goes down again

Then, panic unfolds. We have the final proof that in this chapter, Sakura could feel things before happening TWICE: one is as soon as Akiho arrives to school, having an uneasy feeling that she never had while looking at Akiho, and now, seconds before Kaito stopped time with his magic. Actually, scratch that: they might be 3 TIMES, as she pulls out her key and Reflect Card even before the real attack comes to her. This is all fun and games, until you actually stop to realize...that Sakura’s power might have increased once again, leading her to new heights of worrisome strong magical powers. 

A whirlpool raising from the pool attacks Sakura, to which she effortlessly responds using “Reflect” and here I’m once again confused because the scene just doesn’t flow right, there’s at least a panel missing to show that the one attacking her is “the pool” and those “arrows” don’t come out of nowhere, like the rest of this attack anyway, as it felt totally random (this might be the part pertaining to Kaito, anyway).

And, as if anyone called her: hello there, “vessel-mode” Akiho! (Ah, actually “vessel” is not a thing anymore, as the term has been completely erased in the tankobon release of volume 6, the latest out. The term “vessel” has been replaced with 中, “inside”. I’ll do a post about it, later on.) Just like last time, the usual assholes are talking through her again, using her as an intercom (though, I’m not sure if these are the Squids or the Association), commenting on Sakura’s powers and then attacking her, still using Akiho, stating that they have to bind her to this book. Yes, the verb used is really “to bind, to file” and it’s relative to books etc. 

Soooooo, now what I want to know is:

IS THIS THE CLIMAX STARTING TO MOVE FOR REAL, this time around?

Is something irreparable about to happen? Will Sakura be trapped in that book?

But most importantly, will Kaito rewind time once again and make the fandom riot like they never had before??? I really want to see if CLAMP are going to put their fan’s patience on the line like that ^^””” Still, it probably feels too soon to wrap this up, considering Kaito said there aren’t enough cards not many chapters ago. She did 3 in one day, yes, but if Kaito was about to cause something before the assholes interfered, it’s probably because he wanted her to give birth to another card. And now we have to see if this will happen or not.

If you’re wondering when next chapter is going to be released, please read my post on the matter.  UPDATE: a confirmation of a break for the July issue came from Nakayoshi’s Twitter account, you can read more HERE .

Thanks to @horitsuba for the scans featured here and thank you for sticking around to the end of this rant!! Mwah mwah! XDD

[dangandidlyronpaimgines]

V3 Guys Receiving N00ds From a Male S/O. Repost/Revision

Fixed some errors while also made a few changes~

Gonta Gokuhara

Gonta wasn’t very good with cell phones to be honest

They were just so small and so complicated!

Plus they broke so easily!

But thanks to Miu, he know had a phone that was almost impossible to break!

He was doing his usual bug hunting when he noticed he got a text from you

Oh! You sent him a picture he was so excited to see wha-

Seeing the image of his lover’s erection made his face turn bright red and he dropped his phone in shock

(He can’t deny that the image made him feel… no that was not gentlemanly at all!)

He called you to try and ask why you did but he couldn’t form words

“Sooo like my little present Gonta~”

Your voice was all husky and he could hear the occasional groan from you

Oh god.. you were touching yourself won’t you

(He gulped loudly trying to ignore the tent in his pants)

“Gonta~ I miss you so much… I need you hun.”

He dropped his phone again but this time he did not pick it up

Instead he ran towards your home as fast as he could

You knew how to get him to do what you want it seems

(Plus it was well worth having to buy a new phone for Gonta… again)

Kokichi Ouma

God he was so bored!

He was at his secret base today alone with his boyfriend nowhere in sight

He felt like just going back home but hey he had minions to take care of

He was just playing with his phone when he he say that you sent him a message!

It seems you were bored too!

He was so excited as he clicked on your message and

Nishishishi~

He couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face when the he saw a video of you fucking a fleshlight

(He wasn’t blushing.. Nope not at all)

“Wish it was you” The message said

Well if that’s how you wanted to play then he could do it too

After making sure to lock the doors so no minions could ruin his time he began to undress and started to film his own video.. Or two~

Thus your adventures in sexting and  phone sex began

Ryoma Hoshi

He was on a quick licorice run at the supermarket

(Normally he would bring you but you were fast asleep when he woke up and he couldn’t wake you up with such a peaceful face)

He was checking out when his phone dinged

As he grabbed his bag with one hand he clicked with your message with the other

And what he saw made him drop his bag, a small blush creep it’s way on his face

It was a picture of you pouting at the camera… naked

Fuck did you really have to send him a nude while he was in public?!

He even made sure to put a note telling where he was

Then the second picture came..

The camera was focused more on your face this time and you were blushing, all the while your hand seemed to be going somewhere downwards

He quickly exited out of the message app and rushed back home

There was no way he could keep his calm if he got another picture with you

His face was bright red as he got home as soon as possible

It seemed he had to punish you when he got home

Korekiyo Shinguji

He was in the study busy as usual, in fact he’s been in there for most of the day

He knew that it was selfish of him to spend all his time on his work but he got his hands on a rare relic that he simply had to translate

However the dinging from his phone was a sound he couldn’t ignore anymore so with a sigh he picked it up.

He felt bad seeing those missed messages until he saw that you sent him a set of images

His eyes widen before he let out a chuckle

Kukukuku~

So that’s your latest attempt to lure him out

He couldn’t help but stare at the pictures of you fingering yourself

Oh my it seemed you were even desperate enough to get a toy out

Well well it seem like he simply had to leave now

He just had to hear those delicious noises coming from your own mouth

So he stalked his way towards the bedroom as fast as he could

Shuichi Saihara

He was going to be home late.. again

He could tell that from how little progress he seem to be having with his latest case

With a sigh he pulled out his phone to text you that

(He couldn’t bear to hear you disappointed in him)

He wasn’t surprise to hear his phone go off signaling that you texted him back

After debating it for a bit he decided to see what you texted him..

Oh.. He couldn’t help the heavy blush that came across his face and the involuntary gulp he took

It was a picture of you laying on the bed naked, holding a blindfold and a pair of handcuffs

The message said “Aww I had a surprise for you though ;p”

He shook his head and tried to focus back on his case

(Well focus as much as he could with a boner)

But he couldn’t help stealing glances back at the picture

Were you going to use them on him or.. Did you plan to have him use them on yourself

Either options were very.. Very interesting

It seemed he wouldn’t be able to focus on his work any longer… you won this round

He awkwardly tried his best to leave his work without anyone noticing his.. well problem

Kiibo

Some people thought it was a bit odd that the Ultimate Robot had a cellphone but isn't it normal for a teenager to have a cell phone!!

He was running some errands in the morning while when his phone beeped

Oh it seemed you woke up sooner than he expected!

He clicked on it expecting a cute message or something when

He instantly overheats and clocks out for a few seconds

When he comes back online and sees the picture thankfully this time he does not overheat

(Though his face is bright red)

The picture was of your erection with the message “Morning wood is a bitch, wish you were here to help me take care of it <3”

On one hand he still had a couple of errands to run… but you clearly needed him!

B-Besides he could always do this later!

Besides he didn’t want you to be pent up the whole day..

He quickly put his phone away before running back towards your place as fast as he could

(The blush never leaving his face)

Besides he had a few upgrades that you might have wanted to try out

Rantaro Amami

He was at home watching over his sisters for a bit

Of course he texted you

He couldn’t wait til his parents came home so he could go back to cuddling with you

When he mentioned that his parents car was in the driveway and that he was on his way, you sent a message

Honestly he wasn’t expecting much, maybe a heart emoji or a hurry up

Well he was partly right~

He couldn’t help the chuckle (or blush) that escaped him as he saw a picture of your nude body posing for him on your bed

It came with the message “Hurry up~”

Well.. might as well show you how much this affected him right?

Before he starts the car he sends you a picture of his clothed erection with the simple message, ‘omw’

Let’s just say he drove back to your place as fast as possible

He couldn’t keep you waiting after all

(Though knowing you, you might get impatience and start without him..)

(And that just made him speed even faster)

Kaito Momota

He was so damn tired after training

So when he texted you that he would be home soon he was not surprised that you texted him back so soon

You probably missed him after all since his training lessons seem to drag on forever

So he clicked on the message and-

His brained just stopped working for a minute

It was a picture of you naked laying in bed with a heavy flush on your face as you stroked yourself

The message read “I couldn’t help but start a bit early since your training took so long.”

Fucking hell S/O!

He used his coat to cover his.. problem as he went back home as fast as possible

Hopefully he could get there fast enough that you wouldn’t have came yet

(Though knowing you, you wouldn’t mind a round two)

(Or.. three.. Or well you get the picture)

[natsumiheart]

100 reasons why I (personally) OTP Oumasai:

Warning: this is an extremely long post.

1. In the beginning of the game Shuichi normally didn't talk much during introductions, let alone be the one to start talking without being addressed to, but when Kokichi revealed his ultimate, he actually got curious and jumped in asking about his organization.

2. It is proven that he really was interested in it as he asks about it later in Kokichi's free time events.

3. Kokichi was interested in Shuichi at first because he was a detective and he wanted to see if he can see through his lies, but then got attached to him because "he couldn't figure him out".

4. Kokichi was probably amused by how nice he was to him (by actually approaching him and hanging out with him) compared to the others.

5. In chapter 2 Shuichi woke up to find Kokichi above him, saying that he's glad he's finally awake (makes me wonder if he got worried when Gonta came in with an unconscious Shuichi, and if he stayed by his side the whole time).

6. At multiple points in the game, Shuichi actually comments on how innocent Kokichi looks compared to his words, saying he can't get mad at him because he looks like he means no malice, then says "but that might just be another lie..."

7. During the free time events, Kokichi literally plays 100 rounds of Rock Paper Scissors with Shuichi because he wants to show him that he actually does not want him to die or to hurt him in general.

8. And probably because he genuinely has fun hanging out with him, even if it means playing the same game 100 times and getting the same result on purpose (and Shuichi did not stop either!)

9. The freaking fact that he hurt himself on purpose to lose and let Shuichi "win".

10. THE FREAKIN FACT SHUICHI IMMEDIATELY GOT WORRIED AND WENT TO TEND HIM FRANTICALLY.

11. The fact Kokichi was laughing "like he was having the time of his life" (as Shuichi said) the whole time Shuichi was taking care of him.

12. "I stole your heart so now I'm satisfied!"

13. The persona freakin vibes, the detective Conan freakin vibes. THE PHANTOM THIEF AU.

14. THEIR FREAKING DYNAMIC.

15. The fact that Kokichi's free time events were one big scheme to make Shuichi think about him.

16. When Kaede hung out with Kokichi, she got pissed in the end and the FTE ended with a warning from Kokichi. But with Shuichi, it ended with such a heartwarming note because Shuichi was patient with him and actually cared for him and worried about him.

17. Kokichi called Kaede and Rantaro his beloved once in chapter 1 after they were dead, but called Shuichi his beloved from chapter 2 onwards in front of him.

18. PROBABLY TO MAKE SURE THAT SHUICHI NEVER REALISES THAT HE MEANS IT CAUSE HE WILL THINK EVERYTHING HE SAYS IS A LIE.

19. Shuichi is the only one, and I repeat the only one who thinks twice about Kokichi's lies. And I quote him saying multiple times "he's lying about lying..."

20. Whenever Kokichi has evidence the one he always reaches out to is Shuichi. During trials and investigations.

21. Shuichi is onto him during the trials and acknowledges how much of a help he is. One time he said "maybe I should thank him later" but then backtracked.

22. In chapter 4 Kokichi referred to Shuichi with the phrase "Suki ni natta hito" "the person I fell in love with" while alone. and it's not even a bonus scene or event, the line is 100% canon and the player will come across it no matter what.

23.The👏angst👏starts👏in👏chapter👏four👏where👏kokichi👏decides👏to👏cut👏his👏ties👏with👏everyone👏including👏his👏beloved👏

24. But how does he do that? By trash talking the hell out of Shuichi's best friend in front of him, because he knows what pisses Shuichi off. Kokichi is not stupid, if he truly wanted Shuichi to trust him he wouldn't trash talk his friend. A part of him must have wanted Shuichi to be his ally, but it wasn’t possible after he told him to stop hanging around Kaito.

25.  His clinginess in chapter 4 was probably him trying to make use of the time he has left with Shuichi before it all crashes down. That’s why he talked to him after the murder has happened. He realized he didn’t want Shuichi questioning his actions.

26.  His worried face when he said he would cry if something happened to his Saihara chan.

27. The fact that their relationship wouldn’t be so pure because of the love hotel-

28. Kokichi was constantly worried about Kaito influencing Shuichi negatively and tried to drop him hints multiple times that sometimes believing in each other and working together might get them all killed.

29. The fact Kokichi freaking called Shuichi the Japanese sweet "Shumai" just like Kaito calls Maki "Harumaki" IS REALLY HECKIN ADORABLE AND VALID.

30. It just seems like they are both very interested in each other. Like they are each other's puzzle. They want to know more about each other.

31. And honestly, their relationship is just so very cute.

32. Kokichi's interest in Shuichi, says a lot about him.

33. And let's talk about something... Kokichi has always been treated like shit in the killing game by his friends. No one trusted him, everyone turned on him when Rantaro accused him of wanting to play the killing game because he suggested not doing the death road of despair. And he took all the blame to stop Kaede from basically torturing everyone by forcing them to try again and again. And he always brushed it off whenever they said anything mean to him. So why do you think he had such a strong reaction (for someone like Kokichi) when Shuichi said "you're alone and you always will be"?

34. Kokichi had planned to make Shuichi hate him cause he was planning to impersonate the mastermind, he needed to cut his ties with everyone. So when he did so with Shuichi, and with his best friend and probably the only person he can trust in the killing game getting killed. It became too much for him so he booked it out. Ah the angst.

35. Later in the game, Shuichi calls Kokichi his friend. And want do friends do? Stay by each other's side.

36. And then the salmon team ending comes along and wraps it all by making the ending theme "staying by each other's side"

37. "you want to know more about me right? Then you should stay by my side." "Kokichi's right... I want to know more about him."

38. In the ending of the FTE's Shuichi says "I reach out my hand to Kokichi, but he doesn't take it" but then at the end of the salmon team ending he says "I reach out and grasp the hand reached out to me"

39. "Kokichi can lie about a lot of things, but he can't lie about the warmth of his hand."

40. THE DATES ARE ADORABLE THEIR INTERACTIONS ARE ADORABLE THE FTES ARE ADORABLE THE SALMON TEAM ENDING IS ADORABLE.

41. "Maybe you and I were lovers in a past life!"

42. Pregame👏oumasai👏is👏beautiful👏 (when people don't make it abusive holy shit yall need Jesus)

43. "SAIHARA CHAN!" "SAIHARA CHAN!" "SASUGA SAIHARA CHAN!!!!" 😂

44. Kokichi saw Shuichi as himself in the love hotel, his ideal version of Shuichi is Shuichi himself, NO CHANGES.

45. And the game makes it pretty clear that he saw HIS beloved, by all the connections between stuff he said in the hotel and stuff he said out of the hotel.

46. In chapter 3 if you decide to talk to Kokichi before checking in on Kaito, There is a really interesting conversation between them. Kokichi saying he would rather have Kaede come back to life because it would make Shuichi happy.

47. He also says that he loves Shuichi and is always thinking about him, but then he says its a lie. But the funny thing is, in the love hotel he actually says the exact same thing- and he has no control over the love hotel, everything there is g e n u i n e.

48. Kokichi's love hotel scene had the most voiced lines, I wonder why? 👀

49. Kokichi literally pushed Shuichi onto a bed, in a freaking love hotel.

50. "that means, you can do anything you want to me, and that's the truth"

51. The thing that makes Kokichi's love hotel the most interesting isn't only because he literally was with the person he was in love with, but it's also because it is implied that Kokichi is playing Shuichi's ideal instead.

52. KOKICHI FREAKIN GOT OVERWHELMED OVER HIS OWN FEELINGS BECAUSE HE HAS A HARD TIME TRUSTING PEOPLE AND RAN AWAY FROM HIS OWN FANTASY OMFG.

53. "I caught myself wishing he would stay before I smothered the thought"

54. Kokichi has a hard time trusting people but had Shuichi labeled as "trustworthy?" on the whiteboard in his room.

55. His "will" was literally directed towards Shuichi, even Maki knew because she went to Shuichi and gave it to him saying "I think this is for you".

56. Shuichi was the one to clear Kokichi's name from ultimate despair.

57. He seemed really interested in what was going through Kokichi's head the entire game.

58. The fact that Kokichi helped Shuichi so much, with literally ending the game even after he's dead.

59. They would make an amazing investigation team together....

60. Their interactions in the drv3 comic anthology are really freaking precious.

61. They feel valid but not forced at the same time. Just showing that they get along really well, without any repetition.

62. The fact that the comic anthology confirmed that Shuichi tries to calm Kokichi down whenever he's fake crying even though he knows it's fake...

63. It reminds me of how in the game he stated multiple times "maybe I should make sure he's alright"

64. And that one section that focused on Shuichi and Kokichi, where Shuichi was trying to use a lie detector that Miu made to know when Kokichi is lying.

65. Kokichi let him use it on him for a while until Shuichi asked about the organization to get information XD

66. That just shows again how Shuichi is interested in Kokichi and his organization and wants to figure him out. The same way Kokichi finds him tricky and wants to figure HIM out.

67. They look really good together! The height difference for example! Its legit perfect, not too much and not too low.

68.  Kokichi wearing mostly white while Shuichi wears mostly black. and that’s a bit interesting cause normally white is given to represent the pure and helpful characters while black is normally given to represent the dark “evil” characters. but here Kokichi who is trusted by no one and paints himself as the bad guy is wearing white, and Shuichi who everyone blindly believes in and trust is wearing black, makes you think, doesn’t it?

69.  The dark blue and purple aesthetic...

70. Their characters are meant to parallel each other with the truth and lies theme, and the game makes that very clear to the player. but sometimes they step in each others territory, where Shuichi has to lie at least once in every trial to progress, and Kokichi hiding a lot of truths in his lies to make everyone confused and not trust him. to me this dynamic between them is very interesting.

71. The fanfictions and fanart are adorable fight me, some people can write their relationship so freakin well? What are you people???? Gods?? Because it sure seems like it.

72. It has the right amount of angst and fluff for a ship, it has everything I've wanted in a ship, I love it.

73. The thief and the detective... Lies and truths... Good shit.

74. Kokichi looks really freaking adorable in Shuichi's hat y'all.

75. Just imagine dice getting in trouble with the police and Shuichi finding a way to bail them out, since they trust the detective.

76. Kokichi, the embodiment of lying, CONSIDERED TO STOP WITH LYING BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GET CLOSER TO SHUICHI. WHY DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT THIS.

77. "What should I do... If I wanna become closer to Shuichi... I probably shouldn't lie so much..."

78. When Shuichi said he will get to tolerate his lying Kokichi felt guilty at first with his despair sprite being shown.

79. But then got happy when he realized that meant that Shuichi will accept him for who he is. And when he saw that Shuichi understands him and can see through his lies anyway.

80. "Maybe I was born into this world just to meet you, Shuichi."

81. During Kokichi's FTE's they were playing games and spending time together right? Like the time they drank tea XD well during the love hotel Kokichi says "come, play with me, let's do a lot more together" and "I'll think of a better game for next time, so make sure you excite me too". Aka: Kokichi just told us his true feelings.

82. "I'm so glad I met someone who can truly understand me"

83. The fact that Kokichi is like a cat that constantly wants attention and keeps flirting with his beloved, notice me Saihara chan.

84. THEIR JP VOICES GO ALONG REALLY WELL TOGETHER WTF. I’ve also come to appreciate how Kokichi has the deeper voice in jp with Shuichi with the feminine lighter voice. but it’s the opposite in English.

85. It's kinda funny how Shuichi keeps trying to figure him out while Kokichi just keeps flirting with him 😂 probably making him even more confused.

86. To Kokichi who could predict everything, Shuichi's unpredictability fascinated him to the point he fell in love with him.

87. Unlike everyone, Shuichi is patient with Kokichi, but not too patient. He is the exact person Kokichi needs.

88. And it makes total sense why a trickster fell in love with a sweet detective.

89. "and I wanted your eyes to be on me..."

90. Kokichi deserves someone who would love him for being himself and its shown that Shuichi did fall for him in the salmon team.

91. SHUICHI'S BLUSH WHEN KOKICHI TOLD HIM THAT HE KNOWS HIS LIES NEVER BORED HIM.

92. Shuichi👏wants👏to👏know👏more👏about👏Kokichi👏

93. Kokichi👏wants👏to👏be👏Shuichi's👏everything👏

94. this is completely personal but I started off the game being confused about the ship, and became a hardcore supporter by the end of it. Which means its a heckin good ship if you ask me.

95. Pretty sure Shuichi is one of the only reasons for Kokichi to genuinely smile in a killing game.

96. This ship can make me cry from sadness because of the sad videos, or from happiness from fluffy fanfictions and fanart.

97. Kokichi is completely in love and is enamored by Shuichi it hurts. His love for Shuichi is valid, so freaking valid, 100% valid, more valid than my existence.

98. I love the bonus interactions between them hidden throughout the chapters, like the one where Kokichi tells Shuichi that everything he does is for everyone. It seems that he is only honest with Shuichi, but of course hides it as a lie.

99. Kokichi wanted Shuichi to join his organization, and called him interesting multiple times. Which is really important coming from someone like Kokichi who wasn't fond of most of the people in the killing game. 

100. Their relationship is very realistic, it is focused on how two characters try their best to understand each other, how even someone like Kokichi can come to trust in someone and want someone to trust in him, how he wants that someone to be able to understand him. Kokichi went from being interested in Shuichi to falling in love with him (literally referring to him as the person he fell in love with, using the same phrase that Maki says to Kaito later on), in a freaking killing game. he forced himself to cut their ties and died thinking the only person he cared about hated him. while Shuichi started off interested but wary of Kokichi, tried reaching out to him but failed due to Kokichi pushing him away, to getting mad from him for making Gonta a murderer and trash talking Kaito when he seemed in a really bad condition (after getting punched by Kokichi too) to hitting cold hard realization to what Kokichi has been trying to do the whole game after his death. and then appreciating his help, using the clues he left behind for him, clearing his name, calling him a friend, and grieving his death with the rest of his friends who died in the killing game. He then uses everything Kokichi gave to him and taught him, ends up understanding Kokichi and his lies, and uses the tactic he taught him where he said “sometimes you win a game by not playing it” to end danganronpa. then you’re left wondering how things could’ve been different if Shuichi didn’t already have so much on his back and tried harder to reach out to Kokichi. you start wondering what could’ve happened if Kokichi didn’t push him away, you start thinking about all these possibilities. and then salmon team comes along and wraps everything up with a ribbon. putting direct throwbacks to what happened in the killing game and the free time events, Kokichi BEING the one to reach out to Shuichi, asking him to stay by his side. Their relationship is like one huge arc that starts the moment they met to their graduation in salmon team, and it leaves you with the fact that after they graduate they will stay together and learn more about each other, just like both of them wanted but couldn’t do in the killing game. if this isn’t a beautiful realistic relationship, I don’t know what is. Honestly, everything about this ship is so very beautiful, and I will support it with my life.

[ryouverua]

Trial 5 - Pre-Execution

Investigation 1 / 2 - second half is where I put my own theories that I penned before playing the trial.

Trial: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

HOW MANY TRIALS ARE GOING TO END WITH A CONFESSION ANYWAY

Hnngh - okay, this is actually happening now. We’re having a post-trial talk with Kaito before we send him off to the gallows. Cool. Cool. Cool cool cool cool -

marvels again that on the most basic detail I was right but as a whole I was very, incredibly wrong about what went down

This is going to be a weight for her to bear for a long time, huh.

He’s trying so hard to stay positive and cheer everyone up - how can you be so upbeat right now???

well I guess there’s the fact that he’s had plenty of time to come to terms with his own death since yesterday’s events but -

get this man an Oscar 

Kaito is low-key impressed just saying.

I’m sorry when the fuck between the extreme muscle spasms, seizures and general shut down of his body was he supposed to have written this? Was this something he started before all this happened? Was this a contingency plan? omg - was he thinking of Shuichi when he originally wrote the script and came up with a ‘in  case something happens to me’ trial plan, then filled in the details up until he died to match the exact circumstances of what actually happened? He did ask Shuichi to be his partner last chapter... how long has this particular plan been in his head for???

How hard was it to swallow his pride and ask Kaito for help instead of Shuichi?

going for those Beatrice vibes even beyond the grave, huh

PLEASE ELABORATE PLEASE -

DAMN IT -

okay I see what the game is trying to do here. And I appreciate it going and highlighting how clever Kokichi is for his foresight, his planning, and his general awareness and understanding of the people around him. That is coming through loud and clear.

But can we talk about Kaito’s ability to ad-lib on the fly, in character, and react to all the situations he was presented? Because Kokichi could not predict the exact future. He clearly planned things, not just in the general sense, but there is only so far a mere mortal could go.

“When Shuichi brings up these points, counter with those.”

“Flatter Himiko to throw her off. Here are some sample lines. Push it as far as you need to to make her flustered.”

“Play on Tsumugi’s ‘everyday boring girl’ syndrome.”

“Here are all the insults I’ve come up with to use at K1-b0 to distract him. Choose the ones that fit the moment, or use them to come up with your own if needed.”

“These are turns of phrases I use to project my incredibly important image.”

“Here’s a 20 paragraph speech I’ve prepped as a giant SCREW YOU to Monokuma, you can break it up as you need to but you have to make sure you get through all of it at some point because I want to rub this in his face and if I’m not there to do it you NEED to do it for me.”

I’d laugh if he had scripts and script notes denoting possible variations, but there’s just a bookmarked page partway through the script and it’s this long  anti-Monokuma manifesto

Anyway, I want to admire Kokichi’s planning, absolutely - but I also want to appreciate Kaito’s own skill along with it, because I don’t think they should take from each other at all. Even if he broke character a few times (which is even more hilarious in hindsight), he was utterly convincing in full acting mode!

:(

.... does K1-b0 power off his eyes when he wants to look incredibly depressed... sorry, utterly distracted for a moment...

(Himiko looks depressed too - I’m just trying to not literally upload every single frame of the scene already and it’s HARD.)

Fucking hell Kaito, with all of your self-aggrandising talk why is it now that you can’t understand why everyone is upset?!

Well... I mean, I do kind of get it. Trying to make everyone around you happy - in general, and with themselves - is practically your raison d'être. And right now, you’re the reason everyone is so upset. But still, it’s only because everyone cares about you so much!!!

Kaito put on a pedestal and pushed off of it - check. 

How?? Like, how did he phrase it??? Did he decorate it with his normal sureme leader talk? Did he lay out that Kaito basically owed him a debt now? Or did he leave it with just ‘Maki will be the blackened if you don’t do this’?? I have a feeling that whatever I get from the flashbacks, it still won’t be enough 8′D

In the last chapter? Or longer? ... It must have been longer, right? He was writing on that stone since at least chapter... 2? 3? and was talking to Monokuma in Chapter 4. 

LMAO WHAT A CASUAL WAY TO DROP THAT PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE BOMB

“Oh shit really? Wow, go figure.”

i enjoy kaito’s mildly shocked face here

HOW MUCH GEAR DID YOU GET MIU TO MAKE FOR YOU??? Am I going to have to pore over all of your interactions after all??? You guys gave each other so much crap during the trials and outside of them??? You had that ridiculous black-and-white scene in front of the computer??? How close WERE you two before she lost herself to paranoia?!

I can’t help but think everything with Gonta was improvised based on how events were unfolding around him. Would he have still tried to do the same thing if Miu hadn’t been making an attempt on his life? Or did he know that at some point down the line he would have to orchestrate a murder to convince everyone that he was the mastermind? Was this something he had to steel himself to do, or was that always in the back of his mind as an option from the beginning?

I’m sure that last bit upset Kaito the most - he was Gonta’s most stalwart defender in the last trial.

I haven’t seen this sprite in a while, jeez. Or... have I seen this sprite before??? It’s definitely similar to the ones he showed in Gonta’s trial, but I don’t recall him being so, erm, sweaty then.

#calledthat

That has to rankle more than anything. He highlighted Maki’s talent repeatedly and continuously called her out about it, and then this. 

The fact that he’s framing it as ‘the true mastermind is at fault’ and not putting it all on Maki is interesting. I wonder if Kokichi just sees Maki as a weapon as opposed to a person? Accurately in this case, perhaps...

Frowning/serious Kokichi is so strange?!?! Not that there’s any reason for him to be smiling here, but it’s really telling that he can’t even bring himself to do it here. This is probably the closest we’ll get to seeing his true feelings and thought process, huh...

Whelp I just went back to this part after writing a whole blurb a few screenshots down and the ‘mastermind doesn’t remember they’re the mastermind’ theory I concocted for fun just died an unceremonious death. I did enjoy those brief few minutes of my oddball ‘Maki doesn’t remember she’s the mastermind’ theory while it lasted so I’ll leave it up for you guys to laugh at enjoy! Unfortunately Monokuma being in time-out debunks it unless there are two masterminds.

If we tie this to the funeral scene... I proposed the idea that the flashback lights give their brains scenes to work with - aka that they aren’t necessarily actually their memories, but perhaps someone else’s, for example - and that their brain works to interpret them and make sense of them, and generally fit them into their own world view. I think it’s becoming accepted now that memories themselves are somewhat pliable and can even change during each ‘recall’. So if they were given the flashback light that said, ‘hey, there’s a cult working to destroy you all and it’s led by the traitor in the group, X’, their brains would fill in ‘X’ with Kokichi based on the context at the time. It also gives room for the idea that I originally had, aka that the talents and perhaps even memories they all have aren’t necessarily their own - that they could have easily had their talents switched between them in the prologue, and the fact they landed like this was just a coincidence - and the one known as ‘Kokichi, Supreme Leader’ could have easily one of the other classmates in a different timeline. The mastermind would be able to have the ability to adapt to any scenario, if that was the case...

lmao yeah that was pretty obvious

So even Kokichi never figured it out in the end? That’s pretty significant - the kid is basically a living lie detector. That leaves four possibilities that I can think of:

1) The mastermind isn’t actually among us. I highly doubt that - we’ve been building to a reveal from the beginning, even as far as having Shuichi find the door in the library. 

2) The mastermind is among the dead - someone Kokichi never got a chance to ‘read’. The best candidates for that would be Rantaro and Kaede. Rantaro would be the almost too obvious choice, between his memory loss, the video where he tells himself ‘you wanted this’, and his general intelligence and knowledge of the proceedings - and, hell, his lab door. Alternatively, this would be a good way to bring Kaede back into the game - we did see a shot of her wearing that helmet too, and also it would be nice to see her again tbh 

I just... don’t think this is the case though. Not only because we’ve done that with Junko already, though that’s a bit one, but because everything was set for DR1′s twist from the beginning - 15 students and 16 stands, the ‘odd one out’ murder aka Mukuro, etc. Rantaro’s video is certainly hinting at something, but I’d be shocked if it was leading to his reveal as the mastermind.

DEBUNKED :( 3) The mastermind doesn’t have their memory. Now, we’ve already done this with SDR2 so I really, highly doubt this is the case but if it is this way the best choice would be for it at this point in the game to be Maki. I mean, Shuichi would have been viable too... if he wasn’t the protagonist, because then we’d really be retreading old territory. Anyway, here’s the fun ‘what if’ for why Maki!mastermind could potentially work - it would really add onto Kaito and Kokichi’s conflict. Kokichi never liked Maki from the start, and antagonized her repeatedly - what if it was he sensed that potential in her? What if she was sent to infiltrate the mission by the cult and have everyone killed like this? And on Kaito’s side, he spends big chunks of the game trying to redeem her. What if it worked? What if it turned out that both Kaito and Kokichi were right, as a follow-up to this chapter where they both set aside their differences and work with each other (and, well, are killed by Maki). What if Kaito turned someone who had the capability to set up this game into someone that wouldn’t? There’s so ground that could be covered in this direction - I mean, I doubt it’s true which is why I said from the getgo that I highly doubt it’s the case, but it would be a fantastic reason to have highlighted her character so much and really give depth to, well, ‘tsundere assassin learns to love’. I could go on about this tbh...

4) The one I’ve been partial to for a while now... the mastermind is someone who specializes in lying. In putting on a mask. In breathing life into a persona, inhabiting it, becoming it, until it’s indistinguishable from their own identity - perhaps becomes their identity in those moments, to the point that Kokichi wouldn’t be able to realize they were lying. Oh, Kokichi was incredibly adept at it, sure - but he was recognized for his leadership skills, as unorthodox as they may have been. There’s someone else still alive, however, whose talent addresses the concept of ‘becoming another person’ has not been showcased much if at all to this point. 

now mind you other than the proclivity for cults shown in chapter 3 and references to escapism, I still haven’t gotten a proper motive in mind but at all but hopefully that’ll come next chapter??? anyway I’m getting distracted again

kokichi has the heart of a gamer

You just know that’s Kokichi’s game face. I mean, Kaito has his ‘optimistic!’ face on right now to give him the strength to face his own execution - maybe this is Kokichi’s way of comforting himself too?

THAT MUSIC CUT!!!

“ALSO HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THAT WITH YOUR EXPRESSION, IT’S JUST THE TWO OF US, CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME BEFORE YOU DIE -”

Could it have worked the other way around? If Kaito let himself die, Kokichi pretended to be Kaito in the exisal and it was left decide whether ‘Kaito’ mercy-killed ‘Kokichi’ via the press or if he died by poison first, would that have been viable? Probably not as effectively... it would be a lot easier for them to believe Kokichi was pretending to be Kaito, less believable that Kaito wouldn’t show himself in the exisal, and a whole host of other factors. Maybe not, then.

And of course Kaito asked Kokichi that, because if he’s going to be committing to a plan this wild he needs some assurance.

Then there have to be people alive, right??? But they saw the burning ruins around them when they tried to leave, and even collapsed because of the air quality - so what, did they crash land in an area that was wiped out or something? But there are still places where people are alive?

It was a test, then.

... Gonta... has to have been a heavy weight on his conscience. I think we can officially say his breakdown over him was real if he would go so far as to try and end the killing game like this - and if Gonta was a necessary sacrifice, it was one Kokichi was pushed to make when he had few options left.

I think the chess analogies I’ve been associating with him are accurate at this point, and it would even be fair to say that if you were to think about Kokichi’s strategic thought process, the allusions are almost necessary - the whole game is about exchanging pieces in order to get a more powerful position on the board and eventually corner the ‘king’, and at some point Kokichi looked at the board and his available moves, as well as the ‘piece’ Miu Iruma putting him in a ‘check’ position, and realized that his only option was to intercept her with ‘piece’ Gonta. I also like using chess here too because there’s duality in that too - there’s the side of Miu that Kokichi can and clearly did use for his strategies, and the side that the mastermind used by way of motive.

Ah, and of course I’d be remiss to not mention that Yu-Gi-Oh! the card game works well too here (hell, it comes up in his FTE) even though it’s less accessible; it’s a game where more powerful moves require sacrificing lower level ‘monsters’, and there’s a literal graveyard they’re sent to. Also, unlike chess, playing from the graveyard is a legitimate strategy in YGO . I’m sure, especially after this trial, Kokichi can relate to that strategy in particular.

Or maybe as they’re suddenly starting to imply it’s more like the ‘Black Book Club’ ala YYH? There must be people alive then, right? ... So maybe... people who survived through unscrupulous means and sheer force of wealth and need some sort of entertainment??? They remembered being kidnapped at the beginning of everything, right? Were they intercepted before the gopher project had a chance to play out and now they’re being kept in an isolated facility somewhere meant to replicate the ship, but it actually isn’t the ship at all? Wait, when did I start wearing a tinfoil hat - ?!

Kaito is defending Kokichi, everything is right in the world

Shuichi: Please don’t redirect the spotlight at me - ah, shit shit damn it shit 

“It’s just like Kokichi said!”

mm thank you game, keep feeding me merci beaucoup

Himiko just gobbles up any bit of positive attention thrown her way with the obvious and incredibly glaring exception of Tenko??? man I really need to do her FTEs or something - does she just not know how to handle straight-up affection or -

i n h a l e s

KOKICHI OUMA

IS NOT

A REMNANT OF DESPAIR!!!!

K1-B0 YOU’RE KILLING ME HERE!!!

This just makes me wonder if betting and big money in general is wrapped up in all of this. “Who is the mastermind? Now gentlemen, place your bets before the reveal!”

MAKI IT’S THAT ATTITUDE THAT GOT US IN THIS SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

tsun

dude he found a way to save Maki and potentially stop the game, I would hardly call it ‘evil’.

“I mean, I was hoping we could cut straight to the chase, but you’re actually a decent guy at the end of the day, and unlike most of the rest of the class don’t actually want me dead. Damn it.”

Fucking hell, between the music and his faces it so so easy to frame him as eeeeviiil!!! And yet just looking at the text in isolation, it reads:

“But are you sure you’re okay with that? Because if this poison kills me, then Maki would become the blackened. And her crime would be exposed so easily.

If that happened, then Maki and I would’ve died for no reason, right? Which is just what the true mastermind expects...”

And yeah sure it still has a bit of an edge to it, but it’s way more ambiguous when presented outside of his “Supreme Leader” aura which apparently can warp both his face and music.

Kaito is still trying to filter this through his ‘hero vs villain’ narrative, bless his heart. Either that or this is a heavily edited version of events - it would be interesting, even if it’s unlikely, if we found out that Kokichi made Kaito promise to tell everyone a different story than what really happened in the event of being found out.

There are gears turning in Kaito’s head right now, you can’t tell me there aren’t.

even if some of them are just him thinking ‘no seriously how are you doing that with your face’

NO!!! NO ‘D’ WORDS IN THIS HOUSEHOLD!!!

FUCK I want to have a montage of Kokichi doing incredibly kind-hearted and generous things and just doing his damnedest to spin it all in the most scary, ominous way possible!

“To answer your question, it’s really hard for me to hold my face in these expressions and the muscle spasms beginning to wrack my body are making it that much harder.”

But you can see shades of yourself in him, can’t you? That’s the scary part. Their goals aligned. This whole time, they’ve just wanted to help their classmates survive. They assigned themselves bombastic personalities in order to take the pressure off of those left in the class and damn it, they both prepared themselves to die alone in order to make good on their wish to save everyone left. Kaito made references to Kaede’s last wish - I wonder if Kokichi took it to heart as well?

No you were, Kokichi! No you fucking weren’t! Fml I don’t know how much solace that gives you at the end of the line, but...

Okay I nearly ended the post here as a tribute to Kokichi’s efforts but I have a rule of doing a single post-trial, pre-execution post and I must resist that urge -

LMAO IS THAT WHAT YOU GOT OUT OF THE EXCHANGE

I-It’s going to take you a while to warm up to the idea of ‘Kokichi actually wasn’t the dick he pretended to be’ huh. 8′D

OH REALLY

IT WASN’T BECAUSE OF MAKI OR ANYONE ELSE

IT WAS BECAUSE YOU TWO AGREED ON SOMETHING

SO YOU WEREN’T ULTIMATELY BLACKMAILED OR COERCED INTO THIS, EVEN IF THAT’S WHAT GOT YOU LISTENING INITIALLY

YOU CHOSE TO DO THIS FOR THE GREATER GOAL OF RUINING THE GAME

just. just want to make sure that point was clear for myself. Seems like it’s important characterization-wise, that’s all.

This seems like a good time to note that I am 99% sure Kaito had those swirly despair!eyes DR is known for in the last image with him coughing up blood. That was definitely the turning point for the chapter.

Also, Kokichi didn’t just swallow his pride - Kaito did too. He’s wanted to be the hero who swooped in to save the day for how long??? And here he is, admitting that this was fully Kokichi’s plan, and acknowledging that Kokichi was correct in a lot of ways even if he didn’t agree with him on everything. Beautiful.

nO IS IT FINALLY HAPPENING WE’RE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT THIS NOW

‘THAT WAS A LIE.’

OKAY THAT’S IT, WRAP IT UP FOLKS, WE’RE DONE HERE.

“Ha ha yeah I could probably drop dead at any moment tbh ha ha why are you giving me those looks huh ha ha ha hrk -”

I’m guessing the medical exam took place before all of these events happened. But wasn’t the whole point of selecting these guys that they were immune or something??? I mean clearly it wasn’t true - I guess it was dormant or - ?!

... which Monokuma then brings up himself. Cool, thanks.

How dare you say that so cheerfully. >:(

L M A O

he’s so bloody casual about the whole thing

I mean I get that it’s because he’s come to terms with dying but

damn it Kaito

A chance to end the killing game and save everyone, knowing he was on his way out either way, and a way to save Maki specifically - it really was the perfect storm, huh?

Well damn it I know it’s implying this all happened after Kokichi died, but the idea of Kaito visibly fangirling over the plan in front of Kokichi, giving him a bit of external validation for the first and last time since his miserable life started here, makes me feel a little better. If nothing else, he would have at least felt good about the chances of success before he died.

FUCKING DAMN IT IT’S LIKE KAITO LINED UP HIS DIALOGUE STRAIGHT AT MY HEART AND PULLED THE TRIGGER

MERCILESS

DAMN YOU KAITO I SEE THAT SMILE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU’RE DOING

my BOYFRIEND

I’m not sure if he’s trying to comfort Shuichi after messing up Kokichi’s plan or not but if he is, he’s incredibly good at it.

Was it????

again, more praise for him -

Kokichi, beyond the grave: NO YOU DUMBASS I GAVE MY LIFE SO YOU COULD END IT IN A SINGLE TRIAL as soon as you join me in the afterlife I am going to KICK YOUR ASS -

AIBOU

Oh you big hypocrite. Wait - no - let me check -

*takes off shipping glasses*

Nope, I still don’t buy it. Kaito has a tendency to go to an extreme with his words - he’s shown that time and time again. The fact that he’s already started layering praise on Kokichi at this point - that means something. The idea of him as a whole still rankles Kaito and he still has their clashing viewpoints and outlooks on life to work through, but his opinion on him has already turned so much at this point. If he had more time to think on it, I bet it would change that much further. And again - pointing to that love hotel scene - Kaito loves a challenge, and people that challenge him. Kokichi was a fantastic rival for him, and the fact that he knows now that he never meant any true harm to them is important. He also hasn’t been given a chance to really digest the importance of everything Kokichi revealed to him - he basically got the script and plan thrusted into his hands, spent whatever time he wasn’t sleeping and recuperating studying it and preparing for the trial, and now, well, we’re here. Kaito has been shown to be very good at reevaluating people once he’s cooled off, and he hasn’t had a chance to really do that!

.... If only he had more time to reflect. 8c

!!!!!    g o d ........

The darkened face sprite...

Insert Himiko parallel here.

WELL COOL THAT WAS PRETTY UNAMBIGUOUS

“NO DAMN IT! I HAVE MY ROCK-SOLID VIEW ON HIM! STOP MAKING HIM LOOK SYMPATHETIC!”

If you really thought that, would you really share those words with everyone? In fact, just the fact that you said that in reference to being a ‘lying sack of shit’ in regards to his supposed feelings during the game and acting like everything happening was fun -  that, uh, kinda speaks for itself!

Thank you K1-b0!!! I officially forgive you for calling Kokichi a Remnant of Despair again.

don’t you pull this shit on me game

just because you have the class split down the middle doesn’t mean you can pull the wool over my eyes

WAS HE.... THOUGH....

No seriously, what an odd thing to say. I... I don’t know what to make of it. Do actions not speak louder than words? Am I the crazy one here??

!!!!!!!

HE’S ACTING ON HIS CLAIM OF ‘COMMUNICATION BEING IMPORTANT’ AAAAAH

OH MY GOD WHAT AN EXCELLENT APOLOGY

Seriously I could probably learn a thing or two from it, damn.

Chapter 5′s entire mission is to make me cry, I see, I see.

Even now, three chapters later, I am still incredibly impressed by that move on Kaito’s part. He just knew exactly how to alleviate the pressure Shuichi was under.

?!?!

AH NO NOT COOL WHAT THE FUCK NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR HEARTFELT APOLOGY DAMN IT

as;dlkfj Kaito you and Kokichi are tied in having the most horrifying sprites in the game. Congratulations! You did win at something after all!

ANOTHER FUCK YOU FOR MAKING ME LAUGH WITH THAT ‘YOU SURE ARE, BUCKO!’ BULLSHIT

speaking of sprites that denote great terror!!

I-It really is the Kaede scene all over again D: including them being willing to fight Monokuma and Kaede/Kaito protesting!

I hope you do little man!!! 

This was the strength Shuichi desperately wanted but didn’t have in chapter 1 - and man oh man it’s nice to see him showing it now, in full force!

but as usual Monokuma is off thinking about his own thing

DOES

THAT

ARE YOU SAYING WHAT I THINK YOU’RE SAYING

THAT YOU RECYCLED LIFE

THAT THESE GUYS ARE NOT JUST REPLACEABLE, BUT PERHAPS REPLACEMENTS

DID YOU RECYCLE MEMORIES AND TALENTS, PERHAPS -

oh NO APPARENTLY NOT DON’T YOU DO THIS

...........

Okay they all introduce themselves here but you know what? No. No. I’m not dignifying you guys with your opening screenshots even if I do love your theme song. sorry monodam I like you but I’m lumping you in with the rest of them

YOU ARE DEFINITELY MAKING SOME SORT OF STATEMENT ABOUT THE ACTUAL STUDENTS HERE

PERHAPS ABOUT HOW YOU GATHERED UP SOME NO NAME KIDS AND FORCED TALENTS, MEMORIES AND ABILITIES OF DEAD STUDENTS FOR SOME REASON, OR THAT YOU HIJACKED THE ORIGINAL PLANS OF PEOPLE WHO DID THAT

perhaps to make sure those that were immune to the virus were what humanity needed to survive or something???

I JUST -

I JUST DON’T KNOW IF I’M RIGHT ON MY CURRENT ASSUMPTION OR IF THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS I’M MISSING BECAUSE WHAT I’VE COME UP WITH FITS PRETTY WELL

oh jeez okay we’re making a direct comparison then - I guess that’s fair at this point of the game, but I guess I just wasn’t ready for it?

THAT’S. THAT LITERALLY GOES AGAINST THE WHOLE ‘EVERYONE IS DEAD’ THING. YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT?!

YOU’RE REALLY NOT

Except you. Only you. so basically the opposite of monokid. whatever i really don’t care about the kubs tbh

........ oh fuck

Sadly I’m on Kaito’s side in all of this.

It really did grow on her, huh. When was the last time anyone showed her any sort of affection outside of that ‘childhood friend’ hinted at in her FTEs? :(

I didn’t keep all of the interspersions of Kaito reacting in surprise to Maki’s statements but the fact that he didn’t realize his impact on her, that he was really getting through to her, is sad to me. Makes sense - the only indication he got that she was starting to respond to his ‘training’ was from Shuichi in the hangar bathroom scene, and then just a few hours later she busts in, completely throwing away everything he said about her being more than her talent, and basically acting as the mastermind’s weapon. It is incredibly interesting that he’s so shocked by all of her outbursts here - that he didn’t realize how much she actually cared about him.

Aaaah she’s crying D: Those sound clips, man...

And here’s the confession that was pretty much inevitable at this point.

For once Shuichi knew a matter of the heart before Kaito. That’s significant - in fact, it may actually say more about Kaito than Shuichi. You brag so much, but when it comes down to it, you really did underestimate the power your positivity had on people - or perhaps, more likely, your own self-confidence was shaken that badly in the last chapter?

Figures you’d only let us see you bleed is when you physically can’t hide it anymore and are actually about to drop dead.

KAITO UNDERSTANDS PEOPLE

INCREDIBLY WELL

AND KNOWS HOW TO SUPPORT THEM UNTIL THEY CAN STAND ON THEIR OWN

You - are you not going to address her confession at all??? omg I... I think Kaito may not feel the same way about her. Oh. oh jeez this is awkward...

Seriously though, what a smart way for him to take that confession and use it to help her. Whether he likes her back or not, it doesn’t matter - he won’t be around much longer anyway. What’s most important to him right now is that his friends will be okay when he’s gone - and in this moment, that they stand down and live.

I mean. Come on. He’s literally dripping blood from the mouth and smiling through it. Kaito, you’re absolutely ridiculous and I love you.

easy for you to say, you can’t see yourself right now

whatever Kaito you can’t fucking stop me I’m on the other side of the screen

WHOA DAMN WHERE DID THOSE COME FROM

Wait, that’s a reference to Ishimaru, right? Uh, Ishida?

.... does that mean this is him speaking for both him and Kokichi right now???

“Like I did. Like Kokichi did. Learn from us. Grow in our absence. Thrive. And take that sonuvabitch down.”

YES ONE LAST SAIMOTA BRO-TALK FOR THE ROAD!!!

OH GOD OKAY SPEAKING OF THINGS ‘FOR THE ROAD’, ANOTHER DEPRESSING SPRITE

Man, you just weren’t ready for this game at all. Physically you were stronger than everyone else, but mentally...

And just like that, he backs down. There’s probably some pretty valid criticism levelled at Kaito about being persistent and not always taking ‘no’ for an answer, but he does when it’s most important to, I think. And he knows to back down here because damn it, she needs to get this out of her system.

You’re not just some hero, Kaito, and that’s okay - you’re not some larger than life Ultimate Astronaut, Luminary of the Stars, just as Shuichi isn’t just the Ultimate Detective and Maki isn’t just the Ultimate Assassin -

You’re Kaito Momota, Shuichi and Maki’s friend. <3

THE FIRE IS BACK!!! 

YOU TELL HIM, MY MAN!

Just so you know, when I played this through initially I just. I just paused the game a few screenshots before this because it was late and FUCK THIS SHIT I’M NOT WATCHING HIM DIE BEFORE I SLEEP TONIGHT

not sure if delaying the inevitable was any better but anyway, that’s where my head was at. I was incredibly Not Ready either way.

THIS IS ALREADY INCREDIBLY ‘NOPE’

NOPE IS AN EMOTION RIGHT

fuck it it is now

holy shit it’s the execution that started the whole series off

Also I’m mad about how pretty the whole thing is. Is that the planetarium that we can use as a gift???

Nice new threads, Monokuma.

NO HE’S ALREADY IN SO MUCH VISIBLE PAIN THIS IS NOT COOL AT ALL

NO FUCK YOU

I KNOW I SHOULD BE IN AWE OF THE CALLBACK BUT NO

Usually these are ironic though??? His whole thing is about how he wants to  go to space, though I suppose the irony of being killed with what you love always fits like it did with the others...

OH FUCK YOU AGAIN

I didn’t notice it until I looked at this still, but aren’t those the headmaster’s bones???

HE’S COUGHING THE WHOLE TIME.... FFF

I-Is he still alive at this point??? The headmaster was reduced to bones at some point during the trip, right???

!!!!!!

HE’S TRYING SO HARD TO CLING TO LIFE...

KAITO!!!

KAITO, YOU MADE IT!!!!

oh god he

he smiled... for just a moment....

Kaito, on his way to hell, at Monokuma: ╭∩╮(︶︿︶)╭∩╮

OH COOL HE DIED SMILING

I’M DEFINITELY NOT CRYING OR ANYTHING

He died amongst the stars.... 

Wait so does that mean they didn’t see any of this happen??? Or was it projected on a TV for them or something -

oh jeez -

WAIT HOLD ON WTF?!

OI NO COLLATERAL DAMAGE ALLOWED!!!

AHOGE DOWN, AHOGE DOWN?!?! 

Despite the smiling, despite him finally reaching space, there ultimately isn’t any happiness be found in death. He never wanted to go out like this. :(

GOOD FUCK YOU MONOKUMA