Tilo

artist: anchored-down

## Backstory

### Early Years

Tilo was born in Lübeck, Germany, to his mother and father as an only child. He of course grew to be fluent in German, but he would also learn faint English from some British passerbys. His father, Archibald, would accompany him whenever he wanted to go out into town, but hardly let him wander, despite Tilo’s constant need to explore at a young age. Each time his father would restrict him from talking with the locals and the tourists and setting off on his own, Tilo grew rather distrustful towards him. This led him to favor his gentle mother, Edith, who would encourage his curious nature. They’d sneak past Archibald in the middle of his studies (He worked as a prosecutor, having to go against multiple cases a week; it was all he thought about/talked about. Edith worked as an artist, which doesn’t pay much, yeah, but she loved doing it), and Tilo’s mother would take him out to the places his father would tear him away from. His interests revolved around nature at this time, and sewing, surprisingly, as his mother would teach him how to do it. He was only around 9 at the time, so he certainly wasn’t a pro at it quite yet.

School grew to be a different situation than home for young Tilo, as he would grow distracted during classes, whether it be drawing or talking with other students. His grades weren’t top tier, and although he was certainly known as a very benevolent and helpful student, he didn’t qualify for any special opportunities. Granted, he only attended school in Lübeck until he was around 11 years old. It was early that year that his parents revealed to him that he would get a sister soon. They’d been keeping this from him for a few months, until it clearly became evident. He constantly helped around the house for his mother when his father couldn’t, looking after her the best a 10 year old could. A little before his 11th birthday, the day came. He was locked out of the operation room, and frankly, quite stressed the whole time.

He sat alone in the hallway of that hospital for what felt like weeks before he was finally allowed in. Everything seemed to have gone swimmingly, his mother recovering, and his father was pressed at her bedside. The piercing cry of his newborn sister was the only thing Tilo was focused on at that moment, and in fawning over her, he missed all the news the doctor brought. Edith insisted on choosing the name for her daughter, without any help from her husband or son. She settled on the name Umi, which was the name of her great-grandmother. And although they safely returned home a few days later, the air around the family seemed tense, and almost fearful.

Tilo spent a lot of his time with his new sister, and was not unaware of his mother’s weakening condition. He simply took it as the relief of having Umi successfully with her was making her sluggish. Though… he could only hope this was the case. Tilo’s mother had lost a lot of blood during labor, and something inside her had been damaged in the process. This was something the doctor overlooked - making sure to let Edith and Archibald know of her condition, but making it seem like it was just a small complication, and if there was any sign of it worsening they should return to the hospital. They didn’t return, as Archibald was far too busy with his work to take her, and Tilo was only 11. The hospital was miles away… and by the time he realized that she wasn’t simply tired, it was too late. His mother had grown weaker the longer Tilo and his father were at school and work, and the young boy came home from school as she clung to her final breaths, just in time to rush to her side and witness her goodbye as his little sister cried.

The funeral was long and draining for the three of them, and the rest of the family who had attended. The usually sociable and friendly Tilo was deathly quiet the entire day, his tears ever flowing despite the cold winds of that February afternoon. His father blamed Umi for his wife’s death, blaming her for the complications and blaming Tilo for not telling him about Edith’s state weeks prior. Tilo had never seen his father so angry, so lost. Archibald shut himself in his room for a few days after the funeral, escaping simply to a nearby pub, leaving Tilo to look after Umi every way he could - she was still less than a year old, after all.

### A New Environment

One day, his father spoke to him for the first time in almost a week, and it was to usher him into the car, bringing Umi with him. The trip that would soon follow was certainly one Tilo had least expected. They drove as far as their car could take them, rode a few trains, and one final boat. Tilo was exceedingly tired at this point, clutching his sister close as his father dragged him across Europe and Asia - it took them about a week to do so, with few hotel stops. Before he knew it, Tilo was on the Japanese countryside, standing in front of the mossy, off-white picket fence of his grandfather’s farm. Edith’s father, Mamoru, to be specific. Tilo was kindly invited inside the farmhouse by his grandfather, still holding Umi close. He tried to listen to what his dad and grandpa talked about, but after that trip he could hardly stay awake.

His father abandoned him there.

Continuing to blame him and his helpless younger sister for Edith’s death, and simply handing them over to his grandfather.

The next morning, Tilo waited outside in the open field for his father’s return, unable to accept it. He grew bitter after a few days of off and on waiting, coming to finally accept that his father was never coming back. A deep resentment boiled up inside him after that, but he’s managed to stuff it down and suck it up.

He was homeschooled part-time by Mamoru, who didn’t teach him German, but rather Japanese. It was a struggle at first, but after a couple years of avidly learning, Tilo’s Japanese was improving. Umi aged quite well, too, being looked after by both Mamoru and Tilo, in between playing around with the farm animals that Tilo had to help take care of. As a young teenager he would have to harvest the crops for his grandfather, as well as feed the cows and chickens. Feeding the chickens brought on an unknown fear inside him, as every time he’d go in to drop a few corn kernels he’d get attacked by the feisty feathery beasts, which eventually developed into his alektorophobia. Mamoru took over chicken-feeding duties after a couple years.

In his free time, Tilo would explore the vast farmhouse and all its nooks and crannies, leading him to find a dusty old bookshelf in one of the unused rooms. On its shelves were countless books; Shakespearean plays. He couldn’t read the English, so he begged his grandfather to teach him on top of his Japanese lessons. His native language was tucked away for the time being, as he avidly worked to be able to fluently read the plays. The first one he read successfully, after a couple years of learning English, was Much Ado About Nothing. This has always been his favorite play ever since.

During the time that he wasn’t being homeschooled by his grandpa, nor helping around the farm, Tilo did indeed go to school. This was only after his Japanese was good enough to attend school, after all. His loquaciousness and enthusiasm was hardly tarnished by this public school - in fact, he made a few friends in his middle school years. The bullies were the only ones who brought him down through the day. They taunted him for his poor family and lonely lifestyle, and for his German accent… all things he couldn’t control. He did his best to drown out these hurtful words with the Shakespeare plays, which always seemed to help him feel better.

Now age 15, Tilo knew a good hand of Japanese and English, and was able to get a job in the city. He worked at a library and a convenient store for a good while, and with some financial help from his grandfather, he was able to pay the rent of a cheap apartment in the city. He moved in with Umi, and with his own funds, he helped her attend primary school at last, where she quickly became a social butterfly, just like him. Paychecks were small, but his grandfather’s harvests helped support him and Umi’s life in the city. They would use coins they found throughout their day to call Mamoru on the payphones, always wanting to stay in touch with their last loving guardian.

Tilo brought the plays from the farm into their apartment, and when he had finally finished with school, and his shifts at work (or if he had a day off) he’d come home and read them through, over and over. It didn’t matter whether he’d read them all before, because the joy of reading them was all the same. He even tried his hand at writing some in his early high school years, with the encouragement of Umi. It was then that his Ultimate Talent was born, and he received a surprise invitation to Hope's Peak Academy at age 17. Thrilled, he accepted, having to drop his job at the library to put more hours into his classes. He’d miss the books in that library, but he was well aware that his new school would have a library for him to pick plays from as the Ultimate Playwright.

### Danganronpa: On Deck

It was then that the poor playwright was dragged into his first Danganronpa game. Tilo woke up on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by various other kids his age. He lost all his memories at the start of the game, and got to work by greeting the other students in the game. In the first hour he'd met Haru Suna, the Ultimate Escape Artist, and Yuuto Himura, the Ultimate Camper. He quickly grew attached to them both, as did they to him. The next day, he met Ran Nakamura the janitor after having calmed down from arguing with Haru about the direness of their situation; she had no hope, but he believed none of their peers would actually kill anyone. However, just the next day, after being faced with the first motive (Tilo remembered his sister Umi, after watching her life be threatened in a video), Atisuto was found dead in the dorm halls, causing panic throughout the group. Tilo and Haru teamed up to search for clues, but in the end all they'd gathered were a screw from Ati's dorm room door, and glasses being a clue. Along the way, they met the red starfish that they named Benedick, and kept him in the deck's swimming pool. The first trial ended in their companion Yuuto exposing himself as the blackened, leaving Haru and Tilo to grieve alone.

It was difficult, but they began to recover through each other's company. In their journey to explore the new decks, Tilo was joyous to have been given a theatre on the second deck; a room perfectly suited to his talent. The theatre became Haru and Tilo's comfort room rather quickly, as they always seemed to be coming back when they needed a break from reality. After about a month into the game, Tilo led Haru back here, a plan that he nearly screwed up on his mind. He reminded her of the play he had mentioned writing, and how it was centered around the journey he wanted to take with her. After a heartfelt moment, the two officially became a couple (fast, i know-) and proceeded on. A new motive was released- the motive of secrets. Tilo learned that Haru had once wished for her brother's death, and Haru learned of Tilo's fear of chickens. They were first to witness the body of Rae taped to the ceiling of the fitness center, causing them to spiral into a whole new investigation that lasted much longer. During this one, they dealt with Haru succumbing to a fever, finding a new, yellow starfish in the casino's aquarium (they named her Beatrice, and brought Benedick to live there with her), attended a class pool party, and found a piece of tape stuck to Tilo's own dorm door. The trial was long and arduous, and as Tai went through their execution, the air was tense, and solemn. Neither Haru nor Tilo said a word, silently comforting each other as they returned to the theatre. Moments later, Tilo made it clear he'd caught Haru's previous fever from taking care of her.

Much happened between Chapter 2 and 3, such as Tatsu and Serena trashing the library and causing Tilo to faint from shock (oogh), Tilo curling Haru's hair and Haru accidentally dying part of the playwright's hair bright pink. It was just after that last event that they were summoned to the boiler room on the very bottom deck, where Yasumi's pipe-impaled body awaited them. Haru and Tilo didn't stay in that room for long, as the heat was too much to bear, so they planned to go to the library instead. On their way down the hall, they noticed the sauna had been used recently, and went in to check. There, they found Lien's body burnt to a crisp. Tilo fainted again the moment he saw it, Haru getting caught up in arguments wish Ran as she carried Tilo out. Before they got far into that chapter's investigation, there was a lot of recovering during that time. Haru grew more overprotective of Tilo to the point where she sent him somewhere else to keep him safe from whomever she spoke with, which ended up in him cutting open him palm in the salon because he decided to pick up the broken glass of the mirror he'd stumbled upon in there. A fight between the jock Madere and Serena, which broke the entire group in two. Madere was left critically injured and being healed by Haru and a paranoid Ran, while Tilo was brushed aside by his girlfriend the whole time he was trying to help. So he left, much to Haru's dismay, deciding to go get healing supplies and talk to Serena, convincing her to apologize to Madere for hurting her in such way. Serena refused, at first, insulting Tilo until he grew much more firm in his convincing and finally dragged her back to the café to make amends. Haru got angry at Tilo for bringing in Madere's enemy, said girl insisting he was doing the right thing in getting her and Serena to make up, but this only made Haru storm out to be alone in the boiler room. Ran carried Madere to their dorm, and Tilo was left with Serena and Tatsu, who reassured him he was just doing what was right. Somewhat. They also mentioned Haru wasn't worth it, but he chose not to listen to them there. Tilo left to apologize to Ran and Madere, the jock encouraging him to go talk to Haru- Ran came along too, and they ventured to the boiler room. Haru had passed out from the heat the moment they arrived, and in a panic, the boys carried her to the pool deck to cool off. When she eventually awoke, she and Tilo were tense, both believed the other hated them, until Ran talked Haru out of that mindset. They met Brain Balthasar, the purple starfish, on that evening, naming him just as Haru and Tilo gradually made up, staying out on the deck all night together. The next morning was the trial, and Haru still suffered from the heat from before that day, so Tilo assisted her. Kita was found guilty of both murders, and Tilo and Haru eventually found their way out of the trial room, after a few mishaps of Haru passing out and Tilo later on; Madere helped them back to Tilo's dorm.

No more chapters occurred throughout this game, as Haru's recovery was swift, and she pointed out the loose boards and walls in the boiler room, deciding to use that as their escape at last. With Madere and Tilo's help, they tore off the boards while Ryuji and Tatsu distracted Monokuma, using those board as their rafts, the survivors making their way off the lowest level of the ship. They floated on as a group for a while, Tilo and Haru on their board with their starfish children, until they were separated from the rest of their peers.

### Breath of Freedom

Tilo and Haru remained on their boards together with their starfish, convinced they could make it to land together and finally settle into the future they had dreamed of. However, a day after the escape, they were separated when the board snapped during a very windy night, leaving Tilo to float out on his own with Benedick, who clung to his shoulder the entire time. He reassured himself that Haru was able to make it to land with their other starfish, but after a couple days of simply drifting he was convinced this was the end of his time. No food, no clean water... the least he could do was give Benedick some company before he would die of starvation or thirst. On around the third or fourth day of floating further out into sea, Tilo was found by a ship... a pirate ship to be exact, that was led by Haruma and his crew. Tilo was offered to join this captain's crew in return for his rescue, and the playwright gladly accepted, sadly throwing out his old outfit from On Deck, and taking on a new look. From then on he worked as Haruma's scribe and quartermaster, learning the ways of a pirate by looking up to his captain.

About a half a year into Tilo adjusting into this new life, Haruma hired a new crew member as their gunner. The moment that boy stepped onto the boat, Tilo didn't know what came over him. Whether it was the stranger's striking looks or his bright grin as he greeted his new crewmates... The playwright was head over heels. As Ace introduced himself to Tilo, said boy was stumbling over his words, going completely off track the moment he spoke his own name, and talking about random things all over, just to keep Ace in a conversation with him. And when they finally parted so Ace could settle in. Tilo realized it. He was in love all over again. Was that... wrong? He lost Haru at sea, but that didn't mean *she* was lost from his life, did it? Tilo didn't know. But what he did know, was that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake his adoration for Ace. It was love at first sight.

For the rest of that year, Tilo rambled to Haruma nearly every day about how amazing Ace was, unknowing that Ace would accidentally do the same to the other crewmates. Tilo just couldn't describe it; he felt so much more at ease around Ace, much more than he did Haru. The deeper he fell into his feelings for the gunner, the more he dreaded realizing just how much fear he'd truly felt around Haru - anxiously anticipating the moment he'd accidentally upset her or get on her bad side, whenever they weren't extremely close. There was one day he asked Haruma to let him have off, where he finally contemplated it all. With his captain and crush off the boat, he came to terms with his feelings. He loved Ace... and would speak on it if Ace never did. He wanted to officially set aside his relationship with Haru. From that moment on, a weight fell from his shoulders and he grew much closer to Ace along their voyages. That was, up until he, Ace, and Haruma were all pulled in to DR: 𓀒 𓀜.

## Relationships

### Ace

Ace, spoken simply, is the most wonderful man Tilo has ever met. The charming, young male struck the playwright's heart the moment they met, flustered and sputtering out his replies in the first week of them knowing each other. He wanted nothing more than to live out his days with the chemist, mirroring his old fantasies he'd had with Haru, before coming to realize her terrible effect on him. Ace made him feel alive; like every waking moment was a new adventure they could enjoy, another chapter in their story. And the year they spent on the sea together with Haruma was enough to convince him that he was madly in love with the other boy. When the game began, Tilo clung to Ace's side mostly the entire time, relying on him as his partner to help him through each chapter, finding evidence and solving the murders. The game itself was a vastly different experience for them both; a month or so of anguish and fear that, in the end, brought Ace and Tilo even closer to one another. He more than appreciated Ace's reassurances when he was nervous and couldn't continue an investigation, he was grateful for the hugs and moments of calm they would have to recover from each trial... and Tilo was too naïve to realize that Ace adored him as much as he adored Ace, and just how natural being close to the chemist felt the entire game. Facing many hardships, the two of them would survive the entirety of the game with Brione, grieving for their fallen peers for just a little while longer as they climbed out into the open air. Ace's confession of his love for Tilo soon after their escape appeared to brighten the mood tremendously, the new, happy couple setting off to their home ship, where Haruma would be waiting for them.

### Haruma

Tilo met the pirate captain Haruma in one of the worst moments of his life, where Haruma had saved him from a fate of starvation and in favor of saving the playwright's life, Haruma offered for Tilo to join his crew. Over time, their bond grew, so much that Haruma became one of Tilo's most trusted friends he believed he ever had - unknowing that Haruma was truly only showing his kind side to Tilo, and no one else for the most part. Over the year and a half that they knew each other, Tilo and Haruma were almost inseparable; a captain and his right-hand man, conquering the seas together. During the game, however, he tried to stay close to both Haruma and Ace, but began to notice his captain growing more distant and each chapter went on. Before he could try to approach Haruma about it, chapter four came along.