Well it sucks that little sis died, but PROTAG KOSAKU is on the case. He's the protag, right? What do you mean, he's not smart enough?
Oh shit, Daniel's dead, too. Wasn't expecting that. And what happened to his pants?
...Oh god. OH GOD. C'mon, Crit, I thought we were in the clear after the Lust Motive in Versailles Academy! *Sigh* Welp. It's surprising how quickly I can go from liking a character to hating their guts. Sorry, Danny-boy, but necro-pedos (not something I ever thought I'd have to talk about) have no place in my tier lists other than rock bottom.
Assuming my theory about Mr. Psycho and Hayate hiding somewhere in the station is true, then I'm going by the theory that Kikuro and Daniel were killed by two different people. Hayate, from wherever he's watching from, noticed what Daniel was up to, and the rage and disgust he felt brought out Mr. Psycho, who then brutalized the Coroner. Given Monokuma's rules for multiple killer cases, Hayate would be home free.
Of course, the only question then is, who killed Kikuro? Well, I've got nothing for that one. Konyu and Galexialyn both admitted they have weak alibis, but I'm expecting a switcheroo here. Someone else's alibi will crumble as the evidence starts stacking.

Damn, we’ve got a double murder in the first case, as well as an extremely dark case of necrophilia (on a “child” no less, poor Kikuko), you’re definitely not holding anything back on this one. I’m glad you enjoy reading my random thoughts, I’m probably going to be way off but let’s start with the speculations! I agree with the other reviewer that it’s likely there are two different killers, one who killed Kikuko and one who killed Daniel, possibly in a fit of rage (wouldn’t really be surprising considering the shit he pulled). The question is whether both killers will be executed, if Daniel was the first killer (unlikely), or if only Kikuko’s killer will be executed. For now, I’m just going to talk about Kikuko‘s murder. The murder itself doesn’t really point to a specific person, although it seems important that the killer would have either been hanging around the garbage disposal, or possibly followed Kikuko there. To me the killing itself seems mostly unplanned and spur of the moment, so it’s odd that the killer cleaned up after themselves so well. We have a bunch of alibis, some more shaky than others, but if we take everyone at their word we can remove Kaiyo, Scrappy, Frida, Alice, Shiori, Jin, Kosaku, Amanda, and Bouncy. I think we can also remove Kasumi and Noelle, theirs are more shaky but seem to support each other. That leaves Timothy, Shuhei, Galexialyn, Nerai, Hollie, Rene, and Konyu. While not exactly solid evidence, I doubt it would be Nerai considering that even if she got away with it Alice would be executed. I also doubt it’s Timothy or Shuhei considering they discovered the mask. Speaking of the mask, it’s probably one of the few definitive leads we have, that being it was discovered in the Boy’s Dormitory. The problem with this is there’s too many unknown variables since it wasn’t revealed who’s room it was, so can’t really say anything much about that. Going back to suspects, I’m going to remove Rene since it seems out of character and I’m really hoping you don’t kill him off in the first trial again. Meta-reasoning and shaky alibis aside, that leaves three obvious suspects: Hollie, Galexialyn, and Konyu. Each one seems suspicious in their own way, however the final piece of evidence of Shiori’s charm being taken off of Kikuko’s body seems to cast more suspicion on Galexialyn or Konyu. I suspect that the finishing blow for Kikuko’s killer is that they’ll have that charm on their person somewhere. Don’t have any further speculation than that, will have to wait for the trial to see more information come to light. If I had to bet on it, I have this weird gut feeling that Konyu killed Kikuko, but I’m really hoping I’m wrong since she’s one of my favorite characters so far. Looking forward to the next chapter, hoping for an equally wacky and tense trial from this particular cast.

Okay, first of all...WOW this chapter went for gut punch after gut punch. First, Daniel's dead. Then, apparently there's the genuine possibility that Mr. Psycho themself did it. Finally, before I could even really start theorizing about Mr. Psycho killing to avenge Kikuko's death or something like that, it's revealed I was...very wrong, at least on why Kikuko was being avenged. I can definitely say you are delivering some good twists, to the point that I honestly feel like I should have seen them from a mile away before, and did for one of them, just didn't know what I was looking at for one of them.

Now, guessing the culprit(s)! A special one since there is probably two this time around! Yeah, I'm feeling pretty confident it was two separate killers here, or at the very least two very separate personalities if the same body killed. Kikuko was simple and straight to the point, while Daniel's was long, drawn out, and left a scene like a horrific art piece. Even with the...circumstances during Daniel's murder, I feel confident it was two separate people.

For more specific details, things are a bit easier thanks to all of the alibis, as well as going over the typical rules of a killing game. For those that could have committed either murder, we have Konyu, Galex, and Nerai, with two admitting they had no alibis while the third has yet to give one out that's 100% concrete (She may have been searching the dorms, but her splitting up from Bridgette did not help Nerai's case). Another trio for possibly killing Kikuko, that being Shuhei, Rene, and Hollie, with no apparent alibis for any of them, but each having an alibi for Daniel's murder (Shuhei with Timothy, Rene being part of the innocent trio to discover the body if that rule is present here, and Hollie staying with Alice). Then, our final trio for suspects in Daniel's death, with Amanda, Bridgette, and Jingai, the former two actually having alibis with each other and the latter hosting the makeover party with Alice and Shiori, but all three making the mistake of going off on their own before Daniel died.

Now, on the question of who killed who, I'm definitely changing my answers from last chapter. It would've been risky for Noelle to lie about someone knocking on her door before the body discovery, so I feel she is being honest about that. And I still stand by my previous theory about Kikuko going out to kill, and I even feel more confident with the discovery of the Monokuma sticker. Among the six possibilities, I think it was either Hollie or, surprisingly, Nerai. It mainly depends on whether or not Kikuko ran into the person she planned on trying to kill. If she did, Hollie, since she's the most vulnerable person left on that suspect list. If she didn't, Nerai, as she might've panicked when Nerai caught her, tried to kill her, and failed miserably. And while Nerai may be Interpol, she's mainly a sniper; she honestly may have little experience with hand-to-hand fighting, and may have killed Kikuko on accident.

Daniel is a harder one, since this feels like a mystery that won't be solved right after this case. Very few definitive clues, and you can't really say anything about who Mr. Psycho is until we know. So, best guess at the moment? Maybe Amanda. Mr. Psycho was motivated to kill bad people in the original, and if that's stayed a constant here, I feel like she's the one of the six most likely to run into bad people, specifically from hearing the poor children she meets with, and some of their awful, horrible parents. And with Kikuko looking very child-like, and Daniel doing...that? I wouldn't be surprised if Mr.-or should I say Miss?-Psycho decided to come out to avenge the poor girl.

Or, like last time, maybe I'll be proven dead wrong. We'll just have to wait and see! No matter what, though, keep up the good work! Because I can guarantee that I am already excited for it!

Wait. There's a Discord for this fandom?

Well here I go, I'm crunched for time since the next chapter is gonna come out soon...I feel bad for Nessa, she was hoping all the ultimates could just be friends, and live on this space station in slice of life fashion...but that was quickly silenced. I have a couple of suspects in my head but I'll share them once the investigation phase is done.
My key scene I'll talk about is between Nerai and Galexialyn in the Dormitory Wing. There seemed to be some tension between them, but rightfully so I would think they're the most dangerous two in the killing game currently. Both Nerai and Galexialyn seem to be able to hold themselves back not pressing one another to do something stupid, I think later down the road they'll have some sorta conflict.
It's sad to see a character like Kikuko go but that's how the game moves forward, I suspected no one would take the easy way out of the space station and use the motive...unless they tried and botched how they killed. Fear not readers I'll reveal the killer in my next review and I don't want you guys to feel bad about your own predictions just because they're wrong, alright?

Anyway great stuff Crit and Co
Your favorite, logal

1. Shuhei is still my favorite character from the returning cast. He's simultaneosly hopeful about the others and trusting Daniel's logic about trust. And Daniel is jsut too lazy to kill aparently. I imagine whoever received the machete is under some sort of coercion as well, otherwise it would be as simple as to come clean about it and have the machete under everyone's watch.

2. Oh hey, a Hayate reference. I kinda miss the guy lol. Also, both girls have a point there, survival instincts are a choice and Nerai is getting careless with Alice and not being 100% alert in a clearly hostile environment. But then again, knowledge is power. And power corrupts. Not entirely sure I trust either of them yet.

3. Ok, confirmed. Noelle is my favorite character of the new cast. She's like a meta joke made character lmao. So Hollie is colorblind eh? I feel that's coming back to bite us in the future. Also hey! A Nico reference too! We're on a roll today lol

4. So Frida is now a leader for this game. I like it. She certainly has the confidence. I died with the chocolate reward lol. I'm not sure why I'm beginning to suspect her being the potential Jason though.

5. Well crap. I really want Rene to be one of the 'good guys' here. What does he intend with this information? Does he agree with Konyu about Shuhei being leader material? So many questions that might only be answered by bodies dropping. I'm starting to feel the despair lol.

6. Well Amanda was a bit too quick offering help in searching the girls' dorms. I'm beginning to like her, but what if she is the mole? There have been some people in sessions with her before even the first body drops. Seems weird to me.

7. Well now I have some suspects. For one, Frida just happened to be there when the others discovered the body. Second, Kasumi said Kukuro dump her last minute searching for the girls' dorms. Mhm...

I have my theories, but I think I'll share them over discord lol. Anyways thanks for the chapter! Be sure to thank the betas as well!

Looks like the small “child” was the first one to bite it, you really have a thing for killing off the “innocent” ones first. I put innocent in quotation marks because I’m very suspicious of Kikuko being the one who received the motive. Like Konyu said, the Child Star was a lot smarter then she let on, and she didn’t seem like the type to go and get herself killed by being dumb or overly trusting. The fact that the person who originally received the motive isn’t the killer, alongside the body being in front of the Garbage Disposal Chamber, makes me suspect four possible scenarios (or some combination). 1) Kikuko received the motive herself and basically pulled a Sayaka, attempting murder and getting herself killed. 2) Kikuko received the motive and decided to dispose of the machete/mask before the inspection, and ended up being killed along the way. 3) Someone else disposed of the motive in the garbage, and then someone like Rene or Konyu (not necessarily them) found it and put it to use. 4) Kikuko was killed somewhere else and the killer was attempting to dispose of her body, but the garbage room was sealed after nighttime began (alluded to by Kaiyo and Scrappy almost getting sealed in the mess hall). I personally find 1 and 4 to be the most likely, but they’re all just random guesses I’m putting out there. All that aside, definitely enjoyed the chapter, and I think it’s kind of hilarious that even the characters are picking up on how unorthodox this Monokuma is. I definitely agree with Frida, the mastermind this time seems a lot less...polished then in other cases. Looking forward to the next chapter and investigation.

Seems like Daniel's understands the way the killing game works, and has a good attitude for it. Let's see how that works out for him.
"It's not like we have the Ultimate Thief among us" I'm taking this as foreshadowing until proven otherwise! Also, the fact that Galexialyn essentially had the same plan as Frida before Frida did, amuses me. Technically, that makes them a hipster now.
HolliexNoelle is the new- Nevermind, you get the point.
I actually find Frida to be kinda interesting. I'm getting Angie vibes, but where Angie's idea was just "let's live here forever," Frida seems to actually be trying to figure out how the mastermind works. "They are amateurish" is a good read at this point.
Moving on from the mastermind analysis, we have an analysis of the students. Konyu's thoughts basically match mine as well, so I don't have much more to add.
Makeover... therapy... child death... Wait, what!?
Wasn't expecting Kikuko to die first, though now that I'm thinking of it, I'm not sure if I should call it "child" death. I honestly doubt she was actually a child... mostly because the profile page lists her age as 17. Huh. Anyway, there are a few people I'm already crossing off my list of who got the machete, but I won't really be able to craft any theories around this death until the proper investigation, so I'll just leave my condolences and get outta here.

There's enough death flags in this chapter alone to give the generic anime mom with brown hair and a side-ponytail a run for her money. It really feels like just about anyone could be next on the chopping block. At least there was a different sort of flag raised as well, and that happens to be Noelle's love flag! (But whether her love flag will cancel out her death flag remains to be seen.)

Sigh. I see Shiori is slowly but surely becoming corrupted... Wanting to dye her hair like a punk? Bad girl, bad! But I suppose it'd be fitting for a dainty little devil worshipper. Burn the witch!

Narratively, Kikuko struck me as a somewhat surprising first death, though it's quite logical considering her size and temperament making the girl an easy target. I don't much to say right now, though something seems odd about Frida's reaction. Or maybe I'm just tired and being paranoid. Fun chapter.

...honestly, I was expecting Kikuko to die pretty quickly, but my idea was different. I was expecting machete and masked to be dropped off at the room of one of the pairs to stir up chaos, and since Nerai and Alice wouldn't really be up for that motive, I thought it would go to Kikuko or Amanda, and it would officially go to Amanda, but something would happen that would mean Kikuko gets it and kills Amanda in a panic, and then has to get away with it somehow.

Now I'm just left theorizing what actually happened and killed poor Kikuko. I'm calling it now, though, I don't think she was entirely innocent in this. Until we get some sort of clear sign that she was innocent, I think she did get the machete and mask (or thought she did anyway) and tried to kill someone, only to get overpowered and killed. It's the explanation that makes the most sense with her sudden decision to ditch the group checking for the weapon and mask. She wanted to make sure she survived, after all, and what better way to affirm your survival than killing someone and suffering no consequences for it? Who she targeted, I'm not sure, but there are some people that seem to have alibis, specifically the rest of Frida's group, Kaiyo, and Scrappy (Obligatory Yay!). Possibly also Alice, Shiori, Jingai, Amanda, and Bridgette considering their circumstances as well. That leaves about nine suspects I think? At the moment, with no other evidence, the best guess is Noelle, mainly because she's the only one smaller than Kikuko (someone she might think she stands a chance against in a fight to the death) but also capable of having some unforeseen skill in fighting, specifically contorting herself out of harm's way. That's about all I've got.

Or maybe I'll be horribly wrong. I have no idea at the moment. Either way, another great chapter, and I'm happy you got it out so fast. Can't wait to figure out who killed the child star. :)

Alright, things are starting to get in motion with the motive out there.
I'll be the first to admit I'll miss Hayate, but on the bright side, we get to know a bit more about Nerai after her brief appearances in the Oasis. Another characters I'm keeping my eyes on are Shiori, Shuhei, Galexialyn (for obvious reasons lol), but I'm also curious about Daniel and Noelle. Those two are my favorites from the new cast (I know Daniel comes from Oasis too, but we didn't really know him that well).

A special case for me is Rene, since he didn't have a chance to shine, hopefully this time will go better for him. Thanks for the chapter!

Woah, forget what I said about AlicexHayate last chapter, obviously AlicexNerai is the OTP for this story.
Gotta say, this motive isn't what I was expecting. Usually you wait a while before introducing the referential motives. Still, the idea of having a mini-First Blood Perk that only applies to one random student is interesting. Can't really say anything other than that until someone strikes, though.
Nevermind, AmandaxKasumi is the OTP for this story! Oh, also, we have to address the extras. I'm betting on artificial lifeforms, like in Sea of Tranquility, but who knows, I might be surprised.
NEVERMIND, RenexShiori is the OTP! I WILL DIE FOR THIS SHIP!... Am I doing this right? In all seriousness, the fact that you're giving him a good-luck charm gives me further hope that he'll survive for a while. Which is nice, I like being right about things.
Oh god, does Noelle have some sort of "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub" thing? Cuz if that's why she talks like that, I'm gonna feel really bad about feeling weirdly annoyed about her dialogue.

Okay, I should probably review here and favorite the story, right? Right.

So I love the blend of humor and drama in this, as well as the fear and apprehension. The characters are all amazing, I am able to follow them very easily, like with Kuma-Kuma Land! I would say there's still a lot of dialogue and requires some more narration, but I love watching you improve your passion, Crit. Carry on!

This is certainly my favorite chapter so far! Starting off with the scene before the motive is introduced. I really do like the chemistry between Nerai and Alice...I hope to see it in future chapters... unfortunately I think one of them will die during the first half of the game, that's just how things happen in danganronpa. But that just means the surviving friend will get a Mary Sue power up...ok not that much, but I'm sure they'll be motivated to get to end game.

The motive introduced in the Briefing Room is certainly an interesting one. I got this feeling that no one will actually leave early though...maybe the person with the mask and machete will end up being the one biting the bullet. I am intrigued to find out how that plays out. I'm starting to get flashbacks to the movie Jason X now a couple of scenes come to mind... When Jason goes into the virtual reality sim and kills the two virtual girls that was the most hilarious thing, I've seen in that franchise xD . That movie had some awesome kills too!

Nessa's downloading is great! She went from gaining traits from the sweet and kind Timothy to... learning to curse during each sentence from Jingai xP. I really hope she keeps those traits, it's like Yin and Yang lol. I really do look forward to her next meeting with Monokuma, I'm sure he'll be pleased xD

Great work Crit-chan!
logal :)

Noice work yet again Crit, I read through the chapter twice to try and pick out somethings. 5A1K0 seems to have gotten a little peeved of Tim's meeting with Nessa, makes sense though, always be cautious in a killing game. On another note, Alice's sudden slap on Rene really shows the seriousness of the situation, and I do believe the next kill will involve something to do with Mr. Psycho in some capacity. The tension is certainly building up in the killing game especially highlighted in the last scene in the morgue, I expect someone to bite the dust within the next two chapters. I'm not sure where to predict for the location of the death, maybe the Morgue. There's also the Garbage Disposal chamber... there's no way this whole game won't have at least one death there, just seems like a no-brainer.

Great work Crit!
logal