#--the reason why i don't have the energy to continue the novel

[lianchuann]

MY LITTLE POPLAR MANHUA

omigod the art is soooo good!

I haven't finished the novel yet but I really like bai xinyu's character development. I am so happy it got adapted into manhua 🤧

Shui qian cheng's characters are really interesting because bai xinyu is kind of irritating at first but I grow to love him and kept on cheering for his improvement. He is the type of character that you can't bear to leave alone despite of him being annoying.

[one-flower-one-sword]

"You came from a renowned school, an orthodox sect that never traversed the deviant path. Growing up in that sect, you were always told that ascending was the ultimate thing to strive for," Jun Wu continued. "It is very difficult to give up that sort of goal. Falling in with the Ghost Realm was an unfortunate circumstance, an act born of helplessness. Of course you cannot say you are satisfied with your position in the Ghost Realm. It was never what you wanted in the first place."

Yin Yu didn't have enough confidence to deny it. He said weakly, "Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me -"

"I know," Jun Wu said. "He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu's vengeful spirit after he died during your banishment, am I correct?"

"...Yes," Yin Yu confirmed. "So whether or not I am satisfied with my current position, it's all -"

"That is dissatisfaction," Jun Wu noted. "You are bound by his grace and have nowhere else to go. You are in denial." Yin Yu hung his head and didn't reply.

Vol 7, page 144-145

One of my favorite relationships throughout the novel, even though we get so little information about it, is Yin Yu and Hua Cheng's. Even the above tidbit is mired by the way Jun Wu is trying to manipulate Yin Yu's emotions and how Yin Yu at times responds genuinely and at others plays along to try and find a way to escape.

Once I had finished the novel, I was left wondering why there are so many fandom jokes about Yin Yu being exploited by Hua Cheng when the text seemed to paint a much different picture of what Yin Yu's life and work environment as a god was like versus as the highest ranking ghost city officer. So in this meta I try to examine and compare the two as well as try to draw conclusions about how Yin Yu felt about it all and why.

First of, I think that Yin Yu's longing to return to becoming a god is genuine, since this is what he says after he stops playing along with Jun Wu's manipulation because he's by then gotten enough spiritual energy to attack him:

"I do want to return to the heavens, I do want to be ranked in the top ten!" Yin Yu continued. "But it's completely meaningless if I don't do it on my own! I'm unlucky, I accept that! Admitting that I can't compare isn't that hard!" Vol 7 page 152

Which is interesting, considering this is what he felt like when he was still a god in heaven while Quan Yizhen hadn't yet ascended:

A good while later, [Quan Yizhen] said bluntly, "I don't like it here."

Yin Yu said nothing.

"They think I'm annoying, but I think they're even more annoying," Quan Yizhen continued. "Before, I could train at least sixteen hours a day. Now half the time is taken up by talking and listening to nonsense, by greeting and visiting people. There are people who yell at me and hit me for no good reason, without apologizing, and I can't even fight back. This isn't heaven. I don't like it here."

Yin Yu sighed. "I don't like it here either."

"Then let's go back," Quan Yizhen said.

But Yin Yu only shook his head, "Even though I don't like it here, I want to stay."

Quan Yizhen couldn't understand. "Why do want to stay if you don't like it here?"

Yin Yu was stumped, and chuckled in spite of himself. He didn't know what to say, unable to explain it to him. How could he convey to Quan Yizhen that reaching the Heavenly Capital was the dream of so many people who sought the path of cultivation, the ultimate end goal? Or just how difficult it was for someone his age to achieve ascension?

Vol 5, page 271-272

Yin Yu essentially seemed to be struggling with sunk cost fallacy, where he put his everything into ascending to heaven and so wants to stay there even though it's making him increasingly unhappy. It's interesting that Jun Wu accuses him of being in denial about his unhappiness in the Ghost Realm, when Yin Yu in the past seemed to be in denial about his unhappiness in heaven. Especially since this is what he was being treated like as soon as his power and influence were in decline:

Yin Yu and Jian Yu were seated next to the "Earth Master." Their assigned seats were considered the edge of the banquet. Yin Yu wasn't eating or talking to anyone. [...]

At the other end of the banquet, there was already a large crowd of heavenly officials fighting to greet Quan Yizhen. The surrounding crowd had completely blocked the person at the center from sight. It appeared that this was soon after Quan Yizhen ascended and established his own palace. He was at the height of his popularity in heaven, in contrast to how he was disliked by most of the present court. Although the two were both Martial Gods of the West, he was significantly more prominent than Yin Yu. The attendees all swarmed over, leaving the table where Yin Yu sat quiet and empty.

Vol 5, page 273-275

I've talked about this in my Yin Yu & Quan Yizhen meta as well, how Yin Yu tries to get by in heaven by conforming and submitting to the elitist power structures it's based on:

Quan Yizhen kept going. "They cussed at me first. I don't even know them. They said I was a low-ranking heavenly official and yelled at me for no reason, then they laughed at me and told me to scram and not to block their way [...]" "Are low-ranking heavenly officials below other people?" Quan Yizhen asked.

"No," Yin Yu replied. Was that true? It was obvious he didn't believe his own words, and Quan Yizhen noticed.

Vol 5, page 271

and how it starts to chip away at the kindness and the moral backbone he showed while still in his sect:

"Shidi, the things you're all saying aren't right." The crowd was taken aback. "I'm going to say something unpleasant," Yin Yu continued. "No matter what path we cultivate, talent truly is an incredible thing. And he is not only talented, he is willing to work hard. If you really think Shifu is playing favorites, then let's work harder to keep up with him - maybe even overtake him. And then things like training halls and supplements will naturally be open to everyone. Rather than wasting time being angry at him, your priority should be training harder. Am I right?" [...]

"You really don't need to mind them. You didn't do anything wrong. It's fine like this." Anyone with clear eyes could see that the other disciples couldn't stand Quan Yizhen. They found fault everywhere, and it wasn't because of his big appetite, or because he wasn't a morning person, or because he was inconsiderate and a poor teammate who only cared about showing off. At the end of the day, what they really couldn't stand was this: he was the last to enter the school, but he received the most. Quan Yizhen nodded. "I think so too." Yin Yu patted his shoulder. "Go train! That's what's most important. Don't think about anything unnecessary." [...]

After watching the two scenarios, Xie Lian praised Yin Yu. "San Lang, that subordinate of yours really is a rare character. What a good heart."

Vol 5, page 262 + 264

Everything Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen already struggled with in their sect - the jealousy, the bullying, the competition for resources - is even worse in heaven, which actively encourages the endless competition for devotees and subordinates as well as the exploitation and mistreatment of those of "lower rank". No matter how hard Yin Yu tries to conform to these structures, they steadily wear away at both the way others see him and also how he sees himself:

After closing the gates, Yin Yu's voice grew louder. "Don't say any more! I don't want to hear it! It's very normal for an ascended heavenly official to establish a palace, so he didn't do anything wrong. Since you get irritated just talking about him, why must you constantly bring him up?" "Please don't think that I'm speaking out of turn, but someone must remind you. Yin Yu, the west is only so big, and there are only so many devotees. He's already taken so much. That wolf yao kill should've been yours, but he stole it! Look at the state of you now - your domain's shrinking smaller and smaller. How much do you have left? Can you maintain your standing if this keeps up?" "How is what he's done theft? It's not like he's forcing anyone to worship him at knifepoint - everyone's willing. Besides, that wolf yao..." Yin Yu sighed and said frankly, "I couldn't have defeated it. It was useless praying to me, so of course they went to him." "I just... I'm worried that if this fight continues, he'll win and leave us with nothing," Jian Yu said bitterly. "Fuck, even those lower-ranking officials only care about their own advancement - each one of them coming up with empty excuses to quit and slipping away to serve under other heavenly officials. What a bunch of no-good asshats!" Yin Yu sighed again and sat down on a prayer cushion. "What fight are you talking about...? Why care for such things? Those who want to leave will always leave in the end, and those who want to stay will naturally remain. I didn't ascend to fight for power with anyone, nor squabble over domains, nor quarrel, so why can't you let this go?" Vol 5, page 277

This is a stark contrast not only to the kind of standing he had while he was still in his sect:

Yin Yu pushed them away, urging them to leave. He sighed. "You said yourself that he's insane, so why bother with him?" It was easy to see that Yin Yu's words held weight with his peers at this point in his life. Although the crowd was still upset, they left as told. Vol 5, page 257

But especially to the kind of authority and respect that his position in Ghost City offers him:

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the ghost crowd. They immediately parted, forming a path, as if someone of importance had arrived. Xie Lian came to his senses and saw a tall, black-clad figure walking straight toward him through the path created by the mob. That person yelled, "Settle down. Let him go!" The black-clad figure, like most of the ghosts on the street, wore a mask. It was a funny mask, with a face that was contorted as if it was smiling woefully. The mob muttered under their breath, "It's the Waning Moon Officer!", and they released their hold on Xie Lian at last. It seemed this black-clad figure was someone significant in Ghost City. Vol 2, page 99

It's also worth mentioning at this point that I think people forget that Yin Yu does not always necessarily work alone and has to do everything by himself but that he has his own subordinates:

After taking a moment to contact his subordinates in Ghost City, Yin Yu meticulously reported the general directions of each sighting.

Vol 7, page 48

Another very important thing to take away from the argument between Jian Yu and Yin Yu is that while still a god in the heavens, Yin Yu had no confidence that he'd be able to fight a wolf yao, yet in the amnesiac extra, he shows no signs of hesitancy or fear when Hua Cheng orders him to go after the monster that stole Xie Lian's memories:

He was still trying to process what he'd learned when he heard San Lang say, "I need to attend to him right now and can't leave. Catch that monster before tomorrow night and bring it to me." "Yes, sir. Shall I leave it one last breath?" the man in the ghost mask asked quietly. San Lang put down his brush and glanced at what he'd written, which he then crumbled up and tossed away, apparently unsatisfied. "Leave it a few. Make it spit out what it swallowed, then crush its worthless head to dust. Make it slow and painful." His tone and expression were both quite frightening, yet Xie Lian didn't find him repulsive or alarming. The man in the ghost mask acknowledged San Lang’s order and was about to take his leave, so Xie Lian quickly dodged away and hid. Vol 8, page 226-227

Which leads me to another important point - the amount of trust Hua Cheng shows Yin Yu by the kind of missions he sends him on. If he didn't have a high opinion of Yin Yu's abilities, he would never send him after something like a monster that had eaten Xie Lian's memories, given how incredibly important Xie Lian's wellbeing is to Hua Cheng. There's many other examples too - like how Hua Cheng trusted Yin Yu to help with tricking Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian into saving "Ming Yi", or how he entrusted the Earth Master Shovel to him. But Hua Cheng also does not ask the impossible of him - when they're all trapped in heaven and Yin Yu started to dig tunnels with the Earth Master Shovel to try and free Xie Lian and the others so they could recover and become strong enough to escape, Hua Cheng cautions them against it because he correctly deduces that "you'll be seeking your own deaths if you try to break out under Jun Wu's watch." (Vol 7, page 130) Even though Yin Yu is with Xie Lian, Hua Cheng doesn't expect him to get Xie Lian out on his own, because he knows how powerful and ruthless Jun Wu is.

For extra emphasis, let's compare Hua Cheng’s regard for Yin Yu and his abilities to the way Jun Wu never even deemed to speak to Yin Yu while he was a god because he was so very much "beneath" him:

"My dear Yin Yu, I do not think I have ever chatted with you like this before. Isn't that right?"

"I guess not..." Yin Yu replied cautiously.

Even back when he was the martial god who ruled the west, his base of believers wasn't strong, his merits were few, and his rank wasn't impressive. He wasn't the lowest ranked of the heavenly officials in the Upper Court, but he was still below average, so he'd had almost no opportunities to interact with the Heavenly Emperor - the highest of the high.

Vol 7, page 142-143

Keeping all of that in mind, it's very interesting that Jun Wu tries to tempt Yin Yu to his side by offering him the position of his right-hand man:

Finally, Yin Yu asked, "In the Upper Court, I... What... would my position be?"

"Ling Wen will be my left hand, and you shall be my right," Jun Wu said. "There will be none above you besides me."

Vol 7, page 149

When that really is a position Yin Yu already holds - he's Hua Cheng's right-hand man. Now, one could argue that Yin Yu does have less power and prestige in the position of a ghost realm officer than he would have as a god - there's no believers worshipping him - but I think the point is that he doesn't answer to anyone but Hua Cheng, that there's no one else competing with him for that position, no one else among his subordinates that Hua Cheng puts this much trust in, and that there's no one else besides Hua Cheng himself who is demonstrated to hold so much authority and respect in Ghost City. And with all of the above, it's really important to keep in mind that Ghost City is the one single autonomous place in all the three realms and that its Chengzhu is the one single being whose power and influence is rivaled only by the Heavenly Emperor himself.

And said Heavenly Emperor damn well knows Yin Yu is Hua Cheng's right-hand man, which is I believe a big part of the reason he tries to flip Yin Yu by dangling this exact position in front of him. As I've talked about before in other posts, Jun Wu hates Hua Cheng deeply for various reasons. There's the whole thing where Hua Cheng is the unmistakable proof of a believer that never leaves their god, the very thing Jun Wu felt entitled to but didn't receive. But in this case I think him wanting to tempt Yin Yu away from Hua Cheng's side is about how bitter and salty Jun Wu feels about the fact that Hua Cheng holds more sway over all three realms than he does - evidenced by the way Hua Cheng doesn't just have followers in the Ghost Realm but the Human Realm as well, and even the gods, while they fear him, also can't help but admire him and strike deals with him in secret (Vol 1, page 157-160). That Yin Yu, a banished god, would (just like Xie Lian) rather be loyal to Hua Cheng than Jun Wu - that must have angered him a lot because it's something he'd take quite personally.

This is, I think, also the root of why Yin Yu has so much trouble seeing his position in the Ghost Realm for what it really is and why he still longs to be a god despite how unhappy he was in the heavens and how badly he was treated there - he can't see past the prejudices about the Ghost Realm in general and Ghost City in particular that he has internalized. Prejudices that Jun Wu actively weaponizes every time he speaks to Yin Yu, by repeatedly insinuating that being a ghost city officer is a shameful thing to be:

"Surely you do not actually like being a mere pawn in the Ghost Realm?" [...] "Falling in with the Ghost Realm was an unfortunate circumstance, an act borne of helplessness." [...] "You are bound by his grace and have nowhere else to go." [...]

Vol 7, page 144

Which makes it all the more satisfying when Yin Yu tricks Jun Wu (or attempts to, at least) and ultimately rejects both his offer and his authority, and also calls Jun Wu out on the way he tried to manipulate him:

"My Lord... My... No, not My Lord! You! Why must you keep reminding me of that?! Why do you speak like you actually understand me?!"

Vol 7, page 151

Jun Wu is deeply enraged by his defiance and rejection - in general, but also because it reminds him of Xie Lian's defiance against him:

Jun Wu turned around with a casual sweep of his hand. "Exhilarating. You and Xianle must get along well."

Vol 7, page 152

This brings me to my final point - which is that choosing kindness and righteousness even in the face of criticism and rejection, of personal loss and suffering, is what Jun Wu hates the most, and what ties Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu, and Yin Yu and Hua Cheng together. Hua Cheng was drawn to Xie Lian because Xie Lian chose to treat him kindly when everyone else abused and rejected Hua Cheng and pressured Xie Lian to do the same. Similiar things can be said for Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu, since Yin Yu was the one to ask his sect's shifu to take Quan Yizhen in when he came across him as a seemingly abandoned child, and who repeatedly defended Quan Yizhen from the other sect members' judgement and bullying, even though this earned Yin Yu their ire as well. Yin Yu, too, values kindness very highly:

Yin Yu sobbed. "If I wasn't destined to be perfect, I at least wanted to be perfectly kind. But... I couldn't even manage that." (Vol 7, page 156)

Therefore, though we get very little information on their first meeting, I think kindness is also what drew Yin Yu to Hua Cheng, what made him stay loyal to him even when tempted/threatened by Jun Wu, and what made him go right back to working for him after the events of the main story. Because while we get only this one mention, I think a great deal can be gleaned from it:

"Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me - "

"I know" Jun Wu said. "He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu's vengeful spirit when he died during your banishment, am I correct?"

Vol 7, page 144

It's not just he helped me, it's he saved me. And not only that, Hua Cheng, in a sense, saved Jian Yu as well by helping him move on, which I would assume was simply because Yin Yu wished for his friend to let go of his resentment and not become stuck as a vengeful spirit. What I think is really important to keep in mind here is that not only was Hua Cheng under no obligation to save Yin Yu, he had, objectively speaking, nothing to gain from it. He Xuan was already in the heavens by then and giving Hua Cheng intel. and Hua Cheng didn't show off that he had a banished god working for him either - he let Yin Yi wear a mask, and for years, no one (except apparently Jun Wu) knew where Yin Yu was or what had happened to him, evidenced by the way Quan Yizhen kept looking and kept asking about him to no avail (Vol 5 page 235).

We don't really get Hua Cheng's side of the story but I think the fact that he doesn't speak about it speaks for itself - aside from keeping things close to his chest in general, he tends to not talk about the things he does out of kindness and/or his own sense of justice. We see this for example when Xie Lian only finds out why the group of cultivators is after Hua Cheng when he overhears them saying that Hua Cheng chose to shelter both the pig spirit and the prostitute ghost who had chosen to take revenge on humans who had used their positions of power to hurt others (Vol 5 page 28-29).

This is therefore more speculation than analysis, but I can imagine that this whole scenario - a god with a good heart who gets abandoned by the heavens with only a vengeful spirit by his side - even though the exact circumstances that led to it differed, might have held enough similarities to what Hua Cheng personally witnessed of Xie Lian's banishment that it would bring out that same urge to help and protect in Hua Cheng. The fact that Yin Yu says Hua Cheng saved him really can't be overstated in my opinion, considering that Hua Cheng, understandably, has usually nothing but feelings of either indifference or hatred for all of the gods aside from Xie Lian and the Rain Master.

To sum up - the power structures in heaven encourage workplace harassment, bullying, and endless competition for resources and support, and this causes Yin Yu not only increased stress, isolation, and unhappiness, but also puts a strain on his inherent kindness and righteousness as he starts to give in under the pressure to conform. By contrast, his position in Ghost City is dependant on nothing but his loyalty to Hua Cheng, on Yin Yu's own choice to stay with him, and offers him an unprecedented amount of respect and trust. It is heaven, really, that is repeatedly shown to mistreat and exploit its officials, especially those of lower rank, not Hua Cheng.

[respectthepetty]

do you happen to have any other bls with toxic kings up your sleeve? i’m as giddy as you when it comes to ming! i’m newer to bls, so there’s a good chance i haven’t seen whatever you suggest.

Anon, I have an entire roster of toxic characters because

I LOVE TOXIC BITCHES!

Like 2 Chainz rapped on one of my favorite songs, "I love bad bitches, that's my fuckin' problem" which is why I HATE when a story won't allow characters to be toxic. Like we all know the character IS toxic, but the story keeps telling us he isn't that bad or he is only that bad because reasons. Regardless of the reasons, the character is a bad bitch so why not just let him fucking own it, which is truly the reason Only Friends pissed me off so much.

Case and point, my favorite characters were Ray and Nick. Ray was calling Sand a whore every two seconds and throwing money at him, while Nick was recording non-consexual sex tapes, yet the narrative wanted me to think they were just sad dudes who were slightly problematic.

NAH! Nick straight up said he was trash! THEY WERE TOXIC just like everyone else in that damn show!

Which is why I liked Kang in Dangerous Romance because I don't feel like the narrative eased up on his toxicity. In fact, I feel like the story said Sailom was into it with that master/servant scene at the very end.

So in order for me to love a toxic character, they must 1) be considered toxic by the story, and 2) stay toxic, so I'm going to give you a list of ten of my favorites, but know that spoilers are coming your way too. Also know that I do not recommend anything, ever, so these are not recommendations. These are merely my favorite toxicitos.

Mis tóxicos favoritos

presented in no particular order

Todd - Not Me

This man had his lover (it's canon to me) beat into a coma. Then, he went and grabbed that man's twin brother and made him take on his lover's persona all so he could overthrow his competition and be the number one evil capitalist. And then, AND THEN, he was excited to see his lover, Black, return even though he knew that meant he was probably going to die. Honestly, his entire relationship with Black was toxic, and I desperately need more of it. Not Me 2: Blackout when? WHEN, GMMTV?!

Rio & Kido - The Novelist Series

Rio blew Kido in front of an old man in broad daylight, so they could get a book deal. That's just one of the many fucked up things these two did together, but they were even worse apart. Rio lied to a college student for months about his arm being injured and writing pornographic novels just to turn on the college student and fuck him because . . . he was bored? It's deeper than that, but it kinda ain't. Rio and Kido did toxic shit to feel alive and that's my special brand of toxic. I will never make excuses for them. I like them this way.

Yai - Big Dragon

The very beginning of this show, as in the very first scene, is Yai and Mangkorn having sex AFTER Yai drugged Mangkorn in hopes of sexually assaulting him and recording it. AND MANGKORN IS INTO IT! Yai tries to steal Mangkorn's phone and ruin his life too, but Mangkorn is so in love with Yai, that he is willing to play along with whatever Yai does including fighting Yai. This is one of my favorite BLs for a multitude of reasons, but the biggest is because instead of trying to tame Yai, Mangkorn just decided to match his toxic energy! I love that for them.

Songpol - Club Friday

Bank plays toxic very well, which is why he has two characters on this list, even though this show isn't technically a BL. Club Friday is already a hot mess express, so to be the most toxic character in a show filled with toxic characters means that Songpol was TOK-SICK! He cheated on his boyfriend with multiple men. When his boyfriend left him for a woman, he showed up outside of that woman's house calling her a whore. He then went to their wedding just so he could fuck his ex in a bathroom (on his wedding day). He continued to hook up with his ex, and sent a video to his ex's wife of them having sex, only for her to tell him to move into the house and continue having sex with her husband! AND THAT'S ONLY THE SECOND EPISODE! He was serving telenovela villain, and I want him back.

Vegas - KinnPorsche

The scene: Vegas' beloved hedgehog has just died and he has carried out a tiny funeral for him while the bodyguard he has been holding hostage AND TORTURING comforts him, but instead of sitting in that grief, Vegas tells the bodyguard that the bodyguard is probably turned on by seeing Vegas weak, then proceeds to fuck him. Skipping over the fact that Vegas drugged Porsche, killed Tawan, got Big and Ken murdered by extension, and a plethora of other horrible shit, Vegas was a HUGE red flag from the very beginning, and I wanted him to choke me so badly. *bites knuckles*

Charn - Laws of Attraction

He had his reasons, but the story and his husband didn't let that be an excuse for his toxic behavior. He tried burning down Tinn's house, with Tinn and his grandmother in it, and Tinn was very upset about it. Not enough to not sleep with Charn, but enough to get his point across that if Charn wanted to burn something down, he needed to focus on burning down the oppressive heteronormative government, so we could all have basic human rights. Toxic, but for the cause.

Chalothon - The Sign

I knew he was a problem because the way he handled his patients, but he truly proved how toxic he was when he told Phaya he would kill Tharn before letting Phaya have him. I'm mad that the show made him good in the last episode, with most of if being off-screen, but I'll always remember how he committed psychological warfare on Phaya for eleven episodes in hopes of making Phaya seem crazy, and actually made Tharn, Phaya's soulmate, question Phaya's sanity.

Mol - 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

The only woman on this list and she isn't even queer. That's how toxic this chick was that she made it on a this list being a heterosexual, which was a major part of her toxicity. She is a top-tier gaslighter to her son. She doesn't actually consider Inn her friend. She uses feminist rhetoric to be homophobic. She manipulates every situation in her favor by using tears. I could write a list just about her being lead paint toxic, but the most fucked up part is that she got to ride off into the sunset with her son in the passenger seat being miserable, which is what she wanted. No other BL parent could reach her level. Korn and Gun from KinnPorsche exist, yet this woman would eat them alive without hesitation, then go throw a party for herself. She really is that bitch.

Yong Jie - HIStory 4: Close to You

I'm not going to bullshit around him being a whole ass problem. This motherfucker is the most controversial pick on this list, and I am well aware of why he is hated by the people, but the story told us he was the devil. The show treated everything he did like stalking, physical assault, and sexual assault as horrible, and he got knocked out for it. HIStory 4 is my favorite BL, ever, and part of it is because the story let this toxic motherfucker BE toxic. I love how much I hate him, and I love how much the story allows me to hate him.

So - House of Stars

This show was a mess, so I was not expecting this man to come out as THE toxic king to rule over every other toxic character. What made him so toxic is that I had no idea just how toxic he was until the exact moment I realized it, and that's why he is one of my favorites. He was sneaky. He was playing everyone against each other. He was letting the bodies stack up. He was Tan from Dead Friend Forever without anyone figuring out he was Tan. One person realized part of his plan, but even then, that person was not aware of how committed to the bit So was. This smile was the very last scene of the show, and it really proved that this boy ruined everyone's lives only to walk out of it completely unbothered. You know, king shit.

[alpaca-clouds]

Why Does Everyone Struggle With Solarpunk Stories?

Fun Fact: My own introduction to Solarpunk happened in Germany on a German convention. I met a friend, who I had not seen in quite a few years in the creator alley, and they and their partner had just brought out an indie comic, which they introduced as a Solarpunk comic.

I do however wonder whether it really could be considered Solarpunk now, as it was mostly fantasy (which in itself is not a criterium), but the main overlap with Solarpunk generally was this idea of using the Art Noveau aesthetic for everything. From what I remember, it was not really very concerned with any of the Solarpunk themes - nor with anything considered Solarpunk technology - though I do remember some flying machines that were powered by sun energy.

But it makes me think about one thing: There are still barely any explicit Solarpunk novels out there. Like, there are a few, yes, but barely any. Most of what is considered Solarpunk works is stuff that folks among the Solarpunk community have looked at and gone: "Oh, yeah, this kinda feels Solarpunk, doesn't it?"

Most of the Solarpunk books out there are in fact anthologies. (And yes, I plan to continue reviewing those, I right now just struggle with reading because of health-related issues.) And even among those anthologies I will look at half the stories and think to myself: "Well, but are they really Solarpunk?"

In some cases that is because the stories in question are really build around too much of a dystopia. In other cases it is, because even the technology/ecology part is not really there.

And sure, I am talking a lot about how it is fairly easy to tell a Solarpunk story if you just let go of the idea that a Solarpunk story has to be one certain thing - rather than any kind of story that is set in a Solarpunk setting and deals with Solarpunk themes. But on the other hand it is not like I am writing a whole lot in the genre either, is it?

Admittedly the reason for me might be a bit of another one than for other writers. For me it is simply that I find it currently hard to motivate myself to write anything in terms of original fiction, because... Well, writing fanfics is just a whole lot more fun, and also will get me a lot more feedback and such.

And of course, on the side of the publishing industry I just don't know if anyone but Android Press and World Weaver Press even do much in publishing of Solarpunk stories? I am honestly not entirely certain.

But there definitely is some sort of struggle here right now. And that is without me going into the fact that half of what is published in Germany with the lable of "Solarpunk" is actually Cyberpunk but with some mild ecological themes in there.

And yeah, all in all it really makes me wonder, where the issue lies.

Is it a thing of a missing community for Solarpunk creatives, especially writers? Because I know that most online Solarpunk communities focus a ton on guerilla gardening, second hand clothes, and right to repair - but just don't have a ton of striving creative groups among them. The one Discord Server for Solarpunk writers I was on got deleted by the mod for being inactive.

So, yeah. I don't know.

Would someone be interested in another sort of community for Solarpunk creatives? And if so, what kind of community?

[hyenafu]

Have you ever thought of crossovers between Slightly Damned and Junk Hyenas Diner? Both casts meeting, even as what-ifs or jokes. Lucky and Kieri have similar struggles with their mothers and the expectations put on them by their families, so they'd likely have a lot to talk about. And then there's the two fuzzy chill guys who love food, and the short beings of nebulous origins that came back to life.

It's funny you worded your question that way! One of the reasons I stopped working on The Junk Hyenas Diner is because I felt my long-term plans for it were too similar to Slightly Damned. I made The Junk Hyenas Diner as my thesis project when I got my graduate degree from the Center for Cartoon Studies. I wanted to completely change up the way I did comics and do something new. I was afraid of having Slightly Damned being my only major project, and I didn't want to be stuck in a rut forever. And it worked out great! I loved working on JHD. With a different setting, I got to make different jokes. Working in black and white helped change the way I approach my art, as well. I think I learned a lot from the experience. I made a bunch of short stories and gained new confidence in my ability to adapt and make new things. I fully intended to continue The Junk Hyenas Diner as my second webcomic in tandem with Slightly Damned after I graduated. But... I ended up putting it off more and more. I got busy with going to conventions more way more often, and expanding the breadth of my merchandise. I also got more involved with my Patreon. I needed to do these things in order to secure my income so I could keep living off of my art. I also felt like my heart wasn't really into making a science fiction (well, more like science fantasy) story. I felt intimidated by other artists who could ground their work in a lot more concrete facts about space travel, technology, and biology. I just wanted to make dumb jokes about food. Now I know that just wanting to make dumb jokes about food is valid, but that was honestly part of why I lost my motivation. I've decided to completely drop JHD for the time being. I'll always keep the website archive up because I still think it's a fun read, and I loved the experience of making it. I also don't consider that door closed forever. If I feel compelled to return for whatever reason, I will! I have thought that JHD would be suitable project for a self-contained graphic novel. I could also just lean into telling jokes whenever they come to me. But I don't really have the time or motivation for it right now, so it's not a priority. I think artists should be allowed to drop projects if they're not really feeling them anymore. It happens. Since the last time I made any new Junk Hyenas comics, I went through some rough emotional events that led me to seeing a therapist. That helped me a lot! After that, I ended up leaning more into making mushy stuff (cutesy and romantic) and spicy stuff (kink art for adults) for Slightly Damned in my free time. That's just what's the most fun for me right now. Because it's fun and rewarding, I keep making more and more. Even if there are folks who don't get it (which is fine), being motivated to draw makes me practice drawing, and practice makes all my art better, so everyone who likes my art still wins in the end!

Motivation is a fickle beast. Life changes. I always have way more ideas than the time and energy to actually make them, and I hope that's a problem I keep for my entire life. I can't possibly do everything all at once. Having Slightly Damned be my life's work is still scary thought. Other artists are able to finish their webcomics and graphic novels and move on, so I end up thinking that the grass may be greener on the other side. I don't know when or even if I'll be able to finish Slightly Damned in order to free up more time to work on other projects. But at the same time, right now, I don't really feel like I need to. I am enjoying what I make, and I'm always pushing myself to make each weekly update better. I love my characters so much that I enjoy following my whims and making spinoff projects with them. I think as long as I continue to find this fulfilling (and there are still people willing to support me), there's no need to force myself to do projects that I'm not feeling especially motivated to do. I know this big wall of text isn't what you asked for, but I wanted to explain why I don't draw Junk Hyenas stuff anymore. Anyway, here's a Thanksgiving picture I did of the Slightly Damned and Junk Hyenas casts in 2016:

[gallusrostromegalus]

Mayuri broke out of hell and his sword is his parole officer??? I need elaboration immediately, I have such a morbid fascination with Mayuri he's my horrifying little torture meow meow

So some important things about Hell in AEIWAM:

I haven't read any of Kubo's newer work and I do not have plans to unless someone can vouch that it's really, really cool

They REALLY don't want anyone to stay there, because Hell is functionally Rehab.

See, the function of Hell in AEIWAM is to act as a sort of repair shop for damaged souls- souls that harm others don't produce as much energy when they move from one plane to another, and prevent other souls from completing their cycles and that's bad for The Life Machine, so it's in The Machine's interest that those harmful souls Stop That ASAP. So in hell, a Soul that has say, done a bunch of murder is meticulously taken apart and examined by Demons, who figure out Why He Did That, and then come up with a treatment program to Make Sure He Doesn't Do That Next Time. Sometimes it's therapy, sometimes it's hard labor to undo the spiritual pollution you caused, sometimes they have to uh. vivisect a soul and remove an unhelpful segment of soul. There's no BAD souls or soul fragments, according to the Demons of Hell- what's dangerous egotism in one person is a healthy level of self-esteem in another person and you just gotta... swap the spiritual organs, as it were. The demons really, really want you to get better!

3. They also don't want you to stick around because Hell has a bit of an overpopulation problem.

See, when the Four-to-Five Noble houses dismembered the Soul King and used parts of his body to black off the spirit world according to political preference rather than any kind of functionality, they tried to block off Hell entirely, perhaps to evade the fate that awaited them.

But they fucked up, and now the only part of Hell that's Blocked is THE EXIT, and it's blocked by God's Divine Ass :/. Now, there is, technically, An Exit built in, as it were, but it's very small compared to the original exit, and now there is a Queue To Get Out.

This has created MANY problems for Hell- The Demons have a running Metric for "Does this soul REALLY need to go to rehab?"*, and even with it stripped down to the most generous assumptions of "this was probably more circumstances than your fault" and most limited definitions of "Harm" and "Danger", there's still a steady stream of souls entering Hell, and it's larger than the stream escaping out. So now the majority population of Hell is Perfectly Fine people who completed their Rehab, but can't leave because the airport is closed.

*The reason soul society doesn't attempt to reunite people in the afterlife is that they actually cannot- who goes where after death is the provenance of Hell, and shinigami don't have any input on the process, save to occasionally herd someone back into the afterlife queue via Konsho.

It's getting. Crowded.

It's getting crowded to the point that Hell is actually starting to Burst at the seams- which is a solution and a problem- these crack represent the dimension literally unravelling, but it's also an opportunity for The Ruler Of Hell to stabilize those cracks and make new exits and move a bit more of that Queue along.

It's during one of these stabilization projects that Mayuri makes his escape.

(Continued under the cut)

The thing is. Mayuri wasn't even in that much trouble! He'd been the Medieval Japanese equivalent of a Fry Cook in life and uh. Poisoned a few people trying out new recpies, mostly involving novel culinary mushrooms. His fault, if you had to pick the main one, was an overabundance of curiousity relative to his sense of caution and a minor problem of not being able to imagine the interiority of others. None of those are EVIL. Dangerous, sure! But entirely fixable! and Mayuri had been quite young when he died because he had gotten a little too curious and tried his latest recipe out himself.

So Mayuri had been assigned to Jizo. In Real Life, Jizo is a pretty cool religious figure- he's the Bohdisattva who's whole thing is that absolutely no-one is incapable of becoming a better person, and refused to achieve Nirvana until all the hells are empty. He's the last guy out when the universe ends, and the particular patron of dead children and orphans. He is associated with caterpillar imagery because he wears a long cloak that all the lost souls of children can take shelter under, and when they all trail out behind him, it looks a bit like he's a centaur with a caterpillar body from all the little legs sticking out from under him.

...Which is why Mayuri's Zanpaktou looks like that.

Jizo seems like a WEIRD spirit to be hanging out with Mayuri imho, unless Jizo was originally Mayuri's Guardian/therapist/parole officer, and Mayuri did something shitty.

I think Mayuri HAD been making a lot of progress in terms of "the scientific process is a PROCESS for a reason" and "Other beings have feelings too" and "Harming others is Bad", and he's a clever lad who could be doing a lot of good if pointed in the right direction, so Jizo advocated for Mayuri to be put on one of the Hell-Crack stabilization teams to give him a good outlet for his restless mind.

Unfortunately for Jizo, he miscalculated how much progress mayuri had actually made vs his desire to not go to rehab, and Mayuri pulled some sort of stunt that bound Jizo to a sword like an Asauchi, and absconded with him to the Spirit world through the crack, promptly got arrested for More Science Crimes in spirit world, got sent to the Maggots Nest, and eventually caught the attention of Urahara, who saw the Chemistry Brilliance of Mayuri and exactly NONE of the Red Flags.

As it stands Mayuri is... Sort-of the captain of the 12th division.

Sure, on paper he's The Captain, he gets to wear the Haori and has to go to the meetings, but R&D is only a fraction of what the 12th actually does- rememer, Urahara is the guy that STARTED Research and Development. Before that, I think the 12th division was 100% devoted with being the gotei-13's SUPPLIER- food, uniforms, medicine manufacture, weapons repair, gigai, soul candy, maps, communicators- if you got it for work, it was made in the 12th division.

I think Mayuri is aware of maybe 12% of what his division actually does, because the people who are in charge of manufacture were around before Urahara, took one look at that man and went "...Nah" and started quietly Not Telling Him About Things. When Mayuri took over, they went "Absolutely Not" and have been engaged in a century-long farce to prevent the captain of the 12th from knowing what his division actually does. Fortunately for them, it's extremely easy to lie to Mayuri. He's a suspicious bastard, but he LOVES good news, especially the kind of news that is good because it means he doesn't have to go to another boring-ass meeting. So things are JUST FINE down in manufacture, your latest improvements were TOTALLY IMPLEMENTED and are going GREAT. Everyone remarks on how much better the MREs are since we started adding live beetles to them Sir. Your Genius is Much Praised- Whoops Is That The Time? Gotta Go- the science never stops!

He's going to run into a bit of a stumbling block in Las Noches though. Not Sayzel, though Sayzel doesn't help. He's going to run into the consequences of a Former Experiment that are REAL FUCKIN' MAD AT HIM. No, not Uryuu, though Uryuu is FAR FROM PLEASED. Mayuri is going to have to face the consequences of a much worse experiment- one based on the procedures of disassembling and reassembling souls he learned while he was in Hell. Mayuri will have to face The Wrath Of Kon

[shiut]

Waiting For Yuma Chapter 1 : Preview

Some english translation for the Rain Code novel, Waiting for Yuma. This is how many pages are provided in the trial reader preview, but it's still rather long, so I've put most of it under the cut.

I've also put it into an online document if you want to click here instead.

Chapter 01

The Silence of the Dolls

Morning arrives early for the trainee detective.

However, though belonging to the 【World Detective Organization】, he/she has not yet completed the training course. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A piece of paper will never reach the moon unless it is folded forty-two times. There is much work to be done in order to become a 【Master Detective】.

Working hard to develop and refine special abilities. Acquiring basic detective skills. Sharpening a keen eye for detail. Not only that, but there are many other challenges to worry about too. I suppose you could say that the days have been filled with more hardship than joy. However, you can't call yourself a 【Master Detective】 if you can't overcome all of that. It might be a different story for people who have exceptional supernatural abilities. However, for those who don't, they must continue to keep improving in order to reach the stars.

For one such trainee, Yuka Kisaragi, this day ought to be a momentous milestone. Her efforts were recognized, and so she was allowed to accompany a real 【Master Detective】 to the crime scene. As soon as Yuka heard this, she hugged and danced with everyone she saw, which almost got her reported in the process. That’s to say, she was putting out more energy than usual for such an important day.

Or at least it should be...... no, could that be why?

Let's go over that one more time. 

Morning arrives early for a trainee detective.

That should be the case, but Yuka was in fact remarkably late.

***

"Why, why, why, why, why!?"

Yuka asked herself repeatedly as she roared down the street. Under the clear blue sky, she trampled across the well-maintained cobblestone pavement. Though, she didn't have to bother questioning herself when she already knew the cause of the problem a while ago. 

First of all, the toast was burnt. 

Secondly, the hair iron went missing.

Third, she forgot to cut the tag off her new coat that was bought for today.

That sums up why she was late today.

It was entirely a bed of her own making. But still, Yuka thought, there must be a reason for all this bad luck. It could be the alignment of the stars, or like the flow of fate, or something.

Could it be the influence of the 【Master Detective】 that I'm about to meet? 

It may be due to something like sound waves or telepathy caused by the person in question. Though, I'd rather those predictions to not be true. Yuka kept running, hoping at the very least that a kind person would be waiting for her. 

Then when she rounded a sharp corner —— she burst into a stylish cafe that had a strikingly chic dark-toned exterior wall. The interior was also uniformly monochrome, with bright light streaming through the large glass windows. The clientele had a somewhat intellectual and relaxed atmosphere. Yuka immediately felt nervous. She looked around as she listened to the classical music that was playing. The meeting place was at the far end of the window. Right, she repeatedly mouthed these words to herself while she walked over... she was suddenly rendered speechless.

Therein, was a beautiful person.

A hard leather sofa, and white painted wooden table. 

There sat a person dressed in gray. The way in which they tipped their coffee was picturesque. Their pale hair and glasses suited their sagacious profile and air of intelligence. 

While admiring the sight, Yuka had to wonder. There's an ambiguity to the person before her. Their gender is indiscernible. No matter how you look at it, it's impossible to tell if it's a he or she. They could pass as a beautiful man, or even as a ruggedly dignified woman perhaps. Yuka stared intently in order to ascertain the truth the best she could.

"......Three million"

"Eh-?"

What did they say? Yuka let out a dumb sound as she thought. Caught off-guard, she simply blinked. The beautiful person took another sip of coffee before her.

Gracefully setting down the cup, the other person continued.

"It's one hundred thousand per minute. My time is not cheap...... More importantly, you wasted precious time before the investigation as a 【trainee detective】, of course you're prepared to pay that much, right?"

Smoothly —— he, no, maybe she —— the 【Master Detective】 spoke. 

Confused, Yuka twisted her head like an owl. However, after a few seconds, she realized that what this 【Master Detective】 was referring to were 'late fees'. Yuka choked with a hissing noise. How ruthless. Is this person a demon? That's what her immediate thought was.

Flustered, Yuka tried to explain herself. He/she opened their mouth to interrupt.

"I'll have you know, burnt toast, a misplaced hair iron, and a coat tag are no excuse for being late."

"Huh-? How did you know?"

"Bread crumbs"

They pointed to Yuka's chest. If you look —— peeking out from a crimson coat ——was a cream-colored sweater dotted in black specks. Pointing at it, the 【Master Detective】 continued.

"It's a notably charred color. Also, although some of your hair is disheveled, only the ends are straightened out. A sign of a frantically used hair iron. Did you simply not spend enough time on it? No, it looks like you intended to use it properly, but were forced to use it in such an errant way. You could naturally assume that it's a result of stubbornly searching for the hair iron that consumed most of your time. Also, there are threads sticking out unnaturally from the collar of your coat. This could be the trace of a tag that was yanked out in a hurry. That's all."

He/she lifted their cup with a clink. And with that, they swallowed the pitch black liquid. The coolness of their profile showed no signs of even the faintest hint of bitterness.

Once again, Yuka looked down at herself. She was wearing a crimson coat that was bought specially for today, and paired with it was a cream sweater with a rounded collar plus a black skirt. On her feet, she wore leather shoes. Her shoulder-length amacha sweet tea colored hair was partially frizzy, though she still managed to take care of the ends.

And then there were the bread crumbs that were left sticking to her.

Yuka was taken aback by all the things they had pointed out.

But soon after, her face lit up.

As an aspiring detective, she's yearned for this kind of precise deduction skill.

"Tha-..... That's amazing! Just as expected of a 【Master Detective】!"

"Praising people so carelessly will result in brain rot."

"Ough-"

"Something like this is not even the ability of a 【Master Detective】. These are the most basic fundamentals that even an amateur should be able to do...... right from the start. To my knowledge, it's not standard for a detective to bring along bread crumbs to a crime scene now is it?"

"I-, I'm sorry."

Yuka patted off her sweater, and the black food particles were brushed from her cream-colored top. She moved her leather shoes to sweep the fallen crumbs to the edge of the wall.

She once again turned her attention to the person in front of her. They were still so young, but they certainly seem like a 【Master Detective】. Even though he/she says that even an amateur can do it, his/her observational skill is beyond that of an ordinary person.

Yuka was so excited. She bowed her head in greeting.

"Once again nice to meet you, I'm Yuka Kisaragi."

"Halara Nightmare"

Yuka acknowledged the name with a nod.

I was given very minimal information about the 【Master Detective】  I'd been scheduled to accompany today. The 'Jeweler Campanella Murder Case' that took place the other day at the only public casino in the area —— the genius who led to its solution was Halara. He/she was one of the shining stars in the sky. They're a detective for Yuka to look up to. 

Yuka stared at Halara with admiration. Without a response, Halara got up from their seat. Then, in one fluid motion, they handed a slip to Yuka who accepted it without a thought. 

Yuka’s head tilted as she found herself caught by a ruthless follow-up.

"Three million, plus the coffee bill. That is your payment."

"Huh-?"

"It'd be in your best interest to pay up before you forget."

"Wait, what, weren't you kidding before?"

"Does talking about a debt with someone you've just met sound like a joke according to your trite standards? That's quite nonsensical."

"Sure it's a strange joke to make but... even so, eh-?"

"Rest assured that you won't be charged any interest. Just make sure you've set up a payment plan."

Halara walked off, leaving a confused Yuka in their wake. Their back held a beautiful and dignified posture. However, it seemed like they had no intention of looking back. With the check in hand, Yuka felt her head spinning.

"Eh-...... Ehh-"

One thing is for certain.

Yuka has been haunted by bad luck ever since this morning.

But the worst part of all was, without a doubt, the presence of this detective.

As her head sank in disappointment, Yuka couldn't help but think.

Halara Nightmare must be some sort of demon.

***

"W-, Well then, let's change the mood shall we!"

"............"

"Halara-san please say something too!"

"Anything in particular?"

"...... I can't even think of anything I had in mind."

At any rate, the two arrived at the manor where the scene of the crime took place.

Diverting her attention from the debt of three million, Yuka looked up at the old-fashioned building.

The walls were constructed with dull red clay brick tiles and lines formed with white granite. Placed atop that was a massive black roof. The exterior was reminiscent of an antique dollhouse. Additionally, the property was encompassed by a magnificent rose garden. The vibrant dew-covered petals almost looked artificial. Everything was so breathtakingly beautiful that it looked like something straight out of a vintage masterpiece. 

Yuka couldn't help but let out a sigh of awe.

"How atmospheric~. Ah-, hey, please don't leave me behind!"

Halara had begun to walk off while I was immersed in the building's peculiar and chilling atmosphere.

Yuka rushed to follow behind their slender back. It was as if they were swimming in a sea of roses as they made their way along the path.

Eventually, the two arrived in front of an arched doorway.

Waiting there was a gentleman dressed in a brand-name suit. His eyes were amber. His hair black. His physique appeared portly. Twisting his magnificent mustache, he raised his booming voice.

"Hey there, Halara-san! I haven't seen you since the 'Jeweler Campanella Murder Case'! I'm glad you could make it! It was worth the trouble of going through the Unified Government to make a request with the 【World Detective Organization】!"

"...... As I suspected, this was no mere coincidence, but rather a request on your behalf, wasn't it?"

"Eh-, do you know each other!? And what's more...... through the Unified Government no less...... Could it be that he's that big of a deal?"

"Hahaha, oh, you could say the Unified Government tends to be a bit involved when it comes to matters of international trade. I can't get into any details, as much as I'd love to talk about it.  Anyways, when it comes to securing the food supply in this district it is I, Richard Thomson, who's your go-to guy! Also, what's there to hide between Halara-san and me? We've solved a case together after all!"

"H-...... He's a real talker."

Suddenly, Richard moved in closer. Feeling pushed by the pressure of his prattling words and moundish belly, Yuka took a step back. Meanwhile, Halara narrowed their eyes in displeasure. 

Gracefully, he/she crossed their arms. Letting out a small breath, Halara continued.

"If you'd mind refraining from distorting the facts. We did not solve it together. The case had indeed been solved....... however, it was all by my ability alone of course."

"Eh-, if that's the case, then what about Richard-san?"

"He was merely the first person to discover the incident. Rather than finding a solution, he challenged my theory based on his own faulty recollection, and thanks to this I had to explain  【Postcognition】 at the request of the police."

"【Postcognition】?"

Yuka found herself tilting her head. She was unfamiliar with the term.

In order to prevent further questions for the time being, Halara spoke up.

"It's my ability as a 【Master Detective】 ..... we'll be needing it for this crime scene as well. I'll discuss it later. So then...... since you're aware of these abilities, you should already understand right?"

"Yes, of course! I am fully knowledgeable about all of it! Just as expected of me. All pro~per preparations have been made accordingly, of course!"

Richard puffed out his chest. From a pocket on the inside of his coat, he pulled out a photograph and presented it to Halara. Yuka took a peek at the picture from behind him/her.

Similar to a portrait, the upper half of a lady was shown. She was a slender and petite woman. However, she had a firm and straight posture, staring at the camera with a steely gaze—— Strangely, her eyes seemed somewhat out of focus—— Her hair was tied up in a golden bun, and her eyes were a deep blue. She was beautiful, yet had a somehow frighteningly icy air about her. It was a perilous sheet of ice over a deep lake that could crack at any moment.

Nervously, Yuka asked.

"...... Is this?"

"The victim in this case. It's my wife. She was quite a cold woman. To be honest, our whole relationship was cold, but I never expected something like this. Whether I'm sad or not, I'm still not sure. I'll worry about that a bit later. Incidentally, I had a business meeting that day, so I have a flawless alibi, ahem. If you ask me, my wife would complain to the chef about the taste of the soup. It seems pretty suspicious to me, so I hope you'll be able to help me out here."

"H- he really is a chatty guy."

Yet again, Richard moved forward. Yuka slowly backed away. Halara took a long thorough look at the picture that they had received before returning it. Nodding, Richard opened the door.

"Here, go right on ahead. We'll go over the details on the way to the crime scene. Why, I couldn't even tell you how glad I am that you came, Halara-san. Ever since the 'Jeweler Campanella Murder Case' I just haven't been able to contain myself from telling my family all about your story, Halara-san. Hahaha. Ah-, as for a full-scale police investigation, I have all the power and resources needed to keep them out of it, so feel free to......"

"Eh-, why would you want to hold back the police?" Yuka voiced her surprise.

Rumor has it—— now was it Kanata Ward, or Kanaya Ward—— that some places have been under lockdown and the police haven't exactly been operating properly. However, places such as that are the exception. The legal organization should be operating in proper accordance here. But even so, is there any sense to purposefully suppressing them? In response to Yuka's question, Richard softly curved the flesh bordering his mouth. 

He spoke while displaying a clownish grin.

"Because, having a 【Master Detective】 solve it would be more fun, wouldn't it?"

There was a childishness in his eyes, 

and a warped sense of delight began to surface.

***

"...... Is that guy alright?"

It seemed that Richard had the intention of sticking around the crime scene. However, it appeared that there was a problem with his cargo ship, so he left while grumbling something about just getting started. 'Please don't solve the case until I return' he added, but I'm not really concerned about something like that. 

After making sure that he had gone down to the first floor, Yuka then went to inquire Halara.

Located on the second floor —— in front of his wife's bedroom, he/she answered with indifference.

"Probably not. However, as long as 【Master Detectives】 exist, so too will there be people who hold an excessive admiration for them, or even an addiction...... There’s no telling what type of bad precedent it could set if it were a person in power."

Yuka reflexively shifted her gaze downwards.

That admiration of 【Master Detectives】 is something she could understand. To some people, those who possess supernatural abilities and eliminate unsolved mysteries are like that of stars shining in the sky. There are some who may wish to bask in the radiance of that light up close. However, despite the murder of a family member, it was nothing short of abnormal to request a 【Master Detective】 while shutting down the possibility of a quick solution.

Yuka's skin crawled with disgust as she asked.

"Are you going to accept this request?"

"Five million."

"Eh?"

"It was mentioned to me a short while ago. This is the amount he said he had set as a reward for my success...... I have no obligation to help others, but I work sincerely according to the payment I receive...... That is my pride as a detective."

"So that’s the only reason."

"It's reason enough, among other things."

Yuka almost raised her voice. However, in response to this Halara spoke calmly. 

He/she emotionlessly included more reasons.

"The police have had no involvement in this case. Hence, the situation where the more time passes, the more evidence is lost...... Given the circumstances, there is no detective better suited for this case than me. Still, even if I decline this request, he would probably just vet another 【Master Detective】 to appoint anyway. It's a waste of time."

"Surely......"

"The quickest and most rational decision would be for me to continue with the investigation."

Yuka gave a deep nod. To reject a request based on emotion would also be an unethical decision. Once she came to an understanding, Halara then placed their hand on the door. 

Nevertheless, without pressing the matter further, she continued to ask questions.

"Then let's move on with the investigation. It'd be foolish for a 【Master Detective】 and trainee to continue to stand around talking to each other...... Before going any further, I'm sure you've already been properly briefed with a sufficient overview regarding the case thus far before arriving here, right? Mister Richard did speak rather quickly."

"If that's the case then please leave it to me! Uhh let's see now...."

Yuka twiddled her thumbs around in the air. 

She then began to explain the overview of the murder case as told by Mister Richard.

***

To recap, the story goes like this.

Mister Richard has a family of five—— however, his second born daughter is staying in a dormitory—— Therefore, at the time of the incident, there were seven people in the mansion: him, his wife, his eldest daughter and his eldest son, a cook, a maid, and a gardener.

It was there that Mister Richard's wife, Beatrice Thompson, was murdered. 

No one had seen her after she ate dinner and went to her room at 8 p.m.—— This has so far been confirmed by the initial police report —— The estimated time of death was between 9 and 10 o'clock p.m. The cause of death was stabbing. The murder weapon, a knife, was left lodged in her chest. There were no fingerprints. Also, a water pitcher—— which she loved to use when she went to bed —— was confirmed to have been laced with stolen sleeping pills. 

Because of this, it's been concluded that the crime must have been premeditated by an insider. 

The first to discover the scene were the gardener and the eldest daughter. The gardener would visit the victim every night at 10 o'clock to consult with her about remodeling the garden, and when she did not respond he then approached her eldest daughter —— Afterwards, both parties felt uneasy about there being no response, and so as a result of breaking down the door, the dead body was discovered —— This was at about half past 10 o'clock. Additionally, there were signs of intentional destruction within the room at the time. The eldest daughter then immediately called out to the eldest son, who was in the garden, and asked him to report the incident.

And then there's the key detail.

The room was a locked room.

"The crime scene was a closed room with both the windows and doors locked at the point which it was first discovered when the door was opened. Furthermore, the victim was leaning against the door, and there were no signs of it having been opened directly beforehand."

"Well done. Seems like nothing has been misremembered." Halara gave a brief nod, their pale hair swaying with the motion.

Naturally, Yuka puffed her chest proudly. She had also been honing her memory as a part of her training to become a 【Master Detective】. She also had a bit of a talent for picking up on fast-talkers, which was something she was prepared with at the very least.

Halara stared at the door with the knob still in hand. 

Gazing at the floral reliefs carved across its surface, he/she continued. 

"Wherever there's a locked room, there is an explanation behind it. It's the detective's job to uncover it."

Halara opened the door with a click.

Stepping through and, suddenly, looking to the side —— Yuka took a sharp breath.

***

It looked as though there were many girls standing there. 

Dolls were lined up in front of a mainly yellow floral-patterned wallpaper. 

The smallest one was a baby, while the largest figure looked to be around 10 years old. Everything looked to be things belonging to girls of various sizes. But oddly enough, there was also a strange sense of uniformity. 

Lovely beings clad in a luxurious and solemn aura. Their eyes were made of deep blue glass, and their heads were covered in gold thread. Their shrewd features somehow had an uncanny resemblance to the victim's wife. Moreover, there were other bizarre details as well.

All of their heads had been torn off. Some were set up to be holding dolls, while others were lying on the floor. Many of them were grouped together and placed against the wall.

It was as though the dolls had also been murdered.

"Wh-, what is this--. How disturbing...... So it was the dolls that they were referring to when they said some of the rooms showed signs of intentional destruction. But still, why is it like this?"

"......On the other side of the doll...... there is a fireplace to the right hand side when you enter through the door." 

Halara muttered under their breath as they covered their mouth. He/she stepped forward to approach the mantlepiece of the elegant fireplace. Halara crouched down to peer inside before looking up. 

Yuka followed their lead and crouched down beside them, copying their actions. Before them was a grimy chimney that extended from their field of view. The distant opening was tightly sealed with a fine mesh. She nodded with a hum. 

"It seems unlikely that the killer could have escaped by climbing up here."

"However, it doesn't seem irrelevant."

"Eh?"

"Look here, there are traces of soot on the floor."

Yuka lept back at the mention of it. That was a close one. She almost stepped on a piece of evidence. 

Seeing her panic, Halara adjusted their glasses. 

"I thought you were conscientiously avoiding it...... Seems I overestimated. Are you really so dense as to have not noticed?"

"Th-, that's not it! I noticed! Of course I noticed!" 

Despite her insistence, she of course did not notice. Halara's gaze was truly cold. 

Yuka was quick to redirect it by changing the subject.

"Uhmm, well...... Let's see, the victim was lying in front of the door, and the eldest daughter thought about the possibility that someone could have broken in, so she went to check the window...... but found that it was locked."

"So, she found the eldest son in the garden and called out to him...... I see, it is visible from here perhaps. There don't appear to be any contradictions evident in those facts themselves at the moment."

Halara and Yuka moved over to the window to look out over the garden. 

The rose garden could clearly be seen from the wife's bedroom window. Though it was now daytime, we confirmed that there was a haze from floodlights scattered about for illumination. That meant that the eldest son could have been seen without any problem even at night.

Touching the golden crescent lock, Halara nodded with a hum. 

"The locks on the windows are rather standard...... so I can't say for sure that there's no possibility of tampering. However, there are no scratches. I don't see any evidence of thread or any other such material being used."

Halara turned while muttering to themself. 

Once again, he/she looked over to the door the victim was leaning against.

"...... There isn't much blood. In other words, the criminal did not pull out the knife after dealing the blow."

"That is true, isn't it."

The two discussed their thoughts about the bloodstains on the carpet, though the body has already been removed. The crime scene was not preserved exactly as it was in its original state. The family must've had some sort of hand in it. At this point, there may be some things that an investigation won't be able to uncover.

Yuka spoke up without thinking. 

"Hmm, I guess there's nothing more to see here other than the information that's already been given so far. There's got to be things that we're missing. That's the problem with being a detective who's always asked to do things after the fact. Ahhh, if only we could see the crime scene right at the time of the body's discovery."

"You wish to see it?"

"Eh?"

"Who...... do you think I am?"

"Who?"

"I'm Halara Nightmare."

The phrase rolled off Halara's tongue in the most natural way. Yuka cocked her head. 

Well, I've already gone through introductions. Regardless of if it's impossible to tell whether they’re a man or a woman, there was no doubt that the person standing before me was Halara Nightmare. Isn't that so?

But he/she continued on. 

"The 【Postcognition Detective】, Halara Nightmare."

***

What exactly is this 【Postcognition】.

Halara began to explain.

"My 【Forensic Forte】 is 【Postcognition】 ...... It quite literally is the power to see a snapshot of the past. However, it can only be used at murder scenes. To be precise, it's the ability to see how a crime scene 【appeared at the time it was first discovered】 with one's own eyes. Another way to describe it would be 【crime scene-limited psychometry】, if that's easier to understand."

Yuka couldn't help but gawk in surprise. 

She knew that the 【Master Detectives】 who work in the field had special abilities. Yuka herself had something that could be considered as such. Halara's was outstanding, however.

It's almost too convenient.

As far as a detective's supernatural ability goes, it could be considered among the best.

Halara continued in the wake of Yuka's astonishment.

"My power allows me to see the 【moment the first witness saw the crime scene】. In other words, not the culprit, not the victim, but how it appeared when a third party first entered. The memory or perception of the witness does not affect my 【Postcognition】. What I see is what actually was there. When it comes to my power, the witness is not a camera or a recording device, but rather a trigger...... Perhaps the best way to think of it is like a bookmark stuck between the pages of when the body was found. It's not a power that can be taken advantage of unconditionally, however.”

Perhaps it was something akin to envy and jealousy that swirled in Yuka's eyes like heated candy. Halara continued to explain the activation conditions and limitations of their power.

"First, I must be standing at the crime scene...... this condition is absolutely required. I must also know the victim's name and face. That's why prior research is crucial. Lastly, 【Postcognition】 is only effective in a 10-meter radius around the body. At the moment, I can only see the crime scene and the victim. I can't see any living things that were at the scene.” 

Yuka's eyes flickered with a blink. So even if the culprit was hiding at the crime scene—— it wouldn't be possible to immediately identify them. Her face must've been brimming with the question as to why. Halara promptly gave an answer.

"...... I’m not so good at looking at people."

"B- but still, I think this is a more than capable ability! This is a 【Forensic Forte】!  I'm so envious! I absolutely admire you!"

"Sorry, but I'm tired of hearing compliments."

"Actually, maybe I did go a little too far with the praise......"

"Time is of the essence. Let's take a look for now, shall we?" 

With that said, Halara raised their left hand to cover their left eye. 

That was the moment Yuka put down her favorite crimson bag she'd been carrying on her back—— which could be used in three different ways by adjusting the belt. She undid the metal clasps and opened the leather flap. She pulled out a sketchbook and a box of colored pencils. She readied the black one first. 

Halara gave an expression as if to say 'what is that'. 

Yuka turned to puff out her chest toward him/her.

"Ehehe, if that's what your ability can do, Halara-san, I think I could be of some help to you, even if just a little."

"...... What do you mean?"

"As a matter of fact, my 【Forensic Forte】 is 【Sketching】!"

Halara's eyebrow slightly twitched at such a cheerful declaration. Perhaps that ability would've been self-explanatory enough. Yuka continued regardless for the sake of explanation. 

"Ah, I may be a trainee detective, but I have fully mastered my forte. If I can keep it up like this, I should be on track to receive my detective deed! Heeheehee-...... Well, uh so, with this ability, by just listening to what someone says, I can faithfully depict 【a person's description of a scene】 without error, completely unaffected by the influence of my subjectivity or imagination! Though, there's no way for me to be sure whether or not the 【person's description】 is an 【imaginary scene】 or a 【real scene】......"

"Does that mean that you can be influenced by the imagination of another person?"

"Yes. A lie is a lie and will be recorded exactly as it is. But in your case, Halara-san, if you describe the scene exactly as you see it, I think I'll be able to get a picture perfect replication of what it looks like!" Yuka explained.

Her power was the exceptional ability to discern the vague image within a witness's mind. Even if the image in itself is false, she wouldn't be able to disclose the nature of its authenticity. That's why Yuka was so envious of Halara's ability to remain unaffected by the subjectivity of another person's perspective. Still, her ability to take only a vague testimony from the witness themselves—— including the image of the culprit that they witnessed and the scene at the time of the crime—— and be able to properly materialize it, was very useful. It might also be useful in this circumstance as well.

Halara hummed with a brief nod. 

"I see...... While it may be possible to reproduce an image as seen by an eyewitness that would otherwise be difficult to convey clearly, there is a possibility of being manipulated by a deliberately false testimony, or an ability perhaps."

"Exactly!"

"......It's quite half-baked for a detective."

"Ngh-"

"Honestly it could be quite convenient for this particular instance. It's exhausting to explain things only I can see."

"Really?"

"People do not believe what they cannot see. I have often been called a liar...... It was thanks to this that when I worked with Mister Richard on the 'Jeweler Campanella Murder Case'...... not only did I have to explain my forte, but I also had to go through the arduous task of proving it through drawing an explanation of the circumstances at the time and comparing them with the physical evidence."

Yuka nodded in response to Halara's words. His/her ability is nothing more than a 【vision】 of the past. Perhaps there will always be skeptics and those who continue to insist that it's flawed. As a trainee, she could only imagine the troubles that they deal with. 

But there's no need to worry this time. Yuka spoke with conviction. 

"It'll be alright! Because I believe in Halara-san's 【Postcognition】 and my 【Sketching】 from the bottom of my heart, without a doubt!"

"......Your own 【Sketching】 as well, huh?"

"Ah-, sorry."

"I don't mind. You should have confidence in your 【Forensic Forte】. The most important quality for a detective is the ability to suspect others...... but perhaps I've spoken too much. Let's continue."

With one eye closed, Halara began to concentrate. 

Yuka was momentarily captivated by their serious and beautiful profile. But the instant his/her mouth began to move, she shook her head and picked her colored pencil back up to begin moving it with blinding speed.

A drawing etched into a sketchbook.

Along with Halara's words.

Through combining the two, the findings that were revealed are as follows.

***

The first witness of the scene had broken through the locked door. It was at this time that the victim's body, which had been leaning against the door, appeared to have moved. There were traces of bloody finger marks on the knife and the surrounding area of the clothes on the victim, who had fallen to the side—— though this was confirmed in the initial police investigation, no fingerprints were reported to be found—— and so it was theorized to have been caused not by the culprit, but by the victim. 

In other words, the victim's death was not instant.

Furthermore, traces of water stains were found trailing from the victim's mouth to their throat. 

Also the head of one of the dolls—— which had apparently not fallen off, yet seemed as if it had been placed with the rest of the heads in the real life scene —— was lying in a position where it could easily be seen from the open door.

And the biggest difference of all—— there were no traces of soot in front of the chimney.

After drawing the description above, Yuka put down her colored pencil with a sudden flick. The fresh corpse of the victim was vividly recreated on paper. The sight was brutal, although I hadn't given it much thought at the time my colored pencils were in motion. She closed her eyes to offer a moment of silence. She then asked Halara.

"I understand things for the most part...... but what could be the meaning behind these differences?"

"............"

"Halara-san?"

"I understand, but......if that's the case...... no...... It's far too simple...... namely, "

"Halara-saaan?"

"I've got a hypothesis in mind. All that's left is to substantiate the evidence."

With that said, Halara began walking to leave the room. Yuka hurriedly stowed her sketchbook and colored pencils into her bag. Brown, light orange, red—— disregarding the order that they were placed in—— they were tossed directly into the bottom of the box. She slammed the lid shut and ran after Halara.

"Please wait, Halara-san. Where are you going?"

"An investigation is built upon two fundamental factors. First of all, check the crime scene, next is?"

"Next, is it...... um, perhaps"

"Yes, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to." 

Halara came to a halt in a corridor with beautiful stucco walls. He/she turned to Yuka and, with a quick motion, held up two fingers. He/she curled their fingers from two to one as they gave their answer.

"It's collecting testimony."

***

"You're the detective appointed by the Master, is that right?...... Haa, quite the beautiful person...... Ah-, no, what happened at the time of the Madam's death, was it?"

"To be more precise, it's about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body and how you were spending your time that night. I’d appreciate your cooperation."

The gardener narrowed his puffy eyes at Halara's statement. 

He was at a loss for words within the garden that was filled with the suffocating fragrance of roses. 

The gardener was a man in his fifties. He was dressed in a pair of trousers, shirt, and rubber apron suitable for tilling the soil, and the look on his face portrayed a gentle personality. At the same time, it seemed to reveal an innately timid nature. He carefully tucked the pruning shears he was using into his apron pocket. He then anxiously asked Halara.

"Does that mean, as in an alibi? Am I being accused of something?"

"We're going around and asking everyone! Thank you in advance for your cooperation!" 

Perhaps it would be better to keep him calm by speaking to him herself.

Yuka spoke cheerfully so. Halara said nothing. The gardener nodded upon hearing this. He still seemed nervous, but he opened his mouth. 

"Haa...... Well, I don't have anything to hide or be ashamed of, so I'll answer you. Please hurry and clear up any of the Madam's lingering regrets."

"Right! ...... oouugh, I'm moved to tears by those words. I guess your Madam must've surely held a great deal of care and compassion for her employees!"

"No, not at all."

"Eh-"

Yuka froze in her tracks at this.

Isn't the memory of the deceased something that everyone glorifies? Especially if they were killed. However, the gardener's deep wrinkles distorted, like scars chiseled into rock. With a firm voice, he continued.

"The only time the Madam was kind was when she dealt with her youngest daughter, who is now living in a dormitory...... She was strict with everyone else, and our nickname for her was the 'Empress of Ice'...... There was no such thing as kindness."

Halara narrowed their eyes at his words. He/she folded their arms thoughtfully. 

Halara asked with a hardened voice.

"So everyone could have a motive?"

"......Well I never said that. I dread to think who in the house might have stabbed her. Even if I had found her 'murdered'...... Honestly, I didn't think about why."

"...... By the sounds of it, you were the first one to discover the body?"

"Oh, that's right." The gardener nodded simply.

Yuka reflexively held her breath.

This is important information. As you know, Halara's power recreates the crime scene found by the 'first witness'. Not the 'culprit', not the 'victim' —— but that of the 'first witness'.

 In other words, the 'first witness' is excluded as the culprit. 

It's imperative to determine whether or not the vision seen by Halara really belongs to the gardener. But the ability to rule out one person from being a potential culprit altogether is incredibly valuable.

"I see, in that case......" 

Halara tried to ask the question, and Yuka immediately took out her sketchbook. This is where her 【Forte】 comes into play. Halara nodded upon seeing this. 

"That's a good call."

"Halara-san praised my judgment!?"

"So, when you opened the door......"

"Ignored without a beat!?"

"Was the victim leaning against it?"

"Yes...... I had a bad feeling, so the young lady and I kicked down the upstairs door...... I thought it was strangely heavy, but soon after I was shocked when I caught a glimpse of the corpse."

According to the gardener's report—— the moment he opened the door, the impact had apparently caused the Madam's corpse to fall over. Since he was sure that he heard the sound of something hitting the floor, they believed that nobody had opened the door before then. 

A doll's head had fallen on the other side of the corpse, so he went on to look at the Madam's bisque doll collection. Seeing such a disastrous scene was as horrifying —— if not worse —— as when he found the Madam's body. The eldest daughter then went over to the window and checked the lock. As she did so, she noticed the eldest son in the yard, unlocked it —— which the gardener was certain that he saw that it had been closed until just before —— and called out to him. 

Meanwhile the gardener had checked the Madam's pulse and was once again confronted by death.

"I don't have an alibi for the night. I spent the day organizing a plan for remodeling the garden in accommodation to the Madam's ever-increasing wishes. Goodness, it was a tremendous amount of diagrams to do...... But I didn't even go upstairs until 10 o'clock when we were scheduled to have a meeting."

"What is the proof of that?"

"Unfortunately, there is none."

"But, Halara-san. He doesn't seem like a culprit, does he?" 

Yuka remarked and showed a sketch she drew based on the gardener's testimony.

Halara narrowed their eyes. Etched on the drawing paper was the scene that the gardener saw when he opened the door. There, a picture nearly identical to the one Halara saw with 【Postcognition】 was sprawled out. Judging by the angle at which the door was opened, there was no doubt that he was the person from the 【Postcognition】—— the 'first witness'. 

Yuka's ability does not negate the possibility of false testimony, but it seemed like it would be impossible to match something like the angle of the door just by guessing. That much can almost certainly be said for sure.

Halara nodded. Facing the gardener, he/she said. 

"That is all. Much appreciated."

"Yes...... Well then, I best be going. However, I wonder what's to become this rose garden after the the Madam's passing? After having come this far in making it so magnificent, it may simply be left to wither away. Ahh, it's a shame...... Truly, it's such a shame."

If that’s the case, might as well just light it on fire I suppose.

The gardener muttered under his breath.

Yuka felt all the hairs on her body stand on end in fear. 

In the depths beneath the gardener's words lurked thick and murky darkness—— a profoundly dark glow —— swirling within. There was no limit to the depravity of these thoughts.

 Yuka pulled at Halara's sleeves, wondering if he could be the culprit. Halara ignored her and began walking. She'll be left behind at this rate. Yuka rushed to follow the figure as it moved away from the rose garden. Yuka cast a slight glance over her shoulder as she made her way towards the mansion.

The gardener stood as if buried among the roses. 

He opened and closed the gardening shears with a 'shing'.

***

In a luxurious study lined with glass bookshelves, 

a sharp and rigid clacking sound rang out.

"The circumstances at the time of discovery, and alibi, right?" 

The eldest daughter murmured while moving the chess pieces. 

This woman...... is ok, right? Yuka couldn't help but worry.

The eldest daughter was a beautiful figure, with glossy black hair and becoming amber eyes. You could say that she probably resembled her father before he became obese, considering the matching colors of their features. She was a beauty dressed in men's attire with short, boyishly styled hair. Yet unlike Halara, whose gender was completely neutral, her ample breasts filled out the front of her white button-up shirt.

She continued to stroke the pawn pieces with her fingers as she sat in a multifunctional armchair. 

"Do you really you suspect me, the Amnea Thompson?"

"......That board."

"Ahh, this? I was just doing a bit of solo play."

"It seems like you are not even aware of the proper way to move the chess pieces. Can you not play chess, by chance?"

"Don't go and call me an idiot already!"

"I didn't say that?"

Halara crossed their arms coldly.

The eldest daughter —— Amnea —— burst into tears in front of them. Apparently, Yuka thought, it seemed the only reason she was in front of the chessboard was simply to try and impress strangers. 

Amnea smashed the chess board with force, the pieces making a rattling sound as they flew away.

Then, Amnea proclaimed in an exaggeratedly tearful voice. 

"Damn it, you guys are trying to bully me too!"

"I-intense victim mentality."

"Whatever, I am an idiot anyway! I'm so empty-headed that there's not enough to go around! But I leave that kind of thing to the owner of this room, my brother Dalmatia. And yet, you say things like this and that...... Hmm, unforgivable! I'll beat you!"

"Stop it! I'll hit back!"

"I'mb sowwy!"

"So quick to repent!?" 

Yuka's eyes widened. Amnea held her head and trembled at the threat, crying softly. Halara murmured out a hum in response to the child-like reaction. 

"......Well, it would be ridiculous to try and go up against me with brute force."

"Did you say something, Halara-san?"

"Don't worry about it...... So, about our conversation." 

At that, Halara's eyes opened wide before soon narrowing them down. Hm? Yuka tilted her head. What might it be? It felt like Halara's expression had an added childishness to it that I'd never seen before. Following their gaze, Yuka noticed. 

"............ Ah-, a cat?"

Yuka quickly approached the fireplace, and Halara also came along without reproach.

 Yuka craned her neck, and when she looked into a wicker basket she saw a kitten wriggling and cooing. It looked just like a white furball. The kitten rolled over without a hint of grumpiness. An adorable pink paw was pointed at Halara, but without touching it, his/her expression softened faintly.

Yuka absent-mindedly asked. 

"Halara-san, do you like cats?"

"............ It's nothing we need to be talking about."

"No no no, I absolutely love it! After all, it is Halara-san you know? That sense of peacefulness that lights up in your eyes, isn't it?"

"What do you take me for?"

"What, that you're a cat lover? Why don't we talk about it!" 

Amnea exclaimed, her footsteps were loud as she got next to Halara. 

Amnea reached out her pale hand, to which the cat rubbed their face to be pampered. Amnea gave a sweet smile as her eyes narrowed with affection. She whispered through clenched teeth. 

"Since she's finally dead, I took in an unfortunate cat thinking I could care for it."

"Eh...... Your mother died and it hasn't even been resolved yet."

"Is that bad? I've always dreamed of having a cat since foooorever. I wasn't even allowed to talk about it out loud, ya know. It'd be the last thing I'd say. It was really hard for me to even leave the house...... so regardless of whether or not it's out of line, just leave me alone." 

Amnea whispered, her profile drooping like that of a wilted flower. Her eyes were moist with a profound sadness that was difficult to put into words. Yuka went silent, unsure of what to say.

Halara observed Amnea's expression before opening his/her mouth. 

"...... So then, would you mind telling us your story again?"

"Ahh, sure thing man. I've got nothin to be guilty about. I'll tell ya anything you wanna know." 

Amnea puffed out her chest as she spoke.

There was hardly any disparity between the story of the eldest daughter, Amnea, and the gardener's testimony. She only added more details about the situation when she called out to the eldest son. Yuka's sketchbook depicted a young man looking up toward the second floor from a rose garden. He's slender and quite handsome. His black hair and amber eyes resembled that of Amnea and their father. Yuka stared at it, pondering the possibility.

"Are you and your brother twins?"

"Yep, you nailed it. Technically, I'm supposed to be the older sister, but we are twins. I'm on good terms with Dalmatia...... who, unlike me, has the lion's share of smarts." 

Amnea laughed frankly at saying that. The carefree expression on her face invokes a genuine feeling of familiarity. Yuka thought of how nice it would be to have a twin. 

At that, Halara wordlessly raised an arm, and Amnea snapped to attention with her back straightened.

"Yii-!"

"Why"

"......I've got most of it. Let's get going." 

Halara said and began walking. What the hellll, that guy was a bastard to the end, Amnea said to the kitten. The white furball responded with a mewmew. It had heart shaped ears. The pointed tip of its heart-shaped nose twitched with a snort. The sound made Halara stop in their tracks.

With his/her back to Amnea, they inquired. 

"Just to be sure, I'd like to ask you something...... If something were to happen to you, do you have any guarantee of where the little one will go?"

"Don't be stupid! As a cat lover, of course I've decided on it! If something happens to me, my friend will take good care of it."

"......I see, alright then."

A sense of relief.

With that said, Halara exited the room. He/she also spoke to the chef and the maid. However, it resulted in nothing noteworthy there. Both men claimed to have been working at the time of the incident, had no alibis, and had not even seen the body. Mister Richard had spoken about his suspicion about the chef, but there did not seem to be any particular pieces of evidence to support this. 

Hearing all they needed to, Halara nodded and returned to the crime scene. Inside the room, the headless dolls were silent like statues of death. At the center of their blue-eyed gaze, Halara said.

"I’ve figured out the method behind the creation of the locked room."

***

"Well, saying that I figured it out isn't quite accurate...... because we already had the answer as soon as we checked the crime scene."

"A-amazing! Is that even possible!?"

"Of course it is. The person before you is Halara Nightmare. Something such as this is not even a problem." 

Halara answered smoothly. Their eyes held no hint of a bluff, but rather a sharp confidence that gleamed like a sword's edge. It was a star-like light, befitting of a detective. 

Yuka clenched her fist. Sure enough, just as expected of Halara-san.

He/she tilted their head in turn. 

"Or rather. I think we're in the foundational basics at this point. Did you really not even notice?"

"Ngh-, I- I'm a trainee detective, so"

"Even as a trainee, you need to realize that above all else you still wear the title of detective."

"U-oughh...... I didn't notice at all, so please explain it to me." 

Yuka folded easily. She knew that she wouldn't get anywhere even if she wracked her brain about it. Halara let out a sigh and shook their head before he/she opened their mouth to speak.

"Haa...... First, let's discuss the matter of 'why were the dolls destroyed?'. There must be a reason for why the culprit would destroy them. There is also a reason behind the fact that the head of one of the dolls had rolled into a position that was immediately visible upon opening the door."

"Why is that?" 

Yuka asked while looking at the heads that were now pressed against the wall. The reflections in their glass eyes gave the impression of being wet. That chilling glow seemed to evoke hatred for the murdered. Yuka wondered, why had the dolls' heads been ripped off and rolled away? 

Halara offered an explanation.

"It's 'to draw attention to the dolls'."

"To the dolls."

"This will also answer the 'traces of soot marks on the floor after opening the locked room' question. The room was indeed a locked room at the time of the crime. If that's the case, then how did the killer escape?"

"Yeah, that's the issue......"

"They didn't escape. They were hiding halfway up the chimney leading from the fireplace."

Yuka's mouth suddenly opened.

So that's it. The far end of the chimney was blocked off with a net. The room cannot be entered or exited from there. However, it is possible to hide halfway up. 

The rest is simple.

The eyewitnesses who found the doll's head were partly compelled to pay attention to the destruction caused to the bisque doll collection. While their attention was focused on that, the killer was able to slip out of the fireplace and escape. They would then nonchalantly join up later as if nothing happened.

In that case, Yuka declared.

"I- I see! That would mean that the eldest daughter Amnea-san, who was with the gardener during the initial discovery, and the eldest son Dalmatia-san, who was in the garden, can be ruled out from the list of possible suspects!"

"...... I'd hoped that you wouldn't say something so boring."

"Eh-!?"

"Behind the creation of every locked room is a purpose for its existence. It is those who are not deemed potential culprits that raise suspicion here. It's safe to say that the maid and the cook can be ruled out." 

Halara explained calmly. Uughh, Yuka thought, feeling as if she wanted to cry. 

At the same time, an image came to mind of the gardener murmuring ominously, his shears moving with a 'shing, shing'. Shifting in and out of view, treacherous thoughts were obscured by the parallax within his thicket of words.

Impulsively, Yuka raised her voice. 

"Understood! It was the gardener then."

"Didn't you believe in my 【postcognition】 and your 【sketch】 from the bottom of your heart?"

"Oh- oh yeah...... so then, who?" 

Yuka asked, on the verge of tears. Halara once again let out a sigh. However, they detached their sagacious gaze from Yuka to cast it into space. Halara muttered in contemplation.

"Since they were in the fireplace when the door was opened by the first witness, the culprit was excluded from being with the first person to discover it.... along with the eldest daughter Amnea."

"In that case then, the eldest son, Dalmatia-san? Huh...... but, Amnea-san saw Dalmatia-san in the garden......"

"It's only logical to assume that couldn't possibly be true. Given that Amnea is not the first witness...... it is plausible that she could be a perpetrator. In short, the murderer is Dalmatia, and Amnea is involved as an accomplice through giving false testimony."

I see, Yuka energetically bounced up and down in excitement.

Now the mystery was all but solved.

That should be it.

That is, until Halara opened their mouth to continue.

It was then that the door swung open. A low, beautiful voice began to flow through.

"Oh my, have I been noticed?"

"Y- you're......" 

Yuka's voice couldn't help but tremble.

A slender human bowed gracefully before them, announcing their name with grandeur.

"Salutations, I am Dalmatia Thomson. My father's favorite 【Master Detective】 had finally arrived, and when I came to extend my greetings...... it seems I was exposed before the reconnaissance." 

Murmured a man styled in a distinctive black and white suit. He had black hair and amber-colored eyes. A beautiful young man, just as Yuka depicted in her sketch. His sophisticated and intellectual impression was even stronger when I saw it in person. Shaking his head, the eldest son —— Dalmatia —— forced out in a strained voice.

"Nothing that can be done once it's been found out. Just as you've deduced......I am the one who killed my mother. It's too late to be making any excuses now, I......"

"Why"

"That's what I'll be trying to tell you right now." Dalmatia shrugged off Halara's question as if in inconvenience and shook his head in exasperation. Halara did not care for these theatrical gestures, however. Indifferent, he/she continued questioning.

"Why, are you telling such lies?"

***

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

The two voices overlapped.

The voices of Yuka and Dalmatia.

What are they talking about, Yuka wondered. Wasn't it none other than Halara themself who presented this deduction just a moment ago! Yet at the same time, Yuka began to realize.

It was clear that Halara was trying to go somewhere with this.

He/she spoke in a dry tone. 

"As I just told you before. This stuff is way too basic. It's not even a question. That being the case, there must also be a purpose behind creating a 'locked room meant to be breached'."

"Is...... is it"

"In other words, the problem itself is a trick that assumes the presence of my 【postcognition】." 

Halara asserted.

And so the mystery continues.

Yuka suddenly found herself in a daydream —— standing on a stage where the spotlights focused solely on Halara Nightmare —— only on the person whose beautifully pale complexion was brilliantly illuminated.

Halara continued to seize control of the scene with overwhelming charisma.

As the leading role (detective), he/she told the supporting cast. 

"As told by the client. 'I used to tell my family all about Halara-san', in addition to his habit of running his mouth too fast and blurting everything out. The family had plenty of opportunities to learn the details about my 【postcognition】 if that's the case."

"Which, I'm sure probably happened......"

"Therefore, the task was carried out with the anticipation that the traces of soot would be revealed during the use of 【postcognition】...... There's a lot of strange things going on otherwise."

"Wh- what's so strange?" 

Dalmatia asked with a trembling voice. He glared at Halara with a glint. However, the spotlight remained fixed, continuing to shine only above Halara's head.

He/she responded smoothly.

"First of all, there'd normally be no point in making the victim take sleeping pills. She was —— as one could surmise from the way she was staring at the camera and her lack of focus —— a petite woman with poor eyesight."

"Ah-"

"Anything could've been done to exploit her weaknesses. It would be much more sensible to kill her that way and make it look like the work of a burglar rather than going through the trouble of a locked room. And yet, it was by putting the sleeping pills in the pitcher that the culprit was quickly narrowed down to those involved."

I-indeed, Yuka nodded. That's certainly true. 

Even the initial police investigation limited the culprit to those involved because of that water pitcher. There was no point in setting such a thing up since the victim was a delicate woman who could easily be killed.

Furthermore, Halara continued. 

"Also, although I was promptly called in at the request of the victim's family in this case, police analysis should have originally confirmed that the soot on the floor was from the fireplace. Moreover, it's highly likely that subsequent investigations would reveal the false testimony. And the reason I took the time and effort was because I knew from the beginning that the client would let me solve the mystery —— thus." 

Halara fixed their gaze on Dalmatia. He flinched and clutched his chest while being pierced by their sharp gaze. It was as if he'd been stabbed through the heart. It was there that Halara pushed their verbal blade even further in.

"To become officially identified as the culprit by a Master Detective certified by the World Detective Organization. That was precisely your goal. Once the Master Detective identifies the culprit, the investigation will be closed at that point."

In other words, there’s another culprit.

Halara asserted definitively. Yuka was speechless. What kind of criminal would try to use 【Master Detectives】 for such a purpose? Still, though, Yuka thought. Despite her worry, she opened her mouth.

"But, Halara-san...... isn't it strange?"

"What part?"

—————————————————————

Notes:

There's a part that's describing the gardener's words as 見え隠れ(miegakure), which is a gardening technique that keeps parts of a garden hidden depending on where you're standing, and only becomes visible as you walk through. Closest thing I could compare it to was parallax, but in order to fit the gardening pun I added 'thicket' as a descriptor to try to reflect that.

While I tried to add honorifics, Halara and Yuka sometimes use a -shi honorific for Richard. I don’t know if people are generally familiar with it, so I just replaced it with Mister

Amnea speaks in a very masculine manner, so when I put stuff like ‘man’ and ‘guy’, it’s in a non-gendered dudebro kind of way.

[papiliomame]

Finally I read the new graphic novel too and it was very enjoyable. I went in with zero expectation so I was pleasantly surprised with the big thing everyone is screaming about. Amazing art, amazing story amazing everything! Gabriela Epstein is a genius. She managed to solve many problems with the show and expands the lore in a cohesive way while also be in line with the humor and tone of the original show accompanied with wonderful illustrated panels!

Under the cut are some of my thought about it:

SPOILER WARNING!

First things first: Phantom Planet retconnned! Now the series can continue with the loose threads of the original show and the new one from this novel without making some brain gymnastic to make the events from the episode fit in these stories.

Techonological progress: Everyone upgraded to a smartphone and they even have internet and social media( which makes it funny that Vlad used an old fat destop PC for his research as a (former?) billionaire)

RIP Tucker's PDA.

Danny mentioned that Vlad terrorized him for the past few years, that means Danny is at least 16 or 17 years old in this?

Ghosts don't need to breath. Vlad didn't have a helmet on while in space in his flashback .

Clockwork doesn't shapeshift in his other forms for some reason.

And he was quite reckless to put the thermos with Phantom just there in the open, you would think you would seal an apocalyptic threat somewere safe away or something like that.

Clockwork's staff is part of the timeline itself. interesting...

Also Clockwork is really the emodiment of time not just a random ghost with the title passed down by the oberservants( read some fanon about that)

Ghost Speak is canon! Well atleast the language of the ancients is. It consist of basically of old dead languages.

The translation of Vlad's rubbings is incomplete I wonder if there is more to it.

Hmm not sure how I feel about this but the Fenton parent are still bad parents in this, like how they not care about Phantom although Jazz said that this is Danny from another timeline. Now I wonder if they would even adopt Dani with this attitude.

Badass Valerie and badass Jazz!

The Source is a beautiful place.

The truth about ghosts which is revealed in there is so deep and give so much material for worldbuilding

But one thing is sure: Ghost are souls/emotions/ energies of people or beeings who ones lived and not monsters.

Implication that ghosts are immortal. Does this count for halfas too?

Danny got a new power: fireworks

Obsessions are canon!

The fight scenes are wonderful illustrated!

Danny is really much more powerful after his newfound purpose. He didn's retransformed after the ghostly wail, he can create ice glaciers with his ice powers and his shield withstand Phantom atomic explosion attack.( also RIP A-Listers and Lance Thunder from this timeline and everyone else who was there and wasn't protected by Danny's shield.)

Phantom insisted that he is not Danny but much more than that, however while he was falling apart he glitched out and we saw Danny Phantom's face and Phantoms face but not Plasmius face in there, I wonder why.

Danny becomes the avatar!

The Valerie cliffhanger: Phantom was falling apart without an anchor, does that mean Valerie will also fall apart if she doesn't wear Clockworks medallion anymore?

The last scene: Clockwork encourage Vlad to do more with the clones and the scene is also a parallel to the ending to " The Ultimate Enemey" how the observants shift the responsibility over Phantom to Clockwork.

[tetsunabouquet]

Pertinent to the request I sent earlier; Could you write a scenario where Akashi tells his S/O about his DID and how it came about? And maybe also about the associated negative feelings? I'm sorry that's a bit too specific. xd I'd really like some Akashi angst right now. :'D

It was a calm day and his father had allowed him a free day; that he was using to be with you. He was laying in the garden, his head on your lap as you read his favorite novel out loud to him. He relaxed at hearing your voice. It had became a favorite pasttime of his, to lay back and enjoy you reading to him. He tried to relax, but something was nagging at the back of his mind. His other self. The Emperor inside of him, had a tendency to get restless when he was relaxing. Because the Emperor inside of him hated his free days. It was the antithesis to his existence, to have peace and to have no pressure to do anything. He could relax, most of the time, but sometimes, an irritated grumble from his other self would bubble through his mind and he'd tense up for a moment. Something you noticed. "What's wrong Sei?" You asked softly, closing the book and laid it at the other side of your lap. Knowing better then to lie to you, Akashi sighed. "I don't really know the best way to start." "Take a deep breath, I'll wait for however it takes for you to formulate that answer." You instructed playfully. This, was one of the things he loved best about you. How you could support him and bring a smile to his face with the most beautifully soft expression on your face that showed just how much you loved him. "You remember, my other personality, right?" He asked cautiously. You nodded, stroking his hair. "Is he bothering you?" "Not really, it's just that I feel there's this restless piece in the back of my mind that I'm sure is him. He cannot stand it when I relax." Akashi explained, glad he could talk about it with you. His father was a way different story, but you always listened and would confide any stories of your own regarding the subject in an attempt to make him feel less alone. And you were listening, biting your lip. "I suppose this is the part where I say, why do you think that is?" He took another deep breath, it felt like he had to gather all the energy in his body to answer your question, "It's because of how he was born." "You mean, the reason why you got sick?" You asked, wanting to be absolutely clear. You didn't wanted to be confused by a topic this important. Akashi's feelings mattered deeply to you, and so did his health; in every form. Akashi closed his eyes, not being able to bear the world as he dared to open up for the first time, "It was just after my mother died, you know? My father put me under so much pressure and it was as if I could feel my mind beginning to crack, and split. The Captain duties at Teiko took so much of me too, that when I nearly lost to Murasakibara, he emerged. My mind has created him to protect me against failure, and to always succeed. But he's an Emperor, who always feels like he has to do something. Relaxing like this is something he'd seldomly allow himself to participate in. He cannot handle us just laying about like this." He confessed everything, and it truly felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. "But Sei, that makes total sense. You were pushed to your absolute limit with no remorse, anyone's mind would shatter! Especially someone as vulnerable as a kid. I'm so sorry your dad's such a dick." You said, sincerely angry on his behalf. Akashi let out a small chuckle, feeling grateful he had a wonderful girlfriend who was as understanding as you. "But can I please tell Emperor-tan to let us enjoy our time? If he continues to bother me on our dates, he should better come out right now. I still need to kick his ass for threatening Nana-Chan anyway." You challenged and he grinned weakly in response. "Well, you should know he's not scared of you." "I don't care! He should better bring his A game, because I won't surrender easily! I will not stop until he cowers at my feet and leaves us be." You declared and he laughed softly. Going through grief, trauma and mental illness was a difficult journey and for sure a rollercoaster of emotions but with you that rollercoaster always ended at a positive note. He would thank you for being his rock, until his dying day.

[v3ros]

I got this ask on my alt (most likely since I turned off asks for this blog) but I felt like it was important to answer here.

Dayshift at Corny's is NOT dead!

"But V3ROS," I hear you saying, "You haven't posted about it in a while, and your blog isn't Corny's themed anymore!" And in response I say shuddup and sit down ya slimey little creechurs because Papa Veros has got some shit to explain!

Firstly, clearing the air.

Dayshift at Corny's isn't going anywhere. I absolutely adore all of the characters and the little world I've built for them, and I still wish to share that world with whoever is willing to listen to the inane ramblings of a zombie-obsessed sock. I don't plan on scrapping the project anytime soon.

Where did it go then?

I would say that the production DSaC is on a temporary hiatus. Currently, I have a lot of stuffs that's weighing on me. I'm not going to go into detail because it's not the internet's business, but I've been trying my hardest to refocus my ever-shrinking attention span back on the project, because I really do want to keep working on it!

On a more positive note, one of the reasons it's sort of... poofed is that I'm trying to adapt to using RPG Maker MV, the software that DSaF and Dialtown were made in! However, from where I see things right now, I don't think DSaC will be made in RPG Maker. It's not as intuitive with visual novel mechanics (and one might say "well duh Veros, you need the plugins" and to that I say shooosh and let me keep explaining). DSaC is a VN-focused game, first and foremost. That is the means in which the world of Corny's will be conveyed, and that is the way I feel it should stay. With that in mind, it doesn't make much sense to spend time learning a new software to achieve what I was already doing in something that's easier for me to understand and that has much less setup. That whole escapade was a perfect example of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

When will it be coming back?

With November coming up very soon, Halloween will have passed and I'll have finished working on my costume. This means I'll have much more energy and patience to dedicate to development (or, hyping myself up to do so at the very least). My goal is that I'll have an update on the progress for you all come the end of November!

Now, I feel I've answered all of the important things, however there's some smaller Q&As I thought of that I'll answer below.

"Why are your asks closed / Will you ever respond to the ask I sent in?"

I closed the asks because there were so many of them, I was quite overwhelmed--mind you that this is the first project of mine that has received any attention at all, it was quite jarring (in a good way). I've seen your asks though, don't worry! I'm going to answer every last one of them, and once I do my asks box will open once again.

"Why is your blog no longer Corny's themed?"

It all started because of Salem's bald head. I'm being serious, him being bald on the banner long after I had given him hair pissed me off so much that I said "to hell with it" and changed it. The image of Godred was the first one I had readily available. That's the only reason he's my banner. Yup. As for the sock, that's my persona. I had been planning on changing my profile photo to a drawing of it for a while. The current one is a spooky rendition for spooky month :> I still plan on following the same format for answering asks as I did before.

A final thought before departure, thank you for whoever sent this ask in (I have a feeling who it is, however it's just a hunch). Having a question that blunt asked to me seemed to unclog whatever blockage my brain had built up that prevented me from thinking about working on DSaC. I can feel the creative juices flowing. Let that be a warning of you all seeing more from me very soon. Until then, I shall retreat back to my cozy dumpster and continue mashing my face into the keyboard until a game comes out.

[bangjiazhengstories]

I compiled a small essay I wrote last year, 2022, 5.8.2022, to research and discuss the story of 【full battle mode】

I compiled a small essay I wrote last year, 2022, 5.8.2022, to research and discuss the story of 【full battle mode】

Bangjia Zheng 10.10.2023

【Creating Stories】 Does the story of the 【full battle mode】 break through common story structures such as three-act sequence, succession, transition, and integration (a small paper I wrote on a website in 2022, analyzing the method of creating stories)

People who study, think about and create stories are generally familiar with common story structures and routines, such as: (starting-continuation-transition-composition), (three-acts), (hero's journey), etc. (Note: Here, I supplemented and revised it on 10.10.2023, adding a connecting symbol (—) to make our story structure here (starting-continuation-transition-composition) similar to a (4-acts structure), which is easier to understand.)

Why do such story structures and routines appear in common stories, whether they are novels, comics, movies, and television works?

The reason is very simple. The author does this to foreshadow the story in the early stages. The foreshadowing will raise the psychological energy of the readers and viewers, and then release it in one breath at the point where the conflict breaks out and climaxes. In this way, it is a complete process of releasing psychological energy. Similar to the process of charging and discharging a battery, it is easy to understand.

It's a bit like lifting something up, increasing its gravitational potential energy, and then letting it fall, converting it into kinetic energy and creating an impact.

These are all very common story structures and routines. They are the same as the composition structures that people learned when they were children, such as (beginning, middle, end), (three paragraphs),( total points), etc. They are all extremely classic, but the most common. structure and routine. (Note: Here, I supplemented and revised it on 10.10.2023. The expression is more rigorous.)

The most typical (three-acts structure) and the (hero's journey) are the Star Wars movies. Star Wars movies have simple structures and routines, but they always give people expectations and a powerful climax.

But some people may wonder, can we break this structure of (succession, transition, and ending.) or (three acts) in the process of research and creation of stories? Because these are too routine and mechanical. For people with some creative experience, these contents are too easy to predict, which will also reduce the experience of watching these contents.

There are many ways to break these routines, just don’t follow the routine. The simplest thing is to (running accounts),Note every things. Don't have any expectations for the story of the (running accounts), because the author can compile it wherever he thinks.

If the (running accounts) is compiled well, it will become a (stream of consciousness), and it will be very strange, but interesting. If the running account is not compiled well, it will be like a long mess of lines(!!!!!!!!!!), and people will not want to read it.

I previously wrote an article on a website (Note: This is a website I will never use again. I have published novels on this website since 2016.), analyzed how to create conflicts in stories? (Note: Here, I revised it on 10.10.2023.) If this conflict is created well, it can break out one after another without being bound by routines, and there is no need to apply standard (three-acts structures) or classic structures such as (succession, transition, and ending).

The conclusion of my analysis in that article was that the cause of conflicts is caused by obstacles. Any conflict can be explained as the moving object being hindered on its path. If there are obstacles, there will be collisions and powerful effects.

Through this physical explanation, we can easily understand some conflicts in life and story conception:

【1】 To create conflict, we move some characters or other things over to block the path of the protagonist or other main characters, and let them collide. If there is a collision, there will be a conflict.

【2】To remove conflicts, remove the things that block the path of the protagonist or other main characters. Then there will be no collisions and the conflicts will disappear. (Note: Here, I supplemented and revised it on 10.10.2023. This paragraph is actually the core argument of the entire short paper. It tells how we story creators create conflicts in the story. This is a simpler method, But it's very effective.)

If you create novels, comics, movies, etc., the story characters have conflicts one after another from the beginning, without stopping at all, one conflict after another, one battle after another, this is the 【full battle mode】 in my conception. It's similar to a player playing a large game. After finishing the first level, you quickly moves on to the second level. There is no foreshadowing. You just plays the video game from beginning to end until you completes the last level. This is very common in some large-scale action games.

The【full battle mode】does not seem to have the previous process of foreshadowing and engendering hatred between characters in the stories.( It seems that it cannot raise the readers' expectations and psychological energy.???) Instead, fierce collisions and conflicts are always occurring.

【Full battle mode 】In fact, from a more macro perspective, many works do this. A typical example is the anime work "Saint Seiya" from Japan. The characters of the protagonist team, the Five Bronze Saints, have to go through some battles every time they challenge a gold saint. After challenging one, they will challenge the second one. In the process, there is also the order of challenging different golden saints. Judging from the number of episodes of The Golden Saint, if we abstractly understand it as a complete, super-long animated movie, then it is a 【Full battle mode 】 work.

But when each episode of the cartoon was played, in order to save time and save costs on painting and production, the entire battle was not included in each episode of more than 20 minutes.

For the same example, most anime and tokusatsu works are not【Full battle mode 】, but unit dramas in each episode that set the stage for the battle at the end.

Typical examples are Fist of the North Star and Ultraman. Each episode starts with a bunch of daily nonsense and contradictions, conflict suspense and hatred, etc. At the end, the protagonist destroys the enemy, and the rescued people praise the protagonist. This episode Finish. It complies with the rules of unit creation and saves creative resources.

The story structure of the 【full battle mode】 can correspond to the method of creating conflicts I described earlier, that is, creating obstacles. Every time an obstacle is encountered, a conflict breaks out to overcome an obstacle. From the perspective of readers and viewers, the psychological energy does not rise first and then explode. There is no process of accumulation and release of psychological potential energy. Instead, it is like a hammer hitting a nail, with a strong release every time. (10.10.2023 I add: The action time of each burst of psychological energy is extremely short, and the internal force is very large. Friends, what do you think of the physics knowledges? I am a physical teacher!! Conservation of momentum! Smashing rocks, exploding bombs… are all similar to this process. Because The internal force is very large, the action time of the internal force is very short, and the external force is negligible. Before and after the collision (explosion), the momentum of the system is conserved. In layman's terms, when we are not aware of the conflict, the conflict has already occurred. It’s like a hammer hitting a nail instantly, or a bomb exploding instantly. Because there is no need for foreshadowing, psychological energy explodes instantly, so in this case, this explosion of psychological energy has the strongest psychological impact on the reader or audience.)

In an episode or a chapter, every time the protagonist kills an enemy or experiences a battle, it is a release of energy in the entire battle.

This kind of 【full battle mode】can be very exciting if done well, without the need for foreshadowing or transition. However, it has high requirements on the author's creative content. It needs to continuously create conflicts and outbreaks again and again in each episode or chapter. One battle after another.

If you write a novel with a【 full battle mode】and a total of 100 chapters, and there are 5 to 8 battles in each chapter, then the novel has 500 to 800 different battles. Others' novels of the same length even have less than 100 battles, and there are transitional plots in the middle. The amount of battle in your all-battle novel is much greater than in other novels of the same length and number of chapters. It increases the difficulty and pressure of the author's creation.

The most difficult thing about 【full battle mode】 is not purely text-based works such as novels, but related works expressed through pictures such as comics, movies, and TV shows. Without any foreshadowing, the author has to quickly create many things in each chapter ( many battles), and these battles followed each other without respite. The amount of painting or special effects required for battle scenes exceeds that of other similar works, and this production cost will obviously increase. This also lengthens the entire creative process.

The 【full battle mode】 has an obvious shortcoming, that is, once the readers or viewers adapt to your early high-density battle content (for example, 5 battles in each episode), once you reduce the density of the battle and want to be lazy (for example, one day you want to If you are lazy and change it to 3 battles in a certain episode，Meow!), they must have opinions on you, the author. As an author, once your creative intensity increases, it cannot be decreased. (Note: Here, I revised it on 10.10.2023.)

Take the density of ideas in science fiction novels as an example. Some people say that a famous science fiction writer here(Where I live.) packed many ideas into just three space-themed science fiction novels, enough to be used in many science fiction novels. He did this to make the novel exciting, but it also failed to use the ideas to produce a few more books to make money.

The comments of these readers are: People's creativity will be exhausted. Our famous science fiction writer here has not been stingy with his ideas in just three space-themed science fiction novels. In fact, it is difficult to exhaust human creativity. The more things you have created and the more accumulation you have, you can perform various permutations and combinations based on the things you originally created to generate endless new ideas, and a creator needs to constantly learn and observe. Something new, and a lot of new ideas will appear in the process. In fact, the number of ideas in my story is far,far………… more than 10 times，even 100 times more than that of this famous science fiction writer here. What is the total number of words he wrote in his 60-years-old age? (One novel of him only has 300,000 words，Meow！) I can type about 18,000 words in an hour without drafting, and my ideas are smooth. To me, a 100,000-word micro-novel is just a dessert-level short article. I don’t even need to type a draft. Give me half a day and I can finish it in a few hours. I have written more than 10 million words in just 3 years, and I have endless creativity and new creative ideas every day. How many works did he write in so many years? ? （Meow ………………Ha…………）Even though he is about 20 years older than me, and he is currently more than 10 times more famous than me. (Note: Here, I supplemented and revised it on 10.10.2023 and said a sentence that objectively states the facts.)

So in addition to the heavy creative workload in the 【full battle mode】, is there not enough ideas for the battles in the story? This is also impossible. However, the heavy workload of creation is still the only and biggest shortcoming of the 【full battle mode】. It can even cause tremendous stress in a person's creative process.

In other people's works, a chapter is slowly laid out。 And many battles are arranged in your story, you have 5 battles in a chapter. In other people's works, a chapter starts with a series of steps to attract hatred, passers-by watch, pretend to be slapped in the face, the battle is completed, passers-by are amazed, etc. Pure battle only accounts for less than 1/10 of the space.

In a chapter of your work, there are no cumbersome things like others. (Happy!!) The (protagonist) comes up and beats (the bad guys) to death, beating one to death and then the next, fighting non-stop and beating violently. Every your stories' chapter is 100% pure battle. (!!!) (Note: Here, I have supplemented and revised it on 10.10.2023, and the description is more rigorous.)

Moreover, in your work, the protagonist has to fight several battles in one chapter.

Will readers find the pace too fast and unable to follow a work that is all about battle? And can the nerves of the readers and viewers be able to withstand such continuous full-battle content? These are also things that our authors need to consider.

But the most successful precedent for 【full battle works】 in reality is video games, especially various action games. In these games, the player plays a heroic protagonist who, after defeating one enemy, then continues to defeat the next enemy, never stopping. You can try the 3D version of the Ninja Gaiden series to experience the rhythm of 【high-speed action games】 and 【full-scale battles that involve killing hundreds of enemies without stopping】 for a long time. (very happy!!) (Note: Here, I supplemented and revised it on 10.10.2023, adding this sentence and giving an example.) Because the players operate it personally, the sense of immersion is very strong.

I'm wondering if an 【full battle mode】 is a good story creation mode? I will also verify this【full battle mode】through some story creation practices and tests.

——BangJia Zheng (The signature and date parts have been rearranged on 10.10.2023, some typos in the original text have been corrected, and necessary descriptive information has been added.)

——5.8.2022

——BangJia Zheng I am in the company reviseing the essay while learning Czech language.

——10.10.2023 12:32

[ladyloveandjustice]

So I read the third Magirevo novel (it was a very quick read, especially when you skim the parts that are just repeating things it already said which is uuuuh about half of it! Yeah unfortunately the prose has not gotten better) because I knew the final arc didn't get a lot of of time and I was curious to see what got cut out and honestly...not much of value.

There's an additional conversation with Euphie's mother (she exists in the novels!) and Anis' mother, which does show us Anis' mom is genuinely worried about her daughter and realizes she was wrong to put so much pressure on her and is even hoping she'll continue to work on magicology even after becoming Queen (also that Lainie's figured out how to use her brainwashing powers as an anti anxiety med if the target gives consent, which is interesting) and that Euphie's mom...exists, but it doesn't give us any new information or emotional insight that wasn't covered in the anime.

In fact, I mostly have a list of things I'm glad they changed or left out!

-For some reason this book is super into Tomas the Blacksmith, who's has only just been introduced and also doesn't have any personality traits? The scene where Tilty comforts Anis and suggests they ditch this stupid place and make a living as hot conwomen is entirely anime original, instead we get a very boring scene where the blacksmith who has no reason to care about royal spirit pacts or her gf troubles comforts her. So yes, I think the anime made a very good decision in having a touching scene with a character the audience might actually be fond of instead.

We also get a way too extended scene on how they collaborate with Tomas to make the magic dresses, I cannot imagine why the author thinks I would care about this. I guess it's to show Anis has a genuine bond with people of other classes, but they could have used an actually interesting character for that.

-Euphie's arguing with Anis is super repetitive over the queen vs immortal contractor thing in the novel, and Anis is weirdly childish during their duel, screaming "I hate you" at her several times like she's a five year old yelling at Mom which is just jarring considering the stakes and all.

-The duel also comes off as much more brutal, like Anis literally mentions she's going to hit Euphie with the same attack that seriously injured VampireAl and it could kill her and...why???? That makes no sense you're literally having this fight to protect her. Calm down!!!

-For some reason, when Euphie tells Anis she's not a fake, in the book she straddles her and starts shaking her while she's pinned down to the bed (I guess she's jerking her up and down?) Imagine how incredibly awkward it would have looked if the anime copied this, I'm so glad they didn't. The straddling should come later! It takes away the impact of when she pins her to the bed actually romantically!

-Then Euphie accidentally drains Anis' magical energy when they make out with her new super spirit powers and Anis passes out, which is such a dumb ending to a romantic moment, thank god the anime cut that shit. I don't understand why it was there. Did the author just not know how to fade to black?

-In the novel, Anis is the one who orders the sword and names it, rather than it being a sweet gesture from Euphie. The anime is doing so much work here.

-In the novel, for some reason Euphie and Anis decide to battle it out in the sky instead of just dancing- I'd be neutral on this, they're clearly having fun and this is the shit they're into, you do you girls, and it does have the incredibly funny moment where Anis goes "and then Euphie dropkicked me." Except the light novel takes forever to describe it and I ended up skimming over it. How long were they up there. If I were the townspeople I'd be yelling that I did not consent to being part of this bourgeoisie kink display and want to go home. Also when you remember they're both wearing heels there is such a possibility of one of those falling off and beaning someone in the head and killing them.

Things I thought were interesting/was neutral on:

-The anime does leave out some stuff in Lumi's backstory, namely that her father, the king who made the original spirit contract, did so to save the kingdom but eventually became a cruel, horrific ruler due to his emotions withering away, and Lumi had to kill her own dad to stop him. Lumi also shows more of cruel streak herself. I don't think the anime needed this, the whole immortality and emotions fading thing was enough to show there were consequences to the spirit contract, and it kinda makes Euphie look wildly irresponsible she'd risk becoming a despotic ruler. (However, Lumi does say she knows it won't happen to Euphie because Anis is there.) It is an interesting bit of lore though, and the novel leans more heavily on the theme that magic is pretty dangerous and terrible.

-Anis mentions in the novel that thinking she was fake is part of why she didn't tell Al about the rumors or why she left- she was afraid the nobles were catching on to how she was 'wrong' somehow and thought Al would notice too. I thought that was interesting and gave some more context to her actions.

-Tilty walks in on Anis and Euphie in bed together, and is like 'well well well' which was admittedly pretty funny, though it just became too much when Lumi also hopped in. Give them some privacy.

-This was fairly obvious anyway, but since we get Anis' POV the novel confirms her 'you were just kissing me on the lips out of friendship weren't you' was because she thought it was too good to be true. Also she just seems to like arguing for the sake of it, which Euphie points out to her.

All in all the anime is definitely the best way to experience the story. of the first three novels. The novels have too laden with repetition, unneeded exposition and poor pacing, the manga is also occasionally bogged down my exposition too and overall way skeevier, but the anime knows what's important about the story and what changes to make to make it shine. Though I do believe the anime team would have added some good original content if they'd had some extra room, pretty much everything it cut from the novel was not necessary.

[necros-writing-stuff]

Such Sweet Ignorance: Collabo'ween Day 16

GN!Reader/Blaine Wiley (Male Sugar Daddy Energy Vampire OC).

Warnings: There's a sense of dread through this one; Financial control; Heavy anxiety for reader; Emotional manipulation; Fear of dying; Reader is suffering from something similar to chronic fatigue.

Word Count: 2739.

Notes: This one is far more horror than smut with a creepy element to it. There's like three lines of smut lol. It's in first person and made to be like a journal entry.

With the power of hindsight, it was blatantly obvious how many red flags this man has. But I was broke and desperate, so I went along with what he wanted anyway. 

Hello to anyone who might be reading this, by the way. I'd appreciate it if you're some scholar from a couple hundred years into the future, peeking into the past via the journal of some random person. If you're someone closer to me then this will be quite awkward and I'm gonna have to ask you to stop here. I don't think I can look people in the eye after admitting the things I'll admit here. Though after everything I've learned, someone I know now could be reading this hundreds of years in the future.  

But I have to get it all off of my chest. I have to do it this way because if I pay for a therapist then he'll find out and make me stop seeing them even if the meetings are only over video calls. This is the first time I’ve been away from him for more than a couple of hours in many months. 

It started last year, sometime around mid July. I was at the local library, using their free wifi when he'd sat down across from me. He'd only smiled at me then before reading his own book while I typed something up on my laptop. 

We had a few more meetings like that, and I'd grown used to him being there. I'd seek him out when I'd enter the building and feel giddy when we'd make eye-contact. He was so handsome, dressed modestly but you could tell he had money just based on the make and materials of his clothes. Auburn hair. Blue eyes. Well built but not so cut that you'd think him vain. And he was looking at me.

He broke the silence first, asking me what I was writing. I wanted to lie, badly, because it was a romance novel that I was thinking of self-publishing just to make some cash on the side. Plenty of people will buy terrible romance novels and defend them with their lives if they have tropes they love and hot enough male protagonists. 

For a reason I still can't explain, I told him the truth. A pattern that would continue, as you'll see. 

I was waiting for his nose to scrunch up in disgust, my shoulders tensed so bad that I could feel the knots forming in the muscles already. Instead he smiled and asked if he could read some. 

Yet again, I let him move around the table and sit beside me. I let him read what I wrote. And holy fuck was it a surprise when he started giving input on how to make it better than it was. 

"My mother was a publisher, I used to do my homework at the kitchen table when she'd review all the things she'd get." Then there it was, the nose scrunch. "I… I kinda ended up loving some of those novels because of it." 

Handsome, well-off, a lover of romance novels, a seemingly good relationship with his mother. People say hook-line-and-sinker a lot. This was an anchor tied to my ankle as he kicked me off the boat into Mariana's Trench. The books he'd been reading across from me were all horror, but the ones he'd kept in his bag to read at home? Soft, smutty romance. 

I never asked why he always ended up at the library at the exact same time as myself. Knowing him as I do, I'm sure he'd have come up with an excuse that I couldn't refute, one I'd accept without blinking an eye. But I'm still disappointed that I never asked once. 

Blaine Wiley is his name. An art appraiser - older than me but so kind, supportive and patient that it didn't matter in the slightest. 

We became fast friends, especially with how open I felt I could be with him and how open I thought he was being with me. Everything I told him, he came back with something personal of his own. Never in that "I'm one-upping you," way, but in a "I see you, I know what it feels like too," way. 

I had family problems? So did he! His sister was always at his throat. It's why he valued my friendship so much, he'd said. The notion of found family was one he identified with heavily after his mother had passed.

Naturally, we ended up dating. That restaurant was so expensive. I wanted to hide behind Blaine the entire time we were there. Expensive suits and bespoke dresses were everywhere while I was in an outfit I'd thrown together from a charity shop. Yeah, the outfit was expensive at one point. But not anymore. I was a drowned rat amongst groomed cats.

Somehow Blaine had made me forget about all of those worries. We'd hardly been able to stop talking long enough to eat (and the food was delicious). Even surrounded by absolute opulence, he remained all that my attention could focus on. 

I couldn't not follow him home after such a lovely date. I couldn't not let him lay me down on his bed, strip my clothes from me and go down on me like that meal we'd shared was but an appetiser. He was so thorough and selfless. 

My nerves returned once we'd finished - waiting and waiting for the other shoe to drop, to be kicked out of his bed now he'd gotten what he'd wanted. Instead, I was trapped in one of my very own novels. Blaine asked me to stay the night, his arms holding me close as we slept. He made me breakfast. He drove me home and kissed me goodbye with a promise to see me again. 

More dates followed, as well as many nighttime trists (and some in his car in dark car parks). He paid for everything. Insisted on it. He didn't have to worry about his bank account but I did, so why should I pay? In fact, why don't I let him give me money just because? 

Another moment where I should have ran. The writing was right there on the wall and I chose to walk past it like it was nothing but a graffitied cock. I feel so stupid - so full of shame - and I should be shouldn't I? I should feel disappointed in myself. I've been a fucking idiot and now it's far too late. 

Sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself and far too emotional. I’ll just keep going.

As you can guess, I took the money. I tried to turn it down, but he was so hell-bent on "taking care of me," that I folded quickly. No one has ever taken care of me. I barely take care of me. It was just so nice to not have to worry about having hot water or food in the kitchen. 

Three months is how long it took him to convince me to move in. The gifts and money got more and more expensive until he proposed it. His logic seemed sound; I was basically there every night, he was paying my rent and for my lifestyle anyway. I could leave any time I'd like if things didn't work out. He just wanted me to be safe and comfortable while I wrote. Once my book was out he was sure I'd have a good stream of revenue - hell, he could set me up with a publisher if I really wanted. 

From a one bedroom flat with a teeny tiny kitchen and no bath, just a standing shower, to his two-floored suite at the top of an apartment complex. His bath is a fucking hot-tub. It bubbles. You can see the entire city from his windows. He has his own personal bar in the kitchen and 4 ovens. 

My lifestyle was completely flipped. Rich clothes, days spent writing with an incredible view, relaxing baths while sipping drinks Blaine mixed for me at the bar, cooking with fresh ingredients from high-end boutiques. 

Blaine mostly worked from home, but when he’d leave he’d return from work and see what I'd done before sharing his own day. Often he'd come home with a necklace, a ring, new shoes or clothes for me. Always, I was on his mind. Always, I was his to pamper and love.

Somehow, even with how unbelievably relaxing my life had become, I'd end each day more exhausted than the last. I'd wake up with headaches that doctors couldn't explain. I'd just keep chugging vitamins and hope that it would stop eventually. 

Things started cracking when I wanted to go to a friend's party. Not even a close friend, just a fellow writer who'd stayed friendly with me over the years. A male writer. Blaine had tried to hide his true reason for keeping me home behind having a date planned. Deep down I knew it was jealousy. Deep down, I knew I should have ended things there or at least insisted that he consider why he felt so insecure about it.

I stayed home. I said my apologies to my friend and sent a gift through the mail. Blaine took me to an art opening the night of the party and introduced me to all of his friends instead.

It was hell. Anxiety had been a companion for most of my life, holding my hand anytime my thoughts would run away or even when I would simply step outside. It came back tenfold at the art exhibition. I felt like a piece of meat (though not due to Blaine's actions, surprisingly). His friends would peer over me with this knowing look before smiling or sipping their drinks. It only made me cling further to him. The one source of familiarity and comfort.

A breakdown followed when we got home. I was so tired and scared - I couldn't explain either - but Blaine simply held me and told me that the reasons why didn't matter right now. We'd work it out together, we'd get better together, but right then I should just let it all out. I could talk when I wanted to, but not feel forced to do so before I was ready. 

Perfect. Everything he did and said was perfect, and I fell asleep wrapped up in his arms again that night. 

I'd describe myself as agoraphobic these days. That previous anxiety I'd harboured had only grown in Blaine's custody. It was purposeful how he kept me inside without him, how he only took me out when it was a big thing with people whose lifestyles I couldn't connect to. Who I felt ashamed to open up around just in case they judged me. Events that made me have further breakdowns when we’d get home or even when I’d sit down in his car at the end of the night.

If his friends detested me, would Blaine leave? My only source of comfort? I couldn't let that happen. 

I don't leave the house anymore. I tried a few times after all of those parties to smile my way through meetings Blaine took me to, but it just drained me further until I collapsed. Literally collapsed. More tests were done on me at the hospital, but still they couldn't find anything wrong. 

Blaine left for a week on a trip to Oslo. Since he's left I've been getting my energy back bit by bit every day. I've needed it after what I found him doing a few nights before he left. 

Usually, I sleep through the night like a rock. The fire alarm going off wouldn't wake my eyes open. Something did wake me up last week. I don't know what or why, but when my eyes fluttered open I thought I was trapped in a nightmare. 

Blaine's hand was pressed against my chest, right over my heart. And it was glowing. I think there were runes shining on the back of his hand, the red light bathing our bedroom in what looked like a sea of blood. Seconds ticked by and I felt my lids lowering again as he peppered kisses on my neck. I was just so, so tired. Blaine made me so, so tired. Yet, I could barely breathe.

And alright, anyone reading might be thinking that it really was a dream. I did, at first, like I said. So I left my phone recording when I went to sleep the next night, the screen laying down so Blaine wouldn't know. He might check it when I sleep (he knows the password, he could do it anytime - he knows all of my passwords for everything). So I thought up a lie to explain it away. The screen was malfunctioning and clicking on things without any input. Maybe he could get me a new one or get it repaired. Spending money on me always makes him happy. 

A phone only has so much storage, it'll only record for so long even when the settings are put on low. It recorded long enough for me to see that red light bathing the room again when I checked. Right at the end, the last few minutes. Whispers were also recorded. Blaine's whispers, soothing me, thanking me for being such a font of creativity and life. 

Have you ever heard of energy vampires? They're much less known in the western world than the classic blood-sucking vampires. But there's legends of beings that take your life from you to feed their own all around the world. I think Blaine is that. I think he trapped me to feed from me and I don't know how to get away. 

Plenty of times the thought to look through his office has crossed my mind. Plenty of times I've wondered why I've never met his sister or seen photos of his mother, why I don't know how old he actually is even though I know his birthday. And in retrospect, I realise that many of his friends I met at the art exhibition had nervous looking partners of their own. They had their own little me's. 

I never questioned him. I never thought I had a reason to. Without him though, it's like that leash around my neck has been loosened and I can think more for myself again. Not fully. I still can't step outside without having a panic attack. I can barely call for a takeaway. Apps are my best friend right now. Who knows how many creatures like Blaine are out there, waiting to prey on the innocent?

At least I had the initiative to look through his desk finally. It's such a classic thing, a false bottom full of letters. It feels fake even though I found it. Even though I read each letter and carefully put them back. Even though they confirmed everything I thought. 

They were all exchanges with people like him. Creatures who hunt for people full of drive to do something - like my writing, someone's dancing, singing, painting. Hell, one had a taste for mechanics who worked on custom cars. And how they'd drain them dry of everything. Many of their victims died. Some of them went through victims like a smoker with cigarettes. 

Blaine was one of them. He'd only keep them for a month or two before they'd pass away in hospitals from mysterious diseases that couldn't be identified. Moreover, he's been doing it for over two hundred years. Blaine wasn’t even his original name, he’d gone by dozens of names over the years. The last letter was from 1942. I guess he switched to using telephones, then the internet when it got popular. Who knows how many other victims have been held in his claws before he found me.

I don't know why I'm different. I don't know why he's let me live so long. I just know that I have to get away before he can truly take everything. 

And I'm trying. Believe me, I'm trying so hard. He'll be back tomorrow. I just need to get up and leave, to take all of my clothes and jewellery and pawn them off so I can get away. I don’t even care about finishing my book at this point - even though it’s so close to done.

I'm going to do it. I promise I’ll get away. I'll write again when I'm safe.

[peachysunrize]

- Aemond's 🧸

https://www.tumblr.com/peachysunrize/761863736294277120/starts-a-daisy-garden-for?source=share

thank you 🪴 emoji anon for the daisy 🌼 garden! i'm going to get a watering can 🚿 and water your pot plant so you'll grow a bouquet of flowers 💐🌷 x

now, i've had some Aemond tho(ugh)ts that i desperately need to share like a. oiling him up... i know, i know how it sounds *but* imagine massaging his back as he's spread flat on his stomach on the bed and we're digging into the ridges and depths of his shoulder blades and he's all *wet* from the oil and we start to lower our palms down the plane of his back and we're dangerously near his arse (he's 100% naked, us stradling his hind legs) and we then pass over it as our hands grope the globes of flesh, oiling the mounds of fat as we knead and toy with each cheek and he's starting to rock against, hump, rut, grind against the bedding <3 grabbing at his ass noticing that he's started to ARCH, it perking up in the air as he circles it around and pushes back into our hands wanting us to continue our perverted groping

and, what about him finishing (we've already come wayyy before) and he slips out with a choked mewl before flopping beside us on the bed, c0€k all flaccid and soft hanging between his legs as he takes a 'moment' to recharge but we've been ready since we first came and now we're climbing a–top of him guiding his now semi–hard as he's babbling "N–no, not y.. yet..! i– It's too *sensitive*, s–stop..!" and we're just teasing, reader sliding his t!p through her sopping, drenched pu$s folds before swallowing the head as he's clenching his jaw and trying to prevent choked mewls escaping but then we shove ourselves all the way down and he's throbbing, twitching, and pulsating inside having resorted to PRAYING in High–Valyrian

or angry s£x w/ Aemond after we purposefully call him a "hound" or say he's "like a dog in heat" and he's now all embarrassed since he thinks Aegon put us up to this because of what happened in the brothel w/ *cough* Madam Sylvie *cough* (pedo... but said in a British way) and he's now making us RUT against his dragon–riding leather boots to prove his point then he fu€ks us from behind, back arched and arse perked up while he stands and hugs our ass with his pelvis and hips, 'growling' into our ear and forbading us to NEVER speak to Aegon again even though we never did :(

also this is based off of the song ♪ can't get you out of my head ♪ by Kylie Minogue with witch!reader (not Alys Rivers coded though), what if we were to plague him w/ lewd, lustful tho(ugh)ts (of his own) and really vivid *wet* dreams (he wakes up in a pool of his own c0m£ let's be real, his shift/small clothes sticking to his sensitive c0€k) and he can't help but get a b0n£r anytime he's around us because of the energy we exude and like not to involve voodoo dolls or anything but it's kind–a similar, whenever witch!reader m4$tu7b4t£s (fingers herself, humps against her– HIS pillow) he physically feels HER sensations and he can't do anything but squirm in public and attempt to hide his bulge and the only reason why they've got this connection is because they both 'fancy' each other and we manifested this red string theory w/ #goodvibesonly

OKAY last one *i promise*, Aemond finding reader reading straight up p0rn, i mean a smut filled tome and he's 'skimmed' (Aegon suggested it to him saying it was an 'informational' novel which Aemond could "learn a thing or two" from but after the first few pages he slammed it shut and scurried off humiliated hiding his b0n£r 🤗) and she's clenching her thighs together thinking that she's SO sly and secretive but he sees right through her and we don't notice him coming behind us whispering huskily "care to read aloud? i've *always* enjoyed a bed–time story" and then he continues to fu€k us by making us read the book so he can do EVERYTHING that's in it to us and don't be fooled to think he's all 'confident', he's cherry–red in the face because he can't believe such filth can be written for 1, and 2, he caught US reading that and now we're reciting from it so... i mean technically he does end up reading Aegon's recommendation 🤭

I LIED! *last one*, and this refers to 🪴 nonnie's interest in Aegond and it's a threesome m/m/f with reader, and we've noticed Aemond's strained dynamic and relationship with his older brother Aegon so we attempt to help them by... fu€k!ng them both. guiding them to kiss one another and it's all shy pecks and curiousity getting the better of them then Aemond turning to us because he wants to *so* badly £at our pu$s so we 'allow' him and in the mean time Aegon actually sees that Aemond is just a big softie who isn't 'scary' when he's pu$s¥–drunk and he's then undoing Aemond's linens before revealing his bare ass and before you know it, it's an eiffel tower (not really but you get the picture) w/ Aemond in the middle as a switch, reader as the sub and Aegon as the top x <3

I’m just gonna go reread this all over because HOLY FUCK DO THESE SOUND DELICIOUS IM LITERALLY SALIVATING IMAGINING ALL OF THESE THOTSSSSBSIZHWIZGIAHAA

You are amazing I LOVE THESE THANK YOU

[nzoth-the-corruptor]

Dissertation on Why Vyranoth Should Be the Dark Heart

In 10.0.7 (Return to the Forbidden Reach) a lore document was added in Farscale Cove, [A Song of the Depths], which details a prophecy concerning Azshara's return. In this document the Harbinger is established as a mysterious force working towards the same goals, and seemingly doing quite a bit of the footwork for Azshara to return from her current whereabouts.

The most relevant page to this post, however, is page 3:

The Harbinger speaks of a primal power that seeks the end of Order. Such rage can be bent to serve our ends. A hunger lost to the ages will be reclaimed. A dark heart left broken awaits the taking.

In 10.1.5 (Fractures in Time) we learn that Iridikron has allied with the Harbinger and uses an alliance with the Infinite Dragonflight to go into the past and reclaim Galakrond's hungering essence from his corpse. The very first thing we learn about Iridikron, in the very first cinematic of the expansion, is his association with the concept of Hunger ("And if Iridikron's hunger is unleashed..." — Tempest Unleashed cinematic.) I actually have a lot more to say on the concepts of Hunger/Earth/Dark Bargains etc but those don't belong in this post because this ain't about him.

So we know the primal power is the Incarnate[s], and we know the hunger lost to the ages is Galakrond via Iridikron. That leaves the dark heart: which, being the name of Patch 10.2.7, we're going to learn the identity of for certain very soon.

A Heart Left Broken

Vyranoth is a strong candidate for a number of reasons; some strong, some weak. Her title being The Frozenheart goes ahead and puts that word association on the table; the Vault of the Incarnates finale establishes her close relationship to Raszageth (while her brothers go on the warpath swearing vengeance, Vyranoth is the one who sounds horrified with what she's seen re:her sister being murdered right in front of her), and this is carried to the Secrets of the Reach cinematic where Vyranoth's opening lines are mourning Raszageth.

Later, we learn that Vyranoth and Alexstrasza used to be close. Really close. Their gal paling ended when Alexstrasza betrayed Vyranoth by condoning the kidnap of primal eggs to be altered in the Life Pools.

Vyranoth continues her association with regret and mourning during the situation with Lethka that leads to her killing her former trusted soldier.

Vyranoth says: Lethka. I failed her. [...] Vyranoth says: I know it [killing Lethka] was not easy. Suzska says: For us, or for you?

Vyranoth is also the only character to express any form of regret over Fyrakk, despite him having previously been so close to Alexstrasza she refused to execute him the first time around.

(We're not getting into anything from the War of the Scaleborn novel because frankly, the book and the game seem to be operating on entirely different continuities. Nothing exclusive to the book has been mentioned in the game and the two mediums contradict each other at nearly every opportunity, in addition to War of the Scaleborn massively contradicting Dawn of the Aspects which HAS lore that made it into the game. Apropos to mention that WotS has a whole bevy of Vyranoth Being Depressed content, though.)

So we have established the 'heart left broken' half.

A Dark Heart

The Secrets of the Reach cinematic establishes that Vyranoth knows what Aberrus is: Neltharion's secret laboratory. I'll also take a moment to point out that the Vessel (1) Iridikron takes from the Reach is identical in form to the Vessel (2) he uses to store Galakrond's Essence — the only difference is the presence of runes and cosmic energy in the latter, which could have been added at a later point if both vessels are intended to be the same item. Vyranoth takes Vessel (1) from Iridikron to decipher its contents, which leads us into...

Opening the Way, wherein Vyranoth draws enjoyment from watching Fyrakk make his way down to Aberrus knowing he'll consume the energy there & elates in the knowledge that soon the dracthyr will unleash the Aspects' 'darkest nightmare.' Iridikron tells her they have much still to do and the two depart together; he is also seen with a still-inert Vessel (1) again. Next we see Iridikron in 10.1.5 he has Vessel (2).

The Vessel is a very relevant point, I think, because even though it is Iridikron who locates it and holds onto it most of the time, it is Vyranoth who is established as messing around with it and decoding its contained information (and purpose?)

We also see Vyranoth in Fractures in Time, having a big blow-out argument with Alexstrasza who seemingly had invited her to talk. (Alexstrasza: "I knew you would come.") Their conversation amounts to Vyranoth rejecting Alexstrasza's apologies and calling her a liar.

When Alexstrasza attempts to compel Vyranoth to understand that Iridikron is not fighting for the good of dragonkind but for vengeance, Vyranoth replies that vengeance is the only thing left for them. (It's unclear if the Rough Edges cutscene is supposed to be before or after Dawn of the Infinite.)

This is an extremely sharp contrast to their very next cutscene together, where Vyranoth returns to Alexstrasza's side as an ally.

Something that stands out in both Rough Edges and Sound the Alarm, however, is that Vyranoth emotes extensively. In Secrets of the Reach, Opening the Way, Fury Incarnate, Larodar's Corruption, and A Crown of Flame, Vyranoth is shown as being fairly unemotive: her face just doesn't move much. When she's getting Fyrakk to lay off of Gerithus in Fury Incarnate is about the only time she expresses anything with her face and not just her voice.

It's only when she's talking to Alexstrasza that she seems compelled to express herself so strongly, and you can see when she turns her back on Alexstrasza in Sound the Alarm, when her face is visible only to the camera, that her 'on the verge of tears' expression falls away in less than a second.

It's hard to interpret her abrupt change of heart as being genuine; to see Vyranoth abruptly go from 'yasss unleash the Aspects darkest nightmare. VENGEANCE IS ALL THAT REMAINS.' to 'my brother punched a teenager and corrupted a deer man so I'm going back to my ex-girlfriend who treats my people like second class citizens and is actively lying to me right now' and think that there isn't anything deeper at play.

Finally I think there is something to be said about the "deceived by those who squandered our birthright" line in A Crown of Flame playing over Alexstrasza and Vyranoth's exchange of Looks.

[pianostarinwonderland]

Hi! I love your posts, and I loved your most recent Malleus post 😭💕!! Reading through Chapter 4 of the Masquerade event also gave me Malleus thoughts, and maybe I'm reading into it too much but I do wonder if Malleus ever feels upset when his powers are described as destructive/monstrous :( Cause in this event iirc there has been instances of characters calling him/his powers monstrous and after that he goes like >:( or :(. But earlier when talking to Rollo he considers his magic to be something like a gift? So to have that be described negatively by others is kinda sad haha but it's also true that his powers can be destructive (as shown in the event).

I also agree on your point regarding what gargoyles mean to him!! I was so happy to see the gargoyle interacting with him 😭 It also made me ultra sad when the gargoyle lost its magic to the flowers cause the gargoyle befriending him probably meant a lot to him. The idea of an eternal friend probably means a lot to someone like Malleus 😭 and I also loved seeing Malleus powerless!! Most people saw him as invincible, so it's nice to see his weaknesses for once haha like him relying too much on his strength and failing to consider the consequences (eg Azul pointing out that if Malleus used his powers like he intended to the tower might collapse)

Anyways sorry for the long ask but I loved reading your thoughts! Have a good day :)

[Reply to this post and this post!]

UWAAHHHH HIIII ;U; I DIDN'T ANSWER RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE I LOVED YOUR ASK TOO MUCH AND I DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE A HALF ASSED RESPONSE ;A; but chapter 7 is coming and I need to at least grace this ask with my gratitude before Malleus comes in.

!!! First of all, I love that point you make about Malleus feeling upset for being called destructive. The game always had that narrative of Malleus being all-powerful, and it wasn't until GloMas that he was always seated on that pedestal. Even then, when the flowers sapped him of his energy, almost everyone continued to view his power as something so great, something so destructive.

It really surprised me how much I fell in love with Malleus saying to Rollo that he thinks his magic is a gift. Like ;u; that's now in my top 5 favorite Twst quotes. We've always been told Malleus is powerful, Malleus is untouchable. And when he does talk sometimes. The way he talked about his inhuman athletic ability to Riddle in his Union story and says that he doesn't really need an island companion to help him. I think that's a prime example of that arrogance (although he may have thought he stated it as fact, he didn't consider the social connotation). So when Malleus talked about his magic like a gift that he wants to share with the people that he cares about, it really touched me? 😭😭😭 It was such a humble response. It wasn't like, "No, I like magic because I feel powerful with it." No, he acknowledges his power, he knows about his power... but he considers it a gift, and he wants it to be a gift that he doesn't use to show off but a gift that he wants to share to those he holds dear to. It's one of the most beautiful allusions to a Disney media (the 3 fairies and their gifts to Aurora) and it was just so touching. 😭 And we have to take note that 1 in 10 people are mages (according to the Twisted Wonderland light novel), so being born with magic truly is a gift. And with such a statistic, mages would unsurprisingly be arrogant about having such a power. NRC people in particular are very individualistic and prideful and part of that comes with the power. But Malleus' view on his magic is pretty humble, and it's endearing. And not only is it humble, you can see that he values his gift. And to be told that the thing you value is destructive? That hurts.

Oh yes the gargoyles AHAHHAHA it's so juicy to think about someone's favorite hobby or favorite things and wonder why it is their favorite. Sometimes, there's just no rhyme or reason, and other times, there's a deeper story behind it that you don't know. I like that you point out the part about Malleus relying too much on his strength and not knowing the consequences. It really does come with being viewed as powerful ;A; when everyone's counting on you, you always tell yourself you have to deliver. It's such a heavy burden for him to carry, and the interesting part is that Malleus isn't aware that he's carrying something heavy on his shoulders. True, he's carrying the weight of a future crown, but he doesn't realize the pressure of not only being a crown prince but also a powerful mage. He pushes himself to be the person people expect, without thinking that he needs to take care of himself. Quite literally, he's going through the gifted child phase and sooner or later, he might go through the gifted child burnout.

In a way, I want him to go through what live action Maleficent went through: her wings being cut. Her wings were her pride and joy, it was a show of her power. And I want Malleus to be brought down, to learn and grow from being on the ground, before he gets his "wings" back and soars to become an even better person fit to rule Briar Valley.