#and I haven't written anything similar in 3 years

[sunshine-theseus]

Fools | Kyra Cooney-Cross x ND!Reader

Words: 4.3k

Summary: no one understood your mind, until you met Kyra.

Notes: Guys I have no knowledge of how Emirates is laid out, how meeting players off the pitch works etc, so I’m completely making this shit up I’m sorry. also sorry for the super long introduction, and the shit writing, I haven’t written in months.

Warnings: mentions of abuse - not proofread. i'm so sorry if this is so shit i genuinely haven't written in months. i wanted this one to be good so bad but i just don't think it is

the person who requested this has since deactivated so i actually feel so bad that i didn't get this out while they were on here. i'm genuinely so sorry for the past like 6 months.

I always struggled with social interactions. I didn’t understand it for a long time, why I always had to smile and hug people, why I had to lie about certain things like how I thought my aunt’s bright green hat looked, why I couldn’t ramble about Star Wars or the new penguin facts I just learned.

Then there were the sounds, and lights and the way things felt. Everything had to be specific, or I couldn’t focus. Sometimes if it was bad enough that I would have a breakdown, unable to do anything. My parents tried to scold it out of me when as a kid I couldn’t eat certain foods or wear the clothes they wanted. Sometimes if they deemed it worthy, I’d be met with the flesh of a palm against my cheek or bottom.

-

When I was 12, I presented the idea that maybe I was autistic to my parents. I’d researched it at school for a social emotional learning class we had to take, and I couldn’t help but notice the similarities I found within myself. If I think about it hard enough, I can feel every burning outline of the dark red hand marks that bloomed on my skin hours after the interaction, and the burning of my eyes as my stomach rumbled, drowned out by the music rumbling through my headphones.

-

At 17 I emancipated from my parents and moved to North Watford, renting out a small studio apartment above a record shop. I completed my final year of high school, working part time in the store, building a much-desired routine. The man that owned the shop and my apartment, and his young daughter, were migrants from Cuba, and more than happy to accommodate to my needs. They even chipped in to help me pay for my autism screening after I graduated high school.

I think they were the first people I willingly hugged ever.

I stopped masking when I moved, so the daughter, Elena; 5, took a few months to understand why I didn’t like touch or loud noises and why I didn’t understand some of the jokes she said that others usually laughed at. Not that I’d had the diagnosis at that time, but she was happy to just spend time with me. Every afternoon when I came back from school and started my shift, she’d beg me for more penguin facts, asking which was my favourite penguin. In return she’d spend the 2-hour shift drawing me something, usually a penguin, to pin on my corkboard at home.

I’d then help with her homework while Camilo closed shop and posted any online orders. It was a routine I cherished deeply.

-

Now, 3 and a bit years later at 21 years old, they managed to drag me to a football game. Equipped with headphones and a couple small sensory toys, as well as a hoodie under the “Miedema” jersey, the material of which originally had me tugging and prying the shirt away from my skin.

Elena and Camilo had been big fans of Arsenal for as long as I’d known them, going to every home game, begging me to join them every week without fail. I finally caved during a break in my uni courses, with nothing to do and Elena’s birthday falling on the day of a game, there was no other choice.

The newly 9-year-old basically imploded when she saw my printed ticket stub, tucked tightly into her birthday card. I gently ruffled her hair, which had become my version of hugging her, and showed her the 3 matching red and white #11 jerseys I purchased not long ago. She’d talked a lot about this Vivianne Miedema and how she wanted to be just like her when she grew up, but she’d never gotten a jersey, or seats on the bottom tier. Today was the day.

~

“Come ooonnn I want to get to our seats!” the pinky of her left hand links with my right one as her other hand is holding her dad’s, and she’s dragging us down the lane toward the entrance.

“Slow down Pollito! We have 20 more minutes until we need to be seated.” My special schedule for the day runs through my head as I check my watch. Plenty of time as long as the crowd keeps flowing.

“I wish you didn’t learn Spanish. It’s such a silly nickname.”

“But you’re my little chicken.” I send a joking frown her way and she replies with a toothless grin.

With the abrupt end to the conversation, we arrive at the gate. Showing the stewardess our tickets to be scanned, we then head toward our seats. As Camilo and I take our seats at the very front, instead of make way to their usual seats a tier up, Elena stops and looks back and forth between us.

“There’s no way you got us these seats.” Without a word I pull the girl in between us and she begins to ramble about how excited she is to be able to see the game so close, still able to be clearly heard through my headphones I manage to slip over my ears.

~

The game is drawn 1-1 just after half time, but Arsenal is close to having the upper hand. From across the pitch, Elena spots the tall and lanky number 11, Vivianne Miedema, pulling off her fluoro yellow bib and warm up shirt and lining up next to number 32 behind the fourth official who is prepping her sign. With a couple of whacks to my arm and an aggressive point of her finger, Elena makes me and Camilo very aware of the impending entrance of her favourite player, and another really attractive girl who is very obviously wearing her socks on the wrong feet. The thought makes me squirm but a shot on goal quickly manages to take my focus.

“Who’s the one coming on with Viv? You’ve never told me about number 32.” It’s hard to take my eyes off the girl as she jumps from one foot to the other, anticipating her entrance.

“Oh that’s Kyra Cooney-Cross! She’s Australian, she transferred at the start of the season. Jonas should play her more.” I acknowledge her words with a hum and a nod before we join in cheering Viv and Kyra on.

My eyes are glued to Kyra the rest of the game. Without any knowledge of how football works, I’m left to assume she’s good with the way she dances around players and passes the ball. It was weird, but her movement was so free flowing it would not be atrocious to confuse her with a ballerina. Elegant and calculated, no hesitation.

~

“Where are we going?” my pinky is once again linked with Elena’s as I drag her and Camilo through Emirates.

“Papa where is she going? The exit is that way.”

“I have no clue chica, but I suppose we should trust her aye?” with that, the father-daughter duo track behind me.

Eventually I stop just where the opening of the tunnel leads out on to the pitch and show a lady the pass I’d been carrying around all day. She smiles and begins walking down the tunnel, waving behind her as a sign for us to follow.

“What’s going on?” Elena asks once again, but I just follow the lady onto the pitch, where multiple members of the Arsenal squad are now loitering around, obviously waiting for something, or someone. At the front of the group is Viv, and when she spots the small girl behind me her eyes light up.

“Hi! You must be Elena. We’ve heard a lot about you!” she sends the girl a smile, but Elena doesn’t make any move to continue the conversation. My head whips to her and I nearly have to laugh from how adorable she is. Her jaw has dropped open and her eyes are welling up with tears, so I ruffle her hair and bend down to her height, removing my headphones.

“What’s up buttercup?” I lightly tap her head.

“That’s really her.” she whispers to me, her eyes not leaving the Dutch woman, who lets out a chuckle.

“Yes it is.”

“How?” I tap the side of my nose at her question indicating it’s to be left a secret.

“Can I have a hug?” Viv kneels on one knee and opens her arms and Elena suddenly breaks lose from her trance and runs up to her hero.

“It’s nice to meet you liefje, I hear you’ve been a fan for a long time. And today’s your birthday. How old are you turning?”

“Nine!”

“Oh wow, you’re growing up!”

“I know, but Y/N still calls me Pollito. I’m not a little chicken.” Everyone looking on bursts out laughing as Elena frowns, and while I join them, the loud sound simply reminds me of the lack of protection on my ears.

~

Elena gets whisked off to talk and play around with Viv and some of the other girls, who seem to all have taken a genuine liking to the young girl, Camilo following to watch over them. I stand firmly on the sidelines, fidgeting with an infinity cube and trying to forget the sudden scratching of my hoodie’s tag on the back of my neck and the tightness of my socks, when a now familiar face pops in front of me.

I don’t notice her at first, my eyes are closed and I’m trying breathing patterns in hopes that the overstimulating sensations with dissipate. It’s only when I open my eyes to check on Elena that I get the shock of my life. Number 32 is just standing in front of me, staring, waiting for me to notice her. no less than a minute ago she’d been spinning Elena around and laughing with her, which I’d found alarmingly adorable, how’d she get here so fast?

She doesn’t say anything, she just smiles and waves, and I realise she must think I can’t hear her with my headphones on, which many people tend to ignore. Wow she’s much prettier up close.

“Hi, I’m Y/N” I return her smile, but don’t make any move to remove the headphones.

“I’m Kyra.” Her voice is muffled but her accent is incredible and like music to my ears.

“You played really well today.” Is she blushing? Red creeps up her neck and finds home on her round cheeks as she smiles brightly.

“Ah thanks, I try to give it my all. Hoping to prove I deserve more game time.”

“You don’t get played often?” another chuckle passes her lips and I feel my stomach tighten.

“Uh no. I take it you’re not a big football fan?”

“What gives you that idea.”

“Well rocking up to an Arsenal game with blue nails for a start.” I cock my head to the side and give her a confused look. I did a lot of research for today, there was no room for me to mess up.

“Chelsea, our biggest rivals, their colour is blue. It’s basically forbidden for an arsenal fan to wear blue to a game. Trust me, I learnt the hard way.”

I’m quick to hide my hands in the pocket at the front of my hoodie, fidgeting with my nails. How did I manage to fuck that up?

“You don’t really have to worry, just maybe keep it in mind if you ever come to another game. I hope you do by the way.” She flashes me a smile that makes me feel warm and I can’t help myself.

“You’re very pretty.” She’s about to reply when I glance down and notice her socks are still wrong.

“And I’m not sure if you know but your socks are on the wrong feet.” It’s quiet for a moment and I’m not sure if my common candour has once again overstepped. I can’t even open my mouth to apologise before she giggles.

“I knew there was something wrong. I keep doing it but no one tells me until after the game… and you’re quite beautiful yourself. If you don’t mind me saying.” My eyes continue to avoid her face as I bounce on the balls of my feet and try to refrain from shaking my hands, my most common stim.

“Thank you.”

We’re silent for a minute or so, which I don’t mind now that I’m more familiar with her. I continue to watch Elena and Camilo, who are now playing in a 5v5, Viv carrying the girl halfway down their makeshift pitch before helping her kick the ball. When her laughs echo through the stadium, joy breaking through her screams and from the yells of her dad who is playing a rather poor referee, I’m reminded of how much I love this family. I can’t help the smile on my face.

“Your sister is very adorable.” I glance to my side where Kyra now resides and contemplate telling her she isn’t my sister, but the words get stuck in my throat. If I were to say they weren’t my family after all they’ve done for me, then I’d be lying.

“Yeah. She’s basically my whole life.”

“Hey can I ask about the headphones? I mean you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want but-“

“I’m autistic. Struggle really bad with sound and other stimulants. I wear headphones to dampen sounds, especially in public. And stadiums are full of sounds.” My palms sweat a little and my breath is laboured for a moment. This is usually the part where people decide I’m a freak and never talk to me again.

“Oh cool. I totally get that, the sound thing.” That warm feeling returns. She doesn’t question anything, she just agrees.

~

Eventually the meet and greet had to end, but I manage to get a few of the girl’s numbers, including number 32’s. Something I hadn’t expected was that the team would love Elena so much that they wanted to organise season tickets and some more passes to meet up after home games. I couldn’t help but be a little proud of myself as the young girl rambled about how amazing it was to get to hang out with her idols, and the prospect of seeing them again.

~

Uni starts back up the following week, so I don’t join the two for a game for quite a while. Despite that, I find myself texting Kyra most days, a good morning and goodnight routine quickly being established. We ask each other questions about each other. ‘What did you want to be if football didn’t work out?’ ‘What made you want to study your course?’ ‘what’s your favourite thing about Australia?’.

She liked to ask me about parts of my autism every now and then. She wanted to know what things to avoid, what topics made me ramble for ages, safe foods. The only other people who had ever cared this much were Elena and Camilo. The two of which had definitely taken note of how happy I’d grown since the game.

“Who are you talking to Angelito? You haven’t smiled this big in a long time.” Camilo takes a seat beside me behind the desk of the store

There is no need to hide the blossoming relationship from him, so I turn my screen to show the messages between Kyra and I, a bold ‘No. 32’ under a very weird but unmistakable picture of the girl. He hums and smiles, lightly nudging our shoulders together.

“She likes you.”

“Pft no she doesn’t.”

“‘you’re so cute.’ ‘I really like you.’ ‘I’ll save that for when I take you on a date.’ With a winky face emoji. She literally admits she likes you. Twice.”

“I thought that was that flirty thing people do with their friends.”

“I know when people like each other.”

“How Milo?”

“I have a gift.”

“A gift hmm?” he just smiles widely down at me before taking my phone again. He begins to type something.

“What are you writing Milo? Milo!” I glance over his shoulder.

‘I really like you and would like to go on a date if you’re free.’ I’m about to scold him but three dots appear as Kyra begins typing.

“If this works you owe me an extra hour this week.”

“You are an evil schemer Camilo.” I say before squeezing his shoulder, a common sign of affection we’d developed.

‘I’d really like that. Tomorrow’s our day off if that works.’

I can’t help the squeal I let out as Camilo writes a response in confirmation.

“I’m going on a date.”

“You deserve this kiddo.”

~

Kyra and I agree on a dinner date at a restaurant I’d mentioned really enjoying a few months ago, that I hadn’t had a chance to visit since. I’d made the reservation, asking for the specific table I’d sat at the last time I came, and I’d already decided on what I was getting before I even hoped in the car to drive there.

I’d planned everything perfectly. The place, my outfit, what time I had to leave to arrive there 10 minutes before our agreed upon time. I hadn’t taken into account the car speeding through a red light and crashing into the car in the right lane beside me. Or the fact that due to the momentum I’d get caught between the 2 cars and the building on the corner of the street I was just about to turn down. No more than 15 metres from the restaurant but I’m trapped and the seatbelt is too tight and my head hurts. I’m crushed between my door and the centre console and all the sirens and ambulance lights approaching are too much and all I can do it cry.

If I could just reach my bag in the footwell of the passenger seat I could get my headphones to relieve some of the stimulation, but I can’t bend that way without my ribs screaming and whatever is poking my hip in my back making itself known.

I pray to every god I can name that I pass out, but no one hears as the jaws of life pry open my door. When were the other cars moved?

“Ma’am we have to cut you out. my colleague here is going to hold you up. Is that okay?” I don’t have any energy to say no, so I nod, waiting for some scissors to snip away at the seatbelt. Instead, I hear an electric saw whir to life.

“W- what’s the saw for?” my words are barely recognisable as they slur together.

“Ma’am everything is okay, just stay still for us okay?”

The sawing is over quicker than it begun, and the paramedics make an effort to move me as carefully as they can onto the stretcher, then into the ambulance. I make no move to complain about how the neck brace is itchy and feels suffocating.

A minute passes and through the newly developed ringing in my ears, I hear someone calling my name. they sound so far away but when I open my eyes again, Kyra is standing above me, next to the paramedic who’s hooking me up to monitors,

“Do you know this lady ma’am?” she asks me as I stare up at the girl I was meant to be on a date with.

“Yeah she’s my girlfriend.” A voice in the back of my head is worried that maybe that will freak Kyra out, but I know they won’t let her ride with me if we don’t have some close connection and for some reason friend does not cross my mind.

They allow her to take the extra seat beside me and she loops her pinky with mine. She keeps glancing down toward my stomach and taking deep breaths as we make our way down the streets of London. I try to see what she’s looking at but the brace doesn’t allow me to look that far down.

“You’re going to be okay.” She whispers as they roll me out of the ambulance, and she manages to quickly kiss me before I’m gone from view.

~

I don’t know how long I’m out for, but when I wake up there is a sterile white light beaming down on me and I have to instantly close my eyes. I’m quick to take note of the horrible feeling of the hospital gown I definitely wasn’t in when I’d gone under.

“Papa! She’s awake!” I let out a groan at the yell but and quick to smile once the voice registers in my head.

“Pollito.” My voice is no more than a whisper, hoarse and dry.

“Hey Angelito. How are you feeling.”

“Horrible. The light’s too bright and the gown is so itchy.” Neither Elena nor Camilo leave my side, but the light is off within seconds.

“I more meant physically. You were hit pretty hard.” The screeching of tyres, the smell of burnt rubber, the flashing lights, all rush back to me. So does the pain.

“Now that you mention it. What’s the damage?” it’s meant as a joke but I’m trying not to cry.

“3 broken ribs, 2 fractured, a torn vastus lateralis in your thigh, a lot of muscle damage in your back. It’s going to be a lot of physical therapy kiddo.” The thought has bile rising in my throat.

“Fuck me.”

“It’s okay, we’re going to be here the whole way. All of us.” By now I could know the voice in a crowd of people.

I turn my head and there she is. Kyra is sat in one of the uncomfortable hospital seats with her hand on top of mine.

“If it’s okay with you, Camilo, me and some of the arsenal girls are going to sort out a schedule to take turns helping you with PT. Viv was really hoping she could give some tips considering how long she spent doing PT.”

“That sounds perfect. But please tell me one of you has my pyjamas. I need to get out of this gown.”

~

There was no lie in how difficult rehab was. I had an hour appointment at the hospital every day and additional work at home that Milo, Kyra and some of the arsenal girls happily helped with. The hardest hurdle was amount of physical touch that was required. My physical therapist, Jordan, always made sure I knew when she needed to touch my leg or something, but that did very little to sooth the feeling that crawled beneath my skin. She was able to dim the fluorescent white lights and allowed me to wear my headphone which did help a small amount.

Kyra basically moved into my room above the shop. Milo insisted he could do all the work of getting me around the house and the shop, but we knew he couldn’t while maintaining the shop and looking after Elena. Elena tried her best to help by making me breakfast. She gathered pre-made versions of my safe breakfast food and carefully place them separately on a plate, with a glass of orange juice every morning. After the first week she realised I’d be in a wheelchair and struggling to move around much for much longer than she thought, so she quickly gave up on that idea and began making me penguin drawings at school.

I’d adapted to having Kyra around much quicker than I expected to. When I moved in at 17, it took me months to get used to the layout and the fact that I was alone, despite Camilo and Elena living in the house across the road. I adapted to Kyra’s presence within weeks.

After the second week we’d decided it was easier to share the bed rather than her sleeping on the couch, which had been the biggest change. I struggled with it the first few nights. I had a sleep routine that was already disrupted by the injuries, now I had to take another person into account. But she was so warm, and I felt so safe in her arms. Whenever I woke up from a nightmare about the crash, she grabbed me an iced tea and my headphones and would ramble about whatever interests she had recently developed or whatever was happening at training.

It was in the second month things took a more serious turn. Well serious for our relationship. I was sitting at the table chopping the vegetables for dinner while she begins cooking, when I took a minute to just look at her. The warm lighting softened her features, her quiet humming to whatever song was playing carried throughout the room, the smile that seemed to never leave her face sat perfectly on her lips as she listened to me ramble about the newly discovered yellow king penguin. She was so radiant and attentive, and she was never annoyed at me when I was overstimulated or wanted to infodump. She was seemingly unaffected by my rehab and most importantly unaffected by my autism. After a life full of negative interactions and losing people because of one thing I couldn’t control, I’d found a family and a partner who embraced me.

I didn’t realise I was crying until she turned and asked me what was wrong.

“I’m just grateful.”

“For what?”

“You, Milo, Elena. I love you all so much.” I didn’t realise I’d said it really. I was just being candid, as I always was.

“You love me?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation even as it dawned on me.

“Well, I love you too.” There is a split second between the end of her sentence and the meeting of our lips in a kiss.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” I ask as we pull away.

“Wait- I thought- when you called me your girlfriend on the ambulance I kind of took that as you asking me to be your girlfriend.” She begins laughing.

“What? This whole time I’ve been nervous about actually asking you and you already thought I had?” I can’t help but join her laugh.

“We’re such fools.” She whispers, and we kiss again.

I'll always be a fool for her.

[vettelsvee]

THIS IS ALL MY FAULT | Sebastian Vettel

f1 masterlist | wattpad | ao3 | requests or let's talk!

sebastian vettel x platonic!photographer!reader

based on this request: Okay! So after watching the run Sebastian organized at Imola, I has the idea of reader being someone that works for him (not sure what for though) maybe getting really sick for running in the rain that day, which ends up with Sebastian feeling guilty over it. It’s a silly idea, really, but I think it has a lot of potential to vibes similar to what Sebastian seems to have with the drivers, kind of playing dad to the grid 🥺.

summary: you work as a photographer during the forever senna tribute seb prepared, but you end up being sick

word count: 1618

warnings: none of them really! seb feeling guilty because he thinks reader got sick because of him.

a/n: I'm finally back! sorry for not posting at all during all this past month, university has had me really stressed but I'm finally free from it until september! idk if this is actually something well written because i haven't written anything for a month! also, hope you anon like this even it's definitely crap 😭

© VETTELSVEE (2024). please, do not steal, copy or translate my works. thanks for reading!

The rain kept falling on the circuit, but that wasn't such an excuse for Sebastian and his team to cancel what they had been working on for months.

The run that the retired driver had decided to organize on Thursday not only with Formula 1 drivers, but also with those from Formula 2 and 3, and even other members of the sport, in honor of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, was more than perfect. It was an absolute success. And Sunday, when Vettel would drive the car that once belonged to the Brazilian pilot who died 30 years ago on that same circuit, hadn't even arrived yet.

You had been busy taking photos of everything, as you were Sebastian's official photographer. Now, you were gathering all the equipment you had used because the cold you were enduring was barely bearable. You had been out in the rain all day, following Seb wherever he went, which had made you feel increasingly worse. Now, your hands couldn't stop shaking, and you felt like you were about to faint at any moment.

"Y/N, are you okay?" one of the team members asked.

"Yes, of course," you replied with a weak smile. "I'm just a bit cold. I'll be back to be the same me as soon as we get back to the hotel."

The man nodded, not wanting to press you further despite not being very convinced by your words after seeing your completely pale face.

You decided to continue with your work, ignoring anyone who approached you to exchange even the slightest word. You tried to ignore the growing headache, the fatigue, and the tightness in your chest, which seemed to be worsening. Although the rain had stopped and you were in one of the garages, the sky remained dark.

You were surprised to see Sebastian, still wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, just a few meters away from you. You shook your head, trying not to pay attention, and certainly not to worry. He was just your "boss," so to speak, and he was old enough to know what he needed to do to avoid getting sick. Well, he also had Britta, who was like a second mother to him.

A sharp pain pierced your temples. You staggered slightly, and if it hadn't been for your momentum making you lean your back against the wall behind you, you would have fallen to the ground.

"For God's sake, Y/N, you look terrible," he said as calmly as he could, though you could sense his nerves in his tone of voice. "You should go and have a rest. Like… now."

"Seb, we still have a lot to do. It's not just packing up the equipment, but also transferring the photos to the computer, editing them, then preparing the posts for you Instagram account..."

"Y/N, I love your work, but you've done more than enough for today," he interrupted, putting a hand on your shoulder, running his fingers carefully over it. "Now, I'll talk to Britta and we'll assign it to someone who knows what they're doing, okay?"

For a moment, you considered protesting, reproaching him that this was your job, and that's why he wanted you on his team since shortly before leaving Aston Martin, but the way he looked at you made you stop. He seemed worried, very worried. That's why you ended up not only reluctantly accepting but also letting him guide you to a nearby chair.

"Stay here. I'll bring you something warm."

As you watched Seb walk away, you sighed, managing to relax somehow. You saw him enter the Red Bull hospitality, and you assumed it was where he felt most comfortable. A few minutes later, you saw the blonde with two small steaming cardboard cups. As he reached your height, he offered you one of them.

"Thank you," you murmured, wrapping your hands around the cup and taking a sip. Chocolate, something you loved, and Seb knew it perfectly.

"Do you promise you'll go back to the hotel as soon as you finish your hot chocolate?"

"I promise," you assured him. "But I can't promise that..."

"Y/N, just no work for today," he cut in, seeing that you weren't going to fulfill what you had promised. "I want you to spend today and tomorrow resting. Sunday will be a tough day for us. You can do it, at least for me, or am I wrong?"

You nodded your head as if you were seven years old again. You knew you were going to rest as much as you could in your hotel room, but that didn't mean you weren't going to do anything. As you had already planned, you were obviously going to continue with your work. You couldn't disappoint Sebastian, not on such an important weekend like this.

[...]

Sebastian accompanied you to the door of your room, and despite having exchanged a couple of messages with you on Friday, having let you rest all afternoon and part of Saturday morning, and having agreed that you would come to a meeting room in the hotel at 12pm on Saturday to finalize the details of tomorrow's tribute, he didn't see you there.

"Have you seen Y/N?" he asked Britta directly, a little distressed. "She told me she would come with no doubt."

"And she did come," the ex-pilot's PR commented, "but I sent her back to her room as soon as I saw her shivering. Her forehead was burning, and she said she had a slight fever. It wasn’t just a slight fever, Seb," Britta assured him.

The man nodded but became even more worried. Quickly bidding farewell to Roeske, he headed towards your room. He saw the door slightly ajar, possibly your mistake. He knocked softly before entering, and the sight that greeted his eyes made him feel bad instantly.

You were curled up in bed, trembling uncontrollably. You had a small towel on your forehead with cold water to see if you could control your body temperature since you couldn't take your medicine again until the corresponding hours had passed, which was already the next day.

Your face was completely flushed, and your breathing was labored.

As soon as you realized Seb's presence, your eyes welled up with tears. You tried to force a smile, but all that came out were tears from how bad you felt not only for Seb to see you like this but also for ruining something so important.

"Seb... You didn't have to come," you stammered, your voice barely audible.

"Of course, I did! Don't be ridiculous!" he responded quickly, sitting beside you. He placed a hand on your forehead and realized Britta was right. "My God, Y/N, you're burning up. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so bad?"

"I... didn't want to worry you," you admitted between tears of frustration and exhaustion. "Tomorrow is an important day. You need to be resting to give your best tomorrow. There are people who have come just for you, Seb, you can't let them down."

You noticed him tense a bit at the mention. His lips curved, and his jaw tightened. He took a deep breath and took your hand almost without thinking.

"This is my fault..." he whispered softly. He seemed overwhelmed with guilt, and much of it. You cursed yourself for making him think that when it was all really your fault. "Nothing is more important than your health, Y/N. I'm so sorry, really..."

"Seb, it's okay, really. These things happen; it's completely normal. There's probably someone else like me..."

His silence was the response you partly expected, but it didn't hurt until you saw him shake his head.

"I just wanted to give my best so that the photos would turn out perfect and you would have content worthy of all the work you've put into this..." was all you could say.

"You're already the best, Y/N," he said softly, tucking a strand of hair away from your face. "In fact, you're so perfect that you should stop being so perfect to start worrying more about yourself. And since you don't worry about yourself... let me do it for you, okay?"

Although you didn't agree with him and didn't believe you deserved his praise, you were too weak to argue.

Sebastian stayed with you all day, including the night. He made sure you were as comfortable as possible, brought you water, and soaked the cold cloth in water to lower your fever as soon as possible, miraculously something that worked. He didn't leave your side, not even when you had a coughing fit or sneezed without covering your mouth.

Your fever began to lower in the late hours of that day. Your breath calmed down, and the color seemed to return to your cheeks. Seb sighed with relief, quickly hugging you while continuously placing small kisses on your face and playing with your hair, making you laugh incessantly.

After ordering room service for dinner, since your appetite seemed to have returned, you fell asleep, at least apparently. To avoid disturbing you, Seb went from lying down next to you to reclining on a sofa next to the bed. His eyes were heavy with tiredness, but that didn't stop him from staying alert in case you needed his help.

"Rest, Y/N," he whispered, leaving a soft kiss on your forehead before caressing it. "I guess I'll have to take you out to dinner for the damages I caused."

You smiled at the last thing Seb had said, grateful that every time you got sick, you didn't fall into a deep sleep, and wishing that what Seb had said was true.

[vbecker10]

Loki's Silent Sentry (Part 1)

Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7

Pairing: Loki x female reader (y/n)

Summary: You are not just a soldier in Asgard's Royal Army, you are Lieutenant Y/L/N, Prince Loki's personal guard, his sentry and you are not supposed to fall in love with him. If you followed your training properly, you should never have even spoken to him. As a sentry, you are expected to remain silent and invisible as you shadow your appointed member of the royal family or member of the court protectively throughout their daily tasks.

Rumors (that happen to be true) begin to circulate through the palace that you serve the younger prince of Asgard both outside and inside his chambers. There is little you can do once word of your off duty activities spread through every maid, cook, gardener and seamstress in the palace. You soon find even the soldiers in your own company are now questioning how exactly you had come to earn your seemingly quick rise to lieutenant.

As the annual Winter Solstice Ball approaches, you come to the heartbreaking realization that your relationship with Loki must come to an end if you are both to fulfill your duties.

Warnings: Angst, arguing, Thor being an absolute ass, Odin being a terrible father

A/N: I did some googling quickly for military terms and ranks (since I have no previous knowledge of them) as well as some basic information about the royal guards in England. I took some of what I found interesting and then made up most of the rest to fit what I needed for my story so there will be some similarities. Also... I haven't written anything in like a year (maybe longer) so be nice please 💚💚

You stand at constant attention in silence outside of Prince Loki's private office. You listen to the birds singing through the open window across the hall from where you are posted and wonder how long you could go without making a sound. You have been trained by the Royal Army for years to remain silent, vigilant, always listening and watching your surroundings for anything dangerous or out of the ordinary. You are always on guard, ready to protect Prince Loki should the need arise. Not that someone with his fighting skills or magic would need protection from a simple soldier like you. You were assigned this post purely because it was customary for each member of the royal family to have a sentry, whether they actually need one or not.

Your attention is drawn to the sound of footsteps approaching from your left. You are unable to determine how many people are coming but judging by their pace and heavy boots, they are most likely all soldiers. Commandant Thorn, the soldier in charge of your company, makes his way down the hall at a steady pace. He is followed by your captain, Captain Skye who is holding a leather bound book containing the names of all the sentries and their current posts. Trailing the two older men, are four low ranking soldiers you can't remember the names of.

The group of soldiers comes to a stop in front of you and your fellow guard and you both salute your commanding officers. "Lieutenant Y/L/N," Captain Skye says, opening his book for a moment. He closes it and looks up at you, "Prince Loki will of course be attending the Winter Solstice Ball. You will be required to escort him to the ballroom and remain on guard there until he dismisses you for the evening."

You nod in response, carefully hiding the heavy emotions you have surrounding the upcoming ball. The soldiers move on and you are left alone with the other guard again. She says nothing to you and even if you were allowed to speak, you know Sergeant Sands wouldn't talk to you. She is not your friend, none of the members of the Royal Guard are your friends. It wasn't always this way though, it is only since you were promoted to the rank of lieutenant that the guards you work with began to distance themselves from you.

You had been assigned to Prince Loki for three months when you were promoted from sergeant to lieutenant. Your fellow soldiers immediately assumed the young prince had a hand in it as he did little to hide how he favored you over the other guards who were previously assigned to him. The rumors about you spending the night in Loki's chamber instead of guarding it flowed through the palace soon after. You adamantly denied these rumors and any favoritism from the prince but it was a wasted effort. It also happened that the rumors were true to a point.

The door to Loki's office opens and you stand at attention as the court accountant exits, holding several rolls of paper and mumbling to himself. Sargeant Sands follows him without any orders needed, she is his sentry and will go where he goes. As she walks past by, she glances at you with what can only be described as a look of disgust. You look down at your boots, fully aware of what she is thinking.

You wait quietly for Loki to open the door again but you know him, he will want to read through all of his notes from today before he finalizes his meeting schedule for tomorrow. You have roughly half an hour until he will be done, half an hour to stand here and think about the dreaded Winter Solstice Ball.

Another half an hour later, as expected, Loki opens the door and walks out. Waving his hand towards the door, he uses his magic to seal the room. He smiles warmly at you and you smile back at him for the first time today. This was your favorite part, the part where the sun goes down and Loki frees you from your constant silence.

He touches your cheek softly and leans in to kiss you. You kiss him back but pull away quickly as you hear footsteps approaching. You step away from Loki and stand at attention as Prince Thor comes around a corner. You keep your eyes straight ahead but you can feel Loki stiffening next to you, he and his brother get along much better when they are at court than they do in private.

The brothers greet each other politely and you silently wish the older prince would simply continue on his way but it doesn't seem likely. Your attention shifts to the window across the hall from you again, you can just barely glimpse the sunset over the tall evergreen trees in the distance. You know Loki will tell you if he and Thor discuss anything interesting so there is no need for you to listen to their conversation. The two of them continue for several long minutes before you realize Thor has said something to you.

"Lieutenant Y/L/N?" Thor says and you shake your head as you shift your focus.

"I'm sorry your highness, I was unaware you were speaking to me," you apologize. He had never spoken to you before and you were unsure why he would start now. Loki folds his arms across his chest and you feel uneasy at how annoyed he seems.

Thor laughs which does nothing to make you feel better. "I was wondering what it was about you that made you my brother's favorite," he says. "You must truly be special, a sentry's post typically only lasts three months, perhaps six at the most. You have been with Loki for how long now?"

You think for a moment before replying. You had been assigned to Loki for only a month before he first spoke to you and you had quickly become close friends. Three months after becoming friends with the prince, you slowly became more until you were completely in love with him.

"Fourteen months," you answer him in as few words as possible.

Thor looks at his younger brother with a smirk, "Fourteen?" Loki remains silent and you can tell his older brother is not even close to letting you leave soon. He turns his attention to you again, "So is it true then?"

"Is what true your highness?" you ask quietly.

"That you follow my brother's orders when you are wearing your armor and when you are not?" he laughs and his sentry smiles then looks towards the ground. "I could use a sentry like that, I grow tired of being followed by these shadows."

Loki's fist clenches but he answers Thor calmly. "Maybe if you learned your sentries name and weren't so insufferable to be around, they would remain at your service for longer than a month at a time," Loki says. "And you are the last person I would expect to listen to palace rumors. According to the most recent ones I've heard, you've slept with nearly half of the kitchen staff this month alone."

Thor smiles, proud of himself. You and Loki realize the stories you had overheard were true, if not understated. He explains, "That is why I assume the rumors of you and your little pet are true as well."

You find yourself in that brief moment wishing Loki would confirm everyone's suspensions. Not necessarily that you were sleeping together, that you were in love and wanted to be together. You know wishing for this is as useful as wishing it would rain gold. Once again you remind yourself that this is the way it will always be, until he marries a woman of high status and you are forgotten.

Instead of responding, Loki turns from his brother and walks down the hall towards the stairwell that leads to the royal family's chambers. You follow him silently, staying a few steps behind as always.

"Come now brother, I was merely joking," Thor calls from behind you but neither of you stop walking.

The two of you continue on in silence until you reach the top of the stairs and Loki's pace slows so he is walking next to you. His hand finds yours, his thumb gently stroking your knuckles. As soon as you feel his touch, you begin to relax.

"I'm sorry about my brother," he says quietly.

"His behavior isn't your fault," you reply. "And he is far from the first person to corner me about our relationship. I am used to denying the truth."

He stops, causing you to turn back towards him, your hand still holding his. He then takes a few small steps, closing the distance between you. Loki touches your cheek gently with his other hand. "I'm sorry Y/N," he tells you again. "I wish we didn't have to hide but you know there are some rules even I cannot break so openly. Maybe I should have hid my favoritism towards you better but I couldn't bear to have you reassigned. You mean too much to me."

You smile, "So I am your favorite sentry?"

He lets out a laugh, "You are my favorite person in the nine realms." You giggle at his answer and his fingers trail down your cheek until his thumb gently runs across your lips. He leans down to kiss you but just as his lips touch yours, you feel your heart jumps in your chest.

You hear several sets of footsteps and separate yourself from Loki in an instant. He looks down the hall as his mother, two of her maids and one guard come into view. She smiles brightly at both of you as she comes closer and you bow to the queen in respect. You find it hard to miss the side eye from her sentry or the whispers shared between her maids. Loki gives his mother a hug and wishes her a goodnight. She tells him to have a goodnight as well and continues on her way.

You and Loki walk off in the opposite direction towards his chambers and once you are alone again, Loki moves to take your hand but you flinch away. He looks hurt by your momentary rejection but he doesn't say anything. He knows how nervous you are about being seen touching him or speaking to him. You round the next corner and are flooded with relief as Loki's door finally comes into view. You fight the urge to smile, holding onto your composure as you've been trained.

Loki opens the door and steps inside, you follow him as you always do and he closes the door. He flicks his wrists towards you without a word and the heavy armor you wear over your clothing instantly settles itself neatly into a large chest. You take a few deep breaths, feeling as if most of the weight you have been carrying leaves you, but not all.

"Thank you your highness," you say out of habit.

"Please, never call me that in here," he reminds you gently. "In here I'm not a prince, I'm just Loki." He walks towards you and you don't realize you are moving away from him until your back hits the door and his body comes flush to yours. One hand settles on your hip while his other hand lifts your chin, causing you to look up at him. He continues, "And you are not Lieutenant Y/L/N, you are Y/N. The woman I am so deeply in love with." He smiles and you can't help but smile back at his words. All your worries vanish the instant his lips meet yours.

You lay in Loki's arms watching the sunlight fill his room through the sheer curtains. You try to memorize the sound of his slow, steady breathing and the feel of his heart beat against your back as he holds you even in his sleep. You inhale deeply and focus on deciphering every herb and oil Loki uses to keep his hair soft. Closing your eyes, you use your senses to bring an image of Loki's face into your mind and try to hold it there.

"What are you thinking about my love?" he asks in a sleepy voice. You open your eyes and shift closer to him, pulling his arms tighter around your body. "Y/N, what's wrong?" he asks, now much more awake.

You swallow hard, trying to find the words. You had been thinking about what you needed to do most of the night but now that it was time, you weren't sure you would be able to do it.

"I've told you, you can speak freely here," he says softly, urging you gently as always to speak your mind when you were with him. His fingers move slowly up and down your arm as he tries to comfort you without knowing what is causing your distress.

"I need to transfer to a new post," you tell him. You hear him inhale sharply as his fingers suddenly go still.

You stand outside Loki's office with Thor's new guard and two others in silence waiting for a very long meeting to conclude. You stifle a yawn and shift uncomfortably on your feet before regaining your composure. The tall guard standing across from you rolls his eyes while the woman next to him mumbles something that can only be about you.

It has been two days since you told Loki you wanted to transfer and you hadn't heard anything from your commanding officer. In the meantime, you decided to go back to sleeping in your assigned room at the soldiers quarters. You had forgotten how much you hated it there. The common areas are loud and there is little privacy, everyone is in everyone else's business. You barely leave your room, which is a surprise to no one. They wouldn't speak to you even if you did. You live in a world of utter silence surrounded by never ending noise.

You feel as if you are shattering from the inside out and you try to remind yourself that it needs to be this way. The two of you hid in his chambers as if it protected your relationship but it could never be real. How could it be when he could barely acknowledge your presence when in public. He is a prince and you are a soldier as were your parents, you were not high born. Loki is destined to marry the daughter of a council member and you will guard them and their children.

The door to Loki's office opens, you and the three guards stand at attention. Prince Thor walks out first, followed by two council members. They walk off in different directions, shadowed closely by their sentries but you remain, as always, at Loki's door.

You stare at the wall in front of you for what feels like eternity. Your mind wanders between your favorite memories from your brief time with Loki and the crushing weight of your current reality. You stand up straighter when you hear the door swing open and Loki steps out.

"Lieutenant Y/L/N," he says, "I need to speak with you."

You nod and follow him into his office, closing the door behind you. You stand motionless, taking in his office and how much it feels like him. The dark wood bookshelves crowded with leather bound books, the chair pulled close to the window so he can see the garden below when drinking his afternoon tea, the green and gold accents on various pieces of furniture.

You sigh to yourself as you follow him to his desk. He takes a seat and you stand across from him with your arms behind your back, waiting for him to speak first.

"Y/N," he says informally but you don't relax. "Your transfer to a new post was not approved."

"Can I ask why your highness?" you keep the formalities as you've been trained.

"The Winter Solstice Ball is in less then a week," he answers as if you could forget. "The Royal Guard seems to be too busy tightening security and preparing for everyone's arrival to complete your paper work at this time."

"Understood, your highness," you say. "I should return to my post." You turn to head back outside of his office.

"Wait," he calls and you freeze just before you reach the door. You hear him get up from his seat and walk around the desk. "Please stay, talk to me Y/N. I miss you so much it hurts."

"I can't," you say almost in a whisper

He touches your arm and you turn to face him, seeing the pain in his eyes. "I miss the way your laughter filled my chambers. I miss hearing you hum to yourself when you think I can't hear you. I miss the sound of your voice and how easy it is to talk to you," he says and you force down a smile and the urge to hold him tightly.

"I can't bear to be without you," he tells you and you want to tell him you can't be apart from him either but you remain silent for fear you'll lose your resolve completely. He strokes your cheek gently and you close your eyes as you lean into his touch. "I love you," he says.

"I love you too," you tell him, seeing a spark of hope light his eyes. You shake your head and take a step away from him, "But I can't do this. I'm sorry." Before he can say anything else you tell him, "It will only hurt more the longer we wait to end this."

"We don't have to end this, now or ever," he insists as he steps towards you. "I promise I will find a way for you to be mine, not just when we are hidden away, but always. You believe me, don't you?"

"I want to," you tell him truthfully. Loki had promised several times to find a way to marry you but you thought it was false hope. "But this isn't a fairytale my prince, we don't always get a happy ending."

You want to disappear into the marble floor, to be sucked into the wall behind you or simply vanish into thin air but you can't. Instead, you must stand perfectly still and silent as you watch the dancing and merriment around you. You momentarily wish you would go back to a time when you didn't feel an ache in your chest at the mere thought of another woman being in Prince Loki's arms. Shaking your head just slightly, you chase away the thought. As much as this hurts, you will always cherish the limited time you shared with him.

The music changes tempo as the first of seven courses comes to an end. Couples begin to take to the open floor in the center of the ballroom. Prince Thor and Prince Loki make their way to the group of single, eligible women awaiting them, each at a different pace. The older prince seems to now exactly which woman he would like to spend time with first. He offers his arm to her and declares her the most beautiful woman at the ball, causing her to blush and giggle. The younger prince takes his time walking to the crowd and simply takes the hand of the closest woman without so much as glancing at her. His lack of interest does little to dampen her excitement however.

The dozen or so women who were not chosen move away from the dance area and you have to hold back a groan as they gather directly in front of you to wait for a chance with one of the princes. You can't help but listen to them discuss which prince they think is better looking or who they would prefer picked them. The first song ends and the two princes each select another dance partner. Again, Prince Thor takes little time deciding who he wants while Prince Loki simply offers his hand to the first woman he sees. You can practically hear him sigh as she holds his arm and walks quickly to the dance floor.

As the second song begins, one of the women briefly looks at you over her shoulder before motioning towards you to her friends. Your ears go red with embarrassment as she tells them the rumors of your past relationship with Loki just loud enough that she knows you will hear. Of course she gets the ending wrong. She assumes, like everyone else, that the prince grew tired of you and banished you from his bed chambers. You had to admit, it seemed a far more likely story than the truth.

You shift your attention to the ceiling for a moment, hoping that counting the candles in the chandeliers will distract you from their stares and comments. You only count to twenty seven before the sound of a glass shattering draws your gaze back to the guests. A council member laughs loudly, clearly drunk already, as a servant cleans the wine glass from the dance floor.

Your eyes scan the room and easily find Loki at the center of the crowd, a third woman in his arms. Your drawn to his face, studying his features. He smiles at the woman as he twirls her and she giggles but she doesn't know him like you do. She doesn't know that's the smile he uses at court, not the smile he shows you. Showed you, you correct yourself. He glances away, not holding eye contact with her as they move effortlessly across the dance floor.

After the final course is served, the dance floor fills for the last time and you sigh with relief that the night is almost over. You shift on your feet, looking down for a moment when the chatter of the women in front of you begins again. Why must they stand here to wait, you think to yourself.

The princes once again make their way to their potential dance partners and Thor makes his pick quickly. Loki stands in front of the women for a moment and your eyes lock with his as he looks between them.

"Pardon me," he says politely to the crowd as he moves forward, slipping past the confused women. He makes his way towards you and your breath catches in your throat. He stands in front of you and holds out his hand. You look at him, stunned by his actions. He smiles when you don't move, "Will you dance with me, my love?" Still you remain silent, looking past Loki to see how much attention his actions have drawn. "Don't look at them," he says, touching your cheek softly as you look at him again.

You steady your nerves and place your hand in his. The moment his fingers close around yours, you are surrounded by a light cloud of green, shimmery smoke. When Loki's magic fades, you are wearing a flowing emerald green gown with golden trim, perfectly matching his dress uniform. Your hair has been restyled to hold a small gold tiara with short horns, mirroring the helmet he had worn during his entrance.

"Gods, you look gorgeous in my colors," he says with a wide smile, causing you to blush. "To be fair, you are always beautiful but now it is clear to everyone here that you are mine." You feel as if your heart might burst when he calls you his, he had said it before but only when you were hidden away.

Loki keeps his fingers interlaced with yours as he leads you to the dance floor, straight through the group of now very angry women. Some cross their arms, others give you dirty looks and several make rude comments as you pass. You pause before stepping onto the dance floor, the chatter and stares coming from the guests near you holding you back. He senses your hesitation and leans down to place a kiss gently on your cheek.

Your mind can barely begin to process what is happening as he takes you straight to the middle of the dance floor. He places one hand on your hip and you place your hand on his shoulder as you had done so many times over the last few months. You and Loki shared several secret dances in his chambers and his office, he found it difficult to listen to music sitting still.

He holds you close, his eyes never leaving yours while you dance between the other guests. You focus on how amazing it feels to be back in his arms, ignoring the strange looks and whispers that surround you. He twirls you gracefully and you spin back into him, giggling as you final feel at ease. As the song draws to a close, Loki spins you one final time. When he pulls you back to him, he leans down slightly and your lips meet his.

You smile up at him, hoping this isn't a dream when you see his mother approaching you. You take a step away from Loki but he keeps his hand on your waist, not letting you go too far. You bow to the queen and she says, "I think it is my turn to dance with my son."

You nod quickly in agreement and Loki let's go of you, his magic fading instantly as your armor reappears. You walk through the crowd with your head down and return to your post, once again wishing you were invisible. The women watch you, gossiping wildly as you pass again. You can only imagine what they are saying but they are not your biggest concern at the moment.

Anxiously, you watch Queen Frigga and her son move across the dance floor. You can't hear what they are saying of course, but you can tell by her expression that there will be consequences for his actions. As the song ends you see your captain approach you and your stomach drops. Loki will not be the only one to be punished for choosing you.

"The king had summoned you to the throne room," he says in a stern voice. You nod in acknowledgement and when you look back towards the dance floor, Loki and his mother are gone.

I'm almost done with the second part so please let me know if you would like to be tagged! I hope you liked it and if you did, please like, share and comment 💚💚

@soubi001 @michelleleewise @harlequin-hangout @ace-of-gay @xorpsbane @mochie85 @sheris532 @lokiswife-dark-fox-queen @kkdvkyya @animnerd @peaches1958 @peachyjinx @theaudacitytowrite @lokiandbuckysdoll @winterfrostlovetriangle @high-functioning-lokipath @winniewings @pics-and-fanfics @cabingrlandrandomcrap @icytrickster17 @lokisgoodgirl @mischief2sarawr @stupidthoughtsinwriting @mjsthrillernp @holdmytesseract @holymultiplefandomsbatman @lulubelle814 @crimson25 @goblingirlsarah @janineb86 @chantsdemarins

[obeymeshallwedateaddict]

The love letter

So recently I found these love letters I've written from each brother towards MC and they are absolutely adorable! I completely forgot about them tbh. Turns out I've written them about a year ago but here they are.. Enjoy!

You can find more of my work here: Masterlist

............................................................................

Lucifer

Hello, MC. It's me, Lucifer. And before you start wondering why I've written to you and begin questioning your past mischiefs, know that I'm not writing to you to scold you. This isn't an official written demand either. Though think about it? What if it was a demand? An official written demand for you to come to my office and sit beside me while I work when I'm covered in endless piles of paperwork. Or and official written demand for you to spend more time with me because the time apart has been getting to me and I feel anxious without you. It's needless to say that I need you. So take this as an official written demand for you to love me more. Me and me alone. Love me the way I love you. I want to occupy your heart just like you've been occupying mine. When did you even put this spell upon me I wonder? Nevertheless, come to my room. I want to show you the love I'm capable of, darling.

-Your dear Avatar of Pride, Lucifer.

Mammon

Hey there, MC it's me The Great Mammon! Of course you know it's me duh! So there has been somethin' I've been meanin' to tell ya ...How do people say this damn? So as ya might have already noticed I've been actin' little weird and been blushing quite more frequently (< I searched that word up to be sure) around you . I don't even know if I'm myself anymore. And the worst thing is that I'm thinking about you more than makin' money! But it's not like I'm in love with you nah deffo not! ... Ok fine! I-I am in l-love with ya! Ya happy? Guess I do love you more than money huh? I'm crazy 'bout ya, MC. Head over heels in love. More than I've been with anyone else. ... Well yeah that's it. All right that's done, time to get some money! Ya know me! See ya, baby!

-your Great Mammon <3

Leviathan

Hi, MC it's me Levi. How are you doing? Wanna play something? Or even maybe hang out for a bit? We could talk or s-snuggle up together while watching your favourite anime. Anything you would like it would be my pleasure to do! ... Uhh it's like recently I've been craving to hang out with you and get to know you as well as constantly play games with you. It's like a certain urge of doing so. Could it be something similar to the connection between Henry and the lord of Shadow in The Tale of the Seven Lords? But they are just close friends. Something like ... I believe they call it "partners in crime". But what I feel for you is quite different. Maybe something like the relationship between Ruri-chan and her lover. Yes differently something like that. But that puts it as if I've fallen for you. Could it be? C-Could I b-be in l-l-love with you? And if I am, does that still make me an otaku? Answer this for me Ok? See you... Love?

-Your player number 1, Levi <3

Satan

Hi, MC. You know... it's been quite some time since we last hung out together. Wanna come read with me in the library or stop at this new cat café? I could pet your head and stroke your hair like the little kitten you are to me. I could read you endless stories of fortune and love as well as spoil you until every single desire of yours is fulfilled. Let me help you indulge in a world of fantasy and passion, showing you every side of myself that you haven't seen. Every emotion I feel when I am lost in your eyes or hidden within your embrace. A world of true ecstasy and love I know you've been craving to see. Let me take you to the unbelievable debts of my heart which is spoiled from the love that's been sitting there long enough. And now that love has a name. "MC". I love you, kitten.

-your wrath-cat, Satan

Asmodeus

Hey hey heyyyyy, MC!!! Yesterday I bought a new nail polish and I'm sure it will look absolutelyyyy adorableee on you!!! Let's try it out together, m'kay? We can match! Oh just imagine the look on Mammon's face when he sees us matching! He will pull up that pouty face that I so love! Anywayyyssss.. afterwards we can take a bath together with your favourite bath salts! Let's look fabulous together, MC! Though you may not manage to look more beautiful than me but you can always be second! Actually... MC, in my heart you are the first. People may be all over me and I do show love to each of them but the most sincere love I feel is for you. I love you, my adorable, fluffy, little sheep! And this love is a lot different than the love for my followers. I love you as my partner. So what do you say to the offer? You become my partner and I become only yours? Sufficient enough? Bye bye, hon!

-Yours truly, Asmo <3

Beelzebub

Hello, MC. Are you hungry? Let's go to Hell's kitchen. Me and Belphie were planning on going to eat Devil sandwiches there but he fell asleep. Though I was going to invite you to come with us anyway I'd love to go with you alone. We could make it a lunch date at Hell's kitchen. But MC, you need to know that as hungry as I have been recently food has not been enough. Well it has never been enough but I feel even more hungry. Hungry... Hmm though am I hungry for food? Or maybe I'm hungry for your love and affection. And this hunger is stronger than the regular one, MC. Sometimes I wonder if it's even a hunger or a need for you. And it never goes away. The only time it subsides is when I'm with you. Which indicates that we have to spend more time together to fulfil my hunger. Will you stay with me, MC? Let's meet up in the kitchen so I could show you the depths of my hunger. I love you, muffin.

-Your cinnamon roll glutton, Beel

Belphegor

MC, hi. How have you been doing? Beel mentioned that when he was going to the kitchen yesterday for his midnight snack he heard you, Mammon and Levi playing games together. My point is... MC do you sleep enough? I can't imagine a world without sleep. If it was forbidden to sleep I would gladly go and die. But... That was before. Now.. I feel like if sleep was really forbidden I could manage with you around. You've made a change in me, MC. I can't say I don't like it though. I feel more productive even if I take constant naps. You make me feel this way. It's like.. I feel loved. Though it's a different kind of love than what my brothers and I share. It's more.. passionate. It's more deep. It's constantly making me tired but when I go to bed I can't fall asleep if I don't hear your voice or feel you cuddled up against me. So let me say this: I love you. Will you be my body pillow next time, my cuddle bug-... Zzz..

-Your sleepy boy, Belphie. Zzz

[catsteinbooks]

The Thin Dark Duke of Hell

Haven't actually written a meta before, but I've been mulling this around in my head, so here's my take on why I think Crowley is likely to be a Duke of Hell in season 3.

Reason 1: it makes narrative sense

From a story-telling perspective, it's the logical starting place for season 3. Especially if we consider how the original idea was developed as a sequel to the book.

There's no body-swap in the book. Neither Aziraphale nor Crowley has heard from "their sides" at the end, so technically they're still connected to Heaven and Hell. They haven't been punished or kicked out. They even speculate that maybe everyone will just pretend it didn't happen.

And now we're approaching the Second Coming. The Big One. "All of us against all of them." Where are our heroes? Well, time has passed, things have happened. It's reasonable to think that maybe they've both been promoted. (Crowley, in particular, is often getting promotions, usually for things he didn't do.) And story-wise, they're set up as opposite numbers, so it makes sense that their positions as the sequel story begins will be of similar status.

Applying this concept to the screen version, we know Aziraphale has been offered the Supreme Archangel position. Therefore, if Crowley is to be his counterpart, he has to have a high rank in Hell. And there's a Duke of Hell opening to be filled. (Sorry, Shax, I think Crowley's going to snatch it out from under you.)

Reason 2: it fits Crowley's character

"What?!" you shout. "Crowley hates Hell! He turned them down! He doesn't want to go back!"

Correct. He doesn't. But he will if he thinks he needs to. Because he and Aziraphale have a huge, defining commonality: they love Earth and Humanity and don't want it to be destroyed.

Yeah, Crowley will probably wallow for a while. He deserves some time to get insanely drunk and cry. Sort of like he did when he thought Aziraphale was dead in season 1. But the thing is, Crowley always comes back. He's always ready to run. He always threatens to run. He hops in his car and drives somewhere. But he never actually leaves. Because there's no point in going away somewhere without Aziraphale. And that hasn't changed. If Crowley ran away now, he'd still be miserable, but without any music or whisky or his Bentley. It would be... pointless.

So what's a heartbroken, grieving, furious demon to do? Vent his pain in the best possible way: thwarting everyone and everything who hurt him and took away the angel he adores. He knows what Heaven is planning, because he saw it in Gabriel's file. He doesn't want Earth destroyed, he doesn't want Heaven or Hell to win. And he has an opportunity to sabotage the whole thing from the inside.

Which leads us to...

Reason 3: Crowley has a way into Hell already

There is a great meta here about Crowley's conversation with Beelzebub in Hell and its potential season 3 impact. The TL;DR version is: Crowley DID technically find Gabriel, and Beelzebub promised him anything he wanted (including being a Duke of Hell) in return.

Is it a somewhat dubious contract? Sure. Would that stop Crowley? *snort laugh* The demon who makes up legal clauses on the spot to save humans is well-equipped to argue his way into Hell's highest position in order to save the entire world. It's probably much easier than driving a flaming Bentley all the way to Tadfield.

So where does this leave us?

Aziraphale is up in Heaven, ready to burn it to the ground. You saw him when the Metatron mentioned the Second Coming. That was not a happy angel ready to do what he's told. And, frankly, Aziraphale is not actually capable of doing what he's told IMO. No matter how much he tries to follow the good/evil dynamic, he ultimately ends up choosing what is Right over what is Good.

Crowley in Hell would be doing the same kind of thing, albeit in a more subtle, sneaky way. After all, he spent 6000 years thwarting Hell all over the place and getting away with it the vast majority of the time. He knows how to mess with them. (And can you just imagine what would happen when demons like Eric asked him questions and he answered them?! He could gather his own little army with one Suggestion Box.)

So when shit hits the fan, as it inevitably will, we'll be left with both our ineffable heroes (gn) poised to do the exact same thing: destroy the machine from the inside.

Even if some of the other fan speculations prove true (memory wipes, for instance), I think it still makes narrative sense to have them both in equal-but-opposite positions. Because no matter how much the enemies are trying to mess with them, if you take a certain angel with an opportunity to fuck up Heaven and a certain demon with an opportunity to fuck up Hell and you bring them together (which, let's be honest, has to happen no matter what the storyline is), it's going to be pretty darn epic.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Meghan is still protected by the palace via being married to Harry.

No one will call her out as long as that protection is in place.

I don't think this is the reason why. If it was Catherine the media had dirt on they would be all over it, everything would be written about and everyone would have an opinion. Catherine as a senior member of the royal family couldn't just disappear in this hypothetical scenario of the media having dirt on her so the media wouldn't have to worry about loosing money they regularly make off her simply existing in the public space. (Look at the desperation for Catherine to return as her absence due to illness has put a dent in revenue otherwise expected) Meghan can only dream of having that kind of influence but she still makes the media money and if the truth about her was exposed she'd actually have to properly disappear and probably for a considerable period. The media want their cake and to eat it too, to have this situation they'll continue to not point out any contradictions, changing stories and the obvious lies told by Meghan and if they have any real damaging information that would destroy Meghan's reputation completely it will never be revealed.

This comparison doesn't work. Kate doesn't have that kind of dirt in her closet. The comparison is apples and filet mignon. That's why the press would be all over it if Kate did have this dirt - because her reputation and her image is so squeaky clean otherwise. It validates one of the biggest pieces of criticism about her, "no one's this perfect."

For the comparison to work, it has to be apples and apples. You have to assume that either Kate has the same/similar skeletons in her closet or that Meghan has a squeaky clean reputation and image.

And if Kate has the skeletons in her closet, she absolutely would be protected by the BRF. If the BRF wouldn't have done it, then William would have. He's shown us that he'd protect Kate (when he dealt with the phone hacking, when he sued over the topless photos, when The Tatler insulted the Middletons in their 'Kate the Great' article when he dealt with the medical privacy invasion, when he supported her convalescence instead of working through it), so it's safe to assume that he'd protect her in some way.

But if Meghan did have the squeaky clean reputation and image, the BRF wouldn't be protecting her as much, because there wouldn't be anything to protect. Just like they do with Kate currently.

Second, the BRF will always protect their own. Even if Harry is PNG'd and no one talks to him, they'll still throw down for him if he gets into serious trouble (and speculation is that they do - Charles sends money in some way, BP still takes Harry's calls, he can still arrange a meeting with Charles). I mean, Harry's not getting all these second, third, fourth chances with his lawsuits because he has the best lawyer in the world.

And because Meghan is married to Harry, that protection extends to her. Because why else haven't the things the media discovered in 2016 been published (like her debts, her addictions, her real connections to Soho House, her Flim Flam business and all her trademark/copyright applications)? After all, if they were hinting about those stories in 2016 and then got slapped down by the palace and Harry's love shield, that doesn't mean those things they discovered went away. It just means they didn't publish them. So why haven't they published them any time in, say, the last 3 years since the Oprah interview, if they really loathe Meghan as much as they claim to?

Because she's still protected by the BRF through her marriage. Once Harry says he's done with her, all bets are off and the dirt is going to fly. And we know this is going to happen because we see it happen. Any time there's PR about Harry and Meghan leading distant or separate lives, the press starts to drip and tease stories about Meghan, but before anything serious leaks out, there's a whole new wave of "Meghan and Harry are stronger than ever" PR.

[silverskye13]

I absolutely adore your writing style. You've mentioned being inspired by authors. Care to share which ones and/or some books you'd strongly recommend? I'm in a but of lurch on books I want to read right now and your writing style really scratches a certain itch so finding something similar would be lovely

I've answered this question a couple of times but! I will always answer again. I read a lot of books :3

I will warn you, I read a lot of epic/high fantasy. If that's not your thing, you probably won't like a lot of my recs, whoops.

This got really long I apologize. Once again. I read a lot.

T. Kingfisher

In my opinion, anything written by her is a win. Her World of the White Rat series of books are by far my favorite [Clocktaur Wars, Saint of Steel series, Swordheart], but she also writes very good horror, and her Sworn Soldier books are kickass.

She is a major inspiration for my writing style, especially internal thoughts and sense of humor. I try to emulate her way of having fantastic characters think and act on mundane things [i.e. a scary paladin man who gushes about knitting].

Blanket warning that all of her Temple of the White Rat books are romantasy, rated E for explicit. But as someone who normally hates [or just doesn't get / enjoy romance books] I still recommend them. The world is rich, some of them have intense horror and suspense moments, and the characters all have amazing dynamics and chemistry.

My favorites by her are: Paladin's Strength, Paladin's Faith, and What Moves the Dead

Nicholas Eames

Still on the style inspiration train. I really sat down and studied his use of description and character voice shortly before writing Redstone and Skulk. If you like how I handle descriptions, planting and worldbuilding, I recommend reading his work. I do a yearly reread of Kings of the Wyld, and while I didn't like Bloody Rose as much, it does an awesome breakdown of problematic heroes.

These books are rated R, for graphic depictions of violence and some pretty raunchy humor/language. The first book Kings of the Wyld has very light romance [unless you count Clay Cooper increasingly thinking about how awesome his wife is, or the group's barbarian falling in love with an avenging angel], but Bloody Rose does have a lesbian bard main character who falls in love with a kickass tattoo witch. I love them, your honor.

Terry Pratchett

I mean, yeah, everyone recommends Terry Pratchett, and if they don't, it's because they haven't read his books in a while and forgot to recommend him. I really like his Death books, and the Samuel Vimes books. For the standalones in Discworld, I also really, really liked Small Gods and Monstrous Regiment. If you like my style of optimistic storytelling [no matter how dark, there is always a happy ending] read his books. And if you like RnS's existentialism, the idea of struggling with, and against, death, read Morte and Reaper Man. Especially Reaper Man.

The Ranger's Apprentice Series by Jonathan Langan

YA fantasy at its finest! If you like how I handle character dynamics and ride-or-die friendships, you will like these books. I was reading these books a lot when I started really really writing in high school, and I didn't realize just how much they inspired my writing style until I reread them last year. Rated PG, maybe PG-13 in the later books when the characters are older and the stakes are a little higher. It's a fun low fantasy world set in Basically England, and it's just. Nice. Will and Horace are so dear to me.

Also apparently he is restarting? The series? Rebooting? New protagonists. I haven't read any of them yet but I am looking very interestedly.

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

More books in no particular order that I am recommending you read because I love them:

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House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

High fantasy, PG-13, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Religious Persecution, Fantasy Nazis

This is the second book in a series, but I couldn't get into the first book and only read this one, whoops. This book basically poses the question: what if Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, but the last man on earth who believes in God isn't as nice, and has some major character flaws, and also doesn't like God. Also also, what if this was set in Fantasy World War 2, and he was forced to work for the Nazis. This book is very grim, and focuses on a medical unit during Magical World War 2. There are a lot of wound descriptions and war crimes. But it made me feel a lot of things, and I was genuinely upset one of the characters stayed evil at the end of the book. There is no Good and Evil in this story, only Evil and Morally Gray. If that isn't your thing, give it a pass, and I mean that. There are Themes here that are made to make you uncomfy. But there is also found family, and some really strong questions about religion and morals, and the book really makes you Think about the character decisions. I liked it a lot.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

High fantasy mystery thriller, R, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Language

Oh it's good. It's so good. Holmes and Watson style mystery in a world where everyone has biological mutations and enhancements powered by Kaiju that rise up every year to try and murder everyone. It's really cool. I was hooked from beginning to end. The main character is amazing, with hilarious deadpan humor, and his Holmes is an eccentric autistic woman with zero filter. The "Rated R for Language" above is 98% because of her.

[Note: I'm not an authority on good autistic representation, but I feel like she stands out as really well done. It makes more sense in the context of the novel, but she's created a space for herself where things like noise/light sensitivity are used to her advantage, hyperfixations are portrayed both as useful to her craft in research and a hazard to the people she's interrogating, and she has managed to trick half the cast into thinking her "quirks" are because of augmentations she doesn't have. It was a really cool and original way of putting autism into a character without infantilizing or "unfeeling logical machine"-ing them in the process. If that's something you've been looking for representation-wise, I think this is worth checking out.]

Aside aside, the world building is cool. The characters are cool. They mystery makes sense. I just. I can't talk about this book too much or I'll tell you the whole story. I get too excited.

Aliens: Phalanx by Scott Sigler

Sci-fi horror, PG-13, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death, Language

Ever wanted to get into the Aliens franchise but thought the sci-fi was a little much? Ever wanted to know how medieval peasants would handle a xenomorph invasion? Do I have the book for you!

This book is sci-fi horror that takes a turn for the vengeful at the end. Made me feel a lot of things. Got really emotional over some of the character deaths. But when the characters win, they win big, and their achievements feel weighty. You really get the sense of human tenacity clawing life back from the jaws of post-apocalypse. And also? Xenomorphs? Cool? If you've seen the movies, you'll really appreciate how this book takes the conventional tropes and spins them. And if you haven't, the story attacks them in an original way that explains it to the uninitiated. If you know nothing about the movies you will still know what's going on.

Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold

Fantasy adventure, PG-13, Minor depictions of violence, mystery/puzzle elements

Fun books? Fun books. Ever wondered what would happen if an uninitiated, but very kind and sweet 18 year old boy was possessed by an ancient demon with a great sense of humor and near limitless power? Now you know! Penric and his demon Desdemona have fantastic rapport, and every book in the series just further cements how awesome their relationship is. Fast little reads in a great little universe. And the gods are cool.

The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron

Epic fantasy, R, Graphic Depictions of Violence, major and minor character death, sexual themes, language

Gritty realistic knights -- fighting very unrealistic magical creatures. They're outmatched, but not out skilled! Especially with the Red Knight leading the way. These books had just, an awesome way of drawing me in. Cool world, interesting if flawed characters, and a growth arc that turns an entire company of criminals and mercenaries into basically paladins. Plus there is an awesome overarching plot involving god-like dragons and angels.

The only downsides to this series is there are a lot of characters and POVs, and the author is not afraid to kill them off at a moment's notice. Characters you've grown to love over three books will be killed off screen when a monster took flight, or a boglin hoard swarmed the front lines. I won't finish the final book in the series because I will be uh, incredibly pissed if one of my favorite characters dies, and I'm getting the vibes she probably will >:/

Alas, this is the nature of grim-dark fantasy.

Cameron has written other books under different pseudonyms, but to date this series is the only one that's really sunk its teeth in me.

Covenant of Steel Trilogy by Anthony Ryan

Low Fantasy, R, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major and minor character death, religious persecution, language, sexual assault

What happens when a criminal's entire crew is slaughtered for their crimes, and the only survivor turns into a religious zealot? No wait come back it's good I promise! The Pariah starts pretty grim and heavy. We reach our character's emotional low point about a third of the way through the first book, but what blooms from that is a slow burn about faith, and the danger of a Saint who gets to build her own radicalozed morality, rising on the tide of her faithful followers. It is all told in memoir format by the main character, before the final chapters where we get a sense of his here and now, which is a format that Ryan loves writing in [his Bloodsong series does this as well, and while that series is good, it's clear every fumble he made writing that he tried to fix writing CoS]. If I had to really pin this book down, I would have to say it's the story of Joan of Arc if she had actually succeeded in her crusades, and how dangerous she would have been because of the blindness of her followers and her own feelings of personal holiness. The main character even falls for her charms, heck, I as a reader fell for her charms. It was only after she started massacring "heretics" that I started to go, "Wait a fucking second, she's the antagonist???" If you like really intense stories about how insidious the side of "good" can be, and the terrors of religion, and just the epic slow burn of that building up and breaking down, give this a read. However, this is a very dark series. Read with caution and care. By the end I was very burnt out on all the death and atrocity.

Cold Storage by David Koepp

Thriller/horror, PG-13, Depictions of Violence, Fungi-based body horror, Language

Not nearly as intense of the last rec! Cold Storage is the story of a mutated mold spore that works just like that stuff that makes ants do weird things -- but to people! Oh and also it's about some really funny main characters that don't know it exists, even though it's growing right below their feet. A lighter read that will give you some good scares, and a pair of characters you're desperately rooting for. I love it :3 it's a fun romp. Mind the exploding deer.

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Sci-fi, PG-13, Depictions of Violence, Language

Another fun romp! Murderbot is a security unit made to protect humans -- and it's hacked its programming and just wants to sit down and watch TV all day. Unfortunately, humans are very good at getting themselves killed, and SOMEONE has to keep them safe. At least Murderbot is programmed to do it correctly.

This story starts as fun sci-fi, and as the books progress, really breaks down the lines between human sentience and... Well, any other sentience. It asks hard questions about whether something Must be human in order to be accepted in a society, and how badly we as people want to fit everything into understandable boxes -- even if the things we want to understand don't fucking like it, thank you very much! There's a lot of fun action, a lot of characters that have really won my heart, and, man, I just want Murderbot to be happy.

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

High fantasy, R, graphic depictions of violence, sexual assault, language, major character death

A thief accosts a knight on the road -- and ends up going on a road trip with her filled with witches, monsters, giant corvids, man-eating goblins, giants, and more! All to save a princess. This book really grew on me when I read it a second time. The magic system is cool, the world building is stellar, the goblins and giants are fucking scary. The character has a dirty mouth and his humor runs to the toilet a lot, so keep that in mind. This is by far the lightest and funniest book Buehlman has ever written though, so if you like it, brace yourself for grim dark if you read the rest of his work. Especially if you read Between Two Fires.

There's my book recs! Have fun!

[bonesandthebees]

As someone looking for a new fandom after the DSMP collapse, how do I get into QSMP? I haven't watched any of it but from what I've seen it sounds pretty interesting.

if you were a fan of dsmp I definitely recommend qsmp! it's got similar styles of humor and also some incredibly intense lore that has been so fun to watch unfold. however, it is very hard to get into because, y'know, we have a lot of different creators the majority of whom don't speak english primarily that are on the server so catching up is certainly difficult

if you want summaries of the early days stuff, this channel on youtube has 3 summary videos but it only covers up to I think around may of last year? maybe june?? so like, a lot of stuff is not included in those.

if you want a more isolated event that's easier to catch up on so you can get a feel for the characters/ccs you could watch purgatory 1 vods from whichever creator you're interested in, but also, uh, purgatory was kind of hell to watch. I personally really enjoyed it from a story/character perspective, but so much of it was just miserable grinding and fighting so it kind of sucked to watch live 😭 also it had weird repercussions on all the lore that happened before purgatory so it definitely holds a contentious place in the fandom

if you want a different (and slightly more accurate way of getting an idea of everyones characters) there are plenty of server events you can watch vods for! the ones that pop to my mind as being especially fun was festa junina for a holiday, and the spiderbit wedding was also pretty great

the cc I watch the most of on qsmp is phil, so if you want recs for him I can list some specific vods that I think were really great for his character. but I don't watch a ton of streams so I'm also not the best person to ask. my second main pov is tubbo so I can also provide a few recs for him but I'd definitely be leaving some important ones out unintentionally

then I also try to watch tina and bagi when I can but definitely not as often so my recommendations are limited for those two

the only thing I'd say to avoid when trying to catch up is don't trust the qsmp wiki especially anything written in the relationships section for individual characters. those wiki editors put so much inaccurate info on there just to fuel their own biases and headcanons. just be aware of that if you need to reference it

if anyone else has any recommendations for how to catch up feel free to add them!

[lizaluvsthis]

The Girl in Fatal Lavanders

Fanfic Written and Illustrated by @lizaluvsthis

Idea of creation by @itsajjanea

First (Prologue)

Author's note: I'd like to thank @itsajjanea for drawing three that describes out the song Heathers by Conan Gray (I loved that song before and still do) the song gave so many feels <3

For now- onto the fanfic!

Summary: SMG4 has found someone new, much to Three's dismay. He couldn't help it but feel like something is wrong with his new "Girlfriend" and that there is something more going on with her than just being all 'kind' and 'polite' to people, especially with SMG4.

will SMG4 still end up being inlove with the Lavender Girl? or does he end up with Three's open heart

Tags: Enemies to Friends, Sun and Moon, angst, betrayal, catching feelings, comfort, hurt/comfort, drama, enemies to lovers, enemy, fluff, oblivious, slowburn, fruityass, gayness

Relationships:

SMG4/SMG3

Mario & Meggy Spletzer

Meggy & SMG3

SMG4 & Original Character

PuzzleVision(TvAdware) & Original Character

SMG3 & Mario

SMG4 & Mario

Beginning Chapter - 1 New Person, 1 New Goal

An announcement breaks out from the castle of SMG4's as he calls everyone. "The hell did you bring us here for?" Bob angrily asked, ruining his dating plans with another chick.

"Whatever it is, I don't care." Three calmly said sitting peacefully on the couch waiting for SMG4 to say something. "Prepare yourself to be blinded by this but..." 

"But first- promise you guys won't laugh..." SMG4 held back in reassurance from his crew's support. Boopkins being the bright one of the team, spoke. 

"Awe don't worry SMG4! We won't laugh or judge you!" SMG4 gave Boopkins a weak smile and proceeded, taking a deep breath. 

"I know it has been a few weeks now since I've gone out for a few or most days, I never bothered to check the castle much because I went away. Now that I'm back again... I wanted to surprise you all with something..."

"Ohhhhh is it spaghetti-os?" Mario cheered in excitement, but with a disapproving look on four's expression, he wasn't talking about that. "No, but it's something else... I uh- I've met someone new" 

Four gave a nervous chuckle at the end. The whole crew felt silent as they all began to laugh. SMG4 felt embarrassed and humiliated himself, grunting and blushing down. Mario spoke up.

"Are you sure you're not high or anything S-M-G-4 ? Or haven't you gotten enough B-tches from the past few years you've attempted dating a girl? Oh no wait- you don't have any!" This caused the whole crew to laugh even more, except for Boopkins and Meggy.

"C'mon, guys! At Least Four is trying his best here- say- SMG4, we haven't met this person yet- what's their name?" SMG4 looked at Meggy bringing his smile up again.

"This is a surprise everyone- but... here she is!" A door opens from the entrance, with a first footstep from the opening. Is seen with purple scandals following on with a pair of white socks exceeding up to the leg reach.

Slow opening, the person dressed in dark magenta overalls. With the length of the pants put a match near the sock's leg reach. With cute navy blue buttons, and lilac color of cloth from their shirt.

Up to the face with a smile, oddly enough with a non-patterned color of red as the hat's signature. Almost near to Mario's similar color but gave off soft and dark.

The symbol from the top spots out a "#" Then the hair gave out a brunette color, and the excess ends to the shoulder length gave out curls. 

Oddly enough, Lavender colored eyes are rare to have. And a mole near the corner of the left cheek.

She gently closed the door, seeing from her second hand, it was a phone with the color of cyan. "Hello there everyone! Wow! I'm super excited to meet you all!" Everyone went silent.

"Guys, meet my new girlfriend..." SMG4 let out his hand extending to the brunette. She gladly accepted the handhold, getting pulled slowly by SMG4s. She looked at everyone who still smiled, side-hugging SMG4 with his hand touching her back.

"Haha- very funny SMG4-" SMG3 crossed both of his arms, there is no way SMG4 could pull out someone with the likes of HER... (plus- she looks kinda mid...) SMG3 thought to himself squinting his eyes at Four's new 'Girlfriend's' face.

"Are you brain damaged?" Three pulled out his sarcasm to see how his 'girlfriend' would react to that and how she'd deal with it. Unfortunately for three, however, She was pretty aggressive for action so he brought back what he said.

"Aren't you emotionally unstable?" The crew went on with the hums of "oohs" as Four quieted them down pushing three out of the way. "Hey- slow down- we don't want to settle up fights here, right "Three"?" 

SMG4 tilts his head, side-eyeing at Three. He just wished that the man wouldn't do anything stupid. "Right." Angered by the purple and black. 

"Anyways- six, you have the microphone" SMG4 lets go of her to make the brunette feel welcomed and comfortable. "Hello everyone! My name is T-A-G-6, I'm just a lovely and polite girl who loves to play video games and helps out with editing videos! I do find memes funny too besides with this cutie" 

Six looked at Four with a smirk and winked at him, four giggled like a blushing boy from high school. This made Three's brows change out with a more angered expression giving her the looks.

"My name stands for 'Totally-Average-Girl' then there's six! You can call me Tag or Six if you prefer it that-" SMG3 decides to break in again, approaching her confidently smiling. 

For three who wanted to show her who's boss at being close with SMG4.

 "how about bombers? You sound like a horse and you play like a hooker tiny wrink-" 

TAG6 took a step back summoning a big solid grey hammer, whaming Three's chin then up to the roof where he gets thrown out to the space leaving him screaming.

"So- any questions?" Her left eye twitched from Three's sudden call from her. (Why he... better get a taste of his own medicine! ) Six pouted her mouth just putting a thought about Three's immediate reaction.

"Ooh! Ooh! How did you two meet?" Tari asked intrigued with TAG6's special skill and appearance. "Funny to answer that but- we met online" SMG4 walked in looking back at Tag's lavender eyes.

Four and Tag explained to the crew how they met while on a public server from multimedia works. Four noticed Tag has the same interest as him, and a few more days of him taking her on dates.

The two finally made it official. "Wait wait! Did you both kiss?" Saiko looked at the two with an amused look when Four and Tag struck eye contact and then back to her. "Umm- no we- haven't yet... we're taking this whole thing- slow..."

TAG6 made a sheepish grin and with Four scratching his back, "We uh- we're not there yet..." SMG4 looked down sadly but forced a smile just for TAG6 to not worry her.

"But- that's okay! We can- do that if... we're both ready..." simply patting Four's back gaining comfort from her.

The crew showered her with questions and conversations, as Meggy left in hopes of finding where SMG3 had gone right after TAG6 blew him off the roof.

"SMG3? Are you here?" She said following three foot tracks from the mud. "SMG3!" Meggy shouted his name to be left with faint sobs near the bush.

Meggy quietly sneaks in, to see SMG3 crying silently hugging both of his knees. "What am I gonna do now? Four has a girlfriend and he didn't even tell me... I don't even know WHY this bothers me so much-" 

Meggy felt bad at Three, he didn't deserve any of this. She began to back away but snapped a twig from under, getting Three's attention as he looked at the sound.

"Squid. What are you doing here...? Came to make fun of me?" SMG3 wiped out his tears after seeing Meggy, getting up properly from the ground.

"I didn't mean to barge in like that, I saw you crying and... well- sorry..." Meggy held her left elbow in a single shell of comfort.

Three sighed, but seeing him not pushing or telling the orange squid to go away. She continued. "He means so much to you if that's what I would've guessed" 

Meggy stood next to him, looking down at the ground. "Ever since before and after three, I know. I saw how you acted... you know, you can't keep your feelings in there for too long" 

“I can’t say that I’d let it all out only idiots do that.” 

Meggy turns around. “It’s your choice, only you decide what you pick. Please remember SMG3… it’s not healthy to cover up wounds without someone doing so.” 

“But at all costs, you’ll be okay three” Meggy placed her hand to his shoulder. “I can’t promise that sh-t.” SMG3 shrugs off Meggy’s hand leaving her out of the way.

—-

In the castle, SMG4 enjoys getting compliments on how he just got a girlfriend along with them congratulating him. For Mario however, he doesn’t see anything changing from the man.

“Boy, you sure know how to charm a woman SMG4” Mario gave out a laugh to which SMG4 gave along. “Guess I bring out my luck to 'em” he finger guns at TAG6 with a wink.

TAG6 played along to her role, acting in love, acting happy, acting fine, acting okay. Everything was fake behind the mask, she felt anger, disgust, hatred, and pity with his crew and SMG4 to himself.

(How cheesy could this guy get along with his members? It’s so boring…) The goop who controls its own human body, rolled its eyes for who knows how many?

But no matter… I still have the Meme Guardian in our grasp, there is no way of escape for the man and the plan itself…

TAG6 made a sly face behind his shoulder. This plan is just getting started…

“Hey! U-uh- Meggy Spletzer… was it?” She caught the orange squid’s attention by surprise. “Yep, that's my name! You know me from somewhere?” Tag gets too excited and squirms, hugging Meggy tightly in results crushing her ribs.

“OH MY GOD OH MY GOD- OH MY GOD!!! I’M SUCH A BIG FAN! I SAW YOU ON TV, YOU WON ON SPLATOON FEST!” Tag shook her from side to side, nuzzling under her neck. “Sorry- heh…Again- I’m such a big fan!” Disgusting. 

Meggy swoons her head from left to right, trying to recover her strength after Tag lets her go. “How long have you been a fan? Now that's a shock, but- well- it’s an honor to be known as your splat star!” 

(Everything is going smoothly as it is… remember the plan… get close to his friends and never let them know about his disappearance.)

With a quick glance on the brunette’s, it is now Mario’s turn again to speak with his closest friend. “Don't you feel a bit happier now that you got a girlfriend SMG4?” Mario asked, in such a simple question. 

This made SMG4 rethink about his whole life, yeah he is happy that he got a girlfriend. But why does he feel like something else is missing? Why did it feel so wrong? Where does he even get this? It couldn’t possibly be SMG3.

The SMG3 he knew wouldn’t be having these kinds of feelings to him… right…? He's never been the intimate guy that he knew who would be pulling these stuffs... or would he...? Nah- three doesn't have these stuff its just SMG4 being an overthinker...

But really tho... he doesnt have these feelings to him right...?

…

Right…?

“Pshh- You’re talking nonsense Mario- TAG6 is a perfect girl and a perfect person to me! Why would I be less happy about this?” SMG4 re-arranged his hat and pulled his collar.

It felt that something inside of him cracked, from this hurting and deep tingling he’s touched. He couldn’t get a hint.

Mario points up his hand, speaking of his joy rate. The more the red italian spent the time with SMG4, the more he knew every move and every breath of his best friend.

There is a high difference on how he acts around them, yet this one is giving him a vibe that- he couldn’t understand.

Something is telling him that this person does NOT have a soul… nor this person is even living...

——

Next Chapter - One is off, theres two but one

[PENDING...]

[animalinvestigator]

any manga recommendations?

yessss oh my gosh always, gladly. so honored you would ask little ol me about such a thing... i haven't been reading much lately so here's just a little list of things ive picked up in the past few months or things i've liked for a long time..... all of them are on mangadex so just look em up... Im editing this to put them under the cut sorry i didn't do it before ive been on the clock for like 4 hours and im tired Lights cigarette

fool night yasuda kasumi !!! it's currently ongoing and i recently got caught up... if i had to describe it in two words.. "post-chainsawman." it's very similar in a lot of ways, but has very different priorities.. what i really like about it is that it has kind of a tighter focus on the "poverty and capitalism" angle that chainsawman definitely covers but doesn't really devote its full attention to. in a world where the sun no longer shines, plants can't grow, so humans are constantly at a deficit of oxygen... to combat this, government facilities offer a payout to desperate people who can't afford to live if they allow themselves to be "transflorated" -- basically fed on by a magical spiritual plant that will eventually kill them and release oxygen in their stead. one such desperate person undergoes the procedure only to find he has the special ability to communicate with transflorated bodies after theyve passed... and then he becomes a Plants Detective and shenanigans ensue. Super good it made me cry... art is beautiful..... definitely worth a read if youre looking to pick up something ongoing

babel no toshokan by tsubana - stumbled upon this after reading the artist's other work "wakusei closet" on a whim... this shorter story is much preferred and has engraved itself deeply on my heart. a girl with a strange set of beliefs about reality enters a strange relationship with a boy who can read everything that's ever been written just by touching an identical sheath of paper..... seriously so good. give it a go if you want something short and sweet

planet laika & scorched earth of love by mayuri yoshida, this is a short manga and one shot bundled with it that has been one of my favorites for like FOUR YEARS NOW!!! mayuri yoshida's sickly cute animal people + loving intricate lineart combine to create a really unique visual aesthetic. its about the titular laika , as in, the dog launched into space, who has since become the ruler of a planet of dogs, and her plot to take revenge on humanity. also she has a lesbian wife. the one shot is so good too SO DONT MISS IT!!!

anyone who has heard me talk about comics for the past year or so probably knows i've been trying to get Just yknow everybody on earth to read dead dead demon's dedededestruction by inio asano. nothing i could ever possibly say about it could do it justice it's seriously my favorite manga of all time. it's about being in love with your best friend and the end of the world and aliens and politics and the internet and stuff. asano's art is truly breathtaking and unlike anything else on earth, the characters are all infectiously lovable, and it's just like... endlessly life affirming and heals my heart in a way i have a hard time articulating.

and last one... not strictly manga but i have really enjoyed keeping up with wanan's webcomic no home recently... its a long one, but i read about 275 chapters of it in like 3 days, because it's that hard to put down, LOL... extremely inspiring character writing and also just insanely fun, eunyung became an all time favorite character of mine on impact and it has one of those casts where you can't help but have fun watching them be together in literally any situation. it's about a bunch of kids with shitty family situations trying to figure out to learn to live with eachother. its an extremely good example of mundane character drama being written so compellingly that it will make you start slamming your head on walls at work. Speaking from experience.

miscellany... everyone tells you to read witch hat atelier, do it its good... everyone tells you to read dungeon meshi do that its good... Chainsaw man part 2 is getting crazy right now ...... uhhh... i have a billion more so if none of those interest you let me know and i'll share more. thank yew so much for your interest in my opinions and i hope there's something here you can appreciate!!!~~

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Mod Talks #2: Ranking the Danganronpa Series:

//So this ranking list might be a bit confusing to some people, since the title of it isn't exactly a dead giveaway at what I'm going to be talking about here.

//So let me just explain.

//Since the first game released in Japan in 2010, Danganronpa has become an absolutely huge franchise, spawning a fair few sequels, countless media, even more countless fan-projects, and there's so much more to it's name. Even after 14 years or so of it's lifespan, and with the series not really getting anything else lately since Kodaka left Chunsoft to form his own company with Uchikoshi, Danganronpa is still a much beloved franchise by many.

//Which is what causes all the fan-related projects like this blog to pop up. Because people cannot get enough of these characters.

//So in this ranking post, I'll be ranking each and every installment in the main series, as well as a few notable spinoffs, adaptations, and fan-projects featured on this blog. My rankings will be based on my own personal opinions first and foremost, but I'll mainly be judging these on factors like story quality, character writing, and the overall impact it had not just on me, but on the series.

//This is also going to be classified as a Mod Talks because I'm going to go more in depth than I normally do with these rankings. Beyond just a few paragraphs, I'm going to be analyzing basically everything that I possibly can.

//Let's break it down a little bit more.

This list WILL include:

Each of the mainline games - From DR1 to DRV3

The End of Hope's Peak Academy Anime - Both arcs will be counted as one.

Every Fanganronpa featured in the blog - None outside of that though, so don't expect to see Despair Time or anything like that pop up here.

All the Light Novels and Official Manga - Such as IF, Zero, and Kirigiri.

This list WILL NOT include:

Kirigirisou - I haven't played it, and so few people know what it actually is that I don't think anyone will care if I leave it out. I'll gladly give it an honorable mention though.

Magical Miracle Girl Monomi - It's a bonus minigame that adds no substance.

Danganronpa: The Animation - I understand that the DR anime adaptation is unpopular, but since it's a brief retelling of the story of Danganronpa 1 with the same characters, I decided not to include it since I'll already be covering them.

The Manga Anthologies - These are short stories written by a variety of different creators that each interpret the characters differently. I cannot judge them as a collective.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code - Yes, it is another game by Kodaka. Yes, it has similar designs and mechanics to DR. And yes, the characters of the game are featured on the blog. But Rain Code is NOT a Danganronpa game, so I am not accounting for it.

Danganronpa Survivor, or any other Danganronpa Ask Blog that frequently gets mentioned here - This goes without saying. I'm not including the blog itself on the list because 1 - Personal bias to my own work, and 2 - It's not official enough to be classified under the content.

//Also, as one last thing, official content in the Danganronpa series will be marked orange in the title. Fan/Unofficial content will be marked purple.

//That should be everything, so let's take a despair-filled dive into the world of Danganronpa and see which titles rise to the top.

#20 - Danganronpa: Togami

//So going into this, I'm willing to reckon that a lot of you thought that I was going to put Danganronpa 3 right smack dab at the bottom of this list. Especially since I shit-talk it so much, and for good reason.

//But the true crime is that I don't talk about the Danganronpa: Togami light novel series enough, and just how much of a fucking shitshow it is.

//Now, this series isn't widely known to every fan of the series, so let me quickly summarize what this is. Danganronpa: Togami is a series of light novels written by Yuya Sato, that centres on Byakuya and his experiences with the Ultimate Despair in the Czech Republic, during his first year at Hope's Peak Academy, and prior to The Tragedy. It is unclearly canonical because it is not mentioned directly in canonical material. The Yuya Sato series saw the publication of three volumes.

//Given that Byakuya has one of the most interesting backstories in the Danganronpa series in my opinion, you'd think that a light novel that sort of shows that off, and how some of the events prior to DR1 truly played out would be really cool, and worth reading to help suck on that juicy lore.

//Well, it's not. Not even slightly.

//I've only read these novels once, having to read a fan-translation of it online, and believe me, I have no intention of revisiting them. The plot of the novels are convoluted and confusing, and even though Danganronpa CAN get very confusing in it's main storylines, it's still usually coherent enough to enjoy. But this just isn't.

//The fact that Yuji Sato truly has no idea how to write in a sane manner is one of the main problems with his work. Sato is only dimly acquainted with the idea of "making sense" and has no idea what "going overboard" entails.

//Remember how during the Death Battle event we hosted on this blog, I mentioned that Mukuro and Sakura were fast enough to instantly run from Japan to Prague in a couple seconds? This mad fucker came up with that, and Kodaka just let him.

//It also includes a lot of themes and scenes that I find...kind of disturbing? When the books get violent, they get REALLY violent. There's also a LOT of incest (which is unfortunately very common in Danganronpa) and a fair bit of suicide and fatphobia on top of that. And while Danganronpa has done all of these before, for the Togami novel series, it's just insanely gratuitous in the way that it's portrayed.

//Danganronpa isn't afraid to touch on darker themes, and that's fine. It's a series about high-schoolers killing each other. You can't really downplay that too much, so you might as well run with it. However, this novel's shift in tone is TOO dark. Too dark to the point that it feels like it's trying WAY to hard to be edgy.

//And the key difference is that even when the main series gets dark, the humor and eccentricity of the writing kind of balances it out. But we have absolutely none of that here. It's just gore, rape, death, blah!

//Sato, I'm sorry, but this isn't what "Graphic Novel" means.

//But all of this is completely putting aside what I consider to be the absolute worst part of this series of novels: The complete BUTCHERING of Byakuya's character.

//Byakuya is one of the most stand-out characters in the series. He's appeared at least once in basically every mainline iteration of the series, and because of that, he's the character who has seen the most development. He never betrays who he is, and remains a smug asshole to the end, but he still cooperates more with his peers and doesn't put himself on a pedestal above them. Even at the beginning, though he does a lot of conniving bullshit in DR1, he still holds himself to high standards.

//But the novel says balls to all of that.

//In the novel series, there are many times that Byakuya is portrayed as more vulnerable and less composed. If this took place in a time when he was VERY young, then this would make more sense, but this story takes place like A YEAR before the first game. His interactions with other characters can also be more emotional and impulsive, whereas Byakuya has always been famous for being reserved, cold, and strategic.

//Alongside all the other edgy shit that infects this series, the novels try to explore the darker side of Byakuya's character, sometimes pushing him into morally ambiguous or outright negative situations. For example, there's a point in the book where he gaslights a young girl into falling in love with him so that she'll writ his autobiography for him, and several scenes where he engages, or at least complicit in, extreme brutality.

//Not only is this the most OOC thing Byakuya has ever done, but it completely undermines the complex character that the series built him up to be. Despite his cold demeanor, he's not a violent person.

//All in all, if you do get a chance to read this novel, I personally suggest that you let it slip by. It's really not worth the read, and I'm willing to bet that almost any other fanfic writer on the internet could completely redo this.

//But now you see that even with it's stupid writing and many flaws, why DR3 didn't fall this far down, because this is somehow a billion times worse.

//But we're gonna talk about it now, right?

//Well...

#19 - Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer

//Killer Killer fucking sucks.

//There's no sugarcoating it, it's just insanely bad. And it's honestly so disappointing because this could have been something great.

//Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer, more commonly just called Killer Killer, is a bit more well-known than the Togami light novels. And this is mainly because it is actually an important part of the Danganronpa timeline.

//Somehow...

//According to the official chronology, the events of this manga take place before those of Danganronpa 2 and after those of Ultra Despair Girls. The main story revolves around Misaki Asano, a recent hire who works as a special investigator for the Special Investigations Unit of Future Foundation Branch 6; a division tasked with cracking the most unusual and difficult murder cases. One case at a time, she and her partner Takumi Hijirihara work to overcome hopelessness; the most difficult case they have is that of the enigmatic Killer Killer, a strange serial killer who preys on other murderers.

//You get three guesses as to who the Killer Killer actually is.

//Killer Killer ironically suffers from a problem that is both similar to that of the Togami novels, but also the complete opposite problem. It's easily one of the more darker parts of the Danganronpa Timeline, but even at it's darkest, Danganronpa is well-known for balancing these moments with its unique humor and over-the-top situations.

//Unlike the previous entry, Killer Killer does have these moments, but they are balanced HORRIBLY. Most of the manga focuses heavily on gore and psychological horror, which is off-putting on it's own, but even more so when you randomly throw in a stupid fucking gag in there.

//The key one I feel being Takumi Hijirihara's weird quirk where he pulls a Zenitsu and falls in love with every pretty woman he meets. Even when they're the killer.

//Speaking of Hijirihara, HE FUCKING SUCKS.

//A lot of people think the protagonist of this manga is cool because he's different, and I do agree that he's easily the furthest cry of the main protags in the series. He shares absolutely nothing in common with Makoto, or Hajime, or Kaede and Shuichi, or Komaru and Toko.

//Okay, he shares a LITTLE bit with Toko, but Toko of bearable. He isn't.

//While moral ambiguity can make a character, especially a protagonist, a lot more interesting, Hijirihara's isn't handled well. His actions are often portrayed as justified within the narrative, even though most of the time, they're questionable at best and outright unethical at worst.

//And I know how that sounds coming from the guy who wrote Kuripa Kurafto, but I should remind you that even though he is violent and rotten, Kuripa DOES believe that people can be redeemed. It's only those who don't try and relish in their homicide that deserve to be put to bed forever.

//Asano is okay, but her personality and quirks are things that Danganronpa has already done before, AND better. Though I do like that she and Hijirihara have something of a romantic connection.

//Actually, speaking of which, if Kuripa was in this novel, then he'd probably murder all the killers featured in it too. Because that's exactly what they are. Murderous psychopaths and nothing else.

//Danganronpa's two biggest strengths across the whole series are the mystery, and the characters. And the big problem with Killer Killer is that it's severely lacking in both core aspects.

//Almost every chapter of Killer Killer goes the same in that somebody dies, and Asano and Hijirihara are on the scene to investigate. But before any investigating can be done, Hijirihara figures out the culprit immediately, and every time, without fail, the culprit goes all hobo-murder-crazy, tries to kill Hijirihara, only for this guy and his unexplained insane strength and precision to humor them with an instant kill.

//There is absolutely no sense of mystery since Hijirihara solves the cases FOR the audience before any evidence can be given, and there is absolutely no complex character writing either. I don't remember a single character's name from this manga besides Asano and Hijirihara themselves; as well as the characters who are also featured in DR3, like Munakata and Kyoko.

//I even made sprites for A Student Out of Time for the girl who was super into leeches once, and I STILL don't remember her fucking name.

//(I think it's Shimizu or something?)

//Even when the format breaks, there is nothing compelling whatsoever about the plot of this manga. It lacks any sense of intrigue and it lacks and sense of depth, and to make matters worse, the writing and pacing is wholly inconsistent.

//Killer Killer is completely unessential to the Danganronpa series, even though it's portrayed otherwise. Danganronpa 3 still has the merit of at least expanding the lore of the series both before and after the addition of the Future Foundation, but in Killer Killer's case, instead of enriching the existing universe, it feels like a side project that adds no meaningful value or new perspectives to an already established narrative.

#18 - Makoto Naegi Secret File

//Yes, we're STILL not at Danganronpa 3. Crazy right?

//Turns out the anime is better than most of us expected to.

//Okay, so what can I say about this one? Well, this addition to the series is still relatively unknown, so I guess I should start by explaining what it is.

//The Makoto Naegi Secret File; sometimes referred to as "Makoto Naegi's Worst Day Ever" or something similar; is a short 25-page novella penned by Kazutaka Kodaka that describes the events leading up to Makoto Naegi's admission to Hope's Peak Academy. The first DVD/BD volume of Danganronpa: The Animation came packaged with the booklet.

//And it is basically exactly what it says on the tin. It's a story about Makoto randomly getting stuck in a hostage situation after a conga line of bad luck, where he accidently exposes and catches a jewel thief. It's a frankly ridiculous and hilarious story that you can't help but feel bad for the Lucky Student with.

//And in all fairness, the story itself is Danganronpa's cuckoo writing at it's finest. The fact that the story is a mini-precursor to the events of the first game is cool, and the direct relevance to the core narrative makes it appealing.

//So god tell me Mod! Why is it so low!?

//Well, first off, I can't really hold the Secret File in HIGH regard because it's a 25-page bonus booklet that not many people would have read, and even if they had, it hardly makes much of a difference to people's experience with the anime/game. But the major problem, which loosely ties into this, is pretty obvious.

//It's redundant.

//What tends to make the novels and side material like Zero and Kirigiri so great is that it expands on the lore of characters who you really want to know more about. Junko, Mukuro, Kyoko; they're all characters that you want to learn more about. Their backstories. Who they really are. Why they became the way they did. And yeah, Danganronpa: Togami completely failed to do that for Byakuya, but it doesn't change the fact that it's something you'd like to see.

//But...you don't NEED that for Makoto.

//Makoto Naegi is THE Danganronpa Protagonist. He appears at least once in every game, and even when he doesn't, his influence is everywhere! You play as him in the first game, and he's the one who defeated Junko Enoshima. He's a living legend across the entire franchise and a fondly remembered character from the very beginning of the franchise.

//A story like this is completely unnecessary since it doesn't teach you anything about Makoto that you either don't already know, or that is interesting or new information. Makoto's lucky being sucky is nothing new, and all the Secret File does is rehash information that we already know from the games without adding any substantial new insights.

//The story simply doesn't provide enough new or significant information to justify its existence. No major revelations about the original hero, or impactful additions to his character. And as someone who does really like Makoto, that's disappointing to me.

//Also, just like the previous two entries, this story also suffers the problem of an imperfect balance between the angst and the humor. Although in this case, it's more on the other end of the spectrum from Togami and Killer Killer, where it's too goofy and not hectic or scary enough.

//And as one last little qualm, the file focuses way to heavily on specific aspects of Makoto's character, like his talent and his backstory, neglecting other elements that I find a lot more important.

//And therefore, it detracts from my enjoyment a bit.

#17 - Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy

//We're finally here. At what is surprisingly not the worst thing Danganronpa has put out, but easily my least favorite canonical mainline installment of the series.

//Sit down for a bit if you're not already, because I do have a fair bit to say about this one. But my concerns with it are mostly the same as everyone else's.

//Believe it or not, the reason why Danganronpa 3 didn't end up smack dab at the bottom of this list isn't for the easy reason that "I just liked those other one's less." Actually, Danganronpa 3 isn't wholly irredeemable. There are some stuff about it that I like.

//But both parts of this anime, the Despair Arc and the Future Arc, suffer from the same problems. So I've chosen not to separate them, and I'll try and go through all of my major issues with this show one at a time.

//With that being said, first things first...It's plot is pretty terrible.

//Danganronpa 3's storyline is weird, incoherent, and rushed, especially in Future Arc. And this is something you'll notice as we work our way down the list of reasons, but it feels like DR3 suffers way more than it should through the simple fact that it's an anime and not another game like one and two.

//The game's would not have this problem because there'd be more time to divvy out, but for the anime, it feels like they introduced numerous storylines and character arcs, then spent a lot of the series, especially the latter parts, trying to wrap them up. Which of course, leads to a lack of depth and development for any of the characters, and an overall unsatisfying conclusion.

//The duel arcs of Future Arc and Despair Arc are also unnecessarily complex and confusing. Especially since they're two separate storylines, but you're also supposed to watch then alternately?

//One of the biggest offenders, as I'm sure everyone is already well familiar with, is the birth of the Ultimate Despair at the end of Despair Arc, when the 77th Class, AKA. The Class of Danganronpa 2, are turned into Junko's subservient despair minions.

//What we could have gotten was a show seeing this class slowly devolve and drown in despair as their lives progressively get worse and worse.

//What we got was Chiaki dying, and a brainwashing video.

//Lazy.

//Lazy.

//Lazy.

//There is no other word for it.

//Speaking of which, one of my biggest problems with DR3 and why I hate it so much is because I absolutely despise the main cast.

//Everybody in the Future Foundation is a complete dickwad at first, and most of them remain that way throughout the entire story. As I said before, I grew to really like Seiko Kimura, and I liked Koichi Kizakura and the Great Gozu too. But DR3's new characters in general are either underdeveloped, or they're written in a way that makes me absolutely despise them. I think Juzo Sakakura is the worst offender of this.

//And it's not just the new characters either. The anime also features the casts of Danganronpa 1 AND 2, and SOMEHOW BOTH GROUPS are treated really poorly, with their story and character arcs either being completely ignored, or concluded in unsatisfying ways. Again, the brainwashing at the end of Despair Arc is the worst offender of this.

//The anime also seems to prioritize fanservice of all kinds over actual coherent storytelling. Like a pandering attempt to please the fans, and massively failing, since they aren't delivering anything substantial.

//But the thing that bothers me the most is that despite being marketed as the conclusion to the Hope's Peak saga, and literally EXISTING for the purpose of wrapping up a lot of the plot points from the first 3 games, Danganronpa 3 leaves quite a few plot points unresolved or poorly explained.

//For example, what happened to the Remnants of Despair after they took the fall for the Future Foundation? How did the Remnants account for Nagito after everything he did to them in virtual Jabberwock Island? What happened to the Future Foundation after the Final Killing Game, and how did they fix the mess that Tengan and Yukizome left behind? What's going on with Makoto now that he's randomly the headmaster of Hope's Peak? What happened with Ryota, and is he ever gonna psychologically recover after he tried to brainwash the whole world?

//The blatant lack of closure on a lot of the aspects I've listed above, AND more, is just so damn frustrating. It's not a definitive end to the story; not to mention that the anime introduces changes and elements that don't align with the game; such as Chiaki randomly being a human now even though she was just an AI originally.

//To put it simply, Danganronpa 3 just...fails. It fails to live up to the standards of the games that came before it, and it fails to provide a satisfying conclusion to the storyline.

//So here's the question. Is it really all that bad?

//Actually no. There are some pearls hidden in this pile of dirt.

//When the anime really tries, it can deliver really powerful emotional punches to the gut when it wants to. In my view, the last episode, also known as the Hope Arc, which marked the conclusion of Makoto and Hajime's parallel tales and marked a crossover between the two arcs, was truly outstanding. And that's not even mentioning the emotional rollercoaster that is real Chiaki's execution. It's such a terrifying and morbid scene in the franchise that really just sticks with you.

//Speaking of which, while I do feel that the cast get done dirty a lot in the show, I can't claim the same for the main pairings of each arc. That's Kyoko and Makoto for Future Arc, and Hajime and Chiaki for Despair Arc.

//Anime Chiaki is very different from game Chiaki, but she's an equally fun and entertaining character. I would argue even more than the original, though I know that's an unpopular opinion. A lot of people think that Chiaki is a Mary Sue in the anime, but I think the anime actually shows off the imperfections with Chiaki's character more than DR2 did. She exemplifies genuine kindness and unwavering dedication to her friends, making her a compassionate and likeable character.

//Hajime even more so is handled well I think. His complex emotional journey and growth from a confused, despair-ridden individual into a determined and empathetic person who seeks to redeem his actions is enthralling, and honestly, if it weren't for the little touches that DR3 gave him, I might like him half as much as I do now.

//And Kyoko playing less of an active role in the narrative actually works to her benefit. Especially since whatever scenes she has are usually interesting, and casually reminds you that "Yes, I am the most badass female character in the series." And the compassion and care that she shows for Makoto, despite how cold and distant she is to everyone. Ship fuel aside, it's great.

//If I can give the anime one last plus, it's that I think it has one of the best soundtracks in the series. The songs in the anime aren't as well known because I think a lot of them used to be copyrighted/are copyrighted, but listen to the soundtracks of both DR3 arcs and you'll see what I mean.

//So yeah. Danganronpa 3. Bad? Yes. Completely irredeemable? No way.

#16 - Danganronpa ReBirth/DanganRebirth Voices

//Honestly, I was actually this close to putting ReBirth below DR3. I didn't quite realize how much I didn't care for it until now.

//A lot of you might be surprised to see this one on the lower levels of the list. I've mentioned before that three of my favourite characters in the blog are Akira, Narumi, and Ayumu, all three of whom come from this project. So why is it this far down the list?

//Let me give you a little bit of background on the origins of this Fangan.

//For the sake of pulling an April Fool's Day joke, online content creator and game designer Miwashiba spent 1.5 months creating and developing Danganronpa ReBirth. Miwashiba declared that there would be no intentions to develop this game beyond what had been provided once the joke ended. But after getting so much interest in their novel, they eventually started posting the prologue and first chapter in text format on their blog.

//On April 1, 2017, the official website went live along with "in-game" videos that included character graphics, music, and a fully voiced cast. Because the artwork, graphics, and website design were so similar to the Danganronpa aesthetic, there was a lot of conjecture online about whether the game was real or just a practical joke being pulled by Spike Chunsoft, especially among English-speaking fans who did not have access to the untranslated website.

//But Miwashiba retained their stance on not making a full game out of it. However, that eventually led to the creation of DanganRebirth Voices.

//Now I should clarify that Danganronpa ReBirth and DanganRebirth Voices are two completely different fan projects that use the same characters and plot points. And instead of a game, it was instead an animated web-series featuring a lot of famous Fangan voices actors that are still active in the community today.

//In order to avoid possible legal action that Miwashiba may face if Spike Chunsoft found someone creating unofficial Danganronpa works for financial gain, Miwashiba had initially agreed to allow the team to use their creations' name, characters, and materials on the understanding that it would be entirely non-profit.

//However, later on, The Voices team revealed that they were organizing a stream to generate money for a team member's cat's veterinary expenses, despite their agreement with Miwashiba. The goal of the stream was to entice viewers to give by offering a Q&A session with the team, providing voice acting requests from the ReBirth Voicescharacters, and featuring additional content that included the Danganronpa ReBirth moniker and Miwashiba's original characters.

//Although they had been able to work out a compromise and negotiate their way out of problems with Miwashiba in the past, the team explained in their public statement about the project's cancellation that the stream had been the "last straw" in a list of concerns that Miwashiba had had since the project's inception. As a result, they felt that in order to respect Miwashiba's wishes and avoid legal issues, they had to cancel the project.

//I remember being pretty bummed and annoyed when I first heard about it, but looking back, I don't blame Miwashiba. ReBirth was always meant to exist as a joke, and Chunsoft's legal action team was fierce back in the day. But the fact that this never got a solid conclusion and only two incomplete projects knocks it down by quite a bit for me.

//While I do love the characters I listed above, my interpretation of them is only loosely based on ReBirth Voices original outline for them. They share only a few things in common; for example, the reason why Narumi and Akira are bad guys is because they were confirmed to be a pair of Mastermind's in ReBirth Voices. And I kept Ayumu's gender politics as part of his character, but downplayed them massively.

//However, even outside of that, I have quite a few issues with the ReBirth games. For one, the writing in both versions is pretty subpar, and whatever nuanced storytelling and engaging dialogue they're trying to get across to me, they're failing to do so.

//The second big issue is that a lot of what DanganRebirth does is recycled concepts from previous entries without offering new or innovative elements, taking away any sense of freshness.

//Not only that, but it typically tends to do these concepts worse. In both versions, Ayumu's gender politics plot point is treated with disrespect, in a way that Kodaka would never have done for Chihiro in the original game.

//And as a last fault, the quality of the voice acting in ReBirth Voices is wholly inconsistent.

//On the one hand, bblackroses as Narumi, and HarenaVA as Kazuomi are pretty on point and good for the characters; but in contrast, something like Kel as Ayumu and Bostoboy as Akira don't really do it for me.

//Rebirth is good because it showed what was possible, and what the community were capable of with just a bit of effort. Something that we'll be sure to go over with the rest of the fangames on this list.

#15 - Danganronpa Blowback

//Blowback is unfortunately not one of those.

//In all honesty, a lot of what I said about ReBirth is equally as true for Blowback.

//For one, Blowback never got finished before the team behind it disbanded, and we only managed to get two full chapters out of it before it went goodbye forever.

//Unlike ReBirth though, this one suffers from being an exclusively Korean fangame with translations for it being really hard to come across. I definitely found one and played it, but I cannot find that original link or play it anymore, so most people don't even know this game exists.

//One of the things that I really liked about Blowbakc is how official the sprites look. Genuinely, if you put a character like Akeru, or Mai in front of me, I genuinely would believe that Komatsuzaki made them.

//And there are quite a few characters in the game, namely the likes of Kana Ise and Akeru Yozora who I think are really fun and I really enjoy.

//But beyond that, there are some problems. And they mainly have to do with the same characters and the story. And that's that this game feels less like it's own fangame, and more like a retelling of Danganronpa 1.

//In the original game, Seina Datenashi is a prim and proper pretty girl who's also a bit of a gadfly, just like Sayaka was in the first game. However, she ends up being the killer, so her trial feels like what COULD have happened if Sayaka had successfully killed Leon in the first chapter of the first game.

//Secondly, the second killer, Mikihiko, in the original game, is a boy who wears clothes that make him appear effeminate. Which is exactly like Chihiro, except in a more cynical format, since he was forced to wear those clothes by his sisters. So it's really a killer-victim swap there as well, imagining Chihiro WAS desperate enough to hide the secret.

//Third, the "rival" character in the game is Shozo Asayoru. And in almost every way, he is exactly like Byakuya, from his sprites to his attitude, to his expressions.

//For me, that spells a lack of originality. Even though it does have it's own original plot points and characters that I really like, Blowback relies too heavily on already existing Danganronpa content without introducing any meaningful elements or ideas.

//Unlike ReBirth however, I really would have liked to see this one to the end, even if just to see how far we got with it, and what they could have changed it up to be.

#14 - Hyper! Danganronpa H20: Abandon All Hope

//It was always my intention to introduce Maya Canzanilla and her friends from this game into the blog because I really enjoyed her and her content, but for those who were around when Into the Ocean first released, you may remember that prior to the arc starting, I made a full length post explaining why I was adding these characters, where I've never really done that before for any other Fangan featured here.

//There was a reason for that. Several in fact.

//I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but for the uninitiated, I will have to explain a few key points about this game to give you a better idea as to why my choice to add it was controversial.

//English-language fangame Hyper! Danganronpa H20: Abandon All Hope, also referred to as Hyper! Danganronpa H20 and HDRH20, was made by US developer Milkpunches. This game was the first fully functional English fan game that had ever been published by an developer.

//It's also the most controversial and widely despised Fanganronpa.

//And for reasons that I think are pretty justified, despite how much I've come to care for Maya. What are those reasons?

//First off, the character writing is incredibly shallow. I like the character designs a lot, but unlike most Fangans, you cannot tell what each characters Ultimate Talents are based on their appearance. This Fangan was originally based on a roleplay, but in the execution of the game, somehow, they come across as less developed than Danganronpa 3.

//One one end of the spectrum, you have Maya, Ashe, August, Four, Hunter, Kokona, Oliver, and Victoria. All of whom are varying degrees of douchebag.

//On the other end, you have Chet, Kami, Kouji, Leona, Marie, and Ricardio, all of whom are varying degrees of nice.

//And then meshing about in the middle, you have Tamako who is just weird and creepy, and Cesar who...has NO personality for most of the game.

//And that's about it.

//A lot of the characters don't change, which for me has always been alright because the MAIN one's that I actually give a shit about do. But it's still a qualm that needs to be covered.

//Speaking of qualms, another big issue is that the trials, cases, and gameplay of this fangame suck total ass.

//HDRH20 was made in OHRRPGCE; an extremely dated game design software, that clearly does not cater well to Fanganronpa's AT ALL.

//The "Trials", if they can even be called that, are garbage, you can't view the Truth Bullets (or at least the game never explains how to do so), and the endless debates are similar to Ace Attorney but far less thrilling because you have to go through the text instead of picking a bullet and shooting it.

//Not to add the annoying mess that appears—once—as Hangman's Labyrinth. Throughout the entire game. You only play the minigame once, and it's in the first trial. The creator just forgot about the minigame between chapters.

//Speaking of the creator, Milkpunches, while I won't go into specifics, is, or rather was, a notoriously toxic person back when they were making HDRH20. And this is by far my biggest issue with this game, and what the creator was trying to do with it.

//Now, what I'm about to say could potentially come across as offensive to some parties, but given how relevant it is, it needs to be said. I'm not trying to go out of my way to make anyone feel attacked for their identity or their likes. We don't do that here.

//The reason I bring this up is because I want to make an observation, in that every character in this game falls somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. And this game was written and created with the intention of basically forcing pride ideas into the player's heads.

//This is what is known as "Tokenism." If LGBTQ+ characters are included just to fulfil a diversity quota without meaningful development or integration into the story, it can come off as superficial or insincere.

//Tokenism can undermine the authenticity or representation and fail to contribute to a compelling narrative. And relying on sterotypes or cliches when portraying characters who are gay, or trans, or lesbian, or bi, etc. can be harmful and reductive. It creates one-dimensional characters that don't reflect the complexity of real individuals and can perpetuate harmful misconceptions.

//Which is exactly what the cast of HDRH20 are.

//Focusing solely on a characters queer identity without exploring other aspects of their personality or role in the story can limit their depth. A well-rounded charater should have a multifaceted identity, where their LGBTQ+ status is just one of many elements.

//Don't take my words out of context: Pride representation itself is not detrimental to storytelling. It just needs to be approached with care to ensure that it adds to the narrative in a meaningful and respectful way, and here it just...doesn't. The ideas are forcefully shoved down your throat in a toxic way.

//And as for Milkpunches themselves, they attack anybody who criticizes them in the way that I've just done, so I'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole.

//But regardless, I still really like Hyper Danganronpa, and here's a few reasons why.

//For one, the character designs and art style are cool even if they're not wholly "Danganronpa-like." And even if the personalities are sorted into two basic sets, unlike a certain other fangan that we'll get to, these characters DO develop and change.

//One of the biggest criticisms people have for this game is that Maya as a protagonist is so unlikeable and annoying. But I think she's only like this for the prologue at least and Chapter 1 at most. Over time, she changes and becomes less stand-offish, and opens up to Hunter and Four.

//And it's not like the characters are completely one-dimensional. They have well-written backstories, and honestly, a lot of the storytelling is only held back by the game engine, not the actual writing.

//As abundant as the pride inclusion is, some of it, especially with Four, is detailed and handled well.

//And I do generally think that once you seperate content from creator, Hyper Danganronpa H20 has it's own charms. The problems are still there and still need to be accounted for, but looking past them, this is something special at its sweet center.

#13 - Super Danganronpa Another 2 ~The Moon of Hope and Sun of Despair~

//I've personally always seen DRA and SDRA2 as so in-line with the original Danganronpa, that I've subconsciously considered them as Danganronpa 5 and 6.

//Or I guess it would be 6 and 7 if we're forming a timeline.

//If you got into the Danganronpa fanbase and started to peruse the fanmade content, there's a pretty high chance that the first major project you came across was this Korean fangame by creator LINUJ; with it's own original theme of Process and Result.

//This is by far the most famous fangame in the entire fanbase, and chances are you've played it if you were able to get your hands on a translation.

//I think SDRA2 is probably the most solid Fanganronpa out there, and it's easily the most recognizable AND recommendable. As time has passed, it's become much easier for Western audiences to get their hands on, though still not easy by any means, and it's a good experience for any fans of the Danganronpa series, new, or old.

//It does the enjoyable thing of realizing what it is and messing with your expectations at every step, all the while remaining satisfying and not catching you off guard.

//Most of the challenges and riddles you solve in each chapter rank among the best of the entire series. Especially compared to the cases of DRV3.

//So the question is why is it so low?

//The first of the reasons is that Utsuroshima is hardly an original concept for a setting.

//Yes, it does different things than Jabberwock Island, such as the snowy island, but it's still a tropical island inside a virtual reality that everyone is trapped in.

//Secondly, the actual story of SDRA2 is poorly paced. Maybe I'm missing a couple of stuff, but you don't actually figure out any of the major plot points until you get to CHAPTER 5, with a few hints to it in Chapter 4.

//Danganronpa has always had an issue with pacing, but fangames are made to fix the mistakes that Kodaka and the team keep making, and the fact that this game doesn't is very annoying.

//The third and main reason is that while this might be a hot take, I actually don't like most of this game's cast.

//At their most basic, I can't stand characters like Nikei, Yuri, Syobai, and a few of the others. And compared to the cast of the previous game LINUJ made, most of them are easily passable for me. In fact, the only three who I know aren't are Sora, Setsuka, and Yoruko.

//Sora, I even admitted, is my favorite Danganronpa/Fanganronpa protagonist, and I still stand by that.

//Mod Bubbles from ASooT explains this better, but LINUJ as a writer is a very cynical person. Throughout SDRA2, there are many segway's in the writing process where it feels like prime opportunity for a character to emotionally develop. To reflect on their mistakes, and to become stronger.

//Kodaka does this a lot in the original games. Characters like Byakuya, Fuyuhiko, Komaru, Shuichi, and many others are completely different by the end of their games than they are at the start, and the progression tends to feel natural.

//But LINUJ's characters never seem to be able to take the first step, and remain the way they are. And for a lot of them who are scummy shitheads, this is to their unyielding detriment.

//While I'm more aware as to why things the way they are with this game, a writer's outlook on life can help or hinder a character's development in several ways. A lot of the characters in SDRA2 especially are overly negative, and prevents them from being well-rounded and enjoyable people with good motives and potential for growth.

//It also makes me wonder how LINUJ can even empathize with his own characters. If you have a character, especially one that's on the good side, that nobody can relate or connect to, then that's a bad thing.

//Since the writer seems to believe that people are inherently flawed or incapable of change, that in turn makes a lot of this game's cast static, and stops them from experiencing meaningful development, or necessary redemption arcs.

//As one last little slight, SDRA2 may be more accessible to people these days, but DRA1 isn't. And in order to get the full experience out of this game, you kind of have to know the plot of game 1 first.

#12 - Ultra Despair Hagakure

//Yasuhiro Hagakure is my least favourite character from the original trilogy of Danganronpa games.

//Had it not been for the likes of Haiji Towa and similarly fuckwad characters existing, he'd be my least favourite in the series.

//His constant laid back demeanor and frequent use of nonsensical or absurd statements. The fact that he's easily the most unhelpful and useless character in the main series. His repeated cowardice. How out of touch he is with everything else that's going on in the game.

//There are so many reasons why I loathe this guy, so when I found out there was a novella centered around him exploring Towa City just as Komaru and Toko did throughout Ultra Despair Girls, suffice to say, I was not happy to hear it.

//So what did I think of it?

//...It was actually alright.

//I'll say right out of the gate that what I think is the absolute coolest part of this little story is how Hiro's journey through it mirrors the journey of Komaru and Toko in UDG. Ultra Despair Girls is a story about a cowardly main character who gets stuck in Towa City, surrounded by danger, and finds an unlikely companion in a perverse and strange, yet powerful ally. The two butt heads occassionally, but their bond remains strong enough to fight through the turmoil so that they may escape and see the sun tomorrow.

//Toko and Komaru's dynamic is almost the exact same as Hiro and Kanon's, and I think that's actually pretty clever.

//However, another thing I'll say right out of the gate is that if you're expecting to get any good character development out of Hiro with this story, then be prepared to be disappointed.

//It really shows the moral difference between the characters when Toko and Hiro go through the same experience, and one of them grows from it and the other doesn't.

//Toko originally aids Komaru because she wants to rescue Byakuya, but her goals change after she spends time with Komaru and becomes a true friend with her, wanting to protect her too.

//Hiro originally aids Kanon because he hopes that her rich father will handsomely compensate him, and he still believes that in the final chapters of the story.

//This just goes back to what I was saying about the cast of SDRA2. Hiro may be a comic relief character, but it annoys the everloving fuck out of me that he just WON'T change, no matter what hell he's put through, he never learns a scrap of humility for his scamming and bargaining.

//Unfortunately, Kanon isn't exactly the right character to teach him it either.

//Kanon is...fine. She's fine. There's nothing outwardly wrong with her besides her creepy weird lust for her dead cousin in the story.

//But as far as I'm aware, love rules in Japan are lenient with cousins, plus Kanon didn't know that Leon was dead, so...

//The reason why Ultra Despair Hagakure is this high is because even though it features two characters that I'm...at best, very on the fence about, the way they interact is a fun time, and the fact that they make just as good a team as Tokomaru makes it even more fun.

//Also, while Hiro, again, doesn't change from the events in the story, this is the best example in the series that shows he CAN step up and be brave if he needs to, which is why he's less of a coward in Survivor as a result.

//This one for me is the middle ground for the novels. It's not as bad or as mundane as Byakuya's and Makoto's, and it's still not wholly necessary, but it's an enjoyable read.

#11 - Danganronpa: Kirigiri

//Kyoko is one of the most outstanding characters in the entire Danganronpa series. Like Makoto and Byakuya, her partners in crime, she's one of the most commonly appearing and influential faces in the series and franchise.

//Like Byakuya, she also had an interesting backstory shrouded in mystery, but unlike Byakuya, her own novel series portrayed it in a really unique fashion.

//Danganronpa: Kirigiri is the benchmark for me, and the definition of what the DR light novels should be. As I said before, Makoto and Hiro, while there was nothing outwardly wrong with their stories, didn't really need to happen since a lot of the information shown in the stories is stuff that was already known. For Byakuya, it was backstory stuff that was interesting and should have elaborated on the mysterious past of the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, but failed to do so in a meaningful and fun way.

//But when you have a character as elusive and mysterious as Kyoko Kirigiri, who remains that way throughout the entire main series, these novels really shine. Bonus material like this SHOULD be giving more lore and information on elusive characters like Kyoko, and while the others I think do it better than hers, she's still the low bar, and that means something.

//Takekuni Kitayama is the author of the light novel series, which centers on Detective Library members Kyoko Kirigiri and her history with colleague investigator Yui Samidare as they investigate the Duel Noir cases. Kitayama joined the series as a co-writer starting with V3, and his novel ran for seven years, in seven volumes.

//Unlike Killer Killer, the stories shown in these novels continue the DR series tradition of making intricate mysteries and thrills. Where Killer Killer failed to build up their crimes and make anything meaningful of the story, Kirigiri is able to maintain the suspense and psychological intrigue that the fans of the series appreciate.

//And it's especially interesting to see a younger, more starry-eyed Kyoko solving the cases. Even as a kid, she's the perfect protagonist for this kind of story.

//Also, surprisingly, Yui, Kyoko's sidekick and the main protagonist for this story, is a pretty well written character in her own right.

//Her existence in the story shows me that Kitayama understood the assignment. Even while younger, Kyoko's aloof and elusive nature makes her hard to connect with for general audiences, so he wrote Yui as the main heroine to fix that issue.

//However, even with the relatability aspect playing a huge part, Yui is a multi-dimensional character with a good blend of strength and vulnerability shown through her actions. Her interactions with the other characters, especially with Kyoko, adds richness to the narrative that really helps it move along.

//Also, the way that these novels casually make the Danganronpa universe bigger, even if some of it isn't all that relevant, is pretty impressive. And unlike the Togami novels, these one's are well-written with a fun narrative style that complements the existing series.

//With all that said, I definitely have my issues with the Kirigiri light novels, and ironically, a lot of them are shared with Killer Killer.

//Like Killer Killer, the only characters in this story who I remember the names of are Kyoko, Yui, Licorne, and Fuhito. Every other character is so irrelevant to me, I just block them out of my mind.

//Furthermore, as interesting and brain-wracking as the novels are, the plotlines can sometimes be too complicated, and the mystery elements can be challenging to follow, especially for readers who aren't as familiar with the Danganronpa style as long-time fans.

//And again, it's hard to find these novels in English.

#10 - Danganronpa Zero

//Like I said in the previous entry, Kyoko was one of the biggest characters, at least in the first game, who really benefitted from having her own light novel series to better explore the intricacies of her character. But she is one of three characters in the first game who are in this boat.

//ANOTHER one was JUNKO.

//As a prequel to Danganronpa 1, and by extension the entire series, Danganronpa Zero provides a deeper understanding of the series lore in a way that ACTUALLY WORKS, particularly the origins of the first Killing Game, the science behind it, and the backstory of one of it's most key characters.

//Junko is the main antagonist of the Danganronpa franchise, and just like her arch-nemesis Makoto, her influence is EVVEERRRYYYWHEEEEREE across this franchise. Even MORE than Makoto's is, easily.

//So it's amazing to me that she's still such an enigmatic character despite this central role in the storyline. As well-known as she is as the Mastermind of the Killing Game and as the Ultimate Despair, her true motivations are shrouded in mystery.

//While not fully, the Zero light novels help to elaborate on some of it. And they do it in a unique and twisty way too that is really fun to experience. And not just for Junko, but for the DR series as a whole.

//I'll be the first to say that Zero introduces a lot of random ass characters that no one, including me, seems to like very much, and for reasons that I think are fair. But I'm also mostly fine with that, because unlike some stories like Killer Killer, I think Ryoko and Yasuke handle the story well enough on their own.

//The mystery of who Ryoko really is, and the reveal near the end of the story's are masterful. And the fact that it remains such a dramatic and well-built-up mystery is awesome. As a character, she is fairly standard, but her actions and decisions are driven by strong, personal motivations. The depth makes her relatable and fun and her choices more impactful within the narrative.

//Matsuda too. The series has it's fair share of stone-faced snarkers before he showed up, but his character is marked by hidden personal struggles and more emotional depth than he lets on. And his decisions are not always black and white, adding some nuance to the tale.

//Couple all that with the fact that Zero has an actually engaging plotline and set of mysteries that don't overwhelm you as much as they would in Kirigiri, it's quite easy to get invested into this story as you put the pieces together.

#9 - Danganronpa ~Another Despair Academy~

//So I understand that this is a very hot take when it comes to taking a look at the Another series, because there aren't many out there who would put the first game above the second, especially not four spots higher. But let me break down just why I like this one so much.

//For starters, the more colorful character designs appeal to me massively. And personality wise, Another 1 has a much more solid cast of characters than the second game does.

//While Yuki is still a fairly standard protagonist for most of the game, borrowing aspects from both Makoto and Hajime, characters like Tsurugi, and Kakeru, and Satsuki, and quite a few others are one's that I'd never really seen the likes of before. And unlike SDRA2, most of them are likeable to me.

//They aren't perfect of course. There's still traces of LINUJ's pessimistic attitude, but there's less here than there was there for me.

//I also like the mysteries and the class trials more. Even though they are more contained, and borrow some things from the main game, (i.e. the first culprit being the sports jock and the fourth case being a trapped house) I still think the mysteries of this game are enough to stand out, even in the fierce competition.

//I can't comment much on the environment because like Utsuroshima, it's just a recreation of the setting of Danganronpa 1.

//But unlike SDRA2, Another 1 has a lot of the things that I look for in a fangan. It's pacing is well-managed, and the investigations, trials, and character interactions run smoothly and keep players engaged throughout.

//But even with that, there's more of a respect for the source material here than in the sequel. I know that on LINUJ's part that was intentional, and he wanted to set SDRA2 apart, but while innovation is key, I do like it when the tone of the original is respected.

//Now if only we can have an actual not-shitty translation for this.

#8 - Project: Eden's Garden

//This is not only the most recent Fangan to be added to the list, but also the most recent Fangan to be created in general on the list.

//Even though we've only gotten one character from Eden's Garden in the blog so far, I still wanted to include this because I've yet to thoroughly talk about this game.

//My general opinion on it is that I don't fit in with the hype surrounding Eden's Garden, and I'm not as excited for it's production as most other people, but I generally still think this is a really solid fangan.

//Well, I say "fangan" but Eden's Garden isn't explicitly a Danganronpa game. Apparently it's just "inspired."

//Which is a load of horseshit. You're trapped in a location with 15 other students, you all have Ultimate Talents, the bad guy, while not Monokuma, is black and white.

//It's a Danganronpa game, no matter who tells you otherwise.

//That being said, Eden's Garden DOES deserve to stand on it's own merits.

//First of all, even though it's currently just a prologue, the story features a beta Class Trial to show it's player base what's in store for the future, which I think is a clever tactic. Most fangans leave their audiences high and dry while they wait for the first trial to release (still been waiting 3 years for Chapter 1 of Coward's Paradise).

//This beta trial also shows off how Eden's Garden's mysteries and system are unique to itself, and while it has a similar spirit, it does take what Danganronpa laid down and runs with it in a way most fan projects don't.

//Right from the get go, the narrative is compelling to me, and the characters are done very creatively. I like that Damon Maitsu, the protagonist, is an asshole to everybody because he genuinely thinks he's so much better than them. It's like playing Trigger Happy Havoc, but Byakuya is the protagonist instead of Makoto.

//The quality of the game is unbelievable too. Not just the characters themselves, but the backgrounds of this game are absolutely gorgeous, even if they are simplistic. But that's always been the case for Danganronpa as well, and Eden's Garden replicates that simple beauty perfectly.

//One of the biggest selling points for Eden's Garden for me though doesn't actually have to do with the game itself, but the people who are making it. There is nothing more satisfying to me in the universe than a developer team that actively engages with their community.

//I do understand why it's important to make sure you keep your closest fans and followers at arms length. You don't want to get too personal to people who you don't know. But in the case of a project like Eden's Garden, it relieves a lot of my worries about the game's future because the dev's listen to their fanbase, and actively accept the criticism to make sure the final cut of this game turns out exactly as the fanbase wants it to, which is more than I can say for most entries on this list, especially number 14.

//That said, I do have a couple of minor issues that bump the current state of Eden's Garden down a bit. It suffers from a lot of standard problems that fangans tend to, like varying quality at different sections. For example, depending on the version, their might be problems with the quality of voice acting or dialogue. This was a big issue for RebirthVoices.

//For this game in particular, I can narrow my issues down to 3 things.

//One: The game is currently just the prologue. As good as the prologue to this game is, it is not anywhere close to a complete game, therefore I cannot judge it as such.

//Two: While many of the characters are appealing right from the get go, be it for their interesting personalities or the mystery surrounding them, there are one or two that I feel are lacking depth. It's hard to say how I feel about this new group when I have so little to work with.

//And three: my own personal experience of this was detracted from with the numerous technical issues I suffered playing it, like bugs, glitches, and performance problems. I'm sure this is just a me thing because I haven't got a strong enough computer, but the problem is still a problem.

//But these are all ultimately minor qualms, and they don't detract my TOTAL enjoyment of this project. This is something special, and I really hope it goes places.

#7 - DanganFanfic V2: New World Order

//For those who are uninitiated in this entry, this is the game that Mona, Mii-Yu, Eden, and a couple other side characters are from originally.

//As well as, personally, one of the most underrated Fanganronpas ever that doesn't nearly get enough attention and that actually bothers the fuck out of me.

//Okay, so let me get my issues with this out of the way first and foremost. I do have some pretty big critiques for this game, starting with it's gameplay.

//This game was made in the Ren'Py Engine, and for those who don't know, that is the same engine that was used to make Doki Doki Literature Club.

//And unfortunately, it does NOT work well for Danganronpa.

//The gameplay of the Class Trials in this are my biggest issue with this game. Like H20, there are many minigames that you only ever play once, and the one's that you DON'T play once tend to be very annoying and tedious with horrible UI's.

//The Daily Life segments are fine, but as soon as you get into the Deadly Life stuff, that's when the games tend to take a HUGE drop in quality.

//Speaking of, the Daily Life, Investigation, and Class Trial are all split up into separate downloadable files, which means it just fills up your PC unless you delete each file after playing them. Which is what I tend to do.

//The game itself is made by like, three people, so I can't exactly complain, but I feel like it could be better.

//My other huge issue with this is not really any fault of the game's or the developers, but something that gets on my nerves regardless.

//This game, as the 2 in it's title implies, is a sequel to a Danganronpa fanfiction that the creators wrote a short while ago. It was a personal story amongst them and was never released to the public. When they started working on the game, they weren't originally planning on making it a publicly downloadable Fangan, until they "succumbed to the pressure" as they put it.

//The annoying thing is that the original fanfic never got released, and yet the game's plotline is based entirely on the events that happened in that. The reasons why Monokuma is randomly called Killmore Bear, the victims of the game that the new characters all associate with, and so many other things can't be answered because the external lore that answers the plot points is not wholly available. Only brief guidelines are.

//So that frustrates me. But that's basically all the issues I have with this game. Everything else is absolutely stellar.

//First off, these are some of the most creative character designs I've ever seen. All the sprites ARE traced from the original series, but I don't give a shit about that. The game itself is basically made on a budget of zero anyway, and if it works, it works.

//And despite how incomplete the full backstory of the game is, the plot and mystery element of it is fucking fantastic. The Class Trials are written superbly well, even though they stick to the same tropes that the original series have done before, and the psychological drama is so original and interesting.

//A lot of the humor is unfortunately inside jokes that only the developers understand, but once you hear it enough times, you start to make sense of the weird phraseology and it doesn't feel wholly out of place.

//And the character writing, while again, a lot of tropes of the original DR cast are still there (such as Zeke and Kokichi being VERY strikingly similar) the characters in this game are really fun, wacky, and oftentimes reach ABNORMAL levels of silliness and confusing. From a British dictator, so a barista who is usually polite but becomes rude and foul-mouthed when he's on coffee withdrawals, to a missionary that missionaries for EVERY religion.

//A lot of these are blatantly unrealistic and stupid, but that's the charm of this.

//If you haven't had a chance to play DanganFanfic V2, PLEASE give it a go. I promise you, you won't regret it. To this day, I still genuinely believe that it is among the best of the best Fanganronpa's out there.

#6 - Ultimate Talent Development Plan/Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp

//Hoo boy, where do I fucking begin with this one?

//So Danganronpa S is currently the most recent official title in the main series of Danganronpa Video Games, and there are two things I need to clarify first and foremost.

//Firstly, I will be counting the full Danganronpa S game, as well as Ultimate Talent Development Plan from Danganronpa V3, as the same entry. Danganronpa S is an expanded version of the original UTDP game mode, with more features and characters, and on top of that, the game is also part of the same storyline. While Talent Development is a bonus minigame that shows a Non-Despair Alternate Universe of the cast of 1, 2, and V3 being students at Hope's Peak Academy and living out three years there before graduation, Summer Camp is both an expansion and a sequel of the original game mode, taking place at the end of the three years, and showing 50 days of the cast of 1, 2, V3, and now Ultra Despair Girls, living out their lives on Jabberwock Island in the virtual world.

//Secondly, Danganronpa S was released as part of Danganronpa's 10th Anniversary celebrations in 2020, and while it is a spinoff game with a marginally different gameplay focus, it expands on the universe at present by providing additional character integrations, backstories, and scenarios that are officially recognized as part of the series lore.

//Basically, what I'm saying is that even if you disagree, I do count this storyline as an official Danganronpa title, so it gets to be on the list. That said, if you were to include it, and you asked anyone what their favourite game in the series was, chances are high that it would NOT be this one.

//So let's go over all the reasons why this game is widely criticized and outright hated by the Danganronpa audience.

//Exhibit A: The gameplay is notoriously repetitive.

//Sure, being a visual novel series, Danganronpa has never been widely recognized for it's gameplay over it's storytelling, but even so, the gameplay loop of UTDP/DRS is mind-numbingly repetitive, and lacks a clear feel of depth and engagement that all previous titles lacked.

//Speaking personally on the matter, I do not like that it's a basic requirement to make your characters strong enough to fight in the RPG gamemode, using the boardgame mode, where their stats and abilities are mostly delegated to random chance.

//And I know how that sounds coming from someone who plays Hoyoverse games, but even the Hoyoverse games don't REQUIRE you have good artifacts. You only need them if you want to run the endgame dungeons, which I don't.

//For DRS, it is basically a REQUIREMENT, otherwise you can't beat the gamemode.

//Exhibit B: Gacha Mechanics and Microtransactions.

//Okay, so personally speaking, I think this is overblown. Yes, the gacha mechanics are dumb, and the fact that you have to roll for your characters is annoying, but the way the system works means that you're going to get one card at least once with no repeats; at least in DRS.

//But in DRS, the game also features microtransactions where if you're struggling to get a character, you can buy them on the Nintendo EShop.

//Now, this has never bothered me, because one character regardless of rank is less than 45p where I'm from. However, that's not the point.

//Putting gacha elements in any game that isn't a free purchase is frustrating and exploitative. These sorts of mechanics can make progress feel slow and contingent on spending real money, and that detracts a massive amount of enjoyment from an audience.

//Exhibit C: The plot is contrived and ex-machina as fuck.

//Danganronpa S in particular, with it's whole setting on Jabberwock Island in the virtual world, is ridiculous and nonsensical in the way it carries itself, and I feel like it didn't need to happen. The cast could have easily gone to a real island in real life. It would mean that the team didn't have to make ridiculous logical leaps to make the technicalities of it work.

//For example, you can bring souvenirs back from the island because they get 3D printed in the real world after you buy one.

//Why not just buy a real souvenir on a real island!? Because Monokuma needed magic powers to introduce your mcguffin BULLSHIT! This bear has done ridiculous shit in the real world! He doesn't need video game powers to be OP!

//It would have made so much more sense for this to take place on the REAL Jabberwock Island, not just because it avoids these stupid leaps, but because it might give the fans a chance to actually SEE the real world location the Killing Island in DR2 is based on.

//And Exhibit D, which I think is by far the biggest issue: This is not the Danganronpa we wanted.

//Ever since DRS came out, Spike Chunsoft have left Danganronpa as a franchise on the shelf to rot. And for me, this is a MASSIVE missed creative opportunity.

//Danganronpa is one of the biggest fanbases that Spike Chunsoft owns, and there are so many ways the franchise can explore new themes, settings, and gameplay mechanics. But instead, we just get this.

//Expectations for Danganronpa S were high when it first released, mainly due to the popularity and critical acclaim of games like DRV3 before it, but the dramatic shift in gameplay and focus combined with all the factors I've already listed, means this game is just an outright disappointment. And Chunsoft just left it at that.

//By not capitalizing on the potential of this series, regardless of how V3 tried to put it to bed, Spike Chunsoft misses out on the opportunity to expand and evolve Danganronpa in creative ways that could attract both existing fans and new players. Something that I would really like to do with a blog like Survivor.

//With all that being said though, Danganronpa S is up this high for a reason. Personally, even though I acknowledge that the issues are important and need to be addressed...I still like the game a lot.

//Mainly because UTDP/DRS knows exactly what it is and knows exactly what it needs to deliver to be sufficiently enjoying.

//It's a fanservice game.

//It was made to provide fanservice.

//And it gives you, SURPRISINGLY, fanservice!

//Again, I don't like the gameplay loop and the grinding, but that isn't what I'm here for. Even then, as monotonous as the gameplay is, that's okay, because this to me is one of those "fuck off" games where if you literally have nothing better to do in your life, you just sit down and play this for a bit.

//What I'm REALLY here for is the primary appeal of these games. The fact that you can see the main game characters interact with each other in ways that the main series wouldn't allow, while also in an AU where there's nothing bad happening, meaning they can be their truest selves.

//But at the same time, the characters who get development KEEP their development, which is good because I wouldn't like this game half as much if Hajime and Komaru were bitching over everything, and Fuyuhiko was acting all stand-offish.

//This game is the nostalgia punch of the series, and seeing one's favourite characters from a whole franchise interact in new ways is always a plus. As someone who has a strong attachment to this cast, it's a delightful experience seeing them all together.

//Also, these bonus game modes, Summer Camp especially, are designed well and retain the style of the characters throughout, even giving them whole new outfits in Summer Camp. Admittedly some of the swimsuits are better than others, but they all have their own aesthetic charm that I, as a fan, appreciates.

//And as contrived as the virtual Jabberwock Island is, it's still nice to see the island in a not depressing deadly perspective.

//Danganronpa's character driven content has always been the best part of it for me. And these titles deliver it in spades, so I will defend these games despite their flaws.

#5 - Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

//It was tough deciding which between Ultra Despair Girls and V3 should kick off the top 5, being my two least favorites of the main installments of games, barring Summer Camp. But ultimately, I decided that Ultra Despair Girls fell a little bit shorter.

//Let's explain why.

//First off, unlike every other mainline game in the Danganronpa series, Ultra Despair Girls is not a murder mystery visual novel. It is an action-adventure game with elements of third-person shooter in it.

//This immediately puts it on another plane of existence from the main series because the two genre's are so remarkably different; it doesn't matter that there are similar elements between them like the fact that both focus on using certain types of bullets to defeat certain obstacles. And if there are players out there who played the main series, the discrepancy between it and Ultra Despair Girls is jarring for those who prefer the investigative and narrative-driven style of the main trilogy.

//What do I think of it?

//Well, as I mentioned in previous posts, I really want to see Danganronpa branch out into other genre's, with action-adventure being the main one, and Ultra Despair Girls is by far the most outlandish, while also keeping the character and narrative writing of the previous games intact.

//But...I'd also like those games to be good?

//Personally speaking, Ultra Despair Girls' game mechanics, like the aiming and shooting element, and the puzzle solving stuff, is clunky and repetitive at best, and it's not an enjoyable game to actually PLAY. Not to mention that compared to Rain Code, and now the 100 Line, the animation and 3D models just feel so dated in comparison.

//But the biggest issue is all to do with the narrative.

//There's nothing wrong with Ultra Despair Girls story. It's unique, and that's about all I can say on the matter. But my problems mainly lie in the tone, themes, and character.

//Another Episode is very easily the darkest game in the Danganronpa series; far more graphic than it's predecessors. And if I'm being totally honest, I don't like how the writing brings up ideas like child abuse, pedophilia, and psychological trauma just so casually.

//I'm not opposed to these ideas being in Danganronpa; it adds a touch of darkness to the story to remind you that this franchise is fucked up and it's supposed to be that way. I'd just personally like them to be handled better.

//Especially since Ultra Despair Girls has the weakest cast of the main series by a country mile. Yes, I said that Danganronpa 3 had a weak cast, but the majority of the main cast are characters that have already been shown in the series in DR1 and DR2. Like that, Ultra Despair Girls has characters from the first two games in it (Toko and Nagito being the most prominent examples) but they don't take up the majority of the cast.

//And that majority, all things considered, is pretty weak. Even as the most abused characters in the series, I find it hard to care about most of the Warriors of Hope because their actual personalities are so dry and simple compared to the rest of the main cast of the series. And in general, the characters development is less compelling compared to what was shown possible in DR1 and 2.

//I love Kodaka and his work, don't get me wrong, but his writing has always been pretty hit or miss for me, and the way that a lot of this is handled feels...kind of insensitive? I don't know how best to put it.

//With all that being said, you'd think that Ultra Despair Girls should have fallen a lot lower than it is here, but the truth is that Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, is an underrated gem as far as Danganronpa is concerned.

//Even though most people regard it as the worst of the main games...

//...which is right...

//that doesn't mean it's bad. It's actually pretty incredible.

//As I said before, my own personal issue with UDG's gameplay is how clunky it is. The actual shift in gameplay is pretty fun honestly, and even though it's not EXACTLY what I want, it's still a step towards it.

//And even though I have some very major qualms with the writing of this game, putting those issues aside, the story itself is pretty great. The way that Komaru and Toko come together to fight this threat, and how they become such tight-knit friends feels so natural.

//Speaking of, while I do generally dislike the underdeveloped cast of this game, Komaru and Toko are not part of that problem.

//For many years, I had my issues with Komaru because I felt her character progression was too slow, and even in the end, I felt it didn't amount to much. But getting to write her in Survivor and Phantom Thieves of Hope, I love this absolute insane gremlin of an MC.

//I understand looking back that what makes Komaru so appealing compared to the other protags is, putting it not so delicately, is that by comparison to Makoto, Hajime, and later Shuichi...She's just so fucking stupid!

//There are times in the story where Komaru shows that she has the same observation skills and eye for detail as her brother, which is cool, but most of the time, when she's not crying her eyes out in the face of absolutely horrible and traumatic imagery, her interactions with Toko range from heartfelt to absolutely goddamn hilarious.

// "Kangaroo Meat and Tuna Eyeballs," and "Respeculate your elders," are a few good examples.

//Speaking of Toko...Holy shit, I fucking love Toko.

//As I mentioned before with Ultra Despair Hagakure, Toko and Hiro are in similar positions in their titles. They are the returnee from DR1 who I didn't like very much, and get a chance to have more character development.

//But while I feel Hiro kind of missed the mark, Toko hit it DEAD ON.

//She has one of the most compelling redemption arcs/character development stories in the whole series, to the point where I made an entire essay for it here on the blog.

//But, as to not repeat myself, I'll break it down by saying that I like mainly how Toko becomes more open and communicative without betraying her prickly and sarcastic nature that was developed in the first game; which is also handled far better here. Her interactions with Komaru help her come out of her shell, and she shows signs of caring and forming a genuine friendship, something she struggled with in her previous appearance.

//She's also the perfect character to bring back for a narrative like this, since she's easily the most thoroughly abused character in the first game, and that helps create a connection between her and the experiences the Warriors of Hope went through. They both were hurt as children, and those experiences led to them hurting and killing a lot of innocent people. And knowing she can't just brush off this connection, Toko begins to confront and deal with her past traumas, and her experiences in Ultra Despair Girls push her to acknowledge and work through her issues rather than just repress them. And it works very very well.

//And of course, while her feelings for Byakuya remain, Toko’s obsession diminishes, and she starts to define herself outside of this one-sided relationship. Her growing bond with Komaru helps her find value in herself beyond her fixation on Byakuya.

//This is why I don't mind the poor character writing of Ultra Despair Girls because all the good character writing went into these protagonists and their relationship, and it's excellent.

//As a few other notes on why I like this game, I really like the setting.

//Towa City is one of the most interesting settings for these games because of how open it is. Yeah, it's not exactly an open world, but having the Demon Hunting Game take place in an apocalyptic city is not only a far cry from DR1 and DR2, but it's a much welcome one.

//This is the kind of expansion of universe the series needed, both physically and narratively, providing more background and depth into the events between the first and second game, filling in the gaps and adding some context, and as someone really interested in series lore, this is a really good addition.

//As one last note, Ultra Despair Girls has quite possibly the best soundtrack in the main series as well. A lot of the music Takada made for this game stands out from the others, even the tracks that are remixed from those games.

//Overall, despite it's very big problems, I love this game. It's character development for it's MC's, it's unique gameplay experience, and how far Kodaka branched out for the story are really appealing and underrated as far as I'm concerned.

//Fortunately, Ultra Despair Girls is really the only game in the series that is this divisive!

//Right?

//...

//...Right...?

#4 - Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

//UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH-

//Danganronpa V3 suffers from what I like to call the "Marmite Effect."

//What is that, you ask?

//Over the course of my life, I've found that most people who have eaten Marmite go one of two ways. Either they love it and have it as much as possible on every slice of toast, or they won't touch it with a 5 foot pole.

//V3 is that for the Danganronpa series. And it's really not hard to see why.

//V3 went back to the series origins with a good ol' tride and true Killing Game, and as expected, people who played the earlier entries in the franchise took a critical look at it to see if it measured up.

//Opinions on whether it did vary, but my personal stand on the matter is...V3 has the worst mystery element of the main trilogy by far.

//The cases and the mysteries themselves are fine, but it's in execution that a lot of them fail for me. Like the rest of the game, there are 6 cases, and a new killer each case, but of those 6 killers, only the first one in the first case interested me.

//It's incredibly disappointing because V3 had such a high bar to jump. Danganronpa's 1 and 2 set that bar, and V3 just failed to jump it for me. As fresh a take on the Killing Game formula it is, what sets it apart is not the big problems with this game.

//So like I did with Summer Camp and Ultra Despair Girls, I will quickly go over everything I don't like about this game, then go over everything that saves it and allows it to get this high on the list. Because despite how much of a Negative Nancy I'm being, I do like V3 a lot.

//First of all let's talk about the characters, since that's the biggest issue for me.

//In Danganronpa 1, I can confidently say that of it's main cast of 16 students, there are 10 characters who I love, 4 characters who I still like but not a lot, and 2 characters who I didn't enjoy at all.

//In Danganronpa 2, I can confidently say that I liked EVERY character in it, regardless of whether I felt more strongly about others.

//Ultra Despair Girls I've already said had a weak cast, but most of those characters are side characters, with Toko and Komaru being the only main two that you need to worry about.

//And V3?

//I like roughly about half of V3's cast, and the rest of them, I either dislike, or find incredibly boring or annoying.

//To name a couple of examples, I like Kaede and Shuichi, the two protagonists, and I also like Kokichi, the antagonist, a lot. I like Kaito, I like Maki, and a few others like them.

//On the other end, you have characters like Keebo, Kirumi, Tenko, Kiyo, Tsumugi, and the rest who all suffer in my bad books.

//And the main reason is because the character writing of V3 is so monotonous and not-thorough than the other games. Every character has a personality that can be summed up by one or two words of dialogue they speak on the regular, and hardly any of them change or develop.

//In fact, of the class trials in this game, I only gave a shit about ONE killer, and that's the first one, mainly because she was a protagonist and that was a pretty good plot twist. Everything that came after just declined in quality for me.

//With a few main exceptions, most of the cast just feel pointless and unsatisfying, and while I can forgive that in UDG, I can't forgive it here, where everyone is supposed to get a chance to shine on their own merits.

//As the third main game in an already established and beloved series, expectations for V3's main cast were high. Many fans had specific hopes for how the characters would be and and how it would tie back into the previous games. When the game took a different direction than it should have, it led to disappointment and backlash from those people who's expectations were not met.

//And following up on this, there are characters in the game, with Ryoma, Rantaro, and Kirumi in my opinion being the three biggest examples, who were developed in ways that made their deaths feel like they shouldn't have happened. Ryoma was geared up for a really cool arc that ended the very minute it started; Rantaro still has barely any lore to his name even with the bonus content, and Kirumi is NOTHING. Just a complete blank sheet of a character that serves no fucking narrative purpose whatsoever other than to be a mcguffin killer in Case 2.

//A lot of the writing is also frankly ridiculous with it's leaps in logic, and there are many things that I take issue with. Kirumi randomly being the President of Japan, Kiyo being in a weird relationship with his sister, who is also dead, and Tsumugi...Holy goddamn fucking hell Tsumugi is such a shitshow of character.

//Speaking of which, as one final point, let's go over one last point, and what I believe is by far the biggest source of controversy for this game and it's general audience.

//The ending.

//Danganronpa games don't always have completely climactic endings, at least not with the main trilogy. They all suffer from the same issues, like being general plot dumps, full of dramatic anime-esque nonsense, and being ridiculously long and difficult.

//But V3 has all these issues in absolute spades upon spades compared to the first two games. And as I said already, it's perhaps the most significant aspect contributing to it's hate.

//The twist reveals that the game's events are part of a reality show, suggesting that everything is fictional, and calling into question the reality of the previous games as well.

//This meta-narrative approach just completely ruins mine and every other fan's emotional investment meaningless, and even if this is a little bit dramatic, it makes me feel frustrated and betrayed by the writers.

//As time has gone on, it's become widely accepted that V3 takes place in a completely separate canon timeline from Danganronpa 1 and 2, and thankfully, that takes the edge off for me. It allowed me to maintain my enjoyment of the previous games, and enjoy V3 as a standalone one, even with the timeline split.

//However, if it hadn't been for the timeline split, I would not have enjoyed Danganronpa as a series as much as I do now, so I still can't exactly forgive it. It undermines the emotional investment I've put into these stories and characters; like the game is making fun of me for having stuck with it for so long.

//I am impressed by it's audacity, but equally as frustrated by it's attempt to negate the series integrity.

//Okay *wipes brow* now let's talk about what makes this game stand out, and why it DOESN'T suck ass.

//As I said before, the characters that I don't hate, I do love a lot. Kaede is my favorite in the whole series, and she, Kokichi, Shuichi, and Kaito are all in my top 10. While V3 has the series most mundane characters in it, it also supports some of it's absolute best.

//V3 I feel is also the major contributing factor to why Danganronpa has such a wide audience. The game's themes and twists generate extensive discussion and debate within it's fan community, and even if the ending is controversial for all good reasons, it's also very bold and creative. It gets people talking about it, and the active engagement and ability to share theories, interpretations, and the emotional responses from it are the very reason why Danganronpa's fandom is still alive today despite this game coming out 7 years ago as of writing this.

//Also, though I admitted I don't like the killers of V3, the Class Trials are very explorative, and an upgrade of logic from the previous titles. The plot twists and turns are intricately managed, and keep you engaged and constantly guessing, and constantly immersed.

//One of the biggest factors of what makes V3 stand out is that it really feels like it's own standalone game. Danganronpa 1 and 2 shared a lot of aspects between each other, like similar styles with UI and characters, and sharing a soundtrack. But V3 throws all of that out the window.

//V3 is easily the most stylized game, possessing a really unique UI as far as VisNov's go, and barely any of the original soundtrack is reused here.

//Speaking of stuff that isn't reused, the established theme of Hope Vs Despair is also foregone for most of the game. They bring it up during the ending, but sort of as a faux way of poking fun at the fanbase, like the rest of the ending does.

//Instead, V3 focuses on different contrasting themes like the value of Truth and Lies, the importance and impact of fiction and reality, and what's more important between the facts or the beliefs.

//Now, these are equally as divisive. For long time fans, they might feel that these themes are poorly executed or overly convoluted, and as mentioned, the meta-physical stuff can be pretentious or unnecessary.

//I don't agree with that. Not fully at least.

//I like that the game is making it's fans experience a different kind of philosophical question other than "should you give up? Yes or nah." And through the characters, this is executed well, especially with Shuichi and his dynamic with Kokichi.

//So despite the controversial ending for this game, the journey through it is filled with emotional highs and lows that put it a tiny bit above Ultra Despair Girls for me, but lower than the other main series entries. It features intense moments, heartfelt scenes, and some pretty awesomely executed revelations. Which leaves us with a rollercoaster of emotions that have a lasting impression on us.

//And the good news is that for every entry above this one, I have basically nothing bad to say about any of them.

#3 - Danganronpa IF: The Button of Hope and the Tragic Warriors of Despair.

//Gonna be honest, I didn't know that IF had such a long title before I made this.

//I talked about the light novel series and the bonus novels of the Danganronpa series before. And I mentioned that one of my biggest wants for these sorts of bonus materials are insight into a characters true nature, and their background that wasn't explicitly stated in the main game.

//So basically, what I want most is lore expansion.

//This is why I liked Danganronpa Kirigiri, and Danganronpa Zero. They gave that lore expansion to Kyoko and Junko; characters who deserved it because of how mysterious and interesting they were.

//But my fucking god, if there was one character that needed that more than anything, it was MUKURO FUCKING IKUSABA, the Ultimate Soldier from the first game.

//Mukuro, widely recognized as the 16th student in the academy, the one they call the Ultimate Despair, exists in the first game as little more than to serve as a narrative twist. One that I think was done well and handled well, but ultimately came with some sacrifices.

//Mukuro was introduced in the first game, but never got to show off her real character. As part of the Mastermind's plan, she masquerades as her sister, Junko, at the start of the game, while the real Junko is manipulating events from behind the scenes, all to throw the other students off her trail.

//But then Mukuro, disguised as Junko, is killed early in the game by Monokuma, who impales her with multiple spears. At the time, it was done to demonstrate the deadly seriousness of the killing game and Monokuma’s control over it, but it’s later revealed that Mukuro’s death was orchestrated by Junko to further her plan and maintain her disguise, at least until that all gets blown open in Cases 5 and 6.

//This is the reason why a light novel that takes this context and adds a "What-If" scenario to it, where Makoto saves Mukuro in the nick of time, is so important.

//Because it single-handedly turned this McGuffin character into, no joke, one of the best characters in the series.

//Mukuro doesn't have the same depth and character development as other characters in Danganronpa because of her short screen time. Less information about her intentions, past, and personality is available to players outside of her function in Junko's schemes. As a result, she comes out as less of a developed character and more of a story device.

//Establishing a connection between characters and the audience requires meaningful screen time. The protagonist and other characters rarely interact with Mukuro, at least not as she is when she's being herself, and not disguised as Junko, trying to play off as her. Therefore it's difficult for players to develop an emotional connection with her. Compared to other characters who possess greater presence and growth, her detached nature renders her less noteworthy and influential.

//Not even UTDP and Summer Camp fix this, since Mukuro's disguised as Junko there too, and for no real reason other than budget.

//They got Komatsuzaki to make swimsuit sprites for her, but couldn't pay him to take off that fucking wig.

//Speaking of things that certainly don't fix the issues with her character, Danganronpa 3 sure as fuck doesn't.

//Mukuro’s portrayal in the anime is easily her worst, and doesn't even align with her established character traits from the game. For instance, her skills as the Ultimate Soldier are not adequately showcased, and her relationship with Junko is...

//Well...

//"Oversimplified" is as nice as I could put it.

//I'm not saying that Mukuro being Junko's dog doesn't make sense given what type of character Junko is, but it completely betrays this stone cold warrior that Mukuro is supposed to be, and lacks nuance on top of that.

//Mukuro's character there is also another big example of how DR3 fails to do what it's supposed to do that I forewent mentioning in it's segment. The anime had the chance to delve into Mukuro’s psyche, her loyalty to Junko, and her own personal struggles, but it largely ignored these aspects. This oversight diminishes the complexity and potential intrigue surrounding her character.

//Aside from that, Mukuro hasn't had any content of her own until recently when she was added to ShiroPro as her own character. That really puts into perspective just how little a shit the DR writers give about this character.

//And it's because it fixes basically all of these things that I've just discussed that is the reason why Danganronpa IF is my third favorite entry in the franchise, despite being bonus material.

//Unlike the other novels/bonus content that expands on the main series lore, IF instead offers a What If scenario where Mukuro survives her execution, and thereby takes her own central role in the story.

//Since this was a bonus story that was released in the pack that contains the first few games, it lets the true fans explore a different narrative path from the main series, and provides fresh insight and excitement on a formula that they've already experienced.

//But it goes beyond that, for several reasons.

//First off, for those who don't know, IF was written by both Kodaka himself, AND Ryōgo Narita.

//For those who do not know who this guy is, he is the man behind two very famous Japanese crime novels: Baccano and Durarara.

//Baccano, by the way, is one of my favorite anime of all time. Please watch it if you get the chance, and watch it dubbed in English too, because they knock it out of the park with that dub.

//So needless to say, this simple bonus novel is on a whole other level of quality than the others, and I love that Narita is also the original Naekusaba shipper.

//IF really highlights WHY Mukuro is the way she is in those because she feels like Junko is all she's got, and the only one she can be comfortable around. And then proceeds to realize that that isn't the case.

//Before I get into the actual story quirks, I want to mainly talk about Mukuro herself and why she's such a stellar lead in this. Since the novel is about her, it gives her more depth and development than she ever has in any of her other appearances. And trust me, there aren't many.

//First and foremost, this novel provides more insight into Mukuro’s background and her relationship with Junko. It delves into her history as the Ultimate Soldier, her experiences in various war zones, and how those experiences shaped her personality and skills.

//This exploration of her background gives her character more depth and makes her actions more understandable; as well as showing off just exactly HOW she managed to survive in war for so long without a single scratch to show for it, and not in a way that feels ridiculous or convoluted for the series like how Hijirihara was in Killer Killer.

//I also love Mukuro's conflict and internal struggle, since it makes a lot of sense. The story explores Mukuro’s internal struggle between her loyalty to Junko and her own moral compass.

//It shows that she is not just a mindless follower but has her own doubts and desires, and above all else, her own CHARACTER. And not just that, but a complex and sympathetic character at that.

//And putting the ship fuel aside, her relationship with Makoto in this story makes perfect sense two.

//Makoto and Junko are two sides of the same coin. In terms of their characters, they cannot be more polar of opposites, but they are both influential and powerful people who advocate, and represent opposing ideals in a similar way.

//Even though she's spent most of her life with Junko, being part of her path of Despair, it doesn't feel unnatural for Mukuro to then be inspired by Makoto and decided to defy Junko to protect the other students. This shift in her actions from antagonist to protector highlights her capacity for change and redemption in a way that few DR characters have shown to this degree.

//Through her interactions with other characters, especially Makoto, Mukuro shows emotional growth. She starts to care about the well-being of the other students and begins to see a life beyond her sister’s influence. This growth makes her more relatable and multidimensional.

//While Mukuro is the absolute highlight of this story, there are other things about IF that put it this high on my list.

//The novel has a lot of features that will appeal to readers who have been following the show for a long time, like going back to see beloved characters and locations and delving into possible futures that have sparked fan theories.

//Kodaka deserves credit on this story too too. Since he has an active involvement in this, it also means that none of the characters in the story deviate too much from their portrayal in the original series. And for that matter, neither does Mukuro. She still exhibits traits she showed in DR1 and DR3, but not to the degree that makes her a blank-slate obedient servant; just someone who cares about her sister despite the fact that she's an evil lunatic.

//And through it's own existence, by offering many outcomes and developing the emotional arcs of well-loved characters, the story evokes strong emotional reactions in me. It's based on an already existing experience that we all would have gone through it we played the main games of DR1 and 2, but it leaves us with a lasting and profound experience nonetheless.

//Mukuro’s journey in Danganronpa IF is one of redemption. By the end of the story, she takes significant risks to help the other students escape the killing game. Her actions demonstrate her desire to atone for her past and protect those she once helped endanger.

//God dammit I'd love to see the DR3 equivalent of this world.

#2 - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

//What can I say about the original Danganronpa that started it all that hasn't been said already.

//While I don't think it's aged spectacularly, Trigger Happy Havoc deserves more credit than anything because without it, literally nothing on this list would exist.

//Now, the thing is, since this is the first game, I could take a lot of compliments I gave to the other titles and just carry them over, so I kind of want to bullet point this one if possible.

//The other games ran with it, but Trigger Happy Havoc was very unique when it first came out, due to how it first showed the combination of visual novel storytelling with investigation and courtroom drama. Take the gameplay elements of Ace Attorney, and the mystery and context elements of Zero Escape, and you basically get Danganronpa, resulting in a distinctive and captivating experience as you gather evidence, work through riddles, and take part in rigorous class trials.

//This was also the introduction to the widely known narrative that isn't only applicable in Fanganronpa's, but mystery games akin to and inspired by it. The story revolves around a group of high school kids who are imprisoned in a school by Monokuma, a vicious bear. To graduate, they are made to play a deadly game in which they have to kill each other and get away with it. The story delves deeply into the dark themes of Hope vs Despair, trust, and betrayal.

//But these are things we've talked about endlessly, so the real question is this: How does the first game stand out from the rest of the series.

//Besides being the very introduction to the core concepts, Danganronpa 1 is the most true to it's function. There's no gimmicks, no outlandish shit involved in it's narrative, not nearly as many wacky cartoonish antics, etc. It is the most tride and true Killing Game story of everything that's come out of it.

//Also, despite being the first, and the namesake of the series, Hope's Peak Academy is above and beyond one of the most unique settings in the series. I said before how much I liked Ultra Despair Girls open environment of Towa City, but even though Danganronpa 1 is the complete reverse of this, it really helps to work with the darker tone of the story.

//An issue I had with the Ultimate Academy is that it felt TOO open and expansive, especially with it's courtyard. It completely lost the feeling of isolation that Danganronpa 1 had with Hope's Peak. The first game REALLY makes you feel like you're trapped with how claustrophobic and intense the atmosphere of the school is right from the very start.

//It is both a literal AND metaphorical prison.

//THH also has the most important case of characters in it.

//Junko is obviously introduced as the series face of evil and main villain, who appears/is mentioned in in literally every iteration at least once. But you could say the same for Makoto, and Kyoko, and Byakuya.

//These characters set the tone for the entire franchise; every single Killing Game cast that comes after are defined by this game's lineup of characters.

//And of course, there's also Monokuma.

//Monokuma is introduced in the game as a recognizable and terrifying adversary to the main cast. Though he eventually becomes a series main character, and it's mascot, his initial appearance in Trigger Happy Havoc stands out in particular.

//Especially since he no longer has anyone around to help, or rather HINDER, him.

//DR1 is the best Monokuma is in the series, and there are issues with him in every other iteration. He's fine in 2 and V3, but the real issue comes from the introduction of the other mascot characters, Monomi, and the Monokubs.

//I'm not saying Monomi is bad, even though I will openly admit to despising most of the Monokubs, but neither does a lot for the bear in their games. With the presence of other stuffed animals, the narrative of those game's focus is divided. Monokuma's character is less central to the story as these guys bring about their own dynamics and conflicts, diluting the impact of his presence and actions.

//And then in UDG and DR3, he's reduced to just a mindless sentry robot.

//In Danganronpa 1, he suffers no such setbacks. Hence why this is the best appearance he's had in the series.

//The first game is also the pioneer of the series' aestehtic and mechanics. It creates the series' unique visual and aural aesthetic, with its vibrant, exaggerated artwork, chic text and menu display, and unique soundtrack, establishing Danganronpa's distinctive and identifiable brand.

//And While later games introduce more complex mechanics and deeper layers to the narrative, DR1 offers a more straightforward experience. This simplicity allows new players to grasp the core mechanics and themes without being overwhelmed.

//And that's basically all I have to say on this game. It's simplicity as the first game in the series, but it's influence on the world at large, as well as it's many sequels and fan projects is so important.

//Danganronpa 1 is crucial to the series as it lays the foundational elements that define the franchise's identity. As the inaugural title, it introduces the innovative blend of visual novel storytelling, murder mystery investigation, and intense courtroom drama that distinguishes the series.

//Its distinctive art style, memorable characters, and unexpected plot twists set a high standard for narrative complexity and engagement, left a lasting impression on the world and paved the way for the series' subsequent success and expansion.

//...Speaking of which...

#1 - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

//How could it NOT be this!?

//Even though Trigger Happy Havoc established the core concept of the series, it only took one more year before evrything that Danganronpa is is perfected and presented in the sequel.

//It takes the premise of the original and introduces a new setting: Jabberwock Island, which provides a fresh and vibrant backdrop compared to the claustrophobic Hope’s Peak Academy. While I do generally think Hope's Peak worked better to make you feel trapped and afraid, this new environment enriches the gameplay and narrative opportunities that were already established for the mystery element.

//It's not nearly as isolated, but the only other entry in this list that tried to do the island setting was SDRA2, and it only did it half as successfully.

//The game also refines and expands upon the gameplay mechanics introduced in the first installment. It adds new elements like the Island Mode and improves the trial system, enhancing the overall experience while maintaining the core gameplay.

//You know... "Improved" Hangman's Gambit notwithstanding.

//Fuck that minigame.

//All my homies hate that minigame.

//Goodbye Despair also builds on the themes of hope and despair with a more intricate storyline, adding layers of psychological depth and surprising twists that keep players engaged. The narrative complexity is heightened by the exploration of new themes and connections to the original game.

//But while it introduces new elements, DR2 effectively ties back to the events of the first game, creating a sense of continuity and expanding the lore of the series. This connection enriches the overall narrative and rewards fans with deeper insights into the series’ overarching plot.

//The sequel refines the pacing of investigations and class trials, making the gameplay smoother and more engaging. The visual and auditory presentation is also polished, enhancing the overall immersive experience.

//Basically, take everything I said about Danganronpa 1, and know Danganronpa 2 did ALL of it better.

//As to not repeat myself, let's talk about the reasons DR2 stands on it's own merits, and why compared to every other Killing Game in this, it's the best one.

//I already talked about the change in setting and how that affected it, but the second game also explores themes of hope and despair with new twists and connections to the original game. Its narrative complexity, including a deeper focus on psychological and existential themes, sets it apart by expanding the series’ lore in innovative ways.

//Especially with the final trial, and what Hajime goes through, but we'll get to that.

//The sequel builds on the narrative foundation of the first game but adds layers of complexity, including connections to the broader lore of the Danganronpa universe. This deeper storytelling and thematic exploration contribute to its standout status.

//And then...there's the cast.

//Oh boy, the cast of this game is fucking fantastic.

//As I said already, the casts of Ultra Despair Girls and V3 were lacking in some departments, even if the latter had some of my favorites. And even though THH's group was solid overall, there were still some I didn't take too kindly to.

//I can't say the same for DR2. I love EVERY SINGLE ONE of these characters!

//Sonia, with her blend of regal charm, intellectual depth, funny dialogue, and genuine empathy leaves an engaging persona to watch.

//Kazuichi, with his endearing clumsiness, earnest ambition, and surprisingly sad underlying depth, adding the main source of humor, but also the emotional resonance.

//Fuyuhiko with his stellar character development and evolution from a tough, abrasive brat to a more vulnerable and honorable soldier, with a good head on his short shoulders.

//Peko, with her unwavering loyalty, yet also an unexpected human side to her stoicism.

//Akane, with her fierce determination and carefree attitude, masking some insecurities and a caring personality.

//Nekomaru with his larger-than-life enthusiasm and kindness, and unyielding commitment to his friends, as well as the comic relief he offers.

//Mikan being such a tragic figure, contributing massively to the emotional complexity of the story.

//Ibuki doing basically the exact opposite of that, lol.

//Hiyoko being an abrasive and snotty bully, yet eventually revealing this vulnerability adds a portrayal of personal growth and social dynamics.

//Gundham, easily one of my favourite's in the series overall, with his dramatic personality, and love for his pets; perfectly balancing eccentricity with genuine depth.

//Teruteru, with his passionate and flamboyant personality, yet carrying underlying struggles and honest motivations, becoming a character that is deeply flawed, but empathetic and entertaining.

//The Ultimate Imposter, and the mystery around his true self, yet the honesty of his motivations and conduct.

//Mahiru, my absolute series best girl, with her blend of practicality, strong sense of responsibility, and her genuine care for others that make such a steadfast character.

//And of course...Hajime, Chiaki, and Nagito.

//Though they lack the interaction potential that was shown with Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki, they are easily the best lead characters in the series proper.

//Hajime is a fantastic protagonist, even though I can't confidently claim if he's better than Makoto, Shuichi, or any of the other protags, because his journey from uncertainty to self-discovery is fascinating, well-handled, and compelling on ideas like identity and growth.

//Chiaki stands out for her combination of quiet kindness and hidden strength, being a comforting presence, a crucial source of support, and a universally loved character in the fanbase.

//And then there's Nagito. A character so interesting that I've never seen or played any other video game that has somebody quite like him. His unpredictability, complex motivations, and his philosophical views on the series themes add a profound and unsettling dimension to the narrative at large that never quite went away.

//As iconic and important as the cast of Game 1 are, the sequel features a fresh cast with memorable and distinctive personalities, each contributing to the story in unique ways. Not to mention this new group of characters offers a different dynamic from those in the first game, providing new kinds of interactions and relationships.

//Danganronpa 2 isn't without issues. No DR game is. It features what is widely considered both the best case and worst case in the series. But in general, I think this game has the most compelling mystery element to it.

//As mentioned already, the trials are a lot more fun than in the first game, because even though the Hangman's Gambit gamemode is absolute dogshit, the rest of the new gamemodes like Rebuttal Showdown and Logic Dive are series staples.

//The actual cases themselves and the mystery element is a lot more complex and layered than the first game too, requiring a lot more critical thinking and analysis, and therefore, more satisfying and rewarding when you finally solve them, which is more than I can say for V3.

//But the best part about it is that they're much longer.

//DR1's trials are good, but they're too short to allow ample opportunity for character development and interaction. But by making the trials longer, the personalities of the new cast are explored in greater depth during the trials, making them more compelling by default.

//And as one last note, I also think Danganronpa 2 has by far the most satisfying story and conclusion.

//As I mentioned before, the final trials of these games always end up sharing the issues of being plot dumps, having a lot of anime bullshit in it, and being massive in length and difficulty. This game's final trial suffers especially with the second one.

//But it is actually raw and awesome as fuck, so I can't complain.

//Goodbye Despair's conclusion, like a lot of the final trials, delves into meta-narrative territory, but not in a way that felt insulting like V3, nor a way that felt anticlimactic like THH. The philosophical approach here in contrast to then is less straightforward and more unique, and the final twists, especially with the Remnants of Despair and Izuru Kamukura is quite possibly the most shocking, heart-crushing, and impressive the series has offered.

//The conclusion also ties together the themes and character arcs of not only this game, but the first game too, in a way that is powerful and thematically coherent. The resolution of the story, and with it, the conclusion of Hajime's very well-crafted character arc, provides closure, while also leaving the audience with just enough questions end reflections about the nature of Hope and Despair.

-Mod

[edge-oftheworld]

a snapshot in time of my CALM orchestral arrangement

so I just discovered that this is a thing you can do on tumblr and i've been debating putting it up here (i'm not even sure it's legal) but at this point, to me it's worth the (very slim) lawsuit risk to show you guys the inspo behind making this blog. for @bluewrite who i've been meaning to email this to for ages but never got there. for @tleeaves who i think got a slightly older version as did @ghost-of-you but this is also for all of you who've heard me rattling about music things, for people i've gotten into 5sos by talking about this project such as @thevagabondexpress (thank you for drawing the U2 link).

anyway, as you probably know i'm a classical violist. i know my instrument and i know a fair amount of music theory and i know how to play the keyboard/piano as well and at the start of this project i knew very little about building orchestral scores or anything about wind instruments at all. i'd written arrangements and original pieces before but only for strings-only orchestras, and though i'm alright at pulling out instrumentation from songs my experience is largely in the more classic 2000s pop/rock/worship with very minimal synth activity and max 3 part harmonies. to say this was a challenge is an understatement.

it's also not finished yet. i've gone back and forth on this getting feedback from a bunch of people, much of which i didn't understand and wasn't ready to implement. i've also found ashton and calum's videos explaining these songs in more detail and the acoustic version of teeth and best years with the actual chords of the songs and now, differently to the week tfofu came out but similar, i'm on it again, noticing things. noticing musical trends. most of this was done by pure sound intuition and a handful of piano scores arranged by @/keudae on youtube i bought and played to get a feel of the songs. I feel really stoked to have picked up on the whole lover of mine setting us up for lonely heart and being a bit like ghost of you and some of the themes within the album!

but there is a lot i didn't pick up on. especially in the last movement i don't truly feel like i did any of those songs justice. nor lonely heart. and there is a stark difference between the quality of the songs that were played at the RAH and the ones that i only had a studio version to work off (my strings background comes out here). i've also looked at all the 22 individual parts and realised, hey, i want to be in the 5sos spirit and make every single one of these fun to play and right now the only one that is is the cello which carries luke's main melody line but it's also kinda working too hard.

and that's the thing i know, probably apart from that one keychange into lonely heart from ghost of you, this for the most part sounds good and i want to share it here before i rejig it too much, make it too much more orchestral, so we can remember it and see it evolve. because i have a bunch of juno and guitar and percussion and harmony parts i haven't put in. general song vibes. shake up the choruses and make them a variation on themselves each time. maintain the atmosphere it's got but add more layers to it, be more true to the original songs. make something i would be proud to show 5sos if the opportunity ever arose, something that would actually astonish them and I think I can. because their musicality in this album is astounding, and something i haven't seen in heaps of other artists, and i want to recognise that and draw it out in something that can do it justice like an orchestra.

[ferinehuntress]

Okay, I had a bit of a rough week, so I haven't been on my best mind or thoughts because of things.

However, I do finally want to do a belated New Year's greeting and appreciation to some people who I think I want to say things about because they are the reason why I'm still on my blog and what has made my life beautiful.

I do not celebrate New Year's, however, I do believe in trying to look to the better, to hope for better. It is not about a new year and erasing everything that has happened, but having a chance to build yourself how you want to. I do not do resolutions nor do I believe in the idea of New Year's meaning kissing or drinking. It's a time to appreciate what you have and who you have it with.

◈　@shimmerbeasts　 ⋯　 I would have never expected to have made such a powerful and impactful relationship with Miss T when I first met her. And yet, after six months, she has become not only my best friend but someone I consider family. I can't even imagine my life without Miss T now, it's like finding someone who is a long-lost sister, who understands me better than I know myself at times. I don't think there are enough words or phrases to express how much I truly appreciate her and her friendship, and I hope for many more months of enjoyment in our hyperfixations and the things we enjoy. <3

◈　@goldenfists　 ⋯　 Joo was such a surprise. We started talking over small plotting, and then suddenly, we bonded so deeply. Joo is a sweetheart and I love getting to talk to her about everything, from real life to plotting to so much more. Joo has a heart of gold, and I truly hope she gets to have so much more this year; new friends, new adventures, and I hope I get to be there to share it. <3

◈　@gauntlets-shot　 ⋯　 Royal is absolutely a sweet lady! While we do not talk often, I can say that she is one of the people I never get tired of seeing on my dash. I think she is doing amazing things with her college schooling. I always love getting to spaz on Discord about our stuff. <3

◈　@decidentia　 ⋯　 I have known Puffin long before I joined the League of legends fandom. I think it's going on a year in a half now that I have known her. She's a mom, I'm a mom, and we are both stressed with kids and life. I think she's one of the few people who understand the struggles of parenthood because she's always one too <3 Honestly, I would follow Puffin anywhere, because not only do I love her writing, but she as a person is a sweetheart. I really do hope for great things for you this year. <3

◈　@jynxd　 ⋯　 My empathic buddy <3 It's only been a few months, but Bli is amazing. they are sweet and kind, but easily understand my hyperfixations and excitement over things. Bli has so much in their mind and I love how they easily understand my mind thought processes and get just as excited over plots. I love our trio <3

◈　@ofspvrta　 ⋯　 Ikaros is someone I have known for..... three years now. Man, I can't believe it's been that long!!! They have my love of Assassin's Creed. I haven't written in the fandom in a long time, but it still has been our linking connection that made our friendship blossom! I don't regret anything, and now they are one of my closest friends through thick and thin. I don't have my other friend's url, Apis, but these two are probably my longest-known friendships from Tumblr who are still on Tumblr. We've been through so much and still, we hold strong <3

◈　@playgroundmonsters　 ⋯　 Ama is the sweetest, she has such a good heart and a good soul despite what the world throws at her. We both have similar struggles but she's been such a joy to have in my life and I have no regrets. From our threads to our talks, I hope I can continue to be here to help her as she has helped me. I'll always need her in my life <3

◈　@blackrosesmatron　 ⋯　 Lucy has so much love for her muses and her OC. She came out of nowhere and now I'm just like 'Yes, she is mine imma keep her' when I got to talking to her about Angelica. Lucy is such a sweet lady, she loves her muses as much as I love mine (if not more!) and I'm always happy to get to write with her. I hope things continue to get bigger and better for her.

There are many more of you that I follow, though, that I appreciate and I truly hope that 2024 offers you opportunities and great things to come your way. I hope your health stays well and that everything you need is given to you. Never forget how important you are. I listed everyone I follow below, its a small list (I only have 30 of you guys XD)

@knifvd, @piltover-sharpshooter, @torntruth, @demacianhcart, @weavertali, @deadn30n, @elicertis, @valhiir, @naitfall, @runes-menagerie, @zaunseye, @rebelquilledl, @realmyths, @sheavoid, @spectrophobias, @lowlifetopfloor, @mcnagerie

[that-g3-artist]

Super powers au??? 0.0

Do tell…

Another outline! This one is just a vague idea for the boys having super powers, that I haven't written cause it's pretty close to several other super power AUs i've seen lmao

I'll just paste the whole outline under a cut, it's not very long

time

Main power: time travel

basically save scumming--can go back in time to reset things

CAN go forward, but it's a lot harder and a lot more unpredictable so he usually doesn't

had a lot of trouble controlling it when he was younger, accidentally launched himself 7 years into the future and had trouble getting back

got caught in a 3-day time loop when he was physically 11

now prefers to only go back a few minutes at a time if he absolutely needs to

a LOT older than he looks

secondary power: fierce deity

basically Super Rage

glowing eyes, face markings, super strength, energy beams, basically unstoppable

has a very hard time controlling it, only brings it out as a last resort

terrified he could one day hurt the boys

warriors

main power: persuasion

similar to charmspeak from heroes of olympus

can control people with his voice

doesn't need a trigger phrase, but it needs intention

much easier to get someone to do something they already want to do--can't really make someone jump in front of a bus

very tempting to use it for selfish reasons, tries his hardest not to, especially on civilians

will absolutely use it to get other boys to sleep tho

twilight

main power: shapeshifting

can turn into a wolf (duh)

pretty much same as in canon, just no shadow crystal

secondary power: shadow travel

similar to midna's teleporting

doesn't have very good control of it yet, can sometimes end up in places he didn't mean to go

sky

main power: flight

no wings, flies kind of like superman

loves flying high, can't do it often cause they're hiding

can build up a LOT of speed if he has enough space

secondary power: prophetic dreams

doesn't have control, dreams come when they come

has a hard time understanding what he's seeing until they actually come to pass

they often scare him

legend

main power: shapeshifting

different from twilight's, can't change his whole form, but can shift his appearance

has a "default" face he goes for, but no one knows for sure if that's his real one

sort of good at mimicking people, but it's better if it's just someone made up

control can slip with strong emotions--most often manifests in his hair changing color

ALWAYS trying out new crazy hair colors at home

wild

main power: super regeneration

he's basically deadpool

he has no idea if he can actually die, nothing's stuck yet

SUPER reckless as a result--drives the others insane

insane pain tolerance mainly because he's just used to everything ("it's just a flesh wound!")

hyrule

main power: healing

basically his life spell, can be used on others or himself

can be very exhausting for him to overuse

very nervous about people exploiting him for his power

secondary power: thunder

hasn't quite figured it out yet

keeps accidentally shocking people

has potential to use all his canon spells

will be seriously powerful once he gets enough control

four

main power: splitting

can split himself into four people

not just duplication--they're all pieces of himself

VERY disorienting for him, especially when he's younger

has a lot of trouble controlling it, splits with strong emotions

wind

main power: wind powers!

potential to be VERY powerful

can summon anything from a breeze to a hurricane

as a kid, tho, he mainly uses it for pranks

winds respond to his emotions, don't piss him off

secondary power: ghosts

doesn't manifest until he's in his teens

doesn't really understand what it is at first, just little wisps

eventually they solidify into actual ghosts

I've also had ideas for a while of them being stuck in some shady government facility to exploit their powers, but then this amazing fic came out so idk if i want to do that anymore

(send me one of my WIPs and i'll tell you about it!)

[thelunarfairy]

Hi, I hope you have a nice holiday and a merry christmas (sorry for disturbing christmas but I was reading and couldn't shut up jskjakak)

I was rereading jshk and, although I know sometimes the translation is not usually as accurate or the best (even when it is by the publisher with its license) BUT I looked up the kanjis and yep, it's correct both in the fans version and with the [official] of the publisher.

(Although, be careful, in the editorial they translated it as 'obsessed with his brother', while in the translation by the fans it is 'brother complex', the latter being the closest and most accurate translation, since from Japanese [ブラコン] in Spanish/English is brocon, precisely the kanji that Mei draws on Amane's cheek)

I'm also thankful that I had read something about brocon before or I wouldn't have noticed this.

The curious and funny and half-fucked thing in the sense that Aidairo blurted this out so casually through Mei that you don't know if she's making fun of him for it and warning Yashiro Jaksjk or it's just a joke, right, when you investigate brocon/brother complex the definition encompasses [taken from wikipedia, btw] a state of strong attachment and obsession with siblings and its general description is a sister/brother who has "feelings of love towards their brother" and "exclusive desire to possess"; adding that it usually has more influence on the way they develop their lives, for example, choosing spouses who are similar to their siblings.

(It has greater content but, basically, it is like a relative of the Oedipus complex) (I added the couples example because a while ago I read a publication about the similarities between Yashiro and Tsukasa and I found it curious)

I haven't read anyone else mention anything about this, maybe because I haven't found them or maybe it's not a big deal and just a joke from Aidairo to us (or maybe they thought we wouldn't notice idk) and I'm thinking about it too much.

Also because i don't think Mei knows much about the twins unless Tsukasa told her about it, and she just wanted to laugh at him for whatever she noticed about them (which, likewise, is strange because no one else has externalized that kind of thinking about the yugi brothers).

Anyway, I would like to know your opinion about the panels. (and I want to ask if you would extend your publication to an analysis of the Yugi Twins, taboo dilemma)

nice night! <3

I wish you the same! Merry Christmas!! Hahaha, don't worry

So, everything you said makes a strong connection with the story of the Yugi twins, and I've even been wondering for some time now about his obsession, possessiveness and insecurity born because of Tsukasa's disappearance when they were children.

He has a strong fear of losing, he tends to want to cry when he feels threatened, when he is very jealous, in short.

Do you know why there aren't many mentions of this? Because of the taboo. The fandom is just now starting to accept that there is something WEIRD about their relationship.

I've been cautious about talking about this precisely because I fear whether or not people are ready to talk about it. The fandom cannot support the idea of twins having a romantic relationship between them, and it is justifiable, not even nature accepts this, many bloodlines from ancient Egypt ended due to genetic diseases that perpetuated for years because of marriages between brothers.

So I'm taking it slow, talking about it little by little so that the fandom can understand that MAYBE, the twins are in love with each other, and like you said, we don't know if it's something canon or just a joke by Aidairo.

Anyway, talking about the panels, this is also written in English.

But yes, the story is developing in a way that leads us to a forbidden love between them. A love that Amane tries to suffocate…..

I've been receiving a lot of requests to talk or extend specific posts about the twins, so I decided that I'm going to make a more complete post about them both, I'm going to try to go a little deeper and make some things more explicit. So stay tuned for updates, it may take a while for this post to come out, but I will develop it soon.

I will talk about brotherly love, romantic love, psychotic and pathological love, Oedipus complex (as you mentioned), incest, obsessive love, cannibalism, symbolism between supernatural and human love, the relationship between devouring and being devoured, passivity , dilemmas, the double love he feels for Nene and Tsukasa, among others. I will cover most of the topics that exist between twins.

In the meantime, you can take a look at these posts I made about them, if you haven't seen them before.

[tyrantisterror]

You know how we complain about pornbots with sickass names and avatars of pretty girls following us, because it's taunting us with a hollow imitation of what we want out of life?

Well today a pornbot with a sickass name and an avatar of a pretty girl liked the pinned post I have advertising my wizard books, and that's, like... that's mean, man. For a brief moment I thought someone who hadn't seen my silly wizard books liked them and wanted to check them out, that's a mean thing to tease me with pornbots.

...

So I guess the only thing to do is to SHILL THEM WIZARD BOOKS BABY!

Wizard School Mysteries is a series of books that follows eight young (re: college student-aged) wizards attending the first ever school for magic, the Academy of Applied Arcana and Magic. While there, they encounter various perilous situations that lead them to unravel conspiracies of kidnapping, murder, and other malfeasance. In other words, wizards go to a school and solve mysteries. The title is very apt, no?

There are two books in the series so far, with eight planned total.

Book 1: The Meddlesome Youths shows how our eight heroes first met, and together unravel a plot by the fair folk to kidnap their peers on campus.

Book 2: Tournament of Death sees our heroes embroiled in the Ultimate Wizard Battle, a competitive tournament of for-fun wizard duels that's turned deadly thanks to acts of sabotage. Can they find the saboteur before the Tournament of Death claims one of their own?

(click on the titles above to go to their amazon order pages!)

I'm a few chapters deep into writing Book 3: Wicked Witchcraft, where the group's resident nerd (well, they're all nerds, but she's the nerdiest nerd of them all), Gretchen Pappenheimer, finds herself in the internship from Hell, while the rest of her pals have to deal with a masked murderer prowling the campus grounds. I'd like to have it out by October this year, Friday the 13th if possible for reasons that should be obvious, but we'll see how that works out. I think it's doable, but I'm not setting it in stone just year. And there are five more books to come after that!

While I'm sure you'll assume, given the premise of the series, that it has similarities with a certain... more... popular book about wizards solving mysteries in a school, I can assure you it's quite different. For one thing, it's got gay people in it, who get into gay relationships that we get to see, rather than me tweeting that they were gay the whole time fives years or so after the series wraps. And two of the main characters are trans, including the very mainest main character of the lot! It feels kinda shallow mentioning these facts, like I'm just pointing out diversity in my book for brownie points, but seriously those feel like low bars to clear in 2023 AND YET certain other wizard franchises just... haven't, because they're written by closeted fascist transphobic antisemite.

....ahem.

Anyway it's also different from Herbie Porber because it's set in a vaguely medieval fantasy land instead of the current day, and because its tones is far more Discworld than anything else. It's good! You should read it! Why, it's so good that the second book only has one review so far, because the people who read it are so awestruck at how awesome it is that all but one of them has been rendered speechless by it.

So check out Wizard School Mysteries, the fantasy book series that even pornbots love!