#det. buwanhari

[mourningmaybells]

balancing trying to make det. buwanhari an engaging character to read while also keeping the fact he writes like he thinks he's the count of monte cristo and simoun ibarra when he's a hamlet with the charisma of a guy sitting in the corner of an office christmas party...god i hope i dont make him too annoying

[mourningmaybells]

Det. Buwanhari: My testosterone injections ran out Toyang: That's terrible. I'm 2000 pesos short for my bottom surgery Det. Buwanhari: I can't believe we're both so normal. Ariela: I'm a raised Capitalist!

[mourningmaybells]

taking a break to give him more dad issues

[mourningmaybells]

I STUDIED TYPOGRAPHY FOR TWO YEARS AND SO I HAVE TO USE IT SOMEWHERE

[mourningmaybells]

i worry i make det. buwanhari look completely stupid by making him make decisions that will get him killed, so I will give him a gun to stare at to clue the audience in that he's trying to commit suicide without asking for death directly. ig. idk

[mourningmaybells]

in between diary entires det. buwanhari would be like "my mom asked me once 'if ants could choose a different life, would they take the chance or continue what's "safe and familiar" with the knowledge life could be better?' and I didn't know what that meant but then I started crying" and then he'd continue talking about interviewing murder suspects like it didn't happen

[mourningmaybells]

det. buwanhari resisting the urge to tamper with evidence to make aciano look bad in front of his kids because everything horrible and true that happened 20 years ago has been scrubbed off from Aciano's reputation

[mourningmaybells]

me when i lie

[mourningmaybells]

every time someone asks det. buwanhari why he's fighting tooth and nail to know where Aciano is he'll go "someone asked me to. idk. i feel bad for his loved ones and i need money. i'll do anything if you pay me enough." meanwhile this image is constantly in his head

[mourningmaybells]

det. buwanhari is more like the femme fatale and nausica is more like the noir protagonist that gets sucked into the dark underbelly of her town if u think about it because she's trying to solve a mystery he already knows will destroy them both one way or another (<-not elaborating at all)

[mourningmaybells]

The Palindrome Moths is "I am that girl's parent but also I'm not" in different fonts

[mourningmaybells]

who/what are the palindrome moths?

ok so it's inspired by 1920s and 1940s, post-ww2, post-america and japanese occupation philippines. 20 passengers arrive on the island of Cayan, known for it's churches that resemble cave-like structures. But it also became infamous 30 years prior because of Raguel, who was a serial killer that claimed to be enacting the will of the goddess Imperias.

A murder occurs on the Halawod ship at the port of Cayan, but the time of death coincides with everyone receiving nightmarish hallucinations. The day after, everyone seemingly has forgotten about it, and even the murder itself. Save for 3 people. There's Toyang de leon, who lived on Cayan during the Raguel murders. The murder victim's 11-year old daughter, who goes by "Ariela", because she lost her memories during the collective hallucination, and Detective Buwanhari who was SUPPOSED to have prevented the murder but either through luck, fate, or stupidity, wasn't there when it happened.

Ariela receives prophetic dreams and wants to know why the woman who visits her (who she believes is The Goddess) has become resentful towards Cayan, Toyang tries to figure out what her true involvement was with the Raguel murders, and Det. Buwanhari is trying to make sense of What The Fuck Is Happening Why Are There No Children In This Town.

Maybe it's pre-colonial magic coming back, maybe it's Imperias enacting her rule. Maybe it's mutated science overtaking the natural world. Who knows. They're all gonna be projecting their personal beliefs on this.

Tbh, I still have to figure out the plot beats but I know how this gonna end since I was a little inspired by The Plagues of Egypt and Tower of Babel.

(I called it Palindrome Moths because of this:

“In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni” is a Latin palindrome doubling as a riddle. It’s variously translated as “We enter the circle at night and are consumed by fire” or “We turn in circles in the night and are devoured by fire.” The answer to the riddle: moths.

And this whole thing is about faith, and that faith being symbolized by fire)

[mourningmaybells]

Det. Buwanhari: Well I don't know if a god exists, but if one does I don't think innate cruelty was what built the world. I don't think we're at the mercy of a murderer

The Sun Tower, looking down below: I want to kill you specifically.