adsum | npc contact.1

Understanding doesn't necessarily mean agreeing. I try to understand every person who walks through my doors, but whether or not my own beliefs align doesn't factor. This space is about you, after all.

[ A general you, but still... you. Komaeda's a tricky one; he ties his hopes with others' but he sets himself apart at the same time.

The counselor leans back a little more, looking at Komaeda closely. ]

The hope they're striving for... what do you see it as, currently? Saving everybody in this school, regardless of whether they deserve it? Or is it graduation... or merely survival? For some, it seems that's all the hope they have.

( if he could place a hand to his chest, he would, because there's something about a "you," that doesn't sit right with him. it's about the love he has for hope, how much he'd do anything for it — his dreams, his wants, things like that doesn't matter when he has to focus on the others that need his assistance. he's not even a person, he's trash they can get rid of at any time, there's no amount of worth to his life. good luck, bad luck, a mediocre, that's all he has, nothing meaningful to the world of hope like the symbols around him. )

...At the start, they seemed confused, it was pathetic, and I couldn't exist seeing them that way.

( lost and confused, not sure of what to do, not even trusting one another — people didn't even speak, but crossed paths all because they were worried about who brought them here, and also some who were adjusting, accepting this position. )

To allow their hope to settle is... a disgusting thing to see, especially when it should radiate around them, and light a path for those who need it. Do you know what hope is... it's absolute good, it's where dreams ( it could be the position rokkun is in of how much he dreams for graduation, strives for that ), a boundless justice ( maybe it's like saihara's search for the truth ), and bliss ( perhaps the state of stephanie's world where the worst thing that happens is an argument... who knows, ymmv. ) all come together, but that sounds like the stuff of fantasies...

( but he doesn't expect the counselor to understand, a few people tend to have trouble, but this is where he has complete faith in some of the ultimates... some. )

I'll help them achieve that hope through any means, but when you list out such simple ones, it sounds... boring, because once they achieve it... that's that. The thing about hope is that it's forever, and doesn't just end... graduation's a one time thing, but influence of hope is meant for everyone to bask in.

( ... ) Can I get up now.

I've been watching them. It would have been a boring school year if they haven't come together in such a way... I'm grateful for what transpired as well.

[ Simple, Komaeda calls those hopes, but when they're impossible to achieve? it might as well be forever. Either way, the counselor pops another rice cracker in his mouth, crunching on it as he lifts his feet off the arms of the chair so he can sit cross legged on the desk instead, causing the chair to spin slightly and with that little bit of movement Komaeda will find that he's able to move and get up. ]

What of the little hopes? Once achieved, another blossoms in its place. Survival. Graduation. Saving everybody in the process. Hope may not be universal, but it is eternal.

You agree that what happened helped them, they've really graduated from what they used to be... If you say that to anyone else, they'll start to worry where your intentions are. Sadly, they don't understand people die every day...

( her death wasn't even a death, let's call it a sacrifice to build up everyone. )

Some deaths were uneeded from how selfish it was, but... I believe in them to overcome. ( he moves, and komaeda can move, and he sighs as he finally stands up to stretch. ) What are you...? This school has unusual oddities, and you must be one of the many mysteries.

( he's not answering because he has his own questions, but don't worry, it's hope, and komaeda always comes back to that. the little hopes... )

[ The little hopes are his favorites; the large ones never get realized, after all, so he takes what he can get, especially when what he gets is what people bring in with them through these doors. ]

What am I? I am the counselor.

[ That's all he has to say about that. If figuring out what he is is something that drives people, who is he to spoil the answer? ]

What if I don't see you as a counselor, so let's take that away, shall we?

( normal counselors don't do what he did, to be honest, and it's not like komaeda is living right now to find out what he truly is. he's only here for hope, and hope alone. )

You're more than that, "the counselor," if I can accept myself as a stepping stone, then you can do the same.

( a piece of the world that others walk over to further their path, something like that. )

Being a stepping stone is inherent in the nature of a counselor. A mirror, a light... I am meant to be used, for as much and how long as the other person wishes to use me.

[ He likes to think of himself like... a garden path. A series of stepping stones. ]

You have never spoken to another counselor, have you?

So what... does that make me a counselor too? I think such a title is too... professional for trash like me.

( a garden path is actually pretty, especially with the surroundings, and how each step leads a person into a beautiful location filled with all sorts of flowers, tended to beautifully. )

Hmmm... I'm used to being suspended for an unforeseeable amount of time, like when I bombed the last school I attended.

( so a counselor to him is just... not really a thing he needs, well, his parents never told him he needed to see one. ) You're not *just* a counselor... you knew the moment that girl sacrificed herself, and you've been biding your time for me to appear... that's not a trait they usually have.

No, being a counselor requires understanding.

[ Komaeda doesn't even try, so... no... That professional title will have to remain with the counselor. ]

Have you spoken to other counselors? Perhaps omniscience is a trait counselors do usually have, and you were unaware.

I understand them perfectly, I understand that they don't understand the extent of their hope, and that they need help.

( he doesn't understand feelings! and a few other things, but that's because he hasn't been given the chance to, so he goes his life making up what others need around him by his own rules. the sad part is that he can't help them all the time, he can only hold their hand for a moment... or he gets irritated with carrying through the entirety. )

Not that I remember. ( easy excuse, he has dementia anyway, but can he fiddle with the desk drawers, what's in there? )

If they did, you could have just said so, but you didn't... so that makes you special compared to them, what else makes you different?

[ That's not understanding at all... ]

Every person is uniquely different, Komaeda. So are you.

I'm not a person.

( no one are people, they're either hope, or they're stepping stones. )

...Pick out the differences among five students, I want to see what you see, open my eyes to it.

( there he goes to crouch on the floor looking for something. what? nothing, just to see what's under the desk you know... normal things. )

[ Oh I forgot to respond to the desk question, no Komaeda can't open it, it's like the door that won't open unless the counselor invites the person in or the chair that won't move until he moves his feet. Underneath the desk... is maybe a stray sunflower seed shell, a bent staple, blood stains around the bottom of one of the desk legs that wasn't scrubbed out properly... normal things. ]

Give me five students, tell me what you see first, and I'll indulge you as best I can without breaking confidentiality.

Alright, one by one... the first one we can speak on is...

( aw sad, not his control... i respect it. he'll flick the sunflower seeds, the staple, but he'll run his fingers across the blood curiously. )

Kawaii-san's a pretty interesting piece as a stepping stone... I see how those deaths led to the beginning of a minuscule hope inside her... I'm curious how it'll grow, and who has to tend to it for the time being.

( he's going to lay on the floor because no one is stopping him, but as long as the counselor can hear him, it's fine. he sighs, thinking: )

They're the best thing that could have happened.

[ The blood is blood, it looks like it's been there a while, soaked into the grains of the wood. ]

Is she not tending to her own hope?

[ What a high maintenance hope. At least cultivate it yourself ]

Do you think she can, tell me your thoughts on her... What do you see?

( can he pull out his switchblade and try to pull up the wood? sometimes people eat snacks, and other people try and damage property. )

You should know who she is, you know everyone.

( she'll pick her own weeds :/ she's a strong girl. )

[ He can pull out that switchblade but the counselor's going to reach down and confiscate this. Whose switchblade is this? Is this the one he picked up from Kouji's corpse? There are so many knives floating around it's hard to keep track of. ]

I know who she is. I was asked if I would be a grief counselor for her. She doesn't need me.

( STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP, omg i'm crying, first the gun, now his switchblade. he hasn't even hurt anyone with it... his only line of defense.

and it is the one he got from kouji's corpse, he kept it safe! )

...You must be bad with girls, there's a lot you could say about her.

( it doesn't take long for komaeda to get off the floor, almost like he's waiting for the switchblade back so he can return to what he was doing. )

As a stepping stone, you have to be able to do something for their hope... because if not, what good are you?

[ Oh that reminds me I need to do bonuses so Dito can have his spear back to stab people with

The switchblade goes inside his pants pocket. ]

No good, unless the other person seeks me out. A person must want to be helped, in order to gain anything from counseling. I am a stepping stone, not a magic carpet; I will not sweep people off their feet.

( YESSSSSSSSSS FINALLY SOME STABBING IS GETTING DONE!!

komaeda's not against sticking his hand in his pant's pocket... he needs that to stab himself again, you know it worked out last time for saihara! )

...Saihara-kun, Amami-kun, Sakasaki-kun, and Rokkun... I wanted to choose Kawaii-san too, but I guess she doesn't work for differences...

( also why do they need to seek him, why can't he just do like komaeda does? )

[ The counselor's hand slips inside his pants at the same time Komaeda's does, but the counselor is the one who finds the grip and flicks the blade open. Here, he's helping. ]

They are the people you think of first. How are they important to you?

( wow. hm... good with his hands, i see. he wins! his eyes are trained on the blade, slowly shifting left and right if the counselor moves it. he removes his hand from his pockets though, taking a few steps back as he patiently waits.

speaking of importance, he thinks about it... some are more important than others, but he doesn't know how to talk about feelings. rather... )

Their hope, it's all important to me... I want to see where it goes.

( also because they're the set of people that stood out. )

[ His knife now. As soon as Komaeda backs off, the counselor goes back to snacking on his crackers like he hadn't just been this close to stabbing a student in the hand. ]

I see. Do your best to help them, Komaeda. Amami faring better than the rest, who have quite the targets on their backs.

Is it because Amami-kun's an Ultimate? Saihara-kun is as well...

( he knows that rokkun can be... like that, as well as rika can be... like that... and natsume can also be... like that... but, maybe he means how out of the way that ultimate has been compared to others. )

What makes them different that he's faring better? I can understand that everyone would want to be in an Ultimate's grace, though...

He keeps his cards close. The others are impressionable. Look how much you've affected them already.

[ I originally mistyped infected and you know that's true too ]

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