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jarofstyles · 5 months

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Sugar, Sugar 13

Hey… sorry it’s been so long angels 😭 here you go!! I hope you missed them as much as I did.

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WC- 3.1k

warnings- mentions of disordered eating and bad relationship with food, body issues, fad diet mention, bad relationship with a parent, body shaming, etc

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“So, spill. How was it?” Delilah asked as she eyed Y/N.

“How was what?” Playing coy behind the counter, she did the initial cash wrap check as she avoided her best friend’s eyes. She knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Getting railed half to death.” She deadpanned, making Y/N choke on her laughter. “Don’t play games with me, girl. I can see your literal glow.” She paused, her eyes moving south. ��And your man has a nasty habit of biting you.” He did. Y/N knew exactly where the hickey was on her collarbone, but her wrap she had on over her lacy tank top usually hid it. She was just careless this morning and didn’t think about it being on display.

“He is quite bad with that, isn’t he?” She snorted, turning to her friend with giddy light in her eyes. “Great. Better than I expected. Made me really comfortable and I spent the whole night and day.. Y’know.” Her face felt hot as she placed the cash into the register before starting up the POS and making sure everything would be right for when the day ended. “I was worried for nothing. The man is kinda unreal, if I’m being honest. I was taken care of in every way. I shouldn’t be surprised considering he’s been really good to me so far.” Brushing her hair over her shoulder, the drawer was closed and she took note of her green tea, picking it up for a sip now that it wouldn’t burn her tongue.

“It’s what you deserve.” Her friend smiled softly. “You deserve a great love like you read about in your books. Besides, I know you’re going to get it. It’s written in the stars.” She was joking, but also… not really. Delilah knew things without knowing how she knew them, and it was almost always true. “Where is he today? Are we expecting a drop in from him?”

“Actually, I don’t know.” Y/N hummed. He hadn’t replied after his initial good morning message but she wasn’t too worried about it. “He said something about stopping by the bakery. He had today off to go run errands so he’ll be dropping things off but I know I’m seeing him tomorrow. We’re going to that new pizza place.” She was excited about that. There was a flatbread she was looking forward to trying, and Harry had suggested getting two different things and splitting it. It was nice to feel comfortable eating with someone. That was one of the anxiety triggers she had to unlearn as she got older.

“I think we’re going to get a drop in.” Taking one of the baskets they used for restocks, she went towards the tumble table and began to deposit the little baggies of colorful stones and minerals into the correct cubbies. “Have you brought up that Claire woman yet?”

Y/N hadn’t, very well for a reason. She didn’t like the feeling it gave her stomach. Somehow, she was well aware she and Harry had been involved. Somehow, someway. It didn’t seem strong, as she obviously couldn’t be that close to him anymore if she’s unable to contact him but… It still wasn’t a good feeling. The woman wasn’t nice, her energy was rancid and muddy, and she obviously looked down on them for believing in their own thing. That was the exact person she tried to avoid. Y/N knew it was perhaps rude to judge solely off of one interaction, but something told her Harry wouldn’t be happy to hear about her coming in.

“Not yet.” She said sheepishly, spooning a bit of yogurt into her mouth. “I know, you don’t have to give me the eyebrow. I’m just… You know how it is. When you know it’s going to cause an issue.” Y/N didn’t think it would be with her but the idea of upsetting Harry at all wasn’t something she enjoyed. Being so new in the relationship, she wanted that honeymoon stage. It had been so lovely this far, she selfishly wanted to avoid the past and the real world from inserting themselves in her rose colored daydream with her dreamy new boyfriend.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t how life worked.

“Putting it off isn’t doing either of you any favors, Cher.” She gave her another look, hanging up a necklace back on the display. “I trust you to handle it on your own time, but do it soon. I have a feeling she isn’t done sniffing around yet.”

—--

“Hey.” A wide smile greeted her as she heard the chime of the bells on the door, seeing the man that had been on her mind. High waisted black pants with a flare at the bottom and a yellow tee shirt, he walked in with his boots clicking on the hardwood floor. Lifting his sunglasses off his face into his fluffy hair, he extended his arms to motion for her to walk into them. She did so without a question. How could she not?

Falling into his warm scent, she nuzzled her face into his neck and allowed herself to be engulfed in him. Something about them felt closer now. More intimate. Maybe she was making it up but a layer had been shed and he felt even more close to her soul. Lips pecked a few times into her hair, swaying her back and forth as her fingers curled into the hair at the nape of his neck, a relieved sigh leaving the man. “Y’alright, Sugar?”

“Mhm.” She nodded against him. “Tired. Spilled my coffee a quarter through but it’s been a bit busy today so we haven’t had the chance to get away. You win some, you lose some.” She’d rather be a little tired and making money, giving readings, all of that.

“Should have texted me.” His tongue clicked, finally getting a good look at her as she pulled out of his neck. Didn’t she realize he’d do almost anything for her? “Would have brought you some over, sweets. What good is having a boyfriend if you’re not gonna use me?” He was joking, but not really. He knew that he’d bend over backwards for the girl in his arms.

“In all honesty, I didn’t even think about it. I knew you were busy today running errands and we had a lot of walk in readings, I’ve been a little busy.” Her fingers ran through his hair again, liking how it felt between them. He always melted like a pup getting pets when she did it too, so it was a win win. “Did you get everything done that you needed?”

“I did.” He moved on swiftly. “Are you sayin’ you didn’t eat?” His brow raised, making her wince. Sometimes she forgot, but it wasn’t on purpose. It was genuine distraction. “Baby…”

“I had a yogurt and granola bar. I was planning on making some food when I got home, but I was busy. Promise.” She tried her luck at a pout which luckily seemed to break down the glare.

“Too bad.” He sighed. “M’gonna run and get you both food. I don’t like this, Sugar.” Large hands cupped her face, making her feel more delicate than she ever had been. Sometimes it felt hard to lean into that femininity of delicacy when she’d been treated as the opposite most of her life, but Harry had her falling into it so easily. “I know you’re a big girl and you can handle yourself, but it’s okay to ask me for help. I want to help you, I want to be a good boyfriend and grab your things when you’re busy. I know you’d do the same for me.” She already had. The girl had given him a whole welcome basket when he opened his own business, for fucks sake.

“I know. It’s…” Feeling slightly guilty now, she rested her hands on his wrists. “It’s a hard habit to break. I’ve been independent for years now and I don’t like to rely on people.” It was always thrown back in her face. “I’ll try harder, H. Promise.” Turning her head, she caught his palm with her lips and pressed kisses to it. That move melted him completely, leaning down to kiss her lips a few times before peeling himself away.

“Good girl. I’ll be back in a bit. Be good for me.”

Y/N hated to see him go, but she loved to watch him leave. Still buzzing from the affection, she jumped as Delilah came out of the back room fanning herself.

“That man is completely gone for you. Lord…” She shook her head. “What a guy. I’m glad he wants to take care of you, Cher. You deserve it.” Her hand squeezed her shoulder as she slipped past her.

“It has nothing to do with the fact he’s getting you lunch too?” She snickered, watching her friend shrug.

“That definitely helps.”

—--

Y/N’s good mood was squashed just 10 minutes later when a familiar face walked through the shop doors, nose wrinkling at the scent of the incense.

God, why now?

“Y/N, I’ve told you that these smoky scents are going to drive away customers.”

Yeah, that was the point. Drive away customers with impure intentions.

“Hi, Mother.” Y/N sighed, feeling her shoulders tighten as she watched the woman come closer into the shop. Her tumultuous relationship with her mother had a lot to do with the fact that Y/N reminded her of her own. They’d been extremely close, sharing their love of the spiritual world, of magic, all the things while her mom had rejected it. Y/N had been easier to bond with for her grandmother and she knew she held resentment over it for years.

She wasn’t an awful person, was the thing. She liked to support her at school, took her shopping for makeup, taught her how to do her hair and tie her shoes. She held her when she was sick, stuck up for her when she got bullied- but she didn’t realize she herself was her daughter’s first and biggest bully.

“Hello. It’s been weeks since you’ve visited me or your father.” She sent her a look. “Are you well? Do you need money? I know the shop is a bit of a hard venture to keep up…”

There it was. Her mother had always hated this shop. Hated what it stood for, what it represented. Y/N never faulted or judged someone for not believing or being connected in the things she was. It was a calling, she truly believed, whether natural or brought on by a life event. But her mother thought it to be a bit of a waste of time. Always expecting her downfall, though she didn’t think she was cruel enough to hope for it.

“No, we’re actually doing incredibly well.” It was the truth. They were making bigger profits than the years before and she was more than glad about that. They’d paid off the loan they took out and now they were working towards a possible expansion. But her mom didn’t want to hear about that. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been a bit busy.”

Her mom gave her a scrutinizing eye, unsure if she believed her. Y/N wasn’t usually a busy person, despite the shop. She liked a slower lifestyle and she knew that, which is why she understood the look on her face. “Have you gone back to the gym like I asked? I haven’t seen you there. I can go with you, you know. I think you’d love my trainer. He’s very dedicated.”

There it was again. Y/N felt her stomach drop, though she should have expected it. Her mother was obsessed with her weight. She’d been the one to try and get her on diets at an early age, effectively ruining her relationship with food. While she knew her mother was someone who cared about her, sometimes she cared about the wrong things a bit too much. Once Y/N had made peace with the fact that she’d always be a bigger girl, her mother had pushed back at it causing more of a rift. She wasn’t going along with her plans and fad diets anymore, and it felt like a personal insult.

“No, no. I’ve been busy with something else, actually.” With Harry. The pretty, driven, thoughtful man that had her tummy in knots and her head in the clouds.

“Well, what? I’ve sent you dozens of recipes. I doubt you’ve tried them though. It looks like you’ve put on a bit of weight in the last few weeks. I thought you were making progress.” Her frown made Y/N’s stomach hurt. She’d resigned herself into knowing she would probably never get her mother’s approval on her body, but the reminders didn’t do much to make her feel good. Accepting it didn’t mean liking it.

“I may have. I’ve been fine, though.” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I’ll come by for dinner next week, I promise. I just-”

The door chimed again, interrupting them both. Her stomach dropped as she saw Harry’s smiling face, something that usually would make her erupt into butterflies- but this wasn’t the introduction she wanted to make. Not quite yet.

“I’m back, sorry. There was a line.” He murmured, going behind the desk and pressing a kiss to her cheek. Her body flushed as she looked towards her mother, her eyes wide as Harry adjusted her hair for her before setting the food bag and coffee tray on the counter. “Sorry, I’ll step out of the way if you’re helping someone.”

“Who’s this?” Her mother’s interest was immediately evident.

“I’m Harry, Y/N’s boyfriend. Nice t’meet you. What’s your name?” He asked, placing a hand on his girlfriend’s back.

“H, this is my mother.” Y/N swallowed, looking between the two of them. She could see his eyes widen, reaching a hand out for her to shake. He was always so polite, so charming, but she couldn’t help but see the look on her mom’s face.

“You’re her boyfriend?” She asked, brows raised. Her voice sounded in disbelief, looking between the two of them as if something didn’t add up. “I didn’t know she even had a boyfriend.”

Thankfully she’d let him know she hadn’t exactly told her yet so he didn’t seem shocked about that, but the meeting was a little unorthodox.

His brows did furrow at her tone and she could tell he didn’t like it. But for her sake he kept a smile on his face, shaking the woman’s hand lightly. “Yes, I am. M’quite gone for her. You raised an incredible woman, Ma’am.” He spoke earnestly.

“Excuse my shock, I just didn’t realize….” She trailed off, still seeming confused. “Y/N does like her secrets, it seems. You’re very handsome. What do you do?” It was likeher mother to be nosy, sniffing out why exactly the man was around her daughter. Y/N could see that she was suspicious and it hurt her because she knew exactly why she was.

She was making sure he wasn’t using her for another reason. For money or something else, because it was hard for her to believe a man as attractive as him would be with her for pure attraction and chemistry.

“I actually own the bakery across the street.” He said easily. “Thank you for the compliment. She’s an incredible woman, so welcoming and kind. Beautiful to boot.” He meant every word, tapping the tip of her nose. “I don’t want to interrupt, though… I brought the girls lunch.”

“Oh, it’s not trouble. I was coming because my daughter forgets she has a phone.” She shot her a look. “Why don’t you come to dinner next week with her? You’re more than welcome. Her father would be more than happy to meet you.”

“If it’s alright with Y/N, I will.” He nodded, showing his loyalty immediately. Harry wouldn’t do anything that made his girl uncomfortable and he was dedicated to the cause. He was already unsure about the woman, but the next words solidified it for him.

“Alright, whatever you decide. Just make sure she doesn’t have too many sweets from your bakery, hm? It’s starting to show again.” She was joking as if it was funny, patting her daughter’s hand before stepping back. “I hope to see you next week, Harry. Call me, Y/N, we have much to discuss.”

Her mother was swift, walking out the door as quickly as she had come in. As soon as she was gone, the energy calmed and her shoulders fell, groaning low in her throat as she moved to hide her face in Harry’s chest again. He knew better than to talk, instead stroking over her hair as he let her recover from that interaction.

Internally though, his view on her mother was soured. How dare she make a comment to not only her daughter about that, but to him? A man she was dating and obviously really liked her? Did she not realize how awful it was to comment on something like that? Y/N had told him that her relationship with her mother had been a weird one but he hadn’t expected her to say something cruel like that. It didn’t even seem to register that she was being mean, she genuinely seemed to think it was funny.

“I’m sorry about that.” She sighed, pulling back from his chest. “She’s… she’s a lot. I promise she isn’t all bad, but she’s got quirks.” Her face pulled in a slight grimace, making him smile sadly at her as he caressed her warm cheek.

“That wasn’t nice to say, but I have a feeling it isn’t something you want t’unpack in the middle of a work day.” It wasn’t something he felt could be properly discussed out here anyways. “We can talk about it tomorrow, if you want…but I just have to say this one thing.” His head dipped to get closer to hers. “I don’t mind if you gain or lose weight. I don’t care about that at all so long as you’re healthy and comfortable. I’ll never restrict you from eating, never make you feel as though you’re too much. I know you struggle with it, but I’m never going to contribute to that. I’m here to support you.”

His words were genuine, eyes shining as he told her his truth. She could feel it radiating off of him and it made her want to tear up, but he didn’t give her a chance to reply to that before he smacked a kiss to her nose and pulled back to open the paper bag that had been stapled shut. “But now I want you to tell me if I did a good job choosing your meal, please. I did the caramel coffee with oat milk, iced. I remembered that bit.”

Y/N wasn’t sure where the hell Harry had come from, but she was thankful for whoever had sent him. It seemed like she needed him now more than ever.

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kaz11283 · 10 months

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Bucky Request (1)

It's More Than Just Friends

This is a cute little request from @itsplumwriter, I messed up on this first one but I feel like it wasn't going in the way that I was wanting it to any way so let's start over. I am sorry my dear for taking so long on this but in the end I truly hope you enjoy.

You walk into something after a mission you know you wasn't supposed to so you turn to the only person who truly understands you.

Bucky X Y/N (female)

Maybe some bad words other than that no warning.

"Come on Buck, I know you're in there!" You banged on the door as loud as you dared, any louder and you would probably wake the neighbors which at this hour wouldn't be very good. "James Buchanan Barnes, if you do not open this door I'm gonna kick it in." With no answer you slide down the door and propped your head against it.

"Ya know, for someone who just spent three months away from your boyfriend and instead with me you would think that you would be there instead of here." Bucky said leaning against the railing of the stairs coming up to his landing. He was carrying Chinese food in one hand and a grocery bag in the other.

"Yeah, well, kinda hard to spend time with a guy who's balls deep in another girl, in your bed." You sighed standing up so that he could unlock his door. "I even think about you not being here. If I had known I wouldn't have been yelling like I was." He cocked his eyebrow up at you. "There is a small possibility that you may have a few complaints in the morning." You shrugged walking by him into his place.

He stood at the door as you walked in and plopped down on his couch. "Can we rewind back to the beginning of that sentence? He was what with who?"

"Balls deep, another girl. If I had to guess he probably met her at a bar, took her home, and didn't expect me to come barging in while they were, well, ya know.". You leaned over to take off your boots. That's when it hit Bucky that you still had on your gear, not changing when getting back to the compound because you had been so ready to get home.

"That doesn't surprise me." He asked walking into his room to grab you something to sleep in. This wasn't the first time you had stayed the night at his apartment because of the ass of a boyfriend. "I don't understand what you see in that guy. It feels like he's just using you Y/n."

"I get it though, I get that he probably gets lonely every time I have a mission and I'm gone weeks of not months sometimes. I'm lucky he gave me a chance-"

"That asshole is lucky you gave him a chance. If you were the one I was coming home to there's not a chance in hell I would chea-" he stopped mid sentence with his eyes wide looking at you. Your mouth dropped at the confession.

"You don't mean that Bucky, I have a lot of baggage that comes with this. You're just saying heat of the moment stuff now." You got up from the couch and walked to the door.

"Where are you going? Not back to him." Bucky almost whined.

"I think I'm just gonna stay at Nats for the night, let everything settle, clear my head." You were reaching for the door knob when Buckys hand caught your wrist turning you around.

"Don't go, stay here, with me. As long as you want. Y/n I love you, I love you so damn much but I will wait as long as you want me to." You looked up at his pleading eyes tears springing to yours. You loved Bucky more than anyone else, he opened up around you and you him. Everything you went through you went through together, he wasn't just your partner he was your best friend. "As for the baggage, we've spent more time together than we have with anyone else, I know every little article of baggage that you carry."

"Kiss me." You whispered looking into his eyes. "Kiss me right-" his lips met yours and you felt fireworks. It was needy, slow, and wanting all in one. You didn't want it to end, his lips the softest you had ever felt. Kissing him was the lifeline that you needed, every pent up emotion you had shoved to the back of your mind because you shouldn't feel that way about someone who you're supposed to work with. "I love you James Barnes. Always have." You pulled away placing both hands on his cheeks.

"Stay with me, for now till we find you an apartment here, stay with me forever, the choice is yours." He leaned in placing a kiss on your forehead.

You spent the remainder of the night curled up with him in his bed finally getting some much needed sleep. When the sun peeked through his binds causing you to stir you heard a heated argument in the living room.

"I know she's here, Barnes. Tell her I need to talk to her." You heard your ex yell.

"I didn't tell you she wasn't here, I told you that she didn't want to talk to you. I know what happened last night, you are pitiful. Going out and hooking up with some random girl. After everything she's done for you?" Bucky yelled back.

"Everything she's done for me? Like hoping on the avengers jet every chance she had with you? Going God knows where, doing God knows what? If I had to guess it probably wasn't a mission every time, probably going off just to screw you behind my back." You stormed into the room at that point heading straight for him. "She's here right now, wearing your clothes, coming out of your room. Did you have a nice little escapade last night?" There was a sound of skin hitting skin and your ex falling flat on his back with you standing over him.

"Get out Y/ex/n, I'm coming to get my stuff later and you had better not be there. You have no right coming in here, accusing us of sleeping together when you've been doing it for God only knows how long." Bucky came over and placed a hand on your shoulder trying to get you to come with him. When you finally did move he took your hand in his to examine your knuckles to see how bad they were.

"You good, doll?" He asked bringing them up to his lips to kiss them.

"Yeah," you smiled and turned back to your ex who was now holding his cheek where you had hit him. "I want you out of my apartment, and I don't want you to be at yours when I pick up my stuff." You glared at him as he nodded before walking out the door.

"Your apartment? So are we gonna be roommates now?" He laughed.

"If that's still ok with you. Besides you have a decent size guest room that I can make my own.". You laughed at his wide eyes.

"Oh, darling, if you think you're sleeping anywhere else besides my bed you're deathly wrong." He said cornering you against the back of the couch to kiss you again.

~~~~

How did we like it? I hope it was all good seeing as it was the first one I had written in.... Well.... A while. I loved every minute of it though. Thank you again @itsplumwriter for the request. I truly hope you enjoyed it.

If you have any requests, asks, prompts, anything send them my way. It may take a little bit for me to write them but I will work on them!

#bucky x you #bucky fanfic #james bucky barnes #avengers bucky #james buchanan barnes #bucky barns x reader #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #james barnes x you #james barnes x reader #james barnes #james bucky buchanan barnes #Bucky #Bucky Masterlist

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1moreff-creator · 1 year

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A Summary of the Levi!Accomplice Theory + How We Got Here (DRDT CH2)

Hey there! So a while ago I made a post about the CH 2 murder method, but I missed some pretty crucial information. You might know me and @thebadjoe had a pretty long thread back and forth talking about the murder, which lead to me reworking a lot of the original theory. However, that thread is extremely long and frankly quite confusing to read, so I thought it would be good to summarize what the final theory actually looks like in a separate post. This was sorta inspired by thebadjoe making a similar post about his own theory (which is Eden working alone, but disguising herself as Arei at one point), which I absolutely recommend you read as it’s probably one of the best DRDT-related posts I’ve seen on Tumblr.

If you’re here simply for a summary of the Levi!Accomplice Eden!Culprit theory, then simply skip to the Closing Argument of this post. You should be able to understand it on its own. However, I think it would also be nice to explain how I reached the conclusions I did, which is what the start of the post will be. Othersie I'm gonna look completely unhinged, and that's not good, I'm only kinda unhinged! If you’re interested, then I hope you enjoy!

CW: Murder, betrayal (Eden!Culprit), hanging (including geometric depictions), suicidal thoughts, one mention of self harm.

(Also, the Ace almost-murder won’t really be touched on much here, but there is a thread where me, venus-is-thinking, accirax and thebadjoe all went crazy trying to explain the blood on the wires. It’s about as difficult to follow as the other one, but eh)

The First Step Into Madness

(This part goes over a bit of the same from my OG post, which is why it sorta ignores other theories. There may be some assumptions made which are not necessarily true under other theories. Feel free to skip this if you read the first post and don’t need a refresher)

It all started when I made the original post where I discussed the murder method. I was left very intrigued after watching DRDT for the first time, so I wanted to see if there was some way to figure out how the murder was carried out, and to see if that pointed to any culprit.

-The first thing to note is that EP 11 cuts off when Charles is about to confront David on something related to the time of death, based on when he cuts in. This would imply the murder did not happen the night of the third day as the characters had assumed. Seeing as Arei was last seen at noon of that third day and I wasn’t aware of disguise theory, I figured the murder actually happened at 7:30 AM the morning of the day of the investigation, which I still believe. The fish could have been simply taken before nighttime and kept in the water jugs.

-What this means is that the culprit had time to set up an elaborate murder mechanism overnight, which is what the rest of the evidence around the crime scene would appear to imply.

-One of the reasons to believe a mechanism was involved is the flickering light of the playground. For a while, I genuinely had no idea how the hell that would happen. Even if there was a secret passage from the Movie Screening Room, proving that in trial would be nigh impossible.

-However, sometimes to solve a mystery, all you gotta do is mash random things together until something sorta looks like it fits. And what was a thing I didn’t know how to place? The ball of clothes.

-The idea here is to attach the rope to the ball of clothes and throw it over the railing, that way you can get the rope to go over there without having to get up there yourself. On the way up, the clothes would hit the light and displace the lightbulb, causing it to flicker.

-But why would you need rope over the railing? Well, if you were interested in creating a pulley system to make something go high into the air, you would need the rope there. And a pulley system is the first thing I thought of when I saw the spinny thing had tape on it, and thus was likely involved. This is what I envisioned.

Note how the rope is first looped between the handlebars to make sure it actually does the thing it’s supposed to. There may be other ways to set up the pulley, but the important thing is, a pulley was likely involved.

-So we got a pulley, but what are we pulleying? Presumably Arei, getting her higher up so her neck could snap instantly when she dropped down. As Veronika stated, her neck wouldn’t have snapped unless she weighed more or she dropped from higher up.

-Unless she weighed more, huh? That’s an interesting thing to specify. How would she weigh more? Unless, there was something which weighed her down.

-One thing which always struck me as odd about the water jugs is how oddly the handles are snapped.

-After thinking about how that could have happened, I realized maybe they had been snapped due to the action of rope. If you tie rope around the handles and pull hard, they would snap just like that.

-And what’s the deal with that? As I said, perhaps Arei was weighed down by something. And here is the answer. Since we know there were two pieces of rope (one found around Arei’s neck and a longer piece under the spinny thing), I believed the jugs were attached to her via rope to weigh her down.

-That way, the culprit could further ensure Arei’s neck would snap once she fell and the pulley system was stopped.

-Because yes, the culprit would need to stop the pulley system from spinning back all the way, otherwise Arei would just fall to the floor. And since her broken neck is the only injury apart from red marks on her wrist, that clearly didn’t happen.

-And my answer for that… was frankly just brute forcing it and stopping it by hand. See, I was sorta coming in after watching a cool video by Ocean Unknown, and I was already kinda thinking Levi was probably the culprit, which is why this feat of strength didn’t seem too insane for me. In retrospect, I may have been underestimating the strength required to do that.

-Anyways, the rest isn’t too hard to figure out. Make the note, ambush Arei when she arrived at the playground, with the ensuing struggle resulting in the scuffed floor, put tape on her wrists, put the noose around her neck, pulley, let her fall a bit and stop her so her neck snaps, prop her up so the murder looks vaguely like a suicide, throw some stuff in the trash, profit. You may have noticed I didn’t talk about the fact Arei doesn’t have her glove in the BDA, because… well, frankly I just hadn’t noticed that at the time. The fish are to confuse the time of death, and the tape was likely taken from the gym and used to have a better grip on the spinny thing as the culprit spun it.

…

The tape was taken from the gym?

The Curious Case of the Tape Thief

(Or: BY GOD IT’S THEBADJOE WITH A STEEL CHAIR! /lh)

So, what you may have noticed is that the method I came up with doesn’t really point to anyone in particular, but there’s a detail I hadn’t noticed when I first made that post. The time the tape was taken.

Thebadjoe had already pointed it out on his blog, and was kind enough to reblog my own post with this information. Turns out, he realized that in Ep 6, at around the time Ace wakes up, the roll of the tape previously on the floor disappears from the background. Which means it was taken by someone who was at the gym at that point.

Now, you might be wondering if maybe that’s just an animation error. After all, it’s not like this is evidence that can be brought up in the trial.

Except, it can be deduced. With lockdown logic. Let’s look at the facts:

-The tape was on the floor after Nico leaves the gym.

-The last people in the gym before the lockdown begun were Teruko, Ace and Eden.

-No one but MonoTV could enter the gym during the lockdown.

-Rose and Teruko are the first people to enter the gym after the lockdown, stated explicitly by MonoTV.

-But by the time Rose and Teruko are there, the tape has disappeared. And there is special attention brought to the fact the tape’s disappeared.

So the tape couldn’t have disappeared during the lockdown (unless MonoTV took it out, but why would it do that), and it can’t have been taken after since Rose and Teruko were the first people there after it ended. Since that roll of tape was still on the floor when Nico left, that means the tape disappeared when only Teruko, Ace and Eden were in the gym.

Teruko couldn’t have taken it, protag privilege.

I’ve seen Ace thrown out as a possibility, but it just doesn’t really work. Teruko was inspecting his body right before he wakes up, and she never has a reason to look away after he wakes up. She never saw him pick up the tape, though, so it seems unlikely he did. Not to mention the lack of blood on the tape when Ace had blood on his hands the whole time, or the general weirdness of him taking the tape and, like, pocketing it in the first place. Why would he do that? If he wanted a weapon, he’d have taken the wire which was nearby, right?

So, the most logical answer is that Eden took the tape. In fact, she gets knocked down to the floor right around the time the tape disappears from the background.

So, now we ask, why did Eden take the tape? The issue is that there really is no reason for her to do that, unless she went down to the second floor specifically with the intention of picking up the tape (and maybe some other stuff). However, she never tells Teruko she wanted to pick up the tape, which combined with the fact she takes it sneakily and without anyone noticing, would suggest she wanted it for nefarious purposes. This is where the Eden!Culprit theory comes from.

There simply is no good answer as to why she took the tape otherwise. Even other theories I’ve seen, which suggest perhaps the killer intentionally used the tape to frame Eden, can’t really explain why Eden would take it without warning in the first place.

Thus, the only issue left is… would Eden really do this? How can the nicest person in the killing game betray a friend like that? Well, it’s not as impossible as you may think.

Of Motivations And Narrative Consequence

(Or: venus and accirax come in clutch)

You may have seen this post by DRDT Tumblr’s dynamic duo of @venus-is-thinking and @accirax circulating around, and I recommend you read it if you want a full exploration of why Eden!Culprit works from a character and narrative standpoint. They explained everything way better than I ever could, so I’m not gonna dwell on it too much and just ask you do your assigned reading if you’re interested.

However, as a short summary of the main points:

-Motive: Eden is a very caring person, who has several people she’d want to return to outside of the killing game. Her family, which she speaks about with Levi in the first scene of the chapter, and possibly even the girl mentioned in her secret. The incident with Arturo could have scared her into taking more drastic action so she could go back to the real world. Note the secret quote on her page is “You can’t go back, no matter how hard you try.” She’s likely not secretly evil or anything. And the fact she kept trying to go against the killing game, but ultimately never achieved anything, could have led to her feeling completely hopeless.

-Why Arei?: Because it was the easiest option, most likely. It was implied in the ep 10 flashback that Eden may not have believed Arei when she claimed she wanted to be friends, and that she may have only realized she genuinely did during the trial. Also worth noting, they’re paired together in the CH 1 recap, which implies they’re at least important to each other’s stories.

-Wouldn’t this just prove Teruko right? And wouldn’t that be narratively redundant?: Oh, yes. It would very explicitly prove Teruko right.

Teruko: Sooner or later that kindness of yours will have you breaking down, until you’re too overwhelmed with grief to be able to act. That’s not how I plan to live.

But the thing is, Teruko has already been proven right this chapter. Even beyond all the scuffles around the secrets, you have Nico, seemingly one of the most harmless people in the killing game, admitting to trying to kill Ace; and you also have David, who almost everyone trusted and viewed as a sort of leader, being revealed as a liar and a manipulative asshole.

(Yes I know both of them are a bit more complex than that but that’s not the point.)

In fact, Teruko was explicitly right about David too. Not to mention, someone killed Arei or J if you’re inclined to believe that, which won’t exactly do wonders for trust in the group.

The point, as venus and accirax pointed out, is to show the audience how Teruko’s life usually is. Full of betrayal and misfortune. This is to set up the theme of fate and change that runs deeply through Teruko’s character, and that I’m not gonna explain here.

And while you could say Teruko doubling down on not trusting anyone would be redundant, you have to consider the rest of the group as well. While they mostly held it together after the first trial with a few exceptions, Eden being the killer, combined with everything else that happened in the chapter, would cause way more damage to the whole group’s sense of trust, leading to a very different atmosphere for chapter 3. So I don’t really think it would be redundant at all.

-What about the handwriting sample?: What about the handwriting sample? The note is in cursive, Eden writes her sample in print.

Obviously it's gonna look different. If anything, the fact she specifically writes in print could be seen as her hiding her cursive handwriting, which looks suspicious to me.

-Why help piece together the note in the first place? And why would she fight back against the idea of Arei committing suicide?: Because she would presumably want to build a narrative that she and Arei were friends, to make people trust her more. I mean, it worked, since people immediately jumped on Arturo when they first heard the full story.

-And more! Again, read the full post for more details.

So… now we circle back. Eden’s probably the killer, but what does that mean for the method?

A Method In Shambles

One of the main issues this brings to the method is Eden’s strength. She’s very weak, as has been established in both the most recent QnA and in the series itself (see: arm-wrestling scene, where Arei specifically excludes Eden for being weak). She wouldn’t be able to pull Arei + water jugs up with the pulley system herself.

…Or maybe she could? But it would be very tight, and I think we’re not supposed to pull out the physics and calculators to figure out it would only be the equivalent of lifting like thirty pounds as accirax implied in one line of this really good post. Point is, it doesn’t look like she could, which is more important imo.

Even then, it would also be really difficult for Eden to prop up the body like we see in the BDA.

Speaking of BDA, that’s another issue. The BDA rule states it takes “three people who did not witness the murder” to see the body before the announcement plays. So how did it play after only Whit, Teruko and Eden had found it? Surely Eden as the killer would count as a witness with the method I established earlier.

But the biggest issue for Eden!Culprit are actually the fish. Because while Eden doesn’t have an alibi for the time of death, she does have an alibi for the time of the fish’s disappearance. Think about it: Nico fed them presumably at around 7:00 PM, since they later see David going down at around 7:30, and 7:00 is likely the time when communal dinner ended as it’s also the time Eden and Hu begun washing the dishes together. We know from Nico the fish were still all there by the time Eden’s alibi with Hu begins.

And that alibi lasts all the way until nighttime, when the relax room locks down for the night. And it doesn’t open again until after the murder was supposedly committed at 7:30 AM. So Eden couldn’t have taken it the morning after.

The fish in particular are an issue for Eden!Culprit, because while everything else is odd, this particular thing makes it impossible for Eden herself to have set up the crime scene as we see it. And unless Ace is lying for no good reason, Arei was still alive the night of the third day, so it likely wasn’t set up by anyone uninvolved in the murder.

In the end, although Eden feels like she should be the culprit, she couldn’t have done everything alone.

…

She couldn’t have done everything… alone.

…

The Rise of the Accomplice

Eden is a very trusting, very sociable person. So if there are things in the crime scene she couldn’t have done alone, is it unbelievable to assume she may have had an accomplice?

Let’s ignore the “who” for now and see if this idea holds up. The accomplice would be in charge of taking the fish out of the relax room during nighttime, a tactic to confuse the time of death and give Eden a fake alibi. They would also be in charge of overpowering Arei when she first arrived at the playground.

After pinning her down, wrapping her wrists with tape and possibly her legs too if needed (there were two pieces of tape in the trash, when strictly speaking you would only need one for the wrists. Arei has long socks, so marks wouldn’t be visible on her legs), the accomplice would also be in charge of lifting up Arei into the sky. The exact logistics of how the accomplice would go about this are a bit awkward (they would probably have to run quite fast to the spinny thing so Arei doesn’t get a chance to stand up and try something), but I don’t think it’s outright impossible.

Now, here’s where the trick comes in. Since Eden was the one who likely planned the murder (she had been preparing since Night 2, after all), the goal would be to make her the blackened. Here’s how I think that would be done.

The accomplice would hand off the spinny thing to Eden once Arei was high up enough, and Eden would be the one to let go off the carousel so Arei’s neck breaks. But how does it stop?

Well, you remember the second, shorter piece of rope, which I had originally said would be for the water jugs? Instead of that, they would use it as a stopper rope. The idea is to attach one end to the swing set near the spinny thing, but leave the other end by itself. Then, once Arei was high in the air, one of the two culprits (let’s say Eden) would tie the unused end to the spinny thing. That way, when they let Arei fall, the shorter rope would tense before she went all the way to the floor (you can make sure this happens by using a lot of the rope on the knot on the swing set), and stop the carousel abruptly mid fall. This is what would cause Arei’s neck to snap.

(Ignore the text)

This means the water jugs would need to be attached to Arei in some other way. Possibly by making the noose in such a way that you have rope to spare and you can put the jugs there?

Looks a bit wonky, but I think it can work! Or, at least, Eden could conceivably think it would help, which is all that’s technically necessary.

If you’re not convinced, there could also be a third, extremely short piece of rope being kept in Eden’s fanny pack which was used to put the jugs at Arei’s feet. I don’t quite like this answer too much, since it relies on evidence we don’t have (Russel’s Teapot and all that), but it’s there.

——————————————————————————————————

Surprise! Alternative Method Bonanza!

So you remember how thebadjoe has a really good theory on the murder which is Eden!Solo? That means he has a different method for the murder mechanism itself, as Eden sort of can’t do my method herself.

And I am gonna steal it! Like a thief!

Essentially, if you’re not convinced by the hanging method, you can instead copy and paste joe’s method to my accomplice theory, with a few modifications.

Joe’s method takes my idea of a stopper rope, but instead of attaching one end to the swing set, it’s attached to Arei’s neck. The pulley system is instead used to pull up only the water jugs, the rope attached to their handles, which Eden should be able to do herself. The idea is that, after pulling the water jugs up and attaching the shorter rope to Arei’s neck, when you let them fall, if Arei’s neck is secured in place, when the stopper tenses, it will snap her neck.

Now, in his method that involves knocking out Arei with turpentine (long story) and securing her with tape, but with the accomplice idea, and since I don’t think Eden has turpentine, it may be better for the accomplice to just hold down Arei’s body themself. Though that runs into the issue of “why put tape on her wrists then”, which isn’t a method with joe’s original method and rather an issue of translation to the accomplice idea.

Because of that, and because there’s a particular thing I’ll talk about in a moment, I think my method is still slightly more plausible for the accomplice idea, which is why I won’t bring this up again, but I did want to point out that it’s technically a possibility.

——————————————————————————————————

Any other changes? Yes, actually.

-You remember the starch on the ball of clothes? Well, joe suggested it may come from the enriched formula used in the relax room, as starch is often used to stimulate plant growth or something along those lines. Meaning the clothes spent a night inside the relax room. I agree with this, as I have no idea why starch would be there otherwise.

The question now is when the clothes spent the night. It can’t be Night 3, as Arei died before the relax room opened again at 8:00 AmM. So it would have to be in the second night. And where was Eden that night?

Eden: I noticed you didn’t take any of your new clothes, so I was going to deliver them to you!

Ah, right. On the second floor. In the dress-up room. Totally not suspicious behavior.

Basically, I think Eden went to the second floor to put the clothes in the relax room and pick up the tape, but once nighttime begun, she realized Ace was still in the gym, and decided to wait it out so as to not be spotted in a suspicious place. Unfortunately for her, Ace was busy getting murdered by Nico, so she ended up getting caught by Teruko, and had to course correct.

But why would she need the ball of clothes? Couldn’t she have just grabbed, like, anything else to throw over the railing?

Well… yeah, but. It may have been hard for her to find anything more convenient than the ball of clothes. I’ve seen the roll of tape suggested, but the rope may not have been able to fit through the hole in the middle. Maybe yes, maybe no, depending on what’s most convenient for your theory. That’s not sarcasm, it’s just that there’s no good way of checking how big the hole is.

Throwing a ball of clothes would be a lot easier than throwing a lot of other things. Maybe it’s a bit weird, but I don’t find it completely unbelievable that Eden considered it the best option.

-To make the whole ordeal easier, it would be best to make sure the “noose” end of the longer rope dangles from the railing over the seesaw, closer to the entrance, so they don’t have to move Arei around too much. They could easily do this by just throwing the ball of clothes around a couple of times.

-The BDA is an issue, since the accomplice would also be a “witness” and thus not count. But this can be solved quite simply. For one, there could be a loophole where if Eden just looks away when Arei’s neck breaks, then she’s not a “witness” and she counts. If that sounds too stupid, there’s another answer. To make absolutely sure Eden would be counted as the blackened, the accomplice would leave the room entirely while Eden holds Arei up in the air. That way, the moment they enter again, they would see the corpse without being a “witness” to the murder, and so they count. Add to the accomplice/Eden the view of Whit and Teruko, and you have the three you need for the BDA.

-That’s also my answer to why Eden shouts “Teruko, wait!” right before Teruko opens the door to the playground. Logically, she knew the BDA would play, which is why she didn’t act nervous when Teruko first offered to search in a group of three, but she second-guessed herself right before they got there. I’m sure we’ve all had an experience like that before, where logically we know one thing will happen, but we still get nervous right before the thing happens because we’re worried it might go wrong.

-The Achilles Heel of this theory is the missing bowling glove from Arei’s left hand. I have exactly one explanation for it, and it’s kinda stupid. Essentially, I believe the accomplice took the glove for themselves, to reveal it during the trial if people start accusing Eden. The idea would be that showing people that glove should hopefully get them to vote for the accomplice without thinking about it too much, but since Eden is the real blackened, they would lose and Eden would escape.

Imagine a big reveal, with a little animation like David’s “guilty as charged”, where the accomplice takes out the glove from their pocket and they say “I killed Arei” or something. That’s kinda what I’m envisioning.

So… that’s basically the method. And now, we have to answer the age old question:

but, like, why though

And this, this is the question that makes me believe the accomplice idea more than any other. Because it gives a proper reason for why the method had to be so complicated.

See, there is one fundamental contradiction in the evidence we see, one which has to be solved in some way. Arei’s wrists were bound, but given the rest of the evidence, there was a mechanism involved in her murder.

Why is that an issue? Because if you bind her wrists, then there is no reason not to just kill her in a much easier, simpler way. And there’s no reason to bind her wrists after killing her, either. So why would the killer go through all this trouble?

demodraws0606 (not sure they’d want to be tagged) suggested in this post, under Levi!Culprit, that maybe Levi was trying to frame Eden, and to do that, he had to make sure the BDA wouldn’t rule her out. And while that’s a really good post and a pretty interesting idea, the main issue with the plan of framing Eden in general are the fish. Levi maybe wouldn’t know for sure whether or not Eden would have an alibi, but just in case, it would be much safer to just fill the water jugs with water from a sink or something. The fish could only ever exclude Eden, never incriminate her.

Joe’s method assumes Eden simply used a complex method to distance herself from the murder in a way. Working on mechanisms would calm her as a clockmaker, so she feels more comfortable with murder if she can do it with a mechanism. This is cool, and while I personally think it’s a bit underwhelming, it could work. But it only works if Eden!Solo works, and then you have to explain the fish again. Joe says David brought them there, but, I don’t agree. Doesn’t mean it’s wrong, obviously, just that I personally don’t see it given what we have. I think David genuinely thinks Arei committed suicide because of him.

David: Of course. Of course this would happen.

So, yeah.

And because the why is so hard to explain, I think it’s important to explain it. And wouldn’t you guess it, my method does explain it.

It goes back to the origin of the accomplice idea. Eden couldn’t have done this on her own.

Let’s be clear; an accomplice is a huge leap in logic. One that I feel comfortable making given everything, but one which would take the characters a while to figure out. One which they may reject in principle. There’s no benefit for an accomplice after all, right?

I’ll address that in a moment, but let’s get back to the main point. Eden couldn’t have done this on her own, and because of that, the method in itself is an alibi for her.

Think about it. Because she is clearly not strong enough to lift Arei up into the air (or at least, that’s what it looks like), what happens if someone starts pointing fingers at Eden? Well, all she has to do to absolve herself is insist they speak about the method, and guide them in the general direction of the right answer. Once they start thinking the murderer would need to be strong enough to pull Arei + water jugs up into the air, they would instantly dismiss Eden as a possibility, until the idea of an accomplice is revisited.

This is, by the way, why I think the Hanging Method works better than the Neck Stopper Method under Accomplice Theory-

(ok the nomenclature is starting to get out of hand)

-, because it requires more strength to use the pulley.

But the point is the same. This method actually provides an explanation to why a mechanism was necessary when Arei’s wrists were bound. It was to give Eden a defense.

And that’s also where the fish come in. Because the most straightforward explanation for why the fish would be there would be that the killer would want to confuse the time of death. But why? The time the fish were taken is the same time frame the characters currently believe the murder happened at, so the alibis don’t change. If the killer wanted to give themselves an alibi for the supposed time of death, they would need to have an alibi for the time the fish were taken. But if they have an alibi for the time the fish were taken, they couldn’t have taken the fish!

Provided Nico is telling the truth about the fish, but I really don’t see why they’d be lying. I really doubt they’re the killer.

Thus, unless the fish somehow got there through a third party entirely (which I find unlikely, as Veronika had an alibi and no one else would really want to hide that they found a dead body for a night), it’s very possible the accomplice brought the fish to give the real killer an alibi.

So, that’s the big reason I have for believing there was an accomplice. It’s the best explanation for the fish and the motivation behind the creation of a mechanism I can find, but of course, that’s my opinion. There’s a bit more to it actually, but before we get there, we have to ask:

OMG, Who Did This?!

What we know about the accomplice for now is that they must not have an alibi for the time the fish were taken. This leaves us with Ace, Nico, Rose, Arei, Levi, and David. We can also add Hu to the list, as her only alibi is Eden, and, well.

Out of hand, I'm gonna eliminate Nico, Ace and David, as I really don't think their characters fit the accomplice idea at all, I hope you can forgive me.

I gave Arei a fair bit of thought, since narratively I could see it working, but I just don’t think it’s physically possible. One of the things which got me to believe there was an accomplice was that it would be really difficult for Eden to string up Arei’s corpse herself, and Arei wouldn’t be able to help with that on account of being dead.

So, then there three.

Was it Rose?

An interesting possibility. She was the first one to suggest looking in the trash, which helps Eden build the narrative she and Arei were friends, and she was one of the people who suggested voting for David on Ep 11, claiming she didn’t want the trial to go on any longer. However, that’s pretty circumstantial, and I don’t think there’s much else connecting her to the crime. I also don’t know how much stronger she is than Eden, but that’s neither here nor there. Overall, a possible candidate, but not extremely plausible.

Was it Hu?

Hey, have you ever thought about how weird it was that Hu and Eden never spoke during the conversation Teruko, Charles, Whit and David had right before David went to the relax room on night three? They were supposed to be cleaning up after dinner at that point, according to their alibi, so what gives?

Well, frankly, I just think they weren’t in the kitchen, but probably just cleaning in the cafeteria itself. But maybe Hu and Eden are lying!

Hu could work as an accomplice, given her caring nature and the fact she probably has the “hopeless child” secret, meaning she’s attempted suicide. Thus, she may be willing to throw away her life for Eden’s, which is the biggest obstacle for the accomplice idea.

Her secret quote could allude to it. “I want to pay for what I’ve done. But even then, I still want to live.” The issue there is… well, that could be referring to quite literally anything else, so.

I consider Hu the second likeliest candidate for accomplice because of all that, but… frankly, I still don’t see it. The way she acts during the trial doesn’t suggest she’s doing anything of the sort, and there are reasons she wouldn’t want anyone to get away with murder. Mainly everyone else’s lives. Also, she has even less arm strength than Rose, seeing as she lost at arm wrestling with her.

There’s probably more discussion to be had regarding Hu as an accomplice, but frankly, I don’t think it’s necessary for now. Because there is one person who fits the bill much better than Hu, and has much deeper connections to both Eden and the murder.

You read the title of the post. You know who I think the accomplice is. Let’s go.

Yeah, it’s Levi

(How’s that for a callback?)

Levi is probably the most widely believed culprit theory, and for good reason. He acts very suspiciously all throughout the investigation and the trial. He is the first to call up MonoTV to start voting after David’s reveal, he throws accusations quite liberally, his profile states he dislikes unpredictable people like Arei, the ball of clothes and even the missing glove being involved connects him to the method through his talent…

The main thing is the secret motive. Not only did Levi receive Arei’s, without the context Arei gave David and Teruko in the playground, it is widely speculated that Arei received Levi’s secret through sheer process of elimination. Won’t get into it here, many people have already talked about it, so just trust me bro.

Not to mention the whole “good person” fiasco. Essentially, Ch 2 has the title “All That Glitters”, with the secret title “A Good Person”. Clearly, put together you get “Not All That Glitters Is Gold” -> “Not All That Glitters Is A Good Person.”

And as far as I can tell, there are only a few people who have been referred to using the specific words “good person” in this chapter:

-Teruko: She dissuades Whit from calling her a good person because she’ll feel bad when she’s not.

-David: Hu calls him a good person right before his Ep 11 heel turn.

EDIT: I misremebered, the line is actually "good friend." Ah, oops.

-Eden: Levi calls her a good person in the beginning of the chapter.

-Arei: Says she will prove to Eden she can be a good person.

-Levi: Eden calls him a good person at the beginning of the chapter.

Hopefully I didn’t miss any.

You’ll notice the common thread is plot relevance in CH 2. Teruko’s the protag, David pushed the plot forward by getting people to reveal their secrets and also had his heel turn (EDIT: But he wasn't called a good person so), Eden has been a huge part of the chapter and she might be the killer, and Arei is the victim.

The outlier is Levi, which would suggest he’ll come to be plot relevant soon enough. I don’t think just getting his secret revealed would be enough to put him up there in importance with the most influential people in the entire chapter, so he’s probably heavily involved in the murder. And since I don’t think he’s the killer, accomplice it is, baby.

There is even a particular moment we can point to as the moment Levi may have given up on the group as a whole.

Levi: Why do I even bother?

Right after Ace refuses his help after almost getting murdered. And Eden’s right there.

Finally, his secret quote is “I always believed that a person is defined by their actions alone. But maybe that’s just a poor excuse for my heartlessness.” That’s interesting, because in this context, it could be he never believed Arei wanted to change, as her previous actions contradicted the words she said to Eden. But maybe that’s a poor excuse for his heartlessness, as Arei did want to change.

There’s more I could bring up, like the fun fact Levi’s profile states he likes suckers (candy) and Eden’s states she likes sweet things (that’s insanely circumstantial and confirmation bias-y, but sure I’ll bring it up), but I think venus and accirax may be wanting to make a narrative defense of the Levi!Accomplice theory, so I’ll leave it to them, since they’ll probably do better than I could. Lord knows they did better on Eden than me.

Not gonna lie I’m kinda making this so they can just link back here instead of the insanity train the original thread was-

Final Issues

No theory is perfect, and this one isn’t an exception. While I think the theory mostly covers all the evidence in the scene quite satisfactorily, the explanations for the BDA, the glove and the shape of the scuffed floor (but how do you explain that shape) are a bit shaky. There’s also a few awkward moments of timing and character’s actions, like the whole Ace almost-murder situation being sorta awkward with Eden’s presence in the second floor, and in particular that Arei apparently spent almost an entire day inside her room. That’s sorta gonna be an issue for everyone unless you believe Ace is lying about the day her conversation with David happened, which… okay, isn’t as insane as it sounds, read joe’s theory, but I still consider a bigger leap than simply assuming Arei took a real long nap.

And of course, as much as I’ve ignored it, it’s still insanely risky for Eden to work with an accomplice, and we have to assume Levi was willing to die and get everyone else killed just to get Eden out of there. I’ll try my best to explain how I think that could happen in the Closing Argument.

However, it’s all in all, in my opinion, not too bad. Everything is pretty physically plausible, there are narrative justifications for practically everything, and the few inconsistencies aren’t too large or obnoxious for me to consider damning. I’m still open to other theories, of course, but for now, this is the thing I believe.

So, now that we’ve established how I arrived at my conclusions, it’s time for what everyone’s been waiting for!

Closing Argument

Keep in mind character motivations and especially unseen dialogue could vary quite a lot. The main thing to take away is the actual method, everything else is sorta flavor text. This… really is a lot longer than it has any right to be. I kinda got carried away trying to show how I think the characters would act. Sorry.

I’ll mark with “>” the parts which are mostly just for spice, “~” the actually important parts, and just for fun I’ll add predictions to how the end of the trial will go with “+”.

I am extremely sorry if I mischaracterize anyone. I’m not good at writing dialogue, but I think it’s worth trying to give a better impression of what’s going on in my head.

(Days start counting after the start of CH 2)

Second Day, Afternoon

~Eden wanted to return home.

>Of course she did! Everyone did, in the killing game. She kept trying to look for ways to end it completely, and while she hadn’t found a good solution yet, she’d surely find it soon enough!

>But for now, they had to keep strong! And fight against the motive! David had suggested talking to the people whose secrets they’d all received so they could share it and ease tensions, and Eden thought it was a great idea! She went up to Arturo, and told him what she’d received about him.

>…

>She almost died.

>That was the only thing running through her mind as Arei got Arturo away. Eden had almost died, and if it weren’t for Arei, she most likely would have. A small desperation began to grow in her heart, longing to get out, get out, get out-

>Arei tried to talk to her, apologize for the things she’d said in the playground… but Eden couldn’t believe her.

>Arei had shouted in her face that Min’s death was her fault. Even if it was, to say it like that… Eden wanted to cry just thinking about the things Arei had said. Eden may have been nice, but she wasn’t naive. Someone like that could never be a good person.

>Still, a part of Eden wanted to give Arei the benefit of the doubt. So, she hugged her, told her how much it meant, and went on her merry way.

>But those doubts had firmly planted themselves in Eden’s mind. What if Arei was just manipulating her? What if Arturo attacked her again? Would someone as weak as her even be able to stand up to the killing game, when she couldn’t stand up against some bullies?

>Slowly, the gears in her mind started to turn. An idea was brewing, an idea which scared Eden to even think about, but one she was desperate enough to entertain.

>There was a way for her to end the killing game. By winning it.

>I mean what? No! Eden would never kill anyone! …

>But if she were to, hypothetically speaking, how would she go about it?

>By the second night, she didn’t know all the details, but she was going on autopilot, her body moving practically without her thinking. Just like she used to get lost in her work while making clocks, she was now beginning to get lost in the preparations for a murder.

>An accomplice, she would need an accomplice, if she wanted to do it. Probably something with the rope in the storage room, she was good with mechanisms. Maybe the railings on the playground, a pulley system… she needed a way to get the rope up there, and a way to secure the grip of her accomplice on the carousel.

>Hypothetically, of course.

Second Day, Almost Nighttime - Nighttime

~She went to the second floor, grabbed some of Hu’s and Teruko’s old clothes, and put them in the relaxation room to cover them in starch. She wanted to make a ball of clothes, it was the best way to get the rope over the railings.

~She also needed tape from the gym, the roll people used to replace the grippy tape on the pull-up bar when it got too sweaty.

~Slight issue: nighttime had begun, and there were still a few noises in the gym. Eden didn’t want to be caught doing anything too suspicious, so she decided to wait out until the noises stopped.

~Slightly bigger issue: Teruko arrived at the second floor, spotted her, and now Eden needed a cover story. She just told her she was looking for Hu’s and Teruko’s new clothes, sure, that works.

>Eden told Teruko her and Arei had made up, and asked if she wanted to pry. In retrospect, she wasn’t sure why she’d done that. If Teruko had heard the story of what Arei had said, she would just tell Eden what the uglier parts of her psyche were already telling her. That Arei was lying, trying to manipulate her. But maybe she wanted the confirmation, to justify to herself why she was thinking the thoughts which were running through her head.

(It’s almost tragic, really. If only Teruko had pried, maybe Eden would have learnt of Arei’s breakdown, and everything would have ended there)

~The two decided to head back to the first floor, and Eden figured she would just take the tape tomorrow-

~Oh shit, Ace got murdered.

>Seeing that convinced Eden. The killing game was too dangerous, when even the seemingly harmless Nico was able to do something so brutal to one of the strongest participants physically speaking. She had to get out, and now. She couldn’t disappoint her family, her friends, and her.

>So, she resolved to do something about it right after-

>Oh, hey, Ace wasn’t dead! That was… good. Even if he knocked Eden down to the floor when he woke.

~… And while she’s on the floor, she may as well pick up the tape she had come to retrieve.

~[Cue Ace running to kill Nico scene]

>Wow. Tensions were… really high. Ace had collapsed, and even then Teruko had just walked away as if nothing had happened.

>But Eden was more curious about something Levi had said. “Why do I even bother?” What had he meant by that? She decided to speak with him.

>…

>Levi had lost all hope.

>There was just no way to reason with the people of the killing game. All of them were erratic, nonsensical, unpredictable people. And he loathed unpredictability in people.

>None of them wanted to accept help when it was offered. None of them knew what the hell to do about anything, but refused to just be nice and patient with each other. Practically speaking, pretty much the only normal person around was-

>Oh, Eden wanted to talk to him. Sure, he could do that.

>Eden was checking in after the whole Ace fiasco. How nice of her.

>But after chatting for a while, Eden directed the conversation towards an encounter she’d had with Arei. She explained what the bowler had told her, looking for advice. She asked if Levi would believe Arei, seeking confirmation on whether or not she really could be trying to get better. And Levi...

>Levi was pissed.

>Because it was such an obvious lie. Such a horrendous attempt of manipulation. To try and take advantage of someone as nice as Eden, truly despicable.

>Eden seemed taken aback at his intensity, asking why he was so certain. Levi debated internally for a moment, before deciding Eden deserved the whole truth.

>"Blackmail, rumors, lying, stealing, slander. You did everything you could to ruin your sisters' lives." That was Arei's secret, the one Levi received.

>Eden looked horrified when Levi told her, and it seemed she agreed with what Levi was already thinking. After all, they both loved their family a lot, even if Levi had been disowned. Someone like Arei, who would do something so horrible to their own family, couldn't possibly be a good person. If Arei did all that to her own sisters, who's to say she wouldn't do the same to Eden?

(In retrospect, Levi would always regret jumping to conclusions. After it was all over, he would try to explain. “I always believed that a person is defined by their actions alone. But maybe that’s just a poor excuse for my heartlessness.”)

>And in all that anger, and hopelesness, and desperation... Eden revealed an idea. A very strange, almost outlandish idea. To help her out of the killing game.

>Levi wasn't a fool. He had seen how the group had handled the first trial. Eventually, someone was going to get away with murder, and that would be how the killing game would end. It was predestined.

>And if someone was going to win, it may as well be the kindest person in the group.

~He agreed.

Third Day, Noon

>Everyone was yelling, and Arei's stomach was twisting.

>Nico had tried to murder Ace. They hadn't outright admitted it, but Levi's and Ace's accounts were enough to get her to believe it.

>But she wasn't thinking so much about the incident itself, as much as she was thinking about what had caused it. The secrets. David's plan was backfiring massively...

>Except, maybe it wasn't. As she saw everyone arguing, the secret she had seen Whit receive flashed in her mind. David's secret. "You exist to manipulate others. Everyone else exists to be taken advantage of."

>Was he really that evil? Was he really trying to instigate a murder? Was anything he had ever said even true?

>Had he lied to her, too?

>...

>She didn't feel like speaking much that day. She'd rather go to her room, and contemplate. Maybe sleep for a while. Maybe lie in her bed, and maybe cry a bit.

>She didn't leave her room until it was time for dinner.

Third Day, Afternoon

>Ace was fucking pissed.

>Of course he was, he'd almost been murdered! By Nico of all fucking people! And now he couldn't even look the fucking gym without getting nervous, like the motherfucker would show up any time and finish the job!

>But it's not like that was gonna stop him from exercising. He wasn't a fucking coward, he wasn't afraid of Nico. (Or at least, he told himself that). So he'd train anyways! He'd raced on horses he was terrified of his whole life, a little exercise was nothing!

>Still, to his chagrin, he couldn't help but feel nervous whenever he heard any noises in the rest of the floor. Even the very light noise of the elevator felt like thunder in his ears. So when someone came down and started speaking, Ace couldn't help but overhear.

>Yet, the conversation was interesting. Arei was saying David had lied about his secret? This was worth hearing.

>Ace snuck in closer and listened in. Apparently David's secret was that he was a manipulative bastard, the dick. He had gone quiet when he heard that, too, so it must have been true.

>"David! Say something!"

>David went quiet for a bit, and then... Ace got bored.

>So what? David was an asshole, big deal. Breaking news, everyone! Every single participant in the killing game sucks dick and balls! Who could have seen that coming?! It wasn't anything Ace didn't already know. So he left. He didn't really feel like listening to David try to lie his way out of that. He just went back to the gym and stopped paying attention.

>Meanwhile, the conversation went on.

[THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN MOSTLY FOR FUN. I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW THIS CONVERSATION ACTUALLY WENT]

CW FOR AGGRESSIVE CONFRONTATION

>David was fucked.

>"I... I don't know what to say to that" David managed, covering his eyes with his hand. "It's... well... How do I put this?"

>"Just tell me, please. Did you lie to me?"

>"..." David sighed. A small, sad chuckle rose from his chest. "Yes. I'm sorry"

>"..."

>"I apologize for the false hope, Arei, but... people can't change" David continued. His head was firing off alarm bells, years of deception warning him not to continue, but he ignored them. "I have seen so many try. I have seen so many fail. In the end, there's no avoiding it. If you could improve yourself to be a better person, all that means is that you were a better person to begin with..."

>Arei fought back tears. "You're wrong"

>David had to stop himself from laughing in her face, but he couldn't help a sharp exhale. He would probably stop there, but... he had lied for so long, he almost wanted to speak what he actually believed for once. "No, I'm not. I'm the Ultimate Inspirational Speaker, Arei. If people could change, I would be the first to see it"

>"That's not- You can't be serious. Just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it can't happen!" Arei snapped.

>"Is that so?" David raised his voice, and glared at Arei. He smiled nervously. "Then tell me, Arei. Do you think I can change? That I can become better? Look at what I've done. I've lied for years, and now Ace has a permanent scar on his neck from the murder I almost caused!" He put a hand to his chest. He shouldn't be doing this, he shouldn't, but, but- "Do you really think people like me, like us, can ever be good?! If you do, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought"

>He didn't mean that. He didn't mean that. He didn't mean that. Why was he saying it?

>Arei snarled at him, her face growing red in anger. "You...." She took a breath, and her gaze grew defiant. "I'll prove you wrong. You're the idiot here. I will become good. I promised Eden I-"

>"Well, Xander promised he'd be my friend, and look where he is now!" he almost shouted. Why was he even thinking of him now? "Don't you see it? You're lying to yourself. That's the only thing to come from my speeches. Lies. And now you're repeating a degraded version, like it's gonna be any more true just because it's coming from your mouth!" He needed to stop. He- "Are you that arrogant, or did your sisters cause you permanent brain damage?!" What the fuck was he doing?!

>"..." Arei looked horrified, and angry.

>"You don't even believe it yourself, you hypochrite!" Stop! He smirked even wider. "Otherwise, why don't you go talk to your sisters, and get them to change?" She looked so sad, why was David doing this? He had to- He couldn't- It felt good to let it out- He felt horrible- Stop- He laughed. "Oh, right! You can't! Because you're a monster and destroyed their lives! And you, won't, change"

>"You-!" Arei shouted, and rushed forward to push him. Her heart clearly wasn't in it, but David retaliated and pushed her back.

>"Out of my way!" he snarled, and began walking out of the room. He couldn't- he wasn't thinking straight, he needed- he needed air, he needed out. Arei almost slipped into the pond, or maybe she did? David couln't tell anymore. His mind was a fucking mess and his only coherent thoughts were screaming at him to leave.

>Meanwhile, Arei was left alone, and hurt. She shouldn’t listen to an asshole like David, she knew that, but, but still…

>She didn’t have much of an appetite anymore. Maybe she’d just go back to bed.

CW OVER

~Later, Levi would arrive at the relaxation room to fill up two water jugs, making sure to get the fish. At the same time, Eden was discussing ways to end the killing game with Hu, securing an alibi for the time of the fish’s disappearance.

Third Day, Nighttime

~Levi and Eden met back up at the playground, and the preparations began. The materials they were working with included two pieces of rope (one longer, one shorter), the ball of sticky clothes Eden had prepared the night before, the tape Eden had taken from the gym, and the water jugs with the water and fish Levi had gathered.

~First step, with the tape from the gym, they covered the bars of the carousel, to have a better grip when they used the mechanism.

~Then, they grabbed the longer rope and put part of it through a few of the handlebars of the carousel, before tying one end to one of the handlebars.

~After that, they tied the other end to the ball of clothes, and Levi used his strength to throw it up above the railings. In doing so, he accidentally hit one of the lights with the clothes, displacing the lightbulb and causing it to flicker. Once it fell, he also threw it up to the railing in the middle, so the unused end of the longer rope would end up around where the seesaw was.

~Meanwhile, Eden tied one end of the shorter rope to the swing set near the carousel, leaving the other end unused for now.

~After removing the ball of clothes, they fashioned the untied end of the longer rope into an odd-looking “double noose”, with one of the nooses, the one closer to the end of the rope, tied around the handles of the water jugs.

~With all the preparations in place, they took the ball of clothes to the dress-up room, and Levi went to sleep. Eden wrote the note Arei would receive, telling her to meet in the playground at 7:30. Then she went to sleep as well.

Fourth Day, Morning

>Arturo was a fucking asshole, Arei decided from the moment she saw the note.

~Obviously Arei followed it, because she was trying to be friends with Eden.

>And as suspicious as the note was, there was no way Eden would betray her, right? If she did…

>…

>Well, Arei didn’t really want to think about it.

>She arrived at the playground, and… why was there so much rope around? Eden was standing near it, contemplating… a noose?

>Oh god.

>Arei didn’t even think. She rushed in and tried to stop Eden from doing-

~Levi, who had been hidden besides the door, attacked. He ambushed Arei from behind, and used his weight to pin her to the floor. Arei screamed and struggled, scuffing the floor around her, but she obviously wasn’t able to do anything to fight off Levi.

[Oh great more dialogue]

CW for emotional confrontation, feelings of betrayal and suicidal ideation.

>”What the fuck are you doing?! Eden, get him off me!”

>Eden looked downcast, her expression somber. She was evidently lost in thought. “I’m sorry it has to be this way”

>Arei didn’t get it.

~Levi grabbed Arei’s hands, and roughly pulled out her glove to better get the tape around her wrists. This was to make sure she didn’t struggle too much after the process began.

>”Hey! Eden! What’s going on?! I thought we were friends!”

>”As if. We’re not that naive” Levi spat from behind her, and she could practically feel that murderous edge he always used when threatening Ace.

>”Huh?! What are you talking about, you-?!”

>”I’m sorry, Arei. I just can’t believe you” Eden spoke softly, fidgeting with her hands. She grabbed the noose, which weirdly had- wait. “I know you’re lying to me. You don’t have to keep pretending you like me”

>…

>Arei’s entire world crumbled in that moment.

>”H-Huh?! Wait, I- I never lied to you! I want- I wanted to be friends-!”

>”Don’t lie” Levi snarled. “We know what your secret is. What you’ve done to your sisters. I can’t believe you. You know, actions define people, and you have been nothing but terrible your whole life”

>Eden bent down to put the noose around Arei’s neck. Because of course, of course it was a fucking noose. Eden hesitated, however.

>”Don’t fall for her crocodile tears, Eden” Levi warned. Oh, Arei was crying? News to her.

>”R-Right” Eden said, putting the noose around Arei’s neck. Eden then positioned herself to pin Arei down herself as Levi stepped off and went towards the carousel.

>”Eden, please… please don’t listen to him! Don’t be scared of him! I’ll beat him up for you, just-!”

>”I’m not- I’m not scared of Levi” Eden frowned.

>”But- But, he’s a murderer without remorse!” Levi stopped in his tracks. “That’s his secret, Eden! I received it! Do you really want to help someone like that?!”

>Eden seemed to hesitate for a moment, but shook her head, and looked at Arei with glassy eyes, smiling nervously. “I mean… I- I can’t really judge him for that. I… I was the one who came up with this idea, you know”

>…

>Huh.

>So there really was no point, then.

>David didn’t believe in her. Eden didn’t believe in her. Fucking Eden. And now, even the nicest person in the entire killing game had decided Arei deserved to die.

>…

>Arei stopped struggling after that.

CW OVER, mostly. There’s still references to suicide after this point.

(God I really hope I’m not horrendously mischaracterizing these people)

~Levi begun to spin the carousel, which worked as a pulley that started dragging Arei up. As he spun it, he likely had to adjust it slightly so it wouldn’t slide off the wrong way, hence why he needed to be able to better grip all the handlebars instead of putting tape on just one. [I don’t know if that made sense]

~As the rope started pulling up, Eden stepped aside and ran over to the carousel.

~Levi stopped spinning it once Arei was high enough, and Eden attached the unused end of the shorter rope to the carousel.

~Eden grabbed hold of the carousel, and Levi ran out of the room.

~Now, neither of them had thought of asking MonoTV how to determine the blackened in the case of an accomplice being in play, so they took all the steps necessary to make sure Eden would be the blackened.

~She was the one to put the rope around Arei’s neck, she had been the one to come up with the murder plan, and she was the last person holding her up. Levi running out of the room was extra insurance: how could he be the blackened if he wasn’t even a witness to the crime? However, the final trick would ensure Eden would get the title of blackened.

~Eden let go of the carousel, and gravity made it spin as Arei fell. It spun for only a little bit, however, as the shorter rope soon fully tensed, and stopped the carousel in its tracks. Because of the height Arei fell, as well as the extra weight from the water jugs, her neck snapped in the moment the shorter rope tensed. At the same time, the handles from the water jugs snapped, and they fell to the floor.

~With this, it could be argued the act which caused Arei’s death was the letting go of the carousel, for which Levi wasn’t even present, meaning Eden was indubitably the blackened.

~And when it was all said and done, there was one fact which stood. Because of the strength the mechanism had required, Eden could not have possibly done it all alone. Unless the class somehow figured out she had an accomplice, just the strength necessary for the act would rule her out, give her an alibi. That is the reason behind the complexity of the murder.

~After that, Levi came into the room, fulfilling another nice benefit. Because he hadn’t technically witnessed the murder, he counted as a “body discoverer” for BDA purposes.

~The last step was setting up the scene as we saw it. The fish they spread around would confuse the time of death and give Eden an alibi, and hanging Arei from the swing set would make people initially believe she had committed suicide. Levi had to be the one to do that, as Eden was too weak and short, adding an extra layer of misdirection.

~”What if I just take her glove?” Levi asked.

>”Eh?”

>”I could take her glove, and then if someone spots me with it, they’ll vote me out and you’ll win” Levi explained.

>”That’s… kinda silly, isn’t it?”

>”…”

>”… Okay, sure”

>”Very well” Levi nodded sagely. Eden remained very confused.

~They took the longer tape and hid it under the carousel, then threw the tape which had been on Arei’s wrists and the jugs in the trash, as well as the note after ripping it up a bit.

~With that, they left to go see the supposed announcement of the motives.

Investigation

>Pretending to be surprised at Arei’s absence wasn’t as hard as Eden thought it would be. Just make a horrified face and say nothing, easy!

>Eden knew the BDA would still play if just Whit and Teruko discovered the body, which is why she wasn’t nervous when Teruko first asked her and Whit to go search for Arei together. Still, she second guessed herself just as Teruko swung the door open, because she would be in big trouble if the BDA didn’t play. Thankfully for her, it did, as Levi had already “discovered” it before. Honestly, it was pretty good luck (and bad luck on Teruko’s part) that Eden got to be part of the “discovery group.”

>On the side, David looks at how the body was positioned, and instantly knew what had happened. “Of course. Of course this would happen” he muttered. Arei killed herself because of him. What a monster he was.

~After pretending to be sad about Arei’s death for a moment, Eden offered to investigate with “braincell haver” Teruko, but got shut down. So instead, she joined Rose and Whit as they put together the note in the trash, to make sure they got it right. It was an important part of the plan, after all.

>Levi just went to look at the secrets because he didn’t really have to do anything specific.

Trial

>When people begun discussing the possibility of Arei helping her killer, Levi thought it would be a good way to misdirect the cast, so he started pushing the idea. Though with the slight freudian slip of saying Arei may have been her own “accomplice.”

>On the side, David held his tongue. Once MonoTV revealed the condition to be the blackened was that you were “someone alive who we can blame for her death”, any doubt dissipated in his mind. He had caused her to commit suicide, he could be blamed for her death. And he was the blackened, then.

>However, Eden needed to go against the idea of suicide, because she was supposed to sell the idea they had been friends once the note was revealed.

>When that happened, they had agreed Levi would push on the idea that Eden was the killer a bit, to “force” her to explain the note she wanted to explain anyways.

>Levi also added he’d protect Eden no matter what, but Eden responds “Don’t say stuff like that.” To the others, that was because Eden was worried Levi would end up like Arei. To Eden and Levi, it was a subtle way of saying ‘shut up and don’t link us together!’

~Eden explained the note, making sure to act like she was very distraught by the situation and genuinely believed Arei had wanted to change.

~She also provided a “handwriting sample” to look more innocent, but she intentionally wrote it in print instead of cursive to separate it from the note. Somehow, no one noticed.

>Meanwhile, David was starting to break down. She really had been trying to change, but the naive idiot had believed in David. And nothing good happens to those who believe in him.

>What a reprehensible killer indeed.

>But David’s breakdown was having an impact on Eden, who begun to think that maybe, just maybe, she had been wrong about Arei.

>She was in too deep, though. She needed to continue. She couldn’t turn back the clock now.

>When David is accused of everything, he decides he might as well enjoy the last of his life, of his killing game. He breaks down the same way he did when Arei confronted him, becoming insulting and dismissive to prevent any vulnerability from showing through. The words he said, he believed for the most part, but the smile on his face as he said them was perhaps his biggest lie yet.

>In other news, that’s pretty convenient for the murder duo! If they can just get David voted out, then…

~But that wouldn’t happen. Not if Teruko and Charles had something to say about it.

Chapter 2, Part 2

[This is just for fun]

+Charles realized the trick of the time of death, and the cast decided to start speaking of the murder method.

+After a bit of discussion (where Eden was surprisingly helpful!), they realized the murder would require inordinate strength, and they start pointing the finger at Levi.

+The secrets are revealed then, as some have realized what most of the remaining ones were. David deduced Hu must have the “hopeless child” secret, Teruko deduced Veronika must have the “self-harm” secret, Veronika in turn figured Teruko must have the “dead family” secret (that wasn’t hers, but it still applied to her life, so they didn’t question it too much. David bit his tongue), and… well, they somehow realize the “poison” secret must be Min’s.

+As Levi’s secret is narrowed down, he finally admits.

+He takes the glove from his pocket, and dramatically confesses: “I… I killed Arei”

+All going according to plan!

+The voting time is almost about to happen, but Veronika pipes in. She wants to talk about the Ace case for some reason, and while Teruko tries to deny her, the horror fanatic throws the luckster’s own words against her. “The more cases we solve, the better we’ll be at solving them in the future!”

+Reluctantly, Nico starts speaking about what they did. It was… an odd sequence, but it wasn’t too wild.

+Except, Rose pointed out something odd. What happened to the tape?

+Nico says it was still on the floor when they left. Rose says it’s impossible. Eden’s getting nervous.

+And Teruko goes dead quiet, as she runs the math again in her head.

+The lockdown… the lockdown meant no one should have been able to take the tape during nighttime… MonoTV claimed it wasn’t the one to take it… and she knew neither Ace or herself had taken it… so… It must have been taken by…

+”Teruko?” someone asked, but she wasn’t listening. It was clear now…

+She couldn’t resist the maniacal laughter that escaped her, as the adrenaline of realizing how close they’d gotten to dying (scratch that, she wouldn’t have died, but the others might have), and she realized she was right. She couldn’t trust anyone.

+The others looked at her in concern, but she just explained the simple truth.

+It was chaos. No one wanted to believe it. But the more they thought about it, more questions arose. Why would Levi make such a complex mechanism, when he could have just killed Arei in a much simpler way?

+Whit had an idea. He asked Levi which direction Arturo had ran after leaving the infirmary. And Levi answered wrong. He hadn’t listened on the conversation, then. It would be impossible for him to write the note. Charles further verified by asking Levi and Eden to spell “responsible”. Levi spelt it right, Eden spelt it wrong. “Responsibel”, the same misspelling as the note.

+There was a scrum debate, people went crazy, but in the end. They arrived at the answer, and voted for Eden.

+It was right.

+They asked for further clarification and Eden admitted everything which had led to her decision.

+”I feel terrible. Arei really was… I should have believed her. But- But, at that point, when I finally realized the truth, it was too late” Eden explained. “I wish I hadn’t done it, I want to go back… but time only moves forward. You can’t go back, no matter how hard you try”

+She hugged Teruko one last time, pleading she wouldn’t close herself off even further. But Teruko wasn’t having it. She asked MonoTV she was using a MonoCredit to get Eden away from her.

+And MonoTV obliged, starting the execution right that moment. [Credit for the idea to venus and accirax]

~This was the truth. A tragic misunderstanding, a horrible mistake. Call it whatever you want, one thing remains the same. The blackened of the case, who committed the crime with the help of Levi Fontana, the Ultimate Personal Stylist, was none other than Eden Tobisa, the Ultimate Clockmaker!

…

And right before dying, Eden reveals the name of the girl she had kissed was Mai Akasaki-

Conclusion

Yeah, this was longer than it really had to be, but I had fun writing it. This will probably be the last post I make about this case, at least until CH 2 Part 2 comes out. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, hope time only brings you good things! Take care!

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #fanganronpa #drdt theory #eden tobisa #levi fontana #arei nageishi #drdt spoilers

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waterb0ttlebitch · 19 hours

Text

Ok so this is a creepy story and I would like to talk about it here. So I don't forget it.

So I live near this forest. Like it's really close by and the only thing between the humans on this side and the things and trees on the other side is this old ass fence, it's not even that good of a fence it's literally just like a metal fence you can cut it easily and like you can dig under it. It's not that strong. I've seen like a gap between the ground and the fence under which a whole adult human could fit and shit.

So Im kinda heavy and I wanna reduce weight so I decide it's a good idea to walk around d yes,so I go on grab my ear buds and my phone. And I'm a paranoid as fuck person so I grab my knife and like have it in my sweater pocket and and ready to flip out and shit and there's also a dog problem in my area so everyone going walking does so in groups or they just carry a stick with them.

So I grab my stuck, and have my earbuds in listening to music, today tada da what ever and I start walking.

Mind you I'm walking on the road RIGHT NEXT to the forest

I stamp on a snail and I'm sorry so I say sorry to it. And not even 5 secs later I walk and there's this dog barking and me being scared even tho I have a stick, I turn around and the dog starts following me but it's following weirdly so I slowly down and it goes ahead of me so I'm like ok and I turn around and walk the way I was originally walking and I do so for like 5 mins I reach the end of the road thing.

And like I already did not have my ear buds in so no music shit and my phones in my pocket and ready to call someone if needed. Mind you I'm already a paranoid person and I am walking alone and it's barely bright like around 6 in the morning.

Here's where it gets creepy.

Throughout the whole walk there are almost no birds chirping.

Like I had come here 3 days in a row.this was the 4th day. And there's always bids chirping, I just brushed it off.

Me being the dumb bitch I am made some bird noises (more like whistles) and I got a thought in my head.if human can mimic bird noises what if there's something out there that can mimic human noises?

Wheni get to the end of the trail I get this chill run down my back. I kid you not this was hone chilling and I'm a very aware person. I have desent reflexes so I start swing my stick quiet violently to make myself calm and my knife is ready to stab if neaded.

I had to walk alllll the way home with this fucking chilling feeling. It was fucking horrifying.

I get home and I forgot about it cuz my mom m makes fucking delicious food and it's dinner time and I tell my mom this.

I shit you not, her next words made me want to puke.

The forest has another side where there runs this highway where people go around and this highway was apparently rek own to druggists as they would just escape into the forest if they felt threatened.

The next morning me and ma went to the other side to like have a fun ride and shit. There was a truck just sitting there with no one inside it and it has apparently crashed into the rails of the other side of the forest by the looks of it. And the trail from that side lead straight to my side of the forest. Mind you this is like a HUGE forest.

Makes me wonder if that chilling feeling was mentioned actually being stalked by someone who was an escaped druginst.

#my mom lore #kris's krisis #being desi #desi academia #desi tag #desi blog #desi teen #aesthetic #desi aesthetic #desi culture #desi tumblr #aes #creepycore #creepy aesthetic #what the fuck

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shinjisdone · 1 year

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I read your rules, and I think it says you are still taking them as atm. Discard if not the case. Prompt: "I'd burn the world and everything in it for you" Yandere Link, dealers' choice for which. :)

I really tried to find a Link who could fit the prompt...and while I think BotW Link could be like that, I also caved in cuz I REALLY REALLY love him '//•~•//

Also felt a bit sassy and added in a bit of a background very similiar to my oc but tried to keep it rather neutral too (◕‿-)

TW: Yandere behavior, clinginess, Link kinda gives reader orders lowkey, people are mentioned to get hurt, selfish behavior, stubborn and selfish Link, non-consensual kiss

Yandere! Breath of the Wild! Link

Yandere Prompt 1.) "I'd burn the world and everything in it for you."

This morning your mind refused to really focus and actively be here in the world.

Even the galloping of his horse seemed dull no matter how fast he ushered it to go. Mindlessly you followed him up the mount, sitting behind him, Link telling you to hold on tight and so you did. Yesterday did not do you well.

Again, your mind wandered there. The scene was so vivd in the moonlight and the night had seemed to stretch as you both went back home. 'Home' it was, the small little shack in Hateno that was still in the middle of many needed restorations and Link was so motivated to let it all happen, spending all the rupees needed to transform it into your home - he had asked you what you wanted - flowers, a garden, a stable, the colors and shapes - and yet it all went down the drain recently. Link stopped investing.

"...What's wrong?" Link looked over his shoulder as your hands absent-mindedly let go of his waist. His voice was meek. "Oh, nothing," You quickly shook your head and he asked you to hold on tighter on him. "...Say, how are you doing?" The young man looked at you, his light blue eyes softening for a moment before he faced the road again. "I'll be fine." He let out.

Link began speaking his mind less and less, you noted. He wasn't like that when you met him.

The forced smile on your face vanished and you made sure to wrap your arms around his waist tighter. Your friend would stop, collect some more things - food, ingredients, weapons, items - before heading off faster and faster and further to the coast of Hyrule.

"Where are we even going?" You finally asked and Link ignored you yet again. Kakariko was just a hill down and the dirty blonde was set on visiting even this late at night - that's what you assumed.

"Stay here." He whispered as he quickly changed his clothes to something dark. With bated breath and worry, fidgeting in your place but not courageous enough to disobey him, you watched as Link sneaked down and began taking the crops, food and clothes out of people's shacks. It was only a matter of time before one local noticed the smallest of noises and began yelling at the intruder - not realizing it was Master Link, the chosen hero as they brought their pitchfork. Cold blue eyes snapped at them and with a swift move, the local fell on the ground, unconcious.

You panicked, gasping as he returned and grabbing onto him to slow him down, "Link!" You breathlessly let out as the rest of the village woke up. Ignoring you once again he grabbed you, hoisted you up on the horse and fled.

Fingers twitched as you held onto the rails and pulled them back once you were out of sight. The horse brayed and stopped, causing both of you to stumble.

"Link! What was that?! What's gotten into you?!"

He tried to have you sit back on the horse yet you refused.

"These are our friends! The entirety of Kakariko trusts you!"

You watched something shift in his gaze and his lips were a thin line.

"We're leaving." You almost blurted out a confused noise and your face scrunched up.

"Leave where to?"

"We're leaving Hyrule." Link was blunt even as his gaze had shifted as he saw the look on your face. Your lips were pressed into a thin line, eyes widened as you understood what he meant. "Link", you started with a measured tone, "You can't go. We may have come this far but we aren't done. Everyone here needs you."

"I don't need them." He felt couragous enough to finally bark out his frustrations - yet as he stomped forward to grip your arms, his eyes softened. Softened in the way whenever he was able to recall a distant memory, a past long-forgotten by those who used to know him. You were there when he remembered each little piece of his past and you were especially there for him when he shed tears at the very last one. "I just need you." You both frowned and you feared that Link would start crying again. His grip tightened and you tried to ignore the pain.

"This isn't right." Nevertheless, you tried to stir him back to the right path. "Everything is still in shambles. We need to fix it." "For whom? Everything is already in shambles, no one remembers me. Those who did are gone. Now...I only have you."

There was a thought in your head, a very obvious fact but for his sake you bit your tongue. Holding his arms in return, you forced him to look at you in the eye and spoke sternly. To finally, finally get it into his head. Hoping that what had happened last night would not deter him.

"What about the princess? She saved you, she is protecting everyone right now, she remembers you still. And now she is waiting for you." There - you can clearly see through him and through his glare. Link's mind shifts to long, golden hair while he attempts to surpress the fact that she suffered as much as he did - he could recall that well. Yet he wanted his selfishness to win still. "I remember her." He spat, "Remember an envious princess who despised my destiny as much as I did. I don't want it anymore."

"Link, please-"

"I don't want it! I just want you!"

Finally, you couldn't take it anymore.

"You are the hero! You must save the world!"

Hands still gripping your arms, he lowly leaned on you before shaking his hanging head slowly. Staying still for a few moments more, you feared he wouldn't answer you anymore and stubbornly follow his selfish wish anyway.

Still shaking his head, Link slowly lifted it to stare into your eyes - his were drunkily narrowed, eyebrows down with a crooked grin, looking like he wanted to cry.

"I'd burn the world and everything in it for you."

Again, your breath hitched as it did the night before as Link left helpless travelers to their demise to monsters, simply because they refused to help you while they could and he was dragging you to safety.

Whimpers escaped your throat as he rushed towards you, pressing his calloused lips thinly against yours.

You vivdly remembered that he said the exact same words to you that night as well but you desperately tried to delude yourself of such a possibility. That the chosen hero you were supposed to help turned out to be a selfish, suffering man who found solace in your existence when everyone forgot his.

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jungle-angel · 2 years

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It Takes A Village To Catch A Menace (Rhett Abbott x Reader)

Summary: You and Rhett adore your kids, but once they’re turned loose with their cousins, they give everybody a run for their money

Tagging: @rhettabbotts Shelby, I hope you’re doing ok. I know things have been kinda rough but I thought this might give you a good laugh and cheer you up a bit

No one could have asked for a better day than this, the threat of a long, hot summer approaching from around the corner and the Dutton Land near to bursting with the new life of spring. So many animals had been born as soon as spring hit, mostly from the cattle, but to everyone’s surprise, even the bison hadn’t slacked in the procreation department. Everyone was reeling with excitement when it was discovered that a white calf had been born to a female in Felix Long’s herd, a highly auspicious sign in everyone’s eyes.

Rhett, Rip and Kayce leaned against the wood rails of the paddock fence, watching the little calf graze with its mother, the cow clipping the grass and the little one sneaking in to nurse every so often.

“It’s gonna be a good year, that’s for sure,” Rip remarked, pushing his aviators back up onto his nose.

“Herds are doing great, land’s nice and green,” Rhett added. “Couldn’t ask for better.”

“Yeah and in two weeks, you and I are gonna be uncles again,” Rip chuckled.

“Because THAT horn dog over there couldn’t keep it in his pants!” Rhett laughed, pointing to Kayce.

“Fuck all o’ ya’ll and the horses you rode in on,” Kayce retorted.

Rhett laughed but deep down, he knew Kayce and Monica deserved it. Sure, they had Tate, but after one rough ride, Monica had given birth to Jake, their precious little rainbow baby and Felicity after that. Now, another little girl would be entering the family in just a few weeks. There wasn’t a day that went by where you and Rhett hadn’t kept the family in your prayers, grateful for the lifelong bond you all shared with one another.

The three men kept talking away, hardly noticing the smaller footsteps traipsing through the grass behind them. Rhett, Rip and Kayce turned to find Tatum and Tanner, yours and Rhett’s twin boys, Rip’s son Joey and Kayce and Monica’s little boy, Jake, running through the grass with something in their hands.

“Whatcha got there boys?” Rhett asked them.

“Nothin,” the four little boys chirped.

Rhett, Rip and Kayce all looked at each other, knowing that nothing usually meant something.

“I’m gonna ask ya’ll one more time,” Rhett warned them. “What’ve ya’ll got in your hands?”

“There’s a wasp nest in the tree daddy,” Tatum chirped.

“Yeah, a big one,” Tanner added.

“And we’re gonna burn it off the branch,” Joey proudly declared, holding up one of John’s cigar lighters.

Rhett, Kayce and Rip were suddenly overcome with a look of fear on their faces, almost as though each one had just shit themselves.

“Uh oh,” Tatum said meekly, noticing the look on his father’s face.

“HAND THAT SHIT OVER!!!!”

“NO!!!!!”

The four little boys took off into the grass, their fathers all hot at their heels as they leapt over the pasture fences and chased them around one tree after another.

You and Beth had just come out onto the front porch of the main house, coffee mugs in hand, ready to relax and enjoy the morning before helping Monica with whatever she needed. All of a sudden, you heard the shouts of small children and three grown men coming up behind them.

“Oh my God, what did they get into now?” Beth chuckled.

“Well, I noticed at least three cans of hairspray and your dad’s cigar lighter was missing,” you answered.

Beth almost choked and spat out her coffee. “Why the fuck do they even have that?!”

“One of life’s great mysteries I guess.”

You and Beth fought the urge to chase your sons through the yard, letting their fathers try and catch them for once. John’s heavy footsteps came up beside you, his gaze fixed on the sight before him. “Anybody have any idea where my good cigar lighter went?” he asked.

“Why don’t you ask your devil grandchildren Dad,” Beth answered.

John laughed and shook his head when a loud curse from Rip reached his ears. “I’m gettin way too old for this shit,” he chuckled before pulling his phone from his pocket and hitting the record-video button on his camera.

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

“C’MERE YA LITTLE SHITHEADS!!!!” Rhett bellowed as he, Rip and Kayce charged across the grass towards the barns.

“No we need it!!!” Tatum yelled back.

“BULLSHIT!!!”

Teeter and Avery leaned out the window of the loft where they had been stacking haybales all morning. ”What the fuck are them lil goat turds doin now?” Teeter questioned, adjusting the Astros cap on her head.

“No idea but by the looks on their faces, I’d say it’s not good,” Avery answered.

“SOMEBODY HELP US CATCH THESE DAMN KIDS!!!” echoed Rhett’s voice.

“Ight, let’s go git’em,” Teeter sighed climbing through the trapdoor and down the ladder. “Them idjits have suffered enough.”

Teeter and Avery headed down into the main stables where three of the other ranch hands were busy feeding the horses. “The fuck’s all that yellin about?” Lloyd asked.

“Them lil skunk-herd motherfuckers are at it again,” Teeter answered. “Ya’ll got the oversized feedin sacks?”

Colby tossed her one and Jimmy took another before giving one to Avery. “What’re ya’ll doin with those?” Lloyd questioned.

“Gonna go and catch’em,” Teeter answered before sticking her gum behind her ear.

“Well, if ya’ll are goin, I’m goin too,” Lloyd chuckled. “I ain’t missin this shitshow.”

Teeter led the way and the ranch hands all hurried to the other end of the pasture, blocking off the only escape route the boys had a hope of taking to outrun their fathers.

“Keep’em steady boys!” Teeter ordered.

The kids came charging over the hill with Rhett, Kayce and Rip still on their heels, clutching the cans of hairspray and the lighter as if their lives depended on it. In a split second, each one of them tumbled right into the feed sacks, the hands closing them right up as they wriggled and squirmed inside.

“Thanks guys,” Rhett blurted out, completely out of breath as he took one of the sacks that had a twin inside of it. “We owe ya’ll one.”

“You don’t owe us shit,” Lloyd told him. “Here, c’mon, bring’em back to the bunkhouse, I’ll make damn sure they’ve got the fear of God in’em for this one.”

Rhett, Rip and Kayce followed them all back to the bunkhouse, hoping that this time the boys would learn their lesson.

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

“Are you shitting me?” Thomas Rainwater laughed as he watched the video John had pulled up on his phone.

“No, wait, it gets better,” John told him.

Thomas laughed and shook his head as he heard the loud curses and Beth’s remark. Mo tried to hide his laughter too, but it was no use. Neither of them cared who in that office saw them or heard them. It was just too funny to look away from.

“I take it they went down to the fire station?” Thomas asked him.

“Nope,” John replied. “Didn’t have to do that. Lloyd took’em aside and showed’em what’ll happen if they do it again.”

Thomas and Mo each made a face knowing that Lloyd’s tactics, as unorthodox as they were, would at least stick with the boys for a long time.

“Well,” Mo sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Maybe there’s an advantage to all this.”

“You’re damn right Mo,” John said. “There’s definitely an advantage.”

“And what might that be?” Thomas asked him.

“If that bitch, Caroline Warner, ever comes onto the property again and tries to pry the land out of our hands, we’ll just sick the grandkids on her,” John explained. “Odds are no land developers will ever come back.”

“Truth be told, I like those odds,” Thomas grinned.

#outer range #yellowstone #rhett abbott #rhett abbott x reader #rip wheeler #kayce dutton #rip x beth #kayce x monica #lloyd pierce #thomas rainwater #john dutton

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samwrites-stuff · 4 months

Text

"Wishing on a Star."

"I miss you..."

Kim Taehyung softly said, while he was staring at the night sky. He just finished work earlier and found himself walking up the stairs towards the rooftop. He leaned on the silver railing, which shined below the luminating stars.

He wore a thin white collared shirt underneath a black coat with black slacks and black loafers. He looked like a guy who had just come back from a date, but the girl stood him up.

His eyes scanned the skies like he was looking for something, something that he had been longing for since that night. They glowed like the stars above him as tears started to swell up in his eyes.

And then, finally, his eyes landed on a star. A star, which he thought was the most beautiful one in the sky tonight. A star, which reminded him of a person he lost a few years ago.

"I wish.. I could have you back..."

He blurted out without even thinking.

Time passed by, and now the sun switched places with the moon. Taehyung fell asleep on the wooden chair by the silver railings last night.

He woke up and felt the autumn breeze brush against his cheeks. The leaves started to fall one by one, from the trees. All around, orange is all he could see.

"It's a nice morning to jog."

He thought to himself.

The wooden chair creaked as Taehyung stood up. He went down the stairs to his room so he could change his clothes.

He closed the door of his room behind him. He is now wearing a white shirt and black shorts. He added a black hairband around his head to complete the outfit. After putting on his shoes, he reached for the golden door knob of his home, turned it, and went outside.

"Truly, it's a good day..."

He thought.

After 15 minutes of jogging, Taehyung was about to turn around and return home when he noticed a vintage looking shop that had a big red sale poster on its front window.

He hesitated for a bit, but remembered that special someone who has always wanted to visit authentic shops like this.

Taehyung smiled weakly. He can still remember how she begged whenever they passed by these kinds of shops.

"Tae, let's go there! They have a sale!! Oh, please, please, I'll do anything you want after this."

She pleaded.

He sighed and then proceeded to enter the shop. There, he saw lots of old, vintage pieces that probably many collectors would buy and display in special glass cases.

Taehyung walked around until he reached one corner of the store. There, he noticed a small, dark, golden box on a bookshelf in between some dusty, old books. He picked it up and saw that it was covered with dust as well too. He blowed all the dust off the box and realized that it actually had a lighter shade of gold. There were star engravings on the top of it that looked like they were glowing. It made him want to open the box.

When he opened it, he saw some fairy lights inside, now illuminating the corner where he stood. They kinda looked like the star he wished upon last night.

Without any hesitation, he went to the counter, where an old man was sitting, waiting for Taehyung to return.

"I'll take this one, please."

He said while he reached for the wallet in his pocket.

"Nice choice, young man. I believe... You truly need the magic it hides within."

The old guy said cheerfully.

He noticed Taehyung's confusion on his face, and so the old guy added:

"I see it in your eyes. They were just like mine."

Taehyung didn't know what to respond, and so he just paid for it, bowed, and reached for the package. The old guy placed it on a brown paper bag.

Later that night, he decided to put the fairy lights around his room, specifically on the ceiling.

He felt tired, and so, he plopped down on his bed. While lying down, staring at his ceiling, he admired the fairy lights that he bought. He tried to fall asleep, but he just couldn't.

Just then, he noticed one bulb of the fairy lights, which started almost shining 10 times brighter than the others.

"Eh?"

He got curious, and so he stood up on the bed to get a closer look at what's happening to the bulb. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Reaching out his hands while raising his toes, he tried to reach the bulb and attempted to fix it by twisting it from left to right and then right to left.

"Hey, Sis! Look at this. It's getting kinda weird..."

He called out from his room. His little sister was just staying in the other room, just in front of his.

Kim Taeyeon, his sister, entered his room, a little annoyed.

"Yah.. What is it again? Ugh." "Taehyung-oppa? Eh?"

She gasped, noticing that his brother wasn't in the room.

"I was sure he was here! Aish, he's teasing me again..."

She stamped her feet, then ran out of his room.

Little did she know, Taehyung really did vanish from his room that night.

-------

Taehyung tried to open his eyes, but it was super bright. He tried to stand, but his legs were super wobbly. It seemed like he had just woken up from a deep slumber.

"Taeyeon is overacting again. She opened all the lights AGAIN. Such a scaredy-cat. That's what she gets for liking horror films too much."

He thought while he tried to walk and reach for the light switch with his eyes half-opened.

After taking about three steps, he tripped and started falling down...

From a cloud?

"Oh... my... gosh? AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

He was about to fall through another cloud when a girl suddenly grabbed his shirt and tried to pull him up.

"Aigoo, so heavy..."

She gasped.

Taehyung looked up.. and saw an angel. Well, for him, she looked like an angel, with her wings fluttering in the wind. The next thing he noticed was her smile, a very familiar one, a smile that he had been longing to see, for too long. It's the only smile that can make Taehyung forget his name.

"Hey there. Guess you still don't know how to use these wings of yours, huh?"

She said sweetly while pointing his wings.

"Sam??!!"

I grabbed her hand tightly and then started sobbing.

"I thought.. I thought I've lost you forever..."

Taehyung said in between words while now hugging her so firmly, crying on her shoulders.

Unbeknownst to him.. The fairy light he bought in the vintage shop was whimsically authentic. They were made from real stars. Mixed with fairy tears, it created a talisman that can transport anyone into a different kind of world.

Where humans live on stars..

Where humans could relive a wish, one wish that anything their little hearts mostly desires.

"I missed you too, Taehyungie..."

She replied, while tears began to fall from her eyes as well.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Taehyung shyly asked.

"Anything, my love."

She chuckled when she noticed his shyness.

"Could you maybe... Teach me how to fly?"

He laughed while wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"えがく story かなうように wishing on a star... "

(The story that we paint, I'll be wishing on a star so that it comes true...)

#one shot story #samwrites-stuff #sam.writes #wishing on a star #story #short story #bts #kim taehyung #v #Spotify #fantasy #romance #drama #stories

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rainiishowers · 2 years

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Hi your highness! I was wondering if I could request Headcanons of the brothers reacting to mammon bonding with his familiars and his familiars involving themselves in his day to day life? ( for example: his crows like to bring his shiny trinkets in the morning, and his ravens like to talk to him through his time outside ect.)

A/N: Accidentally made it angsty when I wanted it to be fluffy whoops Also kinda went off the rails lmao Short Story

Seeing Mammon with his crows or ravens were common, they often came to him to report on something, or they are just looking for attention. They gift the second eldest with a lot of trinkets and some days stick with him while the brothers are walking to RAD. Soon enough, they started to involve themselves in his daily life, not that Mammon minded, his familiars made life a lot less lonely ever since MC has left to the human world.

Reactions

Lucifer

Being the every observant brother he is, noticed that Mammon often stayed behind a bit while they walked to RAD, talking with his crows or ravens

It didn’t take a genius to notice, but Lucifer also noticed he was a lot happier when with his birds.

It wasn’t just because they gave him a lot of stuff, that was certainly one factor though

Mammon talked to them about the most obscure things and he notices that when the brothers ignore him or he isn’t being listened to, he goes to talk to his crows

One day, it was after school and he hasn’t seen Mammon, and a council meeting to wrap up the day was starting soon

He goes to find him and notices Mammon was in an empty classroom, talking to one of his ravens that got in through the window.

“..I miss the old Lucifer, the one who was an actual brother, ya know? But I’m stuck with this prideful arrogant piece of shit, who punishes me for acting on my sin when he doesn’t do that to the others.”

His eyes widen and his breath hitches

The old him?

“I almost regret followin’ him in that war..”

He lets out an audible gasp but was quick to turn away to not raise any suspicion.

That certainly gave him a lot to think about..

Leviathan

He could understand having familiars, he had Lotan

But he noticed that he was talking to them a lot ever since MC left, and has been a lot more attached, which made him jealous

One evening, he as going Mammon’s room to call him for dinner

He heard conversation and couldn’t help but lean into hear

“I wanna have a good relationship with Levi, ya know? But I can’t have that because we are so at odds with each other.. Heh.. Guess thousands of years of debt will do that to a relationship..”

Levi backs away with a frown

It’s true they have been at odds with each other

And it’s true that he also wants to have a better relationship then they do now

From that point on, he’s reflecting, ignoring Mammon so he doesn’t have to face the ping of guilt

All in all, he’s jealous and guilty

Satan

He’s been observing crow and ravens habits through Mammon’s familiars

Shiny trinkets, unique dialect that Mammon seems to be able to understand, and other various things

They seem to dutifully follow Mammon, hearing his calls whenever he needs them

He found it intriguing

It was lunch time at RAD and Satan found Mammon up against a wall, having a private conversation with one of his crows

When he goes to eavesdrop further, he saw a bit of a sad expression on his face

“Wish Satan came to join me, he always use to enjoy this spot when he was younger..”

He couldn’t dispute it, the spot Mammon was in, although a bit different from before, was the spot he always chose to eat lunch and read a book

He should join him next time, right now, he needs some time to think

Asmodeus

He had caught Mammon dressing his crows and ravens in little outfits, and yes he took photos

He found their relationship really cute

However when the crows started involving themselves in his every day life, he couldn’t help but wonder why they seem so attached

Maybe it’s because MC’s gone, maybe Mammon is lonely

Whatever the case is, he often found the second eldest talking to the crows after he teases him

He found this one day and decided to listen in

“Tch.. Does Asmo think he’s so funny? Bullyin’ me constantly.. I really wish he’d get off his high horse and actually pay attention to his words.”

That caught him off guard

Sure, his teases could get a bit extreme but bullying?

Maybe he really should pay attention to his words

Beelzebub

He was happy to see Mammon happy and have familiars to rely on

Beel couldn’t help but smile a bit when Asmo showed him the photo of Mammon putting outfits on his crows

He’d often seen him fall behind talking to his crows on days where they walk to RAD

However, he found Mammon to be skipping dinner, and he didn’t want that

So, he goes to get him from his room, but heard something inside

“I miss MC.. It was way better when they were here..”

Hearing his brothers say they miss MC is nothing new, he does too, but..

“I wish my damn brothers would stop berating me.. Guess I should be use to it by now though, huh?”

He felt his heart sink a bit, this definitely gave him a bit to think about..

From now on, he promised himself to try to be a better brother.

Belphegor

Seeing him so connected with his familiars slightly made him jealous, but he shrugs it off

..He wanted that attention.

He watched as there were many moments Mammon’s birds gave him shiny things, which was fitting for his older brother

However, Mammon started to ignore the brothers, which made him both agitated and jealous

One day, he woke up in his bed, when he remembers falling asleep on the couch

He got up and looks around, not complaining that he woke up somewhere comfortable

He assumed Beel picked him up and brought him here but he was quick to hear voices

“I’ll let Belphie sleep, I can make somethin’ up when Lucifer asks why he isn’t awake to get ready for the party.”

He heard some squawks from what he assumed was from Mammon’s crows

“Yea yea, I know it’s a risky move, but it’ll be fine.”

He may not be asleep now, but he didn’t want to go to a party

He sinks back into the mattress with a small smile on his face

Mammon really was a good brother

#obey me shall we date #obey me brothers #obey me! lucifer #obey me! mammon #obey me! leviathan #obey me! satan #obey me! asmodeus #obey me! beelzebub #obey me! belphegor #crows #ravens #requests #not proofread

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narrators-journal · 1 month

Note

Tatsujun having rough sex Top!Jun and bottom Tatsuya or make them both switches :0

Don’t ask me why it’s such a challenge to really capture a guy being dominant vs a girl for me. I’ve written so many femdom!Margaret stories, femdom is thoughtless. I fluster myself when a dude is dominating, just a lil lol. So, I’ll admit this might be a bit of a miss of the mark, I kinda just went feral with this one bc it gave me SO much trouble to think of a properly hot set up. Anywho! Hope u enjoy!

CW: Dub/noncon, tentacles, I hope Joker comes off as at least SLIGHTlY dominating here. Monsterfuckery (bc of the tentacles), a LIGHT touch of degrading enery. If u feel something else needs to be warned, I’ll add it. Rough sex, Jun’s in his joker era, but. It kinda counts lol.

For once, Tatsuya Suou’s bedroom was blissfully quiet after the sun had set. The normal chaos of nosey demons gone, no calls or texts from Eikichi or Lisa to inform him of the latest implosion of chaos and disaster, his brother gone on a case. Nothing but the soft buzz of nightly insects outside his open window. So, he was content to snuggle under his comforter and bury his face in his pillow. Finally able to get a full breath into his lungs without some vaguely snowman-esque demon to remind him of Joker’s hatred for him, nor puddle of living goo to get in his face and try to suffocate him.

He was free to take a deep, slow breath, and let it out so that his body melted into his mattress like a pad of butter on a fluffy pancake. His stress and anxiety washed out of his head by the usual drip of nonesensical thoughts and memories of a rail-thin ravenette he used to be friends with. Of their games, the gifts they swapped, the secrets they shared up until Jun had been transferred out of Sevens.

Yet, while the pale, soft-faced boy had left Tatsuya’s class, he continued to drift through his head when the sun went down. Allowed to haunt his dreams like a bittersweet siren, or some sort of succubus. One with a body that never seemed to be male or female at a glance, large, dark eyes curtained by thick black lashes on an annoyingly effeminate face. Did Tatsuya think so much of him because he was attracted to him as a dude? Or did he simply like shorter-haired girls who let their bangs hide one of their eyes so dramatically? It was a question that would haunt the brunette when morning came, but for the night, his subconscious was free to conjure some playful mimic of Jun to sit on Tatsuya’s lower back and run his delicate fingers up the backs of Tatsuya’s arms.

A mental image that, was rather vivid. Enough so, that it began to pull the tall brunette back out of Hypnos’ grasp at the gentle brush of the ravenette’s smooth skin over his own.

Too smooth of skin, actually. Tatsuya had felt Jun’s hands before, and they were smooth, but the warmth he felt crawl along the skin of his wrist was far toosmooth. More akin to the smooth, almost slimy skin of a frog rather than actual human skin. What the fuck…

So, the brunette opened his eyes to try and see an explanation in the thick shadows of his quiet bedroom. Which, seemed undisturbed at a first, bleary-eyed glance. However, as his eyes began to clear of the sleepy haze, a figure at his desk came more into focus. And, it didn’t take long for Tatsuya to recognize the snowy white of the familiar uniform, or the burning ember of blue flames that dimly glowed with dark amusement. “Good morning, sleepy head.” Joker mocked, the hiss of his gleeful voice like the scrape of metal upon metal. Yet, when the brunette shoved himself up in a panic, all it took was a firm yank from the thing at his wrists to flatten him back into his bed. “Oh, no no. Don’t bother squirming.” The demon giggled, the flower at the tip of his thin tail bobbing as he waved it at the brunette who snarled back. At least, until he honked like a car at the feeling of more heavy, smooth tendrils worming their way under the waistband of his pajama pants and pushed the fabric down to Tatsuya’s knees. “Hey!” The brunette yelped, but his attempts to fight away from the slime-drooling tentacles that trailed themselves up the backs of his thighs were useless. Well, to him. Joker seemed to enjoy the panic in the tall man’s voice and wide, brown eyes. “Oh yeah, I suppose you expect me to kill you, don’t you?” He asked, or more accurately, mocked in amusement, his tail asway behind him, as casual and calm as someone out for tea. “Sadly, that would be too merciful for someone like you, Tatsuya Suou. No, I can’t let you get off that easily. So! Instead, I’m going to break you down. Slowly tear down each and every ounce of pride and ego you have, until you’re nothing more than my personal bitch. Until you’re all mine.” He explained, his layered voice lowering into a dark, feral tone as he continued.

Each dark word like a fresh shot of adrenaline in Tatsuya’s blood, but no matter how he pulled and squirmed in the hold of the heavy tendrils, his wrists couldn’t escape their hold. Despite how smooth they were, the ink-colored tentacles were like a vice grip on his limbs, so all Tatsuya’s panic got him was a demented giggle from Joker. “It’s useless to fight, my cursed star. You can barely survive an encounter with my underlings. Just give in and submit to me quickly.” The demon purred, his words punctuated by the abrupt thrust of a tentacle into Tatsuya’s ass.

The pain of sudden penetration not at all softened by the thick lubricant-slime-pre-cum substance that the dark appendages had been using to draw desings over the tanned skin of his thighs and ass cheek. Nor by a grace period before the first thrust. Instead, once the thick tentacle was buried inside the brunette, it almost instantly began to pull out in order to slam back into him.

It wasn’t until the third ruthless thrust, that the slime it leaked seemed to finally work to ease the painful drag of girthy muscle against Tatsuya’s walls, but it also allowed the tentacle to thrust quicker. Which, translated the friction into pleasure all too quickly for the tall brunette’s comfort.

Yet, the feelings of shame and arousal only mixed together into a melancholic mess of emotions. On the logical hand, Tatsuya knew he couldn’t help but feel his stomach clench whenever the tentacle slammed against his prostate, and thus shouldn’t be all too ashamed that the cruel pace excited him so much. On the other, though, he didn’t want to cave so easily into Joker’s whims. So, he kept his face in his pillows and sheets as much as possible, and swallowed the noises that the ruthless waves of pleasure threatened to loose. But, his sheets and pillows didn’t seem to do much to fully silence the rogue noises that slipped out of the brunette. Much to the Joker’s sick amusement. “It’s so cute to see you fight so valiantly, my cursed star.” The demon purred, his layered voice simultaneously screechy, and melodious as he continued, “Just makes your eventual submission all the sweeter,~” But, Tatsuya refused to answer the monster that watched him, in fact, he all around tried to ignore the demon’s presence in the room. Not only because of the humiliation of being watched while smooth tentacles threatened to awaken something dark and shameful in him, but because it was simply painful to see the doppleganger’s smile. Jun’s smile, in the dark.

So, while Joker giggled, the brunette simply kept his face buried in his bedding until one of the demon’s tendrils wrapped around his throat to lift his face and let him breathe. “Ah, ah, ah. Don’t think you can just suffocate and escape. That’d be too nice for you.” Joker said, and Tatsuya couldn’t help but glare at him. But, the dirty look didn’t do anything but earn the brunette a cruel grin and harsher, more targetted thrusts from the thick tentacle that filled him up.

And, with no pillow to muffle the renegade hums and gasps, all Tatsuya could really do was stew in the shameful pleasure that rippled through his body each time the thing brushed against his prostate and claw into his sheets. “That’s a good boy~ Make plenty of noises for me, Tatsuya.” Joker purred, the tendril around Tatsuya’s neck shifted slightly to trace a heart onto the tanned man’s cheek with the odd lubricant-slime-pre-cum slime that they produced. Which, he tried to focus on instead of the painful increase of smog that threatened to empty his head of any other thoughts but the desperation he felt in his belly. But, it was near impossible to escape the twisted pleasure that lapped at his skin like the flames of a house fire. Worsened, when Joker continued to offer praise for Tatsuya’s ‘good behavior’.

So, to some extent, it really was futile as the demon claimed, to fight against the weight of the tendrils around his limbs and waist. With the way the tendril relentlessly thrust into him, writhed and flexed against every sensitive spot in Tatsuya’s body until his shame burned into thoughtless need. “That’s it, cursed star. Be good and loud so all the demons know who you belong to.~” “Good boy.” “Cum for me, Tacchi. Cum like the whore you are.” All fed the fire in Tatsuya’s skin along with the friction. Until, finally, Tatsuya couldn’t help but succumb to the flames of hell.

Not that his weak whines did anything to stop the tentacle that pistoned into him, but for a brief moment, it did give him a brief burst of pleasure to dull the shame and pain. At least, until Joker’s jumbled, layered voice bled back in through the haze of euphoria. “Naughty little brat, who gave you permission to actually enjoy yourself? As selfish as ever, I guess. We’ll break that, though.”

#persona 2 #Tatsujun #Joker!Jun x Tatsuya #persona #scenario #Jun Kurosu #Tatsuya Suou #Not sfw #ask #spicy #lemon #minors do not interact #mdni

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stayarmytinyzenmoa-l · 1 year

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i feel so called out by the commuter student who can't drive bc even though i can my anxiety refuses to let me drive on the highways 🙃

Let the all kill begin, just to condense things (and reduce the post spam lmfao I'll put screenshots here AHAHA

Anyway no yeah, Rose, like I be telling everyone if you're not going to live on campus you have to get your license because I mean it when I say you almost can't do shit without it esp cuz clubs meet after classes end. Like, I couldn't actually drive to uni until I was in my junior year and even then since I was new I feared for my life that first year!

Honestly a slight TMI but I remember at the time when my parents told me that I was in middle school. My best friend at the time just came out as bisexual and our parents were close, so her parents would tell mine that they were hoping it was just a phase (it wasn't) and also at that time I think anti-lgbtqia+ tensions were so high where we lived so when my mom told me that, of course, at the time I felt so betrayed by her because she had various family members in the community. But looking back at it in hindsight, I get it. If I was her, I don't know how I'd protect my young child, who was barely entering her teens, from a society that already hated who she was because she was a racial minority.

When I finally came out to my mom like a few months ago she straight up told me she wasn't surprised because of my fashion choices LMFAO Converse, Skinny Jeans, and Flannels (so many of them)

NO BECAUSE LIKE one of the things I was going for was to accentuate OC's relationship with Somi by making her relationship with her parents so tense. Everyone talks about car ride convos, but the tension between OC and her dad in that scene was my attempt at some narrative to kinda sorta ostracize her from her parents. And true to life, I can't tell my dad anything LMFAO

You think you know them and suddenly you find out the Mitochondria isn't just the powerhouse of the freaking cell

Me getting blackout drunk and/or fucking railed at parties while my parents tell everyone how studious I am 🤩

do as i say and not as i do

NO CUZ I WATCHED TOY STORY AND SUDDENLY I COULDN'T GIVE UP ANY OF MY TOYS toy story 3 fucked me up fr fr

ALSO NO DONT APOLOGIZE I LOVE INBOX SPAM speaking of you dropped a few things while i was gone i should go binge those soon 👀

Dude NO studying gets done in those rooms my most vivid memory was me explaining how tf dp works to my friends who both (a) asked and (b) didn't get the concept for some reason-

Then we trauma dump about past relationships it's perfect-

NO REST FOR THE WICKED DFJSHDFJHDF like just call them exams at that point. They're not a midterm if they're multiple of them 😭

I used to say fucking anything to get my motivation up before the exam HAAHAHAHA

It's true, the trauma bonding really helps too

Had to tie it in somehow. Another TMI but I gave mine away recently, I had like this weird manic depressive episode so I buried it in a box we were going to send off to GoodWill. Not to be dramatic, but it hurt looking at it.

You're welcome, love, I sobbed too-

But fr though I meant it when I say I went through a ride writing this fic, and there's just so much more that we did together, me and the girl I based this off of, that I left out that I almost feel like how I wrote her here didn't do her justice. But like, it's fine. (me crying at god awful hours in the morning)

#asks #rose 🌱#and that's okay #and that's okay spoilers #spoilers

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lisatelramor · 1 year

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A Hand Outstretched Ch1

Natsume Madara thought he'd seen the last of his sleepy hometown when he left fifteen years ago. Now he's back, homeless, and falling into ayakashi messes again. It's almost like he never left, except Reiko didn't seem to be around anymore. Though there is an ayakashi that looks a lot like her...

A species swap fic where middle-aged Madara (human) accidentally unseals a teenaged ayakashi (Takashi) and tries to put his life back together.

So. Years ago (4? 5? I can't remember at this point) there was a Natsume fic week prompt with role reversal and another with species swap. I went "ok, but what if I kinda did both a bit?" and started writing. It was supposed to be short. It was not short. Years later, and 55,000ish words, you have this fic, which will hopefully be enjoyable. It took this long because I'd open it to edit and write the last scenes, get stressed and close the fic for like 2ish years now. But it is edited! and I am so tired!!! :' ) yeaaaah. I'm still having a hell of a time writing, but I can say that today I got more accomplished than I did the last 3 months, so that's a good thing. I guess. Probably? Please just enjoy the fic and the found family vibes, yeah??

CH 1

Madara groaned as the train came to a stop at the station. Despite napping most of the way there, his hangover was just as strong as it had been that morning, leaving him with a pounding head and a vague nausea upsetting his gut. It had been a hell of a way to get kicked out of an apartment, but that’s why he’d been drinking in the first place. He told himself he wasn’t going to come back to this middle of nowhere town, but here he was, a decade and a half after leaving.

He left with just a suitcase full of clothes and a couple hundred yen in his pocket. He was coming back with even less, so what did that say about his life?

There was an ayakashi in the train station, lurking in the corner. The people coming and going avoided the spot on instinct leaving a meter of space around it in all directions. Madara avoided looking directly at it. Wasn’t his problem. Hell, it could start throwing the trash can and it still wouldn’t be his problem. He didn’t give a damn so long as it wasn’t trying to eat him.

Humid summer air hit like a brick after the air conditioned rail car. With it came the smell of green things and the stink of too many sweaty bodies crowded onto a train platform. He hadn’t missed this. Well, he corrected once he’d dragged his suitcase with him in a shortcut through the woods, he hadn’t missed it too much. There was a great big wide world out there and Madara had gone out and experienced it. There was so much more than a rural town full of backwards hicks that threw sticks and stones with their hurtful words.

He’d only stayed as long as he had back then because, well, he’d stayed that long because of reasons and those reasons hadn’t been there anymore.

He’d forgotten how many ayakashi were in the country though. Floating amid the tree branches. Hiding in underbrush. Lurking with teeth in the dark crevice of a rotted out tree trunk. When he was younger, it had been a problem. Now? Now Madara couldn’t give two shits. So long as he didn’t look and he kept a firm grasp on his powers, nothing would notice him and he could pretend he didn’t notice them, just like how it was supposed to be.

“Years,” Madara muttered, climbing out of a bush back onto a main road. “Years and this place looks exactly the same.” There was the post office. There was the road to the school. There was the house of that older lady that used to chase him off her lawn for picking persimmons she’d let rot on the tree. The green fruit were a long way off from being ripe right now, but Madara was willing to bet they’d still be rotting on the tree come November.

And speaking of things that hadn’t changed, the bar at the end of the street looked exactly how he remembered it, down to the hairline crack in one of the windowpanes and Hinoe’s precise handwriting on the signboard showing the daily specials.

Madara headed for the bar. He was making terrible life choices these days, why not make another?

It was dim inside, even though it was the middle of the damn day, because Hinoe’s bar had the atmosphere of a noir film with half the class. There were a couple people scattered in the corners of the room drinking their sad, pathetic lives away with whatever swill Hinoe served to the day-drinkers and perpetually drunk. Or maybe she’d changed that policy over the years. He kind of doubted that.

Hinoe was at the bar, idly flipping through a magazine and smoking a cigarette. The smoking was new. The magazine full of attractive women was not. Madara sat down at the bar, suitcase thumping against his legs, like it was a normal Tuesday afternoon and it hadn’t been over a decade since he’d stepped into her business. “Hey.”

Ash fell from the tip of the cigarette into an overloaded ashtray as Hinoe looked up. “Huh, well look what last night’s storm drug in. Madara. Long time no see. You look like hell.”

“You look the same as ever.” The same long hair tied up in a bun. The same too-dark makeup. The same bastardized kimono-style top with the sleeves tied back by some brightly patterned strip of cloth. If there weren’t deeper crow’s feet around her eyes, he could almost pretend he’d never left at all.

“I’m immortal, didn’t you know?” Hinoe said, grinning. “I thought you were never coming back. It’s been, what, ten years?”

“Fifteen,” Madara grunted.

“Right, right. I remember you saying something about leaving us losers all behind and finding your true greatness or some shit. Or was it that you’d prove that greatness to the world? How’d that go for you?” By her sly smile, she knew exactly how it went. He wouldn’t be here if his plans went the way they were supposed to and they both knew that.

“I went, I saw the world, the world witnessed me,” Madara said haughtily. “It couldn’t take my greatness so I magnanimously decided to return to share my glory with all of you again.”

“Uh huh. What’s the real story?”

“I went out into the world. The world wasn’t ready for my amazing person. So the world kicked my ass and now I’m living out of a suitcase.”

Hinoe blew a smoke ring. “Wow. Sucks to be you like usual.”

Madara sneered at her. She grinned back. She was a sad excuse for an almost friend and he definitely hadn’t missed her at all. “Speaking of living; my family home still there?”

“That piece of crap?” Hinoe raised an eyebrow. “The roof of that place collapsed two years back and the neighborhood health and safety group decided to tear it down. Since no one had lived there in over a decade anyway. Which, by the way, means the city reclaimed the land since no one was paying taxes for it.”

“They can do that?” Well shit, there went the last place he had to go. “Guess I really am living out of a suitcase now.” And he still had a hangover. Maybe he could get a pity drink from Hinoe. Hair of dog and all that. “Don’t suppose you’d lend a man a couch?”

“I don’t invite men over,” Hinoe said in the tone of voice that said she’d rather scrape gum off the bottom of all her tables than let Madara stay in her living room.

Harsh. “Right, you only invite pretty girls over,” Madara said, a cheap shot. Hinoe, being impervious to that sort of thing, flipped another page of her magazine. Madara scowled at the scuffed up bar top for a few conflicted moments. Thinking of Hinoe and pretty girls made him think of one thing. He didn’t want to ask, but he needed to know if he was going to be in this town for a while. (Okay, he did want to know. He’d thought about it a lot over the years.) “And speaking of pretty girls,” he ground out, “how’s Reiko doing?”

Hinoe gave him a long, hard look before stabbing her burnt-out cigarette into the ashtray. “I don’t know, Madara. Haven’t seen her longer than I haven’t seen you. Not since you two got into a fight.”

“Not at all?” he asked. The semi-permanent scowl he’d had on his face since he got off the train turned to an expression of surprise. Reiko had run off on him after their fight, but Madara figured she was just mad at him. And when a month went by without her popping back up, he figured he’d finally run her off like everyone else, and left her in the dust with the whole shitty town. Reiko’d been the only reason to stick around and without her why keep trying in a place that hated you?

“Nope. No one’s seen her since then. Not even the poor souls she used to terrorize. I was pretty damn mad about it back then too. You somehow managed to scare the most perfect beauty out of town, you inconsiderate ass. She was a shining brightness on humanity!” Hinoe glared at him. Apparently she still was infatuated with Reiko even after all the years.

On humanity, Madara thought wryly. If Hinoe only knew. “I didn’t know she left for good. I thought she was just mad at me and ran off.” A mix of old anger and sadness filled him, along with a newer mix of relief and disappointment. Part of him hoped that he’d see her again. Part of him was terrified of if he did. Part of him still missed her terribly, but he would never admit that out loud, let alone to Hinoe.

“Well, she ran off just as much as you, it seems, since no one has seen hide or hair of her since.”

“Huh.” This town had been her place for years. Why would she leave permanently? But then again, who knew what went on in the minds of spirits? She probably left on purpose just to mess with all of them one more time. The thought was a bitter one and his scowl came back even deeper than before. “Probably better that way.”

“For you or everyone else?” Hinoe asked.

Madara ignored the question. “Hey, Hinoe, you wouldn’t happen to have anything I could drink, would you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. What could I possibly have to drink at a bar?” Hinoe said with heavy sarcasm. “I don’t give out free booze, Madara, so either cough up some money or you can have a glass of water.”

“Not even for old times? I’m broke and homeless.”

“Then wanting to get drunk is the least of your problems.” She set a glass of tap water in front of him.

Madara gave her sad eyes. She slid the glass a few centimeters forward. He took it and drank some because at least it would help some with the hangover. “You’re heartless, Hinoe.”

“Uh huh. Sure am. So heartless that I’ll even tell you old man Misuzu’s looking for help at the shrine. Since you’ll be needing a job.”

“I’d starve before I work for a priest,” Madara said, knocking back the water. “If you know of anyone else needing a hand, let me know, but you know Misuzu and I don’t get along.”

“That’s all on you.”

“Tell that to Misuzu.” No home, no Reiko, and no booze. There was no reason to keep hanging around here either. “Thanks for the news and water, Hinoe. I’ll be around.”

“Don’t die in a ditch.”

Madara waved and left. He’d have to find a job but Misuzu couldn’t be the only one in town looking for another set of hands. He could look for something tomorrow. Today, he’d swing by his old home and see if there was anything left at all he could salvage or make into a shelter. If not, he’d figure something out. He always got by somehow. He ignored the tiny niggling voice in his head that said his luck had been a lot better back when Reiko was still around. That voice was lies because clearly he’d managed to live almost half his life just fine without her.

o*O*o

It seemed there were more changes than he initially thought because when he went to take his old route home, there were buildings that didn’t used to be there and a construction site pulling up trees that used to stretch for almost a kilometer, right up to the back of his house. The buildings he could deal with, but the construction site meant he had to either go into deep woods—with all the spirits therein—or circle around town.

Madara dreaded running into someone that might remember him, so he chose the woods. Ten minutes in and he was regretting it.

There had been a kind of trail, like someone’s grandparent came all the time to collect herbs or firewood or something along this tiny, threading path. That path had gotten overgrown quickly, and then the underbrush kept getting caught on his suitcase and the humidity levels kept spiraling upward with oppressive July heat.

“This is hell,” he grumbled to the trees, definitely not to the tiny woods-spirit ducking away from him tromping through the undergrowth. “Sweaty, dehydrating hell.” The last time he went through woods like this had been years ago and he’d been running for his life at the time because he had slipped up and some power hungry ayakashi noticed his spirit energy and thought they’d use him as a tasty ticket to the top of the dung heap. He was better now at hiding so nothing was looking twice at him. Well, no more than anything with eyes would look at something disturbing their home. “I’ll find whatever’s left of the house, find a stream, and hope the water doesn’t kill me with parasites.”

Up ahead was a bit of a clearing, a path to somewhere worn into the earth. He made toward it. He was almost halfway down a slope when the suitcase caught something and jerked his arm back. Trying to tug it free was enough to unbalance him, and next thing Madara knew he was tumbling and stumbling to an abrupt stop as he hit something with his shin, hard.

“Ow, shit!” He curled around his leg, achey all over, but only that a hot flare of pain. “No house, no money, no job, and now a broken leg!” He prodded it. It wasn’t actually broken but it was going to have one hell of a bruise later. Could the day get any...worse... There was a straw rope with white sealing charms ripped in half on the ground next to him. Either it had been half rotted through already, or he’d ripped through it when he fell. That didn’t really matter though. If that had been sealing something and he broke it...

There was a stirring of energy and Madara turned, realizing that what had stopped him was a small, run-down shrine, just big enough that he could have sat in the bottom of the structure with his knees tucked up against his chest.

“Shit.” He started hobbling away quickly. He didn’t have anything to seal it again on hand, and recently unsealed spirits tended to be angry as hell and not too picky about who or what they took it out on. “Shit shit shit.” Terrible luck was going strong for him today.

Behind him the tiny shrine door burst off its hinges, flying off somewhere into the woods and breaking a lot of underbrush in the process from the sound of it. Madara hobbled faster only to pause as he realized that the growing spirit power felt familiar. Too familiar.

He glanced over his shoulder in time to see a silver-haired body fall out of the cramped space like someone’s discarded rag doll. The color of the hair matched what his spirit senses were already saying. “Rei...ko?” he said into the sudden silence. No birds, no animals moving, just the building presence of spirit energy and a fragile-looking body sprawled on the ground. Who could have had the power to seal Reiko of all ayakashi?

Madara turned back toward her, drawn like metal to a magnet. “Reiko?” he said again. He reached out to touch and only years of ingrained fighting for his life kept him from losing an arm when the figure on the ground lashed out.

Raw spirit energy crackled between them, hot-bright, and his own rose to meet it on instinct, making what could have left a nasty burn fizzle and die in the air between them. “Reiko, it’s me! Madara!” Surely even after who the hell knew how long sealed in there she’d still recognize him. He let a bit more of his energy out into the air around them, hoping she’d recognize how he felt like he recognized her, but that was apparently the exact wrong thing to do as wild, green eyes snapped up in his direction and the unstable energy in the air doubled.

It was like a hand trying to squash him flat.

“Stay away!” she yelled. Only the voice was male. Young, pitched high with tension, but definitely male. If Madara didn’t know Reiko could shape shift her gender...

“Look, I know we parted on bad terms, but I’m kind of concerned here.” Madara ignored the air pressure and moved closer. “How did you get sealed in there?”

Another bolt of energy almost took off his head, aimed just shy of his ear, or maybe not aimed at all. The concern turned to full blown worry. “Shit, Reiko, that could kill someone. I mean, I’m strong, but tone it down, would ya?”

“I’m not Reiko!” the silver haired—boy? Being?—yelled, arm back and ready to let loose another bolt of energy. “Get away or I’ll... or I’ll hurt you!”

“Real funny,” Madara said, gut twisting. “Good act, Reiko, almost fooled me. You can beat the shit out of me later in a proper spar, just...calm down okay?”

Madara stepped forward, reaching out and the ayakashi flinched back, green eyes going wide with fear.

Madara froze.

Reiko had the pride of ten men and would rather die than let someone see her afraid. “What the hell...?”

“I’m not...I’m not Reiko. I don’t know any Reiko. Please go away!”

“I’m not trying to hurt you.” Hands up, look defenseless. “I just unsealed you. I wouldn’t do that if I was going to hurt you right?”

There was a flicker of conflict in those green eyes before some kind of backbone showed through that fear. “I’m not going to make a contract.”

“I...don’t want one? I’m not an exorcist.” The boy relaxed slightly, but not enough, not so much that the air returned to normal. It felt so familiar... “Are you sure you’re not Reiko? Because you feel like her and this is just the sick kind of joke she’d play to get back at me for running off.” It had to be her. The longing ache in him that had never really gone away over the years rose up and Madara couldn’t help but reach out again. “Please tell me it’s a joke...” He touched a wisp of silvery hair and green eyes went impossibly wide, torn between fighting and getting as far away as possible. “Please.”

A snarl somewhere off in the near distance broke them from staring each other down. The boy flinched back and Madara’s hand was left touching open air. His hand closed on a fist as he realized he’d been projecting his energy for the last half a minute with the futile hope that the person in front of him would respond to it. Between the two of them, they were a beacon for any ayakashi wanting to test its power or grab a spiritually gifted human as a tasty snack. He snapped his control back down so fast that it hurt.

The boy looked dazed.

“We need to get out of here,” Madara said. “Either the local exorcist is going to wonder what the hell is going on or something’s going to come looking for a snack.”

“I’m not going with you. I don’t even know you.”

“Look, I was a friend of Reiko’s and I don’t know why you feel like her, but like hell am I letting some ayakashi or exorcist get you. So just trust me ok?” Madara held out a hand, palm up in offer.

The boy looked at it and looked at him, then gave a neutral smile that was so fake it was pathetic. “I think I’ll be fine.”

It would be less insulting if he’d slapped Madara’s hand away. “Suit yourself then. But you might want to calm down before everything from here to Tokyo knows where you are.”

The boy frowned and the pressure decreased to normal. Madara could still feel the ayakashi, but he wasn’t broadcasting his powers to the world anymore at least. That would have to be good enough. Madara made a show of looking around the area before stepping onto the trail.

“I’m going to take this back toward town; most people would expect a strong Ayakashi to run toward the mountains.” He turned and started walking, his limping gate evening out as he got used to the bruised leg. The suitcase was overturned at the base of the hill, but nothing had fallen out of it. Madara walked and didn’t look to see what the ayakashi did. Didn’t really have to because half a minute along the trail, he felt the boy start to follow.

Halfway down the trail the presence vanished. Either the boy left or he’d figured out how to mask himself properly, which was a good thing since Madara saw more than one ayakashi making its way toward where they’d been. He didn’t hear any fights though. He’d turn back in a heartbeat if it sounded like the boy was being eaten.

At least when he stumbled back out into the outskirts of town he was closer to his old home. Close enough that he just stayed on the side streets to get there. Well. Where home used to be. There wasn’t much left of what had once been the house his grandfather built. It hadn’t ever been a very nice house when Madara lived in it, all a bit falling apart even back then with Gramps either too drunk or too aching to fix things, and Madara either too young or too busy trying not to die from his own powers and unwanted spirit attention back then. But it had been home in its own way, familiar in its peeling paint and rickety steps. Now it was just a foundation left bare, all the rest of the building taken away.

“Shit.” His shoulders slumped. Part of him had really thought that there would be something. Something he could use, or at least something that matched what he remembered. Even the overgrown flower gardens had been torn up and overtaken by weeds. “Bet they sold Granny’s old rose bushes too.” Or maybe that weird guy that used to go by and pointedly say how they used to be so much nicer finally went and dug them up in some weird plant rescue operation. Who knew.

He didn’t really have human friends. Didn’t have many friends in general really, never had, and probably never would. Ordinarily that didn’t bother him, but it was frustrating not to have anyone to turn to. The only thing left were the few ayakashi he knew... Who might not even be in the area anymore either. Reiko had been the main one, and without her...

Well, there was one final avenue to pursue before he gave into despair and found a bush to sleep under until things sorted out. He didn’t really want to, but she did owe him.

“I’m too old for this.”

Any hydrating benefits of that water from the bar were long gone by the time he trudged back deep in the woods again. Here, at least, it didn’t change in any way except the way that nature does, trees growing higher, bushes coming and going, streams shifting minutely as the earth eroded with time. But the big birch tree with its peeling bark still stuck out as an anomaly among the rest of this area of the forest. Here, he felt like he was twelve again and sneaking off in some childish act of rebellion.

There wasn’t anyone immediately visible at the base of the tree but that didn’t mean they weren’t nearby. Madara tossed down his suitcase and sat back on the familiar, moss covered roots. There was an ayakashi nearby. Maybe more than one if they were close together. He sighed. “Hey. Touru. I know you’re there.”

There was a pause. Then Madara had to flinch at the sudden spike in spirit energy right before an ayakashi all but fell into his lap.

“Fluffy-kun!” Touru shrieked, catching him in a crushing hug. His spine protested the action and he wheezed, unable to fend her off with his arms pinned. So, pretty much as usual with her. “You got old! Older!” She leaned back and tugged at Madara’s unkempt hair. “And less fluffy and more shaggy. It feels like it’s been a long time since I saw you. You’re not as cute as you used to be.”

“I would hope not!” Madara pushed her off his lap and she went willingly, smiling like it was a big game. Her cat ears didn’t even twitch at his volume. “I’m not a child anymore.”

“Aww, but you’re still cute,” she said. “Just a grumpy kind of cute. Though I guess you were kind of a grumpy kid too. Ah, yep, you’re scowling again! I’m so glad to see it. You’re still you. How long has it been?”

“Fifteen years.”

“Eh? That long? And you didn’t visit once? No wonder it felt like forever.”

He couldn’t tell, not with Touru and not with many other ayakashi, how sincere the enthusiasm or the sadness were. Ayakashi didn’t work the same way as humans. Time didn’t mean the same thing to them either. “Isn’t that amount of time like blink of an eye to you?”

“It could be,” Touru said. “But I’m not that old yet. I’m barely past a hundred; decades still mean something you know.”

But they would mean less and less. How little did time mean for spirits that were old, spirits like Reiko had been?

“I’ll take your word for it.” Right. He came here for a reason. “Touru, I know I am amazingly self-sufficient, but I am going to have to cash on one of those favors you owe me.”

“Ah, so not a social visit.” She looked a little sad and it made tendrils of guilt ping at him, but living was a bit more important than wondering how much he could or couldn’t hurt her feelings. The cheerful smile shifted to something more serious.

“No. Another time it will be. You still remember the sort of things humans need in a shelter, right?”

“Yes.” She tipped her head to one side. “I do still pay attention to humans, Fluffy-kun.”

“Right.” And she had a collection of human things somewhere, started by her grandfather who had studied them. Right up until his curiosity had been the death of him via an exorcist. Still, that curiosity had stuck with Touru and it had once gotten her into a lot of trouble too. She was an ayakashi that spent time with humans over the years so she should, theoretically, know what sort of thing to look for in finding Madara a place to stay. “Despite taking on the world with all my talents in the years since I left, at the moment everything I own is in that suitcase and I’m down a house. You know of anywhere I can make a home in until I earn enough money to get a proper roof over my head?”

“Hmm...” Touru tapped a finger alongside her chin. Behind her, her split tail tapped the ground in double-time. “Actually I’m pretty sure there’s an empty shrine in the woods right now you could use. It’s a little run down, but it has a roof and walls and enough space to sleep in. The one near the offshoot of the creek where that big willow tree is.”

“Touru, you’re amazing,” Madara said with conviction. “How empty are we talking?”

“The minor god that lived in it died a few months ago when his last follower passed away, and no one has moved in yet. I doubt anyone would object to you living in it.” Touru smiled.

Madara grinned back. Finally a bit of luck! To be expected from a maneki-neko. “I can think of a few humans who’d object but I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Touru mimed locking her lips like a child with a secret, not an action she’d learned from him. She really must still watch humans when she wasn’t here at her tree. She glanced past Madara, into the woods, and on reflex he glanced with her, just catching a glint of silvery hair before its owner managed to hide again. Huh. So the boy had followed him after all. Whatever he was doing to stay hidden still made him impossible to sense.

“Is he with you?” she asked, curious.

“Not exactly. Feels like Reiko but says he’s not.”

“He feels human from here.”

A startling implication; only the strongest ayakashi could convincingly take human form. That was yet another thing the boy shared with Reiko. “Well he’s not human. I accidentally unsealed him earlier today.”

Touru gave him a worried, sideways look. Most ayakashi got sealed because they were a danger to humans, and ayakashi that were dangerous to humans had a funny way of attacking Madara a lot as a child.

“I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me, I just fell down a hill and got bruised up. As if some ayakashi could hurt me,” he said, arrogant smile on his face that he didn’t feel in his heart. “I told you, I’m not some little kid anymore.”

“You’ll always be that angry, fluffy little kid in my head, Madara,” Touru said, ruffing his hair like he was still twelve instead of almost forty. She used his name so rarely that it was surprising enough for him to forget to duck.

“Whatever,” Madara said, swatting her hands away as she giggled. “Thanks for the heads up on where to sleep; I’m going to go pass out there now. It’s been a long day. If you need a drinking buddy anytime in the future, I’m your guy.”

“This from the person who said sake tasted like shoe polish smelled?”

“Hey, a lot changes in fifteen years!”

Touru laughed and waved as he left. This time he was more aware of his light-haired shadow. Madara had been so conscious of ayakashi in the area he hadn’t been paying attention to more mundane sounds. So long as the ayakashi was pretending to be completely human, he was just as noisy as any other human teenager walking through the woods. Madara was still louder, but Madara was hauling a suitcase and felt like his arm was going to get torn off heaving it around, so he at least had an excuse for it.

o*O*o

The shrine was nothing much to look at. Flat paving stones surrounding it were overgrown with weeds, the door was crooked and coming off its track and there were signs that something had started building a nest inside of it. But it had a roof—overgrown with moss, but intact—and four walls, and the inside was dry. Madara couldn’t stand or lay fully stretched out in it, but it was big enough that he could curl into a comfortable position and there was a little well with water meant for purifications. There wasn’t a bit of spirit energy lingering in the shrine. The god that inhabited it must have been all but dead for a long time before it bit the dust.

Madara swept out the mess of leaves and fur and twigs that had accumulated, shooed off centipedes and beetles, and claimed that space for himself. He had a pillow and a couple blankets, and if he gathered up leaves or grass or something he could make it a bit more comfortable to sleep in. Probably. Provided that didn’t bring in fleas or ants or something. Beggars couldn’t be choosers and he didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was only until he had a job and enough cash to afford a few months’ rent for an apartment. It was summer; until then he’d manage and eat what he could scrounge up or beg off Hinoe.

The sun was sinking down and Madara’s stomach grumbled; it was a long time since that glass of water and longer still since he last had anything to eat. He was too tired to get up from the shrine floor and do something about it though. He’d just have to suck it up. There was still fat to burn from when life was still going pretty okay. He’d manage.

The world went dark. Out in the woods, fireflies lit up. Real or ayakashi, he couldn’t say. The pale green lights were pretty. You didn’t get fireflies in the city. Couldn’t see the stars either. Focus on the positives... Somewhere in the dark a fox yowled, eerie and hair-raising. A twig snapped in the woods to the right and for a second he could see the green reflection of eyes. Tapeta lucida, some far off portion of his brain that had looked it up once upon a time informed him. Reflecting moonlight. Madara tensed, senses reaching out for ayakashi, animals, anything. Nothing...no, something that felt human but—ah.

“You can come out,” Madara said to the dark woods. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Five...twelve...twenty, Madara counted firefly blinks, waiting.

Bushes rustled and parted. The boy that looked like Reiko stepped out of them. He looked like he would run at any second. He looked like he was lost. Madara felt very tired. “You can come closer. It’s not like I’m going to do anything. I just want to sleep.”

The boy crept closer. “She said you helped her,” he said, standing all hunched over and wary right outside the shrine steps. “From exorcists.”

Touru. Madara closed his eyes against the intent gaze picking him apart. “Yeah, I did. I was a child and idealistic and angry enough to do things for spite back then.”

“She called you caring but blunt.” The boy shuffled closer.

Madara’s eyes slit open, met his bright green stare.

“She said you don’t hurt ayakashi unless they hurt you first.”

Madara gave him a humorless smile. “Yeah. Most of the time. Touru thinks too well of me considering how I almost ended up being an exorcist.” The boy flinched back a little. Bad memories of exorcists, or a healthy fear of their threat. “I’m not nice. I’ve sealed ayakashi for hurting people before and I’d do it again, but mostly I just want to be left the hell alone, eat good food, and drink nice sake.” The boy didn’t look away. He didn’t run. “You look a hell of a lot like Reiko.”

“I’m not her,” the boy snapped. “Everyone is always Reiko, Reiko, but I’m not Reiko!”

“No,” Madara said heavily, “no, you’re not.” He wished it was just some mean joke Reiko was playing, but he didn’t think that was the case; she’d have swapped out her disguise and started bragging by now. “You got a name?”

Just like that the boy was tense again and Madara had to roll his eyes.

“I’m not going to steal your name. Or...force a contract. You don’t even have to give me a true one, just something to call you.”

There was a long pause, then, “Takashi.”

“Cool. Call me Madara.” Madara rolled over so his back was to the door. “Now either stop stalking me and go away or just get in here and let me sleep. Today’s been a hell of a day.”

“You won’t seal me?” Takashi said. “Or try to make me your shiki?”

“What the hell would I do with a shiki? I’m a bum camping out in an abandoned shrine. And so long as you don’t try to kill me I don’t give two shits about what you do. Try to off me in my sleep and sealing becomes a lot more likely.”

Farther off, the fox yowled again. There was a soft scuff of cloth on wood and the rattle of the door closing most of the way. The boy, Takashi, settled into a corner of the shrine, as far from Madara as the small space allowed. He was paranoid as hell for how strong he had to be.

There was a part of Madara that didn’t like having his back to an unknown ayakashi. At least that discomfort wasn’t one-sided. He closed his eyes and despite his misgivings, eventually he fell asleep. For the first time in years he dreamed of Reiko, her presence all around him, confident grin on her face and him looking up at her, beautiful, powerful, and untouchable.

#natsume yuujinchou #fanfiction #My writing #role reveral #species swap

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