#case 1-4 was so interesting already knowing the twist

[kugamoogle]

Happy belated Collections Day! Hoping more new fans means more people will end up going just as insane over these two as I have

Mostly off topic ramble about AAI and Badd in the tags!

[gotta-get-back-to-hatchetfield]

Help! I loved Nerdy Prudes Must Die and am curious about Nightmare Time but don't really have time to commit to watching it all... (a handy guide)

For those of you who don't know Nightmare Time was a series of Hatchetfield one shots that starkid wrote and recorded during lockdown, all of which are of course available for free on YouTube. They go a lot deeper into the lore than the 3 Hatchetfield musicals, including explaining and explore the characters we know and love in more detail, sometimes including shocking revelations.

They also introduce new characters to the Hatchetfield universe, including Stephanie Lauter, Grace Chasity and Pete Spankoffski, who we first met in a Nightmare Time episode.

As they were filmed in lockdown the recording quality is somewhat variable, but Season 2 has a much higher production value than Season 1, and in Season 1 Episode 1 in particular they were very clearly trying to find their feet with it. That being said the actual scripts and content of the episodes is solid throughout.

I've decided to put together this handy guide of which Nightmare Time episodes people might want to check out if they want to learn more about certain things we saw in NPMD.

1) Nibbly - Honey Queen (season 2 episode 1)

If you're curious to learn more about the Lords in Black each of them (bar Wiggly) have an episode of Nightmare Time devoted to them.

For Nibbly, Wiggly's hungriest and pinkest brother that episode is 'Honey Queen' in Season 2 Episode 1.

It explores a very entertaining rivalry between Linda Monroe (from Black Friday) and Zoey (the annoying barista from Beanie's in TGWDLM) that naturally turns very very dark. We also get to meet Linda's husband Gerald who she spends most of Black Friday on the phone to.

As a heads up Nibbly doesn't appear until, shall we say, the end of the episode (with Hatchetfield there's always a twist) and he's not in the super sexy form from NPMD but it's a very strong episode and does give a bit of background to Nibbly's deal.

2) Tinky - Time Bastard (season 1 episode 2 part 2)

If you're curious to learn more about this yellow motherfucker played by Curt then you're in luck because he's in my personal favourite episode and one with a lot of interesting lore surrounding it.

If you're curious about what he means when in NPMD he says 'I could add another Spankoffski to my set', Time Bastard is focused around Pete's brother Ted (from TGWDLM) and the dodgy dealings of CCRP.

It's an extremely clever episode, with lots of really fun twists. It's unfortunately season 1 so has slightly lower production quality, but in terms of raw scripting is just outstanding and has some really interesting reveals about people in the Hatchetfield universe who may not be who we think they are...

Also worth noting that this is in the same episode (Youtube video) as a different Nightmare Time episode 'Forever and Always'. Most episodes work like this where you have two different stories per episode, they absolutely can be watched independently but usually have some sort of thematic link (in this case it's the things we do for love and how they will inevitably be thwarted by CCRP being sketch).

3) Blinky - Watcher World (season 1 episode 1 part 2)

And if you're curious about the one who's always watching you, he's actually the first Lord in Black we meet through Nightmare Time, in the very first episode when Bill and Alice Woodward (TGWDLM) go on an ill fated trip to a spooky theme park.

Again this is from the first episode so production quality is low but it's a really solid episode and a very interesting look into these characters.

While this is our first meeting of a lord in black in Nightmare Time, I don't believe he's actually referred to as such, and the concept of the Lords in Blacks being introduced as Wiggly's brothers comes in at point 5 on this list.

4) Pokey - Yellow Jacket (season 2 episode 4)

You've already met Pokey through TGWDLM (yep that was his blue shit that destroyed the world!), but you won't truly realise how fucking scary he is until you meet his incarnation 'Otho' in Yellow Jacket.

A solid episode exploring Lex, Hannah and Ethan in a lot more detail, and in a world and lives where (at least at the start of the episode) things seem to be a lot more stable for them than in Black Friday.

And yeh as I've already mentioned Pokey is fucking s c a r y in it. Also you remember James Tolbert's character, Charles that gets a little cameo in Hatchetown? Well he's the main human antagonist of this episode!

We also learn a lot of lore about 'the gift', the thing that makes Hannah able to do magic.

5) The concept of the Lords in Black generally - The Witch in the Web (season 2 episode 3 part 2)

If you're curious about why everyone's been posting pictures of those evil teddy bears and now even more confused that you've met them all as fucked up high school students, the Witch in the Web is the episode where we're first introduced to the 'they don't care bears' as a set.

This is a really cool episode, again about Lex and Hannah, but it also exploring Uncle Wiley (from Black Friday) in a lot more detail.

We also first meet two characters called Duke and Miss Holloway who together form the ship Holloduke that if you were following any of Starkid tumblr during lockdown you will definitely have heard of. They're really cool!

Here we also meet Webby, Hannah's imaginary friend in Black Friday, who turns out to be the lord in black's sister: a queen in white. And she's dope.

6) Pete Spankoffski, Stephanie Lauter and Grace Chasity - Abstinence Camp (season 2 episode 2 part 2)

We first meet the now beloved characters of Pete and Steph and the slightly less beloved character of Grace in an evangelical abstinence only camp. The episode centers entirely around these characters and plays excellently with tropes of the horror genre.

It also has the best song in all of Nightmare Time and it's up to you to decide if I'm talking about 'oh my god it's the axe-man' or 'virginity rocks' (it's both, the answer is both).

That's pretty much it in terms of Nightmare Time episodes that cover things from NPMD, but in case you're curious here's a quick run down of what the rest are about:

The Hatchetfield Ape Man - season 1 episode 1 part 1. Hidgens makes Ted pretend to be a Tarzan style half monkey, half man thing to con Angela Giarratanna out of her inheretence.

Watcher World - season 1 episode 1 part 2. See bullet 3 above. Alice and Bill Woodward go to a theme park and shit hits the fan.

Forever and Always - season 2 episode 2 part 1. Paul and Emma get married. Things are not as they seem (there are robots). One of my personal favourites.

Time Bastard - season 2 episode 2 part 2. See bullet 2 above. Ted fucks with time travel and things end very badly for him. Best episode imo.

Jane's a Car - season 2 episode 3 part 1. Turns out the soul of Tom Houston's ex-wife Jane, who died in a car crash, transferred into the car. This somewhat complicates his budding relationship with Becky Barnes.

The Witch in the Web - season 2 episode 3 part 2. See bullet 5 above. Hannah Foster's having nightmares and somehow a witch and Uncle Wiley are involved. Luckily a good witch (Miss Holloway) is there to try and help.

Honey Queen - season 2 episode 1. See bullet 1 above. Linda Monroe and Zoey Chambers compete to win the Hatchetfield honey queen beauty pageant and things spiral wildly out of control. My personal favourite episode from season 2.

Perky's Buds - season 2 episode 2 part 1. Emma's finally achieved her dream of owning her own pot farm. Just her, her non-binary farm hand Ziggs and some very evil birds.

Abstinence Camp - season 2 episode 2 part 2. See bullet 6 above. Pete, Steph and Grace go to a retreat in the very creepy woods to learn one way or another about the perils of pre-marital sex.

Daddy - season 2 episode 3 part 1. Remember Sherman Young (Jamie's weird creepy guy from Black Friday)? Turns out there's something very weird going on with his mum. We also learn a lot about Frank Pricely (owner of toyzone from Black Friday) in this episode, who turns out to be a very interesting character.

Killer Track - season 2 episode 3 part 2. Miss Holloway must take extreme action to save a young girl and then the whole world against an evil song that kills anyone who listens to it. We learn a lot more about Holloway as a character and she is soooo cool. Another favourite episode of mine.

Yellow Jacket - season 2 episode 4. See bullet point 4. Hannah seeing her sister struggling to provide for them financially decides to find a way of using her power to earn some spare cash.

Hey Melissa - episode aired only on a livestream, type it into youtube and it'll come up. If you've ever found yourself asking 'what if Mariah's secretary character from the start of TGWDLM was really into dom pup play and Paul Matthews was her little pup bitch and she was also a horrific out of control serial killer?' then a) are you Matt Lang because if not I'm concerned? and b) by god this is the episode for you!. I personally really enjoy it I think it's super funny, but obviously heavy trigger warnings for abuse and sexual content warnings (there's a reason they didn't put this in the real series). Fucking excellent tho.

[batty4steddie]

Can I Keep It?

@spicycinnabun and I's contribution to steddiebang 2023! ❤️️ | Chapters: 1/12 | Rating: M | Read, kudos or comment on ao3 | We have a playlist. ❤️️ | Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Chapter 1: Have You Ever Been Arrested?

Robin had the night off. Band practice or some shit. Steve was so bored. It had been dead in Family Video all day until finally, finally someone remotely attractive came into the store: Christina Kelly, a blue-eyed, bright blonde-haired Hawkins High cheerleader. On some girls, the uniform looked frumpy, but on her, the shortness of it skirted nicely over her ass. Steve’s eyes roamed up her mile-long tan legs and settled on it. She was drop-dead gorgeous.   He licked his lips and continued to watch her browse the shelves for a minute. She must’ve come from practice or a game. Steve remembered her instantly. Hard to forget a face and body like that. Damn, sometimes he really missed high school, even if it was just for the eye candy.   Once he got a good, long look, he approached her with a warm smile. He welcomed her to the store and introduced himself. While he remembered her, she didn’t remember him at all. Even after he told her he was on the basketball team, the one she had cheered for all three years they had gone to school together.

Whatever. 

The bell above the door tinkled as Eddie swaggered in. It was 6 P.M., and he was fully prepared for the campaign on Friday night, so he figured he would rent a few flicks to watch while he struggled through his trig homework due tomorrow. You know, be a responsible student. Maybe some entertainment with his studies would deter him from giving up and smoking the superb grass Rick had supplied him earlier that week. Eddie had already sampled more than he was technically allotted. It was just too good to keep his sticky fingers out of.    Nobody was at the front counter to greet him, but Eddie spotted a tuft of styled brown hair bobbing by one of the shelves and a blonde ponytail with a green scrunchie he recognized as belonging to one of the Hawkins High cheerleaders. Steve was thrilled—not only to have someone to talk to, but he was still trying to find the one, and Christina? She could be it. Smoking hot and unsure of what she was looking for, damn if she hadn’t come to the right place. Steve turned the charm up to eleven by taking the liberty of showing her around the store. The sections of the store were clearly labeled, but he still guided her, asking if she liked comedies, romances, or thrillers. Not pegging her as a horror fan. Eddie rolled his eyes with a smirk. He had half a mind to jump in and yell BOO! to interrupt whatever heterosexual mating ritual was happening between the romance and action movies. Instead, he headed towards the horror section one aisle away from the pair, gaze flitting over the titles. When one caught his interest, he picked up the empty case and turned it over to read the premise. 

Night of the Creeps, where alien space slugs turned people into sorority girl-eating zombies? That sounded pretty metal.   For every suggestion Steve made, Christina took a video off the shelf to consider it. That made him think that she was totally into him. By his last suggestion, The Legend of Billie Jean, she had an arm full of tapes. He went into a brief synopsis, explaining it was about a brother and sister on the run from the police, which prompted a sly question. He paired it with his most devilish smile.

“Have you ever been arrested? ‘Cause it’s gotta be illegal to look this good.” 

The voice of none other than Steve Harrington nearly made Eddie choke on his spit. He hastily reshelved the movie. How had he not recognized that famous hair? Eddie’s fingers clamped onto the top of the shelf as he stealthily peeked over it. He felt a giggle bubbling up in his chest at the schmoozy smile plastered on Steve’s face.   The cheerleader backed up a step, expression twisting. “Ew, I have a boyfriend.” She dropped the movies from her arms, shoving past Steve towards the exit. “Creep.” 

Eddie covered his grinning mouth with his hand, rings clacking against each other gently. Steve Harrington had zero skill when it came to the babes. Eddie always figured he tossed his hair, and they flocked to him. What a pleasant surprise.

Christina’s reaction was so bad. There wasn’t even a laugh at the fun cheesiness of it. Of course she had a fucking boyfriend. How many times was Steve going to go barking up the wrong tree? He groaned when the tapes hit the floor, and his smile instantly dropped. His concern was more about damage to the tapes that Keith would take out of his pay if they were broken than his bruised ego from Christina calling him a creep. Which hardly was the truth.   The bell jingled as the door closed. In the ensuing silence, a giggle finally escaped. Eddie quickly ducked out of view when Steve turned in his direction. He poked his head around the corner before coming out, starting a slow clap. “Wow. That was epic, man.” 

Steve was just about to bend down to pick up the tapes when he heard a laugh. The fucking laugh he wanted Christina to laugh. He hissed and flushed briefly with embarrassment, of course, because what was worse than striking out? Having a certified freak witness it. “Yeah, well, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a chick on your arm, Eddie. Can’t blame me for trying, man. I’m just not her type.” 

Because she had a fucking boyfriend. Steve was beyond annoyed—he was humiliated, and the tapes were still on the floor. He sighed softly and bent down to scoop them up. 

“You wouldn’t,” Eddie replied, not missing a beat. “My arm is for me only. I keep all my foxy ladies back at my sweet, sweet bachelor pad.” 

From Steve’s bent position over the videotape, a piece of hair had fallen into his eyes as he looked up at Eddie. His brow furrowed, but he didn’t say anything. Just looked completely puzzled by the comment.

He knew Eddie was poor and lived in a trailer at the trailer park, but even he could get chicks to hang out with him there? Or was he keeping some women there against their will? Eddie wouldn’t admit that to him, would he? Even if he was a freak like everybody said. 

Steve shook his head and huffed inaudibly. He wasn’t sure if that was the truth, but still, he didn’t like hearing when other people were successful in their romantic pursuits.

The last time Eddie had a chick on his arm was in nineteen-seventy-eight at a Burger King birthday party when Jeremy Jenkins dared Heather Drew to kiss him. She’d tasted like ketchup and strawberry Lip Smacker. Eddie had spent the entire excruciatingly long three-second kiss staring at the cardboard cutout of the king standing behind her. Eddie’s grin widened when he spotted the red on Steve’s cheeks. He held back from further mocking purely for Dustin and the other kids’ sake. According to his little sheep, Steve might as well have hung the fucking moon, but Eddie still saw him for what he was: a bully. Plain and simple. The guy who would call Eddie names in the hallways along with his dumb jock friends. Eddie's back was well acquainted with bruises from being shoved against lockers, and his face had taken many a beating by the dumpsters. It might never have been Steve’s particular fist in his face, and Eddie had never taken anything lying down (fuck no), but he knew Steve’s kind. And he wasn’t a Harrington groupie. 

“You could help,” Steve griped when he saw one of the tapes had gone as far as three feet, right where Eddie was standing. 

Eddie toed the movie closest to him with his sneaker. Molly Ringwald’s pouty face stared up at him from the cover, which was cracked right down the middle. Eddie crouched on his knees to grab it, his pants pulling uncomfortably tight from the stretch. 

While leather looked punk rock as hell, it wasn't the most forgiving fabric, especially when it was actually cheap pleather. 

Steve stood up with the tapes and set them on the counter while Eddie picked up the last one.

“Yeah, this one is busted,” Eddie said, popping open the case to reveal an identical crack down the tape, one of the inner reels poking through.

Steve winced. That hurt.  “God damn it,” he said softly, coming over to take it from him and looking it over himself.  Yeah, it was broken. 

“Sorry, Molly, but if it's any consolation, your movie was probably shitty anyway.” 

“Actually, it’s a pretty good movie, man. It was really popular, too. We just got it back from being rented for a while. I’m going to get questions about it all week. Who knows when we can get another copy.” Steve walked it over to the trash and threw it away. “I think you might’ve liked it. It isn’t all about her. She’s kinda annoying in it, but there’s a guy, Bender, who kind of has… your fashion sense and disposition.” 

Steve chuckled as he discreetly checked out what Eddie was wearing. Eddie’s leather jacket and jewelry were pretty similar to that character’s. Steve returned to the counter and looked over the rest of the tapes. Luckily, they were fine. 

Eddie rocked back on his heels in surprise, starting a slow walk around the circumference of the counters as he eyeballed Steve. He hadn’t expected the guy to keep talking to him. Still, here he was, going on about Eddie's fashion sense, his disposition?  Was that an insult? Eddie didn’t know what to do with this. Why was previously reigning King Jock giving him the time of day? Why wasn’t he busy admiring his reflection in the window?   God, this job must’ve been boring as hell for him to actually do it. 

“Were you looking for something specific? Seriously doubt you came to witness me striking out with Christina Kelly. You just got lucky.” 

It was kinda funny now. It got Steve smiling and shaking his head at himself. 

The store was still empty, and he was still lonely, so he could at least do his job and help Eddie find a movie since that was his reason for coming to the store.   “Um…” Eddie crossed his arms. Uncrossed them. “Nothing specific. Something to keep me from faceplanting from boredom into my homework.” Or lighting up and spending the rest of the night floating like ash on the wind. 

“Definitely don’t miss homework,” Steve replied while he took the tapes off the counter and started putting them back on the shelves where they belonged. As Eddie continued to walk around, Steve noticed a little jingle from his wallet chain as he paced the store.

“Something spooky, maybe?” Eddie wiggled his fingers with a playful smile to cover his discomfort. This unexpected turn of events piqued his curiosity, so he didn’t mention he had already found a movie.  

“Something spooky, huh?” Steve asked with a playful smirk, though he was turned toward the shelves so Eddie couldn’t see it. 

Of course the freak was into horror. That wasn't a surprise. Family Video had a stellar horror collection. While the last couple of years had been horrific in Hawkins, Steve still enjoyed the fictional movie version sometimes. Most of the horror movies he had seen triggered his memory in a good way when it came to making weapons and fighting off Demogorgons with them winning. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got lots of horror here. Although, if you’re a fan… which is safe to assume?” Steve asked Eddie when he turned back to face him, raising his eyebrows.  He knew it was true, so he smiled when Eddie nodded a bit. “Alright, we’ve got Fright Night, Day of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street two and Friday the 13th, part five.” 

Surely, one of those Eddie hadn’t seen. Eddie met Steve back at the horror section, popping his hip against a shelf as Steve read the newest releases. You’ve come to the right place, Steve said. Had he come to the right place, or was he actually in an alternate reality where a jock didn’t tell him to return to the Hellfire he came from? Why did Harrington keep smiling at him? 

And why did he smell so good? Was that coconut? He should have smelled like old pizza and dirty gym socks like most guys their age. Eddie knew he was rocking cigarette smoke and not much else, himself. It would be very unchill of him to lean in and get a bigger whiff of that coconutty paradise. 

To Steve, horror movies weren’t all that bad. A lot of them were funny and cheesy. Totally entertaining enough that doing homework during them was probably possible. 

Horror movies made him adamant that the group stay together and stay put instead of getting involved, but no one ever listened to him. They wanted to go, get involved and split up, which were the worst horror movie tropes. Their lives had become just like the people in every horror movie he’d ever seen. There was no convincing his babysitting crew of that, though, so he took the lead every time.    “Vampire, zombie, deranged burn victim with knife fingers, murderous goaltender…” Eddie went through the list. “What flavor monster goes best with trigonometry?” Eddie pinched his chin with his fingers as he pondered it. “I wasn’t too thrilled with the first four Fridays. Not much to those plots. Not nearly enough razzle-dazzle." He graced Steve with jazz hands this time instead of spooky fingers. “Elm Street had a lot more going for it. Maybe I’ll take the sequel. Thoughts? Got a favorite?”   If Steve had even watched any of them. Though Eddie was a fan of most things horror - the more outlandish, the better - he didn’t watch them all that often. He didn’t have the patience to sit and focus for a long time without help from his favorite herb. It was good background noise, mostly. 

At least with D&D, he was actively participating. He didn’t have to sit still. He could move around, and he got to use his wickedly colorful ideas, feeding off of other people’s imagination and making a story come alive. 

Some things, like math homework, were so fucking stifling he wanted to shoot himself. 

It was hard for Steve not to notice Eddie’s jazzy hands. His fingers were adorned with a plethora of shiny rings. He was talking animatedly with them about the different movies. The shininess of the rings caught his eye, especially with the extra movements. 

Steve hadn’t been into movies before he got this job. (Robin was the one who really got it for him, talking Keith into it somehow.) Back then, he could only name two movies: Animal House and Fast Times. He’d come a long way since then and had a lot of downtime in the store since they were only busy on evenings and weekends. 

When he and Robin worked together, they always put a movie on or had one going. They’d gone through most of the horror. He’d entertained Robin to no end when he’d talk back to the TV, putting his hands on his hips and yelling, “No. No, don’t go in there! What are you doing? No!”  

Steve looked down at his watch. Still an hour and a half was left of his shift. Also, the closest thing to jewelry he wore was his watch, but Eddie’s rings did seem… dare he say… cool. Maybe he could pull off a ring or two.  

“I agree they should’ve stopped with the first Friday.” He didn’t really have a favorite. “They’re all pretty good for what they are, but I think you should go with the sequel, yeah. You already have an idea of the characters, so you don’t have to pay too close attention and can get your homework done.” 

While Steve was checking his watch and probably wishing for his shift to be over, Eddie was dragging his heels. He was surprised to find he would’ve been okay hearing Steve talk more about movies. He didn’t sound particularly passionate about horror. It made Eddie wonder what he did like. Probably some predictable slapstick with lots of boobs, like Porky’s. 

“Joy,” he replied, thinking of his homework waiting for him and almost letting out a whine. 

Steve grabbed the movie off the shelf and headed towards the counter so he could get Eddie checked out. 

“Guess that’s that,” Eddie added in a mutter Steve couldn’t hear. Eddie followed him, drumming his hands on the countertop as Steve pulled up his account and started typing away.

It was best that Eddie left before he decided to do something like lean in and smell the guy on purpose this time.    While he waited, he sifted through the snack selections, unsettling all the organized displays. He stuck his hand in one of the round glass jars, dislodging the loosest ring from his finger as he rifled through it for a fistful of fizzy candies. The ring fell to the bottom of the jar, unnoticed by Eddie, who slapped the sweets on the counter. He also grabbed a box of Nerds, a bag of Skittles, and a Big Hunk bar on impulse. Steve smiled a bit because usually, it was only bratty kids begging their moms for candy that got it from them. Steve didn’t mind that Eddie was getting more than the movie. When he saw everything he was getting, though, he couldn’t help but judge some of it. Most of it was the real sugary stuff. The Big Hunk bar was the only thing he could get behind. 

“These are addicting,” Steve said about the Big Hunk bar. He could feel his mouth starting to water just looking at it.

Likes Big Hunk bars. Eddie filed that information away in his head without really knowing why. It wasn't like he’d need to use it later. 

“I'm gonna need a bag,” he informed Steve. These pants did not have usable pockets. 

“Of course.” Steve nodded, swallowing his spit as he started bagging everything up.  

He wondered if Eddie was high. All this candy made him think that he had the munchies or was going to later. Most of the kids at school got their weed from him, so it wasn’t a stretch. 

Ah, he could remember the last time he got caught getting high. His dad had accused him of being on drugs. He could remember just saying he wasn’t and that marijuana wasn’t drugs. That hadn’t gone over well. 

Once everything was rung up, Steve told Eddie the amount, took the cash and got him his change. He handed over the bills and coins and pushed the bag of candy and movie toward him. “Enjoy...” 

“Thanks, big boy,” Eddie said, grabbing the bag with a tongue click and a wink.

He left the store, mouthing big boy? to himself in a split second of internal embarrassment before he shrugged it off and hopped in his van, taking off down the road towards the trailer park.  

Steve’s eyebrows rose and then furrowed. A shiver ran through his body like an electric shock, unsure what that was about or what caused that reaction in him. 

Slowly, he realized. Maybe there was a reason he’d never seen a girl on Eddie’s arm.

Steve stood there for a few minutes, perplexed by what had happened, until he snapped out of it and started straightening up the store. There probably wouldn’t be any more customers tonight. While Steve was re-organizing the candy Eddie had disheveled, he saw that one of the jars was low, nearing empty. He grabbed some candy to refill it when something shiny caught his eye. 

He reached in and pulled out a large skull ring. Eddie must’ve left it behind by accident.

Only when Eddie was settled in for the night with his homework open, the movie on, and his candy pile rapidly dwindling did he notice one of his rings missing. 

“Shit,” he swore, looking at his naked finger where a fanged skull used to be. That one had been his favorite. 

He looked around inside the trailer and outside of it with his uncle’s flashlight, but nothing shiny turned up in the beam.

Steve thought about calling Eddie up and letting him know he could come get his ring, but then he put it on and looked it over, smiling. He could totally pull off a ring like this. 

He’d try it out for a day or two, then give it to Dustin to give it back to Eddie when he saw him next. They were good friends now, to Steve's dismay. He wasn't jealous of anything. 

Eddie didn't seem too bad... for a freak.  

[seafoamstatice]

Some season 4 thoughts!

Not gonna lie, while I really liked a lot of the character moments, twists, and jokes from this season but some parts of the plot... didn't really make sense to me.

Something interesting to me is that in every season but this one, it's always established 1) why the police can't be trusted to investigate the murder and 2) why Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are making a podcast about it. It's used as set up for why the audience should root for them. In season 1, the police think its a suicide so the close the case. Oliver needs the money from the podcast, Charles is lonely, and Mabel has a personal stake in the mystery. In season 2, the police think its the trio. They make the podcast to prove to the public that they're innocent so they can move on with their lives. In season 3, the police arrest the wrong guy and close the case. Mabel drops the first episode to exonerate the guy and get him out of jail. In this season, its specifically stated that the feds are investigating, and while the trio has a reason to look into what happened, they don't have a reason to record and release a podcast about it (other than force of habit). In fact they have good reason not to do that: their first theory is that it was a case of mistaken identity and Charles was the intended target. If they think the danger isn't over, it would be ridiculously irresponsible to tell the public (and potentially the killer) where they are in the case.

Charles' and Oliver's story arcs were great! I especially liked Charles learning to open up about his feelings, and coming to terms with Sazz's death, it was really sad yet heartwarming. But! Mabel's arc is kind of baffling to me. I was really glad to see season 4 set up her developing her career, but it kind of felt like it petered out at the end? What was the point of setting up Animal Jobs and Mabel feeling bad about using Howard like a disposable lackey if they were going to go on to forget about the whole thing and treat Howard the exact same way? Mabel learned to see herself as a podcast producer, she flexed her creative muscles and started drawing again, but at the end of the season, she says that she doesn't belong in the entertainment industry??? She was inspired to make something of herself using her life rights money but the story she pitched to Bev Melon at the end of ep 10 is very clearly just season 4 of the omitb podcast- something she already had the means to do! (I will say, Bev's second phone call implies that this storyline may not be over, so I'm fully prepared to eat these words after season 5)

The trio's danger handling skills are so weird? When they realize someone is watching them they rush out of the Arconia in a panic. Some people call them out for not noticing loose ends. They come back to confront the supposed culprits and find out actually, they weren't responsible for the cameras at all. And so, still not knowing who it was and whether its safe to do so, they fully drop the issue and go right back on to live there? (This plot line might also be brought up again, so idk, if they can come up with a good explanation for why they did this, then fine)

I think it's super fun that Sazz was investigating things all on her own. It reminds me of that joke from season one where Jan complains that the trio trust Sazz, who randomly showed up, to investigate, but not Jan herself, who was Charles' girlfriend and Oliver says something like "Sazz is a stunt double, so I think she knows what she's talking about!" But I think it's so out of left field that Sazz is a really good screenwriter. Sazz is an extremely successful stunt double who comes from a family of stunt doubles and dreams of opening a school for young stunt doubles. Why is she writing rpf so good that on her first try it's blockbuster-movie-with-famous-celebrities worthy? It feels kind of unfair to the audience... If random characters can secretly be insanely skilled at random things that don't fit their previous characterization, then how could anyone ever guess motives for murders or any given character's capabilities?

Same with Marshall/Rex's skillset. He's introduced as a nerdy, anxious writer, but it turns out he's also a prodigy marksman who angsts about whether or not he's a violent person and secret former stuntman who's great at parkour? Ok?

I don't wanna nitpick plot holes, but I think it doesn't make sense for Marshall to kill Glen? The day Sazz confronts Marshall is the day before the opening night party, and she says then that they are the only two who know the script was stolen, meaning while Glen knew about the ronkonkoma incident, he would likely have no clue about Marshall stealing the script. In the omitb universe, coincidences like 'a group of people conspiring to cover up a death happen to know the trio's movie's directors, and also happen to live right across from Charles' are seen as reasonable. Sudden drastic career changes like genius stunt double to genius first time (!!) scriptwriter are seen as reasonable. So even if Glen did end up recognizing Marshall as Rex, it wouldn't tie him to the murder, it would just be a fun coincidence. It's possible Marshall just panicked, but that would be strange because he was very calm when the trio chased him and interrogated him. He managed to pretend that he was relieved they were asking him about the murder and not the rewrites! I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, but...

Admittedly I don't know much about trash incinerators, but from what I can tell, Gravey leads the gang to a chute that leads to the incinerator and then they go down to the basement to check what's in it. If Marshall put Sazz's body in the chute, why did he need to bring the vest? Do you have to wear flame resistant clothing just to turn on an incinerator?

Helga says that Sazz said her protege messed up badly and started harassing her. But in the flashback we see that they remained friends post stuntman career. Marshall tricked Sazz into giving him the script and she confronted him right before going to New York, meaning that their relationship was only antagonistic on both sides for like a day. So Marshall was harassing Sazz for at most one day. When did Sazz talk to Helga?

Are the westies... gonna be ok? Since the police know dudenoff is dead they can't really keep the rent control scheme going on, can they?

Ok this last one is really stupid but is the omitb movie just gonna go with Sazz's original screenplay? Didn't it need a bunch of rewrites lol?

All in all, I still really did like the season. It was a super fun watch, with exciting twists and the comedy and acting were still great! And who knows, maybe they'll revisit some of this stuff in future seasons! I'm already looking forward to season 5. I'm actually surprised they picked Lester, poor guy! I was thinking it would probably be someone new so they didn't lose too much of the supporting cast too quickly. The new character, Sofia, looks super cool, and I'm excited to see Olimabel (the Charles is silent) take on organized crime after dealing with four cases that were all about interpersonal drama. And I'm definitely excited for a mystery that seems very much tied to the Arconia.

[dastardly-imbecile]

Not the Dungeons Pt. 4

He has not been so content as the warden of this place to never look towards the sky, reach a hand out towards the lushness of the forest and try to snatch a leaf from the tree, a tuft of fur from a roaming wolf, hold it in his good hand and never let go. --- Interesting conversation. More interesting dreams.

---

Introspection, exploration, more introspection.

Wordcount: ~2700

Pt. 1, 2, 3

---

“We can leave,” the person upon the bed says, so delightfully naive that, for a moment, he wonders how they have survived so far. Of course, he saw—or, rather, felt—it all happening, but still, he must look down at himself and back up in disbelief. Down, at the thick wooden club sprouting from a shoulder, at the chest scarred from a thousand battles, at the beak always in this vision, crosseyed with the effort of capturing it. 

And up. Up at them, still sprawled out, leg wrapped as well as his clumsy hands were able, flickering between a thousand forms at a time. He is unsure whether they are male, female, neither, both—it’s hard to tell both from the merit of a dirt-smudged face, bulky armor, nondescript hair, and from the twist of his eyes. Unused to evaluating anything besides how many hits it would take to kill someone. Still—that doesn’t matter, not much. Same sentiment either way. Same falsehood. 

Slowly, he shakes his head, and they tilt their head, mouth—mouth, lips, not beak, so soft, so pliable—curving downwards. “You want to leave.”

Nod.

“We can leave.”

Shake of the head. A flicker of fear, deep in the eyes—he’s not sure why he registers this, and not gender. Perhaps he’s seen it so many times that picking it out has become second nature. “...We aren’t leaving?”

This one takes longer to consider. Eventually, he shakes his head again. It’s the we that’s the problem here. They can leave. He cannot. Tied to this dungeon, tied to the swollen guards, tied to the things that scream and things that crawl and things that do worse than that.  

It seems that the explorer understands as well, because finally, they say it. “I can leave?”

One final nod. To imagine it is to blaspheme in some way over the ephemeral things that rule this dungeon, but he can’t help it sometimes. Sky a shade so blue that it scorches the eyes, air clear and sharp with dew and flowers, a palace too far away and a man within that. 

…A man?

A knight. A… he stops in place, though he was not moving much in any case, and tries to think. A wall. He remembered this, he knows this, but already the memory is a tattered flock of crows soaring away, dropping a trail of feathers down upon the ground to follow. He picks one up, and then another, but by the time he reaches the third, the wind has already blown the trail all askew. 

Someone important, in any case. He cannot spare much more thought for this—there are two things that he must know, right now. You are not the dungeons. 

And, connected-

Keep the person safe. 

If he loses one, he might lose the other. At the moment it is…. Unsure why this is quite so important, but if he doesn’t remember now, then he did at one point—and, hopefully, he will again. For now, hang onto two points, and solely that. 

“Why not?” They ask, and then shake their head, forbidding his answer. “I apologize. Yes or no. Rudimer. Rudimer?”

Nod. The name hurts, burns, sparks some hidden, dried-out husk of kindling deep within his heart, but that is good. That is the same feeling he got when he studied this person, back before all this, when he knelt over their bed and counted the space between breaths. The burning, the purpose. 

“I… heard of you,” they say, “vaguely. Before I entered, people talked—whispered, more like. About the dungeons’ danger. Said it had taken you and many others. Trortur, Isayah. More, unimportant.” 

He knows them, if not by those names, then by a cobble-together of memory and personal experience. The man who inspires odd irritation in him, and who he took delight in beating down during their singular fight. The one with a mask and a hand disfigured—kindred?—who talks, in his sleep, of maps. And the rabble—the ones clothed in yellow, who follow the bodyless man, the dark-robed rats who crawl into corners with piles of books and glut themselves on blood. 

He is still thinking, recalling, when they finish their sentence in a whisper. “...Le’Garde too, I suppose.”

Blonde man—at least at first. Favorite of the priestess. Victim of the irritating one. His companion’s… whatever he is. 

Jerkily, he nods, unsure of what else to do. It’s true. The man is dead. Another life taken by the dungeons—another one in a line of deaths, one-by-one-by-one. Well- perhaps the others are not dead, including him, but he’s sure that this is worse somehow.

A moment of silence. He certainly cannot break it, not unless he wants to screech incomprehensive words to the heavens—or the hells—so it is upon the only one with a functioning tongue. “I can leave. You’re saying, yes. You… the dungeons? Are they keeping you? Rudimer?”

A part of them seems to delight in saying his name, and he cannot say that he minds completely. Perhaps it reminds them that he was human once, that he is not all hulking brute painted in scars and blood. Which is, of course, what he is, but humanity is comforting in ways that he cannot describe. 

Response—what to respond? He deliberates for a long moment, turning the question about in his mind. It is not… well, he cannot say that it is not a physical bond, because it is, in a way. He has not been so content as the warden of this place to never look towards the sky, reach a hand out towards the lushness of the forest and try to snatch a leaf from the tree, a tuft of fur from a roaming wolf, hold it in his good hand and never let go. 

Always, however, always, there is something that stills him, catches his foot before it crosses the threshold back out. Chirps and chittering behind his eyes, improbably throbbing in the wood of his arm, phantom pains from flesh that no longer exists. 

The memory of… something. Someone? The man in the palace? He is dead now, he must be dead, or he must be something worse than that, but just as he thinks this, it occurs to him that he has never lingered on his presence beyond this moment. 

For, always, he’s been simple vermin, been one of the many pests that come in and do not come out again. If he crosses paths with one of them, he will fight, as is his duty—duty from whom? From what?—but, usually, he puts little effort into seeking them out. 

But it is not impossible to find. In his mind, floating somewhat suspended in a mire of half-eaten memories, is a vague awareness of the dungeon. Crude at the best of times—he is not able to pick out a stone from thousands, to track the lumbering patrol of a single guard—but it guides him when he wanders through the labyrinth, alerts him when trouble comes. 

There are guards in the hallway outside. Above and below, for many floors. The deeper he goes, the larger they get, the darker their presence in his mind, until they’re indistinguishable from tarry feathers and subtly-shifting wings. There is nothing of note on the upper floors��a few of the quieter denizens such as the Pocketcat, casting his own sort of shadow, but outside of that, the only humans present are unremarkable and small. Even Le’Garde, infirm as he was, had a stronger presence. 

So deeper. Blackness in his mind, and the chirping grows louder, and the beaks stronger, first cartilage and now bone, scraping scraping scraping. 

So deeper. Even the crows shy away, now, and he has never attempted to extend his dominion so low—even in the days when he was not this god-touched creation, he’s sure he never ventured down here, never laid eyes on whatever rests in the depths—but he goes, keeps going, and still has not reached the edge. If he attempts to extend too high above, into the uncursed world, then he will scarcely get a touch of brightness before the crows start up a racket and begin smashing their heads upon the walls of his skull. But below, below, they are quiet—almost as if even they are afraid of drawing attention. 

So deeper. He realizes somewhere, dully, that someone is calling Rudimer, but he’s unsure if it’s happening below or above. Maybe both. Maybe neither. There are monsters down here, scuttling in the darkness, away from his reach, but he does not know them as he knows his guards, even tremulously. Other things too, things near-indescribable, darker than the Pocketcat and brighter than Le’Garde both, and if he focuses upon them for too long, then he feels them begin to focus on him—so he does not do that. 

So deeper. Finally, he feels something that is neither of those two. Small—not human, but not completely beast either. Familiar in a way that he barely remembers, in a way that floats just out of reach. It’s what he is looking for. He’s what he is looking for. 

And then, he withdraws himself from those dark places whip-fast, and the idle movements of brutes and monsters in the lighted world is almost a relief compared to whatever roams down there. 

As is the face before his, wide-eyed. In that first moment of return, confronted with the visage of a human, his mauler twitches and he half stands, but with a vicious wrench of his mind, he quells the motion completely. 

You are not the dungeons.

He is not. 

“Rudimer,” they say, and the thought resurfaces that perhaps it was them calling a name. His name. “Are you…” 

He blinks. Is he? 

Still, they have not flinched back, even with his initial early movement. Impressive, he’d say, except maybe it’s foolhardy instead. 

“The dungeons,” they repeat. He remembers the question—still unsure how to answer it though. Eventually, he settles on a tilt of his head, neither a nod nor a shake, and they sit back. 

“You do not know? Do… do this if you do not know.” They make a motion like the rolling of one’s shoulders, up-and-down, and he copies them, feeling the energy within those corded muscles, eager to bash. Not here. Not now. Soon? Perhaps. If he wishes to go down…

“The dungeons,” they say once again, “stopping you?”

He does the motion. Slowly, they nod, taking the information in. 

“How?” They look down, searching for chains, maybe for evidence of some sort of pact. He almost laughs. If it was a voluntary contract that led to this, he would have learned how to break it long ago. 

Not a question answerable by yes, no, or shoulders, but there’s another motion he can make. 

He points-

Down. 

To where all things go eventually. Always, he has been too wary of it to go fully, but he supposes that this prophecy must come true eventually as well. 

Down he goes. 

“That’s where…” they say, and then stop, shaking their head. “What’s down there?”

Roll of the shoulders again. Quite the useful motion. Struck by inspiration again, he raises his hand and points at his head, shakes it, rolls the shoulders, and points down again. I have impressions, but I do not know much. 

To their credit, they seem to get it almost immediately. “So that is what keeps you here.”

Nod. 

“We will set out tomorrow, then,” they decide, and he hesitates. Again, the most important of all those words is we—both of them? Slowly, he points at them, and then up. Out. Freedom. They asked him whether he wanted to leave, is that not an implicit indication of their own desires?

“No,” they say, “or not now, perhaps.”

He tilts his head. Inquisitive—it comes naturally. Perhaps it is the influence of the crows. 

“I came down here for Le’Garde. He is…” they hesitate, shake their head, “he is no more. He wanted to find what lays below. Thus…”

He draws back, regards them, all of them—disheveled and dirty, armor the slightest bit ill-fitting. Fought through seven levels of creatures, survived here where few do, at least in the open. 

They are not naive nor foolhardy, he realized, but insane. As all the living in here are. It should have been obvious, but he has not analyzed the mind of anybody in a long time, not unless ‘mind’ counts gray matter splattered against the wall. 

Slowly, hesitantly, unsure whether it is the right thing to do-

He nods. 

***

The last part of the day is uneventful, all things considered. Not after the mental foray into the darkness, not after the plans sketched out to travel below. Painstakingly as well—in the end, all that could really be confirmed between them was kill all monsters and keep each other alive. 

Good enough. More than anything he’s had in years. 

They sleep. He doesn’t. Not to keep guard—the monsters don’t breach this safe zone, not besides him, but because he doesn’t sleep. 

And perhaps because he likes watching. 

Force of habit. They fall asleep as they always do—slowly and with fluttering eyelids, a leisurely relaxation of their body, so out of place here. Soon, come the dreams, the faint twitching of limbs, the movement of their eyes behind the lids, flicking back and forth. He is used to it all, able to recite the steps in his own sleep, if he both slept and had a voice. 

Tonight, though, something changes. They roll over completely, unusual—they are not an animated sleeper, not usually—and then, the movement behind the eyes grows quicker, grows frantic. 

Moments later, the first sound. A cry, quiet, like a hurt creature, the noise that all things make when they die, monster or human or something else entirely. Momentarily, there is a brief flicker of excitement—is this the moment that it happens? The moment that the crows have found them? He watches, waiting for the beak, for the feathers and the transformation of limb to weapon, but it doesn’t come. 

Only more sounds. Struggling sounds, hurt sounds. Thrashing—enough to throw the thin sheet thrown across their body off, onto the ground. 

Eventually, the excitement fades, enough that he’s sure that tonight is not the night for them to become one like him. Perhaps, then, they will be able to talk, caw and croak in a language only the two of them understand, and the parts below will shake as both descend upon them, swinging and killing in tandem-

But, again, it is not the night. 

Something else… he leans closer, looms, watches. There is another feeling in his chest beside that of excitement. Should he muffle them, in case this does attract some wandering creature? Not by force, surely, that feels counterintuitive, but…

He reaches out a hand. Draws it back. Extends both, and then brings the mauler down so quickly that he scratches himself. Not that. Only one good hand anymore—remember that. 

One hand, carefully, so uncertain of the strength needed, upon their arm. That is all—he does not dare to squeeze, for fear that it will be the strength he uses to crush skulls. 

The sensation is unfamiliar. Cold metal against colder skin. He cannot remember if he’s done this before—not touch metal, but touch a person with such calculated softness. 

Perhaps he has. Not since the dungeons took him. 

The thrashing stops, but the sounds continue—quieter though, at further intervals apart. He can’t help but feel it’s because of him. Is this pride? It’s the same bubbling feeling as when he communicated his words with nothing but pointing and jerks of his head, the same feeling he got when he bashed his mauler into Trortur’s head and sent the man stumbling away. 

Must be. For however long it is, he’s content to sit there and watch, wait with a single hand upon their arm. 

All the sounds thus far have been incomprehensible, simple noises of surprise—wordless exclamations. 

Right before they awake, however—as he can feel the beginning of sunlight barely warming the dungeon stone in the highest level—there is a word. Or at least an amalgamation of letters that sounds more like a word than anything else. They jerk harder than they have since he put a hand upon their arm, and from their mouth comes an exclamation of, “Ma’habre!”

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hi raven :D! I think you've spoken about twst and languages in their world, so I was wondering if you've ever had a discussion about the possibility of a "merfolk language"? obviously they can speak the universal language of the twst world, but do you think they could have a native language too, consisting of something more adapted to living under the sea and thus more inhuman (clicks, growls, etc)? like one that maybe humans can't even hear because human ears have a limit on what they can hear or something like that? I think it's a fun little headcanon but maybe it's just because I am the type to enjoy blatant inhuman traits in inhuman characters 👉👈 (like azul still being able to barf up ink as a human, and the tweels still have a pharyngeal jaw even after taking their human pills)

On “French” in TWST: part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7

On the light novel’s translation spell: part 1 / part 2 / part 3

Yes, I’ve talked about language in Twisted Wonderland many times ^^ (Please see the linked posts above if you’re interested in the discussion!)

I don’t think we’ve considered a language for merpeople in detail before?? 🤔 It’s a weird grey area (the same as with any theoretical“beastman” languages) since the race is half human and half animal; Animal Languages already exists as their own separate entity, and then we have the various languages of other groups (we learn in Fairy Gala: If that smaller fairies communicate in sounds that resemble jingling bells, people in the City of Flowers speak “French” like Rook does, Epel’s hometown appears to speak its own language that his classmates find difficult to understand, etc). I wonder if this would mean that a merpeople language would be a marriage of an animal language and a human language, or if it would be less of a whole new language and more of a dialect which combines mannerisms and grammatical rules from both sources???

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned or written about “Mermish” in some of my own fics! I usually describe it as very flowy and lyrical, like the words just spill into each other and you don’t know when one word ends and when another starts. Basically, it’s less like speaking and more like music. This version of the language is ingrained in siren lore (you know, singing prettily to lure sailors to their doom 😂) rather than the practical lore (ie the more animalistic sounds to navigate the dark, treacherous waters of the deep), but I enjoy both interpretations and find them equally as valid! I do think that the language would probably be audible to a human though how else would their prey be drawn in???. Humans don’t have the most sensitive hearing ever, but you’d be surprised just how much our ears can sense!

There hasn’t been any indication in the lore (at least as far as I can tell) of there being a whole other language or dialect specifically for merpeople, so the idea is just speculation. I’d think if there were to be any proof of this, then we’d probably hear Azul talk about how beneficial it is to know many languages, as this could help his business flourish. Even a mention from Floyd would work, as he does mention (again, during Beans Day) that he, Jade, and Azul went to a month-long camp on land to learn about life in the world above. There wasn’t a mention of having to pick up on a new language (and a month isn’t long enough to become conversational anyway). In any case, very few merpeople are said to come to the surface (for work, for schooling, etc), so it seems unlikely to me that underwater schools would make the theoretical “common tongue” of Twisted Wonderland an educational requirement for young merkids. I’d think the merkids would have to actively seek out and study the “common tongue” as a second language if they plan to pursue a career on land. But already knowing the language cannot be a prerequisite for the camp, since it is said the program was eager to accept the Octatrio (which makes it sound like getting into it is very easy to do).

So I guess my line of thinking is… If merchildren were required to learn the common tongue, it makes sense why the training camp didn’t include language. However, this doesn’t make much sense to begin with because why have that linguistic curriculum if it’s assumed most merpeople won’t engage with the world of land? In the opposite scenario (in which merchildren aren’t required to learn the common tongue), why wouldn’t there be curriculum on language in the camp? Already knowing the common tongue doesn’t seem to be requirement for the camp, since the lore makes it sound like the camp is desperate to take people in (due to most merpeople not having an interest in living/studying/working on land).

Let me tell you, trying to figure out half human, half fish anatomy and physiology is not how I thought I’d be using my brain cells 😂

[swordofsuns]

IM BACK BABY!!!!!

to be honest I was still on tumblr a lot of the time so it wasnt really gone. but. I now have time to present to you:

DND!

ARC 4!

CONTINUED!!!! (explosion sfx in the background) (guitar riff) (bald eagle screech) (in case you cant tell I have been waiting for this all week)

small recap for where we left off: Ira and Braxton left to get to Axum to try and kill the Flesh Baron and kidnap some of our NPC friends who got kidnapped. We all jumped into the feywild to follow them. not sure if I mentioned this but we met up with a half fey shapeshifting druid (Actaeon killed his parents on accident)(it was a whole thing), and he joined up with our party. Turns out Red's crazy ex girlfriend has gone on a slight murder spree. We met up with some old friends. we learned some lore about the immenent end of days. we accidentaly gave another one of our friends a magical mind connection with an evil appocalyptic eldritch god (oopsies). Red's magical protection amulet broke in her sleep.

(oh also for context everything that is about to go down happened in the course of a single, increadibly hectic session)

Red doesnt know her amulet is broken, only suddenly feels her conciousness pulled from the blissful dreamlessness shes had for only a month, back into the all to familiar almost-reality of dreams. this time, however, she does not find herself in a forest of black pines and snow, or in the blood and fire of her past, but instead in a very different corner of the feywild. and this time she isnt even in her own body, or even her own mind. Currently she has her mind mixed with that of Manti, as her vision doubles between her bed in the walking castle and of a slaughtered chapel, with its last resident begging for mercy. Manti, pauses, right before delivering the killing blow, as it seems the connection between the two of them goes both ways. suddenly, without a word, she turns, and gives chase.

Back in the castle, Max has realized what is happened and is quickly casting as many protections as he can around Red, eventualy managing to block out the power of a LITERAL GOD, though by then Manti has figured out where we are, and is on her way. We try to come up with a plan, and realize that despite practicaly everything Manti is interested in being in the material world, shes spent practicaly her entire time in the feywild, even though she has interdimentional portals at her fingertips. we come to the conclusion that because of her fey ancestry, she probably either straight up cant get into the material plane, or at least would be extremely weak after doing so. We also realize through a tracking spell that our other two party members have already made it through to Axum.

Our plan is pretty simple: step 1, leave the castle. step 2, remove protections on Red so Manti is able to follow us, and doesnt go after castle. step 3, make it to the portal to Axum before she does. step 4, meet up with Ira and Braxton, and if she can come through we fight her on home turf and if she cant then were all safe.

we hop out of the castle and make run as fast as we can for the portal to Axum (though it is several miles away so its more of a "hike quickly" than a run). We manage to make it to the portal in time, but right before we pass through, Manti appears out of nowhere and closes it, though in the process Ira and Braxton get swept through the portal and we all reunite.

At this point Manti barely resembles anything even vaguely human. she is approxamitely 15 feet tall, with a chitinous and segmented body, twisted features, and two twisted unnatural portaling sickles melded into her hands. She offers the party the option to give her Red, and in return they all live, but we say no and a fight breaks out. Absolute chaos breaks out as portals are opened everywhere, reality itself begining to crumble at all of the wholes in it, as well as having several extremely powerful adventurers, some of whom have literal gods as pets, effectively warping the fabric of reality like a black hole.

We manage to do some good damage, but Manti is also the vessel of a god so the fight is long and painful. Around halfway through the fight, with a single swipe from a sickle, Manti cuts Iras broom in two, sending her plummeting to her death.

Manti lets out a horrifying shriek, though whether from victory or from horror we cannot tell, and Red, uninjured, falls to the ground unconsious. Actaeon rushes to her aid, but he she is already somewhere else.

(this right here is my favorite scene in the entire campain)

Red wakes up in an all too familiar forest. the pines are black and the snow is thick underfood. this time, she finds herself in a clearing in the trees, without a cloak, and with only a rusty iron sword as a weapon. the snow in sprinkled in drops of blood, and, all around the clearing, she can sense the Leech circling around her. she cant see him, aside from the occasional insectoid leg, a glint on one of his many, many teeth, and his seven gleaming red eyes. his true form is massive, easily 100 feet long, easily encircling her and bringing his circles slowly closer and closer. and then he begins to speak. (Now listen brief side not but I dont think that I have properly communicated to you just how much Red and The Leech absolutely fucking despise eachother. their first interaction had Red threaten to kill herself just to ruin his day, and it has only gone downhill from there. basicaly any time one of them mentions the other it is followed by a series of insults and curses. its made even funnier by the fact that everybody else is great freinds with their godly patrons, while Red is continously willing to do whatever she possibly can just to spite him. but I digress). The Leech just begins absolutely ripping red to shreads (metaphoricaly), pointing out how all of her acheivments and victories were because he was rigging it to give her a confidence boost. how she claims to fight to avenge the people she lost, and yet, cannot even remember her parents faces. how in the end, every adventure she has gone on has only lead to more death. after all, she released the Lost Brother, she made a deal with Benny for her own sake, she gave Manti everything she needed to free him, She shot Kraka, she led Manti to them, and in doing so got Ira killed. how even after everything, all her supposed growth and change, the reason that every time she finds herself in the forest she appears as a child is because a scared child was all she has ever been. In fact, he offers, why not embrace it. She has always wanted power, and now, he can offer it to her. She and Manti can be his two knives, breaking this world she has always hated in two, and creating her own world, a new world all of her own. (Red cant quite tell how far away he is still, but he has certainly grown closer) Red takes a breath. She calms herself, and prepares to deliver her elequant and informed rebuttal: "FUCK YOU YOU BLOODSUCKING COWARD! IM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!". The Leech snarls in anger, and simply responds "you are free to die trying", before he closes in, fully encircling her. Only 10 feet away. then 5. Hes fully encircled her now, and she has nowhere to run. She swings her sword down at his side, but it simply brakes against his chitin. she tries to punch him but only gets a few broken fingers in return. He lowers his titanic almost-face down to hers, showing her his thousands of clistening, sharp teeth, and his 7 glowing red eyes level with hers. "do you have any last words". Red doesnt respond, but reaches out in anger and panic, grabbing hold of one of his eyes. with all of her strength (and a nat 20) she tears out his largest eyeball. The Leech SCREAMS IN AGONY, and back in the fight with Manti, she suddenly collapses on the floor in pain. With the last of The Leech's power, he lunges at her, attempts to devour her very essence for daring to defile him, but, (with another nat 20)(the dice were insane that day) she survives the assault of a god through shear stubbornness and spite.

Back in the real world, the fight with Manti has taken a bit of a chaotic turn, as, right in the middle of the battle, she collapsed onto the floor, and then, suddenly, all of the transformation on her body begins to dissolve into a black ichor. Red suddenly wakes up, and finds that Manti has returned to her origional form, though her hands are still portal sickles. she considers just killing her right there, but decides that even if she doesnt forgive her for what she did she still was being manipulated by the literal god of manipulation, and was later sorta fully mind controlled, so decides to let her live.

We also remember the fact that oh right Ira died, and decide to try to kill two birds with one stone (or I suppose save 2 birds with 1 castle) by taking both of them back to the castle to try and heal Manti (she is practicaly mortaly injured now that all of her magical protections are gone) as well as trying to see if they have the ability to revive Ira, who is now been dead for too long for us to revivify. We go back to the walking castle of Cisero and King, and beg them to pretty please help us again. they agree the heal up Manti and deliver her to our little village for Diana and Brandon to take care of her.

However, they tell us that they have no way of reviving Ira, as they just aren't powerful enough for that. Thing is though, Kings old teacher, The Duke of Thorns and Fruit (I mentioned him briefly in my recap of the second arc), does have the ability to do that and is located nearby, though King warns us that he will probably just kill us on sight. In the end she sends us off with a signed note from her telling him that we are freinds and to pretty please help us and not kill us. We make it to his corner of the feywild, which is a giant thornbush maze, though the thorns sometimes grow these juicy red fruits, that kit decides to snack on as we travel, though nobody else does. Finaly, we make it to the center of the maze, where we meet the Duke himself. hes this weird regal deer man, who does try to kill us on sight, until we prove were friends of King, to which he decides that hes not going to kill us instantly, but, because one of us stole one of his fruit, he will still kill us unless we do him a favor.

Each of us must tell him our greatest regret, or we will be killed. he also promises that he will revive Ira, but that will come with its own price. Braxton goes first, and admits that his greatest regret was finding The Bear for the first time, but, instead of the words leaving his mouth, the world around us shifts, as Braxton is forced to relive finding The Bear as a child, chained up in cold iron. how he took pity on the animal and chose to free it. how his body changed and was morfed into something unfamiliar. how his parents through him out after they saw what he had become.

second is Kit, who admits that their greatest regret is stepping through the portal he found when they were a child, and relives them and their best friend finding the portal, stepping inside, and seeing it close behind them as they became trapped in a dimmention of infinite everchanging light, blinding and maddening.

Red is next, revealing her greatest regret to be that she is still alive, though everything she survives always kills everyone around her. she sees herself surrounded by every person who has ever died from her actions, or who she has been unable to save, which at this point includes her entire extended family, 2 small towns, an adventuring caravan, Kraka, Ira, a major city and a good portion of the feywild. The worst part is, she cant even remember any of their faces. she simply curls up into a ball on the floor and cries.

Actaeon goes next, hesitentaly admiting that his greatest regret is that Red had him as a father, and how he was only able to fill her head with imposible dreams and fail her in the end. he also reveals that he is getting old and is probably going to die in about a year.

Acris (that one druid who was with us that I mentioned) says that his biggest regret was leaving home to travel the world, seeing as the second he left home Actaeon immediately showed up and accidentaly murdered his parents in cold blood (im not going to explain this its a whole thing)

Val admits that his biggest regret was running away from home, but leaving his sibling behind with his parent who was doing human/demon expirementation on them.

The Duke of Thorns and Fruit accepts this as payment for trespassing and stealing, but says that in payment for him reviving Ira, one of us must give up our Happy-Ever-After. whoever does this will permanantly lose the ability to have a happy ending to their story and their life will be endless heartbreak and tragedy.

Everybody goes dead silent and refuses to accept, until Red steps foward, claiming that at this point she has nothing to lose, and shakes the Dukes hand. The image of Red living a comfortable life, in peace, with no paranoia, no threat of violence or death around every corner appears, before crumbling and being consumed by the Duke.

with that he takes a fruit and squeezes some of the juice on Ira, instantly reviving her. he opens a portal for us to Axum, and cheerfuly bids us good luck. As we all step through the portal, however, he pull Val aside and reveals to them that he knows that they're part demon, and that if they meet again he can help Val "reach his true potential".

Actaeon also tells Red that with the eye that she gouged from The Leech, she could use it as a sacrifice to the Huntsman, who would almost certainly reward her by turning her into an Ent-Jaren, or that she could use it as a powersource for her Bloodhide Cloak, which would unlock its magical potential. at this point shes extremely depresed and has given up on all of her dreams, and uses it to complete the cloak, giving her a bunch of nifty power ups and blood magic.

wow this is long. this was probably the most insane and chaotic session of the campain, but also definitely my favorite. I cant properly convey it to you but Red and The Leech have a absolutely perfect dynamic so any session that allows them to bicker with each other is always great. plus we get to give Red turbo deppression. hooray. I love hurting my characters.

to be honest I am very tired and Im not sure any of this even makes sense to anybody who is not me. I wrote this in a state of pure manic energy (really not sure what came over me) and it is all gone now.

HOLY SHIT

Oh

Red no.

Red no

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dangancember 2024 - Danganronpa Top 24 Class Trials - Number 7: Danganronpa 1 Case 4

//I think you all knew that this one was going to make it into the Top 10 somewhere, whether it was in the upper echelons of the degree or not.

//The fourth trial of the first Danganronpa game is, to this day, infamous with how interesting the emotions are at play, as well as how engaging the mystery is.

//And it also culminates into what is widely believed to be one of, if not, the saddest Class Trial in the whole series. And with the first game managing that, a game which one could argue hasn't aged especially well compared to the rest of the series, you know that means something.

//So let's talk about it.

//The fourth trial of Danganronpa 1 stands out as one of the most emotionally charged and narratively complex cases in the series, largely thanks to its unique character dynamics and structure.

//The victim of this case is Sakura Ogami.

//The culprit of this case is...also Sakura Ogami.

//This case is, in short, the only suicide case in the main series where the victim kills themselves, and it's a twist the game never revisits in later installments, the only one of these games attempting it besides this one being SDRA2 with its fourth case. And as I already said, Shinji's suicide, while definitely impatful, is not as impactful as Sakura's here.

//Which as I said then, is probably WHY the team never attempted to do a suicide case again. It keeps this moment distinctive and ensures the first game has a signature trial that fans remember. Sakura's suicide is so powerful and emotional that trying to pull that twist and bring those emotions off again would have little but negative reprecussions.

//The tragedy of Sakura's suicide packs a heavy emotional punch, and the reveal is heartbreaking once the truth comes to light. Monokuma, ever the stickler for his own twisted rules, considers any death during the killing game a "murder," regardless of the cause, as long as it doesn’t result from someone breaking the rules, or dying of natural causes. By this logic, Sakura’s self-inflicted death makes her both the perpetrator and the deceased, an outcome that feels disturbingly poetic in the context of her struggles.

//Sakura’s pivotal role in this chapter isn’t limited to her shocking death. Monokuma drops a bombshell halfway through the chapter that Sakura has been a spy all along, secretly feeding him information about the students' actions since they arrived at Hope’s Peak Academy.

//This revelation sets off a wave of paranoia and tension among the group, further isolating Sakura, who was already grappling with guilt and inner turmoil.

//It’s revealed later that Sakura wasn’t spying for Monokuma out of loyalty but because she was being blackmailed, forced into an impossible situation where she had to betray her friends or face dire consequences. To make matters worse, Monokuma ordered her to kill one of her classmates to keep the game going.

//However, in a move that highlights her strength and selflessness, Sakura chooses to defy Monokuma’s cruelty in the only way she can think of. The person she decides to kill is herself.

//Her decision is a tragic attempt to protect her friends from being forced into another cycle of killing and betrayal. And it's a case that is both heartbreaking and thought-provoking, raising moral and philosophical questions about agency, sacrifice, and the destructive nature of Despair.

//It’s a rare moment where the game slows down to let the emotional weight of its story sink in, and for good reason. After all, how do you "solve" a case where the victim is also the one who made the ultimate choice?

//But it's how the case is built around the suicide, as well as how Monokuma manipulates the events, that makes this trial an amazing mystery on top of an emotionally charged sequence of events.

//Much like the previous chapter, the revelation that Sakura is a traitor casts a long, heavy shadow over the group, deepening the rifts and tensions already brewing among the students. At this point in the killing game, trust is a rare commodity, and paranoia reigns supreme.

//Every interaction feels like it could spiral into disaster, and the suffocating atmosphere of confinement only magnifies the stress. The knowledge that someone among them could strike at any moment leaves the characters constantly on edge, and this chapter uses that tension to its fullest effect.

//This is where I think the tension in the first Danganronpa game truly hits its zenith. The group isn’t just fractured, they’re practically splintering apart, with every small conflict threatening to ignite a larger explosion. All of the characters are so scared to find out that Sakura betrayed them that none of them really stop to ask why, and it's enough to turn Byakuya, Hiro, and Toko against her.

//It’s not just the looming fear of death that weighs on everyone but the soul-crushing realization that they can’t fully trust anyone, not even the people they’ve fought beside and shared moments of vulnerability with. When it comes to group dynamics, this chapter takes the concept of every man for himself and runs with it, right into a brick wall.

//A standout moment that underscores just how volatile things have become is when Toko nearly kills Hina. The event is a grim reminder of how close to the edge everyone is.

//It’s one of those moments where you realize the killing game isn’t just about murder. Junko's reason for doing this isn't simply to get people killed. It's to break people, grinding down their humanity until all that’s left is raw, frayed nerves and bad decisions.

//For Sakura, this incident becomes a turning point. Watching her friends unravel under the pressure, and nearly kill each other over her, is the final straw. It’s the catalyst that drives her to take action, not out of despair, but out of a deep and selfless love for her friends. She sees the group spiraling into chaos, and despite being branded a traitor, she shoulders the responsibility of protecting them in the only way she can think of, and sacrifices herself to put an end to the violence and distrust.

//As a bit of a side note, you might notice that I'm using a lot of ScreenCaps from DR the Animation in this analysis as well, and that's actually a point on its own.

//I know that The Animation is a very mixed bag of feelings for people, and yeah, it's nowhere near as good as the main game, but this is the one time I want to talk about it, because this Chapter is by far the best arc of the original animation.

//Sakura is animated INSANELY well throughout most of her appearances in this part of the story, and Rachel Robinson REALLY sells the pain in her voice.

//The irony of this chapter is almost comedic in a dark way. On paper, it’s a murder game, but at this point, everyone’s so stressed out that murder isn’t even necessary. They’re practically at each other’s throats already. Monokuma barely needs to lift a paw to keep things entertaining.

//And yet he still manipulates the events so that a Class Trial happens anyway, but we'll get to that.

//Even before the Class Trial happens, what I love about this chapter is how it balances these intense moments with quiet, heartbreaking ones that remind you just how human these characters are, even as they fall apart. The tension might peak here, but it’s Sakura’s ultimate act of love and selflessness that lingers long after the trial ends.

//Speaking of the trial, what about that, eh?

//The investigation into Sakura’s death is one of the most fascinating, and chaotic, parts of Danganronpa 1. Not because the mystery itself is particularly well-crafted, because it’s actually pretty straightforward, but because of how poorly the surviving students handle it.

//The real intrigue comes not from the clues, but from the dysfunctional behavior of the group as they stumble through the case, weighed down by their mistrust and personal grudges. The tension and emotional baggage from Sakura’s traitor reveal bubble over in this chapter, and instead of working together, the group is a powder keg of suspicion and finger-pointing.

//And that to me, is by far the most important part of analysing this story, as well as a statement on how masterful the villains of this game are at taking advantage of the students Despair.

//Put simply: if the students had been even remotely united, they could have figured out almost immediately that Sakura’s death was a suicide. It's only because they were so insistent on being at each others throats that this Class Trial even happened.

//The clues were all there, but the toxic group dynamic completely derails the investigation. The only person who knows the truth from the start is Hina, but she chooses to keep it a secret for reasons that become clear later.

//Instead, she insists that Sakura must have been murdered by one of the people she invited to meet her and talk with, effectively setting up a trap to punish everyone for their perceived role in driving her best friend to despair.

//Hina’s plan is reckless, dramatic, and downright dangerous, and it's definitely her lowest point in the game. But honestly, can you blame her? She’s grieving, furious, and trying to make sense of an unbearable loss.

//What makes this trial so memorable isn’t just the sadness of Sakura’s sacrifice, though that’s a major factor. It’s also the pure messiness of the investigation itself. Monokuma’s earlier reveal that Sakura was a traitor fractures the group even further, with only Makoto and Kyoko recognizing it as another one of Monokuma’s manipulative motives. Meanwhile, Byakuya, Hiro, and Toko fall for it hook, line, and sinker, turning against Sakura and treating her as a dangerous enemy.

//The atmosphere becomes so toxic that Hina, in a rare burst of anger, punches Byakuya, an act that leads to Toko (or rather, Genocide Jack) retaliating by seriously injuring her. It’s pure chaos, and when Sakura finds out about this, it’s the final straw for her. In a fit of rage, she threatens to snap Toko in half before Hina manages to calm her down. It’s a shocking moment, but one that underscores just how much pressure Sakura has been under, and how desperately she wants to protect her friends, even from themselves.

//In an attempt to mend fences, Sakura arranges meetings with the three people who distrust her most. Unsurprisingly, Byakuya rejects her outright because, well, he’s Byakuya. The other two show up, but things don’t go as planned.

//In a comedic yet tragic twist, both Hiro and Toko end up attacking Sakura out of fear, each thinking she’s about to kill them. Hiro whacks her with a bottle, and Toko, switching into Genocide Jack, follows up with a blow of her own.

//The best part? Sakura survives both attacks because she’s fucking Sakura Ogami, and a blow to the head like that wouldn't kill her, let's be completely real.

//But the resulting trial features some hilariously petty back-and-forth between Hiro and Toko, as they each try to pin the blame on the other, only for the investigation to reveal that neither of them actually killed her. Their mutual incompetence is almost endearing...almost.

//And then there’s Hina, who, after Byakuya announces that Sakura was poisoned, outright confesses to the crime, claiming full responsibility.

//Her confession, however, isn’t what it seems. Hina’s goal is to ensure everyone else dies during the class trial as punishment for driving Sakura to suicide.

//It’s a reckless, grief-fueled gambit that shocks the group...and leads to one of the most satisfying moments in the entire game: Byakuya Togami’s glorious breakdown.

//Watching the usually smug and insufferably arrogant Byakuya lose his composure is nothing short of cathartic. For once, he’s caught completely off-guard, his carefully crafted image of superiority crumbling in the face of his miscalculation.

//As I said in the literal previous placement, one of the things that I loved the absolute most about Trial 4 of Another 1 is just how Tsurugi and Rei are completely unable to COMPREHEND the idea of someone sacrificing their life for another, and it hits them so hard that not only does Rei completely stop being so stand-offish, but Tsurugi straight up passes out from the stress.

//But Byakuya coming to this realization is just as satisfying, if not moreso, when you look at how he acts through the whole game. And I'm not just talking about his chronic smug sense of superiority.

//Byakuya falls headfirst into Hina’s ruse with the poison and protein powder because his worldview revolves around the belief that people act in rational self-interest. From his perspective, it’s entirely plausible that Hina was either faking her friendship with Sakura from the start or snapped under the pressure and killed Sakura as a way to escape the killing game.

//What he completely misses is that Hina is not a rational, calculating person like himself; she’s deeply emotional and driven by her feelings, which don’t fit neatly into Byakuya’s cold, logical framework. Hina manages to completely fool him because her motive IS irrational; something Byakuya simply can’t account for in his worldview.

//Meanwhile, Makoto and Kyoko see right through her act because they recognize how much Hina valued her friendship with Sakura. They understand that, for Hina, betraying that bond was far less likely than committing murder-suicide to avenge her fallen friend.

//What makes Byakuya’s misstep even more ironic is that throughout the game, he’s the one constantly lecturing everyone else about the dangers of assuming other people think the same way they do. Yet, his biggest mistake in Chapter 4 is falling into that exact trap.

//He’s all too eager to assume that Hina betrayed Sakura because he would have no qualms about pretending to be someone’s ally only to betray them later. But Hina doesn’t operate that way. Unlike the cold, pragmatic Byakuya, Hina is fiercely loyal to the people she cares about, and her emotions drive her actions, even when those emotions lead to something as extreme as a murder-suicide plot.

//In this case, her overwhelming grief and desire for vengeance against those she blamed for pushing Sakura to her death clouded her judgment to the point where she was willing to sacrifice herself to take them all down.

//It’s a brilliant moment of narrative irony: Byakuya, the self-proclaimed master of strategy and logic, is undone not by a lack of intelligence, but by his inability to grasp the emotional depth and complexity of someone like Hina. His arrogance blinds him to the fact that not everyone operates on the same cutthroat principles he holds dear. Meanwhile, Hina, who he probably views as one of the least strategic players, manages to outmaneuver him entirely, using her raw emotions to create a scenario he never saw coming.

//And this actually ends in an unexpected, but not unwelcome way, because this actually GETS to Byakuya. He accepts his own shortcomings as a person, redeems himself a little by declaring to Monokuma that he’s done playing the killing game. It’s a rare moment of character growth that makes you grudgingly respect him, albeit only a little. But as the rest of the series shows, he goes nowhere but up from here.

//And two things that really sell this whole scene is 1) Jason Wishnov and Akira Ishida's Voice Acting in both dubs, and the way the voice cracks to show his perfection falling apart, as well as Kyoko absolutely ROASTING THE FUCK out of him!

//This is largely why I absolutely love Kyoko, because this is one of the moments where you see that she's not some perfect, stoic, unbreachable person who's on a whole other level to you.

//This is very clearly her holding a grudge, and as she slowly picks apart the flaws in Hina's confession, which causes Byakuya to break down, she is SMILING the whole time.

//I just...love this woman.

//Going back to Hina though, the climax of the trial comes when she reveals her motive: a suicide note left by Sakura. However, in a cruel twist of Monokuma-brand villainy, the note turns out to be a forgery.

//Monokuma deliberately swapped out the real letter with a fake one to manipulate Hina’s grief and fuel the group’s chaos, and personally, I think it’s one of the most despicable things he does in the entire series, and that’s saying a lot.

//When the truth finally comes out, Hina breaks down, and the group is left to reckon with the consequences of their actions and the weight of Sakura’s sacrifice.

//In hindsight, this trial is deceptively simple. The actual mystery of Sakura’s death isn’t hard to solve. It’s the group’s infighting and emotional baggage that complicate everything. If they’d just taken a step back and communicated like rational people, the case could have been resolved in record time.

//But where’s the drama in that? Instead, we get a beautifully messy, tragic, and oddly humorous chapter that showcases the worst, and best, of the surviving students.

//Honestly, there's not an awful lot I can say about this trial that hasn't been said already countless times, but they key reason why it's so integral to the Danganronpa series as a whole, even outside of this game, can be summed up in one word:

//Impact.

//The impact of this trial is MONU-FUCKING-MENTAL on the series, and here's some of the reasons why:

//At the heart of this case is Sakura's tragic decision to take her own life. And her choice is an act of Despair but also of warped Hope.

//She believes her death will end the hostility among the group and give them a chance to unite against Monokuma. Her self-sacrifice is devastating because it underscores the extent of her love for her friends, even as they struggle to understand her.

//And it really highlights the fragility of human connections under pressure. And I think there's only one other case in the game that does this just as well. By process of elimination, you probably already know what that case is by now, but we'll cross that bridge when we burn it.

//Sakura’s case is a turning point in the game, where the game’s tone pivots from its earlier reliance on shock value, dark humor, and clever mysteries to something more profound and emotionally powerful.

//The previous trials, while dramatic, often leaned on the outrageousness of the situation or the cunning twists in their conclusions. In contrast, Case 4 delivers a narrative that delves deep into themes of trust, betrayal, and sacrifice.

//This trial doesn’t just unravel a mystery, it confronts the players and characters alike with the raw consequences of the killing game’s emotional toll. By doing so, it signals the transition into the darker and more introspective final act of the game, setting the stage for the heightened stakes and moral dilemmas to come.

//Largely the reason why I marked Case 6 down much lower than this is that Junko really broke the established tone of the final chapters that Sakura so expertly set up here.

//Case 4 stands out as the emotional low point, but narrative high point, for the main cast, giving each character a moment of significance in the narrative.

//Hiro and Toko find themselves as the initial suspects, adding levity through their bickering while also showcasing their survival instincts. Byakuya faces his first real moral test as he grapples with the nobility of Sakura’s actions, forcing him to reconsider his own cutthroat philosophy. Hina, the heart of the group, finally succumbs to her grief and lashes out at the others in an emotionally raw moment that highlights the depth of her bond with Sakura. Meanwhile, Makoto and Kyoko are at their best, working together to guide the trial to its resolution.

//This is the only non-finale trial in the series where every character plays a meaningful role, creating a tapestry of perspectives that makes the case unforgettable.

//But besides Sakura herself, the most integral characters to the narrative of this case are Hina and Byakuya. They CARRY this trial.

//Hina's emotional breakdown is one of the most memorable aspects of this game, showing how deeply Sakura’s death affects her. Overcome with grief and guilt, Hina lashes out at the group, blaming them for driving Sakura to her demise, and her overwhelming pain pushes her to extremes, almost resulting in a false conviction that would have doomed everyone. And thanks to Monokuma's fuckery, Hina doesn't realize that this isn't what Sakura would have wanted.

//This moment not only emphasizes the profound friendship she shared with Sakura but also serves as a harsh reminder of how easily grief can cloud judgment. Her vulnerability makes her one of the most relatable characters in the game, as her raw emotions contrast sharply with the cold logic often required to survive the killing game.

//And as already stated, for much of the game, Byakuya is the embodiment of arrogance and detachment, viewing others as tools or obstacles in his quest for survival. However, this trial marks a subtle but significant shift in his character.

//Confronted with the selflessness of Sakura’s actions, Byakuya begins to show cracks in his icy demeanor. Though reluctant to admit it, he acknowledges that her decision to sacrifice herself was noble and honorable, challenging his cynical worldview. This moment doesn’t transform Byakuya overnight, but it lays the groundwork for his eventual growth, showing that even someone as callous as him isn’t immune to the weight of Sakura’s sacrifice.

//This trial is also one of the key moments of this game where we really see how much of the group anchor Makoto is, and one of his standout moments in the series.

//Makoto role in the trial is pivotal, as he takes it upon himself to rebuild the fractured trust within the group. His determination to honor Sakura’s legacy and prevent further division among the students is a defining moment for his character. In his final speech to Monokuma, he emphasizes the importance of unity and mutual understanding, directly confronting the despair that the killing game seeks to cultivate.

//And this ability to inspire hope and empathy becomes the cornerstone of the group’s survival moving forward.

//And probably the thing that really got me in the feels with this trial was Sakura's suicide note. The real one that Monokuma reads after he ditches the fake one he gave Hina. In the note, she expresses her unwavering love for her friends and her wish for them to reconcile and survive together.

//It’s a powerful message of forgiveness that Toko, Hiro and Byakuya kinda don't really deserve, but Sakura refuses to hold any resentment toward those who doubted her, instead urging them to come together against their true enemy: Monokuma.

//This final gesture elevated her to one of the most respected and beloved characters in the series among the fanbase. Her note serves as both a farewell and a call to action, leaving a lasting impact on the group and the players.

//And in short, the reason why Case 4 is so integral, and so impactful to Danganronpa as a series, is how it highlights a central theme through the series, and conveys a life message to people for them to live by:

//Fear and mistrust is destructive.

//One of the central themes of Sakura’s case is how fear and mistrust can corrode relationships. Despite Sakura’s selflessness, her status as a traitor leads many of her friends to suspect her of harboring malicious intentions.

//Monokuma exploits this fear, turning the group against her and amplifying the isolation that ultimately drives everyone to Despair. And the case serves as a commentary on how paranoia can blind people to the truth and cause them to hurt those they care about most.

//By the end of the trial, the characters are forced to confront the consequences of their actions and realize the importance of trust...a lesson that becomes vital as they face the challenges ahead.

//And with all of that in mind, that's why this is one of the best trials in the series, and why there's no way I could put this any lower than the Top 10.

[crescencestudio]

VELOX FABULA: A TALE OF DELUSION AND MEMORIES

So… I’ve been keeping this relatively DL on this side of the internet. Twitter got a couple of sneak peeks, but in case you all didn’t know, I participated in Velox Fabula, a game jam where we are given a community theme and have 10 days to make a full game.

And when I say I participated, I mean I Participated.

Before I get into things, let me just say that as a disclaimer… I had Every Intention to enter this jam as an Extreme Sideline Supporter.

Shall we get into a “post-mortem” of sorts?

Let’s set the scene, shall we?

Crescence has just finished Intertwine and Otome Jam. They are feeling Good and Creative. Alaris has made good progress in the month of July and starting weeks of August! Crescence Sees Velox Fabula, and while wanting to participate, decides not to because they’ve just done one jam, they want to focus on their main game, and maybe they’ll touch grass a little. Who knows?

Enter about 1-2 weeks out of Velox Fabula, and people are posting their teams. Crescence gets FOMO. Many besties are involved in Velox Fabula. So Crescence reaches out to a team that’s pretty big and offers to do just QA! Help with brainstorming, scoping, narrative design, etc. That’s not too bad!

Another friend reaches out.

This is someone Crescence has always wanted to work with. Crescence will just be a writer! Again, that’s not too bad! Why not!

So now, come VF Jam, and Crescence is on two teams (I was originally on three actually LOLlxoap).

First 24 hours go off with a bang. The theme is Unreliable Narrator. There's lots of brainstorming, throwing ideas around, refining, and eventually we land on two ideas.

On team one, we have an otome game inspired by [REDACTED] that will feature and MC who is [REDACTED] and a character who [REDACTED]. The game ends up having three love interests and is Deeply Ambitious but with 10 people onboard we decide to push ourselves.

On team two, we have a point-and-click game with a rich story that explores MC's background and a narrative twist where [REDACTED]. It's fantasy-inspired, because bitches know me and fantasy. And has MC choose to cherish or forget their memories through the ingredients they decide to add to a potion.

Both of the stories are fun and relatively different compared to what I've done so far. One, while still fantasy, has a writing style that is more vivid and emotional compared to my usual more grounded writing. The other is, well, Horror. Which I have no experience writing.

And so the Jam begins

The first third of the jam is a blur of frantic writing, editing, narrative design, and more. It's a hodgepodge of ideas on how the script and gameplay will go together. What's the visual identity? What is the Story we're telling? What's the Mood? And how do we unite all of these things to elevate the atmosphere of the game itself?

Enter the second third, and I'm wrapping up writing on team two. I get asked to do GUI for potion team, which I hadn't anticipated. But hey, I'm feeling inspired. Plus, I want to learn how to code all of these GUI features in for Alaris. Why not use this as a learning experience? So I agree. Horror team needs some help writing, so I jump in as well. I've never written horror, but there's already an outline. How hard could it be?

In the span of maybe 3-4 days, I end up writing about 15k words and editing maybe 10k worth of words. Somewhere during this time frame, I've also made progress on Alaris

Enter the last third of the jam and these games needs to be Made. I code the GUI for potion team. I reformat both scripts for both teams to Ren'py format to ease the burden on coders while they figure out other game features.

Enter the last 12 hours, and I am still coding and QAing both games. Not even caffeine runs through my veins anymore; it is straight adrenaline.

Enter the last 30 minutes. Horror game has submitted. I am still QAing for potion team. Are the labels getting called correctly? Is the dialogue showing up when it should? We submit with less than 5 minutes to spare LMFASODLIJ

i still laugh at this

As I come out of the Jam haze, I feel two main things:

Proud of myself. Like I fckn did that. Considering the context of how I had come into these roles (as an NPC if u will), I contributed pretty heavily to these games. And I think not having to be director made me see the skillset I've slowly built up as a game dev. It was that moment where you step back and fight that imposter syndrome a little bit, which has been a Heavy companion with me throughout my game dev journey.

Tired but (Creatively) Rejuvenated. I think this jam was surprisingly what I didn't know I needed for Alaris. After Otome Jam, I definitely made progress and was excited to get into Alaris. But after this jam, where I feel like I am Done and 100% satisfied, there's no longer any temptation for any other project. Like I feel solely focused on Alaris, which is extra exciting because the next couple of routes are some I've been most excited to write!

At the end of it all, I feel like I learned so much from so many talented people. And I think my writing, GUI, and coding skills have come out for the stronger because of it. Something I like to do with my games is integrate every component together (biggest example is Intertwine and how the GUI plays a part in the narrative itself). Watching people who are exceptional at coding, GUI, etc. helped me learn different ways to approach my own creative process. And I am so unbelievably excited to bring all of this into Alaris! Velox Fabula was an unforgettable experience---it was cracked, fun, delusional all in the best ways. And I'm honestly pretty proud of the products we've made from it! If you haven't gotten a chance to, please feel free to check out:

A "beautiful and melancholic" game that explores the power of memories, emotions, and more in a fantasy potion setting:

And an eerie horror game with twists and turns that lurk around every corner, only to be interrupted by Cute Love Interests

[dirty-bosmer]

~Writerly Thumbprint Challenge~

Rules: look back on your work, both past and present, finished and unfinished. what are five (or more!) narrative elements, themes, topics or tropes that continuously pop up in your work?

Thanks to @thana-topsy for the tag! I was admittedly a bit intimidated by this one, but it was so illuminating. It's been a long time since I've taken a step back to evaluate my stories through a critical lens, and sometimes I forget what I've written 😅 I know a lot of people have already been tagged, so I'm tagging: @wispstalk @atypicalacademic @thequeenofthewinter @chennnington @rainpebble3 @justafoxhound @dumpsterhipster @skyrim-forever @sylvienerevarine @gilgamish @burningsilence

I'm a baby writer. Only two fics, both TES. Here is what I came up with:

1. An Inner Darkness, A Downward Spiral — Most of my OCs have a secret (sometimes not-so-secret) viscousness that's always simmering under the surface, threatening to ooze free. They're not necessarily mean, but they're not good people. They may not be evil, but they all do very bad things. Why? Because 1) thieving and necromancing and murder for hire are kinda fun in-game, and if our Hero is doing all of that while saving the world, it needs to be explained with something other than whimsy lol, and 2) I like the challenge of writing morally grey characters who are flawed and fucked up and unforgivable while simultaneously asking readers to root for them. I've found it quite difficult to make them likable and deserving of sympathy while not overlooking their wrongdoings or writing them inconsistently, but it makes for such interesting conflict.

2. The Pursuit of Knowledge — My protagonists and their close friends are mage-nerds because I am a nerd, and perhaps this is a case of it's easier to write what's close to home?? I love University settings and the looseness of the elder scrolls magic system. There is so much great lore to work with but in many cases it's not so rigid that you can't also twist it and grow it and shape it to your own desire. Knowledge is power as the Telvanni say. Most of my protagonists are not physically strong and rely on cunning and/or magic for defense. In that way, knowledge is the primary avenue by which they assert control over the world around them, which facilitates a lot of conversations surrounding the ethics of magical use cause well... given the way my OCs use it, it deserves to be questioned.

3. Identity — How does a character perceive themselves? How does this compare to what is perceived by those around them? I love exploring the discrepancies between these two and often write arcs that involve a character breaking through the facades they've constructed to conform to what is expected of them and/or shield themselves from the discomfort they feel in their own skin.

4. Loneliness, A Desperate Need for Love — I write characters who have been placed or place themselves on the fringes of society, yet long for acceptance and a place to belong. This leads to a lot of unhealthy and messy relationships, both familial, platonic, and romantic. Often times they hurt people they care about. They let others hurt them too, but it's okay as long as they're not alone, right? It's angst all the way to the top baby.

5. Romance is not the End Goal — Yeah, my work features ships. I'd say it's actually a huge part of the stories, but mostly because the relationships my characters are involved in "fail." People break up or they die tragically. They become incompatible and move on (sometimes lol). Maybe they endure, but romantic love is not the only kind nor the highest valued, and most importantly, I want to write characters whose self-worth is not tied up in whether they're loved by someone else.

Bonus is Awkard Bisexual Losers because all my OCs are cringe-fail and have no game.

This was such an informative exercise! I encourage everyone to take a stab at it. Please tag me if you do. I'm so excited to see what you come up with :))

[aperrywilliams]

We Could Try (Part 6): Good Enough? (Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader)

(Not my gif. Credits to the creator!)

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Author Masterlist / Clueless (prequel)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

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Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader

Summary: The BAU has to work with Valerie to solve a case, and (Y/N) needs to confront her demons to clear her head and decide if she will persevere in her relationship with Spencer.

Word Count: 4.6k

Warnings: Some strong words. Self-deprecating thoughts (Reader). Case's description. CM usual stuff. Valerie being Valerie. If I forgot something, let me know.

A/N: I’m back with this series! Who asked for some more angst?

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After an excruciating silence, Emily decided to take the ropes.

"Okay. Dr. Smith. I assume you read agent Green's reports from this case. Can you tell us your thoughts about those?"

"Valerie is okay, Emily."

"I prefer Dr. Smith. If you don't mind."

"Whatever you want, agent Prentiss," Valerie returned. A smug smile on her lips.

"So, did you access the old reports as well?" Rossi hastened to ask.

"Yes. I read everything on the flight coming here. Pretty interesting, I must say," Valerie commented.

(Y/N) felt suffocated in the room. She tried to avoid looking at Valerie or Spencer. And even when she succeeded, hearing her speak didn't help.

Valerie pointed out her findings. From time to time, she looked at Spencer, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Okay. What do you think?" Prentiss asked.

"It seems neat, but the details show hesitancy and irregularities. I wouldn't say the guy knows what he is doing," Valerie concluded.

(Y/N) didn't know how she should react. There was a case they needed to solve, and focusing on how uncomfortable she was wouldn't do any good. So she tried to collect herself and bury the fact that Valerie - fucking - Smith was there.

"Last autopsy report says the unsub had access to medical tools and some kind of training," (Y/N) pointed, handling the file for Valerie.

"The access could be. But I wouldn't say medical training in humans," Valerie explained.

"What kind, then?" Prentiss asked.

"Veterinary, maybe?" Spencer indicated, looking at the victim's body photos again.

"Always so clever, Dr. Reid," Valerie remarked. Spencer sighed and immediately locked eyes with (Y/N), visibly exhausted.

"Okay. If you excuse me, I'll go back to the hotel. Boston will send more files in the morning," (Y/N) explained, quickly standing and collecting her things.

"Why so early? Just when I thought we could go for a drink to catch up," Valerie suggested. (Y/N) looked at her dead in the eyes.

Ignoring Valerie's comment, Prentiss dismissed everyone for the night.

"We are done for now. Fresh start tomorrow at eight am."

(Y/N) was already out of the meeting room. Spencer didn't hesitate to grab his jacket and follow her outside.

“(Y/N)! Wait!" He called, (Y/N) reluctantly turned.

"Spencer, not now. I'm tired," she mumbled. It wasn't a lie.

"I know. I know. But I swear I didn't know Valerie would be here."

"A hell of a coincidence!" (Y/N) mockingly parroted Valerie's words from earlier.

"Please, can we talk? I don't want this to twist things between us," Spencer wrapped his hand around (Y/N)'s wrist.

"I think it's a bit late for that. They are already twisted," (Y/N) said, frustrated and annoyed at how things were going.

"But we were talking earlier; we were getting at something," Spencer reminded her, trying to keep her from leaving without talking to him.

"And you didn't want to talk at first," (Y/N) scoffed.

"C'mon (Y/N). Talk to me. Please."

Spencer was desperate. He didn't want her to leave like this.

"I told you, Spencer. I'm tired. Maybe Valerie is in the mood; why don't you ask her?" (Y/N) told him, yanking her arm to get rid of Spencer's grasp. Quickly, she got into the first cab she found.

"Well, that was a bit rude, if you ask me," Valerie commented as she approached after witnessing the whole interaction.

"I didn't ask your opinion on this matter or any other, so stay away from me," Spencer said sternly, still looking in the way (Y/N) left.

"So dense, Spencer. I thought you were doing better after all this time. And I thought you already realized what a waste of time that woman is," Valerie taunted.

"Don't you dare to talk about (Y/N) like that. You don't know anything," Spencer grunted, turning to see Valerie. She didn't even flinch at Spencer's words.

"I know enough. And that?" Valerie pointed to the spot where (Y/N) was minutes ago. "That doesn't seem like happiness to me. But you're the genius; I think you already know."

Spencer clenched his jaw. How was it possible that of all the moments, just in the worst of all, Valerie makes an appearance? Just when things between him and (Y/N) couldn't get any worse.

Valerie saw how Spencer was about to say something, but she didn't want to hear his outburst, so she decided to leave.

"Have a good night, Spencer. I'll see you in the morning."

-

(Y/N) barely slept. Even if she was tired as fuck, she tossed and turned all night. Only at dawn was she able to sleep a bit.

Spencer didn't do better than her. He knew which hotel she was staying in, but (Y/N) made it clear that she didn't want to talk to him. For a moment, Spencer mulled around the idea that this was the end. There wasn't anything that could salvage their relationship.

The same Spencer chastised himself for even thinking of giving up. They needed to talk - with Valerie there or without her.

But it seemed futile doing it before wrapping the case.

In the morning, a confused team saw Valerie Smith in the precinct.

Emily warned: "We are working on a case. Valerie is assisting. Keep it professional."

But that didn't stop the empathetic looks they flashed to (Y/N) when she arrived. And (Y/N) hated it.

Hours later, Rossi, Prentiss, JJ, Valerie, Spencer, and (Y/N) were bouncing ideas in the meeting room.

"Okay, there is a chance he could attack soon? Three days between victims is the standard for him now," Emily pointed out, watching the board with information.

"There is a possibility. In New Heaven, he had irregular intervals," JJ informed, reading the file.

"We assumed it was because he was adjusting his targets, but not his MO," (Y/N) mused.

"It doesn't seem like that, though. Forensic suggests he's quite sloppy even in the last killings," Valerie piped.

"But the reports didn't show that," Spencer said.

"That's why I'm here, my sweet Doctor Reid," Valerie said mockingly. Spencer shifted, uncomfortable in his seat.

(Y/N) only wanted to punch Valerie to erase that stupid smile from her face.

"Okay, Dr. Smith. What did you find to get that conclusion?" Emily hurried.

"These photos show the wounds of the first victim—full of bruises. The second one is different but still has these irregular cuts. The ME report says it was because of the tool used, but they're wrong. This is a plain scalpel, number 11, maybe, and not a dented blade. You can find those on the Internet if you want."

"So, the tool is different, but it doesn't rule out the medical training," Rossi reminded.

"This kind of incision couldn't be done for someone who knows the field or even a little close to that. Not even a butcher would do it that way. That's my opinion," Valerie sentenced.

"How fits that with the profile?" Prentiss asked. "We talked about confidence and bragging."

(Y/N) felt all eyes on her. It was her profile, and the evidence wasn't supporting it.

"Consistency. The path is repeated in the second and third victims. After that, he changed to another city. But he sticks to doing the same. If we were talking about a newbie, the scenes don't show that. They are not messy," (Y/N) described.

"Nothing that a good bleach can't do," Valerie interjected. (Y/N) rolled her eyes.

"But if bragging is a must for him, where is the signature?" Spencer questioned. (Y/N) nodded.

"We concluded that the signatures were in the bodies," (Y/N) replied.

"The messy handwork? I'm not a profiler, even if I dated one," Valerie said, winking at Spencer, and (Y/N) stomach twisted. "But the signature must mean something, right?"

Not an hour in that room, and (Y/N) was fed up.

"Not to us necessarily," (Y/N) interjected.

"So you have nothing with that. No wonder this guy is still on the loose," Valerie mocked.

That was the last straw for (Y/N).

"Are you questioning my job?" (Y/N) directly spoke to Valerie, who chuckled.

"No, darling. I'm pointing out facts," she retorted. Spencer and Rossi were about to say something, but Emily spoke first.

"Hey! Stop, you two," Prentiss warned. Valerie raised her hands in surrender but (Y/N) couldn't stand any second there, so she stood and left the room.

"We are here working on a case. Let's focus on that," Emily told the group, looking directly at Valerie.

-

Slamming the bathroom door, (Y/N) locked in there and tried to calm down. Her breathing picked up, and she felt choky. She closed her eyes, leaned toward the wall, and tried to ground herself.

'I can't do this,' she thought. Not with that woman in there, not with Spencer and the whole team there. (Y/N) was losing it, and all her insecurities arose at the same time.

Valerie was right in her observations; the signature wasn't evident. (Y/N) noticed the inconsistency in the injuries too, but she didn't come up with a plausible answer. She was stuck back then in Boston, and she was stuck now.

(Y/N) needed to cool off if she wanted to solve this case. Opening the faucet, she splashed cold water on her face.

Fuck Valerie and fuck Spencer.

Minutes later (Y/N) left the bathroom, but instead of returning to the meeting room, she secluded herself in the office where she had been working, double-checking the case files.

A knock alerted (Y/N). When she saw Spencer peeking through the door, she sighed.

"What? Are you going to tell me the profile is wrong too?"

Spencer shook his head, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

"I don't think the profile is wrong. I think there is something else we do not see, though," Spencer pointed, sitting in the chair in front of her. (Y/N) scoffed.

"That I'm not seeing, and Valerie does. That's what you're saying?" (Y/N) corrected defensively.

“(Y/N)-" Spencer wanted to protest, but (Y/N) cut him off.

"Don't bother. I know she's a scientist and better than me in that field. Among others, I should add," (Y/N) let out in a bitter tone.

Spencer could see the hurt in her eyes, and it pained him. He never saw (Y/N) this insecure about her job. And he knew it was his fault.

"That's not-" He tried to explain, but she didn't let him finish.

"Yeah, it is. That is what caught your attention in the first place. She is bright. I get that," (Y/N) shrugged, fidgeting with the files on her desk, avoiding Spencer's eye contact.

"(Y/N), don't do this," Spencer demanded, looking at her intensively.

"Do what? 'Pointing facts'?" she air-quoted Valerie's previous words. He shook his head.

"No. It's not true, and you know it. Valerie can say whatever she wants, but you can't believe her. Not you, for God's sake! I am the asshole who made a mistake. You can't be the one who's doubting about yourself!" Spencer grumbled. (Y/N) chuckled bitterly.

"Well, flash news, I do! I doubt everything now. And maybe because it's true, I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough at solving this fucking case. I'm not good enough for this job. And for sure, I'm not good enough for you. I should have realized sooner."

Spencer stood and kneeled in front of (Y/N), grabbing her hands in his. She didn't push him away but avoided eye contact.

"Why are you punishing yourself like this? You are an excellent profiler and the most incredible person I have known. You stuck out with me during one of the worst times of my life. You loved me even when I couldn't love myself. You are more than enough and more than I ever wanted. My love, I'm sorry I made you think otherwise," he apologized, kissing her knuckles.

(Y/N) bit her lower lip, trying to keep at bay the tears. She wanted to believe him. She really longed for that, but her mind and heart were still a mess.

As a cue, Valerie, and agent Green entered the room. (Y/N) stood quickly and turned to the window so they couldn't see her face. Spencer stood too and looked at the pair with no amusement.

"Doctor Reid. The ME from the last two autopsies wants to talk to you and Dr. Smith," Green announced. Spencer could see Valerie's smug smile. Turning to look at (Y/N), he saw she didn't move from her contemplation state at the window. Sighing, Spencer decided it wasn't time to argue, so he followed Green and Valerie outside.

As the door closed, (Y/N) returned to her seat at the desk. Looking at the folders pile, she mulled over Spencer's words. This may be the last chance to see if something between them could work. Could she be strong enough to endure the pressure of having Valerie there?

She could try. She needed to.

Over and over again (Y/N) examined each piece of evidence in those files. There had to be something there, she was sure.

Regardless of her efforts, it seemed the world didn't want her to focus. This time, the distraction was personified by David Rossi.

"Hey, kiddo," the man made his presence known. (Y/N) looked at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Nope. Don't even think about it, Rossi. I don't need a pep talk right now," she said. Rossi, unfazed by her words, sat in front of her.

"Maybe you don't want it, but I'm sure you need it," the man pointed.

"Now, suddenly, everyone knows what I need," (Y/N) scoffed.

"You have the absolute right to be upset. I get that. But you are better than anyone I met before to overcome something like this. I'm not quite sure where your insecurities come from now, but you need to stop," Rossi stated.

(Y/N) looked at him in disbelief.

"So that's it, uh?" she mocked.

"Bella. I know you're hurt. And I can see what that woman is trying to accomplish too. She wants you to feel self-conscious. To make you feel weak. Don't let her succeed. Yeah, she caught Reid's eye back then, but it was nothing to do with you. There were his own insecurities. Not let them become your insecurities now."

How could she explain to him that it was too late for that?

"She is smarter, Rossi. Pretty and sexy too. She exudes confidence and knows what she is capable of doing. She got Spencer once."

Rossi frowned. (Y/N) sighed.

"I know what you are thinking. How is it possible a heartbreak could do that? I'm very aware and not proud of it," she declared, resting her hands on her lap.

"Okay. Let's assume you are right. Why would that be your fault? Please, don't doubt your worth, Bella. Relationships fail because of the two people involved, not just one. In the past, you know you did everything you could. It was Reid who needed to recognize he needed to do something more to get better and stop doing nonsense. Now you both are trying. You both are pursuing to prevail over the past. He loves you, and you love him," Rossi tried to reason.

"Then why I can't stop thinking that I'm not - you know - good enough? To him, and honestly? For anything! Look at me! I'm a mess, and I can't put my shit together to solve this fucking case!" she complained. Rossi leaned in his chair to get a better view of (Y/N)'s glassy eyes.

"Kiddo. Don't go so hard on yourself. You are a good person, an experienced professional, and an excellent agent. You don't need to prove anything to anyone. Your value can't be put on hold just because someone said you weren't worthy, only to make you upset. She is taunting you. Don't let her win," Rossi recommended with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. (Y/N) huffed a laugh.

"I don't know how she fucking does it. She gets into my skin in a way I didn't think possible," she confessed. Rossi knew it was true.

"Then it's time to break that spell. I know you can do it. You deserve to be happy, Bella. Take your chance to be at peace with yourself and move on from the past. Now, come on, we need to catch this bastard," he sentenced, pointing to the files over the desk. (Y/N) nodded.

"Yeah. You're right."

"Damn right I am," the man said, making (Y/N) chuckle.

"Thank you, Rossi."

"Anytime, kiddo."

-

The connections they thought to find only made them run in circles. Every lead they got turned into a dead-end road. Agent Green couldn't hide the frustration on his face. Emily didn't do better.

The conversation Spencer and Valerie had with the ME confused them even more. Nobody could explain why the behavior evidence didn't match the victim's body marks. At some point, they thought it could be the work of two unsubs, but it didn't make sense.

Later that afternoon, watching the board with the pictures, (Y/N) saw something. Emily, Green, Reid, and Rossi were there too.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

"There. Can you see that? In her right arm?"

There was a small puncture mark at the wrist height. Checking the pictures, they saw the same pattern in the other victims. The spot was so tiny compared with the cuts in the rest of the body that no one noticed.

"Maybe he injected the drugs there?" Rossi wondered. Spencer shook his head.

"If he wanted to incapacitate them faster, the best place is in the neck. The wrist is too uncommon to do that," Spencer explained.

"So, why did he do it?" Green wondered. (Y/N) narrowed her eyes, trying to come up with some explanation. Then it hit her.

"Look at their defensive wounds. They don't have any linked to their right hand, as if they had not used it," (Y/N) pointed. Spencer's eyes widened.

"He only incapacitated their right arm. He wanted they could fight, but with a useless right arm," he elucidated.

"What does that mean?" Green asked. Rossi hummed.

"That our guy is telling us where to look. He is incapacitated himself," Rossi pointed.

"And if I have to guess, in his right hand or arm," Prentiss added.

"That could explain why the cuts are like they are. He is doing it with his injured hand," (Y/N) hypothesized.

After that conclusion, they moved fast. They filled the rest of the team with the information and called Garcia to change the search parameters.

They came up with names, but nobody fit all the killing's times and places.

"We are missing something," Prentiss pointed. Now all the team, plus Green and Valerie, were there.

The air was so tense that even Valerie kept her mouth shut from any remark or teasing.

(Y/N) didn't pay too much attention to Valerie either. She was determined to solve the case, and thinking about her issues with Valerie wouldn't help.

Spencer tried to focus on the case too. He knew they needed to catch this guy before talking to (Y/N) again.

Some hours later, Garcia called with new information.

"Hey, my people. I may have something for you," she announced.

And indeed, she was right. Garcia had found two possible names of interest to the investigation: Mark Garner, a nurse who worked in a clinic along with one of the victims. At the same time, he dated the governor's daughter years ago. The second name was Albert Conrad, a surgeon who did his internship with Garner and knew another victim from the New Haven area.

"Conrad fits the profile," Emily pointed.

"But he's not physically incapacitated, isn't he?" JJ questioned.

"His record says he had a car accident two years ago, and he has been struggling with that in his job for a while. His hours in the OR decreased substantially," Garcia informed.

"What about Garner?" Luke asked.

"He's linked to the victims. Maybe he provided the names to Conrad," Tara speculated.

"So we need to look at their relationship," Rossi said. "What do we know about that, Garcia?"

"Well, besides the fact that they were co-workers doing their internship? It seems they were both quite bright. They were tutored by Dr. William Turpin, who signed outstanding letters of recommendation for both of them."

"Williams D. Turpin? The surgeon from the Rothery's case?" Valerie asked.

"Oh. Yes. The same," Garcia confirmed.

"What is Rothery's case?" Luke asked.

"Some years ago, doctor Turpin helped the police solve the case of Albert Rothery, a reputable New York citizen," Valerie explained. "He was my professor when I did my internship too."

"Since then, Doctor Turpin has consulted other cases over the country. He's retired but has a lot of knowledge," Green added.

"Okay. We'll do this: Luke, Tara, and Rossi go to talk to Conrad. JJ, Reid will go with Garner. (Y/N), can you talk to Dr. Turpin?" Emily instructed. (Y/N) nodded. But before anyone could move, Green spoke.

"And take Dr. Smith with you. She knows him, could be helpful."

The room went silent. Spencer looked at (Y/N) and then at Emily.

"I can do that," Emily anticipated. But (Y/N) shook her head.

"It's okay. I'll do it."

Valerie looked at (Y/N), confused. 'Does she want time alone to punch me again?' Valerie thought. And as if (Y/N) could hear her thinking, she mumbled to her.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to throw you from the car," (Y/N) said, grabbing the car keys and walking outside.

Wait, was that a joke? Valerie wasn't sure but played along.

"What a relief," Valerie mumbled, following (Y/N) outside. Spencer looked in horror at how the two women walked away.

Since Valerie got in the car, there were no words between them. (Y/N) was staring down the road while Valerie was looking out the window. It was better not to say anything, right? But Valerie hated silence.

"Do you think it's Conrad?" Valerie asked out of the blue. (Y/N) cocked an eyebrow.

"We don't need to have small talk, you know?" (Y/N) said, trying to spare Valerie's attempt to do whatever she had in mind. Valerie huffed a laugh.

"It's a legitimate question, okay? Believe it or not, I am just as interested in seeing this man captured as you are. That you were on this same investigation is a bonus."

(Y/N) rolled her eyes. At least Valerie wasn't hiding her pleasure in teasing her.

"Good to know," (Y/N) mumbled, determined to avoid falling into Valerie's game. "And if you want to know, no. I don't think it's Conrad, but I don't have evidence to rule him out. That is why we're talking to Turpin."

"Why not?"

"This guy moves with a lot of confidence from one place to another. Conrad doesn't seem to have that. He has the skills, but that doesn't explain how he was able to outwit the police for so long," (Y/N) explained. Valerie hummed.

“So, do you think he’s older,” Valerie pointed.

“Yes. The profile says a white male between 45 and 55. I’m inclined toward the 55 part,” she added.

“Reasonable,” Valerie agreed.

(Y/N) wanted to ask if she really thought that or if it was a munition for later. She didn’t have the chance, though. They have arrived at Dr. Turpin’s house.

After ringing the doorbell, Valerie and (Y/N) waited silently until a man peeked out.

"Doctor William Turpin?" (Y/N) asked. The man cocked an eyebrow, a smile on his face.

"At least my birth certificate says so. Who’s asking?" Dr. Turpin questioned.

“I’m agent (Y/N) (Y/L/N). She’s doctor Valerie Smith; we are with the FBI and would like to ask you some questions if you are okay with that,” (Y/N) explained.

(Y/N) thought it was odd Dr. Turpin didn't even look impressed. But that could have been explained from so many times that he has previously consulted cases, (Y/N) concluded.

“Uhm. Of course. Your name again, sweetheart?” He asked, looking at Valerie.

“Valerie Smith, sir.”

“Did we meet before, right?”

“I did my internship with you some years ago,” Valerie explained. Turpin nodded.

“That’s it. I knew it. Please, come in,” Turpin invited.

He let Valerie and (Y/N) in and led them directly to his office.

Walking down the hallway of Turpin's house, (Y/N) couldn't help but notice the pictures on the wall. Many of them were classical paintings of considerable value. But others caught her attention, not because of cost but because of their content: human extremities in a still-life fashion. Mainly arms and hands. (Y/N) recalled seeing work like this by Joel-Peter Witkin.

‘Weirdo,’ she thought. But something in them made her uneasy.

Once seated in the office, (Y/N) explained the case they were working on and the suspicions about Garner and Conrad.

An unfazed Dr. Turpin related how he met Garner and Conrad. Nothing out of the ordinary: they both were skilled professionals, and Turpin appreciated the work they did as internships.

The conversation could have ended there, but something told (Y/N) that the doctor knew more than he said. Out of planning, she grabbed her tablet and asked Turpin if they could ask him about the case. The doctor agreed immediately.

"Dr. Smith, could you explain to Dr. Turpin our main concerns about the forensic evidence?" (Y/N) kindly asked. Valerie frowned but followed (Y/N)'s request.

As Valerie spoke, (Y/N) watched as Turpin looked excited by every detail. It was almost sinister. It was not the interest of a scientist in a subject of his specialty. It was more than that. (Y/N) couldn't help but remember the paintings she saw in the hallway, the same ones she could see now in the office.

Why did everything look so familiar?

She reviewed the little she knew about Turpin, and it was as if the unsub profile had been revealed before her.

The skills. The access. The injury?

If only she could see his hands. Why was none of that evident before?

Was it just paranoia?

When (Y/N) tried to find an answer, she was interrupted by the doctor.

"I hope you can catch him. I can't imagine what the fear of him escaping again must be like."

How did he know that? So far, no one outside the investigation has connected New Haven, Boston, and New York killings.

(Y/N) swallowed hard. And Turpin's smile told her all she needed to know. Cocky bastard. He didn't even try to hide it. Of course not: all this time, he walked among the police force without being noticed. Turpin was sure he would get away with it again.

(Y/N) thought about her options. Would it be odd to leave quickly? And if Turpin escaped before getting there again? How to alert the team without raising suspicions? She pretended her cell phone was vibrating and excused herself from taking the non-existent call in the corridor. (Y/N) quickly began typing a message to Emily. But when she was going to send it, a sharp blow in the back of her head made her fall to the floor, losing her grip on the phone. Before losing consciousness, (Y/N) knew that her suspicions were true. Turpin was the unsub, and now they were at his mercy.

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

Spencer Reid’s Taglist: @dreatine​ @nomajdetective @jayyeahthatsme @rosalinasam2 @averyhotchner @tvandfanfic​ @lovelyxtom @princessmiaelicia @pastelbabygirl19  @reidsbookclub @alexxavicry @gspenc @spencerreidisbae123 @calmspencer @thebloomingeagle @pauline5525mgg @maltamurdock @disaster-in-waiting @pebble-has-a-mirgraine @anamiad00msday @chlochlosworld @milivanili99

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

worst and best chapters in all of dr?

I've been thinking about this a bit- It's tough!! And I'm extremely biased!

I think the 6 best chapters would be (in no particular rank) 2-4, 2-5, 3-1, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6.

For 2-4- The funhouse is ridiculous but fun, It's also Nagito's heel turn chapter where you briefly get his POV and the final dead room. Not to mention Gundham's motive. 2-5 is obviously one of the best too. Nagito's death is the most gruesome in the games up to this point. The tragedy of his unsolvable murder is a really good gut punch, and all the survivors really find their dynamic together this chapter.

3-1 is a stunning start for v3. It does such a good job to make both Kaede and Shuichi compelling characters so that the events of the chapter hit REALLY HARD despite hardly knowing them. And v3's colourful cast really shines through here. I've talked about 3-4 a million times already but its a soulcrushing tragedy that profoundly challenges the virtues of the cast which simultaneously pushes the theme of the game (truth above all else vs lies being a potential kindness vs belief in others without any doubt). It's extremely well done, and leads into 3-5 brilliantly. A SECOND tragedy with Kaito and Kokichi, with the coming together of character foils and Shuichi only realizing he went too far way too late. Plus the actual most gruesome death in the game and finally the pressing of the trigger of Kaito's death as a chekov's gun. Which then leads into the best chapter 6 in the series- genuinely entertaining to play through rather than a bit of a lore heavy slog and with an extremely fun twist and mastermind.

I think the worst chapters in my opinion would have to be... 1-3 and 2-2.

1-3 is Fun but I also found the robo-justice thing to be a bit ridiculous. Almost feels more like a Detective Conan case than a dr one haha. The constant running around to different disasters felt weirdly paced for a standard DR chapter. Not to mention they killed my boy Taka :(

2-2 has an extremely strong end to its trial that almost makes up for the rest of it, but I just found the motive and case of this one a bit boring. The twilight syndrome murder case minigame was just not super interesting to me, and I wasn't really invested in Mahiru or Hiyoko at the time so I didn't feel super passionate about solving the murder either. Peko and Fuyuhiko at the end are ridiculously good, and sdr2 really picks back up after this point.

[dreamerswriter]

Top 5 Characters That I Believe Will Appear in Twisted Wonderland

It has been a while since I wrote a theory for the blog and what better way to make one by doing something for Twisted Wonderland. A game about Disney characters that on an average day I can go from thinking "wow, this character is well-written and has development!" to "I wouldn't hesitate to hit any of them in the head with a shovel". Except for Kalim, Silver, Neige, and Chenya. Who knows? This could change. 

Anyway, I will discuss how this will work. I made two lists. 

The first list is Top 5 Characters That Have a Good Chance of Appearing in this App for this post.

Vs 

Top 5 Characters I Would Love to See for another post. 

I know there are some characters who will definitely appear while there will be other characters who will not appear. I want to be right or get close with some of these characters. Would I love to see these characters appear? Will they? Some are a yes and others are a definite no. 

So, I've got a few categories and requirements for these characters. 

Rules: 

No family members + siblings 

No one already in the game with little backstory to them

This includes unique magics.

These characters have to be from Disney 

No Yuus. 

Mainly students but these can be teachers

I am looking at the Japanese version of the game. 

Format for each character: 

What school each person goes to

If possible, what dorm they belong to

What kind of magic would they use

Possibly backstory or what could happen to the character

Whether the character could overblot or not or would cause trouble

A potential storyline for them. 

With that said, let's start with the Top 5 Characters That Have a Good Chance of Appearing. With 5 being the least likely to 1 being the most likely.

5. Prince Hans 

So, I have a feeling this is a glass case scenario. For those that don't know what that means, it means that when the app needs money or something big, they will pull out a big event or character or item. Hans might be in this situation. 

While, he's not my favorite villain, he is a prick and it is fun to hate on pricks. Though, given on how twst puts a literal twist on the villains, it would be interesting to see what they do with this character. 

An ideal storyline would be something with whatever twst Anna and Elsa are, or it could be against one of the main cast we have. I could see Leona being a potential one because of their brothers. I want Hans to hate his brothers in this version or have a struggle with them. Leona would be the best foil since while he doesn’t hold his brother in high regard, he wouldn’t do anything this extreme. This event could be between royal students, so Malleus, Kalim, and maybe Rook, Idia, or Ortho since they have connections to royals. Would he Overblot? Yes, yes he would. He would have an ego and lose his mind to. But as long as I get to punch him, I am ok with this! 

This would be another SSR for Leona with a duo with Malleus. Kalim and Malleus being both the SR cards. I think for this, I am going with Rook for the R card. 

So, for the school. A part of me wants another school or him to be at NRC. However, another part of me wants him to be in RSA. Much like how NRC has Kalim, Rook, and Silver, I would enjoy it if RSA had Hans who uses dark magic as his neutral, but he appears princely. It would be nice to see this kind of student there. 

All in all, I can see this character debuting in the app, but I hope it is just Frozen 1. Do not give me anything more than that! I am serious! Enough is enough with Frozen! But I wouldn't hesitate to punch him at least once.

4. Mother Gothel

I think another person who has a good chance of appearing in this app is Mother Gothel. I am honestly surprised she wasn't in this app at all in the beginning. Similar to Trein, I hope she will be a teacher and maybe have kids?? But yeah, let's have another teacher at this school. The only ones holding this school together is Trein and Crewel. Sam if he gets something out of it, but Vargas and Crowely do not contribute anything in the end if you ask me. I don't know what kind of teacher I would want her to be, but it would be fitting for her to be taking care of students.

She's not my favorite villain because of how she treated Rapunzel and Eugene personally. Though, I do know the story for her would definitely be interesting, even if she is a teacher. The teachers do have good backstories, and I would love to see their pasts. She would be no different. I wonder if she does have kids that Rapunzel would attend NRC or RSA. This can also apply to Eugene as well since he could go to their school. I hope she didn't kidnap any kids….

I can see two possible stories. One, whatever goes on with the teachers down the line. We could learn about the teacher's backstories and how they're at the school. I want some kind of backstory, because all the teachers are interesting to me. 

For another scenario, maybe they go to her hometown and see what she's doing, like taking the magic from Rapunzel. Though, I feel like a plot like that will be hard to do. 

Overblot is possible, but I also hope not. I don't think she needs one, but if they do, it will be a wicked design. I can feel it. 

As for character cards I would want Riddle to be SSR, another Lilia SR (even though he has a bunch), Vil as an SR, and the R card to be Deuce. All four have themes of families and mothers. Vil's mother left and he has no intention of finding her, Deuce's mother was recently introduced and is a caring mother at that, Lilia is a single dad, but he's had experience with raising kids. Of course, Riddle because of the relationship he has with his mother. Riddle getting a duo with Vil would be a nice touch. I genuinely want a theme of family to be explored for one time. As well as the responsibility of being a parent vs the child's view on the situation.

3. Iago 

There have been references to a friend that Najma and Jamil have. This could be a throw away line, but it is entirely possible this is Iago. Out of all the villain characters, it did surprise me that Iago wasn't present. Then I thought about it, Iago isn't a villain anymore. He's actually a hero in Aladdin 2. He saved Aladdin and kicked Jafar's lamp into the lava. Though, I can see this as another Rook situation except that doesn't frick me over. I have a cat to feed! Why did you do this?! 

Iago can either go to RSA or NRC because of the movies. I want to lean more RSA because I believe Aladdin's dad, Cassim, would be there. Iago is in a similar situation to Rook. Sure, the hunter did was tasked with killing Snow White, but he ended up protecting her. Iago did steal the lamp, but he did kill genie Jafar by pushing his lamp into the lava. So, it would be interesting. I also want to see a bird beastman. Since we have Kifaji, I would be nice to see another one. That's just me though. I think his magic could be either dark or light magic since Iago's been both a hero and a villain. I want him to have a duo with Jamil. 

Anyway, it is clear that he would have some relationship to Jamil and Najma at the very least. He might even know Kalim. For the story, I think it would be a return to the Scalding Sands. A party at Kalim's place that his family hosts. He steals something that is important to them and could create a kind of mystery element to it. Like the murder mystery plots except no one is dead. When they do find out it is him, he would Overblot. Then, everything will be fine, because Kalim would say so. 

So, the only issue is Jamil's 3rd birthday card has a picture of Iago. Now, we don't know if this means Jamil is also Iago. I personally hope not, because there is potential of him to be a great character. If it does, then that's fine too. I would love Jamil to have a friend that would understand his situation. The closest friend he has is Ruggie, but it would be nice. 

2. Prince Rielle + Falena 

This is where I break a rule, but I want to know what both looked like. Mainly, because these two are iconic Disney characters. Even if one of them died. Regardless, both are important characters to the stories of Leona and Azul. As of this moment, I don't know if either will appear in the manga, but it would honestly be nice to see either of them. Heck, they could even debut in the anime. We still don't know what the anime is about at the moment either, so we could get more characters. 

So, both attended RSA. I don't know if they will Overblot since we haven't seen anyone from that school Overblot. Heck, we haven't seen anyone with light magic Overblot. If any of these two has a chance to Overblot, I would say Rielle. They could do a lot with his character. 

Rielle will have an amazing father and has older brothers who I imagine are accomplished singers and mages. I'd imagine he would feel insecure. Let's not forget that all he can do is sing. Ariel didn't have a lot of other talents either, so I believe he was feel some insecurity. I know the popular theory is that he bullied Azul, and that makes a lot of sense. Azul is a smart mage and has a lot of talent. He runs a competent restaurant and subscription service at the age of 17 and understand economics! Either way, I could see Rielle having an Overblot. 

As for the story, I would honestly love another singing competition with him staring in it with his other siblings. Of course, Octavinelle would arrive, I would love to see Vil again, and Neige too. Who knows if Rielle would apologize or not to Azul, but the pressure of his brothers and what he did could trigger an Overblot. 

As for Falena, I feel like something would have to happen to his wife, Cheka, or Leona. I was kind of disappointed with the Leona's home event that we didn't get to see him. Though, for some odd reason, a prequel Lion King movie is in the works, so we could see Falena? I have no clue really. The potential story would be some trouble happening in the country and that means Leona has to return home to help. Something goes wrong and causes Falena to Overblot. I could see some bonding moments between him and Leona. 

Should clarify, I don't think they'll Overblot or not everyone needs an Overblot. There are ways to write for one to occur, but 

For cards, I think any are fine. To be honest, the current cards are also fine to deal with these events as well. Rielle and Falena could have common SSR cards, but I would love Cheka to cameo in Falena's card at least. Please?

1. Captain Hook 

This character is honestly a surprise. Where is he? Even more so, since we even have the fairies. Though, the fairies are fae and I believe Pixie Hollow exist. Whether Peter Pan and the lost boys do is another issue all together. Regardless, out of all the main villains that Disney markets in their merchandise and even at stores in the parks, Captain Hook isn't in the app. The only other two not in this app are Chernabog and Oogie Boogie. While all 3 are popular, Captain Hook is probably the more well known. Look, I love Fantasia and that's why I know Chernabog as well as his two boss fights in KH. Oogie Boogie is popular too from his movie, Hot Topic, and Kh, but I think Captain Hook is known more. You can argue about who should be there, but for me, I think Captain Hook needs to be the next big villain to be added. 

I want this captain to attend NRC. I want him to be a student so bad. I feel like he would absolutely hate the twins while he's cautious of Azul. I want him to either have a pirate sword or a gun. If anyone argues that is violent, Ortho threatened to destroy the school and doxx them. Of course, his neutral magic would be darkness. I feel like he would be strict with the rules or be more mature than most of the students. Then, he would do something dorky that proves he still has some growing up to do. 

Oh mans, the theme of growing up would be amazing to explore. I know there is a theory that the player's dorm is the captain Hook's one, but I don't think so. It could be, but I don't know. If any dorm he should belong to is  Heartslabyul. Both stories are from messed up British authors and both would have themes of growing up and following your own path as well as adhering to the rules. Of course, he would have a fancy outfit, and now that I think about it, I wonder how he would've reacted to Savanaclaw dressing up as pirates. I know Azul, Floyd, or Jade have a line about it, but it would be curious to see. 

Alright, backstory time. He's not that rich and had to grow up fast. I imagine a similar situation to Ruggie. He does have many jobs and has made some connections. He took care of kids in the orphanage he grew up in and uses his magic for them. He knows a lot of stories like those of heroes who steal from the rich and give to the poor. 

His unique magic would have something to do with his abilities to organize or command a crew. "All Hands on Deck!" he gives a command and the command must be fulfilled before he can cast another one. 

I have no idea of Mr. Smee would appear, but he would definitely be his second in command. 

Also, yes, he would overblot. There's just no way he wouldn't. I recall the KH boss fights with him. Those were fun, so I can see the same thing happening here. 

And now for the story reason he would Overblot. There's a treasure that students want to find on an island. Of course, they run into the fairies who cause them trouble. Then, they could encounter Hook and Smee. They race to find the treasure and slowly but surely, Hook is starting to lose it and Overblots to get the treasure and get rid of those who don't get out of his way or listen to him. Afterwards, maybe they'll take him with them back to the school. 

I could see Ruggie, Trey, Jade, and Jamil being the cards for this kind of event. Ruggie would be my choice for the SSR since he would relate the most to him. Trey and Jamil being the SR, Jamil being the duo to Ruggie. Trey is an older brother and I want to see that explored. Jamil and his life would also reflect well with Hook. Jade is the R card, because I could see him helping Smee more than Hook but also wanting the treasure for his brother and Azul. 

Wow, I was really passionate about this character. Well, that's it for those I believe have a huge chance of being in this App. I think these characters are the most likely to debut and have such interesting storylines to go with them as well. Honestly, I can't even wait to see what we get from the new events alone!

[abalovesfic]

Just wanted to say hi and stuff.

Anyways, first, really excited to see u do the https://www.tumblr.com/tenyearsofbillcipher/755662672538861568?source=share

thing.

And to see u as u said: "come back to ur roots" for a bit.

Do u know when the zine is going to start releasing and stuff?

Also, just wanted to say, I totally understand u being busy busy in another fandom for awhile, fic-writing-wise (well, at least were and/or etc.).

I.e. "Psych".

Even though, I am not too big into the "Psych" fandom (I do actually really like the series, I just don't' interact much with its fandom usually), and I love ur Gravity Falls, GF TAU stuff, that one Reverse Falls fic u did, etc. And patiently wait for more, hopefully someday (well, besides that zine fic, lol).

I totally get having other fandoms and stuff and doing stuff for more than 1 fandom. I myself have and do too. Though I do have stuff I more prefer and favor.

Also, might end up checking ur "Psych" fic someday. Since I do actually love "Psych", ur a great writer, and that "Psych" fic of urs does look interesting (and would have a lot to read to!). So yeah, might check out. Maybe.

Off of that, I love so much of the GF TAU stuff u have reblogged on here.

Liked the ones I haven't already liked, and really want to try to reblog them at some point.

Like that one that has Dipper and Mabel going "Someone will die." "Of traumatic blood loss!". It is just so funny and suits them so well. And is a nice twist on that meme. Also, Dipper and Mabel look great in that picture.

Anyways, I have some other things to say.

Like:

I might send Ask(s) about this:

"WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS"

at some point.

And I want to talk about some "The Book of Bill" stuff, but in case, u haven't read/seen that much stuff on it (yet) and/or etc., I want to sav that for another Ask(s), because of that. And also because this Ask is getting long already. So I am gong to end this one here. 1/?.

Hi!!!!!

1. Preorders start today actually!!!!! It’s a really great zine and I’m excited to have been a part of it.

2. I do plan on finishing at least The Helpful Lie, I think I owe the fic that much and I have so much of it mapped out. That being said…

3. Spending time in the Psych fandom has been so rewarding. This was the right time for me to transition into something else. I’m gonna put this vaguely for privacy’s sake— I needed a new fandom if I was going to engage healthily again. And honestly, I think in 7 months Psych has given me more support and community than 12 years in Gravity Falls ever did. (But that’s luck, considering I went to Psych con and met the people who live in my phone.) (And probably also demographics.)

4. Obvi Gravity Falls and TAU are still the loves of my life and rn there’s this beautiful meld of Psych and Gravity Falls coexisting in my brain. Book of Bill was great and it reinvigorated something in me. So yes, I’ll come back eventually and write more but for now, I’m invested in my little queer detectives

[apparently-artless]

haii hii art how are you !!! i just wanted to let you know that after 17364748436 years of procrastination i finally watched the one piece live action!! I wanted to lyk earlier, but i procrastinated (again) ALSO. i read a few chapters of the goofy boss manga and they are so cute omg????

Andd, if it's not much of a bother can you recommend more stuff like webtoons that yoy like !! Somehow all your recs are super fun to read,, so if its not a problem can you rec some more stuff hehe :3

^ a cat for yuor troubles

hi, mimi! thank you for sending me a message! and that's a super cute cat by the way! what's the name?? send me a gentle pat on the head, will you? i don't have one so i can only look at cat pics and videos of other people. (︶︹︺) and make gifs of that tsundere cat, hakutou. lol

anyway, did you enjoy one piece? i had fun watching it. not the best live action out there for me but considering it's one piece, i'd say the cast did a wonderful job. it's also nice to know you already tried the goofy boss manga!! they are all super adorable and just heal your soul. ^^

as for webtoons, i do have some i can recommend:

Devil Number 4 - a devil and a young woman formed a "contract" in exchange for her soul. it's a cute story, has some plot twists here and there and the story of the other characters are interesting too. this is already completed so you don't have to wait for the new chapters. i might reread this again.

Interview with a Murderer by Queensa - this one's BL. as the title suggests, one of the MC is a serial killer and the other character is a journalist. but if you are not comfortable with serial killers and psychological thrillers, feel free to ignore this one. this one is just one of my favourite BL webtoons so i might as well include it in the list. this is only around 60+ chapters and the ending felt a bit rushed. and because the story is so good, i would've preferred if there were a few more chapters or at least some side stories.

Eleceed - imagine Study Group but give the students powers, enemies of today become friends of tomorrow. this series is pretty much addicting. when i finished reading up to the latest, i ended up rereading my favourite parts. and the relationship of the main character with his friends is so good.

Bring the Love by Zestkyo - this one's my ultimate favourite romance webtoon. i must admit, i am not a superfan of series that focuses heavily on romance, but this one is just the best romance story for me. season 1 is already completed and season 2 is still ongoing. i also lost count of the number of times i reread my favourite scenes. this one's historical (13th century setting) so just a heads-up in case this setting is not your cup of tea. and oh, there are lgbt couples here, too!

these are what i recommend for now! i am still reading eleceed and bring the love, but devil number 4 and interview with a murderer are both completed. i hope this helps! (￣▽￣*)ゞ

last but not the least! i would also like to recommend another manga series, kyuujitsu no warumono-san (mr. villain's day-off). it's also a light-hearted, soul-healing series. and this is getting anime and broadcast starts in january. you may also watch this through my gifs since i will definitely be making edits for this one. lol

[idyllic-affections]

HI THERE! IM BACK FROM MY TRIP! And holy moly i didnt missed a lot???? (i think..? I’ll have to read back your post but i want to send an ask now!)

First, love the new theme btw. Yaoshi is also my fav aeon from the aeons we currently know! They are so pretty and divine and i did have a huge stupid smile when Yaoshi kissed us in the simulated universe THEY JUST WANTED US TO STAY SAFE!!!!!!! I sometimes wonder if Hoyoverse is just building them up to be someone you should hate just to make plot twist that turns out, them just simply doesnt know the horrible results their actions does. They do it with good intention but didnt know the results would be bad. But i honestly like their ambiguous morality that hoyoverse have for most of the aeons because well they’re aeons they’re gods ofc they wont follow human morality.

Second, your second oc you have rn is pretty interesting. So i have QUESTIONS!

1. What do they look like? Ik that you said you’re not finished with their design but are they like in a child/teen body but has the mentality of an adult? (Something similar to bailu i guess)

2. What are their element?

3. What does the other aeons think of Ambrose? Like ‘why the hell does Yaoshi have a little human with them’

4. Is Lan and by extension the Xianzhou Alliance aware of Ambrose’s existance and special connection towards Yaoshi? since their relationship with the said Aeon isnt the typical relationship an emanator and aeon would have (i hc that Yaoshi is known to particuraly have a good relationship with their emanators but Ambrose is noticably their favourite one child)

Thirdly, can i just say something? Since i get busy a lot, I dont get to instantly play the new update which sadly leads me to be easily spoiled. Case in point, Tingyun infamous neck snap. I was just casually scrolling on youtube when i saw ‘Tingyun neck snapping in 4 languages’ Like wth youtube!? I try to just forget about it but the mind could never. By the time i do get to play and get to play the quest, i already knew her fate and just keep giving her the side eye. Ik her fate but idk the reason and stuff leading up to it. It was an interesting experience to say the least

Lastly, i am proud to say that i have FINALLY done Dan Heng IL companion quest and have researched enough that i can FINALLY continue on the brainrot i keep talking about, i might finish it this week if i can manage my time better but we’ll see. So keep your eyes wide open!

I hope you have a lovely day/night, now i should go to bed as im tired like hell.. BYE

- 🐱 Anon

HI BELOVED HELLO <333 oh i am SO excited to talk about ambrose. they are so fucking RRRAHGHG i love them....... pleasmelejldjd......

i agree!!!! you cannot call an aeon "good" or "evil." none of them are either of those things. good and evil are just human perceptions of morality, and divine beings like aeons cannot be placed into those human boxes (which is why i think the xianzhou's attitude towards yaoshi is so. odd. bro it was YOURRRR ancestors who looked for THEM!!!! THEY did not look for YOU ALL!!!!!! YOU GUYS looked for THEM!!!!! and hyv really wants me to think yaoshi is the "villain" here HELP AKJSJSGJUFBAJ) AND YAOSHI KISSING US CRIES SOBS SCREAMS they have such a gentle and nurturing soul in my brain. it is so hard for me to look at them and think "yeah that's a villain" THEY'RE NOT CRIES

i don't know if i prefer the idea of yaoshi being completely 100% aware of the consequences of their blessing, or being completely unaware and being so consumed by their path that they cannot see the harm they're doing. i think both interpretations have their own appeal. the second one is definitely more agonizing, though. either way, i do not see the abundance as a villain personally. aeons are not human. human morals cannot be applied to them.

and as for ambrose--

ambrose is, physically, a young adult! a very young adult. think eighteen or nineteen. i want them to be chronologically older than most people on any of the xianzhou alliance's ships, though, so i am working on an explanation for why their mara is less severe and has not completely consumed their consciousness.

i think they're either physical, fire, or imaginary. i haven't decided yet. i'm open to suggestions.

this is SO funny and i love thinking about this. i think most of the aeons were like... what the fuck. What Is That. why does yaoshi have a little human. what the fuck. i think nous would get along w/ them despite nous' involvement with the xianzhou; ambrose sought to be freed from the limitations of mortal comprehension in order to learn more and see beyond their home world, after all. and really, i don't think nous would give a FUCK about the conflict between the hunt and the abundance. they don't fucking care bro they are more concerned with other things LMAOOO. ambrose clashes really badly with nanook because they have a deep set love for humanity and the universe, whereas nanook... does not. the child of abundance, ambrose, does not like the destruction at all so they are ALWAYS going around and eliminating the antimatter legion when they can. IX could not care less about them rip..... IX's apathy is a stark contrast to ambrose's infinite kindness and passion for existence. in general, ambrose doesn't seek out any of the other aeons except nous. nous and yaoshi are the only ones they really talk to.

I AGREE I AGREE i think yaoshi is one of the aeons who really likes their emanators! ambrose in particular is like an extension of themselves (perhaps this could contribute to why their mara is less severe? ambrose is but an extension of their aeon, after all. their aeon's power probably does not hurt them as bad as it does to those who do not share that kind of bond with yaoshi; i think yaoshi can literally FEEL when something is not right with ambrose and vice versa. like, they share a sort of metaphysical bond). lan knows about this, and therefore, so does the xianzhou alliance. ambrose is regarded as an enemy, a thing that needs to be eliminated from the universe... even though they did nothing wrong. ambrose honestly doesn't care because fuck it, you know? there is no point in lamenting the loss of potential allies when those potential allies seem to vehemently hate their parent... but ambrose has learned from yaoshi to have love for every living thing in the universe, so the hate is very one-sided. they are not just a pathstrider. they are an emanator. they cannot emanate their parent's will and strength if they are hateful. so, they have a gentle and tender love for life and that does include the xianzhou alliance. the alliance sees their softness as patronizing, unfortunately. ambrose avoids lan like the fucking PLAGUE because they know that lan would absolutely take any given opportunity to remove them from the universe, and yaoshi would absolutely come to their aid if they sensed that ambrose was in danger. and ambrose cannot be responsible for aiding the hunt in eliminating the abundance. if they survived, and if yaoshi happened to... not survive, they would not be able to live with themselves. so they don't bother trying to make amends with the xianzhou or lan.

NOOOOOO YOUTUBE SPOILERS ARE THE WORST. THEY ARE SO UNAVOIDABLE. TUMBLR SPOILERS? THOSE CAN BE AVOIDED BUT YT.......

ahh that's awesome! i still have to do it HSKNKHSBGKA but you're welcome to brainrot in my inbox whenever you'd like to <3

rest well!!!!