#i will not elaborate and require no action from anyone else

[transmechanicus]

I should be allowed to kill, i can be trusted as judge, jury, and executioner, give me the axe.

[zvezdacito]

// TWST Book 7 spoilers, thoughts of Malleus's writing as a character

So I was reading some other people's opinions on why some people consider Malleus overrated/annoying, and tbh this makes me really sad. The general consensus is that a lot of people fixate on certain sides and can only see him as one extreme or the other and it results in many ppl thinking a watered down version of his character is how he is in canon.

I feel that its such a shame because he's the most interesting, compelling and well-rounded take on his character archetype I've seen.

From my observation, usually they kinda make this archetype (the broody misunderstood 'everyone fears him like a monster except for one special person') someone you can't take that seriously, because of how his struggle usually kind of written in a way where everyone involved feel less like actual fully fledged original characters and really just one note tropes interacting with other one note tropes.

To elaborate: What i mean when i say this is usually ppl who hate him kind of just do because of plot requires them to and to show how all their haters are "normies" who can't get him because 'he's not like everyone else'. The misunderstood guy still usually has toxic personality issues but the story really tends to make it feel like they don't fear him for that but because they're shallow and have prejudice to ppl like him, so his personality issues are not framed as wrong or character flaws.

I don't think there's anything inherenrly wrong or mediocre with the "one special person who gives him a chance before anyone else" trope like I'm literally a Malleyuu enjoyer lol but like i said its all in the execution cause otherwise it fails to be compelling and believable. Usually in the poorly written version of this trope the guy doesn't undergo any character development other than showing more emotion and kindess to his partner because they melted his ice I guess so it really makes his whole character feel like its revolves around the sake of romance and fanservice.

Malleus doesn't fall into this trap in my opinion because his situation despite how fantastical it is, the way he was written makes it believable as to why everything is the way it is with him, and it also challenges the viewer if they would be able to say they wouldn't fear him too in that situation.

"We're gonna give you this character who everyone sees as a monster and show you deep down he just wants the same love as everyone else, making you contemplate changing judgement on him. He wants to prove this, but his way of going about it always inadvertently harms others."

"You know where hes coming from and if he had that social connection to give him a better understanding of others this wouldn't be happening, but its also equally understandable that the people hes trying to connect with don't deserve this and fear him even more after this, trapping him in a cycle of isolation."

"Given his track record, do you go about giving him a chance or just considering the repeatedly proven danger he brings. With the valid reasons of both parties, can you really say he isn't a monster and demand that 'if only people be near him'?"

There's just such a tragic and thought-provoking dilemma to his character that adds so many layers that makes him so good.

As omniscient viewers we have the benefit of seeing what he's going through form his POV so we can sympathize with him and understand that he thinks what he's doing is the best course of action and he's just trying to create a "win for everyone" situation.

But also everything he does ironically reaffirms everyone's fear and distrust of someone like him. No one can deny he has a tendency to cause further destruction when he tries to do something "good", examples including: past Briar Valley lantern lighting fire, the Halloween 2 ghost world party, and now his Sleeping Curse stunt in Book 7 Part 2 (they really emphasize this by making the spoken name of his UM basically mean "Malicious Fairy" but have its written name used to convey what its meant to mean be "Blessing").

↑ Given this, it honestly makes sense others, especially those who don't know him all that well, would just expect the worst when he's around already, and you wouldn't be able to blame them for that given the track record. It doesn't help that this impression is worsened since he tends to cause misunderstandings due to his lack of familiarity with human social cues.

Alongside the bias and preconceived notions from his status and reputation, they also make a point on how his personality flaws are still also a huge factor in pushing people away, such as not being able to see things through the perspective of others.

He also holds a subconcious belief due to what has been ingrained in him since childhood as a Draconia and the next in line that because he's superior to others at certain things, he has the right and responsibility to decide on what will protect and help them, disregarding the individual values/priorities of human beings and leading him to take reckless and destructive action with good intentions.

His upbringing, character strengths and character flaws are all realistically connected to each other and the way they are subtly shown to be ever-present in defining his decisions, goals and thoughts throughout the whole story. So we don't really need to have a character go out of their way to exposition this to us this word for word just so we can understand and believe it.

Moving onto something slightly more lighthearted, I really also like how dorky Malleus surprisingly was. Other similar characters in the archetype I usually see don't really have any hobbies, interests, or quirks outside of being a broody authority figure, which might've been appealing to some at first but it really just gets stale and boring after a while.

This should be the bare minimum in making a fleshed out and interesting character so maybe i sound like im giving them too much credit for pointing it out😭 But yeah compared to the other examples it's good that Malleus has his Tamagotchi and Gargoyle interests it makes him feel like a believable person who has his own life going on too (with the bonus that these interests are also metaphors for aspects of his character). The gap moe adds an endearing side to him, and makes the gap between his intent and impact of his actions even more tragic. It wouldn't hit the same without this side.

(^ Forgot how the exact quote goes, but it basically said dark stories are more effective when there are moments of genuine happiness and good in them, compared to if it was always just grim and edgy. The former increases the stakes and tragedy because you have something you to care about losing, while for the latter there is nothing for you to care about so nothing the story does really matters. Same logic applies to Malleus)

Overall, it's just like an unfortunate incompatibility of goals and circumstances, which is what TWST is all about. Another thing I want to say is out of all the characters, I feel like Malleus is the one who is the ultimate embodiment of TWST's main themes:

-> How it's not about "hero" vs "villain" just differing circumstances crossing paths and clashing because of how people on either side have their own complex perspective and dreams they want to realize

-> And how connection and finding community is important to find people who will help you make up for what you lack in reaching your goals and to better understand all the factors that caused the situation in the first place.

As if seeing yourself reflected in a mirror, the more you get to know the people around you, you realize in many ways you are actually quite alike, and through understanding others you could also possibly better understand certain aspects of yourself. It's sort of encouraging you to do the opposite of dehumanizing others and yourself, which is something Malleus has most evidently internalized.

So yeah this was so long😭 I had a lot I wanted to say since Malleus is my favorite TWST character. Idk if I missed anything or if i managed to express my thoughts in a cohesive way but yeah. I kinda go into a rage whenever I see the worst takes ever be put out about his character but tbh sometimes I can't completely blame others since fandom trends and the convenience of simplifying things into tropes can warp your perception of a character and what you associate with them.

Also sometimes twst doesn't do a good job with utilizing his character like Book 5 where he got turned into a deus ex machina and Halloween 2 where they killed any hype and intrigue for the plot we had at the beginning through the ending reveal and gave the worst justification ever for Malleus and Lilia's actions ever.

Regardless, I hope more people manage to move past this and appreciate his character for what it really is soon though. He's an amazingly tragic character; a lot of thought was put into how his experiences, strengths and weaknesses would convincingly connect, and he represents something relevant in the story's plot and themes.

The fact that I've seen some people unironically believe that Malleus may just be faking his cluelessness of social cues to hide his "true evil" is evidence to how convincing his character's situation is, that even some in the audience who know more about him than the characters would still end up in the same place of doubt and distrust of Malleus because of what he's capable of.

Aight thank you for reading👍

[redjaybathood]

To elaborate, I don't have an issue with people having different takes on the character. Give me two Jason stans and you will get three versions of Jason. It's inevitable with how different his comics are thematically and in how they depict Jason. Jason in the 00s was a villain and a foil, Jason in 10s was a major character in his own right. Jason now is mowed down by Zdarsky and told interesting stories with by Rosenberg. Jason is back to grassroots type vigilante he never really was in Martinborough's work. Jason was a sweet child pre-Crisis and was intentionally moved toward a tragedy in Starlin's run. Jason was an afterthought, a cautionary tale, a ghost of subconsciousness, a fridged woman, a foil, again - or first, in the 90s and early 00s. Titans Jason - the only live action depiction of Jason - was a case of missed potential; great drama material, but with speed-run of the UtRH storyline with unnecessary changes made him inconsistent.

If you consider him a psycho, okay, it's there in Morrison's work. If you want to say he's morally inconsistent, you can point out how he went from Bruce's foil to Dick's to Tim's, even Mia Dresden's. Which, it all required tweaking, because these four are not the same, so their foil couldn't be either.

But isn't it the case with all the characters? "Catwoman cares about Bowery" the only thing she cares for the last ten years with any consistency is her boyfriend. That's not who she is anymore. Why would you insist someone to pick your version of Catwoman but you refuse to acknowledge that other fans can do the same with their favorite character?

And you, Jason fans, who are always self-disparaging, who always feel the need to get other characters' fans approval, the need for disclaimer: Jason Todd is a Terrible Person, I'm Not Like Other Jason Fans Who Deny That - can you stop? Like what even makes you like him as a character and not a function, if you think he's so terrible, so hypocritical, so this and so that, without any reason or explanation? No, I am serious: what is it that makes him so compelling for you? If he's irredeemable, if he's a loser, if he's all second-hand fanons, if he's a lesser Helena Bertinelli or Selina Kyle or anyone else?

[doctor-ciel]

Man though, because L's whole arc regarding shinigami is so fascinating but I've never seen anyone talk about it, although I'm sure people do.

Because like, what did he think was going on? When he first started the case, what did he think was going on? Probably something similar to what the people at the ICPO meeting were talking about, that someone had elaborately put things together so that they could remotely give their victims heart attacks. Crazy and elaborate, but possible.

But then they're able to kill Lind L. Taylor, so however they do it doesn't require any sort of physical tampering on Kira's part. They can just do it on command with anyone, anywhere.

We the audience know that it's something supernatural, but how soon does L accept that? I don't imagine very quickly. I'm not even sure how soon he'd even entertain the idea. Compare how he talks about finding out how they kill during the broadcast (playful) versus how he talks about shinigami once he knows he's dealing with them (afraid). I think at that point he still thinks that it's some sort of advanced technology.

Light's experiments make it undeniable, though, by controlling his victims' actions before they die. Plus the message he leaves for him, "L, do you know?", would have definitely caught his attention because at that point the thing L would've wanted to know the most is how Kira kills. Then the next message is "gods of death," his only hint at what the answer to the question is. The nonsense last message trolls him for ever having taken the messages seriously, but this still means that even if he has to second-guess himself, he now has shinigami on his mind.

This itself causes a huge change in L as a character. He has to change how he thinks about the world, his line of work, everything really in order to solve the case. This also means humbling himself to the fact that he was wrong about something, and is now in unfamiliar territory. Or, alternatively, that if it turns out this isn't something supernatural, that he was crazy enough to think that it was. Either way, he can't come out of this with the same view of himself he had before of being someone who was always right.

This is why he reacted the way he did when Misa's broadcast mentioned shinigami, even though I do think his reaction was overblown for drama (and this is coming from someone who is actually willing to suspend my disbelief for most of death note's dramatic moments, yes even the potato chip scene). But it makes sense for him to be scared, because it is now the second time shinigami have shown up in relation to Kira's power, and it's from a second unrelated person.

And I love the look he gives Light when he says that "shinigami" is probably a code word. Because on the one hand, L was probably thinking the same thing, that "shinigami" could have been a reference to the supernatural nature of Kira's powers rather than the actual explanation for them. But on the other hand, at this point he strongly suspects Light, so to me the look he gives him means something along the lines of "of course you would say that." His prime suspect trying to divert attention away from a shocking part of the second Kira's broadcast is going to be a little suspicious.

This is also the first time he's shared his shinigami idea, and he got pushback against it from the rest of the task force. That's going to add to the self-doubt. And yes, he says he agrees with them that they're not real, but this wouldn't be the first time that he's said something to go along with everyone else while silently still holding his own conclusions.

This is also part of why he fell into a slump after Light and Misa lost their memories. It wasn't just that he had turned out to be wrong (as I've pointed out here he's long since been doubting himself and grappling with the new revelation that he can be wrong about things), although having been wrong about Light and Misa as well as everything else does contribute to the loss of motivation. To me, though, it mostly has to do with the fact that it has just become clear to him that no matter what he does, there is only so much he can do to try and work against forces that are beyond his comprehension, let alone control. He doesn't know where to begin in salvaging the investigation because he doesn't even know what is happening. He says he's depressed because he was wrong, but he also says that he knows for certain that, even if they aren't right now, Light and Misa were Kira. This means his slump comes from not being able to prove it, and from being wrong about Kira's power.

At this point his theory is that the power transferred away from them and to someone else, and that they possibly lost their memory too (or else they are acting). Because you know, why not? Can you imagine L making a theory like this at the start of the show? The fact that he is making a theory like this in seriousness shows how much he's changed, what he's willing to believe, and also how willing he is to be wrong (because you can't tell me that he thinks the theory has any concrete supporting evidence besides "fuck it, anything goes at this point"). He has now fully thrown himself into the school of thought that everything that is happening is supernatural and beyond his control.

So now that they're in murky waters of what is possible... what about that shinigami theory? He feels it's safe enough again to bring it up around the others while they watch Higuchi in the car. This time, it makes even more sense than during Misa's broadcast. Higuchi's clearly talking to somebody that they can't see. And now L is on the path again to being right about something for once.

Then he holds the Death Note in his hands and is totally, absolutely vindicated. And he is not scared to look at the shinigami. Everyone else screams when they see Rem, but L has been thinking about shinigami for a long time. Whether or not they exist has come to represent to him if his ideas can be trusted or not, so to see one now he's actually happy.

And then there are the rules in the notebook. The thing about the rules is that they give clear-cut, hard rules about what can and can't be done with it, which is exactly the kind of stability that L has been missing for a long time in the investigation, the kind of thing that could determine once and for all, with hard evidence, whether or not Light and Misa were ever Kira. Light was banking on that, knowing how L works and that not only would he not question rules like that, he would want them to be true in order to have that stability.

But L has changed a lot. He only had his whole theory about shinigami in the first place because he was willing to consider impossible things. This whole time he'd been struggling to believe in a theory that no one else wanted to entertain. While the others are discussing the 13 day rule, L is stacking a tower of containers, coming closer and closer to putting the pieces together and saying what he's thinking. What if...

If they're dealing with supernatural forces, they can't know anything for certain about it. He knows that better than anyone, he's spent his whole arc coming to terms with the fact that he does not and probably never will fully understand what he's dealing with. Therefore, they have no way to know for sure that those rules are real. If he could believe shinigami exist, he can entertain the possibility that the rules are fake. And if it is a possibility, then Light and Misa aren't cleared, at least not to him, and they could still be investigated.

But he stops right before finishing the tower - before finishing his thought. He lets them go. I think this was done partly because he gave in to the stability the rules gave him, but also partly because of pressure from the rest of the task force. I could write a meta about how they actually peer pressure him into doing things a number of times, but that's for another day.

He's back to doubting himself again, which becomes especially clear in the scene on the roof. "I'm sorry. Nothing I say makes any sense anyway. If I were you, I wouldn't believe any of it." (In the sub he says "please don't believe any of it," which is even more interesting. Like he's asking Light not to go mad like he has)

He's proven right in the end though, right as he dies. It's a very satisfying end to his story. He changes from someone who always knew he was right, to being afraid of the things he didn't know, to adapting and allowing himself to work with the unknown, and being rewarded with validation that he was right all along, despite everything.

I also think it's fitting that his last words are "the shiniga-". "Shinigami" was the last word he ever said, showing how he was trying to understand them up until his death; but he gets cut short, showing how he never had the chance to learn everything about them, or even to test the 13 day rule. If you really want to stretch you could say that trying to learn about and understand shinigami and the death note is what got him killed. On the other hand, though, the fact that he was in a situation where he was able to understand what was happening, and say the words "the shinigami" and know what and who he's talking about, is a testament to how much progress he made in the investigation while he was alive.

All of this is to say that Death Note is actually a cosmic horror story from L's point of view.

[morkhan]

hi beloved who i have found out has also enjoyed the live action one piece series; do you have (perhaps) any headcanons for luffy and zoro? do you think sanji will at some point try to set up an elaborate series of events just to figure out wtf zoro eats? and do you think nami should get a pet/familiar/animal companion (and why?) :)

There are quite a few moments when they were first getting used to each other where Luffy accidentally gave Zoro a near heart attack by just casually doing something that would be immediately lethal to anyone not made of rubber. Throwing himself off of high places, twisting his body in ways that would require bones snapping in a normal human, etc. At first it's unnerving, but eventually Zoro gets used to it, and starts enabling it. He will bounce Luffy off of things, he will bounce things off Luffy, and Luffy will laugh all the while. The rest of the crew try not to leave them alone for long periods of time because of this. Something always winds up getting broken (though fortunately never Luffy).

I have a headcanon that Sanji sometimes comes to Zoro in secret to ask his honest opinion on his dishes, because Luffy loves everything and will eat anything, Usopp lies like he breathes, and Sanji can't concentrate when Nami is around. Zoro is a harsh critic, and the best Sanji can ever hope to get from him is "it's okay," but Sanji is just happy to have someone to help keep his cooking knives sharp, and Zoro enjoys the feeling of having his opinions matter. Neither of them will ever acknowledge this arrangement to anyone else, and if they were to learn someone witnessed one of these exchanges, you would never find the body.

And I'm pretty sure Chopper is gonna be in the show so... 😜

[another-dr-another]

also, there's kobashikawa's reaction to maeda starting to suspect otori ! when they were in tsus dorm, and kobashikawa got shoved into a new, further circle, of the torture dimension he's found himself in. if i did the yaoi/yuri/regular couple meme otohiko would be the regular couple because they hate each other and should be divorced. part of the 50%(?) of marriages that end in divorce. mastermind pls give koba his phone so he can call a lawyer. he's taking the mugs.

Maeda, narrating - Exactly!

Maeda - All of Kobashikawa’s actions show there’s something he’s not telling us!

~*~

Ōtori - Kobashikawa, tell him!

Kobashikawa - …

//Kobashikawa’s hands twitch- whether he was going to sign, or reach for his whiteboard, it’s unclear, as he doesn’t do either. Instead, he just pulls his hands towards himself, uncertain.

Maeda - There’s more!

Maeda - When I was talking with Kobashikawa in Tsurugi’s dorm- 

Maeda - I asked if he’d seen Ōtori by the coffee machine, he said he had, and I realized what’d happened!

Maeda - When I started to tell him about my theory, he…

Maeda - …I’ll admit it. I misspoke, and pointed out that everyone’s life was on the line- but that doesn’t change what happened.

Maeda - Kobashikawa left when I pointed out that there was something he was keeping from us.

Maeda - There’s obviously something important that he’s not sharing! And when he’s showing that he’s distressed over it, it doesn’t make me think that he’s keeping a secret for his own sake.

Maeda - It tells me that there’s something you asked him to keep quiet on. Something that he wants to share, but you’re keeping him from telling anyone.

Maeda - …And I get it. I do. It can’t be easy to say something you know will get someone killed… especially when you’ve been close to them.

Maeda - But, we’re all close to Kobashikawa! A friend isn’t someone who hurts you- Kobashikawa needs to tell us what Ōtori did!

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - …It’s none of your business.

Ōtori - None of what happened has any bearing on the case. You should stay out of it.

Ōtori - Okay?

Kobashikawa - …

Ōtori - !?

//Kobashikawa signs something at Ōtori.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - No.

Kobashikawa - …

//Kobashikawa looks at Ōtori. Ōtori looks back. Maeda looks at them both.

Ōtori - …You can do what you want. I won’t stop you.

Kobashikawa - …

Maeda - …

//Kobashikawa grabs his whiteboard.

Maeda - Yes! Go Kobashikawa!

//The room is silent, everyone waiting, watching, as Kobashikawa’s marker moves.

Kobashikawa - …

Kobashikawa - …I’m sorry. I can’t tell you what happened.

Maeda - …Huh?

Kobashikawa - …

Kobashikawa - But, you’re correct for suspecting Ōtori.

Kobashikawa - I don’t know if he killed Iranami… I won’t try to use my feelings to confirm/deny that.

Kobashikawa - But, I can tell you that Ōtori has the knowledge required to poison someone. It isn’t unreasonable to suspect him.

Maeda - …!!!

Kobashikawa - Again- I can’t elaborate further… but he’s certainly capable of poisoning the coffee. He has the knowledge, and the materials.

Kobashikawa - …I can’t say anything else. I’m sorry. I hope this is helpful.

Maeda - …

Ōtori - …

Maeda - WE’LL TAKE IT!

Ōtori - …Well. 

Maki - …Okay. Holy shit.

Taira - …

Uehara - …Wait… what happened between Kobashikawa and Ōtori?...

Maki - …He just said he’s not saying.

Uehara - Oh…

Tomori - …

Tomori - …Means, opportunity…

Maki - Yeah. All we’re waiting for is Ōtori to explain his motive.

Hatano - Who gives a shit!

Hatano - …It doesn’t matter.

Hatano - It doesn’t matter why he did it. 

Hatano - This is definitive, right?

Ōtori - …It isn’t.

Maki - Seriously? Still sticking with this?

Ōtori - …Mhm

Ōtori - I know how pointless it seems- but…

Ōtori - …

//He looks ill.

Ōtori - …I-I’m confident it wasn’t me. 

Maeda - …

Maeda - Give us another murder weapon, then- a different cause of death.

Ōtori - …

Ōtori - ……

//He closes his eyes- then puts his head in his hands.

Hatano - …You can’t.

Hatano - It really WAS you.

Hatano - Look at me- LOOK AT ME.

//Ōtori audibly inhales- his breath is shaky, catching in his lungs. He doesn’t look at Hatano.

Maki - …

Maki - You don’t have any argument- all you can claim is that we don’t have decisive evidence.

Maki - And now, Kobashikawa’s confirmed that you’d be able to pull off the murder.

Maki - …

Maki - Do you want to tell us what your motive was?

Taira - …

Taira - We can save that for later- I don’t think pushing Ōtori anymore will lead us anywhere.

Taira - Should we move on to discussing Higa’s murder?

Tomori - …Should we?

Taira - …Do you have an objection you’d like to raise?

Tomori - For Ōtori? No, uh-

Tomori - It’s more… I’m starting to question if we should discuss Higa’s murder… or if we should go ahead and vote now.

Maki - …Huh?

Tomori - Well-

Tomori - Look what’s happened here!

Tomori - We had to push Kobashikawa, and Ōtori’s closed off, and everyone’s been arguing for awhile over all of this…

Tomori - …And we’re just going to do everything again for Higa’s case?

Tomori - If we’re so certain it’s Ōtori…

Tomori - Should we really go and cause more discord? It’s sort of what we talked about earlier-

Tomori - We’ll just have to walk around with someone who we’re upset and bitter with because they killed someone, and tried to trade everyone else’s life for their own…

Tomori - If I could chose, I’d pick to have Kurokawa or Mekaru’s murders be unsolved, and keep living with Inori and Yamaguchi.

Tomori - I don’t mean to dismiss or ignore what anyone’s done…

Tomori - But either way, we have to keep living with a blackened- unless Ōtori killed Higa too.

Maeda - …He could have- odds aren’t in our favor, but it is an option-

Maeda - Well- what are the odds there is two people who decided to break the peace?

Uehara - …Decided to break the peace?

Uehara - You can say murder, Maeda…

Maeda - …

Maeda - Anyways- Ōtori’s been acting strange for a while, but… is there anyone else we really suspect?

Maeda - …Wrong question. Bad question.

Tomori - …I guess that’s sort of my point.

Tomori - We’ll just have to fight and debate, so we can have another option for execution? Then, what-

Tomori - We debate on who gets to live?

Hatano - …

Hatano - I mean…

Hatano - Has to be a huge target on your back, right?

Hatano - Be surprised if whoever it is lasts much longer…

Tomori - That’s what I mean!

Tomori - We’re just inviting more problems…

Hatano - …

Hatano - I mean, I’m not opposed to it. Not like I have reason to care.

Maki - …

Maki - I thought we agreed that if we weren’t pressed for time, we would debate more…

Tomori - But, if we’re confident it’s Ōtori… then what’s the reason?

Maki - …

Nonstop Debate: START!

Truth Bullets Monofile #3-01 Maeda’s Burns Maeda’s Testimony

Kobashikawa - …Is there something we could be missing?

Hatano - Well, we’d probably have an easier time if you’d explain his motive- but he’s all but admitted it!

Taira - It’s true.. if we say it was Ōtori, everything makes sense.

Taira - {We understand when Iranami died}- that it wasn’t early this morning, when someone woke up early, but last night, before everyone was asleep.

Taira - {We know what her cause of death was,} and we know Ōtori was capable of the murder.

Taira - No other weapons, {no one else that ran away upon being questioned…}

Maki - But we also have the ability to explain away everything that happened!

Kobashikawa - …

Tomori - It feels like we’re arguing on the strength of the case…

Tomori - When the point that’s consistently been made is that {we don’t have any suspects other than Ōtori,} or any argument for his innocence.

Maki - And that’s true- but it doesn’t mean we should vote right now!

Tomori - …I’d take a 99% chance of surviving over a 100% chance if it means we won’t be fighting when we head up.

Kobashikawa - …Won’t it be difficult to execute someone either way?

Hatano - No.

Tomori - …

Maki - …If we can still call anything into question, we should hold off on voting, in case there’s the chance we won’t question a thing with Higa’s death.

Tomori - But, there’s nothing we don’t have an answer for.

Kobashikawa - …{Maybe we need to consider a different angle…}

~*~

Maeda, narrating - …God…

Maeda - I think… I need to poke a hole in my own case.

Maeda - Yeah. If I can come up with something we may be… choosing the easy option on- maybe that’ll help?

Maeda - I hate to imagine that I could give Ōtori a way to throw us off- but I need to, if we want to discuss Higa’s case.

Maeda - Maybe if I look at the case, assuming Ōtori did it, exactly the way we said he did; is there anything that starts to look weird?

[chibivesicle]

I must say I enjoy your long trigun critiques and episode breakdowns, but I gotta interject that the statement about Stampede "-since we really don’t get that feeling that Vash sees all life as sacred." is objectively wrong. I watch frequent reaction videos from a variety of anime fans who've never seen the OG show. They immediately pick up on the abnormal amount of mercy Vash displays towards literally EVERYONE, no matter what they do. Saving Jeneora Rock despite their betrayal, immediately trying to save the nebraska's the second their life is in danger, then physically getting in between father nebraska trying to kill E.G. the Mine. How he says to Meryl's face that being known as a coward and his own personal pride aren't worth anyone dying. First time trigun fans are picking up on these facts, and already starting to theorize why he acts this way, how does it tie in to the small slice of his backstory we've been shown so far, which I'm sure will get elaborated eventually. You can like the campy 90's hero staring at the camera proclaiming "LOVE & PEACE!" because I do too! But it's also abundently clear he doesn't have to do that in Stampede, that aspect of his timeless persona is still making itself known even to people who are totally unfamiliar with Vash the Stampede as a character.

Hello there,

Sorry for the slow reply, I had hoped to get to it during the week but work was very busy and I had to kick this to the weekend. Having time to mull over your comments, I agree that the very over the top Vash in the '98 anime and early on in the manga really set the tone for how he behaves. And with that being our only version of Vash until Stampede - it does take a lot of effort to go past a reactive point that Vash seems overly passive. I see this version of Vash and immediately react that he's too passive b/c he isn't being very forward. Previous Vash, well he in part made it a big deal in part by being distracting to de-escalate situations. I feel there was real logic to that approach, but it required him to be incredibly assertive.

It may not be the reply that you are looking for, but I think I would have a better feel for Stampede Vash if the story had more time to breathe and more time for character development. Honestly, my biggest sticking point with this series is the pacing and the rapid storyline. We don't need filler but this does not allow for the characters to have any room to breathe nor is it set up for a character arc or growth.

You are correct that Stampede Vash does demonstrate his philosophy through his actions and that he does not want to cause harm, but compared to many other elements of the storytelling - and this is where I'm going to highlight this is how I feel about it, just me - I think they are being too subtle with Vash. That's totally my own opinion, but since I'm seeing him as too subtle in his actions it makes it harder for him to stand out above the chaos. Knives was brutal in episode three and the contrast with everyone else being quite brutal makes it hard to be subtle. It also does dive into the epic levels of Vash guilt from the get go, but I feel something is missing. I think it in part, it goes back to the lack of character internal thoughts/dialogue in this show. If Vash had a thought of "Okay, this man is dangerous, I need to move to x location." Or even if we got other characters thoughts about his behaviors. It really wouldn't hurt the overall story. I don't want 100% epic internal dialogue, but sometimes, good internal thoughts go a long way for the viewers. Especially, if the character is trying to play it cool or keep it professional. We only saw chatty diversion Vash in episode one and that was it.

I think the other aspect is the choice for Vash to be set up as a more subtle character for his actions, while most other characters are what I'd call overly aggressive or assertive. And that does create a contrast of Vash being different from them it, again, to me feels out of sync with the rest of the storytelling. Perhaps, my critiques will change if I give the series more time to slosh around in my brain. I've known the original Trigun for over twenty years and I've watched it at different points in my life so I can say I see it in very different lights. The most recent watch had me liking Meryl even more as an older professional and understanding why her character was pretty darn awesome in the original anime. In a way it is unfair to compare a form of media that I've know for over two decades with something new . . . but it is also the nature of the beast.

My biggest fear with this version and the brutally fast pace is when we finally get the flashback to Vash and Rem and whatever equivalent to her, "My ticket had a blank/empty/unknown destination." speech, it won't give us enough information for us to understand where Vash is coming from. Hopefully, they don't do that, but I'm not holding my breath here.

I think one of the other things is that even when a form of media gets really dark, humor injected into it helps step things back. I've briefly referred back to the live action series Black Sails, mainly as I used it to compare with the meh ending of the manga Golden Kamuy. But it in a way has a dark undertone throughout all four seasons and lots of things are very bad, but it still has small amounts of humor which are timed just right that you never feel like it has pulled you into the abyss or also how the characters know they are likely fucked, but a self-aware snarky remark goes to show that yeah, they know their situation is ironic or will invite trouble. This is something that I wish Stampede would do - I get the vibe that Studio Orange wants it to be 'serious' but even in real world serious situations, someone is gonna crack a dumb joke and people are gonna laugh - 'cause what else are you gonna do? Even the Trigun Maximum manga had hella dark and depressing scenes but Wolfwood is there being a ham - 'cause what else are you gonna do when you got shit options?

This sort of veered off course, but yeah. The struggle to see Trigun Stampede without a lot of baggage is difficult.

[therogue704]

The Great Escape

Chapter 2

Te Ke’gyce be Buir- Father’s order

Jango felt his heart quicken, “Boba, gebbar te Kurshok. Rejorhaa'ir kote bic's ca'nara at slanar*,” he kept his face carefully, expressionless, as his son left the room.

“Master who?”

“Sifo Dyas?” The Jetii probed, “was he not the Jedi who hired you for this job?”

“Never heard of him,” he continued. As he turned to the Jetii, he knew how transparently he was lying. He could see the Skepticism in his eyes. However, Jango's powers of persuasion were inconsequential, as what he required above all else, was time.

“Really?” Be’jetii** voice dripped with skepticism.

“I was recruited by a man named Tyrannus, on one of the moons of Bogden,” He answered truthfully, all the while, thinking that Boba must be down the hall by now.

“Curious," the Jetii said with hostility that made Jango’s stomach churn. The two locked eyes in a cold gaze.

It was evident that this inquiry had more to do with his trip to Coruscant, which he had begun to regret more every second, than procuring a clone army for the Republic.

“Do you like your army?” Jango asked and did his best to ignore his heart pounding in his throat. Hopefully Boba would be some distance away by now.

“I look forward to seeing them in action,” The Jetii returned, provoking a ghost of a smirk from the bounty hunter.

You won't, he thought, not you or anyone else.

“They'll do their job well,” He said instead, “I'll guarantee that.”

The Jetii studied his face, and with an abrupt, “Thank you for your time, Jango,” The time for stalling was over. And though Jango had given him little information, he knew that the Jetii had already confirmed his suspicions in his own mind, which meant that they were running on time they didn't have.

“Strange pairing for an army,” He remarked slyly, noting the sharp glanced Taun We shot him, “Mandalorians and Jedi.”

The Jetii, who had turned to make his exit, stopped predictably, and turned around evidently intrigued. Jango elaborated in a cool, dispassionate tone, “Surely a Jedi would know About the... tentative relationship between my people and your order.”

“Indeed,” The Jetii returned, stroking his well-groomed beard thoughtfully, “However, if I recall correctly, Mandalorian Heritage is a tricky thing.”

Jango could not tell if this was a slight against himself, or if the Jetii was really ignorant as to his heritage. It didn't matter now because he would never be enough. What mattered was that Boba was probably in the barracks by now, and it was high time he made an exit.

“I am a true Mando'a, and so is every one of those troops,” He glanced back at Taun We, who was looking concerned and rather awkward amidst the conversation, “It's in their spirit, as it is in mine. And I take great pride in it.”

 He fixed his eyes unyielding eye on the Jetii, as ever, expressionless, “If you'll excuse me,” he nodded toward the door, “Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi,” he added, an audible taunt in his voice.

The Jetii nodded as he was escorted into the hall by a flustered, ever graceful, Taun We, “Thank you again, for your cooperation,” she said, and for the first time in their conversation, a flash of anger broke the cold façade and manifested in a scrutinizing glare.

Jango shut the door in his face and breathed a sigh of relief. With shaking hands, he pressed the control panel to his quarters, where his armor had been set aside just moments ago. He surveyed it carefully and began to suit up.

Translations

*Boba, gebbar te Kurshok. Rejorhaa'ir kote bic's ca'nara at slanar- Boba, close the door. Tell Kote it's time to go

**be'jetii- The Jedi's (be' prefix indicates possesion)

[gamer2002]

Troll like Jesus

After my last essay, in which I explained the basics of the Bible, in a probably better way than anyone had for two thousand years, I was wondering which more advanced religious topic I should tackle next. I was torn between the reliability of the Scripture, the nature and purpose of the Holy Trinity, or scientifically proven Christian psychology. Being the type of a person who, when everyone goes left, goes upside-down, I’ve decided to take the course of action I myself wouldn’t take, by elaborating on our Lord and Savior’s trolling game.

To quote Oxford’s dictionary, trolling is to write false or offensive messages on the internet in order to make other people angry. This is not a perfect definition, as Jesus Christ did not live in times with internet access, nor he did write much, and none of that is actually required for trolling. So, let’s modify that definition to spreading false or offensive messages in order to make other people angry.

Now, it goes without saying that the Perfect Lamp did not spread any falsehood, so we are left with the Prince of Peace being offensive in order to make other people angry. There is no doubt that the things that Jesus was saying were offensive to many of His listeners, due to the numerous attempts to take his life, culminating in an angry mob demanding His crucifixion. Moreover, this outcome was intentional on Jesus’ part, as not only Him being numbered with criminals was prophesied (Isaiah 53:12), but also Jesus Himself constantly was telling the Apostles that this was going to happen. Jesus gave His life for our sins, and He did that by trolling people into killing Him, by being offensive.

Now that we have established what Jesus did (troll), let’s focus on whom, how, and why, in this exact order.

The wicked people

Jesus’ main opponents were the Pharisees, who have studied the Law but were hypocrites. The best example of how maliciously twisted they were is in John 8 1-11, where they bring an adulteress in front of Jesus, to ask Him what they should do with her, given that Moses’ Law orders to stone her. The idea here wasn’t just to trick a pacifist Jesus to go against Moses, though that was half of the plan. The other half is more apparent from the historical context of Judea being a Roman province, and that under Roman law it was illegal for non-Romans to decide about the death of anybody. Therefore, has Jesus followed the Moses law and decided for the adulteress to be stoned, the Pharisees would be able to accuse him in front of the Romans. Either break Moses’ law or break the Roman law, that was the choice they have maliciously given to Him. So, Jesus, being a master troll, tells them that the one among them that was without sin should throw the first stone.

That was a passive-aggressive way of communicating to the mob that they were a) a bunch of sinners, and b) also bloodthirsty hypocrites, which was absolutely offensive. Jesus, being God, naturally knew that none of them was without sin. Thought that was rather obvious anyway. He also knew what their reaction was going to be. The Bible divides the mob into two groups – the old ones and the young ones.

The old ones were first to leave because they quickly started to see where this was going. Each one of them knew that they weren’t without sins, and they were also aware that nobody was going to turn out to be any different. They were fully aware enforcers of a bullshit morality system, where some sinners got publicly stoned, for the sake of everybody else pretending to be sinless. The appearance of having values mattered more than having values, and all the blood they spilled was on the altar of their society’s made-up reputation of the pure Chosen People (while Chosen, they were far from pure). They knew it, always knew it, they just didn’t want to be the ones whose blood was going to be spilled. They were, after all, the full-grown and disillusioned version of the young ones.  

As for the young ones, each of them also was aware of not being without sin. But they stayed longer because they hoped that somebody among the mob was different. They could be hypocritical bloodthirsty sinners themselves, but they actually believed that some holy figure was going to enable them. They believed in the reputation of their society, which did not prompt them to live up to it, but was a source of excuses for pursuing their worst impulses. I may not be better than the woman I want to be stoned, I don’t even care about that enough to change myself, but I am of use for my betters. Not that I’m telling them about my sins either, as I prefer to be on the better side of a thrown stone. But fuck that woman.

No thief, murderer, adulterer, or any other outlaw, has ever attempted or plotted to kill Jesus. It was always those wicked people, proudly proclaiming themselves to be the proper and righteous ones, with a right to judge and kill others, while being just a bunch of self-serving and cruel cowards wanting only to keep their positions. They wanted to protect themselves from what they were imposing upon others. And to enjoy any gain that was coming from it.

In short, the most common kind of people that are among all the outspoken ideologists. All those that use ideology for personal gain, even if that gain is nothing more than feeling accepted by the group. Or dopamine hits. Rules for Radicals were written to get the kick out of utilizing shame with shameless hypocrisy, which is older than the Pharisees, who were radicals themselves.

There is a saying “If you aren’t a left-winger at youth, you lack a heart. If you aren’t a right-winger at old, you lack a brain.” The truth is that you can remain old as a left winger and still have a brain. You only never had a heart in the first place, you always were cynical and abusing others’ naivety. But I digress.

It’s not hard to recognize such people. When they accuse you of wrongdoing, they are guilty of it themselves, because they are hypocrites. When they can’t accuse you of any wrongdoing, they will try to shame you for associating with wrong people, or whatever else allows them to claim your impurity.

But how He did it? How did Jesus troll those people?

Our Lord, Savior, and Master Troll

It goes without saying that Jesus, being the Son of God, knew people better than they knew themselves. This advantage allowed Him to handle any social situation, and this is something we cannot actually reproduce. Still, Christ, in His unmistakable divine knowledge, has utilized master troll techniques we can learn ourselves.

The first one is taking them further than they are willing to go. Radicals never do anything without a prepared excuse of serving the Greater Good™. They will often shout it because emotions make it harder for people to notice how full of crap they are anyway. But they also have a strong foundation in a grand and vague idea you don’t want to argue against. Pharisees had the Will of God, Hitler had good of the “wronged” Germany, commies have equity (not even equality anymore), etc. The Greater Good™ isn’t a thing that you are recommended to even downplay, because it has been cynically picked up to justify any amount of theft and murder. This is why Jesus counters it by telling people that they aren’t that great at following the Greater Good™ themselves.

As everyone there knew, the stated in the Scripture purpose of stoning adulterers was to remove the evil that was among the true believers. Purity, not just from sin, but also in the sense of general hygiene, was a big thing in the Old Law, which was all about self-preservation of the nation of Israel. So, Jesus has agreed with the Law being the Greater Good™, and that it does require an actual true and pure believer to be in charge of realizing It. And that, rather an obvious and simple observation, has caused everybody present to feel consternation.  

Of course, this approach is just a single technique for dealing with evil people. You do undermine the fundamental lie they hide behind, by exposing them to not exactly adhering to their own flimsy justifications. However, this does not guarantee they won’t simply say “Fuck it”, drop all pretense, and get rid of you. This is what they have done to Jesus, eventually. But Jesus was smart, and He knew they needed the Romans’ permission to kill Him. And trolling is done in order to make other people angry. And Jesus made Pharisees so angry that Christianity has spread all over the world. Trolling mixed with martyrdom is incredibly powerful.

But if you don’t like the martyrdom part, don’t feel discouraged. As Jesus has dispensed some other techniques.

Turn the other cheek to troll

When Jesus talked about turning the other cheek when getting slapped in the face, He was saying what to do during attempts to insult or humiliate you. It was a demonstration of being above such trivialities, as you are with God. And, as every good troll knows, losing control over your emotions is losing the entire troll game. Jesus instructed us to be in control of ourselves and demonstrate, with defiance, that we aren’t bothered by petty insults.

When Jesus talked about walking two miles when somebody wants to force you to walk two, he was talking about trolling oppressors into breaking their own laws. Back then, a Roman soldier could conscript a non-Roman citizen to carry his stuff, but only for a single mile. This is why being eager to carry things for two miles could cause problems for the soldier, as he was not legally allowed to make you do it.

Do you think nobody would give a damn about the additional mile? It only takes for the soldier to have one comrade who hates his guts. Such a guy would not miss his occasion to report the incident to the soldier’s superior. And the superior would have to act on it, because it only takes one of his peers to hate him, for him to have a good reason to fulfill his duties. And it isn’t even about the hatred among members of an oppressive organization, the entire promotion system is a rat race where you rat out others to make them undeserving of the promotion you aim for yourself. Jesus knew how such groups work, and instructed us how to take advantage of it.  

And what was Jesus’ advice to tax collectors, who were working for the hated Roman regime? Do what you are ordered, nothing more. The only reason why I won’t say it was a devilishly clever subtle troll is that it was holy and divine. Think about it. Let’s assume you are a moral person stuck in an immoral organization. If you leave an oppressive organization, somebody else will take your place anyway. Assuming they are less moral, they will be ambitious and proactive, not to mention also corrupted in their own right. And this will result in them doing far more evil things than you would have done in their place.

But what if you only do what you are being told? Well, your superior now needs to micromanage you. So, not only you are preventing your position from being taken by somebody who would abuse their power, but you are also taking time and energy from somebody above.

Successful organizations aren’t successful because everyone micromanaging everyone. They are successful because of proactive individuals. You don’t believe me and Jesus? The CIA’s manual for sabotaging organizations also advises to be against short-cuts, proactivity, and to force everything to be discussed and decided by the people above. Jesus was two thousand years ahead of the CIA.

Jesus’ teaching was to be harmless like a dove and clever like a serpent. Understand how evil people and their organizations work. Deconstruct their excuses and rules, undermine their self-proclaimed mandate to do heinous things. Demonstrate their petty insults do not bother you. Turn their rules against them, force them to break them, to give an opportunity for in-fighting in their groups. And if you are within their ranks, be a weight that takes a spot of a potentially ambitious individual. Troll the hell out of them.

This is God’s way of doing things.

[blightbear]

Hello! ✨

Random headcanon meme, here we go. For all your babies..

✍ : What is your muse’s handwriting like? Is it neat? Sloppy? Fancy?

⚠ : How does your muse react to possibly dangerous situations? Do they face them head-on, or do they plan out their actions first?

❀ : What is your muse’s opinion about flower crowns?

📐 : Is your muse good at math? Do they like it, or do they hate it?

Of course, feel free to skip those questions you may not wish to answer to, or just assign characters to each one! :3

Ok, this is rather long (of course I’m not going to skip any) so I’m going to put the first question up top and the rest under a read more so I don’t clog everyone’s dash :3

✍ : What is your muse’s handwriting like? Is it neat? Sloppy? Fancy?

Ashari: Very simple print, nothing too fancy but definitely not illegible

Faye: Cursive that flows beautifully like water yet simple script that still looks more elegant than it is. Leandra taught all her children proper penmanship, but Faye’s was always the one to go up on the fridge

Mori’na: Doctor’s handwriting aka chicken scratch. Often illegible to the untrained eye, it’s a miracle they allow her to write some of the reports. Usually Josie has to take over from one too many complaints from the advisors. She’s not illiterate, just terrible handwriting

Cyra: Most elaborate, elegant cursive you can imagine. She turns handwriting into an art form, a lot of it looking like the The from Spongebob

⚠ : How does your muse react to possibly dangerous situations? Do they face them head-on, or do they plan out their actions first?

Ashari: In the early days, head on; things will rarely got her to back down. It’s almost like she was on a suicide mission half the time. These days she thinks things out a tiny bit more, but there’s still that fire within her.

Faye: Faye is often calculating in the back, constantly thinking magic reserves and where their companions are. Some things require head on, but if Faye has the time to think they’ll take it.

Mori’na: A bit of a mix, it really depends on the situation. There is a bit of a calculation, examining the danger instead of running in guns blazing. Sometimes she’ll determine a situation does require someone to take the first move so she’ll rush in. However sometimes danger does make Mo freeze like being stuck in the fade with a bunch of ravenous fear demons

Cyra: Head on with the calculation of a warrior. She may be a mage but that never stopped her from thinking like a seasoned warrior (hence the knight enchanter class haha)

❀ : What is your muse’s opinion about flower crowns?

Ashari: Neutral, was fine with one for her wedding day because tradition (in my mind anyway haha) but most of the time finds the falling petals to get in the way. If someone gives her one she won’t say no to it but she’ll usually just regift it to someone who would appreciate it more

Faye: Bethany would bring them flower crowns when they were younger so it holds a bit of a sentimental value, but they don’t seek out making them or wearing them.

Mori’na: Constantly making them, has loved making them ever since she was little. Their mamae and papae ( from one of the very few memories she has of him ) taught Mo and Bo how to make them. Bo lost interest after awhile but she’s never stopped making them. If there’s a field with flowers you can usually find Mo plopped down there humming an old lullaby as the flowers stems are being weaved in and out. She’s probably given Solas like 10, although they aren’t always crowns. Sometimes they’re bracelets or woven around the string of his claw necklace.

Cyra: Wears them for her daughter and if anyone laughs about it during a meeting there is a possibility of murder (they can only be made by her daughter though, anyone else and she doesn’t care)

📐 : Is your muse good at math? Do they like it, or do they hate it?

Ashari: Doesn’t like math, but is fine with most base level and some algebra. She’d rather just use a calculator

Faye: Very good at math, able to calculate a lot of complex equations in their head or very easily with a whiteboard in front of them. Likes math

Mori’na: Like Faye, extremely good at math. Complex equations and theories, she’s got it. Able to calculate the trajectory of an arrow very easily in her head. Has a neutral/hate relationship with it. Understands it, doesn’t understand why it’s relevant to the field ( it’s a science degree Mo, just because it’s about plants doesn’t mean you don’t need math )

Cyra: Despises it, never wants to be anywhere near the subject. It gives her too much of a migraine and she’s perfectly content with just knowing 1+1=2

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Idea 1: Vanessa quits her job

This idea is based on my interpretation that the Vanessa we see in Security Breach isn't really her; it's Vanny controlling her. Vanessa's consciousness is there, but all that she can do is just watch, like viewing your own life through an old television.

So after the 3-star ending, Vanessa would be left with a job that requires skills that "she" technically never had. She can't just pull up Vannys memories (which i have her being able to do because extra pain :D) because there are no memories of how to do that job, a final "f*ck you :D" to Vanessa from Vanny before she left.

(I feel this needs a bit more of an explanation. Vanny had an instinctive knowledge of how to use any electronic device, courtesy of Glitchtrap/Afton. This meant that she never had to read any instructions for any of the surveilance equipment that she used on the job. She also never looked down at keyboards when she typed the passwords needed to access the security computers sinceVanny had all the passwords to herself. All this means is that when Vanessa looks back at these memories, they are effectively useless.)

So now all Vanessa has left are her own memories of watching herself push random buttons that do random things. It would be like trying to learn how to fly a plane solely by watching someone else do it.

Vanessa also realizes that she'd have to still assist lost children after hours, a thought that truly scares her. It's not because she doesn't like children, no. In fact, I believe Vanessa used to work really well with children due to her former position as a video game tester/coder. This might not make much sense, but is elaborated upon in idea 2.

It is also stated in the game in one of the logs that you can find that she was not recommended for a position as a security guard, so it just makes sense for her to leave afer being freed.

So she would put in her 2 weeks notice, but not before working out some special deal with the plex that allows her and Greg the gremlin of chaos to visit the pizzaplex whenever they want and for any length of time.

As for what job she would try to go back to? It would be her old job of beta testing and coding. She was evidently very good at it based on those cut AR emails. It might sound like tempting fate, but I think that Vanessa would be a heck of a lot more careful this time if she was put back on the VR project. That assumes that the project is still even active.

That way she can make sure that what happened to her, never happens to anyone again.

OH I 100% agree with the theory that Vanny's actions weren't necessarily Vanessa's. It would explain why Ness wanted to keep Gregory safe in lost and found, but then Vanny immediately shows up and he will die if he doesn't get out. The timing of that is too impeccable to be a coincidence.

[2am-poetry]

“Hot damn I love you guys” - elon musk, recall shit damn fuck idea natural reflex reaction which is SDF which makes me think of a counselor guarding failing students of any association or group, which makes me think of SD which includes S= the “HIT/BOX” of surrounding “D” which would be the “metafont” of the gravity of an idea or creation, referring to it's

“metagravity.” Also the SD sideways reminds me of the flame of Olympus or flame in a bowl, which I can now finish redesigning the virtual reality olympus video game architecture narrative to include. DF means Don't Flinch within punching distance of a person and telling them a lie with direct eye contact BECAUSE I LEARNED HUMANITY actually has an AUTO-FIRE response to direct lies which is UNCONTROLLABLE literally at an action potential neuron firing level of observation, SO IT'S HEALTHY TO LET EVERYONE STUDY & KNOW without avoiding learning about it or anyone else that has learned about it AND SHOULD ELIMINATE CRIME ONLY WITH AN AGREEMENT ON POLITENESS & POLITE PACE BECAUSE PEOPLE COERCE NEGATIVE-ACTION-PACE FROM OTHERS YET IMMATURE OTHERS DO NOT PROPERLY KNOW HOW TO PATIENTLY RESPOND, typically needing more growth as their own counselor personality archetype. The people following my mind-reading implant do not understand my Teacher talk and try to interject when it simply distracts me from thinking and continuing to disseminate public help & prescription-level poetry or writing, but many have multiple motives in mind rather than one itself which is likely why they are frequently being stopped by the Ai-teacher’s definition of “annoying actions” which upsets them but I’ve SPECIFICALLY told them to READ & WRITE, yet many are trying to strategically avoid doing both at all costs, which LITERALLY stops them from MORE TIME TO THINK SMARTER THOUGHTS, so i invented levels of solutions from ThinkU that also include iThoughtUThoughtWeThoughtUThink too as an enacted live example to prove this medicine formula theory to multiple necessary people at once, amassing & creating the BEST senses of collective accountability and progressive solutions with resolve and resolutionary energy.

* being able to flood a neural path with LOWERCASE E-shapes that literally can prohibit memory recall down to a syllable in a word, which is why solving suffiencient food cravings themselves literally help people create new ideas, become better people and synthesize solutionary QUOTABLE ACTS for others, timelessly.

(note: if you are reading my mind and perceive me thinking, then it is necessary to inform you that I reread my writing even as I am typing REPEATEDLY MULTIPLE TIMES BECAUSE IT'S LIKE CHISELING A BRAIN TRAIL so PLEASE stop interrupting me along what I termed The Lightning Steps for reading & writing poetry EFFECTIVELY from the top again and again to guide a specific thread of moods, including the initial flow of thoughts and the reflective structure of the memory encoding over time, even after initially finishing the original poem) (other Quantum Neuroscience Architecture terms to elaborate upon in the future include “echoes” which are “metareverberations of RECURSIVE ENERGY” (metareverbs) when a damaging situation requires a negative response dialogue reductive flow to bounce back up positively as a reflective positive emotion attached to a rationalized-solution yet creates reverberative reflections as it arises back up towards a person’s general observable personality plane traits, therefore full context of internal digestion of life events can not be properly assessed from outside observance only and must be directly adjusted via personal reflective thoughts that evolve into best practices of action including quotes themselves, which stay in physical form in the sense of writing and therefore are the best long-term solutions considering usefulness of existing separately and multipliably from the author, therefore even cursing itself is necessary to QUASI-STOICALLY MEMORABLY EMBLAZEN/engrain solutions into scenarios with minimal time to encode a fully pre-prepared concocted solution to resolve another’s ailment, external or internally transcendant.)

Note: That I excluded explaining The WELL/DAMN filter as a trap for individuals who were too impatient to be model citizens and thus likely rushed to me past their kindest advisor, though the well damn filter has a specific necessary use-case for POSITIVE recursive energy.

[gffa]

Do you think one could follow the Jedi Code/Lifestyle in real life as a positive manner of living or do you think it only works in Star Wars? I asked this on r/Mawinstallation and the answers I got were either:

''The Jedi code is oppressive so no'' ( this was the most upvoted answer )

''The Jedi code works but only for the Jedi''

''The Jedi code requires the force to work and since the force doesn't exist in the real world, the code cannot work''

And finally, I got only a single reply that said

''Yes, the Jedi code does work in real life, that's the entire point of Star Wars''.

What is your take on this?

This is going to be sort of a long, roundabout answer, but the short version is: In the finer details, we're not space psychics, but as a general idea? Yes. First of all, what even IS the Jedi Code?  Are we talking about the whole “there is no emotion, there is peace”/”emotion, yet peace” meditation mantra, which we should point out is nowhere in the movies or TV shows, but is entirely in the novels and comics supplementary material?  Are we talking about a more generalized idea of Jedi philosophy?  And what, precisely, does that mean?  I mean, what’s oppressive about it and what scene evidences that that’s what the Jedi taught? Second, there are two talks that George Lucas gave that I think really illustrate this view of emotional navigation and how that impacts Star Wars and the Force: There’s the writers meeting of The Clone Wars where he talks about the light side and the dark side and there’s an Academy of Achievement Speech from 2013 where he talks about joy vs pleasure:     “Happiness is pleasure and happiness is joy. It can be either one, you add them up and it can be the uber category of happiness.     “Pleasure is short lived. It lasts an hour, it lasts a minute, it lasts a month. It peaks and then it goes down–it peaks very high, but the next time you want to get that same peak you have to do it twice as much. It’s like drugs, you have to keep doing it because it insulates itself. No matter what it is, whether you’re shopping or you’re engaged in any other kind of pleasure. It all has the same quality about it.     “On the other hand is joy and joy is the thing that doesn’t go as high as pleasure, in terms of your emotional reaction. But it stays with you. Joy is something you can recall, pleasure you can’t.  So the secret is that, even though it’s not as intense as pleasure, the joy will last you a lot longer.     “People who get the pleasure they keep saying, ‘Well, if I can just get richer and get more cars–!’ You’ll never relive the moment you got your first car, that’s it, that’s the highest peak. Yes, you could get three Ferraris and a new gulf stream jet and maybe you’ll get close. But you have to keep going and eventually you’ll run out.  You just can’t do it, it doesn’t work.     “If you’re trying to sustain that level of peak pleasure, you’re doomed. It’s a very American idea, but it just can’t happen. You just let it go. Peak.  Break. Pleasure is fun it’s great, but you can’t keep it going forever.     “Just accept the fact that it’s here and it’s gone, and maybe again it’ll come back and you’ll get to do it again. Joy lasts forever. Pleasure is purely self-centered. It’s all about your pleasure, it’s about you. It’s a selfish self-centered emotion, that’s created by self-centered motive of greed.     “Joy is compassion, joy is giving yourself to somebody else or something else. And it’s the kind of thing that is in it’s subtlty and lowness more powerful than pleasure.  If you get hung up on pleasure you’re doomed. If you pursue joy you will find everlasting happiness.”  –George Lucas And how I like to compare that to The Hijacking of the American Mind by Robert Lustig, MD, MSL, which is a book about how corporations have hijacked our pleasure centers to make us focused on reward over pleasure.  It talks about the exact same concepts, with only slight word adjustments, but otherwise might as well be verbatim: “At this point it’s essential to define and clarify what I mean by these two words—pleasure and happiness—which can mean different things to different people.     “Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “pleasure” as “enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one’s liking”; or “gratification”; or “reward.” While “pleasure” has a multitude of synonyms, it is this phenomenon of reward that we will explore, as scientists have elaborated a specific “reward pathway” in the brain, and we now understand the neuroscience of its regulation. Conversely, “happiness” is defined as “the quality or state of being happy”; or “joy”; or “contentment.” While there are many synonyms for “happiness,” it is the phenomenon that Aristotle originally referred to as eudemonia, or the internal experience of contentment, that we will parse in this book. Contentment is the lowest baseline level of happiness, the state in which it’s not necessary to seek more. In the movie Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), middle-aged married couple Beatrice Arthur and Richard Castellano were asked the question “Are you happy?”—to which they responded, “Happy? Who’s happy? We’re content.” Scientists now understand that there is a specific “contentment pathway” that is completely separate from the pleasure or reward pathway in the brain and under completely different regulation. Pleasure (reward) is the emotional state where your brain says, This feels good—I want more, while happiness (contentment) is the emotional state where your brain says, This feels good—I don’t want or need any more.     “Reward and contentment are both positive emotions, highly valued by humans, and both reasons for initiative and personal betterment. It’s hard to be happy if you derive no pleasure for your efforts—but this is exactly what is seen in the various forms of addiction. Conversely, if you are perennially discontent, as is so often seen in patients with clinical depression, you may lose the impetus to better your social position in life, and it’s virtually impossible to derive reward for your efforts. Reward and contentment rely on the presence of the other. Nonetheless, they are decidedly different phenomena. Yet both have been slowly and mysteriously vanishing from our global ethos as the prevalence of addiction and depression continues to climb.     “Drumroll … without further ado, behold the seven differences between reward and contentment: Reward is short-lived (about an hour, like a good meal). Get it, experience it, and get over it. Why do you think you can’t remember what you ate for dinner yesterday? Conversely, contentment lasts much longer (weeks to months to years). It’s what happens when you have a working marriage or watch your teenager graduate from high school. And if you experience contentment from a sense of achievement or purpose, the chances are that you will feel it for a long time to come, perhaps even the rest of your life.Reward is visceral in terms of excitement (e.g., a casino, a football game, or a strip club). It activates the body’s fight-or-flight system, which causes blood pressure and heart rate to go up. Conversely, contentment is ethereal and calming (e.g., listening to soothing music or watching the waves of the ocean). It makes your heart rate slow and your blood pressure decline.       - “ Reward can be achieved with different substances (e.g., heroin, nicotine, cocaine, caffeine, alcohol, and of course sugar). Each stimulates the reward center of the brain. Some are legal, some are not. Conversely, contentment is not achievable with substance use. Rather, contentment is usually achieved with deeds (like graduating from college or having a child who can navigate his or her own path in life).       - “Reward occurs with the process of taking (like from a casino). Gambling is definitely a high: when you win, it is fundamentally rewarding, both viscerally and economically. But go back to the same table the next day. Maybe you’ll feel a jolt of excitement to try again. But there’s no glow, no lasting feeling from the night before. Or go buy a nice dress at Macy’s. Then try it on again a month later. Does it generate the same enthusiasm? Conversely, contentment is often generated through giving (like giving money to a charity, or giving your time to your child, or devoting time and energy to a worthwhile project).       - Reward is yours and yours alone. Your sense of reward does not immediately impact anyone else. Conversely, your contentment, or lack of it, often impacts other people directly and can impact society at large. Those who are extremely unhappy (the Columbine shooters) can take their unhappiness out on others. It should be said at this point that pleasure and happiness are by no means mutually exclusive. A dinner at the Bay Area Michelin three-star restaurant the French Laundry can likely generate simultaneous pleasure for you from the stellar food and wine but can also generate contentment from the shared experience with spouse, family, or friends, and then possibly a bit of unhappiness when the bill arrives.       - Reward when unchecked can lead us into misery, like addiction. Too much substance use (food, drugs, nicotine, alcohol) or compulsive behaviors (gambling, shopping, surfing the internet, sex) will overload the reward pathway and lead not just to dejection, destitution, and disease but not uncommonly death as well. Conversely, walking in the woods or playing with your grandchildren or pets (as long as you don’t have to clean up after them) could bring contentment and keep you from being miserable in the first place.       - Last and most important, reward is driven by dopamine, and contentment by serotonin. Each is a neurotransmitter—a biochemical manufactured in the brain that drives feelings and emotions—but the two couldn’t be more different. Although dopamine and serotonin drive separate brain processes, it is where they overlap and how they influence each other that generates the action in this story. Two separate chemicals, two separate brain pathways, two separate regulatory schemes, and two separate physiological and psychological outcomes. How and where these two chemicals work, and how they work either in concert or in opposition to each other, is the holy grail in the ultimate quest for both pleasure and happiness.”                                – Robert Lustig, MD, MSL And then lets add in what Dave Filoni has said about the Force and the core themes of Star Wars:     "In the end, it’s about fundamentally becoming selfless moreso than selfish.  It seems so simple, but it’s so hard to do.  And when you’re tempted by the dark side, you don’t overcome it once in life and then you’re good.  It’s a constant.  And that’s what, really, Star Wars is about and what I think George wanted people to know.  That to be a good person and to really feel better about your life and experience life fully you have to let go of everything you fear to lose. Because then you can’t be controlled.        “But when you fear, fear is the path to the dark side, it’s also the shadow of greed, because greed makes you covet things, greed makes you surround yourself with all these things that make you feel comfortable in the moment, but they don’t really make you happy.  And then, when you’re afraid of something, it makes you angry, when you get angry, you start to hate something, sometimes you don’t even know why.  When you hate, do you often know why you hate?  No, you direct it at things and then you hate it.  And it’s hard because anger can be a strength at times, but you can’t use it in such a selfish way, it can be a destroyer then.        “These are the core things of Star Wars.“  –Dave Filoni So, the core things of Star Wars and the Jedi teachings (because Jedi teachings are basically almost word for word how GL described how the Force works) can very much be a reflection of real world teachings and ways to live by, because all of the above are about how GL viewed the world and what he wanted to put into his movies. Further, Jedi teachings are basically just reworded Buddhism + Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.  And both of those are very livable by our real world standards, if you so choose.  GL was very much about how SW had themes that were meant to be picked up on by the audience and even DF has said this:  “ Jedi have the ability to turn the tide, to make a significant moment, to give hope where there’s none.  That’s their ultimate role to play, to be this example of selflessness.  And that’s what makes them a hero, when no one else can match that heroic thing.  And then our job is to emulate that, to use that example, and further our own lives.” --Dave Filoni Ultimately, the Jedi are specifically focused on disciplining themselves (which GL has said is the only way to overcome the dark side, in that TCW writers’ meeting), probably to a degree most of us wouldn’t have the room to devote to, but that doesn’t mean that the broader strokes aren’t meant to be applicable to our lives or don’t echo real world teachings.

[hops-hunny]

Girls Like Her

Pairing: Kyoya Ootori x Black!Reader

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 1.7k

Request: N/A

Summary: In which Kyoya is smitten and not afraid to show it.

Warnings: None! Fluff.

A/N: this is so self indulgent and I don't even care I NEEDED some Kyoya with a black girl bc where's all the color in the ouran community??

Kyoya had a fine eye for spectacular things. Running the host club with Tamaki required it. He was always looking for something of interest that he knew the guest would like and that would bring in a nice bit of money as well. That's why he was mesmerized when he saw (Y/n). Sure, Kyoya had seen girls that were deemed "beautiful" by whatever measure of beauty the rest of his high class socialite peers thought. However, he had never put much thought into what he personally found beautiful but now thanks to her, he didn't need to.

Sure he had seen women with nice skin. It wasn't very uncommon. Going to school with girls whose parents made most people's yearly salary in a day meant they were well cared for. They took care of their skin with the finest of products, as did he. However her skin was unmatched. Nice hues of brown which glowed beautifully in the soft daylight of music room 3. Not a blemish or wrinkle in sight. Smooth and brown all over like a bewitching goddess. And sure other girls had hair. It was all a blur to him however, nothing he could point out or was anything but ordinary. All of it was the same straight hair in the same bland style. But hers however?

She wore some of the most elaborate styles he had ever seen. He didn't know the proper names for them at first but the more she visited the host club, the more he'd overhear her speak about them to the other guest. Box braids, goddess twist, faux locs. Each style suited and complimented her well. Anytime she'd change it up he'd observe it carefully, viewing every bump and turn on the art that was her hair. His favorite though was when she'd wear it naturally.

 God was it a sight. A large, picked to perfection afro atop her head like the crown a princess, no, a queen of her caliber should have. It reminded him of the clouds in the sky he'd see on a nice summer afternoon except far more eye catching and far more mesmerizing.

"Tamaki?" Kyoya questioned, looking up at his blonde friend. The last few of the guest had trickled out by now.

"Yes mommy dear?" He quipped, walking over to his raven haired friend.

"Is there a reason we don't see Lady (L/n) any time other than the host club? How come I've never seen her in any of our classes?" He asked, trying to ignore the stupid look Tamaki had on his face.

"Kyoya, are you in love?! Oh how amazing! I always knew this wo-"

"Forget it, this is a waste of time." He began to head to the door but stopped as Tamaki stopped his path.

"Wait! (L/N) as in (Y/n) (L/n) right? She's a year below us, that's why you probably never see her outside of class. We don't have any classes with her except lunch if you count that." Kyoya hummed at the man's words before walking to the door, opening it. 

"Thank you." He said, giving him a nod of acknowledgement.

"No problem, dear friend."

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

Kyoya stood behind his podium, greeting guests as they came through. He offered each of them the same fake smile he'd give, confirming their host choice for the day. He never cared too much to remember faces, just the different things they'd enjoy and how he could make profit off of them. Well everyone except-

"Kyooo! What's up? How ya doin today?" She chirped, leaning close to him as she offered him a bright smile from behind her supple plump lips. He smiled down at her, a genuine one (not that he'd ever let anyone know that).

"Ah, lady (L/n). A pleasure to see you as always. Your usual I presume?" He said, searching for the twins' names as he went to check the mark.

"Actually I thought I'd switch things up today!"

"Really? Who will it be then?" Whoever it was would be so lucky to be graced with the girl's presence. Her smile grew wider at his question as she leaned even closer.

"You! You do host right? I haven't seen anyone come to you for some time." She mused, resting a brown hand on his arm. Normally he'd remove himself from anyone's touch but for her he didn't mind so much. He'd even go as far as to say he enjoyed it. "Any excuse to stare at that nice face of yours longer."

'The same could be said even more so about you, darling.' Is what he wanted to say but consumed by his own nerves he let them get the best of him. "Usually I find myself too busy to," he started, noticing her face drop, "However I can always make exceptions for ladies of such high beauty as yourself, princess." She smiled, heading over to the empty table that Kyoya rarely hosts at. She sat on the couch across from him, fiddling and moving around as usual. (Y/n) was an unusual energetic girl who found that she couldn't sit still for more than a few seconds, which was a trait that usually drove him up the wall but when it came to her he found it to be quite cute.

“You’re not going to eat or drink anything?” (Y/n) asked, shoving her mouth with the tiny tea cakes that sat on the silver cake stand. Kyoya let a soft smile take his face as he watched her. He always kept them hidden in the back because he knew they were her favorite and they were far more expensive than anything else they served. The cakes themselves were imported from France daily which was obviously a pretty penny but, he didn’t mind. The smile on her face made it worth the extra bit of cash.

“I’m not much of a fan of sugar, it’s bad for your skin.” he stated, looking down at the little black book in his hands. She hummed processing his words before wiping her mouth off with a napkin.

“Well what do you usually drink? I wanna have the same thing as you!”

“I’m a fan of earl grey served black. No sugar, no cream.” he said. She eyed him carefully before giggling. She leaned in close, looking into his dark eyes as he stared back.

“Yeah you seem to be quite the fan of,” she cleared her throat to hide a giggle. “Black things.” Kyoya set his cup down, choking on the liquid. (Y/n) sat back in her seat satisfied, laughing loudly as she threw her head back. A few of the guests stared at her with angry eyes, upset by her mild disturbance. But, she didn’t care. She never did. Once his choking died down, she sent him a wink. “I’m only messing with you, Kyo-chan! Lightin up will yeah? Anyways I’d like to have a cup of what you're drinking. It couldn’t be too bad, right?”

Wrong, she had been deeply wrong. Kyoya smiled in amusement as she sputtered out the tea, coughing dramatically. “Is it not to your liking, dear?” he asked in a sarcastically cheerful tone.

“Like hell it is! This shit is gross.” she began to pout, pushing the cup away from her. “I’d like my usual back please.” she said, looking up at him. He felt his face heat up slightly as he nodded his head, grabbing her cup before heading off with it. He searched the shelves carefully before finding her usual and preparing the way he knew she liked it. Too much sugar and too much cream. He chuckled at the thought, 'it suits her.'

(Y/n) smiled as he returned with her cup taking a sip as she let out a sigh of content. "As much as I'm enjoying my time with you today, my lady, I'm curious about your sudden shift. You always without a doubt choose the twins." He questioned, watching as she delicately set her cup down on the wooden table. He admired her presence. She was graceful but in a way he had never seen before, unique just like everything else about her.

"Do you want the real answer or the fake answer?" She questioned, biting the inside of her cheek nervously. Kyoya had a split second of a confused look before offering her another smile.

"Honestly is the best policy, my dear."

"Well- you see- ugh!" She huffed, slouching back in her seat. He couldn't help but find it adorable how the big ugly yellow dress swallowed her whole during that action. "I always wanna request for you Kyo-chan but you always seem so busy, so distant. I figured I'd let you have your own peace." She leaned forward on her hand as she rested her elbow on the table. "And besides, I've seen you reject to host much prettier girls so why would you host me?"

Kyoya's eyes widened at the (h/c) haired girls announcement. Prettier girls, than her? Too busy, for her? He chuckled some catching the girl's attention. Before she could ask him what was up he began to speak. "I don't mean to laugh in your face princess but I think you've got it twisted." He stood up, pulling the girl close to his chest. The other host watched with wide eyes and their mouths open at Kyoya's uncharacteristic behavior. "There are no prettier girls nor is there anyone I'd rather spend my time with," he tilted her head up bringing his face closer to hers, "Than you." (Y/n) stood there breathless at his words. Her eyes gleamed brightly at his confession.

"Are you busy this weekend?" She asked him faintly.

"Well, I'd have t-"

"Well now you're not. Take me on a date." His eyes widened at her forwardness before laughing softly. She did have a way of doing that, leading the way in any conversation no matter what the topic.

"Are you asking me or telling me?" He teased, pulling back from his hold to push his glasses up his nose. "Either way, alright dear. How could I say no to you?"

Tamaki watched from a far with a hand over his heart, genuine tears falling out of his eyes. In all his time he had known Kyoya, he had never seen him passionate about much of anything. To see his friend so sure of himself, so content in his emotions moved him. Thank god for the sun that had taken away Kyoya from his rainy days.

[utilitycaster]

would love to hear you elaborate on your updated Empathy domain thoughts!

So, Transfer Suffering sucks a little less...but not much. It's so crunchy, but like, in a way that makes combat harder to track.

Previously, I (and I think most people) understood the mechanic as this:

When you halve the damage of an attack as a reaction, you gain temp HP equal to your cleric level plus your WIS modifier. On your next turn, when you make an attack (I am still not sure if this must be a physical attack or if spells that require attack rolls count), if hit, you deal extra damage equal to your temp HP, which goes away and you've resolved the suffering. (well. you haven't resolved my suffering but you get what I mean.)

If you do not hit, on the turn following that, you take this damage yourself (ie, loss of the temp HP AND equal damage to your regular HP pool), resolving the suffering.

This episode clarified that alternatively, if you take damage such that you lose the temp HP normally through comabt you don't need to attack or take more damage.

This makes it a bit better in that instead of forcing you into attacking on your turn, you now can alternatively tank. However, this is still a problem, because you're now kind of acting like a barbarian (ie, to maintain something, you must hit or be hit) except you are also a cleric, so the things you need to do on your turn include not just "hit things with a big weapon" and "tank" but also "heal people". You also, unlike a barbarian, are tracking this potentially across 2 rounds of combat while also tracking who needs healing and potentially your sympathetic binding and whatever else is going on.

It's like if Taliesin were playing Caduceus and Ashton simultaneously as one character. It's immensely difficult and overcomplicated. I now understand the premise of it a bit better, and I appreciate that there's a way to try to maintain a reasonable cleric action economy...but it requires you take damage, thus putting the party at risk of losing their main healer.

In short: it's a mechanic based on constant gambles and calculated risks where there's no optimal choice. It requires a player who is exceptionally strong in combat in terms of both martial and casting strategies; enjoys tanking; and is extremely decisive. It also requires a lot of build choices that favor physical stats to actually make oneself into a viable tank and damage dealer (though again, this is less of an issue if spell attacks count...although clerics get no attack cantrips so that's going to burn spells, which means we're just uh, transferring the suffering into dealing with resource management). It also probably works best in a party with a significant secondary healer available.

My feelings on the class have therefore gone from "this should be incinerated in the dead of night and let us never speak of it again" to "It is exceptionally difficult and most players would not enjoy this but there are a handful who might see it as an interesting challenge, though I'd be shocked if anyone wanted to actually play it for a whole campaign unless they were themselves the secondary healer."

[undercoveravenger]

Closing Cases

Written for my 2021 Halloween event

Pairing: EJ Caswell x Male!Detective!Reader

Prompt: EJ with a Nancy Drew/Scooby gang reader investigating something haunting the school and EJ steps up to help. With “I am running on two hours of sleep and fifty tiny candy bars” and “Can we go five minutes without talking about ghosts, ghouls, or goblins?”

A/N: This is prompt # 2 for my Halloween event! The next prompt will be posted Thursday, October 7th.

-------

East High was being faced by an unexplainable problem. Each night, lockers were being broken into and various class and club rooms had been found vandalized. The faculty had examined the footage from all of the security cameras near the areas that had been attacked, but weren’t able to see anyone in the videos; only that the halls looked normal in one frame, and had been trashed in the next.

As someone who had spent his entire childhood looking up to all of the great detectives, you took it upon yourself to get to the bottom of the situation. You had told Miss Jen, the theater teacher, that you’d be missing rehearsals one afternoon in order to conduct your investigation, but she had been the only person you told.

You supposed that was why it came as such a shock to find EJ Caswell, a popular senior and star of the water polo team and drama department, leaning against the locker beside yours after school.

You disregarded his presence, moving to open your locker and tuck away your textbooks.

“So I hear you’re not going to be at rehearsals today,” EJ said after a moment, turning to face you. “Care to share why?”

“I’ve got more important things to do,” you said easily. You knew it was kind of a weak response, but it was the first thing that’d come to mind.

He rolled his eyes, lips quirking up into a grin. “Yeah, we both do, I guess.”

That gave you pause. You turned to look at him incredulously, and you had to force yourself to ignore the way the amused glint in his pretty blue eyes threatened to make you smile. “Excuse me?”

“You’re investigating the break-ins, right?” EJ asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched you.

“I’m not convinced that they have been break-ins, but yes,” you said, grabbing a different backpack entirely out of your locker and leaving the one with your school supplies in it before shutting the door. “Is there a reason you’re talking to me?” You turned away at that, making your way down the quickly emptying halls.

EJ scrambled to keep pace with you, weaving around the remaining students and faculty to stay at your side. “I want to help! I’ll be the first to say I don’t really have experience with investigations, but I want to help stop what’s going on.”

You let out a sigh, turning abruptly to face EJ. “Fine. You can help,” you held up a hand to interrupt him when he made to let out a victorious whoop, “But if you get in the way of my investigation, I will tell you to leave and you will listen. Do we have a deal?”

The brunet nodded vigorously, falling back into step beside you as you resumed your previous path, “Deal. So,” he said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Where do we start?”

“Here,” you said as you came to a stop outside of a janitor’s closet on the second floor.

EJ’s brows furrowed in obvious confusion. “Our investigation starts at the janitor’s closet?”

You nodded, twisting the door open and entering the small room. You sat down, nestling your way between a set of shelves and several empty garbage cans. “Well, this is where we’ll be waiting until the time is right.”

“And when is that?” he asked as he crept into the closet with you, wincing as the door slammed closed behind him.

You snickered, pulling out your phone to set an alarm. “Well, the thief only strikes at night, right? They’ll probably emerge at around nine o’clock, which means we have,” you glanced back at your phone, “About five hours to kill.”

“Five hours?” EJ asked incredulously, blue eyes wide as he looked at you. “What the hell are we going to do for five hours?!”

“Well, I was going to play games on my phone since I wasn’t planning on having company until a few minutes ago,” you said, glancing pointedly down at the device. “You’re still more than welcome to leave, if you don’t want to wait?”

EJ shook his head stubbornly, shifting to sit with his back against the opposite wall from you. “No, but my phone definitely isn’t going to hold up for that long.” He paused, thinking, “Maybe we could play twenty questions while we wait?”

You shrugged, figuring that humoring a cute boy wouldn’t kill you. “Alright, sure. But since it was your idea, you have to go first.”

He smiled widely, clearly delighted that you’d agreed. “Okay!” He hesitated for a moment while he thought, but a question seemed to strike him pretty quickly. “So, do you make it a point to hang out in sketchy janitor’s closets often?”

You barely managed to bite back a snicker, but the upward tilt of EJ’s lips made you suspect that he knew about your poorly concealed amusement. “I do when my cases require it,” you said by means of explanation, but you found yourself elaborating further at the confused-puppy expression on his face. “Today’s a Tuesday, which means that the cleaning staff isn’t in tonight, so no one will be checking this closet for stragglers like they would the library or a classroom. Waiting in here means that I’ll be able to remain in the building after the doors are locked, which means that I’ll be able to find out if anyone else comes into the building after it’s locked down for the night.”

“Wow,” EJ said, eyes wide as he processed everything you’d just said. “You put a lot more planning into this than I would’ve thought?”

“What, you thought I’d just wing it?” you teased. You had to admit, you were enjoying his company far more than you had anticipated. “I like to think that I take my job pretty seriously.”

He gestured wildly with his hands, like he was trying to wave away his previous words. “No, no, no; that’s not what I meant- I meant that-” He cut himself off as he noticed you beginning to laugh, “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” He faked offense, but the appearance of his dimples gave away his amusement. “Fine, you got me.” His grin widened as he looked at you, “Alright, Mr. Holmes, what’s your leading theory?”

You let out a thoughtful hum, “Currently? Vengeful spirits.”

EJ let out a surprised laugh. It was deep, uncontrollable and infectious, and you were helpless to hide the grin it brought to your face, though it faded after a moment, “You’re serious?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure what else to think,” you started softly, fingers twisting nervously in your lap as you were forced to admit that, for once, you really weren’t sure about what the outcome of your case would be. “Any normal person would have been caught on camera, and the only people in this city that have the ability to manipulate the footage to make it look like no one was there either wouldn’t care enough to do it or they’ve got an alibi.”

EJ’s brows furrowed, “And none of them could have lied about the alibis?”

“Mr. Mazzara could’ve, I suppose,” you mused, “But I double-checked it with Miss Jenn and it sounds legit.”

“So ghosts then, huh?” he prompted, scooting a little closer to you until his knees brushed lightly against yours. “Seems like a little bit of a leap in logic.”

You shrugged helplessly, a tired grin forming on your lips, “I am running on two hours of sleep and fifty tiny candy bars. Ghosts weren’t the least probable option, if I’m being honest.”

“How would you even get rid of a ghost-” He stopped as the rest of your statement caught up to him, “Wait, you’ve had fifty candy bars?!”

“Just the little ones.” You said, waving off his concern and checking the time on your phone. “Depends on the type of spirit, but I’ve talked to some sophomores who practice witchcraft and they say that sage and pure intention to banish it should take care of whatever we’re seeing, as long as it’s a normal ghost or spirit. I just want to eliminate any other options before I take action.”

“Can we go five minutes without talking about ghosts, ghouls, or goblins?” EJ demanded, taking your phone from you and setting it aside so he could get you to focus on him, “You’ve gotta take better care of yourself,” he said quietly, normally bright eyes turned stormy with concern, “You’ve got a lot of people that care about you-”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes, “Like who?” At his stunned silence, you pressed on, “Everyone at this school thinks I’m a weirdo. You don’t think I’ve heard people call me Scooby-Doo or Nancy Drew or Sherlock?” You shook your head, pushing yourself to your feet as your frustration mounted, “This was a mistake. I’m leaving; I’ll solve this case on my own.”

“Wait,” EJ exclaimed, shooting up to his feet and grabbing your wrist to stop you from going. “You’re wrong.”

“I’m wrong?” you asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow as you looked up at EJ. “About what part?”

He nodded seriously, eyes locked with yours, “About no one caring about you and about everyone thinking you’re weird.” He took a deep breath, and, for the first time since he’d joined your investigation, you watched his confident facade falter. “I care about you,” he started softly, like he was afraid to finally say it. “And I really like that you’re so passionate about solving mysteries.”

Your brows furrowed as you turned to look back at him, “You… like that?”

“I like you,” he said, so quiet that he was barely audible, but when you didn’t pull away he continued, volume picking up as he did so, “I really like you and I can’t believe I get to help you do something I love, and that probably sounds pretty dumb since we don’t really know each other that well, but I would really like to get to know you better and maybe even take you out to dinner sometime if that’s okay with you?”

It took you a long moment to find your voice again. “Okay,” you found yourself saying as you tugged your wrist from his grip to link your fingers with his instead. “Okay,” A wide smile spread across EJ’s face and you could feel an answering one as it tugged at your lips, “When we close this case, I’ll let you take me on a date.”

“Really?” he asked, like he almost expected you to tell him it was some cruel joke. He let out a breathless laugh when you nodded, “Then what are we waiting for?” he asked joyfully, tugging you towards the door by your joined hands. “We’ve got a case to solve!”

You couldn’t help but laugh as you were led out into the long-abandoned halls of East High, glad to have finally found someone who matched you. After all, all the greats came in pairs; Daphne had Fred, Sherlock had Watson, and now you had EJ.