[Video]

[gundhamster]

[When Gundham starts the video, one thing is certain. While his outfit is similar to what he normally wears it's definitely... different. Several vines wrapped around his arms like snakes and his overall demeanor is more... determined.]

I have been here for some time now. Almost a year by my count. During that time I've had time to think. Too much time. But, I've come to a conclusion. Everyone that is brought here seems to have some talent or aptitude that furthers this place's goal, some history that makes them a candidate for being here. My talent is not one that is generally suited to the tasks laid out before us, though my history is.

A friend once told me that the future is not a river flowing immutably in one direction, but more like the ocean. You can try to go anywhere, though it doesn't mean you'll always reach your destination. However, the friends that I've made and comrades I vowed to survive with have had that future taken from them and so, I've made a decision.

I will not cling to hope blindly, nor will I let despair dictate my life anymore. I will take hold of my own future, embrace my path, and become the villain this place needs, for the sake of those left behind.

[That last remark is said with a slightly different cadence. He's choosing his words very carefully as if to get the attention of someone.]

And Mukuro, we need to talk.

[With that, he ends the feed.]

Comments

[gundhamster]

[That catches Gundham sufficiently off guard. Could it be that Junko had shown up here and he simply hadn't noticed? No, surely the powers that be wouldn't be so stupid as to bring the other Despair Sister here. He visibly flinches at the mere mention of such a personality, suddenly very glad that the video was off.]

What you ask is impossible. After all, one cannot tell someone to stay away from a person that does not exist in this place.

[He blurts it out, rattled as he is. It is only after the fact that he realizes his mistake and curses under his breath.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Now the confusion is perfect on both ends of the line.]

What are you talking about? Junko's been all over the network with her fashion video blogging. I know you've been around long enough to see her, too.

[Hijikata lurks a lot, so he's seen Gundham's post about of his animal shelter as well as the hypothetical scenario with the knights he opened up for discussion, and probably more posts he made.]

Look here, don't screw around. She hasn't done anything to you or Mukuro, so leave her alone.

[He has no idea how exactly Gundham fits into the web of relationships between Mukuro and Junko - he wasn't part of the class Hijikata got AU'd into during the summer solstice -, but knowing that he's affiliated with the 'Ultimate Despair' responsible for Junko's death is enough for him.]

[gundhamster]

That... is where you are wrong.

[Gundham sighs, checking to make sure everything is private.]

I only tell you this because you seem to have her best interests at heart, but the person you know as Junko is not. That is Mukuro Ikusaba. Junko Enoshima's twin sister. To say that their relationship is abusive would be like calling the Sahara Desert warm. She wears her sister's identity because before she was brought here, it was the last order Junko gave her.

We are from the same world, however I am from several years in her future. A future she does not live to see, murdered as she was at Junko's hands.

[mayoninofukucho]

[This is one hell of an update for Hijikata, and there's a long moment of silence. Poor Gundham, having to deal with a man who's gone for over half a year without realising that the girl he befriended isn't who she pretends to be...]

...

They're twins? Mukuro took Junko's role?

[On Junko's orders, too... wait. That anon using the knife emote... holy crap. He'd love to dismiss everything Gundham is saying based on his self-declared villain identity, but it's all coming together. Still, he's reeling from these revelations.]

Just to make sure I got this straight: the Ultimate Despair was Junko all along? Was her whole Ultimate Fashionista thing a ruse, then? Or..?

[gundhamster]

Junko Enoshima was possessed of many talents. Quite possibly her most fearsome was her gift for analysis. Analysis she used to see trends and build an image tailor made to be attractive yet unthreatening, and to build a career in fashion.

I cannot speak to the sincerity of her enjoyment of fashion. I did not interact with her directly more than a handful of times. However, the title "Ultimate Despair" did not refer to just one person. It referred to Junko Enoshima, her enforcer and the Ultimate Soldier Mukuro Ikusaba, and slightly later 16 other Ultimates that spread death and destruction in their wake, bringing the world to ruin in Junko's name.

[A beat as a cork can be heard popping. Gundham isn't really a drinker but talking about all this he needed something, and the bottle of booze he kept for guests was handy.]

One of which you are speaking to now.

[mayoninofukucho]

[This is so much, he actually needs to sit down (luckily he's in his hotel room, so that's no problem). His voice softens a little, if nothing else - Gundham is being generous in sharing this information with him, all the more since it's clearly impacting his mood too, and even if it's overwhelming he wants to keep talking to him.]

But... why? You guys did absolutely horrible things, and for what?

[There's no way they're all just super sadists or something! Certainly not Junko-- no, Mukuro. Mukuro... damn, no wonder she freaked out every time he lambasted the Mukuro he assumed to be her murderer.]