#however i do miss her and her velma very much

[broke-on-books]

☕️ WNSD

🎶 We're coming after you, We're gonna solve that mysteryyyyy 🎶

No okay but I loooovvvveeeeee What's New so much oh my god. It's probably the iteration of Scooby I've seen the highest percentage of episodes of (excluding SDMI) and if I had to pick my favorite Scooby series of them all. More than any of the others really (although a little WAY), What's New was the Scooby of my childhood, and so many of its episodes are just total classics for me as well.

I think WNSD is very beloved by the Scooby collective (and for good reason) but honestly STILL is underrated in my mind, especially the early episodes. I absolutely adore some of the little "plot twists" of the WNSD era and how creative it could be within the confines of "the Scooby formula". I mentioned many of these in another post recently but having unexpected solutions/elements like "the monkey did it!" or "we caught the wrong guy! We need to go back!" every few episodes just blew my brain wide open as a child (especially the second one there. I'm STILL in shock on that one) and are underappreciated by scooby fandom. (Despite WNSD winning the favorite scooby series poll I did lol)

Being my favorite doesn't mean that What's New is perfect though. There are still some moments I don't like, or that, while useful for a joke, fall flat for me character-wise. One example I think I've talked about before is the scene where they split up differently and Fred is left alone searching for clues with Shaggy. The punchline of this is the idea that Fred and Shaggy just don't have anything in common to talk about, going along in awkward silence until Fred asks Shaggy if he 'saw the game last night' to which he says no and they continue on in awkward silence. For me, that's not my favorite joke because I do believe that Fred and Shaggy are good friends and DO have lots to talk about, and while not my favorite interaction between the two, I can still mesh it pretty easily into my own personal canon with a few simple Watsonian explanations. Ex: They were both overthinking it and didn't know what to say, Fred grabbed a conversation starter from his go to list (he's been working very hard on his social interaction skills, okay?! Only 3/4 of them are about nets/mysteries/the gang/the Mystery Machine!) and struck out big time.

No but as I was saying as much as I adore WNSD, nothing is perfect, and at times (especially in some movies) What's New also suffers from the WAY/TSDS cultural................. awkwardness that comes from the "white guy dressing up as native/cultural legend" plot line.

OH AND THE SOUNDTRACK. What's New rightly gets its due (lol) for having an absolutely killer theme song (and sequence too!!!!) but I think it should get extra points on top of that as well for the chase music in each episode. What's New easily has some of my favorite chase music (leading to some favorite chase sequences) which makes watching it an even better time (some of those songs are catchy!!!!!) And I just love the way it handles music in general. What's New really just finds creative ways to explore and make interesting all aspects of the process, and move between them subtly and infrequently enough that it doesn't feel forced or thrown at you, but as a genuine exploration of what can be done with Scooby by people who care about it. (And while we're talking about music?!?!?!?! THE HAUNTED MYSTERY MACHINE EPISODE???????? 🤯😵🥰💘)

To me, What's New is just a really good show that is kind of seen as being "simple" (plan lol. Sorry I keep doing that but I can't help myself) or basic but really is much more creative and complicated than it looks when closely examined. It's a series that I think gets a lot of love while at the same time still not getting enough for everything it accomplished. Also it has some of my favorite Scooby castings out there. I mean, COME ON! Casey Kasem Shaggy at the same time as Grey Griffin Daphne? With Frank Welker Fred AND Scooby along with MINDY COHN (<3333333333333333333) Velma? Don't get me STARTED.

Anyways I just have SO much love for this series all the time. All the time. 24/7. Hope that answers your question on how I feel about it

[idolomantises]

talking abt that one thing in velma thats on my mind a lot for the past few days (that turned into a big incoherent rambling about gay rep in media)

i'm seeing jokes about how the queer representation in mystery inc being so much better than the queer representation in velma and honestly it makes me want to go on a whole tangent about my thoughts on queer representation nowadays vs the more subtle examples decades prior.

There's this weird debate that goes on online about what is "good" queer representation, and one of the most notable and honestly annoying examples is that queer representation has to be so subtle that you could easily miss it/ignore it. i've always hated that take because its a claim mostly said by straight people who are uncomfortable with seeing characters who are openly queer and/or state their identity, but they present it as some sort of push for subtle and nuanced writing. personally i do prefer it when a character just, identifies as how they are without explaining their identity, but that doesn't mean flat out explaining your orientation is inherently bad representation. its why i will always defend the very clunky and awkward high guardian spice scene. it is absolutely poorly directed and written, but that doesn't make it "bad representation". however, I do consider the character who explains that he's trans bad representation because he is flat, uninteresting and very clearly a creator self insert. he doesn't feel like a well rounded character who's also a trans man, but just an incredibly sanitized example of trans representation.

i have many, many issues with helluva boss/hazbin hotel and i do genuinely find some depictions of queer characters just flat out offensive (you can argue with me about how angel dust being written like your average 90s gay stereotype is woke actually because he has trauma, i dont care), but i do admire and appreciate that the series doesn't want to sanitize its queer characters, even if its done poorly. though i could go into a whole rant about how i find it very telling that female characters that are queer are far less sexualized or allowed to be problematic compared to their queer male counterparts.

anyways back to velma. that show does something that i've always found pretty irritating in queer representation which is just this weird lack of faith in its audience. characters can't have a slow burn anymore. internalized thoughts, anger, frustration, longing. you have to immediately know that two characters are gay for each other, even if they're lifelong enemies. its like when modern horror movies open with the gore because they're scared people are going to be bored or leave early. there's no subtlety or chemistry between daphne and velma, they're just lovers because idk, its two girls who hate each other and who doesn't love that.

then i think about how mystery inc handled velma and her sexuality, how she was allowed to be well rounded and nuanced before you slowly realize that "oh, she doesn't like boys". i know her whole thing with shaggy is controversial among fans but i always loved how she does do something pretty unlikable but not immoral. yeah, it is shitty to force shaggy to choose between her and his dog, but i can understand her line of thinking and empathize with her. and i do like how they become friends in the end despite their awkward break up. It's always fun rewatching it and realizing that their incredibly awkward and cringe relationship was meant to be awkward and cringe. it was supposed to be weird and difficult to watch, because those two weren't meant to date each other. you could see how hard velma was trying to make the relationship work despite the fact that you never get the vibe that either character was full invested in it, unlike daphne and fred's relationship.

then you had velma and her relationship with marcie, which started off as sort of a catty rivalry (not full on attempted murder, i mean holy shit hbo velma) that slowly grows to where you're completely convinced that these two did gradually like each other. and i do really enjoy stuff like that, more subtle writing like that. which doesn't just apply to queer rep btw, my favorite ships are relationships that feel understated, something you have to really dig for and pay attention to. its why i consider bubbline the best f/f representation in cartoon. because its subtle, but not too subtle where it feels out of no where when they kiss, and nuanced in ways that enhances the relationship AND characters.

there's a good amount of relationships i see in cartoons where the creator, who is usually queer themselves, often wants to depict queer relationships, but is weirdly adverse to depicting the uglier aspects of that character, and refuses to add subtlety to it. steven universe is a show i've always felt conflicted on its handling of queer representation because on the one hand i appreciate writing lesbians that are messy, traumatized and make constant mistakes. but on the other hand, the show goes out of its way to ignore these issues and/or make excuses for it, making the decision to make these characters messy and complicated genuinely baffling (this is also one of the big issues i have with catradora and stolitz).

it makes me think back to my own work too. i really enjoy making fluffy, easily digestible gay content for my followers and myself because it puts me in a good headspace. But even now and then i like exploring those little nuances too, because i don't really enjoy stories with little conflict. Because of that acknowledgement of how satisfying it is to write fluffy, queer rep, you end up putting yourself in other creator's shoes. you're so used to media that either dehumanizes gay people or tells people that they don't exist that you push yourself to make the most in your face queer rep you can but its at the cost of an interesting and subtle characters. characters that don't really have arcs or places to learn and grow.

With bugtopia i made a joke about how i want some of my queer rep to feel like you're being queerbaited. It's not literal, obviously, but mixed in with characters who are already married and in same gender relationships, i really want to write dynamics that feel subtle enough for a bit of a slow burn. even if you know they're going to end up together, to at least value the characters on their own before centering them on their relationships. queerbaiting is something that deserves all the criticism it can get, but it is embarrassing when queerbaiting feels genuinely more interesting than actual queer rep because queerbaiting has that factor of "maybe they won't get together" that adds that bit of intrigue, vs so many shows that repeatedly hammer in your head "don't worry guys, they're gonna be lesbian lovers".

mystery inc (and many other shows) being forced to keep a relationship obvious while subtle to get through censorship really forced creators to be creative with their storytelling and not center characters around their relationship and identity. but nowadays i think shows like to take the easy way out. for me, i always thought the most impactful example of queer representation in steven universe is "Rose's Scabbard". I genuinely don't enjoy that episode because it's a good example of the show thinking that trauma is an excuse for shitty behavior, but i cant deny that an entire episode of pearl breaking down and finally accepting that she wasn't the center of rose's world. it's the crew being forced to be creative and push through censors to telling a compelling story about a traumatized lesbian slowly realizing that she basically deluded herself into thinking she was someone's savior.

I think it's silly to try to place good queer representation in one box. like subtle queer rep is good, but also queer rep where a character flat out states that their gay. where I think it falls apart is when it either reinforces stereotypes without properly deconstructing or expanding on them, makes the characters so overly kind and non-controversial that the relationship is just boring, or try to make your messy and complicated characters but the narrative refuses to hold them accountable or at least acknowledge that they're doing something wrong. and to clarify on that last part, i'm not asking for some hays code nonsense where every bad person goes to prison and/or promises to stop being a bad person again. i mean the narrative doesnt just fucking sugarcoat their behavior. i don't want to see helluva boss ignore the fact that stolas made blitzo call him out for only using him for sex and then pathetically rush to justify their relationship by giving them a bizarrely sanitized and sweet backstory. and i don't want to see catra literally end the fucking universe and only do something good because she's straight up out of options and the show just decides that that was her redemption and she doesn't need to do anything to atone for what she did (including repeatedly abusing and verbally berating adora).

anyways velma has none of those interesting qualities and i'm pretty sure daphne and velma kissed because the creator is a weird pervert who thinks two girls kissing is hot.

[detectivereads]

Batman and Scooby Doo! Mysteries #1 by Sholly Fisch

5/5

This post is for fan entertainment, I am not being paid.

Hi everyone,

I want to try something different, granted I normally like to wait to see if they come out with omnibus of a comic series, because I run into the problem where I am missing an issue (this series I am missing #2). So, I will cover the ones I do have and hopefully I can get my hands on issues #2.

Now I will go over the majority of the story, but I won’t unmask who the culprit is, I am against spoiling any mysteries.

Now I grew up watching Scooby Doo and Batman, and when I watch that one series where they teamed up to take on Joker and Penguin, I thought that was the coolest episode of Scooby Doo (till I watched the one episode where Scooby Doo meets the Addams Family).

Now we have comics that are just as cool as the old episode. 

This first issues centers around the famous Haly’s Circus and it starts out with a flash back to Richard “Dick” Grayson time at the circus leading up to parent unfortunate murders. The Mystery Inc. gang are in attendance enjoying the show and food that the circus has to offer.

They witness the new acrobat in action Zoltan (not Zoltar, I kid you not I had to re-read that panel of the comic) where he was scared by this issue villain Deadman! When Zoltan missed his dismount, he falls but is saved by none other than Nightwing.

After Deadman causes a panic, the audience runs wild to get away from the villain.

Already the Mystery Inc. gang is ready to get to work.

Velma already has found a clue on one of the sandbags, a chalk handprint (How can a ghost leave a handprint.)

The gang meets the ringmaster Haly, the fortune teller Vashnu, the strong man Sando & and another person of the circus Esmeralda.

Vashnu tells the gang about Deadman, once he was named Boston Brand and he was one of the best acrobats in the world. However much like the Flying Grayson’s, Boston died by a criminal. Then the whole ghost thing of haunting the circus.

Zoltan demands to know why Deadman is going after him, that if it weren’t for Nightwing he could have been hurt. Also, Zoltan asks where his partner is Adolfo. Which right on cue he comes out and explains he was knocked out.

Daphne asks the normal questions, has anyone either criminals or developers approach Ringmaster to buy him out. Cue the Dingaling Brothers, they run a rival circus that wants the Haly’s circus.

Nightwing accuses the brothers that this could be their plans, which of course they deny this.

Ringmaster wants to proceed with the show, but Esmeralda is against it. She doesn’t want Zoltan her fiancé is in danger. At this moment Adolfo pipes up he can perform Zoltan act, but Nightwing agrees with Esmerald, which is why Nightwing offers to do the act with Adolfo, which Adolfo is against saying he needs training for that.

However, Ringmaster loves the idea of having a famous superhero in one of his acts.

The Mystery Inc. gang also joins in as well. Daphne said for an old case she has taken some trapeze lessons so she can also help Nightwing.

This is where I’ll leave the issue, but I will say this that Velma is standing in for the Ringmaster introducing the acts. Fred is an escape artist (He makes traps, so this should be perfect for him), and poor Shaggy and Scooby are with the clowns.

However, when the culprit is unmasking and everything is out in the open, I thought the ending was very sweet. We also have a double unmasking in this issue

My thoughts on this issue, I loved it. It was a Nightwing focus issues with no mention of Batman for almost the whole issue. I know in other comics Nightwing has worked hard to be his own hero. This issue was perfect in my opinion, having Nightwing coming home to the circus and helping his old home out.

[showtoonzfan]

—⚠️SPOILERS FOR THE LEAKED CLONE HIGH EPISODE!!! ⚠️—

Okay time to rant about the Clone high episode but in a way some of y’all aren’t expecting. This is just me but some people are painting the leaked new episode of Clone High to be WAAAY worse than it actually is. Like…good god some of y’all are overreacting, I’ve even seen people compare it to freaking Velma like GOD no. While I personally enjoyed the episode, I can see why people may not like it. A lot of people are bummed about Ghandi, the cancel culture stuff, and maybe the comedy, though for the comedy it’s mostly a hit or miss, but for me it was a hit. As for the Cancel culture stuff, it didn’t piss me off like a lot of people are because I honestly expected this. Clone high has always been known to poke fun at whatever was going on in the world at the time, so like…yeah of course they’d do an episode regarding that, and I personally liked the idea of a fish out of water concept since the clones have been frozen for 20 years. Some people were saying that Abe felt out of character and OOC, but honestly? Abe’s character has always been that he’s a stubborn loser who constantly gets into trouble, so him getting cancelled and fucking up everything he’s saying felt in character for me, it was one of the reasons I liked it so much because everyone felt in character, even if you could argue it wasn’t as good. I will say that Abe saying slurs felt incredibly forced to fit the plot, but he’s still a loser like he was in the original so I can’t be mad about it yet. I certainly wouldn’t call the episode perfect, but I overall enjoyed it.

The only two issues I had was Joan and JFK. These personal issues was more of a nitpick, but I was expecting…I dunno, more out them? Don’t get me wrong, I was a huge shipper of the two and I’m happy they’re together, but at the same time I find it weird that they’re both….okay with being a couple. I was surprised that Joan was 100% on board, I’d predicted that she would act like the night they spent together was a “one time thing” and that she needed to figure things out. The beginning of the episode even hints at the drama, but there was really no drama around the love triangle at all, aside from Abe moping. It just…felt like kind of a let down, but I think that’s just me because I was expecting more or something really big to kick off immediately. Joan as a whole however in this episode felt …..off to me, but I can’t really explain it. She just felt….off, like kinda out of character? I dunno I was expecting her to be against the popular kids since her character in the show was more being on “the good side” of things, like I would think she would go “I don’t need to be popular”- but she wasn’t bad or anything. I was always expecting her to be annoyed by JFK’s entire vulgar personality but she seemed to have no mind. As for JFK himself, I was surprised he wanted Joan to be his girlfriend, since he was known for being the ultimate fuck boy, going from one woman to the next. I had really hoped that their relationship would be more of a slow burn, rather than them getting together immediately in the very first episode, since JFK still has a lot to learn about relationships. The scene they shared outside of the prom to me opened a new door for a good character arc and relationship exploration, it was the scene that made me ship them, because there was so much potential for them to become a really good couple, so now that they just start off immediately being one, it felt VERY underwhelming to me. However, this is still the first episode, so for now I’ll wait to see what the writers do with these two. I could care less about Abe moping because all my homies hate Abe, but not in a bad way per say, to me, he’s enjoyable to watch, but we acknowledge that he’s a loser lol.

Meanwhile, Scudworth is the same, he’s hilarious as always and I get a kick out of watching him, and introducing a female boss who he has fallen in love with solely because she’s trying to kill him is funny to me. I have no idea if she’ll legitimately be a love interest or not, again we’ll have to see, but I will say that these new board of shadowy figures ain’t it. I miss the old iconic guys, particularly the main one with the soothing voice because he was iconic and funny. I guess it makes sense on why Scudworth didn’t unfreeze them since they had planned to kill him and take the clones away, but I do miss them and it kinda is a downgrade. Then there’s Ghandi, who we all miss but for the people demanding that he be brought back and that the show isn’t the same without him, y’all need to chill because I highly doubt this is in the creators control. I’m pretty sure if it was, Ghandi would be in the show, but they were kinda forced to take him out due to the controversy, so despite me missing him, I can see why it had to be done, and I don’t blame the show itself. As for the new clones and characters, I’ll have to get used to them and warm up to them, but I certainly wouldn’t call any of them “bad”. Again, this is merely the first episode, and unlike the majority of people on twitter right now, I want to give the show a chance and see how this all plays out until I say it’s “god awful” or act like it’s the worst thing in the world. I will say this however, to the people complaining about the gore and even the comedy style, do y’all know what show you’re watching? Like…this is Clone HIGH lol, I expected most of this to happen since I saw the original show, so I will be honest and say I don’t 100% know why everyone is so pressed about it. I get that people are maybe bummed about the whole “cancel culture” thing since nobody likes that, so I can see why but like I said, this is what Clone High is known for so I wasn’t taken aback.

With all that said, I’m 100% confident about the show and have high positive hopes for it. To me, the show hasn’t changed at all, the spirit of the original is still there, the characters for the most part still feel the same, and so does the humor. I think it’s way too early (LITERALLY since this got leaked) to say that the show shouldn’t have been rebooted or the show in general isn’t good and will be a lost cause. For now I think we’re off to a pretty okay start, and I’ll have to see more in the future to see where things go before I can say my full opinions on wether I think it’s good or not. Keep in mind these are all MY personal opinions on the show so far. Fill free to disagree with me. We all need to keep in mind that there’s always room for improvement however, because I will admit that I think it’s unfair that a lot of people are already saying the show is going to suck. We have no idea yet and we’ll just have to wait and see. Thank you for reading, and I personally can’t wait to see more Clone High!

[iminaworldofpureimagination]

SPOILERS FOR NETFLIX Wednesday as im not sure if anyone following me watched it here are my thoughts/rambles

i saw Wednesday netflix and while i liked it i give it like a 6/7/10.. It felt unfinished/the ending felt rushed it needed more.. Episodes.. like 3 more .. cause the build up was good the ending was.. so.. anticlamatic. I hate to say VD had better villian finals

but it gotta say for a mysteryh show it dids it job well i didnt know who the bad guy was i just said oh its so/so over and over again.. however at one point .. at one point. I saw Tyler sinking into the bathroom tub, screaming out and i just thought is it you? Are you screaming cause of guilt boy? IS IT YOU.. but i didntw ant to belive it was him ... so i just went with whatever Wednesday said.. minus the therapist i knew she was innocent.. i could feel it in my bones.

Xaiver now that guy... that guy i didnt like.. it felt that he came off as entilted to Wednesday cause he saves her in ep 1 like bro thats cool but she dont owe you her pussy leave her alone.. even as he turns out innocent his character screamed nice guy energy cause girl Wednesday didnt' give a fuck about him.. and often looked uncomfortable with him.. all i cold think off was bro.. leave her alone.. he wont be missed next season.

hope to see Wednesday come out of her turtle show next season cause man she was such a lone wolf and all i could think of when she wanted o show emotion was use your wORDS but i also never spoke to my crush so i get it.

i was fine with her being humanized and i agree with my sib that said she should be aromantic..

kinda makes me want to watch the60s show and the 70s cartoon ..

tim burton making the show made too much sense

also man i hope the actress stops seeing jd but ohwell... I thought she did a good job as the character very expressive face and I LOVED THE DANCE it may my lesbian side happy.

and how useful is thing to have around? I kinda want him for myself ha.

fun show. it kinda felt like Velma done right if that makes sense.. got gravity falls/scooby doo/harry potter vibe from it ..

Also Enid was Baby. part of me wants to put her in a room with bojack cause of of course i do so and have em vent about their awful moms.

and Eugene with his BEESS at the end loved it

thats all i gotta say (:.

[tearsofperseides]

Hi, haven't posted in a hot second, but my drafts are full of unfinished essays im writing so I got that goin' ejhdskhdak

Anyway, Ronance in different universes!!

The most obvious one, let's get it out of the way. Lumity! I mean come on! The "little miss perfect" character and an "obviously neurodivergent outcast sweetheart with a heart of gold" character??? They both start out not liking each other, specifically on the Nancy/Amity side, but then Robin/Luz wins them over by being their themself. Also the fact I've noticed their respective styles are very similar, the way they react to things is very similar. Barb is Willow and Hunter is Steve.

Daphne and Velma! Admittedly I don't have as much of a strong point on these as I have with Lumity, mainly because I haven't consumed that much Scoody Doo content in the recent years (I really wanna get into it, but I don't have the time). Idk, again, as I said, not much of a strong argument here, my friend and I were talking about a Scooby Doo AU and Daphne fits Nancy and Velma fits Robin within that context bsdjahi.

Caitvi/Piltover's finest! LET ME TELL YOU BECAUSE I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS! Vi is definetly more season 3 Robin than season 4, BUT THAT MAKES IT EVEN BETTER! S3 Ronance is so fun and it has a special place in my heart (specifically because I did start shipping Ronance in s3). For Nancy and Caitlyn it's somewhat obvious? Both upper class women who are viewed by both their parents and society as pretty, uptight, not having any experience with the real world, prisses, but are in fact much more than that and both of them know how to shoot guns. I am also attracted to both of them ahdskjn. Vi and Robin are both snarky and sarcastic little shits (affectionate). Also coming back to the whole didn't like each other in the beginning thing.

The Mothership! I mean... this one's pretty obvious

Simmosa, I miss them so much. The point that applies to all of these is that "the Nancy one" didn't like "the Robin one". Same goes with this ship, Amy did not like Jonah and his ramblings in the beginning, but then later on fell in love with him for it aksdhjsa Jonah rambles, like a lot, he might give Robin a run for her money with how much he actually rambles, he also gets really flustered around Amy and they are just overall always together, no matter if Amy doesn't like him or not and same goes with Nancy and Robin.

Yulivia, as my friend said "just a tall, loud impulsive girl and the girl who makes sure she doesn't get them killed" which... accurate. Also Lady Olivia with a gun, pew pew!

and the last one, my favorite

Emisue!!!!! Now listen, is this projection? Maybe, maybe it is, maybe it isn't, we shall never know. BUT THEY ARE SO THEM!!! The potential is astronomical!! Ok let's start with the obvious basics, Emily and Robin are "the talkers", while Sue and Nancy are "the listeners". Emily's brother Austin is in love with Sue, they are together. Emily feels guilty that she is in love with his brother's wife, but her feelings for Sue are stronger, however she feels an insane amount of guilt and we see that throughout the show, all of this just reminds me of Steve, Robin and Nancy (that being said, why isn't anyone doing anything about that?? Write a fic like that asap and send it to me/hj). Sue/Nancy has tried to push Emily/Robin away, but they just couldn't, because they always in some way found their way back to each other (putting that in quotes for Ronance because they are not canonically together). Suppression of emotions, not just romantic, but any, is both a very prominent trait in both Sue and Nancy. And I could go on and on about how both Sue and Nancy's trauma is overlooked and she's seen as a bitch by many, while Emily and Robin get away with a lot more, but I digress.

That was it! I'm sure there's more, these are just my favourites!

[indiemovies]

I want the scooby opinions !!!

Not having scooby = unforgivable for Me

THANK YOU i take this opportunity very seriously

ok firstly: i completely agree!!! i mean, they could EASILY have scooby be there and just not talk! but, also, like.....why shy away from the silliness, the cartoon-y nature of it all......if you are a cartoon!!! i know it's made for adults but i mean. i sincerely doubt a dog saying ruh roh every now and then would turn off the adult audience tuning in to watch THE NEW SCOOBY DOO SHOW! i am not a big fan of taking of shows made for children and making them into hard r, for adults stuff. that's just my personal opinion, but it never translates well, it alienates every possible audience, and it comes off as goofier than if they had just played it silly. i genuinely think the live action movies are the perfect example of how to age something up without making it unwatchable for kids, and, more importantly, not getting rid of the humor and hijinks that the show was built on!

i like the character redesigns for the velma show (although i think the animation style is a bit generic and i agree that shaggy's hair is too clean cut LOL) and for the most part i like the casting EXCEPT FOR shaggy and fred which is CRAZY bc sam and glenn are easily two of my favorite comedic actors working today... i just dont know how well they fit the roles? although i think it is very unfair to judge them before i hear them so this may be a total nonissue it was just the main thing that jumped out to me. i really wouldnt care too much but already hearing from people who saw the first ep and seem to not like velma's characterization it concerns me i wont lie. velma is NOT mean (and she wouldnt call the cops over something @ multi versus)!!! she is dorky and driven and definitely very snarky and maybe slightly arrogant but i dont know if she has such a hard edge. i hope the teaser is just poking fun at the audience response and wont be her actual characterization in the show. also slightly unrelated but i just scrolled through the entire velma twitter account and given that the gimmick is that she's the one posting it all i feel the need to say: it does not matter what year it is, velma would suck ass at social media. like if she had a twitter she would use it retweet scientific articles and post pictures of bugs!!!! that's all

and of course, the main event, lesbian velma. i do just want to say i know that most pieces of scooby media are standalones, so velma not being gay in her show does not invalidate her lesbianism in the new movie. however i think it is a huge missed opportunity to not have her be a lesbian in the show that is made for adults and can probably much more easily get away with that given that it is something that has been so heavily theorized about and wanted. that being said, i do have a sneaking suspicion she will be bi in the show (honestly just guttural instinct + tweet about her kissing PEOPLE, not just boys, in the show) which is great if true! but lesbian velma will always be something near and dear to my heart so it is the piece of canon i will probably always hold onto. but apparently she has a crush on FRED???? and is beefing with DAPHNE over it?????? that is just. so. ooc. for like everyone involved. and so mean to people who care about the daphne and velma dynamic? like i love a complicated female relationship, but a) that is just not them, and b)OVER A BOY? OVER FRED??? FRED JONES??????

enough velma hbo talk (though i feel so bad for being so negative, i despise hate trains before stuff even comes out so i will say i will definitely give it a chance and i like that they are doing something different with it and having some fun with the characters and premise!!) i have not seen trick or treat scooby doo YET but i really like the animation and the velma scenes<3333 so perfect

AND that is just everything off the top of my head MWAH LOVE YOU

[angeleirene]

Watching Hairspray (2007) is a roller coaster.

Like, I love the musical, I love the movie musical. I think the cast is stacked. Zac Efron (you cant not mention him) James Marsden, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Christopher Walker, Elijah Kelley (who had the second best voice holy shit this man), Jerry Stiller. It had Queen Motherfucking Latifah (the best voice in the entire cast)! It introduced me to Tayla Parx’s Little Inez (and she’s relevant here, we’ll get back to her), and it had John Fucking Travolta wearing a dress.

This cast was more stacked than Edna Turnblad.

And honestly? I bop hard with the songs. Special mention to “New Girl in Town”, specially the Dynamites. “I can hear the bell”, “I know where I’ve been”, “Run and tell that”, “Big Blonde and Beautiful”, and “You can’t stop the beat”. They slap and some I got more to say but I’m not the person who should say it nor is it the point of this post.

Also some of the direct depictions of the racism is on point. “The white direction”, way to say the quiet part out loud. Also for some more blink and you’ll miss it parts: the sponsor for ‘N-word’ Day is a product for “stubborn hair”, for fixing stubborn hair. And how Maybelle just forced the prompt out of her mouth so done with life. For fucks sake! Also the Dynamites! Velma was so pissed at Maybelle for ‘picking the same song’ and the only response is an incredulous “they wrote it”. This movie did good on this. (Also little pearl, she’s known as Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs. She’s legit perfect).

BUUUTTTT! This is also where it didn’t.

Because as much as I love Tracy and Nikki, she stands out as a sore white thumb in this movie. I do love her, I do, but it feels oddly intrusive to have this self admittedly ignorant white girl (never pays attention in history class, not that 1960s history class in Baltimore would teach much about social issues and racism) be the centre stage and driving conflict in this story about race. Yes there’s a point to be made that Tracy sacrificing her role in the CC show was brave and a very meaningful act of goodwill as someone who’d dreamt of being in the show; sacrificing it for the objective greater good.

[There’s also a point to be made that Tracy’s a more problematic character in the race storyline with her dumbass hitting the police officer, but that’s a whole other rant that I’m on the wrong side of Pantone 723 to be the one to make it]

However this is where what I said about Inez becomes relevant again because she really should’ve had a bigger role. Because like Tracy she had the dream to begin the CC show, except with a much greater barrier to make it. And with the movie making her winner of the pageant when she’s barely allowed to have a role in the movie at large... it’s tragic.

Black character by and large suffer from this. It’s like they’re fighting their own internal battle for equal value in the film. Seaweed (who is a travesty got to sing only twice) was “Penny’s boyfriend”, his relevance to the story came contingent on Penny, with her being a critical component of his relevance to the plot and of both of his songs. (Which also feels more like the movie reducing them to each other’s partners on some extent, and while I do appreciate the interracial relationship point it felt rushed. Too rushed.

Inez was even reduced further by being an extension of other characters. She had to share her solo in a song with Seaweed, then she was frustrated to the side, then she was Link’s dance partner and then she won. Apparently. Maybelle was the only one who got to have more of an individual character. (Serious tho, Inez got like 2 verses and her singing fucking slaps. This is theft).

And so watching the movie I’m like, “I love you sweetie, and I know you’re trying but my god there’s just a few blotches I’m dying to fix”.

Imagine just how much cooler it would be if she had more of a role, if she got to be the (or a) driving force in fighting for her dream. Because she didn’t get to do this, it was just handed to her by white showboat Zac Efron.

You don’t even gotta shaft Tracy either, instead reduce the love plot with Tracy and of Tracy’s parents, and let Inez be the second protagonist of the film. Play the story of both fighting through their adversity for their dreams. Inez gets more of a spotlight early on, maybe watching from the sidelines during “N-Word day”, and practising with her mom as hard as she can till she can finally go on to the CC show. Meanwhile Tracy is doing her thing she already does in the movie.

Then Tracy gets sent to detention and they both meet. Seaweed does the introduction and then Trace and Inez are the ones dancing together and sharing their goal to go on the CC show together when Link walks in and gives Tracy the idea to take over. On the dance floor, when Trace asks them to dance with her, they refuse for the same reasons but it’s both encouraging her. And she does and she’s in.

So then when Edna is cheering to see Trace in the show, and when Tracy says she wishes Negro day were every day she can get a kick ass solo of wishing that too, of wanting that dream too, then scene change to New Girl in Town. Or vice verse, Trace gets her spotlight, then NGIT, then after the Dynamites steal the show, Inez who was watching from home gets her solo. Wishing to have been on that day, looking at Tracy merch and being happy for her but still wishful for herself.

The march happens (which Tracy also went for in support of Inez) and Inez is there with Seaweed to free Penny, the latter informs them Tracy is down below and she saves her. A cute “you made it, I’m not letting you loose it” moment where they all hatch the plan together. The plan being to get Tracy back on the show, with no argument from Inez who at this point is only focused on protecting her friend.

So when everything reaches the climax, Link jumps to dance with Tracy in ‘You can’t stop the beat’, and they do, they kiss but then Tracy insists they ‘switch partners’ and runs to get Inez “I made it, now you will too”. So she gets that reciprocation value, and link gets to showcase he’s not an ass by playing along happily and helping her show off.

The finale performance continues as scheduled, Inez wins, and when Maybelle’s called to sing, it’s a mother daughter duo. Because just like it was Inez’s dream to be on, it was Maybelle’s dream to see her daughter on the show. They get a cute duet moment, and by the end when the crowd takes over they circle round the back for when she gets crowned and Tracy also gets her kiss and close scene and out.

*Little on the spot brainstorm rant but the point stands*.

Inez is such an absolutely fantastic character and every time I watch this movie I can’t stop thinking of just how little love she got when she deserved more. She deserved a bigger spotlight. Like, that’s the conclusion, Inez is critically unappreciated and should’ve had a much bigger spotlight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvQ14w_SfIQ

Just watch this video, watch her be a Queen and know it. Yes this is an Inez Appreciation PSA.

[that-wizard-oki]

if your up to rambling about it more, how would arc 3 have gone with morganthe there?

Alright anon, and all who happen to be interested in my damn theories... after 2 very long days, here are my... general... ideas on how Arc 3 might have gone with Morganthe present.

This is a long one my dudes. Grab a snack, take a seat, and if you make it to the end, thanks for reading. 

Let’s take a look, shall we?

Morganthe & The Wizard���s Character Foil would be the cornerstone of this arc.

Y’know how everyone talks about Zuko and Aang being one of the greatest character foils in fiction? Well, in a nutshell, I think that Khrysalis part 1 & 2 (and arguably the entire second arc) built up this wonderful relationship between Morganthe & The Wizard- one that i think could easily be just as memorable and clever as the aforementioned. 

If you’re unfamiliar with my thought’s on this idea, here’s a rundown:

All throughout arc 2, Morganthe’s dialogue towards the wizard is usually focused on things they both have in common. We’re both students of Ravenwood, both have studied under Merle Ambrose directly, we were both considered prodigies, respectively. Some other characters also bring up things here and there, most notably Tse Tse Snaketail in Mirror Lake (which, by the way… mirror lake…c’mon) who claimed “she (Morganthe) knows you better than you know yourself!” 

Azteca is when we really begin to see the foil between Morganthe and the Wizard start to be set in motion. Azteca itself is the first time I think our wizard is truly and utterly overwhelmed with obstacles- Between the impending doom of Xibalba, the raising of the Undead (once again, mind you), the revival of our last greatest foe, AND the fact that Morganthe, the puppet master behind this all, is always one step ahead of us the entire time. 

A huge moment for the Wizard IS that we fail in Azteca. This is where our wizard has to face the sting of failure, and it runs deep. While the wizard has thus far fought against evil within the Spiral for the sake of justice and protection, NOW the wizard's motivation to go after Morganthe has shifted from the general expectation to do so, to something MUCH more personal. Our desire to ensure Morganthe is defeated, is forever tied to our own sense of self worth- if we don’t defeat her, we are a failure.

 We can easily see the parallel between this and Morganthe’s motivation, which has thus far been fueled by her desire to show Merle what she’s capable of- and that she will go to the greatest length to prove so. 

In Khrysalis, we see the Wizard grow into a similar mindset. They’re much more rash in how they go about pursuing Morganthe, learning ways to try and fight her more evenly when the time comes, and eventually hunting her down. It snowballs to the point where our wizard, despite several warnings, decides to release the god of chaos under the presumption that he will aid them in their goal to defeat the shadow queen. Even more alarmingly, Spider reveals to the Wizard that Morganthe was actually infused with this great power (not stolen, like the arachna had claimed), and that the arachna had groomed her into a weapon of mass destruction by design. Despite knowing that Morganthe was just a puppet on strings this whole time, our wizard still feels that defeating her is the only way to truly avenge themselves. THIS is what Old Cob was hoping for. He WANTED the wizard to be so self absorbed in the idea that Morganthe’s very existence was something that the Spiral, that the Wizard themselves needed to be cleansed of. 

And we played right into the palm of his hand, and after we defeated her, Spider released his children and nightmares into the world. However, It is not gratifying relief we are met with. Instead, there is only a long, daunting, shadow, and it’s in our likeness.

This was a little watered down, but these parallels between Morganthe & The Wizard has always been so interesting to me, and when Arc 3 began, I was fully expecting Morganthe to return in SOME way and the wizard would have to go through a self-reflective journey WITH her in order to really come to terms with what they did, or that Cob was hurting them instead of helping.

Of course, that’s not what we got… but to answer your question now anon- what do i think Arc 3 should have been with Morganthe there, with all this in mind? 

Obviously, Morganthe and the Wizard need to have their development & closure- but let’s take a deeper look into how that would work for the both of them.

First off, Morganthe needs a reason to return. Character wise, she has a few purposes:

She was the closest one who had been connected to Old Cob. Even if most of it was him manipulating her, they shared a connection through Morganthe’s intrigue of Shadow Magic, and perhaps she had directly communicated to him at one point. 

Besides Spider himself, she probably knows more about Shadow Magic than any other being in the Spiral. She WAS the one who re-discovered the existence of Shadow Magic, after all. 

To expand on this reason, I think Morganthe might have even figured out ways to connect with her own Shadow in more uh, constructive ways, than perhaps Spider and Raven (I’ll get into this later). 

With these factors, I think Morganthe being present in Arc 3 means that she would have been a very valuable asset in helping the Wizard & crew go after Spider/Raven simultaneously.

Now, I think a really fun way to integrate Morganthe into Arc 3 more seamlessly, is to have a plot point that alludes to her still being alive. Otherwise, I don’t think the Wizard/anyone else would bother trying to revive or find her JUST for the sake of “maybe she would be helpful”.

Remember when, after we defeated Morganthe, Old Cob informed us that we had “absorbed too much of her power, and that it would consume us” and so we have to give it back to the land? 

Well, what if when we did, that “power” held her memories, her very own Shadows? And when we returned it to the land, those Memories might’ve returned to their place in time?

Take Morganthe’s memory in Wizard City for example- the one rooted in when she accidentally lost control of her powers when attempting astral spells. This specific part of her shadow, not being able to return to a physical vessel, found its way back to its place of origin. Maybe Diego, upon training students in combat, runs into issues with a “specter” of some sort haunting the battle grounds, and reports these disturbances to Ambrose. As the game normally does, Merle would reach out to us about this problem.

I think a good time frame for this to happen is after Mirage/before Empyrea- arguably, this is the Wizard at their lowest point. Mellori has just been captured, we just found out she’s Raven’s Child, and BOTH gods are now not in our favor. That way, when we investigate the Arena in WC, and find out this ‘specter’ resembles a young Morganthe, the wizard would truly feel overwhelmed with the idea of her still being alive/out there WHILE all this is happening. 

Whether we tell Merle or the Arcanum scholars first isn’t super important, but the point is that Morganthe potentially being alive is now an additional problem on top of everything else at hand. As the scholars, wizard, and perhaps Ambrose/additional characters problem solve what to do, they begin to bring up the character points I brought up earlier. I think Velma, being the shadow scholar, would mention that Morganthe WAS the shadow queen, and might be useful as a prisoner to help get information on Old Cob’s plans/biddings. I think Ione would agree, and that Morganthe could also be potentially working under him in some way, and that making sure she is a controlled variable is most important right now. The last thing the Spiral, or the wizard, needs is a wild card threat.

I think… knowing that the Wizard had just lost Mellori, and among other things, Velma would request to assist the Wizard in this task, since it is Shadow-magic related and she’s only been able to learn about this school of magic through what little has been available outside of Khrysalis. The wizard, though I think reluctant about the idea, doesn’t argue against her coming along. 

If you follow my idea that Velma had gone to Ravenwood with Morganthe, and they’d been good friends there, I think Velma coming along to investigate this matter is also important- perhaps when they both return to the Duel Arena and try to confront this memory of Morganthe’s, the wizard’s first instinct is to fight it into submission, but Velma might take a more gentle approach, as she remembers the likeliness of an old friend. 

The memory becomes more in control of itself; Seeing Velma, it was reminded of a pleasant part of itself- friendship, comradery amongst fellow wizards, instead of just abandonment and loss as it had been previously engrossed in. 

Once calmed, the Memory can “think” more clearly, and does its best to answer the inevitable questions; what are you? How did you get to wizard city? Is the “real” Morganthe still alive? And so on... Obviously the memory has a limited understanding of what they’re asking. Eventually, they piece together that there are OTHER memories out there, and they need to be found and returned back to their physical owner- Morganthe. 

I won’t go into the big details here, but they then travel to Avalon and Khrysalis, maybe even places she had been as a pirate, to find the other two missing Memories. Velma probably learns a bit more than she was expecting to, and the Wizard’s consciousness, especially when they get to the memory related to Khrysalis, starts to weigh heavy. 

Any who, these three memories are collected, and being extensions of Morganthe herself, are able to help navigate the wizard, Velma, and perhaps other Arcanum members (for safety reasons because that's the literal queen of shadow right there lads) to where her physical body resides. 

Using one of the ships in the Arcanum, they are led by the memories into the dark sea of space, not too far off from Khrysalis. Soon, they come across a swirl of rubble and shattered remnants. Weaving their way through, a cluster of fragmented glass paves the way to an abandoned vessel, sleeping gently, frozen in time and protected by her own demise. They’ve found Morganthe’s body. 

Simply put, the memories return to her, and the wizard/Velma contains her comatose body to be brought back to the Arcanum.

Once they’ve returned with Morganthe, a lot of things could happen, and since this is all just theory of something that’s already passed, I’m just gonna list off some of those things that I think would have been interesting to see, so, here goes lol (warning, this turned out to be a lot longer than anticipated I'm SORRY lol)

Morganthe would have maintained in a comatose state for at least a bit once at the Arcanum. The main issue now is figuring out what to exactly do with her now that she is alive. 

I’ve kind of enjoyed the idea that Ione/other scholars would be pushing for some sort of trial- she did technically commit genocide against the Aztecasouars, and no one but the wizard, except for MAYBE Velma since she was also retrieving her memories, knows that she was being controlled when she had done so. 

I also think the idea of a trial, something rooted in judgement, would provide an interesting setting for just allllll the damn shit to be let loose. Like Morganthe would wake, finally free of the shadow that the arachna had pumped into her body, free of Cob’s very voice in her head, only to wake to find she'd murdered an entire civilization, among defiling the dead, and is being held accountable for doing so. Everyone’s obviously against her, for good reason as they think, but the Wizard’s just here like “I know this bitch was literally forced to do these things but I never told anyone about any of that because I wanted to just believe I was right, and I still have this grudge against her for making me feel like a failure, so I kind of just want to see her imprisoned or worse” and of course you have Velma, who just got her long lost friend/childhood love back, is now faced with the possibility of losing her again, and FINALLY you’ve got MERLE who’s probably just silently taking all this in as it unfolds, since he has had a very fixed perspective on the whole ordeal and doesn’t even know what to believe. 

I don’t wanna spend too much time on the ins/outs of this idea, but generally, even if this wouldn’t have happened, the group learns (perhaps through Velma’s advocation, since I doubt the wizard would be doing it) more about Morganthe’s situation, maybe even that the wizard knew this whole time and never said anything- but the general consensus becomes that, since Morganthe isn’t working for Cob (she might even speak of how much she probably despises him for what he did to her), and because she’s so knowledgeable on Shadow Magic, it might actually be best for the Wizard and her to work together to try and rescue Mellori. 

Obviously, both of them are reluctant about this, though I think the wizard is more so. Morganthe might actually have a soft spot for the Wizard, seeing a lot of herself in them, and also having tread on similar paths. I think it would be so, so fun to see Morganthe try to connect with the wizard, but the wizard constantly shuts her down or ignores her because they don't want to admit they’re so similar. But then you have the moments where they have to help each other. Maybe it’s when both have to go into the Nexus to get Mellori back, and Morganthe has an easier time weaving through this Shadow Plane because of her experiences with it, and the Wizard really has to trust her to help lead them through it. In turn, maybe Morganthe actually struggles when they reach Ravenwood in the Nexus because it triggers those memories of being expelled and cast out, and the wizard has to help ground her so she doesn’t slip into this un-reality. Like! That feels so powerful and moving to me- that despite being used and pitted against one another by Spider, they learn to work past those false feelings and really begin to see each other eye to eye. 

Though I think it is important to bring up they are dealing with slightly different parts of their Shadows- Morganthe is a step or so ahead, having already connected with them. Now, her goal is to accept them, and while I think she has more or less accepted her three memories from earlier, the fourth one, the one of her as shadow queen, the one where she isn’t just her, but also Spider controlling her… the part she doesn’t want, but remains true. To accept her rage, her anger towards Merle that mirrored Cob’s anger about Raven- this is her true challenge for this Arc. 

Remember how I said Morganthe’s motivation in Arc 2 was to prove Merle wrong and show him that she was powerful? Well, now it’s to extract revenge on Old Cob in a similar way. Logically, she knows killing him would mean the end of the Spiral, so the struggle for her is to FIGHT against that desire, the rage, accept it, acknowledge it, and convert that energy into something that can help her and others heal from the scars of the past.

Alongside Morganthe interacting and coming to terms with herself, her shadows, everything, I think the Wizard must learn to let Shadow into their own life. Shadow is not this evil thing that they think it is- it, as Spiders is as well, a necessary part of all life in the Spiral. Instead of casting it away, we have to know that the parts of ourselves we don't like aren’t what define us, but we should see and acknowledge them so they don't consume us; which i think  the wizard is at risk of. 

Any who… that’s a lot, but ultimately, I think when we come to the end of Arc 3, to the Husk, The Wizard & Morganthe have to make the decision to completely trust in themselves and each other. As Spider said worlds ago, we are both the Children of Light & Shadow. I know Arc 3 presents the wizards at the Scion, a balancing force between Mellori and Bat, but I’m gonna be honest, I think it would be much more compelling for BOTH the wizard & Morganthe to act as this “middle ground”- Literally thus far everything about them screams yin and yang; the wizard primarily hailed as the harbinger of light, Morganthe as the umbra queen- yet they are not completely The Light or The Dark- they both have a piece in each other, they both work together, they balance each other out. 

Perhaps a stronger set up to still include Bat and Mellori is them simply realizing that they are not their parents- they do not have to do what is expected of them just because of who or what they are, they can choose to support each other as siblings, instead of taking one of their parents sides and hurting each other. They, like the wizard and Morganthe, can work together as one. 

This way too, the weight of having to be the Sole Person balancing everything all the time, ISN'T put on the wizard- it can be shared by another.

ANYWHO… I know I'm rambling a bit at this point, but similarly to Arc 3’s end, they’d work past their own desire for revenge or pride, and combine their strengths to become what we originally see the wizard transform into during the fight with the Storm Titan; a Child of Light and Shadow.

Also, here’s a few side things I’d like to see happen in this Arc, as well as the final conclusion for Morganthe’s character. 

Morganthe being protective of the Wizard, and the Wizard being protective of Mellori I stated earlier that Morganthe see’s a lot of herself in the wizard, and can feel responsible for them in some way. The same goes for the Wizard and Mellori- there’s this interesting domino effect they've got going on in terms of that, so i just think some dialogue reflecting this dynamic between the three would be fun. 

Though once Mellori and the Bat are united, Morganthe would definitely  have Some Feelings come up regarding her and her own brother. I think it would be fun for Morganthe to be extremely wary of Bat for this reason, and also because he’s the son of the God who used her power and body for his own gain. Maybe Morganthe has a sly line towards Bat, or something about her being like “I’m watching you” because she doesn’t want to see another person go through what she did with Malory. 

Also…. Morganthe helplessly being unable to call Mellori “Mellori”, and instead says “Mallory” every time because That’s Baggage! Morganthe’s like, “Wizard, we gotta get Mallory from the Nexus!” or something and everyone’s like “... you mean Mellori?” and she’s like “... that’s what i said, right?” like this shit is so, so funny to me. 

Also Morganthe eventually warms up to Bat, seeing him be a Good Older Brother in part 2. Ideally, it would also be nice to see her open up to him about Mallory, and they just have a Moment about shitty families, trust issues, having done bad things because What Else Can You Do?… god, that stuff hurts my soul. Let your Siblings Heal Kingsisle, i will not rest until they do lmao. 

Oh yea! How could i forget the biggest thing outside of the wizard/Morganthe- Merle and Morganthe! Wow do those two need some damn closure together. I’m not stuck in a definitive way that this could happen- Generally though, I think Morganthe would be avoidant of Merle at first, as she feels that she ultimately failed to do what he cast her out to do when he banished her, which was to “find her true self” and learn to control astral magic. Not only was she unable to do that, but she was unfortunately roped into the arachna, and we know the jist of what happens from there. On the other hand, Morganthe is also angry towards Merle- if he wouldn’t have banished her, and instead been patient with her powers and helped her learn, NONE of what she had to endure in Khrysalis would have happened. 

For Merle, his perception for so long was that Morganthe's endless curiosity drove her into Shadow Magic, and thus became the Shadow Queen- with this thought, his act of banishing her was justified because she was just a lost cause either way. Now, however, he’s realizing that that wasn’t the case at all- instead, she was truly trying to learn how to master astral magic and control her powers, and unfortunately others decided to take advantage of her curiosity and ability- so he’s trying to grapple with the guilt of inevitably putting her through that. 

They both are understandably scared to confront each other, and I think their avoidance would carry out through to Empyrea part 1, maybe even a bit into part 2. Again, i don’t have a definitive thing in mind (since Merle isn’t super active in arc 3 anyhow), but perhaps they’ve been put into a situation where they just simply cannot avoid one another- or maybe Morganthe’s having a hard time convincing the wizard or Ione or someone on what they should do next, Merle tries to interject, “Morganthe, perhaps-”, but Morganthe snaps at him, “ and I certainly don’t want to hear what the man that caused all of this has to say about it!” … silence fills the room, Merle taken aback, Morganthe looking him dead in the eyes, meaning what she said but regretting it as the first thing she said to him. She huffs, storms out of the room...

With just a nod to the others and the wizard, Merle leaves and follows her out, maybe she’s pacing around the end of the halls, and when she sees Merle she just starts pouring her heart out in anger. “Don’t you follow me out like that, don’t you pretend to care for me now! You couldn’t possibly understand what’s at stake here, not that you would take the time to understand anything you don’t know!” she huffs, angry with him and herself, “I know I was curious and naïve and stubborn, but where were you!? Why couldn’t you help me, why, why was the only option for you to to take the only thing I had left and send me away?” this is where her anger starts to fade and she’s becomes quieter, yet still stern, “The worst of it is that I told myself I'd do what you never could, and when I did, I’d return to prove you and everyone else who looked at me and saw a failure, a monster, wrong... but I never got that far. I only got to the point where some forgotten God of chaos decided what my ‘true self’ was for me… and like the curious, stupid little girl I was, i played right into his hand-” and here she’d become overwhelmed and start talking more specifically about her anger towards what was done in Khrysalis, ending with “and through all of it, and even now, even though I’m so, so angry at you, I still wanted you to be there for me. Why weren’t you there for me?” 

I like the imagery that, the whole time Morganthe has been unraveling her thoughts and emotions at him, Merle has been slowly moving closer and closer to her, and when she says this, she melts into his arms, sobbing- finally getting that comfort from him that she’s wanted all this time.

Merle, now holding her, begins to speak softly, “You don’t have to forgive me, but I am truly sorry for all that has transpired from my own failings. In all my years, turning you away has remained one of my deepest regrets.” This is getting a bit long, but the main points I think Merle would make in his apology towards Morganthe, is that ‘her true self’ is not something anyone, not even he, should define for herself, and that Merle thinks she has already found her true self, and that it’s not being Shadow Queen, it’s not being a puppet, it’s not being a failure or his apprentice or a monster, but being in tune with yourself- something she had started doing with her own Shadows/Memories.

Anywho. Sorry for the heavy dialogue but i think about these two everyday and just want them to HUG IT OUT MAN… AAAAA

Furthermore; I think a very fitting End for Morganthe’s character is that she, upon Merle’s request, would become a professor of Shadow Magic at Ravenwood, with the idea that she could properly introduce Shadow to wizards in a controlled environment, and help erase the stigma surrounding it. Not only do i think she’d make a great professor or teacher because of her enthusiasm towards magic, but i think it would be satisfying for her to help others who might have difficulties with magic/their powers since that was a core reason for her own suffering. Also, her and Velma are DATING and are cute shadow scholar lesbians together, it’s cute af, thank you, moving on. 

Lastly, the Wizard would have some closure, or at least tools to eventually reach closure about the things I've talked about  in this post. Hypothetically, arc 4 could have then been focused on the wizard’s self-journey to become in-tune with their shadows and memories. 

SO uh… yea i think that’s the overall ideas i had about how Arc 3 might have gone if Morganthe was a factor. I haven’t actually spent a lot of time thinking about Morganthe in arc 3 though, since the arc is now finished and we’re onto arc 4, and i always enjoy trying to implement new lore, like the sewers, into these theories, and even who or what Morganthe is- bt this was fun to revisit! I do think her being in Arc 3 would have been most fitting thus far though, so i always like coming back to the what-could-have-been ideas :’D

But yea! If you’ve made it this far… Thanks for reading lol. And if you want me to go more in depth with anything i had mentioned in this post, because some things i decided to gloss over for simplicity's sake, feel free to ask :D

Anywho…. Bye oTL

[scoobydoominuscoobydoo]

Can you write and example of "good shaphne angst?"

Oh there are so many different categories of angst that could be considered good but this tends to be my default so here you go!

(This was a slow process and I’m super sorry for the wait but writers block was intense the past couple of weeks!)

-

Daphne was no novice when it came to being tied up.

The whole routine of getting constricted by a bunch of rope and tossed into the nearest crypt or sarcophagus had gotten old and the amount of time it took for the gang to find her again was shrinking. It gave her just enough time to assess the damages done to her manicure or wonder how well she did on her chemistry test that Monday. It had all become rather lighthearted to her (at this point she had to get used to it the poor girl practically carried a big neon sign begging criminals in rubber masks to kidnap her).

That is - when she didn’t sense any immediate danger.

Men in masks had the tendency to just toss their hostages (Daphne) somewhere (see previous crypts or sarcophagus) and then forget about them which had worked out in Daph’s favor for the most part.

She’s really trying to separate herself entirely from the situation she’s in now. Being handcuffed to a lead pipe was not the same as being tied up with rope. The rope would start to scratch and burn her skin at this point if she was still struggling to get out of it. She usually wasn’t, just to avoid the aforementioned scratching and burning. The handcuffs however, started digging into her wrists right from the get-go and even if Daphne was perfectly still she could feel how raw the skin was becoming.

She wasn’t stowed away in some abandoned storage shed behind the creepy house at the end of the street that nobody talks about. No - Daph was actually cuffed to a lead pipe and sitting right behind the man who had captured her. That was all she was able to discern about her captor; the broad shoulders and large hands couldn’t belong to a woman. Although she has been surprised before. The space seemed to be some sort of rinky dink office with file cabinets and a big mahogany desk in the center of the room.

The man in the mask was currently sitting at this desk.

It sounded like he was shuffling through papers, Daphne would occasionally hear the scratch of a pencil. She noted that he was very careful not to speak around her - she wondered if she would recognize his voice if he spoke. I wasn’t much of a clue but Daph was doing anything she could to not let the nerves get to her.

‘Amazing that being tied up and alone in a crypt is more relaxing than this.’ Daphne thought, joking about the situation made her feel a little more at ease.

Shaggy was a lot better at it but he wasn’t here and Daph kept being plagued by the terrible thought that him and the rest of the gang had no earthly idea where she was.

If her mouth wasn’t sealed by a strip of duct tape than you would see her lower lip tremble. The image of Fred breaking down the door to this office was becoming more and more akin to a hopeless dream. Daphne was losing hope and she was losing it fast.

She ran scenarios in her head of the worst possible things this man could do to her and shuddered at all of the ones she genuinely feared. Over and over again, on repeat in her mind. Daph had no clue how long she was in that office but by the time her captor had stood from his chair and pressed the foul smelling cloth to her nose - Daphne’s legs had gone numb.

The last thing she remembered before darkness were vibrant green eyes. Eyes she had definitely seen somewhere before.

Daph awoke to a jarring change in scenery.

The cramped office was now what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. Although her vision was semi-blurry and her head was killing her, Daphne knew where she was. They had been here once before while investigating the case but had quickly ruled it as a dead end and crossed it off the map. She then noticed a second thing - it was nighttime.

Daph had first been taken in the late afternoon and thrown in the trunk of an old  blue Mustang. She stayed there for a little bit (she actually fell asleep at one point because this wasn’t her first time being locked in the trunk of a car) and when she was eventually taken out night had already fallen.

‘I’ve been missing for at least two days then...’ She thought as her head began to clear up.

She, once again, had both hands cuffed to a lead pipe (this one was a little bigger though) and was resting on her knees. The concrete floor of the building was a little too cold to be comforting and that was the first time Daphne noticed her shoes were missing.

‘Ugh and I just bought those too!’

The tape was still over her mouth, although Daph didn’t see much point in shouting for help since there wasn’t much of a chance anyone would hear her. It was at that point that Daphne realized she was currently alone.

‘Has that asshole finally decided to ditch me?’

She barely had time to consider it when a loud creaking echoed throughout the area. Her heart leapt for a moment, against all odds somebody had decided to investigate this seemingly inconspicuous location. Then everything in her went cold when she saw the familiar white coat of the man who kidnapped her.

The culprit’s whole shtick was somewhere along the lines of zombie mad scientist. Which - as dumb as it sounds - is surprisingly intimidating. Maybe it’s just how realistic the details of his mask are.

‘Nothing is truly creepier than the uncanny valley. And mullets.’ Daphne could almost picture the eye rolls that comment would earn from the gang. It embarrassed her since humor wasn’t exactly her forte but it never stopped Daph from giving it a shot. Plus, every so often her attempts at jokes would earn a soft laugh from Shaggy. And those laughs sent butterflies storming in her stomach.

Suddenly, the lump is back in her throat.

She misses him. She misses them. And she’s worried that they’re pulling their hair out trying to find her. Daphne hates seeing her friends so distressed.

She almost jumps out of her own skin when she sees that Zombie Albert Einstein is standing directly in front of her, just staring down at her.  

Without missing a beat, Daphne glares up at him and desperately hopes that it doesn’t look like she’s a step away from bursting into tears. Those green eyes seem to crinkle in amusement - evidently her anger wasn’t all that convincing. Daph’s shoulders droop and she tries with all of her might to swallow the lump in her throat.

And most likely with the desire of prolonging her suffering, Albert decides to rip the tape off her mouth.

The sudden sting is just enough to bring tears pooling in her eyes.

“Ouch...” she murmurs with a shaky gasp. Biting down hard on her lip with the hope of pulling it together. When Daphne let herself go hysterical then she went hysterical to the highest degree and then she wasn’t any help to anyone.

But then she hears a chuckle; it’s low and gravelly and so dang familiar that it’s killing her. And it’s telling her one thing:

She’s giving him exactly what he wanted.

All of her efforts to remain calm and collected have failed because he can still see how she really feels. He can see how hopeless Daphne feels.

She sucks in a deep breath through her teeth, trying desperately to hold onto that composure; trying so hard to put a face to that laugh. And it’s just not working - he’s still looking down at her like the game is finished and she never had a fighting chance.

As he turns his back to her and walks away, Daph bows her head and tries her best to cry silently. Not that there’s any point to it, Mr. Einstein already knows that she’s given up. She coughs out a laugh at the nickname she’s christened her kidnapper with in between her sobs - she can still find the humor in the situation and that brings her some comfort.

Shaggy did that all the time without any effort at all, boosting moral without even realizing it.

Daphne wonders how worried he is, if he’s able to keep the mood light so that Fred and Velma can stay focused. God she hoped so.

He was always the one to keep everyone grounded despite not ever being grounded himself. Daph couldn’t help but wish she tried more to be that for him; wish she was brave enough to say all of the things resting on her tongue.

Not just that she loved him (even though that was a biggie) but that he was valuable and mattered so much to not just her but the rest of the gang.

It was hard not to just force him to gain the self-confidence he lacked (since that was her main way of solving problems) but she knew that wasn’t what he needed.

Damn it she wished she knew what he did need.

If she ever made it out of this alive, she was gonna figure it out.

She sobbed softly through the night and eventually woke up to sunlight pouring in from the large windows and skylights above her. Leaving Daph to wonder when exactly she fell asleep and how long she’s been out.

Her decomposing captor was nowhere to be seen which fills her with a small amount of relief.

Judging by the color of the light and the angle that it was shining in on it had to be late afternoon-ish.

‘It’s been three days...’

At that thought, Daphne suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty she was. Her head was pounding her tongue was almost totally dry (which she was sure was really bad). She remained dizzy after waking up even after waiting for around an hour and Daph wondered if Albert had any intention of keeping her alive.

‘Ugh and I had just cried all night too! I just want to waste water and die of dehydration.’

She also noted that her body was still sweating, or at least trying to. This was not good, Daphne knew that she could survive for a while without food but water needed to be going through her constantly.

‘This is gonna make my skin look awful.’ Daph thought, finding it harder to make jokes about the impending doom her body was facing.

She could feel herself trembling and her stomach began to twist in knots as the whole warehouse seemed to start spinning.

Suddenly, she was shaken awake by the sound of one of the huge doors creaking open. Her whole body felt as if it was frozen inside a huge ice cube even though she knew it wasn’t cold. A shaken examination of the area showed that night had already fallen. The fact that she had lost consciousness without recollection was seriously concerning but she didn’t have time to worry about her health. Because Albert was dragging in another body.

The room may have been spinning and noises sounded a little echoey but she didn’t need to be at full strength to recognize that familiar shade of green.

Instantly her body became alert and she leaned forward, being stopped by the damned handcuffs. She’s soon able to process all the muffled noise as Shaggy talking a mile a minute.

“Listen- I-.. I don’t think you understand dude. Like we’re living in the 20th century and kidnapping minors - and probably eating them - is totally not okay! Look I get it... Entering into the workforce as a respected American citizen is hard and seems like a... like a major sacrifice of your time - not to mention your social life - but I promise you - anything is better than eating people!”

He’s being dragged in by his ankles and - despite the fact that he isn’t tied up - he isn’t making any move to escape. Which doesn’t seem on brand for the gang’s own Harry Houdini.

As Shaggy continued to nervously ramble, Albert dragged him to the center of the room beneath the largest skylight where most of the moonlight was pooling in. He was about 20 feet directly in front of her and right when Daphne was about to announce her presence to the highly distracted boy, she choked.

Daph fell into a violent coughing fit as her throat complained about the lack of moisture.

She begins to tear up and bows her head as she tries to calm the whole situation. When she looks up again, lungs on fire, her eyes lock onto Shaggy’s brown ones. He’s seen her.

Instantly his eyes widen and he begins to struggle with Albert for the freedom of his legs, “Daphne! You’re alive!”

Daph finds herself filled with so many conflicting emotions that she isn’t sure if she should laugh, cry, or yell at him for getting captured. Especially since it’s almost impossible to catch him.

Not that it matters anyway, she’s afraid to try and speak again. That fit had caused her head to pound even worse than before and now she could barely hear Shaggy over the drumming.

The fight for the freedom of Shag’s legs is brought to an abrupt end when Albert simply lets go. Shaggy’s heels crash hard into the concrete and Daph can barely make out his face contorting in pain. She pulls against the handcuffs again and this time she is aware of how irate the skin of her wrists is. Ignoring it, Daphne continues to try and lean further toward him only with the hope of seeing him in a clearer focus.

“Sha-...Shaggy...” She just barely rasps out and after a moment she can tell he probably didn’t hear her.

Perhaps because he’s a tad distracted, what with the massive demon in a lab coat pinning him down by pressing a knee right to the center of Shaggy’s chest.

“Alright! Agh- Okay!” He coughs, “You’ve made your point! A-And who...who am I to argue really?! Especially when you outweigh me by like 800 tofu dogs!” He lets out a nervous laugh and Daphne wants to cry again because she can just hear the trembling in that laugh.

She presses her forehead down against the cool warehouse floor; she can’t handle watching one of her best friends get hurt while she remains powerless to do something.

“Like, do you really wanna add assaulting a minor to the list of charges stacking up against you buddy?” Now the shaking in his voice is so clear it’s making Daph’s toes curl, she bites her lip.

A few seconds pass and Daph finds that she doesn’t hear anything, no cries of pain or anything. She has no time to deliberate if this is a good or bad thing because another few seconds go by and suddenly warm hands are gripping her shoulders. She gasps and looks up before shoving herself roughly against the wall in an effort to distance herself from whoever grabbed her. This doesn’t entirely work out in her favor because she forgot that there was a large lead pipe behind her and she had just slammed her lower back into it head-on. A loud clang echos throughout the building.

Daphne lets another shaky gasp, this time in response to the pain running all over her body.

“Jesus Daph... Like are you alright?” The warmth is back on her shoulders and it sends a wave a relief that almost overpowers all of her other senses. Evidently, Albert had been swayed by Shag’s persuasive words.

She nods slowly, “How-” Did you find me? Instead of choking out the rest of that sentence, Daphne rests her forehead on his shoulder.

Not that she even needed to finish the question - Daph knows that he understood. Shaggy just barely whispers out his answer against her ear and my God she is just so happy to hear his voice.

“Well we had gone back to ask the HR guy some more questions when we saw your shoes just chilling under a chair in the waiting room. Professor Freakenstein over there had left a note demanding some things in exchange for your location.” He said with a touch of annoyance at the end.

Daphne nodded against him, “I-... I was wondering where they were...” Whispering is so much easier than talking

“Yeah, like mystery solved.” He deadpans, she smiles in response, “Anyway... I wanted to go to the fucking police but you know how Mr. and Mrs Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands answered.

Her body tensed, “Is that why you’re here?”

There was silence for a moment and Daphne was building up quite the lecture when she saw Fred and Velma again. If she saw Fred and Velma again.

“Like, to be fair we all thought Fred’s trap was gonna work...” He mumbled. He explains that the note had a time and location for a meeting and so Fred and Velms had spent the day setting up a trap in the area. But she isn’t listening.

Daphne groaned, “I thought we agreed that ransom notes were when we actually get qualified adults involved. The vote was unanimous on that movement!”

“I don’t really think they pay attention during our staff meetings.” He replies with a lilt of amusement.

“They’re not staff meetings! They’re discussions on our code of conduct, we need rules Shags! Order!”

He lets out a short laugh before wrapping his arms around her neck and saying, “Shit I was so worried about you...”

Daphne feels her chest go warm and her cheeks heat up - she nuzzles further into the crook of his neck.

‘Shit I am so in love with you...’

She thinks.

And then... blackness.

When she awakes she hears the almost heavenly beeping of a heart monitor.

The second she opens her eyes three teenagers and dog practically jump on top of her. All of their words are overlapping and Scooby is licking at her face ferociously so Daphne doesn’t even bother trying to glean anything. The one thing she does do is reach out and grab onto Shaggy’s hand in a sort of death grip - something she wasn’t able to do with her wrists cuffed.

Fred and Velma both excitedly recount the details of tracking down Shaggy all the way back to the warehouse through tire tracks and corresponding surveillance footage. It truly was a riveting tale that Daphne couldn’t be bothered to listen to, she was way too exhausted. Plus, Shag was looking down at her with those beautiful eyes and how the hell was she supposed to look away.

“And! And - you’re gonna love this Daph - we called the police!” Fred stated proudly, eyes glittering like he was a child who cleaned his room without his mother asking him to.

Daphne’s eyes widened and she smiled, “Wow! I’m really proud of you two!”

Velma rolled her eyes, picking up on the sarcasm, “Whatever the big issue is that asshole got away.”

“Albert Einstein?”

“Professor Freakenstein?”

Daphne and Shag inquired at the same time, they both looked at each other and Shaggy smirked. Daph blushed.

“Riiigghtt... I’m sticking with that asshole.” Velma stated.

Suddenly, Daphne perked up, “Shags... You said that you guys found my shoes at the office building where Mr. Griesling worked right?”

Shaggy nodded and squeezed her hand; she squeezed back.

“Well before he moved me to the warehouse, I was kept in a private office-thingy. And this whole time I swore I had recognized the guy’s eyes before. I mean they were practically glowing green there is no way I would miss them!” She can feel her voice shake as she recalls the way those eyes pushed down on her when she believed she was gonna die.

Shaggy squeezes her hand again.

She takes in a breath and then says, “Well I was thinking about it for a moment and I remember that I saw one of the interns that worked for Mr. Griesling’s department had these gorgeous eyes and I was this close to complimenting him on them!”

Velma and Fred’s eyes widen and Shaggy gasps before saying, “Oh my God that fucking gigantic college sophomore! We’re idiots!”

Velms plants her face in her hands and Fred sighs, “Good thing we had Daphne and her attention to seemingly unimportant details.”

Daph smirks and shrugs, “Just make sure to keep me far away from him.”

“Like we will Daphne.” Shaggy says gently and the tone is enough to soothe all of the dread latched onto her.

[nautiscarader]

Anonymous 1 hours ago

Dipper And Wendy visit the H-hotel and make a new friend https://mobile.twitter.com/JonesBO50034805/status/1273656307170652160/photo/1

(Ao3)

==============

Anonymous 1 hours ago

Dipper And Wendy visit the H-hotel and make a new friend https://mobile.twitter.com/JonesBO50034805/status/1273656307170652160/photo/1

- I've always knew that wandering into random rooms will end like this...

Velma Dinkley couldn't really complain though. She's spent a significant portion of her life running from door to door, all looking the same, and in a hotel with infinite number of them, one really could make an easy mistake. And now, trapped between two naked bodies of complete strangers, she was feeling more and more ecstatic every moment.

From their moans and very brief introduction, she learned that the young man she was sucking off was called Dipper, much like the constellation, and his red-headed girlfriend, who watched her actions, was named Wendy. And though at first she was merely an observer, she quickly wanted to join the fun, and her lips quickly met hers at the base of Dipper's cock.

Her hands, however, were nothing but idle, reaching underneath Velma's sweater and trying to undo her bra.

- Oh wow, going commando? - Wendy smiled, seeing a blush on her new friend's face - It's always the nerdy ones...

Velma muffled, with Dipper's cock in her mouth, trying to explain herself, but her speech was quickly interrupted when Wendy unceremoniously pulled her head back, depraving Dipper of her lips, to which he reacted with a sharp yelp.

- Sorry for the interruption, Dip - Wendy calmed him down - But feast your eyes on these!

And with a single pull she disrobed Velma of her sweater, revealing a rather large pair of breasts. Wendy's quick move hid Velma's blush for a while, but as her two lovers marvelled at her assets, it quickly came back tenfold.

- Jinkies! - Is that how you call them? - Wendy chuckled.- I bet you can teach me a thing or two...

Wendy leaned forward, dragging her finger between Velma's tits.

- Like, what? - she corrected her slightly skewed glasses

Wendy and Dipper exchanged confused looks.

- Oh come on, don't tell me you;ve never done that!

And with equal nonchalance, she pressed Velma's body against Dipper's, forcing his cock to slide between her voluptuous breasts.

- O-Oh, that... - Yeah, "that", Wendy added. - Come on, girl, start working out!

And with a gentle pat to her head, Velma looked up at the face of her lover, a man she hasn't seen in her life until ten minutes ago, and with a sly smile drawing on her face, she pressed her hands against her breasts to make the very first move. Dipper's eyes rolled up and he let out a soft, almost girly moan, which turned into a proper one when Velma's lips touched his tip with her lips. Velma thought she should feel at the very least strange, sucking a random man's cock, with his girlfriend watching and caressing his abdomen, but the strange, strange hotel she ended up in seemed to have eradicated the feeling of shame. She licked his tip, gathering first small droplets of pre-cum, undoubtedly caused but the presence of not one, but two redheads. Something told her her lover had a thing for that shade...

With each lick, Velma took Dipper an inch or so deeper into her mouth, while her breasts made sure that the rest of his cock was covered with heavenly soft skin, much like her warm, welcoming mouth. Wendy, on the other hand, took care of his testicles, massaging them, as much as he could with Velma's massive bosom in front of her. But that allowed her to sneak a few kisses not only to her boyfriend's cock, but also Velma's breasts, much to her surprise and excitement.

She let out a gasp when the other hand of the red-head found its way between Velma's legs and discovered that bra wasn't the only part of her attire that was missing. her finger slipped between her thick folds, forcing more moans to vibrate around Dipper's cock, only strengthening the moans coming from his lips.

- He's not gonna last much longer. - Wendy spoke - Yeah, I-I can tell tha-hey!

Velma protested when Wendy took her place, slobbering all over the cock that until recently made contact with mostly Velma's breasts. Velma watched as Wendy bobbed her head furiously up and down, making Dipper's legs twitch and writhe.

- Well, guess you could teach me a thing or two as well...

Wendy stopped and looked at her new friend and let go of her boyfriend's cock.

- Wanna try? It's really easy. - If you say so-

But Velma didn't have time to deliberate, as Wendy's hand grabbed her short hair and pressed her against Dipper's crotch, filling her mouth with him in an instant. The same aggressive after-taste and slight masculine smell now overwhelmed her senses, and the fact that Wendy wasn't letting her go, made her slightly dizzy...

When Wendy pulled her back, Velma only let out a soft "Jinkies!", that allowed her to take a breath, before Wendy impaled her on her boyfriend's cock again and again. Somewhere around her, she could hear Dipper's cries and moans, as well as soft kisses Wendy was planting around his abdomen. And with each minute of her impromptu "lesson", she could feel her lover's climax coming faster and faster.

- We-Velma!

Dipper cried and watched as Velma's eyes bulge out when first stream of thick cum floods her mouth. If she wasn't already feeling light-headed, then the new explosion of taste and smell has done it, sending her into  erotic stupor that made her suck more of his fluids...

But they weren't hers for long, as Wendy pulled her back  once more, this time to take what was rightfully hers. Velma was depraved of oxygen for the fifth or sixth time when Wendy pressed her lips against her, her tongue swirling around the dollop of thick cum in her mouth. But Velma wouldn't give up that easily, and soon the two redheads fought for Dipper's seed, until each received her share and could break their impromptu kiss.

- Oh... oh jinkiest of jinkies... - Velma groaned, swallowing last droplets of heavy load - I...I didn't expect that to happen to me... - Well, we're glad we could have helped you. What do you say, Dip?

But Dipper could pant, watching his girlfriend exchanged sloppy, cum-filled kiss with the stranger that just sucked him off.

- Hm, maybe he needs some encouragement to open his mouth.

Once more, Wendy took the initiative and closed her arms around Velma's body, only to effortlessly lift her legs into the air, exposing her glistening pussy hidden underneath her red skirt. And when Dipper saw it, he gladly leapt forward, having not one, but two of them to choose from. Wendy and Velma soon met face-to-face, as their pussies were pressed against each other, giving Dipper better access to both of them at the same time.

- Is-Is that how you spend every night with... er, what-what was the name of your friend? - Velma stuttered by sudden intrusion of Dipper's tongue between her folds - Ta-Tambry - Wendy wheezed, as Dipper dug his fingers into her sex - I wou-wouldn't wo-worry about her, though... We-We-ve been separated before...

And with that, their lips met again, just as Dipper continued to repay them for the mind-blowing blowjob he received.

===============

- So, you're also chasing ghosts? - Tambry gently rolled to her side, passing the joint to on of her new lovers. - Like, yeah! I mean we mostly run away that chase, and they usually end up not being ghosts. - Shaggy replied. - Ours usually are. Or are worse. Monsters, demons, that kind of stuff. - Jeepers! - Daphne exclaimed relaxing on top of Tambry's bosom, her usually perfect hair looking equally untidy as Shaggy's. - Your friends must be brave. - Yeah, they are.. - Tambry moaned, pressing her head against her breasts - Maybe we can go on some joined expedition one day...

Tambry let out a deep moan, as she drifted off to a well-deserved slumber, knowing Wendy and Dipper were in good hands.

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 4 Part 9

Next part!

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey Saturday April 20

What had he said again ? I won't protect you anyway. Right. Fucking joke. Who the hell had he tried to fool ? His past self would've laugh so much at his actual self. He was fucking ridiculous. He perfectly knew Lucy the whore had something in mind. She and bitchy Miranda wanted to catch Liam, he had no doubt about that. Pretty obvious that the loser would take Doll man. They even bring along a third weel for Fatty roommate. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey had all the reason in the world to go there and fuck the two dickhead right away. So why on earth was he hidden behind a fucking tree ? Why the hell was he only watching for afar uh ? Oh yeah the plan. Because Liam thought he could deal with that alone, the Dean's grandson had decided to trust him. What an idiot I am. Anyway, it would be good for his boyfriend if he was able to do something by himself. It would help his confidence. And a confident Liam was a ballsy and naughty Liam. A win-win situation. If only the baboon manage to escape the so-called witch, that is. The group headed towards the subway and he followed suit. He observed them through a newspaper, which attracted the attention of two old hags. Want to suck my dick ? I'm already dying of embarassment, don't make it harder. For now, Lucy was doing most of the conversation. Miranda tried to cling on to Liam, but he slipped away. Nice one babe. Eventually, they arrived at their destination : a fancy restaurant, which also had a dance hall. Would you believe ! Fuck the site which had revealed the baboon was a walking stomach.

"Sir are you alone ?"

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey glared at the waiter.

"What do you think moron ? One table, and not far from this group."

The idiot looked at the pointed direction and made a face. Oh please.

"I'm sorry but..."

"Here's my ID. My family owns this place. Any other remark ?"

"No of course not. Follow me sir."

Yes, the junior knew this poor waiter only did his job. But damn he was just so pissed. I'll contact him later for sex. Hope it will make it even.

To say Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was interested by the way Liam ate was completly wrong. It just happened in front of him so often that he became used to watch. Speaking of, watching the baboon from afar made the junior almost moan in public. Almost. Fuck that. I hate this world. Liam wasn't a messy eater at all. Quite the opposite actually : he had a certain charm and timidy while eating. He always started by his less favorite dish, and at a slow pace. Throughout his meal, his speed would increase. The baboon made always a point at being well-groomed and now wasn't an exception. From his spot, Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey observed him licking his lips several times. And damnit that was hot. The idiotic girls gave many plates to the baboon but they didn't feed him, which probably saved their life from the junior's wrath. Liam's body language was graceful, with no useless movement. His eyes. They're shining so much it blinds me from here. Damn. Damn. The waiter didn't comment on the Dean's grandson weird behavior, but he obviously saw his hard-on. You would be aroused too if your boyfriend was that hot ! Fuck you. Around the fourth or fifth plate (nobody counts those), another thing happened. Liam's belly started to grow. It was nothing but Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was staring too much to not notice. The baboon had always been attractive. His recently acquired chubbiness made him even more handsome. And when he started to get stuffed... This is terrible.

"Sir, do you want anything with your coffee ?" asked the ever-patient waiter.

Man. I just... Fuck.

"You. Me. Bathroom for a quickie. Is that fucking alright ?" the blond lad suggested.

"We can do that." smiled the other.

When he came back in the room, he felt calmed. His desires were temporaly satisfied and the waiter had been nice enough to forgive him for his rudeness. After that, I'm sure he would've offered me the moon. Fatty roommate was still at their table with Third weel. As for Liam, the two bitches dragged him and Doll Man to the dance floor. For now, the baboon was barely moving, just watching them wriggle like two turkeys. Maybe I should go there and put an end to this ridiculous date ? Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's phone suddenly rang.

"Best spy of the world to biggest penis of the world." said Nancy when he answered. "Got news for you."

"I'm listenning."

"I managed to track the IP of the moderator of the site in Canada." she revealed. "His name is George Blikes."

One dead man. I swear once I find you dude.

"But that's not all." Nancy continued. "I did a check of his background and bingo ! George is Samy's ex from highschool. Officially they're not in contact anymore but it's easy to keep these things secrets now."

"Samy." Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey muttered.

This... Fucking braindead asshole. Stupid fuckup. She would never see the light again. I need to call D.R. That could wait. Once his boyfriend safe, he would pay the asshole a visit. A very awaited visit. However, he had another problem at hands. Because his boyfriend just broke Lucy's nose with a probably deserved but yet violent punch in the face.

Liam Saturday April 20

"Are you sure you don't wanna dance ?" asked Lucy for the third time.

"I'm fine thanks." the lad politely declined.

Throughout lunch, he had understood two things. Firstly, the witch intented to charm him in order to corrupt his energy. This way, she would poison the unicorns and kill them. Secondly, the force of lights were stronger than he had imagined. It's no surprise the unicorns sent Colton to help me. His friend's dance was so graceful that it fascinated the human sacrifice named Miranda. And Nick was distracting the other, a girl Lucy introduced as Velma. The chestnut lad himself was well-fed and in top form. I can focus on our main ennemy : the witch. She smiled to him.

"Tell me pretty boy, I heard from a friend you were into food games a lot. I have an offer for you." she suggested. "I'll let you do things to me for each additionnal plate you eat. How does it sound ?"

Very evil ? He had yet to find a way to defeat her without violence. Maybe he needed to reason her...

"It's tempting." he lied. "At least the food part."

I wonder what Damian would think about that. Liam could do many things to him while stuffing his face with delicious cuisine. Maybe stripping him one clothe after the other for each plate he finished... And why not make bolder and bolder caresses, going closer to his intimate parts...

"You're dribbling." Lucy hissed. "Are you that much of a feedee ?"

The young lad blushed. Whatever he had been thinking was better forgotten. Or not. (He mentally decided to keep the idea for latter). Anyway back to the main topic. He had a witch to beat.

"Why're you doing this ?" he asked. "What did they promise you in exchange ?"

She blinked, seemingly confused.

"Can't a woman woo a man she finds attractive ?" she countered. "You're my type you know ?"

"C'mon I know you've a purpose... Do you know this is bad ? You shouldn't force people to do things they don't want. You look like a nice girl, you should follow the right path."

He was kinda proud of his little speech. Let's hope it'll make her change her mind. Lucy frowned and took several seconds to think. Maybe something was bothering her ?

"Is it about the money ?" she finally asked. "We can share if that's what you want."

The forces of evil hired her of course. Maybe it was Liam's own father who did such a malevolent thing ?

"Sorry but you won't corrupt me that easily. I don't want any dirty money. And you neither, it only brings problem. What if the cops are after you ?"

He was convinced the police were an army enterily built by the unicorns to maintain order. Lucy grunted.

"Nobody has to know. It'll be fast, just some photo and we're good..." she mutterred. "Don't be a prick."

The chestnut lad was about to decline (again) when his phone rang. Surprisingly, it was his sister Chloe. What is it ? She never calls unless it's important.

"Sorry but I need to take that." he said.

He entered in the bathroom to talk peacefully. A groggy waiter was leaving, but otherwise, it was empty.

"Hi sis." he answered.w "Is everything okay ?"

A muffled noise told him it was not. He had been knowing Chloe for the fifteen years of her life and he could count on one hand the times she had cried. Even as a baby, she had been way more tough than Luka or him. The last time he heard her sobbing was when he had been accused of manslaughter. It was a sound he resented. A sound he was hearing now.

"Chloe ? What it is ? Can you talk ?"

She only cried louder. He cursed his own helplessness. Why was he here and not with her ? What a stupid big brother ! Stop that Liam. Now is not the time to lament on yourself. She needs you.

"I'm here sis. Right here." he assured. "You can cry as much as you want, I won't leave until you're feeling better."

"It's silly." she mumbled. "Sorry for worrying you."

Don't be. Don't do that. She had always been very mature and serious. A commom joke between them was to call her mother number two. But Liam would always worry about her. She was still a teenager. In light of his past actions, she had often kept her feelings for herself to not put any additional pressure on him. That was his beautiful and strong sister, who always protected him.

"I..." she whispered. "I just miss mom. That's stupid isn't it ? I lost a race today and I was so disappointed. I needed someone to talk but heck, all my friends are in another town. My mother is in another town. And I can't call her when I'm like that. She'll blow a fuse and come right away."

He never hated his family's situation more than at this moment.

"Can I tell you my day ?" she asked. "Just for a moment and I'll be fine."

"Whatever you want sis. Whatever you want."

When he left the bathroom, Liam had only one desire. To sleep. Even if it was only three in the afternoon and he had work later. Chloe was feeling better, which was a plus, but it only made him realise how everything was still so... wrong. She's way stronger than me that's for sure. However, the freshman barely got the time to breath. Lucy alsmot went for his throat.

"Welcome back handsome." she chirped. "What took so long ?"

"That's not your business." he replied. "And I'm sorry but I need to go."

He could feel an headache incoming. I'm so tired.

"Certainly not." the girl said. "I didn't suck my ego to hit on a dumbass like you for nothing. Come here."

She grabbed her arm and tried to lead him towards the bathroom. Which was ridiculous because he was bigger and heavier.

"Let me go please." he asked. "I'm not in the mood for anything you want to do."

Lucy ignored him. She strengthened her grip, making him wince in pain. He tried to free himself, but the girl suddenly pushed him on the wall. Her hands find a way to his crotch. And that was the final straw. He has enough of her, her scheme and her rudeness. Couldn't she let him alone ?! Pushed by his instinct, he did what he thought necessary to made her back off. He distincly heard a loud crack when his fist smashed her face open. He felt more than he saw everyone looking at them. He heard her scream of pain. And his slow brain realised he was doing another panic attack.

"You hit me in the face !" she yelled.

All he noticed was the blood. He heard thunder. Someone shouted.

"Kilian !"

No. No no no. A familiar head of blond hair ran towards him. He was back one year ago on this road. The young lad paniced. He knocked whoever tried to grab him over. He glanced at the exit. It wasn't far. Maybe he could go for it.

"Liam Strucker, you're charged of manslaughter by the present tribunal. What do you plead ?"

The chesnut lad ran. His legs moved on their own.

"What do you plead ?"

The crack of Lucy's bones resonated in his mind. He pushed the door and hurtled in the street. He had no time to lose. He needed to go the farthest possible.

"What do you plead ?"

Guilty. I'm guilty of everything. I hurt Kilian. I destroyed my family. I hurt Lucy. I did all that.

Nicolas Saturday April 20

The not-a-date rendez-vous went from 0 to 100 in a split second. The young lad was discreetly trying to play at pokemon while Velma was making the conversation when they heard the scream. The first thing he noticed was Liam's fist, covered in blood. Lucy fell on her knees, writhed in pain. Holy shit. Everything went crazy. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey left his hideout (not that he was very discreet to begin with) and rushed towards his boyfriend. But this one didn't hear him. He jostled a waiter and ran to the door. Nick barely had the time to get up before his roommate disappeared in the street. What the hell was that ?

"He hit me !" shouted Lucy. "That fucking moron hit me !"

Her friends were already at her side. Miranda was agitated, while Velma only watched from afar. Something is wrong.

"What took him ?" asked Colton. "He's usually better at handling his emotions."

"Dunno dude." the geek replied.

They both came closer. Her nose is broken. That's not pretty.

"He'll hear about me !" Lucy assured. "I swear to god, I will report him ! This prey is crazy ! The hunt is not worth it."

Nick froze. What did she just say ? Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey ordered her to shut the fuck up. He then turned to the boys.

"Doll man, Fatty roommate. We need to find him before he does something even stupider. Any ideas ?"

Colton answered, but the dark-haired freshman didn't listen. The hunt ? His brain was thinking fast. Imagenius talked about a reward. And Beauty admitted her boss was Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey... Is it possible that Liam is the prey ? Is he being used ? It would explain why a lot of their fellow students were interested in him. (Yes Liam was hot, but nobody was hot enough to interest that many people, except maybe this soccer player Muller something).

"Earth to fatty roommate !" yelled the Dean's grandson to get his attention. "Colton is going to the park and I go to Pasta's Place just in case. You go back to your apartment. If he's not here, check with Nate if he has any idea. Okay ?"

Nick ogled him. Could he be only involved for the reward ? Now wasn't the time to think about it. They needed to find Liam. But I will clear that mess up...

When he arrived at the apartment, the dark-haired lad knew Liam would be there. A trail of broken trash can said it all. He entered silently, hoping to find his friend in a better mood than half an hour ago.

"What the hell happened back there dude ?"

Nick shrieked like a girl when a tall shadow blocked his view. A monster !! He heard the sound of chewing.

"Woah chill pal. It's me."

He finally noticed Archie. For someone his size, this damn footballer could be very discreet. He scared the hell out of me that bastard. It wasn't unusual for him to come over and talk with Nate when they were away. He's a friend of Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey... I wonder if he's a hunter ?

"So ?"

"Liam freaked out because of what Lucy did." explained Nick. "I don't know the specifics, but it was related to the hunt or something ? He paniced."

If Archie knew something, he hid it well. He looked at the geek with his two big eyes and grabbed an handful of crips.

"Damn that sucks." he said. "Nate is with him right now so Imma get going. Text me if there is anything I can do."

"Sure."

Nick waited an hour before he sent a text to Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey. To let my poor roommate breathe. Then, himself knocked at Liam's door. Nate opened and outlined a brief smile. Behind him, it was pretty clear that their friend had fallen asleep. He had work tonight, but maybe her boss would be cool about it. Once he was sure everything was under control, the dark-haired lad headed to his bedroom. He heard the Dean's grandson strom into the apartment, but it wasn't his problem anymore. I have a more urgent business. There is something really weird going on and I want to find what. It was for Liam's safety but also to satisfy his curiousity.

*TheSavior opened a private chat with Abeautifulwoman*

< TheSavior : Yo. >

< Abeautifulwoman : You put a period ! Is it your diet ? Look idk how fat you are but I'm sure you can get rid of a few kilo easy peasy ! I believe in yu boss ! >

Yeah I'll come back to you about that. Until now, he hated this whole diet idea with his whole being. But it was necessary.

< TheSavior : It had nothing to do with my diet. I want you to tell me what the hunt is about. >

< Abeautifulwoman : Not you too... Bro I swear this is a dangerous thing. You don't want to be involved >

She already said that to Imagenius. But Nick had more or less understood what it was about. He only needed confirmation.

< TheSavior : Look beauty. My friend is Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's boyfriend. From what I witnessed today and in the past weeks, I can tell there are a lot of people after him. I know your boss is a hunter, and I know he's not very sympatic, but I do hope he likes me a bit. All I want is to know what is going on. Is my roommate not safe ? Is it Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey's fault ? >

< Abeautifulwoman : ... Who are you ? How can I be sure you're Sav ? This is too much of a coincidence. Are you working for Samy ?! Just know that we're after you. D.R and us won't let you get away with it. >

< TheSavior : are you serious right now ? >

*Abeautifulwoman is disconnected*

The fuck ? Seriously ?! Nick grunted. That idiot ! But if it was a big deal, he could understand her distrust. It hurts, but she gave him some info to work with anyway. Samy uh ? And D.R... He didn't like the idea of Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey being a manipulative asshole who was using Liam. He doesn't even look the part. But it was a possibility. He needed to investigate more... Nick would know everything about the hunters and the famous hunt.

To be continued

When you’re hunting, and the prey is way stronger than you.

Lucy is stupid but no, I don’t encourage violence of any kind. Liam wasn’t right, but he’s human, and it’s well know he can’t control his emotions very well.

Nick is going to the end of it. He will. Maybe! 

[ruhrohcantthinkofagoodusername]

My thoughts (not that anybody cares) about SCOOB!

When I first heard they were making a new theatrical Scooby-Doo film, I was over-joyed and enthusiastic, especially at the prospect of it being Scooby’s first animated theatrical film. Very slight dismay came over me as I heard the title was Scoob, which is kind of stupid to me, and the fact it was CG which I felt both excited and bummed out about in all honesty.

Every year, Pixar, Dreamworks, and a slew of other studies fill our theaters with 3D animated films, some good, some bad, but all CGI, with the very few exceptions of adaptations of popular animated shows, (MLP, SpongeBob (I wrote this bit in before the trailer debuted), and TTG). While risking the prospect of sounding like an anger-filled, nostalgia-blinded boy, I do miss the traditionally animated films. We do have television and most of Japanese produced animation, which consistently animates traditionally, and that’s great that it is exposed to people every day and keeps it from being a forgotten art, but an American television budget only goes so far. Animation cycles repeat, inconsistencies are abrupt and apparent, there are huge disadvantages to having a television or a direct-to-video budget, and to me, a show that is the pinnacle of animation errors, (@scoobydoomistakes) getting a full-fledged chance to show its progress and its (insert better word than clout) would be such a great success story to me. However, Scooby-Doo never having CGI adventures outside of videogames, lego movies, and the one-off commercials allowed me to suspend my anger towards the animation industry’s seemingly permeant gravitational pull towards computer-generated products and be excited to see how the characters looked.

Seeing the characters and their movements, I feel delighted about how cute and fluid they look, I feel the art is going to be very visually pleasing, the child designs being a huge highlight. In the tradition of humanity, I tend to accentuate the negative.

For much of Scooby-Doo, there has been a two-by-two factors of the human’s and their designs. Boy/Girl and serious/goofy looking. If you doubt this take a look at the Mook animated films and see how Shaggy and Velma look nearly the same just glossier versions, while Fred and Daphne look like anime-refugees. I am not a huge fan of this type of divide, but I like it much better than having Shaggy as an odd-man out which the upcoming movie does. I also feel that Velma’s design is much too cute, her hair is too bright, and her racial status thus far is too ambiguous. I also don’t have any problem with Fred’s design, which I know almost everybody hates but I think it’s fine.

The next piece of information I heard was the idea of this being the beginning a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, which is, not going to happen I bet. I love Hanna-Barbera and I would love to see it re-enter the American consciousness, but this trend has only worked for Marvel and the phrase is just cringe inducing in all honesty. I am perfectly fine with just a plain, huge crossover, but the term is a little saddening and reminds too much of my ideas on how to fix the DC universe (a WHOLE another thing their). Also Hanna-Barbera filled with such complicated properties, such diversity from talking animals to teen detectives to little village people to time-displaced fifties-styled families, yet for every show you have at least four clones of it, that a universe is just a little hard to market and think of.

I am alright with a big huge crossover, but it is fairly odd with what they have chosen to use with Hanna-Barbera’s other huge property seemingly ignored (The Flintstones) along with most of their action shows like Space Ghost and Johnny Quest, not to mention the funny animal erasure that built Hanna-Barbera. Also with Hanna-Barbera being synonymous with television animation, not to mention their previous flaws with theatrical releases, I would like to build their roots of a universe in a television set.

The next information I heard of was the cast and this at first was fine with me. I know this isn’t a permeant fix, the regular cast is still going to be in shows and DTV movies. I do largely hate the idea of using celebrity actors as voice actors in general it’s an annoying marketing gimmick and it’s obnoxious when you have a perfectly fine cast which put it much more in the negative category for me, but I could accept the change as I do want people to see the movie and this isn’t the first time abrupt cast changes in Scooby-Doo have happened. I also feel there is a big difference between Scooby-Doo getting a new cast for a theatrical release and another property like Teen Titans Go! which got to keep their cast. It is not like there is a long lasting series or animation style that would make a theatrical film have a strong basis; Scooby-Doo is constantly changing which makes it much more flexible in terms of casting.

Then Matthew Lillard tweeted his anger and not even being told about the change, which made a lot of people angry, including me. I did not feel that sympathetic to him in all honesty, if only because of a teensy-little incident he got into where a fan at a meetup asked him to perform Shaggy’s voice; he refused and proceeded to call them childish on twitter and the fact he has stated shame on doing the movies at times. I still feel angered at the animation industry as a whole for prioritizing celebrities. Grey Griffin, a forefront voice of millions of children, one of the most diverse voices ever, has only been in eight theatrical films, while Scarlett Johansson has voice-acted in five theatrical films. I hate this and wish, people would wise up and not feel excitement about seeing hearing a celebrity since there are very few that are actually that good at voice acting in general.

The plot form what I gathered from the trailer, which in all honesty wasn’t a lot, it seems to be fine, the only problem I have is with Shaggy’s separation from Fred, Daphne, and Velma in terms of plot wise. It’s very much used to make Scooby and Shaggy have a divide between them and the rest of the gang, but I just don’t like it. I understand most children will like it that way, and the movie’s main focus will be a boy and his dog relationship, but in all honesty I would prefer Shaggy to have deeper relationships with the human member of the gang.

That’s about all I have, and I realize a lot of this seems negative and rambling, but I just like to focus on it, it’s my bad that I do this, but it’s in my blood. I don’t have much else to say, largely since we’ve just gotten a teaser trailer, but I’m sure I’ll like it just fine despite it all.

[bluboothalassophile]

Love all of your jayrae fics! Was wondering if you would please be able to write a fix about raven and Roy's friendship or how they get along?

Hello,

I actually have a long story for them going, Yee Naaldlooshi, so I hope you enjoy Chapter 2! 

Featuring a cross over with the Mystery Inc Gang!

The Ranch...

Raven stood in Durango, Colorado, the wind tugging on her braid as she felt ancient magic pulsing through the grounds she stood on. It was rather quaint, and beautiful here, they were at a gas station by the river, which was gently rolling on by. She leaned on the hood of the car, looking at the scenery around her, it wasn’t like anything she’d ever seen outside of old westerns.

Lian was giggling as she ran towards her, and Raven smiled as she caught the girl.

“Rae! Lookie!” she ordered holding up a keychain.

“It’s lovely sweetie,” Raven said. The pure innocent joy Lian had was infectious and soothing on Rae’s empathy.

“Daddy say I can give it to his…bwoder,” Lian said.

“Brother,” Raven corrected. “And it’ll be a lovely gift.”

“Think he’ll like me?” Lian whispered in a loud hushed tone.

“I think it’d be hard for him not to like you,” Raven said.

“Ready to hit the road ladies?” Roy appeared then.

“Yeah,” Lian giggled in delight as Raven loaded her up into the car. Twisting around Raven pulled up the buckles for the carseat and tapped Lian’s nose lightly when she was all secure; her keychain clutched firmly in her hands.

“We’re forty minutes out from Farmington, and I think twenty from your aunt’s farm,” Roy said.

Raven said nothing to that.

“Family’s not bad, Rae,” Roy pointed out starting up the car.

“I have a family,” she pointed out. “And I don’t, Roy I’ll never be able to live with myself if something happens to them because of me. At least Victor, Harley and Ivy can take care of themselves. Alice and them, they can’t.”

“Hey, I get it, but they’re your family, you’ll need to accept that one day.”

“I do accept it, which was why I was willing to stay away.”

“Family doesn’t do that, trust me, and Jason for that matter, on this. They don’t disappear just because it’d be easy or convenient for you.

“I could wish, right?” she sighed.

“No,” he chuckled. “It’ll be fine, Rae. It’ll be fun!”

Raven knew that she and Roy had drastically different opinions on what was and was not fun. She had a feeling that this was about as fun for her as Artemis and Wally’s wedding would be for Roy. Not that he had a bad relationship with his family, but rather he and Artemis butted heads all the time, and Wally was his best friend marrying a girl who was like his little sister. Rae saw the reasons for Roy’s discomfort about the wedding, but they were going.

 Once they were on the road again Raven watched the scenery as Lian talked about everything she wanted to do. She was mostly fascinated with the idea of horses, she wanted to ride one. Roy thought it was amusing and said he’d look into if Bird still had the horses for her to ride.

“You never said how you were tied to the tribes,” Raven said when Lian had fallen asleep and they drew near the Reservations. She could feel Roy’s tensions building.

“My dad, my biological dad, not Ollie, he was a Game Warden, he and my biological mom had me kind of young, it didn’t work out well. His second wife was a part of the tribe, Catherine was a sweetheart,” Roy admitted.

“What happened?”

“She died, Dad stayed on the Res with her family, so did I, and then dad died, and well, you know, I’m a fuck up,” Roy muttered the last bit more to himself than her.

“You’re not,” Raven said softly. He turned to look at her, and she smiled a bit. “We all mess up, make mistakes, do things we regret,” she said softly.

“Yeah, but, black out drunk, I think I killed Bird’s dad,” he said.

“I don’t think so,” Raven said levelly. “You’re not a killer Roy.”

“You sure about that? I am an Outlaw,” he said roguishly.

“Positive, it takes a killer to know a killer,” Raven said levelly. Roy was safe, he wasn’t afraid to take lethal action if push came to shove, but he worked so hard on not doing that. He did hand out crippling injuries, but he had never killed a single person as far as the knew.

“I think Thea and Brave Bow would disagree with you,” he said levelly.

“I don’t think so.”

“Rae, you’re not always right,” he pointed out.

“Maybe not, but I am right about this, Roy Harper. You are no killer.” She stated.

They turned onto a dusty road and Raven blinked; not seeing a street sign.

“Are you sure this is the road?” she sputtered.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“There’s no name,” she started.

“A lot of the roads aren’t marked; it’s just… just pay attention to where we’re going and we’ll be good.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Mary-Beth was bored. She was very bored.

Not that she didn’t like visiting her mother’s ranch, but she preferred life on Long Island with all her friends, and schooling.

They had come out here though for a few months, because her mom’s right hand man, John Trujillo, who was in charge of the while they were in New York, had called about a problem. Apparently an oil company wanted to take mom’s family land, so the dispute wasn’t pretty.

However, Alice had also managed to invite Rachel here for a weekend; that was a massive feat apparently which had her mother reorganizing and redecorating the guest rooms repeatedly.

The house her family lived in was built by her grandfather Alan, when he had settled in New Mexico. Her grandmother, Oolijee had refused to leave her family lands, so her grandfather had asked to build her a house. It was a massive house, seven bedrooms, five washrooms, plumbing, electricity, a huge kitchen, open porch and massive windows around to see the mountains. It was a nice house, and there were huge stables, and a nice house for the ranch hands to live in too. She knew it was nice, very nice, and well maintained, her grandfather had operated the property into a solid ranch; much to her grandmother’s delight, and kept it prosperous. It was a beautiful property, even her great-grandfather who had held nothing but disdain at best for her grandfather, had been impressed.

Mary looked up from her phone when John appeared at the foot of the stairs leading towards the house.

“Miss Roth,” he said softly.

“Mom’s in the guestrooms preparing for cousin Rachel and her friends,” she said to him. He nodded.

John Trujillo was a very intimidating man, a hard face, with dark eyes. He looked like the warriors of old honestly, even with his long hair styled like a mohawk. She didn’t understand why her mother had hired him, but the man was terrifying. So soft spoken and good with animals. Mary looked out at the expanse of nothing for miles until the mountains and sighed.

She was bored and there was no cell service!

~~~*~*~*~~~

John Trujillo was walking out of the house when an old car pulled up in a cloud of dust. He had gone to Alice because one of the ranch hand’s son had gone missing; Shiye was a good young lad but he was missing all the same, which was something of a concern. Alice had said to take out search parties, but to keep it quiet in case the person who had done the abduction was watching. She had also suggested ramping up security, which he agreed with.

John watched as a young woman got out of the car first. She had many piercings on her ears, that he could see, large sunglasses perched on her nose, long loose black hair that seemed to fall however it pleased around her, and a face of contradictions. She looked like Angela, he thought, and she looked very familiar. He couldn’t place his finger on why she looked familiar but she did.

She walked next to a tall man with red hair and a lean build, who was holding a black hair toddler with bright green eyes.

“Are you sure this is the place Roy?” the woman asked, her voice was a voice meant for seduction. Smokey, graveled, and beautiful, now he recognized her.

The Raven.

It had been many decades since he had last seen her. She was a beautiful young woman, he didn’t need her to remove her glasses to know those dark eyes were raking over him, assessing him to be a threat or alley.

“Well, it’s the right place, cous,” Mary’s voice said behind him.

“It’s nice to see you again Mary-Beth,” the Raven’s voice said smoothly.

“Rachel,” Mary said tightly. “This is mom’s right hand, and the head of the Ranch, John Trujillo,” Mary introduced him. “John, this is Rachel Roth, my Aunt Angela’s daughter.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” the Raven said holding her hand out.

He didn’t touch the empath as he tilted his head a bit in acknowledgement before walking by her. She was a small, slight woman and he saw those dark eyes watch him as walked by.

If the Raven was here then whatever was taking the children wasn’t no damn coyote; he would bet her arrival to mean the supernatural was stirring once again.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Shaggy didn’t struggle under Daphne’s bags as they walked to the car she had rented them to meet up with Fred and Velma.

A lot had changed over the years, but the jobs for PIs never really did. Daphne ran her blog, built her name up as a reporter, while Velma was still into all sorts of science work that he didn’t understand, and Fred was a budding author.

And he… well, when he wasn’t a PI he actually was a chef, at a restaurant he had opened up back in Coolsville. He’d have stayed in Louisiana, but he just couldn’t. Besides, yearly visits to check in on Grimwood Academy were taken and he got to see everything going on down at the plantation. The school had decided to plant Moonscar Island Chili Peppers. He had acquired Moonscar Island after Simone Lenoir’s and Lena Dupree’s ‘disappearance. Special Agent Beau Neville had all but begged him to so no one else got drawn into the weir voodoo.

Shaggy had because his own family’s plantation was close enough that acquiring the island was just an expansion of his plantation.

Yes, he kept his family’s ancient money and plantations a secret from the gang but he didn’t know how they’d look at him if they knew. Daphne knew, but her family was insanely rich and Mayflower old in the states with their wealth. Shaggy’s family was mostly French and had settled in New Oreleans area, it was because his mom married a Yank that he had grown up in Coolsville rather than on the family plantation.

“You’re here!” Fred shouted in glee, Velma smiled.

“We figured we’d pick you up at the airport rather than making you drive all the way up,” Velma said as she got out of the Mystery van.

“RELMA!” Scooby bellowed as he pounced her in glee.

“Thanks!” Daphne said.

“Yeah, thanks!” Shaggy grinned as Fred took some of the bags that belonged to Daphne.

“Just like old times,” Fred said.

“She doesn’t pack less,” Shaggy muttered as they packed up the van. The gang took their normal seats, he was sitting with Scooby as they looked over the custom Scooby snacks Velma had picked up for them.

“It is a weird case, and no one’s digging into it,” Velma said.

“Why not?”

“Alice said they don’t look into reservation problems and there aren’t enough cops on the reservation to look into this, and all the leads are dead ends,” Fred said.

“That’s sad,” Daphne said.

“Yeah,” Shaggy agreed as Scooby’s head rested on his shoulder. He didn’t like solving mysteries, but they did make him feel like he was giving something back to life by solving them.

Despite the PTS, anxiety and his ADHD going off the wall when they worked them.

[lokibug]

A Sight For Sore Eyes

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Fem!Reader

Summary: You need new glasses due to your old ones breaking. Tom also happens to be at the eye doctor you’re at. Your bad eye sight doesn’t allow you to properly identify him.

Warning(s): None

A/N: This is my very first Tom story! I hope it came out well, I’ve had this idea for quite sometime. Enjoy my little blind birdies

“Excuse me, do you know when Dr. Calder will get here?” You huffed as you stood next to the marble counter. You couldn’t quite be sure if you were making eye contact with the woman behind the front desk computer or not.

“Ma’am, we’ve already said that Dr. Calder is our on her lunch break. She is possibly running late. If you could please take a seat in the waiting room, we have a selection of magazines.” She commented.

You clenched and unclenched your fists as you mentally cursed at her.

“Susan, was it—“ you didn’t allow her to correct you, “—There’s two things wrong with that statement. One, you said that two hours ago. Two, this is the eye doctor’s office where people come for glasses. As you can see before you, I do not have any on. Now, tell me...is that magazine still looking good?” You take a deep breathe before heading back towards your seat. Yes, you knew this might’ve been harsh, but in your own defense, you haven’t been able to see in the past week. Without your glasses you lived like Velma without hers. What was once beautiful trees and books, were now giant blobs of green and what looked like ants crushed on pieces of bright printed paper. Thanks to a very interesting holiday party and your roommate’s highly intoxicated cousin, your glasses were obliterated beneath a boot. Soon after you scheduled an eye appointment with your doctor.

Now here you were, fuming. The headaches were becoming too exhausting and one of your favorites hobbies was almost impossible. At least you weren’t the only one waiting, there had been someone else in the corner of the waiting room. Their features weren’t something you could make out, let alone determine if they noticed you trying to notice them.

“You’re also waiting for one of the doctors, yes?” The voice spoke out to you. A man, yes. You believed.

Clearing your throat you nodded looking at the blob, “Yes. For the past two hours actually.”

He nodded, “Myself as well. I just happened to step out for a quick phone call here and there. Are they reliable doctors?” He questioned.

“Mine is, really understanding and explains things really well. I usually don’t mind waiting—I just, I can’t see much of anything. I actually apologize but, I can’t really see you clearly enough.” You looked down and chuckled.

“That sounds horrid. I’m sorry about that, actually. I only ask since I’m not from here, but I’ve had an accident at work in which my glasses had um...fallen to the ground and unfortunately, beneath a golf cart tire.” He spoke with a slight chuckle. He had an accent, British. He voice was soothing. Well, as soothing as a voice of a stranger’s could be.

“Oh no,” you stifled a chuckle, “that’s horrible. Don’t feel too bad. I was clumsy with mine too. My roommate’s cousin accidentally knocked them off my coffee table and stepped on them. I left them in the midst of a party.”

Your hands rested among your thighs and you tried to stay in eye contact with the man.

“Ah, I don’t feel quite as foolish. N-Not that you are. I just mean—“

“Don’t worry pretty blob, I’m not offended.”

“Pretty blob?” He questioned arching an eyebrow. You could hear the confusion in his voice clearly.

You smirked, “I mean, I can’t see the intricate details of your face right now but I can see the colors you’re wearing and that your hair isn’t styled too crazy. You look pretty dapper from my point of view.”

Maybe it was the fact that you couldn’t see clearly, but your confidence was kicked up a few notches.

“Heh, I’m flattered. You’re quite the sight for sore eyes, yourself ma’am.” A warmth immediately rose to your cheeks. You glanced at your feet and back up raising your eyebrows.

“Ma’am makes me feel a little old, please call me y/n.” You insisted.

“Y/N,” he stood to his feet and took your hand in his, “Thomas, it’s nice to make your acquaintance, even under such circumstances.” He chuckled lightly. “Do you mind if I sit?” He motioned towards the seat closer to you.

You shook your head, “Not at all. So, is your eyesight enough to indulge in one of these magazines?”

Soon, your small conversation transformed to one of many points. The first being of the falsely hood of magazine articles written about celebrities. You had taken over mostly in this subject, Thomas just so happened to be a great listener. When the topic of favorite books came up however, he was very detailed with the passion he carried towards them. It was very impressing and left you intrigued in a way another human had never. Well, at least in something as simple as literature. Then again, in the way you were able to discuss it with him, it was something very far from the word simple.

He spoke of home, after you mentioned his accent. He even indulged in saying random words you had asked him to.

“Mayonnaise.” He said with a little hint of sex appeal.

“Oh yes, that’s the stuff right there.” You giggled into your palm.

“Your smile is far too beautiful to be hidden, love.” He said casually, as if you had heard it often.

He had done it again. Simple, yet extraordinary. He mentioned that he had done an audio book before and you made a mental note to try to search for it in the future.

He asked more about you, being the gentleman that he was. Despite being able to not see clearly, you could tell his full attention was upon you.

It just so happened, that you two had far more in common than you had expected. It amazed both of you just how much two people could agree. Of course disagreement was bound to happen, but you we’re enticed to his amount of maturity.

After another hour passed that you two hadn’t even noticed, the doctor had come through the door.

“Y/N, hi. I’m sincerely apologize, I had to pick up my son and there was immense amounts of traffic. Follow me, I’ll take care of you straight away.” She walked towards the back.

You faced you’re new found friend, well flirty friend, “If I don’t see you when I leave, it was great speaking with you. Really.” Your hand was extended.

Suddenly he gently took it in his and placed a soft kiss to the back of it, “The pleasure was mine, y/n.”

Thomas had been slightly hesitant to ask for further contact at the moment. He wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea of his phone number being out. Watching you leave, he realized he was willing to take the chance.

As you were taking the tests, you were still thinking about him. It was odd but, he seemed familiar. In a way you couldn’t explain, you felt as if you had encountered him before. Perhaps he reminded you of a character you’ve read about somewhere? It must’ve.

“Alright, you’re all set. I’ve also taken it upon myself to get the glasses done already. They were done early. Nothing in your vision has altered much, but these should do the trick.” The doctor spoke before handing you your new pair of glasses.

You swiftly put them on and sighed happily. You could see everything clearly and your mind was at ease. They looked stylish as well, much to your liking. You hoped Thomas was still out there, now you could properly see him.

“Hey um, Denise?” You addresses your doctor by her name since you two were quite familiar.

“Yeah?”

“You’ve never had that man out there as a patient, have you?” You questioned, pushing up your glasses a bit.

“No, you think I’d forget a name like that?” She chuckled as she adjusted her coat.

“What do you mean?” You asked.

“His name. He’s an actor. Ya know, Loki. He played the villain in avengers. He was in that one monkey movie.” She said as if it were obvious. Suddenly you put two and two together. No wonder you had recognized his voice so well. Thomas, that was his full name.

“I uh, thanks Denise. I’ll see you for my next time—“

“Wait, are we still on for coffee?”

“Yeah, next Tuesday.” You said with a smile before exiting the small room with your new sight. You couldn’t guarantee if he’d still be around.

You pushed through the door of the waiting room, with a thud it hit someone’s shoulder.

“Oh I’m sorry—“

“I’m sorry.” Tom had spoke stepping back a bit.

Just then you connected all his features, his face matched his voice. Lovely. This was your chance. You stood tall and cleared your throat, “I um.” You chuckled nervously. “You’re still here.”

His own expression matched yours, “I am. I like the glasses,” he smirked, “I think a proper introduction should be stated since you can actually see me now,” he chuckled, “I’m Thomas, I also go by Tom.” You shook his hand again.

“I’m Y/N, but you’ve seen that all along.” You rocked back and forth on your heels.

“Well, Miss y/n...I stood here because I had a question to ask. I um, I’ll be around for quite some time and I wanted to know if you’d like to possibly get together again?”

Your heart was beating a bit faster. You couldn’t believe that he actually took as much interest in you, as you had in him.

“Mhm, yes, I mean. I’d like that.” You smiled, “Would you like my phone number?”

“Yes, yes, please. I’ll put mine in your phone as well.” He smiled as you two exchanged phones.

After typing and retrieving your phone back you smiled at each other.

“It was nice meeting you, Tom.”

“Until next time.” He reached around and embraced you gently.

Tom Hiddleston Taglist: @bambamwolf87

Permanent Taglist: @libbymouse @keithseabrook27 @maladaptive-ninja-returns @nephalem67 @tina8009 @marvelismylifffe

[jinjojess]

DR Kirigiri Vol. 5 Summary Part IV

Back to our regularly-scheduled shenanigans.

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Chapter 1 The Mania of Existence: Libra Girls’ Academy - Samidare Yui

Now that we’ve checked in with everyone who didn’t get much screen time last book, let’s get back to seeing what Samidare is up to.

Turns out she, Tsukiyo, and Nazuna have been in the small circular room for...well, Samidare isn’t actually sure how long, since there aren’t any clocks around. It’s felt like hours, but it might have only been tens of minutes.

“I’m hungry... I’m thirsty...” Tsukiyo had been crouched in the corner of the room for some time now, deliriously mumbling about what she wanted. “I need to go to the bathroom... the bathroom...”

“If worst comes to worst, you can just go over there. We’ll forgive you,” I called in response. 

“No way! If it came to that I’d kill you and myself! Who do you think you are, looking down on me like this? You think you’re better than me because you’re a little better at holding it in? I don’t take orders from you!”

“That’s not what I meant...”

Feeling exhaustion on a spiritual level, I decided to ignore Tsukiyo’s angry outburst. Trying to engage her right now would just wear us both out.

Instead, Samidare sits down at the desk and uses a pencil and sheet of paper she found inside to draw a map. She’s going to figure out the mystery behind Libra Girls’ Academy, dammit.

Nazuna watches over her shoulder as she jots down everything they know so far and occasionally offers some input. Her observations are so astute and point out so many things that Samidare hasn’t even considered that she begins to worry that Nazuna is actually better suited to being a detective than her.

They discuss what transpired right when Samidare came to, going once again over how she woke up, found Takezaki’s body, and saw the caped suspect. Nazuna asks what the caped figure was doing, and Samidare reports that they were just kind of...standing there...menacingly...and holding a steel pipe (the murder weapon according to the challenge card). When Nazuna asks, she explains that the suspect didn’t attack her, but that makes sense since Samidare is the detective assigned to the case and cannot be harmed. She’s apparently filled in the other two girls about how Duel Noir work, and while they didn’t believe her at first, as they’ve all been sitting in this room together, both of them have come around.

Nazuna confirms once again with Samidare that Takezaki was actually dead, and Samidare says that yes, she’s sure. She didn’t just check her pulse using her wrist, she actually checked her neck, and there’s no drug to mask that pulse as far as she’s aware. Besides, Takezaki’s body was already cold, so there was no way she was still alive.

Nazuna tells her to hold up for a second, did she just say that the body was already cold? So in other words, she wasn’t freshly killed just before Samidare woke up?

Yeah, Samidare admits, that makes sense.

In that case, Nazuna continues, the suspect’s actions make even less sense. The killer standing over the body when Samidare woke up would make sense if Takezaki had just been murdered, but the actual killing must have taken place at least an hour beforehand for the body to already be cold. So what the hell was the culprit doing during all that time?

Samidare supposes that perhaps they were setting up the trick? If she woke up too early, they might not be able to prepare everything, so they’d have to hurry.

However, Nazuna points out that it would be silly to try and run around doing that while carrying an iron pipe, and even more importantly, to not try and impede Samidare in any fashion. If Nazuna were the caped culprit (which I’m not entirely sure she isn’t at this point), she’d have tired Samidare up, or blindfolded her, or something to reduce the risk of her seeing something she shouldn’t lest she wake up before the expected moment.

Yeah, sure, Samidare admits, she guesses that tracks.

Still on a roll, Nazuna posits the question of why the culprit wouldn’t restrain Samidare if they had such ample opportunity. Her hypothesis is that it’s because they didn’t need to. And under what circumstances would they not need to? If the trick had already been prepared. So then, the logical path to follow would be to assume that by the time Samidare even ended up in the room, the trick was already in place.

Nazuna’s just out here laying down the logic, and it’s very much hurting Samidare right in the ego.

She just keeps going, too, concluding that if the trick was already set up by the time Samidare even got there, then that wouldn’t explain why the culprit was hanging around for an hour or more at the scene of the crime. Samidare asks what they were doing then, but smarty-pants Nazuna hasn’t figured that out yet. She’s sure it’s an important clue, though.

Begrudgingly, Samidare puts on her thinking cap and reviews what happened when she woke up. That’s when it hits her: the first thing she remembers is the caped culprit staring at her!

...Though what that means exactly she isn’t sure, so she tells Nazuna to see if she has any ideas. Naz begins walking around the desk, looking at Samidare, suggesting that maybe the culprit had done something to her? She doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary...

“My glasses!” Samidare cries, and explains that when she first woke up, she had a short Velma episode where she couldn’t make out much while she fumbled around for her glasses. Nazuna asks where her glasses ultimately were, and Samidare answers that they were nearby on the floor. They agree it’s possible that the culprit may have removed them, but that doesn’t answer why they were staring at Samidare. It’s not like they would have needed to check to make sure her glasses were off.

“Maybe it’s because your face just looks that awful when you’re asleep?” Tsukiyo cuts in from the Peanut Gallery. 

She was still crouching in the corner, with a nasty smirk on her face. 

“True, I don’t have a lot of confidence in how I look when asleep, but that has nothing to do with this!”

I suddenly remembered that back in junior high, one of my classmates had secretly taken a photo of me sleeping while we were on a field trip. She’d showed it to me later, but I’d been shocked at my open jaw and fully exposed stomach...

“Or maybe they were wondering when your stupid face would wake up, hehe.”

“Ah!”

In a moment, all the puzzle pieces fall into place in Samidare’s head. Tsukiyo yells at her for yelling, but Samidare just tells her that she’s exactly right. 

“You’re admitting you’re a stupid face?”

“No, not that. Why the culprit was staring at me. They were waiting for me to wake up!”

She goes on to explain that if they follow Naz-chan’s line of thinking, the trick was already set up before she arrived. However, it probably needed to be triggered, and Samidare herself was likely the catalyst. Nazuna seems a bit confused, so Samidare explains in more concrete terms: for the trick to activate, the culprit probably needed her to chase them. When she began to pursue, it was likely going all according to keikaku--Samidare wasn’t really chasing the caped culprit, she was being led.

That explained the part that she couldn’t figure out earlier too, about why all the doors were left open as the culprit was running away. It also means that the culprit vanishing into the thin air and the corpse disappearing were also intended to be seen, since the culprit would want Samidare to witness the elements of the trick. 

Not to mention it explains what Black Cape was doing in the room originally: they were waiting for Samidare to wake up.

She briefly wonders why the culprit would wait rather than tap her on the shoulder or something to wake her up sooner, but maybe it was to increase the chances that Samidare would give chase. If the culprit had roused her, she probably would have noticed and been a bit more skeptical of the scene.

“I unwittingly fell directly into the culprit’s trap,” Samidare concludes, to which Tsukiyo yells that yeah, they been knew! Who else but some weird pervert would trap a bunch of high school girls for their own pleasure?

Well, Junko for one... Actually, no. Checks out still.

Tsukiyo is less concerned with this nonsense and more focused on finding a way out. She’s progressed now to hugging her knees.

Samidare admits that they’re still not quite at that point yet, but Tsukiyo’s already busy having another breakdown. As far as she’s concerned, they’ve made zero progress. She cannot be in here a second longer, so she needs to know how to get out NOW. If she misses one day of violin practice, it might as well be three days’ worth of work down the drain. Does Samidare even understand that? Get her out of here!

“It’s okay, Tsukiyo-san.” Nazuna sat beside her, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sure we’ll get out soon, okay?”

“Sniff... Naz... I’m scared... Do that thing you always do... please...”

Tsukiyo put her head between her knees and began to shake.

Nazuna reached up as if to pat Tsukiyo on the head, and began to comb through her hair with her fingers, parting the strands for her over and over. After a few minutes of it, Tsukiyo calmed down, and her trembling stopped. 

me, reading this and putting a hand over my gay little heart: Oh...?

Samidare admits mentally that if they’re stuck here without food and water for nearly a week, they’ll definitely die. That might actually be what Black Cape is trying to do, intending to win the Duel Noir by letting the clock run down.

She’s got to think.

If they want to survive, she needs to get her little gray cells in gear.

If Kirigiri-chan were in this situation, she’d just keep pressing forward. That’s the greatest weapon a detective has--her tenacity. 

Of course, if Kirigiri-chan were here, she’d probably have already figured out what was going on.

“If I tell you this much, you should get it, right Yui-oneesama?”

It’s just like she always said. If I thought over the evidence hard enough, I’d find some kind of clue.

Let’s review it again.

Samidare mentally tallies the facts: they aren’t trapped here by accident, they’re here because it’s where the culprit wants them. That means that the culprit had to know they were going to come into the room.

...You know, I’m just saying, I remember Nazuna insisting that we all come see Takezaki’s body.

Sadly, Samidare forgets about that. She does remember that they came back to investigate the body though, only to find it had vanished into thin air. Why did it disappear? And how? If they can figure that out, they should also stumble upon a way to escape.

The body vanished from this room, so there’s got to be some kind of clue here.

Isn’t that right, Kirigiri-chan?

Reaching further back, Samidare confirms that Takezaki Hana was indeed dead in this very room. She remembers the blood pouring out of her head staining the rug. Yet right now, there’s no sign of a corpse anywhere. And moving it out of the room would take a not-insignificant amount of time and effort. Samidare considers the wheeled trolley she used to escort the Virgin Mary statue--that’d be a way to easily move the body. You could cart it out and hide it somewhere in about ten minutes or so.

The other, more pressing issue, is the lack of any bloodstains. Cleaning a rug is not a quick fix, and how could you clean it so well that there was absolutely no evidence left behind? 

Samidare gets up to examine the rug, noting that she’s not finding any wet spots or discoloration. Though it’s a red rug, it’s not blood red, so you should be able to see if there’s any bloodstains on it. (Kitayama-sensei, are you making DanRon blood color jokes again?)

Confused, Samidare muses to herself out loud about her hypothesis so far: you’d need a lot of time, water, and detergent to clean up that much blood, but there’s no evidence of cleaning having even happened.

“If you had specialized tools, you could clean everything perfectly within about an hour,” Nazuna said, running her fingers through Tsukiyo’s hair. 

“An hour, huh...”

However, Samidare rules this out, since she’s pretty sure finding Nazuna and Tsukiyo and setting them free didn’t take an hour. Next they consider the possibility that the Committee could have provided a special cleaning machine that could have taken care of the bloodstains faster than they’d expect, but Nazuna points out that in that case the culprit would have to ensure that Samidare wouldn’t come back to the room in the meantime. (Also I’m pretty sure something like that would be listed on the Duel Noir Challenge Card?)

She’s got a point, Samidare admits. It’s pretty unlikely that the culprit would spend more than five minutes moving the body and ten minutes cleaning, max. Was that even realistically possible?

Nazuna, appropriately given that Celes has been indirectly mentioned in this book, suggests that maybe the culprit rolled up the rug with the body in it, moved it, and then laid out a new rug. Samidare is ready to go along with that until Nazuna herself points out that the trick likely would be something that wouldn’t be affected by whether or not the victim bled everywhere. They both agree that cleaning up a bloody corpse is not something that can be done in a matter of minutes.

Next Samidare muses that perhaps the trick is on a grander scale than they might have anticipated--what if the entire floor of this room could be flipped over like a coin? Something similar to how Norman’s Hotel was on a giant lazy susan? Then you could dump the body and have a nice clean floor for Samidare and the others to find.

Nazuna’s not so sure about this, asking about the other furniture in the room. If the desk and chair aren’t attached to the floor--which they aren’t--then that suggests that the floor didn’t just flip over. Samidare counters that you could wait outside with a different desk and chair to set up within a few minutes after the flip, which Nazuna agrees is possible.

Riding the high of having a working theory, Samidare goes to examine where the floor and walls meet to look for gaps. Those will give away that the floor can be flipped over!

Yay, Samidare!

...There aren’t any gaps.

There isn’t even any evidence of gaps that have been since filled.

Samidare’s pretty bummed that her idea didn’t work out, but she figures that it makes sense that the Committee wouldn’t recycle tricks she’s already seen. *cough*unlikeKodaka*cough*

Nazuna tries to console her by saying that she at least feels like they’ve made some progress. Now they have a better idea of what kinds of tricks to consider being in play. Samidare says that yeah, the Committee is pretty extra when it comes to their murder tricks, and she sits back down with a sigh.

She may not know what the trick is exactly, but there’s got to be some kind of clue hidden in what’s happened so far at Libra Girls’ Academy.

Samidare reviews the things she’s thought were weird since she woke up:

Black Cape was standing over her when she woke up. Solved: They were waiting for Samidare to wake up and witness the trick.

She wasn’t wearing her glasses when she woke up. Solved?: To slow her down and buy Black Cape some time to get a head start?

All of the doors were left open. Solved?: To make them easier to chase?

After Black Cape went into the coffin room, the door wouldn’t open when Samidare pulled on it. It did open after some time passed.

Black Cape disappeared from the coffin room.

Nazuna and Tsukiyo were tied up inside the coffins.

The key to unlock Nazuna and Tsukiyo’s restraints was around the neck of a Virgin Mary statue in the chapel.

When the three of them went back to the room to check on the corpse, it was gone.

They got locked into the room that used to have the body in it.

According to Samidare, the most relevant issue is probably #4. How did Black Cape manage to keep the door locked despite there being no lock? They couldn’t have been holding it closed since they were gone the second Samidare stepped into the room. That really was a mystery.

Maybe there was a set up in the room that made it so that the door couldn’t be opened while it was doing its thing?

For example, like how elevator doors can’t be opened when the elevator is in motion...

Hold on a tic, Samidare thinks, getting up to go examine the door.

Sure enough, it’s a sliding door on a track. It’s set up to close on its own unless you pull it all the way to the end of the track, in which case it will stay open. There’s no handle, only a divot to put your fingers in so you can pull the door. No sign of a lock or a keyhole.

So how the heck is the door being kept shut?

Since the track isn’t on the inside of the room, the logical assumption to make is that it’s out in the hallway. Black Cape could trap them inside if they put a pole or something in to stop the door from being able to slide on the track, but is that really what’s going on? The door to the coffin room was locked just like this one, and there was no evidence of anything blocking the door.

Is the track for this door even out in the hallway? The coffin room door didn’t have it on the hallway side, so it must have been in the room. If this room and the coffin room are identical in all other ways, why are the door tracks on opposite sides? And why bother to do that?

Is it possible that the door track isn’t in the hallway OR inside the room for both of them?

Where did the door go when it was opened?

Thinking about it like an elevator makes it pretty obvious: the doors go into the wall, or more accurately, into a space in the wall specifically for the doors. 

And if that’s the case...

“Are you okay, Samidare-san?”

“I feel like I just realized something important. But it’s usually not me who’s doing this sort of thing, so I’m a little light-headed to be honest...”

“Get it together! You’re a detective, aren’t you?” Tsukiyo said, looking up. “We’re counting on you...”

“S-Sure.”

I stepped away from the door and began to circle the room. I’d found a clue, but how to proceed from there? If I were Kirigiri-chan, I’d put it all together immediately. I felt a pang of frustration at my own stupidity. The nerve of some talent-less hack like me, pretending to be a detective...

I suddenly remembered what Kirigiri had said to me when we last saw each other. 

“Mind the Scales.”

Neither Nazuna nor Tsukiyo had the Scales as their zodiac sign, so I could probably rule them out as suspects. So where was the culprit who had that sign then?

The Scales...

Wait.

No way...

“Hey, do either of you know about horoscopes?”

“Huh? Do you mean like zodiac signs?” Nazuna asked.

“Yeah. The ones they put on the news in the morning and stuff.”

“What girl doesn’t like horoscopes?” Tsukiyo said. “Why, do you want to know your fortune?”

“No, not that. What’s the name of the Scales sign in English? Do you know?”

“Sure. It’s Libra.”

“Ah!”

“I knew it!” 

Nazuna and I cried out at the same time. 

“Right...that’s it! I get it! The secret of Libra Girls’ Academy. And the reason why both Black Cape and the body disappeared, and the reason we’re stuck in here!”

Sometimes, you translate a thing, and then more gets added later that paints you into a corner, but such is life, I suppose. Anyway, see you very soon for the next update!

P.S. Did you find my foreshadowing pun in this update? うぷぷぷ…

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