#and clover was just altruistic

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I love how both Chujin and Clover are these future-oriented characters who wanted to change the world

[izvmimi]

man like literally as a little kid asta is like reassuring yuno that he'll make sure everyone will have everything they need and there'll be no more worrying about food or money like jalkdf;ajsdk;f you're like 6 poor baby 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[rustedleopard]

Part of the reason why I defend Ceroba so much is that I initially didn't like her character. Her personality is pretty big from what we saw of her with her quips with Starlo in the Wild East, so when she joined up with Clover in my Pacifist playthrough, I was expecting... more from her. Instead she stuck to the sidelines for the fights (understandable since it would've been dumb to take fighting away from the player) and almost all she would talk about was her husband and his accomplishments and meanwhile she was just a housewife. Then I found out that she injected her daughter with an experimental serum and was like "Oh, she just straight up sucks :/" I felt shafted, cheated out of an interesting character because it felt like there was more to her and then she was just your standard-fare housewife who loves and supports her husband and daughter.

But then on a subsequent playthrough, I started paying attention to what she was saying more and thinking about her and I realized "Holy shit, that's the point!!" Ceroba is a character who placed so much blind faith in her husband that she let it cloud her judgement. That's why she injected her daughter with chemicals. She saw her husband as this flawless, larger-than-life character and that's why she let herself recede into his shadow. She wasn't the supportive housewife by choice; that's what she had to become in their relationship so Chujin could continue being the altruistic hero of the Underground. She couldn't have hobbies and be her own person if she was taking care of Kanako and making sure the family had money and food on the table, meanwhile her husband is doing fuck all to contribute. I felt cheated because life cheated her out of the chance to be her own character. It all makes sense now! Ceroba Ketsukane, I love you forever and I'm sorry that there are people out there that don't get you.

[smile-files]

ii darkfic au where nickel is so cynical about himself and everyone else that he really hones in on the goody-goody clover as "box-killer" and a bad person in general and forces her onto a villain arc by continually causing her to doubt her good intentions (which would initially assuage his doubts... like yes she's a horrible person too, it's not just me, nobody's innocent). and yes she murders people <3 and because of her luck she always gets away with it <3

the point would be that we're all capable of bad stuff, even the most well-intentioned among us, and beginning to think that this capacity makes us thoroughly and inevitably evil is what turns good people bad. cynicism creates killers. i imagine clover would initially be horrified by what she does, but she wants to stay safe (as one's instinct naturally is), so her luck captures that automatic desire and keeps her under the radar -- her luck lets her do this. it enables her, and so after some point i bet she'd become numb to her actions. like it's fate.

but maybe nickel, terrified of what she's become and guilty over how his distrust and misanthropy turned her into it, tries (perhaps with balloon's assistance? their arc would be relevant) to remind her of the wonderful, sweet, altruistic person she was, which would bring her morals back -- perhaps to an extent that her reborn guilt overrides her desire for security and causes her to finally get caught (ending the cycle and allowing her to change). that at best would be a bittersweet ending

what should this au be called? hm... maybe "destroying angel"? like the fungus? maybe there can be some cool symbolic imagery about parasitism and infection and stuff :)

[ezool]

[twst talk rant???]

i know that fanon characterization is inevitable in any fanbase, i just think it's funny how Trey got affected by it in twst.

whenever im scrolling through the twst tag and there's those "what these boys would do for an s/o that _____" or whatever, and sometimes i see Trey being written like "oh if y/n had a stressful day, Trey would have a hot bath all ready to go and will give you a back and shoulder massage and he'll do this and that and so on and so forth and you'll have your favorite pastry/baked good ready for you" or something.

another would be like "if you had a lot of chores to do, and lots of errands to run, he'll do them all with you and then ask if there's anything else he can do to help and he'll even wash all your dishes and--" like?? hm?? are we reading the same Trey Clover here?

[damn this post go so much longer than i expected. im not even a trey fan, i guess i just had a lot to talk about on the subject lmao]

like, i get that he's one of the more normal guys in the cast, and from that i think writers try to have a more domestic approach with those Trey x reader things. but i think it misses a big point about Trey as his canon writing goes (or maybe it really is just my personal read of it)

The following is me going over various vignettes: [tldr at the end]

his PE uniform vignette (literally titled "Nailing the Bare Minimum") has him preparing for a flight exam (so he has his broom at the ready), and he's watching Kalim in the sky about to fall off his rowdy carpet and some mob student says, "oh no! who can save him?! oh, Trey! you have your broom!"

Trey: "and...?" Mob: "w-well, Kalim's in need of help, so--" Trey: "and this involves me... how?"

he's eventually convinced and goes to save Kalim, and coincidentally the things he had to do to ensure Kalim's safety was impressive enough to Vargas to count that as Trey's performance for the exam and passes him.

a couple other vignettes (Jamil's dorm uniform and Ruggie's labwear) shows that Trey isn't a generous, altruistic giver. Jamil asks Trey for some help with making food for an impromptu banquet for Crowley, and Trey agreed to help so long as Jamil agreed to prune all the rose bushes at his dorm. Like. that's a LOT of rose bushes, just to help with cooking. Jamil even admits in his inner thoughts how he clearly got the short end of the stick and that Trey took advantage of his situation.

when Trey hears that Ruggie needs laundry detergent, he offers 1 free load's worth of his on the condition he helps with an errand. Ruggie agrees, thinking it's a steal, until they arrive at Heartslabyul and finds out the errands was to paint the roses red.

in Trey's labwear vignette, he admits that he doesn't grow his own strawberries for the tarts he makes out of the goodness of his heart, but moreso he can be assured that he has strawberries at the ready when a tart is in need of calming Riddle down. it's why it didn't make much of a difference whether the tart at the unbirthday party was made by him, or from the famous pastry shop that Jade promised in return of using Trey's homegrown strawberries.

in Ace's school uniform vignette, Trey picks up pretty quickly that Ace is up to something when he offers to help Trey carry some things back to their dorm. Despite knowing something's up, Trey still allows Ace to help be then he quite literally is carrying a lighter load of his errands.

he's not an altruistic giver, nor is he a pushover. in fact, in Jade's Ceremonial Robes vignette, Trey's advice to Jade is "hey, if you don't want to do something, speak your mind and put your foot down."

on top of that, he's very non-confrontational (not just the Riddle situation), but im mostly talking about how if there's a situation that he foresees escalating, he will avoid it. he literally hides off to the side to avoid being noticed and roped into the trouble.

in that same Jade Ceremonial Robes vignette, the whole reason Trey is even talking with Jade is bc he had a feeling that Riddle would go to Jade to tell Jade to rein Floyd in of his antics. yet when Riddle was chewing Jade out, Trey stood back rather than intervening in the first place. He even apologizes to Jade after about not stepping in.

another instance of saving his own skin and avoiding conflict is in Deuce's Stargazer vignette. two mob characters are making fun of the effort that Deuce is putting in to improve his dance routine for the ceremony. they're making fun of him and he says "say all you want about me, but how DARE you insult Trey!" and Trey says to himself "i was trying to blend into the background." and it's described that he was hiding behind a pillar. the mob characters, upon realizing they were insulting an upperclassman, apologize and runs off. which means, given his superiority, Trey could have easily stopped the guys from insulting his first year Deuce just by being more present or stepping in sooner. instead, he just let Deuce take the insults thrown at him. (luckily, we know that Deuce being Deuce can take it).

this doesn't even mention how Trey is also a petty grudge holder (Dorm Uniform) and a freak for dental hygiene (School uniform) but this post is long enough as it is.

---

TLDR: Trey works smarter, not harder. he works to avoid problems later down the line. if he sees problems now, he avoids them. he will only do the bare minimum to coast by. he will rope people into doing part of his work, but he will do what he can to avoid getting roped into other peoples' work. literally two of his smiling sprite emotes is him smiling with furrowed, strained brows, like a customer service smile to avoid agitating someone into escalating a situation (one emote has him gritting his teeth he is hanging on by a thread).

so what's the point of this post? i have no fucking clue. im not even a Trey fan, im completely indifferent to him as a character in the cast. but something that i appreciate about twst is that all the characters are a little fucked up! even the more "normal" ones have these sorts of red flags about them, and it makes them all the more interesting to see interacting with the other characters in the cast.

like, i know that fanon trey x reader stuff is all make believe to have fun, and this is far from me yucking anyone's yum. i just think it's interesting how morphed his character was changed into The Perfect Domestic House Husband type despite all these red flags that could make a relationship with him pretty difficult if it's not addressed (in an irl situation i mean).

anyways, that's all. dont forget to floss!

----

edit: oh @lesbiantreyclover made a really excellent point!! about how this post is shallow in the analysis department. honestly this was never meant to be a full blown analysis on Trey, but mostly just taking the time to point out parts of his character that often doesn't get utilized in those trey x reader things. and it happens so much so that the trey featured in those "x reader" posts just seem very detached to the Trey in the canon seen in vignettes.

this was mostly just a rant, as stated at the very beginning, and wasn't really meant to be anything more than that because i don't know much else about trey (again, im completely indifferent about him as a character). so im sorry if this post came off antagonistic.

and maybe bc i don't seek out Trey content to begin with, i wasn't aware that these are common talking points within his fanbase, so i apologize for any redundancy here.

again, i never wanted to yuck anyone's yum, i just wanted to point out an observation i made about general fanon interpretation compared to the vignettes. lesbiantreyclover also made a really great point of describing trey as "attentive to a fault"

like maybe in a romantic relationship Trey will do things for his partner to avoid problems with his s/o but if those dont work, his non-confrontational and avoidant habits will keep him from talking about whatever issues might be simmering underneath the relationship.

i guess that was the sort of thing i was implying when i said "despite all these red flags that could make a relationship with him pretty difficult if it's not addressed (in an irl situation i mean)" at the very end, but i wasn't sure how to word it well. lesbiantreyclover put it well, so thank you for your input! 😊����

--

edit: someone apparently swore off twstblr bc of this post mentioning the "freak for dental hygiene" bit.

like, i understand perfectly that his family owning a pastry shop would then encourage good teeth brushing discipline, but even the other characters think his interest in teeth cleaning is a little much.

the 4koma even has it's own ribbing of it

and trey's tsum groovy is literally him and his tsum self coming at you with a tooth brush

like, do what you want with how you interact with social media fandom spaces, but i think calling us "stupid" was overkill for something as innocuous as this, don't you think?

[matchaflavored]

So whats your favorite thing about Trey Clover? Essays welcomed, encouraged even

CRACKS KNUCKLES, then an essay I shall give you... you have been warned! Now... when i first played the game, I only had very superficial impressions about each character. This was also when there was very little content in the game itself. It was hard for me to gauge which character I would try to emotionally invest my soul into, so I went with a type a character I've always been fond towards: kind and older brotherly or mentor types. I really didn't know much about him besides that and I'm kind of glad I didn't then because everything that came after was a pleasant surprise of consistent and compelling writing. Now, I do think that's applicable to every character so I'll try to be more specific.

I've always talked about how I think Trey's writing is "unique", but that's more of me appreciating that as a character he's specifically written in a way where it's very difficult to take any of his words at face value. Analyzing him feels like a really good brain exercise, and at some point you start to notice he's very carefully crafted his image so he can come off as ordinary as possible. Well, I do think the general fanbase knows he's not exactly as unconditionally altruistic as he's insisted he is and other characters have pointed out he's weird about coming off as average, but I do think there's more to him than just being "two-faced". Frankly, I think it's sort of incorrect to describe him that way. Like, yes, he can be inconsiderate and deceptive, but I find it extremely tame in comparison to the rest of the cast. Ultimately, he doesn't do things because he's a malicious person. That being said, I really enjoy that he's the type of character who can be doting and compassionate, but not exactly empathetic so he doesn't particularly care about not being the most truthful person. I don't think these two things are mutually exclusively, but they're definitely treated as such. It's definitely what I enjoy the most about him, because after that I was like oh, so what about Trey is him being "genuine" then?

Now, Trey isn't a very emotive person, so you kind of have to parse which situations would get him to admit something about himself that won't damage his reputation, won't bring attention onto him, or won't reveal too much about him. There are a few exceptions to this (the biggest being when the topic involves Riddle, but that is a Trey + Riddle essay and will make this ask longer than it is so I'll save that for another day), but in general I tend to cross reference his stories because he can tend to be very... contradictory. Not in a "he's a flippant person" way, but in a "one of the things he said isn't true and you have to see which situation would get him to lie" way.

I guess as an adult, I enjoy this type of writing more as this type of polite 24/7 psychological navigation is relatable haha. Everything I read about him feels fulfilling, like I'm learning something new about him or am able to be conclusive about another aspect of him even though he views himself as just Trey Clover. Nothing more, nothing less. But figuring out his thoughts and feelings he tries so much to cover up will be something about the game I'll never get over.

tldr: Trey says he's some guy ninety percent of the time and someone who's this insistent about it while being fairly inconspicuous but never too terribly evil must be hiding something.

[millennialdemon]

I’ve seen a few episodes of Anima Yell now, and there are times that I wonder if it isn’t meant to be a parody of the moe club anime that it is. There are moments so cliched, so rushed, and so frequently undermined or played up to the max level of unnecessary melodrama in these first few episodes that I almost find it a little clever.

In episode one we have a stoic girl named Arima who has sworn off cheerleading due to Sports Trauma TM. When our pestering protagonist Kohane asks her to join cheer club, she turns away from her dramatically and says: “Cheer is in my past.” Then we get a comedy scene right after this where she is shown to be completely oblivious to how obvious it is in everything she does that she still loves cheerleading. Kohane herself is the bubbly, perpetually altruistic moe protagonist of moe protagonists who declares that her purpose in life is to help others, even to the point of hurting herself. She is to moe club anime what Asta from Black Clover is to mainstream shounen, which is to say all of the tropes dialed up to 100. By the end of episode one she has convinced Arima to resume cheerleading… by endangering herself and jumping out of a tree to prove how serious she is about conquering her fear of heights and pursuing cheer with her. The scene is completely ridiculous and flips again and again between taking itself way too seriously and being a dumb moe comedy.

It strikes a curious balance of being completely generic in its wholesomeness and leaning so far into the tropes that it seems to be making fun of itself at times. The admittance that I clock most of it as a joke, though, is also an admittance that it is impossible to take seriously thus far. And sure, it’s as light-hearted as anime comes, that isn’t really a flaw -- I’m just saying that if Anima Yell tries to tug on my heart strings later, it will probably be hard won. If it was trying to in earnest with everything going on with Arima in episode 1, it completely failed.

And I say club anime because as much as I would like for Anima Yell to be a sports anime, I just don’t believe it will get there. This isn’t to say cheerleading isn’t a sport, it definitely is, just that this anime is not what I would call a sports anime, because no one is aiming to go into any sort of competition and I am fairly certain the entire show is going to be about getting club members and learning the absolute basics. It functions much more like your average CGDCT club anime so far, like Asteroid in Love or Hinako Note. If they cheerlead more than once at an actual sporting event this season, I will be happy to be wrong.

(Another unfortunate thing about Anima Yell is that while watching it, all I can think about is how much I would rather be watching an actual cheerleading anime where we follow a cheerleading squad that enters competitive tournaments a la Bring It On. But I digress. I know that this is not that type of anime. But Cheerleading!Hanebado would be so good!)

I would say that overall I am enjoying Anima Yell for what it is, though. In the two episodes I have watched, it did make me laugh with its bluntness at times, and I do think it is quite cute. I like the long-suffering Uki and the awkwardly straight forward Arima. I like that the comedy is usually punchy and well-timed, I like that gags aren’t repeated too often. I like hobby anime that actually go into the hobbies more than not at all (Hinako Note, I will literally never forgive you) and I hope we don’t lose out on seeing the girls train and learn for the sake of too much CGDCT antics.

5/10 so far for being a mostly banal moe club anime with way too young looking designs, but I think it could shape up into something fun.

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

managed to get what im pretty sure is the absolute worst ending lmaoooo still find ace sus ,,,,,,, 🤨

ITS THE HOSPITAL ROOM SCENE

Ace volunteered to stay behind in the hospital room. which i find extremely weird. like. there is being altruistic, but if he didnt know that the others would return this wouldve meant his certain death. unless, of course, he knew the paths would lead back to the hospital, which wouldve painted him in a good light on top of everything else

also he was the one who kept saying that we have to all trust each other and can't be suspicious.......

he also had a tranquilizer?? snake told us that he can fight and since no one heard anything he couldve been tranquilized?

he is the only one with white STREAKS in his hair, meaning he is presumably the oldest. i think he could maybe even be lord gordons child? or maybe grandkid. but yeah i think youd need to be old in order to be directly related to the creep.

i was already thinking that lotos ruthlessness and sevens memory loss were more of a red herring, but their backstories pretty much confirmed it. i think santa and clover were both part of the experiment (they are the only ones with funkier hair colors - no roots at all. i am not sure whether snake was part of them too though. a part of me thinks it could be plausible but also i think he is too old? unless the trauma aged him ig). although i suppose lotos wouldve mentioned it if her kids had come back with a different hair color? (I think clover dyed her white hair)

i thought it might be june, but since junpei was there when she died (presumably he checked to make sure that she was, you know, ACTUALLY DEAD) and the silhouette had short hair she is innocent (also in my mind she's trans BECAUSE HAS ANYONE ELSE NOTICED SHE'S GOT THE FLAG ALL OVER HER CLOTHES SKJGHASLKJH)

okay so santa and clover and ace were in the same room where they died, correct? my theory (in the belief that santa and clover were both part of the experiments) is that one or both of them remembered that ace was a part of them so he had to kill them? i find it sus that kanny was the only one who died in a different room. also lotos and seven died in the same room as santa clover and ace, and since i really don't think its either clover or santa,,,,,, well. there's only one person it can be.

also maybe the demonstration with 9 in the beginning was so people wouldn't dare question the fact that you need at least three bracelets for the door to open? either that or he had an accomplice. although I really don't know who that would be. maybe there were two different zeros: one from the Gordon/mummy/Titanic side (ace) and one from the cradle experiments side (???) and they turned on each other in the end? in which case the accomplice would have to be kanny I think since she got through the sun door without the key. also cuz she knows a bunch of stuff about it? idk

I'm also not sure how the titanic and the experiments are connected tbh. I think it might have something to do with immortality? or maybe I've just read too many body hopping shenanigans ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

putting it out here I think that ace/lion is zero

[mesaprotector]

Zero Escape: 999 thoughts (not complete yet):

Progress: I’ve found three bad endings, and assuming the “flow” diagram isn’t misleading you, there are two endings left, which I assume are good or at least neutral.

I like the atmosphere a lot, of course. I mean, this is seven years after I got into Danganronpa, and nothing about my love of claustrophobic, confusingly laid-out buildings has changed.

Virtually all the characters have at least some sense of humor, and it isn’t jarring. It’s nice to see little things like, for example, Seven laughs a lot early on in the story but becomes pretty much dead serious as he starts regaining his memories. Even Junpei, though honestly his jokes are kind of lame. At least the other characters agree :P

I pretty much said to myself the first time through the introduction scene “okay, Santa, Seven, and Lotus are gonna be cool, and idk if I trust the rest of these guys”. So far, jury’s out on Santa but the other two are great.

I feel weird trying to speculate and guess what’s going on midway, since it’s near guaranteed there’s going to be some narrative-changing twist, like, idk, half the characters are all just meat puppets of the other half, or Zero is actually Clover’s pet cat, or something. But at the moment, Ace is very suspicious to me. The game hasn’t explicitly mentioned it, but someone could have gone back to where the Ninth Man died, grabbed the bracelet, and then used that to try to escape - and Ace would fit both with Snake’s murder (since 1+2+9 = [3]) and with someone stealing Lotus’s bracelet in a couple of the bad endings (since 1+8+9=[9]). His altruistic “sacrifice” serves to delay the rest of the group from going through the number 3 door. He also asks Lotus to go off with him for vague reasons in the axe ending. But in the submarine ending, he’s among the dead. So who knows. There’s also the dumb math-based theory that the Ninth Man is Zero, since 9 is 0 mod 9.

My laptop is a brat, so I’ve struggled to get through multiple playthroughs for that reason as well, and at one point I just lost all my save data - I doubt that affects the ability to get to the “good” endings, but well. Next time I feel up to playing I’ll be trying very hard to convince a cute anime girl not to murder me with an axe. Not even the first VN I’ve done that in.

[jadekitty777]

See You Heal

Hey everyone, long time no update, right? Aha!

Alright time for something a little different but still sweet. This entry is a work entirely inspired by @ladyrobiness‘ beautiful Slow Sunrise series. I woke up one morning and the idea just hit me like a truck and well... I had to write it out.

This is a continuation to that series so, reading it first is absolutely required. But why wouldn’t you? It’s a beautiful Fix-It fic with lots of tender moments of healing for Qrow and Clover both along with them just falling in love like the adorable dorks they are <333

Here are the Ao3 links to both:

Robiness’ Story: Slow Sunrise series

My Story: See You Heal

It’s also below the cut!

Rating: K+

Pairing: Qrow/Clover

Word Count: 2800

Summary: Qrow knows ignoring the problem only makes it worse. Unfortunately, dealing with it has its own set of problems too.

~

Sometimes, Qrow wished his standard for dealing with shit wasn’t ‘‘Ignore it until it goes away’.

It didn’t work. He knew it didn’t work – and yet sometimes his traitorous brain thought: maybe this time it’ll be different. So, when the issue of Clover not liking anyone at his six came up, like a scroll that had been factory reset, he defaulted. Hoped in the most ironic ways that the problem would just fix itself or at the very least, never become a problem.

That was why, as he gusted through the air trying to spot the nearest nomadic settlement, all he could see instead was Clover’s dismayed expression.

Really, he only had himself to blame.

They’d been traveling through Vacuo’s unforgiving desert for hours. It was a six-day journey to reach Shade Academy, most of which they had to do on foot as no locals at the city border ever escorted anyone across the desert without a price. Though they’d gotten an early start, beginning their trek even before the sun had peaked the horizon, as the day waned the sands around them began to shimmer as the heat rose to unbearable heights. Add onto that an unstable ground that left them all unsteady on their feet, relentless winds that whipped sand along exposed skin and eyes, and the occasional Grimm or wildlife lying in wait for an attack, and it just seemed like a recipe for disaster.

So, when the Sidewinder Grimm leapt from the dunes they were walking across and struck out at Weiss, all but two of them either didn’t react fast enough, or stumbled when they tried. The first of the two that had was Clover, who had his fishing line around Weiss in an instant and yanked her his way. The second was Ruby, who sped above the field like a shot, petals and dust following her wake as she managed to get in the first blow.

Within seconds, the rest of them recovered and suddenly the snake had ten skilled opponents bearing down on it. It certainly wasn’t a long battle, but enough to get the adrenalin going. The kids seemed to take it as they saw it, realizing the threat was over once the smoke cleared. But more veteran huntsmen like himself kept on guard a little longer.

Or like Clover – who wasn’t expecting Jaune to come up behind him and give him a congratulatory pat on the back.

The reaction was instantaneous. Clover yelped as he twisted and swung Kingfisher right at the boy’s head.

The clang of metal hitting metal seemed to echo the world into silence.

Jaune, shield shadowing his face, looked tense and a little frightened.

Clover just looked horrified.

And then he was faltering back, dropping his weapon into the sand. “I’m- I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to- are you okay?!”

“I’m, fine.” Jaune answered a little shakily, trying to laugh it off. “I don’t think now is the time for a training exercise though.”

Clover tried to meet him, but his own chuckle rang hollow. “No. No it’s not.” He ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. “I really am sorry. I, I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s too hot.” Weiss was the one to offer, turning the attention her way. “I’m having trouble too.”

It sounded logical. Believable. Of course the Atlesians weren’t accustomed to blistering heat like this and would be most likely to succumb to its’ effects.

Only Qrow knew the truth of the matter. Tried not to think how a desert wasn’t so unlike a tundra – open space, unsteady footing, extreme weather.

“We need to get out of this sun.” Blake decided.

Ruby nodded in agreement. “Right. Uncle Qrow, can you scout ahead and see if you can spot something?”

That’s how he ended up in the sky, canting in great big circles like a vulture and looking to every horizon as he tried to make out a camp or an outcropping or a cactus. Anything that might provide shade or water. It took a few cycles, increasing his radius at every turn, before finally managing to see several flutterings in the distance. Upon closer inspection, he knew it was the tarps of caravans, moving southwest. Which meant stable ground and civilization.

He dove back towards the group, morphing just shy of his landing. “Looks like someone’s on the move several miles that way. There’s probably a temporary camp nearby.”

Or if there wasn’t, there would be.

“Right, then let’s move.” Ruby ordered, turning to the robot beside her. “Penny maybe you can try and keep us cool in the meantime?”

“I will give it my best shot!”

Their conversation faded to background noise as his focus instead shifted to Clover who, for the first time since they’d begun traveling together, took lead instead of rear. A silent attempt to rebuild goodwill. But his posture was held straight, an unnatural rigidity to his movements.

Qrow joined him, not quite reaching for his hand, but allowing their knuckles to brush together. The effect was miniscule, but there, just the slightest drop of his shoulders as his face eased into a small, not-quite-there smile.

Okay. He could work with this.

~

It was funny how easy it was to trick a Vacuon when they thought they were the ones playing it. All it took was some altruistic speeches from the kids about wanting to help because that’s what huntsmen did and the words “free of charge” and suddenly they were traveling with a whole parade of people who thought they were getting protection for nothing. Which was mostly true – except of course, now they had a place to stay in and quicker way to the academy.

It also kept them busy, trading off shifts throughout the day to keep watch on their surroundings. Which meant it was almost two days later before he finally had a moment alone with Clover. The wayfarers who they were assisting had a strict habit of bearing down at the hottest part of the day to conserve resources and energy. With JNPR 2.0 on duty and RWBY helping with lunch, Qrow took the opportunity to retire to their makeshift quarters.

As he stepped into the tent, he found his segue into the conversation was going to be more on the nose then he’d planned for.

Clover was seated on one of the various sleeping mats, Harbinger in his lap as he tended to her gears. “Hey.” He greeted. “How’d scouting go?”

“Uh. Fine.”

Seeming to sense his unease, the huntsman paused, looking between him and the weapon. “Oh, sorry! I guess I should do this later.”

“No!” The word burst out of him, startling them both. Qrow cleared his throat, repeating more levelly, “No, it’s fine really. I told you to take care of her.”

To prove his statement, he took the few steps forward to sit directly across from him.

Clover eyed him skeptically for several long moments, perhaps trying to puzzle out if he was trying a backwards form of recovery or just talking big. He seemed to decide the former as he bent back over the sword. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. A lot of grit is getting in-between the gears. But I’m worried about messing up the mechanics.” He offered him a smile. “Harbinger’s really intricate. You did an amazing job.”

“Laying it on a little thick there, aren’t ya Ebi?” He scooted forward just a little, pointing to the correct parts as he spoke. “First loosen the spindle here. Then you can take out the suspension spring and remove this gear.”

They spent the next several minutes just going about the task. Even though he was guiding another’s hands through the motions, the work was so familiar it was relaxing. He even found it possible to keep hold of the small, easily lost pinions as they were removed. All the while, he studied Clover as he worked, the way his brow furrowed with deep concentration or how his strong hands never faltered as he took out each gear with care and reverence. As if the weapon was as cherished as his own.

“Last one.” Qrow announced as the fifth pinion was dropped into his palm.

“You know, before I really was praising you.” The smallest cog came out with a small pop, being added to the growing collection on the cloth Clover had laid out. He finished his statement with a mirthful smile, “But now I’ve determined you went too far.”

He snorted. “Sorry my sword-scythe-shotgun hybrid is a little more complicated than your basic fishing rod.”

He gasped in mock offense. “My darling may not have all your weapon’s fancy little tricks, but it gets the job done with just as much grace.”

“Oh, that’s what you call all that flailing around?”

“Watch it Branwen.”

“What? Am I-” The rest of his words ‘on thin ice’ died in his throat. “Uh-”

This time, Clover misinterpreted his floundering. “What, am I doing it wrong?”

He focused on where the other’s hands were, his own quickly reaching out to catch his, only to abort the motion just as quickly when his fingertips skimmed Harbinger’s surface. That Clover noticed.

He ran the same hand over the back of his neck. “Uh, don’t remove that unless you want her coming apart completely.”

“Alright.” Clover lifted his hand from the center plate obediently. “Are you doing okay or should we stop?”

Dropping the pinions onto the cloth beside the other parts, he tried not to let it feel like too much of a failure. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“Why would I be uncomfortable?” He replied with a frown.

Qrow stared. Was he being serious right now? “You’re kidding. If anything you should be more repelled to be holding her than me.”

“But I’m not. I never have been.”

The frustration broke over like a wave so that his next words flooded out like a tide of turbulent emotions, “Why not? You’re the one who got hurt! Why is it so easy for you?!”

No, no. Shut up.

He slouched over, scrabbling hands through his hair, tugging at the ends as if it would ground him back to the present.

This was going all wrong. He wasn’t supposed to be getting angry.

“I-I mean-” He started to say.

Clover cut him off. “Have you ever considered things were different from my perspective?”

He blinked. Looked up. “What?”

The other huntsman’s gaze drifted, falling down to the blade still in his lap. He ran his palm along the surface. “I never saw it. Or if I did, my mind’s blocked it out. I… remember pain. How hard it was to breathe. But as far as anything I saw in that moment? All I can think of is gray. A dark gray, almost black, but kind of green too?”

Qrow frowned, trying to piece that together. Atlas wasn’t exactly known for its abundance of greenery. The only green thing he could think of was Clover’s own pin. Maybe it was just his body going into shock, making him see things that weren’t actually there.

“Either way,” He continued, idly tracing the intricate patterns embedded in the sword’s metal. “What I’m getting at is, the only reason I know this was the weapon that struck me is because I was told it was. To me, it’s kind of removed from the whole event.” His movements stopped, that same dismayed look from several days ago clouding his features. “Instead, I have other problems.”

Seemed like they were going to have that conversation after all. “Like what happened with Jaune.”

“Yeah. I hadn’t meant to attack him. I just thought…” Clover slumped, trailing off.

“That he was someone else. I know.” Qrow said in the space left behind. “Known for awhile, actually. I knew it was an issue, but I hadn’t said anything. Tch. I should of. Maybe then-”

A flick to his forehead had him jerking back.

“Stop.” Clover’s fingers soothed over the spot, sliding down along the contours of his face to cup his jaw. “You’re not responsible for my problems Qrow. It’s my job to acknowledge them and ask for help if I need it.”

There was a lot of things he thought to say, the most prominent being how Clover never seemed to have an issue laser focusing on Qrow’s problems and addressing them (though, to be fair, those results didn’t always pan out) – but what he finally decided on saying was, “Do you need help?”

Teal eyes went wide and he drew back. The look on his face, vulnerable and lost, was heartbreaking. “I, uh. I don’t know.”

“Would you like to try something?” He pressed on gently.

“Like what?”

“An exercise.” He waved towards Harbinger. “Set her aside and take off your shirt – Don’t smile like that, I’m not gonna do anything lecherous.”

Clover laughed. “Ah, there goes all my hopes and dreams.” Still, he did as commanded, laying the blade to his left before peeling off the green shirt he wore.

Qrow managed not to stare at the metal plating built into the center of his chest, stitching his body together like a broken doll. Instead he reached forward, undoing the red bandanna around the man’s arm – one of the only things he’d kept of his old uniform, besides the boots – and tied the cloth around his eyes instead.

“Uh, Qrow?” Now blind, Clover sounded a lot more uncertain.

He ran a hand through short brown locks. “When I used to teach, I would do this with the students.”

“Lot to unpack with that statement.” He was barely containing a laugh.

It was his turn to flick him. “Shut it and listen.” He got to his feet, speaking as he rounded the other. “It was usually for typical stuff. Figuring out what movements they knew by reflex and what they needed to work on. Keeping an ear on their surroundings when their eyes can’t. But sometimes,” He stopped directly behind him. “It was to help break bad habits.”

Clover was already tense. “Really?”

“Ruby’s footwork used to be terrible. Got worse when she discovered her semblance – she was tumbling all over the place. Taking away her sight made her focus harder on every step she made. Made her more aware of everything she was doing.” Qrow reached out, fingertips brushing along the base of Clover’s neck, the skin shuddering under his touch. “That’s what I want you to do. Focus on the way your body reacts and correct it.”

“This… seems a little unconventional.”

He knelt down behind him. “Sometimes it’s the unconventional methods that work. Now,” He laid his palm flat along metalwork layered over his spine, hearing the sharp inhale. “Let’s get started.”

~

Qrow couldn’t say for how long, exactly, the exercise went on for – but it was certainly not as long as he would have kept one of his students at it. Where he’d push them to continue even just a minute longer, he was more willing to pull back with the brunette, knowing this was taking a mental toll along with the physical one. So, when he noticed Clover’s efforts were turning to frustration, he was quick to call for a break, offering that maybe they could finish up with Harbinger in the interim.

Clover, stubborn man he was, didn’t want to quit entirely though.

That was how they ended up sitting back to back as Qrow polished off the gears and pins and Clover set them into place.

Healing takes many forms, Qrow mused as he handed over the third cog and reached for the next, the anxiety he normally felt completely, blissfully absent.

Felt the stretch of muscles against his own as Clover worked, his erratic breathing and shakes having steadied a while ago.

One day, he hoped they could come out of this without their demons controlling them.

Yet, he knew recovery was a difficult, haphazard mess of a journey; so that day was in a future he still couldn’t quite discern, no matter how hard he looked.

Not that he could say he was surprised. His life had never been simple and that track record wasn’t going to let up a four decades’ long streak so easily – but, for once, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

For the one brightness he could see in all this was right behind him.

Qrow slid down, just enough to rest his ear against the metal along Clover’s back, the reassuring thump-thump-thump of his heart a gift he’d never waste.

For it beat with the promise that he was here.

He was alive.

And, Qrow recklessly dared to believe, he was his.

Another gift he’d never waste.

A devotion he’d never dishonor.

A love he’d forever hold onto.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel like most fans would describe Clover as this independent person who's got their stuff together and can handle anything, but these people often forget that Clover didn't start out like this.

Just like Starlo, Clover was only pretending to be a hero. This kid initially was clumsy and had a poor sense of the physical world, when you remember how they died at every turn.

The thing about them is that they subconsciously become more skilled the more they die, and the more Flowey resets. That's why Clover doesn't seem like a scared, clumsy kid when we first meet them. Because they've experienced so many resets, over a hundred, and died so many times, they now appear more "put together."

But even with all that being said, Flowey still has to encourage them to believe in themself more and not to be afraid of a new place (specifically Snowdin). He still has to lift Clover's spirits and he still asks them why they have a "long face" during their "first" encounter.

just one example

I've been trying to figure out whether or not I've typed Clover correctly, so I decided to do something else and compare them to Frisk. Now, we don't know how old Frisk is, but we can assume that all the fallen children were in a similar age range.

The thing is, Frisk had a way better sense of navigating the Underground. They had a better sense of direction, and unlike Clover, didn't die during the easiest possible fights (and especially the lasers in Hotland).

I like to think that, in some of the previous runs, Clover met Alphys, and she explained to them what to do, but they became paralyzed with fear and/or forgot that they simply had to run through the orange lasers. I guess that would mean Clover's more "flighty" than most fans think.

more comparisons with popular sayings

...intuiting AGAIN (I also find it interesting how they just FELT that the person on the pillar was Integrity, hence the silence)

Heck, even here they tend to zone out (it's their 100+ run, so I suppose it's an innate trait):

It wasn't Clover's personality that got them this far, but circumstances, aka Flowey. Without him intervening, they'd still be sheltered and safe, they wouldn't have become fearless enough to deal with so much stuff, and especially willingly die in the end (I feel like Clover never really knew just HOW brave they are beneath the naivety and clumsiness, and they brought the toy gun to only FEEL brave).

Again, what they needed was efficency and an idea on HOW to put their plan of saving the kids into action. Clover was always altruistic, but they were also clueless and clumsy and insecure and afraid of danger. That's why they had decided to stay with Toriel. Because their fear had stopped them from acting upon what they believed was the right thing to do.

Frisk didn't need THIS many resets. They even managed to defeat geno Undyne and Sans WITHOUT Flowey "guiding them along." Flowey saw Clover as so weak that he offered them Friendliness Pellets (minus in Pacifist 'cause Ceroba's there + she also gave Clover extra defense)

when it comes to their mbti...

Those with Ti/Se (ISTPs) are grounded and adaptable, whereas Clover literally had to be forced into dangerous situations to become more "capable" of dealing with the Underground.

Yeah, Clover always had this inferior Te (this leadership quality), when you remember that they wanted to "realize their plan," but it was really REALLY poorly developed. That's pretty much what got them to chicken out. They had no clue what to do, and they didn't want to die.

It hits even harder when they do just that in the end.

[atlesium]

“✉” (invernc)

* TEXTING MEME. / acc. / @invernc

Send “✉” for a text that WASN’T SENT.

txt. Are you alright?

txt. I know this is sudden, but I just wanted to check up on you.

txt. I agree with you on what you said, but…

txt. We need to keep our heads down for the general this time around, I’m afraid.

txt. Even if I can’t understand how you feel, I can try to comprehend it.

txt. I don’t blame you, but please don’t push yourself.

He lets out a breath as he finishes writing the messages. He could tell that what she needed most was a helping hand, but he didn’t know if his altruistic words would reach her. Clover doesn’t know the Schnee family too well, he doesn’t know Winter’s life — they were just co-workers, after all. Doubt begins to fill his minds as he realizes how the messages can be interpreted by someone not in the right frame of mind.

He stares at the messages before quickly coming to a conclusion.

DELETE (6) MESSAGES TO (SCHNEE)? [ Y / N. ]

[edogawatranslations]

999: Alterna (2) - Part 7, Chapter 6

Table of Contents | Previous: Part 7, Chapter 5

Chapter 6

A throaty cackle broke the suffocating silence. It was Ace.

“You’re calling me a murderer? That’s hilarious. To think you'd suspect someone like me."

“I’m not suspecting you. I'm certain it's you.”

“That’s enough of your bullshit,” Ace said, his expression becoming more stern. “What proof do you have?”

“I have three reasons to believe you’re guilty.”

“How laughable. Go ahead, convince me.” Ace issued the challenge with his arms wide open.

I had no choice but to go at him with everything I had.

“Think back to what happened in the large hospital room. A few hours ago, when all seven of us couldn't move forward, you offered to remain behind. Why?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I wished to save everyone else.”

“Nope, that’s wrong. It was because you didn’t want us to discover the corpse in the x-ray room.”

Ace didn’t react. I kept my gaze fixed on him and continued talking. “You knew that if you stayed in the hospital room alone, the other six of us would have no choice but to continue through the [7] and [8] doors.”

“Give me a break,” Ace huffed. “I can understand how you may feel envious of my altruistic actions. However, that is no reason to cast my heroism in a negative light. I simply selflessly desired to save all of your lives.”

“Selflessly? That’s not even close to the truth. You knew that no matter which doors we passed through, we would've looped back to the large hospital room.”

His eyes narrowed. “W-What are you saying? There’s no way I could have known that!”

His body was clearly trembling.

“Well, we’ll leave that at that. I have two other reasons to go through.”

“And those are?”

“The second reason, as I explained a moment ago, is that you're afflicted with prosopagnosia.”

“Are you insinuating that anyone who can’t distinguish people’s faces is inherently evil? That’s quite prejudiced, Junpei.”

“Please. That stupid reason isn’t enough to suspect anyone.”

“Then what are you—”

“Before I explain, there’s something important I should tell you. The body in the x-ray room isn’t Snake’s.”

“What?”

In the blink of an eye, Ace’s face suddenly paled. The others in the room stood shaking as well. I could sense the anxiety in the room.

“Clover, could you tell us something? How did Snake, your brother, end up blind?”

“I was about to fall from a cliff, and he tried to rescue me...” Clover answered, visibly distressed.

“At that time, he didn’t just lose his sight, but also his left arm, correct? That’s why he wasn’t able to play guitar anymore.”

She nodded.

“Left arm? Then his left arm is a prosthetic limb?” Lotus jumped in, her eyes widening in realization. “Wait a minute. If I remember correctly, the corpse in the x-ray room...”

“Exactly. The left wrist that shot off from the charred body, without a doubt, was a human hand. Therefore, the body in the x-ray room isn’t Snake’s.”

“Then... He’s still...” Clover said, her expression brightening.

“Yeah. He’s got to be alive.”

“I’m glad... Brother...” Tears started streaming out of her blinking eyes.

“No... That can’t be... That’s ridiculous...” In contrast to Clover, Ace muttered to himself, the color drained from his face.

“Let’s suppose the culprit didn’t have prosopagnosia. In that case, they would've realized the person they tried to kill wasn’t Snake. Even if the victim was wearing Snake’s clothes, their faces would be completely different. But for some reason, the culprit killed the victim anyways. Why? Why would they need to kill an unknown person who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere?”

“...”

“If the culprit had prosopagnosia, then all of the pieces fit together. They mistook the victim as Snake and killed him.”

“Wait. Wait just a moment,” Ace said with a restless voice. “For argument’s sake, let’s assume I am the murderer. I would have no motive to kill. Why would I have to kill Snake?”

I had already expected that Ace would respond as such. Without hesitation, I said, “You had two motives.”

“What?”

“The first was that Snake was aware of your past.”

Ace suddenly grew flustered.

“If the details of your past came out to everyone else, that would be quite troublesome for you. That’s why you decided to silence Snake by killing him, right?”

“I-I have no idea what you’re—”

“Second,” I continued, ignoring his excuses, “Snake deeply resented you. You weren’t sure if or when he would go after you. He was nothing but a threat. To eliminate the threat as soon as possible, you killed—”

“W-Wait a second!” Lotus interrupted. “What... What happened in Ace’s past?”

“A certain someone told me earlier. The Nonary Game was held once nine years ago, and Snake participated in it. The game’s organizer was none other than the CEO of Cradle Pharmaceuticals, Gentarou Hongou—”

“That’s enough!” Ace shouted. His face was red with anger. “You’re spouting complete and utter bullshit! Who’s this ‘someone’ you mention? You can’t answer that. All of this is some fantasy concocted inside your head! It’s obvious who's more trustworthy here. Who would believe some brat like you over someone with high standing and honor as myself?!” Ace continued fuming and thrust his index finger in my direction. “Who are you working for?! Why are you trying to set me up?!”

“‘Me,’ you say? You said ‘me’ just now, didn't you?”

Ace gulped and turned away.

“So, you admit to being the CEO of Cradle Pharmaceuticals?”

“Y-Yeah. That’s right,” he answered, mindlessly tugging on the sleeves of his suit. “I am indeed the CEO of Cradle Pharmaceuticals, Gentarou Hongou. But what does that have to do with anything? I have no knowledge of a game nine years ago or anything else you’ve been saying. I don’t know who’s been feeding you these lies, but everything you’ve heard is nothing but bullshit. Actually...”

As if attempting to shut down any rebuttals, or wanting to change the subject, Ace started asking questions of his own. “Junpei. You’ve been acting as if I’m the sole culprit at work here, but take a deep breath and think through things logically. How would I have been able to kill Snake all by myself?”

“Not Snake. Someone else wearing Snake’s clothes.”

“That’s not the point!” Ace roared, making no effort to conceal his anger. “The culprit forced the victim into the [3] door, correct?”

“That’s most likely it.”

“Then it would be impossible for me to kill him by myself. After all, the [3] door wouldn’t have opened if it were just me and the victim.”

“He’s right, Jumpy. You need at least three people to open a numbered door, or else—”

“No, Ace could have opened it,” I said confidently, interrupting Akane.

“What did you say?” Ace seemed flustered, his eyes turning blood-shot.

Keeping my gaze locked onto him, I smirked. “Ace. There’s an item you secretly took that you’re currently hiding on you.”

“...What?” Ace’s face stiffened.

“I’m surprised. To think you had this on you...” I said, reaching into my jacket pocket.

“N-No way!” Ace scrambled to check his inner coat pocket.

“I see, so that’s where you’ve been hiding it.”

“Huh...?” He froze in place. “You tricked me!” After realizing my scheme, he shot me a menacing glare with his hand still inside his coat.

“Why don’t I guess what you’ve got hiding there? The [9] bracelet. Am I right?”

“What?” Lotus let out a surprised gasp.

Seven simply stared at me in a daze, his mouth agape. Akane covered her mouth with both of her hands, her eyes wide in shock.

“I see. That four-eyes’s bracelet, huh.” Santa muttered to himself while leaning against the wall.

“Ace, the man dressed as Snake, and the [9] bracelet. With these three pieces in play, opening the [3] door is simple.”

[1] + [2] + [9] = 12 1 + 2 = [3]

“That means it’s possible for Ace to have killed the man dressed as Snake by himself.”

After quietly taking his right hand out of his inner coat pocket, Ace drooped his head. Although I couldn’t see his expression, I could see that the edges of his lips were twitching.

“Go ahead and play dumb,” I continued. “Feel free to claim that you didn’t take any bracelet. All I ask is that you take off your coat. Is that fair?”

“Old man, do as he says,” Seven said, walking closer to Ace. “If you refuse, I’ll force it off of you.”

Right as soon as Seven brought his hands to Ace’s shoulders...

“Fufufu... Ahahahahaha!” Ace burst out into maniacal laughter. As he stretched out his arms and pointed his face towards the ceiling, his loud voice echoed throughout the room.

Before long, he stopped. His expression was completely devoid of any color.

“Well done, Junpei,” Ace said. His face was emotionless. “Just as you say, I have the [9] bracelet hidden in my coat. I retrieved it when everyone was off searching for the missing <RED> circuit boards. I snuck away from my post and went back through the orange door to the first-class cabin where the corpse was resting.”

Ace continued his confession coldly. “My objective, of course, was to gain the [9] bracelet into my possession. In this Nonary Game, the number nine plays an almighty role. After all, adding [9] to any number does not change the digital root.”

I gulped. I hadn’t realized that far, but Ace was right.

[1] + [9] = 10 → 1 + 0 = [1] [2] + [9] = 11 → 1 + 1 = [2] [3] + [9] = 12 → 1 + 2 = [3]

And so on.

Whoever had the [9] bracelet would be able to join any team without being left behind. It would allow them to enter any door, giving them a substantial advantage in this game.

“I didn’t have a particular use for it in mind, but I thought that as long as I had a trump card in my possession, I could find a way to utilize it. That is why I decided to retrieve the [9] bracelet, “ Ace continued after a short pause. “I returned to the large hospital room as if nothing had happened and found Snake standing in front of the [3] door. Although, I suppose that wasn’t Snake.”

Ace called out to the man in Snake’s clothes. The man turned around, but no words came out of his gaping mouth. It was as if he wasn’t completely alert, like a delusional patient.

“I had been wary of Snake since the very beginning. As Junpei explained, he knew about everything from nine years ago. Thus, I saw him as a threat. Of course, I didn’t recognize his face, but gathering from his voice and lack of sight, it was obvious.” Ace's face contorted. "I wondered, if he so despised me, then why didn't he say anything? He didn't approach me at all. Did he simply not realize who I was, because he couldn't see? Or was he one of Zero's accomplices plotting revenge against me? Either way, I felt threatened having someone who knew about my past around. I had to act before he could execute any plan—so I thought it opportune when there was nobody else around but the two of us. ...My eyes wandered over to the <RED> and saw the word <VACANT>. Did he insert the circuit boards? That didn't matter. It was the perfect opportunity. I knew that I had to involve it in my plan. So I immediately took action."

As if recalling what had happened, one of Ace's cheeks lifted into a menacing smirk.

After scanning his own bracelet and the [9] bracelet he had just retrieved, he must have grabbed onto the man's arm, forced him to authenticate on the device, and kicked him through the open [3] door. That wasn't something any normal human would think to do.

As evidence of that, all of the warmth in his eyes had long faded away. His lips and tongue wriggled around like those of a reptile.

"Let me ask you one more thing," I said, withstanding the unpleasant sight of his face. "Did you kill the man in the captain's cabin?"

"Why do you think that?"

"If the culprit is among us, then they had to have commited the murder during the short time after we passed through the numbered door and came into the chart room. But the long table in the middle of the room made it difficult to move to the captain's cabin. If someone other than you had headed towards the captain's cabin, then they would have definitely bumped into someone else. But since you were standing the closest to the captain's cabin—"

"..."

"Since you had a hand in conducting the Nonary Game nine years ago, you would have full knowledge of every room on this ship."

"Are you trying to say that I somehow managed to make my way there in the darkness? Preposterous. It would be too dangerous. What if someone had immediately found the light switch? Wouldn't that give me away?"

"The light switch was next to the [2] door. Nobody could've found it that quickly. If all of us were going through the numbered doors, then we had to go through the [1] and [5] doors."

"Your skills of deduction are sharp," Ace said. After licking his lower lip, his shoulders drooped resignedly. "I knew that the mastermind of this game, Zero, was in the captain's cabin. Nine years ago, I monitored every inch of the ship from within that room, after all. Like Snake, Zero had to have known about my past. That's why I had no choice but to kill him."

His monologue continued. "The moment I went through the door and realized the room was pitch black, I thought it would be my only chance. I slipped into the captain's cabin and turned on the light. A man was sitting with his back turned towards me. I called out to him, but he didn't respond. Just like the man in Snake's clothes, he had a blank expression on his face, like he had been drugged with sleep medication."

Beside the man, a single axe lay on the ground as if beckoning to be used to kill. After Ace took it in his grasp, he swung straight down at the man's chest. He didn't forget to wear the waterproof clothes hanging on the wall, to avoid any blood splatters.

"I thought I had made quite the noise in there, but everyone was off frantically searching for the <DEAD> and didn't seem to have noticed. After killing Zero, I rushed back to the chart room and turned on the light." After a quick rub of his beard, he continued moving his lips. "I suppose I should reveal something else while I'm at it."

With a gruff voice, he continued. "It was actually I who killed the man with the [9] bracelet."

Next: Part 7, Chapters 7-9

[eiiskonigin-a]

@courtclover​ asked: As always, Clover leaves Winter a mug of hot coffee on her desk. This time however, it's accompanied by a birthday cupcake. White and blue icing with little snowflakes sprinkles on it. Happy Birthday, Winter.

happy birthday to winter (unprompted) // accepting !!

Winter has long since given up on telling Clover that those little gestures were unnecessary. It seemed that, no matter what she said, he would continue to be as sweet and altruistic as ever. A cup of coffee was a small thing, but a kindness none the less.

That morning, however, it had been accompanied by something else. The cupcake smells sweet, and as she takes a seat to start her day, she questions just how long she could keep something like that before it would turn. Not long, she determines. Unfortunate.

Still, while she doesn't seem inclined to start her day with a sugar rush, she's content to have it sitting there as she begins typing up her daily reports.

[bibbidi-bobbity-booyah]

Tag Game

I’m not sure where this one originated from, but I was tagged by @knight-in-the-stars. Thank you, friend :)

Rules: answer 20 questions and tag 20 followers you want to get to know better (but feel free to skip that second part if it’s stressful!)

Name: Lycaous or Little Bee on here..

Nickname: Chaos, LK, and LB are common sobriquets, but you can really call me most anything and I’ll likely respond to it.

Height: 5’6” (the shortest of my biological siblings, even though I’m the oldest and I am forever saltier than the Dead Sea about it)

Orientation: Pansexual, demi-romantic, polyamorous.

Nationality: Combination 2nd generation US citizen and Native-American. Honestly, I only know 1/8th of my heritage. I’m just a dark skinned Irish-Scott whose grandparent immigrated from Canada, ha!

Favourite fruit: Probably avocado.

Favourite season: Fall.

Favourite plant: Forget-me-nots or sunflowers.

Favourite scent: Clover cigars and pumpkin pie on a brisk night in a forest (grandma’s house).

Favourite colour: Gray

Favourite word: Contract (I’m a business law major trying to get into contract law)

Favourite animal: California Myotis (a mouse eared vesper bat) and Bombus vosnesenskii (the yellow faced bumble bee)

Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate: Tea. I’m saving up for an electric kettle that has a digital screen so I can brew my tea at the correct temperature (like a nerd)

Average hours of sleep: 3 (for however long I can manage, and then 15 on a recovery day)

Dog or cat person: BOTH! But I own a snake, personally (his name is Puppers because he acts like a dog).

Favourite fictional character: THIS IS CRUEL... Probably Eddward Vincent from EEnE.

Dream Trip: Just a road trip across the North American continent.

When was blog created: December? January? I don’t know, sometimes this past winter.

Number of followers: Last time I checked I was at 23... 37! How the HECK? Thank you so much! *excited bee noises*

Random fact: I practice paganism heavily rooted in Germanic Polytheism. Feel free to message me anytime on the subject, I love to talk about it :D

Tagging: @blackkttn13

@confidencesanders

@sashaying-on-sonnshine

@lala-the-rebel

@warnadudenexttime

@thecrimsoncodex

@whatwashernameagain

@what-even-is-thiss

@pappypatton

@thelogicalloganipus

@tinysidestrashcaptain

@pastelvirgil

@mewsicalmiss

@romanamongthestars

@altruistic-skittles

@royallyanxious

@softestvirgil

@theonlyjelly-iwillput-inmybelly

@ellistruggle

@cringyfander

(another random fact: blogs tagged in this are assumed humans whom I really admire and there are SO MANY MORE THAT I WANTED TO TAG)

[recentanimenews]

QUIZ: Can You Name These 15 Black Clover Spells?

  Today, Black Clover hits 150 episodes, which is pretty exciting. When people started encouraging me to watch it back in 2018, I kinda figured I'd just be adding one more series to the anime pile, one more show to keep up with but never really grow attached to. But instead, I ended up really liking it. It takes the age-old anime theme of "people wanting to get stronger" and posits it almost as an altruistic gesture because it not only applies to battle skills and power, but also to the characters' relationships with one another. The limits they surpass help them come to terms with who they are and what they need to do specifically to make the world better. It also doesn't hurt that the Black Bulls are absolutely delightful. But that's a topic for another, knowing me, like, 15 articles.

    So, let's get down to it! To celebrate 150 episodes, I've created a quiz that tests your knowledge of Black Clover spells and attacks. Let me know your results in the comments!

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com