#also I have to give credit where credit is due

[calicooken]

⋆˙⟡ Lads K-pop boy band HCs ⋆˙⟡

I couldn’t stop thinking about Lads boys in their K-pop ERA after seeing their chibi performance so here it is. I’m brain-rotting I need to get this out I'm sorry if it’s too silly 🧍🏻‍♂️

── .✦ Xavier

Position: Oldest hyung/ Main visual/ lead vocals

He will be the first member to get introduced

The internet WENT CRAZY after that

Has a nickname “Nation’s first love”

Everyone assumed he’s the maknae because of his baby face and cute image. He always looks so cute without trying.

Is actually the oldest

Usually has really calm personality. Doesn’t talk much but becomes the most chaotic duo when paired with Rafayel.

Zayne has to keep his eyes out for these two every time they are near each other.

Master of ‘aegyo’ can do the cringiest aegyo with absolutely no shame.

In terms of skills, he got a very soft- mellow singing voice. I think he will be the type to do well at what he was told to do. Can sing pretty high note. His dancing is also really good. He usually slays if he had enough practice. But can’t really do free style.

Mostly just being chill on stages. He doesn’t really give it his 100% if it’s not his part. Sometimes he will slack off a little bit when he’s in the back (Caleb is NOT happy about it)

Lowkey a musical genius, Got credits in 85% of the songs.

I think this is where his passion lies. He composes most of the songs for the group.

Xavier is the composer& producer while Rafayel& Sylus will be in charge of the lyrics.

The first one to go on collaboration.

Like one day some big name solo singer will release a song and it’s - Prod. Xavier ???? 😭

And that song will blow-up bc it’s catchy as hell?? 😭😭

Everyone were confused

All the members were confused

Also lowkey a social butterfly.

Has the most friends outside the group and also senior friends in the industry.

One time the group were on variety show with the most famous host and he was like “Yo Xavier, did you eat the pears my mom gave to you yet?” and all the members were like “Huh??”

Apparently he and Xavier went out for a drink 3 days ago??

“But you told me you were busy when I ask you to go drink with me that day?” – probably Sylus lol 💀

I think he will go on the production route after the group disbanded. Will become the most respectable producer in the industry and keep a low-profile. He will produces hits after hits for other singers.

── .✦ Zayne

Position: Leader/ Sub-Vocals / Lead Dancer

I think everyone can agreed that he will be the perfect leader of the group

Gives off Dad energy in the group despite being the middle child.

Got Street-casting due to his handsomeness. The staff had to run after him and insists he comes to audition the next day.

Went a bit viral in his trainee days while he’s outside the building. He secretly got photographed and everybody were wonder who’s this super handsome boy was.

So he already has fans even before debut.

I think he will have a pretty low-baritone voice when singing. His singing skills are decent but doesn’t really stand out when first debut. But he will improves significantly later down the line and takes Xavier’s lead vocal spot.

His dance moves are really sharp and clean but sometimes can be a little bit stiff. Doesn’t do much facial expression during performance.

He made it up with his INSANE face card tho

The Unofficial visual. His face card and auras always served.

I HC that him and Caleb will spend their time practice choreographs together a lot and became really close.

Taking good care of everyone, He’s the main cook in the dorm.

Manager’s favorite boy, Also all the staffs love him

The only member who can wakes Xavier up and get him out of bed on time (Xavier is terrified of him but will never admit it)

Has a soft spot for Rafayel. Constantly checking after him and make sure that man doesn’t injured himself doing something silly during promotions

Him and Rafayel ended up having the biggest shippers in the fandom

Half of the female idols have a crush on him.

The first one who got into acting career. He got the male-lead role in a classic romance drama plot and absolutely ATE. Became a new star phenomenon.

Constantly winning ‘The actor you wanted to introduce to your parent on this holiday’ poll

Has perfect chemistry with every co-stars he works with. The video clips about how he treats his female lead like a gentlemen always went viral.

Will have a successful acting career after the group disbanded.

── .✦ Rafayel

Position: Maknae / Main Vocals / lead dancer / Center / Ace of the group

I HC him to be that all- rounder member who can do everything and slayed it all.

A golden maknae. Naturally talented in everything he puts his mind to, Fast learner, only takes him 1-2 times to remember choreographs or lyrics. (kinda like JJK from BTS)

Really passionate member but get bored easily. He will learn new talent skill in every comeback and moves to the new one.

Extremely charming and charismatic while performing. No matter who your bias is, your eyes will always drip to him on stages

Has THE MOST angelic voice. Singing is like breathing for him. Can sing a really, really, really high note.

His voice is also really unique, you can recognize his voice immediately in every songs he’s in.

His dancing skills are excellent too, his movements are really elegant and fluid. Can do free style no problem but sometimes he will unintentionally tweaks the movement and became out of sync with the rest of the team

REFUSED to call Caleb ‘Hyung’

Always insist that Caleb is also the maknae too lol

These two are always bickering or play fighting in the background in every behind the scene videos

HATES doing aegyo but it’s his duty for the Maknae. Easily get embarrassed by it but always trying his best (All the fans think he’s very good at it)

He got the most Anti fans in the group

Like this man will get hate comments in every corners of the internet?

He’s not bothered by it in the slightest tho

And due to that reason he also got the most overprotective& loyal fan base

Most likely be the first member to have a solo career

Everyone thought he will comes out with dance- poppy album but he releases a full on slow-indie sounds???

Surprisingly the album is so chill and easy to listen to plus his insane vocals the album ended up topping no.1 on several charts

I think he will continued his solo career after disbanded and appears as a mentor/ judge in several survival shows.

He will becomes a really good mentor, although he can be a bit scary and cut- throat in his comment sometimes.

── .✦ Sylus

Position: Main Rapper

The second oldest after Xavier, but everyone thought he’s the oldest at first

Kinda broke the internet when he get introduced too.

Has that uncle energy in the group. Always in the background supporting the maknae-line when they’re about to get into trouble.

Has the most male fans

Also has the most Solo stans

Doesn’t do much in the performance. Both his singing and dancing skills are below other members but ALWAYS serves face.

Also HIS VOICE.

Has the opening line in the song when he would say some words and everyone will be like ‘oh my god’ (it’s kinda like that felix guy from Straykids)

70% of his rapping skills came from his voice. He does improves a lot overtime tho

Start writing his own verses in the song due to Xavier encouragement and developed a song-writing talent.

Opposite from Zayne, Half of the male idols have a crush on him.

Surprisingly really good at variety shows.

Every time the group were on red carpet event. He will be in the headline on every reports the next day bc of his insane face card.

Win that “most handsome man in the world” poll every years

Him and Rafayel are the English speakers of the group when promote overseas

Has the BIGGEST international fan base. Goes viral every time the group went overseas

He will dip his toes into acting career a little. Mostly playing the 2nd male-lead or the villain.

One time he play the villain in this movie, they went on promotional activities and everybody is shipping the female- lead with him instead of the male lead?? 💀

He just has this chemistry & sexual tension with everything including the wall pls 👏🏻

The first member who got a brand-deal with this big fashion house, also ended up walking the runway (I’m thinking Prada)

Randomly dropped his solo mixed-tape one day and the fandom went WILD

I think his mix-tape will not be as commercially successful as other members bc it’s not the easiest to listen to, but it will later became a cult classic and got critically acclaimed.  

── .✦ Caleb

Position: Main Dancer/ Sub vocals

I HC that this man is born to be a dancer

Probably learned how to dance since like 4

Staged kid. Perform on stage since he can remembered.

Got discovered by the casting staff when he performs at some random festival.

Has the least lines first debut but always got the solo break dance or center part in the performance

Joined the group really young, probably at the same time as Rafayel

He was the smallest in the group at the time up until like 15

Then on one summer when he turns 16 he went from 5’7 to like 6 fts ??? 😭

Rafayel is pissed

He continued to grow and became the tallest member … yeah, the giant maknae

Doesn’t really has much fans like other members when first debut.

But on the 2nd comeback, he has a bit of glow-up and the concept fits him SO WELL. Everybody agreed he owned that era. they gains a lot of new fans from that comeback bc of him.

Has A LOT of Noo-na fans

He used to follow Zayne around everywhere when he was younger. So Zayne still sees him as that lil brother despite him being so big now.

Became insufferable when playing games especially when paired with Rafayel, These 2 get competitive af.

Get along well with every members but prefer to hang around either Zayne or Xavier the most.

Pretty awkward with Sylus at first, but they became gym buddies as times went on

Easy- going boy most of the time but became really scary when practicing. He will catches even the most subtle slacking from the members through the wall mirror.

Will got quiet and silently staring at that member with the most cold-heart eyes.

I think he will developed a passion for teaching and coaching, probably open his own dance studio and work behind the scenes like Xavier after disbanded

That’s all I have babygirls 🫦 . Please give me your own Headcanons if you have any 🙏 waiting for somebody to brain rot together!! 👀

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/772418780077883392/as-a-yuri-fan-i-have-my-fair-share-of-annoyance

This is deeply relatable. I once tried to look for my F/F OTP in Miraculous Ladybug fic. The ship is, theoretically, common. In practice, writers tag for what they think is canon. I used ctrl + f to search for the characters' names and often, they didn't even appear in the fic. As in, neither character showed up in the story at all, not even for one line, not even mentioned at all. Sometimes one was sitting in class in a story or was noted as being at a party. At no point, even in the rare story where both characters showed up, did they exchange words. After 57 fics, I gave up. I'm sure there's fic tagged Rose/Juleka that actually involves them interacting but I can't find it. It's a rare thing when I can even find them in the story they're tagged in at all.

But, to give MLB fans their due credit, they also do this to a M/M ship. Complete with 'canon to the author but neither person will appear in this 200k story even once'. Equality! Love wins, y'all!

--

[confusionism]

“He also wouldn’t’ve called up my number if they knew anyone else who was desperate for pennies.” Aiden knows what it’s like to hold a hunger so deep you’ll take anything thrown at you. Luck may not have been on his side with framing where he comes from, but he’s got to give credit where it’s due, to the parts of life that remain inconceivable through time.

At his core, he’s just the kid from the shithole part of town, thinking he can fix everything with the scraps in his toolbox. He can walk into as many multi-million pound facilities as possible, can be faced with the newest and greatest of advanced tech, and he’ll still hear that metal clinking in the back of his head.

Even now.

Or especially now. They’re thinking on the past, and now he’s curious about aspirations. “You ever think about, like— I don’t know. Dream projects?” He’s not sure if there’s better terminology for this, but he thinks she can pick up on what he means. “A thing you always wanted to pose for or do, but never got the chance.” After another bite, he posits, “You’re always working with these big brains telling you what to do. Taking orders. ‘s funny—” not entirely in the ‘hahah’ way, “—‘cause you’d be great calling the shots too.”

Because this is something that he’s coming to realize about them, what marks the difference in their respective postures: Anna’s a dreamer, ready to take flight. Chasing after ‘the next big thing’ while being constrained by what others say. Literally. In every sense of the concept. All while Aiden remains grounded in a reality reliant on anticipating every move.

Still. Despite the weight of their conversation, he manages a laugh. Light and airy, and filled with those butterflies that Anna seems to adept at helping break out of their cocoons.

“Well… I never really thought much about being a ‘worldwide fascination,’ but… I could be cool with that.” He supposes it comes with the territory, in a way, being high-profile despite being off to the side of things. Spotlights did have a way of highlighting surroundings. Yet he looks up from their food and catches her gaze, bridging an unspoken gap between them when he admits, quietly, “Really only matters to me if you see me that way.”

His way of confirming what’s there, as if they haven’t done just that over the past month, and as if he doesn’t add, “You can stay with me when you’re around.” There’s no trace of doubt in his mind or in his words. In fact, right now, he’s breaking the hearts of all those who’d bet in favor of ‘robot.’ “Could be nice to fill the place with stuff that isn’t gift baskets. And I’ll show you the spot in Surrey next time.” A cottage, far simpler in design than the mid-city flat, and with enough space for a patio they can drink their cocoa on. “It’s better when you need to catch a breath.”

When Aiden talks, Anna takes great care to listen. Pulling out those private, self-actualized thoughts of his is an exercise in 'less is more.' She doesn't pry, doesn't demand (if she didn't count her last ultimatum, just a month ago). Everything she learns is a treasured secret. A piece of a picture of him that she puts together. Unsurprising, but interesting nonetheless when she finds out how he gets his start. Anna chuckles, wondering if Aiden realized that his luck is second only to his guts. "But he wouldn't have called up your number if you didn't have anything smart to say." Luck gets you in the door, tenacity keeps you behind it. That's what Anna believes, anyways.

"People would dress me up like I was twenty-two, when I was just twelve. Now, I'm thirty, and they still want me to look twenty-two. Life's fucking funny." It's her way of commiseration. She may not have worked like Aiden did, with calloused hands and knotted shoulders. But she gave up parts of her youth, and only now does she feel close enough to recoup it. She hums a quiet thank you, but it's heartfelt and her cheeks color pink at the weight of his compliments. Even now, she's not used to it, being seen as more than the sum of her parts.

The weighted topic takes a turn, and Anna gasps. "Oh my God, I saw that!" On her not-so-casual, social media deep dive on Aiden. Back when he was a quasi-workplace crush, and teasing a smile out of him was an accomplishment. Still is, come to think of it. "I think you're managing just fine." It's congratulatory on her part - Aiden's all smiles on this trip, even when Troy is giving him the sexy stink eye or the French were being rude. "But alright, sure. Let's say it's the running bets and not the worldwide fascination in Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome." Teasing is how she endears, and Anna's aware she can border the line of obnoxious behavior.

"Hardly. It would be nice, having somewhere to go in between jobs..." Undoubtedly, Anna enjoyed the travel. When she wasn't working and her parents were busy, Anna would busy herself with side trips and jaunts. But she's seen the world now, and all Anna wants is a familiar bed and someone to come home to. "You know, I don't even have an actual apartment? My stuff's in storage facilities and friends' places. My forwarding address is either my parents', my agent's office, or PO box in London." A long way of saying --

"I wouldn't mind breaking my flow for something new." Something new, with Aiden.

[shokupanko]

INTRODUCING: DAISY MAE!! And her companions, Rosie, Marigold, and Cosmo! This is an upcoming UTAU created by @mimiso-soup (ON INSTAGRAM) and @/ValkyrieButSus (ON TWITTER)! （╹◡╹）

I had the joy of being commissioned to draw her and when I saw the design I fell IN LOVE! Valkyrie is absolutely amazing at character design and art itself *chef’s kiss* so please go check him out on Twitter!

The companions were my idea :D I felt sad that she didn’t have any companions so I consulted bestie abt it 👀

bro had the biggest brain and decided Little Bo Peep and it was GENIUS

[crimescrimson]

Albert Wesker in Resident Evil Remastered (2002)

[accirax]

Danganronpa: Despair Time Chapter 2 Episode 14 Dissection

I can't think of how to introduce this dissection other than just saying "god damn??". This chapter-- especially its second part-- has been a wild ride, and one that it appears we're nearing the end of. However, we still have one important question left to answer, which I'm sure I'll talk about here. So, let's chat.

SPOILERS for Danganronpa: Despair Time Chapter 2 Episode 14.

Also, I will be discussing Ace and Eden as equally likely blackened candidates in this post. If it will upset you to hear about the prospects of either or both of them being the killer, you might want to sit this one out.

Given what happens later in the episode, it's very interesting that the episode began with (more or less) Ace "admitting" that he has no idea how the murder mechanism worked. A truthful method of disqualification, or a masterful play by Ace to ask Teruko to ask him about the murder method only to pretend that he has no idea what it was? Time will have to tell on that one, because I honestly have no leads.

Similarly, is this Eden being genuinely shaken up and not remembering what transpired in the Gym, or trying to play the helpless innocent card to get out of having to help Teruko explain the murder method that she stole? Spoilers for my thoughts later in this dissection, I guess: they're so evenly matched that it's crazy.

I've always thought that Hu is the prettiest DRDT character, and this episode did nothing but prove me right. Hot damn, ma'am.

The insistence that this questioning is "traumatizing [Nico]" makes me think that Hu could be projecting her own experiences on to them. Perhaps she was once an innocent in a situation for which she kept taking the blame? That would be interesting as another connection between Hu and Nico, of both of them having taken the blame for someone else's follies.

This was a hilarious comeback; never change, Ace. Or, maybe you do need to change slightly, to become a less cowardly and impulsive person. Or maybe I should at least be rooting for you to have the chance to change in the sense that you live long enough to have that work out for you.

Yet another instance of J being the one to say that murder is bad. I wonder if this has to do with her character/backstory in some particular way (although given what we know about her past I have no idea what that would be), or if DRDTdev just needed a judgmental and confrontational person who would snap back at anyone to take over these kinds of lines.

(That's not me dunking on J's character btw she's valid for this)

This was a really clever way for Charles to phrase this to make Hu listen and settle down. I appreciate the out-of-the-box yet logical thinking. (Also I missed hearing Charles' voice :,D)

Woah, I was not expecting to get a Closing Argument comic for the Gym murder, but I am obviously delighted that we have one! Also, OH MY GOD, THE CEILING GRATE. How did none of us even think to consider that as part of the murder mechanism?

However, there are still some aspects of the state of the Gym that haven't yet been accounted for with this version of the murder timeline. I don't really think it's anything that would stop Nico from being Ace's would-be killer at this point, but I'll list them out here in case they are or in case they turn out to be relevant to Arei's murder. I'll also be trying to debunk them, though.

Moved Benches: Some of the benches near the pullup bar were knocked over. These probably fell either in some sort of struggle while knocking out Ace, or when Ace's body fell from the fan.

Moved Weight Rack: The weight rack was moved closer to the bench press and flipped on its back. I guess this really was also knocked over in the same fashion, no matter how unrealistically difficult it should have been to move due to its weight? Or it really was "workout preferences"???

Nico's Missing Cowl: When Teruko and Eden found Nico at the scene of the crime, they weren't wearing their typical dark cape thing. I have no clue why. You could say that Nico was trying to look less instantly recognizable, but it's not as if anyone (other than maybe Teruko) who saw a dark-haired 5'5" individual in a blue shirt instead of a gray cowl would think it was anyone other than Nico. There's also ye olde theory that they might have used it to soak up blood somewhere, but 1) Ace seems to have lost less blood than it may have seemed, and 2) the cowl was still not seen anywhere in the crime scene. I think I remember speculating that after Nico hypothetically used it to soak up blood (or, on second thought, maybe used it to gag Ace with the turpentine), they then stuck it in the fridge to hide it for the time being, at which point MonoTV discarded it and Nico got a new cape from their room. Maybe if it was used to apply the turpentine, Nico also could've put it away to prevent themselves from being affected by the fumes? I guess that's what I'm going with.

Lack of Tape on Pullup Bar: So, this one is obviously relevant to the murder already because Rose not being able to do a pullup is part of what tips off Teruko to the fact that something is off with the tape. However, I have no idea why the tape actually got removed from the bar. I still maintain that I don't think anyone could have stolen the tape off of that bar and repurposed it elsewhere-- most online sources seem to agree that kinesiology tape isn't reusable, and the fact that it was already wrapped around the bar in such a tight spiral would make it difficult to conform to any new specific shapes. My best guess is that Nico might have tried to use the bar instead of the light grate at first, determined that the tape was preventing the wire from sliding properly, and then removed the tape before determining the bar still didn't work. Or, Nico could have tried using the bar before settling on the broom, and thinking that it wouldn't work with tape on it... for some reason? Kinda scratching my head here.

I wonder how long ago it was. It's been four days since the Chapter 2 motive was revealed, although Ace was attacked only two days after the motive. Furthermore, Ace had started bullying Nico to some level already by the end of Chapter 1. I'm sure that Nico must have known what their secret was and probably didn't want it to be shared. My guess would be that they probably started cooking on murder pretty shortly after the new motive was released. That would also work with Charles-via-Whit letting everyone know what the custom weapons were in the first Class Trial.

This was the perfect response for Nico's character. They don't understand why an untruthful "sorry" would actually serve as a courtesy for most people, so they try to say what they feel and get ostracized for it.

Gotta say though, Ace, that was a pretty aggressive reaction from someone who said he "didn't need other people to tell him lies just to keep him happy" ;) (/j)

Damn, way to throw Levi under the bus. I can see why, for someone like Nico, they would want to assert themselves as not the most abnormal person here, though. I just want them to be neurodivergent buddies :(

If that's the case, then I'd have to imagine that we won't be seeing Nico as a killer again down the line. However, they could also just mean "getting caught"/"going in without a solid gameplan," so it's still possible we will. There's also the possibility of them doing something more like a sacrifice kill, although it would take a lot of character work to make something like that feel within Nico's nature.

Sorry to keep screenshotting every little thing Nico says but they keep saying really interesting things. The fact that Nico specifically mentions their father as opposed to "parents" or "family" makes me think that we'll hear more about their father specifically sometime in the future. Or, who knows, maybe their other parent left or died.

Nico: I don't expect you to forgive me. Very few people ever do. So I don't see the point in acting sorry.

This was very interesting as an addendum to the above screenshot. What exactly did Nico "ask for" forgiveness for in the past? Was it just more social blunders, as they described in ch2-e2, or did they get into more trouble closer to this level than we realized? It could also be an indication that Nico has spent time with people who believe that being nonbinary is a crime that Nico needs to feel sorry for. Fascinating stuff, indeed.

Points for Ace being the killer. We know that he went into this trial looking to suspect Nico ("[...] I'm pretty sure I know who the murderer is. It's not David, it's Nico"), so if Ace is the killer, it would make sense if he'd want to make the crime scene resemble Nico's to make his bait more credible.

Hey, it's the aforementioned T A P E T I M E, motherfuckers :D (still /j) Personally, it's quite gratifying to hear that it wasn't just a visual malfunction or a minor detail blown way out of proportion.

You're, uh... getting to this point much faster than I expected, queen. I don't think she's now going to go down the exact same distrustful rabbit hole that she was in before, but there's definitely still potential for her hopes to be crushed by the end of this chapter. Or, maybe she will accept some people as genuine friends, and instead in the future have to confront how she feels when she loses a genuine friend, or not blaming herself for the effects of her luck, or something along those lines. I like that Teruko isn't a static edgy protagonist, though. Like, don't get me wrong, I've always known and appreciated that she has depth, but it's refreshing that she isn't someone who's so stubborn about her own way of thinking that she refuses to admit when she's in the wrong. Teruko really wants friends, guys.

TERUROSE REAL??????

(Also Rose's speech was excellent as well I just didn't have anything in particular to say about it other than "wow" at the moment)

Yahoo, lockdown logic strikes again! Also, a quick

Is Teruko Correct In This Assumption?

Personally, I fully think yes, only Ace or Eden could be the culprit at this point. MonoTV confirmed that it tried to restore the Gym to the best of its ability but couldn't return the tape, which means both that there was no tape in the Gym to be taken and that there was never any spare tape in the Storage Room that MonoTV could have used to replace the roll. I guess you could say that there was an extra roll of tape in the Storage Room that someone else took before the murder took place, but that level of coincidence seems implausible at this point in the Trial.

No, for anyone other than Eden or Ace to have acquired the tape, they must have either stolen it from one of those two or asked for it from one of those two. Asking them seems very unlikely-- for starters, if it was Ace who took the tape, I don't think he'd be giving free hand-outs to anyone. And, if Eden isn't the killer herself, that means all of her fright regarding stumbling upon Ace's body was genuine. I don't think she's naive enough to then hand over what was used in Ace's murder to anyone asking... or at least not without bringing it up now. Beyond that, anyone who would ask either of them for the tape would have to know that the tape was used in the murder attempt, knowledge of which was very limited. This episode went to lengths to establish that Nico was the sole culprit behind the attack on Ace, and while it's still possible it could all be an elaborate lie, the explanation Nico gave felt very in character and important for their characterization moving forwards. So, while Nico would obviously know it was used, if Nico asked either of them for the tape, surely neither Eden nor Ace would trust them. Otherwise, I think Rose is the only one who could have found out it was gone, but even so, given that neither Eden nor Ace have tried to argue that Rose asked them for the tape, I don't think that happened.

You could also say the same of neither Eden nor Ace claiming to have had the tape stolen from them-- but I could see either of them feeling like claiming to have taken the tape at all right now would be a death sentence, so I understand why they wouldn't say it. Still, I don't know if the narrative is there to support the tape having been stolen from them. On the day after the Gym murder (Day 7), Eden isn't seen in the daily life at all. If someone stole the tape from Eden on that day, I would think that DRDTdev would at least want to show us who Eden was spending time with on that day (given that he put in the effort to make the tape sprite disappear from the Gym at the time it did), so that we would have any idea who might have done so. Ace is seen once in the Day 7 daily life, arguing with Hu, Nico, Levi, Veronika, and Arei. However, having just been attacked, I imagine he'd be hyper-aware of anyone getting close to him, and therefore would be more likely to notice if someone was rifling around in his pockets (if he has pockets?).

Really, I think the only possible candidates for who could have stolen tape from Ace or Eden would be Levi (mostly just for Ace) and Arei (from either of them). Levi might have had an opportunity to take the tape from Ace on the night he was attacked, the night of Day 6. Eden said last episode that Levi "kept trying to help him" after Ace was attacked, which could imply that Levi was the one to put bandages around Ace's neck. Furthermore, he does have a criminal past, which could make him better at stealing. Similarly, Arei is confirmed to be a good pickpocket, stealing Min's pen without Min noticing at all. I think she's the only one with the proper buildup to have taken the tape from Ace at that breakfast, and would be the most likely to have spent time with Eden when Eden was off-screen. (Although, it would have to have been before lunch, because Eden says the last time she saw Arei was at lunch.)

However, I don't think many people think that Levi is the killer anymore, and if Arei stole the tape from Eden or Ace only for the killer to then steal the tape from Arei, I would start to wonder why DRDTdev even made the tape such a scarce resource in the first place. Remember that, if the killer was purposefully trying to recreate Nico's idea, they likely knew in advance that they would need the tape to pull off their plan. It was used in enough places that seizing the opportunity to take it off of Arei seems unlikely, as it was too fundamental to the plan's inception. Besides, for the killer to replicate Nico's plan in the first place, the killer likely needs to be Nico, Eden, Ace, or Teruko, who are the ones who could have most easily taken the tape on their own.

I've already seen people accuse this Trial of being bloated, and while I strongly disagree (I only think cases are bloated when they're stalling for time and have nothing of interest to discuss, and we've still had PLENTY of interesting stuff to discuss), if we spent a whole 'nother who-knows-how-many episodes reversing all of the progress we just made to say that either Nico wasn't actually the one to kill Ace or that someone who didn't see the crime scene killed Arei, that bloating problem would only seem worse to those people.

I understand if you don't want to believe that Eden or Ace has to be the culprit for whatever reasons-- whether that be that they're your favorites and you don't want them to die or you really like your theory and don't want it to be false-- but I really think that this episode cemented that either Ace or Eden will be voted for as the blackened for all of the reasons above. Therefore, I shall be proceeding accordingly.

She was WILD for this. Hilarious line of reasoning.

What's Up With the Body Discovery Announcement?

The "reveal" of this line of logic was no surprise to me. As someone who's believed that Eden is the culprit for quite a long time, we've had to figure out ways to get around this thing before, and besides perhaps "not witnessing the murder," someone else seeing the body before the BDA rang is the most obvious way to cheese it.

However, in order for this to be a thing, we have to ask ourselves-- who would have actually seen the body first?

David claims to, but he has an alibi starting at 7:30 AM with Veronika and J. Both because Arei theoretically wasn't dead before then and because we've been operating off of the assumption that a meal takes about 30 minutes to eat, I don't think any of the three of them could have stumbled across Arei in the morning. Nico and Hu both have an alibi, which I'm going to consider solid enough to remove them from possibility-- one of them spotting the body would be helpful to make Eden the killer, and I think the only people who believe that Hu and Nico are lying only believe so under the condition that one of them is the killer. Whit is out, because him seeing the body beforehand doesn't actually accomplish anything, and so is Charles, because we can assume that, if he saw the body, he would be out of commission. I'm also going to strike Rose from seeing the body before breakfast, both because she's very likely to have been asleep and because if she had already seen Arei's body in the Playground, she probably wouldn't have refused to draw a diagram. That would leave only Ace, Levi, and Arturo as non-blackeneds who could have helped facilitate culprit!Eden from not being caught by the BDA.

However, we also have to consider that "before 8 AM" isn't the only time someone could have stumbled across Arei's body. They also could have seen it before Teruko, Eden, and Whit did while everyone was looking for Arei. So, what do we know about what happened during the search for Arei? Not much. Hu says that they should split up, while J says she's going to check Arei's room. Teruko says that most people are probably searching the first floor, an assumption that's supported by Teruko, Eden, and Whit not seeing anyone else while they check the second floor. You might think that would eliminate the possibility of anyone else seeing Arei's body during the search, but Teruko did say most people, not all. There's also what MonoTV said when Teruko and Veronika were investigating the Gym.

MonoTV: It's too high! If you stood in the movie screening room on floor one and started punching through the walls, you'd fall into the playground.

This not-yet-addressed piece of evidence got me thinking about the possibility of someone seeing Arei's body from above, standing in the Motive Screening Room. It still probably couldn't be Teruko, Whit, Charles, Rose, or J, but anyone else would theoretically be back on the table if that were the case. That being said, I can't find any visual differences in how the Motive Screening Room looks between the beginning of Chapter 2, when the search for Arei begins, and when Teruko goes to check the motive secrets (other than a curtain being added over the screen in the third case). So, unless there was already a heretofore unmentioned hole to peek through in the room, I wouldn't count on that being the case. The connection between the Motive Screening Room and the Playground will probably just be relevant to a different chapter.

Therefore, that leaves us once again with Ace, Levi, and Arturo. The main problem with believing that any of them could have seen the body beforehand is why they wouldn't have brought that up at this point in the Trial. Here are my best guesses as to why:

Ace: I have genuinely no clue why Ace wouldn't have brought up that he saw the body in the morning (assuming that he actually did) to defend himself at this point. It's not like it would make anyone more suspicious of you.

Levi: Levi does seem to be a bit dense regarding what is and isn't helpful behavior in a Trial, so the most likely possibility to me is that he just didn't realize that confirming he saw her was helpful. Like, "oh, I didn't realize that me confirming that I saw Arei would help us pin down Eden as the killer. I was just trying to figure out how David and I both saw Arei's body this morning and I didn't see him." "Wh-- David was obviously lying!" "He was?" "I already told you he was lying before..." "Levi... we talked about this..." Bonus points for it not being out of character for Levi to be unfazed by seeing a body, though.

Arturo: In Arturo's case, I think it would have to be that he'd still be worried about people seeing him as suspicious for saying he found Arei's body in the case of accusing Eden specifically. They already have a past history of conflict, and I could see someone brashly accusing Arturo of throwing Eden under the bus just to get revenge on her for the secret thing (even if I don't think he would actually do that). He also made an enemy out of Arei, so I don't think he would be particularly fazed by seeing her corpse either-- similarities to Felicity's cause of death notwithstanding. However, I also find it likely that he trailed after J in going to check Arei's room.

So, what's our conclusion here? Does this mean that Eden is basically fully cleared by triggering the BDA? I wouldn't count her out just yet, but the evidence isn't looking great for her. It's quite possible David only brought up this argument to A) hold out suspension of disbelief that it's not just Ace for a little while longer, B) drop this logic as foreshadowing for a future killer's plan, C) characterize the kind of logic he uses in a Class Trial, or D) bring up this argument in canon so that the people who theorized that the BDA might not clear Eden or Whit wouldn't be like, "wait, but what about...?" However, it's also possible that one of the possibilities I listed above, something I might have missed, or the "see no evil" idea (as FF put it) could keep Eden in contention. That dynamism is part of what makes Ace and Eden feel so evenly matched.

See, this is what I assumed David was getting at after Nico reminded me of his early-morning alibi. But then he just kept talking...

I'm not going to delve into what David was thinking here too much, because I already have an anonymous ask about what I think David's rationale was that this will almost certainly come up in. However, as a short version, I imagine that David is trying to get everyone angry at each other in the hopes that it'll incite another murder that he can get the class to fail? Or to cause enough discord in the group that they just fail this one. That would be why he also rags on Rose for not remembering the tape, and insults Arturo's sister-- he wants no one to trust anyone so that the murder-solving process will be as un-streamlined as possible.

The fact that he targets Teruko so specifically is probably because he (accurately) assesses her as the only real threat there. Charles and Rose can help, sure, but their mental struggles make them easy enough to eliminate if you play your cards right. Teruko's main flaw is her lack of trust, so if David wants to weaken her, it makes sense to go right for that jugular. Furthermore, by stating his plans so plainly and publicly, it might incite other people to fight back against him and say that Teruko should trust them. However, that kind of olive branch might make Teruko even less inclined to get close to them, if what Teruko said to Eden at the end of ch2-e03 can tell us anything. Didn't stop Eden from trying at the end of this last episode, though!

After taking some more time to think about what David was up to this chapter, I might change my mind on those being his goals. But, this post does serve as my initial thoughts of sorts, and that's what I initially think about this scene.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Does Ace Have Nothing To Do With Arei?

What Ace has to say is more or less true-- barring the breakfast in which Arei didn't talk at all (AKA, no conversation), Ace has literally never been in a small group event with Arei. However, although they didn't talk to each other, Ace did overhear the conversation between David and Arei, which does give him a connection to Arei. Quite relevantly, Arei did say this to David during their conversation:

Arei: You said that sharing our secrets would help fight against the motive. But when I think about it, not a single good thing has come out of that. Eden was stupidly naive, as usual, and tried to talk to Arturo, so now I have to protect her.

From this, Ace could probably surmise that Eden had Arturo's secret, she talked to him about it, and that Arei stepped in to save her from Arturo. He was one of the few people who could have known that Eden and Arei grew closer before the murder occurred: another connection Ace had to information about Arei.

However, before you use that evidence to call Ace the killer, let me remind you that he still doesn't have enough information to write the note from just eavesdropping on this conversation alone. As I outlined in this theory (same as the one I just linked above), whoever wrote the note had to specifically know that Arturo's secret was about his sister, which Arei doesn't divulge (quite possibly because she didn't even know) to David. Therefore, although Arei mentioning Arturo and Eden in this conversation is interesting, it doesn't actually make Ace any more likely to be the killer, because he still would have needed to find some way to spy on Eden's secret and/or Arturo and Eden's conversation to write that note. (Unless mentioning the sister specifically was an oversight plot hole, but I never want to use that as my reasoning.)

So, do I get what Arturo is getting at? Yeah, Ace and Arei were never particularly involved, and Eden clearly has a greater connection to the victim. However, there is more to the Ace/Arei bond than it might first appear, and it's possible that could come up in the Trial moving forward.

This distinction-- between "Arei was my friend" and "Arei could have been my friend"-- could be very telling down the line. Eden pauses mid-tear-filled rant to distinguish that Arei is not her friend, not because she's dead, but because they hadn't reached that point yet. Arei is not Eden's friend in death. What can that possibly mean other than that Eden killed Arei?

... BUT THEN HOW THE FUCK CAN EDEN GO AND SAY ALL OF THIS, BE THE KILLER, AND THEREFORE PROVE DAVID RIGHT???

AND THE "BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO" REFERENCE??? AT THIS HOUR????? I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT MAKES HER SEEM MORE OR LESS SUSPICIOUS!!!!

OUGH AND THE MIN PARALLELS TOOOOOOO

MIN WAS TERUKO'S FRIEND BUT ALSO A KILLER. DOES THAT MEAN EDEN IS GOING TO BREAK THE CYCLE OR DOES IT MEAN THAT WE'RE STUCK IN A DOOMED STORY IN WHICH TERUKO IS THE PROTAGONIST? IT COULD GO EITHER WAY!!!

Jumping back in time for just a moment...

A Piece of Evidence That Lines Up to Them Only

I thought about making this its own separate post, but decided not to. If you guys want me to make this part it's own separate post so it's easier to find/comment on directly, let me know, and I'll set that up.

But before you can make your decision, I suppose I have to explain what I aim to do here. Basically, Teruko has told us that she's still torn between Eden and Ace (mood), and that, while she'll start off attacking Ace, she's looking for any pieces of evidence that could prove that only one of them could have committed the crime. Problem is, we have no indication of what that specific piece of evidence could be, and, trust me, it could be a lot of them. Thus, what I'm going to do in this "mini" theory is list out every piece of evidence that I can think of, and say whether it points to Eden being the culprit, Ace being the culprit, or it can't point to either of them. Perhaps once we're done, you'll see why I'm so conflicted on which of them it would be.

I'm going to tier these pieces of evidence in terms of least likely to be the missing piece to most likely to be the missing piece, starting with all of the aforementioned unexplained gym evidence. The knocked over benches and weight rack were not part of the replicated crime scene, and I have no idea how Ace or Eden would have wound up with any version of Nico's cowl. The missing tape on the pull-up bar has the greatest likelihood to be relevant, but as we're already suspecting both of them for having the tape, I don't think it'd be a decision maker. Any of those pieces of evidence would be likely to come up in proving that Nico wasn't the one behind Ace's murder, but this theory is operating under the assumption that Nico is the one who tried to kill Ace, and either Ace or Eden killed Arei. If you want the answers for your own theory, do your own homework. (/lh)

Ace or Eden will get a point for any evidence that I think would better be used to accuse them as being the culprit. Therefore, winning points is actually a bad thing if you want to be innocent. For convenience of "scoring," Eden will be purple because of her shirt and Ace will be pink because of his "maroon" hair... and because I needed red and orange for the likelihood ranking.

UNLIKELY FINAL PIECES OF EVIDENCE

Arei's Body Swinging: This evidence has already been used to establish that Arei was killed in the morning, not at night. Either Ace or Eden could have killed Arei at 7:30 AM, so point to neither of them.

Ace Trying to Assign Himself to Guard Duty: This one is obviously a point for Ace if it were the final piece, but it's such a minor happenstance that I doubt Teruko would think to bring it up as the main thing against him. Like, she could bring it up in general, but I don't think it'd be her crowning jewel. Still, it's a piece of evidence we haven't discussed yet, so credit where credit is due.

Arei's Bound Wrists: Bound by the grippy tape that either of them could have stolen. Point to no one.

Broken Playground Lights: The lights in the Playground are broken, likely from the mechanism being hung up through the ceiling rafters. You could argue that this is a point for Ace's strength, but I don't think throwing a ball that high requires so much strength that Eden couldn't do it, especially if you might be able to use the see-saw to launch it somehow. Point to no one.

Dried Up Puddles: This has nothing to do with either of them. Point to no one.

Carousel Wrapped in Tape: Again, either could have had the tape, so point to no one.

Two Pieces of Rope: Either of them could have taken the rope from Storage and cut it; point to no one.

Food/Utensils/Napkins in Trash: Probably David's dinner. Possibly evidence of Eden and Arei having breakfast together, but that's a stretch. Point to no one.

Cups/Tissues/Palette in Trash: Rose says these were hers. Point to no one.

Incense in Trash: I know thebadjoe had (has?) theories about this being used to conceal the scent of Arei's body being hidden in the Relaxation Room a day earlier than anyone thought, but I find that to be too much of a stretch to accost Eden for it here. I think it's just filler. Point to no one.

Grippy Tape in Trash: I should just stop writing out tape evidence. Point to no one.

Broken Jugs: The killer used jugs of water to make Arei heavier, which broke when she fell. They probably had the fish water in them, but we're not talking about the fish themselves at the moment. I'll say point for Ace because the jugs are probably from the Gym, and we've seen Ace in the Gym far more times than we've seen Eden.

Needle and Black Thread: This evidence... might have to do with the ball of clothes, which we'll get to later. However, if this is relevant to the murder, it's probably from the Dress-Up Room, in which we've seen Eden but never Ace. Point to Eden.

Construction of the Note: After a bit of internal debate, I'm going to call this a point for no one. Why? Well, it's because Eden would have reason to help construct the note whether she was the killer or not. If she is the killer, she might have wanted to guide the discussion that followed its reconstruction, to urge to Rose and Whit that she's innocent and that someone must have framed her. It would also give her reason to come into the Trial already having a handwriting sample on her. However, if Eden is innocent, she also easily could have just wanted to help out. Most importantly, Eden already brought up the note being constructed in her initial defense, so I doubt Teruko would reuse it as the nail in someone's coffin.

Splashing Arei With Water: Either of them could have thought of this and accomplished this. Point to no one.

SOMEWHAT LIKELY FINAL PIECES OF EVIDENCE

Body Discovery Announcement: While this may very well play an important part in solving the case, I don't think it'll be the final smash, so to speak. That's mostly because we already talked about it a lot in determining whether Eden could have done it. In the end, I think we'll either have to come up with a way to justify Eden having cheated the BDA-- by Levi or Arturo having seen it or via see no evil-- or we'll accuse Ace without the BDA being a problem. I guess I have to call this a point for Eden because if the BDA were to be the damning evidence, I think it'd have to be for her. However, in my heart, this is totally evidence supporting Ace being the killer.

Arei's Broken Neck: I'm using this as a stand-in for the strength of the killer, in the sense of lifting Arei up and being able to stop the carousel. This is a point for Ace, because he's a professional athlete and Eden is generally the weakest person in the cast.

Scratches on the Ground: This evidence certainly seems to indicate that there was a struggle at the Playground, but is there anything more to it than that? I'm more willing to believe that Ace could have beaten Arei in a fight, but does that point to Eden because there would've been more of a struggle, or Ace because Eden wouldn't have wanted to fight Arei at all? Ace also normally wears heels (while Eden and Arei don't), which is what Hu cites will naturally scratch up the floor. This evidence is vague enough that I don't think it'll be used to point to either of them, but if it did, I think it's more likely to be Ace.

Ball of Starched Clothes: For starters, I'll share (I think it's) thebadjoe's theory that the ball was adhered together using starch from the Relaxation Room that's sprayed on the plants at night, because I saw some people questioning how the clothes could have been stuck together. Anyways, the ball of clothes itself is definitely a point for Eden, because we saw her in the Dress-Up Room specifically looking for Teruko's clothes. Although, Ace certainly saw Teruko and Hu's new fits, so he could have figured it out for himself.

Actual Acquisition of the Tape: I don't think this will be used as the final piece just because I feel like the narrative is pointing towards the damning evidence relating to Arei's actual murder as opposed to Nico's. However, it's relevant to discuss, so I'll list it here. Although Teruko says that Ace and Eden had equal odds at the tape, on the surface, it really makes much more sense if Eden was the one to take it. Star explained it well here, but I'll add my own recap: in the moments when the tape must have been taken, in between when Nico leaves and when MonoTV kicks everyone out, Ace is recovering from unconsciousness, covered in blood, full of rage, and has all eyes on him. Meanwhile, Eden is scared, sure, but she had a clear moment to actually examine the scene of the crime and is also knocked to the ground-- potentially right next to the tape-- with all her wits about her. While it's not impossible to believe that Ace sleight-of-handed the tape, Eden had a much clearer path to taking it. Point to Eden.

MOST LIKELY FINAL PIECES OF EVIDENCE

Arei's Missing Glove: To my memory, Arei's glove hasn't been brought up in the Trial at all, which is definitely strange, because it must be missing for a reason. If DRDTdev is crafting so much detail into the BDA that the swinging of the body is plot-relevant, there's no way he would have just missed giving Arei her glove. The question is, what was this used for? Those who are familiar with my theories should know that I've never been a fan of dress-up theories, so I'm going to discount that possibility. The thing I thought was the most likely was that the killer donned the glove so that their hands wouldn't get super scratched up from grabbing the grippy tape-d carousel bars, before gleamingtempest reminded everyone that both Eden and Ace already wear gloves. Still, looking at them, Eden's gloves are probably made of something more like cotton while Ace's gloves likely have some sort of tougher grip on the inside. So, Eden would probably be more likely to need something else to protect her hands. Also, given that both of Arei's wrists have marks on them, the glove was likely taken off before her wrists were tied. I can't figure out why Ace would have taken off Arei's glove before restraining her or how he would have gotten Arei to take it off otherwise, while for Eden, at least, I can imagine her asking Arei to take off her glove. Therefore, I'm going to call this one a point for Eden, while also throwing out that it might just be missing if Arei didn't bother putting on her glove for the early morning meetup.

Fish on the Playground: You've heard it from me before, Eden has an alibi through the entire time the fish could have been taken. With seemingly no accomplices (other than possibly Arei) in sight, I don't know how Eden would have gotten her hands on those fish. Meanwhile, Ace had a great opportunity. Point for Ace.

Pieced-Together Note: This evidence is very confusing, because I don't see how/why either of them would have implemented it. For Ace, I wrote that entire theory (I'm not going to link it a third time) about how, based on the information in the note and the layout of the first floor, it really seemed like eavesdropping was impossible, and the person who wrote the note had to be Arturo or Eden. Then there's what thefandomenchantress pointed out about Ace's pedantry making it seem like he wouldn't misspell "responsible" in the note, and that he just doesn't give me the vibes of someone who writes in cursive. By all accounts, it really seems like Ace can't have written that note. But then again, why would Eden have written that note? Okay, bad phrasing; she wrote it to get Arei to come to the Playground. But still, why would she sign it? Or if she were to sign it, to make sure that Arei knew it was her, why include so much detail about what Arturo's secret was? More importantly, why wouldn't Eden have just stuffed the ripped up note into her belt, or her pockets, or her room if it would serve to incriminate her? Put it wherever she put that glove! Hell, why not eat the note, if it's a life or death situation? There's the "reverse psychology" argument, but similar to what Teruko said this episode, it would have been much simpler for Eden to have pretended that Arei came to the Playground for some other reason without the killer planting some sort of note meant to frame her. And it's not like I think Eden is really the type to misspell "responsible" either. So, I'm kind of at a loss. It's such a major piece of evidence that I feel it has to come into play again somehow, but I'm not sure how. I think I'm going to call this one a point for Ace because at the very least I understand why he would want to leave this evidence here, even if I don't know how he created it. For Eden, I don't get why she'd leave it lying around, even if in pieces. You can call it revenge for Eden getting the point on the BDA, if you wish.

So, what are the results? If you add up all the points together, you wind up with 6 points for Ace and 6 points for Eden. Funny. If you tier the points, however, with 1 point for unlikely pieces, 2 points for somewhat likely pieces, and 3 points for the most likely pieces, you get 12 points for Ace and 10 points for Eden. Of course, that's using my tierlist of which pieces of evidence are most likely and on top of that, assigning the BDA and the Note the way that they are (if you flip them it's 11-11), but still. If you're invested in my findings, these are the results.

Needless to say, I hope you can understand why I'm having such a hard time determining which one of them will turn out to be the killer. Although, I must add...

If we're suspecting Ace first before we've done our Debate Scrum, that's not a good look for Eden never being suspected again in this Trial.

Concluding Thoughts

What? A conclusion? I've never done one of these on a dissection before?!!

Yeah, well, this time, I have stuff to say that I couldn't really correlate to one image in particular! And also I ran out of images, so this is what you get!!!

I spent that whole "A Piece of Evidence" section talking about the physical evidence that could support Ace or Eden being Arei's killer, but in it, I really didn't get to talk about the narrative implications of either of them being the killer at all. I know that Narrative Defenses are typically Venus' thing, but I have my thoughts on this, too. Namely, that both of them are riddled with narrative problems for being the killer at this point.

(Note: I don't mean "problems" in the sense that DRDTdev has written anything poorly. What I mean is, my own perception of how the characters are conveyed has me currently raising red flags about how either of their stories will pan out as a killer or how the rest of the story will pan out without them. At the time the answer comes, I have full faith that I'll be satisfied with the results.)

Let's start by looking at Eden, the spotlight character of the end of this episode. After that whole heartfelt speech with the CGs and the tears and the brilliant voice acting and the everything, how could Eden possibly be the killer?! I'm the one who was trying to defend the possibility of her still being the culprit after her little rant last week, and while I could probably do that again with this speech, it just felt so... I dunno, sincere. You can really feel Teruko's reluctance to put her faith in Eden, but her choice to do it anyways. Teruko already showed signs of growth this episode by admitting that she can't always solve mysteries by herself, so could that be a sign that she might come around on the group faster than we initially anticipated? If Eden was the killer, it would crush Teruko so hard. Is there any recovering from that? Can we really prove David right?

On the other hand, Ace is, quite possibly, one of the most intertwined members of the cast. He's probably Levi and Nico's #1 correspondent, and he's up there for Hu as well-- assuming they both survive the chapter, I'm sure their animosity towards each other will only grow in Chapter 3. With Ace just having given up on Levi, having just been the target of Nico's battery and Hu's verbal lashes, can the story really work without him in it at this point? Eden hardly has connections with anyone other than Teruko-- Hu's probably next, but Eden probably ranks, like, fourth on her list after Nico, Ace, and David-- which should make her more expendable. Is it really Ace's time already?

However, despite my complaints, I also think that both of them could be really good options as the killer here-- the two options I prefer over anybody else.

Eden is the character who's most connected with Arei. She plays into the chapter themes of being a good person beautifully. She's a good person, a tragic figure, that killed not because she wanted anybody dead, but presumably because she had something back at home that she had to get back to at all costs. Killing her off would break Teruko-- would break everyone. With the reveal of everyone's secrets, next chapter is going to be a living hell, so why not make that hell worse by removing the biggest conflict de-escalator here? It would force other people to step up to bat. It would give everyone a chance to change, what Eden wanted for Arei most of all. Eden's development isn't an arc, per say, but a fall-- a reminder that even the "most good" people can do the unspeakable.

Meanwhile, Ace has perhaps the most obvious reason to kill someone: he literally almost fucking died himself. Ace's execution would be a reminder of the physical reality of the killing game. That actions have consequences. Even if the guy who started all those fights is dead and gone, you can still feel his presence lingering in the arguments between the others. The guy you underestimated most of all-- not for being kind, but for being dumb-- can send you into a multi-hour spiral in which you accuse even the sweetest of participants. Ace's development isn't an arc, per say, but a fall-- a reminder that reveling in your own distrust and anger might lead you to do the unspeakable.

For someone who's spent so long believing that Eden is the culprit of the chapter, it's really amazing how down-to-the-wire DRDTdev has made the end of the case, where either option feels so believable that it's like you can picture the rope in their hands. Whether my theories, old or new, were right or wrong, I am highly looking forward to watching next week's episode and discussing it with you all. See you on Friday-- just try not to freak out too much before then, alright? (/aff)

[saints-who-never-existed]

I mean, fair play to the man actually, it is quite a cute sign of Crozier's care for and knowledge of his crew that he knows offhand Diggle will like getting the pick of his personal stores, and the challenge of creating a fancy meal for the impending visitors - "He'll enjoy that!" :)

[delawaredetroit]

There's something to how Act Two Izuku started to see all progress as meaningless if he wasn't the best. Moving from 8% to 20% didn't mean anything if he couldn't control 100% of One for All. Successfully using 100% of One for All without injury for the first time meant nothing if he had help. His frame of mind after Kamino became more similar to early All Might, Bakugou, and Endeavor in that only the end results mattered and the only acceptable result was being all powerful. Now in Izuku's case, it was more selfless in that he wanted to be all powerful to be capable of saving any person, but this was negative character development for Izuku nonetheless.

[makotonaegiunderstander]

something I’ve been thinking abt is how many people think Makoto is immune to despair. I don’t think he is. I think becoming the ultimate Hope was BECAUSE he felt despair. He wouldn’t have fully reached that point without Junko. Makoto becoming such a beacon was his last attempt to avoid completely falling and it wasn’t because he didn’t feel despair, it was because he was too damn stubborn to allow everything to go to waste and he refused to sacrifice his beliefs for someone else’s. His inner monologue tells me he DID experience the same new low the other suvivors did in the final trial, but at the point where he had the choice to give up and die, he looked at the others and he looked at Junko and he couldn’t allow it to happen, not out of self preservation, but because the idea that Junko would have control over their lives made him FURIOUS. and that utter refusal to die kicked in, wether luck or otherwise, and he made the concious effort for one last push while something in him was breaking. He had to be broken in order for the Ultimate Hope to come through so aggressively, bc it could only exist in the face of the Ultimate Despair. He snapped the same way she did, but in the other direction. In what could have been his final moments he chose to embody everything Junko wasn’t, and every single optimistic and luck fueled ideal in him suddenly charged forward and pushed him. It was a combination of the final straw and a choice. Makoto isn’t immune to feeling despair, he’s just too stubborn to fall into it of his own volition. I think that’s why I like that scene in DR3 so much. People were SO SHOCKED Makoto actually fell for the tape, that he actually became despair for a moment. I saw people getting mad or disappointed, saying it was pathetic and Makoto seemed to fall from some sort of pedestal for them. Honestly part of me wonders if that sort of mentality, which clearly people had in universe, affected Makoto a bit. Like he started to see himself as less of a person, subconsciously. Prompting him to take more risks, less self preservation, act way more bold. It seems he has to be reminded a lot not to put himself in danger by his friends, to not do something too reckless. All over the place I would see in regards to that scene either this frivolous ‘oh this was just angst drama with no meaning behind it’ or ‘he can do better than that. he’s so weak’ or ‘come on, there’s no way he’d fall into despair, he’s the Ultimate Hope!’ This kind of mentality, which was kind of ironic considering Ryota was there the entire time saying the same thing and treating Makoto the same way. Like Makoto was superhuman. Like Makoto didn’t feel despair the same way ‘normal people’ did. In a way that was also how Munakata saw Makoto. Makoto stopped being a PERSON to the world when he became Ultimate Hope, he became a concept, a belief system, much the same way Junko ascended beyond herself. But the difference is that treating Makoto that way is the opposite of the reason Makoto became such a representative for hope. He wasn’t doing something no one else could. He was doing something everyone had the chance to, he just… was a little more optimistic, a little more stubborn, a little more ‘gung-ho’ about things. He just took the lead where no one else did, where no one else knew they even COULD in the face of Junko’s unstoppable force. She had overcome the biggest threats and obstacles in the world, what could one person do? And the answer Makoto found was, anything. Everything. It doesn’t all rest on Makoto, he’s just the one that was inspired to try to do what seemed like the impossible. But as evidenced by the change in his friends after that trial, it’s clearly not something only Makoto is capable of. The others pulled out of despair thanks to Makoto, but it was their choice to do so.

“But… this world is so huge, and we’re so small. What can we do…? No, we can probably do anything. Yeah! We can do anything!”

[mewkwota]

"A servant from the heavens above... Are you an angel?"

Even now I still don't know if I am articulating this right, but as I mentioned in a previous upload, I like to think about Volnutt being more than "just a Carbon". So here are some doodles of Trigger, the design is referenced from fellow user Sato and his work here.

Whether or not someone personally chooses to separate these two names/lives, I think the fact they're connected seems so cool.

This still doesn't make any sense does it? (; v; )

[feroluce]

So I went to the wiki page for the henghill Bullet & Brain mission of 2.2 looking for some dialogue I had missed and

a) I found something incredibly tasty that slotted into some other thoughts I'd been having, more on that on another day, and

b) I saw this super fun little trivia at the bottom, which!

I knew Penacony characters like Boothill took a lot of inspirations from old movies, but I didn't realize it was even in his and Dan Heng's relationship, that's so cool!!

It fits them very well, it's such a fun reference. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was an old buddy Western film (from 1969- nice) about a pair of outlaws. Butch Cassidy was the leader of a gang, and described as clever, affable, and talkative. Meanwhile, his closest companion, the Sundance Kid, was known as a man of few words.

Cassidy's original birth name was much more plain, but similar to Boothill, he took on a new moniker when he became an outlaw. "Cassidy" had been the last name of his beloved mentor, who taught him how to shoot and ride. And Sundance Kid was known as he was because Sundance was the name of his hometown, and it was the only place that had ever managed to catch and jail him, back when he'd been younger (also similar to Dan Heng, but ouch).

These two stick together like glue throughout the length of the film- through Cassidy's leadership of the gang being challenged, through a train robbery gone wrong, through being pursued by mercenaries, and even through fleeing to Bolivia and trying to start over together.

I don't want to say too much more, since the mission title is referencing one specific movie that I've never seen. I kinda wanna watch it now, though, just to see the inspiration that went into Boothill and Dan Heng and how they get along. I just think it's really sweet that these two were literally made to be the best of bros, how lovely is that. 💕

[sp-growingpains]

it's been a while since I last asked about Jean! you can skip if some of these you've answered already <3

7) Vice-Versa! If your OC is in the modern day, what fantasy class would they be? Would they be a different race? (Or more specifically, could you tell us more about Jean's TSOT alter ego?)

12) Does your OC interact with other people's OC? If so, who's their best OC friend?

Yoooooooou! You make my heart so happy! I wanna spoil you!! 💝

Hey real quick!! If I tagged you, please feel free to ignore this! Don't read it if you don't want to! Question 12 involves credit where credit is due!

7) Vice-Versa! If your OC is in modern day, what fantasy class would they be? Would they be a different race?

So when I think about TSOT stuff I honestly use D&D rules because that's what I grew up on as a kid! When I first made Jean I thought about her being a Tiefling Bard! But dude, Jimmy is the best bard in all of the kingdoms!

So I scrapped it and had a really fun idea as I was writing up my Fantasy stuff for SP. Jean is the Black Knight! I love, love Authurian legend and I couldn't resist making a nod to one of my favorite video game characters! Zelgius from Fire Emblem had the coolest armor and story! (Huge info dump ahead, I'm so sorry)

So, if they're just kids being kids: Jean loved the fact that most of the girls were the knights! Wendy with the battle maiden looking absolutely fire! But, it was kind of boring that Clyde was the only "bad guy". So she decided to dress as the mysterious black knight. Every time her friends would get together to play, she would find a reason to be like "Awh sorry guys, I got stuff to do today!" Or pretend to be sick!

Then, when everyone else was busy with their games, deep in their battles. She's show up covered head to toe in a black motorcycle helmet, a black battle vest (she probably picked up from Jimbos after begging him to help her.), black pants, and black boots. (You get the point.) She orders a sword and a cape from party city or some silly shit and just shows up.

While she wears the costume, she keeps her mouth shut. She goes out of her way to be as mysterious as possible and dramatically makes a show of fighting the others. If she's losing, she'll find a way to make the other person look cool but make a grand escape! She picks up this persona just to make everyone else look cool because she knows she looks like an edgy asswipe! Kids being kids, right?

BUT THE AU! OH THE AU!

I rambled before that I love Cowboys, but I move fantasy stuff so much!

So we still go with the black knight angle! But before that she was a royal knight to The Grand Wizard! Fought side by side with Butters the Merciful! Brothers-in-arms with Ser Clyde and Ser Tolkien! A circle of knights who swore to do right by the human kingdoms.

Then, the war happens over that damn artifact. It's power tempting both the elven and human men. Battle after battle begins to wear her down. She starts to lose the will to find good in what she does. When the ground becomes soaked with the blood of soldiers throwing themselves into her blade, and for what? For power? Power they'll never see? All because some men who already hold enough power told them to?

It breaks her.

So she comes home to that found family and gets into a fight before the Grand Wizard and her brothers. Not one of steel like she's so used to. Instead, the Grand Wizard brands her a traitor and casts her out so she's forced to leave.

Stripped of her name, her brotherhood, her honor.

Something about that sends her spiraling. The isolation sends her into one of the great forests where she's decided that's what she'll protect. She'll live there and those woods will be hers. Because at least she was good at that.

There, she protects people who want nothing to do with the war. The little people caught in the middle. If people think to bring the war into her woods, she dons the armor, the two-handed silver sword, and becomes the weapon she was so good at being.

She slowly stops being Jean Wellman and more of a weapon. Even a broken sword is at least useful. A broken human? Not so much.

Still edgy? Yes. Do I eat that shit up? Oh, absolutely.

I end it there because I like to leave it open for other characters' influence! That includes other ocs!

12) Does your OC interact with other people's OC? If so, who's their best OC friend.

Oh! Oh! I love this question!! Because that means I get to brag about others!

Real talk! I get super nervous talking to people about Jean! There's this part of me that finds it so...selfish? But I want to hear everything about other people's! And if they want to talk about how their OC would interact with mine? Oh my heart!!

@lulu24784 was the first person to interact with me when it came to our blorbos! She drew this beautiful piece of Jean and Lulu when we first started talking that is still my iPad background! It brings me so much joy when I look at it!

She drew them with the friendship bracelet and I made it canon! In every picture, where it makes sense, she's got the bracelet on. It's on that wrist forever. I have these little thoughts of Jean showing up in her flower shop and spending hours just yapping and playing soft music on her guitar while she watches her friend move around doing her day to day. Her favorite thing to do is to put on some music and try to coax Lulu into dancing with her. Seeing someone you adore be good at the thing they're good at makes her so very happy.

That leads to her maybe stepping on the poor girls feet because she's a big, clumsy idiot. Especially because of their height difference, but any chance to be close with someone who means so much to her.

That leads to some pretty confusing feelings for Jean later on, but at the end of the day, she knows she loves Lulu and wants her happy!

Another person who Jean is close to is Morgan! @tinyalcoholicwitch is my best friend irl! I met her back when I was twelve and we've been friends ever since! We've bounced from Fandom to Fandom together and she bravely tried to follow me here! So she made the gorgeous Morgan for Jean to have as a friend! Jean loves her bestie so very much!

She also drew me a beautiful piece that is my laptop background! Because my friends inspire me and it makes me want to be better!

Jean and Morgan got into piercings around the same time, so they got their face piercings together. Jean immediately made the "joke" of kissing, and they would lock together like puzzle pieces. Jean's favorite thing to do with her is to crawl into her window late at night. Yes, she could have taken the front door, but that would have woken Morgan's mom, and that's rude! So she crawls in and spends hours with her, most times spending the night. She has to be picking Morgan up or holding her every chance she can get! Morgan is a huge reason why Jean stays so fit, so she can carry her favorite princess like she deserves!

And you know she would adore Anh! We haven't talked much but from what you've posted about her, I know Jean would think she's the coolest person ever! 🫶

[bugsinshoes]

What are your gravity falls characters headcanons?

OKOKOK SOOO !!!

gender and sexuality hcs:

dipper: trans guy, he/they, asexual, demiromantic/cupioromantic (IM ON THE FENCE SOOO lets just say hes arospec. maybe aroflux?)

mabel: either transfem or genderqueer (i love both), bisexual, she/her but im not opposed to the thought she uses neos/xenos

stan: transitioned to male but later found out hes genderfluid, bisexual, also arospec, he/him

ford: transitioned to male but later found out hes agender, asexual, demiromantic, and gay. as for pronouns he/him, but probably has a bunch of cool alien neos he picked up during his 30 years travelling. but mostly uses he/him for simplicity's sake

OTHER HCS !!! (SPITFIRE ROUND GO!!!):

ford loves mabel juice. when ford came back dipper and him binged watched all of the star wars movies he missed. ford LOVES cats and i mean LOVES them (mabel is ecstatic when she finds out). dipper played guitar for probably like a month before giving it up completely. fiddleford gave ford his iconic coat during their college years. also the pines are all somewhere on the autism/adhd spectrums

theres like a BUNCH others i cant all put on one post + i cant remember atm sooo i hope these will suffice :D

BUT here are a couple links to some REALLY good character analyses that really resonated with me that you guys should totally check out (if you haven't already)

Why Stanford Pines from Gravity Falls is Autistic and Why it Matters

Gravity Falls and LGBTQ+ subtext: Decoding the Queercoding | A Video Essay

anyways, this was long. wow.

[usertoxicyaoi]

“Immortal Ye, you overpraise him. He is just a child. He only did what he should do. You flatter him.” WORD OF HONOR (2021). Episode 17 / Episode 32.

[sabraeal]

Have you ever written any collaborative fanfic with another author? I think you'd be incredibly fun to work with!

I have indeed, though right now it's mostly just bits and pieces of an AU. Me and @bubblesthemonsterartist both write this Concubine AU series, which was originally inspired by @onedivinemisfit 's artwork. Though half the time I feel like that's cheating because part of both mine and Joanna's writing process is "yell in DMs at each other until it's kinda like an outline" and then go off and write. Only this time we wrote different parts of the same thing instead of different things entirely 🤣I did something similar with both the Obi-Works-For-Izana AU with @krispy-kream, and then also the Shirayuki Sedai AU with both Sharon and @claudeng80.

Otherwise I don't think I've done a typical author collaboration-- An Economy of Suffering was just a happy accident, where I wrote something that haunted Joanna so much she had to write a fic, and then those haunted @another-miracle so much SHE had to write her OWN fic, and then we put them all together on AO3.

[kakusu-shipping]

Perks of being an artist; The ability to draw my grown ass adult men non-human F/Os as shotas for my own amusement