#most of my prisoners wouldn't know what to do if they got out of Milgram actually *sob*

[waiting-on-a-dream]

𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 (𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢)

1. Do you like yourself?

Ichiro: I'm fine with myself. There are some things about me I wish I could change though.

Akane: I wish I could manage my emotions better, but other than that, I'm okay with the way I am now.

2. What's your opinion on the guard?

Ichiro: He hasn't been very nice to me.

Akane: I have no idea how someone like him is a warden, but he's doing an okay job so far.

3. Do you want to get out from Milgram?

Ichiro: I don't know what I'd do if I got out.

Akane: I wouldn't mind staying here a little longer. I'll figure something out if I were to get out though.

4. What is a father to you?

Ichiro: He has to love and spend time with his children so they think of him as their father.

Akane: A responsible person who takes care of his children.

5. What would you do if you receive one million yen and you must spend it right now?

Ichiro: Buy tickets to all sorts of fun places. Maybe give some to my mom... If she wants it.

Akane: Fix up my house and buy lots of long-lasting food. I'd save the rest for my future education.

6. Do you have any fun memories of your childhood?

Ichiro: The time my mom brought me to an aquarium.

Akane: I can vaguely remember eating dinner together with my parents when I was young, so there's that.

7. If you could turn back time, would you commit the same murder once again?

Ichiro: I'd make sure that person was never born.

Akane: I don't think turning back time would change my shitty circumstances at all, so yeah.

8. Are there any prisoners you can't deal with right now?

Ichiro: I can't stand to look at the innocent prisoners anymore.

Akane: Rin is more annoying than ever.

9. What do you want from the prison guard?

Ichiro: Vote me innocent. Or at least give Keiko back.

Akane: I dunno. Some new earrings?

10. What is the difference between you and someone else?

Ichiro: They're normal and worthy of love.

Akane: I guess I could say I'm more afraid and angry compared to the average person.

11. What do you do when you're bored?

Ichiro: I used to draw, but now my only option is sleep.

Akane: Stare at whatever is happening in my surroundings.

12. If you had one wish, what would you use it for?

Ichiro: To have someone's full love and attention.

Akane: To have material and emotional security.

13. How many years do you want to live?

Ichiro: I only know that I don't want to die yet.

Akane: I'd like to get the full experience of life, so the ripe old age of 85 sounds good.

14. Which prisoner is the most like you?

Ichiro: Haku is quiet like me.

Akane: I think I would be more like Mayumi-san if I wasn't so angry.

15. Did you hate the person you killed?

Ichiro: It wasn't really his fault. I just needed him to be gone.

Akane: With all of my rotten heart, yes.

[archivalofsins]

Considering the day, I'm going to talk about how I perceive Mikoto and Mikoto (John's) dynamic. Because I was looking for an excuse to.

With Mikoto (John) I imagine him to be the less forward of the two.

Given how he's been depicted in canon. Plus, how much more standoffish and guarded Mikoto got after the first verdict. Despite being less sociable, he wasn't really going around causing a fuss or issues for everyone. He just wasn't as sociable.

The cast complains about this change in demeanor mostly due to the fact that before then, Mikoto was noticeably way more sociable and easier to approach. Talking to various other prisoners and having cordial relationships with most of them except for Kotoko. However, that's due to Kotoko's demeanor not his.

After the verdict, when Mikoto (John) is stated to be the one out the most (during the intermission). He becomes more closed off, less talkative, and difficult for others to approach.

I and most people speculated that this is because he got violent or aggressive.

Yet the only person anyone states he attacks during the intermission is Kotoko. Even Kotoko states such in her voice drama, claiming he attacked her in the middle of her handing out punishments.

Basically just when she was attacking Mahiru.

So outside of that instance, Mikoto wasn't doing anything. He doesn't even have timelines alluding to him doing anything. He was kind of just not engaging with others as much as he usually would. Hence, Shidou saying since he became like that in his trial two written interrogation.

Mikoto implies he picked up smoking to socialize with others in this timeline,

20/06/20

Mikoto: ……oh, so you are here after all. Shidou-san, are you free? Let’s chat~

Shidou: ! Ah, just give me a moment…… Um…… I don’t mind talking, but you didn’t need to come over while I was smoking. Are you sure it isn’t too smoky for you? You’re not a smoker, right, Kayano-kun?

Mikoto: Ah, you don’t need to put it out! That’d be such a waste! I smoke too occasionally. Though just vape. Like, the smoking room is a really good spot for communication, right? So I thought now might be a good opportunity to talk with you. Not like I have anything else to do. By the way, I’ve been wondering for a while, but do you always wear those gloves?

Shidou: I don’t…… How to put it…… I suppose…… since I have my hands covered all the time, then when I take them off, it feels as though the feeling in my fingertips is even greater…… I know it’s probably all in my head…… but that’s how it feels.

However, the only time we see smoking in MeMe and Double is when Mikoto is off on his own. Plus, we've yet to see him vape at all in either of his videos despite him saying that's predominantly what he does. As well as the vape pen being shown in his after crime anniversary image. So more than likely, by "like that," Shidou meant standoffishly monopolizing the smoking area, bringing down the atmosphere with his change in attitude resulting in making smoking awkward for Shidou.

The prisoners in the timeline don't complain about Mikoto's loud outbursts at night either despite them being noted in his description and joked about through the minigrams. However, since it's noted in his character description as something all the characters know about since Milgram started Mikoto being loud or getting violent in his cell on his own or at all would not surprise them. It'd be something that would be common place by the end of trial two.

Know what wouldn't be, though?

Him being quiet and the first allusion to that is here,

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.

So I'd always imagined Mikoto (John) to be the less social of the two. There's also the implication when it comes to smiling here,

20/07/08

Yuno: Hey, Mikoto-san. Don’t you get tired being so conscious of others all the time? I mean, you’re free to do what you want, though.

Mikoto: Eh…… Aha, what are you talking about? I’m not being conscious or anything. It’s normal to make sure to get along with everyone, right? I mean, when you put it like that, aren’t you the same, Yun-chan? You’re always smiling and getting on with everyone, too.

Yuno: I don’t smile unless I actually want to. But with you, when you’re talking with other people it’s more like you only smile deliberately. So I kept thinking, don’t your cheeks get tired? Ah, is this just what happens when you become a working adult? ……you see people like that sometimes.

Mikoto: Haha, you don’t mince your words, do you. …….that was never my intention, but now that you mention it, yeah, I guess I do. This might’ve been since I started my job too…… But like, if I was rude to everyone I met, all my efforts would come to nothing, right?

This implies that Mikoto is smiling deliberately to make socializing with others easier. So when Mikoto (John) is out, he may smile less and have a more neutral expression that could lean towards being interpreted as disinterested, irritated, dazed, or tired.

The main type of expression work that's shown throughout Double.

This may also be why, in Double, we don't see the faces or other people. They're just represented as blank puppets. Since Mikoto (John) isn't one for socializing he may not pay that much attention to the features of those around them, and that visual choice could have been made to display that. This also ties into him saying he didn't know the person he killed as well. Because honestly, why would he at that point?

In MeMe, the person attacked has a good few more identifying traits than the ones attacked in Double. As we see one of the victims' hair color and clothing as he's getting attacked.

In contrast to everyone being represented as featureless puppets and most stating Mikoto has been difficult to approach and scary later. I want to specifically focus on Haruka stating he was a bit scared of Mikoto, and that's why he was avoiding him,

22/10/06 (Mikoto’s Birthday)

Haruka: Mikoto-san. Um, are you ok……?

Mikoto: Ah, Haru-kun. It’s been a while since we last talked, huh. Yeah, I’m fine. Are you doing ok……?

Haruka: Ah, I’m fine. I’ve been enjoying myself, a lot. Um, I’m sorry, for avoiding you. I was a bit scared. Of you, honestly……

Mikoto: Ahhh, yeah. I’ve been lashing out whenever I go to sleep, right? ……it’s fine. Even I think you’re right to be scared. You know, I kinda just hate that I don’t even know what’s going on myself…… haha. Ah, but despite all that you still came and talked to me because it’s my birthday, right? Thank you, you’ve grown into a good man.

I want to focus on that scared and avoiding you part since we know Haruka engaged with Kotoko the exact same way for the same reason. Because he found her standoffish and neutral expression scary and Mu did as well. It wouldn't be surprising if this was a case of the same mannerisms garnering the same response. Especially given how Haruka would have grown used to Mikoto valuing/viewing communication as important as well as him being more personable and helpful when it came to talking,

20/06/05

Haruka: Ah…… ah, u-um, Mikoto-san. The c-communication……? thing, that you were saying was important. I-I thought, I’d give it my best…… Um, so, Mikoto-san, what’s your favourite food……?

Mikoto: Ooh? Nice going, Haru-kun~ Yeah, we still have no idea how long this lifestyle will go on for, so it’s best if we all get along together here. My favourite food…… I like pasta and horse-meat sashimi. Also bubble tea, and recently I’ve been big on custard puddings. What about you?

Haruka: ……ah, I, I wonder…… H-hamburg steak, and omurice, a-and also…… what else? Ah. Cotton candy……

Mikoto: C-cotton candy!? That’s the first time I’ve met someone who has that in their top three favourites!? ……man, Haru-kun, you really are hilarious.

Just for him to suddenly change his entire demeanor when it comes to talking with others and have no interest in doing it all. Very similar to how Kotoko was trial one would be jarring and scary for Haruka. A person who doesn't like that sort of change and would feel on some level responsible and confused by it.

Hence, the apology for avoiding him.

So I think what most explained through the idea of Mikoto (John) being volatile or aggressive was literally him just not wanting to talk to anyone here. Similarly to how Amane's behavior changed from her verdict. She became more closed off and focused on her religious practices.

Outside of that, Mikoto is consistently shown to do most things related to communication and coordination. As well as being stated to view and discuss the importance of communication throughout the portal timeline. He also states he travels by bike to work, which takes a fair bit of balance and coordination, but we only see Mikoto (John) travel by train in Double.

We've yet to see this bike, either.

Plus, Mikoto is able to neatly tie his shoes while Mikoto (John) is shown to have difficulty with that even in the trial two character art. As well as being shown in Double wearing boots without laces.

Despite in MeMe Mikoto predominantly wearing shoes with laces,

I talk about those other things a lot, though.

Right now, I just wanted to talk about how I viewed Mikoto (John) when it came to socializing more based on the information we have from trial two.

So, that's it.

[doctorbunny]

"For Mahiru's sake"

I have seen some arguements that, yes, if Amane is able to deck Shidou, it would indeed be a skill issue and all that However "we still must vote Amane guilty in order to protect Mahiru"

Ignoring all the things like "subjecting a torture victim to further torture" and "there is no guarantee that another guilty vote would restrain Amane enough to stop her" and "It isn't a case of when or if, Fuuta is literally already implied to be in Amane's cult and he has an inno vote meaning Amane could just ask him to act on her behalf"

I want to object to this on the grounds that Mahiru herself would not approve of it.

Firstly: Why did Mahiru forgive Kotoko? I think many people saw Mahiru forgiving Kotoko and took it at a surface level "Oh such a kind heart poor Mahiru has~" Perhaps some with concern "If she's willing to forgive a woman that almost killed her what else is she willing to put up with?!" I too have shared these concerns for her But I think there is an oft overlooked explanation, one deeper to Mahiru's true nature

"An ideal she can't concede on" It's no secret Kotoko views herself as a vessel for justice, dehumanising herself into a mere tool, Es' "Fang" And to Kotoko, justice can only be delivered in the most visceral, corporal satisfying way So it is completely understandable, that upon being told Mikoto, Mahiru, Fuuta and Amane had commited injustices. Kotoko's only reaction could've been a violent beatdown (until she got stopped by Kazui at least) Why would Mahiru care about that? Because, dear reader, Mahiru too has a belief she cannot concede on

Both Mahiru and Shidou say they'll do anything for love and its likely that conviction that lead them both to MILGRAM Shidou would take the hearts of a million paitents if his wife's would beat again. Mahiru, even after two trials... honestly doesn't have much to say about her boyfriend... But everything she did, she did for love and thus she has no regrets

Mahiru even directly draws a link between herself and Kotoko here.

So why can't Mahiru deny Kotoko's ideals? Because she'd be denying a piece of herself too

And if we're going off Mahiru's logic, she wouldn't want us to permit her ideals whilst denying Amane's

Ok, but, who cares what Mahiru wants, right? Useless weaklings should just shut up and let us protect them! Especially given how fragile Mahiru must be... A concern I've seen a lot is that even if Mahiru isn't the target, if Shidou becomes incapacitated, she'll potentially die too A lot of people voted Mahiru innocent on the basis that another guilty could be fatal to her. Now Mahiru does seem pretty badly injured, and while we don't know the basis of the care Shidou and Yuno are providing, it must be severe to require two round-the-clock carers

Despite this, while Mahiru certainly isn't comfortable, it does seem like physically she is mostly stable. Even without Shidou, Yuno has recently spoken about how out of normality, she can't let someone in front of her die. So she'd probably continue to help keep Mahiru clean and fed even if she can't help with more complicated things (and we know Yuno isn't at risk because Amane talked to her without giving her a big threat about breaking taboo) This is also total speculation on my part, but I have a feeling by the time trial 3 rolls around, Mahiru will still be in her wheelchair heavily injured, but she will have recovered some more of her strength. Wheelchairs can move faster than I can run to begin with (Source: Guy I used to share a class with always beat me in foot/wheel races) but in addition Mahiru could already (with great difficulty and probably with risk of exaccerbating her injury) walk/run to some degree before getting her chair I mean this not to discount her, but to say that she is not entirely without defence/method of evasion should Amane attack Even more speculation-y: After Kazui missed Kotoko's attack last time, I would hope that the prisoners have some sort of Kazui-alert system to ensure he wouldn't be so late to a surprise attack again that could be used if Amane comes after them too

Whilst Jackalope states it was Shidou's treatments that saved Mahiru directly after Kotoko's attacks When it came to Shidou telling Es about the threat to Mahiru's life, the topic was her mental health

Mahiru's innocent verdict will affirm her ideas about love and probably give her some more willpower

Will it be enough to protect her if Amane attacks her? I don't know!

But the sad truth is we are already aboard the pain train. We are trying to play 4D chess with a pigeon determined to knock our favourite pieces off the board. There's a lot of factors we can't account for, Kotoko for example, if voted guilty may not attack anyone or maybe she'll attack Haruka and Muu (or any other guilties) because she still sees them as injustice or maybe she'll attack the innocents because she can no longer trust our judgement of who committed injustice. We can't even confidently say what a T2 guilty looks like yet, so far two prisoners are voted guilty. Haruka is a seemingly bedridden hikikomori meanwhile Muu seems completely unaffected. We have no idea what'll happen with them until it does and how it'll affect the rest of this mess.

The only thing we have power over is a single, overly binary choice: To forgive or not forgive

And personally, I don't think Shidou or Mahiru is worth the continued punishment of a 12 year old. (idk why you're voting though so no offense if you think differnetly but I hope this was a good perspective)

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

Deep Cover and YONAH spoilers!

First impressions time! (Looking at this translation for Deep Cover, this one for YONAH). Btw I actually haven't listened to Deep Cover yet because it's not out in my time-zone rip.

Add plagiarism to the list of crimes committed by Milgram prisoners lol. I actually love the Undercover callback it's fantastic! And the diss track? Eminem got nothing on wolf girl over here.

But this does raise the question of how much she actually knows about the murders. Like, she talks about very specific things such as Shidou being a "priceless stealer", so she has to know something. I saw someone bring up she may have been spying on all the interrogations, and I have to assume that's the case because how else would that happen.

I'm really interested in the fact Kotoko seems to want everyone to be Unforgiven, though.

Which one do you pick? I want unforgiven

And the fact at the end she lists all the T1 innos and insults them, as if she wants them to be Unforgiven too. Like, I get it, she enjoys feeling like she's dealing out justice, but what. I hope the MV clarifies a bit more because right now she just sounds unhinged. Which is fun! I like characters who are just unrepentantly evil. But I get the feeling there's something more going on. We already know some of her motivations from HARROW, but you have to wonder if they've evolved in some way during her time in Milgram.

Speaking of the MV, my prediction is not only that the other prisoners are gonna be there, which I have to assume will happen-

(Please show Amane as a monster please show Amane as a monster please show Amane as a monster)

-Ehem. Apologies. I don't know what possessed me there for a moment.

You wanna know the wildest prediction I have for the MV? (Which is most likely going to be wrong don't get too excited) It think every prisoner's crime will be related to one of the crimes we saw in HARROW, and perhaps others we'll get introduced to in Deep Cover.

Shidou: “UNDER” Unsalvagable Priceless stealer.

Probably the guy that stole a bunch of luxury bikes, since it fits the idea of stealing from a lot of people.

Kazui: “UNDER” I stay hidden, fake prosperity and greed.

Either Mikio Oshii (the guy from the alleway), who pretended to be a bank employee to steal money, or the "It's me" scammers, who called people, pretended to be a family member and asked for money.

Fuuta: You’re being a jerk. You’re being a jerk.

Either the "It's me" scams, or the guy who took upskirt photos, because they're connected to phones.

Haruka: “UNDER” It’s a stupid dependency. Muu: “UNDER” Unchanging. A spinning queen’s game. Mahiru: I still like you though, still like you, it’s difficult.

One of these would be the paper bag robbery done by two people. I don't know about this one, but I think it kinda works.

Mikoto: I really don’t remember, I really don’t, it’s so bad.

It could be the guy who took upskirt photos since he said he did it because of stress from work, but knowing Kotoko, I wouldn't be surprised if she connects him and John to the serial killer in the white hoodie. She does not like them.

I'm not sure about the rest of them. Again, that's just a silly prediction, I'm not expecting it to happen, I'm just putting it out there because if it does happen I will feel like a God lol.

About YONAH, I'm slightly disappointed we didn't get much about Kotoko herself, but it's still really good! I think it's fun that she sorta encouraged Es to Forgive at the end of TASK and now she's like "yo your weak-ass needs to stop forgiving people."

But I do want to say, I'm surprised at the amount of people who are shocked Kotoko wanted to attack Amane. Like, we even had that one timeline conversation when she said she wouldn't treat Amane differently just because she's a child. I thought we had an universal understanding that the only reason Amane wasn't attacked is because of the Kazui ceasefire and John's time-wasting fight (and out of universe, because we can't have a character dying in T1). I guess I was wrong though. Anyways, Worst Girl enjoyers are rejoicing right now. Not gonna lie, this is making me like Kotoko more and more by the second. I don't know what that says about me.

Anyways, what do you think Kotoko's percentage will look like on the day the voting opens? Not her verdict since... well. Like, I was always expecting her to Guilty sweep, but what we have so far doesn't really help her. I would not be surprised if she ends up easily beating Muu as the widest Guilty margin. Hell, do you think it can beat Shidou as the most decisive verdict in general? I think it's unlikely, since Shidou got nearly 82% inno this trial which is insane. But honestly, unless Deep Cover MV does some insane leg-work, Kotoko might get more than 82% Guilty. I think it'd be funny.

Not like I'm gonna stop it. Sorry inno truthers, I highly respect your commitment to wolf girl and fully respect the decision, but I feel like Not Forgiving her this trial would be for the best. Still, I'm open to having my mind change when the MV drops. Take care!

[good-beanswrites]

A little comedy drabble for @kyanako5972 in return for their very impressive musical skills! (The Jailbreak mix wouldn't have fit together without ya👍) Fuuta gets his hands on some slime... They've done some art for it here :3

[I couldn't think of something funny enough, but insert broadway bootleg Milgram Slime Tutorial joke here]

Fuuta was open-minded. Of course he was. He was the most open-minded guy here. He knew that vengeance could come in many shapes. Sometimes it took the form of beautiful, poetic violence. Sometimes it was cutting words and a grand victory. And other times, it appeared as sticky craft slime. You just had to have an open mind to see it.

Not everyone was in as receptive of a mood. 

“A-are you sure it’s not a, a toy?” Haruka asked.

“It’s not.”

“B-but,” he pointed, “it’s --”

“No! It’s a weapon.”

“I don’t know if you know what a weapon is…” Amane looked down at the table. “You couldn’t have requested something a bit more… sharp?”

“Eh!? This is a pri-son. Like they’re gonna give me something like that. I’ve got to take matters into my own hands.”

To prove his point, he picked up his creation. The color wasn’t as flashy as the others’, but it held the perfect consistency for what he needed. It had taken some time to formulate the perfect plan of attack. There were rules he had to work around, after all. (No matter how open-minded he was, rules were rules.) There was a no-violence ban. Fuuta had already tested that one -- several times, actually -- and was sure he couldn’t get around it. Their requests were monitored, and it wasn’t as if he could go and order weapons. And then, even if he did get his hands on something truly dangerous, the original ban would stop him from using it. That left him with only one option.

“It’s definitely a toy. The others are playing with it.” It was true, Haruka, Muu and Yuno had their own colorful creations. Amane herself hadn’t grabbed any, though she sat with her eyes glued hungrily on the others’ projects. Her interest in it wasn’t helping Fuuta’s case.

“Exactly, it’s the perfect disguise! They’ll never see it coming.”

“There’s nothing to see coming…”

Muu poked at hers. “Look~ Mine’s cute and pink, see? I’m even going to add some glitter when Haruka’s finished with it.”

“I-I Uh, I think I added too much… sorry…” Haruka’s slime had lost all appealing texture, turned into a clumpy, sparkling mess.

Fuuta heaved the loudest sigh he could manage, but the others continued paying him no mind. He was doing this for them, shouldn’t they care? Es had slapped Haruka during his interrogation, for god’s sake! That was child abuse! Yuno was only a year older and returned from her interrogation with complaints of violence! And Fuuta --! Well, he actually hadn’t experienced any of that, but that didn’t matter. No hero of justice would let all that go unpunished. 

His moment came quicker than expected. He’d planned on ambushing Es coming in or out of their room, but they surprised everyone by coming into the common area. It was fate.

“I heard you all were playing with some crafts in here.”

Amane glanced at Fuuta. He shot her a look back that meant “don’t say a single word.” His exaggerated expression only drew Es’ attention.

“Something to say, prisoner three?”

“Yeah!” He wound up his arm. 

He had an open mind, but not necessarily a quick one. With more time, he could have come up with a righteous cry, something along the lines of: “this is for Haruka and Yuno, you damned scoundrel!” Or even: “meet your judgment, tyrant!”

But as the slime came careening toward’s Es’ face, the only thing he managed was, “fuck you!”

Splat.

The common room fell silent. Fuuta froze. The slime had hit its mark perfectly. It hit Es squarely on the side of the head. It splattered onto their hat. A good deal had tangled itself in their hair. It oozed toward their shoulder, clumps falling onto the uniform. As they tried to wipe it from their face, the material clung to their gloves, getting stuck between their fingers. 

Their eyes moved slowly from their ruined clothes to Fuuta’s still outstretched hand, to his face. “I see.”

They turned on their heel and left.

“That’ll teach ya!” He called out, a moment too late after they’d gone. He turned to Amane, who was watching with a mix of amusement and disappointment. “There’s no way that stuff’s washing out easy. Maybe they’ll have to put on a spare uniform in the meantime.” 

“You shouldn’t have made them so mad,” she said.

“Pah! What’s the brat gonna do? Name me guilty over it?”

[good-beans]

hi i'd like to know about your transfem fuuta thoughts please. if that's ok

"if that's ok" as if I haven't been rotating transfem fuuta in my mind for a long time and dying for an excuse to post something 👀👀👀 Thank you so much Ah!! I was able to format my little ideas and headcanons into an actual write-up, I just love this concept so much! All the big murderous twists in the series and I’ll never get over it is what it is...

So, as much as I enjoy headcanons about some big revelation moment, I think that Fuuta Terminally Online Kajiyama has been very aware of his identity for a while. He just never really got the motivation to do anything about it. He knows he's not completely satisfied with his gender, but isn't constantly suffering over it, so he thinks telling people/transitioning would be way too much of a hassle at that point in his life. He also struggles with people taking him seriously given his height, attitude, etc -- unconsciously he's also worried it will only make matters worse in that area.

He wouldn't dare say anything to his parents, and wants to avoid hassle with his friends. People paint them as judgy incels sometimes, but if they were really calling out ‘bad guys’ online, I always got the vibe they were those annoying type of progressives who will harass people for not being accepting in the perfect correct way, you know? They'd be outwardly supportive but there's still a level of high expectations and performance that comes with it, and so deep down Fuuta understands there'd be a "hassle," but can't really define why.

I mentioned in another hc post that Fuuta and his sister have a silent supportive relationship. I feel like she's the one person in his life who knows everything and is super accepting -- this is understood even though neither have said anything out loud. (When he was younger, she definitely forced him into skirts, dresses, and accessories "to check something for her beautician work.") She's noticed all the times he's picked a female avatar in games, or cosplayed in ambiguous outfits.

Then, Milgram. Thinking his life will be over soon anyway, he opens up to a few of the prisoners about himself. Their unexpected openness keeps it on his mind more often than before. Still, nothing changes. Through some rocky verdicts, he's declared innocent and released.

Back in the real world, he's pretty fucked up from the whole ordeal, and starts off extremely isolated. He's in touch with his family, but distant. He maintains contact with some of the other released prisoners, but it starts off only over the phone. He changes schools or maybe drops out completely. Having deleted all online accounts after the incident, he gets to work setting up a new online presence. He was planning on using an alias anyways, and goes with something gender neutral. "To be extra safe that no one guesses it's me," he tells himself.

Letting his hair grow out begins as an accident -- just a side effect of never going out or minding his appearance. One day he realizes how long he's let it go and grabs some scissors to cut it. He makes a comment in his chat, and someone begs him to send a picture first. He goes to take it, but is suddenly disgusted and ashamed of his self-neglect. He's forced to make himself selfie presentable first: brushing his hair and throwing on something clean real quick. When he goes to take the picture, he realizes it looks good. It feels good. He puts the scissors away.

Soon, the prisoners/some new online friends coax Fuuta to hang out more. That's when she decides to reintroduce herself into society as someone new. She ventures out with the name of a favorite video game character. (I'm going to continue saying Fuuta because I genuinely can't name a single popular character from games she'd play, but just picture the most painfully obvious one you can. The kind you hear and go "oh okay. You play X too much, huh." And please send me your thoughts so I can work them into my own personal canon 👀) 

She doesn't have any hatred towards her deadname, it's more the pain of association: she remembers it said accusingly from the mouths of ex-friends. She remembers that name being called a murderer. She's not trying to deny/run from that past, she just wants to be someone better. Well, some days it is her way of running away, but most of the time it's a healthy separation from the past.

Encouraged by the positive reception and abundance of privacy in her isolation, she finally starts to explore her appearance more. Mikoto left behind some earrings during a visit -- she pierces her ears herself and tries them on. (If she doesn't like them, the holes will just heal, right? She's not weak, she can take a little pain...) Yuno/Mahiru stayed over once, and left a bit of makeup in the bathroom. She tries that on too. With a beautician in the family, this self-styling comes very easily. Fuuta's cowardly tendencies have her torn between embarrassment and her typical 'fuck you' attitude that she can do whatever she wants.

You know when you solve a tiny problem and suddenly you're smacked with how much of a huge problem it actually was? Fuuta never believed she had any issues before, but all of the sudden she's happier. Every day is easier. She has more friends. True friends. She does better with school/work. Her personality is still fiery, but it's more passion than irritability now. Self-hatred she didn't recognize starts melting away. She smiles more. She laughs more. She has plans for her future. She's excited about her future. 

(Shameless art plug hehe, before I had the timeline nailed down I did a little drawing of that selfie Fuuta takes when she realizes she's satisfied with this appearance, and now has newfound motivation to move forward in life.)

Over time she experiments with other elements of transitioning, and maybe changes her name to something a bit more subtle lol.

Unfortunately, I don't think it would go over well with her parents, but she never much cared for their opinions, anyway. One day a bit in the future, she bumps into her old friends in the street. Once recovering from panic, she's pleasantly surprised that they don't recognize her. Fuuta thought her appearance/fashion wasn't that different, but to fair, the friends figured they'd remember a stunning redhead with a very noticeable eye injury if they'd met before...

And just a few quick prisoner reactions (because in my heart they're all making it out ;--;):

Yuno has similar relationship as Fuuta's sister, offering immense help without unnecessary words. She's Fuuta’s go-to contact for trying new things and asking questions. 

When Mahiru first finds out, she goes a bit overboard with a makeover attempt. She and Muu provide their most frilly, glimmering outfits. They paint her nails and do makeup. They style her hair. This obviously turns out to be way too much, earning them a Fuuta-typical rant. Still, she's secretly moved by their enthusiasm and kindness. 

After that, designer Mikoto tries his hand at helping. Fuuta had been really worried the two of them would lose their guys nights out and relaxed friendship, but their relationship never changes.

Shidou is very accepting and very awkward. He's trying!! He gets excited, sending her all this information and help for medically transitioning.

Fuuta invites Kazui to their first pride parade <3

Though there's no return address on the package, Fuuta receives a gift of miscellaneous earrings and piercings in the mail with a note that they'd suit her well…

[wonderidolhaze]

yuki's alters & their apperances! (the wonderidolhaze ultimate info-dump post. sort of. not really.)

(in order: emiko, jeanne, and yuu)

umm so basically for those who have no idea what i'm talking about: this is my milgram oc her name's yuki and she's a system. here's her alters! (also ummm this is for my mutual @mukuberry if any of my other mutuals see it ummm no you don't /j)

also um TW/CW: Descriptions of abuse (Domestic & Substance), Mentions of Self-Harm in Jeanne's Section, Mental Health Issues, & Brief Mentions Of Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Emiko (She/Her)

The first alter to manifest herself in Yuki's body. One night, at the age of seven, Yuki’s father came home after a night of heavy drinking. Yuki and Sumiko were cooking dinner when her father stumbled in and began to berate Sumiko. Her father used the glass bottle held to hit Yuki’s side, injuring her. Sumiko would intervene and tell Yuki to run and hide, so her father wouldn’t find her. Yuki would panic and hide under the table in the kitchen, only hearing the sounds of her mother’s screaming as she was beaten by Yuki's father.

Emiko acts a caretaker of Yuki and Sumiko, due to Sumiko's mental health deteriorating so much that some days she couldn't take care of herself and Yuki. Emiko is a the barer of most of Yuki's stress, physically and mentally. When Yuki went dormant after she had committed her crime, Emiko took over as the host of the body until Yuki (hopefully) returns. Emiko often drank to cope with her feelings about Yuki going dormant.

When she ends up in the Milgram prison, the first thing that went to her mind was panic. Of course, she knew why they were in prison, but didn't want to remain in Milgram. Probably attempted a prison break at least once. Or twice.

Songs I Associate With Her!

Shunran by john/TOOBOE

Superfusion by Maiku Tachibana

Uncanny by GHOST and Pals

Jeanne (He/They)

Jeanne is the second alter that manifested not that long after Emiko did. He's the gatekeeper alter, but he feels much older. (Late 30’s) Not much to say about Jeanne story-wise other than he helped get Yuki a job as a ballerina so they wouldn't go broke and helps manage Yuki's relationships so they don't deteriorate. At rare times, Emiko would wake up with fresh cuts on her leg... But who knows what they could be from?

In terms of how he'd act in Milgram, I feel like he would be like: “Hm. Well, this is inconvenient. Better start figuring out who’s the biggest threat so Emiko doesn’t have to.” In terms of the canon Milgram prisoners, he wouldn’t like Es, Fuuta, & Kotoko. He would get along with most of the other prisoners otherwise. Most likely to question Es about the judgement system of Milgram. (Ex. “Kotoko is the most dangerous, but weaker prisoners (Fuuta, Mahiru, Amane) were punished?”, “Why would they let someone who could easily be childish decide the fate of an entire prison?”, etc.)

Songs I Associate With Him!

God-ish by PinocchioP

FAKE! FAKE! FAKE! by Fake Type

No.7 by Jibaku Shounen Band

Yuu (She/It)

The third alter to manifest in Yuki’s body. Yuu is a child alter who’s six and a half years old. Yuu is what Yuki wishes she could’ve been: A normal child with a happy family. Yuu helps Yuki with processing her trauma, healing her inner child literally. Yuu doesn’t do much in Yuki’s life, only really fronting when Yuki’s home alone and knows that she’s safe. Yuu doesn’t like fronting most of the time, mostly leaving it to Emily and Jeanne.

In terms of Milgram, Yuu would interact with the younger prisoners, if she interacts with them at all. I feel like she would act like T1 Mikoto, not knowing why she’s in Milgram and thinking it was a mistake. Most likely would appear more in T2 depending on her verdict.

Songs I Associate With Her!

Baby Daze by Chizono

Apricot by Iyowa

Loveit by PinocchioP

(ughhhh this took so long. I think I got lazy in some parts but uhhh yeah it’s done woohoo.)

[prisoner-000]

Which trial's song from each prisoner is the better one?

Fun thing I thought I'd ask myself. Since most song vs. song debates come down to character preference how about we just pit one character's songs against each other? Tee hee.

Haruka - All-Knowing and All-Agony is my pick. The piano melody in the background is honestly just breathtaking. As much as I overall like Weakness' guitar and harmonies, i think AKAA is overall the better product.

Yuno - Tear Drop. The chorus just absolutely bangs and the synths are so good. This is a very slight win because honestly Umbilical is kind of on the same level in my mind - they're both similar in the vibes department, but have different strengths. I also have to give props for being the longest T2 song by far.

Fuuta - Backdraft. I'm pretty neutral on Fuuta as a character which makes me not listen to his songs quite as much... Extremely slight win, 'cause I like it's consistent level of energy. Ask me tomorrow and I'll probably say Bring It On (the last chorus especially is so damn good). Fuuta's CV's voice is an absolute treat.

Muu - After Pain. I was obsessed with this song when I first got into Milgram and still kind of am. It just sounds so uniquely 'lonely', conceptually extremely sad and yet somehow cheerful. It fits Muu's character really well. I also love INMF for it's isolated vocal moments where Muu's CV can really bring her all into it, but overall, this is my pick.

Shidou - Triage. I've never liked Throw Down all that much because it's always sounded almost Too normal and neutral to my ears. Triage has this soft melancholy in its instrumental and somber vocals during the verses. And also, that final chorus... OUGH. I can see why someone would prefer Throw Down, though.

Mahiru - I Love You. I really like how this song played with everyone's expectations when the previews came out. Mahiru rapping is so fun and really works compared to the cutesy idol-like chorus. The lines before the final chorus and the double-voiced rap part leading up to it is also fantastic. TIHTBILWY has instruments I like a bit more, but kind of suffers in the interesting concept department IMO.

Kazui - half. Gonna be a contrarian here, but this song has always been one of my favorites. It's very unique in Milgram's selection of songs with its slow, soft melody and almost minimalistic instrumental compared to the others. It sounds sad, Kazui's CV is so soft with his voice and yet expressive. Besides, it's a song about unrequited love. This was made specifically for me I feel. Cat is also really, REALLY good, i love Cat, but. Half. !!!!!!!!!!! I blow up

Amane - PURGE MARCH. DO I NEED TO EXPLAIN MYSELF. I like Magic, but it pales in comparison to this song's mixing, its chanting, its concept, its MV.. GAHH!!! THE AMEN BREAK?????? The verse repeating the 'commandments' over Amane's singing? What else do you want me to say. This is a banger.

Mikoto - MeMe. Harder metal instrumental = me likey. The chorus is gorgeous, and the back-and-forth between the two styles is especially great. I prefer Mikoto's CV's voice in Double, but I can't say I prefer Double because it's just too damn short, not to mention it only being 2 verses and 2 choruses with a long speech break. I love Double, I really do (also because a piano is always good), but... MeMe has the tightest grip on me.

Kotoko - Deep Cover. I've never been the biggest fan of Harrow. I love Deep Cover's gimmick of counting the prisoners and the Undercover mirroring, plus it has Double's appeal with the bridge before the chorus sounding angelic. I wouldn't say I love it, but it's really good.

And . yup. Umm. Feel free to do this too if you'd like and you can fight me on my opinions i am objectively right always. Forever. Btw. Farewell

[gunsli-01]

Hi bestie hope you're doing well

Any new shidou theorys you have?

I'm doing alright for the most part. I hope you've been doing well too. Though @apatchworkstar would be better to go to for Shidou theories. She hit the nail on the head when she said he'd be getting Delusion Tax this trial. My thoughts are scattered across a lot of things right now. Especially when it comes to Milgram.

I had been waiting to see Mahiru's cd art to work out some thoughts when it came to the prisoners' doors. It seems the verdicts impact how immaculate a prisoner's door is. When Futa's door came out i believed that the graffiti on it more represented the victims of his actions and the centered word Pressure was being used to represent the gazes of the audience.

The only things on Futa's door that seem representative of him is the coloring of the word Pressure and the flammable warning label. So, I wanted to see Mahiru's door to see if this would be a consistent thing. Which seems to be the case.

Mahiru's door is pretty but looks to be a place that was abandoned a long time ago. Areas of it appearing stained and rusted over with plants coiling around the entrance. The most interesting thing about Shidou is how his door compares to Mahiru's.

I think the thing that best describes the feeling their doors give me is the quote from the beginning of Pandora Hearts, "Someone once said it was a dark place that swallowed everything up, but it wasn't as if there was never any light there."

If Milgram has compared Mahiru to the sun then Shidou would be the moon and that's perfectly represented when their trial two cd art is shown side by side. Shidou's face is surrounded by a calm pale glow of light remniscent of the certain serenity one would only find during the time of day where yesterday isn't quite yesterday and today has yet to become today.

Just like he says in Throw Down "I don’t feel scared because I don’t know." He's calm because he doesn't know. There's a serenity in ignorance that has been overshadowed by the idea of fearing the unknown. Yet, there are many times in a person's life where they'll find solace in not knowing something because sometimes not knowing something is better than acquainting yourself with it.

Like with Shidou he says, "I finally understand the value of what I've been robbing people of." Yet, understanding such a thing certainly wouldn't bring a person peace. Throw Down is all about how one's morality and trying to do the right thing is a delusion people hold onto in order to comfort themselves.

Something drenched in so much subjectivity that what another person finds wrong could very well be right to someone else. The back and forth between those states of understanding. Understanding that all ethics is when cut down to its barest form is humans trying to delude themselves into believing they've done the right thing through reasons created by humans. It's just a higher level of justifying one's own beliefs and choices. So, just as easily as it can be picked up, it can also be thrown down.

It only means what the individual wants it to mean and we all pay the tax for believing what we believe eventually whether it's a delusion or not. Sorry, got sidetracked there. The thing that showcases this sun/moon comparison between Mahiru and Shidou are the plants on their doors. Shidou's are withered and wilting as though they haven't seen sunlight in ages despite the glow around Shidou himself. While the ones gripping Mahiru's door are clearly still alive as a warm light shines down atop Mahiru's head.

Shidou tends to be associated with flower preservation. So, him having dead flowers isn't surprising. He's shown to enjoy preserving things even after they've died in Throw Down. This could easily represent how Shidou isn't really interested in things outside of a superficial perspective. How he wants to preserve only the good aspects of his partner or harvest only the best parts for them.

This leads into the double meanings behind the prisoners covers. Each song that a prisoner has covered so far has had a double meaning. Delusion Tax for Shidou for example could allude to him deluding himself into believing he had more of a relationship with the person he was allegedly trying to save than he did.

However, it also plays into his delusion around being a doctor. Thinking that just if he studied medicine, he could save people and do right by society. Something heavily displayed in the lyric, "That's right, for all these dirty delusions let's settle the bill with this dirty money."

So, I have two theories. Shidou was definitely organ trafficking to make money on the side of being a doctor. However, why he was doing so still alludes me and how he was being provided with the bodies is also incredibly suspect.

The first thing that could have happened is he was a shady doctor who worked with criminals on the side and sometimes helped hurry organ collection along by botching surgeries. Yet, one day when he was called in to get organs out as usual it was someone he knew on the table. However, Shidou doesn't seem like the sort to get into something like that without there being some way for him to gain as well.

So, he could have also got into it to get access to organs himself to help someone he cares about with a layer of protection if he were to slip up one day. It's not that difficult for him to give organs he found unfit to any shady organization who may want them for some semblance of protection. Though to be honest Shidou is a bit of an outlier to me. It's a bit hard for me to relate to him on any level because he's just so flippant about even recognizing himself.

It's like he just doesn't care regardless of which way his verdict goes and only started to care about being innocent in order to keep giving medical aid to other prisoners. So, I'm at this point where I know he's bad but he clearly values human life and I'm interested in knowing what would make him begin to wonder what the weight of a life is in Throw Down. Because at least to me to come to the conclusions Shidou has about ethics well it shows that at a point he really did care about those things and I want to know what made him throw that away.

Though he could have also never cared about those things. Like he's hard to read which is why I said I probably wouldn't be voting on him unless there are some very concrete revelations. I'd need to see his song a few times and have the voice drama translation before giving a deliberation on him this trial.

Ah he's rather difficult because slippery cold people like that are hard for me to deal with. It just feels like he doesn't care about much and he's just taking things as they go like he gave up long before ending up in Milgram and that's a difficult type for me. He could also just be a cannibal which at this point seems like a bit of a low hanging fruit.

I feel like his music video is going to be really fucked up though. I'd really just have to say Shidou is too much like Jack Vessalius for me to really get a feel for yet or make an opinion on. It seems like he just reflects what the person he's speaking to wants to see. I don't know what he cares about or stands for and how easily he switched from vote me guilty to vote me innocent is questionable.

To anyone that has read Pandora Hearts that may be taken as an insult for those who haven't I'm basically saying Shidou has yet to show his true colors and I don't know if he ever will. He seems fake as hell to be honest. Like I know Kazui is meant to be the one good at lying but Mahiru and Shidou seem really good at hiding their true selves.

I hope this makes sense. I was in a bit of a rush. I really want to see what Shidou cares about and not what he believes society would want him to care about and I still haven't seen that so he's just a difficult case for me...

[linalilia]

i've got all the prisoners but now i'm not really sure what to do with keeping their crimes mysterious on what level

okay this is probably gonna get long sjsjjsks

hmm, i think that the level of mysteriousness mostly depends on what exactly you want to do with your characters? like for example, do you want their crimes to be almost impossible to solve or do you want to make it easier? or maybe you can make some characters' crimes pretty easy to solve but make other characters' crimes very hard to understand. i did exactly that with my own prisoners, like i think that akio and naomi's crimes are very easy to understand, but shun and kei's?? GOOD LUCK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED SJSJSKKSKS. and i think it's the same for canon prisoners as well, like we know that fuuta's victim died because of bullying and that kazui's crime has to do something with his wife, but we still don't really know much about mahiru and amane's crimes.

and also, i want to mention that crimes that seem easy to understand actually can become the most difficult ones to solve, for example, muu's mvs are definitely the most "straightforward" and "direct" ones, like seriously, we can even see her victim's face and we even know her name! but as some other people said, there are too many inconsistencies and these mvs actually kinda feel like muu can't remember what exactly happened. i'm not really a fan of the "socks theory", like i didn't even pay attention to the color of those girls' socks, but hey, it's milgram, who knows, maybe that wasn't a mistake and they did it on purpose. also the whole thing with muu's shoe falling off too.. so yes, you can actually make people think that they have everything they need to solve that character's crime, but then make them go ".. wait a second, did that really happen".

also mvs are supposed to show everyone's crimes the way they see it, so maybe you can think about that as well too? like sure, you may know what exactly your character did, but what do they think about their own crime? do they hate themselves for doing it? do they think it's nothing special? you can try to show that in their mv or their voice dramas too!

and even if it feels like your characters' murders are too easy to solve, you can just keep some other details secret, like their murder method, their backstory, their motive, etc. like maybe we know that this person killed their sister, but how did they do it and why? what if they have a sympathetic reason for doing that? or what if their murder method was so cruel that you just can't forgive them for doing something so horrible? yes, milgram is mostly about judging the prisoners' crimes and nothing else, but let's be honest, stuff like personality, motives, backstories, etc is very important and people's opinions can easily change depending on that. for example, i think if haruka's personality was a bit different, most people wouldn't feel bad for him at all and they would vote him guilty even during the first trial.

so yeah, i think that's all i have to say for now! sorry if this is a lot to read, haha.

[archivalofsins]

There's one thing that's sad about the Amane Innocent verdict. We've taken away the opportunity for Futa to go you're just like me for real now. If she were guilty and something happened to her during the second intermission he'd definitely say something like that. How anger would he be? That sort of thing is now a bit of a what if scenario. This is also good because we at least possibly won't retraumatize Futa more by having him watch another child be harrassed to their demise. Also, anyone else could literally decide to attack her or any other prisoner anyway, regardless of the verdict.

So, it's not like safety is guaranteed, just due to an innocent verdict. It was Kotoko who made that deal with Es to jump the people they found guilty even if nit intentionally. Plus, none of the other prisoners have acted yet. Wouldn't it be so unfair if Kotoko was the only one who got to do something bad before this all ended? It's a bit of wishful thinking to assume she pr Amane would be the only ones to try something during the second intermission.

I mean, this is Milgram.

It's not just dependent on one prisoners judgment but all ten and how the prisoners interact with each other and us in response to said verdicts. So everything is still pretty much on the table wherever the ball lands. Welcome to the perfect example of a false dilemma. That button never did what most thought it did and that's what makes it oh so fun. You press a button, and only angst comes out regardless of what you intended.

Stories like that, oh, they're once in a lifetime, and I'm glad I'm alive to see it. It's so fun this back and forth where no one ever truly wins. A gamble with no payoff. A futile waste of effort. There's something so pleasing about having fates heel slowly crush your neck. As every action you take only ups the pressure.

In situations like this, it's only natural to keep fighting against that seemingly endless unfairness. All the way up until the end, when you give in gasping at the realization that the unfairness you were fighting against looks so much like you. It's an ultra sadistic writers paradise!

I can't wait to see where Kotoko lands, but at the same time, I want to get to the third trial as soon as possible. It's all so exciting. I can't wait to hear about what all the prisoners did over the second intermission. I wonder how they're taking their verdicts, especially Futa, who was blessed with one more chance as he asked for and Yuno, who's only gotten more despondent. Yet I also have my eye on Kazui as well.

It's all so exciting. It's the not knowing part that's the best after all.