#then i went to pose her and i chose that outfit which i didn't change

[eljeebee]

[dusty-pistol]

DIALTOWN ELECTROBASIS AU DESIGNS!!!

The Manager: Callum Crown

He/Him, Cisgender male, Bisexual

CALLUM is the man that keeps the casino up and runnin! He loves her to death and cares for his employees and customers as an extension. (But, mostly the casino.) He's expressive and has a good head on his shoulders. Which is an old handmade rotary phone, along with phone cord wings and a coiled tail!

(For his design, I wanted somethin between his Canon outfit and The Manager's outfit and decided to mash em together. But instead of orange, I chose to replace it with yellow to reflect the Dialtown flag. I think it works well for him. I'll admit, I didn't know what to do for the wings, so I just made them bundled up phone cords, and I thought it'd be cool to have his tail coiled.)

August: Randy Jade

She/Her, Transgender female (MtF), Pansexual

RANDY is the beloved bellhop at the casino! She's quiet because, well, she's got selective mutism. But she CAN emote via sound effects! If Karen isn't around to translate, she often doodles in her notebook. Her head is a Nokia phone, and her wings are the chargers for it. She also has a long tail that she trips on often, so watch out!

(Here's where I started with the staff uniforms. It's the same as the basic Electrobasis casino staff uniforms, but with yellow instead of orange, to reflect back on Callum's design. Also, Randy is a girl in this AU cuz transfem Randy is real. I also had her keep the handages and undershirt cuz there's some leniency with the uniforms. She doesn't have the bandage on her head though cuz in this universe, she didn't crack it open. I kinda didn't know what else to add. Which is gonna be a reoccurrin thing sorryyyyy)

Clara: Karen Dunn

She/Her, Cisgender female, Lesbian

KAREN is the front desk lady at the casino. Despite... well, everythin about her. Snappish and blunt, she mostly clicks with the other staff. Close with Randy and Pierre! Her head is a printer and is often jammed due to her irratability. Her wings are sheets of printer paper. She may or may not have a grudge against the resident in Apartment 204...

(I don't really have many notes on Karen's design, tbh. But I do think she looks nice in a long skirt. Didn't know what else to add.)

Simeon: Pierre

He/Him, Cisgender male, AroAce

PIERRE is both the barkeeper and complaints desk manager. One of these jobs he's more passionate about than the other. He's laid back and more passive leanin, especially in comparison to some OTHER cherubs... His head is a desk phone, and his wings are paper shredders as that's where he puts the complaints.

(And here's the worst design, in my opinion. The pinkish grey with yellow doesn't look very good, but it's the uniform color I went with, so I had to go through with it. Halfway through, I was considerin swappin Pierre out with Jerry, but I'm still on the fence with that. I also didn't know what to do with his pose. He's the most out of place, and I hate iiitttt uhggggg...)

Tycho: Peter Kennedy

He/Him, Cisgender male, Bisexual

PETER is a full-time employee, part-time "best bud" to the resident in Apartment 205, A.K.A. his boss. He himself stays in Apartment 201. When he's not workin, he's attemptin to motivate his boss to actually get his work done. His head is a red rotary phone, and his wings are phone cords.

(I wanted to keep his main design, but switch up the outfit just a little bit. So I added a suit coat. Kinda givin Steven DSaF vibes, but eh. His quest would be helpin Roger with his quest. Once you finish Roger's, go back to Peter and tell him of your success. Will probably change this.)

Lady Lashes: Madame Mediocre

She/Her, Cisgender female, Straight

MADAME MEDIOCRE, also known as MISS Mediocre, is a celebrity! Basically. If you think about it. She's always on top of her game, that game bein fortune tellin. She stays in Apartment 203, and her head is a crystal ball with light bulbs as wings and a bulb shaped tail!

(My absolute favorite design outta all of them!!! I'm so proud of this one. I think she looks great. It was hard to come up with an outfit for her, but I think I did well! It's pretty fun humanizin an inanimate object character tbh. She's so pretty... Her quest would be to find a necklace of hers, as she's lost it somewhere around the casino.)

Jeri: Oliver Swift

He/Him, Transgender male (FtM), Gay

Say, what's up to OLIVER! He's a totally radical guy who digs films, monsters, and usin (totally not outdated) 80's slang! He stays in Apartment 202, which is now the most thematic room, thanks to him, of course. His head is a wall phone, with his wings bein film reels. Don't forget his fez, too!

(I also like how his design turned out too! Despite not changin much. I just gave him a vest and headphones, but I think they work pretty well. I think the red and browns really pair well. I'm not sure what Oliver's quest would be...)

Rexla: Curie

They/Them, Nonbinary, Unlabeled

CURIE is a chill art curator, straight from Heaven! They're laid back and perhaps a liiiiittle bit of an alcoholic. Or constantly high... Maybe a mix of both. And right now, they're crashin in Apartment 204. Their head is a typewriter with a phone dial slapped on the top, and their wings are blank canvases.

(I took the most creative liberties with them. Cuz their Canon design is so bland... I decided to make them punk in reference to Rexla's rocker vibes. Kinda unsure about their design since I winged it... Curie's quest would be to give them somethin to inspire them. Which you go to Karen, ask her to print out one of her pictures, and bring it to Curie. I think..)

Michealwave: Roger Jones

He/Him, Cisgender male, Pansexual

ROGER is a self-proclaimed boss at the factory both he and Peter work at, also known as clumsy and even lazy to most people. And cherubs. He's got a strange appreciation for gnomes, but he's... fine. He holds up in Apartment 205. For a head, he has a flat orange rotary phone, and his wings are phone cords.

(Legit didn't change anythin, but I did make his coat longer. Also I gave him and Peter matchin wings if that's anythin. Roger's quest would be to find his gnome figures. They somehow mysteriously went missin and can't find them. [Peter hid them so Roger would focus on plannin his work instead of lookin at the gnomes...])

That's all!! I know some designs are atrocious, but if yall ever wanna draw them, feel free to change them up however you like! These are just to get a good idea for how they look in the Electrobasis universe!!!

[coolprettyleo]

everything has changed - jack hughes

wc: 1.5k

tw: first dates, cringe?, falling, doubts, chessiness.

jack hughes x oc

so highschool au

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

marley thought she was going borderline mad.

the brunette stared into the mirror, finally feeling okay-ish with the outfit she chose for her very first date, ever.

jack had been very adamant that the date would be a surprise so the girl had no idea what the hockey player had in store. they had been texting on snapchat ever since he confronted her a couple days ago, and she wasn't in any way complaining.

she had been having doubts about accepting his date offer due to the fact she realized she was a busy girl and she didn't know if she even had time for a boyfriend.

but of course, jack was there to soothe her worries away, and let her know that he, too, was always busy, and if they were meant to be, they'd make it work.

she smoothed down her skirt as she heard the doorbell ring. not thinking jack would actually get out of the car, she ignored it, thinking it was one of her father's friends. only realizing it was him till she heard jack's voice. her eyes went wide as she reached for her bag and basically sprinted down the stairs.

only to get down and see her father smiling at jack, who held a bouquet of daises.

"you didn't tell me you had a date," her father teased once he noticed she had come down.

her father was never the crazy overprotective father unless he needed to be. surprising many people due to the fact it had only been the two of them growing up. her mother had left the picture when she was about three, leaving the two of them to figure it out. the father-daughter bond between them was a close one, so he trusted her and her decisions.

"it must have slipped my mind. i'm sorry," she apologized, honestly feeling bad about not telling him.

"you're fine," he said, shaking his head as he walked into the kitchen, leaving her to focus back on jack, who had a goofy smile on his face.

"you look really pretty," he said as he handed her the flowers

"thank you, you bought me flowers?" she asked surprised.

"what kind of gentlemen would it make me if I didn't?" he asked as he heard her father chuckle from the other room. before he came in holding a camera probably recording.

"smile for the camera," he ushered them to pose.

"dad," she said, a bit embarrassed as jack giggled.

"you're the only one complaining; jack's ready!" he said as she looked back at jack, who was already posing.

she sighed before posing for the picture, flowers in hand.

"alright. i'll let you two get going. don't have her out too late son" he said as jack said 'of course sir'

the two teens walked out of the house, and jack opened the door for her and let out a goofy "m'lady" as she smiled.

"i'm sorry about my dad-"

"don't apologize; now we have a picture to recreate on our wedding day," he casually said as her head whipped around to the boy.

"wedding day?" she asked with raised eyebrows as he drove

"i'm in this for the long run," he told her as she looked at him like he had three heads.

"you're one of a kind, jack hughes," she chuckled, shaking her head. he smiled at her before giving her aux,

"here, play me something"

"which song?" she said scrolling through his playlist

"no, something from your playlist," he said as she thought about a song. she typed in her name, clicked on her Spotify profile, scrolling through her playlist.

she clicked on, 'everything has changed' by taylor swift as jack smiled.

"a taylor swift girl?" he asked her

"yeah. if you don't like it i'll change it-"

"no. I like it, I never really listen to her, but I like it," he said, turning it up as she smiled. the two listened to the song really taking in the lyrics and relating in every way possible.

___

"i really liked that song. send it to me" he said as they pulled into the side of the road. they were in a place that overlooked plymouth, and the city lights shined as bright and beautiful as ever.

"what is this place?" she asked as she looked at the lights

"one time my mom took my brothers and I for a ride and we found this place, I come here often," he told her as she listened

"It's beautiful," she said, reaching for the door as he stopped her.

"you're gonna have to get used to not opening your own doors when I'm around," he said before running around the hood and opening it for her as she shook her head.

"it's going to go to my head if you keep doing that,"

"that's fine with me. I can handle it," he teased as she stepped closer to the edge. to see stairs leading to a small picnic table. jack opened the trunk and picked up a picnic basket.

"my mom made us sandwiches," he said with a pink blush as they walked to the bench.

"that's so thoughtful; tell her I said thank you," she said.

"marnie told me you don't like ham, so that's a turkey sandwich," he said as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"you've talked to marnie?" she said, not believing he had really put this much thought into their date.

"yeah, she was way more intimidating than your dad," he said as she laughed.

"that's marnie for you," she told him as he nodded.

"just wait till you meet overprotective trevor" he told her

"is that what he was doing at practice?" she asked as she remembered how the boy kept making 'im watching you' gestures at her.

"he's an idiot" he chuckled as she took a bite out of the sandwich.

"so are you from plymouth?" the boy asked

"no, I was born in chicago, but my dad and I moved here when I was three. but it's all I've ever known, so basically. what about you?" she said

"well, i was born in florida, but we moved around a lot. like luke was born in new hampshire. but when I was about five, my dad got a job in toronto, and we stayed there up until quinn entered the program," he told the girl.

"you had a brother in the program?" she asked

"yeah, his name's quinn. he was drafted last year. he plays for umich right now though" he told her as her eyes went wide

"oh my gosh what did your mom feed the two of you" she chuckled

"three of us. i have a younger brother too, he should be joining the program next year" he told her as she raised her eyebrows

"hockey has to be in your genetics at that point," she said

"basically. but in all honestly we just work really hard it" he told her

"is this a bad time to tell you I don't know a thing about hockey?" she said sheepishly

"i figured. it's okay, we'll work on it" he said smiling at the girl

"trying to change me?" she teased

"just that little flaw. i like everything else" he told her as she blushed and looked down.

the two continued to talk about anything and everything as the time slipped through the cracks. only realized the time when she saw jack begin to pack up.

"we should head back before it gets too late," he said as she nodded, remembering the promise he had made to her dad earlier.

the two teens climbed into the car as jack played 'everything has changed' again, as marley side eyed him.

"what! I really liked the song," he said as she giggled. they drove as jack told her more about his family. she honestly loved hearing about his family. don't get her wrong, she was so grateful for what she had, but she longed for the feeling of having siblings or even having a mother sometimes.

they pulled into marley's driveway, and jack made it his mission to make sure she wouldn't open a door for herself.

"i really had fun with you tonight," she nervously told him as they stood on her porch. her anxiety was skyrocketing through the roof due to the fact in the movies, this was about the time she had to kiss the guy. it's not like she didn't want to, but this would be her first kiss.

"I did, too; I want to do this again," he told her

"me too," she said, smiling as she nervously stared at him, waiting for him to lean in.

"I should get going, goodnight pretty," he told her as he began to walk away. leaving the girl dumbfounded. no kiss, no hug, nothing.

maybe he didn't have as much fun as she thought he did. making the girl feel like an idiot because she had the absolutely best time.

[joshfmpyeartwo]

The face

The next step to creating my characters was the face. I started with Dionysus as I had a bit more space to work with.

Each face followed a similar process, I thought about what facial expressions each character would need for the situations they would be in, tried to find eyes and a mouth that fit it (from various Pinterest accounts and the facial expression sheet shown in the finished face photoshop document) and then try and model the hair based on their character.

For Dionysus, I knew he needed to look relaxed no matter what the occasion. I went for two, happy, eyes closed facial expressions and two eyes open upset faces. The upset faces needed to look more disappointed than angry as I don't think Dionysus would dip to those sorts of emotions as he is a very relaxed person. I thought it made sense as Dionysus would look more serious with his eyes open. I did originally try to just make his eyes small but it ended up just making him look sad. Trying to add more detail to fix it meant it wouldn't transfer to pixel art very well so I scaled it back a bit.

For the hair, I knew I wanted to use dreadlocks to make it easier to integrate some grapes into his hair but I wasn't sure how I'd go about it. I ended up looking into a lot of illustrated and anime style characters similar to what I wanted for Dionysus that helped me understand how to achieve it.

I used slightly shaped cylinders and tried to drop them over his shoulders as accurately as possible which worked very well.

These are the finished heads. One for each differing pose type. I personally really like how they turned out which is why I chose to continue this method with the rest of the characters.

For Aphrodite

Her facial expressions needed to be conventionally beautiful while also not conveying to much anger or sadness in her sad faces as she's generally not a very angry personality

I had the idea that she would have long plaited hair as it's seen as conventionally beautiful. I also wanted it to be slightly wild and natural looking to fit her aesthetic, similar to Leah's hair from Stardew valley.

I mainly copied Leah's hair with a few minor differences to account for her head shape.

These are the finished heads for Aphrodite, one for each differing pose type.

For Alexiares

His facial expressions have to be naturally angry, contradicting his brother, while still resembling how you would expect him to look if he was happy or upset.

For Alexiares hair, I wanted to match his outfit. I went for a deep brown messy afro style to mimic the 80's american dad look, complete with a handlebar mostache.

I just switched to a higher brush size and drew a cloud like shape on his head.

I only made one head type as the poses I've made don't change the head height.

Originally, I drew this hair for Anicetus but it didn't match at all so I switched their haircuts. This way round makes a lot more sense. The moustache was a last minute change after I'd switched over their hair, I thought something was off.

For Anicetus

His facial features have to be more innocent and happy, contradicting his brother, while still only giving off happy vibes in all his facial expressions.

For his hair I wanted to give him a more careless flowy look. I needed his hair to match his personality while still allowing his facial expressions to make him seem kind.

I used similar rules I used for Aphrodite's using lines to show the flow of the hair.

I also only made one pose for Anicetus for the same reason.

And this is the finished pose sheet. I had a few issues with making the faces fit properly with their builds but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

[whentranslatorscry]

Miss Kyouko’s Locked Room Lecture (6/7)

Could it be that Yanei Sashiko was mistaken for someone and killed by accident— so went the unfounded hypothesis. Could he have guessed it right by chance?

“No, it’s not so much a ‘mistaken identity’, I mean could it have been a 'different person’ altogether….Now the police believe that Yanei-san was still alive at that time simply because so many people testified seeing her enter the store, correct?”

“Yes…eh? Are you saying she was already dead by that time?”

“Don't you think this fits better? I'd rather think that the victim was killed before she entered the fitting room than that she entered the fitting room and was killed there."

”……“

It was only getting more confusing…

Basically, the Yanei Sashiko spotted headed to the fitting room, and the Yanei Sashiko found dead inside, were two different people? But then, where did the first Yanei disappear to?

"Well it is a fitting room. She could easily swap outfits. To witnesses, she was just clothes after all. Get changed, remove the wig and glasses, and she could boldly walk out a different woman— or rather, reveal herself as the actual woman.”

“Just changing clothes is one thing, but taking off a wig too? It makes it sound like she was in disguise all along—"

Not sound like— it is disguise.

Indeed, it did seem far-fetched that somebody would just happen to be dressed identical to the victim. If the witnessed Yanei was an imposter, then it must have been a deliberate disguise.

“But she couldn’t just brazenly walk out, could she? If somebody who hadn’t gone into the fitting room emerged from it, people would suspect something was amiss.”

“Yes, let me explain that part last— to be honest, I still hope to borrow your wisdom by then.”

“……?”

What did it mean? She didn't seem like she was trying for secrecy, but really not confident.

“Let me first explain why this person was posing as Yanei-san. I didn’t examine the scene myself, and most of this is just my own unfounded imagining…likely with many inaccuracies. Please verify the details later at your leisure.”

“From here on, we'll simulate the actions of the criminal.”

She said.

“First, the culprit called Yanei-san to Nashorn before opening hours. There, armed with malicious intent, they attacked her on the head with a prepared clothes hanger.”

“Hmm… with malicious intent, huh?”

The part about it being before opening confused him, but his greater concern was the claim of intent. If they truly meant to kill, couldn't they have chosen a more effective weapon? Hadn't this been the prevailing theory up to this point?

“You could say it was precisely because they attacked with murderous intent that they were able to kill Yanei-san even with something as innocuous as a hanger,"

“So the murderer deliberately chose an odd murder weapon to make it appear impulsive, as you had implied initially?”

“More than that, I think it was to catch the victim off guard. If you're called out to a store before opening hours, you'd be on alert even if not expecting to be murdered. But clothes hangers are ubiquitous in boutiques, so it wouldn't arouse suspicion."

”…Why before opening hours?“

Satisfied for the moment regarding intent, Officer Tooasa still had doubts about timing.

"It is simply a matter of choosing a time when no one is watching. No customers naturally, and none of the staff had arrived yet either. The ceiling cameras, which run non-stop during working hours, would also have been switched off.”

“……”

The ceiling cameras ran non-stop during working hours— which meant they were off at all other times.

The more he heard, the more inclined he was to believe it had been murder from the beginning.

Far from the impulsive, bewildered everyman Officer Tooasa first pictured, this was looking more like the work of a cold-blooded psychopath. However—

“Supposing that to be the case, the culprit must be a member of the staff? To be able to let the victim in before opening…But didn't you say it was unlikely for someone to commit murder on their own territory?"

For an impulsive 'crime of passion' territory is not an issue. But if it was premeditated, they probably wouldn't take such a high-risk, high-cost action. Unless they were an utter fool, they would weigh pros and cons—

“I'm sure the culprit had taken all that into consideration. Meaning, the benefits outweighed the risks and downsides, the murderer judged it to be worthwhile— 'to make a killing in your own territory.'"

What's that? Advantages? A high risk, high reward deal? Well, of course, if you're going to go around killing people, you've already abandoned reason… but if you're going to do it anyway, there must be a reason...

An impossible crime.

Is it because Definition (v) makes it 'easy to create a locked room’?

"So let's say the murderer lured the victim out when there were no people or security cameras. Why specifically choose before opening? I’m asking, why not after closing?“

"Murder is possible anytime. But it does affect the estimated time of death. Were she killed late last night, even if the body had not been found until noon today, people would doubt it happened inside the fitting room."

"Right…”

It was a foolish question. There was a witness who placed the victim entering the fitting room about eleven o'clock and the body was found about noon, so it was natural to expect the time of death to be somewhere in between. The autopsy alone may widen the range some— still, a matter of some hours at most.

Some hours…? Where had he heard that?

“In other words, the murderer wanted it to appear that Yanei-san died in the fitting room...? And the murder didn’t happen inside the room at all but elsewhere in the store?”

“Highly likely. The culprit murdered her somewhere else in the store, then moved the body into the fitting room before the staff had arrived. It is too implausible to commit murder in such a small room. With a knife or gun yes, but a clothes hanger..." When put that way, it really sounds like the common-sense answer.

Prior line of reasoning, 'it's theoretically possible, hence not impossible' seemed a bit of a reach in retrospect.

That the murder was committed not in broad daylight in a busy store, but in a store not yet open and where nobody was present, was most logical.

Accepting this line of reasoning inevitably raises another question that needed to be rethought: How come the murderer moved the body into the fitting room?

"As for how— well, plenty of ways to transport a body. Heavy as they are, the store has no shortage of trolleys for moving merchandise.”

“I, I didn’t mean how, but why… What could be the motive?”

He could understand, at a basic level, the desire to make it appear as if the victim had died inside. But the deeper reason for it eluded him.

“Let’s continue tracing the murderer's actions. They carry the body in the fitting room before the other staff arrive— and draw the curtain behind them.”

“Draw the curtain? From that moment on”

“That's right. This will do for the present, to hide the body."

For there was first the need to temporarily hide the body— said Kyouko-san. She was talking about fashion, and then murder and corpses, and her tone did not change. It caused Officer Tooasa faint cognitive dissonance. Discomforted him for sure, but now was not the time to fret over his feelings.

“Hide, hide the body? Keep it from being seen? But wouldn’t that make this a locked room of Definition (i)? And flimsy as the fitting room is, you could only keep a corpse hidden for at most—"

—Some hours.

Ah, but she had said as much from the very beginning, hadn’t she? Therefore the body must have been placed in Nashorn’s fitting room some time prior to the shop opening for business.

Was it possible?

Wouldn’t the body be discovered in short order, hidden as it was behind a flimsy curtain easily openable from outside? What if a suspicious clerk peeked inside before this?

“This is why you make sure the staff are occupied elsewhere and don’t go near the fitting area. Or better yet, take on that area yourself and keep watch."

"So the killer must be someone with the authority to assign tasks and give orders. Someone able to monitor the scene.”

“I believe so, yes,”

Kyouko-san nodded, and then,

“Which is why I’m in a bind,"

She said.

“? What do you mean you're in a bind?”

“Pardon me, thinking aloud. Anyway, they may buy some time before the shop opens— but only until then. Once customers start coming in, things get dicey. As their movements are unpredictable.”

That was true too. And a sharp customer might grow suspicious of an unused fitting room and wish to investigate— or at least that anxiety factor can't be dispelled. You can't keep watching the fitting rooms and waiting to see how it goes.

“Quite. It was, ultimately, the lack of movement in the fitting room which led to the body being discovered. However, being discovered like this should also be within the murderer’s plan— as long as it was not discovered between the shop's opening at ten and eleven o'clock.”

This is where the earlier hint comes into play, said Kyouko-san.

“Hint number two. Why would the first discoverer, the staff, think somebody was dead in the fitting room? Hmm?”

“Well…because it was the only room where there was no movement, I suppose?”

“But the staff were not constantly monitoring the fitting room. In the blink of an eye, somebody else could have slipped inside unseen. But on what basis did they decide nobody had been in or out?”

When asked that, he began to think.

Like Schrodinger’s cat or the sheep in the box, only God knows what went on in that unseen secret room— not to mention who was inside. Given this, how could anybody know for sure it was the same person, remaining inside the whole time…

“The shoes."

Once the idea struck, it all was a bit anticlimactic.

Naturally you remove your shoes before entering a fitting room. Kyouko-san had done the same, taken off her boots. As long as the shoes lined up outside stayed the same, it was only natural to assume it was still the same person inside.

"Exactly. And, conversely, swapping out the shoes every so often would give the impression the occupant was changing. For sure nobody would suspect there was a dead body inside the whole time."

This is how the culprit survived the first hour after opening— so she declared.

Shoes. They say fashion starts from the feet up, but it was a blind spot for a man like Tooasa.

“Nashorn stocks shoes as well, so the killer had plenty to work with. Shifting them slyly while avoiding notice, they could have kept up the ruse for an hour. Imagining the murderer furtively changing shoes to conceal a corpse is not exactly a glamorous picture, but in the context of a fashion boutique, tidying the shoes outside the fitting rooms would not rouse suspicion. That concludes phase one of the killer’s plan. Phase two: sneak out through a back entrance, disguise themselves as Yanei-san, then sneak back in posing as a customer before the murder is discovered.”

Kyouko-san evidently saw no need to explain further, but it was clear that being able to slip away from work whenever they wanted meant they occupied a senior position not bound by shifts.

“They didn’t need Lupin the Third-level disguises. The impression made by the clothes is all that matters— not revealing their true identity is paramount.”

“So they didn’t wear the victim's clothes when disguising, they wore their own?”

“Correct. From head to toe she was dressed uniformly in Nashorn's— unlikely her own collection, since identical or similar outfits were readily available in-store. She would only have worn her own shoes."

"Just shoes?”

“Yes. they would then creep into the store unnoticed— timing it to slip past the blind spots of staff. Even with multiple witnesses, they’d be invisible.”

“Supposing the culprit was an employee, they’d know the camera positions and could instruct staff to avoid seeing the disguise. So the eyewitness accounts were biased— or rather, manipulated?”

Then at that point Yanei Sashiko was still alive. Fabricating misleading eyewitness information. Not seeing the culprit at all on camera would seem unnatural, so ensure a rear view is captured. Likely not so much difficult as brazen.

And the murderer entered a fitting room afterward? Seen by other customers— allowed to be seen.

But wait, that’s odd. Being seen entering means the culprit, disguised as Yanei Sashiko, opened the curtain, exposing the victim’s corpse inside to public view. Entering the room would be witnessed simultaneously with the body and would cause an immediate commotion.

“There was no commotion. The murderer entered the adjacent room, not the one the victim was in.”

“The adjacent one?"

"Yes. The murderer changed back into themselves inside, then casually left the fitting room as if nothing had happened. Taking care to swap the shoes worn during the crime for those outside the next room.”

Swapping shoes? To make it seem the victim’s shoes had been returned? By taking the shoes worn for the disguise— the only genuine item from the victim— and exchanging them with those of the adjacent room.

“I see. The fitting room the culprit was seen entering was made to look like the victim’s, not where the body actually was. It was in the adjacent room from the start…”

Right, the uniform design of the six adjoining fitting rooms could make it tricky to distinguish the middle ones at a glance. A witness may have seen somebody dressed as a ceiling panel sneak inside, they likely weren’t noting the exact location— and even if they did remember which room it was, such a memory would be overwritten by the shock of a dead body turning up.

“Come to think of it, you appeared concerned about the adjacent fitting room from the start, could you have noticed the culprit’s scheme even then, Kyouko-san?”

“Goodness no. Don’t be silly."

She denied it vehemently.

"I’m not that skilled a detective, really. You flatter me. While ending up in the wrong room proved a clue, that’s about the extent of my deducing the culprit’s actions. All that's left is returning to their duties and waiting for the body to be found. They shan’t be moving those shoes left outside the fitting room, and discovery is imminent.”

In fact, she was found within the hour.

The scene was this: Yanei, who had entered the fitting room, was bludgeoned and killed with a clothes hanger in a flash, the murderer was seen by anybody.

Such an inexplicable situation.

Or was it not so much inexplicable as impossible?

Impossible crime— locked room murder.

“Oh… wait a minute. I'm afraid you're wrong, aren't you?”

“Where?"

Kyouko-san blankly said back.

No chance she didn’t know.

For Tooasa had already asked that very question, and all she had done was to put off her explanation.

“Walking in a dressing room then coming out looking different would naturally raise suspicion. Going in is one thing, you can disguise yourself however you like— Once you go inside, you can't keep track of who's where and what's going on. You might be seen coming out in disguise, or trying to swap shoes.”

"So, if they were to exit when nobody is watching, there would be no issue, correct?"

"Well, yes, but the question is how they would determine the timing of it..."

Ah. So this is hint number three.

Are we sure you can't see outside from inside a fitting room just because you can't see from the outside— but of all the hints, this was the least obvious.

It's not a magic mirror, and the curtain isn't see-through, of course.

With regard to that, Kyouko-san had told him something like, 'I'd like to borrow your wisdom," but he really didn't feel he had any wisdom to lend— or so he had thought, and upon hearing the rest, he saw that she was right in thinking that his input would be essential.

It was not so much that he was exceptional, as the chief had praised— as that his memory was not wiped clean each day like hers was.

“Remember how we talked about why the murderer chose to commit the crime on their territory. High risk, high reward if there’s something to gain?”

“I do, but… for now the advantage is, using their position to control the witnesses’ view by half… But that alone feels weak. Only half the witnesses, not all of them. And besides, it's not like you can just walk out of the fitting room..."

"That's what I mean, the sheep in the box... Nobody could see what they were doing inside the fitting room for that brief time. They could be on the phone and nobody would know.”

“...Phone? You mean, to contact people? Wait— there was an accomplice coordinating timing…?”

Prev | Next

[bewitchingwitch]

Constellations pt. 7

Hey y’all this I my first fanfic and since I’ve been obsessed with Newt Scamander lately I decided to do a series about him depending on if this part gets good reviews

Word count: 3,190

If you really want some Theseus Feels listen to lie to me by 5 seconds of summer

The Minister of Magic was standing in Theseus office as you both walked in, hand in hand, and she did not look happy. She was scowling, but despite that still looked beautiful as a powerful figure of authority should. She had long golden hair that was inches away from skimming the floor, it had a series of interact braids weaving in out. "Ah it seems our lovebird chose to sleep in zee morning." She had a French accent as if English was her second language.

Her icy blue eyes surveyed over you both noticing that you were walking hand in hand and that Theseus had a protective stance. You were both still standing in the door way. Theseus dragged you forward and closed the door, if a scene went down he didn't need the whole department to know.

She moved closer to where you both were standing her heels clicking on the hardwood. "I would think our head auror would know better than to show up late, especially when zee knows that she was expecting zeem this morning." She seems to slur some of her worlds but he remarks still seemed to strike Theseus painfully.

Theseus quickly dropped your hand, and bowed his head in apology. "I'm sorry Minister. I should have known better than to be late."

"But Theseus-" he shot you a look urging you to keep your mouth shut.

"I lost track of time, it's as simple as that."

The Minister had a look of distaste on her face. You always assumed the Minster of magic was a man, but it seemed you were mistaken, and wrongly so. This women seemed to be far more intimidating and powerful than any wizard.

"Hm lost track of time Theseus? Are you sure you weren't just, how do you say fooling around with your new "trainee."

Theseus' ears turned bright red and you felt yourself heat up and cast your gaze downward. "I would never do something like that on the Ministry's time." Theseus was defiant, but the Minister could see right through him.

She leaned towards him and whispered softly so that you couldn't hear. "But I bet you'd love to fool around with her on your own time. I zee the way you look at her your thoughts aren't so innocent chéri." She smiled wickedly as she pulled back, leaving you baffled at what she said to Theseus.

Theseus was red with both anger and embarrassment. The Minister moved to lean on Theseus' desk, still addressing him. "I shouldn't reward you for your unacceptable tardiness but, there is no one who is capable other than you two to carry out this mission for me."

You stepped forward to stand even with Theseus and looked at the Minister as her smirk grew wider by the second. "We have gotten new information about the whereabouts of some of Grindelwald's closets followers. They are staying in a hotel across the city and I need you both to go there and try and bring them back for interrogation."

"Of course we'll go right away."

"Tsk tsk dear Theseus. There is still more." She seemed to pause for the liking of dramatic effect. "To avoid suspicion you will need to pose as a couple."

You were taken aback and so was Theseus. "A couple what for?"

"Theseus when you ask zee stupid questions like that it makes me think you are too incompetent for this task." She looked down batting her long lashes. "I thought you were a professional and would know better than to question a women in authority."

Theseus held himself back from giving a response, biting his tongue.

She stood up straight smoothing out the creases on her dress as she made her way over to you. You gulped as she inched closer her eyes analyzing every feature of your face. She reached a hand up and gripped you lightly by your chin. Her nails were painted a light pink  and were long almost like talons.

She turned you head side to side, tilting your head back and then pulling it down. "Nice bone structure, strong jaw." She took a long finger and ran it along your jaw tracing the outline. "Close your eyes." You obeyed, but you could still here her mumbling to herself. "Long lashes." She released your chin and placed both hands on the sides of your cheeks and ran her cold hands down you cheek bones. "You may open your eyes now."

You opened your eyes to see her still standing in front of you her arms crossed and one hip pushed out. She grabbed Theseus by his forearm and spun him around before he landed next to you, you were standing side by side as he gripped your arm for support. "Perfect."

She clasped her hands together and smiled softly and you could see just how beautiful she was when she wasn't scaring the crap out of everyone. "I'll have Margret put a little makeup on her and I'll have you guys ready to go in about a hour."

She surged forward and grabbed your hand before you had a chance to protest as she dragged you out of the office. "Wait here Theseus I'll come get you when I'm done."

Theseus stared at the door in shock not being able to form any words. He felt anxiety building up in his throat, he didn't know what to do with himself in the meantime. But he made himself stay busy. He spent the hour making calls and signing papers. He was aimlessly twirling his quill between his fingers when his door burst open to revel the Minister.

He stood up at her arrival. "May I present your girlfriend." And for the first time Theseus couldn't find it in himself to correct the fact that your were not his girlfriend.

You stepped through the door and he felt his breath catch in his throat. You normally wore no makeup and you hadn't put much on but what you had on made you look like an angel standing before him. Everything seemed to capture just the right things the light eye shadow made your eyes pop out and sparkle drawing attention to them. The light pink that decorated your lips made them look so soft and gentle. The lightest touches didn't change who you were it just made you look like yourself at full volume.

He swallowed hard. He noticed that she had also changed you into something new. You were now wearing a black floor length gown that hugged your body in all the right places. It had a v neck that went painfully low, very uncommon of the era. The gold trimming decorated the fabric in a pattern that was very star like. Wrapped around your shoulders was a brown mink coat that hung loosely.

He felt the need to loosen his tie as he felt that he couldn't breathe. You looked so painfully beautiful he couldn't stop himself from staring. You looked at him. "What?" You said quietly.

"Now now you will have much more time to stare at Ms. (y/l/n) later." She moved over the Theseus and frowned noticing very imperfection in his outfit. "Close your mouth Theseus you'll catch flies." He quickly shut his mouth. "I didn't think I'd have to fix you up but you look disheveled. Are you sure you weren't fooling around with her this morning." She whispered as she took in his messy hair and untucked shirt.

"I didn't fool around with her." He said through gritted teeth.

"Well alright no need to make zee big deal." She turned to face you her expression going soft. "I'm just gonna fix him up a bit wait here love." She pushed him out despite his protest and seconds later to your surprise she was back.

She stepped in followed by Theseus. He was wearing a soft dark grey suit with a cool grey colored button up underneath. He had a thick silver tie that was stripped that was tucked into his grey vest. His outfit was so simple but so visually stunning. You found yourself noticing how good he looked especially when he walked in with one hand in his pocket and his hair slicked back with gel. He looked like he could be on the cover of a fashion magazine. His freckles, which some saw as imperfections, made him even more stunning as they decorated all this features. You found yourself wanting to trace over every one of them.

She led you both to stand side by side and noticed how well your outfits complemented one another. You really did look like a couple made in heaven.

The Minister took in both of your reactions to each other smirking to herself. She had dressed you both in what she figured each other would fancy and it worked out wonderfully. Her plan was going better than she anticipated.

"Well here's the address I'm sure you won't have any problem finding it."

"Thank you." Theseus took the slip of paper from her hand and placed it in his coat pocket.

She made her way to the door her long dress trailing behind her. She looked over her shoulder as she was about to exit, her hand grabbing onto the door handle. "One more thing. The hotel is were a lot of muggles typically stay so to blend in you will need to take a muggle form of transportation. Preferably a car, but that you will have to find on your own." She closed the door leaving you both to your own devices.

"How are we gonna find a car?" Theseus questioned.

"I may have an idea."

********************************************

"No way! No fucking way! Excuse me cursing. But no way!" You giggled as Theseus worked his way around your car taking it all in. "I can't believe you have a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost!"

"Mhmm."

"How'd you get a car like this?"

"My dad is an American mechanic and he bought it cheap from a client and sent it up to me." You had both Apparated back to your apartment after the Minister left. You had a car and figured you could take it to the hotel. "I didn't know you were into cars."

"I took muggle studies at Hogwarts and the mechanical engineering behind muggle transposition always fascinated me. Especially cars." Theseus ran his hand over the body of the car whistling. You thought it was so cute how Theseus, a wizard, someone who had seen magic, who could do magic, could be so fascinated with something as simple as a car.

"It's beautiful." The car was cherry red and in the sunlight it seemed to sparkle. "And you can drive?"

"I sure can." You smiled and he looked at you with adoration. He was over the moon about not only about the car but about you.

"I always wanted to learn how to drive but that was never something that was taught at Hogwarts." He laughed sadly as he continued to stare at your car.

"Do you want to learn?" You smiled as you dangled the keys outs in front of you.

"Are you serious?" He smiled ear to ear.

You tossed the keys to him and he caught them. "Of course." You got into the passengers seat and he rushed into the drivers seat settling in before twisting the key to start the ignition. It roared to live and he couldn't stop himself from laughing in excitement.

"Okay so I have the basics down but I just wanna be sure." Theseus looked like a child on Christmas morning as he grabbed the steering wheel. "So break, gas, shift," he went over all the mechanisms checking with you to see if he was correct. You nodded along he knew a surprising amount about cars.

"Here we go." He pulled out and began driving along the stretch of road you could tell he was nervous.

"So just make sure to use turn signals and your all good." You smiled.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

He hollered out in joy and you laughed along. You had so much fun with Theseus, sharing new experiences with him. You glanced to side and noticed how at ease he was behind the wheel, sure his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel to hard, but other than that he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Theseus loved being with you. And he loved everything about you. The way your hair waved in the wind, the ways your eyes crinkled when you smiled. He smiled at you without you knowing and turned back to face the road.

As you drove along you brought up the topic of your mission. You discussed how you were going to act out being a couple. "Would you like me to call you something?" You asked him.

"Call me something?"

"You know like babe or honey or darling or beloved..." you listed possible pet names as Theseus felt his face heat up with every suggestion.

"Um you don't have to call me anything."

"Of course I do we want people to believe we're really in love with one another."

But I'm already in love with you. He thought to himself. He saw the hotel in the horizon and attempted to change the subject. "We're here." You rolled up to the hotel it was an architectural masterpiece. It glistened in the sun, your were surprised you hadn't seen it from a mile away.

Theseus got out of the car and made his way to were you'd at to open your door for you. You stepped out as Theseus pulled you close whispering softly. "Remember we're supposed to be a loving couple."

"I remember and it won't be be a problem my beloved." You whispered back as you saw his ears tint red at the pet name.

You looped your arm through his and let him lead you into the hotel as the doorman opened the door and you gave him a thanks. As you made your way the the recipient desk you noticed that the muggles were all starring around you. Theseus seemed to notice too.

"I don't think they think we're a couple." Theseus muttered as he glanced down at you.

You glanced around at the other couples in the hotel and noticed how at ease they were with each other. Theseus however kept a small distance between you too and it seemed as if he was an escort not a boyfriend. "You're too stiff you need to loosen up." You shot back.

"I'll try." He relaxed his shoulders and tried to seem more at ease but it wasn't enough. Unknown to you Theseus was nervous because he was posing as your boyfriend something he would rather be a reality. And he couldn't help himself from thinking that you found him so unappealing and would rather be with his brother on a mission than with him.

You decided to take matters into your own hands. You nuzzled into him and smiled up affectionally at him. He knew what you were doing but part of him couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if all this was real. If you everyday could look at him like that.

"Darling I need to tell you something." You said loud enough for onlookers to hear.

"What is it my love?" Theseus stopped walking and and turned to face you tucking a stray hair behind your ea, his hand lingering and caressing your face.

"Come closer." You smiled at him batting your eyelashes. He leaned closer. "No closer." You we're now inches apart and you closed the space surprising Theseus and everyone around you. You were standing on the tips of your toes kissing Theseus Scamander. You paced a hand behind his head running your hand though his geled hair and placed your other hand on his chest.

Theseus melted into you cupping your face and closing his eyes and he kissed you back all of his dreams coming true as he prolonged the kiss. You slowly pulled away as your eyes fluttered open as both of you out of breath. "Surprise." You said softly. He ran his thumb softly over your lip staring  at you in a way very woman wanted to be looked at.

And at that moment you felt such love and affection for the Scamander brother who was fascinated with cars and who made you happy by being excited at the smallest things.

You broke out of your trance and leaned up again to Eskimo kiss him before whispering," let me handle the talking."

You led him forward to the desk were a uptight proper muggle sat. "Hello sir I'm here to check in with my boyfriend I believe it's under the name Scamander."

The man looked up at you two and you could see that he had a soft spot for couples, something you decided to take advantage or it. "We've been dying to come to this hotel."

"Really?" The man asked.

"Oh yes of course it's a beautiful hotel. My boyfriend and I are architects that's how we met actually. He and I were assigned to work on a project together and we just clicked. This is our first trip together and I'm ever so excited to be taking it with a man as wonderful as my beloved." You turned to smile at him and he returned it and nothing about his look was faked.

The concierge looked at you with loving eyes. The way Theseus looked at You was in no way faked or staged and he could tell. "Of course and for such a lovely couple I'll upgrade you to the honeymoons suite."

"Oh that's too kind we're not even on our honeymoon." Theseus remarked as he pulled you close to kiss the top of your head.

"Ah but the way you look at one another I can tell that wedding bells aren't to far away my darling." The man remarked as he handed you the keys to your room.

"As wonderful as she is and as happy as she makes me, your aren't wrong sir." Theseus shook hands with hand as you passed on your way to the elevator.

As the elevator door closed on you two you both let out shaky laughs but you didn't move away from one another. In fact you nestled yourself closer and rested you head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around you. "We did good." Theseus said as he squeezed your shoulder.

"We really do make a good couple." You closed your eyes leaning into him smelling his expensive cologne, the smell putting you at ease.

"Hmm." He hummed in response.

"That was some good acting. For a second I almost thought you loved me." You said wistfully  you were sad that it was probably all an act. You had said the comment without thinking but it hurt Theseus even though you didn't intend it to.

"But I-" he started but then stopped himself thinking better if it. "Yeah it was good acting." He mumbled as he swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat.

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