#hiro my first story

[longnightsdieonthehorizon]

[Bullets Into the Pipe] Black Memory feat. Hiro (MY FIRST STORY)

[aparticularbandit]

So I started the dub of Fruits Basket again.

Forgetting, of course, that the primary theme is about life changing and having to be okay with letting go of the past even though the future is uncertain.

More importantly, forgetting that one of the main threads of this throughout the series is Tohru's grief (and guilt) over her mother's death.

....

Well, you know what, my therapist told me to engage with grief as homework the past couple of weeks, so between this and starting Anohana again I THINK IT COUNTS.

[hydranomago]

優里 x [J-artists]

Singer-songwriter, Collaborator, Emotional Damage King +100 Famous songs: Dry Flower, Betelgeuse, Shutter, Leo, Kakurenbo, Onigokko, Kagome

Check out his official channel [HERE]

[10969mfs-sinro]

Hiro's X/twitter update

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

i thought these templates were fun, so i gave them a go :)

(sorry for the shitty quality of the images, i tried lol)

[merry-go-roundo]

Little fanart

[jpopstreaming]

🆕🎶 「 WILDER (feat. Hiro from MY FIRST STORY) 」 new single by UPSTART, Hiro from MY FIRST STORY is now available worldwide! 🌐 Listen now and discover new sounds from Japan on our weekly updated playlist 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3lgjH73

[funishment-time]

top 10 favorite danganronpa dev stories

in no particular order:

Hiro's hair is So Big that his sprites needed to be processed differently than everyone else's

Komatsuzaki: "By the way, his family name is Kuzuryuu because I got robbed on Kuzuryuu Park 3 times during my middle school days."

Kodaka getting in trouble for the Jibakuma reference in v3

the devs got tired of Leon (and Sayaka) quickly because they designed them first, so they also took them out first

Mikan was meant to be a zombie. like an actual zombie. and also her design was changed two weeks before release

Komatsuzaki regrets designing Mondo the way he did and found his hair so annoying to draw i can feel it in my soul across time and translation

Byakuya is the staff's "butt monkey"

Kodaka loving Rantaro's seiyuu so much that he regretted killing Rantaro off so early

the Miu dildo sprite that they could not use for ethical reasons

the cost of getting voice actors back for Tsumugi's cosplaying was high and Kodaka regrets not being able to include UDG (as do i)

[sukunasdirtylaugh]

"forgive me for intruding, but my husband says that the two of you were in an arranged marriage," hiromi's wife speaks softly, "but... that doesn't seem the case now?"

"that's right," you confirm. "we originally married due to... benefits. I met him through my boss and well, since he needed a wife to inherit his wealth and I needed economic stability, it seemed like the case."

"the was sort of what happened with hirmoi and I," his wife speaks, shyly and a bit embarrassed to admit though you don't "I was... a dancer, in the clubs." she says, "hiro was a regular, but he always treated me like no other. turns out, he was also my boss in my other job." a look of surprise flashes your features.

"what did..."

"I was his housecleaner," she says, "I never saw him. I mean, I cleaned his place for nearly 6 months and well... one day, I wanted to be nice and iron his shirt. Iittle did I know it was him walking through the door and I burned myself by accident." she chuckles at the memory, "imagine my surprise seeing my client was also my boss."

the both of you giggle from the table, earning the attention from both of your husbands. hiromi's the first to approach you, walking up behind his wife, hand on her shoulder before he kisses her there, then her cheek, until she turns and pecks her lip. "something funny, my flower?"

"nothing honey," the sound of her voice is angelic to his ears, "I was just telling kento's wife how we met." he hums.

"mm, the club or the resturant?"

"what restaurant?" she giggles and half scolds, "I told you sweetie, we're not using that story."

"it was for our first date." he muses only having eyes for her. you admired them, the way they spoke as if no one was in the room, love apparent in his eyes and you wondered if that was how nanami was for you.

"maybe, but I told her the first time I met you as hiromi and when you met me as me."

"did you also tell her I don't let you touch another iorner after that?"

"not yet."

"well, let me tell her." he muses, "or would you rather?"

"you can tell her,"

"alright," he smiles, turning to you, "ever since then, I have not had her touch a single ironer since. the only hot thing she's allowed to touch is me." suddenly, his wife barks a laugh, playfully punching his arm making the whole group laugh, including nanami who stands fondly behind you, hand on your shoulder.

"how many drinks did you have, hm?" she teases him and smiles, then turns to nanami, "you got him drunk on purpose, didn't you?"

your husband smiles and shrugs sheepish. almost as if caught off guard. "it doesn't take a man sober or drunk to know he's in love with his wife." he says, shortly before pressing a kiss to your cheek. "wanna get out of here?" he whispers against your ear.

[mechaknight-98]

Gathering Episode O: I pitch Zagoth triome to chrome Mox (NSFW) FT Jiheon

Operator’s Notes:… well it happened

I pace my home listening to Ava excitedly tell me about the show she was running for her new company Tricell. It was a K-pop show featuring a bunch of Nugu Idols I adored who were not so Nugu anymore. It was a girl group extravaganza and she wanted my help making the show take shape. The only catch was that it had to be done in Racoon City Illinois. My first thought was no absolutely not as we were nearing the anniversary of its outbreak but Bela being the best convinced me otherwise. So I stupidly took a chance.

“Okay, great so you'll be the co-host with TJ. I'll send you the rest of the info later. Ava said in a tone that let me know something was off.

“Okay, what's the second catch,” I ask.

“Well you be working with Connor and Dexter,” Ava says.

“Okay,” I say as I shrug. Ava is surprised

“I thought you were mad when they left you?” she asked

I shrugged again in the video call.

“Is this it? If so I'll see you next week.” Ava says with a smile

Next week arrives in a flash and before I know it I'm in the lobby of the hotel all of us would be staying at. Despite not being the main logistics person (that was Ava) quite a few of the groups asked me how things were going to turn out. The groups in question and would be featured in the show were

Le Sserafim

Ive

Dreamcatcher

Cignature

Fromis_9

Oh my Girl

Qwer

Lightsum

Kep1er

Loosemble

Tj cautiously watched from behind me figuratively and literally. Especially when his ult bias and K-pop crush Yujin arrived. He attempted to say hi shyly but found himself unable to. He gave a polite wave and went back behind me.

One of the girls from Qwer (Magenta) liked my Zagoth Safari shirt and I chuckled, this led to me asking if she liked magic at the gathering. She nodded and said, “Do you play commander?” I nodded and replied

“Almost exclusively why?” I answered

“Oh great Chowon from Lightsum, and Yewon from Oh My Girl need a Fourth can you play tonight? We usually play with Jeewon but she and the rest of the Cignature girls are getting in late tonight” she asked. I nodded and Magenta smiled before walking off happily with the rest of her group. TJ approached me shaking,

“How did you do that?” he asked baffled

I looked at him confused, “Do what?”

TJ meekly pointed to the walking away idols “Talk to them…like they're normal?” he explains

I tilted my head confused as I answered “Because they are normal people.”

TJ was dumbfounded and I looked at him with a strange sense of paternal instinct kicking in.

“Look Theo it's not a big deal. While these women are talented and very attractive they are also quite dorky and very human. Treat them like they are the girl next door you have a partial crush on. Let your heart flutter but let it be grounded. I promise you they'll appreciate it. Unless you're just a weirdo like me then hide it.

TJ laughed and responded, “Thanks Hiro I needed that” I gave him a thumbs up as he went to his room. I hoped he'd take my advice to heart. Otherwise, this would be a long and painful shoot.

“That was kind of you.” an unfamiliar voice said behind me. I turn around to see Jiheon of Fromis_9 she smiles at me and says.

“You're Hiro right?” I nod and she smiles.

“Okay, I have heard stories about you from Dexter, Eunbi, Connor, and Yunjin. They say you're the most ruthless and diabolical deck builder they know.” I squinted

“I don't follow,” I responded.

“I want to learn how to play commander better,” Jiheon said plainly. I studied Jiheon’s expression for a moment trying to see if I was being taken for a ride, and when I only found sincerity I shrugged and said

“Okay, what colors do you play?”

“I like Red and Green, but I keep losing to all of the removal and counterspells.” I looked at Jiheon and said

“Okay let's get you tuned up.”

We went to Jiheon’s hotel room she was sharing with Hayoung. She looked up at me with surprise.

“Oh, unnie this is Hiro he's going to help me with my red green blue deck,” Jiheon explains.

Hayoung looked at me with surprise before saying, “Oh you're the one who bullied the Fimmies and their boyfriends,” she teased.

“Um no it was only one fimmie and her boyfriend and Eunbi and her boyfriend,” I respond Hayoung laughs happily and says

“Like that’s any better

I shrug defiantly back and say,” They team up against me because I play sultai which they all view as evil. Granted I am evil but not because of the colors I play. I'm evil because I lack remorse and a conscience.” they both looked at me and laughed I sighed and walked over to help Jiheon.

Hayoung rolled her eyes “Right,” she said sarcastically and then said “and what are you here doing?”

“Helping Jiheon get better at the game,” I responded flatly which made Hayoung giggle even more.

“Unnie please stop teasing him I need his help,” Jiheon said. Hayoung smirked and had me go on my way.

I followed Jiheon to her backpack and She opened her deck box and showed me, a Magus Lucea Kane deck. In it, I saw a bunch of expensive staples like Mana Crypt Chrome Mox, underworld breach carpet of flowers, and a few other pieces that made my eyes water.

“Is it bad?” Jiheon asked. I turned to her and said, “No but I can help.”

I got out my tablet and got to work finishing the deck based on what she had.

“So what do you want out of this deck?” I ask.

Jiheon looks at me confused. “Win

When we were finished I showed her and she was concerned.

“Why so little creatures?” she asked

“Well because this is more of a combo tempo deck to help you win more. Since you have all the really expensive pieces I'll just buy the rest of these cheap ones and help you.”

Hayoung laughed and said, “You're not evil.” I look at her and she just smiles at me.

“You remind me of my boyfriend Danzo. He's silly but he has a good heart. You have a good heart too.” I sigh and then fill an order at a nearby card shop, from what I am reading it's massive. I placed the order and picked it up for her along with the sleeves. When I finish helping her by explaining the combos and win Lines and what to say when she's in the position to Win. I also gave her a primer on Moxfield. She was elevated. She hugged me and said, “Thanks, Hiro. I hope I can finally beat them.” I smile and say.

“Well you should also talk to Hayoung sounds like she may know a thing or two.” Hayoung scowls at me but then smiles as she pushes me out saying, “Okay Mister Evil it's time for you to leave.”

After I finished helping Jiheon I went to my room to rest when I got a text from an unknown number.

“Come to room 808, and bring your strongest deck -Magenta,” the text said. I worried about it at first but figured who would try to abduct me, especially with all the other talent and random worth people here.

When I arrive I see Magenta, Arin from Oh My Girl and Chowon all setting up. Magenta (who smells like Whiskey) smiles when she sees me

“See I told you we'd get a fourth.” she slurs she guides me to my seat, and says, “Now sit mister. We were just getting ready.

I look around to see commanders. I see Mrs Bumbleflower (Arin), Vazi Keen the negotiator (Chowon), and Cecily haunted mage (Magenta). Their decks concern me but I do as Magenta asked earlier and bring out my best deck “Tasigur The Golden Fang.” I set it down and Magenta’s eyes go wide.

“Oooh where did you get this?” she asks seeing my alter for it.”

“A friend made it, and I have kept it since,” I responded. Magenta smiled and handed it back to me

“I love it. It tells me so much about you,” She slurred.

“Oh, really what does it say about me?” I ask teasingly. Magenta laughs and smiles

“That you value your individuality and growth, and will be rooted in that despite the sacrifices and changes you must make to yourself” I smiled until Arim who was sitting next to me interjected.

“That's what you told me!” she yelled. Magenta shook her head and said

“No, I told you that you are like authority each day you grow and change into your idealized self.” Magenta looks at me then at Arin and says, “The two of you make a good couple actually,” Arin blushes, and Chowon smiles happily. It's endearing.

“Okay, I have a bet. If I win you and Arin have to kiss,” I look at Magenta and then at Arin confused. Arin sighs and then says,

“Unnie please leave him be. He is not close enough to get your teasing.” Arin said firmly with an apologetic look directed towards me.

Magenta smiled and said, “Do you not want him because I'll take him.”

I blinked a few times processing what was being said before asking.

“Um, can we roll to start the game?”

Magenta turned to me and nodded.

We all rolled and I noticed that my starting hand had everything I needed to win. I looked around to see what other people’s turns would look like.

Arin who was first played tapped land and passed. Being next to her meant I was going second. I realized that if she's playing tapped lands then “using your strongest deck meant something different to them.”

I played a command tower and passed. Magenta was placed third and played a Sol ring into fellwar stone all off of an Og dual (tropical island)

On Chowon’s turn, she happily played a fetch land into a shock land then played carpet of flowers. In her second main phase, she played an ignoble hierarch off of the one green mana from the carpet of flowers. I sat there even more confused as on turn two Arin played Chrome Mox (pitching endless detour) and a mana crypt before playing her own Og dual (tundra) before landing a sol ring and her commander. Then she played an archon of emeria.

Unsure of the power level I just played a snapback (pitching a brainstorm) bouncing the archon on her endstep. On my turn, I powered out Tasigur and a rhystic study.

Magenta smiled one her turn as she played another Og dual (underground sea) after fetching it from bloodstained mire. She followed up by playing a Mox amber and her commander (from here on out no one pays for rhystic study) after that she played a mystic remora and passed the turn.

The rest of the game was pretty mishmashed like this as well. People played a flip-flop of expensive optimized decks and pre-con-level cards. It made me realize that I couldn't play as effectively as I usually do because they were not. This led to me watching more and intentionally throwing the game because I didn't want my “new friends” to invite me back.

So I took the loss in the game for the greater prize of playing with them again, despite the weird gameplay loops they created. However, that led to Magenta winning, and while I never agreed to her bet she insisted that Arin and I kiss. I turned to Arin who was blushing profusely I sighed and said “It’s no big…mph.” as I spoke Arin grabbed my face and kissed me. For a split moment, I understood why TJ was so flustered. When she broke the kiss my brain broke as well. Unable to process the insane turn of events I got up and said

“It's been a great night but I gotta get to sleep see you tomorrow.” as I walked out to my room. Chowon began laughing watching me stumble out.

I get back to my room and finally collapse after the long day. The next morning, I stumbled into the hotel’s breakfast lounge, still shaking off the fog of last night’s events. The memory of Arin’s kiss lingered in the back of my mind, making me feel all kinds of awkward. I wasn’t ready to face her, but as fate would have it, she was the first person I saw.

There she was, standing by the buffet table, unbothered, with a breakfast sandwich in hand. Her cheeks were puffed out as she chewed, clearly enjoying her meal. She looked… normal, and relaxed, like nothing strange had happened between us the night before. For a second, I just stood there, watching her, unsure of how to approach her.

Arin noticed me out of the corner of her eye and turned. Her expression shifted slightly—just a flicker of surprise—before she smiled, still mid-bite.

“Morning,” she mumbled through her mouthful of food, giving a small wave.

I chuckled, suddenly feeling a lot more at ease. “Morning. How’s the sandwich?” I asked as if that was the most pressing issue in the world.

She held it up like a prize. “Delicious. You want one?”

I shook my head, grabbing a tea instead. I wasn’t hungry, just… nervous. Last night’s kiss was like a ticking time bomb in my brain, and I wasn’t sure how to address it, or if I should at all. But Arin seemed completely calm, almost like it hadn’t thrown her off balance at all.

I sat down across from her, still feeling the weight of unspoken words between us. She took another bite of her sandwich, glanced up at me, and raised an eyebrow.

“You seem nervous,” she said, a bit of teasing in her voice.

I scratched the back of my head, trying to play it cool. “Well, last night was… unexpected.”

Arin set her sandwich down and met my gaze. “Yeah, about that…” She paused for a moment, thinking. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard. Magenta can be… a little pushy, and I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

I nodded, feeling a bit of relief. “It’s not that. I just didn’t expect it, you know? But it’s fine.” I took a sip of my tea, then added, “I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

Arin smiled softly. “It doesn’t have to be. Let’s just… take it one step at a time.”

She returned to her sandwich, the tension slowly melting away. It was oddly comforting, sitting there with her, sharing a quiet moment in the middle of what was about to be a busy day. There was no pressure to say more than what needed to be said, and for once, I wasn’t overthinking it.

As she finished her breakfast sandwich, she looked at me again, this time with a playful glint in her eyes. “You sure you don’t want a sandwich? You’re going to need your energy for today.”

I laughed. “Maybe I’ll grab one on the way to set.”

“Good,” she said, standing up. “We’re going to be in for a long day.” I decided to grab a breakfast sandwich as I walked to the buffet Arin walked close to me and asked how I felt about Magenta’s observation.

“Well I don't know you all that well so I can't be sure how accurate it was, but for me, it was pretty much who I am.” Arin smiled

“Yeah, she does that. Also, I got a couple of glimpses of your hand last night when you weren't paying attention. You had some serious power in that deck. Why didn't you play it?”

“Well I'm not used to you all yet so I don't know how y'all describe powerful. I built this deck to beat one of the cameras guys who's been topping tournaments with his Rocco Caberetti Caterer build.”

“Oh, so you're a cedh player?” Arin raised an eyebrow.

“No, I'm competitive and don't like losing,” I respond.

“But you lost yesterday…intentionally.” she challenged and in that moment I felt at ease with her.

“That's different. I lost the game because I didn't want y'all to be like that. Oh, he plays too powerful. Mrs turn one tapped land.” Arin smiled and said.

“Oh Magenta was right me and you will get along just fine.”She leaned in closer to me as we grabbed more food. There was a moment, brief but noticeable, where my heart skipped a beat. Her presence felt… easy. Like I didn’t need to overthink things. Before I could dwell on it, we headed back to our table. As we sat down I heard someone say,

“Oh look it's Hiro. Let's sit next to him.” I look up to see Yujin and Tj walking next to each other. I smile seeing him so clearly elated and Yujin also looks very happy. They sit next to us with their plates of food and I tease TJ.

“What happened?” he smiles and starts his story.

Flashback to Yesterday

TJ had been pacing back and forth for what felt like hours. The advice the narrator had given him was fresh in his mind, but now that the moment had come, all of his confidence was wavering. He took a deep breath, mentally replaying how he was going to ask Yujin out.

Just ask her, he told himself. You’ve got this.

Yujin appeared a few minutes later, looking radiant, as usual. She smiled when she spotted him. “Hey, TJ! What’s up?”

He froze for a second, his mind going blank. Oh no… I forgot everything.

“Uh… h-hi, Yujin,” he stammered, his heart racing. Okay, here goes nothing.

“I was, um, wondering… would you like to… go out with me? Tonight?” He blurted out the words in a rush, barely looking her in the eye.

Yujin tilted her head, a slow smile spreading across her lips. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

TJ could feel his face heating up. “Y-yeah. I mean, yes, I am.”

There was a beat of silence, and he braced himself for rejection, but to his surprise, Yujin chuckled softly. “Well, that’s bold. I like it. Sure, I’ll go on a date with you.”

TJ’s eyes widened. “Wait?”

“Of course. Why not?” She winked. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Later that night, TJ found himself sitting across from Yujin at a cozy café. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the warm lighting and soft music set the perfect mood for a first date. His hands felt clammy as he tried to keep the conversation going, feeling her eyes on him the entire time.

“So… you like coffee?” he asked, immediately regretting how awkward it sounded.

Yujin smiled, sipping her drink. “I do. But you don’t have to be so nervous, TJ.”

He looked down at his cup, fiddling with the sleeve. “Sorry… I just didn’t expect this to happen. You saying yes, I mean.”

Yujin leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “Well, I like surprises. And you surprised me. I think that’s a good start.”

Her words reassured him, and as the night went on, he slowly started to relax. As he did Yujin liked what she saw. She saw his humor and wit.

“So how did Ava find you?” Yujin asks TJ who responds flustered

“I went to college with her and Hiro.”

“Oh really what were they like?” Yujin asks

“Guarded and more anxious but they seem better now

“Okay, so last question. “Why me”

“Well you've always been a pillar of joy since your debut in Izone, and you've become so great that I'd be a fool not to try”. TJ says. Yujin smiles and says “Congratulations you earned a second date”

Cut to now

Oh “that's super cute I responded. Tj smiles as we finish breakfast.

“Well we better get rolling,” I say to TJ and Yujin they both smile and wave me off as Arin and I go to the set. She rode with her members I drove by myself. I arrived first to see Ava who was all smiles.

“As always you are early,” she says. I nod and she says. “Now go meet with today’s groups. It's QWER, Oh My Girl, Lightsum, dreamcatcher, and Cignature. I figured you’d pair well with these more eclectic and zany girls.” She said happily. I rolled my eyes.

I introduced myself to the numerous girl groups and they were very nice, polite, and in general pleasant to be around I hit it off with Nayoung and Chodan in terms of filming and I think it helped the filming shine. Granted I was trying to play it “cool” to make the girls feel confident and comfortable with me as their host since the next couple of weeks we’d be spending a lot of long filming days together. I think it was fine for the most part except for one girl in particular. As I took a break from filming and found a break room to rest in I noticed something.

The atmosphere in the room was more relaxed this time, but there was still a tension humming in the air. The kind you notice when everyone’s gotten a little too comfortable, but there’s something under the surface, waiting to bubble up. After last night’s game, I knew them a bit better—or at least, I thought I did.

Magenta grinned when I walked in, her eyes playful as always. “So, after sleeping on it, how does it feel to lose to me?” she teased.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Hey, that was a tactical retreat, not a loss. I’ll take you down next time.”

Chowon, who was sitting beside her, smiled at me warmly. “You did great for your first time playing with us. Though I did notice you holding back.”

I shrugged, trying to keep things light. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want to scare you all off with my ‘cedh’ skills.” I made air quotes, remembering Arin’s jab from the night before. The group laughed, but it was Arin’s silence that caught my attention.

She was sitting on the edge of the couch, quietly observing as the banter flew back and forth. Her gaze wasn’t on Magenta or Chowon—it was on me. And when our eyes met, it was like that unspoken connection from last night flared up again, stronger this time.

No words, just a lingering look. But it said so much more than a simple greeting could.

Magenta’s voice cut through the moment. “Oh please, you were too busy watching Arin to even play your best cards.”

I felt the heat rise to my face, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Arin blush, a slight smirk playing on her lips. “Unnie, stop teasing him,” she said, her voice calm but laced with amusement. “He was just getting used to our pace. We don’t all rush headfirst into a match, you know.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Magenta quipped, raising an eyebrow at both of us.

I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. “I was just…feeling it out, you know? Trying to get a sense of how you all play.”

Chowon nodded, chiming in with her usual supportive tone. “You’ll fit right in once you get used to us.” She paused, her eyes flickering between me and Arin, something unspoken hanging in the air. “Especially with Arin keeping an eye on you.”

Arin’s smile was subtle, but there was that same pull between us, like last night—this quiet, simmering tension. We hadn’t talked much beyond the game, but I could feel her presence more than anyone else’s. It was like every move she made, every time she shifted in her seat or tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, my attention was drawn to her without me even realizing it.

At one point, as we all moved toward the small buffet table for food, Arin ended up beside me. She nudged me slightly with her elbow, her voice soft but teasing. “You did lose, though. Tactical retreat or not.”

I shot her a mock-offended look, trying to ignore the way my pulse quickened being this close to her. “Only because I didn’t want to embarrass anyone.”

“Sure,” she said with a playful smirk. “But next time, don’t hold back. I want to see what you’re capable of.”

Her words were innocent enough, but there was something deeper in the way she said it. Something that made my heart race. The rest of the group was chatting, oblivious to the growing tension between us. But in that brief exchange, it felt like we were in our little bubble, where every word carried more weight than it should.

We loaded our plates with food, the space between us feeling smaller with each passing second. As we walked back to the table, Arin’s hand brushed mine, and I swear the spark that shot through me wasn’t just my imagination. I glanced at her, half-expecting her to pull away or laugh it off, but she didn’t. She just gave me a sidelong look, her lips curving into a small, knowing smile.

When we sat back down, the group fell into easy conversation, but I could barely focus. Every time Arin shifted or spoke, my attention snapped to her. It wasn’t obvious to anyone else—at least, I didn’t think it was—but the pull between us was undeniable.

Magenta must’ve noticed something, though, because, at one point, she leaned over and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “You know, Arin, I think you and he are starting to vibe. Just saying.”

Arin’s face flushed, and she shot Magenta a warning glance. “Unnie, please.”

But Magenta just laughed, winking at me. “What? I’m just calling it as I see it.”

The rest of the conversation continued, but that charged connection between Arin and me stayed. It wasn’t something we were ready to talk about yet, but it was there. And it wasn’t going anywhere.

After filming Magenta invited me to another game. As I was packing I also received an invitation from Jiheon. So I decided to see if I could mix the playgroups. The group had gathered again, ready for another round of Commander before heading to sleep. I entered the room, spotting Arin, Magenta, and Chowon setting up their decks. As I approached, Magenta gave me a sly smile while Chowon waved happily.

“Ready to lose again?” Magenta teased.

Before I could answer, I noticed someone new sitting next to Arin, sorting through a pile of cards. She had a relaxed, confident energy and looked up when I entered the room.

“Oh, you’re the new guy,” she said, standing up and extending her hand with a smile that was both charming and direct. “I’m Jeewon. I heard you threw the game last night. Bold move.”

I shook her hand, raising an eyebrow at her boldness. “I just didn’t want to play too hard on the first night.”

Jeewon grinned. “Smart. Gotta keep ‘em coming back for more, huh?”

She stepped closer, her eyes scanning me for a second before locking with mine. “I like that. I like you.”

Her words came out so casually as if she was talking about her favorite card in the deck. Arin, sitting a few feet away, tensed slightly, but kept her eyes on her cards, though I could feel the shift in her mood. It was subtle but there, like an unspoken pull between us.

I blinked, trying to process Jeewon’s forwardness. “Uh, thanks?”

Jeewon chuckled, amused at my reaction, and sat back down. “I’m upfront, just so you know. I don’t waste time. If I like someone, I say it.”

Magenta laughed, watching the whole exchange. “Jeewon’s always been like that. Gets right to the point.”

I stole a glance at Arin, who was quietly shuffling her deck, her fingers moving a little more deliberately than before. Her lips were pressed together, but she didn’t say anything. The air between us felt charged, like there was something unspoken, simmering beneath the surface, especially after last night’s kiss.

Jeewon’s eyes flicked between us as if noticing the silent tension. “So, what about you?” she asked me, leaning in with a curious grin. “You into anyone in the group yet?”

The question hung in the air, and I could feel both Jeewon’s intense gaze and Arin’s quiet presence beside me. The room seemed to shrink for a moment as I fumbled for an answer.

“I guess I’m still… figuring things out,” I said, trying to keep it vague.

Jeewon shrugged, her grin widening. “Fair enough. I’ll give you some time, but don’t take too long.” She winked, turning her attention back to the deck she was shuffling.

Magenta leaned over with a smirk. “Looks like you’re in for an interesting day.”

“Actually about that…Jiheon invited me to join her group so I figured we could all group up and play.

Jeewon smiles and says, “See I knew I liked this guy. A true bridge builder. You’re probably like Arin and play something like Temur or Bant.” Jeewon said I shook my head.

“Nope Sultai,” I responded and Jeewon’s eyes widened and she narrowed them.

“Ooh a bad boy… that just makes me want you more,”

Magenta and Chowon both save me by saying, “Nope he’s a good boy through and through,”

Jeewon smiles and grabs my arm.

“Well then lead the way.”

As we entered the room, Jiheon’s voice rang out in triumph. “And that’s game! Told you I was taking this one home.” She glanced over her cards before looking up, her eyes locking onto mine. A grin spread across her face as she stood up, brushing past the others at the table.

“There you are,” Jiheon said, making her way over to me. “You know, I couldn’t have done it without your help last time. That little trick you showed me was perfect.”

Before I could even respond, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my cheek. “Thanks for that,” she said with a wink, completely oblivious to the stunned silence that settled over the group behind me.

I caught a glimpse of Arin’s eyes widening, her face flushing, while Jeewon raised an amused eyebrow, clearly entertained by the sudden shift. Magenta exchanged a knowing glance with Chowon, trying to stifle a laugh as Jiheon lingered a little too long, still close to my side.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, trying to gauge the reactions. “Uh… you’re welcome?”

Jiheon flashed another grin, completely unaware of the tension in the air. “Alright, who’s ready for the next game?”

Everyone nods and we shuffle groups. I am paired with Jiheon, Connor, and Yunjin. Before we begin though I ask if I can go to the restroom.

I take care of business and as I’m finishing up the door opens. I scream internally as I know I locked it but panic regardless.

In walks Jiheon. She stops for a moment as do I, while our brains try to process what is going on. Jiheon’s eyes wander down and she looks at my cock. She licks her lips then closes the door behind her and double locks it. She walks over to me and I’m still in the freeze response as she grabs my manhood. It’s warm in her hands she smiles and says, “Oh you’re so hard for me baby.”

She begins stroking me with leisured and languid strokes in between saying the filthiest words with her pretty mouth and smile.

“We don’t have a lot of time baby but I can see your balls are so full. I want all that cum on and inside me.”

Her dazzling smile made it hard to fight my attraction. She keeps stroking me and says, “Can I lick it?”

I moan and she smiles, “I’ll take that as a yes.” She says before licking my tip.. her pink tongue swirled around my bulbous head.

“It looks so angry. Are you neglecting yourself?” She asked. I nod helplessly before she takes me into her mouth fully. I moan again and she bobs on my cock. Getting her warm wet mouth all over my cock. Feeling bold she goes down the full shaft and lets me rest in her throat. She looks up at me and her big brown eyes drive me crazy and I have to resist the urge to grab her cheeks and fuck her face and let her do her thing.

She smiled and wrapped her tongue around my shaft. She slurped and gagged a few times before removing her mouth

“Okay, you’re ready.” She said before taking her shorts down. She slapped her ass and I watched it jiggle before lining up my rod and gliding into her soft wet snatch. She moaned.

“Oh, you’re so big inside,” Jiheon said enraptured. I started thrusting into her and she looked back at me smiling.

“Oh God! Baby this cock is so good.” Jiheon says as I thrust into her. She moaned and I slapped her ass. It jiggled just right and I smiled watching her tasty flesh fold and give way. Her wet pussy squelches around my cock as her slick pools under us. I feel my cock twitch with a familiar sensation.

Jiheon noticed and said, “Oh good are you close?”

“Mm hm,” I confirm. Jiheon smirks and says, “Just dump that big load inside of me.” I groan and she moans as I cum inside of her. I feel her tighten and her slick rushes all over my crotch.

After Jiheon smiles and says “Go outside first then I’ll be right behind a few minutes later. (She grabs my collar and pulls me in for a heated kiss leaving me hard again) we’ll continue this later.”

I smile at her as I pull up my pants and watch my cum drip down her thigh. I watch as she stares me down as I watch her pulls her shorts back up.

“Okay, you’ve gotten your show, now go.” She said and I did.

I walked and got to our table where Yunjin and Connor were waiting. They were bickering over whether or not Percy Jackson was a millennium or Gen Z. As always they were quite loud as well meaning that no one probably heard Jiheon and me go at it earlier. I got my deck set up and waited. As I did I put my head in my arms before taking a light nap. I wake up to Jiheon shaking me.

“Come on sleepy head.” She was saying as she shook me. I smiled and got everything set up for us. She leaned in close and laid her head on my shoulder. When she did that it felt natural, like I had always been in her place. Yunjin notices and yells

“Oh, are we doing two-headed giant?” I look at Jiheon and she bashfully smiles before nodding.

I looked for Arin and when I found her watching us I could see a competitive fire light in her eyes. I chuckled as we started the game.

Jiheon and I both have gemstone pre-game action in the form of gemstone caverns. The two red white players declared they were going first because they had to wait to use

“Oh, dear Connor says. This may be bad.” Jiheon and I both nod.

Jiheon, Arin, TJ, and I clean the house in all the games we play. Which leads to the rest of the players saying,

“Y’all play at the winners' table.”

We shuffle and cut and draw our starting hands. I looked around and I was going first. I draw for a turn and sigh.

“Before we begin does anyone have a way to stop me?” Everyone looks at me surprised then I ask does anyone have a mind break trap? Or any outbreeding counterspell?” The table shakes its head and I reveal my hand.

“Okay so here’s the combo:

1,) Play Mana crypt, Mox, vault, sol ring lotus then delve Zagoth triome and lotus to cast tasigur

2.) Neoform the tasigur to scholar of the lost troves then neoform that into hoarding brood lord

3.) Convoke hoarding brood lord and cast saw in half that was exiled off of brood lord

4.) Cast sacrifice and use the 8 mana to cast peer into the abyss with the second brood lord draw half my deck

5.) Okay so now divergent points

6 .) Play all my other fast mana and follow up with one of my win cons

7.) Cast demonic consultation thassas oracle

7.b.) cast nadu, lightning greeves, and spring heart Nantucket. This will bring me a nondeterministic loop in which I will physically draw the rest of my deck

7.c.) cast displacer kitten and Crabhomination then noxious revival losing two lives. This will start a semi-infinite cast loop that exiles everyone else’s deck and wins me the game.

8.)win the game.”

As I finished my explanation the other tables were all looking at me wild-eyed.

“Hold up you have a turn-one win in your deck?” Siyeon asked bluntly. I nod to Sakura and her complaints about how BS that is. I shrug and say,

“See this is why I throw games, because you all aren’t as competitive as me.”

“You don’t go to tournaments, though.” Dexter challenged.

I laugh and say, “Yet I still beat the breaks off you Mr. I’ve topped 8 tournaments and have an almost 45% conversion rate.” Dexter looks at me stunned and then twists the knife even further, “You beat the same people day in and day out I’m much more exhaustive in my choice of prey. I choose the biggest fattest strongest prey as they make the best meals. And I tear into their weak points and let those kill them rather than me. Then when the defiant spark has left their eyes I go in for the kill. Now please keep in mind this is all metaphorical. ” As I spoke I felt my voice take on a familiar edge which meant I was getting too frustrated. As I look into the eyes of everyone present I see various emotions: fear, excitement agreement, pity (that one infuriates me) disappointment but the main one I feel from all those around me is a collective terror. I begin to feed on that emotional energy floating in the room, but the feelings become muted. I decided to step out. I grab my stuff and take the elevator to my room on the fifth floor. When I exit I see the sponsor. She’s talking to Hunk the famed Umbrella Corps specialist. I crack my knuckles and ignore them as I walk around. I overhear them talking about plans and the lady turns to me.

“Oh, you're Avaline’s little mutt.” She teases. I roll my eyes as she says, “Roll your eyes all you want but when things go down you won’t be smiling or laughing anymore.” In the very pit of my being, I feel it. The desire to destroy to hunt to eradicate, and here she is presenting herself as the fattest juiciest of prey. I turn to her and speak slowly.

“Is that a threat?” I ask

I watch the lady’s mood shift from happy to fearful. Her “ally” also cowers a bit.

“Because I don’t take well to threats.” I could feel my desire for violence surging madly within me terrible visions surged within me as I looked at the both of them. Then they ruined it by backtracking

“No, we aren’t planning anything,” Hunk said.

I could hear his elevated heart rate give him away as a liar. I sighed and said

“Listen cowards whatever convoluted and half-baked scheme you’re coming up with leave me alone as well as my friends or you will both personally find out I’m less of a dog and more of a kaiju.” The lady smiled and her calming heart rate told me she thought she had some leverage

“Well, Mr Ballas. I will tell you that you can’t save everyone so maybe I just may be so inclined as to…”

Knowing where this stupid conversation was going I responded. I stood my full size and then hunched in closer to show them how small they were in comparison “If anyone I care about is hurt here because of your stupid plans, I will make sure He will be a vacation from what I will put you through because you’re right I can’t keep them all safe but you know what I can do that I’m way better at. Revenge. (I switch my tone from menace to calm and happy) now have a nice night and remember to leave my friends alone.”

The terror in the air tasted delicious as they took the elevator down. As they left the emotional high I had crashed and I felt drained. So I opened the door to my room and crashed into the bed.

The door creaks open a little later after I recovered a bit. The dark room I had left myself in was pierced by patches of light. I turned over to see what was facing me. It was Jiheon. She smiled mischievously as she closed the door. “You ready babe?” I could taste her hunger and her lust as she entered. The air permeated everything as I watched her inch closer and closer.

As she did a new piece of clothing would fly off in the dark room until she reached me. She leaned down and all I could see were her soft brown eyes. She smiled before her hands dipped down into my pants. She began to stroke me again. To get me to explode in her hands she began messaging my balls

“Oh fuck honey” I screamed Jiheon smiled,

“Yeah let everyone know how good I'm making you feel.” let everyone hear you scream my name as I make you cum.” her smile was evil as she began to pick up the pace before I couldn't take it anymore I bucked into her hips and my cum flew out to her face hands arms and chest. She smiled and stared t my hard cock still raging

“You animal. I love it Jiheon cooed before straddling me and then lowering herself on top of me. She smiled and said,

“I could get addicted to this; the size and gerth are just right for my tight pussy.” I moan she bounces on my cock.

“Fuck, honey. You're so wet.” I groan out as I slip and slide in and out of her almost soul-snatching pussy.

Jiheon smiles and says, “I know, now cum.” her words put me into a deep trance as I release another load into her as I keep thrusting into her. I can feel her tighten as well and she starts to orgasm making a mess on top of me. With a smug grin she smirked and said “I'll see you later baby,” and with that, she was gone as fast as she came. I lay in my bed confused and still hard. Unsure what to do I just go to sleep and hope tomorrow is less weird.

[byun-slug]

⚙️🕔 Winder of the Railway 🕐🗝️

[Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. Edgar Allan Poe - The Raven]

Remember my previous post about AU I'm working on, which is about Hiro? It's still work in progress, but decided to make a quick render to show what I've been working on.

Let me introduce Clockwork Hiro - A time traveler who is forgotten

It's also almost my first time modeling an actual train/locomotive, as well as my first time modeling a train face. I was not familiar with modeling complicated machine, so it was difficult progress to me. But slowly got used with making some small parts, so it's still work in progress but here now I can show him to you!

I'm currently still working on finishing the textures, So when I finish, I will also make a render of final version of him.

Will also make some doodles and more renders of him to explain about the stories and concepts, so stay tuned ✨

Background bookcase model source - https://skfb.ly/ozDn7

(And of course, Clockwork Hiro model made by me)

[🚫Do NOT Steal/Use/Reupload my works!🚫]

[10969mfs-sinro]

Hiro's Instagram update (part 2 of 2)

[rainbow-crane]

In-Depth Analysis On All The DR Characters Because What, Are You Gonna Try And Stop Me? Who Are You, My Mom? Yeah, I Didn't Think So- Part 4: Yasuhiro Hagakure

I've actually managed to hype myself up a good bit for this one, despite the fact I'm not fond of Hiro. If there's anything I've learned since starting this series, it's that taking the time to actually absorb these characters and their full existence in the narrative reveals a lot more than you get just by playing the game normally, and I'm hopeful that doing that will make Hiro that much better of a character for me. So, let's dive in.

Per usual, this analysis uses only official materials from the DR series, primarily the english translation of the game. If you aren't that interested in lengthy yapping, then keep scrolling.

Part 1- Character Design

Yasuhiro Hagakure wears several layers of clothing, having a haramaki, white button-up, and his old high school uniform all on over a yellow shirt and a pair of baggy black pants tied up with a yellow bow. His old high school emblem is purposefully designed to look like the yin and yang symbol, and his hair is up in locs styled to bend backwards and stick out at odd angles.

Yasuhiro is a dual character, typically either being the most relaxed or the most panicked person in the room. This sort of duality is likely why he was given the yin and yang symbol, a symbol of balance, along with his talent. Yasuhiro was given the talent of SHSL Fortune Teller, or Ultimate Clairvoyant, and has a unique connection to the spirit world. This may also be why his hair is designed to stick out, similar to how when you touch an object with enough static, your hair stands up. In this way, we can see Yasuhiro is visibly connected to the spirit world at all times.

Part 2- Character Introduction

Hiro is actually the first character to speak in-game after Makoto's self-introduction, calling out in surprise when Makoto gets to the main hall with everyone else("Woah, hey! Another new kid?") He then continues on to be the first one we're able to identify as speaking after the class panover is completed.

This immediately makes him stick out, as this is the character the game makes a point to show you directly before anyone else- not Sayaka, Kyoko, Byakuya- nope, Hiro is first and foremost. Despite this, he fades into the background of the conversation almost immediately after as everyone else decides to introduce themselves to each other. When we get back to his introduction(one of the last ones we see), he introduces himself as someone who takes it easy, and tells you to do the same. We know from Makoto's internal dialogue that he has little to no knowledge on fortune telling, and thus, have almost no insight to Hiro's perspective. We also learn that within the psychic community, he's referred to as 'Supernova'. As he begins to speak, though, we learn exactly what the game's plan for his clairvoyance is: a big joke.

Though, he himself admits he's joking around, and invites Makoto to talk about Lemurian civilization. Lemuria is a debunked theory about a potential 8th continent that was believed to have sunk into the Indian Ocean, disproved by further research on continental drift and plate tectonics. Despite this, it still remains as a subject of conspiracy for many, and tells us a lot about Hiro's interests. Combined with his talent in fortune-telling, Hiro is someone with a fascination for what lies beneath the surface of human understanding. We also learn that he's of drinking age(20 in Japan, though this was changed to 21 in the English translation to reflect international drinking laws). He admits this is due to being held back a few years, waving it off as a 'long story' that we never get to hear.

As the class continues to talk, he remains completely calm, and insists it's all part of the fancy school's orientation. He continues to hold this belief even after Monokuma appears at the entrance ceremony, playing off Monokuma's threat of the killing game and Monokuma himself as a bit.

"Reveal the trick...?" "Yeah, cuz I mean... Y'know, this is all some kinda trick and all, right? So uh, like..."

So our first impression of Hiro is that he's a laidback older guy who isn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen, and that he's into conspiracies.

Part 3- Early Game Development

Once the game's officially started, Hiro very much takes a backseat so the story and mystery can develop, to the point where even when the entire class is talking about their explorations and what they found, Hiro remains silent, only telling the others to chill and continuing to say he believes this is all planned by the school. He appears completely unbothered by the whole situation.

"I mean, this was all planned out, right? The people in charge of Hope's Peak put this all together, right? Man, if I got stressed every time something like this happened, I'd have ectoplasm shooting out my mouth!"

Despite this, if you take the opportunity to talk to him in the laundry room the following morning, you get this:

Despite Hiro's insistence that this is all normal, he's run himself ragged trying to find out why they're trapped in the school. It suggests that his relaxed attitude towards the situation may be some kind of a facade to keep both himself and the others calm. He continues to insist upon it even after multiple days have passed, when Monokuma reappears again to give out the motive videos("Why the hell are you laughing?" "I'm just impressed at the total commitment to this whole act.") He refuses to acknowledge the mere possibility of this situation being an actual threat to their lives, even after watching the motive video of (presumably) his mother and sister in danger.

He insists on it to the point where he doesn't realize the truth of the situation until "Junko" is impaled with a ton of spears and dies right in front of him, and even then, his reaction is delayed, not realizing until Makoto and Byakuya check her for a pulse.

"Sh-she's... dead!? Then that means...! That means everything that's happened so far is real!? It's not a joke or whatever!? It's really real!? Hell no! Someone save me! Let me outta here! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" "You're j-just now accepting that...?"

He switches from total calm to ungodly terror, as he didn't experience the dread leading up to the incident that everyone else did. The horror renders him immobile for nearly the entire investigation, only pulled out of shock when Makoto shows him his broken glass ball.

"Did that guy totally dupe me!? He said it belonged to the pillars of history... Genghis Khan, George Washington, Napoleon... He said whoever controlled that crystal ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS!?"

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but how much did you pay for that thing?" "Everything I'd saved up from fortune-telling for two full years. Came out to be like... a million."

Not only did he pay that much for what was pretty obviously a glass ball, he fully believed that story despite the fact one of the named holders that 'controlled the world' was a failed emperor that died in exile. It is a hand-sized glass ball. Paying $1M in USD shouldn't have even been on the table in the first place.

Hiro goes into the next chapter still completely panicking, babbling on to Makoto about the 'ill omen' that is the items set in the display case and once again begging to the heavens to be released from the school.

"Ahhh! I've been struck with knowledge! It's an ill omen of total devastation and ruin! L-Let me outta here! Let me ouuuut!"

It's a bit late, as the only dangerous item from that case was used in the previous murder, but better late than never, I suppose.

Prior to the motive announcement, Hiro reveals that he was the one to pick up on the goings-on outside of Hope's Peak, having been in the dining hall and heard what he described as 'noises like a construction site'. It's important enough that Monokuma confirms the noises to be a) real and b) the result of some level of violence, as his provided explanations are an explosion or machine gun. So although Hiro himself hasn't had much of a story yet, he's still keeping his ears open and is at least paying some attention to the problem at hand now.

During the investigation, Hiro ends up in a much better position, now able to not go into total shock and do an investigation of his own. Although it doesn't yield many results, talking to him makes it clear that he's both trying to find something useful and trying to keep what information he does have private before the trial, which is progress. He's doing something instead of just sitting on his ass, and he's trying to remain secretive, even if he's really bad at it.

When the trial comes around, he's excited to provide evidence, being the one to tell the class about the e-handbooks in the mailbox despite insistence that he probably couldn't help anyway. Despite this, he takes it well when he's told he's wrong the second he's given a reason.

"No, she DID have a way! And I can tell you what it was!" "I highly doubt that." "Shut up! I'm telling you, I know how she could've done it!" ('it' being Chihiro entering the girls' locker room)

"She used the thing that was in the main hall!" "Huh? What thing?" "I'm talkin' about Leon's handbook, of course!"

"Why not!?" "Because Leon's handbook was broken." "Oh! Well then yeah, I guess that'd be pretty impossible, huh?"

Part 4- Midgame Events (In fact, we're gonna frame you for murder!)

Now that Taka's grieving, Hiro remembers he's significantly older than the rest of the class and decides to step up as the class rep and keep everyone calm and focused, at least until Taka can take over again. Although it doesn't last for very long, it's a nice gesture on Hiro's part, and shows some level of responsibility from him.

He's the one to direct the class to the 3rd floor and opens up to conversation about what they found, doing everything he can think of to both keep the class' gaze fixed ahead and try to rouse Taka from his silent state, though this falls apart the second Hina starts talking about a ghost.

Despite his efforts, Kyoko is the one who's really in charge here, and instead, Hiro becomes a messenger for her, alerting the rest of the class to 'bathtime' and acting as a voice of reason when both Hifumi and Taka become obsessed with Alter Ego.

"I happened to do a psychic reading for a certain famous CEO once... And that guy was seriously head over heels for a mannequin. He had a wedding and everything! And your eyes just now... I saw the same look in HIS eyes!"

"Oh, Taka! Are you back!?" "Who the hell's Taka!?" "Um... you?"

He also delivers letters to everyone in class when Kyoko has an important update on Alter Ego, assuming that the files have been decrypted. It's also worth noting he has remarkably clean penmanship, and this is attributed to his supernatural beliefs.

The following morning, when Hiro is one of the many students to go missing, Celeste sets it up so that almost everyone is led to believe that Hiro is the obvious culprit before he even so much as gets a chance to defend himself- falsifying and planting evidence, removing proof of innocence to the best of her ability, and manipulating Hifumi to help her- all with the stroke of luck in her favor that even after remembering his life before the game, Hifumi still couldn't betray her when he tried because her legal surname was the same as his first. On a surface level, almost every slip-up or seemingly stupid move was shrugged off as 'well, Hiro's an idiot anyway, so he probably didn't realize,' which is exactly what Celeste bet on. The only one who wouldn't automatically fall under this assumption (Kyoko) was so distracted by her own schemes that she was pulled out of the investigation for the vast majority of it. Even Byakuya completely fell for it until Makoto pointed out some of the inconsistencies to him.

But here's the thing: Hiro's gullible, not stupid. He may fall for other people's schemes, but he can just as easily craft his own and sell them, even when the person being sold to knows they're being duped to some degree. He's a businessman at heart, and you can't become a successful businessman if your schemes don't work. If Celeste wanted her plan to work, then she chose the wrong guy to frame. (The game never actually addresses this directly, but from a meta perspective, it's pretty obvious Hiro is just being used as a red herring, and it's all symbolized in his handwriting- Hiro is more put-together than he's given credit for, and that truth creates the physical evidence of his innocence Celeste couldn't change.)

I mean, Hiro deliberately plays up his own stupidity in the trial, taking the argument that was supposed to work against him and using it in his favor to convince everyone around him of his own incompetency. That's not the strategy of someone incapable of working out a survival plan.

"Come on, I'm not smart enough to think of trying to change my handwriting anyway!" <- a direct contradiction to when he writes Toko's name in blood in handwriting not of his own in the following chapter

Hiro being a red-herring suspect for a murder is quickly followed up with Hiro being a red-herring suspect for a murder. Yes, they do it twice, but this time, Hiro himself believes he's responsible. So there's enough differentiation to warrant it within the plot.

With chapter 4, Hiro's paranoia hits an all-new level. And for good reason, too. Not only have there been 5 attempted murders in the span of just over 2 weeks, 3 of which were intentional and 4 of which were successful, there's also a known serial killer chilling with the rest of the class that's known specifically for attacking men. Not only that, he was literally framed for a double murder case just a couple days ago, and to top it all off, Sakura, the visibly strongest person not only in the class, but also officially recognized as strongest person in the world, has been outed as a spy for Monokuma. So naturally, Hiro's a little on edge when he receives the invite from Sakura to meet in the rec room. So when he hears her muttering to herself-

"This is it... I'm going to end it today... I'm going to end... everything." "As soon as I heard that, I just knew... I knew she was gonna try and kill me! She was gonna kill me and make her escape!"

So, rather then let that potential end happen, he made the panicked decision to defend himself.

He admits to this pretty quickly in the trial as well, as the moment the dying message is disproven as being from Sakura, he caves and tells them everything that happened from his perspective. And he feels terrible about it, too, accepting that he has to die for what he did.

"Well, that's what happened. Go ahead, roast me, boil me, do whatever you want..."

Once Makoto and Kyoko are able to prove he's innocent, it's a massive weight off his shoulders. His fear and panic all but disappear, and he spends the rest of the trial in a much more relaxed state.

And once the trial is over, and they've all heard the truth about Sakura's case, he throws his full support to Hina and Sakura, unable to be mad at either of them.

"This is because of our misplaced hatred. I don't blame her(Sakura)! I CAN'T blame her! And nobody can blame Hina, either!"

Besides being a suspect in both murder cases, Hiro has another important moment in chapter 4. At breakfast on the first morning, after sharing his prediction of no more murders, he tells the story of his encounter with aliens, in which a burger that was supposedly 100% beef was beamed up by an alien spaceship. And because aliens supposedly steal cows, the meat separated and only took 30% of the meat. When he went back to the restaurant, they admitted to mixing pork into the meat. This story is representative of Hiro's own fortune-telling, as only 30% of his predictions are real and the rest are done just for money.

Part 5- Character Relationships

Though none of them are given a main focus in-game, Hiro has fairly important dynamics with about half the cast of THH. Actually, basically everyone that made it past chapter 2 has an established dynamic with Hiro.

5.1- Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Though it's a bit of a one-sided relationship, Hiro is the only character to show any concern for Taka going into chapter 3. After the brutal death of Mondo, Taka goes comatose, and won't eat, sleep, or speak to anyone. It's when in this state that Hiro attempts to get him back in action as class rep, more than once. Unfortunately, he never really succeeds, though this does leave us with the implication that he was the one who told Taka about Alter Ego, as it doesn't make sense for it to have been anyone else at this point.

5.2- Hifumi Yamada

Similar to Taka, Hifumi spends chapter 3 with a special interest in Alter Ego. Hiro is the one that tries to get through to him, calling out his strange behavior and likening it to a former client in love with a mannequin. The two of them also bounce off of each other quite a bit in the first half of the game during group conversations, and when they do, it often paints Hiro in a more reasonable light. As the older and therefore more mature of the two, he knows when Hifumi is full of shit and calls him on it, particularly when he's being horny("But he's a guy! And also a computer program!" "Oh, that aspect is no problem." "That... aspect?").

Hifumi later goes on to work with Celeste to frame him for the murder of both Taka and himself. It's unclear if he had any resentment for Hiro or if he just agreed with Celeste that he'd make a good scapegoat.

5.3- Celestia Ludenberg

Celeste frames him for murder, despite the fact that they didn't have much interaction before then. Why Hiro, though?

"Because you're stupid." "That's it!?" "And in that regard, I made the right choice. I'm so glad your stupidity surpassed my every expectation. Life must have been tough on your parents, though." "I feel like I could cry..."

Not only is this one final dig from her before her execution, it's also just blatantly wrong. Not only was Hiro not there for the majority of the investigation(by her design), but the supposed stupidity of his character she's referencing had almost no effect on the investigation or trial. Rather, it was the assumptions of the rest of the cast that benefitted her, with characters like Hina and Byakuya going along with the same assumption she wanted them to. He was almost immediately proven innocent by Makoto, and was only considered a suspect because Celeste herself kept hounding the idea.

In short, this proved Celeste the idiot. She didn't know her opponent at all, and so she lost, lying about it to the bitter end.

5.4- Sakura Ogami

Hiro's lack of a significant relationship with her is more important than what they did have. Throughout THH, Hiro consistently refers to Sakura not by name, but by the demeaning nickname given to her online, 'Ogre', due to how physically imposing she is. As such, the two never really connect, and when she's outed by Monokuma as the spy, he turns against her immediately, even when they were relatively friendly with each other up until that point. He doesn't necessarily want to distrust her, but not only is her allegiance under fire, but he's already been betrayed and directly put in the line of fire once. He has to consider his safety first, so he cuts her out with the others, though he does say if she makes good on her assertion to defeat the mastermind, that he'll forgive her("If she really can beat the mastermind like she said, that'd go a long way in my mind...").

But even if he isn't condemning her to hell like Byakuya and Toko, he still doesn't know her. He never bothered to try. So when she invites him to talk, he stays on his guard. The game has rendered him unable to connect to her, and so when he hears her speak of 'ending everything', he can only assume the worst. And it leads him to open the case of Sakura's attacker- not Toko, not Jack, not Byakuya. Hiro starts it. And he carries that guilt into her trial.

5.4- Byakuya Togami, Aoi Asahina, Toko Fukawa, Genocide Jill

Hiro has a fairly antagonistic relationship with the other non-main-character survivors(and Byakuya, if you consider him one). The 5 of them spend most of the latter half of the game at each other's throats, often for miniscule, petty things. This is mostly used as a source of comedy, with each pointing out the others' flaws and making each other look dumb. However, when it comes down to it, they can get along and cooperate when it's important.

He gets along best with Hina, as both were part of the overarching group from the beginning, and both are consistently present whenever the group splits up(for example, before Chihiro's body is found). And because Toko and Jack follow Byakuya around, and Makoto and Kyoko are the main characters, the two of them end up as an unintentional pair when it comes to group dialogue, even ganging up on Byakuya or Toko when appropriate. That said, Hina doesn't like him much, either.

5.5- Kyoko

Kyoko acknowledges Hiro's attempts to become the leader of the class in Taka's absence, and uses him to communicate with the rest of the class about Alter Ego when necessary. He acts as her messenger, suggesting she trusted him to some extent, enough to let him be the messenger. Their relationship isn't expanded upon outside of this, though.

5.6- Makoto Naegi

Despite his mounting paranoia and trust issues in the previous chapters, Hiro is shown to trust Makoto specifically, likely because he was the one to prove his innocence in both chapter 3 and 4. He holds Makoto in high regard, enthusiastically agreeing with Kyoko to let him hold the knife in chapter 5 and attempting to explain the dismantling of Monokuma to him: "I'll explain what's goin' on, Makoto. Cuz that's how much I like ya! Byakuya found this li'l fella layin' around, then we tore it apart!" "That doesn't explain anything..."

Part 6- Hiro's Clairvoyance

Despite Hiro's claims of only having a 30% accuracy rating at best, his fortune-telling and bouts of clairvoyance are accurate a good few times in THH. I'm not doing the math to see if it actually falls between 20-30%, but it is enough to be significant.

In the prologue and 1st chapter, Hiro insists that the killing game must be a prank because of his total certainty that the execs of Hope's Peak were the ones who locked them in the school. This is revealed to be true in chapter 4, when Alter Ego reveals the Hope's Peak Headmaster planned the shelter, and the board signed off on it.

In his 1st FTE, Hiro reveals he's already seen that his and Makoto's paths intersect, and that the mother of their children is the same woman. This becomes true if you get the bad ending in chapter 5.

The chapter 2 cover art has Hiro holding a manga with Taka and Celeste covered in blood, with the number 2 beside Taka. This accurately depicts that Celeste would kill Taka in the following chapter, and that he'd be one of two victims of hers.

In the start of chapter 4, Hiro reveals a prediction that there won't be any more murders. This turns out to be true, as the only other deaths after this are both by suicide.

Hiro's wild guess about what started the Tragedy was later proven in the series to be correct repeatedly- Hope's Peak students' deaths started and continued the domino effect of the Tragedy. Hajime became Izuru due to Natsumi's and Sato's murders; the student council were all slaughtered inside the school as the beta kg; the Reserve Course students killed all the Main Course students that weren't either 77-B or 78-B, and then committed mass suicide via brainwashing. All the students were killed.

Part 7- An Inner Look

During THH, we get a look at both Hiro's bedroom and his locker in the main story. This gives us a unique glimpse into his mentality that we don't get with anyone else in THH.

Interestingly, his room and his locker are very different, despite them both containing his fortune-telling materials. In his bedroom, his books are stacked fairly neatly on the desk, and his divination tools are organized, being set on separate tables with a protective tablecloth underneath. The singing bowl and incense- which work for ambience- are kept on one desk in the back, while his cards and dice are kept on the main table in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, his locker has his books shoved awkwardly into the bottom, while his divination tools are all lumped together on the top and have no separation or organization. The locker's state even leads Makoto to say that its owner "probably has organization problems in every part of their life". This may suggest that his room is clean for the sake of potential customers, or just that the lack of space in the locker was inconvenient.

Part 8- Late Game Events

When chapter 5 opens, Hiro's 'dumb guy' shenanigans are cranked up to the max. While everyone's investigating the 5th floor, talking to Hiro in the garden reveals his conspiracy theory on the inevitable global domination of the world by plants. He also gets excited about the 5 chickens, claiming the number 5 to "contain the mysteries of the cosmos" and says it's a good omen.

When he tells the rest of the survivors about the garden, he decides he wants to use the lawnmower to create crop circles, as a signal for help. What he fails to realize is that there are no crops in the school, and that no one would be able to see them from above if there were. It's this moment that Hina points out how ridiculous he's getting:

"What the heck's happened to you...? You weren't like this in the beginning, you know." "Well back then my personality hadn't quite solidified yet...!" "I didn't think it was possible, but I'm more disappointed in you now than I've ever been..."

This suggests Hiro's characterization, from the ground up, was designed to be laughed at. (That's a surprise tool that will help us later.)

When the other survivors decide to dismantle Monokuma, Hiro is the one who actually undergoes the process of dismantling and opening him up, with the only one we see helping with the parts to be Toko. This puts him directly under fire if Monokuma wakes up and decides to punish the perpetrator. It's safe to assume this is why he and Toko were chosen by Byakuya to do the actual dismantling. He also goes on to be the one to get the TV working in the data center, suggesting some level of proficiency with technology that's never explored again.

When the 5th trial begins, Hiro's panicking, insisting that Kyoko is a ghost("she's like the latest evolution in ghost technology!") and has to be corrected before the actual trial can start.

When the final investigation begins, and Kyoko, Byakuya, and Toko have all gone off on their own, Hiro decides he's going to go off on his own as well, declaring he's going to use his "totally awesome spirit power to figure out the mastermind's identity!" This declaration goes nowhere, as he's the only survivor you don't need to talk to before Monokuma's clue, and his only dialogue before the trial is him avoiding you. This 'totally awesome spirit power' is never used in the final trial, either.

When the final trial begins, Hiro is the first to make the accusation Monokuma wanted- that he was the only innocent one, and that everyone else was working together. But when Hina and Byakuya piggyback off of him, he's the first to realize that they've all been given the same evidence. Simultaneously, somehow, he's the last one to realize the evidence is fake("Wh-what? Wait, hold on... This doesn't make any sense... How can the three of us each have that kind of evidence!?")

When Junko reveals the truth to everyone, he's the first to beg for mercy. He's brought to despair- "We get it... We get it, okay? You're totally awesome, right? We get it already! So help us! I'll do anything! Just help me!" "A peasant begging for his life? How delightful! We've never witnessed such a travesty firsthand..." But when Makoto fights back, he's also the first one to embrace hope(assuming you shoot the characters in the order they appear):

"But to live means moving forward, right...? So even if it's hard... even if we're scared... we don't have any choice, do we? I want to keep on living! I want to open the next door! There must be something new waiting for me! So that's why... That's why...! No matter what, I need to get out of here! The whole fortune-telling thing doesn't matter anymore! What matters is my own gut feelings! I... I've decided to have faith in myself!"

He, along with the other survivors, votes for hope. Junko is executed, and the seven of them leave together.

Part 9- Ultra Despair Hagakure (yes we have to talk about this)

TW: discussion of pedophilia and incest. Skip to part 9 if you need to(5 paragraphs down).

Ultra Despair Hagakure, or UDH, is the spinoff-spinoff LN unlocked by completing "spinoff" game Ultra Despair Girls. It follows Yasuhiro Hagakure in Towa City as he's saved by former captive Kanon Nakajima, and the two of them try to survive the Monokumas and find a way to escape. The novel's state of canon is unclear, but it doesn't directly contradict anything in the main series continuity in terms of plot progression.

The problem with UDH (well, for Hiro anyway. Kanon is a whole other can of worms for the Leonalysis) is that UDH establishes Hiro as a pedophile. Kanon is 15, and says as much in her internal dialogue, but Hiro(who introduces himself as mid-20s) spends the LN being attracted to her, and that attraction combined with his money-hunger pushes him to stick with her, hoping to squeeze money out of her rich father upon their escape. He describes her as 'the type to have a baby by 21', and there are multiple instances of him being turned on by her, either while she's fighting the Monokumas or when she ends up physically leaned against him. All around, it's just a really unfortunate choice they made for his character that serves nothing to the main plot besides acting as a way to emphasize how cute Kanon is. Why did they choose to have Hiro act in this way towards Kanon? Simple: UDH is a fetish novel.

UDH adds no significant development to the worldbuilding or its pre-established characters, with two exceptions- Hiro, and Leon. Both become victims of immoral fetish content, though Leon at least gets the shield of plausible deniability from an unreliable narrator. Hiro doesn't get that since we see his first-person perspective. The plot of UDH is structured around Kanon, despite its being named after Hiro, and centers on her feelings of lust and desire for a relationship, using the setting of UDG as a backdrop. Hiro is an older man than Kanon, and Leon is Kanon's cousin. Both of these characters had their names and base personalities recycled to act as her love interests, as an excuse to write fetish content. It's as simple as that. And Hiro in particular suffers because he's the living and present man of the two, so to make the content, he's given perverted, sexual thoughts about Kanon, a 15 year old girl, as a grown adult in his 20s, not because it's something Hiro would've done, but because it's part of the older-guy fetish. It's unnecessary for his character, and doesn't appear at all in the next and final appearance he has in the series, nor does it ever come up outside of this LN.

UDH is a dark spot on the history of Yasuhiro Hagakure, and one of dubious canon at that. But it's still important to acknowledge that was written and released as official content within the DR franchise, and therefore, must be part of this character dissection. Ultimately, I've come to the conclusion that, due to the entire LN being primarily fetish content, it can't in good conscience be held up as part of Yasuhiro's own character. However, it is reflective of Kodaka's lack of care in the treatment of Yasuhiro Hagakure as a character.

Part 10- Danganronpa 3: Future Arc

Hiro, alongside Makoto, Kyoko, and Hina, are brought back as part of the lineup for DR3's Future Arc, participating in a new killing game with 12 new characters.

10.1- Character Design Pt 2

Hiro's design is updated to his Future Foundation uniform, with his pant sleeves rolled up, his blazer over his shoulders, and a bright blue tie. His locs are now pulled back, he's wearing thin-wire glasses, and he's pictured holding his crystal ball(though again, it breaks in the 1st episode).

10.2- Hiro's Subplot

In the first episode of the Future Arc, Hiro's left out of the meeting by the others and told to wait outside. He's then left out of the killing game and locked outside the building by accident when the exits are blown up, and left to fend for himself in occasional clips for over half of the season until Byakuya shows up to break into the building.

His only role in the anime is an occasional cutaway to him wondering what's going on inside, only to be shot at by a helicopter with a machine gun and barely survive unscathed. The anime straight up tells the audience the reason for this in one of the opening recaps:

He's the only survivor from THH not to play a significant role as well, as Makoto, Kyoko, and Hina are active in the kg, Byakuya is the one to lead the rescue effort, and Toko and Jack get a dedicated episode in Towa City with Komaru to hunt down Monaca. All this to say, his occasional bit of barely surviving is all he gets in comparison, which isn't much.

10.3- Byakuya Togami

As the only character Hiro has significant interaction with in the season, the relationship between Hiro and Byakuya is mildly expanded upon. Once Byakuya arrives, Hiro immediately falls in line beside him, following orders to lay explosives and try to break into the building, complaining all the while as Byakuya watches and directs him. It's all reminiscent of their relationship at the endgame of THH; however, Byakuya appears to be more fond of Hiro at this point, stopping him from triggering the trap in the lobby and keeping him out of danger at his own risk. In that vein of logic, Hiro being told to stay outside by not only Byakuya, but also Makoto, Hina, and Kyoko wasn't because 'no one likes him', it was because of genuine concern that he'd get caught up in something that wasn't his fault. It was because they liked him that he was safe.

Part 11- Racism in Danganronpa

As we've seen, Hiro is a character without much of a story to talk about. He's got his bit moments, and a banterous dynamic with the other survivors from THH, but even in his own novel, he doesn't have his own plot to speak of, nor does he ever receive any significant character growth in 8 years of DR history by real-world years. He is wholly a gag character, meant to be messy, stupid, and altogether unimportant in comparison to the rest of the cast. And to call this anything other than flat-out racism would be flat-out ignorance.

First off, in a series with over 100 characters, Hiro is one of 3-4 characters who are canonically dark-skinned(I can't remember if Akane was dark-skinned or is in "it's just a tan" club with Hina, Sakura, Teruteru, and Gonta). Of those, he's one of two black men, and the other is a racist caricature whose sole purpose is to die in demonstration of a 'game mechanic'(Daisaku Bandai). So already, we can clearly see that black men, as well as any other dark-skinned characters, aren't prioritized in DR's narrative.

When it comes to Hiro specifically, though, the specifics of his character- his design, his backstory, and the perception the other characters have of him- all at least partially stem from blatantly racist stereotypes. It's not just a matter of lack of rep, it's a matter of stereotypical and often outright offensive representation.

Scroll back up to see Hiro's THH design again. He's dressed in multiple layers, making him look 'grungy', like he doesn't care about his appearance, and he's the only dark-skinned character to have a black hairstyle throughout the entire series. There's a point in the game where, if you choose to speak to him in a group setting, Genocide Jill refers to him as "Afro Thunder" as a derogatory remark. Even from a character that gives everyone nicknames, this is clearly racism, as the other nicknames are plays on the characters' names ('Big Mac' for Makoto, 'Tick Tock' for Taka, etc).

While the details of Hiro's backstory aren't fully expanded upon, we do have enough information from his mother, Hiroko, and some of his dialogue in THH to have enough of an idea. Hiroko was a teen mother, and considering Hiro is in his mid-20s(23 at the youngest) while Hiroko is around 36 during the events of UDG according to the UDG artbook, that would mean she had him at age 13, at the oldest. In addition, Hiroko isn't dark-skinned, meaning that either Hiro got his color solely from his father, or his mother was biracial and just didn't get those genes. In addition, we know that his father wasn't around for most of his life, as he left Hiroko for an unspecified act she 'let go on too long,' which implies infidelity. We do know his dad was around long enough for Hiro to remember him, though, as he's able to recall an instance where his father burned their house down due to smoking in bed. Now, this may be on me, but the implication all this seems to suggest is that his father, who would've been black, left his family and left the teen mother to raise Hiro on her own, and that the one depiction we receive of him paints him as irresponsible for causing a house fire. It's not expressly canon, but it's the implication the given information leaves for the player, and is eerily similar to the stereotype that black men are irresponsible and absent fathers that knock up younger women.

Throughout all of THH, Hiro is perceived as stupid. Just about every character that interacts with Hiro calls him an idiot at least once, and he's repeatedly portrayed as not understanding what's going on around him. The only character that's ever less aware than he is at any given time is Genocide Jack or Toko, and that's because the two don't share memories. In chapter 3, his supposed idiocy is emphasized as the reason Celeste targeted and pinned a double-murder on him, and how she was able to get away with framing him for so long. Almost everyone agreed with her that Hiro's idiocy explained away the flaws in logic from his perspective as a killer. Byakuya even says as such("He probably thought that if nobody saw his face, it wouldn't matter if he was seen. Because he's an idiot, you see."). He falls for every little lie Monokuma drops over the course of the game, to the point where he contradicts himself at the start of the final trial. There's a moment in chapter 5 where Hina goes on about how stupid he is, and asks him what 10+10 is. It offends him to the point he forgets what question she asked, and when he asks her to repeat herself, she just says "Don't worry. You've already answered it." Even Makoto, the POV character who we're meant to project ourselves as player onto, goes on about how stupid and disorganized he is at multiple instances when talking to him. Not only do the other characters perceive him as stupid, but the game wants you as player to perceive him as stupid, too, at the detriment of his own characterization as a successful and sleazy businessman who's made millions. Stupid, disorganized idiots who spend $1M on a glass ball aren't normally charismatic and clever enough to be making that much at such a young age from the ground up.

And maybe, maybe, if Hiro were the only instance where a dark-skinned character were subject to this volume of stereotypes, and the rest of the dark-skinned characters were all excellently developed and unique and well, not written consistently with racist tropes, then you could try to make the argument that this was by mistake. That it wasn't fully intentional, or that the creator was just trying to make a variety of characters, whatever. But every single dark-skinned (or tanned) character in the series suffers from some kind of racist trope. If it's not this, or being a blatant caricature like Bandai, it's being a monster brute who's viewed as an inhuman monster(Sakura, Gonta), it's being an islander cultist who follows some indigenous violent god(Angie), etc. The racism within Danganronpa's dark-skinned characters is inherently a part of their characters, to the point where you cannot separate the sins of the author from the character. Yasuhiro Hagakure is a byproduct of racism, and it holds him back as a character from being expanded upon outside of what the stereotype allows so long as he's written by his creators.

Part 12- Fortune Telling Does Matter (Why we should care)

We've now thoroughly dissected Yasuhiro Hagakure and his role, or often lqack thereof, in the story. He's a gag character built on racist tropes that the creator didn't give a fuck about, and was lent out for a fetish piece. He's an idiot, a useless guy whose own creator built to be pointed at and laughed at. Why should anyone care about Hiro? The answer comes in the epilogue of THH, from Hiro himself:

"...Ah! I get it now! If there's no road, you just gotta build one! Creation... Fate is telling me to remake the world! That's... my hope! I've reached the next stage! The next chapter of Yasuhiro Hagakure's Life Story is about to begin!"

'If there's no road, you just gotta build one.' Hiro was made with racism, yes, and went underused in the source material, but that doesn't mean that was all there was to his character. If you dig into the work, you'll find a passionate man that cares deeply for his interest in the unknown, someone who researches and collects artifacts in his free time, and who genuinely believes in his clairvoyance, and used that passion and belief to build a career and life for himself. The pieces are in place for his story to continue, and if the source material won't do it, then well, can't we? Danganronpa is known for its love and attention to detail of its characters. Each and every character is designed with the potential to become the protagonist of their own story. That includes Hiro. He does have the potential to rise past the source material in the right hands, and those could be your hands. Who's to say? Maybe there's some unwritten genius hidden within that next chapter. That's the beauty of fanwork; untapped potential can become a fan favorite if you know where to look.

Afterword

"Hey guys, Sayakanalysis is taking a while, I want an easy one next." Well look how that turned out. This shit was NOT easy, not by a long shot. I've come to the conclusion that there is no easy character to analyze in this godforsaken series

That said, I am happy with how this turned out. Even if Hiro is a bit all over the place, I genuinely like him a lot more now! There's actually a lot of fun to be had with his character if you're willing to look deeper into him; that's what I want people to take away from this

Anyways, it'll probably be a nice long wait for the next one because uh. Junko is next. And V3 is basically the only time she doesn't show up soooooooo hope you enjoyed catch ya later

[breekento]

hello! I love your fics on Higuruma on AO3! wanted to ask if you take any requests for Prisoner!Higuruma who survives culling games and turns himself in jail, but reader regularly visits him and waits for his release ?🥹 A bit of angst but fluff at the end please 💞

thank you for being my first fic request! I probably won’t write these as long as my fics on AO3 because it would take me months lol! But these are fun writing practices for me!

(wc: 1.6k, no smut, just pain and fluff)

“How are you sleeping, doll? Are you getting everything you need?” His voice crackles through the phone.

Your fingers tremble, squeezing the phone so tightly you were surprised it didn’t crumble in your grasp. “I guess so,” you reply in a small voice.

“I don’t like the sound of that, baby.”

You knew better than to lie, he was intelligent and ever observant of every hitch or quirk in your voice. “I just miss you, Hiro,” you say shakily.

He sighs deeply on the other line. “I miss you, too, doll. More than you can ever know. You’re still coming to see me tomorrow, right? I need to see that beautiful face.”

“Of, course.” How could you forget? It has become your weekly routine. Every week, the night before your visits with Hiromi, tossing hangers draped in clothes over your head in search of the perfect outfit. Open toed, too short, mesh, crop top. At some point you would need to go shopping for appropriate clothes to visit your boyfriend in prison but for whatever reason, it felt as if you were accepting defeat.

You knew very little of Hiromi’s mysterious work-life and he liked to keep it that way. The world of sorcery was foreign to you and your knowledge was shallow. Hence, the ringing in your ears, the numb feeling on your fingertips as your brain struggled to connect the dots on that day.

“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this to me, Hiro,” your voice was raspy, tears flowing down your face as you followed him out of the door.

“I can’t tell you,” he says, cold and distant as if he were desperately trying to disconnect from the harsh world around him.

“Look,” his voice is softer. His hands cup your face, lip distorted and eyebrows twisted upward in agony. “I’ve done bad, bad things. I can’t live with myself like this. You don’t want me here.”

“B-but how do you know? You don’t know,” you fumble over your words.

“I’ll be gone for a while, doll,” his forehead pressed against yours. At that moment, it felt doable. How long? Why? What have you done? You never asked, worried that you wouldn’t accept the answer.

Years had passed and it was doable. Not short of late nights, curled under the covers, fingers searching for the smell of his cologne and hair gel. Elbow stretched as far as you could reach, hand fumbling for the zipper on the back of your dress. Shit, if Hiromi was just here. Small tasks felt big.

Sitting behind your desk, mindlessly searching through your emails as a thinly faced coworker pops her head over the cubicle. “Are you going to the office pot-luck tonight?” She beams.

“Oh,” you jump in your seat. “I have plans.”

She frowns, resting her head on the half-wall. “You never do anything.”

You shrug, looking toward your computer screen. Explaining that you’re visiting your prison boyfriend was not something you cared to delve into with a superficial level of coworker.

The clock strikes 5:00pm and you are your own version of Cinderella, tossing your purse over your shoulder and striding towards the door. Only in this story, you weren’t running away from the probability of your carriage turning into a pumpkin. You were running toward your murderer of a boyfriend, clinging to that 30 minutes of quality time.

It couldn’t have been Hiromi. Not your Hiromi. The Hiromi who stayed awake late at night, holding your body close as it ached on your monthly. The Hiromi with tender fingers that grazed your skin covered in bubbles as you leaned against his skin as warm water poured over the two of you. The Hiromi who replaced the fresh flowers on your dining table every week, knowing you loved the scent. He couldn’t have been a killer. Surely it was for a reason. Was there such a reason?

“I’m here for Hiromi Higuruma,” you say through the window.

The guard’s eyes flicker to yours. Nodding before lifting the phone to her ear. Taking your cue, you sit in the waiting chair. Your legs bounce in anxiety, it never got easier.

The door swings open, a large guard standing in the doorway. Gathering your things, you walk toward the room. The room you knew too well. The tension in the air dissipates as the tall, dark-haired man stands before you. Even in this state, he was strikingly handsome. His hair, slicked back with strands falling forward onto his brow. His lips curl into a smile, eyes twinkling at the sight of you. His orange jump-suit hangs off of his body, wrists clasped together by handcuffs.

“There she is. My beautiful girl,” he purrs as you join him at the large table. It was just the two of you, and the guards that lined the perimeter. How romantic.

In his usual gentleman fashion, he waits for you to find your seat before sitting down himself. You adjust in your seat, face heating up as you scan his face.

“I missed you,” you say bashfully under his intense gaze.

“God. You get more beautiful every time I see you.”

You lean against the table, propping your head on your hands, “When are you ever going to get out of this place?”

“Funny you should say that,” he says with a grin. Your eyes widen, lifting yourself off of the table. “I have a date.”

Your mouth dries. “A-a date?”

“Doll, I’ve been here for 6 years. In a few months, they’re letting me out early for good behavior. Well, parole,” he says with a grin.

You stand from your seat, jaw slack and eyes rapid fire scanning his expression for any sign of a joke. “Y-you’re coming home?”

His eyes soften, looking up at you with those gorgeous sleepy eyes. “I’m going home, baby.”

Every muscle in your body wanted to lunge forward, wrapping your arms around his neck and tackling him to the ground. You haven’t even touched the man in years. You opt for covering your mouth with your hand.

“Keep holding on for just a few more months, doll. I’ll be home before you know it,” his eyes are kind.

“15 minutes,” the voice from the guard echoes throughout the empty room.

“My life here is boring. Tell me about yours. How’s work? How’s the house?”

He had truly set you up for success. You stayed in his home, completely paid for and taken care of by him. You didn’t have to work but you feared insanity spending your days alone in his large house. Brushing your teeth and watching his, dry and unused black toothbrush beside yours. His loafers that sit in the doorway, unworn and clean.

“Work is boring. They had a potluck tonight. My boss somehow thinks I’m the biggest idiot in the world while also piling more on my workload,” you say. It felt silly to complain about your mundane work tasks while he lived here. But he hung on your every word, soaking in the way your lips curled and eyes creased.

“Oh and I spent hours getting rid of weeds last weekend. The second you’re out of this place, that’s your job,” you say with narrow eyes.

He chuckles, leaning forward in his seat, “It will be my pleasure, baby.”

“It’s time,” the guard says. Each week, shattering your heart little by little. You stand, unable to stop the tears welling in your eyes.

“Don’t cry, darling. Not much longer. Just stay strong for a little longer,” his voice pleads.

You nod, using balled up fists to wipe your face. You watch him stand, towering over you as the guards guide him back to the mysterious place he now lived. He turns his face to catch your eyes, face sad as he watches the human form of his heart shatter before his eyes.

The door shuts and once again you are left alone. Only a few more months. Those words propelled you, every action you performed had a meaning suddenly. When you couldn’t reach something on the top shelf, when you couldn’t lift the garbage bag over your head, when you ran out of toilet paper you thought soon he will be here.

And soon came quick enough. You stood in front of your full length mirror, adjusting your sundress that fell over your curves. Your hair was fluffy and soft, draped over your shoulders. He knew what you looked like but you needed his first sight of you to be special, breathtaking.

With shaky hands and clammy feet, you stand outside the prison. If you weren’t leaning your body weight against the car door, you probably would have fallen over. You tap your foot anxiously, any minute now.

The door creaks open, a tall, lanky man dressed in black jeans and soft white shirt, the outfit he had left on that day. Before you could tell your feet to quit, you were running, no, sprinting towards the man.

He matches your speed, arms wrapping around your body as he lifts you from the ground. You bury your face in his neck, giggling through tears that coat his white t-shirt. His muffled laughs find your ears as he spins you, holding your body tightly. It had been years since you felt his hands on your back, his breath in your ear.

“I love you, I love you,” he chants against your face. He set you down, pressing both of his hands on each side of your face. “Let me get a good up-close look at my beautiful girl.”

Your cheeks blushed red under his gaze, “Let’s go home.”

[phenomenal-savage]

Artwork I commissioned from @n3rdx featuring Hiro Hamada, Hogarth Hughes and his twin brother, Heath Hughes (my OC)!

If you want to know more about Heath and the stuff he gets into with his brother, please check his debut in my fanfic: "the dark after dusk, the wolf comes howlin'". You can find the first chapter here: TDADTWCH (I'm currently adapting the story into a six-part full cast audio production).

You can also follow the story on its very own Tumblr blog here: @tdadtwch 🐺🌕✨

[merry-go-roundo]

Single dad Nob and his three demon kids lol