#the shsl survivors' society

[aki-chan2014]

I've been reading one of your fics (OGR), and I think it's kind of interesting how the main survivor cast differs from TSHSLSS in how they handled the aftermath of their respective killing games. While the survivors in TSHSLSS initially rallied together and at least tried to keep in touch as time went on, the ones in OGR (however reluctantly) all agreed to completely drop contact and took it much harder. Camera situation aside, I'm guessing their KG was more traumatic for everyone overall 🤔

First off, thanks for reading! I hope you’ve been enjoying it so far. 

And yeah, it is very different, and part of the reason for that is that in TSHSLSS it was always known that it was a KG and there was no real case to solve-essentially, once it was over for them, it was over. That’s obviously not the case in OGR-as you said, it was definitely a lot more traumatic. 

[kanzakls]

shsl survivors’ society aesthetics: kimihiro arata; former shsl DJ, killer

"but, you know, i think that’s why i fell for you in the first place.”

[candiedstarss]

It’s amazing isn’t? How one event can change everything you thought you knew. Sometimes Wakana struggles to recognize herself in photos from the past, she was a lot happier then. 

This is my drawing of Wakana and Daisuke from The SHSL Survivors’ Society with the left being Wakana and Daisuke in their Hopes Peak Academy Uniforms and the right being Wakana 7 years later.  (Keep in mind that I am not an artist) 

I hope you like it, and don’t forget to check out the story, it’s really good!

[forbidding-souda]

mod souda i demand you show us your oc tenoch

He is actually based off of this guy I sat next to in 7th grade english who would always help people on their computers when they broke. his name was Tenoch to so I added him to my dr game (everyone in my dr game is based off of a real person i knew in school - wicked). that's why he's the shsl technician

I doodled him for you ready

i'm not an artist but

dthat scar on his face comes from his childhood best friend kicking him in the face with her spiked boots.

here's the copy and paste of what i typed about him on his like character profile: Born December 16, he is 5’9 and 18 years old. His father was depressed and killed himself before he was born, so he grew up with a single mom (depression hereditary that's why he's the way he is sometimes). He is very good at computers and would build small animatronic toys for the kids around the neighborhood. He was friendly rivals with Leiko. His sexuality is straight.

He is smart-assholeish. Where if you say something stupid then he’s going to call you stupid. He is the top of the class. He is very helpful, though. If you ask a question, no matter how dumb, he’s going to answer honestly and politely.

I love him lots - he is one of the survivors and the love interest!!

sorry I love talking about my fangame I've made it into a comic twice and I even wrote out the entire script to make it into a podcast but I've never finished it from start to finish. there's so much lore. so much... detail.. i've been 'working' on it for like 6-8 years I think. also the one based off of me is a woman and I think that says a lot about society.

-Mod Souda

[saimotass]

how i’d rewrite v3

warning: long post

chapter 1:

everything is essentially the same with one key difference

when voting ends, shuuichi is revealed to have abstained, leading to his death alongside kaede’s

thus resulting in a double protag switch, with kiibo becoming the protag

chapter 1 results in three deaths

this establishes the arc number, makes things interesting by killing off three of the seemingly most important characters, and gives leeway for the rest of the cast to shine

chapter 2:

the motive is the same, and maki gets hoshi’s tape

however, maki refuses to trade with him and he gets angry about it

because he’s always wanted to feel like he was worth something, and there’s someone standing in the way of letting him know if there’s anything outside waiting for him, he kills maki

however, after that, he watches his tape and realizes that he’s completely alone

he leaves the crime scene as is, and kokichi tries to throw the trial because he has maki’s tape and has revealed her as the SHSL assassin

kokichi attempts to make it be that maki committed suicide as a means of escaping her past, but he also posits that maybe she was framing hoshi since he was already a convicted murderer

hoshi, having nothing left to live for, confesses, and kokichi gets angry, citing that it would have been so much more interesting if he had fought his fate

maki and hoshi die in a fiercely antagonistic, ultimately self-destructive mess

chapter 3:

there’s a similar motive, and it’s established that there was a pair of relatives in the cast, but one of them is dead

miu has already cemented herself as being pretty isolated from the rest of the group, and people suspect that she and kaede were twins, based on them knowing that kaede had a twin sister

other guesses include rantarou being related to tenko or kirumi, and shuuichi being related to korekiyo or tsumugi

angie decides to hold a seance so that they can figure it out and reunite them

himiko offers to help and it’s during the seance that himiko is killed

this is a 1 victim chapter, subverting the expectation, and also making sense since 3 people died in chapter 1

during the trial, people start to suspect miu, but korekiyo starts acting weird

korekiyo has a meltdown completely out of nowhere, and believes himself to be possessed by the spirit of shuuichi

he reveals that shuuichi was his brother, and that he was vengeful towards the group for not stopping the killing game (making his, kaede’s, and rantarou’s sacrifices be in vain)

he also claims that shuuichi was trying to target the mastermind, but when himiko volunteered herself to help, he ended up killing her instead

korekiyo is voted, despite a couple people claiming that shuuichi would be the true culprit

korekiyo is executed, and in retaliation for monodam having killed monokid and monosuke during the prior executions, monotaro and monophanie kill him

chapter 4:

virtual reality is still part of the motive

angie has a breakdown, having lost the one person that was most receptive to her teachings about atua

miu and tsumugi are shown to be very close after the last few chapters due to their self-isolated nature

angie snaps and tries to kill miu, but tsumugi steps in in her place, killing angie as defense

the world glitches, and miu goes missing for a bit, leading people to believe that she was the victim

when they get out of the game, miu is still alive, and so people believe her to be the murderer

it’s revealed that miu caused the glitch in order to save tsumugi

kokichi’s been part of this too, having noticed how close they were and putting pieces together, as well as eavesdropping and coercing info out of miu

kokichi ouma, revealed as a magnificent bastard

miu begs everyone to vote for her, but tsumugi confesses, and she is executed

during tsumugi’s execution, monotaro seems like he’ll be next to die, but monophanie sacrifices herself for him, in line with this chapter’s theme

after this trial, miu and tenko start hanging out, having lost their closest friends (tsumugi and himiko respectively)

chapter 5:

everybody hates ouma: the musical

after it was revealed that he manipulated the events of both chapter 2 and chapter 4, literally everybody suspects him of being the mastermind, or at least a traitor of some sort

he decides to try and enlist miu to help hack into kiibo to make him a minion of his

miu goes along with it, thanks to some masterful manipulation tactics on ouma’s end (he’s good with words, the shit)

kiibo’s software goes blank for a bit, but he eventually gets better thanks to an unforeseen software update

(during the time that kiibo’s offline, we play briefly as the other cast, who are all either preparing to confront or already confronting ouma by this point)

ouma is also shown to be causing injuries to himself, hoping to die by his own hand and cause a trial where nobody knows the real killer, taking everyone with him because they’re all so bad at playing the game

ouma is the victim and nobody knows who killed him, not even monokuma

everyone is hesitant to admit that they confronted him, but only gonta, kaito, and tenko confess to having fought him physically

miu and kiibo work together to reveal that kiibo was still recording during the time he was offline, and they show ouma inflicting injuries to himself

everyone believes that ouma committed suicide, but just before everyone goes to vote, gonta confesses

gonta delivered the killing blow accidentally, not realizing his own strength

over the course of the game, gonta and kiibo had gotten close, and gonta got so angry seeing kiibo malfunctioning that he killed ouma on accident

tenko and kaito both then claim that they killed him, not wanting gonta to die

kiibo has to convince them that voting for gonta is the right thing to do

gonta is executed, and it seems like monotaro is safe, but right at the end of gonta’s execution, monotaro commits suicide

chapter 6:

after talking to monokuma during the previous trial about rules and what to do if the results of a trial were unclear or ambiguous, they realize that the mastermind broke a rule back in chapter 1

the rule being that someone killing more than 2 people isn’t allowed

when kiibo’s attempting to find out who the mastermind could be alongside kirumi, miu, tenko, and kaito, they are given class files for each student

nowhere in either korekiyo or shuuichi’s files do they mention a brother, while in kaede’s, her twin sister is mentioned

after gathering evidence and demanding a retrial of the first case, kiibo confronts monokuma, believing that korekiyo is the mastermind, having hidden his death after causing the deaths of kaede, rantarou, shuuichi, and himiko

it’s revealed that shuuichi was actually the one faking his death, and that he is the mastermind of the killing game

danganronpa is still a show, but shuuichi passes it off as an experimental documentary on how people can be forced to kill, based on a real life set of video games

he confesses that he fabricated his relation to korekiyo, but that it worked well, as korekiyo was a traitor, having worked with shuuichi on his experiment

he also reveals that kiibo was made solely for the experiment, as a camera and an audience surrogate, making him essentially a conduit for amateur sleuths to solve real life murders on TV

this breaks kiibo and we play as the other four survivors to help him

it’s revealed that the show technically hasn’t even aired, and that shuuichi was planning on killing all of them in order to survive to share his findings with the world

shuuichi is thwarted, and the survivors all agree to die alongside him if it means destroying the video

kiibo initiates self-destruct, but after seeing that the others are safe in a bunker, accepts his death and kills himself alongside shuuichi

epilogue:

the survivors are kaito, tenko, miu, and kirumi, subverting the theme number of 3

it’s revealed that rantarou had memories of surviving two other experiments led by shuuichi, explaining the v3 -- this was the 3rd version of his game

the footage is destroyed, and the four survivors walk away from the rubble, unsure of how to assimilate back into society having pretended that nothing happened

[some-dr-writings]

Danganronpa V3 boys and their SHSL Survivalist friend/SO

Instead of sitting around waiting for a request I’ve decided to take it upon myself to take hold of my fate and kick off this blog with an imagine and one-shot. This is the imagine. I hope you enjoy.

Shuichi Saihara:

·       A person who practices outdoor survival skills as a sport or hobby. Shuichi first met such a person through Kaito who had eagerly dragged them into those nightly training sessions as well as Maki. Though their idea of “training” was certainly something to behold. Pushups - nah, they’d suggest rock climbing. Pull-ups - Nope, swimming against a river’s current was much more enticing. Communication and talking, sure, as long as it was done on a camping trip to the woods where no one brought any supplies. Thankfully, such training rarely happened, but when it did it was always the most excruciating exercise Shuichi ever had.

·       Funny thing though. Outside of training the Survivalist always spent time with Shuichi. Asking if he was feeling alright, or if his muscles were sore. If he were hurting, even the smallest, slightest bit, they’d carry him over their shoulder to the nurse’s office despite his flustered protests.

·       They even had taken interest in his work, offering their assistance. For infidelity cases they taught Shuichi how to sneak around and follow people without them knowing as if they were out hunting. They showed Shuichi how to find animal tracks even in the most unlikely of places for his missing pet cases.

·       When it came to cold cases or cases that didn’t involve physical activity Shuichi would sit with the Survivalist by his side, explaining the case and how to connect evidence and statements to reveal the truth. When they struggled Shuichi would go step by step, leading them gently through critical thinking processes ‘till they finally arrived at a logical conclusion, even if it weren’t his own. In fact, seeing how others could view the case helped Shuichi broaden his own skills as a detective.

·       Overall, the Super High School Level Detective and Super High School Level Survivalist balanced out one another nicely, teaching the other skills the former lacked.

Kaito Momota:

·       “Survivalist, huh... Well I bet they never survived the vastness of space before!” With that thought in mind Kaito sought out the Super High School Level Survivalist. Surely, they’d make for a great training partner! After all, Kaito had to go through survivalist training himself to be an astronaut. And surely the Ultimate Survivalist would take interest in surviving the greatness of space! They just had to train with him! And if not, then Kaito would just convince them, he was Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, he’d figure out something!

·       Unsurprisingly, said Survivalist was nowhere to be found. Luckily some students from their class knew where the Survivalist was training. England’s Wychwood Forest. Great! With the help of Rantaro, off Kaito went...

·       What Kaito made up for in raw determination, he lacked in foresight, not having researched anything about the forest so he... he didn’t know the place was also called “The world’s most haunted forest”

·       And that was how the Ultimate Survivalist found the Ultimate Astronaut, screaming at every little noise... even the sound of his own screaming.

·       Not the best first impression, but Kaito was quickly able to brush it off and finally train with the Survivalist, but... just not in a forest.

·       The Survivalist and Kaito got along like two peas in a pod, especially after Kaito saw how the Survivalist looked after his sidekick Shuichi. Every moment spent together was called ‘training’, dedicated to getting stronger in any sense of the word. Even simply laying on some cool grass in the dead of night racing to spot navigational stars first was training. Everything they did together was a friendly competition of sorts, pushing each other to be better.

·       On one such night between rounds of star searching Kaito actually pried his gaze from that beloved mysterious expanse that loomed above him. Instead he glanced to his side, in that moment, realizing the person beside him was one he simply couldn’t see not beside him when he finally blasts off away from this planet.

Ryoma Hoshi:

·       Ryoma didn’t think much of the Super High School Level Survivalist at first. Ryoma never went out of his way to meet others, and with his reputation of being a convicted criminal not many approached him. So, when the Ultimate Survivalist eagerly approached him, he was quite surprised.

·       “You must teach me THAT, whatever THAT was!” Not knowing how to respond, Ryoma simply stared, dumbfounded. “The thing you did when dodging that attack!”

·       Moments prior Ryoma had successfully dodged one of Kokichi’s pranks. “Ah, the Shukuchi Method.” He didn’t even think about it. Though it had been so long since he had used it, it seems that method was still muscle memory... When was the last time he used that method? Back when he played tennis...he knew that, but...

·       Ryoma was abruptly snapped from his thoughts, seeing those lively, sparkling eyes. “Shukuchi Method? That’s what it’s called? Please, you have to teach me!”

·       And thus, began the Survivalist’s escapades in trying to convince Ryoma to teach them. Wherever Ryoma went, Survivalist followed, much like how a duckling would. For the first day of this they’d ask Ryoma to teach, to which he’d decline, to which Survivalist threatened to follow him around till he agreed to do so. And that they did. They were the first person Ryoma met in the morning and the last person he saw at night.

·       When asked why they wanted to learn so badly, the Survivalist listed off application after application they could see using the method to improve their own talent.

·       After the first day though, the Survivalist occasionally asked to be taught, but also just asked Ryoma other questions, such as for his name. Then day after day, they’d just talk. And with each day, less and less would the Survivalist ask about the Shukuchi Method. Till they never mentioned it even once. Even after weeks, and months.

·       “... If I taught you the Shukuchi Method, would you leave me alone?” With a confused expression the Survivalist looked to Ryoma, who was stoic as always, yet... the tone in his voice was off somehow. Did it waver? “No, you’re my friend now! You can’t get rid of me that easily. Sorry Ryoma, but you’re stuck with me for the long run.” A light chuckle escaped the man. Truthfully, Ryoma felt guilt for not having taught Survivalist long ago, for unintentionally stringing them along and for them being with a guy like himself, yet... it was nice always having someone around.

Rantaro Amami:

·       Rantaro had actually met the Survivalist long before either were invited to Hope’s Peak. On his many adventures searching for his sisters they bumped into one another. They ran into each other many times actually. Each time the Survivalist would guide Rantaro through any terrain, searching for whatever small town Rantaro was looking for and Rantaro would buy them a big hearty meal that was heavenly compared to the plain fish and berries they had grown so accustomed too. Then after that meal they’d go their separate ways till they met again several months later on complete accident.

·       When they did find each other at Hope’s Peak, it was quite odd. They weren’t huddled close in snowy mountains, they weren’t trudging through a humid rain forest trying to fend off the many bugs, they weren’t even dragging one another through some desert! They were just at a relatively safe and peaceful school with other people.

·       It was nice being able to chat for hours on end of their old adventures together. Survivalist would tease Rantaro for not having gotten muscular even with how much traveling he did and Rantaro would tease Survivalist for how socially awkward they tended to be, having not spent too much time in human society. This lighthearted teasing managed to subdue the stagnant air about them. Even without the thrill of danger around every corner they still found joy and comfort in the other’s company. It was a relief to them realizing their friendship was able to run much deeper than merely the thrill of exploration they often experienced with the other.

·       But that didn’t mean the thrill of adventure wasn’t missed, so whenever Rantaro left the school to go searching once more, he was sure to tell his best friend and companion, and they stuck by his side for every last excursion, now not daring to leave him ever.

Gonta Gokuhara:

·       The moment Gonta saw the Survivalist, Gonta knew they’d be great friends. They were being kind to bugs! When the giant wild looking man came charging at the Super High School Level Survivalist, they almost crushed the poor cricket they had just helped escape from being trampled in the noisy classroom.

·       From that day onward Gonta happily introduced his new friend to his bug companions and even invited them to his lab. With how kind Gonta was the Survivalist couldn’t refuse his offers, though they did fear the man. If he found out the Survivalist had to resort to eating the relatives of such beloved companions on occasion... The Survivalist never dared to finish the thought and focused instead on not accidently mentioning that the particular species of stink bug Gonta was so happily showing off was delicious, tasting like apples.

·       With each visit to the lab or escapade out bug hunting the Survivalist found an appreciation for the little creatures outside of nutrition. Many were quite pretty actually. And seeing the variety of inventive ways bugs adapted to harsh environments tugged at the Survivor’s heart strings, realizing how they themselves were quite similar to them in that aspect.

·       Though it may sound strange Gonta saw his and the Survivalist’s relationship to be symbiotic, like that of the ant and aphid. The ant, the Survivalist, would protect Gonta, the aphid, who in return for the protection provided food - knowledge of insects.

·       From what did the Survivalist protect Gonta from one might wonder.

·       Homesickness. Even with his beloved insects around, often times, he found himself missing living outside of human society and with his forest family. But the Survivalist reminded Gonta so much of home. Though they weren’t a wolf or lizard person, they had that...for lack of a better word, calm wildness.  Like Gonta for much of their life they lived outside of human society and being able to speak with someone about his home and they truly understood what he was speaking of...knowing Gonta had a connection with a person like that always pulled his lips into a smile.

·       So, whenever the Survivalist left for an adventure with Rantaro, it hurt, but seeing them return with a bug case in hand, some new insect friends they had made on their trip, it filled Gonta with unimaginable joy.

Kokichi Oma:

·       Ah, the entrance ceremony, a staple of High Schools all across Japan. The time where all the new students gather and listen to the principle and others of authority welcome them all with open arms! A rather boring event, but one that could easily be livened up. And what better way than to greet his new classmates than pranking everyone all at once with fireworks and paint! Though enacting such a plan would take time, lots of time. So, for several days before the ceremony he prepared.

·       Unfortunately, on one such day Kokichi was caught by some security near where the ceremony was to take place, a place none of the students were allowed, and so, a chase ensued.

·       As Kokichi dashed down hall after hall he took a sharp turn around the corner, crashing into someone. Perfect. Kokichi flipped on the water works, crying out, saying the mean guards were chasing after him for no reason at all and how he oh so badly needed help! And help the person did, hiding Kokichi and telling the guards they hadn’t seen him. With the guards gone Kokichi stepped out of his hiding place and thanked the person, now he could get back to preparing!

·       The person quickly left but took a moment to glance over their shoulder. A strained smirk emerged on their lips as a stifled laughter manage to seep out. They wished Kokich good luck with ‘catching his prey’.

·       Soon after the day of entrance ceremony came, and it was marvelous! Well, except for one thing, that person who helped Kokichi, the Ultimate Survivalist, managed to avoid the prank! Now this will not stand. And so Kokichi dedicated himself to giving them the greatest scare and laugh of their life in retaliation!

·       ... Or so he thought. No matter what he pulled, they managed to outmaneuver him! Exploding school supplies? Nah, moment they picked it up, they threw it out the window. Fill their classroom with laughing gas? Nope, they always left the room moments before his trap went off. How were they doing this!?It was as if they knew it was going to happen...wait.

·       Well he got his answer one afternoon when he tried to tackle the Survivalist from behind with joy buzzers under his clothes. They dodged his attack much to his chagrin. “Survivalist! Why are you so mean to me!? I just want a hug.” Seeing those crocodile tears come cascading down the Supreme Leader’s cheeks they decided to speak out. “I’ve played the role of both predator and prey many times. I always keep a close eye on my environment, even if it means crawling through the vents at night.” Kokichi blinked, the tears instantly disappearing. “Huh...Not gonna lie, getting that out of you was much easier than I expected. I didn’t even have to prod at you at all.” “No decent predator would not have noticed my skill level at this game by now, so I decided to just save you the trouble of confirming your suspicion. I found all your traps before you got to set them off. And now, this game can really begin! So, catch me Oma! I want to know what truly being caught off guard in one of your surprises is like! I’m sure it must be thrilling!” Oh, this was going to be fun, especially when Kokichi finally wins.

·       Every day thereafter was filled with excitement and suspense. Especially days when nothing happened and all they did was talk. Both in this game of cat and mouse trying to outsmart the other with everything they had! Never knowing what was to come next, they were always on their toes, one searching for opportunities and the other searching for any sign of an attack, both adding lulls into the action making the next attack more thrilling. Even when Kokichi did win, the game continued. After all, even if he won once didn’t mean he could get consistent results. Besides, he saw no reason why he would take away an excuse to spend time with such a fun person.

Korekiyo Shinguji:

·       It all started when Kiyo entered his lab one morning, finding one of his artifacts was missing. Though very concerning, his attention was focused on the small note that was left in it’s place. ‘Go to the track’ it read. There he found another note instructing him to jog around the mile-long track twice. For the time being he decided to play along, curious as to the intentions of the person behind these notes. When he finished a new note had appeared, instructing him to go to the cafeteria where there was a meal being prepared for him. Once he was there another note was with his meal telling him to return to his lab, where his artifact had been returned... Quite an intriguing person to put Korekiyo through all that. What could their aim be, he wondered. Little did he know he’d learn that the very next day.

·       Like the day prior one of his artifacts were missing and a note was in its place. Once again, he was led to a location, told to do an exercise, but something different happened. As he was doing some push-ups, someone approached him. “You’re doing it all wrong.” Kneeling beside him they moved him so everything was in proper place saying there was no point in this if he was just not going to do it properly.“Ah,theUltimateSurvivalist.Soyou’vebeentakingmyartifacts.”He then gestured to the note they held. “...I didn’t know how else to get you to leave your lab, you never leave the place.” “Well, now that you’re here, why are you having me do this?” “You look like a twig! How do you not break in the wind!? You need help! I didn’t think my word would be enough to convince you so, I held one of your precious items hostage.”

·       And that was how Korekiyo began doing light exercises with the Survivalist. Exercising was not Kiyo’s forte but getting the chance to converse with a person who had minimum contact with society intrigued him to no end. And he got them to speak of their travels, and the many remote places they had gone to. With each location spoken of, Kiyo added knowledge of the history of the region. Particularly he spoke of legends of warriors since those intrigued the Survivalist the most. On occasion they even tried recreating some, like the labors of Hercules or legends of Beowulf or the adventures of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

·       Their friendship was very unlikely, even chaotic at times when recreating myths went awry, but it was always fun and fascinating. A friendship neither would trade for the world.

Kiibo:

·       Though it was not often Kiibo had the chance to speak to them, he held great admiration for the Super High School Level Survivalist. He always saw them moving and running around the campus almost nonstop. They were always looking for ways to get better, asking others to teach them like Ryoma with his Shukuchi Method. They seemed to stop for nothing!

·       Even the most unlikely of things they did to improve. Kiibo learned this when one day he was passing by the Ultimate Light Music Club Member’s lab and saw the Survivalist singing with a microphone in hand as the owner of the lab wailed away on her guitar. All too quickly their session had come to an end, and Kiibo was caught staring. The Survivalist swiftly skipped up to him before he had the chance to leave.

·       “You wanna give singing a shot Kiibo?” “Ah, no I couldn’t. My singing is lacking, dangerous as Shuichi puts it. Even if I practiced it wouldn’t get better. I want to improve, but I can’t. The only way I can, would be with help from someone like Miu or Dr. Idabashi. I...I am a robot I can never improve myself on my own but you can! I find that to be an amazing ability, but even more so is how you work so hard for that.” “Really!? I wish I was like you, Kiibo!” That comment caught the robot off guard. “Kiibo once you get an improvement you get to keep it forever! If I took a break for even one day my muscles and body would lose some of the improvement I had gained yesterday or even more. I have to constantly push myself lest my skills and body get rusty from lack of use for even a short time, and getting back to the high proficiency I was at before would be extremely difficult. The human body is ridiculously temperamental while you don’t have to worry about such things. And I even have to focus on specific parts and not just my whole body, like singing to increase lung capacity. And Kiibo the improvements you can gain are limited only by the imagination while the human body was much more restrictive. You can be so much greater than me or anyone else at this school!”

·       That day changed a lot of things for Kiibo. It got him to be able to see his existence from a slightly different perspective, even if only for a moment. And after that day the Survivalist would approach him, asking him if he would spot them during their exercises. During these times they and Kiibo would try to come up with ideas to improve his body. They would come up with ideas to improve their exercise regimen. They’d throw out any idea at one another, no matter how ridiculous or impracticable. In the end all that really mattered was the thought behind it, wishing to help the other even in the simplest of forms. No matter how simple they wanted to help. Even if it was just Kiibo cheering on the Survivalist to push on through one more lap than they did yesterday. Even if it was just the Survivalist sitting by Kiibo’s side as he was getting a maintenance check. No matter how simple, or insignificant if seemed, they ended up supporting the other in any way they could, hoping that in doing so the other could at least get a glimpse at just how great they could be because the former certainly could see it, and they would both agree that the other was absolutely amazing and filled with endless possibilities. They just needed to see it and they were the one who was going to show that to them.

[jinjojess]

( people who I feel give V3 way too much credit in thinking it said really profound things it didn’t actually say ) I'm not sure what this means exactly? There's stuff in the previous games that was sort of touched on but not really given a narrative the same way as in V3. Even if you think that it didn't say all that much or that said narrative sucked, that's fair, I just don't think 'giving too much credit' is really fair to say when it at least tries to go outside the box with its themes

Do you mind sharing what themes you found in V3 that were completely new? Maybe I'm not seeing the stuff you're talking about.

I've talked about this before, about how I think anything actually subversive or original about V3 gets undone by having the epilogue there, and Kodaka's weird insistence that the fandom in V3 isn't the irl one. I'd definitely respect V3 if it had had the guts to actually kill everyone at the end, or if Kodaka hadn't chickened out on the really scathing critique he started about how the audience can infect a narrative and reduce it down to a recycled, cliched parody of itself.

I guess I'm more saying that the first game doesn't get enough credit, considering that it was making a lot of salient points that people claim weren't there until V3.

Being a normal person and still mattering is huge in the first game; V3 just (maybe) applied it across all the characters instead of one.

Having to fit into a role that you may have chosen or may have been coerced into by a society that needs you to be a certain way with the whole concept of SHSLs.

How the hope/despair dichotomy itself is restrictive and reductive (the villainous mascot is literally black & white, and the culprits are all humanized).

Blind adoration of Kibougamine is functionally the same as the fans' rabid devotion to DR, down to ignoring the horrible effects being visited on real live people. This only compounds in SDR2.

It included an audience that we do indeed later find out was fetishizing the hope they were vicariously getting from watching the game and forces the survivors to constantly relive their trauma because they're seen as symbols and not people.

Ends on an ambiguous note where you don't know what the outside world is like, or if what you've been told about the characters' pasts is true or not.

Lies and truth is a recurring theme, and finding out truth is often painful but necessary. One of the key moments of the game is choosing to let Kirigiri manipulate the truth for the greater good.

Getting real emotional catharsis from tragedy is depicted via Junko going on about loving her classmates so much yet relishing watching them suffer. There are jabs all the time about "what kind of person would play/watch this?" etc., touching on the fictional element.

Speaking of...

Even the "audience is the true mastermind!" thing started in the original game, where it's heavily implied that the player's interest in the game's subject matter aligns them with Junko whether they like it or not. (Plus Monokuma breaks the fourth wall extremely often, hinting that Junko may be aware of the meta narrative. She seems dedicating to trying to subvert it, just like how Saihara tries in the 6th trial of V3.)

This last one actually is kind of funny in how increasingly obvious it gets as the series progresses.

DR: You played the game because you crave pathos just like the villain! You like tragedy!

SDR2: The characters you grew attached to and identified with were also susceptible to and joined Despair! You like tragedy!

NDRV3: The mastermind is literally the audience; the characters aren't real but your catharsis is. You like tragedy!

So I guess I just don't buy that V3 actually tried out new themes as much as people claim. I think V3 just focused on them more than the older games that took a more subtle approach. I also think the same points could have been made without dragging in the same tired series staples like the murder patterns and character archetypes--especially since we just saw a bunch of it in DR3 six months before the game came out. I feel like the only reason to include those tropes would be to critique them, which Kodaka backpedals away from doing.

Hence my disappointment.

That said though, there's an infinite number of ways to interpret a text, so I'm interested to see if you got something different out of it I never considered! Let me know!

[drmedicsgamesurgery]

Danganronpa Togami Volume 3 Part 1 (Summary)

Thanks to @enoshima-pyon @shockersalvage​ @jinjojess​ @hopeymchope​ for helping out! Merry Christmas!

Danganronpa Togami Volume 3 - I'd Stake The Togami Name On It

In terms of the development of talent, we are still in the experimental stage because we do not know how to cultivate talent.

(Eric Hofer, "The Temper of Our Time") [0]

This text was written using the following note-taking system.

K2K System ver2.3

Pseudo books, bad books, and popular books. I think that one must often tolerate these in a world rife with copies of copies of manuscripts. I am left speechless by the solidity and sheer veracity of a system.

Therefore, my job is only to add or delete a few things.

I am very aware of my place, I will hold onto my spirit until the very end.

I pray for the soul of the original.

That is, if there is such a thing.

CHAPTER 11- The Three Byakuya Togamis

1.

It’s a simple story. One young man decided to try to take over the world. After many repeated extraordinary adventures, the young man got what he wanted and was able to return home safe and sound. And he lived happily ever after.

But here is the problem: which of the following young men is the protagonist of this story?

2.

“I believe I’ve given everyone a slice of cake, no? Back during the Yalta Conference [1] when the world was being split up, the president’s daughters prepared food to calm the atmosphere. Since we’re in a helicopter, a banquet is out of the question, but at the very least I can offer some cake…”

“Who cares about the cake? Let’s continue our conversation. After all, at the moment I am allowing you the right to lead.”

“Heh heh. What admirable conduct from you, Byakuya Togami. Well then, let’s get started, shall we? Nee-san, you eat up too. Please sample this sweet, saccharine cake–it’s American, filled with sugar and butter.”

A dreamy expression crossed the boy’s–Kazuya Togami’s–face.

3.

And so began our discussion of world domination–over a tea set, under the watchful eye of countless gun muzzles, within a WHO helicopter.

In the four years since I’d seen my younger brother, he had grown so much that I barely recognized him. His thin frame had filled out with an appropriate amount of muscle, a sarcastic smile stretched across his lips, his eyes which had once been filled with constant fear now sparkled with self-confidence, and he now wore glasses that resembled Byakuya-sama’s. This young man who had only once referred to himself as Byakuya Togami was now brazenly exerting control over us, UN military forces in tow. He was certainly throwing his weight around.

Since I wasn’t restrained, I put a finger to my temple and accessed Borges, intending to get some information.

Borges Search Result

#71009224

Data Type: Person

Title “Kazuya Togami”

The perpetrator behind the Biggest, Worst Incident in the History of the Togami Family. He was the sole survivor of the Burning of Kuchinashi Village, but was raised by Michiko Furuhata as a legitimate son. No body was discovered during the large-scale search that followed the incident, but he was presumed deceased. He has had direct contact with Kudan. One of the top targets marked for assassination by the Togami Conglomerate. Is currently posing as Orvin Elevator, the adopted son of World Health Organization Infectious Disease Prevention Unit director Keith Elevator, and working as the captain of the WHO Infectious Disease Prevention Unit’s task force.

“Byakuya Togami. You are under arrest by the UN-affiliated organization WHO, and currently in our custody. We are acting in accordance with Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter [2] set out by the United Nations Security Council. Considering the weight of your crimes, they will require action on par with the International Criminal Tribunal of Former Yugoslavia.” [3]

“Hmph.” Despite being handcuffed, Byakuya-sama’s usual demeanor was unruffled. “If you are planning to treat me the same way as Pol Pot, I will not forgive that.” [4]

“But you are the one spreading the seeds of massacre around the world, aren’t you?”

“And do you intend to take me to the International Court of Justice as is?” [5]

“Yes. We will cross the border from the Czech Republic into the Netherlands, and you will stand trial. Your crimes are heavy, Byakuya Togami, for trying to pick a fight with the world. Don’t forget that I could allow you to be lynched at this very moment to nary a complaint.”

“You certainly seem like you want to beat me.”

“I’m rational. I don’t intend to contribute to the violence you’ve brought upon the Czech Republic by drawing so many maniacs crazed with bloodlust.”

“What are you talking about, you ‘won’t contribute to violence?’ With all of these guns here?”

“Think of the number of guns as an estimation of how dangerous you are.”

“If that’s the case, then there’s far too few.”

To my delight, the UN forces’ gun muzzles bobbed in surprise at Byakuya-sama’s uncharacteristic smile. Similarly pleased, Kazuya cheerfully responded with: “Don’t move, okay? Byakuya Togami.”

“Obviously. If I couldn’t keep still at a time like this, I would not be fit to be a Togami.”

“Well then, until we get you to the International Court of Justice so you can be stuffed into a cell, why don’t you enjoy this tea time with me?”

“If you do not remove these shackles, I won’t be able to teach you table manners.”

“Would you prefer to eat like a dog? I know you are revered as the SHSL Heir, Byakuya Togami, so it would certainly make for a good story, showing you eating like a mangy hound.” [6]

“To think, such a powerless brat saying things like he’s part of society.”

Byakuya-sama, despite the handcuffs, skillfully pushed up his glasses with his fingers.

“Heh heh. But you see, I am already part of society. I’m the captain of the WHO Infectious Disease Prevention Unit’s task force.” [7] Kazuya, as if to mimic Byakuya-sama, adjusted his glasses as well. “I’m much different from how I was four years ago.”

(Thanks to Jinjojess for the translation up to this point).

“Listen here boy, if you want to have a tea party, how about at least some tea talk? Tell me how much the WHO has this current state of affairs under control.” Byakuya asks Kazuya, and he begins.

"The situation has progressed to the following stage: The 'Despair Disease' can now be spread without the 'Despair Novel'. This is why the tragedy in that village occurred just now.”

Byakuya mocks him by saying that the ‘tragedy’ in the village wasn’t brought about by the disease but by them massacring everyone without distinction. Kazuya retorts calling them all trash and all he did was throw the rubbish away, so there is no big deal. Shinobu thinks to herself that it might be her fault Kazuya turned out this way.

Kazuya then declares that Hope’s Peak Academy is also under investigation, since the Despair Novel was written there.

During the investigation, continues Kazuya, they found out that the academy is secretly working on two projects: the “Sage Plan” and the “Bible Plan”. Kazuya says both names have religious connotations, which is ironic considering Hope’s Peak is a school that worships hope as a god.

He still doesn’t have enough information on the “Sage Plan”, [8] but he says that apparently the Despair Novel was written using the system of the “Bible Plan”. The “Bible Plan” consists of an AI which studies all the books and stories in the world to create a Bible which will bring hope to people just by reading it. The data that the AI works on are input by SHSL such as SHSL science fiction writer, SHSL oral inheritor', SHSL light novel writer, SHSL folk story collector etc.

"What do you think Hope’s Peak Academy is most afraid of? Is it human extinction?"

"No, it is human despair."

"That's right, whether it's a giant meteorite or a nuclear war, I hope that the academy will not budge, but if at that time, human beings are in despair, give up their struggles, give up hope... they will be intolerable.”

Byakuya says that he is boring and to go to a bookstore to buy some actually well written books. Kazuya goes on to say that since they couldn’t touch the hearts of all humans, that they instead, let an AI create a story that could. Shinobu is confused and wants to take headache medicine, but Byakuya is simply and utterly bored by the idea. Kazuya says it’s not in an AIs essence to defeat humanity, such as in Go or Chess and that Byakuya’s way of thinking is backward.

"I will say it is 'boring' on the premise of correctly estimating AI capabilities. No matter how good an AI is, one thing is that it can't be done anyway."

"I would appreciate further details."

"That is 'creation', if you don't have the ability to create, you can't write a story."

Kazuya retorts saying that it has no need to as since it has analysed narratives for so long, it has merely become an algorithmic process. He points out that it’s the same as Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s story: they tried to play God and as a result they created a monster. As Kazuya puts it, "People often compare Dr. Victor to God who is the Creator, and the monster is used to compare with Adam, created by God. However, this contrast quickly collapsed. Dr. Victor as a human being imitated God's behavior, the result is a terrible monster, a monster will only kill everywhere. The story writing AI is also a fake God, it and The Bible that was created, are just a strange monster."

After listening to the talk of Kazuya, the expression of Byakuya became very smug, he took a sip of black tea and said, "Let us not stick to these old literary theories."

"Listen, Dr. Victor who created the monster, and God who created human beings, the situation is exactly the same. If you ask why, it is because both sides have encountered unexpected situations. Isn't it? Yes, that is the death of Christ. Is Christ as God's own being killed on the cross, is this also within God's plan? If Dr. Victor is a rebel to God, then God is also a traitor to God Himself; if Dr. Victor is guilty, then God is. Just like this, after the negation is denied, the result is that God and Dr. Victor are put on the line. In essence, they are equals. Since you are a student of Hope’s Peak Academy, you should know these things in advance."

"It seems that you have read a lot of Zizek's [9] books, but in any case, the books written by anarchists can't save humans. This motive makes me very displeased."

"Motive?"

“It’s a third-rate motive to let an AI write a Bible out of fear of human despair. When Hope’s Peak Academy was subjected to this boring uneasiness, they were already poisoned by despair, which is like making a doctor who got a cold force the patient to give him an injection."

After Kazuya and Byakuya throw witty insults at each other, they both look over at the guy next to Byakuya, stuffing his face with food.

*Chew chew*

*Swallow!*

It may be because their hands are cuffed, or just because they are too greedy, but Imposter is buried in the cake, eating like a pig. He seemed to find it hard to notice that he was caught up in the crowd and slowly lifted his face. His face and glasses were covered with cake. Kazuya calls out to Ultimate “Mr. Pig” Imposter.

“Mr. Pig,” says Kazuya. “To be a student at Hope’s Peak Academy, having ties with those who those who took the ‘Bible Plan’ system and started the “World Domination Proclamation”...who are you?”

To all of this the Imposter responds with this:

"Pardon me but, since you aren’t eating those carbs, give them to me."

4.

Shinobu wonders about who the Imposter is, originally thinking he might be with Kazuya, she dismisses the idea. Is it possible that Imposter shares some sort of relationship with Byakuya, then.

The Impostor snorts and tells everyone to don’t bother trying to figure out their true identity and they are  just a teenager. Even when Kazuya asks how many people have joined Super High School Level Despair or if they were the ones who are behind inciting the Reserve Course to to hold their “Parade”, they merely dodge answering it.

“I just said you don’t have to think about my identity. I am just…yes, I am just chasing a star.”

Byakuya seemed to looked bored as he gazed at the Imposter. “What do mean by chasing the stars? Explain it to me.” he ordered. 

“I have been paying attention to you. To me you are the ‘Super High School Level Heir’, a symbol of Hope. It is because you are that symbol of Hope that I will fall into despair.”

“How twisted. Also, deal with the cream on your face.”

The Impostor tells the real Byakuya that they should eliminate the WHO, which doesn’t have anything to do with the story, and then start once again the battle between Hope’s Peak Academy and the Despair High School. Shinobu compares this to a girl rejoicing after they confessed their love to their crush and she becomes somewhat embarrassed upon seeing it. 

Byakuya-sama is God. 

Shinobu believes this to be the absolute truth of the world, though it doesn’t need to be expressed in such a way like what the Imposter is doing. Shinobu is also quite unhappy that other people are now declaring it as truth as she believed that “fact” was her own personal secret. But Kazuya says that the Impostor is the one who doesn’t have anything to do with the story since he is just a fake pig. The Imposter shoots this back at him as Kazuya being the one no one wants to see and that he can’t even match up as an imposter himself. Imposter equates Kazuya’s skills as a fake to a worm. The Imposter then tells him to heed these words and go back home.

"I have been taken away, my hometown, my name, and my life. It is all gone. There is no place for me to be able to return. No matter what people say to me, I will stand in front." Kazuya says.

"Tell me one thing, is life interesting being robbed by others? Hometown, name, life, and even your beloved sister. Has losing all of those made life interesting?" taunts the Imposter with a smile.

The Imposter’s ironic smile makes Shinobu want to vomit, as it reminds her of Kazuya and she avoids their sight. Since the Imposter isn’t Kazuya, she has no idea what to make of them.

Kazuya looks at Byakuya and asks him to return his sister and everything he stole from him, starting with the Kudan. The Imposter also gets in it out as well, since they desire the Kudan as well.This is because, at least how Shinobu sees it, since the Kudan is the secret behind the Togami’s family prosperity:

If you can’t get it, even if you don’t understand it, you can’t really become Byakuya Togami.

“Answer me, Mr. Authentic, where is the ‘Kudan’?”

“Answer me, Byakuya Togami, where is the ‘Kudan’?”

As both demand it, Shinobu notes that the two seems to be acting less like those who want to become Byakuya Togami, but rather those who want to become his enemy.

Byakuya answers that he sealed the Kudan away, since he doesn’t need it to dominate the world. As such, Kazuya demands it back since he found it, though Byakuya believes the knowledge of the Kudan’s prophecy is worthless since the future can’t be changed regardless of one knowing or not. While this is happening, Shinobu looks up information about the Kudan. 

Borges = Search Results

#69010922

Classification data

Title "About the various Kudans (short version)"

It seems that you do not understand the meaning of the prophecy.

No matter how many methods are tried and how many means are used, it cannot stop it. This is the prophecy.

——TORI MIKI's Banquet in Parsifal [10]

Kazuya argues that even if one is destined for failure, they would still be able to minimize the loss thanks to the Kudan’s prophecy given him a warning. Byakuya just insults him and calls him a defeatist that was needed to face reality. To prove his point, he then he wraps the handcuffs he is wearing around Shinobu’s neck, and pulls with strength. Shinobu however is loving it, because of how close Byakuya is.

"You have been escaping from reality all this time. I want you to see it clearly,” Byakuya says “Look carefully: this woman, ‘Blue Ink', belongs to me, so I can even treat her like this."

Byakuya-sama raised my head up and rubbed against my cheek. Ah, now i'm really sweating, this feels weird.

Kazuya’s exploding blood vessels appeared on his forehead, and hid glasses trembled without him having to touch them. No, his whole body was shaking, from the top of his head to his fingertips. This was, without a doubt, a sign of true madness. Kazuya’s body trembled, staring at us intently.

“Hey!”

I heard such a voice, and in the next moment, the table was cut into two halves from the middle. The cake and the teacups flew around, and the fake Byakuya screamed with a clearly frustrated voice, "Gah, I haven't finished eating yet!"

Kazuya’s right hand… It’s the same...

The same light sword as that time.

My brothers and sisters, murdered in cold blood with that very sword.

"Your lives... are now in the palm of my hand. So, will you be dying now? Do you want to Die? Answer me."

"My my, what a strange sword that is. How did you manage to pull that party trick off."

"I cannot wait to slit your goddamn throat."

Kazuya approached us with that lightsaber in hand. Byakuya-sama, in Kazuya’s blind fury, whispered quietly into my ear.

“Wait for me.”

Then he finally let me go. Kazuya has snorted and repeatedly gasped in a mixture of pure anger and sexual excitement, restraining the impulse to use the sword on his hand immediately. His expression was so distorted, it looked like a twisted laugh.

"There is still a long time before we arrive in the Netherlands. Now, Shinobu, it’s only been for years since we last met, but let us continue where we left off… Nice and slowly…” [11]

Translation notes:

[0] Couldn’t find the actual quote in english but hopefully this will suffice.

[1] The Yalta Conference, also known as the Crimea Conference and code-named the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The aim of the conference was to shape a post-war peace that represented not just a collective security order but a plan to give self-determination to the liberated peoples of post-Nazi Europe. The meeting was intended mainly to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe. However, within a few short years, with the Cold War dividing the continent, Yalta became a subject of intense controversy.

[2] Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security". Chapter VII also gives the Military Staff Committee responsibility for strategic coordination of forces placed at the disposal of the UN Security Council. It is made up of the chiefs of staff of the five permanent members of the Council.

[3] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a United Nations court of law dealing with war crimes that took place during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. During its mandate, which lasted from 1993 - 2017, it irreversibly changed the landscape of international humanitarian law, provided victims an opportunity to voice the horrors they witnessed and experienced, and proved that those suspected of bearing the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during armed conflicts can be called to account.

[4] Pol Pot was a Cambodian revolutionary and politician who governed Cambodia as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Khmer nationalist, he was a leading member of Cambodia's communist movement, the Khmer Rouge, from 1963 until 1997 and served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea from 1963 to 1981. Under his administration, Cambodia was converted into a one-party communist state governed according to Pol Pot's interpretation of Marxism-Leninism. 

[5] The International Court of Justice (ICJ),sometimes called the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). The ICJ's primary functions are to settle international legal disputes submitted by states (contentious cases) and give advisory opinions on legal issues referred to it by the UN (advisory proceedings). Through its opinions and rulings, it serves as a source of international law. It is located in The Hague, in The Netherlands.

[6] Japanese food culture believes that food is placed and eaten at a table. It’s extremely unsightly to lean over, or on the floor or elsewhere, because that is where dogs eat.

[7] The full name is the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Unit (IDCU).

[8] You don’t get an explanation for the sage plan so my guess is it's referring to Izuru. Also I wasn't sure if it’s actually translated as Sage Plan but thats what im going with for now.

[9] Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, currently a researcher at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Arts, and International Director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities of the University of London. He is also Global Eminent Scholar at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. He works in subjects including continental philosophy, political theory, cultural studies, psychoanalysis, film criticism, Marxism, Hegelianism and theology.

[10] Parsifal is an opera in three acts by German composer Richard Wagner, who you would know for composing Suisei Nanamura’s ever favourite “Die Valkyrie”. It is loosely based on Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a 13th-century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival (Percival) and his quest for the Holy Grail (12th century). This exact book by TORI MIKI, however, does not exist, at least, not in this Reality.

[11] So it looks like you weren’t supposed to like Kazuya **AFTER ALL** TV Tropes?

To Be Continued.

https://drmedicsgamesurgery.tumblr.com/GameSurgeryDRTranslations

[dangan-meme-palace]

V3 is Sexist and Here's Why

Heyo! Here are my reasons for why I consider NDRV3 to be the most sexist installment of the DR series.

They fridged Kaede who was introduced as a promising and compelling protagonist in favor of her male love interest; another generic boy that the series loves to play as. It also sucks since Kaede ends up being remembered only as Saihara's love interest who care about him rather then a genuine leader who was morally gray.

Maki's characterization was inconsistent and cliche. A brooding tsundere who had a horrible life and it's only after a guy forces his way into her life does she learn to regain her humanity. Although Chapter 5 says that Maki managed to change for the better, her actions proved that she didn't changed at all consider that she was willing to kill everyone for the sake of her love interest. But everyone just brushes it off since she was just a girl who had fallen in love. Not to mention how her character development revolved only around Kaito.

Iruma was written in the hopes of making her as dislikable as possible. This is leads to unfortunate implications since she represents all the qualities that Japanese society disapproves of for women to be. (Being loud, prideful, sexually active, vulgar, having a talent that defies gender roles). Plus it's really messed up how she turns into a fragile, pathetic mess whenever someone yells at her or throws an insult at her.

Toujo and Angie both had interesting plotlines and characterizations (Toujo revealing to be a prime minister and wanting to kill for the needs of the many, Angie using her cult as a means of protecting the students while also having a selfish side) but they're instantly forgotten once they're killed off. Plus Angie's characterization and backstory is filled with racist writing.

Tenko was written to be a man-hating and obsessive lesbian-coded character who made some disturbing statements about how all men should die. (If they made it so that she wanted another minority group to perish, then you can tell that she would have gotten worse hate). And her constantly coddling Himiko, basically reducing her to a pet animal, was honestly super creepy. It also sucks that she was also revealed to have followed this creed because her master (a man) told her to.

Tsumugi and Himiko were okay regarding their roles and characterization, but they could have been done better.

And those are the reasons for the girls. And on the opposite side of the gender spectrum, there are noticeably more guys who are heavily involved and proactive in the actual storyline compared to the girls.

Saihara gets the privilege of playing as the POV Protagonist for a majority of the game and gets all the attention from the narrative and the characters. He even gets credited as the one who 'ends' Dangan Ronpa.

Ouma is the rival character and fits perfectly well with the truth vs. lies theme of the game. He has a constant presence in most of the chapters; either by helping the other players using clues and tricks to figure out the cases, or by terrorizing them with the dark and twisted truths of the game. It all comes into fruition when he manages to halt the killing game by claiming himself to be the mastermind.

While Kaito is only a supporting character, he still has a huge influence in the game because of how much he cares and roots for Saihara. He also serves as a thematic foil to Ouma as the two constantly clash over their ideals and actions. He has the most spotlight and most of the V3 kids admit that Kaito is important to them.  And there's also how he led the unsolvable murder scheme in Chapter 5.

Kiibo is technically important later on when it's revealed that he was the audience surrogate of the game. And he is also credited for officially ending/destroying Dangan Ronpa.

Amami also gets more recognition because of his role as the SHSL Survivor which ties in to the dynamics of the series and how it works.

While Hoshi, Shinguuji and Gonta aren't as involved, it still stands that there have been more guys who were actively involved in the storyline along with fitting the theme of truth vs lies in comparison to the girls.

And actually, i would like to disagree with you on Sakura. 

Despite being referred to as an ogre, she was honestly one of the best written girl characters in the series. 

She had a unique design that wasn't conventionally attractive like the other girls. 

She has the title of World's Strongest Fighter and she has a calm and honorable personality with a heart of gold.

She could have easily broken any of her classmates for insulting her, but she doesn't. She always maintains her cool. The only time she threatened violence was when any of them harmed her friends (Asahina).

She made an honorable sacrifice by killing herself to save her friends. Both the survivors and the narrative acknowledge this by showing the original 6 making more of an effort to work together to end the killing game. They honestly wouldn't have gotten as far if it wasn't for her.

That's why I consider her to be a girl character who was written exceptionally well.

You're thoughts?

-END OF SUBMISSION-

I strongly agree with all of these points!! The protag switch off is kinda iffy for me because while I recognize that it switched from strong female lead to male, I liked it as a plot twist. Still disappointing that they just killed her off for a shitty plot device and then didn't do anything to compensate for it. The girls kinda feel like they were thrown to the side tbh... I don't disagree with you though, and they did kind of just make her into a martyr and not the significant character she could have been. I feel like dr does that a lot with dead characters >:T

Also, when I say Sakura deserved better I meant that she shouldn't have been treated as a gag character or like her being strong was weird. It's like what you said about Miu in a way. I didn't mean that Sakura herself was bad or anything, I meant that it really bugged me when they made a joke out of her and then kind of forgot her after the trial even if they used the key she left behind. She literally sacrificed herself for them and nobody even really apologized properly to my recollection? Kinda wack.

Thank you for sending this in, it was really interesting to read!!

-tech

[saccharinedanganimagines]

Pregame Headcanons for Shuichi, Kiibo, Rantaro and Kokichi

Thank you to the anon who requested this one!

I’m still figuring out where I stand in the great “If Danganronpa was really just a TV show VS if Tsumugi lied and everything’s real” debate. 

Uhh this turned really analytical. But this is just my personal take on pregame character personalities.

These headcanons are loosely based on the characters’ first lines in the prologue, before they transformed into Ultimates.

I believe that their Ultimate Talents correspond with their true personalities and way of facing life. I think that their titles were given to them based on what they were like- only now, their traits are amplified. 

Personalities twisted into extremities or vice versa.

So, if Kaede secretly liked seeing people smile prior NDRV3- regardless if she thought that everyone around her was rotten- in the killing game, this turns into a deep passion to actively try to make people smile through her talent.

I’ll try to give my best reasons for these headcanons! Sorry if it’s a little messy, but I hope you guys take something out of my rambles!

~ Mod Ouma

Rantaro Amami

His first title was Ultimate Adventurer.

It was likely that he did trust people and that he even enjoyed meeting new friends. 

An adventurer is always up for new and exciting events. 

Pregame Rantaro could be an adrenaline junkie.

He visits the sketchiest parts of town to hang out with friends or goes bike racing. He knows doing stuff like this was dangerous, but he thinks he can get away with it.

NDRV3-Rantaro’s goal to find his sisters leads me to believe that he greatly valued the relationships that he did have and he may have been greedy over them too. That way, whenever he faces betrayal, he’d spiral deeply into suspicion and attempt to isolate himself and escape emotional pain.

I think he wouldn’t have restricted himself from having meaningful relationships with people either. He’s the type of guy to let things happen and just witness it. 

This will build a foundation for an ultimate who learned the hard way that he should always be wary.

He was a delinquent and a trouble maker, he had to learn how to get by somehow. This could account for his observant and wary nature.

Based on how distrusting he is and how desperate he appears to win the killing game, by then, I could only assume that he won the 52nd killing game by depending on very few people.

At some point, after experiencing Danganronpa-grade anime betrayals, he lost trust in everyone around him.

He looked out for himself, that’s how he earned his title as the Ultimate Survivor.

If it counts as pregame, after be won and became the SHSL Survivor, deprived himself of relationships, because that’s what always lowered most people’s chances of survival in Danganronpa.

Real life struggles and Danganronpa struggles are two types of despair. And compared to the latter, Rantaro would have more easily adapted to the former circumstances.

It’s also possible that he didn’t live in luxury.

An adventurer adapts to his environment, regardless of how dangerous it is. 

Rantaro may have had financial issues. This could justify his independent and self-sustaining nature in the game.

Pregame Rantaro was an opportunist through and through who he sought any type of reward due to his rough life. This made his fall into the despair of distrust and extreme independence as a survivor more dramatic.

Kokichi Ouma

He cares a lot about his friends.

Hell, even strangers.

I like to think that in his group of friends, he took up the leader role.

Perhaps this was because everyone’s awkward or codependent on each other. 

It was like a small self-fulfilling prophecy, one where he was the main character who helps everyone.

He was really attuned to what his friends are feeling and try his best to help with their moods.

Slow day in school? Why don’t we all hang out in an arcade later? Oh, maybe we all should play some Jenga? Hmm, oh! How about a game of ‘2 truths and a lie’!

He lets his friends beat him at chess, even though he could wipe them out with only a few moves.

He puts others before himself.

Oh, you heard or saw something scary?

“Do you want me to go check?”

He’s secretly an emotionally weak person, but he puts on a face because he knows his friends are the same way.

He has to be strong when no one else is. Little things like his own insecurities will only get in the way!

A lot of people will be intimidated with Kokichi because he often has an indecipherable, blank look on his face.

But then he also smiles really genuinely and can seem approachable.

He’s fond of people who stays strong in their standing. He wants to see them continue to be this way. He supports them and helps them grow as a sort of leader and #1 fan.

Which is why in the game, he pushes and prods Kaede, Shuichi, and Kaito- testing to see if any of them will falter. Trying to make sure they are who they say they are.

He’s really attached to his friends, so much so that he considers distancing himself a little. But he’s selfish enough in that regard to keep pestering them for friendship.

He also feels an almost self-righteous passion to watch over them.

This is the foundation for DICE in NDRV3.

Shuichi Saihara

He keeps his head down so much that you’ll rarely see his eyes.

But he’s actually really polite! Not so different from the SHSL detective, eh?

He likes to watch people debate and talk about morality, politics, and crime.

He doesn’t talk often, but when he does, he makes really good arguments in a conversation.

He’s like a gun with a silencer.

This is mostly because he’s not used to talking about his own interests.

And probably because he has a pretty twisted passion.

In the killing game, he’s the Ultimate Detective, before it, he was just Shuichi Saihara, a boy who liked solving difficult things.

Pregame Shuichi is basically NDVR3 Shuichi without most of his morals and with only his shy nature holding him back.

You have to know the hammer to hit the nail.

To solve a problem, is to learn how it works by trying to understand what or who caused it.

Even if he has to stoop down to their pattern of thinking. That’s his philosophy.

It’s like a self-righteous high, mentally committing a crime just so he knows how it went and how to solve it from there.

Not that he truly could, he’s no detective or judge.

His eyes become deathly bored and dull at the very thought of an easy mystery.

But that only serves to contrast how his eyes brighten at the mere mention of a true, clever mastermind to mentally challenge him.

It seems like fun and games to him, but he’s well aware that murder is a heavy crime.

That’s, ironically, also his justification for why he does what he does.

Kiibo/K1-B0

I believe he may have had a sort of hot-and-cold type of personality.

Perhaps he was struggling to develop his own identity and moral standing.

He may have been naive and socially awkward while being exposed to may different views in society- it could have confused him.

He’s very self-righteous in his beliefs, but also contradictory and changing.

One day, he’ll believe that persistently pushing support onto people is good.

Then tomorrow, he’ll believe that leaving people to grow and develop on their own would be preferable.

That’s why he’s the perfect fit as the viewer’s surrogate. And it’s why he’s a robot. He’s an ever-lasting debate of beliefs.

Pregame Kiibo may have aspired to be an optimistic and headstrong person for the sake of those who cares for him. Much like K1-B0 of the game.

He would often back down on a challenge to prove his worth as an individual.

But at the same time, he encourages others to do the same.

That’s the inspiration for his dislike for robophobia. It’s reminiscent of the type of discrimination associated with identity.

Which makes him perfect for the role of Hope.

Hope can burn bright, but it can also smother.

This is the inspiration for K1-B0’s programming towards ensuring that hope won- even if it meant sacrificing Shuichi, Maki and Himiko.

Pregame Kiibo died protecting his beliefs.

It caught the mastermin’ds attention.

NDRV3′s end theme revolved around a copy-cat crime, which means, Kiibo was picked out of other people because he’s like an epitome of the struggle of hope and despair.

Of course, Kiibo resisted.

His determination to fight despair was what hit the nail on his coffin.

He values personal integrity the most, doing the right things at the right times. For himself and for others around him.

His personality was altered into gradual extremities throughout the game, and was made into an AI.

He demonstrated what hope is. He was the embodiment of the fanbase’s conflict of interests.

And that’s being the cornerstone of despair whilst being the hope to fight against it.

[aki-chan2014]

Unfortunately there wasn’t an option with this picrew to change skin tones, but apart from that, here’s a reasonably accurate picrew of Shizuka. (I’ll do a picrew of her as a teen at some point. Or maybe a drawing. We’ll see)

[kanzakls]

shsl survivors’ society aesthetics: yashiro tsukishima; former shsl linguist, victim

"did you know that we have a word in japanese that sounds a lot like your name? it’s ‘taisen’. it’s our word for ‘war’.”

[oumakokichi]

Hi! Just wanted to say, I've noticed that you described Saihara as suicidal and depressed in several of you meta posts, including the most recent one. I'm not having anything against it, I can see where it's coming from, but could you maybe elaborate a bit more on how it manifests in the game?

No problem! The fact that Saihara is depressed (that all the ndrv3characters are depressed to some degree) is established fairly early on, but I’dsay it first comes to light in Chapter 2. Following Kaede’s death, Saihara isinclined to stay holed up in his room without really eating or talking toanyone the next day. If Momota hadn’t come to fetch him in person, it’s quitelikely he wouldn’t have come out for some time.

This kind of behavior isn’t abnormal considering how muchtrauma all of them just experienced the day before, but it’s fairly notablethat Saihara is the only one in thegroup who didn’t really want to come out and meet up with everyone forbreakfast. As far as I can remember, it’s not something Naegi or Hinata everexhibited, even when they were both at their most upset. Meeting with the groupand trying to figure out what they would do next or how they would tackle thesituation always sort of won out on the list of priorities.

This trend of Saihara staying holed up in his room andfeeling too lethargic or upset to go anywhere or talk to anyone continuesseveral times throughout the game, culminating in Chapter 5 with the reveal of “thetruth of the outside world,” but I’ll touch on that in a bit.

As for Chapter 2, the remember light they use is perhaps thefirst really big tip-off as to how depressed Saihara and the others actuallyare, as well as a fairly good clue as to the potential real state of theoutside world. One of the first things Saihara recalls as a result of usingthat remember light is thinking a very strong, prevalent thought: “I want todie together with everyone.”

At the time, Saihara and the others can only assume thisline of thinking was related to the SHSL Hunt and erasing their memories inorder to live as talentless students. Knowing what we know about the reveals inChapter 6 however, there’s a strong implication that the decision to enter thekilling game willingly was itself a method of “throwing away one’s life.”

Tsumugi strongly emphasizes again and again in Chapter 6 that“the world of Danganronpa” is the only world in which “people like them” canlive. This is, of course, no doubt partially due to her desire to break theirspirits and have them never be able to open up the catbox or visit the outsideworld themselves. But I think there’s at least some degree of truth to it too,as there is with many of Tsumugi’s comments. She wouldn’t be able to weave sucha convincing story about the survivors, and about Saihara in particular, ifthere weren’t some underlying truth to it too, in my opinion.

In ndrv3, regardless of what the state of the outside worldmight be, one thing that seems pretty consistent is—bad. There are tons ofhints that the virus in particular seems to be real. Even if it didn’t wipe outall of humanity, the fact that Tsumugi was clearly sweating bullets when sherealized Momota was sick in Chapter 5 and the fact that the virus wasforeshadowed by Ouma long before the Hope’s Peak remember light, as early asChapter 3, all suggest that some kindof disaster happened in the outside world.

There’s also what we hear from “Makoto” in Chapter 6. Thescene with Makoto isn’t shown via any remember lights or scenes with Tsumugi;rather, it’s a scene entirely for the player’s eyes, and it highlightsincredibly well the sort of pressure placed on “normal, talentless” people tokeep up with societal pressure in a school meant only for the “elite.” Makotopretty much flat-out confirms that he would just up and kill himself without throwinghimself headlong into fiction and into DR in particular in order to cope—to anunhealthy degree even.

This scene sets the tone for the rest of Chapter 6 and forthe reveals we discover about the rest of the characters. This is exactly whatleads me to believe that pre-game Saihara did, to some extent, rely on the DRfranchise in the same way; his audition tape suggests as much. The ndrv3universe seems to hinge heavily on convincing children, particularly teenagers,that their lives don’t particularly mean much if they can’t “keep up” with theelite and talented members of society. And so, joining “the world ofDanganronpa” is a definite way to escape from that frustrating, painful realitywhich puts so much pressure and misery onto these kids.

Going back to what I mentioned about Chapter 5 earlier aswell, in-game Saihara is notablydepressed and suicidal after Ouma drops “the truth of the outside world” on allof them. The whole group is, really, except for Tsumugi as the ringleader andMaki because she’s used to dismissing her own personal feelings in order tokeep going as any good soldier or assassin would.

Saihara literally lies in his bedroom for at least two orthree days literally thinking to himself “there’s no reason to live, there’s noreason to live, there’s no reason to live” on loop, unable to eat, shower, orgo out and talk to anyone. Maki even agrees to kill all the rest of the groupas per Himiko’s request if they still want to die after using the rememberlight she found—and none of them have any problems with this, because realizingthat all the people they ever loved are dead and gone and the earth is acomplete wasteland is just that painful a truth.

This tendency to want to just give up and die is somethingthat carries over even into Chapter 6, when Tsumugi hits them with one “reveal”after another about the fragile state of their existences as fictional beings.As she claims credit for every single thing they’ve ever thought or done, downto their experiences, their memories, even their emotions, the initialexpectation from most players I think is to assume that Saihara’s going to bereally shocked and upset at first, only to bounce back with the usual “you’vegot that wrong” speech full of hope and inspiration.

But that doesn’t happen. Saihara quite literally gives up.It’s a very emotional scene full of heavy impact because Saihara makes someextremely valid points on why there’s not even any point in going on. If she saysall that, then it is true they have no way to deny it. And he’s tired. He’s tired and he’s in pain andhe’s miserable and they’ve already lost so many of their classmates, and nowthey don’t even have anything about themselves that they can trust, not eventheir own feelings or the memories of the people they love.

It’s at that point that Kiibo has to take the stage as themore traditional “hope-giving” protagonist figure—and it’s this hopeful andinspirational speech which actually incites Saihara to action again. Ratherthan hooking him into the usual “hope vs. despair” conflict though, it’s angerthat drives him. Anger and a willingness to quite literally discard his life ifthat’s what it takes to end the whole killing game. It’s the same sort ofsuicidal but determined drive which allowed Ouma to make the same decision inChapter 5.

Even at the very end of Chapter 6, Saihara never reallyexpected to make it out of the game alive. Every truth he exposed, he did so inthe hopes of keeping himself and the other survivors alive, but by the game’send, he was fully convinced that the DR franchise and the killing game showcould only be brought to a stop if he and the other survivors sacrificed theirlives for it. He was willing and ready to die, and only Kiibo’s self-sacrifice offeredthem a third option they hadn’t considered before.

In other words, Saihara is pretty clearly depressed,anxious, and suicidal for almost the entirety of ndrv3. He’s capable ofcheering up and gaining confidence in himself, of course, but often he needs torely on others and has a much more dependent streak than either Naegi or Hinatabefore him. His hesitation and insecurities about his own abilities, aboutfinding the truth, and about whether or not he even wants to live on, are allextremely relatable in my opinion, and part of what make him such a greatprotagonist in the most unconventional way.

I hope this cleared matters up a little! There’s probablymore examples than what I’ve listed too, but these are just the big points Icould remember in terms of how depressed and willing to die Saihara gets. Thankyou for asking!

[aki-chan2014]

The SHSL Survivors’ Society-second generation headcanons

As promised, here it is! Shizuka is included in this list too, but she is of course not my creation. All the other kids mentioned are though, but not all of them have information about them beyond name and date of birth, because there’s a lot of kids here and coming up with that much info is...tricky.

Anyway, enjoy!:

Survivors’

Chieko Akamine and Koutarou Ueda

Shizuka Akamine (surname later changes to Kita), DOB 3rd December 2010. Appears prominently over the course of the story as a six-year-old and has a POV in the final epilogue as a 16-year-old. Shizuka is the first of the second generation, and also has the distinction of being the only one who has a parent who died in the game as well, and because of that tends to feel a greater responsibility for remembering the events that happened and preserving those memories for future generations. She is shy as a small child, but mostly grows out of that over the course of her life-though she remains a quiet sort of person. She is kind, sweet and thoughtful, and adores animals to the point of becoming a vet in her adulthood (as well as helping out at the Towa City Memorial Garden).  She takes to calling her little sister ‘Mushi’ (bug) as an affectionate sort of nickname in the same sort of way Koutarou used to call Chieko ‘Moyashi’, and when she eventually has a child of her own, she names him Koutarou.

Chieko Akamine and Masashi Kita

Haruka Kita, DOB March 13th 2023. Definitely the more extrovert sibling of the two, Haruka is sunny-natured and a little bit of a tomboy, preferring to keep her hair shorter and avoid dresses where possible (much to the despair of her aunt Misa). Though there’s a slightly more parental aspect to their relationship owing to the age gap, Haruka is close to her big sister (even if she gets annoyed at the nickname).  She’s also particularly close to her cousin Hayate (see below) as they’re the same age separated by a few months. She becomes interested in gardening at a young age, and though for her it’s little more than a hobby/pastime, Haruka’s gardening helps Chieko to feel like she’s got that aspect of her life back in some respect and so though she doesn’t directly help out, the mother and daughter bond a lot over gardening.  

Tyson De Guerre and Wakana Abe

Felix Shouta De Guerre, DOB May 26th 2025. As a child, Felix’s speech is delayed and he struggles in school, resulting in him becoming generally unconfident and shy. He looks up to Tyson a lot, and visiting and helping to maintain the Towa City Memorial Garden does boost his confidence, and as an adult he goes to live in Japan, becoming the main gardener/groundskeeper for the garden.

Oliver “Olly” Kanato De Guerre, DOB August 1st 2028. A dreamy, absent-minded sort of person, Olly is always getting into scrapes due to not paying attention to his surroundings or just losing track of time. But he’s so good natured and amiable that it’s really difficult for anyone to ever get angry with him.

Verity “Vivi” Suzune De Guerre, DOB January 14th, 2031. The adored youngest child, Vivi is basically a ray of sunshine in the way her mother was pre-game, though she tends to be more honest with her feelings. She’s pretty proud of her mixed-race ancestry, and always introduces herself by her full name.  Though she is musically and artistically adept, she doesn’t ever pursue either of these things beyond the hobby level.

Akira Kazama

Nanako Kazama (former surname Sawatori), DOB October 31st 2008, fostered January 2020, adopted end of that year. She is streetwise and hot-tempered, and doesn’t trust many people outside of her adoptive family, and the Survivors and their families.  

Yuichi Kazama (former surname Ishi), DOB November 12th 2010, fostered April 2021, adopted March 2022. When he got fostered by Akira he ended up in the same elementary school as Tsubaki Higuchi, and as a result is fairly close friends with both her and Shizuka. He is a bit grouchy and puts on a tough-guy act a lot, but he looks up to Akira in a big way and follows in his footsteps to become a very popular Student Council President in his high school.

Kai Kazama (former surname Takamura), DOB April 5th, 2013, fostered June 2021, adopted same time as Yuichi. A sporty and determined person, Kai eventually becomes a skilled and successful baseball player with a huge fanbase.

  Siblings/Friends etc.

Kazuki Kita (Masashi’s older brother) and Orihime Nanto (Hokuto’s little sister)

(Note: yes, this means that Chieko’s, Masashi’s and Hokuto’s families are all related by marriage)

Daigo Kita, DOB October 9th 2020. Level-headed, sensible and a bit of an old soul, Daigo takes an interest in Café Tanabata from a young age and helps out there a lot even before he decides that he’ll take it over as an adult with the help of his little brother. Given to talking in riddles, especially when he’s annoyed or tired.

Hayate Kita, DOB October 9th 2023. A combination of being impulsive and forever salty about the fact his birthday falls on the same day as his older brother’s, Hayate is more often arguing with Daigo. Luckily, despite this they get on inexplicably well, which is a good thing considering they eventually take over Café Tanabata from their mother and aunt. He’s an extroverted joker type of person.

 Hikari Kita (Masashi’s younger sister)

Kyohei Matsushita, DOB October 12th 2019. Fairly calm, amiable boy who is rather introverted and can end up overwhelmed by his extended family, all of whom he loves dearly. Ends up in the same elementary and middle schools as Athena and Lexie Cain (see below), and the same high school as Lexie, and thus is friends with them.

 Benjamin ‘Ben’ Cain (Erica’s sister)

Athena Cain, DOB October 17th 2017. Cheerful and outgoing like her late aunt, but less intense and generally more thoughtful. Though she takes an interest in mythology due to her name, she isn’t actually all that interested in history (sure, her family’s past interests her, but she hasn’t got the history obsession her late aunt did). She becomes a storywriter and artist instead.

Alexandria ‘Lexie’ Cain, DOB February 21st 2019. A charismatic, attractive girl, Lexie is enigmatic and slightly manipulative but in spite of this (or possibly because of this) she is very popular. She can be a bit prissy sometimes as well, but would put her life on the line for anyone she actually cares about (which is a very few people). She has a crush on Kyohei in high school, but is far too stubborn to admit it because he’s not her usual ‘type’ and she knows too well that he only sees her as a friend.

 Yasu Kazama (Akira’s older sister)

Akiko ‘Kiko’ Shimada, DOB April 25th 2020. The eldest twin by nine minutes, Kiko is academic and driven, but despite this is compelled to become a voice actor like her late aunt. Though never as popular as Hibiki was, she does do quite well for herself, and after a while decides to become a coach for voice-actors.

Akemi ‘Emi’ Shimada, DOB April 25th 2020. Though identical to Kiko, Emi is quieter and struggles academically, and often feels like she is just a pale imitation of her sister and that she doesn’t fit in with her family, despite the fact they do clearly love and value her just as much.  She takes an interest in the Towa City Memorial Garden, and as an adult is one of the people in charge of the funds that help to maintain and organise it, as well as the employment of people who do the actual maintaining and organising.

 Sadao Taneda and Ayame Edano (Noriko’s childhood friend and little sister, respectively)

Airi Taneda, DOB September 30th 2024. Born with albinism, Airi’s birth is what helps her mother and her aunt have a closer relationship, as Ayame often seeks advice from Noriko about how to help her. Unlike Noriko, Airi is never embarrassed by her white hair and indeed likes to learn elaborate hairstyles to show it off, something which eventually leads to her becoming a hairdresser.

Toshio Taneda, DOB June 14th 2026. Quiet, slightly socially awkward, and very intelligent, Toshio basically spends his whole life in education-from being a complete swot in school to pursuing an academic career relating to maths and physics.

Yuuji Taneda, DOB July 7th 2030. Between Airi’s outspokenness and Toshio’s nerdiness, Yuuji finds himself embarrassed by his elder siblings constantly, and tries to distance himself from them in public, but he does love them really, and if anyone else teases them he will be on them like a shot. Indeed, he gets into a lot of fights in school because of defending people from bullies.

 Hitoshi Edano (Noriko’s younger brother)

Isamu Edano, DOB December 9th 2026

Yura Edano, DOB May 24th 2029

 Chikako Ueno (Daisuke’s older sister)

Daisuke ‘Isuke’ Hiraoka (surname later changes to Ikeda with Chikako’s second marriage), DOB February 26th, 2024. Eccentric and slightly flamboyant, this Daisuke actually can play musical instruments, and eventually becomes a professional clarinet player. Isuke is also the classic slightly over-protective brother who scares his siblings’ boyfriends/girlfriends. Also, nobody knows where his nickname came from or why-nobody admits to giving it to him.

Souta Hiraoka (surname later changes to Ikeda with Chikako’s second marriage), DOB August 21st 2026

Rie Ikeda, DOB July 18th 2032

Yumi Ikeda, DOB January 31st 2035

 Shouta Kobayashi (Oshiro’s friend)

Hiroto Kobayashi, DOB May 1st, 2031

 Mio Fujioka (Oshiro’s friend)

Masahiro Fujioka, DOB April 18th, 2032. A devilish, charming prankster, Masahiro is the type of person who just sails through life. He looks for every opportunity to pull off a prank or some sort of joke, and the twin-switch one used to be one of his favourites as a kid-or rather, it was until he decided to pull it on their mother and she freaked out when she realised. Though he’s well aware of the Killing Game and the Despair cult and all that, and that she knew someone who had died there, he’s never probed too deeply into why she had this reaction, as he feels vaguely uncomfortable thinking about all this.

Takeo Fujioka, DOB April 18th, 2032. A little more calm and straight-laced, Takeo is nonetheless a very fun-loving guy who generally enjoys taking part in Masahiro’s pranks, but naturally refuses the twin-switch ones after the reaction their mother had. He takes more of an interest in the past than Masahiro, so he knows more about what lay behind their mother’s reaction, and as it happens, he does pursue becoming a historian as a career because of this.

 Atsushi and Kanade Arata (Kimihiro’s parents)

Hisae Arata, DOB April 6th, 2018. Though very much unexpected and unplanned, she ends up being the thing that puts back together her parents’ marriage, which had been slowly disintegrating under the grief for the older brother she never knew. With a name written with the characters for ‘long time’ and ‘blessing’, her parents have heaped a lot of love on her and are very protective of her, meaning she grows up living a sheltered life. As a result, she is a very sweet, very shy and soft type of person who ends up heavily dependent on others to look after her.

 Tetsuya Yamaguchi (Kimihiro’s friend)

Taro Yamaguchi, DOB February 10th, 2025. He is slightly spoiled because he was the only child his parents were able to have, so sometimes he comes across a little entitled and haughty and coddled. But really, deep down, he’s a good guy, and does well in life. Not stunning or outstanding, but well. He also inherits his father’s whimsical approach to acquiring hobbies, and thus he tends to be interesting company in parties with all sorts of tricks and anecdotes to pull out.

 Ichiro Usami (Shiro’s brother)

Shiro Usami, DOB March 5th, 2022

Akane Usami, DOB April 26th, 2024

Midori Usami, DOB May 30th, 2027

Gin Usami, DOB June 17th 2030

 Yujiko Usami (Shiro’s sister)

Nanae Aikawa, DOB June 18th 2021

Namika Aikawa, DOB September 3rd 2023

Natsumi Aikawa, DOB January 14th 2030

 Zenzo Usami (Shiro’s brother)

Aiki Usami, DOB February 2nd 2023

 Goromi Usami (Shiro’s sister)

Kanon Tajima, DOB August 25th 2025

Kanade Tajima, DOB November 3rd 2030

Hotaru Mori (Hideki’s accquaintance)

Shiki Mori, DOB March 31st 2032. Reclusive as her mother, but probably a bit more practical and assertive, generally speaking.

[kanzakls]

shsl survivors’ society aesthetics: akira kazama; former shsl student council president, survivor

”five people used to live here, and now there’s just me.”

(1st vers)

[kanzakls]

shsl survivors’ society aesthetics: hibiki kazama; former shsl voice actor, victim

”this...this is a joke, right?”