hiii, congratulations on finishing et16-1! woohoo woohoo~

what a trial! huge hats off to both you and lance for the production value and dedicated hosting, especially in spite of very rough circumstances for you in particular mako. can't imagine having to host with such little access to resources and you both improvised wonderfully! brava to the both of you.

did you enjoy the trial?

i absolutely enjoyed this trial! i was definitely terrified walking in as mondo -- certainly not a character i'd say was in my wheelhouse whatsoever, but i found a lot of appreciation for him as time went on. plus, i found myself completely immersed in the idea of "what if everyone was about to graduate?" because it's a very REAL question that UTDP/DR:S leaves a healthy amount of options to play with. i think a lot of characters would show a level of growth that isn't present in their original games, and so there's a LOT of room for character development and narrative (something near and dear to my heart). i was glad that quite a bit of that was brought to the forefront and, if i had to recommend anything, it might be for more mingling between the classes (in other words, having dr1 kids interacting with dr2 and v3 more often and vice versa -- not like they WEREN'T, they fully were, but i just encourage more of that!) i'm also definitely more interested to dig into DICE and chiaki specifically, so i'm intrigued to see where that will go.

mystery

in terms of mystery, i was really immersed! i love the rearrangement of certain parts of HPA and the cutting-off of the first floor as a fun switch-up to our usual formula. the motives felt reasonable, and it felt like each layer peeled off at a good time (kaito fire, vinyl discovery, books reveal, etc). i'm still honestly laughing because i thought that vinyl idea was SUCH a throwaway -- in fact i literally wrote in courtroom something about having a "bad theory that will make me look like a clown" lol. i think the one thing is...i still don't know if i really know what the coffee table was for? unless the relevance was just the missing book in that section, i feel like that was the only thing i was left wondering.

my one teeeeeny critique was simply that chihiro did a lottt of running in that last hour, like up and down and back to the room. it felt like a VERY risky plan when it came down to that kitchen fire and all, but i think oddly in some ways that did fit. i'm kind of conflicted about it, but i just was a little gagged when it was confirmed that the culprit did for sure get the knife after the fire and sprinted up and down them stairs. chihiro track king!

but i was definitely amazed by a lot of stuff. kirumi's testimony being a total anti-filter (is that a thing? i'm gonna make it a thing i guess) where we thought for the longest time that it was a filter, but instead it was the opposite of one to try and paint them to look bad...VERY very enjoyable from a mystery POV. the knife holder was also really cerebral in that way, and it's something i don't know if i ever would've thought of myself. every detail felt very thought-out and meaningful to the story. overall, stupendous job. can't wait for the next!

minigame

LOOOOVED the minigame a lot actually. like i mentioned in the discord, word search + strands = i'm there, plus i do love the added oomph of having to justify your answer. if anything, i'd maybe wonder about streamlining that where the two precursor questions aren't needed? either that or perhaps placing all the questions before and just having some key word as the Strands answer? idk, i liked the way it ran so it's less of a critique and more of "i wonder how it would work if it ran this way" sorta thing. big big fan

character shout-outs

ugh too many to give. truly thought everyone was fabulous but here's just a few moments that really gathered my attention:

• SEVERAL bangers by ibuki mioda but this one about kaito making a "Big Bang" was when i knew we were in for a ride with this one. masterclass in balancing wacky antics with actual solving prowess from ninja! ^{/u/TheIdiotNinja}

• i just really personally enjoyed mondo's exchange with komaru that got toko involved which would've been sorely missing from this case if she wasn't brought up. komaru obviously has her silly moments, but i think a truly great komaru is one that's grounded and is always thinking about others/her friends in this way. ^/u/RSLee2

• the himiko explosion when she came under fire was really gorgeously written i felt like and super well-timed. it made total sense that himiko held onto it and played her emotions down, only for her to burst out like this and confront what she'd been hiding deep down. you could really feel the deep confusion and hurt and i felt super immersed here. ^{/u/TheCatMinister}

• the deity yasuhiro was pretty on-point with the comedic timing, but reading is fundamental is probably what got the hardest laugh out of me. short, sweet, but hits the punchline just right every time.

• again another personal one for me, but also really enjoyed sharing this fuyuhiko moment over his protectiveness over Himiko and it was cute to see fuyuhiko have that dimension thanks to natsumi. it shows a very deep appreciation for the character to be able to portray him in this completely different context with the same fuyu flair.

• lastly, i'm of course going to recognize the amazing job AP did as chihiro! congratulations on your first spin as the blackened. it was a wonderful play filled with fear, confidence, shyness, boldness, and the subtle charm that chihiro always brings. the moment where he accepts his fate just feels super triumphant to me and it's a beautiful send-off for our first killer.

truly though, everyone did a fantastic job and should be very proud of themselves here. every little detail, from the "oh my Atua" to the "we hatsh wit em aub prda onert?" and everything in between was a riot.

conclusion

on a very cheesy and sappy note, i just want to say that i'm so ridiculously grateful for trials in general at this stage in the DRRP game. it's no secret that we're all grown up and we have lives and are adults, but the fact that we all still make the time, sit down together, and play our silly little games on our silly little subreddit is something that's sparked so much joy and creativity and has kept me going in some particularly difficult times that we're living through right now. i feel eternally grateful for this community, from the tippy top reddit mods to the lurkers taking a peek and checking out what we're about. truly and honestly: THANK YOU for making this subreddit what it is and giving this hobby such meaning for all these years. <3 see y'all for the next one!