Etsuko Shinki

‘Etsuko Shinki’ is currently the leading name in the digital hardcore scene, blazing the way with blood-pumping tunes about revolution. Popular in the general noise community, especially with younger artists, Etsuko’s music is known best for bringing back the ‘roots’ of digital hardcore, and is highly politically charged. Songs about dismantling racism, sexism, and systematic inequality in general have made her extremely popular with minorities in particular. Though known to collaborate with various noise artists, Etsuko prefers to fly solo and is known for churning out new albums constantly, with or without help. Outside of music composing and performing, Etsuko is also widely known among social activist groups, being commonly sighted at protests.

Appearance
Etsuko is a relatively short girl with black hair, dark grey-brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. She's on the slimmer side, but certainly isn't stick-thin, being decently strong. Part of her bangs are dyed a light pink. Her hair goes down to her back, but is usually put up in a bun with two pink hair sticks.

She wears a pink, floral-pattern, stylized kimono that is reminiscent of wa lolita, with a cream-colored petticoat underneath. The sleeves are adorned with lace in the same cream color. She wears light pink tights, and darker, more purple-pink platform boots that have a 5 inch sole to them. Other accessories include a simple band-shaped, light pink bracelet on each wrist, and a cream-colored cloth choker with a pink stone in the middle.

Hidden by her boot is a prosthetic replacing where her left foot should be. It's shaped like how you'd expect, but light pink instead of skin-colored. Engraved on it are various flowers and a few butterflies, in the same style as the patterns on her dress. The grooves are a darker pink, matching her dress overall.

In the game, she has the standard watch on her left wrist, and the symbol for Xi (Ξ) tattoed on her right wrist.

Personality
On a surface level, Etsuko is a bubbly, fun girl that might come off as a little ditzy to other people. Due to her popularity, she tries to act cheerful and happy all the time, except for when she gets really pissed off, in which case she's still not one to drop the facade, and is the type of person to smile sweetly while telling you to go shove your face in a meat grinder. It's been shown that her silly, valley-girl-esque way of talking is actually done on purpose so she seems unassuming and less intelligent to others. Despite her laziness at times, she is capable of being an extremely hard worker when it's in her interest.

When Etsuko is allowed to let loose, she very well appears to be arrogant or full of herself. She may act entitled to things, and can be quite selfish. Despite all this, she is not typically malicious unless provoked. There are definitely moments where she may think that her own brand of justice is the ‘right’ kind, and she is never not ready to administer a physical beatdown.

Though Etsuko looks compassionate and empathetic at a glance, her ability to care about others seems shallow at best. Several times she's offered to help out in situations, only to grow 'bored' several minutes later, wishing to leave her charge to whatever danger they were originally in. One could argue that her constant offers to be a body guard or other security may just be because she wants the opportunity to fight someone. Etsuko also doesn't seem to have a high opinion on most others, for example: assuming Kaguya wouldn't care about issues she's not affected by, or her comments on people being "in her way". At first, the exception to this appeared to be Rebbecca, though it's been stated that Rebbecca reminds Etsuko of her older sister, which may be why she was more patient with her.

As the killing game went on, it was revealed that Etsuko is full of hate. That's a joke but she's a bit ruthless and overly-aggressive at times. She has publicly stated that she wouldn't be surprised that she is incapable of love, and has even told Kaguya to her face that she doesn't return her feelings of friendship, multiple times. Etsuko, near the beginning of the game, has also speculated that she'll likely end up being a murderer, and doesn't see a problem with saying it out loud. Despite the fact she will fight for equal rights in general, the only time she sympathizes with people one-on-one is when they have an issue or trait similar to her's.

In short, Etsuko's emotional permanence is severely lacking, and she feels more intensely about general concepts than she does about specific people. She might do the right thing over the sheer concept that it's the right thing, and not because she cares about the person being helped. However, this also means that she does not have any long-lasting hatred towards any of the cast, most of her anger being 'in the moment'.

Though she did warm up to some people (mainly Kitaru, Rebbecca, Kaguya, and Shin) before her death, she was still kind of a jerk. Despite this, she does have some sense of morality, demonstrated when she fought to release her classmates from being forcibly frozen, completely ready to go up against everyone, no matter the odds. Her motivation for freezing Coco was also to find a way to make sure Coco couldn't hurt anyone while still giving her what she wanted.

Digital Hardcore Musician
As a musician, Etsuko knows a lot about composing music, mostly with aggressive and fast-paced tones, as is common with digital hardcore. She often delves into the more hardcore punk and industrial side of noise music, and tries to stay true with the origins of digital hardcore with Atari Teenage Riot.

Visually, Etsuko is known best for her idol-like appearance, unbefitting a stereotypical punk or riot girl. Stylistically with her music, she's best known for her signature guitar. It looks like a pink butterfly's wing, and works more like a controller than a stereotypical electric guitar. There's a control on the side of it that allows her to warp the noise on the spot, creating the lo-fi sound she's best known for.

Social Rights Activist
Emphasis on "active". Jokes aside, she is known for getting into fights with racists, misogynists, etc. in public and beating the Hell out of them. In terms of not-so-physical heroism, she's also known for raising money through her concerts and donating them to various groups, such as the Japan Deaf-Blind Association.

Riot Grrrl
Etsuko is extremely scrappy, and her fights are anything but a secret. As such, even though she wasn't necessarily professionally trained, she has a lot of combat experience and is quite strong. Supposedly, she's also been thrown out of a few public spaces for causing a scene.

A Girl's Allowed To Have Hobbies
Etsuko apparently has a morbid and intense fascination with anything that could cause a world-ending catastrophe, mostly radiation and nuclear warfare. She's shown to be more informed than the average person on the topic of radiation, as well as alternative power fuels as a whole. When Floor Two's backroom library opened up, she started breezing through books on possible apocalypses and previous mass-extinction events. It was later revealed that Etsuko has an interest in the sciences, mostly physics-related things on a very large scale, and admitted that even though she finds many things interesting, she specifically wanted to go into astrophysics before becoming a musician.

Sound on Safety
Being electrocuted on stage is a genuine issue to look out for in the music industry. Etsuko has been shown to know basic first aid and burn treatment, especially pertaining to electrical accidents. It's also hinted that she knows a decent amount about electrical currents and safety hazards, offering tidbits of information and being annoyed when Kaguya didn't ask her about it.

Prior to the Overarching Project
Supposedly, Etsuko didn't even like digital hardcore when she was first introduced to it, though she admits it grew on her with time, especially with its common socialist and anarchist ties. She worked hard for years, being sure to keep up a perfect balance of academics and music composition time- at the cost of a social life, of course. She even managed to skip a grade. Outside of music, she's known for living the dream, punching fascists and getting into fist fights.

Etsuko’s own dedication and talent caused her to become known as a revolutionary for the digital hardcore genre, bringing a new wave that dragged noise music back to popularity at just 15 years old. This, combined with her constant social activism and increasing publicity through public demonstrations, caused her to get an invitation to Hope’s Peak by the time she hit 16, which she gladly accepted.

Etsuko was at a public outdoor show as part of a feminist demonstration while touring on the west coast of the U.S.A. soon after she turned 15. Unfortunately, there was a planned shooting to disrupt the event, since it was pretty huge, and Etsuko ended up having several injuries, including a bullet go through her left foot. This injury was severe and got infected, causing it to have to be amputated. This part is not a secret, but not as much of a common fact known to the public except by her more knowledgeable fans, but now she has a custom, baby-pink prosthetic with darker pink flowers etched all over it. The piece itself was created by Charlie Schreiber, of Schreiber Industries. Since the incident, she’s been more vocal about physical disability rights than usual.

Etsuko confessed to Rebbecca that as a child, she was in a very bad car accident that left her with retrograde amnesia. This can also be assumed to be the source of Etsuko's chronic migraines. Etsuko's older sister, Yukimi Shinki, died in this accident. Etsuko started making music in memory of her older sister, who was a fan of the digital hardcore genre.

However, later in the game it was revealed that Etsuko's sibling and mother did not die in a car accident. Etsuko's "sister"s name is Niru Nanzo, Etsuko's real name is Amani Nanzo, and Etsuko was actually kidnapped by her father from the hospital after being hit by a car. Etsuko had amnesia from this incident, but gained two important memories over the years that caused her to question her life: That she remembered being hit by a car, not inside a car, and that she remembered her mother, fully healthy, visiting her in the hospital. This caused Etsuko to believe that her family was still alive, and she took up digital hardcore because she remembered Niru liked the genre, and hoped they would notice her.

Prologue
Similarly to everyone else, Etsuko woke up confused and worried about what would happen next. Once she realized they weren't in any immediate danger, however, she quickly returned back to her normal rowdy state, even getting in a fist fight with Shuun.

Chapter 1
After the true nature of the game was revealed, Etsuko was more annoyed than anything about the entire thing. She continued her usual spunky business, though occasionally offered to guard or escort people if they ever felt threatened.

After the motive, Etsuko started to become quieter than usual, though she did end up brawling with Shuun again, knocking him out after punching him in the jaw too hard.

Later, after getting emotional from seeing a frog, Etsuko told Rebbecca Tazuki about her accident as a kid. She also tells Nao about this as well, with some added info. A few days later, she also confessed that the accident left her without most memories about her family, and that Etsuko constantly worries about how much of her memories mesh with imagination, and if what little she does remember is truly real.

Chapter 2
Immediately after the trial and execution of Setsurou Otoga, Etsuko went to go cry in the cafeteria and was soon greeted by Kaguya. She eventually accepted Kaguya's peace offering, agreeing to work with her.

Later on, despite Etsuko acting like the two were now friends- carting her around and serenading her- it was revealed that this is not the case, as Etsuko still trash talks Kaguya constantly when she's not around.

Etsuko's true nature had started to be revealed once people were having emergencies all over the place. When Jun Orozco received a nasty shock, she was immediately on the case to help, but soon lost interest after it didn't seem like there was much more she could do. When Otome Gensai started coughing up petals and displaying something similar to Hanahaki disease before an entity named 'Hayaki Kaneyuki' started controlling her body, Etsuko left Hayaki alone after a day, despite him still being a threat. When Nao Murakami was possessed a few days later, she immediately sprung into action to save Kaguya from being stabbed, but after Jun's interruption, soon lost interest in the ordeal.

When the new motive was released, Etsuko had trouble sleeping, assuming that her secret must be something terrible that she does not remember doing due to her accident. Kaguya revealed to her that the secret was that 'Etsuko Shinki' was not her real name, though her real name was not shown on the monopad. Etsuko didn't know this until that point, and briefly had a tantrum in which she mentioned her father, implying he was the one lying to her about her name this entire time, and she had started to catch on, but had no proof.

After the chapter two trial, she started becoming closer to Kaguya, feeling guilty for treating her harshly after learning about her secret during the trial. After some probing from Kaguya, Etsuko reveals that she remembers her sister a lot more than the rest of her family, who was apparently a very odd child that both her parents disliked in comparison to Etsuko.

Chapter 3
Etsuko went along with everyone to inspect the second floor, mostly hanging out with Kaguya and Otome. In the Kiddie Ville area, Otome reminds her of the beach, which sparks a memory of Etsuko's sister pulling a prank. She absentmindedly refers to her sister as "Niru," revealing her sibling's true name. This excited Etsuko, giving her hope that she would remember more soon.

During the motive drop, she tried her best to seem unperturbed, joking about all of the ways the world could end. Despite this, she at least seemed a little disturbed by the sights shown on the three screens.

During the body drop, she seemed perturbed, but this was partly due to the fireworks happening at the time of the reveal. On the other hand, she was severely distraught by there being three murders, and Jun's being as brutal as it was, involving decapitation. During the trial, she insisted that Yuudai couldn't have been a killer, verbally shouting at the Mono mascots to let him go, since it could not be proven that he killed Rima, and he was only acting under the influence of hallucinations in the first place.

After the trial was when Etsuko really started to lose hope about the situation they were in. She was one of the people who vowed not to participate in puzzles if it ever came up.

End of Periwinkle Timeline
Etsuko was part of the cast who did not participate in the final puzzle in the periwinkle timeline, and therefore did not get shot and killed. Once she had found the bodies of her classmates and was briefed on the supposed reason for the killing game, Etsuko went around the area and started smashing things. Her smashing a jar caused her to be cut by the glass, and she fainted. She was transported to the Nothingness for a bit, being one of the first people to dive into the not-water and teleport to the next timeline, as she felt like she had nothing to lose.

Chapter 4, Rose Timeline
Etsuko was extremely relieved to see that the five who were killed before were now alive, despite her tsundere attitude about the whole thing. After that, she continues looking around, speculating on what's changed, along with the others.

Coco told Etusko about her plan to put everyone who wanted to fall into an eternal slumber in the pods. Etsuko didn't seem to have a strong stance on whether or not she wanted to go to cryo sleep, but supported Coco, claiming that the people who want to escape that way have the right to. The two had a discussion about dreams, and Etsuko recalled a reoccurring dream to Coco- One that was actually very similar to how she was hit by a car in real life, though Etsuko didn't know that. Coco told her that it was most likely linked to her trauma.

At some point in time, Etsuko realized that she should stop moping around and instead get angry and take action- After all, when was it ever in her personality to sit idly by and just wait for things to happen to her? When called by Monokuma to listen to the chapter 4 motive, Etsuko pulled a metal pipe out of her bra and smashed him to bits. This allowed Coco and Kass to gain the cryo remote hidden inside him.

Later, when it was revealed that Coco was actually planning on forcing everyone to sleep at the mandatory sleepover, Etsuko decided to take things into her own hands, beating up Kass and stealing the cryo pod remote while everyone else got out.

Etsuko then decided that the best thing to do was to let Coco be in her dream world where she can't hurt anyone. She forced Coco into Setsurou's sleep pod and wheeled her into the storage room, freezing her. Etsuko did not expect someone to come by and kill Coco. During the body discovery, she was genuinely shocked and disturbed by Coco's body being crushed.

It was during the investigation that the fact that the secrets motive was different this time became apparent. Kaguya told Etsuko her secret- That her name is actually Amani Nanzo, making her the younger sister to Niru Nanzo. At first, she didn't know how to react, but quickly grew happy at this revelation.

During the trial, Amani originally lies about not having the cryo remote in order to not seem suspicious, but then later fesses up when it becomes necessary information. After shoving Coco into the pod and leaving her there, Amani had absolutely no involvement with the rest of the case. Eventually it was determined that the culprit was Shizuko, but something else interesting was revealed- Kaguya's secret. Upon realizing Kaguya was not only responsible for deaths both inside and outside of the game, Amani hit her multiple times before the trial vote commenced.

Unfortunately for her, the Mono-mascots decided that there needed to be some sort of punishment for a 'mistake' in the Periwinkle timeline, resulting in them spinning a wheel to determine who would be executed. The wheel landed on Amani Nanzo. In the last few minutes of her life, Amani cried, sobbed, and hugged her friends, before quickly listing off who would get what possessions she had. She still acted cold to Kaguya, however.

Relationships

 * Class 81-A:

Etsuko Shinki, at the start of this killing game, did not genuinely give an absolute fuck about any of these people, but she would pretend like she does. There may have been times where her inner fury comes out as some sort of weird and random sense of justice, but overall, she couldn't have cared less if they all dropped dead.

As time passed, Etsuko had warmed up to some of her class a bit, though not as much as others may have.

Rebbecca Tazuki
Rebbecca is Etsuko's roommate. Despite Etsuko's internal eye-rolling at Rebbecca's mannerisms, particularly her use of language, Etsuko appears to respect her enough to agree to her request about toning down the cursing.

Rebbecca soon became one of Etsuko's favorites, as she finds Rebbecca to be amusing and not annoying in the slightest. Etsuko has some interest and respect for Rebbecca's immense knowledge of random statistics. Apparently, Rebbecca's mannerisms and more morbid interests remind Etsuko of her older sister, and this is partly why she has taken a liking to her.

Later on, she seemed to get annoyed with Rebbecca just as much as everyone else, though at the end of the day, still seems more okay with her than with others.

At the end, Etsuko respected Rebbecca, and considered her a friend. Etsuko willed her song copies and other writings to her, as well as the gifts she received from the Monomono machine.

Brendan Fireheart
Etsuko didn't get to know him very well, but never had an issue with him, and found him to be one of the more enjoyable people in the cast. She mourned his death, albeit relatively briefly, and was genuinely upset that he was the first to die.

Coco Mara
Etsuko's first impression of Coco is just that she seems kinda tired and socially awkward. She's very curious as to her dream work, especially in terms of its possible uses for therapy.

Later, Etsuko was at first intimidated by Coco's plan to use the pods and let those who want to sleep forever do so. She soon warmed up to Coco and mentioned that even if she isn't sure about the plan, she does support those who would rather stay in a dream state than deal with the current situation.

When it was revealed Coco was actually planning on forcing people into cryo sleep, Etsuko didn't seem to have a problem with beating her out of the way, even if she never actually got to do so. Etsuko was emotionally detached enough from Coco to shove her into a pod without much of a second thought as soon as the opportunity arose.

Jun Orozco
At the beginning of the game, Etsuko found Jun to be someone to respect, being able to keep calm no matter the circumstances. She was and still is very annoyed by his roundabout way of talking, especially when answering direct questions, and no longer finds him to be one of the more favorable members of the cast, even if he did clean her dress for her.

She thinks she could win in a fight against him. Maybe even kill him. Who knows.

She really wants to kill him.

By chapter 2, Jun is one of the characters Etsuko has mentioned being 'in her way', implying she doesn't think highly of him. Later, her reaction to his death was mostly just because of the fireworks scaring her, along with how gruesome it was, and not because she actually felt anything towards him.

Jun'ichi Fukuhara
Etsuko helped him fix his E-Handbook in Chapter 1.

In chapter 2, Etsuko at first didn't have much of an opinion on him, having little to no interaction outside seeing him get in accidents. She just thought he's an unlucky, poor bastard. During Shin's relationship issues with Jun, she didn't seem to care too much, but still tried to help him out due to some prodding from Kaguya. Later, in an incident where Yuudai was having some sort of moment and ended up injuring him, Etsuko didn't exactly keep it a secret that she thought Shin was an idiot, and practically did this to himself. This is partly because when she was having flashbacks to the shooting, Shin tried to touch her, too, which could have ended badly. Luckily, it didn't, but she still thought it was stupid of him to do.

Etsuko was frightened by his death, and ultimately very relieved when waking up in the Rose timeline.

Shin siding with Coco during the mandatory slumber party almost made Etsuko fight him, but him changing his mind about the whole thing saved him. Though she didn't dislike him, she didn't have anything special to say to him before she died.

Kaguya Nakauchi
Etsuko is about ready to smack this little shrimp bitch into the ground. She almost kind of liked Kaguya at the start of the prologue, but after the start of the game, ended up getting annoyed with her after mistaking(?) something Kaguya said as a personal attack. The two ended up trying to out-fake-bitch each other, to no avail.

Kaguya tried to later reconcile with Etsuko, but riot girl was having absolutely none of it. This lead to the confirmation that Kaguya Nakauchi is, indeed, not racist, for the record. Etsuko thinks that she can easily snap Kaguya's neck.

Later, after the first trial, the two had a talk, and Etsuko begrudgingly accepted Kaguya's peace offering of burning her coveted BL manga. After area 2 opened, Etsuko didn't seem to have a problem with rowing Kaguya around in the boats, and actively volunteered to a few times. It was later revealed to Rebbecca that Etsuko still doesn't trust Kaguya in the slightest, and got extremely offended when Rebbecca joked on a similarity between the two.

During the second trial, Kaguya reveals that Etsuko has her secret, detailing an abusive home life. Etsuko immediately felt bad for her terrible treatment of Kaguya, apologizing and genuinely offering to be friends with her.

Etsuko was getting along with Kaguya during chapter 2 up until the second motive. Kaguya mentioned her disappointment in Setsurou, which caused Etsuko to get angry, as she doesn't like it when Kaguya says bad things about him. Soon after, during a more nihilistic moment, Kaguya told Etsuko to stop saying that things didn't matter anymore. She got even angrier with this, as she doesn't like being told what to do, and felt that Kaguya was misunderstanding her point. Then Etsuko stormed off, and when Kaguya attempted to say that she cares about Etsuko, Etsuko mentioned that the feeling wasn't mutual.

During the third case, Etsuko and Kaguya get their shit together to investigate and end up being two of the people to try and insist Yuudai should not be executed.

By the start of chapter 4, the two were basically friends again. During the investigation, Etsuko and Kaguya shared a private moment in which Kaguya revealed her feelings towards her. Etsuko very gently attempts to decline, reiterating that she doesn't exactly fall in love with people, at least not in the same way normal people do. Etsuko then goes on to decline Kaguya's gesture of hand-holding.

During the trial, all possible feelings towards Kaguya were swept aside at the mention of her secret. First, Etsuko punched Kaguya in the gut, then kneed her, and proceeded to slap her multiple times while Kaguya was trying to speak. At the end, when Kaguya claims her words before were true, Etsuko did not look back at her. Despite not admitting it, Etsuko's mixed feelings returned when Kaguya attempted to offer herself instead of Etsuko as the one to be executed. Though Etsuko wanted to shout out for them that yes, they should take Kaguya instead, she did not, and just sat there.

Kass Loveless
She appears to at least appreciate Kass's energy, and is nice to her.

In chapter 2, Etsuko apparently cares enough about Kass to move to her side at the motive, thinking that Kass was going to be attacked by monokuma for injuring him, while most others were backing away.

In chapter 3, it becomes apparent that she finds Kass a little bit annoying.

In chapter 4, Etsuko agreed to babysit Ribitcoin for her.

During the mandatory slumber party, Etsuko beats up Kass in order to steal the cryo remote, but did not harbor any sort of long-lasting grudge against her for being one of the people to help Coco attempt the mandatory slumber party.

At the end of the trial, Etsuko seems to at least be okay enough with Kass to entrust her with Hooper the frog.

Kitaru Bakuha
Etsuko's first interaction with Kitaru left her feeling uncomfortable. Not off to a good start. After talking to him some more and figuring out his opinions on entertainment, she decided she didn't like him.

Later, on the second floor, after completing the puzzles with Kitaru, she started warming up to him. Etsuko began to see him as one of the most trustworthy people there, enough to confide to him her suspicions about Kaguya.

On the third floor, Etsuko and Kitaru had several conversations about things such as the end of the world, hazardous material safety, and overall just morbid topics. By this time, she really had warmed up to him, at least enough to enjoy hanging around him in comparison to just tolerating him.

The two started bonding over things such as explosives safety, end-of-the-world scenarios, and natural disasters. Etsuko considers Kitaru one of her best friends and trusts him very much, even though she may get annoyed with his stubbornness. During the mandatory sleep over, Etsuko instructed Kitaru to help break out Rebbecca and Kaguya from their pod prisons, while she went and dealt with anyone who wanted to fight.

At the end of the trial, when it was revealed she would be the one to be executed, Kitaru was one of the people who hugged Etsuko, and she hugged him back as she sobbed. Right before her death, Etsuko gives Kitaru the cryo remote, trusting him with it. She also gives Kitaru one of her doomsday books, a cool rock, a pen, and everything else that she had comically stored in her dress.

Mea & Rima Kotobuki
Etsuko liked the both of them at first, but prefered Mea more over Rima, if only because of her peppy attitude. She appreciated Rima's Realness though.

In chapter 2, Yuudai mentioned Mea's outburst, causing Etsuko to become slightly wary of her, but not really changing her opinion for the worse. Etsuko believed that neither Mea nor Rima should be the leader of the group every time it was mentioned.

At first, Mea losing her sister made Etsuko feel sympathetic for her. However, as time went on, Etsuko got more and more annoyed with Mea's bad attitude. Etsuko's last words were telling Mea to shut up.

Nao Murakami
Etsuko was fake worried about Nao for falling asleep out in the open randomly, near the start of the game. Over time, Nao really grew on her, and she came to like them. She mentioned to Nao that she wouldn't mind being their friend.

During chapter 2, when Nao was seemingly possessed and attempting to stab Kaguya, Etsuko immediately stepped in to restrain them. Soon afterward, she grew bored and just let Jun deal with it. Later, when Nao was back to normal, she apologized for any sort of injuries she may have caused them, though this was a sort of empty gesture to seem polite, as she knew full well she didn't do any serious damage to them.

Otome Gensai
Always happy to meet a fan.

Etsuko seems to have taken a liking to Otome, and treats her nicer than some others. When Otome was possessed by Hayaki, Etsuko seemed to have some remorse over having to hurt her to restrain her, as opposed to when Nao was possessed, and though Etsuko didn't want to hurt them, didn't seem to care all too much either. Compared to some of the others, Etsuko seems to be more patient with Otome.

In a conversation with Yuudai, Etsuko mentions that she thinks Otome is an 'absolute sweetheart', and part of the reason she's fond of and trusts her so much is that Etsuko thinks Otome isn't smart enough to pull off some kind of nefarious scheme.

While waiting around for the third floor, Etsuko pulled some smooth moves telling Otome they can go out on a date anytime, anywhere. Please save Otome. Later, in a conversation with Kaguya and Shin, when asked who she would be most likely to date, Etsuko answered "Otome," no hesitation.

Otome was one of the people who hugged Etsuko as she cried before being executed.

Setsurou Otoga
Etsuko found Setsurou to generally be a pleasant guy to talk to, if a bit awkward at times.

Right before his execution, she remarks that she isn't angry at him, because her older sister always told her to take people's intent into consideration. Secretly, Etsuko thinks that maybe if things were just a little different, she might have easily flipped out and killed someone, too.

Shizuko Sakaki
A small friend. Etsuko offered to beat up Shuun for them if he ever messes with them.

During chapter 2, she rowed them around for a bit and had fun exploring the new area.

By chapter 3, Etsuko considered Shizuko a threat, but not enough to warrant going after them. The sentiment didn't change much in chapter 4, as Etsuko didn't really have any strong feelings about the death of Coco. However, Etsuko did not trust Shizuko with Hooper the frog when they asked for him.

Shuun Nakajima
Etsuko will beat the shit out of Shuun every chance she gets in this mortal plane.

She thinks he's smelly and annoying, though she does somewhat respect the fact that he can take a hit.

By the time chapter 2 rolled around, Etsuko had stopped fist fighting Shuun, though she may still make verbal jabs at him.

Upon the chapter 2 body drop, Etsuko was shocked and rattled by the discovery that the victim was Shuun. She seemed very determined to solve the case quickly, but did not bother to mourn him. During the trial, as Kaguya revealed with Star that the worst secret there must have been Shuun's, Etsuko covered her mouth in shock.

Since there was no definite proof that the secret was Shuun's, she didn't fully believe this, since she believed Shuun was too stupid to pull an evil scheme like that. There was also the fact that Etsuko seemed to recognize that despite Shuun's feisty behavior, he was never actually malicious, always being good-hearted about things, and has shown genuine care for others. However, she did not argue against it due to there being no other real suspects.

Star Ozu
Thinks Star is pleasant, but otherwise doesn't have a strong opinion.

During the chapter 2 trial, she wanted to believe in Star at least a little, asking Star questions implying that she may have been possessed while murdering Shuun, once it was obvious that she was the murderer. Though this did not appear to be the case, Etsuko did not fault Star at all for murdering Shuun.

Yuudai Ono
She knows what's up, you absolute fucking hetero.

In chapter 2, after taking some time to assess that Yuudai was not a threat to her in any way, shape, or form, she decided to have a pleasant conversation with him, giving him relationship advice on pursuing Rebbecca.

Soon after the motive, Yuudai had a moment where he accidentally injured Shin's wrist. Etsuko was one of the few people defending him after the event, claiming she wasn't going to jump the gun on something she didn't fully understand yet. She was also under the opinion that Shin was just stupid, since he had tried to touch her as well during a PTSD-related flashback.

During the chapter 3 trial, Etsuko tried to argue that Yuudai should not be executed, as he was not the first murderer. Despite this, he was sent off to his execution and Etsuko actually felt bad about it.

Monomono Items

 * Hopper - A small frog with origins unknown. It appears to have been well cared for prior to being shoved in the machine capsule…
 * Troubled Birds - A little book of decent bird paintings with funny little captions on them. Even with some of the more unfunny ones, you can’t help but crack a smile.
 * Fruit Slices - Sugar-coated candies that both look and taste like citrus fruit slices. Unfortunately, the taste is nearly lost in the incredibly high sugar content.
 * Scary Midnight Jumpscares - A video game for the PC that brands itself as a joke, but starts getting serious for the end. People often find the plot twist to be a shock.
 * Best of Riot Music - A CD containing tracks by various noise artists. Listening to it really gets your blood pumping.
 * Dried Mango Pack - A package of the best kind of dried mangoes money can buy. Once you have one, the sweet, tangy taste leaves you craving more.
 * Best of M1d1Junkii - A disk containing selecrt tracks by a certain Etsuko Shinki. Loud and proud, it seems like there's no end to the noise. How many tracks are on this thing, anyway?!

Quotes

 * "I have to throw down all the time~ Learned the hard way that your fists can't stop bullets, but~ Well, that never stopped me~" - To Kaguya
 * "Shuun... You absolute fucking bitch idiot." - To Shuun, obviously
 * "I'd say, 'I trust you about as far as I can throw you', but considering your stature, that might actually be pretty far~" - To Kaguya
 * "I know how a joke works, you shrimp bitch." - To Kaguya
 * "Well, that's normal, I think~ People think they wanna grow up when they're super young and then they realize being an adult sucks~!" - In a conversation with Setsurou and Kaguya
 * "I guess this glass is bullet proof, because it definitely stopped these guns!" - While flexing to Otome.
 * "Uhm.... My sister always said if you hurt someone then you need to apologize and stuff, but she always said to look at people's intentions too? And then, uh, it's a lot easier not to be upset with them... I mean- If they didn't mean it..." - To Setsurou, before his execution
 * "Well! Never know 'till you try! Worst comes to worst, I get axe murdered and die like I lived: A stone chad." - To Kaguya
 * "I'm outside. And it's like- I'm out in front of this- This house. And it's... It's big, with stone, and the house is always the same. But. Okay. I have this ball. It's just one of those rubber balls like a racquetball. And I'm just throwing it around and bouncing it off the trees. And it's just me. And then. Then the ball goes off, and I start chasing it, and no matter how close I try to get to it, it just keeps... Going. It keeps going and going and then I don't know where I am and there's this- This- This. Loud... And I look over and it's just... Bright. And then it ends. Always the same. And there's nobody else there- But it feels like there should be." - Etsuko recounting her reoccurring nightmare, which is just a slightly twisted version of her trauma.
 * "Why don't you do us all a favor and be next victim?!" - Etsuko screaming at Kaguya, after learning her secret.
 * "Riot Grrrls don't go out crying... I- I'm- I'm M1D1JUNKII. Not- Not Etsuko Shinki." - Etsuko accepting her fate before being executed

Trivia

 * "悦子" (Etsuko) is written as "Joy child," which fits her bubbly fake persona.
 * "新記" (Shinki) is "New Record," as in a chronicle or document. This fits the kidnapping part of her backstory.
 * "天に" (Amani) means "In Heaven", while "烏" is "Crow".
 * Etsuko's favorite music genre is actually bossa nova.
 * Her boots were custom made not only to easily accommodate her prosthetic, but also to make a very loud, obnoxious clacking noise when on any relatively hard surface. Etsuko mentions that this, along with the unnatural height of the soles, is made for her to stand out.
 * Higanbana (Red Spider Lillies) are known for being highly toxic, and are often associated with the dead.
 * "Hopper the Frog" is a reference to another fangame, Zetsubo Lovers, in which Niru Nanzo, the SHSL Social Chameleon received a frog from the Monomono Machine and named it Hopper. This is because Niru is actually Etsuko's sibling.
 * Etsuko's stage name, "M1D1JUNKII", is a reference to the song, Midijunkies, by Atari Teenage Riot. A lot of things about Etsuko are inspired by the band, as it is the origin of digital hardcore.
 * In a conversation with Kaguya, Etsuko revealed that she actually wanted to be an astrophysicist, not a musician. This explains why she knows a lot about related subjects.
 * In beta design ideas, "Amani Nanzo" was supposed to be from some branch of forensic science. Her fascination with morbid topics didn't leave her final design.