#seeing the ferris wheel was kinda salt in the wound

[technicolorxsn]

thinking of too fast ferris wheels

[munson-blurbs]

If This is How it Is: Chapter 2

Please reblog if this show up on your feed; my tags aren’t working yet! Read it on AO3 here!

Summary: A manipulative Billy takes advantage of your broken heart, and things with Eddie come to a head before the Fourth of July Carnival.

Warnings: angst, mentions of smut (but no actual smut), language

WC: 1.1k

--

Eddie slams the receiver back onto its hook when he hears the answering machine pick up. He's not about to leave a voicemail asking some random girl to come over for sex, so he settles for the next best thing: a cigarette. He grabs the pack of Marlboros and his old Zippo and heads outside; Wayne will kill him if he smokes indoors.

Sitting on his own steps is Billy Hargrove. He notices Eddie immediately and gives him a knowing smile.

"Munson," he sneers, "how was your groupie?"

Eddie rolls his eyes. "I wasn't interested," he half-lies, ignoring his recent attempt at a late-night hookup.

"Got it too bad for Miniskirt--Y/N." Billy cackles and takes a long drag from the cigarette between his lips, blowing out a perfect smoke ring. "Well, you know what they say--finder's keepers."

"Didn't even know you were together," Eddie mutters, and Billy realizes the misconception. He does nothing to mitigate it; instead seizing the opportunity to torture the guy.

"I mean, she's fuckin' hot and amazing in bed," he smirks. "Had me screaming her name, as you probably heard. I'd be an idiot to let her go." He adds the last part simply to rub salt into Eddie's open wound. He snuffs out his cigarette and starts inside.

Eddie calls out to him, fuming. "Don't talk about her like that. Like she's just some...some thing to fuck."

Billy laughs meanly as he opens his squeaky trailer door. "You had your shot, Munson. Coulda had her whenever you wanted. You can pretend like you're mad at me, but you know who you're really upset with."

He wasn't planning on taking this any further than a one-night stand, but it was just too goddamn fun to watch Eddie squirm angrily. Besides, you were a good lay.

Billy falls asleep with a smile on his face, eager to put his plan into action in the morning.

~

You're surprised when Billy's on your doorstep at 11 AM the next day. The Advil has kicked in and your hangover headache is finally clearing up. But when you see his face, all of the nausea rushes back, stomach curdling.

"Can I help you?" you ask with a hand on your hip.

He looks mildly amused at your attitude. "Jesus, Miniskirt," he says with a laugh. "That's not how I was expecting to be greeted after last night." When you look at him expectantly, he goes on. "I talked with Munson, and he said he's bringing that groupie to the Fourth of July carnival. Figured you might want to go with me, show off in front of him, maybe have some fun on the Ferris wheel..."

Bile rises in your throat. He's bringing her? To the carnival? You always went to the carnival with Eddie, hoping he'd kiss you on top of the Ferris wheel or hold your hand in the House of Mirrors.

You glance at Billy, his biceps pronounced as he leans against your doorframe.

"Fine," you agree reluctantly. "But we're not making a habit of this. I have no desire of being your girlfriend, and this carnival 'date' is bordering on relationship territory."

He throws his head back and laughs. "That reminds me. Munson kinda assumed we were together, and I didn't correct him." He licks his lips. "Hope that's okay."

"Billy, what the fuck?" you whine, and he just grins.

"Did you want him to think you're some kind of whore? Doesn't this look better for you?"

You sigh, unable to argue. "So, what? We hold hands and make kissy faces at each other?"

"And, y'know, you can suck me off under the fireworks." When you roll your eyes, he grabs your wrist. "Hey, this arrangement can't only benefit you. We can pull the plug on this whenever. Just say the word."

"No, no," you answer tightly. "Pick me up for the carnival at 8?"

Billy winks and drop your wrist. "You got it, baby."

~

"Seriously? Billy Hargrove?" Robin squawks as she stands behind the Family Video counter, inputting new movie titles. "Why don't you just talk to Eddie?"

"He's too busy with his little groupie," you retort. "Billy told me that he's even bringing her to the carnival. So why should I have to watch them make out?"

Robin furrows her brows. "Uh, I don't know anything about Eddie bringing someone to the carnival. He would've told Steve, and Steve tells me everything."

You shrug. "Well, apparently he said something to Billy about it."

"Now's your chance to ask him yourself," she says, pointing to the door. Eddie swings it open, his hair frizzy and askew. Your eyes widen when you see him, and you quickly avert your gaze to the floor. Never have the multicolored tiles held your attention for so long.

"I gotta go," you grumble, pushing past him so fast that he doesn't even have time to process what just occurred.

Robin gestures over to where you're dashing to your car, glaring at Eddie. "Y'see what happens when you decide to make out with random chicks instead of admitting your feelings for your best friend?"

Eddie throws his hands up angrily. "That girl asked me for an autograph, and while I was signing it, she started kissing me! I pushed her off of me as soon as my brain figured out what my lips were doing." Robin giggles at this. "Besides, it looks like I dodged a rejection bullet, since she's with Hargrove now."

"They only hooked up because she thought you got with someone else," Robin explains, completely exasperated at playing the messenger. "She saw your tongue down the girl's throat and decided to stick her tongue down Billy's throat."

Eddie grimaces. "Trust me, I heard them last night. They're doing a lot more than that." He exhales slowly. "Wait, if she wasn't going to tell me that she's dating Hargrove, what was she going to say?"

"Oh my God," Robin puts her head in her hands, bangs swinging in front of her eyes. "I can't keep doing this. She loves you! You love her! And until the two of you can handle this like adults, you can leave my store." She shoos him away.

"Wait!" he stops her. "I'll tell her, I'll tell her, okay? Can you just...help me? Please?"

Robin smiles. "I thought you'd never ask."

~

The doorbell rings earlier than you anticipated, and you're still in your robe, hair wet from the shower.

"Whatever," you mutter. It's not like seeing you unkempt would keep Billy from trying to sleep with you.

You fling it open, ready to lecture him for showing up an hour early.

But it's not Billy.

"Eddie?"

--

[everysongineverykey]

I'M DONE. HERE. TAKE THESE CHAPTER 2 THOUGHTS AND RUN, BABY.

so i'll try to go in order here. uhhhh... there's a LOT i have to say. first: toriel giggling sprite my beloved

on that note, ALL THE NEW SUSIE SPRITES MY BELOVEDS

NOELLE YOU'RE SO GAY. I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY JUST BECAUSE I TOLD HER TO IN CHAPTER ONE BUT SHE GAVE SUSIE THE LUNCHBOX FULL OF CHALK!! I LOVE ITTTT

ralsei's, uh... kinda sus. the whole "recruiting" thing REALLY sketches me out. and he looks kinda... smug, all the time, like he knows what's going on.

LANCER JOINED! ROUXLS JOINED EVEN THOUGH NO ONE WANTED THAT! STARWALKER JOINED, TO EVERYONE'S JOY!

LIBRARY PORTALLLL

so before i entered the city there was that pre-city area? that looked very much like the city? except it had different music? and i thought they'd cut welcome to the city and i was SEVERELY disappointed. but then they didn't! just something i wanted to mention

NOELLE!!

throughout this game i went from despising berdly to feeling bad for him to not really liking him again, but not hating him as much as before. he'd better stay the fuck away from susie though

the queen is the best villain. she's the kind you love to hate! she's literally so funny AND her boss battle is actually tough (rip to the king but he just. wasn't a formidable enemy at all lol)

THE GANG CHARLIE BROWN DANCING TO WIN A FIGHT! SUSIE GAINING THE POWER TO ACT THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF WILL! SUSIE FORCING RALSEI TO LEARN TO ACT EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T WANT TO! THAT ENTIRE BATTLE WAS AMAZING! THE "BATTLE WON" END DANCING SEQUENCE! GOING INSANE GOING INSANE

the puzzles in this chapter were genuinely really impressive! i especially loved the word search puzzles and the ice-ee undertale word search reference💙

that being said. the mouse puzzles were SO fucking infuriating. i caused poor noelle a LOT of grief with those and i feel bad.

SPEAKING OF NOELLE!! the scene where she and kris are walking through the puzzle, the one that spells "december", and she's talking about when they were kids, how she loved sneaking out? beautiful. the cinnamon tography <3 also i guessed dess's full name was december a while ago and while i guess it was obvious, it's nice to have that confirmed!

also, i love that susie and ralsei are real friends in this chapter! he taught her a healing spell!!

ugh. fucking berdly. so smug and pretentious. i love queen's desire to be as far away from him as possible though

i also like his backstory. it gives his behavior, even if it's still annoying, at least some context. i get the feeling of feeling like if you're not smart, people will forget about you, and that's scary.

ALSO ALSO. GAMER BERDLY. LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT IS PERFECT. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE A GAMER!" "i only play mobile games, berdly." "NOOOOOO!" like i ADORE that

anyways. time for me to talk about the only thing that matters in this world: suselle. i mean, did the gays win in this chapter or DID THE GAYS WIN IN THIS CHAPTER?? THEY RODE A HEART-COVERED FERRIS WHEEL AND HAD A HEARTFELT, TENSION-FILLED CONVERSATION!

"did you ever wonder why the real susie never picked on you? well, maybe it's because... when you were both new to class, you lent her one of your pencils, like... maybe a dumb one with candy canes on it or something, and... even though it didn't actually taste like candy, she... remembered your smile." okay god thanks toby it's not like i needed my heart or anything

SERIOUSLY. TOBY "i'm gonna give the gays everything they want" FOX IS BACK WITH ANOTHER BANGER LADS

QUEEN'S BOSS BATTLE! ACTUALLY TOUGH, UNLIKE KING'S! AND GIGA QUEEN! I'M GOING INSANE THAT WAS SO SICK AND SO HARD

the way my heart BROKE when lancer turned to stone good god thank GOD our boy's okay

AND ROUXLS KAARD IN HIS PIRATE DUCK!! WITH HIS LITTLE HAT! DEMANDING THE QUEEN MAKE HIM BUTLER SUPREMETH! I LOVE HIM MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF

also!! kris and ralsei's little moment on the swan boat💙 i wasn't a kralsei shipper before but uh... that may be starting to change

it's hard because ralsei's still suspicious but at the same time i love him and want him to be happy. i don't know how to feel

also, if darkners outside of their dark worlds turn to stone after a while, why didn't ralsei? that's, uhhh... VERY sus. very weird. mr fox i need ANSWERS

WE FINALLY HAVE A WAY TO SAVE AFTER WE'VE FINISHED MOST OF THE EPILOGUE LADS. REJOICE!!

seriously the thing that peeved me about ch1 was that the last save point was on the battle stage and if i wanted to play the epilogue again, i had to. do that entire battle all over. BUT NOW THAT'S BEEN FIXED!!

UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE MET UNDYNE AND ALPHYS HAVE MET THIS IS NOT A DRILL UNDYNE GAVE HER A BOX OF CANDIES EVERYBODY SHUT UP THEY'RE IN LOVE ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD

ALSO! NEAR THE BEGINNING! I FORGOT TO MENTION THE LITTLE WHITE DOG DOING DONUTS IN A TOY RACE CAR AND BACKING UP TRAFFIC! THANK YOU LITTLE WHITE DOG!

on that note: "looks like a car. this one has a man in it. he waves at you happily." AND THEN THE MAN'S GONE??? HEY TOBY???

ALSO. THE SEGMENT WHERE THE ANNOYING DOG HELPS US FIND THE KEY THROUGH THE POWER OF WANTON DESTRUCTION. THE BEST PLOT DEVICE!

TORIEL TEACHING SUSIE TO MAKE PIE STOP ITTTTT

and yes yes i KNOW kris slashed toriel's tires. that was extremely troubling. but THEY MADE PIE TOGETHER!!

"leave the chalk alone, kris" TORIEL!!

sans and toriel making egg puns and asgore running in and going "don't forget me, your eggs-husband!" is the FUNNIEST sitcom moment type thing ever. GOD.

on the other hand sans let me meet your brother god dammit i'll kill you

METTATONNNNNNN

RUDY... "who got you these flowers?" "is it weird for a married man to get flowers?" "so your wife did?" "oh, no! kris's dad did!" "...not even gonna try to understand this..." TOBY STOP ITTTT YOU'RE GIVING THE ASGORUDY SHIPPERS FALSE HOPE. YOU KNOW YOU'RE JUST GONNA KILL RUDY. YOU'RE JUST RUBBING SALT IN THE WOUND!

NUBERT! MY MAN!

seeing kris repeatedly they-themmed by multiple characters makes me so happy <3 poor kid... "college summer vacation when" "you opened the door with your eyes closed. you saw nothing" kris....

KRIS...

fucking. BLACK FOG STORM IN THE LIVING ROOM KRIS STOP IT. HOW'RE THEY GONNA REVEAL THIS WAS INNOCENT? THE KNIFE IN CHAPTER ONE WAS EASY BUT HOW WILL THEY EXPLAIN THIS

the staticy tv appearing in the dark and a toothy smile slowly fading into view in the center and lingering there ominously for far too long >>>>>>> every hollywood horror movie ever god. GOD

snowy and monster kid checking out the red door. implying there's something in there. something that kris knows about. knowing we won't get any more deltarune content for 5+ years does NOT fill me with determination

also. gaster's symbolic theme being mus_smile. and the final image in the game being a smile. god. gaster's COMING lads.

onionsan hears a song at night... a familiar song... memory, perhaps? or maybe a certain... four-note arpeggio that's hidden in a sound test room in undertale? who knows? guess we'll just have to wait for chapters 3/4/5.

this concludes my ramblings for now, but don't get it twisted- this is FAR from the last post i'll make about ch2. this whole chapter was absolutely amazing! brilliant! showstopping!! i'm genuinely soooo super impressed and excited for the chapter 3/4/5 bundle!!!

[let-me-love-you-loki]

The Christmas that Wasn’t-Ch. 3

A/N: Written with the wonderful, lovely @mox-made-me-do-it​

Chapter 3: Kenny

           “You’re joking,” I said, looking between Leigh and Allie. The latter still looked bright and fiery from yelling at her friend’s ex. Leigh had a faint grin on her face, her moss green eyes sparkling slightly.

           “Not at all,” Allie said looking mischievous. “But none of us are going to be there if we don’t catch the ferry.”

           The server came over and packed up what was left from the girls’ cheese fries. I dug my wallet from my pocket and handed over my card, gesturing around the group to let her know that I was paying for everything. While I waited, I leaned against the bar and watched Leigh and Allie a few feet away, their heads together as they talked.

           “You got that look, Ken,” Adam mused as he piled our luggage together.

           I dragged my gaze from the girls and scrubbed my hand over my jaw. “Which look is that, Hangman?”

           Adam smirked as the server brought my card and the slip. I left a decent tip and scrawled my signature before handing it back to her. “You’re all starry eyed.”

           Leigh glanced over at us, and I thought I’d been punched in the chest. I wanted to smile at her—I tried, I really did—but I couldn’t think straight. “She’s funny.”

           He snorted. “She’s pretty. And staying at the same resort we are. Make a move.”

           The girls picked up their bags and started toward the exit. Adam and I followed a few steps behind, watching them walk arm-in-arm. They meandered their way toward the ferry, blonde and red mixed as they leaned their heads together to whisper and talk. Over the sound of luggage wheels on concrete, I heard the sound of Leigh laughing. It hit my ears like music.

           “Hurry up, boys,” she said over her shoulder. I caught the edge of a grin. “You’re going to have to jump onto the ferry if you don’t hurry.”

           Adam gave a deep rumbling laugh. “We’re right behind ya, ladies. Right behind ya.”

           There was a short line at the ferry and the four of us stood in a cluster, our bags in a circle in front of us. Under the tropical sun, Allie’s hair was a strawberry blonde a few shades lighter than Adam’s. Leigh’s looked like a ruby with fire burning in its heart. She slipped on a pair of sunglasses and tipped her face up toward the sun.

           Allie stood behind her, fingers working quickly to sweep Leigh’s hair up into a braid that fell over her shoulder. I could see strands of auburn and mahogany threading through the ruby in her hair, and I thought I’d never seen anything so beautiful. The sudden urge to run my hands through it slammed into my gut.

           Adam elbowed me hard in the ribs, smirking, brows raised above his shades. “Dude, you’re staring.”

           I blushed. I felt the heat spread over my face as I forced myself to look away. I latched onto the first thing I could. “Look, the line’s moving.”

           The ferry was split level, and we wound our way to the upper deck, where we settled our bags on racks and sat down at a four top table next to the railing. The water was turquoise, undulating against the side of the boat in slow waves. My hair tangled in the breeze, and I pushed my sunglasses up to hold it back.

           “Drinks, ladies?” Adam said, grinning at the girls. “Ken, I assume it’s a Diet Coke for you?”

           I grinned and nodded. “Someone has to stay sober when you’re around,” I teased.

           “Let me help,” Leigh said, smiling across the table at my friend. I felt a stab of jealousy between my ribs. “I know what Als likes.”

           “Well, alright then,” he drawled, getting to his feet and gesturing Leigh to go in front of him. I watched them walk toward the bar set in the center of the deck.

           “Kenny,” Allie prodded, drawing my attention back from our friends. “Hey, I’m really sorry about what happened at the restaurant. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or Leigh back there. That’s the last thing I’d ever do, I swear. It wasn’t the most respectful thing to do when you first meet someone…”

           I waved my hand between us as if it were nothing. “It’s not a big deal. Really. I’m flattered.”

           She grinned like the Cheshire cat and looked over her shoulder for a moment. “Leigh’s ex is… insane and horrible. I’ve never really liked her, so I know exactly what buttons to push to piss that woman off. But Leigh likes you. You’re the first guy she’s shown any interest for in years.”

           My brows shot up and I knew I was making a weird surprised face. “Really?”

           “Seriously. I’ve only known Leigh to look at one other person the way she’s been looking at you. And we’ve been friends ever since.” Allie leaned closer and dropped her voice. “Trust me. Watch her. She telegraphs her tells like a strobe light.”

           I looked back toward the bar. Leigh and Adam were near the front of the line. “Really?” I had completely forgotten every word in three languages except that one.

           “Look at how she keeps her ears covered,” Allie laughed. “I guarantee they’re as red as her hair.”

           Before I could respond, Adam and Leigh appeared back at the table with a set of drinks. I smelled the rum coming from Adam’s drink. Leigh sat something in front of Allie that had a sharp fruity scent.

           “Diet Coke,” Leigh said with a smile, pushing a cup across the table at me. I watched as she sat next to Allie and dropped her head on her friend’s shoulder. I couldn’t help that my eyes were drawn straight to her ear, but it was covered by her hair.

           “What’d you get?” I asked, taking a deep drink of my soda.

           She looked at the table, her fingers wrapped around her cup. “Sex on the beach,” she said, her voice teasing as she looked up, her moss green eyes suddenly going grey. There was a flash of an image in my head—Leigh’s hair slipping through my fingers, my mouth on her neck.

           I spluttered on my drink. Adam thumped me hard in the back. I coughed into my fist, blinking hard. I hoped the rest of them thought some of the soda just went down the wrong pipe. But I had the feeling that Allie knew exactly what just ran through my mind.

           “It always was your favorite,” Allie added, kissing the top of her friend’s head. “Remember spring break during junior year?”

           Leigh laughed and pressed her fingertips to her mouth. The grin that bloomed beneath them made her face go as radiant and pink as an early sunset. “Als! You would bring that up.”

           Allie bumped her friend in the shoulder, and Leigh laughed. She reached up and tucked her hair behind her bright red ear. My brows rose a fraction in surprise. When I looked at Allie, she flicked her eyes to her friend and back at me, an I told you so clear in her expression.

           “Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be docking at the Four Seasons resort in approximately five minutes. If this is your destination, please make your way to the lower deck at this time.” The voice over the loudspeaker repeated the message again in several other languages.

           “That’s us,” Adam said, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp before he stood up. “You ladies head on down. We’ll take care of the bags.”

           Leigh smiled up at him, batting her eyes. When she spoke, it was with a dramatic Southern accent like something out of a movie. “Why, thank you, kind sir. I have never met such a fine gentleman.”

           Allie rolled her eyes and carefully pushed Leigh down the stairs to the lower deck. I helped Adam somehow maneuver both our bags and theirs down the stairs. “Showoff,” I grumbled as I hefted my bag over my back and carried Leigh’s with a little more care.

           “Shut up,” he replied, grinning. “You’ll look all big and strong. Trust me, it’s a thing. Those two will dig it.”

           The girls stood leaning against the railing facing each other. They were holding hands and laughing. Both of them seemed to shine beneath the sunlight, bronze and ruby. Color splashed across Leigh’s cheekbones. I had the distinct impression she was looking at me, even though her eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses.

           We arrived just as the ferry slipped to a stop next to the dock of the resort. There were a group of employees of the resort waiting, helping passengers off the ferry and offloading luggage. Adam wedged himself in front of them, passing over the bags and stepping over the gap onto the dock. He turned and reached back with both hands.

           “Miss Mason…” he drawled.

           Allie grinned at Leigh before taking both of Adam’s hands and hopping onto the deck. I stepped up beside Leigh and took her by the hand. Her skin was soft as her fingers curled around mine.

           “You jump, I jump, Jack?” she said, beaming up at me.

           “On three…”

           Once we rejoined Adam and Allie, the four of us walked up toward the main part of the resort. The air was thick with the scent of flowers and salt water. It was hot, hotter than I was used to living in Canada and Japan. The girls slipped into the building just ahead of us, and suddenly we were hit with a rush of air conditioning.

           Allie stepped up to the counter, pushing her shades up onto her head. “Checking in. Last name is Mason.”

           “Good afternoon, Ms. Mason. We have you booked for six nights in an overwater bungalow at the end of the pier. It seems we have you in a single bed accommodation, but there is also a hammock and a spacious sofa. Will this be acceptable?”

           She beamed at the concierge. “Of course! Everything is perfect. Two keys, please.”

           A moment later, she and Leigh had handed over their ID and gotten their room keys, brochure of all the resort amenities that were somehow prepaid for the entire week, and were gathering up their bags.

           “Very good, Ms. Mason,” he replied. “You’ll be in bungalow fourteen. Jean will show you the way. I hope you enjoy your stay at the Four Seasons Bora Bora.”

           My heart thudded against my ribs so hard I thought they were going to splinter. I had a sudden terror that I’d never see her again. She smiled at us—at me—and reached for Allie’s hand.

           “See you around the resort, boys.”

Tag List

@mox-made-me-do-it​ @not-that-kinda-gurl08​

[bounnostra]

this is too long and im sorry | ana | trial 2.1 | re: orwell, scourge, probably other people

Anastasia wasn’t feeling great before the dizzying ride up to the trial, a little lightheaded as it was. About halfway up she finally gives in to the urge to close her eyes, using her hands to cover her ears in an attempt to at least partially block out the noises around her. Shit, she’s just glad she hadn’t been drinking last night - a hangover on top of this probably would have knocked her out hours ago. At least her hands aren’t shaking so badly that she can’t hold a pen.

Because true to her nature, Ana hasn’t really stopped writing since the second she saw Valerio. It’s kept her quiet through a majority of the investigation and keeps her quiet even now, taking a deep breath as she opens her eyes and steadies herself, notebook open in front of her. Getting her thoughts organized.

There’s a lot to discuss. She isn’t really sure where to start. Thankfully, other people are starting for her, and all she has to do is flip through her notebook to try and keep up, but something Orwell says that finally prompts her to speak.

“...I had an idea about that, actually. The note.”

Does she? Doesn’t sound too confident in it. 

“I, um. We tried to, uh…” she flips around her notebook a bit. “...I don’t...think it says ZOHO, exactly. They’re numbers. Um. I think. It’s, uh...hard to tell, with how smudged it is, and there’s...a ton of possibilities, and a ton of things that all of those possibilities could mean, and not a whole lot of them make sense, but I did come up with...one that might...make sense? Maybe?”

Stalling. Obviously trying to build up the courage to say An Idea. 

She flips to a clean page and writes 20110, then takes her fingers and just kinda...rubs them on the paper, smudging the ink until there’s enough of a smudge between the 1’s that makes them, like, kind of look like an H? Maybe? And holding it up for everyone to see.

“...We all have phone numbers, yeah? Five digits. 2-0-1-1-0. Just...an idea. I guess. Not sure what it could mean. Could be...absolutely nothing, obviously. Take it with a grain of salt. All that.”

She’s much less sure of this the longer she talks, quickly lowering her notebook and flipping away.

“For the record, I’m not entirely sold on the idea that Valerio orchestrated the incident with the tree. He didn’t seem too comfortable talking about his strength, much less showing it off. I have trouble seeing him as the type of person who would...intentionally bring a tree down just to play hero, or go all out with his intimidation tactics. But...I can’t think of any other reason the axe would be in his room. It might have been planted, but...like Scourge said, there probably wouldn’t have been time for that. So I guess, um. What I mean to say here, is if he really planned it...he must have had a deeper reason than just wanting to look cool. Right?”

Not that she can think of one. She jots a few more things down in her notebook, gives her pen a few clicks. Looks briefly over at Scourge when they mention the lightning and nods.

“The lightning is an...interesting component. We - um, our group, I think Duck said it first--” Ana citing her sources mid sentence. “Um, we were thinking that might have been how the fire started. The spark. Someone, likely the killer...grabbed a fence post...the same fence post by the back exit of the mirror house. You know, the one that...looked like it had recently been on fire? From there, things seem...pretty easy to connect.” She does a little hand motion when she says it, like she’s clicking two things together. Not important to what she’s saying, just kinda dorky. “They couldn’t have planned for the fire -- otherwise they probably would have been better prepared, as opposed to just...grabbing a random chunk of wood to use as a torch. But...clearly they knew what they wanted to do with it, because it got all the way to the mirror house. So...”

A sigh. Lord, she doesn’t like that she’s been talking for so long. But like last time, it gets...a little more bearable, the longer she goes. All that isn’t even touching on the crime scene itself - she’s still thinking in circles just trying to comprehend it.

“And...okay, like Scourge said. Valerio...picked up the ferris wheel at some point, that much is pretty clear. I feel like, uh...the person who can lift a ferris wheel? That’s the person who has the advantage in the fight. Throwing a ferris wheel at the mirror house is a lot for intimidation’s sake. Especially with all the work it seems like it took to get the thing down. I don’t think he could have done it with that wound in his back, so it must have been before he was stabbed. Which means it must have been before the mirror house was set on fire, unless...he was trying to get at something in the mirror house? While it was already on fire? Tried the ferris wheel first, decided it wasn’t worth it, and just...ran in himself? So...it was on fire before he was in there at all?”

She bites her lip, giving her pen another little click. Opens her mouth like she wants to say something else, but decides against it. She's done here for now.