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Chapter 81: 7/13-7/17: Weaponized Cringe (New)
Anon: omg they got the mafia lol
Early Morning
Music: Beneath the Mask (Instrumental Version)
I just heard this, but apparently we’re havin’ a summer festival soon! I heard there’s gonna be shit like kebabs, steaks… The hot stuff! Dude, I am so PUMPED!
Well, duh! What else would you want?
Oh man, now I’m hungry. Let’s get going already!
Anon: What’s Akechi-kun saying?
Anon: omg they got the mafia lol
Anon: They’re surely in the right.
Anon: YES! take em down a notch
Anon: so it wasn’t a joke omg lol
So what if she’s an honor student? Why should she get special treatment?
Results are what matter, you know?
I heard the Phantom Thieves might be from our school!
That can’t be true. It’d be funny if it was though…
Early Morning → Morning
Music: Life Goes On
Took me a stupid amount of time to realize that the answer means the sum of angles B and E, not each individually.
That sounds about right.
This looks tough, but let’s calm down and think it through.
Ugh. Baozi, in this hot weather…? Well, never mind. I think this came up in class. They were invented by that famous guy from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, right?
Yeah. The strategist of Shu. I think the story was about a river overflowing somewhere Zhuge Liang visited. And they were offering something to quell the river…
That’s it. A crazy story… And that’s how he came up with the baozi, right? This master strategist came up with the baozi to…
Yeah. I think you’re right. The baozi were invented as an offering to a river spirit, to replace the tradition of offering severed heads!
Anon: I knew it!!!
Morning
That sounds about right.
That sounds about right.
Anon: This is fun, so yeah!
Morning
That sounds about right.
That sounds about right.
Anon: fight justice w/ justice
Morning
You’ve seen all these before. You’ve got this, all right? …… This is looking good. Looking forward to seeing your score.
How are you seeing how well he’s doing from down there?
Morning → After School
Music: Alright (Elp Version)
I probably could’ve managed if I had an extra week, too…
(Gossipy Female Student) An extra week, huh? The only people who get that kinda cushy treatment are the honor students.
Oh, you mean like Yoshizawa-san?
Congrats on surviving finals. Today was the last day, right? Say, would you happen to have some free time right now? There’s something I’d like to discuss—I promise it’ll just take a moment.
Touché… Please, though. I’ve been looking forward to chatting with you.
*nod*
Thanks! I know you’re exhausted, so I’ll make this quick.
Music: Ideal and the Real
I just know my electric bill’s going to start climbing this month…
Just gonna repeat that hi-larious joke, Maaku. I’m sure it’ll get a laugh this time.
Well, I suppose that’s actually accurate.
Damn, no dice!
*nod*
Oh—this is all hypothetical, mind you, but imagine there’s somebody for whom you have high expectations. They’re trying their hardest to meet those expectations. Now, this person receives an awful lot of special treatment from people so they can perform to the best of their abilities.
And this hypothetical student is named… Shmoshizawa. Genius, Maruki. They’ll never figure it out.
So, what do you think those people will do if the expectations leveled on this person aren’t met?
Yep, that’s definitely true. When you work as a counselor… You always think, “I have to help this person so their heart doesn’t break,” but… that’s easier said than done. This world really is a callous one. No matter how much positivity or dedication a person has… Just a bit of influence from their peers can easily mess with their heads. Every time I’m confronted with such a situation, I can’t help but grasp the limitations of therapy as a profession.
Jeez, maybe Maaku wasn’t joking about being the counselor after all.
Oh, I’m not sick of this job or anything like that—don’t worry.
What I meant was, if we want to truly help people stuck in a predicament like that, we need a fundamental solution.
Hmm… Nothing really comes to mind at the moment.
Maybe have them shift our feelings so we won’t lose to this unfair reality? It would ultimately be for the positive.
Well, I can’t deny that. Plus it’s a bit different from changing our hearts, now that I think about it. Sorry, I was just thinking out loud.
And enjoy your vacation!
*nod*
No Confidant rank for you, fuck off.
Music: Tokyo Daylight
I can get back to actually sleepin’ in peace…
Huh. You must have been studying pretty hard if it kept you up at night.
Nah, I was up playin’ video games. Slackin’ off is just too much fun…
I know, right!? I kept cleaning my room instead of studying! It might even be TOO clean now…
You two are perfect exemplars of what escapism can mean.
*sigh* And I can only imagine what the end result will be.
Nothing I could write into the characters’ mouths would capture the essence of this scene better than that canon interaction. Anyway, this scene is otherwise pretty superfluous.
We’re super popular now, huh?
People seem to be eagerly anticipating our next target.
But for now, we can just relax and have that celebration at the festival tomorrow!
After School → Evening
Music: Beneath the Mask -Rain-
If you’re heading outside, be prepared for sudden changes in the weather.
Unfortunately, we cannot go downstairs tonight, or indeed do literally anything besides sleep. They had to throw in at least one of the old classic “cat makes you go to bed” moments, I see. Though, the really insulting part is that this was actually a free night in the vanilla game!
You remember, the one I told you about?
Aw, c’mon! The whole thing with the kebabs.
So, you wanna go?
Hell yeah! I knew you’d be down!
“Down to chow” is a good turn of phrase. I approve.
…I diiiid just remember they said it might rain tomorrow, though.
Sheesh, all worked up over a silly little festival… full of food… of all kinds… Well, I suppose you deserve to enjoy yourself, but be sure to keep a low profile, all right?
*nod*
Oh—and, uh, no sleeping in, got it? I’m gonna skip breakfast for this.
GAH TOO BRIGHT
Anon: i cant accept it so easy
Daytime
Music: Wicked Plan
Mm…
Kinda seems like he’s going to eat you, honestly.
Ryuji—I have a favor to ask.
A favor? Sure, you need some money for food or somethi—
Not this time. I’ve actually been mulling over a new battle tactic for a while now… And I’d like for you to lend a hand in bringing my idea to fruition.
Ooh, a new move… That sounds badass! I totally want in!
Well, it’s merely a rough idea at this point, but…
Yusuke explains his idea offscreen.
What do you think?
Wasn’t that like… way more detailed than some rough idea?
Ha—I don’t deserve such praise. I would merely prefer to add a splash of beauty to an otherwise barbaric battlefield, so to speak.
Sick! So, all we gotta do now is see how the Star reacts to your idea, right?
We should consult Jose about this soon. However, I can feel my appetite growing after describing my idea…
…Same here.
Music: Alright
It’s as if we’re walking around in an enormous sauna…
Whose bright idea was it to come here?
With that, let’s move right into asking some of the visitors here for their comments!
A TV crew, eh…?
We should grab our kebabs and get outta here.
WAH WAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! Who ever could have expected this turn of events!?
Hey, is she talking about us?
What the—
What do we do, Maaku?
That would just make us appear even more suspicious.
You know, you’re no fun, Yusuke.
Oh, this should be good.
Ah, anyway… Since you’re here for the festival, does that mean you and your friends there are meat lovers?
Yes, exactly, they named a pizza after us.
Uh…
*looks over at producer*
*shakes head*
Wake up babe new reaction image just dropped
I’m pretty sure she thought that would be a broadcast disaster. We oughta be okay.
That scene of Ryuji trying to avert attention through expert deployment of cringe was pretty goddamn funny, not gonna lie.
More important than that, though: it’s time to get some MEAT!
Oh, right! My kebab!
Standing around in this sweltering heat was rather trying.
Yusuke, you’re wearing long sleeves. You have no one to blame for this but yourself. And Shigenori Soejima, I guess.
And almost all the good stuff was already sold out…
I didn’t even eat breakfast this morning. I’m starting to get lightheaded…
Even still, an occasion like this seems to make everything taste delicious… How mysterious.
That’s pretty poetic, dude.
Oh, were we not still doing the cringe thing? My bad.
I heard they’re building some kinda huge-ass stadium or somethin’ nearby. Wait, was that what it was?
You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?
A stadium… Well, such buildings often have intriguing architecture—I’d love to see it for personal reference.
Yeah? Then, c’mon, let’s go.
They barely even started?
We seem to be premature spectators.
I guess this is what people call “jumpin’ the gum.”
Jumping the gun.
There ain’t nothin’ to do here—you wanna go grab a bite somewhere?
Sorry, I’m considering picking up more art supplies. I have a summer assignment to work on.
That makes me sad, Yusuke.
Yes, catch you later.
Same here. I needed to give myself a pep talk.
Although, that doesn’t really answer your question, does it?
Music: Break it Down (Elp Version)
In all honesty, I’d like to keep going… but any more will end up harming my performance.
I’ve been feeling like I’m getting back into the natural flow of things, thanks to you, Hamiru-senpai… But when the moment of truth arrived, my body still wouldn’t move the way that I wanted it to…
I think… that’s a big factor. Something similar happened to me in middle school—but back then, I had someone by my side that kept me going…
Music: Alleycat
We promised each other that we’d win international gymnastics competitions together…
I promised her we’d take the gold for our routines across the world… But I can’t stop worrying about my lack of improvement lately. I’ve really been throwing myself into practice, but I wonder if even that won’t be enough…
Two of these options sound really condescending!
You’re right—it’s just getting started!
Okay! No more brooding! There are still more meets left this year. I’m going to start from scratch and train as hard as I can.
*nod*
Thank you so much for listening to all that! Now I feel like I’ve been recharged, mind, body, and spirit—
The best way to stave off hunger is with some vigorous activity! I’m going to jog home—take care!
Wait, you exercise to become *less* hungry? That doesn’t sound right… Then again, what would I know? I’m very out of shape.
Anon: No way. Why’re they hiding?
Anon: jokes on the cops! lmao
Anon: hey thieves, can u see this?
Anon: ok maybe if they do 1 more
Anon: fight justice w/ justice
They only go after bad guys, right? We have nothing to be worried about…
Apparently if you post a request on the forum, they’ll do what you say!
If they’re taking out bad guys, it’s fine by me! Keep it up!
Why do we even need the police anymore?
Good question!