Yeah! What's that dumb line Osomatsu-niisan likes so much... "Anybody can become a failure, but it takes hard work to become a piece of shit."

That's so moving...

Right? No one appreciates our effort.

Yeah. Like... sometimes you make a choice. And you know it's the wrong choice, and a cruel choice, and is going to screw over people who don't deserve it...

And then you do it anyway! Forever!

[ ah... a little concern creeping into the vibes. ]

...Yeah, sometimes you do. And sometimes you knowingly make things worse in the process of trying to make other things better.

[ ... ]

There are things you want to make better though, right?

It's always just about arranging your priorities. You put different things in different boxes, and then you stack those boxes in the right order.

Mm. That's a pretty good way of putting it.

Which box is going to be at the top for you after this?

I need to clear my head and be less crazy.

... After that I was thinking I might... revisit the newbie program. And try to improve it a little, maybe.

Valid... I think a lot of us could use a mental health vacation after this.

That sounds like it could be a good plan, though. Did you have any specific improvements in mind?

I... have no idea. The whole point is to prepare them for Hell. And the freedom it'll give them. To murder sometimes, if they want. [ SO IT'S COMPLICATED. ]

Whatever. Any new ideas on your front? For your world?

Yeah... I think I'm going to leave it broad in a way that shouldn't be too easy to twist. Just establish that we can have offscreen lives that aren't subject to the rules we have to follow onscreen, that won't be influenced by what the studio wants. So even if we're still playing the same roles while we're on the air, the rest of the time we can do other things.

[ this way he isn't forcing anyone else to change the way they live if they don't want to, because he truly does not know what some of the people in his hometown would do with their lives if they couldn't be goofy cartoon people..... ]

That sounds like a good idea. Like a... backstage, or behind-the-scenes.

But it's not mandatory, for the people who prefer things as they are.

Yeah, exactly. I'd feel bad just forcing everyone into a harder life where consequences suddenly matter without them having any say in it.

"Face the future as you please." Orrr don't.

What'll you do off screen? If it's a comedy series, it must be exhausting, so—what, just... rest?

Pretty much the opposite, actually? We already do nothing most of the time, it's things like having a real job or a relationship or whatever that we're not allowed to do.

[ because "unemployed virgin" is like the basic defining character trait for them as a whole ]

So... normal stuff?

Huh. So like... Being productive instead.

I guess the grass is always greener. [ pining for a job... imagine... ]