#but having someone there who points the actual culprit and to be ignored makes it more obvious in the moment

[amatres]

Finally finished the replay of da2! If teenage me knew it took me days to finish it instead of the few hours like it used to they'd laugh at me. Anyway, it was fun!

Since I was like, a teen without money when I first played the game, this was actually the first playthrough I did with the exiled prince installed. I rather liked Sebastian, he was a neat character. Sorry I didn't care about your abusive mother figure's death causing you to swear vengeance on Allyn and Anders king.

Also the final screenshot was just me trying to show off just how insane Carver's stats were, this is actually the most well rounded it was in the whole game, go figure lol. He is always my best warrior unit it's why the game had to nerf him by giving him the blight so I can't have him with me all the time.

here's a picture i took of my party with a warrior that wasn't him in it for comparison lol

Anyway, now to try to replaying Inquisition again, at least now I've figured out how to mod it, I think, so hopefully that makes it more fun for me time around.

[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.

[thefandomenchantress]

(Sorry for not just answering this in the comments, I had a feeling I was gonna go over the word limit (I was correct haha) and figured maybe I should just make a post about it).

Spoilers for Chapter Two Episode 13!

I'll be honest...I am very scared for Ace right now. A lot of his trial behavior is kinda suspicious if you squint, but then again, he's Ace, so he's always going to be hastily throwing around suspicion and be generally incompetent when it comes to solving the murder. And after watching all of chapter two...I just can't accept that it's him.

Now, it's fair to say that's just favoritism on my part. After all, I'm willingly to make a lot of stretches to keep on believing in my Eden's The Culprit agenda. And...Yeah, true, you are kinda right. Even if I was in a scenario where I couldn't find a single objective reason for him not to be the culprit, I still wouldn't be able to accept it was him until he was executed.

But I can't help but think I do have at least a little evidence to prove Ace isn't the culprit.

I actually made a post a while back about the Ace culprit theory, and how I don't think it works. And I'm going to reiterate a point I made there, since I'm not sure if I conveyed what I meant all that clearly.

This is about the tape.

Yes, yes, I know. Everything's about the tape these days, but I still think it's important!! After all, the grippy tape was used in the murder mechanism, and disappeared while only Ace, Eden, and Teruko were in the room. Meaning one of them has to be the one connected to the murder, (meaning they are at the very least an accomplice).

Teruko and Eden both technically could've taken it, Eden much more so than Teruko, but this isn't about them, so I'll skip that. I'm sure you've heard stuff about that before somewhere, anyhow.

Let's get to the main point:

Could Ace have taken the tape?

Okay, okay, fine, real answer time. In my opinion? It doesn't make much sense to me. After all, if Ace took the tape, we have two options:

Ace was planning to murder someone and already had a plan in mind when he took the tape, knowing he'd need it for a mechanism.

Ace didn't have a plan in mind and wanted to murder Nico when he took the tape.

Now, let's take those one at a time so I can tell you why I don't buy them.

Let's start with option one.

Ace knew he was going to murder someone with the tape down the line and took it.

Now, let's put this into perspective for a moment. Ace is actively being murdered. Even if we assume that Nico is not the true person behind Ace's almost-death, we can assume that someone was cutting Ace's neck open before this. And if Ace was conscious, he wouldn't wait for them or anyone else who can take advantage of his weakened state to come back. So Ace must be unconscious at least until Teruko and Eden make Nico run away.

That means the only time Ace can be having even sort of coherent thoughts is in the minute or so Teruko is investigating his body. He is actively bleeding out, someone just tried to murder him, and everything has gone to shit. On top of it all, he's a character who's usually rather impulsive.

And in order for him to have known he'd need the tape for his new murder plan, he'd need to have thought of a whole murder mechanism scheme while under those conditions. Seems a little iffy, but let's assume, for the sake of this post, he's secretly a murder-plan-making genius! So of course he easily thought of that entire extremely complex murder plan that far in advance!

That means Ace has a plan when he manages to get the strength to stand up. He knows he needs the tape, so he grabs it, while knocking Eden over and shouting in hopes it will distract them enough to not notice he took it (Let's also ignore that Teruko is watching him this whole time and probably would've noticed him taking it). He then pretends he's going to go kill Nico immediately, while secretly plotting to kill them or someone else in the future.

But if Ace isn't planning to murder Nico immediately like he says, then why is he so insistent on it? Non-culprit!Ace readings make this easily understandable; Ace's emotions are running high from the murder attempt and he's running off to find Nico because he's angry and thinks they tried to kill him. However, if Ace doesn't actually want to kill Nico, why does he bother putting on such a big act pretending he does?

If this is an act, color me impressed. Ace has, in the past, shown himself to be a pretty terrible liar who is also not very good at keeping secrets. So him being able to pull this off while bleeding out...Yeah, he definitely deserves an Oscar, haha. Because he really sells it. He's banging on Nico's door, yelling in a very aggressive and convincing manner, and tells Levi he is going to murder Nico almost nonchalantly. If this scene was later revealed to all be an elaborate 4D-chess move by Ace, I would be super surprised.

And none of it is even that necessary if it is an act. Ace could've stomped out of the room without telling them he was going to kill Nico if he wanted to, it's not like it was necessary for his plan. After all, if he was planning a murder, why would he purposely prove that he would be willingly to commit one? It's way better to play into his scaredy-cat tendencies here, instead, if he's trying not to gain suspicion. Like, imagine:

Eden: O-oh my god! Ace, are you alright?!? Y-you're bleeding a lot, let's go to the infirma--

Ace: Get the fuck away from me! I'm not trusting any of you fuckers to get anywhere near me! I was totally right to not trust any of you in the first place, you're all gonna try some shit like this eventually! You probably think that now's the perfect time to strangle me while pretending to help, huh?! Well, too bad! I can do it myself.

(Cue Ace getting the fuck out of there before they can realize he took the tape).

I mean, why would he possibly think that pretending he's going to murder Nico while secretly planning another murder is a good idea?! Even if people don't connect the tape to him, they're going to think that he's completely capable of an act like that if he's desperate enough. If he hadn't done this, his classmates might've kept on thinking he was too much of a scaredy-cat to seriously consider hurting anyone, which would help his chances of winning the trial.

You could say he did it to disguise the fact that he had a plan to murder someone later. No one would suspect that he was planning to murder someone later if he pretended to try to murder someone now. But no one was accusing him of plotting anything in the first place? So I really don't see how it's necessary. Better to play it safe than to risk actually running into Nico when he doesn't actually plan to harm them. His little charade can only go so far. The only way this even sort of benefits him is if in the trial, people say maybe he was plotting something, and he can refute with his reckless behavior here. But, uh...Would it really be realistic to say Ace, of all people, thought that far ahead and meticulously planned out every detail in the mere moments he woke up from the turpentine? I don't know, seems like a little bit of a stretch to me.

Let's remind ourselves that, in this scenario, Ace is most likely scared for his life. He is scared someone else is going to murder him now that Nico tried, and that is why he is planning a murder now. In that case, I think the most important thing is that Ace's primary emotion is that moment is fear. Which he doesn't have a very good track record of hiding. When Ace is scared, you will know. So if Ace was scared and planning a murder in result during that moment, I don't think he'd have masked it as well as he did. Ace doesn't seem scared, just angry. Because he hates that, in his eyes, Nico was able to make him vulnerable like this.

I just...Don't think the dialog of Ace in the hallway scene after his almost-death would work as well if he was secretly not trying to murder Nico and only refusing help from the others because he was planning a different murder, and not because of his own character flaws. None of his lines seem disingenuous in the slightest to me. Which is weird, considering all the other times Ace has lied, it's pretty easy to tell.

In short, I simply don't understand why Ace would do the things he did if he was just secretly planning to murder someone. To me, his behavior makes much more sense if he's actually blinded by rage instead of secretly planning something super smart and complex.

...Alright, let's move on to scenario two.

Ace was actually planning to murder Nico when he took the tape, but plans change, and he uses the tape for murdering Arei instead.

Unsurprisingly, I don't buy this either.

If Ace really did plan to murder Nico in this moment and was admitting it full-heartedly, with no qualms about getting caught, why would he hide that he took the tape? He tells Levi he's going to murder Nico upfront, so obviously he doesn't care that they know what he's doing.

In that case, he wouldn't have stealthily picked up the tape while Teruko wasn't looking and put it in his pocket immediately (Both of Ace's hands are seen in his sprites, so it's not like he was just holding it in his hand, if he did take the tape he took it as quickly and unnoticeably as possible, hid it somewhere on his person, then didn't mention it).

If he's planning to murder Nico and hasn't thought about what happens afterwards, or knows he will be executed and still doesn't care, then it's not like he has anything he's going to do with the tape after he murders Nico. Meaning the only reason he would take it, is if it had something to do with murdering Nico.

And in that case, Ace doesn't care about how much the others know when it comes to how he does the murder. So he wouldn't be shy about admitting he was going to use the tape to uh...Idk, strangle Nico? Or restrain them? I don't even really know how he would use only grippy tape to murder them anyways. It's not like he'd use it to put over their mouth to keep them quiet, he's shouting threats to them in the middle of the hallway for everyone to hear. He could not give less of a fuck about who knows Nico is in danger.

Ace has literally no reason to be secretive about taking the tape in this scenario. The only way it would work is if Teruko and Eden just so happened to not notice even though Ace wasn't bothering to be subtle, which is...Kinda weird, since Teruko's usually pretty damn observant.

Plus, Ace has a lot of blood on his hands during the gym waking-up scene, but maybe he managed to get the tape in his pocket before any blood could get on it? Since there wasn't as much on his hands before he woke up? Idk, possibly still notable.

To summarize this whole section a bit, if Ace was planning to murder Nico when he took the tape, he'd have little reason to take it and no reason to take it sneakily. If he was secretly planning another murder, it's hard to justify why he pretends he wants to murder Nico in the first place, or how he even thought up his murder plan so quickly and under such intense circumstances. And since Teruko was presumably looking at Ace the whole time, Ace would have a hard time even picking up the tape in the first place without Teruko noticing.

(I've also seen people say that if Teruko and Ace can't 100% confirm each other's witness testimony about the other not taking it while Eden was on the ground, you can't really prove who took it in the trial).

...So that's it with the tape, I think. All in all, I don't think Ace taking it makes much sense, or at least not as much sense as Eden does.

That's my main reason for being doubtful of Ace being the culprit, but I guess there's maybe some other things I could mention...

Ace is supposed to be the Mondo of the Chihiro-Mondo = Nico-Ace murder situation.

This can be seen by how the almost-murder takes place in the gym, and how Ace is the one who wants to be strong despite feeling deep down that he is weak. He's also the one who is afraid of getting hit by cars, and the one who's friend mysteriously died...

Yeah, I'm willing to bet Ace's friend being dead and Ace weirdly mentioning being afraid of cars hitting him in chapter 1 probably means his friend met a similar fate to Mondo's brother. Except without all the biker gang stuff, haha.

Which, uh, isn't good if we're trying to make Ace not the culprit, since that secret was one of the major reasons Mondo killed and all that. And I was worried about that...Until Ace just sorta brought Taylor up unprompted in the middle of trial. Like, if that was a big, personal, secret reason for why he murdered Arei, not sure why he would just randomly bring it up now when the DRDTdev could just--Have him talk about it later, when he's the culprit. And if we assume Ace thought that Taylor dying was his secret and killed so that secret wouldn't get out, then that wouldn't make sense, since Ace brings it up in conversation without hesitating. Even Ace wouldn't kill for a secret and then blab about it only a day later. So I doubt Taylor's death is going to play any sort of role in Ace's motive to murder.

(Unlike Eden, who's secret does include someone she was close to and probably regrets not being honest with when it came to her feelings and--okay okay fine I'll shut up now sorry--).

Plus, Ace having Mondo parallels doesn't mean he has to be the culprit. Nico wasn't the victim just because they had Chihiro parallels, so the same can be true for Ace. It does make him a little more suspicious, though, sadly.

Also...

I wonder how this would pay off if Ace died? I immediately assumed that oh, Levi will die, and Ace will realize that this statement was not true. But it could go in way more directions than that.

This line has to be pretty damn important if it got the bold yellow letter treatment. That statement is going to affect Ace or Levi (or both) in a very major way.

If Ace dies, then...I guess I'm not sure if that statement would affect Levi as much without Ace being there. Levi has already said that he would not care if Ace died. It would simply be as if he never knew him, like he was a stranger. And I guess, in my mind, it makes a lot more sense if Ace is a living embodiment of what he said to Levi than him just being gone.

I mean, imagine if Levi threatened Ace and then Ace was the culprit in chapter 1. Levi would not care nearly as much about what he said, because everyone thinks Ace did a bad thing by framing Teruko and not admitting to the class that he murdered Xander, even if it was with good intentions.

Now imagine that Ace is the culprit of chapter two. He murdered Arei with not-good intentions, framed Eden, and never admitted he did it until the bitter end. No one liked Ace before, and they certainly don't like him now. He took advantage of Arei's trust in Eden and for that no one will forgive him. Ace was not a good person, and most of Levi's classmates will reinforce this. So if Ace wanted Levi to die, it doesn't matter, right? Levi tried his best to help him, and he failed, but he tried his best, like Eden said.

What I'm trying to say is that if Ace dies here, I'm not sure how one would make it so that this line really resonates with Levi enough to make a significant enough impact on him that it's highlighted. If Ace is gone and made out to be a no-good murderer by the killing game system they're trapped in, and no one thought Ace was a good person as is, Levi wouldn't put stock in Ace's opinion nearly as much as he would, say, Eden's. Ace was a bully and a murderer, so his opinion doesn't matter, right? I doubt anyone else in the killing game will disagree, so I'm guessing none of them will be ecstatic to defend Ace's honor if Levi asks anyone about it in chapter three.

Long story short, this line makes a lot more sense to me if both Levi and Ace survive trial two (Or I guess if Levi gets executed because of that 'all murderers must pay for their crimes' rule but still).

Other than that, a few other points that make Ace being the culprit less likely are that we have no evidence of Ace knowing about where to find Hu and Teruko's old clothes and that sort of thing. Then there's the spelling mistake I don't think Ace would make given how he acts in the investigation and trial, as I said in another post (Would they really make a point to have Ace of all people correct Teruko's language twice only to have a sticking point be that a word was misspelled in a letter he wrote?).

Plus there's the fact that, allegedly, the culprit made the time ambiguous so that no one would know they did the murder at AM not PM, and Ace didn't have an alibi for either time slot. It'd be weird to do that and then not get yourself an alibi for the fake PM murder time. If the culprit didn't do that on purpose, then I guess they just got really, really lucky when no one found the small piece saying pm or am. Like, that's a smaller piece, so it's not surprising no one found it, but it being such a small piece of the note makes it look like it was ripped out purposefully.

Honestly, the only thing I'd sort of like about Ace culprit theory is that it would confirm Ace writes all fancy and nice, haha. Which would be a really funny subversion of expectations, but not funny enough for me to not be sad he's the culprit and is going to die.

Another thing I've seen floating around is that if the culprit really did copy/reuse the Nico-Ace murder contraption, they would need to know how it works. And if Ace was in the gym that night, that would mean he knows how it works and would be able to replicate it!

But this entire time, we've gone under the assumption that Nico (or whoever almost-murdered Ace) knocked Ace out with the turpentine, and that's why they stole it. Ace is pretty strong physically, so someone needing to knock him out to overpower him isn't too unbelievable. And in that case, Ace wouldn't have gotten much of a chance to look at the crime scene, since he was unconscious for the whole murder attempt. The only time we saw him awake was in the time he woke up bleeding out. And seeing as Ace isn't exactly the brightest, I doubt he could've just looked around while actively dying and immediately have known exactly what was up and how he almost got murdered. And on top of all that, if he was secretly planning a murder, he'd have been focusing on his whole pretending-to-want-to-kill-Nico thing, too, further dividing his attention. Whoever set up the mechanism or saw it for a longer period of time without bleeding out, probably would've had a better shot at knowing how the mechanism worked.

Oh, and before I go: I've mentioned this before, but "All That Glitters" and "A Good Person" aren't really themes that I think would suit Ace as a culprit. After all, they mean 'not as good as it seems' and 'being a good person'. Unlike some other characters, Ace hasn't had any involvement in the Good Person dilemma except telling Levi he's not one. And I don't think anyone thought Ace was 'good' in the first place, let alone not as good as he seems.

I could probably go more in-depth...But I'm tired so short, straightforward theme explanation it is, haha.

I...Think that's all? Honestly, I might be able to think of more reasons in the future...But for now, I think I'm done. I refuse to accept the culprit is Ace, so I'm just trying to point out any evidence I can that it's not him. My heart wouldn't be able to take it...

Still, I don't judge anyone who does buy the ace culprit theory, I just don't buy it personally. So there's the answer you were probably looking for, in way less words, haha.

[littlechaoticwitch]

A Hypothetical Season 2 for Dead Boy Detectives

As the title states, this is an overview of my hypothetical version of Season 2 for Dead Boy Detectives.

~0~

BASIC OVERVIEW

-This would be a 10-episode season (because Netflix can't tell me what to do and they can go fuck themselves)

-This would be a more "low-stakes" season with a slightly more episodic format

-Because I am a monster-lover at heart, most of these episodes would focus on monsters and I am not ashamed of my choices

-There would be some on-going plotlines such as the aftermath of Niko's death, an exploration of Edwin's past, Charles getting some closure on his past, and Crystal just picking up the pieces and learning how to heal herself

-Sadly, I could not fit St. Hilarion's being fucking burned to the ground by Crystal but that might be a later story. Because it needs to happen

-As much as I do really like Cryland (Crystal/Charles) and would have rooted for them if things have been different, it cannot be ignored that they are a tragedy in the making. In my opinion, there are only two ways for their relationship to actually work out: Crystal has to die but not move on (which would kill Charles because we all know he would blame himself for her death) or Charles has to become human again, but that would mean leaving Edwin behind and we all know that will not happen. This post by @bluebugjay is an amazing analysis on their relationship, and honestly, their dynamic works so much better as a friendship rather than a romance doomed by the narrative. Also, I just want Crystal to continue to grow as a character and have her own thing going on that isn't a romantic subplot, because my girl needs to heal and take a break from romance.

-That being said, I am a sucker for slow-burn ships and Payneland is no exception to this rule, they were literally made for this trope

~0~

EPISODE SUMMARIES

-Episode 1: The Case of the Churchyard Phantom (A month after Port Townsend, the agency is given quite the interesting case: Investigate the mysterious occurrences surrounding an all-too familiar church graveyard, where ghosts are been reported to go missing around. But when the culprit is a familiar face from Crystal's still-hazy past, it forces the trio to confront what they thought to have left behind in America)

-Episode 2: The Case of the Deranged Dollmaker (When the agency is given a relatively simple case, Edwin puts Charles and Crystal together, in the hopes they will work out their problems. Meanwhile, he decides to step out of his comfort zone by giving someone a chance. Crystal finds a book about astral planes, causing her to open her own case without the boys knowing)

-Episode 3: The Case of the Butterfly Grotto (When a still-living client comes with the request to investigate her mother's mysterious suicide, the detectives believe it to be a fool's errand. But when the evidence begins to point towards the fae folk and ancient rituals, they begin to wonder if the client knew more about the case than she previously claimed)

-Episode 4: The Case of the Mangled Mermaids (Crystal decides to go visit her parents, hoping to reconnect and form an actual relationship with her mother, who should understand her daughter's struggles as a psychic. Meanwhile, the boys are sent to the seaside, where they investigate the sightings of a skeletal pirate ship and a gruesome play about mermaids)

-Episode 5: The Case of the Iron Dragon (The detectives are hired to recover a lost family heirloom from a dragon known for its ability to destroy ghosts. But when the case becomes entwined with Edwin's past, the boys have to come to terms with how much they still don’t know about each other. Meanwhile, Crystal continues her research despite being seen as a disappointment in her father's eyes)

-Episode 6: The Case of the Birmingham Beast (The detectives set off to Charles's hometown of Birmingham, where a mysterious string of murders is happening in an area once known as The Dell. But as the others are learning the tragic history of the killer, Charles is forced to face the past he tried to run away from)

-Episode 7: The Case of the Red Moon Gala (The agency is invited to an exclusive party, where the living and the supernatural can mingle for one night. But when guests start showing up murdered, it is up to them to save the remaining partygoers, which includes Crystal's parents and a surprise guest, who has his eyes set on Charles)

-Episode 8: The Case of the Polar Bear Charm (When the boys come across the secret case Crystal has been working on, she agrees to let them help her find closure on what happened in Esther's home. But as they follow the clues all the way to Japan, they realize the truth is far worse than they could ever imagined)

-Episode 8: The Case of Niko Sasaki (After learning of what happened to their beloved friend, the detectives are horrified to learn about the connection between Niko and the Principal. In an act of defiance, Crystal takes it upon herself to bring their friend home and prove herself worthy of her family's gifts as she travels across an icy astral plane

-Episode 10: The Case of the Dying Astral Tree (While her mother is still reeling from what happened at the gala, Crystal decides it is time for the others to meet her, but an uninvited guest returns. Now, the detectives must discover a demon's true identity in order to save their friend once again. But when learning the truth becomes too much to bear for one, the other has to decide how to save their friend- their literal soulmate- from a fate worse than Death)

[bedoballoons]

Hi!! May I request a version of someone bullying the reader, but with a reader who takes no shit, is very bold and feisty? And then, the reader themselves fights back the ones bullying them?

Hello!! Ooo feisty I love it!! I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for your request!!! <3

P.s: This is super long! Sorry >///<

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ✿𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ✿─

A/n: Modern School AU!! Part 4! Warning for: bullying, being rough, curse words, and fights!! Requests/asks open!!

{༻~Standing up to a bully~༺}

(Includes: Albedo, Tighnari, Xiao, Kazuha, Heizou and Scaramouche!!)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

𑁍༄Albedo:

You glared at the group of bullies surrounding you, your back against the the metal lockers, honestly who do these people think they are. "Leave me alone, I'm warning you!" You threaten, your heart already racing with slight fear but mostly courage, you weren't gonna let a group of jerks get the best of you. The group only snickered in response, gesturing to you as if to say look at this person, thinking they can actually do anything to us.

"Seriously, look dumbass, me and my friends are here to teach you a lesson, to make a lesson out of you, beat you up here for everyone to see. You and your freakish nerd of a boyfriend, whenever we find him." One of them said, spitting in your face with every word...making your face heat up red with anger, rage making your hands clench into fists. "Don't talk about him like that..." You said quietly, your words dripping with hatred as you used the locker as leverage, launching yourself off of it and kneeing the bully as hard as you could in the gut, watching in satisfaction as they hunched over in pain.

Suddenly you were enveloped by a familiar warmth, arms wrapping around you tightly as Albedo held you close to him. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" His eyes were wide with concern, but as you glanced at the bully, you couldn't help the smile that made its way onto your face. "I'm perfectly fine, if anything...they're the one who needs help." Their group of followers backed away, watching as their leader clutched their stomach in pain and you simply smirked at them.

𑁍༄Tighnari:

You looked down at your homework, study books and papers as they scatter across the cement ground, your hard work fluttering around the cement. You bit your lip, anger bubbling inside of you as you turned around to the culprit, a smug bully, laughing with their friends and pointing at you like it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. You shook your head, trying to ignore them and pick up your stuff, but as you reached down one of them just had to say something, "Gosh next time don't be so clumsy, maybe your homework won't end up...ruined."

You glared daggers at them, fire burning in your eyes as you watched the one that had spoke pick up one of your papers and tear it right in half, letting the pieces get blown away with the wind while they laughed hysterically. "Bastards!" You shouted stepping closer to them, "Honestly, you think it's funny to pick on people, are you so low in IQ that you have to use peoples bad feelings to laugh! You're nothing but bottom of the barrel jerks!"

Their smiles fell as you shouted at them, some of them crossing their arms defensively while others cracked their knuckles...preparing for a fight. The one that had ripped your paper speaking first, "You would say something like that wouldn't you, dating one of the smartest guys in school clearly gave you to much confidence. We may be nothing but bottom of the barrel but you smartasses are hated by everyone alot more than we are! How about you go be with you boyfriend while he seduces his damn plants!"

Then just like that you snapped, your fist colliding with the bullies nose so hard they fell backwards, the rest of them stepping back in fear. Your hand stung with pain, but you'd never felt better and as you got pulled away by Tighnari to some unknown place so you wouldn't get in trouble, you felt a little proud. "You're lucky you didn't break your hand." Tighnari muttered while wrapping your bruised hand up with gauze and carefully making sure it was well taken care of, but then he paused, smiling slight as he kissed your forehead.

𑁍༄Xiao:

You shook your head, feeling done with the situation, as a well known group of trouble makers surrounded you, saying rude things and touching your bag, your clothes, pinching your skin while they laughed amongst themselves. You sighed in annoyance, your words filled with anger as you spoke, "Can you all just back off, I'm not in the mood for your childish antics, unlike you morons I actually want to make it to class on time."

They snickered, one of the smaller ones shoving you harshly, "Did you just call me a moron? Fuck you, how about just for that I show you who's actually a moron for opening their mouth when they shouldn't." You rolled your eyes, quickly recovering from being shoved and grabbing the one that had spoke by their collar, "Who's the moron again, because it certainly isn't me. In fact I'm pretty sure I was right the first time considering you're shaking in your boots like a baby about to cry."

The rest of the bullies scattered away, leaving you with the small one who looked like they were seconds away from pissing themselves. You let them go and they bolted away, making you chuckle, honestly why do they even bother. Then to add to it all a arm wrapped around your waist, Xiao smiling at you proudly before leaning in to give you what he would say was a victory kiss.

𑁍༄Kazuha:

Kazuha held your hand, trying to calm you down as anger made even the tips of your ears red. A well known bullying standing smugly in front of you as the pieces of your favourite poem Kazuha had ever written fell from their hands, swirling across the floor with each step your schoolmates took. "Its alright my love, I can write you more poems, maybe even better ones." Kazuha tried, but that wasn't the point, this person had ruined something you cherished and you weren't just going to let them get away with it.

"You know, I wonder just how cruel someone has to be to take something someone else cherishes so much...and tear it to shreds in front of them. Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror? Do you see a monster? Because that's all you are and ever will be." You're voice was filled with spite and as you spoke you only got more furious. The bullies eyes narrowed, he took a step closer to you and Kazuha instantly moved to stand in front of you, only to be shoved harshly out of the way.

That was the final straw, the second the bully got close enough to you, you launched your foot up, kicking then right where it hurts. As they fell to the ground crying, you helped Kazuha up, checking to see if he was okay...when you noticed the blush on his face. "Are you alright?" You asked, he didn't seem to hear you though as he gently cupped your face and kissed you happily, god he fell more in love with you everyday.

𑁍༄Heizou:

You groaned quietly in disgust, wanting so desperately for the bully to leave you alone, they knew you were taken...hell most of the school knew and yet here they were, making you uncomfortable with their advances even though you had already made it clear you weren't interested. "Get it through your thick skull, I'm taken, have a boyfriend and even if I wasn't I wouldn't be interested in you!" You said...again, but the bully just shook their head, blowing a kiss in your direction as you cringed.

You rolled your eyes and attempted to walk away, done with them entirely...when they decided to stand in front of you, blocking your exit and making your hands ball up into fists, enough was enough. "Move, I already told you. Not. Interested." They smirked at you, not moving a inch, making the situation worse for themselves as you quickly dove around them, using the side of your body to harshly shove them out of the way as you pushed pass.

They bumped right into the wall with a loud satisfying thud and you hurried away, giggling as they curse under their breath. As you were walking down the hall freely you ran into your boyfriend himself, who was leaning against your locker, arms crossed and a small smirk on his face, "I heard what happened, sorry I wasn't there to help...but it sounds like you had it covered anyway." You blushed slightly, nodding as you walked up to him and he placed a gentle kiss on your cheek.

𑁍༄Scaramouche:

Scaramouche looked at you, a slight tinge of worry in his eyes as the bullies continued their attempts to annoy you...and you knew full well that worry wasn't because he thought you couldn't handle it, it was because if you didn't he would and it definitely wouldn't be pretty. You sighed angrily, wondering why you could never just have a moment of peace with your boyfriend. "Look just back off, I'm not in the mood for your stupid insults and if you don't quit it, I'll make sure you won't make anymore.." You sounded even more threatening then you meant to and from the way Scaramouche looked at you, you could tell he was impressed.

The group seemed to pause for a second, considering wether it was worth it or not to stay and clearly choosing the wrong answer as one of them spoke up, "What, you're just gonna make your boyfriend beat us up? What a pussy, at least do it yourself." You glanced at your boyfriends hands, he was seconds away from sending this bully to the hospital and getting yet another write up from the school.

"Asshole." You muttered and just like that the bully went to hit you, Scaramouche about to step in...but you were faster, punching the bully right in the nose as hard as you could. Your hand hurt like hell and blood dripped down the bullies shirt as they held their now broken nose, meanwhile Scaramouche was laughing hysterically. You grabbed his hand, running away from the crime scene and hoping you wouldn't get in trouble.

The second the two of you were alone Scaramouche pinned you to the wall, your hands above your head as he smiled, "God I love you so fucking much.."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚Have a good day!!*⁠.⁠✧

[cidr-monologic-trials]

TRIAL PART 1 IS OUT, LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!

I can't belive it actually happened, but the first half of the trial is actually out. At the time of writing this, currently been 17 hours since it come out, the reason I didn't make this post earlier (aside from timezone shenanigans) was because I wanted to leave some time for everything to settle in before giving any thoughts.

Now, I want to start by taking a look back at some points from the trial and comparing them with my original theory.

How Star's Portals work!

While I correctly guessed that Star used her portals to move to the kitchen undetected, I backfired on how they work.

My original theoiry was that the Portals allowed the user to move through the floors as normal, but coudn't teleport the user anywhere else.

The actuall way they work is that they allow the user to temporally, create holes in most walls (depending on the thickness.)

I actually remember seeing someone theorize that the portails might work that way, so while I got it wrong, props for those out there that correctly guessed it.

Cartman is the second witness!

While I did mention my suspictions of Cartman saying the truth uncontolably being a side effect of the sauce on previous responses to ASKs. I completley ignored it on my OG theory, and as such, I think a mention is necesary.

That said, I still maintain that he used the Monosauce to alter the scene of the crime.

While this might not seem posible at first due to him deniying seeing any of them or Star in the kitchen, with him still being under the side effects of the Monosauce confirming he isn't lying.

Cartman has shown that unless he is specifically asked about something, he does have some controll over the truth serum by means of saying half-truths.

Meaning that while we know he didn't see any of them, we still don't know what he saw in the kitchen. Him making sure to not mention seeing Cupcake, seems to me like an small hint that he did see something in the kitchen. Why try to hide it if by that point it had been confirmed that Cupcake saw him?

I think the important part in Cartman statement here is that he didn't see ANY OF THEM. He coul've perfectly seen Star's body, unrecognizable by either the darkness of the room, the killer covering Star with the Sweater and Sky mask, triying to hide her in the cabinet etc... But since he didn't know it was specifically her, he was able to loophole his way out of being forced to say what he saw.

And talking about Star...

THE MYSTERIOUS MONOKALLER!

This was the last point that was brought up in the trial as a means of creating suspense for part 2 as now our main suspects are Jenny & Mabel, the only ones without their Monokallers.

In my originall theory I theorized that the Monokaller originally belonged to Jenny, before it fell off during the scene in the Gym. And the fact that she dosen't have hers seems to indicate I was correct in my guessing.

Mabel also not having her, I think is just a red hearing sice, most people where expecting her to be the culprit due to her close conection with the main character.

Ultimatley both of them being presented as irrefutable culprits I think is just suposed to be something to draw our attention away from the real culprit and into the two characters most voted as guilty, so we can have a twist later on about who the real killer is.

And speaking of later, I'll like to point out some things that got mentioned but didn't get a full answer.

STAR WAS TIED UP!

I'm guessing this will be covered in the second half as while the posibility was mentioned, the conversation was quickly derailed to Catman being a suspect due to him being in the kitchen last night.

THE BLACK SWEATER & THE SKY MASK!

This was one of the most discused about points, before Gaz redirected everyone's atention towards the Monokallers. As such I think is pretty safe to say we will be coming back to this in part 2.

But for now the thing we landed on, was the fact that the killer went around the entire floor just to drop the sky mask in it's place.

My theory for this, is that the killer returned the sky mask in case someone noticed that one was missing and decided to investigate in peoples rooms in search of it, returning it now, intead of during the investigation where there's more chances to be caught. And also using that as an oportunity to leave Jenny's monocaller on Mabel's lab as a means of incriminating her. The knife as I mentioned on my OG theory, I think it was Carman meddling with the Crime scene.

Also, we know there's a secret passageway that conects that floor with Dipper's bedroom, who at thay point was empthy. The painting that acts as an exit can't normally be opened from the outside, but that woudn't be a problem with Star's scissors, so if the killer discovered that that was there he could've have used it to move between floors.

And... I think that's everithing I wanted to talk about!

My opinions on the case haven't changed that much to be honest, after seeing everyones interactions during the trial I still think Morty did it, with a very slight suspiction towards Bubbles.

Although at this point, I don't care if I was right and Morty is the Killer, I just need Mabel to be inocent.

I've been triying not to get personal feelings for the characters get in my way of analizing the case, but I'm sorry, Mabel killing an innocent person just to save Waddles, specially at the very begining of the Killing game when the characters are suposed to be closer to their OG counterparts is just no.

I'm sorry but that sound more like the version of Mabel that the internet made up, and led to the "You are extremly selfish, die" meme. And i'm really hoping that's not the route CiDr takes with her character.

As allways, feel free to leave any coments or send any asks about what you thought of the trial or my own theories.

[rekino2114]

Hmm...I know.

Reader defending Teruko from the dogpile of murder accusations in chapter 1?

Reader defending teruko tawaki

A/n:ooooohh this idea was so good, I had so much fun writing this, and I always love an excuse to rewatch drdt

Spoilers for drdt chapter 1

The first trial had started,no matter how much you didn't want it to happen deep down, you knew that it was inevitable, but you didn't expect it to be like this.

Xander had died,stabbed, in the computer room, a shame, you really liked him and his attitude towards the killing game but the worst thing was that teruko,your girlfriend was found in the room with him also stabbed but thankfully she was alive.

After she woke up she told you everything about how Xander actually tried to kill her but that she didn't kill him, you believed her of course, even if you didn't know why someone like him would do that, unfortunately your classmates didn't have the same trust in her you had.

"H-hang on you've got it all wrong!, how am I Xander's killer?"

"Seriously?, you were at the scene of the crime with the murder weapon in your hand how much more obvious can you get?"

"Not to mention you admitted moments ago to meeting up with Xander in the computer lab where his body was found, you were the last person with him"

"That doesn't make me the killer, Xander was the one who asked me to meet him in the computer lab"

"Do you have any evidence to back up that claim?any witnesses to Xander saying that?"

"I.....i don't.....but still,you have to believe me! Xander is the one who brought the knife and attacked me with it. That knife was taken from the kitchen so he could have accessed it at any time"

"That means little if anyone could have taken the kitchen knife, then it just as easily could have been you who took it"

"Ignoring the fact that you have no proof to back up any of your statements so far.even if Xander was the one to strike first couldn't the two of you have gotten into a fight that killed him?"

You desperately wanted to say something in defense of your girlfriend, but min,Arturo, and Veronika all made great points and you weren't there so you couldn't have known what happened,of course you believed her but you needed evidence to prove her innocence, evidence that could have only come from more discussion,so you silently continued to listen as it went on.

"S-seriously, everyone, you've got it all wrong, I'm not the killer!"

"Can you explain why you had the murder weapon when your bodies were discovered?"

"I.....I'm not too sure. Maybe the killer is trying to frame me,I'm not too sure at this point in time but...please everyone believe me"

At this point, you knew you had to step in at least to support her

"I believe you teruko"

Eden also agreed with you, and teruko seemed to calm down for a moment

"Y/n.."

"Yeah, well, I don't, and I'm sure the only reason you do is cause you love her oh so much"

You wanted to punch arei for her comment but resisted...mainly because your podiums were too far away, so you sticked to words

"I think you need to learn that your opinion isn't the truth just because you yell it louder"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY YOU-"

Before arei could continue hu stepped in

"Let's return to the original topic which was establishing a sequence of events,that should clear up any confusion"

the class recapped what they knew about the events, and you could feel they were leaning even more towards teruko being the culprit as they talked

"Then Arturo and i discovered the body at 8 p.m. we all know what happened after that"

"That story doesn't explain all the evidence at the crime scene! What about the strange DVD or the water on the ground?"

"Does that even matter? Maybe someone was watching some videos and there was a water leak, big whoop! Stop grasping at straws"

Yet another stupid comment from arei made you lose your patience

"She's not grasping at straws, she's bringing up unexplained evidence! Do you even know how an investigation works?"

"If you continue talking to me like that I swear you'll be the next victim"

"Please go ahead, it'll be fun watching your execution from the afterlife"

While you were arguing more accusations went against teruko and she started to panic

"H-hang on! wait a second you're making a huge mistake.....I DIDN'T KILL XANDER!"

She raised her voice, and you looked at her with concern. Unfortunately, the others seemed even more convinced

"Let's vote already and put this trial behind us"

"Seconded. This case is too obvious all the evidence points to her"

"W-wait-"

Your pleading was ignored as monotv finally spoke

"Hm? Voting time already? Wow, that was fast"

"Stop... please for a moment, you're all....wrong.....I didn't.....I didn't kill xander"

Teruko was spiraling, she seemed on the verge of despair you had to help her even without evidence

"Everyone we need to hear her out, we can't vote for her so blindly just because all the clues seem to point in her direction!"

They all ignored you

"I'm sorry, teruko I know you're upset for having been caught, but we have to do this if we don't vote for who the blackend is we'll die"

"......"

"Wait no please we still need to discuss we haven't solved the case completely"

"But we have enough evidence to determine she's the culprit, and she can't defend herself i apologize to you too I recognize this must be hard for you but you have to see that teruko is guilty"

Hu was right you knew she wasn't guilty she couldn't be , but neither you nor her had any evidence to prove it

"......"

You couldn't bear to see teruko in this state she looked so defenseless and despairing the fact they were willing to vote for her when she was clearly innocent made you angry

"Are you seriously going to kill her without even listening to her side of the story?" she got stabbed too. She's another victim here goddammit"

"Y/n please calm down and realize that there's no other way that this makes sense"

"No there is another way! The truth! But, you're all so focused on her that you can't even think about other possibilities!"

"If you're so trusting in her then you surely have some evidence to clear her of suspicion no? Or is it just your emotions speaking?"

"I-i admit I have no concrete evidence, but that's exactly why we have to continue this trial"

"Do you expect us to continue with this trial forever? Just accept that your girlfriend's a murderer and move on!"

As j spoke to you, your mind was getting closer to the pit of despair teruko was already in, you loved her, she could never kill someone, why couldn't anyone else see that?

".........no...I refuse.... teruko isn't the murderer.....I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT!"

"Just great now we have two people in denial, hey monotv can you speed this up and let us vote before we all die?"

This was it, you were all going to die teruko wasn't the murderer so all of you except the real killer would die, you didn't even have the strength to say goodbye to her.

...........

...........

..........

"Thank you y/n"

"Ter...uko?"

"Thank you for defending me and making me realize.......what a bunch of fucking morons the others are"

"What?"

"Go ahead and vote for me if you want to end your life that badly, go ahead"

"T-teruko? What's wrong?"

"Have you completely lost it"

"I think the stress of the situation has finally gotten to her"

"Ahahahaha"

The laugh that came out of teruko was maniacal and insane but you really couldn't blame her you would have done the same

"Xander pretended to be my friend just to betray me and try to end my life, you all are the same, without thinking about it, without any concern for my life, you want to call me Xander's killer"

"Wait a second-"

"And what about y/n! They made totally logical arguments, and you just ignored and belittled them just because I'm their girlfriend?, as if the only reason they trust me is because we love each other"

"......."

You were speechless, not only she was defending you but she was also calling out the other's bullshit

"Now I realize I was a fool for thinking we could all work together, the only person i can trust is y/n, they defended me with everything they had while you all were against them, that is true trust and I intend to repay that"

"Teruko....."

"I'm sorry for making you go through that I should have done this a long time ago, but don't worry now......I'll have to prove my innocence with evidence! I'll show you all why I'm not the killer"

As the trial continued, the teruko you saw was someone new, a more confident, even ruthless person, but you knew you could trust her just as she knew she could trust you, even if everyone else was against you two, you would still have each other to love and to trust.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I think.. Ruin is innocent only as long as Eclipse is suspicious of him. Cos of narrative tropes, you know?

While Moon was the most suspicious, there was definitely an angle of 'aha! my paranoia was justified!' that could be taken.

With Eclipse being the most suspicious of Ruin, Ruin has to be innocent. Because Eclipse is a 'not-exactly-retired-but-currently-on-hold' antagonist. As an antagonist, Eclipse cannot be allowed to be right. Because if he's right, it means that the good guys are wrong, and good guys can't be wrong even when they are the narrative just ignores it i will never get over the fucking time out box i will never get over the fight.

So pretty much the moment Eclipse figures out someone else to hound, its gonna be like 'ah, yeah, it's Ruin'.

(Anyway the idea of it actually being Ruin makes me a little sad, even though your points are exhaustive AND excellent, I'd recently found out about the spell copying myself-- but like. This fandom decided KC was a dad and that Lunar and Eclipse secretly miss having a sibling relationship, I am more than capable of tossing a blanket over Ruin being the culprit and going 'nope! 8D' for fanwork purposes XDDD)

I mean you're totally valid.

And I think it'll be actually interesting for the heroes to be wrong.

Right now the track record is really bad with Lunar killing Eclipse.

(Although I will cry about KC's missed potential forever. KC had no reason to NOT fight and had no reason to disown BM so hardily. )

Although. Eclipse never said he hated Lunar.

Eclipsev3 wanting to use Lunar as a battery came at him because a Directive put it in his head to do it. That's why he was talking to himself and seeing hallucinations of himself. He was losing it (and he'll lose it more) But Eclipse never said he hated Lunar. Eclipsev2 also never killed him. He left him alive intentionally. He was all powerful. He knew he left a nanobot alive. He wanted to kill part of himself.

Lunar said a deep desperate part of him wants to go crawling back to Eclipse. (said in LAES when Moon and Lunar had their therapy talk with Earth.)

However. Ruin has just lied about everything. I do not trust him as far as I can throw him.

And we sadly already know what Cured Ruin Sounds like....... And The Ruin that we have now... DOES NOT sound like that.

Davis was clearly channeling Fnaf Canon Eclipse for Ruin during the small times he broke through with his "help me"s.

And the Ruin we have today certainly just sounds the exact same as Virus Ruin, just more timid and less crazy.

Also... Eclipse V2 before he died said some interesting things THAT HAVE ALL COME TRUE SO FAR.

Star beings that are coming, Lunar being the key to set things in motion.... All of Eclipsev2's predations before his death came true.

Evil!Sun says that he knows who Made Eclipsev3-4. He also told Moon to listen to Eclipse.

So far. Eclipsev3's number one suspect is Ruin.

Evil!Sun basically told Moon like "I know who it is. Listen to the crazy person who is hacking out a lung to talk to you."

So for me personally, I think it's explicitly confirmed who made him at this point.

[opposums-love-arson]

Scream Queen Book 1: Conventional Final Girl

Chapter 3

Chapter 2 / Chapter 4

Stu Macher x Reader x Billy Loomis

  Once we got off the bus a few people said bye to  Sid and I. “Can you check the mail?” Sid asked, I can see why she wouldn’t want to. “Mhm,” I said as she walked ahead. It was as empty as Michael Myers’ soul. I instantly zipped upstairs and to the bathroom, “Calling dibs on the shower!” Nothing followed, wow not even a small ‘Whatever!’. 

  Once I was out I pulled my hair up into the towel and wrapped another one around me before heading to my room. Maybe I was just a bit too paranoid after today but I thought I heard something coming from the living room. “Hello?” I asked, no answer. “God if this were a horror movie I would be so dead…” I trailed my words just like I trailed the weird noise, quickly snatching up a vase from the hallway. I crept down the stairs and to the living room when I heard a crash. I jumped out ready to hit the culprit! Only to find Sidney picking up the phone. “What the hell are you doing?!” She exclaimed, obviously shocked to see her usually collected sister wielding a vase above her head. “I thought you were the killer!” I shouted, trying to keep the laughter of this humiliating moment at bay. Both Sid and I busted out laughing before she said, “I’m going to call Tatum now, why don’t you go get dressed and make some snacks?” Of course I was going to do what she said, she was doing me a favor for many things. 

  In the kitchen I still felt a little uneasy, like someone was just lurking around the corner ready to stab me from behind. “I’ve been watching too many horror movies…” Then I stopped to think for a minute. “Well actually the last movie I watched was Psycho with Stu and Billy when they invited Sid and I.” I know I’m just talking to myself as I make peanut butter sandwiches but who doesn’t? “Ya’ know honestly if I could’ve I probably would’ve kissed Stu, right in the scene where Norman is cleaning the hotel room but he’s completely oblivious to the newspaper carrying all the money. Much like Stu is completely oblivious on how to go about things correctly…” 

  My little monologue must’ve sucked me in a little too much considering I didn’t hear Sid laughing on the couch. “Oh my god, don’t do that! You scared me!” I shouted in total shock just holding up the kitchen knife, bread crust crumbs still covering the blade. “Are you all packed for tonight?” She asked me as she put her things together. “Uh good question,” I said as I put down the plate of PB&J’s on the coffee table. Sidney turned on the tv and started skimming through the channels as I ran up the stairs. Every channel she landed on was talking about the murders. 

  Coming back down the stairs I ran to the living room where Sid placed her things, not even noticing her in the other room until I went down the hallway. “Hey Sid-” Oh, she’s asleep, seems like she just fell asleep too. I quickly grabbed a blanket for her and laid it over her as she snored a little. I take this time to go to the living room and catch up on some sleep of my own. The past few nights have just been feeling weird and off so I’ve been staying up late.

  When a loud ringing from the other room blairs through the house I jolted up, ready for action! That was until Sid picked up the phone. 

“Hello?” She groggily asked.

“Who is it?” I whispered as I peaked out from the wall. 

Completely ignoring me, Sid takes hold of the small clock on the side table and says, “It’s past seven.” 

“Ugh oh that’s comforting,” She said to the person on the other line. At this point I’m pretty sure it’s Tatum. 

I sit down on the couch swinging Sid’s legs onto my lap. 

“Whatever, just hurry, okay?” Sid said, stifling a laugh before hitting the end call button and placing the phone back on it’s base.

I looked over to her and asked, “So what was that about?”

“Hmm? Oh i-” Before she could even get a real word out the phone rang again. 

When Sid picks up the phone she immediately says, “Tatum just get in the car-”

Now that I’m closer to her I can hear the other line and that definitely doesn’t sound like Tatum. 

“Hello Sindey,” A familiar oddly pitched raspy voice called to her. This made me roll my eyes, the boys again. 

“Uh hi, who is this?” She asked, moving her legs and sitting upright. 

“You tell me,” He says in a nonchalant tone. 

“Well I have no idea?” Sid said, her voice starting to quake a little. I’m tempted to just take the phone from her and yell at the person on the other end. 

“Scary night isn’t it? With the murders and all it’s like right out of a horror movie,” His words slither out, creepy and cold like ice. 

Sidney’s expression lightened as she said, “Randy you gave yourself away, are you calling from work cause Tatum’s on her way over.”

Walking around her I go turn on the lamp when I hear, “Do you even like scary movies, Sidney?” That’s the worst question to ask Sid of all people. 

“I like that thing you’re doing with your voice Randy, it’s sexy.” Sid says, her own voice going a little deeper. 

Now this made me laugh a little, “Randy and the word sexy in the same sentence, now that’s weird,” I said just above a whisper. 

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” He asked, this made me roll my eyes since he asked me the same question last night.

“Oh come on Randy, you know I don’t watch that shit.” She said, fidgeting around in her stance now. 

I myself felt offended and shot her a look, this made her throw up her one free hand. 

“Oh why not, too scared?” ‘Randy’ asked. 

“No no, it’s just- what’s the point, they’re all the same,” She said as she threw her arm outward, “Just some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl who can’t act. Whose running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door, it’s insulting.” 

They’re not all like that, I think to myself 

“Are you alone in the house?” ‘Randy’s’ question made me stand up straight and look over at Sid. 

“Randy that’s so unoriginal, I’m disappointed in you,” She said looking over at me as she faced the window at the back of the couch. 

“Maybe that’s because I’m not Randy.” He said, I could feel my heart beat pick up… this is getting a little too close for comfort. 

Sid gets up from the couch placing her hand on her hip and asks, “So who are you?”

“The question isn’t who am I, the question is where am I?” The caller said, okay now this isn’t good. 

Snatching the phone out of Sid’s hands I aggressively asked, “So where are you?” 

“Your front porch,” The caller said as if he were still talking to the same person. 

Staying in the same spot but keeping an eye on Sidney who was no doubt going to the porch I asked, “Why would you be calling from our front porch?” 

“That’s the original part,” he says. 

“Oh yeah? Nice fucking try.” I said as Sidney opened the door, “Calling your bluff.” 

“So where are you?” I asked, feeling the wind from the cold night already telling me Sid was outside. 

“Right here.” The caller said, startled, I spin around only to be met with empty space. 

Walking to the porch myself I asked the caller, “Can you see Sidney right now?” 

“Uh-huh,” he says in confirmation. 

“What is she doing then? Hmm? Tell me,” I said. If it weren’t such a serious situation I would’ve gotten the camera at the sight of Sidney picking her nose. 

“HELLOOO” My big sister called out. 

“Nice try Randy, tell Tatum to hurry up. Bye now” I chimed to the other line with a giggle escaping my throat. Sid linked arms with me.

“If you hang up on me you’ll die, just like Sidney’s mother!” The caller shouts, loud enough for Sidney to hear right next to me. 

We both freeze in our tracks equally scared and appalled by the words that just left his mouth. 

“Do you want to die, (y/n) , her mother sure didn’t?” They asked me. Sid’s grip on my arm tightened. 

“Fuck you, you creep!” I ragefully whispered into the phone. I rushed both Sidney and I into the house before locking the door. That wasn’t enough though since the supposed caller jumped out of our closet. Sid and I ducked but not before he landed a blow on her. Not on my sister you don’t! I hit him on the back of the head but this caused him to turn around and shove me back, making me hit my head and everything started getting dizzy. The killer was on top of Sidney before she kicked him off. As fast as she could she grabbed me as I was trying to open the door, not realising it was latched. 

  Running up the stairs with the killer on our tail Sid flung me into her room first before she did the same to herself and closed her door. The great thing about Sidney’s room is that her bedroom door and closet door were right next to each other so if the closet door was open the bedroom door couldn't. The killer did his best by swinging his arm trying to attack Sidney and I. Doing the smartest thing I could right now I picked up the phone and dialed 911 while Sid failed at shutting her window. To no avail though, the phone line was dead. Sid pushed me aside and went to her computer inputting the numbers 9-1-1. Then it stopped, the killer was gone. 

  A loud thud at Sidney’s window sill startled us before we realized who it was. “Billy!” Sid exclaimed, relieved to see her boyfriend. I just stood there with my guard still up..

“The door was locked, I heard screaming, You alright?” He asked Sid as he looked over at me. 

“The killer’s here, he’s in the house.” She said as she hugged Billy tight, sobs just releasing from her mouth left and right. 

“He’s gone, he’s gone.” Billy cooed into her ear as she hugged him. The expression on his face gave me goosebumps. 

All was fine until Billy dropped something… a small black compact cell phone. Oh shit. 

In a mad frenzy I rush towards Sidney tearing her away from Billy’s grasp and run out of the room with her hand in mine. 

“Wait, Sid, no! Wait wait wait! (Y/n)!” We heard Billy shout as we reached the front door. 

Sydney opens the front door in a hurried panic and we’re met with that same white ghostly mask again! We both shriek out in pure terror! And so does… Dewey. Nevermind the day is saved…

  It felt so surreal to be sitting here on the tail of the ambulance with Sid while Billy is getting forced into the back of a cop car. They just got done checking me and Sid for any bruises or contusions. Billy wailed for Sidney much like the car sirens wailed to alert danger. Walking up to us the sheriff said, “Well, we’re seeing a lot of you today.” Then Dewey spoke up asking, “You girls going to be able to come down to the station and answer a few questions?” 

“Oh shit, Sydney, (y/n)!” Tatum’s voice made me pop my head up. Happy to see a face we can comfortably trust. 

“God I’m so sorry I showed up late,” Tatum continued, holding Sid’s hands and cupping my face. 

“Tatum you can’t be here it’s an official crime scene.” Dewey said as he grabbed hold of his sister to escort her away. 

“No!” I shouted, everyone looked in my direction before Sid said, “It’s okay.” 

“Their parents are out of town, alright? They’re staying with us tonight.” Tatum said as she scoffed at her older brother. 

“Does mom know?” Dewey asked, for what reason? I’m not sure. 

“Yes dufus,” Tatum said, pretty sure she just wanted to get us out of there at this point. 

I could see the Sheriff holding the costume the killer wore as Sid and I got into the back of the car. This has officially become the most terrifying night of my life. I grabbed onto Sidney’s arm for comfort as she petted my hair on the way to the station. As we were about to pull away from our house a news van came rolling in. Out hopped none other than the devil herself, Gale Weathers. We could hear her call out for Sid as we drove away. 

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 37 part two

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Inquiring Minds

Wei Wuxian asks the kids if any of them can perform inquiry so he can ask Song Lan who fucked him up like this. Sizhui does a good job, but he has to whisper to himself while he plays, because he is not a mensch like Lan Wangji (yet).

Song Lan says that Xiao Xingchen is the culprit, and the kids immediately ignore apparently-murderer Xiao Xingchen who's sitting next to them, and instead have a seminar on how inquiry works and the niceties of guqin-language translation. 

During the whole conversation, they talk about Song Lan being killed, not just mostly-killed, incidentally. And that's not a translation error; I'm actually able to recognize the phrase "shale ta." (My small collection of Chinese-words-I-can-recognize-when-I-hear-them is entirely Wuxia-based, including useful words and phrases like wo shale ni (I'm going to kill you), dianxia (prince/lord), and dalisi (the court of judicial review).

They all continue to ignore Xiao Xingchen while Sizhui asks Wei Wuxian's third question, which is "who controls you." Song Lan's answer this time is "that dude behind you." That dude, who we are perhaps beginning to suspect is not really Xiao Xingchen, smirks and snaps his fingers.

Song Lan responds by breaking out of the rope and summoning his sword and fuchen (horsetail whisk) to his hands.  

He brings his sword to Wei Wuxian's neck and Wei Wuxian tells the kids to back off, saying that all of them put together are not a match for Song Lan. Which is true, judging by the juniors' sword moves, which consist entirely of standing still and pointing.

Not-Xiao-Xingchen says that the adults are going to talk so the kids should go outside. Wei Wuxian tells the juniors to scram, and reminds them not to breathe in a lot of poison while they're out there. Gee, thanks, Laoshi. 

(More behind the cut!)

Sizhui lingers, and Wei Wuxian tells him he's the most sensible and that he should take charge of the others. He tells Sizhui not to be afraid, and Sizhui says he isn't. 

He also says that Mo-qianbei and Hanguang-Jun are alike. Wei Wuxian denies this, saying they're opposites. Almost like yin and yang, in fact, needing each other to create a balance. 

Sizhui thinks in a voiceover that he doesn't know why, but he thinks they're alike; that if either one of them is there, he doesn't need to be afraid. They are mostly not alike, I think, but they are both devoted parents to Sizhui, so he's right about that. 

His recognition of Wei Wuxian is growing, and I like that he's able to ponder this stuff in the midst of all these life threatening situations. It's actually fairly accurate to life as a teenager, in which the big work of figuring yourself out is always going on in your head, no matter the circumstances.

Dear Slim, I wrote you

Once the kids are gone, both of the adults can drop their aliases, and speak demonic-cultivator to demonic-cultivator. 

They stand around while not-Xiao-Xingchen, who is obviously Xue Yang, delivers a heap of exposition about making zombies and his new Yin Tiger Seal and...*yawn.* 

Anyway, he lured Wei Wuxian here so he could resurrect someone for him. Wei Wuxian says nope, listening briefly to the spirit-trapping bag that Xue Yang hands him and saying that this person is super duper dead, and wants to stay that way. 

Xue Yang insists, reminding Wei Wuxian that the kids are hostages.

During this whole conversation, Song Jiyang, who plays Xiao Xingchen, does a great job playing Xue Yang - possibly helped along by using the same voice actor for overdubbing? - including by embodying many of Xue Yang's annoying mannerisms. 

On my first watching, I found Xue Yang very very annoying, right up until the point that the show flips the script and manages to make him sympathetic and tragic, which is quite a trick, considering that he's a psycho and also a dick. On subsequent viewings I still find him annoying but I like his fighting style a lot, and what he brings to the story generally.

When Xue Yang starts cackling, Wei Wuxian greets him by name and tells him he should stop pretending to be someone he isn't. Xue Yang responds by taking off his eye cover and then by taking off his face, which is a mask that's way more convincing than poor Mo Xuanyu's craft-store paper-mache thingy. 

Xue Yang picked up some good disguise tricks during that summer he spent in Changsha interning for Zhang Rishan.

The mountain of exposition continues, covering a wide range of topics

Skull nails

how Wen Ning is hard to control

Yin Tiger Seal 1.0

Yin Tiger Seal 2.0

other pieces of Yin metal

Xue Yang's mysterious friend who is good at acting, i.e. Jin Guangyao.

Wei Wuxian being the founder of demonic cultivation

Xue Yang murdering the Chang clan

Xue Yang murdering Song Lan's sect

Murder Turtle

The Yin metal sword

The conversation does clear up some confusion about the Yin metal pieces from back in the day. Everyone thought there were only four, but Xue Yang is a Wuxia fan and knows that whenever something from a previous generation is hidden away for the good of the world and then is found by a later generation, there are always five of it. (See: Legend of Fei, Word of Honor)

During this conversation, Xue Yang shows a sincere admiration of Wei Wuxian, saying that he himself only figured out some things about Yin metal, but Wei Wuxian was able to learn without a teacher and create the Yin Tiger seal. It's...kinda sweet. He follows it up by explaining his "murder everybody" philosophy, which makes it a little less sweet.

Fight Club

Mercifully, this near-endless conversation is interrupted by Song Lan crashing through the wall like the Kool-Aid guy, followed by Wen Ning in full multi-punch-man mode. 

Wei Wuxian tells the boys to take it outside, and then he and Xue Yang go out to watch the fight. Xue Yang was never able to control Wen Ning, he says, because "some things recognize their masters too well." Wei Wuxian says that Wen Ning is not a thing. He doesn't deny that he is Wen Ning's master, however. As if he could.

Xue Yang responds with some linguistic subtlety that is lost in translation and then draws his  Xiao Xingchen's sword and takes a swipe at Wei Wuxian, who easily ducks the blow. 

Xue Yang explains that he doesn't want to kill him, just capture and enslave him. Then the fight is on, with Wei Wuxian dodging, blocking, and spinning, while whining about having low spiritual energy in his new body. 

Wei Wuxian calls for a substitute to do his fighting for him. Xue Yang says that Hanguang-Jun is busy fighting his little friend. (I find it hilarious that Xue Yang consistently refers to Su She as his little friend.) He's barely finished saying this when Lan Wangji comes sailing in, deflecting his blow and striking a pose for Wei Wuxian.

Sometimes you succeed in recoloring a super foggy, blue-tinted gif, and sometimes you just give up.

Lan Wangji immediately yoinks Xiao Xingchen's sword off of Xue Yang, and tells him he doesn't deserve this sword. Boy howdy, Hanguang-Jun, you don't know the half of it. 

Xue Yang summons his own sword out of thin air and Sword Superfan Lan Wangji says "Calamity Befalls" because he knows the names of ALL the swords. The guys in his Discord are going to be so excited that he got to cross blades with two famous swords in one day.

Before the fighting starts, Lan Wangji tells Wei Wuxian to hit the bricks, saying "you are not needed here." I love that grown-up, mellower, affectionate Lan Wangji is still a salty bitch. 

Wei Wuxian bails while Lan Wangji and Xue Yang bust out a bunch of their best moves, with the actors doing a lot of the stunt work themselves.

This sword move by Wang Haoxuan is pretty great. Useless, like Wei Wuxian's spinning, but hawt.

And Wang Yibo is grace personified when he’s on wires.

While the sword fight is going on, Wen Ning and Song Lan are having a frowning contest.

They are also beating the crap out of each other.  

The juniors watch the punch-up with keen interest; Jingyi is particularly happy about it. Jin Ling isn't smiling but he seems pretty entertained for a guy who's dad was killed by one of those same punches.

Wei Wuxian sees the fight and reflects that he's not needed there either. But that the juniors do need him, and he gets a happy little smile, finding a context in which he can be useful. 

The juniors all flock to him like ducklings and he teases them about his terrible congee.

When they see Lan Wangji fighting, the little Lans all preen. Jingyi announces that Hanguang-Jun is the best, and asks Wei Wuxian to confirm it. Wei Wuxian is surprised to be asked, given that he's just a random guy who is obviously fucking their favorite teacher. 

Jingy is offended when Wei Wuxian doesn't immediately agree, but Wei Wuxian contemplates for a bit, thinking about all the ways that Lan Wangji is the best, particularly his dick, and chuckles to himself while agreeing with Jingyi.

Lan Wangji backs up these assertions by pausing for a moment in his fight to knock out a whole group of zombies with one strum of his invisible guqin...zombies who dared to menace Wei Wuxian. 

Grave Disturbance

Wei Wuxian collects the kids and goes to find A-Qing, saying she has something important to communicate, and that she's not on Xue Yang's side. He also tells the kids that the dude fighting Lan Wangji is Xue Yang. He doesn’t explain why or how, though. 

They all go into the coffin house/morgue, where Wei Wuxian says they're safe because they haven’t seen any zombies since, like, four minutes ago. Seems logical.

A-Qing pops up from behind a coffin and starts tapping it. She makes it super incredibly obvious, through hand signals, that she wants someone to open the coffin, and most of them, including Wei Wuxian, are too dumb to understand this.

Fortunately Jin Ling is paying attention, and explains what she wants. Wei Wuxian tells everyone to back up, in case the coffin is trapped, and then opens it by leaning directly over it.

Xiao Xingchen is in the coffin, and this time we know it's the real Xiao Xingchen because Wei Wuxian has a flashback about him. 

A-Qing somehow knows it's him in the coffin, despite being blind and not reaching in to touch him. She cries tears of blood because that is exactly how human tear ducts and eyeballs work.

Since she's mute, Sizhui suggests using inquiry to talk to her. She's...alive? Does inquiry work on alive people? Whatever. Wei Wuxian says that Inquiry won’t help, and that he's going to use Empathy instead, because what this show needs right now is a two-episode-long flashback. Jin Ling objects, saying it's too dangerous, but Wei Wuxian says to STFU and let's get cracking.

Then he tells us about his favorite mango drink. At least, if you are watching on Viki, where some of the original ads are included with the episodes. The combination of an abrupt, somber episode ending, followed immediately by a cheerful in-character advertisement, is never not hilarious.

Soundtrack: Stan by Eminem

[undreaming-fanfiction]

The Least We Could Do

Read on Ao3

Wayne Munson rarely visited graveyards.

It wasn't just that he didn't have any family he cared for nearby - his parents were long gone and even before then, they were way too preoccupied with keeping their other son in line than to spare a single glance for the one who actually lived a decent life - but he also didn't really get the whole graveyards as a place of comfort thing. His personal philosophy was that what happens after you die is that you're dead, plain and simple. Sitting at graves, bringing flowers or whatever didn't make much sense - the dead don't answer even if they wanted to and Wayne was way too busy to keep the worms nibbling on his relatives company. If that sounded too harsh, well, sorry, but not really. Wayne had always been a pragmatic man, no time for mushy or spiritual stuff.

At least that's what he'd believed before he buried is only nephew.

Eddie had always been a troublemaker, but Wayne loved him more than anything, anyone. Ever since he knocked on his door, barely a teen, a horrendous buzz cut on his head and hitting that unsightly growth spurt when he looked more like an antelope than a human being, Wayne saw what so many in Hawkins chose to ignore - that Eddie, Eddie who'd always had so little, wanted nothing more than to give to the world. Give his music, even if Wayne's eye corner twitched whenever Eddie sat down to tune his guitar, a safe space for kids like himself, stories, hope...no matter how long Eddie would take to graduate, Wayne knew he'd go far, that his future was bright, even if Eddie himself didn't believe it.

And then he was gone. Only that guitar pick, the very thing that Wayne gave him after his first concert at the Hideout, remained. That and an empty grave in Hawkins. And Wayne Munson found himself rethinking his stance on graveyards.

See, talking to worms might have been stupid, but at least you were absolutely sure where your loved ones were. Because in 1986, after the whole world went to shit, Wayne lost his home, Hawkins was torn to shreds, religious mobs were running left and right and Eddie was suddenly a murder suspect, a satanic cult leader and...gone. Just gone. And the worst part was - Wayne couldn't even blame anyone. There was no justice to be served, no culprit. The kid who pointed his finger at Eddie and persuaded the whole town that his dorky nephew was the devil's incarnate? He was found in two pieces after the earthquake and it didn't matter who Wayne talked to, the whole town was persuaded that Eddie was the sole reason for all their plight. And if there was someone who doubted this whole shit show...well, they had to learn to keep their head low. Lynching seemed like the next logical step for the town. 

Maybe it would have been different if he could actually talk to someone about missing Eddie, about his loss, but that was the thing - the accusations made it impossible for him to grieve. Hell, some people would have liked to call it illegal. "How dare you grieve for the person who caused this all? How dare you shed tears for someone who worshipped Satan and plunged this whole town into doom?" And of course... "How didn't you see this coming? How did you allow him to do all of this under your own roof?" It didn't matter how many times he repeated himself. The dead can't speak for themselves and Wayne's voice didn't carry any weight in Hawkins.

And so Wayne found himself going to the graveyard way more often than he'd ever imagined. He'd sit down with Eddie, well, with his headstone, he felt stupid even paying for the empty grave but not having one felt wrong, and he'd tell his boy about what was happening in the town, how many more they'd lost. How one day, the ground stopped burning and emitting smoke, just like that. How life slowly started returning to Hawkins. But most of all, he just said "sorry" a lot. Sorry for not being there, sorry for failing you, son. Sorry for being so weak that I can't even get your name cleared.

At least there was a small blessing in all of this - with all the tension and name "Munson" being spat out as a curse, Wayne thought that his new trailer would get egged, vandalized or even destroyed, and so would Eddie's headstone. But apart from the one instance when he had to scrub permanent markers off the cool stone, there wasn't anything. Of course there were dirty looks and uttered curses, but no hate letters, no more scribbled occult symbols next to Eddie's name and dates of birth and death.

Wayne Munson learned this was no coincidence in late September 1986.

He made his way to the grave at sunset, before he had to start his shift at the plant. He rarely had any appetite these days, could stomach almost no food, but an energy drink had some calories and maybe a vitamin here and there, so that had to do. Grasping the can, he walked towards the edge of the graveyard where Eddie's headstone sat alone, separated from the others. But before he could greet Eddie, sit down with him and tell him about his day, he noticed rustling behind him. Wayne had heard his share of menacing sounds back in Vietnam and he knew right away - this one wasn't supposed to be an ambush. It was intentionally loud.

"I thought you were smart enough not to come back, but I guess stupidity is the standard for this town, huh?"

Wayne's fingers gripped the can so tightly his knuckles turned white. Not today, next to his nephew's empty grave for fuck's sake. He spun around and for the first time in what felt like forever, he straightened his spine. He might have been old, but his height was enough to scare most people off. "The fuck did you say to me, boy?"

He expected many things. A group of bullies from Eddie's old school, even some self-appointed vigilantes coming at him. What he didn't expect was to see the rich kid fallen from grace, Steve Harrington, grasping a bat full of nails and glaring at him with pure hatred. For a second, at least. Then his eyes grew wide and he blinked in confusion. "Oh. Mr. Munson. Shit, I'm so...so sorry, sir. I didn't...I didn't see you properly against the sun and I just thought..."

"You thought?" Wayne relaxed his posture but still eyed the Harrington kid warily. He knew he kept the good kid, Henderson, company, but that didn't mean anything in Wayne's book. People could be assholes and still have good people as friends.

Steve pointed the monstrous bat towards Wayne. Ah, not Wayne, but more specifically his hand. "Um. I saw you carrying that can and I...you see, we've had some...attempts here. At vandalizing Eddie's...yeah. So when I saw someone walking towards the grave with a can, I kind of...I'm so, so sorry sir. I didn't mean to intrude on your time with Eddie, I'll just..." He started walking backwards, moving towards the large tree close to Eddie's supposed resting place.

Wayne watched him as he sank down onto a blanket in the shadow of the tree, pulling the bat closer. At least that explained why Wayne hadn't seen him before, if it wasn't for the occasional glint of the nails or of Steve's eyes in the light of the setting sun, he would have been nearly invisible to the naked eye. No matter how disturbing the sight was, Wayne had to admire the strategic positioning. As if the kid saw some real fights. Or worse.

Curiosity overtook him and instead of doing what he came here for, he found himself walking towards Harrington's hiding spot. "You've been...uh. Keepin' an eye on things?" You've been keeping an eye on my boy?

Steve nodded and as Wayne entered the shadow, he could make out more details. The deep circles under Harrington's eyes, the sluggishness of his moves. The half-eaten sandwich, thermos flask that still smelled like black coffee. The cleaning kit tucked next to the trunk of the tree. "Yes, sir," he answered and shook his head, as if he were trying to keep himself awake. "Not always successfully, but...I'm here."

"Well, shit." Crouching down, he got down to Steve's level, kneeling awkwardly on the crumpled blanket. "I guess I have you to thank for Eddie's grave stayin' in such a good shape? I expected way more...anger from the lovely townsfolk towards it," he admitted, bitterness creeping into his voice. "But after seeing you and that," he pointed towards the terrifying weapon, "can't say I'm surprised anymore. Grateful, sure, but not surprised."

The boy gave Wayne a small smile and moved to the side to let him lean against the tree as well. Wayne cracked open the energy drink and took a sip. Disgusting, but probably energizing.

"It's not just me," Steve admitted, chewing on his lip. "But I'm here the most often, I guess. Hop - the police chief, he's been helping a lot, but he can only do so much. Protecting the kids from Eddie's club, mostly. Keeping an eye on this whole mess. Watching over a grave isn't his highest priority and I guess I can't blame him, but...it seemed wrong, you know?" He turned towards Wayne, his eyes begging for understanding. "It didn't seem fair for Eddie to lose a single more thing. I can't make them understand, but I sure can make them leave this place alone."

Sitting in the shadow allowed Wayne to notice even more and he almost choked out a sob when he saw a small travel pillow next to the boy. "You...you sleep here?" he whispered. To think someone would go this far for his boy...

Steve chuckled. "Well, sleep...most nights I don't sleep anyway, so. And my parents are never home, so I'm the best guy for this. No one comes looking for me. And I have the most flexibility since I'm out of school and not on my way to college. I usually have help, they take over when I have a shift at work. There aren't many of us, but...we do what we think is right."

It took Wayne a while to respond, to get his breathing under control. He'd felt so alone in this cruel town, he'd never even entertained the possibility of someone missing Eddie so much, protecting him in death where they couldn't do so in life. "I...I appreciate it," he muttered, his voice cracking on the last syllable. "A lot. Just please...don't overdo it. Stay safe." The images of the town's mob were still too fresh in Wayne's mind and no matter how intimidating Steve was with his bat, there was only so much he could do. Reaching out, he grasped Steve's shoulder. "I mean it, son. If there are too many of them, if you're tired, if...if life gets in the way. You've done enough. They can't hurt Eddie anymore, but they sure can hurt you."

It was difficult to read Steve's face as it was becoming more dark, but the smile on his face didn't seem right. Maybe some other day Wayne would have pushed and prodded, made sure at least some young people in Hawkins would live their lives as they should, but the ground was cold, Eddie's grave was almost magically illuminated by the sunset and Wayne was hit, not for the first and not for the last time, by the realization that he didn't know what had happened to Eddie and that he never might.

"I hope..." Steve started, then shook his head again. Keeping himself sharp, alert. "I hope to believe that one day, sir. That I've done enough. Because it sure doesn't feel like it." Wayne had a feeling he wasn't talking to him, not fully anyway. "But...thank you. I will think about what you said, if that day ever happens."

"Not sir. Wayne." The confusion on Steve's face seemed almost comical, if the moment wasn't so somber. But he didn't hesitate before accepting the offered hand, shaking it. "Pretty sure with the watch you've been keepin' over Eddie's grave, you've earned the first name basis."

And look, maybe he was just growing old and sentimental, but the way Steve's face relaxed made that strained smile seem more genuine, even if that handsome face seemed much older than it should have been. "Wayne," Steve repeated and let go of his hand after a firm, solid handshake. "That will take some getting used to, but I appreciate it, si-Wayne. I'm Steve, Steve Harrington. Which...you probably already knew, but. To complete the introduction and all."

Wayne found himself slightly chuckling too, the feeling strange and foreign in his chest. It was still too early for any sort of healing, but maybe acceptance was a way to go. At least for now. "Pleasure meetin' you, Steve. Now," he grunted as he pushed himself off the ground, "I need to tell my boy a few things before I head to work. Stay safe, Steve. The nights are gettin' chilly."

He felt Steve's gaze on his back as he sat with Eddie, drank the rest of his energy drink and told the cold headstone that it was a testament to what a wonderful person Eddie was, the lengths his friends were willing to go to. He still said sorry, he didn't think he'd ever stop. But it was just once this time, so maybe he was getting better. He waved at Steve as his watch announced it was time to leave for his shift, taking careful, measured steps to his car.

The morning after work, he stopped at the graveyard again. He grabbed two not so completely disgusting and on top of that, still hot coffees on his way, thinking that maybe he was expecting too much. But no, as he made his way up the grassy slope, he saw Steve's familiar frame slumped against the tree trunk. Even with his quiet steps, Steve stirred from his sleep and instinctively grasped the bat tighter, squinting as he searched for an intruder.

Wayne wiggled the coffee cups at him. "Mornin'. Coffee?"

He worried for a second that Steve would refuse, out of perceived obligation or politeness, but the cool night and lack of sleep must have been stronger. "God, yes please," he groaned and moved to the side so Wayne could join him again. He wrapped his fingers around the warm cup as if it was a priceless treasure. "Thank you, Wayne."

"That's the least I could do, Steve."

They sipped their coffees together and talked. The conversation flowed easily, Steve recalled how in early summer, when his night watches started, a very curious squirrel landed on his head during the night and he almost hit himself with the bat to get rid of it. They gradually moved to discussing Eddie, what he was like, how much joy he'd brought into Wayne's life. Steve was  craving any and all pieces of information, no matter how tiny, and Wayne would have liked to know why, why a dead boy mattered to this living one so much, but perhaps it wasn't important. Or perhaps he had a hunch, one that wasn't his to voice.

Wayne was chuckling at the end, telling Steve how Eddie had tried to hide that he started smoking and when Wayne walked in on him, he stuffed the still burning cigarette into his pillow case. They managed to stop the fire before it spread and from then on, the Munson household rule number one was: "smoking is allowed, arson is not." Talking to Steve was easy, natural, and Wayne was almost annoyed when a curly haired girl interrupted them. She too had a bunch of gear slung over her shoulder - he could see a water bottle, a bunch of textbooks and a blanket of her own.

"Mr. Munson?" she said, but it wasn't really a question, she seemed like the kind of person who didn't ask, she had known before and only sought to verify the correctness of her answers. "I'm Nancy Wheeler, sir. I assume you've already talked to Steve about what we do here, so...I am here to take over."

Wayne nodded and offered his hand to shake. "I appreciate what you've been doing for my Eddie, Ms. Wheeler. All of you."

The bitterness in the curve of her lips was impossible to miss, so similar to Steve's, but she still kept her pleasant demeanor. "It's the least we could do, sir." And of course, the not-sir-but-Wayne lecture followed, Steve smirking quietly at Nancy's confusion.

When that had been settled, Nancy turned to Steve and exchanged a few words with him - "any attempts during the night?" and an update on the other teams, whatever that meant. Wayne only caught "everything under control," "still discussing with Hopper" and more disconcertingly, "all clear with the Munson mail." They arranged their shift schedule, someone named Robin would take over in the afternoon - Wayne thought he might have seen her in the relief center and she seemed equally clumsy and manic, but if she had Steve and Nancy's trust, she also had Wayne's. Probably. He was still trying to get used to this there are people guarding Eddie's grave with weapons and sleeping in the graveyard concept.

Eventually, Steve packed his duffel bag and headed to his car, saying goodbye to Nancy. He also tried to say so to Wayne, but he decided to join him and finally catch some sleep before he'd have to head to work again. "Leavin' the lady defenseless?" he joked, pointing at the spiked bat Steve still had in his hand.

For the first time, he saw Steve actually laugh out loud, not in a measured or nostalgic way, but an uncontrolled snorting sound. "Nancy? Defenseless?" he wheezed out and wiped at his eyes. "Wayne, please turn around and look at what she's doing now."

Wayne did. Up on the hill, next to the tree where his boy's spirit was laid to rest, was a preppy young girl wearing a floral dress and a pastel sweater, removing a set of textbooks from her bag. Just as those had hit the blanket under her, she picked up a gun and checked its safety. Then she reached into a side pocket and started counting ammo magazines. "Oh," Wayne said.

"Oh," repeated Steve and, hesitating only for a split second, patted Wayne on the shoulder. "Don't worry about her. She's more than capable of taking care of troublemakers. And," he added, smiling with a tinge of sadness, "she said she actually enjoys being here. It's calm enough to help her study. She even said Eddie's the best study partner she's ever had. Sometimes she explains things to him, you know. Concepts she struggles with. It might not be exactly Eddie's cup of tea, but...he's not alone."

Wayne Munson might not have been a hugger, he might have not been big on all the stuff with emotions, but what was he supposed to do, not hug the boy and not thank him again and again until they really had to leave before Nancy got suspicious? Not a chance.

September rolls into October, then November, and Wayne has found a new routine for himself.

He gets ready for work and stops at the graveyard. It's way too cold now, but Steve still keeps the nightly watch, staying in his car and glaring at anyone who dares approach the graveyard. Wayne always brings a thermos flask with coffee, welcomed with so much gratitude it makes him embarrassed ("it's just coffee, son, and a shitty one on top of that," he says, but it doesn't matter, it never matters to Steve), chats with the boy for a bit and the heads to his shift. On his way back, he stops by the graveyard to check on Steve and Eddie both. Sometimes he wakes Steve up by gentle tapping on his window. They wait together before someone takes over his watch, sometimes Nancy, sometimes Robin, there's even the Byers kid, Jonathan, and a definitely stoned young man whose hair could rival Eddie's.

Wayne learns that there haven't been any recent attempts, only a single one on Halloween ("let's decorate the freak's grave" they'd said, but Jonathan's friend Argyle managed to hit one of them right in the nose with a golf ball and that was the end of it, the blood was easy to clean, or so he's told and maybe he doesn't even want to know). Jonathan just nods and wipes the suspiciously rusty end of the golf club with a dirty rag. He mentions that he knew Eddie in high school, they listened to similar music and sometimes traded tapes. Only a few words each day, but they keep Eddie alive in his mind.

But there are younger kids too, kids that Wayne has seen all over Hawkins. They might not be keeping watch at Eddie's grave ("and you should be thankful for that, Wayne, these small gremlins have no sense of self-preservation or any reservations about violence, if they'd been here during that last attempt, we'd be hiding torn body parts, trust me!"), but they're all contributing in their own ways.

There's Erica, a child only in age, who made sure to set booby traps around Eddie's grave. "Just until the snow melts," she shrugs as she hands Wayne a map of how to safely approach the headstone. "I can't ask Steve to sit in snow, mind you, he'd do it, but he deserves a break. None of these are lethal, but if someone even tries to do something ugly, we'll know. And they'll remember."

There is Lucas who often camps at the empty trailer close to Wayne's new one. Lucas is always incredibly polite and friendly, but sometimes Wayne's neighbors talk about how someone tried to vandalize his trailer and how Lucas came out of the former Mayfields' home, axe in hand, and scared off the person with a single whispered sentence. They also say that he'd sneak to his door and check the letters waiting for him, sometimes tearing one or two to shreds. When he caught one of the people delivering these questionable letters, he broke his nose with a single punch.

There are Mike and Will who take frequent walks through the town and tear down any and all pamphlets, posters and lies that the local religious fanatics decide to spread. They wash off weird religious symbols and curses aimed at Eddie, at the Hellfire club. They defend him against anyone who dares to question their actions. They both might have previously run from fights, but not from this one. Just like Eddie, they decide not to run away this time.

There is Jane, chief Hopper's adopted daughter. She doesn't say much but there's something about her that makes Wayne both uneasy and grateful. When two jocks muttered insults at him as he entered a local shop, she stared at them and suddenly they both tripped over nothing, smacking head first into a street lamp. Twice. She then nodded at Wayne, wiped something like blood from her face and walked down the street as if nothing happened.

And there's Dustin. Dustin, who made sure to bring back the only piece of Eddie he could. Dustin, who visits the grave as often as he can, staying for hours next to Steve. Dustin, who took over Eddie's beloved club and continues in his footsteps, herding the lost sheep and giving them a sense of safety. Dustin, who makes sure to stop by the trailer with Steve and help Wayne with its maintenance.

As December approaches and chief Hopper visits Wayne's trailer, talking about precautions they're taking to preserve Eddie's grave and Wayne's home, Wayne feels something in him shifting, evolving. There's still a gaping hole in his chest, a hole that screams for his boy to come back home, and maybe it will never heal, it will never stop swallowing any and all happiness in his life. But for the first time since he grasped the pick pendant in the relief center, he feels that maybe he isn't alone. Maybe the burden doesn't get lighter as years pass, but there are people who are willing to share it with him. And for now, it has to be enough.

(also, this is a prequel to Alone on Christmas. If you want to cry a bit more)

[emathyst9]

Hmm so I went back and read through my Willry dynamic blurbs and I think I want to update things so I'll just blurt out some stuff again (including updates about that writing that I unfortunately have not named, which I'm basically saying how it goes because I can't post it because I always seem to find something wrong with it)

William and Henry actually did find their feelings for one another in college, but they never went anywhere with it officially, since commitment was not something they could focus on at the time

And then of course because of societal standards they both go and find themselves someone else, though not out of pressure entirely, they do end up falling in love with other people after they both tried to just be friends with one another (spoiler alert- it doesn't work!)

So then years later shit happens of course- William's wife goes missing (bet you can't guess why), Will kills Charlie, and actually Henry's wife (or partner for all I know I'm still undecided) leaves before Charlie's death and ends up taking Sammy with them, so the only rock for Henry to hold onto is the person that forced him into loneliness, unknown to him

And they do grow closer yet again

Henry still has William by his side and the light of the Afton children in his life, and William does enjoy that he can be there for Henry and spend time with him, though he never actually meant for that to happen (Charlie's death was a spur of the moment thing he did in a fit of rage for a very trivial reason the guy has anger issues galore)

But of course the happiness can't last and eventually after the string of deaths over a couple years, Henry finds something undeniable to pin the blame on William

He ends up confronting Will, and William the bastard he is does not try to deny it and just tells him it was an "accident"

Then Henry tries pitifully to choke William and of course can't do it because he cares about him too much and doesn't want to stoop to that low

William assists him by giving him a knife, that only gets turned away, but then William who now has too much of a bloodlust kills him and then regrets it, only to use remnant to bring him back (and it isn't just he comes back no William has to fix his wounds too, which stirs up some feelings he tries hard to ignore)

He has to... test these feelings by giving him a kiss sleeping beauty style, except of course it doesn't do anything

But then eventually Henry does actually revive, and William lies (all I've got for this is that he tells him he was drunk or something and passed out I am not a good liar myself so I have no idea what that should be)

And then he does something that may be very very reckless and tests out those feelings again, which Henry, remembering absolutely nothing that happened before, including that William was the culprit, ends up accepting it, but of course William has to cut it off and use some kind of sleep agent on him since that would only make things worse if Henry regained his memory, and he does (the sleep agent thing sounds unrealistic I know I'm stumped on it really)

William moved him upstairs and later lies that Henry passed out on the couch and that previous scene was a dream, and Henry goes to Michael, who did not see Henry all night

William tells him that it wasn't a dream, but not the whole necromancy stuff of course, Will has to leave the room for that to be realized, and then Henry is mortified by the person who killed his daughter and him and brought him back too and also confessed his love to him and points out that they obviously can't have a relationship

And also Henry cannot say anything to anyone and would be stopped if he tried so he is now stuck with all of this knowledge (that last part is shit I know it's hard to build a story around the one idea you want to get out)

[sketch-guardian]

My drop kicking a demon cause they heard them talking crap about our lovely RAD classmates

I apologize for the delay in replying🙈but having started university again, I have less free time to draw or write😥in any case, it's been a while since I wrote for the RAD classmates, so I'm glad☺as always, I'll try my best to write satisfying scenarios✨even if sometimes short😖:

MC DROP KICKING A DEMON THAT TALKED CRAP THE RAD CLASSMATES

DEMYA

Demya would be flattered by such demonstrative act of power and affection. Impressed by the human display of strenght, she would view it as one more reason to love MC, for whom she would return the gesture in a heartbeat obviously, it would be an opportunity to show what a good girlfriend she is for them and that she is capable of providing for her mate's protection.

It's also likely that whoever offended her and made MC angry, especially if a lesser demon, will become her next meal, so it shouldn't be too surprising if the culprit disappears days later

DOMNRA (MOBIM)

Domnra isn't used to being defended from that point of view. Being a former soldier, he never had problems fighting back physically, while as far as his honor was concerned, he almost always ignored the criticisms or insults directed towards him, aware that they were justified (if mean words were meant for Mobim however, he used to turn to violence pretty quickly-). He would appreciate the sense of fairness in the relationship though, despite his tsundere attitude. Domnra would find his partner MC's action attractive.

Mobim on the other hand would be more worried than impressed, because the little curse doesn't like when MC gets into trouble, even if it's for a good cause

AZUL

Azul would fawn over MC and if possible he would love to watch the fight honestly, because he would find his lovely star's protective side irresistible.

The unfortunate demon's comments wouldn't bother him much, in fact he would actually view such insults as quite pathetic and funny. However, if he learned that the demon hit MC back, then in that case Azul would might have a bad mood swing

ZURI

Zuri would have preferred MC to react in a more mature manner, to demonstrate their superiority and since she doesn't need protection, however she would understand the occasional loss of control and appreciate the thought.

Later she would offer her beloved alternative methods to relax and don't think about such useless waste of space anymore, that being the demon who dared insulting her and testing MC's patience

ODON

Odon would be cutely confused, because they wouldn't think that there could be someone who could care about them so much as to go so far as to do certain crazy things for their good, it would be a new concept for Odon, a bizarre but pleasant experience basically.

They would be touched by the gesture, even though they have abandoned violent methods of conflict resolution centuries ago and would make sure that their dear friend MC is safe and no longer stressed

[donnerpartyofone]

I'm morbidly fascinated by those "quotes" blogs. Whenever one of them makes it onto my dash I often compulsively hate-scroll through it for a couple of minutes, and I almost always find that while *some* of the blog is made up of vetted aphorisms and statements by identifiable people, a LOT of it is always some sort of extremely clumsy platitude attributed to "Unknown", as if it's a piece of ancient folk wisdom--but on closer inspection it's barely meaningful, like the one above. What does that say, "things that are hard to do are hard when you do them"? Yes, it is literally true that difficult doesn't mean impossible, is that really useful to point out? I would even get this more if the quote were something like "Impossible only means difficult"; there ya go, there's a little chicken soup for the teenage soul type of mindbender for ya. But what we have instead is just a definition of difficulty with a list of tags longer than the two sentences themselves. Thanks a lot, real inspiring. And then some of the quotes laid at the feet of poor old Unknown are just something like, "All I need is a cup of coffee, my favorite sweater, and a dog-eared book on a rainy day," and you're like Is this really a quote? Is the idea of "quotes" still worth something if we just mean "anything that could potentially come out of someone's mouth"? If you gave any of the people who run these blogs a copy of Bartlett's it would probably blow their brains out of their minds.

So because I get obsessed with things I don't understand, I start thinking about who it is that cooks these things up. There's someone, somewhere sitting at their computer trying to think of "deep" things to say, things that fit a certain tone and pattern that targets "your loneliest elderly relative on Facebook", and then they just write them down and slap "Unknown" on the end like it's some kind of profound secret that the reader is fortunate to stumble upon. To me, some of the results are just word salad. Like I think I know how this one is going to end, but then:

Ignoring the stray hyphen...my "pure soul"? I guess this is one way of saying "it's what's inside that counts", but seriously, what the fuck. What the hell are you talking about. But I have enough self-doubt in my constitution to wonder if I just don't get something here; I start to have a waking nightmare that this is actually an unattributed verse from Rumi or some shit that I'm just too primitive to recognize or understand. So I go Google this, and of course I find 15 or so versions of this:

And I'm back to trying to envision the culprit sitting at their computer trying to figure out how to sound like the oracle at Delphi real quick before their lunch break is over. What motivates someone to do this? Do they think they're going to get a book deal out of it? A lot of people will just do anything for attention; years ago I saw a post with this dry, formal caption about the domestic abuse incidents that led up to the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson along with regular pictures of her with VERY poorly photoshopped injuries. It was like...dude that is all a matter of public record, with real photos already in circulation, WHY ARE YOU FAKING THIS?? Maybe I'm just too much of an alien to understand why anyone does anything at all. But anyway, if this is too much negativity for you before 8am, try this version on for size, and have a terrific day.

[lara-prisma-avm-ask-blog]

Stickronpa Chapter 2 Circular Trial(Part 1)

Monostick:"We'll start with Remembering the rules of the circular trail! The objective is to find out "who did this". Using your clues you gathered during the investigation! If you take the right one, the culprit will be punished, but otherwise everyone but the culprit will be punished! Okay, rules given, so let's get started?""

-.....-

-I... I was distracted by...-

-I felt my breath quicken... I... I didn't want to remember this......-

Blue:"Monostick!! What the fuck are these???"

-I looked to where Blue pointed, to where smoke used to be...-

Monostick:"Oh, that? As I said before (I think) I didn't want to exclude the ones that were, so I added these pictures of them to keep their presence! ~Am I not geeeeenerous?~"

Dark:"You're a son of a bitch, that's right..."

Monostick:"Hey!! It makes me feel bad you know??"

Blue:"Sec... Are you okay...?"

-I tried to ignore Green's photographer but... I just couldn't stop staring...-

Chosen:"Second."

-Cho touches my shoulder trying to calm me down. I feel a little less uncomfortable next to him...-

Indigo:"ok... Let's start with the most suspicious of all..."

Night:"a-and would that be...?"

Indigo:"Them!"

-Did he point at...me..?!-

Purple:"What!? Why would Second do that?? They were trapped in their lab!! They would never do that!!"

Indigo:"How do we know it's not a lie?"

Dark:"Is it a lie? Well, I have no doubts that they are capable of killing someone, but I doubt if they lied about it..."

Sombra:"And why would that be Dark Lord?"

Dark:"...They care too much about their friends to do something like that..."

Chosen:"Exactly, Second Coming would never do that."

Indigo:"Um, is that really it?"

-He looks like he's going to continue to accuse me until we point out the truth... I know I was trapped in my lab...-

—Non-Stop Debate—

[Truth Bullets: Second's lab door locked - bench blocking the door - Orange Testimony]

Indigo:"It's quite simple... they could very well have killed Smoke... and then locked themselves inside their lab to ward off suspicion!"

Purple:"But that doesn't even make any sense! Especially since the labs don't have locks!"

Indigo:"They could have locked the door themselves against the door and preventing it from opening!"

Red:"But it was locked from the outside!"

Indigo:"They must have all of you as accomplices!"

Orange:"Now you're going too far! Everyone was on the second floor!"

Indigo:"There is no other way for them to be locked out! They faked it!"

»[Orange Testimony]

Second:"NO, THAT'S WRONG!!"

—BRAKE—

Second:"Actually there is, and MT knows it!"

Orange:"Yes, when I got to the second floor, I saw the lab door blocked by a bench. So I removed it."

Indigo:"That still doesn't disprove that they might be the culprit!"

Blue:"Shut up!! You're an asshole to think they would do that in the first place!"

Chosen:"Let's start at the beginning and discuss the cause of death."

Yellow:"yeh, Monostick, why isn't the cause of death in the monofile?"

Monostick:"Um, I don't know! I just wanted to try to make the day a fun challenge!"

Freedom:"There's nothing fun about murder!"

Second:"Anyway, we don't have many indications about the murder..."

Red:"W-what? i-it's pretty obvious what killed him!"

Night:"S-seriously??"

Red:"Y-yes! It was the hammer! It could only have been the blow to the head! It is not obvious?"

Yellow:"It's a possibility..."

Purple:"....."

-Purple looked thoughtful, what were they thinking...-

Orange:"You mean you think the hammer is the murder weapon?"

Red:"It's pretty obvious it is!"

Sombra:"And whose hammer does it belong to?"

Red:"From Yellow's lab!"

Sombra:"Um... You mean... The killer might be your friend?"

Red:"WHAT!!?? NO!!! T-that's not what I—"

Indigo:"Yes, if the hammer belongs to her lab, she's a suspect!"

Blue:"No!! She is not!! She was on the first floor with Dusk and me!!"

Dusk:"I must confirm that, I was there."

Yellow:"Actually, smoke and I were going to discuss inventions, science and robotics, he had gone upstairs to get a book from the library on the subject."

Sombra:"It means you sent him to his death."

Yellow:"!!!???"

-Yellow paralyzed in silence...-

Red:"We shouldn't have any doubts, the hammer is the murder weapon, but... But Yellow didn't do anything!! She was on the first floor!!"

-Everyone is confused about all this... But we can't say anything... There's something about this case that doesn't point to the hammer being the murder weapon.-

—Non-Stop Debate—

[Truth Bullets: Monofile - Upper body is wet - Wounded in the head]

Red:"I ah... I-I believe it was like that... The culprit stole the hammer from Yellow's lab.... And hit the smoke pretty hard on the head!!"

Yellow:"That hammer wasn't firm enough to kill. Unless you try really hard!"

Blue:"Is there nothing else that could have killed him?"

Purple:"The scratch on his shoulder maybe?"

Dark:"He was all wet too, what about that?"

»[Upper body is wet]

Second:"I AGREE WITH THAT!!"

—BRAKE—

Second:"Yes Give! Smoke's upper body was wet!"

Red:"A-And..?"

Purple:"But why was he wet...?"

-There is only one explanation for this... He was wet because...-

-He took a shower.

-He was drowned.«

-He washed the clothes.

—I GOT IT!—

Second:"It's because he was drowned!"

Night:"D-drowned??"

Yellow:"He was drowned... But... Where??"

Blue:"Well... There is a fountain in the center of the hall."

Dusk:"Exactly, and it's not too far from where we found the body."

Second:"Exactly, which is why I believe it was—"

Red:"DON'T MAKE THIS MISTAKE!!"

—

Red:"It doesn't even make any sense!! A serious bump on the head is the cause!! He wasn't drowned!!"

Second:"R-red?? What is It??"

Red:"I-I... I won't let you get this wrong!!"

-Red what the hell is wrong with you??-

—

— Rebuttal Showdown —

Red:"It just doesn't make sense! A hit to the head is much stronger than drowning!! Besides, the assassin wouldn't have time to drown Smoke!!"

Second:"But his body is wet, how can that be explained?"

Red:"A-any other way!! He may have been wet before he got there! There's no way he could have counted on the source! You can't prove it!"

[Glasses at The fountain]

Second:"ALLOW ME TO CUT THROUGH THOSE WORDS!!!"

—BREAK—

Second:"I found these glasses at the bottom of the fountain..."

Red:"!!!?"

Second:"Did you guys notice that Smoke wasn't wearing his glasses?"

Yellow:"Don't tell me that..."

Dark:"Yes, these are clearly the scientist's glasses."

Sombra:"....."

Blue:"Why are you smiling..?"

Sombra:".... Your friend is very suspicious don't you think?"

-!!??-

Red:"a-ah!?"

Blue:"W-what.. WHAT!?"

Yellow:"Oh! Now you're accusing Red???"

Blue:"No!! IT WAS NOT HIM!! I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOU YOU... YOU..."

Second:"H-hey! Calm down Blue... Red, can you explain to me what's going on? You've been acting really weird lately..."

Red:"....."

Purple:"R-red...?"

Night:"Red, don't worry, just tell me what happened and—"

Red:"I'm the culprit."

Night:"!!!!??"

-.....-

Blue:"......"

Yellow:"........"

Purple:"........"

-......-

-It was not him......-

-It can't be him.... I.... No... I don't....-

Red:"It was me, alone, I hit him on the head with the hammer and I killed him, he fell into the fountain and I took him to the bench near the TM lab..."

-...... Something is wrong with this mess..-

-But what..?-

-Red.....-

-You.... Are you lying???-

[To be continued...]

[Yes, this is only part 1 of the trial. I want to leave you guys on a hook!;3]

[yusuke-of-valla]

Unsolicited hot take of the week is that, at least from the perspective of how the plot is structured, Shinigami killing the culprits in RAINCODE so fucking annoying

It's not enough to make the game bad because it demonstrably doesn't bother anyone but me and @ravenoftheskyes but I feel like whinging so sue me.

Also since I'm talking plot structure in a mystery game, spoilers under the cut

So basically the problem is this

Whenever you solve a mystery, Shinigami freezes time, you enter a mystery labyrinth to solve the mystery, and at the end she murders the culprit. This is unavoidable and on it's own that would be fine, I think. She's an amoral death god who starts out not caring about humans, a theme of the game is asking if you should continue to search for the truth even if it's painful, whatever. I'm not against it as a narrative conceit/character thing

Who IS against it is local good boy protagonist Yuma, who broadly believes murder is bad. As a result he never uses Shinigami's powers to solve a mystery until forced to (in most cases, literally about to be extra judicially murdered by the fascist police force that control the city)

Because of that, this means every chapter has to put Yuma and pals in a life-threatening situation so he'll go into the labyrinth, but that situation can't actually be resolved directly by catching the culprit, because if killing the culprit would automatically resolve the situation, it'd be obvious who did it.

So what happens in practice is Yuma's being held at gunpoint by the cops who don't care about being fair and hate him and his friends, someone standing near the scene drops dead, and then the cops decide not to shoot you.

I'm about to go into detail but already you can probably see what my issue is, there's no actual connection between resolving the mystery and getting out of the given situation, and that makes actually solving the mystery feel like a detour to stall for time and avoid getting shot.

Now onto specific instances:

Chapter 0

So I think this chapter is the best about it because Yuma doesn't know what'll happen but it's still not perfect.

The twist is that it seems like everyone else on the train died, but the culprit faked their death and is actually alive and hiding on the train, you know, until you kill them.

This immediately throws the player and Yuma for a loop, they expected to find five bodies on the train, there ARE five bodies, now what? So Shinigami feeds him lines and points out, "hey you found that body in a different place and they died just now, so how can I be the culprit?" which stalls long enough for Yakou, mentor/head detective to come bail you out.

(You're also told later that there are actually six bodies on the train because they had a backup ready to stage the scene so it's probably more suspicious than the player realizes in the moment, but it isn't immersion breaking.)

Anyway this is fine. With quick thinking you're able to use the fact that the culprit is dead to poke a hole in the police's story and put on a semi-public display of putting their authority at risk. It honestly makes both Shinigami and Yakou seem very savvy.

This doesn't last though

Chapter 1

In this chapter you, Yakou, and your coworker Halara will all be arrested if you don't find the actual culprit for interfering with the cop's investigation.

Halara had conveniently arranged for all the suspects to be in this otherwise abandoned pier for the Drama so Yuma can reveal them, so the culprits are right there when they drop dead.

Shinigami posesses one of the bodies to confess before dropping dead again... and the cops ignore you! They were getting bribes from the culprit so they like. Are just gonna arrest you. Because they're corrupt.

Luckily Yomi, the head of the cops, shows up, frames the other cop for murder, is implied to have executed him, and subsequently saves your ass for reasons that are unclear and never explained but you can make an argument for it.

The thing is though, even if you want to argue that it's in character for Yomi, it still means Yuma has no agency. He doesn't have a plan to explain things even though he knows the culprits will die this time, he doesn't try to fast talk by himself and fail, he just sort of stands there and gets bailed out by someone he couldn't have predicted would come help.

But hey, the throughline of this chapter is Yuma has to learn to be independent, and it demonstrates the peacekeepers are corrupt and don't care about the truth, cool. This will be important I'm sure.

Chapter 2

This is where it really starts to annoy me. This time Yuma's about to be shot because he impersonated the vice director of the peacekeepers, who is now about to shoot Yuma in the head for the thing he definitely did and is definitely probably an actual on-the-books crime, on top of trespassing to solve this case.

So like she has a reason to arrest us, regardless of the crime. Does Yuma use the commotion of the three culprits dropping dead to escape?

No! Shinigami does the same thing the cops ignored last time, except it works! Despite the fact that the murder in this case is incidental to why the vice director was five seconds away from shooting Yuma!

Again you can argue that this makes sense for her in-characyer, but again that still means Yuma doesn'g even try to do anything, even though he should know what's about to happen and that there's no real garuntee that the culprits admitting to their crime will help them, he just lucks out that he got the least corrupt cop! (Also in like ten minutes she's going to launch a torpedo at your base and try to kill all of you but it's still open to interpretation)

Chapter 3

This time Yuma's been tricked into planting several bombs and is being hunter by the anti-terrorism squad. Once again you're cornered with a bunch of guns in your face, solve the mystery, return

And then Shinigami goes "haha oops, solving the mystery labyrinth doesn't solve this issue at all!"

This is the moment that broke me because I do otherwise like this chapter but come on. NONE of the mysteries have directly resulted in us getting out of this, it's NEVER a garuntee, and why doesn't Yuma plan around this at this point?!

Of course once again, an different character shows up to bail you out, and luckily it turns out the killer had an accomplice who's willing to spill the beans because, you know, the killer's dead and otherwise they would have just been rolling up to the anti terrorism squad with a photographic evidence of Yuma planting a bomb and saying "hey this guy did it."

Yuma didn't find out about this accomplice for reasons that make sense in universe but narratively feels like a cop out

(Yuma still almost gets arrested later and bailed out again but that scene's only annoying in concert with the one before it)

Chapter 4

You get the picture, you have guns pointed at you, you stop time, solve the mystery, it doesn't help with the people pointing guns at you, and you get bailed out at the last second by someone with their own motives independent of Yuma

Really what's annoying is that before this someone points out "hey there's no garuntee that catching the culprit will get us out of this," and Yuma insists they still have try and never elaborates.

TLDR

So even if you haven't played the game I hope I've painted a picture of why I feel this doesn't work. Essentially, it's not any one thing so much as the fact that it feels like Yuma has no agency.

And even if that's the point, he still never makes an attempt to actually use the mystery labyrinth to his advantage. He never takes the time to come up with plan or something to say when time starts again, he never reacts or tries anything different, and the game even points out the issue but never does anything with it.

It doesn't ever feel like Yuma's growing or coming into his own, it feels like he just keeps getting forced into a situation and bailed out without any sort of plan or effort on his part when he knows what will happen, and at times it feels like the story has to contort itself to get him out of these scenarios.

It's bad for a character who's supposed to be clever and it's very frustrating how it never feeds into him or how he feels.

Anyway that was too long and I just threw up so peace.