#dialover analysis

Uhhhhh I don't think there's anything there to salvage it. Both people are incredibly egotistical, and well... Richter and Cordelia did kinda have sex/did sexual things in front of Laito, so,,, I would imagine a situation like that wouldn't really escape Laito's head, whether Laito ever forgave Richter for that or not. When it comes to Laito forgiving Richter, I would say no, absolutely not––in Dark Fate, Laito ends up forgiving Cordelia at the end of his route, but he doesn't mention Richter at all. I agree that their relationship would be very interesting if they didn't have a weird "rivalry" going on, but I feel like Laito being the foil to Richter is extremely effective as a character dynamic.

If it didn't happen, I don't even know if Richter would really be involved with Laito at all, or even the brother's. It's really his ties to Cordelia (not Karl) which makes him involved in the family and is the reason why Yui was able to make it through the Sakamaki's situations in HDB in the first place.

There's a few scenes that we see Laito and Richter in. One of them is Maniac 07 (if you're interested in seeing my breakdown of that scene you can read it here) and a handful more in Dark Fate. But Laito's pissed. He's so pissed off that his facade comes off, and he has said that he would want to kill Richter. The fact that Laito was able to forgive Cordelia (which I have my personal reservations of) was already an incredible feat, but I feel like forgiving Richter would be a stretch.

Honestly, you brought up something I never really thought of before. If we were to simplify this to a normal "cheating" situation (assuming Cordelia ""cheated"" on Laito with Richter PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM USING "CHEATING" VERY LIGHTLY, Laito was in a nonconsensual and coerced relaitonship with Cordelia no matter how you look at it), it would make sense that Laito is more mad at Richter than Cordelia. In many cheating cases, the "cheatee" doesn't get mad at the "cheater/their partner," but rather the person the cheater had the affair with. This usually is because they don't see the person in the affair as human because they don't know them as well in comparison to their partner. It's just taking the blame off of the cheater and putting it onto the other party. So I guess that may be why Laito wasn't as mad at Cordelia for having an affair with Richter??? But also, let's put it in context: Laito was most definitely coerced and pretty much brainwashed and manipulated and abused and conditioned. He kept believing he loves Cordelia when in actuality, it is not love. It is a bit different than using my simplified """cheating""" situation. So with the addition of "cheating psychology" and Laito's very complicated emotions with Cordelia (being pained by her and also trying to convince himself that he loves her etc), it makes sense why Laito was more angry at Richter than he was with Cordelia.

But maybe I'm wrong, maybe Laito does have it in him to forgive Richter. I personally cannot see it at this time, and even if he does, I don't think something like this can be fixed to the point where they'd be "chill" with each other. However, if you have headcanons about their relationship dynamic if the Cordelia thing never happened/if this was magically fixed, I would love to hear!

Thanks for coming in and asking!! As always if you need any clarifications or have any questions etc, let me know! -Corn

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I think he sees sex as more of a means to an end and to proliferate his facade. I did write a bit about how he definitely utilizes sex to cope with his trauma, since he’s the one doing it in a controlled manner, but doesn’t realize the pain it’s inflicting on him. (that’s also why I don’t think it’s “therapy” necessarily cuz it’s definitely perpetuating his habits––but yes it does keep him “sane” because he’s just avoiding his emotions skadlfjsdf lmao u cant feel them when they don’t exist!” /j) I think that he doesn’t like sex with how he “does” it typically(/sexual activities). 

When he has consensual (yay!) sex with Yui in MB, he has a completely different reaction compared to other sexual activities he does. This goes for Dark Fate too, he considers these sexual activities with more consent but is more like “hey hey! Can we do this? Can we do this?” (even though sometimes it is dubious––it seems that Yui has a genuine good time with it compared to MB and especially HDB from what I remember.)

I’m unsure about his thoughts during sex, since there’s no evidence backing it up. However, I can probably infer that deep deep down he’s hating it or thinking he could do something differently. I said something like that in this analysis that’s tangential to this:

...he would have perverted thoughts even with his facade “on”. In the earlier games he can’t differentiate what his true feelings are and what he wants to feel (aka his facade). However, to put it generally, some people who do have facades know they’re putting up a mask. For others, it’s subconscious. Maybe it’s a mixture of both, and it gets out of hand for others. It all depends on the situation! But Laito’s mental health state is kinda,,,, far gone, especially in HDB. I know that there’s a psychological extent of some trauma coping mechanisms where people will convince themselves to think that they don’t mind the trauma. In Laito’s case, he convinces himself that his traumatic events turn him on. 

I would have to infer that he doesn’t know his true feelings deep down sometimes, because he gets so surprised/confused @ himself for crying at the end of his MB route. He was confused what tears truly were. So an extremely emotional situation, such as Yui taking her own life at the end of that route, brought his locked up feelings into the limelight. I don’t think that he’d be able to realize that he would hate sex if he’s been doing what he’s been doing the whole time. He usually needs something to take his mask off from the outside. I think he’s beyond “shaking off random thoughts” because he’s so far gone within his facade. 

You can wear a mask enough so that eventually you believe that mask is truly yourself, when in fact it is not. This can be quite common for people who have gone through sexual abuse. Either they don’t realize their true feelings, or they realize it until it’s too late/they’ve made a grave mistake (or they get therapy! Which is great! Please get therapy no matter what you’re going through––but in this case, Laito doesn’t go to therapy >:( get this boy a therapist smh). He might feel like shit afterwards but doesn’t realize it/wants to ignore it, we don’t know, but there’s a lot of material where you can make inferences! I would say it’s in character for him if he truly does have that, especially if he’s forced to think about it. 

Great question, anons! This was a pretty fun one to do, I love thinking about inferences I can make with him, especially these far to reach ones!!! 

As always if you have questions/want clarification/have anything to add, etc, let me know!

As for your question, the main issue is that Laito either refuses to realize that he has a facade himself, or doesn't really realize it (I would say it's more the former more in HDB/when his character is not as developed with Yui, and the latter when it is with Yui and he's starting to slowly realize all his emotional baggage, if that makes sense). So he really does not even want to acknowledge it either way. He has projected this onto Yui multiple times in his HDB route, saying that she has a facade. Which, you could argue that she does have one due to her religious background (or just trying to suppress her sexuality––not an uncommon thing amongst religious folk) or it's just Laito getting in her head/saying bullshit. Either is plausible, because Laito is a gaslighting, manipulating machine, but he's also incredibly intelligent and can see through people faking things (again, Carla praised him on his intelligence and insightfulness in Laito's dark fate route).

So I would assume that Laito would see through this person's facade, but his reaction wouldn't be out of empathy. It would also have to depend on the situation, if it was a bride then he would definitely make it a "challenge" to peel back that facade. If it was someone he was casually meeting, maybe he would take them as victim for himself if he really found this person to be potentially interesting. He acts on pure impulsiveness and in the moment feelings––he just really hates being bored. I would assume he's pretty neutral towards meeting people for the first time unless if he has reason to act otherwise, or if they're a woman fajsdklfjdls; (or, with my pan/bi Laito HC; anyone that seems interesting to flirt with alkdsfj). But we haven't really seen Laito meet anyone aside from rival families or his own family members that he despises.

I assume in this situation he's more acquainted with this person though. I don't think a mutual "agreement" would happen necessarily, because I seriously doubt that Laito would give up that information and let his facade slip. He's really egotistical, and if he was really developed into his character like towards the ends of his MB+ routes (but even more so), then maybe––but his character as it is currently, I really doubt he'd admit it and even show the fact that he has a facade to someone. Yui has been able to bring that out in Laito over time, but he's still very emotionally trapped. I feel like Laito tries to avoid empathy or seeing someone else similar to him, because it might bring his deep feelings to light, and he doesn't like that.

I hope that answers your question!! If you have any additions or questions or need clarification etc, my ask box is always open!!!

Laito body language notes

Just a quick disclaimer: it is harder to analyze sprites considering they’re not moving and we don’t exactly see their interaction with the speaker! And there’s a limited number of them! As always, this is just my interpretation, and feel free to tell me what you think, too!

This one right here- he’s facing directly at the “camera.” It vaguely reminds me of Monika in DDLC, where her sprite faces towards you with direct eye contact. It conveys a very unnatural air, along with it being plain eerie. Usually when you’re speaking to someone, their body isn’t all pointing towards you at once. However, the difference between Laito’s and Monika’s sprite is that Laito seems a lot more comfortable. He has his arms outreached, and his slight tilt of the upper torso doesn’t give that rigid vibe that Monika’s does. Still, it is off-putting. He seems like he doesn’t have much of a guard up, despite how lax this pose is. His hands outreached insinuates that, but considering he’s facing frontwards completely, it gives that “power” vibe. Not to mention he’s typically smiling like that when he’s in this pose. He’s trying to put on that friendly face in order to deceive you.

According to this website right here (which I’m using as a reference for this post) they say that if someone’s stomach is facing towards you, it’s most likely because they trust or admire you, etc. Obviously, Laito doesn’t typically feel that towards people until Yui comes along (but much further into their relationship, and in MB+). Like I previously said, it’s a more vulnerable stance that aims to make the other person more comfortable with him. However, it is off putting especially when you don’t expect it.

He’s still extremely lax. Laito never seems to give a defensive body signal, and that’s probably because he wants it that way. This guy is an S tier deceiver right here, and will use kindness in order to fool you. It’s how he rolls. His torso isn’t exactly pointed away; I’d argue that it’s more towards you but in a “subtle” way. But for this sprite, I’m going to focus on his head. It’s tilted. Not exactly tilted upwards, but it has the same effect when someone has their head tilted upwards when they’re looking directly at you. It’s tilted in the same sense that his eyes are looking down at you. This displays an air of confidence, and we know that this man is confident as hell. According to this website, it also says that this type of subtle head tilt can also be more attractive.

On top of that, his head is technically tilted downwards. This can give an implication of “submissiveness” [no I will not make a joke no I will not make a joke no I will not make a joke] which is probably his intention––it’s to lower the guard of whoever he’s speaking to.

As for his final pose, it’s a similar explanation to the previous one (with the head tilt). Except, it looks like his hand is behind his back, possibly in his back pocket of his shirt or the pocket of his jacket. I would argue that it could be the angle that he’s in but it’s clear that his elbow is bending, so I would assume he has his hand in a pocket. The hands in pockets can insinuate a lot of things, but I would say in this case, since both hands aren’t behind his back, he has his front exposed, and he has a lax posture, it’s another vulnerable/comfortable pose. I also did read that having your hand(s) in your back pocket(s) can mean that you’re hiding something––however this was said by a person on a fucking “pickup artist forum” (this was not on purpose I was just doing some avid googling) but they said they read it in a body language book. Sure they didn’t provide the exact source but I don’t feel like misogynists have enough brain cells to think of that on their own. And I can see that it could mean that (and it is in line with his character), so I’m comfortable with saying this. However if you think that’s absolute bogus, please let me know LMAO

In conclusion: He’s still a master manipulator. All of his poses make him seem very comfortable, vulnerable, and even friendly. Is he actually like that? Fuck no! Absolutely not! But he knows what he’s doing, and like I’ve always said that he has meticulously crafted himself so carefully into a cunning predator.

I have no idea if it was on purpose, but if they made him wear a fedora (yes I know its actually a trilby I know I know but haha funny fedora meme) to proliferate that whole “nice guy” stereotype/meme, that would be funny. I would love Rejet forever. However, I believe that same connotation doesn’t really exist in Japan, and Laito is probably wearing it considering it is part of their street fashion from what I’ve seen/read. So I don’t know. But I had to make a fedora joke. And the fact that he’s tipping it makes me want to make fun of him even more. I fucking love this dork.

However, I will end my banter, and expose some cool things I found! The sprites were provided by @/souchiika, and they got these sprites directly from the game files. So I got to see what the game files were named! They’re mainly named after the expressions he has. So let me just go through those as a little bonus! And especially since you’ve waited so long for this, anon!

Laito has a total of 11 expressions. Let’s go down the list! As a disclaimer, no I’m not fluent in Japanese, some of these I had to do a bit of research for or just knew off the top of my head from what I already know, but if I got any of these wrong, so as always, please let me know!

This file had the name of “cho” (most likely ちょ). (I had to dig a little for this one so I think this would best describe the description). This is a colloquialism meaning stuff like “come on” or wanting someone to do something for you. So I assume in this case (contextually speaking) it’s more of egging someone on to do something or teasing them.

This was called “emi” (笑み). That just means smile. Nothing more, nothing less. But it’s Laito, so it’s more of a sus smile when it comes to him haha.

This one was “Ikari” (怒り). This one was also an easy one: I know it means being angry, and that’s exactly what is being shown. The kanji (the first character) in it can also mean being offended, which I would say this expression has also been used for that contextually.

This one is “iroke”! (色気) Directly translated utilizing the kanji, it would basically mean “color of feelings.” Just found that cool! However, the word is usually meant to describe sexual feelings/attraction/desire, etc. I don’t think I have to explain that one any further lolol

This sprite was named “kana,” (かな) which is a word used for when you’re pondering something. It’s translated to “I wonder.” This one stuck with me a lot because Laito really likes saying “doushiyou kana” in a teasing manner being like “I wonder what we’ll do about that~/What to do~” kind of dealio.

This one was a toughie! I might have gotten this wrong but this one is “kon” (こん)! KSLDFJ I didn’t know this one off the top of my head so when I went ~dictionary diving~ the first result came up as “navy blue” DSKJFSD. So I dug a little deeper and apparently it can be used for the onomatopoeia of a yelp (usually of an animal?). I think that’s the closest definition I could find, and if I did get that right, then that’s pretty funny.

Oh man this one was named one of my favorite Japanese slang: “maji,” (マジ). It’s a word that doesn’t really have a true meaning, it’s really just in the context of things (kinda like “pog”). It can mean anything from “OH SHIT” to “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” to “seriously/really?” Because there’s so many different ways to express disbelief, whether it be positive or negative. It’s also used as a word to put emphasis on things. But I would say in this case it would mean the more “seriously?” definition.

Hmm this one was another toughie. In the files it’s called “odo” which I couldn’t of anything other than オッド or おっと which either it would be romanized either as oddo or otto. オッド just means “odd,” but I would say おっと would be a better descriptor for this expression, which would mean kind of an “uh-oh” meaning. However, if “odo” is correct, the closest thing I could find was オドオド (odo odo) which is a descriptor/onomatopoeic word meaning “timidly/nervously/trembling.” But I don’t think that’s it. I would think that it would be the “uh-oh” word. But regardless, this is just my speculation. Maybe its short for 驚き which means “surprise/astonishment” but in more of an “amazement” sense. Or it could also be in the frightened sense depending on the context. I don’t know! Lololol! I know this is just for fun and I shouldn’t be looking too deep into it haha

OOOOO This one is another one of my favorite Japanese words: “tere”! (照れ) I would assume in this case it would be the bashful/shy definition. However, I would assume it’s more in the joking sense like the whole “I’m shy~~~” kind of feeling if that makes any sense.

I- ok I tried my best to research this one, but it’s labeled as “tujo” in the file name, however, a character directly linking with the romanization of “tu” in Japanese does not exist. The closest one would be “tsu.” However, when I looked up “tsujo,” the only word similar to that is a type of ketone and monoterpene (thujone) which is entirely uhhhhhhh chemistry and unrelated to this. So I legitimately have no idea. Obviously his expression is him being smug or mischievous. Or maybe I’m wrong. But if anyone has any idea, please let me know!

The final one is called “yoro,” which I can only assume would be short for “yoroshii” (よろしい). I had some issues with trying to translate this into English (like I know what it means y’know but it was hard to put into English), so I had to break out the dictionary once again. Dictionary said it can mean “ok!” Or “very well!” But it can vary with the context ofc, but I would say that a more positive definition rather than a neutral one fit this expression more.

Ok! That’s all of Laito’s file name expressions explained and translated! (Well ok except one). Once again, thanks for coming in my inbox, anon! This one was suuuuuuper fun to do, I learned a lot! I would love to know your thoughts as well!

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I do believe in DF it’s easier to see how much Yui cares for Laito, but I do wanna say that in MB, she literally kills herself for Laito. Sure, it could be argued that she was still under his manipulative influence, considering Laito keeps her at home for the most part in MB, but I don’t see stockholm syndrome in MB+ as much as I see it in HDB (I don’t really see it at all in MB, just some massive manipulation). Yui feels more genuine, and less confused, especially in DF. She has come to terms with her sexuality (being into S/M for example) yet still balances it with her religion.

So! Let’s get into some monologues Yui said in DF!

Dark 06

Laito-kun remains deeply scarred to this day. Even though she is no longer in this world, that hasn’t changed. If possible, I’d love to liberate him from said pain. However, what can I do? Laito-kun compared his own circumstances, to my own and called us similar. However, personally, I felt as if we were worlds apart. What can I do against the loneliness plaguing him, to get rid of it once and for all?

Yui just has endless compassion for everyone, and towards Laito, it’s no different. Even though this doesn’t have explicit romantic love towards him, at the basis, she cares about him as a person and as a friend. Throughout Dark Fate and other monologues, we see that she is always trying to find a way to help heal Laito. If that isn’t some type of love, I don’t know what is. 

Dark 07

Right as I wished to support him in some way, Laito-kun proposed to me. This moment of bliss which felt like it came straight from a dream, was abruptly cut off by darkness...

This is part of the monologue, but the fact that she got excited of the proposition of marrying Laito (you can tell how different this was back in HDB) also shows something. [EDIT: I GOT THIS SCENE MIXED UP WITH ANOTHER ONE SO I FIXED THIS EXPLANATION IM SO SORRY] So I would say that is some evidence that she loves Laito in a romantic way as well, considering her reaction to that + her thoughts throughout the entirety of his DF route. 

In many other monologues too, we see that Yui is constantly trying to find a way to help Laito. She even tries to escape the castle to go get Kanato and Ayato because she thinks they could help. There’s many monologues on it, so I won’t paste all of them in here, but you can easily tell that she deeply cares for him. 

Here’s a conversation from Maniac 09 too:

Yui: However, I want you to believe me too. …Besides, just like you said you’re afraid of losing me, I’m terrified of losing you as well. …I don’t want to lose you. ( …Oh no, I’m gonna cry… )

Laito: Bitch-chan…

Yui: That’s why I couldn’t believe you when you decided to go to Karlheinz-san’s castle, nor did I want to believe it. So…Even if you would see it as me betraying you, or if I had to trick you… I just wanted to stop you.

HE STILL CALLS HER BITCH-CHAN EVEN THEN––LAITO READ THE ROOM

Just,,, I feel like this passage speaks for itself and I won’t go into it much. The fact that she wants to cry at the notion of Laito leaving her definitely says something. 

And here’s the kicker (or well, one of them), Maniac 10:

I’m shaking with anxiety. Even so, I decided to have faith in Laito-kun. Why? Because I love (愛している) him. We held hands, and embarked on our journey to Eden. I wonder what kind of future, awaits us there? The fear and worry which comes from taking a step into the unknown… were mutual between us.

In this passage, Yui uses the word 愛している (aishiteru) to refer to her emotions towards Laito. It is translated as “love,” which most definitely isn’t wrong. However, this specific word for love is a very strong one.

That’s all I have for now, but there’s an abundant amount of evidence to support that she does love Laito! At least in DF it’s very apparent. Since DF takes place outside of the Sakamaki mansion, Laito’s not able to isolate or manipulate Yui as well because he’s in an unfamiliar place. He’s also going through a lot emotionally throughout most of the game. This is why I definitely believe that these are Yui’s genuine feelings, and not the manipulated molded ones that came out of HDB. 

Again, I’m so sorry how late this is! I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless :) Thanks for the ask!

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Well, take making out for example––well these accounts are taken from what my roommates and friends told me because my experiences would not have been sufficient for this. The action is really just two lips smacking together, but when you’re doing that action (and more), it feels good, and you’d usually want to do more of it––there’s a reason people do that despite the action in itself being seemingly benign or simple (I apologize aro/aces who do not like making out, I cannot figure out an example that conveys this in a non sexual manner but I know yall know that making out = feels good for most people).

Here are my friend’s accounts:

Me: for those of you who have made out with someone, why does it feel good/turn you on/etc? Or is it just like "damn I really love the idea of lips smacking against one another" [/j] like why do you like making out? [I added an explanation why I was asking this lmao]

Unnamed Friend: It feels good. When I do it, I feel horny, that’s all there is to it.

my wife and queen @zaraenia: Well... kissing is more than just lip smacking; it plays a roll both physically, emotionally and mentally. Kissing involves trusting your body to the other person and vice-versa. With kissing, it means able to hold the person tenderly and lovingly in your arms, stroking their hair and body in a way that is comforting and good to your partner. The sense of appreciation that comes with it is very nice. Also the feeling of your partner physically reciprocating those feelings is also nice. Why do we kiss on the lips? Probably human nature. Instincts that were planted in our brain and it's something we will never comprehend.  Nature works in mysterious ways. We just know it feels nice in some way.

Other Unnamed friend: its just like the same desire of wanting to cuddle; just another way to show intamacy. I didnt particularly like my first kiss but when I kissed [BF’s name] for the first time I was like "ooh so its supposed to feel like this"

just another way of showing you love someone really

Another unnamed friend: I do it because primal monky brain says so

Even another unnamed friend: depending on who you’re with its a way to show deep intimacy, honestly it’s hard to describe the feeling in my opinion.

So, based on these ~first hand accounts~, we can deduct that the simple action of repeatedly smacking lips together doesn’t sound like it would feel good or convey much sexual feeling for most people. But from general human core feelings (or human nature like Zara said, or primal monky brain like my other friend said) for the most part, it feels good when one does it (also we are talking about consensual making out, versus mainly nonconsensual blood sucking).

Although the action of making out is pretty nuanced––lots of things can happen along side it, similar to what happens during blood sucking in DL. They’re not simply sucking blood, I know Laito just likes to touch when he does it, or suck blood when Yui’s in a certain position etc. Even though it’s not what Zara described (aka, consensual), the domination aspect of it (in a ravishment manner) would also be included in that. However, there has been instances of consensual blood sucking in DL, so the non-consensual domination and sadism aspect is more of a tangential thing that comes with the diaboys, not all vampires in general.

So, sucking blood in vampire culture is deemed as sexual on top of utilizing the action for food. You could compare it to getting turned on when you eat food but I don’t think most of us experience that, so it wouldn’t be a good relatable example. So I guess the equivalent of that would be the same feeling you’d (usually) get if you walked in on two people making out or doing some sexual activity. It would usually be filled with embarrassment or even disgust for some (like Reiji, who’s like “tAkE thEsE AcTiViTiEs tO yOuR roOm”)

I've seen people back in the day say that Cordelia didn't rape Laito, it was just through blood sucking, and they mention that it's a blood sucking fetish. Regardless if you interpret the text as blood sucking or penetrative sex (rape), it was still non consensual, and if you consider blood sucking as a fetish, it means its sexual. Either way, Laito got sexually abused no matter how you interpret what happened. Just wanted to clarify that as well cuz it pisses me off lol. But I'm not here to start anything, just clarify stuff.

Well let me know if you’d want me to elaborate on anything or clarify anything or if you have any questions as usual! This was a fun one to answer, and I’ve been meaning to write about it for a while haha

EXTRA (funny) CONTENT:

I got some funny responses to my question so here are the funny ones:

Unnamed Friend: This is extremely cringe

Other Unnamed Friend: Are you writing a fanfic again, [Corn]? Smh my head [DSKFJSDF she knows I don’t write fanfic LOL]

Other Other Unnamed Friend: Touch grass [jokes on you I grow it for my job––the legal kind at least, and just generally have legitimate grass as house plants lmfao]

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GAME VERSION:

So in Dark 09, we start out with Yui being at the church. She’s reminiscing all the warm memories she had at the church, so she came to pray. However, Laito comes in, teases her that she expected a “knight in shining armor” (although this isn’t important, it’s just funny in an awful way), and asked her if she came to “pray.” However, he says プレイ (purei) not 祈る (inoru- “to pray”). The katakana spelling of “pray” can also be translated to “play” (or even prey) in English. So the double (or even triple, depending on the context) meaning is very interesting. He knows Yui came to pray, but he is considering this time with her to be more of a “playtime.” He uses this same double meaning in his song, “Bloody Sabbath.”

Laito furthers a guardian angel motif by comparing them to his familiars he has watching over Yui. This is how Yui finds out that he has familiars watching her every move. He continues to harass Yui in the same Laito fashion, with rhetoric similar to the one in episode 4.

Laito: Exactly. I don’t think I need to remind you, but on days like this…It aches so badly… Yui: …! Laito: Even the Church is a place I would rather avoid if it wasn’t for these special conditions.But today I am especially greedy. I want you. I want to pin you down and drink your blood to my heart’s content.

Here’s just some snippets of Laito’s harassment upon Yui. In my HDB analysis, I mention this:

On top of him continuing to gaslight Yui, this scene takes place in a church. It’s incredibly symbolic to the shame Yui feels before and especially after she is forced to endure Laito’s games. The church is a home for her, and for Laito to take that away from her by making her ashamed of practicing her religion anymore is soul crushing. 

Not exactly related to whether or not Laito rapes Yui in this scene, but I do love this scene so much because of how symbolic it is. So let me compare it to the church scene in the anime.

ANIME VERSION:

This scene is a lot shorter than it is in the game. Laito says a lot of the similar things in Dark 09 like “wanting to expose Yui” and how much he wants to drink her blood, and how he’s getting excited by her facial expressions, etc etc etc. I think most of us know this scene well. It is also revealed in this scene that Yui’s being watched by familiars, but on top of that, we learn how Yui was given to the brothers by the church. This doesn’t happen in the game, but I felt like I needed to put it in anyways.

BOTH SCENES AND CONCLUSION:

Both scenes still have the blood sucking motifs and actions. We all know how blood sucking is still a sexual activity. So regardless of Laito raping Yui, this is still assault, and most definitely sexual harassment and assault given his words that he wants to expose Yui and give her love––which we know is a sexual kind, whether through sex or blood sucking. It’s still making Yui vulnerable in a nonconsensual manner. She’s still going through sexual trauma regardless. Even if they weren’t vampires, this would still be sexual assault.

So in Dark 09, we know that he does not rape Yui. Why? Well, the first time he rapes her is in Maniac 07. We know this because of this exchange and rhetoric that I also mention in my HDB analysis:

Laito: Fufufu…Oh well, it’s okay. Seems like it’s almost the right time. I’ve gotten worked up as well. I’ll do even more pleasurable things to you, okay? Yui: Let me go…already… Laito: Fu…Come on, the starting shot has been fired. (5)

And in Maniac 08, Laito and Yui have this exchange:

Laito: More importantly, hey? How was that thing from the other day? Does it still hurt? Yui: …! Laito: So it really does after all~ Nfu~ Ah…Rather than ‘hurting’, the term ‘aching’ might be more accurate. Did it feel better than usual? Yui: …!

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Laito: Well, you’d be in trouble if such a small thing already left you in shock.

So we know something different happened than usual. By the wording of Laito treating it as such a “small thing,” it can be implied that this is when he first raped her, considering he’s used to being sexually abused in that manner with Cordelia. Obviously, it is not a small thing, but he’s trying to write it off as one. It’s kind of like saying “oh you didn’t know *insert fact here?* I thought that was common knowledge!” kind of teasing or just general statements.

So from Dark 09, we know that Yui did not get raped in the church. For episode 4? It is harder to tell on that scene alone because a lot of it is meant for interpretation, so I believe you could go either way with that scene. Analysis can’t do much for that scene, unless if you were to argue two ways. In the start of episode 5, Yui’s just remembering what Laito said about how she’s a sacrifice. She does not act like how she acts in Maniac 08. However, that’s just my opinion and regardless, the anime is not as good as the visual novel when it comes to showing and not telling, and it is a pretty short runtime. So they had to cut a lot of it out. But once again, I think you could interpret it either way in the anime.

If you were to base it solely off of the source material, then no, she did not get raped in episode 4.

Hope that helps! As always, if you need clarification on anything or have any questions, please feel free to reach out! 

-Corn

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Just having your upbringing and core beliefs being taken out from under you is a very terrifying situation. For many people, religion (and core beliefs in general) gives a sense of comfort to a person. In Kanato’s route, Yui relates her rosary to Teddy (which Kanato actually understands that). Practicing a religion (in a non-hateful way) is a constant in many people’s lives, and brings a sense of community and well-being. By Laito not letting Yui enter a church anymore, that sense of safety was stripped away from Yui even further. However, she still had her god and religion to believe in. But Laito has even destroyed that with Yui by isolating her so much from the world and gaslighting her to the point of her questioning everything. It’s slowly making her paranoid and question her own being. Yui still doesn’t know what Laito means by making her “fall,” and that scares her more. He’s been vaguely transparent this whole time. What a paradox this man is.

There are many reasons why Yui is so vulnerable in HDB that makes her susceptible to stockholm syndrome (many of which is stated in that snippet above). Despite Laito being the reason why she wants to kill herself and why she’s depressed, he’s the only one that’s looking after her and socializing with her (he’s the only constant she has in her life at that moment). I’ve made a comment that the brothers don’t really show up in Laito’s HDB route, which adds to the social isolation Yui is going under.

Laito’s really the only person she’s in contact with in HDB. In contrast to MB+, she interacts with a lot of characters outside of Laito. She’s not as physically isolated anymore (from what it seems) and Laito’s going through his own issues, making it hard for him to keep tabs on Yui sometimes. But I don’t think it’s stockholm syndrome, especially in comparison to HDB.

I don’t think Laito legitimately loves Yui in HDB. However, I think that he begins to open himself up and start loving her bit by bit as MB+ goes on and he’s able to learn to love (more of that in another analysis coming up too! I’ll link it here when it’s posted :)).

If you need any clarification or have any questions, or need me to go deeper into something, please let me know! Thanks for the ask, anon!

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