i have come to not care for “redemption” and find it more productive to look at it from the lens of “change.” the former is a subjective judgement anyway. “have u done enough to be worthy again?” “have u been absolved?” puts the power in the hands of an observer or a moral scale that doesnt actually exist. with change it is “what are you doing differently now, and what happens next?” this is what is observable, verifiable, and useful. it doesnt require forgiveness, erasure of the past, or permission. the only part that materially matters is behavioral shift, and it is what is more relevant in terms of restitution too really
the theatrics of “redemption” with guilt and self-loathing and penitence can be incapacitating if anything and yet it is what is really valorized. characters busy with autoflagellation and self-abnegation r often not meaningfully in motion
a character being a perpetrator does not negate their victimhood and neither does their victimhood negate being a perpetrator. u can accept and reckon w both dimensions in ur analysis
this is why i find it pretty integral to handle this conscientiously when you depict it. i like when authors write a diverse array of victims that respond to things differently for different reasons. victims are not a monolith
when such characters occupy this role in a narrative it should not be taken as some omni-applicable assertion that “they are a bad person because they are *insert*”, as much as it is a depiction and criticism of the forces that victimized them as well, hence emphatically they dont do what they do and are not what they are in a vacuum
"―It was over from the moment it started. I'm with you too, Es."
『――始まった瞬間から終わっていたんだ。』
"―It was over from the moment it started."
T1Q12 Do you have a quote you live by?
There is no other path which allows me to live my life, so I will walk this path.
18/06/2020 Treat you like a child? Hah, you’ve got to be kidding. Back when I was your age, I was already the person I am today.
T1Q13 Do you regret anything?
No.
T1Q15 Which is more important, the goal or the means you take to achieve it?
The goal.
Isn't that just obvious?
T1Q3 Can you forgive the other prisoners if they commited the same crime as you?
Of course.
I believe what I did was the right thing,
didn't I say that before?
T2Q5 How do you deal with evil that can't be bested by strength?
Force it so that it can. No matter how long it takes, no matter what means I'll need to use.
T2Q14 Don't you feel a sense of isolation in your current situation?
It feels like nothing's changed. If the world gets even a little bit better by me undertaking this isolation, then that is the role the strong play.
T2Q18 What would you do if evil disappeared from the world?
I see where you're getting at. But I believe it will never truly disappear.
T2Q11 Is there really no chance to start anew for wrongdoers?
No way.
Once a beast gets a taste for human flesh, it will always come back for seconds
"Say that sympathy is useless, hate evil as the evil that it is"
15/12/2025 Humans' nature cannot be changed easily
YONAH Es, look. Someone who committed a crime can only realise its severity through losing something. I've seen many criminals, but none of them would give way without pain.
T2Q20 What would you have done if you were guilty?
I'd despise it all. To compromise justice just because you're unable to withstand the pain that comes with it is unbelievable.
Jackalope's T3 CN
But, I must say, the current situation within this prison id directly influenced by the fact that she was once found "innocent". Evil done against evil, can that ever be justified......?
『お前も一緒だ、エス』
"I'm with you too, Es." // "We're the same, Es."
T2Q12 Aren't your actions an overstep of boundaries?
You were the one who chose to walk this path with me, aren't you? I simply serve as a means to fulfill your wishes as a warden.
There is no other path which allows me to live my life, so I will walk this path.
TASK Heh... I like to think you and me are the same. I can't tolerate evil.
T1Q1 Just who are you?
Yuzuriha Kotoko. Someone who plans to fight for your sake. Well, that depends on you too, though.
T1Q17 Tell me what the merits are for teaming up with you.
I'll act according to your will. And I'll protect you from harm too. Have you forgotten about that time when you were on the verge of dying?
TASK *sighs* "Murderer"... Is that so? Are you that level of human? Don't disappoint me. Well, maybe that doesn't matter.
TASK Then there's no problem. People who understand will automatically do so
T1Q16 What do you think about extenuating circumstances?
I think it's a necessary way of thinking. I don't think that commitiing a crime in itself is evil, so it's only natural to judge while taking a person's situation into account.
T2Q1 What is your ideal image of a hero?
An ally of the weak. Someone who helps the weak and crushes the strong.
T1Q20 What do you think is evil?
Opressing innocent weaklings.
YONAH Weak… You're too weak. With that fragile body of yours, you can't stop anyone. You can't protect anyone. You can't even do your justice. All imperfect.
YONAH I know. You're unable to do it yourself, that's why you need me. The fangs to do your will.
YONAH If you brag about hating evil, act against it! Carry on the belief that your actions can change this world! If you only brag about it from afar, the world will just continue to rot no matter how many of you are there! If you don't have strength on your own, let me take care of it, Es! I can do it in MILGRAM!
YONAH Do you understand now?! Don't make me wait!
"If it damaged someone’s dream to the points of stopping it I want gouge you out with my fangs"
T1Q7 What did you study at university?
For a while, I studied at the faculty of law. There's something I want to do, so I'm currently taking a break from studies, though.
05/07/2024 I hope you won’t be forgiven. When that time comes I will crush you completely.
"So make yourselves my reason Just choose the only choice, GUILTY"
"I want a reason for judgment execution, I want it"
27/06/2025 You’re just a greedy beast with an excuse for yourself.
T2Q19 Do you really want to protect the weak?
What?
Is there something else other than that?
"I want to be drowning in the knowledge that I am right"
Something I like in MILGRAM is that the 12 year old girl doesn't have boobs, you can only tell the 16 year old has boobs in certain outfits which doesn't include her school outfit or prison uniform, and the 20 year old woman likes dressing in way that while both shows her chest also ends up not outlining her boobs at all and in many way just doesn't show them
