dear juzo,
thank you for existing.
when i first saw you in the first episode of dr3, i instantly fell in love with everything about you. your attitude, your personality, how you didn't give a fuck when you punched naegi, everything. despite the overwhelming hate you got over that single event, i did my best to stick by you. it was hard, seeing so many posts about how shitty of a character you were, how gross you were, how "useless" you were to the story. but i really, really did my best. i kind of felt alone in a giant sea of overly sensitive assholes, who just wanted to 'protect the precious ones' and really didn't know they were talking about.
through all of future arc, i focused on you, defending you, trying my best to see the good in you. but some of my "friends" asked me what kind of person i am if 'i support an absolute dickbag like him' and i didn't really know how to answer. as dr3 went on, everyone was finding more and more reasons to hate you. but i held on to you as tight as i could. i couldn't let people influence how i felt about you. i remember telling kayleigh to watch future arc and despair arc with me at lunch and i'd always smile so much whenever you came on screen.
and then that fated despair arc episode aired, and suddenly, people "loved" you. only for your sexuality. i was disgusted by it. people that only like a character based on that one factor are probably some of the worst people that i've met. i've seen so many fujoshis fetishize you and say such disgusting things about you, and it even still happens today and i feel terrible about it. even worse, some people even say to me that i'm a fake fan despite the fact that they're fujoshis being utterly disgusting.
when you sacrificed yourself at the end of future arc, i don't think i cried that hard since then. i remember hoping you were alive, that there'd be a chance, screaming and having two other tables looking at me as if there was something wrong with me because you appeared, and crying into kayleigh's arms when you were gone. i ended up not going to school the next day because i overslept, due to the fact that i came home and cried, took a nap because i was so exhausted, and couldn't sleep until nearly 3 because i began to cry again.
it hurt a lot. sure, my other favorites from danganronpa did die, but you felt so different to me. i even made a shrine for you afterwards. all of the things that you went through, i experienced them too. i felt like i could connect with you on such a deeper level than any of the other characters that i love. how you fucked up a lot of things even though you didn't mean to, how you're overly loyal to your closest friends and would do absolutely anything for them, how your emotions can blow up at anytime. i felt so close to you that i knew i couldn't let you go. i felt proud that i was one of the few people who had loved you from the start, not from your sexuality or you saving the rest of the survivors. so many people tried to jump on the juzo bandwagon when that happened and it made me thankful that i didn't have to be like that. i'm so happy that i was able to make so many of my friends appreciate you and like you so much more for the amazing, well-rounded character you are.
so, thank you so much, juzo sakakura, for existing. you've got me through so many hard times, more than you can imagine. you're no way near perfect. i won't deny it. but you drew me into your strange self and i'm happy to have been a juzo stan for almost two years. thank you so much. i couldn't have gotten through last year without you. and i mean it.
love, karu. ♡
thank you for reading this. i just wanted for you guys to know how much love i have in my heart for him, its actually strange how much i love and adore him jesus im gross
(shrine and juzo shit below lol)
( made with carrd )
