#rain code meta

[basilpaste]

one of the things i have to fully and completely praise rain code for is its foreshadowing.

spoilers ahead, naturally.

the way the victims die in chapter 0 is done narratively for a purpose, of course. to obscure the bodies so the hitman can use another corpse to fake his own death. the burning of the corpses also serves the purpose of not letting the audience see their blood.

see the thing is: you do see someone bleed in chapter 0. its none of the characters who die, theres no visible blood on any of the corpses. the only person who you see bleed before entering kanai ward is yuma himself.

he cuts himself on some glass. his blood is distinctly red. however: the fact that the only appearance of blood is so minor is kind of the point. its a piece of evidence, not something as glaringly obvious as the corpses you find on he train.

so you get to kanai ward and have a lot of time between seeing the little evidence slide with yumas blood and the first victim in the city. the way yuma responds to the body in the clocktower is written pretty cleverly! you think hes just reacting to a corpse, but hes also reacting to the colour of the blood.

brains are silly. you see a bunch of pink blood in a game involving the guy whos known for making games with pink blood in them and you fill in that any blood youve seen so far has been pink. the little piece of evidence is minor enough that its easy to overwrite in your brain. 'blood' in the mystery labyrinth could easily be one of the places quirks.

its just one of those things that you look back at after finishing the game and go 'oh shit that was really cool actually'

[chanzilla123]

I hope you don’t mind my addition, but something interesting about Yuma’s birthday (May 22nd) is that it actually takes place on the International Day for Biological Diversity.

Considering how his original identity’s goal was to bring happiness to everyone and how Chapter 5/the epilogue plays out, this date is really fitting for Yuma’s birthday.

Yuma and Yakou are also both Gemini. I think it’s also an extremely fitting astrological sign for Yuma for two reasons. The first reason is that it fits with his dual personality (his past self vs. his current self). The other reason is that Gemini is represented by Castor and Pollux/Polydeuces, twin half-brothers in classical mythology. While Castor was the son of Tyndareus and mortal, Pollux was the son of Zeus and immortal. Doesn’t the mortal and immortal aspect sound vaguely familiar to Yuma’s connection with a certain someone?

To keep with the theme I've got rolling since my latest post, I'll share a silly little fun fact!

Yakou's birthday is on May 21st! It's a national day for a lot of pretty sweet n cute things!

Wait a minute... did I read that right? Let's enhance!

After some light research, it turns out that on May 21st, 2011, it was predicted to be the end of the world. While it isn't as widely remembered as the other prediction of Doomsday on December 21st, 2012 (where my Miracle Musical enjoyers at?), this date still listed as the national day for the world's end. And as we're all aware, this is an overarching theme for chapter 4. As stated in the opening of the chapter:

"Eventually, after a restful slumber... The end of the world arrives. The end of the world I believed in."

Yuma's birthday is immediately after Yakou's, May 22nd. The end of one world and the beginning of another, perhaps? I have zero idea if this choice of a birthday of all things was intentional, but it makes for some good trivia!

[dreamingkatfish]

100% spoilers this time. And also there's blood.

The text post this is quoting is just 100% their ship dynamic to me. And we're ignoring the quality, I am still sick.

[himiko-yumehellno]

Kodaka very obviously wants to make Danganronpa 4, but as many people have pointed out already, this would conflict with the ending of V3. I thought I would make things easier on our resident murder mystery writer who appears to really like making mascots that remind me of Whisper from Yo-Kai Watch, and come up with some solutions to this problem! Organized in approximate order of increasing silliness and grasping at straws, with some additional director's notes from ✨me✨!!

So, how can Kodaka make a new Danganronpa game that works with the ending of Danganronpa V3?:

Danganronpa isn't actually a killing game franchise loved around the world; Tsumugi either lied or was lied to herself (probably with the use of a Flashback Light to make her believe she was a willing ringleader). Allows for some interesting angst if it's the second option.

Despair made a sudden comeback and took over a good portion of the world. Tsumugi fudged some details, but it's true that a lot of the world now enjoys killing games, because normal life is just boring to them (a life without despair and death?! Ugh! Who'd want that, am I right?). We find out in a later installment that the survivors joined with other forces fighting against despair. Danganronpa 4 explores a separate killing game also put on in the name of this new global wave of despair.

Danganronpa 4 turns out to be a prequel (possibly featuring a killing game that the in-game franchise was inspired by, possibly just being one of the numerous previous installments Tsumugi threw out there in her exposition monologue, possibly some secret third option), and ends up with some ridiculous name so fans don't get confused on the sequence of events. Personally, I hope the name is Danganronpa Negative Four.

As so many postgame fics have taken to declaring, the entire game was a simulation. Except to make this work, it probably wouldn't be a simulation designed by Team Danganronpa – no, no, no! Perhaps this killing game was put on by Remnants of Despair or – *exaggerated gasp* – the Future Foundation themselves, hm?

Danganronpa V3 was a really fucked up social experiment and none of the "reality TV" backstory was real. No one knows how it got past the ethics committee, so don't ask.

It was all an alternate dimension/timeline. ... Look, if all it takes to brainwash someone into mass murder is forcing them to come to anime night, they can throw in a little time or dimension travel!

To piggyback on that last idea, the "reality TV" backstory was true; Danganronpa V3 and all the previous installments in this series were fiction... in the Rain Code universe. Or some other video game setting made by Kodaka. Nothing of the sort happened in the actual Danganronpa continuity, however.

Danganronpa V3 was Junko Enoshima's idea of heaven. Of course, it wouldn't have been complete without the despair of her ideal world being destroyed, hence the survivor trio shutting down her killing game show. Danganronpa 4, therefore, takes place in the living world, continuing off vaguely where the Danganronpa 3 anime left off. Notably, all questions about how Junko's heaven works and why she even got to go to heaven in the first place are not solved until a separate anime series, where we find out it was originally supposed to be her hell until she made the demon in charge of looking after her quit and give her full range of the place. It's never answered whether the participants of the killing game were other dead souls or just beings she created.

The entire thing was just the Monokuma Children playing with dolls. ... Or, knowing them, dead bodies.

Before V3 came out my brother had this whole theory that all of the characters were in a pseudo time loop where every time a killing game concluded, they'd just roll out a set of clones of everyone and start all over again, presumably killing off the survivors of the last game. I have no idea how this would solve Kodaka's issue but I want to see if they could find a way to make it work.

I'm excited to see what becomes of Kodaka's newest works, but apparently by his own admission he's interested in returning to Danganronpa at some point, so I thought I'd do the hard part for him. Feel free to take any of these ideas and run with them, Kodaka!

(feel free to add your own suggestions on how to make the ending of V3 work with a new Danganronpa game!)

[chanzilla123]

As an editor on the wiki and someone who has been keeping up to date with other Rain Code media (like the books and merch), this is just incorrect info.

I’m guessing that whoever edited this didn’t remember the exact events of the game (like this person wrote that the Peacekeepers killed Kurumi’s grandfather when the game states that he was killed by the berserk Homunculi during the Blank Week and didn’t have a Homunculus clone to replace him).

I’ve been planning to correct this misinformation, but I couldn’t get to it earlier due stuff. I’ll try to edit it tonight in my timezone or contact a mod about this though.

Spoilers up to the end of Chapter 4

I’m confused…

I was reading through the wiki for information on Yomi for one of my fics, and I’m completely confuse where some of these informations came from?

Dr. Wisca?

Cheng?

Planning to get Kanai Ward and its inhabitants killed?

Are these from a separate resource I missed like that book that came out, or the manga? Neither of which are translated to English yet, mind you.

[mothiidae]

my MDA:Rain Code thoughts - spoiler free version

I've been meaning to thought dump my overall thoughts and opinions about rain code for a while and well,, here we are!

my overall opinions: Despite some issues, Rain Code acts as a great foundation that can be built upon in the future - along with plot threads that can be used in future games. If your a danganronpa fan I would totally recommend it, but its a bit of a harder sell to those outside the bubble.

I have already done another form of this kinda post with everything i deemed to be somewhat spoilery - whether that be full on plot twists and story events in specific chapters or simple side content. For anyone who wants to read the spoiler version i'll link it here!

onto the list!:

to try to keep to some order, i've orginised the points into gameplay/mechanics, story and characters

Masafumi Takada was let out of the basement and has made yet another banging ost, is there no stop to this man? The title theme RAINCODE?? HELLO?? what i liked was that there are moments in which you can hear dangan elements; such as during the investigation theme you can hear trumpets which personally reminded me of sdr2's investigation theme and bella fresco grand finale - shinigami's execution theme - there are parts that sound like the execution theme. Despite all these dangan references (which im sure there are more) Raincode has been able to carve out its own vibe musically and im all here for this more low-key, lo-fi kinda feel!

Rui Komatsuzaki is back and the characters have that distinct design flair and eccentricity i expect from him. I have to say his designs are partly what drew me into Raincode because, well,,, his style is so recognisable!! it also is somewhat nostalgic for me so my neurons activate when i see it. I am but a simple man that enjoys this rui style.

Personally, Kodaka defiantly did not utilise this being a 3D adventure game enough because at points it just felt like visual novel taking place within a 3D space. And the adventure part i believe is quite the misnomer - it can be super restrictive in its exploration, theres not much to do/see within the city itself other than the requests - which are more of a story than gameplay thing. Though the adventure/action descriptors for the game are for the mystery labyrinth, it can make kanai ward itself feel more like a vehicle (gameplay wise) to get you from one case to the next. Kanai ward is stunning though, with kamasaki district being my favourite part!!

I also found that the mystery labyrinths got boring at inbetween all the minigames - consisting of running to the next part whilst the characters discus the case. In danganronpa, these moments of discussion were unnoticeable due to being a visual novel but within a 3D action/adventure-esque game like Rain Code they don't work.

Being outside of the killing game formula with supernatural abilities, Kodaka has been able to do some really interesting things with cases. If there are future games i'm curious if he'll set up a pattern of cases like in danganronpa.

I DID NOT EXPECT ALOT OF THE PLOT TWISTS, one of which only works well if you've played danganronpa in my opinion. Another one didn't have build up, but i can't tell if its a im just dense thing or a it was just a shit twist thing

Quirky ahh characters my beloved - most major characters stood out and had their moments. They join the Kodaka pile of eccenticity

I am a HUGE Yomi stannie, he is delightfully evil and his VA was going absolutely ham. shout out to Howard Wang! He is evil and there is no changing him and i love him for it!

other than him and martina i found the peacekeepers to be a little disappointing. They did what they were needed to but most are susceptible to leaving little impression on people. Which is not good as they are your major obstacle in a chapter. the majority of them have under 30~ mins of screen time [that is a rough estimate, most likely im wildly wrong] though they didn't need to have backstories or anything, them being a constant presence through investigation might've helped.

YAKOU MY LOVE <3<3<3<3<3<3 he is a soggy, wet cat of a character and sooooo pathetic!!! my kinda guy

Now i like fubuki as much as the next guy but i found that she would go one of the funniest characters of the cast to

[obscurchroma]

Gustave is such a complex character. We meet him and he's thinking about his legacy and ending the paintress so no one else has to die. His main theme is "for those who come after" and literally his sister is like "tomorrow comes, thanks to you". it's through small details you find out that he's lived through several gommages. He's lost an arm. he still loves Sophie even though they broke up because of their differences when it came to having children. like, there is so much potential in his character and its so nuanced????

the game introduces you to him and his narrative is so powerful you get attached. like, i am still not over it. i am not over Gustave.

[polysucks]

How do you feel about cats? I desperately wish asoiaf had more of them

I love cats, personally. I got two of them! I also have two dogs! I’m more of a cat person than a dog person, but I love both :3

But, as you know, I’m fuckin insane, so of course I had to use your ask as a platform to talk about how Peepaw Greg uses cat and dog symbolism in the series.

So let’s talk meta about his usage of cat and dog themes in Westeros.

In asoiaf, gpa Greg makes big big use of canine and lupine symbolism—most notably through the Starks and their direwolves—to explore some themes of loyalty, survival, identity, and instinct. The prevalence of dog-adjacent imagery, from the feral wildness of the direwolves to the brutalized obedience of people like Sandor Clegane, speaks to a deeper thematic preoccupation with what it means to belong (hypergeneralized) like. to a family, to a code, to a pack. Wolves and dogs in peepaw’s world are not literally animals, they’re totems of identity and indicative to some degree of fate that becomes perpendicular with the moral and emotional arcs of the characters they shadow.

By contrast, feline imagery like the Lannisters’ cunty lion sigil remains largely heraldic and aesthetic rather than emotionally or thematically embedded. Lions in the series symbolize institutional pride, legacy, and power, but lack the dynamic intimacy of the wolves. They are mythologized apex predators, ya sure ok, but predators in captivity, not the wild. They’ve lost their instincts. Their strength is theatrical. Their claws have become ceremonial.

The Lannisters aren’t predatory like their avatar so to speak. They’re curated. Groomed. Caged in gold and politics and perception. They hiss and bite, but most of them are bound by visage and expectation:

• Tywin is the lion’s roar—but it’s hollow in the end. He dies on the toilet. Womp womp (I laugh errytime)

• Cersei sees herself as a lioness, but she spirals into paranoia and ineffectual tyranny. (Literally just an evil slut. Smooth brain. No thoughts, just vanity. Yas queen go offffffff)

• Jaime begins as the golden lion but is declawed—literally—and only becomes compelling once he sheds that identity. (Smol. Must be protected at all costs.)

• Tyrion, the runt of the litter, understands the lion’s mold enough to break it—and it nearly destroys him. (I mean it kinda does long long term. I love who he becomes in adwd)

The Rains of Castamere goes fuckin HARD and underscores their obsession with legacy through intimidation (BECAUSE OF ONEEEEEEEE TIME. IT WAS ONE TIME. LIKE ITS NOT HARD TO ERADICATE THE ENTIRETY OF 2 HOUSE LINEAGES ESPECIALLY IF THEYRE SWORN UNDER YOU IM SORRY TYWIN BUT THATS NOT the fLEX YOU THINK IT IS im sorry okay back to our regularly scheduled insanity)

— A Storm of Swords, Catelyn VII

— A Storm of Swords, Arya VII

This isn’t a simple cats vs. dogs dichotomy. It’s about what these animals represent. Wolves and hound imagery when used in asoiaf evoke loyalty, instinct, and interdependence. Lions (or generally, feline figures which, I note, are very few) represent arrogance, isolation, and the brittle weight of legacy. Martin privileges the canine because his world favors those who endure—not those who posture. True survival in Westeros depends on bonds, not bloodlines; on pack over pride. (Get it? Bc a ‘pride’ is a pack? A pack of lions? Like the phrase blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb? Get it? Ok I’ll see myself out no need to call security)

While the thematic imbalance may seem skewed toward the wolf, this asymmetry is deliberate!!! The lion isn’t underdeveloped—it’s hollowed. It stands as a symbol of inherited power, not earned strength. Like Famous Disabled Worker Rights Advocate and Cheese Enthusiast Magister Illyrio once said

— A Dance with Dragons, Tyrion I

The lions of Westeros roar from red keeps and golden thrones (toilet thrones, am I right? Huh? Eh?), but they are trapped by politics, legacy, and illusion. Their power is a spectacle maintained through fear, maintained through myth. They ain’t even got the fundage to back it up. Pull up, Cersei. The wolves, by comparison, represent power that is quiet, blood-won, and bone-deep. They do not command; they endure. They are not elevated by institutions, but by instinct.

Each direwolf’s fate mirrors their Stark:

• Lady’s unjust execution reflects Sansa’s theft of innocence and disconnection due to her loss of identity and lack of companionship.

• Grey Wind’s death during the Red Wedding marks Robb’s failure to heed instinct, and his transformation from noble heir to vengeful pretender.

• Nymeria’s independence parallels Arya’s exile and self-determination, leading a pack in the Riverlands as Arya learns to lead her own life beyond names.

• Shaggydog’s ferality reflects Rickon’s descent into chaos without guidance or protection or intervention.

• Summer’s sacrifice anchors Bran’s transformation into something inhuman, but still bound to loyalty and vision.

• Ghost, albino and silent, is Jon’s mirror: othered, introspective, and spectral. A quiet nod, too, to his secret Targaryen bloodline. (Suck my ass it’s canon)

These direwolves are not pets. They’re living metaphors and fragments of soul and fate.

So no—I don’t think the series needs more cats! Their absence is the point. The feline is not underused; it is overestimated, just like the legacy it represents. Lions are only dangerous when the wolves are gone.

And besides—when Martin did give us a Cat, he had her butchered at a wedding and threw her body in a river. He killed her. Then he brought her back. Then he killed her again—socially, narratively, and emotionally.

So… maybe we’re good on cats.

Rip cat you woulda loved the MILF category on pornhub <3

[olderthannetfic]

oh MAN, im genuinely at the edge of a mental breakdown whenever the femslash numbers discourse resurfaces, like at this point it just elevates my blood pressure, i dig my nails into my thigh, and i go to one of my trusty fandom friends to complain about other people's complaints. i ship pretty much across the board without preference for gender combo, altho by virtue of my favourite character archetype niches being occupied by men, i end up with comparatively mostly m/m and m/f with only the occasional f/f. almost all of these end up being rarepairs with at least one supporting or minor character that are eclipsed by whatever juggernaut ship the fandom prefers but never compels me. im used to looking into a ship tag and come up with less than 100 works, most of the times it's less than 50. does this annoy me on the odd occasion, be it because i think X/Y is so much more cooler than uh, A/B that the fandom is obsessed with? sure, but i see no reason to rain on people's parade - i just mute tags and mentions and seethe in silence or private DMs. i write for my unpopular rarepairs, i reblog stuff posted in tags and cheer in my own tags, i chat with people who are also into it, and get overjoyed whenever there's a new fic in the AO3 tag (or elsewhere) that I can read. to me, the femslash situation feels very similar - you like the ship between two blorbos, there's enough fan made stuff for them to fit in the shell of a hazelnut, and 80% of the fandom will swoon over the two people who you personally couldn't give two fucks about even if someone paid you. and shoutout to the people who DO make the fan stuff, the art, the fic, the meta, the discord servers, who request and put up prompts in fic exchanges to inspire others... but by god, if the whiners aren't the ones who dominate the conversation, which i wouldn't mind as much if they'd do ANYTHING besides whine. no, they will scream and shout about how the "yaoi empire" needs to be taken down (how about you just move to FFN? Wattpad?), but then it's either obnoxious nitpicky fucks who haven't posted a single fic in their entire miserable life, or it's m/m shippers who are Not Like The Other Fujoshis and got, uh, i dont fuckin know, 30 works for hockey RPF and 10 for two guys from The Terror who canonically interacted like two times under their belt while they mostly blog about the guys from Interview with the Vampire. they want God, everyone's mother and all the slash shippers on Hedy Lamarr's world wide web to prioritise femslash but don't practise as they fucking preach, tear the work of the people who DO indulgently write about gay women, and think they're oppressed because no one will write exactly what they want. the code for AO3 is for free - unionise along with your fellow femslash enthusiasts, beat the drums really loud, open those google docs, and get some shit started! granted, you're unpleasant cunts and will probably go "actually, no boys allowed in here! get your boy cooties away from this forever!!!! if you like men fucking, go back to ao3!" which will inevitably drive people who like f/f as well as m/m away, so you might be doomed to fail but in the words of that adorable little kitten poster: hang in there!

--

[nocinovae]

I love how Qsmp lore is involving the actual gameplay and game data in the story.

Like @v@ Forever having all these admin powers and special buffs that made it super unfair and unbalanced in fighting him. Showing how insanely powerful @v@ and Cucurucho both are.

Fit using “player data” and “game statistics” as a part of his lore. Something usually kept out of roleplay.

Even the weather and time. The code causing rain and the time changing when it appears. Or Tubbo possibly changing the weather with his emotions (still just a theory). In general how it never is supposed to rain on Quesadilla Island.

Now protected blocks aren’t new to mc servers but the way it’s tied into the Federation’s control of the island and power over the players’ abilities.

The Minecraft rules and game functions are used in tandem with the worldbuilding and story aspects being created in roleplay.

This isn’t something I’ve seen used and actually encouraged in heavy lore focused roleplay servers before. It’s a really cool way to allow the game to still function as a game but still be incorporated into the context of the roleplay.

Like for Tubbo counting damage or using cave layers or just his general knowledge of the Game and it’s rules and that can be part of his character rather than calling it fail rp or having to try to make it make sense in the story it fits. (I also like the theory of him having a deeper connection to the game functions so he can be aware of those “meta” things bc he’s an experiment or code)

Big ramble but after watching Fit’s lore VOD it solidified this idea of game mechanics and data being blended with the fictional story rather than minecraft just being used as a stage but actually used as a part of the story. And I just find that insanely cool and creative.

[funishment-time]

i think for many people (including myself) it's because Kodaka (IMO) sort-of bungles the meta-statement of it all, bless the guy. but i don't know if i have the words to fully describe what i mean.

it might also be the idea that you are who you are now no matter if your memories are real or not, which also, for me, doesn't hold up to any amount of scrutiny, but again i'm not sure how to fully put to words what i mean

i did come around on V3's ending but less as a statement about truth and lies and fact and fiction blah blah blah and more of a statement on masks

by the way, for those who follow me and have been experiencing V3 for the first time thru GG

(though i haven't been spoiler-free for about a year so i'm not sure why you'd be here...! hello, though! welcome!)

the end twist of V3 is NOT retroactively removing the Hope's Peak Academy arc from the timeline. according to Kodaka in the V3 artbook directly, this is a setting reboot. he uses those words exactly in most translations i've seen. this is an AU. this is an alternate timeline where the HPA arc is fictional. the HPA arc still happened...in another world.

wanna make this clear again because the misinfo that only V3 was ever real still makes the rounds to this day, for some reason—i think because so many kids came in thru V3 and assume there's no reason to play any other game because they're "fake" or whatever (and don't have their boyfriend kokichi in them)

[spiegelgestalt]

Some stray observations and speculations before the new episodes come out

Vi has yet to win a major victory in the undercity. Also since the time skip someone contemplated/tried to kill her in every battle. She truly doesnt fit into Zaun anymore

Sevika on the other has gotten two victories in the last three episodes. Working together with jinx truly benefits her (and in retrospect: vi lost the bar battle even though she beat sevika because jinx intervened)

Caitlyn has currently a really important story arc and I hope they stick the ending. Caitlyn runs into another savior dilemma: you go into a situation full of good intentions and well meant plans and the fuckers screw you over, hurt you and hurt the people around you. This is an experience a lot of well meaning helpers have. And I still think that while her reaction is understandable it's not correct. I come back to Cassandra's sentence: the people in the undercity deserve to breathe. Because it's such bullshit. It's your industries that caused that, you produced that smog - you should clean it up - it's common sense - but Cassandra frames it as a favor and now that the people on the undercity aren't sufficiently grateful that favor is revoked

Ambessa strokes the cheek of a child who got hurt by the smog. That child looks like a young Viktor. And once again I'm struck by the fact that it piltover expected Zaun to just accept this and how much piltover freaks out over attacks that did just a fraction of the damage piltover did to zaun

Caitlyn got a letter from Ambessa during a grieving process. I really hope that they don't just blame the whole thing on Ambessa/foreign influence and call it a day (currently they are doing pretty well)

If you take the songs into consideration and interpret them as expressions of the two cities you notice that piltover is still not understanding. They think they can get this problem back under control with violence while Zaun is saying: yeah come and kill me I don't even care anymore. But I will hurt you as much as I can in the process

Arcane is in part about generational violence and it's very telling that it's especially the young characters who are all for the violence happening (cute enforcer girl and cute street urchin)

I have to say it somewhere: Caitlyn isn't ready for jinx, piltover isn't ready for jinx I'm not even sure if Ambessa is ready for jinx.

I kinda want to write a meta about Ekko/Viktor as the two people who try to help the undercity within the system and how they are both screwed over. Viktors findings are taken for piltover and used against Zaun and ekko is a) in danger to suffer the same fate (I have thoughts about heimerdinger you all) b) in danger to lose all he has built because of something piltover did

I think I'm one of the few people who didn't think that indepence for Zaun was the solution to everything. I think it was to little to late. also jinx is all about making piltover eat the consequences of their actions. Shes quite literally zauns curse. But I also think that ist sevika who truly wants war. (note the raining metaphor some people noticed. Everytime a person from piltover got rained on it was because of something jinx/powder did)

Heimerdinger is gearing up to repeat his own cycle by plucking another street urchin from the undercity. After Viktor he got Jayce and now he wants Ekko. I can't help but notice that neither Jayce nor Victor benefited from his teachings

One day I will write about arcane relationship to Disney and the little mermaid and the og little mermaid but in short: Viktor is the little mermaid who loses his voice, doesn't get the prince and dies in the end, silco is very heavily Ursula coded (just look at his introduction!! )

If anyone wants me to go deeper into any of this observations feel free to ask me. I'd be happy to.

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ③

From the second reading to the end of the of the daytime program.

Previous posts:

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ①

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ②

⚠️This is a looong post and contains spoilers! Only read this if you have already played RAIN CODE and have time.

After introducing the merchandise sold at the event, Fukuhara, Suzushiro, and Ishikawa gave a reading performance. The reading was a direct reenactment of the game's dialog from Chapter 1, when Halara's forensic forte was first shared with Yuma, so I will just leave out the details.

After that, KENN joined in and the four VAs gave a reading performance. This was a re-enactment of the part after the Mystery Labyrinth in chapter 2, where Kurumi gave Yuma information about the homunculus and Yuma shared it with other detectives of the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Yakou's lines were replayed by playing the voices in the game, and Fubuki's and Vivia's lines were simply omitted. In the actual story, Vivia mentions Death God here, implying that he knows Yuma is possessed by Shinigami, but those lines were left out, and Shinigami forced a punchline by being a bit silly instead. I remember it ending with a meta-statement like, "The most mysterious thing is that Fuzz Head's voice is heard even though he is not here."

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the entire script for the reading was done by Spike Chunsoft staff, and Kodaka was not involved at all. (From the way he talked, it sounded like he didn't even supervise it). So the story itself was not something worth explaining in detail. Just the VAs' performances were really perfect and wonderful :)

------

The next segment, "Kanai Ward Citizen Survey", featured a game in which the VAs predicted which answer to a three-option question would receive the most votes from the audience. The audience was treated as Kanai Ward residents, and voting was done by clapping their hands. The person who best predicted the audience's answer won a book token printed with the main artwork of the RAIN CODE Fan Meeting.

The first question was as follows:

Q1.Which Forensic Forte would you use if you could? 1. Halara's Forensic Forte 2. Desuhiko's Forensic Forte 3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte

Maybe they dared to make it easy because it was the first question, but clearly Halara's abilities are too limited compared to the versatility of Desuhiko and Fubuki's abilities 😅 so the VAs predicted that it would most likely be either 2 or 3. And here's the result of their choice:

(The VAs were given placards to hold up to answer the questions.)

Then, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte". To which the VAs said, "I knew everyone wanted to rewind time." lol

The level of popularity was Fubuki > Desuhiko >> Halara.

The next question was this:

Q2.Who is the detective you want to be your boss? 1. Yakou 2. Halara 3. Yuma before losing his memory. (Number One)

When Kodaka saw these options, he immediately commented as follows:

But Suzushiro said "Isn't Halara too strict? Yakou seems to be very subordinate-minded." Then Ishikawa said, "If I were to become Halara's subordinate, I would like to see Halara looking at pictures of cats."

(The gesture of looking through the gap is what she actually did on the stage!)

And here's the result of their choice:

I was so convinced by Ishikawa's opinion, but she actually raised Yakou's number. (She betrayed us! 😂)

Only Fukuhara chose 3 and was asked by the MC why:

(He really loves Yuma!)

Then, Kodaka commented as follows:

Fukuhara countered, "But don't you think it's good that he only shows his true face to me!?" (He seemed to imagine what would happen if he became Number One's secretary or entourage 😄)

But whether his arguments did not resonate with the audience or were simply not popular enough, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "1. Yakou".

The level of popularity was Yakou > Halara > Number One.

Q3.Which organization would you prefer to join? 1.World Detective Organization 2.Amaterasu Corporation 3.Resistance

Kodaka saw these options and again immediately commented.

(That's true 😂)

The VAs began to discuss these options and which organization would give them the best chance of survival. However, all of them are very risky 😅 WDO's work is fraught with danger (as a lot of detectives were actually killed in chapter 0), and workers in Amaterasu would be executed if suspected of rebellion. Of course, the Resistance is always fraught with danger!

After such discussion, here is what they chose:

When asked by the MC why they chose Amaterasu Corporation, Ishikawa and KENN replied:

(Becoming an Ama-Pal developer is certainly a fairly peaceful option 😆)

Fukuhara replied that the reason he wanted to join WDO was because of his love for Yuma, and Suzushiro said she wanted to use Forensic Forte.

And as a result of audience voting, the most popular option was "1.World Detective Organization".

The level of popularity was World Detective Organization > Amaterasu Corporation >>> Resistance. (FYI, WDO and Amaterasu were almost equally popular. WDO was slightly more popular).

Last Question: Which line do you want Shinigami to say? 1. "Kyahaha! Down the rabbit hole we go!" (JA: きゃっきゃっきゃ！　いざ、迷宮入りーーーー！！) 2. "Luminous darkness! Shining rainbow! Glorious stellar spiral! Bello Fresco Grand Finale!" (JA: ダークネ���シャイニングファビュラスレインボービューティフルマックススクリューラブリーフレッシュグランドフィナーレ！！) 3. "I hope he dies with his upper body stuck in the pond." (JA: 池に上半身が突き刺さって死ねばいいのに)

*As for the third, I don't remember where Shinigami said it, so I made up the translation myself. I used "he", but it may have been said to a female character. The first and second should be correct because I checked the English version of the videos on YouTube.

As for the first line, KENN mentioned that this line was memorable, but I need to make some explanations so that you can see why he said it. This line is said by Yuma and Shinigami enter the Mystery Labyrinth, but it differs considerably between the Japanese and English versions. If I translate the original Japanese line into English, it should be like "Now enter the Labyrinth!" However, in Japanese, it actually shares a meaning with another word that has a different meaning, but if it were put into English, it would lose that meaning, so it was probably changed to something completely different. In Japanese, when things are left unresolved, the thing is described as having entered a labyrinth. So KENN commented that he found it interesting that a word that was originally used in this sense was literally used in the sense of entering a labyrinth.

The second line is the one that Shinigami says at the end of Mystery Labirinth, when she reaps the soul of the true culprit:

Kodaka said it was based on the scene when the main characters perform a special move in the Pretty Cure series, a famous Japanese anime for girls. Suzushiro said that she searched for videos of Pretty Cure on YouTube and used them as a reference for her performance. When I heard this, I remembered that the title of the music played in the scene is "Heart Catch! Convict! Convict!" in the OST. I think "Heart Catch" is based on a title of one of the Pretty Cure series: HeartCatch PreCure! - Wikipedia

By the way, for Japanese Otaku, "heart catch" is also a word with a different meaning. I know the correct grammatical order in English should be "catch heart", but Japanese otaku dare to say "heart catch" when a cruel character grabs someone's heart (as an organ). So I think the reason for such a music title is a cross between the Shinigami harvesting the soul scene and the cute image of Pretty Cure.

Sorry for the long explanation! 😣 And my memory is a little fuzzy as to which answer the VAs chose here. I think 2 was the most popular. And in fact, 2 was the most popular among the audience, and Suzushiro actually read the line out loud!

The level of popularity was 2 > 1 >>> 3.

As a result of this game, it was Suzushiro who was the best at guessing the audience's answers! She received the book token and declared that she would use it to buy some RAIN CODE books :)

------

In the next segment, "RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz", the audience answered super-geeky questions about RAIN CODE. All questions were true/false and the audience answered by opening their fist for true and clenching their fist for false.

The audience was first asked to stand, and the person who made the mistake was treated as having left the quiz at that point and was seated. And when there were only a few people standing, the game was over. Those who stayed until the end received limited edition merchandise. (They received a card that looked like a pass).

This quiz was full of really difficult questions! 😅 There were 7 questions in total. I encourage you to see if you can answer them.

The questions were as follows:

The tallest person in Amaterasu Corporation is Dominic. True or false?

2. It is in Chapter 4 that Shinigami shows the pose in the following image. True or false?:

3. The word "WINE" is written on the label of the wine bottle* used in the case in Chapter 2. True or false? * The bottle was used as a prop for a play by the Aetheria Academy Theater Club.

4. The cat in the photo Halara was looking at in Chapter 1 had blue eyes. True or false?

5. The color of Pucci's stuffed bear* was white. True or false? * It is the stuffed bear that was sitting on a chair in Pucci's room in Chapter 0.

6. The load capacity of Ama-pal is 120 kg. True or false?

7. In chapter 1, the amount Halara asked for as the price for helping Yuma was 5,500,600 shien. True or false?

The order of the questions may differ from the order of the actual quiz, but in any case, only those who answered all of these questions correctly were eligible for the prizes.

The correct answers are written at the very end of this post!

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Finally, the participants gave their closing remarks. The VAs all said that it was the first time they had seen the fans since the game was released, and that it was nice to know for the first time that these people love RAIN CODE.

Ishikawa said that even from the stage she could see some fans wearing merchandise shirts or carrying Shinigami bags, and felt that RAIN CODE is really loved.

Fukuhara said that he was very happy because this was the first time he had been able to talk with spoilers. (He had been on the RAIN CODE introduction live stream before RAIN CODE was released, so he had had many opportunities to talk about RAIN CODE, but this was the first time he had done so with spoilers).

The following is Kodaka's final comment, which I tried to write as accurately as possible:

"It took six years to make RAIN CODE, and as you can see from the credits, there were a lot of people involved in making RAIN CODE. I was nervous about releasing it because it was the result of so many people's efforts, and I was worried about whether how many people would like it, but I am glad that there are a lot of fans who have gathered here with such enthusiasm. I am sure that RAIN CODE will have new developments and other things to come, so please continue to support us. Thank you very much."

After the closing remarks, Shinigami's announcement began. Shinigami then asked the audience, "Did you have a great time?" and the audience responded with applause 👏👏

------

Correct answers to the RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz! :

1.✅ True. (Dominic's height is 225 cm (7'4").) 2.✅ True. (You can see this pose in the result of the second Shinigami Puzzle in Chapter4.) 3.❌ False. (It was labeled LEQUELR.)

4.❌ False. (Black is correct.) 5.❌ False. (Pink is correct.) 6.❌ False. (100kg is correct.) 7.❌ False. (5,500,800 shien is correct.)

How many questions did you get right? I got the third question wrong and dropped out 😝 (In a post-event interview in the media, Kodaka said he did not know the correct answer from the first question. lol)

This is the end of the daytime program!

Next:

[sokkastyles]

So I was thinking about zutara and romantic coding, more specifically their confrontation scenes after zuko joins the gaang. I can't put into words but something about their closeness in the western air temple and tsr fights reminds me of romantic tropes. What do you think?

Like...

The scenes makes me think about this scene (I can't explain it but...)

I'm not the expert on Pride and Prejudice, but a lot of other people have written great meta about P&P and zutara. I've also talked a lot about romantic framing in these episodes, including how the confrontation in The Western Air Temple feels like a break up and reunion scene, and is mirrored in the finale with Zuko and Mai. So I'm not gonna reiterate a lot of words here, but I will drop this little piece of romantic framing for your comparison.

Which isn't even mentioning how the sun, specifically, is symbolic for zutara, particularly given how most of the Southern Raiders happens at night, in the rain and surrounded by water (Katara's elemen). But their reconciliation happens bathed in sunlight.

[malfiora]

3 Lenses for Watching BvS

1. Gothic cautionary folktale

Our three main characters (Bruce, Clark, and Lex) form a triad reminiscent of Paradise Lost. Our God figure (Superman) must contend with the responsibility he shoulders and the expectations of others. The Devil figure (Batman) diametrically opposes him in theme, method, and stance, and consigns himself to taking down the God. And Lex fashions himself as the Man figure, who must use the Devil to conquer God and claim the world for himself. What's fitting is that all three see themselves as the heroes of the story (though it's important to note that none of them see themselves as good). Bruce and Lex switch roles in the final act because Bruce acknowledges Clark's humanity.

The haunting architecture, cool color scheme, smoky and damp scenes, and fusions of magic and science underscore this as a folktale by narrowing our focus almost claustrophobically on these characters and their interactions. The moral seems to be that pride and fear will lead to our downfall.

2. Women at the center

Both the meta text and the context center women, despite Superman and Batman often being coded as hypermasculine and thus presented almost exclusively for the male gaze. This film, however, presents its leads sensually, which caters traditionally to the female gaze. We see romance between Clark and Lois (not sex), we see soft contours when Bruce trains (not hard lines), we see gentle, consensual touches when Bruce dances with Diana (not grabbing). (Keep in mind that this is all heteronormative because we're talking in binaries.)

Within the text, the female characters are also the ones who further the plot. Lois uncovers the plot to frame Superman. At the end, she's the one who knows exactly where the kryptonite spear is (because she tossed it in the water). Diana foils Bruce's attempt to steal Lex's files, and in the end helps defeat Doomsday. And Martha (though not consensually) is the entire reason Superman and Batman come to a truce. Even Senator Finch provides a voice of reason that has to be snuffed out for Lex to proceed with his plans. (And I have to point out that Holly Hunt plays Senator Finch, who advocates for oversight of Superman's activities but rejects Lex's plans to research and use kryptonite. She also plays Elastigirl/Helen Par in The Incredibles, which is largely about supers having to go into hiding because they are liabilities, with the villain trying to commoditize superpowers to make everyone super. Though the sequel hadn't come out when BvS was released, it is about supers coming back in a more regulated way but then corporate greed takes over.)

3. A retelling of Gilgamesh and Enkidu

I got this idea from someone else's fanfic, and as soon as I remember the name of it I'll link it and the author. I provide specific quotes from the epic with gifs from BvS and Justice League here, but the long and short of it is that the gods created Gilgamesh to be this perfect being and ruler of men; then, because he was a menace, created Enkidu to be his friend/lover and rival. They're both excited when they hear about each other and fight when they first meet. Gilgamesh defeats Enkidu and wins his friendship and respect, and together they become unstoppable.

My raw notes are below the cut and go into more depth but are way less organized.

Modern gothic themes: location, dark/magic artifact, doppelganger/duality, deal with the devil, science used for evil

Other themes: Paradise Lost paradigm (God/human/devil), duality of man, defining "natural"

God/Devil:

this duality is set up in the juxtaposition of how Kahini describes Superman and the trafficking victims describe Batman. Kahini describes the sky cracking/opening and fire raining down (godlike imagery) and asks how he (Superman) decides whose lives matter. One of the victims says that a devil (Batman) has saved them and still lingers in the area, and shows that they're afraid to leave.

Later, it's revealed that Batman brands criminals which makes them targets by other criminals, and one of Kahini's neighbors says that Batman is angrier and meaner now.

Batman asks Supes if he bleeds (because if it bleeds it can die).

God/Man:

Lex positions himself as the icon of man and resolves to defeat Superman the god through wit and invention. He carefully maneuvers all the pieces in play to have his way, eventually causing Batman and Superman to fight, which is a win/win scenario for him. As he says, God this bends to his will. However, by creating Doomsday with a literal blood sacrifice (precursor to Superboy????) he makes a deal with the devil and thus becomes the devil character in this paradigm.

In Bruce's recognition of Clark's humanity, he reclaims the role of the man figure.

Man/Devil and the duality of man:

Bruce has to wrestle with his own demons to see clearly. He is aligned with Lex Luthor so much throughout the majority of the film that Lex eventually falls back to let Batman kill Supes for him. Also, Bruce's response to seeing Wallace get himself and several other people killed trying to hurt Superman in his own grief and rage is to double down, rather than take it as the cautionary tale it is.

Alfred warns him in the beginning that anger and helplessness will breed cruelty in good men, and Bruce is haunted by nightmares.

He keeps Jason's suit just outside his changing room as a constant reminder of what his mission has cost.

He claims that killing Superman will be the only thing in his life that matters, not, as Alfred points out, "20 years of fighting criminals," indicating he's lost faith.

Interesting stuff:

Lex knows who Superman and Batman are from the very beginning, as indicated by him inviting them both to the gala, and holds those cards very close to his chest until the very end of the film. He clearly wanted them to meet (and jokes that Bruce shouldn't fight Clark and suggests he and Bruce can work together on the future).

At the gala, when Clark asks Bruce about his thoughts on Batman operating outside the law, Bruce doesn't defend Batman. Instead, he uses a straw man argument that Superman is just as bad.

If Lois hadn't thrown the spear into the water, nobody would have known where it was. It likely would have been buried under rubble.

Batman and Superman seem to just resign themselves to being bad. Bruce doesn't argue for his goodness or seem to consider himself worth much; Clark seeks solace after being criticized for all the collateral damage and eschews Superman as an idealistic remnant of his father. Meanwhile Lois actually tries to absolve herself through action, namely investigating LexCorp.

Holly Hunt plays Senator Finch, who advocates for oversight of Superman's activities but rejects Lex's plans to research and use kryptonite. She also plays Elastigirl/Helen Par in the Incredibles, which is largely about supers having to go into hiding because they are liabilities with the villain trying to commoditize superpowers to make everyone super; the sequel is about supers coming back in a more regulated way but corporate greed taking over.

Future of DCEU:

Injustice Superman as per Bruce's dream/vision of the black ops people wearing the El sigil and someone from the future telling Bruce he was right.

Superboy, prophesied by Lex trying to combine his and Kryptonian DNA.

A new Robin???, there's an insinuation that Batman has lost a Robin and if they're following the Beyond theme of having Tim become Joker then we could see either Terry or Damian; otherwise if it's Jason who died maybe we'll get Tim.

Major Farris exists, so Green Lantern (Hal Jordan specifically) may be coming.

We have 6 Justice League members – seventh could be GL or Manhunter????

[putrefacion]

HEADCANONS I’M TOO LAZY WRITE A META FOR , ( but probably will eventually )

• As a ‘celestial’-made human, Lute doesn’t blink unless she remembers to. It’s not intentional — just a byproduct of her design; this makes long conversations incredibly uncomfortable for the other person,

• She can name every type of fruit, but has never tasted most of them; in theory, her favorites would be figs, pomegranates & raspberries. She thinks grapes & strawberries are fucking suspicious. Heaven has such foods, of course, but they're not made on Earth; they conjure up their own, so these foods taste perfect, like how candy uses artificial flavors,

• She walks like she’s perpetually in a training montage: shoulders back, steps measured, not a strand of hair out of place even in the most brutal extermination; girl’s gotta look her best, you know?

• Her handwriting is immaculate, uniform, exact & eerily devoid of personality, like a holy font made for divine record-keeping. She lacks a lot of… individuality, in a sense?

• She literally doesn't know how to relax. Give her a chair & she’ll stand next to it; give her a bed & she’ll sit on the edge; give her time off & she’ll file a complaint because an establishment isn’t up to code or some shit. Being around Adam actually makes her chill a lot more,

• Despite having never truly lived on Earth, she has opinions about… weird Earth things; mostly theoretical, but passionate nonetheless. For instance: coffee is ‘inefficient,’ umbrellas are ‘cowardice,’ [ she would actually like to watch Earth rain from indoors & touch it; at least once ] & wind chimes ( yes, wind chimes ) are downright disturbing the peace, noisy annoying things...

• She gets unreasonably angry at the concept of ‘angel food cake’ — she won’t elaborate,

• She may not be the Eve, but she is still an Eve, even in theory —ㅤ& something in creation knows it. Animals respond to her; if she really wants it so, birds gather near, strays follow her, even insects will clear a path. It's some weird leftover skill that was coded in her. She hasn’t told Sera about it,