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toriaaniin · 1 month ago

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What If There Is a Contract?

Making sense of the silence, the suffering, and the sacrifice

This post emerged from reader responses to my Shared Camouflage entry — a swell of questions, confusion, and speculation about what could possibly explain the year-long chaos we've all witnessed. This isn’t meant to be a definitive answer, and it won’t solve every mystery or satisfy every doubt. But laying out a framework — one grounded in timeline logic, PR behaviour, and pattern recognition — might help clarify how we got here. We don’t know for certain if a contract exists.... but from a critical thinking perspective, based on what we’ve observed unfolding in public view, it’s the most coherent explanation for the prolonged confusion and controlled visibility we've seen.

The Migraine Questions

Why would anyone agree to something this damaging?

Why would Luke allow himself to be hated for a year?

Why does Nicola seem to let herself be erased?

And if this entire PR narrative — the public pairings, the optics, the storyline — is fake… what is the point?

What We in the Lukola Ship Know (or Strongly Suspect)

Luke and Nicola are together.

Baby Newts (to many of us) is real.

Antonia is not a girlfriend — she is a presence, not a partner.

There has been a clear pattern of PR pairings, silence, and constraint.

The Theory: What If a Contract Exists?

Pre-Contract (Feb–April 2024)

Luke and Nicola begin reconnecting in a real way around Valentine’s Day. Antonia may have still been loosely in the picture, but by mid-spring, the momentum had shifted. By April, Luke and Nicola were deeply engaged in joint promo content and travelled to Australia for the first leg of the world tour. Clues suggest that Baby Newts was conceived sometime before or during their Italy stop.

In late April, Antonia begins teasing photos from a previous LA trip with Luke and his friend group. PR may have noticed an opportunity. A soft PR agreement might have been arranged to leverage Antonia’s proximity without confirming any relationship — a move that could signal to external observers that Luke was still romantically ambiguous, thus cooling the escalating Lukola buzz without committing to a new narrative or taking attention away from Bridgerton S3 promotion. From a PR perspective, it offered plausible deniability, control over optics, and a short-term distraction. No formal contract yet — just access.

Initial PR Agreement (May-June 2024)

At the NYC premiere on May 15, Antonia attends the afterparty. Nicola looked visibly unhappy, and Luke was clearly stressed. Whatever informal arrangement existed up to that point may have backfired. I believe a formal PR contract was drafted shortly after this... not to protect Antonia, but to contain her, while still using her presence to quiet the rising Lukola buzz.

This is when I believe Contract 1 was signed — including provisions for:

Appearance agreements

Social media engagement

Quiet narrative control

Possibly, retroactive IG clean-up (e.g. Luke’s back-liking spree)

If Luke and Antonia had been in a genuine relationship, the rollout would have looked radically different. She would have been gradually introduced to the public — first perhaps as a member of his team, then as someone likable in her own right, with small public comments and professional proximity. A staged “getting to know you” arc could have ended with a soft announcement. It wouldn’t have pleased everyone, but it would have translated goodwill into redirected support. Instead, what we got was confusion, coldness, and backlash; the telltale signs of a narrative being managed, not lived.

Why do I believe that Contract 1 was signed after NYC? Because in the days that followed, Luke — or someone on his social media team — went back and liked every single post on Antonia’s Instagram grid dating back to July 2023. This kind of retroactive engagement reads like a calculated attempt to build a visible digital history, likely to legitimize the narrative that they had been close for some time.

Crisis Escalation & Possible NDA (June–August 2024)

On June 12 — just one day before Papgate and the official launch of Season 3, Part 2 — Nicola posted a song with lyrics that said "I'm gonna wait for you." With the benefit of hindsight, many interpret the posting of this song as a quiet, emotionally grounded farewell to Luke before he disappeared into the obligations of Contract 1. Nicola’s action in posting the song reads as a final moment of personal truth before strategic silence descended. From that point on, Luke was seen fulfilling obligations with Antonia — publicly visible but emotionally absent. Nicola, likely in her first trimester, faces this largely on her own.

The London premiere on June 13 is followed by the infamous Papgate in the early hours of June 14. During the premiere, Luke expressed excitement about "the next day" — when Part 2 of Season 3 would be live and he could finally talk about the final four episodes. But that next day never came for him. He was silenced. There were no post-release interviews, no promo push, no celebration. On June 15 — just after Papgate — Luke posted an image to his IG stories from Episode 6 of Season 3, featuring Colin and Penelope dancing at the Mondrichs’ ball. In that scene, Cressida Cowper walks in and Colin says, "I will not let her ruin our night." Luke didn’t include the line in his story, but the fandom recognized the scene — and the subtext. It felt like a quiet, coded message: a moment of resonance that reflected the chaos Luke was enduring at that exact time. Even in silence, there was signal. Crisis management for Shondaland may have entered at this point, concerned about affects Papgate could have on Bridgerton watch-numbers, etc. Whether this is when the original contract was rewritten or enforced more aggressively is unclear — but the cost became visible. Luke looked distant. Antonia went rogue. The narrative was slipping.

The Sorrento trip in late July marked a turning point. Following this trip, I believe that if an NDA was not already in the contract with Antonia, it was enacted at this time. Luke’s presence was scrubbed from all the friend group’s Sorrento posts, and his long-standing friendship with Rory appears to have ended. Antonia archived grid photos and her posting behaviour where Luke was involved changed. It was a digital purge that signaled a shift from messy coordination to controlled silence.

Re-Negotiation & Reset (Jan–Feb 2025)

I believe re-negotiation of the contract occurred a few months earlier — likely around November 2024 — after a noticeable pause in what seemed to be a planned soft launch by Luke and Nicola. Activity suggested they were preparing to become more open, but abruptly pulled back.

Around this time, it’s possible that Antonia’s agent or legal team approached Luke’s team regarding unfulfilled obligations. From Antonia’s side, her motivation may have stemmed from the ongoing online hate she’d been receiving and a desire for greater visibility (which would explain the concentrated tabloid placements that followed). Alternatively, the push may have come from Luke’s team, frustrated by Antonia’s occasional IG story taunts (including a particularly pointed one in mid-November: PastaGate), and looking to reestablish structure. Regardless of who initiated it, the re-negotiated contract seems to have held benefits for both parties: increased media coverage for Antonia, and a way for Luke and Nicola to draw attention away from Nicola during Baby Newts’ early months. A revised agreement was likely drawn up — one that Luke and Nicola agreed to honour not immediately, but beginning in early 2025, when they needed the most cover.

In late January, the contract appears to have gone into effect in its new form. This is when Antonia reappears — at the BOSS event, the GQ BAFTA-Film After Party, then during the BAFTA-TV weekend — but with extreme limitations. She has no purse (no phone), she posts nothing herself — no grid posts, no stories in real time — as though she's not permitted to. The only exception was following the BAFTA Pre-Party, when she shared a few professional images to her stories after Luke posted his own grid carousel. Since then, she has posted nothing — not from the BAFTA Awards ceremony, nor the afterparty. The pattern feels tightly controlled, not casual. It feels like a renewed but heavily restricted version of the earlier agreement.

The BAFTA events themselves felt like a deliberate reboot of Papgate, but with tighter choreography. Nicola was once again alone. Antonia, once tentative, now had a clearer spotlight. Luke remained emotionally distant. Instead of rewriting the narrative, they appeared to copy-paste the original disaster — upgrading the visuals without changing the story. That repetition didn’t clarify anything. It deepened the sense that this wasn’t a love triangle. It was a contract playing itself out in reruns.

Nicola is still quiet, but not erased. Luke is present, but distant. The new contract feels designed to mask the truth, not push a lie.

Where We Are Now

I believe the contract may be close to expiry. 🤞🏻 If it began shortly after the NYC premiere (mid-May), it may end in May or June 2025... possibly one year from Papgate. The hope is that once expired, the truth won’t need a soft launch. It will simply be allowed to exist.

Why Would Anyone Do This?

Because once the machinery was in motion, stopping it might’ve caused more damage than continuing. There may have been legal exposure, brand risk, or fear of backlash — not just for Luke and Nicola, but for Baby Newts too.

Because protecting the reality of their relationship — and the life they were building — mattered more than preserving public image. Once the contact ends and life settles down, each of them can and will work to repair any reputational damage done. This is the one of the reasons I believe Luke is currently rebranding (note that branding is an organic activity that never ends. Think Madonna, regularly re-framing herself). This past year has felt an eternity to us, but in the span of their careers, this is a blip. Consider too that our Lukola numbers when compared to the general audience numbers is very small. Luke & Nicola will recover, and this too shall pass.

And maybe because they thought it would be over sooner.

The Real Cost

The toll hasn’t just been emotional. It’s been professional. Luke’s reputation — once poised for ascension — has been dragged down by the optics surrounding this narrative. If Antonia were truly his partner, her public behaviour has done little to support or humanize him. If she isn’t, then the damage is even worse — a year-long campaign of cold optics and missed opportunities, tethered to someone who never earned the public’s trust. Either way, the brand has suffered.

Luke’s public warmth has been replaced by guarded neutrality. Nicola’s spark, while still glowing, has had to dim beneath performance. The fandom has whiplash. The story has slipped into ambiguity. And the joy that was once so easy to witness is now obscured by strategy.

But none of it means the love isn’t real. It just means the world hasn’t been allowed to see it.

Yet.

Aaniin Xxx

P.S. Find a listing of this blog post series along with short summaries of each - including those not yet published - here:

#lukola

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fandomfantasyy · 8 months ago

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MASSIVE WARNING FOR II 17 SPOILERS ++ INANIMATE INSANITY THEORY ++ ADAM KATZ TWITTER CODE SOLVING !!

i am holding onto way more hope than i should, however, this is a stray theory of mine that im holding onto for said hopes sake.

to those who haven't watched ii 17 yet, PLEASE keep scrolling. i mention just about everything that happened in the episode, and im basically reviewing it at the start. the episode is so much better without any spoilers!!

so, inanimate insanity 17. if you don't wanna hear me blabber on and on about the episode, scroll to the other big text. otherwise i am RANTING i need an outlet. 3:

inanimate insanity 17 was a rodeo. me and my partner had a few straggling theories before we watched it, and a few of them were true. knife did indeed punch cobs, they really did fight, everyone that heard was disappointed to find out they were made by mephone 4.

starting with the majority of the opening sequence, going from memory here, knife's desperation? ow. suitcase's new found paranoia? OW. them doing everything to find out what was wrong was so bittersweet, because you can just tell that they don't know how to stop it and are holding onto to random theories and hope.

nearing more of the middle section, i completely forgot that bow could possess people. made me giggle a bit tbh….. besides that, I HATE COBS HE MANIPULATED MY BABY, TOILET. ☹️ the admission of guilt from mephone 4, only to realize his apology could never speak loud enough almost killed me. lightbulb, fan, and test tube, all dead. the bright lights poly. when toilet told mepad that he understood it wasn't a competition anymore? and when cobs pulled off toilet and begun killing everyone? jesus christ dude (also im a little sad at the lack of extra pronunciation on "your" when paper yelled at salt saying "hes not your boyfriend" as a payjay shipper but....)

more on the end side, the fight convinced me for a damn while. it doesn't make sense to me how one single throw got knife extremely scuffed and chipped, but it's finneee, it's show logic!! :3 anygays. the main painful time. the pull of the plug, prompting toilet to call himself "the best assistant", the way knife put his hand on suitcase to comfort her, the way cobs SACRIFICED MEPHONE X??? dude this show is gonna make me go bonkers.

last but not least, "the show is over," and mephone 4 has no choice but to go back "home" with cobs. ow.

there are still so many questions. the eggs helped power everything, but were they fake? how did mephone 4 find the land he built inanimate insanity on? obviously it isn't fake, he's still sitting on it at the end of the episode. where's 3gs? what about mepad? was mepad made up? too much to answer with too little information.

overall, what a painful episode. it seems like the end, right? wrong.

inanimate insanity is not over. we are getting ii18.

at least, thats my theory. average movie length spans 1½ hours to 2½ hours. us inanimate insanity fans were told that this finale would be as long as a movie. right now, we are only at an hour. i dont remember the last time i watched a movie that was only an hour. they're out there, yes, but i doubt the creators would pray on very short movies to support their angst.

adam katz's teasing on twitter / x, saying that mephone x was after him, only for his account to be seemingly gone or empty? there's no way adam simply quit twitter because he ended his line of work. it's a thing that happens, but i dont think this is that. most of adam's characters in the show died before the plug was pulled. is that a direct reference? i don't know.

as of october 15th, adam seemingly returned to twitter, but instead as the robot from ii17. why would they bring him back suddenly, why would they make this teaser? there's no real, legitimate explanation in my eyes... other than them maybe just wanting to torture us. that, however, is not the point.

continuing on adam robot twitter thing, on his twitter / x profile / status, (idk what it's called i don't use twitter / x,) it says, "Loading a large amount of files... / Estimated wait tim: 2880 minutes, 0 seconds". that directly translates to two days. we're heavily likely to get the true final episode or the trailer of such of ii2 in 2 days.

update for the above. on october 18th, around 3pm EST, a code to decipher was posted. someone in the comments of the twitter / x post said that it was "you seek to know the true reason for such a tragic second season if you decide you want to show more there may be something to restore see .com/insert code". we, the viewers might be bringing the show back.

season one and season three's final episodes ended with a "the end". ii17 did not have this end card. this seems like a very crucial thing that they couldn't just "leave out". after all, why on the most important finale of all of the finales so far, would they leave out saying "the end"? if it's truly the end, they wouldn't leave it with a black screen and a sobbing community. (the last part, maybe, but not the first part.....)

both season one ended with 18 episodes, and season three ended with 19 episodes. season two seems to almost be ending on episode 17. this could go either way, with season two ending with a pattern of 17-18-19, OR, if we're really lucky, 18-19-20. (or we just get an extra 18 or smth idk)

there is a reason why this is only a stray theory of mine. only 6 days before the release of ii17, adam katz and brian koch were saying their thank you's and goodbye's to the inanimate insanity community. it feels like the end of this show is near, if not sadly over now.

overall, i still have hope. but this wont be clear until we either see a ii18 trailer or we dont. i will regularly update this with new information as it gets found by me and my partner. goodbye for now, inanimate insanity community, and good luck.

robot adam's twitter saga.

connecting to that, more hints have already been found. there was a code on cabby's wiki that is decoded to “You want the second key word? These pages are your answer. Next, go to the three time player with the lowest average placement." (credits to @\MeesterTweester on twitter/x !!) this brought the fandom to nickel (i believe), and im not quite sure what it says.

however, i do know one thing. it's been solved, and my theory was proven true.

we will be getting episode 18 of inanimate insanity by late november.

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ebonyandrosewood · 2 years ago

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The Difference Between American Crime Dramas and Japanese Crime Dramas

Yesterday, my husband and I watched TV series "Columbo", which was his favorite in his teens. We watched three episodes, and I realized all three murderers are heartless whom I can hardly sympathize with. I think, not only in Columbo, but also in other American crime dramas such as CSI, murderers usually have cruel characteristics and kill victims just for selfish reasons such as money, fame and pleasure. This is really interesting to me because in Japanese crime dramas most of all murderers are basically good people deep down who kill victims for justice or other compelling reasons. For example, in "The Inugami Family", one of the most famous Japanese classic crime dramas, the murderer kills a greedy victim to save his mother who is threatened by him. In Japanese crime dramas, who is the murderer is as important as why he/she commit a murder (maybe British crime dramas are also different from American crime dramas, judging from Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express"). Why American crime dramas and Japanese crime dramas are that different? I have some theories as follows.

Solving the Puzzle or Enjoying the Human Drama: When watching a crime drama, American audiences are more focused on murderer's tricks, while Japanese audiences are more focused on the reasons the murderers commit the crime. My impression is that American people like logic, and they mainly enjoy solving puzzles when watching a crime drama. In contrast, Japanese people value emotion more than logic. Of course, they enjoy solving mysteries but even more enjoy the human drama between the victim and the criminal behind the murder.

Evil Person vs Normal Person: From my perspective, American people tend to think only an evil person, who is completely different from an ordinary person, can commit a murder. They think that a murderer kills a victim just because he/she is 100% bad, and there cannot be any reasons worth knowing why the person commits the crime. On the other hand, Japanese people tend to think even a normal person might commit crime if he/she has no other choice. they tend to think that most people are both good and bad, and nobody is either 100% good or bad. They think even good person has a dark side which might make himself/herself commit a murder and like to watch a detective revealing not only the puzzles but also the background stories of the crimes.

Sympathy for a Reasonable person or an Emotional Person: Obviously, committing a murder ruins not only a victim's life but also a murderer's life as well, thus, reasonable person cannot commit a murder. When watching a crime drama, American audiences, who value logic, tend to be on the side of a legitimate person such as a detective who accuses a criminal, because the detective's reasonable thought is more understandable to American people. In the meantime, Japanese audiences, who value emotion, tend to sympathize with a person who is forced to stray from the right path by an uncontrollable feeling. When they sympathize with a murderer, they enjoy it as a cathartic experience.

The above are, in my opinion, the factors making Japanese crime dramas which are made to suit Japanese people's taste different from American crime dramas. If you have any different views, please share with me!

#columbo #crime drama #agatha christie #murder on the orient express

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gothriotgrrl · 4 years ago

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Honestly, I think last night's episode was a red herring, I don't think it's Rin; I think it's Kagome. I get people are going to say "well of course you think it's Kagome, you're a SesshKag shipper." But, I didn't jump on this ship to sail it into the Sea of Vindication. I never expected a sequel to be made, the original series ended with Kagome and Inuyasha, and that was that. But now this sequel has happened, and I'm going to explain to you all why it's Kagome.

1.) Sunrise told us it would be the last person we would expect. That is Kagome. She is, literally, the last person anyone would expect, given the series ended with her and Inuyasha living happily ever after in their feudal fairytale.

2.) Some people are probably saying "how do we know it's not Sango". And there's a very simple answer for that; no one would care if it were. Sesshomaru and Miroku don't have a legendary rivalry, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha do.

3.) Towa's last name is Higurashi. She was raised by Kagome's family, which makes more sense if Kagome is her mother. Sota even says she looks like her.

4.) In the last few years, there has been character specific merchandise released in both Japan and the U.S., and the only characters that have gotten that merchandise are Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and Kagome. It would be kind of odd to release merchandise of those three characters when, this series was probably being written, for characters that don't appear or have any impact on the story as it is now, only in the past.

5.) Animation studios pay attention to hashtags, fanfiction sites, and other fan support. The second largest ship, globally, for Kagome is SesshKag. For Sesshomaru, the largest is SesshKag. And for anyone who says "it's only that way in the US", it's huge in China, And, Sunrise has been pushing Inuyasha merchandise, in China, for the past few years.

Now, I'm going to give you my predictions.

1.) Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha aren't just cousins, they're sisters. Triplets, to be exact. This explains how they're so close in age. Kagome was pregnant with all three. It turned out Sesshomaru was the father of two of them, and Inuyasha of one.

2.) If Kagome and Inuyasha are sealed in the black pearl that makes sense, what better way for Sesshomaru to protect the mother of his daughters, than to seal her there with the one person who will protect her.

3.) This is going to be revealed towards the end of the season, and it's going to lead into a love triangle between Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and Kagome for next season. This especially makes sense because, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha have a legendary rivalry, and the drama of a love triangle was one of the most popular aspects of the last series.

4.) This is going to add a new dynamic to Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, because they're going to discover they're sisters. But, they're going to support their respective fathers in the love triangle. They will also, most likely, put pressure on their mother, and it will create more drama.

Those are my predictions, I honestly can't see it being anyone else.

Edit: To any SesshRinners who decide to attack me over this. Unlike a lot of people who disagree with you, I'm an actual pedophile victim and grooming survivor, and I will not put up with your attacks. I will report you so fast for endorsing pedophilia. So, consider that before you try to start something here.

Also to any InuKag shippers, I am not attacking your ship. I am taking what the writers of the show have said, information that has appeared in the show, and using logic, have come up with this theory. If you don't agree with me, please cite legitimate reasons why. Only logical, legitimate, arguments against my actual points. If you are going to just get angry because this threatens your ship, please take it up with Sunrise, and the anime industry in general, since it is their tropes.

#inuyasha #yashahime #sesskag #sesshomaru #moroha #yashahime towa #yashahime setsuna #kagome #love triangle

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theangryjikooker · 4 years ago

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hii, since your posts are a bit different from usual jikook blogs (i find it more realistic and objective), i would like to know ur opinion/thoughts about the JM tattoo on jungkook's hand (because i keep thinking that's related to jimin, then i think that maybe it stands for something else) so yeah i want to know someone else's thoughts about it.

idk if you have talked about it before. if u did, can u please share the link of the post.

thank youu!

Not an anon! Hi there, and thank you!

My first reaction to analyses about their tattoos? ...HAHAHAHAHAHA. Please don't think I'm laughing at you for asking me this question, but it's the type of analysis that I just can't take seriously.

My stance on tattoos is this (and when I say you a lot, it's a general you): tattoos are a personal thing to the person who's getting them. There's some kind of self-entitlement going on to think that you somehow know and can infer what their tattoos mean, and then parading your theories around like it HAS to stand for [insert pro-ship reason here]. Like how fucking dare you, honestly.

Now, if I stood back a little and humored the thought a little bit, I've seen people try to legitimize the JM tattoo in that because Jimin's name can often be shortened to JM, and that Jungkook himself will put J+M together (e.g., that one Run! ep), it means Jungkook has some awareness of how it would be interpreted when those two letters are close together. I can see that logic as being valid, but it's not proof of anything. What Jkkrs are doing here is speculating, and it should be treated accordingly. Who's to say that the J doesn't just stand for his own name? No one can say it doesn't. If we want to go down the delusional rabbit hole, I can come up with some wacky theory that wearing rings worn on the ring finger in Korea (after some quick, but not thorough, Googling) represents a commitment, and that he's making a commitment to himself by getting permanent ink there. Maybe it's a way to honor who he is and his life choices to get where he is now. Maybe it's a way for his name to be symbolically close to ARMY that he has tattooed on his knuckles.

Really, honestly, truly--who has the right to determine what his tattoos mean?

Even writing and re-reading that, I sound fucking mental. That's also what people who explore the tattoo meanings sound like.

Don't even get me started on people who invert the A and start mixing up the letters in all sorts of ways to represent all seven members. Those people are pulling at strings and embarrassing themselves in the process (and inadvertently lending credence to JM standing for Jimin, which is hilariously ironic because these same people’s motivations in doing so were to invalidate JM in the first place). ARMY stands for ARMY, and it's the only obvious thing aside from his numbered tattoo on his hand. People need to leave it alone. His tattoos are beautiful as is, end of story.

And listen, if Jungkook himself comes out one day and says, "Yes, it always stood for Jimin," then at that point I'll eat my own dirty socks. But until that happens, it's none of my or anyone's business.

@kookieeez, a reminder that I'm not directing my irritation at you. You are lovely. It is, however, a topic that floors me when Jkkrs think they can adapt things personal to Jungkook as their own.

#TAJ asks #kookieeez #jeon jungkook #jungkook #park jimin #jimin #jikook #kookmin #jungkook's tattoos

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stardust-wanderlust · 3 years ago

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Different Flavors of Toxic

So I would like to say I didn’t know what the fuck all the nonsense was about today in regards to some posts on my dash, but I am just not that naive.

After a couple years traversing the K-pop fandoms, I have conclusively decided that everybody is full of shit.

ARMY is toxic. This is not really news, though it should be pointed out that while ARMY does toxic on a “fall into a vat and become a supervillain” level it is not the entire fandom. It is not even 10% of the fandom. But how math works is if you have a fandom of 50 million, then 10% is still 5 million people. That’s a lot of shitstains in the fandom. And everybody knows that shitstains gain the most attention. (and they also appear to attract eachother, so it has coalesced into one giant shitstain, Jeff Goldblum would be impressed.)

But all this said, ARMY is hardly the only people encumbered with shitstains. I could list any k-pop fandom and people would be able to find legitimate evidence of the shit.

So far, I have determined that the least “toxic” fandoms are the fans of the 1st and 2nd generation groups. Logically this makes sense, the groups tend to be less active, their fandoms were created prior to the ubiquity of social media, and in general fandoms age with the groups. So in theory, a majority of 1st and 2nd generation fandoms have an “older” demographic. (I say “older”, but this just means they aren’t literal teenagers.) Typically, the older you get the more actual life problems have to take priority and not made up bullshit that is spouted online.

But that being said, “least” toxic does not mean no toxicity at all. As my dash was populated by “discourse” between ARMY and Shawols. This is what I will focus on.

In general, most of the Shawol content I have engaged in has been pretty solid all around. (Please note: I mentioned Shawol content, not SHINee content. I have literally nothing bad to say about SHINee, they are amazing artists and, as far as I can tell, amazing people.) But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting some of their toxicity.

Shawols, like most fandoms, live in the “my favs can do no wrong and are superior on every level” mode. This doesn’t bother me so much as it is pretty much what any fandom thinks of their Idols. What starts grinding my gears is when that superiority leaks out into other fandom spaces. Shawols, like ARMY and everbody else, often exhibit and demand like-minded conformity. But they insist they are not like that. They will shout from hemisphere to hemisphere that their fandom is above such antics. Of the fandoms with the most brazenly Toxic fans (i.e. ARMY), I have never seen a denial that the toxic behavior exists or that it is wrong. But my experience of Shawols does not show this level of self-reflection.

To Shawols, it appears that unless you are a card carrying member of the fandom you are not allowed to mention SHINee in anything other than a discussion on their “superior” art. You are not allowed to talk about the members as if they were people. (And even then you have to walk a tightrope above the triggers to mention Jonghyun at all.)

And this pisses me off. How am I supposed to get to know this amazing group if I can’t discuss them? I do not subscribe to the theory that Taemin crushed on, lusted after, pursued, or any other non-platonic action toward Jimin. But I have speculated about Taemin and Kai. But based on the response I have seen to the TM/JM opinions, it is the height of inappropriate to speculate about Taemin’s humanity. And if I knew more about SHINee and their history I would likely have speculated about him and any female he appeared as close to as he is to Kai.

TL;DR > In short, every fandom ever has some toxic shit, but pretending you and your fandom are above that pisses me off just as much as some the “real” toxic traits. Also, it is human nature to speculate about people’s lives. Humanity is just one giant nosy ninny.

#sorry for the long rant #bts #shinee #fandom #your toxic may be chicken flavor instead of steak flavor but it's still fucking there

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dukeofonions · 5 years ago

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A Lack of Criticism and the Upcoming Video

Putting this under a cut because it gets long.

Something I’ve noticed about the Sanders Sides series is that no one ever seems to criticize the content itself. Whenever a new video is released, it’s immediately showered in praise and adored by the fan base. Especially when it’s been a long break in between content and we’ve all been desperate for a video. We’re caught in the rush of having something new that we immediately latch onto it and this thing has now become the most sacred thing in the fandom.

Now this isn’t always the case, I know some people found Logic vs Passion (I am not typing that monster of an acronym out) to be lower quality. It seemed rushed, the jokes weren’t as funny, no one seemed to really be in character. Which I agreed with the first time around, and it was a shame because it was the first episode to give Logan and Roman the spotlight, and I was so excited for two of my favorite characters to finally get their own episode. Only to not enjoy it as much as I’d wanted to.

Besides that, other notable criticisms were about Selfishness vs Selflessness which pertained to the questionable lesson that we learned, but this seemed to be intentional on the writers’ part and left the fandom to debate among themselves while we waited for the second part to arrive. Really, the most negativity wrought by that episode was the beginning of the fandom’s “Unsympathetic Patton” debacle.

Which, didn’t have much to do with the episode itself, as it became more of a fandom thing.

What I’m getting at is no one ever criticizes the videos directly. The story, dialogue, effects, none of that is ever looked into or critiqued. And as someone who loves to self review movies, books, music, etc. I find this odd because there is a lot of good and bad to be found within the show. In this case, I’d say the good outweighs the bad, and while I enjoy this series a lot, if someone who hadn’t seen it before asked me to describe it this is what I would say: “It’s a bit corny, sometimes the morals can be very on the nose, the humor is kinda cringey and not every joke lands. But overall it’s a good show that has helped me through a lot of things and I love the characters in it. It’s definitely not for everyone, but I would recommend checking it out.”

That is my honest opinion on the series as a whole right there, and if we wanted to go deeper, I have other issues with it as well, which I’ll most likely go into in another post because that’s not what this one is about.

Look, I adore Sanders Sides, but I’d be lying if I said it was flawless. And sometimes, I feel like the fandom is afraid of saying anything negative about the show directly.

Why?

Because they think if we criticize something Thomas and co. worked so hard on, then we’re not being grateful for the content we’ve received and thus, rendering their hard work to nothing. So instead, we lavish each video with praise and give unconditional support to the creators. Even if the episode was sub par, the majority of the fandom will give it a 10/10 each time just because it’s something Thomas made.

And I understand why, Thomas is great. He’s someone I look up to and aspire to be like. He’s pretty down to earth and he does his best to include his fan base in everything he does as much as he can. He tries to put out content that everyone can enjoy and gain something from and he’s clearly passionate about what he does, and I respect all that as a fellow creator.

That being said, criticizing his work isn’t the same as hating on him or any of the team involved making the videos. I know they all work hard, and the evolution of his content and how far he’s come is amazing! The quality of the videos (as far as production and editing go) has greatly improved from the stuff of his early days and he deserves all the support he’s gotten.

But the fandom seems to be so afraid of having anything negative reach him that they’ll go to drastic measures to make sure any negativity is dealt with and silenced, which in turn makes many others afraid to voice any opinion that differs from the norm, and no one is taking time to stop and think: “Hey, maybe silencing others who don’t agree with us isn’t right and is actually harming people in the fandom.”

This happened recently when Thomas’ newest video “Playing A Video Game Until It’s All You Think About” was released and a few people expressed that they did not think it was that good.

It felt empty, wasn’t as funny as his other videos, and what most people had an issue with: It was basically a 10 minute advertisement.

And I agreed with all of these criticisms, and I won’t lie for me part of this came from waiting for the new Sanders Sides, only to get a video that just left me feeling empty at the end. Which usually doesn’t happen after I watch one of Thomas’ videos, I’m never left feeling indifferent or disappointed, but this video was (in my opinion) a serious let down. Especially when there was so much they could have done with it in terms of how they worked the video game into the plot, but that’s a post for another time.

After people expressed these thoughts, as usual, others were quick to shut the negativity down. Some defended the video while calling out those who had been voicing these things while others simply carried on as usual and showered the video with praise, and not even a day after the video was released, talk about it altogether died out. So now we’re at a point where the long awaited Sanders Sides is closer than ever to being released, and thus we get to the point of this post: What’s going to happen if this video drops, and it ends up not being the grand masterpiece we’ve all been hyping it up to be?

I keep seeing people (in response to the long wait) saying that this video will be good because it’s taken so long to make. And as we all know, time=quality, right?

Well, not exactly...

Yes, taking time to work on something can help, but it isn’t what ultimately determines the overall quality of the product.

There are dozens of factors that go into making something, and time is only one of them. There are Youtubers who produce great content every single day, and some who produce not-so-great content weekly. It all depends on the person(s) working on the content, resources, and time.

Yes, we’ve been waiting almost 10 months for this video, but does that mean that entire time has been dedicated to this one episode? No! We got other videos in between that time, heck, Thomas didn’t even start filming until after December had passed. Most of the time taken for this video has gone into the animation that will be featured in the video. That’s it.

If that were to be absent, then I’m pretty sure we would have had this video by now. Not saying they shouldn’t have included the animation, but it’s clear that the wait between videos has become longer since they started adding gimmicks in each episode, and that’s fine if they want to do that!

I personally don’t think it’s necessary, as the series got along just fine in the beginning with nothing but the dialogue between the characters to carry it, but that’s just my opinion.

Now, say the video drops, a majority of the fandom loves it, I will most likely love it, but what if despite this, we find this video is not a top tier Sanders Sides video, and it wasn’t what we’d all been hoping for.

It could be anti-climatic, the jokes may not be as funny, it simply may not live up to the standards that its predecessor, Selfishness vs Selflessness, set before it.

In my opinion, SVS is one of, if not the best Sanders Sides episode. It had drama, humor, it raised the stakes, Deceit was in it!

Because of this, it’s only natural that people expect part two to be just as good if not better, but as I’ve noticed with a lot of sequels or “Part Twos” is that sometimes, they just aren’t as good as the original.

They’re not always bad per se, but they can’t hold a candle to the original, and I believe it’s possible that this could be the case with this next episode.

And if it is, how will the fandom react?

Well, if we’re lucky this episode will blow any expectations out of the water and will be even better than SVS Part One.

But what’s most likely to happen is that everyone will love it, we’ll start trending on Tumblr, and the fandom will blow up as fan art, theories, edits, and all that comes with it are massed produced by the fandom.

You know what else could happen? People could be disappointed by the video. It may not live up to everyone’s expectations, and that’s okay.

It should be okay.

No matter what happens, people should be allowed to feel however they want when this episode does finally drop. If people love it, let them love it. If people don’t like it, then please I beg you...

Let them.

All I’m asking is that we as a fandom, stop policing how people are supposed to feel about content. Obviously, if someone is just being a troll and hating for no reason that isn’t okay. But if that’s the case, just ignore them and move on.

But if someone has legitimate complaints or critiques, then they should have the freedom to express that without being afraid of receiving backlash from the fandom. This fandom claims to be the most wholesome, but how can that be when there are people who are afraid of voicing an opinion?

#sanders sides #ts discourse #fandom criticism #dukeofonions

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plush-anon · 5 years ago

Text

Happy Halloween Scooby Doo! Review

Muahahhhahahhahahaha! Thanks to the Walmart tradition of stocking movies for sale weeks before the intended release date, I have myself a copy of what claims to be Scooby Doo’s FIRST Halloween adventure!

…in spite of movies like Witch’s Ghost and Goblin King, holiday specials like WNSD’s A Scooby Doo Halloween (which had a haunted Scarecrow too…), BCSD’s EL Bandito (for Dia de los Muertos - obvs not the same, but most companies act like it) and Halloween, The NSDM’s Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle, and the DTV short film Scooby Doo and the Spooky Scarecrow (which, ironically enough, did NOT take the opportunity to feature Dr. Jonathan Crane).

So let us take a look now at Happy Halloween Scooby Doo! and see whether this film will be a graveyard smash of a treat, or a black licorice bomb of disappointment.

Full review (and SPOILERS TO GO WITH IT) are below the cut in my new review format; if all goes smoothly, I’ll go with this for future Scooby films.

WARNING: This review is very long.

One minor note before we begin: the Special Features actually include BCSD’s Halloween, WNSD’s A Scooby Doo Halloween, and PNSD’s Ghost Who’s Coming to Dinner

...so they were AWARE this was not the first Halloween adventure of the Scooby gang, and yet still use that tag line. Hm.

Still, kudos for including them - this’ll help boost the reasons to keep this movie, if it turns out to be a real Milk Dud of a movie *ba-dum tish* :D

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The movie starts off rather abruptly, actually - no slow pan over the setting, just WB Animation credit and BOOM, we’ve cut to a Halloween parade and Elvira is talking.

I’m of a mixed opinion including Elvira on top of having Bill Nye and a Batman Rogue - while she most certainly fits the Scooby aesthetic, it doesn’t feel as grand an impact after her weird little cameo in Return to Zombie Island (ugh) and I’m not sure how well the movie will balance her in wait a minute

wait just a

WAIT A MINUTE

Did - did that parade float skeleton just sing Crystal Cove as the town’s name?

oh no.

Oh No.

....also their song is terrible and they should feel terrible.

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Fred: We got him! Banh Mi Shop, second floor!

me: the heck is a Banh Mi Shop? *mild googling noises*

So I guess Jonathan Crane really had a craving for a Vietnamese sandwich before he enacted his Halloween scheme.

...you think he’s a lemongrass chicken type of guy or a BBQ pork guy? It’s always hard to guess at these things, esp when coffee and pumpkin spice aren’t on the table (as per fanon, of course)

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Velma: We have a flawless track record!

So I guess WB is just gonna ignore the past few DTV retcons established in 13 Ghosts and Return to Zombie Island?

I mean that rather defeats the purpose of them existing at all, but fcuk YEAH I can get behind throwing that retcon garbage out of canon!

And STAY OUT!!

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Shaggy, talking about ghosts being real: I’m like the boy who cried wolf - I keep warning you but like, you won’t believe me until I finally get eaten!

Yet again, Warner Bros makes a wolf reference to Shaggy. Yet again, I am torn asunder between wanting werewolf!Shaggy in a new Scooby property, and fearing for the appearance of werewolf!Shaggy in a new Scooby property.

-------

Velma: Point is, being afraid is a waste of time!

Scarecrow, LITERALLY EXPLODING THROUGH A BRICK WALL three buildings away:

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He’s floating through the air and t-posing to assert his dominance 🤣🤣🤣

Gods bless animation 😁

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Daphne @ Shag and Scoob locking themselves in the van: Are you serial?

Me: wait, SERIAL? *re-reads captions* yup, that says “serial”.

Is this an editing mistake? I don’t think that works here…unless that’s supposed to be a joke on how they always do this. But then why would that be an irritating surprise, they literally do this EVERY episode 🙄

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Oh hey, Red Herring’s Party Screams truck has Red Herring running out of it

Could this be a hint to how the story goes? The villain appearing on a literal Red Herring?

Naaaaaah, WB’s not THAT smart

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So if we take @captainbaddecisions crack theory on Jonathan Crane being Shaggy’s uncle seriously, does this mean that Jonathan is using magic to fly, float fear toxin orbs around himself, and making things explode, a la the family trait of Crack Theory A?

Logically he’s probs using wires or magnets or some shit, but it’s a fun thought to entertain 😁

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Welp, we finally get the opening credits! … with Jonathan Crane smashing through the Mystery Machine’s windshield, set to a slow poppy song straight from the 60s, and spewing the title of the film out in glittery pink mist.

All the while Scooby and Shaggy throw candy at each other, deliberately obtuse to the cloud of fear toxin enveloping their friends and the townsfolk, the steady destruction of the Mystery Machine they’re laying in as multiple cars crash into it and send it spiraling, and the general mayhem and destruction that Scarecrow is causing

Never change, guys, never change

--------

I just choked on my lemonade

There’s an article plastered to the roof of the Mystery Machine titled “Talking Dog Confounds, Ignites Ethics Debate Over Dog Labor”

ahahahahaha

-------

Annnnnnnnd there goes the Mystery Machine, tumbling in the air and over the roads with Shaggy and Scooby still inside without seat belts. Will they perish in this horrible road accident? Will Death finally come to claim them at last?

Of course not. This is Shaggy and Scooby we’re talking about - I’m almost positive they can survive anything up to and including a nuclear bomb. This is child’s play to them.

-------

So they “capture” Scarecrow… by pinning his cape to a tree with crossbow bolts.

And they do not try to at least tie up his arms or his hands in ANY capacity.

JUST the cape.

...you know, Velma, for a team with a “flawless” track record, you guys are making a hecking TON of mistakes in facing against one of Batman’s ROGUES GALLERY, ESPECIALLY with no Batman in sight, good freakin’ grief. 😩

------

Yaaaaaaaaas, this Scarecrow design is LUSH

He’s got the lank, the height, the BTAS costume colors, the elongated face with beaky nose and pointed chin and angular cheekbones, the eyebags like Gucci, the furrowed brow… honestly the only thing missing is the more reddish color hair, and even that isn’t mandatory. I love 😍

Not to mention the HOT DAYUM voice he has - low and velvet rough and so godsdamned particular in a way that could either tie in to obscuring a southern accent as in fanon or just as a stringent academic, oh my yes. He’s voiced by someone called Dwight Schultz, who’s most well known for playing Captain ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock in the OG A-Team show, and someone called Reginald Barclay in Star Trek TNG and Voyager, if any of y’all know that character in particular.

And of course, the first line he says is a delightfully wry “Oh, but I AM getting away with it,” with the sort of smirk that absolutely lends credence to why he’s a threat to Batman, and not some simpering wimp that can be defeated with some crossbow bolts in a tree.

I think I’m going to enjoy this movie at least somewhat, so long as we get to see him 🥰🥰🥰

(tho on a side note: Daphne why on EARTH are you trying to film Crane saying the meddling kids line? Do you have a video compilation of past villains who’ve done that, and you hope to add his to it? Was your phone damaged when you went up against the Riddler a few DTVs ago and you want a second shot at recording a Gotham Rogue saying it? Bc I don’t think a Gotham Rogue would be too pleased with seeing himself as a Mystery Meme on the Youtubes, you get what I’m saying?)

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Okay, so the floating orb things are explained away as fear toxin bomb drones somehow… despite looking nothing like the other drones and being much smaller with no visible propulsion, while also flying unassisted through and around objects to explode against places once flung…

(tho interesting note, none of them are aimed directly at the crowds, just behind them - odd, that)

But how did he heckin’ FLY at the beginning?

Yeah, they show him wearing wrist-mounted grappling hooks at the end of the intro song sequence, but they are NOWHERE IN SIGHT at the beginning - and I do mean in sight, since he emerges against a backdrop of flames. There was nothing there (see the T-pose above for further evidence), and nothing there when he FLEW THROUGH THE MYSTERY MACHINE’S WINDSHIELD AND FLEW BACK OUT AGAIN. And these things are pale silver, which stands out like crazy against the darker backgrounds, so no hand-wavy ‘they were always being used’ bullcrap we’ve seen in other movies.

Hmmm *scribbles in notepad* note to self, add notation concerning Crack Theory A on magic!Shaggy to “Uncle Crane” theory files - evidence denotes that Crane is able to fly (or at least hover in mid-air unassisted) for terrorization purposes. May boost strength of CTA by family association, lending credence to magic inheritance along the bloodline...

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“Avocado Toast Generation”? Crane, I honestly don’t know if you really mean that, or if you understand just how much that phrase gets under any Millennial/Gen Z kid’s skin. Having seen multiple variations of your character, it really could swing either way (tho kudos on the dead switch idea - very nice 👍🏻)

Although this does lead to an interesting stand-off: Fred, upon seeing the town threatened with 3 days worth of fear toxin, immediately moves to let Crane go, while Velma stops him and refuses to consider compromising if it means Crane escapes. They both look legitimately frustrated at the other for taking the stance they do.

Fascinating~

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Hmmm

Crane honey, I don’t know if your drones are made of flash paper and hope, or if Scooby and Shaggy are using the reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaally old candy (the stuff made about ~3 years ago most neighborhoods give out to the teenagers that knock around midnight on Halloween) to shoot them down, but either way you may wish to speak with the manufacturer about this

Then again, this IS Shaggy and Scooby - they probably could’ve spat marshmallows at the drones and brought them down with equal success and explosions

(and good on them for shooting those down! Atta boy 👍🏻)

-------

Aw dang it

1. They still have Crane captured and now in handcuffs (despite having… you know… NOT been bound by anything except cross bolts in his curtain cape thing)

2. Dwight Schultz has decided to pitch his voice higher and more nasally than what he has. Hopefully this is more of an incredulous sort of pitch than something that sticks for the rest of the movie, ugh.

Also, I think they’re framing the movie to be more Velma-centric this time around - she’s the one explaining to Crane how they tracked him down, apparently through a piece of fan mail he sent Elvira (is that the only reason she’s there? Also why was Velma examining random pieces of fan mail for toxins, Elvira probs gets hundreds a week irl) and it looks like they’re framing something up on how fear isn’t something you can pretend isn’t there. neat!

------

whajit

53rd?

53rd?!?!

ONLY 53rd?!?!?!?!

Boooo, Scarecrow’s WAY more popular than that! I call foul

---

Okay why is Daphne’s schtick so far to spit laaaaaaame slang after every sentence Velma says

I would rather this not be her schtick

Actually could she go back to filming mystery stuff, bc at least I can pretend it’ll build into the OG Zombie Island Daphne

----

Phew, his voice has returned to its low, raspy goodness

also, Crane needs to learn about personal space, good grief

(interesting clue brought up tho - Crane only steals tech that CAN’T leak his toxin, ergo it can’t be tracked until he releases it. Sensible use, given that Batman probs tracks it if it does.)

----

Velma: I’m not afraid of you, Crane. Fear is an illogical reaction to an imagined threat.

Crane:

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Crane: Fearless, then. Intelligent. Proud and stubborn. You remind me very much of the one person in this world I care about.

uhhhhhh

Yourself? Harley? Edward Nygma? Ichabod the raven? Idk, I’m honestly curious as to where this thread will go 🤔🤔🤔

-----

Fred, leaning against the Mystery Machine: Guys, it’s gonna be okay. She told me!

O_o

Fred? Honey? Are you sure you weren’t supposed to join Crane in the transport vehicle back to Arkham?

----

OH SWEET JESUS SHAGGY GREW YAOI HANDS

WHAT THE HECK

THAT’S WAY MORE UNNERVING THEN YOU GUYS NOT BEING AFRAID ANYMORE

(although the fact that they’re both unsettled by NOT constantly shaking or having their heart racing is honestly kind of heartbreaking. Y’all need therapy, good grief)

----

Shaggy and Scooby just chewed up candy (wrapper and all) to make themselves a Halloween costume of… what looks like barfed-up candy (ew)

Before then proceeding to dance so well that everyone around them also starts dancing in a 60s-70s era rainbow light show and giving them candy

I worry for these two sometimes - that kind of power seems to be getting to their head 😬😬😬

---

Oh hey, acid green toxic waste is spilling from an 18-wheeler onto the Fear Toxin drones and emitting a purple pink haze that envelops a pumpkin patch! That won’t do anything suspicious at all I bet!

(wait is Poison Ivy going to come into this at some point)

(also major kudos to the music here - very 80s horror synth, I like)

----

So the Pumpkins have grown faces, limbs, consciousness, the ability to fly and a lust for human flesh

And they appear to be led by the Pumpkin King of the Pumpkin Patch mentioned in the Charlie Brown Halloween special

He’s not as friendly as I pictured him being, sadly 😕

---

Why is this random ass cop coming up to FD&V to say that they’re in over their heads… AFTER the mystery’s been solved?

Like dude, you’re only making yourself suspicious at this point, go home

----

Huh, interesting - the gang are being interviewed for a tv news network while they’re considered the town heroes

Why am I getting bad vibes from this…

Eh, it’s probably nothing

----

Velma: {Shaggy and Scooby} are, um… REALLY into the Halloween spirit.

Shaggy: THIS ISN’T COSPLAY, VELMA!

I’m dying 😂

------

Holy Shit

Velma just snapped and went off on Shaggy and Scooby for acting scared and doing nothing to help wrap up the mystery

(even though these guys are the ONLY reason that the gang didn’t have to choose between setting Scarecrow free and poisoning the entire town for 3 days straight, but hey, what do I know - I’m just writing an in-depth reaction post to this movie and taking note of details like this, clearly I know nothing *eye roll*)

Last time I saw Velma critique the guys’ usual mystery solving shenanigans, it was much more low-key and without knowing they were nearby

But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence

------

What the

Bills?

Bills?!?!

Fred just mentioned that fixing the Mystery Machine was going to leave a hefty bill and that they may need to get dishwashing jobs to earn money

Which is more of a job you might expect a high schooler to get on the go and yet

They actually have to pay bills

How old are they here??!

------

wait a tic

THIS is how they introduce Bill Nye?

He just calls up Velma with no explanation other than Velma saying “Oh hey, it’s Bill Nye!”

I just - what?!?!

How do you know him so well that he can just pull up your number and call you, and then geT YOU A NEW FREAKING CAR LIKE

WHAT?!?!?!?

Was there a Scooby episode with him in the past two years where the fcuk did this come from

------

Also the car is dressed like Bill Nye

And he can talk to the gang directly as the car

So that he can solve mysteries with them whenever he wants

This… this was not what I was expecting to come about from the Bill Nye cameo

(alas, poor predictions of being Crane’s roommate, you will not come to pass this day) 😔

-------

Ooooo, purple haze throbbing on the horizon! That’s always a good sign of things to come! 😀

------

And now Daphne’s… asking Elvira to mentor her fashion wise. And Elvira’s taking her on as her unpaid intern/personal assistant.

Yooo, movie, can you pick a direction and stick with it for Daphne? You’ve gone from her spewing outdated slang to wanting a costume for trick-or-treating, and now this.

-------

Welp, now I can say I saw a giant pumpkin dog vore an old woman

I didn’t WANT to see that mind, but I guess I can say it now 😐

------

OH SHIT NO

IT TURNED HER INTO A FLYING PUMPKIN SHAPED LIKE HER FACE

ABSOLUTELY UNSETTLING, 0/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND

-------

At least we get a nice scene of Daphne kicking the pumpkins’ collective butt

Something normal

------

Elvira: WOW! You’re a regular Mary Sue!

*falls over cackling*

------

And now there’s a giant purple fissure opening up in the concrete to swallow the town of Crystal Cove whole

(good, i whisper softly into the darkness of my living room. Let it fall)

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Man, I feel so bad for this single father right now

He’s gotten wrapped up in all of this nonsense with his daughter, and he is just Distraught at being chased by Jackal Lanterns, having the town collapsing under his feet, and having to gorge jump in his sedan to get away from the worst of it

It’s okay, Mike Dad - we would feel the same way in your shoes

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Hologram Bill Nye is wearing Cat ears and cat whiskers/nose, and is cleaning his hands like a cat cleans its paws

Why was this the movie we found out Bill Nye was a furry

Why Warner Bros

Why would you inflict this upon us in a Scooby Doo-Scarecrow mystery

-------

Hey, can Jonathan Crane return now? The movie needs its dignity back.

------

A clue on the whys here - the town was built on top of a MASSIVE lithium deposit, with the talks to mine it being scrapped due to environmental concerns. That’s actually a decent lead in for why some

-------

Welp

The Jackal Lanterns just went full Mad Max with the Halloween Parade floats and cars

No, I don’t have any idea why either, just roll with it

-------

Nice, they confirmed that Fred’s full name is still Frederick Herman Jones XD

Also a great little action sequence with Daphne - while there’s not much movement, they frame the scene dynamically, with some good quick wordplay. Very nice.

--------

Velma has a mind palace

Aight

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Velma: Shaggy, I could kiss you!

Oh, to hear this as a child, when I still hardcore shipped Shelma *sigh*

------

Oh thank gods we’re going back to Scarecrow again

------

Shaggy ate some Scooby Snacks, leapt out of a moving vehicle, and onto the backs of two flying pumpkins that he promptly reined in to fly to Crane’s prison transport

...yet again, I am amazed at the sentences I am led to type for Scooby Doo DTVs

------

Ah, how very Hannibal Lector of you, Jon

Man, he actually looks very meek in normal clothes - red long-sleeved shirt and grey slacks

-----

Hmmm

So Crane ISN’T behind the Jackal Lanterns - in fact he’s outright befuddled by them. This means his whole spiel to Velma earlier about both of them being caught in the same trap was… metaphorical? The breakdown doesn’t actually go into WHY he thinks they’re in the same trap - Crane’s whole schtick is tied to accepting fear, not denying it, so why would they be the same?

Either way, someone is using both him and Mystery Inc to do something to Crystal Cove (please be Red Herring, please be Red Herring, please be Red Herring)

Actually, that reference at the beginning really WAS a red herring - they framed it as being Jon the whole time when it wasn’t. Kudos!

Additional kudos to having Jon be seen more out of mask than in - he is a looker, and I aim to look as much as I can ;)

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Annnnd Daphne’s now trying to convince Elvira to switch clothes with her

I don’t get it - how on earth did we get from Daphne trying to find a good costume for trick-or-treating to asking Elvira to switch oh there it is nevermind.

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There is literally a scene where a giant buzzsaw is slicing towards Crane

and he just

stares at it

going “huh, that’s different”

And I LOVE IT

------

And here we have another fascinating scene: Velma going to free Crane from his cell, as Daphne tells her to just leave him to die by pumpkin

I’m wondering if they meant to draw a parallel between the two here - Velma starts by reciting a nursery rhyme, then overcoming her fears in order to release madness to take control. It’s not done very cleanly - mainly bc we barely have any time with Crane in this movie - but I wonder if they meant to insinuate that Crane was like Velma once, where he refused to acknowledge he was afraid, which caused him to lose focus on his initial goals

Idk, ignore my ramblings

---

Crane, smirking: I’ll need my personal effects - extenuating circumstances.

Me, fanning myself: I’ll need you to remove yours first

(i am not even kidding, Crane is an absolute DILF in this movie and it flusters me. Stupid sexy animation)

---

YAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS

SCARECROW TO THE MOTHERFCUKING RESCUE BABY, SCYTHE AND FCUKING ALL!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

----

FCUK YEAH THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

HE HAS A DANCE LIKE QUALITY WITH SOME OF HIS FIGHTING MOVES

VIOLENT DANCING BRINGS THE GIANT JACKAL LANTERN DOWN BABY

THEN HE BACKFLIPS AND GYMNASTIC SWINGS INTO THE VAN

ROCK IT SCARECROW FCUKING ROCK IT

(minor note here, but the subtitles show Dr. Crane instead of Scarecrow - unsure if that’s more that the movie calls him Dr Crane or if it indicates he’s acting more heroic than villainous)

---

GODDAMNIT

THE GIANT PUMPKIN SNUCK VINES INTO THE VAN AND STOLE HIM BACK

WHEN CRANE WAS... wearing a seatbelt before, but isn’t now.

...

BOOOOO

---

Yet again, we find a Scooby movie that attempts character development, but with Velma

Unlike Shaggy’s Showdown however, I’m mixed on how successful it is.

For starters, Velma hasn’t been this cocksure in other DTVs we’ve seen, so it’s a bit odd to see it now. While not 100% out of place - after all, the gang DID capture one of Batman’s Rogues Gallery on their own - it still feels a touch forced. Compare that to Shaggy’s Showdown, where Shaggy has ALWAYS been a coward (one that, in more recent years, writers have had willing to abandon his friends for safety), so the character development there feels more natural.

The progression of events with Velma actually work somewhat okay - but again, here’s where past DTVs come to bite them in the ass. The past handful have had the gang be wrong, have had them fail, or catch the wrong guy. This makes Velma’s attitude here at odds with the other films, something that sticks more due to a character that’s appeared in the past few films as a minor inconvenience - a Sheriff who keeps telling the gang not to interfere, they’re doing things wrong, etc. If this had been a character who was completely wrong in the past AND SHOWN TO BE WRONG FOR HIS OPINIONS, while the gang never guessed wrong, this would work much better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and here we are.

I think it would have flowed better if Velma’s cockiness came solely from catching Crane on their own. Have a random cop character or reporter or whatever (just not the recurring cop), insinuate that the gang is in too deep with Scarecrow, that he should be handled by the adults or professionals or whatever. Velma could bristle, overcompensate, and THEN fall from her pedestal like we see, reach out to the gang and commiserate over feeling scared, and grow. Again, it’s not too far to reach for, but they handle it poorly; as a result, the outcome feels a little more shoehorned in.

It’s an honest shame, bc we haven’t had a Velma centered story since Frankencreepy, and we all remember what a hideous fcuking mess THAT was *shudders*. Still, it somewhat gets its point across, I guess.

---

Fred why did you rip your shirt off

Actually better question why do you not have nipples

---

Awwwwwww

Velma just apologized to Shag and Scoob for snapping at them earlier, and admits how she doesn’t appreciate how much they make Mystery Inc what it is

Also she eats a Scooby Snack with them and admits they taste pretty good

----

Huh

Velma’s mind palace is the Mystery Machine driving through space

Also Shaggy and Scooby are able to telepathically follow her in and communicate with her

Literally, they actually followed her into her head telepathically, and show her their memories of things she hasn’t gotten to see tonight (while also possibly enhancing her ability to remember things, given how much DETAIL she captures perfectly of things that she would maybe have glimpsed in a millisecond AT MOST)

...another tally for Crack Theory A of magic! Shaggy and Scooby *scribbles*

-------

Fred, be very very thankful that there are no people operating those pumpkins in person cause uhhhh

Those traps would be spraying red instead of orange

------

Another weird music choice - the gang goes up to fight the Jackal Lanterns, but the music is the same 60s bubble we heard earlier

Not terribly atmospheric, really

(wouldn’t a Smashing Pumpkins cover of Scooby Doo be more appropriate, or did you guys spend all your money on hiring Elvira and Bill Nye?)

------

Dang

Velma just admitted her fears and jumped into the mouth of the Mega Pumpkin, before getting Fred to use the app from earlier to shut it down, revealing it to be a giant drone surrounded by smaller pumpkin drones

This feels… counterintuitive, but I’ll try to explain at the end

---

Okay

I’ll admit it

The Whodunnit is actually pretty decent in concept

There was a sprinkling of tidbits that could be assembled for the final conclusion and still make a decent amount of sense, all to find the sheriff doing it

Only he isn’t a sheriff

He’s a former Tech CEO who was also busted by the gang years ago in a case the Sheriff kept bringing up throughout the movie - due to his prison sentence, he lost more than half his wealth and the opportunity to expand it further with the Crystal Cove Lithium deposits

He was also someone who sold tech to Crane for his fear toxin distribution, where he got the idea to frame him for it

(tho on a side note, Crane is an absolute dork and a terrible liar - just look at the email he sent XD and that profile pic, my gods)

He deliberately picked at the gang for the past few DTVs (specifically 2: Return to Zombie Island and Curse of the 13th Ghost) to fracture their confidence, undermine them, etc - all so that in one fell swoop, he could retake his fortune, frighten everyone in town away from the mines so they couldn’t interfere, frighten away the gang (while also ruining their reputation as mystery solvers), and take Crane off the docket so he couldn’t identify the CEO when he pretended to be the sheriff

This… is actually a pretty damn good plan, for a Scooby villain. He was patient, manipulative, and clever, learning how best to tie up loose ends and win back what he lost. A clever revenge story that came so close to coming to fruition, and could have honestly been sold convincingly…

...if it hadn’t been done so much better in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Yeeeaaaah, this movie basically lifts the rough framework up from that one - past mystery villain comes back to attack the gang and ruin their reputation (tho this one decides to also make his fortune back and tie up loose ends with former criminal contacts, a la Crane). Gang is embarrassed in front of the news folk, another villain is framed for it (like Old Man Wickles of the Black Knight fame), and the gang must reconcile to foil the villain for good.

Although it also??? Merges elements of Frankencreepy in it?? The movie is focused on Velma, who is struggling to admit when she’s wrong (which ties into her fear, somehow… I’ll think on that point a little) and things purportedly go haywire when she won’t bend. This… isn’t illustrated as well here, since there’s very little direct cause-and-effect from Velma’s actions that would prove this point - that insisting her way is the right, best, and therefore only way to go ends up making things worse.

As much as I despised Frankencreepy (and I DESPISED IT), it did do that part well - showing that refusing to budge on something can lead to you hurting your friends (literally, in that one), and that admitting you were wrong and need help isn’t the end of the world.

(that movie also had former villains returning to gain vengeance upon the gang using psychological warfare, hm - may need to go over that one again, unfortunately).

It’s a shame, too - the basic elements for this plot are all here, they just need to be polished and reworked a bit to make a really fascinating movie.

------

Anyways, back to the asshat CEO who just… faked being a sheriff. Because white people can get away with that so long as they have the outfit and the car *throws up hands* (the sad part is this is probably something that actually happens)

As he drives away we see a familiar silhouette looming in the cornfields, watching him approach

Velma had Bill Nye on speaker, so he could record the entire confession for the federal officers nearby (who were taking Scarecrow back to Arkham), and track the phone signal to his exact location

And right as his holographic call cuts out, we see the shadow of a Scarecrow looming over him, causing him to scream.

When the feds arrive at his final location, both his body and the money have vanished. The car still sits, engine running, before the crows leering over him from the field vanish into the sky.

-------

Now that he’s dead, the gang walks and finds themselves at a Halloween party, with friendly faces and good food. The mystery is solved, though the culprit may never be found again.

Then Daphne admits to NOT trying to steal Elvira’s costume for Halloween, but instead trying to steal Elvira’s identity and replace her.

Something that she’s apparently nearly gotten away with on past mysteries working with Phillis Diller

*sighs* movie, why couldn’t you just stick to the costume schtick? This is just… so much worse.

-----

From there, Elvira walks off to wrap things up, reveal the monster face on the back of her head sans wig (which was also a monkey), and start the credits, where we see the gang working to bring the Mystery Machine back to its former glory a la Frankenstein pastiche.

This movie… this movie is a hot mess, but at least it’s an OKAY hot mess.

It really does feel like someone started writing a decent Velma-focused movie concerning the Scarecrow and a past Mystery Inc villain interfering, but was bogged down by notes from higher-ups: Wait! Write in Elvira! Also write in Bill Nye! Hey, let’s have a Mad Max car chase with the Jackal Lanterns! And have Daphne obsessed with literally becoming Elvira! Also make reference to things that we’ll insist be explained this way instead of a way that makes sense! Great!

(seriously tho, we never find out who Crane cares about most that reminds him of Velma, what the heck?)

It’s like two or three different scripts were smooshed together without being cleaned up - stuff is said that doesn’t get resolved, the celebrity guests don’t get to breathe much and feel squished together, and the build-up for the villain feels… less impactful, even knowing that he’s been in the past two films.

It might have worked if he’d been in… let’s say like 5 or 6 DTVs in a row, speaking roles for dissing the gang growing in each (ex start with “Good job kids! But maybe next time, leave it to the professionals, okay?” and growing more bitter from there), but only 2 feels kind of meh. Still, I do appreciate the clues we got to collect together, and they all work in the final breakdown of the scheme - some DTVs can feel like they pull stuff completely out of nowhere, so kudos there.

I appreciate what they wanted to do with Velma - give her a character development arc similar to Shaggy’s in Shaggy’s Showdown. Unfortunately, it wasn’t set up quite so neatly: they blended her ‘refusal to admit fear’ with her overconfidence that she was always right, and it led to a weird conclusion. To face her fears, she leapt into the Giant Pumpkin, which… proved that she was right all along about it being fake, and that solves things somehow. It doesn’t address how she can get something wrong sometimes, it doesn’t really address what she’s afraid of (which is honestly quite good: she’s afraid of failing in a way that allows bad guys to escape justice and in a way that hurts her friends), it’s just a bit of a mess. Points for aiming the focus the right way (and in a way that DOESN’T sexualize the underage teenage girl, unlike some DTVs cough cough Frankencreepy cough cough), but it’s very very messy how it goes about it.

The movie actually balanced pretty well for the whole gang - no excessive focus on one leaving the rest in the dust (too much at least - Fred was a touch underdeveloped, but nowhere near as annoying as past iterations have been. Shaggy and Scooby were kind of meh in some places but great in others, while Daphne was just odd. I think they were trying to recapture the BCSD Daphne characterization, but they failed. Still, she did spend some good time kicking ass with the pumpkins, so that was fun.

Now for the Rogue, Jonathan Crane. If you like Crane, this movie gives you: maniacal Scarecrow, calm and creepy Crane, a brief glimpse at fanboy!Crane (he admits in his own awkward way that he’s a fan of Elvira, and later tells her he loves her work - it’s fun), and (best of all for me) a heroic Crane - one who helps the protagonists and ends up kicking ass pretty damn well, brief as it was. And while DILF Crane is always a treat, he feels underutilized in this. In comparison, Scooby Doo/Batman Brave and the Bold really utilized a lot of different aspects of Riddler, to the point he actually does feel pretty menacing by the third act. It’s a shame we don’t quite get that with Crane, but I do love seeing him 1. More out of mask, and 2. Acting as a good guy (in his own way), so he’s enjoyable on the whole.

I kind of wish that the whole movie was spent more with Crane, but again, the script is a bit of a mess on this part - the fact that he’s not completely screwed over is a goddamn miracle.

Elvira was… okay. She didn’t have much of a purpose beyond getting the plot started and giving Daphne some hooks to play off of. Bill Nye (abrupt as his introduction was) did provide some necessary elements to the mystery, as well as the tech; he wasn’t too bad by the end. (still a touch bitter we didn’t get ex roommate Nye, but hey, what can you do)

Humor was… mixed. Some good, some meh, but very few long enough to feel painful. Some bits felt extraneous at times, but they did help to build to the conclusion, so points for effort.

At the end of the day though, I’m probably keeping this more for Jonathan Crane than anyone else. It does have a lot of fanfic potential tho 🤔🤔🤔

That’s all from me tonight, folks! Hope you enjoyed my own little breakdown of the movie.

#happy halloween scooby doo #plush reviews: final thoughts #jonathan crane #scarecrow #spoilers

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incoherentbabblings · 5 years ago

Text

Earth 3 Stephanie is a Sad Person and Tim Kinda Made Things Worse Whoops

Earth Three Steph is sad for a lot of reasons but the inadvertent taunting Tim gives her by simply loving his Stephanie lots is certainly up there.

Like, if we are taking Bendis at face value here, either not everyone on Earth 3 is evil, or Stephanie Brown is legitimately one of like...three examples of not evil people on Earth 3... somehow?

Side note. This sounds so mean but YJ... is not a complicated series. Some folk were desperately trying to pull threads saying Bendis was building up this really intricate theory that the reason Zatanna’s mind magic didn’t work on Steph was because she wasn’t actually Steph she was EVIL!Steph and not the real Steph and that was the reason Earth Three Steph was good is because Earth Three is after all supposed to be the morality of the main heroes and villains flipped and maybe these two Stephs has switched places at some point and this is why Tim and Steph are going to break up my dislike of her character is totally justified guys...

The truth is... Bendis just didn’t go with that cause it didn’t suit the story he was trying to tell. Either he doesn’t know how Earth Three works or he didn’t care (or both). YJ 2019 is not the place for morally complex superhero comics. The good guys are friends who love each other, the bad guys are obviously bad and kinda incompetent.

So Main Earth Steph is good. Earth Three Steph is good. Or rather, is good in that she hates short sighted selfish people. Which is what her Young Justice are.

Long post under the cut because it’s me and I can’t do brief to save my legs if they were tied to a woodchipper.

Hey! You! Yes you! Are you a young fellow with a big brain and big ideas and a slightly off kilter mental state? You may have a Stephanie Brown forming a crush on you! Are you a young fellow with a big brain and big ideas and a slightly off kilter mental state with a desire to better people’s living standards? Congratulations! Somewhere there’s a Stephanie Brown falling in love! Oh what’s that? You’re not using that big brain and big ideas and off kilter mental state to better mankind? You’re literally just doing it for shits and giggles and to impress another girl? Well now there’s a Stephanie Brown who thinks you’re a waste of space! You’re a self-absorbed lazy git!

Joking aside, it’s interesting that her biggest umbrage with these guys is their lack of foresight and hedonism. The inequality of the power they hold over others, and the fact that they are wasting that power on benefiting themselves and trying to one up each other. She’s been trying to slow the decay nearly singlehandedly, seemingly before the Crime Syndicate ever made their way across for events like Forever Evil. But she’s been doing it alone for a long time, and her drive was starting to falter when YJ crashed up.

So, you have this girl who somehow is one of the only genuinely kind hearted people on this planet - trying to do right by the downtrodden - who apparently knows Earth 3′s Tim Drake well enough to not be frightened or threatened by him. And maybe she liked him romantically? Idk I guess it’s how relevant you take her snarking about Drake’s crush on Amaxon, could be just her snarking, could be partial resentment - like a sort of why her and not me sort of tone. Idk, ymmv there. We get no indication of how Earth Three Tim feels about anything really (like I said, Bendis is not aiming for complexity in this title).

Point is, this is a Stephanie Brown who, from what we see, is very, very, very alone. And what’s the very first thing Tim says to her?

How loved his Stephanie is. There’s a lot of that. Our Tim’s Stephanie is very, very, very, loved. Earth Three Stephanie...is not. But Tim’s language here is just him conflating the two girls into one. ‘I am in a very intense relationship with you’, ‘all I want to do is get home to you’, ‘God, I miss you so much’.

And Tim doesn’t flipping help matters by going off on her like this. And then when Bart punches her out Tim’s body language is not the way you hold an unconscious stranger plus Bart just takes Tim’s word for it that because this girl is Steph she’s not evil??? Like where is the logic? I love her on my Earth so on this Earth it must be the same? Tim...

And he continues to be overly familiar with this Steph (‘mesmerizing’ TimoTHY please) and she’s just trying to do right by them to get them back home. She’s trying to draw a boundary. She’s not his girl back home. That girl is waiting for him.

But Tim just cannot make the distinction at all.

She’s trying to do the right thing but this Tim is making things complicated. How awful must it feel to be faced with someone who loves you, but not you. Someone who has a big brain with big ideas and wants to help you help others. Someone who is in love with you.

But it’s not you.

Someone who crashes into your world, and helps liberate a city. Just because he can and it’s the right thing to do. He won’t go home to his girl until it’s done. He came here for a reason.

Stephanie Brown is still so closely tied to hope, even on Earth Three. She holds on to it for what looks like a helpless fight. She thanks YJ when they restore it to the city. She implies that the people of Earth Three aren’t inherently bad or violent, it’s just all they've ever known and give them some time to readjust. Hope springs anew and all that. She’s still really good with kids, and she’s really protective over them still.

And apparently a few other of these visiting folk again immediately warm up to you the moment they hear who ‘you’ are like oh ‘you’re’ really are liked over the border and ‘she’s totally in love with Drake too!’

Wait what? BART whaT? Does Bart have like...super people reading skills? Is it that obvious how much Stephanie is kinda yearning for that other Stephanie’s life and relationships? Is that it? Can he see that she’s jealous? Can Tim?

Side note: Still going feral over Steph and that little dark haired child heavens above

Considering in the previous issue she was all ‘this world is not your problem’ only to say ‘Come with me. Or don’t.’ and ‘I mean, it’s up to you. It’s a hell of a leap of faith’. Like, she’s not discouraging them from leaving at all, it’s just... half hearted do you want to go? Yeah. You do. You should. You’re sure? You should... You sure?

Tim leaves her with just a simple kindness. A thank you. And a lingering stare. I don’t know how to read that. Maybe something did get cut from the script? What is it implying? That Tim is reluctant to go? Regardless, Steph cries.

Say goodbye to that boy who has a big brain with lots of clever plans and a good heart and holds you gently and has nice friends who just want to help and be friendly to you. And you’re loved. Loved beyond dimension boundaries.

But it’s not you.

And that’s why Tim kinda made things worse for Earth Three Stephanie Brown. You can’t miss what you’ve never had. Except now she knows what she is missing out on. Now she knows what she’ll never have. And ouch my heart just broke.

#dc #timsteph #tim drake #stephanie brown #timsteph meta

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real-espanadrid · 5 years ago

Text

Please Call Me Again

Pairings: wangxian, background xuanli, xiyao, chengqing

Tags: modern setting, college au, fluff, silly, mutual pining, no courtesy names, single dad/physics student wwx, music/literature student lwj

Summary: Lan Zhan prank calls Wei Ying pretending to be a scam caller. It’s supposed to be a one-time thing. (Spoiler alert: it isn’t.)

Author’s Note: i decided on a whim to delve into the world of cql fic-writing...here’s my first attempt! enjoy!

Lan Zhan glares at the figures of Nie Huaisang and Jin Zixuan blatantly laughing at him as he lifts his phone to his ear, furiously contemplating the pros and cons of committing homicide against the two people who he grudgingly accepts as his friends. While he waits for the person on the other end to pick up, he asks himself why he keeps accompanying his brother to these Lan-Jin-Nie family get-togethers when he knows Nie Huaisang always has some ridiculous scheme planned that both he and Jin Zixuan always, without fail, end up getting roped into.

This time, Nie Huaisang has apparently decided that today is a good day for prank calls. Jin Zixuan has already been dared to call Jiang Yanli using Jin Guangyao’s work phone, which Nie Huaisang had stolen while Jin Guangyao was greeting Lan Huan with the usual single-minded focus that characterizes all his interactions with Lan Zhan’s brother.

The task had been to pretend to be a volunteer with a generic charity organization, but Jiang Yanli, in a twist that wasn’t really a twist at all, considering the enormous crush she has on the man, had recognized Jin Zixuan’s voice immediately. Lan Zhan had been forced to watch Jin Zixuan stutter his way through an explanation while Jiang Yanli’s gentle laughter filtered through the phone’s speaker and Nie Huaisang smiled knowingly behind his ever-present hand-painted fan.

The intention behind the dare is obvious, in Jin Zixuan’s case, because he’s been pining after Jiang Yanli for months now and hasn’t done a thing about it, despite her equally evident interest in him. It does, however, make Lan Zhan a little concerned about whose phone number Nie Huaisang has made him dial, because for him, the end goal is less clear.

Lan Zhan isn’t given the chance to fully mull over his apprehension, though, because the phone finally stops ringing as someone picks up.

“Hello?” It’s the voice of a man, fairly young-sounding. He seems totally unfazed.

“Hello,” Lan Zhan says stiffly. “How are you today?”

“I’m great!” says the man brightly.

Lan Zhan blinks, taken aback by the unexpected enthusiasm of the reply. “...Good,” he says, unsure of what an appropriate response to that would be. “I am calling because – your IP address has been compromised.” Making up dialogue on the spot is horrible, he discovers. He fixes Nie Huaisang with a look that he hopes will haunt his friend’s dreams for the next few nights. “I will need you to – get in front of your computer so we can fix your account.” It feels unlikely, but maybe the man on the other end hasn’t noticed Lan Zhan’s hesitation as he fabricates a reason for his call.

“Okay!” the man agrees, still unsettlingly excited. Lan Zhan wonders who this man is and why Nie Huaisang thought Lan Zhan, of all people, should prank call him. “There’s one thing I’m wondering, though.”

“What?” Lan Zhan finds that he actually is somewhat curious.

The man laughs a bit. It’s a distractingly pleasant sound. “You really couldn’t think of a better lie? Like, my ‘IP address has been compromised.’ How, exactly, does an IP address become ‘compromised?’”

There’s a long pause following the question. Maybe the man is waiting for Lan Zhan to reply. If he is, he’s going to be disappointed, because Lan Zhan has no idea what to say to this. He suddenly feels a pang of sympathy for any real scam callers who have called this number before.

The man seems to realize he isn’t going to get a response because he cheerfully continues talking. “I was just wondering, that’s all!”

This is a logical point in the call to hang up. Lan Zhan has technically already carried out Nie Huaisang’s stupid dare – he’s impersonated a scam caller and spoken to this man for long enough. But for whatever reason, he hears himself speak again. “Why did you answer?”

It’s the man’s turn to fall silent. Lan Zhan lets himself feel a little smug at being able to leave this man speechless for a few moments. “What?” the man finally asks.

“If you knew this was not a legitimate call, then why did you answer?” Lan Zhan presses. He wants to know the answer, he realizes. He’s intrigued by this man, wants to know why he’s still talking to Lan Zhan despite believing he has possibly malicious intentions.

“Oh!” the man says, and he sounds a little awkward now. “I just thought I would, uh, you know, have some fun at your expense!”

Lan Zhan frowns in confusion. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Nie Huaisang and Jin Zixuan watching him with poorly-hidden amusement. “What expense? Talking is no expense to me.”

The man lets out a hum. “Well, you’re currently not accomplishing your goal.”

“My goal?” Lan Zhan asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Your goal of scamming Granny,” the man says matter-of-factly, like Lan Zhan should have already been aware that the number he called is not, in fact, the man’s number – and Lan Zhan is decidedly not disappointed about that – but his grandmother’s. “You’re not accomplishing that! I’d call that an expense.”

Lan Zhan can’t help himself – he improvises a new question. “Well, can I scam you?” Jin Zixuan’s eyes widen in surprise, and Nie Huaisang looks faintly impressed.

The man is silent once again. “Did you –” he breaks off, sounding bewildered, which for some reason feels like a victory.“Did you just ask if you can scam me?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan confirms, and then just to be clear, he asks again. “Can I scam you?”

“Uh – um, sure, you can try,” the man says, and for the first time in this call, he sounds a little flustered.

Lan Zhan can’t believe that worked. He quickly cycles back to the start of the conversation and his original request. “You need to be in front of your computer.”

The man lets out a huff of laughter. “Yeah, that’s still a problem. I didn’t sleep last night and I’m eating tater tots right now and I don’t really feel like getting up.”

“Okay,” Lan Zhan says, and he isn’t sure what makes him do it, but he continues, “I will call you tomorrow morning, then.” Jin Zixuan and Nie Huaisang’s jaws both drop at that.

“I...I might not answer,” the man says after a moment of hesitation. Lan Zhan wonders if he came on a little too strong. “Granny definitely won’t.”

“You answered today,” Lan Zhan points out.

“Ahaha,” the man says, his laughter coming across as slightly nervous. “Touché?”

Lan Zhan nods, before he remembers the man can’t see him. “Mn. I will call you tomorrow. Get some sleep tonight. Have a good day.” He hangs up before he can hear the man’s response.

“Lan Zhan,” Nie Huaisang says the second Lan Zhan pockets his phone. “That was insane.”

“I completed the dare as you asked,” Lan Zhan says, perfectly aware that he went way beyond what was necessary, and that both Nie Huaisang and Jin Zixuan know it too.

“You are way too good at scam calling,” Jin Zixuan says in a vaguely accusatory way. “Who were you even talking to, anyway?”

At that, Nie Huaisang’s smile becomes a little more amused. “Well, since Lan Zhan is going to be calling him again tomorrow morning, why doesn’t he just ask then?”

“I do not intend to call him,” Lan Zhan says, even though lying is forbidden.

Nie Huaisang gives him a look that’s somehow both sympathetic and condescending. “Sure you don’t.”

Lan Zhan and Jin Zixuan eventually get back at Nie Huaisang later in the day by “accidentally” revealing to Jin Guangyao that they know where his work phone has disappeared to, but Lan Zhan doesn’t get his usual momentary satisfaction from watching Nie Huaisang unsuccessfully try to convince Nie Mingjue that he doesn’t know anything about the missing phone. Instead, his mind is stuck on a bright, cheerful voice and the sound of sweet laughter.

~~~

Wei Ying has been having a weird couple of days. On Wednesday, he experienced the high of finishing his solar spectroscopy lab two days early, which has never happened before in this entire semester. On Thursday, things quickly deteriorated when Wei Yuan threw a tantrum because he wanted to spend an extra ten minutes watching TV instead of going for his bath, and then got even worse when Wei Ying realized that in his eagerness to finish the lab early, he forgot to do his Quantum Field Theory problem set for the week and had to pull an emergency all-nighter.

Then yesterday, in his sleep-deprived state, he had a bizarre conversation with the strangest scam caller he’s ever interacted with – not that he’s interacted with many to begin with, but still – and now, here he is again, picking up Granny’s landline because somehow, the scam caller has made good on his promise to call again.

“Hello,” Mr. Scam Caller says, and his deep, calm voice is somehow even more attractive than it was yesterday.

“Mr. Scam Caller!” Wei Ying says happily, and he’s a little surprised by how genuine the emotion in his own voice is. “You called again! I wasn’t expecting you to actually do it.”

Mr. Scam Caller doesn’t say anything for a few moments. “I said I would,” he finally says.

Wei Ying can’t help laughing at that. “I guess you did.” Mr. Scam Caller is silent again, but that’s fine with Wei Ying – he can do enough talking for both of them. “I’m Wei Ying, by the way. Since you were good enough to call me back, I think you deserve my name, even though you’re trying to scam me.”

“You should not give out your name to random people,” Mr. Scam Caller says, like he doesn’t collect sensitive information from people for a living. “Especially scam callers.”

“Ah, but you’re not just any scam caller,” Wei Ying says. “You’re my scam caller. You even told me to get some sleep last night, and I did! I slept for almost five hours, aren’t you proud of me?” He wants the answer to be yes, he realizes as he asks, but he isn’t quite sure why.

“Mn,” Mr. Scam Caller says. There isn’t much inflection in his tone, but it’s clearly supposed to be a noise of agreement, and Wei Ying flushes.

“Ahahaha, Mr. Scam Caller,” he says, trying not to sound too affected by this very basic form of praise. “Don’t you think you should share your name with me too? It’s only fair since you already know mine, after all.”

Mr. Scam Caller is silent for so long that Wei Ying is about to take it back and laugh the request off, but then he speaks again. “Lan Zhan.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying repeats, testing out the name. It sounds familiar, somehow, but he can’t figure out why that is. “Lan Zhan! What a good name! I could say your name all day, Lan Zhan.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying is not prepared for hearing his name coming out of Lan Zhan’s mouth. “Do not joke.”

“I’m not joking, Lan Zhan, I promise!” Wei Ying says intently, holding up three fingers before remembering that Lan Zhan can’t see him. “Lan Zhan is a great name.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says. This ”Mn,” is different from the one before, Wei Ying thinks, more noncommittal, like he’s neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

There’s a lull in the conversation, and Wei Ying is suddenly desperate to keep it going. “So, Lan Zhan,” he says. “How are you going to try to scam me today?”

“You need to be in front of your computer,” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying is startled by the brief flash of disappointment he feels that Lan Zhan didn’t just call simply to talk to him again. He brushes the thought away a second later – of course Lan Zhan only called because he’s a scam caller and it’s his job.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, I can’t,” Wei Ying says. “A-Yuan is using it to play games right now. How can I disturb him when he’s so clearly enjoying himself?”

“A-Yuan?” Lan Zhan asks.

Wei Ying grins. “My son!” he says, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice as he talks about the little boy who stole his heart the moment they met.

Lan Zhan is quiet for several long moments. “I see,” he finally says, sounding more stiff than he had before. “I will stop imposing on you, then.”

“Huh?” Wei Ying says, his smile vanishing. “What do you mean?”

“I have been disturbing you and your family,” Lan Zhan says, his voice still cold compared to how it had sounded previously. “I apologize for intruding on your time. Goodbye, Wei Ying.”

“Lan Zhan, wait!” Wei Ying blurts out. He holds his breath, straining his ears to hear whether Lan Zhan is still on the other end. When he hears the steady sound of breathing, he exhales shakily. “You aren’t intruding, Lan Zhan,” he explains in a rush. “You’ve been really great all two times I’ve talked to you, you know? And you didn’t have to look out for my sleep schedule but you did, and now you’re trying to protect me and my son from yourself, and I know you’re a scam caller, but I – I mean, talking to you is...nice?”

Lan Zhan stays quiet for a long time, and Wei Ying worries that he’s scared him off. “It is nice speaking to you as well, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says after several long moments that feel like forever to Wei Ying.

“Good,” Wei Ying says, and he truly has no idea why he’s so overwhelmingly relieved. “Good, then don’t hang up on me yet, Lan Zhan. You haven’t even tried to get any sensitive information from me!”

“Do you want me to try to get sensitive information from you?” Lan Zhan asks, which is an incredibly baffling question to hear from a scammer.

“Yes,” Wei Ying says, before he considers the question more carefully. “No? I don’t know, Lan Zhan, now you’re confusing me! What kind of scam caller makes their customer confused by asking odd questions instead of going on with their scamming?”

“I apologize,” Lan Zhan says. “I will refrain from asking confusing questions and focus on scamming you in the future.”

Wei Ying bursts into laughter. “Lan Zhan!” he says delightedly. “Has anyone ever told you how funny you are?”

“No,” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying can’t see his face but he imagines that Lan Zhan looks a bit puzzled, which is adorable. “People generally tell me I am not particularly funny.”

“They’re all wrong,” Wei Ying declares confidently. “You’re very funny, Lan Zhan! And a great conversation partner. Even while you’re in the middle of scamming someone.” Though, he belatedly notices, there have been very few attempts on Lan Zhan’s part to actually commit any kind of scam. “You’ll have to call me every day from now on, so you can have someone to remind you how funny you are!”

It sounds like Lan Zhan says something along the lines of “Mark your words,” but Wei Yuan suddenly runs into the living room, distracting Wei Ying. “Baba, Baba!” he says, practically vibrating with enthusiasm as he launches himself into Wei Ying’s arms.

Wei Ying manages to tuck the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he sweeps Wei Yuan onto his lap. “What’s the matter, kiddo?”

Lan Zhan makes an inquisitorial noise on the other end of the phone as Wei Yuan beams up at Wei Ying proudly. “I got the best, most highest score!” Wei Yuan reveals. “All by myself!”

“The best, most highest score?” Wei Ying repeats, grinning down at Wei Yuan. “That’s extremely impressive!” He’s speaking into the phone before he can think better of it. “Lan Zhan, did you hear? A-Yuan got the best, most highest score on his game all by himself, he must be even better than me now!”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says. “Congratulations, A-Yuan. You did well.” He says it so solemnly that Wei Ying can’t help laughing again.

“Lan Zhan, you’re so serious,” he says playfully, before addressing Wei Yuan again. “A-Yuan, Lan Zhan said you did well.”

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Yuan asks, peering up at Wei Ying curiously. “Who?”

Wei Ying is on the verge of offering the phone to Wei Yuan when he belatedly realizes that Wen Qing probably wouldn’t be too thrilled if he let the son he adopted from her family speak to a scam caller, no matter how sweet and pleasant to talk to said scam caller is. “He’s my, uh, my phone call buddy,” Wei Ying explains hastily.

Wei Yuan nods. “Thank you, Phone Call-gege!” he says with a toothy smile.

“You made him smile, Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says, clutching his heart with the arm that isn’t keeping Wei Yuan in place on his lap. “How can you be so good? Even before meeting him, you already won him over.”

“I am glad I could make him happy,” Lan Zhan says in that unaffected voice of his. It makes Wei Ying want to do something to make him lose his composure.

“Do you want to make me happy too?” Wei Ying asks, and even though Wei Yuan is in the room, he lowers his voice enough for it to unmistakably be an attempt at flirting. “I can think of a few ways you could do that.”

Lan Zhan audibly inhales sharply, and Wei Ying mentally celebrates. “I...must go,” Lan Zhan says a second later, and Wei Ying’s mental celebration is halted in its tracks.

“Will you call tomorrow?” Wei Ying asks quickly, trying to stall him, trying to do anything he can to ensure he can talk to this strange, fascinating scam caller again. “After all, you didn’t manage to scam me yet.”

There’s a beat, before Lan Zhan speaks. “Mn,” he says, and Wei Ying can’t stop smiling. “I will call you tomorrow. Goodbye to you and A-Yuan.”

Like he did yesterday, Lan Zhan hangs up before Wei Ying has the chance to reply, but Wei Ying doesn’t care too much. He pulls Wei Yuan into a hug and sighs happily.

Wei Yuan looks at Wei Ying. “Baba is happy that Phone Call-gege will call him tomorrow?”

“Yeah, kiddo,” Wei Ying says, patting Wei Yuan’s back contentedly. “I am happy.”

~~~

Lan Zhan isn’t sure how things got to this point. He had called Wei Ying back the day after his prank call with the intention of explaining the truth – that he is not, in fact, a scam caller but simply a fourth-year music and literature student – but the conversation had gotten away from him and he missed his chance.

Now, a month later, having called Wei Ying every day since then, Lan Zhan wonders why, in all that time, he still hasn’t tried to correct Wei Ying’s perception of him. Maybe, he thinks, it has something to do with the fact that when he’s talking to Wei Ying, he’s helpless to do anything but go along with whatever conversation Wei Ying feels like having. He now knows that Wei Ying’s son, Wei Yuan, was adopted a year ago, and that Wei Ying lives with Wei Yuan’s grandmother and two cousins. He knows all about Wei Ying’s perfect sister – coincidentally, she turns out to be none other than Jiang Yanli – and his angry brother. And over the course of a month, Lan Zhan has somehow become Wei Ying’s scam caller, and the highlight of his day is always making that call.

Nie Huaisang and Jin Zixuan, traitors that they are, had decided that it would be a good idea to inform Lan Huan of Lan Zhan’s daily conversations with Wei Ying. Predictably, Lan Huan had been delighted to hear about Lan Zhan’s first real display of interest in another person, which is why Lan Zhan is currently in a coffee shop, listening to Lan Huan try to convince him for at least the tenth time to arrange a meeting in person with Wei Ying.

“Didi, you clearly like this Wei Ying quite a lot,” Lan Huan says reasonably. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to try meeting him in person. Imagine if I hadn’t gone to meet A-Yao when Mingjue-ge mentioned him for the first time.”

Lan Zhan graciously does not point out that, had Lan Huan not met Jin Guangyao, Lan Zhan would not have to wake up at odd hours to strange noises coming from the other bedroom in their shared apartment. “He has an obligation to his son,” he says instead, just like he always does every time they have this conversation. “I do not wish to pull him away from that duty by imposing my feelings.”

“You know Huaisang is friends with him,” Lan Huan points out. “Surely he would have told you by now if Wei Ying is not interested in pursuing any relationships.”

There’s nothing “sure” about anything when it comes to Nie Huaisang, Lan Zhan thinks, but he doesn’t say it out loud, not wanting to be rude to his brother who, ultimately, is only pushing the matter because he has Lan Zhan’s best interests at heart. “Regardless,” Lan Zhan says, “it is unnecessary to meet Wei Ying in person.”

The barista calls out their order, and Lan Zhan gets up to retrieve their drinks before Lan Huan can say anything else. As he’s making his way back to the table, though, drinks in hand, he’s stopped in his tracks by the appearance of a small weight clinging tightly to his leg. “Gege!” says the weight. It is, Lan Zhan finds when he looks down, a small boy, no older than three or four.

“Hello,” Lan Zhan says, trying not to let his panic show. As a rule, he tries to avoid interacting with children he doesn't know when their guardians aren’t present. “Where is your caretaker?”

“Baba is sitting over there with Auntie Qing and Angry Uncle!” the boy says, pointing to a table in the far corner of the shop.

Lan Zhan looks in the direction the boy is pointing and blinks a few times. Sitting at the table are two men Lan Zhan recognizes from Nie Huaisang's alternate friend group, the one he spends time with outside of Lan-Jin-Nie gatherings, and an unfamiliar woman who bears a slight resemblance to the boy still holding Lan Zhan's leg. “You must go back to your Baba,” Lan Zhan says carefully. “He will wonder where you went, otherwise.”

“But,” the boy says, a pout forming on his face, “Baba said that you were a very pretty gege and he wished he could talk to you.”

Lan Zhan wonders what kind of parent lets their child go off to talk to random strangers they find attractive. The last thing Lan Zhan wants is for this boy to start crying, though, so he nods. “I will accompany you back to your table. You should not worry your Baba by leaving him to talk to unknown people.”

The boy’s unhappy expression vanishes instantaneously, replaced by a bright smile. “Okay, Pretty-gege!” he agrees. “Come meet my Baba!”

Lan Zhan belatedly realizes he’s still holding the two cups of tea, but it’s too late to do anything about it, because he and the boy have already reached their destination.

“Baba!” the boy exclaims happily, climbing into the lap of the man who, presumably, is his father.

“A-Yuan!” the man says, sounding equally excited, and Lan Zhan freezes, both at the voice and the name. “Where did you run off to, huh, kiddo?”

“I found Pretty-gege for Baba,” A-Yuan says seriously, and his father looks at Lan Zhan for the first time. “Now Baba can talk to him.” Then, apparently deciding that his work is finished, A-Yuan promptly unlocks his father’s phone and starts playing a game.

Lan Zhan is still unable to move as he stares into the man’s sparkling grey eyes. “Wei Ying,” he says, because it feels like the only thing he can say.

The man – Wei Ying, Lan Zhan is certain it has to be him – gapes at him, his eyes widening in shock and what can only be recognition. “Lan Zhan?” Somehow, the sound of his own name rolling off Wei Ying’s tongue is even more appealing to Lan Zhan in person than it is over the phone. “You’re Huaisang’s gorgeous friend that I’ve been begging him to introduce me to for literally years? Huaisang is friends with a scam caller?”

The man sitting next to Wei Ying slams his hand against the table. “This is your stupid scam caller boyfriend?” he demands. “You haven’t shut up about wanting to meet him for weeks, and he was easily accessible in person this entire time?”

“A-Cheng,” the woman at the table reprimands, rolling her eyes as she lays a hand on the man’s arm. She shoots a pointed look at Wei Ying as she continues, “Relax. We already knew Wei Ying is an idiot.”

“He is not,” Lan Zhan says reflexively, somewhat irritated that these people are insulting Wei Ying for no discernible reason. “Wei Ying is very intelligent.”

“Ah, Lan Zhan, it’s okay,” Wei Ying says with a laugh, though his cheeks have turned a soft shade of pink. “Jiang Cheng and Qing-jie are just like that. I always say they’re the grumpiest couple in the world. It’s like they really were made for each other!”

“Shut the hell up,” Jiang Cheng says, making an aborted movement towards Wei Ying before apparently remembering the child in Wei Ying’s lap and settling for clenching his hand in a fist instead.

“Language,” Wei Ying says with a sunny smile. “A-Yuan is a growing little boy who doesn’t need to hear words like that.” He turns to Lan Zhan and his smile somehow grows even bigger. Lan Zhan is torn between looking away to avoid being blinded by its intensity and being absolutely transfixed by how lovely it looks on Wei Ying’s face. “But enough of that. Lan Zhan, I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you, and it turns out you’re actually the same person I wanted to get to know anyway!”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says. “I recognized you as well, from Nie Huaisang’s friend group.”

Wei Ying looks momentarily annoyed. “I’ve been asking him to introduce you to me for so long.” The displeasure seems to pass a moment later, when Wei Ying beams up at Lan Zhan again, and Lan Zhan has to remember how to breathe. “Of course, I should have guessed that Lan Zhan would find a way to introduce himself to me first!”

“Wei Ying was the first to introduce himself,” Lan Zhan reminds him, recalling their second phone call.

“You have such a good memory, Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says with an almost dreamy sigh, his eyes shining. “I bet you remember all our phone calls.”

“He’s a scam caller,” the woman Wei Ying had addressed as Qing-jie – which means she must be Wen Qing, one of Wei Yuan’s cousins – interrupts. “It’s unlikely that he remembers everyone he calls, let alone what he says when he calls them.” She narrows her eyes at Lan Zhan. “So why, exactly, have you continued to call our home?”

“I am not a scam caller,” Lan Zhan says firmly, relieved to be telling the truth at last. “I am a student of music and literature.”

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, shaking his head. “What do you mean you’re not a scam caller? The first time you called the house, you were trying to scam Granny.”

“I was not,” Lan Zhan says. “I was dared to make a prank call, and you made assumptions.”

Everyone is silent for a moment, and the only sounds come from the background chatter in the cafe. Lan Zhan is reminded of his brother, who’s still waiting for his tea, and sends a silent apology to him in his mind. “A...prank call?” Wei Ying finally asks. “So you were never really trying to steal our sensitive information?”

Lan Zhan nods. “Mn. Nie Huaisang provided the dare and the number.”

“Of course it was him,” Wei Ying mutters, seemingly to himself. “When I get my hands on him...” He trails off, before a new thought appears to strike him. “But Lan Zhan, that means he did kind of introduce us to each other after all! If it weren’t for him, then who knows if we ever would have met each other?” He pauses, his head cocked to the side. “You know, I always thought you didn’t try very hard to scam me. I thought maybe it was because we were so close, but now it all makes sense!”

“We are close,” Lan Zhan feels the need to clarify. “If I were truly a scam caller, I would not have tried to scam you after speaking with you as we have been.”

Wei Ying’s entire face flushes as Jiang Cheng snorts and Wen Qing looks simultaneously exasperated and amused. “Lan Zhan! How can you say something like that so easily?”

“Lying is forbidden,” Lan Zhan says matter-of-factly, which doesn’t quite answer the question, but reveals enough of his reasoning to have Wei Ying burying his face in his hands with a moan.

The noise must distract Wei Yuan from his game, because he looks up at Wei Ying and asks, “Baba, okay?”

“Yeah, kiddo, I’m okay,” Wei Ying says, smiling reassuringly at the boy. “Lan-gege here was just saying some very sweet things.” It’s Lan Zhan’s turn to get flustered by the sudden nickname, his ears heating up as Wei Ying grins innocently at him.

“Pretty-gege is Phone Call-gege?” Wei Yuan asks, and Lan Zhan is mildly impressed that such a young child was able to piece together a conversation he was only half listening to. He nods, and Wei Yuan claps his hands happily. “Good! Baba likes Phone Call-gege and Pretty-gege and it would be hard to pick but now those geges are the same!” He looks at Lan Zhan intently. “Gege will stay with us?”

“A-Yuan,” Wei Ying says hurriedly, “you shouldn’t – ahaha, Lan Zhan, don’t take him too seriously, I’ll explain to him later –”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan cuts him off pointedly. “A-Yuan. I must return to my brother for now.” Both father and son look visibly deflated, so Lan Zhan takes a deep breath and continues. “But I would like to see you again.”

“O-oh,” Wei Ying says, looking both hopeful and more stunned than he really should. Really, how could he possibly think that Lan Zhan wouldn’t want to see him again? “Well, of course you can see us again! Just give us a call any time, you already have our number, after all.”

“I would like your cell phone number,” Lan Zhan says before he can chicken out. “For convenience.”

“Yes, of course!” We Ying squeaks. Lan Zhan can relate – he had no idea he had it in him to be so bold. Wei Ying holds out his phone with the “New Contact” screen open, and Lan Zhan saves his name as “My Scam Caller” before sending a text to himself. “Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says breathlessly when he takes his phone back and sees the contact name. He stares at Lan Zhan with starry eyes. “You’re so funny. I like you so much.”

“I like you so much too,” Lan Zhan says automatically, and the corners of his mouth pull upward into a soft smile. Wei Ying gasps and smiles so radiantly that Lan Zhan doesn’t even care that they aren’t alone, that at least four sets of eyes are fixed on them right now – he’s under no illusion that his brother hasn’t been watching him this whole time.

They reluctantly say goodbye after Lan Zhan promises that he’ll meet Wei Ying and Wei Yuan tomorrow after his classes end. Lan Zhan feels light as he returns to his brother’s table, the tea in his hands completely cold by now.

Lan Huan smiles knowingly at him as he sits down. “So,” he says, “you were saying that meeting Wei Ying in person was unnecessary?”

Lan Zhan takes a sip of cold tea to avoid speaking, but he doesn’t need to – he knows that to his brother, his happiness level is at the point where he might as well be fully grinning. But he’s allowed to be this elated, he thinks. He’s allowed to not care about Nie Huaisang’s meddling or Lan Huan’s amused expression or Jiang Cheng’s attitude.

After all, he has Wei Ying’s number in his phone, a date planned for tomorrow, and a whole future together, just waiting for him to reach out and take it.

#wangxian #the untamed #writing

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miraculouscontent · 6 years ago

Note

Kwami Buster reaction/analysis please!!!

You got it!

This episode is fun. Like, it’s a lot of fun. It feels like it’s been a while since I just had fun with an episode (I know this season doesn’t have a wide range to choose from there - probably still going to die when attempting to pick a top 5 - but still).

[Kwamitruster]

Just to start off, I’m legitimately surprised that it took this long to get a Ms. Mendeleiev akumatization. On the very small list of people I’ve been waiting to see akumatized, Ms. Mendeleiev has been on it since Season 1 and it’s almost weird that it took this much time considering that she’s basically the school’s only other notable teacher.

Of course, with kwami being what she was seeking before being akumatized… yeah, definitely makes sense for a season 3 episode.

I also enjoy that Ms. Mendeleiev is a bit hammy as Kwamibuster even though I question why in the world she’d go on a show like that to get an important theory out there; maybe she was just that desperate and they were the only ones who’d have her, who knows.

Kwamibuster also almost killed Alec so, y’know, that was great too.

AND MORE TIKKI AND PLAGG INTERACTIONS, YES.

I know we got some in episodes like “Sandboy” and “Reflekdoll”, but this is the prime Tikki-Plagg episode (which… yeah, granted, makes total sense considering kwami is in the darn title). It’s a little more of the same we’ve already seen, with Tikki just being like ugh Plagg why, but this expands on it a bit and has them meeting multiple times and also on Marinette’s balcony, which is nice.

And Marinette isn’t the one blamed for stuff this time, finally–

LIKE, REALLY, LEMME JUST SAY: it was so satisfying to see Marinette stay mad at Tikki for a bit (I was upset too when she tried to brush it off as “kwami nonsense” like excuse me???), and especially for Tikki to actually apologize in the end.

I do wish there was a little more on Plagg, but he does get berated a lot already so it was probably not even worth mentioning after the fact.

By the way, I choked with laughter as Adrien tried to scold SOMEONE ELSE for being irresponsible and almost getting captured. Dude, have you LOOKED in a mirror lately?

I guess the conflict concerning Tikki though is more about how believable it is that Tikki would do this sort of thing. It’s already one character flaw that Tikki seemed to have a hard time admitting that she made a mistake, but for Marinette to basically tell Tikki about how much she trusts Tikki and how she can be herself around Tikki, just for Tikki to not even look immediately guilty…

Yeah, that’s… not Tikki’s best moment there. I really think that Marinette bit wasn’t needed and made Tikki look worse than she needed to.

And speaking of Marinette–

[Mari-Net Result]

THE MIRACULOUS QUEEN HAS ARRIVED AND WE HAVE BEEN GRACED WITH HER PRESENCE.

So, not only does this episode have great Plagg-Tikki interactions, but it’s also Marinette doing one of the many things that Marinette does best. Before she’s even left Fu’s home, she’s already got her entire plan figured out to the last detail, and all we’re told about is her intending to let herself get captured, so we’re just left to guess until we see everything unfold.

And what a great bonus it was to see her wearing so many miraculouses at once. I always feel particularly spoiled when we get to see the design of various miraculouses (like how Adrien’s snake miraculous is really smooth and rounded while Luka’s has little ridges on them, then Marinette’s has a snake-inspired design that looks different enough from the miraculous itself).

(also, side-note: considering how different most of those miraculouses look on Marinette, I’m pretty sure the fox was intentionally similar to the original because she had to transform with it, so it had to be recognizable enough to the viewing audience; I imagine it might look different if she ever has the chance to use just the fox, but that’ll probably never happen)

Plus, there’s just something inherently perfect about the girl who can have 2928374 tasks at any given time using a miraculous that has the power to divide yourself so you can accomplish multiple tasks.

She should honestly keep it just for personal use.

And basically all of the miraculouses are very Marinette, like the ram miraculous becoming bows (is that a reference to that one 3D model of hers with the single bow? I hope so) and most of the miraculouses getting a pink/rose-gold color to them.

…She also looks so silly yet somehow so precious wearing them, of course.

Anarka would be proud, just sayin’. Have you SEEN all the accessories that woman wears?

…Actually, imagine Anarka with all the miraculouses. Like, don’t even take off the jewelry she already wears.

…I’m getting off-topic.

I think it’s interesting that Wayzz seems to have a lot of faith in Marinette compared to Master Fu. I mean, it makes total sense given “Feast”, which showed that Wayzz thinks things through a lot more than Fu, and… I don’t know. It’s just really sweet to see Wayzz believing in Marinette so strongly, and I already like Wayzz in general so it warmed my heart.

By the way, just a quick hooray for Multifox too, who is USING MIRAGE LIKE IT SHOULD BE USED; WHEN YOU’RE HIDDEN AWAY AND NO ONE CAN SEE YOU.

And… yeah, I know that we should probably see more instances of her being exhausted from using multiple miraculouses. I do think that her falling down before she’s even left the house set some expectations, and most other instances are either implied (i.e: the icons for the kwami starting to become more and more shattered the more she unifies) or is just Multifox slowly stepping out, hunched over and looking tired (which did at least make sense since she was the one unified the longest). She does get carried by the kwami throughout most of the episode so I’m not really that bothered about it, even with Fu and Wayzz talking about how special she is (this is always what I mean when I say that her crush on Adrien and her anxiety/clumsiness are massive nerfs that she needs; this girl would destroy the world otherwise).

But, of course, I can’t talk about Marinette wearing all these miraculouses and having this big plan and all these other things without talking about why she’s doing these things.

[Mousetrap]

Alright, everyone knew I couldn’t gush for long forever. Let’s get this over with.

The main thing that brings this episode down - and brings it down hard - is the identity shenanigans. Identity stuff has always been a sore spot in the fandom and this episode keeps poking and prodding at that spot like they’re trying to win an award for it.

It’s this whole thing about “giving up your miraculous” if you find out someone’s identity.

Marinette points it out to Tikki.

Plagg mentions it to Adrien.

Fu implies it to Marinette.

And then Tikki brings it up to Marinette.

Four instances in one episode. One would’ve already been distracting enough but this is four. Like, that’s already dumb, but the logic behind it makes no sense.

First off, the obvious: Ladybug and Chat Noir have been doing this for three seasons. I presume that Marinette would’ve just continued her guardian training had she found out Adrien was Chat, but still, she’s been Ladybug for a long while now and she’s good at it.

It just seems like the show only brought it up to make a point about why Marinette and Adrien specifically can’t know each other’s identities, but having it be mentioned four times and leaving so many holes just has it looking like a desperate attempt. Being so quick in an episode to essentially say, “Hey! If this one thing happens, prepare for two and a half seasons of content to suddenly mean a lot less!” was undeniably going to make people upset (think “Weredad”, but for identities instead of romance).

Secondly, yes, in a theoretical sense, someone figuring out someone’s identity may very well mean that they purposefully tried to figure out their identity, so they should get their miraculous revoked, but that is not such a simple case.

Let’s say that Chat just de-transformed in front of Ladybug. That would technically qualify since now Ladybug knows his identity, so should she get her miraculous revoked because someone else revealed themself and she couldn’t have controlled that?

Not only that, but it was Plagg’s fault that this happened and it’s hard to not let one’s mind wander. It’s not either Adrien nor Marinette’s fault if they’d accidentally figured each other out; it would be Plagg’s.

Thirdly, I am baffled at the idea that figuring out someone’s identity means that the person who figured it out gets their miraculous revoked. That just seems like a recipe for disaster, especially when the rule for temporary heroes (we’ll get to that, by the way) is that one can’t have the miraculous back if anyone else knows their identities.

Getting a miraculous revoked risks akumatization from the negative emotions that would stir up, and that akumatized person could very well just tell Hawk Moth about the identity of the hero they’d figured out, then everything is ruined, just like that.

And no, it’s not fair for, say, Marinette’s miraculous to get revoked because Adrien - hypothetically - went out of his way to discover her identity, but that’s the logical path to take if one is going to pull this “identity reveal = miraculous revoked” card.

Plus, if miraculouses were all about being fair, Chloe never would’ve gotten hers back.

The idea behind protecting one’s identity has always been about “protecting loved ones” or whatever, but then this episode comes along and takes the opposite stance, which is just confusing. It’s as if the rules apply differently just because one has a permanent miraculous, like, “oh, your loved ones would be in danger if they knew, but you won’t get your miraculous taken unless you figure out another hero’s identity.”

…Now, that said, even though that identity thing bothers me in the episode, the identity thing that doesn’t bother me here is when “Ladybug” tells “Marinette” that she can’t get the mouse miraculous back because Chat saw her.

The reason it doesn’t is because it’s not important for us as an audience to believe that Marinette wouldn’t be allowed to have the miraculous back. We already know that Marinette is Ladybug so she can’t really get the mouse back unless there are very specific circumstances involved.

The important thing is for Chat to believe that Marinette can’t get the mouse back and also that Marinette is not Ladybug.

Chat doesn’t know that Rena Rouge and Carapace know each other’s identities.

Max couldn’t have gone into the next room had he not been given the horse.

Chat can’t bring up Viperion without revealing that he’s Adrien (and Ladybug doesn’t know he’s Adrien either, nor is expecting him to be Chat, so she couldn’t make that connection). Not only that, but Adrien didn’t technically see Luka transform into Viperion, so plausible deniability there.

Ryuko hasn’t even happened yet because Fu isn’t on the run yet in “Kwamibuster.”

In addition, “Party Crasher” hasn’t happened (Fu is on the run then) so Chat hasn’t seen Viperion nor Pegase return as heroes. A hero being picked once doesn’t mean that they’ll be picked again, and Fu could’ve just said, “oh, I picked these heroes and it was an emergency.”

Also, it wasn’t just Chat who was there. Ms. Mendeleiev was there as well, and she’d just tried to out the existence of kwami. It was absolutely a mistake on the storyboarders’ parts to not show Mendeleiev being there as well until Mendeleiev approaches Chat, but she was indeed there and she would’ve seen Multimouse de-transform into Marinette as well.

It was also absolutely in-character for Marinette to have this big elaborate plan to clear her as Ladybug whereas Adrien was just like, “um–elementary school?” (he did actually call it a high school earlier but meh, details), so that was a bonus.

But… yeah, no, the episode is definitely not perfect. I mean, just off the top of my head:

- The show Ms. Mendeleiev is on is only fun because of the students’ reactions to it. I didn’t laugh at all otherwise.

- Marinette and Adrien do a similar ramble-y thing back to back which was already done in “Frozer” and I still don’t like it.

- I legitimately don’t know how to feel about Adrien only presuming that Marinette is Ladybug because of what he saw and not because he sees similarities between them. I mean, in a way, I’m glad I get to pile on more evidence to the “Desperada” stuff that was already there but this kid has like, no reaction to the idea that one of his friends is Ladybug. I’m not surprised exactly, but… I’m confused?

- Still going off of Adrien, Chat INTERRUPTS THE BATTLE TO TALK WHICH DISTRACTS LADYBUG ENOUGH FOR HER TO GET SHOT–I mean, like, Adrien/Chat is MOSTLY tolerable in this episode (”Awesome plan, girls!” was nice to hear) but I’d be lying if I said that moment didn’t grate a little on me. Save your internal struggle for patrol, Chat.

- Multimouse’s transformation track is AWESOME but the fact that she holds her pose while the background is still moving at the end looks strange to me when basically all other transformations have the pose and background freeze at almost the exact same time.

- Multimouse’s mask breaks in the model multiple times throughout the episode and it’s really distracting. Also, judging by the shot with Adrien giving Multimouse the ring, I think they shrunk the ring just slightly to fit around her waist, so her model size can sometimes be inconsistent.

- I want to know more about how Multitude works. Like, the dividing of it makes total sense, but can Marinette pick the size she wants? She divides into basically exactly enough Marinette to fit into the kwami mouths, and the fact that she’s the perfect size for it seems too convenient unless there’s a height limit based on how many multiples she has but she can go smaller if she wants. Does the division start at the height of her glowing white legs, so no Multimouse divided could be taller than that, and that’s why the division doesn’t seem to be based on her full height?? I NEED ANSWERS!!!

- I–I just… can we talk about “the mouth thing” in this show? I don’t want to say the cursed “v” word but with Gigantitan almost eating people and the actual POV shots for it, and now Multimouse riding in multiple kwami mouths (additional mention to that gross thing the Astruc head did in “The Puppeteer 2″), I’m just really weirded out, man! Like, can we not????

- I’m still mildly confused about how unifying and dividing works. I mean, unifying, not so much, since it seems like a very basic, “say the name of the new kwami and then the kwami you’re already transformed with, then unify”, but dividing is still weird. Like, after some thought, the best I can muster is that you say the name of the kwami you’re transformed with, then the kwami you’re taking away (as seen in, “Mullo, Trixx, divide!” and, “Mullo, Plagg, divide!”), unless you have to take away the kwami you’re transformed with, in which case you only say their name (”Mullo, divide!” and she becomes Ladybug instead of Multimouse). I feel like just saying the name of the kwami you want taken away should be enough and also be not as confusing, because I keep thinking that it’s an error (ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY SAY “TOPPO” AND NOT “MULLO” AND THEN DON’T EVEN GET THE KWAMI RIGHT WITH THE ICON USED FOR THEM).

- We didn’t see much of Mullo because the episode wastes so much time on characters talking. We see Mullo once when Ladybug divides them and then again when all the kwami are flying off with her, but that’s it. I presume they’re saving Mullo for the “official” mouse holder but still, just a line from Mullo would’ve been nice.

Ultimately, I think how one views the episode really depends on how much they’re taken by plot and lore. If one likes it for flavor, I think they’ll find the episode to be fun, but if details are important, I think it’ll be a little more frustrating.

For me personally, I can just edit out the identity mentions tune out the stuff that bothers me, because the main part of this episode that I focus on is the fun of Tikki-Plagg shenanigans and BLESSED QUEEN MININETTE.

It has a lot of flaws (I mean, I just went on for a good while about things that were probably nitpicks but still noticeable on first viewing), but… I dunno.

I like it. I think an episode like “Startain” is technically better put together plot-wise and has fewer things to complain about, but I like “Kwamibuster” more because it’s more fun overall.

#((This one took a while just because I don't have a lot of salt for it tbh.))#category: positivity #category: critique #category: salt #episode: Kwamibuster #other: ask and answer

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miguel-manbemel · 5 years ago

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 26: A Side is Born Part 1: Virgil’s Pregnancy

Today is one year since the first episode of this story inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders and Joan S. was released. I figured I had to do something special to celebrate it and I decided to try something new. And I decided to do something that hasn’t been done even on the original Sanders Sides: a five part epic serialized story starring the Sides.

The fun fact is that this originally started as a regular entry and the idea of a multipart episode came when I wrote the ending. And yes, the title is quite revealing. A new original Side is joining the story and it’s gonna be Roman and Virgil’s son. They’re not human so why not making a male pregnancy possible in this universe? I hope you enjoy this silly opening for this story which will be released on a weekly basis. So, until next week.

WARNINGS: The story features a physical childbirth with the struggles and pain usually associated with it, including a scene of vomiting, if it could be a trigger. Existential doubts for Virgil are to be found in the story too. Also romantic prinxiety and logicality, and a brief hint to romantic receipt played for laughs. Because yes, Remus appears, but he’s an ally in the story. This doesn’t prevent him from doing his anctics of course.

SYNOPSIS: Thomas feels strangely nervous, so he feels something’s wrong with Virgil. He’s sick and nauseous and his belly starts growing so they all deduce that Virgil must be pregnant. Now they wonder how this happened and Virgil has doubts about if he’s gonna be a good parent or not.

EPISODE INDEX

[Thomas is reading from his cell phone]

THOMAS: Merci… Gracias… Grazie… Go raibh maith agat… Efharisto… Danke schön… Tack så mycket… Dank je wel… Hvala… [noticing the camera] Oh, there you are. What am I doing, you say? Well, I’m learning how to say “Thank you” in as many European languages as I can. Soon I’ll be traveling to Europe and I want everyone to understand at least that from me… The next thing I’ll learn will be how to say “I love you”. What? That’s so me, you say? Well, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and I’m grateful and proud of having you as my wonderful followers, the best followers anyone could ever ask for… but I don’t know what you mean by “that’s so me”.

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? Today hasn’t been a really good day. I don’t know why, but I have been feeling on the edge all day. Really, really nervous, and I don’t know why, cause we didn’t have specially stressful projects today. Well, I guess you know what comes next. If an emotion of mine spirals out of control, I have the advantage of being able to talk to that emotion face to face, so here we go. Virgil? Could you come here, please?

[Virgil rises up. He looks pale and sick]

VIRGIL: What do you want… [retches] Thomas?

THOMAS: Whoa… Are you okay, Virge? You look sick…

VIRGIL: Very observant, detective Sanders… I’ve been feeling awful today.

ROMAN: [rising up] Why didn’t you tell me any of this, my love?

VIRGIL: I didn’t want to concern you, Roman. Probably it’s just something I’ve eaten that’s not agreeing with my stomach.

ROMAN: Still, my duty as your husband is taking care of you when you’re feeling bad. I thought we had agreed on not hiding things from each other.

VIRGIL: Don’t worry, Roman, I’m sure this is not serious.

PATTON: [rising up] What is this about not feeling well, son?

VIRGIL: Oh… don’t worry, dad, I’m…

[Virgil can’t end his statement, as he suddenly turns around and starts loudly vomiting off-screen. Faces of disgust are shown from each of the Sides and Thomas]

THOMAS: Oh, my gosh…

ROMAN: It… It’s the first time that I see… magenta vomit?

PATTON: It would be cute if it wasn’t so disgusting…

THOMAS: What the heck did you have for breakfast today, Virgil, a bag of ink cartridges?

VIRGIL: [turning front] Do you think I am Remus or something? I’m sorry for this mess, Thomas. I… I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I didn’t eat anything unusual today.

ROMAN: I don’t know… Could it be indigestion over too much eating?

VIRGIL: What do you mean?

ROMAN: Well, I’m sorry, my love, I didn’t want to say it, but… I think you’re gaining a bit of weight lately.

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, but… look at your belly.

[Virgil looks at his belly. His purple shirt is too tight on it]

ROMAN: Your delicious abs are gone right now. Don’t get me wrong. I love that chubby belly and I’ll love you in any body shape, but I’m just worried about how you’ve gone chubby so suddenly.

VIRGIL: [angry] I’m not chubby! And I’m not fat, for the record! It’s just the belly what has got thicker! [suddenly outbursts crying] Why you have to be so rude!?

[Virgil starts crying, sobbing, with both hands covering his face]

ROMAN: [scared] I’m sorry! I’m sorry, my love! I’m sorry!

THOMAS: Morning nausea, protuberant belly, irritability and emotions on the edge… Heh… It’s funny. If you weren’t a man I would say that you’ve got all the symptoms of being pregnant.

[Virgil slowly lowers his hands from his face and looks at Thomas with a face of horror]

THOMAS: [serious] Wait… don’t tell me that you can…

VIRGIL: Oh… my… goodness… [putting his hands on his belly] For the love of Gerard Way…

THOMAS: But… this is not a Sims game! Since when can a person with male reproductive organs get pregnant!?

ROMAN: [in shock] I… I didn’t know that was possible either.

VIRGIL: [stuttering] I wasn’t certain if it could be possible. But these past months I was thinking… How did Patton have me? All of us, the Sides of Thomas, are male like him, so there were only two options. Either Patton got someone pregnant who delivered me, or he got pregnant with me at some point. In any case, there was a male Side delivering me. The alternative is me being created by the Mind Palace itself, like most Sides, and therefore Patton not being my real father, which I know it can’t be true, given the special kind of love and connection that we share. I refuse to believe that Patton is not my real father. That’s out of the question.

PATTON: You are my son, Virgil. Never have any doubts about it, because the connection that exists between us both, the kind of pure, unconditional love that I feel for you and you feel for me, that wouldn’t exist otherwise. However, I’m a bit confused. By that time, I hadn’t been with anyone yet… and I haven’t got any recollection of having you through pregnancy. Is that how kids are…?

VIRGIL: Either way, it probably was so long ago that you don’t remember how it happened, just as I don’t remember being born as a Light Side, then turning Dark. [makes a sudden pause and looks at Patton with a serious face] Wait… what do you mean by “by that time”, dad? Do you mean that after I was born you have…?

ROMAN: [interrupting Virgil, nervously] Um… Thomas, I think we need Logan to shed a light to all of this, don’t you agree?

THOMAS: Yes, I’m so confused that I think my head is going to explode. I hope Logan can help us. Logan, could you come here, please!?

LOGAN: [rising up] How may I serve you, Thomas?

THOMAS: It’s not me who needs help. It’s Virgil.

LOGAN: Well, what’s the problem?

VIRGIL: I know it doesn’t make any sense and that it defies all laws of reproduction, but… I think I might be pregnant.

LOGAN: [unconcerned] Okay. How do you feel?

THOMAS: What? You think it’s completely logical that a male individual can get pregnant?

LOGAN: Well, I would find it completely illogical if Virgil was human. But he’s not, and as you know, not all laws of science apply to the Mind Palace, so in theory is perfectly possible for him to get pregnant. It is the first time that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, though. [looking furtively at Patton] That means we’ll have to take extra precautions when…

ROMAN: [nervously, looking at Logan with a murderous glance] Um… yes, Logan we all must always take precautions when. But it’s a little late for you to tell us this, don’t you think?

LOGAN: Well, you should be happy, Roman. I thought your biggest concern was your apparent inability to, following the laws of your principality, conceive a legitimate heir to the throne of Sandersia because you didn’t want to spend the rest of your life with anyone other than Virgil. Now that’s solved and you’ll get the legitimate offspring you always wanted to have while preserving your true love.

ROMAN: I… I hadn’t thought about that… But that’s right, Virge, I always wished to have offspring and you made the miracle possible. I love you.

VIRGIL: Well, I love you too, but I would have wished to know that this was possible beforehand, so that we could have planned this all more carefully.

LOGAN: First, before we continue theorizing, I think it would be best if I made a little check on Virgil to verify or counter-verify the news. It would be silly to talk about it when we don’t know yet if you’re really expecting. For all we know, it could just be a bad case of gas.

VIRGIL: I wish, but I don’t think so. Do I have to pee in a glass or something?

LOGAN: That won’t be necessary, just relax and let me do my work.

ROMAN: Won’t the shaking energy you use be dangerous for the baby, if they exist?

LOGAN: Don’t worry, I’ll be working on low power to avoid any damages to the child. Virgil open up your hoodie and lift up your shirt. I’ll need direct contact with your skin to be able to make a low-power check on you.

VIRGIL: Okay, Logan, you’re the doctor.

[Virgil opens up his hoodie and, with some difficulty as it is already too tight, he lifts his shirt up to the chest. Logan approaches Virgil and puts his hand gently on Virgil’s belly button, then starts caressing Virgil’s belly gently]

VIRGIL: It’s funny, I feel like a weird tingling sensation wherever Logan places his hand…

THOMAS: Incredible, it looks as if your belly was growing bigger by the minute as we speak… No offense, dude, I have felt that sensation myself sometimes after eating too much pizza.

LOGAN: Guys, be quiet, please. It’s harder for me to compile data while working with this low amount of power, I need silence or I won’t read anything.

THOMAS: Sorry, Logan.

[Logan slowly caresses Virgil’s belly up and down, left and right for a few seconds with a face of huge concentration. Roman, Patton and Thomas watch in expectation]

LOGAN: [taking his hand off] Okay… it’s done.

[Logan returns to his place]

VIRGIL: [on the verge of hysteria] Well, what did you see!?

LOGAN: Congratulations, guys. It’s a boy. Not surprising, though, as all Sides of Thomas share with him the same sex, gender, and attributes.

ROMAN: So, it’s true, then. We have a bun in the oven.

LOGAN: [confused, looking at the kitchen] I… I don’t think so, Roman, the oven is unlit and there are no signs of dough on the counter… And what does that have to do with this case, anyway?

THOMAS: It’s an expression, Logan, write it down on your vocab cards. Well, guys, I think we must call the others to give them the news. Deceit! Honesty! Remus!

[Deceit and Honesty rise up. Remus pops up]

DECEIT: What’s the ma… [looking in shock at Virgil, who is still with his shirt up as his now too bulging belly doesn’t let him lower it down] …what is going on here?

[Virgil summons his shirt away and zips up his wider hoodie with no shirt underneath]

VIRGIL: This is going faster than I thought. Wasn’t this supposed to last for nine months or something?

HONESTY: Nine… nine months? You mean that…?

ROMAN: Yes, guys. I don’t know how this happened, but we’re having a baby!

REMUS: Well, we’re all adults, Roman. We all know how babies do happen. [smirk] Wow, you really were hungry after these two months away from your husband! [wiggling his eyebrows] You two made the most of your time together, right?

PATTON: I didn’t know that’s what you had to do to make babies happen. I didn’t really know this thing existed until recently, so…

VIRGIL: Until recently? So you recently have…

ROMAN: [interrupting, looking at Patton with another murderous glance] Is no one going to congratulate us?

HONESTY: Of course, Roman. Congratulations!

DECEIT: Congratulations, Virgil. I… I’m happy for you.

VIRGIL: Thank you, Dee.

REMUS: That means that now I’m gonna be an uncle! [gasps realizing something] I’ll be Uncle Remus! [starts singing to the tune of the Disney song] Zeep-a-dee-doo-dah! Zeep-a-de-day! My, oh, my, what a wonderful day… [speaking] I hope you don’t pretend that I don’t exist like it happened to that other famous Uncle Remus from Disney.

THOMAS: Nah, you don’t need to worry. We already tried that and it doesn’t work. Not completely at least.

PATTON: And now not only I’m gonna be a dad! I’m gonna be a grand-dad too! I’m so happy!

[Patton jumps to hug Roman and Virgil, squeezing them a little bit. In doing so, the magenta puddle on the stairs behind Virgil is exposed]

REMUS: Wait, what is that magenta puddle behind Virgil?

[Patton goes back to his spot]

VIRGIL: [looking at the puddle] Oh, that’s right, I forgot to clean it up. I went really sick a moment ago and I puked this magenta… goo.

REMUS: It has a really pretty color… Can I eat it?

EVERYONE: [yelling at the same time] NO!!

REMUS: Ugh… But it looks so delicious… Why letting go to waste such a cute delicacy? [Virgil summons the puddle away] Okay, fine… I’ll make my own magenta puddle later. And I won’t share!

THOMAS: Thank God the vomit’s gone. I was fearing how long it was gonna take me to clean the stain off the carpet.

VIRGIL: One thing I don’t understand is… why was that vomit all magenta? I don’t get it.

LOGAN: Well, magenta is the result of mixing red and purple. Roman is red and you are purple. The Side that is inside of you, about to be born, will be magenta, for sure.

VIRGIL: [in pain, putting his hand on his belly] Aw!

ROMAN: [scared] What was that, Virgil! Are you okay?

VIRGIL: I… I think so… He moved inside me, and kicked me really hard from my insides. It was so weird…

ROMAN: Seriously, Logan. How can this go so fast? This morning he was having the first nausea and now he looks as if he was six months pregnant already!

LOGAN: Well, as I told you, we’re not human. Maybe instead of nine months, Virgil’s pregnancy will be only nine hours. Probably less, judging how fast it’s going.

THOMAS: I was thinking…

LOGAN: What?

THOMAS: When we lost Ira, you said that, one day or another, the Mind Palace would create a new Side to substitute him as Wrath. Could it be that the Side that is about to be born will assume my Wrath functions?

LOGAN: I don’t think so, Thomas. Roman is Creativity and Virgil is Vigilance and Anxiety. The Side that is born from them must have traits from them both, just like Virgil, son of Patton, shares with him that he’s a feeling. Wrath as an aspect is not directly tied with Creativity and Anxiety, it could happen as a product of Anxiety, but it can also happen on its own without it. Besides, it is up to the Mind Palace to create the new Side of Wrath, he won’t be born like this. We’ll still have to wait for the new Wrath to arrive someday.

THOMAS: Okay, if you say so, Logan. But then, what Side of me will he be?

LOGAN: I can’t tell yet. I’ll need to check him when he comes out. Then we’ll know for certain.

VIRGIL: [scared] Guys… How is the baby going to come out from me? Unlike women, I don’t have any ducts in my body through which he could come out.

REMUS: Yeah, is he going to burst out through his chest like in the movie “Alien”?

[Virgil grimaces]

ROMAN: [angry] Remus, please!

REMUS: What? That’s exactly what Virgil was thinking about, only that I put it out into words so you all know what he wanted to say. You’re welcome, Virge.

LOGAN: It’s okay, Virgil. When I checked you out I also checked the baby’s basic biology and status. Remember that our bodies can shape-shift?

VIRGIL: Yes…

LOGAN: Well, so the baby can. When the moment of delivery comes, he will come out through… any open conduct of yours as if it was some kind of gaseous smoke, safely solidifying in your arms without any damage for any of you.

REMUS: So, he’s literally gonna fart my nephew out? [clapping hands excited] That is so my aesthetic! I love it! I wanna have a baby too! Dee, will you help me out!?

DECEIT: [horrified] Whoa! Don’t stay away from me!

REMUS: [happy] Yay! Let’s do it!

DECEIT: [nervous] No, I really meant to say that! When I get nervous I tell the truth! Ugh! Don’t step back! [Remus starts approaching Deceit with his arms wide open and a sick smile] Dang it! Why did I have to be the embodiment of lies!? Guys, don’t help me!

[Deceit starts running away, Remus runs after him. They run in circles for a while while Patton shows a face of confusion, Honesty a face of shock, Logan facepalms, Thomas shows a concerned face and Roman just stares with a void expression. Then Virgil is shown with a face of angry struggle until he snaps]

VIRGIL: [yelling] F… [bleep] …ING SHUT UP!!!

[Everyone looks at Virgil, Deceit and Remus stop and look at Virgil too]

VIRGIL: FOR F… [bleep] ‘S SAKE, SHUT UP! AW! IT HURTS!

ROMAN: Virgil, what’s the matter!?

VIRGIL: How do you want me to know!? This thing inside of me is so heavy now! And it hurts! Aw!

LOGAN: Uh-oh! I think the time has come!

VIRGIL: What!? So soon!? I’m not ready yet!

LOGAN: Well, the baby is gonna pop out, whether you’re ready or not. Come to the couch, come on.

[Roman and Logan grab Virgil’s arms and help him walk to the couch, where he lies down]

VIRGIL: This is horrible! I thought you said it wouldn’t hurt!

LOGAN: No, I said it wouldn’t damage you. I never talked about pain. Your whole abdomen is full of gas as the baby takes that form to get out. How wouldn’t that hurt? Once you start delivering, the pain will disappear, you’ll see.

VIRGIL: Gosh… this all looks so ridiculous! Are you sure this is not some short of stupid nightmare!?

PATTON: It is not, but if it was a dream, why call it a nightmare? This moment, even with the struggle right now, should be something beautiful for you. Is it not?

VIRGIL: I don’t know, dad… I don’t know if I’m ready to be a father.

PATTON: Why?

VIRGIL: How am I going to take care of someone else when I can barely take care of myself, and with difficulty? I’m gonna suck as a parent! I’m not good enough for such a huge responsibility! I’m so scared!

ROMAN: [holding Virgil’s hand] You are good enough, Virgil. You’re the one who always takes into consideration all the possible outcomes to any situation before it even happens. The kid wouldn’t be in safer hands than yours.

VIRGIL: But I’m wrong a lot. What if he turns into some kind of manic paranoid because of me? What if I spoil him and turn him into a sad excuse of a Side? What if…?

ROMAN: Enough with those “what ifs”, Virgil! That’s not gonna happen! I’m a little scared too. I think it’s normal to feel unsure when a new life comes into the world and it’s your responsibility to take care of him. But remember that you’re not alone in that responsibility. This child is also my son and I’m gonna take my part of the duty too.

PATTON: And we’re also here to help you two in any way you need.

ROMAN: I’m sure we’ll figure it out. As long as we’re together, we can do it, you’ll see.

VIRGIL: Roman…

ROMAN: Yes?

VIRGIL: Please, don’t drop my hand while it happens.

[Roman smiles lovingly at Virgil and kisses his forehead]

ROMAN: Never. I only beg you something.

VIRGIL: What?

ROMAN: Please, when you’re pushing, don’t break my finger bones while you’re holding my hand… I need it to write.

VIRGIL: [titters] I’ll try… [suddenly in pain again] Nnghh!

LOGAN: Okay, now calm down, Virgil, and listen to me. I’m gonna be your midwife during the process and I’ll help you go through it safely. This is not gonna be like a regular human delivery with contractions and all that stuff. What you’re feeling right now is the baby, in the form of smoke, circulating inside your body, trying to find the way out. It is as if you had a bad case of intestinal cramps. That can really hurt sometimes in a regular situation, so imagine having your whole intestine full of it.

VIRGIL: [in pain] Oh, they’re really bad cramps, I can confirm! Roman, if you want any more babies, you’re gonna carry them!

ROMAN: I… I think one will be enough…

LOGAN: When the smoke reaches the exit, the pain will be gone and will be replaced by the happiness of having your son in your arms, and you’ll think that all you’re going through right now was really worth it. But until that moment comes, I need you to be strong. Okay?

VIRGIL: [whining, his forehead is full of sweat] Okay…

LOGAN: Now, I’m sorry, but I need you to be in more suitable clothing for the operation.

[Logan moves his hands and Virgil is now dressed with a purple hospital gown]

LOGAN: [positioning next to Virgil’s feet] That should do it. It’s open in the back so that the baby can come out… from where he has to come out… while respecting your own privacy.

VIRGIL: Thank you… [in pain] Aw! Here comes the pain again, and it’s worse than ever!

LOGAN: Okay, as I said there are no contractions, but what doesn’t change is that I’ll need you to push.

VIRGIL: Couldn’t I get the epidural?

LOGAN: It’s too late for it to take effect. You’ll have to cope. It will be over in less than a minute.

VIRGIL: Seems more like a century! [yelling] Aaah!

LOGAN: Now, push!

[Virgil makes a gesture of pushing while groaning. Roman looks at Virgil with the hugest concern. Then Virgil stops and loudly pants]

ROMAN: Come on, my love! I believe in you! You’re strong enough to do this!

LOGAN: It’s not enough yet. Push again… now!

[Virgil pushes again. A loud rasping noise is heard]

VIRGIL: Is it out yet?

LOGAN: [with a face of disgust as if smelling something unpleasant, fanning with his hand] No, sorry, that was just a regular fart. But it’s a good sign. The next thing coming out of there will be the baby. Now, one last time, use all your might you have left and push as if tomorrow would never come. Now!

VIRGIL: [pushing] NNNNNGGGGGHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!

LOGAN: Here it comes!

[A bright magenta smoke comes out of Virgil’s body. As it comes out forming a magenta cloud, Virgil’s belly shrinks until it returns to its normal flat form, while he shows a face of huge alleviation. Then, the cloud floats to Virgil’s chest and after some seconds, it disappears, to reveal a little baby dressed only with magenta diapers. The baby starts crying]

LOGAN: Well, it’s done. Good job, Virgil.

VIRGIL: [with his eyes full of tears] I… I… look at him, Roman.

ROMAN: [crying] I’m looking at him, Virgil. He’s as handsome as his dad. And I mean you.

THOMAS: [with his eyes full of tears] He looks just like me when I was a baby, I’ve seen photos of that. Congratulations, guys. I’m so happy for you.

VIRGIL: Thank you, Thomas.

ROMAN: Thank you.

THOMAS: Now, how are you going to name him?

VIRGIL: Well, first we need to know what aspect of your personality he’s going to represent. I want him to have a suitable name. [kissing the baby’s crown] A perfect name for a perfect boy.

LOGAN: Let me check the baby now and I’ll tell you what Side of Thomas he is.

[Logan touches the baby gently for a couple of seconds then looks at the couple]

LOGAN: Well, I can tell you confidently that this baby represents Thomas’ creative angst. He’s also his emotional sensitivity, his empathy and the Side that helps him connect his creativity with his emotions. That was probably inherited from his grandpa. Congratulations to you too, Patton, by the way.

PATTON: Thank you, my lo… [noticing he was about to mess up] …o-o-o-gan.

VIRGIL: Okay, I was too busy being worried about what was happening to me earlier. But now that that’s taken care of, what are you three hiding from me? And yes, I’m looking at you too, Roman, don’t think I didn’t notice it earlier. And you called me out for hiding things from you?

ROMAN: I’m sorry, Virgil, I…

PATTON: Sorry, son, I asked him to keep the secret for us. I promise we were gonna tell you eventually.

VIRGIL: Tell me what?

[Logan’s face is bright red. He looks nervously in all directions]

PATTON: I can tell them if you want me to.

LOGAN: No, what kind of teacher would I be if I couldn’t deliver a simple sentence stating a true fact about us? Well, the truth is that… [starts stuttering nervously] well, that Patton and I… well…

[suddenly, out of nowhere, Logan shows a determined face, looks at Patton and plants a long kiss on his mouth. All the Sides look at them in shock]

LOGAN: [breathing heavily] There! That should do it. [pulling out a vocab card] They say that “an image is worth a thousand words”, and since I was never gonna be able to put my feelings down in words, I decided to use the real language of feelings to communicate how much I’m in love with Patton. [embarrassed] Oh, wait, I did say it…

[Virgil looks at Logan and Patton. Notices how red Logan’s face still is and starts slowly giggling. Soon the giggling becomes a loud cackle and the laughter spreads to the rest of the Sides. In the end, even Logan is faintly giggling]

VIRGIL: Wow, I really needed this laugh after what I have just gone through. I’m happy for you two, guys. You really make a cute couple.

PATTON: Thanks, kiddo. Well, I don’t know if I should call you kiddo anymore, now that you’re a father yourself.

VIRGIL: Please, dad, no matter how old I get, and how many children I’ve got – which will only be this one, by the way – never stop calling me kiddo. I’ll always be your kiddo, okay?

PATTON: [heartwarming smile] Okay… kiddo.

ROMAN: Glad that the secret is out. Do you know how many times I was tempted to strangle you every time you messed up? You both suck at hiding secrets.

PATTON: Sorry, Roman. And thank you for staying true to us even if we made it so difficult. And now, kiddos, what name will you choose for the baby?

VIRGIL: I’m too tired right now to choose a name. Roman, you’re the creative one. Choose a name for our son.

ROMAN: Well… Since he’s now royalty, he needs a name worthy of a prince. Creative angst, you said? Hmm…

[all the Sides and Thomas look at Roman in expectation while Roman is thinking]

ROMAN: [talking to himself] Creative angst… Creative angst… If I rearrange these letters, remove some of them and add some more… [yelling to the others] I got it! His name will be Christian. Prince Christian Gerard Sanders. Gerard is in honor of Gerard Way, vocalist from My Chemical Romance, cause I know how much Virgil loves that band. And if you shorten the name to Chris Sanders, it sounds like the famed author of Lilo & Stich and How to Train Your Dragon. Even though that director’s full name is Christopher, I still think the name Christian really suits our boy. Do you like it, Virge?

VIRGIL: Like it? I love it, Roman. Just as much as I love you.

[Roman leans towards Virgil and kisses him]

THOMAS: Well, I think we should all let them rest. Feel free to rest on my couch all the time you need, Virge. You can stay over for dinner if you want.

VIRGIL: Thank you, Thomas, I’d really appreciate that. I need some time before I feel ready to stand up.

THOMAS: Of course, take all the time you need.

VIRGIL: For starters, Logan, would you mind giving me my outfit back? This gown is still open in the back and I can feel something itchy from the couch getting on my higher back and in my… [looking at Patton] … lower back.

THOMAS: Sorry, Virge. I’ve been so busy these past few days… that I didn’t have time to vacuum the couch for a couple of weeks. There probably are crumbs of pizza everywhere and you must be lying on them. I didn’t expect Logan to put you in that open gown.

VIRGIL: Thomas! I’m gonna be itchy for a week!

PATTON: Let me hold the baby, son. Roman, help him brush his back okay?

ROMAN: Okay…

THOMAS: [to the camera, putting himself in front of it, blocking the action behind him] Okay, to all of you out there, thank you much for watching this… weird session of ours we had today, and until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[Virgil is sitting on the couch, already with his usual hoodie on. Roman is next to him. They’re having a pizza that Thomas ordered]

VIRGIL: Is it weird that I feel as if everything today had happened like a decade ago? I can barely remember anything of the bad, [looking at Chris, who is sleeping on a light blue cradle Patton summoned earlier] just the good that came in the end.

ROMAN: Yeah. You never know what life has in store for you. Yesterday we were living our lives like always, and now here we are, facing the ultimate adventure of life that is parenthood.

VIRGIL: It’s a good thing that Logan told us that I can’t produce milk and that I have to summon bottles of formula for him. I don’t know if I could have stood the sensation of having to breastfeed the baby through my nipples. And women can go through this and an even a harder kind of delivery labor than mine? Women are the real superheroes. Kudos to them all.

ROMAN: Yeah… I don’t know why stories like the ones I usually star in always portray women like a delicate creature that needs someone like me to save them. When in reality, most of the time, it’s them who save us in so many different ways.

THOMAS: Do you want any more pizza, guys?

VIRGIL: Oof… thanks, Thomas, it was great pizza, but I’m full.

ROMAN: Me too…

CHILD-LIKE VOICE: [off-screen] Pizza…

[Thomas, Roman and Virgil get quiet]

THOMAS: What was that?

VIRGIL: It sounded like the voice of a kid…

ROMAN: Did the neighbor kid sneak into your apartment to steal your meals again, Thomas?

THOMAS: I hope not. I seriously talked with his parents and they promised me they would severely ground him if he did that again. He wouldn’t dare to…

VOICE: [voice] Pizza! Pizza!

THOMAS: Again! Who’s there!? Where are you!? Show yourself!

ROMAN: Whoever it is, they’re in the same room.

VOICE: Pizza!

VIRGIL: The voice comes from the cradle! [jumping to the cradle] Whoever you are, get away from my son!

ROMAN: I have a samurai sword and I’m gonna use it!

VOICE: Pizza! Gimme pizza! Pizza!

VIRGIL: Um… guys…

ROMAN: What?

VIRGIL: It looks like our little baby is not so… little… anymore… Look…

[Virgil takes Chris out of the cradle. Except that it is now a three year old boy]

CHRIS: [giggling and poking Virgil’s nose] Dad, I want pizza!

THOMAS AND ROMAN: [overlapping] Whaaat!?

[A sign reading “To be continued, guys, gals and non binary pals appears]

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parliposting · 5 years ago

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How to refute “I told you so” like a west coast parli debater

Judge, during the PMC, my partner, the prime minister, laid out the affirmative arguments to support the passing of the resolution. However, in the LOC, the leader of opposition offered no rebuttals to the aff arguments aside from "because I said so."

Judge, this does not provide any logical refutations of the aff claim, evidence, link chain, or impacts whatsoever. For this reason, all of the aff arguments should flow through, meaning that they were dropped by the negation, and because of this, the negation cannot bring them up again in the subsequent speeches as they have already had an 8-minute speech to counter the aff arguments made in the PMC. Judge, do not let them do this, to do so would be abusive behavior and would hurt the fairness and education of the round, and if you hurt fairness and education you hurt the positives of debate and set a precedence for abusive behavior, ultimately destroying the debate space. For this reason, if they try to bring it up later, please drop them and sign aff on your ballot.

However, judge, while the neg team has the potential to commit abusive behavior, they have already committed abusive behavior due to the nature of their argument. To not drop a team for saying "because I said so" validates such a rebuttal as a legitimate response. Judge, saying "because I said so" has no logical basis whatsoever, and because of that it kills argumentation. When you kill argumentation, you kill the educational aspect of debate, and because the education aspect of the debate, along with fairness, are the two highest values we should uphold in this round, as they encompass debate itself and we can't have a debate without the debate space, please drop the neg team from this round on the grounds of using "because I said so" as a counter.

Judge, also please note that unless the neg wins on theory, you are obligated to drop them. Because we can't debate about the resolution without setting down rules for a fair and educational debate, theory comes before or is a priori to debate about the resolution.

#Parliamentary #parli #parliamentary debate #Speech and Debate #debate #argument #ld #lincoln douglas #lincoln douglas debate #pf #public forum #public forum debate #policy #policy debate #copypasta

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toydrill · 6 years ago

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answering your questions part 2

I WASN’T EXPECTING TO MAKE TWO OF THESE IN A DAY but you guys are amazing and really fun to talk about theories with so i will, of course, talk to you about this stuff!!!!!!

on with... The Questions... im going to seperate them into little groups based on similar topics

MISC questions

thank you so much ;_; these are so sweet....

me trying to do my commissions and apply for jobs but i keep thinking about buttdeal redemption

questions about THE META/WORLDBUILDING

what’s really funny is that right after i got this ask i got another ask that basically answers it

dr. champion’s mental deterioration (and we see this captain elmer in ‘stranger forever’ too) is a direct influence of his length of time living in endless. i’m going to just start calling this the endless effect from now on because that seems to be a good shorthand for the short term memory loss, mania, and psychotic delusions and lack of time/reality perception that being on the island for too long causes

i REALLY like this idea too, but it also brings up a very... scary question: does the island of endless itself have some sort of sentience??? like that would explain it’s VERY specific changes in world logic based on esther and todd questioning TOO much... hmm... i will think on it

OKAY now that i have a readmore to dump about this question in. FUCK anon this shit hurted so much and maybe it’s just projecting but taking this angle for buttwitch really heavily implies a narrative in which she was either a victim of CSA or some kind of manipulation in youth that is now expressed as her hypersexualized appearance (and ego IN that appearance AS the buttwitch, a la “haven’t you ever seen a GROWN WOMAN?”, referring to reggie’s adolescent body as “weak and feeble”, et cetera) that caused her to escape to endless.

she wanted to be and feel mature without the backlash of society making her feel like she had to wait. maybe she was abused/manipulated and when she was taken away from that situation, instead of being happy, she was just super pissed off that they felt like she wasn’t mature enough to handle it on her own? i also think that there had to be an event during her time in endless that would have caused her to become dormant or ‘die’, which is why when she is summoned again via reggie she’s confused at what endless has become (perhaps this event is when endless decided Fuck Adult Rights, like the last anon suggested???)

i don’t know. julia vickerman help me

okay this is the BUTTDEAL section

YOU’RE SO RIGHT...HIS LITTLE MITTENS!!!! i also love that buttwitch’s reply, though it was probably meant as like a villainous Quip, sounds SO legitimate. she just sounds like she’s happily agreeing with him.....so cute

PLEASE i feel like it would make understanding buttwitch SO much easier for the main characters because big deal is her only confidant and is the one who is with her constantly. i love the trope of villain lackeys who are also inadvertently helping the heroes ... like the main three talking to him under the guise of giving him relationship advice but slowly learning more about buttwitch’s vulnerabilities and maybe HER PAST? or at least what she tells him. I DONT KNOW. I WANT REDEMPTION. I WANT REDEMPTION. I W

he catches up to her in the woods, nearly tripping over his feet because the damn thing is still...wriggling..., and she turns to him expecting to have to Kill him instantly. he scrambles to offer her her tail back, stammering and babbling about how he didn’t want her to leave without it and she is about to tell him off like OBVIOUSLY i dont fucking need it idiot its not going to just CONNECT BACK TO MY BODY but then realizes...oh shit... henchman material

so instead she’s like. slightly nicer. asks him why he isn’t with the rest of the people on the island shunning her . asks who that little orange haired freak was. and then is like “hmm....i think we can help each other” and he’s just (heart eyes) “YES MA’AM!”

#txt #12f meta tag #twelve forever #thank you all for the questions!!!!!!!!#stay tuned for the next episode of Tai gets to shamelessly infodump for 4000000 words

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commentaryvorg · 6 years ago

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Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 3.8

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time in chapter 3, Maki started to realise how her talent could be used for good as she helped Shuichi through the investigation, Kiyo was the worst and murdered Tenko as well, causing something of a setback in the fact that she’d just begun to get through to Himiko, the writers might still be trying to get us to think Kaito is expendable, Kaito’s illness took over as the most pressing issue on his mind, and he completely accidentally brought up the mastermind’s intent to nerf him with his phobia.

This time, the trial begins.

Kaito: “Sorry everyone, but I don’t think I’m gonna be much help this time. Because of Monokuma’s… disruptions, I couldn’t do a thorough investigation.”

Kaito is still clinging to his unintentionally-completely-correct excuse to save face. It’s interesting to note how he apparently wants everybody to think that the way in which he’s useful and therefore needed to be nerfed is because he’s a good investigator, when he’s decidedly not. His real value – and presumably the reason the in-universe writers wanted to nerf him in this chapter – comes from being able to be there for and encourage Shuichi, and everyone else too. He should know this himself, but he doesn’t seem to want to frame things that way.

(And he’s still apologising even as he is arguing that it is supposedly not his fault.)

Kokichi: “I can tell Monokuma is overcompensating to hide his self-consciousness.”

And obviously here Kokichi’s actually talking about Kaito. Which, to be fair, is correct, because Kaito doesn’t really believe his excuse is true.

Monokuma: “Next time, spend less time fixing your hair and more time investigating, spaceman!”

It’s interesting that Monokuma comments on this too. I have to wonder whether or not he knew about the decision to nerf Kaito in this chapter – it’s not like he necessarily needs to know everything about what the writers have planned to manipulate the way the story goes, only the stuff directly related to the motives.

Kiyo: “Do not let your emotions hasten your judgement. There may be two killers.”

Tsumugi: “So… our other culprit… might nooot be one of us heeere…”

Tsumugi, you know full well that does not logically follow from what Kiyo just said. The possibility that the culprit is a spirit has nothing to do with the possibility that there are two killers. If you’re accepting that a ghost murderer is an option, then both victims could have been killed by a spirit, and it could have been the same one or two different ones. And if you’re trying to present a legitimate theory, you could try saying it like a normal person instead of putting on that spooky voice.

What I’m saying is, leave Kaito the fuck alone already, you know he’s not going to make a huge amount of difference in this trial either way. At this point you’re not even manipulating the story; you’re just being an unnecessary dick.

Maki: “Say something, Shuichi. It’ll be a mess if this keeps going on.”

Maki is still frustrated at Kaito’s inability to be his usual self while this ghost stuff is going on and wants it to stop being a thing already. I don’t know why she can’t say something herself, though; she also read the Necronomicon.

Shuichi: (Well, in the interest of being thorough, I should clear things up here.)

More like in the interest of keeping Kaito functional.

Gonta: “So ritual did work!?”

“C-Come on…”

“I said stop…”

“Resurrected!?”

“Y-You gotta be kidding me!”

…

Miu: “Angie did say she was gonna bring Rantaro back!”

“Guys?”

“Come on, be serious…”

“This can’t be happening!”

“So stop it, stop it!”

This is the kind of thing that white noise is really fun for.

Kaito: “PLEASE! STOP IT!!!!”

“Shuichi, say something.”

…I still think loud outbursts like this aren’t quite in character for Kaito, though. At least we get some fun white noise from Maki here too.

Monokuma goes on to insist that the Necronomicon would have worked if it’d been used. So even though it was the cubs who made that claim to begin with, it is also backed up by Monokuma himself, and, well… he never usually lies about motives. Which is what led me to think up my Flashback-Light-and-clone theory I proposed earlier. That said, it is pretty awkward writing that they leave open this insistence that resurrection would have been possible but then never properly explain how at any point. They don’t even hint at it in a way that lets you figure it out on a replay if you’re paying attention (like how they hint at the reason for Kaito’s totally extraneous phobia). I only thought of my theory because I wanted to come up with something that worked, and this was all I could think of, not because I’m certain that it’s what the writers intended to be the truth.

Tsumugi: “Oooh? So resurrecting the dead was actually possible this whole time?”

Leave him alone, for goodness’ sake! Just drop this lazily-written phobia plotline already and let Kaito move on to freaking out about the other thing you gave him to deal with, which is an infinitely better story than this. Not that I think that’s why you gave him that to deal with, but still.

Okay, wow, complete tangent here: I took a break here while writing the commentary and came back to it after booting the game up at this point in the trial, and… the screen was completely black, except for the textboxes and other UI stuff. The game still played, but I couldn’t see any of the text in the Nonstop Debate, so actually proceeding would have been nigh-impossible. I had to restart the class trial from the main menu to fix it and then fast-forward back to here. Is this a known glitch? Maybe it’s because I saved while a line was still in the middle of being read? Because that was a thing.

Kiyo: “I did not care about some katana…”

He totally did, though; he was threatening to tear out Kokichi’s nerves if he touched it earlier in the chapter. It amuses me that the game acts as though you can try and prove that, too.

Kiyo: “I had no desire to kill her in the first place.”

Yeah, of course not, it’s not like you’re a serial killer who targets girls or anything.

Kokichi: “Well, it can’t be Himiko. She was besties with Angie. I trust their friendship! You guys do too, riiiight?”

Sure you do, Kokichi. Yet again, this is him trying to make a point of how foolishly naïve everyone else sounds for talking about friendship and trust in a killing game.

Keebo: “…Can we trust their friendship so readily?”

Kokichi: “Obviously! Let’s believe in them!”

Kokichi’s got this really mocking tone to his voice as he says this. He is really transparently just trying to make his own words about belief sound empty and hollow, to make people think that everyone else’s words about belief are just as hollow too.

Kiyo: “And do you have an alibi for last night?”

Gonta: “Gonta in room, talking to bug friends. Much better than being out too late at night. Ask bug friends if Kiyo doubt Gonta!”

Aww, Gonta. He doesn’t realise that other people don’t speak bug and so can’t question his bug friends, so obviously this makes a perfectly good alibi, right?

Kokichi: “Yeah, I did it. I killed Angie.”

Shuichi: (…Hm.)

I love how Shuichi’s immediate reaction to this is one of utmost scepticism.

Kiyo: “What are you saying? Is this some kind of joke?”

Kiyo looks more flustered than you’d expect him to be about this if he weren’t the murderer. He is so confused as to why the fuck Kokichi would confess to something he knows he didn’t do.

Shuichi: “The gold leaf on that katana did peel rather easily.”

Monokuma: “Hmmm… That evidence rings a bell. Specifically, a school bell…”

Yeah, because everyone in the audience is a big Danganronpa genwunner and you put that here to pander to them, apparently.

(Like, seriously. Fifty-two past seasons. People should not be so fixated on season 1 any more.)

Ugh, these Psyche Taxi segments. Practically every time, the first two or three questions are things that have already been clearly established and only the last question has you actually figure out something new, this time that the whole katana-effigy-rope setup was used to lock the door by being spun around. Why the heck not just take that last question and make it a regular multiple choice question.

Kokichi claimed earlier during his confession that he locked the room by picking the lock closed, so this gets him to admit he didn’t actually do it after all.

Maki: “Why did you say you were the culprit?”

Kokichi: “…I wanted to lure the culprit out. If I claimed to be the culprit, then the *real* culprit would agree as well, ya get me?”

Yeah, except that the real culprit did not jump on the opportunity to save himself by condemning Kokichi (and why would he even try to, since Kokichi was already busy condemning himself with his confession). What Kokichi’s confession actually achieved in terms of smoking out the culprit was having Kiyo be subtly the most bewildered out of anyone by it. But Kokichi didn’t pick up on that subtlety, apparently (or if he did he’s still keeping it to himself, thanks a lot Kokichi), so fat lot of good his whole ploy was.

Kokichi: “And if they pressured me to confess, then that would have looked mighty suspicious. Sheesh! Darn it! It didn’t go my way because Shuichi butted in on my plan.”

You were already confessing. Obviously the culprit wouldn’t have needed to pressure you to confess any more. Your plan was already failing before Shuichi came along and put the lid on it. You are not as clever as you think.

Kaito: “That leaves us with four suspects… Tsumugi, Gonta, Keebo… and Kokichi.”

Kokichi: “Don’t forget Himiko. She’s also a part of the student council. Doesn’t matter if she was besties with Angie, she’s still a suspect.”

And here’s Kokichi proving just how transparently manipulative and two-faced he was being a few minutes ago. (Look at Kaito low-key running with the “it wasn’t Himiko because they were friends” argument, though. Of course he would.)

Himiko: “Me? A suspect? I’d… never kill Angie!”

Himiko is having emotions!

Kokichi asks all of the “Suspect Rangers” what they think they could say to clear their names. Everyone is understandably unsure (what can they say; obviously no-one has alibis), then…

Himiko: “Why… did Tenko have to die?”

Kaito: “Huh?”

Aww, Himiko. And I like Kaito being the one to react to that, because of course he cares about her suffering and wants to help if he can.

Himiko: “Can we talk about Tenko’s case now and not just Angie’s—”

Kokichi: “Mwah-hahahaha! I got ya exactly where I wanted, Himiko!”

…And Kokichi was apparently trying to bait someone into changing the topic to Tenko’s murder, under the assumption that whoever does so is Angie’s killer trying to misdirect everyone.

But no, Kokichi, Himiko doing this doesn’t prove she killed Angie. It just proves that she’s a person who’s having emotions about the fact that the two people who cared about her most are now dead.

Kokichi: “Until we solve Angie’s case, Tenko’s case is meaningless! Did you suggest that to waste our ti—”

Himiko: “It’s not meaningless!”

Shuichi: (Himiko?)

Himiko: “Tenko’s death was meaningless? How dare you! Poor Tenko… How could you do this to her!?”

Look at Himiko go! Look at her getting genuinely fired up and emotional because Kokichi is being a dick about the fact that her would-have-been friend is dead!

Kokichi: “Himiko, stop it with your crappy lies.”

Himiko: “Lies…?”

Kokichi: “Everything you said is total BS. You didn’t give two shits about Tenko when she was alive… But now you’re like, ‘Oh no! Poor Tenko!’ after she’s dead. C’mon, really?”

And again we have an example of Kokichi projecting his own manipulative assholery onto someone else because he can’t comprehend the notion that other people don’t think like he does. If he were in Himiko’s shoes and had not cared about Tenko while she was alive but was claiming to care now, obviously that’d be him lying to try and get sympathy and misdirect everyone, so that’s definitely what Himiko’s doing too, right? It couldn’t possibly be that she’s realised she was unfairly cold towards Tenko and regrets it now that it’s too late or anything.

Like, seriously, Kokichi, you were there in the seance room when Tenko gave her final speech to Himiko. Have some fucking empathy, dude, instead of trying to make everything about you.

(There could be an argument made here that Kokichi is being a dick about this on purpose to push Himiko into admitting to her feelings and showing them. But this started as Kokichi making an attempt to bait out the killer and wasn’t specifically about Himiko until she spoke up, and she was already having emotions at that point. For Kokichi to then continue to be even more of a dick, even after she’d started getting really riled up and passionate, would not be at all necessary if he were secretly trying to help her. So that’s not what he’s doing. He’s just projecting and genuinely believes she doesn’t care.)

Himiko: “I know I ignored Tenko before… That’s why… I’m so upset now… I should’ve faced Tenko… worked things out with her while she was still alive. But now… it’s too late. I can’t complain to her… or thank her…”

Poor Himiko is finally accepting that Tenko was always trying to help her and that all she was doing was running away from the advice Tenko was giving. It’s just a shame it took Tenko’s death for it to fully sink in.

Himiko: “It’s… too la—”

Kaito: “Yeah, seriously! It’s way too late to realize that now.”

And here comes Kaito, doing what he can to help! This is essentially an application of his philosophy that simply moping around lamenting bad things isn’t going to get you anywhere.

Kaito: “Our only option is to face her death head-on!”

Himiko: “…Nyeh? Face her death?”

Kaito: “Himiko… I understand what you’re going through.”

It’s a little oddly specific of Kaito to say that he understands what Himiko’s going through when he hasn’t personally lost anyone he was especially close to so far in this killing game. Yet, I really, really don’t think that Kaito would lie or exaggerate about something this serious and personal. He wouldn’t try and artificially make things about himself when this is 100% about Himiko right now. So… more fuel for the “Kaito’s parents died” train? I really think it is. Him having dealt with his parents’ death by trying his best to face it head-on definitely sounds like the kind of thing Kaito would have done that would have helped shape him into the person he is today.

(Also, assuming that Kaito did lose his parents, it’s still notable that he’s not explicitly mentioning this as his reason for why he cares so much about helping Himiko, because this still isn’t about him and as much as possible he wants to avoid making it so.)

Kaito: “So I’m gonna help you out! Let’s work together to find the truth! I’m not gonna let anyone say her death didn’t matter!”

Himiko: “K-Kaito…!”

Aww, Himiko being appreciative of Kaito’s support. After losing the two people she was closest to, she must be feeling completely alone and like nobody’s on her side, but here’s Kaito showing that he is on her side. That has to really help.

Kaito: “Abandoning someone who died and only thinking about your own survival… That’s just as bad as a hit-and-run! I won’t forgive something so messed up!”

…Did Kaito’s parents die in a hit-and-run.

It is just like Kaito to be furious at any hypothetical person who commits a hit-and-run regardless of who the victims were, just for running away from what they did rather than owning up to it and facing the pain they inadvertently caused. But even so, this is a strangely specific thing for him to bring up in this particular situation, unless he has some personal investment in hit-and-runs that has made him think about this before and is at the front of his mind because he was already thinking about his parents.

I am like 90% certain this is something the writers deliberately intended to imply here, and again I love that there are subtle details about Kaito like this that don’t need to be outright stated because that doesn’t stop them being true.

Kokichi: “I already told you, that’s sooo unnecessary. We’re getting sidetracked here.”

Kaito: “No, even if it was a different culprit, we need to know how Tenko died. If we don’t find out who killed her, we won’t be able to work together. Not now, not ever.”

He’s so right! If they come out of this trial only knowing who killed Angie and not who killed Tenko, then there will always be the looming possibility that one of the remaining survivors killed Tenko and is still hiding that fact. It would be impossible to truly trust each other with that hanging over everyone. And of course Kaito would have already considered the risk of that happening, because he’s always thinking about everyone’s co-operation. Kaito is so good.

(And look, Kokichi is still arguing that Tenko’s death is meaningless even when this is no longer so much about Himiko’s feelings, so that was never why he was saying that.)

Kokichi: “Finally, you noticed! Geez, you’re so slow.”

Yeah, sure, Kokichi, you just try and save face and pretend that you were aware of that all along and that Kaito’s the one who’s slow on the uptake, not you. I totally believe that you were already aware of this notion which centres around the concepts of co-operation and trust; it’s not like you have trouble even comprehending those ideas or anything. God, Kokichi is so incapable of ever admitting when he’s wrong.

Shuichi: (I don’t mind going over Tenko’s case… But that was an abrupt change of topic. Was that… intentional…?)

Shuichi, don’t tell me you’re actually being fooled by Kokichi’s attempt to imply that Himiko only changed the topic to draw attention away from the fact that she supposedly killed Angie.

Miu: “So those four are the culprits!”

Gonta: “Oh… Himiko still culprit?”

Why are we still using the words “culprit” and “suspect” interchangeably. Gonta I can understand, but come on, Miu.

Kiyo: “True, I may have suggested it. But I explained the procedure beforehand, yes? If we all knew of it before the murder then we are all equally suspicious.”

Not really, though. That makes it possible that the others could have done it, but Kiyo is still clearly more suspicious than anyone else because he’s the one who wouldn’t shut up about this seance for the past several days and definitely knew every single detail of it.

Kiyo argues that Keebo did it by using his flashlight to sneak in under the floor. He’s later going to try and claim Himiko did it because she picked the room. He has absolutely no game plan for this, does he. Most killers usually at least try to pin it on one specific person and make all the facts seem to point to them.

Miu is also totally on board with claiming Keebo did it. So much for her caring about him, then.

Keebo: “My status as a robot does not mean I am capable of performing superhuman feats!”

I mean… you are, Keebo. Nobody else here can shine light from their eyes or replay recordings of conversations they were witness to without additional equipment.

Kaito: “Enough with the flashlight! It’s way too bright!”

Kaito being specifically the one to complain here makes me wonder if his illness is making him more sensitive to bright lights than usual.

Tsumugi: “Maybe they marked Tenko with glowing paint and looked for that? That’d let the culprit find her. Then they could stab her through the floorboards…”

Monokuma: “Boy, that sounds really familiar too! But I’m just gonna ignore it!”

…Yeah. On a first time through, this would just seem like a fun little continuity nod that Tsumugi just unintentionally happened to make. But really, it’s a pretty clever subtle hint towards the mastermind’s identity. Less subtle of a hint for people who know what’s truly going on here, though – by which I mean the in-universe audience. You’d think this would have basically told them who it is.

Kokichi: “Nee-heehee… What if Angie’s spirit killed Tenko?”

I’m going to assume that Kokichi doesn’t really think spirits are a thing and is just suggesting this because it gives him an opportunity to be a huge dick to Kaito again.

Kokichi: “See? You can’t explain, can you? Only a spirit could have done th—”

Kaito: “W-Wait, I know! What if the culprit was hiding inside the cage!? If they were in there, they coulda stabbed Tenko during the seance!”

I am amused by Kaito proposing something way stupider than he usually would in his desperation to move the topic away from spirits.

Maki: “I agree with Kaito. The culprit could have been inside the cage.”

And then Maki going along with that seemingly ridiculous theory for a much more sensible reason.

Maki: “Maybe the culprit wouldn’t need to hide in the first place.”

Kiyo: “What?”

Maki: “Also, the culprit could’ve killed her in the cage at any time. I think you know what I’m getting at, right?”

This, however, is a frustrating example of someone acting uncharacteristically vague just so that the player controlling Shuichi can have a game to play and figure it out themselves. Maki would not usually beat around the bush like this.

Kiyo: “After stabbing herself with the sickle, she threw it underneath the floor.”

Still pretty difficult to buy that the sickle ended up in the corner of the room from that, though.

Himiko: “W-Well it doesn’t make sense to me! There’s no reason for Tenko to commit suicide!”

Damn right it doesn’t make any sense! Look at Himiko understanding and believing in Tenko at last.

Of course Kokichi is the one to make the argument that Tenko killed Angie and then killed herself out of guilt and hid her suicide in an attempt to take Himiko with her, because that kind of selfish, underhanded assholery makes perfect sense in his mind as something that someone who liked Himiko would do.

Kokichi: “Himiko, you said that Tenko would never do anything like that… But how can you be so sure? Did you guys *actually* know each other? People keep all sorts of secrets, like Maki. She hid the fact that she’s a cold-blooded killer. Is it wise of us to trust people wholeheartedly in this kind of situation?”

Kokichi is so utterly, unshakably convinced that trusting anyone ever, and especially in a killing game, is completely illogical no matter how they might have acted towards you.

Kaito: “Geez… you’re such a naive dude.”

Kokichi: “…Naive?”

Kaito: “We’re all just people, y’know? Of course we’re gonna have some secrets. What matters is whether there’s any malice behind ‘em.”

Kaito continues to have the best philosophy, yet again. He knows that people are complicated and therefore that doing a bad thing doesn’t necessarily make someone a bad person. The simple act of hiding something from others is not inherently malicious. Maki was hiding something bad about herself, but it wasn’t for a malicious reason! It was to protect herself, not to hurt everyone.

And this is delightfully relevant to the main theme of this game, that lies can sometimes be used for good. While Kokichi is usually the person one would think of as advocating that idea the most, maybe Kaito actually believes that more than Kokichi does.

Kokichi: “People can lie about how malicious their hidden secrets really are.”

…Because Kokichi is irrationally convinced that if someone is hiding something, it’s always for malicious reasons. That’s why he was so terrified of Maki. That’s why he continued to try and push the idea that Maki was a terrible person even once she’d explained her non-malicious reasons for hiding her talent and everyone else had more or less accepted it.

Kaito was not wrong to call Kokichi naïve. Think about how Gonta is naïve: he always assumes the best of everyone when there’s no evidence either way, and even sometimes when there is circumstantial evidence indicating that they’re not such a good person. Kokichi is exactly like that, but in the opposite direction: when things are ambiguous, he always assumes the worst of everyone, even to the point of selectively ignoring circumstantial evidence that indicates they might not be so bad after all. It’s an unusual use of the word “naïve”, but not an inaccurate one. While Gonta is childishly convinced that everyone is always good and wants to help each other, Kokichi is childishly convinced that everyone is always bad and out to get each other.

Kaito: “Well duh. It’s impossible to know for sure what others are thinking. That’s why it all comes down to whether or not you believe in yourself!”

Kaito isn’t doing a great job of explaining exactly what he means here – one would have expected his sentence to end with “believe in them” – but there is a logic to this that makes sense to him. It still is about whether you believe in that person, but Kaito extends this to then also be about whether you believe that your own judgement of that person is correct, despite not being able to know for sure what’s going on in their head. And of course Kaito can believe in himself in this way – as I have pointed out time and again, he has an incredibly keen intuition when it comes to other people and has literally never been wrong so far and never will in future. Kaito has full confidence in how good his intuition is (his “official Luminary of the Stars hunches”!), which is why he’s able to believe in other people as strongly as he does.

(Okay, technically Kaito’s intuition has been wrong so far about one person: Ryoma. Which is to say that Kaito’s intuition is only ever wrong when his issues about heroism get in the way and cloud his judgement. He’s going to be wrong in future for that reason, too – but only for that reason. When that’s not a factor, which is most of the time, his intuition is and will always be correct.)

Kaito: “If you get betrayed, it’s not their fault! It’s your fault for believing in them! That’s why I believed in Maki Roll! Because I wanted to believe in her!”

Kaito is not like Gonta in this regard. He does not just blindly believe that everyone is good without proof. His proof is his judgement – which isn’t completely concrete evidence, but it’s more than enough for him to be willing to take that risk. And again, he knows he’s taking a risk by doing this. He’s fully accepting of the possibility that he might be wrong. But if he turns out to be, then that’s the fault of his judgement being wrong, not of the person in question for being who they always were in the first place. It’s a really great philosophy that would help anyone avoid becoming paranoid, because it puts any problems down to misunderstandings between people, rather than the other person having been deliberately out to get you.

Maki: “Just because you’re acting all cool doesn’t mean you get to skip training.”

Pfft. But also, this is Maki not quite getting Kaito once again. He’s not saying this to try and make himself look good! He’s doing it because this is what he believes, and it’s relevant to the discussion, so why wouldn’t he say it? He’s just being Kaito.

Kaito: “H-Hey, c’mon… Don’tcha think you’re being a little too strict?”

…Although it seems like Kaito might want an excuse to skip training, you know, because of the whole dying thing. Still, I don’t for a second believe that’s the reason he gave this speech.

Kokichi: “Well, we come from different backgrounds. So for now, let’s agree to disagree.”

You want to tell us what it is about your “background” that gives you such ridiculously massive trust issues, Kokichi? No? No, of course not.

Like, I understand why Kokichi would never want to talk about the reason why he’s like this. Even so, it frustrates me to no end that the writing never even tries to hint at what it is. I would like him so much more as a character if I could get a proper, cohesive picture of why he is this way and not just that he is this way! I’d be able to really empathise with him and feel his fear of betrayal instead of just intellectually knowing that he must have it. But that picture just isn’t there. (And it’s not like it couldn’t be there even without Kokichi directly talking about it. Look at how many things about Kaito I’ve been able to point out and be almost completely certain are true even though they’re only subtly hinted at.)

Kokichi: “No one’s ever called me naive before. And from Kaito? Seriously?”

Haha, Kokichi is so mad at the notion that Kaito’s the rational one while he’s not. Of course he’d want to insist that it’s Kaito who’s naïve for buying into all this nonsense about belief. But no, in reality, Kaito’s philosophy about believing in people isn’t naïve at all. It’s not for everyone, sure, but it has great internal consistency and logic to it. Kokichi constantly tries to insist that his own philosophy is the sensiblest most rationalest in order to protect himself from any notion that he might be in the wrong by being an untrusting lying asshole, but really, the logic of his philosophy falls apart as soon as you get to the “everyone must be a bad person no matter what because I’m terrified of thinking otherwise and then turning out to be mistaken”.

Himiko: “My heart… can’t reach Tenko anymore… But I wanna believe in her… She wouldn’t commit suicide! She wouldn’t try to take us down! That’s what I want to believe!”

Yay, Himiko buying into Kaito’s philosophy!

Gonta: “Me too. Gonta no can believe Tenko commit suicide.”

And of course Gonta would believe in her too.

Kiyo: “If you insist we believe in Tenko, then provide a reason to do so.”

Shuichi: (A proper reason…) “Alright… I’ll give you a reason.”

There is no evidence-based reason to believe that Tenko didn’t commit suicide. Shuichi believes in her as a person, just like Himiko does and just like Kaito was encouraging them to do, but in order to get the others who don’t believe in her to buy that she didn’t kill herself, there needs to be evidence. So Shuichi is planning to lie.

Maki: “…Is there a reason?”

Shuichi: “Yes, there is. Will you trust me, Maki? If it turns out I’m wrong, you can blame me all you like. But for now… I need you to trust in my detective work.”

He’s not really asking Maki trust his detective skills; he’s asking her to trust his judgement of Tenko’s personality and play along with his lie. It’s exactly like Kaito was saying: you have to believe that your own judgement of that person is accurate – and if you can believe in someone else’s judgement too, that works the same way. (That’s also why Shuichi started believing in Maki in the previous trial – because Kaito did, and Shuichi decided to trust his judgement.)

Tsumugi: “But if Tenko did commit suicide… It would explain why she died during the seance.”

“Makes sense to Gonta…”

What do you mean it makes sense to you, Gonta? You were just saying how you believed that Tenko would never kill herself!

Maki: “…You’re right. I completely forgot about that important detail. Tenko died instantly…”

Yay for Maki believing in Shuichi’s judgement and lying with him! Even though she has to make herself seem careless in order to do so.

Kokichi: “Nee-heehee… Words of a true killer. Pretty sure we can believe everything she said.”

Yeah, Kokichi’s pretty sure she just lied, isn’t he. Look at him still trying to imply that everyone should doubt her just because she’s an assassin, without actually calling out her lie and dragging the trial back to a halt.

Kaito: “How could you forget that, Maki Roll? You better apologize to Shuichi!”

Maki: “…Excuse me?”

Shuichi: “I-It’s okay, Kaito, really. No apology necessary…”

And I love how Kaito is completely oblivious to the fact that they both just lied.

(Again, reminder: Kaito advocates apologising when you’ve genuinely made a mistake.)

Himiko: “Just like I thought… Tenko wouldn’t commit suicide…”

Gonta: “…Thank goodness, Himiko.”

Aww, Himiko looks to relieved to hear proof that she’s right to believe in Tenko, having no idea that the “proof” is a lie. And Gonta is so happy, all for her sake. What a good.

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