Hello

Maple

Total eclipse of the sun

this too, is soushin.

A belated gift for @florencetheflowerfairy. She requested a pic of Ms. Hiyori, so I took this opportunity to draw the Hiyoris hosting dinner for the Satous. I imagine the Hiyori mansion to be a place that has many features of a cozy family home, but you could also run into an unfinished doll replica in the dark hallway (and Sou and his mother would act like it's normal and you're weird for making a fuss about it).

Usually if I lean into the 'candidates are related' speculation I assume they share a father in Meister, but chapter 1 did mention Sara having a grandfather and we dont exactly know when the original death game happened....

It wouldn't satisfy everyone into shipping the characters lol but I think it would be legal by law if our candidates were actually cousins who share a grandfather. With the addition that the whole crutch of the related theory rests on Memorandum Man "loving many women" so there's an extra layer of not being related with each other/coming from non-related branch families padding out the issue of incest.

Who knows what Nankidai will actually do to solve the question of what qualifies a candidate to be one, I just personally have some things I like about them being family so the idea sticks in my head.

Nankidai showing us a new floormaster at least debunks a thought I had after 3-1. With how Meister did not reintroduce himself as a floormaster at the end of the chapter there was nothing stopping Midori's double from showing up and resuming floormaster duties.

Introducing another Midori immediately would blow out any sense of accomplishment from the banquet so it wouldn't have been the smartest decision. I still do expect to see him considering there was a miniquest to charge the doll head, the thing just needs assembled.

challenge: draw your comfort character wearing their most traumatic experience on a t-shirt

i guess his life is already his most traumatic experience

based on this tweet

Speculating about 3-2

If Sara had to pick one person left alive to survive with her in 3-2 she'd probably pick Keiji or maaaaybe Gin. She's already considered killing Gin to save Keiji so there's a clear number 1 and number 2 pick in this scenario.

The most painful route, if we are forced into a main game and must proceed through it, is going to be emotion route. Because Yabusame is going to die unless Nankidai really gives us a wildcard choice, but also choosing to kill Kanna for the sake of survival after she's gone through so much and finally gained a will to live is way more emotional torment than having a showdown with an antagonistic beanie man.

Hiyori's scarf is a little bit mysterious. It has massive significance to Shin when he wears it, but when did Hiyori start wearing his in the first place?

It can be fun to picture this weird pinkish polka dot fabric manifesting in the world at the same time Hiyori did like it's just another piece of him

but what if he picked out the scarf specifically for Shin? Hiyori thinking of how to approach this frail cold boy and how to endear himself to him by picking a very loud patterned scarf. Just so the first thing Shin sees when he looks at Hiyori is a piece of clothing with an association for warmth and softness.

Hiyori doesn't handle overheating very well and yet he'll put on a scarf for Shin. Imagine if he gave Shin the scarf when he left him for good because he's not attached to the scarf itself, but he ends up wearing another one because the scarf reminds him of Shin just as much as Shin wears his scarf because it reminds him of Hiyori. The scarf becoming an iconic part of who they are because it's symbolic of the attachment they have towards each other.

I think my #1 wishlist for yttd 3-2, and has been since 1B, is for us to get another nightmare from Shin so the narrative has space for him to have a lot of complex feelings about Hiyori without being limited to being whatever he's willing to show in front of Sara and the rest (which is very little).

After years of searching he finally saw his best friend/brother/mentor/role-model/anything else

and he gets uncomplicated confirmation that his Everything is a vile person who used and manipulated him throughout their relationship. Who actively worked toward goals that would ruin Shin's life if not outright rob him of it.

And in the span of a few hours Shin got to see him, understand all this, and then watch him die. Does he have closure? Part of him felt like he would be relieved if the man were dead, but does it really give him that?

How completely alone Shin must feel, especially while he's still grieving 2-2. Hiyori being the worst and best part of Shin's life is so charged.

Happiness, Sadness, and now Anger?

I've been discussing with friends that this upcoming Strawberry Floormaster Lady could have an emotion pun name--an "anger" name to match Sue Miley/Hoemi's happiness and Tia Safalin/Hannaki's sadness. If Nankidai continues this trend, he'll probably start her name with an "H" sound too.

This theme would also match how our Obstructor Maple cycled through three emotions, one at a time. Happiness, sadness, anger.

I like the idea that the prominence and fates of the three floor master women could represent which primary emotions Sara is feeling. In the beginning she is happy with Joe; in the middle she mourns him; in the end, she's tempted with revenge...?

All three women have survived to the final chapter, so if they each symbolize an emotion, their fate could reflect the tone of the story's ending. Maybe Sara could kill her chance of happiness (Miley) in favor of revenge (Strawberry Lady), or something similarly symbolic.

Wanted to write some Momdori but so little is known about her it's a little hard so if I write more in this fic she'll be more in the periphery while I write some Kai&Hiyori (&Sei) content.

Underrated dynamic is Midori being Gin's therapist for who knows how long.

Where is Gin absolutely roasting Midori because Midori isn't a real therapist he just acts like one? Maybe Midori doing a session after visiting with Alice and Gin complains he smells like the inside of a prison.

It's easier to imagine Midori impersonating other careers because his actual job is interacting with the candidate. He can get any job with the company's influence and keep it without necessarily having to be good at the job, but as a therapist interacting with the client is the job. If Gin clocks him as being a suspicious and dangerous individual that makes the situation a lot more complicated than an ice cream man who stands around in the store saying they are out of ice cream.