#and then getting tricked into investigating a murder scene there that has to do with his specific backstory of demon angst

[writeouswriter]

Is the problem that I'm being too self indulgent with my plots that they start to lose coherency or is the problem that I'm not being self indulgent enough and thinking too hard about trivial things like whether they make sense rather than whether or not they kick ass severely and look good as the backdrop to my daydreams

[periwinkla]

AAI3 ideas compilation ❤ *minor spoilers for AAI games and SOJ* The idea was borne from the old "let's stow away in Mr. Edgeworth's suitcase" trick that was brought up in SOJ - made me imagine an AAI3 game where the assistant is Trucy 'cause Edgeworth the goof didn't notice his suitcase suddenly weighted like a whole 30 kilos of child more - Phoenix probably just comes by for the final case. While Phoenix gets on a plane in a panic, Edgeworth also panics because he needs to investigate murders but can't very well leave a 8 year old child by herself. Shenanigans ensue. Kay comes back. Kay and Trucy's shenanigans are Edgeworth's worst nightmare atm, and that's saying a lot. Kay probably figures out who 'that man' is, thanks to Trucy talking about her daddy. All in all Trucy and Edgeworth spending time together while Phoenix isn't there would explain why Trucy is so confortable with him on the plane in SOJ. Gosh I love that scene. When Phoenix finally reaches them Trucy and Edgeworth are so in tune that when Edgeworth figures stuff out, Trucy immediatelly knows and she's prepared to shout Eureka! with him. Phoenix is like...what. And that's how he discovers Edgeworth's Eureka idiosyncrasy. He's also floored by how cute it is. (I know it doesn't exist in the original Japanese but let's ignore that) Also, do you think that maybe the reason Edgeworth doesn't notice 30+ kilos of child is that perhaps he doesn't even lift his suitcase in the first place? And in that case the poor soul that has such a task is obviously Gumshoe. Gumshoe probably thinks it's totally normal for Edgeworth's suitcase to weigh like half his weight. Which, tbh, isn't that farfetched an idea. *also clothes are a bit inconsistent bc I drew them at different points in time ahahah ^^''

[mxtxfanatic]

Let’s talk Yi City Arc! I’ve seen a few posts since my time in the fandom that talks about the Yi City Arc as unnecessary or out of place in the whole of the mdzs narrative. I’ve even seen some suggest that the disconnect is because Yi City was originally a separate story to mdzs, a sort of prototype, if you will, to explain it away. I, too, after my first read questioned the significance of this arc to the overall story. However, the Yi City arc and its placement so early in the novel is actually just a huge and very clever spoiler to most of the important plot points of the overarching story… if you know what plot points to look for, which an un-spoiled first-time reader would not. So let’s talk about those spoilers:

1) The righteous cultivation clans’ refusal to stand against evil—and, really, their indulgence of it—leads to the wiping out of an entire clan and a monastery as well as the deaths of two powerful cultivators unaffiliated with any major sect.

The “righteous” cultivation clans happily ignore that fact that the Jin Clan is amassing power through unscrupulous guest disciples, and it is only when Xiao Xingchen, an outsider, brings the crime against the Chang Clan to light do they bother to pretend to do anything about it. However behind the scenes, the Jin Clan assassinates their only real opposition, and the other clans, great and small, continue to do nothing as Xue Yang is released to commit another massacre. The Jin are never held responsible for their actions. Likewise, all the clans turn away from Wei Wuxian, an outsider, when he calls out the Jin Clan’s crimes against the Wen remnants and accuses them of amassing power via poaching vassal clans and attempting to steal his tools. Behind the scenes, the Jin work to undermine Wei Wuxian’s reputation before joining in to massacre Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants. The Jin are never held accountable for this, which directly leads into the Xue Yang situation.

2) Xiao Xingchen has his reputation slandered by Xue Yang killing others using his sword.

After Xiao Xingchen kills himself, Xue Yang begins using his sword to enact “vengeance” on the remnants of the Chang Clan, who he considers as having “betrayed” Xiao Xingchen. Finding the signature of Xiao Xingchen’s sword on the slain bodies leads the cultivation world to believe that a disillusioned Xiao Xingchen is killing in revenge. In much the same way, Wei Wuxian is used as a scapegoat by the cultivation world whenever bad things happen, such as the presence of walking corpses or the mass digging of graves. In neither situation does any clan investigate the true events of the situations, happy to blame the easiest suspect and allow the unrest to continue. In both situations, Xiao Xingchen and Wei Wuxian are eventually found innocent of the crimes for which they are accused, and the true culprit is revealed.

3) Xiao Xingchen is betrayed by someone he considered close to him, which eventually leads to his death.

Xiao Xingchen, due to being literally blinded by his sacrifice, ends up running into, rescuing, and caring for his mortal enemy, Xue Yang. Taking advantage of Xiao Xingchen’s blindness, Xue Yang tricks him into murdering a bunch of innocents and his best friend, causing him to commit suicide. Wei Wuxian, similarly, is betrayed by a close friend he kept near, figuratively blinded by a former childhood friendship and the present debt he felt owed to said friend’s parents. This misplaced trust directly leads to his death.

4) Xiao Xingchen must give up his eyes for Song Lan to see again, because Baoshan Sanren is not magical.

This is probably the biggest spoiler of the entire arc, but by the time you get to where this information is relevant, you’d probably have forgotten that this was even said. Xue Yang blinds Song Lan after destroying his home, and to atone for this, Xiao Xingchen goes to his master, Baoshan Sanren, to beg for her help. However, Baoshan Sanren cannot make something out of nothing. Mxtx explicitly writes that tidbit into the narration. Song Lan goes up the mountain blind and comes down with eyes. Xiao Xingchen goes up the mountain with eyes and comes down blind. Song Lan was given Xiao Xingchen’s eyes.

Much later in the story, Jiang Cheng loses his golden core. Wei Wuxian offers the miracle solution of Baoshan Sanren “giving” him a new one. Jiang Cheng, obviously skeptical, questions Wei Wuxian up until the moment he must go up “Baoshan Sanren’s mountain” alone. Wei Wuxian descends, alone, looking pale and weak. Later, when Wei Wuxian is ambushed by the Wen, Wen “Core-melting Hand” Zhuliu touches him and is visibly shocked by a discovery that he then keeps to himself. Jiang Cheng emerges from the mountain with a new golden core, while Wei Wuxian emerges from the Burial Mounds with a new cultivation method wholly independent of the need for a golden core. The Yi City arc tells us why this is: “Baoshan Sanren” cannot make something out of nothing.

And these are just the major parallels I remember off the top of my head. However, while a reread makes a lot of these parallels directly applicable to specific plot points in Wei Wuxian’s own story, I would argue that the biggest role the explicit paralleling is meant to play for a new reader is to make you question the dominant narrative of the main story. The narration tells us that Wei Wuxian is a bloodthirsty man who may as well be a demon, known for cruelty and vengeance. We see none of that from his character when he is resurrected. Then we get a mini-drama where a man with attributes Wei Wuxian directly relates to, with a story Wei Wuxian directly compares to his own life, is scapegoated by society, killed, then eventually vindicated. If nothing else, the Yi City Arc is meant to make you, as a reader, stop and go “Hey, wait a minute, what if Wei Wuxian isn’t the bad guy here???” And once you understand that, you should start questioning everything the prologue told you, just like the juniors start to question what they were told about Xiao Xingchen post Yi City in their group debrief.

[erinawritesheadcanons2]

Hello, could we have headcanons for Knockout with a human s/o? ❤️+🔪

Knockout, Breakdown, Airachnid with Human Assassin S/O

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A/N: Hello there Anon, I hope you do not mind that I am adding Airachnid and Breakdown for the headcanon. Also, I hope you don't mind with some gore, violence, and profanities because let's face it. Almost all of the Decepticons are violent and they are not human-friendly like Autobot.

Gender: Neutral

Warning: Profanities, Gore and Violence.

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Knockout

Because Knockout is a Decepticon and if you have seen the clip he was going to mutilate Smokescreen, you know Knockout is a huge sadist and not like other medics.

Knockout will love learning about human anatomy and if he's a human. He would definitely kidnap tons of people just for his science project.

I can see he finds your job interesting, especially since you are an assassin. He also thinks you're kind of job is hot, he often watches those action movies where Assassin do many tricks.

He does think you are badass like those assassins in the movies. Knockout also gonna ask you about your job like what kind of weapon you use to kill people. How did you not get caught by the police yet?

Literally thinks if you are an assassin, you are wearing revealing clothing from the movie WHICH IS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL. He would ask you if you wear those kinds of clothes and you had to explain not all assassins wear revealing clothes.

In his human form, sometimes would help you make those dangerous chemical liquids or poisons for you to use in case you need a weapon that cannot be discovered by the police.

Also sometimes helping you clean your choice of weapons and sanitise them from any fingerprints in case you forgot to wear your gloves after murdering someone.

Knockout might be a deception but he is definitely your biggest supporter if he knows that you are an assassin. Especially if you are an assassin that can hack into a system, definitely simping you like there is no tomorrow.

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The sounds of the siren blaring in the night as there are tapes surrounding the room from the small apartment. Inside the room, there are two bodies laying on the floor one of them has foam coming out from the guy's mouth. The first victim is an old man with thick, light grey coloured hair that is styled back and a pair of thick eyebrows. 

The second victim was covered with her own blood with a bullet piercing through her abdomen and her chest. The girl has straight, mid-back-length black hair with long bangs as well as a pair of lilac eyes that are wide open. No one knows who was the murderer behind the grandpa and the granddaughter.

But what the police were not aware of is a pair of (E/C) eye colours that are watching from far away with a pair of binoculars as the police still investigating the murder scene. (Y/N) (L/N) could not help but scoff in amusement seeing the polices still searching for her/him/them.

(Y/N)'s phone suddenly rings out of nowhere and they/her/she immediately picks it up, presses the green button and places the screen of the phone near (Y/N)'s mouth to speak to the caller behind it. "Sweetspark, is your mission going well?" A sound of a certain red Decepticons purrs from the phone. "Yeah, the poison that you made for me works really fast. That old man immediately went to hell," you said.

It was silent for a moment but soon there were sounds of deep rumbling laughter from behind the phone. Knockout was amused with your answer, proud that you hadn't been caught by the police that you just murdered two people in one night. "Good job, sweetspark. Do you need anything once you go back? "I forgot to wear my gloves. Could you sanitize my weapon and make me a new chemical stuff again for me to kill other people?" You ask. "Right away, princess/prince/sweetspark~" and the call ended there.

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Breakdown

Breakdown is a lowkey sadist and not as sadist as Knockout. I know you would say I'm wrong because he likes to swing his hammer around and he likes to destroy stuff.

I'm saying this if he only gets the satisfaction of killing when using his hammer or with the action but operating humans and squashing them with his feet or mutilating them? He is disgusted.

He does think your job is cool too, like Knockout but he only gets interested in the action, like 'So...how do you kill your target? Do you use a knife or....use a gun?'

In his holoform (In the human version), definitely have a grabby hand and would try all of your weapons, even the smallest one and ask you how to use them.

Let him use the weapon but guide him. If you don't let him, definitely going to be super annoyed at you and then give you the silent treatment like a kid.

I can see he does watch those action movies where there is a cool assassin together with Knockout when he had his free time in there but unlike knockout. He's just interested in the method of the killer on how killing their target

Breakdown also would love to help you but instead in the background like Knockout. He would help you in action to kill another human.

Also helping you as he uses a disguise to lure the target with his holoform before so you had more time or a chance to kill the target and help you hide inside of him when he is in his alt form.

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The stars decorate the sky as well as the moon and the lights that decorate the city. Even though it was midnight, the city is as still as lively with many people going home from their working place or going to the bar to enjoy the blaring sound and move their bodies around to the beat of the song.

A young teenager with messy, almost spiky black hair that appears to grow backwards and flow upward could be seen walking in the alleyway and a cigarette in his mouth. His dull green eyes did not see another person standing close to him with a pair of (E/C) eye colours as well as Yellow eye colour from far away.

The male quickly throws the cigarette away as he feels the smoke from the cigs stuck inside of his throat and expectorates the remains, feeling bitter because of the small object. A pair of large hands is placed on top of the man's shoulder, making the young teenager looks up to see Breakdown's holoform.

"Hey ya, buddy. You should be careful in here," Breakdown's gruff voice could be heard.

"Piss off. What the fuck do you need," the young boy glares at Breakdown.

"Hey, no need to be rude. I'm just doing a favour for you because if you turn around. There is someone dangerous.." Breakdown points with his index finger.

Once the young teenager turns around, the last thing he sees was a pair of (E/C) eyes and a wicked smile across his face. Since the two of them are deep in the alleyway, no one heard the sound of a bat hitting the person's head as blood began spewing out from the person's head and lay on the cold concrete floor.

(Y/N) looks up at Breakdown's holoform before they/her/she places their/her/his arm around him and pulls Breakdown closer into your embrace. "Thanks, for helping me kill him, sweet spark. I will tell my boss that I did the job." "It was no problem, I'm just glad I can see you in action~" The corner of Breakdown's lips tugged upwards as he tightened his arms around you.

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Airachnid

Hooo boy, good luck with having a bigger sadist as your romantic partner. Airachnid is much worse than Knockout and Breakdown so you had to be on your feet every second.

Airachnid definitely thinks your job is not only fascinating but also very useful for her cause. Especially if you are an assassin that can hack into any computer system.

Would often ask you for your help to hack into the Nemesis system when you had some free time or watch you stabbing your target with such fascination.

In her holoform or in her human form, she would definitely ask you if she can borrow the corpse that you just stab with like it was nothing before bringing the corpse into her lab.

Airachnid definitely going to run several tests and mutilate the corpse like it was nothing, she's not disturbed at all. Nope, it's actually you who got disturbed by her weird fetish with a dead body.

Well dating her as an assassin has also had its own perks despite it being really disturbing. She would definitely help you kill your target because of how silent she is as the target would get tortured in the most gruesome way in the action as she hides in the shadows as the target are unaware she is near.

Definitely lets you borrow her weapon when you need to kill someone and thinks it was hot as she watches you kill somebody else without mercy.

She definitely helps in the back and also in the action whenever you two need to kill a certain target. Tho, you cannot always trust her because she only helps you if you do what she wants in exchange.

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It was peaceful in the forest and the only sounds inside of the wilderness are the sound of the frogs as well as the crickets. However, that peace and silence did not last long enough until there was the sound of a footstep running with a raging breath coming out from the scared old woman.

The woman has wavy chest-length ash-blonde hair that is tied in braided into a ponytail and a pair of hazel eyes. It was hard for her to keep running away from the certain person with (E/C) eye colour and (H/C) Hair colour who would always be hidden among the darkness and the shadows.

"HELP!!! ANYONE, PLEASE HELP ME!" The woman squeaks in fear and continues running away.

The girl did not have enough strength and not seeing the small rock in front of her, causing the woman to trip and fall over. It was so painful that the girl screams in pain, holding her twisted and bleeding ankles. Her eyes would look around, trying to find anything that can help her to get away from a certain killer.

The ground suddenly shook plus with a booming sound next to the old woman. This causes the woman to look up immediately to see a giant robot that has an appearance like a giant spider as well as a pair of lavender eyes with magenta armour. On her servo, there are certain people with (E/C) eye colour and (H/C) hair colour grinning at their/her/his next victim. "Found you..." you said.

The forest was immediately surrounded by the sound of anguish from the certain old blonde woman and the ground was surrounded by the blood of the dying woman. One of Airachnid's small legs was coated with blood as Airachnid looked at you with a smug smile. "I killed her first, you're too late using your gun," she makes fun of you. "Yeah whatever congrats," you roll your eyes at your cybertronian girlfriend.

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[captainnightflare]

Character Dive of Wednesday Addams, The conflict of Purposeful Miscommunication

So I had a college assignment about conflict and the questions ranged from the problem to the resolve. I choose the character Wednesday Addams as the subject of this because quite frankly she was the first to come to mind. If you guys would like to discuss this further I'm more than happy to (I literally rewatched Wednesday for the 4th time for this assignment to make sure I covered my bases :) please enjoy) P.s. I also just wanted to write about Wenclair :3

What is one example of a conflict situation you have seen in films, television shows, or books?    I live by the old saying, ninety percent of problems are caused or indirectly caused by miscommunication. There is so much truth to that statement. One of my favorite conflicting scenes in media came from the Netflix show Wednesday. The show follows Wednesday Addams, from the Addams Family, as she navigates through her journey of murder mysteries happening around the school and newly discovered abilities.     Wednesday is an interesting character to say the least, she’s portrayed as this very stoic and standoffish girl. Deeming emotions as nothing but a liability. While we follow the strange murders of a monster, we see Wednesday get increasingly driven to solve who is behind them. She’s stubborn and prideful, not wanting to let anyone have a one up on her.     Where this all comes to a head and where a lot of her inner conflict begins is when she tricks her roommate, Enid, into going to investigate a house that might have some clues. Both girls get ambushed by the monster while investigating, nearly getting killed. Obviously, Enid is angry by the events. Sparking an argument between the two, Wednesday not seeing the problem as they both made it out alive, causes Enid to snap at her. Telling her that she has tried so hard to be her friend, support her, stick up for her, and be there for her when she needed someone, but Wednesday is never going to understand that. So, Enid leaves, telling Wednesday that if she wants to be alone so badly, she can be alone.    

How could you apply restorative practices in the situation?    Luckly for Wednesday she does begin to see her mistakes, even if she is very reluctant about it in the beginning. Enid, luckily being the more emotionally inclined girl that she is, does go out of her way to still check on Wednesday. Knowing that the stoic girl tends to sulk in her solitude, more so now a days with that monster coming around. Although both are still angered with one another they we can see that being away from each other is getting to them.     The girls up to this point have built a friendship between them, a trust that quite frankly Wednesday isn’t used to. That’s why it takes her almost losing another person close to her to realize that she needs people in her life. She cries, something she hasn’t done for years because that fear became so real then. She does care about the people in her life, she is just very reluctant to let them in. At one point the girls do resolve their issues, Enid taking the first step after hearing of the unfortunate events. She moves back in with Wednesday and the two talk about their differences as individuals, contrasting each other but do accept one another as friends. Slowly taking down those invisible barriers, one duct tape at a time.        

How could being vulnerable, having an open mind, and considering others help with navigating the conflict identified in the situation?    In this instance we had a case of purposeful miscommunication, which is equally if not arguably worse than accidental miscommunication. The root of the problem though comes from a seed of mistrust in people that the person of target had no fault in. And that is just life sometimes, we carry bad experiences with us into new stages of our lives and hurt the people that try to help us. Having the chance to be vulnerable though and open to new ideas of repair with the right set of people could be a solution for the miscommunication.     This idea does tie back to opening that wound of mistrust, of being honest with the feelings that were buried so deep. It is hard for some people to achieve these steps, but they just have to see that there are people out there willing to take that extra for them. Whether that stems from respect or love, those people are going to be there for them, no matter what mistakes they make, no matter the type of person they are. But you have to meet halfway. Compromise, and respect one another’s individuality for we each have our own strengths in different categories of life.      

[beemers-hell]

eb could solve the kira case AND figure out the death note...and yet you joke all the time about eb being stupid as bricks 🤨 what is the truth you're hiding from us!!

ok ok LISTENNN i joke about eb being a dumbass a lot but that's a bit hyperbolic, she's not dumb as bricks or anything. She's not very academically smart, she IS socially/street smart though. Like, her main gig is literally being an untraceable killer, you can't be stupid and make mistakes when you're doing some shit like that yknow? So she's definitely got The Brains but her brains are more hardwired towards being a sneaky ass son of a bitch and conniving little shit! She's very good at making things go her way and most of the time that's a direct result of her meddling with either people/the circumstances she's been dealt, so she at least has to be brainy enough to socially engineer that kinda thing.

Anyway anyway, I explained this to my friends when we were making the tierlist last night, but basically my reasoning for "she can solve the kira case" is that she would absolutely be able to make it through each stage of the initial investigation into kira bc, like, yanno, it takes a criminal to know how a criminal operates right. And also, you know the crazy mind games bullshit L plays with Light and eventually Higuchi? Eb can totally do some bullshit like that, That's usually how she gets in her target's heads and tricks them into admitting their crimes before she kills them. So I think once they progress far enough into the investigation where it's mainly just L pulling his mind game bullshit tactics Eb could do that shit easy peasy, and eventually trap Kira into revealing themself

Now, the "could figure out the Deathnote" part comes purely bc Eb has that autism superpower™ of being able to read vibes and accurately vibe check people, so I think if she just goes off vibes she'd be able to intuit the mechanics of the death note the same way L's autistic ass intuits his justification for why he correctly identified Light as Kira and held onto it despite him having no real actual tangible evidence for it ykwim. Like it would absolutely make sense for Eb to be pulling the same bullshit but correct leaps of logic as L does bc that's just Normal for her, so her just knowing how Kira kills and then seeing that moment in ep 23 when Higuchi is caught on surveillance using the deathnote to try and kill Matsuda bc hes fallen for the sting operation trap, she'd immediately be like "oh its that thats the murder tool" lmao

also hey did you know i made an entire 20 minute video ranting about that exact scene bc it pisses me off so much LMAO

[spookyshipperfics]

Boyfriend

Find it: a03 / Fandom: The X-Files / Rating: Mature

Part of the Do You Like Scary Movies? series

Tagging @today-in-fic

What is it About? Scully and Mulder might have recently crossed into a romantic relationship, but that doesn’t mean she wants to call him her boyfriend. However, when Mulder surprises her while babysitting her godson, it has Scully questioning her stance on labels.

Read a Sample:

She’d just scooped the pumpkin seeds into the trash when her phone chirped.

“Scully,” she answered, making eye contact with the jack-o’-lantern on the kitchen table.

“What are you wearing?” Mulder purred on the other end of the line.

She rolled her eyes, even without him there to be her audience. “Not a costume if that’s what you’re wondering.”

He sighed. “Not even the witch hat?”

“Not even the witch hat,” she echoed through a smile, remembering how he’d plopped down the pointy black hat on the desk this morning. What? It’s Halloween? He’d teased with a mischievous grin. “What do you want, Mulder?”

“I miss you,” he admitted with such sincerity it made her heart clench.

“I miss you too, but I’m babysitting my godson tonight. I told you that.”

“I know,” he replied. “That’s why I’m outside.”

“You’re what?” she gasped. Scully marched into the living room to peek through the drapes. Sure enough, she spotted his car in front of the house. He must have known exactly what she would do because the car light flicked on. He gave her a little wave before hitting the switch, encapsulating himself in darkness again.

“Mulder,” she practically hissed, “How long have you been out there?”

“I just got here,” he responded. “That’s why I called.”

“I’m supposed to be babysitting.”

“Sneak me in once the kiddo is in bed.”

“He’s already in bed,” she said, reliving her godson’s protests. It had been a long night of trick-or-treating. Trent had been over-tired, too much excitement and Halloween candy to blame.

“I’ll be there in a minute then,” Mulder assured before any protest could leave her mouth.

A soft knock returned her to the kitchen. She pulled open the back door to find Mulder in a fitted gray T-shirt, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

“You could have come through the front,” she remarked.

“Then I wouldn’t be sneaking in,” he countered before planting a kiss on the edge of her mouth and pushing into the kitchen.

“Mulder,” she sighed. “We are both in our thirties. I don’t necessarily have to sneak you in.”

“You’re no fun, Scully.” Curious hands halted their exploration of the jack-o’-lantern centering the table. “I was thinking we could steal some booze and raid the fridge. Maybe get a little handsy on the couch.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Ellen said I could help myself to anything in the fridge, so snacks and alcohol shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

“Gee, you sure know how to dampen a guy’s fantasy,” he teased. Ever the investigator, Mulder surveyed her friend’s kitchen like a crime scene, fingers dancing across knickknacks and parsing through a forgotten stack of magazines on the counter. He’d only been to Ellen’s house once to pick her up when her car was in the shop. He’d never been inside.

“You’ll notice that I didn’t say anything about the last half of your musings,” she offered. “Getting a little handsy on the couch shouldn’t be much of a problem either.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Admit it. You like the idea of playing the innocent babysitter, don’t you?”

Her only response was an eye roll. She opened the fridge Mulder was so interested in raiding and removed a bottle of white wine.

“Did you hear about the patient who escaped from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium last night?” Mulder asked, never deterred by her silence.

She shook her head as she set about uncorking the Chardonnay.

“I was listening to the radio on the way here,” he continued. “Local law enforcement issued an official warning. They’re calling him dangerous and most likely armed.”

“What’d he do?”

“The broadcast mentioned something about murdering his sister when he was a kid.”

“Jesus.” She was mid-pour and focused on keeping her hand steady. “Of all the days to escape, he decided on Halloween. You’ve got to admit that’s a bit creepy.”

“Guy’s been locked up for close to fifteen years. Maybe he wanted to get some trick-or-treating in.”

“Smith’s Grove Sanitarium is only a couple of hours from here. Do you think we will get involved?”

“Without anything overtly supernatural going on? Doubtful.”

She thought back to Donnie Pfaster and was suddenly grateful for Mulder’s disinterest in the manhunt. Human monsters were often worse than fantastical ones. With the glasses filled, she put the bottle away. No more than a second after she closed the refrigerator door did she feel Mulder directly behind her, hands on her hips.

She spun around to face him. “About those snacks. What do you want?”

“What do you have?” He took a step forward, pinning her against the counter. He was so big, so close, that warmth blossomed between her legs.

“Popcorn. Chips. Pretzels, maybe.” Scully hoped she sounded normal, but her growing arousal had a slight quiver slipping into her voice. “Oh, I also have candy. Lots of Halloween candy.”

“Hmmm,” he purred as one of his hands traveled from her waist to the button on her pants. “If I was craving something sweet, I’d much rather taste you.”

“Dana?” Trent’s sleep-hazy voice drifted from the doorway. Mulder jumped back from her like he’d been scalded.

“Trent! Hi,” she stuttered already half-way across the room. “What’s wrong?” Her hands darted out to rub his shoulder in a clumsy maternal gesture.

“I just need a glass of water,” the child responded, eyes bouncing between her and Mulder.

“Oh, Trent, this is Mulder,” she blurted, suddenly feeling a lot like the guilty, horny babysitter of Mulder’s boyish fantasies.

Mulder approached Trent. Scully half-expected him to formally shake the kid’s hand. Instead, Mulder gave him a fist bump. “Hey, buddy.”

“Are you Dana’s boyfriend?” Trent asked.

“Something like that,” Mulder responded, turning to her with a wink.

Warmth flooded her cheeks. “Mulder is my work partner and my friend.”

Mulder’s shoulder deflated the tiniest bit. Her heart turned heavy. An anchor pulled it from her chest into the pit of her stomach, where it felt low and hollow.

She’d been minimizing their relationship since it crossed into romantic territory. Still, she wasn’t ignorant of the way Skinner’s curious gaze studied them from across the room. The way her brother’s eyes narrowed when Mulder accompanied her to their last family barbeque. Yet, even her mother’s inquiries were met with groans and brush-offs.

Mulder and I are just friends.

Fear and embarrassment kept the truth from leaving her lips. Fear that a label would only bring complications. Embarrassment that she was the woman who’d gotten entangled with her co-worker against policy… again. But who was she kidding? She and Mulder were never just friends. She owed him more than another brush-off—much more.

Find the rest on a03

[acerathia]

Trick or Treat? TREAT!

Vampire Kakashi for @strawberrystepmom <3 for this event, literally going insane about this oops, thank u sm for sending smth in

There's something off about Kakashi, and you intend to find out.

wc: 1.0k

cw/tags: borderline stalker behaviour (reader), kakashi is a vampire, twilight reference? maybe, implied blood drinking after this scene is over

You’ve known Kakashi for some time now, but he still is full of mysteries. Because sometimes he looks like he aged ten years, all heavy shoulders, pale skin and dark eyebags, and the rest of the time, he looks almost like a young adult still getting to know the world around him, all grins, laughter and mischief. And you have to admit, you’re curious. How is this man cheating time, or he just has a really good skincare routine. Either way, you wanted to know the details, even if it just means to have that glowing skin in the early mornings. 

So, you investigate, you don’t do anything dangerous or illegal, even if only borderline legal. But you study his schedule, trying to find a rhyme or reason to the way his entire mood changes. And as much as you try to look into it, there’s no connection between his work life, his non-existent relationships, and the erratic changes. 

After months of investigation, you decide to do one last thing, one last try to discover the truth: you’re going to follow him home. Just once, hopeful you might catch the exact way he’s doing whatever he’s doing. 

With that decision, one day you start tailing him. And at first, his way seemed normal, getting groceries, chatting with older ladies. Until it started getting late, that’s when he slowly made his way to the edge of the forest, walking along the borders, following no real path. At this stage, you had to keep a bigger distance between you and him, lest he discovers you before anything really happens. 

A couple of meters behind, you continue to follow him with slow, careful steps, until he finally enters a big mansion, and you just stop in front of it, stunned. How did he own such a place? And why would he keep it a secret? 

You frown at the front door, refusing to reach that level of behavior, so you try to sneak a peek through the window. To your misery, there were heavy curtains in front of them, barring you from seeing inside at all. 

A curse slips over your lips, and you resign, you can only go home now, maybe even give the whole operation up as a whole. You were about to turn around, when the door suddenly opens, and you can’t help but flinch a couple of steps away, skin getting hotter at the prospect of getting caught. 

“Good evening. How long did you want to wait in front of the door?” Kakashi asks, leaning against the door frame, something like amusement glinting in his dark eyes. 

“Uh, I– I was just about to go?” you croak, trying to find the chance to turn around and flee. 

He cocks his head, contemplating. “Well, you already made quite an effort to tail me all day, why not come in and rest? Drink a cup of tea?”

You splutter, embarrassment flooding into your brain as he seems to have known all along, so you nod, accepting his proposal. 

He nods, too, opening the door wider to allow you to enter his place. And as you walk in, you notice how dim the light inside is, how no sun is able to penetrate these heavy curtains, and you can’t help but frown. This cannot be healthy in any way. But you’d rather die than to tell him that you question his decor choices. 

So, you just follow him silently, taking a seat in the living room, and this place reminds you of some gothic manor, all soft and expensive. 

He sits opposite you, crossing his feet in an elegant manner, and for some reason this doesn’t feel like the Kakashi you know, it’s almost like there’s a wholly different person in front of you, and you get goosebumps at the thought of him being a total stranger. 

“So–”

“I’m sorry! Don’t murder me, it would be a shame to get blood stains on this beautiful sofa, it’s not worth it, is it?” you start rambling, trying to convince him to not kill you, you value your life, and everyone makes mistakes, why should you die for it?

A chuckle interrupts your frantic thoughts. “Don’t worry, I won’t. But because you put in the effort to ‘investigate’ what’s wrong with me, I shall just tell you. And I’m telling you this, because no one will believe you,” he explains in his deep voice, compelling you to just listen to him. “Well, you see, it’s simple, really. I’m a vampire.”

“Are you fu–”, you stop in the middle of your complaint, putting the pieces together. If he drinks blood, he looks rejuvenated, and if he has abstained for too long, he looks like he’s about to meet his early grave, and you’ve never seen him without his mask, or eating anything. “Wait… But what about the sun?”

“My skin is barely exposed to the sun like that, and this bit of exposition won’t hurt me as long as I take my time to repose in the dark,” he explains, his eyes telling you how funny your reaction is to him. 

And you can’t help but wonder how he looks without the mask, all fangs and blood, dark eyes heavy and lidded after a satisfying drink. You swallow and take a deep breath. 

“Uhm, wow, okay. I was not expecting this… Can I– Can I see your fangs? Only if you feel comfortable to do so, I was just wondering…” you trail off, as he pulls his mask down without hesitation, and in front of you suddenly sits someone with such beauty, your mind needs some time to reboot. 

There they are, his fangs, glinting and sharp, and barely biting into the skin of his lips. You wonder how much they hurt. How they would feel against your skin, against your neck. 

You can’t help but stare at him, one question remaining. “How does it work?”

His eyes, suddenly heavy, glance all over your face, only to graze your neck. “Do you want to find out?”

[simplehedgehog]

DRTA Ch.3. Reasoning about culprit

Preliminary post about ch.3's culprit ('cause we don't have even investigation's part yet to be more accurate). This isn't post "whodunit", it's more "who CAN do it". I'll just go through the characters while reasoning who can commit murder. Of course, this judgements that aren't one hundred perc correct and may be refuted in the future. Also English isn't my native language so some sentences may sound... weird, sorry.

Spoilers for Ch.3, of course.

Konoe and Chisa. They were together all the time after leaving home economics room when Marin was still alive. Although murder could have been commited remotely someone still should have sent food by dumbwaiter. So I guess they both have alibis for this moment (not mention about Konoe's protagonist and very unlikely may commit murder now).

Tachihaki Hatami. Unlikely. He has no motive and had no way to get into home economics room during Koin's presentation. He also plays the role of sub-protagonist so subject to the same reasoning as Konoe does (I guess?).

Kinji Ueda. I really doubt it. Of course, nobody sees him after leaving multi-purpose room, but a lot of stuff don't add up. First of all, Marin's BDA. I mean, if you're a culprit and you know where should victim's body be it's very stupid to come to crime scene one of the first (especially if you don't know will there be an announcement or not). I guess he really spent all this time in herbal room and became the third to discover the body without being culprit.

Ryohei Seki. Gotta be suspect on the class trial (because of what he did in Ch.2), but unlikely be culprit (too early for him if you know what I mean). He also had no motive - his motive gotta be connected with Tachihaki and... how? I guess he will just become red herring (if it happens at all).

Koin Hatoyama. Too hard to implement. I mean he was on the stage all this time and even if murders could have been commited remotely (as magic tricks) someone still should have sent food by dumbwaiter and he couldn't send it if he couldn't get into home economics room. He has very dubious motive - yeah, Coco insulted his White Crow's suit and Marin'll going to feed him carrots during her presentation, but it's not worth to killing because it after all! (I hope) (plz don't, it'll be very strange if that's the case)

Miruku Hishimeki. I dunno. I almost forget about her at all, sorry. She did nothing special in this chapter, just WAS. Yeah, she participated in the converstaion about 16th stand and did... something while the others were getting ready to Golden Festival, but... I dunno. She had been in the auditorium as judge so she should have an alibi (talking about it if she's not).

Seiha and Kokona Arumada. Seiha's most likely candidate for the role of one who vandilized others' presentation (I guess most of the fandom will agree with me in this point), but culprit? Kokona, on the other hand, most likely candidate for the role of culprit and she's very suspicion, let me say. She has no alibi (Seiha said that she wasn't in changing room; she said she was in musical room, but she could lyied), has motive (but more on that later) and gives me strong vibes of Kanade from SDRA2 (and we know what Kanade did). I'll talk about this option a little more after investigation release, but now move on.

Retsu Matsuoka. Stange choice, right? But something bothers me. He may has the same motive as Kokona has (but more on that still later), but CAN he did it? He had been in the auditorium and if he was away did others would notice this? Gotta wait to investigation.

Not all yet. Marin and Coco. They both had no motive and no possibility ('cause Coco already was dead when Marin'd dying), but... Marin's most likely cause of death is intoxication (tissue necrosis and bloody cough) and murder weapon probably is dress she was wearing and who made this dress? Coco. Who saw her last? Marin (she said that saw her after night time's announcement) and probably Kokona (that dress, where did it come from?). Yeah, Ryohei said that he saw her entered the green room, but Koin already questioned the veracity of his testimony, so... who knows?

Motive I promised, yeah. Request Ticket. To be more precise, Golden Festival's secret rules which Tachihaki was talking about. 4th rule says: "If Ticket's holder will be killed before they could use it Ticket will be given to the student who took their life" (rough translation) and... it sounds weird, no? I mean, if someone'll kill someone there's gotta be class trial so... why do you need Ticket if you can escape only if you win the trial? Hold Nova can only fulfill four requests: unlock one door, disclose one piece of information, provide three minutes of contact with the outside world and escape one person from the school. I guess there's more about "information" someone may receive so this "someone" can risks their life to get it, but I wanna talk about another motive.

Escape. I mean, yes, if culprit wins the class trail they could escape without Request Ticket and Request Ticket itself can ensure the escape of only one person, but... what if combine it? If culprit wins the class trial AND request someone else's escape from the school isn't it means that "Double Escape" become possible? So under suspicion come characters with "bond" and who has the most pronounced bond? Arumada siblings! (and Retsu with his bond with Chisa, but siblings take first place in this.)

Summary:

Kokona's the most likely suspect (Seiha can or can't be her accomplice, but he's most likely the one who vandilized others' presentation).

Retsu, Koin and Miruku are suspicion, but have no motive or no possibility or else.

Tachihaki (and Ryohei) could commit murder to get some information, but I guess it's too early for them both leave the story (especially considered they both played an important roles in the Ch.2 and both survived).

I'll update this reasoning when will be release the investigation parts. Thanks for reading this to the end.

[celticbotanart]

You guys really liked the "Ecclectic Halloween" post I did a while ago, so I want to go for another round!!

For those who didn't see the previous post - music is my biggest hyperfixation, and I love making thematic playlists and play with them by adding little rules and such. My "Ecclectic Halloween" playlist currently has over 150 tracks, and all of them are there according to the following little rules I've stablished:

The song MUST include anything supernatural, spooky, bizarre, "murder/serial killer", classic creature and so on - if it's instrumental, which is the case of many tracks in this list, it has to have all of these but in VibesTM

The song can be of ANY genre; is it metal? Prog? Disco? Electronic? Soundtrack? COOL, ALL ARE WELCOME!

I'm still including less widely known / "cliche Halloween songs", and this time I decided to feature songs that are soundtracks (from movies, games, animes, books even!); most of them are instrumental, or feature a heavy use of choir, and/or vocals that are prevalent but doesn't really mean anything (bear with me, you'll see what I mean, lol)

LET'S GET STARTED, part deux!!

1- Only Murders In The Building - Creatures of the Night

Starting off with this banger from the latest season of "Only Murders in the Building"! The original context is that Oliver Putnam, one of the main characters who's a theater producer/director, decides to put on a musical play as one of the main subplots of this season; the show actually presented a couple of full, real songs, and they are all REALLY Broadway-like, campy, and epic (fucking Meryl Streep sings two of them???? It's REALLY good!). The musical's plot is that this woman was murdered in a mysterious lighthouse, and a private Investigator and a Constable comes in to investigate it. The main suspects are the Nanny and... the baby triplets of the deceased woman??? Lol This song is SUPER fun, weird and extra, with that little touch of mystery - it's the "opening act" of the show, and it's the Investigator arriving at the lighthouse, singing with the whole ensemble cast, it's SO cool! I'm including here the actual scene where they perform it, so you can see it! (Spoilers for the last episode of s3, I guess?)

In this eerie old lighthousе thrashed by the tide Live triplets whose mother suspiciously died And suspects uncanny, a constable, a nanny Do they all have secrets to hide?

2- Genshin Impact - Die Mittsommernacht-Fantasie

This one is VERY "mischievous trick or treat" vibes! Very, very fun and colorful, with that little touch of mystery, too! This was definitely one of the best battle themes in Genshin Impact, and it was featured exclusively in a time-limited event last year?? Such a tragedy this good of a song was used only then!

The domain this song appears is themed after the character Amy "Fischl", who roleplays all the time as "Fischl, the Prinzessin der Verteilung"; the domain itself was a huge castle, with big fairytale vibes going on. Fischl is a very dramatic, mischievous character, and this theme really reflects that, in the most fun way! The song has INTENSE baroque influences with the harpsichord as main instrument, and even features a classic/ spanish guitar!

3- Cuphead, The Delicious Last Course - The Finishing Touch

To those unfamiliar, Cuphead is a game that mimics the entire aesthetics, artstyle and music from 1920's cartoons. It's honestly one of the best ideas I've seen, and this one is a song from the DLC released a while ago. It's very spooky, and of course in that 20s cartoon sort of way.

I personally love the super eerie atmosphere, the flute, piano and the strings combo creating all the tension!

4- Young Sherlock Holmes - The Ceremony / Waxing of Elizabeth ("Rametep Theme")

These are technically two songs, but some good soul mashed them together into one cohesive piece, because they both really, REALLY slap hard with the dramatic chorus and Carmina Burana-esque energy! This was featured in the movie "Young Sherlock Holmes", in a scene where a crazy-ass cult is having their gathering, and preparing to mummify this girl.

I have to say the soundtrack is actually better than the scene itself, lol. It has a really impressive crescendo and use of orchestral metals, I have goosebumps every time I listen to it, hnnng <3

5- Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Mora, the Spider

Easily one of the most intense boss fights I've ever played - and the theme really reflects that fear and tension. Mora is a giant spider hidden in the deep, buried shadows of the forest that you, as Ori (a light/forest spirit) has to defeat. It really is a "dark vs light" sort of fight, and the this theme really goes fucking hard. It also has strong horror music elements used in movies of the genre - like the violin pizzicato at the beginning, and its use throughout the piece, giving that "classic horror" feeling to it.

Note how when the choir kicks in around the minute 2:15 - they are chanting "MO-RA! MO-RA!" in such a terrifying way! And then, around 4:50, it really shows how Ori's determination and hope prevails, when their leitmotif starts playing!

6- Yuki Kajiura - Ship of Fools

If you follow me for a while, you know already that Yuki is literally one of my all-time favorite composers ever, so OF COURSE I had to include her here!! She is an OST composer for animes and games, and this was the first song of her I've ever heard - it plays on the very first scene of the "Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles" anime. Yuki is well-known for her dreamy, haunting style and this piece is a huge example of it!

She mixes in electronic, rock/metal, classic and folk genres, and layered vocals (mostly done by singers hired for her projects). This one is also an example of her using the "kajiurago", or "kajiura language" - it doesn't mean anything, it's just vocalizing that sounds like words. They are one of her trademarks, and one of her elements that really gives the etheral, haunting atmosphere in her works!

This song really goes hard into the "mysterious, dangerous witch" territory, and I fucking love it! <3

7- Yuki Kajiura - The Main Theme of Petit Cossette

Another one from my favorite girl - this one is soundtrack to a very obscure anime called "Le Portrait de Petit Cossette" - it's essentially the story of a girl's ghost (Cossette) trapped in an artifact (I think it's a goblet?? It's been over 15 years since I saw it, lol), and this guy who falls in love with her. It's a very weird, dark and atmospheric animation.

This one track here really translates that energy, and I honestly HIGHLY recommend the rest of this OST - it's VERY VERY GOOD, and mostly all tracks have that dark, eerie, gothic vibe too.

Here we can see once more the use of "kajiurago", and another trait of Yuki's work that I fucking love - the intricate solos!! In this case, a violin solo, which is also very prevalent in most of her work.

8- Mary Fahl - Exiles (The Wolves of Midwinter)

Another Anne Rice-inspired! "Exiles" was composed by Mary Fahl as an actual official song for the audiobook version of "The Wolves of Midwinter". I don't know about the book's plot because I haven't read it, but this song is SO atmospheric, and it's very werewolf-y. I personally LOVE Mary's deep voice, and how I can almost see the wolves running in the wintery forest.

When the hunger comes and I lose control Hold me in the darkness, bless my tarnished soul I will run beside you, we'll leave the past behind We'll hide inside the ages beneath the sands of time

9- Karliene - Become the Beast

Technically, the only one of the playlist that isn't a soundtrack - not offcially, anyway, hehe. This is a song that Karliene wrote inspired by Hannibal, the tv show; I haven't seen Hannibal, but I'm OBSESSED about this one, because yeah, it can be about Hannibal, but I like how she's a bit vague about it, so it can also be about werewolves, or any other dark supernatural creature, like vampires.

Her voice is incredible, and I love how "minimalistic" this song is, featuring pretty much only a violin, piano and cello as insstruments. The pizzicato sound comes in again to give that unsettling, classic horror vibe, at the same time her layered vocals + the piano and cello really softens the whole thing, which in my opinion, makes the song so eerie and menacing - even more with the lyrics!

So look in the mirror and tell me, who do you see? Is it still you? Or is it me? Become the beast, we don't have to hide Do I terrify you or do you feel alive? Do you feel the hunger? Does it howl inside? Does it terrify you? Or do you feel alive?

10- Wolfwalkers - Howls the Wolf (Moll's Song - Wolf Run Free)

And closing the "werewolf trilogy" here at the end of the playlist with another favorite of mine - and ending with wholesome vibes! This is a song that plays in the credits of the animated movie "Wolfwalkers" - IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THAT MOVIE YET, AND YOU LOVE ANIMATION, YOU MUST. LIKE FOR REAL. ITS SO GOOD. And the entire soundtrack, written by Kíla and Bruno Coulais, fucking slaps - it's mostly all traditional folk Irish music and instruments, and so full of life!

Wolfwalkers here are people who turn into wolves when they fall asleep - their sleeping body remains behind, as their soul takes a tangible form of a wolf. It's pretty rad!!

And this song, it's Moll, the wolfwalker mother, probably singing this "lullaby" to her daughter, the wolfwalker Mébh (and one of the main protagonists, the red haired little girl in the art above!).

Maria Doyle Kennedy is the one voicing Moll and singing this song, she has such a pretty, soothing voice! I love this song so much, and with the context of the movie, it makes me teary-eyed almost every time I listen to it kjdfhkjdf, ahhhh <3

The wolf will leap from child asleep The wolf will run 'til rising sun The wolf will guide you in your dreams Run free! Wolf, wolf, howls the wolf Wolf, wolf, run free!

Hope you also like this second part!! And it's really cool to see your suggestions in the tags, too <3

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Time Killing Chapter 2

This chapter felt more like it was the debut chapter of a mahjong manga.

I've never played Mahjong before so I'm looking up a bunch of rules on it to understand what is happening this chapter.

From what I understand, the game is played with a deck of 136 tiles. The deck has 34 unique tiles that each have 4 copies in it. There are three suits - circle, bamboo, and character - which have values from 1 to 9. There are also 4 wind tiles for North, South, East, and West; and 3 Dragon tiles for White, Green, and Red.

The basic rules as I understand it is every player takes a set of 13 tiles as their hand and then stack the remaining tiles in two tile-high stacks that act as their decks. On a player's turn, they draw a tile and choose to either discard it or swap it with a tile in their hand. Once a tile is discarded, other players can claim it if it they can make a meld with it.

Melds include 'chii', three sequential values in the same suit; 'pon', three identical tiles; and 'kan', four identical tiles. When you want a tile that was just discarded, you declare the type of meld you're making with it. 'Pon' and 'kan' beat 'chii' when deciding who gets to claim the tile. If the discarded tile will let you win the game, you can declare 'ron' and can claim the piece no matter what meld it makes.

The winner is the first player whose hand has 4 melds and a pair.

Now with all that being said, I still have no idea what's going on this chapter. But I liked the visuals of Akasaka being a demon in sheep's clothing.

My biggest takeaway from this chapter is Akasaka would fit in well with the afterschool club. He's a natural hustler and uses every trick and loophole he can to win including deliberately screwing up the board and letting the others claim a penalty bonus just so none of them can get a win.

Outside of the game, check out this random bystander. I thought he was supposed to be important cause he's the only person with any features.

And now we get our first sighting of two other characters we've only heard of. We get to meet the manager of the dam construction and get a panel with Oryou Sonozaki.

NIPA BEAM!!!

back

Spoiler Discussion

Rika suddenly snapped back to normal and acted like nothing happened. There is no demonic possession or anything that the scene might make you think it is. She's probably deliberately doing this to make the moments she warns him stand out more.

It would be one thing for a kid to say some random things to an adult. It's another thing if she acts like a kid all the time and then suddenly acts in a very unchildlike manner when she warns you.

And now we know that Ooishi is friends with the dam manager. So that means his reasons for investigating the series of murders is actually personal to him. He wants to find out who killed his friend.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

"Nothing. The tip really paid off. Good job, Cuno."

CUNO- "Uh what?" He quickly looks around. "Don't be playin' Cuno off as a snitch-bitch. The oldest trick in the book, people!"

CUNOESSE - "Are you snitching, Cuno?!"

CUNO- "This is some ancient bullshit, people!" He addresses the surrounding windows. "Cuno would rather take ten than snitch! Pig's full of shit! Get the fuck out of here!"

RHETORIC - You found a real nice button to push. Turned the tables on him.

+5 XP

3. "I have more questions about the crime scene."

CUNO- "Yeah, the Kingdom of Cuno, the fuck do you want with it?"

"The dead man's clothes were in the trash container." (Point to the container.) "How did they get there?"

CUNO- "Yeah, Cuno doesn't know shit about that. That shit is *beneath* Cuno."

"I need to know. It could be a lead in the investigation. Someone may have tampered with the murder scene."

"Right. About something else, then..."

CUNO - "Listen! Listen!" He stops you. "Cuno doesn't care about this small-time shit. Just listen -- Cuno saw what you did there. Dumpster diving. Sad shit."

"Cuno could hook you up with some sweet rags. Shit like Cuno's wearing." He points to his pants. "Your size, good price, 500 reál."

"Wait - I asked you what happened to *his* clothes. You must have seen them lying around?"

"Alright, entertain me -- what's so great about these pants?"

"No. Cuno, you don't know anything about the tampering I'm investigating, and I already have pants."

CUNO - "Look, Cuno ain't seen shit lying around, 'cept for that f****t up there." He points to the cadaver. "Now you want performance gear or not, grandpa?"

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant remains silent, but his expression couldn't say *I told you so* any louder.

2. "Alright, entertain me -- what's so great about these pants?"

CUNO - "Pig, these are FALN *Modulars*! Liquid fit, performance crotch, urban survival shit! Made in Mirova... by scientists. *Pants* scientists."

"Believe it, you *need* this shit..." He unzips his jacket to give you a quick peek at the plastic-wrapped pants. They are graphite-black and look brand new.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Trivial: Success] - These could drastically improve your chances of survival in the urban wilderness.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Easy: Success] - Coach Physical Instrument endorses these pants. They are tartan-ready.

3. "I might be interested in the pants. Let's talk about this later."

CUNO - "All right, piggo!" His face lights up. "Shit's rolling."

CUNOESSE - "Don't do business with the pig, Cuno! He's gonna steal all your money, Cuno!"

New task: Buy FALN pants from Cuno

CUNO - "As you can see..." Cuno nods towards the fence. "Cuno and C don't trust you. Can't do business without trust."

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - There's more to his distrust than being a *pig*. He feels threatened by something obscure in you. What that is, however, remains a puzzle for now.

"There was also a mug in the trash." (Show him the mug.)

CUNO - "The fuck? A *mug* in the trash? Is this about the fucking clothes again?"

"Yes. Does this racist mug have anything to do with it?"

"Yes. Does this adequate depiction of a South-Samaran man have anything to do with it?"

"Yes, does this quaint, better-not-taken-out-of-its-historical-context mug have anything to do with it?"

"Actually, talking about this makes me uncomfortable. Let's back up a notch."

CUNO - "Yeah, Cuno sees where this is going. Cuno's got that fast-brain," he whispers excitedly. "You saying you pigs are after the mug fucker -- coz he's the clothes fucker..."

CUNOESSE - "Can't hear you, Cuno! Speak louder, Cuno!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Cuno. Someone has tampered with the crime scene, cleaned some of it up."

CUNO - "Shit, that's tense..." He thinks for a moment. "Someone's going to the beatdown-basement, huh? Mug-guy gonna get tied to the radiator." He nods in approval.

"Cuno doesn't know who put that shit in there. And if he did, he wouldn't squeal. But if you find out, maybe you can..."

CUNOESSE - "Stop turning into a pig, Cuno! They're trying to get you hooked on the snitching!" She lets out a hiss, even meaner than before. "Get away from my Cuno, f****ts!"

CUNO - "Yeah!" Cuno jumps back. "Get your bacon shit away! Cuno doesn't like to be seen with the popo. Get your shit done and out of Cuno's face!"

+5 XP

3. "I might have questions later. For now, let's talk about something else."

CUNO - "Yeah, whatever. Cuno doesn't give a shit." He spits over his shoulder, then looks back up at you.

We now have the option to buy the FALN pants from Cuno - for 15 reál, not 500. We don't have that money, so that's all we can do here for now.

Our next highest vote was to explore behind the crime scene, so I start to head back towards the bookstore.

MAIL COLLECTION BOX - The dented yellow mailbox greets you with it's graffito and bullet holes in the front.

[dangan-kagura]

Things I Wanted to Include for My V3 Rewrite - Part 16

So I was originally gonna explain this in the same way the Closing Arguments are explained, but I feel like the first thing I should do is explain what they start off with during the Class Trial. I’ll do my best.

They end up determining that the bloody katana they found was the cause of Kokichi getting his arm dismembered, but some would argue that his arm was sticking out when he got crushed by the hydraulic press. The problem is where did the katana come from? It’s not the same one from Korekiyo’s lab as it does not have gold paint.

After thinking about how Kokichi got his arm cut off, they try to determine how Kirumi was killed. My OC explains to everyone about how Kirumi was executed in his nightmare and by coincidence, the killing game script they found details how Kirumi was scripted to be executed. I would’ve loved to have this narrated as if it were the Psyche Taxi minigame.

To summarize the murder…

They determine that Kirumi killed Kokichi and then killed herself.

They end up thinking that Kirumi killed Kokichi with the hydraulic press and then killed herself by mimicking her written execution. She used buzzsaws from Miu’s lab to give herself cuts and also to tear off her dress, and then used a chain like a rope to climb high enough for her to let go, drop down and *SPLAT*, kill herself.

However, my OC is in denial of this. He believes that Kirumi would never kill herself. If she wanted to die like in her execution, she would show herself alive during the trial.

That’s when they figure out something odd. I didn’t write this in my previous post, but they noticed that Kirumi had some shots on, I guess you can say either her arm or neck. They connect this with the syringe and bottle they found and think that Kirumi was given an injection of something. The bottle had the word “Insomnia” on it. Basically, you can say the bottle has a drug that cures insomnia so it causes you to fall asleep fast.

That’s when they figure out that Kirumi faked her death by giving herself an injection of some drug to make her fall asleep fast and even keep herself in deep sleep during the investigation.

They realize during the trial that they only heard the body discovery announcement not twice but only once, and that announcement was when they discovered Kokichi, not Kirumi.

Everyone then demands to have Kirumi present herself for the trial. She does, but she does the same thing Kaito did originally by hiding herself inside an Exisal, and if that wasn’t enough…

Kirumi tries to trick everyone into thinking she’s Kokichi.

That’s where it leads to when the person in the Exisal gives them the murder video showing Kirumi getting crushed by the hydraulic press. Now, I never did figure out what should come next, but I guess you can say it’s here that they figured out the trick used to fake the video where Kokichi and Kirumi swap places when the camera isn’t showing who’s under the hydraulic press.

I did have an idea for a scene where my OC makes up a lie about Kirumi’s execution. He explains that what was written in the script is not how Kirumi was meant to die, and explains the other nightmare he had, the one where he tries to save Kirumi from getting executed. Kirumi/Kokichi laugh at him for lying, and that’s when Kirumi/Kokichi explains the concept about Kirumi’s execution. The concept being that her execution is based on a tale called The Spider’s Thread. It’s (I think) about a spider that climbs a thread to escape, only to break the thread and betray everyone once they reach the top, although in Kirumi’s case, the thread breaks and she falls to her death. Kirumi/Kokichi even point out that that’s the reason for Kirumi’s cobwebs on her dress. I think I would’ve wanted this scene to include Kirumi, in Kokichi’s voice, saying that Kirumi was not only a spider, but was also a “snake” (like how the fandom calls Sayaka a “snake” for betraying Makoto) because Kirumi was scripted to be a backstabbing bitch.

My OC argues that he is in denial of Kirumi being the culprit. He believes that Kirumi would never kill anyone and thinks that there might be some hidden secret behind this trial to make it look like Kirumi is the culprit. Kirumi, pretending to be Kokichi, then explains that another reason why Kirumi was scripted to be one of the culprits is because her character also calls back on certain culprits from the first two games.

This scene then plays out with the group comparing Kirumi to past culprits from Danganronpa 1 & 2. They start off by comparing Kirumi to Peko, in which my OC explains who Peko is and her reason for killing. Kirumi/Kokichi then explains on how Kirumi has a similar personality to what Peko is like, and even tries to convince everyone that Kokichi ordered Kirumi to kill him and then commit suicide, similar to how Peko tried to convice everyone that Fuyuhiko ordered her to kill Mahiru because Peko thinks of herself as a tool for someone else. Kirumi/Kokichi even remark the coincidence that Kirumi was scripted to be the 2nd culprit just as Peko was the 2nd culprit in SDR2.

They then compare Kirumi to Celestia. Obviously, the gothic fashion sense Kirumi has is referred to as a call back on how Celestia dresses. Kirumi/Kokichi even explains that Kirumi was scripted to snap at some point, which is seen as being in a way similar to how Celestia will get pissed off easily.

I even had an idea for a part where, during the trial, they watch part of the 3rd trial from DR1, but the sprites are replaced with sprites from the NDRV3 cast. That means it shows the trial with Kirumi’s sprites replacing Celestia’s sprites, as an example.

Basically, the point of this is that Kirumi/Kokichi tries to convince everyone that the purpose of Kirumi’s character is that her character was written to call back on the female culprits from the first two games, specifically Peko and Celestia. I think I even wanted a scene where they watch Kirumi’s audition video and pregame Kirumi explains that she was always a fan of villainous female characters like Peko and Celestia, and if she was casted to be a star on Danganronpa, she would want her character to be like those two. But my OC doesn’t want to believe it.

I think I’ll take a break here until I come back with more info.

[nikeiyomiurioverthinker]

Void au where instead of committing crimes they work in a prosecution office (not an irl boring one ofc, I'm talking an Ace Attorney-adjacent one)

Mikado is a part-time magician, it is never explained in the universe how he does his tricks. He acts all suave in court and is extremely condescending of the defense, and he WILL set them on fire if they find a contradiction in their 'perfect' case. Unfortunately, he is the Chief Prosecutor (Utsuro was the former one, he got incarcerated for ginger crimes), so they let him get away with every bullshit he pulls. Most likely has committed evidence fraud, but no one has any actual proof of it

Hajime comes in court tits out and randomly starts exercising because he has a VERY strict schedule to follow and he can NOT modify it, even when he's on prosecution duty. Other than that, he is actually pretty normal compared to everyone else, he is pretty chill about not winning a case, he just wants the truth to be found out. Probably takes the defense out for milkshakes to celebrate their win, he is just nice like that

Emma is a world-renowed actress who picked up prosecuting as a side gig, but she ended up actually enjoying law school (somehow) so she is pretty serious about her work. Whenever she's on duty, they have to deal with the paparazzi that try to sneak in. She tries to act professional in front of them, but she is all-around a goofball and laughs it off whenever she loses. The court can never escape her puns, they have stopped trying to by now ("The murder weapon was a poisoned donut? Sounds to me like there's a pretty big HOLE in your argument! Ahah get it-")

Iroha is a prosecutor, somehow. No one knows how she managed to pass the bar exam, and they weren't able to find any proof of her cheating. Mikado really wants to kick her out, but the office is already low on prosecutors so all he can do is seethe in rage. She is extremely nice in court and often just ends up siding up with the defense, much to the rest of the office's chagrin. They always give her the easiest possible cases and she still somehow manages to lose. The few times she wins it's a reason to celebrate in the office and they all go karaoke

Nikei is extremely peeved about not being the Chief Prosecutor, so he always tries to one-up Mikado whenever he can and tries to keep a better, cleaner record than him- which means he gets extremely angry and violent if he feels like his win is being threatened. He has a potentially infinite amount of pens he throws at the defense whenever they prove his theories wrong, although he always comes to apologise for that after the trial. He takes his job extremely seriously, he always takes a new case as soon as he is done with one, and he can always be found on the scene investigating alongside the police whenever he isn't doing paperwork at the office or prosecuting in court

As a bonus, Syobai is there as the police officer that can always be bribed to let the defense in on some prosecution insider-knowledge or to let them explore areas they most likely shouldn't be in while he goes distracting the prosecutor in charge of the case. He never gets his salary cut despite all the shit he pulls (Gumshoe wishes he could be him)

[funkaliicious]

This post contains the foundational information about Cabanela's character, and is most relevant for timelines 01 and 02, his Ghost Trick verses. Any crossover verses shall get their own post detailing their specific knowledge in addition to what is presented here.

PUBLIC INFORMATION - available to all:

He's incredibly flamboyant and dances through life. He approaches every situation with a flourish, whether that's investigating a murder scene or reporting back to his superiors. Some of his colleagues believe that he's not taking his work seriously and treats it all like a big game, though they don't say such things to him directly.

He's an Inspector, considered by many to be the top investigator in the force. What he says goes, most of the time, and it's better to stay on his good side.

SEMI-PUBLIC INFORMATION - available to police colleagues and similar:

He is head of the Special Investigations Unit, an elite division within the police that deal with all matters pertaining to national security and that which threatens it. Everything they do is highly classified and inaccessible to normal detectives.

He's earned a reputation for caring only about personal success and climbing the ladder. Though most know better than to say it to his face, many consider him to be deeply selfish and not at all someone you could build a genuine friendship with. He's too self-centered, and he'll do whatever it takes to look out for number one.

He was once close friends with Detective Jowd, the death-row inmate. They joined the detective division on the same day, many years ago.

His only superiors are the Chief of Police and the Justice Minister. Cabanela is one of the most important people within the police, and he is often given the power to redirect its forces as necessary and assign, withdraw, or take control of any currently-active cases. He involves himself in any that interest him, much to the chagrin of some other detectives.

PRIVATE INFORMATION - available to none but a select few:

He is aware of, and currently investigating, the existence of a Manipulator: an entity that can control others' actions and make them do things they otherwise wouldn't. He knows of three cases that are evidence of the Manipulator's power and ill-intent.

He died once. He was shot through the chest and revived by another's 'ghost tricks', powers of the dead that allow the spirit to rewind time to four minutes before a death. Cabanela remembers both his death and his revival, and has been marked by a Core - a gateway into his head that the dead may possess and talk to him through.

He was badly injured before the above death (caught in an explosion, dragged up two flights of stairs), resulting in many broken bones. While he received medical attention for the breaks, not many people know how the injuries occurred. He doesn't like to talk about it.

He's aware of an energy known as Temsik that originated from the falling of a strange meteorite, ten years prior. It's theorised to have some connection to the Manipulator's powers, though the exact details remain unclear.

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

Hi tales

Please describe your current wip (you decide what that means) in bullet points. They can get out of hand, that's fine.

Thanks! :D

Trying to describe all of Silver Glass's plot would reveal major spoilers, but I'll do my best:

Yo-han takes a holiday. He's determined not to solve any more mysteries.

He interrupts Alec's suicide attempt. Alec believes his wife is trying to poison him and asks Yo-han to investigate.

(Yo-han, already planning how to deal with the investigation: I can still do this and have a holiday too! *Spoiler alert: he can't*)

Alec's valet David is hanging around behaving very suspiciously.

Alec's wife Gwladys is an awful person but Yo-han can't find any proof she's poisoning Alec.

Gwladys and her boyfriend have a rendezvous in the forest. Next morning they've been hanged, and the boyfriend's body has been horribly mutilated.

Yo-han determines there must be at least two murderers.

There's a good view of the murder scene from an empty house on the other side of the river. Yo-han finds evidence someone lived there recently.

To summarise the rest of the plot, still trying to avoid spoilers: Yo-han realises Gwladys was basically collateral damage and the real target was her boyfriend. He investigates the boyfriend's past and realises who the murderer is. He and Alec make a plan to trick the murderers into revealing themselves: Yo-han invites the murderers to the funeral and pretends he thinks Alec is guilty. One of the murderers is in love with Alec and admits their guilt to protect him.

The murderers' motivation is revenge for a (tragically all too real) atrocity. Revealing anything more would give away their identity.

(Of course most of this is based on the outline and so far the plot hasn't followed the outline at all...)

Adding Glass's taglist: @writingpotato07, @oh-no-another-idea, @sarahlizziewrites, @lightgriffinsect (Let me know if you want to be added to/removed from the taglist!)