#dr3 has been out for 2 years now

[sbdskate]

Laws Of Attraction (Part 10) - DR x lawyer!fem!reader

Summary: McLaren is in breach of contract, dr3 hires a lawyer to deal with the aftermath. Tropes ensue. Slow burn. Enemies(kind of) -> Friends/colleagues -> Lovers

Pairing: lawyer!fem!reader x Daniel Ricciardo

Warnings (18+): sickening amount of fluff, language, angst, *SMUT*: oral (m + f receiving), fingering, hand job, p in v, overstimulation if you blink

Word Count: 6,892

A/N: If you’re here, congratulations! You made it to the end. A big thank you to everyone that has commented, shared, liked, etc. I can’t believe it’s been over a year since my first post. I had a vision when I started writing this in the middle of the 2022 season, not quite sure where it would lead, but I’m happy with where it landed and I hope you are too. I hope you like wine with your cheese, because this is ~cheesy~. Also, this is my first time writing smut so (1) if you are a minor please do not proceed; (2) if you do like/read smut, I would appreciate any kind of feedback. A big thank you to @cutelittlefakejourneys and @burningcupcakefire for beta-ing. Thank you @paddockbunny, @monzabee, and @silverstonesainz for the insights and words of encouragement. As always, thank you for reading.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Epilogue 1

Daniel paced the hallway. He wasn’t accustomed to not getting what he wanted. Sure, in the last few months he had had his fair share of disappointments, but this was different. He was tempted to knock on your door until you answered, but thought the better of it.

He played through the moment in his head again, no different than analyzing a post-race debrief. What went wrong and how could he improve? He was professional during the signing. He knew you loved Geri, you only casually brought up Ginger Spice in conversation no less than a dozen times over the last few months. He knew you’d love to actually meet her – who knows, if everything went well it certainly wouldn’t be the last time for you. He didn’t force himself on you – at this point he knew you were like a cat and he needed to wait for you to come to him or else he’d scare you off. It seemed like the only thing keeping you from ripping each other’s clothes off was your job. Or so he thought.

Now he was confused. It was clear you hadn’t meant to say what you said – but you said it. I could kiss you. Can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Four words that looped in his brain. He had spent so much time dissecting the meaning of the word “could,” he felt like he could be a lawyer too. But he had taken his time closing the space between you in the hallway. When he leaned in, you leaned in too. You had ample time to tell him off if he had misconstrued the whole thing, and he would never think less of you if you did, but you didn’t.

No, what just happened was not a rejection. You were just skittish. Like a cat hiding under a bed, you just needed to be coaxed out – slowly. You were food motivated, he’d learned that about you during your first outing in Belgium when you put down more bon bons than he thought was humanly possible. Yes, all you needed was to be approached with patience and understanding - and maybe the promise of a full belly.

-

You leaned against the door and squeezed your eyes shut, embarrassment already crashing over you like a tidal wave. You knew you were being ridiculous and immature. What was it that you were still afraid of?

You stripped off your suit immediately, it felt stuffy and heavy as you overheated, the reminder of your attorney-client relationship falling to the floor. You threw on the first thing you grabbed out of your bag - why did it have to be that pesky yellow dress again?

You paced your room for what felt like hours. Your professional activities with Daniel had officially come to its natural conclusion and yet you were still hesitant to move forward. It didn’t help that you were in a country that banned the cohabitation of unmarried couples, so really, what were you even going to do?

Despite the confessions exchanged back in Mexico and the kiss in Brazil, it was never guaranteed that anything would actually happen once Daniel’s legal affairs were settled. Frankly, you still weren’t fully convinced the conversations ever actually happened. You refused to believe the lingering stares and little touches that lasted a little too long were anything more than pure coincidence.

In spite of all of it, you remained unconvinced about how Daniel actually felt about you. Over the years of failed relationships and first dates that ranged from awkward to bad, you had grown wary and skeptical of romantic pursuits. For all you knew, all his lip-service was simply an elaborate ruse to get in your pants. You thought on this worst case scenario, which really wasn’t so bad. God forbid you have one night stand with a Formula 1 driver and live to tell the tale. It would be a lie to say you wouldn’t be hurt at first if you were correct, but you would eventually be fine. You had been happily single and independent for years, it would simply be a return to your de facto state.

And even if you could take him at his word, you couldn’t help but wonder what that relationship would look like when you had to resume work for other clients and the luxury of constant travel and proximity ceased. How would you continue to keep in touch? How often would you actually be able to see each other in person? Your first relationship was with The Firm, and you knew you weren’t ready to give up your livelihood for him. Then there was the other issue of paparazzi and tabloids - the forced spotlight that would fall on you, resulting in the lack of privacy and anonymity. You had no desire for fame, yet he seemed to be designed for it. You could go toe-to-toe with opposing counsel any day, but you weren’t sure you had his mental fortitude to withstand the cruel and unsolicited opinions of strangers on the internet.

You weighed the pros and cons over and over again in your head. For someone with such a demanding job, it made no sense that it all felt so overwhelming and complicated. But it was telling that the Australian was the first person you wanted to confide in. He was the only one who could ever quiet the constant hurricane in your mind that caused you to spiral if left unchecked. In this moment, you needed him to ground you.

You had been raised to leave hotel room minibars alone unless you wanted to bankrupt you and your entire family for two generations. Going against everything you believed, you took a nip from the stock. Hoping the small amount of liquid courage would do the trick, you checked your reflection in the mirror one last time before venturing to the room next door. You would simply have to assume the risk of the unknown aftermath.

With shaking hands, you opened the door only to be met with Daniel’s presence before you. He jumped slightly at the sudden movement. You did a poor job hiding your astonishment that left you frozen in place.

“Oh… hi?” Your eyes remained wide. He looked around and scratched the back of his head, appearing to be as surprised and confused as you were.

“Hi – I uh,” he took a moment to give you a once over. “I’m sorry are you about to go somewhere? You look nice.” You felt your face turn red immediately, the bravery you built up moments ago dissipating in an instance. He shifted his weight, quickly correcting himself. “Not that you don’t always look nice! I just – you look nicer than usual. I mean-” He seemed uncharacteristically nervous and was digging himself a hole. You looked around the hall to ensure it was empty and took a deep breath to save him from digging any deeper.

“Yes actually. I was going to see you.” He seemed surprised and relieved at the answer.

“No way, I was about to see you!” He shook his head when he saw you bite back a smile. “Obviously, I’ve been standing outside your door,” he laughed nervously, his confidence shrinking by the second. “Not for very long though! You didn’t need to know that. But I wanted to come to say I’m sorry about before, I was too forward back there. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just figured, you know, since we went pencils down and everything, maybe we could-”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Did I stutter?” You walked backwards as you took his hand, leading him through the doorway. He didn’t fight your lead.

“-you don’t know what I was going to ask.” You leaned back, allowing the door to click behind you under your weight.

“It doesn’t matter. The answer is yes.” You gave him a reassuring smile and gently squeezed his hand bringing him closer. “With you it will always be yes.” It seemed both of you were at a loss for words, but they were unnecessary as he took a step towards you closing the small gap that remained. His eyes were enchantingly curious as they gazed into yours. You only looked away for a millisecond, distracted by the tongue that broke free from his mouth to moisten his plump lips. You took a deep inhale in anticipation, your heartbeat bordering on palpitations as his lips closed in.

The moment they met yours, immediately you knew you never wanted boundaries with this man ever again. One hand cupped the side of your face while the other grabbed your waist to pull you closer. You wrapped your arms around his neck in an effort to eliminate any remaining iota of space between the two of you. Your lips danced and moved together in unison, neither of you wanting to come up for air. His firm calloused hands roamed your body, unsure of where to rest. There were so many parts of you he had never touched before and he wanted desperately to become acquainted with them as quickly as possible. He squeezed your shoulders, ran them down the lengths of your arms, moved to the small of your back up towards your neck, in your hair.

The feverishness of it all began to slow, as he tried to memorize every peak and valley. He reverently moved his hands from your waist, dragging them up the length of your spine, one hand finding its way to your hair as though he wanted to remember every hair follicle, the other keeping your body firmly pressed against his. The leisurely pace only teased you, and each spot he touched left your body buzzing. He slowly brought his other hand to find yours again, repositioning so your fingers interlocked. The sweet gesture felt suddenly sinful when he pinned them to the wall, dragging them up the door until they were next to your head. The motion made your head spin, warmth spreading between your thighs, and you inadvertently let out a soft moan.

Ravenous for more, he firmly pressed your bodies together against the door, almost knocking the wind out of you. He pulled away only for a moment, his eyes pleading.

Can I?

You nodded your head frantically, capturing his mouth once more while guiding his hands to the parts you desperately needed touched. One gently cupped your breast while the other roughly grabbed your ass, kneading the muscles underneath. You both groaned in unison at the new sensation.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to touch you,” he mouthed breathlessly before finding your neck, hoping the feeling was mutual. You didn’t say anything back, but he could tell from the pant of your breath and the pulse under his lips that it was. You threw your head back as he sucked, licked, and nipped at the sweet spot as he gently grazed his thumb over your bra, immediately feeling your nipple form into a stiff peak underneath. Being mindful of your noise level, you bit back a moan that ended up coming out as a pathetic whimper. You shamelessly pushed your hips against his and squeezed his hand on your breast, encouraging him to explore and desperate for more contact.

You instinctively widened your stance for him to perch himself between your legs. His hand played with the waistband of your underwear through your dress, trailing down to your inner upper thigh.

“Stop teasing,” you hissed. He only smiled into the kiss in response, his tongue pushing into your mouth to shut you up.

Your hands followed their own curious whims. Those pecs that you had gotten an eyeful of several times felt warm and firm under your touch. Your palm dragged down the ripples of his abs, gently landing over the front of his pants. You gasped feeling him harden under your touch for the first time, eliciting a low growl from him in return. His hips pushed forward in frustration, eager for more. You allowed him some relief, undoing his belt and pants, cautiously reaching inside. Your eyes widened.

“Holy shit,” you muttered as you grabbed around his length, your hand suddenly feeling quite small. He looked you dead in the eye, that familiar cocky smirk and twinkle returning to his face.

“Come on,” he flashed you a wicked grin. “You knew it had to be big.” You laughed at his boldness, which only inspired him to double down. “I know how to use it too.”

“That’s some awfully big talk.” You already had goosebumps from your head to your toes, but you weren’t going to let him know that just yet. You would make sure he worked for it. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“It’s not the only thing I know how to use.”

He captured your mouth in a gentle, chaste kiss as he used one hand to pull up the hem of your dress. His other hand snuck under the skirt, slowly dragging it across your skin. Rough and calloused from racing, they felt tantalizingly delicate.

“I was going to prove it, but it looks like I already convinced you.” He drew little spirals around your clit over your panties, barely applying any pressure. You bit your lip and looked up to the ceiling, praying for relief from the building tension. To your chagrin, his hand began to pull away.

“No. Please,” was all you could muster, your brain searching for more eloquent words that escaped you.

“Please what?” You reached for his crotch, hoping the action would suffice as an answer, but he grabbed your wrist to pin it to the door. “You have to use your words.” You felt the words on his breath that seeped through your skin.

“Please touch me.” Frustrated, you used your free hand to try to get him to fully take your dress off which was only getting in the way. He obliged, releasing your other hand to get a hold of the fabric. You put your arms up as he gathered the material over your head. Throwing the garment aside, he pulled away slightly to observe you for a moment. His eyes widening as they moved down your frame, trying and failing to hide his growing smirk.

“Do you always wear pretty underwear when you close a deal? Or are these for me?” He played with the pink lacy textile between his fingers, admiring how they accentuated the contour of your waist and hips.

“Both,” you gasped as he dragged a finger down your front. It passed over your clit, down to the fabric covering your entrance, smiling feeling how embarrassingly soaked you already were through the thin material.

With a chaste kiss on the cheek, he proceeded to leave a trail of kisses down your neck, chest, stomach, until he reached the hem of fabric. He continued over the garment, bypassing the spot he knew you needed him to your inner thigh. The gentle touches and the scruff of his beard almost tickled, panting as he moved down your body.

He looped his thumbs around the sides of your thong, pausing to look up hopefully for permission. You nodded with lidded, lustful eyes. He couldn’t hide his dimples and he continued to tease, dragging your panties slowly down your legs, taking care to pick up each foot to get you out of them. Your heart swelled as you observed him treating you so delicately, like a fragile porcelain doll. His trail of kisses started again from the bottom, beginning at your ankle, to the inside of your knee and again to your upper thigh until he reached an apex.

“Hold on.” You weren’t sure what he meant at first. Then without warning, he grabbed your hip and threw your opposite leg over his shoulder, finally diving into your center. Your hands instinctively found their way to his head to stabilize yourself, accidentally letting out a yelp in the process which soon after turned into a low moan as his tongue swirled slow circles around your clit. “You taste so fucking good,” he mumbled into your skin.

The vision of him on his knees fully clothed, contrasted with your nakedness enhanced his touch and sent you spiraling. Your hands raked through his gorgeous curls as he lapped you up. The pressure he applied gradually increased, culminating to him inserting a finger in you, then two. You slapped a hand over your mouth as the pressure pooled and he found his rhythm with his tongue and fingers. He knew you were close when your legs started to shake and squeezed around him. The waves came crashing over you as you bucked your hips erratically. He removed his fingers so that he could stabilize you, but his mouth never stopped.

He finally put your other leg back on the ground when your hips slowed and stood up. Your legs almost buckled from underneath you but he caught you before you could fall, lifting you to walk to the bed.

You watched him carry you wordlessly, your brain still short circuiting from your orgasm only knowing enough to wrap your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck. Not because you thought he’d drop you, but because you wanted to be as close to him as possible. It still wasn’t close enough.

He sat himself down on the bed with you landing in his lap, legs still wrapped tightly. There had never been a time where the two of you have been in the same room and exchanged so few words. You continued to stare at each other, simply amazed to be in the same space and sharing skin after three long anguished months of resisting forbidden fruit.

Your gaze fell to his swollen lips that you desperately wanted to taste again, still shiny with your essence. His hand pressed up your back until he grabbed a fistful of hair, bringing you in fervently for another kiss. It was the kind of kiss that enveloped you, that turned your legs to water and caused currents in you to flow creating bountiful energy that begged for release. Your hands roamed from his shoulders, down his chest and abs to the hem of his shirt. The two of you pried it off together and he threw it somewhere on the floor. Your mouths met again gluing your torsos together, your currents crashing in a tidal wave of electricity and emotion.

You unwrapped your legs to straddle him, lightly pushing him backwards. He pulled you with him as you both fell into the bed, smiling into each other and little giggles filling the air. You rolled your hips over him, annoyed with the layers that still separated you from the waist down. You reached down, sloppily pushing at his pants to demonstrate your displeasure. He understood your message, weaving his arms past you to finish the job and shimmying his legs until they were off. You reached down the waistband of his boxer briefs, teasing your fingertips just underneath but not going further. It thrilled you to feel his muscles tense underneath your touch. He nipped your bottom lip when your hand moved further south, and you could feel his jaw clench.

He pulled away suddenly, and you couldn’t place the look on his face which made you nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! It’s just…” his hand cupped the side of your face, caressing your cheek. “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”

Your heart swelled at how delicate he was with you, at how much he cared. But you didn’t want to be treated delicately. And now you almost felt bad about how much you’d teased him up to this point. Almost.

“Do you know,” you said sitting up, your hand ghosting over the outline of him through his boxer briefs, “I had a sex dream about you. Right before the Japanese Grand Prix.”

“No,” he ground out.

“You had my legs spread on a desk in some McLaren office.” You felt his whole body clench again as you slid the last piece of clothing down his legs. As though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind every time you admonished him for not paying attention or not taking things seriously in those early days. The frequency of course increased, to every time you bent over, smiled, or played with your hair, to simply existing. For once, he was the one blushing and you found it entirely endearing. “I’ve literally dreamt of fucking you for three months. I want you and I need you. Now.”

His pupils dilated at your words, and his hands moved possessively from your face down to your ass where his fingers sank into your skin hoping to mark and keep you. He tried to find the words to communicate how badly he wanted and needed you too, but blood was no longer flowing to his brain and no words seemed perfect enough for you. His shaft twitched against his toned stomach, eager for your touch. You relieved him, wrapping your full hand around his impressive length pumping up and down a few times, your gentle grip slowly firming with each stroke.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. His hand found your waist and you felt his grip tighten as you continued. You slithered down his body until your mouth aligned with him, spitting over his tip. He felt voyeuristic watching the saliva drip from your tongue. You looked up to see him gripping the sheets for dear life.

“Is that alright?” He nodded fervently.

“Only if you want to,” he croaked out. Bless this man, who just wanted to make sure you were comfortable even though it looked like his eyes were going to roll back into his head.

“I do. Very much,” you insisted. You dragged your tongue slowly from the base of his shaft to his tip. “You made me feel good.” Lick. “Now I want to make you feel good.” His shallow breath hitched when you finally took him in your mouth. Your eyes watered as he hit the back of your throat, you looked up to make sure he was still breathing. You found him slack jawed, but eyes full of lust. He brought a hand to your head. You prepared your gag reflex expecting him to force your rhythm, but instead simply pushed your hair out of your face.

“Fuck, you look so good.” You felt the slickness spread between your thighs at his praise, adding a hand to his base where your mouth couldn’t quite reach. You increased your speed, moaning into him. He happily absorbed the vibrations, reflexively bucking his hips into you. You tasted salty precum at his tip and could tell he was close.

“W-wait,” you slowed your pace but didn’t remove him as you looked up again. “I don’t want to finish yet. Not like this.” You slowly pried yourself off him, finishing with a satisfying *pop* as you released him. You saw his chest rise and fall at an alarming rate. He helped pull you up, interlocking your fingers in the process.

“What do you want?” you asked, knowing you would do whatever came out of his mouth without hesitation.

“Grab my jeans?” You couldn't hide your skepticism, but nonetheless begrudgingly left the nicest seat you’ve ever known to find his pants somewhere on the floor. You resumed your spot on his lap as he frantically searched his pockets, finally locating his wallet and fished out a condom. Everything else found its way back to the ground. Eyes wide, he maintained a death grip on the condom. “You’re sure?”

You smiled. You thumbed his jawline as you brought your foreheads together. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” It took him about four seconds to process what you said, but when he did closed the gap between your lips in a messy and desperate kiss that sucked the air out of you. It dizzied him too and only pulled away when he remembered he had to open the condom. You leaned back to give him some space as he struggled with the wrapper. His brow furrowed in frustration as he tried to steady his shaky hands.

“I swear I’m usually a lot smoother than this,” he muttered. You bit back a laugh.

“I believe you.”  

“You just make me nervous,” he admitted, uncharacteristically bashful. “In case you couldn’t tell.”

“Hardly noticed,” you said sarcastically, but reassured him with a giggle. “It’s very endearing, if it makes you feel any better.” You calmly grabbed it from him.

“It does,” he confessed as he let you take it from his hands. Without breaking eye contact, you ripped the wrapper easily with your teeth. You felt him twitch under you as you wriggled yourself against him in content, allowing him to feel your arousal. He swallowed thickly. “Where did you learn that?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” you smirked. You moved off him for a moment, and he took the chance to stroke himself a few times, watching you absentmindedly. How your hair, now perfectly tousled, fell around your shoulders. How gravity worked miracles on the swell of your breasts. How your waist sloped into your hips and thighs. You patiently presented the condom back to him and he used all his concentration to take it from you to roll it down his length. He looked at you hopefully when he was done and you rewarded him with another kiss, your hair cascading around the two of you creating a protective curtain around your new little intimate universe.

You both watched as you eased yourself onto his cock, voyeurs of your own lust. Your moans harmonized as he bottomed out. You felt deliciously stretched and full. Complete. You began slow to adjust to his size, teasing him in the process with your agonizing pace, rising up to the point of almost dismount before sinking back down again engulfing his full length.

“Does this feel good?” you cooed, already knowing the answer as you swirled your hips with him bottomed out inside you, tormentingly slow.

“Yes. Fuck yes,” he groaned as he palmed your ass. “You’re so fucking tight.” You dragged a hand from his chest, down the ripples of his abs, towards where the two of you intercepted. With his jaw clenched, he sank his fingers in your hips, trying unsuccessfully to steady them as you continued to rock. “You look so good with me inside you.”

He lifted his hips to meet yours as proof of his enjoyment, the new angle jolting you forward slightly. A moan escaped as you found a rhythm as you rolled your hips back and forth, itching for the friction of his skin against your already swollen clit. Your pace quickened as his length hit that sacred spot deep in your core over and over. The bounce of your tits mesmerized him. Unable to resist, his mouth found a nipple, flicking his tongue back and forth over the sensitive peak that had you seeing stars.

“Fuck, I’m so close,” you whimpered. You felt the pressure pool and coil in your lower abdomen. Your eyes closed when he grabbed the back of your head, gently pulling your hair.

“Look at me. I want you to look at me when you come.” All you could do was nod in response, worried that any sound you might let out at that point would alert the whole building. It was impossible to look away from his gaze even if you wanted to. You bit your lip as the pressure continued to build, hypnotized by the repetition and sensory overload. You rocked back onto him a final time before reaching your release, collapsing on forward onto his chest and his name falling off your tongue like a prayer as your hips slowed and stuttered.

Yes

Daniel

He’d never heard a more beautiful sound before. His mouth caught yours again, absorbing the moans that continued as you rode out your orgasm. He wrapped an arm around your lower back to pull you flush to his chest and began to upthrust, building to an excruciating pace. You held onto his shoulders for dear life.

“W-what are you doing?” You knew you sounded pathetic, barely able to form the sentence. He smirked.

“Getting you to Number Three.”

“I can’t,” you whined. He pulled you close and rolled the two of you over, taking care to remain buried inside of you. You gasped at the sudden movement, eyes wide when you landed on your back.

“Three’s my lucky number.” He gave a few slow pumps before pushing himself up to spread your legs. He admired the change in your face at each new angle, each expression more perfect than the next. He brought his thumb down to your clit and watched you whither under his touch. With the new view he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. “Don’t worry, I’ll do the work this time.”

You couldn’t argue with his logic. The only response you could give were incantations of profanities as he fucked you into the mattress and his gentle finger rubbing the sensitive nub just above where your bodies joined. He glistened as beads of sweat formed over his body, enhancing the contours of his muscles with each thrust. It was all too much. You felt your walls begin to clench again, your body eagerly anticipating its reward.

Daniel saw your mouth mold into an “o”, the slight twitch of your muscles, and felt the pressure that was building inside you. He prayed you were close knowing that his stamina would soon run out.

“That’s it. Come for me.” Daniel counted his blessings that he should be so lucky to have a front row seat, not once, not twice, but three times to your orgasms. You were so beautiful. Too beautiful. He couldn’t stop himself from chasing his own high as he watched you twist and contort under him. His thrusts became more frantic and erratic as your moans filled the room until he spilled into you, lurching forward but catching himself before fully collapsing on top of you.

Finally the motions stopped, except for the quickened rise and fall of your chests as you both tried to catch your breath. You blinked at each other a few times, still unable to move or think. Daniel broke the silence.

“Holy shit.” You couldn’t help the stupid grin that formed. You pressed a hand to his cheek just to make sure he was still real.

“That good, huh?” He begrudgingly began to move and pulled out of you, rolling over to your side. He propped himself on his elbow and looked down on you, absentmindedly drawing patterns on your soft belly.  

“I was just going to ask if you wanted to grab dinner. But that was way better.” You both laughed as you nuzzled into each other, still peppering the other with butterfly kisses and holding onto the belief that the world was the size of a queen-size bed.

Eventually he got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as he left your side, the intrusive thoughts returned and you began mentally preparing yourself for the inevitable goodbye. You watched silently as he searched the floor for his underwear, blissfully unaware of your inner turmoil. This was fun you repeated in your head. It will be a good story to tell you tried convincing yourself.  

He came back to bed and snuggled up against you.

“Now what?” he asked innocently. You squinted back at him, laughing slightly.  

“That’s an awfully loaded question, don’t you think?” He seemed confounded for a moment.

“I mean, I was just thinking we could get food now? What were you thinking?” You forgot that men could be such simple creatures. Maybe it was the audacity that allowed them to go about life blissfully unaware or unconcerned about hypothetical what if’s and unintended consequences of their actions. But for now, maybe you needed to think like a man too. You didn’t need to solve all the world’s problems in one night. Maybe all you needed was to just enjoy whatever this was for whatever time was left before you got on a flight tomorrow to return to reality.

“Yeah, I guess I worked up an appetite.” He broke into a wide grin. He grabbed your face to bless you with a kiss on the forehead before fetching the menu.

“Great. I’ll order us room service.”

-

Your eyes fluttered open the next morning. Scenes from the night before played on a loop in your head. Sweaty bodies entangled in a sea of limbs. In your experience, men who were that charismatic and that good looking rarely knew what to do with the bodies they had been blessed with. And yet…

You were afraid to open your eyes, not ready to let go of the memory that brought a smile to your face so you kept them closed a bit longer. Instead, you extended a hesitant hand to the other side of the bed expecting to feel the warm body of your evening companion, but you felt nothing. You reluctantly opened your eyes.

“Dan?” Your voice was soft and hoarse from sleep. Nothing. Maybe he hadn’t heard you.

“Daniel?” You tried again, a bit louder this time. Still no response.

You slowly got out of bed half asleep, the line between your dreams and the real world still not quite defined. You zombie-walked to the window, delicately drawing back the blackout curtains of the hotel room. You winced as your eyes adjusted to the natural light. Your clothes were still on the floor where they had been unceremoniously discarded, but the other outfit that had kept them company had disappeared. Your heart fell.

“Daniel?” you tried one last time, voice cracking slightly. Maybe he was in the bathroom. Maybe he had eaten something bad yesterday. You knocked on the door before cautiously opening it. You stood in the doorway a beat too long, unable to move from the empty space. He had been so convincing, so charming, and you fell for it. You had been so guarded and careful, you thought you had sniffed out any unsavory motives and you still were left feeling used and abandoned.

You blinked back tears before they could fall, hiding your defeat from no one in particular in the privacy of your hotel room. You wiped your eyes, chugged a glass of water, for some masochist reason put on your Enchante sweatshirt and got back into bed. It was still early, maybe you could sleep another few hours before you had to get ready to go to the airport. Maybe that sleep would help you forget and ease the overwhelming humiliation and melancholy that fell over you.

As you began to drift off, a noise at the door startled you awake. You realized it was the sound of the door key and grabbed sheets to cover yourself quickly, unsure what else to do.

“I’m not ready for housecleaning!” you yelled uncertainly, praying it was in fact hotel staff and not a burglar.

“Hey hey hey, it’s just me. Good morning to you too.” You slowly peaked your head from under the covers, shocked at the sound of the reassuring, achingly familiar Australian accent. The driver stood in the foyer, his hands overflowing with bags and precariously balancing two coffee cups. You sat up a bit more as you processed the sight in front of you.

“What-?” you trailed off. He seemed nervous, but a smile never left his face.

“I, uh, wanted to surprise you with breakfast. There’s a little place down the street. But you looked so peaceful sleeping and I didn’t want to wake you, so I grabbed your room key. But I realized when I got there I didn’t know what you liked, and my phone died, so I kind of got one of everything…I hope that’s ok. I didn’t mean to scare you –“

As he rambled, you had silently gotten out of bed to grab the cups from his hands, placing them on the table along with the insane amount of bags, one by one. With all obstacles removed, you enveloped your arms around his neck and stamped his lips with a kiss. He was surprised by the sudden gesture but returned it eagerly, his hands still familiarizing themselves with you. He blinked a few times when you pulled away.

“I promise I will get breakfast for you every day if you like it that much.” You laughed with a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes, and you looked away.

“I thought you left,” your small voice shrank in embarrassment that you had jumped to conclusions so quickly. You couldn’t bring yourself to explain further.

But you didn’t have to. He wrapped you in a bear hug crushing you into his chest, his lips nuzzled into the crown of your head, his body heat invigorating you.

“I’m sorry, I should have texted or let you know where I was.”

“No, it’s silly. I was being overdramatic.”

“It’s not silly. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“But what does that mean?” you asked in exasperation. He pulled away and looked at you in disbelief that you would even ask such a question.

“What do you want it to mean?” You bit your lip in frustration.

“Daniel, don’t be obtuse. In a couple of hours we’re getting on different planes to go to opposite sides of the world.”

“And?”

“We’re not going to see each other.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I know people with private jets.”

“I still have to work.”

“I’ll come to you.”

“My apartment is small.”

“I can pack light.”

“What if you meet someone else when we’re not together?” He let out an irritated sigh.

“I don’t want to meet anyone else.”

You were stumped. He could read the confused look on your face and gently grabbed the sides of your shoulders. “You know, for someone so smart you can be really dumb sometimes.” You crossed your arms.

“Hey!”

“I know it’s hard for you to believe for some reason, but I want to give this a real shot. I want to take you on a proper date. See what things look like when I’m not paying you to spend time with me.”

You looked down, feeling a little guilty about how much you doubted him. You couldn’t help that you were risk averse by nature.

“Did you just… Socratic method me to get me to understand that you like me?”

“Did it work?”

“Let’s just say you have a bright future as a law school professor if this whole driving thing doesn’t work out.” You paused for a moment, still trying to wrap your head around everything. “So… you really want to give this a go?” He rolled his eyes.

“Is it really that hard to believe?”

“I mean – yeah, a little. The world that you operate in is just so much different than mine. Your world consists of beautiful people.”

“You’re beautiful,” he retorted. You blushed but didn’t let the comment throw you off your stride.

“You know what I mean. Your world is glamorous and luxurious. My world is average. It’s a lot of take-out, it’s late nights on the phone with Joe, it’s boring suits, it’s work - without the recognition and without the spotlight. You could have any actress or model or singer in the world and you pick me. Can you blame me for being skeptical?” His face fell slightly as he realized that you didn’t think your shine was bright enough for him. But it was quickly replaced with something mischievous.

“What are you talking about? You’re a singer,” he said matter-of-factly. You rolled your eyes.

“You’ve unfortunately seen me do karaoke, we both know that’s a lie.”

“Your morning shower performances beg to differ.” He laughed at the terror that flashed before your eyes as you threw your hands over your mouth, but quickly reassured you. “I’ve listened to you every morning since we got here. It’s the best part of my day, until I see you.” He pried your hands from your face, holding them in his. “And the last thing you are, is average. Can we please just try?”

You bit your lip, unable to contain the blush spurred by his words of affirmation. The squeeze of his hands on yours caused the dormant butterflies in your stomach to flutter their delicate wings and rise to your chest. A comforting warmth enveloped you, it rose to your cheeks and the answer was there plain as day on your face for him and the world to see. No, it couldn’t hurt to try.

“Only if… you’ll do a duet with me.” After holding his breath for what seemed like eternity, his joy and happiness hanging in the balance waiting for your response, he broke into a toothy grin that used every dimple and laugh line on his face. Without skipping a beat, he threw you over his shoulder and made his way to the bathroom leaving a trail of your giggles in his wake.

“I’m ready for my audition.”

#daniel ricciardo smut #daniel ricciardo #f1 #laws of attraction #formula 1 smut #daniel ricciardo fanfic #daniel ricciardo imagine #dr3 #danny ric #daniel ricciardo x reader #f1 x reader #reader x f1 #reader x dr3 #danny ric fanfic #danny ric x reader #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 #formula one #formula one fanfiction #formula 1 x you #formula 1 imagine #formula one x reader #formula one x you #formula one x y/n #formula one imagine #f1 fandom #f1 2023 #suits #lawyered #wine and cheese

[hopeymchope]

I wish Spike Chunsoft would just go full "Persona" with Danganronpa and milk it with tons of spinoffs.

I'd be there for every goddamn one of them on DAY ONE, you know. Pick your genre! The minute they figured out how to make a decent third-person DR action game with Ultra Despair Girls, that should've opened the floodgates wide IMO. In fact, if you take any given Persona spinoff, I can tell you how easily/naturally they could develop (and I could get super-hyped for) a Danganronpa equivalent.

Danganronpa Arena is SO obvious. It's the MOST obvious spinoff, and it has been sitting there waiting to be creating for seven goddamn years now. Ever since Kodaka said he wants a DR fighting game. Hey, remember that official DR3 Staff Book art that showed Nanami dreaming about it? Many of us have shared fan ideas for the story and/or for character moves. COME ON, y'all. What's the holdup?? DO IT! DO IT NOW!

Danganronpa: Dancing? FUCK YAS. I mean, there's already some wicked dance remixes of the game soundtracks in that Crypt of the Necrodancer DR content, so why the hell not?? And I recall that @dreamrlu did some great fanart (1) for how the (2) V3 crew could dress (3).

Danganronpa Q, a dungeon crawler? Despair Dungeon already exists, so it's COMPLETELY NATURAL. It's just a higher-quality production of that same concept! And if you haven't seen that fanmade version of the first "Persona Q" opening where it's the casts of DR1 and DR2 meeting up? It's AMAZING.

Danganronpa Tactica? Imagine leading squads from the Future Foundation (including DR1 and DR3 cast members) in missions against remaining Remnants of Despair. I've been playing a lot of tactical RPGs lately, and there's a lot of room to tell a ton of story in this format... plus it's not like you even have to make complex graphics to make it work, so SC doesn't have to worry about struggling with 3D renders if they don't want to. Just consider how Digimon Survive pulled this off with 2D sprite art!

Danganronpa Strikers is, uh, maybe the hardest to justify — but if you set it in the virtual world, that could make it easy! Since Danganronpa S already took place entirely in VR and contained a load of combat encounters, why the hell not do a similar setup for an action game? And if you prefer to keep in the real world, there are still a number of characters I could easily justify making playable in such a scenario — Genocide(r), Sakura, Asahina, Mondo, Nekomaru, Peko, Akane, Great Gozu, Seiko, Munakata, Maki, Gonta, etc. I can even picture some more-unlikely candidates such as Kimura slotting into the roster. I don't even like musou games that much, but ofc I'd play the SHIT out of this one.

Look: I know I'm an insatiable fan who just wants more precious content with these characters. But you can't convince me that these things wouldn't also SELL. The brand reached new heights of awareness and sales with V3, and they haven't really capitalized on that at all aside from giving us "Danganronpa S." We haven't even gotten a new anime since DR3, FFS! And I'm confident that any one of the ideas listed above would sell far better than a weird digital board game with RPG combat set inside VR, frankly. :P

#danganronpa #dangnaronpa spinoffs #danganronpa q #danganronpa strikers #danganronpa dancing #danganronpa dancing all night #danganronpa arena #danganronpa fighting game #danganronpa tactica #Youtube

[valexformula1]

Electricity - DR3

Request: No

Summary: Reader and Daniel being fools for each other but not confessing after Daniel heard Lewis is gonna ask reader out

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x best friend!reader

Word Count: 1323

Warnings: little sad and fluff, house moving, Daniel and reader being a pair of fools for ice cream, cursing

Author’s Note: Inspired by the song electricity of Silk City, Dua Lipa. Don’t be a ghost reader, it took me a while to write in it.

1996

At your 7 years you got to move from your country because your father got a job offer at Perth, Australia, you got to admin it was scary at first, moving from Peru to Australia was not easy especially when it was a different idiom, people, school, basically everything. Your mother died when you were 4, so it has been you and your dad only until you meet him.

Your dad was a mechanic engineer, and he was working at the Australia track when you meet him. 

It was a very hotness Wednesday when you were looking around for your dad since you got lost looking the other cars when suddenly him bumped you, a pretty boy with big brown eyes and a cheeky smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t see where I was going” 

“Sorry too, are you okey? ” he said cheking on you to see if you were fine

“Yep, I’m y/n by the way”

“I’m Daniel, nice to meet you” he said shaking hands with you “Come on, let’s go for some ice cream” 

Before you could answer he was already running and holding your hand, so you could follow him.

Since that you and him start to hang more and more becoming best friends, you attending to his races and him been for you in every broken heart.

2011

When I'm with you

Ooh, baby

Giving up my ghost for you

“Gosh Daniel, I’m so proud of you debuting for F1” you said

“What you think about the race?” he replied

“That someone is getting an F1 seat soon” 

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely, you’ll see”

“Thanks, changing theme” he said looking behind you “where is Michael?”

“He isn’t coming, actually he isn’t coming anymore we split out, think it wasn’t meant to be”

“What? Why? You okey?”

“Yep, we just wanted different things” you said trying to recover the reality “come on let’s go for some ice cream” you said grabbing his hand.

The truth was that Micheal want to call it quits since he saw how much time you spend with Daniel and you attending to the race and cancelling your date 3 days before was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

He told you that it was clear you and Daniel were in love, so he broke up with you, you didn’t agree with him saying that you got a thing for Daniel when it wasn’t he was your best friend that was all.

2021

All I see is you, lately

Wide awake and in my dreams

I see your face so vividly

I don't know what I'd do

Ooh, baby

If you only saw a friend in me

I'd be bittersweet

That casual kiss on my cheek would have meant nothing up until recently, every time that you saw, hug or touch Daniel there was a feeling, a feeling in your stomach.

This started to happen since that GP 2 years ago when he wins, you watch him get off the stage to hug you and since then you could stop thinking about him. 

Now you weren’t dumb you knew what it meant, but it didn’t matter, today you decided to give it a shot and tell him after the race. 

“Hey Dan, congrats on p4” you said after entering on his driver's room

“Thanks y/n” okey it was now or never

“So, I want to tell you something” said both of you

“Go ahead” he said

“No, you” you said thinking he would say what you think it was, was it that he felt the same? He also likes you ?

“Well, I meet this pretty girl yesterday and I ask her to go on a date tomorrow” he said smiling

After that you learn that online date apps were not that bad at all.

2022

I know you've been treating, treating yourself wrong

So let me care for you

Ooh, baby

I'ma love you differently

I'll give you electricity

“Hey, you wanna grab some ice cream?” you said to him after he opens the door of the hotel

Everybody knew Daniel wasn’t having the time of his life this season with Mclaren treating him like shit.

“Thank but not in the mood” he says a little sad

“What’s wrong?” you could feel something was not fine

“Imleavingmclaren” he whispered 

“What?” you replied confused

“I’m leaving Mclaren y/n” he said more loud this time with tears in his eyes

This past few weeks Daniel was the center of attention on the paddock but not for a good reason, everyone wanted to know where he was going to go or do after the news. Daniel started to push everyone, fake smiling all the time, there wasn’t that smile that you saw years ago anymore, he started to lose weight and cancelled to your friend dates.

“Daniel, talk to me” you beg, this week you found out Daniel wasn’t eating

“I am fine”

“No you’re not, you being skipping foods” 

“Just wasn’t hungry, that’s all”

“What about our Wednesdays of ice cream that you seem to skip now” you replied a little angry now

“Busy”

“Daniel Joseph Ricciardo stop it, I know you since we were 7, and I know you are not fine, and it’s okey not being fine sometimes” you said now hugging him

“It’s just too much for me right now, I feel like my life doesn’t matter anymore, I feel lost” he cried

“You’re going to be fine, let me care for you ”

2023

I feel electric, baby

So electric, baby

Wanna let you know, let you know

I think I'm ready, baby

I think I'm ready, now

It was the Australia GP and you decided to go see it with Daniel, that night at the hotel he started to feel better, it has been a tough way, but now he was the third driver of Red Bull Racing, and he had enough time for Wednesdays of Ice cream.

“Hey Seb, how retiring treating you?”

“Very good, where is your lovebird?”

“Not my lovebird”

“Come on y/n, you two are bound to one another, you always have been, and I know he feels the same” 

“Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think he feels the same way” you replied

“Who? Daniel?” said Hanna joining the conversation “he is a fool for you” 

“Yep but y/n says he is not” Seb said telling his wife the context 

“I even thought you were dating, there is no way he doesn’t” she said

“Yeah, well he doesn’t” you said 

Max has won the Australia GP, and you’re at the hotel getting ready for the party when you heard a knock.

“Hi Dan” you said opening the door

“So I heard Lewis want to ask you out” he says while entering to the room.

What? Lewis? I mean he was cute, well hot, but you were more into a certain Australian “Really? Who you kn..” you couldn’t finish because you feel his lips against you. 

“Before you said anything I just want you to know I’ve always liked you, from the first moment I saw you at that Wednesday when we went to eat ice cream, and you order vanilla, and ever since that day I have hidden my feelings because I didn’t want to lose you, but now I heard Lewis want to ask you out, so I have to risk now because I know him, and I know that if you say yes to that date I will lose you forever so here I’m telling you everything and hoping you feel the same way y/n”  he lower his head as he finishes saying that, not wanting to look your reaction but instead of a push he feels your lips again.

“That means you like me too?”

“Of course you fool”

He started to smile, grab your hand and run while yelled “Come on, let’s grab some ice cream to commemorate this moment” 

#daniel ricciardo imagine #danny ric #daniel ricciardo #daniel ricciardo x reader #daniel ricciardo x you #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

PHANTOM THIEVES OF HOPE - A Danganronpa X Persona 5 Story.

Coming soon...

[Additional Details below...]

//So uh...yeah...Hello Tumblr audience/Survivor audience.

//I apologize for the lack of updates today, and I guess I should let you know that I had a job interview today which took up most of my time. I didn’t want to prioritize the blog over my own wellbeing so I ducked out today.

//But in return, I’ve decided that today will be the day that I unveil my next big DR related project, being Phantom Thieves of Hope.

//Now that I’ve finalized the party for the Persona 5 X Danganronpa AU, I got inspired by the work I put out and decided that I will create an entire fanfic storyline for it.

//I considered doing this for Murder Drones too, but since Murder Drones isn’t finished and not all the secrets have been revealed yet, I need to put that on hold, but given that I love Danganronpa and love Persona 5 just as much, this was something I was super excited to do.

//This story will be where all my other storyline projects are, and will be posted on WattPad. However, depending on how people like it, I’m considering letting it be my first ever Archive Of Our Own fanfic too.

//These will be posted on the fic itself once I upload it to the website, and I will be posting regular updates for it here on the blog as well, but if you’re interested to read it for yourself, there are some guidelines and important information below that I will list for you if so desire to read it:

#1: The story takes place in it’s own original timeline focusing on Danganronpa’s characters.

//To make it easier to understand what I mean by this, this is not a crossover that features characters from the Danganronpa series ONLY. It’s not a story where the Ultimate’s meet the Phantom Thieves, or where the Phantom Thieves steal the hearts of some of the Hope’s Peak students and characters.

//Take Dreams of Acedia for example, which features Joker as well as the cast of Omori. This isn’t like that.

//Instead, the story will feature the main protagonists of the mainline Danganronpa series as Hope’s Peak Academy students, all of whom change the hearts of the rotten people around them in hopes of averting many of the tragedy’s that were displayed within the core series.

//As for the setting, it’s within the same timeline as Danganronpa 3′s Despair Arc, with a few changes. For example, to canonize the V3 characters, they are first years in Hope’s Peak, while the 78th Class are 2nd Years and the 77th Class are third years.

//As for the DR3 class, they are also students at Hope’s Peak, but part of Class 77B instead.

#2: The plot follows similar story beats to the original Persona 5.

//The story is primarily told from the perspective of Makoto, who takes Joker’s place as the protagonist in the story.

//Any and all similarities between this story and the original plot of Persona 5 are more than likely intentional, as I based the original game’s plotline and story beats off of this one.

//For example, there are 8 Palaces in the story, Mementos is relevant, the team gets acquainted with the other world after meeting a weird cartoon animal, and Makoto has his own fair share of confidants from all 5 iterations of the series that he can meet and greet and grow from.

//Obviously it’s not a copy/paste, since the characters will need to have their own conflicts and stories, but the similar progression of plot to the original game is intentional.

#3: This fic is UNNASSOCIATED with any of my other works/the works of others.

//Whether or not Survivor is the first of my stories or the only one of my stories that you’ve checked out or not, it’s important to know that DRSurvivor’s plot and characters are completely separate from PToH. The same applies to all of my other Danganronpa-related works, including ReCaptured and ReProgrammed.

//In summary, this means that Kuripa Kurafto is NOT present in this story. Nor are any of his friends or any other OC’s from this blog, like Matta or Uchui.

//And yes, I know that I made an artwork of him, but that was just because the original art was made for the followers of this blog, who would KNOW him.

//The story however, WILL feature original characters that I’ve created. For example, the third Palace ruler (who shall not be named) is 

//Of course, it also goes to say that anyone else who has made a fic like this, and any similarities between the two, are purely coincidental.

//Some of you may know of a story on AO3 by JustRookie called Danganronpa X Persona: Mirrored Selves. I will state right now that I take no influence from JustRookies’ story, and all the writing in this fic is purely mine own.

//I ain’t no Madarame.

#4: The story is based on SPECIFICALLY Persona 5, not the rest of the series.

//Which effectively means that any integral aspects of games 1 to 4 won’t be 

//Persona 5′s style specifically is what I’m going for here, with the Phantom Thieves and the masks.

#5: There will be shipping and romance elements in the story, but not as many in Survivor.

//Just to manage your expectations, much like with Survivor, there will be some personal ship and romance elements in the story, most notably Naegiri, Saimatsu and Tokomaru, but only the far latter will really come into play with the main story.

//Also, as for Hajime, this story will be more Hinanami geared than Hinazumi.

//This isn’t really important at all. I just know that I a lot of you like the pairings in this blog and I want to manage your expectations.

//That’s all the important information that comes to mind. If anything else comes to your mind and you want to ask about it, feel free to do so through the ask box.

//As things stand right now, I have currently almost finished the first Palace of the story, and I hope sincerely that you all check it out.

//I have been experiencing a bit of writers block with ReCaptured lately, so I’m taking another break from that and focusing on this and Survivor in the meantime. I will also be working on PToH during my break following the end of the current arc.

//And I would just like to say I’d appreciate it if you read the story. You’re all such an amazing audience and I really want to show you more of what I can do.

//Thank you for lending me your time, and stay tuned, fellow thieves~

-Mod

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #persona #persona 5 #persona 5 royal #persona 5 the phantom x #p5 #p5r #makoto naegi #komaru naegi #toko fukawa #crossover #IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

[shockersalvage]

Danganronpa 3: Future Arc Rewrite (Part 1: DISTRUST Life)

Now this has been something that's been about years in development. Okay, for this Rewrite in particular, it would probably be about a year and half, but since 2016 I've always wanted to try my hand at a rewrite to DR3. For me, while it is not the worst in Danganronpa's entries (that honor goes to Killer Killer) it is still not exactly my favorite for a variety of reasons. Personally, while it does have some good moments in there, overall I do not really believe that it ends the Hope's Peak story on a satisfying note to really end things on. That isn't to say anyone else can't like it, it's just some of the writing decisions it made just didn't land home for me. Throughout the rewrite, I'll be gradually going about each decision when I feel it's a good time to discuss it and why I changed things the way I did.

This is rewrite is essentially how I would go about things, with a pretty big one just off the bat. In this version, instead of alternating between a Future and Despair Arc, it's just simply a 24 'episode' outline that covers Future Arc with Despair Arc elements acting the new 'main story' of DR3.

I've done it this way because I believe that, while it was an interesting decision, the current format of DR3 lead to both sides characters, story and concepts being underdeveloped as it bounced between a killing game and trying to give the full-ish story of the Tragedy. So I thought it was best to give each their own section, with Despair Arc being its own thing for a separate date.

Regardless, I hope, at the very least, this becomes a nice read for you all! Happy New Years!

Distrust Life 1-12

(Episode 1)

Now this starts off with the first major change being Asahina being promoted to Director of the 13th Division. Now one of the issues, on the minor scale, was the 13th Director never showing up and being seemingly forgotten. Nowhere in media concerning DR3 do they ever appear. So off the bat, we’re rectifying this by just having Hina be the Director upfront, with the explanation that its a recent promotion.

As for the former Director, who I will call ‘Yoshiko Yoshino’ (who is the old PE. Teacher shown briefly in DR3 - who got blown up by Junko. Here its the other PE Teacher, yes there were 2, that gets blown up instead)  she had been heavily injured in an attack prior to Hina coming onto the Division. Yoshiko is retiring after chronic pain still persisted. She compliments Hina for her efforts that have been non-stop since she arrived and how she genuinely feels she can leave the Division to her hands.

We get a flashback to Hina watching over the reunion of her friend's loved ones who were Targets in the Demon Hunting Game (except Komaru whose still in Towa). Though upon learning that her brother, Yuta, didn’t make it out of it, she smiles and wishes them all the best before eventually slinking off. Tears down her face, and blaming Junko’s forces for it. With an urge to do more surging through her veins, she tranfers over to the 13th Division to deliver supplies to areas still incredibily afflicted by Despair's wrath. Through a montage, we see Hina going about wrecked areas of Japan dutifully giving supplies, fighting off foes and being kind to those who need all. All while keeping the image of her brother in mind. In the present, by the time she leaves her office, nervous yet determined to give a speech to her new underlings, she is instead greeted by Togami and she gets the news that Naegi has been arrested.

Another flashback shows that once Makoto, Togami and Kyoko has arrived back to FF mainland, Kyosuke had arranged to have Makoto taken away in handcuffs and taken to Division 6th Detention centre. Kyosuke, Juzo and Chisa were there in person to greet the trio on the docks. Kyosuke and Juzo, naturally, were both furious concerning the whole ‘Makoto taking the Remnants’ incident and were it not for Makoto’s popularity, would have killed him on the spot. Instead, the Ultimate Hope is being confined.

Concerning Kyoko and Togami, given their positions as both Director and Vice Director of the 14th Divison, as well as being celebrities for going against Junko, they can’t just fire them outright. Instead Kyoko is temporarily suspended from her duties and kept under watch by the 5th Branch, for questioning and to keep a close eye on her well. Since only one ‘Director’ is needed present with the 14 Division, Togami is sent back but is a close eye is being kept by Kyosuke’s forces.

Thus, the only one who can realistically visit Makoto to help him is Hina (Hagakure got kicked out due to both not being a Director and because the prison staff is sick of dealing with him & his antics normally). Though at the moment, despite being a Director, she is barred from the facility given her connection with Makoto. Now Asahina has been thoroughly out of the loop for a while now, so Togami catches her up to speed with the basic summary of the Havoc Crew, barring her, Toko and Hagakure (though the latter two got to know, eventually during the operation itself), having initiated a plan meant to rehabilitate the Remnants. The results of which are shaky at best (to Togami anyways). She’s shocked and a bit hurt given such a secret was kept from her, but tries to push that down. She needs to check up on Makoto. But, the only way she is getting into the facility is with permissions from seven other Directors of the Foundation, which came from the prison staff themselves when she visited in an attempt to try to sway them.

Thus leading to the scene where storms out and runs smack dab into a drinking Koichi Kizakura to end the first episode.

(Episode 2)

Now this stretch is what I like to call the ‘Directors of the Week’ episodes! Where each episode we get to learn a deal about the Directors, ideally that being two an episode. In this case, Koichi is our handy-dandy support that shall assist Hina in her (mis)adventures. Truth be told, she’s kind of weary of him wanting to pal around with her for a time since she knows since back from her HPA days he’s kind of a weak alcoholic. He wins her over with him dangling his knowledge of the the Directors in her face and his promise to hand over his recommendation from the get-go. It’s also him that suggests meeting the others in person since the Directors would likely be on their feet or busy with personal matters more often than would be sitting back reading emails a whole lot. Koichi had been in the area getting a drink from the nearby pub, but running into Hina like this, he believes it must be fate working its hand.

In terms of dynamics, the idea behind Asahina and Koichi being together, is for Koichi to be essentially the enabling drinker and bit a of cheeky teaser, with a touch of a manipulative side, to Hina’s impulsive, hot-blooded and cheerful attitude. That said, this is a Hina that has matured since her DR1 days and will have no problem snipping back at Koichi’s intentions and being more aware of the seedier side of humanity.

First stop Great Gozu at the 12th Branch via helicopter. Now with Gozu, his focus would concern fleshing out a bit of a peculiarity that the original DR3 didn’t go into. Namely, how come a Wrestler is in charge of public restoration efforts. In addition, despite revealing he’s been with the Foundation since it was first established, why is he apart of the 12th one? Well, in this case, he notes his status as Director of 12th Branch is more because of his ‘image’ than anything. During the heyday of the Tragedy, any attempts at restoration was stopped by criminals, from petty thugs to Remnants seeking to keep chaos. It was believed that Gozu, who got into more than his fair share of fights against the Remnants and criminals, being named a Director could essentially work to scare off such threats, thus allowing his men to work in peace. Of course, both Gozu and an armed security detail are always deployed as well - just in case scaring off people doesn't work. To prove a point, the episode would show Gozu suplexing some poor troublemakers trying to cause havoc at a youth centre Restoration site.

This episode would also address something that was never brought up in the anime: His relationship with Tengan and his backstory. During his talk, he explains how he was a rising star of a professional wrestler back during his youth and Tengan happened to be watching his shows. As such, he got scouted by for Hope’s Peak. He became Tengan’s bodyguard as a means of repaying such a debt, and is a bit worried about the old guy since taking up the Director mantle since he can't do his old job as much. Concerning the Makoto debacle, while he's doing hold some reservations given that it was the Remnants being taken, he decides to trust in Makoto since he likes his attitude and sees him as being a worthy Symbol of the Future Foundation - as its Ultimate Hope. Thus, he’s willing to give support to Hina by handing her a Rec Letter. He also decides to come with her to meet with the Director of the 11th Branch.

The next part is Daisaku Bandai focused…yeah. Now, in the original, he’s sadly the most forgettable ‘just there for the body count’ participant ever, lasting one episode and a few minutes. So what can we do with him? Well, in the relationship charts, Bandai is listed as being apart of two neutrals in the Foundation, alongside Miaya. So, this version has said neutrality and mediator nature be more pronounced. If Gozu is the friendly giant that’s willing to fight you for his ideals, Bandai’s the gentle giant whose going to want both of you to sit by the fire and talk things out. In addition, as for his sayings, his intent with them is to say their meaning is for something you have to figure out yourself (better than him just saying they're meaningless).

As for why he’s in charge of the 11th Branch despite also being with the Foundation from the start, originally Bandai didn’t want to be caught up in the drama concerning politics that comes with being an official Director, and even then Junko’s forces made getting a formal Branch set up for his duties a pain. Following her death, and the mass suicide of good chunk of her followers, that chance of peace had him finally cave to the higher-ups requests and establish a formal branch. In general, he sees the Foundation’s inner turmoil as being a thorn he very much wanted nothing to do with, especially since he prefers everyone elected to bury the hatchet and be good comrades working for the goal of Restoration.

His meeting with Hina has him hug it out with Gozu and both just really enjoying each other’s company, with Gozu trying and failing a bit to figure out Bandai’s sayings and Bandai agreeing to wrestle with him during their off days (what kind of wrestling will leave that to one’s disclosure). His meeting Hina has all four in his branch's personal garden rest area that he always tends to, full of fruits, water and, in general, just having a refreshing atmosphere anyone (even the most uptight of people) could enjoy. When it came to getting his Rec Letter, he’s pretty willing to give it to Hina no strings attached. Though its with him, we get his view on the matter.

On one hand, he also wants to give trust to Makoto since he doubts someone who would stand up and stop Junko Enoshima of all people could do something nefarious. That being said, he also fully recognizes why other Directors might be angry - bringing up the Remnants status as wanted criminals that did hurt the world. It’s then that Bandai brings up a question to Hina: What does she think of her friends trying to rehabilitate the Remnants? 

Hina, try as she might, struggles to even open her mouth as the question brings conflict to her mind. Flashes of her dearest friends, no, her only family…and the thought of her dead brother dying because of them. Ultimately, Bandai hands over the letter and tells her that, by the time they do meet again, she should take a step back to clear her head and form her own opinion on the matter. Not as a Director or even a friend of Makoto, but as Aoi Asahina. Taking in such advice, both Hina and Koichi wave off the burly Dads as they head to the 10th branch.

(Episode 3)

Ryota Mitarai is the Director of this branch and we see that he spends most of his time cooped up in his personal office. Blinds closed and hunched over drawing his weary eyes out only for him to yawn, look back and see a perky athletic woman and a semi-drunk wingman looking at what he was doing from behind his shoulder. Needless to say, he freaks out. Now, in this episode, while Mitarai isn’t trying to be difficult about it, if they’re needing to get that letter first things first is ensuring Mitarai takes care of himself. After some coaxing, they get him to at least lay back a bit while they get him some proper food. 

He’s extremely grateful for the food and introduces himself, though a thing sticks out in Hina's mind. Namely, that Mitarai was a part of the 77th batch of Hope’s Peak students. While no one blatantly says anything, he is aware of the stigma of being a survivor of the bunch since he knows almost all students in said batch besides him were murdered during their tenure at Hope’s Peak or had defected to Junko Enoshima’s side. There have been some odd rumors from others and even within his own branch of his own loyalties. Something that clearly gets to him as he showcases his desperation of trying to do better and show he can help fix the world just as much as the others.

Hina comforts him and begins trying to uplift his spirits, showcasing more of a big sisterly attitude with him (even though she’s younger, but hey, some people have that energy to them). It’s then, after Mitarai hands over his Rec Letter and is asked about his thoughts, does he get a bit nervous. Truth be told, he doesn’t really want to get involved too deep with the whole affair with Makoto and Kyosuke. So while he gives up the letter, he even requests not to involve him in that, though upon Koichi reminding him of the upcoming trial with the other Directors, he flinches. Hina presses both for more and Koichi spills the details that Hina never gotten. (Mostly since she never read the email, but that’s neither here or there...)

At the end of the month, Makoto is to be put on a secret trial with the other Directors. Depending on the majority vote, it could mean Makoto might walk free or more than likely get convicted of treason, thus leading to him either being imprisoned, executed, or altogether exiled from Japan. Depends on how things’ll play out. This just makes Hina anxious more about getting to Makoto quickly before that happens. Anyways, Mitarai goes to head out, but upon it dawning on Mitarai that they’ll be going out and about for the other Directors, he asks if he could come too. Chances are that they’ll meet someone he has business with and it’ll probably save him time tagging along with them. Eager, Hina takes her new friend by the arm and goes about running along to their next venture.

Sonosuke Izayoi, in this version, his strong silent type attitude takes prominence. Mostly since I feel a non-verbal attitude, strangely enough does work better for him being remembered than when he speaks occasionally. It just needs to be presented in a way that he doesn’t fade in the background. For example, he can be very visibly expressive, with his features becoming colder or even cartoony depending on the situation.  In Team Hina’s talk with him, he’s slow to anger, but has his limits. Limits that Hina completely breaks because she keeps bugging him for his letter as he tries to do his job. Koichi, being the dutiful scout that he is (and mostly to give Hina some insight) explains that Sonosuke Izayoi was from the 76th batch and came from a long lineage of blacksmiths that was pretty cushy with the former government and potentially underworld for their forges.

When he became Director, he reestablished the ties that remained to put them to usage for Future Foundation weapon development. Eventually, after being annoyed to the brink, he goes to kick them out, but is stopped after Hina pulls out a donut to eat.  His sweet tooth wins out, and he begrudgingly joins the team for a quick snack break. In truth, following a donut, he does seem more friendly and approachable, even muttering his iconic ‘dewicious’ here. 

However, he refuses to part with his letter at least, not until they win favor with his lover. At least, that’s what Mitarai guesses, which Izayoi gives a thumbs up in response. Hina tilts her head in confusion. Lover? But, it was the truth and that was someone they had to deal with next. As she’s the Director for the 8th Branch. 

(Episode 4)

Ruruka Ando rules over the 8th Branch with a surprisingly large amount of popularity. Izayoi tags along and the crew greet Ruruka at the doors to her branch. She immediately and lovingly embraces him. As Team Hina follow the couple, they witness just how pleasant and friendly her subordinates are to her, even going ecstatic over just being in her presence (something that gets Mitarai somewhat jealous). Hina is astounded by her popularity, though Koichi is scratching his chin at the sight of so many people liking their boss. Or, rather, worshipping her.

Eventually, all four reach into her office and Ruruka begins trying to get Hina to eat some of her sweets. In addition, she also happily explains her past as apart of the 76th batch of HPA students, though claims that was small potatoes to her famous bakery that was even known worldwide. However, Hina is quite reluctant about accepting the food since she just had her donuts, up until Ruruka offers one of her own. Hina happily accepts it, but Koichi reminds her of her mission. Hina asks about getting a Rec Letter from her, but she flat out refuses. At once, the bubbly, friendly woman from before is now narrow eyed and looking pretty stern herself.

She speaks for both herself and Izayoi in that she sees Makoto as absolute scum for trying to help the Remnants and probably would have executed him on the spot had she been in charge of the Foundation, his status as Ultimate Hope be damned.

“Dealing with one rotten traitor is bad enough…but several leading the divisions? Rotten food needs to be tossed out.” Hina is confused over the first traitor spiel, but Ruruka had made her stance clear and orders both to get out and takes Hina’s donut from her! Concerning Izayoi, in this version, he looks conflicted on refusing the matter with Hina and Koichi, but sighs and continues to back up Ruruka.

With that failure, the duo heads towards the 7th branch office - directed by Miaya Gekkogahara. Now given her involvement in making the Neo World Program that was used by the Havoc cast, by the time the trio arrive she is understandably both stressed and frazzled. She had been interrogated pretty intensely after they found out the Havoc Crew were using her technology like that. Were it not for Miaya’s role - finding ways to negate despair among one of them - and her contributions to FF, there was a high chance she’d be arrested as well. Likewise, running into one of Makoto’s friends puts her back on edge, though she still tries to be friendly after a bit. It helps that Koichi is there, which she is grateful for and a bit exasperated with at the same time. She’s speaking through her high-tech wheelchair and using her Usami Vtuber avatar to speak. She has a hereditary disease that affects her legs, making them rather weaker than usual, so she uses her wheelchair to compensate. 

Concerning her story, back during Hope’s Peak, Miaya was the school’s guidance counselor - in name. In practice, as much as she wanted to help, she was swamped with work from the late Steering Committee and didn’t have much time to really help people as much as she'd like. Especially since, well, its an old wound. She laments being unable to really help the Reserve Course from rioting and taking their lives. Any attempts at counseling or trying to pacify those students were blocked or ignored. Koichi reveals that she’s from the 65th Batch of Hope’s Peak Academy students (putting an end to the weird plot detail of no one knowing what class is supposed to be in, and her counselor explaining how she could still go about her NWP activity with Chihiro and Yasuke). He tries to raise her spirits, though that only gets her exasperated since his alcoholic breath gets on her face. 

As she gives the duo a tour, a familiar face pops up during so - Alter Ego. Hina eagerly greets her friend who had helped her during the Killing School Life. He is also happy to see her again, though is apologetic to Hina after hearing how Makoto was arrested. AE informs her of his role in the rehab plot and how ashamed he was to let the Junko AI takeover.  Both Miaya and Hina try to comfort him, but it gets Hina thinking on why he’s with Miaya now. 

Here we learn of Chihiro’s involvement with Miaya with the Neo World Program, and how both were co-workers to help create it. With her friend and protege dead, Miaya ‘took in AE’ so to speak, being the one to salvage him from HPA after they rescued the Havoc Crew and receiving him once FF apprehended Makoto. Hina pushes on to ask the obvious: Why create the Neo World Program?

Well, for Miaya - her life’s goal is to find a way to rehabilitate anyone. She wanted to help people so badly from their own issues that drove to the pits of despair and vileness, but while she can help anyone with a large degree of success, there were the sort that just were too far gone. The NWP was made to ensure even the worst of the worst or the most badly hurt of them all could have a second chance. It being a concept thought up way back when she attended HPA. However, while she got the resources over the years and even approval from FF to initially put that dream to reality it soon became clear that the consensus was that criminals, especially the Remnants were to be put down instead of saved. That such a high-cost procedure was both too long and too ‘inefficient’. Thus, her project and JW Island was left abandoned and she was forced to back to square one….

Up until she had gotten into contact with Makoto who learned about the project from a list of scrapped projects that the Future Foundation organized. He was really interested in it and he shined with so much determination and genuine optimism for the future that Miaya disclosed its location to him and even gave him the reigns to the facilities that the Havoc cast would use. It was risky, but she could just feel she could trust him. As such, she gives Hina a Rec Letter, believing she could bet on the swimmer too. That being said, she also advises against bringing her into the conflict during the trial since, yeah. That’s way too scary for her heart to take!!!

Next up is someone all three are dreading as they arrive to his branch: Former Hope’s Peak security guard, Ultimate Boxer and real pain in the ass for most - Juzo was running Division 6.                                                                                                                    

(Episode 5)

Now, when Hina arrives, she’s combing all over the building, but Juzo is nowhere to be found. During her search, she meets several of his underlings: Ikue Dogami, Mekuru Katsuragi and the Ultimate Make-Up Artist. They explain that Juzo tends to be out and about often, but thanks to Mekuru, they direct Hina to wait towards the main lobby for him. It should be noted that, aside from those three, most of his other employees seem nervous or on edge when he’s mentioned. 

When Hina finally meets Juzo, naturally, he’s aggressive and has no patience for her. Likewise, he refuses to hand over a Rec Letter to Hina since he is an avid supporter of Kyosuke’s ideals and is enraged over Makoto’s actions. Now, Hina actually does remember Juzo a bit - where we now get a flashback of him acting as HPA’s most aggressive security guard.  She had witnessed him being rough concerning students relating to the Reserve Course, so she isn’t surprised he’s being a hardass now. Being reminded of the discourse concerning that time, Juzo is getting more pissed off and looks ready to throw down before an idea occurs to him. Of course, this being Juzo, he decides to give her a ‘chance’ to prove herself. In the ring. 

So Hina takes on Juzo in a five-minute exhibition match. If she manages to last until the time limit, Juzo will hand over the Rec Letter. If she fails than, well, nighty night! Hina, determined and unwilling to backdown, opts for it. Koichi, naturally, is concerned by this move, but she reasons that she wants to get to Makoto as soon as possible. If she can just last five minutes, she’ll be able to do that faster (not trying to think about the setback she would make if she would fail).

Juzo is confident he’ll win and toys with her early on, allowing to go for some strikes, effortlessly dodges them and proceeds to wail on her with jabs. Enough to knock her down and he thinks she’ll quit, but she gets up. A bit annoyed he tries to do the same thing, but Hina has found her rhythm. She has had multiple experience dodging attacks from scattered Remnants and criminals as a member of the 13th Divison. Thus, she’s now found a footing where she can stay, if barely, ahead of Juzo. She even manages to get in a solid hit or two!! Things are looking up and there’s a few seconds left on the clock.

Enraged, Juzo is trying his damndest to score a hit, but nothing seems to be working. A crowd has gathered, cheering for Hina and Juzo, eager to see who will win. For a moment, Hina remembers both Sakura and Yuta, strengthening her more to see things through to the end and prove herself useful - that can she be of aid to someone she calls family!! But, it also distracts for a split second, and in that moment Juzo scores a devastating haymaker. Hina is knocked down and eventually falls unconscious. Juzo is the victor. Koichi and Mitarai goes to Hina, trying to rouse her whilst Juzo walks off, not feeling particularly good about this win.

In the meantime, scene shifts to Kyoko working in her office when she meets Chisa again. Considering what she knows about Juzo and Kyosuke, Kyoko is naturally on guard against Chisa who is trying to be friendly with her and have some tea. We also get a bit of insight concerning Kyoko’s situation: armed guards all around her and she also voices her good guess of the room itself being bugged. Naturally, the only thing she can really do is read and try to prep Makoto’s case from inside her ‘cell’. Namely, getting knowledge of the prior incidents of the Remnants, rehabilitation efforts with the Neo World Program and others that were scrapped, and in general just learning more about the other Directors. Anything to give her side the edge concerning the trial.

Speaking of which, she does ask where the trial will take place. Now, given the severity and whose life is at stake, Chisa reveals that it’ll be on an island meant originally to be the new international Hope’s Peak branch. However, with the Tragedy causing HPA to close down, it was instead refurbished into a private separate office of sorts—meant only for high profile usage. Like a trial for treason! Kyoko asks, if only for confirmation, given Chisa’s closeness to Kyosuke as being one of the first Directors of FF and his former classmate, if she herself also holds intense hatred of Despair.

Now to this, Chisa is quick to differ. She loves Kyosuke and goes along with him because she trusts his judgement and heart - that he makes decisions trying to fully bring peace to all afflicted by the Tragedy. Thus, she goes along with the decision and believes in that Hope. However, even if she goes along with it, she does hold a different stance concerning the Remnants…

How she can’t help but still hold love for her dear students.

(Episode 6)

Hina wakes up, finding herself in an infirmary. Koichi informs her of her loss and who managed to treat her - Seiko Kimura. Now Seiko is constantly fretting and checking up on Hina given the situation concerning her knockout. Thanks to her drugs, any concussions should be healed up pretty quick, and Hina is pretty grateful for the support. Seiko happened to be in the 6th Division’s office by chance, so Hina should be lucky she was on site to help ensure she didn’t get put into a worse position without her fast action.

Once Koichi reminds her that Seiko was a Director, we get a formal introduction of her, including her class. We also learn that Seiko was the daughter of the head of Kimura Pharmaceuticals prior to the Tragedy, though she notes that was water under the bridge now.  Hina, remembering that the 76th class also had Ruruka and Izayoi, asks both were her classmates. Instantly, Seiko’s face darkened and she glared at Hina. She asks her not to mention their names. Ever. Hina gulps and takes the hint.

Trying to move the conversation along, Hina brings up the topic of getting a Rec Letter for her, thinking Seiko was so nice she would agree to it. However, after a bit of conflicting thought, Seiko firmly refuses. Her loyalty lies solely with Kyosuke and she knows for a fact that he wants them dead. For good reason too, and she has personal stake in seeing the Remnants dead given how long she’s spent trying to treat their victims and seeing some die. She apologizes, but her mind is made up, and she personally shouldn’t expect much from her concerning Makoto’s trial.

She leaves, though outside waiting is Juzo, who was overhearing the conversation. She informs him of Hina’s condition. How it’s going to be stable though is curious why he still stuck around. Annoyed, Juzo pokes at her forehead in like a mean big bro-esque way, much to her chagrin, telling her to mind her business before prodding off. Still, with yet another Director refusing to hand over a Rec Letter, Hina is getting desperate and runs off to the 5th Division - Chisa’s workplace.

At said workplace, Kyoko is a bit shocked after hearing about Chisa’s ties to the Remnants. Well, Chisa quickly clarifies it was really only for about just some months and she could really be described more along the lines of their Advisor. You see, the Remnants of Despair back when they were in Hope’s Peak gained a bit of a reputation for being ‘delinquents’, whether intentionally acting out or not, and so these teens from various parts of the 77th batch were assigned to attend a ‘mandatory’ Student Correction Program (was not quite a fan of the series having Class 77 all be Remnants from the exact same class. The change, in addition to other plot developments in the future, is to get the group together, while having them be scattered across the 77th Batch).

The program was meant to at least get them to mellow out and not either wreck the school or harm others. She looks back fondly over the time with the fifteen of them…hm? Fifteen? Kyoko is wondering about her current connections and if anyone else knows about it. Chisa is quick to assuage her concerns. Her connection with HPA is well known by every other Director, though following her dismissal with the Remnants, she was assigned to the Reserve Course, which clearly didn’t end well for the other students there. Something shown by how upset she looked concerning their collective suicides. Chisa tries to quickly perk herself back up. 

Anyway, she explains, while she doesn’t quite understand why Makoto really decided to risk his neck this much to help pretty much the worst of the worst, but given how such a procedure could have given her students back, she was at least grateful for the attempt. While she won’t ever betray Kyosuke, she might be willing to offer a hand to at least get him to see a bit more reason. Though, Chisa is curious.

Why is Kyoko, logical woman incarnate, siding with Makoto in saving the Remnants? Surely someone like her would have wanted to see them dead, right? Well, for Kyoko, her decision was based on logic. The world, while its making steady efforts, is still struggling quite a deal both internationally and even locally. From pollution, to food management, to the obvious  factor of stray Remnants and criminals wreaking havoc. While the spearheads of Ultimate Despair may be gone, it would take decades before the world could ever hope to get back to how it was pre-Tragedy. If they could reform the Remnants with the Neo World Program, even just the mooks of them, they can add to the Restoration efforts to get the world back faster. The fact that the initial Remnants they gathered happened to be Ultimate were a solid coincidental bonus. Luck…though given what nearly had happened, it couldn’t really be called good luck, right?

Chisa nods her head and seems to accept this…though has to wonder how much of it just trying to honor Makoto’s wishes. After all, she wasn’t that different from Chisa in that they were trying to support the Hope of their lives and not just in terms of being the Ultimate Hope. But Hope to their own respective groups as well - Makoto was the glue that helped keep them together after all. In that same vein, Kyosuke was the glue that kept Future Foundation and his own core group stable as well. She recollects a time before she got to know him. In order to raise money for her sick single mother,  a teenage Chisa Yukizome became a housekeeper and was hired by the Munakata Family. A wealthy family that was notorious for raising leaders in almost every industry of the world, their mansion was quite the chaotic mess of people at each other’s throats and too busy to ever really care for an insignificant girl that was tidying up behind them.

Yet, Kyosuke was different. He aided her when everyone else ignored her or treated poorly because she was ‘the help’. He went out of his way to lighten her load and even work to see her smile. It was his assistance that allowed her to truly want to shine as a housekeeper and got her scouted. He was literally her Hope back in those horrible days. It’s why even now she’s that devoted to him.

Kyoko asks her to get to the point.

“Everyone is chasing that Hope - that reason to keep on going. But it’s also good to be aware of who represents that Hope as well. A lesson all of us can learn ,hm?” She glances to the door and it turns out Team Hina was there, eavesdropping. Chisa welcomes them in and doesn’t hesitate to give Hina a Rec Letter. Even if she’ll go wholeheartedly with Kyosuke’s choice, she figures its nots a bad idea to at least let one of Makoto’s friends check in on him.

From there, Hina goes to see if Kyoko was okay, but the detective waves her off. She’ll always be fine, what’s vital is bouncing info off each other. So they get each other up to speed with what’s happening, with Hina’s Quest and the upcoming trial. Kyoko is more than aware that their case seems pretty hopeless given whose in charge and the influence he holds. Hina is a bit more optimistic since she feels its an even split, except its not. Kyoko reminds her its more of 6 against a number of neutrals who could easily be pressured to go with the other side if an argument is weak enough or the enemy is convincing enough. The other half’s loyalty is not guaranteed. It’s then that Hina glances at the two allies she had befriended so far. Mitarai is looking as shy as ever but Koichi, after a swig, shrugs and merely says they’ll have to see. Though if it’s anything to what he would have wanted, well, he’ll do his best to get an outcome that Kyoko would find favorable. Complete with a friendly smile, though Kyoko tries her best to ignore him. 

In any case, Kyoko says its best for Hina to get the last letters as quickly as possible but just before Hina leaves, Kyoko does stop her briefly. Her wounds from fighting Juzo is clearly visible and even Kyoko could obviously see how winded the swimmer was. In her own way, she’s concerned and does apologize to Hina for putting her through all of this. But Hina quickly brushes it off. Their friends, well, more than friends!! Family even!! The Havoc Crew looking out for each other is a no-brainer!! It doesn’t bother her! With a deal of optimism, Team Hina leaves, leaving Kyoko in her thoughts once more.

“Huh, didn’t know you could lie like that.” Koichi said and Ryota gives a concerned look to Hina. She’s leading the charge, but the camera never points to her face. Her voice, though, is shaky. “I don’t know what you mean…it’s time for the next stop.”

Episode 7

The next destination for Team Hina? Why it was Koichi’s branch! The atmosphere for his place was rather casual, with many people at least on goods terms with him enough to even tease him a little about his drinking habits. Koichi allows both Ryota and Hina into his office, which resembles more of a host lounge than anything. Bottles of alcohol was scattered everywhere, there was a large couch off to the side, and large amounts of paperwork lay on his desk.

Both Hina and Ryota criticize Koichi for his messy office, but he waves it off as him being busy with meetings with Jack Daniels and Gin!~ Hina rolled her eyes and gives glances towards all about his office as Koichi fishes to make a Rec Letter. During this time, Hina finds something. A photo of Koichi with Jin and a little Kyoko.

Koichi confirms at this point that, yes, he was best friends with Jin and wouldn’t have minded being considered an ‘uncle’ to Kyoko prior to her getting raised by Fuhito Kirigiri, her grandfather. When asked more about Kyoko’s family, Koichi just waves dismissively. It’s a long story full of drama that he himself isn’t fit to tell.

He does go into detail of him meeting Jin back when they were kids and still keeping in touch when Koichi went to HPA...eh? Koichi was an Ultimate? Turns out he was the Ex-Ultimate Talent Scout, though is dismissive of such things. He himself doesn’t feel like its anything special and requests that they just refer to him as a regular talent scout. Honestly, he himself only agreed to be a talent scout because his best friend, Jin, really requested him when he began working with HPA in earnest. Throughout it all, Hina can see Koichi give a melancholic smile and relates to his quiet pain with her own losses. She reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder, but he smiles and waves it off.

Well, no use dwelling on the past. Koichi hands over his Rec Letter and waves at them goodbye for now.  He advises that if the options are just Tengan or Kyosuke left, then yeaaaaah, its best to try and win Tengan’s favor. He’s a lot more reasonable than Kyosuke…or, rather? 

He’s more coolheaded? He wants to be alone for a bit. Getting the hint, Hina nods and they begin to walk out. However, not before Hina stalls at the door, asking if he’ll support Makoto at the trial. Koichi informs her that he can’t make any solid promises, but is willing to hear him out. Once Ryota and Hina leave, he leans back in his chair. Thinking about Jin, he vows he’ll protect ‘her’.

Now down to a duo, Team Asahina starts wondering about Koichi, whether he’ll truly be alright. Hina is concerned, but Ryota says its best if they just leave him be to focus on Tengan. Now, its here that Ryota reveals his connection with the Chairman - namely how Tengan personally saved and recruited him back when the Tragedy was rampaging. Right when he was about to be killed by some Remannts, Tengan appeared on scene to fight them off. Hina is very impressed since she knows Tengan is kind of old, though Ryota mutters how he can be strong and frightening when he wants to. Anyways, he’s been working closely with him and believes that there’s a solid chance. Though he does warn Hina to watch what she says.

When they arrive, they noticed the hallway of Tengan lined up and down with various people in visors. Ryota introduces them as being the best of the Ultimate Elite Taskforce. As their names suggests, they are the very best gathered from the remnants of Hope’s Peak alumni’s that serve as The Special Forces needed for only the most intense or important assignments. Each of them are more than strong enough to give anyone, even an Ultimate Remnant, a run for their money.

Granted, with the 77th Batch of Despairs seemingly gone, these days all they really seem to do is just guard Tengan in Gozu’s absence. A fact that gets them to give Ryota a bit of a dirty or hurt look before he frantically starts waving his hands, trying to say he didn’t mean it. Tengan allows the two to enter and he pretty much gets right to the point. He’s received news of Asahina going about the other Directors trying to get their Rec Letters and from both sides he’s received calls to let her have one or to not give her one.

With that in mind, he’s willing to hear from the source concerning her motivations. Taking a deep breath, Asahina explains she’s worried about her friend and is really trying her hardest to make sure he’s alright. She knows that charges against Makoto are heavy, but she expresses her faith that everything he does is only to help everyone, not hurt. He’s not a traitor! By the end, she’s looking quite desperate, pleading with Tengan to give her the time of day.

When he speaks, Tengan murmurs about personally witnessing this fire of Hina for those she holds dear resurfacing. He says for her to simmer down and that, by now, he’s already thought this situation through to the best of his abilities. Offering Hina butterscotch, he explains that, yes, what Makoto has done is shocking and, at the moment, he can’t blame anyone for being angry or thinking he might be a traitor…

But he also states his belief in the Ultimate Hope that blossomed during that sixth trial. That optimism that he showcased and used to beat back Junko Enoshima and helped spurn the world in its current Restoration efforts. Yes, Tengan does believe that Makoto isn’t trying to be malicious and knows that he ‘is going with what he believes will be the right move’.  He goes on to ramble a bit about Makoto coming along ways from tangoing with a petty thief to humanity’s Symbol. Something that confuses Asahina, but Tengan brushes it off.

Yes, at this point, he’s more than just a little aware of the younger generation following their ambition and deciding that what they believe is right for all. Chairman or not, he has come to terms that he can’t match the passion of the others and is more than willing to take a backseat to give their ways a chance. After all, that’s essentially what he has been doing with Kyosuke. At this point it probably won’t be too long until he figures Kyosuke will organize an ‘intervention’ to pressure Tengan into stepping down. He already has the support of the public and agents all across the branches for his decisive attitude and on-hands efforts that Tengan had to retire from.

Oh! He apologizes for rambling and hands over the needed Rec Letter to Asahina. With that, she’ll be able to visit Makoto. Tengan wishes him the best of luck. Now, while he did order for the guards not to harm Makoto, if a Director decided to do something, well, he urges her to check in with him at her earliest convenience.  Asahina nods and thanks Tengan for handing over the Rec Letter. She asks if Ryota was coming as well but he declines. With a hug of support, Hina leaves. Still in the office, Tengan chuckles and asks if Ryota was finally getting out there, much to the animator’s blushing dismissal! Hina’s just a friend!! To this, Tengan merely chuckles in amusement. Before the scene ends, he questions if Ryota  has made a decision of sorts for the future. Ryota opens his mouth…and the episode ends.

(Episode 8)

The episode, and next day, opens at the prison Makoto is being held at. He has bandages and scratches on his face, looking a bit down on his luck as he recalls what happened to get him to this state.We get a flashback back to when he was initially arrested and seperated from Togami and Kyoko. He get’s thrown into his cell and has to deal with the brunt of a beatdown from a very angry Juzo. Kyosuke stops him before he could ever really go too far on Makoto but it is brutal. From there the scene switches to Makoto, patched up and at a table. Kyosuke is at the other side, looking coldly at Makoto.

Kyosuke, half-heartedly, apologizes for the actions of Juzo, though he does cut off Makoto when the lucky student tries to tell him its no big deal. Instead he asks: Why? Why help the Remnants of Despair? Why not just turn them in so the world can be done with them? Straight to the point. 

From Makoto’s point of view we get flashbacks briefly to what had occurred concerning him finding Izuru, learning of the Remnants identities and him firmly choosing his resolve when Kyoko and Togami await an answer for him. Back to the present day, he states that he understands everyone being angry and that, if he were in their shoes, he’d be furious as well. But, his decision has to go back towards faith. The potential to save others from the awful influence that gripped them in the past.

A flashback shows the Havoc Crew walking throughout their new branch with Kyosuke and Tengan giving a tour of the place. Tengan gives the background that, with reports of UD members killing themselves, they wanted a Branch that can effectively reach and focus on spreading FF’s message of hope. And who better to lead that than the survivors who inspired loads to carry on and beat back Despair’s effects. 

Togami is a bit miffed over essentially being the public relations branch, and that Kyoko was their leader, but she notes such power is really just a formality between the two of them. Plus, it might have to do with their ‘performance’ during the killing game. Hiro, Asahina and Togami have proven to be ‘problematic’ and Toko is only really allowed as an intern for being Genocider Syo. While some might want Makoto in charge given his role in the final class trial, he truly didn’t want the power/isn’t quite suited for leadership of an entire division. Hence Kyoko winning by default. 

While Togami begrudgingly admits defeat, both Hiro, Toko, Makoto and Asahina are astounded over their new headquarters. Makoto in particular is quick to bring them back together, speaking on his confidence that, with all six of them together, they can really help make a difference. One that clearly resonates with his friends and is noticed by the FF leaders. As both Tengan and Kyosuke leave, Tengan smiles as he notes that Makoto really reminded him of Kyosuke back in the day and that the Foundation is lucky Makoto is with them. Kyosuke quietly clenches his fist, and gives a brief look back at Makoto. The lucky student notices, but is dragged away by his pals long enough for Kyosuke to leave. 

A montage shows off Makoto and others helping out in the communities under Future Foundation’s protection, all clearly trying their best when, in the last shot, Makoto is suddenly pounced upon. It’s a Remnant of Despair, and by that I mean just a regular one that seems to have had better days. Makoto’s guards easily are able to pin down the Remnant and even remove his mask. As he’s being taken away, Makoto asks why he’s still trying to hurt others. Junko’s dead so what gives? It’s then that gets a good look at this Remnant - or rather his expression. Miserable, frustrated, utterly sad, and, well, hopeless. “Because there’s no point in trying to rebuild for someone with no future...” 

These words haunt Makoto and he’s gets to thinking. Is there a way to rehabilitate even the Remnants? He goes through files and asks around concerning Future Foundation rehab techniques and finds the plans for the Neo World Program. Delighted, he goes to Kyoko and Togami to get their opinion on trying to rehabilitate the Remnants? Their answer? 

“You’re an absolute buffoon.”

“This…is certainly a plan, I suppose?”

Yeah, he isn’t too surprised Togami is more harsh with his rebukes, but Kyoko also isn’t holding back with her criticism. The Remnants are dangerous criminals that put them through the Hell in the Mutual Killing Game. Why bother trying to save them? 

To this, Makoto asks this in a quiet voice: If they had connected more with Mukuro or Junko back then, would they have stopped both from destroying the world? He says its silly, but he can’t stop thinking about it. The friends they lost, would they still be alive if he bothered to spend more time trying to get to know both to get them help? Noticed Junko’s warped mental state beforehand? Get Mukuro to reconsider going along with Junko’s plan? The soldier didn’t seem completely convinced during their free talks during their killing game. Anything at all? 

This had both fall silent for a deal before Kyoko gives her thoughts. Personally, she believes that both Junko and Mukuro were too far deep by the time they met them. When she had the time, she looked into a bit of their background, finding evidence of the twins causing atrocities, like a massacre of a junior high school. That was covered up from either corrupt police or some other shady means. She believes that if there was to be some way to help the Despair Sisters, it would have to have been years before they even reached Hope’s Peak. She goes on to say he shouldn’t be harsh on himself for the horrible actions of other people, nor feel responsibility for why they turned out that way.

Yet, Makoto just can’t seem to let the thought go. His mind flashes back to his talk with Mukuro during her days as Junkuro. How she admitted she wasn’t sure that the path she was on was right. It’s a thought like those that gets Makoto in being unable to fully write off the Remnants that were still around. If one of the leading figures of the end was still having seconds thoughts, maybe the others could be as well, deep down. And, if the Neo World Program works as intended, they could be potentially rehabilitated into becoming allies to fix what their wrongs! It’s this optimistic outlook that ignites Makoto’s passion. While reluctant, both Kyoko and Togami eventually concede to at least try Makoto’s idea.

Makoto is happy and the next scene shows him heading to the site of the destroyed New Hope’s Peak Academy building. Apparently the 12th Branch was going to begin its plans for its demolition? Well, if that’s the case, he thought it would be best to leave ten flowers for those he lost and explore it one last time. What was left of it anyway.

Only to see Izuru Kamukura standing in a classroom with his own flower in some ruined classroom.

(Episode 9)

In this episode, we see Makoto, Kyoko and Togami looking after about fifteen ‘survivors’ sitting around in their offices. They were dirty, covered in either old cloaks and bandages, and looking around with intense gazes. Some of whom looked to be in quite the awful conditions, being either malnourished or very sickly. Yet they were all intent on refusing medical treatment from any staff offered.

It had only been a few days after Makoto met Izuru - or rather? Hajime Hinata - that’s what Izuru told them instead of his actual name at that point? Allegedly he was a survivor affiliated with Hope’s Peak that had just come back into town to pay respects to the dead. Following that, he explained that he was apart of a group of survivors who had been traveling the wastelands and it just so happens these survivors were upperclassmen of the 78th class. Students that came from various parts of the 77th batch that barely manage to escape the destruction of the Main Course building, but circumstances had them flee into the unknown as much as possible because of the riots. Given what they’ve experienced, they are very weary against even help from the FF and its prone to having them on edge.

Makoto is actually ecstatic to run into survivors of that incident, since he knew many of the 77th batch perished or went missing.  However, Kyoko and Togami are rather suspicious of the situation. In particular, seeing these fifteen for an extended period of time has her leave to check out some files.

Concerning the Remnants themselves, the more Makoto interacts with them, either by trying to give them supplies or wanting to know them better, he’s either ignored or given cold blank stares. Just like that one Remnant from before. Maybe…

Still there is one that acts friendly to him, Nagito who usually kept one of his hands wrapped. He’s appreciative of the Ultimate Hope and grateful for his efforts, glad someone ‘insignificant as him’ could be in Makoto’s presence. Makoto, being the humble guy, denies ever being that important and that he just wants to help others. He believes everyone is indispensable and tries to get Nagito to see more of himself in a brighter light. Though, similar to the others, the despair Nagito is in is quite evident and he believes that a guy like Makoto should really not bank his hopes too much on the fallen. As Makoto goes to pull him back as he leaves, he notices some of Nagito’s bandages are slipping…and, hm? Was…was his nails painted under there?

As they separate, he runs into Kyoko who takes him to Togami’s office. Kyoko shows Makoto a database of ‘suspect Remnants’. A nurse wearing a surgical mask, a group of masked Monomafia lead by masked people with similar hair styles to Fuyuhiko and Peko. A concert with a thin singer in a gas mask taking spotlight. In Novoselic, a Monokuma controlled country, forces were being lead by a masked figure in a cloak, but a few locks of golden hair could briefly be seen. Evidence upon evidence…

They didn’t just take in survivors - they took in the Remants of Despair. It wouldn’t be long until the higher-ups, who were informed of such survivors existence, would realize this as well. Yet, would it be fast enough to arrive to intercept fifteen dangerous criminals?  As it stands the Remnants doesn’t seem aware that they knew their cover was blown. If they were going to act, they needed to do this quickly. Togami suggests getting their security forces to immediately apprehend and put the remnants in holding cells of their division, but Kyoko notes the possibility of good number of forces being killed in this attack given how notorious the Remnants were when it came to fighting against even the Directors. Togami then suggests that maybe drugging their food could work best and the others seem on-board with this idea.

It’s then that Makoto suggests his own idea that, once they were all knocked out they don’t put them in cells. Rather, they put them on the boat intended to take them to Jabberwock Island. Togami really asks if Makoto is serious about having these Remnants - Ultimate Remnants - be the ones that they opt to save, but Makoto is dead serious about it. After all the NWP is supposed to be capable of saving even the worst of the worst. What better way to prove to everyone that it works and that it is viable if not by saving the literal worst of the worst. Both Kyoko and Togami are hesitant, but eventually both opt to go with Makoto’s plan. After all time is of the essence still.

The scene transitions to the boat, where the Remnants have been place in cells containing two each (or three in Mahiru, Ibuki and Hiyoko’s case). Their cloaks and bandages have been stripped away and we've got to see what a few had of Junko’s body, classic like Fuyuhiko getting Junko’s eye and whatnot. Over an intercom, Makoto announces his Foundation’s intent to take them to Jabberwock to put them in the NWP…

“Just like what the intelligence said…” Kamukura mutters to himself as the scene transitions to show of the Remants being worked into their pods and of brief flashes to the Island Killing Game, where Makoto is horrified over seeing history repeat itself, but flashes to determination  from both him, Kyoko and Togami. As the screen flashes to them entering the simulation we cut back to Kyosuke.

“In short…” said Vice Chairman. “You went on an operation, risking it all for criminals that should be executed on the spot…and came back with nothing.” Makoto refutes this saying he believes it worked out from what he saw of the survivors. But Kyosuke is pretty adamant about this position. How can Makoto be sure they were not faking or they’ll revert back to who they were? How can they be trusted to not go down that dark path again?

In truth? Makoto admits he can never be 100% sure, but he has faith they won’t go back. How they resolved to keep moving forward – he was sure that was going to still be a reality. Kyosuke shook his head, looking disappointed. 

“To think people ever had high hopes for you. A naive foolishness like that can never be called Hope.” Standing up, he announces, he doesn’t want to even look at Makoto again until the trial to decide his fate. And may mercy be shown upon this blind soul. All while Makoto looked at Kyosuke with his own frustration, but even sadness. Is there no way for them to reconcile or come to an understanding?

The flashback ends when we see the present Makoto shoot up from a knock at his door. It’s Asahina, who came in the very next day, who quickly goes to glomp her poor buddy whose been through a lot. Asking him how he’s been and growing angry over the fact the guards had taken to hurting him. As they both catch up on what’s been going on - Hina finally asks that’s been flowing through her mind:

“How come you all didn’t trust me?” she asked, referring to the fact that half of Crew went off to do their own thing while leaving the others in the dark to carry out the Remants rehab. Makoto, looking super remorseful, apologizes. He, Kyoko and Togami didn’t want to put the others at risk, especially if this operation failed. Concerning the operation, Hina goes to ask Makoto why he bothered to help the Remnants, when an explosion gets out.

A loud alarm blares through the building.

“People are raiding the prison!! All personnel on deck! Stop the prisoners from going free!”

(Episode 10)

This is a chaotic battle that has invaders, mooks of the Remnant forces, all rush through the building, attacking anyone with bats, pipes, even a few guns so to speak, as they pushed through. Throughout the facility, electromagnetic locks on the cells are disabled and prisoners rush to join in on the riots. The main attackers were also incredibly organized, ordering about the freed prisoners to help free more them and ordering more of their forces to go in deeper. “They’re in there!! Get them at any cost!! Don’t waste our chance!”

Hearing this, Makoto wants to help, but Hina remind him that 1. He is also a prisoner and 2. People would really be gunning for him at the moment given his status, so its best that he stay put in the cell where he would be safe. Makoto wishes her luck as Hina dashes out. Outside of Makoto’s cell there are four other occupied cells in his block: The maximum security block. Luckily, once Hina leaves it’ll be placed on lockdown that only a Director could have access to with their key card. Grabbing a baton, Hina rushes out and saves a guard from being killed by a prisoner before joining in the fray. 

Bodies are flying and more people are being released.  Hina is holding her own but the number of people able to handle this is dwindling: until a cry of pain is heard and a prisoner can be seen tossed into a wall. There is the Great Gozu, Juzo and Kyosuke backed by reinforcements. Tengan is at the furthest back watching the proceedings. Kyosuke leads the forces into subduing the prisoners and invaders, eventually getting it all under control. Though during this chaos, Kyosuke can’t help but wonder about the odds of a jailbreak occurring on the day when Makoto gets a visitor and four other Directors wanted to visit it. “Luck tends to be perplexing…” Tengan says.

By the end of it, most of the prisoners have been suppressed, but when they head into the max block, the prisoners from there have escaped, except for Makoto. Juzo and Gozu are ordering the staff about, sending out red alert for all units to be on the lookout for the escaped. The ones who escaped are known as the Four Sinners in Future Foundation and represent the Four Horsemen. They were previous Ultimates that graduated from Hope’s Peak but had gone rogue  during the Tragedy.

Plaguebearer - Former Ultimate Exterminator: Jun Ueda/Pestilence(Gas Mask Man)

Immovable Force - Former Ultimate Sumo: Daisuke Tomioka/War (Sumo Wrestler Design)

Dead Walker - Former Ultimate Lab Assistant: Harue Yuki/Famine(Zombie Girl)

Spawn of Malice - Former Ultimate Criminal: Shiori Hikari/Death (Ultimate Criminal beta)

With everything over, Asahina checks in on Makoto who was unharmed. Kyosuke arrives and announces that, given how this prison is clearly compromised, Makoto will be moved to another location effective immediately and has Juzo escort him out. Hina wants to talk to him, but the other Directors refuse to hear her out, with Makoto only reassuring her that things will be fine.

The news of the attack is relayed to Togami, & Hiro, the heir already suspicious of the whole affair. He finds it way too unlikely that this was just a random attack on dates where both Asahina and the other Directors were supposed to arrive. This was planned, but by whom and what do they gain from freeing the Four Sinners other than general unrest?

Kyoko hears the news as well and, in private, and theorizes that, yes, this was definitely planned. But there was so many oddities. Why attack on the same day that high-ranking, strong Directors were arriving there? Wouldn’t have it been safer to do so when it was just the regular guards to deal with?

Conclusion that she and, soon even Kyosuke (at another location) reaches: The Mastermind behind it wanted it to be known that there was someone orchestrating this. Furthermore, from reports from the guards, the attackers were highly organized and mentioned something about ‘someone’ giving them a ‘chance’. “But why?” asked Juzo (He, Kyosuke, Chisa and Seiko were gathered together) What do they gain out of this risky mission? Could it be….

“Fear…” Tengan muttered alone in his office. An irrational emotion made to throw people off as the Trial for Makoto’s fate draws nearer. Regardless if the attackers succeeded or failed, the fear and paranoia they would leave behind would be irrefutable but of what kind of fear…

Simply put…a Traitor amongst the Directors. Someone had to give the attackers an access card to open the max cell block, after all. A conclusion all leaders of Future Foundation seem to reach as it flashes by to all fourteen of them.

In a dark location, the Four Sinners are standing in line looking at a large monitor that shows Monokuma’s head looking at them. A garbled voice announces the need for the Blights services.

After all, the next game is soon to begin!

(Episode 11)

A traitor…

A word like that hangs heavy as Togami meets with Asahina and Hiro, in Hiro’s room (because why would anyone bother with Hagakure). It’s one thing for a mole to be in something like a killing game, but a Director possibly going rogue? It could lead to disaster for not just the other Directors but the entire world. Asahina shudders, though wonders about the possibility of it being a Sakura situation: where her family was threatened. But Togami is quick to shut it down. No use in pondering the motivations of a possible Traitor when they still haven’t caught them yet. He stops Hiro from just barging out to ‘investigate’ and reminds Hiro that he can’t just go out and do whatever he wants. If he tries to grill the Directors, chances are he’ll just get thrown in the slammer for being a nuisance and just worsen the situation.

Instead, Togami has informed both he’s sent some of his own private personnel on the case. While any Directors or the Havoc Crew would be on clear suspicion and be monitored, would anyone bother keeping tabs on Togami’s butler or his eyepatch wearing secretary? Not likely. So he’ll leave it to them.

Asahina asks about Makoto, and what they should do for him given the incident. Togami believes at this point they should forget about seeing him until the Trial. Makoto has been taken to a private holding cell in the 2nd Division Branch. With the max cell compromised, he’s staying there under Kyosuke’s watchful eye. Until then, its best to focus on other matters. For example, if this incident comes up during the trial, it would be best to gain some sort of evidence to be on even footing during it. But, all knew if they tried, chances are Kyosuke might get his goons to chase them away. But, Asahina realized that, even if they couldn’t she could probably get someone to not only help them out, but even inform Kyoko. 

The scene shifts to Kyoko’s room and there its revealed Koichi was the one to help out, handing over a good deal of evidence from the crime to her. ‘A gift from that charming swimming lady’ Koichi mentioned, though Kyoko is as stoic as ever. Koichi tries to get closer with Kyoko more, showing more of his concerned side from her (and even a brief scene of him seeing Jin die during the KG), Kyoko brushes him off. If he really wants to help her, he needs to support Makoto’s side. Koichi chuckles. Kyoko’s as blunt as ever. He walks off, claiming he’ll think about it over a drink or two!

For Team Munakata, Juzo and his branch are investigating the scene of the crime, looking pissed about what happened still. While they had managed to suppress the truth of the incident, there was no telling what could be leaked. Seiko responds that, despite using the truth serum on the surviving invaders, they couldn’t tell much about who was organizing them to do this. They can only say that they were ordered by someone in a cloak who was connected with the former Remnants. Who warned them that their actions will spurn on the Third. “The third killing game…what nonsense.” Kyosuke orders Seiko, Chisa and Juzo not to spread this info out to anyone for the time being. Doing so without all the facts would just lead to chaos brewing. When he asks for further details about where the escapees could be, Chisa informs that they have all unist on the lookout for them, but there has been no signs of where they went. One of the transport vehicles is missing so its likely they took that to make their getaway, but the footage for that period is missing due to the attackers managing to get inside the security office. How convenient. But nevertheless Kyosuke is confident that they can defeat whatever plans Despair has for them. “Security measures will be increased tenfold and for the Trial…we’ll invoke the usage of the Elite Taskforce. No matter what - judgement will reign on those who stray from the path…” His crew nod alongside him, albeit to varying degrees (Juzo is smirking and pounding his fists together, Seiko is a bit nervous but hurriedly agrees with him and Chisa looks rather solemn before she nods as well).

We get some brief cuts to what some other Directors are doing. For Ruruka and Izayoi, she feeds him a macaron, with her (and by extension his) minds made up: Makoto is clearly guilty in her eyes and sooner they axe a traitor the better. Miaya is talking with Alter Ego, the latter wanting to do something to help Makoto. He can’t let someone he saved get hurt or sentenced to die, right? Miaya tries to reassure him that things will turn out okay, and that AE did enough already for Togami recently, but hears a knock at the door before she could really finish. Bandai is at his office seeing a text from Gozu on how the wrestler would be coming back a bit late given he’s with the Chairman. As for Ryota he’s nervously going between his phone and the e-mail. Obviously conflicted on something.

We finally shift to Makoto in his cell, unable to to do anything. Can’t investigate, can’t be with his friends. All he can do is wait...huh? Entering his cell is Tengan with Gozu accompanying him. Due to Tengan’s status as the Chairman, he’s able to gain clearance and visit Makoto. 

He comments on the misfortune brought about Makoto recently, and laments that the trial has to happen at all. Makoto asserts his innocence, that everything he’s done was truly meant to help people. That is something Tengan has no doubts on and even finds it a commendable dream to work towards. Even at his old age, his reason for joining FF is to bring the most aid to humanity as possible. He was just the same when he was younger and laments that Makoto is in such a position now. Being stuck trying to follow your heart and being obstructed by others is a frustrating balance to tow.

Tengan remarks on what Makoto plans to do at the trial. Given the severity of his crimes, there isn’t much hope that he’ll be freed. If Tengan is to be frank, were it not for Makoto’s Ultimate Hope status, anyone else would have been prosecuted immediately and likely executed. What’s Makoto endgoal?

For Makoto, he responds earnestly: his goal is always the same as its been. He’s nothing special, he just wants to help people that need it. He completely understands why people want to kill the Remnants, why those who are in the know thinks he's being foolish or even traitorous. But if there's a chance that even the worst of the worst can be rehabilitated and gain a second chance to make things better, then shouldn't they at least try to take it?

Tengan chuckles. Yeah, the same Makoto as he saw back during the sixth trial of Danganronpa 1. Even Gozu seems impressed with his resolve. Both leave the room, Tengan mentioning that when the trial comes: while he can't make any promises, he'll at least try to ensure Makoto has a sporting chance. Makoto sighs as he leans back in his cell. A chance is all that he’d ever want.

Back to Asahina, she’s left brooding in her room. There wasn’t much else she can do now, except wait and try to prepare her own defense for Makoto. The trial. Hina’s recalls Bandai’s words and the statements from all the Directors, friends and foes, come back to her. What does she think of this entire thing? 

She was left out of the loop and is now trying to catch up to a story that’s she’s never really been apart of. Having to risk it all for the sake of the Remnants? Who ended up getting her brother killed? Can she really do it? No doubt Makoto and the others hearts are in the right place, but could she truthfully still say she has no misgiving about it?

If only Sakura were here, she’d know the answer…

After the credits, time skips to the day of the trial. The scene is in a shadow room and there is a figure typing on a computer screen, sending messages out.

‘The pieces are in place. Let the third mutual killing game…begin.”

(Ep 12)

Now this episode is somewhat sort of the same as Future Arc ep 1, with a few twists. For example, the Ultimate Task Force is littered around the headquarters, watching for potential threats. Hagakure is actually let inside (and not on the helicopter pad awkwardly) for instance. Well, at first anyway! He’s not allowed in the meeting room so is just wandering about the rest of the building.

Asahina is looking between Kyoko and Makoto, words from Bandai still echoing in her head. How does she feel about this. She wants to support her friends - her family - through thick and thin. But, these guys helped get Yuta killed and is the reason their class is now down to six in the first place. Can she really vouch while so conflicted? Both Makoto and Kyoko grow aware of her looking so down, but can’t really be afforded the time to help her as they are called into the meeting room.

Kyosuke calls the meeting to order: This is the secret trial to determine the fate of Makoto Naegi - member of the 14th Division of Future Foundation - who is accused of treason and harboring dangerous criminals: the Remnants of Despair. This is the first time we now get to see the Jabberwock Crew in their Despair forms, unobstructed, with Kyosuke explaining that such intel was scrounged up and provided during the DR2 killing game, after FF realized they were the Remnants. A fact that Kyosuke is rather bitter about, but presses on with the matter at hand:

“Makoto Naegi - how do you plead?”

With a Not Guilty verdict in hand, the trial shifts, metaphorically, to be reminiscent of a Class Trial. Together with Kyoko and Hina, Makoto is doing his best to shoot down incorrect or slanderous claims about his situation. For example, claiming he had something to do with the jailbreak, which he couldn’t go given his confined state at the time. For Team Naegi, they’re arguing the Remnants can be saved and, for those that were awake, they deserve at least a fair shot at proving that they were rehabilitated. For Team Munakata, they’re arguing that no matter what form the Remnants take, they are still a danger to others and need to be eliminated. Both sides are at an impasse, and the others begin to chime in their thoughts as well.

Gozu, Miaya, Bandai, Tengan and Koichi do at least want to give testing the Remnants a shot. In Koichi’s case, when its mentioned that he did scout out the Remnants, its in the vein that he should have a grasp on the DR2 crew in spades. While he’s confident that, if given another shot, they’d be alright, he also admits he may or may not have been a biiiit too drunk that day and maybe can’t remember approving a good chunk of them? (Hina sighs and calls him out for being so irresponsible). Yet, there was still those like Ruruka or Izayoi who were adamant that the Remnants couldn’t be saved, and Ryota was too meek to say where he stood.

Eventually, a vote would commence. Kyoko and Makoto aren’t allowed to vote given their involvement in the matter, but Hina is allowed since she was away during the debacle and, at least to Tengan, she should at least be given the benefit of the doubt. A majority of seven would decide Makoto’s fate. Each Director gives their vote until its a split between Guilty (Kyosuke, Juzo, Seiko, Ruruka, Sonosuke and Chisa) and Not Guilty (Koichi, Tengan, Ryota, Bandai, Gozu and Miaya)

The only person left to vote is Hina and she’s feeling happy. She’s the tiebreaker and can save her friend’s life! She can help him! She can get him out of this situation! They’ve won! But, Kyosuke wasn’t done just yet. He chuckles and remarks that Hina must really be a strong woman. After all: she’s sparing the left of someone who saved those who got her brother killed.

Hina freezes and the room falls silent, except for Kyosuke. He gets into Hina’s head, reminding her of all the damage that the Remnants done. Because of Ultimate Despair, millions of people are dead and the world was brought to ruin. Because of them, her little brother, Yuta Asahina, will never come back. He’s another casualty; a victim who has never received justice for the crime brought to him! To Kyosuke, he’s not trying to be the bad guy - he doesn’t want to do this, especially to the ‘Ultimate Hope’ who helped stopped the Mastermind behind that terrorist organization. But what else can he do when the last major executives of the worst organization in human history were prevented from their just punishment for their actions? And doesn’t Hina want that? Want them to pay for blowing up her brother, whose remains are still at the bottom of the ocean? Does she really want to them off the hook for someone who values the lives of 15 murderers than her own flesh and blood?!

At the end of it, Hina is in tears and her conflicted mindset comes to a boil. She can’t think straight and has broken down, overwhelmed with such an awful choice to make. Both of her friends rush to her to try to get her to calm down, but as soon as Makoto touches her arm, she shirks away from them and runs out of the room. Something that causes Kyosuke to call for a temporary recess. Makoto is stopped from leaving by Juzo, but Kyoko is permitted to go after the swimmer. The rest of the Directors shuffle off, though Tengan wonders out loud if Kyosuke truly had to bring up the deceased just to sway the vote. For Kyosuke? He remarks that it’s better for Hina to truly understand her choices. Lest she makes one that she’ll live to regret. As for Makoto, he’s carted off to a nearby room to be treated by Chisa after Juzo handled him a bit too roughly. It’s there we get her revealing her past to Makoto as well, a condensed version of it, and her beliefs right to the luckster. Of both Kyosuke and Makoto coming together to create even bigger Hope for the world. If Kyosuke was the Hope of Justice- one that promises punishment to sinners who wronged others, then Makoto was the Hope of Faith - that promises that there was respite even in the worst of times. She encourages him to see Kyosuke’s point of view and meet somewhere in the middle with him.

Kyoko would go on to find Hina, sobbing bitterly in the girl’s bathroom. Hina apologizes for her actions. After all, Makoto’s life is on the life. She should have just ignored Kyosuke and voted for her friend’s safety! But, Kyoko shakes her head and tells Hina not to be sorry. After all, what was done to Hina can be considered a genuine betrayal given what UD have done to Yuta and what half of her friends did in spite of that. None of the others ever contacted her about it, nor even discussed it with Hina. They let their friend remain hurt for so long…and for that, Kyoko, kneels down and can only offer her humblest of apologies - even offering Hina to hit her if necessary if it means getting everything out of her systems and making amends.

But Hina doesn’t want that. She gets out of the stall, and just hugs Kyoko, crying into her shoulder. A while pasts, and Hina calms down, now willing to head back to the trial. They head out, only for Kyoko to notice something. The door to the supply closet wasn’t fully closed. Hina went to shut it, but finds the security guards of the place murdered. She freaks out and that’s when chaos ensues.

By now we get to see the Elite Task Force luring away guards, and quietly murdering them.  During this process, Hagakure, is strolling on by lost, getting back from the men’s restroom when he opens the wrong door and sees some operatives stuffing the dead into body bags.

Hagakure ends up running away, which leads him to escaping the building right before the shutters close on the roof of Future Foundation. During this time, the scenes cuts to Togami whose in a meeting with his secretary and Aloysius. They have a flash drive containing some secret information concerning some hidden email they managed to dredge up with help from a special program A.E. gave to Togami some time ago. Secretly, they planted a special virus in each of the 14 Branches meant to automatically track any suspicious emails or files and send it straight to Team Togami. The fruits of their labor lies in that drive. Taking it and placing it into his laptop, Togami begins rummaging through all suspicious files and his eyes hardened considerably:

“...The third mutual killing game…and…a nation wide att-!!!” he gets up and orders both to make preparations. The scenes shifts throughout the various branches which are facing attacks from various agents of destructions, from rogue Remnants, to criminals/hitmen to even the likes of various operatives in the division going rogue out of nowhere and killing their own. It was complete chaos and no one can reach the Directors.

Back at Future Foundation HQ, the main cast are in a state of panic as they find themselves trapped in and reports of the guards being dead come to surface. Like in the original show, they are knocked out by sleeping gas. When they wake up, however, they find themselves in a rather demonic, yet regal looking area with monitors all over. The monitors come to life with Monokuma alongside four other mascots. He announces that these five are the MonoKast - hosts of the third mutual killing game!

Monokowl - a white and grey owl in a cowl and a graduation hat. Vice Headmaster of the MonoKast

Monokan - a white and orange kangaroo wearing a black apron. The teacher that helps runs the ‘school’.

Monokrown - A white and purple bee with a tiny crown. The security guard that keeps things safe.

Monokrony - A black and dark brown vampire bat with a gold star. A teacher’s assistant that helps out. Or tries to help out at least.

But if the Directors refuse to believe that they’ll kill each other, Monokuma is proud to announced that this killing game has already started. Everyone is confused, but it suddenly clicks to Kyosuke. Where is Chisa? The cast look up and see her murdered on the chandelier before it crashes, leaving Kyosuke just as distraught as he was before in the original.

DISTRUST LIFE - END

---

This ends the first part of the rewrite!! I'm open to questions concerning it if needed and hope anyone that read this got some enjoyment from this rendition! Who know when the next part will be up, but will try to make it for at least this year!

#danganronpa #Salvage Rewrites: DR3 #Danganronpa 3 #DR3 #Future Arc #DR3 rewrite #DR3 Cast #DR1 Cast #DR2 Cast #aoi asahina #makoto naegi #kyoko kirigiri #byakuya togami #yasuhiro hagakure #kyosuke munakata #juzo sakakura #chisa yukizome #ryota mitarai #koichi kizakura #seiko kimura #ruruka ando #sonosuke izayoi #great gozu #daisaku bandai #miaya gekkogahara

[chronicas]

GAMES (And DLCs) PLAYED 2023!!

10. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. I am NOT! The Visual Novel enjoyer. BUT MAN!! WHAT A DELIGHT!! It honestly brought be around in the genre again after DR3 muddied my enjoyment of it. Totally unexpected and so so SO enjoyable. Which is why I’m giving it a spot on the top 10! Play this game!! It’s free and awesome! I’ve even had people with know knowledge of Sonic tell me they liked this game! I’m serious! Go play it!!!

9. Bastion! LOVED this one! A beautiful game! I honestly don’t have much more to say on it though because it’s kinda just another really good game from Supergiant. I love how many styles of combat exist as options in this game, like, more than Hades had which felt like a lot compared to Transistor (which also had a lot of cool options but you can only use a sword so many ways). Good game! 8/10! Definitely recommend!

8. Frospoken. I’m being generous to this one because despite the super lackluster story. THIS WAS SO FUCKING FUN TO PLAY!!! I literally had such a blast with this one!! The abilities made running around the world so so so fun!! Of course I am disappointed that it didn’t live up to my expectations after following its development through the years, but honestly, they can’t all be bangers and I’m fine with that. Some games are just fun and have sick as fuck boss fights, and sometimes that’s all I need. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it though.

7. Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon. Okay I didn’t think they were gonna fully redo an entire level of the game. When they said “new story content” I thought that was gonna be like four new basically Cyber Space levels and that’s it. ALSO IM SORRY!! I’M SORRY FOR COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY I’LL BE DIFFERENT NEXT TIME. All in all it was solid as hell. Like I’ve always said with Frontiers, this one GETS Sonic. This is what it’s all about. But Christ this was hard to beat….

6. Kingdom Hearts. The first one. BANGER!!! SUPER FUCKING CUTE. Also Cloud and Yuffie are there :]]]!!! The whole concept of Final Fantasy meets Disney still feels like an absolute buck wild concept to turn into such a well beloved franchise but hey! It’s good shit!! My favorite level overall was probably the Little Mermaid one! I love unique level mechanics!! Excited to play more of these games next year!

5. Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Cannot believe I delayed playing this one for so long! IT WAS SO GOOD!! These games are doing so right by my boys Miles and Ganke. The Spider-Verse movies could never (Taking shots at my own favorite movies). I’m REALLY glad I didn’t skip this before 2 came out. I loved the side quests on this one most of all! Really made you feel like a Friendly Neighbor Spider-Man instead of just Spider-Man. Also Haley I love you so much my sweet girl Haley :]

4. Destiny 2: Lightfall. This might be the lowest a D2 expansion has scored on this list in years. But that’s entirely because the other games this year were FUCKING SWEEET! But GOD. UAGH. I LOVED THIS ONE!!!! IT WAS SO GOOD!!! WHAT THE HELL… Nimbus my best friend Nimbus. AND GRAPPLING HOOK??? YEAHHHHH!!! God Strand is a fun subclass. It definitely doesn’t beat Stasis for me right now but it is SOOOOOOO FUNNNNNN. I loveee itttt. It was so exciting to start unraveling more about the Witness. Also the seasons this year? Mostly bangers!! We got a Pirate Season AND a Dragon Season?!?! WOOOOO!!!!!

3. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. MOTHER!!! FUCKING!!!!!! DRAGONS!!!!!!!!!! DRAGONS!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! DRAGON BOSS FIGHT!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO! 10/10 THIS GAME ROCKS. BEST ZELDA GAME. DRAGONSS!!!!!!!

2. Lethal Company! God this game rules. Enough to surpass the other games on this list purely because it’s gotten me through this whole month. It’s designed in a way that it’s always fun to come back to and it’s just been hours of fun with my besties! Plus it looks fucking stellar. Literally peak. 10/10, cannot recommend this one enough.

1. SPIDA-MAN!!!!!! 2!!!!!!!!!!!! Was so fucking good HOOOLLLYYYYY SHIT! I literally have raved on and on about this game and honestly I could just keep going. The gameplay was PHENOMENAL!!! The characters were so good. It was SUCH a good take on the Black Suit and Venom AND a really cool take on Kraven’s Last Hunt!!!!!!!!! Literally I couldn’t have asked for more from this game! It’s earned a spot as one of my all time favorites!!! :D

#ophidian lore #game rankings

[landograndprix]

Sorry me back again. I don’t get to normally chat like this, so unfortunately you’re receiving my wild theories.

I think, and this is just me living in delulu land that in RB’s mind that having Daniel lends an air of credibility and/or prestige. Like you said it’s the same idea of putting Hamilton into a Hass. The car might be shit and the team might be shit but that’s still going to be Lewis Hamilton driving it. It’s going to A.) boost the development of the car B.) boost the image of the team. We saw something similar happen with Vettel and Aston Martin. (That’s part of the reason that AM started out the year so strong, but that’s a whole other soapbox😂) So from a business standpoint if I’m trying to convince everyone (including investors) that AlohaTauri is NOT a junior team that I use to filter out my rookies before giving them a chance at a full seat at RB you want someone like DR3. It’s also theoretically beneficial to have some that knows what a race winning car drives like, and to be able to give that feedback. Based off what I’m seeing so far, I’d really like to see Yuki/DR3 at AF for 2024, give it a year and let them develop a decent car. Slot Lawson into the 2025 season with some that is upper midfielder so he has his time to really shine. Let DR3 head to RB to hopefully keep MV1 interest and not destroying another rookie. I would really hate to see Lawson go the same way as Albon/Gasley/Sainz. Yes they bounced back but I don’t think it’s really fair to Lawson to put him throw that. MV1’s current contract ends in 2027, and with the way he’s already talking about retirement that would give Lawson a prime seat up for the taking.

Also as far as the Williams seat, I’m still not sure about that one. I really think James is going to do whatever they can’t to give him another year. But they’ve also come out and said they would have liked Sargent to have had more experience. Also Wolff has supposedly been pushing hard for Schumacher to take that seat if it were to come open. And with how intertwined the 2 companies are I’m leaning towards Schumacher getting 1st dibs; at least until Hamilton retires.

Will also 100% agree that the “staniels” did mange to make one of the most likely driver ever almost intolerable.

Maybe I'm a bit biased when it comes to lil' Liam and maybe it's me trying to get on staniels nerves because they do just the same to me with their anti-oscar and daniel is a god agenda 😂 but I get where they're coming from but from the things I've read and seen from others on here or in the comments on their insta pages, right now liam is favored but I guess we'll see how it ends up for Daniel (not wishing him the worst of the worst but I'm also not going to be delulu about his chances 😢)

going to start my own team, liam and mick amd because im hella leclerc biased as well, arthur as reserve 😂🥰

[putaindeplagieur]

Danganronpa: Killing Games, a Chain of Reactions.

Heyo. Its time for me to strike again with a reaction. This time, from good old @pyropsychiccollector who answered an ask:

https://at.tumblr.com/pyropsychiccollector/what-is-by-far-the-dumbest-plot-point-in-hopes/o2dnjussy0xn

So, as you can see in the article, pyro has three culprits to point his fingers at. Three points which makes me have three different reactions. And I thought 'why not pester everyone with my thoughts again ?'

Only my opinions, lets be civil, prepare the popcorn for some long ass rant... I think you know the jazz.

1: The Future Arc

Lets cut to the chase here. I ENTIRELY agree on this point. Why ?

Simply put, because this 'game' has no proper structure to maintain it. The only reason this exist is to push Ryouta to use his brainwashing video. Thats it.

Of course there is bound to have dead bodies dropping, but not only Kazuo sent all of the Heads of his organisation to the guillotine, but they werent even developped as opposed to the two others. Everything moved so fast we barely got to know them let alone feel attached to, when its even possible.

'It would be too painful to put Makoto in another killing game', the devs said... well whatever this was, it was painful for him AND us.

Honestly, it would have been much better to have the killing game either be scrapped entirely, or have it happen after we see them bound. Make us see how the outside world is recovering by this point. We already saw a glimpse of that happen in Killer Killer, now we wanted to see how things changed by then ! What about the population that struggles and needs help, what about the Despairs themselves ?

We could have had Makotos visions truly evolve, as we see him trying to adapt himself in the dangerous world outside as he get out of the school, trying to give back some humanity in this broken world as he tries to compromise with Kyousuke so they can finally work together in the Killing Game ! Not to mention, the Forbidden Actions were interesting as it put another limitation to avoid !

...

I feel like I could go on and on about what DR3 should have been... but it deserves its own post. I have two other points to go over.

2: Celestia Ludenberg

Aaaaand thats pretty much where I feel like I must say my piece, even if the reasonning

Yes, Celestia, as the Ultimate Gambler, should have known better than involving two victims was too big of a risk. Double murders are pretty notorious to be.... not great in general. And yes, her plan ended up having too much holes to be credible. Honestly, I get people when they say her talent was shamed because of her rash decisions which doesnt fit her persona.

To which I answer... is it really that surprising ?

In a classic gambling match, surely the outcome would have been her victory. Because in my mind, in any official tournament which opposes expert in the field of analysis, strategy and treachery, the result of winning might be worth the risks.

But this isnt a tournament. This is a torture porn game made a psychopath who uses a human emotion as an excuse to make people suffer. Because it made her feel alive.

And we all know the lenghts she took. Aside from brainwashing people, she took years of people who were close to her, making them strangers... and the motives. Their families, their secrets, their greed, their sense of security... she played with everything she had.

Because she knew how they worked. And she knew how to counter their quirks. And that included our best gothica manipulative girl.

Because lets face it guys, even with the most objective look on things, that doesnt excuse her actions. I do think that had she survived the game, some accountability would have been much needed, especially in an organisation as skin tighted as the Future Fundation. Not to mention the Captives.

BUT ! Notice that I wrote SOME accountability. Not ALL of it. Why ?

Simple : who is the one who was manipulating things to turn out this way ? Celestia played her cards, that is undeniable... but who gave her those cards ? Who awoke her greed with the motive ?

Because yes. Junko knew Celestia's dream. She knew how she got there and how far she would go, and she pushed her victim over the edge. I say victim because even though Celes was a bitch compared to the other culprits, and even though she killed for selfish reasons, at the end of the day, she was as manipulated as the rest of her class, a class full of people with weaknesses and insecurities that she took advantage of.

In Celestia's case ? It was her pride.

Celestia Ludenberg was born because Taeko Yasuhiro was, according to her, a boring girl with nothing special... when she thought she deserved better. All the while denying her past that she wants nothing to do with.

The moment Junko put a possibility for her to make her dream, her LIE, a REALITY ? The outcome was inevitable.

Personally, I do think its a shame Celes didnt survive. The death of the mask to let reality sink in. But realistically speaking ? Celestia would have NEVER allowed that to happen. The Queen of Lies can lie to all, even herself. But not to one who knows the truth. That was a match she could never win no matter what.

Because lets say that she got away with her plan... then what ? She can construct her castle in a destroyed France ? And for all we know, what tells me the cash Monokuma showed wasnt fake, rendering all of her machinations for NOTHING ? Uh ? Ever though of that ? She has hidden the Class Trial aspect and the Tragedy until the good time, this is something she would do !

This is something any good mastermind would do : tell their captives enough information to advance... but let the context out of their grasps. The reason is simple : to make them panic and let their emotions do the rest. And as Junko is not directly involved like the participants... she can deflect all the blame on those who cracks under the pressure.

Thats the strategy the bad guys in Squid Games used, thats the strategy Junko uses on those she wants to suffer for her enjoyment.

PLAYING DIRTY.

Thats the base of anyvkilling game. Using the quirks of the participants to make them go unrational. So Celes acting the way she did is upsetting... but surprisingly, I think not only it was intended, but in character. And to those who thinks it doesnt fit her talent...

Damon Maitsu from Eden's Garden.

Spoilers, the talent of debating about multiple subjects doesn’t mean you can communicate with others well. And your ego who belittles the talents of others, as well as using an (although optional) road involving feelings rather than logic ... doesn't help.

Emotions... can get the best of you in stressful situations.

Someone would attest to that.

3: Sayaka Maizono

Everything I said about Celes... also applies to Sayaka. Even more so, in fact, considering her status.

I’m not going to write much more, I’ll just say this.

Sayaka using Makoto in Chapter 1? Unfortunately, that’s... not as stupid as you guys would think.

Again, Junko hiding the Class Trial section of killing someone is on purpose, and the instructions were too vague for everyone to have a good grasp of the implications.

And Junko knows about what Sayaka had to do to get the title. That doesn’t excuse what Sayaka did and tried to pull, but that video? The way she panicked? It was intended to be as such.

Compare her video to Makoto’s. His home was destroyed, his family nowhere to be seen, and he freaks out for a moment, wanting to get out. Pretty intense all things considered.

Sayaka’s though? Seeing your friends on the ground, unconscious? Or are they even alive at all? There’s no way to tell at all, for all she knew... No wonder why she snapped, seeing her closest friend, and NOT KNOWING IF THEY’RE ALIVE... not knowing for sure is a torture.

So when she hears her friend telling her he would get her out of here no matter what... is it really surprising to have her think in dark places?

Bringing the worst in ourselves, all away from logic and rationality...

That is the power of the Killing Game.

Conclusion

Contrary to what Kyosuke says, having rules doesn’t make things safer. Not when they’re stacked against you. Hell in a broken world with attacks which can comes at every directions, and hell in a secluded place without any idea of what those around you might be thinking, with a mastermind that can pull any stunts it can to make people break. Stupid decisions are bound to happen in those settings.

...then again, when the game isn’t structured properly, and when the anime is rushed...

Anyways, thank you for bearing with me.

Now I gotta prepare my shield. See ya!

#danganronpa #dr3 future arc #junko enoshima #celestia ludenberg #sayaka maizono #killing game #project eden's garden #mod talks

[dcomposing]

Ok game time: Naegami Headcanons after the tragedy let’s go.

anon i am kissing you so sweetly for this one. under the cut bc i have MANY.

SO i don't see them getting together while at hope's peak pre-tragedy. maybe if the tragedy hadn't happened, something would have happened in their final year -- but togami has such a stick up his ass that i think that they would have juuust become real friends when the tragedy happened.

post-killing game, i think togami has. feelings for naegi that he doesn't recognize as such. he just thinks he's neat! i also always like to think of him as devoted to naegi to the point of comedy. hagakure is behind on his work? no mercy. naegi is behind on his work? "well i suppose i could stay late tonight and help you get through the backlog. do you want coffee?" he's whipped he just doesn't know it yet.

naegi, for his part, is really proud of how far togami has come since the beginning of the killing game/since their first days at hope's peak -- but i don't think he has romantic feelings for him until after he gets back from towa city.

SPEAKING of towa city and togami being freakishly devoted to naegi. the moment they find out that komaru is alive and being held captive, togami volunteers to lead the rescue operation. he justifies it as a way to settle the debt he owes to naegi for saving him in chapter 6, but really? he would have done it even if naegi wasn't the ultimate hope.

naegi doesn't take it well when togami is captured. obviously. not only does he have no idea where his sister is or if she made it out alive, now he's simultaneously dealing with the possibility that he may have just lost another friend to the tragedy (and, of course, he blames himself because it was his sister that togami ran out to save.) he... doesn't sleep much during UDG.

on the other hand, the relief he feels when togami is rescued and his sister is confirmed to be safe? he practically launches himself at togami when he gets back to headquarters, triggering a moment of Realization for both of them.

that said, i think both of them are really good at managing their priorities -- it's still the end of the world, after all -- so while they might feel Extremely awkward around each other during meals or around the office, when push comes to shove, they actually work together better than ever.

when naegi first approaches him and kirigiri with the idea for the neo world program, it wasn't even a question for togami. he believes in naegi (they all do) so when he says "hey lets commit treason" of COURSE he's in.

i think they get together while they're on jabberwock island. not while the killing game is happening, of course, but as they're setting up. they're all still so hopeful that this will work and they're (practically) alone on a beautiful island. awkward first kiss while they’re pulling an all-nighter before the system launches in the morning. a moment of hope before it all goes to absolute hell.

again, they’re very good about priorities. the minute killing game (2!) starts, they kind of silently agree to put things on hold until they can figure out wtf to do. it’s very tense and they share several charged moments where they’re *this* close to cracking under pressure.

shortly after sdr2 chapter 6, togami realizes that he’s full blown in love with naegi and has been for awhile. kirigiri is ready to kill him because she’s known the whole time (of course)

they don’t even really have time to recover/actually figure out their relationship because -- of course -- naegi is put on trial for treason and dr3 starts. turns out having a relationship in the middle of the apocalypse is difficult. togami has never been more afraid in his life, but he’s determined to get naegi out of there if he has to strangle munakata with his bare hands. naegi realizes he’s fully in love with togami the first time he sees his face once he’s out of the future foundation black site.

the reconstruction of hope’s peak is where they finally get to have an actual relationship, holy shit. meanwhile komaru and syo have been dating for like a year and a half, totally unbothered.

i’m a huge fan of the thh survivors sharing a living space because, as i’ve mentioned before, they aren’t great at functioning without the others nearby. shortly after the reconstruction of hope’s peak begins, naegi quietly moves into togami’s room. kirigiri notices right away, but it takes the others about a week to realize LMFAO.

once the reconstruction is finished and naegi and kirigiri are prepping to take on the incoming class, togami gives naegi the extremely normal anniversary gift of an entire fucking house. it’s... understated, given that togami was the one behind it.

the original plans he showed the other survivors (+ komaru lol) were much more extravagant, until asahina and komaru not-so-kindly pointed out that naegi is normal and probably doesn’t want a fuck off huge house.

(timeline here is about a year post dr3, three years since UDG, 4.5 years since the events of thh, and a whopping 6.5 years since they met at the original hope’s peak for the very first time)

8 years after they escape hope’s peak, togami decides he’s going to propose to naegi -- they’ve talked about it before, of course, but now that the world has finally started to really, truly recover from the tragedy, it feels more appropriate. he enlists asahina and komarus’ help in picking out the ring and obsessively plans out the perfect day/time/place.

when the day finally comes where he’s finally going to do it, naegi beats him to the punch with a simple-yet-sweet proposal over breakfast that morning. togami rapidly cycles between stunned to elated to furious that naegi beat him. he gets flustered and accidentally rejects the proposal before backtracking and having to admit that he wanted to be the one to propose, damn it!! they figure it out, eventually

their actual wedding is just a simple and sweet courthouse ceremony with kirigiri and komaru there as witnesses. once the news of their engagement got out, they were pretty immediately overwhelmed by attendance requests and, while togami is one for excessive ceremony and naegi loves his friends so much, they’re actually pretty private about their personal lives and ultimately decide to do one wedding that’s just for them before throwing the obligatory big party with everyone being invited (and, of course, media coverage bc, y’know. ultimate hope and the last surviving togami heir.)

i have SO many more thoughts about them/their domestic life but oh my fucking god this got way too long. sorry for liking a really really long slow burn LMFAO

#asks #really cool and very interesting #danganronpa #naegami #makoto naegi #byakuya togami #sorry for taking so long to answer this. it was literally on my mind all day but i wanted to give it the Attention It Deserved. #also sorry for giving them the traditional shakesperean comedy wedding ending. i love weddings and have no impulse control #also i think they're probably both pretty traditional insofar as relationship trajectory is concerned. #once togami realizes he wants a normal relationship instead of following the insane Togami Family Plan (tm) #fukawa and komaru are really the non-traditionalists here. 18 and 20 years old with 5 brand new adopted 10 year olds #straight vibing in the wasteland until one day they wake up after having been together for like ten years like #'hey. why arent we married?' #i DID almost put in syo drunkenly proposing to komaru AT the naegami wedding bc i think it would piss togami off SOOO bad #but this was already too long so. in the tags it goes. #i DO have thoughts on how they might work in a non-despair setting too. but this is generally the timeline i have in mind for them.

[goldenboygate]

idk it just gets tiring as a lando fan to always hear like "omg you support that sexist, racist piece of shit?" when like, far as i know, he hasn't done anything any worse than the drivers those people are supporting. at the end of the day they're all privileged, wealthy, mostly white men, they're all going to say/do ridiculous shit. and i don't use that as an excuse either though, i'm not afraid to call lando out when he actually does something problematic. but Jesus Christ, the majority of the things I've seen him get cancelled for especially over the last 2 years has been completely made up or like some weird dr3 stan hearing him say something in an interview that somehow, nobody other than dr3 stans can magically hear or just taking parts of interviews without providing the full context to make it seem like he said something shitty when it was actually fine if you heard the whole thing. like holy fuck half the people come after him to punish him for wrongdoings he didn't actually do, yet the drivers they stan regularly say/do misogynistic or racist shit and they're just like "if I don't look at that tweet/photo/video, it never happened, he's still my perfect baby waby." and this gets exhausting as a fan, i can't imagine being him, especially with him basically acknowledging in streams/videos now that he can't even breathe without someone hating him. i had to hear for the past year and a half "omg my little danny's mental health" from mostly the same people who have been sending hate and death threats and probably impacting not only lando's, but also mclaren staff's and even a mental health charity's staff's mental health. i am so close 🤏 to just walking away from this sport altogether and just supporting mclaren/lando/oscar from afar because out of every sport i follow (most a lot more aggressive than f1), f1 has got to have the most rancid fans i have ever had the misfortune of encountering.

yes, baby, you said it all! i don't think i can ever fully leave this sport, i've been here since birth, but i have retreated a lot from spaces like this, where people literally post fake quotes or edited videos to make lando look bad.

it's been almost a year, but i still think about that one fan, it was probably a dr one, who posted about lando being misogynistic in an interview, and it caught fire with everyone condemning him, some even saying he deserved to be shot only for it to be a complete lie. complete fabrication.

did they apologise? retract their lies? no. they doubled down with a "he could've said it."

fuck off. that was the first account i blocked when i made my new tumblr.

this is a tiring sport. for the drivers and for us 😭

#karenína answers

[ryouverua]

DRV3 Liveblog Masterlist (Chapter 6)

It’s been 84 years...........

Finally (by surprising request!) I have gathered the Chapter 6 posts below. Behold.

Chapter 1 is here! Chapter 2 is here! Chapter 3 is here! Chapter 4 is here! Chapter 5 is here!

Similar to last time, drv3 asks are tagged ‘drv3 asks’ and so not all of them might show up among actual game posts. I did do a quick in the moment text thing that I’ll include in its own little section. Anyway, without further ado...

Chapter 6 (Introduction):

- and now for something completely different

Chapter 6 (Investigation):

Liveblog note: I did not get away with all the fluff text unscathed

K1-B0 does not support the fluff text search

It’s because I didn’t finish your FTEs isn’t it

Panic! At the Killing Game

Investigation... Start?

Furniture appreciation / Ultimate Supreme Leader’s Lab / I knew I recognized the ‘Ou’ character from somewhere

Saimota appreciation moment

(nice drv3 reference)

Kokichi Ouma’s (Lab) Room

The Greatest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Slappening in Human History

WHY WAS RANTARO IN HIS ROOM?????

It’s organized chaos damnit

Return to the Boiler Room

A Certain Lab, Reprised

Notes on A Certain Lab, Reprised

Cold Sleep Room and Knox’s 10th Commandment

Something something humanity

Kaede Akamatu’s twin, the 17th Student, lying hidden somewhere in this school… the one they call the Ultimate Red Herring, Watch out for her,

Back to the Library

Sometimes a necklace is just a necklace

The Final Lab / Investigation Note

Dawn of a New Truth

The Monotaro callout I deserve

Chekhov’s Bathroom / A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED

Declaration of War

One Last Time (Speculation post)

Chapter 6 (Trial Play-by-play)

Start! / The Checkmark

A retrial??? / Missing the trees for the forest

Kaede!twin theory / The key evidence

My Kaito-brain at work again

Sorry K1-B0 it’s for the greater good

Behold, my bonds!

Wow the mastermind really felt like that? Do tell / It’s a witch!!

Alibi review time!!! / V-counter / Cosplayers everywhere are offended

Bye-bye Monosuke

Rantaro :( / Junko Enoshima >:( / FINE you won me back

Time for a commercial break!

She bravely ran away! / sir that is my emotional support cosplay / 53rd aha moment / JUNKO ENOSHIMA IS ???

Tsumugi’s switches / these tiny posts are not enough / students scouting vs applying / Kokichi Ouma’s true identity / Flashback Lights

So who the hell are you? / OH NO I’VE MADE A GRAVE MISTAKE

hajimemed / cosplay / okay I might be a little jealous / Dangan... ronpa...? /

Happy ending? / NOT THE COMMENTERS / RIP Shuichi’s caffeine high / Meta on meta / the rabbit hole is deep / ULTIMATE MEGANE SPRITE / return of Shuichi hangover sprite / the hits keep coming / Clair de Lune BSoD / Saihara.exe

Korekiyo redemption arc / yet another Umineko reference

(⌐■_■)

Remedy the situation? / K1-B0 cannot catch a break / K1-b0′s existential crisis combo / oh yeah DR3 happened / definitely misread that lol / DR1 is that you??

Flashback... light... / The true villain of drv3 / D: / Shuichi reborn / K1-B0′s character development / pros and cons of an emo protag / WHY CAN’T I HOLD ALL THESE PROTAGS - / Inconceivable / K1-B0′s turnaround

You can just call me the ultimate gamer / NOT K1-B0 / Underestimating Shuichi’s emo power level / I WEEP / KIBOU DA!!! ZETSUBOU DA!!! / SAIMOTA TIME 9′) / Monologuing / Report card

A flawless copy / Credits roll / Employee badge / From 5 to 3 / I DID IT

A collection of fun hindsight moments:

The benefits of hindsight / Kokichi you sonuva - / nerdmugi moment

Twitch plays K1-b0 moments / Survey says...! /

**** the terrible and despair-inducing sweetchi97

Chapter 6 (Trial):

Retrial (1) / Revisionist History, Pre-Accusation (2) / JUNKO ENOSHIMA IS??? / Shuichi’s Monokub showdown / (Fifty)-Third Time’s the Charm, Post-Accusation (3) / Flashfiction (4) / Oh, I am one yet many (5) / “hello, world!” (6) / My Will, Our Will (7) / Ghost in the Machine (8)

Pre-Execution / Post-Execution (End)

(the true drv3 ending)

Bonus:

Chapter 6 Illustrations

#danganronpa v3 #ryou plays drv3 #drv3 liveblog #drv3 liveblog masterlist #longpost #liveblog masterlist #Danganronpa v3 liveblog #spoilers #drv3 spoilers #ndrv3 #I can't believe I actually finished this post finally

[gontagokuhara]

2019 vs. 2024 hot takes exactly 0 people asked for (now with opinions on the dr3 characters!)

and because im mentally ill im elaborating below the cut because at least i’m cognizant of how few people share this illness with me ❤️

first of all. some categories were edited (+added). we shall address them all in due time 🫶 but just for posterity before we begin: top of the category is the one that best exemplifies the category title and it moves in descending order; so as gonta is my #1 my GOAT, pedo udg guy is the one i want to kill himself most. understandable? ok 🫶

2019 top 5-tier is slightly unfortunately named but other than that changes in 2024 are somewhat minimal. as is perhaps obvious if you have seen even one (1) danganronpa post from me: gonta is My character hes mine spike chunsoft dont get him like i do. AND i love sdr2. nagito is my very very close second i am so incredibly mentally ill about him Oh if you all could see the hundreds of thousands of words ive written about that fucking guy. also true of hajime. still true of sonia (<3 i love u girlie) and fuyuhiko but to a lesser extent (i have written so much sdr2. its a problem. we persist). they are characters we see a lot of and in that same vein give SO much to build upon in further character exploration. and boy do i do that. holds the five of them In my arms i love you babygirls

S tier excellents again prove i am an sdr2 enjoyer. i think it also showcases how much i REALLY love the v3 characters while absolutely hating the plot they were stuck in. kaede and shuuichi are SOOOO special 2 me u dont understand…….im going to have so many thoughts and be So mad when i replay v3. kokichi is VERY interesting and my thoughts on him are endless (hi evan) and there is soooo much there even if i also have to fundamentally hate him somewhat because of 3-4. also a wide array of sdr2 characters are here of course……on my most recent replay i have come to really appreciate imposter (better sexier byakuya ❤️) and ibuki . and i was kind of surprised how high some of the dr1 characters are (besides chihiro who has consistently been my dr1 #1) but sorry dr3 made me love the makoto/kyouko/aoi trio sooooo bad.

lots of variety in the A tier which are all characters i enjoy, they just arent my Favorite barbie dolls to mash around u know. so many very unique personalities like mahiru, angie, tenko, and ryoma that weren’t explored as well as possible in canon, so its harder for me to personally invest in them. junko is iconic and she gets worse as the games go on but god. dr1 was craaaaaazy so she and mukuro have to be given props for that. im ignoring e-girl junko and v3 entirely <3 also again in watching dr3 while replaying sdr2 i really came to appreciate natsumi and her dynamic with hajime :[ rip girl i miss u. also also i liked koichi way more than expected LOL it must just be cuz hes hot but his death was sick as fuck and i liked his thruline with jin (the weird flirting with kyouko aside……)

B tier! bit of a mixed bag, from characters i like very begrudgingly (byakuya, sorry, i latched onto him as my rich terrible boyfriend when first playing years ago and the fondness kinda stuck 💔) to ones i do genuinely like, but they were not given much to do in canon (ryota) or their arcs fell flat (kirumi). also here are dr3 + udg characters i didnt mind or were just somewhat nice to makoto (also chisa, who is very interesting but i very much disliked how her character ended off) so shout out them (they are all dead) (or orphaned like monaca and kotoko).

C tier is basically my ‘i barely remember’ tier sry……i did not finish udg so i have so very few opinions on most of the characters. chihiro aoi and yasuhiro’s parents are chill tho shout out. not much to say tho

and now we enter the hater zone with D tier……look. some of these are hot takes and some arent. as much as i love sdr2 i just cannot ever make myself like hiyoko and teruteru. theyre kinda fucked from the getgo theyre never treated as especially serious characters but their glaring flaws are so bad i cant bring myself to care when the rest of the cast is SO GOOD. i also do not like kazuichi LMFAO as a sonia ride or die just as i cannot look past teruteru’s sexual harassment NEITHER CAN I LOOK PAST KAZUICHI’S ‼️‼️ yes i think he can be fixed but sonia needs a restraining order + when she was hoping he was the ch4 killer i was cheering. everyone else this category are just mid ass dr1 characters and the dr3 characters i found actively annoying. also monokuma. hes cringe but iconic and doesnt fit anywhere else

not much to be said about F tier. i did not finish udg but i know enough that i need haiji towa to die. i need the asshole who beat up hajime to die. i need the asshole who tried to kill makoto to die. i need that stupid old fuck heading the future foundation to die. the monokubs are fucking annoying. the only like Real characters here are 1) miu because she is written terribly and her cool talent is wasted, treats gonta like shit, isnt funny, is just nasty perv bait and her most meaningful contribution is to be fodder for the 2nd worse written case in the game. and as for NUMBER ONE WORST: tsumugi mostly just symbolizes my hatred for v3’s ending because outside of her role in 3-6 she has very little impact on the story before her reveal. also got my girlies kaede and rantarou killed God i hate the end of thisgame

and finally: oh my poor sweet bastards. why would they do this to you. these characters are either underutilized in a way that is DEVASTATING (izuru 💔) treated like shit as joke characters their potential is totally squandered by dogshit writing (everyone else — sdr2 you could have been so much better WHY!!!!!!). mikan and korekiyo’s motives are dogshit and make the ch3 double murder so much weaker. nekomaru and akane are played as jokes essentially their entire screentime and akane is especially egregious because shes a survivor among characters like FUYUHIKO!!! like SONIA!!! like HAJIME!!!!!!!!! AND YOU SQUANDER HER LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!! kaito suffers from really flip-floppy writing and he sucks a lot of the time Especially pre-localization but ive adopted him a little bit in writing him and i love my construction of him in my brain.

ok thats it. im so mentally ill. give me ur thoughts or do the tierlist urself. now pointy objects lockdown time 👍

#dr #meow

[emeraldgalaxies]

All these anti-naegiri posts lately are ridiculous - what does it matter that Naegi didn’t love Kirigiri pre-killing game? What does it matter that he fell for Kirigiri after Maizono’s death? So what? Is he supposed to live the rest of his life alone, loving a ghost? Especially considering their circumstances once they’re free from the killing game. Kirigiri becomes his love interest in DR1 after Maizono’s death - naegiri is canon, after all let’s not forget about DR3. People can ship whatever the hell they want and if people are going to continue to rant and rave about why naegiri *isn’t* canon, than can they at least properly tag their hate with slashes through “nae////giri” so people who do ship it, don’t have to see hate? Lest you forget tumblr’s tagging system is useless and even if something is tagged “anti naegiri” surprise surprise, it’ll still show up in the ship tag. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

#danganronpa #naegiri #im so sick of this #WHO CARES #THAT NAEGI LOVED SOMEONE BEFORE HE LOVED KIRIGIRI #HE LOVES HER NOW #godddddddd #this is getting ridiculous and im so tired of it #dr1 came out 8 freaking years ago GET OVER IT #dr3 has been out for 2 years now #leave naegiri alone with this business

[f1united]

Zoo - DR3 Imagine

Daniel Ricciardo Imagine

Summary: You and Daniel are having a family day and talk about the future :)

Word Count: 2.9k

Please let me know if you have any f1 requests, I am more than happy to write anything for you!

As much as you loved watching Daniel race, you were grateful that you were able to spend some time with him now the season had ended. Although you were lucky enough to attend many races, your work schedule wouldn’t always allow it and you also wanted to still have time on the weekends to catch up with your friends and family.

You’d decided to spend this Christmas in Australia, it was your first away from home, but you were loving the warm weather and seeing a bit more of Daniel’s family. You had met them plenty of times now and were so thankful for how well you got on with them. It was late last night that Daniel had climbed into bed with you, he had been out seeing some of his old friends, leaving you to have the house to yourself that evening.

You loved spending time with Daniel, but it was nice to have some alone time after the busy race weekend. You had a nice long bath and a mini pamper session before painting your nails in front of the tv. You were so tired that you can barely remember him coming home, only noticing when the bed dipped beside you as he pulled you close to his chest.

Your early night may have been the reason you woke up so early the next morning. You weren’t really a morning person but had got a bit better at it over the years. Daniel’s family were coming over for breakfast and then the plan was to go to the local zoo. His nephew loved animals and when you had suggested the idea everyone couldn’t see why not, plus you hadn’t been to a zoo outside the UK and wanted to see if it was any different.

You rolled out of bed and into the shower. Your shoulders relaxed as the warm water hit your skin. It wasn’t as nice as the heat from Daniel’s body, but then you didn’t think anything could ever beat that. You stepped from the shower onto the fluffy bathmat, quickly wrapping yourself in a towel to dry yourself off. You walked into the dressing room opposite the bedroom and slipped on a nice summer dress. You rummaged through the drawers to find some nude underwear that would be discreet under the light colour of the dress but were unsuccessful, realising they must be in the utility room drying with the clothes you had washed yesterday. You placed your towel in the wash basket and made your way downstairs.

The view from Daniel’s kitchen was beautiful, the white rectangular island stretched for metres and looked across to the dining table and lounge area where you’d often have company. The folding glass doors separated you from a huge garden, some of his nephew’s toys were littered around the patio from when he’d last visited and the paving stones drew your eyes towards the pool.

You were lucky to have met Daniel, it had always been you dream to work in Formula 1 and you were beyond grateful to have had the chance to join McLaren in your early 20’s. Of course you knew who Daniel was, and he grew to know who you were. Working mainly at the office in the UK, you didn’t often see him to begin with. You weren’t too annoyed about it, as you fancied the pants off him and found it hard not to blush anytime he even looked in your direction. Your team was more in the background, didn’t attend races and just focused on the work at hand so when a few of your team members began getting invites you were slightly confused. You’d spoken to Zac Brown about it, he had interviewed you for your role and you had got on very well with him ever since. He had just said that your hard work had been noticed and smiled as you left his office.

Your team was overjoyed with the invites to races, it was something all of you had always spoken about. You were more of a family unit, you saw each other for hours on end every day and had grown so close that summer barbeques and birthday get togethers happened regularly, they made great drinking partners.

Whenever you’d see Daniel at a race, you’d wish him good luck as everyone else around him would too. However, you didn’t know he’d noticed how your eyes lingered on his body slightly longer whenever he was in his race suit or how you intensely stared at his hands when he ruffled his hair after he took his helmet off. It wasn’t really new to him, someone was always watching, but something about it being your eyes had got his attention. It made him slightly nervous if he was honest, but the thought of you watching meant he wanted to go out there and do the best he could in the hope that if he saw you after the race you might congratulate him with a smile on your face, and even the thought of that gave him butterflies.

Even though you were unaware of this, there was never a time he’d finish a race and you wouldn’t congratulate him. You’d grown up watching him race and just thought he was brilliant. A mixture of his personality and nonstop smile along with his determination meant that even in a race where Lewis Hamilton might even be about to win a championship, you would still be watching his car. Whether it was in 2nd or 16th, that’s where your eyes would be. Some of his crew has started to pick up on it, although the people you worked closely with sometimes joked about your little crush on him they never mentioned it outside of the group. As much as it was all fun and games, there was a mutual understanding that this was a professional environment and things like that weren’t to be joked about around management, and especially the drivers. It wasn’t any comments they’d noticed, they would tell Daniel after races how you’d been shouting at the screens just as much as they had, often louder. How you’d cheer when he overtook someone, even if it only meant it was for a single point.

Sometimes he’d question why they told him these things, a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice and they all rolled their eyes at him. They’d noticed how he’d look for you after a race, craving the smallest conversation from you and how he would instantly start paying more attention if he heard your name mentioned. They would poke fun at him and wind him up where they could but at the end of the day he understood he was there to race, and that’s what he did.

You were emptying the dishwasher when his arms snaked around your waist and kissed your shoulder before resting his head on it and whispering a small morning into your ear.

“I’ve been calling down for you, what has you in a little world of your own?” he questioned as you both swayed from side to side lightly.

“Nothing” you smiled as you placed the bowl you’d picked up on the side and turned around to face him.

“You sure about that?” he smirked as your eyes found his. “That smile suggests otherwise” It was true, you were grinning from ear to ear.

“Just thinking about when I first started coming to the paddock, and now here I am in the kitchen of the best-looking driver in Formula 1” he let out a small laugh as you spoke. You wrapped your arms around his neck and gave him a small peck on the lips.

“What can I say? I’m great with the ladies” you playfully smacked him on the arm and frowned before laughing and turning your back to him to continue unloading the dishes. He moved his hands down from your waist to your arse as you bent over to grab something off the lower shelf. Then to your surprise he lifted the bottom part of your dress up.

“Daniel!” you laughed as you shot up and turned around again.

“You seem to have forgotten to put on underwear” he winked at you

“That isn’t my attempt to seduce you” you giggled as he started kissing your face. “It’s in the utility room”

“Lame excuse” he continued kissing you, starting to trail down your neck. Just before he could do anything else, the doorbell rang. He looked at you and groaned as you let out a laugh.

“I’ll go and put some underwear on while you let them in” you unwrapped his arms from around you and left a kiss on the corner of his lips as you made your way across the kitchen and he headed towards the door.

“Or don’t” he responded.

“I’m not really planning on flashing anyone accidently today” you replied. You heard him laugh as he opened the door and greeted his family. His parents and sister’s family made their way into the kitchen as you came out the utility welcoming them all with a hug. It had been a few months since you’d last seen them as you hadn’t been able to make it to all races.

“It’s so lovely to see you” his mum spoke as everyone began sitting down on the sofas. You were nervous when you first met his family. The age difference between Daniel and you wasn’t huge, but it had certainly gained some media attention. You didn’t want his family to think you were with him for his money and fame or even think that you were too immature to be with him. You had never brought it up with him before you’d met his parents, but he could sense you were nervous and knew why. He knew there wasn’t anything for you to worry about but didn’t say anything as he didn’t want it to play on your mind. He was right though, they loved seeing the two of you happy together and could immediately see how genuine your feelings for one another were.

“I’ve missed you guys; I’ve been looking forward to today for ages” you smiled. It was true, you loved spending time with his family. You had a relatively small family but that doesn’t mean it drama free, there was always something going on and here you felt slightly more relaxed. Daniel loved that, for years he couldn’t imagine bringing someone into his family in case they didn’t get along but when he saw how well you fitted in he couldn’t help but watch and smile.

“Y/N” his nephew shouted as he ran through the kitchen towards you. He held him arms out for you to pick him up and you placed him on your hip.

“How are you little man?” you asked

“I’m okay, look!” he said pointing down to a scrape on his knee.

“Oh no, how’d you do that?” you asked

“I fell over out there on the drive” he explained.

“Shall we put some cream on it?” you asked, “we don’t want it to get dirty do we?” he nodded his head as you spoke and carried him over to the medicine cabin and sat him on the worktop before grabbing some antiseptic cream out and rubbing it into his knee.

“Look Uncle Daniel!” he shouted across the kitchen to get his attention as he showed him his knee that now had a plaster on.

“Wow, Auntie Y/N has fixed you!” he gasped making the little boy giggle as you picked him up and put him down on the floor so he could explore wherever he wanted.

“Auntie Y/N?” you questioned Daniel as you began to get food out of the fridge for breakfast. You spoke quietly, you had never been called that before and didn’t want his family thinking that you were the one who wanted to be called that.

“What’s wrong with that?” he replied as he grabbed the eggs and bread from the cupboard next to you.

“Just haven’t been called that before, I don’t want him to think he has to call me that”

“He always calls you Auntie Y/N” Daniel said casually which caused you to freeze a bit. You had been dating for about 3 years now but hadn’t really considered that his nephew had grown up with you around and didn’t know any different. You continued to place the bacon next to the stove and grabbed a frying pan out from the drawer below.

After breakfast was over, you all headed to the zoo and spent the day wondering around visiting all of the animals. Seeing Daniel with his nephew made you smile, they had so much fun together. You also secretly loved when he went into dad mode like when he was making sure that he’d had enough to eat or drink and making sure he had enough sun cream on and wasn’t too hot. It made you excited for the future, not that you had spoke about it in much depth. You both wanted kids but hadn’t discussed when, you just figured it would happen when it felt right.

You all headed back to the house after the zoo, it was getting quite late, so you’d all ordered a takeaway. Daniel’s parents left not long after while the rest of you had some drinks, agreeing that they would all spend the night in the spare room so his nephew could stick to his routine. You didn’t drink much, only a gin with dinner. You wanted Daniel’s sister and her husband to have the chance to get a little bit drunk so agreed to stay sober in case something happened to the toddler and someone needed to be able to drive.

He was currently asleep leaning against your chest while you were all sat on the sofa’s chatting.

“I’ll put him to bed” Daniel’s sister went to get up from the sofa, but the sudden movement sent her head spinning slightly and caused her to sit back down. Everyone let out a little laugh as you volunteered yourself to carry him to the room and make sure he was settled for the night. As you carried him upstairs he stirred a little. Placing him in the bed he started muttering about the animals from today, you spoke back quietly, careful not to wake him even further as you stroked his head lightly and he drifted back to sleep. As you got up to leave, you jumped at Daniel standing in the doorway.

After shutting the door slightly so the noise from downstairs wouldn’t disturb him, Daniel spoke up. “I thought I’d see what was taking so long” he was slightly drunk, his eyes a bit drowsy compared to their normal alertness.

“I’ve been gone for about 2 minutes lover” you replied as he embraced you in a hug.

“I know I just like seeing you with him” now he was just being soppy. You laughed and took his hands into yours as you stepped back.

“I like seeing you with him too” you winked.

“Maybe,” he whispered as he hugged you again, “we should give him a cousin” he lifted you up as he spoke, and you wrapped you legs around his waist. He started walking towards the stairs but then walked past you towards the bedroom.

“Daniel Ricciardo we have visitors’ downstairs” You laughed as he carried you into the room and placed you on the side of the bed.

“They won’t hear if we’re quiet” he suggested as he ran his hand up your thigh.

“No but they’ll definitely know what we’re up to” you ran you fingers through his hair as he leaned over you before pulling him into a kiss. You continued for a minute or two until you could feel him starting to get hard against you. “We can continue this when everyone’s gone to bed” you voice was almost a whisper, you wanting this as much as him but not wanting to be rude to the couple sat downstairs, although if you’d have been drinking too you were sure it would be a completely different scenario.

It wasn’t until late the next morning after waving goodbye to his sister, brother in law and nephew that Daniel had mentioned your conversation from the night before. You both headed back upstairs to the bedroom, you were meeting some friends for lunch and both needed to get ready.

“I wasn’t kidding yesterday” You were doing your makeup in the ensuite mirror as he dried himself off from the shower. You were concentrating more on his body in the reflection than where you were spraying your setting spray. “I want to have kids with you”

With Daniel being older, it played on his mind that by the time you wanted kids, he’d be too old. He hadn’t wanted kids when he was your age and expected you to feel the same but he also didn’t want to be an old dad, he wanted to be involved with as much as he could for as long as he could. Even you thought you’d be a bit lost for words when having kids were mentioned. When you were younger you had wanted to have a secure career path and always imagined having kids in your late twenties, maybe even early thirties. However, things were different now. You loved your job and you had the man of your dreams alongside you.

“Let’s have a baby then”

#daniel ricciardo #f1 imagine #f1 #f1 masterlist #daniel ricciardo imagine #daniel ricciardo one shot #max verstappen #charles leclerc #lando norris #mclaren #george russell #imagine #one shot #formula 1

[kitkatixx]

kirukiyo headcanons (long ish)

If you haven’t noticed-- these two are my otp, and v3 did them both dirty... both in terms of plot and their few interactions (hi, utdp, i’m surprised they didn’t have an event with direct interaction)

I haven’t done these formally but figured I’d drop a few of my headcanons as of now, since the ideas I have for these two are fluid, but the base nature of their relationship remains about the same. You’ll see below the cut, they’re fairly in depth and give some flavor to the characters (especially Kirumi) 

general summary 

Subtle, subtle, subtle. 

These two are experts at keeping their relationship under the table, and it takes the rest of the class--perceptive ones included-- quite a bit of time to figure out they’ve been together, even though many a student (Kokichi, Miu, Rantaro, Kaede) have made jokes about their likeness to a married couple. 

While they are more than capable of adapting to the scenario, both of them are private individuals at heart, in spite how their talents require them to be around people nearly at all times. So for Kirumi especially, she prefers someone mature who can respect her desire to keep the limelight out of her personal life. After all, she prefers to keep her home and (incredibly taxing, chaotic) work life separate... 

That being said, it is no secret to Class 79 (what I’ve dubbed the v3 cast in my HPA AU) and the upperclassmen (SDR2, DR3, THH) that the Ultimate Maid is a stubborn workaholic.

Thus, it takes a specific type of person to ‘get through’ to her-- specifically requesting her presence at refreshments, politely stopping her in the hallway for a conversation, all as cleverly disguised ‘breaks’ without infringing upon her time and duties. Even if it’s only momentary, small steps, persistence, and patience are key with her, as there is a fine line between obligation and devotion to one’s craft. 

Korekiyo happens to be able to see past the professional ‘selflessly devoted’ front that Kirumi maintains nearly at all times, having had the opportunity to observe numerous types of people in his time as an anthropologist, and given what was seen in canon, it’s fairly evident that he was intrigued, speaking highly of her post trial (he even has a FTE in her lab!) 

Initially, her insistence on wholeheartedly embodying the values of a proper maid piqued his attention, leading to him to take an interest in getting to know her more-- what makes Miss Tojo who she is, exactly? What motivates her to behave in such a way? And what of the human side of the Ultimate Maid? Such were the questions he wished to answer, and as any good researcher would do, it was necessary to approach this in a straightforward, concise manner.

Because of this unorthodox approach to getting to know her (indirectly) for a scholarly reason, Kirumi had no reason to decline his invitations to converse or shoo him away from observing her everyday duties as she would have done under normal circumstances. This in particular gave Korekiyo an advantage over many of his other peers, who would have had difficulty a) approaching her b) maintaining a sizeable conversation with her before moving onto her next task. 

Eventually, the two would find they share similar interests (Victorian customs, tea preparation, etc), and get along well with each other; the meetings that began as strictly for research evolve into moments where two friends are talking. 

Down the line, someone catches feels. 

Now as for who that could be... let’s move to the next section to answer that.

a few typical who does/is relationship headcanons:

1. Who makes the first move and how?

Korekiyo does. While Kirumi eventually does develop feelings for him first, she won’t act on them out of concern that the quality of her work will be compromised, and stays quiet. Korekiyo, however, takes a little longer after mulling over whether his emotions can be chalked up to his general adoration for all of humanity or genuine feelings for her. He does pick up on small changes in her behavior and routine-- serving his preferred meals and tea at just the right temperature, being especially open to assisting him even when she’s terribly busy, and so on, which motivate him to make the first move. Very small, but incredibly thoughtful of her. He’s always liked the details. 

The anthropologist is quite capable of being romantic if he so desires, but decides that with her in particular, it would be best to be polite and to the point. Of course, this is Korekiyo we are talking about, so he’ll still put his own twist on it-- so most likely discreetly slipping her a letter with a proper wax stamp on it expressing his feelings and a carnation, which in Japanese flower language is associated with fascination and distinction. 

The letter’s contents include notes of the uniquely human aspects of her he finds especially beautiful, and are highly specific: the faint curve of her mouth that appears for a split-second (when she thinks no one is looking) after someone receives retribution for their antics, her deft, graceful movements as she slices into vegetables and pours tea, the glint in her eye that appears after a particularly challenging request is given... the list could go on and on, he writes, but it would be far too long to be appropriate for this letter, yet Kirumi Tojo’s identity is so much more than only the Ultimate Maid. 

Lastly, it finishes with an attached sketch depicting one of the moments ‘when she is the most beautiful,’ showing her in her element... broom in hand, small frown on face, and scolding someone (read: Kokichi) After all, while many miss it, Korekiyo has picked up on the angry micro expressions that flit across her face after something particularly irritating has just occurred, and he loves them-- they make her humanity shine through. 

Subsequently, it would prompt her to meet somewhere secluded in the evening if she reciprocates-- her missing presence would be more than enough for him to take the hint. Not that she intended on doing so.

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

You’d think it would be Kirumi, but no, Korekiyo is, beneath his unusual charm and charisma, by a margin. After the passing of his sister, it left him hesitant to get close to people at a personal level, which contributes to how he ended up choosing anthropology-- not only to travel and experience the world when she could not, but because it allows for one to be ‘close’ to humans in a removed manner. So while he can easily wax poetry about nearly anything about humans, cultures, or a person, he does this in a very ‘scientific manner’ at times, preferring to view things as an observer rather than a participator. Of course, this aspect of him was integrated into his identity long before HPA, but it is this distanced nature that contributed to his initial indecisiveness about whether his feelings are organic, and the occasional concern about how much emotional intimacy he is obligated to show in a relationship. Luckily, Kirumi isn’t the type to absolutely need direct communication in a relationship, and is more subtle in demeanor as well.

Having been in the service industry for years and hiding her own emotions (from herself as well), Kirumi is proficient at recognizing others’ needs, and picks up on these issues seamlessly. She isn’t exactly the best at opening up either (this is an area of improvement for both of them), but still makes attempts to directly talk to him about this. Generally, their form of communication is largely nonverbal, being highly in tune with each other-- to this couple, actions speak louder than words, but issues like these are best addressed face-to-face, with words, before they fester. 

3. Who is the most romantic?

The anthropologist takes the cake here by societal standards-- his love language is giving gifts and words of affirmation, whereas Kirumi prefers acts of service (no surprise there!) but both share quality time as a commonality, and are very attentive towards each other. Regardless of the gift, Korekiyo is always sure to pick something thoughtful and practical, the way she likes things-- though now and then there’s something more material with emotional value in the mix, which she secretly likes. Kirumi is not used to people being so direct in this department with her, so while she’ll politely cite her preference for gifts as something useful, the silk gloves and other paraphernalia he gets her are a nice way to validate she has an identity outside of being a maid.

Not to mention that he has a way with words, and is incredibly proficient at finding 50 unique ways to compliment her in public, much to her chagrin (and hidden embarrassment,) but he takes pride in, citing that she should be more proud of her accomplishments. Nevertheless, Korekiyo still finds her indirect way of showing affection endearing, especially when she attempts to politely deflect compliments as ‘doing what any maid worth their salt would have done.’ 

Some things never change... even though he and the other members of Class 79 have slowly gotten her to be more open about accepting assistance from others (she’s overworked herself and passed out once!) 

4. Who can’t keep their hands to themselves?

Again, while both of them are capable of (and prefer) being lowkey in public, it’s free real estate in private, so once again, this goes to Korekiyo. His official love language isn’t physical touch, but he embodies all five of them quite well, this one very much included. 

Kirumi, on the other hand, doesn’t like PDA out of professionalism, which makes her a bit hesitant, even in the privacy of his or her room to be comfortable with it. This isn’t to say she isn’t curious or won’t even consider the possibility, but it takes her a considerable amount of time to warm up to it. Initially, the most you’ll see from them in public is subtle touches on each other’s hand-- little playful taps here and there-- which then morph into holding hands when no one’s around to see it. In private, they’re more willing to be physically close (think head in lap while reading), and Kirumi’s brushed his hair on more than one occasion. It should be noted that one of the most intimate moments the two have had was holding hands in private without any sort of fabric acting as a barrier. 

However, Korekiyo does have a cheekier side that slips out (more slyly playful to incite something interesting/fluster her) and is known to slip an arm around her waist, pulling her in close. If you squint, you might catch a faint flush on the usually unflappable Kirumi. Bonus points if this is during the evening, and a breeze blows by. Bonus bonus if this is in public, during broad daylight. 

The ‘class dad’ has to assert his dominance every now and then over the unruly children, no? 

5. Who says ‘I love you’ first?

Love comes in a lot of different forms and of course, at each person’s pace. Both of them circle around this topic and have essentially said it nonverbally before, but the first to vocalize it is most likely still Korekiyo. It’s not in Kirumi’s nature to be direct about her emotions (but for duties and professional matters, absolutely), so it’s up to him to say he loves her first. 

It’s most likely uttered in private, accompanied with a small kiss, and very quietly-- so quiet you can barely catch it, but that doesn’t matter, because only the one who needs to hear it the most will. 

conclusion

Three words best describe this relationship: mature, meaningful, and synchronized.

Both of these individuals are aloof and formal on the surface level, but if one takes the time to truly get to know them, there’s quite the intense fire burning underneath in the form of being utterly devoted to each other every step of the way. Of course, this is all done in a very reserved manner, and if they don’t want you to know about it, you won’t. 

Well, if you got here, thank you for reading all of this. I’ve liked this ship for a while, and I remember being nervous to create content-- I’m sure know how volatile fandom life can be, no? Hope you enjoyed my take and spins on their relationship, and I might post more later. 

Feel free to request or drop something in the askbox for these two.

#kirukiyo #ship headcanons #danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #v3 #drv3 #ndrv3 #danganronpa ships #danganronpa ship #danganronpa ship headcanons #kirumi x korekiyo #korekiyo x kirumi #shintojo #headcanons #new danganronpa v3 #killing harmony #new danganronpa v3 killing harmony #otp #danganronpa headcanon #danganronpa headcanons #kirumi tojo #korekiyo shinguji #korekiyo shinguuji #tojo kirumi #shinguji korekiyo #shinguuji korekiyo #ndrv3 killing harmony #drv3 killing harmony

[t0bey]

plum drop the essay on fuyu/peko and mondo/taka paralelles !!!! i am curious

ask and u shall recieve (inserting my first ever page break because holy FUCK this got long) 

oke! I guess I’ll start off with Peko’s initial conception as a character, which was the main initial comparison danganronpa intended between Peko and Kiyotaka.

I’ve noticed danganronpa has a tendency to re-use character tropes or roles after each game, tho their fates end up differently. For example, Chihiro was the smart, cute, and sweet character who ended up dying early on and had little significance outside of alter ego afterwards. Chiaki is the same, except if Danganronpa took Chihiro’s character and made her one of the main protagonists that has much more significance in the game. 

The staff of SDR2 confirmed that they based Peko off of Kiyotaka, from their intense red eyes (which was intentional) + predominately b&w colorscheme, they both have swords, and their characters are tied to justice, though in different ways. Not to mention both are meant to be extremely disciplined, but ultimately struggle at socializing due to their rough backstories. But that’s where Peko’s ties to Taka as an initial concept end there, because the parallels between Peko/Taka and Fuyuhiko/Mondo are a whole ‘nother ballpark.

Before bringing that up though, we should note that while their designs are significantly different, Mondo and Fuyuhiko are extremely similar in terms of their backstory and personality (down to their ability to curse like a sailor). Both struggle with an inferiority complex (Fuyuhiko w/ how he isn’t taken seriously because of his babyface, Mondo w/ how his self esteem is really fragile and gets jealous of others when he acknowledges them to be stronger than him). Both act like tough, aggressive lone-wolfs (well, Mondo pre-sauna anyways), but have been stated to have a soft side, to the point they doubt their capabilities of being a tough leader because of it. They both even have a sibling they both believe would be a better leader than them (Daiya and Natsumi). BASICALLY fuyuhiko and mondo are the same role, being the intimidating gang leader that no one should fuck with, but in actuality has a lot of insecurities behind that facade. 

Ok, ok, time to the ACTUAL relationship parallel analysis. We now know why Peko/Taka are meant to be parallels, and we can definintely make a solid claim for Fuyuhiko and Mondo. This isn’t new for Danganronpa, in their tendency to use patterns but give them a different twist depending on the game. Which is exactly what happened in  regards to chapter 2 of THH and SDR2, respectively.

The games’ chapter 1s are simple: meant to introduce the characters/game/stakes. Leon and Sayaka’s deaths were tragic, but the emotional impact of them wasn’t the main priority by the writers. Only to show that this was, indeed, a Killing Game where anyone’s possible to die. But chapter 2 of danganronpa is intended to be the chapter where you’re introduced to just how emotional and tragic the games can actually be, meant for maximum heartbreak (for both the characters and the player).

Chapter 2 of THH was where the different students’s relationships between each other became more solid. Sakura and Aoi were good friends. Toko’s obsession for Byakuya first solidified. Hifumi being Celeste’s servant, etc. Taka and Mondo’s fast developed friendship is no different. After the sauna, the two clicked so much that they believed calling each other just a friend wasn’t really accurate, and settled on calling each other brother instead. While they don’t have memories of their close friendship during Hope’s Peak at this time, it’s heavily implied that their closeness during that time made them subconsciously gravitate towards each other so fast, which could also be seen with Sakura and Aoi, and how Chihiro was able to find Makoto familiar during their introduction. 

Peko and Fuyuhiko’s relationship could be considered to be just as close. The two grew up together, quite literally since they were kids. Like Taka and Mondo’s relationship pre-sauna, Fuyuhiko and Peko’s relationship was somewhat strained, though it’s more deeply rooted than two extremely contrasting guys clashing over their perceptions of each other. Fuyuhiko is extremely insecure in his place as the Kuzuruyuu clan’s head, and sees Peko’s desire to protect him and carry out his commands as an unwanted crutch that challenges his desire to be independent, as well as extremely worrying considering how because of this, Peko devalues her own life and worth as a person. Fuyuhiko very much loves Peko as a person, and as such tried to distance himself from her during their time on Jabberwock Island. Though unfortunately, Peko took this as him loathing her in general, further cementing her desire to be his “tool” because if he couldn’t stand being around her, she might as well make herself useful to him.  

Now. Finally to get into the explicit parallels between the relationships of Kiyotaka/Mondo, and Peko/Fuyuhiko. Peko and Taka’s perspective on their relationships is a great starting point. 

Each game’s chapter 2 shows just how willing both Taka and Peko are willing to go in order to protect Mondo and Fuyuhiko. Peko’s motive for killing Mahiru wasn’t to escape, but to in her eyes save Fuyuhiko from the Killing Game, by using herself as his tool to carry out muder, and have everyone incorrectly vote for her so Fuyuhiko could get away. She was his bodyguard in the truest sense of the word. Now in THH’s chapter 2, instead of fighting against Mondo in proving his guilt, you’re fighting Kiyotaka. He refuses any evidence you throw at him, arguing relentlessly to prove Mondo’s innocence, to the point the only reason he stopped was because Mondo told him to. And you later find out, in chapter 3, that Kiyotaka felt so determined to prove Mondo’s innocence was because he felt like it was his responsibility to, as he cared for Mondo so much. 

So, in a way, Taka considers himself Mondo’s bodyguard. Just without the years worth of reinforcement that you’re nothing but a tool to be used which makes you devalue your own worth as a person. (Not that his self esteem and willpower wasn’t ultimately crushed by Mondo’s execution, but that’s only because the circumstances he lost him was undenyingly brutal considering the Killing Game). While the circumstances of Peko’s desire to protect Fuyuhiko are really murky and problematic considering how she was raised, Danganronpa confirmed that she protected him so much because of her care for him, to the point she was willing to sacrifice her own life to assure that Fuyuhiko is safe. And Kiyotaka was willing to go to the exact same drastic measures, by voting for himself. 

It’s also worth noting that in the stage play, he willingly accepted to be punished alongside him by doing this to make sure Mondo doesn’t die alone. 

So from my own understanding, Super Danganronpa 2 took the tragedy of Mondo and Taka’s relationship, and flipped it so that while it still follows its signature use of repetitive patterns, they made the circumstances different, but just as heartbreaking. And how? Because they took the Taka of the relationship, and made Peko the culprit. It’s not the Mondo this time, which is who you’re supposed to expect to be the culprit, because of your expectation from THH’s trial 2. 

Peko tried her best to protect Fuyuhiko, much like Kiyotaka tried to after he recognized the fact Mondo was the blackened. Both were, at the expense of their classmate’s and their own lives, were willing to protect them both, no matter what. Peko took a more active role in trying to do this however, which is what Kiyotaka severely regretted not doing, as stated in chapter 3. 

And Fuyuhiko is what would have happened if Mondo was forced to face the consequences of his actions (in Fuyu’s case, being partially responsible for Mahiru’s death, in Mondo’s case, Chihiro’s). Instead of Taka arguing to prove Mondo’s innocence, it’s Fuyuhiko who’s doing that for Peko. A deliberate use of subverting the pattern given to us by THH’s chapter 2.  

That’s the main takeaway, but I suppose I should also address the romantic parallels while I’m at it. I personally don’t like Kuzupeko as a romantic relationship, mainly because of how Peko’s self worth and personal value of herself as a person was as a direct result from being considered Fuyuhiko’s “tool” and their professional relationship as yakuza leader/henchman. Fuyuhiko does love her as a person, but that doesn’t negate the years of psychological degradation Peko endured to consider herself as a tool. Though in typical Danganronpa fashion, they choose to gloss over the problematic aspects of their relationship while heavily implying romantic subtext between them. So while I can’t say I’m a fan, I know the game/DR3 anime says otherwise. 

And as for Ishimondo, I know some will disagree with me, but I definitely feel that their relationship is heavily lined with romantic subtext as well. Not much is really explicit in the game outside of Ishida and Hifumi’s romantic rivalry for alter ego (who Taka considers Mondo), but the mangas and posters definitely show their relationship that most would consider normal for couples.

But at the end of the day? Both Peko and Taka love Fuyuhiko and Mondo, whether or not you consider both, one, or none of their relationship to be romantic. They wouldn’t have put their own lives on the line if it was anything else. And it’s that emotional connection between Kiyotaka and Mondo, and Peko and Fuyuhiko that’s meant to give you an emotional punch in the gut for THH and SDR2’S chapter 2’s, because of how far the two were willing to protect them.

#ask #spaceymedicgamer #kiyotaka ishimaru #peko pekoyama #cw kuzupeko #ishimondo #danganronpa #super danganronpa 2 #DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc