#while Ryoma was Sadistic

[rovelae]

Stop Writing Abusive Pregame Saiou

I’ve been holding off on talking about this for a while— figured it just wasn’t my business— but honestly I’m so sick of it that I’m going to come out and say it now. This garbage has to stop.

This essay is addressed primarily to Saiouma fanfic writers, specifically those responsible for the frankly disgusting content that so often surrounds interpretations of V3’s pregame personalities.

(CW: discussion of abuse, rape)

I’ve been a part of this fandom for around five years now, and during that time I’ve read countless phenomenally creative stories. As a reader, it’s awe-inspiring to see the branching plot lines people come up with, the twist endings and canon divergence, and as a writer, it’s inspiring to read different stylistic choices regarding characterization, interpretations of canon interactions, alternate universes, and so on.

Saiouma is my favorite ship. I relate to and love both of the characters, and I enjoy exploring their personalities and character development in different situations. I consider the two of them to be made for each other, and I see them as perfectly balanced emotionally and intellectually. So, as you can imagine, my least favorite portrayal of Saiouma is any form of characterization involving abuse of one by the other.

I’ve spoken at length already about Saiouma’s relationship dynamic and why portraying it as abusive is incorrect, so if you’re here to argue about that, you’re in the wrong place. If that in particular isn’t why you’re here, then you’re probably about to point out that the V3 pregame personalities aren’t the same as those in-game. And actually… that might not be true.

If you look back at V3’s prologue, line by line, none of the characters are acting or speaking any differently than they usually do. Tenko’s got the same energy, Miu’s still just as foul-mouthed, Ryoma and Kiyo are both quiet and observant. As implied by the Monokubs, all that they’re missing are their Ultimate talents.

In a sense, it’s a “nature versus nurture” sort of thing: Shuichi and Kokichi’s innate natures are the ones they portray in the game, though that portrayal is heavily influenced by their surroundings and experiences. Before the game, they were still the same fundamental people— the difference is that they had the memories, upbringing, and experiences that allegedly led them to audition for Danganronpa in the first place. So, V3’s pregame characters should in actuality be seen as an AU of sorts: Shuichi is still Shuichi, and Kokichi is still Kokichi, just with different backstories.

So why is it that in so many of these pregame fics, Kokichi is suddenly a pathetic, spineless crybaby who attracts the worst kind of attention from everyone, and Shuichi is suddenly an obsessive and sadistic maniac at best or an actual rapist and serial killer at worst?

I’m sick of opening the Saiou tag on AO3 only to be greeted with yet another “what if saiou abused and tortured and raped and murdered each other” fic.

Look. On some level I get it— It’s compelling to explore characters’ dark sides, or experiment with alternate universes where one or both are evil. But you’re going about it the wrong way.

There’s a difference between writing a story— crafting a setting, seeing where the characters fit, and tying everything to a cohesive plot­— and vomiting up torture porn. Anyone can hurt a character. You don’t need any skill or experience or creativity to do so, and there’s nothing powerful about the end result. That’s why stories that can be summed up with a simple “Everyone was miserable and then died; the end” turn out so tasteless and boring.

Ask yourself: Why are you doing this? Do you enjoy seeing characters in abject misery with no way out? What is the point of what you’re writing?

Do you think writing a story people will regret reading makes you good at writing?

Good writing has to say something, even if that thing is as simple as “I like these characters.” Look at the Saiou fandom’s favorite pieces and you can see that the authors had something to add, every time, something they wanted to show you. “Reaching” asked, “What would happen if Kokichi could start over until he found a way to beat the game he was made to lose?” “Psychobabble” said, “Here’s how a greater sense of vulnerability might affect the relationship between these two.” “you've got the right to remain right here with me” said, “This is how Saiou might meet and fall in love in another universe and what unique conflicts might arise as a result.”

Look at you. What are you saying?

If the only thing you bring to the table, if the only thing your fics say is “rape, torture, murder,” your writing is bad and you should feel bad about it.

You’re glorifying and romanticizing abuse, and you’re making it clear you care more about shock value than the characters you’re writing. Stop it.

[allykakamatsu]

Danganronpa V3 Smash Bros Tournament!

•Monokuma decides a good way to get everyone to kill each other is a Smash Bros Tournament, I mean, with all the salt someone’s bound to snap.

•No one kills each other, aside from Maki attempting to kill Kokichi, but it does become a weekly tradition despite the rage.

Kaede Akamatsu

• Get’s into a heated debate over who gets to main Rosalina with Kaito, but after a bit she caved and agreed to pick someone else.

•She end’s up picking Peach after Tsumugi makes a comment that they kinda look alike.

•Little did anyone know that Kaede is actually kinda a monster with Peach and frequently does really well in the tournaments.

•Favourite stage is New Donk city, and every time she gets to play on it she sings Jump up Superstar the entire match.

•Nobody is sure if they love or hate it.

•When not singing, she’ll make the stage music anything that has a dominant Piano.

•Favourite item is the Star Rod

Shuichi Saihara

• Acts like he’s never played before and decides to main Chrom due to him seeing easy enough to play and liking his personality.

•In actuality has played on and off for years and is a proud Dedede main but is too embarrassed to admit it.

•Also plays Pikachu but cause it’s Miu’s main he doesn’t usually use the electric mouse.

•Usually middle of the road in the tournaments.

•Prefers to fight on Battlefield but so long as the stage doesn’t move he can live with anything.

•Likes to keep items off.

Rantaro Amami:

•Good with all three Link forms, but has a bias for Toon Link.

•Can’t remember when he started playing, but given how he’s the only one who doesn’t panic by tripping they assume it’s Brawl.

•They also assume this because whenever someone picks Meta Knight he gets visibly distressed.

•Tournament wise he Can either do really well or really s**t depending on the day.

•Doesn’t have a favourite stage but tends to pick the Zelda stages cause he likes them the best.

•The only one who’s happy when a warp star shows up.

Ryoma Hoshi:

•At first played Incineroar cause its the only cat.

•After realising how bad his recovery was though, he kinda just tried anything to see what would work.

•Found a few semi-mains, namely Snake, Link and Villager

•Usually doesn‘t try to hard in tournaments so comes in last, or will even sit out, but when he wants to win, he will.

•Moral of the story, if he picks Villager, panic.

•No stage or item preference, but when it’s his turn to pick he tends to go with Shadow Moses island cause he likes the look.

Kirumi Tojo

•Mains everyone and is good with all of them.

•Like, can beat Mario with Little Mac good.

•Does have a slight preference towards Shiek though due to her admiring the ninja’s loyalty.

•Due to her skills, she tends to sit out with Ryoma to give everyone a chance.

•When she does play though, well, try not to loose too fast.

•Also usually the one who has to stop Maki killing Kokichi if he beats her.

•Always goes random when stage picking time comes, but also puts all the stages in battlefield mode in case it lands on something BS.

•For similar reasons tries to ignore items

Angie Yonaga

•Everyone expected her to pick Palutena, and while she does have her as a sub main, Angie usually plays Sephiroth. •Why? Angel (kinda), kick ass theme, and loves watching the others panic when they see him. Plus, Atua told her to pick someone unexpected.

•Also tried Pit and Dark Pit, and while she likes their personalities she isn’t big on their gameplay.

•To this day the only one who’s beat Kirumi in a match, and outside of that time she’s still good in tournaments.

•Atua told Angie to pick Big Blue one day, and ever since everyone dreads her turn on stage select.

Tenko Chabishira

• Always plays as a girl no matter what.

•Plays Min Min more often than not, but occasionally surprises everyone by whipping out villager.

•Why? “She’s Himiko cute!!”

•Pretty good at the game, but super competitive. Unless you’re Himiko, be prepared to get yelled at at least once if she looses.

•One day while everyone was playing random, she got Ken and kinda hated that she likes it so she occasionally plays him in private. •Shuichi caught her doing this while he was playing Dedede, and they both promised to never tell a soul.

•Punch Out stage or bust!

•Doesn’t have an opinion on items, but when she plays villager she hopes for the bunny hood cause she thinks it’s adorable.

Korekiyo Shinguji

•Lucario or bust (he likes the aura theme) though he’s also kinda a monster with Lucina

•Strangely though, whenever he uses Lucina he acts... different? (the class is convinced he’s possessed when this happens.)

•Outside of that though, tends to be one of the worse players.

•Second to none at recovery though.

•Hyrule castle has been his favourite stage since day one And that’s never gonna change.

•Always has items on, he likes the surprise factor (he and Shuichi are never allowed have a one on one fight)

Miu Iruma

•Has probably been playing the longest aside from Kirumi.

•Has played all the games, and cause Of this is decent with all of the OG 8, but will always pick Pikachu.

•Will only ever pick someone else if it’s a random match or someone makes her give Shuichi a turn, and in that case she picks Pichu as a backup.

•Despite her boasting, is usually in the lower end of the group.

•Doesn’t stop her from rubbing it in when she wins though.

•Tends to go for Wily’s castle for her stage, if for no other reason than she’s the only one who can handle the yellow devil.

•Super Hammer or bust!

Gonta Gokuhara

•Likes Donkey Kong the best, but also tries to learn how to play Joker from Kokichi cause he looks like a gentleman.

•Also likes all the Pokémon even if he isn’t the best with them.

•Honestly, aside from Olimar he likes everyone, and he only really dislikes Olimar cause he’s bullying the bugs!

•Everyone agrees to never touch the pikmin rep when he’s in the room.

•Tends to come in last with the only one he can beat kinda consistently is Ryoma without villager, but he still has a lot of fun.

•Tends to pick whatever stage everyone likes best, and has no clue how to use items.

Kokichi Ouma

•Always plays Joker because who else is a phantom thief going to pick.

•Actually he plays Villager in his spare time but Kaito is the only that knows and that was a mistake so shh.....

•Begrudgingly teaches Gonta how to play, if only from the horror on someone’s face when they get cocky only to loose to the guy who didn’t even know what a Smash Bros was a few weeks ago.

•Peak troll. Camps with gun, let’s people *cough* Kaito and Miu *cough* Hit fake smash balls, always picks the auto scrolling stages, he just loves making everyone groan.

•Only thing that makes him visibly salty is Miu on stage select cause f**k yellow devil.

Kaito Momota

•A proud Rosalina main. A badass space princess that protects the stars, what’s not to love?

•First time they all play, they all expect him to suck..... so you can imagine their surprise he‘a one of the best players in the class, especially at edge guard

•Despite that, is the most susceptible to stage hazards and bad items, especially fake smash balls. He has gotten better at recovering from them though.

•Never asks anyone to turn them off though, cause it’s worth it for the black hole and the assist trophies.

•Whenever Kiyo plays Lucina, he makes sure to sit at the other end of the couch.

•Always tries to give people pointers, though since he really only plays one character he’s not the best at it.

•Will ALWAYS pick either the Mario Galaxy stage or the Star Fox stages

Tsumugi Shirogane

•Tends to pick Kirby for A, the cute hats, and B, it gives her an excuse to rant about the lore. You know those Kirby fans who obnoxiously push how the series is super deep? That’s Tsumugi.

•Rants the whole match, leading to people preferring Kokichi obnoxiously joining in on Kaede’s singing to it. •Knowing they’re not safe when she’s not playing either, they all agree that unless it’s random’s to never pick a Kirby stage or character (another reason for Shuichi to hide being a Dedede main)

•She’ll occasionally rant about other series too, but Kirby is the biggest example.

•Despite this, she’s actually a pretty good player, even if she can be a bit to sadistic with down special sometimes.

Kiibo

•Refuses to touch ROB or MegaMan to avoid falling into the stereotype of the robot playing the robots.

•Instead picks Pyra and Mythra cause they’re great characters with a bit of computer theme that only Tsumugi knows about mercifully hasn’t ranted on yet.

•Plays very predictably, but just because you know a Lightning Buster- Prominence Revolt is coming doesn't mean blocking it is easier.

•As such is usually in the middle of the pack tournament wise. •Refuses to use side B as Pyra because one time he did and Kokichi did a stupid combo which took him from 30% to death so he’s not taking any chances again.

•Tends to put The stage on random, which he occasionally regrets if he rolls a side scroller.

Himiko Yumeno:

•Mains ALL the magic users. •Robin, Zelda, Hero, Sephiroth, so long as they have a big focus on magic she’s all in.

•Tends to use Hero the most, specifically Eight, because she likes the MP gauge.

•Despite seemingly never practicing and only doing okay with most moves, is the fastest thing in the freaking world at picking the right spell. If she gets magic burst or Kamikaze, prepare to die.

•Everyone assumes she’s probably played Dragon Quest cause of this, but she hasn’t confirmed and just chalks her skill up to magic.

•The only one who can make Tenko stop raging.

•Keeping with the theme, will usually pick the World Tree stage.

Maki Harukawa

•Messed around with everyone a bit but was only super good as Zero Suit Samus.

•Even then she’s mostly middle of the pack, but she doesn’t mind too much.

•Unless she looses to Kokichi, then it’s a struggle for Kaito and Kirumi to stop her from killing him.

•Tends to handle snacks cause Kirumi has to be in the room to keep order and she usually gets knocked out early. •The most frequent subject of Kaito’s tips, which range from helpful to ”Kaito I don’t have a f**king Luma”

•Tends to pick Shadow Moses island cause she likes the look, and though she won’t tell anyone she loves the music

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 59: Waking The Bloodstained Path Until The End

Class Profile: Kitsune

A shapeshifting class, similar to Manakete or Laguz from past games, that uses beast stones to turn into giant foxes. Class of Kaden and Selkie. Hoshidan counterpart to the Wolfskin class. To contrast Wolfskin, Kistune have better speed, skill, and resistance. The loose clothing and fox ears are fine, although I would like to note that the white hood used by generic Kitsune looks really nice. The red spikes and floating blue fire in their transformed sate do a bit to make them more than just foxes, but I do think it would have worked better if they were more fantastical. Their skill Evenhanded boosts damage on even-numbered turns, while Beastbane causes them to extra damage to other beasts and horse-mounted units.

Class Profile: Wolfskin

Nohrian werewolves that rival the Kitsune, with better HP and strength. Class of Keaton and Velouria. As I’ve said before, having the Japanese Laguz be Kitsune while the western ones are Werewolves is a brilliant idea. The red hoods worn by Wolfskin other than Keaton are clever, and the massive, hulking, white and black wolves without any eyes design used when transformed is fantastic, being distinct from generic werewolves while also capturing the idea of them being massive predatory monsters. Like Kitsune, Wolfskin learn Beastbane; they also learn Odd Shaped, which does the same thing as Even Handed except on opposite turns.

Class Profile: Troubadour

A Nohrian mounted healer class, rival to Shrine Maidens and Monks. Promotes into Strategists or Maids. Class of Elise, Forrest, and Dwyer. Not very bulky and slightly worse at healing than their rival classes, but still fantastic thanks to their high movement. The skill Resistance+2 does what you’d expect. Male Troubadours get Gentilhomme, while female ones get Demoiselle; both skills lower damage dealt to nearby allies of the opposite gender. Their design is fine; I appreciate the frills, but find the shields on their legs confusing.

Conquest Chapter 12: Bitter Intrigue

The chapter begins with Iago reporting on the death of the Rainbow Sage. Garon laughs maniacally and orders Iago to make Moron suffer. Not kill them, make them suffer. Because Garon wants to force Moron to murder his loved ones so that he'll fall into despair and be a worthy religous sacrifice. I continue to question why I chose this path.

Meanwhile, Elise suddenly falls ill, forcing to the gang to go to Garon's Pleasure Palace in hopes of curing her. Unfortunately, Ryoma is waiting at the gate of the palace. He challenges Moron to a duel. When Moron explains Elise is dying, Ryoma offers to let her through if Moron returns to Hoshido. Moron refuses and whines that they don't want to fight the people of Hoshido. Should have thought of that before you joined the army invading Hoshido, bub.

Peri and Laslow, Xander's retainers, interrupt the duel to protect Moron.

Laslow

Inigo from Awakening, now called Laslow. Still a mercenary, albeit one with a better design thanks to Nohrian Mercenaries overall having great designs. In Awakening, he was a casanova wannabe, emphasis on the wannabe part. From his introduction, he seems to have matured and become a genuinely cool gentlemen knight, while still being incredibly horny. His personal skill, Fancy Footwork, in addition to referencing his dancer mother Olivia, boosts the speed and strength of nearby allies who have rally used on them.

Peri

A sadistic sociopath cavalier working for Xander. Normally, I question why good people like Odin and Arthur are so willing to fight for Nohr. I don’t have to worry about that with Peri, because she is incredibly evil. And I don’ remember her really having any depth beyond that. Peri’s design, with the cool gold and white armor and the cotton candy-colored pigtails, is great; it both looks interesting and establishes that she is a terrible, terrible, terrible murderer. Her personal skill, Bloodthirst, boosts her stats when she kills someone.

The main gimmick of this map is the pots covering the floor of the palace. Half of them heal nearby units when broken, half of them hurt nearby units. There's a Dragon Vein in the middle of the map that can be used to call in an earthquake that shatters all the pots. It's fine, but didn't really wow me.

Saizo and Kagero accompany Ryoma and Saizo has special dialogue with his brother. Kaze just says he stands by his decision without attempting to explain it. If Azura fights Ryoma, she thanks him for being a good brother before they duel.

To win this chapter, you must defeat Ryoma, a tough boss, or just walk past him through the open door he's standing in front of. After the battle, Ryoma retreats because he has plot armor. Azura gives Elise medicine. Moron discusses with Azura that Ryoma must have been told where they were, meaning that there's someone within the Nohrian army working against them. Iago. It's Iago. I don't even remember half of this game's plot and I still know it's Iago because I'm not an idiot.

Half asleep, Elise mentions a dream she had of Gunter, prompting a "..." from Azura. Moron insists that Gunter must be dead. After all, he fell into the Bottomless Canyon, which does not have a bottom.

Support: Corrin/Azura (Conquest)

C: Corrin has horrible nightmares about the Hoshidans they've killed. Azura tells them to keep following the path they've chosen.

B: A Hoshidan soldier sneaks into the camp and attempts to murder Corrin to avenge his family. Corrin is forced to defend himself and feels terrible about it. Azura tells them that Corrin should be upset and that it would by worrying if they weren't upset.

A: Another Hoshidan attempts to assassinate Corrin. How the fuck does this keep happening. Rather than defending themselves, Corrin freezes up, forcing Azura to kill the assassin to save them. Azura, saying that her hands are now just as stained as Corrin's, promises to walk down the bloodstained path until they reach the end.

S: Corrin tells Azura to leave because they love her and don't want to drag them down with them. Azura instead promises to stay by their side until they can find hope.

Review: I’m a bit torn on this one. On one hand, it’s well written and gives Corrin a lot of depth, showing them feel crushing guilt over all the shitty things they keep doing. This is a well-written Conquest Corrin Support, but at the same time, it’s a Conquest Corrin Support, and I hate Conquest Corrin. I hate this cowardly loser with zero agency who just does evil shit then cries about it while whining about abstract concepts like peace. Conquest Corrin is a terrible character who I despise, but at least this Support does something with them.

Support: Camilla/Laslow

C: Laslow calls Camilla beautiful. Camilla shrugs him off as being insecure because he says the same to every woman. Camilla agrees to go on a date with him, if he stops hitting on other women. Laslow, having no self-control, says that is impossible.

B: Laslow discusses how Camilla switches between being a loving and kind big sister to being a brutal cruel killer who relishes in bloodshed. Camilla explains that enemies are nothing more than obstacles underserving of mercy. Laslow calls out her black and white morality; Camilla calls him soft and warns him not to make her his enemy.

A: Laslow does a Feroxi dance, inspiring a conversation about Laslow's homeland. Camilla asks why Laslow fights for Nohr, despite being from far away, and Laslow explains that he believes what they are doing is right. I don't know how he can think that. Arthur I get, he just protects Elise. But Laslow? He follows Xander into invasions and slaughter.

S: Laslow asks Camilla to marry him. Camilla gets furious at him for joking about marriage. Laslow insists his feelings are genuine. Camilla says she'll marry him under the condition he stops hitting on other women. Laslow says no. Camilla marries him anyway because she knows that she's still first in his thoughts.

Review: Not bad. Each of these conversations has a unique subject matter that it gives a lot of depth to.

Support: Arthur/Peri

C: Arthur finds Peri sobbing after a merchant sells her a new stabbing stick that is too dull. She sobs that she'd kill him and take her money back, but the knife he sold her isn't sharp enough! Arthur promises to get Peri a good knife.

B: Arhur returns with a knife. Peri says that the second knife is also too dull and decides to use it on the merchant. Arthur stops her and asks for a second chance.

A: Arthur luckily manages to get the right knife, satisfying Peri’s murderlust.

S: Arthur proposes to Peri. I'm not sure what he sees in her; maybe he's into the evil murderer thing. The ring turns out to be fake gold, so Peri runs off to kill the merchant. Arthur chases after her to stop her.

Review: This Support is a good introduction to Peri as a character. She’s a horrifically evil sadist, but in a fun way. Pairing her with Arthur leads to some good comedy, but I feel this Support could have had a lot more depth if it tried to focus on Arthur teaching Peri right and wrong.

Support: Beruka/Niles

C: Niles spots Beruka visiting the slums and follows her. Beruka loses him.

B: Niles asks what Beruka's up to. Beruka refuses to tell him and notes their similar backstories as orphans from the slums. A: Niles tracks Beruka to a graveyard, where Beruka is visiting the grave of her deceased mother who abandoned her. She tells Niles that his mother is buried in the same grave, but Niles refuses to look because he never knew her.

S: Niles visits his mother's grave and decides to marry Beruka.

Review: Pretty good. The A-Rank in particular, with Niles and Beruka’s contrasted complicated feelings towards their parents in particular is great.

[alternatefandom]

“Fuji, I’ve always been grateful to you since our first year of middle school. Thank you for supporting us, and Seigaku.”

- Tezuka Kunimitsu, Pair Puri vol. 10

If these words were said by anyone other than Tezuka, I would've called it a mere pleasantry. But this is Tezuka, and he's talking to Fuji. Theirs is a relationship of things unsaid; I can’t see them wasting words on pleasantries. So, seeing this quote makes me rethink how I perceive the two of them. I've always assumed that it's Tezuka doing Fuji the favor, inciting him out of his apathy, but here Tezuka seems to imply that it was Fuji who cast off his own apathy for his team.

Several days and countless theories later, I have a new character interpretation/headcanon/rambling/almost-fic/essay/something about Fuji’s arc, and why Tezuka succeeded in driving him, in the end.

In fanon, Fuji is portrayed with a careless, mischievous, devil-may-care attitude. What’s surprising is that some portray him as kind of... manipulative and sadistic, in the literal sense of the word. It’s ironic because when you think about it, Fuji has consistently shown that he cares for people over tennis. He forfeits a game because of Kawamura’s wrist, he humiliates Mizuki because Mizuki puts tennis over Yuuta’s wellbeing, he goes all-out against Jirou because Jirou embarrassed Yuuta, he wants to teach Akaya a lesson because Akaya hurt Echizen. Fuji only cares about winning when the people he loves are involved--otherwise, tennis is just fun and games. Tezuka, I think, understands this perfectly.

I think this is why in the end, Fuji only finds his motivation after Tezuka gets hurt in the match against Atobe. In that match, Fuji sees that if someone doesn’t step up soon, Tezuka will put himself on the line again and again to ensure Seigaku’s victory. And because Fuji can't stand to see the people he cares about hurt, he decides to step up--and so does Ryoma, albeit for different reasons.

Let’s talk about Ryoma for a second. Unlike Fuji, Tezuka and Ryoma are kindred souls. They both know what it is to put everything on the line for victory. Tezuka has seen how Ryoma behaves when he’s pushed to his limits, he’s seen Ryoma hurt, and he's seen Ryoma persevere and win despite an injury. He sees himself in Ryoma, and so when Ryoma demands that Tezuka hand over the responsibility of being a pillar, it’s very easy for Tezuka to concede. Indeed, for the rest of Nationals, it's Ryoma who plays in Singles 1, while Tezuka relegates himself to less pivotal positions.

Fuji, though. Tezuka has asked Fuji to step up before, and Fuji has refused. In fact, he told Tezuka he’d rather get taken out of the regulars. Unlike Ryoma, there are things Fuji still needs to prove to Tezuka, like that even when backed into a corner, he will still fight. Not because someone he loves is hurt, not for revenge, but for nothing else but victory. If he can’t do that, Fuji will never be someone that Tezuka counts on.

Unfortunately, Fuji’s breadth of talent and counter puncher playstyle means that Fuji has fewer opportunities to prove himself. As a counter puncher, Fuji wins by finding flaws, taking advantage of the opponents' mistakes to unleash his counters and take points. The passive nature of his playstyle means that Fuji's performance can only be as good as his opponents' abilities. Without great opponents, Fuji can't shine.

Then along comes Shiraishi with his perfect, flawless tennis. The absolute worst opponent a counter puncher can ever dream of. Honestly, one has to wonder what Ryuuzaki-sensei was thinking, because pitting any counter puncher against Shiraishi is a critical mistake. Based on Tezuka’s reactions during this match, I think he knows this, too.

Fortunately, Fuji is not the same person he was 200 chapters ago. When Shiraishi drives him into a corner, Fuji responds by baring everything he has: his heart, soul, and most importantly, his tennis.

...and then, after all that, he lost.

But in that loss, he proved that like the rest of Seigaku, Fuji can fight for victory and nothing else. He proceeded to come back from a 5-0 lead against a playstyle that’s practically designed to suppress his. He fought to the very last second, and he showed Tezuka, hey, this is the real me. This is everything I have. You can count on me.

At the very next match, Tezuka relegates himself to Singles 3. He puts Fuji in Singles 2 instead.

[makimacult]

random thoughts while watching prince of tennis (ep37-44)

ryoma saying “mada mada dane” in his sleep while dreaming of whacking the tennis club on the head with a ball is the cutest thing ever

nanjirou knows how to drive? wonders will never cease

random tennis player: ha, beating this chibi will be easy!

me: maniacal laughter.gif

uh oh ryoma just got attacked by bokuto from haikyuu’s evil twin

fuji senpai just turned from cute boy next door to edgy sadist

FUJI HUNG UP ON MIZUKI LMAOOOOO

mizuki why are you wearing an ugly floral patterned grandma shirt. you’re better than this

i can’t believe it, fudoumine got into a car accident??? they really wanna win the baka school prize huh

TACHIBANA STOP how is he such a perfect senpai??

oh my god seigaku’s so intimidating the other team straight up forfeited lmao

inoue don’t you have an actual job other than stalking seigaku and nanjiroh

inui just said sengoku’s serve utilises his small body so i will henceforth refer to him as tiny sengoku

tiny sengoku called momo by his actual name to show respect~ kawaii~

lucky sengoku? more like unlucky sengoku amirite

[paipayaseeds]

Taking a deep breath making sure to have some sort of hold on Rantaro, she'd poke her head out, having to fix her glasses a small bit from falling off the frame of her face. She'd survey the room for only a short while, locking eyes with Tenko's fierce eyes before hiding quickly behind Amami once more.

"Aww cmon! You can't properly introduce yourself if you're gonna hide behind Rantaro!"Kaede began, a kind tone lacing her voice as she peaked from the side of Rantaro.

'WH-WHERE DID SHE-'

Anya would clench the back of Rantaro's shirt, the mental image of a rabbit calming her down.

"Hey! We've been waiting here for 3 fucking hours already! My body can't handle waiting for this long, I've got shit to do ya know!"

Iruma exclaims, deciding that playing Zoo was enough.

"Hey,Virgin with the piercings,Why don't ya introduce her so we can discuss a dumb plan already huh?!Or what, your her pimp or something?"She'd laugh at her own idea of their relationship, Ryoma behind her lying down to stare idly at the ceiling.

"Good grief.."

".. A pimp?"Keebo whispered to themself.

Kaede would frown at Miu's comment.

"Th-Miu-"

Rantaro glared daggers at Miu, fighting the urge to cover Anya’s ears at her vulgar words. Turning around, his gaze softened as he felt the tug at his shirt, “Do you want me to introduce you? I don’t want to take away your moment to shine, but if you want me to I will.” Rantaro wanted Anya to introduce herself, though, he had to admit he enjoyed being relied on by her, he felt it’d be good for her to introduce herself. And... if she did decide to rely on him wholeheartedly, he couldn’t help but worry what would happen if he were not to survive. 

“I made your braids especially nice today too, you shouldn’t hide them from everyone.” He had been having a small private conversation with the small girl, his back obscuring the view of her from others. He sent her an encouraging smile, communicating with her that he believed she could do it, without actually verbalizing it.

“If you don’t show them the pretty braids, I might just mess them up again~” His threat wasn’t very threatening, as the silly demeanour he seemed to give off showed that he wasn’t entirely serious... or was he? His chuckle was on the verge of sadistic and playful. 

[takonei]

Beta AU - Main story: Chapter 1, daily life

Note of the author: Please note that some events don’t go exactly like the main game. For example, no one is a detective, and the “main duo” isn’t a thing, so events will occur differently.

Also, there is a possibility I will write entirely scenes that I consider important or that I cannot just sum up. Not gonna spoil anything but that will be the case of about… Well the entire 5th and 6th trial, and some other scenes.

Also yeah, when I talked about the “one week between chapters” I meant one week before revealing another death.

Chapter 1: Pledge your allegiance to me - Daily life

...

Monokuma gave them the monopads and the rest of the rules.

After the “entrance ceremony” none of them knew what to do.

Korekiyo suggested they explored the academy in groups to find maybe a hint about an escape or anything, and communicate any information they found with the others.

Tenko interrupts him, saying she found a manhole behind the building, but wasn’t sure if it led somewhere, since she wasn’t able to take it off.

She guides them there, but Ryoma and Tsumugi, don’t think this will lead anywhere.

Kaede suggests K1-B0 to try to take it off, since he is a robot.

K1-B0, despite having a greater strength than most, can barely make it move.

Gonta suggests he tries, and does it with ease. Tenko compliments his strength, that some others like Kokichi And Miu find a bit scary.

They look around the underground passage, but Korekiyo and Tsumugi suggest that it might be a trap, since Monokuma didn’t try to stop them.

Angie and Himiko say that there is still a chance, and even though it might be a trap, a team full of ultimates can surpass it.

They all try to get through the passage, but it’s a failure.

The positive ones try to comfort the injured, but some already gave up.

Monokuma and the monokubs appear saying they knew they would find the passage.

Kaito comments on their sadistic nature to leave a small glimmer of fake hope to them.

Tsumugi adds that they wouldn’t have let them go if it was really an escape.

They retry once again, just to see what even is at the end of the tunnel.

After another failure, Korekiyo suggests they stop for now, as they’re all unable to continue, and this will lead to nowhere if they’re in this state.

Himiko argues saying they can’t just leave this here, that they have to know what’s at the end.

Ryoma suggests they return once they’re fully prepared.

They were interrupted by the night time announcement.

Shuichi suggests they go to sleep and decide what to do the next day, since they’re all exhausted.

They all agree and most of them go to sleep.

Some stay outside for a while, Himiko looking at the stars, Kaede writing in a notebook, and Miu just taking a walk.

The next day, everyone reunited in the dining hall. Thankfully no one was killed.

They discussed what they should do, some of them already pleading not to return to the underground passage.

K1-B0 suggests they look around the academy to find perhaps something to help them.

Rantaro agrees, since it’s the only solution they have.

Korekiyo suggests they do it in groups. 

The groups were organized by four. Group A was Shuichi, Rantaro, Maki and Kaede; group B was Kokichi, Himiko, Angie and K1-B0; group C was Miu, Kaito, Ryoma and Kirumi; and group D was Tenko, Gonta, Korekiyo and Tsumugi.

Monokuma pops out of nowhere and introduces the first blood perk, that the first person to kill another will be free to go without any consequences.

Himiko stepped in, saying that no one would try to kill like this. Tenko does as well, saying she is going to fight him.

The monokubs with an exisal come in, ready to at least threaten Tenko when Monokuma gets crushed by it.

They panic, saying that they’re the new headmasters now, and will still corner them like rats if they even tried to do anything against the rules.

They leave the rest of the students to themselves.

Kirumi suggests now is the perfect time to explore the academy, and find perhaps another way to escape.

The groups separate.

Group A explored the first floors of the main building. Shuichi was somehow leading the group. Kaede insisted on exploring the library if they found anything useful, to which Maki decided to stick with her and let the other two explore other places. Rantaro noticed the food in the kitchen looked like it was fresh and restored only recently.

Group B had to split up after Kokichi said he didn’t feel good. Himiko tried to stick with him but got rejected after he locked himself in his room. Angie and K1-B0 continued their researches outside on their own after getting Himiko back.

Group C explored buildings other than the main building. Miu noticed what looked like a casino behind one of the walls, Ryoma saying Monokuma probably didn’t want them to be here yet, which was another reason to try to go there. Kirumi suggests they should at least tell the others before doing anything stupid. Kaito agrees.

Group D explored the opened floors as well. None of the doors were unlocked, which disappointed them. Tsumugi suggested that if this was indeed a killing game, those doors would probably open once a murder occurs. Korekiyo, as much as he didn’t want it to be right, agreed. Tenko and Gonta tried to cheer them up to say they weren’t going to die so easily.

After that they all reunited and told the others about what they found. Unfortunately none of the things they found were really interesting.

The next day, after chatting for a bit, Monokuma suddenly showed up and presented another motive: The time limit. If two days from this day, at nighttime, no one had died, everyone would die.

Of course, no one was accepting this, but trust was already a foreign notion, so they all went their ways, except for Shuichi, Rantaro, Tenko, Gonta, Kirumi and K1-B0, who stayed in the dining hall to think about a plan.

After thinking about the possibilities, they eventually thought it would be better to try to search through the academy once again to find something better to do.

Some time later, Shuichi found Kokichi and Himiko talking to K1-B0. Mostly Himiko, since Kokichi kept his distance with the other two. After joining in, Himiko explained to Shuichi that perhaps they could consider calling “K1-B0” “Keebo” instead, since it was easier to pronounce and it felt more human than two letters and numbers. The robot seemed indifferent, but didn’t mind being called Keebo. Himiko seemed satisfied and was ready to tell everyone, grabbing Kokichi by the hand and running through the hallways, even though judging by Kokichi’s reaction, he wasn’t comfortable being dragged around like that.

He also came across Maki, who seemed glad somehow. When asked, she responded that her lab opened, and that she would perhaps find something to do to distract her from the fact that they could die in a few days.

Shuichi also realized his lab was opened. After looking around for a few minutes, he turned back to see that Ryoma and Rantaro entered as well, glancing at what the violinist’s lab with admiration. Ryoma commented how Monokuma specifically opened the labs for the people who probably wouldn’t be able to fight back against him.

When afternoon came, Tenko announced to anyone she could find that she and Gonta would do a martial art match, to test the other’s strength, and if they wanted to see it, they would be welcome, since Tenko’s lab opened that day.

A few people joined Tenko and Gonta to watch their match: Himiko (who dragged Kokichi there), Kirumi, who said that a request for her presence shall be fulfilled, Ryoma, Rantaro and Shuichi.

Kirumi commented on how the match opposed brute strength and technique, and understood why Tenko wanted to do this match. Rantaro seemed to agree, but was prepared just in case someone was injured. He didn’t have access to great resources, but he would do his best.

The match ended with Tenko winning, which was not really surprising, but their match was a close call. The two shook hands as a sign of respect. Tenko advised Gonta on how he could improve his technique, because someone could easily defeat him if the opponent has a weapon on them and know the basics in fighting.

The evening, Shuichi noticed on his notepad Rantaro and Ryoma in the warehouse. He felt bad just standing there without doing anything, so he decided to check on them and see if he could try to do something. When he arrived, he saw the two with different items scattered around, some boxes emptied of their content.

The two said they would try to see if they had any material for Ryoma to build something to use against Monokuma. Of course he didn’t have the necessary tools, but it would be better than nothing. Shuichi helped with their research.

Nighttime came and they all decided to end here, Ryoma bringing the most useful items to his room to try to at least think about something. They agreed not to talk to anyone about this.

The next day, Shuichi decided to search his own lab through and through, to help Ryoma and Rantaro in their mission to collect things to fight Monokuma. Unfortunately his lab didn’t have much.

He then decides to check the library to perhaps find something useful. Some time later Angie showed up with the same intention as Shuichi, from what she was saying.

After searching through the books, Angie noticed that it was weird that all the shelves had books on it except one, and perhaps something was there. Shuichi brushed it off but Angie insisted, saying that it was very strange to leave only one like this when there a lot of books scattered around on the floor and yet this bookshelf didn’t have anything on it.

They decided to inspect it, and after Angie brushed some of the books, the bookshelf moved to reveal the door. With its distinct pattern, they came with the conclusion that Monokuma used that door to do something in a secret room, and it was afraid protecting it with exisals wasn’t enough.

They decided to tell the rest of the group at lunchtime since they didn’t have anything to lose.

The afternoon was spent by most of of them as finding ways to go through the door, but no one was able to do anything.

Around the evening the music started playing, making everyone panic.

BGM: Let’s kill each other

They were all in different groups, but Shuichi was with Kaito, Miu, Rantaro and Ryoma at the time.

They all went to the game room to see if there was anything that could be used as a weapon, or at least something. Besides, as Ryoma said, the basement would be harder to reach for the exisals.

Some time later, the monitors announced only one hour was left.

Just a few minutes later, Angie went in to say almost all of them were in the library preparing something at the door they found earlier.

Unfortunately nothing much could have been done for the door. Ryoma suggested they went back to the warehouse to see if anything could be found.

Thus, Shuichi, Ryoma, Tenko and Keebo went to the warehouse, prepared in case Monokuma decided to do something.

They went through the boxes one last time, but something caught Shuichi’s eye, behind one of the shelves.

It’s only after approaching that he discovered the harsh truth.

There was a dead body stabbed several times in the chest, laying against the wall, on the floor.

The victim was Gonta Gokuhara, the ultimate zoologist.

[princeoftennis-imagines]

Can I request a scenario (My friend did before as anon but she requested too much oof) of like their daughter wearing their clothes and imtating them (like saying their catchphrases) abd while that occurs s/o just laughing and hugging them on how similar both father and daughter are i wanna request just Ryoma, Fuji S., Atobe, Shiraishi, Mizuki and Yukimura

i saw your additional comment too, don’t worry! your old request said that they secretly see her and surprise her, so i will add that to some of them and make the others different . (^u^)

not really proud of this, but i hope you enjoy!

- - - - - - - - - *

Ryoma:

Ryoma was tired from his match, and wanted to come home to his family he had been thinking about the whole day. He expected to cuddle up with his daughter and wife and sleep the night away, but what he didn’t expect was to find his daughter in his Seigaku uniform, imitating him. You laughed silently at your daughter while Ryoma just smirked in entertainment. “Mada mada dane.” She said, pointing the racket at the mirror and trying her best to keep a straight face. She jumped up when you two came in, blushing furiously.

“Someone’s obviously a daddys girl.” Ryoma only let out a low chuckle, taking his cap from his nightstand, “I never said you could touch my clothes.” She only shyly fidgeted and looked elsewhere. “Sorry daddy...” He walked up to her and kneeled down, putting the cap on her head, ruffling her hair. “I didn’t say you needed to apologize. You look cute in it anyway.” She smiled and hugged Ryoma tight. Laughing, you looked at Ryoma and your daughter. “You look exactly like daddy, except maybe drink more milk since you’re as short as him.” Ryoma only rolled his eyes, and murmured into his daughters hair. “Whatever..”

Fuji S.:

Fuji was entertained by the sight in front of him. He called his other half over to watch his daughter who was standing on the bed, talking loudly to herself as she wore his shirt from middle school. It was way too big for her, but it looked absolutely adorable. “Saa.. I never lose to the same opponent twice!” She waved her racket in the air like a mad man, and jumped on the bed harshly. Fuji had a huge smile on his face as he watched the whole thing go down. “You’re so cute, (D/N).” She whirled around, and let out a small shriek of surprise.

“Hey, go away!” He let out a small laugh and watched how his other half engulfed their daughter in their arms. “Saa, why would I go away if you look so cute?” You kissed your daughters cheek. “You really are picking up your dads attitude, and you look like him too in that uniform.” Her eyes lit up in happiness as she looked at Fuji. “Really, daddy?!” He let out a melodic laugh as he put a strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course. You look even better than I do.” She cheered as she punched the air in excitement. You only whispered to Fuji as she distracted herself. “Now let’s hope she’s not as sadistic as you are.” He only let out a suspicious smile.

Atobe:

Atobe let out a wide smirk as he peeked through the crack of the door, observing the scene right in front him. His heart swelled up in pride as he watched his daughter imitate him in his old tennis clothes. “Ahn~, you cannot beat the king.” He watched as his daughter raised her hand and snapped just like he use to do. You hugged your daughter and laughed as she tried her best to copy Atobe. “You’re gonna be exactly like your dad one day, I swear. You already have the attitude and everything.”

She jumped up and huffed proudly. “Of course! No one is as cool as daddy is! Not even the coolest person on earth!” You agreed with her, ruffling her hair lightly. “Show me more, (D/N).” Atobe pulled out his phone and recorded the whole sight, his heart swelling with pride and joy. “Be awed at the sight of my prow...ess?” She said confusingly, trying to figure out the last word. You clapped your hands and laughed at your daughters little show. “I’m sure your daddy would be awed by it. Now let’s get you to bed before it gets too late.” Atobe stopped recording and reminded himself to tease his daughter later, but also give her a big hug and kiss. He also reminded himself to order a smaller version of his old uniform for her to wear. It was just too cute.

Shiraishi:

Shiraishi was beyond bored at work, silently hoping that the time would go by faster so he could see his daughter and other half waiting at home. He only had a two more hours left, but he wasn’t patient enough to wait anymore. After a while of thinking, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket violently. He turned on his phone and saw that it was a video from you, opening it almost immediately. He watched as his daughter began imitating him in his old uniform, and it made his heart burst in delight.

“Look at me!” She had tilted her head back, almost falling over. “Ahhhh.. ecstasy.” He had to hold back a laugh, covering his mouth too quickly. His daughter was so adorable in his tennis clothes, he was even thinking of making her keep it as pajamas. He saw how she was also wearing bandages on her arm, adoring the fact that she paid so much attention to him. You walked up to her, leaving the camera on the dressser and hugged her, saying how similar she was to him. “I can’t even tell the difference between you two sometimes.” Your daughter only laughed cutely, and Shiraishi was reminded on how thankful he was that he was blessed with this life.

Mizuki:

Mizuki was going to go out to have a cup of tea in his own patio, but caught a glimpse of his other half and daughter playing outside in his old tennis uniform. He secretly watched them from afar, and twirled his hair unconsciously, smiling at the scene before him. You were playing tennis with your daughter, going easy on her considering she was a beginner. She pointed at you when she scored a point. “I can see all your weak spots!” Mizuki’s ears perked up in hearing his daughter say something familiar to him. You laughed and put the racket down, hugging her tightly. “Just like your dad, huh?” You heard her hum in agreement and looked at her with a big smile.

“Let me guess.. are you gonna start collecting data too?” She gave you a thumbs up, a boyish grin on her face. “Yes! I already researched online how to do it!” He felt so happy that his daughter decided to follow his footsteps, but felt a little dejected that she didn’t ask him. He took it lightly since she was probably embarrassed to do so. Walking over to both of you, he continued to twirl his hair. “Why don’t you ask me instead? It might be better to get tips from your own father.” She lightly squeaked and accidentally threw the racket to the side. “Daddy! I-I-!” Mizuki smiled and patted her head, speaking in a gentle voice. “I can’t get mad at you when you look so cute. Now let’s get started on learning.”

Yukimura:

Yukimura was sick in bed all day due to a fever he caught from the rain. He wasn’t able to work, nor spend the day with his family, much to his disappointment. Even if he wanted to, his s/o scolded him that he needed to rest whether he liked it or not and he had no choice but to oblige. Yukimura woke up to the sound of voices in his room and opened one eye to see his daughter and s/o rummaging through the boxes in the closet only to pull out his old tennis clothes. His daughter slipped on his shirt and put both her hands on her hips proudly. “Now I’m the child of god!”

He wanted to chuckle and tease her endlessly, but kept pretending to sleep, not wanting to ruin the moment. She crossed her arms seriously, her blue, wavy hair bouncing. God, she was so much like him and he loved it. You enveloped your daughter in a hug, and pulled back to fix the uniform she wore so it wasn’t as loose. “Yes, yes you are. Bet you’re even as scary as daddy is.” She let out a small, “mhm” and began twirling in his shirt. “Daddy’s so cool when he plays tennis. I want to learn from him! Even uncle Sanada said I should!” He smiled at that little bit and made a mental note to do so the minute he gets better. Yukimura only smiled and continued to sleep, wanting to get well as soon as possible.

[tk-writer]

Danganronpa V3 headcanon - boys’ ticklishness

Shuichi Saihara

this softboi is one of the most ticklish people ever

he will giggle and squirm the moment someone lays their hands on his stomach or sides

will protest and beg for mercy because it’s just soooo intense for him

(but he secretly loves it)

he’s not a sadistic tickler either

he only tickles people he likes because he loves to hear them laugh

and their smiles/giggles/twitches are v. cute to him

Kokichi Oma

extreme ticklishness that probably exceeds Shuichi’s

makes all kinds of cute squeal and squeaky noises when touched

his worst spot is obv his neck

but really he’s ultra sensitive all over

secretly loves being tickled and will antagonize people to get them to tickle him

he’s also a fucking savage tickler

absolutely no mercy

always makes it worse with verbal teasing/taunting

Kaito Momota

more of a ler than a lee

loves tickling other people

especially Maki Roll

won’t admit it but he’s pretty ticklish himself

his torso has some of the most sensitive areas

loves to make comments about how ticklish his victims are

K1-B0

most people think robots can’t be ticklish

however, most people are wrong

for some reason the Professor installed a system of nerves that mimic the feeling of ticklishness

perhaps to help Kiibo have more human experiences

the soft spots in between his metal skin give the best reactions, as discovered by Miu

will make cute beeps and squeaks

he’s not much of a ler but he does get curious about his close friends’ levels of ticklishness

installed a soft, warm hand function that allows him to explore this curiosity

Rantaro Amami

at first he doesn’t appear ticklish

he doesn’t react to scrabbles on his sides or light traces on his stomach

the truth is, he’s mastered the art of non-reaction

he’s VEEEERY fucking ticklish but can control his reactions after years of tickle torture at the hands of his sisters

however...

if you ever catch him off guard he yelps

but don’t think you’ll get away that easily

he’s very good at holding people down and tickling the shit out of them

he’s the type to laugh along with someone while he’s tickling them to pieces

especially if they have a cute laugh

his verbal teases are game-enders

Gonta Gokuhara

not really ticklish

doesn’t understand tickling

if he tickles you, it’s completely on accident

and he probably won’t do it again in fear of hurting you

Korekiyo Shinguji

a little ticklish on his sides, but not much

will quiver at a light stroke, but rarely ever laughs

he prefers to do the tickling

especially when his victim is tied up in inescapable bondage

Ryoma Hoshi

not ticklish, so don’t even try

he’s not really the tickler type either

[boueibu-valentines]

Why Wakura-senpai Wasn’t Actually That Great

Creator: @tinycharm-art Recipient:  @my-yuujin Title: Why Wakura-senpai Wasn’t Actually That Great Characters/Pairings: Taichiro Summary: Extra homework was not what Ichiro signed up for when he started dating the Vice President. Comment: The working title for this was “Chiro Tries To Be Sexy And Taishi Is So Done” which gives you a pretty good idea what’s going on. Managed to get in the prompt and my own love of Student Council Taishi. Hope everyone enjoys!

———-

“Come on, Taishi, there’s still time ‘til the little ones get here and you’ve gotta go see Ibusuki-senpai.”

“That’s why I’m doing my homework now.”

“Taishi!” Ichiro huffs, shaking Taishi’s shoulder and his pen slides off the page. “Taishi! Stop doing homework and do me!”

Taishi pauses from his homework and tilts his head. Ichiro jerks back, face burning hot. He didn’t mean to say that!

“I- I-”

“You can’t help putting your foot in it, can you?” Taishi says with a small smile.

Ichiro huffs and puffs out his cheeks. Taishi stands slowly and pats Ichiro’s head. He frowns and pushes his hand away. He’s not a child! Taishi looks so mature and elegant in his new white Student Council uniform but that’s no reason to start treating him like he’s a kid. He’d been bitter for a while, Taishi leaving the club in favour of taking Unazuki’s place as Vice President, but he couldn’t stay mad for long. Even if he’s still a bit annoyed.

“I’ve got to go,” he says. “I can’t spend all my time fussing over you.”

“You don’t spend any time fussing over me anymore,” Ichiro says.

The door opens and Ichiro tilts his head. “Chiro. Tai-Tai.”

“Afternoon Kyotaro-senpai, Ryoma-senpai.”

“I was just leaving,” Taishi says, picking up his bags.

“You know you’re welcome anytime, Taishi,” Ryoma says, turning to the tea station. “You’re always going to be a Happy Kiss.”

Taishi laughs and steps towards a door in the back of the room. “I’d hate to think about your new little ones as knights.”

Ichiro is about to argue back but the club room door bursts open again. Their little ones burst in, the three grinning up at them as Ryoma puts the mugs of tea on the table. Taishi’s already gone by the time he turns back and Ichiro sighs. Student Council Vice President Manza is not really as fun as his dumb Taishi.

“You’re late, Taishi,” Ichiro says, glaring as Taishi arrives at Kurotama.

“Sorry,” Taishi replies. “We ran late.”

“You’re always running late,” he says, standing slowly. “Taishi, we barely spend any time together anymore. And when we do, you’re doing homework.”

“Sorry.” He doesn’t even argue anymore. Somehow he’s matured into someone quiet and demur and proper. His mother might even approve of him the way he is now. “Ichiro-”

“If this is what growing up is like, I don’t want it,” Ichiro says quietly. “I don’t want to lose you anymore than I already have.”

“You’ve not lost me,” Taishi sighs. Ichiro shakes his head. “Come on then, moron. Let’s do something now, together.”

Ichiro smiles and nods, leaning his head against Taishi’s shoulder. “Whatever you want. A bath. Dinner. Me.”

“You’ve already have a bath,” he says, turning towards the entrance. “Let’s find something to eat.”

Ichiro blinks, completely thrown off as Taishi smiles back over his shoulder. Is Taishi teasing him? Ichiro hurries after him and they wander away down the steps. He steps closer to Taishi after a moment, their fingers brushing lightly before Taishi’s hand closes around his. Their fingers entwine and Ichiro smiles. He doesn’t want Taishi to forget him. He doesn’t want to lose Taishi to the Student Council.

“I’m not going anywhere, Ichiro,” Taishi says. “It’s the start of a new year, things are busy. Remember how it was when we were first years, those first few months are complicated and confusing and new. This will settle.”

“I don’t just miss Nanao-senpai,” Ichiro says.

“Where did that come from?” he says.

“That’s what you think, right?” he whispers. “You think I don’t see it. You think I’m too dumb to notice-”

“Ichiro-”

“I’m not smart, Taishi. We both know that, there’s no point ignoring it. I’m not you.” He frowns and Taishi squeezes his hand. “I know that you think I only ever saw Nanao-senpai, and that I’m only missing you now because he’s not around-”

“That’s not-”

“I might not be smart but I’m not dumb.” Taishi frowns and Ichiro squeezes his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

“There totally totally totally is,” Ichiro argues. “My best friend thought I was more interesting someone else.”

“It wasn’t that much of a big deal,” he replies.

“Definitely is,” he says, shaking his head quickly. “You’ll have to make me make it up to you. I’ll do whatever you want.” He smiles and tilts his head as Taishi glances down at him. “Whatever you want.”

“Anything, huh?” Ichiro nods eagerly, leaning against Taishi’s arm. “I suppose if you’re so sure you need to be punished, I could think of a few things.”

“I’ve been really bad, Taishi. You need to make sure I’m properly punished, right? Make sure my mind’s where it needs to be. Focused properly.”

Taishi’s smile in return is positively devilish and sends hot shivers bolting down Ichiro’s spine. It’s a smile that promises a night of sensuality and behaviour his parents would never approve of. Maybe his aggressive, slightly sadistic Taishi hasn’t been totally crushed under the weight of the Student Council and their proper behaviour.

“Perhaps you do need to be taught a lesson,” Taishi muses.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Ichiro says, squeezing his hand tightly. “I definitely need the firm hand of the Vice President to get me back on track and remind me of my place.”

“Good,” he says. “In that case we can start with two thousand word essay titled Why Wakura-senpai Wasn’t Actually That Great.”

“Huh?” Ichiro’s hand slips from Taishi’s as his footsteps stop, staring at Taishi’s back. “Essay?”

[lotusdiscussthis]

@yunevii 

I read your tags and I was afraid to respond to it considering you didn’t show it on the reblog. By putting your comments on the tags, I could’ve easily overlooked it, so I didn’t know if you really wanted to talk about it or not. In the end, I’ve decided to link you to give you my reply anyway. I hope you don’t mind.

I don’t blame you for not agreeing. After all, my perception of Saihara can be hard to believe when I haven’t given enough explanations as to what made me look at Saihara in such a negative way. It’s mainly due to having to reanalyze the story in a different perspective after discovering things that paints the supposedly innocent detective in a different light. But I’ll try to explain my thoughts the best that I can...

“kokichi often makes conversations go in frustrating circles because of his lies...

True, talking to Ouma also gave me headaches when I first played. Though sometimes the best way to determine someone’s nature is to not always rely on their words, but through their actions. It’s easy to say things like “I’m really evil” and act like the bad guy, but if your actions contradict with that behavior, that would naturally raise questions.

Let’s take Ouma’s evil speech after Gonta died. He said he enjoys their suffering, yet in the previous chapter, he urged Himiko to express her grief properly. How is it that he would go that far for someone he barely even knows, only to suddenly make a big show about he loves their suffering later on? Or when Ouma looked like he faked being injured only for Saihara to notice him wobbling as he walked and failed to notice how he was blanking out while talking to him? Or how about when Ouma was screaming “WE want to live, so don’t get in our way!” mid-trial while arguing with Kaito? We’ve just forgotten that part when Ouma later explains, “Oh yeah, me and Gonta were totally planning on getting you all killed so you wouldn’t have to face the horrible despair of the outside world!” None of this makes any sense. 

How is it that Saihara would overlook these major redflags that would contradict the fact that Ouma was a heartless person? If I can notice this myself, how is it that the protagonist, the Ultimate Detective, can’t??? (Also, reading between the lines is kinda what detectives do, so this is no excuse)

“i think more than anything saihara wanted to feel like kokichi was on his side-...” 

I will be frank, you shouldn’t expect people to do anything for you so simply. That was pretty much what I was trying convey in my original post. To think that somebody on the opposing side as you is automatically suspicious, not good, or wrong is just incredibly flawed reasoning. Especially since the reason why Ouma wasn’t on Saihara’s side in the first place was because he was mostly siding with Kaito the whole time. And Kaito, a man of instinct/belief/blind optimism, mostly showed hostility towards almost everything Ouma says and does. Ouma clearly knew the gravity of the situation and yet, he gets treated like the pariah because almost nobody wants to listen to what he has to say.

Ouma tried several times in the beginning to speak logically about their circumstances, yet practically everyone would automatically think he’s trying to start up pointless trouble. Like when Ouma said if Gonta were to continue being gullible, he was going to get killed. The reason why we saw Ouma as the bad guy in that moment was because everyone around him started to get all defensive and called him insensitive for saying such things after Kaede and Rantaro died. Which isn’t rational. THEY ARE IN A DEATH GAME. Whether Ouma had said anything or not wouldn’t have changed that fact. 

Out of everyone, Ouma has proven to have put in the most effort into showing his trustworthiness by spitting out the facts and warning them all to be careful, but it was everyone else (besides Miu and Gonta) that had rejected his help in the end.

On the one hand, Saihara hadn’t really done anything to earn Ouma’s support and friendship since meeting him. Even if Saihara was truly expecting what you had claimed, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s selfish for him to think that way. He doesn’t owe Saihara anything.

On the other hand, Ouma also did say at one point he was on everyone else’s side. And in the 5th trial, he had put everything on the line for his final plan to work and put an end to the killing game. Knowing that, does it still sound like he was not on his friends’ side? Even if you’ve figured it out, Saihara somehow couldn’t bring himself to comprehend this fact.

“...but talking to him always feels like a battle just to get the truth out” 

If the ‘truth’ you are referring to is about knowing Ouma’s true intentions and plans, then there’s a good reason for that. Ouma did mention in the beginning that carelessly opening up to people would be dangerous. And no, I don’t think he was speaking as Mr. Paranoia as much as the fandom loves to see him as. I think he said that because Monokuma would most likely be listening in on their conversations and that one of their friends is most likely the ringleader. (Just like how Kyoko was cautious of talking to Makoto out in the open in DR1) And turns out he was correct. So if he explained that much in the beginning, shouldn’t that give the listener (Saihara) a better idea as to why he shouldn’t be too outright with his intentions? There’s only so much you can do without getting careless within a killing game. 

“also by the time saihara says that he’ll never get kokichi to change kokichi had proven to be not just hard to talk to but pretty heartless and villainous as well” 

I would like for you to recall how Ouma first introduced himself... Now this is something I’ve always found curious, but never really dove into too deeply in case the story were to prove me otherwise at some point. But now that it’s been a year since I first played, I just have to ask those who think that Ouma has a single sadistic or villainous bone in his body.....

What kind of antagonist would out themselves as a liar in the beginning? In a killing game, no less?

We all know that he’s an incredibly clever boy who knows how to play mind games and put on an act that would befit the situation. So if he was truly serious about winning the game and was willing to coldly disregard the lives of others, wouldn’t it make more sense to not reveal that problematic aspect of himself? Wouldn’t it give him a better advantage to NOT play the flaming jerkwad role and piss everyone off to the point of wanting to kill you? Much like how Komaeda played innocent until Hajime and Chiaki cornered him into admitting that he set up the murder plan and then showed his crazy side. Ouma could’ve played himself up just like that as well, but no. Instead he kept claiming he’s nothing more than a liar.

Admitting to a bunch of (supposed) strangers that he’s a liar just makes no sense at all. Although, to disregard his intentions as just him being crazy or just him screwing around would be oversimplifying things. Even Nagito had an understandable method to his madness... 

“though he hadnt done anything drastic he does fuck up the trials and says (lies) about how much fun the killing game is”

When you say “fuck up the trials”, you mean when he took Ryoma’s motive video or saying that he killed Angie? I had to ask to make sure because just simply saying “he screwed up the trials” is not a clear enough explanation. Anyway, we never actually knew the real reason as to why Ouma stole the motive vid. We were made to think he did it for kicks, but in the end, he explained on Ryoma’s behalf that his motive video was empty when nobody knew what could’ve made him lose his will to live. I guess he also speculated that Maki was Ryoma’s killer and wanted to steal it before she got a hold of it. After all, she was the original holder of his video and nobody knew about her and Ryoma’s encounter besides Ouma, so nobody would’ve questioned her as to why she had his video. And I think Ouma was waiting for an opportune moment to shove the evidence in her face if things went differently. (I’m just guessing here tho.) But I do believe Ouma has reasons for why he does what he does, instead of simply doing it for jokes.

On the matter of him claiming that he killed Angie, he said so himself that he was trying to lure out the culprit by pretending to be the killer. He said if he played the killer, the actual blackened would likely push the blame onto him. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s more of a valid reason to do it than simply screwing around.

It’s rather funny to me how the fandom talks about how Ouma screws up the trials, but what about Tenko, Himiko and Maki??? 

Tenko kept others from questioning Himiko for the sake of the investigation, Himiko would sooner let everyone die for the sake of keeping her magic a secret, and Maki stupidly kept quiet and put the trial on hold so nobody would figure out her talent. And yet, Saihara would sooner side with them and lie for their sake in the middle of the trial even though he had just about as little relations with them as he did with Ouma. Why????

“its really hard for saihara to feel like he’s on his side despite how much he does want to work with him”

I’m sorry to say, but Saihara had that opportunity to work with Ouma when the boy himself made the offer in the VW. Without considering it or even questioning him, Saihara just ignored him and logged out. Saihara clearly had no intention of working beside him.

“i do kinda agree that he didnt really ask that many questions but kokichis answers really had proven to always be super vague or just a lie” 

Which vague answers are you talking about exactly? I wouldn’t know how to answer that myself because that’s not specific enough. Give me an example?

“the point is i really dont believe saihara is an arrogant person.”

I’m afraid that the screencaps I’ve shown in the original post aren’t the only proof I have to show that he’s an arrogant person. I wanted to mention them in a different post, but I’ll give you a few other brief examples.

He has insinuated that Ouma is stupid despite the fact that we’re talking about the same dude that has pretty much been doing more detective work than the actual detective did. Not to mention that Saihara’s the one that believed Ouma was the mastermind and screwed up the first case majorly.

After the 5th Closing Argument, Saihara claimed his detective’s intuition was flawless even though it was clearly just conjecture in the end. He had practically no proof to back up what he had laid out for them. He may have gotten Kaito to exit out of the exisal but only because he had to lie. That doesn’t prove that was what actually transpired. Only Kaito knows about what had happened between him and Ouma, and seeing how Kaito was following the script he was given, we wouldn’t know the extent of it.

This one really peeves me. Because he thinks he knows better, he thinks he gets to shut down someone else’s emotions because he thinks they’re lying when he couldn’t possibly have gotten the chance to know one thing about him. Whether you think someone is insincere or not, it’s not your place to disregard their feelings like that. 

There’s also the fact that Kirumi got unexpectedly personal and called out on the fact that Saihara doesn’t even listen to others in the 2nd trial. It was weird how she could make these accusations at all like she knows something...

And despite the fact that Tsumugi claimed it was Kaede’s twin as the possible suspect, Saihara would sooner disregard the piece of evidence because he trusted his intuition moreso than looking into possible facts. Same can be said in the first trial too, where he trusted his intuition to pin Kaede as the culprit despite the fact that she WASN’T...

I’ll just stop it here...

“i dont think its right to compare gundam and kokichi” 

Well, I don’t see how it’s wrong either, honestly... Considering how the game itself gave me a lot to work with to show how much these two said characters contrast with one another. I actually made something before that would showcase a lot of comparisons between Ouma and Gundham. So if you wish, you can look for yourself and see what I mean... (Link to Self-Sacrificing Duos post) And a friend of mine actually analyzed a scene between the two when they had a moment in TDP and the game even subtly hinted about them being similar! (Link to Gundham and Ouma TDP moment post)

It’s kinda hard not to compare when there are a number of things you can compare within this franchise, not just Gundham and Ouma. They are all by the same creator after all and he loves to re-utilize his own tropes.

“wow i should not have written all this in the tags its so long sorry i make it sound like i dont like kokichi when i really do. he’s a great character just really hard to get along with. i hope this made any sense lol”

It’s no problem. I just hope that what I’ve explained made sense ^^; I apologize if I come across as harsh or anything like that, but I couldn’t find myself expressing certain points any better than I did... 

Hopefully, this gives you at least a better understanding of where I’m coming from.

[gascon-en-exil]

I Liked Fates Before It Was Cool!: Conquest Part 2

Prologue

Opening Chapters

Conquest Part 1

Chapters 15-20, in which there is finally a goal, and it is stupid.

Chapter 15

a.k.a. the teaser for Revelation.

Don’t get me wrong, I like that Valla has some visible presence outside of its dedicated route, and the otherworldly visuals and shadowy enemies do a lot to sell the mystery of the place and make the player want to learn more about it. Also, this chapter isn’t just randomly dropped into the middle of Conquest’s plot, but rather a culmination of events that begins in Chapter 9 when Azura returns to Nohr. She then meets Garon, tries to exorcise Garon but only succeeds in giving him a really awkward public orgasm, and then turns to Plan B which is apparently to go dimension-hopping for a one-use plot device.

But yeah, that part is absurdly contrived and deserves all the scorn it gets in the fandom, relying as it does on two separate magical plot trinkets - the aforementioned crystal and the Hoshidan throne - and building unearned tension between Corrin and the Nohrian royals via a strange set of contrivances. Azura couldn’t have waited to use the crystal until they were all together...why, exactly? Because it can only be used once, and only at the Bottomless Canyon, and only if someone with special magic or dragon blood touches it, and then you can’t talk about it without vanishing...gah. It’s an epic pileup of lazy writing. FE10′s Blood Pacts have nothing on this moment.

At least the chapter is fun, being a big change of pace that reduces your party to three replicated units and gives you a choice of two objectives. And Gunter’s not dead, and (we assume) not evil on this route even though his situation is basically the same as it is in Revelation. That’s nice of him.

Chapter 16

What an original way of creating a timed chapter - and as a bonus I get the image of Xander and various other guys pinching the cheeks of random Nohrian soldiers! That’s just adorably weird.

What’s not so adorable but still weird is how we’re meant to believe that Shura can pass for a Nohrian until he tells everyone otherwise, because isn’t there supposed to be a noticeable racial difference between the two main regions of Fates’s setting? Maybe not apparent to the player (unless you’re intimately familiar with anime art styles, or so I’ve heard), but it’s logically supposed to be there, so...what’s up with that? Logical inconsistencies aside Shura is an interesting aspect of this chapter and an interesting character in general for how he straddles that regional divide and provides exposition both here and in Birthright that Hoshido’s not all it’s cracked up to be. In this route he reveals that Yukimura contracted him to kidnap Azura in retaliation for Garon kidnapping Corrin, adding a devious dimension to a character who is in other respects extremely underdeveloped. This is also the only route where Shura can potentially get his revenge against Mokushu, so his presence here feels timely...unless you opt to kill him and take his Boots, that is.

More on that next chapter though, because the sting of the previous’s one absurdity lingers in spite of Shura and Xander and some genuinely pleasant sibling banter (tempered by the allusions to the concubine wars and Azura’s rough treatment in Nohr that are mostly reserved for supports). No explanation is ever provided for why Garon decides to commence the invasion of Hoshido now, after devoting his forces’ time and energy to quashing a series of only tangentially-related rebellions. It feels too convenient coming as it does right after Azura explains her plan to Corrin, a means of saving Corrin from having to push for the invasion themselves. I really wish they’d done something to that effect. Corrin would shock Azura even further with their newfound ability to lie while also making a move covertly motivated by a desire to end the war as quickly as possible and so with as few lives lost on both sides. One less contrivance certainly wouldn’t have hurt, either.

Chapter 17

Everyone wants revenge against Kotaro, even NPCs. After slogging through a ninja-infested cave with spikes and a bunch of Dragon Veins that can throw you off if used at the wrong time I sympathize wholeheartedly.

What I have more trouble understanding is the moral position of the lead-up to this chapter. Corrin and co. are fine with accepting help from Kotaro until it’s revealed that he’s captured Kagero in an attempt to force the Hoshidans to surrender. The dialogue doesn’t make it sound as though they plan on killing her, but because Kotaro claims that Garon would approve of his strategy it’s suddenly horrible and deserving of immediate retribution. Corrin’s objection here runs contrary to their desire to end the war quickly by whatever means necessary including subterfuge, so aside from the knowledge gleaned across all routes that Kotaro is a self-centered opportunist who’s personally wronged both Shura and the Christmas ninjas it feels like a stretch that this is what leads to the Nohrians breaking off their strategically useful alliance with Mokushu. It’s a flimsy excuse for a frustrating chapter that doesn’t really come with a payoff later from Saizo, so I can’t say it’s one of my favorites from any angle.

Oh, and Azura apparently soloed a bunch of Hoshidans offscreen. That got a laugh out of me.

Chapter 18

Ship tease and moral dissonance for all! Well, sort of. The Ryoma/Xander stuff is funny (why does Ryoma retort that he’s more attractive? Hmm...) and Camilla gets in a quip in preparation for her final showdown with Hinoka, but all in all it’s a strange, tense moment. The fight against the renegade(?) Nohrians led by Zola provides the moral dissonance, and even though Leo provides a practical explanation for doing his usual thing and killing dark mages in cutscenes it is a bit strange to imagine that Garon wouldn’t notice all these allies and underlings of his mysteriously dying.

I find it interesting that the meeting between royals is something that occurs in Conquest but not in Birthright. As with Chapter 15 this is another example of this route doing substantially more to sell the basic premise of Revelation than its counterpart did, which makes more sense if the two of them were indeed written at about the same time after Birthright. It also provides some necessary development for Corrin’s relationship with the Hoshidan royals, something that can’t be taken for granted as it is with the Nohrians in Birthright as they didn’t grow up together. That’s all the more important to get out of the way now since they all confront Corrin one right after the other in the endgame without much time in between to really explore them as much as they ought to be. Takumi’s arc in Conquest is pretty good, sure, but the sisters are fairly static and Ryoma’s character is plagued with presentation issues on this route. I actually wish this scene could have gone on a bit longer and added a bit more to each of them, but this is what we’ve got.

Don’t really have anything to add about the chapter. It’s a recycled Birthright map that’s only interesting because you have to beat three bosses in a turn limit. Zola’s role here is minimal, as is Izana’s which is entirely a good thing.

Chapter 19

What I like about this chapter: It’s got a pretty autumnal palette not seen anywhere else in Fates that I can think of (exacerbated by the fact that this map is unique to Conquest, meaning you can never use it for skirmishes). The setup is also much stronger than the equivalent wolfskin chapter in Birthright. No Iago here - Kaden outright entraps Corrin’s army and plans to kill them all on the possibility that they might be poachers. Hoshido really benefits from having some viciousness like this of its own.

What I don’t like about the chapter: I don’t know if it’s a mistranslation or I’m just misunderstanding the game’s explanation for this chapter’s gimmick, but it clearly doesn’t work the way I first thought it did. The text blurb states that kitsune illusions (units with the green symbol on them) can neither attack nor be attacked by your units, and while it’s true that your units can’t target them they can and do attack you on the enemy phase. I don’t mind the idea of units with a single turn of player phase immunity, but it’s frustrating to feel misled into thinking it was something else entirely.

Anyway, Corrin kills all the kitsune and is sad about it, and then Azura waxes philosophic on how all routes carry sacrifice and moral greyness and it’s pretty obvious that she’s leaning on the fourth wall here. On the plus side when one considers all the named character deaths in Birthright and even the handful in Revelation it feels less like the game is specifically berating the player for choosing Conquest this time.

Chapter 20

So, uh, quick question: how are the few little huts in the desert seen here and in Birthright and the massive complex of intricately-crafted terraces and stairways that appear in the other two routes both representative of the Wind Tribe? Is Fuga loaded while his people live in squalor? 

He’s certainly a sadist, because this chapter earns its infamous reputation with its frustrating wind manipulation. I find that, not unlike FE4, this is one of several Fates chapters made easier if you’re fielding a bunch of units with holy dragon blood to use the Dragon Veins scattered throughout the map. Behold the power of kinky interspecies sex.

Similar to Azura’s musings in the previous chapter, Fuga provides Corrin with his knowledge of the Yato along with the confidence that they chose a morally righteous path after all.  As with Corrin’s pacifism something like this is near the top of the list of things not to do in a villain campaign, but the writing has long since stopped trying for that angle. It’s been repeatedly reinforced that Garon and his loyal minions are the real enemies of this campaign, and the Hoshidans are the innocent(?) victims who have to be sacrificed in order to expose Garon for what he is and end the war. Fuga sends Corrin off with his blessing to kill however many Hoshidans it takes to earn peace, including potentially all of his late BFF’s children.

...Yeah. Fuga really is kind of an ass when you think about him. 

Next time: Conquest Chapter 21 - Endgame

[feifheadcanons]

I loved your last Dungeons and Dragons HC so much omg!!! If I may ask, what would the member’s interactions be like (Azama must be such a difficult person to play with lol)

Oh thank you, I’m flattered!!

These are...5 of the biggest flirts you’ll ever meet in your life. Izana is boisterous in his compliments comparing people to moons and stars, Azama is crude and blunt, just calling out body parts and traits he likes, Subaki is suave with pickup lines and sincere compliments, while Yukimura is very matter of fact, pointing out little things he notices in people that he finds attractive, and Orochi...well, she’s just all over the place. She half does it to get under their skin but she means every compliment she gives out. They’ll all likely end up dating by the end of the trek.

Azama gets along well with everyone! It’s all a matter of if they reciprocate. Azama thinks that these are the most interesting people he’s ever met, and loves to tease them and see what makes them tick. The difference is that while Orochi, Yukimura, and Izana get annoyed with his pranks at times, they all share the same sadistic spirit, so they don’t mind too much. Subaki...minds a lot. Subaki is baffled by Azama’s strength though, as the monk is more than a match to put him through his paces with his lancework.

Orochi is almost as competitive as Subaki. She’ll challenge Yukimura and Izana to poetry contests and trivia games, she’ll challenge Azama and Subaki in lancefaire. She...never wins. Until they play hide and seek. Poor guys spend hours finding her but she just shapeshifts into random animals and blends in with the crowd. 

Izana is always throwing around poetry he’s writing and singing loud songs as they walk. He’d be a good bard if he wasn’t such an expert mage. This man is really flippant and cavalier for someone who’s literally destined to die. Orochi and Yukimura are really attached to him frankly.

Subaki is baffled how these five are supposed to be a match for him like Lord Ryoma said they’d be but OOF is he wrong. He feels spurred on to be better than them, as he’s worked every day in his life and these 4 could out-lazy a rock.

Yukimura has daily riddles just because he misses hanging out on the bridge and literally killing people who walk by just for getting his riddles wrong. He’s got like, a million more that he never got to try out! Orochi and Azama seem to really enjoy all of the riddles he spews out, even if Subaki gets REALLY annoyed with them at times. 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Idolish7 17 | Hinamatsuri 8 | Boueibu HK 8 | BnHA 46 | MSO 9 | Rokuhoudou 8 | Code:Realise 13

Idolish7 17 (FINAL)

The culture clash here is hilarious! It’s pretty obvious this unknown guy is Douglas, though.

I can’t believe they’re doing these songs! I’ve known about these songs for a while, since they made waves a few years back – I think Memories Melodies’s music video was animated by Studio Bones and Leopard Eyes by NAZ.

Come to think of it, they never really show idol shows from the fans’ perspective, so this girl’s shots (Aya’s?) are a new thing for the entire genre…

Huh? Wait…this is the real Aya! Oh my gosh!

Well, that’s the end of another show. See you around.

Hinamatsuri 8

Where is “home” for Hina, though?

Geesh, the continuity on this show…what they’re saying right now means the opening of the episode was in medias res, dangit. Stop being so confusing.

I don’t really care about Ikaruga, I care about the “Standing Sushi Bar” in the back more…sorry, Ikaruga.

A few episodes, Hina really was homeless…hmm, continuity’s back in action here.

“Hurray for Psychic Powers” – I was reminded of a book that once appeared in Kado. Unfortunately, that book’s name is Ningen Manzai with all kanji, so it’s not a very close reference if it’s intended to be one…

“Ma Monthly” – Well, wouldn’t you know it? Boueibu collabs mean something here! See, this magazine is a parody of Monthly Mu, which (for some arbitrary reason) decided to team up with Boueibu back in 2016. Hinamatsuri even parodies the magazine’s logo properly! Amazing!

More namahage gags. C’mon, they wouldn’t escape me. They’ve been appearing for a while now, those.

Last time an anime character had a master the same age…*thinks back* That would be Ore Monogatari, with Saijou! Man, that was a while ago. If you don’t count the “same age” bit though, you have OPM and BnHA, which are a lot more fresh.

Jojothan’s (sic)? Is that a Jojo reference, a Johnath…aww, it doesn’t seem to exist. Dangit.

Hitomi’s going to take the dog in, isn’t she?

Even Hina’s shirt says “byebye”…geez, this is kinda saddening already.

Now Hina’s shirt says “sayonara”…why did they poke a hose through her nose, anyway? It made me laugh, sure, but…it’s stupid anyway.

What does Hinamatsuri do without “Hina”, anyway?

Oh, so that’s the significance of that part (post-credits sequence, ep 1)! I didn’t like that part, so I wished to never see it again, but now that it has some significance…it can stay.

I don’t think I’ve seen that image of Nitta with the hand to his head, with the vases on the side before…it must be new.

Normally Hina’s in the seat next to Nitta, right? Oh dear. Also, Utako’s missing and you can see Nitta’s sister in the bar shot as well. The rock singers who wanted to go to the Budokan with Hina are in the back, too, although there may be some people I don’t recognise in the bar shot as well…

Jinsei wa Survival = Life is Survival, not Life is About Survival…

Boueibu HK 8

Summer episode! At least it doesn’t sound as bad a fanservice episode than episode 7 did…(for Astral’s sake)

Karurusu brought back En’s old “What did you say?!”, but now there’s a rakugo background! (small LOL)

I can’t believe Manza tried to push his glasses up in the bath (LOL). Is this what glasses-wearers have to go through?

These seem a little too specific…and to Wakura’s sadistic taste for that last one…to be anything Kyoutarou thought up on his own. (i.e. They probably actually happened.)

Huhhhhhh…I think we finally had an actual woman appear on this show…amazing! (The Osomatsus’ mother, she has a name but I forgot what her name is.) Must be Osomatsu-kun from the ‘60s or ‘80s though, because that sure as heck ain’t the “gets episode 1 pulled from Crunchyroll” Osomatsu-san. I watched the entire season one of that thing, remember?

That dot point looks like a shell for some reason. It’s just two circles put together though. My brain must be in a summer mood from the episode, eh?

I know there’s one jellyfish where you have to cure the sting by peeing on it…oh sorry. I’m falling into Mahou Shoujo Ore’s “crass jokes” trap…

Dougo…likes natto? Weird. Plain weird.

I almost thought they were going to go camping just to fulfil the gap left by YuruCamp, but I guess the audience for YuruCamp and Boueibu doesn’t really cross over. I’m such an anomaly in that case, huh? I still want to know Pinecone-chan’s VA, come to think of it…

Like, c’mon! I can’t even break down that joke (Rashio Taison), it’s too obvious from looking at his name in furigana!

So Rashio is like the snowman from season 2…and the volleyball guy from season 2…maybe Kurotori? I don’t remember his school circumstances anymore…

They used CGI on the plane…? If they did, I barely noticed it until I played the scene again.

Oh wait, that’s a Studio Comet plane…ahaha…(look at Studio Comet’s logo for the joke explanation)

*crashes head on wall* Martha Shirahone…*eyes blank*…Martha Shirahone…Martha’s a girl’s name!!! Does that mean Astral wins?! My pride and the Boueibu status quo have both been wrecked if Martha (sic) really is on the non-binary spectrum…and it’s not some weird Engrish typo…Poor boy though, he spent 4 years depriving himself of one of his favourite things to prevent himself from being teased. (Okay, this “Martha” spelling’s going to annoy me for a while, so I’m going to revert back to “Maasa”…)

Interestingly, Maasa seems to be using a standard vinyl umbrella and not a “student-council-worthy” one. Update: Nope, this one’s sanctioned by the British Royal Family.

Eh? What’s with this monster’s face? He doesn’t have one, does he? I know what the kanji on his face is, but…I think this might be a first. A monster without a face whatsoever.

Is it just me, or did they get CGI for those clouds as well…?

Wait, so even Karurusu is against the idea of fighting this monster? Mr Enthusiastic’s kinda selfish, eh?

Kyoutarou’s still wearing his school swimsuit. But this definitely reminds me of Dark Aurite with the lip coloration...

Wakura so obviously followed Ryoma’s voice instead. It’s pretty much what Astral termed a “nutshot” for MSO ep 8, only it’s…meant to be kinky (I’m not feeling it, y’know?). I’m just vaguely miffed right here that they could be trying to put a cheap joke in Boueibu.

Ooh, nagashi somen with its bamboo…thingy…looks cool. Oh, but Ibusuki…no wonder Ata likes this kind of noodles.

Karurusu’s flag says “summer” on it.

It’s a bit blurry, but the bus says “campground” as its destination.

I wonder if that “spirit of fear” thing was a joke? I’ll come back and find it later. Update: There’s no joke there in Japanese…the word for “spirit of fun” sounds like kyuuki and then “spirit of fear” is just dokidokishiteru (which is just a word for the heart pounding, suggesting nervousness in this case).

Hey, someone (Ryoma) noticed Taishi’s angry outbursts for once!

What, the monster has a mouth, so he does kind of have a face…? (I’m confused…what constitutes “face” with this guy anyway?)

Karurusu…he dab! (…Kind of.)

Full transformation sequence again…*sigh*

Noticeably, you can only see Ryoma nodding when the Rajio Taiso monster asks if you can do rajio taiso outside of summer. I’d assume this is because Ryoma’s the one with the grandpa who does it all year round, but it might just be a space constraint. You never know with these things.

There’s another pun I need to go back to – “I feel radio calis-cleansed”. That can’t have worked in Japanese…Update: Uh, there was actually one here. It seems to be a pun on taiso.

Aw, Rashio’s so happy. Even if I think the staff have reached a new low with the “petty” on the monsters this time around, just seeing that smile lights up my face too.

Why do I feel a Madoka moment coming on right here with Karurusu’s promise?

It’s a Kagerou Project-style time loop, but for August 31st! Yikes! This is going to get confusing…

Yeah, it’s better not to think about time loops, Kyoutarou. You’re right.

Is “firework” a verb? Or is that wasei-eigo? Or slang? Or both? More things to not think about there…methinks. Update: Dougo says “hanabi taikai shimashou!” (literally “let’s do a fireworks tournament!”), so it’s not wasei-eigo, nor is it a verb. It’s just an unconventional subber’s choice.

They censored a big sign in the preview! But Crunchyroll doesn’t have episode 9 yet because of the French Open! Dangit!

I love how the blue bars randomly go “La la la laaaaa!”…LOL. But it also says “they find party dice in the clubroom…” (because it’s bushitsu kara dete kita no wa party saikoro).

BnHA 46

“Those acts are the same as those of villains.” – Actually, that would be the acts of vigilantes…*thinks about the Vigilantes manga*

Because Kouta’s letter was in hiragana, I could understand most of it…eh, my skills are pretty shabby after all. I couldn’t even understand the last line much.

“like a pair of tight jeans” – LOL, Best Jeanist seems to love a good jeans pun, eh?

Come to think of it, Gran Torino doesn’t have a number to his hero status, right? He’s just an ol’ fart after all, even if he’s mighty skilled.

We haven’t seen Mt. Lady or Shinrin Kamui (“Forest Kamui” would probably be his English name, but it’s in katakana…and it sounds stupid, to boot) in a while, come to think of it.

I didn’t think Iida was going to go with them! Wow, what a twist!

I always thought having two Kirishimas in the same season was funny enough (Ryoma from Boueibu and Eijirou).

Kamino? Because the subbers spelt it with a C, that seems like it should be a reference for some reason…Update: Yep, it is!

What’s up with the roses around Todoroki? Are you trying to make the fangirls squeal like this is some shoujo manga? Yeah, right! (laughs in the background anyway)

Aizawa looks really different in a suit…hmm, I normally like men in suits but I’m kinda iffy on suit!Aizawa. *ponders for a second* I prefer his old style more, actually.

MSO 9

Noticeably, Michiru uses koitsu (“this guy”) to refer to Ore. It does tell you something about how Michiru views her enemies.

What’s up with Mohiro in a dress? Princess Peach parody?

Even Saki’s ahoge goes “Oh!”, LOL!

A heart shake for the yuri fans…and stupid glasses for my entertainment. (Thank goodness you’re still catering towards me, show…)

That joke about murdering Hyoue completely went over my head…I get what it was trying to do, but…not funny, man. Not funny.

Michiru uses the –ssu ending that Dougo and Yumoto use, too…

Oh…dear. I think we have more than enough of the word “Happy” with Happy Kiss…now this mascot, too???

I thought Hyoue’s surname was “Kuroda”? Or is that just my imagination? Update: It seems I made it up…

U-Uh, hey…so this was their real intention with those eyecatches, huh? Another “draw me like one of your French girls” memes is in order! Wait, but Ruka’s magical girl form isn’t doing the right pose…aww.

It seems Ruka isn’t into the Magical Girls (it’s implied she’s into Michiru instead), but Michiru’s into Ore…just as Astral guessed.

If that sentence didn’t make sense, it wasn’t meant to! It was just a bunch of long English words thrown together…although “jihad” certainly isn’t English. I wonder if any religious people will get angry at that word being used so casually, though? (I didn’t expect to laugh so hard at these guys. Konami’s my favourite character – of course he is, considering the karaoke episode - but I think I have an appreciation for these guys now.)

LOL, me and Astral like to complain about how thinking up new attack names takes an hour or so…so we totally know your feel, Michiru.

If you look at the scene where PRISMA are shown to attack, it says bokasuka, which apparently means “lots of hits and punches in succession”. It’s basically like subbing it “fistfight!”, “kapow!” or something.

Happy-chan doesn’t even have a body in tiny form!!! What??? (LOL)

Can we please stop with the montages?! A show is better when people bother to animate stuff, alright?!

Happy-chan went “doukashira?” (-kashira is a female sentence ending) which made me laugh because it’s a contrast to that head of his.

Happy-chan doesn’t even have hands…I’m not sure how he’s meant to live like that, y’know?

That catchphrase has less impact the second time around, it seems.

Hmm…so it was actually foreshadowing for Michiru’s love, huh? I thought it was pandering to tsundere stereotypes…

As much as I laughed at the ol’ kick to the face, are Happy and Kokoro really brothers? Or is this just filler after all?

Oh, this new ED is “We’re Not Magical Girls” by the Mahou Shoujo unit (Saki/Sakuyo)!

You can spot a tiny magical girl figurine with pigtails on Yamo’s desk if you watch at the right time.

PRISMA’s song is called “Love/Attack!”

They actually got a next episode preview narrated by demons?! (LOL) This is a new level of weirdness, and I’m actually glad to have heard it with my own ears (because I’m trembling with laughter right now because of it). But…they talk at the end! They can speak?! Whatttttttt?!

Rokuhoudou 8

Gure’s got stud earrings. Don’t think I’ve noticed them before…

It appears to be a florentine and not a “florentin” like the subs say. It is just missing an “e” though…

Happy, happy! I think Karurusu got me into the spirit of being happy all the time…or at least happier than I used to be, anyway.

Seriously, this middle school kid acts like a Boueibu monster, it’s hard not to make a comparison.

Gure’s so goofy, I’m laughing as much as I normally do for Boueibu or MSO…Rokuhoudou isn’t normally like this, that’s all.

“good way to sober up” – It sure doesn’t seem that way for Tsubaki, though…poor soul.

That style with the lips…it’s so un-Rokuhoudou, and yet it still works! I can’t think of what it reminds me of, though, because it seems to remind me of another anime or manga and I can’t put my finger on it. Update: Maybe MSO? That’s the closest thing I can think of that matches right now.

Hey, come to think of it, doesn’t this guy look like Shishigami from Inuyashiki? Their outlook on life is mostly the same, too! (from what little I know about Shishigami in passing)

Uh…Gure? Didn’t anyone teach You about stranger danger?!

The delinquents…are in the duck boating club?! Well, that was a surprise…

This pretty much became my favourite episode, even though Tokitaka’s still my fave Rokuhoudou boy, LOL.

Code:Realise 13

Since I don’t know whether to denote this as the final episode or not, I won’t note it as anything…

Isn’t Cardia Lupin’s girl? Hands off, Impey!

The newspaper Herlock’s holding has an ad for animators…wuh? In the Code:Realise Victorian era? No way, Jose!

[xxreadersxx]

Ah! I just saw your animes + games list! Can I have some random dating headcanons of Ryoma, Xander & Jakob from FE:F? I'm just really happy that I found another blog that play FE:F and doesn't mind writing it!

{Ahhhh I loove love LOVE FE: Fates, I spent soo many hours on that game! I played every path (Revelation was my favorite, followed by Conquest, then Birthright) haha. Playing FE: Fates and Awakening, I spent a ton of time just matching the characters up! I only matched my Corrin to Ryoma in Birthright, and the other two paths were with Xander my bae haha I really liked the characters in Fates, so I wanted to maximize their kids’ stats! I completed every relationship to S at least once to read the story! Anywayss, I hope you request again!! Enjoy~♡}

Xander*Likes to sneak up on his s/o, just to scare them a bit, and to recieve play slaps and giggles*is very sweet (though his face says otherwise) and often surprises s/o with presents from far off places, or back hugs and little smooches*he’s not averse to being stern, though, and will do anything to protect his family and country*not easily swayed into changing his mind about certain things (how to rule, how to love) but if it’s important to his s/o then he’ll try to see it from their POV*cuddles are infrequent, but oh so nice, he likes to hold his s/o and have as much body contact as possible (he is the big spoon, and he likes to wrap his limbs around theirs~)*loves to recieve massages and little kisses here and there (when he sees s/o as they pass each other, he loves when they give him a peck to remind him he’s loved) plus he thinks it’s adorable*he is a dominant lover, but doesn’t mind sharing the power sometimes (boy loves when his s/o comes onto him really strongly sometimes, he melts)

Ryoma*honesty and kindness are the most important things to his relationships*he really likes to cuddle (anywhere private) under the shade of a tree, in the bedroom, on the balconies, doesn’t matter*and boy is good at it, too! Soft and gentle with just the right amount of firmness…yaaaas*he has a stern side, but that isn’t something his s/o sees often, unless they break a rule or something*family comes first for him, and that’s that.*he often visits the town to see it’s progress, and takes his s/o with him (they get treated well while they’re out, and often over pay for things)*his s/o will never feel without, because he is constantly checking up on them, either by himself, or by one of his servants (s/o gets visited by Saizo a lot…too much…)*he is more of a give-and-take lover, so he is neither dominate nor submissive

Jakob*will stay by they his s/o side through fire if he has to (boy can get a bit annoying, but he just wants to make sure they’re safe!)*he often bakes them sweets, or savory foods, just to watch them get excited by it, he likes to please*free days are spent travelling to new parts of the country, and watching the sunsets, or just lazying around the house*although he likes to please, he likes to recieve when it comes to love, so his favorite thing is being hugged and being given kisses *he is a dominant lover, sometimes bordering sadist, and will make his s/o beg for his affections (he just wants to solidify the fact that he’s needed as much as he needs them) *he only likes to teach his s/o things, but he can be very strict do not make him mad geez

[chessanator]

First thoughts on NDRV3

Actually, first off, has everyone seen the way of changing the tutorials to talk about PC controls rather than Xbox ones? It’s supposed to give you the option as you start up, but it isn’t for a lot of people, including me. You have to find the local folder (you can also do this by right-clicking on the game in Steam and going to properties) and then activate V3launcher.exe. Then you get the options.

Okay, back to first thoughts:

Seriously, fuck the Monokubs. No-one fucking needs any Monokubs.

They’ve loaded up on the Chuuni, haven’t they? Not that that’s a bad thing, but...

Still trying to work out if this’ll be in the same universe as Hope’s Peak. I thought it wouldn’t, but unless the opening cinematic was just them scratching their own back it might be. On the one hand it feels weird by this point to have anyone other than Junko as the bad guy, but on the other hand I really don’t want any more canon in the Hope’s Peak setting

So, obvious twist is obvious; less obvious twist is also obvious; I think I trust Spike Chunsoft to have more on top of that.

Rather jarring start? Like I was hoping for a dip in the interest curve after the prologue, but then we get that despair pipe nonsense.

Very heavy on the Kaede/Tenko during the introductions.

More VLR references in the achievements! What more can you ask for?

My current opinions on the characters, from least favourite to most, along with wildly over-confident predictions about what will happen to them.

16 - Tsumugi Shirogane: She’s committed the twin evils of a) having the same talent as a character from my fic and b) having 100% uselessness as the core of her being. I guess those add together to be a plus? (Prediction: Murderer. I don’t think they can save her as a character if they don’t.)

15 - Gonta Gokuhara: About the only thing he’s got going for him is that he’s a different big-guy stereotype from before. (Prediction: Murderer. They never have the big guy survive, but I think they’ll be tempted to switch it up this time.)

14 - Tenko Chabashira: They’ve done the whole “hates guys” thing before, and Mahiru was a lot more nuanced with it. (Prediction: Victim. Too strong to make an interesting murderer, too strong to keep around for long.)

13 - K1-BO: He hasn’t really accomplished anything other than “being a robot” and “yelling at Kokichi” yet. Plus, he’s really stepping on Miu’s territory just by his very existence. (Prediction: Vicitm. When has Danganronpa ever gone well for robots?)

12 - Miu Iruma: Coming into this, I was absolutely certain Miu would be my favourite. I was wrong. If you’re gonna be aggressive, stick to your guns rather than flip-flopping over to channel Mikan Tsumiki every five seconds. (Prediction: Survivor. Mostly I just selfishly want her to have the chance to recover and rise to my expectations.)

11 - Angie Yonaga: Interesting concept. I suppose I’m not really feeling the interaction of that concept with other characters yet, which is leaving her a bit 1-D. (Prediction: Vicitm. I best she’ll be used as a red herring in one trial due to doing something completely suspicious but not actually the murder, and she’ll be killed in the next one.)

10 - Shuichi Saihara: Bit bland, at the moment? I’m guessing we’ll be seeing a lot of him, so he’ll have a chance to develop, but he’s probably the weakest of the deuteragonists from each of the games. (Prediction: Survivor. If someone forced me to declare who I’d guess for the mastermind, I’d pick Shuichi, but it’s far too early to tell so I’ll guess that he survives)

9 - Kokichi Oma: He’s maybe a bit obvious in how evil he is, but he’s fun to have around. (Prediction: Victim. It would be too obvious if he killed someone, and I think that he’ll be attracting a lot of hate his way sooner rather than later.)

8 - Maki Harukawa: Interesting that they’re trying someone who doesn’t like their own talent. I won’t focus on her for free time, but if she lasts long enough I gladly look forward to prying into that backstory. (Prediction: Survivor. I think she’s someone who’ll be sympathetic enough to reach the end, without having the sort of hooks that could drag her into the plot of one of the murders)

7 - Ryoma Hoshi: Interesting character, but maybe a bit to ridiculous to move into the big leagues of character ranking. (Prediction: Victim. He’s killed before, which makes him someone the game’s gonna want to get out the way quickly.)

6 - Kaede Akamatsu: An interesting new protagonist who’s cleanly distinguished herself from Makoto and Hinata right from the start. I vaguely noticed some more teasing/sadistic tendencies from her at first; obviously she’s suppressing them now because of the situation they’re in, but it’ll add something if/when they come back. (I swear I heard something before I blacklisted NDRV3 spoilers that they’d mix it up on this one, but I don’t think I believe it. Prediction: Survivor)

5 - Korekiyu Shinguji: While he’s channelling all the crazier parts of Komaeda, I’m enough of a Komaeda fanboy to actually appreciate it. Plus, the way that his talent is always present in the atmosphere and actually being used by him is very welcome. (Prediction: Survivor. There’s always someone who’s antagonistic at the start but then is forced to see the error of their ways and escapes as a different person. Kokichi, or perhaps Ryoma, more fit the mold set by Byakuya and Fuyuhiko, but a slight change gives the trope some spark.)

4 - Kaito Momota: He’s just a cool guy. What else can I say? (Prediction: Murderer. Okay, so that prediction completely contradicts everything I said before, but... I’ll enjoy that case when it happens?) 

3 - Himiko Yumeno: She hasn’t had the chance to show it yet, but definitely best girl. (Prediction: Murderer. They’ve never had the short cute girl as the killer. Spike’s got to have noticed that as much as I have.)

2 - Kirumi Tojo: Competent from the get-go. Sure, she appears to have no goals or direction yet, but unless they kill her off in the first round she’s got room for some great character development all while still being a badass. I’m pretty much reminded of Sachi from Grisaia, though I expect they’ll take Kirumi in a different direction. (Prediction: Murderer. It’s an obvious way to take her, but I think there’s enough depth available to not make it cliche.)

1 - Rantaro Amami: All of the best parts of Nagito Komaeda, none of the worst (Prediction: Survivor. They need to keep him around at least long enough to reveal his secrets, and I think they’ll be important enough to keep him to the endgame.)

These’ll have to change, of course, as I find out new stuff and the characters develop.

Tomorrow I’ll do the first few Free Time’s. I’m thinking Rantaro, Kirumi and Himiko, maybe Maki if there’s a fourth one or if I don’t have the gifts for my first choices.