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azrielbrainrot · 5 months ago

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With Your Hand In Mine

Pairing: Eris x F!Reader

Description: Both you and Eris can agree that it would be good for you to know how to defend yourself. It's just a shame that he's the only one who can teach you.

Warnings: A bit suggestive

Word Count: 3700

Notes: I haven't written for these two in a while, I'm sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy!

Fire on Fire Masterlist

“Is this truly necessary?”

“I wouldn't have agreed to train you if I knew you were going to complain the whole time.”

A sigh escapes your dry lips, rolling up your sleeves once more even though they'd hardly moved from the last time you had, trying to buy time while you catch your breath before he's forcing you to start back up. The fact that this had been your idea gave you little comfort when you've barely started and it already felt like you'd run a marathon, your body beyond confused at what you're putting it through.

“We don't have much time. It's best we don't unnecessarily waste it,” Eris says, arms crossed over his chest and the usual irritating smirk perched on his lips, not a hair out of place or any escalation in his breath - he was the picture of relaxation.

“I'm not wasting time, Eris. I told you I can't do it.”

The gold bracelet still sat on his wrist, a complete contrast to the simple nature of the rest of the clothes he wore today, fit for the intense training session he's putting you through. The bracelet was also yours, one of your favorites in fact, and had been sitting in its usual place in one of your jewelry boxes just this morning.

You still didn't know how he had stolen the bracelet so easily, avoiding both you and all your maids without getting noticed or leaving any trace behind. Well aside from the letter inviting - read ordering - you to meet him in this exact place before sundown, and a new box of cookies that sat waiting for you on your desk. He truly had gotten lucky no one else had come into your room in the meantime.

Knowing how to protect yourself and yield your powers properly was something you always wanted to do, which is why you had reluctantly asked Eris for help, seeing as he was the only one you could trust, a fact that brought you the opposite of comfort. What you couldn't have predicted is that this would mean spending hours playing one of his stupid games.

“You only need to get this off my wrist. I'm not using my powers or even half of my strength. The bracelet doesn't even have a clasp, you simply need to pull it off. I'm making this extremely easy for you,” his smirk widens as he adds, “even children can do this much.”

You can't help the frown that takes over your features at his little comment. No matter how much time you spend with Eris you can't get used to his sharp tongue, and unfortunately it strikes true more often than not. Your gaze lowers to his wrist and that offending bracelet once more, trying to focus on the task at hand and ignore his stupid comment, trying to hide the feelings of insecurity that rose to the surface.

“I wouldn't be here wasting my time if I thought you couldn't do it,” he adds, his tone significantly softer than before.

The fact that he noticed made you angrier somehow. Hiding your emotions was never a problem for you, it was something you had to learn very quickly when you were just a child. You do it in front of your parents and maids every day, in front of any relative or noble, even the High Lord and Lady of Autumn, but, for some inexplicable reason, Eris can always read you like an open book.

It seemed like he was trying to make you feel better in his own way. Even that gave you little comfort though, it didn't suit him and it definitely didn't suit your relationship.

You had tried to practice by yourself when you were younger and first noticed your powers developing. Hiding them had been the obvious choice for you, but you had also decided to use them as much as possible. Winnowing had been easy enough for you to understand and control on your own, and your fire had simply needed some more concentration and a few stolen books to fully understand.

After so easily taking control of your powers, you thought any physical training would be simple enough for you to understand. It resulted in countless hours of brandishing an old sword around, trying to mimic the way your books described the correct movements. Soon, you realized that without watching the proper techniques and having a sparring partner you would never be able to learn anything.

The necessity to at least know how to tame your fire powers had been important for your own survival, seeing as they manifested each time your emotions escalated, so it makes sense that you had been a lot more successful at it then with any other physical training.

You don't give him a response, focusing all your energy into calming down and trying to think of a way to get to the bracelet. He's a lot faster and stronger than you, even when he's holding back as he said. More importantly, he has been trained ever since he was a child, from a cruelly young age knowing Beron. He's even taller than you, only having to put his arm up for you not to be able to reach the bracelet. All the odds are in his favor, and the fact only adds to your annoyance.

A couple minutes go by like this, with you studying your target instead of reaching for the bracelet mindlessly as Eris watches on, unnervingly quiet. It never bode well when he actually kept his mouth shut, it meant he was thinking.

“You never told me why you wanted me to teach you,” your fiancé speaks up at last, his voice now closer. You had been so focused that you didn't even hear him approaching, something you should have definitely been focusing on. You wonder for a second if you would have been able to even if you weren't distracted.

Your gaze meets his, thinking through his words and attempting to understand the look in his eyes, when you can't you childishly ponder ignoring him and using this moment to steal the bracelet. Ultimately you decide against it, answering his question at last.

“If your enemies are to become my own, I'll need all the training I can get.”

That was an understatement considering his enemies were the High Lord of Autumn, his army and the nobles who supported him, maybe even his brothers. You're sure he even managed to find new ones after his allegiance to the Night Court, if his allies themselves aren't still considered enemies at the same time.

“It offends me that you think I can't tell when you're lying,” he muses.

You bite your lip in annoyance just as he comes to stand a mere step away from you, tilting your head so you can glare at him properly. His expression falls into a maddeningly alluring one, a smirk twitching along his inviting lips.

“I'm not lying.”

“No, but you're not telling me the whole truth either,” he says, fingers reaching out to pick a dried bit of flower or leaf out of your hair, mother knows how long it's been there, “I thought we were past the need for beating around our intentions.”

You look at him wearily, studying his nonchalant expression while he discards whatever was in your hair, watching it fall onto the soft grass as if he wouldn't much rather study your face back and try to find the answer on his own. You suppose you could appreciate that he would ask you instead of trying to pry it out of you, he can get any answer he wants out of anyone after all.

“I don't like being weak,” you confess, almost regretting it when his amber eyes meet yours. “If my father wasn't…” You trail off, not even knowing what to say. Someone who didn't think of his own daughter as a business opportunity? A coward, too afraid of letting anyone have the upper hand? A monster? Doesn't matter what words you choose, the truth of the matter is you were tired of playing by his rules. Eris watches you, never rushing you while you gather your thoughts. “I wish I had been trained since I was young. The world is cruel, and I want to have a fighting chance. I don't want to hide behind anyone's shadow.”

“Alright,” Eris says after a while, looking almost proudly down at you. His hands find his pockets and he nods at your training prop before changing the subject.

“You're going about it the wrong way.”

“I've noticed that, genius.”

“Such kind words,” he trails off after a chuckle, “I told you I wouldn't use my powers, but I never said anything about yours.”

You blink at his words, murmuring after a while, “Would that be fair? What if I hurt you?”

“Do you think you can hurt me, doll?”

The teasing, downright condescending tone is a means to get you motivated once more, and even knowing this, you can't help but feel a familiar heat bubbling under your skin, one he can so easily pull out of you. Perhaps Eris really was the perfect person to help you with this.

“Show me,” he says, a proud and excited glint in his eyes.

Your body answers his command, moving before you even think it through. Winnowing behind him, you reach out to grab his wrist, kicking the back of his knee as hard as you can when he unsurprisingly hides his wrist away from you to keep the bracelet safe. It makes him falter but he doesn't fall like you'd hoped.

Clenching your jaw at the breath of amusement he lets out, you summon your flames, burning a patch of grass under his feet, he sidesteps trying to salvage his shoes, and you attempt tripping him again, only to fail once more as he turns to face you, grabbing your arm and pulling you closer with a look of annoyance on his face. This makes you feel a bit better, at least you ruined his shoes.

Reaching out for his wrist now would be in vain, he's much stronger than you so aimlessly trying to grab the bracelet is no use, you've been trying to do just that for hours. Winnowing back to your initial spot and out of his arms, you watch him again, thinking.

“Giving up already?”

You scoff, a smirk of your own finding its way to your lips. “When have I ever given up?”

Fire rushes from your hands once more, a lot more than before, burning the grass and dried leaves all around you, the smoke they create is enough to not only hide you but also distract him as it grows taller than the trees. When you feel his magic pulsing, creating a shield so no one wandering around the forest sees or smells the smoke, you move, kicking his feet apart at the same time you push at his chest, making him lose balance.

His arms reach out for your waist as he falls back, giving you the opportunity to finally slip the bracelet from his wrist. The sense of accomplishment it brings you is short-lived as you take note of the position you're in, Eris' hand still holding onto your waist, his body completely still under yours. His amber eyes looking up at you, not even a little annoyed or surprised by you taking the bracelet.

A glare paints your features, your mood quickly souring, while a smile grows on his stupidly relaxed face, both his hands moving to hold onto your hips.

“You're going easy on me,” you accuse.

Eris chuckles, the sound shaking his body slightly, and yours with his, a reminder of your current position. The realization makes you look up briefly, trying to see if he had truly put up that shield to cover you both, mother knows what would happen if someone found you straddling your fiancé in the middle of the woods.

“Yes,” he starts, bending his knees and turning your world upside down so quickly you barely register the movement until you're laying down on the grass, his smirk growing. “I am.”

The sight of the Autumn Court's heir kneeling between your legs and looking down at you through amused yet arrogant eyes makes your thoughts stumble for a moment. No matter how much this male manages to irritate you to the point of contemplating murder, there are always moments when his beauty catches you off guard.

“We're only starting,” he says, his voice breaking you out of your treacherous thoughts, “and I have centuries of training on you, but if we keep up you'll grow stronger and there will come a time when I will not overpower you so easily.”

At his praise you find a different kind of heat rush over your body. You curse your parents for being so harsh on you, for making compliments such a rare occurrence in your life. A harsh breath escapes you as you swallow, searching for the right words to thank him, or perhaps pull him back to your usual conversations, hiding every emotion behind thinly veiled animosity. Your and Eris' relationship never went beyond raw anger that slowly transformed into bickering over the years, but lately things have started to change ever so slightly, resulting in confusing situations such as these.

You watch his head tilt to the side as you gather your thoughts, the amusement intensifying as something else burns in his eyes alongside it, something a lot more wicked. The air seems to thicken as your gazes meet in this inexplicable moment. You don't understand most of your body's reactions, but this has to be what losing your mind feels like.

Eris licks his lips, eyes looking above your head for a second before meeting yours once again. “Next time we'll focus on controlling your powers,” he starts, leaving you confused. He nods to the grass around you, prompting you to follow his eyes, finding the remaining embers of the fire you had caused earlier sparking up once again and burning the rest of the leaves. You try to quell them immediately, lifting yourself up on your forearms as a gasp escapes you. How had you not even noticed the smoke? “Can't have you starting a fire every time you get wet.”

It takes a moment for his words to fully register in your brain but when they do your foot flies to his chest, kicking him away from you. Unfortunately, the fire only intensifies with your reaction, and in result so does his laughter. Amber eyes moving to watch the beautiful flame engulfing the old piece of wood, the light reflecting in them making them appear so much brighter, redder.

“Oh, my.”

The amusement written on his face makes you kick him once more, sitting up in time to push him all the way to the ground, Eris never resisting as his body shook with laughter, laying down on the soft grass while you contemplated all the ways you could kill him. You had never seen him laugh this hard, it's just a shame it's at your expense.

“I don't know how vivid and sordid your imagination is but I'd appreciate it if you didn't involve me in your dirty fantasies.”

Eris lets out one last chuckle, looking up at you through half lidded eyes, his lack of reaction to your threats making you even more annoyed as usual. You bite your tongue, trying to not show it on your face, not wanting to give him the satisfaction, especially when you've already shown him more than you ever should have. It had simply been a momentary slip, a result of your lack of experience showing through, that's all.

“As much as I wish I could show you every single, dirty fantasy, it's getting late and we're both expected elsewhere soon,” he changes the subject effortlessly, maybe taking pity on you. When he holds up his hand and you find your bracelet back on his wrist you know pity has nothing to do with it. “Let's keep going. We're wasting precious time.”

Your entire body ached, muscles you didn't even know existed were screaming at you as you sat on the floor. You'd lost count on how many times Eris forced you to attempt taking the bracelet back from him, and even if you had failed plenty of times, your bracelet sat on your wrist at the end, where it belonged. There was an underlying satisfaction buzzing within you. You've always wanted to train like this, always wanted to use your powers and become stronger. It all felt like a dream.

“Come here,” Eris tells you softly, extending his hand towards you. You furrow your brows and look up at him, getting up slowly. He never explains, simply waiting for you to reach him, but you take his hand all the same. You have no more energy to fight with him today, there would be no heart behind it anyway. You're too grateful for him, unfortunately.

He grasps your hand in his silently and winnows you back to the cabin in the blink of an eye, the way he winnows from place to place so much smoother than when you do it yourself, maybe you should ask him to teach you more about that as well.

It had gotten late, the sun already setting and making way for the moon to shine in the sky, and you had to be home soon, before your father arrived for dinner and noticed you gone, so you were about to question him again when you noticed the big tub sitting in the middle of the usually empty room.

“Is that for me?”

“You weren't thinking of going back home directly in this state were you?” He rolls his eyes softly. “You'd be found out this same day.”

Actually, you knew the maids weren't anywhere close to your room at this hour. If you did everything right, you had more than enough time to change back into your dress and get in the bathtub once inside your room. It wouldn't be a lengthy bath but it would keep you clean. Still, looking at the steamy tub, that plan sounded worse than to wait for the rain to wash the sweat off.

“I think I could manage,” you offer.

“This way is easier,” he says, “and the warm water will soothe your muscles.”

This day had been confusing to say the least. Not only had Eris just realized one of your biggest wishes, but also prepared a warm bath for your sore body, making sure at the same time that you wouldn't get caught and suffer your father's wrath. At times like these, you're reminded he's not only Beron's heir or the future High Lord, and see the male behind the charade and the titles weighting on his shoulders.

“Thank you, Eris,” you say, “for everything.”

He watches you for a moment, seemingly surprised by your words and the conviction behind them, before nodding. It's not often you share vulnerable moments like this so you almost want to thank him again when he simply accepts your gratitude without making any further comments, especially with how he usually is.

Turning back to the tub, you wonder how this will work for a moment, seeing as there was only one singular tub, and two of you. Eris takes this as his cue to leave, placing his hands in his pockets after making the flames in the fireplace grow in size, warming up the cabin even more, before turning his body, moving to walk to the door.

“Are you leaving?”

Eris turns back towards you, tilting his head to the side slightly, amusement growing in his expression, but there was something else behind his gaze, just like before.

“Do you wish for me to join you?”

You almost bite your tongue vindictively. Your mouth was working against you today, and with the thoughts growing in your mind, you were starting to think even your brain had left you on your own.

“I was only asking because you need a bath of your own.” Even if he hadn't done much and this afternoon certainly couldn't be considered a work out for him, there was still grass and dirt on him, as well as some sweat. This would definitely raise questions. As you take him in, you also notice a faint, sweet undertone to his usual spicy scent. “You smell like me,” you conclude, your throat going dry.

The heat was almost obscenely distinguishable in his amber eyes now, threatening to consume you whole. As much as you will certainly try to deny the fact when you look back at this moment tomorrow, there is no question that these were two people looking at each other with desire in their eyes. It was also impossible to mistake the sudden heaviness in both of your scents for anything else.

Neither of you say a word for a minute too long, stuck in between your betraying bodies and everything else. Your heart was threatening to beat out of your chest, the heavy gaze the male in front of you kept you under enough to make you want to do something you've never done before and just give in despite all the consequences.

Eris is the one to find his composure first, clearing his throat and looking down at his shoes before saying, “No one will see me. You don't have to worry about me, doll.”

You nod, knowing better than to try and say anything, lest your words betray you as well, especially after the pet name that usually irritates you to no end sends a different kind of heat to your center. Watching him winnow out of the cabin without another word, allowing you to finally take a deep breath and try to clear your mind, but, even as you sit in the warm water he prepared, you can't take the images of Eris joining you out of your head, the reminder of his body against yours in the woods as he taught you, or the way his scent mingled with yours. You almost wish this was a cold bath instead.

#eris x reader #eris vanserra x reader #eris x you #eris vanserra x you #eris x y/n #eris vanserra x y/n #eris fic #eris vanserra fic #acotar x reader #acotar fanfiction #eris acotar #eris vanserra #my writing

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alieinthemorning · 4 months ago

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How’s It Hanging, Beautiful? [Ace Trappola]

Content: Fluff, Established Relationship, Reader-Insert

Pronouns: None

Remaster of: “You’re so beautiful.” | Ace Trappola [400 Follower Event]

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Ace wouldn’t say that he wasn’t a morning person, but instead a deep sleeper. Usually, it’d take a lot to rouse him from sleep. However, there was one thing that could always get him up, no matter what.

And that was the smell of Sunday morning breakfast.

Saliva was pooled in his mouth before he even opened his eyes. He swallowed it as the rest of his body followed the lead of his taste buds. He stretched (carefully, he didn’t want to get a cramp), letting out a satisfying groan. Then he sat up, eyes finally opening to the dimly lit room.

You were not there beside him or lingering in the room, but that made sense since you had to be the one cooking. What was odd was that Grim was nowhere to be found, but maybe today was his lucky day, and you’d give him some extras (when would he learn that he’d only get anything if he’d actually help). Shaking his head, he grabbed his phone, and headed for the bathroom.

After fixing his rough bed head and rinsing his mouth out, Ace made his way downstairs to join you and Grim in the kitchen. You must have gotten up earlier than usual today because breakfast was almost done.

“Come on! Lemme just have a little—” Grim’s paw was reaching toward the bowl of strawberries, but you quickly swatted it.

“Let it alone. Go take your seat.” You didn’t even bat an eye.

Grim huffed, hopped off the stool, and retreating to the dining room.

Ace didn’t bother with teasing him, and instead honed in on you.

“Morning.” His arms wrapped around your waist.

You turned in his arms, “Morning, sleeping beauty.” You pecked the underside of his chin.

He returned your kiss with one on your forehead. “You coulda woke me up, you know…”

“Yeah, but I like watching you drool.”

Ace pulled back, “I do not drool.”

You simply smiled as you picked up the plate of pancakes. “Time to set the the table.”

Sundays were lazy days, most of the time the three of you would just stay huddled up in bed all day after breakfast. Today was no different, except for Grim leaving to follow the sun (he was an expert sunbather, after all).

Ace was a deep sleeper, but for some reason something pulled him from his sleep. And he was forever thankful for it.

You were turned toward him (you were facing away from him when you fell asleep, you’re such a wild sleeper), mouth slightly open (no drool, damn it), lashing gently resting against dark circles. His thumb brushed against your lower lid. He should talk to Crowley about lessening your load.

“How’s it hanging, beautiful?”

Ace jolted, not expecting you to speak, let alone be awake.

But then he smiled, “Not much, what’s going on with you, beautiful?”

“Just admiring you.”

“Crazy, me too.”

You both laughed at yourselves,

and the beauty of your relationship.

Happy Birthday, Ace!

And now that I've said that, time for a serious end note lol

Sooooooo on the 9/1/24, I had emergency gallbladder surgery! And now I'm having an emergency hysterectomy (Tomorrow lol)! Originally, my appointment was in November, but after another trip to the ER they finally realized that bleeding for 6 months straight actually isn't normal, and something should be done about it!

So, yeah, I'm gonna be out of commission (again)! Which, I've barely been posting anyway, but I've also been in excruciating pain for the past six months, sooo yeah!

I'll see yeah when I see y'all!

Ko-Fi | Masterlist

#alie ficlets #alie ficlets: twsited wonderland #ace trappola x reader #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader

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neptuneiris · 1 year ago

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sparks (02/04)

And I know, I was wrong But I won't let you down

pairing: business-boyfriend!aemond x fem!reader

summary: at the beginning your relationship with aemond is perfect and there were no worries. until he becomes the Heir of his father's company, the most important in the whole country and certain events and certain people start to interfere in the relationship.

word count: 8.8k

previous part • next part • series masterlist

IT'S HERE! MY GOD-i'm so excited for you to read this, I'm really enjoying writing this fic so much and your comments and opinions make me very happy, and I'll be waiting anxiously to answer them:)

I also want to thank you for the incredible support for the first part, it was simply amazing! thank you for reading, commenting and reblogging, it means a lot to me beautiful people❤

now i won't stop you anymore, enjoy and wait anxiously for the next part!

As the sun slowly sets on the horizon, you and Aemond arrive at the majestic event venue of one of the most luxurious hotels in the city.

You are both dressed elegantly, he in an impeccable black suit and you in a stunning metallic ocean blue dress, the same color of the sapphire that Aemond wears in his empty socket and also his favorite color.

You have always waited for the ideal moment to wear this color of dress and match perfectly with Aemond, knowing too well and so does he that this night is very important.

The whole street and around has the passage completely obstructed for outsiders, there are police cars guarding the whole area along with security guards to allow the entrance to the hall of the huge hotel where the whole event will happen to the people who have been required.

You along with Aemond are allowed to pass through easily, while you watch through the window as all the press goes crazy and take pictures of absolutely everything, especially the car, as they know that inside is the Heir to Targaryen Inc.

There are a lot of cameras, a lot of light and above all a lot of people.

You feel how Aemond's hand gently squeezes yours, bringing his body a little closer towards yours, observing everything just like you and feeling perfectly how anxiety starts to run through his body, as well as he starts to feel a knot in his stomach.

The magnitude of the event and the amount of people gathered there started to make him feel nervous even though he has attended these events before.

But especially now he feels that way because he knows that all eyes will be on him now that he is his father's Heir.

He knows he hasn't even gotten out of the car and he's already the center of attention, so he imagines what a disaster it will be by the time he's finally in full view of all the photographers.

You immediately notice the change in his facial expression and gently stroke his arm with your free hand, comforting him, watching him with understanding and giving him all the support you can, letting him know that this is what you are here for and that he is not alone.

Aemond feels a little more reassured to feel your touch and closeness, feeling lucky to have you by his side at this crucial important moment in his life's work.

He doesn't even understand how he had thought of coming here earlier by himself, without you. He doesn't know what he would have done.

However, good times can't last forever.

Confused you watch through the car windows as Criston continues to drive slowly along, passing the main entrance to the hall where all the businessmen and also women with their companions have their pictures and videos taken.

Thing you've done with Aemond before but… now it looks like that won't be the case.

"Where are we going?"

"Love, I need you to do this for me."

You ask him watching him with your frown, to which Aemond looks nervous, anguished and sorrowful, holding his hand more firmly with yours.

Then you watch how Cole parks at another entrance on the other side of the hotel…. where there is absolutely no one, just security guards.

He starts to say to you as he gets fully incorporated in the seat, leaning towards you, not letting go of your hand and speaking to you in a rushed tone out of nerves, as you turn your gaze to him confused.

"I need you to go through that door, Hel should already be waiting for you. I'll meet you in there, okay?"

His words definitely throw you off, watching him with great attention and slight surprise.

"Why?"

He stirs in his seat as he sees the confusion in your eyes, also as little by little sadness begins to creep in, feeling more anguished than before but having to ask this of you, even though he doesn't agree.

"It will only be for this moment, I promise. Once we meet in there, we'll be together."

"But why don't you want me to come in together with you?"

He lets out a long breath, starting to worry.

And despite his explanation, you can't help but feel sad and annoyed as you watch him still intently with your brows furrowed, not saying or doing anything for a few seconds, the realization becoming clearer.

"It's not that I don't want love, it's just that my grandsire has asked to take pictures of us with Rivers and his uncle."

He explains to you with a sad look.

"And I don't want them to take pictures of you standing apart and start publishing them in magazines talking things about you. At least there's no one here and it will be safer."

"Sir, we have to go now. They're waiting for you."

Cole alerts him from the pilot's seat, watching you in the rearview mirror, and Aemond again watches you, insistent and concerned.

"Love, please," he murmurs to you under his breath.

You avoid looking him in the eye as you now resignedly let go of his hands almost abruptly and coldly and then grab your handbag and begin to quickly exit the car.

You lower your gaze as you press your lips together, feeling the discomfort coursing through your body, trying to control your true emotions, but you can't.

You definitely didn't expect this.

Aemond lets out a long breath.

"Please don't be angry, love."

He tells you pleading and sad, but you don't look at him or say anything to him, you just get out of the car and close the door to quickly head to the huge door with a lump in your throat and with a sharp pain in your chest.

You truly understand the importance of this event for him and the company, you were the one who insisted on coming too, but you definitely didn't deserve this, to be hidden away as if you were an intruder and didn't belong here.

And Aemond at all times is not calm and has barely started the night.

Once he gets out of the car, as you also enter the hall where the whole event will be held, inside and outside the bustle of the crowd and conversations fill the air.

He meets his grandsire, Alys Rivers and Larys Strong, while you meet Helaena.

You also see other family members of Aemond that you also know, like his half-sister Rhaenyra and his uncle Daemon Targaryen, also his nephews and cousins, his mother and his brothers, Aegon and Daeron.

Even Helaena didn't know she would be so busy, apologizing to you for how little time you have to catch up, but you assure her that all is well, when the truth is not.

You thought that with them everything would be easier to get along with, like before, especially after what just happened, since you always got along well with his family.

But this event is too important since the Targaryens are the center of attention and everyone is busy, even the cousins and nephews.

The whole place is absolutely grand and elegant, the whole atmosphere has an aura of prestige and sophistication like all the people present.

The room has tall, wide windows that offer breathtaking views of the city, illuminated by the night lights, as the hotel is located in the upper suburbs.

At one end of the hall there is a raised stage where presentations and speeches will take place, there is also sound and projection equipment, also an area for the press. But for the moment, there is a group of musicians.

Silk tapestries add touches of warmth and luxury throughout, as well as large crystal chandeliers hang from the high vaulted ceiling, casting flashes of light.

There are tables carefully decorated with white linen tablecloths, as well as comfortable and elegant chairs with high backs.

Finally there is the luxurious bar, where drinks are free and there are two male bar tenders at disposal.

You head there, wanting to have a drink to calm your spirits, unconsciously waiting for Aemond, being here alone and not feeling… not at all well.

There are already a considerable number of people entering the hall, all the businessmen with their wives, sons and daughters, also their assistants, while you watch as all the Targaryen greet everyone and are cordial with elegance in their clothes, postures and out-of-this-world appearance.

While you stand apart, sipping your glass of wine, observing everything. Then you take your phone from your bag to entertain yourself for a moment, when then, Aemond appears.

But not alone, but with Alys Rivers.

This doesn't bother you, on the contrary, Aemond was completely honest with you telling you that they wanted to take pictures of the two of them and that's what happens, while you see him with his serious and cold face standing at the entrance with her and then a small part of the press inside the room taking more pictures of them.

But that's not what catches your attention or what bothers you, what does is that this woman is wearing a dress the same color as yours.

You hide your surprise very well while at the same time a mixture of emotions completely overwhelms your inner self, watching how she poses and smiles with such elegance towards the cameras next to him, completely pleased.

It seems that she is his companion, not you.

Compared to your dress, hers is completely fitted to her body and reaches above her knees, wearing black high heels, with her hair pulled back in an elegant bun with black locks falling on either side of her face.

While yours is completely long and a little looser without straps, wearing silver high heels with your hair completely loose styled in slight waves. (click here)

Normally the color of the dress wouldn't have mattered to you, but you see the way she poses and behaves with him in front of the press, while those people with their cameras ask them for more and look pleased too, asking them to be closer to each other.

It really looks like she is his escort, totally overshadowing you.

At that moment, your self-confidence fades and discomfort comes over you, also annoyance. You try to keep your composure but the tension all over your body is too much, instantly looking away from them and feeling an incredible urge to cry.

It's just a dress, don't overreact.

You tell yourself, saying you shouldn't react, not here, not now knowing that this is important to Aemond and his family, that you are really his companion, not her and that eventually everyone will see that.

But you can't help it… you feel humiliated.

You take a huge gulp from your wine glass, averting your gaze from everything and everyone, focusing on the city lights through the large windows, enduring more of the urge to cry and let out everything you're feeling.

Though clearly Aemond doesn't have a hard time finding you all over the hall.

"Hey."

You hear him approach and he gently takes your arm and turns you towards him, watching you with full attention, while you take the last sip of your glass of wine, watching him afterwards without emotion.

"Hey."

You look away and call the bar tender, asking him to refill your drink, still feeling the discomfort all over your body as Aemond knows perfectly well how you must be feeling.

And he watches you hopefully, wanting you to say something, anything, even giving you his full attention, wanting to be with you and only you after such a stressful and unnecessary entrance to this boring event.

But nothing. You don't say or do anything to him.

"Love, I'm so sorry," he tells you honest and sad.

Again you say nothing to him, acting completely unconcerned, your face neutral and emotionless.

"Seriously, about before I didn't want to do it but my grandsire insisted and she…" he pauses, letting out a long breath as he runs a hand over his face, "I'm sorry. If I had known I would have—

"Don't worry about it."

You interrupt him, not wanting to talk about it anymore, certainly because you don't want to ruin his night any more and you don't want to stress him out any more when he must be getting enough to do and take care of tonight.

But he insists.

"I know you're upset and—

"I know perfectly well when you're lying to me."

"I'm not upset."

"I'm not upset. I haven't even said anything."

You tell him still watching him emotionlessly, clearly wanting to make yourself look as believable as possible with your words. Then at that moment the bar tender hands you your glass of wine and you begin to drink, going back to watching everyone.

But Aemond continues to watch you intently, concerned.

"Then say something, anything, please."

And that's when you start to react, starting to get annoyed with his attitude.

"And what do you want me to say?" you snap at him quietly, "I told you I'm not upset."

'At least not with you, just with the situation,' that's what you really want to say.

But you stay quiet, wanting to end the conversation once and for all, as you tried to do from the beginning but he keeps insisting.

"I don't know Y/N, just tell me something, whatever you want, but make it true," he also whispers quietly, moving closer to you to create more privacy between the two of you in public.

"Y/N! There you are, my dear!"

And before you can say anything back to him, at that moment a third voice interrupts the small discussion as it approaches towards both of you.

Alicent Hightower exclaims with a huge charming smile, sporting a beautiful emerald green dress and extravagant hairstyle, instantly enclosing you in a gentle but firm embrace which you reciprocate, now putting on your best face.

"Ah finally I see you after so long," she says lovingly in your ear, "I'm so sorry we couldn't talk when you arrived, as you can see we're all busy and it's crazy, like every time. But I'm so happy to see you."

She tells you as she pulls away from you and continues to watch you with her soft, comforting smile.

"Don't worry, I totally understand," you assure her with a small smile, "You look beautiful."

"Oh! Thank you," she observes to herself, still smiling, "You too my dear, absolutely beautiful."

You widen your smile a little more, for a moment feeling embarrassed since also a certain woman is wearing the same color as you, but you quickly push that thought away.

"Thank you so much."

"Come," she says to both of you, without letting go of your hand, "Rhaenyra has told me she wants to greet you, so does Daeron, before it all begins."

And this is what puts the discussion you were having with Aemond to a complete pause.

He follows you instantly, while you soon greet his half-sister and nephews, starting to catch up with all of them, also his cousins, Baela and Rhaena, who have always been absolutely charming and fun with you.

You also greet Aegon, who comes accompanied by his girlfriend, Cassandra Baratheon, where you know they are only dating because of an arrangement between his grandsire and her father, as the Baratheons also own an important company and thanks to their relationship, the two companies have partnered up.

You then talk to Daeron, who tells you that he is about to enter college along with Luke, his nephew, and then a very animated and happy Helaena joins in the conversation, the two of them making you totally forget everything that happened as soon as you and Aemond arrived at the hotel.

In fact when you and Helaena talk alone again, she mentions to you quietly that everyone knows what her grandsire is trying to do with Aemond and Alys Rivers, telling you right away that she doesn't agree nor does anyone else for that matter, only him.

She also tells you not to be intimidated by him, much less by that woman by briefly mentioning about the dress since of course she has noticed and assures you that you are not alone in any of this.

You are quite relieved and comforted by this, as you had given up hope the moment you saw Alys so pleased at Aemond's side, but now hearing this… it really makes you feel very relieved.

Then the whole event begins.

You take a seat next to Aemond at one of the tables that are right in front of the stage along with his entire family, as well as the other guests, while Otto Hightower takes the microphone and gives a brief welcome.

Aemond next to you takes your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours, wanting to feel your touch despite what happened a few moments ago between the two of you and you leave him, where neither of you say anything.

Then businessmen begin to take the stage, each speaking on key topics in the banking industry, such as financial regulation, investments, digital banking, risk management, fintech technology and more.

These presentations are given by industry experts and thought leaders, including Otto Hightower and Larys Strong, the uncle of Alys Rivers.

Even Helaena takes the stage to talk about new acquisitions in Highgarden's company, also Daemon with Rhaenyra Targaryen.

They also offer the opportunity to pitch projects or seek investments related to banking, they also talk about acquisitions, mergers or strategic collaborations.

They also again talk about financial technology.

When it then comes time for all the businessmen to focus on establishing relationships that can lead to business opportunities, collaborations and alliances with other businessmen.

Aemond tells you that he will be back in a moment, telling you briefly that he will speak with Rodrik Greyjoy, also an important businessman who is the head of the Pike company, the most important company in the Iron Islands.

You just nod and he leaves, then you think you might talk to Hel or Daeron, even Jace or Baela for the moment, but as you watch them, the entire Targaryen family is again busy talking to different men with their wives and children.

You let out a long breath and stand there alone for a few moments observing everything around you, then decide to approach the bar again and order a glass of wine, which is what you usually always drink when you feel uneasy and anxious.

And standing with your glass again you observe everything, focusing on Aemond for a moment, watching him talking to Greyjoy, both a bit more apart from all the people and looking both very serious and professional with what they must be talking about.

You don't know how long you last like that, just standing there and nothing else, not really doing anything, just asking the bar tender to refill your glass every so often, making sure to always drink small amounts of your wine.

When then you notice it.

Being alone in a secluded corner of the huge hall, you see how two women a few meters away from you in long and more than elegant dresses, wearing valuable jewelry and with a look of superiority and also a little mocking, watching you.

This confuses you and catches your attention at the same time, watching out of the corner of your eye as both watch you from head to toe and talk quietly among themselves without disguise, you not understanding anything.

You observe yourself, wondering if there is something out of place in your appearance, since appearance is what matters most in events like these, but everything is still fine with you, so you do not understand what it is that draws their attention to you.

However, in the face of this you again feel your nerves coming and your confidence fading, feeling uncomfortable, out of place and with anxiety all over your body.

You turn around, leaning your elbows on the counter as you bite your lips and try to calm yourself, feeling that suddenly all eyes are on you, not understanding what is wrong with you.

When a voice speaks in your direction.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Y/N."

You leave your drink on the bar and turn around, coming face to face with Otto Hightower, who is also wearing a smart suit and has a serious, cold look on his face that shows unconformity in your direction.

And you have no idea what to say to him.

How is he surprised to see you here if you've come to these events before with Aemond?

"It's not what you wanted, I guess," you tell him with a certain bitter and serious tone, speaking to him in the same way he is speaking to you.

He bites the inside of his cheek, then settles next to you with an appropriate distance, calling the bar tender and asking for a glass of white wine, while you watch him intently throughout.

"No, of course it's not what I wanted and I'm relieved that at least you understand that," he finally tells you, serious and direct, "I told Aemond perfectly well that he shouldn't have brought you, but he's just as stubborn as his brother."

You bite your lips, avoiding speaking to him in a ruder tone than you should and also avoiding saying what you really want so as not to cause real trouble, with annoyance starting to course through your body.

"I'm his girlfriend," you tell him seriously and in a reminder tone.

"And this is work," he replies in kind, "And serious work. Something you wouldn't understand from working in a coffee shop."

You let out a snort.

"Are you trying to put me down?" you stare at him incredulously.

"I'm just being honest and seeing things as they really are," he says and doesn't give you a chance to speak, "My grandson is a successful man, just like his family. And he should surround himself with people just like him. Believe me I have made sure he is where he is now and I care deeply about his future," he says with a condescending tone, "Don't you?"

"Of course I do," you tell him instantly, "I've done nothing but support him."

He gives a fake smile.

"That's good to hear, exactly what I would expect from you, but I want you to understand one thing and I want you to get it right, Y/N."

He begins to tell you with his eyes never ceasing to look directly into yours, glowing with a cold and more than willing determination, his posture demanding power over you, making you feel small as you continue to watch him intently.

"You don't belong in this world," he tells you menacingly, "I've tolerated this nonsense from you and him long enough, but now that he is his father's successor and is in a higher position and with a promising future, I won't tolerate it anymore," he makes it clear to you, "You can't really offer anything important to Aemond and that's what we need, assurance and alliances for the good of the company."

He tells you in the cruelest tone of all, where even though you try to remain calm, you begin to feel insecure and lose your composure as you listen intently, feeling a sharp pain in your chest.

"And that's exactly what Alys Rivers can offer him."

Then your shoulders drop, your whole posture ceases to feel tense from the defeat invading you and you feel a deep ache all through you, feeling utterly small, helpless and vulnerable.

You lower your gaze with your lips parted, trying to control all your emotions as you feel your eyes glaze over and you feel a painful lump in your throat, not wanting to cry now in this place with him continuing to watch you intently.

Then you press your lips together in an expression of anguish and humiliation, unable to help yourself.

"Our family has built a reputation and that's the most important thing to us. And you don't fit in, you're just not of use, now do you understand what I mean?" he tells you expectantly.

But despite how he is making you feel, you try to defend yourself.

"Is money and reputation really more important to you? Don't you care about his happiness?"

"Aemond is not going to live on love, silly girl, neither the company," he tells you instantly annoyed, "So I hope that for the sake of him and his work, you will be the one to decide to end the relationship since he certainly won't," he tells you bitterly, "Alys Rivers is starting to lose patience and there is no way I am going to lose the opportunity of association with her company, have you understood?"

You watch him without saying anything, still with your sad look and also with the surprise to see his determination, the how he really doesn't care about Aemond's feelings, while he throws you his hateful look and continues to watch you more than threatening.

When then the sound of the microphone catches everyone's attention, also yours and his, watching the stage.

"Hum… excuse me? May I have your attention for a moment, ladies and gentlemen, please?"

Alys Rivers speaks, starting to get the attention of all the people who stop talking and focus on her, while you still feel all your overwhelming emotions.

"Good evening everyone, it's a pleasure to be here present with all of you," she smiles elegantly to the whole audience, clasping her hands together in front of her, "For those who don't know me, I introduced myself, I'm Alys Rivers, co-owner of the Riverlands company, nice to meet you."

She says as she radiates confidence and determination, reflecting her commitment and enthusiasm, as you watch the business wives smile at her throughout.

"I would like to take this moment to announce a very early association that I am still working on together with my company partner, Larys Strong," she says without stopping smiling at any moment, looking very happy and excited "So I would like to call to the stage my very soon to be partner, Mr. Aemond Targaryen."

Thunderous applause from all present can be heard throughout the hall, while you watch as Aemond smiles politely throughout as he walks up to the stage and makes his way to stand next to her, who also claps in his direction and watches him proudly.

And so together they appear confident and authoritative, as if they own the whole place, while Aemond waves and thanks the whole audience at the same time.

Then the applause fades and Alys speaks again.

"It is also an honor to announce before all of you, a collaboration of our two companies," she says proudly, "Since I first met Aemond, his vision and ethics impressed me deeply. We have shared many conversations and have discovered that our companies have common goals and values."

Aemond at her side nods in approval and continues.

"Our companies, Riverlands Group and Targaryen Incorporation have been at the forefront of financial innovation for years. So we have decided to join forces to empower our organizations."

Then Alys says something else, but you don't pay attention as Otto Hightower again speaks in your direction.

"Now you see?"

He says to you and you again feel that sharp pain in your chest as you turn your gaze to Alys and Aemond.

"That's the way things should be, the two of them together, a perfect complementation," he says confidently, "Even all the people here are pleased to see them together, the press too, that's what they expect, not a coffee shop employee next to the next head of the most important company in the country."

Each of his words and also the ones from before are like a dagger to your heart, feeling sadness, shame, humiliation and anguish.

The feeling is horrible, especially because you see how again all the people applaud for the two of them and the press starts taking pictures of the two of them together, while you feel trapped in a whirlwind of negative emotions that consumes you completely.

You watch as Aemond doesn't approach her at all, but she does, placing one of her hands on his arm, smiling and posing for the cameras, while you watch as Aemond tries to subtly pull away from her, but she won't let him.

You also know he won't say anything to her at that moment, not when the eyes of everyone in the place are on them and so are the cameras, so they continue to pose for more pictures to be taken.

"Enjoy the rest of the night."

Otto tells you with the fakest look and words of all, watching you for one last time then turning away from you and back to the crowd, complacently watching the show his grandson is putting on along with Alys Rivers.

And when you watch him walk away, at that moment you notice it again, the stares of the women.

This time you see how they and their husbands look in your direction, with curious looks and others with equally mocking looks, whispering among themselves, all of them watching you from head to toe, making you feel even worse.

They make you feel as if you are an intruder, as if you are the one who is wrong to be here, as if you are not Aemond's girlfriend and instead they accept Alys, looking at you as the bad guy, even with pity.

Then you feel you can't take it anymore and decide you've had enough.

Completely humiliated, you turn away from the bar and start looking all over the place for Cole, who you find at the main entrance along with more security guards, heading towards him quickly.

"Ms. Y/N?"

He says to you as you stand in front of him.

"Can you take me home?" you ask or rather plead, "I'm not feeling well."

"Do you need me to get you something?" he asks you instantly, willing.

"No, just take me home, please."

"Of course but Mr. Targaryen knows?"

"Yes," you lie, "You'll have to come back to pick him up."

Finally you convince him and both of you go to the door where you entered instead of the main door since the press is still outside.

And not having the courage or the spirit to say goodbye to anyone, not even Helaena, you finally leave the place.

Meanwhile Aemond continues taking pictures and enduring the flash of the cameras every second, slyly taking Rivers' hands off him, acting unconcerned and willing when inside he wants it all to be over.

When in the middle of all the commotion, he catches a perfect glimpse of your figure walking out of the event through the doors he asked you to enter with Cole by your side, without even looking back, this catching his attention and confusing him instantly.

He is about to apologize to quickly go after you, not liking that at all, feeling a bad feeling, starting to worry, but a hand on his shoulder stops him.

"They want to take pictures of the whole family together."

He turns his head and finds his grandfather, whom he instantly watches attentively and curiously.

He watches all the people around him for a moment as everything is a mess as everyone wants to take pictures and videos, but in the end he leans over to talk to him, trying to create privacy.

"Why did Y/N leave?"

"She leave?" he repeats acting surprised and confused, "I don't know, son. I didn't even notice. Now come on."

"I saw you talking to her," he tells him instantly, insistent.

"We didn't really talk much, now come on, this is important."

He tells him also serious and insistent, making him stand still for the press to start taking pictures of the two of them with Alys Rivers and Larys Strong, then the whole Targaryen family and so on with other businessmen.

But all the time Aemond is not calm, not at all.

Until after a while he sees Cole re-enter the hall, so he quickly makes his way towards him.

"Where is Y/N?" he asks him with bewilderment in his eyes and in his tone of voice, concerned.

Cole frowns.

"Sir, she said she was feeling sick and wanted me to take her home."

"And why didn't you tell me?" he snaps at him instantly, slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry Sir, but she said you knew."

And at that moment Aemond knows that's definitely not good.

He lets out a long breath and runs a hand over his face, beginning to feel frustrated, only to have his mother walk over to him at that moment and take him with her to have a conversation with the Arryn's, reluctantly having to stay, feeling uneasy every moment as he wants this all to be over so he can come to you.

But the night is far from over.

And it is not until two hours later that people begin to say goodbye to leave, so Aemond takes advantage and also decides to leave, since he sent you severe messages at certain times but you did not respond to any, this stressing him and worrying him more.

So once he is able to leave, he quickly together with Cole start to leave the hall, but Eleonor hurriedly stops him.

"I'm sorry Sir, but aren't you supposed to stay? Here I have the card for the suite you asked me to book," she raises the card in her hand, looking at him confused.

Aemond feels a sharp pain in his chest, not having the slightest idea what happened with you as to decide to leave without telling him anything, but he knows it's no good, besides the fact that his grandfather's attitude seemed suspicious to him.

And he can't help but feel annoyed.

He knows you haven't spent any time together and he thought it would be a good idea to book a suite for the two of you without telling you anything, wanting it to be a surprise, but now it's all ruined and he doesn't even know why.

"No, Y/N is gone," he tells her with frustration visible all over his body and gaze, "You use it or cancel it or whatever, it doesn't matter anymore."

And without further ado he resumes his walk, wanting to get to you as soon as possible.

You hate the loneliness in which you find yourself.

When you get to the apartment, you want to leave immediately, thinking for a moment that you should have asked Cole to drop you off at Floris or Sarah's house.

You put on your sleeping clothes and take your pillow and a sheet to go back to the living room and get comfortable on the huge couch, wanting to sleep and forget about everything.

In fact that's what you think now, maybe call one of them and ask them to pick you up. But the hour is already late and you don't want to bother them.

So the only thing you do is to take off your make-up and your dress where at all times you still feel the discomfort and humiliation running through your whole body, feeling also a helplessness.

But unfortunately that's not what happens.

What happens is that you can no longer control all the feelings and emotions you felt since Aemond asked you to enter the event through other doors and you finally let it all out, starting to cry silently even though you are alone.

You don't know how long you last like that but you cry until you fall asleep, hugging one of the couch cushions tightly in the darkness of the huge apartment.

Some time later Aemond finally arrives home, so in a hurry he rushes into the apartment with all his anguished and worried look on his face, wanting to see you and talk to you, heading purposefully into the bedroom.

But he definitely didn't expect to find you asleep on the living room couch.

Never before have either of you had the need and desire to sleep apart, not even after having a fight, so surprise comes over him and he watches you sound asleep there… on the couch instead of the bed.

He doesn't know what to do, doesn't know what has happened, and doesn't know what to think.

He understands that you were very upset with him for what he asked you to do so that is one reason, also Rivers' colored dress, but what happened next?

He doesn't know and he's very frustrated that he doesn't know, he's also frustrated by the whole situation.

And he can't stand it. He can't stand seeing you lying there asleep, not wanting to sleep with him.

He takes off his jacket without taking his eye off you at all times, leaving it on the back of the single couch and carefully walks over to you, where again his heart breaks at the sight of the dried tears on your cheeks and also the cushion you are hugging wetly.

Immediately he feels guilty, so gently, he kneels beside you and watches you for a few seconds sadly, asleep in a ball, with an expression of exhaustion on your face.

You blink then carve your eyes, getting used to the night light to try to see, when Aemond's cologne hits your nostrils and you look up at him over your face with a confused expression.

He swallows hard and leans over you to hold you in his arms gently and carry you to bed without waking you. He puts one arm under your knees and the other under your back, trying to lift you gently.

But because of the movement and also from feeling his hands on your body, you wake up.

"What are you doing?" you ask him sleepily.

"I'm putting you to bed, love."

You frown and immediately place your whole body hard and tense, removing his hands from your body.

"No, I want to stay here."

He lets out a long breath.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

"No."

"Love, please."

"I already told you no, Aemond."

You tell him in a more serious and completely annoyed tone, as he watches sadly and worriedly as you make your intention clear and again cover yourself with the sheet, turning your back on him with your annoyed expression.

He feels more the anguish of being this way with you, the feelings of frustration and loneliness taking hold of him, feeling helpless in the face of the situation.

He misses you completely, your closeness, mutual support and communication, because this just makes everything even worse, not being able to work things out, you leaving his side, having this physical and emotional distance.

Aemond feels like the person he loves is slipping through his fingers and there is nothing he can do to stop it.

"Y/N please," he insists once again, hating the situation and the feelings it brings, "Let's go to bed, you know I won't be able to fall asleep without you by my side."

"Let me sleep," you tell him seriously and curtly, still turning your back to him.

"Love."

Aemond calls you one last time, feeling the negative emotions invade him even more at that moment, feeling hopeless, but he stops when he sees that you are firm with your decision and he can't do anything about it, feeling more constant the sharp pain in his chest.

And so you ignore him, trying to go back to sleep.

So Aemond has no choice but to heartbrokenly retreat to the bedroom and leave you alone in the living room.

The next morning, the horrible sound of your alarm wakes you up, telling you that you have to get ready for work.

Not having slept enough the night before and remembering everything that happened, you're annoyed and defeated as you lie there for a few minutes staring at the ceiling, not having the energy for anything at all.

But knowing that you can't afford to miss work, you have no choice but to get up.

However, it strikes you that the coffee pot in the kitchen is not on, because even though Aemond has the day off, he still locks himself in his office to get a lot of his work done, and coffee is essential for him to be more productive.

So curious and cautious, you head to the room, seeing that the door is open.

And when you slowly peek your head out, you see Aemond on the edge of the bed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, looking in a tired state and as if he hadn't slept all night.

You press your lips together, as you don't want to talk about what happened, at least not yet. But you know that avoiding it won't be easy.

You know it when Aemond catches a glimpse of your slowly moving figure out of the corner of his eye, so he raises his gaze and his eye looks directly into yours.

You instantly react, avert your gaze from him and head to the closet with a hurried step to grab clean clothes while he watches you attentively and pleadingly at all times, wanting this silence and tension between the two of you to end.

"Y/N—

He couldn't sleep all night and the restlessness so far hasn't left him alone, so he's exhausted and doesn't plan to do any work today because he simply can't.

But he wants to try to fix about last night.

He calls softly to you in a careful tone but you quickly cut him off.

"I'm going to shower."

You say hurriedly but with no encouragement in your voice and quickly walk past him, entering the bathroom and closing the door behind you, leaving him alone with those bad thoughts in his mind, letting out a sigh as he brings his hands to his face, frustrated and tired.

It's not until an hour after you finish getting ready to leave for work that you see Aemond in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of water, finding it strange that he's not locked in his office, but you don't ask him anything about it.

And when you finish making sure you bring all your stuff in your bag, like your phone, keys and wallet, Aemond watches you cautiously throughout, still feeling that weight on his shoulders and that ache in his chest for not being on good terms with you.

"I can drive you."

He tells you suddenly, softly and in a calm voice, this catching your attention but you don't even notice him, instantly hurrying to get out of the apartment soon.

"It's okay. I don't want to slow you down at work."

"I'm not going to work today," he lets you know, this surprising you, but you hide it and don't react.

But you still reject him.

"There's no need. Don't worry."

And so you head for the door, walking out of the apartment, leaving him behind.

This of course hurts Aemond, as you've never turned him down on this sort of thing before, feeling really bad.

Still he later texts you asking if you need him to pick you up, but again you turn him down telling him that Sophie, your co-worker, will do you the favor, when in fact you take the bus.

And once you get home, there is still this tension and silence between the two of you, which feels horrible, but above all it feels more horrible to Aemond, who even though he tries to talk to you about it, you don't let him, cutting him off instantly, excusing yourself with other things.

That night you sleep in bed together with him, relieving him that he didn't want to go another full night without sleep, but you both sleep completely apart, not touching each other.

That's unusual, he's just never been through anything like that before and of course he hugs you and tries to talk to you in the comfort of your bed, but you don't respond to his touch.

You let him hug you but you don't hug him back, turning your back on him, making it clear that you don't want to be that way with him. So he can only let out a sigh and pull away, respecting your decision and your space even though it hurts.

But he can't take this anymore.

The next day at work he goes looking for his grandfather, serious and willing, entering his office without knocking and closing the door without much tact, watching him with annoyance all over his face.

Otto Hightower looks up from some papers on his desk and embodies an eyebrow at him, expectant and slightly confused.

"Can I help you?"

"What did you say to Y/N?

He inquires her instantly, getting straight to the point, serious and annoyed. But of course, Otto Hightower feigns an innocent expression on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me," he warns, "I know you talked to her and I want to know what you told her."

"Aemond," he lets out a sigh, "If you're having problems with your girlfriend, you don't want to try to get me in on your fights—

"It's no coincidence that she left that fucking event right after I saw her talking to you, so tell me what it was you said to her," he demands again, more serious than before.

Otto shakes his head, even with the innocent expression lingering.

"I told you we didn't even talk much. We just talked about your future, the things you're accomplishing and in the end I told her to enjoy the rest of the night, that's all. So maybe you should be more concerned about why your dear girlfriend walks out of a very important event for you leaving you alone, like she doesn't care."

Aemond can't help the frustration and anger that begins to grow inside him.

"I know you're lying."

"You're misunderstanding things."

"She's not talking to me! She's upset and I don't even know why, she doesn't want to tell me!" he exclaims angrily, completely losing his patience.

And his grandfather just watches him silently with a serious look, not saying anything else to him and this causing more frustration and annoyance to Aemond who quickly walks towards him, placing his hands on his desk and leaning towards him with a threatening face.

"I don't know what happened but I know you said things to her," he makes it clear, his tone serious, "You made me hurt her to not only ruin the night for me, but for her as well—

"Aemond—

"Or what?" he interrupts him as well, not letting him speak, "You think I don't know all the effort you're putting into trying to further increase the rumors between Rivers and I with the press? In how you're interfering between me and her by getting Rivers in the way? And all because you don't want to lose a fucking association with a company at the cost of ruining my relationship?"

Otto Hightower slowly rises from his chair, watching him just as seriously and menacingly.

"An association that believe me you don't want to lose either, Aemond."

He makes it clear to him slowly, with an obvious and equally menacing look, leaving Aemond silent for a moment.

"We could never partner with Dorne, so partnering with Riverlands is all we have left, because after all, before long you'll be the new boss or am I wrong?"

"If you lose it… it could cost us millions," he reminds him slowly and clearly, "And you risk not only your own future as an businessman, but the future of all of us, your family, the partnerships with the other companies, the employees and the legacy we've built. And obviously I can't allow that to fall apart."

He inquires and Aemond swallows hard, feeling a knot in his stomach, knowing full well that his father's health is getting worse every day.

And everyone knows, his mother, his brothers, uncles, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, everyone… that it's only a matter of time.

"But there are other ways, there are—

Aemond shrugs and clenches his hands tightly into fists as Otto watches him harshly, the room feeling charged with tension.

"We will go bankrupt, Aemond! What don't you understand!?"

Explodes Otto furiously.

""Your father left a lot of work pending since he got sick and now you are his successor, which you are lucky that I am breaking my back for you to help you, to save from now on your reputation and the company that will be under your command when the time comes. And that you don't want to help me in the same way for not learning to separate personal relationships from your work, is not my problem."

"We will go into crisis if we don't get Riverlands, we will lose income, we will have a lot of debt, our companies in Oldtown, Lannisport, Stom's End, in the Vale and in Winterfell we will lose them. And Riverlands has partnerships in Essos as well as Dorne, so understand what's at stake," he continues in a harsh tone, "Do you want Helaena to lose Highgarden and Winterfell or your mother to stop running the company in Oldtown? Do you really want to lose everything we've built? Is that what you want to happen, Aemond?"

Aemond's heart begins to pound, he lowers his gaze and with his jaw clenched he thinks about it, he feels anxiety and deep bewilderment. He thinks of his sister, his mother, his brothers, his whole family, everything they have built.

Otto's words echo in his head in a constant echo and suddenly… he feels trapped, cornered in his own life, helpless.

At that moment he craves a respite, that need for peace, he needs you by his side, the woman he loves and the one who can give him that comfort zone.

But you are not there, everything suddenly feels lost and he also feels that everything is wrong, and he is instantly overcome with frustration, sadness, anger and an overwhelming sense of vulnerability.

Aemond really clings to his own determination, determined not to give in to his grandfather's threats, but he knows he's right about everything about the company and his family. And he really feels trapped, because he doesn't know what to do about Alys Rivers and her company.

So he can only place a bitter smile and shake his head, his mind a mess.

"You're unbelievable, you know that?"

He tells her as he begins to walk away from him, starting to pace around the room slowly as he runs a hand over his face, placing it on his chin.

"You leave all this burden to me, because you want to take advantage of me just like what you did with Aegon and Cassandra."

Otto rolls his eyes, watching him just as annoyed and bored as before.

"If you don't want to learn how to work this kind of thing out's, I don't understand why you're going to be the next boss."

"No, of course I can work this kind of thing out," he makes it clear, serious, watching him annoyed, "Just not in this dirty way."

"Alys Rivers is a very demanding, perfectionist and exacting person, just like her uncle. So if she wants to try to maintain an intimate relationship with you, you're going to let her, for the good of the company. Or at least pretend, pretend you're interested in her too so you can sign that fucking paper once and for all."

Aemond looks at him completely disgusted, badly and with a scowl on his face, watching him as if he doesn't know him.

"You are… completely disgusting."

"I'm teaching you how to survive in all of this and also how to keep the company afloat," he makes it clear to him, his other way of looking at things.

"You only think about yourself, money and reputation. You don't care about my feelings, my relationship and that I'm hurting Y/N."

"No, I don't care, because the company is not going to sustain itself otherwise," he tells him simply, nonchalantly, "And if your girlfriend can't understand this, your job, your future and that we can't fail, then I don't understand why you're still with her. You have to make sacrifices in order to live, and that's something you better start understanding now."

Yes… Aemond knows he will have to make sacrifices. It's the first thing his father told him since it was ruled that he would be the Heir.

But Aemond told himself from the beginning that if those sacrifices were his family or his relationship with you, he will go to great lengths to keep his family out of it and you too, because he is not willing to lose you.

He wants to be worthy of you, treat you like you deserve, give you the world and keep you by his side, because the last thing he wants because of his desperate grandfather and a reckless woman is for the relationship to no longer work.

He knows it won't be easy, but he will do the impossible.

Although… the breaking point is near.

general taglist:

@melsunshine @n4forlife @iamavailablesstuff @ttkttt @elliaze @trshngyn @tsujifreya @imsoshygirl @watercolorskyy @kckt88 @zenka69 @yentroucnagol @crispmarshmallow @bellastwd @queenofshinigamis @strangersunghoon @happinessinthebeing

#aemond fanfiction #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen fanfic #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x y/n #aemond targaryen x you #aemond x fem!reader #aemond x oc #aemond x reader #hotd aemond

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mini-golden · 3 months ago

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⚠️ Spoilers for chapter 359 ⚠️

I honestly didn't expect I'd be posting as many chapter rants but here we are. I really need to draw these guys again soon. Anyway onto the chapter rant.

I'm really liking Fanny's character this arc, I honestly didn't care much for her character at first. I always liked that she isn't a perfect victim, we really need more of those in media (cause you know the 'perfect victim' doesn't actually exist). I'm happy with how much of her we've gotten to see. She really wants to change and I hope we see her succeed in that. I genuinely hope that we can get a Oswald and Fanny friendship in the future.

I love the variety there is in inky mystery of how characters react to things. I think Felix' character is so interesting, he has contrasting and conflicting character traits that are fun to see pull and tug at each other. I like the fact that when Felix is in emotional distress he tends to run away. It's such a realistic reaction and it's a reaction that you don't really expect of a character like Felix on a surface level. I would love to do a character analysis on him one day.

Oswald you are truly pure of heart and dumb of ass. I love this man but boy does he have me in the trenches defending his actions. He is so impulsive even in his 30s. I can't imagine how much of a handful Oswald was in his youth if this is him supposedly mellowed.

I love how Bendy and Cuphead were just like 'so you two are together?' It was hilarious to me but also it shows how close Oswald and Felix have become. Obviously we know that Felix cannot hide his feelings for Oswald at all but a relationship goes both ways so there's obviously been a lot of development between them. We finally have Oswald blushing at Felix and having feelings for him blossoming. (Tap please make them kiss and my life is yours).

Bendy and Felix are so cute. I can't wait to have him and Boris live with Felix. I think we all deserve the fluff that will bring. Bendy's comment was so funny to me because yeah actually Oswald you are the lucky one. I don't know how he managed to pull a well-educated rich cat that is kind and is good with kids. Oswald did actually win the lottery with that one, Felix has his flaws obviously but my point still stands. I love how chill Bendy was about the possibility of Felix dating Oswald.

I also really want to see more Felix and Dr. Oddswell. He clearly cares about Felix and trusts his judgement on things.

The seeds have been planted for Felix really grasping how much people compare him to Ortensia which I am both scared and excited to see where that goes or if it's just a throw away line. I think it could make some interesting angst (that I will only appreciate if it there is an Osix bounce back if it goes that way). Cuphead is confirmed bisexual to the surprise of no one. That man has never given 'straight' in his life.

#bendy and boris in the inky mystery #inky mystery #fanny cottontail #oswald the lucky rabbit #felix the cat #bendy bbro #cuphead #raine rants

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ghouldtime · 4 months ago

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Hello again! Since you said that you HC König to be Styrian, do you think he'd be the kind of person to sometimes speak his dialect with reader to tease them a little? The dialect is kinda hard to understand for people, who only speak High German (the German you find in texts and the one you're taught at school and stuff). Because I speak with a dialect as well and I'd love nothing more than to banter with König in our Austrian dialect together! Of course, there's a thousand dialects in Austria! So, someone from Styria has a hard time understanding someone from Vorarlberg, but still! (Also, because I HC him from the southern part of Styria, I like to imagine he "barks" a little when he speaks! It's gotten better as he grew up, but when he gets drunk he still barks, which makes it harder to understand him! It's really hard to understand some people from southern Styria >.< Are we allowed to share our own HCs with you? I just thought it'd make sense since I am Austrian! Not trying to sound entitled or anything, of course! But I just love giving him HCs of things I'm familiar with :>)

Anyway, sorry for the long ask! Have a nice day! ^^

💚💚💚💚💚 HELLLLOO it's great to see you back again :D I hope you're doing well! Also prefacing this with I'm an American so I'm admittedly not the most well versed in everything Austrian! I do put in my research and know some but I haven't even been there so if I'm ever wrong, absolutely feel free to correct me (I try my best not to be totally ignorant)

To answer your question simply in one word: ABSOLUTELY. Caps, bold, and all.

Naturally, his default IS his dialect. That's what he grew up speaking, that's what he learned, that's what sounds the most correct to him. Yes, it's not the standard, but it's HIS standard.

If reader doesn't know his dialect or if he's going out of his way to be a bit of a little shit, he'll be teasing about it - he's got a sense of humor (as unconventional as it might be). Assuming reader is learning German, he of course will still be helpful with teaching! He'll speak the "textbook" standard, but he's still slipping his dialect in, especially if they're catching onto what he's saying and he wants to make a sly comment.

What did he just say? Oh, nothing, you'll figure it out :) .... eventually, in due time.... and maybe a few post it notes in your text books there...

If they already know German, he'll pretty much insist on his dialect and will maybe speak a bit slower if you're lucky. But he'll talk so much if he likes you, you'll catch on - sooner or later (all apart of his masterplan). He's far more comfortable speaking German so he naturally adopts a faster talking pace too to match

Side note Dialects are SO interesting. One of my pals is Norwegian and he'd look me dead in the eyes and switch to another dialect whenever I understood him. Frustrating, actually pretty hilarious, and gives me MORE incentive to learn and to try and figure it out. How a single language can vary so differently from place to place in the same country is very interesting to see and hear alike

(Also you're absolutely welcome to share head cannons with me anytime!! 💚💚💚 I love hearing them and I love seeing that people can relate and have their own experiences to add. It really adds depth when we know we're never getting more than the bare minimum and it's not entitled at all its so nice to hear these little details)

I'm absolutely on board with that head cannon and support it FULLY in every sense of the word. That's 110% HIM. Since he wasn't much of a talker as a kid too I think it certainly was much more pronounced for that reason before it lessened as he grew up, and especially had more exposure to his peers.

I adore niche head cannons like this, it's my bread and butter. Because you KNOW we'd not get that level of love and attention to detail with or from the game alone and it's just adding that extra pizzazz, that extra depth that he deserves

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 If you don't mind, I'll adopt that for him because it's so perfect??? It's so him I just love the idea so so so much

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cowgurrrl · 2 years ago

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Hi! Love the writing. Could I please request Joel with teenage twins. I just think him being caught in the middle of two teenagers fighting about who stole who’s shirt and being scared for his life is hilarious and kind of sweet.

Holy shit i love this

Salad Days

Pairing: rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader

Author's note: you know that video of Dave Grohl where he's talking about being a dad and the best part and he goes, "Having children that don't fucking care that you're a rockstar. My kids don't give a shit if I'm in the Foo Fighters. They're like 'Daddy, I need a smoothie 🙄 NOW." That's what this gives.

Summary: The T-Shirt Coup [1.2k]

Warnings: the girls are sixteen in this, that's literally it

"Sophia Parker and Violet Isabelle Miller! If you're not down here in five minutes, I'm leavin' without you!" You yell up the stairs. Joel chuckles from his place at the kitchen counter, shoveling cereal into his mouth like it's his last meal, and you give him a look. "What?"

"You had an accent when you yelled at them." He says. You scoff and walk over to him, stealing a sip of coffee from his mug.

"I did not."

"You totally did."

"Even if I did, which I didn't, you should take it as a compliment." You say, busying yourself with some mail left on the counter. You feel him raise his eyebrows before you see it, and he puts down his bowl to wrap an arm around your waist and pull you into his chest until your shoulder presses into his sternum. You ignore him and his stupid Laker's shirt he knows you love and read the same letter from the girls' school over and over again.

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"I've been married to you for twenty-two years, and you're just now finally rubbing off on me. It's something to celebrate, really." You snark, and he laughs. It's one of his big, full laughs that makes him throw his head back. The sight makes your heart shine.

"You're an asshole." He says lovingly, taking the mail he knows you don't care about out of your hand and turning you so he can have your full attention.

"Yeah, yeah," you laugh as you lock your arms around his shoulders. "What do you have planned for today, Mr. Miller?" You ask, and he sighs.

"I gotta go into the studio. We just signed a new band, and we're havin' a meeting to talk about the next album," he says. Despite the annoyed tone he's adopted, you can see how excited he is about this new venture. He loves allowing new, young bands to make something fresh. He says it keeps him young. You know it's what he was meant to do all along. "What bout you? What're you doin' today, Mrs. Miller?"

"One of my old students has a project they want to pitch for me to produce. She's brilliant and an amazing writer, so I'm sure I'll say yes and shell out all our money."

"For the children," he says dramatically, and you laugh. "She's lucky to have you in her corner. I'm sure it'll be great." His words hit right where they need to, and you press yourself closer to him.

"You're a sap." Your words ghost over his lips, and his hand slides into your back pocket like always.

"Yeah, yeah." He breathes. You're less than an inch apart, and it wouldn't take much movement to actually kiss him, but you like being this close to him. You like counting all his freckles and watching him try to decide who will be the first to break. His lips barely graze yours when suddenly stomping feet and a loud argument make their way down the stairs and into the kitchen. You take a deep breath as you and Joel turn to look at the girls, who barely acknowledge how you're wrapped up in each other because they always see you being affectionate with each other. Joel Miller has not gotten more subtle about his PDA in his old age.

"Mom, please tell Violet this is my shirt!" Sophia demands, tugging on the fabric of a worn UT shirt.

"I literally wore it last week! You commented on it and everything!" Violet looks to you. "Do you remember, Mom? I was wearing it when we went to Trader Joe's on Thursday."

"That's true. You were," you say, making Sophia's jaw drop. Of the two, Sophia has always had a little more flair for the dramatics, something she definitely gets from you. On more than one occasion, Sophia has done or said something ridiculous, and Joel bursts out laughing because he thinks it's something you would do or say. "But Vi, I told you last week that you stole my shirt from my closet, and I wanted it back. I thought you were gonna, at least, wash it first."

"Ew! You didn't wash it?!" Sophia screeches.

"Of course, I did, dipshit! I just... forgot Mom wanted it back."

"Wait a second," Joel says, finally catching up with the argument. He looks between the shirt and the three of you before tilting his head to give you an are-you-fucking-serious-right-now look. "I've been lookin' for that for weeks! That's my shirt." He says. Suddenly, it all connects. You stole it from Joel. Violet stole it from you. Sophia stole it from Violet. As the realization settles over the room, Sophia walks over to Joel, puts her hand on his shoulder, and squeezes like a disappointed teacher.

"Our shirt."

"Communism shirt!" Violet yells, making you laugh so hard that you stumble against Joel.

"You can't just yell 'communism shirt' and expect me to not want my shirt back." He tries to argue.

"Dad! You're not listening. It's a community shirt. Get with the times, old man."

"Old man?!"

"Hey, I happen to think he's a very hot and sexy old man." You jump in, and the girls groan.

"Thank you, baby," Joel says as he kisses you firmly. The girls boo and pretend to cover their eyes in disgust, making you all laugh. You pull away from Joel, but he chases your lips for a few quick kisses until he finally lets you go.

"We're gonna be late if we keep talking about the communism shirt. Girls get in the car, please," you say, stealing one more sip of coffee from Joel's cup, and the girls groan in protest as they slip on their backpacks and walk to the front door. You smile as you look at Joel, alone again for just a second. "You gotta start hiding your shirts better otherwise, they're all gonna become Marxist property."

"This is somethin' they should really put in the parenting books," he says, and you laugh. He grabs your purse from the kitchen table for you and kisses you again as he slides it up your arm. "Love you."

"Love you, too. Let me know how the album meeting goes."

"Let me know how the pitch goes." He echoes. This is how much of your life has been together: letting each other go and make creative decisions while supporting them no matter how they play out. Many Hollywood couples get divorced because they can't learn how to give their partner the support and patience they need to create art. You and Joel have always been good about making sure the other feels supported and heard but not weighed down by differing artistic opinions or thoughts. He has his work, and you have yours, and you make it work. It's one of the reasons you love him so much. That and the fact that he still walks you to your car and opens the door for you after more than twenty years together. Granted, he smacks your ass in front of your daughters while you're climbing into the car, but that's par for the course.

He blows kisses to his teenage daughters in the backseat and waves as you roll down the driveway, standing there until you disappear around the corner. His cologne is imprinted on your shirt collar, and you can still feel his lips on yours when Sophia sits up in her seat.

"I can't believe Dad didn't know about communism shirt."

#rockstar!joel miller x actress!reader #one for the money two for the show #one for the money two for the show request #rockstar!joel #rockstar!joel was built to be a dad/husband #the last of us au #tlou au #joel miller au #joel miller fic #joel miller fluff #joel miller the last of us #joel miller x reader #joel miller series #tlou fluff #the last of us fluff

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takenbyjenna · 4 months ago

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Interview

Jenna Ortega x fem!reader In which Jenna talks about you in an interview TW: Swearing

"Jenna, are you ready? The interviewer is here", Jenna's manager asked. "Just gimme a minute, I'll be out there"

"Baby I gotta go, I love you, see later"

"I love you too, you're gonna slay this interview" She laughed at your dorky comment and blew you a kiss as you hung up.

You and Jenna have been dating for a couple of months now and she recently came out and posted you on Instagram which made her fans go crazy, she received lots of positive things but of course, there would always be hate but she didn't worry about that.

She took one last look in the mirror before coming out and greeting the interviewer. Everything was in place and in a couple of seconds, they began filming.

"Hello there, my name is Mathew, and you're watching my show, duh. Today, I have the talented, gorgeous, amazing Jenna Ortega with me!"

"Hi", she showed a smile and made everyone's heart swoon but she knew that the smile was only meant for you.

"How have you been lately? I know you're a very busy woman now considering that you just dropped one of Netflix's most viewed show-well the most viewed show and then Scream 6 released. How are you feeling? How are you dealing with all this?"

"Well, I think I'm handling everything pretty well. Umm I'm super excited for you guys to watch the new scream movie and of course, Wednesday wouldn't have gotten so much recognition if it wasn't for the lovely fans so I love you guys", she blew a kiss to the camera which made the cameraman nearly fall.

"You're as charming as ever Ms. Ortega. By the way, congratulations on coming out and in your last post there was a beautiful girl. You think I could have her number?" he joked.

"Hahaha, you're funny. No, you can't, she's mine"

"I know I know I was just kidding so tell us a little about her"

"Well for starters, she's the most beautiful girl I've laid my eyes on. She's even more charming than me and her dorky side and small attempts of flirting make my day ten times better. She's one of the main reasons how I was able to deal with all the things that are happening right now. She's my rock and shields through hard times and she's just literally so perfecr-ughhhh I just love her" she expressed.

"Well, it seems you are so in love with her. She's probably considering herself lucky to have if I'm being honest"

"No, it's the other way around. I don't think anyone will be willing to do long-distance relationships with me having to travel to shoot scenes and put up with my bullshit. So I'm the lucky one."

"She sounds like a real goddess what's her name?"

"Y/N L/N, but I hope that last name changes someday", she winked at the camera. Mathew smirked and slowly wrapped up the interview. As soon as it was done, Jenna was already through the door, wanting to go home to you as soon as possible.

After a few minutes of driving, she parked at your shared apartment and practically sprinted through the door. "Baby I'm home!" she shouted as she put her purse and keys on the counter. She heard laughter coming from the living room and smiled once she saw you watching the interview she had just done. "Enjoying yourself baby?"

"Jesus Jenna! Dont scare me"

"You seriously did not hear me come in?"

"No, I was too invested in your captivating smile baby. I'm not perfect though but I know I'm the best" She walked towards you and sat next to you. She laughed and held your face in her hands. "You are perfect to me. You are my perfect girl" She pulled you into a sweet loving kiss. "I love you baby"

"I love you too"

#jenna #jenna ortega #jenna marie ortega #imagines #one shots #lesbian #lesbianism #wlw #gl #fem x fem

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silverynight · 1 year ago

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The nightclub

Izuku is actually very lucky; he has a job that pays really good and he gets to meet a lot of pro heroes. Of course he would've preferred to meet them wearing more clothes (because he's shy) but the bunny outfit is cute. Sure, it's also very tight, but Izuku has gotten used to it.

Besides, he's only there to greet customers so he doesn't have to flirt with them or sit on their laps like his co-workers do; at least they seem to enjoy it, especially when they get to meet gorgeous pro heroes.

Izuku has seen a couple of the other workers or "bunnies" fighting over Red Riot, Pinky, Grand and a lot of the top pro heroes...

In the time he's been working there Izuku has never seen Dynamight, although for some reason and based on what he knows about the explosive hero, it makes sense. It seems like he doesn't like to be in that kind of places.

Red Riot has made a couple of comments to Izuku about his friend (customers sometimes stay a little bit longer in the lobby just to talk with Izuku, they're usually friendly) and it seems he likes to go to bed early and doesn't enjoy meeting new people.

"The loser is not even dating anyone at the moment," Pinky adds, touching Izuku's shoulder and leaning closer to him.

"Maybe he hasn't found the right one yet," he says gently, smiling at her.

"I don't think he wants to find anyone," Chargebolt cuts in with an amused smile. "Besides, he's not... friendly."

"But he's not bad!" Red Riot protests.

"I'm sure he isn't," Izuku agrees, noticing that the security guards of the place are getting irritated; they always do, especially when clients stay a little bit too long in the entrance. "Well... I hope you enjoy–"

"I bet you'd make him change his mind, cutie," Pinky says, with a wolfish grin on her beautiful face.

"I don't think so," Izuku mumbles, shaking his head.

"It's time to get inside," one of the guards protests, prompting Chargebolt to pout. "There are more people waiting."

"Fine!" Pinky rolls her eyes at them before giving Izuku a sweet smile. "We'll see you again in a bit, pretty!"

The place belongs to the Todoroki family, which is why pro hero Shoto comes in the place every now and then, he doesn't stay long, sometimes he just meets with his siblings or his father there, although he always stays for a while to chat with Izuku.

He's actually the reason why Izuku doesn't have to be inside and hand drinks or sit on the clients laps (the ones who actually ask for it) instead he gets to be in the lobby to greet customers.

"I don't mind doing the other stuff," Izuku had told Shoto, but the pro hero insisted on keeping him at the entrance.

"Midoriya," the pro hero surprises him again that night. "It's nice to see you."

Izuku beams before waving at the pro hero's sister as well.

"Business meeting?"

"Something like that," Shoto says, looking down at the bunny outfit. "So they gave you an emerald one this time..."

"Yes, they told me it'd look good with my eyes," Izuku says, feeling a little bit flustered out of the sudden.

"It does."

"Thank you!"

Shoto gets a message on his phone, grimaces and tells Izuku he'll see him before leaving.

He's little bit quiet and serious, but a really good friend once you get to know him. Or at least that's what Izuku thinks.

***

It's really late when he finally heads home, the good thing is that he doesn't live that far from the nightclub so he usually walks all the way towards his apartment.

"Oh, hello, pretty!" There's a man in the alley; Izuku can tell by the way he speaks and walks that he's had a couple of drinks so he pretends he can't listen to him.

However, the man gets angry and starts calling him a whore; Izuku keeps looking right ahead, but listening carefully behind himself.

When the man starts following him, Izuku begins to walk faster, but perhaps the man wasn't as drunk as he initially thought because he gets a lot closer.

Izuku turns around and starts thinking about his self-defense class, he has taken a couple of those for the past years just in case...

He feels a tug on the back of his neck, like someone's pulling his hair with a lot of force from behind. But the man is right in front of him.

And he's grinning. It must be a quirk. He must be able to control things with his mind.

"If you behave, I won't hurt you. I just want to have fun."

Instead of getting scared, Izuku tries to do something unexpected to distract him; he runs towards him and kicks him on the shins to make him fall.

It works. Izuku starts running away, but this time the tug is stronger and he falls all over his backpack. And the man is standing again, but this time he has a knife in his hand.

He jumps at him, but Izuku rolls away in the last second and gets up again.

Izuku feels a pull on his arm and a hand close to his face, but he's ready this time: he bites the hand and the pain is enough to distract the man.

"Fuck you, you fuc–"

From the shadows, someone knocks the man out.

Izuku recognizes the hero suit even before the blond walks into the light completely. Dynamight is a lot taller in person.

"Sorry to steal all the fun, but I got really pissed at him," he huffs, grimacing at the unconscious man on the ground before smirking at Izuku. "You were handling it pretty well... for a nerd."

He adds the last bit after noticing Izuku's All Might shirt...

"Thank you, Dynamight," Izuku mumbles then, feeling himself blush. The truth is that he's one of his favorite pro heroes, but he's not going to say that to him. Not after being called nerd.

"Bakugo Katsuki."

"Midoriya Izuku."

Dynamight stares at him with a huge grin, his red eyes make Izuku feel flustered again.

"Listen, Izuku. I'll tie this fucker up and leave him here for the police to find and then I'll take you home."

Izuku is still processing the fact that Dynamight chose to use his first name even though they just met.

"There's no need, Dynamight–"

"Too bad you don't have a choice, nerd. And call me Katsuki."

"But we just met!"

"So?" It seems the situation is really amusing to the pro hero... Which means Izuku has zero chance of changing his mind.

"Fine. I'll call you Kacchan then!"

"What? That's not..." He stops, as he finishes tying the man up. When he notices that Izuku is trying not to chuckle, he smiles back. "You can call me Kacchan if that's what you want, Izuku."

He doesn't know how, but he makes Izuku's name sound more intimate than it already is.

"Come, Izuku... Let me walk you home."

Even though Dynamight is clearly teasing him, Izuku is enjoying every second of it.

"Thank you, Kacchan."

***

It's been three days since he met Katsuki and even though Izuku would like to see him again, he knows it's not going to happen. But at least meeting him was good.

He's not as grumpy or difficult as some people on Twitter claim he is; he's nice and funny and very kind.

"Pretty bunny!" Pinky grins, startling Izuku for a moment.

"Oh, hi!" He's glad the lobby is mostly dark with blue and pink lights; it's difficult to notice if someone's blushing that way. And his face turns pink quite often. "So... A nice couch inside for three?"

"I called earlier actually," Pinky says, grinning from ear to ear. "This is a special occasion, we'll be celebrating our friend's birthday here."

Izuku grabs the iPad on the counter and starts looking for the reservation... They requested a private couch inside the club.

"Sure!" He grins, looking at the entrance. "Do you want me to take you already or shall we wait for–"

Chargebolt walks in, looking a little bit embarrassed, behind him someone is cursing loudly as Red Riot is struggling with said person outside.

"I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO COME! THIS IS A SHITTY PLACE!"

"Come on, Bakubro! Just give it a chance!"

"I'm really sorry about him, Midoriya," Chargebolt apologizes, looking like he wants to disappear.

"What are you–Kacchan?"

Suddenly, Katsuki stops struggling, he shakes Red Riot's hand away and rushes into the lobby until he's right in front of Izuku.

"Izu... ku?" Katsuki chokes as soon as he notices the bunny outfit Izuku is wearing and his cheeks turn bright red in seconds.

So Izuku was wrong, everyone can see when someone's blushing even under that particular light.

"Do you know each other?" Pinky asks excitedly at the same time Red Riot blurts out: "Is this the cute guy with freckles you haven't stopped talking about, Bakubro? That's so manly!"

"SHUT UP!"

Despite the way he yells at them, it's obvious Katsuki is flustered.

"Why does he call you Kacchan?" Chargebolt asks, looking quite amused.

"I'm sorry!" Izuku apologizes immediately. He's at work, he shouldn't have used that nickname, although in his defense he didn't expect to see him there. "Dynamight–"

"No, please... You can keep calling me Kacchan," Katsuki says, ignoring his friends' smiles.

Izuku nods, feeling his cheeks like they're on fire, but he manages to smile back at him.

"Alright... Since it's your birthday, the first round of drinks is on the house and you can choose a bunny boy or girl to keep you company the whole night," he says easily; it's not the first time he does it. A lot of pro heroes like to come to the club on their birthdays. "Now let me take you to your private couch."

Izuku pushes the main door and immediately the music gets louder; people are already dancing and chatting, but they move out of the way when they see them.

"I didn't know the outfit included a fluffy bunny tail!" Pinky has to yell behind him, the music is loud, but Izuku manages to hear what she's saying anyway.

"Yes! All the bunny suits include one!" Izuku replies without looking back, they're almost there.

"Blasty seems to be fascinated by the tail because he hasn't stopped staring at it!" She laughs, ignoring the growl behind her. "Or maybe he's just looking at your–"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"Here we are," Izuku is glad he doesn't have to raise his voice anymore. The music gets a little bit muffled by the booth around the couch. "A couple of our bunnies will come to take–"

"I want you to keep me company for the rest of the night, Izuku."

"I can't, Kacchan," he says, looking away. It's the first time he laments being the one who greets the customers instead of bringing them drinks. "I have to stay in the lobby."

"You said I could choose whomever I wanted to keep me company..."

"Well... yes, but not me."

Katsuki pouts and his friends try really hard not to laugh.

"You can go now, pretty. Blasty will be fine."

***

Izuku is a bit distracted the rest of the night, he keeps thinking about how Katsuki is doing. Is he having a good time? He must be because they haven't walked out yet.

When his shift is over and he comes out of the bathroom with his own clothes, Izuku sighs and wonders if he'll see the pro hero again. Well, he probably will if Katsuki decides to come back.

"Let me walk you home..."

Izuku gets startled when he hears his voice; Katsuki and his friends are outside, waiting for him. The other three pro heroes are chuckling and whispering to each other with amusement.

"Blasty was a pain in the ass the whole time," Pinky tells him, ignoring Katsuki's glare. "I think he scared the bunnies with his attitude; he was throwing a tantrum because he wanted you to be there."

"I WASN'T–"

"Well... Our Uber is here!" Red Riot cuts him off, pointing at a car. "You two have a good night! And be nice, Bakubro!"

"I'M ALWAYS NICE, SHITTY HAIR!"

Izuku can't help but chuckle at the same time Katsuki's friends roll their eyes at him. Then he realizes that the others purposely left them alone and his laughter fades away.

"Can I... walk you home, Izuku?"

"Of course, Kacchan," he smiles, cheeks turning slightly pink under Katsuki's soft glance.

The pro hero takes his hand then, the grip is gentle, almost like he's waiting for Izuku to shove his hand away. However, Izuku intertwines their fingers instead.

The moon up in the sky has never looked so beautiful like in that moment.

***

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1moreff-creator · 19 days ago

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Danganronpa: One Shot - Prologue & Chapter 1 Analysis

Hello lovelies and loveliers! Since DR:OS’ first chapter has officially closed out, I figured it’d be a good idea to touch base and make a little analysis of all its characters and the things that have happened before moving forward! … Is what I would say, if I’d gotten this out in time. Yeah I took too long and now CH2’s started already (_ _ ///). I’m not sure I’ll do this every chapter, seeing how long it takes me compared to how fast DROS updates, but y’know. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there :v For now, let’s talk about the sillies!

CWs: Daily Life and Deadly Life

The format here will be the same as the one I followed for my DRDT CH2 analysis. That is, start by talking about the general plot and the trial, and then go character by character, in ascending order of relevance for this chapter. Though, obviously, what characters are more relevant than others is subjective, but I'll try :v

However, there's a few extras this time around. For starters, back when all we had of the cast were a couple of drawings and symbols, I made some early predictions about what they would be like. Though I won't go over all the predictions, I will at least make some comments on my talent predictions, so there's that. Additionally, since we know DROS has an in-cast mastermind, I'll rank the characters based on how likely I find them to be the mm, and give a little reasoning for that. I didn't really think I had enough to say on that front for a separate post, so I'm sticking it here! With that said, let's get into it!

Daily Life & Deadly Life

I don't have a whole lot to say about the Daily Life section of CH1, since it's mostly composed of character interactions that will be brought up later. I do love the "talent show for secondary talents” idea, but the prologue deserves a bit more attention since it's the setup for the setting of the killing game.

The characters’ last memories of the outside include the start of the Tragedy (back when it hadn't left Japan yet), so we can't be too far from that even when taking the cast's mass amnesia into account. Fun fact, thanks to the CH1 Bonus Scenes, we can actually place the moment the cast’s memories cut off (assuming it’s all the same time barring Mark) at some point after 4/10/2011, which is the release date of "The Son of Neptune", a book referenced in the Robert & Taylor scene. It may also be before 7/10/2014, which is when The Blood of Olympus, the last book in that particular series of Percy Jackson books, released. I say that based on how Mark and Taylor talk about the Percy Jackson series, but I could be wrong on that. Also yes I’m using non-American notation for dates because the way the US does it, as usual, is stupid.

This killing game is also the sixth held in the resort, which is a pretty noteworthy thing even if we know very little about what its significance is. In terms of timeline, my current assumption is that this is happening after Junko's death in the THH killing game, meaning the thing is maybe being organized by Remnants of Despair, but I have very little reason to believe this beyond the fact that these people are doing a killing game in the first place.

Something that particularly interests me at this point is the place the killing game is happening in. See, at several points, it's been made clear that the organizers of this killing game really want to stick very closely to the Hope's Peak aesthetic. In particular, as Kennedy points out in her introduction, Ellis is not just called the “Ultimate Luckster” or something of the sort, but rather, they're the “Ultimate Lucky Student” even when they aren't a student at all. This is presumably because all Hope's Peak classes have an Ultimate Lucky Student, so when choosing the participants for the killing game, the organizers specifically chose someone to fit that role.

However, if they're that committed to the Hope's Peak aesthetic, why hold the killing game in a resort and casino, instead of a school? Did they not have access to a school, or even a school-like building? Is it simply because the mastermind wanted to be more comfortable through the course of the killing game? Is there another reason I'm missing? Is there even a reason? One could also ask why the organizers grabbed a bunch of adults, instead of high schoolers, but I find the question of the building a bit more pressing. In any case, it's not something that I feel can be properly speculated upon right now. We lack too much critical information. However, I will note it down as an interesting mystery moving forward.

But after peace comes a storm; Deadly Life time! The first case is a hell of a start, with the sheer brutality of a dismemberment setting the bar high for future trials in terms of how complicated the murder plans could get. Though I’m not really the biggest fan of gore only for the sake of shock, I think this case does just enough to instantly hook the reader with the premise of such a brutal method, without dwelling excessively in it and letting other parts of the case carry the mystery. The fact it happened before a formal motive announcement was also its own hook. Basically I like it :D

The mystery itself was fun, too! Nothing too crazy, which is expected of a first case, but things like the motion sensors and the ever present question of why the hell Cass left their room to go to the casino made for a pretty fun enigma to think about.

The trial was also very engaging, especially with how high the mini game to word ratio was. Pretty fun to play along with those things! Although I’m sending up a prayer to the creators’ Docs main page, there’s gonna be so many mini game docs by the time this ends xD The cast of One Shot is… not the fastest, presumably because the authors prefer a high ratio of minigames, but they make for a lot of pretty fun moments in the trial.

Finally, all the more introspective sections we get with Ellis every now and then are great, but that’s mostly because Ellis is awesome so I’ll get into it more in their section :v

Alright, now to get started on the characters!

Monoquin

Cool mascot! Though I hope you’ll forgive I don’t have much to say about him, seeing as so far he’s been more of a Thing facilitating the progress of the killing game than an actual character. Not a bad thing, he is what he is, and a mascot that’s actually pretty professional helps keep the focus on the cast in pretty much all scenes, which is a benefit.

Harper Young

-Original talent guess: Pacifist/Activist/Make-Other-People-Feel-Good-Person -Actual talent: Philanthropist -Talent prediction notes: Well the idea was there xD -Likes: Charities. Dislikes: Vineyards.

I mean, ve really doesn’t do much this chapter. Right now, all we really know about ver is that ve had run into Noah before the killing game doing charity work around his frat, that ve likes to knit, and that ve’s getting kinda restless not being able to so much to help people.

Noah [CH1, Page 41]: Yo, Harper? Harper: Hm? What is it? Noah: You wanna do something, or… something? You seem on edge. Harper: Oh, apologies. I suppose I’m not used to not doing anything. I’ll go grab my quilt.

(Note: All quotes from CH1 are cited with the page they're found in the full chapter doc)

This also gets reiterated a few times during ver Bonus Scene with Noah. In that scene, Noah also implies that Harper's not just rich, but a billionaire.

Noah: [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 8]: Yeah… I definitely didn’t have to struggle or anything, but I’m sure there’s a difference between upper middle class and literal billionaire.

That’s still quite a fair bit for the character who got the least focus in the chapter imo, which is cool.

I can see ver character going a few different ways, either breaking down from restlessness or the inability of helping those who die from the killing game. Ve's been relatively calm so far, but who knows how long that's gonna last.

On another note, what beef does ve have with vineyards. They don't seem like uniquely bad businesses from what I found on a few browser searches. Harper, what did the grapes do? ToT

-Mastermind Ranking: 7/16. Harper's actually on the lower end of the people I suspect a bit. While ve has less outright disqualifying lines (aka things the mm would never say) than those below ver, ve does seems genuinely worried about what's happening outside.

Harper [CH1, 2]: Even if it isn’t something I’m required to do, I have commitments I’m worried about letting down. There are people to help.

Question: What personal belonging from the outside would you bring into the killing game? Harper: “An update on how my foundations are doing would set my mind at ease.”

And while that could all be a lie, the extra detail that ve's restless and not all that happy in the killing game is enough for me to put ver relatively low on the list.

Robert Smith

-Original talent guess: Blank Slate/Regular Person/Guy -Actual talent: Normie -Talent prediction notes: Actually kinda proud of this one! -Likes: Pizza. Dislikes: Mosquitoes.

Robert is a very interesting character to have in a cast so full of weird-ass characters as this one (or any fangan cast really). He didn’t do much in CH1, per se, but his normality contrasted with everyone else’s… deal… certainly helps establish how no one here is all that well adjusted. Robert’s the most shaken up over Cass’ death, just on how gruesome the murder was, for example. And given how he talks about how impressive he believes the others to be based on his CH1 Bonus Scene, this does seem like it’s going to be a recurring thing for his character.

That said, there is also the fact that Robert seems to enjoy literature, what with him reading Percy Jackson and his secondary talent being reading a poem. And this means it’s time to go Literature Girl Insane (it’s funnier the third time! /ref), and see if there’s any symbolism in the literature my guy brings up.

The book referenced in his Bonus Scene, “The Son of Neptune,” doesn’t strike me as incredibly relevant… from a reading of the Wikipedia plot summary- look I’ve never read Percy Jackson you’re gonna have to deal with that.

There’s something to be said about how Percy being an outcast at the camp he arrives at or something could connect to Robert’s feelings about being an outcast in the presence of Ultimates (Taylor’s too), but that’s kinda all I could gather. The plot being about Percy being an amnesiac, if anything, would connect it more to Mark, unless Robert or Taylor have some kind of important memories missing as well. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it and “The Son of Neptune” just got picked because it’s a popular book that a normie would read and fits the time frame of DROS, who knows!

As for the poem he reads in the talent show, “The Road Not Taken”, it’s a little more interesting when applied to Robert. As I said in my First Impressions post for that particular part, the fact the poem itself is a bit open ended in interpretation means that it’s hard to know how to apply it to Robert’s character. However, here’s my current best guess:

The Road Not Taken shows a person in a fork in a road, who takes one of the paths and won’t return to take the other. In the moment, it’s clear both are equally traveled. However, in retrospect, the person claims “with a sigh” that they took the road less traveled and “it made all the difference.” Whether the difference was good or bad is left up to the reader, but the main thing to note is the fact that the person’s hindsight is flawed because neither road was actually traveled more or less than the other.

In his Bonus Scene, Robert says this:

Robert [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 3]: “I have to try so hard to pretend I’m feeling normal and not lose my cool, so that I can fit in with everyone else.”

So, Robert wants to fit in, he basically wants to be “normal” in a sense. Remember how the difference taking the road less traveled makes can be either good or bad depending on the reader? Robert would be afraid that taking the road less traveled, “not fitting in”, would make a negative difference. That means he always wants to take the other road, which is presumably what led him to be the Ultimate Normie.

However, keep in mind that both roads in the poem are actually equal. Robert does what he thinks is normal, not what is actually normal. Because “normal” is relative. In the killing game, moving on quickly from a death is “normal”, where as that likely wouldn’t be the case outside of this setting or with different participants. This sets up a possible arc of Robert learning to choose whichever “road” he wants without worrying about fitting in, because the concept of “fitting in” is sorta flawed in a sense. Cue parallels with Taylor (more on that later) and foils with Aidan, who as the Ultimate Contrarian would be representative of always taking the road less traveled, if such a thing exists.

Or maybe I’m reading way too much into this and the poem just got picked because of the irony of the Ultimate Normie reading a poem from the perspective of someone who believes to have gone against the norm. That’s also very possible xD

-Mastermind ranking: 4/16. It might shock you to see him this high, but it really shouldn’t. Robert doesn’t have any lines going directly against the possibility of him being the mm the way some other people do, and Tsumugi from V3 gives precedent to the idea that maybe we shouldn’t trust the “plain” ones. Plus, I could see some point about how during the Tragedy, it would be “normal” for someone to be obsessed with causing despair. The only reason he isn’t higher is his squeamishness at the sight of Cass’ corpse.

Noah Walker

-Original talent guess: Hellenic Scholar -Actual talent: Frat Boy -Talent prediction notes: I did pick up the frat bro vibes, but the Greek letters threw me off. I now know that represents his frat's "name", per say. The US is a very, very strange place. -Likes: Electric Guitar. Dislikes: Fights.

Similar to the last two, not much going on with him yet. He's talked about his dad disliking the idea of Noah failing out of college, and apparently has two sisters:

Noah [CH1, Page 2]: I don’t think my dad would be happy if I failed out of college…

Harper [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 8]: You said you had sisters, right? Noah: Yeah, two of them.

Plays guitar, played basketball in high school, doesn't get hangovers…

Grace [CH1, 58]: I’m surprised you don’t seem to be hungover, Noah? Noah: Oh, that doesn’t happen with me. Pretty cool.

And had met Harper before the killing game in charity events his frat set up. So, yeah :v

Unlike with Harper and Robert, I have few guesses as to where this guy's going character-wise. Genuinely no clue :p

Btw, I did try to research if his frat, Lambda Omega 𝚲𝛀 (I think? The capital Lambda is upside down on his pendant for some reason, but there's no other capital Greek letter that looks like that), and I found out something quite interesting.

I really have no idea how the US works, in the slightest. I couldn't make sense of half the info I was getting :p

Apart from that, while real life 𝚲𝛀 does in fact exist, I didn't see anything immediately related to Noah. So, if it's important, let it be brought up in the story itself xD

Finally, since I overanalyzed Robert’s poem in the talent show, I may as well do the same for the others. Though Noah’s pick of playing “Eye of the Tiger” isn’t too hard to understand. It’s a song all about ambition and passion, which is very popular with Noah’s general demographic. Basically it’s the exact type of song you’d expect a frat boy to play in a talent show :p

-Mastermind Ranking: 6/16. Everything I said about Harper applies to this guy as well. He's only higher because there's less instances of him disliking the killing game environment, aside from disliking the actual murder aspect of course.

Davis Love

-Original talent guess: Romantic. -Actual talent: Bachelor. -Talent prediction notes: Close, yet so far. -Likes: Wildflowers. Dislikes: Pick-up Lines.

Half these people have insane talents, and Davis’ is no exception. Anyone who is attracted to men will apparently be attracted to Davis, be it romantically or sexually or both depending on their sexuality. Certainly an interesting setup for a character, which we've already seen effects of with how uncomfortable he is when people flirt with him. It's worth noting he's pan and has had a girlfriend before:

Question: Most embarrassing experience? Davis: [...] I guess, really shortly before my junior prom, my girlfriend at the time…

So it's not like he's completely opposed to romance, he's presumably just had bad experiences. There's even a line where, after learning of the motion sensor trackers, Davis specifically is the one to bring up the question of why Cass was tracking their movements. While this could just be a coincidence, it's possible he's particularly concerned about the sensors because he's had some kind of experience with a stalker tracking his movements, as his talent would make that relatively likely. Maybe. We'll have to see.

Davis [Page 125]: …Cass was tracking us. Why would they…?

Though, on the topic of his talent, one thing I haven't talked about is the caveat that Ultimate Contrarian is the Ultimate Counter to Ultimate Bachelor. The talent meta goes crazy.

Davis [CH1, 13]: If someone wants some form of a relationship with someone, they want it with me. Aidan: Really? Aidan takes a seat at the table, entering our conversation. Aidan: I don’t think I’ve felt that way. Davis: Are you attracted to men? Aidan: Yeah? Davis: …Trans men? Aidan: Sure? Davis: …??? Ellis: Huh. That’s what happens when “Ultimate Contrarian” and “Ultimate Bachelor” collide, I guess.

(Oh yeah Davis’ trans btw. Cool!)

What's interesting is that, maybe because of this or maybe not, Aidan and Davis seem to be getting set up as some sort of duo? The aforementioned "Contrarian vs Bachelor” scene is not the only time they're seen together. The two of them were apparently just wandering around together before the "Motive TBA” scene, and while they were investigating separately, they were also the only people in the Customer Service Desk during the Cass case investigation.

Narration [Page 62]: As I sit on the couch, I notice Aidan and Davis approaching the Movie Theater. [...] Davis: Oh, hey Ellis. We were just wandering around.

Narration [Page 84]: … I head out, and travel down to the Customer Service Desk. I see Aidan and Davis separately looking around, and am drawn to Davis first.

Davis is also the first person to compliment Aidan's clarinet skills in the secondary talent show.

Narration [Page 23]: Once it ends, people start clapping, and Aidan gets off stage as fast as possible. Davis: That was pretty great, Aidan!

The scene about the motive strikes me as particularly noteworthy, because Aidan is not exactly the most social person around, so seeing him just "wander around” with someone is interesting. Where this particular pair is gonna go is a fantastic question, especially because I'm not even 100% it is a notable pair, but I'm interested in seeing it! Or- not seeing it if I'm hallucinating its existence, I guess!

Finally, for your regularly scheduled song overanalysis! In the talent show, Davis sings ¨Mine¨ by Taylor Swift, which is by all means a pretty standard love song as far as I can tell. Possibly the most interesting part of the song for our purposes, though, is a section where the singer and their lover get into a fight, and while the singer believes they're about to break up, their lover actually tries to mend the relationship. It's possible this hints to the reason why Davis is a Bachelor; for some reason or another, his lovers keep getting into fights with him and always break up after. Thus, Davis singing this song could be expressing his desire for a partner who is more understanding or forgiving.

However, that´s a pretty insane reach even for my standards, and I don't think anything else we’ve seen implies it, so I currently don’t think there’s much of a connection between Davis and the song beyond it being a love song :v

-Mastermind Ranking: 3/16. If you're surprised he's this high, I am too. He's kinda just here because I can't point to any single line that implies he's not the mm, something that I can do for the people below him. I don't really think he's that likely to be the mastermind, though having the mm be the guy who dislikes pick-up lines and whose talent is deeply connected to romance and sexuality could serve as a good foil to the protagonist we got going on, in some way, which is an okay-ish argument assuming the creation process of DROS even allows for the mm to be picked with the protag in mind (I got no clue :v).

Grace Thomas

-Original talent guess: Mechanic. -Actual talent: Clockmaker. -Talent prediction notes: N/A. -Likes: Efficiency. Dislikes: Being late.

We got a fair bit of backstory from Grace this chapter, and frankly not much else. Still cool stuff!

We learnt from the little round of Never Have I Ever that their parents are strict and kinda overbearing, that they graduated high school early (well, got a GDE, don’t yell at me if there’s differences I’m omitting), etc. One thing that gets repeated a lot is how Grace absolutely loathes wasting time, hence them getting a GDE and such. We also know from the Prologue that they have a boyfriend, and from a question we know his name is Justin, he’s very popular, and they met in high school. All very neat stuff!

I… don’t have much else to say here. There’s certainly something to be said about their propensity for going as fast as possible when contrasted with people like Jeff, who seem to take stuff with a lot more chill. Grace’s main fixation right now seems to be escaping as fast as possible, so we’ll see how that develops in the future!

Well, seems to be.

-Mastermind ranking: 2/16. They’ve dropped one spot from my post-prologue predictions, but they’re still a pretty good contender in my mind. Everything I said in my original Predictions Game post in terms of themes and the like stands. Though, to be fair, we haven’t really seen the themes I speculated based on title and prologue lore alone come into play yet, so maybe the point truly is moot.

The only big sticking point some of you might have with them being the mm would be the fact that they seem committed to escaping, but that could easily be faked. It could actually be a decent strategy to discourage others from investigating escape routes themselves, if they think Grace is on it and can’t find anything. All they’d have to do to discourage looking for escape routes is say something like-

Grace [CH1, 8]: Though, I’ll hand it to the runners of this game, they’ve done a good job of eliminating any trace of an exit.

Yeah like that.

But beyond that, there’s also one other, particular reason Grace still stands above the others as an mm candidate in my mind, which they share with #1. I’ll explain when I talk about said #1.

Paris Hall

-Original talent guess: Tea Maker or Queen/Princess -Actual talent: Gossip -Talent prediction notes: Not even close xD -Likes: Acrylic Nails. Dislikes: Windy Days.

Our first FTE haver! Though in true Gossip fashion, Paris hardly gives out info about herself, and prefers to discuss literally anyone else's business. All we really know about her personally is that she has a big following online, and apparently friends, though as far as I remember she's never mentioned any family.

As for the happenings of the killing game itself, her reveal of Antonia and Cass’ beef could be the first of many instances where Paris’ love for gossip develops conflict amongst the group, which would be very interesting to see. But perhaps more interesting than that is her reaction to Cass’ murder. Or, rather, the lack of one. Paris behaves pretty much the same during the trial than outside of it, giving little indication that she‘s even all that worried about the whole thing. I don’t exactly have any real guess as to why this happens (assuming she’s not the mm), but I’m very curious to find out.

Finally, there’s her relationship with Taylor. Although Paris keeps tabs on everyone, she’s taking a particular interest in Taylor and calling them her “bestie”… for some reason. Allegedly, the bond comes from shared music taste and their talent show performances, which is I suppose a valid reason to start a friendship. But given my use of “allegedly”, you can probably tell that I don’t trust this all that much.

Paris sketches me out, and this isn’t new. That was part of the reason I thought her to be the CH1 killer after the investigation’s end, after all. Probably doesn’t help that Ellis constantly inner monologues about how dangerous she is due to her information gathering skills, and that Antonia clearly believed Paris to be on her wavelength during their Prologue Bonus Scene. And to be clear, Antonia’s wavelength is not somewhere trustworthy people are found. Hence why I’m worried Paris’ intentions with Taylor aren’t fully innocent. Whether she’s trying to get an ally in preparation for a trial where she’s the blackened, or creating an easy target for her to kill, or something else entirely, there are many very dangerous reasons Paris could have to befriend Taylor like that.

Of course, though, it’s also entirely possible that I’m insane and that Paris genuinely just wants to befriend Taylor for the sake of friendship itself. And generally that’s what I’d assume, as I personally like to try and be trusting of fictional characters, but idk. Maybe I just can’t handle a bad bitch making friends, and that one’s on me. Who knows!

Though, on the topic of the talent show, Paris danced to "Toxic". Continuing to overanalyze these picks… this one doesn’t paint a great picture. "Toxic" features the singer speaking to someone whose love is addictive and “toxic”, which I could see being recontextualized to imply something about Paris’ relationship with her fans (be it them being addicted to her or her being addicted to them), but… Well. As of right now, the most straightforward interpretation could be that Paris is a “toxic” friend to Taylor. Just in case we needed more red flags there.

Then again, I could always just be reading into these things too deeply. Maybe venus just likes the song and there’s no further meaning, like that thing that happened with Wizardry 8 during pre-release lol.

-Mastermind ranking: 1/16. Yep. I mean. I don’t trust Paris. This has been established.

Her lack of reaction to murder is one of the biggest red flags here, of course, but her talent would also make it easy to gather info on the contestants for things like the “likes & dislikes” section of their profiles and potential future motives, and her propensity for creating conflict could be useful if DROS is going for the “televised killing game” angle. In the Cass-Kennedy Bonus Scene, Kennedy brings up that since the mm revealed their existence to the cast, they probably want them to speculate of who the mm is, and Paris revealing Cass and Antonia’s cross-suspicion could be helping to do just that.

Kennedy [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 12]: If the mastermind wants it to be known that there’s a mastermind, they probably want it to inspire drama. What better way to do that than making accusations public and starting feuds?

The fact that one of the big narrative themes we’ve been seeing so far is ”secrets” (which I'll discuss mainly in Cass and Antonia's sections) could also give a foundation for the mm to be the Ultimate Gossip.

Finally, and this is the big thing that really puts Paris above the rest in my mind; I don’t see any arc she’s going through that would be invalidated by her being the mm. Robert’s struggles to fit in, Davis’ deal with relationships and the such, Taylor’s self-image issues (we'll to those in their section), all would be kinda moot points if they’re the mm. Like, I’m sure there’s a way to make them work, but it’d be a bit difficult. Meanwhile, the main thing Paris has got going on is her relationship with Taylor, which can easily be spun into part of Taylor’s arc if Paris ends up being the mm.

This is the quality that Paris only really shares with Grace that puts both of them at the top of my list, the one I alluded to in Grace’s mm section. The reason Paris is slightly above them is… honestly just vibes xD I trust Grace more than I trust Paris, that’s the whole reasoning there. They’re actually somewhat equal candidates in my mind.

I could be wrong, of course, but well. They’re predictions for a reason!

Kennedy Rey

-Original talent guess: Conspiracy Theorist. -Actual talent: Conspiracy Theorist. -Talent prediction notes: B) -Likes: Mysteries. Dislikes: Skeptics.

Fellow insane people from Tumblr, meet our spitting image. Kennedy spends the entire chapter doing what she does best: being completely insane and constantly throwing out theories about the mm. He’s insane in a pretty fun way, and it’s always fun to have them on screen!

We learn little about Kennedy’s life outside the killing game, other than the fact that they know a little of self-defense because they’re extremely paranoid. We don’t really know what she even does with her life, frankly. But Kennedy has enough stuff going on in the killing game itself to make up for it!

As of right now, Kennedy has several noteworthy relationships with other characters. First is his working relationship with Vivi, the only person who seems to genuinely hold Kennedy’s opinion in high regard. And of course they do! She also knows what it’s like to be disregarded as insane because her methods are unorthodox, being a Mad Doctor and all. Makes me wonder if there’ll be some foiling between the oh so normal Robert and the “Mad Duo” (which is what I’m calling them now and you can’t stop me).

Cass was also a theorizing buddy to Kennedy in at least one scene, but she always seemed to be more interested in investigating on her own. See: not telling anyone about the trackers or them spying on Antonia. Their Bonus Scene has Kennedy attempting to ascertain whether Cass would be a good theorizing buddy after her whole beef with Antonia, suggesting that Kennedy genuinely enjoys having other people to discuss their theories with. Pretty fun! Shame Cass died :p

And of course, Kennedy’s legendary beef with Aidan. By virtue of being the Ultimate Contrarian who hates assumptions and uncontested opinions, Aidan is basically diametrically opposed to Kennedy, and their mutual dislike is made apparent all across the chapter. Although Aidan ends up usually looking like the one in the right in comparison to Kennedy, I’m very interested in how this rivalry is going to develop in future chapters!

-Mastermind ranking: 12/16. Way too committed to finding the mm for it not to be genuine. Sure, by his own logic from the Bonus Scene this would actually make him suspicious, but come on. There’s a limit to how much a mastermind would try to find the mastermind, surely xD

Taylor Long

-Original talent guess: Actor -Real talent: Impressionist -Talent guess notes: The comedy and tragedy masks fooled me T_T -Likes: Movie theaters. Dislikes: Rock bands. -Notes: Can I ask about the rock bands? Lol

Taylor has self-image issues, and it’s possibly the clearest issue any of these characters have lol.

Taylor [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 2, to Robert]: I try to fit in, but at the end of the day, I’m just me, you know? The only special part about me is when I’m doing an impression of someone else. Other than that, I’m just as regular as you.

Like, I could find other examples, but this one’s probably enough to get the point across, no? Taylor clearly doesn’t have the highest opinion of themselves, so they channel other people’s energy to get the confidence they need to get their opinions out. All throughout the trial, they continuously make impressions of Cass and occasionally Kennedy to bring up their ideas. During their FTE, they constantly try to accommodate for Ellis’ tastes, constantly asking what she wants to do and what her friends are usually like.

Ellis [CH1, 38]: They, uh… they’re wild, and crazy! Always down to party. Super rich and popular, too. Taylor: Oh, I see… They think. Taylor: It really is kinda surprising that you like me, then. I mean, I definitely can do those things, but it takes me a little while to come out of my shell… [...] Taylor: Sorry, I just realized I kind of took over the conversation. Was there something you wanted to talk about? Ellis: Hmm, not particularly. Actions speak louder than words. Taylor: Oh! Then, um, do you want me to do something…? Ellis: Do you want to do something? Taylor: Um… whatever you want is fine with me!

And of course, Taylor somehow thinks that making an impression of Antonia directly after her execution is a great idea to cheer Vanessa up, instead of comforting her with their own words.

Vanessa [CH1, 152]: …Toni… Taylor: Please don’t be upset… um… Taylor goes over to Vanessa and gently places a hand on their upper arm. Taylor: “Don’t be upset, darling–” Vanessa: Stop that!

You know, like a fucking insane person-

Right now, we mostly have setup for some kind of arc about these self-image issues, and I’m very curious to see where exactly they’re going to go with it. This how there could be some parallels with Robert and the like, which we’ve already seen explored to some extent in their bonus scene.

The other main arc Taylor’s got going on is the Paris thing, but I’ve already covered that in the Paris section, so. Yeah.

Finally, for the last of the talent show song pick analysis, Taylor dances to “Born This Way”, making a sort of impression of Lady Gaga as they did. Of course, this further hints at their self-esteem issues, as they don’t seem to believe to have any talent beyond their impressions, which makes the decision to pick a song about self love all the more ironic. And yes, I believe that’s why they lip sync to this song specifically, because their presumed character arc is likely to be about self-love.

-Mastermind ranking: 5/16. They have a few lines in the Prologue that would read slightly weird in the context of Taylor!MM, but nothing outright disqualifying. That, combined with the idea that the killing game could be an “impersonation” of Hope’s Peak and maybe specifically the THH killing game, are the only reasons Taylor is this high. There's not much else here so far :v

Vivian Mitchell

-Original talent guess: Surgeon/Doctor -Actual talent: Mad Doctor -Talent prediction notes: Well. Close enough? -Likes: Experimentation. Dislikes: Supervisors.

Vivi’s great! She’s just a pretty fun character. This chapter, she doesn’t really do much beyond being Kennedy’s sidekick and performing an autopsy, though I decided her involvement in the actual case and investigation warranted being a bit later in the post than those before her (look this format is far from an exact science xD). I’ve already covered said connection with Kennedy, and the autopsy thing is more a trial thing than a character analysis thing- well, other than saying this:

Vivi [CH1, 90]: I mean, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t done a few Vivi-sections before, but on a person…? Robert: …Do you mean dissections…? Vivi: …Yup!

Which… implies she thought Cass got dismembered while they were still alive? Assuming Vivi’s using the usual meaning of vivisection (dissections on things that are still alive) and isn’t just making a confusing pun. But their autopsy should have determined that wasn’t the case, I think, so.

Look, confusing puns aside, the point is that Vivi has probably done some kind of vivisections on animals as party of the experimentation their profile says they like. At least, that’s my current theory on why they said that.

One other thing: Vivi seems to be the character who is most often pushing the idea that someone else should be coming to rescue them.

Vivi [CH1, 3]: Okay, yeah, or our families or friends could, like, do something! What, you really think all of your loved ones would straight up accept you were missing and not look into anything themselves…?

Vivi [CH1, 65]: I mean, someone’s gotta be looking. The question is whether or not they can actually rescue us, and if so, how soon.

Combined with some things said in CH2 Part 1 (I really took too long to write this :v), it seems Vivi has a pretty good relationship with her family, which is… something!

Vivi’s definitely have some other stuff going on, though. So far, we only have vague indications on what exactly puts the “Mad” in her Mad Doctor talent, so I could see that being elaborated on later, and her fixation with no one dying around her that we saw in the Prologue is something that could certainly develop into an interesting arc. Overall, pretty curious about them!

-Mastermind ranking: 11/16. The main reason Vivi’s this low is the fact that they resent their Ultimate title.

Vivi [Prologue, 24]: It’s such a judgmental way to put the Ultimate title! I just do what I think is gonna work! And it always works. So, if you or anyone you know is ever in danger of dying or anything, let me know

Were she the mm, she would have no reason not to just call herself the Ultimate Doctor instead. This, combined with their team-up with Kennedy to find the mm, makes it highly unlikely that they’re the mm in my mind.

Aidan Ho

-Original talent guess: N/A -Actual talent: Contrarian. -Talent prediction notes: N/A. -Likes: Pop rocks. Dislikes: Assumptions. -Notes: One of the most random likes here I think lol.

For me, Aidan’s possibly one of the most fascinating characters in a cast full of fascinating characters. You’d think his constant questioning of everything and everyone around him, combined with his generally uncooperative attitude, would make him a relatively unpopular character amongst the cast (beyond possibly Davis as discussed earlier), but he manages to not piss off too many people simply by being a paragon of common sense in the crazy people place. Well, other than Kennedy, as I've mentioned. Aidan also strikes me as one of the smarter characters, and thus has a fair amount of cool moments in the trial.

Aidan [CH1, 134]: …[Cass was] careful with their introduction, huh…? Davis: What do you mean? Aidan: Before Cass gave me her name or her talent, she led into the words “Ultimate Agent” by talking about other people’s work. They were making sure that I was already thinking about fucking commerce by the time they had to say it.

(By the way, I just noticed this now on a re-read, but why "fucking commerce"? Is he that pressed about being manipulated and lied to? Interesting character tidbit)

Aidan [CH1, 141]: Because you’re not backing it up. If belief is the only thing you’ve got, then it makes it seem like belief is the only thing there is.

Robert [CH1, 143]: She’s… making a lot of good points. Maybe we should listen to her…? Aidan: No way. Davis: Huh? Aidan: She’s cornered. Do you really want to let her manipulate you when she’s like this?

(Speaking of his apparent distaste for manipulation)

And his reaction to Antonia’s execution is fun.

Aidan [CH1, 151]: …Glad that’s over. Vivi: How can you be at all glad right now? We just watched someone die! Right in front of us…! Aidan: What, you wish she was still in the process of dying…?

That weird disregard for the horrifying shit he just witnessed is possibly an extension of the views he expressed in his FTE.

Aidan [CH1, 6]: I know other people care, and I can respect that. If they care enough about something to fight for it– even if that thing is as simple as their life– I wouldn’t get in the way of that. Ellis: You think lives are simple…? Aidan: Caring about your life is. Isn’t that, like, basic human instinct or whatever? Ellis: I mean, yeah, I guess. But it’s not so wrong to indulge in your primal instincts, is it? He shrugs. Aidan: If that’s what interests you. Ellis: And what interests you, then? For some reason, I feel like I’ve been hearin’ a whole lot of “no” and not a lot of “yes.” Aidan: Does it really matter…? He scowls. Aidan: I really don’t care what happens with any of this. So, if other people do, good for them. For now, what I know is that I’m here. That’s all. Ellis: Exactly. You’re here! You’ve got the world at your fingertips, what with that weird Customer Service Desk thingy! You gotta figure out how to enjoy yourself! Aidan: I appreciate how unconcerned you are despite everyone else being all moody, but… no way. Either we’ll get out of here, or we won’t. In the meantime… it doesn’t really matter.

I decided to put the full quote there because it really is very strange. Aidan’s another character whose life outside the killing game is still a mystery to us, but perhaps that is because he doesn’t feel he has anything to return to. He just seems fundamentally uninterested in everything, up to and including his own life. Sure, he didn’t say he had no interests, but he may as well have. Not caring about what happens during the killing game is a very unique perspective, to say the least!

The idea Aidan really don’t give a fuck is further reinforced by the Scrum Debate:

Aidan [CH1, 113]: Like any of you want to stay. Anyone could have a motive here. That’s just how the killing game goes.

Any of you, not any of us. See the difference? Aidan probably wouldn’t mind escaping, but he doesn’t seem to mind staying, either.

Obviously this raises a lot of questions as to how Aidan came about this mindset in the first place, and whether or not he’ll grow out of it during the killing game, but right now we lack the tools to figure those things out. What we can discuss is the way this parallels other characters’ perspectives, though.

Be it Grace and Jeff’s desire to escape as fast as possible because everything that interests them is on the outside, or people like Harper and Noah’s desire to get out to return to their prior commitments, or Kennedy’s wholehearted investment in every mystery of the killing game (and yes Aidan and Kennedy’s beef runs really deep), or Ellis’ self-proclaimed (and probably fake) disinterest in the others as anything other than eye candy, or Antonia and Cass’ interest in keeping their secrets throughout the killing game… Turns out everyone has a different perspective in how they feel about the killing game, so a character who doesn't care at all (at least, that’s what they claim) stands out pretty significantly, in a way that helps bring out the others’ different interests and the things they’re focused on.

Basically I really like Aidan and I can’t wait to see how their mindset is explored/developed :D

-Mastermind ranking: 8/16. Aidan’s general disinterest in absolutely everything could be spun into some strange kind of mm who’s just going through the motions, I guess, but it doesn’t strike me as particularly likely. Realistically should be higher, especially given his dual colored hoodie split down the middle as the black and white of the Mono color scheme, but in a sense he strikes me as too confrontational, too early. Sure, he’s not as confrontational as someone like Byakuya, but he still ends up coming off as slightly antagonistic at times just by virtue of always going against the current as the Ultimate Contrarian, and as accirax eloquently put it in her own mm predictions for other fangans (Eden’s Garden & DRDT):

…wow, the mildly antagonistic character was actually a really antagonistic character all along! It just doesn’t seem like enough of a dramatic hook to me, I guess?

Again, Aidan isn’t the most antagonistic character ever, but I still think the phrase applies. Not to say that it couldn’t work at all, just that it’d be harder to pull Aidan!MM as opposed to the other options higher than him.

“Mark" Nolastnamegiven

-Original talent guess: ??? -Real talent: ??? -Talent guess notes: Yeah this one was easy. -Likes: Soft fabric. Dislikes: Physical confrontation.

Taylor [CH1, 137]: Are either of you worried about the fact that that leaves you as the only two suspects? Like, at all…? Antonia: Hm? Not particularly. Mark: Obviously I’ll have to prove my innocence, but from my perspective, it’s nice to know who the killer is.

Members of the jury, these two are awesome.

If there’s any character who truly stole the spotlight during the majority of the Deadly Life section, beyond those actually involved in the murder (and Ellis), then that character is Mark. While they didn’t really do anything in Daily Life beyond repeat a few times that they don’t remember shit from before the killing game, their notable “locking in” during the investigation and subsequent trial is quite an interesting development for them. Evidently, whatever their talent was, it seems it gives them some form of edge when it comes to investigating. That obviously brings Kyoko to memory, though Mark doesn’t seem to be quite her level of Detective, which is cool. I like that the few brain cells we have are a bit more spread out in this cast.

We also got a couple of really cool character moments from Mark’s “partial awakening”; I’m particularly obsessed with the calm with which they handled the Third Party Analysis, as already quoted, and the reintroduction with Ellis at the end of the chapter.

Ellis [CH1, 154]: Yeah. You seem much more aware than when we first met. Or when we second met. You need a third meeting? I extend my hand. Ellis: Hello there, beautiful stranger. It is I, Ellis Ortiz– Ultimate Lucky Student, any pronouns. They laugh and scratch their cheek gently, a bit embarrassed. Mark: I’m Mark. Still don’t know my real name, talent, or previously preferred pronouns, but… glad to be here with you.

Really brings forth themes of renewal and the like. I really wonder if the fact that Mark is essentially getting a second chance to discover their abilities, after doing it once and forgetting through the killing game amnesia, will somehow play into the idea of “One Shot” as “one opportunity.” We’ll have to see ig.

Finally, because obviously I can’t talk about Mark without bringing this up, what is their talent, anyways? It’s most likely somewhat connected to their detective skills, but you might think there’s no way to narrow it down further than that. However, there may be a few hints we can use, alongside with the principle… of “The Funniest Possible Answer,” which states that a theory can be compelling just by being funny, if nothing else.

Take a look at this post, specifically the Mark answer.

Question: If DROS characters had the talents of the cast of Project: Eden's Garden, which one would each character have? Mark: Ultimate Pro Gamer.

Now, there’s nothing inherently interesting about this. Matching talents across fangans is always gonna be difficult, and not all of them are gonna fit very well (see: Fencer Vivi or Ship Captain Kennedy). However, there’s another post which makes me a bit more curious about this particular answer:

Question: What's your favorite animal and why? Mark: “I don’t remember, sorry…” [If allowed to, Mark would pick a Pokémon, and therefore Bulbasaur. If asked for a real animal, the answer would be a penguin.]

A Bulbasaur, of all things. Everyone else picked real animals as a first choice, but not Mark. Mark picked a video game creature. Combined with the previous answer, it almost makes it seem like Mark had a very profound interest in video games before losing their memories. Perhaps… enough interest to be an Ultimate of the video game variety?

To be clear, I doubt they’re straight up the Ultimate Gamer, because based on their behavior during the trial, there’s still presumably some form of connection with mysteries. Which gets me to a secondary point, which is: are Mark’s clothes really what they were wearing before the start of the killing game? No one has commented on having had their clothes changed, so I presume they’re wearing the last thing they remember wearing. But Mark has no way of knowing. I bring this up because Mark has an accessory with a question mark in their design, which makes sense with them being the Ultimate ???, but not outside the killing game. Unless, of course, their actual talent already had a connection with mysteries.

Hence, we reach my current guess for Mark’s talent: Ultimate Mystery Video Game Player. Or something like that. Could also be something like “Video Game Puzzlemaster” or something, especially because I wouldn’t exactly classify Pokemon as a mystery game, but getting the exact wording right on these things is always almost impossible, so.

Although, while we’re here, I may as well bring up the possibility that Mark may have a role similar to the Ultimate Survivor from V3, and they’re the sole survivor of the killing game directly preceding DROS. I bring this up because of Rule #7 from the E-Handbook:

Rule #7: The blackened may only kill a maximum of two people during any single killing game.

This rule’s wording about “any single killing game” accounts for the possibility of someone having competed in a previous killing game, implying we could be looking at such a situation. Of course, we have no indication of who that would be (everyone has missing memories, not just Mark, after all), but I’m bringing it up with Mark because there’s canon DR precedent for this happening with the Ultimate ??? in Rantaro. Doubt it’s the case, since I’m not sure venus would want to repeat such a plot twist, but you know.

-Mastermind ranking: 9/16. Mark marks (heh) the start of the more plausible guesses in the list, as there’s less things going directly against the idea that they could be the mm. The spots directly below Mark, such as Harper and Noah, may have one or two lines that would read weird if they’re the mm, but I still find them more plausible than Mark simply because Mark being the mm feels… odd, y’know?

There’s many ways the mm could disguise themselves that draw way less suspicion than calling themselves the Ultimate ??? and pretending not to remember anything before the killing game. That also includes the possibility that they’re the mm but still genuinely erased their memories, because that plan would be kinda insane without something like Divine Luck from that fangan that I don't want to name so as not to spoil anyone. Neither idea is impossible, hence why Mark is still higher than many of the others, but it requires a few more explanations than those who rank even higher.

Vanessa Bravo

-Original talent guess: Singer. -Actual talent: Announcer. -Talent prediction notes: I tried :p -Likes: Crowded areas. Dislikes: Minimalistic designs. -Notes: Who likes crowded areas???

As the reason that the talent show even happened at all, Vanessa is to be thanked for giving us some of the sillier moments before shit hit the fan. Quite a lovely person overall, though we know little of her life outside the killing game for now. We do know she has a sister, though!

Question: What object would you bring from the outside into the killing game? Vanessa: “I want my sister…”

Speaking of sisters, Vanessa got hit with one of the most severe cases of Danganronpa Syndrome (where characters get attached to each other extremely quickly to make the death of one of them more impactful to the storyline) I��ve ever seen. Less than a week in, she’d already adopted Antonia as her surrogate big sister. This is consistent with Ness’ constant push to make the killing game as comfortable as possible, setting up the talent show for example.

Vanessa [CH1, 8]: …Aw, are you guys seriously on the whole escape thing again already?! Grace: What else would we be doing? Vanessa: I dunno, having fun? This place is pretty cool, if you actually take a look around! Why do you wanna leave so fast?

And if Ness’ goal is to make the killing game as comfortable as possible for herself and others, and Antonia and her remind each other of their respective sisters, well, it’s as Antonia says:

Antonia [CH1, 43]: It’s only natural to take comfort in the things that remind you of home, isn’t it?

I do wonder how this attitude of trying to find comfort and fun inside the killing game will develop now that things have gone horribly, horribly wrong. Certainly something to look out for.

Another character trait I enjoy is Ness’ very proactive personality. She’s the one who gave Mark their temporary name, she’s the one who proposed the talent show, that kinda thing. I particularly want to highlight this scene, though:

Vanessa [CH1, 141]: Why do you keep disagreeing with her?! Doesn’t Mark being the killer make way more sense here? Who knows what they’re thinking at any given time? Toni is… she’s her! Someone we can trust… Aidan: It doesn’t help anyone to blindly defend someone because you like them. This is where our logic’s taking us. If you want to defend her with actual logic, be my guest, but if you’re just yelling, all you’re gonna do is turn people against her. Vanessa: Why would that turn people against her…? Aidan: Because you’re not backing it up. If belief is the only thing you’ve got, then it makes it seem like belief is the only thing there is. Vanessa: Well, you’re wrong! Antonia: Vanessa, if you’ll allow me to handle this– Vanessa: No one should be accusing you like this! I’ll… convince them they’re wrong! Yeah, that’s it! Antonia: Vanessa– Vanessa: Don’t worry, I’ve got you!

Let’s quickly appreciate Aidan’s cold ass “if belief is the only thing you’ve got, then it makes it seem like belief is the only thing there is” line.

Wow… :O /gen

Alright it’s been appreciated. Now we can focus on Vanessa again. Beyond her vehement trust in Antonia, the main thing I wanted to point out is how Ness continued to defend Antonia even after Toni repeatedly told her to back down. After all, Ness’ Freestyle Feud starts directly after this. I really like this piece of characterization because I’m a sucker for this type of “white knight/savior complex” character. I just like it that’s all :>

Overall, Vanessa beats the CH1 victim allegations with flying colors, and I can’t wait to see where her character goes from here!

-Mastermind ranking: 13/16. Apart from how genuinely upset at Antonia’s death she is, Vanessa’s distaste for the way Monoquin presents everything would suggest that she is not the one responsible for creating the guy.

Vanessa [Prologue, 18]: …the way [Monoquin] reveals information is so boring. I could do a way better job. Like, “oh, by the way, you’re Ultimates, like Hope’s Peak.” Where’s the drama? Where’s the delivery?

I didn’t mention it in the analysis, but I do enjoy how passionate Ness is over this. I can’t possibly think she’s the mm if she hates Monoquin’s announcing this much!

Jeff Breeze

-Original talent guess: (Resort/Hotel) Manager/Tour Guide/Vacationer -Actual talent: Absentee -Talent prediction notes: Vacationer’s kinda close, right? What's with the umbrella, anyways? Unguessable xD -Likes: Blue hawaiians. Dislikes: Conflict.

My guy has exactly one goal at any time, and that is to get the hell outta dodge. We hear in their FTE that they occasionally get a certain feeling that things are gonna turn out bad, and they always leave the moment they get said feeling. Other than that, and the fact he was forced to play football (er, soccer) briefly when he was younger, and that they got dragged to an amusement park at some point, we don’t know too much about Jeff. Which means there’s room for speculation!

My current guess of what theme Jeff’s character will play into is the whole idea that “you miss all the shots you don’t take” or something. You know, the thing the fangan seems to be named after, and Ellis mentions early into the Prologue. Because Jeff always ditches before the going gets tough, they usually don’t “take any shots”, which is something which could be explored in the future. Even if it isn’t, Jeff’s avoidant behavior could be contrasted (and already is paralleling) with things like Vanessa’s more proactive attitude to the killing game, or Robert and Taylor’s desire to fit in instead of distancing themselves from others, you get the idea.

Finally, and the reason Jeff’s so high up in the “relevance list”, his involvement in the trial. Jeff just so happens to be outside when the murder’s going down, which makes sense with their “bad vibes radar” thing. When shit’s about to go down, their spider sense tingles and they get restless, so they go out to burn off their energy, and find themselves being important in the trial. I wonder if him getting dragged into situations they really don’t want to be in is going to be a recurring thing. We’ll see!

-Mastermind ranking: 14/16. I said Jeff has exactly one goal, and I meant it. He wants to leave. This conflicts with the mm’s desire to… not. Do that. So. Unless they’re lying about literally everything, this one doesn’t look very likely.

Ellis Ortiz

-Original talent guess: Lucky Student -Actual talent: Lucky Student -Talent guess notes: ;) -Likes: Designer brands. Dislikes: Closing hours.

And we finally reach our protagonist! And what a protagonist he is. Not only are their flirtatious antics pretty funny, her attitude towards the killing game is quite the unique one.

As is common with Lucky Students, a lot of it comes from her luck. From what we understand, that luck is generally strictly positive and Ellis mainly applies it to money-making, though he seems to have a sort of conflicted opinion on it. On the one hand, Ellis trusts her luck enough to somewhat firmly believe in their title, as expressed in all the inner monologues where Ellis assures themselves they will survive the killing game no matter what. On the other, Ellis doesn’t like to attribute all her achievements to luck alone, disliking that her title doesn’t acknowledge the actual skill she believes to have in things such as stock trading and gambling. Of course, right now the audience has no idea how much of that perceived skill actually exists and how much of it is just Ellis trying to convince himself he deserves his winnings for reasons other than pure chance. Something to see in the future.

This conflict about her luck carries into Ellis’ general killing game strategy. Or at least, the strategy she’s trying to implement. He first swears to himself that he won’t get attached to the other characters and will treat them only as eye candy, which immediately fails as we see him crying after the class trial. Not to mention, they’re seemingly getting attached to Mark, at least, given their little triple introduction thing. And they're even considering switching strategy to defeating the mastermind after the first trial, as they've noticed that, if it comes down to them or the mm, they may be cooked.

In general, Ellis is pretty bad when it comes to fulfilling promises she makes to herself. There are, for example, many times in the chapter where Ellis promises not to think about things such as the mastermind, followed just a scene or two later by an internal monologue about the mastermind paranoid enough to rival Kennedy’s craziest theories. The persona of confidence and nonchalance that Ellis projects is so far removed from her inner doubts and insecurities, that she keeps switching between paranoid overthinking and complete laidback-ness with enough speed to cause whiplash.

This all comes from Ellis’ complete inability to be honest to himself about his feelings, naturally. Becoming more honest with said feelings is likely going to be a large part of Ellis’ character arc, which could parallel/contrast nicely with people like Taylor (who feels they have to act as someone else to express themselves), or Paris (who doesn’t speak too much about herself and prefers gossiping about others). Plus, the general idea of dishonesty, with oneself or others, can be connected to Antonia’s and Cass’ shared theme of secrets (again, more on that in a moment). However, other parts of his character could play off nicely with a lot of the cast. Ellis’ flirtatious attitude could connect to Davis’ Deal, their bouts of paranoia could play off the Mad Duo, their devil-may-care style of living contrasts Grace’s more reserved lifestyle, their optimism and trying to make the best of the situation is similar to Vanessa’s CH1 attitude and contrary to Jeff’s perspective, you get the idea. Fun character!

I haven’t mentioned it too much, but we also have a lot of info on Ellis’ backstory. He has two younger step-siblings who are “alright”, got started with his exploits by inheritance from his grandpa, he refers to something called the “Ellis Ortiz brand” at some points so he might be relatively well known (assuming he’s not exaggerating his relevance)*, and probably more I’m forgetting (or just skipping due to them being minor details) just because we have a lot more time to learn about Ellis’ backstory than other characters. She is the PoV character after all! In any case, it’s fun stuff.

*Yeah so I fell for the old trick of he unreliable narrator lol. She has (or would have) 5.1k Twitter followers, which is less than fucking Vivi. No one knows who Ellis is, the brand thing's exaggeration xD

-Mastermind ranking: 10/16. Although an mm protag isn’t out of the question (check tags of that post), Ellis doesn’t particularly strike me as one. See, she would need to be an amnesiac mm, the kind that doesn’t even know they’re the mm before the end of the story. And while there’s never a good way to completely rule that out, I haven’t seen any reason to believe that’s the case either.

Let’s put it like this; if you consider Ellis a potential mm candidate, you also have to consider everyone below her a candidate as well, as anyone could potentially be the type of mm she’d have to be. The only reason she’s higher than them, then, is that this particular type of mm works best with protags. The main reason to create an mm like this would be to prevent internal dialogue from spoiling the mm, which is obviously only a problem for Ellis.

Necessary amnesia aside, Ellis’ stated goals of “get rich, get bitches, have fun” (simplified) don’t really align with the things creating a killing game would accomplish. And while it’s possible Ellis changed in the period of lost memories, we have no evidence of that, so. Yeah, not very likely :v

Cassidy Torres

-Original talent guess: Writer. -Actual talent: Agent. -Talent prediction notes: I mean. I had a pen to work with. I wasn’t getting that xD -Likes: Getting info. Dislikes: Stubborn people.

Victim coming through! And what a victim Cass is. You know, it’s always hard to make the audience care about the CH1 victim, given they’re definitionally the character who’s alive for the shortest amount of time, but having a major twist about them happen during the trial is a hell of a way to do that! The reveal of Cass’ true talent is the kind of thing that makes you do the character analysis backwards, starting at the end with the reveal and piecing it together (heh) from there.

Well, we saw two Cass introductions, so why not confirm?

[Cass] [Prologue, 37]: Lucky Student, huh? That’s an all-around useful talent. Still though, it’s weird… Why is no one here talented at making things, or having something to sell…? Ellis: Hey, who says I’m not talented at “making” something? [Cass]: I should clarify, I’m referring to making something physical. Something that one might, say, need someone to critique and/or help them market to higher ups. They extend their hand to me. [Cass]: I’m Cassidy Torres, or Cass for short, she/they. And, here, I guess I’m the Ultimate Agent.

Cass [Prologue Bonus Scenes, 9]: It’s great to meet you, Grace. My name is Cassidy Torres– Cass for short– and I use she/they. I’m the Ultimate Agent. After we shake hands, Cass looks at me approvingly. Cass: It’s about time I met an Ultimate who actually creates something. My talent is pretty useless without anything to market, so I was hoping I’d be able to help at least one of you with my services. As it turns out, the last person I met was the one who best fit the description.

Yep, pretty much exactly what the others said. Cass was quick to mention sales and creating products so as to now get found out, even though funnily enough Ellis almost got it.

Ellis [Prologue, 38]: Agent, huh? So, I shouldn’t be surprised when you pull out some spy-like leather suit? Cass: Oh, it’s nothing like that. Though I’ve definitely worn my fair share of suits…

Cass is quick with it :O

Although I think Cass’ Agent skills shine most when you can see the full extent of their internal monologue.

Kennedy [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 10]: Found you! Kennedy has, apparently, tracked me down to the Show Room, which I had assumed no one would really want to spend time in. This doesn’t contradict that data point, though; if Kennedy was looking for me specifically, as evidenced by their words, then it’s my presence rather than any qualities of the Show Room itself that led them here. Probably best to play dumb, though.

Bro. Even if Kennedy hadn’t said “found you”, you could’ve just asked them what they were doing in the Show Room without that analysis. Which you do.

Cass [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 10]: Were you looking for me?

You’re putting my overthinking to shame, you gotta relax! (Kidding, I really enjoy the overkill analysis there xD).

Cass’ skill is actually very fun to really think about. They had to come up with the cover story of being a salesperson on the spot when they got their talent, which is kinda crazy. And she still managed to come up with stuff like specific phrases and words that would always get a reaction of her cover character! What!

Kennedy [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 12]: Isn’t this a good opportunity for you? “Opportunity” acts like a trigger phrase. Right. I need to be charading as the Ultimate non-secret Agent. I make a show of sighing. Cass: I suppose passing up on a good opportunity is typically a bad thing. But, an opportunity for what?

I have no way of knowing how accurate of a depiction of secret agents this is, but I can say it's a pretty cool description to read about.

This does mean that a lot of Cass’ dialogue ends up being nothing but part of an act, a problem for character analysis. But there’s still plenty to work with, especially because her talent deeply relates to the main theme connecting her and Antonia: secrets, the things people will do to uncover them, and the extent people are willing to go to keep them.

Antonia [CH1, 52]: From what I’ve determined, you may be the one hiding the biggest secret here, Cassidy. Cass: I’m sorry? Antonia: I know a liar when I see one~ A liar? But, what would Cass have to lie about…? Unless…? Cass: What are you accusing me of, exactly? Antonia: I’m not sure what. You could be the mastermind, or the possessor of the poison, or any number of things. All I can tell is that you’re guarded. There are things you don’t want us to learn. Isn’t that right?

Cass [To Antonia, CH1, 52]: …Fine. If you won’t tell your secrets, I won’t tell mine.

Antonia [CH1, 148]: We weren’t dealing with only the mastermind, darling. We were dealing with “secrets.”

I’ll get to Antonia’s secrets in her section, but Cass obviously had a pretty big one of their own, not to mention that her entire talent is based around uncovering hidden truths. The secrets these two keep are what ultimately creates the conflict which will end with Cass’ death and Antonia’s execution. After all, Antonia’s general suspicion regarding the fact they were keeping a secret at all is really the reason why Cass ended up suspecting Antonia so much. Because while they originally held Antonia in the same regard as Ellis or Mark in terms of mm possibility, they still end up antagonizing Antonia specifically, possibly because they feel threatened by Antonia’s immaculate liar detector. Now, make no mistake, Cass made up an in-persona reason to be a secret-keeper, so it’s not like Antonia’s lie detector is immediately damning to them, but it’s still a pretty large threat.

Cass [CH1, 52]: …I can’t reveal everything so easily. My clients have sensitive information, and my trust with them is more important than getting to know any of you. If I feel distant, that’s all it is. Ellis: Wouldn’t you want your clients to have a friendly relationship with you, though…? Cass: Of course. But, at least as of now, none of you are my clients, so those who I represent are of greater concern to me.

Of course, though, there’s also the possibility that Cass just clocked Antonia as a liar the same way Antonia clocked them, even if it’s never explicitly stated, and that’s the entire reason for their suspicion.

Cass [CH1, 59]: I will figure out your secrets. Antonia: Of course you will, darling.

Actually, the idea that Cass felt threatened in some way by Antonia’s ability to spot liars could play into something interesting with these two’s profiles. Cass dislikes “stubborn people”, while Antonia dislikes “bad losers.” You could make the argument that Antonia is stubborn in the sense that she’s good at standing her ground against Cass’ prodding for secrets, and that Cass may be a bad loser in the sense that she may feel she “lost” to Antonia when the Dealer noticed she was hiding something, and clearly isn’t happy about it.

[Cass’ inner monologue] [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 10]: It’s hard to say I’m anything but annoyed as I leave the Buffet. Antonia is still playing at the same games as always…

Not sure if this interpretation works perfectly, but close enough, and it's pretty cool. Eternal beef, these two.

In any case, regardless of what exactly led Cass to focus so much on Antonia, the end result is the same. Antonia figures out she’s being spied on, and chooses to deal with that issue before it could grow into anything bigger. Hence, Cass’ death.

Although, here’s an interesting point related to the murder. Isn’t Cass a hypocrite?

Cass [CH1, 35]: Everyone, calm down! The group settles down and turns to Cass. Cass: [Someone asking for poison from the CSD] is obviously a threat, and we should take caution knowing that someone here may be plotting a murder already. However, blatantly throwing around distrust and creating an air of paranoia will only make tensions higher. Mark: Then… what should we do? Cass: The same things you’ve been doing. All you need to do is keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and engage in safe behavior. Stay in groups or well-lit areas. Don’t go out at night. Those sorts of things should keep you safe enough while we figure out the mysteries of this place.

“Don’t go out at night”, she says, a few days before going out at night and dying. “Don’t create an air of paranoia”, she says, shortly before beefing with Antonia so obviously that everyone noticed something was going on even before Paris said anything. Not great at following their own advice, evidently.

Although that second point is slightly unfair, actually. Cass doesn’t actually accuse Antonia and gang of being the mm at first, it’s Antonia herself who brings the implicit accusation to light. In the same vein, she refuses to say who she suspects in her discussion with Kennedy and Vivi and Ellis about the mm before that.

Kennedy [CH1, 32]: Cass… If you can say who you don’t think it is, that means there are some people you do suspect. Cass: I have a couple leading theories. Kennedy: Tell me. Cass: I’m not going to go around voicing all of my thoughts. Besides, it’s… not fitting for an agent to talk negatively about people. What if a future client heard of it and was worried about what I’d do with their secrets?

Antonia [CH1, 51]: I assure you, the real dynamics between different establishments are far more complex… Cass: Do you have insight into the dynamics, then? Do you know anyone who might hold a grudge? Antonia: With all due respect, my dear Cassidy, are you trying to determine if one of us is the mastermind?

The point about the night stands, though. And it’s worth noting that Cass likely didn’t have ulterior motives in saying that or anything, as she does seem to be genuinely concerned for the others’ safety.

Davis [CH1, 58]: I take it you all were drinking last night…? Jeff: Yeah? What’s the big deal? Cass: That doesn’t sound like you were being particularly safe, given our environment.

And it makes sense. When they talk about their goals in their Bonus Scene with Grace, they specifically say that their goal can be “approximated” to figuring out the secrets of the Resort and getting out with everyone.

Grace [Prologue Bonus Scenes, 10]: What are your long-term goals, if I might ask? They smile. Cass: I’m not gonna go around talking about that kind of thing immediately, especially not with cameras everywhere. I’ve got big plans once I’m back out in the real world. But, foundations are laid here. She looks around the room, though nothing in particular seems to catch her interest. Cass: If you’re looking for what’s motivating me, for now, you can approximate it to figuring out what’s going on at this Resort and getting everyone out of this situation safely.

More on those goals in a moment, but for now, what matters is that Cass is genuinely invested in the safety of the others and wants to escape with everyone, so her warnings about not going out at night are genuine. That means the only reason they would go against their advice is if they considered themselves capable of avoiding issues, probably because of their talent.

Huh. Overly relying on her talent to keep her safe while she carries out a plan no one else knows anything about? That’d be like a Lucky Student relying on their luck to survive through the killing game, with a plan of outlasting everyone else that they don’t discuss with anyone. Wink.

Anyways, I left this question pending, so let’s get back to it. What the hell are Cass’ long term goals? All we really know is that she’s motivated to figure out the Resort’s secrets and get everyone out of there, but supposedly these are just the “foundations” of her goals. They also say that talking to Grace is related to the goal, but as they say, that’s mostly just because gathering info on those around them is helpful in their eyes.

Cass [Prologue Bonus Scenes, 10]: I’d call [talking to you about marketing] related to my goals, personally. Grace: Your goal of gaining clients? Like I said, that isn’t– Cass: No, in general. Isn’t it helpful to know people better, if you’re trying to work with them? I pause. Grace: I suppose that’s a fair perspective. Cass: Believe me, I understand. I don’t waste time talking to just anyone if I don’t believe it’ll help me achieve my long-term goals. But if I decide it’s worth it, I’m not easily swayed. Right now, I’ve decided I want to talk to you, and that’s the best use of my time.

Now, I can’t for the life of me reach anything resembling a solid answer, for obvious reasons. It’s entirely possible, for one, that these goals aren’t important and will never actually be brought up in the main story, seeing as they’re only really mentioned in a Bonus Scene. In that case, we may never have enough info to come to any definitive conclusion about it.

However, it’s possible that Cass’ name will come up again, because her goals could very well have to do with the very foundations of the killing game and the situation in the outside world. For example, it’s possible that they were investigating the resort itself or some kind of aspect of the Tragedy, and they got close enough that the mm decided to wipe their memories of the bigger secrets and just stick them in a killing game. Depending on how much she remembers, she could very well have had some inkling about what’s really going on, enough to know that there were bigger plans outside that she was a part of, possibly focused on taking down groups doing Tragedy stuff.

Or I’m going completely fucking insane, which I think is the more likely option in this case. Regardless, I don’t really have any more concrete ideas on what the hell she was up to at the moment, so I’ll leave it at that. Dear god what a character.

-Mastermind ranking: 16/16. I mean. They’re dead. And deny they’re the mm in inner monologue. It doesn’t really get less mastermind-y than that.

Kennedy [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 12]: Then, based on my deductions, you would be the most likely mastermind candidate. Cass: Wh–?! What kind of a strategy is that?! Besides, it’s obviously wrong…!

Antonia Cisneros

-Original talent guess: Gambler/Poker Player -Actual talent: Dealer -Talent prediction notes: Wrong side of the table :v -Likes: Nightlife. Dislikes: Bad losers.

Guess who got unreasonably attached to the CH1 killer, again? This guy!

Antonia’s fun, both because of how entertaining I find (er, found) her personality, and how many mindgames my girl actually plays. The insane standoff from her Bonus Scene with Paris in the Prologue, her constant beefing with Cass, the entire trial… that kinda thing. In fact, there’s so many mindgames and potential lies going around, we might have to take this chronologically!

The first big thing we learn about Antonia in CH1 is the existence of her little sister (also mentioned in the Paris Bonus Scene), and how this helps her form a quick bond with Vanessa.

Antonia [CH1, 42]: It’s very charming, how excited Vanessa gets. It reminds me of my younger sister. She was always a ball of energy. Mark: You mentioned her at the talent show, too… Vanessa: Toni’s really sweet and caring when it comes to her sister, from what I’ve heard. And she sorta acts like a big sister to me, too!

However, this starts an interesting trend in how Antonia actually talks about Vanessa and her connection to Antonia’s sister. Take a look at the two other instances where this comes up:

Antonia [CH1, 138]: For instance, Vanessa reminds me of my younger sister. I would be unable to willingly sign her death warrant, even indirectly through the Class Trial.

Noah [CH1, 148]: All that stuff about [Vanessa] being like your sister… Were you lying about that, too? Antonia: Hm? Oh, no. She does, in fact, remind me of my sister. But that isn’t enough to stop me from acting in my own best interests.

Antonia never directly claims to care for Vanessa as she would a sister, all she ever says is that Vanessa reminds her of her actual sister. Antonia just says they share similarities, and doesn’t ever concretely express how that makes her feel. The only time she actually compliments Vanessa directly, she also compliments Ellis at the same time, someone who she doesn’t have the same kind of bond with.

Mark [CH1, 44]: Are we… actually doing this…? Antonia: Well, if it makes these two wonderful people happy, then I don’t see what the harm could be.

Now, I could be wrong about this, but to me it feels like while Antonia enjoyed Vanessa’s presence because of the sister thing, she didn’t do so to the extent that she led the others to believe. She simply allowed Vanessa’s enthusiasm to speak for the both of them, giving the impression of a much closer bond than what she genuinely felt, and she tried to take advantage of that flawed perception during the Third Party Analysis. Whether this lie of omission was originally just to make Ness feel better, or if Antonia was always planning to use this as a “card up her sleeve” (heh) to argue her innocence in a class trial, I genuinely can’t tell because everyone in this fangan (and especially Antonia herself) is a massive tryhard when it comes to killing game tactics.

Then again, I could always be overthinking it.

Antonia [CH1, 43]: No worries, Mark. It’s only natural. Mark: Why do you say it like that…? Antonia: Oh, I’ve just never been fond of using nicknames. But, in your case, I suppose it can’t be helped.

Antonia doesn’t like using nicknames, which is… interesting. Wonder if we’ll ever find out why that’s a thing, if there even is a reason beyond personal preference.

Antonia [CH1, 44]: A party is… something we could consider, though I do wonder where we would hold it. Vanessa: I mean, for open space and lighting, the Casino, right? Antonia: …I would rather not.

This never got explicitly explained, right? Why Antonia didn’t want a party at the casino? It’s not like she was planning to murder Cass specifically already, since Cass hadn’t started accusing her yet. And Cass only died in the casino because Antonia could lure her there since Cass was following her around. This might be a question to ask her once we get access to ouija boards after the fangan’s over. Or maybe not, who knows.

Antonia [CH1, 46]: Aren’t we a little too fixated on what isn’t here? If we all share each other’s company, we should be enjoying ourselves. There’s no point in doing anything otherwise.

This is wild coming from the woman who ordered poison from the CSD the morning of the day this got said. Incidentally, you’ll notice this is pretty close to Vanessa’s perspective on the killing game, although Antonia’s actually referring to Jeff’s absence from that meal and not the outside world. Neat!

Ellis [CH1, 51]: Maybe it’s, like, a rival casino owner trying to incite a scandal. That sounds like something that could happen in a cartoon. Antonia: I assure you, the real dynamics between different establishments are far more complex… Cass: Do you have insight into the dynamics, then? Do you know anyone who might hold a grudge? Antonia: With all due respect, my dear Cassidy, are you trying to determine if one of us is the mastermind?

Finally, we get to the Cass beef! And even from the start, we can start gathering just how important the theme of secrets is for these two, as I already mentioned in the Cass section. By very obviously deflecting the question about casino dynamics before Cass could press further, Antonia tries to keep her secrets by stopping the line of questioning about her life outside the killing game dead on its tracks.

But this is all stuff we covered with Cass. The question we left pending was what exactly Antonia’s secrets are, since we can be relatively sure she isn’t the mm now that she's dead.

Antonia [CH1, 148]: We weren’t dealing with only the mastermind, darling. We were dealing with “secrets.” And, while I may not want to say them here, I have things in my past I’d rather not share, especially if I were to attempt a murder. Mark: Like how you knew how to cut and sew the body…? Antonia: Something like that.

For this query, we can focus on the fact that, by saying she’d like to keep her secrets “especially if she were to attempt a murder,” Antonia implies the reveal of her secrets would inconvenience her during a class trial. Not to mention her response to Mark’s question, about the possible connection between her secrets and her dismemberment skills. And if that’s the case, then...

Mark [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 18]: I’ve given my theories. We’re about to explore the possibilities in the Class Trial. I thought your insight could be helpful. Antonia: But of course. Antonia twirls her hair around her finger with an absentminded look in her eyes. Antonia: Well, I do believe our killer wouldn’t be a first-time murderer.

Uh.

Antonia [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 18]: Does it really surprise you? The speed at which they killed, the brutality of the method, the skills dismembering the body must take… None of those are things you can simply dream up overnight. Mark: Probably true.

Ehem.

Mark [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 19]: But, based on what you were saying… I doubt this is only their second kill, either. This is someone who knows what they’re doing. Antonia: Is there much of a difference between a second murder and a hundredth? You’re already a murderer either way.

Hey guys Antonia might just be a serial killer.

I mean, isn’t that what this looks like? She’s saying she believes the blackened had killed before the killing game, and Mark says that they probably killed multiple times, and Antonia is the blackened. Certainly sounds like she’s letting the truth slip as a hypothetical. Now, she does give an alternate explanation of why she says the things she does in the Bonus Scene:

Antonia [CH1 Bonus Scenes, 20]: We’re simply speculating as to the killer’s mindset, aren’t we? To better understand how someone willing to take a life– no, multiple lives– might think of the world. Disregard my opinion if you’d like, but I’ve listened to many people talk, criminal and otherwise.

However, that doesn’t account for Mark saying that the killer’s skill could indicate they were, in fact, a serial killer. And besides, the best liars know when to tell the truth, because doing so removes the possibility of you losing credibility if you’re caught through tells or other means.

This is actually a pretty convenient narrative for Antonia to spin. See, if the brutality of the murder is because the blackened was already a serial killer, then it can’t be used to argue against anyone in particular, as any of the participants could realistically be the hidden serial killer. However, if you discount that possibility, then one could argue the brutality is born from a grudge the killer had against Cass. And while Antonia wasn’t the only person Cass suspected of being the mm, she sure was Cass’ number 1 rival. Thus, such an argument could land Antonia in a dangerous position. And without precedent of how this cast would act in the trial, Antonia would have no reason to believe she’d be able to defend against it in a way that would convince the others, at least not without throwing in the “serial killer” angle anyways.

I… hope that made sense.

The point is, this is a convenient thing for Antonia to say regardless of whether or not it’s true. And of course, if this really is her secret, this would be something that she really wouldn’t want to be revealed if she wanted to ever win a class trial, and it is in fact connected with her dismemberment skills, the two aspects of the secret we discussed before.

Seeing as Antonia could very well be telling the truth in the Bonus Scene, the previously mentioned line about her secret being inconvenient for trials and related to the dismemberment thing, and the arguments brought up in said Bonus Scene about the blackened’s skill and chosen method implying a serial killer, I’d say there’s a compelling argument to say that Antonia is, in fact, a serial killer. Which we could probably also infer from the fact that, since the killer asked for the boxes the same day they asked for the poison, Antonia really was ready to dismember someone from Day 3.

Am I 100% confident in saying that? No, obviously. But it is what I find most likely at this point.

Another question to ask would be what reason Antonia would have to murder someone before the killing game. And, since we already established that I don’t think her thoughts in the CH1 Bonus Scene are as hypothetical as she leads Mark to believe, we can try to infer something based on that, too.

Antonia [CH1, 19]: Well, with all of our other pursuits, do you really believe someone would kill just for the thrill of it? If we’ve all achieved great things, it stands to reason that whoever committed such a crime in the past would be doing so for a dedicated goal. Thus, killing would become a sacrifice to further that goal.

Assuming she’s not making this up on the spot, this could imply that her serial killing has to do with her talent… whatever that looks like. It’s worth noting that this “hypothetical” mindset actually does match at least one of Antonia’s own lines post trial, considering murdering people as a means to an end and a “small price to pay”:

Robert [CH1, 149]: You’re still talking about killing someone. You still made that decision… Antonia: If that’s all I have to do to end my imprisonment and guarantee my safety, it’s a rather small price to pay, isn’t it? Vanessa: B-but… what are we supposed to do now…? Antonia: It’s of no concern to me. Continue playing along with your fake peace, or turn on each other. All I know is that, eventually, someone won’t be able to take it anymore, and that person will remember that all they have to do to end it all is kill. It’s not such a large price, when you put it that way.

Obviously I don’t have any way to speculate further without just throwing random shit at the wall (eliminating Dealer competition maybe?), so I’ll leave my official theory at just that. Antonia killed to become the Ultimate Dealer, and has evidently done it quite a bit!

Alright, so what do we do with this? Well, it’s hard to tell when I can’t even be sure this will ever be brought up in the main section of the fangan anyways. But I imagine the ideas of ambition (relating her murders to her talent) and the lengths people will go to keep secrets might come back up later, and it’ll be fun contrasting other people’s actions to Antonia’s with that in mind. Considering some of the other themes we’ve discussed, you could even tie Antonia’s desensitization to murder into the ideas of normality discussed before, where the concept of “normal” is very subjective. After all, Antonia seems to consider what she did to Cass relatively normal for her, right?

And of course, this desensitization to murder somewhat parallels Ellis’ plan of “let everyone die and dip”, since it’s effectively the same plan Antonia had, just without directly murdering anyone. A parallel which is furthered by Antonia’s belief in the “house”:

Antonia [CH1, 148]: Because I didn’t want to play with fire. The establishment wants one winner, and the house always wins in the end. One of these days, one person will win. If fifteen will die, I liked my odds of being the last one standing better when I put myself directly in the position to win, rather than waiting around for others to make mistakes.

The same way that Ellis fully believes in his ability to win the killing game by coasting off his luck, Antonia is entirely confident that the house will get its way in the end. It’s only natural for the Dealer to align herself with the house by playing the game in earnest, while the gambler tries to luck out and get one over on the house by surviving without murdering. But in the end, both of them see it entirely as a game to be won, and not so much a hardship to be overcome. How such a wonderful parallel happened when the characters are written by two different people, I will never know, but it’s genuinely super impressive.

Anyways, let’s cover a few lines here and there that are cool but I couldn’t fit into the main analysis.

Antonia [CH1, 68]: …Apologies for disturbing all your thoughts, but… has anyone seen Cassidy this morning?

I think it’s cool that Antonia is actually the one that first brings up Cass’ absence. She needs to make sure everyone’s looking at the boxes when they open for the BDA disguising trick, after all!

In the interest of getting this post out sometime in 2025, I’m going to skip over a couple of cool moments during the trial itself, but just know that I think Antonia was pretty decent throughout, and you already know how cool I found her calm demeanor directly preceding the Third Party Analysis and her counterarguments after. Though for more specific lines:

Antonia [CH1, 106]: There actually isn’t any way to delete a message from an e-Handbook once sent, on either end. I expect this, in combination with the rule against stealing e-Handbooks, is intended to add extra challenge for the killer.

Do we think Antonia tried deleting the messages between Cass and Jeff when she had Cass’ E-Handbook? I wonder what exactly her plan would have been with that. Maybe framing Jeff by pointing out the messages’ deletion as weird? Shame it didn’t work.

Antonia [CH1, 146]: I suppose you all think this is the answer? That I’ve created an elaborate plan to make myself an undercover killer, and that Cassidy is some eternal force of good?

I really wonder what the “eternal force of good” comment is about, but I have genuinely zero idea what it could refer to :p To me it implies Antonia didn’t think of Cass that way, but I could be overthinking it.

Antonia [CH1, 148]: I suppose… I am slightly sorry, for roping you into all of this.

For all the serial killer talk, I do want it on record that Antonia is not entirely heartless. She did feel sorry, to some extent, for her actions, and it’s pretty clear she cared about her sister outside of the killing game. That’s cool :)

Though it’s worth noting she doesn’t apologize to Cass so much as she apologizes to the others for “roping them in”. I guess it’s an extension of the philosophy that Cass can’t care about anything now that she’s a corpse, so apologies to them are unnecessary.

-Mastermind ranking: 15/16. I’ll let her do the honors of explaining why she’s this low:

Kennedy [CH1, 147]: Was Cass right? Are you the mastermind?! Antonia pauses for a moment, then bursts into a fit of laughter. Antonia: Of course not! If I were, why would I be playing by the rules of this silly game?

Final MM Rankings: Cass - Antonia - Jeff - Vanessa - Kennedy - Vivi - Ellis - Mark - Aidan - Harper - Noah - Robert - Taylor - Davis - Grace - Paris

Holy hell how did I avoid problems with color coding here of all places?

Woo! Alright, that took longer than I expected, but 16k words later, we got our analysis! My excitement for this fangan grows with every part release, and really digging into the characters for this post has made me appreciate them all the more! Anyways, thanks for reading! If you made it this far, you’ve earned a royal flush! Ask Antonia for whatever money you just made- oh, wait. Uh. You can't... really do that. Anyways, see ya’!

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