#it also wouldn’t surprise me if she did something similar if she got the mark/copyright for speak now tv

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

It wouldn’t surprise me if Taylor released “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)” and announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version) shortly after being granted the summary judgment.

[ikevampeventarchive]

[ERS] Once Again, I Will Fall In Love With You - Isaac

Route Preview:

Year 2XXX, Japan....

I met an astronomer named Isaac in the planetarium. We are able to get to know each other more through our passion.

The time we spent together gazing at the stars that night, somehow revealed a familiar memory of a starry sky....

Inside the flow of time that stretches until infinity and more, he was able to find me.

[This is an unofficial work based on fan-translation. Copyright belongs to Cybird.]

Warning: Spoilers Underneath.

Route Summary:

Japan, Year 2XXX.

MC had fallen asleep in a planetarium, and dreams of a mysterious man with pink hair who she can’t recognize. She’s woken up by a stranger (Isaac) who informs her the program. She thanks Isaac and gets ready to leave, but she can’t shake the feeling of nostalgia, thinking that the stranger and the man in her dream had similar voices.

Isaac offers to tell her the content of the program so she wouldn’t have missed out and let her trip go to waste. MC hesitates, but eventually accepts his offer. By the end though, she’s overwhelmed by the information, and he tells her it doesn’t matter since all he wanted was to talk to her. He tries to take back his words, but MC gets distracted with how red and tears he was getting, and thinks it was beautiful.

Isaac notices her staring and asks why, and she comments that the program must’ve been impressive if it brought people to tears. He realizes she’s referring to him and tries to wipe his eyes with his sleeves, but MC stops him, lending him a handkerchief to use. She tells him it was a shame she missed a program worth crying over, and he argues that he was crying because he was just really happy.

MC assures him she doesn’t need to thank her for the handkerchief, but Isaac insists, saying that he wanted to get along with her and meet up again. They agree to meet the next weekend so he could thank her properly, and they finally introduce themselves. MC learns his name is ‘Isaac,’  and as they parted ways, MC wonders why Isaac looked surprised when she told him her name.

After they part, Isaac returns to a hotel and whispers to himself that he finally found her. By then, he already realized MC doesn’t remember him, and he tries to convince himself that it should be enough that he was able to see her again. He then feels guilty over how wanting to thank her was just an excuse to meet again, and he hopes she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

They meet up again at a restaurant, as planned, and they start talking about themselves. Apparently, Isaac was an astronomer who had come to supervise the program they met at, and the reason he came to see it was because he was planning on making one of his own, while MC shares how she works at a travel agency.

Isaac slips up, saying she hasn’t changed at all, and tries to play it off. She lets it go, and tells him how it felt like Isaac’s a long time friend of hers. He’s happy she considers him a friend, but when MC hears him say ‘friend’, she flashes back to her time in 19th Century France, where she has a similar conversation with someone in the past.

After dinner, Isaac walks MC to the station and returns her handkerchief. They go their separate ways, but when MC realizes they may never meet again, she turns around and calls out to him. Isaac coincidentally calls out to her too, and they ask for a way to contact each other. The two of them exchange details and start sending each other messages.

They meet up again at a roof of a building the following Friday to stargaze. Isaac asks if MC likes the stars, since she looked really happy right now and back at the planetarium. She admits that looking at the stars helped when she had something on her mind, and tells him she picked up the idea from someone. Isaac asks who it was, but she realizes she can’t remember.

MC then flashes back to scenes from Isaac’s Main Story, where he said the exact same line about looking at the stars. For a moment, MC considers the possibility of that someone being Isaac, but she pushes away the idea and just blames it on her dreams. Isaac becomes worried though, but she assures him she’s fine.

She then goes on to tell him that it feels like they’ve known each other for a very long time, as if from a previous life. She tries to laugh it off, but Isaac asks her what she would do if it was actually like that. MC grows confused, and Isaac admits that he has always dreamed of the day he’d be able to meet her again.

Isaac presses a hand against MC’s cheek and---

Chance Meeting End (Sweet End)

Isaac presses a hand against MC’s cheek, and tenderly strokes her face.

MC becomes confused, and Isaac realizes she couldn’t remember anything from their past. He tries to explain, and even points out the scar on her left ring finger. MC’s surprised, since she has never told him about it or shown it. He then tells her how she got the scar in her previous life, back in 19th Century France, but MC grows even more skeptical.

Isaac: “You can’t remember? When I saw you, I thought maybe you would have remembered…”

Right after Isaac says that, MC recalls the image of  an old European mansion from her dream and how she had lived there with many people. She remembers someone promising to find her, if reincarnation was real, but she can’t remember who it was. All she remembers is a voice, a voice that sounded like the one that woke her up at the planetarium, a voice like Isaac’s.

MC then asks if the two of them had promised each other something a long time ago. Isaac confirms it, saying he promised to find MC if ever she reincarnated, and that he’d be able to tell from the mark on her ring finger, but MC really can’t recall any of it.

She apologizes, and tries to console him by saying that the moment they met, it had felt like she already knew him from somewhere, and she thought she wanted to spend more time with him.

Isaac: “It’s okay if you can’t remember it now, but…. If you don’t hate it then… would you give me another chance to fall in love with you one more time?”

Isaac: “The MC now and the MC that I know are different people, that much, I understand. That’s why… approaching you with memories won’t work, but… I can’t think of anyone else but you anymore.”

MC tells him she didn’t know whether or not it was because of her previous life, but ever since she met Isaac, she feels so happy and her heart has been restless. Isaac pulls her into a hug, but immediately lets go, apologizing for doing something like that even though she isn’t his girlfriend. She assures him she doesn’t mind, but Isaac chides her, telling her to speak up properly if he did something she doesn’t like.

MC insists she doesn’t mind, and hugs him herself, asking him to tell her how he feels properly too. Isaac agrees, but warns her that he isn’t going to hold back anymore, and the two share a sweet kiss.

MC: (Even though I have no memories, my heart surely remembers. The warm tears running down my cheeks are proof enough---)

Days later, the two go stargazing again, and Isaac tells her about how they used to stargaze together a lot, back in her previous life. She  asks if she’s similar to her past self, and Isaac tells her that they were exactly the same – from her looks, to her name, to her way of thinking.

MC: “My name too!?”

Isaac: “… Yeah, I was shocked too.”

MC then thinks how nice it would be if one day, her memories come back to her, and how she’s looking forward to her future with Isaac.

Fated Love End (Premium End)

Isaac presses a hand against MC’s cheek and kisses her.

He immediately lets ho, but MC still feels his heat lingering on her lips. Isaac then says that even though it isn’t the first time he’s kissed her, she probably doesn’t remember. He gives her the option of pushing him away if she disled it, but he also begs her to try and remember him, taking MC’s hand and kissing the scar on her ring finger.

Isaac: “Please let me take responsibility of this wound. I love you more than anyone in this world. So… will you stay with me?”

At that moment, MC regains her memories from her time in 19th Century France and recalls him saying that exact same line in her past life. She also remembers her last moments, with Isaac still young as always while she had grown old over time, how he had promised to find her again if she marked her ring finger again.

MC: “I… I love you too.”

Isaac realizes her memory had returned, and with a smile on his face, he pulls MC into a hug, telling her that there was no other person he’d fall in love with except for her.

MC: “So you’ve been searching for me while you were here?”

Isaac: “Nah. This time, it was all chance. I didn’t expect to meet you at all.”

Apparently, he’s been trying to calculate the probability of them meeting again, and although it hadn’t worked, he was convinced the probability isn’t zero. However, during this particular trip, he didn’t try to compute anything and just thought it would be nice to see MC again. He recounts how he refused to look uncool in front of MC and tried to hold back his tears when they first met. MC realizes the reason why he was happy that day, and Isaac insists that she forget about that part.

Isaac: “With you here, I’ll believe in destiny… Even if thousands of years pass by, I’ll still love you.”

MC: “Me too. No matter how many times, I’ll always fall in love with you again.”

MC: (This love… No matter how many times I’m reborn, it will never change, and I’ll surely never forget it. Even if tens of thousands of years pass, it’ll forever remain in my heart, like the stars.)

The two then share a deep kiss under the sky, but when they pulled away, Isaac tells her it wasn’t enough and that he wanted to spend the night together with her.

They head back to Isaac’s hotel. As things become heated, Isaac apologizes, saying he wouldn’t be able to be gentle tonight, not after how long it has been, and MC assures him she was alright with it.

Note: This is where the paid Epilogue starts.

Secret End

France, 2XXX.

Isaac is in his room, writing on a blackboard, and the board is filled with calculations on the possibility of him stumbling across MC again. He realizes it isn’t impossible, but the chances are still way too slim to be concrete or reliable. 

The Count makes his presence known, startling Isaac, and apologizes, pointing out that he had actually knocked before coming in. The Count comments on how invested and passionate Isaac was in what he’s doing, but Isaac insists it’s nothing and stands in front of the blackboard in an attempt to hide all the calculations behind him. 

The Count then informs him that a letter had arrived that would interest Isaac. The letter turns out to be a request for someone to help out with a planetarium program in Japan, with airplane tickets already enclosed in the envelope. Count encourages him to go, saying it would be beneficial for his work, to which Isaac agrees, and Count leaves the room.

After the Count leaves, Isaac turns his focus back to the blackboard and thinks to himself how he still wasn’t able to calculate all the probabilities. Isaac then pulls out his smartphone and takes a photo of the results of his calculations for the day. In the years that have passed, technology has greatly advanced since the 19th Century, but in his room, it feels like time had stopped and nothing much had changed.

Isaac: (But no matter how many thousands of years pass, these thoughts will surely never change)

Ever since their separation, Isaac has been continuously searching for the possibility of him and MC reuniting once more, but the calculations for that purpose… still remain inconclusive. He glances down at the letter Count had given him, and he thinks about MC.

Isaac: “Now that it’s come to this… I suppose I can try going there.”

A month later, Isaac visits the planetarium in Japan on a whim, even though his appointment was scheduled for the next day. As he listens to the narrator, he thinks of how he and MC used to watch the stars together a lot. He thinks about how her dazzling her face was so beautiful when she watched the stars.

Isaac: (I want to meet her…)

Once the program ends, Isaac gets up to leave, but he notices a lone woman still seated. When he saw her figure from behind, his heartbeat accelerated as he gravitates towards her, and the moment he saw her face, it’s as if he had forgotten how to breathe. The woman is the same woman who had lived with him during the 19th Century--- It’s MC, and she even has a scar on her left ring finger.

Isaac keeps himself from waking her up right away, realizing that it was unreasonable to assume she remembers him. The likelihood of people forgetting their past lives was high, and the same likely applies to MC as well. He had long prepared himself for such an outcome, but if the memoryless MC rejects, then all hope of rebuilding the relationship they used to have would go out the window.

Isaac realizes that right now, he and MC are mere strangers, just people who happened to meet. But, Isaac suddenly recalls a memory where he and MC recognize that despite their faults and the pain they cause each other, if they both worked to bridge the gap between them, then they’ll be able to achieve a future where they could be together without causing each other pain.

This time, Isaac decides that he’ll take initiative and reach out to MC, in hopes of closing the distance between them. As he prepares himself to face an MC who has likely lost her memories, Isaac finally speaks up.

Isaac: “Hey. Hey… how much longer are you going to remain asleep?”

Even if MC could not remember him, if he can search for a way to shorten the distance between them once more, that is enough.

Event Info Post | Napoleon Route | Arthur Route

[fycarmensandiego]

My thoughts on the new show

It’s not really a proper review because how would I even do that, so here are my various thoughts, somewhat collected! (This is long as hell, fair warning.)

General thoughts:

Le Chevre and El Topo are definitely a couple. I’m so glad other people in the tag are seeing this too. My first inkling was when they were hugging each other after graduating, but it was Carmen’s comment that they only ever work together that really got me like “oh they’re gay.”

Speaking of gays, Dash Haber (Countess Cleo’s courier) is one. His voice is so gay-coded, I knew this one immediately. Not crazy about him being an antagonist (even among antagonists), but he amused me, so he’s good.

Even if they have the same names, these are different characters. The exceptions here being Carmen, the Chief, and possibly Julia. This isn’t a Tomb Raider: Legend case of putting characters in different situations and slightly changing their personalities, or even a Tomb Raider 2013 case of radically changing their personalities to coincide with their new paradigms. Chase, Zack, Ivy, and the rest are really entirely new characters that simply share their names with past characters. It’s almost as if the names are references to the past shows and games than ties to those characters.

For the most part, they even have different designs. Zack is certainly the most radical change, but even the most similar have some changes. Prof. Maelstrom isn’t nearly as stocky as his namesake, and while Dr. Saira Bellum has wild hair like Dr. Sara Bellum, it’s a strange shape as well as a strange color, and her skin is darker.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in the franchise, either. Minnie Series from Where on Earth is apparently a totally different character from Minnie Series from the original Where in Time game. Adventures in Math changed a lot of the characters’ designs and backstories: some, like Jacqueline Hyde, still had the same core, but others, like Jane Reaction, are so different they have to be considered different characters. And then there are all the different iterations of the Chief: old white guy, middle-aged white guy, middle-aged Black gal, hologram, presumably white guy shrouded in mystery...

I will say that as a result of this, I was disappointed with Zack and Ivy. Not because this Zack and Ivy are bad characters, but because Where on Earth Zack and Ivy are my favorite characters in the franchise after Carmen, and I was looking forward to getting to see them, or at least characters resembling them, again. But, it is what it is.

I get the Kim Possible comparisons, but they’re not where I’d jump first. There are similarities: both are action shows with deliciously OTT villains (though the VILE gang wish they were as effortlessly iconic as Drakken, Shego, and Señor Senior, Sr. and Jr.) and similar art styles, and Player/Wade is a fair comparison. But I have to say I’d never have thought of that comparison if I hadn’t seen it here on Tumblr, perhaps because KP was rooted in Kim and Ron’s daily lives (Sailor Moon-style), whereas CS is rooted in its overarching plot (Chuck-style).

I do agree with another comparison: Coach Brunt and Countess Cleo, and Eartha Brute and the Contessa. I saw a post in the tag earlier today that brought this up, and while I hadn’t thought of it - probably because the Where in the World show is one of the parts of canon I’m least familiar with - it seems legit to me. I had wondered why these two were seemingly born out of nowhere, when the other three had their names and likenesses drawn from Where on Earth characters. (Shadowsan seems to me to be based on Suhara’s design and, to some extent, personality, with Shadow Hawkins’ name.) The specific theory that post espouses, that it’s a legal issue, seems possible to me. Although the World villains did appear in other Carmen media, I know WGBH and WQED own the copyright to the show, though they licensed the franchise from Brøderbund. So I have no idea what the legal tangle is behind that show, and I imagine it’s very complicated.

Speaking of WGBH: I wonder if Zack and Ivy being from Boston is an incredibly subtle reference to its location there.

I have mixed feelings about the art style. It is great in still shots, but I found it a little hard to watch as animation for very long.

I don’t ship anything – yet. Julia’s clarification of “travel partner” is certainly ripe for shippy implications, but for me there’s really not much on a personality level to ship her and Carmen at this point. (Likewise Carmen and Ivy, or Carmen and Zack.) I could definitely get behind Julia having a crush on Carmen, the way I feel OG!Jules certainly does.

As to Gray... he was plainly asking Carmen out / hitting on her when he gave her his card. But even on the way to the date, she insisted she saw him as an older brother figure. Like with Julia, I could potentially get behind it in future, but I’d have to see it developed further. There’s also the matter of him trying to kill Carmen, which I’m not crazy about... Carmen’s forgiven him since he was under orders from VILE, and his mind-erase courtesy of Dr. Bellum has given him a fresh start, but it didn’t change who he fundamentally is as a person, and that person made the decision to join VILE and ultimately to agree to kill Carmen. But I’m not totally anti-Carmen/Gray at this point.

(In re Carmen’s sexuality: I have always felt strongly that all of Carmen’s previous incarnations were ace/aro, but this Carmen? The sapphics have claimed her, and I’m here for it. I’m fine with her being gay, bi, or pan. I’m fine with her being acespec and/or arospec, or not.)

I was surprised by the violence. Scenes of literal attempted murder would never have made it in previous shows or games! In fact, a lot of the melee combat wouldn’t have. The franchise hasn’t always been totally non-violent - Ivy whacked the occasional villain around on Earth, and ThinkQuick and Stolen Drums both required the player to destroy VILE robots, the former featuring robots with personalities - but I don’t think it’s ever been shown in such detail as the combat scenes in this series. I don’t have a problem with it, exactly, but it was a little jarring.

Things I didn’t like:

The educational moments were utterly didactic. I guess you could say the same about Earth, but I feel like it integrated the education into the plot better, and it certainly made the educational moments more fun by working jokes into them. Meanwhile, this show is taking the Stolen Drums approach of info-dumping for two minutes and then moving ahead with the actual plot with no attention to education thereafter. To go back to my favorite video game (I warned y’all), fucking Tomb Raider: Legend did a better job integrating education with action. And it’s not even supposed to be educational!

Stop trying to make “caper” happen. It’s not going to happen. It’s a perfectly good word to use from time to time, as it always has been in canon, but for “The ____ Caper” to be every episode title, and for it to be used at every opportunity in the script when “theft” or “heist” or another word could have been used just as easily gets annoying. The thesaurus: it exists. Also, it’s so overused that at a certain point I started thinking of the culinary garnish instead of a crime. (And I’ve never even eaten capers. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen them in person.)

I’m not crazy about the newly established genesis of Carmen’s name. Having her grow up with no name but “Black Sheep” makes me feel uncomfortable tbh, and while I like the significance of her choosing her own name, pulling it off a hat label seems cheap. And out of character for someone as thoughtful as Carmen.

Some of the villains seemed like real cultural stereotypes. Thankfully, it was not nearly as bad as Adventures in Math, or we’d literally have had Le Chevre saying, “Hon hon hon, baguettes!” but Shadowsan and Paper Star in particular made me uncomfortable as they felt like very stereotypical “Japanese” characters. The same could be said of Coach Brunt, who while not a stereotype of any marginalized group, was definitely a bit one-note. Coach Beiste, but evil and Texan.

Cross-language misspellings. Namely, Shadowsan and Le Chevre should be Shadow-san and Le Chèvre, should they not? The omission of accent marks has always been one of my major bugaboos, and while it’s not the first time the franchise has done it, it still annoys me. Shadow-san’s missing hyphen annoys me even more, since the hyphen indicates that other honorifics could be used, and in fact, it would (if I understand correctly) be more appropriate for his students to address him as Shadow-sama or Shadow-sensei while his peers call him Shadow-san.

I felt some real misogynistic undertones to Tigress. In a show that otherwise is quite female-forward, it irked me that of Carmen’s four classmates, only one is a girl - and she’s the one who becomes Carmen’s rival. And then for that to continue throughout the series, setting her up as the mean girl to Carmen’s good girl (in many ways, the Regina to Carmen’s Janis Ian), really bothered me. I certainly don’t think female characters have to be perfect, or expect perfect representation, but it feels like Tigress’ development just was not done mindfully, and instead they let themselves fall into misogynistic tropes. It’s not like you to pit women against each other, etc. etc.

The ages and timeline confused me. Carmen seems to be in her late teens or early twenties throughout the main part of the series (I saw a post that mentioned she says she’s 20), yet she was clearly still a preteen or young teen when she stole Cookie’s hard drive. Since Cookie’s delivery is an annual event, its information shouldn’t last Carmen those several years to grow up.

By a similar token, Player seems to be the same age in the flashbacks as in the present day. As a result, he seems a little older than Carmen to start, and a few years younger to conclude. It messes me up. Not least because, not gonna lie, I want to be sure it’s okay for me to be so gay for Carmen.

Things I liked:

The references to previous canon. Along with the aforementioned names, we have:

Rita Moreno’s cameo! (Please, please, God, give us another Rita cameo and cameos for the rest of the Earth cast next season.)

Mentions of punning names. This was delightfully lampshaded with Gray’s original codename of “Graham Crackle” and the subsequent drags from his classmates. And while most of the other characters didn’t get punning names, one of the two who did was Rita’s character, Cookie Booker, the bookkeeper - or, indeed, book-cooker.

The very meta plot point of Carmen getting her outfit by stealing it from Cookie, voiced by her previous incarnation’s voice actor.

Frequent utterances of “Where in the world is...” or “Where on Earth is...”

Tigress’ name, a reference to an Earth episode where Carmen faces a new rival. I don’t know if the Duchess plotline was also a deliberate reference to this episode, or a subconscious one, but it’s so similar that I can’t think it was total coincidence.

I’m thinking “the cleaners” are a reference to the Ick brothers, the janitors from World and USA 3.0.

Carmen is ginger. I have a significant bias for redheads. (I dye my hair red and am only half-joking when I call myself transginger as well as transgender. Heaven on Earth-era Belinda Carlisle is one of my major style rolemodels.) Carmen suddenly being auburn for the first time just makes her even more endearing to me than one would have thought possible. Plus, Ivy and Zack both being redheads? Iconic.

Carmen is also gorgeous. Now, unlike some of you, I have never previously been gay for Carmen; she’s always been more of a big sister figure to me. Instead, as a kid, I was gay for TV!Jacqueline Hyde, Ann Tikwittee, and Ivy, in that chronological order. But the moment I saw this Carmen with her hair up in the trailer, I was a goner. And in her cocktail dress at the charity auction, or her black catsuit at the end of episode 9? I thirst. There were several other points as well where I was just like, “Oh my god, she’s so pretty.” Yes, darlings, I am very gay.

That choker. Most fashionable thing Carmen’s ever worn. Fight me. We love a stylish queen.

Player has a fidget spinner. And it’s only seen briefly, which to me says it’s an everyday part of his life, not something they threw in to try to seem cool... Which in turn allows me to point to something and headcanon that Player is autistic. He’s also known mostly by a username, and spends most of his time working on his special interest, and doesn’t seem to be one for socializing in traditional ways. We love an autistic prince. (Also, this makes him in some ways a male version of my girl Futaba from Persona 5. Again, iconic.)

(To be clear, especially since it wasn’t in my little self-introduction the other day, I’m self-diagnosed on the autism spectrum. So well-written characters being autistic is really fun for me.)

Player is from Niagara Falls, near where I live (I’m on the outer edges of the Buffalo/Niagara Falls MSA), while Zack and Ivy are from Boston, where I’m moving next month. Totally personal to me, but I’m so delighted. Now, granted, Player is on the Ontario side of the Falls rather than the New York side, but still. (Hell, who can blame him for not living in Niagara Falls, NY? It’s a hellhole.)

The VILE leaders stay iconic. Countess Cleo’s crush on Zack in his “Duke” guise is hilarious and adorable, and Dr. Bellum’s obsession with cat videos? Legends only.

Paper Star is generally fantastic. It’s actually too bad for me she’s a villain, because I find her super likeable. Her tendency to hum/sing to herself is also really endearing, and she’s another one who’s easy to headcanon as neurodivergent. I really hope we get more of her, and more of her outside combat and the daily business of villainery, because she’s easily my favorite of the VILE crew.

Tigress is also awesome. Yeah, the female character bias is real, but she’s def my second-favorite, which amplifies my annoyance at the aforementioned misogyny. To be honest, though, part of it may be that she’s basically Amanda Evert, my girlfriend from - you guessed it, folks! - Tomb Raider: Legend, with purple lipstick.

Zack and Ivy met Carmen while casing a donut shop. This is so delightfully silly, and I adore it. Like, who the fuck robs a donut shop of all things? I feel like it could’ve been a reference to them being fat, maybe one that was meant to be developed further but ended up on the cutting room floor? On that note...

The fat positivity is real. Zack and Ivy are still able to move around and are even somewhat athletic; the Countess crushes on Zack; and nothing negative is said about their weight (except the potential implications of the donut shop). I love this.

Carmen and Jules’ conversation. As I said above, it’s not enough for me to start shipping them, but I love that Carmen casually addresses her as Jules rather than Julia. It’s so much like when people I don’t know well call me Soph instead of Sophie, which I always love because it connotes that closeness. Moreover, since Julia’s previous incarnation / namesake was almost always called Jules, and was Carmen’s former detective partner, I feel like there’s an implication that Carmen coined that nickname and it became her primary moniker. It’s just so good, and shipping or no shipping, I really hope we get more interactions between them next season.

The voices are good... mostly. Maelstrom is definitely the one I was most impressed with, as his voice has a lot of character while still being easy to understand. Liam O’Brien was doing a great Tim Curry impression there, but much less egregiously campy and therefore more believable. Sharon Muthu was also fantastic as Dr. Bellum - not as fantastic as WOEICS!Sara’s voice actor (Candi Milo?), but then, who could be? And Kari Wahlgren’s performance as Tigress was snarly perfection.

Gina Rodriguez is a big departure from Carmen’s typically low-pitched voice, but she’s perfectly fine. I never sat up and went, “Wow, what a performance!” but I can’t find any fault with it either. Finn Wolfhard as Player is obviously cross-promotional stunt casting, but surprisingly, it’s also perfect casting.

On the minus side... Zack and Ivy. Part of it is that their accents are so ridiculous that it’s distracting (see above Tim Curry comment). Part of it is that, at least to my ears, the accents aren’t believable - I thought they were supposed to be from Brooklyn until they mentioned Boston. I actually don’t fault the VAs for this, as they both have moments where I got the sense they’d be capable VAs for the characters (and I know Abby Trott is talented as I loved her in Tales of Berseria and Nier: Automata), but rather the voice director(s) who pushed them toward those performances. I feel like if the direction had been different, I’d have liked Zack and Ivy a lot more.

That plot twist. I truly never saw it coming. I suspected that Coach Brunt was not, in fact, the one who found Carmen, but I’d actually thought it might have been Prof. Maelstrom. The extent of Shadowsan’s revelations was a big surprise to me. Kudos to the writers for pulling that off.

Conclusion:

It’s not the series I expected. It’s not the series I hoped for. But it is one that I enjoyed, both on its own merits and for revitalizing the franchise. As I said last night, it is a hell of a feeling to have new Carmen content in 2019 (that’s actually getting attention), and for it to be really good content is a relief.

If anyone else wants to share their thoughts, either one-on-one or with the rest of the community (as it were), please do! I’d love to talk more about this series and this franchise and the thieving queen of my heart, Ms. Carmen Sandiego.

[aiimaginesbts]

Race Against Time: Chapter 1

Jungkook feat. Reader and Namjoon. The rest of BTS will appear in the future chapters

Genre: Thriller, Darkfic

Warning: This fic is about murder cases, and may include some graphic imagery. Please read with caution.

Word Count: 2, 639 words

A/N: A big part of the MO is based on Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner. Check her out, her novels are really good! I’d also like to thank my two friends (and her doctor husband) who helped me figure out the details for the story, there is way more research involved in writing this than I expected.

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Epilogue

Disclaimer/Copyright

Jungkook sighs inwardly, fighting the urge to run his fingers through his hair, opting to clench his hands into fists instead. He knows that he has to remain calm. Or look the part, anyway. People are watching. They are always watching, and he feels the constant need to prove himself. He takes a deep breath, blocking out the commotion surrounding the roped off crime scene to dip his chin down to the still form on the ground.

Even though death has claimed the colour in her, leaving her pale and cold, it is obvious that she had been a beauty. Her long blonde hair pools neatly on the right side of her head, brushed to the side with such care it seems almost loving. Jungkook scans her body with interest, an uneasy sense of déjà vu creeping up on him. It is so similar that it can’t be a coincidence – especially the cruel mark at her throat, although clean, tells him that she is another victim of the same killer who claimed the life of the first body they found last month.

Exactly one month ago Parking lot of the largest bowling alley in the city

Emerging from his car alone, Jungkook saw that there were already several officers setting up a parameter in silence. He had received a call early that morning to head there, and he drove straight from home instead of stopping by the office first, leaving you disgruntled for being roused at the crack of dawn after a long night of reading journals and writing. He slammed the door shut, locking the car behind him as he approached one of the officers who turned to him immediately upon his arrival, opting to talk to the man he took to be the first officer on the scene before addressing the body on the ground in the middle of the section.

“Agent Jeon.” Jungkook simply nodded at him in response, getting right down to business. “What happened here?”

“Got a call from the owner of this joint about an hour ago. Man was all panicked, said he found a girl unconscious when he came in to take inventory. When he walked towards her to see if she’s alright, he saw that she’s dead.” Jungkook noticed that the young officer avoided looking at the immobile figure behind him as he talked, only waving his arm behind him to indicate the general location of the body.

“Dead? Did he see if she’s breathing before calling you?”

He cleared his throat uncomfortably at the question. “Ahem. I don’t think so, sir. One look at her and you’d know.”

Jungkook frowned at that but pressed on. “Did he see anyone around, before and after he found the body?”

Another no. “She was already there when he got here, sir. And he made sure she was in sight when he called to make the report.”

Jungkook nodded and walked past the jittery officer to see her himself, ignoring the whoosh of relief that escaped the man at reaching the end of a stressful conversation with an intimidating superior. Judging by his looks, Jungkook was not that much older than the young officer, but he was used to that reaction by now whether it was from a new recruit or an experienced agent after he gained fame for capturing a serial killer who terrorised the people for months, then went on to solve several other cases. He wished that people wouldn’t treat him differently, but he guessed it couldn’t be helped after his not-so-subtle promotion following his feat.

The tar and pebbles of the parking lot crunched louder under his feet as he stopped and crouched down to study the victim. He winced at the term; most agents he knew avoided the terms ‘girl’, ‘man’, ‘child’, ‘young’ and the like when referencing to a dead person, but you once told him that you felt that it was disturbing to use the terms ‘it’, or ‘victim’, or ‘deceased’ as they used to be alive, too, and should still be respected even in death. Your words stuck with him. Several years in this field taught him that it was easy to lose yourself, and you helped him retain his humanity, his sense of self.

She looked young, probably in her early twenties, just out of school or in college. Her attire was not something he would have expected from someone at that age, though. An over-sized white shirt covered her body, big enough to almost hide the blue shorts underneath, but not quite. More puzzling than her being barefoot is how clean she seemed. Not a trace of makeup adorned her face, and from what he could see, he suspected that the only dirt she had on her body was underneath her from the gravel that her body laid on, and a streak of black in her hair that stood out against her blonde locks. Contrasting to her lack of cosmetics, she wore a pair of earrings and a funny-looking choker. Her lips and skin were pale, but that was to be expected if she had been dead for several hours, and she must have been as the call from the owner came over an hour ago now. Who knew when she died here or if this was where she was killed at all?

Because as the first officer on the scene had told him, there was no doubt that she was dead. Soon the other crime scene investigators arrived, and when the evidence – only a purse clutched in her hand – and her body was lifted, the green strip Jungkook had thought to be a choker slipped, revealing a gash across her neck. His eyes widened in shock at the sight and he swallowed bile that threatened to make its way up into his mount. Her throat had been slashed open. The ‘choker’ had actually been a plant, probably a weed of some sort, and was immediately removed to be photographed and bagged as evidence. To say that everyone had been mortified at the discovery would be an understatement. The medical examiner, Namjoon, with whom Jungkook had worked with on previous cases, grabbed his arm painfully, the doctor’s face drained of colour in terror.

A search through her purse later did not prove to be of much use; a sum of money left in it convinced them that she was not robbed. A small metal ring in the shape of a ‘D’ in the purse threw them in for a loop. Why was a girl carrying such a thing in her purse? A few days later, the autopsy revealed the fact that they had seen with their own eyes: the victim died from blood loss after her throat was slit open, presumably with a knife. It had to be a very sharp one, since it sliced clean across her neck in a straight line. Whatever motivation drove the killer to commit the act, he did not hesitate in completing it. Interestingly, her body held no signs of sexual assault. In fact, the only harm that was done to her body, other than her neck was a set of markings on her back, a two pronged reddish spots from a Taser, which Jungkook assumed to be the killer’s method of subduing the victim. The black strip on her hair turned out to be oil, but other than that, the body was clean.

Abnormally clean. Jungkook leafed through the report, this time allowing himself to rake his fingers through his hair in frustration as he sighed in the privacy of his office. The report said that the body was wiped clean with a chemical, presumably with ammonia, even the wound had been cleaned so that no blood spilled around the length of plant that was carefully wrapped around her neck. Was it to hide evidence, or did the killer seek to purify the body for some reason? Was this girl a sacrifice for a cult? No marking that indicated that she was one was found on her. No statement of any kind, if the killer wanted to make his agenda or cause known. If he took the time to clean her up, why was there a streak of oil in her hair? It would have been terribly remiss of him to forget that.

Was it a clue, then? If it was a clue, why leave it for them to find? Was it truly an accident, and the oil would lead him to the killer, or was it left there to throw him off the scent? Jungkook turned to the collection of photos of the crime scene, the victim and the peculiar evidences found on the girl. A 10-millimeter d-ring. The green plant, a seaweed, he was told. Did the oil belong to these pair of strange evidences? Are these a clue of some sort? Because if they were, he had no clue what they meant.

Thankfully, the girl was found early in the morning. The owner of the bowling alley agreed to help by keeping it to himself, and Jungkook was surprised that he had kept true to his word so far. The news of the dead girl had not spread like Jungkook was afraid it would, because he would not know what to tell the people and the press who would surely descend on him like vultures if they so much as get a sniff of this. This case was baffling him, no clear motive and no trace of evidence to lead to the killer, unless he counted the three odd findings that did not seem to be linked to one another, or lead anywhere. He had no clue where to even begin the investigation.

Lack of ID was also a problem. The victim’s prints were taken, but with the bureau’s heavy load, it took several days for the system to identify her. Five days to be exact. Five days before Jungkook found out who the poor girl who got her neck slashed was, and for him it was five days too late. The call came for him first.

Unlike the first time, the call came mid-morning on the fifth day after the blonde girl had been found, while Jungkook was reading a report in his office, nursing a cup of coffee in his hands. He was asked to go to Port Liddington immediately. The crime scene investigation team moved with haste to the maritime container terminal, where they were greeted with another taped-off scene around one of the freight containers.

Another girl. A slit throat was not the cause of death this time, though. No, this girl died a slow and painful death. Trapped in one of many containers in the terminal, with no light, no one that could hear her scream and pound on the walls, no food and water. The steel shipping box was empty except for the young girl who had perished from dehydration, and her bodily waste in a corner. Jungkook tried not to imagine the fear and loneliness she must have felt as she slowly started losing hope, her thirst evolving into headaches and leg cramps from lack of water, and wondered if she became delirious before succumbing into unconsciousness and then actually giving in to death.

The team ignored the stench and got to work, methodically photographing the body and the crime scene, preserving the evidence, of which there was not much, only a purse that contained a wad of cash and two IDs. The first ID was of the brunette girl they had just found, Kimberly Williams. The second one surprised Jungkook. Susannah Johnson, it said, the picture on the card showing the blonde girl from the parking lot of the bowling alley.

Results of the first victim’s prints came to him later that day, but there was no use for it anymore. The IDs allowed them to identify the girls, Susannah and Kimberly, freshmen at the university you were attending. They were last seen at a frat party thrown during the summer break by one of the students. Since they were on break, many students opted to return home for a holiday, so no one noticed that the two girls were missing from their dorm rooms.

Jungkook began to put things together, and the analysis of the evidences found on the first victim that he received later solidified his suspicions. The condition of the seaweed confirmed that it was from the port, the oil in her hair was bunker fuel that was used to power cargo ships carrying containers such as the one the second victim was found in. And the d-ring was actually a part of the 6 meters long freight container itself.

The puzzling clues made sense now. They were left with the first girl to lead them to the second one. However, the second victim had nothing of the sort. No hints, nothing out of the ordinary, except the fact that she was left for dead in a dark metal crate in party clothes that probably made her shiver with cold during those chilling lonely nights by the sea she must have spent praying that someone would find her. It did not escape Jungkook’s notice that the two students were dressed very differently. The short dress and high heels that Kimberly wore suited the occasion they were last seen in, assuming that they were kidnapped after leaving the party. Susannah’s simple shirt and shorts, however… not to mention her missing shoes. It had been a while since either Jungkook or you attended a college party, but he was sure that was not a look that was popular with the young crowd now.

He slammed the case file shut. If he thought the first victim was devoid of anything useful, the second girl offered him nothing whatsoever, other than the IDs of the two students. Was this the end, then? Were there more girls to be discovered? It was a long day for Jungkook, having to meet the families of the deceased and attempting to figure out if any of their other friends were missing. As far as the mourning families knew, there was no one else… so far.

Until now.

Present day A children’s playground on the West Side

After the news of the dead students came out, you had approached Jungkook about the case, concerned that such an atrocity happened to people from your institution. Unfortunately he was unable to share with you as many details as he would have liked, but you understood his position. You were worried that it may happen again, and Jungkook had no real words of comfort for you. He could only say that he hoped that it was a murder of revenge, a one-time thing, and given time, he would be able to figure everything out and find the killer. You had smiled in encouragement, believing in his abilities as you’ve always had.

Looking down at the youthful face of the dead girl on the grass, the laceration across her neck not even covered this time, then at the growing crowd surrounding the scene, Jungkook wonders how to tell you that he suspects that another pair of students have been kidnapped, one is dead in front of his very eyes and the other is still missing.