( assuming the tv has been moved back here. natsume sits on a desk, palms flat on the top of it and fingers tight at its edge as he leans back. there's a notebook on his lap, little notes in new and old ink; things he remembers from shuichi, things he's connected from komaeda, things he's hearing from the video in front of him.
he jumps to turn the television off when he hears the turn of a knob, the click of the lock, notebook tumbling noisily from his lap in the quiet; he turns to see who it is, and )
( he looks around, searching for a specific person which happens to be... amami! no matter how many times he looks in the room, he doesn't see him, but he knows what he heard. looking over to the tv, and then towards the corner of the room, he tries to find where the other could be. he checks under a few tables, and then he looks behind curtain, and then he looks around natsume as he hums in thought. he heard him, but he didn't feel him which is the most alarming thing about this. )
...Sakasaki-kun, I didn't see you there.
( he didn't, it's really hard to focus when he's like this. ) You heard him too, right?
( aha! that said, komaeda's turning towards natsume, more at the sound that a video cassette thing makes when someone is trying to remove a tap — the klplut schhh, whatever. anyway, he's going to move forward natsume so he's pressed against the other's back, reaching forward to push his hand against natsume's so that the video can slip back in slow and perfectly! )
Did you need help angling it a little? I've had lots of opportunities at this, so I'm talented in that field, trust me!
( is this the fight they're going to be having? his other hand will settle on natsume's hip because either smack away his hand and give komaeda a chance to push back in the tape, or keep fighting. )
Is that where his voice came from? You can push it back in, it's not that hard! I want to hear Amami-kun, too.
( ohhHHH MY GOD HE HATES HIM SO MUCH. HE'S GOING TO INCINERATE HIM RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO RETCON ALL OF OUR THREADS AND MUTUALLY GO TO THE DROP PAGE. )
You're not allowed TO, it was something private— ( but back in it goes, and natsume grits his teeth. draws a deep breath in. then moves his hands to loop back around komaeda's neck, tilting his head back. don't touch his neck he will murder you. ) I'll let you watch it under one condiTION, Nagito-kun. Do you aGREE?
( he knows komaeda's hard to stop anyway, so this is his compromise. )
( NOT NATSUME IZUMI ERA WHERE IS HIS GLITCHING OUT ICON FOR THE OLD TIMES AND STOP!!!!! ori will just delete their comment, we are just the jesters who wear the hats out here.
was?
not is? what does that mean, now he's really interested, but the black that shows up on the tv first is like the point of no return, and he hums softly as he blows air into the others ear??? or his neck!! whichever is close. )
( make me a glitchy icon and i'll buy another icon slot to use it
natsume ignores the blowing, quiet, and finally moves away, shaking off komaeda to do so. )
Tell me everything you know about the killing GAME... The killing GAMES, since I'm fully aware there was more than ONE. ( he hits pause on the video so he can rewind it first, stopping at the start of it proper. ) And if you know anything about The Ultimate Academy for Gifted JuveNILES, or why those with "Ultimate Talents" would be brought into such a sadistic GAME, I'd appreciate that as WELL.
( a beat, and )
If you don't agree then I'll just destroy this tape right here, right NOW. So you don't really have a CHOICE, Nagito-kun.
youre attacking me like a wild animal do you see the second pair of eyes
( is he being threatened? first of all, no one threatens komaeda, but second of all.. only half of that rings a bell — ultimate academy for gifted what? he's never heard the term used, but it doesn't show on his face as he stands back with his arms crossed, watching the other as he wonders where he got information like this. some of the ultimates here have mentioned the killing game — ishimaru for one, but his knowledge would have the same information that komaeda has when it comes to that, and there was no information about that in the future foundation's black book, and it wasn't information that he had during his despair days... that specific title of a school. )
Who did you hear that from?
( he knows it wouldn't be a secret, but out of all the ultimates, who decided to disclose that sort of information to someone who wouldn't properly understand it? komaeda isn't mad, nor is he disappointed, he just wants to know who thought so, or rather, did all that information come from the tape? he glances over at the tv, before clearing his throat —
besides, either he heard it from someone else, or... that's all stated within the video with amami's voice, but it's never been anything the other has brought up with him. )
Saihara-kun mentioned it to me when he was explaining why he saved me after outing you and I to the rest of the GROUP.
( why he took the blow from rika, instead of letting it be. natsume thinks about fire and how bad it feels, how dangerous noah said it is to use, and decides he hasn't died the last three times he's used it. he'll be fine this time, too. )
( gifted juveniles? komaeda glances off to the side, a hand to his lip as he taps softly in thought. because of the killing game is why he saved them? he remembers the conversation the other had with monokuma, so to be aware of his presence is more than enough to explain so much. )
Hurry up, before I change my mind.
( as if komaeda isn't part of the problem to why there's despair in the first place. )
natsume hits play and will let it go until the buzzer sounds to keep amami from saying what the important thing is, the screen an angry red in front of them.
...the rest of it is something he isn't sure he wants to share just yet. )
That's the type of killing game that Amami-kun was before he came HERE. ( technically true, even without the extra school thing, he's guessing. ) Tell me about THEM. EveryTHING.
( he pays attention to every piece that he connect, watching amami speak of memories that he does have to the amami that doesn't have them — pre-recorded just for him per monokuma due to a special perk? that sounds about right, monokuma is kind at times, and stays true to giving certain things if someone actually deserves it. no different than komaeda obtaining the future foundation's black book after going through the final dead room —
yet to see that amami is part of monokuma's whims doesn't surprise him, because saihara knew, so it only means that despair has spread that far — komaeda, older than them both, says a lot too. a few years, and yet they also suffered through the same conflict that was raised around the world. )
...That's how all the killing games are, ( komaeda glances towards natsume, and since that's the question he posed, it's easy to answer ) the first started within Hope's Peak Academy... you have to understand the school, to understand the reason behind the killing games. Hope's Peak Academy is where privileged students are scouted depending on their field of expertise, the best of the best — ( he inhales, looking towards natsume with a smile as he wonders about where this video came from. )
Upon entry, their talents are cultivated, making them into Symbols of Hope! It's their talents that will inspire hope in the nation, in the world no less... and through that means, they will shape the future. ...There are some who attend to be set for life, that's what graduating Hope's Peak is capable of, but I hold a love for hope, so such simplicities as needing money or fame means less when Hope is what will mold your way of life. Can you understand how much weight hope holds when I tell you this, and now imagine... if you force talented students who will shape the future to take part in a killing game.
( he pauses, his voice low, serious as he stares at the other. his passion from before has disappeared, and he appears slightly irritated by the notion. )
What do you think happens?
how ive been sittin on this tag for a week bc ive been too tired.... forgive me for my sins
( what a terrible school; somehow yogen is better, only turning a blind eye to suffering, rather than forcing its students into death match after death match for the chance to cultivate "hope". he wonders if there was ever a time where it was a regular school, or if it's always been that way... )
They'd first try to find a way to get around murdering one anoTHER, but when given an incentive—good or bad—it's likely at least one of them would CAVE, either picking on someone weaker than them or striking when the opportunity arose to murder THEM.
( because most people will inherently not go straight to violence—most people are good. )
Isn't that what you refer to as "the stronger hope coming out on TOP," Nagito-kun?
its fine imagine having to ingest dr lore in one sitting again id go insane actually
Yep, it's different for how they all start, but the one before us, and the one after... it only took so long until Ultimates caved wanting to return to their old life... ( he sighs, shrugging after because those were the weaker set ) ...if a Symbol of Hope proceeds to kill, and it's broadcasted to the world... the Mastermind believes that the world would lose hope, but I know better —
( he always knows better when it comes to symbols of hope, which he admits as he continues. )
Great hope could never be debunked by despair, and so the killing game was just an attempt to do the impossible! The stronger hope comes out on top, and if one Ultimate killed another... one becomes a stepping stone, added to the foundation to strengthen the hope of another! Simple as that...
( he cants his head to the side, his lips pursed into a straight line, is it at the name or the fact that despair did swallow the world? )
If your school was forced into a game, how would the world outside of that school take the change? Would it crumble or can it survive?
cannot imagine playing a dr and needing to rmbr all this fr
( bad things happen every day, and the world still moves on. natural disasters, terrorism, revolution, the lambasting of those guilty not yet proven innocent.
but still it survives, and yet, he's gotten the feeling that how his world works and how komaeda's works might be a little different for all their similarities. if he puts something analogous, like "the united nations" or something like that, just as important as a bunch of kids who happen to be the best at what they do...
if it's just his school, though.
natsume hums, short and brief, thoughtful. )
The world would still continUE. Police would get inVOLVED, and there would still be people upset and grieVING, people trying to set things RIGHT... The victor might be looked at with piTY, for having to go through all THAT, and with resentment by those who lost children to their HANDS.
But one school's corruption will not lay the world to WASTE. Plenty of schools and students are torn apart across the WORLD, and while it's sad and distressing to SOME, it isn't catastrophic for the earth as a WHOLE.
me waking up from my small nap, writing this and then going back to sleep
...Your world doesn't have hope, Sakasaki-kun, or perhaps your group of students mean nothing. Where I come from, wiping hope from the face of the world allows despair to rise and take control! ( there's a bite to it, but not at natsume, no, but just at the fact of how disgusting despair can be. ) What are police when they're part of despair, killing people without meaning... there are children, but they've murdered their parents during an uprise...
( he frowns, looking off to the side as he admits to the danger of the world. though, who is he to forget something important — )
There's only a small group that can fight back, a group that symbolizes Hope at the start... ah, but that's not what this is about. Ultimates are a light to our world, without them, the world is completely cast into darkness... That's what happened when Hope's Peak Academy became the stomping ground for despair...
( he looks at natsume for a moment, grits his teeth annoyed, and parts his mouth before biting down on his tongue. he's a bit irritated, give him some time.
he sighs. )
As for "The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles", that must have been the school rebuilt in Hope Peak's image...
natsume like we shouldve gone to yumenosaki together so you could see what normalcy looks like
...The version of Earth you're from is incredibly messed UP.
( that's all he has at first, getting his initial thoughts out of the way before he chews through the rest. a world like that, where so much rests on the simple dichotomy of hope and despair...
his world isn't without hope, and he wouldn't say it's full of despair. it's more... apathy. the opposite of hope isn't despair, but apathy -- people who just no longer care, who accept what happens because they don't think they can change it. maybe that's a symptom of the despair komaeda clearly dislikes so much, but he can't think of his world and the people he knows and solely surrender them to the word.
...there is despair, but it's mixed with grief and loneliness, not just on its own. the cenotaph... )
Or maybe what you label entirely as "hope" and "despair" simply has many more names and shades to me and my WORLD. That's a possibiliTY. ( but it's a little unsurprising that komaeda is so off his rocker if things are concentrated down so much to just those two things, as if it were a fantasy adventure between good and evil.
a child's fairytale. ) RegardLESS, this school... was one Saihara-kun and a few others attended THEN. I suppose Amami-kun might be among that numBER.
( he glances at the screen, thinking, and wonders what would happen if he showed komaeda the rest.
would he respect him for winning once? or would he find disgust in amami wanting to play again?
he wonders.
but he doesn't hit play to continue. )
What happened to those who succeeded in killing their fellow stuDENTS? Did they ever fall into despair at losing those they cared FOR, or at the general loss of human LIFE? Or did they smile and treat it like YOU?
OMG UR RIGHTTTT next time we go to yumenosaki, show komaeda the truth behind idols
It is... those that lack talent are the majority, and the Ultimates are a small amount.
( that was one of the problems he had with his world, so again, it wasn't perfect, and that's why hope's peak academy stood — to continue helping those that were, and allowing hope to enrich the soil for stronger hope. )
People smiled, people lacked hope, people had hope... sensing hope isn't a talent among many, but I can tell... it comes off as an aura, and most of those where I come from... you had to be special, Hope's Peak Academy chose who entered within its doors, it's not like anyone could just waltz in...
( he laughs, that's how prestigious the school was, and he doesn't know how it works for natsume's own, but at this point, komaeda thinks they aren't as influential as his own school. hope's peak was rooted into the core of the world, is the core, practically kept the world spinning — )
It could, but you, and even your other half mentioned that your school went through a war... it's not unlike what I've seen, and hope won out... if it didn't, there'd be more names on that cenotaph... names that weren't from your school, names of people you would have never known. ( there was a different war waged, that's the type of power hope has over despair, but despair is meaningless because hope will still thrive and destroy it. that's why komaeda loves hope so much, a concept that is purely good, that can remove such a dark energy that tries to...
and it comes to him, a paper that he read, the final words that an unfortunate, talentless soul left, and he's sure she stumbled upon it: )
"It didn't take long before I realized it. I understood when I saw my coworker on the floor with his eyes ripped out. I understood it when I saw my boss with his intestines in his hands. I realized that this is pure insanity. But even though I know this, I still can't convince myself that this is real. In only 1 day. You'd think the world couldn't possibly turn completely on its head. You wouldn't think that the friends you're laughing with one moment could all be dead in another. Whatever happened to the "world" I lived in and the "common sense" I had believed in? Something like this... for kids to go around killing adults...
That sort of thing isn't supposed to happen..."
( he looks over to natsume, his expression almost bored, like he's read this one a thousand times... too many times, and he carries on like he's left it to natsume's imagination. a preview of just a smidgen of what their world went through. )
Amami-kun and Saihara-kun are roughly around the same age, if they attended Hope's Peak Academy in my year, I'd know them... Ouma-kun, Akamatsu-san... but they didn't.
( he pauses, and he leans back against a table as he thinks about natsume's words, mulls over them, it sounds like... monaca, when that child asked komaeda that despite him being part of despair, was he always like that about hope, or was it thanks to big sister junko's influence. that question revisits him a lot, in different forms and phrases, and between different people, and... )
Information regarding those people are private, considering you're asking for more than one because of a video... but if you're interested... you have an idea of what you should do to make me speak.
( komaeda won't say it aloud, but he doesn't look towards the tv either. he hints it though because of the trade off, but the question natsume asked is private... it involves himself, and others, and that's a different sort of hell to sort through. )
Don't mention this video to Amami-kun, ( he says, turning back to the tv as komaeda's words swim in his mind. maybe it's his own failing that he can't paint things so black and white the way komaeda does, but maybe it's because he was a victim, too. ) I'd like to talk to him FIRST, since it came into my posseSSION.
( he presses play, and the rantarou amami on the screen continues until the video ends. )
( his eyes light up brightly, there's a skip in his heart, and it's so loud that it echoes in his head, to his ears, but maybe that's a headache coming to get him. ultimate survivor? now that's a talent he's never heard about, and he's one who searched and read about every hope's peak academy student during his stay, but this is vastly different — it's not common like saihara's, nor was anything like that within the black book of the future foundation. )
I knew! I knew his talent was beautiful, his talent outlasts the lives of so many!? To think that he would have something so...
( his breath hitches, truly, he can't contain his excitement as he listened to the video, not too much caring for the rest of the video, and zooming on the one thing that stands out. natsume can pull him back to reality at any time, but reality is now taking a different shape as he proceeds to hug himself, eyes downcast, and a bit of saliva slipping from the corner of his mouth. )
...Who knew he could have a reckless talent, one that could trump the entirety of this school.
( even rokkun would be no match if his goal was to survive until the school year, oh, oh, that would make so much sense why the counselor had found amami so... favorable. komaeda's nails dig into the fabric of his jacket which encourages him more than calms him down. )
Amami Rantarou-kun, the Ultimate Survivor blessed with a perk... ahh... AHHH!!! We really are lucky to be in his presence, if he chooses who lives and who dies, as long as you're underneath his umbrella, even those who lack talent can make it! I could feel the hope that wafted off him for the longest, no wonder it was so strong, no wonder that type of path he's chosen to take goes that route... ( his voice lowers, and now komaeda's walking to the other side of the room. ) A miraculous gift hidden in plain view, what luck... what luck... ~
( .......ah yes, komaeda as ever. natsume rests his chin in his hand, watching the other with a mix of exasperation and contempt, and when he thinks he's finally done— )
And you love him despite the fact his wish for winning his killing game was to ask for anoTHER? The very same one that Saihara-kun was put THROUGH? Maybe ( his voice lowers, straightening up, ) he's been playing us all this whole TIME, hiding his taLENT. Maybe he's the reason Saihara-kun was here at ALL, given our lifeless staTUS.
( ... )
But I guess that just means Saihara-kun's hope wasn't really that great after ALL. How SAD. ( he's taking his vidcdeo out now, slipping it back into his bag. his terrible material. ) And when you thought so well of him TOO...
( love is... a sensitive subject, as someone like komaeda who loves every ultimate in existence, yes, he still does love amami despite those faults, but as he thinks on the tape aside from his talent, to hear saihara's name mentioned, the hopegasming comes to an end. he swallows down the saliva in his throat, the flustered expression dying down as he looks at natsume. )
...Is that what you think?
( komaeda has a nasty behavior, but to think that amami is why saihara is here, killed him to have stronger hope, and then was killed along the way? it's difficult to explain how komaeda feels, love is... such a concept that clouds anyone's eyes depending on how they feel for another. )
I loved Saihara-kun. ( he starts. ) The Ultimate Detective... I felt as if his greatness was covered in the filth of those around him, dampening his light, and he drowned to the bottom like the rest, but you have no business commenting on that. You were part of his ascent to greater heights. I wonder does it hurt you to say that about him, Sakasaki-kun.
( as for amami, however, komaeda leans against the table, and this is where his smile dims itself. amami rantarou, the ultimate survivor, that such of responsibility, that hope is stronger than most. living, succeeding, but it can be written in so many ways — did he kill his way, or was he a coward who stayed in the shadows to survive. )
...I also love Amami-kun, and yet if he has connections to the killing games, that would make him...? No... I don't feel... ( despair... he mumbles, hand to his chin as he turns away from natsume to turn back around, pacing in thought. his heart skips a beat, but there's a part of him that hurts too... he feels a sickness in his stomach, and a small pain in the back of his head; maybe a migraine, maybe he's thinking too much. his smile flashes briefly in his thought, trusting, warm, and now he's seen some truth, some information that he has to hold onto.
there's a part where he's hesitant, unsure about these recent developments because he doesn't know whether to cry in joy, or wonder if something is wrong with his senses. but... did enoshima have a successor? )
( of course it hurts to speak ill of shuichi; he respected him, found him one of his peers. a good person to talk to, a selfish and kind character. to hear komaeda loved him--unsurprising. to hear he loves amami--also unsurprising.
they're both ultimates. )
So he killed whoever that WAS. Good for HIM. That doesn't erase the fact he decided he wanted to play aGAIN. ( which... which doesn't settle with natsume, at all.
given the chance, wouldn't you just divorce yourself from the experience? why go again, with the hopes of ending it quicker than the last? ...he's suspicious, but natsume understands people aren't completely black and white either. maybe there was some kind of agreement amami had. or maybe amami's an asshole, soft-spoken and kind-seeming but willing to ruin lives for the sake of "something better"--which isn't something natsume completely disagrees with, but the method, there, is the problem, always has been, whether it's people he knows from here like komaeda or people he remembers from home like eichi.
the only one who knows the answer to that query, though,
would be the man himself. natsume zips his bag up, pressing his lips together briefly before he turns back to komaeda. ) Why would anyone want THAT, Nagito-kun? Especially if they were simply planning on ending it almost immediately anyway--it doesn't sound like Amami-kun was hoping to help anyone's hope GROW.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
umm the 11th so amamikun can be gone
( assuming the tv has been moved back here. natsume sits on a desk, palms flat on the top of it and fingers tight at its edge as he leans back. there's a notebook on his lap, little notes in new and old ink; things he remembers from shuichi, things he's connected from komaeda, things he's hearing from the video in front of him.
he jumps to turn the television off when he hears the turn of a knob, the click of the lock, notebook tumbling noisily from his lap in the quiet; he turns to see who it is, and )
...Nagito-kun. What a surPRISE.
NOT US SCHEMING AS HES GONE
( he looks around, searching for a specific person which happens to be... amami! no matter how many times he looks in the room, he doesn't see him, but he knows what he heard. looking over to the tv, and then towards the corner of the room, he tries to find where the other could be. he checks under a few tables, and then he looks behind curtain, and then he looks around natsume as he hums in thought. he heard him, but he didn't feel him which is the most alarming thing about this. )
...Sakasaki-kun, I didn't see you there.
( he didn't, it's really hard to focus when he's like this. ) You heard him too, right?
its how we win
Heard WHO? ( feigning obliviousness, turning back to the tv so he can sneak the video out. ) It's just me in HERE.
im sorry for this tag
( aha! that said, komaeda's turning towards natsume, more at the sound that a video cassette thing makes when someone is trying to remove a tap — the klplut schhh, whatever. anyway, he's going to move forward natsume so he's pressed against the other's back, reaching forward to push his hand against natsume's so that the video can slip back in slow and perfectly! )
Did you need help angling it a little? I've had lots of opportunities at this, so I'm talented in that field, trust me!
ARE YOU
I was just taking it out, actualLY. I'm finished watching for toDAY.
STOP I AM
Is that where his voice came from? You can push it back in, it's not that hard! I want to hear Amami-kun, too.
YOU'RE NOT
You're not allowed TO, it was something private— ( but back in it goes, and natsume grits his teeth. draws a deep breath in. then moves his hands to loop back around komaeda's neck, tilting his head back. don't touch his neck he will murder you. ) I'll let you watch it under one condiTION, Nagito-kun. Do you aGREE?
( he knows komaeda's hard to stop anyway, so this is his compromise. )
WHY DO U REJECT ME
was?
not is? what does that mean, now he's really interested, but the black that shows up on the tv first is like the point of no return, and he hums softly as he blows air into the others ear??? or his neck!! whichever is close. )
...What is it?
love.... out of love.
natsume ignores the blowing, quiet, and finally moves away, shaking off komaeda to do so. )
Tell me everything you know about the killing GAME... The killing GAMES, since I'm fully aware there was more than ONE. ( he hits pause on the video so he can rewind it first, stopping at the start of it proper. ) And if you know anything about The Ultimate Academy for Gifted JuveNILES, or why those with "Ultimate Talents" would be brought into such a sadistic GAME, I'd appreciate that as WELL.
( a beat, and )
If you don't agree then I'll just destroy this tape right here, right NOW. So you don't really have a CHOICE, Nagito-kun.
youre attacking me like a wild animal do you see the second pair of eyes
( is he being threatened? first of all, no one threatens komaeda, but second of all.. only half of that rings a bell — ultimate academy for gifted what? he's never heard the term used, but it doesn't show on his face as he stands back with his arms crossed, watching the other as he wonders where he got information like this. some of the ultimates here have mentioned the killing game — ishimaru for one, but his knowledge would have the same information that komaeda has when it comes to that, and there was no information about that in the future foundation's black book, and it wasn't information that he had during his despair days... that specific title of a school. )
Who did you hear that from?
( he knows it wouldn't be a secret, but out of all the ultimates, who decided to disclose that sort of information to someone who wouldn't properly understand it? komaeda isn't mad, nor is he disappointed, he just wants to know who thought so, or rather, did all that information come from the tape? he glances over at the tv, before clearing his throat —
besides, either he heard it from someone else, or... that's all stated within the video with amami's voice, but it's never been anything the other has brought up with him. )
crying i am NOT youre the one attacking ME
( why he took the blow from rika, instead of letting it be. natsume thinks about fire and how bad it feels, how dangerous noah said it is to use, and decides he hasn't died the last three times he's used it. he'll be fine this time, too. )
Do you agree or NOT?
LOOK AT U SMACKING ME AROUND
( gifted juveniles? komaeda glances off to the side, a hand to his lip as he taps softly in thought. because of the killing game is why he saved them? he remembers the conversation the other had with monokuma, so to be aware of his presence is more than enough to explain so much. )
Hurry up, before I change my mind.
( as if komaeda isn't part of the problem to why there's despair in the first place. )
EXCUSE ME???
good.
natsume hits play and will let it go until the buzzer sounds to keep amami from saying what the important thing is, the screen an angry red in front of them.
...the rest of it is something he isn't sure he wants to share just yet. )
That's the type of killing game that Amami-kun was before he came HERE. ( technically true, even without the extra school thing, he's guessing. ) Tell me about THEM. EveryTHING.
YOURE EXCUSED?
yet to see that amami is part of monokuma's whims doesn't surprise him, because saihara knew, so it only means that despair has spread that far — komaeda, older than them both, says a lot too. a few years, and yet they also suffered through the same conflict that was raised around the world. )
...That's how all the killing games are, ( komaeda glances towards natsume, and since that's the question he posed, it's easy to answer ) the first started within Hope's Peak Academy... you have to understand the school, to understand the reason behind the killing games. Hope's Peak Academy is where privileged students are scouted depending on their field of expertise, the best of the best — ( he inhales, looking towards natsume with a smile as he wonders about where this video came from. )
Upon entry, their talents are cultivated, making them into Symbols of Hope! It's their talents that will inspire hope in the nation, in the world no less... and through that means, they will shape the future. ...There are some who attend to be set for life, that's what graduating Hope's Peak is capable of, but I hold a love for hope, so such simplicities as needing money or fame means less when Hope is what will mold your way of life. Can you understand how much weight hope holds when I tell you this, and now imagine... if you force talented students who will shape the future to take part in a killing game.
( he pauses, his voice low, serious as he stares at the other. his passion from before has disappeared, and he appears slightly irritated by the notion. )
What do you think happens?
how ive been sittin on this tag for a week bc ive been too tired.... forgive me for my sins
They'd first try to find a way to get around murdering one anoTHER, but when given an incentive—good or bad—it's likely at least one of them would CAVE, either picking on someone weaker than them or striking when the opportunity arose to murder THEM.
( because most people will inherently not go straight to violence—most people are good. )
Isn't that what you refer to as "the stronger hope coming out on TOP," Nagito-kun?
its fine imagine having to ingest dr lore in one sitting again id go insane actually
( he always knows better when it comes to symbols of hope, which he admits as he continues. )
Great hope could never be debunked by despair, and so the killing game was just an attempt to do the impossible! The stronger hope comes out on top, and if one Ultimate killed another... one becomes a stepping stone, added to the foundation to strengthen the hope of another! Simple as that...
( he cants his head to the side, his lips pursed into a straight line, is it at the name or the fact that despair did swallow the world? )
If your school was forced into a game, how would the world outside of that school take the change? Would it crumble or can it survive?
cannot imagine playing a dr and needing to rmbr all this fr
but still it survives, and yet, he's gotten the feeling that how his world works and how komaeda's works might be a little different for all their similarities. if he puts something analogous, like "the united nations" or something like that, just as important as a bunch of kids who happen to be the best at what they do...
if it's just his school, though.
natsume hums, short and brief, thoughtful. )
The world would still continUE. Police would get inVOLVED, and there would still be people upset and grieVING, people trying to set things RIGHT... The victor might be looked at with piTY, for having to go through all THAT, and with resentment by those who lost children to their HANDS.
But one school's corruption will not lay the world to WASTE. Plenty of schools and students are torn apart across the WORLD, and while it's sad and distressing to SOME, it isn't catastrophic for the earth as a WHOLE.
me waking up from my small nap, writing this and then going back to sleep
( he frowns, looking off to the side as he admits to the danger of the world. though, who is he to forget something important — )
There's only a small group that can fight back, a group that symbolizes Hope at the start... ah, but that's not what this is about. Ultimates are a light to our world, without them, the world is completely cast into darkness... That's what happened when Hope's Peak Academy became the stomping ground for despair...
( he looks at natsume for a moment, grits his teeth annoyed, and parts his mouth before biting down on his tongue. he's a bit irritated, give him some time.
he sighs. )
As for "The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles", that must have been the school rebuilt in Hope Peak's image...
natsume like we shouldve gone to yumenosaki together so you could see what normalcy looks like
( that's all he has at first, getting his initial thoughts out of the way before he chews through the rest. a world like that, where so much rests on the simple dichotomy of hope and despair...
his world isn't without hope, and he wouldn't say it's full of despair. it's more... apathy. the opposite of hope isn't despair, but apathy -- people who just no longer care, who accept what happens because they don't think they can change it. maybe that's a symptom of the despair komaeda clearly dislikes so much, but he can't think of his world and the people he knows and solely surrender them to the word.
...there is despair, but it's mixed with grief and loneliness, not just on its own. the cenotaph... )
Or maybe what you label entirely as "hope" and "despair" simply has many more names and shades to me and my WORLD. That's a possibiliTY. ( but it's a little unsurprising that komaeda is so off his rocker if things are concentrated down so much to just those two things, as if it were a fantasy adventure between good and evil.
a child's fairytale. ) RegardLESS, this school... was one Saihara-kun and a few others attended THEN. I suppose Amami-kun might be among that numBER.
( he glances at the screen, thinking, and wonders what would happen if he showed komaeda the rest.
would he respect him for winning once? or would he find disgust in amami wanting to play again?
he wonders.
but he doesn't hit play to continue. )
What happened to those who succeeded in killing their fellow stuDENTS? Did they ever fall into despair at losing those they cared FOR, or at the general loss of human LIFE? Or did they smile and treat it like YOU?
OMG UR RIGHTTTT next time we go to yumenosaki, show komaeda the truth behind idols
( that was one of the problems he had with his world, so again, it wasn't perfect, and that's why hope's peak academy stood — to continue helping those that were, and allowing hope to enrich the soil for stronger hope. )
People smiled, people lacked hope, people had hope... sensing hope isn't a talent among many, but I can tell... it comes off as an aura, and most of those where I come from... you had to be special, Hope's Peak Academy chose who entered within its doors, it's not like anyone could just waltz in...
( he laughs, that's how prestigious the school was, and he doesn't know how it works for natsume's own, but at this point, komaeda thinks they aren't as influential as his own school. hope's peak was rooted into the core of the world, is the core, practically kept the world spinning — )
It could, but you, and even your other half mentioned that your school went through a war... it's not unlike what I've seen, and hope won out... if it didn't, there'd be more names on that cenotaph... names that weren't from your school, names of people you would have never known. ( there was a different war waged, that's the type of power hope has over despair, but despair is meaningless because hope will still thrive and destroy it. that's why komaeda loves hope so much, a concept that is purely good, that can remove such a dark energy that tries to...
and it comes to him, a paper that he read, the final words that an unfortunate, talentless soul left, and he's sure she stumbled upon it: )
"It didn't take long before I realized it. I understood when I saw my coworker on the floor with his eyes ripped out. I understood it when I saw my boss with his intestines in his hands. I realized that this is pure insanity. But even though I know this, I still can't convince myself that this is real. In only 1 day. You'd think the world couldn't possibly turn completely on its head. You wouldn't think that the friends you're laughing with one moment could all be dead in another. Whatever happened to the "world" I lived in and the "common sense" I had believed in? Something like this... for kids to go around killing adults...
That sort of thing isn't supposed to happen..."
( he looks over to natsume, his expression almost bored, like he's read this one a thousand times... too many times, and he carries on like he's left it to natsume's imagination. a preview of just a smidgen of what their world went through. )
Amami-kun and Saihara-kun are roughly around the same age, if they attended Hope's Peak Academy in my year, I'd know them... Ouma-kun, Akamatsu-san... but they didn't.
( he pauses, and he leans back against a table as he thinks about natsume's words, mulls over them, it sounds like... monaca, when that child asked komaeda that despite him being part of despair, was he always like that about hope, or was it thanks to big sister junko's influence. that question revisits him a lot, in different forms and phrases, and between different people, and... )
Information regarding those people are private, considering you're asking for more than one because of a video... but if you're interested... you have an idea of what you should do to make me speak.
( komaeda won't say it aloud, but he doesn't look towards the tv either. he hints it though because of the trade off, but the question natsume asked is private... it involves himself, and others, and that's a different sort of hell to sort through. )
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Don't mention this video to Amami-kun, ( he says, turning back to the tv as komaeda's words swim in his mind. maybe it's his own failing that he can't paint things so black and white the way komaeda does, but maybe it's because he was a victim, too. ) I'd like to talk to him FIRST, since it came into my posseSSION.
( he presses play, and the rantarou amami on the screen continues until the video ends. )
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I knew! I knew his talent was beautiful, his talent outlasts the lives of so many!? To think that he would have something so...
( his breath hitches, truly, he can't contain his excitement as he listened to the video, not too much caring for the rest of the video, and zooming on the one thing that stands out. natsume can pull him back to reality at any time, but reality is now taking a different shape as he proceeds to hug himself, eyes downcast, and a bit of saliva slipping from the corner of his mouth. )
...Who knew he could have a reckless talent, one that could trump the entirety of this school.
( even rokkun would be no match if his goal was to survive until the school year, oh, oh, that would make so much sense why the counselor had found amami so... favorable. komaeda's nails dig into the fabric of his jacket which encourages him more than calms him down. )
Amami Rantarou-kun, the Ultimate Survivor blessed with a perk... ahh... AHHH!!! We really are lucky to be in his presence, if he chooses who lives and who dies, as long as you're underneath his umbrella, even those who lack talent can make it! I could feel the hope that wafted off him for the longest, no wonder it was so strong, no wonder that type of path he's chosen to take goes that route... ( his voice lowers, and now komaeda's walking to the other side of the room. ) A miraculous gift hidden in plain view, what luck... what luck... ~
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And you love him despite the fact his wish for winning his killing game was to ask for anoTHER? The very same one that Saihara-kun was put THROUGH? Maybe ( his voice lowers, straightening up, ) he's been playing us all this whole TIME, hiding his taLENT. Maybe he's the reason Saihara-kun was here at ALL, given our lifeless staTUS.
( ... )
But I guess that just means Saihara-kun's hope wasn't really that great after ALL. How SAD. ( he's taking his vidcdeo out now, slipping it back into his bag. his terrible material. ) And when you thought so well of him TOO...
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( love is... a sensitive subject, as someone like komaeda who loves every ultimate in existence, yes, he still does love amami despite those faults, but as he thinks on the tape aside from his talent, to hear saihara's name mentioned, the hopegasming comes to an end. he swallows down the saliva in his throat, the flustered expression dying down as he looks at natsume. )
...Is that what you think?
( komaeda has a nasty behavior, but to think that amami is why saihara is here, killed him to have stronger hope, and then was killed along the way? it's difficult to explain how komaeda feels, love is... such a concept that clouds anyone's eyes depending on how they feel for another. )
I loved Saihara-kun. ( he starts. ) The Ultimate Detective... I felt as if his greatness was covered in the filth of those around him, dampening his light, and he drowned to the bottom like the rest, but you have no business commenting on that. You were part of his ascent to greater heights. I wonder does it hurt you to say that about him, Sakasaki-kun.
( as for amami, however, komaeda leans against the table, and this is where his smile dims itself. amami rantarou, the ultimate survivor, that such of responsibility, that hope is stronger than most. living, succeeding, but it can be written in so many ways — did he kill his way, or was he a coward who stayed in the shadows to survive. )
...I also love Amami-kun, and yet if he has connections to the killing games, that would make him...? No... I don't feel... ( despair... he mumbles, hand to his chin as he turns away from natsume to turn back around, pacing in thought. his heart skips a beat, but there's a part of him that hurts too... he feels a sickness in his stomach, and a small pain in the back of his head; maybe a migraine, maybe he's thinking too much. his smile flashes briefly in his thought, trusting, warm, and now he's seen some truth, some information that he has to hold onto.
there's a part where he's hesitant, unsure about these recent developments because he doesn't know whether to cry in joy, or wonder if something is wrong with his senses. but... did enoshima have a successor? )
...If you kill the Mastermind, you win the game.
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they're both ultimates. )
So he killed whoever that WAS. Good for HIM. That doesn't erase the fact he decided he wanted to play aGAIN. ( which... which doesn't settle with natsume, at all.
given the chance, wouldn't you just divorce yourself from the experience? why go again, with the hopes of ending it quicker than the last? ...he's suspicious, but natsume understands people aren't completely black and white either. maybe there was some kind of agreement amami had. or maybe amami's an asshole, soft-spoken and kind-seeming but willing to ruin lives for the sake of "something better"--which isn't something natsume completely disagrees with, but the method, there, is the problem, always has been, whether it's people he knows from here like komaeda or people he remembers from home like eichi.
the only one who knows the answer to that query, though,
would be the man himself. natsume zips his bag up, pressing his lips together briefly before he turns back to komaeda. ) Why would anyone want THAT, Nagito-kun? Especially if they were simply planning on ending it almost immediately anyway--it doesn't sound like Amami-kun was hoping to help anyone's hope GROW.
( ... )
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