#junpei. we are NOT having gay sex

[queen-ofsunflowers]

Five bucks says that junpei will mention the Kyoto incident while drunk one time. Wonder what the investigation team and Phantom thieves will react to that?

Actually, I think the closest that the Phantom Thieves come to learning about what happened in the hot springs in Kyoto was in the original draft for Strikers when I have Minato and Ryoji tagging along.

I'm not exactly sure how to put what happened, but I do have the scene saved still from when I wrote it down, that’s gonna be under the cut. All you need to know is that it leads to some Zenkichi bullying.

Anyway, I’m not sure at this point if the Phantom Thieves will learn about what nearly happened in Kyoto for S.E.E.S. But if the latter learns about what happened to the former, Minato’s going to fall out of his seat laughing about it.

(Note: this is shortly after the Sapporo Jail, as everyone’s driving to Kyoto so Zenkichi can meet with Akane.)

Minato: We and Kyoto have a... history. Let's leave it at that.

Ann: ...you guys are banned from entering Kyoto, are you?

Ryoji/Minato: No.

Ryoji: Just... memories, that's all. We went there for our class trip in high school.

Minato: Yeah. You wanna explain or should I?

Ryoji: It was a few weeks after Minato and I got together. All we wanted was to spend some time with each other because we were always around the others -- the people we live in the dorms with -- didn't exactly know yet. However, circumstances led us to sneaking around even more up until the point where we got caught in the hot springs--

Minato: They do NOT need to know that part!

Ryoji: It's important to the context of the story!

Goro: I'd rather not hear about your high school sex stories.

Minato: It is NOT like that! That's not what happened! We got caught--!

Zenkichi: ...Wait. Wait, wait. Wait! Arisato, Mochizuki, you two are--?! (A beat, some of the Thieves start chuckling.)

Minato: Yes, Inukichi. The gays do exist. Just like your so-called monsters and magic.

Ryoji: Ignore his sarcasm. But yes, we are dating. Have been for seven years now. Why? What did you think we were?

Zenkichi: Amamiya called you his COUSINS.

Ren: Biologically speaking, the only one I'm related to is Minato. He and Ryoji have been dating for so long, that my family has just sorta adopted him into ours. I've been calling him my cousin too since I think... sixth grade?

Ryoji: Just about.

Zenkichi: You introduced Arisato as your PARTNER.

Ryoji: Yes. That's usually what you would call your significant other. At least in our case.

Zenkichi: No, when you said he was your partner, I just-- ...*sigh* You know what? Nevermind, I'm just digging myself into a deeper hole!

Futaba: If it makes you feel any better, Zenkichi, no one here is straight so you missed the mark on all of that!

Zenkichi: It does not!

[layercake]

Why Naoto is Heavily Trans Coded, and How The Discussion Surrounding Him Needs to Change

Hello, I’ve never written or posted anything like this before LOL so this is a bit daunting. But this subject is something that’s been bothering me for a long time, and I wanted to get it out somewhere. So let’s talk about how Naoto Shirogane is heavily trans coded, and how the fandom has a problematic culture surrounding the issue that really needs to change.

Tw // discussion of misogyny , transphobia , and mentions of harassment

Initial Shadow Confrontation 

Since the discussion is most often about what’s “canon” and what’s not, let’s first take a look at what the game actually does give us about Naoto’s character. During the confrontation with Naoto’s shadow, we learn that Naoto idolized detectives as a kid, and wanted to be one himself when he was older.

However, this posed a problem for him in multiple ways. One, he was (is) still a child, and the people in his field don’t take him seriously because of it. He tries desperately to escape this fact, to try and act as mature as possible, but ultimately he can’t change how others will perceive him at his age.

This is what the shadow confrontation focuses on most heavily. But then it switches to discussing the other part of the issue-- the fact that Naoto’s ideal image of a detective is a man, and he “isn’t.” 

At the end, Yukiko says “You must know already that what you yearn for isn’t to become an adult or to become a boy,” and Naoto accepts it. This is what most people point to when saying that Naoto can’t be trans, because he agrees that it wasn’t what he wished for. So, easy, right? If you take this as him telling the truth, then it looks like an open and shut case-- he isn’t trans. But Naoto’s actions don’t really fit what he says here. 

The issue starts with these next lines (below) in particular. To me, Naoto’s tone in the first line is regretful, and doesn’t strike me as a sentiment someone who is cisgender would necessarily hold. Why would he want to “change into a man?” To fit his ideal image of a detective? As he says here, yes.

(Real quick before I continue, it’s not clear in the dialogue screenshot but it’s important to note that Naoto does say “yes” to Yukiko’s question about him not liking being a girl. He nods his head)

The narrative that the game tries to go with after this is that the “ideal image” Naoto wanted to live up to, including the male aspect of it, was unattainable and formed primarily because he felt that was the only way he could be a detective. 

But, is this really that much of a problem? We all look up to certain types of people, people that we want to be like-- and for many, this can factor into gender identity as well. If Naoto really just wanted to be a cool, male detective, that doesn’t at all negate that being trans would be a part of that for him. 

Naoto’s other words and actions, as well as the framing of this scene as a whole, make the scenario feel a lot less believable to me for multiple reasons. Naoto never initiates the conversation that him wanting to be a boy is incorrect-- Yukiko does. Naoto isn’t even the one to trigger his shadow-- Kanji does that. Naoto had a lot less agency in a lot of these decisions than the other characters did with their shadows. 

Naoto’s Continued Actions

The fragility of the narrative Atlus put together for Naoto continues to grow throughout the rest of the game, due to the way he behaves after the initial shadow confrontation.

For starters, it’s implied that Naoto is not his birth name, something that i think a lot of people either miss or forget about-- and yet he continues to go by it throughout the course of the game. We never find out his deadname and he never expresses a desire to share it with anybody.

The day after the “reveal,” Naoto doesn’t change anything about his appearance, mannerisms, or how he presents himself. He honestly seems uncomfortable with the fact that everyone has found out, in a way that felt much like being outed to the whole school, as opposed to finally being seen and accepted for who you “really” are.

I understand that such a drastic shift in people’s perception of you would be overwhelming to anybody, no matter if you were cis or not. But if Atlus really wanted to hone in on the idea that Naoto was happy about this change, they could’ve at least made him…. Well, happy about it. Even if it was just a small smile, just a tiny indication of relief even despite how hard it will be to adjust, it would’ve made it at least a little more believable that this is what he really wanted.

But that’s not the case. Instead, he’s uncomfortable, he still binds, he still wears the school’s male uniform, and he still goes by Naoto. The only time any of this actually changes is if you as the protagonist push him to, which… is a whole other mess.

The fact that Naoto has even gotten to this point, though, speaks more volumes to me than anything else. Passing is not easy. Coming out is not easy. Naoto would have had to go through difficult lengths in order to get not only his school, but the country and media to see him as a man.  He’s a well-known "detective prince".. someone was bound to look up his records and find out about it. That's a huge risk to take.

In addition to this, he binds. He goes by masculine pronouns and a masculine name. He very audibly changes his voice to be more masculine. I don’t know how to tell you this, but this is just…. not something cis people do? At least not comfortably. 

In fact, doing all of this would have been incredibly uncomfortable for Naoto if he was cis. As someone who experiences dysphoria, looking like and being seen as a gender you are not can be really, really painful. If transitioning was something he really didn’t want, why would he put himself through all of that? Was it really to escape misogyny? Me asking this isn’t minimizing the issue at all, because I understand that it’s incredibly serious and hard for countless women. But I would generally think someone’s first reaction to facing misogyny isn’t to… completely change their identity and present as a different gender.

On top of being probably the hardest option of escaping misogyny available to him, and one of the most uncomfortable, presenting as a man doesn’t necessarily get rid of any prejudices Naoto may face. In fact, I would argue that it’s considerably more dangerous. Especially in a rural town like Inaba, where people seem to not really understand or approve of being LGBT. Naoto is smart, he would have thought of all of this. So why?

Inherent Transphobia of Naoto’s Arc 

There is something to be said about how much misogyny is present in Japan’s workforce, especially in fields like Naoto’s, and the importance there is in discussing that. The base idea behind his struggles and message isn’t inherently a bad one, but the way the game went about it was problematic because it put down transgender identities in the process.

The first time I watched Naoto’s shadow confrontation, it was really distressing to me. The game continuously repeats the idea that you can’t “cross the barrier of the sexes,” that Naoto “can never really be a man,” and  that “you can change your name, but you can never change who you “really” are.” I hope I don’t need to explain why this is a problem.

Naoto’s wish to be a man, regardless of what was driving it, is depicted as something temporary and childish. Something that Naoto “didn’t really want,”  something that was just an excuse to run away from the misogyny he was facing. Even if it was unintentional, this message is incredibly harmful to transgender people.

It would have been a better and much more coherent message about misogyny if the writers had steered clear of trans themes entirely. In fact, I think they did so well with Sae’s character in Persona 5-- she’s in the same field of work, facing very similar struggles, but she doesn’t react in the same way as Naoto at all. 

Kanji and Homophobia 

It’s even worse that Naoto’s “reveal,” on top of being problematic by itself, is used as a method to bury Kanji’s exploration of his own sexuality. The problems with Kanji’s own shadow are bad enough to warrant their own long rant, but the reveal that Naoto was “really a girl” this whole time allows the story to completely wave off his gayness for good.

This isn’t something unique to this game-- the trope of “two boys fall in love, but one of them turns out to be a girl so it’s fine” has been used numerous times in other media to explore the topic half-assedly. It plays with the “exoticness” or “drama” of a gay romance, but backs off at the end in order to uphold societal norms and prevent backlash. 

This doesn’t really give any kind of good commentary on gay relationships, nor does it depict them in a positive or helpful manner. It isn’t something that these games should be getting kudos for doing. 

Misogyny?

I think there’s also something to be said about how poignantly bad Atlus is at really tackling the problem of misogyny. It tries, especially with characters like Ann and Sae, and in certain aspects it can succeed. But then they have scenes like the pageant and Every Beach Scene Ever, where the women are forced to wear swimsuits or revealing clothing against their will, or their bodies are talked about without their consent. There is consistently a character in each persona game who is forced to do the whole misogynistic dipshit gimmick that’s supposed to be funny-- Junpei, Yosuke, Teddie, Morgana, Ryuji-- and while this is obviously not a Persona specific problem by a longshot, it’s still indicative of how unsuccessful these games often are in delivering the message that society’s systemic misogyny is an issue.

This is something I think about a lot when people try and argue that Naoto’s story can’t be about him being trans because it’s “an important message about misogyny.” Atlus often doesn’t deliver on such stories already, and they certainly didn’t with Naoto. As soon as Naoto returns to “living as a woman” he’s subjected to the same misogyny that the other girls are. His chest is commented on, he’s forced to be in the beauty pageant, he’s made uncomfortable in the bath scenes-- really, all Atlus did after the reveal was make the problem worse for him. 

On top of this, his story never actually meaningfully tackles the problem of misogyny in the detective force. It’s not a major part of his social link or the general plot of the game-- honestly, it’s barely even touched on at all after the initial confrontation. Thus, the idea that “Naoto can’t be trans because it erases a story about misogyny” is just plain untrue. There never was a coherent one in the first place.

Problems Within the Fandom

Despite all of this, there is such an intense backlash from the majority of the fandom if anybody dares to bring up these issues with Naoto’s story. Naoto being trans is generally seen as something ridiculous and stupid, or something to insult and mock people for.

I understand that there's always going to be people who say provocative stuff like this, no matter what anyone does, and that it’s not something exclusive to this particular fandom or character. But the problem is that this rhetoric isn't just from them anymore--the consensus among so much of the fandom seems to be either that Naoto absolutely cannot be trans, or that speaking about it at all is "annoying discourse" and taboo. Even from fans that are LGBT or allies themselves. 

This in and of itself is such a telling thing to me. if you find yourself getting angry about the subject, really ask yourself why. Is it such a problem for people to reclaim a transphobic story? Is it such a problem for a character to be trans in the first place?  There is room for discussion and nuance regarding this situation, but we have to make it for ourselves. We can accept that Atlus’s base game will never actually give us a coherent story about either misogyny nor being transgender with Naoto’s story. But petty arguments and insults thrown at people who bring up this topic isn’t any of that-- it’s just poorly masked transphobia. 

So at the end of the day, no, Naoto being is trans is not “canon.” Of course Naoto would not actually be allowed to be trans, he is a main character in a game series where the only explicitly LGBT characters have been consistently buried, stereotyped, or demonized with only a few rare exceptions.

Yes, you’re allowed to headcanon whatever you want about him. I can’t stop you from wanting a story about misogyny, or from seeing Naoto’s gender as something more fluid than I do. But you can’t ignore the fact that his story, as written in canon, is laden with transphobia despite its intentions. It’s not a ridiculous or harmful thing for trans people to want to reclaim that.

There are still a lot more issues with how Naoto is treated in the game-- especially in his romance route-- but that’s a whole other can of worms I’m not ready to unpack today lol

Hopefully all of this made sense though, and feel free to bring up anything else I may have missed or point out any issues you might have with it :-) Thanks for reading!

[hopeisour4letteredword]

Knock knock akishinji

gasp.... mr akishinji......... i was starting to think you weren’t coming to my party :0c

1- who makes the first move and how?

there are two potential courses of action and they are 1) middle school akihiko asks shinjiro for a good luck kiss before his boxing match as a “””joke””” and shinjiro Actually Does It, The Madman or 2) post-canon shinjiro is like ah fuck it i lived and now i have second chances at everything. hey asshole go out with me

2- who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

shinjiro likes to spend time with koromaru.... make him toys or good dog food, just be a positive influence on an innocent, loving creature in a way that isn’t even tangentially related to fighting. getting akihiko to unwind a little and laugh is also helpful, altho less reliable, since akihiko can be sort of high-strung

3- who is the most romantic?

it’s shinjiro actually

4- who can’t keep their hands to themselves?

akihiko, but only in private. they’re both pretty good at keeping their hands to themselves in public

5- who says ‘i love you’ first?

depends on the timeline. if confession option #1, akihiko. if confession option #2, shinjiro does it while asking akihiko out

6- who would they ask if they ever had a threesome?

i dunno?? akijun is okay but i can’t see shinjiro going for that, whereas i’m not sure aki would be too pumped about akishinhamu since i HC akihiko as gay...

7- what do they get up to on a night out?

movies and/or long walks with koromaru!

8- what do they like in bed?

shinjiro’s deepest fantasy is that they’ll figure out a way for him to cuddle up to akihiko at night without a) getting elbowed in the sternum and b) getting woken up at ass o clock when akihiko gets up to go jog. they’ve figured out that akihiko as little spoon solves A, still working out a mutually agreeable solution to B

9- what is the most embarrassing thing they have done in front of each other?

well, we know that akihiko has a long history of crying in front of shinjiro... shinjiro has probably been caught baby-talking to koromaru about the virtues of his teammates (eg saying nice things about mitsuru/junpei/others), which would mortify him

10- desert island

these scenarios genuinely distress me. am i supposed to assume that any luxury item will automatically generate/include the infrastructure necessary to support it? like, if i bring a nintendo switch, have i now guaranteed a working power outlet? how are the “two songs” the question permits relayed? do i have a shitty old mp3 player that only has memory space for two songs? do i automatically have the power accessible to keep THAT functioning? i have so many questions.

11- what do they hide from one another?

akihiko still has lingering gender hangups as a trans man, and he tries to keep that from shinjiro, so shinjiro doesn’t walk on eggshells while they banter... even with akihiko, shinjiro still feels the need to act tougher and hide his softness and love for cute things

12- what first changes when it starts getting serious?

mitsuru heaves the world’s biggest sigh of relief

13- when do they realize they should get together?

kinda covered in 1. akihiko and shinjiro both start crushing in middle school. akihiko’s moment is more or less realizing if he was going to like girls, he would like mitsuru, and instead he just wants to kiss shinjiro. shinjiro’s moment is still “aw fuck me i didn’t die after all, guess i get do-overs”

14- when one has a cold, what does the other do?

shinjiro forces akihiko to drink a ton of liquids and s l e e p, because making akihiko rest is ironically a very active duty. akihiko panics and makes soup out of a can and sits with shinjiro just anxiety-chatting at him, which works out fine because shinjiro has years of experience zoning out and even taking a nap while akihiko is talking

15- when they watch a film what do they choose and why? who gets the final vote?

akihiko likes mindless action and superhero movies, shinjiro likes true-to-life animal movies and (altho he doesn’t want to admit it) animal-centric cartoons... (shinjiro likes Up). they try to compromise on more action-y animal cartoons when they can, but otherwise they just take turns. sometimes the mood for the night will just be such that akihiko would rather just take it easy and watch one of shinji’s movies, anyway

16- when the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?

they both join the yukamitsu survival compound... shinjiro helps with butchering and cooking the food yukari hunts. akihiko goes on a lot of protection, rescue, escort etc trips out of the compound with mitsuru, which stresses shinjiro the fuck out. they have to develop a severity estimation system that charts how stressed shinjiro already is versus how badly mitsuru needs akihiko to come along

17- when they find a time machine, where do they go?

miki :/

18- when they fight, how do they make up?

shinjiro cooks steak for akihiko, akihiko will clean the kitchen from top to bottom and/or pick up something nice from the grocery store for him. depending on how badly akihiko fucked up, it might be something he explicitly does not like but shinjiro does

19- where do they go on their first date?

the park

20- where do they go on holiday?

mitsuru’s private beach OR just some low-key mountains to hike around nature. nowhere too cold though, for shinjiro’s shitty circulatory issues

21- where do they get nervous about going with one another?

akihiko, gender hangups, getting driven to the doctor by shinjiro. shinjiro also hates when akihiko comes to the doctor with him, because he’s always afraid he’ll get belated bad news and he doesn’t want aki to be there for that. but he’s also embarrassed when akihiko comes to craft group meetings and meets shinjiro’s non-SEES friends lmao

22- where does their first kiss happen?

timeline #1: outside school gym. timeline #2: kitchen of akihiko’s post-canon apartment.

23- where is their favorite place to be together?

the park! altho shinjiro is also very partial to just chillin in bed

24- where do they first have sex?

akihiko’s post-canon apartment, hopefully Bed

25- why do they fight?

two boys lost in the sauce.... the proud and angry sauce

26- why do they need to have a serious chat?

oh, god, the trauma hangups. the misunderstandings. the Everything

27- why do their friends get annoyed with them?

they defy everything hamuko and junpei want to place bets on. shinjiro isn’t half as embarrassed about relationship things as they expected him to be

28- why do they get jealous?

akihiko will shamelessly and thoughtlessly get half-naked at the gym, and shinjiro knows he isn’t the only one eyeing his bf. akihiko is kind of jealous of how close shinjiro is with hamuko, but he tries to be reasonable about it, since he likes hamuko and he’s glad shinji has more friends than he used to

29- why do they fall a little bit more in love?

akihiko is profusely praiseful of literally everything shinjiro cooks, even when he kind of wangs it a little. shinjiro claims that makes it meaningless, but he secretly feels soft and tender over it. akihiko can’t handle it when shinjiro is sweet to pets and small children

30- why does it work between them?

lots of shared history as a solid base for the relationship and sheer stubborn determination to get thru the personal and circumstantial obstacles in their way

[dramanomikata]

“Shitsuren Chocolatier”

117. 

Title: “Shitsuren Chocolatier” (“The Heartbroken Chocolatier”) Genre: Romance, Comedy Season: Winter 2014 TV Station: Fuji TV Theme Song: “Bittersweet” by Arashi Starring: Jun Matsumoto, Satomi Ishihara, Asami Mizukawa, Kasumi Arimura, Kiko Mizuhara, Junpei Mizobata, Ryuta Sato, Shigeaki Kato Date Finished: January 6, 2018 My Personal Reason for Watching: Cute looking drama that my friend recommended and MatsuJun, of course!

(^^ Chocolates! Chocolates! More Chocolates!)

Three reviews in a row (only one more today, I swear ^^;;).  It’s for another Japanese drama that recently aired on the local Japanese channel! I feel like there aren’t many newer dramas that look interesting, so I guess it’s good to catch up on older ones.  Plus, a drama with an Arashi lead is never a bad thing! “Shitsuren Chocolatier” is about Sota (Matsumoto), who is in a one-sided love with Saeko (Ishihara).  When she breaks up with him, he decides to go to Paris to become a world-class chocolatier at her favorite Parisian chocolate brand. He comes back to Japan several years later to open up a shop.  From then, he learns that Saeko is about to get married, but does not give up on her. Many love triangles are formed and love, lust, and betrayal occur.

(^^ Saeko-san! I loved her fashion in this drama.  Maybe another inspiration for a fashion post!)

I love cheesy Japanese drama romantic-comedies.  It’s a known fact.  This is no exception.  I absolutely loved this drama in the beginning and it kept me hooked every week! The love triangles, the betrayal, the rivals…everything screamed classic romantic-comedy J-drama.  However, there was one thing that kept me bothered throughout—I didn’t like any of the characters.  All of the characters just seemed like terrible people.  Sure, they’re fictional, but usually I find sympathy for at least the main character if not the best friend in love with the main character.  But for this drama…

The main character, Sota, was kind of pathetic and put Saeko on a pedestal. Saeko, Sota’s main love interest, was superficial and a tease. Kaoruko-san (Mizukawa), the friend and co-worker in love with Sota, was pessimistic and a slut-shamer.   I honestly did not have a preference on who he ended up with.  I didn’t like Erena (Mizuhara), Sota’s friend with benefits, in the beginning, too, just because she believed that since both she and Sota were in a ‘one-sided love,’ that makes it okay to be “sex friends.”  However, Sota went running back to Saeko and left Erena, the one who stood by his side, in the dust, so I warmed up to her in the later episodes. 

(^^ Erena: “Even though I like a guy I’ve never talked to--and didn’t even know he was married with a kid--and you are obsessed with a girl you liked since high school, we can just be sex friends!” Obviously, not an actual quote, but that’s basically the set up for their friendship)

I did like the guy characters more such as Olivier (Mizubata), Sekiya (Kato), and Rikudo (Sato). Olivier was in love with Sota’s sister, Matsuri (Arimura).  Kissing her when she was sleeping though was a creep move, so points down for that. Also, Matsuri bothered me, too! She was sleeping with her best friend’s boyfriend and received no consequences for doing that (Olivier still liked her and they ended up together in the end). Sekiya wasn’t seen that much (he appeared and disappeared often), so I couldn’t root for a Sekiya/Kaoruko romance (she was never going to get over Sota anyway).  Rikudo was just there to be the comic relief being the only gay character thinking that Sota was also playing for his team.  Wow, I didn’t notice that I had such strong feelings on how much I did not prefer these characters XD

(^^ “Sota…is ‘that way,’ too?!”)

However, I did enjoy the drama for what it was—a romantic comedy drama in a chocolate world.  I loved the first half better than the second half though.  When Sota started the affair with Saeko, I just did not care anymore.  I know we’re supposed to feel sorry for Saeko since she was in a DV relationship, but then they just made her go back to him like nothing happened in the end (well, she was pregnant with his baby).  The ending was left open-ended after all three girls rejected Sota (to be honest, he had it coming) and he went back to Paris.  

As much as I had criticisms about the characters, I still liked the drama.  It was a mind-numbing enjoyable story with pretty people that was easy to follow. Plus, the chocolate scenes make up for the horribleness of the characters. 

(^^ One more close-up of chocolate, because you can’t have too much chocolate.  How does Saeko stay so skinny after eating so many chocolates every day?!)

Favorites: Favorite Character: Rikudo and Erena!   Favorite Episode: Hmm…most likely episode 1 or just the first half in general.   Favorite Scene: It’s been so long, but a scene that I can remember being intense was the Kaoruko and Sota fight (her criticizing Saeko/Erena and Sota defending them). Also, Kaoruko’s date with Sekiya and her running away at the end.

(^^ They had so much potential!)

“Shitsuren Chocolatier” Rating: Story: ✭✭✭½ It was still a good story that hooked you in! Acting: ✭✭✭ MatsuJun, Satomi Ishihara, Asami Mizukawa, Ryuuta Sato…good actors in this silly drama.   Theme Song: ✭✭✭✭ Always love an Arashi song and this one matched the drama’s ambience perfectly.   Total: 10.5/15

Next Up: Ouroboros (finally!)

(^^ Choco La Vie…Sayonara!)

[ladyloveandjustice]

Zero Time Dilemma: I guess other teams besides C-team exist too

Okay I’ve been mostly focusing on C-team for these recaps (for very good reasons I will restate for the millionth time 1. Akane is a magnificent Machiavellian Mastemind asshole angel and i love her so much, 2. Emo Junpei is hilarious even if he makes zero sense  3. Carlos is basically Captain America stuck with two weirdos who won’t stop violently flirting with each other and 4. as a result they have the best dynamic)

but other teams exist too i guess so for the sake of this liveblog i’ll bring you up to speed for them.

Adventures with Boob Lady, Douchebag Guy and Amnesiac Kid continued (Okay, their names are Mira, Eric and Q respectively) and honestly Q is the person I feel the most sorry for in this game, even moreso than Carlos-the-eternal-third-wheel. At least Akane and Junpei remember to care about Carlos once in a while and don’t make him do everything. Eric and Mira just treat this poor little kid like shit and he has to put up with all their terrible decisions too. 

Eric let everyone know his tragic backstory (which as you can expect from this game, is extremely over the top- basically his mom told him and his brother to always smile but then she DIED and his dad started beating them and then actually drowned his brother in front of him or something i guess? and the result of this is that he now eternally has this creepy smile on his face. I’m glad his face is at least creepy on purpose, I thought it was just bad character design).

 And Mira responds to this tragic confession by laughing and declaring it hilarious. Which make both Eric and Q naturally go “wtf” and Mira’s like “oh shit was that not the right reaction lol i don’t know how emotions work sorry guess I gotta kill you both now” and so she does. 

AND HONESTLY MIRA IT WAS TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. YOU COULD HAVE JUST PLAYED IT OFF AND BEEN LIKE “GUESS THE STRESS OF BEING IN A MURDER GAME IS GETTING TO ME.” also even if she doesn’t understand emotions or empathy she’s old enough she should have the basic cues down by now, like “don’t laugh when someone talks about their dead and abusive parents they won’t like it”.

but anyway. There’s also D-team, who I haven’t mentioned bc they honestly don’t do that much outrageous things. They consist of Phi and Sigma (protags from the game before this one, they’re both ~from the future~) and Diana (new protag, very shy, not from the future).  

There was one route where Phi got incinerated and right before she did she and Diana like touched hands and said dramatic stuff and both me and gf were like “this got really gay out of nowhere” Then Phi said “aisheteru” and I was like “wait what that’s actually  super intense. is this actually supposed to REALLY indicate they’re gay for each other?/??” but there’s been zero build up to that, they haven’t even really talked, i’m so confused. Why would she randomly say “aisheteru” to this woman?? is there any other possible reason she would besides gay???” 

Then I was like “WAIT COULD PHI HAVE BEEN DIANA’S DAUGHTER FROM THE FUTURE ALL ALONG THAT WOULD BE A REASON” and then a scene played that basically confirmed that. Gf was like “how did you guess that” and I was like “BECAUSE AISHITERU” 

I also guessed that meant Sigma was Phi’s dad all along, which makes the fact he kept creepily hitting on her (and every girl he met) in the last game EVEN WORSE, thanks for that. (and yes I know he didn’t know they were related and neither did she, but the WRITER knew and urgh).

aren’t you guys proud of my amazing deduction based on a surface-level knowledge of one Japanese phrase. 

There was also a timeline with Sigma where his arms got blown off with a bomb (hence his CYBORG ARMS in the last game) and it was unintentionally hilarious looking and also he would have definitely bled out and died but he somehow didn’t. 

so yeah after that it was back to Q team and we reached a room where Mira turned up dead and Eric automatically decided to blame Q and go after him with a shotgun (SUCH A GREAT CHARACTER). He demanded to know who killed her and we had to give an answer, but no matter what we said he would just shoot us afterwards. We couldn’t move forward in the other timelines so were stuck and had to look it up. Turns out we were just supposed to not answer and just cry, at which point Eric would suddenly see the error of his ways and leave us alone. THANKS GAME THAT’S INTUITIVE.

After that we were able to move forward with D-team, and got this long extended ending for Sigma and Diana where they got stuck in the murder-game-facility after Akane escaped and never came back. It took like. a week of being trapped and alone with Sigma for Diana to want to die. I don’t really blame her. Especially since he felt it was appropriate to recite her whole tragic backstory, which involved an abusive husband, at her for no reason. SHE ALREADY KNOWS, YOU DON’T NEED TO REMIND HER. 

But somehow they ended up having sex! Lack of options, I guess. And then they had twins! Then Sigma fixed the teleporter/time machine(yes there’s a room with a broken teleporter/time machine that is alien technology in the murder game facility why wouldn’t there be) but it can only transport two people! So they put the twin babies in there (one of them was named...gasp...PHI!) and sent them off and i guess just hoped they’d be teleported to a Kansas cornfield where a kindly old couple would find and adopt them? Sadly, the murder game facility did not blow up like Krypton after the babies were sent off, I would have liked that.

The twin boy they had was named Delta, so my gf and I figure Q, our amnesiac protagonist, might actually be him. So we entered that into the part of the game where Q has to choose who to kill to see if that would unlock an ending. And he....turned around and shot the computer screen? Aka he shot us? And the some guy offscreen spoke? we got a special “you were perceptive!” achievement. What is this game trying to say. is it saying we were right but we get shot as a reward or is it saying WE are actually Delta? Maybe Delta was just inside us all along.

Anyway Carlos jumped to the timeline where he killed Akane with an axe and was like “whoa wtf why’d you do that other me also ow my arm’s gone i guess” (losing arms is NO BIG DEAL in this game) and now everyone (except Akane, Junpei, Mira and Phi who are all dead in this timeline) (Junpei is not only dead but graphically dismembered, if you recall, he just had to be the most extra) is just hangin’ out together. I feel we are approaching the climax. Possibly. Just 3 more endings left, anyway.