#the way this card went… we’re both masterminds maybe

[hirayaea]

(>///<) SURE SEIYA… I BELIEVE YOU…

/

I love how mc just fans the flames tho, saying stuff like that. she is also sly. go for it, go get that sleepy man

/

source: memoria - romantic afternoon

[hollandbaby]

roommates - t.h smut

a/n: um so i haven’t written in a long time pls be kind. this is just a 4.9k one shot based on how i’m feeling, sexually frustrated, but unfortunately I’m not in lockdown with tom so cannot have sex with him. also I’m tipsy. AND feedback is much appreciated

warnings; smut, oral (f receiving), daddy kink, choking, biting, scratching, super long intro

You had lived with your lifetime best friend, Tom, for just over a year now, alongside his best friends Harrison and Tuwaine and his younger brother Harry. There was never a dull moment in the house, even when Tom’s away filming the other boys provide just as much entertainment. You’re used to spending lots of time with the boys, but when it’s announced lockdown was in place, it took a toll on everyone. Tom is unable to work which is a benefit considering he’s allowed to actually rest finally, plus he’s around a lot more which is nice. Harrison is always practicing his juggling which is entertaining until he breaks your favourite lamp. Tuwaine and Harry tends to keep to themselves, mostly playing video games or working from home. But boy was the house becoming messy. 

“Alright, who’s underwear are these and why are they on the living room floor!?” You shout to the house, picking up the pants by the broom you had in your hand.

“Whadda they look like?” Shouts Harry, most likely on his laptop editing something.

“Grey Calvin’s but I know all of you own at least one pair so it’s not very helpful!”

You move to put them in the laundry basket by the washing machine, carrying on with your cleaning by sweeping the kitchen floor. Tom emerges from the bathroom, in just a pair of grey sweats and a towel wrapped around his neck, you try not to let yourself get distracted but it’s hard when you can see a single drop of water make its way down his toned, bronzed torso.

“Sorry, love, I think they may be mine,” he chuckles as he goes to fill the kettle for a cup of tea. He leans against the kitchen island, drying off his hair with his towel.

“What the fuck are they doing in the communal living room?” You ask, laughing as well. Living with boys may be hard sometimes due to the mess and the fact they’re all super dumb, but it’s so endearing and you have good times.

“I dunno, I probably threw them at one of the boys as a joke.” Tom giggles to himself but you roll your eyes.

“Well next time you throw your dirty laundry at someone pick it up after, doofus.” You chuckle, walking past Tom to head to your room for your wash bag before going for a shower. You turn the shower on and start to undress. You found yourself thinking about Tom, and the way he looked after his shower earlier, his wet curly hair all floppy and cute, water droplets falling onto his broad chest and toned abs. You’d never really thought about him sexually before, obviously he’s an attractive man and you’ve been close friends with him since you were kids, he knows you better than anyone, but you’d never realised just how hot he is. Maybe it was because you hadn’t had sex in over a month due to lockdown or maybe it’s because you’ve been able to spend more time with Tom recently, but there’s a familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach that stretches all the way down to your core. You bite your lip, stepping under the hot water, steam filling the bathroom as you try to wash away your sins.

You’re cooking dinner for everyone, Harrison, Harry and Tuwaine playing some game in the living room and Tom is just watching, laughing along with them. Tom looks over the sofa to you, watching your movements for a second before getting up off the sofa and walking to the kitchen.

“Need any help, darlin’?” He asks, as you chop up some vegetables.

“You can chop up some onions with me?” You smile at him, and he gets a feeling in the pit of his stomach. You both continue chopping and cooking the meal, Tom drinking beer and you wine as you both dance around the kitchen and giggle and sing with each other. You call the boys into the dining area, serving up dinner and grabbing drinks for all the boys. As you turn from the fridge to place the beers on the counter, Tom is already stood behind you, making you jump. He grabs your waist to steady you, and you’re grateful you didn’t drop any of the bottles.

“Sorry, love,” he chuckles as your face heats up, a mixture of the fact Tom’s warm hands are still on your waist and you just had a close call to a very messy and classy clean up.

“S’okay, I’m just glad I didn’t drop any of these! The boys would kill me,” you pop open all the bottles, attempting to grab them along with your bottle of wine AND glass.

“Woah there, darling, I’ll grab those for you,” Tom takes three of the bottles from you, letting out a breathy laugh at your disgruntled facial expression, your bottom lip slightly jutted out and hair falling in your face.

“Thank you,” you smile and pick up your wine and glass, following Tom’s lead back to the table.

The boys are all chatting away, dishing up their dinners as you and Tom place their beers down in front of them.

“Thank you so much for cooking, Y/N, we’ll wash up.” Harrison says, smiling at you.

“Will we?” Tuwaine chimes in, looking confused.

“Bro shut up.” Harry says, you roll your eyes but you’re laughing alongside them.

“Well maybe after dinner, and after Haz, Harry and Tuwaine wash up, we can do something together?” You suggest, sipping your wine before munching some more.

“Sounds good. What did you have in mind?” Asks Tom, eager to spend some time with you.

“Well we could all play some card games or a board game?”

And that’s how you end up drunkenly giggling at 1AM over monopoly.

“How the fuck did I get go to jail again?!”

“Unlucky Baz man, looks like you’re in jail again,” you giggle, moving his figurine to the jail space.

“How are you doing so well at this game Y/N? It’s like you’re the monopoly mastermind,” Harrison asks, slurring the M’s slightly.

“I dunno man I used to play a lot with my family, plus it’s a game of chance.”

“Well it’s a fucking stupid game of chance,” Harry chimes in, pouting at the fact he has to miss a go.

“Shut up, dickhead, you love this game,” Tom grabs Harry by his shoulders and puts him in a headlock, ruffling his hair.

“Tom!” Harry exclaims, thrashing around. He kicks the board, knocking all the houses and hotels and cards everywhere.

“Harry!” shouts Harrison, clearly angry at the fact he’s lost his place and cannot for the life of him remember where it was.

“Oh my god you’re all idiots,” you laugh, Tuwaine exclaiming a “hey don’t put me in that category with them!”

You finish the last gulp of your wine before attempting to stand up to grab another bottle. You steady yourself on Tom’s shoulder before heading over to the fridge. You can feel his eyes on you as you pour yourself some more wine, but he quickly looks away when you turn back around. The lads are all laughing together on the floor, sipping beers and being stupid.

“What’re you all laughing at?” You ask, smiling, as you go to join them on the floor, Tom’s hand gently grabbing yours to help you sit.

“Harry’s suggesting we play never have I ever,” Tuwaine laughs.

“It wasn’t just me! Harrison suggested it I just said sure why not!”

“God you’re all a bunch of kids. Alright, are we playing or not?” You ask, getting confident from the booze.

“I know I suggested it but the room is spinning so much right now I think I’m gonna throw up,” Harrison states, hiccuping.

“Wow, good one genius. Alright, let’s get you to bed. Night all,” Tuwaine gets up, picking Haz up in the process and wrapping his arm around his waist, guiding Harrison to his room before making his way to his own.

“Aaaand I’d rather go to bed than stay up for whatever weird shit is gonna happen between you two,” Harry says standing up and chugging the rest of his beer, “peace out.”

“And then there were two,” Tom chuckles, starting to pack away the long forgotten monopoly board. You help him, placing pieces in their respective compartments and giggling with each other.

“So how about that game of never have I ever?” You ask biting your lip. You look at Tom to find he’s already looking at you, cheeks flushed and a curl falling into his face.

“Sure,” he chuckles breathily, “I’ll just grab another beer.” You smile to yourself as you watch Tom walk to the kitchen, biting your lower lip as you realise you shouldn’t be staring at his ass as he walks away. Tom returns to the living room, you’ve moved onto the sofa now, put some music on and your feet up on the coffee table in front of you. He plops down on the sofa next to you and smiles, taking a swig of his beer.

“Alright. Never have I ever pissed my pants from laughing,” Tom chuckles to himself as you slap his chest.

“That was ONE time and it was a TINY amount!” You huff, taking a swig of your drink. You smirk as you pull your legs up onto the sofa, turning to face Tom. “Never have I ever tried to impress a girl by doing a backflip but it ending up awfully badly and I broke my wrist.”

“For fucks sake,” Tom throws his head back and groans, taking a swig of his drink. “She still went on a date with me though, I assume out of pity. Okay, ummm, never have I ever had sex in a park.” He’s smirking this time, knowing full well you definitely had.

“I was 16 and fucking stupid. Guy was a douche anyway. Okay never have I ever, been walked in on.” You laugh at this one. Harrison loved telling the story of the time he walked in on Tom and some girl he’d brought home from a bar.

“For fucks sake, I wish everyone would stop bringing that one up.” He drinks, keeping eye contact with you. “Never have I ever had sex with a roommate,” he licks his lips, watching as you take another sip of your wine. “How’s that even happen?”

“You know the story, Tom, I had to move out because of how awkward it got.” You frown at him, these never have i evers we’re getting too real. “Okay, never have I ever had phone sex.” You watch Tom roll his eyes and take a swig of his beer.

“You mean to tell me you’ve never had phone sex?”

“No, what’s the point when I could just have sex with someone?”

“What if you’re far away from someone you’re dating and can’t go see them? I was working on set you know.”

“I know that! These are to try and get you drunk Mr Holland that’s the aim of the game,” you smile at him, “your turn.”

“Never have I ever,” he trails off, lips pursing as he thinks of one to say, “never have I ever had a threesome.”

You pause for a second, eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinting wondering if he knew you’d had a threesome before or if he was just curious. Either way, you take a sip of your drink.

“Now, this I’ve got to hear,” Tom’s smirking, an eyebrow raised as he waits for the story.

“I thought you knew! Oh, god. So it was my first year of uni, I was fresh out of a bad relationship, exploring my options etc you know. I start having sex with this guy regularly, just causal stuff no feelings involved. One day he comes round, then this girl calls him and he asks if she can come for drinks too. Obviously I say yes because I’m already tipsy and open to anything. She comes round, we end up drinking 3 bottles of wine each and it just, happened.” You look to Tom, after taking a sip of your wine, your cheeks flushed but it’s nothing compared to the look of shock on Tom’s face. He’s aroused at the idea but he won’t let you know that. His mouth is agape, then he licks his lips and smirks.

“Wow who knew you were crazy like that?”

You slap his chest, “shut up! I bet you’ve been up to some crazy stuff. I’m surprised you’ve not had a threesome yet.”

“I’m not the type of man to share, darling.” He raises an eyebrow at you. “Besides, it was a foursome.”

“Ahhh and there it is.” You roll your eyes and smile, finishing off your drink. “Be a darling and grab my bottle from the fridge please, Tommy?” He tuts at your demand, nevertheless standing and going to grab your bottle. He grabs himself another beer too. You smile and thank him as he fills your glass, putting the bottle on the floor in case you need a refill. “I miss sex. That’s the worst part about all this shit.”

“Oh, totally agree. Stupid lockdown.” Tom sighs, sitting back down on the sofa next to you. You place your glass on the coffee table, turning to face Tom fully, resting your arm on the back of the sofa.

“What if we had sex?”

Tom spits his drink out, coughing and spluttering, getting his spat beer all over his white t shirt. “Shit. Um, what?”

“C’mon, we’re both adults with needs, it doesn’t have to be a big deal. Just a one time thing, a favour, to release all the sexual frustrations we’re both clearly experiencing since we don’t have dick or pussy on tap at the moment.” You pick your wine back up, taking a long swig before continuing. “I could just give you a blowie and we can go our separate ways.”

“Y/N, we live together. You said last time you did something like this it didn’t end well.”

“That was only a bad idea with my past roommate because he became obsessed with me after. Tom, we don’t have to do it it was just a suggestion.” You don’t know if it’s because the alcohol has given you a load of confidence or if it’s because you’ve not had sex in a long time but what you do know is that Tom is very attractive, especially when he runs his hand through his floppy curls, his white shirt tightening around his bicep. You lick your lips as your eyes rake up and down his body. You meet his brown eyes, his teeth biting down on his bottom lip.

“Conditions?”

“We can do whatever you want. My only condition is, we need a safe word. Actually, that and we probably shouldn’t tell the others what happened.”

“Agreed. Safe word can be pineapple.”

“Pineapple?” You laugh, leaning closer to Tom. You can smell his cologne, and it’s absolutely divine.

“I dunno. It was the first thing that came to mind.” He leans closer into you as well. “What’re you into?” His eyes flick to your lips and back up to your eyes.

“Hair pulling, biting, scratching, choking, spanking, call me babygirl or a good girl and I’m a goner. You?”

“Same, but call me Tommy or baby. Maybe daddy as well, depends how rough we’re going I guess.”

You put your glass back on the coffee table after finishing your wine, moving to straddle Tom’s lap. “Okay, Tommy, looks like we’re doing this.” You move in, testing the waters, eyes flickering between Tom’s and his lips. You can already feel the heat in your core and the wetness in your panties, your thin shorts barely protecting you from the feeling of Tom’s arousal in his grey sweats. He caves first, crashing his lips against yours and moving them oh so deliciously against your own. Your eyes instantly shut, your hands combing through his hair before gripping onto his brunette curls. Tom lets his empty bottle drop onto the sofa, long forgotten as his own hands move to your hips. His tongue experiments by licking your top lip, asking for entrance which you more than gladly grant him. Your tongue dances against his, your hips subconsciously grinding against his already hard cock. You let out a rough, breathy moan into his mouth, Tom’s hands moving to your ass, feeling the skin that your shorts don’t cover. He pulls back, panting and lips glossy and red.

“Your room or mine?”

“Whichever’s closest.” You kiss him again, letting out a slightly startled noise as he stands, picking you up. You wrap your legs around his waist, hands gripping onto his shoulders whilst his are gripping your ass. You peck his lips, kissing down his neck as he walks you to his room. It’s closest to the living room and nearest to the bathroom so it’s a win win for you. You open Tom’s door for him, he almost drops you when you do but luckily you grip back onto him, accidentally scratching his back. Tom lets out a hiss, but it’s not with pain, more so pleasure at the feeling of your nails digging into him. It makes him wonder how amazing your nails will feel scratching down his back while he’s fucking into you. He throws you on his bed, and you briefly note how clean and tidy his room is considering he’s so chaotic. Tom removes his (slightly damp with beer) shirt and is on top of you in an instant, his lips meeting yours again in a messy kiss, teeth and tongue in the mix. You wrap your legs around his waist, his hips grinding down into your own as your hands rake through his hair, tugging on tufts as you sloppily kiss. He pulls away, his lips moving down to your neck and nipping and sucking there. You let out a moan, your eyes rolling back as Tom’s mouth works wonders on you. Your hips buck up into his and his hand moves from the bed to your body, trailing down your neck and chest to the hem of your vest top, tugging on it as a signal for you to take it off. You listen, moving your arms down to the hem to rip your top off, Tom instantly moving down your body, his lips kissing your chest before his hand moves round to your back and unclasps your bra. He pulls it off you, his mouth making its way to your nipple as his eyes look up into yours. You scrunch your eyebrows in pleasure, biting your bottom lip as you moan lowly. You don’t even notice Tom’s hand trailing down your body until it reaches your clothed pussy, your hips instantly jerking up to meet his hand. A mixture of Tom’s tongue on your nipple and his fingers rubbing your clit through your shorts is giving you a feeling you’ve not felt in a while. Yes you’ve been getting yourself off but there’s something so different about someone else’s touch that feels so fucking amazing.

“Do you know how fucking hot you look in these shorts, baby? I’ve wanted to rip them off you all evening.” Tom moans out, he can feel your wetness through the material.

“Do it, then.” You smirk, but your breath is hoarse and raspy. You let out a gasp as Tom practically rips your shorts from your body, along with your underwear. He wastes no time moving down your body, lips leaving a wet trail of kisses on your scorching skin. Hiking your legs up so your feet are flat on the bed, he kisses your hips, then down your left thigh, as your hands make their way to his hair. Tom looks up into your eyes as he licks closer and closer to your wet pussy, his mouth hovering over you, causing you to grind your hips up in an attempt to meet his tongue. He finally ends the torturous teasing, gently licking his tongue through your folds and to your clit, you throw your head back and let out a soft ‘oh, fuck’. Tom’s fingers make their way up your body, gently teasing your nipple as his tongue massages your clit, your hips meeting his movements as you let out small, breathy moans.

“Fuck, Tom, fingers please,” your voice is broken and still raspy, but Tom makes eye contact with you again and the moan you let out is much louder than before. You throw your head back again, writhing against him.

“What do want, baby girl? Hm? Want my fingers inside you?” His breath is cool against your warm skin, his eyes searching for yours.

“Yes!” You attempt to buck your hips up again but Tom’s hands hold them in place.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, please, daddy!” Your voice is broken and your attempt to keep quiet is ineffective. Tom moves his right hand from your hip, his tongue returning back to your clit as he slowly pumps a finger into you, curling it up to reach your g spot. He has you writhing beneath him, adding another fingers stretching you out as his tongue laps at your clit, your hands grip his hair as you grind against his mouth, breathy moans escaping your lips. You bite your lip as your eyes roll to the back of your head, you figured Tom would be good in bed but, god, he was so much better than you expected.

“I’m close, Tommy,” he all but growls into your pussy at the nickname, fingers picking up speed as he sucks on your clit gently. One of your hands flies up to your face, biting down on your arm to stop yourself from letting out an extremely loud moan as you cum. Tom slows his movements, helping you ride out your high. He removes his fingers from you, looking into your eyes as he licks them clean. You bite your lip and let out a soft groan at the sight of him, pulling him up to you so you can kiss his lips, allowing your tongue to massage his. You can taste yourself on him, only making you moan into his mouth as you kiss. You pull on his sweats, pushing them down his thighs along w his boxers. Tom pulls them the rest of the way off and you roll onto him, pinning him to the bed with your thighs. Your lips never leaving his in a sloppy, wet, tipsy kiss. You’re overwhelmed by his senses, his hot skin, his sexy scent, his soft curls and the way his teeth occasionally nibble on your bottom lip. You start grinding your hips against Tom’s hard cock, his hands flying to your hips as you do so.

“You’re so fucking wet for me aren’t you, baby girl?” Tom growls against your lips, feeling your wetness on his skin.

You moan against his lips, nodding your head, “do you have a condom?”

“Yeah, bedside table, 2nd drawer down.” You reach over him to the nightstand, retrieving a condom, opening it with your teeth before rolling it onto Tom’s cock. Tom lets out a hiss at the contact, throwing his head back and panting as your hand moves up and down him, before you lift up and slide down onto his cock. His hands instantly grab onto your ass, nails digging into the skin as you find a pace, adjusting to his size. He was bigger than you were expecting but, fuck, did it feel good. You pick up the pace, hips moving up and down as Tom’s hand moves from your ass cheek to your clit, using his middle finger to circle the bundle of nerves. He’s grunting with each move you make, and your head falls back as you continue riding him. He moves his other hand off your ass and brings it back down in a harsh slap, your skin jiggling and a sharp moan escaping your lips. He smirks up at you, your body dropping forward, hands moving to rest by his head as you keep the movements of your hips. He slaps your ass again, massaging the red skin there as you bite your lip, looking into his eyes. You reach your right hand to around his throat, gently squeezing. Something snaps in Tom at that, planting his feet on the bed to get leverage to thrust up into you, fucking you from underneath, he grabs a handful of your hair and fastens the pace of his fingers on your clit.

“Fuck, Tommy!” You moan, trying to keep quiet but it’s hard when he’s fucking you so good, the arch in your back allowing him to go deeper, creating a delicious feeling. “I want you to fuck me from behind.” You’re panting and your voice is quiet but Tom hears you loud and clear.

“Fuck, love, you’re so hot,” he pulls out, rolling you over onto your front, your arms reaching in front of you, chest on the bed as your knees widen and your ass is in the air, Tom slaps your ass as he moves behind you, sliding his hard cock between your fold and collecting your wetness before he thrusts back into you.

“Shit, you’re such a good girl for me, aren’t you?” Another slap on your ass as he fucks into you, hands grabbing your hips for leverage.

“Yes, baby, keep fucking me like that!” You moan into the sheets. Tom reaches forward and grabs a fistful of your hair, pulling your back up against his torso, fucking up into you. His hand slides around to grip your throat as he continues fucking you, his lips leaving sloppy kisses on your neck and cheek. He nibbles on your ear lightly, your eyes rolling to the back of your head in pleasure. Tom’s other hand snakes it’s way around your waist down your body, his middle fingers circling your clit. Your head is resting on his shoulder, your hand coming round to pull on his hair as he continues fucking you, Tom’s grunts and groans right in your ear as his lips caress the skin there.

“So fuckin tight, baby, jesus,” Tom’s breath is hot on your neck leaving goosebumps all over your body as you moan at his words. “I want you to cum for me baby, can you do that?”

“Yes, Tommy, I’m so close,” you groan, but Tom pulls away completely. You’re shocked and disgruntled before you realise he’s throwing you on your back, spreading your thighs and thrusting back into you. You grab his shoulders, nails digging in as Tom fucks you, harder than before. Your moans are muffled by the skin of his shoulder, you bite down on his skin, sucking, most likely leaving a mark but you don’t care, too consumed with the fire in your stomach as your orgasm approaches.

“Rub my clit, please,” you breathe out, one of Tom’s hands moving from your thigh to between your legs, resuming his movements on your clit from before. He fucks you in a rhythm, your nails scratching down his back as he does so, Tom’s hair is falling in his face and tickling yours but you don’t care, he looks so hot like this, sweaty and panting above you. Your toes curl and your pussy clenches around him, his cock pounding into you, and it’s like nothing you’ve felt before.

“I’m gonna cum, Tommy!” You throw your head back, letting out a moan as Tom’s fingers rub your clit faster and he fucks you harder, his lips crashing against yours as you reach your high. Tom follows shortly after, sloppily thrusting into you as he cums in the condom. Tom collapses on top of you, your breathing steadying as you play with his hair. After a minute, he pulls out and discards of the condom, flopping onto the bed beside you, opening his arm to you so you can roll into his side.

“Well, that was ... wow,” you sigh contentedly. Your breathing is starting to slow down and a wave of exhaustion hits you. You rest your head on Tom’s bare chest, one of his fingers curling a piece of your hair around it.

“Oh, god yeah it was, something else.” He chuckles, pressing a light peck to your forehead.

“I should probably go to the bathroom then back to my room.” You sigh, you don’t want to move though. You’re absorbing Tom’s warmth and it feels so good. You roll off of his chest, pulling his t shirt from off the floor and sliding it on. Tom sits up as you go to collect your things, “you could stay in here tonight? I mean, sex isn’t the only thing I miss.” His face is flush and he smiles sheepishly at you. You smile back and bite your lip, leaning back onto the bed to peck his nose before heading off to the bathroom. Tom thinks you’ve gone to bed, sighing in defeat and flopping back against his sheets. You go to clean up, making your way back to Tom’s room but not before grabbing another 2 bottles of beer first. You return to his room, smiling as you hand him a bottle. He laughs at you as he opens his beer, taking a sip before opening his arms to you, inviting you to sit with him on his bed. He’s got his boxers back on, duvet loosely wrapped around his hips, shifting while he moves. You sit back on the bed with him, taking a sip of your own beer. You both laugh and chat until you finish your drinks, lying down again and falling sleep curled up in Tom’s arms, his hand gently massaging your scalp as he places occasional pecks on your forehead. You realise that maybe this won’t be the last time as you drift off into a peaceful sleep.

[sou-ver-2-0]

Just finished watching Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc!

That was a wild, bumpy ride but I’m glad I watched it. Definitely got better in the second half. Should give me some better perspective on the killing game genre.

I’m still sorting through my thoughts, but the main topic running through my head is the tonal difference between DR and YTTD when it comes to portraying death. Especially the difference in how they treat executions. 

Vague spoilers for the first Danganronpa game under the cut. I don’t talk about who lives and who dies. And I’m not going to talk about the more obvious offensive tropes. I keep thinking about the relationship these two games have with death, and how that affects their portrayals of justice and injustice. 

Before I go any further, I should make a clarification on the different rules in both killing games, since that affects the tone a lot. With Danganronpa, our characters are motivated by the mastermind to murder one another, and if they can get away with murder then they get to escape their prison school, but everyone else in the school will die. However, if the rest of the cast can solve who the murderer is, then only the murderer faces execution. 

Meanwhile, in YTTD, death is decided by majority vote, and by the bad luck of drawing the Sacrifice Card. Our characters are motivated to logically pick someone who is “safe” to vote for--since voting for someone with an “unsafe” Card will result in a massacre--but emotionally they are also motivated to pick “suspicious individuals.” 

This means that Danganronpa’s killing game is more concerned with “bringing the killer to justice,” while YTTD’s killing game is more concerned with “voting to kill those you hate.”

Put another way, the morals of Danganronpa lean on the side of your detective friend, who wants to bring the truth to light for the greater good and “serve justice.” Meanwhile, the morals of YTTD force you to question your detective friend, because “serving justice” may not be his main goal at all. The detective in DR is a good girl whose self-righteousness is always backed by the narrative. The detective in YTTD is a shady man who makes increasingly selfish choices.

What I’m saying is that YTTD manages to be subtly anti-cop in its messaging, which is the big reason I like it more.

What stood out to me the most about Danganronpa was how it indulged in such shameless glee when it came to killing its characters. This is most notable in its executions, which are all over-the-top and absurdly funny. But this glee was also present in subtler ways, like the “concluding comic” sections where protagonist Makoto describes how the killer committed their crime. As Makoto describes the murders, the attackers are often drawn enjoying themselves, with wicked smiles and even laughter. This allows the Player to rationalize to themselves that the killer is an awful enough person to deserve execution. 

In contrast, when YTTD kills its characters, it forces you to sympathize with them. Instead of indulging in glee, it indulges in sympathy.

There has only been one “grand execution” in YTTD so far: the Human Flower. While the Human Flower is similarly absurd as any of Danganronpa’s executions, it isn’t meant to be funny at all. The entire sequence is meant to be devastating, to show the injustice of killing a little girl.

The reason there haven’t been more “grand executions” in YTTD has to do with its “indulgence in sympathy.” While Kai and Shin also die by majority vote, they get to be heroic in their final moments. They are allowed the agency to resist the kidnappers, and so they both escape the public humiliation of a grand execution.

Additionally, when YTTD introduces us to “suspicious individuals,” so far it has taken care to humanize them. Professor Mishima isn’t a bad person; he just has a scary laugh. Alice may have gone to prison for murder, but he’s also a sweetheart who wants to make things right. Fake Reko is willing to kill her counterpart, but she’s unwilling to kill her friends, and we see how she was driven into a corner. And then there’s Shin, who sends the deadly Sacrifice Card to the Player, but he is willing to sacrifice himself to save a little girl.

Even Keiji, YTTD’s shady detective, is often meant to by sympathetic. He was not always selfish. Hypothetically, he could start making selfless choices later in the narrative. And he is just as much a victim in this game as anyone else.

I don’t want to go too harsh on Danganronpa for this. As I said in the beginning, I liked the story better as it went along. This is definitely because the central figures of the fourth and fifth trials were portrayed more sympathetically! I won’t go into detail, but we’re suddenly forced to question how good, honorable people could be the primary suspects.

There’s another reason I don’t want to go too harsh on Danganronpa. It’s because there was a little voice in the back of my head while watching the game that said, “Maybe this is more honest.” When we read or play stories about killing games, aren’t we here for pleasure? Don’t we also feel a kind of enjoyment from the deaths in YTTD? Because playing a videogame is a safe way to experience a rush of emotions that wouldn’t be “fun” in real life?

Those are my main thoughts about Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and how it relates to YTTD. Thanks for reading!

[sternbilder]

YTTD Thought Dump

Ok I didn’t liveblog this bc I was too busy yelling about it in Yaejin’s and Jenny’s inboxes but I’ve played/watched all parts of this game at least twice now and sometimes in multiple languages and I’m gonna dump all my thoughts and WMGs here bc I have QUESTIONS for Mr. Nankidai

Gashu said something about everyone being ~destined to be winners~, or something? Highly suspicious, what does this mean

Like is this a ZE situation or

In the quick draw minigame, Sou has the power of premonition. Why? 

Esper confirmed, or is this just a hint at his secret knowledge?

Who is the unconscious person in the back of Miley's room?

Could it be Joe or Kai? Or maybe someone from the Hades incident?

Are ASU-NARO and the “””shady organization””” that won out in the Hades incident one and the same?

Hayasaka wonders aloud if the death game is for Sara's sake (Kai also mentions this in his letter to Sara). But why......

Miley claims that Gashu is trying to destroy the death game, and yet he takes his own life to continue it? Whose side is Gashu on? Whose side is Miley on?

Also Miley is the one who gives Sara the list of percentages...why

Who is the person Miley is talking to on the first floor? Some have theorized that Joe is the mastermind but it couldn't be, since we know Sara can recognize Joe by voice

Was this even Miley? The name label had a question mark after, could this have been someone else?

Why did Safalin help Sara by giving her Rio's chip? Whose side is she on?

The file from Kai's computer mentions that Joe should be “watched” because they can't add anyone else. Was Joe not supposed to be there? If they weren’t expecting him there, why was Shin able to start up the Joe AI? Did they have one prepared just in case?

There were only 9 monitors in the monitor room (Sara, Keiji, Shin, Mishima, Q-taro, Reko, Gin, Alice, Kanna), so it at least seems like there was no AI planned for him

Kai, Joe, and Kugie were some of the first to die. They were among the 4 who weren't candidates (besides Sou). We know that Nao was on that list, and Gashu purposely sabotaged her so that she would get the Sacrifice card. Did they really get unlucky, or were their deaths all planned?

Kai says his father says the death game's objective is neither pleasure not revenge. Then what is it for?

Shin, Keiji, and Reko seemed to recognize Sou's face when they see it on the laptop. But why did Kanna and Q-taro also recognize him? Could he also have been an orphan at Asunaro? And could he also be Kanna's biological brother? 

If this is the case, this might explain Kanna's fondness for "Sou"

Also possible that Sou went out of his way to involve himself in all the participants’ lives

Sou was supposed to be a participant according to Kai's hacking, but he wasn't on the percentage sheet. We know that his death was over 2 years ago. What’s the timeline of his revival and of his involvement with the runners of this death game? Was he supposed to be a participant at one point, or was he always one of them?

The game supposedly revolves around Sara, but seems to have more connections to Sou. Was this intentional? Or did Sou hijack the game? Does Sou have any relation to Sara?

When searching the medical office with Gin, he mentions that he smells blood mixed with something burning. He says this regardless of whether Alice or Reko dies, so this must be something else. Is this Mishima's head? If not, what did they burn? And why?

Where is Mishima's head, anyway? Why did it disappear and why was it never discovered?

The memorandum features characters similar to those in this death game, including Sara. Some people also note that the actions of the narrator sound similar to Shin's. Was there a need to "replicate" that death game for some reason? Is it with the exact same people, or just similar people? Why? 

The memorandum mentions that in that incident the high school girl's best friend died--was Joe's participation really unplanned then?

In the 2nd main game of that death game, a young boy and a man who she was aligned with died. This doesn't seem to match the reality of this game (Nao and Kanna/Shin)

The high school girl died in the 3rd "victim conference." Will this foreshadow events in the 3rd main game?

Gashu's hint: “Have you ever had doubts about your upbringing?” What does this mean? Could Asunaro have engineered every candidate's childhood in preparation for this game? Maybe to replicate the first death game by making the new participants as similar as possible?

Considering we don’t know Alice’s motive for murdering Sou, and Sou was able to manipulate Keiji into murdering Mr. Policeman, could Alice’s murder have been planned, too? Was Sou planning to be revived all along?

The portrait in Gashu's room was titled "Inauguration", which probably means he won the Hades incident death game and was inaugurated to the position of leader of the gangs. But since Sara doesn’t recognize them, this doesn’t seem to be Sara’s dad. How, then, is Sara’s dad involved?

Sara has a “dream�� at the beginning of 2-2 of Shin bleeding out. Could this be a "hint" for what the "correct" choice is?

Sou says he wants everyone to know their "lost memories with [him]" and the reason Asunaro is having them kill each other. Does that mean they all know him? And are the two related? Did they wipe the participants' memories somehow? 

Sara mentions Safalin's device, so this is definitely possible. 

Is it possible the memory wipe was just before the events of 3-1? The participants didn't seem to react to Midori at all when they meet, even though they all had a strong reaction to seeing his face on the laptop earlier

Who died in the 4th floor locker room? It doesn't seem to be any of the dummies, but it's obviously not any of the survivors, Kugie, or Megumi. It seems like the 5th floor version was clean, so their partner must have  survived, in which case, was there another participant we're not aware of?

Actually, could it have been Hinako’s? It’s unclear why she wouldn’t say anything if this were the case, but her video showed her being lifted up with her feet dangling, and the blood stains might have been from Ranger beating her to death. If this is true, her partner would probably have had to be one of the survivors (Reko, Alice, Gin, or Kai) whose first trials we don’t already know about. Since first trials seem to tend to pair people up who have prior connections, does this mean Hinako has a connection to any of these people? If so, wouldn’t it likely be Kai, who is the only one who never makes it to 3-1?

Ranmaru said there's a human from Asunaro among them. Keiji, Q-taro, Gin, and Sara are the only survivors from both rounds. It can't be the dummies, but can it be Midori? 

He also doesn't specify that there's just one

Why does everyone recognize the consent form but Sara? What were they consenting to? It sounds like some of them were from a long time ago, from Shin's response. Why does Midori want Sara to sign it?

The 4th and 5th floor rooms seem to have connections to the participants:

Boxing ring: Kurumada

Office: Hayasaka

Police box: Keiji

School: Sara, Joe

Art Gallery: ?

Gate: ?

Library: ?

What's the purpose of Asunaro researching how to reproduce humans? This is clearly related to both the dolls/AIs and the death game, but how exactly?

Is the point of the game to prove whether positive or negative emotions make someone human? Gashu vs. Safalin might point to this, as well as Gashu attempting to sabotage the game to "prove" something

Deleted scenes imply the goal of the Asunaro research is to create the perfect AI with emotions, but still...For what purpose.....

[demisexualnathanvuornos]

Matthew Anderson (Lucas Bryant) The Angel Tree (2020) 6/ 13

Matthew Anderson:*sneaks up behind Cassie and Rebecca* What are we looking at?

Rebecca McBride: You gotta stop doing that!

Matthew: You could just say ‘hi’, you don’t have to lurk around here.

*Cassie and Rebecca overlapping justifications*

Matthew: Hi!

Rebecca: Hi.

John and Liz : Hey!

Matthew: I think Rebecca thinks you’re Angels. Which is--

Liz: What?!?

John: *laughs*

Matthew: Let’s just get this out on the table. Are you the masterminds behind Pine River’s greatest Christmas tradition?

Liz. Honey, we can’t even agree if the sky is blue. You think we can manage something like that?

John: We got a note from Angel asking to help. And Liz, the sky really is more of a gray color today.

Rebecca: So Angel says “several families are in need of help with groceries this year, please donate what you can”. 

Liz: Yeah, Ready Mart is donating supplies.

Matthew: And Pine River Diner is chipping in the rest. Can’t have Christmas dinner without...

Cassie McBride: Pie.

Matthew: And you can’t have pie without...

Rebecca: Your coffee.

Matthew: Mystery solved. 

Rebecca: OK. We were lurking a little bit.

Cassie: A little bit. 

Rebecca: Sorry. Can we help with anything? 

John: The more the merrier. 

Liz: Yeah, why don’t you come help me with supplies?

Cassie: Sure. *Cassie, Liz and John leave*

Rebecca: What was that about?!? You threw me under the bus!

Matthew: What? What bus? Oh, hey, how did your interviews go?

Rebecca: *fake laugh* *mocking* I think you know how my interviews went.

 Matthew: I was just trying to keep the mystery alive. 

Rebecca: Yeah, well, if you keep it up, I’m gonna start thinking that you don’t want me hanging around here. 

Matthew: Wow, I never said that. I think you should, you should keep investigating. My money’s on Pine River keeping their cards very close to the chest. 

Rebecca: Yeah. OK, OK. Hey, you remember when we were kids, we used to bet all the time? 

Matthew: Yeah. 

Rebecca: How many of those did you win?  *Matthews thinks* *Rebecca mouths and whispers* Zero. 

Matthew: Zero?

Rebecca: You got the rest of these boxes, right?

Matthew: Yeah.

Rebecca: Thanks.

Matthew: I don’t know if it was zero. Though, it might... It might have been closer to... one.

Rebecca: I’ll just get the rest of the pies. Wow, look at this place. 

Matthew: Yeah. I was thinking about expanding the coffee side of things but I’m not gonna do it. 

Rebecca: Why not?

Matthew: It’s just not the right time.

Owen Anderson: *off screen, Skyping* Hey, Mom. 

Zoe Anderson: I’m so sorry, sweetie. I really wanted to make it back for Christmas but it’s looking like---

Owen: It’s fine, Mom. I know what you’re doing is important. *Owen notices them*

Matthew: Oh. Sorry, Owen, we’ll just---

Rebecca: I’ll get out of the way. *leaves*

Owen: No, it’s fine. I should probably get back to the diner anyway. Gotta run Mom. Bye.

Zoe: I love you, sweetie!

Owen: I love you too.

Matthew: Hey, Zo.

Zoe: Ugh, this is the worst. I requested a leave for Christmas but my CO... I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back. 

Matthew: I know. 

Zoe: How are things going with Owen?

Matthew: Uh, fine. 

Zoe: Ugh, Anderson men, I swear any time I ask you guys how something is going you’re both like *mocking* ‘I’m fine’.

Matthew: Maybe that’s because things are fine.

Zoe: Oh, please. It means you are avoiding any feelings talk before it gets too personal. At least Owen has the excuse of being a hormonal teenager. But you, I thought you already went through puberty?

Matthew: I talk! I talk all the time. I’m talking right now. We’re talking. I talk.

Zoe: Yeah, unimportant stuff. You’re all chatty until anything gets within a spitting distance of real emotion. Then you shut down when you should be opening up. 

Matthew: Sorry, I think your video broke up there, I missed that. That last bit.

Zoe: Way to deflect.

Matthew: What? I.. Technical issues. 

Zoe: Look, OK. It’s not your fault. It’s the way we were raised. Dad was the exact same way. 

Matthew: So how did you turn out so normal?

Zoe: You know. Pure luck. Perfect genes. Don’t be jealous.

Matthew: *laughs*

Zoe: Oh. Sorry, Matt, I gotta go. I love you. And seriously, thank you.

Matthew: Bye, Zo. *sees Owen at the diner*Owen, you OK?

Owen: I’m fine.  

Matthew: You heading out?

Owen: Going, to the Angel tree.

Cassie: I wann go to the Angel tree. Want some company? *Owen gestures ‘fine’*

Rebecca: You know what? I think we all should go. I wouldn’t mind another look. 

Matthew: Yeah.

Rebecca: Yeah? 

[phoebehalliwell]

so apparently my brain will not let me rest until I figure out the Prue/Roger dynamic, so: Prue's right out of college when she gets hired at the museum and she gets partnered with a senior curator, Roger. Roger flatters Prue first professionally, then personally, and when Prue is hesitant because he's married, he spins some line about how his marriage is over in everything but name. Prue, young and only having one real relationship before, falls for his charm and they start sneaking around 1/?

at the office. at some point Roger does divorce his wife, he and Prue are together publicly, and then he proposes. somewhere in there, he makes a move on Phoebe, who rejects him. Phoebe immediately goes to Prue, but Roger insists that she's lying, "Prue, don't you think I love you, I left my wife for you." Prue, habituated by years of this kind of emotional manipulation, chooses Roger over Phoebe. This pretty much destroys her relationship with her sister. Prue and Roger continue plans for the wedding until Grams dies, at which point Roger calls off the wedding because he didn't sign up to be anyone else's emotional support. Prue, spends her days angry at Roger, Grams, and Phoebe for abandoning her, and spends her nights secretly wondering if there was anything she could have done to keep any of them with her.   

hmm an inch resting yarn you have spun here but i’m gonna offer you another one: pure was popular in high school she was like really fuckin cool and she could very easily have been any man of her choosing. there was no settling for her, she was prue motherfuckin halliwell. so she went for what her heart always wanted and dated her childhood sweetheart andy trudeau. and like,, they were the It Couple in their heyday and it was definitely that passion head first our love will never die dramatic but also just kinda silly love. and that sorta sets the bar. then she’s off to college presumably at this point still trying to pursue a career in photography and she’s like having fun she hangs out with the artists and free spirits and people who were misfits in high school and draws them in with her undeniable queen bee energy but like. she knows her stuff. she doesn’t get by on looks and popularity, she’s really good at what she does. so now we bring in college boyfriend no. 1 who cupid name checked as alan, and we’ll say this really is a relationship of two artists and they’re both amazed by each other’s work and the soul and heart and spirit in it and in them it’s definitely the most pretentious of prue’s relationships but it’s like the kind where they “break into” the local art gallery after hours (alan works there and has a key, so it’s not like it took a lot of masterminding) and like slide around polished hardwood floors until they fall down laughing that type of vibe. but now we’re encroaching on prue’s blue period. for starters, piper’s get ready to y’know apply for college this that and the other and like grams is all concerned about how much college costs blah blah blah with paying for both prue and piper and the same time yada yada yada and prue sorta realizes how sorta tight the money situation is what with the cost of education and the house and this that and the other and she’s starting to realize that this photography career is Not the move bc like this house needs a breadwinner if they want to keep it blah blah blah so life already blows when she has to go pick up phoebe from a party which she’s not like happy about but like you know at least phoebe isn’t drunk driving maybe this is a chance for them to bond as sisters for prue to impart some wisdom on her chaotic younger sister but no of course not of course they have to get in a huge argument and prue doesn’t hit the breaks in time and the car gets totalled and phoebe lands in the hospital and like now prue’s sorta spiralling and she like wants to quit photography and she feels horrible about everything and alan who is again i must harp on pretty pretentious is like no u can’t quit ur family doesn’t understand you it’s not about the money it’s about the art use this pain to make something amazing to which like sorry king,,, but it is about the money. the manor has been in the family for decades and prue can’t lose it. and with piper’s college, phoebe’s hospital bills, and grams’s failing health... it’s 100% about the money dude. and fuck turning your pain into art fuck glorifying suffering and fuck you. so now prue’s p cut off she’s pretty isolated she’s all down in the dumps blah blah blah she changed majors to whatever major it was she needed for like museum jobs bc at least this way she can make bank but she’ll still hold a piece of art close to her and she like drowns herself in her work like she’s not just gonna be this major (art history?) she’s gonna be the fuckin best she’s gonna be the top of her class blah blah blah yada yada yada. but y’know flash forward an amount of time and her roommate’s like hey babe. i get like life’s shit i get u got to be the very best like no one ever was but like. you have not left the apartment in four months. you haven’t smiled in probably twice as long so like. idk do something?? that makes you happy maybe???? and prue’s just like :/ bc what made her happy was like photography but now she has very mixed emotions around that and her roommate’s like what did you do for fun in high school like what did you do after school and prue’s like idk cheerleading practice and her roommate’s like word well then go to cheerleading tryouts time skip we really see prue return to all her old glory and climb up the lil cheerleading ladder blah blah blah and in this renaissance of hers she also scores a new love interest who’s basically the opposite of alan enter tom peters the star wide receiver. and i think this relationship for prue was really just like fun it was tipping her toes back into the water it was learning to smile again it was just like a good time fun simple no concerns about the future just like vibing right then and there and then that ended just sorta naturally and they both graduated and it’s time for prue to leap into the professional world and she’s never left california so when she gets a job offer in london she jumps at the chance blah blah blah she’s working she’s having fun she’s defining herself enter eric from london who i’ll say is like a Business Man he’s like a this that or the other idk maybe a museum investor like the young son who just took over his dad’s business that sorta vibe and like eyes meet breath catches there was just this click but it like took them months to get together it was just this dance this game of cat and mouse until prue finally like took the bull by the horns and just like went for it and i think that would be her like most “adult” relationship like dates were going out to fancy dinners not breaking and entering or picnics on the empty football field these were like two professional adults like dating but you know they hit a year and then some and we’ll say like prue is maybe like 24 25 and this guy’s maybe 29 or whatever and they’ve attended friend’s weddings bs they’ve hit that era where everyone’s getting married and suddenly this cloud’s hanging in the air like baby are you my forever girl like is this it fifty years from now to i still come home to you put you know what let’s push that to the back of our minds but now eric’s like 30 and his family’s like dawg,,,, r u gonna be like a spinster or something are you gonna put a ring on it or not and prue (after many many international phone calls to piper) has decided yes she’d do it she’d stay her and be with this man she loves and eric decides prue’s just not the girl for her. so uh. ouch. blah blah blah prue’s had her fun in the uk but it’s like time to return home piper’s just graduates college or whatever and found a job in the city if prue follows suit they could room together which is when she gets the job at the museum where roger works at. and blah blah blah prue’s like amazing as always and of course she catches roger’s attention bc how could she not and he’s constantly pursuing her and prue keeps turning him down at first bc she’s not really interested and then like he’s her boss and then like it becomes a sort of game but now all her friends from high school are getting married and marcia from homeroom has a baby look and the lil pumpkin on her christmas card and fuck what am i doing so you know what yes roger i’ll be your date to the new years party and here’s the thing roger knows prue is really impressive like she’s amazing at her job and she’s a total babe like he shows her off all the time and prue’s like you know receiving this really high praise and you know roger also has cash to spare so it’s like it’s not bad and she doesn’t well love him but he clearly loves her so she can be satisfied and you know her high school reunion is this year and if there’s one thing she would love it would be to write (nee halliwell) on her nametag, to show she got the job, she got the guy, and she’s living pretty in pac heights. so when roger proposes, she says yes. and piper’s happy for her and phoebe thinks roger’s a sleaze and grams is lukewarm but what does grams know about a long lasting marriage and what does phoebe know about anything so blah blah blah she goes to that high school reunion with a big ol rock on her finger and this that and the other and like to be perfectly frank coming home to roger is not like the highlight of her day there’s not this comforting glow when she falls asleep next to him but it’s like. she’s committed. she’s gonna see this through. besides, they’re already working on the guest list and venue and everything like she’s in it now there’s no turning back now and it’s fine like roger’s fine he’s perfectly palatable and she’s encroaching on 30 so. well whatever prue and roger host an easter party and it’s so cute she’s in a darling floral dress dazzling roger’s stuck up parents and eating finger sandwiches when she hears voices coming from the bedroom and is like gonna pretend to ignore it when she catches piper’s eye and piper has that uncomfortable look on her face and she realizes she can’t find phoebe anywhere and Where Is Roger and she busts in on the two of them looking disheveled and phoebe’s like prue- and prue’s like i don’t want to hear it and roger’s like baby- and prue’s like not now and she turns to phoebe like i think it’s best you go and she looks at roger like we’ll talk about this later your parents are wondering where you are so piper drives phoebe home and phoebe’s telling her about how she went to confront roger on being a whore and also like a spineless sleazebag and she was gonna tell prue when he totally started hitting on her and trying to kiss her and then prue broke in and piper’s like uh huh uh huh bc like. she doesn’t like roger all that much. and she agrees with phoebe. but still this thought sorta lingers at the back of her mind like could phoebe have done something? purely to get back at prue? no she wouldn’t. probably. meanwhile roger’s like your sister was totally hitting on me blah blah blah and prue’s like we can talk about it later right now we’re hosting a very nice party and i’m not going to have you ruin in and roger’s like see that’s what i love about you and prue’s like yeah cool and now whenever she comes home to roger she’s just like 🙄 and she’s like complaining to piper about how like she like doesn’t really want to marry him but it’s like too late now the venue’s booked and the save-the-dates have been sent out and piper’s like it’s not too late until you say i do. do you really want to be married to that sleazebag? and prue’s like :| and piper’s like you can call off the wedding and prue’s like :| and piper’s like i’m just saying and prue’s like does he remind you of dad? and piper’s like what? and prue’s like i think roger’s just like victor. i think i’m about to make the same mistake mom made. god, i always wondered how she could have married such a douchebag and here i am about to do the exact same thing! and piper’s not really commenting bc she doesn’t really remember dad but what she does say is you haven’t made that mistake yet so prue’s like you’re right. and that night she calls of the engagement.

[lanaisnotwool]

406 Why You Need Masterminds - Interview Alex Pardo

http://moneyripples.com/2020/07/10/1597/

Chris Miles, the "Cash Flow Expert and Anti-Financial Advisor," is a leading authority on how to quickly free up and create cash flow for thousands of his clients, entrepreneurs, and others internationally! He’s an author, speaker, and radio host that has been featured in US News, CNN Money, Bankrate, Entrepreneur on Fire, and spoken to thousands getting them fast financial results.

Listen to our Podcast here:

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/moneyripples/2020/06/05/406--why-you-need-masterminds-interview-with-alex-pardo

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

Chris Miles (00:00): Hello, my fellow Ripplers! This is Chris Miles. Your Cash Flow Expert and Anti-Financial Advisor. Hey guys! I'm going to welcome you out for another show this week. A show that's for you and about you. Those of you that work so freaking hard for your money, and you're ready for your money start working harder for you. Now! You want that freedom. That cash flow. That prosperity. Today! Not 30 or 40 years from now, but right now. So you work because you want to. Not because you have to. So you have that life that you love being with those that you love doing what you love. But it's not just about your own comfort and convenience, right? It's not just about having that life of your dreams, where you can just sit back and sip on some lemonade or whatever. But it's so much more than that guys, because as Ripplers, you guys actually want to create a ripple effect through people's lives. Not just your family, but through your community and across the world, because as you become free yourself, you can help others do the same too.

Chris Miles (00:58): And I'm excited to be a part of that ripple effect because you guys allow me to create the ripple effect through you. And guys, I appreciate it so much. I appreciate you guys being a part of this. Of this movement. You guys are becoming a part of something that's amazing, and it's allowing me to express it and get that bigger impact and reach that I've always wanted. So thank you for being a part of this, sharing it bingeing on these episodes and everything else you do.

Chris Miles (01:21): Quick reminder, check our website, MoneyRipples.Com There's great stuff on there as well. You can also reach out to me if you've got questions in addition to that. All right, guys. So today I want to bring on a special guest, a guy that I've come to really respect in one of my mastermind groups that he's in a part of a high level, real estate mastermind group, Collective Genius that we're together in. And Alex Pardo. He's the guy that's always impressed me, right? One, I mean, not just an amazing entrepreneur and a real estate professional himself and investor and a coach and everything else. Right? But he's also a family guy. He's like a real person, which as you guys know, I like to bring on genuine, authentic people. You know, not like the slick, you know, snake oil, salesmen of sorts. Like this guy is the real deal. By the way, he's also got another podcast you can check out called FLIPEMPIRE. It's awesome! And that's also his name of his company. He also has a parent company called Creative RE-Solutions. He's flipped well over 300 properties. So even after you graduated from college, but you know, almost 20 years ago, he decided to go work for GE at the time. He's like, you know what, even though I've become a CEO, I'm changing that direction.

Chris Miles (02:27): And so this is where he ended up starting going down that path. No more working 75 hours a week. Moved over towards doing real estate and have a life of freedom. And so guys, the main reason I brought him on today is because, you know, many of you will ask me, they say, Chris, you know, I hear you're part of these great groups, these masterminds, you know, how do I find people like that? Because right now, now more than ever, you need a support group. And so, Alex, love having you on the show, man. Thanks! Thanks for coming on.

Alex Pardo (02:55): Chris. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I'm excited to be on and to share some thoughts with Your audience. So thank you for having me.

Chris Miles (03:01): Yeah. So tell us a little bit more about the path, fill in the gaps for me a little bit, cause I know you're an adventurer. I mean, you've backpacked all over the world and done cool stuff. I mean, but tell us a little bit more about you.

Alex Pardo (03:11): Yeah. I'll try to keep it super brief cause you on a lot of it, but you know, sometime around college, first of all, ever since I was 11, 12 years old, I would buy and sell baseball cards. I would buy packs of cards and boxes and I would flip them. And at the time I didn't know, I was essentially wholesaling like, but I was learning some of the, just the fundamentals of buying low and selling high. And so I think I've always been wired with that in me. And something changed there on college. When I was in college, I, I think it was the prestige or maybe it was the ego, honestly, that I wanted to. I saw like the Jack Welch's of the world and all these big time CEOs. And I'm like, I want to be that guy. Until I got hired by general electric in their financial management program.

Alex Pardo (03:51): And I moved away from Miami for the first time. And I'll never forget, you know, three and a half months into that job. I was averaging about 70 to 80 hours a week. I didn't enjoy anything I was doing. And the defining moment for me, Chris was I would look at my boss. I would look at their boss and then I would keep going up the chain all the way up to the CFO of GE capital. And I looked at them and I said, I don't want to be that person. I don't want to be working around the clock. And I just didn't enjoy it at that decision. At that point, when I made a decision, I'm going to finish the two year program, but I'm going to start educating myself about real estate. I had read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I had read a bunch of these books, but I had never taken action.

Alex Pardo (04:30): Right? So long story short, I finished that two year commitment. I went backpacking around Europe to "Find myself. Figuring out what I wanted to do." And I was in an internet cafe in Ibiza and a friend of mine sent me an email and he said, Hey, I'm going to this camp. Marketing for deals Boot-camp. It's 997 bucks. It does. It might not sound like a lot of money to a lot of people, but for me at the time I had funded my entire three months backpack, triple my credit card. I didn't really have much money and it was a fork in the road. Well, thank God. I decided to take him up on that offer. I spent a thousand bucks on my card, went to the event, pulled out a letter. They were teaching us how to market for pre-foreclosures. This was in late 2005 and I started handwriting envelopes and sending out mailers to Pre-Foreclosures. A couple of months later, I closed my first deal and almost made exactly what I was making as a salary at GE. So, I've been doing that ever since 2005.

Chris Miles (05:28): That's awesome! You know, I can know a lot of people here can relate cause there's lot of people here that work really, they do really work hard for their money, right? And some of them make great money. But it comes with a price, you know, and some people will actually even believe that you have to do that. Like somehow you just have to work those long hours to get that kind of money. And that's just not true. That's a whole paradigm shifts that everybody needs to have. Right?

Alex Pardo (05:50): That's right! A hundred percent. I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head. I see. It's really unfortunate when I see people sacrificing time with their family or whatever they value, whatever it's important in the pursuit of money. Because as cliche as it might sound, forget tomorrow, the next minute is not promised to us. And unfortunately, sometimes it takes a tragedy or it, sometimes it takes, it takes you hearing about someone passing away for it's reminding you, like you have to enjoy life. And that's not to say that, you know, you don't pay attention to the responsibilities and end generating income and bringing in the finances. That's important, but you can have both, you know, I learned years ago from a mentor that this is an end world. It's not an either/or. In other words, you can have both things. You just have to be very intentional and strategic about it.

Chris Miles (06:35): Yeah. That's that's, I love that! That whole abundance mindset and realize not either/or, but it's a, how would I have both. Right? How do I have my cake and eat it too. Right?

Alex Pardo (06:44): Right. It's possible.

Chris Miles (06:45): It's sure is. Yeah. Well, tell us, like in your journey, like what's been some of the biggest ways, what are some of the biggest factor for your success?

Alex Pardo (06:55): Great question, Chris. I wish I had a sexy answer for you. I wish it was a story with a chance encounter with some celebrity where I got an opportunity. It wasn't that at all. It was, I've, a couple of years into my journey. As an entrepreneur, I tried to do everything alone. I was a lone Wolf and I had some success, but I also had some pretty big failures and those failures kind of shaped me. And one of the things I realized is I don't have to reinvent the wheel. If I can find the right people, put them into my life and have the right inner circle. I can, essentially success leaves, clues, right? And then I have to follow their exact path because I'm on my own unique journey, but I don't have to make mistakes that these people have already been through.

Alex Pardo (07:35): So the two years, it took me losing $51,000, $52,000. In 2007. Right as the market was shifting, I lost just over 50 grand on a deal. And I vowed to that point. I said, I'm not going at this alone anymore. So I hired a coach at that time. And through that process, I got exposed to masterminds. And so for the last, I don't know, whatever, it's been 12 years, 13 years, I have been coached by a couple of people at the same time. I've invested in myself as you have. We were just talking how we're both a part of multiple mastermind groups. And I could not imagine, Chris, especially with everything going on with COVID-19, I couldn't imagine going at this alone or without having a network, a community, a mastermind. Where I could just pick up the phone and call someone like you, Chris, and Hey, this is my challenge. This is what I'm going through. Or I need your insight. I need your perspective. So that's completely changed my life, you know, not just coaching, but being a part of the right communities, being a part of the right groups, people that are gonna walk alongside you, people that are going to help you to think bigger and challenge you and hold you accountable. It's been a game changer for me.

Chris Miles (08:41): Yeah. I'd be curious to know. Cause I know a lot of people ask me this. They're like, well, how do you find a good group like that? Like how do you find the one that's the right group? Cause there's lots of groups out there. Right? And there's tons of posers out there. There's tons of people that are kind of charlatans. Right? And they tend, and some of them are some of the biggest marketing people out there. Right? And then you get in their groups, you're like, this group stinks, you know, it's like this, isn't like, this is all hype and no real content or no real like, you know, real muscle to it. You know? So for you, like, what's been your experience like how you found the right groups.

Alex Pardo (09:13): Yeah. Well, first of all, phenomenal question. And I think this can be really, really helpful for people that have gotten to the point where they've said, okay, I see the value in being in a mastermind. I see the value in plugging into the right community. Now I go online, how do I even start the process. And one of the things I always say is, you know, do some research. Find out. Look at the leader. Who's running the group? And chances are, you know, most masterminds. You're going to go through some sort of interview process. And in some cases that's kind of a marketing gimmick type thing, a sales thing. In other cases it's legit. Like they, you know, if the leader is vetting, who is being put in the group, that's the kind of group I think you want to be a part of, not just somebody that can stroke a check or send a wire or make a certain investment in themselves.

Alex Pardo (10:00): But you want the group to have some sort of qualifications. And that doesn't necessarily mean X amount of volume or X amount of dollars you make. That could be a part of it. But you want to connect with the leader. They're going to probably interview you. You want to interview them. Ask them about their core values. Ask them about why they started the group. What's their intention? What's their, why are they doing this? Is it a business? And if so, that's fantastic! Absolutely nothing wrong with that because masterminds can be very lucrative as you know, Chris, but I would want to be a part of a group where it's more than just a business for them, right? Where their hearts in it, where they have a heart for service and for giving. And so you want to find out what makes up the DNA on that group, right?

Alex Pardo (10:41): Is it a group of go givers? Is it a group of people or is it a group of just like, you know, ego, chest pounding people that it's all about, Hey, I'm bigger and better kind of thing because there's both groups out there. So find a group that resonates with you. I think the second thing you want to ask yourself is, what direction do you want to take your life in your business? Do you have a vision for your life and for your business? Because depending on what you want to accomplish and the direction you want to go could really dictate what type of group you get into. To your point, Chris, there's no shortage of masterminds out there. It feels like they're popping up left and right now. Now, the flip side is, don't do so much research and don't get into analysis paralysis that, you know, 12 months later, you still haven't joined the group. The right group is out there. I think you can figure out just by having a conversation or a couple of conversations with the leader. And maybe even get some referrals, find out, Chris, you know, who's in that group? Who can I connect with? And gain an unbiased opinion on that group.

Chris Miles (11:37): I think that's a great idea for sure. Essentially. Cause like, you know, I always took the, you know, as a coach right. And consulting people, I always took kind of more of the group model for a few years. And then I realized that people didn't really need a guru model. They needed a guide. Right? And obviously I still give, you know, help and advice and guidance and stuff. But I realized that one of the biggest shifts for me was after I started to look into mastermind groups myself. And start to see the value when I started to apply that element to my own clients. Cause I had them come out to my house, for example, you know, twice a year. And, and we just have this very intimate group. And a lot of the members of the group said, you know, they'll even say at the end, they'll say, you know, the biggest thing I got out of this, like, sorry, Chris, like your stuff is awesome.

Chris Miles (12:19): But I love talking to people that were at my level, like people that were dealing with the same thing I'm dealing with right now. Like I've learned so much from talking with other people, even just during the breaks or lunch or whatever. Like I have learned so much from that. And it blew my mind. Like my ego was kinda rocked for a little bit. I was like, wait a minute, like I'm supposed to be your mentor. And then I realized, no, this is good. This is awesome. Like it's such amazing, it was such an amazing perspective shift for me and seeing how it really benefits people.

Alex Pardo (12:49): Yeah. And I always tell, I think to that end, Chris, you know, when we interview people and when we, and we have a pretty small intimate group through a sense, but when we interview people, we tell them, look, you're going to get the X's and O's and the strategy, and you're going to get a lot of content. But that's not even where the real value is. That's extremely valuable. But it's the relationships. The relationship capital is priceless. The fact that you and I are in a group and now we're doing this and there's ways that you can collaborate with people and the friendships and the fact that I can pick up the phone and call anybody in our group. Chris is, to me, it's just, it's priceless. So while I get a lot of value at the actual masterminds, to your point, it's the side conversations at the bar at the restaurant or at the break, it's the connection.

Alex Pardo (13:36): I mean, again, everybody's heard, you know, your net worth is your net worth. And I've also heard, it's not, it, it's not what, you know, it's who, you know, I'll take it a step further. It's who knows you. And so to me, that's, if I was weighing it out, that's probably 70%, 75% of the value is the relationships. And yeah, I've learned a ton and I've implemented systems and marketing strategies. And I bought properties from people in our group. And so there's been a lot of business that has come out of it, but the relationships is really what it's all about for me.

Chris Miles (14:07): That's, amen to that man! So, you know, I'll tell you like, and like you said before too, you like even mentioned like, it's, you kind of went to the question, I was already gonna ask you already hit it. Right? Which was, how would somebody know it's the right route for them? Right? And that kind of leads me to your group. You have a group named Ascend, right? So Alex, tell us more about Ascend, you know, what it is and who would be the right fit for that kind of group.

Alex Pardo (14:29): Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much for the opportunity to kind of briefly share about it. And I don't want this to be sound like a sales pitch or anything. It's just, honestly, I've been doing real estate now for 15 years. This is what I'm most passionate about. I realized my calling is to pour into people's lives and to work with them. So, because I've been a part of a lot of different mastermind groups and I've had a lot of coaches, I never found the group that brought them both together. So when I got together with my partner, Steve Cavanaugh, last year, we said, how can we create an experience where we mastermind? And we also get the coaching component. So it's a hybrid mastermind and coaching group for entrepreneurs. We have two groups of 15. So it's very small and intimate. We were talking about this offline.

Alex Pardo (15:08): It's not a group where there's hundreds of people and you, you kind of get lost in the shuffle. And not to say that there's anything wrong with that. There's some really valuable groups. We're a part of one that's pretty big and it's awesome, but we want it to go on a little bit of a different direction. We want the right people in there and you know, and so yeah, we, you know, every four months we get together in South Florida and we mastermind in a small intimate setting. It's an experience. We have a lot of fun while we're doing it. And then there's monthly one on one coaching. And then we get together as a group on Zoom. And we mastermind on Zoom. And ever since COVID hit we've been doing that on a weekly basis. So the level of accountability, the level of just transparency that's in the group is amazing.

Chris Miles (15:46): That's awesome, man! And like you said, when you're talking about business owners or you're specifically saying those that are going in the business of real estate, right?

Alex Pardo (15:53): No, no, by the way, thank you. Because I didn't, I didn't clarify that. No! This group is for entrepreneurs. Now having said that because of the content I produced to the podcast, because I've been in real estate, I'd probably say 80%, 75%, 80% of our members are in real estate, but we do have some members that have different businesses. We didn't want it to just be a group about real estate. And I think the other thing that, that makes it unique, Chris, is that we don't just talk business, but we actually start with the life component. At the foundation of what we do is, what's the vision for your life? And then let's help you either tweak, modify and or create a business that supports that lifestyle. So at our mastermind retreat, sometimes we're talking about, you know, Hey, my business, I need to generate more revenue and we're talking about marketing. And then juxtapose that we, you know, we had a situation in our group where somebody is dealing with an addiction. And so we, we really dove into that. So it covers life and business because my belief is that they're connected and one impacts the other. It has a ripple effect. Pun intended on each other. So...

Chris Miles (16:57): That's right. Well, awesome! If people want to find out more information about that, how would they go about doing so?

Alex Pardo (17:03): Yeah, it's super simple. AscendYourSuccess.com AscendYourSuccess.com Short five, six minute video on there. And then it's just an application process. And it's really just a conversation to see, you know, if it's a fit, answer questions and us to find out more about you. So it's a pretty simple process.

Chris Miles (17:20): That's great. Yes. There we go. You'll check that out, man. We'll put that link in the show notes for you guys to, just to go look at or check it out, you know, apply if you want to apply. Obviously I can vouch for Alex. Alex is amazing, man. Like, he's both on and off camera, so to speak, right. You know, or off the mic. He's a great guy. So definitely check that out and also check out his podcast. You wanna get to know him more through there. Check out FLIPEMPIRE as well. So anyways, Alex, appreciate you being on today.

Alex Pardo (17:49): No! Again, I really thank you for having me on. Again, it's for me, it's friendship. I'm grateful for the relationship. I know we have a mutual friend in Armando. And so anything you ever need, brother, I am here for you and same applies to anybody listening to this. If I can answer any questions or if you just want to connect again, I love building relationships. And if I can add value in any way, you know, feel free to reach out Alex@FlipEmpire.com.

Chris Miles (18:14): Awesome! Appreciate it, Alex, man. Everybody else you've heard it like reach out to Alex, check out his stuff. It's good stuff there, but right now is the best time, more than ever to stay connected. If I would have learned anything from the last recession that I went through, I thought I had to suffer alone. And that was not the case guys. Like if, if I would have learned quickly that it was actually reaching out to people and associated with people and looking for help, I would have not have suffered through the recession as much as I had. So guys, I recommend you. Don't fall in that same trap that I did as well, that you learn from our mistakes and from our successes too. So everybody, I'll be making a wonderful prosperous week. We'll see you later.

[princessselene126]

Wedding of the Era 1: We’re Done Saving the World

I love brotps and Cinder and Thorne are one of my favorites. Three people requested very similar cinwell fics, so naturally I combined them into this masterpiece. 2279 words of bonding where Thorne finally helps pick out that tiara and they talk about relationships.

masterlist

Cinder was going to regret this. She knew she was, but a promise made in the midst of a revolution was still a promise. At least that’s what Thorne said. She was more… uncertain on the subject.

When she told him, “you can help me pick out a tiara when we’re done saving the world” it was meant as a sarcastic remark. A way to brush off whatever ludicrous thing he’d said at the time. She couldn’t remember exactly what he said to make her reply with that--it was impossible for even Iko to remember every strange sentence that came out of that man’s mouth--but somehow he remembered her saying it three years after the fact.

So here they were, walking arm-in-arm through the halls of New Beijing palace to the vault the crown jewels were stored in. It was honestly a miracle that they would even let Thorne onto this floor given his criminal past.

“You really didn’t have to fly here all the way from--wait where were you again?” Cinder asked.

Thorne grinned, “Budapest.”

“Right,” she said as they turned a corner. There’d been a few minor outbreaks of letumosis lately. Thankfully they were acting fast enough that no one died. “You didn’t have to come all the way from Budapest. We could have just done this next month before the wedding. I’m sure you and Cress were plenty busy distributing antidotes and sightseeing.”

“Cress wasn’t with me. And we can’t pick out a tiara last minute, Your Majesty! Picking the wrong one could send the wrong message to the nation.”

“I’m not a queen anymore, don’t call me Your Majesty.” Cinder rolled her eyes at the mischievous glint in his baby blues, but something he said made her pause, face contorting in confusion. “Wait, where’s Cress?”

“Last time we visited Red and Wolfie she decided to stay and have some… alone time. Figure things out.”

That confused her even more. They’d been glued at the hip since the revolution.

Stars, she wished Iko was here to ask Thorne all the right questions, but she was with the tailor working on Cinder’s dress. Iko would merely ask what was on her mind instead of worrying about it like Cinder was then. 

Taking a breath, she gently prodded, “figure things out?”

“Yeah. I don’t think we’re,” he paused, looking for the right word, “clicking anymore.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, I love her, and she loves me, but something feels different. Off. We both want to travel the world have adventures, but I think she’s starting to feel like she has to settle with me. Which she doesn’t. She should see what’s out there, do things without me constantly at her side. So she is. I think she’s really enjoying herself.” 

Thorne looked genuinely happy for Cress.

“That’s good then,” Cinder said. “Do you think you’ll…”

She wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. Stay together? Go separate ways? It was impossible to know what would happen, and Cinder had never been good at judging those types of things.

They walked down another corridor, getting closer to the vault.

He smiled fondly, like he was remembering something. “No, no I don’t think we will. I’ve changed a lot, and definitely for the better, but I still don’t think I can give her what she truly wants. When it comes down to it, I think she’ll want a nice house in the suburbs or country where she can raise a few kids with someone who’s home more often than they’re away.”

“And you’d rather be away, always on the move,” Cinder said, now understanding.

“Exactly. I love going from place to place, not knowing where I’ll be one, two, three months from now. I always know I can stop by here, the farm, or wherever Winter and Jacin are when I feel like I need some friendly faces. Otherwise, I like the nomadic life.”

“We know, Thorne. We all know.”

He smiled so bright it would put the sun to shame. Removing his arm from hers, Thorne put it over her shoulders instead. “Oh how I’ve missed you, my mechanical majesty.”

She huffed a laugh, wrapping her own arm around his waist so they could walk better. “You comm me almost every day, but I’ve missed you too, cadet crazy.” 

And she really did. She missed his smiles and his witty remarks. Don’t get her wrong, Kai was still the sassiest in all the galaxy, but there was something about Thorne’s goofy humor that made her nostalgic.

“How many times do I have to remind you I’m a captain?”

“According to your military record, you’re still a cadet.”

He gasped. “I can’t believe you brought that up!”

They finally made it to the guarded door of the vault so Cinder let go of him. She greeted the guards by name--something she’d made a point to do here just like she did on Luna--then asked for them to open it up. Both scanned their left eye then stepped back so Cinder could do the same.

The metal door hissed and clanked as the gears turned took a few seconds to open it. One of the guards handed Cinder a plastic card that contained the ID chip required for accessing the jewels.

Thanking Yao and Sakata, Cinder grabbed an awestruck Thorne’s wrist and pulled him into the room.

The decently sized room had a dozen or so glass cases each containing several pieces of jewelry. There were emeralds and diamonds, rubies and pearls embedded into gold or silver. There were necklaces and earrings paired together. Crowns and tiaras sat on red velvet cushions. Rings were displayed on angled cylinders that looked like fingers which were lined with even more velvet. Brooches and hair combs were laid out neatly.

Cinder had only been inside this room one other time--when Kai was giving her the official tour once she moved in--and it was quite a sight to behold again. 

Although they were all beautiful pieces… she’d never been a fan of jewelry. Maybe it was because Adri never let her have any, maybe it was because she felt like it didn’t fit with her metal extremities, or maybe it was because it felt restrictive because she was a mechanic. The idea of wearing things from this room made her feel uneasy, like she was going to break some priceless artifact and be shipped back to Luna in shame.

Kai wouldn’t do that of course, but Torin might.

Thorne whistled. “Damn, in another life I would’ve loved to rob this place.”

“Thorne,” Cinder scolded with absolutely no malice.

He walked over to the first case and peered inside. “Oh, you have got to try this one on.” He reached out to touch the glass, but Cinder swatted his hand away. “What was that for?” he whined.

“They’re temperature controlled. If you touch them before unlocking them, the room locks down.”

“Gotcha. No touching the cases.”

Cinder bent down and tapped the card to the red light on the side of the case and waited for it to turn green. Once it did, she looked up at Thorne. “Alright, go ahead. But for the love of the stars please don’t break anything. Future empress or not, Torin will have my head.”

“Puh-lease, you’re speaking to a criminal mastermind, remember? Well, ex criminal mastermind, but you get the point.” He tentatively reached inside the case and pulled out the tiara he saw. He inspected it. “And you’re being dramatic, Cinder. Stop trying to steal my thing.” 

“Trust me Thorne, wouldn’t dream of it.” 

“Oh speaking of dreams.” He motioned her forward so he could place the crown on her head. “How’s your casanova, your emperor charming, your dear husband-to-be?”

She shifted under the weight of the crown. The thing was too damn heavy. If she had to wear it though an hour long traditional ceremony, surely she’d have a headache by the end of it. “He’s been busy, but so have I,” Cinder admitted.

He wiggled his eyebrows. “Gettin’ busy, or--fuck!” Doubling over, Thorne grunted.

Cinder elbowed him in the ribs. The golden crown wobbled on top of her head and she quickly brought her flesh hand up to steady it. 

“Can’t you keep your mind out of the gutter for one day? Or better yet, an hour?”

“I was only joking.”

She sighed, taking the crown off her head and setting it back in the case. “I know, Thorne.” Her fingers twitched. Cinder stared blankly down at the crown for before shutting the case. She didn’t turn around to face him.

He always made jokes about it, and they never actually hurt her, never made her feel bad about herself, but they always managed to accidentally strike a chord. She’d always felt so… unloveable.

Intimacy of any kind was still difficult for her despite the last three years of attention Kai had given her. And he wasn’t the only one either. Iko, Thorne, Cress, Scarlet, Winter, and aces, even Wolf were so physically affectionate that sometimes it overwhelmed her.

And that’s what she worried about.

Cinder and Kai had yet to take that step in their relationship, so she worried that she would tense up just like she did when anyone so much as hugged her for too long.

It’d gotten easier. Of course it had. Kai hugged her every day, kissed her every day. And Iko sometimes held Cinder so tight she thought her metal ribs might break off. There was still a piece of her that still felt--

“Cinder?” Thorne asked. “You’ve been staring at that case for three minutes.”

She blinked a few times and checked the clock in her retina display. He was right. She’d been standing there doing nothing for the last three minutes. Cinder cleared her throat and turned to face him. “Right, sorry. Just… lost in my thoughts.”

He took a step closer and gently rapped his knuckles against her skull. “You need a new memory chip or something in there?”

Cinder scowled at him and pushed his hand away. “My memory is just fine, thank you.” She glanced around the room at more jewelry. “I think that crown was too much. Too big. Maybe try to find something more subtle.”

“In this room? Not likely.”

He walked around the room, examining more pieces as he went. He pointed to a different one. It was the opposite of subtle. Rubies and yellow sapphires covered the delicately woven gold.

Cinder shook her head. “No that’s the empress’s coronation crown. I can’t wear it before then.”

“Damn. I liked that one.”

Of course he did.

They continued to wander. Every once in a while he would point to a tiara and she would try it on. None of them really seemed to fit her though. They were either too big and ostentatious or too small and modest.

She would have been more than fine with a modest tiara, but every time she brought that up to Thorne he would shake his head and say “You’re going to be an empress, Cinder. You can do better than that.”

Finally their eyes both landed on the same case and they knew it was perfect. Cinder tapped the card to the red light. Thorne pulled the golden crown out and carefully placed it on top of her head with a smile. He took a few steps back admiring how beautiful his best friend looked.

“Well?” Cinder asked. “What do you think?”

Thorne smiled, brushing her bangs out of her face. “I think it suits you. But you should try it on with the dress to make sure it doesn’t clash.”

“Iko won’t let me look at the dress until the day of. She said there was this old western tradition where the groom wasn’t allowed to see the dress until the wedding day and decided that instead I wouldn’t be able to see it until the wedding day.”

His smile widened, eyes sparkling once again. “Then you won’t see it.”

“What?”

Before she could ask anything else, Thorne was leading her out of the vault, promising Yao and Sakata that they’d be back in less than an hour with the tiara, then taking her to Iko’s room.

Iko was pleased to see them. She crushed Thorne in a hug then yanked them both inside. She agreed to let Cinder try on the dress with the crown so they could make sure they looked good together as long as she didn’t open her eyes.

Cinder rolled her eyes. What would it matter if she saw her own wedding dress? She didn’t believe in superstitious mumbo jumbo like bad luck. Besides, it didn’t even apply to her. It was supposed to be about Kai seeing the dress.

Iko persisted though, so Cinder agreed. 

She kept her eyes shut as Iko helped her put the dress on in her large closet. She almost fell over a few times, but Iko steadied her. The silk was soft on her skin.

“Alright. We’re walking now.” Iko opened the closet door her hands over Cinder’s eyes to keep her from peaking. She stopped and Thorne once again put the tiara on her head. The weight of this one was much easier to bear than the others she tried on. 

“Now keep your eyes closed.”

“I am, I am!” Cinder sighed. She wanted to see what she looked like, but she knew Thorne and Iko were better at style and matching and anything else beauty related than her.

They stood in front of her, smiling wide. 

Cinder kept her eyes closed, anxiously waiting for them to say something. “Well?”

“You look gorgeous.”

(Here’s the dress and the crown I imagine Cinder wearing.)

[lasttimeonthenegaverse]

If you care to know

Sometimes things may or may not be posted in the actual story. Sometimes they are. Sometimes we don’t know yet but the plot bunny slams our head into the wall until we’re bleeding out. ...... So, Enjoy this glimpse into the past that you may or may not see in story proper....I’ll stop rambling and get on with it. WARNING-Suicidal idealization and vague mentions of Child Abuse. This is the Nega-Verse after all 

                    ND~DD~ND~DD~ND~DD~ND

          "If you're going to kill me, just do it" NegaDuck stopped dead. Two hours this kid had been locked up in the room and he'd been kind enough to bring her food for THIS BULLSHIT. Actually, she was looking at the food, beak curled like it was poison.

         "

Run that by me again

" he grit out. She blinked softly.

          "I have a pretty high tolerance level. Not to mention, it's all been administered before. So if you're going to kill me, just do it. That probably won't work. Just give me stomach cramps and make me vomit...I’d prefer not to" She shrugged as she spoke so matter of factly "It would be refreshing if you just wrapped your hands around my throat and squeezed instead of breaking my legs so I'll beg better." The bitterness in her voice was born from a tired sort of resignation and Negaduck stifled the growl building in his throat.

          "Just eat the damn food! You'll need it. I have a point to prove and a bet to win" and the older duck turned to leave her alone with the suspicious bowl of....tuna????? Maybe? It may have been been a born of a fish....once upon a time.

           "Please not alone. Don't go...anymore. I need" her eyes were darting around the room as she curled into a little ball. His sneer got worse. Maybe Pad was right...about her being deadweight but....but there was something else. He's seen it. She robbed those people

blind

. Just by card sharking. She was able to bat those eyes at even him and managed to scramble out out range of his chainsaw. She was smarter than she seemed. But this

soft

shit.   

          "Just fucking eat. You need your strength. After all, after tonight I can guarantee you'll life's gonna change....

permanently

" her little face hardened at that, but she took a bite of slimy sludge and choked it down as he left the room.

An hour later found Gosalyn, NegaDuck and LaunchPad standing outside of a broken down amusement Park. The Child's eyes were riveted on a toy still hanging up and for dear life at a stupid rigged game of 'skill' some plush princess with an over-sized head and a more over-sized cupcake dress. Fucking pathetic. It was dingy and the rhinestones barely had any shine left. But yet,

that’s

what caught her attention. Not the obviously more important manic duck with the gas gun waving near her face. Said gas gun went off, hitting the ‘princess’ directly, setting it ,and the booth, on fire. LaunchPad chuckled at the action.

        "Will you fucking pay attention!?" Gosalyn turned back to the masked villain and for just an

instant

her eyes were brimming with murderous intent. "Now. As I was saying. This is LaunchPad" and she looked at the Pelican before raising an eyebrow at the Duck. "I murdered my way through a few crime families to get to you. LP thinks it was a waste. SO were gonna see if it

was

or not. 10 minutes. Don't let hin catch you and on my word as a criminal mastermind, your suffering will end. Deal?" She considered it. He said he'd murdered three crime families.

A waste?

There was no way that was a waste, he had their

territory

now. For her...what did he mean for her? What did he want from her? End her suffering....she eyed the gas gun on his hip, the one he'd used to start the small fire. A hit like that on her...point blank.... No more.  

          "Deal"

LaunchPad cracked his neck, which was her only warning before he lunged. Unfortunately, he was fast. She just barely managed to jump and scramble away before he was on top of her again. Heart full of adrenaline she took off scrambling through the ruined fairgrounds. She wasn't stupid. Negaduck said if she lasted 10 minutes, her suffering would be over. No more prisons, no more poison, no more being used or slammed against walls, no more card sharking for food and getting it stolen practically from her throat. No more

HEDIOUS GREY PANTSUITS

Just that gas gun and by her temple. The man behind her would likely break

just

enough bones to keep her from going into shock while she slowly either bled out or starved. Nope, no thanks. She wasn't turning to see how close to her he was. Instead  her arms went out, grabbing at a post and using the momentum to swing herself a few feet further ahead of the corner she landed on. The prison issued shoes had metal soles. They weren’t great for running, or

landing

fuck

. She'd have issues if her feet were broken. Bleeding and bruised she could deal with....just don't let them break! He was gaining ground again. She could hear him breathing. Nope. Running was a

terrible

idea. He had an advantage, he was bigger than her, meaning his legs were longer. No matter how much she dodged, he'd catch up. But dodging was better than running in a straight line. So she tucked her legs underneath herself and rolled right into the both area. She heard his grunt of frustration and chanced a look back as she stood up. He was right there slamming his body through a booth as he chased her. Smashed through. But the yellow tape she'd glanced behind him....Hmmm, ideas but she didn't have time to think to much. She at least learned how to slow him slightly, taking off again to slide beneath another booth. She was able to get up and start running again a few second ahead of his destroying the thing. And now she was looking for yellow.

                                                       THERE!!! 

She took off right for it. Yellow tape....police tape....condemned building. And He was smashing everything. She slid under the rotting wood, the grey sleeve of her uniform tore off as she entered, but there was blood rushing in her ears and the 'door' wouldn't hold back the sentient tank for long. She took off running in a random direction to get an understanding of where the hell she..... Was that her? She raised a hand and so did the duck in the mirror. She could see the exhaustion in the set of her shoulders. Her short hair was an absolute mess, suffused with dust, dirt, debris and so frizzy on would think she'd stuck a fork in a socket. Rage grew in her at seeing the thing in the mirror.... She'd be dead soon. That was a comforting thought. More comforting than the ominous banging sound growing. She took off again, deeper into the mirror maze. It was actually a few minutes until she heard him again. He must have taken off the other way. She felt the blisters forming and something wet. Hopefully the shoes wouldn't leak the blood. That could be problematic. He was carefully walking through the mirror maze, lurking around and looking for her, armed with a crowbar. "Ya still in here kid?" He asked. "Don't worry, I'm just gonna crush your skull nice and easy. Real quicklike, kay?"           "Liar!" He stopped and looked around at the echoing voice. Gosalyn scrambled down from her little perch up in the rafters and counted a few more times before standing in front of a mirror. If her math was right, he was about twenty five feet away and the mirror she was in.... *Shhhhhhhhhh*. She grinned as he smashed the mirror she was in. "Awwwweeee, Sorry Mister Launchy Pad. Not quite. Try try try again” She giggled before scrambling back up to the rafters. As predicted he came to the spot her voice had come from. But luckily, he wasn't looking up. She scrambled across the rafters, using her smaller stature to her advantage as she crunched a few numbers before pulling the same trick.

Alright, she wasn't going to get him to punch through mirrors until he was dying of blood loss. The man wasn't that stupid. She got a firm layout of the land as he slowly peered around corners for her. She let the drop be heard this time and he TURNED on his heel as he heard her. "

Over heeerrrrreeeeeee

" The mirror in front of her shattered and she was smugly looking up at a seething bird. He was using the crowbar so she

really

wasn't going to have him collapse of blood loss. She had a better plan anyway. She giggled, turned and took off running. He snarled and took off running after her. She was still giggling. Slip, slide, he was chasing. The back of her grey shirt went the same way of her sleeve as he caught her by her collar. But she had what she wanted, sliding down the tunnel as.....

*THUD*

Gosalyn smirked as she heard him attempt to break through the glass.....and run into the stone wall. "

Awwwweeeee

, bye" It didn't take her very long to bounce her way back to NegaDuck, skipping. The duck raised his eyebrow as he saw her coming back alone.

          "Where's LaunchPad?" He asked. She pointed in the vague direction of the house of mirrors. Negaduck was.....completely unworried. This kid wasn't

quite

psychotic, nothing of any real weight to permanently injure the man had fallen by his line of vision, and she was unarmed. So whatever happened to LaunchPad...he'd be fine...If not incredibly pissed off. Nega raised an eyebrow looking at the kid.

          "I won. So just....kill me....End my suffering" She ordered.

Welp. She was right about a Gas Gun to her temple, though she'd gotten the hilt of it instead.

She woke up and clutched at her pounding skull, finding bandages. "Oh calm down. The fracture's a hairline"

          "What's going on?" She demanded the man sitting in the chair. She felt something.....hard pressing into her and pulled out "

Pretty

" She was transfixed for a moment, tracing at the porcelain doll in the pastel blue ballgown.

     "Life changing....permanently.” She jumped, and looked over at the Masked Mallard, his costume stained with blood. “No one's gonna fuck with you no more.  You're the ward of 'Lord' Negaduck." He sneered. She locked up. 

       “For how long?” Her voice sounded as dead as she wished she was. “How long...until my Grandfather comes for me. Until you get bored? Until-”

        “He’s dead” The duck interrupted her tirade.“I killed him when he came talking about the rent you were supposed to pay him for food. Since you were

starving,

and seeing as how you’re mine now, that money comes from me.....and I don’t pay for shit.” Well, that explained the blood. She checked the pretty blue dress of her doll for any unsightly spots of red. 

          “Kill me” She ordered. “That was the deal. I win. I die. Make it fast” He glared at her

          “Your

mine.

 LP couldn’t catch you so I won the bet. You’re useful. I don’t kill useful shit....not till I get it’s worth. So, Doll is the cute shit you’re getting, and don’t bug me.” Gosalyn reared back to, face twisted in something nasty, but she traced the dress of the doll again. 

          “You Don’t

like

cute things do you?” She asked.

          “No” He snarled. “And I managed to stomach getting you that doll....and

bullying

a boutique. It’s yours.” She chanced a glance down. Her new nightgown was ruffled, and

pink.

 But it was a distraction...

          “

Oh thankie wankie”

He snarled. She’d be dead before he changed his mind, she could see his hand twitching for the Gas gun on his hip. 

          “Listen here ya lil

BRAT

.  It’s fuckin impossible to make me do something I don’t wanna. So since you’ve proven you’re gonna be useful, I aint checkin you out till then.”  There it was, the wicked gleam he’d seen before, aimed at him this time. She wasn’t gonna break him. She hugged the doll close and

grinned

          “LOVE YOU DDDDDDDDAAAAAAAADDDDDDDY”  NegaDuck Shuddered. Outside the door, LaunchPad bit back a snort. This kid was good.

[rt8815]

Christmas 2020

This fills the “Fix a plothole” square on my CM Bingo card.

Again, no clever title

WC: 2,100

The first scene is mostly unnecessary, but ask me if I care. Spoiler alert: I don’t!

I couldn’t find a picture or GIF that fits, but this one is cute.

Out of all the reindeers, you know you’re the mastermind

Run, run Rudolph, Randolph ain’t too far behind

Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s gotta make it to town

Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down

Run, run Rudolph, ‘cause I’m reelin’ like a merry-go-round

McKinley sang along with Chuck Berry, pulling cookies from the oven.

“What would you like for your first Christmas, my littlest love?” she asked Sophie.

The five month old babbled at her mother, shaking her arms. If she weren’t too young for it, McKinley would’ve sworn she was dancing to the music.

“You’ll want for nothing, certainly! Aunt Penny alone will spoil you rotten, but that’s her job as your fairy godmother, I suppose.”

She smiled wistfully at the memory of Sophie’s birth, how Penny’s godmother-hood was assumed from the moment they announced Baby Reid’s impending arrival, and how utterly mortified Penny had been to learn, birth center bedside, that she would be co-godparenting with Luke.

McKinley considered him as her brother as much as she considered Penny to be her sister. Not only had the four hung out together from the start, Luke had also looked after her the month she and Spencer weren’t speaking to each other, and he was instrumental in getting them back together.

How do you not make such a man your child’s godfather?

Sophie began fussing to be nursed, so McKinley scooped her out of the highchair and carried her to the couch.

Buzz-buzz

A text came from Spencer, asking if she was free for a video chat. Once she powered up her laptop, she sent a quick ‘Yep.’

His face appeared, the picture slightly wobbly until he situated his phone on the kickstand.

“Hey there! How are my two favorite ladies?”

“We’re great,” she replied, turning Sophie in her lap to face the camera. Securing her with one hand on her torso, McKinley gently grasped Sophie’s arm to kiss her hand and wave it at Spencer.

“Who’s that, Sophie? Who’s that handsome devil?”

“Stop,” he mumbled, blushing at her suggestive tone.

“What?” she continued, ignoring his hands slashing across his neck. “You’re gorgeous...irresistible...delectable.”

Spencer’s face graduated to an even deeper pink. “Anyway, takeoff is in 20 minutes and I wanted to see you both before switching to airplane mode.”

“You’re on the jet?” she asked flatly. “Oh God, everyone heard that, didn’t they?”

“Hey, Twist ‘n’ Shout,” Luke winked as he slipped past Spencer to the bathroom.

McKinley facepalmed.

“I tried to warn you.”

“Hush.”

Spencer chuckled. “Is everything ready for tomorrow?”

“Yep,” she replied, grateful for the change of subject. “Just a few dishes left to cook in the morning. Y’all bringing your sides?”

“On it.”

“My pie ingredients are ready and waiting.”

“I’m baking my casserole tonight.”

McKinley sighed in relief. She and Spencer offered to host the family Christmas dinner this year, since Rossi had left to spend the holidays with Joy and Kai. It didn’t make the most sense because their house was rather small, but everyone got on board regardless. The others contributing to the meal eased her anxiety a bit.

They chatted a while longer, and everyone took turns fawning over Sophie, who really started demanding lunch.

“Guess I better go,” McKinley sighed.

Spencer nodded, blowing kisses to his girls.

“See you in a few hours. Love you.”

“We love you too. Say ‘Bye-bye, Daddy.’”

Sophie gurgled as the video chat ended.

…

The tree was lit, the house all decorated, and the smell of roasted meats and vegetables permeated the air.

Spencer eyed the mini doughnuts McKinley made just for him.

She nudged his hip. “Don’t you dare!”

“Awww.”

“Go on then, man-child,” she rolled her eyes. “It is the holidays, I suppose.”

His pout slid into a smirk, tongue darting between his lips. “Actually, I think I’ll wait for dessert until tonight.”

“Spencer, there’s a child present.”

Sophie gazed at them, absentmindedly gnawing on a teething ring.

Ding-dong!

“That’ll be Penny. I hope I did a good job on these vegetarian dishes!”

“I’m sure they’re delicious,” he said reassuringly as he walked to the door.

Penelope hobbled in, laden with gift bags and all decked out in her Christmas best.

She deposited the gifts under the tree, then gave Boogie a quick pat on her way to McKinley.

“Gimme gimme gimme,” Penny ordered, making grabby hands at Sophie.

“Hello, angel,” she cooed. “You know you’re not getting her back until bedtime, right?” Penny informed the couple as she left faint lipstick prints on Sophie’s cheeks and forehead.

“You know that means you’ll be changing any diapers, right?” Spencer replied.

“Small price to pay.”

Everyone trickled in over the next hour, Luke being the last. Penny handed over Sophie with only slight reluctance, perhaps because he seemed to be in a sour mood. 

His scowl dissolved when he held Sophie, breaking into a joyful grin.

“¡Feliz Navidad! ¿Cómo estás, Nena?”

She settled in her uncle’s arms, squeaking happily when he nuzzled her fine, curly hair and kissed her temple.

“Is Lisa driving separately?” McKinley asked, hoisting a massive plate of pheasant and quail off the island. Maybe she went a smidgen overboard.

Luke stiffened. “She's working another shift at the ER,” he replied, never looking away from Sophie. “Told me to tell you she's sorry she couldn't join us.”

Everyone else shared brief, tense glances.

“I'll put together a plate for you to take home for her. Let her know we missed her.”

“Sure.”

“Wine, anyone?” Spencer offered, breaking the awkward silence.

Most of the evening passed smoothly, with everyone sharing child-friendly stories of past Christmases (Henry and Michael were there, of course!), passing around and feeding Sophie, and reading a (sadly) abridged version of A Christmas Carol.

And then Luke felt the need to snidely comment on Penny’s boyfriend’s absence. It was a relatively new relationship and kind of soon to drag each other into their friend groups.

Spencer and McKinley alone heard him in the kitchen, since the rest of the group were chatting excitedly in the den, waiting to exchange presents.

McKinley wrenched open the back door, seizing Luke by the collar. “You, with me. Now.”

She steered a tipsy Luke onto the back porch, locking the door behind her.

“Are you insane? It’s 30 degrees out here!” he growled, swiping at her keys, but McKinley stuffed them down her bra.

“Good! We can make this quick, and maybe you’ll sober up as a bonus. Say it and we can go back inside.”

“Say what?”

“How much you hate that Penelope’s with someone else.”

Luke snorted, though he flushed with embarrassment. “That’s ridiculous. Why would I -?”

“Because she’s not with you!” she exclaimed, her voice shrill. “You have feelings for her and you are kicking yourself for not acting on them in the beginning.”

He laughed incredulously. “I do not have ‘feelings’ for Penelope.”

“Why else would you have discouraged Phil from pursuing her?”

“How the hell do you know that?” he asked, taking a step back.

McKinley threw up her arms. “I knew Phil and Lisa from volunteering in the rehab wing, remember? One morning the spring after he was murdered, I ran into her at a coffee shop following her shift in the ER. We talked about him, how much his death shook us, and then she said, ‘It’s sad he never had the chance to be with Penelope. They’d have been a cute couple.’”

Luke swallowed hard.

“And I found that interesting, since I distinctly recall you telling Penny that Phil hadn’t asked about her. Lisa told me you also said, ‘You’re no match for Penelope Garcia.’? Bro, you got it for her baaad.”

“Did you mention any of this to Lisa?”

“Don’t you think she’d have confronted you if I had?” McKinley countered, rubbing her arms for warmth. “You think Lisa hasn't noticed how frequently you hang out with me, Spencer, and Penny even when she’s not working? Do you think it’s a coincidence that she’s missing all these parties?”

His face hardened. “Are you suggesting that she’s -”

“Cheating? No! Miserable! You two are miserable - don’t deny it!” she warned when he started protesting.

“Luke, you won’t admit out loud that you’re unhappy with Lisa or that part of the reason you jumped into the relationship was to forget Penny. If you did? Well, then you’d be the most awful person on this porch.”

McKinley breathed in the frigid air before continuing. “So, I’m gonna give you an out.”

“How are you gonna do that?”

“By saying something that’s even more awful.” She stared pointedly at the falling snow, voice wavering.

“Like what?”

“Sometimes I hate being a wife and Mom,” she spat venomously. “Sometimes I wanna pack up my old tiny house, drive off and never look back.” She clamped her hands to her mouth, surprising even herself with her confession.

Luke gaped at her for the longest moment, lips parted in shock.

He slumped against the wall. “I shouldn’t be with Lisa, I should be with Penelope. I love her.”

McKinley threw her best ‘No shit, Sherlock’ face his way.

“You serious?”

“In my darkest hours, yes. I love Sophie and Spencer so much, but you remember how much I loved playing live music? I never see Taylor and the gang anymore since I quit The Five Doctors, and it’s been almost a year since I picked up my guitar.”

She leaned into her wall, raking through her hair. “Every day I scramble to meet deadlines at work, then here it’s cooking, cleaning, laundry, feeding and bedtime. I’m a single parent for weeks at a time. It never lets up. It’s really hard, Luke.”

“Have you talked to Spencer about -” he stopped short at the glare on her face.

“Right, that’s not fair of me.”

McKinley retrieved her keys. “Horror of horrors, we have to be adults about this. I need to adjust to my new normal and you need to talk to Lisa, because if you keep avoiding the subject, it’ll blow up in your faces.”

“And Penelope? I’m not sure what to say to her. I mean, does she even feel the same way about me?” He cringed at how junior high that sounded.

“Luke, if you wanna know how Penelope feels, you have to talk to her."

They discreetly returned to the kitchen, where Spencer was pouring cocoa for everyone.

“Presents, presents, presents!” Michael chanted.

Soon the den was drowning in a sea of wrapping paper. At some point, JJ switched her phone to video because the kids were putting on quite a show. Amid the excitement, Sophie squirmed in Penelope’s lap and stretched her arms in Spencer’s direction.

“Had enough Aunt Penny for tonight?” she asked, handing her over. “Okie-dokie. I’m marvelous but I’m not Mommy or Daddy.”

Sophie studied her father’s face intently, vocalizing softly. She suddenly reached up, patting his cheek.

“Dah-dah.”

The room fell silent.

McKinley gasped. “Did she just…?”

“She did,” Spencer whispered in awe. “Her first word. Yes, sweetheart, I’m your Daddy.”

Everyone watched the three huddled together in a private family moment, elated beyond description for their friend. He had waited years for this and he deserved every happiness.

…

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Luke froze, hand hovering by the doorknob. “Uuum, home?”

“Four glasses of wine? You’re not safe to drive. You’re sleeping on our couch.”

“She’s right, Luke. Besides, the weather’s picking up.”

He couldn’t argue with that: the snowfall obscured the street, it was so thick. To be honest, he didn’t want to go home anyway.

McKinley carried Sophie to the nursery, pausing at the hall closet.

“Hmmm, why not?” she muttered to herself.

Once Spencer found blankets and pillows for Luke, he went to help tuck in Sophie. The sound of plucking and twanging caught his attention. Peering into the nursery, he was met with a precious scene.

McKinley stood by the crib, tuning her guitar. Spencer remained silent, not wanting to disrupt her. Slowly, she began softly playing “La Vie En Rose,” speaking the lyrics since she couldn’t actually sing.

...Give your heart and soul to me

And life will always be

La vie en rose

“It’s great hearing you play again.”

“I’m kinda rusty, ” she grinned sheepishly. 

“Nonsense,” he corrected, pulling her into one of those dizzying kisses.

Up close, Spencer could see the exhaustion in his wife’s eyes.

“You’ve done a lot today,” he noted as he rubbed her back. “Let me run you a bath, and then I can read you to sleep. How’s that sound?”

McKinley sighed contentedly. “Perfect.”

---

@illegalcerebral @dreatine @cynbx @cmbingo

[pandemicthestory]

10: confused

Fake it til you make it.

In the middle of the City, fairly close to the Academy, there is a chrome-colored building that is taller than almost all of the rest. Night and Sugar stand in front of its doors, wondering how they’re going to get in.

The building is called “Mecca.” It’s filled with headquarters for top companies--mostly builders, but also fashion and interior designers, medical technicians, and game developers. Thousands of civilians report here for work 5 days a week. But since it’s Friday, as soon as it’s 5 o’clock, these workers will leave their desks and head to the top floor. 

At the top floor of Mecca is LOUNGE, an exclusive night and day club where windows are always blacked out and the passing of time can’t be measured. A night club meets speakeasy meets casino, this is where the elites go to unwind. After a long week’s work of building, the business men and women of Mecca can swipe their membership card at the top floor and indulge themselves in the darker parts of life. 

And this is exactly where Sugar intends on taking them.

“There’s no way we’re getting in.” Night mutters, hitting his forehead with his palm. This situation feels seriously illegal and seriously stupid. As he and Night stood at the front of this massive building, Night begins to wonder if he’s made a big mistake. 

“Hold on now, don’t give up just yet, man. Listen, the separation medical facility is in this building.” Sugar explains. 

“So..?”

“People think we’re Vacaters. So, we’ll tell security that we have appointments today, they’ll let us in, we’ll head to the facility and…” 

“And what?”

“And figure it out from there? Let’s go dude!”

*buzz*

*buzz buzz buzz* 

Suddenly, Night’s phone starts blowing up in his pocket. He can’t ignore it, because it just keeps going. 

“Hold on a second, Sugar…”

Night reaches into his pocket and sees that he has several missed texts and calls. From Julian. 

Oh god, what does he want from her so desperately? What could be so important that it can’t wait? 

This is why he’d tapped Emma’s phone. It wasn’t because he’s creepy or trying to infringe on her privacy, though, he’ll admit, that’s exactly what it looks like. No, it’s because she’s unpredictable, and surrounded by people who don’t know what’s best for her. And because he really needs her to make it here. 

JULIAN: where are u 

JULIAN: stopped by your house and u weren’t there 

JULIAN: ur mom said u were out for a walk, but i don’t think that’s true. Tell me what’s happening

(3 MISSED CALLS)

JULIAN: your friend zoe says that you’re out somewhere with her boyfriend. Care to explain? Wtf is going on...we’re leaving in a few days Emma

(2 MISSED CALLS)

JULIAN: we’re leaving tomorrow

Leaving?

Leaving where?

Night had known that Emma was planning something, just not what. Apparently Julian does. 

Sugar taps his foot impatiently while Night composes a response to Julian. With the software he installed on his phone, it will be rerouted through Emma’s number. He’ll have no idea.

“EMMA”: Going where?

A pause, and then Julian is typing. 

JULIAN: there you are. Fuck. don’t do that to me 

“EMMA”: where are we going, julian? 

JULIAN: what are you talking about? Are you trying to distract me from the fact that ur out chilling w Gabriel? The fuck?

Now Night is actually confused. Is this why she didn’t answer him? Because she was busy with Gabriel? And for that matter, who the hell is Gabriel?

What’s going on Emma? Everything you need was sent straight to your doorstep. Couldn’t have been easier. All you had to do was get the mail. So what went wrong?

Sugar yells to him, “DUDE, NOW.” 

“Ok ok, I’m ready!” Night says, while composing and sending one last text.  

“EMMA”: i’m not going anywhere with you julian. I’ve changed my mind. Don’t contact me again

Night runs after Sugar. He wonders to himself...what does such a smart girl see in such a profoundly stupid guy? Is she that starved of attention that she’ll settle for anyone who gives it to her? Note to self: that question will probably be offensive to her if he were to ask it. So he will not.

But hopefully he’ll at least have the chance. Soon. 

Sugar storms ahead, and Night basically has no choice but to follow. 

Sure enough, they head through metal detectors on their way in, and are then greeted by a squad of security guards. A guard steps in front of them. How many times is this going to happen today?

“Please swipe ID cards on the way in.” 

This guard is nicer than the last one, he said please. He’s still in the way though. Sugar steps up. 

“Hello sir, we don’t have ID cards because we don’t actually work here. We’re merely here for our appointments at the separation facility. We’re wearing our uniforms to indicate our status.” Sugar says, oozing with professionalism and aggressively overdoing it. Night fights a laugh under his breath (“merely..?”) and Sugar elbows him discreetly. The guard frowns.

“Is that so? We weren’t told of any separation appointments scheduled today...in fact, it’s rare that they’re ever scheduled on Fridays. What’s the reason you’re here for the service today instead of Monday?” 

At this moment, both Sugar and Night are hoping that the other one has more knowledge of who the hell Vacaters actually are and what the hell the separation facility actually does. Unfortunately, neither of them do. Night realizes that he’ll have to throw another hail mary pass and hope for the best.

“Well it’s because, the...service...is going to be followed by a session with some other associates at LOUNGE.” 

Now it was Sugar’s turn to try not to laugh. That was officially the dumbest ass response ever, which is why he is the resident debauchery mastermind and Night spends every night in front of a computer and a dead plant. 

Night tries to remain confident. He couldn’t bank on these guys not understanding Vacaters, like the last pair of idiots, but he gambled that he could bank on them not knowing much about LOUNGE. From the look of it, these guys don’t seem like the type to be invited to an exclusive, glamorous party. They’re wearing jumpsuits. 

“What? Really? That’s so...unusual.” One guard says. The other nods in agreement. They actually seem a bit...jealous? As in, why have these two bratty teenagers been invited to the top floor when we who have worked here for five years never will?

“Well yes, my father is a builder and it’s, uh, a sort of rite of passage for me to be vacated, er, separated, alongside him. In a celebratory way. After work.” 

If Night got away with this, he’d owe the forces of the universe one. 

The guards just nod in admiration while Sugar looks incredulous. 

“Well then, good luck young man. We hope your last night will be a special one.” 

The guards exchange nods with Night and Sugar, who head forward to the glass elevator. 

“Separation facility is on 43!” Calls one of the security guards from behind, almost wistfully. Maybe one day he’ll get the chance to see what’s up there. But not likely. 

Once inside the glass elevator, Sugar hugs Night around the shoulder. 

“Ok honestly, I’m a bit shook that you’re a bad ass. Was pretty sure that you were just a virgin computer nerd.”

Night laughs to himself. That’s all that anyone has ever expected of him. But right now, seeing himself through Sugar’s eyes as a genius lawbreaker feels good. Intoxicating, even. 

“What floor’d he say? 45, was it? Sugar asks. 

“Why not go straight to the top?” Night asks, with a mischievous grin.

He hits the number “100” without waiting for an answer. 

* * * 

Emma crashes through the front door of her house, ready to have to explain herself to her parents and hoping to get through it painlessly.

But they don’t seem to be home. “Mom? Dad?” 

They must be out looking for her. Now it all makes sense...her neurotic mother was blowing up her phone because she couldn’t even trust her daughter to take a walk around the damn block. Then her phone got destroyed in the parking lot. And now, since she hasn’t answered, they’re out looking for her. And when they eventually get back, she’ll probably be sent to prison. Cool.

Emma decides to take this time as a gift. Tune everything else out. This is her shot to save Isabel. 

Emma runs upstairs to her room and tears the cardboard off the headset. She tosses the instructions aside because she has enough knowledge to put one of these together without them. 

Does it need to be charged? It does not. It’s ready to go. 

Now, to check on the download…

7 HOURS REMAINING

She groans. It’s speeding up, but not enough. She needs to plug in now, not in 7 god damn hours. She sees on her computer that there are a shit ton of unread G-chat messages from Zoe. Ugh, she’s probably dealing with some sort of jealousy moment right now and Emma just doesn’t have time to deal with it. So she doesn’t open them. Sorry Zo. You’ll forgive me.

Emma wracks her frazzled brain--there’s gotta be a way for her to get online and contact Emma.

Wait. 

Emma runs across the hallway to Isabel’s room, carrying the headset and headphones. Isabel is still slumped over in her chair, alive, looking the same as before. Well at least she’s alive, which is cool. Emma examines the game on the computer--scanning the twisted map view of a city for any sign of her sister. None. Hm, guess it doesn’t work like that. 

Emma looks at the game settings. 

Ah, input/output. Yes. This is it. 

If she can’t join from her own game, maybe she can join Isabel’s.

Emma sits down on a pile of clothes in the back of Isabel’s closet. She might as well get comfy, she could be here for a while. She puts on thick noise-canceling headphones and the headset, and everything goes dark and quiet. 

Power on. 

Emma wirelessly connects to Isabel’s computer, then sees the icon for the Universe game pop up in front of her eyes. With a nod, she selects it.

Black becomes blue. 

Silence becomes ambient drone music. 

Isabel’s done VR before, so she expects this. She still feels excitement. This technology never ceases to amaze her. 

It’s when the feeling of the laundry beneath her fades away into a rush of cold air... 

This, she does not expect. 

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z Movie 7: Super Android 13!

Movie 7 premiered on July 11, 1992, after episode 147 and before episode 148.  The original title is “Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Battle! The Three Great Super Saiyans.”    That may be the most coherent movie title I’ve come across so far. 

We open on footage of 17 killing Dr. Gero in his lab.  Toei went out of their way to reanimate this whole scene, although the Z-Fighters aren’t in it.   I’m pretty sure that big energy blast at the top is Vegeta blasting the door open, but he’s not actually shown.

And the Z-Fighters ought to be standing at the doorway, watching 17 finish Gero off, and yet they’re completely out of sight.  You’d think their shadows would be visible here.   

But Gero’s supercomputer in the lab’s basement is still hard at work.  We first learned of the computer in Episode 143, because Cell credited it with his creation.   And it was destroyed in... Episode 145, because Trunks and Krillin wanted to make sure it didn’t send any more surprises after them later.   So yeah, we’re not even ten minutes into this movie, and we already have a continuity issue.  

In the anime, the supercomputer just has a tank with the embryonic Cell next to it.    But in this movie, that’s nowhere to be seen, and instead there’s three chambers, like the kind that once held 16, 17, and 18.   What could be inside?????

And here’s the title screen.  

This movie’s pretty thin on story.   That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it’s got plenty of action, but there’s not a whole lot for me to write about.   As far as I can tell, this is set in some possible scenario where the good guys beat the androids and maybe Cell too, although it sort of looks like Cell just stone cold never existed in this movie’s world.   So the gang is in the big city just sort of relaxing.  

This is Trunks’ movie debut, but it seems kind of weird having him just stand around and kill an afternoon with the others.   He seems to feel even more awkward about it than I do.  If the androids are beaten, why hasn’t he gone back to his own time?   Instead, he’s tagged along with Master Roshi, Krillin, and Oolong for some beauty pageant.   They wanted to get good seats for ogling the girls, so they showed up super early.  Krillin tells them to quit being lecherous pervs around Trunks, but earlier he was the one going ga-ga, so yeah.  

The punchline here is that they ended up getting the date of the even wrong, so they stood in line for nothing.

Meanwhile, Goku and Gohan are helping Chi-Chi at the store, because women be shopping, amirite?  

Outside, these two mofos show up and just start walking through everything.  

I mean literally.   If a bus gets in their way they just rip right through it.  

Pretty sure they could fly straight up to where they’re going, but they take the escalator instead.

Then they open the elevator shaft, fly up it, through the car, and then rip their way to whatever floor they want.

All of this so they can shoot at Goku from the floor below where he and the gang are eating dinner.    This whole assassination attempt seems kind of poorly thought out.    If they were going for stealth, why were they so sloppy about getting this far?   If they didn’t care who saw them coming, why didn’t they just smash right through to this floor and attack directly?

They manage to save everyone on the floor from the blast, though, so no worries.   Goku suspect the attackers are here for him, so he tells everyone to get as far from him as possible.

Sure enough, the pair follow Goku, and he deduces pretty quickly that they’re more of Dr. Gero’s androids.  

It takes a while to get the introductions made, so let me get this out of the way here.   This one is #15, he has a hip flask and he likes to drink out of it.  

And this one is #14.   He looks like some sort of reject from the movie Highlander.   I’m not sure why their skin looks that way.  

Gohan insists on helping, even though Krillin says there’s nothing they can do at their level, and even though Chi-Chi wants him to come home for summer cram school.   Gohan refuses, on account of his dad’s life being more important.   So Chi-Chi tells Krillin to go after him and make sure he’s okay.

Back at the lab, the supercomputer activates a third android, #13.    Why not just send them all out together?   Is this just because #14 and 15 are having trouble?   Because they haven’t really gotten very far into the fight yet.

Trunks tells Goku that they should take the battle to the polar region up north so civilians won’t get hurt.   There, 14 and 15 manage to do a pretty good job working over both of them.  

Then 13 shows up.   The good news is that he’s more talkative than the others, but the bad news is that he doesn’t have much more to say, really.   Practically every one of his lines is just a restatement of how they were sent by Gero’s computer to kill Goku.

That’s pretty much the whole problem with this movie.   The villains are just... more androids.   Are they cooler androids than the ones from the anime?   Well, I guess that’s a matter of taste, but they don’t really have the personality of 16, 17, and 18.   They might look cooler, but they don’t have character arcs or anything like that.   14 hardly speaks at all, and 15 just has that hip flask and a loud costume.   13′s got his hat, and not much else.  

This is where the Funimation dub really came to the rescue, becaue they dubbed the Movie androids with a lot more flavor.   15 was really sassy, and 13 had this beligerent redneck persona to match his costume.   My favorite line from the dub version is when he says “I was programmed to kill your ass”.  

We get none of that in the Japanese version.  These three are all business, and there’s not much to say here that wasn’t covered by #16-20 in the anime.   Dr. Gero hates Goku, they were built to kill him.   

The only real twist I can see in this movie is when 13 explains that Gero’s desire for vengeance was “transferred” into the computer.   So now the computer hates Goku just as much as Dr. Gero did.   Maybe that’s a distinction without a difference.    In the dub, the computer was just a plot device to explain how the androids got turned on.    Team Four Star’s abridged version of this movie had Gero upload his consciousness into the computer when 17 killed him.   I liked that idea, because it allowed Gero to actually be in the movie, albeit as a stationary object.   But the original Japanese script seems to be proposing that the computer itself could be the mastermind this time around.   Except it never speaks or does much of anything through the whole film.   It’s basically an even crappier Dr. Wheelo, if that’s even possible.  

On the other hand, it sort of explains why the computer went out of its way to send 13, 14, and 15 into action.    In the anime, it’s strongly implied that they were considered failures, either scrapped or put into storage.    Gero probably wouldn’t have bothered to use them again, not after all of his later models failed, but if the computer hates Goku too, then it might be desperate enough to try to hurt him with whatever it has on hand.  

So they keep fighting.   Trunks has to handle 14 and 15 by himself, and it doesn’t go well.

Then Vegeta shows up to save Goku from 13′s finisher.   Standard speech, no one gets to kill Kakakrot except me, yadda yadda.

So 15 goes after Vegeta, and now we have an even three-on-three fight.  

Now, you might be wondering why they haven’t all gone Super Saiyan yet.    Well, to answer your question, I have no idea.  I get the impression that these three androids are far weaker than their anime counterparts.    I mean, these would have to be the third string, or why else would Dr. Gero have left them on the shelf when he needed help?   Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks never would have survived against 16-20 without their Super Saiyan forms, so the fact that they hold their own so long here tells me these three ain’t all that.    It still doesn’t explain why they waited this long to turn up the juice.    When they do finally transform, Krillin exclaims “They’ve done it!” like it was hard. 

I suppose that’s the other explaination.   Movies 5 and 6 both seemed to imply that the boys can only transform when they’re backed into a corner.    So maybe Movie 7 is going on the same reasoning, but that’s kind of dumb, since we’ve had Super Saiyans for a while now and everyone ought to be familiar with how they work.    Hell, Trunks and Vegeta transformed immediately when they fought Frieza and 19 respectively.    They can all do it at will.  

I take it back, Gero’s computer is way better than Dr. Wheelo because it has colorful blinking lights, so I can actually distinguish it from the rest of the scenery.

For some reason, Goku still has trouble with 13, even in Super Saiyan form, so Piccolo shows up to lend a hand.   This seems kind of underhanded for a show that emphasizes fighting one-on-one.  

As for Vegeta and Trunks, they dispatch their respective Androids pretty easily. 

But then 13 reveals that YOU JUST ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD.   Turns out that when you destroy 14 and 15, some of their components will automatically float up and enter 13′s body, giving him a power boost.

So then he turns into this big blue monster with red Vegeta hair.  Well why didn’t the computer just build him like this in the first place?    Why bother with 14 and 15 at all?

So yeah, he kicks everyone’s ass, and no one can even put a dent in the guy.   

With the rest of the Z-Fighters down, 13 just tees off on Goku, eventually knocking him into a lake.

Krillin spends most of the movie convinced that he’s too weak to help, but then at the end he finally steps in to save Goku, and that’s pretty cool.  He eats an energy blast for his trouble, but that’s how it goes.

This gives Goku a chance to try the Spirit Bomb, which we haven’t seen him use since it utterly failed to kill Frieza.   

The others try to buy Goku time.   Trunks in particular gives a speech about how he’s from the future, and 13 doesn’t exist in the future, and that’s because Goku must be destined to kill him here and now.    Pretty sure that’s not how it works, but whatever.

13 tries to shoot at Goku, but Piccolo manages to suplex the big bastard.   He only gets him halfway over, but that’s enough to ruin 13′s aim, so good enough.

Then Piccolo calls for Goku to show him the power of a Super Saiyan, and Goku obliges by transforming.  

From the sidelines, Krillin points out that this won’t work, because you can’t create a Spirit Bomb with a malicious heart, and this apparently means that Super Saiyans just can’t do it at all.   I have no idea where Krillin is getting this from.    Goku learned the Spirit Bomb technique directly from King Kai, who invented it, and Goku’s the first Super Saiyan to appear in a thousand years.   He is singularly qualified to know whether or not this will work.    With all respect to Krillin, he has no idea what he’s talking about.  

So what ends up happening is that Goku’s body sucks the Spirit Bomb into itself, so now Goku is surrounded by a glowing yellow ball of energy.  

Is this a good thing?  Is this what Goku meant to do?    Was he just going to try a vanilla Spirit Bomb until Piccolo told him to turn Super Saiyan?   Who knows?

Anyway, 13 just dives right into this mess and tries to attack Goku anyway, but everytime he punches him his fists get all messed up.   

Then Goku makes this really angry face and he looks like Vegeta to me. 

He punches a hole through 13, and he explodes.   Fight’s over.

Then the computer just... shuts down?   That’s kind of convenient.   Maybe it figured it couldn’t do anything else now that all of its androids were destroyed, so there was no point staying active?    Maybe its power was connected to 13′s?   Oh well.   

Everyone’s okay, but they all go to the hospital instead of looking for senzu beans.   Krillin’s still trying to explain how Goku did that trick with the Spirit Bomb. 

But Goku himself has no idea, so what chance do the rest of us have?

But where are Piccolo and Vegeta?

Just floating around on a chunk of ice, nbd.   The fish jumps, so it’s over.

And that’s it.   

I don’t know.   From a story perspective, this one’s pretty weak.   It’s just a warmed over follow-up to the androids arc, with 13 as a cheap knockoff of Cell.   Movies 5 and 6 at least tried to raise the stakes with Cooler.   Sure, he’s just Frieza’s brother, but he had a fifth form, and his cyborg form was tied into a whole machine planet.    Turles was just another Saiyan invader, but he had the Tree of Might thing going for him.  13 really didn’t have anything like that. 

Honestly, I think they could have done better by having 16 be the main villain.    We never got to see 16 fight any of the good guys, so they could have done a movie where an evil 16 cleans their clocks.   At least then it’d be a familiar face.  

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this movie, just because it doesn’t skimp on the action.   The bad guys show up about 12 minutes in and they fight pretty much non-stop for the rest of the film.  It’s a good movie in that regard.  If you just want to see a bunch of DBZ characters have a good old ruckus, this one’s got you covered.    It’s bright and colorful and you can follow the action without any trouble.   

But you definitely want to watch the dub version.   It’s just a lot more fun. 

[ryouverua]

Chapter 5 Investigation (1)

Oh, that’s just my heart breaking. Why, what’s going on with you?

Is that Komaeda’s bloody song playing right now??? I know you guys want to hammer home the comparison right now but really??? Really???

I get it, it is a horrifying song for a horrifying moment, I really do - but I want to distinguish this the last game and this whole set-up (as well as the two involved!) have me feeling all sorts of Umineko things, so I’m going to lend you some alternatives to go with the truth/lies theme I desperately want back while I read over everything again.

Golden slaughterer  |  Miragecoordinator

honestly they both fit well because goldenslaughterer literally played when a similar garage shutter was lifted and the horrifying sight was revealed while also having a harpsichord section Kaede would be proud of, while Kokichi would probably love the title ‘mirage coordinator’ so take your pick or look up the original ‘sing the empty truth’ song, it’s up to you .

And the rest of you are here -

I really don’t know how Shuichi’s heart can hold it together at this point. Aaah, Sweetcheeks...

Ow game, okay! No need to rub further salt in the wound! As if I wouldn’t be able to recognize his coat the second I saw it there smh...

I can’t even imagine how Maki is feeling right now.

FML we’re so in sync right now and under the most terrible of circumstances -

OH LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE YOU STUPID BEAR

If.... Monokuma is moving? If the killing game is continuing? I... don’t know about that...

I want to make a Saimouta joke here but I CAN’T THIS IS SO AWFUL EVERYTHING HURTS

AND SHUICHI IS ACTING SO NATURALLY, EXACTLY AS HE SHOULD IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS

Shit, dude. Still, this wasn’t just some stranger - right? Or... or have you been through something like this before?

Compartmentalizing, huh? I guess if you engage with the situation as the Ultimate Assassin rather than Kaito’s friend/potential love interest, you could move forward in the short term...

Aaaah, but just like Maki, Shuichi has another role he can slip into too - though I don’t know if he can do it as seamlessly as Maki has.

Oh??

I was about to make a comment on Shuichi clinging to a fragile shred of hope that Kaito wasn’t dead, purely for emotion’s sake the same way Kaito did last chapter with Gonta, but...

... Maki unintentionally brings up a good point, though completely flipped upside-down. When Kokichi was being the mastermind, Monokuma was gone - being guarded, I’m assuming, as shown earlier with the exisals - and now someone is dead and Monokuma/the killing game are both back on. So... why? Why show up now? Could this just be the case of the mastermind finally being able to create a new Monokuma, or does this mean....?

Yikes, I forgot - he wasn’t just sick, he was wounded. That... would make things extremely difficult....

Honestly, that’s true both ways. I just... I don’t know if I can see Kokichi killing Kaito. He has (had?) all the cards - there was no need to. He would be the obvious culprit - I mean, honestly, just look at everyone now - he is the obvious culprit - and if he just took temporary control of the game and lost it somehow, why would he risk making himself the blackened?

Could... no, this seems silly, but could this be a framing by the mastermind, to paint the troublemaker as the culprit? It would be an interesting callback to the first game, except with the victim being... well, not ~hidden~ in the same way. It’s a bit of an unlikely scenario, but no point in discounting it right out the gate.

YES SWEETCHEEKS SLAM THAT TIRED HOPE OR DESPAIR THEME BACK INTO SDR2 WHERE IT BELONGS

Somehow I don’t think that’ll be a problem with Monokuma back in the fray and also Maki who, let us all remember, has a hunting knife on her person.

Just so you know Tsumugi, the fact that you seem to know a lot about Junko is really making me side-eye you right now. still love you though

ALSO! ALSO, THIS COMPLETELY RUNS AGAINST WHAT YOU WERE ALL SAYING ABOUT KOKICHI GETTING BORED OF THE GAME AND THROWING IT AWAY! YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS! Though I guess you could argue the illusion of taking the game away only to suddenly spring it upon everyone again would be despair-inducing and blah blah blah but that is still highly suspect -

Maki is seriously in ‘take no prisoners’ mode, huh? I... I guess we all have our own way of dealing with death...

I don’t know if I’d call it that? It seems more like tunnel vision to me.

Well, let’s take a look at the all-important Monokuma File...

Wait, you’re seriously not going to give us the victim’s identity? You, uh, you know we’ll know who it is once the other person comes to the trial, right? ... Didn’t this happen in the Kyouko/Mukuro case, now that I’m thinking back?

Maki?!?! Wait, really?!

I actually said, very softly, ‘oh, shit,’ out loud.

Shuichi’s just trying to pay tribute to him that’s all

No... no, despite how strange it might seem for Shuichi to not want to believe Kaito is in there, I think he’s making the right choice in exploring all the avenues. Maki should know by now that he’s willing to follow the path to the truth down to the bitter end - he’s done that with both Kaede and Gonta.

Seriously though, damn - you’re being seriously hostile? I understand grieving, but this seems a bit...???

the electrobomb

K1-b0, kiddo, it’s the electrobomb

Don’t stick around if you aren’t feeling well, K1-b0!!! This is a dire situation and you have nothing to prove right now!!!

HIMIKO STOP BULLYING K1-B0 THIS IS HIGHLY ILL-TIMED

I wonder what the equivalent feeling for him would be? Similar to nausea or dizziness or something? General fatigue or chest tightening? Fuzzy head, or a migraine? However it is, feel better K1-b0!

Aaah Himiko, you too huh? D: Man, everyone’s ditching us this investigation.

.... Tsumugi, you’re the last one standing. BE OUR INVESTIGATION PARTNER!

I guess??? It’s weird - she really seems convinced it was Kokichi. With that said, seeing Kaito - or who knows, maybe it is Kokichi under there - like that would shake anyone up. Himiko’s been through a lot this game, so seeing her resolve break down isn’t exactly abnormal.

Kokichi really left a huge impression on you. Every time she talks, Kokichi sounds like this impressive larger-than-life cackling villain from, well, one of her space epics she loves so much. It probably wasn’t nearly as much fun to go up against one of those types of characters in real life, was it?

Unless it was a locked room crime, which I don’t... know about yet. Eurgh. There’s only one confirmed entrance - the bathroom window has to be too small to fit anyone through, even Kokichi and Himiko. We could barely see Kaito’s whole face through it!

“Don’t neglect the heart!”

... Reasons to kill Kaito. Reasons to kill Kaito. If Kokichi was the mastermind, general ~despair~, sure. Fine. But if he wasn’t, which is what I’m 99% certain on now......

......... Self-Defence? Or did he die already? We haven’t had a chance to go over the safety feature of the press yet, but if Kaito was already dead.....

Wait Tsumugi too? She’s right there!

OI

SHUICHI!!!

TSUMUGI IS

RIGHT THERE

AND WILLING TO TALK TO US!!! YOU WERE LITERALLY CONVERSING WITH HER FOR THE LAST FIVE MINUTES! OI!!!

Shuichi: looks at Tsumugi, remembers love hotel scenario with her, resolves to investigate by himself

okay, harsh but fair tbh

I am so, so happy Shuichi’s focus is back on ‘truth’ and off of ‘hope’, you just have no idea.

I WASN’T READY FOR YOU TO SHOW UP AGAIN

You’re just mad you got sidelined for the last few days lmao

THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR MAKING THE MONOKUBS A THING

learn how to use EVA foam well and then get back to me, bear

I’M SORRY YOU CANNOT GET MAD ABOUT FALSE ADVERTISING WHEN KAEDE IS STILL PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED ON THE GAME COVER

So the body was moved... whatever happened, it wasn’t at the press along. Makes sense - no one would go in there without a fight or a reason (EYES K1-B0). Something must have happened to lead to this point.

Y-You’re braver than me, Shuichi... Aaaah jeez, I’m seriously not ready D:

!!!!!!

oh?!

.... I mean, thank goodness, but on the other hand.... we’re really sticking this through, huh? But to what end? The person still alive will have to come to the trial in the end, right?

That is some damn deliberate action. So someone doesn’t want us to lift the press... but there’s only one reason that would be, right? So we can’t ID the body, right?

Yeah!!! So why didn’t it work??

I... I have to wonder if the body was living when it went in there, and if it wasn’t... well, we have clear signs of something other than the press being a weapon (COUGH CROSSBOW THAT WE HAVEN’T FOUND YET BUT WAS TOTALLY SHOWN TO US EARLIER FOR A REASON), so that’s option 1, and then there’s Kaito’s illness which may have finally taken its toll. Are we going to have to determine what the real cause of death is, but without a body to look at? That... will be very tricky...

nngjsdklfngksldjf

D: D: D:

I don’t want to lose Kaito. I really, really don’t. I was preparing for it, but I was still going to flinch when the trigger was finally pulled.

But -

if - and that’s still a big if - Shuichi is somehow right, and it’s not Kaito - I really don’t want to lose Kokichi either, you know? He’s been such an incredible, interesting force during this entire game and especially with all the hints they’re dropping about the whole mastermind schtick of his being a coup as opposed to the actual truth, to have it end like this...

criiiiiiiiiinge now I really hope he was dead before he went in there

.... Oh shit, what if the crossbow was crushed with the body??? 

I said 10 seconds before finding out the bathroom was a MINE full of evidence, hot damn! I lost the screenshots for it, but what we found:

Crossbow

Bottle (poison from Shuichi’s lab??? so it finally comes into play...)

Black Case (so it wasn’t assembled before it reached the hangar)

Talk about a huge turnabout! So now there’s poison in play too? That means there’s a third method - or well, if you combine the poison with the crossbow bolts, a way for Kaito to completely incapacitate Kokichi. There’s no way for Kokichi to know how to assemble the crossbow, and the bloodstain pattern starts here, so if there was a body being ragged the original attack happened in the washroom. This is a pretty pyrrhic win for Shuichi regarding Kaito being alive - we now have evidence that Kokichi may be dead, but at the cost of Kaito being the culprit!

It also means Kaito had someone help him from the outside.... Maki.

Aaaw, Sweetcheeks actually is starting get attached to K1-b0! And it only took you what, four chapters? Better late than never, I suppose!

Did Kokichi call it back for some reason? I’m surprised it didn’t react to you, even if it is being accessed remotely. Maybe it needs a proper pilot to be alert to its surroundings.

Exisals, but not humans - unless the alarm is turned off. You’d be able to do that from the inside, right? In order to get Kaito in there he’d have to have one of the exisals carry him in and I don’t think he’d want the alarm blaring but he also wouldn’t want to autopilot it with Kaito in the pilot’s seat in case he woke up (I have a feeling if anyone could figure out how to use one in a pinch, it would probably be him), so Kokichi going in first to be able to disable the alarm and let the exisal carrying Kaito in would make sense. Not that this probably matters too much right now - this is just me wondering about the initial transport a few days ago.

I have a strong feeling that it was Maki - 

Wait, what?? Seriously?!

UH, HIMIKO, WHY DID YOU BRING A CROSSBOW TO THE HANGAR???

I... didn’t actually bother to cap that last post. I thought she was just nervous the way she usually is. That does explain her current behaviour! Is she blaming herself for what happened?

W... WHATEVER HELPS YOU RECHARGE AT NIGHT, K1-B0....

With... an exisal maybe?

okay I’m going to have to separate this because there is so much going on right now. I like how we started with a clear victim but now we’ve got a lot of uncertainty being thrown into the mix. Disappearing culprits and hidden victims, eh? not enough to soothe my broken heart but I’ll take it

[zenonaa]

Chapters: 10/11 Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Touko/Togami Byakuya/Kirigiri Kyouko, Fukawa Touko/Kirigiri Kyouko, Kirigiri Kyouko/Togami Byakuya (Dangan Ronpa) Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Touko, Kirigiri Kyouko

Summary: Togami hires Kirigiri to solve a mass murder that occurred at his wedding anniversary party. One hitman was apprehended, but he refuses to say a single word, while the other got away. The mastermind could be anyone, but the list of suspects is getting shorter, and Kirigiri finds herself learning more about the Togamis than she anticipated.

Riding a motorcycle was the closest that Kyouko had come to flying, not including planes.

Actually, maybe including planes. No windows or pillars blocked Kyouko’s vision as the motorcycle hurtled down the country road. Her surroundings poured in from all sides, sunset red and sky blue watercolour staining the evening purple in blotches where they overlapped. The stretching road crackled grey. Wind buzzed white noise as she focused on the road, her hands and feet working on autopilot, making operating the motorcycle look easy, second-nature. No nuance passed her, no temperature drop, no anything. She felt everything intensely.

“Wow, the sky’s beautiful,” came a voice behind her, soft, so soft that Kyouko might have just imagined the statement instead of hearing it.

Then the arms around her middle tightened. Real. There with her. She wasn’t alone. Warmth spread across Kyouko’s face like a puff of air held in for too long.

“That was so exciting!” came the same voice, clearer and louder.

Kyouko nodded.

“You have so much freedom on a motorcycle...” A pause. “It’s so cool. You’re so cool, Kyouko.”

A hand landed gently on the back of Kyouko’s hand, now on her lap. She raised her head. Her gaze trailed up the arm stretched across the blanket. They weren’t on the motorcycle and the person didn’t sit behind her anymore. Instead, the two of them rested in a secluded spot near the road, hidden behind some trees.

Sayaka had the cutest smile of anyone that Kyouko knew.

“Don’t you get scared?” asked Sayaka with wide eyes and rosy cheeks. Traffic occasionally rumbled in the distance.

Kyouko shook her head.

“Oh, wow,” said Sayaka, wearing dimples. She raised her other hand to her own cheek. Her fingers curled and she blinked slowly, like a cat showing a human that it trusted them. “I felt so free on your motorbike. To be truly free... it’s exhilarating just thinking about it.”

“With freedom comes responsibility. When I ride, I must be hyper-aware and I cannot put my trust in others,” said Kyouko. Under the trees, there were more shadows than shards of light. “As I ride, I have to wonder... what is that car going to do? Has that lorry seen me? Am I in a blindspot? I am free, but I have no authority over those on the road.”

Sayaka squeezed Kyouko’s hand, still touching herself on the cheek with her other.

“Doesn’t it ever get lonely?” she asked Kyouko.

“I don’t mind.”

The grip on Kyouko’s hand slackened. Sayaka bit her lip and slowly lifted her hand off Kyouko. She touched her palm against Kyouko’s cheek, but a second later, she withdrew her hand, but not all the way back. It hovered in the space between them.

“Is something wrong?” asked Kyouko, and she tilted her head to one side.

“Um...” Sayaka’s face crumpled a little. She shook her head, but the tension didn’t spray off like water from a dog. It soaked through. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

Kyouko stared at her a bit longer before turning away and casting her eyes out toward rolls of grassy fields. The Sun kissed the top of the furthest one. Cicadas performed a private choir for the couple, and traffic took part as bass.

“Beautiful,” said Sayaka, and Kyouko hummed in agreement. She turned back to Sayaka and realised that Sayaka wasn’t watching the sunset.

Sayaka was watching Kyouko. Heat flushed through Kyouko’s face and she quickly looked at the picnic that had been set out. Not a crumb seemed out of place, no icing on a cupcake smeared or any surface cracked. They were high quality, like designed for a scene in an anime and painted with care, or written in a novel lovingly.

“They are real,” Sayaka assured her, and Kyouko gave a start.

A giggle tickled Sayaka’s throat. The skin by her eyes crinkled with her smile.

“Here, you have some food on your face,” said Sayaka, and she reached forward, brushing her fingers against Kyouko’s cheek. After the light touch, she lingered, faltered, like the daisies’ yellow faces were the lens of the paparazzi’s cameras, like the grass was hair that obscured the ears of the earth, all ready to tell the world what they were doing.

Sayaka’s hand crumbled off her cheek, and her body dissolved into urban greys. Kyouko’s sharp intake of breath shifted into the grind of gravel against her motorcycle wheels. As the vehicle slowed to a stop in a street in a shopping district, Kyouko took her left foot off the peg, but she didn’t place it on the ground until the motorcycle stopped completely.

“I’m going to hurl,” said Touko weakly, her arms, not Sayaka’s arms, wrapped around Kyouko from behind.

“Please don’t do it on my back,” said Kyouko, composed.

Touko pulled away from her. Kyouko waited for Touko to slip off the motorbike, and instead heard a thud. She twisted around and saw Touko lying facedown on the pavement.

“Are you all right, Touko-san?” asked Kyouko, and she took off her helmet. The one that Touko was wearing should have protected her head in the fall.

“... I’m fine,” said Touko, but she didn’t get up. “I’ve probably just broken a bone or two.”

There was the sarcasm. At least, Kyouko hoped it was sarcasm, and she hesitated. A glimpse of leather on Touko’s thigh did not get past Kyouko, whose eyes widened a fraction, but Touko gave a slow wiggle and her skirt shifted and settled, covering it. Despite the movement, Touko still didn’t rise from an undignified heap on the ground.

Kyouko pushed some hair from her face.

“Yukizome-san dropped Togami-kun off in a street a short distance back. We have no time to fritter away. We need to tail him before we lose sight of him,” said Kyouko.

“What?” said Touko, and she jumped up, making a miraculous recovery all of a sudden. She struggled her helmet off. “S-Stop yapping and go ahead without me then!”

Touko yelped as Kyouko whipped her hand over Touko’s mouth. Kyouko’s eyes narrowed.

“We both need to be quiet and whatever we see, unless Togami-kun is in immediate danger, we mustn’t let ourselves be revealed,” said Kyouko, but Touko had made a good point so Kyouko lowered her hand to grab Touko’s hand and they started jogging, leaving their helmets locked to the motorcycle.

“Spying on my darling,” Touko said, panting a little already, “I... I don’t know if I can do it with a clear conscious.”

“Didn’t you basically do that before you were dating?” asked Kyouko, quirking her brow.

Touko squeaked. “No! He knew that I was there...”

Kyouko faced forward.

“We’re wasting time,” said Kyouko. “But he can’t have gone too far without drawing attention to himself.”

They rounded the corner and slowed down, entering a shopping district. A range of aromas swamped them. It smelled like a laundromat, worn clothes mixed with freshly cleaned, humid air pressing down on concrete and a stale cigarette sort of scent. Clusters of people drifted across the pavements and the road, which had no cars or public transport in sight on it. Indeed, parasols stood to attention, scattered across the road, with occupied deckchairs beneath them. Kyouko and Touko passed a group of men under one of the parasols, and seconds later, a cyclist whizzed by.

“Ooh-woo,” went Touko, for lack of better way to describe the noise other than to attempt it phonetically. She shrunk against Kyouko’s side. “There are nearly as many signs as people... How are we supposed to spot him or even know what place he went into?”

“It’s not just us spotting him. There’s a possibility of the reverse happening - him seeing us first,” said Kyouko, and she turned her head from one side to another, scanning the surrounding area.

Mannequins outside a storefront captured her attention. Kyouko led Touko to the store and stopped in front of a mannequin decked out in a straw hat, sunglasses, a scarf and a buckskin jacket.

“How much money do you have on you?” she asked Touko, who squirmed.

“Money...?” Touko mumbled into her fist.

In her haste, Touko had grabbed a coat but not her purse. Fortunately for Touko, Kyouko had nabbed hers on the way out of the manor. Kyouko rummaged through it, preferring to use physical money than a card, and they bought a pack of mouth masks, a pair of scarves and one set of sunglasses. They put the mouth masks on, and Kyouko wore the sunglasses.

“Before we continue, Touko-san, I need you to give me Syo’s scissors,” said Kyouko.

“... Eh?” said Touko, freezing.

“I saw your holster earlier.” Kyouko folded her arms over her chest. “Give me the scissors. I won’t have you or Syo do anything reckless.”

“They’re not Syo’s scissors,” said Touko, but she hitched up her skirt and gave the holster over. Indeed, there was only one pair of scissors in it and it wasn’t the ones that Syo flourished once upon a time ago. “Those things, she gave them to Byakuya the night before our wedding.”

Kyouko turned away. “Wait here for a moment.”

She flitted into a nearby alley. Finding herself alone there, Kyouko hooked her fingers through the holes of the scissors and with her other hand, clutched her hair in a ponytail. In a clean cut, a length of hair fell, leaving the rest just shy of shoulder length, and she returned to the main area with her chin held high.

Touko caught sight of her and inhaled. Anticipating her shriek, Kyouko slapped a hand over Touko’s mouth again, waiting for Touko’s lips to stop vibrating before she withdrew her hand.

“W-Why the hell did you do that?” hissed Touko. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Long violet hair is a giveaway,” said Kyouko calmly. “And I’ve been wanting to cut it, anyway.”

“Spoke so casually! But didn’t you...?” Touko seemed to short circuit and shook her head. “You’re unbelievable. Mad, even...”

“You shouldn’t dismiss people with another way of thinking as ‘mad’,” said Kyouko with a frown. “That’s a dangerous thing to do.”

“Geez,” sulked Touko, but her lips quivered, fighting back a smile. With a hint of fondness, she added, “That sounds like something Byakuya would say.”

Kyouko wrapped the scarf around her neck while Touko wore hers on their head. Before they proceeded, Kyouko inspected Touko from an arm’s distance. The bookworm glasses were a trademark of Touko. She took off Touko’s glasses and tucked them into Touko’s pocket.

There. Now, Touko was barely recognisable. Touko blinked, and she tensed when Kyouko squeezed her hand, but then she relaxed, and they set off.

To an outsider, they must have appeared to be two close friends out shopping for the day, peering over at different establishments, prospective customers that moved on empty-handed, one shop after another, again and again. They wouldn’t have been completely wrong, thinking that. Kyouko considered Touko a good friend by this point, but they weren’t customers, and good friend maybe didn’t cover the entirety of what they were.

Weaving between groups of bumbling shoppers, Kyouko peeked into buildings until she glanced into a café and did a double take. Her heart skipped but she marched them past the window front before stopping abruptly and tugging sharply on Touko’s arm.

“Wh-?” Touko started, too loudly, and Kyouko whipped up a hand to cover Touko’s mouth.

She felt Touko’s lips contort against her hand, even with gloves on, and with her other hand, she pointed toward the café, and Touko moved her glare in that direction. Touko mumbled something into Kyouko’s hand and Kyouko removed it from her mouth.

“What?” Touko hissed. “Did you see Byakuya?”

He wouldn’t have been able to overhear them, but Kyouko just nodded, and Touko’s furrowed brow released the tension puckering it. Kyouko had seen someone of Byakuya’s height with the same outfit and hairstyle, so she was sure that it was him, but the café’s storefront wasn’t particularly big, and without pressing up to it conspicuously, they wouldn’t be able to investigate it from the outside.

“Should we go in?” asked Touko.

“Yes,” said Kyouko.

Both took a deep breath and entered the café together.

A bell jingled above their heads. At the back of the café stood a granite counter, where customers queued to place their orders. Ahead of it, two long lines of tables stretched across the room, few of them occupied. Bricks with generous amounts of grey mortar patterned the wall behind the counter, the corners of the room were painted white and the other walls between the corners were grey. Light fixtures hung from ropes attached to the ceiling.

Byakuya was far into the café, seated opposite a figure in a trenchcoat. The stranger had their back to the rest of the people in the café. Touko glared at them. Kyouko led Touko to a table in the other row to which Byakuya and the stranger were in.

“You need to be more subtle,” muttered Kyouko, placing Touko so that she was facing into the other row. That way, Touko wouldn’t have to turn her head to stare, which would have been too obvious.

“Who is that...?” Touko said through her teeth. Her lips had compressed very thin. “I can’t see well...”

Kyouko didn’t answer. Even if Touko had been wearing her glasses, Kyouko doubted that Touko would be able to recognise the stranger behind their disguise. Yes, Kyouko would have gone as far as to say that the mystery person had put on a disguise.

Come on. A trenchcoat and a hat. Really.

The person seemed to be telling Byakuya something with minimal hand gestures. Byakuya’s chin rested in his palm. His hand covered a good part of his face. By his elbow, his latte had hardly been touched. Occasionally, Byakuya replied, barely stirring initially, but then he raised his head and Kyouko made out him say, “No one can know.”

She read it on his lips mostly.

Touko brought a corner of her scarf to her nose and started to tickle herself there. Kyouko realised and seized her wrist.

“Don’t,” Kyouko warned in a low voice.

“I heard!” hissed Touko, playing it awfully close to being loud enough to draw attention to their table. Thankfully, generic pop music played over her. She wrenched a hand under the table, retrieved her glasses and put them on.

Kyouko let her. Touko squinted at the stranger’s back, chewing on her lip, but no recognition lit up her eyes, or her face.

“We’ll order something,” said Kyouko. “That will bring us nearer their table. You can come with me, Touko-san, but you must promise that you won’t react or do anything rash.”

No reply. Touko’s lip endured more nibbles. Kyouko rested her hand on top of Touko’s fist, and Touko broke out of her thoughts, blinking.

“I know it’s tempting, but do you think Togami-kun will be happy if we cause a scene in public?” asked Kyouko. “We need to get as much information as possible, and we mustn’t end the encounter prematurely.”

Touko trembled but nodded. She couldn’t be faulted for feeling what she must have. Kyouko fought to not give into impulse, to bound across the café and demand answers from Byakuya. Though she tensed, she remained resolute. The time for confrontation would come.

They joined the end of the queue, and Kyouko removed Touko’s glasses again. After the customer in front of them placed his order, Kyouko grabbed two muffins and a bottle of water and handed them to the cashier.

“Anything else?” asked the cashier.

Kyouko shook her head. While the cashier totalled their purchase and sorted through change, Kyouko strained her ears, only catching snippets between Byakuya and the stranger, whispered too harshly to make more sense.

“... Shouldn’t...” Byakuya said. “... could... caught...”

“... Work... my life...” The stranger said this. “No regrets...”

They received their goods. Kyouko gripped Touko’s hand and they headed down the centre aisle. As they passed Byakuya’s table, Kyouko’s eyes hidden behind sunglasses, she saw Byakuya reach into a pocket. Unable to pause lest they disrupt them, they continued to the door, and there, Kyouko risked a glance over her shoulder.

Byakuya handed a wad of money over to the person.

She turned forward sharply and marched out, tugging on Touko’s arm.

“H-Hey! W-What is it?” Touko demanded more than asked, once they were outside. Touko snatched her glasses back, put them on and pressed her face to the window.

Both witnessed the person lean over the table and embrace Byakuya in a hug.

Kyouko heaved Touko back.

“What was that?” snarled Touko, this time knowing, and Kyouko wrapped her arms around Touko from behind, pinning her arms to her sides, but Touko fought back, struggling.

Her small frame had its limitations, but Touko put up more of a fight than one might have expected, and that would have been enough to break her free from many.

“Please, Touko-san,” said Kyouko. Every second that passed gave more time for an audience to form. Already, a few people had paused to watch, unsure whether to intervene. “Listen. I think I know what happened.”

Touko thrashed some more before slowing down like a wind-up toy.

“You what?” she asked.

“I need to confirm a few things, but we need to return to your mansion before Togami-kun does,” said Kyouko in her ear. “There is something that I need to check that only you will be able to help me with.”

“You mean you know... what?” Touko had relaxed considerably by now, and not so many people were staring. “What do you mean? Who’s with Byakuya?”

“And who was responsible for Sugawara’s murder,” said Kyouko, prompting Touko to stiffen.

“Who was it? Who is it?” asked Touko.

Kyouko let go of Touko, who did not run away. Touko twisted around and beamed wide eyes in Kyouko’s direction, and Kyouko felt the temperature of her face climb.

“I don’t want to say anything too soon. It may put preconceptions in your mind, or false hope. There are certain photographs which I wish to see first, and the only person who may have them is Aloysius Pennyworth,” said Kyouko. She grabbed Touko’s hands. A shiver jolted Touko. “And you, Touko-san, are the only person who can approve my request. Please...”

Touko’s eyes flickered. Kyouko let go only to take off her gloves, and she held Touko’s hands again after, feeling the other woman tense, seeing her eyes widen.

“... you must trust me,” said Kyouko, “even if I cannot say right now why.”

Had it been Makoto stood opposite her, he would have blessed Kyouko with only a moment’s hesitation, and he would have walked to the end of a plank above a pit of lava if she said she would catch him. They were not a couple, and never had been, and though the physical distance between them had strained their connection, they were connected nonetheless. However, Touko stared at Kyouko, not Makoto.

Seconds crawled under Kyouko’s skin. Touko clicked her tongue.

“I know why I will trust you,” said Touko. “It’s because you’re my friend... and...”

She gulped. Licked her lips. Blushed.

“... and a significant other,” finished Touko. “One of them. And... And I know Byakuya... so I know that I have nothing to be afraid of.”

***

When one recalled their experiences at indoor swimming pools, the smell of chlorine wasn’t an uncommon association. However, the pool at Hope’s Peak didn’t smell of that, or of any chemicals. It lacked any odour, and everything from the tiled floor to the shimmering surface of the water seemed slightly clouded.

Kyouko couldn’t even remember what book she had been reading, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Kirigiri-kun!” barked Kiyotaka.

She lifted her head. Her cool gaze clashed with the fiery windows on Kiyotaka’s face.

“You have rested for long enough,” he said, wearing standard navy trunks. He pointed at her. “It is time to participate in the lesson too!”

The mumble of the swimming pool continued, but it sounded more distant than before despite its distance from her not changing.

Sayaka rested a hand on Kyouko’s shoulder and raised her other hand. “Kirigiri-san can’t. Sorry, Ishimaru-kun.”

“Is it your time of the month again?” asked Junko with a grin from the pool, resting her chin in her arms folded on the edge of the poolside. “Maybe you should get yourself checked out.”

“Maybe she doesn’t know how to swim,” suggested Byakuya with a smirk, from a bench by the wall, a book on his lap and a camera next to him. He had been taking photos up until recently in this session for the yearbook.

Kiyotaka put his hands on his hips. “Is that it, Kirigiri-kun? You can’t swim?”

A whistle screeched. Sat in a lifeguard chair, Aoi lowered the small white object from her mouth.

“Kirigiri-chan can’t swim?” shouted Aoi. More people stopped what they were doing to spectate.

Sayaka glanced at Kyouko.

“I can swim,” said Kyouko evenly.

“So why are you disrupting the class by not?” Kiyotaka persisted.

Mondo hoisted himself out of the pool. He didn’t stand up, remaining seated, and grimaced. Water dripped from the end of his pompadour.

“She ain’t doing anything,” Mondo pointed out. “You’re the only one getting worked up about it. Those girls haven’t swam once either, and at least Kirigiri’s wearing her swimsuit.”

He jerked his head in the direction of Touko, who wrung her skirt in both hands, and Celes, standing a short distance away in her loita dress. Touko twitched upon being acknowledged.

“I will be getting to everyone else soon,” said Kiyotaka, whose face grew steadily pinker.

“I have an injury that prevents me from participating in physical education. It’s a pity,” Celes chimed in with her hand over her heart, but only by action, not by expression.

“And I’m hydrophobic,” Touko piped up, not meeting anyone’s eyes. She squeezed her skirt more intensely, her braids seeming extra dishevelled today. “I’m low on the fear hierarchy, so don’t think about throwing me in the deep end of my systematic desensitisation. Years of hard work... would be squandered...”

After a beat, Kiyotaka turned away from her and fixed his stare on Kyouko.

“Togami-kun and Maizono-kun have swam this session,” said Kiyotaka. “If you do not know how to swim, then I would be happy to teach you.”

A smile spruced up his lips, but Kyouko didn’t regard it for very long. She looked down and studied her gloved hands. Footsteps slapped nearby, approaching them.

“Ishimaru-kun, if Kirigiri-san doesn’t want to swim, then she doesn’t have to,” said Makoto, the owner of those footsteps that finished close to Kyouko.

Kiyotaka didn’t speak. No one did. But the silence was loud, taking up too much space in her head. Her chest tightened, and as time trudged on, it didn’t ease up. The twinge buried itself in Kyouko, and every gaze stuck a needle in her skin. She elevated one hand, with her palm facing her, and whiting out everything else in her vision, she slid up her glove far easier than she expected, not removing it completely, but revealing the bottom of her hand.

Everyone’s faces reappeared, etched into the background that melted back in.

“When I was younger, I trusted when I shouldn’t have, and these scars serve as a reminder,” said Kyouko. She looked above where ravaged, purple tone skin was in plain sight, but she didn’t focus on anyone in particular. “I wear gloves to obstruct them from view.”

Kyouko thought it was with disgust that Kiyotaka stepped back. His features screwed up a little, but then he spoke.

“I apologise...” He trailed off, head tipped forward, lacking the powerful boom that so often accompanied his voice.

“Good!” Aoi scolded, still in the lifeguard chair. She pointed at him. “You pressured her to do that!”

His eyes gleamed on his trembling face. He didn’t reply.

“It’s fine. You didn’t know,” said Kyouko, but Kiyotaka shook his head. She spoke more sternly. “I mean it. I only show my scars to those I consider my family... and that is all of you. I suppose, I was afraid that you would turn on me after I did.”

Kiyotaka jerked up his head with the same look of shock as before.

“Never!” Makoto blurted, and several heads nodded. “Kirigiri-san, we would never...”

Sayaka gripped Kyouko’s shoulder harder. Kyouko couldn’t help smiling, even if it was small.

“We’ve all come together as a sort of family, haven’t we?” mused Sayaka. “All of us, even shy people like Fukawa-san and Togami-kun.”

Kyouko raised her eyebrows. Most of the others experienced a similar quiver on their features. Byakuya had never looked so surprised and offended in Kyouko’s presence prior to this, to the extent that he didn’t, maybe even couldn’t, say anything in response. Mondo gave a snort of laughter, and in a domino effect, everyone else relaxed, though Byakuya’s expression didn’t fade away completely.

“And that includes you, Ishimaru-kun,” said Kyouko, drawing back Kiyotaka’s gaze. “I know that though you were insensitive, you didn’t have any bad intentions. People’s minds work differently, which in some cases, can be hard for others to follow and understand.”

A distance away, Mondo stood up and padded over. He stopped beside Kiyotaka and draped his arm over Kiyotaka’s shoulders, which made Kiyotaka tense.

“She’s right. We’re family,” said Mondo, and Kiyotaka finally grinned.

“You are right! We are a closely knit group.” Kiyotaka looked at Kyouko full on. “And if you don’t wish to swim, then you don’t have to, Kirigiri-kun.”

Kyouko smiled and bowed her head. “Thank you, but I think that I will swim now, if that’s okay.”

She discarded both of her gloves and everyone followed Kyouko back to the pool except Byakuya, who returned to his book, Celes, who watched with a smile, and Touko, who chewed on her lips.

Next week, Kyouko was the only person left in the changing room when she heard footsteps. Kyouko lowered her hands as she turned to see who it was.

“Fukawa-san?” Kyouko greeted, straightening. This was the first time that she had seen Touko here.

Above them, the ceiling fan growled.

“Showing those scars...” Touko clasped her hands together tightly. The strap of her duffle bag moved a bit, slung over her shoulder. “That was ballsy.”

Without another word, Touko took off her uniform. Underneath, she already had her swimsuit on, and on her left thigh, tallies had been scarred into her skin. She slipped on some swim shorts, and then faced Kyouko, who did nothing but look at her.

“W-Well?” said Touko, her heels pointing outward and her knees pointing in. “Let’s go already. I’m not going to hold your hand, if that’s what you’re waiting for.”

Kyouko’s lips stretched out, corners creeping upward. They left together, emerging into the bright light of the indoor swimming pool. It dimmed into the afternoon sky outside of the Togami manor.

As Kyouko intended, by the time they arrived there and Touko had almost fallen on her face getting off the motorcycle, Touko had cooled down significantly, and she followed Kyouko out of the garage obediently and readily. In a corridor, Touko retrieved her phone from her leather holster, swiped the screen and with a few strokes, dialled a number.

“Yukizome,” said Touko.

“Good afternoon, Togami-sama,” chirped Chisa.

“I need keys to Pennyworth’s room,” explained Touko, sharing none of Chisa’s warmth. “Meet me in the dining room.”

“Oh?” went Chisa.

Touko hung up. She put her phone away and set off in the direction of the dining room.

“You don’t have immediate access to the room?” asked Kyouko, striding beside her, eyebrows raised. “It’s your home.”

“We have a skeleton key,” said Touko, and Kyouko assumed that Touko meant herself and Byakuya by that. “But... I want to talk to Yukizome too.”

Kyouko furrowed her brow. “Touko-san, please don’t compromise our mission.”

“I know what I’m doing,” said Touko stiffly, without looking at her.

Chisa arrived before them, and she waited in the dining room with a loop of keys between her thumb and index finger. Touko took the keys from her and eyed Chisa.

“Where is my darling?” asked Touko lightly, but it was a thin layer of frost over a block of ice.

“Oh?” said Chisa. Her shoulders jumped. “He didn’t tell you? It must have slipped his mind.” She raised a finger. “He was called out by someone working with the Conglomerate, who insisted that they meet in person.”

Touko’s inflection didn’t waver. “Did he say who?”

“Ah, he didn’t, sorry,” said Chisa. She touched a hand to her cheek, crossing her other arm over her chest. “How forgetful... He might want to think about hiring his sister to remember these details for him. But I suppose it can’t be helped, being such a busy man...”

Chisa tapped her chin, lips pursed in thought or pursed to give off that impression. Touko spun on her heel and walked out of the room with Kyouko by her side. Kyouko felt sure that Chisa sighed as soon as the door shut behind them.

Neither spoke as they headed to a wing of the manor that Kyouko hadn’t visited before, but Kyouko remembered being informed of an area around this part of the manor where the staff slept and kept their belongings. Their living quarters. Until now, she hadn’t had reason to  come here. They didn’t find anyone milling about in the corridors as they travelled through it briskly, and in front of one of the doors, Touko stopped and faced it.

She didn’t open it or reach out to do so.

“Touko-san?” said Kyouko and a few seconds later, and only after Kyouko had said her name, did Touko finally unlock the door.

Aloysius’s bedroom had a rustic colour scheme. Pale green paint coated all four walls, the ceiling was off-white and they walked across a varnished wooden floor. Kyouko peered at the mirrored dome above the headboard of Aloysius’s bed, which distorted her reflection. She wiped across it, gathering a bit of dust on her finger.

“When exactly did Pennyworth-san take sick leave?” asked Kyouko. Her reflection mouthed the question at the same time.

“Shortly after the shootings,” replied Touko, who was opening and closing the drawers of a wide, mahogany unit on the opposite side of the room to the bed. A television hung on the wall above it the unit. “It was upsetting. As you will know, he helped raise Byakuya. But he wasn’t just a butler...”

Touko plucked out some things from the bottom drawer and shut it. She stood up and faced Kyouko, hugging two photo albums to her chest. Both women sat together on the end of Aloysius’s bed, and Touko opened the first one. While Kyouko recognised a few of the photographs of Byakuya as an infant, the album contained more than had been in the archives, than what Anastazja owned. Those had all been formal, professional, but these had imperfections, and didn’t always show Byakuya off. Sometimes, they had no big reason for existing, but those were perhaps the most precious. Sometimes, Byakuya blinked, or pulled a face, or his tongue poked out between his lips.

They reminded Kyouko that even Byakuya had been a child. A toddler. A baby.

The photographs were arranged chronologically. Touko turned the pages slowly, unable to not grin. When she reached Byakuya’s early teens, Kyouko put her hand down on one of the pages. She studied a photograph of Byakuya, in which he stood and stared unsmiling at the camera, holding a violin. A hand rested on his shoulder, but the owner had been cropped out of the shot. Her eyes narrowed.

“What is it you’re looking for?” asked Touko. “If you told me, I can help.”

“I believe I know the culprit,” said Kyouko.

Touko twitched. “Who is it?”

Kyouko stroked the photograph.

“I think it would be best if we hear it from the person themselves,” replied Kyouko. “Just in case I’m wrong. I don’t wish to give you false hope.”

“You’re doing that either way,” said Touko. Kyouko frowned, and when enough time elapsed for Touko to accept that Kyouko didn’t intend to answer, Touko pulled a face and rose.

Initially, Touko paced while Kyouko examined her phone. The screen faced up, but there wasn’t anything on it. She looked around. There wasn’t much in the way of decorations, in this room. Her eyes fell upon the television on the wall.

“Touko-san, would Pennyworth-san possibly have any videos of Togami-kun as a child?” asked Kyouko.

“Yes,” said Touko. She came to a halt. “We can access them from a computer.”

“What about the television?”

“It’s just a display,” said Touko, squinting. “B-But... if we connect it to a laptop, you can watch them on the television. Why though?”

Kyouko folded her arms over her chest.

“You’ll find out soon. It shouldn’t be too long before Togami-kun is back,” said Kyouko. “Would you ask Yukizome-san to let Togami-kun know to come here as soon as he arrives back?”

Touko tapped on her phone and then left the room. Five minutes later, she returned with a laptop and a cable. Kyouko connected the laptop to the television, and she let Touko log into the network. A lot more files were visible on Touko’s account, though the folders were all protected. To access some of them, not only was a password required, but a fingerprint on the built-in reader in the laptop.

“What sort of thing are you looking for?” asked Touko, once she had opened a folder with lots of video files in it.

“We can start at the beginning,” said Kyouko.

Most of the videos ranged from several minutes long to less than a minute. In the earlier ones, they watched him as a baby. Learning to walk. Trying to mimic what Aloysius, behind the camera, said. Byakuya pouted at Aloysius, getting increasingly frustrated, but Aloysius never lost his cool. In some of the recordings, Byakuya performed, his hair growing until he won the competition, when his hair became abruptly shorter. Up to this point, Osamu hadn’t appeared in many, keeping to the background like mould growing on a far wall.

They still had many left, though.

“There are a lot,” Kyouko remarked, staring at the folder as Touko positioned the cursor over the next file.

“As I was telling you, Pennyworth wasn’t just Byakuya’s head butler.” Touko didn’t click the file yet, resting her finger on the button without exerting any pressure. “He had a big responsibility in raising him alongside Byakuya’s mother.”

“I see.” Kyouko rubbed her chin. “Before we continue, I have one last question. Do you know if when Togami-kun was evacuated from the party, if he left the building?”

Touko looked like she tasted something sour.

“... I believe so,” admitted Touko, fidgeting her hands, stooping her posture. “But he must have returned soon after to interview everyone. People could only leave after that.”

That confirmed it. Kyouko kept her features composed.

“Thank you,” said Kyouko.

The next video, which Kyouko barely registered, was one of Byakuya’s piano performances, but she couldn’t fully focus as her mind was caught in a whirlwind. Partway through, the door to the room creaked. They turned toward the source of the noise.

Byakuya gazed at them, without a wig, and he wore a dark suit now instead of a maid dress. First, he looked at Touko, but then his gaze strayed to Kyouko. His brow creased.

“Did you cut your hair?” he asked Kyouko, who didn’t even shrug.

She just stared back at him.

He bordered on glaring, but seemed to be making an active effort not to. “Why are you here?”

Touko sprung off the bed and before Kyouko could think about preparing to react, Touko grabbed Byakuya’s shoulders and pulled.

Roughly.

Byakuya yelped.

She might have punctured him had she not had time to cool off before his return.

“What’s going on?” Touko demanded, eyes bulging. “Me and Kirigiri... We know that you snuck out to a café to meet someone... and exchanged money...”

He didn’t answer. His eyebrows raised in... confusion? Surprise? Kyouko stood up, but she didn’t rush over like Touko had done. She stayed standing where she was and looked toward the doorway. Her eyes widened, but just for a moment, and she quickly smoothed over her features.

“Now that we are all here, it’s an appropriate time to announce the killer,” said Kyouko. “Not the person who hired a hitman, because there was no hitman for Sugawara. I’m talking about... the killer himself.”

Touko’s gasp didn’t make it out of her throat. She tightened her hold on Byakuya. His face didn’t change, remaining an exhausting, unsolved equation.

“Before the first shooting in the hall, Togami-kun was with Touko-san.” As Kyouko narrated the events, she imagined the sequences in the form of manga panels. “Sugawara approached them and Togami-kun asked Touko-san to get drinks for them. She did, but when she returned, she couldn’t find either of them, and then the shootings occurred.”

The imaginary hitman fired a gun. Pink blood splattered the pages. Touko cringed in real life.

“Around this time, Sugawara was murdered in a side room, and the weapon was not found,” said Kyouko.

No one spoke. Kyouko stared at the couple.

“We tried to deduce how a guest could dispose of a weapon despite not being allowed outside of the premises prior to being searched and interviewed. How the gun could also not be found on the grounds either. It is because the killer wasn’t a guest,” said Kyouko. She imagined a shadow falling over Osamu’s body. The shadow of a man painted grey. The murderer.

Her finger whipped forward and she pointed at Byakuya.

“It was you...”

[greyias]

Please show us your theory cards and red string :D I LOVE YOUR THEORY'S (They're so much fun to read)

@captainofthefallen asked:

Okay! :D

Hey errbody! Let’s talk about–

MALGUS

Full credit on this really needs to go to @andveryginger who has been giving Malgus the epic side-eye while I’ve been trying to convince everyone the Gravestone is a nihilistic sentient warship trying to find a pair of opposable thumbs so it can set the galaxy on fire.

So, everybody’s favorite baddie since before the game’s launch, Darth Malgus. The Sith who razed the Jedi Temple and led the Sacking of Coruscant, who fought Satele and Jace on Alderaan (the fight which led them to get together and produce our favorite disaster spy princess), and then later tried to orchestrate a coup in the vanilla game’s epilogue by pitting the Republic and Empire against each other on Ilum so he could seize the throne and declare himself Emperor.

Only to meet his end at the hand of the PC, who, in the KotFE storyline, is presumably also the Outlander. He’s killed and his body is blown up along with the rest of his cloaking technology on Vitiate/Valky’s old fortress. Everybody wins! Except Malgus, because he dies.

OR DID HE?????

BUM BUM BUUUUUUHHHHHH

The above is a deleted scene from the KotFE trailer, because at the time the writers weren’t sure if they wanted to bring him back into game. I was on a livestream earlier this year where they dropped some major hints that maybe, just maybe that cut scene might somehow not just sit on the cutting floor forever.

Cool. Cool. So if Malgus for some reason in his death throes tripped and got frozen in carbonite (let’s not ask for specifics, DS!Zombie and LS!Ghost Revan in SoR already make my head hurt enough), ejected from the exploding Fortress of Cloaky Doom, and wound up in some dusty Sith archive on the fringes of Wild Space for Arcann and Thexan to scoop up and present to dear old Dad before they went off to raze Korriban. And as Zakuulan royals do, they hung him up on a wall to gloat their victory to their fallen/frozen enemy. Because Zakuulan art is interactive you see.

Maybe Malgus was one of our buddies in carbonite for five years, maybe Arcann tossed him into a dumpster because there was only room for one masked scar-faced bald guy in the Spire, I don’t know. Either way, assuming somehow that clip from above comes into play, let’s just say somehow he gets thawed out at some point, presumably on Zakuul. Maybe while the Outlander is distracting everyone by crashing state dinners and accidentally causing city wide blackouts.

Like Revan and Tenebrae/Vitiate/Valkorion/PICKANAMEDAMNIT as big bad before him, we think he’s dead, but really, it’s not a MMO we’re playing but Villain Whack-a-Mole. Just as soon as someone has cashed in the life insurance check, bam! They’re back again! (Maybe the true villainy is insurance fraud?) 

I digress. Anyway, against all odds and expectations, Malgus survives the False Emperor storyline to plot another day!

After KOTET wraps up, a new storyline begins, visiting old and new places. Because I’m super observant like that, it takes almost the entire year, and a few friends pointing it out for me to actually see the name of the storyline in the quest log and to start to connect the dots. What is this storyline called? No, not The Stench of Betrayal, but Fractured Alliances. A throwback to the prelude storyline, Forged Alliances, where we first met Theron and Lana in-game, the events of which lead up to the Shadow of Revan expansion.

Now, now… granted, the devs haven’t formally announced that this storyline is doing anything but wrapping up in early 2018. There’s been no talk of an additional expansion that this storyline may or may not be factoring into. But, it’s interesting that it’s an inversion of the Shadow of Revan Prelude, and there’s been some other interesting parallels between this storyline and that, namely:

A conspiracy (Lana and Theron’s favorite!) featuring a traitor among the player’s faction

Theron and Lana task themselves with unravelling the truth

There’s a mysterious Order at the heart of the conspiracy pulling the strings

Said Order is full of religious zealots (since we now have confirmation it’s the Order of Zildrog)

They’re trying to collect/steal artifacts: 

Order of Revan (in Forged Alliances) was trying to steal Rakata tech in order to build an army

Order of Zildrog (in Fractured Alliances) is trying to steal technology/a super weapon presumably so “Zildrog” can eliminate all life and start things anew

Beach flashpoint! (Legacy of Rakata/Traitor Among the Chiss)

Theron (and company that time) has to go on the run at the end because the Order had implicated them as criminals (or he’s implicated himself in this case)

Mysterious Zealoty Order is playing the Republic and Imperials against each other as a distraction while they try to carry out their secret plot

Forged Alliances ended with the shock reveal that Guy-We-All-Thought-Obviously-Dead (Revan) was alive! And the true mastermind behind it all! Oh no! And he had nefarious plans that needed to be unraveled. Theron and Lana went into hiding to spy on them and try to figure out their true plan.

So… if the parallels continue, would it make sense for a Guy-We-All-Thought-Obviously-Dead to be the shock reveal at being alive? ZILDROG/GRAVESTONE I mean–Malgus!

“But… but what the hell? We thought it was going to be Zildrog? What does this reanimated Sith Lord have to do with it?”

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LOOK! IF REVAN CAN DIE AND BECOME A LIGHT SIDE GHOST AND A DARK SIDE ZOMBIE WHY CAN’T CARBONITE SITH EMPEROR WANNABE MAKE HIS OWN DEATH CULT? The Force works in mysterious ways and all that!

But what about Gravedrog?

Look, I’ve already got the conspiracy theory string out. That means no idea is too far-fetched right now! I’ll find a way to tie Gravedrog in, I promise! And come on, Gravedrog has no opposable thumbs, or legs for that matter. He needs someone to do his dirty work for him. He needs a face for the public (or at least half a face. Really, a mouthpiece will do)

So, against all odds and logic, Malgus is back in town. And maybe he’s the puppet master of every thing that’s been happening post-KOTET:

He somehow gets the Order of Zildrog to listen to him. Why does MurderDeathKill Cult listen to him? I dunno. Maybe they think he is Zildrog

Post-KOTET, the Galaxy is suffering from a resource shortage brought on by having to rebuild after the Eternal Fleet went cray and started bombing the crap out of everything. Tensions are high, kind of like they were after the Vanilla game, when the Vitiate/Valk/etc/Emperor was killed (for the first time)

It’s possible someone has been stirring the galactic pot leading to the Uprisings that happen between KOTET and Fractured Alliances. Am I the only one who finds these mini supervillians all deciding to strike right after KOTET just a bit strange? I mean, maybe, it’s unrelated (not everything has to be tied together in a neat little bow), but that’s a whole lot of traitors, mad scientists, and power-mad gangsters to come out of the woodwork at once. Even with the Zakuul power vacuum

Suddenly Adegan Crystals have entered the plot, which were last a plot macguffin back during the False Emperor storyline

The Order’s end goal seems to be trying to find a cache of super weapons that Valk/Vitiate/SithWithTooManyNames stowed away during his tenure as the Emperor of the Sith Empire (we already found his other vault)

Presumably the Order thinks it’s to bring about their wonderful apocalypse

But a schemey Sith who was in the Upper Echelons of the Empire probably has an idea what those could be used for aside from “total annihilation”

The False Emperor storyline basically had a “mysterious informant” lure both the Empire and Republic to Ilum, a remote and distant world, and manipulated them to start fighting over the Adegan Crystals

My memory on the Imp side storyline is fuzzy. But I do know that there was attempted assassinations on the Republic side of their high-ranking military officers

He used the Empire and Republic to whittle each other down, grab resources for himself, before he made his final play for power

Is this sounding familiar? Because on Iokath...

A mysterious informant informed the Republic, the Empire, and the Alliance about a resource (or superweapon in this case) located on a remote and distant world

Empire and Republic are pitted against each other and a war is restarted

One of the factions leaders is taken out in a spectacularly grand fashion (getting fried on the throne). Dialogue indicates they did so on the word of their mysterious informant.

A mysterious third party* comes in while everyone is distracted and attempts to take out the leader of the most dangerous faction (the Alliance) -- aka, the one holding the Eternal Fleet’s leash

* Mysterious Third Party being someone in the Order of Zildrog, an individual me and few others have dubbed as “Nic the Cultist”, our Snaked Masked friend who you will meet over and over and over if you decide you really want a Pain Train™ of your very own.

Is that Malgus under the Snake Mask? I don’t know. I’m going to doubt it. I’m not as familiar with his character as some (I still need to read some of the TOR novels and comics that build out the backstory), but he seemed more of a puppet master archetype to me by the events of False Emperor, preferring to manipulate things behind the scenes. And what’s easier to manipulate than a bunch of fringe death cult lunatics who believe that they’re the “chosen ones” to survive an apocalypse that’s totally coming any day now?

I should also note, one last thing about Malgus, thematically, him and betrayal/deception do seem to go hand-in-hand. In the “Return” trailer he stabs his master in the back. He’s the featured character in the “Deceived” trailer (and is the main antagonist of the Old Republic: Deceived novel). He’s known as a traitor/deceiver because of his Bond Villainesque plans for galactic domination in the False Emperor storyline. Not really evidence of any sort, just... interesting food for thought.

Additional interesting things if Malgus were somehow tied into this storyline:

At this point, it’s obvious this is Theron’s storyline. If Malgus were the true baddie at the end, that would be... kind of cool

Because exactly how did Theron come about? Well, you see, his mommy and daddy really loved each other -- something they only really acted upon because Jace decided to blow up Malgus and himself with a grenade to save Satele

If Satele is also brought back into this storyline, her and Malgus facing off would also be interesting considering their fairly epic battle during the Hope cinematic trailer

Upcoming PVP Map is Yavin IV, and is about fighting over “Sith Artifacts”. Is this the planet we “never expected to return to” in this storyline that the roadmap teased at? Maybe, maybe not. (Maybe they’re just finally releasing the one they’ve been working on since SoR)

He’s got a spy somewhere on Odessen. 

It’s obviously not Theron, who had to audition to join the Order of Zildrog

Maybe it’s that red-headed lady from Koth’s crew who is a background character in like half the cutscenes from KotFE onward, who hands Theron some sort of data in the opening cutscene for War from Iokath.

Or maybe it’s the weird ass crystal in the weird ass room on the Gravestone. 

For the love of everything please explain that damn crystal!

Obligatory Gravedrog tie-in complete

And, uhhh, that’s all I got folks. Really, there’s nothing concrete that Malgus is definitely returning, just more thematic elements and things that make you go “Hmm”...

@anjastasia - Ooh, as a fan does any of the above make sense? Any obvious bits I missed or misremembered? I’m not nearly as steeped in his lore since I’m not as much of a fan of the Empire stuff, so it doesn’t tend to stick in my brain like Pub-side. 

(And yes, really hope Lana knows something about all this. She’s just too smart to not know something’s up, and doesn’t let herself get blinded by rage like most Sith. And what do you mean publicly outing and burning a spy to the galaxy at large is like, the biggest act of love right? Poor Theron, he’s never going to be able to go undercover again after this...)

[shidoukanae]

VRAINS Mystery Masterpost 2.19

Full list: Here

Previous Post: Here

Okay, so, this episode. I know we got some questions answered (and I’ll need to go update my previous masterposts that got their answers finally) but it looks like we cracked open Pandora’s Box a little further in the process. 

-Starting off, we have the whole spiel in which the AI is criticized as not acting like an AI while the human is criticized as not acting like a human. The constant forcing of this (I think this is either the second or 3rd time we’ve heard this little “banter” go between them both regarding how the other doesn’t fit up to their “specie’s” expectations) makes me think that the fandom is right in that there is something rather fishy about these exchanges. Why constantly remind the audience that Ai is an AI who doesn’t act like an AI and that Yusaku is a human who doesn’t act like a human? It’s blatantly obvious the show wants to make a point of it but is it for humor purposes, to give both of them “common ground” in the expectations they deny of their “species”? I wonder, honestly...

-Not to mention, but when Playmaker tells Ai to act like an A.I., I’m not sure if it’s because he’s messing around or what but he seems reaaaaallly uncomfortable with playing the part of an A.I. His movements become...slower? Stiffer? Stiffer seems like a good word for it. He’s making fun of normal A.I.’s, true, but his expression seems like he’s uneasy about making such gestures. It almost reminds me of the way Yusaku tried interacting with Aoi and the Duel Club (other humans). Yusaku was obviously uncomfortable trying to act like a normal human being around others of his kind (...that feels rather weird to say) while Ai, while trying to mimic his supposed brethren, went about it in a way that said more “awkward” than it did “haha, look, A.I.’s are dumb!”. 

-Akira. Soooo, I might be reading too much into this but there might be a chance that there’s more to Akira’s past than we realize. When he does his philosophical spiel to Playmaker, it honestly sounds like Akira was once on the same path that Playmaker was but, eventually, gave up:

...I know there’s certain things about him that haven’t been clarified (namely, how he met and knows Ema to the point they’re on a close name basis) but now I’m kind of wondering if, at one point, Akira suspected his parent’s weren’t truly killed and investigated into their deaths but ended up with dead leads and wasted time. Danball Senki might have affected me a little too much there but, the point is, I kind of think Akira’s words don’t add up.

What we know of his past so far: He’s a hacker, he worked hard for his sister to have a future, neglecting said sister in doing so. He met Ema somewhere along the road, got into SOL to further his own career...yadda, yadda.

The problem is, he’s saying he regrets chasing the past. Yet, from what we know of him, he’s always been chasing the future. He spent his whole life building up his life and career in order to give Aoi hope in her oncoming years, when she’s older and will finally have the stability he thinks she needs. He’s always seemed to look forward, to looking for hope in the future and not hope in the past where he knows he’ll get no help. Even in last episode’s flashback, when he recounts the past, he frames it in a way that he’s always moving forward, never truly stuck in the past but moving away from it, moving from poverty and dirty work and into a new era of prosperity and stability. Therefore, his words here are almost weird because, if anything, he should’ve been trying to do this appeal last episode instead of the “If my sister got kidnapped my spirit would break” routine because it sounds at least a little bit more effective as a speech.

Regardless, I feel like Akira’s words here might mean that he’s hiding more to his past than we realize. We’ve only ever seen him focused on Aoi, focused on helping her and sacrificing everything in his life for her without batting an eye...but only now are we seeing that he actually seems to regret doing all that. Which...isn’t that contradictory? He’s so obsessed with helping his sister that now, all of a sudden, he seems to have regrets about them?

I dunno, his words just seem a little off to me here.

-Moving on, the magical data bank thingy-majig. I think it’s rather interesting at what’s being said here:

...so, basically, in order to find the identities of the other six children, they need to go to some other data bank, some other place. Does that place mean Hanoi where I assume the “mastermind” (*cough* Dr. Kogami probably *cough*) of the Hanoi Project is? Or, is it in SOL’s hands in a headquarters/base/area that’s near secret to everyone but maybe the five chess pieces themselves? And, we didn’t really get information on SOL either. We’re back to pointing fingers at Hanoi but let’s not forget that SOL has the information regarding this incident either. It almost seems like everyone in-show has just ignored the fact that SOL was somehow involved, moving on from explaining the incident to talking about Hanoi...which, um, guys, you also realize that SOL is still suuuuper suspicious right? Aren’t you going to question where to find the information of the identities of the others or even bother to seem concerned to find the other children??? 

I mean, I guess they were running out of time during the episode because they needed to do Yusaku’s backstory and still mention the Hanoi Project thing but I would have thought the train of thought would at least sit there for even a second before moving on.

-Okay, this probably is a stupid question because I feel like I already know the answer but, was the duelist we see silhouetted here a real duelist who was behind the “experiment” or, was it an A.I. one (like I’m suspecting)?

We only ever see a gray figure and it looks more cardboard cutout than it does an actual living person. Still, the camera never lingers on the duel arena so we don’t really get to see how the duels worked in the VR world. We don’t know how Yusaku’s opponent reacted (if he reacted at all), how many times he battled said opponent, etc, etc. We also don’t know if he was provided a deck virtually or not, if the Cyverses he has now are the same cards he had back then (which would make sense, honestly), or if his opponent used the same deck (doubt it) or switched out decks every time they dueled. 

-Kusanagi’s brother. It seems like, unless VRAINS does a Keeper of the Lost Cities on us and has Kusanagi’s brother pretend to be in shock while secretly working as Revolver, he’s out-of-commission. It seems his brother was so deeply traumatized that he’s been locked away somewhere, probably unable to respond to his brother or anyone else. What’s interesting to note is that Kusanagi’s brother is almost definitely one of the six children. Yusaku implied this when he mentioned how “some still haven’t recovered from the shock” (the camera looking at the brother we’ve seen in the past so many times) and mentioned how he would “learn the truth for them and their families” (with an obvious camera change to look at Shoichi’s face afterwards as the “family” involved). 

-Now, the numbers on the thin wall that leads up to a hatch of some sort. They change. If you look below, you’ll notice a peculiar change in formation of the black numbers listed:

...One, in the beginning, is all “99999999....”. The next, with some numbers cut off, is approx: “8821000″. It’s possible that this number represents the exact time each child wins a duel, with each win resulting in one number less shown on this giant column of numbers. If you want to be cruel, you can also suggest that each child had to battle “9999999...″ duels instead of all six working consecutively (and maybe unknowingly?) together to bring down the “countdown” on the column to zero. I’m certainly feeling like this is what allowed them to be freed, that the amount of duels they faced and won together were what lead to their eventual release. This’s because it doesn’t seem like they were freed by humans (if they were indeed humans who were watching over this “incident”) purposely. Rather, it seems like someone (something) only allowed the safety workers to be led to the shelter only after a certain criteria was met.  

-And, now, for the most Pandora’s Box aspect of this show...the creepy eye thingy that seemed to be in some sort of network...system...organism...??? I mean, it looks like the eye is in some virtual face or something but it’s kind of hard to tell because it’s so weird.

Obviously, it was watching Yusaku the whole time he was doing his thing. It’s rather creepy and its origins are unknown. It’s prooobably not human. Likely, it’s an A.I. But, what’s interesting about it is that, when Yusaku’s special person starts speaking, it has the same voice as the one the eyeball speaks with in an earlier scene (if we can indeed assume that the eyeball is the one speaking). Not to mention, but it’s almost funny how Yusaku asks the voice along the lines of: “are you captured here too?” it completely ignores the question. This almost outright confirms that Yusaku’s “savior” was an A.I. and, in a way, it might also be the one who put him through so much torment. We don’t really know for sure if the eye was malevolent or not (it was suggested since it was creepily watching over Yusaku) but it’s possible it’s an A.I. who, like the Ignises, gained free will while watching Yusaku suffer and...sympathized with him, maybe??? But maybe it couldn’t bail him out on its own so it encouraged him to keep going until that so-called countdown I mentioned earlier was met???? I’m questioning a lot of things here, honestly!

(also, now that I look at it, if you look at the eye it looks like it’s embedded in a face with eyelashes too O.o)