#on that note it was important for me to show that Ibuki needs people to bring her a little positivity as well

[goshdangronpa]

The case is closed. The victim is avenged. The killer is executed. Further plots twists have been revealed. We’ve reached the end of Chapter 1 in “I DISAGREE: An Ibuki Mioda SDR2 Protag Swap AU,” but it’s not over just yet. Danganronpa games always close out each chapter with a little something extra, and this project will be no different. I think that after all that death and destruction, something light and sweet is needed. (This is a long one.)

We’ll Make It Another Night: Ending Chapter 1 with a Sleepover

Focusing on the positives can be tough, even for someone as positive as Ibuki Mioda. It’s not like that positivity’s done her much good on this island. She tried her best to bring some good vibes into a bad situation, but it stopped being so effective as things got worse. She did what she could to make a difference with the disease patients, but lives were still lost. Even when she saved the day by making so many key contributions to the trial, the reward for her efforts was a decidedly hopeless death for poor Kazuichi.

What hurts most might be what happened with Mikan. Her free time events with Hajime in SDR2 show that she strives to break down people’s defenses and bring out the beautiful soul within. She tried doing that for arguably the person hiding behind the most defense mechanisms in the group. She made some real breakthroughs. More than that, she made the kind of friend she was hoping for when she accepted the invite to Hope’s Peak. All that now seems to be for nothing.

She starts to spiral … but, alone on a bench in Jabberwock Park, she finds someone else feeling even lousier than her.

When Byakuya Togami proclaimed himself leader of the class, he promised to protect everyone. He tried to make good on it by joining the medical staff in quarantine and watching over the island’s most vulnerable people. It ended so calamitously that his classmates accused him of committing murder for his own gain at the cost of everyone else’s lives. His stock as leader could not be any lower.

“Only a fool would still accept me as leader,” he laments, a far cry from his haughtiness.

Ibuki cheers, “Then I’m a fool for you!” She’s not just saying it to be nice.

Mikan’s not the only one she bonded with in quarantine. (Please excuse my one-ship mind.) Ibuki and Byakuya would ramble about life on the road, pester the pretentious Teruteru with requests for greasy fast food, and try to discern each other’s inner selves in long conversations. The investigation and trial saw them work as a team to root out inconsistencies, piece details together, fight false accusations, and catch the killer. Byakuya’s not used to trusting people, but he’s also never met anyone as genuine as this weird girl with no filter and baffling taste in everything. Her cheeky response is that her taste in friends includes him.

“That’s exactly what I mean,” he says, uncharacteristically self-effacing.

“Forget all that!” Ibuki shouts. “Let’s have another room party!”

Byakuya reminds her that she doesn’t have to stay in her hotel room anymore. She knows: with quarantine over, she wants to host the hangout at her cottage, make it a pajama party, and invite everyone! After all, they were planning a shindig before Monokuma threw a monkey wrench. Doing it now will give them, as well as the other volunteers and the surviving patients, a chance to finally hang out with the people who stayed at the cottages.

They send invites to every cottage. Ibuki even slides one under Mikan’s door, though she’s almost certainly staying somewhere less obvious. They go back to Ibuki’s cottage, then wait.

There’s a strong possibility that no one will come. It’s been a long and difficult day for everyone. Maybe no one’s in the mood to party.

Then, when the clock strikes 8, Sonia Nevermind comes a-knocking. The Ultimate Princess has never been to such an intimate party before, especially not as just “one of the girls.” She also likes the idea of the shindig as a way to reunite the two halves of the class, especially because she wants to cast off her role as leader of one group. Right behind her are Gundham Tanaka, who bonded with her over the past few days, and Teruteru Hanamura, who won her favor after apparently showing a more nurturing side during the crisis. That’s enough for a party, especially because the latter brought snacks!

Others come as well, and this time Ibuki’s the one getting help in seeing the bright side. Mahiru Koizumi comes with her camera, eager to finally spend time with and get candids of her quarantined peers. Despite initially dismissing the idea as silly, Hiyoko Saionji is right behind her. Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai believe that surviving the disease and trial is worth celebrating. Peko Pekoyama wasn’t sure about going either, but relents when Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu tells her how fun their hangouts were. She’s glad that he’s making friends ("Just a few days ago, he might've dismissed such a gathering as a waste of time ..."). Meanwhile, he’s grateful for Peko’s survival and enthusiastic to publicly celebrate their connection instead of hiding it from everyone.

That’s a lot of people in one small cottage, but Ibuki says the more, the merrier! The party goes late into the night with pizza, make-up, hairstyling, gossip, games, and waiting with permanent marker in hand to draw on the first to fall asleep (Gundham). Gradually, everyone leaves for their own cottages. Sonia wants to stay for her first sleepover experience, but Ibuki promises to do it another night.

Byakuya helps clean up. Proclaiming the party a success, he bids Ibuki good night. “Hey, you’re not escaping that easy!” she says as he touches the doorknob. “You’re staying with Ibuki tonight!” This was her plan all along, she explains. She felt bad that he was the only one who slept by himself at the Hotel Mirai. So despite what she told Sonia, a sleepover’s happening tonight after all.

“That’s a great deal of trust to place in someone during a killing game,” Byakuya says. Ibuki brushes off the notion that he would ever kill her and pinky-swears that she won’t kill him. “People will jump to conclusions when we walk out of here in the morning,” he says. She replies that people can think what they want and she wouldn’t care. “The bed’s too small for both of us to fit,” he says. Ibuki teases him for such a brazen suggestion, then affirms she was going to take the sofa anyway.

“Please stay,” she finally says. That’s when Byakuya realizes that this sleepover idea isn’t just for him. He steps away from the door. They get comfy, Byakuya in her bed, Ibuki on the sofa, and hit the lights. He’ll be sure to wake up early and return to his own cottage before the others can notice. For now, the two friends rest together.

Meanwhile, in another cottage …

Nagito broods. Ibuki and Byakuya’s invite is in his hands, but he barely notices. The boy has too much on his mind. Despite being alone, he talks aloud just to straighten out his thoughts.

“I was going to start the killing game myself. I was planning to help the Ultimates achieve a greater hope to beat back despair, even if it meant sacrificing everyone else to elevate one. But Chiaki’s murder was such a waste. There was no hope behind Kazuichi killing her. And now, Mikan … that an Ultimate could descend into despair like that is maddening! Are they all so weak? Can someone like me really count on them? Maybe … maybe …”

He lifts his left hand and finds the letter crumpled beyond recognition. He’s still ruminating as Chapter 1 of “I DISAGREE: An Ibuki Mioda SDR2 Protag Swap AU” comes to a close.

Next time: ... I'm not sure! I might add a few random notes to round out Chapter 1. I'd love to respond to questions or suggestions if anyone has any (send an ask!). I'm also strongly considering a short hiatus. I know, many a long-term fanwork has died from the creator taking pauses, but I've got other fic-related ideas simmering and I'd like to develop Ch. 2 rather than coming up with it on the fly.

This has been a ton of fun, and I'm just proud that I was able to keep up with a serialized project. Watch this tumblog and we'll see what the future brings!

PREV: Mikan Tsumiki, Ultimate Despair

NEXT: A Few Last Notes on Chapter 1

[starsaver94]

Yayyyy!!!

So first thing first, I just HAD to make Kasumi the protag! Cause, ya know, Ultimate Private Investigator and murder mystery? Yeah :))

Broken Spirits!Kasumi is basically Kasumi in Danganronpa: Crime and Punishment (the name of my fangan). Very sweet and friendly, but has a strong sense of justice. The theme of this game (like how the first one was hope vs despair, v3 was truth vs lies, etc.) this one is justice vs mercy. Kasumi is a very lawful good person, and has high morals. She's a little self righteous cause of this, but she means well. Even if she can get a little naggy when people do little morally questionable things like telling white lies or stealing a pencil from someone. She's also still sleepy cause quirky gal <3

And our favorite antag

Cynical asshole!Daisuke Kurosaki makes his appearance! I changed his last name cause I had no idea it was just literally purple in Japanese, lmao. But anyways, he'll be our antag. But more Togami esc and being closed off and distant rather than straight up unhinged like Komaeda or Kokichi. But he doesn't really understand, or care much, for human life, cause....well, you know 50sod!Daisuke....he's--he's a criminal! The opposite end of Kasumi! (ofc they don't need to know that yet ;))

W-Who is this? Protag support? Eh, not important, next!

While I haven't gotten to making his report card yet, Haruto plays a big role in the story as well! He's still quiet and shy, but polite and fucking smart! He helps out alot in trials and investigations, and he slowly warms up to Kasumi as time goes on (but kinda latches onto her as well, since he's a bby boy and gets attached to nice ppl, abandonment issues)

W-Wait....what's happening? Certainly you aren't important either, right? Eh, wait....ultimate director? I can't....recall any sort of movie or tv show a Sachiko Rizuna made.....*shrugs*

Okay....she doesn't play a big role, but ig she does last a good while and fits a 'space case' character (Ibuki, Angie, Hiro, characters lots in their own world, etc). Akari is a big ball of energy that likes to make people smile, but has a childlike streak. She's kinda loud and doesn't take the killing game seriously, but she really just wants to make people laugh even when the situation is bleak

That's all my tired brain can write about atm, but I can def tell you more later when I have all the other characters more organized in my notes! These are just my favorite blorbos atm :)

I really like this cast so far! Can’t wait to see more!

Akari gives me either Chapter 3 victim or comic relief character that makes it to the end (like Hiro, Kazuichi or Himiko) type of vibes.

Also, I’m getting mastermind vibes from Sachiko. Both from her talent as a director and from the description you gave her.

[cobaltusami]

Tropical Vacation pt. 4

Hey hi hello! I meant to post this earlier but my dumbass forgot to. There Is no tickling in this part but this Is the part where they meet!

Something important to note: I have not completed the second game, So this probably won't make sense because I've probably not seen some huge plot twist yet. I apologize. This Is happening In an alternate universe anyway so hopefully that doesn't take away from the story too much!

Characters In this part: All of class 78, Hajime, Fuyuhiko, Mahiru, Hiyoko, Ibuki, Nekomaru, Akane, Chiaki, Sonia, Nagito. (The rest of class 77 Is there but not mentioned by name.)

Word count: 2,247

Part 1: [Click or tap here!] Part 2: [Click or tap here!] Part 3: [Click or tap here!] Part 4: You are here.

Once they all assembled at the gym, Monokuma appeared on the stage.

“Thank you all for coming to my ted talk!” He greeted. “And for the splitting headache I now have thanks to you four over there.” He pointed to Mondo, Hiro, Taka and Sakura. Mondo and Hiro chuckled while Sakura blushed.

“I have gathered you all here for a very special surprise!”

“We know what you said in the announcement, can you just get on with it?” Leon rolled his eyes at the mismatched bear.

“Well, Someone’s pushy today. I guess my feng shui isn’t working as well as I’d hoped.” he sounded dejected. “Which Incidentally, Is the subject of today’s meeting!”

“Don’t tell me, You’re gonna throw more sand around?” Hina asked with a small giggle, nudging Sakura.

Sakura flinched hard from the contact, her nerves still on fire from earlier. “M-Monokuma… we are not interested In your decorating escapades.” she mumbled.

“I guess you’re right… It’s not nearly as interesting as watching you getting ti--”

“Sh-Shut up!” She stammered, blushing.

“What about your decorating, Monokuma?” Kyoko sighed, realizing this meeting may never end If she didn’t step In and get it back on track.

“Puhuhuhuhu…” Monokuma giggled. “See? Someone cares about--”

“Just get on with It.” Kyoko interrupted, quickly losing her patience.

“Fine, You’re all no fun…” The bear moped for a moment before clearing his throat. “I called you all here to tell you that I’ve redecorated again! Once you leave the Gym you should notice a whole new world out there…” He said ominously.

“This Is a waste of my time.” Byakuya huffed. “I’m going back to the library.”

“Oh but before you do that, I must warn you…” Monokuma sounded like he was grinning as he spoke. “There are other students out there, much different than the group you’re all used to.”

“D-Did you ge-get another p-p-pool floaty or some-something?” Toko rolled her eyes.

“Something like that.” He called vaguely after the students who were exiting the room.

But imagine their surprise when they opened the doors only to be met with bright sunlight, the sound of waves crashing, and seagulls cawing.

A/N I'm not sure how Monokuma Houdini'd this, he probably stole Usami's spare magic stick--

“W-What the!?” Byakuya jolted back with a surprised gasp.

“W-What happened to the school?!” Makoto stammered.

“Puhuhu… What do you think? After your lukewarm response before, I took your criticisms into account and redecorated! Pretty realistic huh?”

Hina, Kyoko and Makoto stepped out, looking around. “G-Guys? It’s actually real.” Hina stammered, shocked.

“No shit, How could Monokuma have faked it!?” Mondo retorted, walking out with them.

Hina scanned the area enthusiastically then squealed. “Sakura! Come out here! There’s a beach!” she announced as she bounced back in the doorway.

Sakura followed her best friend out again. “It’s… pretty.”

Leon, Hiro, Celeste, Sayaka, Taka and Chihiro all followed them out, looking around curiously.

Chihiro giggled happily. “It’s so nice here!” they beamed, twirling around once in the gentle breeze.

“Look at the water! It’s so blue!” Sayaka smiled.

Toko took one look at the water and began to back up nervously, she looked to Byakuya trying to gauge his reaction to all of this.

“This Is some kind of trick. I’m not falling for It.” Byakuya huffed irritably.

“I don’t know, It looks pretty real to me.” Hifumi commented as he stepped outside.

Hina looked to Toko and noticed how nervous she seemed. she smiled, reaching her hand out for the writer. “Come on Toko! Come with us. I won’t let anything happen to you!”

Toko blushed, stammering awkwardly. “I-I don’t ne-need your protection, M-Meathead!” She chided.

Most people would be offended by this, Hina knew by now that this was just how Toko was. She stepped back through the doors. “Come on Toko~ don’t you wanna just feel the fresh air for even a few seconds? It feels great out here!”

The writer did in fact, want to feel the fresh air. She looked to Byakuya silently for his opinion again.

“Do what you want, I certainly don’t want you In here.” He said coldly, crossing his arms.

She looked back at Hina and shakily took her hand, stepping outside with her.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna join them?” Monokuma asked the Progeny.

“This Is some kind of Motive, and I’m not dumb enough to fall for it like they are.”

“Yeah no.” Mondo grabbed a hold of Byakuya’s arm, dragging him outside. “You aren’t staying where we can’t keep an eye on ya, We all agreed to stick together.” He muttered.

Toko actually smiled as she stood In the sunlight with Hina. “I-It does fe-feel really g-good out here…” she admitted.

“See? It’s not so scary.” Hina beamed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Sakura smiled at the two, glad they were getting along for the time being and she didn’t have to kick Toko’s ass for saying anything too off handed to the swimmer.

“L-Let go of me!” Byakuya growled, ripping away from the biker, as he turned around to go back inside the doors closed with Monokuma standing in front of them. “Open the doors. I’m going back inside.”

“No you aren’t.” Monokuma announced, All the students turned to him questioningly. “Consider this a school field trip! You’re going to be staying here for the next few days while I make actual changes to the school.”

“Stay where exactly? This Is just an island.” Makoto asked.

“I’m glad you asked, Unlucky one! Across this bridge Is a park, and through magical gate number one Is an island with a hotel. The hotel Is where you’re all set up to stay.” Monokuma explained. “But be caaaareful… There are other students on this island that aren’t as hospitable as you are. They’re cold blooded killers who’ve already had a few trials.”

Makoto felt his blood run cold as he looked to Kyoko for comfort, her face was it’s usual iron mask.

“I’d love to stay here and chat with you all, but your teacher should be here shortly to show you the way.” Monokuma sighed. “Enjoy yourselves! Try not to kill for at least a few hours, I have some surprises to prepare for when you get back!” with that he disappeared. Leaving behind the group of concerned students.

“H-He’s totally joking about the other students… right?” Hiro asked, nervously smiling.

“He has to be, There’s no way he can watch over us and a whole other class at the same time.” Makoto replied.

“I shouldn’t have listened to you!” Toko cried, pulling her hand away from Hina. “I-I should ha-have known y-you were m-m-making the wrong ch-choice!”

“Toko, Easy! It’s gonna be okay!” Hina tried to reassure the walking ball of anxiety. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, And I mean It!”

They didn’t have any more time to panic when Usami appeared. “Hello students!” She greeted cheerfully, the group quieted down and looked at the pink and white bunny in total confusion.

“Oh god, There’s more of ‘em?!” Mondo asked.

“M-More of them? You aren’t comparing me to that awful Monokuma, Are you?” Usami sobbed. “I would never do anything as vile as him!”

“Who are you?” Kyoko asked.

“My name Is Usami, I am your soft and squeezable teacher! It’s nice to meet you all!” She beamed. “I am very happy to have you all here!”

“Monokuma said there were other students on the island… Is that true?” Makoto asked.

“Yes, Ah but don’t worry! They aren’t at all as he says!” Usami quickly corrected. “They are wonderful kids! They’ve taken a stand against Monokuma by not participating In his horrible games…”

Makoto let out a small breath of relief. “We’re the same, We haven’t killed anyone either.” He informed the plushie.

Usami giggled happily. “Love, Love! That’s wonderful to hear! Come with me, I’ll take you to the others to get you all acquainted!” She announced as she began to walk towards the bridge.

The students reluctantly followed, not seeing much of a choice. As they made the trek to the other island Usami asked for all of their names, giving them each a compliment on how nice their name was.

It was such a stark contrast to what they were used to with Monokuma, which only made them more suspicious and uneasy about this whole thing.

They arrived at the front of the beach house, and they could hear yelling and laughing, mixed in with some shrieks of surprise coming from whatever was behind the house.

“It sounds like they’re out on the beach!” Usami observed, leading them around to the beach and sure enough, they were. They were having a water gun and balloon fight.

Hajime shrieked as he got pelted by three different people, turning away to protect his face with a laugh. When he opened his eyes he was looking at the other class and Usami.

The students abruptly stopped their shenanigans and looked to the group.

“Everyone, This Is the class Monokuma mentioned before!” Usami announced. “Come introduce yourselves!”

Ibuki was the first to step forward, her eyes wide in shock. “Sayaka??? Is that you??” she gasped.

Sayaka’s eyes also widened as she too stepped forward. “Ibuki? Ibuki Mioda??”

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other in disbelief, but then they squealed and ran to hug each other. “Ibuki, I’m so happy to see you!”

“Ibuki Is happy to see you too!”

“Ibuki? You know her?” Hajime asked curiously.

“Yes! We were In the same music group before Ibuki left to pursue a solo career.” Ibuki explained, pulling away from the singer.

Leon eyed Nekomaru, shocked. ���C-Coach Nekomaru?” He stammered.

Nekomaru blinked, seemingly his face clicked In his head. “LEON KUWATA!” He shouted. “Oh man, It’s been a while! C’mere you!”

Leon smiled nervously as he approached Nekomaru, being pulled into a powerful hug.

Hajime seemed a bit more at ease about the situation as Sonia was the next to step up. “Hello! My name Is Sonia Nevermind! It is wonderful to meet you all!” She greeted cheerfully.

“Whoa,” Akane looked at Sakura with stars in her eyes. “You look super strong!”

“Th-Thank you.” Sakura smiled a bit. “My name Is Sakura Ogami, What Is your name?”

“Oh! Right! I’m Akane Owari, Ultimate Gymnast.” She introduced herself. “Hey, Wanna fight??”

Nekomaru approached them, gently pulling Akane back. “Easy tiger, go introduce yourself to the rest of the class.”

She pouted as she did as he asked.

“Sorry about her, She’s really Into sparring.” Nekomaru laughed. “I’m Nekomaru Nidai! Ultimate team manager! You’re the Ultimate Martial artist, Yeah?”

Sakura was a bit caught off guard. “Yes, How did you…?”

“I’ve watched you fight.” He admitted with a chuckle.

Makoto stared at Nagito. Why did he look so familiar to him?

“Hi, I’m Nagito Komaeda! I’m the Ultimate Lucky student. Nice to meet you!” He introduced himself. Man, he even sounds familiar.

Makoto jumped In surprise. There could be two of the same ultimate?! Though he supposed they DID do this lottery before… “U-Uh, Hi! I’m Makoto Naegi. Ultimate Lucky Student.” He smiled sheepishly at the surprised look on Nagito’s face.

“Really?? Another Ultimate Lucky student? WOW! So my theory was correct.” Nagito said thoughtfully. “I’m really not an Ultimate after all!”

“W-What?” Makoto stuttered, taken off guard by how cheerful he seemed about this. “N-No uh, I was picked at random for a lottery. You’re probably the real--”

Chiaki grabbed Nagito by the arm and yanked him away to give him a lecture while Hajime and Fuyu took his spot. “Sorry about him, He’s on a kick about being trash.” He explained with a sigh.

“Man, and I thought Makoto had low self esteem…” Hina mumbled, giggling at the side eye she received from him.

“I’m Hajime Hinata, I don’t know what my Ultimate Is.” He offered his hand to shake.

“I’m Makoto Naegi. Nice to meet you!” He beamed, his eyes flickered to Fuyuhiko, who still looked a bit uneasy about this situation.

Hajime looked at the blond and gently nudged him. “Go on, It’s okay.”

Fuyu stepped forward and looked up at Makoto-- It’s not every day that someone has to look up at him so he was slightly amused. “My name Is Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, I’m the Ultimate Yakuza.” He introduced, stepping back. Hajime put his arm around Hiko’s shoulders and pulled him into his side to comfort him, sensing he was uneasy.

Mahiru, who had been scared initially, seemed much more lax now as she and Hiyoko introduced themselves to the group.

Once the rest of the group had been introduced, Usami turned to the students. “I should show you to the hotel so you can settle in your rooms!”

“Ibuki can do It!” Ibuki bounced excitedly.

“I will go too!” Sonia volunteered.

Usami giggled. “Very well! I’ll let you two show them. Their rooms have their names on the doors. I must go prepare something, but I will be back to check In on you!” She reassured, disappearing just as Monokuma does.

“Follllooow Ibuki!”

After getting settled In, the Hope’s peak students found that some of their stuff was already in their rooms, also the rooms were much nicer than their school dorms. It was definitely gonna take some time to get used to being able to see sunlight, but It was certainly going to be a nice change for a while.

Tomorrow they would be getting more acquainted with the students that inhabit the island.

[some-dr-writings]

Teruteru x M!Reader One-shot: Please Understand My Feelings!

Teruteru was so absolutely excited today! It was his birthday and there was only one thing he wanted. He wanted you! Well, that could be rephrased. To tell you he loved you! And he also wanted you. The two of you were instantly best friends the moment you met! You were hot, loved his cooking, and were overall an awesome and fun person to be with. Teruteru had tried confessing before but he always chickened out or turned it into another one of his innuendo laden remarks even when he was trying not to do that. But not today! He was going to confess to you no matter what it took! Even if it meant making the event into an extravagant show!... E-even if he had to outright just say it plainly. He’d rather just cook you something with “I love you” on the top. He wasn’t sure his heart could take saying it out loud. Even thinking about it sent his poor little heart a flutter beating faster and faster till Teru passed out. But hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. Maybe. Please.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed send on the text asking you to meet him in his lab for breakfast… At three in the morning. He needed time to cook and prepare. And he also couldn’t sleep a wink. He prepared an entire feast. He poured his soul into his dishes, needing everything to be absolutely perfect!

“Hanamura?” “Ah, Y/N. Perfect timing! Just take a seat and I’ll be out in a moment!” This was it; THIS WAS IT! He was finally going to confess to you and through his greatest passion no less! This was going to be the best confession! He had to take several trips in order to get all the dishes out to you. “What’s with the domes over everything?” You lightly scratched you head in confusion seeing most everything had a dome covering it. Teru normally only used those things when the food needed to be kept hot or needed moisture. In fact, because of the moisture Teru avoided the things since it could so easily ruin the food. “Should I remove them before the food get’s spoiled?” “No, no, no. The food’s fine. But if you simply can’t resist you can take a peek.” Though he said that, he wanted to see your reaction, but who was he to deny you satisfying your curiosity. Much to his delight you did in fact wait for him, tenderly smiling and giving him a small wave in greeting.

With flourish Teru removed the domes from each of the dishes revealing what was inside. Steamed rice in a heart shaped bowl with Natto in a heart shape on top, Miso soup with heart shaped tofu, eggs and bacon systematically placed to make a heart shape as well as the aebleskivers too, a German pancake drizzled in lemon, berries placed atop it spelling “I love you”, more berries spelling out his feelings atop French toast and pancakes and crapes and other such items. You gasped at the sight of it all. Everything glistened in a beautiful sheen, all the baked items were that perfect, crisp, golden-brown color. All the delectable smells melded together yet were still distinct making your mouth water from it all. Cutting a piece from the German pancake and French toast your ears tingled hearing that light crunch. You sighed and awed as the delectable tastes simply melted in your mouth and on your tongue. “This is amazing!” Your cheeks were sore from how much you were smiling.

Meanwhile Teru stared at you absolutely baffled. Did… did you not notice? But HOW!? “Uh, but don’t you notice anything about your breakfast today?” “Hmm? Well… I notice there’s a lot more than usual, and there’s lots of hearts and you wrote ‘I love you’ a few times, but… Ah, I guess I didn’t really notice since I was expecting it!” … WHAT!? D-did you know already he liked you!? For how long!? “Today’s your birthday! It’s important to tell yourself you love yourself today! And I can taste it as well! I’m glad you have so much passion for your wellbeing!”

In that moment Teru began to question his life choices and how those lead him to falling so hard for such a sweet and kind dolt to the point of finding this alarming yet endearing at the same time. All he could bring himself to do was gently pat you on the head as you eagerly enjoyed your meal.

Alright, so breakfast was a bust, but Teru had other ideas for how to confess to you! “Ah! Class is starting soon! We should get going. I’ll come back at break to clean up, alright? I can at least do that so you can just enjoy today and relax!” You quickly got up from your seat and made your way for the door. “Now, hold on. I don’t want you slaving away cleaning dishes on my birthday.” He pinned you to the wall or tried to. He just slapped his hands against the wall blocking your way. “Kabedon?... Hanamura I think you’re a little short for this.” “I-what? NO! Listen to me! I much rather have you all to myself today.” “… OH! Yeah, I’m cool with hanging out! But… I do have a birthday surprise I’m still preparing so I can’t be with you all day, but when I have free time, I’ll come find you! Now let’s get to class before we’re late.” … Perhaps Teru should have been a bit more specific in his wording. Oh well. If you were going to be spending most of the day with him, at least that gave him more opportunities to confess. Or at this rate just keep trying too.

In class Teru wrote ‘I love you, Y/n. Yours truly Teruteru Hanamura’ on a piece of paper and folded it into a paper plane. Then ever so carefully, he tossed it to you. “Hmm?” You examined the paper for a moment before noticing Teru was waving at you. You waved back before your attention was drawn back to the plane. Teru intently watched as you began writing on the page! Oh no. What were you going to say? Did you like him back, did you not? What were you going to say!? Then you tossed it back! Unfolding the page Teru realized you just filled out the math sheet and never looked at the back where his message was. He was going to attempt this again this time with a complexly blank page but Miss Yukizome noticed and put a stop to it.

Okay, something else! Instead Teru wrote you a letter pouring all his feeling onto the page! THIS had to work! “Y/N! I need you to read this right now!” “Huh? Okay!” Teru fidgeted as you took what felt to be forever and a day reading that letter. “You used the wrong ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ through the whole thing. You are missing a few commas on the fifth, sixth, twelfth, and eighteenth lines. And… the line where you call me a hot stallion, I think you mean to compare me to a hot stallion. Now if you excuse me, I have a phone call to make!” Before leaving you passed him the letter back.

… Maybe writing his feelings out was the problem! “Mioda! I need your help!”

Finding it difficult to hear her on the other line you put in ear buds and turned your volume up hoping that would help. Unfortunately, she was also in a crowd, so it only helped so much. As you exited the building you found a stage had been set up. Not even a moment later you got a text from Chiaki asking you to come to said stage. And so, you did. Still trying to make the call work.

You were incredibly confused seeing Ibuki, Chiaki, Nagito, Kazuichi and Teruteru on stage, everyone with an instrument of some sort except for Teru who stood before a microphone. They began to play something, but of course in that moment your special guest was at a crucial juncture and you had to help her with directions and finding landmarks. You texted Chiaki an apology saying you had to go and would likely be busy for a while.

Of course as you were walking away was when the heart shaped fireworks went off and Teru belted out his feelings in an impromptu speech.

Teru sighed in defeat, falling to his knees seeing you dash away. “Y/n, darlin’ why must you be so elusive, like making the perfect mix of spices for Mama’s sweet and spicy chicken skewers.” Kazuichi kneeled down beside Teru, lightly patting his back. “Sorry man. Maybe next time.” Chiaki placed down the bass guitar she held and took out her Gameboy. “Yeah. You haven’t lost any lives yet. Keep trying and you’ll get him to notice… eventually.” Kazuichi nervously scratched his cheek as he stood up. “Yeah, that guy’s always been oblivious. Even from the start.” “Yes, I knew that when I fell for him.” Teru took out his phone, looking though the notes for ideas he came up for confessing to you. “Thank you for trying to help me.” Seeing what the next plan was, he got to his feet reinvigorated. “Alright! There’s only so many hours left in the day; I better get started on my next plan!” “Wonderful!” Of course, Nagito had to speak. “Go Hanamura! With that blooming hope in your heart go after Y/N!” Before Nagito could go on another of his hope rants, Teruteru ran away.

As you were rounding the corner to your dorms Teru jumped out dressed in a white suit with a bouquet in hand. “Y/N, watch this video!” “H-huh? Uh, sure?” The video was about the language of flowers and their meanings. When the video was finished you found Teru kneeling on one knee. “Cool. Though I’m not sure you have to get a bouquet of flowers meaning ‘I love you’ to show me the video. And I think kneeling like that is bad for people’s posture. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to my dorm to check my reservation.” All Teru could do was just stand there dumbfounded. “… HOW!?”

You hurriedly placed on your windbreaker as you slammed the door open. “Hanamura? What are you doing here? And with an umbrella?” “Y/N, it’s raining! Share this umbrella with me!” “What? But there’s not a cloud in the sky. Wait, then why is there rain?” “Just… if you’d like please share this umbrella with me.” “Uh…” You walked out into the precipitation and looked up. “Oh. Hanamura, it’s fine.” You then waved up at the dorm ceiling. “Hey! Souda! Could you turn off the water hose and stop pointing it over Hanamura? He thinks it’s raining!” After a moment Kazuichi face-palmed and dropped the hose. “Hanamura, I think this is a lost cause.” Then Nagito popped out of the window to his dorm room. “Just hold on to that beautiful hope inside you! I believe in you Hanamura!” “Uhh, anyway! Hanamura! Your birthday surprise is ready! Well more like on it’s way. But! Please, please, please, come with me! I promise you won’t regret it!” “… Sure. I’ll come with you.” “Heck yeah! C’mon! We’ve waisted enough time already, I’m already a little late!”

“Hurry, Hanamura! We’ll be late!” “I-I’m hurrying as fast as I can!” You took Teru’s hand and dragged him along at your breakneck speed. “We can’t miss the train! Hurry up!” “Train?”

“T-thank goodness. We got here in time.” You both collapsed onto the train seats, completely winded, desperately catching your breath. “Yay. We made it before rush hour.” You slumped in your seat, looking out the window at that gorgeous sunset. You so goofily smiled to yourself imagining Teru’s reaction to your gift. You just couldn’t wait. “Hey, Hanamura. You just as excited as I am? … Hmm?” You got no response. “Hanamura? HANAMURA!”

…

You sighed in relieved seeing him waking up. “Just in time, we’re almost at our stop!” “Huh? Wa-? What happened?” “Uh, once we were on the train you keeled over and started foaming at the mouth. But you seem okay now! I think. How are you feeling? Please be okay.” “Oh, no, no, darlin’ I’m fine.” He was snapped out of that haze realizing he accidently let his accent slip out! Hopefully you didn’t notice. “Ah, your accent!” Of course you notice that! OF COURSE!... At least you seemed happy to hear it.

Once you got off at your train platform you swiftly lead Teru to a car lot. “You rented a car?” “Yeah! I’ve been saving for months for this and other things, and even took driving lessons for this, but it’s worth it! C’mon! Get in! We can’t be late!” You dragged him in by the collar of his shirt, too excited to wait for him.

“This shouldn’t be a long trip, but if you want, you could turn on the radio.” Taking you up on your offer he flipped it on, hoping it could distract him from wondering where you were taking him. A farm for fresh ingredients? But you said it wasn’t far and you were still in the city. A love hotel perhaps! That’d be a dream come true! Before his mind could start to run wild, he noticed the song that was playing. Yuki no Hana, Snow Flower. A classic. Odd it was playing though since it wasn’t winter yet. The song was literally about watching the snowfall with a lover. “… Y/N.” “Yeah.” “This song reminds me of you.” “… I remind you of winter?” “No, the other part.” “… Uh… The coming of winter?” “No, not winter.” “OH! About helping one another through hard times! Always being together!” Teru was silent for a moment, just taking in that moment. “Yeah. That part.” You weren’t wrong… It was close enough. “I’d like to stay by your side too! You’re my best friend.”

…

Maybe the only way to get it though your thick skull was to just out right, out loud, say it. But the question was… could he bring himself to tell you so directly without chickening out like he had done in the past.

“An airport?” You giddily chuckled seeing Hanamura trying to puzzle out why the two of you were here of all places. Once you finally found a parking space, you immediately stepped out to make a call. You then lead Teru into the airport. You looked around, trying to figure out if you had missed her already. “Did we pass by already?” “Mama!? Is that you!?” Teru raced to the woman, giving her the tightest hug he could. “Teru, my baby!” “Mama! How are you here! What about the diner!?” She simply pointed to you, who was mumbling to yourself about how she said she’d be by the shops which was where you were. “Y/N.” “The little sweetie. He’s been planning this for months now. Saving up money for plane tickets, my hotel, and covering the payment I would have gotten from working. The dear even tried tracking down your brother and sister but there just wasn’t enough time before your birthday.” The woman gently pat your arm, finally getting your attention. “Huh-Oh! There you are ma’am! I thought we missed you. Ah, let me take your luggage! I’ll take it all to the car while you and your son catch up!” “… Y/N.” “Yeah, Hanamura? OH! I forgot! Happy birthday! That’s what you were expecting, right? Sorry? I got caught up in th-” “I love you so much.” You simply stared at Teru as a bright red dusted your cheeks. “You… you love me? Wait…” One could see the cogs turning in your head as your blush darkened and spread to the tips of your ears. “I’M SO SORRY! I DIDN’T REALIZE SOONER!” “Sweetie-” He held one of your hands in both of his. “YOU WERE TRYING TO TELL ME ALL DAY!” “Darlin’-” “YOU LITERALLY WROTE ‘I LOVE YOU’ IN BERRIES!” “Y/N-” I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T NOTICE! HOW COULD I BE SO DUMB!? I’VE HAD A CRUSH ON YOU SINCE WE MET! I LOVE YOU AND I DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE YOU-… you love… me too…” You buried your ever-reddening face in your hands realizing what you just said. “… So Mama, this is my boyfriend, Y/N.” “H-hi, Ma’am.” Teruteru’s mother simply looked at you two happily yet with confusion evident in her eyes. “I thought you two were already boyfriends since you write so much about Y/N in your letters and how Y/N went to all the effort to get me here.” “M-Mama! I-I don’t write about him that much in my letters!” “Oh, my mistake, there’s some other sweetest, kindest, most selfless dope in the world you’ve been trying to confess to for the past few months?” “YOU’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL ME FOR MONTHS!?”

This… was certainly not how Teru imagined getting together with you but thinking about it on the ride to the hotel you got for his mother. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

[silenthillmutual]

horror/thriller movie recommendations based on your fave Danganronpa 1/2 character

the series in general: Saw (2004, dir. James Wan) - i can’t give much of a reasoning for this as i haven’t seen it but the “punishment fits the victim” trope appears to be a thing in Saw?

Makoto Naegi: It (2017, dir. Andres Muschietti) - as much about the power of friendship as it is about a fear beyond all others. the premise is probably relatively well known by now for the fact that there’s a big clown in it. content warnings: clowns, unsanitary, implied incest and csa.

Sayaka Maizono: Psycho (1960, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - this suggestion is an incredibly cheap shot, please forgive me. famous film, not sure if i can talk too much about the plotline without giving away the most important part.

Mukuro Ikusaba: Us (2019, dir. Jordan Peele) - doppelgangers show up to wreak havoc on an american family. themes of identity theft. much bloodier than Get Out. 

Leon Kuwata: Scream (1996, dir. Wes Craven) - admittedly haven’t seen this either yet. i know, i know, i’m a fake horror fan. but i know that it was made as a sort of tongue-in-cheek homage to the tropeyness of horror films, and i didn’t want to put any movie too blatantly humorous here. i thought this would fit Leon.

Chihiro Fujisaki: A Quiet Place (2018, dir. John Krasinski) - monsters that attack based on noise terrorize a family. most dialogue is delivered through sign language. also has a really touching family dynamic, especially between the father and his children.

Mondo Oowada: Pet Sematary (1989, dir. Mary Lambert) - haven’t seen this one either, whoops. all i know is it’s about, like, bringing people back from the dead or something, and that it’s based on a Stephen King book.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru: The Stand (1994, dir. Mick Garris) - technically a miniseries, but i wasn’t really sure what other horror story fit him. it’s the world at the end in a final battle between good and evil, and nothing says Ultimate Moral Compass more than that to me.

Hifumi Yamada: Strangers on a Train (1951, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - the whole “i’ll do your murder if you do mine” kinda hits for chapter 3 i think. i also remember his hostage being his sister, so he’d probably like the relationship between Anne and Barbara.

Celes Ludenberg: Crimson Peak (2015, dir. Guillermo del Toro) - there’s a line the main character says that’s something to the effect of how she’d rather be like Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley because she died a widow? that’s Celescore. content warning: incest.

Sakura Oogami: Hereditary (2018, dir. Ari Aster) - both in the way that her dojo is a family business and in the themes of being afraid of hurting your loved ones. content warnings: child death, car accident, decapitation, possession, drug usage.

Toko Fukawa: Rebecca (1940, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - again haven’t watched or read the book on which it is based but the fact alone that it is based on a book? and it’s not directed by stanley kubrick’s book-ruining ass?

Byakuya Togami: Rope (1948, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - based on a play which itself was probably based loosely on the Leopold & Loeb case, it’s famous in part for its protagonists being gay. also they have superiority complexes and think that the privileged few should be allowed to murder inferior people because they’re above morality.

Yasuhiro Hagakure: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, dir. Wes Craven) - i feel like this is closer to what his brand of horror would be, but also people not really believing that what’s happening is actually happening is kind of his m.o. too. content warning: i don’t remember if this is explicit in the original or not, but Freddy Krueger was a pedophile.

Aoi Asahina: Friday the 13th (1980, dir. Sean S. Cunningham) - again i just think this is closer to what Hina’s brand of horror would be, but also i feel like the summer camp aesthetic would be for her.

Kyouko Kirigiri: The Secret in Their Eyes (2009, dir. Juan Jose Campanella) - i don’t totally remember it but detective going off the rails trying to solve a rape & murder case. Very intense, but very good.

Junko Enoshima: Midsommar (2019, dir. Ari Aster) - gaslighting people into joining a death cult? yeah, that screams junko. content warnings: graphic suicide, drug usage, gaslighting, people on fire, nudity, sex.

Monokuma: Child’s Play (1988, dir. Tom Holland) - creepy toy carrying the soul of a murderer. still need to finish watching this one, other than “creepy doll” i don’t have anything to offer in the way of content warnings. 

Hajime Hinata: Get Out (2017, dir. Jordan Peele) - reluctant to go too much into details because i wouldn’t want to spoil the film for those who haven’t seen it, but the experiment done on Hajime vibes w this movie. content warning in that this film is about racism.

Twogami: Vertigo (1958, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - too many details would give away spoilers but the identity theft theme of the film fits for a guy whose talent is in identity theft.

Teruteru Hanamura: Halloween (1978, dir. John Carpenter) - had a hard time thinking of a horror movie for Teruteru, but Halloween (and 80′s slashers in general) have a tendency to punish the horny.

Mahiru Koizumi: I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997, dir. Jim Gillespie) - would it be too much of a spoiler to say there’s similarities between this film & what gets Mahiru killed in-game?

Peko Pekoyama: The Purge (2013, dir. James DeMonaco) - people using masks to enact what they feel is justified revenge on the one day of the year when all crime is legal.

Hiyoko Saionji: The VVitch (2015, dir. Robert Eggers) - based on colonial-era folk tales about witches. very atmospheric, features the same kind of abusive slut-shaming verbal assaults Hiyoko hurls at others. content warning for briefly implied incest, some nudity, and parents being shitty.

Ibuki Mioda: Green Room (2015, dir. Jeremy Saulnier) - still need to see this one; punk band tries to survive to the end of the night after witnessing neo-nazis commit a murder.

Mikan Tsumiki: Carrie (1976, dir. Brian De Palma) - another film based on a stephen king novella, and also a pretty famous story. a longtime bullying & abuse victim starts to lose her shit after she begins developing telepathy. content warning for some nudity, fire, and an abusive mother.

Nekomaru Nidai: Les Yeux Sans Visage (1960, dir. Georges Franju) - wasn’t really sure where to go with him either, at first, and settled on body horror considering what happens to him later in-game. a doctor attempts to find a new face for his daughter after she is left disfigured from an accident. 

Gundham Tanaka: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1921, dir. Robert Wiene) - a mad scientist claims his hypnotized ‘somnambulist’ can see into the future, including the deaths of carnival-goers. highly influential silent film, german expressionist so peak aesthetic.

Nagito Komaeda: The Silence of the Lambs (1991, dir. Jonathan Demme) - it’s probably well enough known for Hannibal the Cannibal being in it, but it’s worth noting he’s not the primary antagonist of the film. he is the most memorable part of it, and his psychoanalysis is what made me think of Komaeda. content warnings for gore, sexual harassment, referenced cannibalism, period-typical transphobia (period is the late 80s/early 90s).

Chiaki Nanami: V/H/S (2012, various directors) - a horror anthology film of found-footage type shorts, not shown in chronological order of events. i don’t really remember the contents enough for warnings, check at your own risk.

Akane Owari: The Blair Witch Project (1999, dirs. Eduardo Sanchez & Daniel Myrick) - don’t really have a good reason for this one other than “they all go feral, which Akane is seconds from doing at any given moment.” i think she’d dig it. no real content warnings to be had, the original found footage film.

Kazuichi Souda: Jaws (1975, dir. Stephen Spielberg) - i’m not even entirely sure i know what would make him like it, maybe just the mechanical shark? i think we all know this as the movie that made people double down on their hatred of sharks. i don’t particularly care for it, but it’s popular.

Sonia Nevermind: Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2006, dir. Tom Tykwer) - follows a would-be perfumer as he murders women in an attempt to create the perfect scent. in retrospect i probably should have picked something based on a real crime, but i still think she’d like this one.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu: M (1931, dir. Fritz Lang) - when the police fail to catch a serial child murderer, the criminal underworld steps up to take action into their own hands. fitting, no?

Usami: Trick ‘r Treat (2007, dir. Michael Doughtery) - another sort of anthology film that follows what happens to townsfolk when they don’t abide by Halloween traditions. i put it for Usami because i thought it was actually kind of cute, as far as horror films go.

[luxexhomines]

How would Ibuki, Sayaka and Kaede feel if their S/O serenaded them?

Gosh, right in the feels! As a singer and player of piano, I love this prompt–or maybe I should’ve known it was coming. I kind of just wrote stories instead of bullet points for these. Hope you don’t mind. Ibuki’s is a little short in comparison, sigh. Icon credit to rainynico!

If you just want headcanons of how they’d react, please do request again! I’d love to do those, too. No cut; let me know if you’d like one.

So, without further ado:

Ibuki, Sayaka, & Kaede x S/O Serenading Them

Ibuki Mioda

“Ibuki, Ibuki! Come here,” you say, practically throbbing with excitement as you grab her hand and drag her out of the living room and to the music room. She’s bewildered as she runs behind you, but hey, she’s pretty interested in whatever it is that you’ve pulled her along for since you’re so excited.

You pull out a chair and gesture to it.

“Sit here!”

And so Ibuki sits, watching you with a smile. Your excitement is contagious.

“What are you doing, s/o? Why did you bring Ibuki here?”

You laugh happily, and sit down on the high chair, grabbing the acoustic guitar and swinging its strap over your shoulder.

“Just listen, okay?”

You begin strumming quietly, and soon enough, your voice joins the falling chords. Your voice is sweet and warm as you sing along to the guitar’s song and string together a melody of love and joy.

And then there’s silence after you’ve finished, and Ibuki stares off into space, so you get up and walk toward her, bending down and waving a hand in front of her face.

“Ibuki? Are you okay?”

She snaps to attention and starts clapping enthusiastically as her pink eyes meet yours.

“That was amazing, s/o! Ibuki didn’t know you had already learned how to play that. Ibuki was enchanted by your voice,” she beams, and you can feel the energy expanding inside her. You smile shyly, even though it was you that had brought her here to listen.

“I’m so glad you liked it. I learned to play it for you, after all,” you reply gently.

Ibuki nods with a silly smile.

“Yup, Ibuki knows! That was a song of love to Ibuki, right? You were serenading Ibuki, right?”

She stretches out the last word and can’t seem to stop grinning at you as you start blushing.

“Yeah, I sure was.”

Ibuki throws her arms around you and squeezes with a strength you didn’t know she possessed, nuzzling her head against you.

“Ibuki loves you too, s/o!” she proclaims grandly.

Sayaka Maizono

You walked down the hallways of school on your way home when a freshman stopped you.

“You’re the Ultimate Violinist, right? Can I listen to you play?” she smiles curiously.

You sigh inside before answering her.

“I’m sorry, I’m in a rush,” you apologize. “I have a couple concerts a year where you can come listen, though!”

And you rushed off. You felt kind of bad, but you really didn’t have time. Maintaining your skills as the SHSL Violinist took much more practice than anyone might realize. And besides, you were on your way to an important appointment with your girlfriend.

You came to her house and rang the doorbell, and the door opened almost immediately, her light footsteps resounding in the house as she ran to greet you.

“You’re here! Come in,” she smiles joyfully. Taking off your shoes and entering her abode, you make your way in the house.

“Sorry that I’m late. A freshman stopped and asked to hear me play for her,” you explain, a note of regret in your voice.

Sayaka brings a tray of snacks and water over, setting it on the table and sitting down across from you.

“That’s perfectly fine! Although, I do wonder…how come you never grant the requests of others to play for them?” she asks inquisitively.

You take a bite out of a sakura mochi before answering, deciding to go with a simple answer for now.

“Well, there would be no end to the line of requesters if I accepted. There’s no way I could play for them all.”

Sayaka puts her hand in her chin pensively.

“Yeah, but I’ve never seen you grant a single request. You always decline,” she observes.

You rest your elbows on the table, resigned. You supposed you should properly answer your girlfriend.

“Well, that would be like a private concert. I reserve my sound for a select few in this world apart from when I give public concerts. My violin playing will be my job in the future, and if I played for anyone who asked, I would never earn any money. But I will always play for the people I love,” you say tenderly.

She nods.

“That makes sense. That’d be like me doing a private showing, after all.”

You get an idea and stand up abruptly.

“Hey, do you have a music room in your house?”

She follows suit by standing with a baffled expression and starts walking, you following after her.

“Yes, but why?” She opens the door to the room, which is a homely size with an upright piano against the wall.

“Here, just sit there and don’t move,” you say, and take out your violin from your case. It was tuned, but you made sure to try it once to make sure, and then started to play.

A high, warm tone emerged from your instrument as you played Meditation from Thais by Massenet, an amorous expression captured on your face. The romantic melody reverberated in you and reached out to Sayaka, who sat barely three feet away from you.

You ended the song, your bow lifted in the air until you dropped your hand to your side, and you took a mock bow. Sayaka clapped as she looked at you affectionately.

“That was so emotive and touching,” she starts. “I don’t even have the words to describe it properly, but that was so sweet of you to play for me.”

Putting your violin down in its case, you turned toward her only to have her small hands plop on your shoulders and keep you still as she leans in, kissing you on the lips softly.

“Is that my reward?” you chuckle.

She gives you a mischievous smile.

“That and more,” she says as she kisses you again.

Kaede Akamatsu

You were sitting and watching Kaede practice the piano–no, you weren’t bored, but you were rather awed at her unbroken concentration as she practiced runs up and down the piano over and over. All of sudden, you got an idea.

“Kaede?” you called.

Without missing a beat on her runs, she answers.

“Yeah?”

You pause, but decide to ask since you’d already got her attention. At least, part of it. Maybe she was just really good at multi-tasking.

“Sorry, I know you’re practicing, but… I was wondering if I could use the piano? Just for a couple of minutes.”

She stops and turns toward you with a brilliant smile, her light pink eyes faintly glowing.

“Sure, of course! Is it alright if I stay here and watch?”

You nod as the two of you switch places.

“Yes, I was hoping you would,” you reply, adjusting your position at the piano bench.

You take a breath and then begin playing, your fingers sliding over the smooth ivory keys, black and white. The piano was such an elegant and beautiful instrument, and it was an honor to be able to play on the same one as Kaede. There was no way you could ever match up to Kaede, of course, but you could play some mid to higher-level pieces after taking lessons for several years.

You chose to play Arabesque No. 1 from Debussy–one of your favorite composers, something that you and Kaede shared in common concerning music, and the piece was an apt choice for your purposes. You had been practicing it for a while now, and the notes flowed from your fingertips like rushes of water from streams converging into rivers that went into oceans of love.

When you ended a few minutes later, both you and Kaede sat silently with your eyes closed, absorbing the music and the echo in the room. Then soft clapping came from her direction, and you swung your legs out from the piano to face her, a smile playing on your lips.

“How was that, Miss Ultimate Pianist?” you tease.

She stands and answers you with a warm kiss to your forehead, murmuring.

“It was just wonderful, of course. I could really feel what you wanted to express. You reached me, s/o.”

You tilted your chin up to look her in the eyes.

“Oh? And what did I want to express?” you grin.

She blushes a warm pink.

“You rascal! Trying to make me say it, are you?”

You wrap your arms around her midriff from your sitting position on the bench, resting your head on her chest.

“You know it. But I guess I’ll be nice today and say it for you,” you breathe. “I love you, Kaede.”

She encloses you in her embrace, petting your head in a way that makes you feel like a dog but at the same time the center of the world.

“You didn’t really need to say it, you know. You already said it with your music,” she notes.

You laugh into her fuzzy pink sweater.

“Oh, details, details. Are you seriously objecting to a second confession of love?”

Kaede laughs with you, her chest shaking. 

“You got me there. How could I say no to that?”

[impracticaldemon]

What's your opinion on heichi and okichi?

Thank you for asking, Anon-san! (I’d actually been thinking about these two pairings recently).  I’ve now rewritten my answer for HeiChi four times - in between drafting my new Teachings of Demons chapter - which is why I’m a few days late responding.  Basically, I have mixed feelings about both OkiChi and HeiChi, but for totally different reasons.  The whole response needs to be cut down more, but alas, I’m out of time! Gomenasai.

Standard disclaimer:  I truly don’t mind other opinions/views on pairings, unless they’re hurtful or disrespectful.  Different people like different things, and I’m good with that.  I’ve written solid stories for all the original Hakuouki characters, and that’s how I show my belief that all the characters and pairings have value.

OkiChi:  

Summary ~ I still don’t really ship OkiChi, because I struggle a lot with the threats and put-downs early to mid story, and because I think Souji is too emotionally invested in Kondou to be a good partner for Chizuru.  The power imbalance is especially problematic in this route, because Souji deliberately points out Chizuru’s weaknesses on several occasions (for reasons - he’s a complicated guy - but still, not cool). That said, OkiChi makes for an interesting and dramatic relationship and story, and the second half of the route is rather lovely, as well as moving. A pairing where Chizuru has to provide a ton of affection/reassurance just to create the relationship - but the upside is high.  Hakuouki Shinkai (KW & EB) does a better job of providing a transition/basis for Chizuru going from “I’m terrified of him” to “I love him”.

HeiChi:

Summary ~ Objectively, I see this as a cute ship, with a number of things going for it; that said, HeiChi doesn’t resonate with me personally.  I like Heisuke, and I like Chizuru, but… I don’t feel the romantic chemistry. That’s probably on me, but it’s not that I haven’t thought about it.  I just think Heisuke is more complicated than he appears.  His gorgeous sunshine smile hides pain and indecisiveness.

Pros:  Heisuke is kind to Chizuru almost from the start, he’s friendly (she needs that so much!), the power imbalance is much less, and he likes her a lot. They have more in common than the others.  He clearly matures over the route. There is open love, trust, and support later in the route, and it’s very sweet.  Cons:  Heisuke has a lot of growing up to do, and while he’s very sincere, he’s also very self-focused (for perfectly normal reasons). His choice to go with Itou always struck me as very telling. Totally different from OkiChi, but still has a real turning point mid-game. There’s a lot going on with Heisuke, much of which conflicts with having a real awareness of Chizuru until much later (and only after being forced out of his own head a little).   

[More discussion of both pairings below the cut]

My subjective opinion on OkiChi (i.e., how I react personally) is far less negative than it once was.  Part of the change is getting to know so many interesting and well-spoken people who love both Souji and OkiChi (waves ♥), and part of it is that Kyoto Winds provided a slightly softer take on the initial relationship.  I can write OkiChi, it just means I have to make an effort with my head-space to do it justice.

For me, OkiChi stands or falls by whether you find Souji, and Souji’s brand of teasing, to be attractive.  It doesn’t work for me, because although I can see that some of what Souji does stems from genuine vulnerability - or just a sense of fun - I personally react badly to teasing of almost any kind from somebody in such an unassailable position of power. When part of that teasing involves threats of bodily harm, I kind of check out.  

I’m also uncomfortable with OkiChi because Souji uses put-downs that add to Chizuru’s already significant insecurity about being a burden - he tells her to eat up “even though she’s a freeloader” who does nothing to earn her food (a big deal at the time), and he calls her “useless” more than once.  This bothers me more than it does other people.  Bottom line:  Souji needs a lot of reassurance and no-demand affection, and Chizuru has to be very consistent and very forgiving. Her character is capable of it, and it’s not an uncommon otome set-up, but it’s not for me, and I’m not convinced that it’s good for Chizuru (in the short to medium term).

My objective opinion is that the initial part of the relationship is still highly problematic (for the reasons given above), but I can see it happening, as long as you assume a significant romantic and physical attraction on the part of Chizuru to Souji, despite his behaviour (which she describes as frightening).  Once Souji starts to trust Chizuru - which is a realistically slow process, but happens reasonably early on an unconscious level - he finally starts to see her more as a person than as a threat.  Eventually, he becomes genuinely devoted to her, even to the point of screwing up by not killing Kaoru when he first has the chance (with horrible results, but it shows a massive shift on Souji’s part in terms of how much he cares about Chizuru’s happiness).  

I also agree with those who’ve noted that Chizuru is tremendously important to Souji / Souji’s story.  His bad endings are very bad, and all too believable; Chizuru’s uncompromising, steady-as-a-rock affection and belief in Souji’s importance and good character are pretty much all Souji has to go on after Kondou-san dies. It makes the route rather different than the others, because Souji abandons the Shinsengumi completely at that point (after punching Hijikata, ofc), and makes Chizuru the focus of his actions and future plans. 

Things that make Chizuru’s initial (and necessary) early crush work for me:  (1) Souji is unusually attractive in a tall, well-built, emerald-eyed way, and has the classic “bad boy” charm and mischievous sense of fun; (2) Souji is an emotional guy, and I headcanon Chizuru as highly empathic - consequently, Chizuru is able to sense his carefully-hidden wounds when most don’t - this gives her the impetus to keep trying to reach out to him in the face of death threats, put-downs, and rejection; (3) Souji is interesting, and Chizuru is shown to have a lot of curiosity; (4) Chizuru is a loyal little soul, and admires loyalty - Souji’s loyalty to the Kondou-san would go a long way with her; (5) Chizuru notices the things Souji does that don’t entirely align with his “kill you any day now” rhetoric - including saving her life when she first goes on patrol with him.

So:  I don’t ship OkiChi, but I mind it less now, and have some solid strengths to build on when writing.

Assuming you’re still reading… >_

HeiChi:

I have oddly mixed feelings about HeiChi.  I say “oddly”, because this should be an obvious (i.e., good) ship, even aside from being a canon / main route.  Short answer:  HeiChi makes a lot of sense to me, and Heisuke’s a good guy, but I think this pairing is more complex and maybe a bit less perfect than it appears (which is pretty human).  It’s not a personal favourite (subjectively), but they’re very sweet. ♥

Longer answer:

Heisuke is very taken with Chizuru early on, and he is the closest to her in age. [Saitō and Heisuke are both 19, but Saitō gives every impression of being at least a couple of years older.]  Among the positives: Heisuke comes across as the cheerful one of the bunch, and he definitely has the most brilliant smile; he also conveys a sense of innocence and optimism.  He helps Chizuru to feel less lonely.  Main points:  Heisuke treats Chizuru well, and looks out for her; he enjoys and seeks out her company; there is noticeably less of a power imbalance between them than with the others.  Heisuke is the one who most obviously cares about protecting Chizuru’s innocence (something which he also tried to do for Ibuki Ryunosuke).

So why am I ambivalent?

[Time passes while Imp tries to write and rewrite this part of her answer.]

… Okay, here’s what I’ve got:

Heisuke lives a lot inside his head, for all that he appears to be action-oriented.  He’s outwardly cheerful, but inwardly trying desperately to makes sense of his life, his feelings, and his ambitions.  He can be very sweet and generous, but also very inward-looking and at times melodramatic.  

Despite having some kind of romantic or affectionate feelings for Chizuru early on, Heisuke chooses to leave the Shinsengumi with Itou on a permanent basis roughly two years after Chizuru arrives.  While he regrets leaving Chizuru, that regret feels very muted to me. Heisuke’s conversation with Chizuru before he leaves is mostly about himself and what he’s doing; it reflects his main preoccupation, which boils down to figuring out what’s important to him through the exercise of his own judgment.  

I think the game has it right - that’s where he’s at, and staying with the Shinsengumi would be a mistake.  He needs to get away from the two older “brothers” who tend not to take him seriously, and “parent” Hijikata, who ends up scolding a lot, and truly doesn’t have time to listen to his inward struggles.  Heisuke only comes back to the Shinsengumi under adverse circumstances (even though he’s disenchanted with Itou after a while, he stays loyal to his choice until the next-to-last minute), and he subsequently becomes preoccupied with being a “monster”. My point is that there isn’t a lot of room for him to focus on Chizuru in there.  He thinks she’s cute, and nice, and should be treated better; he worries about her, and still wants to be with her and give her what comfort he can.  But his ability to fully perceive what she’s dealing with is restricted.

Ultimately, Chizuru is the one to save Heisuke, by dragging him out of his fugue and forcing him to pay attention to things outside his developing self-loathing.  She slaps him because he keeps trying to make decisions for her about how she feels, and what’s best for her, and he’s still not seeing the full/real Chizuru.  After that, Heisuke begins to be more thoughtful (not just affectionate), and agrees to lean on Chizuru more, which is good for both of them.  Chizuru makes sure that Heisuke understands that to her he’s an important person, and somebody she relies on. 

Final verdict:  It’s a cute ship, with lots of potential to be very loving. It doesn’t have serious negatives, although for me it lacks something romantically for quite a long time.  Heisuke struggles with a lot of insecurity, and tends to alternate between looking inward for “the answers”, and looking outward for validation. That makes him easy for many of us to relate to, but puts a lot of burden on Chizuru.  Even after all of this, I don’t know what part of my reaction to HeiChi is personal bias/preferences, and what part is based on objective analysis.  I do know that it’s both.

To those who have come this far, thank you for reading!  I hope that I didn’t disappoint too many of you with my rambling.  In my defense, my inability to keep things simple means I can write my stories from different perspectives and keep them consistent!

~ Imp

[inazuma-eleven-translations]

Animage September 2013 - Interview with Suzuki Tatsuhisa (Ibuki Munemasa)

Full scans can be found here: http://inazuma.pmsinfirm.org/?p=322

Translator’s Notes: This is for @shindouyerin. Since I haven’t seen Galaxy yet, I’m really sorry if I made any mistakes! But I kinda like Ibuki, because he reminds me of Hakuryuu. He seems soooo stubborn, haha.

He painfully lost 3 goals to Resistance Japan! What should Ibuki study from here on in order to become a guardian deity for Raimon?

Ibuki Munemasa/ Inazuma Japan GK/ Shirt Number 1

Joined the team under the condition that he would get to study basketball overseas. Incidentally, his way of speaking is informal*, so is this one of the characteristics of Gassan Kunimitsu’s soccer club?

*He doesn’t use polite Japanese.

Special Move - Wild Dunk

Just like a dunk shoot from a basketball player, he slams down on the ball with shockwaves from a big hand. “Speaking of keeper special moves, Endou’s God Hand has a strong impression, so I was glad he could also unleash a big hand with bang. With Ibuki’s special move he swings down from the top, and meeting the ball face to face like Endou is very Ibuki-like. I feel like he’s not relying on any tricks or anything. But I think he can learn even cooler special moves from here on, so I’m looking forward to seeing them.” (Suzuki)

Captions

Gassan Kunimitsu Soccer Uniform - At the meeting for choosing the representatives, he appeared in Gassan Kunimitsu’s soccer club uniform. He wore the same red goalkeeper uniform as Hyodou, and his shirt number was 20.

Gassan Kunimitsu Basketball Uniform - He has the strong, sturdy arms of a basketball player. Since it’s the same color as Minamisawa and the others’ uniforms, is this the school color of Gassan Kunimitsu?

The Lone Wolf Sportsman, Ibuki

First we’d like to hear about how you felt when it was decided that you would play Ibuki.

First I received the script and Ibuki’s character design.

It wasn’t an audition, but you were asked to play him?

Yes, the role of Ibuki was offered to me. Since I hadn’t been part of the Inazuma Eleven series since the movie ‘The Invasion of the Strongest Army Ogre’ where I played the role of Escavan, I was looking forward to seeing what the story would be like this time. I feel this way no matter what the role is, but to me meeting the character I’ll play is the most important thing. I thought about things like ‘In Ibuki’s situation he’s a basketball player, so why is he going to play soccer?’ and ‘I wonder if he has a pretty combative personality?’ But my impression of his is changing as time goes on.

How is it changing?

I thought he was a lonewolf. He’s carrying a burning fire within him, but he doesn’t always show it. So to the people around him, he’s a difficult kid to decode at first glance.

When he was doing special training with Tsurugi, he didn’t say anything to the Captain, Tenma, about it. He just suddenly disappeared from the morning assembly.

That’s right (laughs). There’s no meaning to a keeper that can’t stop shoots, so he put everything aside to train. Ibuki also doesn’t really participate in the scenes revolving around the players’ daily lives. He’s a character we haven’t even once seen how he speaks to the other team members, so it’s hard to tell if he’s close to the others.  So I’m pretty worried too. Just what kind of kid is he, anyway?

We can conclude he’s not too close to them.

Probably not. He doesn’t seem to have much interest in what’s going on around him. I think he truly is a good kid, but isn’t his way of getting close to others in some respects not great? It’s because he’s a very straight-forward character that his pride is high that he shows a lot of stubbornness, and he���s the type who creates a lot of unnecessary friction between himself and the people around him. He’s cool, but he’s also faced a lot of difficulties and we can only imagine and look forward to his thoughts and the parts of him that haven’t been shown yet in the story. Ibuki is getting to know his true self.

The drama Ibuki has had so far is mainly clashing with Shindou.

Yes. Ibuki’s probably worrying about ‘Why is Shindou acting this cold to me?’. ‘Let me at least do this!’ and ‘Even though I’m trying my very best!’. I think this kind of story can happen in real life too. Whether you’re in school or in your work life, there are situations where your efforts just don’t feel appreciated or recognised.

When he said ‘I don’t care about soccer or Inazuma Japan!’ it left a deep impression.

‘I don’t care about anything else, so just recognise me already!’ was how he felt, wasn’t it. When you put people under pressure, you can divide them into two types. The type who retreats into their own shell, feeling extremely depressed or the type that even if everything around them crumbles they’ll keep showing you that they’ll do things their own way. I think Ibuki is the latter.

During the match where they can withdraw from the team (Note: Haven’t seen Galaxy don’t know the context) Ibuki declares immediately that he will stay behind. He says ‘If I leave now, I’ll be unsatisfied.’

Right. I think Shindou’s harsh but correct criticism provoked Ibuki’s pride as a sportsman.

Then even though if he leaves the team he can play basketball abroad, he refuses.

I think that before he’s a basketball player, he’s a sportsman. Even though he was suddenly told to play soccer, it doesn’t mean that he’ll hesitate in practicing from morning to night. So he’s not really thinking of it as turning down an offer to play basketball abroad. He knows the thing he needs to do right now is not play basketball, but train as a goalkeeper.

Thanks to that training, Ibuki’s become able to stop shoots. But Shindou still doesn’t recognise him.

Yeah, ‘why not?’! There’s the feeling that something’s still missing before he can truly be able to play soccer. I think Shindou’s true intentions will soon be revealed, but right now he’s the one person challenging Ibuki. But though be challenged Ibuki grows as a person which I think he’s grateful for. But if he’s to put it into words, he won’t say anything more than ‘That Shindou is a really annoying guy,’ (laughs). Everyone else recognises that Ibuki is doing his best, but for Shindou, who is aiming for the world, he’s still not satisfied.

The first time he successfully used Wild Dunk, everyone else gathered around in awe.

Shindou didn’t move. Shindou is a good soccer senpai for Ibuki. What Ibuki can receive from Shindou and Tsurugi, who have a lot of experience with soccer, is (Note: can’t figure out this sentence atm). It’s nothing to do with age or gender, I think Ibuki is the type to really enthusiastically get into people who recognise him.

It would be good if he became closer to the other members too.

It seems like he especially has no connection with the girls (laughs). Since he really only has interest in training, he’s not really aware of the other members. When he opens his heart to everyone sooner or later and one by one communicates with them, I wonder about just what kind of odd conversations he’ll have with them (laughs). When I think about that, I look forward to it. In episode one the other Raimon members appeared, and everyone looked like really close friends. The two goalkeepers Shisuke and Sangoku were particularly memorable.

Finally, Ibuki’s highlights from here on out. The match against Resistance Japan is a painful memory, but…

It’s because of this painful memory that makes Ibuki want to train even harder. Resistance Japan’s level was certainly a different level than what he’d faced so far. I think it was very beneficial for him to face them so soon after just starting to play soccer. Because Ibuki’s had good sports reflexes from the start, and he’s trained that ability during his time as a basketball player so from now on he can definitely find his feet and show his real ability. And his being a lone wolf will change in a good way. There’s a tendency to think ‘I can surpass everyone by myself’ but through Ibuki understanding ‘Everyone’s hearts being linked together is an important thing too,’ I think it would be good if this message can also be transmitted to viewers. Since Ibuki will learn some important things, I’d be happy if he could watch over everyone’s growth in Inazuma Japan.

[shsl-shipper-gamer-fangirl]

More dangan thieves

“Toot! Toot! This is a HOLD UP!”

“Or maybe doot doot? Ibuki can’t choose which gun to use! Tu turuu~”

“Cease your movement, unruly shadows! Do not make me repeat myself.“

“Are you sure that’s aaaaall the money you have? Let’s open you up and check just to be sure!“

Ibuki Mioda Codename: Noise or Encore Arcana: Sun

Mask: Metal face mask from Mad Max except it extends up to her two oni horns hair [NOTE: unlike all the other masks, only Ibuki's doesn't cover her eyes but beware, her true power lies in her voice]

Ourfit: Looks like something picked out from Kingdom Hearts with all the unnecessary belts and zippers, honestly what style is she even going for? The color scheme is still the same except instead of the school uniform, she wears a lot of leather like a post-apocalyptic musician. Her gloves are mismatched: her right is pink and ends at her wrist while her left is striped pink and ends at her elbow.

Persona: Mousai [yes, she gets all 9 muses in 1 summon, she calls them her band]

*NOTE: Ibuki is that one character who actually tried to apply to become a Dangan Thief. In a convenient turn of events, she managed to eavesdrop on one of their meetings (who knew that doing dubious vocal training at suspicious corners would pay off!) and she was excited as hell! She thought they were cool and wanted to try it out. Through sheer confidence (much to the annoyance of the party), she was able to convince them to let her join (mostly to watch) on one of their field days. Things escalated but thankfully she awakened her persona in the moment of crisis.

Skillset: Strong nuclear skills, weak to psychokinesis; high critical rates but also low resistance to status ailments

Weapons: Guitar axe, sword flute, hammer drum, tuning dagger, trombone shotgun, trumpet pistol, harp crossbow, violin bow, french horn grenade launcher (where does Ibuki get all these weapons?!)

All-Out Attack Card: "Face the music" blasting from speakers (think Coma Doof of Mad Max Fury Road) with her weapon on fire she shouts, "This girl is on fiyaaaaaah!"

Awakening Scene: Mousai: All this shouting reminds us of a song, does it not? A pitiful song. Look at them, walking all over you, drumming to a rhythm that silences yours. Are you just going to let this miserable song go on? Where is your voice? Why aren't you singing louder than these fools who think they can!

Ibuki: This is the part where Ibuki proves you wrong mysterious voice inside Ibuki's head! Clearly you're new to my concert 'cause you would know that I was just warming up! Ibuki didn't become a rockstar by being quiet, Ibuki ROARED! I'll show you just how loud I can be at FULL VOLUME!

Mousai: And here we thought you couldn't get any louder. Your song has finally reached us. As you already know, all great musicians had to sign a contract. I art thou... thou art I...

Ibuki: ROCK AND ROCK AND ROCK AND ROCK AND ROCKROCKROCKROCKROCK AND ROLL, MOUSAI!

Quotes: "Onwards to the next concert, Ace Detective!" "Too fast! I didn't even get to do a solo!" "I leveled up! And I have song to celebrate with!" “Oooooh! A new skill! I can totally rock this!” "That sparkle! That shine! That shining shimmering splendid! It's a treasure chest! Let's go for it!" "A safe room you say? Let's take five and rehearse." “Nothing exciting like wandering in someone's world inside their head.” "Hehehe... I'm just warming up. Bring on the show!" “Can I get an encore? Do you want more?” "Wheeeeeew, boy am I pooped! Let's stop the tour here please." "Look, a shadow! We should go say hi!" “A rabbid fan saw us! Run run run RUN!” "It's like an amateur facing off with a pro... boring and unfair." “Mmmmmhhhhh, I feel like that one would explode with just one note.” "Huh?! You want to fight that? Okay but this is a death flag just saying." “Watch out! This feels like one of those important showdowns! Gotta get your cool lines ready beforehand.” “All my friends, we're glorious! Tonight we are victorious!”

*BATON PASS!* "LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!" *PROTECT* "Move, bitch! Get out the way!" *ENDURE* "Ugh... My last one standing game is strong!" *PERSONA!* "Burn the stage down, Mousai!" *Follow Up* "Need a second voice for that solo?" *Cover Fire* "Please oh please let me do the chorus." *Harisen Recovery* "Wake up, get up, GET OUT THERE!" *low on health* "I can see it... my ending! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" *healing someone* "Don't die on me for plot device!" *getting healed* "Aaaaaaah! Feeling alive is so much better than feeling dead." *giving buffs* "Power ups for more power!" *physical attacks* "How do you like the sound of that?" *attacking* "GET REKT!" *attack misses* “Oh no! My hidden ditzy character is showing!" *couldn't finish off enemy* "Can't believe it didn't die, so rude!" *fainting* "It's weird... I can't seem to hear anything... so sad." *getting resurrected* “An encore? Well don't mind if I do!"

[lmao these are all song lyrics] *status ailment* "I, I shake it off! I shake it off!" Burn: "It's fire burning! Fire burning on the dance floor!" Freeze: “Yo, VIP, Let's kick it!!!! Ice! Ice! Baby!” Shock: "Girl, I'm all charged up! Cutie! Electro-cutie!" Forget: "See you driving 'round town with the girl I love and I'm like. Forget you! Ooh, ooh, ooh~" Charm: "We found love in a hopeless place~" Rage: "Let the bodies hit the floor! Let the bodies hit the floor! Let the bodies hit the... FLOOOOOOOOOR!" or “ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!” Despair: "Please don't take... my sunshine away..." Hunger: "Ah ya ya ya ya I! Keep on hoping we'll eat cake by the ocean!" Dizzy: "You spin my head right round, right round. When you go down, when you go down down." Sleep: “In the jungle... the mighty jungle... the lion sleeps tonight... A weema-weh, wimoweh, wimba way, awimbawe..." Silence: *#@$%&?! or (somebody stole my car radio and now I just sit in silence) Mouse: *to the tune of hickory dickory dock* "Squeaksqueaksqueak squeaksqueaksqueak squeak~"

Mementos Chats: "The acoustics here are amazing! I bet I can yell and it would ECHOOOOOOOO!" "Uuuuuuuggggggghhhhh. Why does Silence even exist? It just makes me want to be LOUDER!" "I tried singing to them shadows, like legit singin not attacking-singing. And they just exploded? Rude!" "Shadows haven't developed the advanced hearing we people persons have. Otherwise they would have been enjoying my concerts." "Hey, maybe I should write my next song about Dangan Thieves. 'You stole my heart so I'm stealing your distorted desires'"

Ibuki: Maybe I should try bringing more instruments next time. I want to try pulling off a concert with my new band! Hajime: For the last time, your persona is not a band. Please only limit summoning them for thieving purposes.

Hajime: I knew you always had a dangerous taste in music but this is just taking it to the next level. Ibuki: What are you talking about, SpaceAce? This is just my usual.

Chiaki: This is so exciting, I think. I've always liked those characters who literally use music to attack. Ibuki: Awwww, that's so sweet of you, Bonbon. I'm gonna dedicate my next song to you!

Nagito: You are lively as always, ahahaha. Nothing can keep your hope quiet, how wonderful! Ibuki: Damn right! Noise is here to turn up the volume!

Fuyuhiko: Where the fuck do you get all these crazy shit weapons? Ibuki: They're Noise Originals obviously! Made them myself to use during concerts but my bandmates never let me.

Peko: The way you wield your instruments... it is quite intriguing. It looks reckless but under trained eyes, it actually holds perfect form. You make it look so easy. Ibuki: Hrrrrr, I don't really get what you say. I just play like how I would, ya know?

Mahiru: Please tell me you don't actually use your weapons in real life. Ibuki: Definitely nadah! Noise is against fighting. Oh, but I do use them to play some sweet notes sometimes.

Ibuki: If I can summon nine people, that's eight more than normal! Oh, no! Does that mean Noise has multiple personalities! Impostor: No, that's not it. I can assure you that's not your case and there's no need for you to worry.

Impostor: Ibuki:

Tsumiki: U-Um, please not so loud when near other people. Hiiii! I'm so s-sorry! It's just, um... it could cause hearing problems so... sorry! Ibuki: It's cool, dokidoki! I just gotta be loud far far away, got it.

Sonia: You have quite the unique persona. To think that your other self looks like a group of nine persons, how interesting! Ibuki: I knooooow! It's like my fantasy band! Me, myself, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and Loud I.

------

Gundam Tanaka Codename: (Evil Overlord) Lich Arcana: Strength

Mask: Aku Shogun of Sorrow Mask by EpicLeather

Ourfit: Typical evil overlord getup (think castlevania dracula). Old fashion, dark and edgy, with a cape (black on the outside, violet on the inside), and his purple long scarf still wrapped around his neck. His left sleeve is rolled up until his elbow but instead of bandages, there's a gauntlent made of bones. His gloves have a skeletal design.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Even though none of his hamsters have awakened, Gundam still insists on bringing the Four Dark Devas of Destruction with him, even going so far as making them all tiny  individual masks, and redubbing them as the Four Dangan Devas of Thieving. Their codenames are as follows:

"Supernova Silver Fox" San-D: Inari "Mirage Golden Hawk" Jum-P: Horus "Crimson Steel Elephant": Ganesha "Invading Black Dragon" Cham-P: Ao Shun

Persona: Kaminari-sama, god of lightning, thunder, storms Note: unlike popular depictions, Gundam's persona looks more adorable than threatening, it's cute AF, takes a form similar to the momonga, japanese dwarf flying squirrel, but with sparks

Skillset: Strong zio skills but weak to garu Weapons: Pair of sai and revolver or flintlock

All-Out Attack Card: “INFINITY UNLIMITED FLAME” written in a summon circle with dark flames scorching in the background and he says, "Ha! You weak creatures make me laugh!"

Awakening Scene: Kaminari-sama: How many times more will you let people make a mockery of your power? You are a Lord of Darkness, are you not? And yet rather than respect, they throw ridicule and insults at you, call you a false god. A powerless god. I ask you this, are you truly that powerless?

Gundam: For a demon born from the abyss of my heart, you should already know the answer. I've been ridiculed enough by others so do not dare join their mockery! A powerless god you say, ha! They spout insults AND lies! My power is no joke. And they would regret every word they said that assumed otherwise!

Kaminari-sama: Spoken like a true Dark Lord. As long as you understand your rights then let us proceed with the contract. I art thou... thou art I... The power you've longed for is already within your grasp. You are no benevolent god. You are an Evil Overlord who destroys all obstacles and punishes all those who oppose you!

Gundam: That's right! Bwahaha! At last! The seal on my dark powers has finally been broken! From this day forth, I have been born anew, only to lay waste to those before me! Strike them down, Kaminari-sama!

Codename: Gundam: Hahaha! At last! The time to unleash my wrath upon the world has come! Tremble before the destructive force before you!

Chiaki: Congratulations on unlocking your persona, Gundam. New party member acquired!

Nagito: It was quite the sight to behold, your awakening, truly I am lucky to witness such hope. Ah, and now you've decided to join us as well. Hmmm, I suppose it's time to address the next issue. So what should his codename be?

Gundam: Ha! I've been waiting for this moment! From here on out you shall address me by my true name! For I am Evil Overlo—

Mahiru: Overruled.

Gundam: W-What's this blasphemy? I haven't even finished yet!

Fuyuhiko: Yeah, you don't need to finish that for us to know it was going to be a long ass name. Newsflash edgelord, we're only shooting for two syllables at most.

Gundam: How preposterous! That is simply not enough to seal my abyssmal power in words. Do you not understand the consequences should my strength remain unrestrained? This pathetic world shall be torn asunder!

Peko: Perhaps we should hear him out first. There must be at least something short for a codename in what he was proposing. Let's try to focus on the main component of his name and then debate on the honorifics later. Is that acceptable enough?

Gundam: Hmph, as long as you do not forget then I shall agree to those terms for now.

Tsumiki: Then um... What would you l-like your codename to be?

Gundam: Evil Overlord of the Underworld

Mahiru: Too long! And I still can't pick any of those for a codename! Take this seriously, will you?

Gundam: You dare question my name? It would seem mortals still lack the skill to comprehend true power before their eyes.

Impostor: It's actually more of a technicality. We can't call you Overlord or Lord because it'll simply get confused with mine, King. Evil and Underworld are out of the question. Is there no other name you wish to go by?

Gundam: Ah... I see. Someone else has claimed a similar name. Even a dark lord such as myself knows to honor rights. I did not foresee such an event.

Chiaki: In other words, you didn't have any backup aliases... I think.

Sonia: Hold your head high, my dark overlord! For I shall crown you with a name worthy of your esteem!

Gundam: What? What is this name that you speak of, Dark Queen?

Sonia: *whispers to herself* Actually, I go by Enchantress here but I don't mind being called your Dark Queen... *clears throat* There is a name spoken with fear in my country. I believe only you can hold it with the same tenacity. Lich, a being of the dark arts. It suits you, does it not, Evil Overlord Lich?

Gundam: Evil Overlord Lich... Fuhuhu... Yes! I can feel the dark arts resonating with it! COWER BEFORE THE MIGHT OF EVIL OVERLORD LICH! Bwahahaha!

Chiaki: Good for you, Evil Overlord Lich.

Hajime: No. No way. We are NOT going to call him that all the time.

Gundam: Traitor! You had promised me freedom in choosing my name! Are you saying that you had no honor to uphold those words from the very beginning!

Nagito: Oh, my. It seems you've upset him. It would be a lengthy discussion if we decide to change his codename at this point. How about we settle for a compromise instead?

Hajime: Fine. We'll call you Evil Overlord Lich whenever but in battles we are redacting that to Lich. Is that compromise enough?

Gundam: I suppose those are agreeable terms. The contract is sealed. You now have my blood in your hands, do your best to not fall prey to its insanity.

Hajime: Yeah, sure whatever. Good to know that you're finally happy. Now let's go.

Gundam: Do not dare to leave just yet. There is another important matter that needs your immediate attention. Be grateful that I had warned you or else you would have suffered a horrible death.

Fuyuhiko: Oh, c'mon! We've already spent like ten minutes here. What else do you want to talk about? Your fucking madeup backstory?

Gundam: You should tread carefully with your words, mere mortal. But no, this urgent business does not address me. It is a decision regarding beings higher than myself.

Mahiru: We get it. Higher powers. Fancy words. Just get to the point and let's be done with this.

Gundam: Now that my power has been sealed by name, I request your assistance in performing more seals... specifically four.

Quotes: "I have spells that last longer than that fight. Let us set off!" "Muwahahaha... I can feel it! Power surges through my veins!" “My repertoir increases yet again!” "A treasure chest? What dangers does this one hold within?" "We've arrived at a safe room. Do not waste this moment's reprieve." “This journey pales in comparison to the trek I did to reach the Underworld where my brethren live.” "An Evil Overlord is a being void of humanity. Worry not for I need no rest." “My mortal vessel is proving to be cumbersome. Even so, I will not let it hold me back.” "Do not mistake this exhaustion for weakness. Contain such great power puts a toll on any mortal body and my vessel has reached its limits." "Fiends run amok. Shall we cleanse the area?" “Ack! We've been sighted? They must have felt the disturbance in the air." “I take pity on these unworthy opponents.” "They are no threat to us. Quickly decide on their fates." "Tread carefully! Even from this distance, I can sense the oppressiveness of their powers." “We must prepare ourselves for this one or our lives shall be forfeit.” “Another victory to add to my inordinate saga!”

*BATON PASS!* "Face the wrath of The Evil Overlord Lich!" *PROTECT* "Fool! Defend yourself!" *ENDURE* "You fiend... Did you think that was enough to best me?" *PERSONA!* "Rise forth, Kaminari-sama!" or "Strike them down, Kaminari-sama!" *Follow Up* "Call upon my wrath!" *Cover Fire* "Let my thunderstorm rain upon them!" *Harisen Recovery* "Do not disappoint me!" *low on health* "Hmph... Did you truly think that dying would strike fear into my heart?" *healing someone* "It's far too early for you to join me in the Underworld." *getting healed* "I shall remember your generosity." *giving buffs* "By the dark arts, I imbue you with strength!" *physical attacks* "Lightning strikes! Twice!" *attacking* "Your end is nigh!" *attack misses* “Preposterous! You avoided your fate?" *couldn't finish off enemy* "Delaying the inevitable will only bring you greater suffering." *fainting* "Fallen I have... but my life was one lived to the fullest." *getting resurrected* “A second chance? If you truly miss me then I will gladly return at your call.”

*status ailment* "Curse this mortal body!" Burn: "This fire holds no flame against my Infinity Unlimited Flame!" Freeze: “This frostbite is all bark and no bite!” Shock: "Betrayed...? By my own element?" Forget: "My name... has been sealed again?" Charm: “The call of darkness beckons me!” Rage: “Face the wrath of my fury!” Despair: "All these struggles... are they even worth it?" Hunger: "The beast within howls! I recquire sustenance immediately!" Dizzy: "What's this? I can't sense their aura as sharply!" Sleep: “Snore... Tremblewithfear... Zzz...” Silence: !!! Mouse: "SQUEAK!"

Mementos Chats: "Be grateful, foolish mortals, for I am a generous Dark Lord who spares his time for your thievery." "Some of the shadows look more animalistic than fiendish... what is this inner turmoil?" "The storm surges on outside in the real world. Now is the time to strike terror into the shadows!" "I can feel it... My Evil Eye tells me that there is great malice within the walls of Mementos." "I shall conquer the real world and the cognitive world as well!" "An Evil Overlord serving as a Dangan Thief... Of course, evil is known to wear many masks."

Chiaki: Our personas should reflect our own psyches, right? Hajime: I guess. I mean they aren't called our "other selves" for no reason. Chiaki: Hmmm, I see. I wonder what that says about Lich. Nagito: Ah, I now understand why you brought this up. He does posess an... interesting persona. Fuyuhiko: Just call it as it is. It's fucking adorable that's what. Mahiru: For a guy who's edgier than a knife, he's actually a huge softie on the inside. Ibuki: Oyaoya? Could this be what they call "gap moe"? Tsumiki: B-But it's still dangerous! It h-hurt a lot when he got brainwashed and used it on me, hiiii! Impostor: True, we must not underestimate it for its appearance. His persona is terrifying... no matter how cute it seems. Peko: That may be so... I wonder if it's fur is as soft as it looks... Maybe since it's a persona, I can actually get to pet it. Sonia: It would seem that everyone has taken a liking to your persona, oh Dark One. It's very cute indeed. Gundam: Cute is not befitting for a god! It's merely a disguise for you to let your guard down- cease your shallow appraisal on its appearance!

Gundam: I thought we agreed that you would address me by my full title outside of battles. Hajime: Lich can you not.

Hajime: I can't believe you really did bring your hamsters with you... Wait, are those masks? You even made them their own masks? By hand? Gundam: How else do you suppose would they acquire garments fitting of gods?

Chiaki: Whenever Lich talks, it's like I'm playing an old fantasy RPG. Recruiting an Evil Overlord as a party member is amazing, I think. Gundam: Even for someone as aloof as yourself, you say the wisest things. No need to thank my generosity, you're welcome.

Nagito: It's actually quite thoughtful of you to make masks for your hamsters. These are very well made even. As expected of someone filled with so much hope! Gundam: Fufufu... Your praise will not earn you any favors but it is acceptable enough.

Fuyuhiko: You could tone it down with your fancy shit. Seriously just yell zio like any person with common sense would, no need for a five minute incantation full of crap. Gundam: You lack the power to understand the full potential of my spells. My incantations fuel the strength of my skills so do not underestimate their value.

Peko: Even in the Metaverse, the animal-based shadows fear me... Gundam: Do not despair over such a loss. Come now, let my Four Dangan Devas of Thieving comfort you.

Mahiru: Your outfit is impractical as always. Isn't that cape too long? You're going to step on it one day. Gundam: A small price to pay for the physical manifestation of my power. There is nothing to fear for I, Evil Overlord Lich, shall die by

Tsumiki: Um... Is it really alright for those four to join us? These battles can get life-threatening...   Gundam: Fret not, nurse of the heart. These four devas are more trained than I. Should the need arise, they are capable of defending themselves.

Impostor: So we have a King and an Overlord, and yet our leader is called Ace. Gundam: The Chosen One must humble themselves to serve a position of such high authority. Although this does bring attention to an issue. Perhaps we should discuss with him a change of title.

Ibuki: Yahooo! Now that Lychee has real powers, does that make him OOC when he talks about his fake real powers? Noise is confused. Gundam: It's Lich, Noisy One. And I don't need to understand your outdated language to know that you've thrown ridicule at me. I've always had this power. It's just that only now with the seal is broken can you bear witness to its wrath.

Sonia: Oh, how lovely! You brought the four devas with you today as well. May I? Gundam: ...They would not be so opposed.

Sonia: As expected of you! Your outfit is as handsome as your usual! Gundam: *hides under scarf* I... could say the same to you. Yours suit you quite well.

Gundam: It is... new to me to have a creature bound to me and yet have no obligation to care for it regularly. Sonia: Oh, you're talking about your persona, aren't you? I see, I didn't think it would bother you this much. That just shows how much dedicated you are, it's quite admirable.

Gundam: That was a formidable move you used back there. Your fire for chaos burns ever so fervently. Sonia: Thank you, that's one of my favorite fires actually.

-----

Hiyoko Saionji Codename: Ibis Arcana: Tower

Mask: Red bird shaped mask with a long black beak

Ourfit: Traditional shrine maiden attire (red hakama or pleated skirt tied with a bow, white haori, some ribbons) The sleeves look like feathers to further resemble the Japanese crested ibis.

Persona: Karura, divine creature with human torso and birdlike head

*NOTE: Hiyoko is recruited after getting Mahiru, she is introduced during one of Mahiru's confidant events. If you use Mahiru enough times in the active party then this will trigger an extra quest wherein Hiyoko eventually joins the team. She only joins because of Mahiru obviously.

Skillset: Strong garu skills and weak to zio. Good at inflicting status ailments and debuffs, and nullifying party debuffs. Weapons: Tessen (japanese war fan) and fukiya (japanese blow gun)

All-Out Attack Card: "Dance on someone's grave" painted on the backdrop of a traditional stage and she says, "Squish! Squish! Ahahaha! You're all WEAK!"

Awakening Scene: Karura: What is your next step? Will you just cry over it like some child? Have you not grown up at all? For all the elegance and maturity that your dance brings, your steps falter outside that of a stage. How pitiful. Perhaps crying suits you more than dancing given how spoiled you've become.

Hiyoko: How dare you! I'm not a kid! I haven't been a kid ever since I wore my first kimono! Why are you so mean to me? Aren't you supposed on my side? Everyone keeps ganging up on me. I hate you all! Cry? Don't make me laugh. The only ones who'll be crying are my enemies as I crush them under my heels!

Karura: Yes, that is the attitude most befitting on you. The dance is always most exciting at its climax. I art thou... thou art I... Abandon your childlike innocence, you have no need for that where we are heading. The merciless spirit of a warrior suits you more, as it should. Do not shed tears but rather strive for your enemy's bloodshed.

Hiyoko: Hmph! You don't need to tell me twice. I'm gonna have soooo much fun playing with them! And CRUSHING them to pieces. Once I enter the stage, only I leave in one piece. Dance, Karura!

Quotes: "Too easy. Hey, what are you standing there for? Let's go, bowtie." "Yaaaay! I leveled up!" “New skill! Yay! I wonder how painful this one would be!” "Look! A treasure chest! It's all sparkly and shouting to be opened!" "Finally, a safe room! My feet huuuuuurt!" “Why isn't there just a shortcut to the treasure?” "I got a good sleep which means I can play more today!" “As long as I get to kill some shadows then I guess I can go along just a bit more.” "Ehhh? We're still going? I don't wannaaaaaaa." "Look, a bug! Let's crush it." "We were spotted? This is all your fault!" “They're so weak that at least insects leave a mark after.” "Huh? Are you sure? They look pretty scary to me." “They're obviously big bad meanies. Don't get us killed over your stupidity.” “Victory! Yay! Who knew killing shadows could be so fun!”

*BATON PASS!* "Ibis elegantly flying in!" *PROTECT* "Hey, pushover!" *ENDURE* "*sniffles* I don't want to die!" *PERSONA!* "Slaughter them, Karura!" or "Soar, Karura!" *Follow Up* "Let's kill them while we're at it." *Cover Fire* "I'll help if you ask niiiiicely." *Harisen Recovery* "Don't be such a baby!" *low on health* "A little help here?!" *healing someone* "You owe me for this." *getting healed* "*mumbles* Thanks..." *giving buffs* "Now you don't have any excuse." *physical attacks* "Oh this? Don't mind the sharp edges." *attacking* "Ahahaha! You're going to get sliced like fish!" *attack misses* "Huuuh? You have a lot of nerve to dodge that!" *couldn't finish off enemy* "Seriously? Just die already!" *fainting* "*crying* Why... Why are you all so mean?" *getting resurrected* "*sniffles* Thanks. Now I can finally get my revenge."

*status ailment* "I don't feel so good... *sniffle*" Burn: "Too hot! I want some ice cream!" Freeze: “Are you trying to freeze me to death? Get me a kotatsu!” Shock: "Tch! I'm going to kill you twice for this!" Forget: "Huh? What was the next step again?" Charm: “Well who could blame me? If I'm fighting then I'm fighting with the winning team.” Rage: “I'll break you... piece by broken piece!” Despair: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why is this so hard!" Hunger: "Sweets! Hand me gummies right now! No yellow!" Dizzy: "Euugh... I think I'm going to be sick..." Sleep: “Zzz… CRUSH” Silence: ...! Mouse: "Squeak!"

Mementos Chats: "Killing shadows is sooooo much fun! Yay!" "You know what else is fun? Having the shadows beg for mercy as we extort more money from them. "I was raised in a traditional household and traditionally, we always get what we want." "All this fighting makes me crave for some sweets." "If I knew how much fun it is to kill shadows without consequence then I would have signed up for Dangan Thieves sooner!"

Hiyoko: Ehh? You're the leader? Well aren't you just disappointing. Hajime: I'm really starting to think we shouldn't accept everyone who joins.

Hajime: Why am I actually not surprised at how sadistically good you are at this? Hiyoko: Ew! I'm not interested so don't bother complimenting me.

Chiaki: Amazing! I've only seen it in videogames but you can actually fight using fans! Hiyoko: I can do so much more than just fight. There's slice and kill too.

Nagito: I was wondering how you would adapt here but clearly I've underestimated your hope. You're more than capable in battle, I'm pleasantly surprised by this development. Hiyoko: Why is this creep here? Are you going to kick him out or do I have to?

Fuyuhiko: Don't get all cocky just because you've got a few tricks up your sleeve. Hiyoko: Oh look, the Baby Gangster knows how to talk.

Peko: So that makes two of us with bird motifs... Hiyoko: It's frustrating that I wasn't the first one but I guess we have no choice but to share.

Tsumiki: I-I'm so happy that you're with us too! Hiyoko: Shut it! No one asked for your opinion, pig barf! But for the record, someone has to look after you so you don't screw up like you always do.

Ibuki: Ibissy~ Look at you! Killing shadows! Stealing treasures! Wow, you sure grow up fast! Hiyoko: It literally only took me one minute to get a persona and "grow up".

Impostor: Is something the matter? You've been staring. Hiyoko: Wow, I knew pork feet was rich but I didn't think you'd have the balls to wear rich.

Sonia: It's amazing watching you do battle. Your dances are just as captivating as they are deadly! Hiyoko: Not all of us can be this good so I step it up.

Gundam: Since you are new at this, I am generous enough to guide you. Should you have any questions, know that I know more than you. Hiyoko: You guys really don't discriminate when recruiting, huh.

Hiyoko: Waaaaaaaaah! I'm so happy I get to be with you more, Big Sis! Mahiru: Now, now. No need to cry. I'm happy too.

Mahiru: It's a good thing that you joined us. Your skills are unique and valuable. Debuffs can really take a toll. Hiyoko: Not as useful as yours, Big Sis! I'm so happy that there's at least one reliable person here!

Mahiru: I'm kind of jealous that everyone has such elaborate personas and mine is just... this. Hiyoko: Why are you getting sad over that? Yours is waaaay better than what the rest of these losers have.

Hiyoko: Yay! Killing shadows is way more fun than squishing bugs! Mahiru: Hearing you say that with such a carefree face makes me worry a bit... Just don't get too carried away.

[ladylucindae]

[Hope’s Birthday]

[MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA 3: DESPAIR SIDE AND DANGANRONPA 2]

ANOTHER SONG’S ANALYSIS: POISON

It has been a long time since I uploaded an analysis, isn’t it right? I’ll give you everything I have on my mind on this one! Stay with me for a while~

I choose this time a Danganronpa 3: Despair Side ending. It’s a little birthday present for our Komaeda who celebrated his birthday on 28th April. I wasn’t able to upload it back then.

I’m aware that according to Ogata, Zettai Kibō Birthday is how Nagito feels outside and Zansakura -zanka- is how he feels on the inside. Still, I believe there is more into it, especially considering all hints within choosen pictures in the credits.

Don’t forget the fact that his “outside” feelings are also part of him and they are as much important as his hidden deep down wishes and desires. All things matters and we shouldn’t forget he did terrible things because of his beliefs. That’s him with all his flaws...

And we can’t simply ignore him, because of that.

Let’s move on and see what is hiding between the lyrics!

TL;DR: Komaeda is expressing his genuine feelings towards Chiaki’s death but at the same time he isn’t regreting anything he did in the past.

I had a hard time with deciding how I should start this analysis. I needed to point out basics to flesh out my statements. For this one, the most important fact is that to understand that ending and it’s meaning it’s necessary to believe Komaeda sang it after Despair Side events were finished. I’ll risk even more detailed answer - he sang it after Hope Side was portrayed. Why?

The lyrics are clearly breaking the third wall and spoiling up coming events of Despair Side. It’s also really mysterious how Komaeda is able to sing that song before approaching Izuru and sacrificing Chiaki!

We should deal with this mystery first. I believe there are two the most possible explanations which are supplementing each other.

1. Komaeda knows at this point of the story about Kamakura Project.

He isn’t singing a whole song, even if he is singing it with the correct notes and tune.  He just felt a random rythm and he was singing while he was fantasizing about incredible person with absolute power of hope.

2. Komaeda completed the lyrics for this song after meeting Izuru in person and Chaki’s death.

It’s a theory which is an excellent addition for @doodlede88 theory about Despair Side being only an Ryouta’s anime. Make sure to read it if you hadn’t already! I added a link for it.

If that’s the truth, when Ryouta worked on that anime? It’s my personal headcanon which not all of you will agree, but I believe he did it after Hope’s Side events.

Ryouta was guilty this whole time because of how he ended up in Junko’s hands. His dream were used to crush people who forgave him later despite all his mistakes which led them to their state and Chiaki’s death. He also were grateful for Yukizome’s presence as much as the others, he admired her as all of them. If there is something for them what only he can do, what can it be?

The answer is only one - anime.

Not anime which would cost him all his nerves and make him sleepless, not the one which would make him lonely and desperate. We are talking about an anime which would allow everyone to participate in making it. The one which would be a memorial of their struggles.

Can you imagine it? Ryouta awkwardly asking if they are wanting to make an anime with him and everyone agrees with the idea. All of them are trying to express their feelings by narrating the story from their point of view. Little by little, everyone is working hard on opening up and remember all feelings from their past. Akane with her bluntness easily telling in front of everyone how she was training with Nekomaru or all strange medicines or food Teruteru let her ate. That awkward moment when especially Sonia and Mahiru are embrassed when they are disscusing about that one time when Saionji made them eat a special soup which made them horny. All of them were somehow ashamed in front of Hinata who didn’t except they were normal to being with.

All of it, all happened and they remembered it. They were listening and talking, all of them in their own peace when they were ready. Ryouta was slowly gathering all the pieces together and make their memories alive again.

... and I believe Komaeda and Ibuki were working with him on the ending song.

Ibuki with her absolute hearing is the best choice for making their own song. It’s also believeable she would acknowledge Komaeda’s talent for singing. All Ultimates from 77th Class knew Ibuki’s songs without any help all a total mess but Ibuki being intrigued by Komaeda’s voice and trying to make her melody fitting it...? It sounded as an excellent idea.

There are a lot of feelings which Komaeda would want to capture. He has always been two steps ahead than others. He is also the type of person who would hid his true intentions behind fancy or inappropriate words - aware of that or not. That’s my reason to believe this song is really misleading at first.

This is a song about shameless feelings and obligations.

The beginning of the song which is a melodic part is showing a not completed picture of Chiaki being made from memories of Class 77.

“In the middle of the campus at night*. It takes my heart away as I continue to wait. “I was born to meet you.” Is what I think, and at that very moment.”

Komaeda is singing as if he is telling a story about his past feelings to someone. He is admiting and showing his impatience and fascination while thinking of that person. He is absorbed by greatness which was consuming him. He haven’t seen Izuru yet but this moment is about to come soon.

“I’ll have boot up, warm up, hang up... Make up, mess up, down up... I’ll dedicate all that I have to you.”

He is singing with confidence about future events and tell us about terrible things that has to be done. The picture of Chiaki is even more visible than before. He uses concrete words while her picture is slowly being near completion. He has to boot up, warm up, hang up... her - Chiaki.

He needs to make her aware of the problem, give her an explanation about how enormous the problem is and then sacrifice her. He did all of those horryfing things. Everything he is doing is for that person and he means it.

That’s right, I’ll think up, pop up, pull up... Brush up all to protect it. The greatest, final ray of hope.

He changes “have to” into “will”, as if he is admitting he will do without a room for doubt. It’s no brainer for him - decision has been made becuase he has to protect hope which is going to win in the end.

Oh how it shines and dazzles. Show me more of you at your most brilliant!

Komaeda is commenting on how Chiaki’ is shining while fighting against despair. He is heart-broken deep down but he hadn’t have a choice. It was something they couldn’t avoided.

With unstoppable groove, overcome despair to cast your light. (I miss you)

Komaeda is cheering for her to be as strong as she can be. He wants her to remain undefeated dispite circumstances. He isn’t feeling guilty because that’s how things were always executed in his life. One person instead of all of them - that was the price. It doesn’t mean he was heartless, in fact he was concerned. He was crying, he was devastated and he missed her as much as every person he lost before.

It’s the birthday of absolute hope.

It’s a birthday of Hajime Hinata.

Then, in the end of the first part - in the end of Chiaki’s part of the song’s lyrics - Chaki’s shown holding a little star which is splitted on the picture as if it’s made of hope fragments.

The star is symbolizing that Chiaki was the heart of Neo World Program, she was the reason for it to exist. If someone as her wouldn’t exist they weren’t be brainwashed and avoided death. It’s also really beautifuly capturing how Chiaki AI was made from scattered pieces of their memories and their feelings for her.

I keep waiting with bated breath for the very moment you wake up. The muddy stream of red tears, being pushed and swallowed, sinking further down.

Komaeda is still focusing on talking to someone important for him. His mind is corrupted and his feelings about Chiaki are being messed up by Junko’s Despair Video. He and his classmates have now only one path in their mind which is leading them to destroy everything they cared about.

So lock up, mix up, cut up… Key up, sex up, wrap up. I'll let you mess me up and indulge. Break up, use up, end up… hook up—because we're connected.

Komaeda is getting really offensive and sensual at the same time. He is almost begging a person for whom he is singing to make a use of him but at the same time he is strangely confident about himself. He isn’t begging, he is demanding. His awareness of their unexplainable bound is giving him courage and makes possesive. It’s all portrayed as a twisted way of expressing love.

It’s similar to how possesive he was towards Hinata when they were together investigating cases or even before that.

The omen of hope after the worst disaster.

Their meeting is like a light showing up after a storm.

Wow wow... dance, sing ... Wow wow... surely, you captivate me with your happiest self! Wow wow... until I can't crawl up...

His field of vision is blurring in front of his eyes and despair video is making a mess within his head. He is fighting with it and he is losing that fight.

Only despair can create it,

(I want you)

The absolute hope is a die hard .

He is believing that only unstoppable despair can create unstoppable hope. His mind is disoriented and filled with urges and desires. He justifies his actions by beliefs he trusted his whole life.

He desires Hinata more than anything else and understands that he got to know him because of Hinata’s desperation and helplessness.

Wow wow... dance, sing... Wow wow... captivate me with your happiest self.

Show me that carefree side of you.

"Always!"

Be my light whenever I’ll go.

wow wow... sparkling, shining, wow wow... captivate me even more with your best self! wow wow... with the unstopping groove, overcome the despair and shine.

Be even better, be even stronger... Be able to destroy something I couldn’t on my own, Hinata.

(I miss you)

[I want to watch you at your best, Chiaki.]

[I want you to be happy and alive-]

The absolute hope is a die hard... It’s absolute’s hope birthday!

It’s a birthday of Hinata Hajime.

The brainwashing process is completed with a full success.

At first it can seem chaotic, I’m aware of that. I intended not to use Izuru’s name the whole song... becuase I believe it wasn’t a song for him even if it’s surely highly related to his character.

I believe that Komaeda is singing this song with intention to shamelessly show his attraction to Hinata. He wasn’t aware of his existence back then but he is fond of him in the future - when he sings that song. All things he did - his encounter with Izuru, death of Chiaki, spending time with Monaka was all for that only reason - to finally get to know the real Hinata, someone who changed his life and turned it upside down. He couldn’t know that, again. Still, it’s a song where he is interpreting past events.

He is step by step showing all his sins which led him to a road where two of them were able to meet with each other. He felt guilt deep down becuase in the end Chiaki was being used to make that happen. Now, that he undestands that every live matters - he really feels bad about it. His safe-zone which he created after his parents died was destroyed because of events which happend in Neo World Program. It made him able to express his feelings how they really were.

He used his past feelings and mixed them with his present feelings. He used despair he felt back then to apologize Chiaki becuase he wasn’t able to protect her. He used an easy way out.

That’s what is explaining a last part of the song where fascination is mixing up with a geniuine feeling of missing someone. He wants to feel hapiness without thinking he stole someone’s else happiness.

I feel I said everything I can for now. If something isn’t clear I will respond to everyone who will ask me/comment/reblog it. Thank you for your time! I really apperaciate it! I will also talk with all of you who are dissagreeing with me!

Komaeda is really egoistic and posessive when it comes to Hinata.

Is it a bad thing? He is only a human as we all are.

[bestdayblogger]

I can’t believe I haven’t shared my favourites with you since Christmas! What? I’m sorry but I’ve been so busy.  Since there are so many goodies that I love I tried to narrow it down to give you the best of the best!

NETFLIX 

I never thought that I would use the word OBSESSED over anything but seriously I’m Obsessed with RIVERDALE. Every since I can remember I’ve enjoyed reading Archie Comics and Riverdale is based off the Archie Comics Characters. Riverdale’s storyline includes issues like murder, bullying, backstabbing, trust and of course love. I also watched and really liked 13 Reasons Why. A very dark and really powerful series. 13 Reasons Why is a very important series in my opinion. A lot of people don’t realize what students are faced with everyday in schools and we need to be more aware and involved with issues such as bullying, mental illness and depression. The series deals with suicide, bullying and rape. The acting is very good and the characters very believable. I’ve also been enjoying Z Nation! A really amazing series about Zombies but super scary ones and not the kind you find in The Walking Dead. More like zombies on fast forward mode. Super fast ones and ten times uglier! 

"A great place to get away with it all" -Riverdale #Riverdale is my recent obsession and I spy with my little eye little gems 💎 on the show! As soon as I spotted @covergirl I said to my self "I need to share this incredible information" plus I fell in love with the makeup on the show. But of course! 😘 It's all about the lips! Now I have three ❤️ loves featured in this post. 1. @netflixcan 2. @thecwriverdale and 3. @covergirl 😘❤️🤘🏻 I'm so excited and I can't wait to bring you a blog post. In the post I'll be discussing all the characters also I'll be integrating the makeup of course! So expect to see a plethora of hotness, sexiness and danger! That's what @thecwriverdale is all about! #covergirl #riverdale #makeup #blogger #beautyblog #bbloggersca #bbloggers #beautyblogger #archiecomics #netflix *samples for review purposes. Thank you @covergirl ! I love you!!!! 😘❤️

A post shared by ⋆ℳaℛⅈa⋆ (@bestdayblogger) on Apr 11, 2017 at 12:02pm PDT

TV

I really like the show BEYOND. I love the acting and the mystery. It’s very deep and believable. I can’t stand science fiction that has horrible acting but BEYOND is amazing! I am drawn into the show by Burkely Duffield’s acting and intensity. I also really love The Walking Dead. I’m upset that The Vampire Diaries  has ended. I cried like a baby! Also the last season of Pretty Little Liars is going to start today. There are 10 episodes left and I’m so excited but sad at the same time. You can catch up to Pretty Little Liars on Netflix if you like.

Our family is enjoying watching Anne on CBC. People are hesitant when I tell them about this but I assure you this is an incredible version of Anne of Green Gables. The original is good but this version in my opinion is AMAZING!  I really love the darkness and the cinematography. I love the way the camera is used in this series because it really highlights how Anne is feeling and what she’s been through. The series really captures how Anne’s past has effected her. Brilliant Series! Truly incredible and the acting is amazing! Totally recommend you watch Anne. 

Photo from http://www.cbc.ca/anne/

I’m very excited that BRAVO has announced that The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margaret Atwood will air in Canada exclusively! I’m so excited to see this Drama. I love Margaret Atwood and this is the first book that got me interested in reading novels so I’m looking forward to it.

Bravo announced today it has exclusively acquired one of 2017’s most anticipated dramas, the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s iconic The Handmaid’s Tale, in a deal with MGM Television. The 10-episode first season airs in Canada exclusively on Bravo, beginning with a special two-hour premiere event on Sunday, April 30 from 9 to 11 p.m. ET (10 p.m. – midnight PT). The one-hour drama continues to air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/10 p.m. PT, beginning May 7. The entire first season launches on CraveTV this spring, following the season finale on Bravo. -BRAVO

Books and Magazines

Last month I completed the Novel Himself by Jess Kidd and I also purchased a lovely magazine called Flow. I really enjoyed the book and I’ve written a review if you like to have a look,  Himself by Jess Kidd REVIEW .  I absolutely love the magazine Flow. It is so creative and artistic. It has so many activities you can do as an artist but also the articles are really wonderful and inspirational. I highly recommend you check it out. If you are into the Arts you will love Flow!

Currently Reading and reviews coming soon!

Bloom writen by Estee Lalonde

The Tea Girl of Humming Bird Lane by Lisa See.

MAKEUP

I’ve been wearing and loving a lot of makeup recently.  I’ve been loving my Lancôme Juicy shakers in the new flavours. They are sweet like candy! The three flavours that I adore are Snow-Tilly, Marshmattack and Cloudy Candy.

I’ve been obsessed with Annabelle Cosmetics eyeshadow chrome in Rose Gold. It’s so creamy soft and shines so beautifully! I absolutely love it! I also love Annabelle Cosmetics Skinny Eyeshadow Palette in Taupe Neutrals Basics. Im a huge fan of taupe colours and I absolutely adore the skinny palette.  I have two blushes that I’m loving lately and one is Avon’s Mark Blush in the colour Mauve Forward and CHANEL’S Blush Harmony COCO CODE. 

I also have a huge love for lip products recently. My favourite lip products have to be DIOR Lacquer Sticks in the colours 344 Rolling and 877 Turn Me Dior. I also absolutely love BURBERRY Liquid Lip Velvet in the colour No. 5 FAWN.

I have a huge love for AVON’s All Butter Lip Treat in the colour Bare All and Marcelle Cosmetics Rouge Xpression Velvet Gel Lipstick in the colour 885 Rosy Nude.

Two lovely nail polishes that I’ve been loving and wearing recently is AVON True Color in SMOKY PLUM and Sinful Colours 1052 ENDLESS BLUE (*inspired by 13 Reasons Why on Netflix)

I really have a thing for @sinfulcolors_official #nailpolish 😁😘👌🏻❤️💕 the two colours are "951 why not" and "Endless Blue 1052" 👌🏻💙💙💙💙 #nails #notd #blue #nailsofinstagram #sinfulcolors #torontoblogger #canadianblogger #bblogger #bbloggers #bbloggersca

A post shared by ⋆ℳaℛⅈa⋆ (@bestdayblogger) on Apr 8, 2017 at 5:45am PDT

SKINCARE

I love my skincare and I reviewed a lot on my blog recently. I’ve chosen my favourites that I use a lot but also that give me amazing results. I highly recommend and really enjoy the benefits that are given to my skin by the following skincare products:

CLARINS Hydra-Essentiel Bi-Serum, Clarins Hydra Essentiel Silky Cream,  Lush Charity Pot Hand and Body Lotion, Marcelle City Tinted Cream with SPF 25, Clarins Multi-Active Yeux, Dior Dream skin one minute mask, Shiseido Ibuki Purifying Cleanser, Garnier Skin naturals BB Cream +Blur in the shade Light, Garnier Skin Active Pore Purifying Clay Cleanser Plus Mask, Garnier Skin Active Micellar Water All-In-1 Cleansing water, Neal’s Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Elixir and ANew Clinical Eye Lift Dual Eye System.

Check out my skincare articles and reviews if you like:

Neal’s Yard Remedies Radiance Wild Rose Organic Collection Made With Love! FEATURE

Clarins Multi-Active Yeux Instant Eye Reviver REVIEW

You are beautiful to me because… SHISEIDO #ShareBeauty #Photoreadyskin

GARNIER SKINCARE FAVOURITES! 2017

AVON ANEW ANTI-AGING SKINCARE FEATURE | BESTDAYBLOGGER.COM

CLARINS Hydra-Essentiel Range REVIEW

New Skincare Products by Marcelle

MARCELLE Spring Collection 2017

CUISINE

I’be been really loving COCONUT CLUSTERS with Super Seeds. They are amazing in my yogourt and cereal. We buy them at Costco and they are so good! They have pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds. They are so crunchy and delicious!

HAIR!

I got my hair cut! I know right? I go through times where I like change and I went short. I absolutely love short hair and its so fun to style and play with. I love long hair too but short hair is very fun. I decided to go to Trade Secrets at Scarborough Town Centre and I’m so pleased with the results. Love the customer service and I’m so happy I found a place where I can go again and again. It’s affordable and they do an amazing job.

My hair dresser’s name is Christine. She is fantastic!  I brought Christine a picture of what I wanted my hair to look like and she gave me her advice. I really love how she personalized my cut to suit me. Christine really took the time with me and I appreciate it so much. I’m so grateful and very happy with the service at Trade Secrets.

New hair and I love it!

Thank you Trade Secrets and to my hair dresser Christine for the fantastic Service!

The last favourite for this blog post is AVON’s perfume PRIMA. I love this fragrance so much I’m like a cat and my Prima is my catnip! Seriously love this fragrance and I’ve been wearing this everyday. I also love the bottle so much. Very beautiful and the fragrance and design is inspired by ballet which I love so much!

Top Notes

Plum

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Rose

Base Notes

Clearwood

Oakmoss

Patchouli

Thank you all so much. I hope you enjoyed my recent favourites. I Would love to hear your thoughts so please leave some comments. I love responding to comments. Have a lovely week and don’t forget to have a look at my GIVEAWAY!

Reached 1K on YOUTUBE! #GIVEAWAY! CANADA ONLY

*BLOG POSTS & VIDEOS COMING SOON:

FAVOURITES VIDEO

BIRTHDAY POST

RIVERDALE INSPIRED MAKEUP WITH COVERGIRL!!!

(Let me know if you would like to see a video for RIVERDALE inspired makeup.)

CHANEL + VIDEO

BITE BEAUTY LAB

AVON

CLARINS

Recent Favourites APRIL 2017 I can't believe I haven't shared my favourites with you since Christmas! What? I'm sorry but I've been so busy.  

[fataziraphale]

Okay, but Ryouta and Impostor for the ask meme

YESSSSSSSSSS

(note for a wayward reader: I know I interact with a lot of DR kin communities on here but Im answering these solely as me writing about fictional characters and they way they’re portrayed in canon with some distance between me and them ok)

ryotageneral opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them * | actual love of my life * (maybe somewhere in between this one and the next one? love them.5? what a good character. I am such a fan. a very relatable man)hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang* (def not my type. I’m sure he would objectively look nice though if he wasn’t, you know, literally dying? like he’d be very handsome with such luxury beauty products as Ever Eating Or Sleeping In His Life)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffhe’s a hard worker and wants to help people, so definitely some hufflepuff tendencies in there, and there’s a LOT of slytherin in him: using the hope video, agreeing to junko’s sketchy ass offer so he can succeed in his ambition. but ultimately, the way he decides to help people is with his brain and his creativity. he doesn’t love people so much as an abstract idea of wanting to help people, and the most important thing to him isn’t them, but his anime. that’s ravenclaw.best quality: from a “I like this character trait when I see it in a character in a show I’m watching” perspective, he has SO MANY of the same mental issues as I do and I find it SO CATHARTIC TO SEE PORTRAYED and useful for coping like. obsession with saving others to the detriment of his own wellbeing, check. doing weird, manipulative things to try to save others even if it’s not really moral, check. intense guilt for something that wasn’t his fault, check. being really fucked up and traumatized after someone told him he should feel guilty for this thing, check. being stressed out and exhausted due to the amount of work he puts on himself, check. we are very similar. I appreciate it a lot. I love characters that are like me, because I’m ultimately obsessed with myself (as is ryota a lil bit). I also love that he’s shy and anxious and awkward but a lil bit of a dick anyway. like you think he doesn’t associate with people because of anxiety, but he honestly just doesn’t like people. it makes me smile. I really love ryota mitarai????worst quality: I have a hard time understanding how he could feel safe with Junko after she destroyed his DVDs. like, I get why he would be like “being sealed away in this sketchy ass place away from all people or sunlight? PERFECT” but… why would he just accept the offer of someone who destroyed his property, things that HE LOVED AND CARED ABOUT, in front of him? he seemed really scared of her, and then just… wasn’t? idk.ship them with: IMPOSTER!!! I also enjoy scenarios where people write imposter/ryota/ibuki stuff. I know some people include mikan in that, but I have a little trouble believing ryota would be totally okay with mikan after what she did to him? like even though she’s not brainwashed anymore, I’d imagine being around her would be kind of triggering for him, like it would take a lot of time for him to feel safe around her again… I also think I saw a fic once that was Ryota/Seiko where they were sharing stories of being emotionally abused and trying to cope together and that was nice.brotp them with: imposter and ibuki in scenarios where it isn’t romantic.needs to stay away from: I’m very uncomfortable when people ship him with Junko. I’ve also seen some Ryota/Naegi, and I don’t think that would be very healthy tbh… Ryota idolizes him so much that I don’t think it could be anything but a really unbalanced relationship, and as kind as he is, I’m not sure Naegi is ready to care for someone with mental issues as intense as Ryota’s.misc. thoughts: im love him? his character arc is definitely my favorite thing about DR3. I just feel like he’s very realistically written and relatable and likable and charming and ,,, I love that Imposter was given a friend I love that his healing is tied up with the idea that “fats and sugars” are good things I love introverted villains I just,,, love

impostergeneral opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life (like yeah hes me but before I had this whole internet mod twogami persona for YEARS I was like…. my ideal boyfriend. perfect. the hottest man I have ever seen. I saw a man so beautiful I started crying)hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang(for reference, im ace and very sex repulsed when it comes to the idea of fucking men. but. yes.)hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffI appreciate when people sort him into Ravenclaw, and I see where they’re coming from – he’s the type of person who thinks before acting and likes things to be methodically planned. He fights bad situations with logic and organization. But when it comes down to it, Imposter is motivated by doing the right thing. He wants to save his classmates from death. He wants to save Ryota. It doesn’t matter that he has no personal ties to these people when he’s doing it; there is no doubt in his mind that saving them is the right thing to do. He has no trouble jumping rashly into a situation if he’s sure it’s the right thing, either; he pushes Nagito out of the way without a second thought. He’s such a heroic person,,,best quality: I know this stupid and shallow but I literally cannot get over the fact that he is canonically a feedee… I will never be over it. The fact that when Akane suggests there might be something wrong with his weight he is HORRIFIED by the prospect of weight loss and announces, “Do you know how much money I spent sculpting my physique?” like he canonically got this fat on purpose, he loves food with all of his soul, he believes “fats and sugars are the only thing you can believe in”… and then he’s still an incredibly interesting, complex character with a storyline that has nothing to do with that??? I can’t believe it???? I’ve never seen such good fat representation in my life, let alone a feedee being represented, I just ?????????????? the best thing ever???????worst quality: honestly I don’t,,, dislike anything about him rip. I do think the writers maybe shouldn’t have showed us his true appearance, at least not in such an anticlimactic moment? especially bc he never used that look again, like… if they were going to do it, I would think he would be himself on the boat, but he was just Togami again? it didn’t serve that much of a purpose in the story imo. if they were gonna do it, it should have been more intimate and emotional.ship them with: ryota and ibuki !!! either poly or seperately, I’m not fussed. imposter/hajime is also adorable, like I used to be really really into that ship even though I’m not so much anymorebrotp them with: same as above hahaneeds to stay away from: idk??? like imposter isn’t a very social person, but I don’t really think his relationship with any character is super unhealthy or anything. I just want him to be around people who give him love and support,,, the only thing I do note is that back in the day there was some discourse about the translation of some line Ibuki has in SDR2, about whether she’s saying he would make a good boyfriend or that he would make a good boyfriend despite his weight? I don’t see Ibuki as the kind of person who would prefer him slim, but he needs to stay away from anyone who thinks that way, period.misc. thoughts: the greatest best most beautiful character in the world,, also, me. but like… I love that he too has this obsession with saving people that manifests really differently, but is ultimately very similar to Ryota’s? I love that they have parallel arcs that intersect? I love that they support each other? I love that ultimately HE’S THE ONE WHO SAVES THE DAY in DR3? I love the twist of him being an imposter? I love the way he acts as Togami? I love the way he acts as himself? I love the way he’s so food positive always, I love the fact that he thinks everyone else is too thin and never struggles with his own weight, I just… wish he’d gotten more screentime in DR2 because the fact that they killed him immediately 1. made very sad 2. is frustrating bc of wasted potential 3. is kind of fatphobic bc they… killed their two fat characters in one fell swoop right away and then went on to write NO fat characters in dr3 or ndrv3 but… what can u do. im still love him

[kisaragizan]

Cardfight Anime Fights: Before and Now. [Vanguard Rant]

I guess this would be my first rant about something. Kinda weird that I’m even typing this now but it’s something that’s been on my mind for the last few days, partly because I’ve been re-watching old vanguard episodes from pre-G to G series, trying to understand the game’s evolution and nostalgia. I’m going to split this rant into two categories: Pre-G and G-Series for obvious reasons. I’m willing to include a potential top 3-5 favorite fights but this isn’t a top tens list. So here I go!

Pre-Generation Fights

So Pre-Generation will consist of Seasons 1-4. Yes I’m even including the Legion arc despite how negatively received it was by fans for subpar narrative story and the fights, even the format in real time just being undeveloped. When I think back to Pre-G Fights, I remember looking and watching all of the fights with a bit of involvement as a viewer. Each play is thoroughly shown and you can even hypothesize and theorize scenarios if any of the players did something differently, especially if they made errors in guarding or misplay (unless it was for narrative purpose like Tetsu not calling Amon R to rear and just defeating Ren). I feel as though this era of fights up until season 3 showed a level of skill and showed characters individually by their own play and deck styles. Kai overpowers and beats down his opponents during grade 3 ride while Ren minimizes their resources by killing off rears at the last second, so on and so forth. I enjoy watching these fights the most because it pulls me into the fight. Earlier in the day, I watched Ren vs Aichi at the Vanguard Highschool Championship Qualifier, and noticed that Aichi could’ve won on the same turn in two different ways:  >>One was protecting 9k Rear Guard with 2 10k Shields in hand, following his break ride and callling his 7k grade 1 booster behind something and done the same play: 16k Rear, 33k Vanguard, 19k rear (from break ride and critical trigger power), and Blaster Blade being 16k.  >>Alternatively, he could’ve called his trigger behind a rear guard and had another 24k rear guard which would’ve required 15k shield which Ren did not have.  Now I’m not mad at Aichi at all, but the animators did a good job animating the fight well enough for fighters to see potential missed plays or errors if they paid attention to fight beyond a narrative perspective. There are many more examples like this even in scenarios where it would appear someone cheated but if you follow the game and guarding, it still would’ve equated to the same result (aka when Leon made Tidal attack rear for fourth battle when Tetra-drive requires the 4th to be at the vanguard, Leon could’ve just boosted the 3rd attack and Koutei could’ve just intercepted, same value.) But my point in bringing it up is that these fights had a lot more to offer and take from if viewed from a fighters perspective. The little details put into the fight, showing how a fighter played, how they built their deck, what tactics they used, and most importantly how the fight ended. How a fight ends is equally important because outside of knowing from foreshadowing narration, I like not knowing who will win or seeing someone who is skilled at the game beat down their opponent in a fitting gap of ability (these matches you can look back when Kai just destroys anyone he fights in any of the tournaments). Normally we have the cliche moment of the “Situation Card has appeared!” or the “Top deck win”, however it was done in a way that didn’t just seem like the opponent was completely obliterated and had no chance to stop it. How the player took advantage of their “Situational Card” made the difference from it being a “lucky sack” to a “lucky pro play”. I’ll explain more on this in the G-series segment but a good example of this would be when Leon fought Asaka in episode 116. He was in a tough spot but made the most of his situation and won. A beautiful example of a good anime Vanguard fight. So, before I talk about the G-Series Fights, I’ll go ahead and list my top 5 fights in no particular order.

5. Leon vs Daigo 4. Kai vs Kyou (Season 1) 3. Leon vs Koutei (Most of Reverse Koutei’s fights to be honest) 2. Aichi vs Ren (Season 3 & 2 are tied) 1. Kai vs Ren (Season 3)

G-Series Fights

Cardfight Vanguard G anime fights are... a complete mess. I try to watch the fights from a fighters perspective but there are only a few fights where I am able to actively engage myself as a fighter rather than for story. I’ll say this hands down, G-Series has no good anime fights whatsoever with Chrono. Compared to Aichi where he loses but then in other fights you’re like “I don’t know if he’ll win”, that suspense doesn’t exist with Chrono. He wins every fight except gag fights or when they need to show off a new antagonist, which, I understand this is the trend for the protagonist to win as much as they can, which is why I didn’t watch Aichi a lot until about Season 2 where he’d lose a lot of the tournament matches and then improved and started taking wins (and even then he’d still lose from time to time: aka Kai and Ren in Season 3). Chrono takes it to a whole new level, mind you, Chrono is a beginner. Season 1 of G was okay because Chrono started off strong (despite being a beginner) and I gave him the benefit of the doubt of having a fighters sense to strive and improve, which was shown more ferociously than Aichi. However, it was shattered in G GIRS Crisis (season 2, pretty much) where his reign of terror beats even the best of Vanguard from Pre-G. I know the plot was that they needed to win every G-Quest to have Generation Master Titles. Which was dumb. (Well just now looking at the wiki, they needed 50 or more points for Generation Master however 6 Branches, 10 points each. Do math.) Ok, so they won every match, at least the fights were good right? Wrong. The fights themselves are short and rushed and only seem to matter after each players first stride. Sure each game starts the same of riding your grades 1/2/3, however, that’s 5 turns before the first stride appears, you mean that everyone is playing the same and not rushing their opponent down to 3-4 damage? Back in Pre-G, people would be beaten down to 4 or sometimes 5 before their grade 3 ride. Okay so early game is inaccurate or well non-existent, but surely the turns post-Stride/Generation Break are worth it? You’d be wrong again. The game usually ends by the protagonists 2nd/3rd stride, otherwise their opponents third stride will end the game for them. Plus there seems to be a lack of detail for effects unless a unit contributes to the winning turn or to make an emphasis on the opponents ability to defend (or lack of ability to defend: aka showing perfect guards in drive check before the next stride has a guard restrict ability). Plus the fights don’t really show much detail on the fighters own play style, you see their builds and their strides, but nothing on if they’re aggressive or defensive outside of the units they play. The biggest example I can think of is when Chrono fought Leon. For all intents and purposes, Chrono honestly should’ve lost that fight, 0 cards in hand, 1 G3 rear. He topped deck the ability to stride and drove check a critical in both attacks from Nextage and Chronojet. I... don’t see how this is possible granted Leon should’ve had more cards in hand due to abilities of previously activated units. Don’t get me wrong, I know Pre-G has a few fights that are par with how bad this one was (certain top deck Grade 3 w/ no field, 5 open damage for cb5 +10 followed by double critical triggers comes to mind), but this is how most if not all of Chrono’s fights end against high level players. Take a look at any of his fights with Ibuki from the end of CF-G and on (minus when he didn’t have Chronojet). To make matters worse, I believe I brought up the topic of “situational cards”, well, there really isn’t any. Most characters just stride into their secondary/Generation Break 2 strides to end the game as if nothing happened. There’s not much though-processing when watching the characters stride because they just activate their effects as they continue, as though they’re on autopilot mode. Note: I’m not calling the strides or decks autopilot, I’m calling their fighters autopilot, Chrono the biggest one. It’s basically telling the other opponent, “Hey that was cool what you did and all, I might lose, but I’m not so time to win.” Before I wrap this up, I suppose I should mention my favorite fights and I’m gonna be honest, I don’t like much of them, they’ve gotten better in terms of Vanguard G-Next which I do give them credit for but it doesn’t have the same feel of watching it just for the cardfight, it’s just really to show off new units or for the narrative/plot. So... which fights or rather fighters do I like watching? Well in the intended order... 5. Shion Kiba 4. Mamoru Anjou 3. Kouji Ibuki 2. Tokoha Anjou 1. Jaime Alcaraz

Conclusion

For those who didn’t watch Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in the english dubbed, a quote from Zane Truesdale always sticks in my head in any card game. “Knowing how to use a card is different from playing a card.” It speaks a lot to me and shows who really knows what they’re doing and who is just being autonomous when it comes to playing the game. Watching Pre-G fights gives me an understanding that the characters knew how to use their cards properly and make the most of them in order to improve, rather than just playing it and hope it does a lot of damage. I believe that is the difference that makes the fights in the anime more interesting and more engaging in both a fighters perspective and narratives perspective as opposed to just jobbing everyone and only focus on what the fights mean for the plot. Like I said before, G-Series has stepped up in G-NEXT with their fights but it’s still not very detailed and very autonomous, even more so when characters don’t use the abilities of their units (certain Gold Paladin players come to mind when they don’t use their Generation Break 2 to guard.)  So that is my first ever rant about Vanguard. Again, this has been on my mind since I’ve been talking to a few friends about the game’s evolution and ended up talking about the anime, nostalgia was calling and sat down to watch some old episodes.