Important notice regarding this blog! Please read through before interacting with me so we can avoid conflict and all have a very fun time! You'll find my normal intro here.
What you can do:
Share anything Milgram related you think I would like! (Analysis and art of my favs are always welcome, posts defending Milgram's writing also welcome etc... I have a strong preference for seeing the more positive side of the fandom)
Request Milgram related art! (It's allowed but I won't say I'm very diligent with that. I've got requests sitting in my inbox for months... I'm far more likely to fulfil requests involving Fuuta, Amane, Muu, Yuno and Es.)
Suggest something for my weekly Fuuta polls! (I'm going with a more 0308 theme at the moment.)
Ask me about any of my AUs--Puppet Strings in particular but also if you're intrigued by any of the art I posted at any point, feel free to ask.
What you shouldn't do:
Send hate to my inbox. This is a general boundary I'm going to set. Using comments, reblogs, vague posting or any other way to be hurtful will not be tolerated. (A year ago I would not have thought this would be necessary but apparently it is.)
Criticize Milgram (whether its the writing or the characters) in places I can't avoid easily (comments, reblogs, inbox etc). I do not think Milgram or the characters are flawless but I don't want to be jump scared by things I may find upsetting. (This rule will not be as applicable to mutuals I talk to frequently because I think you probably know where my boundaries are.)
Bash Amane. This is technically part of the point above. But I wanted to make this extra clear. It is immature loser behavior to go out of your way to bash Amane on my posts or in my inbox. (And its not the good kind of loser)
Under the cut I will be going through what I will be doing with this blog moving forward. (At the very least during Amane's trial.)
I will:
Post 'Forgive Amane' propaganda art!
Continue to post my usual stuff (non-propaganda art, things related to writing, my AUs and WIPs, silly polls, friend shenanigans... I will still post 'opinionated posts' about silly things like my crash out out over a cute minigram.)
Possibly post analysis if I feel like it (but with a neutral tone as much as possible)...
Give a heads up if/when I break my own rules for myself (see below)
I will not (or try not to):
Post about strong personal opinions. (Meaning anything strictly opinionated as in 'likes' and 'dislikes', or comment on the morality of a character. This is for myself to avoid oversharing and avoid feeling personally attacked in case of disagreement.)
Talk about controversial topics or participate in any voting discourse (Maybe this contradicts how I will post forgive Amane art. But I mean, I won't stop drawing or writing things that portray her in a fair and/or positive light. I only mean I won't be arguing people about voting--not that I think I really did that anyway)
For those who are familiar with this blog, you'll know that I am a Fuuta fanatic. But even for his trial I didn't set boundaries like this and yet I'm drawing the line for Amane. I hope that you understand that I really really need these boundaries to be respected. There are themes in her case which are sore spots for me but as long as you adhere to my boundaries when interacting with me, we will be able to have a fun time, thank you for your understanding.
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considering Amane's original speech abt how Es seems 'lost' and how she can guide them.
I like your brain, anon. I want to put Es in a cute little outfit with an eyepatch like Fuuta's. I'm sorry whaaat?? I didn't say anything.
Not sure if you're asking about genuinely converted into becoming a faithful believer Es or Fuuta style of "indoctrinated" into a bad follower Es?
I'm thinking more of the latter. Truth be told, I don't think Amane can convert Es into a genuinely faithful believer. It's not to say Es can't be indoctrinated (in general). It's just that Amane probably can't do it. It'd be an uphill battle, considering the circumstance and her motive--helping people.
Amane's charismatic, she inspires confidence. But she's definitely not manipulative, and she's also missing a lot of the elements that is involved with brainwashing. Plus, she's not trying to brainwash them to exploit them like a true cult leader does, she just wants to help.
Warning for under the cut: Discussion about cults and methods used to brainwash and control people
Milgram's actually quite small and the religion only consists of Amane and Fuuta. That means she can't just cut off Es' other connections and make them join a group where they develop a collective submissive identity. For starters, Fuuta's a terrible follower from what we know now. Secondly, Es may be extra wary of jumping from having one 'collective identity' to another. Though, you can argue that Es lacking individual identity could actually help to genuinely convert them.
But there's also things like, Es isn't financially dependent on the faith, it's actually free to join Amane's faith, unlike the cult. That would help lower the stakes of Es needing to believe.
Amane likely doesn't have a full understanding as to why certain things are done e.g. repetitive chanting, sleep deprivation, restricted diet other than the faith-based explanation (if you dunno, its done to lower critical thinking and make controlling people easier). She can emulate some of these practices without actually knowing the true reason behind and if she does know the reason for every rule/practice, it doesn't mean she would copy all of that. After all, she's making a new religion of her own to save people and to make sure people won't break the rules anymore, not because of personal gain.
Es' emotional vulnerability would have to be like an MVP among the factors for genuine conversion but even then... The time they interact with Amane isn't actually that long from what we can see. And in each interaction we see from canon, they cannot accept Amane's faith, for varying reasons each trial.
And well... By T3 Amane's already showing she's willing to change and reconsider her views. The genuine conversion would have to happen earlier than that, possibly before any of the deaths, so meaning T2 or before and... Es wasn't exactly the kindest or most understanding to Amane. They were outright dismissive and authoritative so I don't see it happening unless we deviate from canon by a LOT...
But why do I think it's more likely that Es could become a fake believer but a real follower of Amane? As of Amane's VD, I'm doubtful they wanna do anything to encourage Amane's beliefs. But say, in a hypothetical tragic scenario where everyone dies except Es and Amane and it leaves them with no one else to rely on? Ough. Then maybe Amane could be forced to relapse to cope, and Es would have to stick by her... For both their sakes.
Now the serious stuff is out of the way, here's how I think Es would be as a follower. It's definitely high stress situation if Es and Amane are the only survivors, and it makes sense for Amane to fall back into familiarity--faith. But actually... Same goes for Es.
In many ways, Es' loyalty to Milgram during T1 - T2 is quite reminiscent to Amane's dedication to the cult. I've drawn parallels between these two many times before so I won't drill into this again. So Es could very well go back to the warden role which can help detatch themselves from the prisoners. Definitely very annoying for both Amane and Es from a narrative perspective to relapse so badly considering the acknowledgement that both Milgram and Amane's faith played a role in killing Haruka, Shidou and Mahiru. But, it's not unrealistic. People seek comfort in familiarity and growth is not a linear process.
Except, in Es' case, they've had a much longer time where they were doubting and questioning Milgram compared to Amane. And if all the prisoners (except Amane for this scenario) died because of Milgram, I think that's a pretty good justification from a realism standpoint for Es to try find support in a different system: Amane's system.
But I'd rather be optimistic and hopeful here. Don't really want to undo all of Amane's willingness to change and question her beliefs... Amane can still find comfort in prayers and the more harmless aspects of her faith. And Es can follow even if they struggle to see how it genuinely could do anything. Just the fact that they were the only remaining ally each other had, the only two who could understand the unique experience of their round of Milgram... The core of their faith is not running away from reality or just using it to just cope anymore... Maybe its a way to believe the deceased prisoners to be at peace, and for a brighter tomorrow for themselves :3
On the other hand, we were to have something like a role swap for Amane and Es... We can get our faithful believer Es and warden Amane... I've seen some art for that and I'm very obsessed with the idea. We probably wouldn't get the Puerto Rico and Haiti argument though? Maybe Es could say something like a religious/spiritual equivalent. I know there were beliefs of where children under like 7 is not considered fully a human yet, but they're still technically closer to of the spirit world, but this isn't used to oppress children necessarily.
Obviously Amane's older than 7, but we could give something to Es to be proud of lol. Like in their version of the cult, the belief is that at 15 years old they are old enough to be considered adults that can maybe partake in certain cult practices, or they finally get some special ceremony (like many cultures do celebrate milestones), but in Es' cult the ceremony is definitely a way to control and oppress younger cult members and ensure loyalty... Like turning something kind of horrifying into something children to look forward to as they grow up and become more useful for the cult leader to exploit for money, power, etc...
Es could say something along the lines of "Wrong. I am not a child, I'm 15 so I'm a fully adult integrated human in the eyes of God. You're 12 so you're still a half formed kid that belongs to the spirit world."
Amane will be sooo annoyed and baffled lol. Like where on earth are you getting this from... That brainwashed idiot, did they really think Amane would care about their God? But also she can't say anything like that because 12 < 15! Oh no she's feeling her warden authority get challenged again, that's not fun! So they can still get the back and forth bickering in T2...
...I know this probably isn't quite what you asked for. But this is the actually indoctrinated Es scenario. I do stand by that Amane can't indoctrinate Es like an actual cult leader. She could influence/convert them, maybe... But even then I've explained why I think its not really likely for Es to become a faithful believer but could do something a bit like Fuuta instead...
Thanks for the ask! I haven't talked about these scenarios in this format for a while now...
Write whoever you want to write. Write from the heart. But I would be lying if I didn't say I'd like to see Amane and Fuuta interact
And now I'm frequently dropping by your door saying, "Ouchies, please? 😇"
Ough, that was from the end of the first arc... Feels like it was ages ago. It is in fact, *almost* a year ago due to my frequent posting schedule in the past. No wonder why you're so shameless now compared to then!
I wonder, back then if any part of you had been trying to appear normal in front of me (a major turning point might've been hostage?). But over time, you must've gained newfound confidence to bully request me to write suffering.
If I gave Amane and Fuuta ouchies every time you requested it, they'd be dead before the second trial. Woah so evil. But it'd be your fault, you know?
Hey at least they'll be in some emotional pain for a while! An entirely newly added subplot just for you!
(Peer pressuring and bullying apparently are very effective methods.... I got worn down slowly over time...)
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milgram's definition of murder VS your definition of murder
Often, people go 'but it isn't murder!' when discussing the innocence of certain Milgram characters. I think that's missing the point, though. Here's a small analysis for why prisoners don't need to commit legal murder in order for them to appear in Milgram.
TL;DR: Milgram (the prison) is structured around what the prisoner considers murder. The Milgram Project itself did this to intentionally expand the range of moral dilemmas that us voters can discuss about.
For Yuno, they may say that it's considered murder because Japan has a negative view on abortion and argue against the framing of it as murder because abortion isn't murder.
For Mahiru and Kazui, they may say 'but being in love isn't the issue!'/'but it's the partner who killed themself!'
People are less generous for Fuuta because he's indirectly killed a middleschooler to satiate his boredom, but it's still surprisingly different compared to the definition of murder - Yuno, Mahiru, Kazui, and Fuuta are being considered murderers by Milgram, despite not aiming to directly kill their victims.
Milgram doesn't care about the indirectness of all these crimes. This much is obvious. But, if not about the legal widespread definition of murder, then what does Milgram consider murder?
These past 3 trials suggest that it's dependent on what the prisoner considers a murder.
Yuno has already said multiple times that she considered her abortion a bad act because she feels like she should have been punished for taking life for granted (as many women like Mahiru aren't able to have that happen in their lives). This doesn't make her logic right, but it explains why she might see it as murder.
Kazui feels guilt about not having been open about his attraction with his wife and considers him coming out of the closet as what pushed her to do it.
Mahiru, even if she's confused and can't understand what she did wrong, feels as though her love for her boyfriend had played a part in how he died.
Fuuta felt guilt even from T1 - the end of his MV shows it, regardless of how much he hides his feelings to Es and to himself, and then T3 confirms that he has the habit of running away from his problems. Even if he refuses to acknowledge it as a murder at first, his emotions were firmly set on considering it a murder.
'But then, why was it written this way? The Milgram Project writers could have used a legal definition of murder instead.'
The confusion surrounding their definition of 'murder' is evidently on purpose by the time Trial 3 started. These characters consider their actions to be murders, which adds to the amount of discussions that voters can have. For example: The discussions for Yuno's trial had helped some people to understand that abortion isn't murder and Kazui's may have led people to re-evaluate why they thought he should've stay closeted/told her sooner.
To create discussions like these are a significant win on Milgram Project's part. After all, this project was designed to have people deal with moral dilemmas.
One day till Puppet Strings' first anniversary! Yay!!!
I still can't believe that I'm still committed to writing. I actually sticking to the same plot for a year? No wayyyyy. I've got serious commitment issues so a year is hella impressive for me.
To celebrate, I'm going to try post chapter 20 tomorrow. I've only got the final scene to write and then I gotta see if my beta reader has time to proofread (this is the variable I can't really account for so easily. Then again, it's my fault for always leaving things so last minute). I also wanna try finish my first anni art. Setting these goals publicly because I've got... Time management issues. (I'm gonna be so honest, but I have a 90% chance of being a day late because even for Kotoko's and my birthday art, I was a day late. And I was late for basically all character birthdays except Fuuta's).
Anyway, please look forward to both :3 I've got some surprises that I think people won't expect.
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Not gonna talk about voting discourse or give opinions on how anyone should/shouldn't vote. But I will talk about hypothetical voting results. Not a groundbreaking theory, probably has been said somewhere. But I randomly thought of that so I wanted to say it.
Remember how we were told we'd be given hell if we forgave everyone in T3? Maybe to begin with the intention is that Es rejects the results of our voting and they themselves chooses to forgive everyone. However, if the way we vote overlaps perfectly with Es' personal decision (everyone forgiven), then doesn't that inadvertently become 'proof' of Es' lack of choice/will?
"Oh they just share the same opinion as majority" yeah but knowing the nature of Milgram, will that really be taken as an explanation even though it's reasonable (as in, if you picked someone random from a crowd, most of the time they probably are part of some kinda majority). As long as Es does not have a strong definite way through the prisoner verdicts to prove they are their own person, it is a possibility that we doomed them to forever be locked into the role of being a warden vessel against their own wishes.
Feel free to add to this. I might come back to this idea if I see anything promising. And hey, even if I am completely off the mark, I'm sure someone will like the concept of this.
(Note: Please do not bring up voting discourse. And I am not encouraging that we vote in any particular way or even the abstinence of voting through this speculation.).
Thanks for bringing it up!! I've considered the novel stuff but I guess I'm a littleeee hesitant to think music project strictly will have to stick to the rules that were established in both novels...
Some spoilers for the novels beyond this point:
Not just cuz the format by design is really different, but also cuz music project Jackalope is higher rank than both novels' Jackalopes (and how Sumi and music project Es adapts to 'being Es' is quite different, what the Jackalopes may or may not say would depend on that).
Not to say we should discount the novels tho! Definitely worth thinking about when speculating, again, thanks for bringing it up. I definitely want some hopeful ending like the second novel...
Not gonna talk about voting discourse or give opinions on how anyone should/shouldn't vote. But I will talk about hypothetical voting results. Not a groundbreaking theory, probably has been said somewhere. But I randomly thought of that so I wanted to say it.
Remember how we were told we'd be given hell if we forgave everyone in T3? Maybe to begin with the intention is that Es rejects the results of our voting and they themselves chooses to forgive everyone. However, if the way we vote overlaps perfectly with Es' personal decision (everyone forgiven), then doesn't that inadvertently become 'proof' of Es' lack of choice/will?
"Oh they just share the same opinion as majority" yeah but knowing the nature of Milgram, will that really be taken as an explanation even though it's reasonable (as in, if you picked someone random from a crowd, most of the time they probably are part of some kinda majority). As long as Es does not have a strong definite way through the prisoner verdicts to prove they are their own person, it is a possibility that we doomed them to forever be locked into the role of being a warden vessel against their own wishes.
Feel free to add to this. I might come back to this idea if I see anything promising. And hey, even if I am completely off the mark, I'm sure someone will like the concept of this.
(Note: Please do not bring up voting discourse. And I am not encouraging that we vote in any particular way or even the abstinence of voting through this speculation.).
Imagine that Fuuta and Amane are trapped in a burning building. You are only able to save one of them. Who will you save?
So meaannnnn!!! Hmph!!
(Crack) Fuuta fanatic answer:
Fuuta, of course! He's my favorite firstborn son. I will never forsake him! Not even for Amane! He can do all the wrong in the world and I will still save him!
(Actual) Fuuta fanatic answer:
I will save Amane. I'd be putting Fuuta into mental hell if he knows that Amane died cuz he was saved. Amane taught him how to get back up on his own feet no matter what gets thrown at him but without her around, will he still be able to do as he was taught? I'm not so sure. I kind of only project 2 possible hopeful outcomes (rest are kinda grim) which is: out of respect for her, he will try to move on and keep living in accordance to her influence even if he can't reconcile with reality on an emotional level. The other outcome is that he actually does find a way to properly move on (even internally) because of what Amane taught him. But it doesn't mean he won't be sad and feeling guilty for a looooong time. Honestly its just sad. I don't ever want to make Fuuta have to grieve Amane, even if the trade off is that he dies. (It'd be like in YTTD if you vote off Kanna to save Shin... Even if in the end it could turn out "okay", it doesn't make that kinda despair not painful to think about. I think I'd feel 100000000x worse if it was done to 0308.)
True Personal answer:
Save Fuuta. Need I say more? The me now who is attached to this Fuuta will not be able to take it if Fuuta dies. I really do not have any reasonable/logical/moral defence for why I'd make this choice. Because it would be purely emotional and driven by the fact I adore Fuuta and I could never leave him to be forgotten.
Also true personal answer (this preference is not any lesser than the former):
Save Amane. It feels like a personal betrayal to not say I'd save Amane. Morally, this generally be the more correct/accepted option too. I'm not just saying this to avoid being flamed. Like the trolley question (cough cough) but between the choice of a remorseful twitter user who screwed a kid over to the point of no return just cuz he was lonely, versus a 12 year old who went through hell and did not respond well to said hell but also still has a chance to change, I'm more inclined to save the latter and I'm sure Fuuta (T3) would agree. It's just mean to cut her chance to start over short, yk? Also, by technicality a lot of what I said in the actual Fuuta fanatic answer falls under my true personal answer.
...Oh?? Details of the scenario?
Well, this does make it easier. One of the strongest reasons for saving Fuuta is that thinking about him feeling forgotten or actually being left behind permanently is just agonising. If Fuuta's body could be at least retrieved by the firefighters, then I'd save Amane. It'd be mainly cuz the second strongest emotional argument I have is for saving Amane. Of course, the other points I touched on contributed too. (Mm... I like to think I usually make decisions based on logic but when it comes to scenarios like this, I prob think more with my heart than my head)
Realistically though, they'd both die before I could make a choice. I mean look at how long I yapped for a simple question that should've been answerable in one sentence or less? Also, I wouldn't be able to think coherently and I wouldn't have known some of the details you told me.
I thought I could answer pretty easily. But for some reason I legit had different voices in my inner monologue that screamed different answers at the same time. That was one way to start an argument in my brain early in the morning.
(It's still technically my weekly Fuuta poll but it's Amane time so~!)
Will Amane ever be taller than Fuuta?
Yes! She'll be taller by more than a head and look down on him (literally).
No! She's already at her maximum height!
Yes! But only by a little bit.
No! But she'll get pretty close.
She'll reach exactly his height. (She'd be taller than most Milgram girls).
He'll shrink to her height. (He's a shrimp postured twitter user).
Voting ended onMay 25
Judging from the keyframes with Amane's mom, it looks like actually her mom isn't much taller than her... But hey, loads of people outgrow their parents!
I personally find it quite funny to imagine Amane being much taller than Fuuta. Especially cuz of the minigram 165cm (there was a similar timeline too, wasn't there?)
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I was thinking about how Amane was basically turning herself into marketable plushies in the factory. So many different designs and outfits, even one where she covers her eye like Fuuta… Just like your plushies!!
Milgram must've known that if they released plushies for T3, you'd be unstoppable.
They couldn't trust me with so much power 😔
I won't let that stop meeeeee!
(Video ID under the cut)
[Video ID: An Amane plushie dressed up in schoolgirl uniform. A box goes down on her and is lifted to reveal Amane in her Magic outfit. /end ID]
So I was having most of the discussion on Discord, but I'll leave a few remarks here.
The day before, I was told in vague terms that (1) the new outfit wasn't a full skirt and (2) no trains 😢 . Tragic that we didn't get to see the full outfit, but I'll just design the shoes myself for the chibi in my pinned post. Hopefully, the acrylic stand will have a full outfit.
When I read the dossier, my jaw immediately dropped.
How'd the bingo go? If you want to stretch a few of the squares (marked yellow), it works out.
Details under the cut. Plus screenshots. Maybe I'll do a screenshot game later.
Amane council! Well, Amane factory.
The brutal act of murder in full (btw, I love the crossfades between Amane and her mother)
I went to check if it matches the one in Magic. Not quite.
Mother's face - Actually, the whole family!
Straight beat - yes, I already got that.
Verses sound entirely distinct - Well, more like one verse and one bridge
(The hard rock/metal guitars square was meant to be a reference to Fuuta's style, but I should've gone for "dubstep breakdown" or something if I wanted to check it off.)
Obligatory title callback(s)
Secret magic, here you go, just let go
Purge is the cure for stupidity, hip hip hurrah!
No evidence that she got caught, though "a few days after the incident" is concerning...
Father goes on regular trips, and the framing suggests the murder happened shortly after he left.
Any mention of Mahiru? Mm, this is a stretch, considering the other two numbers are preceded by "zero" ("zero-go" and "zero-san")
Use of Fuuta's name or kanji.... ehhhhh.... The additional criterion was "more than just an oblique reference (as in the lyric preview), so...
Fuuta title reference (I love how they both have a comic theme going on)
Don't stop, I am heaven's mandate, to a bright future! Appare! Appare!
And hey, doesn't this lyric sound familiar?
Bye bye you losers, rebuttals? Oh no no
No scarf, but there seems to be this odd double cape going on, much like Fuuta's knight outfit.
Recurring spoken word chant - The tenets, or the chanting at the end
(Ah, that one doesn't have an additional note with it. What did I even mean?)
Shidou reminds her of her mom - If you consider the mention of him during the medicine sequence, I suppose.
And I'll close off with a few screenshots.
Augh, how was I here for more than an hour? It's time to go back to sleep.
