ANZU MENTIONED

ANZU MENTIONED

It would've been a blessing being able to grow old with you.

I had a lot of fun actually brainstorming up their outfits and possible occupations for this actually! In my head this is about a decade or so after the death game? So they'd be around 26-27. It was a neat lil activity to do to both try and balance the original designs and the ideas behind em in canon alongside my own bullshit.

For Ranmaru, i leaned in a bit more on the ninja esque(??) aspects of his character that I initially overlooked when first planning for him. (Like oh my god. Of course thats what he is. Hes dressed in all black, has a shuriken necklace, and goes to shinobi high of all places. It took me until that to realize it) so that meant still going with his monochrome pallette, and letting him stay all covered up, even without the bandages. I felt the ponytail would be a cute touch too! mimics sara a bit- sorta like a physical representation of the impact she left on him, helping him find some sort of purpose or passion in life he couldn't even find alive.

Which like. Hear me out here. In terms of his job. I'll probably be interesting if he ended up as like a highschool counselor. He has the potential, at least in terms of talking sense into everyone after preventing Sara from signing the vow when it was first given to her, and he'll probably feel some fulfillment from helping other people who were like him seek out that spark in life without going through a terrible death.

For Joe, his was a bit more straightforward. While I didn't want to just throw him into the green hoodie he has from Saras side-story, I did want to incorporate that sort of casual wear into his fit now, which is why hes just in a cropped letterman jacket and flared jeans. The length of his hair was meant to be a small nod to Kai, too, in reference to whatever conversation they had on the first floor. Bigger collection of trinkets too! Thought it would be neat to reference the other highschoolers (including ryoko) in em. Though the dog in his jacket pocket- wonder why that's still there.

Job wise, Joe was weirdly enough the hardest for me to pin down. I was cycling through being a hs counselor like Ranmaru, a therapist, even like some sorta game designer too. I eventually settled on a musician with a day job in advertising or the like. Its the best way I can properly build off from how he acted as an emotional anchor for Sara (and some of the younger kids in chapter 1) alongside how his memory is a reminder to her to keep everyone together, and escape. no better way to inspire others than through art, right? Adds on to him being a huge fan of reko, too.

For Anzu, her occupation was already determined in canon. Thus, i thought it would be a fun idea that with her status as a clown, the bigger she'd get, the more intricate her costume would be. Her outfit includes motifs of both jesters and ringmasters, as I think for all the work and passion she puts in, the more she entertains larger audiences, and potentially creates events with other performers as well.

Lastly, Kugie was someone I had to mostly rely on her dynamics with other characters to paint a clearer picture of. She's described to be similar to Sara, but as seen in most if not all of her encounters, she's got a bit more bite to her. She isn't afraid to back down and lock in to protect Kanna at all costs, and remained level headed as best as she could before her death. Its through that where I decided to try and give her a more practical, work focused look, with her hair put up and her sleeves rolled.

For her occupation, she's a gardener. I thought it would be a neat parallel to Shin's link to technology and programming, while also being another metaphor for her looking after her sister, no matter what happens to her, or what state shed be in. (Points to Kannas execution)

Anyway though! I think all of them are neat. I'm putting them in a terrarium in my mind and watching how they interact with great interest and whimsy.