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danganronpadespairtime · 1 year ago

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Chapter 2 part 1 asks

All responses are in this post for organization. There may be chapter 2 spoilers.

(space to prevent misclick)

xmicrophonyx asked: How long did it take you to make the Insane Literature Girl MV? It looked like you spent a lot of time on it!

Making the drawing and video itself took a little over a month. But I had been planning out the text portions (translation, text excerpts, ideas for puzzles) of it for a little over a year (my planning document dates back to May of last year and somehow amassed 12K words..?).

I wasn't working on it continuously for a year, though; it was just an on-off project that I was lazily thinking about for a while.

Anonymous asked: Hi this is a random question but I was wondering if I was just seeing things or not. Does Xander have a tongue piercing? I think in some sprites it looks like he has one and others where it looks like he doesn't. He is totally my favorite character and I love his design by the way!

It's not visible in all of his sprites, but he does indeed have a tongue piercing.

He thought if he had one there he could slip it under his old school's strict "no piercings allowed" policy by just closing his mouth every time a teacher walked by.

Anonymous asked: one genuine question, was there anything specific you were considering when coming up with the cast’s birthdates? or were they pretty much random

Some of the birthdays are specific dates with meaning, then the rest were filled in throughout the remaining months of the year in a somewhat even temporal spread.

xmicrophonyx asked: For this chapter's BDA and fake-out BDA, were they made with 3D assets, just 2D art, or a mix of both? What was the process in making them?

It's a 2D image with a depth map.

Anonymous asked: Is the Hope's Peak the DRDT class went to a high school or something more like a 4-year university for young adults? (Sorry if this has already been addressed somewhere, if the information exists I couldn't find it.)

The second thing. The US's Hope's Peak Academy is post-secondary education. It is equivalent to an American college.

Anonymous asked: I really love the character Fan-Made MVs you do, like for Min and David! Do you plan on making one for every character?

No. I only make MVs for songs that I think fit a character, that I like, and that I have a good MV idea for, which is not something I can control.

Anonymous asked: Does David's new design have a default sprite?

This one is his default sprite.

Anonymous asked: Hi DRDT Dev! This is more of just a simple question and not so much a chapter specific question. We know David like to eat simple foods like ready oat meal. But can he cook small meals like scrambled eggs, omelets or things like that? Oh and how does David normally manage his feelings? I like to think that he journals but this is just a head canon of mine. I'm curious if you could share anything like that about him for us!

He can cook a decent meal, he just prefers not to.

Badly

Anonymous asked: Do the cast have exact ages or are they just deemed “colleges aged adults”?

They all do have exact ages, down to the day, but that's a spoiler. For now, just know that they're over 18.

Anonymous asked: Something I'd been wondering since Rose had talked about her secret with Teruko: She mentions that she was bailed out and came to work under the Spurling Foundation by Richard Spurling. In Bonus Episode #2 with Xander, he mentions the name Duke Spurling with distaste in regards to the Chariton incident. Are Richard Spurling and Duke Spurling the same person? Or separate people? If they're the same person, is Duke a nickname or a title?

Duke Spurling and Richard Spurling are different people, but they are brothers. Duke is (was?) a politician. Richard is a billionaire philanthropist who founded the Spurling Foundation. Duke is not officially affiliated with the Spurling Foundation, but he did receive sizable political donations from that foundation while he was still active in politics.

Duke is a first name, by the way, and not a title. Also, Duke is quite old, in the 80-something-ish age range. Basically, old enough to have been alive during the Tragedy.

Anonymous asked: I was wondering if there are any other characters with canon sexualities?

I said before that I would only confirm sexualities in the story itself, but I changed my mind.

Whit - bisexual Eden - lesbian Ace - gay Veronika - pansexual David - bisexual with a strong female lean. but he describes himself as "straight but also not opposed to any random impulses that may arise" Teruko - unlabeled/explicitly ambiguous

Everyone else is subject to interpretation for now.

citrusircus asked: You've stated before that you don't want any of your assets used with AI, but I'd still like to ask whether or not this extends to the character.ai site (considering no intellectual properly is actually used to make these). Completely understandable if you'd rather people not touch it! Just wanted to clarify.

I don't like character.ai.

tophats-tea asked: Was there a particular incident that caused the scar on Charles’ arm, or was it just a usual chemical spill from working as a chemist?

It's a dog bite scar.

Charles is under the impression that it's a birthmark.

Anonymous asked: why does hu have claws on her hand?

Those are not claws. They are plectra for guzheng.

shi-daisy asked: For my question, I'd like to ask is there anything random you can tell us about Levi? He's my favorite character and I'd love to know any miscellaneous details about him be it preferences or silly info you may have of him or how you came up with his character. Thanks in advance!

He has an almost unruly sweet tooth and will consume an entire bowl of lollipops (his favorite candy) in an hour if he doesn't watch himself.

If you see him in future art with a white stick of some sort in his mouth it's almost certainly a lollipop.

murderacademia asked: Ooh, do you have a random fun fact about Charles as well? :) he’s a big fave of mine! Thank u!

He's secretly very attached to his hair length, and doesn't like the idea of cutting it short.

welpuu asked: do the cast all have favourite colours? if so which ones? (also sorry if this was already asked 😭)

Teruko: red (reasoning: association) Charles: "Why would I assign emotional value to colors? That's a ridiculous waste of energy." (cerulean) Whit: neon pink (reasoning: "Pink!!") Rose: lilac (reasoning: likes subdued colors for their subtlety) Arturo: blueish white (reasoning: sterile) Levi: cerise pink (reasoning: feminine) Eden: daffodil yellow (reasoning: happy) J: black (reasoning: cool) Hu: emerald green (reasoning: elegant) Nico: none (reasoning: no interest) Ace: dark blue/purple (reasoning: refuses to provide reasoning) Arei: azure (reasoning: "I'm blue, so clearly it's the best color!") Min: taupe (reasoning: comforting) Xander: bright red (reasoning: passionate color) Veronika: white in conjunction with other colors (reasoning: brings out other colors well) David: gamboge (reasoning: inspiring)

Since I'm on the topic, here are least favorite colors as well.

Teruko: pitch black (reasoning: unsettling) Charles: dark red (reasoning: looks like blood) Whit: gray (reasoning: boring) Rose: none (reasoning: all colors have their value in the right situations) Arturo: neon colors (reasoning: tasteless) Levi: neon yellow (reasoning: a little hard to style) Eden: blue (reasoning: "Kind of a downer color...") J: pink (reasoning: obvious) Hu: blueish white (reasoning: sterile) Nico: white (reasoning: unsettling) Ace: titian (reasoning: doesn't like himself) Arei: green (reasoning: looks like puke) Min: white and pink together (reasoning: annoying) Xander: dark red (reasoning: looks like blood) Veronika: white in the absence of other colors (reasoning: soulless) David: gray (reasoning: depressing)

cuckaracha asked: but also for a real cool and sexy question. Can we have a totally normal and not fucked up fact about Ace?

When I designed Ace from the start, I wanted him to wear heels (because he is short), but I thought that it was inaccurate for a jockey's outfit, and I didn't do it. But then later I remembered that he isn't jockeying at the moment, so it would have been fine if he wore heels. In any case I decided it'd be okay to add them back in his new design.

When it comes to jockeying, Ace wishes he was shorter (he is on the tall side for a male jockey), but for all other aspects of life he might find it bothersome to be shorter than everyone else. So he might have a tendency to wear shoes that enhance his height. Subtly of course.

Also, he has 9 siblings.

Anonymous asked: taking a note from the levi asker, are there any random fun facts about nico or veronika that you have? those two are my favorites!

Nico cuts their own hair. Veronika's single green earring is a 'good luck charm' given to her by her dearest friend.

welpuu asked: another simple question sorry...im curious about if any of them have favourite ice cream flavours...or like maybe flavours in general? unless thats too broad then the ice cream flavours is fine 😭

Teruko - red bean Charles - coffee Whit - vanilla Rose - red velvet Arturo - chocolate mint Levi - caramel Eden - honeycomb J - black sesame Hu - rose Nico - "the flavor" (doesn't elaborate further) Arei - birthday cake Min - lemon Xander - sauerkraut??? Veronika - funfetti David - pistachio Ace - frozen bananas (actual frozen bananas, not ice cream)

sunriseindigo asked: does rose have a favorite art medium (acrylics, colored pencils, graphite, etc)? also, does she do digital art or is she strictly traditional?

Paints are her specialty, particularly oil, and she rarely uses any other medium. She does not do digital art.

Anonymous asked: would you be willing to spare any fun information about Rose?

Her whole family has plant-themed naming.

Daisy (older sister)

Saffron (younger brother)

Holly (mom)

Iris (mom)

xmicrophonyx asked: Is there any concept art of the DRDT cast?

There is, but it's so embarrassingly awful that I don't think it will see the light of day any time soon.

Other than this.

I'm certain is the first ever drawing of DT. I guess Arei used to have black hair.

Anonymous asked: what does the cast smell like :)

Teruko - Dirt, sawdust, burnt smell Charles - Laundry detergent Rose - Paint and chemicals Arturo - Antiseptic Hu - Womanly perfume (light) Veronika - Womanly perfume (heavy) David - Men's cologne (light) Levi - Men's cologne (heavy). Also, somewhat faintly, leather Nico - Cat Ace - Sweat and menthol Min - Lavender/eucalyptus/lemons/whatever essential oil she decided to use that day Whit - Fruity fun shampoo (for kids) Xander - Men's 3 In One Body Wash (for men). Also, somewhat faintly, gunpowder MonoTV - metal and burning rubber

Anonymous asked: Is the Spurling Foundation and XF-Ture Tech the same thing?

They are totally unrelated institutions. The former is a philanthropic organization, the latter is a for-profit tech company (that also seems to do a lot of other things).

spyrkle4 asked: Question! Will sometime in the future will we know a little more about the sibling characters of some of the cast members? I honestly am just curious about J's brother and wanna know more about him

It’s good to have names to refer to characters, so here are the names of some characters who have been referred to in the story (and additional information about other characters as well)

Fuyuko + Natsuko Nageishi (Arei’s older sisters, by around 2-5 years): They are identical twins, in both appearance and persona. Actually, their appearances are mirrored. The two of them are always seen together and share everything with each other. They are best friends and very close.

Ryan Rosales (J’s younger brother, by about 1-2 years): He likes playing video games, and the two of them play games often. He also loves annoying J. One of his hobbies is cross-dressing.

Elliot “Ellie” Cuevas (Charles’ older brother, by about 11-13 years): Although he has not had an appearance yet, he looks shockingly similar to how Charles looks now. His favorite food is pancakes and his favorite animal is dogs.

Felicity Giles (Arturo's younger sister, by about 3-4 years): She also has not made an appearance yet. She has low self-esteem and admires Arturo a lot.

These characters (and others) have reference sheets, but those are meant for internal use only, so maybe later I will draw reference of their designs to show you all.

zamazencian asked: Is there a fun fact about Xander you could share? He's my favorite guy :D

He has a very weak sense of taste, and most normal foods taste bland to him. As a result, anything he cooks has an overwhelmingly strong flavor that makes it almost inedible to other people. He seems unaware of this.

sourapplecake asked: what kind of accent does xander have? i can’t tell if it’s british or australian or what 😭🙏 <- a little slow

British.

Anonymous asked: Do you ever have any plans of making promotional splash art in the future? I apologize if this has already been asked!!

Not really.

Anonymous asked: Is Min, like... truly really into essential oils and healing stuff?

She is aware that essential oils don't have any scientifically proven meaningfully significant benefits, but finds them relaxing nonetheless.

Anonymous asked: Does David wear hairclips because he likes them or is there some other reason?

It's his manager's idea for "branding." But David thinks they're embarrassingly stupid looking and doesn't like wearing them.

saraanzu asked: do you have the death order for the rest of the show decided in your head already, or are you figuring it out as you go along?

Decided from the start.

xmicrophonyx asked: Any fun facts about Whit?

He's the best cook in the cast. His specialty is French.

Anonymous asked: where did David's hairclip's go after he had his little transformation in chap2? cuz it looked like he ate them lol

www.google.com/search?q=pants+pocket&tbm=isch

Anonymous asked: hi, sorry if this is a silly question but how do you pronounce davids surname? ive seen it pronounced "chee - em" or "keem" but i just wanted to know if there's an official way to say it teehee

CHEE-em

chee as in cheese

em as in seem

0-kaiya-0 asked: Will there be more FTEs?

Maybe, but I'm not sure I want to put out any more polls.

Anonymous asked: will there be any canon couples?

I'm not one to write romance, so don't count on it.

Anonymous asked: Are people allowed to make nsfw content of your characters?

Sure.

Anonymous asked: How is Veronikas last name pronounced?

GRE-ben-SHI-ko-va

Gre as in regret

ben as in the name Ben

shi as in shiba inu

ko as in cold

By the way, here's a tip for (approximate) name pronunciation. If you can identify the origin of the name, go to Google Translate, type it in the left box, set the left language to the appropriate language, and hit the speaker/play button to have it read out-loud.

#qna

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the-kr8tor · 30 days ago

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I have no words on how to describe how amazing this is I felt like I was watching a full on movie in my eyeballs. it was such a good read that I almost flooded my house bc I forgot to close the tap 😂😂

The bdas references have me in tears bro I miss writing the pirate sillies!!!!! The way you described r (and her beauty) and Hobie's loneliness is such a vibe it was just terrific I ate this up 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Special mention: when Miller sliced that mermaid like a kebab I audibly gasped bro I did not expect that and I went feral for the gore 😂 and the mf plot twist of Hobie's mom? Let's just say we're gonna add Mills with Mathias in the asshole captain category

The Eye of Her Storm

Pairing: Hobie Brown x Reader/ Sailor! Hobie x Sea Goddess! Reader

Word Count: 6.5k

Tags: Cursing, blood, fighting, death (tags starting off strong, ngl) , Fem Reader, AFAB Reader (no physical description of reader, besides clothing), scared Hobie, Angry Hobie, Angry Reader, (it's not as bad as it seems, trust me), Heavily inspired by the song Ruthlessness from Epic the Musical (it's so good), Set during the time of piracy and all that (I'm not so good with fight scenes)

Summary: “Aye, the sea can be a cruel mistress. Be kind to her and she be kind to yee, lest yee invoke her fury…”

A/N: Credit to @mushroom-graphics-allotment for the lovely banners! Third week of Octobie @the-kr8tor , let's go!!! A lot of inspiration from Ponyo and Epic the Musical!!!

With an annoyed grumble, Hobie slings his mandolin carefully over his shoulder, trudging over towards the sandy shores of the beach. The distant sounds of his fellow sailors’ laughs ring in his ears and he glances back, still seeing the shadows of their figures lit up by the lights of the pub. He sneers at the rowdy crowd of people, his mood souring every moment spent thinking about the assholes. Shaking his head, Hobie lets out a long sigh as he sits down on the sand, worn leather boots kissing where the shore meets the lapping water.

The light of the full moon calms him, his eyes studying the stars as he shrugs the instrument off of his shoulder. He listens to the waves splash against the rocks for a moment before bringing his mandolin up into position, fingers gently plucking at the cords. The melody is soft, calming in a way and Hobie can feel the stress from the last few days washing off of him, as if the sea is bathing him in its waters. He hums softly with the melody he creates. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices a small group of tiny white crabs, the creatures scurrying towards the water. One ends up getting too close to him, its little legs snagging on the hem of his shirt that touched the sand.

Hobie can't help the chuckle that escapes him as he watches the creature's feeble attempts at freeing itself, placing his instrument down on his lap before carefully scooping the crab into his palm.

“Cute little bugger, ain't you?” He hums softly, bringing his hand up to get a better look at the crab properly. The crustacean uses its little wipers to clear the sand from its eyes, looking up at him in what he assumes is curiosity. It moves back and forth on his palm, almost as if it was impatiently waiting for Hobie to place it back down. This makes him scoff, a smile ghosting his lips.

“Patience, little guy. You're the one that bumped into me.” Hobie's words only serve to make the crab move back and forth faster, like it understood him perfectly and wasn't all too keen to wait any longer. Chuckling, Hobie sets the creature back onto the sand, watching as it scurries off of his hand and towards the beckoning sea. He looks out at the ocean with a smile on his face, lifting his mandolin up once again to rhythmically strum the strings. Only, as he looks out at the water, he catches the slightest glimpse of what looks to be a head peeking out, eyes looking dead at him. Hobie's eyes widen with shock before he quickly rubs at them, blinking his eyes open once more to make sure he's not just seeing things. Only for nothing to be there, just the regular sight of the calm waves.

“Must be more stressed than I thought…” He mumbles to himself, a small frown on his face as he glances at the water before shaking his head and focusing on his music once more. As he plays, his gaze slowly drifts back towards the sea, unable to help himself. Hobie has always loved the ocean, loved the brilliant blue hue it gave off and the salty breeze it blew at him. He loved that it could be a force to reckon with at times, and how benevolent and giving it could be at others. The sea was a part of him for as long as he'd known, which is one of the reasons he'd become a sailor. Eyes looking at the water longingly, he then happens to see a light on the horizon. It shimmered in the distance, almost like a star. It wasn't the moonlight, and he was far from the pub, so what on earth could it be…?

Placing his instrument down onto the sand, he shifts slowly onto his knees, leaning in closer and narrowing his eyes as he tries hard to spot the source of light. Suddenly, the light spreads, inching closer and closer to his direction, glowing from the depths of the sea and making it shine a brilliant cerulean blue hue - a stark contrast from the dark waters of the night. There's a rustling around him then, and Hobie watches as hundreds of crabs pop up from beneath the sand, all of the crustaceans scuttling towards the glowing ocean. Hobie yelps in shock, quickly moving himself out of the way so as not to crush any of them. He's never seen something like this before, nervously scooting back away from the shoreline. Hobie grips his mandolin and pulls it tight against his chest, wide eyes unable to tear itself away from the sight.

The glowing ocean begins to bubble slightly before an enormous hand shoots out of the water, dripping and reaching miles high. It completely blocks out the moon and makes the sandy beach look like a dwarf in comparison. His mouth drops open at the sight and he prays to whatever's out there that he's not going insane. Can you go insane from too much stress? He's starting to believe it as he gapes incredulously, unable to move an inch as the hand grips onto the sandy shores, landing right beside him. An equally huge head emerges from the water next, large brilliant eyes, filled with all the wonders of the sea, gazing down at him. A gentle smile graces the face of the entity that has just risen from the ocean and Hobie is sure he's going to faint. The face gets closer until the very tip of the entity's nose brushes against his knee. When he'd fallen back on his butt, he had no clue. Hobie's lip trembles ever so slightly as he gazes into the large sparkling eyes in front of him, too in shock, or too frightened, to move a single muscle.

“Do keep playing”, you say softly, though it's almost as if your voice rattles deep within his bones. “It was a lovely song. I hope you don't mind, I just really wanted to hear it a bit more up close.”

“...Y-You serious…?” Hobie stutters out, mentally cursing the crack of his voice as he gazes up at you. A giant emerges from the damn ocean and all he can utter is that pathetic question? He wants to kick himself. Hobie swallows the lump in his throat as he glances down at the instrument in his hands before tilting his head back up at you. You tilt your head, sensing his obvious hesitation had to be from shock. With a sheepish, almost apologetic smile, you back up just a bit, your body magically shrinking down as you do. The light from the moon shines once more now that you are no longer blocking it, now the size of a regular human being.

Your white dress flows with the soft breeze as you walk over to Hobie, kneeling down beside him with an expectant look on your face. His very breath is stolen with how utterly exquisite you look, from the long train of delicate fabric adorned with sparkling shells trailing behind you, to the way the black pearl sitting pretty on your neck shines under the light of the moon. In fact, your entire being held this soft white glow, an aura that he couldn't help but notice. You were beautiful, otherworldly, and Hobie couldn't recall what exactly it was that your lips seemed to be forming to ask him for. Too focused on the fact that a beautiful giant came out of the ocean and was sitting before him like it was normal. A knowing smile graces your lips and you place a gentle hand on his. It makes him jump a bit out of his skin, not expecting the softness of your touch. Yeah. It's official. He truly was going insane from stress.

“Oh dear… Did I startle you that much…?” Hobie shakes his head and clears his throat, hand shaking ever so slightly beneath yours.

“No, no. It's cool. I see magical giants pop outta the sea all the time…” The obvious joke he nervously says makes you laugh and Hobie swears he's never heard a more perfect sound in his life. Clear and crisp and something he'd want to drown in for the rest of his life, just like the ocean itself. And when you look at him again, he mentally curses at how beautiful your eyes are, at how much he'd gladly dive into the waters of your gaze. Damn. You were really too pretty for him. It was crazy just how taken with you he already was when you'd only just sprouted out of the sea moments ago. Or, again, maybe he'd just gone crazy.

“I do apologize for appearing like that. I just couldn't help but come up to hear more of your lovely music. If it's alright with you…?”

“Sure thing, your, uh… holiness…?” You flutter your eyelashes at him as you shake your head and he just about melts.

“No need for that. You can call me Y/N. I'm the Goddess of the Sea.”

“I-I'm Hobie. Hobie Brown. Pleasure to meet you, Y/N.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Hobie plays you a few melodies after that, each one enticing you more than the last. You close your eyes as you listen to him play, already utterly bewitched with this intriguing human. A human who hadn't immediately ran away or fainted at the sight of you. Nevermind that he was handsome to boot. You take in the way he closes his eyes as he plays, like he's one with the music he creates. You memorize every detail of his face, from the way his forehead crinkles just a bit when he makes a certain face, to the many piercings that adorn him. After a while, you two start to talk, sharing stories and learning about one another as the night stretches on. Hobie tells you how he wishes he were free to roam the ocean on his own ship. He tells you about how he only works as a sailor in order to pay off his debt to the captain for lending him the funds to pay off his mother's doctor bill. About how much he wishes he could just be free.

His words make your heart ache for him, knowing that to be human is to struggle at times. And for humans with as bright of a soul as Hobie's, life is short on sympathy. Hobie lays out all his troubles and worries with you as he rests his head on your lap, relishing in the feeling of your fingers lightly scratching at his scalp. And as you share your concerns of protecting the mythical creatures of the sea that you've taken in as your children, of your loneliness that comes with ruling the sea with no one at your side, you suddenly feel as if you've known each other for eons. Hobie's soul resonates with your immortal one, something you wouldn't come to realize until much later. And as the sky begins to grow a lighter shade, signaling the beginning of the approaching dawn, Hobie looks up at you. His gaze is soft and eyes half-lidded with the growing exhaustion. He lifts a hand up, fingers tenderly brushing against your cheek.

“Will I see you again, Blue…?” His whispered words make you smile, the nickname not going unnoticed by you. Raising your hand in front of his face, you clench your hand into a fist before slowly opening it, a delicate necklace with a shining black pearl hanging from it now magically dangling in your hand. The necklace is nearly identical to your own, the pearl just a tad bit bigger. Your touch is gentle as you slip it around his neck, leaning into his touch all the while.

“I'll be with you wherever you go. We will meet when you dock on land, but know that I will always watch over you from now on.” Hobie feels his heart swell in his chest as you lean down to press a tender kiss on his forehead. Sleep beckons him then and, with one last look into your eyes, he embraces it with open arms.

When he wakes up next, it's not with you sweetly gazing down at him. He's awoken by a harsh kick to his leg, a small groan leaving him as he wrenches his eyes open. His fellow sailor, Garrett Barnes, sneers down at him, flask in hand. The tall beefy wall of a man leers at him, slightly swaying on his feet as he uncaps his flask. Taking a swig, he juts his thumb out towards the direction of the pub.

“Takin’ a dirt nap on the shitty beach 'stead of hangin' with the boys like always, Brown?” He guffaws loudly, much to Hobie's annoyance. Hobie grumbles as he slowly stands up, glaring daggers at the drunken fool. He'd always hated Garrett, the man practically being Captain Miller's right hand. Brushing off the sand from his trousers, Hobie wrinkles his nose at the smell of cheap ale on the old man's breath.

“Drinkin’ early in the day, Barnes? ‘S not even noon yet, you old fool.” The words earn him a slap on the back of the head and he clicks his tongue in irritation. Garrett points a rather dirty finger at him and huffs.

“Watch yer mouth. I'll take yer goddamn teeth out, you don't start showin’ some respect.” Yeah, because Hobie was so terribly frightened of him. “Should've been at the pub last night. Plenty of good lookin’ women. Had me a time, I did.” The pleased chuckles leaving Garrett only make Hobie more annoyed.

“What would the missus think of you messin’ around, huh?” Hobie huffs as he starts to trudge over to the port. Garrett keeps up in time with him, to his dismay.

“The missus ain't here, is she? Who cares what that old hag thinks, anyways?” Oh, Garrett. How much Hobie loathes him. It's times like this where Hobie thinks being with pirates would be better, morally. As the two regroup with the rest of the crew, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the ocean, memories of last night flitting through his mind nonstop. Was it real…? Were you real…? The emotions he'd felt and the connection he'd gained with you felt real. But, you left no sign, no note of where you'd gone. Well, it's not like he really expected a Goddess to leave a note, but still. Hobie sighs and tries to reign in the pout that begged to form on his face as he boarded the ship, headed off to another port that would take weeks to get to. He lifted his hand to scratch at the back of his neck, his eyes widening slightly at the soft twine beneath his fingers. His fingers trace down the length of the thin rope before he pulls out the object dangling from it, lips turning up into a grin as he sees it. A black pearl, matching the one he saw on you last night. How could he have forgotten?

“Oh, thank the fucking stars. It wasn't a dream.” The next few weeks are spent fantasizing about seeing you again, his attitude on board a whole lot better than it usually is. He does his job with no fuss, even managing to avoid the fights he usually gets into with the older sailors. His new attitude hasn't gone unnoticed by his crew, some are suspicious of why he's so chipper, and why he keeps placing a hand on his neck every now and again. When they do dock at the new port, imagine Hobie's delight when he sees you on the beach at the new town that night. The two of you spend hours talking and laughing, the connection you share growing stronger. The next morning, you disappear, same as last time. Only this time, you've left him with a letter, telling him of how you long to see him again soon. It's enough to make him want to shout with joy to the heavens.

The next few weeks are spent traveling to yet another port, another town and beach in which he may see you yet again. And, as promised, you look out for him and his crew. No harm or misfortune comes to them as they sail your waters, even the storms are benevolent to them. This lasts for over four months, with his meetings with you growing in number. Love and trust blossoms between you and one night as you lay your head on his chest as you both gaze up at the stars, you can't help but ask him the question that's been plaguing you for months.

“Hobie, my love… Why not come with me?” The sudden question makes him shift, arms coming to wrap around your waist as he tilts his head down to look at you. You look up at him with such loving eyes, such a softness in your gaze that it makes his heart ache. His thumb idly rubs a soothing pattern on your side as he gazes at you, an eyebrow raised in question.

“What do you mean, Blue?” He mumbles quietly, voice a low rumble.

“I know you want to be free of your debt. So, why not come with me?” Understanding dawns on his face and his eyebrows furrow as he slowly sits up. Slightly nervous at his reaction, you speak hurriedly, hands resting on his arms as you peer up at him. “You don't have to remain in the sea. I-I can give you immortality! You'll be free to see and travel the world all you wish. W-We can… start a life together, if you'd like. Free from your troubles and free to do anything you want.”

“Love… As wonderful and generous as your offer is… I have to make sure my mother is taken care of first. Until then, we have to wait for ‘us’...” He says softly, eyes looking down at you apologetically. He hates to deny you what you both clearly want. Hobie wants nothing more than to wake up beside you every morning, to travel the world by your side and see everything it has to offer. And to be free from Captain Miller? A dream come true. But he has a duty to uphold, to take care of the only relative he's ever known. Although his mother was never loving, she was still his mother, and she kept him fed and sheltered despite it all. He loved her despite it all.

Hobie cups your face in his hands as you smile up at him, understanding and sadness shining in your brilliant eyes. You understood and acknowledged his decision, even if it pained you to know he worked himself to the bone for a debt that he could never seem to pay. With all the tenderness of a feather, you lean up to brush your lips against his, the cool metal of his piercing on your skin. Hobie sighs as he breathes you in, kissing you deeply as he caresses your cheek with his thumb. He could never tire of your lips, of how they tasted like the sea breeze and yet retained such sweetness. Of all the people you could have chosen to shower with the gift that is your love, you chose him. It makes him melt and want to kneel before you every time he thinks about it.

The next time he boards the ship, he knows he won't see you for a while. It'll be almost four weeks until they make it to their next stop, the royal city farther from the rest of the towns. Hobie's mood grows sour with every day he wakes up to find them nowhere near their destination. He rereads your letters to pass the time, smiles flitting on his face whenever he can smell the scent of your perfume on the parchment. His fingers fiddle with the pearl hidden beneath his shirt as he gazes out at the sea, the salty wind rustling his clothes and hair. More than anything, he wants to dive in and find you, hold you close in his embrace and take on your offer of becoming immortal. The thought of becoming immortal makes him chuckle, though. Hobie didn't think he'd ever be one to want to live forever. But, if it came to always being with you, he'd take that option any day.

His thoughts are so preoccupied by you that he doesn't even hear the commotion happening on the deck, wouldn't even know about it if not for Garrett bumping into him. Hobie stumbles as he quickly regains his footing, shooting an irritated look at the older man. Garrett, surprisingly, ignores his disrespect and grins wildly like a madman, pointing towards the deck excitedly.

“We're gonna be bloody rich, the lot of us! Ol’ Louie done fished up some mermaids!” With a loud whoop of joy, the surprisingly sobered man makes his way towards the rest of the crew. Hobie's stomach knots up at the mention of mermaids. Those were your subjects, the mythical creatures of the sea that you took in as your own. If what he think was about to happen happens, this won't end well. For any of his fellow sailors. And for as much as Hobie hates them all, he'd rather not risk making a bunch of women widows due to the justifiable wrath of his lover. Hobie grips the pearl between his fingers as he rushes towards the commotion. He has to push and squeeze his way through the sea of bodies, a scowl on his face as he uses both hands to part the crowd. Soon, he finally manages to end up in the front of the crowd, his triumphant attitude disappearing the moment he sees the sight before him.

Seven mermaids, all huddled together and gripping each other tightly with looks of fear and dread twisting their pretty features. Standing before them is Captain Miller, cutlass in hand as he leers at the shivering mermaids. He glances back over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow when he sees Hobie. With a proud smile, he moves to the side to allow him a proper view.

“Magnificent, ain't they? Eight rare beauties”

“Eight? I see only seven, Captain.” Captain Miller chuckles before pointing his cutlass at the mermaid in the middle, who flinches and twists her body to clutch at something brushing against her side. That's when Hobie sees the smaller one, who could be no older than four in human years. She clings to the one in the middle, tears of tiny pearls sliding down her cherub cheeks and clattering onto the deck. Hobie looks at his Captain with growing unease, stepping closer towards him slowly.

“Captain… What're you plannin’ with eight mermaids…? Maybe we should free ‘em before something bad happens…” Miller laughs at his words, an astounded look on his face. The rest of the crew laugh along with him, as if Hobie warning them was some type of joke.

“You daft, boy? Look 'ere. See their tails, how the scales shine in the sun? Just a single scale is worth almost a gold piece. As if I'd let ‘em go.” Hobie didn't like the look in his eyes, the look of a man taunted by the whiff of something good under his nose. He's quick to put himself between the Captain and the mermaids, arms spread wide to put some distance between the two.

“Captain,” he breathes softly, pleading for understanding, “This ain't right. There's a little one and I can tell you, messin’ with them is gonna cost you in the end.” Miller glares harshly at Hobie, eyebrows raised like he couldn't believe his worker was defying him. Eyes roaming over his stance, he narrows his eyes at the pearl sitting on Hobie's neck. With a quickness that he wasn't ready for, Miller yanks the necklace, slicing the twine off of his neck. Hobie lets out a small gasp before rushing at the older man, only to be held back by none other than Garrett. That was his, given to him by you. Made by you. He'd given up quite a lot in his life over the years. But this… This was his, a sign that you held his heart and he held yours. Absolutely no one was allowed to sully that.

“Give that back! It's mine!” He snarls, glaring at his Captain. Miller scoffs and raises his sword at Hobie, examining the pearl between his fingers.

“Hiding precious things from me? Did you forget your debt, boy? You owe me.”

“I paid my damn debt! I've paid it, dammit! You've done nothin’ but take from me year after year, since I was but all of ten years old!” Hobie's sharp words ring into the air, the tension thickening. He scowls and turns to punch Garrett in the face, knuckles cracking the bone of his nose. Garrett screams and pushes Hobie away from him, squatting on the ground and clutching his now bleeding nose. His eyes are wild and filled with an anger long overdue as he marches up to Miller, gritting his teeth as he unsheathes the long ornate dagger he'd picked from Garrett's pocket.

“If not for my damn debt, I'd have killed you years ago. Give me my shit back and let the mermaids go.” Miller just laughs, pocketing the broken necklace before motioning for his men to stand aside. The crew looks down on Hobie, smug grins and sneers on their faces as they back up to watch the show.

“Bitin’ the hand that feeds, Aye? Do yer worst, boy.” The captain says with a hearty laugh as the two circle each other, weapons raised and aimed at the other. A wicked gleam shines in Miller's eyes before he swiftly darts towards Hobie, cutlass raised and slashing downward. Hobie's quick to dodge the blow, rushing to step to the side and swiftly cutting at his thigh. Miller lets out a hiss of pain before swinging his weapon towards his arm, managing to knick his shoulder when he steps back at the last second. Hobie grits his teeth before ducking and thrusting his knife forward, stabbing the older man's calf deeply. The captain howls at the pain and Hobie gives a sadistic grin as he twists the knife, cruelly sawing it back and forth to add to the pain. With an enraged shout, Miller backhands him across the face, the action so quick that Hobie hadn't even seen it coming.

The injured man shouts as he aims his weapon towards the younger's stomach, Hobie only managing to stop it from being by parrying it with his dagger. The two men shake as they struggle against each other, blood from Miller's leg gushing out onto the wooden floor of the deck. The cutlass pushes deeper into his skin, Hobie grunting as he struggles to stop him. Having had enough, Miller yells furiously and kicks him down, watching with narrowed eyes as he sprawled onto the ground. Hobie lets out a shout of pain as the cutlass is swiftly embedded into his shoulder, digging deep. Blood blossoms against his shirt and pools like a waterfall from the gaping wound.

“Since I'm fixin’ to kill ya, I'll let ya in on a secret,” Miller says with a sick grin as he pushes the sword deeper, relishing in the man's screams. “That day, when you asked me to pay for yer mom's bill? I went there to pay for it, fully intendin’ to uphold my end of the deal. Only to find out she died just shortly after you visited her.” Blood rushes in his ears as he takes in the new information, the sharp pain in his shoulder nonexistent now. He had to be lying, surely. He had to be. Because that would mean, that for years, for over ten years, his mother had been dead. All while he was away at sea, working for the man who was supposed to help her.

“No… You're lyin’... You're a fucking liar.” Miller just laughs heartily and digs the sword even deeper. Hobie pays it no mind, still reeling from the news.

“Why would I need to lie, boy? You're gonna die soon. No reason for me to do so. Your mother has been dead this whole time. Your letters to her have been sent to an empty house and you've been workin’ for me for years for free. Haven't you been wonderin’ why she ain't writing to ya?”

“...I'll fucking kill you…”

“What's that? Speak up lad!” Hobie's eyes are wild and he grips the sword in his shoulder with both hands. He's practically seething as he slowly pulls it out of his flesh, blood oozing down the blade as it slices up his palms. Standing up, he wrenches the sword free from his shoulder before charging at the man with renewed vigor.

“I'm gonna fucking kill you!” He barks out furiously, eyes swirling with a boiling rage that threatens to consume him whole. A deep seated part of him relished in the slight fear on Miller's smug face before he's suddenly yanked back, his hands just inches away from wringing the man's fat neck. Garrett and another sailor hold him back from tearing the captain limb from limb. It felt like a storm was brewing inside of him. Because, Miller was single handedly responsible for Hobie wasting years of his life on this wretched boat, surrounded by a crew he loathes with every fiber of his being. The years of being spit on, beaten, and mistreated by every single bastard on this ship could have been avoided. He could have been there with his mother, could have said his final goodbyes. He didn't even get to give her a proper burial... Tears sting his eyes as Hobie snarls and wrenches himself free, punching the sailor in the face and biting down harshly on Garrett's arm, spitting out the chunk of flesh as he listens to him scream. Crimson fills his mouth, leaving a copper taste on his tongue as he rushes at Miller again. It takes several more men before Hobie is finally restrained, face pressed against the wood of the deck.

“You fight like a pirate. I'm sure that life would have suited you more, gutter trash.” Miller says with a small chuckle, having enjoyed watching Hobie fight. He hobbles over towards the trembling mermaids, cutlass in his hands once more. “After I cut off their tails, I'll slit your throat and feed you to the sharks. I'm sure they'll appreciate you more than anyone ever has.” Miller lets out a cackle as he moves closer towards the mermaids. Hobie struggles and struggles, trying hard to free himself from the numerous hands holding him down. Even if he couldn't kill Miller, the mermaids needed help. He tried to lift himself up, only to hiss as he's pushed back down.

“You bastard! You'll get your crew killed!” Hobie yells out, desperately trying to warn him. Miller doesn't listen, grabbing one of the mermaids by the wrists. She cries out in fear, tears of pearls falling down her face, landing on the wood with small thunks. “Miller! Miller, don't! You'll all die! Miller, don't you fucking-!”

The apprehended mermaid lets out a blood curdling scream as her tail is sliced clean from her torso. Blood cascades from her like a waterfall, the life in her eyes now fading. The ribbons of crimson snake along the wooden planks, dripping and spilling over the sides of the ship. Hobie watches, horrified as it drips into the water below. The crew congratulate the captain, urging him to hurry with the other seven. Only Hobie notices how the sky starts to darken. Miller looks over his work, satisfied, before throwing the corpse of the mutilated mermaid into the ocean. The body slowly sinks down into the depths of the waters. And that's when the very ship starts to rumble, as if shaken by an earthquake.

“I warned you…” Hobie breathes as he watches the clouds in the sky swirl and turn a dark gray, droplets of rain beginning to fall. It turns from a slight drizzle to a furious downpour, harsh winds rocking the ship. The ocean grows dark, almost inky black in color. A little ways farther from the ship, a whirlpool begins to form, growing bigger and bigger, until a sudden roar fills the air. A hand as big as a mountain, made of pure water, shoots up into the air from beneath the depths of the sea. Water drips from it and sea creatures of every size swim within it, waves growing large and rocking the ship as it slams down onto the water. Another hand shoots out of the water, the pair of hands gripping and clawing at the sea as the watery head of an angry Goddess emerges from the water.

You tower before the ship of humans in all your glory, casting a shadow so large that it would put the very mountain tops to shame. Rivers flow down your watery cheeks as you glare down at the ship menacingly, tears for the daughter you have lost to human greed. Every move you make, every breath you take splashes the salty sea water onto their faces. The men on the ship quiver with fear, unable to move a muscle as they bask in the power you wield. Hobie, now free from the hands restraining him, stands up to gaze up at you sadly. He can see the sparkling of your eyes has turned dark, swirling with all the rage of the storms and inky black with the deepness of your sorrow. As much as he'd love to hold you close and console you for as long as you need, he still has something he needs to do. He darts over towards the mermaids, using his knife to cut them loose from the net. He ushers them off of the ship, watching as they dive back into the ocean. None of the crew stops him, too busy marveling at the terrifying wonder that is you. Spotting him in the small crowd of humans, you practically seethe at the sight of him battered and bruised. You gaze down at the body of your child in your hand, bringing it up to your face in order to gaze upon her with sorrow.

“Have I not been gracious…?” You whisper softly, though your voice still rattles in their bones and makes their very teeth vibrate. “Have I not ensured you safe passage of my waters with every journey you take…? This is how you repay me…? By threatening and harming my children?!”

The sudden shout makes the storm rage even harder, the waves growing even larger. You press a kiss to the lifeless body, watching as the corpse of your daughter turns to seafoam and letting it fall into the ocean below. The sailors tremble and are quick to get on their knees, hands outstretched to you in a praying manner. You sneer at their futile attempts to seek mercy, begging for forgiveness for their wretched crime. Hobie walks over to the now petrified Miller, snatching his pearl out of his pocket and gazing back at you. You open a dripping hand towards the ship, awaiting for Hobie to step onto your palm. When he does, you lift him up to rest on your shoulders, the other members of the crew looking up at him with astounded looks on their faces.

“You take my children and dare to harm my lover?!” Your voice booms throughout the air, rumbling in their chests and making the ground tremble. With an enraged roar, you lift both arms, the sea rising up high, until it easily towers over even you. Hobie watches with a grim look on his face, not at all sorry for the mess his crew, his former crew is in. They deserve this since they refused to listen to his pleas, did not care to listen to his warnings. And yet… Hobie places a hand against your watery cheek, a speck of dust compared to the entirety of you. Your lip quivers as you feel his hand, knowing full well what he's silently asking of you. Taking one last breath, you let the wave crash harshly onto the ship. The wood splinters and cracks beneath the weight and pressure of the water. The shouts and screams of the drowning crew echo in Hobie's ears, watching as some try to claw and swim their way away from the wave. The ship is in ruins by the time you've finished enacting your wrath, pieces of wood drifting along the waves.

A few straggling men manage to heave their bodies upon the wreckage, some floating in the water and coughing out the water trapped in their lungs. The fact that they're still breathing is deemed the highest mercy from you, you who still seethed over your child. Miller and Garrett are nowhere to be found, having drowned and their bodies pulled down into the depths of the sea. The raging storm subsides, the rain all but a drizzle now. He's quiet as he listens to you wipe at your tears before you switch back to your more human form, the two of you slowly floating down towards the ocean. You grip Hobie's hands in yours as you both stand on the water. Sorrow dims the sparkles in your eyes as you bend down to grab a handful of water in your palm, the liquid beginning to glow a bright teal color as you press it against his shoulder wound that he could suddenly feel again. Almost instantly, the pain is gone, the wound stitching itself close as if it never happened. The healing water drips along his body, stitching every cut he'd received from his scuffle with Miller. Hobie holds you close, burying his face in your hair as you press your face into his chest.

His eyes shut as he listens to you cry, mourning the loss of one of your children. He's patient and whispers soft words of reassurance through it all, his heart aching for you. And then it's his turn to break down, mourning the loss of his mother he'd only learned about just moments ago. You hold him through it all, whispering reassurances in his ear, the shared pain of loss connecting you both even more. When you finally pull away after what seems like hours, you place a hand against his cheek, your touch like silk.

“Come with me, Hobie… Let us start our forever… Please?” Hobie wouldn't have said no even if you hadn't asked him so sweetly. He had nothing left to lose, nothing to hold him back any longer. And when his lips press against yours, he feels something surge inside of him, something energizing him. Hobie's eyes sparkle brilliantly, just like yours once you break the kiss, a soft glow surrounding him now too.

“Forever with you sounds lovely, Blue. Let's go see the world.”

#when I read the part with the black pearl I went 🫵 BDASSSSS like I was trained to go look for bdas references 😂😂#it's safe to say I will read this again when I need to get into the bdas 2 writing mode it's the vibes that tickles my brain into hyperdrive #katy reblogs #fic rec #octobie #octobie'24 #octobie wild card #octobie fic #thank you for participating in octobie!!#🫶🫶🫶#amazing read!

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shycroissanti · 4 months ago

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NEW OC (AGAAAAAAAIN) xD✨️✨️

I'm calling him Zenshin so far, I don't know what to call him ;-;

Kind of because I was looking at Kishin's old design and had this idea for a new OC xD

(First sketches of him☝️🥐)

I wanted to say that he's an evil demon, that he helps Kenta, but I'm still thinking about it :P

I'm also still thinking about his BDA, but it definitely has to do with cards like Sayuko

The only thing I know is that Yudi doesn't like him xD

Le tags💖

@c00kietin @larz-barz @knyinfinity @demonslayerdoodles @night-mince101 @scaredyfurry2 @pinkwisteria @giyubabe @pulim-v @nothingtoseehere1-2-3 @tor-the-tortilla @zenitsustherapist @ayunakatsukiwolfhashira @sunbrokenswords

#demon slayer #kny #artwork #artists on tumblr #oc #character design #sketches #Zenshin Saito #<- (maybe that's his name)

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febuary30thday · 2 years ago

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Flora, Fauna

Pt 2

When you are first introduced, he doesn't mind your presence

You are a woman in a position of great power, and he respects that

Hence, he and you often talk plenty

He has never witnessed your blood demon art, so he is unsure

Sometimes, with how good you are at singing and with your calming voice, he assumed it was something like that

He happens to stumble upon you one day, devouring a man who had just tried to flirt with you

There you were, the moonlight shining on you, blood staining your lips as you ate, and a pile of demon slayers at your feet, with their crows laying there as well

"Ah, Upper 3! Care to join me in my feeding?"

No one's saying no to free food, and he isn't either

"Akaza, call me Akaza."

You talk as you eat, about your BDA and you find out about his thing with women

He is quite touched when you make an effort to not eat women around him

With how kind and gentle and elegant you are, how could he not fall for you?

However, when Douma decides you are now his biggest target and obsession, he needs to step in

Being Muzan's favorite demon does have perks, and one of them is that he is only sent out on special missions, so he isn't sent out often, which means he gets to spend all of his free time with you

Now that you aren't permitted to leave the castle, he can coddle and cuddle you all he wants

You don't mind his presence, but it seems the other two do

Kokushibo often makes him leave when you are together, and your little beg to let him stay always resonates in his heart

Douma, surprisingly, doesn't want Akaza there either

He won't outright say it, but there are clues that he's trying to make Akaza feel unwanted

He's extra clingy when Akaza is around and often taunts him

Akaza is possessive of you and doesn't like letting you go

He tells you about his adventures os you don't feel lonely, and brings you food and people he hunted to eat

Sometimes he brings them alive, just to watch you use your BDA in action

You enjoy his company and motivate him with just your presence

He is insecure about himself because he feels like there's going to be one day when he can't protect you properly

"Akaza, There you are. Would you like to spend time with me? I prepared tea."

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go out and hunt something for you? You must be hungry?"

"Nonsense."

She wasn't introduced to you

You met her by commenting on the amount of control she exalts and how level-headed she is

She doesn't speak much, and neither do you

She's not exactly possessive, but she's kept a watchful gaze on you

I mean, she controls the Infinity Castle, anywhere you, go, she's there in "spirit"

When you were allowed to leave, you often told her stories of your feedings

She seemed intrigued and so you continue

Your relationship spirals down from there

She plays her biwa for you sometimes and you sing along with her, harmonizing in perfect sync

The other demons would enjoy it, if she didn't keep tossing them around

Because you now aren't allowed to leave, she plays her biwa more and you harmonize more

She often praises your BDA and you praise her, so it's a very healthy relationship

The best relationship you'll get into is with her, so enjoy it while you still can

"It's amazing how you are able to have this much control and still be level-headed and not a prideful fool."

"Thank you."

His clones are so fine, let me tell you 😩

Hantengu was afraid of you the first time he met you

When you showed him your BDA, he cowered in fear

You thought he was weird but you weren't hostile

He enjoyed hearing you sing, and it made him come out of his shell a little more

He stuck around enough to listen to what you had to say and not cower

One time, a demon slayer cut his head off and you saw his two clones

You swear you felt something twitch

They were so handsome

His clones are often with you because he lets them out.

Sekido (Rage) is extremely possessive of you and is surprisingly, extremely clingy

Karaku (Relax) worships the ground you walk on, he praises you a lot and has masochistic tendencies

Please put flowers in his hair, he loves it

Aizetsu (Sorrow) He's just really smart and tells you about the opponents he fought and his analysis of them

You don't even realize how he's slowly drawing you in further

Urami (Resentment) isn't often let out because he would just degrade himself and say how's he jealous of you, and all that other nonsense. He acts kind of like Gyutaro

"Sekido, you have to let me go, I need to go hunt."

"One of the other forms will go get something for you, you have to stay in my arms"

"Karaku, you know that you remind me of a dog in a lot of ways."

"I'm so glad that you acknowledge me as someone loyal. Did I ever tell you how pretty you are?"

"Interestingly, you analyzed him like that, Aizetsu, do tell me more."

He tries his best, okay? Don't leave him because he's a little coward.

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere akaza #yandere akaza x reader #yandere nakime #yandere nakime x reader #yandere hantengu x reader #yandere hantengu

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thebadjoe · 2 months ago

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BAD JOE'S DRDT CH.2 CRIME SOLVING THEORY FINALE

Hello! It's me again, the pretend-detective-that-will-prove-once-and-for-all-that-my-solution-is-the-closest-to-the-truth.

Oooo boy, we're getting very close to the end with chapter 2, eh? Man... episode 14... that was quite the episode!

I got a lot to talk about, so I'll try not to waste too much time this time around. And of course, this is MAJOR SPOILERS WARNING OF DANGANRONPA DESPAIR TIME CHAPTER 2.

Let's talk!

As you can see in the title, this is pretty much the last time I'll be talking about my theory for good. The reason as to why should be obvious. We're getting really close to the end of the chapter as well as getting close to having the truth revealed by the series itself.

So in other words, this is my very last attempt at solving the murder mystery. So since this is most likely my last time (until there's another murder mystery I want to solve), I better go out with a bang, right? :D

For those who read part 5, it's mostly similar as part 5, but I added a few more things to support my theory. The main difference will be things that I really have to fix.

Anyways... this latest episode revealed a lot of things. A lot of these things are affected by my theory too. I will split those in three categories : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good

Then MonoTV explains that broken and missing things take longer to replace and...

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. It is now confirmed 100% that the tape was truly missing since the murder attempt. We could even say that because of this on top of how the narrative is going with this episode, there is no other form of grippy tape inside this killing game aside from the one that came from the pull up bar.

Phew! I'm so glad it's finally cleared up, even though it should've been so obvious! (Well, the clue of when the tape was missing was subtle, but you get what I mean, right?)

It was honestly blowing my mind when people were claiming crazy things about the tape... such as "Well, it's a design error by the dev! There's supposed to be a tape there, they just forgot about it!"

So, I'm actually glad and happy that I was absolutely right on that matter, especially since I was the first person who vocally pointed out the missing tape ever since... episode 9, I believe?

It's possible that there were a few people who noticed it before me or around the same time as me, but I don't recall seeing anyone else posting about it. Nonetheless, for those like me who discovered the moment of the missing tape a long time ago? Honestly, kudos to y'all! Amazing job!

Another thing that's also considered good for me is something regarding the attempted murder that I deduced correctly.

"Ace had woken up and was struggling"

I deduced that at some point during the attempted murder, Ace woke up. The reason why I firmly believed that was the case is because of this picture!

If you take a closer look, you can see that there's blood on Ace's fingers. Since those are not finger injuries nor would Nico have a reason to stain Ace's fingers with blood, then the only logical conclusions would be that he got blood on his fingers because he touched his neck wounds, therefore, he woke up at some point during the murder attempt.

Another W for me, let's go! Hurray! Speaking of W... another good thing for my theory happened. In regards to Eden being innocent because the BDA triggered when Teruko, Eden and Whit saw the body at the same time.

YES! FUCKIN YES!!! THANK YOU DAVID! THANK YOU FOR SAYING THOSE WORDS THAT I WANTED TO HEAR SO BAD! I LOVE YOU, BUT ONLY AS LONG DISTANCE FRIENDS!

You guys have no idea how much it heavily supports my theory thanks to what he just said. It was also something that I deduced for a very long time too! There's of course a lot to talk about on this matter, which I will discuss another time.

But for now, let me savor what I consider to be the biggest W of my crime solving theory of this murder case. Things are looking really good for me.

But of course, I have other problems that crossed my way in exchange, so let me show you what I mean.

The Bad

Let's start with the elephant in the room. Nico is sole person responsible for the attempted murder of Ace.

Before I forget, here's my theory post as reference so that you can have a fair idea of what's been debunked.

Anyways, this truth shatters a good chunk of my theory post, especially regarding the attempted murder itself. Because... according to my theory, I thought that the person responsible for the attempted murder was the same culprit as whoever killed Arei. Thinking it was Eden who did the attempted murder on Ace.

But this theory of mine on that matter has sadly been completely denied. Eden did not attempt murder on Ace, that much is a fact that I can't ignore.

But that's not all. It's practically confirmed that the wire found in the gym was indeed Hu's custom weapon.

This shut downs my idea that Eden must've gathered some kind of wire inside a grandfather clock.

I'm well aware that I was kinda pushing it with this idea (even though there were a conversation supporting this idea), but mannnnn.... IMAGINE HOW FRIGGIN SICK IT WOULD'VE BEEN IF THAT WAS ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED?! IT WOULD'VE BEEN SUCH A 1000 IQ MOVE ON MY END!!!

Haha! Sorry! I got the hype get the best of me there! I mean, to be fair... I was under the assumption that Eden's must've done the deed and that she must've gathered that wire some other way. You can't fault me for being this creative!

But at the very least, from this narrative, we can deduce that the DRDT Dev may not try to pull a move where we need to imagine something that could've existed somewhere, they probably never intend to make us go for something far-fetched unless there's enough clues to suggest it. I think that will be something very important to remember whenever we get to watch chapter 3 in a future time.

Moving on!

Nico is the person responsible for stealing the turpentine.

This may not seem much at first, but it's actually very bad for my theory. Reason why is that to have my Eden!Culprit theory work, I need a way for Eden to subdue Arei in some shape or form.

The best way to do it would be by knocking her out with the turpentine, but unfortunately for me, Eden initially didn't have access to the turpentine. Nico did. This means that I lost my prime way for Eden to subdue Arei.

Eden obviously can't overpower Arei for obvious reasons... on top of having no signs of struggle on Eden and Arei's body like bruises and such.

So because of it, I need to figure out a way for Eden to be able subdue Arei without having to steal the turpentine as it was Nico who stole it initially. I'll discuss more about it later.

There is also another problem with my theory, not something the episode directly showed, but it's still very noteworthy. Since Eden is not the culprit behind the attempted murder of Ace, my plan of having Arei locked up and hidden in the relaxation room no longer works anymore. Therefore, I currently don't have a way to explain the purpose of the ball of clothes since my whole murder attempt theory is crushed.

So these are the bads, one of them being a lot more problematic than the others. Anyways, I don't even think that's the worst of it all. The worst comes with...

The Ugly

"It's you two, isn't it?"

I'm happy that we finally got Teruko to actually accuse someone... but NOT LIKE THIS!!!

God friggin dammit!

I get it though. I understand why the creator did that. It gives a lot more suspense and a much better reveal at the end of it all, but aaaaggghhh! This is literally the worst case scenario!

Instead of having people try to figure out why this one person is the culprit and how they did it, we now have the community practically split in two to decide which one between Ace or Eden is the culprit of the murder case.

Ugh.... what a pain in the ass! I can't believe you've done this, DRDT dev! Not giving us the final answer until the very end. I will admit though... that was very unexpected and a very cool twist. That makes it much different from what we're used to see in the dangans and fangans! So yeah... well played, dev! But you should know by now... you're not fooling me with this. I know very well what the heck happened behind this murder case! I remain undaunted.

So are you saying that...

Yes... I still believe that Eden is the culprit behind the murder case of Arei. Ace has nothing to do with the murder of Arei and there's absolutely no one else but these two suspects who could've possibly commited murder.

I'm sorry to say this to the people who believe that a third party is responsible for the murder, but that's just impossible. Only these two could've taken the tape and they had absolutely no reason to give it to someone else. Nor did they get it stolen.

Otherwise, why would they not reveal it at all? It wouldn't make sense no matter how you put it. Not only that, but it would be so unsatisfying of a plot twist especially considering that with all the clues we've been given so far, only the people in the gym at a specific time could've taken it, which still comes down to Ace and Eden.

It's also practically confirmed that there's no other source of grippy tape. I understand that you guys are trying to do this because there's a lot of issues with solving the case if eitheir Ace or Eden is the culprit, but instead of going for an unrealistic scenario of who else could've done it, you guys need to figure out how eitheir of these two suspects managed to pull it off despite these problems!

And that's exactly why I'm still dead set on accusing Eden. Because despite all these problems I've encountered since the beginning of it all, I figured out a lot of ways to solve these issues and it's going to be the same thing here. These new problems I have encountered... I will solve them... all of them!

Therefore, being open-minded is crucial in solving this murder case, a complex one at that!

Alright, with these news out of the way, it's finally time for me to solve this murder case! Although, unlike the giant recap that I did on part 5, I'm not going to do that. I will begin by discussing with you all the biggest mystery of this entire murder case.

The Biggest Mystery?!

What are you talking about? Are you referring to the fishes? The broken lights? The ball of clothes? Their murder motive?

Nope! There is something that's been brought up very few times at the very beginning of the trial and never again... even though there's something seriously strange about it.

(I'm sure there's other moments where this was brought up, but I couldn't find them.)

But yeah... there are two suspiciously strange things about this (that people simply brushed it off as nothing wrong happened) and I seriously think we need to look into this.

During lunchtime of the day before the BDA, Arei was seen in the cafeteria, but didn't utter a single word.

Aside from the "conversation between Arei and David in the relaxation room", no one saw Arei from lunchtime up until the BDA.

Let's face it... Arei, who's usually a loudmouth, didn't say a single thing at lunch? That's just incredibly weird! It doesn't make sense! You guys know very well that she would, at the very least, say something mean or troll someone at least slightly.

But even weirder than that is the fact that no one else saw her since lunchtime! There is absolutely no way that Arei would've spent the rest of the day eitheir hiding herself in her dorm or just simply avoiding contact on anyone. That is just so out of character!

Well... maybe Arei was deeply concerned by David's actual secret and was being secluded up until it was the right time to visit David. I mean, David and Ace clearly saw her that evening, so it's fine, right?

Yeah, I don't think so. Let's say she was deeply concerned by David's secret since lunch, why didn't she try to contact David much sooner than that? Doesn't quite make sense now, doesn't it?

Oh! I know! She was spending time with Eden because they're friends now, right?

I'm sorry, but that's not gonna work eitheir. Let's say Eden was the culprit in that scenario... why would Eden lie about not seeing her since lunch?

Well... suspicions would've been thrown at her, that's why.

And why would that be the case? Remember that during that day, Eden spent time with Hu from the evening up until the night time. And since we're under the assumption that the murder occured in the morning of day 4 (the day of the BDA) and that she spent time with Hu as said earlier, her supposed time spent with Arei in the afternoon would be irrelevant to the murder case!

Besides, wouldn't someone at least have noticed that the two of them were spending time together in the afternoon?

And even if we were to presume that Ace is the killer there, it's the exact same thing! Eden would have absolutely no reason to lie about spending time with Arei if that were the case.

Well, maybe Ace intimidated Arei and stayed quiet this whole time because of it!

...really? We all know very well that there's no way Ace would be able to intimidate Arei, of all people!

Then maybe-

I'll stop you there! Let's face it, there's no normal reasons to explain why Arei didn't talk at lunch nor why she was missing for a considerable amount of time. Besides, if it was something irrevelant or completly mundane about what was happening with Arei, what would be the point of doing all of that? Why make it seem like it was a mystery if "nothing special" happened.

I'm sorry, but it just simply doesn't make sense. Especially if the fact that she was missing was brought up multiple times. There is no way that this is unimportant, no matter how you look at it!

This is also one of the reasons why I firmly believe that Ace is not the culprit. It is impossible to give a reasonable answer to this mystery if you go for the Ace!Culprit route.

It's unsolvable! You can't solve it even with Eden as the culprit!

No! That's wrong!

For those who read part 5, I'm sure you know already what the answer to that is. As for everyone else, there is a very interesting and logical way to solve this mystery.

But before I reveal it, let me first bring back a topic from earlier that I wanted to talk about.

David Chiem...

Okay... so what? He's clearly lying about it, as stated by Nico and J!

And why would you assume that he's lying? Is it because he's a lying and manipulative asshole? Is it because you don't believe in anything he says? Is it because you don't understand him? Well... to be fair... he's rather complex and a bit hard to understand his gameplan, however...

Doesn't that statement feel too important to simply disregard it? I'm not just saying this because his quote is in gold and bolded text, but also because of the timing and what he said earlier.

Also... shortly after that, after he asked Teruko, Whit and Eden if they saw the body at the same time and that Teruko answered with "What are you getting at?", here's how he behaves...

Isn't it peculiar? Like... doesn't it feel like there's a sense of emergency behind his defense and reaction? It's almost like... he's been waiting for the right moment to reveal that piece of information. Whether he wants to help or just want to make Teruko despair for the sake of exposing Eden as the culprit, it doesn't matter. He wanted to reveal that information.

His statement that he saw the body first is clearly wrong because he couldn't have seen the body in the morning, he had an alibi at 7:30 AM and it's physically impossible for David to instantly search the playground, find the body, do nothing and go back without being seen by eitheir Teruko, Whit or Eden.

Well, of course, he's lying about seeing the body in the morning. It's literally impossible.

Huh? But why are you insisting that-

David is the first person to find the body, but he discovered it at an earlier time. It doesn't make sense for anyone else to have found the body first. Otherwise, they wouldn't have hidden this piece of information at all, there's no reason to. But if we're talking about David however... it's whole different story. I also have plenty ways to support the idea that he found the body much earlier.

This is after Ace tells the group what he witnessed and after David gets his secret exposed and decides to reveal himself.

Ace claimed that he witnessed David and Arei having a conversation about David's secret during the evening, the day after the attempted murder.

David claims that he's a lying piece of shit and an unreliable witness.

Ace couldn't possibly have lied about the secret he heard from the conversation since that was indeed David's secret. So what else could David be referring to when he claimed that Ace is lying?

Lying about where he heard the conversation wouldn't make sense eitheir, it wouldn't really change much. And we already know for a fact that David visited the relaxation room that day.

Therefore, by process of elimination, the logical deduction would be that Ace lied about when he heard that conversation. Also, doesn't that weirdly coincide with the reveal that he found the body first?

So if you match his body discovery information with the logical possibility that Ace lied about when he heard the conversation with also David's confession that he did indeed meet with Arei that evening without revealing what the conversation was about, we get this amazing solution : David didn't have a conversation with Arei in the evening of the day 3. He had a conversation with her in the evening of day 2 instead, the day of the attempted murder on Ace. David found Arei's corpse in the relaxation room in the evening of day 3.

I know I had many people who used to believe that this can't be true and that David is lying about his claim that Ace's a liar and all that... but quite frankly... can you still make that claim after watching episode 13 AND 14?

In episode 13, we learn from David's memory flashback that there was more to David and Arei's conversation than what Ace let on, which already gives a sign that Ace is hiding something.

And in episode 14, there's of course the reveal that David was the first person to find the body. Let's be real here everyone. I seriously doubt that this is a mere coincidence after all this time.

Anyways, now that I've explained my point regarding David, it is time to connect the dots!

Connecting the dots...

Going back to the biggest mystery...

As I said before, I stated that there's a way to solve this mystery with Eden as the culprit. There's also a very good reason why I brought up the idea that David must've found the body at a much earlier time.

Let's think back on the mysteries regarding Arei.

She did not talk at lunch and she was never seen again since then.

We've already established that it wouldn't make sense for her to stay silent and not be seen again for a long period of time. So what would be the most logical way to explain that discrepancy?

Something wrong happened to Arei that day. If you think back on my idea regarding David, he found Arei's body in the evening of day 3. Then, if you combine that with the fact that Arei was mysteriously missing since lunchtime, we can then deduce that Arei was actually dead for quite some time. It would make sense to deduce that Arei must've been dead during the whole time she was missing.

But Ace witnessed the conversation betwee-

Nope! Remember, I made the deduction that Ace lied about when he witnessed the conversation. He most likely witnessed the conversation happening in the evening of day 2. Therefore, Arei was alive during the evening of day 2.

(FYI, by day 2, I mean the day of the attempted murder while day 3 refers to the day after the attempted murder. Day 4 is the day of the BDA)

Okay, but what does that have to do with Eden being the only culprit that can explain the mystery behind it all?

Don't worry, I'm getting there.

So with the idea that Arei was already at least dead after lunch, it changes a lot of things, but it still doesn't answer the other oddity regarding Arei... Why was she being silent during lunch time?

Before I propose the crazy (and repeated) idea, let me share a fact with you all. During lunch time, Eden was nowhere to be seen in the cafeteria.

Combine everything I've shown you and then we get this beautiful conclusion : Arei was silent during lunch time because that was not Arei. It was Eden disguised as Arei. Arei was already dead during lunch time.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions or things to object to this, but let me first state that it would perfectly explain a lot of things. Not only would it solve perfectly that big mystery I've just shown, but it would also explain why David claimed that he was the first person to find the body. It would also explain this little goofy event in the morning of day 3.

To give a small recap, Teruko wakes up at 8:00 AM, but still feels sleepy. So she's like "5 more minutes."

Then, we get a black screen saying "4 hours later", so she ends up waking up at around noon instead. Funny 5 more minutes turns into oversleeping for hours instead joke, that one! (Let's face it, it's relatable)

Anyways, this little scene right there could be an extremely subtle way to indicate that Arei actually died in the morning of day 3 and they made us unable to witness her death thanks to Teruko oversleeping. It also helps with camouflaging the possibility that Eden was taking the time to set up her disguise trick.

But if you have issues with the disguise trick, I've already explained it many times in part 5 with clues and hints found throughout the series on top of reminding everyone that this is a work of fiction, so as long as there's plenty evidence to suggest it, then it can be possible.

So for that to work, Eden needed to kill Arei in the morning of day 3. So first, she would need to sneakily knock her out with turpentine as it is the only way to-

HAH! YOU IDIOT! IT CAN'T WORK!! IT WAS NICO WHO HAD THE TURPENTINE! HOW COULD EDEN POSSIBLY GET HER HANDS ON IT?! YOUR THEORY STINKS!

Ah, right... the turpentine! Nico stole it from Rose...

That's no problem! Eden got her hands on the turpentine anyways!

WHAT?!?!

Turpentine, where are you?!

You're not possibly suggesting that there was a second turpentine, RIGHT?!?!

Of course not! I'm not that crazy! Come on now! Do you really think I'd make such a claim even though I made the claim that there doesn't exist any other source of grippy tape aside from what we've seen thus far? The same applies with the turpentine.

It is true that the fact that Nico had their hands on the turpentine first is truly troublesome... but then I learned some more facts about the case and realised that there is indeed a way for Eden to get her hands on the turpentine.

That's impossible! Nico had their hands on it!

Nico may have gotten their hands on the turpentine first, but did they actually keep it forever?

Think about it. What else do we know about the attempted murder that we know is true and confirmed by Nico themselves? Nico stole Hu's custom weapon : the wires.

And what was the reason for stealing the wires? To pin the murder on Hu. They were trying to get away with murder, after all.

Now, if we follow that logic, there is also another way to further pin the blame on Hu. Nico could've dropped the turpentine in the dress room, close by Hu's old uniform. It's also possible that they used some of Hu's clothes to knock Ace unconscious with the turpentine.

That way, if the crime actually succeeded, then there would be much more than Hu's wires to pin her as the culprit. But alas, as we all know, Nico's murder attempt failed. So whatever happened to the turpentine in that scenario?

Nico most likely didn't run back to the dress room to grab it back, that's for sure. Which means that in that scenario, from the time Nico knocked Ace unconscious up until Teruko runs into Eden in the dressing room, Eden had an opportunity to grab the turpentine that Nico might've purposefully dropped in that room.

But how could she possibly know that there was turpentine in here?

That's the thing. I don't think she knew that she'd find the turpentine here... well... unless she saw Nico knocking Ace out and has been quietly sneaking since then.

Why would she even bother going there this late at night to somehow stumble on the turpentine if she didn't know that she'd find it here to begin with? That makes no sense.

You're right, it wouldn't make sense. If anything, that was simply an incredible coincidence that she managed to find turpentine, something that she would clearly need to succeed in her murder plan.

I don't get it! If finding the turpentine was mere coincidence, then what was the point of Eden visiting the dress room this late at night?

Initially, before episode 14 was released, I thought for sure that she was there because she orchestrated both crimes on top of locking Arei inside the relaxation room during nighttime. However, both of these ideas are denied.

So by eliminating the impossible, only one truth remains : Eden needed to place Hu's and Teruko's old clothes inside the relaxation room before 10 pm so that they can get covered in sticky starch next morning.

It is a known fact that the "ball of clothes" is covered in starch. We also know that the only source of information we have that could potentially have a source of starch is from the enriched formula of the water misting of that plants for the relaxation room. We also know for a fact that Eden was indeed in the dressing room past 10 pm on day 2.

I highly doubt that she went there late at night only for the sake of being nice and retrieving Teruko's spare uniforms. Therefore, the only way to explain her suspicious presence in that room is if we were to believe that she's the person responsible for the "ball of clothes".

There is no other logical or reasonable way to explain it. This is the only conclusion I could arrive at. Therefore, it has to be the truth!

Alright then... what was Eden trying to do with these starched clothes then? What was her plan?

At the time I'm currently typing this... I do not know.

WHHHHHAAAT?! YOU DON'T KNOW?!?!

That's right... I don't know yet. I have a few ideas, but I don't like them just yet. So by the time I keep working on this post, I'll figure out a proper solution, I promise.

What are you saying?! Are you seriously trying to solve this problem as you are writing your theory post?!

...That's right... I'm still working on it as I'm typing this. But pay no mind to it, the solution will come to me eventually, I'm pretty sure!

...You are out of your mind, you know that?

Yeah... I know. For now, let's just say that having the clothes in that room so that they get starched was very essential in her plan for unknown reasons. At the very least, I found a reasonable way to explain how she get her hands on the turpentine.

For that matter, I know there were people asking me why Eden would even bother grabbing the tape. The answer is fairly simple. It was very convenient for her to get her hands on the tape as it would be necessary in her murder scheme.

In fact, she probably wanted to get her hands on the tape earlier than that, but Nico was already occupying the gym. She must've heard the sounds of Nico setting up something inside the gym (since the walls aren't soundproof) and must've waited inside the dressing room for some time... until the gym was clear. But of course, instead of that, Teruko runs into Eden.

So with that, I believe that I explained every mysteries regarding the attempted murder. Eden was indeed on the second floor on the night of day 2 for a suspiciously specific reason that I've already explained.

So... while I'm trying to figure out the most logical purpose of this ball of clothes, I'd like to give more points that further supports the idea that Eden is indeed the culprit.

Take that, Eden!

Let's start with one of my favorite observations in episode 14.

Ah... that scene was very touching, wasn't it? For a moment there, I almost believed Eden... up until someone in the youtube comments pointed out something really interesting about this scene. Doesn't this remind you of something? ....no? Let me help you out!

Hmm? What does that have to do with anything?

A lot of things, actually. Like... the pictures I've shown you from episode 3, Eden claims that relationships aren't transactional, that she didn't do something good so that Teruko would return the favor. Eden also claims that she wants her to be her friend, but not because Teruko feels obligated to.

Then, in episode 14, Eden asks Teruko to help her, because friends help each other. She also says that Teruko is her friend.

I know most of you will say that Eden was being desperate and in big need of help, maybe there is a tiny bit of truth to it. However, I just find it rather strange because as far as I'm aware, from the beginning of chapter 2 up until the trial, Teruko never showed any signs of wanting to be friends with Eden. So why would she now claim that Teruko's her friend and then ask for help when initially, Eden didn't do something good simply just so that Teruko would do something good in return?

In a subtle way, they're kinda like opposites to each other, the scene between episode 3 and episode 14, I mean.

To further prove my point, I'd also like to point out that during these two scenes, they both played the exact same background music. Coincidence? I think not!

Another point I'd like to talk about is something I've already brought up in the past, but it's still very important to remember it...

This happened in the morning of day 4, before the BDA was triggered. She said this a little bit after Whit made a silly comment about Arei hanging around the playground.

You could brush it off as simply Eden being not ready to seeing the corpse of Arei in here, since all the other rooms were explored on that floor, but of course, I don't believe that one bit.

Whit's comment made Eden panic considerably because for a few seconds there, she really thought that her murder plan was about to be ruined because she thought that Whit was the first person to find the body of Arei.

If Whit was the first person to find the body, then the BDA wouldn't trigger which would be dangerous for Eden. As I stated before, someone else discovered the body first and it was David Chiem.

Also, that reminds me. Timing wise, it was impossible for Eden to bring the fishes from relax room to the playground. It was also impossible for Eden to hang the body by the swing set, she's most likely too weak for that. Meaning that Eden never brought those fishes nor did she hang her by the playground. That was never in her plan to do that. She hid the body behind the curtains of the relaxation room.

Therefore, the only person who could've transported the fishes as well as hanging Arei's corpse is the first person who found the body. David is responsible for those two actions during the evening of day 3. He did it for his own selfish reasons, of course!

But wait... if David hung the body during the evening of day 3, how do you explain the body swinging during the morning of day 4?

Ah, that! It's something I've already brought up in part 6, but I'll explain it a little.

There was a reason why she put so much efforts into disguising the time of death by putting on a disguise and building a solid fake alibi from 7pm to 10pm. Eden's main goal was to have the BDA triggered during the evening of day 3, not the morning of day 4. She was hoping that someone would run into Arei's corpse that evening, which that person would go gather help to trigger the BDA.

If that actually went according to plan, Eden's alibi would've been perfect. !!! Come to think of it... the letter would make a lot more sense with this idea in mind.

Since she had nothing to do with the fishes, the initial plan was to bait the people into thinking that eitheir Arturo or someone who may have overheard the conversation would be the one who tried to lure Arei to the playground.

Except that compared to what we've seen in part 1 of chapter 2, the letter was actually supposed to properly display 7:30 PM rather than just 7:30. It was part of her grand scheme to further solidify her alibi.

(There's a missing corner, as you can see, which is very convenient to where PM could be written)

Wait, hold on... if that was the case, then Arei wouldn't be having a meeting in the playground in the morning, but rather the evening! That doesn't work! You said it yourself that she was murdered in the morning of day 3!

Hah! That's not a problem! Eden didn't need to lure Arei with a letter. She simply needed to call her out vocally. Hell, she didn't even have to be calling her out in the morning of day 3 eitheir.

She could've knocked to Arei's door right after the exchange between Ace, Levi, Teruko and herself after the attempted murder. It could be something as simple as : "Um... Arei? There's something really important I need to tell you, but I don't wanna say it here because the others might hear it since the dorms are so close to each other. Besides, it's getting really late. Can we meet up in the playground early in the morning?"

But of course, since the BDA didn't trigger in the evening of day 3, there were a few change of plans. She needed to go back to the second floor in the morning of day 4 to find out what's going on.

While she's heading there that morning, she figured that she should bring back Arei's monopad. Arei's monopad was essential in pulling off the disguise trick as she needed to gain access to her dorm to wear her spare uniform. Initially, Eden arrived to the second floor possibly a little bit before 8:00 AM, thinking that the corpse would still be hidden inside the relaxation room.

But it turns out that Arei's body was actually hanging by the swingset, in the playground. And there's fishes for some reason? (Just saying this based on the culprit's perspective)

Eden figured that it would be way too risky to mess with the crime scene even more than what she was originally going to do.

And what was she doing here in the morning of day 4?

It's simple! Eden put the Arei's monopad back inside the victim's pockets and she retrieved the letter and tore the bottom right corner of it, removing the PM on that letter. She then tore the rest of the letter and threw it in the trash bin. It's also possible that the reason why she tore the rest of the letter is to disguise the fact that the killer purposefully removed a corner of the letter.

Wouldn't it be more beneficial for Eden to not tear up the pm part since she had an airtight alibi at the time?

Not really, no. Since everyone else would be discovering the corpse at around 8 am in the morning rather than last evening as intended, there's no telling how the group would actually attempt to solve the trial.

It's possible that if the PM part was still there, they might believe that the time might be fake, especially since the body would be found next morning. In fact, if they presume that the murder happened in the morning of day 4, they would suspect anyone who had an alibi last evening because of that part of the letter. That's also practically what happened earlier in episode 12.

Levi : Is it possible that the killer tried to confuse us all on the time of the murder to create a false alibi? In that case, we should be suspicious of the people who do have an alibi in the evening but not in the morning?

Teruko : That's another assumption that would lead us astray. Forget that thought.

Levi : Why?

Teruko : We're only guessing that the killer created a false alibi to their benefit. But it's still entirely possible that it was just coincidence that we mistook the murder as taking place at a different time. The killer might not have cared as much as we do. [...]

Charles : Are you not simply dismissing the idea that the killer intentionally falsified the time of the murder?

Teruko : I'm not dismissing it. But it's far more dangerous to dramatically narrow down our suspect pool based on speculative evidence, especially when we barely understand the murder at this moment in time. In other words, we can't consider Levi's idea as evidence unless we have proof.

And there you have it. If the PM part remained on that letter and they realised that the murder could've happened in the morning of day 4, then that whole letter would've been proof enough that the killer purposefully faked the time of the murder, even if the murder didn't happen in the morning of day 4.

Anyways, if touching Arei's pockets wasn't enough to keep the body swinging, it's also possible that Eden accidently ran into the hanging body on her way in or out because she was still in a little bit of a hurry as she didn't want anyone to catch her in the act.

Hmmm... interesting... how very interesting...

What now?

Well, the idea (that I recently came up with) that the letter always displayed "PM" and that she tore up that part of the letter because her plan didn't fully work as intended... it just gave me another amazing idea.

People have been wondering for quite some time what could be the decisive evidence to pinpoint that someone is truly the blackened... I think I finally figured out what the evidence is.

Well, out with it already! Show us what will prove once and for all that Eden is the culprit!

Gladly! I used to think for a long time that the roll of grippy tape would be the ever so decisive evidence for it, since it was practically a smoking gun type of evidence. But alas... you saw what happened in episode 14, so...

HERE'S THE DECISIVE EVIDENCE : THE TORN UP CORNER OF THE LETTER CONTAINING "PM"

Think about it. We know for a fact that Arei's body was swinging in the morning of day 4 and according to my theory, only Eden could be the logical explanation behind this event happening.

Therefore, Eden most likely visited the second floor in the morning of day 4. Since her original plan was to have the BDA trigger in the evening of day 3 but it failed, she needed to remove the part of the letter that mentioned "PM".

Now, here's the fun part : what could Eden possibly have done with it afterwards? She couldn't really dispose of it in the trash bin, that's where the rest of the letter was. Eden still needed that letter to build up her narrative to make her seem the least suspicious.

She couldn't hide it anywhere else on the second floor. She didn't want to risk having someone stumbling upon a piece of paper that just happens to perfectly match the rest of the letter.

She couldn't really dispose of it anywhere on the first floor eitheir. While it might've been a logical way to get rid of that evidence, it would've been incredibly risky. By the time Eden did her finishing touches on the second floor, it should've been 8:00 AM by then, if not really close to it.

Every participant was supposed to meet up in the movie screening room for the secrets reveal, Eden couldn't risk doing something slightly suspicious when she should be heading straight for the movie screening room. She couldn't have gotten rid of it during and after the investigation eitheir, there were witnesses close by.

So by process of elimination, there is only one remaining place that Eden could've make the corner of the letter disappear. She hid the torn up corner of the letter in one of her little bags on her belt!!! It's still there as we speak!

How's that for a decisive evidence, eh? :D Take that, Eden Tobisa!

Yeah, yeah, whatever! That's cool and all, but at the end of the day, all of it doesn't really matter if you can't manage to explain what was the point of the starchy ball of clothes! If you can't explain it, then your theory just crumbles!

...heh! :D

Y-you can't be serious... there's no way you managed to-

It took me roughly a day of thinking about it, but you BETCHA that I managed to solve the issue with the ball of clothes! I have a very good idea on what Eden might've done with this piece of evidence during the murder of Arei.

The sticky situation of the ball of clothes

As I mentioned before, I used to think that the clothes were used as a way to protect Arei from the water misting if Eden were to lock her up inside the relax room. But of course, that no longer works because of the actual truth behind the murder attempt.

Yet, Eden clearly placed those clothes for a night inside the relaxation room, so surely it must've been really important to do that, right?

The answer to that is YES. It was a very necessary step in the murder scheme. In fact, I'm willing to bet that without it, her plan wouldn't have worked.

It's just some starchy clothes. Why would it be that important?

Well, as we already know, there's no way Eden could pull off the murder mechanism as shown in episode 13 (aka the drop hanging murder idea) as it would require a good amount of strength that she doesn't seem to have.

So, for her be able to murder Arei, she would instead need to use a murder mechanism that doesn't require a lot of strength. And not too long ago, I finally realised that using the starchy clothes would be incredibly helpful in pulling off that kind of murder without much troubles. Let me elaborate.

Do you guys remember my murder mechanism in part 5? If not, that's alright, let me give you all a reminder.

(Yeah, I recently added those pink lines as compared to my previous picture, just bear with me.)

Here's the order of how that murder went according to my theory

(The pink line is the longer rope and the green line is the shorter rope)

While waiting for the body to be available, she threw the longer rope above the rafters by using the roll of tape as anchor.

She then uses one end of the long rope by tying it to the filled water jugs, by the handles.

She tapes up the bars of the carousel and then keeps some remaining tape for later.

She then ties up the other end of the long rope to the carousel

She drags the victim's body out of the relax room and brings it close to the seesaw.

She places the victim's arms through the gap between the pillars of the seesaw and the tapes her wrists together.

She ties one end of the shorter rope to the victim's neck while placing the other end of that rope very close to the carousel.

She then spins the carousel on one side, let's say counterclock wise. By spinning it, the long rope would get pulled which would pull the water jugs upwards.

She keeps spinning up until the water jugs are high enough. Once it's high enough, she keeps the carousel from moving.

She ties the end of the shorter rope (the one that was close to her already) to the bars of the carousel.

She then spins the carousel clockwise, making the water jugs fall at a rapid while the shorter rope is quickly getting pulled.

The shorter rope keeps getting quickly pull up until it can no longer pull... up until it reaches the victim's neck, which would serve as a brute stopper.

SNAP! Her neck breaks and the handles of the water jugs also break from the sudden stop.

By using this method, it explains the purpose of the taped wrists as well as the scuffed marks on the ground, which happened to be in proximity of the victim's legs. Because of the sudden pull of the neck, the rest of the body would follow, the legs would be what would move the most since it's not restrained, thus creating those marks.

By keeping her arms locked up by the seesaw, it ensures that her whole body wouldn't follow along of the rope pull, which would instead result in a rather funny ragdoll moment, which would probably not kill the victim if her arms weren't restrained.

It sounded really good on paper. Like I seriously thought that I finally figured it out, I thought that it made so much sense. Unfortunately... there are some issues with it.

Ha ha! Your method is flawed! I'm looking forward to these issues!

...very well. For starters, this might cause bruises on Arei's body with this murder method, especially around the arms and shoulders. The only thing that was really restrained were her wrists, so anything else would be violently moving.

But the reason why it could bruise the arms and shoulders especially is because her head and the rope are in the way of her arms. Her head could potentially hit her shoulders and arms... or it could be the other way around too. This becomes a discrepancy since we know for a fact that apart from her broken neck, there is nothing else noticeable about her body.

Next up, the distance between the scuffed marks and the seesaw is fairly long... most likely longer than Arei's height as well. I was aware of this issue in the past, but I simply brushed it off as "it works because it's a work of fiction."

But the more I look into it, the more I feel like it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to prove that the marks were caused by the movements of the legs. We also have to keep in mind that the rest of the body would surely move, so why would nothing above her legs leave no scuffed marks? That doesn't quite make sense. If the marks were way closer to the seesaw, it'd be a whole different story, but alas... that's not what happened.

And finally, it is very doubtful that the legs' movements from the killing blow would be causing all these marks we've seen back in episode 8.

As we can see from this picture, there's a lot of traces on the left side, a faint trace in the middle and a few traces on the right side. I don't think there's a valid reason I can come up that would explain why one leg would be leaving more marks than the other. On top of that, it wouldn't explain why there's a faint mark in the middle and gaps between the others.

Unless I were to presume that her legs did a few skips somehow, but I honestly think that's a stretch at this point. But that's not all, from the way the victim's body would be positioned according to my theory, it would actually be physically impossible for her legs to leave marks in such manner.

As you can see in the picture, the dragging of those marks are going up and down rather than left and right. If we follow the logic of how the victim's body would be positioned according to me, then the legs should be making those marks sideways, not what we're currently seeing.

Dang, those are pretty big flaws. Are you sure that your murder method is correct?

I used to think it was back then, but not anymore. At least very least, the idea of the pulley mechanism sounds right while the body setup and positioning is entirely wrong.

But honestly, my idea mainly didn't work because I forgot to factor in a really important element to this equation : the friction! That's right! To make sure my murder method works, I need to find some way to add friction so that the body wouldn't move as much. And how do you make that happen? With the help of starched clothes, of course!

Huh?! What do you mean by that?

This line is very important because we also know for a fact that the turf in the playground uses the same exact materials as the one in the relaxation room. Meaning that a wet turf in the playground would get sticky too.

I can't believe I let this go unnoticed after such a long time, but the stickiness of both the wet turf and the starched clothes played a major role in all of this.

Here's what I believe the culprit did with the starched clothes : Eden placed the starched clothes under Arei's body and above the turf. Basically, the starched clothes in that scenario would serve as a double sided velcro of sorts.

Would the victim's body really stick to the clothes?

Hard to say, but based on my deductions, it has to, right? We don't quite know how sticky it is, but it must've been sticky enough so that it would add friction, at the very least. I don't think it'd make her completly restrained, but rather her movements would be drastically reduced, I'd imagine.

But hold on! Wouldn't only one side of the clothes have starch on it?

Most likely, yes, but the clothes would probably be wet still. So the double sided velcro idea could still work.

I don't think so! MonoTV clearly stated that at 8:00 AM, the turf in the relax room is completly dry so it's safe to walk on it. If the turf dries up by then, so does the clothes!

Hmm... maybe, maybe not. It's true that the ground would be dry, but it's hard to say that the same would happen with the clothes. But if it is truly how it was intended, then that's no problem! Eden just needed to dip one side of the clothes into the pond and they would be wet again.

Okay, but was there enough clothes to cover the whole body?

Hard to say, probably not, if I'm being honest. But I don't think the culprit intended to lay out these clothes so that it would cover the whole body. No, I think Eden mainly wanted to place the starched clothes under the victim's head and the victim's legs.

The head and legs are pretty much what would be moving the most from sudden violent pull of the short rope attached to the neck, so putting the velcro there would be most effective. They might still move somewhat, but definitly not as much as without the adhesive. In fact, I believe that having the velcro effect under Arei's head would make it even easier to ensure that the rope pull delivers a killing blow.

You forgot something : THE ARMS!!! What about the arms?! Wouldn't they just be flailing around everywhere?!

Oh, that? Well, the wrists were clearly taped up and then-

Then what, her arms are restrained under the seesaw again? You already said that it doesn't work!

Heh, of course not! That's not what the culprit did at all! Arei's body was not placed next to the seesaw for the murder. I've already established previously that there's major problems with it. It wouldn't make sense. Therefore, she must've been placed somewhere else.

There is only one specific place that would perfectly explain the scuffed marks on ground. The area where there's scuffed marks? That's exactly where the victim's body was positioned! Arei died on this specific spot!

W-whaaaaat?!?! That makes no sense! How does that even explain how her arms were restrained from moving anywhere?

Don't worry, I'm getting there! :)

So... when we take into consideration the position of the scuffed marks, there's really nothing close by that can be used to restrain her arms, right? And placing her arms above her head like I did in my year old theory wouldn't quite work eitheir. We'd still have the same issues as what I pointed out already.

So from there, we can deduce that the victim's arms must've been positioned somewhere differently than my previous idea in my older theory. And I believe I found the perfect position to place those arms of hers.

The culprit placed Arei's arms behind her back and then taped her wrists. That way, since her back would be facing the turf, it should keep her arms mostly steady. They might move, but her back should be moving along as well. Her wrists were bound because there was still a risk that her arms would free up from her back since their movements wouldn't be as restrained.

That's ridiculous! There's no way that can be right!

...heh! :D Are you sure about that? Let me give you a reminder of how I briefly described the scuffed marks on the ground. There's a lot of traces on the left side, a faint trace in the middle and a few traces on the right side. If we combine everything I've deduced so far, we get this!

Be mindful that even though I just showed you how the victim's body would be positioned, the body part themselves isn't what fully caused those marks, it was mostly caused by the starched clothes' stickiness below the legs and head.

That would certainly help explain those odd shape and patterns on the ground. As for the wrists area, it could eitheir be caused by her hands or the taped up wrists.

But yeah, as shown in this picture, her head would be moving a bit, but not too much since that's where the culprit needed to make sure remained stable. Her wrists wouldn't be moving too much in this scenario since they would be stuck under her back. As for the legs, even though there would be adhesive below, there would still be a fair amount of movement since her legs have more freedom of movement than her head or wrists.

Just to remind everyone, by movement, I'm referring to the drag caused by the rope making a violent pull on Arei's neck.

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! This is my final solution to this complex, yet incredibly fun murder case! I don't know if you've noticed, but everything I've said in this post, it would match up perfectly with a heck load of clues and information that we've been provided in this fangan.

So with that said, I only have one more thing to say : The only one who could've commited this crime is you, Eden Tobisa, Ultimate Clockmaker!

--------------------------------------------------------

Thank you everyone for reading this till the end! There's probably a few things I unintentionally left out, so I'll try to add up anything missing if that's the case. But otherwise, I think that was most of it. If there's anything you don't understand or feel like there's something that may not work, feel free to ask me anything!

And don't forget : because it's a work of fiction, as long as there's enough provided information, then it can be possible!

#drdt #drdt spoilers #drdt theory #drdt solve #drdt final solution

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the-kr8tor · 10 months ago

Text

Claimed by the Sea

Pairing: Pirate! Hobie Brown x fem! Reader

Word count: 2.6k

Tags: Use of Y/N sparsely, no specific physical description of the reader (except for her clothing), reader has nicknames, TW injury, TW drowning, CW blood.

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Between the Devil and the Sea Masterlist

Chapter 2 >>> Chapter 3

Your head is lolling off to the side, eyes growing heavy with the soft swaying of the ship in the waves. The only thing that's keeping you awake is the smell of fish lingering in the netting. Sniffing, you feel yourself succumbing to sleep.

You jolt awake when the fishing net jostles then slowly raises up, there's a mechanical whirring from the deck. The sun is peeking from the horizon, bathing you in blue.

“No, no, no!” Holding onto the net, you hold on for dear life. You just hope the sailors are friendly enough to let you on board until they dock to the nearest land.

Your only sanctuary floats above the deck, overlooking every crew moving about. Looking below, you spot their rugged clothing *They don't look like sailors. Maybe they're not wearing their blue uniform? It's casual Friday perhaps?

“Drop the bloody thing!” Someone yells from below, you and the net fall from a height that you're sure broke something in you.

With your eyes shut, you hit the deck with a splattering sound. Thankfully you land on the pile of fish, squishing a sizable chunk on the wood; decorating their ship with fish guts. Your butt hurts from the impact, you're for sure going to be picking out fish bones embedded in your skin.

Someone gasps loudly next to you. Hearing frantic slashing sounds, you shield your face from the shiny knife. Before you know it, you're free from the tangles on the net, baring yourself to the entire crew.

“Fuckin' hell! It's a mermaid!” A man with long blonde hair tied into a bun excitedly yells out.

You look at him with wide eyes, the large black flag hangs above him, the skeleton of a spider painted on the flag dances in the wind.

They're not from the royal navy.

Running footsteps come towards you, then they stop. You watch as twenty or so people circle around your fallen form. You instinctively cover yourself with the net. Their faces morph from surprise to amusement. Some laugh, some roll their eyes in annoyance.

A man with glasses slaps the blonde upside his head. “You idiot! Does she look like a fuckin’ mermaid to you?” he points at your legs that are clearly not fins.

The blonde looks disappointed, “Man, I thought my dream came true”

“Looks like we've got a stowaway!” They sneer and jeer, looking down at you, leaning their scarred faces close to your face. Too close.

“Get off me!” You push one away. Taking a fish from the ground to defend yourself. Throwing it directly at his eyepatch. They laugh louder at your expense.

“She's a fighter too! Cap’n! Look at what the fish dragged in!” A man with a peg leg, calls.

With heaving breaths you watch as a large man comes down from the steps of the quarter deck. His heavy footfalls quieting the roaring laughter immediately, his arms are as big as your head, tattoos decorating every inch of his ivory skin. His big bushy beard moves as he spits on the deck. Your eyes flick to his tree trunk like waist, his gun and cutlass glinting in the barely rising sun.

He huffs, smoke comes out of his nostrils. His eyes stare you down and you visibly shrink.

“C’mon, big man, bloody move it” a slender hand grabs the man's large shoulder, moving him away to reveal a tall, slim figure. He smiles once he takes you in. “What do we have ‘ere?”

“A stowaway, Cap’n” the one with glasses informs him. “Got into the fishing net”

He saunters over to you, heavy boots thudding against the wood. The metals hanging from his clothes are swinging and clashing as he moves. The crowd parts for him. His hands are in his leather vest, he looks at you like he's found buried treasure. His grey eyes are twinkling in the blue light, a smirk playing on his pierced lips.

You grab your necklace for comfort, heart sinking to your stomach, the golden chain is nowhere to be found. You pat around your neck and blouse. Nothing. You're alone.

“Thought ol’ Jamesy ‘ere found us a mermaid” he bends at the waist, giving you a full view of his chiselled face. His eyes are shining with amusement.

You recognize his face from all the wanted posters you've seen around different towns while travelling. If the circumstances were different you'd say the painting didn't capture him right; how his eyes look at you with hidden apprehensiveness, yet there's something dangerous in them, something that could spell your doom.

Your fear increases tenfold when you roam your eyes around the different faces watching you. There's recognition in some of them, some more than others, their bounties you've seen on their respective posters appear above their heads; each in increasing numbers.

“Aye, thought so too” ‘Jamesy’ mumbles dejectedly.

His voice shakes you out of your fear laden stupor, but it's still there, still in your quaking heart and sweaty palms.

“Y’know, we don't take too kindly to stowaways.” Hobie’s threat makes you jump in your skin.

“I heard you're not kind to anybody” you grit your teeth.

You're facing him head on, despite your heart pumping loudly against your ribcage when you get a glimpse of his twin blunderbusses strapped to his waist.

A smile spreads on his face, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Hear that lads? We're proper famous!” he leans away,

They all guffaw, snickering among the crowd. A blonde with chopped hair and pink highlights push through the audience. She clicks her tongue, sleep clinging to her lashes.

“What's all this, Hobie?”

“A stowaway, Gwendy. You remember what we do to stowaways?”

‘Gwendy’ rolls her eyes. “I'm too tired for this,” she sighs. “Let's hear her side before we push her off, yeah?”

Push me off?! Your eyes are widely roaming around the strangers, pleading for an ounce of mercy.

“Be my guest” He slides to the side, gesturing towards you.

The blonde stares at you, waiting for some explanation. You can't help but think you remember her from somewhere but you're drawing a blank. Swallowing a lump in your throat, the fishy smell and the numerous eyes on you turns your stomach inside out.

“I was–” the large man you thought was the captain stares daggers at you. “It was an accident, really. You see, I was incredibly drunk” you try to stop the shaking in your voice to sound more convincing. “And I thought I was going home, truly.”

“You thought a fishing net was your home?” the entire crew laughs rambunctiously.

Hobie observes you from the side, leaning on the bannister so casually.

“Maybe we should just turn around and bring her home. That'll be okay, right?” A teenager with curly hair and golden bangles on his wrists pipes up from the side.

You think of the man waiting for you at the docks. You'd rather be fed to the sharks.

“Yeah, 'm sure she'd like that, won't you, scuttlebutt?” The captain smirks at you, there's a knowing look on his face. “Unless you don't want to go home? I don't see why we can't just drop you off.”

He moves closer to you, squatting down to face you. “Or she doesn't want to go home, judging from the go bag, this isn't some little drunk accident.” you can feel your pulse trying to escape. His eyes never leave yours. “Sure you smell like fish but I don't smell any liquor on those pretty lips of yours.” Hobie tilts his head, smiling mischievously. “You're running from someone, aren't you?”

You glare at him despite the fear crawling up your neck.

He nods, “Yeah, you are. We'd rather not be involved with whatever you've got goin' on.” his face turns serious, not even a ghost of a smile. “Finn”

With one call, the giant man takes you by the shoulders, standing you back to your shaky feet. You squirm, doing your best to push him off, but it's no use, he's too strong.

“Sorry to see you go so soon but I've got my entire crew to worry ‘bout.” he says softly.

You scoff, spitting venom. “The only thing you pirates care about is treasure and your next mark.”

With one last fight, you stomp on the man's boot clad foot, headbutting him in quick succession. They hoot and holler as your vision swirls.

Your act of defiance didn't even make the man flinch, he grunts, narrowing his eyes at you. Hobie's lackey turns you around to face the sea and the entrance to your death. Looking over your shoulder, you see him raise his thick eyebrow at you in mild annoyance.

“She's a feisty one, Hobie, you sure we can't let her stay? I'll take good care of her” A tall ravenette coos at you, staring directly at you with her dark eyes.

“I agree with Hobie, she might bring trouble” Another teenager comments, he crosses his arms, his eyes stare at you with remorse.

The man pushes you towards the open side of the ship where a singular wooden plank hangs precariously. The corner of the railing hits the small of your back. Your bag falls loudly on the deck, but you've got bigger problems right now than the sparse savings you've hidden inside.

“Wait!” You swallow your pride, it's better than drowning in the cold salty waters. “Please I'll do anything to stay or– or you can drop me off to the nearest land! Just–!” Finn pushes you again, your feet shuffle to fit the thin wood. The wind picks up, whipping at you wildly. The waves crash harshly on the side of the ship.

The vertigo makes you dizzy.

“Please! I can't–!”

Finn unsheathes his cutlass, pointing it at your heaving chest. You feel the sharp tip draw blood. He pushes and pushes until you're on the very edge of the plank. You struggle to find your balance while the wind blows rapidly, it stings your eyes, tears forming in them.

They all watch, some are grinning ear to ear like it's the best theatre show they've seen. The others are looking away or staring at their feet. Hobie looks on, posture straight, knuckles tight on his side.

“I can't swim–!” With one last push from the sharp sword, you fall.

Just above you, the pirates run towards the bannister to watch you fall in the water with a large splash.

Your back is stinging from the impact of the water, head pounding against your skull. The cold is unbearable like needles pricking your skin. You try to paddle up despite your thick clothes bringing you further down in the dark abyss. The dim light acts as your guide to the surface but it doesn't seem like your body is moving, you're quickly losing air. Bubbles escape from your lips, the salt blurs your vision.

Desperately with one kick, you feel the air from your lungs empty out, legs numb, hands reaching out towards the surface.

You choke on the salty water.

Her smiling face emerges from the darkness, now you know you've drowned. The only reason she would want you back is in death.

There's a muffled splash, a warm hand reaching for your cold ones. An unfamiliar arm snakes around your waist, bringing you up to the surface. They Frantically kick up, you feel a feather light touch on your freezing cheeks.

“Oi!” A muffled voice says. “Oi! Don't make me do mouth to mouth!” His voice gets clearer, he shakes your head, you feel calloused fingers on your skin then a breath fanning against your lips.

You splutter out, expelling water from your lungs with a choke. Holding to the nearest, steady thing, you grasp onto what feels like strong shoulders. Beneath your shaking fingers you feel raised scars.

“There you go, let it out, scuttlebutt” he pats your back as you continue to cough out. Your nails dig into his bare skin, he doesn't seem to mind. “Good on you for not makin’ me do mouth to mouth, huh?”

You wheeze out. “You fucker”

“What?”

“I said, you fucker!” Pushing him away, you sink back into the water, you panic once again.

Hobie grabs your wrist with one hand to pull you up like freshly caught fish. You glare at him through wet lashes.

“I saved your life and you're callin' me fucker?” You want to smack the smirk off his face.

“I almost drowned because of you!”

“Yeah, but that doesn't matter now because I saved your land loving arse! Who at this age can't swim anyway?!”

“Me, you bitch!” you try to kick him underwater.

“Hey, do you want to catch hyperthermia or what?” Gwendy asks from the lowered dinghy, her foot is resting on the edge casually, hand on her chin and a pierced eyebrow raised questioningly at you and Hobie who splashes water directly at your face.

With some help, you dog paddle to the boat. The smiling teenager helps you up, you feel like a ton of bricks with your thick clothes drenched.

“Here,” he takes his coat to place it around your shivering shoulders. “I'm Pavitr by the way, you okay?”

Pavitr tries to rub your shoulders for extra warmth but you flinch back, hugging the coat tighter around you.

“I'm fine, thank you, Pavitr”

The blonde pipes up, “I'm Gwen”

You nod, good thing you haven't called her ‘Gwendy’ yet.

“You needed the bath anyway, fish girl” Hobie scoffs from the other side of the boat.

You glare at him, huddled to yourself in the corner of the raising boat. The squeaking from the pulley makes you hold onto the side tighter, just in case it fails and drops you back down in the freezing water.

Hobie chuckles, water drips off his bare chest, glittering under the peaking sun. You look away with a roll of your eyes.

“Gwen, give her something warm to eat, yeah? And some clothes.”

“I was about to do that anyway”

The boat reaches back up, the crew secures the rope on the pulley with a grunt.

Hobie drops down on the deck first, he offers his hand that you huff at. Ignoring his help, you step on to the ship with shaky legs.

“Sea legs, you have to get used to it or the next two weeks for you would be hell.”

“What?”

“‘m letting you on board until we reach land. Unfortunately for you that won't be for the next two weeks. After that we're even.”

“Look who's guilty for almost killing me” you stand toe to toe with him. The rest of the crew has either gotten bored or are watching you two squabble with a smile.

“Don't push your luck, fish girl or I'll make you walk the plank again” he challenges you with a sly smile.

“I have a name!”

The captain tilts his head, amused. “Yeah? Tell me then so I have something to write on your gravestone”

You point angrily at his tattooed chest, right on the inky drawing of a long legged spider. “It's Y/N, asshole!”

Gwen sighs, waving you off.

“Well, Y/N Asshole, keep that fire in you but don't let it burn down my ship or–”

“Or what?”

He stares at your eyes, swirling grey whirlpools threatening to pull you under. Hobie sighs, turning around abruptly, leaving you standing alone on the deck.

“Hey!” You call back, “or what huh?!”

He waves you off, “‘s too early for this shit, ‘m goin' back to sleep. Goodnight, fish girl!”

Change of plans: survive the next two weeks with an entire ship full of pirates or die drowning in the middle of the sea. That should be easy enough, right?

A/N: Thank you for reading 😘

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