#i think he deserves an innocent vote for this trial

[astrxealis]

anyways. in any case. fuuta's song is FIRE.

[accirax]

LOVING the discrepancy between the first Trial 2 MVs

[blitz0hno]

Mikoto likely doesn't have a problem with traditional politeness because he just.... Loves being kind to ppl. He treats everyone like a friend not just because he's fawning and reciting pleasantries, but because that's what he really wants to believe.

His mom's looking out for him; he just needs to keep working hard.

His boss his looking out for him; he just wants things done "right."

The people around him want what's best for him; he wants what best for them after all.

That's just how he's been taught to be kind to people, no matter what he's feeling inside. He's stubborn in his own certain kind of way and it hurts him, but he wants to keep working. He wants to Do It All. He can't accept that he can't but he'll give others all the slack in the world.

Mikoto wants to "earn" acceptance and kind treatment, on top of an easier life for his family and himself. But him and his nicknames and concern for them shows that he even cares about the others, and will extend those things that he wants either way. If he doesn't receive that kindness, he can only assume that he didn't "earn" that kindness. It's all in his control that way.

In my personal view of him I don't think Mikoto is Just A Kiss-ass. He's a genuinely kind guy and he prides himself on working hard to a fault; of course he'll offer that to whoever he can. It's still fawning, it's still a trauma response. But he wants a better world for other people than what he got and I think that's why I voted HIM innocent. HIM, not John.

Mikoto is the one on trial, and even though his memory misleads him he is a kind, deserving guy. Giving him the benefit of the doubt until everything we see in trial 3 is just the right thing to do, whether or not he's been "lying." He's nice from a genuine place I think. He wouldn't kill for no reason. Especially not "just anyone walking around."

(meanwhile John is a bitchass cunt lmao he earned it tho he tried to warn our boy Mikoto 😭 it was gonna happen he took too much shit he literally said "you're going to break")

[chickenleafs-world]

Rewatching the original animated X-men series in preparation for 97, so of course I’ve also been seeing a lot of X-men posts. And, as always, I have strong opinions on what people on the internet say. Most of the time those opinions are “how did these people read/watch X-men growing up and not get that they’re the villains” because people are being bigots and are upset that their favorite heroes aren’t. But sometimes I’m stuck being frustratingly close to agreeing and my strong opinions are much harder to voice. In part because you don’t want to walk into the Discourse Landmine, but also in part because there’s so much to go over on the take.

Case in point: the “Magneto is right, Xavier is wrong” take, where my main problem with people is more the lack of nuance than the base take. And I know most of the people saying it are also doing it in part as a joke and get the nuance is there, but it still irks me.

Let’s be clear, in general, Magneto is not right, but he isn’t wrong either. Xavier isn’t wrong, but he isn’t right either. Obviously it’s partly dependent on whoever is writing at the moment, but also depending on which individual take of Magneto’s or Xavier’s you’re talking about. Yes, sometimes Xavier is frustratingly, harmfully liberal. Yes, sometimes Erik is doing the best possible for mutant well being. But there’s a lot of wiggle room with individual portrayals, and I think Xavier deserves justice for it. I’m not saying Magneto is just a villain, Stan Lee himself didn’t see him as such, but depending on the writers he can certainly be wrong.

Xavier is wrong when he focuses just on mutants with “useful” powers or conventionally attractive and human looks. He’s wrong when he puts the safety of bigots over the safety of the mutants they’re oppressing. He’s wrong when his only way of helping mutants is through the system. He’s wrong when he’s sending the X-men out to fight mutants more than bigots. He’s wrong when he hides he’s a mutant to avoid the stigma, even when the reveal would help solidarity and public trust. He’s wrong a lot.

But Xavier is right when he focuses on teaching mutants to love themselves and teaches them to control their powers and use them for good. He’s right when he says mutants and non-mutants can live in harmony. He’s right when he send the X-men out to destroy government/private property that’s being used to hurt mutants. He’s right when he takes out all his students, “attractive” or not, to speak up for mutant rights. He’s right when he sends the X-men to break innocent mutants out of prison/jail/unlawful containment. He’s right when he opens his institute to all mutants, so they have a safe place to go to. He’s right when he gives X-men choice and training for hard experiences, be it the choice to hide their powers or be open with them, to break out of jail/avoid arrest, or wait and go through an unfair trial for the sake of mutant visibility and legal precedent. He’s right when he finds places like the institute around the world. He’s right when he himself is on good terms with Magneto and works with him when it’s necessary for mutant good.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of writers put Professor X as a filthy liberal. It sucks. Focuses on performative acts, letting fascists take ground for the sake of “civility,” and putting minorities at risk for the sake of optics, those are all bad. But sometimes liberal acts can be tools in the tool box. Voting isn’t gonna solve shit, but it can make it go downhill slower. Putting gay people in media isn’t going to end homophobia, but it will normalize gay people. Testifying before Congress for mutant rights might not be the flashiest or most effective way to get mutants’ rights, but it is a way to advance public opinion and slow anti-mutant laws. Just that isn’t good enough to beat the liberal accusations, but combined with the actions of some incarnations it genuinely changes their context. We can’t ignore all the times that Xavier has actively sent the X-men out to break laws and destroy government property for the sake of mutant well being. As much as we joke about the X-men being liberals, they usually aren’t afraid to break laws, break property, and raise hell for the sake of their people. And don’t forget that lot’s of “peaceful” acts of protest still cause disruption and still make a difference, even when it seems liberal on the surface, and can be organized by genuinely leftist people. Lots of Professor X’s portrayals could be genuinely leftist.

Likewise, Magneto is right a lot. He’s right when he says mutants shouldn’t be forced to stay in places where they’re being violently persecuted. He’s right when he advocates mutants fight back when bigots attack instead of just taking it. He’s right when he takes in mutants despite how palatable or useful they are. He’s right to actively fight fascists rising to exterminate his people. He’s right when he gives no fucks about the law when it comes to protecting minorities. He’s right when he creates a safe haven for mutants.

But boy, Magneto is also wrong a lot. He’s wrong when he says mutants and non-mutants can’t live together. He’s wrong when he says non-mutants are inferior. He’s wrong when he gets upset at mutants for wanting to live in harmony with humans. He’s wrong when he invalidates mutants who are upset with where being a mutant has gotten them, without helping them through the complicated feelings it brings. He’s wrong when he frames the X-men, a fellow mutant group, for his crimes. He’s wrong when he says mutants should exterminate non-mutants. He’s wrong when he thinks a mutant ethnostate is the end-all-be-all of mutant rights.

Erik is the kind of antagonist you get. He’s right on a lot of things. He has a lot of emotional appeal. As a (let’s be honest, gay) Jewish holocaust survivor, you know he’s coming from experience with his tactics. He genuinely doesn’t hate Xavier in most incarnations. But that doesn’t mean that in the incarnations where he literally calls for genocide, he should be let off the hook. Violence and resistance are important to most leftists movements, or even just mildly progressive ones. Be it a civil war to end US slavery, the riots at Stonewall, slave rebellions, or any number of revolutionary wars, sometimes active violence is necessary to stop the passive violence that minorities go through while oppressed. At the same time, it’s a fundamentally leftist ideal to believe in rehabilitation and the importance of people changing. And it’s also important to remember that genocide is bad no matter who’s doing it. Letting the genocidal versions of Magneto off the hook because it was “for mutants” is the same logic that lets Israel get away with how it treats Palestine.

I know that’s a lot of rambling to say something a lot of people already know, but as much as I love the “magneto was right” memes and the posts making fun of liberal X-men, I don’t want the genuinely leftists parts of the X-men to go unappreciated, nor the genuinely harmful parts of Magneto’s ideology excused.

[linagram]

so that raincoat collab..

notes about the meanings of everyone's poses are under the cut!

akio: akio doesn't have an umbrella, he just has his hood on and he has this angry look on his face. back in season 1, akio just wanted to be voted innocent and truly believed he deserved to be forgiven and even though being voted guilty made him change as a person, he still doesn't care about the "moral side" of his verdicts, since now he just wants to be forgiven because being punished again can literally cost him his life. he still doesn't want to do anything with the guards or the verdict system, so he doesn't have an umbrella, but he still doesn't want to die, so at least he has his head covered.

shun: shun was very happy when the guards voted him innocent, since he believed his crime wasn't a crime at all and his thoughts were affirmed. however, he got "betrayed" by the guards since they decided to vote him guilty in season 2. this is why he has his umbrella lying on the ground: he really believed that the guards will still be on his side, but he was wrong.

kei: kei is holding his umbrella. he is accepting his verdicts. even though he was voted guilty by his own brother and brutally punished by him as well, he loves him too much to get mad at him. it also looks like he's offering his umbrella to shun which might look cute OR look like a reminder of how unhealthy their relationship is (kei was more than happy to flirt with shun back in season 1 and shun just acted shy and claimed to be taken, but in season 2, shun gladly joined eiko when she started to basically bully kei and shun got a new outfit to look more like kei) but also.. kei is winking here. the eye that he has closed here is the same eye that shun lost because of kei. think about the implications <3

asahi: he has his umbrella closed, but he's still holding it. asahi doesn't like eiji and he sure will not like hinode, but he likes miki. she's the only guard that he cares about, but he cares about her A LOT. so you can interpret his pose as him still being suspicious of the other guards, but wanting to be as close with miki as possible.

riku: my boy doesn't have an umbrella AND he doesn't have his hood on. sure, riku wants to be forgiven, but also.. he understands that even an innocent verdict won't make his pain go away. in fact, he will most likely just hurt himself even more to keep making the guards feel sorry for him and continue forgiving him. a little spoiler for his trial 3 vd, but there's a moment when he says that there is no verdict that will help him or make his situation better. so his head is not covered, he doesn't have an umbrella with him and he's also holding his hand out to feel the raindrops. riku kuroki why are you like this

aimi: her pose is similar to asahi's and the meaning is similar as well: she only cares about miki. however, i tried to make her pose look a bit more desperate, like she's even more dependent on her than miki's own brother. aimi doesn't care about her verdict. she only cares about finally having a friend.

naomi: naomi has claimed multiple times that she doesn't care about her verdict and she doesn't care about the other prisoners' verdicts as well (not counting asahi. the fuck them kids mindset is still there) so she doesn't have an umbrella with her and it also looks like she's taking her hood off. however, i like to think as this naomi in particular as t2 naomi: getting an innocent verdict and starting to become more confident. confident enough to feel like you don't have to protect yourself anymore. she still got a guilty verdict though so maybe an umbrella wouldn't hurt.

eiko: oh this girl is so happy about her umbrella! look at the way she's holding it! this totally doesn't have anything to do with her obsession with eiji at all! eiko really doesn't care about the verdicts, but she loves her poor little meow meow too much, so she still cares about milgram in some way. there's also her brother being the fourth guard that never got an opportunity to actually do his job and the possibility of her parents having something to do with it.. her pose is also kinda similar to kei's pose which is a nice bonus since they're a pair.

yurika: THE GIRL IS NOT HAPPY ABOUT HER TWO GUILTY VERDICTS. she's the only prisoner that's sitting on the ground. she doesn't have an umbrella with her, showing that she HATES the guards and she HATES her verdicts (and how verdicts work in general), but she still has her hood on. the girl doesn't want to die. she REALLY doesn't want to die. (and her t3 vd will show it well </3)

reina: reina doesn't have an umbrella with her, which was to be expected from miss "i'm actually a serial killer hehe >:D please vote me guilty please please guys i'm begging i would rather die than live with the knowledge of what i've done". she doesn't care about the guards' opinions anymore. she does have her hood on, but in her case it's not related to her life, i simply thought it would fit her vibe well, since she's a person who finds it hard to be honest with others and is very secretive.

[dreamii-yume]

Aight, for my first proper thirst post after my long vacation, I present to you :

This fucking music video. Oh, Kayano Mikoto, the woman that you have made me 🧎‍♀️

But no, this music video is actually very sad 😭 Because not only does it confirms Mikoto having another personality, but this song is sung almost entirely by that other personality—“John” as Es calls him, short for “John Doe”

Mikoto is a tragic character y’all, I know we were all hornii about him during his first trial ☠️ But goddamn, his story is one of my favorites to dissect.

I really believed Mikoto when he said that he couldn’t remember a thing about his murders, because he doesn’t seem like he’s lying and seemed genuinely confused—So, I ended up entertaining the theory that his brain is actually erasing the memory due to trauma ☠️ One anon even theorized that Mikoto himself is the one doing the murder, and “John” is the one trying to protect him, which was something I started to believe in for a while—BUT THEN HIS SECOND TRIAL DROPPED AND HOO BOI, there’s a lot to unpack here lol

First of all, contrary to popular belief, Mikoto is now proven to be a kind character, he doesn’t have ill intentions. He’s a people-pleaser, who always bottles up his feelings and would end up suffering because of this. You could tell from how exhausted he looks, yet he keeps up a smile when talking to other people like his mom so they wouldn’t worry about him. But he’s not okay 😭

Eventually, the stress from his job got to him so bad that “John” was born to protect him from breaking. It’s currently unknown who or how many he killed, but it seems to imply from the Drama CD that it was a bunch of strangers that happened to irritate “John”, so he came out and killed them.

One thing to point out most of all here is that “John” is not evil—He didn’t kill just for laughs, he killed to protect Mikoto. He knows how kind Mikoto is, but just couldn’t handle the fact that the world mistreats Mikoto so much, taking advantage of his kindness. “John” cares for Mikoto, he was born to do things that Mikoto couldn’t do, because he just can’t sit there and watch as Mikoto break down.

“John” even expresses his distaste for us, the viewers/voters, for calling Mikoto a liar and making him seem like a villain in the first trial. Us, voting him Guilty/Unforgivable only made Mikoto’s stress-level sky-rocket so “John” comes out more in Milgram.

But his music video tells us that “John” does regret his actions. But I don’t think it’s the “I regret killing those people” kind of regret, it’s the “I regret making Mikoto suffer even more by killing those people” kind of regret, because look where that got the both of them. “John” practically ruined Mikoto’s life by trying to save/protect him, hence why I think he was apologizing to Mikoto at the end instead, not to us.

In the Drama CD, “John” basically admits to his murders, but begs Es to forgive/vote Mikoto innocent/forgivable because Mikoto is technically not the one who did the crime. Milgram is judging Mikoto as the Prisoner and not “John”, so he wants to at least put Mikoto at ease by telling him that he is innocent/forgivable. He tells Es that he’s afraid that if Mikoto is voted Guilty again this time around, the “Original kind Mikoto” will soon disappear, and that “John” will have take over. But on the contrary, if we vote Mikoto innocent, then “John” promises that he will be the one disappear.

I feel extremely unwell about their dynamic 🧎‍♀️Mikoto and even “John” deserved better than this. Mikoto doesn’t even know “John” exist bro 😭

[doctorbunny]

Hi! I hope you don't mind the sudden question, but i got really into Milgram recently and was wondering: What reasoning did people give when they voted Haruka guilty in the second trial? Like, generally speaking, what did the consensus seem to be?

Haruka is a character i strongly relate to, so i have a lot of Thoughts about him.

Firstly: Wow the start of the second trial was that long ago, huh 😅

Secondly: I need to explain that Haruka's trial was a bit different than most Not sure how recently you joined but in a normal trial, the MV will upload the same day a CD releases, and stuff like the instrumental, DECO covers and most importantly the voice drama will be officially uploaded at the same time

But for Haruka, due to some unspecified CD issue, we were getting the MV as planned then wouldn't get the voice drama for another two weeks This will be very important to his voting

Thirdly: Going into his trial, things were uncertain, a lot of people really liked Haruka and were very worried for him due to his new relationship with Muu. Whom many saw as a potential bad influence or threat. I won't get into it too much, but before this trial it was definitely more common to have a.... soft image of Haruka as a harmless little guy who had gone through a lot, who just made some mistakes because he didn't know any better

Its worth remembering that without the context of AKAA, Weakness is a very dream-like MV and not many were sure which parts were real or imagined One of the biggest debates about weakness was about if the blue haired child was a younger bother or Haruka himself It all seems quite quaint from here Some people thought Haruka might not have even killed a person, just animals, I was even considering a theory suggesting Haruka was in milgram for his own suicide (in the words of Danganronpa 'killing the person who is most important to you: Yourself') The girl with the plait wasn't thought about much as other than a possible childhood friend due to her being shown running next to young Haruka.

Fourth: The premiere of AKAA was super emotional and intense, it was a beautiful MV But like Purge March later, it would contextualise parts of Weakness we didn't expect it to Mainly the animal murder and the girl's death.

But without the voice drama, many were unsure what verdict would be best for Haruka Despite the failure of T1 Amane, many still thought we could fix the prisoners through voting right Some people saw this vote as a chance to get Haruka to break up with Muu if we played our cards right Overall people were confused and conflicted and couldn't wait for the voice drama to come out I think the best summary of feelings is a comment from the top of the AKAA comments section

This was posted right after AKAA came out and reflected a common mood

This part of his voting period was very strange. Because of the uncertainty, people were pretty split People didn't think he deserved an innocent verdict, but they didn't want to punish him so harshly with a guilty one either And it turned into an interesting situation: What happens if a prisoner gets exactly 50%? It was an unlikely truce between two passionate sides but for about 2 weeks straight, 50-50 was sustained Or more accurately, it was a constant flux of 49.9-50.1, changing by the hour if not minute (I actually dreamt up a fic of this causing Haruka to get a migraine but like most of my fics it never materialised)

Then the voice drama released

At the time I was the mod of the second biggest milgram server (rip Fancult - unfortunately that place got nuked so I'll have to go off memories alone) so I got to watch as a lot of people gathered and listened to the VD at the same time We were still waiting on translations, but still people could appreciate the acting and pick out key words like the prisoners' names and... other common phrases

お母さん, "Okaasan" The Japanese word for 'mother' or 'mum'

By the time we got to here it was Harukover 😔

Then a second Okaasan hit the verdict

And this giant mess ended with the suicide threat that's been haunting us for the rest of the season...

Needless to say, people were not too pleased

The 50-50 pipe dream was immediately shot down and betrayed

This graph (by paiplushie on twt) shows it pretty clearly

One thing to keep in mind is that even before Muu's MV was out, people were certain she'd be voted guilty, there was a fervour for it (mostly because people saw her as having taken advantage of Haruka and having the wrong attitude towards her verdict)

For some reason, voting Muu innocent was never really considered an option

It was 'Haruka threatened to kill himself if we vote Muu guilty, how do we stop him doing that after we do' [personally I voted him innocent because I had a pipe dream that if both Haruka and Muu were inno then they'd be obnoxious about it but unharmed]

People justified voting guilty in different ways, some thought it'd make him break up with Muu and not want to die for her, some just didn't want to enable his action (threatening suicide is awfully manipulative) and some people genuinely believed that physical restraint was the most effective way to prevent him from attempting suicide... which all I'll say is I disagree with that logic

But yeah, once the VD was out it never really showed any signs of returning to inno

[plus-i-miss-you]

hey can i request anything (rom) shidou related . please t2 prisioner reader and in jail setting . besides that go wild i love that man so much no matter the scenario it'll be great + the 1 post u have up at time of requesting is REALLY good so .. idk i trust itll be good no matter what

▷ listening to:

"maybe it's okay to give love a second chance" (gn!reader)

⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻ ılıılıılıılıılıılıㅤ

♪ note: SO SORRY ANON FOR TAKING SUCH A LONG TIME WORKING ON THIS... uni be damned i'll try my best to finish writing all the requests i have in my inbox! (also i really should make a masterlist..)

♪ summary: after the first trial, shidou has been voted innocent.. not the verdict he was hoping for. and now he has mahiru and fuuta's injuries to take care of. the second trial is already a lot for him, so you can only hope you can help him somehow.

♪ warnings: none 

♪ shidou just couldn't understand why he was forgiven. he literally asked for a death penalty. yes, he knew about the three trials system, but he could still be voted guilty after the first trial, right? he thought this would make es's work easier, they don't even have to think about his verdict, they just have to vote him guilty and that's it. but for some reason unknown to him, the 15 year old guard still decided to forgive him. why? maybe there was something wrong with his video? or.. it actually was their idea of punishing him?

♪ you didn't know anything about shidou's crime. you had some thoughts, but theorizing about a fellow prisoner's crime felt wrong and weird. however, you still couldn't agree with his own opinion on his crime. you've talked to him before, you've seen him help others, you just couldn't believe that someone like him could've committed such a horrible crime that he deserved to die for it. maybe you did like him. maybe you were biased. but hey, you doubt that the guard's judgement was 100% unbiased either.

♪ you've seen him help mahiru and fuuta. mahiru could've literally died if it wasn't for him. how can someone like him deserve to be executed for his crime? maybe you just don't want to accept the truth. maybe you just don't want to accept that even someone like shidou is responsible for murdering someone. maybe even more than one person. yes, you're a prisoner as well, but it was hard for you to accept that other prisoners are murderers too, especially someone as young as amane.

♪ shidou doesn't understand why you're so nice to him. don't get him wrong, he appreciates it, but he still feels like he doesn't deserve to be treated this way by you. you're just so gentle, so kind, so sweet, he doesn't understand why you're here just as much as you don't understand why he's here. he will never ask you about your crime though. he understands that it obviously can be something that is hard for you to talk about. if you want to talk about it though, he will listen.

♪ your conversations with shidou are calm and quiet. nobody knows what you two are talking about. nobody can even hear you. sometimes you two sit in complete silence and it's not boring or awkward or anything. you appreciate each other's company and you both just feel a little lighter. if shidou looks tired, you ask if there's anything you can help him with. whether or not you have experience with medical help, you don't mind taking care of other prisoners even if it's just staying by their side while they sleep. you just want to help shidou somehow.

♪ when shidou goes back to check up on mahiru's condition and sees you talking to her and making her laugh and smile even if she's still in pain and making her day brighter, he can't help but smile too. even if he doesn't ask you, you still offer him your help. you still continue to treat shidou with kindness and you don't expect anything from him. when he asks you about everything that you do, you simply shrug and say that "it feels like the right thing to do". haha, you're even more pure than he thought.

♪ when shidou spends time with you, he forgets about his own pain for a minute and at first he felt extremely guilty for that. how can he forget about it? how can he even think about possibly forgetting about it? this is why he deserves a death penalty, this is why he deserves a guilty vote, this is why he deserves to be here. he doesn't know what it is about you that makes him feel like maybe it's okay for him to keep living. ah, no, no, it doesn't mean that you, uh.. remind him of someone from his past. you are you, after all. and it's you who adds at least some kind of meaning to his life at the moment, not counting the prisoners who need his help, of course.

♪ shidou makes sure you get enough rest as well and he's quick to notice if something is wrong. maybe you look more tired than usual, maybe you're refusing to eat, maybe you move a bit slower. he will gently remind you to take a break and will even make sure you get one. you can take a nap while he's in the same room as you, it's fine, there's no need to rush or push yourself. of course, he's worried about all the prisoners here, but for some reason, the thought of losing you.. hurts him the most. 

[treepilgrim]

Thoughts about Amane’s MV (spoilers ahead!):

okay. amane’s MV. Very sad and all, very dark. Looks like (or at least implied that) she killed her abusive, horrid excuse for a caretaker, or someone equally as deserving. That’s great, good for her. Almost makes me want to vote her innocent! BUT.

I’m seeing a lot of people gunning for voting her not guilty, and before we do anything, I think we really need to discuss the ramifications of voting Amane innocent. So let’s look at the facts/results of trial 1:

- Amane is actively hostile to Shidou, even when restrained.

- Shidou is still keeping Fuuta and Mahiru alive (while it is possible to claim that they are already stable, I doubt they’ve gone past the need for continued medical attention).

- Given Amane’s severe aversion and hatred of modern medicine, if she is voted innocent, there is a non-zero chance for Shidou to be mauled to death.

That’s not good! That’s very bad. That’s very very bad. I don’t care that she used to believe in modern medicine, I don’t care that she is still a child, I don’t care that the MV shows her tragic backstory and is spoonfeeding us reasons for us to forgive her out of empathy. The fact remains that as of this point in Milgram, Amane detests modern medicine and will probably do something about it if she is released from her restrains. The fact also remains that the producers of Milgram is filled with sadists who like to watch us writhe and suffer, and it is painfully obvious that this MV in particular was specifically crafted to make Amane look sad and make you vote her guilty. Doing something like this isn’t below them.

I recognize that we may have made a mistake in the first trial by meta-voting her guilty, but that was done out of ignorance for how Milgram works, and our naivety with regards to the actual impact of our vote. But now, we have that information, and I urge you to consider my words. Just pause and hover above that innocent button and think: “What will happen if she’s no longer restrained?” You think Shidou can hold her own against a child? He loves children and still feels guilty. He might just sit back and take it. You think Fuuta and Mahiru will continue receiving the medical treatment they need? Probably not. Amane will probably pull something to sabotage their treatment or something.

I may be concocting paranoid scenarios in my head, but I still think it is very possible that an innocent verdict can do more harm than good. Sorry Amane. Banger song though.

Let me know if you have any thoughts or vehement disagreements!

[givemeanaccountalready]

You guys want to hear my darkest prediction for Trial 3? It involves Es and what happens after all 10 prisoners received their final judgements.

Of the 10 prisoners, Yuno, Shidou, and Kazui are the only 3 that have gotten 2 Innocent verdicts. If Milgram operates on a 2/3 verdict decides their fates, even if these 3 are voted Guilty in Trial 3, their previous 2 Innocent verdicts would save them from punishment. It’s the other 7 prisoners who have received a Guilty and an Innocent verdict who’d have to worry about a 2/3 system. If only the third trial verdict matters (because these music videos are supposed to provide the final context for each respective murder), then all 10 have to worry about their third verdict.

The dark theory is more or less based on this: what if our votes don’t matter to Milgram? Milgram has a very black and white view on forgiveness and condemnation. Jackalope has said in both pre-trial videos that they are all murderers in Milgram’s eyes, and he has quipped that if he were in Es’s shoes, he’d vote them all Guilty for the ease of it. The purpose of the Milgram shock experiment was to see how far participants would go to obey authority even if it conflicted with their morals. What if the subject of the experiment is Es, but not in the way we assume?

Discussion of the death penalty under the cut:

This entire time, we’ve been debating and voting on whether we think each murder is unforgivable or not, but we’ve also been growing attached to the characters and Es’s lack of individual personhood has been demonstrated in both trials so far. When prisoners push too close to Es’s past or present responsibilities as Milgram’s warden, we’ve seen Es fall victim to debilitating migraines or fall back into the role of a cold, distant, superior warden.

I think that regardless of Trial 3’s contents, the last song we will hear is going to be sung by Es. It makes sense in a bookends fashion. Milgram started with Es’s song and it will end with Es.

I think that Jackalope is going to tell Es at the end of the third trial that Milgram has sentenced all the prisoners to death, regardless of their verdicts, because of their murders. Es will either have to administer the death penalty, or have the choice to accept the death penalty in their place.

Will Es’s attachment to the prisoners and moral compass prevent them from carrying out the order? Yes. At least, I fucking hope the answer is yes. If Es is going to be forced to administer the death penalty (will they obey the ultimate authority or go against Milgram and try to save the prisoners), I think they would try to race against the clock to help the prisoners escape.

I lean more towards Es having the option of taking their place and accepting the death penalty. They announce to the prisoners that they will be released and when someone asks what happens to them, they will answer that they will die. Es is a pragmatist and when faced with kill one over ten, they will go for the one that saves more lives. Even if Es thinks that some may deserve the death penalty for their crimes, it’s clear that they think some of the crimes committed are forgivable and their integrity will keep them from sentencing them all to death. Es retreats to the interrogation room to die, and the prisoners try to stage a rescue so Es can escape with them. We still get an escape song, just with a rescue thrown in.

[astrxealis]

fuuta currently having a LOT of innocent votes i am very happy about that

[accirax]

Chessgram Theory: Who is Kotoko Breaking?

While the object Kotoko is breaking in Deep Cover’s thumbnail is still certainly up for debate, many people (including myself) are of the belief that she’s snapped a white bishop from the game of chess. Given where Kotoko’s mental state is right now and what’s implied by the lyrics of Deep Cover, I think it’s likely that this MV’s theme will depict all of the prisoners as different chess pieces. Therefore, it’s worth asking: who is that? And, in a larger sense, which prisoners could be represented by which chess pieces?

Kotoko pretty clearly sees her situation as her and Es against the rest of the prison. So, I think that the characters would be divided as Kotoko and Es on one team, and everyone from 01-09 on the other. Kotoko is wearing black and appears to be breaking a white piece, so it’s pretty safe to assume that she and Es would be represented by the black pieces. It’s an interesting choice, given that, even to a non-Western audience, black can be considered a color of evil, and white a color of purity and truth. However, if the Es/Kotoko team is “mystery and anger” and the 01-09 team is “cold demeanors and death,” it fits well enough.

And that’s ignoring the most important part: in chess, the white team always moves first. This would fit with Kotoko’s vigilante worldview that everything she does is just a retaliation against others’ wrongdoing. The other characters attack first by sinning, and Kotoko is only picking them off before they can do any real damage to Team Warden.

Anyways, as for the pieces themselves, different websites seem to have slightly different opinions on what each piece can represent, with some obvious throughlines. I’ll be pulling quotes from these three articles, color coded according to which one is being used, which you can read more of if you wish. I’m also not a chess expert, so if I’m missing anything or got something wrong, I encourage you to add any of your own thoughts!

We’ll start with the Black Team, because there are fewer characters and I think it’s pretty obvious who’s who.

Kotoko Yuzuriha

Kotoko herself will probably be the black Queen. As anyone who’s played chess should know, your Queen is the most powerful piece in your arsenal because it can move on straights or diagonals for any distance.

The queen is our impulse to fight and possibly our id. It can argue based on beliefs. It can let loose and fight like a rook. It has no reason to hold back as a knight does and will often attack to the other side of the board just because it wants to.

This hyper-violent description of the Queen reminds me a lot of Kotoko. She attacks the other prisoners because, according to her beliefs, they’re criminals who deserve to be punished. Not to mention, the “id” is actually the same thing as the “es” in psychology. After we voted her innocent in the first trial, Kotoko became our teammate. She thinks that she’s the same as Es, so seeing herself as the “id” would fit perfectly with that self-assessment. Speaking of Es…

Es (and Jackalope?)

Es is most likely going to be the black King.

The king is not as powerful as the queen, but he is considered the most important piece that needs the most protection.

Even if Kotoko has more power than Es inside the prison, Es is still the one ultimately calling the shots. They’re the important piece who actually casts the votes that Kotoko can use to exact justice. The way that Es falls asleep between trials (or, at least, they did the first time) also reminds me of how the king can only move one space per turn, and often remains in the same square until closer to the end of the game.

The meaning of the Queen in the game of chess is she is plainly the closest support to the King and is often the second biggest (tallest) piece on the board, signifying her power and importance.

Es and Kotoko being the King and Queen together also opens them up to being assessed as a pair. They start the game next to each other, far across the board from the white pieces. If Es is the tallest, most notable piece in the prison, Kotoko isn’t far behind, acting as the King’s loyal fang.

I don’t know if any of the other pieces on the black team would have any sort of particular association. Maybe Jackalope could be the pawn that starts in front of the King (I think that’s the E pawn), so that he could hop out of the way on black’s first move to allow Kotoko to escape on a diagonal?

If I’m right about this theming, I also believe it’s possible that the black team would start only with the King and Queen. This would 1) make Kotoko and Es appear as rootable underdogs by having fewer pieces, 2) show how Kotoko is doing all of the work to defend justice, and 3) give Kotoko a lot of space to move around in from the start.

Now that we’re done with the black team, it’s time for the 01-09 White Team! Given that this side has many more main characters, there are several more possibilities to discuss here. I’ve settled on an answer for each of the prisoners, but there’s certainly room to be flexible with any of them.

Haruka Sakurai

Starting with Haruka… sorry, buddy, but I think you’re a Pawn.

Look, there are only eight pieces (not pawns) for each team on the board. If there are nine prisoners on the white team, at least one of them has to be a Pawn. And, especially through Kotoko’s account of the first Trial, Haruka wasn’t doing a whole lot. He didn’t get voted guilty, so she didn’t attack him, and he didn’t try to save any of the attacked prisoners, either. All he really did was get a new fit and align himself with Mu, someone who barely avoided being voted guilty in the first place.

There is a debate about whether the pawns are the peasants who live outside of the castle walls or are the soldiers protecting the royal court behind them.

Specifically, though, I think that Haruka would be the pawn that stands in front of Mu. Depending on which piece Mu is, it doesn’t have to work like this, but if you say that Pawn Haruka’s placement is basically a “if you want to attack her, you’ll have to get through me first,” that’s quite reminiscent of the threat he presented in his second audio drama.

Haruka also makes sense as a Pawn because he has a lot of potential. For anyone who doesn’t know, in chess, if a Pawn manages to make it to the other side of the board, they can transform into any other piece. Haruka’s quiet demeanor might let him slip under the radar, but if Kotoko takes her eye off of him for too long, he could wind up becoming a threat to the King (Es).

Haruka (VD2): “If you don’t forgive Mu-san, I’m going to kill you.”

In the audio drama, Es counters this plan by pointing out that, as a prisoner, Haruka cannot attack them. However, the sentiment is still there. Even if a Pawn doesn’t really stand a chance of attacking the King when Queen Kotoko is on the loose, there’s always the possibility that he could get too close and throw a wrench into Kotoko’s plans.

Yuno Kashiki

As for Yuno… well, we all know that she’s a Queen in general, but in chess, I don’t think that argument really holds up. Yuno really just isn’t… relevant? enough? to the conflicts of the prison as a whole (at least where Kotoko is involved) to be represented by such an important piece. But, if Yuno isn’t the Queen, what would she be…?

Personally, I think she would be a Rook.

The rook is brute force. It is a disregard to beliefs.

Simply put, Yuno is a Rook because she’s a pretty straightforward person. That’s not to say that she doesn’t lie, of course– her whole t1 attitude seems to have been a bit of an act, and that one section in the middle of Tear Drop makes it pretty obvious that Yuno conceals her true feelings on order to better please her customers sometimes– but that, in the end, Yuno always does what she wants. If she wants to barge forward or cut across the entire board sideways, she’ll do it. She often keeps to herself, just like how enemy pieces wouldn’t want to get directly in front of the Rook for fear of being curb stomped.

Back to her t1 attitude, though…

The rook is the castle, the walls, the protectorate of the city, and in being so, is the only piece not representative of a living thing.

While most sources attribute the Rook’s walls to protecting the other important pieces, Yuno’s walls protect herself. Yuno’s Castle keeps her true self locked behind cold and stony walls, giving her freedom from making any attachments.

Futa Kajiyama

Futa is a Knight because… he’s, uh, literally a knight.

The knight pieces are the protective knights in the castle. The pieces are shaped like a horse because it is symbolic of what knights rode during battle.

It doesn’t always have to be that deep. (/j)

Actually, though, there are other reasons to call Futa the Knight– possibly some of the same reasons why the Milgram creative team decided to make one of his MVs themed after fantasy RPGs in the first place.

The knight represents the pure inner-warrior. If a knight starts out passive, it will always end up aggressive and vice versa. It can't move very far, but it never moves in a straight line, always preferring to be tactical and thoughtful.

Futa definitely seems to cycle between aggressive and passive. He passively lived his life as a regular guy until he unleashed his aggression and became a cyberbully. That aggression fueled him until he learned of his victim’s death, at which point he shut down and seemed to become more passive and introspective again. Arriving in Milgram triggered his aggressive tendencies, but getting voted guilty and losing an eye for it triggered his passive terror. At the time of his second audio drama, it seems like he’s returned to aggressively questioning Es again, and it remains to be seen whether he keeps that attitude into t3 or if something happens that once again makes him lose his footing (or die).

Mu Kusunoki

Much like Yuno, Mu also has an argument for being called the Queen– more so than Yuno, considering her strong Queen Bee coding in It’s Not My Fault and the titles of both of her audio dramas– but also falls short in the “being opposed to Kotoko” department. Although Haruka certainly looks to her for leadership, I can’t imagine Kotoko actually considering Mu a serious enough threat to put Mu on the same level as herself.

So again, like Yuno, I think Mu might be the other Rook. Mu also displayed a very “whatever I say goes” attitude in INMF, so she can share the same rhetoric behind Yuno being represented by that piece. The logic behind the castle aspect is slightly different, though.

Every country or medieval estate would have its royalty who were protected within the walled city or castle.

Mu is a rich, half-European girl whose dad sells real estate. Of course she would be represented by the Castle! Mu’s tactics involve consolidating her power in order to lead from a place above it all, exactly like how a castle looks over the rest of the village. Additionally, I can’t find the source of whoever pointed it out first, but I’ve seen it mentioned that the dress Mu wears in her birthday art is a reference to the one that Belle wears in Disney’s interpretation of Beauty and the Beast. It’s a fairytale with a princess (and perhaps someday, a queen), yes, but it’s specifically one where the heroine is trapped within a castle. Making Mu into a Rook would be a great way to keep up her royal theming, while leaving the Queen for a character a bit more powerful and relevant to Kotoko.

(Going back to Haruka for a moment, this would make him specifically the A or H pawn.)

Shidou Kirisaki

I really thought that Shidou might have more competition for the role of King, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that nobody fit the role quite as well as he did.

Shidou is the perfect balance of a piece who’s very problematic for Kotoko’s win condition, while also not being much of an active threat himself. There are very low odds that Shidou would ever actually try to harm Kotoko directly or get in her way to divert an attack. However, as long as he’s alive, Kotoko can’t win, because Shidou can keep attempting to heal all of the pieces Kotoko tries to eliminate. That’s not something that the King piece can actually do in a chess game, but hopefully you get my point.

Additionally, Triage let us know that Shidou is a family man. While the white Queen will obviously not be representative of Shidou’s deceased wife, and not every other prisoner would enjoy living under his reign (cough cough Amane), the optics of him being the “head of the family” are obviously there. It’s a pretty bad look if the white King starts the game by pleading with the black King to give him the death penalty, but… Well, at least Shidou changed his mind.

Mahiru Shiina

Not to answer the theory’s main question so early into the post, but… I think Mahiru is a white Bishop. Specifically, the one that Kotoko could be snapping in half in the thumbnail.

As far as I can remember, barring Undercover, Milgram’s MVs have only shown us things that have happened in the past. There are some things that could kind of hint at the future (like Shidou’s “So hey, prolong my life / I’m indispensable” in Triage) or depict prisoner’s fears of the future (like Futa potentially being afraid that Es could declare him guilty again at the end of Backdraft). But, I think that every instance of something like that happening could be explained as something that the character did or thought about in the past as well. That might be wrong, as I don’t want to take the time to write out how everything that appears like it could be in the future is actually in the past, but it sounds right to my memory.

My point being, while the snapped bishop could be indicative of Kotoko’s plans to crush someone in the future, if the chess pieces do represent characters, it makes far more sense if her smashing the white bishop is something that already happened in the past. Thus, it would probably be one of the three characters that Kotoko attacked in the past: Futa, Mahiru, or Mikoto.

Of the three options, I think Mahiru fits the role of bishop best.

The bishop is your belief structure. This is why a bishop that starts on white, will always be on white and vice versa for the black bishop.

While not a particularly religious person, Mahiru is someone who lives and dies based on her beliefs about the value of love. No matter what happens to her, she always keeps her same perspective, believing that love is the entirety of who she is and the only thing that’s worth living for. It’s how firmly she clung to those beliefs that sent her to Milgram, and her lack of awareness regarding her actions that got her voted guilty. AKA, Mahiru’s Bishop-like beliefs are exactly what sent her to be crushed in Kotoko’s palm.

To the extent that the blood in the thumbnail is the Bishop’s and not Kotoko’s, Mahiru was also the most grievously injured of the prisoners in between trials. I saw people joking that the thing Kotoko was crushing was “Mahiru’s bones,” and, like… maybe you’re not entirely wrong? 

I hope that you continue reading the post to hear my thoughts on the last three prisoners. But, if you are tapping out here… uhhhh, 0610 enjoyers, go crazy with this one.

Kazui Mukuhara

When I started theorizing for this post, I really thought that I was going to make Kazui the Queen to Shidou’s King. The two of them are pretty close, so the idea of Kazui being Shidou’s guardian makes total sense. And, most importantly, Kazui was the one to actually intercept and divert Kotoko’s attack on Futa. He’s been established as the most muscular prisoner in Milgram, on par with someone like Kotoko, which is perfect for him being the Queen!

Wellllll… I changed my mind and decided to make Kazui a Knight anyway.

There are a lot of good arguments for Kazui being a knight too, okay? After Cat, it’s pretty clear that Kazui was once a police officer. Thus, being a member of the castle guard would be a good match for his choice of career. They’re also probably the most traditionally “manly” piece, representative of an armed man on a horse, and Kazui tries very hard to be manly.

Knights can also hop over other pieces, much like how Kazui jumped into the fight between Kotoko and Futa. In fact…

Never underestimate [the Knight] for its limited range. It’s known as the "Queen Killer" for a reason!

Knights are often a good piece to use to attack Queens because of their unique L-shaped movement pattern. Unlike every other piece, they can attack the Queen from a position that can’t be immediately reversed upon them. Thus, Kazui’s ability to beat Kotoko could be an indicator of this “Queen Killer” quality, instead of the innate power of being a Queen himself. (This logic applies to Futa as well: he can attack Kotoko from the unique angle of appealing to Es’ morals and own sense of justice. Kotoko can’t do the same because, unlike Futa, she has yet to outwardly acknowledge that her murder could have been anything less than righteous.)

Also… the Knight is the only piece that doesn’t move in a straight line. Get it? The Knight doesn’t move straight? And that represents Kazui? Because Kazui is–

Amane Momose

Amane is the other Bishop because… religion.

The bishop stands close to the king and queen because it represents the church which many royal courts held near and dear to their hearts.

The Bishop represents the church, an important and very powerful entity throughout history and even today if you think about it.

Again, not everything has to be a reach. (/j)

So… yeah, Amane’s beliefs– specifically religious beliefs, this time– are also a huge part of her life. Even if she’s changed what the cult’s doctrine means to her, she still confesses that she carried out her murders for the sake of what her religion considers right and wrong.

This is also considered the third most powerful piece on the chessboard because back in the day religion could influence many people, even without the help of the royal family.

Not so much for Mahiru, but this sentiment also fits Amane pretty well! Between the threats of potential conversions and potential assassinations, Amane was definitely one of the prisoners to watch heading into t2. From what I’ve heard, the main reason why her vote was so down to the wire was mostly because people were afraid of the power that Amane held.

Interestingly, this would put another prisoner who was voted guilty in contention for the piece that Kotoko is crushing. However, I still think it’s more likely that that piece would be Mahiru, because Kotoko didn’t physically attack Amane. If it were Amane, it would more likely be that her beliefs were crushed as opposed to her bones, but… I don’t really think that really happened, either. Amane would almost certainly be a bishop, though, so there’s certainly a possibility that that broken piece could be her.

Mikoto/John Kayano

With only one prisoner left to go, you may have already come to the conclusion that Mikoto is the white Queen. And… yeah, I can’t really deny that at this point. Like I said, I wanted to make Kazui the Queen, but I couldn’t otherwise figure out what Mikoto would be.

Because, there’s one main thing that makes me think that Mikoto has to be the Queen… John’s lack of restraints.

She is allowed to move in any direction and in as many squares as she wants.

Due to the whole situation with John not technically being a prisoner, when John is the alter in charge, John cannot be restrained, even when voted guilty. That makes him very powerful; no matter what he does, we can’t use a guilty vote to try to stop him, much like many people hoped to do with Haruka when voting him guilty in t2. The Queen can visit any square, no matter whether it’s black or white, upright or reversed, Mikoto or John. Choosing any other piece that was constrained to a much more limited set of movement rules just felt off for him.

Next, while Kazui was able to defeat Kotoko and save Futa, the fight between John and Kotoko was a draw. That means that they are also evenly matched– perfect for both being the same kind of piece. Mikoto isn’t as close to Shidou as Kazui is (anymore, I think?), but they were at least smoking club buddies, so calling Mikoto the Queen to Shidou’s King isn’t the most ridiculous proposition.

Finally, making Mikoto the Queen, a very feminine piece, is super interesting in the context of people discussing how Mikoto is often associated with stereotypically feminine roles and the girl prisoners (oboetemasuka | candckirby | purgemarchlockdown). I don’t have a whole lot else to say on this matter considering these weren’t points of Mikoto’s characterization I originally noticed myself, but I encourage you to read these posts to get a taste of what I’m talking about. I’m sure there were other posts discussing it too, but… it’s so hard to find things on Tumblr ;-;

Conclusion

Finally, we’ve been through every prisoner! Here’s a summary of what I decided on (left or right side doesn’t matter):

The funny thing about this theory is that it could be fully disproven wrong in, like, a week, if either 1) that wasn’t a chess piece at all, or 2) the chess pieces obviously represent something else. For instance, the chess board could fully relate to, you know, Kotoko’s actual murder and not what she got up to in between trials. We are supposed to get more actual evidence regarding that too, aren’t we…?

Still, if it turns out that the chess board does represent Milgram, I will get the full satisfaction of having called it ahead of time, even if my assignments aren’t 100% correct. No matter what, I had fun thinking about it, which is (in my opinion) the highlight of theorizing! If you have anything else to add, I encourage you to communicate your thoughts in comments, tags, or reblogs. If you don’t, then I simply thank you for reading this far!

Deep Cover… soon.

[purgemarchlockdown]

Thoughts about Amane's T2 VD, Pain and Milgram as a Whole.

CW: Child Abuse, Cults.

(This post accidentally became a sort of sequel to this, not necessary to read before this but would highlight some things I thought and still do think before Purge March came out)

I've been reading Onigiriico translation T2 Voice drama and there's been a recurring sentiment in Amane's dialogue that I've been thinking about for a bit.

That being the idea of Milgram as the ideal society.

Amane: It’s only natural that we, who weren’t acknowledged as a society just because we’re fewer in numbers, would view the possibility of a new world through Milgram as a dream.

It's something that Amane has said before way back in the T1 Voice drama

Amane: Ah, I am looking forward to it! Seeing whether your judgement will align with that of these higher standards! If that is the case, maybe Milgram would be the right world for us to live in, rather than the outside world! Milgram relies on your judgement, isn’t that right? In that case, you could become the mediator for a far more righteous world!!

Now as we know, Milgram as a system, is flawed. Es is allowed to beat prisoners up but prisoners aren't allowed to fight back. Prisoners who are voted guilty get less rights than innocent prisoners and also get inflicted with The Horrors that is the public opinion voices. A good portion of the chaos in voting is the audience (us) trying to figure out what would cause the Least harm with limited information.

This system Hurts People. It's designed to Hurt People, the basic idea is that the audience gets to decided, using any metric, if a person deserves to be punished, or not.

This isn't a belief that is unique to Amane though, as Shidou in his first voice drama also thinks this, at least when it comes to him specifically.

Shidou: That’s just my personality. I just simply don’t think bad of it—this place, I mean.  Es: You mean, Milgram? Shidou: Yeah, this place will put me to death. 

Shidou is glad that this place exists outside of the law, as it means he is given the opportunity to die for his "sins" whatever those are. He's glad that the law isn't important here, that punishment can come for any sort of reason.

This changes during Trial 2 though, as after Kotoko beats up the guilty prisoners Shidou changes his mind.

Shidou: That’s not what I mean! I think we should put an end to Milgram as a whole. Both for our sake and for yours. ----------------- Shidou: I… “I don’t want to be forgiven”. That feeling of mine remains the same. I need to be punished. I need to atone for my sins. I don’t think Milgram is in the right, but…! There is no better place than this to atone for my crimes. But… as long as Milgram continues like this… we won’t be able to save those who get injured if I don’t get forgiven!

Shidou has seen the consequences first-hand how the voting in Milgram works and the way it affects the people in it and thinks it's horrible...because they are!

Amane however, even after being voted guilty, is steadfast in her belief that Milgram could be the Ideal World. Really the thing that's changed is that Es has disappointed her, that the prison does not align with the "higher standards" she's expected it to.

Es: Both religion and faith are free. However, a doctrine can’t become a universal standard of judgment. Amane: You fool. Isn’t Milgram trying to enforce a new standard of judgment precisely because laws cannot guide this world onto the right path? Are you still being weighed down by the law?

Now, as we know, Amane has a lot of complicated feelings around pain. Amane of course is a person who Does Not want to be hurt, most people are like that!

However she has internalized the abuse inflicted onto her in multiple ways and has repeatedly downplayed the actual harm it causes her.

Magic is full of this, see this verse for example:

But it’s not scary at all, because it’s love I can really think it’s great. See isn’t it a great thing?

But it is also present in Purge March to some extent:

Sorry for my bad handwriting but my point is that even now, in her mind, Amane is downplaying how badly hurt she is. Also very quickly on the bruise: I checked, even in scenes where you Should be able to see the bruise, you can't, it's just not there. Amane has completely erased it from the mental version of herself. I admittedly wouldn't have mentioned it if the eyebags weren't still present. The scene both acknowledges the harm and yet downplays the actual severity of it, I really like it.

But Amane is of course a bit bitter and spiteful, she's been abused for her entire life. Of course she'd be bitter about it!

However it seems like her cult believes that pain and illness is the way to purity and god.

Amane: Both pain and illness are trials. According to our teachings, those who run from them are the worst evil there is. That’s one of the four great principles. No matter who you are, that cannot be forgiven.

Running from pain, from illness, from abuse, is wrong in the eyes of her cult. Trying to avoid it is considered evil. Amane hates Shidou because in her eyes Shidou is pulling them away from purity and righteousness.

Amane, however. isn't someone who can "stand firmly in the face of pain."

Dear wise one, Is this ok? Is it ok to be weak sometimes? I promise! A good girl that keeps a promise is like, mwah!

I doubt anyone can truly be like that forever.

Amane helps the cat because she doesn't want to see the cat in pain.

Amane tries her best to avoid upsetting the people in her cult so that she can minimize the risk of being hurt.

Not meaning to brag but I’m pretty happy I’ve made up my mind so they don’t make that face at me again

Amane wants a righteous excuse to Get Out of a harmful situation, because if she has no "righteous excuse" she'd be someone who is running from pain and, thus, by the rules of her cult, one of the worst evils there is.

The cat was both something incredibly painful and emotionally distressing, And a good excuse for her to escape her abuser. As most likely she broke one of the cult's rules. That being the one about destiny.

I don’t need it any more, if you’re going to break your vow Here and now, it’s my turn to tear you apart So there is no second time, I’ll give back the judgment that you gave to me

It's this that makes Milgram appealing to her. The concepts of righteous punishments and trials of pain that CAN be escaped without it directly violating her cult's doctrines. There's an ending, there's safety you can get if you were "good enough," these are things Not Present in her situation. There was No End to Amane's abuse until her mother killed the cat because Amane was Never ever going to be a good enough girl for her.

At least in here, there is an end.

(Anyway vote Amane Innocent!)

[alfiely-art]

Okay so I think this is how my voting is going to go next Trial? Unless huge stuff is revealed/happens

Haruka - Innocent

Haruka's expressed that he regrets what he did and feels horrible about it- he knows what he did was bad, and he wants to be better. He just needs the proper environment to heal.

Yuno - Innocent

She did nothing wrong. Like unless they suddenly decide she did infanticide instead of abortion, there's absolutely no question about it that she doesn't deserve to be in Milgram?? Sorry Yuno I don't see you as a innocent girl who can't do anything wrong, you just. Did not do anything wrong here.

Fuuta - Innocent

Now that he's realized that, yeah, doxxing people and witch hunting them is wrong and hurts people, I don't think he'd do it again. I mean, in trial 1 I think he was already sorta horrified by what happened, but trying not to claim responsibility- because that's a horrid thing to think about. "My actions killed someone." That's scary. But he's accepted it, and I think he's going to work on himself and be better.

Muu - Innocent

I know she was an asshole and bullied others. However, I'm a firm believer that NOBODY deserves to be bullied. I think everybody in the situation just majory sucked ass. And she's clearly horrified by what she did, she's just putting on different personas to cope with it. Get this girl some therapy.

Shido - Guilty

So, from my understanding, Shido convinced families that their loved ones were beyond saving, and then he killed them and harvested their organs? Very shitty to me. Once the trials are over I really don't think this guy will remain innocent. I know he was very suicidal in the beginning, but it read more to me that he was upset what he was doing didn't work out- that his wife is dead anyways. Idk.

Mahiru - Guilty

100% Guilty. I really can't understand Mahiru Inno Voters- Mahiru is an incredibly selfish and self-centered person, and it killed her lover. In trial 1 she's just singing about her needs in a relationship, about how she knows how to love better than her partner did. In trial 2 there is quite literally a line that goes "my emotions are out of control? I don't care!" Mahiru WILL hurt others and refuse to change herself over and over again. She doesn't even seem remorseful about her dead boyfriend. Like. She lowkey flirts with Es upon meeting them. Mahiru is just looking for someone else to hurt. She doesn't seem to understand that it isn't wrong to want to love and to be loved, but what's wrong is ignoring your partners needs for your own and making every part of the relationship about you. Also, I think she may have forced herself on him based on that scene where she does grabby hands and pounces, making the feathers scatter everywhere (like its what broke her boyfriend).

Kazui - Innocent

Kazui tried, he tried so hard to love his wife the "correct" way. Whether he's gay or alloaro, Kazui DID care about his wife and didn't want to hurt her. He couldn't keep lying to her and himself anymore. But the truth killed her, and Kazui feels so fricken?? Awful over it??? They were work friends before they got together, he clearly liked her. Just not romantically. He's struggling between whether lying eternally is the better choice, or if being truthful to himself and everyone else is the better choice. The truth killed his wife, but the lies were slowly killing him. Idk man, I've been in the same situation (nobody died though) and it's so hard to tell the truth about your identity.

Amane - Guilty(?)

Purge March is gonna help me decide, I think. I don't think Amane should've been voted guilty last trial- it, uh, clearly didn't have the affect we wanted it to have. But also, she's so far gone in her cult's beliefs that... I don't think either vote will shake that. I love Amane, she's a wonderful character, but Milgram won't help her. She would need YEARS of therapy and a safe, stable environment, and patient people, to help her heal. A Guilty vote won't help her. An Innocent vote won't help her. So Purge March is just gonna help me decide what to vote- because I highly doubt we can get EVERYONE in the community to refrain from voting. I'm leaning towards Guilty, though.

Mikoto - Guilty(?)

Okay this depends on who actually committed the crime. I believe that Mikoto himself did it, and his alters are trying to protect him and take the blame for the crime. In that case, my boy is guilty (sorry Mikoto). But if Milgram goes the "killer alter" route, then he's innocent. You can't really control what your alters do, yk? I might vote him innocent depending on the circumstances of his crime, too- it all depends. I'm hoping Double sheds more light on what's going on with my guy. (Btw he's my favorite character I'm so pumped to see what happens)

Kotoko - Guilty

I'm gonna be transparent here, i dont know Kotoko's character very well. So keep that in mind. Anyways. Her first trial song was very cool and its great she stopped a predator. I am not disagreeing with that. I do recognize that she probably felt forced to take on this vigilante role- that the law failed her and many others. However... we don't know who exactly she sees as "guilty". Obviously, she sees the prisoners voted "guilty" as guilty, but what about outside of Milgram? Does she just punish those breaking the law? Those she personally disagrees with? I think it's dangerous for her to do that. I think she's Guilty currently, but I'll have to see how her song goes- it may give me more insight on her thoughts and ideals.

[archivalofsins]

Weird question, but what do you think would of happened if Kotoko was voted guilty in T1?

Not a weird question at all. I've thought about it a lot and I believe if Kotoko was guilty with the other prisoners from trial one than Mahiru would have ended up supporting her in the same way that Amane did Futa. I think Mahiru stating that she doesn't hold any animosity towards Kotoko is meant to subtly highlight that.

She even goes as far as to say that Kotoko has something that she can't let go of just like she can't. A value or an ideal. So, if Kotoko were guilty she probably would have ended up having a better relationship with Mahiru.

Because Mahiru seeks out Kazui to confide in very similarly to how Mikoto confides in Futa on his birthday-

21/10/06 (Mikoto’s Birthday)

Mikoto: ……ah, Futa? What’s up? Did you come to celebrate my birthday? Futa: Hah!? Like I care about your birthday. ……what’s up with you, though, you’re usually a lot more excited. I thought you were the sort of idiot who’d make a big deal over your birthday. Mikoto: Yeah, usually that’d be the case. ……I think I must be getting tired. It’s like I’m anxious over something but I can’t really explain what it is…… Like, the feeling that I’ve been totally wrong about something. Haha, but it’s not like talking to you about it is gonna do anything. Futa: Yeah, yeah, just like you say. Talking to me about it isn’t gonna help. ……but, it’s not like I don’t get what you’re saying. Or rather, I understand exactly what you mean. And if it’s the same thing as I’ve been feeling, then it will just get stronger as time goes on…… probably. But anyway, rather than talking to someone like me you should go and bother the others. Go and get showered with their stupid birthday wishes.

21/08/05 (Kazui’s Birthday)

Kazui: Oh, Shina-chan? How scandalous, coming to a man’s room in the middle of the night like this. Well, not that it’s really a room, just a cell. ……just kidding, since you brought some drinks with you, I’m assuming you’ve come to wish me a happy birthday, right? Thank you. Mahiru: Yep! Happy birthday Kazui-san~ Clap clap clap! But as well as that~ ……I also just maybe wanted to use it as an excuse so I could ask you for some advice over drinks, I suppose? Kazui: Advice, huh. Well, you’re more than welcome, but I don’t really know what advice an old man like me could give you. I haven’t got the first clue about what love is like for a young girl nowadays. Mahiru: Ahaha…… Don’t worry, much as I’d love to talk about that too, um…… er, Kazui-san. You know, recently I’ve been having the same dream every day. Lots of people were denying my actions...... Denying my thoughts…… that sort of dream.

So, Mahiru was looking for someone to rely and confide in during the intermission. Kotoko states that she wants others to rely on her and has no issue admitting her similarities with Futa-

Q.09 Which of the other prisoners do you think resembles you the most?

Kotoko: That’s a hard one. I’m only able to answer based on my guess on what they did. But I think the one that probably resembles me the most is Futa? Though he’s also the person who resembles me the least.

Mahiru would fit her definition of a weakling. Plus since she said from the beginning that she believed what she did was right-

Q.03 Do you think any other prisoners who committed the same sin as you deserve to be forgiven?

Kotoko: Of course. Haven’t I already said that I believe my actions have been correct?

If she was found Guilty she would more than likely think that Es' judgment was wrong not Milgram. This could either lead to her alligning herself with the other guilty prisoners or going completely rogue. Though Es would no longer be filling the role of the weakling she swore to protect but a villain someone who persecutes the weak and innocent.

Kotoko states that she's low on the heiarchy within Milgram,

"Sigh... "A murderer". Is that so? Trying to remind me of my low position in the hierarchy of this place? Don't disappoint me. Well, maybe it doesn't matter."

Along with the fact that that she views herself as innocent and in the right. So I don't believe it's a stretch to think that if Es were to find her guilty off the bat i that would make them the evil one in her eyes. Just like how Haruka easily said that Es wasn't his mom when and went to Mu. Kotoko would probably due the same thing with Es saying they weren't the weakling she thought they were and finding someone else.

She hates Mikoto but Mahiru is weak and helpless she almost died because of being jumped and the guilty verdict hit her hard emotionally. Kotoko even recognizes that from her innocent position and weeaponizes that against Es.

So I think given all that she'd end up latching to Mahiru to get the vindication she needs. This might ultimately begrudgingly lead to her working alongside Mikoto in some way and probably not being as blatant with her actions. Since the only reason she was probably so out in the open with her behavior was due to being found innocent. Considering she very actively disguised herself and snuck around before being brought into Milgram.

So that's what I think Kotoko would have been like if she was innocent and why.

[lara-prisma-avm-ask-blog]

Stickronpa Chapter 2 Post Circular Trial

-We all stared at the monitor in front of us, seeing the bright colors celebrating our correct choice.-

Monostick:"Congratulations!! You voted correctly!! The culprit was Night! The Ultimate Spy, or rather... The Ultimate Dragon Guardian!!"

-I looked at Night who was covering her mouth, laying her forehead on the monitor with her hands around her head.-

-I felt so bad and uncomfortable, as if I had condemned an innocent person...-

???:"GAAAAARRRH!!!!"

I heard a scream and turned towards it.-

Red:"NO!!!! NO NO NO!!! IS NOT TRUE!!! YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG, I DID!!! IS MY FAULT!!!"

Yellow:"R-Red!?"

Red:"NIGHT, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!!! THERE MUST BE A WAY FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR BROTHER AGAIN!!! YOU HAVE TO SEE HIM!!!"

Night:"Red... Darling, there's no way to save me... I killed... I put you in danger... I didn't... I just didn't want you to be in my place..."

Blue:"Ultimate Guardian Dragon...?"

Dusk:"Guardian...hun?"

Yellow:"Red..."

Night:"I'm sorry.... To all of you...."

Red:"....."

Indigo:"And then? You will be executed. How do you feel?"

Orange:"seriously? How can you be so heartless??"

Indigo:"I'm thinking about my child, I don't want a... Whatever she is, around Purple!"

Orange:"Hump, like you care about them now!"

Indigo:"And what do you know about taking care of a child??"

Orange:"MUCH MORE THAN YOU!!!"

-Orange si move away from indigo.-

Purple:"....."

Blue:"Red... Are you okay...?"

Monostick:"nope! He's not!"

Yellow:"And how do you know?"

Monostick:"Simple! He voted for himself!"

-We all went into shock and stared at Red who was staring at the floor.... Red... why...?-

Red:"It's not fair... She deserves so much more!! She has to go back to her brother!!"

-He wouldn't stop crying.-

Night:"Red...."

Night:"You are very kind.... Your friends have already lost someone, I would never forgive myself if they lost one more of them... they love you so much..."

Red:"N-Night...."

Night:"You remind me so much of my little brother..."

-Red wraps his arms around her.-

Monostick:"Woooon, how cute... But, you guys are going to have some extra time together!"

Red:"S-seriously!?"

Monostick:"Yup! In the end...."

-They opened a huge smile...-

Monostick:"You voted incorrectly.... So you need to be punished...."

-Red's eyes widen in seconds as he walks away.-

Blue:"WHAT!?! NO FUCKING!!! DON'T GO NEAR HIM YOU BRAT!!!"

-Blue tried to walk but it looks like his paralysis has kicked in again. He almost fell to the ground but is held by Yellow.-

Monostick:"Don't worry, if everything goes well... Only one of them will come out unscathed..."

Blue:"y-you..."

Monostick:"Now..."

-They snap their fingers and in seconds several copies of him appear and grab Red by the arms and take him away from Night.-

Second:"Red!! RED!!!"

-I ran towards him but the copies pushed me away from him knocking me against my podium and leaving me with a pain in my chest.-

Night:"SEC!! RED!! GAAAARR!!!!"

-In seconds, Night started to roar, scales grew from her neck to her face, from her back wings started to appear, tearing her coat from which she took it, and her hands became claws.-

Night:"LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!"

Monostick:"I have prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Night Dragon Guardian!"

Second:"R-Red....."

Monostick:"Let's give everything we have!"

Second:"P-please..."

Monostick:"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!!!"

Second:"SAVE HIM!!!!"

[TW: Blood, Impalement, Death]

-......-

-no...... No no no NO!!!-

-monostick untied Red and brought him back here... he was surrounded by blood and was paralyzed in shock.-

Monostick:"HAHAHAHAHA!!! Is this not exciting??? The feeling of despair is so much that I'm going crazy!!!"

Second:"RED!!!"

-We all ran to Red who didn't answer, just stared at the ground with an empty look full of tears.-

Blue:"Red! Are you listening to us?? Are you ok???"

-Purple took a look at Red and saw that he had scratches and marks from the strings, but other than that he was fine...-

Orange:"You are insane!!"

Monostick:"Well, you guys are overreacting! He'll be fine! It's not my dear fault and he chose to kill someone, it went wrong and someone else had to finish the job!"

Dark:"And I thought I was a psychopath...."

Indigo:"Enough, now let's get down to what's really important.... Who is the traitor??"

Blue:"Traitor? Who cares...? I DON'T CARE!!! I JUST WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS HELL!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE MY FRIENDS SUFFERING!!! AND YOU JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO WORKS FOR MONOSTICK???"

Freedom:"Whoever the traitor is, they must know who the mastermind is."

Dusk:"Exactly, but I don't think Monostick is going to tell us who's responsible for them, is that right?"

Monostick:"Puhuhuhu... Correct little friend! You are so smart and special! I won't tell unless my creator wants me to! But anyway, it's getting dark, the run is over, I have to clean up All before tomorrow! Then they are free to go!"

-And so they dismiss us by sending us to the elevator. Orange had to carry Red and Blue had help from Yellow.-

Second:"Ahrg..."

Yellow:"Sec..?"

Second:"I-I'm coming Yell, you can go ahead..."

-They go to the elevator and go up first while I stay behind staring at the floor...-

-...Night.....-

-She was like a sister to all of us... Especially to Red...-

-Arg... And why do I feel this pain in my chest...?-

Chosen:"Second, can I talk to you?"

Second:"A-ah! C-chosen? yes, o-of course!"

-He helped me keep my posture.-

Chosen:"Second... do you remember the day we met...?"

Second:"Oh..."

-We met in a day when I Dark was still evil.-

-He sent a virus to Alan's PC that almost destroyed the computer and my friends...-

-Chosen then appeared and destroyed the virus, but had to go back to face the Dark Lord.-

-I.... I can't forget that day....-

-I almost... I almost lost my friends..-

-but.... I don't remember the rest... or... at least I don't want to remember.....-

Second:"....y-yes....."

Chosen:"So you remember defeating the Dark... do you?"

Second:"........"

Chosen:"Sec, I saw how strong you are... And I have to confess this but... Since I woke up in this place, my powers don't work. I don't know why, but Dark also suffered the same, he can't use his powers."

Second:"Why are you talking to me about this...?"

Chosen:"Sec... Not three were made by the same creator. It means that our powers are equally strong, but you clearly don't use them... That was your first time, wasn't it...?"

Second:"......"

Chosen:"Ok.... When we get out of here, I'll help you use your powers..."

Second:"Han!?"

Chosen:"Let's promise this, let's take care of each other while we're here, okay?"

Second:"....... Ok....."

-He smiled at me and placed his hand on my shoulder. He went with me to the elevator, Dark was there waiting for us.-

Dark:"...."

Second:"......."

Dark:"..... I'm Sorry......"

Second:"Han..?"

-Dark entered the elevator without saying anything else and without even looking at me.-

-As the elevator closed I just stared at my chest. I could still feel that pain....-

—

???:"......."

???:"You..... You told them!! And our agreement???"

???:"What about it?"

???:"What!? You promised me, that if I followed your orders, you would give me what I want!!"

???:"yes, but at the same time I have the right to do whatever I want in MY game."

???:"......."

???:"What is it now?"

???:"You said I would see the result of your new world.... But so far you haven't shown me anything!!"

???:"Why would I do that..?"

???:"!?"

???:"I'll tell you something.... The world is imperfect, so imperfect that only the chosen ones can survive in it. And you're just a pawn to MY perfect world."

???:"......."

???:"Now... I'm having second thoughts about your position... Your "shadow" seems much more interested in helping me than you are.... Am I right Monostick?"

Monostick:"Yes Master!!"

???:"Our goal is to find the most perfect sitickfigures among all those present in my game... Among them... I want ONE..."

???:"......"

Monostick:"They are great on trial!! They sorted it out! But master, I feel very bored!! Can we do something more exciting for the next case??"

???:"Yes, my dear creation... Are you having fun..?"

Monostick:"Yes! I'm just a little bored, I want more fun! More blood! More despair..."

???:"Take it easy... You'll have your fun soon..."

???:"......"

???:"What are you still doing here? Go! Before I take you out myself!"

*SNAP*

???:"Y-yes mastermind!!"

Monostick:"Bye bye... Freedom Guy...."

???:"........"

Freedom:"...... That will not remain like this....."

???:"......"

Monostick:"hehehe...."

—

[End of Chapter 2]

[As I mentioned before, this chapter was really bad. I might be going to fix the problems with it, but right now I just want to take a break. Chapter 3 will start soon, but right now I need a break, besides the fact that I don't have much idea what to do with the next chapter or intermission. Any form of help will be appreciated. Thanks for continuing to read this project, honestly I didn't expect a lot of people to like this, but thanks for the support!Until the next chapter then.^-^]