#But something goes wrong for Akane as the time is set back...

[brujc]

(Part 2)

[kaeyaswifefromsnezhnaya]

I actually wrote this "Nene does" on the wave of many people writing like "she does nothing, but no, she does at least something", but to tell the truth I don't think so. She already does a lot of things. It's not like she suddenly started doing something now, in principle, how is this different from all the previous chapters?

What should Nene do anyway. Who is she, the president? Her maximum abilities are spreading rumors and removing seals, she is a kind of regular schoolgirl among evil spirits and exorcists.

And at the same time she does those things that are important simply for perceiving her emotionally, because Aoi can easily be scolded for being unnatural and glaring in the background, and I'm talking about Aoi now, because she is the only girl from the permanent cast, the rest of the evil spirits are from their own arcs, and Sakura is like an antagonist or something like that. Compared to some characters from all sorts of rom-coms, Nene does enough to be perceived and the plot goes, she feels, thinks and fights to the extent that she can on her own terms, the best is the enemy of the good. There is no such thing as "I probably got it all wrong, but I won't ask and will think that he doesn't love me", she directly discusses the relationship with Hanako, she worries that Aoi is not open with her, she worries about Kou's feelings, and if we talk about the fact that she does not always understand someone correctly, then lol, the Aoikane line, the Yugi line, the Minamoto line-

She thinks about the plot, in each new arc she is like "damn, what do I do", she is afraid to make hasty decisions, she quickly delves into the drama of each mystery, and even if it is because she watches their flashbacks directly, well, damn, at least she has a culture of reading in that case. She doesn't sit idly by, yes, she is accused of "Hanako, help me", but why not call for help when she is scared? When she has already tried to cope on her own and failed. First she jumps over the Yako dolls, then she takes on teaching Mitsuba and tries to get out of the boundary herself, she and Akane together figured out how to catch Mirai, she took Shijima hostage, she jumped out of kannagi's palanquin, she escaped from the train with Hanako and tried to reason with him, she set conditions for Tsukasa, she escaped from the Red House twice and reached the boundary of the clock keepers and I just remembered this. Can you really say that she does nothing and goes with the flow? It is Mitsuba and Aoi who goes with the flow. Nene screams, runs away, fights and begs and this is like, well, activity, action. But apparently "not cool enough", although you want a realistic character or an idealized image of a "cool sigma person without flaws"? However, I know the answer.

Where does "she is useless" come from? I will not perceive it simply out of spite, because these are always just characters who irritate everyone, breathing.

What should she do beyond her capabilities? There are many things beyond her powers and competence, and the plot after the fireworks at Minamoto seems to me to be biased for the sake of classes, everyone is good there.

She is not the only one who decided that it is necessary to change the world, she is easy to convince of something, in fact, how many times this is proven, Kou at the beginning persuaded her to continue being friends with Hanako, Sakura pushed through a body horror with Sumire, well, if it is reasonable enough, she will listen. Of course now she doesn't want to leave everything as it is, all her friends, the whole main cast is dead, how can she go to school, where Tsudemon might not have been driven back yet and he can attack her and she just disappear there? How can you not be objective now, this world has never proven to me that it is any better, it was such a circus, they changed the basis of the world structure and made everyone alive and supposedly happy, fanservice-cheesy happy, and then the basis of the structure tilted and everything went to one place, so how is that better, lol. Mitsuba literally shit everything, why did he go to school at night? If they hadn't fallen into Tsudemon's hands, then we could talk about what would have happened if the cast had decided to forget the old world and live happily, but for some reason Mitsuba, why does no one condemn him, this is extremely unfounded plot move, and what is left for Nene now? This world is shit. There was no need to start this arc at all, then everything would have been deeper.

"everything was fine in the world, there were mysteries-protectors, until they were broken and chaos from dying people was created, I'll change it to a world where there are no mysteries-protectors, everything is held together by some snot from Minamoto-Akane and at any moment a mini chaos from dying people can happen, but this is better. I won't change it back" - that's what probably foolish Kako said

Anyway, Nene. Defending her like that is like arguing that Mabel from Gravity Falls isn't a slut because she likes boys, or that Kokoro from Darling in the Franxx isn't a slut because she was the first to revive humanity, or that Lizzie from Black Butler isn't a useless, biasee idiot because her duty forces her to be a submissive bride on the side of the true heir, whether she wants to or not- well, which I just quickly remembered. It makes no sense to argue that it turns out that we need to perceive young girl characters as human characters, and not blame them for all the problems of the plot and humanity. This is the forgotten disappointment that caught up with me again when I started liking Nene and engaging with her, and accordingly, looking for content with her. This is not a relic of the past, it is an unchanging reality. How much hate she gets, it turns out, simply for existing. She is either called a useless pickme fool or more gently told that well, she is silly and often can do nothing. Although this is not true. It is just her type of heroine: Amorous, clumsy, seemingly frivolous, comically screaming and fighting. But this is just her personality, and you should be more tolerant of others, but what can I say.

Tho Nene really is a pickme at heart, but in a friendly way - she wants attention from guys at any cost and is ready to grovel before them, but she does not hate other girls simply because, out of envy and fear. It would be worth learning from her. Many people end up reaching out to her because she does not hate them, she's kind person, and it turns out that this is just a character trait, and not a strong vice. Nene would not hate you, while you harbor anger at her for being cute anime girl.

Nene is fucking awesomely written and I won't apologize ✋🏻

[justayamatoprotagauaccount]

And I’ve returned to the Yamato Protag AU…somehow.

Yamato pauses slightly as he takes in the room, at the back of which, looked like their school’s entrance. It looked almost regal with the 4 supporting pillars covered in candles(?) and a new coat of paint. Yamato took one moment to realize how long this recreation might have taken before his classmates pulled him back to reality.

All 12 of them were there, alive, looking at him. They were glancing at him and Tsurugi. Then the introduction takes place, people comment on them arriving, making 14 students in total.

Tsurugi takes a pause before Yamato encourages them to actually talk to his classmates, he already likes them. Unfortunately the cop shuts him down, as he didn’t know anyone… Yamato silently hopes that Kinjo wasn’t refusing to at least talk to them.

Yamato pauses, so… Kinjo was definitely the person he had met at hopes peak, so it was likely everyone was still the same! Whatever they are planning they … he loses his train of thought as the two of them are approached by a cute girl.

Akane Taira, who introduces herself as the Ultimate Maid. Tsurugi comments he had heard of the woman, someone so famous in her industry only the richest men alive could afford to hire her. Yamato acts shocked even if he already knew the information, commenting that he almost mistook her for a worker at a maid cafe, to which Akane is displeased. Those part time otakus shouldn’t be compared to her-

Tsurugi makes Yamato apologize before Kinjo introduces himself.

Yep, she had the same reaction to when Mikako asked her that.

Akane pauses, looking the inventor up and down before asking something… ‘What’s your name?’

Yamato is caught off guard, of course he had into reintroduce himself. He does, with as much flair as he can muster after the stuttering of moments before. The two others laugh it off before Akane explains the controls of the game and you get to meet the other students as the player.

Haruhiko goes as normally as it can, with Yamato asking a question about his recent flight before they finish.

Ayame and Tsurugi have a slight serious on serious tension before Yamato asks about what got her into her talent, to which she explains that she can just focus on the sport instead of the opponent and gets her to flush.

Mitch goes normally.

Tsurugi actually recognizes our wonderful Kakeru while Yamato pretends(rather horribly might I add) to be afraid of him, revealing Kakeru’s rather softer side.

Tsurugi is taken a back by a 12 year olds nature before Yamato gets Kanata to talk more, causally; however the girl still asks for the two of them to come to her if they need any medical assistance, as she has seen a lot and knows how to help.

Kizuna gets too close for comfort to the both of them, yet Yamato still attempts to be civil even with Tsurugi’s RADIANT DISTAIN.

Tsurugi makes a pause- asking Yamato about something, likely a quick investigation of the room, before they continue the introductions. Kinjo also makes another comment about his father but shrugs it off as Yamato says that the two of them are at ‘Hopes Peak’, he doubts anything bad would’ve happened to Tsurugi’s dad. Kinjo questions that line of thought before they ACTUALLY continue this time.

Yamato certainly hopes Tsurugi’s dad was okay, or at least better than… he felt awkward in Tsurugi’s place when Mikako kept taking the lead. It was a strange first day at school, even if the two of them were just as chatty as the other.

Yamato asks about Teruya bizarre um.. things he’s sold(???), to which Tsurugi asks for examples, our Merchant gives them plenty. He also still attempts to sell them the uniforms of friendship, unfortunately he forgot them in the rush to get here and bought the wrong set… they we’re going to decline regardless so…Oh well!

Rei is as too the point as Tsurugi and.. Well it’s Rei.

Tsurugi takes the lead with Kiyoka’s introduction, causing her to comment about how much of a up tight Po po guy Tsurugi looks like… Yamato joke’s that she isn’t wrong.

Kinji talks to Yamato and Tsurugi in a rather formal introduction, before asking them if they attend church and though they deny(Yamato only going on holidays if he has time, and Tsurugi not going at all), Yamato brings up that he thinks Kinji would have a good conversation with his sister, seeing as they were both interested in religion and the supernatural to a degree. Tsurugi asks if this is the same sister that came with him to Hopes Peak, Yamato doesn’t deny that fact.

Satsuki on the other hand sneaks up behind the cop as they finish their conversation and scares them, Tsurugi asks her never to do that again before they go silent. The clown asks them to introduce themselves as the two boys almost start at the same time, Tsurugi out of basic respect and Yamato as his brain went into auto pilot. Satsuki pretends to know Yamato for a second before admitting she was just pretending, and making fun of Yamato for a moment.

Tsurugi drags him away, commenting on how unpredictable the entire thing even was… as in his classmates. Yamato shrugs it off, noting how everyone seemed really nice, they seemed welcoming, even if some were rough around the edges. Tsurugi has no choice to agree but he notes how there seems to be people missing.

Tsurugi says that he checked the form, there were 16 students in total for this class, yet there were 14 of them. One had to be their Lucky Student but the other… he knows he knew it yesterday but now that Talent was a blur. Yamato resolves to just wait for them to get there, as they-

Another student comes though the door, and they realize why everyone knew they had arrived.

Behind the loudest, creaky, door know to man, was a familiar face. They looked almost bewildered with the combed orange hair, something Yamato almost never saw from them, and the stuttering brown eyes.

Tsurugi sighs, that made 15 to him.

The boy introduces himself awkwardly to the class as they crowd around him(at least the more extroverted ones). When the dust settles Tsurugi and Yamato approach him, asking for his talent…

He introduces himself as Yuki Meada, this year’s Ultimate Lucky Student.

[hopes-peak-postal-company]

Hey Mod Akane? Can we get the antag trio with a tall and pretty s/o, but she's so pure and innocent? Like her mentality could easily be compared to that of a 6 year old. (I've asked this to sixth different blogs now)

Here you go I may have gone a bit off topic in parts though, so I’m sorry if I have.

The anatomist trio with a tall and pretty s/o that is also too pure and innocent:

Byakuya Togami:

* If it turns out your taller than him Byakuya wouldn’t like this, especially if you wear high heels a lot

* He ends up investing in some shoes with a taller heel, so he can be at least an inch taller than you

* It may sound shallow, but he does care to some extent if your beautiful and luckily you are extremely pretty

*The only reason he would prefer a pretty s/o like you is to impress his family and if he’s going to take over the Byakuya enterprise he needs a beautiful s/o by his side to boost his image

* Now your innocent and pure nature is a bit of an annoyance to him because he constantly has to answer questions you should already know the answer too, but you don’t because of how innocent you are

* Now because your childlike nature you are constantly dragging Byakuya to childish things he missed out on as a child because of his unconventional childhood

* You may think he finds this annoying and he does, but deep down he enjoys it because he’s not used to doing things like this since he was never able to

* And as the relationship goes on you will notice that he protests much less when you drag him somewhere fun

* If you ever asked him a dirty question because you don’t know what it means he goes red with embarrassment

* He doesn’t know how to answer that and tells you not to say such crude things

* Even if you don’t know what it means

* When people try to take advantage of your innocent nature since you don’t understand when they are taking advantage of you

* Byakuya tells them that peasants like them should do it themselves and they shouldn’t bother people who are better than them, especially the future wife of the future leader of the Byakuya enterprise

* You may not be Byakuya’s ideal s/o, but he treats you with the upmost respect and care imaginable

* Even if he does come across as rude and hurtful at times he does love you a lot.

Kokichi Ouma:

* Now you being taller than him isn’t something he will be bothered by as much as Byakuya would be since he is used to being smaller than most people

* Will use your height to his advantage though. Whenever there’s something he can’t reach he will call you no matter how far you are just to waste your time, and slightly so he has an excuse to talk to you

* Will also jump on your back at any given moment, so he can be taller than everyone else and get carried around to places he wants to go to

* Now if your pretty he will give you compliments, but at the wrong times to make you flustered

* For example, if your at an important event he will whisper a compliment about how pretty you look tonight and then walk away leaving you flustered in front of whoever you are talking too

* He really loves your childish mentality will constantly play childish games with you, since he enjoys playing them as well

* Will also happily go with you to any childish venture you have install

* Kokichi will constantly make dirty jokes to you and if you ask him what he means he will just pat your head and tell you that you don’t need to know

* Making you frustrated since she won’t tell you and this just amuses Kokichi even more, especially if you start pouting

* If anyone tries to take advantage of your innocent nature he is dragging you away from them and setting up a prank for them later

* Just, so they get the message not to mess with you again

* Only he is allowed to do that

* Anyway the two of you are a perfect match and very a like, although Kokichi is a lot less innocent than you are, so don’t always listen to what he says.

Nagito Komaeda:

* Now if your taller than him he would not care he wouldn’t even pay any mind to it

* He wouldn’t feel insecure at all and if your taller than him by a large amount he will let you lean on his head or shoulder whenever you want too

* He will constantly compliment how pretty you are he doesn’t waste no second to hype you up, even if you weren’t conventionally attractive he would still do this

* Now with your childish nature he will just go with the flow with whatever you want to do and let you drag him anywhere you want to go, he will do all this with a smile excited to do something you love

* He likes your innocent nature since it reminds him that there is still hope left in this world

* So whenever you ask him a dirty question wanting to know what it means he panics and tells you it’s nothing for you to worry about and it’s better if you don’t know and forget about it

* If someone ever takes advantage of your nature he tells you to please not listen to them and gently drags you away from them. Has he is doing this he will look back at the perpetrator and give them a menacing stare, which can be quite intimidating to a stranger

* Overall, he really loves you no matter how you act and he really adores these personality traits that you have and wouldn’t change them for the world.

[alex-just-vibing]

Fuck you I'm gonna make sdr2 survivor incorrect quotes and none of you can stop me (spoiler warning for who survives)

Hajime: Don’t stay up all night, Akane. Last time you got this sleep-deprived, you tried to eat your own shirt.

Akane: When you work at lush and a customer comes in and bites the soap because they think it’s cheese... this happens way more frequently than you think. Kazuichi: If you stopped literally presenting soap as deli food this wouldn't happen. Akane: Who goes into a bath store and thinks something covered in glitter is cheese? Hajime: Who goes to the store and just takes a bite from the cheese?

Hajime: I just want someone to take me out. Kazuichi: On a date? Sonia: With a sniper gun? Fuyuhiko: Both if you're not a coward.

Fuyuhiko, holding a rock: Kazuichi just gave this to me and said "I feel like you deserve the moon but all I can give you is a rock". Hajime: If you don't marry them, I will.

Hajime: What do you do when someone offers you drugs? Kazuichi: Take them! Akane: Punch them in the neck! Sonia: Say thank you! Fuyuhiko: Offer them more drugs to assert dominance! Hajime: … Hajime: No.

Hajime: I’m telling you, my team is competent. Sonia, rushing in: Hajime! Kazuichi tried to make pasta in the coffee pot and now it's broken!

Akane: As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything, I feel confident in my ability to continue not knowing what is going on.

Akane: If you spell skeletons backwards, it still spells skeletons. Hajime, deadpan: Wow, I can't wait for Halloween to see some snoteleks.

Kazuichi: If I run and leap at Hajime, he will most certainly catch me in his arms. Kazuichi, running towards Hajime: Coming in! Hajime: No! I’m holding coffee! Hajime: *Drops coffee and catches Kazuichi*

Fuyuhiko, at the slightest provocation: I came into this earth screaming and covered in someone else's blood and and I'm not afraid to leave the same way.

Akane: If you put a milkshake in one yard and crack open a cold one in another yard, which yard would the boys go to? Kazuichi: Schrödinger's boys. Hajime: FUCK! Sonia: What about cracking open a cold milkshake? Fuyuhiko: As we all know, the milkshake brings the boys to the yard. The presence of the boys is a prerequisite for the cracking open of a cold one, but cold ones do not have any inherent boy-attracting abilities. Milkshakes, however, do. Fuyuhiko: All else being equal, the boys would proceed to the milkshake yard. While it is possible to announce the presence of cold ones in the hope of attracting some boys, the pull of the milkshake is much more powerful by comparison. Akane: ... Kazuichi: ... Hajime: ... Sonia: ... Fuyuhiko: Mind you, all of this nonsense hinges on whether or not the boys are back in town.

Kazuichi: BWWAAAAAAAAAA! Oh, you hear that? That's the wrong opinion alarm. Fuyuhiko: That is not something you actually have installed. Kazuichi: Sorry, say again? I couldn't hear you over my alarm that YOU SET OFF with your WRONG-ASS OPINION

Hajime: Two brooooos! Kazuichi: Chillin' in a hot tub! Hajime: Five feet apart 'cause we're not gay! Kazuichi: Hajime: Kazuichi: *tearing up* Hajime: Babe, c'mon... Kazuichi: AND HERE YOU REALLY HAD ME THINKING WE HAD SOMETHING. Hajime: Babe...

Kazuichi, Entering Fuyuhiko's room: Akane did it again. Fuyuhiko: Peace disturbance? Kazuichi: What no- Fuyuhiko: Arson..? Kazuichi: NO, JESUS CHRIST, HOW MANY- Fuyuhiko: uh....Attempted murder? Kazuichi: NO, SHE ATE ALL THE FOOD IN THE FRIDGE, BUT WHAT THE FU-

Kazuichi: Hey random, what are your favorite flowers? Hajime: Peonies, why? Kazuichi: Hajime: Were you going to get me flowers? Kazuichi: Hajime: Kazuichi: ᶦᵗ’ˢ ᵃ ᵖᵒˢˢᶦᵇᶦˡᶦᵗʸ

Hajime: Bottling up negative emotions is bad for your health, so you shouldn't do it. Fuyuhiko: I know, that's why I bottle up all my emotions, both positive and negative, so it cancels out. Hajime: Th-that's not how that works-

Akane, setting down a card: Ace of spades. Fuyuhiko, pulling out an Uno card: +4. Hajime, pulling out a Pokémon card: Jolteon, I choose you! Kazuichi, trembling: What are we playing?!

Akane: Would you like something to drink? *She opens the fridge* We have water, milk, juice, spiders, Dr. Pepper- Kazuichi: Spiders? Akane: Spiders it is then. Kazuichi: No, that wasn’t- *But she were already pouring them a brimming glass of spiders…*

Hajime: I swear to god I'm the only one here with a braincell. Sonia, Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko, and Akane: ALL HAIL the keeper of the sacred braincell!

Akane, knocking on the door: Kazuichi, open up! Kazuichi: It all started when I was a kid. Akane: That’s not what I- Fuyuhiko: Let him finish!

Sonia: Fuyuhiko doesn’t look very happy. Hajime: That's his happy. He's just a bitch.

Hajime: BEHOLD, the field in which I grow my fucks! Lay thine eyes upon it, and thou shalt see that it is barren!

Akane: How is the most beautiful person in the world? Sonia: *blushing* I— Hajime, butting into the conversation: Kaz is perfect, thanks for asking.

Fuyuhiko, grinning: I have a knife! Sonia: Put it down, Fuyuhiko. Fuyuhiko: Make me! *sprints away*

Kazuichi: Are you an F5 key? Because that ass is refreashing. Hajime: Are you a software update? because not right now.

Kazuichi: It's pretty cold outside.. wanna hold hands? We should stay close. Hajime, blushing: Okay. Fuyuhiko: It's fucking summer.

Akane: *sees Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko together* Akane: They're cute. I would put them on a boat. Hajime: You mean... you ship them?

Hajime: *speaking Spanish* Kazuichi: I know, I know. Fuyuhiko: You speak Spanish? Kazuichi: No. I just know the phrase, 'this is all your fault' in every language Hajime speaks.

Kazuichi: Look, I know you think my judgement's clouded because I like Hajime a little bit. Fuyuhiko, holding Kazuichi's notepad: You doodled your wedding invitation. Kazuichi: No, that's our joint tombstone. Fuyuhiko: My mistake.

Kazuichi: The last time I went to an urgent care clinic, I checked off 'excessive crying' on the symptom list, and then the nurse got really confused and said that was meant for babies.

Fuyuhiko: Dandelions symbolize everything I want to be in life. Kazuichi: Fluffy and dead with a gust of wind? Fuyuhiko: Unapologetic. Hard to kill. Feral, filled with sunlight, bright, beautiful in a way that the conventional and controlling hate but cannot ever fully destroy. Stubborn. Happy. Bastardous. Friends with bees. Highly disapproving of lawns. Full of wishes that will be carried far after I die. Hajime: Edible.

Hajime: Yo! I heard you like reptiles, got any fun facts? Kazuichi: If a crocodile eats your dad, they become your new dad.

Hajime: Are you the big spoon or the little spoon? Fuyuhiko: I'm a knife. Kazuichi, from across the room: He's the little spoon.

Kazuichi: The greatest trick the devil ever played was getting me banned from an all you can eat pizza buffet. Fuyuhiko: Why’d you get banned? Kazuichi: Touched the rat. Fuyuhiko: … What rat? Kazuichi: Chunky Cheese.

Kazuichi: We have a problem. Hajime: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

Hajime: Why is Kaz crying? Fuyuhiko: They saw a leaf on the sidewalk and- Kazuichi: IT LOOKED SO CRUNCHY! Hajime: Please don’t say what I think you’re gonna say- Kazuichi: AND WHEN I STEPPED ON IT THERE WAS NO CRUNCH! Hajime: NO, NOT THAT!

Fuyuhiko: You shouldn't be using a straw. Kazuichi: I know, I know, it's bad for the environment and stuff. Fuyuhiko: Yeah, but I mean... it's a weird way to eat spaghetti.

Fuyuhiko, pointing to the wall: What color is this? Kazuichi: Gray. Sonia: Grey. Fuyuhiko, turning to Akane: Now tell them what color you think it is. Akane: Dark white.

Sonia: Would you slap Kazuichi- Hajime: Yes. Sonia: I didn't even finish! Hajime: Sorry, continue. Sonia: Would you slap Kazuichi for 10 dollars? Hajime: I would do it for free. Kazuichi: Rude...

Kazuichi: This date is boring! Fuyuhiko: This isnt a date. I said I was going to the store. Kazuichi: Then why did you invite me? Fuyuhiko: I didnt, I specifically said "dont come with me" then you said " fuck you Fuyuhiko I'll do whatever I want!

*Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko playing minecraft* Kazuichi: Oh no, oh no, oh no- Fuyuhiko: What’s wrong? Kazuichi: I did a thing. Fuyuhiko: You regret the thing you dID- Kazuichi: *screams* Fuyuhiko: What the fuck did you do- *sees mass of aggravated Piglin* Damn it- Kazuichi: *screams again*

Kazuichi: We’ll find another route, it’s not safe for amateur adventurers. Akane: That sounds like a challenge. Kazuichi: I have to stress, that is not a challenge. Akane: ...Is exactly what you say to dissuade the weak of heart from accepting the challenge. Well, challenge accepted! Kazuichi: There is no challenge!

Kazuichi: *Locks Fuyuhiko in the car.* Look like a child, get treated like a child. Fuyuhiko: What? Isn't it illegal to leave a child locked in a car?

Kazuichi: Is the pink panther a lion? Hajime: Say that again but slower. Kazuichi: I don’t get it. Hajime: He’s a PANTHER. Kazuichi: Is that a type of lion? Hajime: No, it’s a fucking panther. Kazuichi: *googles panther* They aren’t pink? Hajime: AND LIONS ARE?!

[hoshi-y]

Hello can i ask for an aoi(female) x reader where Akane(male) rejects us and then we get over him and start dating aoi? (it might be kinda funny if akane is abt to confess to aoi and when he sees us we’re like kissypooing or whatever you don’t have to do it tho) (do you think you could make it really dramatic too it’s totally ok if you don’t want to)

2nd Place, honey.

Genre : Angst

Characters : Aoi Akane

TW : None

A/N : I live for drama so of course 😋

I hope you enjoy 💗

My bad~

You've had your eye on Akane for a while now, I mean who wouldn't? He was absolutely gorgeous not only that handsome. He was always the top, prioritizes studying, and he had this slight bad boy attitude that you found kind if attractive

Daring yourself, you went ahead and left a note in his locker asking him to neet you by the rooftop at 4pm sharp. You wanted to confess to him as the sun goes down and when he accepts the sky will have orange to pink hues which was absolutely romantic

Again, daydreaming at best.

As soon as you placed the letter in his locker, he came out of the student council room with his bag, probably about to go home. You immediately ran to the rooftop with the other set of stairs and waited.

4pm, nothing. I mean he must be busy?

4:25pm, Still nothing..

4:54pm, You were now watching the sunset, alone.

It was the end of the day, almost all the club members have went home or stayed behind to help clean.

You dragged yourself down the stairs and caught a glimpse of your handwriting in the trashbin, you went towards it to confirm and it was your letter. The letter you wrote for him

It would've been nice if he just came to see you just to reject you it was fine.. But this? this hurt you.

You gripped onto the letter as tears blurred your vision, you grabbed your bag, changed your shoes. And went home

But don't worry, dear. Good Karma is still real.

Akane took a deep breath, fixed his appearance, grabbed the flowers and off he went to do what exactly? that's right! to proclaim his love for Aoi

For real this time

With his amazing stalking skills he knew and where she was, why where the flowers bloom so beautiful, as beautiful as her.

For the first time in a lifetine, he was nervous, despite all those confessions he made? I doubt he is. Akane walked out to the back of the school and sped walk to the garden to see her—

With you.

Aoi giggled as she wiped the dirt off your face "Your so clumsy dear~" You blushed at the nicknames as you placed the sapling into the whole she dug. "There we go, it'll grow into a big beautiful tree!" You cheered

Aoi tucked in a few strands of your hair as she leaned in and pecked your lips.

With the scene unraveling infront of Akane, its like he heard something shatter in him. He dropped he flowers and walked back inside

How dare you take Aoi away from him, he thinks. Probably plotting his murder towards you already

When school ended, you were on your way to the gardening club whike playing on your switch when suddenly someone harshly pylled you into an empty classroom making you trip on your own feet and falling on the floor

"Ugh.. What is wrong with you.." Holding your now stinging elbow. "Me? Whats wrong with YOU?" You looked up and came face to face with the guy who hurt your feelings. "I dont know what you're planning [L/N] But you're taking thus way too far!"

"What on earth are you talking about? I haven't even dine anything! Your the psycho pulling people into an empty classroom without warning!" You retorded standing up still feeling a littke bit if pain from you falling onto the floor

Akane scuffed as he grabbed your arm "Hey what the heck is your problem?!"

"What do you think your doing with Aoi huh?"

"What about her?"

"I saw you two kissed at the gardens when I came looking for her, what guves you the right to that without her permission?!"

You yanked your now reddened arm from his grip. "For your information SHE was the one who kissed me! Also, me and her are TOGETHER so get your information and facts correct."

Akane was now red in anger, he was probably redder than his hair by now. "Stop lying [L/N]! Your just salty I didn't like you back!" He stormed out of the classroom leaving you all alone.

He didn't wanna believe it, he wanted to hear it from Aoi herself, he NEEDS confirmation. He hoped and prayed to every good out there that this wasn't true.

°

°

°

"Its true Akane.. I confessed to [F/N] a few days ago.. It took me awhile to build the courage but they are now my S/O" Aoi says as she blushes hard just by the mention of your name.

Akane gently held onto Aois shoulders. "Stop lying to me Ao-chan.. Did they frame you to say that? Please tell me and I'll—"

"Akane stop! it's true! me and [F/N] are together! You know.. They sent me a text just a few minutes ago saying that you pulled them into a classroom and accused them of lying?! How low are you gonna go Akane??" Aoi ran away from him to look for you, who knows what else hes done to you.

Akane stood their in silence. All his hardwork to maybe become Aoi's number 1 went out the window.

It doesn't matter if he was there for her first, he'll most likely to become 2nd

And he has to hurtfully accept that.

Accept the fact that he'll forever always be in 2nd place

Im sorry it took so long 😞

[apostlearcana]

Prompt provided by @wild-selenite-caffine from a while back. July has been another exhausting trip into the world of work and just generalized emotional tiredness again. This was gonna be something else before, but.

Anyway, enjoy the (unexpected) fall into angst that you were waiting for, Caff- and anyone else, really.

--

“You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing; should see the other guy.”

“I don’t care about the other guy. Let me see it.”

“I said it was—”

“Now.”

There was a peacefulness behind the words that he didn’t dare question; Zenkichi sighed, shutting the door as Akira went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. He pursed his lips, looking down at the wound on his chest with a grimace and back to Akira’s own backside. The shirt came off slowly, peeling back to reveal the dozens of scars that littered his body- not at all what he wanted to show off in the first place.

They were still on mere civility, speaking terms… and certainly not of his own will and accord.

Akira walked back into the bedroom, Zenkichi dropping the shirt on the floor and sitting down on the bed. “The kids’ll be home soon. Let’s hurry up.” He didn’t look at the CEO, hand on his leg. “Antiseptic and—”

“You’re awfully casual for someone that just took a knife for someone he claims he hates.”

Zenkichi snorted softly at this. “Well they did say not to let you get hurt.”

“So you’re just doing this out of duty- like a dog still chained to fate.”

The comment got him to bristle. “You should probably keep your mouth shut and your nose out of places it doesn’t belong.”

Akira raised a brow. “That’s a nerve if I’ve ever seen one pinched.”

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” the thief continued bitterly, watching Akira grab the bandages and some wipes from the kit. “Why the hell would it even matter?”

“Well considering you’re just as much a broken man at the rest of the kids you look after, from what I saw… there has to be something in there that makes you a miserable old ass,” Akira replied calmly.

“What are you, my therapist?”

“No, just a man trying to understand why one so angry at me goes out of his way to save me.”

Zenkichi still refused to look at him, even as Akira began to gently dab and wipe away at the blood on his chest. Just as nosy as the kids.

Just as bad as the damn kids.

For fuck’s sake.

The father closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as the wound began to sting and Akira cleaned it little by little. He wasn’t just supposed to spill his entire life story to this… this… this…!!

(this stupid jerk of a man that had nothing to fucking do even with Akane’s jail, just a man of miserable circumstance that had the power to change the world and got fucked up by his own app)

“Look. …Akira.” What the fuck was wrong with him? “You’ve felt empty before, right? Like nothing you do is enough, no matter what the hell happens. And you keep trying and trying and fucking trying, and by the time you’re my age… what’s left to give.”

Akira stopped dabbing the wound for a moment.

“I’ve seen these kids. I’ve watched them for- who knows how long now. Weeks, months… and all I see? All I see is—“

Breathe, you idiot.

“—is what little I have left to give to any of them.”

Akira never blinked.

“I’ve been around for so many years doing this shit- trying for so long to have some kind of faith in humanity or whatever the kids do nowadays… and I keep giving and giving and trying and giving. But…” He shook his head. “But the longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve lost what’s inside me—and ended up empty.”

He gestured to his body tiredly, shaking his head. “Hell, I think… I think this is all proof enough. I don’t… I don’t have anything left to give.”

Akira set down the wipe and closed his eyes, unable to hold back a chuckle. Zenkichi growled a little. “It’s not funny.”

“No, it’s very funny. For how much those kids love you, you are a dense asshole.”

“I never asked for your damn opinion, much less for you to try and take care of me!”

“Someone did ask you to keep an eye on me, though- to make sure that I didn’t have any more plots in me or whatever to make the world mine, to rid the world of evil in the face of my own want for justice like the Phantom Thieves wanted their own.”

Konoe couldn’t help but keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

“But isn’t that what everyone wants? Their own brand of justice? You want me to go down for Akane’s jail, and you won’t take it laying down until I’m back behind bars because of another world and some false god overtaking me and my own desires and twisting it to match theirs.”

When he opened his eyes, there was a quiet ferocity in them- flickering flames, angry.

“How close am I to the mark, Hasegawa?”

Zenkichi didn’t answer, matching Akira’s own glare.

“You really think you don’t have any more to give?” He picked up a new wipe and opened it, turning back to the wound in question. “I think you have too much left to give- maybe in all the wrong ways.”

[tsuisou-no-despair]

Higurashi TEN (Role Swap AU) - 34 Random Facts

Well, I'm slightly stuck with the question arcs, so instead I'm just going to write up and throw out a whole bundle of random facts about the world, its characters, and things that have or could happen. Hopefully this will lead to something clicking into place for me, and hopefully you'll like it, too.

Kei, Reina, and Mion still use a bat, nata, and taser, respectively, as their main weapons, though Mion's been forbidden from using the taser by Oryou. Hanyuu uses the ritual hoe and swords in about equal measure. Miyoko uses whatever's on hand to frightening effect.

Shion thrives at St. Lucia; however, she is pulled out of the school by her family after Oryou decides that Mion's twin would be better utilized if she was right on hand...

Miyoko does the Joseph Joestar "your next line is..." thing, which almost always works like a charm. (It doesn't work on Satoko or Bernkastel, but the former plays along when she's not in the black outfit)

Hanyuu's horns aren't initially broken, but by the end of the series, they have their signature crack.

Tomitake is a much more common sight in Hinamizawa than he was in the original universe, being a resident of Okinomiya who frequently visits. He's also quite well-liked, mostly because he's there to fix just about anything that breaks.

Rumiko was the original user of Rena's signature nata, as well as the person who first converted the van in the dump into a hiding place.

Satoko finds the contents of the Saiguiden fascinating but ultimately disappointing; she expected something more directly tied to Hinamizawa Syndrome's origins.

Irie almost always manages to get clear of Hinamizawa before Emergency Procedure #3105 is executed; however, he's usually dead in under 24 hours due to his escape catching Tokyo's attention.

Both Ooishi and Akasaka are hated by the Sonozaki family but the former much more so, to the point where Ooishi schedules his visits to Okinomiya when the Sonozakis will be looking elsewhere, such as on festival nights.

Rina targets Kei's dad in the loops where she doesn't die. Kei's mom does not take it well - to the point where she goes L5, in some cases.

Mion's "feelings" for Satoshi are primarily a result of Satoshi being just that nice and caring and good-hearted. It helps that she's enamored with a saintly image of him that's only grown more pure since his absence.

When Miyoko bothers to start telling people about how she's lost in time loops, their reactions are mostly in the vein of "oh, that explains so much".

Bernkastel can be heard by people who are deep in the throes of Hinamizawa Syndrome; naturally, she uses this to fuck with people for kicks.

Okonogi takes the role of the clinic's head after Satoko dies/disappears. He's regarded exclusively with suspicion - if he wasn't only filling the role until the GHD triggers, he'd probably get run out of town within a month.

Rumiko regularly made Miyoko curry after learning that Teppei and Tamae were denying her food; this led to Rumiko taking her curry very seriously because it represented the only "acceptable" way for her to help Miyoko.

Officially, Tatsuyoshi Sonozaki and his wife (Naeko) are Mion and Shion's parents. In reality, Akane is their mother, and whether or not Tatsuyoshi is the father is strictly a matter between him and Akane.

All of the locations from the original universe are present and more or less unchanged, along with a few new "sets" such as Akasaka's apartment.

Satoko has an alternate version of her "Tokyo" outfit that includes a mask that resembles an inverted Eye of Providence. She wears this when acting in Hinamizawa after her death, claiming that she needs to hide her identity due to being known in the village. (Okonogi thinks that doesn't matter in the slightest and that Satoko is trying too hard to be "cool", and he isn't wrong... except that it's managed to keep Miyoko from realizing who it is throughout the loops)

Beyond mahjong, Akasaka, Satoshi, Irie and Tomitake were fast friends. Their name for the quartet is the "Soul Brothers" - thankfully, it's a more serious (and infinitely less horny-focused) group than in arcs like (ugh) Batsukowashi-hen. (Kei still becomes an honorary Soul Brother in some arcs, though)

While she's reasonably familiar with a gun and a bow, Shion's real weapon is her contacts: her stay at St. Lucia (and Rika-in-Gou levels of popularity while there) means she has a slew of St. Lucia-ites (with powerful fathers) who would bend over backward for her.

Akane and Satoko are the two most skilled individual fighters in Higurashi TEN - who wins in a fight between the two is generally decided by who screws up first, but this is usually Akane getting blindsided by a trap unless she's warned. (They fight in more fragments than you'd expect - Akane Kasai is the most dangerous person in Hinamizawa and Satoko knows it.)

Miyoko starts her loops at the same point every time - the morning after the festival in 1982. This is mostly to dodge the abuse from Tamae - the fact that people assume her changed personality is because she's escaped an abusive home is icing on the cake.

The official reason for the Clinic "studying" Hanyuu was that they were researching the effects of her horns' growth pressing on her brain and monitoring the brain tumor-like symptoms (hearing voices, delusions of being Oyashiro-sama reborn, etc.) that it caused; this was all a fabrication hiding the research done on Hanyuu as Queen Carrier. Satoshi was disgusted by this facade and eventually told the Furudes that Hanyuu's brain was fine, leading to them pulling Hanyuu out (and Satoko murdering them as a result).

Irie occasionally mediates the Games Club's punishment games, sometimes getting dragged into it himself. He's a stalwart protector defender of the young club members' honor, making whatever sacrifices he has to in order to make sure that they're not forced into perverted situations or outfits.

Rumiko may or may not have had feelings for Mion, which Mion subconsciously returned; Mion's quietly put two and two together in the months following her disappearance, and it's had a palpable effect on her relationship with Reina.

Ooishi lives in Kakiuchi City and is a part of its police department, and he's not the only former Hinamizawa resident on its force - there's a bright young detective named Natsumi Kimiyoshi who I've heard interesting stories about, though I don't know much about her...

While he's still capable of being the "Magician of Words", Kei's charisma is heavily tempered by the restrained, somewhat cold wall he's put up around his emotions for "everyone's own good".

After all that looping, Miyoko's trauma response to Teppei moving back in and forcing himself to be her caretaker is anger moreso than shutting down. More than a few loops have ended with Teppei killing her after she was too insolent (or too creepy) for him to put up with.

Yukie was a reporter who was extremely critical of the anti-dam protests, especially after the kidnapping occurred. At least some of the antipathy towards Akasaka is due to being Yukie's husband.

When the seeds of distrust aren't sown, Reina's empathy is one of her most powerful tools, making her able to stand up to just about anyone in Hinamizawa and reach out a hand to them. (Sometimes this leads to getting a baseball bat to the head, but hey, she tried.)

Hanyuu can hear Bernkastel at lower levels of Hinamizawa Syndrome than anyone else in the village, and seems to be cognizant of her presence even when she's at L1/L2. The exact details of Hanyuu and Bern's rapport are known only to them.

Miyoko and Hanyuu are closer to each other than they are to anyone else, but there's still a big ugly wall between them due to Hanyuu's quasi-divinity butting up against Miyoko's hatred of any and all gods. Tearing that wall down is an important part of Miyoko's character development.

Irie had (has?) Satoshi's blessing to try and win Satoko's heart; according to Satoshi, Satoko's not entirely against the idea of a relationship. Satoshi also made sure that Irie didn't cross any lines when going after her; after Satoshi disappeared, Irie ceased his attempts until Satoko herself encouraged him.

Everyone is wearing different outfits - the new ones are more or less the same pieces of clothing as the original "position" but with the color palette and general feel of the character filling the slot. For example, Reina's casual outfit starts as Keiichi's - a vest, undershirt, and shorts (and no hat) - but then is adjusted to fit Rena's style and is given a white, light blue, and purple palette. My attempts at mocking up Reina and Mion's designs are below.

[the-peak-of-despair]

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu x Blackend!Reader

I NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THE ORIGINAL ASK!

anon asked:  Hello! I really like your guys page! I was wondering if I could get some HC’s for a Fuyuhiko x reader? Say they are in a trial and they find out his S/O is the culprit? Angst angst angst? If not that’s fine but it’d make my day if you guys did it thank you

Boy howdy I do sure love me some angst, I loved this request ALOT so I wrote a full oneshot! Have fun crying! -Mod Akane

There wasn’t any denying it. 

You had killed Hiyoko Saionji.

Of course, you’d never planned to kill Hiyoko! Sure, she was kinda mean.. but you never wanted to kill anyone. But after Peko’s trial, she was saying all these mean things about Peko, and Fuyuhiko, and it just kept building up…

and you killed her. 

You were just listening to her ramble to herself about how horrible Fuyuhiko was and that Peko was useless, and you couldn’t stop yourself from just… picking up a nearby pipe and bashing her head in. 

You panicked, obviously, when you realized what you had done. You automatically threw the pipe into the ocean and picked up her body, deciding to set her back down in her cottage under the veil of night, using the key she stashed in her kimono.

It was another two days before anyone realized.. And then the trial had begun. 

-----------

Fuyuhiko couldn’t entirely wrap his head around this case. It was borderline insane, Hiyoko had been dead for three whole days before anyone found her. He didn’t like the girl too much, but still, that was awful. He looked up at (Y/N), who had been twiddling her thumbs silently basically the entire trial.

That struck Fuyuhiko as odd. Usually she did her best to contribute whenever she could during the trial. She didn’t wanna die as much as everyone else. Yet still… silent as ever. 

“Hiyoko had her key on her, right? Could the killer have just taken the key out of her pocket to set her in her cottage?” Kazuichi suggests. Hajime hums in response as (Y/N)’s eyes dart over to Kazuichi. 

“That’s most certainly a possibility..” Hajime mutters. “But why do all that?”

“Maybe it was so we wouldn’t look where they actually committed the crime.” Fuyuhiko suggests casually. There wasn’t really much else to guess…

“Actually..” Kazuichi starts, scratching the back of his neck and looking away from the rest of the group, “I might know where it took place…”

“Please tell us immediately!” Sonia pipes in, leaning against her podium with her hands, as if she was leaning herself towards Kazuichi.  

“Y-Yes, Miss Sonia!” Kazuichi seems startled as he begins blushing. “Well, a day or two ago I was in Electric Avenue, on the third island.. And I saw a bloodstain, just in the middle of the ground. Nothing else was around, so I just assumed someone got hurt or something and moved on.. But it was a lot of blood.” 

“Well, why’d you wait so long to tell us?” Akane asks.

“I-I just forgot!” 

“Regardless, if you found it only a day or two ago, by that time the killer must’ve already cleaned up any other evidence.” Nagito sighs. “What a shame, I-”

“Don’t even start.” Fuyuhiko glares at Nagito. For just one trial, it’d be nice if he shut the fuck up. 

“Ah, okay.” Nagito says, and that’s the end of that.

“But if they cleaned up the crime scene, why would they leave the bloodstain..?” Hajime asks. 

Fuyuhiko honestly didn’t have any better answer than anyone else could come up with. He was suspicious of Kazuichi, since he was generally the only person who went to Electric Ave, but that wouldn’t help much to just accuse him out of nowhere. Lives were on the line, it didn’t offer any help to jump the gun and accuse people out of the blue.

“How about we go over the case from the start and see if we find any more clues?” Chiaki suggests. 

“What good is it if we still don’t know the murder weapon?”  Akane suggests.

“M-Maybe.. The killer threw the pipe away or hid it, or something?” (Y/N) adds. “Y’know, to like, throw off the trial..” 

“A pipe..?” Sonia questions.

Her eyes widened, realizing her mistake. “W-Well, I mean, the Monokuma file says her head was bashed in, a-and if she was killed in Electric Ave. like Kazuichi s-suggested, t-then it’d probably be a p-pipe lying around there!” 

“I-It w-would match t-then w-wound on her h-head..” Mikan mutters quietly.  

“Okay, so, say the killer whacks Hiyoko in the head at Electric Ave, right?” Chiaki starts. “And when they killed her they disposed of the pipe somewhere and dragged Hiyoko home, leaving her in her cottage until we found her three days later. What motive would they have…?” 

“Maybe they didn’t mean to kill her…” (Y/N) mutters. 

“What makes you say that?” Hajime asks.

“W-Well, none of us had any grudges or anything against her, right? Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing, like last time..” She trails off and Fuyuhiko winces at the mention of the incident of the last trial.

“That could be basically anyone on the third island three days ago..” Sonia mutters.

“Wait, wouldn’t that be breaking the rules? I mean if they disposed of it somewhere on the island, it could be a violation of the rules, and..” Akane trails off.

“Nope! The blackened threw the pipe into the ocean, technically not part of the land environment on these islands!” Monokuma interrupts.

“Pipe?” Hajime asks, glancing between (Y/N) and Monokuma. There’s no way…

“Whoops, did I say that out loud?” Monokuma nervously laughs before sinking out of the conversation. Fuyuhiko locked eyes with you..

There’s no way those are the eyes of a murderer. He knew you. He loved you, he knew.. You wouldn’t do something as reckless as killing Hiyoko..

..right? 

“So it seems this trial is about to come to a close..!” Nagito mutters. Oh dear god. He turns towards (Y/N). “Well, it seems you’ve dug your own grave, (Y/N)..” 

“Hey, leave her the fuck alone!” Fuyuhiko stops him as (Y/N)’s eyes widen in fear. “There’s no way she’s the killer!”  

“Then how would she know about the pipe, Fuyuhiko?” Hajime adds. “The evidence is starting to pile against her.” 

“You don't know shit! There’s no way (Y/N) would’ve done it!” Fuyuhiko argues, slamming his hands against his podium. 

“Why don’t we ask the girl in question?” Nagito suggests, and the eyes of the surviving students all fell on (Y/N), petrified with fear.

Her podium was directly across from Fuyuhiko’s. It was almost default for him to be looking dead at her. But the fear in her eyes.. Fuyuhiko almost couldn’t look. He hated seeing her like this. If he had any less self restraint, he’d probably run to her side and hold her close. But knowing his luck, he’d bust his stomach open or something stupid in the process.

“I-I didn’t kill her..” (Y/N) stutters, the emotion and fear of being framed building up and pouring out in the form of tears and sobs that made Fuyuhiko- and most of their classmates- wince. “It wasn’t me! Y-You’ve gotta believe me! Hajime, please..! Tell them they’re wrong!” 

Hajime looks away from her. “I’m sorry, but…” 

“You’re really just gonna stand there and look away?!” Fuyuhiko yells. “For fuck’s sake, she’s crying! All your evidence is circumstantial and probability!”

“Then if she can present an alibi for the day Hiyoko was killed-” Hajime calmly argues. 

“She was with me, damnit!” Fuyuhiko lies. He lies, almost on reflex, to find anything that would get them off her trail. There was no way she was the killer.

“I mean, you could’ve worked as accomplices.. Or if you did it..” Kazuichi starts to trail off, scratching the back of his neck once again. “I-I’m just suggesting!” 

“Why in the fuck would I kill her?! I didn’t even know she was dead until we found her today, just like the rest of you assholes!” Fuyuhiko argues. “I would’ve had no reason to kill her, and I’ve never even been in Electric Ave!” 

“One of you two did it, you’re the only suspects!” Akane argues. Fuyuhiko growls under his breath, pissed off to all belief. This trial was spinning in every way it shouldn’t. He can’t help but focus on (Y/N), eyes darting to every filled podium in the room as the room dissolves into argumentative yelling. Underneath it all you can almost hear Monomi muttering about how things shouldn’t turn out like this, but it’d be hard to hear under everyone arguing. 

“There’s 12 people in this fucking court room, and you’re choosing to single out two people who have barely even been on that island!” Fuyuhiko starts yelling once more.

“You don’t have alibis, (Y/N)’s been acting strange this whole trial, and you’re the only two people with any motives!” Kazuichi shouts, making drastic gestures with his hands the whole time. 

“N-No one else has given alibis.. This is simply unfair..” (Y/N) mutters.

“She has a point. We should wait to hear all alibis first before we point fingers. Where was everyone roughly around the time Hiyoko was killed?” Hajime questions.

“I was with (Y/N)!” Fuyuhiko insists.

“I was in the company of Sonia.” Gundham states, arms crossed. 

“Nekomaru and I were in the hotel. I saw Nagito there as well as Chiaki!” Akane adds. 

“Mikan and I were at the beach!” Ibuki exclaims. 

“I was in my cottage..” Hajime states.

“Well, I was on the second island, but…” Kazuichi starts. “I saw you, Fuyuhiko.” 

“What?” Fuyuhiko freezes. He can’t let this go now, if it gets (Y/N) in deep shit.. “No the fuck you didn’t!”

“You were in the diner! And (Y/N) wasn’t with you!” Kazuichi begins to argue dramatically, waving his hands around once more. 

“You don’t have anyone to back you up! You could be lying to pin it on me, cause you’re the only one who fucking goes to Electric Ave!” Fuyuhiko yells.

“Why are you getting so defensive..?” Hajime asks.

“Because it’s fucking obvious Kazuichi did it! He’s the only here who goes there, he’s lying about his claim, and he’s twice Hiyoko’s fucking size! He wouldn’t have a damn issue bashing in her head!” 

“Mikan and I were on the second island a swell.” Ibuki throws in. “We passed Kazuichi on the way to the beach, which means..” 

“You’re covering for someone, aren’t you Fuyuhiko..?” Hajime questions. 

“No, I’m not! Kazuichi is the fucking killer, let’s just vote already and get this over with!”  Fuyuhiko yells. He’s set and believes only Kazuichi could’ve done it. It doesn’t matter if Kazuichi can call his bluff. It doesn’t matter how much contrasting evidence they have against it.

Because if he doesn’t blame Kazuichi, that only leaves (Y/N). She wasn’t a killer. She was kind, and always loving towards Fuyuhiko, and… and that type of person doesn’t just take someone else’s life. No matter who it is, no matter who deserves it.. 

A part of Fuyuhiko knew he was being irrational. Somewhere deep down, he knew she killed Hiyoko. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t care. He would die fighting for (Y/N) instead of watching her be taken away… he didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Peko. He couldn’t lose both of them. 

He wasn’t going to let (Y/N) die. 

“Come on, let’s just start the fucking voting already!” Fuyuhiko suggests with authority. He didn’t care, for just a fleeting moment, he didn’t care about his friends, as long as she would be okay. 

The courtroom spirals into loud arguments and fights again. People arguing over alibis, over who was guilty, people siding with Fuyuhiko and people against his batshit logic. 

“GUYS, STOP FIGHTING!”.  A loud voice screams over the entirety of the arguments. It falls deadly silent as everyone turns to (Y/N). “It was me, okay!? I did it! I killed Hiyoko…” You exclaim, sniffling and crying from fear.

“(Y-Y/N)-” Fuyuhiko stutters, and the events of the last trial all come flooding back. All so different.. Yet still the same outcome.

 “Why did you..?” Hajime asks, before recollecting himself. “Why didn’t you confess earlier..?” 

“I-I don’t wanna d-die..!” She starts crying, tearing Fuyuhiko apart at the seams, the last of whatever stability left being ripped away. “B-But you guys started arguing a-and.. I d-don’t want my friends t-to get hurt cause I did something s-stupid..!” (Y/N) starts wiping away her tears. Whether she minded crying or not, whether she cared about appearing weak or strong.. She couldn’t stop crying. 

“...w-why?” Fuyuhiko mutters, looking up and locking eyes with her. “W-Why!? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL HER!?” 

“I DIDN’T REALIZE WHAT I WAS DOING!” (Y/N) shouts, before a loud sob leaves her as she leans against her podium. “S-She..I ran into h-her at Electric Ave a-and she was m-muttering a-all these mean things..!” A large heavy breath through a snotty nose. “A-About how P-Peko deserved t-to die after w-what she did..! And th-that you should’ve died too..! A-And I got so mad, I just p-picked up whatever was n-next to me and I hit her- a-and by the time I was done I realized and..” 

“Breathe for a second..” Nagito mutters. “You can’t explain all of this when you can barely take in air.” 

“I know that, Nagito!” She snaps up her head to look at him, before staring at the floor again. “W-When I realized what I did, I threw the pipe into the ocean right o-off the bridge.. And I-I felt bad leaving her there s-so I took her back to her cottage a-and laid her down.. So she could r-rest easy…A-and I guess I l-locked the door on my way o-out of habit…” 

All self control left Fuyuhiko as he walked away from his podium and rushed over and basically grabbed (Y/N) by the collar, holding her head up and at his own height, regardless of how tall she was. “Why..? Wh-Why..?”

“S-She was so mean to you and P-Peko and I just- I didn’t mean to k-kill her- S-She was my f-friend-”

“Yet you killed her all the same. Jeez..” Nagito sighs. “W-” “S-Stay the fuck out of this Nagito!” Fuyuhiko snaps at him, eyes watering as he came to the realization that he was losing yet another person who he loved. This wasn’t what was planned. They were going to get out, and survive, and rule the Kuzuryuu clan, and.. 

“W-What’s wrong with you..? Y-You did this a-all to just defend me! And n-now you’re gonna die because y-you-” Fuyuhiko was trying to knock sense into you, trying to get you to justify yourself. 

“I didn’t want y-you to die b-because I- because I messed up!”  (Y/N) cries, Fuyuhiko’s grasp loose enough that (Y/N) breaks through and buries herself in his chest, crying loudly. Fuyuhiko can’t even pull himself to react. He knows he should hug her, or rub circles in her back, or anything, but he can’t bring himself to. 

The unyielding despair of losing both Peko and (Y/N).. Fuyuhiko knew damn well it was only what the mastermind wanted. Yet still... despair took him in a chokehold grip and suffocated him, nearly blinding the world he knew with black spots in his vision. Everything hurt.. He didn’t know if he was capable of crying anymore than he already was. 

“Gosh, all this sappy nonsense, every trial!” Monokuma complains. “Come on, everyone, it’s voting time!” 

Fuyuhiko can’t help but stare at his classmates as they pull their levers, all putting his precious (Y/N) on the chopping block.. They all looked like monsters in his eyes. If he were a sensible man who weren’t overtaken by emotion, he would’ve understood that this is what was meant to be done. Even before he was transported to this hellish island, that was how his life worked. When you’re the Ultimate Yakuza, you can’t get attached to people.

Peko and (Y/N) always felt like an exception, but…

clearly, he was wrong.

“Corrrect!” Monokuma’s everlasting, devilish grin seems to grow even wider, rubbing salt in the wounds. “Our dear (Y/N) has murdered Hiyoko! And she almost got away with it too, phuhuhu!” 

“YOU’RE A BASTARD!” Fuyuhiko screams, as (Y/N) pulls him back by the sleeve. 

“P-Please, Fuyuhiko..” 

He snaps back around. “W-Why..? P-Please, I-I- I can’t lose you too..”

“I’m s-sorry, Fuyuhiko..” 

“I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate (talent)!”

“P-Please! I n-need you! Y-You can’t l-leave me too-!” Fuyuhiko is crying his eyes out, harder than he’d ever imagined he’s capable of. 

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got...!” 

“I-I’m sorry, Fuyuhiko.” (Y/N) bows her head. 

“Iiiiits PUNISHMENT TIME!” Monokuma shouts between the bits of conversations between the two torn apart lovers.

(Y/N) pulls Fuyuhiko close for a final kiss, and just as Fuyuhiko kisses back.. That stupid metal chain clamped around her neck. She takes in a heavy breath in shock, and then she’s dragged  away, just as Teruteru was….

No one spoke a word as they watched (Y/N)’s execution. Her mouth was moving, as if she wanted to say something, but of course they couldn’t hear.. Was she calling out for Fuyuhiko.? 

Even as her execution ended, no one spoke as they turned and caught Fuyuhiko, crying with his face in his hands as he was on his knees on the floor. Maybe the most emotion he’d ever shown...the trauma of watching both his childhood friend and lover dragged away weighed down and cracked the man’s very soul. It would take him a much longer time to recover from this...

[smolstarthief]

Your Accomplice Au looks cool, I wanna know more pls

O-Oh! Thanks! Well, besides the basic description I gave with those edits, I don't have much else planned out (keep in mind that this came about from me freaking out on Twitter about the idea of shipping Zenkichi and Konoe and a later convo with a mutual). But I guess more description is in order!

Their backstories are still the same but prior the events of Strikers, they end up encountering each other somehow (I haven't figured out how yet but maybe he was assigned to be a bodyguard or something? Either that or he was dragged by Kaburagi to an event he held? It's not set in stone) and they strike up a conversation.

Zenkichi sympathizes with Konoe's hardships while Konoe expresses his own sympathies to him about Aoi's death (more reason for Owada to be on his shit list since he was planning on backstabbing him anyway).

They become close until Konoe trusts him enough to reveal his secret about how he's using the Metaverse along with his findings and plans with it. Now Zenkichi would normally be horrified but Konoe then gives him a tempting offer: He helps him with his skills and connections to the force along with another thing he will discuss with him later and in exchange he will be able to avenge Aoi and bring down Owada for good, making the world safer for his daughter. THAT is what ends up clinching it and he agrees but on the condition that Akane doesn't get dragged into it (spoiler: She does anyway). The deal is made.

As for the other thing he mentioned? That is where Zenkichi awakens his Persona by being dragged into the now deserted Okinawa Jail as more or less an experiment. After being overwhelmed by Shadows and awakening Valjean, Konoe's version of the Black Mask is born as Zen tears them all apart. Of course, Konoe takes the time to make sure he recovers from the ordeal.

Now Zen's tasks are different than Akechi's as he mostly resorts to torture in both the real world and Metaverse if needed and is sent on those changes of heart that are mentioned in the game (the ones not caused by the other Monarchs themselves). Basically he starts up the change of heart epidemic while under Konoe's employ.

Now one thing about their relationship: It starts out as being more of a transaction/exchange so to speak. One benefitting from the other with Konoe at first viewing Zen as a pawn to be used. That and some occasional... Ahem, distractions if needed. Zen's feelings start to change as he desires to be more closer than that with Konoe not exactly wanting to get attached at first (ironic huh?), mostly faking how he feels at first to keep Zen around before possibly throwing him away when his plan is a success. But naturally they become real and legitimate and expresses it as such, wanting his little "Attack Dog" to be by his side forever.

Now onto the main game, Zen still joins the PTs on the road trip but mostly to act as a mole for Konoe. He DOES get attached to the kids a bit but Konoe came first. The meeting at the Madicce building is actually when Konoe gives him a risky idea: He will make Zen the Kyoto Monarch in an attempt to catch the PTs. Zen is hesitant due to the potential risks but Konoe reassures him and even gives him a glimpse of what his Jail would look like and he finally agrees.

The Kyoto arc continues as usual except the false message from Akane is from Zenkichi's Shadow while the real Akane is actually alone at her house after he leaves for "business reasons." The girl starts to suspect something is wrong, hell, she had been suspicious for a while now. But she brushes it off as him being a selfish asshole that she thought he was. That is until she decides to go to his old hideout and she finds a distraught Futaba who tries to explain the situation and Akane is just... Stunned. Not only were those kids she befriended the famous Phantom Thieves but her father basically more or less lost it. She still has mixed feelings about him but ultimately decides to go in the Jail herself with Futaba guiding her (FutaKane maybe?).

She confronts her father before he could forcefully change everyone's hearts and he actually hesitates before suddenly snapping at her. His mind is a mess from being put into the Monarch position despite him agreeing to it. His Persona is screaming at him to stop but he refuses. Akane is horrified when he reveals what he had been doing and all for the sake of Konoe and avenging his wife like Akane would have wanted along with keeping the world safe for her. Akane doesn't believe that this Shadow is her father, the one who despite his faults genuinely loved and cared about her and her mother. While he clearly still does, his morals and character are gone.

It's with that realization that she awakens to her own Persona (who it's based off of, I haven't decided yet).

After the eventual fight against him, she asks him why he really did it and why he would help someone like Konoe with the PTs offering him to join them. He refuses and contently says that Konoe gave him new meaning to his life and the he loves him, plain and simple, before vanishing. Akane is horrified and heartbroken in response before fully blaming Konoe for taking away the only family she has left.

He feels terrible for his failure when he wakes up at Konoe's place. Thankfully his Persona is back and still in his control. Both men agree to fight the PTs themselves.

Side note: When the PTs explore the zoo section of Konoe's Jail, Zenkichi is not seen among the Monarchs on display. They're confused as they are all convinced that Konoe manipulated and used him (Akane especially).

When they confront him, Akane yells at him for what he did to her father. Konoe's Shadow promptly spells out two things:

He WAS using Zen but his feelings ended up being legitimate.

That while Zen was no saint in everything that happened between him and Akane in the past and present, Akane wasn't either as her OWN (bratty) selfishness and negligence blinded her to every potential red flag that might have been present up until it was too late. Like what Zen ended up doing in canon, AKANE drove her own father away.

Akane just freezes in shock since he was actually right in a way. All she had ever done was yell at her dad, made everything about how SHE (and she alone) was affected by Aoi's death and refusing to empathize with him nor look at the bigger picture despite the fact that they were both grieving for the same reason, just handled said grief differently.

The rest basically goes the same as canon at best. At least for now. Phew! That was a doozy to write but yeah! That's basically it so far! ^_^

[twilightknight17]

We’re at the end of the road, folks.

And god damn, I feel so validated by my Sojiro characterization. Wow. Thanks for basically making me canon for ten more seconds, Atlus. XDDD

So when last we left our intrepid heroes, they were laying at the bottom of the Jail of the Abyss, because Ichinose is an asshole. So we had to fight our way back up, carrying Sophia’s unconscious body. Which wasn’t that bad; the Jail isn’t very big. We left Sophia at the door to keep her safe, and then charged back into the hall of the Ark to hack Ichinose’s exploding crystal box thing.

Ichinose doesn’t understand why we came back.

So, yeah. I guess like... bizarro-world Maruki? Maruki wanted to alleviate suffering by granting everyone’s wishes. EMMA’s going to make it so that people can’t wish for anything.

After a kick-ass hacking battle set to the new version of Rivers in the Desert, Ichinose yells at us about our right to judge. Why should humanity keep this painful world, just because WE’RE strong? Just because we’ve never screwed up or suffered?

Which, clearly she has no idea who the fuck she’s talking to.

We’ve worked too hard to listen to that kind of bullshit.

Ichinose proclaims that “humans don’t need hearts” and charges up the laser crystal to blast us again, and Sophia steps in to block the attack. She’s still fighting Ichinose’s control even though Ichinose insists that she’s just a faulty prototype.

Apparently Ichinose created Sophia in the first place because she spent a lifetime being called a heartless doll, so she made an AI to help her learn about the heart.

I think you’re the problem, but not for the reasons everyone else is saying.

But she got angry when Sophia started asking questions of her own and basically tossed her aside, until EMMA found her and dropped her into the Shibuya Jail.

And Sophia, unlike her creator, has learned and grown, and is tired of being given orders. She’s ready to make her own choices.

That is certainly a persona.

I gotta admit, they got me. I was wondering why Sophia didn’t have her arcana yet, but for some reason, I also wasn’t expecting her to get a proper persona. I’m now wondering about the implications of someone being able to code an AI capable of developing a soul that can summon a persona. There’s a zero percent chance that Ichinose had any access to plumes of dusk, which are the reason that Aigis and Labrys gained enough consciousness to have personas. So Sophia is legitimately a miracle piece of technology.

Pandora is an interesting choice, but I dunno if I can articulate that beyond a surface-level, “Oh, because she’s Hope, and Hope was still in the box.”

I swear to god, every major villain in this game is trying to be Goro Akechi. For the last goddamn time, we don’t kill people. Get up, Ichinose. We’re leaving.

Ryuji literally grabs her by the arm and drags her out, because she’s trying to stay behind. Which just confirms for me that if Goro hadn’t put up that bulkhead door, we’d have dragged his stupid ass out of the Ship, too. XD

Back to the real world, and Tokyo is blacking out, and the Tower is losing its shit.

The metaverse is fusing with reality, the Tower is becoming the Tree of Knowledge, and hell yes we are climbing this tower after all!

Morgana points out that this is the same thing that happened last year, and Zenkichi freaks out a little bit.

You’re lucky you moved to Kyoto, sir. You missed quite a bit.

I love these kids, though. They’ve got so much black humor about this whole god thing.

The metaverse encroaching on reality means that everyone has to cram into the bus in their thief gear. Zenkichi, please. Your hat. Sir.

I love climbing this tower. I’ve been here, too! Also they have butter. XD

I was expecting the Mementos version of the lower observation deck, and instead I got some weird amalgam between Mementos and Azathoth’s boss chamber.

We had to fight Metatron as the guardian of the last elevator, which is another parallel to Yaldabaoth’s archangels. And then it’s up to what I guess used to be the high observation deck to fight the big box.

EMMA insists that all humanity wants is to let it give them all the answers, and it throws them into some sort of alternate fog world full of the voices of the public.

The Thieves are all separated, trapped in the fog. Each of them has to find their way out, and they realize that the fog of the Desires is protecting EMMA. EMMA knows exactly how calling cards work, so they won’t work on her. Instead, the Thieves decide that they need to send the calling card to the public, so that they’ll become aware of their desires again and the desires will crystalize.

...oh come on, Atlus. We’re right in the endgame.

One last hacker battle to break into EMMA’s server room in the tower, and Futaba and Ichinose manage to hack EMMA itself to deliver a calling card to everyone at once.

Love you, Zenkichi. We’ve taken out two gods already. We’re good.

Confronting the Ark again reveals a bunch of freaky tentacle arms grabbing the desires, and then the box turns into some sort of massive figure that looks sort of like Yaldabaoth, except less robot and more seraphim. It literally names itself the Demiurge, so I feel like EMMA may be drawing something from the lingering dregs of Yald’s influence? It’s cool.

Clearly no one told you what happened to the last false god that thought it knew what was best for humanity. ;) “Hope binds humanity to misery” is bullshit.

After a... not very difficult first phase, the Demiurge reveals its true form, and we split into three teams to take out its support orbs (modeled after the sephirot) and the main body.

I really liked the setup for the last boss. The teams were the first instance where it was really apparent that the whole team was fighting together. Each of the three battles was happening concurrently, and destroying the orbs has a concrete effect on the main fight. I wish we’d gotten to do things like this more often, especially during the Shadow Thieves fight.

That said, the main body was actually the easiest part of the fight? All the attacks were really telegraphed, and not particularly hard to avoid. Except for the spear jab.

But it finished off with a full-team all-out attack, and that was awesome.

The desires began to return to their owners, and we get to bask in a job well done once again.

Upon returning to the real world, it’s the next morning. Sophia’s happy that she got to be a hero, Zenkichi’s heading off to properly arrest Owada, and the rest of us need to head home, because we were supposed to be home last night. Zenkichi can’t figure out why we consider him a phantom thief, since he “only joined [us] to use [us]”. Which is silly. The Phantom Thieves are built on the bonds of friendship and stalking! It’s too late, Zenkichi. You and Akane have been adopted.

I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to tell Akane the truth. That would have been great.

Atlus personally reaches out and pats me on the head, because Sojiro has the absolute perfect reaction to his kids coming home after a nationwide manhunt for them.

I feel so valid making him serve Lavenza coffee and be completely nonplussed about a guy marrying Death. I love him. We’re so lucky to have Sojiro. XDDDD

The next day, the kids have a celebration party for their victory, and learn that Akira is going home the next day. This kid needs to catch a break. He can’t even have a few days to relax with his friends. X’‘‘D

Everyone goes to see off Akira, though we detour to Shibuya to meet Ichinose. A news report shows that Owada was successfully arrested, and apparently Ichinose tried to turn herself in to the police, and they didn’t believe a word of it.

This is just highlighting my issues with Maruki. Even if he doesn’t think he did anything wrong to society as a whole, he never apologizes to them for what he put them through. Especially Akira. Ichinose turns around and helps them stop the final boss, and her last scene is her apologizing to the Thieves and trying to make amends for her actions. Maruki’s last scene is... “If things get bad, you can start over like me! Now we’re even!” We are not.

Sophia leaves to help Ichinose learn about the heart, Akira promises to come back for winter break, the Phantom Thieves go their separate ways once again, and the credits roll.

I’m gonna leave my final impressions in a different post, because this one is long enough already. So... look forward to that?

[ranma-rewatch]

Episode 25: The Abduction of P-Chan

Y’all, it has finally COME. The arc I have been wanting to rewatch for ages. One of my favorite arcs in the series. It’s time for figure skating, I’m pretty sure I remember this arc very well, and I look forward to seeing if I still love it as much as I used to.

Oh, but before I do that, I just want to go over something. I already talked about this during Season 1, but some of you might be confused why I’ve waited so long to cover this arc. It’s because the original broadcast order and the production order are different, and Hulu has things in the production order. I wanted to cover the series by broadcast date, so even though this takes place right before the original Shampoo arc, we’re not watching it until, well, now. But anyway, that done, let’s watch the episode!

I am not disappointed.

The episode starts at an ice-skating rink, where Akane is there with a few unnamed friends who want her to join the skating club, because she’s genuinely that good. However, she brought P-Chan with her and left him on the ice. Before she can get back to our transformed lost boy, someone else finds him and takes him away, calling him ‘Charlotte’.

From there, we cut to a ramen shop where Ranma is getting grilled by his friends Hiroshi and Daisuke, who want to date ‘the other Ranma’. That request goes as well as you can expect (though I do have to wonder, since it’s unclear if they think the ‘other Ranma’ is Ranma’s girlfriend or his sister, and they both want to date her, if this would be an actual polycule), but just as Ranma starts walking away, insulting Akane because his friends brought her up, she appears, looking upset.

Ranma immediately regrets that and starts backpedaling, only to realize she doesn’t care about that, she wants his help finding her pet. Luckily, that won’t be too hard, because the thief enters the same shop they’re in, carrying Ryoga around with her. Akane tries taking him back, but the girl resists.

That’s when someone shows up to help Akane, a tall attractive young man who acts like the ultimate pretty boy romance option. He apologizes, explaining his friend has a bad habit of taking things she finds cute and naming them. That just sets the girl off though, whining more and more about the matter until she challenges Akane to a figure skating match.

It’s then that we learn who these two are: Mikado Sanzenin and Azusa Shiratore from Kolholtz High School. Together, they’re a figure skating duo known as the Golden Pair, and they’ve won 950 matches with no losses. Despite this, Akane is ready to fight.

Mikado starts putting the moves on her, causing Ranma to flick some food at him. The figure skater takes that as a challenge, so it’ll be a doubles match of Ranma and Akane versus Mikado and Azusa, and it’ll be in one week.

That night at dinner, Ranma and Ryoga argue over who gets to skate with Akane, each bragging over what they can do...the only issue there is that neither can actually skate at all. Akane starts helping Ranma after he goes into the bathroom and activates his and Ryoga’s curses, since he feels like failing so badly at skating looks worse when he’s masculine.

The Golden Pair return, with Azusa snatching P-Chan to put a new collar on him, one only she can unlock, and Mikado now trying to flirt with Ranma. It’s revealed that they’re both masters of Martial Arts Figure Skating, and that’s what the match really is, as they train by defeating a hundred opponents in just nine seconds. Things get worse when he actually steals a kiss from Ranma, causing Ranma to go use hot water to turn himself back and enter the ice rink ready to fight. He punches the ice so hard that he leaves an enormous crack in it, and he claims it’s the first time in his life he’s been really mad.

That’s where the episode leaves us! But wow, I still feel like a lot happened in this one. There’s a heck of a lot for me to cover, but let’s just start with, well, all the Ranma/Akane. I’m sorry! I can’t help myself!! There was just so much of it! Whether it be Ranma worrying about making Akane mad from another “she’s not cute” kind of thing and being ready to take it back, to how annoyed he gets from Mikado flirting with her, to how after being kissed by Mikado one of the first things he worries about is that it was in front of Akane.

It was adorable!

I also think it’s remarkable how this story is just carried by the personalities of its characters. This isn’t some plot that happens to have the Golden Pair in it. The conflict is driven by Azusa’s strange kleptomania and my Mikado’s predatory behavior. Compared to some other storylines I can think of, this approach makes this one feel much more focused, as well as emphasizing the antagonists of the arc.

I’m going to give each of them their own Character Spotlight in coming weeks, but I did want to say here that I think it’s really interesting how Mikado is frequently animated to make his possessive behavior clear just through visuals, like how he holds Ranma’s arms while carrying him, to keep him from resisting his advances.

The comedy felt strong in this episode, as did the action. I wasn’t laughing the whole time or anything, but I was entertained throughout, and that’s not something I can say for a lot of episodes, sadly. It’s a strong start to this arc, and it just gets better from here...or at least that’s what the opinions I formed in high school tell me, from across the vast distance of time.

Instead of doing a Character Spotlight, I’m going to FINALLY talk about Season 2’s Opening! Since, for some reason, this is the first episode to have it...when due to broadcast order versus production order a lot of places don’t even have it in Season 1!

This song is called “Little Date”, performed by the band Ribbon. It’s a very cute little song, with elements of lighter and sillier moments but also of more emotional ones. I like it a lot more than the first opening’s song, and while I’m not sure if it’s my favorite opening, it’s one of the ones I love going back to listen to the most.

The visuals are...okay. The first half is pretty meh, a combination of original art, images from the manga, and overall less animated stuff. It’s also kind of infamous for showing Ranma’s cursed form topless, right at the start. The second half is better, and I especially love Shampoo’s introduction. The way she and the music fit together is really good, and the fact it’s at the bubbliest part of the song works really well.

On the whole, even with some more lackluster visuals, I’d still put it above the first seasons’s OP.

If it isn’t obvious, I’m very happy to be starting the Martial Arts Figure Skating Arc. I don’t know how popular it is in the larger Ranma fandom, but I know I’ve always been a big fan of it, and this time around it’s still good, at least so far. Honestly? I’m actually going to put this as the second best episode so far, I liked it that much.

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’  

Episode 25: The Abduction of P-Chan

Episode 12: A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 15: Enter Shampoo, the Gung-Ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands

Episode 9: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 19: Clash of the Delivery Girls! The Martial Arts Takeout Race

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 23: Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan

Episode 17: I Love You, Ranma! Please Don’t Say Goodbye

Episode 20: You Really Do Hate Cats!

Episode 16: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul

Episode 8: School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga

Episode 11: Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 22: Behold! The 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' Technique

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Episode 21: This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe!

Episode 10: P-P-P-Chan! He's Good For Nothin'

Episode 14: Pelvic Fortune-Telling? Ranma is the No. One Bride in Japan

Episode 18: I Am a Man! Ranma's Going Back to China!?

Episode 24: Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowmen

This arc continues next week, and if I’m being honest, I think it’s going to top this. But maybe I’m wrong! We’ll see with “Close Call! The Dance of Death... On Ice!”. Can it be as good as Reptaur on Ice? I doubt it.

[archived-gtronpa-account]

It’d be interesting to see a giant Rantaro

Yiiis!! I don't recall seeing a whole lot of giant Rantaro (or even tiny Rantaro) around here so this is the occasion to give the cool//hot avocado man some 💚🥑💚🥑

____

Word count: 2700

Summary: After one of her friend's dares goes awfully wrong, Himiko makes the unlikeliest encounter.

____

During one of the numerous festivals at Hope’s Peak, three classes gathered up to share their ghost stories.

“… And if you go to the girl’s bathroom on the third floor at three thirty-three, they say you’ll see the lonely spirit of a girl with round glasses and long twin braids. And if you try to confess your love to her…” Sayaka stopped her narration, the pause punctuated by the crackling of fire. The moon shone bright overhead and cast a gentle light on the pop star’s face; a serene atmosphere that certainly didn’t help set the eerie ambiance she was going for.

“Wh-What happens?” Kaito kept a tense, stoic face, but his deathly grip on Maki’s arm was enough to betray his discomfort.

“Oh, oh! She’ll slice you up with her scissors and leave your body crucified,” Hiyoko cried out.

“Well yeah,” Sayaka sighed and shot a glare at the smaller girl, “Apparently, her body was found like that after she confessed to someone.”

“She was probably killed by the rich prick she was stalking,” Hiyoko sent a smirk to the ultimate writing prodigy.

“Th-That wouldn’t be such a bad way to die.” Toko kept a firm gaze on her lap and hid a smile behind an awkward grimace, unaware of the attention on her.

A new silence settled in among the group, most creepy stories having already been explored.

“Hey, hey! Anyone hear of some monster lurking there?” Ibuki nodded towards the forest near the academy.

“Some kind of green, hairy beast, I hear,” Hifumi nodded solemnly to himself and readjusted his glasses, “Kind of like Shaymin.”

“Soo, anyone wanna go check it out? Kazu’?”

“No way I’m going in a forest at night! Don’t wanna get caught in a bear trap or somethin’. Why not, uh… Chihiro?”

“A-Ah, I think I’ll pass as well.”

“Then what about Himiko?”

The mage in question stirred and lifted her head up from Tenko’s lap. “Don’t,” She yawned, “… wanna. It’s such pain…” She closed her eyes and went on to resume her nap, but Kokichi woke her up again.

“Shouldn’t be such a pain with your amazing magician skills, right?” Himiko’s eyes shot open to glare at the boy.

“’m not a magician, I’m a mage.” She grumbled out.

“Dunno ‘bout that,” Akane looked up from her meal for the first time that night, “Magic, huh? Kinda sounds like one of Hiro’s scams.”

Himiko’s chest burned at the comment. She straightened up and glared around at the group. “My mage skills aren’t a scam. My magic is real, it’s real, it’s real, it’s real-”

“Tenko won’t let anyone doubt Himiko’s magic.” Tenko stood and stepped in front of Himiko in a battle stance. The smaller girl frowned at the gesture; it made her somewhat feel like a defenseless pet in Tenko’s eyes. She could take care of herself.

“My magic’s real, ‘nd I’ll prove it if I just…” She looked behind her to the looming trees, ready to swallow whoever dared venture in, “… Gotta go there. Even if I’m really tired.”

Tenko looked back at her with wide eyes and opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but was cut off by Kaede chiming in, “Don’t worry, Himiko, I’ve already been there and it’s safe.”

“Take this with you then,” Mahiru held a camera out to her, “You can take a picture if you find some monster or anything interesting.”

Himiko took the small device and turned on her heels, ready to ignore a certain aikidoka’s protests and go prove her worth. Armed with a little camera and her spells, the mage ventured deep in the dark woods.

…

The air started to get thicker, cold seeped under her skin. Himiko wrapped her arms around herself and muttered some spells she could only hope would keep her from freezing. While she’d been taking a nap close to the campfire, she had forgotten how chilly the night was. The prospect of going back right then was tempting, but the image of her classmates calling her magic a scam and Tenko coming to her defense with some poor excuse was enough for the mage to chase off the idea and keep going with all the passion and determination she had in her (it wasn’t much, but it would have to do.)

…

Himiko could swear that at some point, the trees around her had hit a growth spurt. They towered far over her head and no matter how hard she squinted, the girl couldn’ catch sight of a single star past the clutter of leafs. If she’d had enough mana, she would’ve made the trees go back to normal, but she was too tired for that, so she only walked further down her path in search of some monster she wasn’t even sure existed.

…

Himiko was so tired. She had no idea what she was even trying to prove to her stupid classmates. She could go back and say she hadn’t found anything and lay her head back on Tenko’s lap and drift off into a nap. But… Not yet.

“Hey…” She called out, “If there’s any monster in here or something, ‘m not afraid. Show yourself!” Brave mage she was, Himiko brandished her camera up to the sky, (almost) defying any scary creature to come at her.

In her feat of bravery, she forgot to keep an eye on her path, and her mind went blank with terror when the next step she took was on thin air.

Her grip on the camera tightened. There was a flash of light before she shut her eyes and bursts of pain overtook her small body. There were cuts and hits and cracking and rustling and freezing air rushing past her burning skin- Then everything stopped, and she didn’t feel a broken bone among the mess of pain in her body when she met solid ground.

Himiko’s hand slowly reached to her shoulder. She shuddered and panted as she let all the small shots of pain through her body melt into a single feverish sensation.

For maybe hours, or days, or only minutes, Himiko lay there, silently letting the pain sink in and holding her body back from jolting. With a groan, the girl cracked an eye open. It was still night time and there were no starts shining over her head. She glanced back at murderous slope she’d slipped on, and tried to understand if her vision was hazy or if she’d really fallen from that height without even getting concussed.

Lazy, unfocused brown eyes drifted further off ahead and met an odd tuft of green that wasn’t a tree. Further down, there was a-… There was a pair of eyes of the same green focused on her.

And no stars shone over her head because there was a massive head blocking them out.

Himiko’s mouth fell open to scream, but the sound died in her throat into a near speechless, panicked, “A-Ah…”

“Hey now, calm down, it’s alright.” The soft voice was that of a human boy, but it was the giant’s lips that were moving. There was a giant, absolutely massive monster in the forest like the legend said, and Himiko couldn’t think of any spell or any trick to get out of his clutches, and she found her mind stuck on a single thought, ‘I should have listened to Tenko.’

The mage rose to her feet, ready to run and hide, but something twisted in her leg and made her fall back on her back with a gasp. The only sensation that registered for her then was the warmth and softness of the large hand she realized she was on. The stark contrast to the rest of the forest was jarring enough that she had to hold back from retching.

Gravity pulled her down once again, and the massive face slowly got further and further away from her hazy vision. Then there was warm flesh all around her, blocking her view and pressing against every inch of her body and ready to suffocate her-

And all at once, it came to an end, and Himiko exhaled a shaky breath of relief when she felt cold, damp soil on her back and neck.

“There, not so bad, was it?” There was the whispering again. Himiko closed her gaping mouth and attempted to steady her breathing as she tried to take in the sight before her eyes. The giant’s lips still moved and he talked to her more and more. He looked like a human boy in every aspect, save for the terrifying height. The words –of comfort, she guessed,- fell on deaf ears for the mage who was caught up in whispering protective spells and incantations to herself, over and over until the words got tangled on her tongue and lost all meaning and comfort.

The offending hands came for her again, and despite her body’s screaming and protests, the girl pushed herself upright with her good arm and scooted back, only stopping when she caught sight of gauze at plate-sized fingertips.

Tentatively, Himiko allowed one of the fingers to brush over her injured leg. She hissed when a tender spot was pressed. “D-Don’t…!”

“It’s fine, sorry. Does it hurt here?” Instead of answering, she kept her eyes downcast and reached out to snatch off the gauze before backing away again. Compliantly, the hand backed off as well, and the giant stayed quiet.

If she remembered well, Mikan didn’t wrap wounds without cleaning them first, but the mage didn't have the luxury to ask for disinfectant from the beast boy that kept her cornered, so she had to do with less than that. She worked with one hand and left her right arm to hang lame at her side. More hissing and pain later, the unwelcome hand reached back to her leg. Himiko bit her lip and glanced up at the giant boy, but found his pressuring gaze only focused on her injury. Compliantly, she accepted the help and stayed quiet.

“Hah, I know I look scary, I get that a lot.” The whole way through, the strange giant kept talking to her. His voice was hushed as a whisper, but it still was louder and more powerful than the cheers of any audience she had ever performed for. “Don’t worry though, I promise I’m not a baddie.” It was unnerving and left her uncomfortable, but at least it served to distract her.

“I don’t…” sometime after most of her injuries were tended to, Himiko found her voice and courage again, “I don’t need your help.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” His hands still worked to patch her up, “But that arm of yours isn’t looking too good. You shouldn’t move it much for now.”

“Then I’ll use my magic.” That caught the massive boy’s attention, and his focus shifted from her injury to her face.

“Magic? So you’re a magician, huh?” She pulled her hat lower down her face to avoid the attention.

“’m not. I’m a mage, a real and true mage who does real magic.” She bit her lip and looked up at the giant boy in the eyes, “And I’m really powerful, so if you try to hurt me or something…” She left the threat hanging, unsure what she could do against such a strong guy with her currently low mana.

“Ah, that doesn’t sound too good. I better…” Himiko winced at a sharp tug at her side, but then the pair of hands hovering over her finally retreated, and she had room to breathe again. “… Not try anything then.” The giant held his hands up over his head, and they went past the tallest trees. If he reached higher, she was sure he could grab the moon in a fist. “Will you show me some of your magic when you get better?”

Himiko checked over her wrapped injuries, absently nodding. She noted that her earlier protection spells had worked and turned the legendary scary green monster into a friendly (and quite handsome) man.

When both of them stopped talking, Himiko had expected silence; instead, she heard rustling and crunched leafs and cracking branches. The sound was rhythmic and getting louder by the second, like steps walking her way- or rather, running.

“Himiko!” The girl in question nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden familiar voice.

“Hey,” she was startled again by the giant boy whispering to her. In his company, Himiko had forgotten that her classmates were still waiting for her to come back. She had no idea how she could explain the situation to Tenko, and she had to come up with something soon before the other girl found her and her new titanic aquaintence.

“Himiko? Shh,” Himiko watched the giant stranger bring a finger to his lips in a secretive gesture. Before she could question it, he got up on his feet and took several, quick steps back. The entire forest shook with his every step, and mere seconds later, before she even had time to gape at the sight, he had completely disappeared beyond the towering trees.

"Himiko! Are you alright?" Tenko's voice came above the smaller girl, who looked several feet up to where she'd been before her fall. In the darkness, she could barely make out a tall form in a blue girl's uniform.

"I-I'm fine!" Soon, her classmate would come down and join her. Himiko tugged at her bleazer and skirt to hide as much as she could of her injuries, and she barely had time to pick the discarded camera up before Tenko got to her. Besides the leaves and twigs stuck to her, she looked fine; and hopefully, her slight limp wouldn't be too noticeable

The taller girl fussed and worried over her, and Himiko only listened with one ear, gaze set instead where a titan had stood only seconds ago. She could have thought the encounter a dream if not for the bandages carefully wrapped over her wounds. That alone wouldn't be enough to prove she'd met a monster and gotten away thanks to her mage skills. The giant boy had seemed to prefer staying secretive anyway, so maybe that was for the best.

On the way to the academy, Himiko lingered behind Tenko with the camera in her hands, checking for any damage to the ultimate photographers' device. Curiously, she checked for the pictures saved in, and nearly sputtered when she saw a green tuft of hair and a pair of eyes of the same green.

[xkandy]

Psycho Pass - timeline and why you shouldn’t hate on S3 that much

I’ve been following Psycho Pass ever since the original run of Season 1 back in 2012. I’d like to make you and everyone who disliked S3 understand some things. Hope I structure this well, here goes.

Obviously there will be some spoilers.

First let’s take a look at the releases in the PP universe so far. We have:

Season 1

Season 2

Movie

Sinners of The System 1,2,3 (2 being a prequel)

Season 3

First Inspector

Before I write anything I’m going to stop you and say that nothing tops Season 1. So there,now that we have that out of the way let’s continue.

Season 1

Takes place in late 2112-2113

Central characters are Akane and Kogami and let’s face it, for many Kogami is the one who carried the show, even if some consider him to be a “generic edgy”  protagonist I think he’s pretty solid as a character at this point.

Akane has had MAJOR character development throughout the whole season and I’ll never forget how upset some people were that she was a noob. That was the whole point, she is a newbie and a model citizen who trusts the system, her character evolution revolves around coming to the realization that the system is flawed.

Makishima as a villain was phenomenal and not because quoting from books , but because his motives and reasoning were clearly established  and he made both protagonists question themselves and the system.

Season 1 is written by Gen Urobuchi , the following seasons (except the movie) are not written by him.

Season 2

Takes place in 2114.

A trainwreck, don’t even want to go here. The disappointment was huge.

I found Mika to be extremely annoying and unbearable with 0 character growth. The only highlights for this season for me were Gino and Akane.

Onwards.

The Movie

Takes place 3 years after the events of Season 1, in 2116.

Nothing of major impact happens but if you love the old cast , namely Gino, Akane, Kogami you’ll enjoy this and I have a feeling this is what they were betting on and wanted to see: the public reaction to the old cast.

The interaction between Akane and Kogami is the highlight (another one being Gino vs Kogami).

It’s clear as day that Akane evolved as a character and Kogami is questioning his past, so let’s say some minor character development.

Sinners of the System

If you enjoy the universe and aren’t too attached to the main cast you will like these, although case 3 is about Kogami so I’m sure it’s the one most people will like.

Case 1 has some minor Mika character development (she still sucks imho)

Case 2 is a prequel that sets up some details about the storyline that will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Case 3 is the one you’ll want to watch if you want to see S3/First Inspector as it revolves around Kogami and him coming to terms with his thoughts when he is asked by a young girl to train her as he sees in her a version of himself and where this will lead (girl seeks revenge) . 

His story arc regarding Sasayama’s death, revenge, Makishima is complete, it ends here as he decides to head back to Japan.

This triggers the potential for the future series/movies in the Psycho Pass universe to deal with the (possible) unresolved storyline of dealing with Akane once he gets back to Japan, because he will have to face her at one point.

So after Case 3 Kogami is already a complete character , there is no strong conflict or drive for him as the one which had driven the plot of season 1.

We already know everything about him.

Let me jump back to Gino for a brief moment, his first arc concluded when his father died and he became an enforcer, his current arc might be related to what I’ll get to in a second.

Season 3

Alright so here we are,a new season nobody was expecting and 2 new protagonists we expected even less.

Taking place in 2120 , 8 years after the events of Season 1 it follows Arata and Kei in their own CID adventures.

The tone of the series is vastly different from both S1 and S2, most notably :

it feels like those friendly buddy cop TV shows

the violence is greatly reduced, no more “shock value”

the side characters aren’t invested into, they’re just there for being there and plot devices (they’re alright, the new enforcers get some characterization but it’s not season 1 level)

Arata’s “skill” - if you think about it as high level empathy it’s gonna feel less dumb

Being new protagonists, the writers had to make sure we get to like them by offering us details about their past and what drives their motives, I’d say they did an ok job at that.

There’s no room for comparison to Akane and Kogami, those 2 are already established characters who have resolved story arcs and suffered changes.

Keep in mind Akane is 28 now and Kogami is 36, whereas the new protagonists are in their early 20s. They have time for character evolution, it’s easier to write new characters into the universe than deal with established ones such as Akane and Kogami.

Also, we see Kou visiting Akane while she’s in jail, her not being surprised means this may have happened before, which leads to further questions in the storylines that will definitely be explored in the new PP installments to follow:

Details on the incident which caused her to be in jail

What happened when Kogami returned to Japan and how the Sibyl system dealt with this

Kou reuniting with Ginoza, since both work for the hot blonde now

etc, you get the idea

First Inspector

It’s actually not that bad, I’m not going to spoil anything (well...not everything) but I suggest giving it a chance. If you don’t want to watch S3 just read about it and watch this, the most important things to take are from episode 3′s last scenes

Akane is released AS AN ENFORCER by Sibyl and will help Mika

Kogami is sent to get her, there will definitely be a recap between these two

Arata and Kei both have secrets regarding the case they worked on, not gonna spoil anything

Yayoi is alive, and will live with Shion. Just puttin this out there since they’re everyone’s favorite lesbians

Mika is still shit.

Gino is still based as fuck 

Also, there is a post credits scene with Akane saying something along the lines of “ let’s talk about the incident that got me jailed “ . This was only in the theatrical release so you can bet your ass we’re getting more PP in the future.

Thoughts

Lastly, what everyone needs to understand is that S1 made PsychoPass become a franchise. A franchise revolves around different characters in the same universe, sometimes the focus is on the OGs , but sometimes it isn’t.

I would like to note here that Gen Urobuchi is responsible for Season 1 (you know, the dude who wrote Madoka and other stuff like that...) and he did a great job writing a compelling story. Did he want PP to turn into a franchise? This I do not know and I have a feeling this might explain his absence from the later installments of the series. 

He wrote a complete story in 22 episodes which could have been left at that but seeing how well received the first season was it spawned a franchise.

What I want to say is please give Arata and Kei a chance (S3 protags) . They’re not that bad and they help the franchise stay alive as it seems they were pretty well received in Japan. Would you rather Mika be the main character again?! HELL NO

Now I love the main trio - Akane,Kou,Gino - as much as everyone but at this point they’re so high level it’d be hard to write a series just about them. Make one wrong move and the fanbase will hate you.

Also, this one is for all you Kogami x Akane shippers, I view their relationship as professional only but I’ll be damned if I didn’t scream at those 2 short scenes these 2 had in S3 and FI .Can’t wait to see the interactions between grown up Akane and seasoned peace-of-mind Kogami.

If you’re still here thanks for reading my rant, hope I made sense. 

edited to add some stuff

[anonymouslyangsty]

Okay so I adore Kazuichi Soda, but GOD do I feel like his character is wasted somewhat in game??? I really wish he had more of an ark

(Warning, I’m going to ramble like a himbo about my Sodapop son below. It’s...way to long and has spoilers)

So, Kaz’s whole character backstory is that he was a nerdy, shy kid who got pushed around by his ‘friends’. He got in trouble for helping a friend cheat on a test, but he wasn’t upset when said friend threw him under the bus. He only got upset when that friend stopped talking to him after, which in turn encouraged him to distrust others and change his behavior and appearance to appear tough.

What I get from this is that Kaz puts on a fragile act to look tough, has a hard time trusting others, and has rather low self esteem. He acts like a punk, but the second someone attacks him, verbally or otherwise, he crumbles and cowers. 

That all being said, I don’t feel that these traits are properly handled or addressed in the game

Firstly, the whole Sonia obsession. I think it makes sense from a few perspectives. In one option, Soda could see Sonia, being a princess, as above ‘normal’ people, thus making her an object of his affections. Option B is that he doesn’t REALLY obsess with Sonia that hard, but because he wants to look cool, he pretends to like her so he can fit in with what he thinks dudes are like. 

Whatever option we go with, it’s clear that Soda has a very shallow ‘love’ for Sonia, only really liking her for her title and appearance. Whenever she expresses the darker sides of her personality (love of the occult and serial killers), Kaz always tries to divert attention from or ignore it. He doesn’t love her as a person, but as a figure. 

The shallowness of his love is coupled with her total devotion to her. Kaz makes the exact same mistake he did with his friend: he trusts Sonia irrationally, incapable of seeing any fault in her whatsoever. So, whenever she’s put into question, he jumps at her aid, trusting her regardless of any evidence. 

This also means that he’s incapable of seeing how uninterested she is in him. She never bluntly says it, but it’s clear that Sonia, at the very least, vaguely dislikes Kaz. She straight up hopes that he’s the killer in chapter 4.

But again, just like with his friend, Kaz brushes it off as nothing. Sonia could do anything to him but, as long as he has her ‘companionship’ (or the illusion of it), he’s fine. This is clearly a terribly unhealthy mentality for a relationship, as Sonia gets idolized to an uncomfortable degree and Soda leaves himself open to any level of abuse as long as he thinks he’s accepted.

Kaz is repeating the same mistake from his backstory, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The bad part is the fact that it’s never addressed.

Sonia never tells Soda to stop, nor does anyone ever highlight the fact that Soda doesn’t really love her. He is constantly following her, but probably couldn’t say 10 things about her personality. If that WAS addressed, it could be used to show Soda that he isn’t going to make connections to people by keeping up his “cool, thirsty bro” persona, but instead by being genuine and kind, which is more align with his true personality. Honestly, I was expecting this to happen after chapter 4 but nope.

Another option, darker this time, is that Soda could find himself betrayed again. It would makes sense thematically; Kaz repeats the same mistake of blind trust, and is thus betrayed again. Maybe Sonia tries to kill someone, betraying the ideal pedestal Kaz places her on. Maybe she frames HIM for murder in an attempt to save Gundham.

Slight tangent here, but I really like the idea of a worst case scenario where Soda’s failure to learn from the past gets him killed (TLDR for the tangent, as if this whole thing doesn’t need a TLDR: Sonia and Kaz pull a DR1 first murder, but Kaz legit acts in self defense).

 Let’s say that, instead of the funhouse, chapter 4 gives motivation videos regarding everyone’s home. Of course, Sonia’s is about how her kingdom is falling into shambles. Extremely stressed, she locks herself in her room for several days. She eventually decides that, to save her kingdom, she has to sacrifice everything, even her morality. She decides to kill.

So, Sonia goes after the easiest target: Soda. Because of his blind faith in her, Soda wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever she asked. So Sonia asks him to meet her in some secluded area, perhaps the abandoned warehouse from chapter 1, sometime late at night.

Soda agrees to this blindly because he can’t EVER believe that Miss Sonia would ever do wrong. However, when he arrives, she attacks him, perhaps stabbing him in the shoulder. I know this is probably slightly underestimating Sonia, as she is trained in weaponry and could probably kill Kaz in one blow, but let’s say she’s so distressed that she doesn’t fatally would him.

Of course, there’s a struggle because, as much as Kaz obsesses over her, he’s not going to let Sonia murder him. She eventually backs him into a corner but, before she can kill him, he knocks her out with a wrench or something (he’s already established to carry one around because it comforts him, so it makes sense that he’d have it)

So now Kaz is alone, bleeding in an abandoned building with an unconscious woman at his feet. That would be a good point to wake everyone up and say what happens, but here’s where Kaz’s personality comes to bite him again. He still has faith in Sonia despite everything, unable to see her faults despite her having literally tried to kill him

So, his first priority is covering up HER crime. He hides the evidence of the attack as best as he can (which probably isn’t well given his panic and his wound). Then, he takes Sonia and carries her back to her room. He probably ties her up so she doesn’t her anyone else or herself when she wakes up. 

The next morning, Sonia isn’t at breakfast. Given that she’d locked herself in her room for several days, it wouldn’t be suspicious. Not wanting her to stay tied up, Soda offers to take breakfast to her. Once there, he wants to talk to her and calm her down, before letting her go and never telling anyone what happened.

However, you can’t just knock someone over the head and think they’re fine. That kind of kills people, and Soda soon learns that. When he gets into Sonia’s room, he finds her still tied up, dead.

Kaz is a coward, but is shown to be kind at heard. So, while I don’t think he’d be brave enough to confess, I don’t think he’d be willing to kill everyone else. Perhaps he’d try to kill himself before the trial to spare himself from execution. However, Nagito stops him. Nagito convinces Soda to cling onto the hope that he ISN’T the killer, and instead someone came to Sonia afterwards and killed her. It’s farfetched, but given his mental state, Kaz would buy it.

This all creates something I’ve always wanted in DR: an innocent blackened. Soda acted in self defense and had no intention to kill. In the trial, he wouldn’t be hiding info in an attempt to trick everyone, but in misplaced hope that he ISN’T the killer. 

Not only that, but this outcome really highlights the error of Soda’s mentality. Because he so blindly trusted Sonia, he was easily tricked by her. Because his self esteem is so bad, he doesn’t even get mad when she tries to kill him, instead hiding HER crime. Perhaps, if he’d gotten upset and ratted her out, she could’ve gotten some kind of medical attention and been saved. Instead, Kaz bent over backwards for her, leading to their deaths.

That was a long tangent, but the point is, I want Kaz’s failure to learn from past mistakes to be addressed, either by him growing past it or being punished for it. Nether happens though. The Sonia obsession continues throughout the ENTIRE game, with it never being addressed as a problem. It’s really strange thematically and character wise, as addressing it could’ve given both characters good development.

Moving on from Sonia somewhat, I HATE Kaz’s character ark, as he doesn’t evolve, but devolves. The source of Kaz’s problems is lis low self esteem. If he cared about himself more, he wouldn’t have accepted poor treatment from his friends in exchange for their companionship. He wouldn’t have changed his appearance and personality because he thought he was unlikable and boring.

Despite that however, in the end, the lesson he learns is to trust people again. That’s not a BAD lesson, but it doesn’t solve the problem. His self esteem is still nearly nothing; by once again falling into the idea that he has to trust his friends nonmatter what, he’s setting himself up to be used again (I’m not saying anyone in the DR2 cast WOULD do that, but the possibility remains.)

By trusting again without gaining self esteem, Kaz somewhat goes pack to step one. His ark really shoud have been about trusting and loving HIMSELF before he trusts and loves others. Kaz needs to realize that he doesn’t need to put on a tough act to make friends, as anyone who requires a tough act to like him isn’t his friend at all. He needs to realize that he deserves good treatment, and someone being your friend doesn’t justify cruel behavior towards you. 

But! He never learns that!!! He just goes right back to trusting without considering his self worth. That...really isn’t healthy and I wish it was addressed in his ark.

Another thing: why doesn’t Kaz have any dead friends? The entire surviving DR2 cast has someone who they were close to that died, Akane and Nekomaru, Fuyu and Peko, Hajime and Chiaki, Sonia and Gundham. It’s strange that everyone BUT Kaz has a close relationship with someone who dies in game.

Why not make Kaz friends with Mikan? I feel like they have a bit in canon, with both being anxious and prone to being bullied. I feel like a friendship between those two could be used to show Kaz’s more genuine personality. It’d be a chance to show that he isn’t CONSTANTLY thirsty over girls, that he can talk to Mikan without a hint of lust. Instead, they could just be friends, finding comfort in the fact that there’s someone else who’s just as terrified as they are.

Also, this relationship could be used to both mess with Kaz AND make another parallel to DR1. Make Mikan frame Kaz for the killing, just like Celeste with Hiro. This would not only be super interesting, but also a MASSIVE blow to Kaz’s ability to trust, which is already terrible. Also again, I just feel like Kaz’s anxiety is used for comic relief too often. I want this boy to straight up have a panic attack in trial. Destroy him with fear. 

So uh, yeah. I feel like Kaz’s depth is sacrificed for the sake of comic relief. He could’ve been so much more, but he isn’t and it’s a shame. Also, if you read this whole thing, then you must be just as obsessed with Kaz as I am. So, send me some good Kaz fics! It is SO HARD to find a fic that focuses on Kaz instead of Nagito. Do it.

[gold-pavilion]

Red’s Complete Guide to the SDR2 Stage Play

The following is a sort of walkthrough/summary of the SDR2 stage play, mostly focusing on what’s different in this shorter but also highly expressive version of the story than the game, and what extra content is in it. 

It’s mostly aimed to help non japanese speaker friends (or not fully fluent ones) enjoy this amazing play even without english subtitles available; in general terms, just having good memory of the game’s events will allow you to watch and follow it just fine, but anything else you could be missing, this guide will point out for ya! That being said, you can either read this all on its own, or keep at hand to check as you watch. I’m dividing it in parts according to what would be the game’s chapters, so you can easily find your place. Hope it’s useful!!

PROLOGUE / INTRODUCTION

The beginning is quite the same as the game: Nagito waking Hajime up on the beach, memory gaps, no one knows why they’re there when they should’ve just been at their entrance ceremony, etc. The minor differences would be that they’ve already separated and had a look around, thus cutting out the island exploration from the main POV. They’ve all warmed up pretty fast to the place too. The setting of it being a fun class trip is established and everyone’s excited to go to the beach, minus Hajime of course. 

More small changes: as you’ll notice, Hiyoko being unable to tie her own kimono sash, getting help offered by Mahiru and getting attached to her happens at this point (‘cause of the swimsuits they want to put on) instead of in chapter 2, so their relationship gets established this early. Also, Teruteru and Kazuichi are caught trying to sneak in to where the girls are changing, ahem.

As in the game, Hajime’s hesitating a lot about just relaxing like that. We get a cute little new moment where he sees that even “Byakuya”, though claiming it’s to “research the way to leave this island” is prepared to go play at the sea, and with some prodding from the boys overall, he gets convinced to join in and have fun too. All super sweet, before Monokuma hijacks the scene. The killing school trip begins!

The opening and character introduction sequence is absolutely amazing and stunning, but since the intros and the comments Hajime and Nagito exchange as they go from character to character together are pretty much the same as in the game, there’s nothing to note from me. Just how amazingly it was put together! 

After that, along with the basic intro to the killing game, there is an added rule for the students to see: the one/s who earn/s the right to leave the island will be given back the stolen memories of the last 2 school years. So, the amnesia period is immediately established, and Hinata’s own amnesia about his talent is taken as proof that it could be true. Teruteru is openly agitated about the possibility of having that two-year blank, more than anyone else, and while revealing there’s a restaurant waiting for him on land he tries to get reassurance from the others. He’s much more transparent here.

Monokuma gets the group under control with a different method than his monobeasts: he makes lightning shoot at them. Real lightning, no tricks, as Byakuya says. Here, he reveals he can control the weather so that’s what he uses to keep the students intimidated. Different, but easier for stage representation than robots and achieving the same purpose. After all is done and Byakuya has sent everyone to rest for the night, there’s a small added scene of Hajime and Nagito staying behind, and having the following exchange that I thought best to translate directly:

Nagito: “So it turned into this kind of despairing situation…”

Hajime: “Why would that Monokuma guy do something like this?!”

Nagito: “It’s unforgivable, right?! That killing game…! It’s absolutely...!

That’s it… we… we have to join our forces and stand against this despair!”

Hajime: “I’m glad that the first one to call out to me here was you, Komaeda.”

Nagito: “Yeah... me too, I’m glad to have [met] you, Hinata-kun.”

CHAPTER 1

The next day, Byakuya announces the party and the group accepts his proposal without suspicion. The old building is suggested as the place, cleaning duty is required, the straw game comes out and Nagito ends up chosen to do it. So far, no news. But on the party scene, we do have several differences:

From how they explain it, the old building consists of just the dining hall and the great kitchen. With this simplified setup, everyone is closer together, so there’s no messy deposit room, no office to guard, no fire door to take into account and Byakuya isn’t checking anyone for dangerous objects. Also, no guard outside and no Monomi, since she’s been locked up by Monokuma. The scene with Hajime speaking to Byakuya privately is preserved (though it doesn’t take place in the kitchen and he wasn’t dragged off to it, but rather, approached Byakuya himself to raise his suspicion that the party was planned for everyone’s wellbeing) and his mysterious dialogues are the same.

When the blackout occurs, they’re able to find the breaker and turn electricity back on their own. Only when the body is discovered do they get told there’ll be a trial, and how it will work. Investigation time!

When everyone scatters, they’re mostly talking about having things they want to check out or thought were weird, with a very active attitude about it. The times when the sound effect rings and the spotlight is focused on Hajime, is when he’s established a key clue, a class trial bullet, so he’s naming/explaining them out loud. Not much else to note, but isn’t the whole investigation scene SO dynamic and enjoyable? Such brilliant staging!! For the trial too!!

Not much is different in the trial until its very end, in fact it goes faster than in the game with all the complication factors that were skipped, so it reaches Nagito’s breakdown quickly. As I’m sure many people will want to know what the dialogue is in the famous getting-touchy-touchy-on-Hajime scene, I’ll note that it’s Hajime saying “is that your true nature?! Have you been deceiving us all this time?!” to which Nagito replies “that’s… wrong.” Quite sure the writing is the same as in the game, it’s just the acting that carries it differently.

After that, in the end, the way they figure out the culprit is from the existence of a passage to get under the floor that they’ve concluded the killer used: since it’s clearly not in the dining hall, it must exist in the only other room of the building, which is the kitchen, where only Teruteru was. Case closed in a much more brief, yet complete manner.

During the reconstruction of how it happened, the conversation Nagito and Teruteru had in the dining hall is very different from the game. Instead of the monologue focusing on his love for the ultimates and how he wanted to see them display a bigger hope, his words are much more manipulative. He asks Teruteru: “hey, Hanamura-kun… could it be true... we’re missing 2 years worth of memories? 2 years is a long time… if it were true… what then?” and insistently “Don’t you want to know? Don’t you want to go back home?”, playing from the worries he was displaying earlier. He is also more straightforward in remarking that Teruteru wasn’t his victim nor acting in everyone’s defense, that he could’ve said something when he realized he had killed Byakuya instead of him, but kept quiet to save himself (a dialogue that, in the game, is said by Monokuma instead). He also claims to love that hope Teruteru had of going home, a hope so strong that Byakuya and everyone else could’ve died for it.

You’ll see that the execution is also very different, as almost all of them will be (personally, I love them even better than in the game). As Teruteru dies, his last words are: “momma… I’m sorry”.

Post trials comes another surprise: the group gets a freebie for their effort, which is a new piece of info. They’re told there is a traitor among them. Of course they suspect Nagito, but then, as they’re confronting him, we get this:

Hajime: It’s your fault! That Hanamura… and Togami...

Nagito: Ah, right, about that… that wasn’t Togami-kun.

Gundham: What are you saying?

Nagito: During the investigation, I found this.

Hajime: Togami’s e-handbook?

The name’s… different.

Ultimate… imposter.

Ibuki: Daaaaang! That Byakuya-chan wasn’t Byakuya-chan, then?!

Nagito: But what an amazing talent! Because, out of all of us, no one even thought it wasn’t Togami-kun! He sure got us! 

But… since he’s dead now, it’s not worth caring about, is it…

Akane: I’ll beat ya up, you bastard!

Hajime: Not worth caring about? 

The fact that he was a wonderful leader, who protected us with all he had, didn’t change.

That he’d tried to protect us till the very end… and not allow the killing game to happen… he was a proud, worthy leader.

Chiaki: Yes… that’s true.

With that very early revelation, the chapter closes.

CHAPTER 2

Shortening matters, through the night Monokuma already gave to everyone a piece of their past: the envelope containing the pictures of the girls in their Hope’s Peak uniforms and of Fuyuhiko’s sister’s body. They all have seen it by morning, but naturally don’t know what it could all be and don’t discuss it. As in the game, Nagito is being kept away, tied up, though here Akane helped as well; she intended to beat him up while she was at it, but Nekomaru stopped her claiming the strength of her muscles wasn’t meant for stuff like that.

It seems Peko is getting a few more added interactions with Fuyuhiko as well, mostly since she can be closer and take more physical actions in this medium. As she tries to stop him from breaking away from the group, she tells him “if we’re together, it’s certain you’ll be safer”, with this same nuance in English where she could mean together with the group, or together with her. Neat stuff.

Moving on: everyone knows Nagito’s situation. Mahiru suggests taking breakfast to him in front of everyone in this version instead of privately to Hinata, to which everyone reacts complimenting her kindness. No one actually goes to give Nagito food tho (ouch), since everyone starts taking off to the beach and to mess around, doing their own things. Also, Sonia’s interest in Gundham is already made noticeable. A fun little addition:

Hajime (to Gundham): Sonia wants to invite you though, so… will you come to the beach too?

Kazuichi: Hinata…

Hajime: What do you say, Tanaka?

Kazuichi: HEY…

Of course, everyone agrees and will be meeting at the beach house in 1 hour. So it’s not a girls-only meeting in this version, but for everyone who didn’t have other plans. Under Hajime’s advice they’ll try to stay together as much as possible to be safer.

The stage skips to what’s happening at the beach house not long after. We proceed to the murder, conveniently obscured, and body discovery.

As for differences in how the case unfolds, during the investigation, it’s Gundham and Sonia who notice the beach house has another exit: the small window set pretty high up. Then, as Komaeda joins in, he takes special interest in checking whether Hajime’s remembered his talent yet or not. He finds it pretty amazing that even without that, he’s out there solving cases, and expresses looking forward to Hajime remembering. He remarks that he’ll always be on the side of hope to clarify his position.

This class trial is also cleanly shortened without sacrificing anything important. As you’ll notice from the proof collected, the whole thing with the fake Sparkling Justice doesn’t happen. After concluding it couldn’t have been Hiyoko and the killer set her up, the point is made that the killer actually used the window to leave, which only one person could’ve possibly done: Peko. So that’s that.

Once again, it’s rather the reconstruction of the incident that changes. Hiyoko and Mahiru are talking about their friendship, how they’ll continue to be friends even after regaining their old memories, or might’ve even been friends before, when Peko knocks Hiyoko unconscious. The discussion continues. 

On the 2nd part of the case reconstruction, Fuyuhiko openly threatens to kill Hiyoko right there to get Mahiru to talk about the pictures and his sister’s death. You’ll notice the image on the screen is the other one, of Sato’s body, but since it was the only picture of a live actor, they used that one as though it were the sister (please be understanding)! Plus, the story about bullying and how they were both killed doesn’t come up, so there’s nothing to be confused over in this version. All we know on the play is that Mahiru took the picture, because Monokuma said so, so Fuyuhiko believes she did the killing too. Mahiru argues that she must’ve taken it as proof. “Us photographers… can tell the meaning of a picture we took ourselves”, she says, but it’s too late.

The debacle of whether Peko is the killer or Fuyuhiko counts as it for using her as tool is, of course, maintained. Enjoy the actors’ amazing representation and another great execution scene!

The rewards for winning the trial this time: 1. The info that the traitor definitely came to the island with them. 2 The traitor belongs to a world-destroying organization called Future Foundation. (Which, in a fun dialogue I believe is new, Nagito calls a pretty hopeful name for something like that.) 3. Those who have talents will be given a present related to their talent. Nagito leaves to check that out, and with Hajime musing “will I be able to… remember my talent?”, the chapter closes.

CHAPTER 3

From here on, the stage play’s scripts starts to differ from the game more and more.

The gift Nagito received for his talent was the gun. Upon finding that it’s loaded with only one bullet, he understands it’s for playing russian roulette, a test for his luck aside from a present. I have to say, I find it insanely cool that he goes for 5 out of 6 shots instead of the 1 shot he did in the game, like holy shit??? But anyway, his reward for the game is the binder with the info on Hope’s Peak and the students.

As for the others, the gift Ibuki got is an electric guitar, Chiaki got a game system, Kazuichi got the communication/camera set that he would make at this point in the game, the one that plays an important role in the 3rd case, and so on; everyone got something related to their talent, except for Hajime. He already suspects it might be that he has no talent, after all, but the others comfort him, doubting that’s the reason.

Enter the despair disease. In this version, Nagito doesn’t get the disease; only Akane and Ibuki do, plus Mikan, who catches it from the start as well unbeknownst to the rest. The set up is like this: Mikan will be caring for the sick at the island’s hospital facility, Hajime volunteers to be there with her, and Kazuichi provides his comm set to link the hospital with the hotel lobby to stay in touch without spreading the illness. 

From his position at the hospital, Hajime sees the transmission which he supposes is taking place at the hotel, so he runs over there. But from the hotel, when checking the comm system, the transmission comes on again so everyone thinks it has to be taking place at the hospital now. On the road from hotel to hospital is where they run into Mikan and Akane. Once at the hospital, the bodies of Ibuki and Hiyoko are there.

This investigation process differs A LOT from the game’s. For starters, everyone is far too discouraged by now from so many of their friends being gone and Kazuichi doesn’t even want to investigate anymore. To top things off, when Nagito arrives...

Hajime: Komaeda… where have you been?!

Kazuichi: Mioda and Saionji died! Do you get it?! Both of them at once!

Nagito: Who kills, who gets killed… I don’t care about that anymore.

Hajime: What did you say?

Akane: You asshole… if you say that, I’ll kill ya!

Sonia: Owari-san!

Nagito: Hey, Hinata-kun… did you remember your talent? Did you get any present from Monokuma?

Hajime: … no…

Nagito: Then, this is true…

Hajime: What does that mean?

Nagito: Hush! A reserve course level guy like you… could you not talk to me like we’re equals?!

Hajime: Reserve course?

Nagito: I got this from Monokuma… documents from within Hope’s Peak. You… have no talent, you were a reserve course student!

After explaining what the reserve course is, leaving Hajime destroyed, Nagito steps away to do his own thing.

With Hajime totally out of commission from shock, it’s the other characters who do the investigating on their own this time, without the protagonist’s lead we’re used to. Pretty painful to witness, honestly, but a very clever, impacting and well-handled modification. Everyone lets him have his time. In fact, when Fuyuhiko asks what’s wrong with Hajime, Gundham replies “Do not ask… it is a trivial matter.” for him, and when Chiaki talks to him, it’s only to ask case-related questions, no personal prodding. They only get to go over the causes of death, how the monitors worked (the hotel one showing a feed of the hospital, the hospital one showing a feed of the hotel) and as soon as Fuyuhiko finds a bit of the pillar-wallpaper-thing, investigation time’s over with no more evidence pieces than that. On to the trial.

Like it would happen in chapter 4 in the game, Nagito’s undermining Hajime in the trial, but no one else minds that he’s from the reserve course. Hence the physical attitude you’ll see him taking throughout. Understandably, though, from how the set up was, Hajime looks very suspicious, so the first part of the trial is on the possibility of him having committed the crime. Once that’s cleared and they’ve got it down that Hiyoko’s body was already there when he woke up, hidden under wallpaper, it’s concluded that the transmission was a trick from the killer, who had to be female and at the hospital at the time: Mikan.

Her breakdown follows pretty much the same script as in the game, as well as how she finally gives herself away by mentioning specifically the camera angle. As for the reconstruction of the case, it shows that Ibuki was already healed at the time, that Mikan used some sort of injection to kill her. As for Hiyoko, all the same, except… well, you’ll see. “I’m sorry for being a disgusting, pervert woman…” is what she says, which kinda... adds a layer of to consider in their behavior to each other.

Just as in the game, Mikan reveals what the despair disease did to her, talks about her past and her old lover before she’s executed. No additions or changes on any of that.

CHAPTER 4

… well, kinda. Chapter 4 of the game pretty much doesn’t happen in the stage play. Instead, we get the scene we can see immediately after the execution:

Angry and at her limit from everything that’s happened, Akane challenges Monokuma, like she would go off on her own to do in the game. With everyone being right there in this version, Nekomaru, Fuyuhiko and Gundham are quick to back her up, while Hajime and Kazuichi keep the more physically frail members of the group safe, and Nagito simply stands aside from everything, commenting how awesome everyone is. Do note that he takes a spear from the Monokuma army for his own purposes.

While the whole Funhouse ordeal doesn’t happen, the main points and the weight of the game’s chapter 4 are preserved, with the self-sacrificing role Nekomaru and Gundham take during the fight. All the information we get from the game chapter has already been given in the previous parts of the play, the tensions and relationships between characters were also already set up, and the victim and culprit roles kept a last-effort, self-sacrifice spirit; it’s true that it’s less morally complex and takes exposition away from Gundham, but everything is still basically covered. Even the message to “not give up on life”. So, with their noble deaths, this chapter closes.

CHAPTER 5

Here the play realigns more faithfully to the game’s order of events.

Now knowing they’re Ultimate Despair, Nagito no longer has sympathy for the group or their dead friends. Since the binder he got has info about everything except the traitor, his aim is to uncover them through his bomb threat now. Here he’s immediately revealing his aspiration to wipe out despair from the island and become the Ultimate Hope, and as Hinata asks him to stop before he kills someone, Nagito tells him: “Hey, Hinata-kun… I believe… in my Ultimate Luck!” Words that will be very important.

Here, Fuyuhiko steps up to establish what to do with the situation: Hajime and Chiaki will be staying behind to go through the documents Nagito gave, while he and everyone else will go search for the bombs. “It’s got nothing to do with talent. I’m doing it because I trust in you… so leave that up to me,” is more or less what he says, like the cool heckin bro he is. Very neat modifications. What Hajime and Chiaki have on their hands, then, is the info about the deaths of the student council, Kamukura Izuru, the most despair-inducing incident in the history of mankind, Junko, the group that constitutes Ultimate Despair… pretty much what we’d be getting during the chapter 6 exploration of virtual Hope’s Peak.

Continuing, Nagito has been spotted going into a building, which would be the factory warehouse, so the group get all back together and chases after. The discovery of his body plays out just as in the game, the case itself has the same elements too, from the stuck door to the fire to the bottles. Enjoy the amazing and chilling staging!

In regards to the investigation, even the group recognizes it was too short this time around and that they have no leads. Chiaki already recognizes that “this might not be a trial to find the culprit”.   

Once again, the trial is more agile and short. Given that everyone was together most of the time and no one went in or out of the warehouse after Nagito, Hajime proposes it was suicide very quickly. A trick pulled to throw them off… and get them all executed? Although most of the others are ready to accept that as the conclusion, Hajime himself is quick to pause things and question it. Because Nagito said that he would expose the traitor, not kill everyone, so that shouldn’t be what he’d try to do. The trial goes on.

Hajime’s effort to understand the reasons behind Nagito’s actions is comes in the form of a truly fantastic change here, a new scene annexed to the case reconstruction. I’ll translate that conversation between the deceased Nagito and him:

Nagito: Hi there, Hinata-kun.

I really didn’t think you from the reserve course, of all people, would be the one to finally reach the truth.

Hajime: It wasn’t just me… it’s because everyone worked together!

Nagito: Hey, did you find the traitor?

Hajime: ...

Nagito: You haven’t found them, then. I’m glad.

Hajime: You, who obsessed over hope... 

Why would you go this far to get us killed?

Nagito: To make despair into a stepping stone for hope. That’s all it is.

If I were able to overcome this despair, then I’d surely become the true hope. The Ultimate Hope!

Hajime: So what… if you die it’s meaningless, isn’t it?

Nagito: Oh, no. [The next line, I’m unable to translate at my level, due to how fast the actor is speaking I can’t make it out properly. There is an “isn’t it natural” there, but that’s all I can catch. Apologies.]

Hajime: I… 

I was happy you’d called out to me at the start… when you were telling me I’d remember my talent someday… I was happy... 

I… with you…!

Nagito: That’s… that’s wrong, Hinata-kun.

You the reserve course student, and me with the Ultimate Hope…! You, as someone without talent, have no reason to be talking with me, do you?

Hajime: Komaeda!!

Nagito: I’m hope… I oppose despair! And hope… moves forward. 

Through this scene, Hajime has realized Nagito’s intention to save the traitor and kill the rest.

Now, quite similarly to how it goes in the game, Chiaki confesses and the nature of Future Foundation as the good guys is revealed through her. Plus, Monokuma delivers the reason Nagito wanted to save someone from that organization, the revelation that everyone else is Ultimate Despair. Why they were taken on the island is established. 

It is with all that already on their plate that Chiaki asks them to execute her. Trusting both Nagito’s talent and Chiaki’s bravery, Hajime makes the call to vote for her as blackened.

Chiaki’s goodbyes are the same as in the game, but damn, does it deliver differently on stage… 

CHAPTER 6

As soon as the execution is over, the graduation for the remaining students begins. It’s very confusing for me to pick apart the fine detail of what’s just like the game and what’s different, since it’s all small things all over the place, so I’ll just be thorough in summing up this whole part.

The survivors are immediately presented with the first choice, which is what appears on their e-handbooks and the stage screen: graduate and leave the game world, or don’t and stay in it. This is the first time anything about the island being a simulation comes up, so the explanations for that are due. Junko’s presence is revealed.

She explains that the group wouldn’t be allowed to graduate until a point where the Future Foundation member was dead. Now, they can. And if they graduate and wake up, their friends who died through the killing game will also go back to life (except Chiaki, of course). Hajime is unsure, so to convince everyone, Junko brings the simulation of the others back, who also pressure Hajime to choose to graduate. But he denies it, because that’s clearly not their friends. How does he know? Because Nagito just said to graduate too, and he’d never share that opinion, he wouldn’t agree in any way with the designs of Junko, who is despair. Therefore, it’s all an illusion!

The truth of that choice is explained: they WOULD all come back to life, but all of them would have Junko’s mind. So uh, yeah, that’s why they act and pose as you’ll see, and MAAAAN how I dig those once again incredible performances!! 

When Monomi appears, it is to reveal the other option: the emergency shutdown command, which will take the survivors out of the program without Junko (and of course without the others). No, Naegi, Kirigiri and Togami do not appear in this version, so she is giving that information on her own and without the 11307 code. But, the Junkofied classmates explain that would also cancel everyone’s progress in the program and return them to how they were before entering it, as Ultimate Despairs.

The two options are summed up: the “hope” option that Nagito is signaling is the emergency shutdown that sacrifices the survivors back to despair but doesn’t let Junko out into the world, and the “despair” option that Imposter is signaling would be the graduation that allows the survivors to wake up with their memories from the program, but also lets Junko out occupying the mind of each of their dead friends. 

On top of that, as everyone is physically restrained to pressure them into the final choice, when Hajime’s trying to talk back to Junko, she reveals he’s the one who brought her to the program to begin with. Since he has no memory of it, she goes ahead and tells him that he’s the legendary Ultimate Hope, Kamukura Izuru. “You are Kamukura Izuru,” she makes everyone chant repeatedly, to get it through his head. So, the shutdown option that reverts everyone to their despaired state, would also make Hajime return to being Izuru. And his current self? The chant is then “disappear”, which gives him the answer to that.

Just as in the game, Hajime is paralyzed. Retreating within his mind, he monologues about how he can no longer choose between hope and despair, themselves or the world, just can’t choose a future. And in much the same conversation, Chiaki hears him out and reminds him that he is himself, that he’s acted undeniably as himself within the simulation and, most importantly, that life isn’t like a game where the 2 options given are all there is; that he can create any other options he wants, create his own path. “You’re not doing it for anyone, but for yourself,” she says, before giving him a hope fragment.

It’s with that mentality, that decision to create his own future, that Hinata returns and convinces the others to do the emergency shutdown. Trusting each other and what should be a new beginning instead of their end, they press both buttons together which begins the process.

The final scene is a perfect replica of the game’s, as far as I can tell. With the digital world falling apart around them, everyone prepares for what may come after, hoping they won’t forget each other and what they went through, a bit scared, but happy to be together and determined to carve out their future. 

With that, the stage play ends. Enjoy the outro!

I hope you’re able to have as much of a great time as I did watching the play. The actors truly awed me with how much life they breathed into their characters, and I strongly recommend watching the play more than once through, ‘cause you can always notice new details, other characters doing their own things in the background when the main spotlight wasn’t on them, characters slipping into poses that are so much like the game sprites, etc. The modifications were also brilliantly done to make things shorter without messing anything up, keeping the plot perfectly together; something admirable and, in my opinion, the work of a very skilled writer. The stage work was just unbelievably amazing to me too. Wanting to show all this, so that other people could appreciate how well done it was, is a large part of why I made this long-ass thing.

Have a cool time reliving the fantastic story that SDR2 was!