#to its logical conclusion (she would try to kill all her old classmates)

[bornetoblood]

Okay Rom Headcannnon post (I’m thinking about her).

Her full name is Ramona- gets shortened to Rom by her friends.

Botany and Entomology expert!!

Actually just as fucked up and morally bankrupt as her peers (we LOVE that for her).

I can see her being the most outwardly mean to the hunters in this really passive aggressive way (all the scholars are rude to them for classist reasons Rom just vocalises that the most often).

That said I can see her being willing to help and cooperate more so than the other scholars too- especially if it concerns the feilds she’s passionate about.

I can see her getting close with Caryll and Ludwig specifically cus of their Great One connections.

Her relationship with Luddy starts specifically so she can steal his sword and run tests on it but she actually gets to know him and it helps her combat some of that afformentioned classism.

I think her and Micolash had like a thing. Not really romanic or sexual but they were closer than they were to anyone else.

That thing falls appart cus they’re both waaay more focused on their research than living people. Cus they don’t really see the point if they’re gonna ascend.

I think her and Mic were the people who decided to start cracking people’s skulls open at the Hamlet lmao.

I can see her putting herself forward for the “let’s eat Kos’ umbilical chord and see what happens” experiment very enthusiastically but over time she got disilusioned with the idea and regretted it deeply.

That said, Rom’s ascension was SLOW. Painfully slow. Like ‘did anything even happen?’ for the first few months after she ate the thing.

So life goes on as normal, she has some weird dreams but doesn’t really think much of them. Then everything comes to ahead at like senior year ball or smth.

And then it’s like SUDDEN and awful and traumatic and not what anyone (non the less Rom) was expecting it to be and she dies halfway through and her body is cut up and thrown into the lake.

Now Rom is a big spider without her big spider legs and she’s pissed off at her ex-peers for being complicit and that’s why she holds back the Blood Moon Mic wants I think.

Anyway she’s representative of women as test subjects that Laurence specifically goes on to do a lot more of as well as the more body horror aspects of ascension.

I also think she’s got something to do with those little eye spider guys in the Nightmare of Mensis but that might just be cus Mic’s thinking of her lmao.

[jumarit38]

THE THEORY OF LOVE - MAYUKI OS

[mbtizone]

Veronica Lodge (Riverdale): ESFP

Dominant Extroverted Sensing [Se]: When Veronica moves from New York to Riverdale, she adapts to her new environment very quickly. She has no qualms about immersing herself in an unfamiliar town. She walks right up to people she doesn’t know and casually strikes a conversation. Veronica enjoys sensory pleasures and activities. She’s athletic, a gifted dancer, a skilled singer, and she cares very much about her physical appearance, as she spends a lot of time grooming and pampering herself. She’s very fashionable and appreciates the finer things in life. On Veronica’s first day at Riverdale, she immediately wants to know about the social scene and whether Riverdale has any nightclubs. She also quickly points out the school’s unappealing, dated decor. Veronica has a tendency to be a little impulsive. She goes into the closet with Archie to stop Cheryl from going in with him, but once she’s in there, she gets caught up in the moment and kisses him, knowing how Betty feels about him. She doesn’t hesitate to stand up to gang members. Veronica enjoys absorbing all that society has to offer, which gives her an arsenal of pop culture references to whip out at any given moment. When Veronica apologizes, she usually makes up for her mistakes with physical things (flowers, cupcakes, a spa day). Veronica looks for opportunities in her environment and seizes them – when Archie no longer needs Veronica for their duet because Valerie left the Pussycats, Veronica is offended at just being his backup choice (though, she’s more upset about witnessing their parents kiss), she immediately finds Josie and takes Valerie’s old spot. Veronica enjoyed her status in New York. She loved her Central Park views, eating at the very best restaurants, and buying designer clothing and accessories. She revels in scoring a date with one of the most popular and attractive guys in school. Veronica has no problem being the center of attention and is disappointed when her status as the new girl doesn’t inspire the intrigue in her classmates that she had expected. Veronica loves going out, socializing, living in the moment, and attending parties (“any excuse to wear a cute party dress”).

Auxiliary Introverted Feeling [Fi]: Veronica has a strong sense of right and wrong, which is the main reason she clashes with her mother. What Hiram is doing from jail is wrong. Hiring the Serpents to decrease the value of the land that the Twilight Drive-In is on is not okay. He’s ruining people’s lives! Ethel’s father tried to kill himself because of what her father did. She wants to remain loyal to her father, but she can’t because he is directly responsible for the suffering of so many people. When Veronica wants to make amends, or wants to relate to others, she usually does something (giving Betty gifts, inviting Ethel to hang out). Even though she knows it will hurt Betty, Veronica decides that she needs to investigate FP because she needs to know the truth about her father – whatever the truth is. Betty might feel a sense of loyalty to the Jones family, but Veronica doesn’t. She agrees to search FP’s trailer for herself. It’s something she has to do. She’s not helping to find out who killed Jason, or to help catch a killer and expose the truth to the world. She’s doing it because she wants to know what kind of man her father really is. She has no desire to work with Betty until she starts to become suspicious of her father. When Archie decides to do the duet with Valerie instead of her, Veronica lashes out about his lack of integrity and admonishes him for not being loyal. When Veronica’s upset, she doesn’t wallow in her grief – she takes action. Veronica refuses to give the contract to Fred after her mother requests that she sign it, and is furious when she discovers that Hermione forged her signature because everything was taken from her when her father went to jail – everything, except, as Hermione said, her name. And when Hermione forged her signature, that was taken from her, too. Veronica tries to make up for the person she used to be by showing kindness and empathy to the people she meets at Riverdale High because she once bullied someone so badly that they had to transfer schools. Veronica doesn’t want to be that person anymore. She wants to be a better version of herself, so she reaches out to both Ethel and Cheryl (who isn’t always deserving of Veronica’s compassion). Veronica even tells the Muggs family who she is and tries to apologize for her father’s actions. Veronica is disgusted with her mother when she implies that Veronica should use her budding relationship with Archie to get him to talk to his father about accepting Hiram and Hermione’s offer to buy Fred out.

Tertiary Extroverted Thinking [Te]: “I don’t follow rules, I make them, and when necessary, I break them.” Veronica does what she feels needs to be done in any situation and is quick to take action. When Chuck gives her a “Sticky Maple,” Veronica immediately decides to get revenge. Veronica is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She wants to know if her father was involved in Jason’s death, so she recruits Archie to help her break into FP’s trailer to search for evidence. She reads through Hiram’s files in order to figure out what’s going on between her family and the Blossoms. When she notices that there were large payments coming to Lodge Industries from Blossom Maple Farms and that these payments stopped when her father was incarcerated, the logical conclusion she comes to is that Clifford Blossom could’ve been behind Hiram’s arrest in an attempt to get out of making those monthly payments. She immediately wants to act on this information and tell her father’s lawyers, but Hermione considers it from all angles, telling Veronica that it could implicate Hiram in Jason’s murder and make things worse. Even though she cares about other people’s feelings, Veronica doesn’t refrain from telling it like it is and speaking harsh truths that other people doesn’t necessarily want to hear. She tells Betty that before she came, she was pining after Archie, but too afraid to tell him how she felt. Veronica is very practical and is typically able to come up with logical solutions and answers. When Betty and Archie can’t find Jughead in the middle of the night, it’s Veronica who instantly knows that he must be at Pop’s (the only place in Riverdale that’s open 24/7).

Inferior Introverted Intuition [Ni]: Sometimes, Veronica behaves recklessly because she doesn’t fully consider the consequences of her actions in the heat of the moment. She has a strong concept of symbolism, and after finding out that Ethel’s dad attempted to kill himself because of what Veronica’s father did, Veronica breaks down and rips the pearl necklace from her neck (a gift from her father), signifying the end of her allegiance to her father. When Veronica tries to seek forgiveness from Betty after kissing Archie, she presents her with yellow flowers because yellow represents friendship. Veronica doesn’t often think of the future, but she does occasionally visualize the way she wants things to be. She felt that being Betty’s best friend was her fate, and that she sabotaged her destiny by kissing Archie. When she sees her mother kissing Fred, she wonders what will happen when her father is eventually released from prison. Veronica is good with metaphors and often utilizes them in conversation. Veronica and Hermione are “like a cobra and a mongoose dancing.” She relates to Ethel, who can’t describe what she’s going through at home with her parents, but Veronica totally gets it, and describes it by saying it’s “like you’re trapped in a slow-motion car crash.” Veronica spends a lot of time working towards her goal of being a better person than she was in New York. However, she sometimes forgets her objective and makes shortsighted choices that ultimately set her back in her quest for self-improvement.

Enneagram: 7w8 8w7 3w4 Sx/So

Quotes:

Veronica: I’m filled with dread. Archie: Why is that? Veronica: Are you familiar with the works of Truman Capote? I’m Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but this place is strictly In Cold Blood.

Betty: So, I usually start off my tours with a little history and context. Riverdale High first opened its doors in 1941 and- Veronica: And hasn’t been redecorated since, apparently. Honestly, I feel like I’m wandering through the lost epilogue of Our Town. Betty: Uh-huh. Veronica: So what’s the social scene like here? Any night clubs? Kevin: A strip club called the Ho Zone and a tragic gay bar called Innuendo. Friday nights, football games and then tailgate parties at the Mallmart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night, regardless of what’s playing at the Bijou, and you better get there early, because we don’t have reserved seating in Riverdale. And Sunday nights… Thank God for HBO. Betty: Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller. Veronica’s new here. Kevin is- Veronica: Gay, thank God. Let’s be best friends. Kevin: Is it true what they say about your dad? Veronica: That he’s the devil incarnate? I stand by my father. Does everyone here know? Wonderful. Ten minutes in and I’m already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High.

Archie: So how’s your first day going? Good? Veronica: Not to be a complete narcissist, but I thought people would be more- Kevin: Obsessed with you? Any other year, you’d be trending number one, for sure. This year, though, it’s all about Cheryl trying to win the Best Supporting Psycho Oscar for her role as Riverdale High’s bereaved Red Widow.

Veronica: Guys, can’t we just liberate ourselves from the tired dichotomy of jock/artist? Can’t we, in this post James Franco world, be all things at once?

Kevin: “Dear Betty, please forgive me, XOXO, V.” Who the hell is “V”? Betty: Veronica. Veronica: Veronica. The yellow is for friendship. I also had Magnolia cupcakes flown in from New York. Because, as my mom likes to say, “There’s no wrong the right cupcake can’t fix.” Also, I’ve booked us for hers-and-hers mani-pedis at Chez Salon. Blowouts, too. I am so, so sorry, Betty. I don’t know what happened to me that night. It was such a basic bitch move. It was like I was possessed by- Kevin: Madame Satan? Veronica: The old Veronica. And I will never, ever do anything like that to you again. I swear on my mother’s pearls. Just, can you please give me one more chance? Betty: Okay. Veronica: What? Kevin: What? Veronica: Really? Awesome. I’ll take it and you won’t regret it. Betty: Okay. Veronica: And I’ll bring these to lunch so we can celebrate!

Veronica: I know everyone grieves differently, but Cheryl’s hosting a pep rally to cope with her loss. That’s either brilliant, or psychotic, or both. Betty: Yeah, well, at least Cheryl’s not putting on an act. Pretending she’s a butterfly when really she’s a wasp. Veronica: For the record, the only reason I went into that closet with Archie was so that Cheryl wouldn’t. Betty: Oh, so you did it to protect me? Veronica: Damn straight. Betty: Okay, so nothing happened between you and Archie in the closet, then? Yeah, that’s what I thought. You know, Archie and I were fine before you got here. Veronica: If by “fine”, you mean he was oblivious and you were pining after him in quiet desperation. Betty: We were friends, at least. Veronica: You were walking on emotional eggshells around him, scared to tell him the truth. Betty: Okay, you don’t know me, Veronica. Veronica: It is not my fault he doesn’t like you. If that’s what you’re thinking. It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s not even stupid Archie’s. It’s just how it is. Most of the time the people we like don’t like us back. Romeo and Juliet are the exception, not the rule.

Veronica: Is, uh, Betty still mad at you? Archie: We’re back to no texting. What about you? Veronica: I’m back to being the shallow, toxic, rich bitch who ruins everything in her path. Which is unfortunate, because even though I only just met Betty, it really felt like we were meant to be best friends. Like… Like it was our destiny, and now… It’s like there was this train that was heading to the rest of my life and I just missed it.

Veronica: What the hell is a Sticky Maple? Kevin: It’s kind of what it sounds like. It’s a Riverdale thing. Veronica: No, Kevin, it’s a slut-shaming thing. And I’m neither a slut, nor am I going to be shamed by someone named, excuse me, Chuck Clayton. Does he really think he can get away with this? Does he not know who I am? I will cut the brakes on his souped-up phallic symbol. Betty: Or we can go to Principal Weatherbee. Veronica: About the coach’s son? Who is captain of the football team, and Riverdale High’s resident golden boy? Betty: Or I can expose him in the pages of the Blue and Gold. Yeah, I can do that! Veronica: No. Spoken like a true good girl who always follows the rules. Well, I don’t follow rules, I make them, and when necessary, I break them. You wanna help me get revenge on Chuck, Betty, awesome. But you better be willing to go full dark, no stars. What do you say, in or out?

Kevin: Southside trash. Veronica: They’ve been doing that since the opening credits. Kevin: Shh! Veronia: Hey! You know what happens to a snake when a Louboutin heel steps on it? Shut the hell up, or you’ll find out! Kevin: I cannot believe you just threatened a gang-banger. Veronica: I’ve dealt with worse in the East Village. I just hate when people disrespect my cinematic experience.

Hermione: Veronica. Veronica: What the hell was that? I saw you with that biker guy, that Serpent. And don’t tell me you were just being polite. Hermione: I was handling some unfinished business for your father. Veronica: I’m gonna need more than that, Mom. Details, specifics. Hermione: All right, then. Your father hired the Southside Serpents to help decrease the value of the drive-in’s land so he could purchase it at a cheaper price using an offshore LLC. What you saw was me paying them for a job well done. Veronica: So Daddy’s the anonymous buyer? And he’s doing this from jail? Hermione: He has an extremely long reach, your father. And he’s sunk every last penny that we have into this deal. Veronica: So Dad really is- Hermione: Dad is a businessman. He saw an opportunity, and he took it. And it was happening anyway. Old Riverdale’s dying. He’s just simply helping it along. Veronica: But it’s wrong. Hermione: Wrong? Well, did you like living at the Dakota with a Central Park view? Did you like your personal shopping account at Barneys? How about our family dinners at Jean Georges? Your Hermes? Veronica: Those were just things, Mom- Hermione: That was our life, Ronnie, provided to us by your father.

Veronica: Are you gonna leave Dad when he gets out of jail? Hermione: Honey, why would you ask such a thing? Veronica: I saw you, Mom. With Fred Andrews in the trailer. Hermione: Oh, Veronica. Honey, I am so sorry that you did. But I want you to know that we’ve… We’ve never even kissed before. Until today. Veronica: What about Dad? What happens when he comes home? Hermione: I’m not sure. I’m so sorry, baby. It just happened, Veronica. And I know that this must be confusing. Veronica: Yeah, it is. Hermione: So, what can I do to help? Veronica: You know what, Mom? There’s actually nothing.

Veronica: Not to be that girl, Archie, but I didn’t get the memo we were adding another voice to the mix. Archie: Ronnie, hey. Great news! Valerie quit the Pussycats. Veronica: So, that makes me what, then? Backup? Archie: No. I mean, you were just doing it as a favor to me, right? Veronica: You are unbelievable, Archie. You literally have zero loyalty, you ginger Judas! Archie: Hey, Ronnie. What’s wrong? Veronica: What’s wrong, Archie, besides the fact that you have no integrity whatsoever, is that your father kissed my mother. Valerie: Um – Maybe I should leave. Archie: No, hold on. Hold on. When my dad told me how he felt, it seemed like they were both really into each other. Veronica: They’re married to other people. Archie: Hey, my mom and dad are separated and your dad is… Veronica: My dad is what? Archie: He’s – He’s incarcerated, right? Veronica: That is so not the point, Archie! Archie: Of course not. Of course not. I’m sorry. You’re right. Do you wanna talk about it? We can go somewhere and talk. Or… do you want your part back? Veronica: Oh, don’t do me any favors, Archie.

Hermione: I know you’re not his biggest fan right now, but I was hoping you would sign it. Veronica: Why would I need to sign it? Hermione: When your father was arrested, we made you a legal officer of Lodge Industries. Surprise! And two out of three signatures are needed to award the contract, which your father wants to give to a less than legit outfit. Veronica: And you want my help giving it to your boyfriend. I was gonna apologize to you. If I sign that, will you stop seeing Fred Andrews? Hermione: Ronnie, I can’t agree to that. Veronica: In that case, Mom, I’m sorry, but no. However you’re rationalizing what you’re doing with Archie’s dad, I don’t want any part of it.

Veronica: Honestly, guys, we should just move.

Kevin: So how’s the cold war at home? Veronica: Ugh. Horrible. Look, I hate fighting with my mom, but until she’s ready to admit and to own, that she forged my name to help her illicit trysting with Fred Andrews, I can’t blink, Kevin. She needs to make the next move. Kevin: And what if she doesn’t blink? Veronica: Back in New York, whenever I needed to blow off some steam, or force my mother’s hand, I’d go out on a bender, dancing with my fave celebrity gal-pal, my best gay, and some dim-witted, sexy, disposable arm-candy. That’s Josie, you. Kevin: Honored. Veronica: And as for my arm-candy – He’ll do.

Betty: But if she can’t live at home, then I don’t know, I can rent her an apartment. Veronica: Let me talk to my mom. Betty:No, you have your own stuff you’re dealing with right now, V. Veronica: Betty, Polly needs doctors, she needs prenatal vitamins…

Hermione: What do you want? Veronica: For you to admit what you did. Hermione: Fine. I kissed Fred Andrews. Veronica: No, Mom, the other thing. It involves you forging my signature to get Fred Andrews that stupid contract to build on Dad’s land. Hermione: Veronica, I asked you to sign that- Veronica: You broke the law, Mom, and you used me to do it. When Daddy finds out, he’s gonna think I betrayed him. Hermione: He won’t, I will tell him. Veronica: Really? When? Right now? Because I’ll cancel my plans for that. Hermione: You know it doesn’t work that way. Veronica: In that case, I’ll talk to you later, my friends are waiting. Hermione: Ronnie, do not go out that door. Veronica!

Josie: Mmm-mmm, girl. You better hydrate. You practically left your body on the dance floor. Veronica: I wish, Josie. I wish I could leave my body sometimes. Leave Riverdale, leave everything. Kevin: Is any of this helping? Going out, going Black Swan, any of it? Veronica: When my dad got arrested, the police, the lawyers, the judge, the courts, they took everything from us. Our houses, our cars, our club memberships, our yacht, even, I’m not kidding, the clothes off our backs. Anyway, my mom sat me down on the edge of my canopy bed and she told me not to cry. Because there was one thing in this world that no one could ever take from me. Not ever. Reggie: Your trust fund? Veronica: My name, Reggie. Which, after telling me no one would ever take it, that is exactly what she did. Like it meant nothing. It was nothing. Like I was nothing.

Veronica: This is how we Lodge women roll. We feint, we parry, we approach, we retreat. We’re like a cobra and a mongoose dancing. She blinked, which means, I suspect, that Hermione Lodge is ready to negotiate.

Veronica: I just wanted to tell you how moved I was by your poem. It felt like you were tapping into something pretty dark, but also pretty real. And I don’t want to overstep But is everything all right, Ethel? Ethel: Things at home aren’t great. My mom and dad are fighting, but they won’t tell me about what. It’s like this really bad thing is happening, and there’s nothing that I can do to stop it. Veronica: Like you’re trapped in a slow-motion car crash. Yeah, I know the feeling. Listen, Ethel. It sounds like you need some cheering up. Which happens to be a Veronica Lodge specialty. So If you’re free tomorrow, come over for lunch and pampering. Kevin will be there. Yeah, come on, it’ll be fun. Just please say yes. Ethel: All right, sure. Veronica: Yeah? Ethel: Yeah. Veronica: Great, I’ll see you tomorrow. Kevin: So What was that about? Veronica: Ethel’s poem was a cry for help if I ever heard one, the likes of which I vowed never to ignore, not after- Kevin: Uh-oh. Do we need to sit down? Veronica: Okay, so, last year at Spence, my best friend Katy and I kind of terrorized this girl, Paige. One time, we made her drink gutter water. Kevin: Ew! Why? Veronica: Because she was there. Because she was a misfit and we were class-A brutal bitches. Anyway, by December, Paige couldn’t take it anymore- Kevin: Oh, my God, did you drive her to suicide? Veronica: What? No. But she did transfer schools. And went into therapy. So now? If I can make Ethel Muggs’ life a little better, even for one afternoon, I’m going to do it.

Hermione: Veronica, there’s something that you need to know – about that Muggs girl. Veronica: What? Hermione: Her father, Manfred Muggs, invested with your dad. And it’s probable that they lost a lot when your father was arrested. Maybe everything. Veronica: Mom, they’re being kicked out of their house, their home. Hermione: Well, from what I’ve been told, the Muggs family is going to testify against your father. Veronica: They should. How many, Mom? How many families like Ethel’s? Hermione: It’s the risk of doing business with your father. Veronica: Could Mr. Andrews lose everything, for doing business with you and Dad? Hermione: I’m not sure.

Veronica: Ethel? Mrs. Muggs? There’s something I need to tell you. My name is Veronica Lodge. My father is- Mrs. Muggs: Hiram Lodge. And you’re showing your face here? Ethel: Mom, she’s my friend. Mrs. Muggs: She’s not your friend, honey. Her father is a criminal. He’s the reason Dad did this to himself. Ethel: Ronnie? Is that true? Veronica: Yes. And I am so sorry. I wish I could do something. Mrs. Muggs: “Sorry” isn’t good enough. You want to do something? Tell the truth. Your father is ruining lives. He deserves to sit behind bars for the rest of his miserable life.

Veronica: Anyway, enough about my drama. Betty, you were saying something about Jughead’s birthday? Betty: Yeah. Just that Mr. Jones told me Jughead’s never had a birthday party. Let’s have one for him. Like, a low-key surprise party. Archie: Uh, no, no. Veronica: That’s a fantastic idea. Archie: Jughead doesn’t like his birthday. Kevin: Everybody says that, nobody means it. Archie: Jughead is a lone wolf. Veronica: Okay. Ignoring the negativity. Betty, you know me, – any excuse to wear a cute party dress.

Hermione: What’s all this? Veronica: Dad’s files from the basement. Mom, Archie overhead Mr. Blossom say that he’s the one responsible for putting Dad in jail. So I did some digging. And found this spreadsheet of monthly payments from Blossom Maple Farms to Lodge Industries until about five months ago, when they stopped. Hermione: When your father was arrested. Veronica: There’s more. The payments, which are significant, by the way, have been happening for 75 years. That’s a ton of money. What if Clifford implicated Daddy to get out of paying the monthly fee? I wouldn’t put it past the wig-wearing monster. We should tell Dad’s lawyers. Hermione: Well, hold on. If Clifford did orchestrate your father’s arrest, people might think that Hiram had something to do with Jason Blossom’s murder. Ronnie? You got to let this go. Veronica: You don’t think Dad could, in any way, be responsible for Jason’s murder, do you? Hermione: No, honey, look, don’t make things worse by asking questions that no one else is asking. And please, God, do not bring the Blossoms into this. And that includes Cheryl.

Veronica: Mrs. Cooper? Alice: Yes? Veronica: I understand why Betty doesn’t want to get in the middle of this. But I don’t feel the same loyalty for the Jones family that she does. Alice: I’m listening. Veronica: Helping you find out the truth FP will help me find out the truth about my dad. And whether or not he hired FP to kill Jason. Alice: What exactly are you saying, Veronica? Veronica: I’m saying, if you want to go after Jughead’s dad, Mrs. Cooper, I’m in.

Archie: Not that I’m complaining, Ronnie, but why the change of heart? Veronica: Because I’m hoping you’ll say yes to the favor I’m about to ask you. Archie: Hey, if it’s gonna help you, then I’m in. Veronica: Remember when you heard Clifford Blossom say he put my dad in jail? Well, I think my dad may have gone after Jason as payback. He’s very eye-for-an-eye, and I have a strong suspicion he hired Jughead’s dad to do his dirty work. Also, FP’s done my dad’s bidding before. He trashed the drive-in. Archie: It’s a big leap to go from vandalism to murder, Ronnie. Veronica: I talked it over with Mrs. Cooper, and- Archie: She’s a part of this? Are you nuts? Veronica: She’s gonna keep FP busy while we search his trailer to find anything that links FP to Jason. Or, more importantly, FP to my dad. Archie: We should just talk to Jughead. Veronica: No, what if he’s protecting FP or tries to warn him? Archie: He’s our friend, Ronnie. Veronica: My dad is this close to being released, and my mom’s in denial and she’s ready to welcome him back with open arms. Me, I’d like to know exactly who we’re inviting back into our lives. Archie: Look, Veronica, I really wanna help you, I do, and I definitely don’t want Jughead to get hurt, but I’m telling you, FP’s cleaned up his act. Veronica: I hope you’re right about that, Archie, because if not, Jughead could get dragged into something very messy and very dangerous.

Veronica: You and Betty went on a manhunt without me? I’ll come meet you. Archie: We’re at the bus station, but it’s shut down for the night. Veronica: What’s the one place in town that’s open 24 hours? Hint, we were just there.

Hermione: You and Archie… Getting closer? Veronica: Maybe, why do you ask? Hermione: Your father and I made Fred an offer to buy out the SoDale contract, but Fred is still on the fence about it. I was hoping maybe you could talk to Archie. Maybe he could convince Fred to sell? Veronica: Yeah, sure, Mom. No problem. I’ll just sexually manipulate Archie into doing my bidding. Hermione: As long as you’re in control. Veronica: Oh, my God, Mom, I was kidding. Also, why are you trying to push Fred out of this deal? He’s the only person in this town who was loyal. Who was good to you. Hermione: Your father is coming back. He and Fred? They will not get along.

Veronica: Betty… I just testified on my father’s behalf and helped his chances of going free. Betty: That’s good news, right? Veronica: My dad hired Jughead’s dad to trash the drive-in. And given recent events, it’s not inconceivable that he might’ve hired him to do other jobs. Like go after Jason as payback for what the Blossoms did to him. I want to help with your investigation. I want the truth. Whatever it is.

Cheryl: Speaking of hags Veronica, it’s so devastating to me that your mother has to sink to such unspeakable lows just to keep those knockoff Hermes bags on your arm. What’s next, selling her hair extensions? Veronica: My mom’s a waitress, Cheryl, not Fantine. And your faux concern reeks of ulterior motive. What is it? Cheryl: Only to remind you of your place in this school, nay, the town’s social hierarchy. Veronica: Threatened much? Don’t worry. You may be a stock character from a ’90s teen movie, but I’m not. And what does any of this have to do with my mom being a waitress? Cheryl: It’s just that I saw her talking to a Southside Serpent last night, in the alley behind Pop’s. They were having an extremely heated, intimate discussion. See for yourself. Veronica: Who or what is a Southside Serpent? Kevin: They’re this gang of bikers who pretty much stays on the south side of town. And thank God, ’cause they’re sort of dangerous. Drug dealers and petty thieves. Veronica: Then what was my mom doing with one of them?

Archie: It’s not what you’re thinking. Betty: So, it’s platonic? Archie: Okay, well, maybe it’s a little like what you’re thinking Betty: Archie. Are you and Ms. Grundy, like, together, like, romantically? Veronica: Oh, my God. You and your music teacher are having an affair? Archie: We are together. Look, I know that sounds bad, but- Veronica: Bad? It sounds scandalous. Betty: It sounds like jail time to me. Illegal! Archie: Betty, don’t go there. Betty: Oh, I’m already there. Archie: Ronnie, a little help here? Veronica: I mean, technically, Betty’s right. And ethically… Well, what is Grundy to you, anyway, your girlfriend? Your booty tutor? Archie: I don’t know, I don’t know what to call her. Betty: You said you were at the river alone. You lied to Sheriff Keller, to all of us. Why? To protect her? Archie: She believed in me when no one else did. Veronica: Okay, we get it. Archie: Betty, say something, please.

Veronica: What’s happening out there? Do we know? Is it about me? Jughead: I have a strong inkling, and no. Also, I’d let it go. Veronica: Yes, but you’re you, and I’m me. You do you, girl, I’ll be back. Kevin: What was it like before she got here? I honestly cannot remember.

Veronica Lodge (Riverdale): ESFP was originally published on MBTI Zone

[alcoholicseraphim]

The Year Before Tomorrow

Chapter 10- Year I- Synchronized Estrangement

"He's safe. Come to my office." Albus's voice lacked its usual chipper quality, which was worrying. He sounded tired. His phoenix Patronus was no less weak than usual, but its feathers seemed to droop and it didn't appear quite as energetic as she was used to.

Had he been up all night? It seemed absurd to mother a man who'd celebrated his centennial, but Hermione couldn't help it. It was a good sign, perhaps, that he didn't feel like he needed to cover up weaknesses with her. She wasn't sure what to think.

The grounds outside were bright and green, as seen from Hermione's perch in a window alcove on the sixth floor. If she searched she would probably find Hagrid toiling away somewhere. Hermione got up and walked toward Albus's office. She passed the occasional student, generally Ravenclaws since she was near their tower. She made eye contact with a few, but none so much as waved. This wasn't unusual in the slightest, so Hermione wasn't upset by it. She had far more important things to worry about than her lack of popularity.

It hadn't been that long ago since she'd last visited the Headmaster in his office. Only a few days, she thought. The password hadn't yet been changed from "Peppermint Toad". She could feel the stone eyes of the gargoyle's on her back as she trudged up the spiral staircase. She knocked on the door and didn't wait for an answer before opening it.

"Albus, what happened?" Hermione asked before even shutting the door.

His face reflected his tone from earlier, wrinkles appearing where Hermione hadn't noticed any before and his lips set so thin they looked like a wound. His nose seemed especially crooked. "Sit," he said, gesturing tiredly to the chair facing his desk. Hermione obeyed without question. It was several moments before Albus opened his mouth to speak again. "You were indeed correct. Voldemort's Death Eaters sought to capture or kill my brother. He did not, however, need my help, and he was very cross at me for interfering."

"Oh," said Hermione in a small voice. She was well aware that Aberforth and Albus didn't get along at all. "You fought. Is everything... Is everything all right?"

"We have been through far worse before." Albus folded his hands. His half-moon glasses clung to the very tip of his nose. "I would not be surprised to find that his ire does not limit itself to me."

Aberforth was angry with her. Of course, that was the risk she'd taken in getting Albus involved, but surely he understood that she was only worried for him? She needed to talk to him, get this mess sorted out. "I understand. Is he violent?" Hermione hoped not. She'd seen him angry before, but that was after years of war. Had he always been volatile?

"No, I don't believe he is, but perhaps he simply no longer has the strength to attempt to break my nose again."

"Is that all? You should get some rest." Hermione leaned forward and touched the old man's hand, trying to convey her sympathy through the contact.

Albus seemed to appreciate it, as the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. "Good advice, and advice I will follow. I suggest you attend today's classes and go see Aberforth after supper."

"Goodbye, Albus," Hermione murmured, standing up to leave.

"Oh, and one more thing," Albus said abruptly. "Aberforth isn't the only friend you should reconcile with." She didn't have to look at him to know that he was smiling in that infuriatingly benign way.

The arsehole had been waiting to impart those bloody golden "words of wisdom". Without turning back, Hermione said, "I have it under control. Goodbye, Albus."

*|II8II|*

"The Dark Lord is making plans," said Mulciber conversationally through a mouthful of potatoes. His fork clinked against his plate, making Regulus wince. His manners were abhorrent.

Snape laughed, a sound which resembled a bark and lacked any mirth. "Tell me something new. When isn't he making plans?"

Mulciber scowled around his food. He swallowed, thankfully, before replying, "No, I mean real plans. Plans that affect us."

"How so?" Avery asked, leaning forward. His dirty blond hair fell over his face, so all Regulus could see was his twisted mouth and button nose. He didn't have to see the other boy's eyes to know that he was staring at Mulciber.

"I only know what my cousin told me," Mulciber said. He put another forkful of potatoes in his mouth and chewed, obviously trying to up the suspense. The boy had no idea how transparent he was. How pathetic.

"Get on with it," said Avery. "If you don't hurry up and tell us we'll have to deal with it as it happens."

"Well," Mulciber said, "you do remember that whole business with that Cup Granger stole from the Lestrange vault?"

"Of course we do, it was only a few weeks ago." Snape, as usual, didn't waste an opportunity to deride their obtuse classmate.

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" Mulciber snapped. Snape didn't reply, but Mulciber continued regardless. "That Cup was apparently important to the Dark Lord. He wants to find Granger and force her to give it back."

"It's more likely," Regulus spoke up, "that he wants to figure out how she took it. No one's ever stolen from Gringott's before, maybe he thinks she knows something new." It was just a Cup. If it were so important to him, why would he give it to Regulus's cousin? Everyone knew she was as unhinged as she was devoted, and her husband wasn't much better. Regulus wouldn't trust either one with so much as a self-watering potted plant.

Avery scooted even closer. "Maybe. So, sure, he wants to find the Mudblood. How does he plan on doing that? No one can come in or out of Hogwarts without the Headmaster knowing."

Snape shook his head. "Not exactly. It's just not safe."

"What?" Regulus blurted. This was new; what vital secret had Snape kept close to his chest?

"The Forbidden Forest. The wards don't encompass the whole thing, so if you walk far enough you could get out or come in," Snape said, as if it were obvious. To be fair, Regulus couldn't help but agree. How had it never occurred to Regulus before, in all the many afternoons spent daydreaming up ways to leave the castle? It made so much more sense for the Forest to be off-limits, too, if there was such a flaw in the wards.

Still, how could such a huge defect have been allowed to exist? In the thousands of years since Hogwarts was founded, why hadn't the wards been strengthened? "How hasn't that been remedied by now?" he asked.

Snape sighed. "There's no such thing as a perfect defense," he said. Quoting a textbook, probably, the prat. "In exchange for such strong wards, they had to leave a whole side open. That's not to say one can fly in, but if you're willing to travel at ground level through the Forbidden Forest, then you can conceivably come and go as you please. The Founders made the Forest so deadly by design. I don't believe anyone's ever successfully utilized the flaw, though."

"It is a bit daunting," said Avery, beginning to be distracted once again by his food.

"Just a bit," Regulus agreed snidely. Avery flashed him a grin. Was he only pretending to be stupid? That was a decidedly Slytherin thing to do, but Regulus liked to think that the five years they'd known each other would inform him of any hidden intelligence. He would have to think about that.

"I wonder," said Mulciber, an uncharacteristically sly leer twisting his features, "how we can use this." Mulciber, on the other hand, was undoubtedly dull, a Slytherin lacking in cunning but making up for it with ambition. His cruelty, disloyalty, and utter cowardice disqualified him from any other House, so he shared space with the snakes. Exchanging glances with Snape, it was clear that the other boy shared his disdain.

"You have an astoundingly short memory," Snape deadpanned. Regulus snickered at Mulciber's thoroughly affronted expression, but he felt his stomach begin to clench.

"What are you talking about, Snape?" Mulciber hissed, trying to appear menacing. It only made Regulus laugh harder.

"The Dark Lord," Snape prompted, somehow keeping his face completely straight.

"We can lead Him to Granger!" Mulciber said, sitting up straight. "If anyone could get through the Forbidden Forest, it would be Him. We must tell Him!"

Unease swam in the pit of Regulus's stomach, making him nauseous, but he couldn't come up with a reason to discourage that plan of action. Of course he'd seen where this was going, but he'd thought that Snape wouldn't guide Mulciber to the logical conclusion. As far as Regulus knew, Snape had nothing against Granger, at least not enough to wish her death. Regulus wanted her out of the picture, but not like that. Just imagining what the Dark Lord would do to her was enough to make his insides contract. However, he wasn't nearly fanatic enough to feel safe in expressing opinions like that. Any dissent voiced now would be seen as a betrayal to their Lord.

He was saved from having to say anything by the arrival of the post owls, likely bearing responses to letters sent that morning. There were far fewer than there were at breakfast. A dingy-looking barn owl landed in front of Regulus. He eyed the bird in distaste and edged his hand forward cautiously to untie the letter from its leg. The moment the tie was undone the owl took off, the letter not quite detached. It fell onto Regulus's (fortunately empty) plate. Ignoring Avery's nasally guffaws, Regulus unfolded the letter.

Black,

I have a favor to ask of you. Yes, I know you don't owe me anything. This isn't for my sake, it's for Sirius's.

Hermione Granger asked me to tell Sirius a lie about why she's avoiding us. The easiest way to do that, I think, is to make him think that she prefers the company of Slytherins. His prejudice is so strong that I'm positive that will work. All I'm asking from you- and anyone else you may choose to bring into this- is that if Sirius asks, tell him that Hermione spent hours of time in the Slytherin Common Room. She's given permission to add any details, even if they paint her in a bad light.

I hope you'll consider it. I don't have permission to tell you why it's necessary, but please believe me that this is important.

Regards,

Remus Lupin

This was a ready-made solution, fallen into his lap without even the slightest effort on his part. If what Lupin claimed was true, then Granger had signed a blank check to him. He had her bloody blessing to ruin her reputation so thoroughly that even Sirius would turn away in disgust.

Perhaps Lupin was lying. That was always a possibility; however, being a Gryffindor, Lupin was far more likely telling the truth. Still, Regulus resolved to send his own letter to Granger, confirming Lupin's words. He wouldn't want to meet the business end of her wand. Regulus wasn't the type to underestimate his opponent, and he knew too much about Granger's accomplishments to doubt for a second that if she wanted him dead that would be what happened. He could hope that her Gryffindor righteousness would prevent that if it really came down to it, but he preferred not to take the risk.

Regulus looked up to see all three of his companions observing him, clearly wondering about the letter. They knew by now what his mother's owl looked like, and Hogwarts owls were distinctive in their pathetic appearances. Should he show them? Permission to do so was explicitly included in the letter. He had little time to send a letter to Granger right then, and it would be more difficult to bring up should he wait. He trusted them- or rather, he trusted Snape- not to go barreling into this without first making a plan. Snape would certainly agree to help. He was willing to do anything that hurt Sirius.

"Snape," Regulus said, handing over the letter. Snape stretched out his deathly pale hand and took it, reading through it once quickly, and then again with more patience.

"Is it a setup?" Snape asked, still examining the bit of parchment.

Regulus shrugged. "It's possible. I plan to send her a letter."

Snape tapped the tabletop with his index finger, a slow smile spreading on his face. "I'm in," he declared, glancing over at the Gryffindor table. When Regulus followed his gaze, he saw Sirius making a general fool of himself with Potter. Snape couldn't stand to see them happy, that much was obvious.

"We'll come up with a plan later," Regulus suggested. He didn't have to indicate Mulciber and Avery for Snape to understand.

"Send the letter, then we'll talk." Still grinning in that manic way Regulus was familiar with, Snape got up and left the Great Hall. Regulus chuckled, amused as always by his dramatics.

"What was that about?" Mulciber asked, watching in disappointment as Regulus set the parchment on fire.

"You'll see," said Regulus, and spoke not another word for the rest of the meal.

*|II8II|*

Peaceful afternoons in the sixth year boys' dormitories were uncommon, to say the least, but this one seemed all set to break the trend. Sirius sulked up at the curtains of his four-poster. James was ignoring him because Sirius had switched the clothes in his drawer for Lily's and put James's clothes in Lily's room. His sense of humor when it came to Lily had completely left him, Sirius lamented. It wasn't even that serious of a prank!

Seeking entertainment, Sirius flopped out of bed and into Remus's, pretending to read Remus's book but really trying to block the other boy's view of it. Remus was wise to his tricks, and turned so that Sirius's head couldn't get between him and his book.

"Moony," Sirius whined, drawing out the vowels as long as he could with a single breath. "I'm bored." Peace? Quiet? Unacceptable! Something would have to be done, and it was up to Sirius to save the day. Not that he really had any ideas, but he was positive Remus would provide at least a momentary diversion.

Remus closed his book and sat up, looking right at Sirius, who drew back in confusion. "I know something you'll be interested in," he said.

"Get on with it, then!" Sirius cried, bouncing on the bed just to hear the mattress creak. Something in Remus's face told him that maybe he didn't really want to hear what Remus knew. Still, Sirius had never been one to ignore impulses and this one said that he just had to know. It was probably something sarcastic, knowing Remus. Sirius relaxed at the thought and felt his enthusiasm return in full.

"You sure?" Remus asked before shaking his head. "Never mind. Of course you are. Do you want blunt or sugar-coated? Never mind." He took a deep breath and said, very slowly, "All those times we couldn't find Granger on the Map, she was in the Slytherin Common Room. She separated herself from us because they poisoned her against other Gryffindors."

Sirius was silent for once in his life. Out of all his hypotheses, all of his theories, this had never even crossed his mind. "Who?" he breathed. A peculiar feeling was developing in his gut, like he was rotting from the inside out.

Somehow Remus understood his vague question. "Snape. And your brother. Mulciber and Avery... probably more, but those are all I know of."

"Snape? Snape? She chose Snivellus over us?" Rage boiled inside him, mixing with the festering of rejection in a way that was entirely unpleasant. And Regulus? She chose his little brother over him? That stung. "She's a Muggleborn, though. Why- why would they ever accept her?"

Remus looked down at his lap, refusing to look Sirius in the eye. Sirius's heart seemed to be shrinking. "I think you know why, Sirius."

He wanted to cry. Or scream. Or go find her and hex her until she told him everything. Remembering his fixation on her, Sirius felt such shame and pain and disgust that he had no doubt he could cast the Cruciatus on her. Or Snivellus. "How do you know?" Sirius asked, struggling to keep his voice even. He wouldn't waste any more feelings on the... the harlot.

Looking entirely unaffected, Remus said, "I saw her with the Slytherins on the Map a couple of weeks ago. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure. I confronted her about it this morning, and she admitted to it."

"Oh," Sirius said. "Thanks, Moony." He dragged himself onto his own bed and shut the curtains. Feeling tears beginning to prick at his eyes and clog his throat, Sirius flicked his wand and put up a Silencing charm. Satisfied that his best mates wouldn't know how upset he was, he lowered himself onto his pillow and curled in on himself. His body was leaden and trembling.

In the safety of his four-poster, Sirius allowed his face to crumble and the tears to fall in earnest. How could she do that? How could she be so unfeeling, so callous? They'd all dropped everything to include her, hadn't they? Apparently that meant nothing to her. How could she have been Sorted into Gryffindor? She didn't even have the courage to tell them herself.

She chose Regulus. Not him, Regulus. Similar in looks, in upbringing, in blood, in intelligence, but he was a follower and a budding Dark wizard. That was telling, wasn't it? She'd chosen two of the Darkest wizards currently in Hogwarts to consort with, so how could she be anything but a Dark witch? Maybe she wanted to make up for her blood status, to choose those who would hate her for it. Why associate those who would accept her if there was a challenge to be had? It made sense; he'd always seen ambition and competitiveness in her. Very Slytherin qualities to have, now that he thought about it.

What did it say about him, that he'd been so obsessed with her? Was he subconsciously attracted to women like that? Slytherins? It was positively Freudian, but faced with the evidence Sirius had to admit it, at least to himself. Hermione was a Slytherin dressed as a Gryffindor, and he'd been fooled by her masks. He wasn't sure who he hated more, her or himself.

His tears were long gone, but he lay there trembling until he finally fell asleep, missing dinner. He couldn't have cared less.

*|II8II|*

Remus contacted her a few days after Regulus did. She pieced together what exactly their story was, and despite herself was impressed. It was perfect, really, if she wanted Sirius to not only ignore her but also hate her. It would hurt him, she knew, but at the moment she had more important things to worry about.

For one thing, she had nowhere to sleep. The timing was all wrong. She was on bad terms with everyone who held even the smallest amount of affection for her. She couldn't sleep in her dormitory or the Common Room, obviously, and now she couldn't stay in the Hog's Head. She'd briefly entertained the idea of staying with the Slytherins, given the story Remus had fed Sirius, but without the protection of her magic she couldn't be sure she wouldn't be killed in her sleep. A Gryffindor in the Snake pit? Unthinkable.

She couldn't tell Albus, either, because she already knew that he disapproved of her absences from the castle. He approved of most of her decisions, if she were honest, and would be no help.

The Room of Requirement was an option, but she didn't trust herself to have free range of the Room in her sleep. When her rational mind was unable to intervene, she needed all sorts of things that ultimately would destroy herself or someone else. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of the Room as that she was afraid of herself.

In the end, she and Echo slept curled up on the cushioned window seats interspersed throughout the castle. She changed seats every night, not using the same alcove in the same week. Echo was an excellent source of heat, as always, though she couldn't protect Hermione from the chill originating inside her body. The phoenix responded to her companion's increasing despondency by growing more attached, apparently sensing Hermione's need for company.

Meals were touch and go. She wouldn't show her face in the Great Hall, both because she didn't want to see the way Sirius would look at her and because she wasn't sure she could give the impression necessary to give credence to her lie. Aberforth had ignored her entirely when she tried to go to the Hog's Head to apologize until she'd had enough and left. Sometimes, very late at night, Hermione would go to the Kitchens. If Sirius, James, or Peter saw her there it would invite far too many uncomfortable questions. Gradually the gnawing of hunger receded and Hermione was able to function without constantly thinking about it. She had already been used to eating infrequently, fortunately, which made the transition easier.

Technically, Hermione did attend her classes. She showed up early to turn in her homework and to ask about the work for that day. She met resistance at first, naturally, but she reasoned that she was unable to practice any spells regardless and she was already fulfilling the theoretical requirements.

The majority of her time was spent with Keane, researching until the effort of merely moving her eyes seemed too much. Keane always shooed her out after a few hours, explaining in that condescending way of his that the more time she spent there all at once the more tenuous her link to linear time became. Hermione agreed that that would be Bad. It wasn't that she would mind the passage of time stopping for her, although she did very much mind. It was more that she didn't want to become like Keane, bitter and distant.

Remembering her curiosity when Echo had first hatched, Hermione began teaching her to read again. She didn't know how to discern whether Echo actually understood, other than the intelligent gleam in her eyes and her timing in asking Hermione to turn the page. Often Hermione wished Echo could speak, but lately she was beginning to think that it wasn't necessary. They understood one another perfectly without the need for verbalization.

As stressful as her routine was, Hermione began to get used to it. She didn't think about Sirius all that much anymore. Sometimes she fancied herself more a ghost than a real person, and, oddly enough, it appealed to her.

It couldn't stay that way, she discovered.

Final exams had been over for two days. She didn't have to be around other people to know that they were all exhausted. No matter what Houses they were in, they alternated regularly between celebrating and sleeping. A mix of relief and fearful anticipation hovered in the air. The Hogwarts Express would be taking the students home early the next morning.

Hermione wasn't sure what time it was, but she was sure it was very late, given the pink and orange that began to spread across the sky. Now that the grounds were no longer pitch black, Hermione spotted movement on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. At first she dismissed it as a herd of centaurs coming unusually close to the castle. It was hard to see just what the figures looked like, but they seemed far too small to be centaurs. Some of them held balls of light in front of them, but they disappeared one by one. Without the glare of the light, Hermione could barely make them out if she squinted. Comprehension came slow, followed immediately by terror.

There was a massive army, all clad in black robes with white masks. The Death Eaters had invaded Hogwarts.

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Detention

by Ronan Wills

Thursday, 11 October 2018

Taiwan's history of martial law makes for an excellent portable horror game

Oooh! This is in the Axis of Awesome!~

Horror video games are in an odd spot right now. With my beloved Silent Hill buried beneath the ashes of Konami and the genre dormant in the big-budget space (although Capcom might be giving it a sharp poke back into wakefulness, if Resident Evil 7 and the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remake are anything to go by), gamers looking for a scary good time have increasingly turned to the indie scene to get their fix.

But even that’s starting to stagnate, with a plethora of shabby titles ripping off whatever the latest big trend is. The

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

clones weren’t too bad, but things got really dire once

Five Night’s At Freddy’s

came along.

There is, however, another trend that’s flown under the radar. In recent years, indie horror games from south-east Asia have started to crop up here and there. Developed with an international audience in mind but touting their local culture and mythology as a selling point, these games stand out both due to their point of origin and because they tend to take inspiration from older, more well-regarded horror classics, instead of chasing the latest flash in the pan. The trend seems to have begun with

DreadOut

, a Kickstarted game from Indonesia heavily inspired by the Fatal Frame/Project Zero franchise, and over the last few years more and more have popped up on Steam and other digital platforms.

Jonesing for something spooky to play and realizing that I hadn’t dipped my toe into this particular corner of the market yet, I browsed the Nintendo Switch online store and spotted

Detention

, a Taiwanese game from developer Red Candle. I remembered hearing good things about it when it was released on the PC early last year, but I didn’t know much about it past the basic plot setup and that it’s a 2D side-scrolling game.

Now I’m just kicking myself for not playing it sooner. Everyone who loves classic horror games and who harbours hope for the future of the genre needs to play this game immediately.

Detention

takes place in the 1960s, during the period of Taiwanese history known as the White Terror. The country is under the rule of the nationalist Kuomintang, who use anti-Communist paranoia and tension with neighbouring China to brutally stamp out any hint of dissent among the populace. Our protagonist is Fang Ray Shin, a seventeen year old high school student on the cusp of graduation and adulthood.

Trapped in her school during an unseasonable typhoon, Ray finds herself in a nightmarish version of her familiar world, where ghostly creatures roam the halls and supernatural manifestations force her to confront the events of her recent past--events that she either doesn’t remember, or is trying desperately to forget.

If that setup sounds just a wee bit familiar, then you’ll understand why I sat up and gasped in delight more or less the moment I started playing

Detention

. It’s very clearly and obviously riffing on the older

Silent Hill

games, and unlike many horror games that have tried to do this over the years, it both successfully distills the essence of what made

Silent Hill

so memorable and also manages to retain its own identity.

Despite the 2D presentation,

Detention’s

gameplay is as familiar and comfortable as a favourite pair of slippers. You explore spooky, elaborate environments, searching for clues and items to help you solve puzzles that usually operate on some amount of dream logic. You’ll use items on environmental objects, you’ll hunt down keys, you’ll find statues that look as though they’re meant to be holding something but are currently not holding anything...it’s very familiar survival horror fare. The puzzles are uniformly clever and intriguing; as the game goes on they ramp up in difficulty nicely, eventually requiring the sort of lateral thinking that leads to satisfying “ah ha!” moments. Smart environmental design means that you’ll never fail to progress simply because you didn’t press A on the right piece of background; things you’re meant to interact with are clearly signposted as such.

Where Detention diverges from its inspiration is in enemy encounters. Realizing that combat was always the worst part of classic horror games, Red Candle decided to do away with it entirely in favour of light stealth mechanics. You’ll be looking to avoid

Detention’s

eerie monsters rather than kill them, although I don’t want to spoil the main mechanic by which you do that because it’s pretty original. Enemies aren’t very common--they show up just enough that you’re always worried about running into one, but the game doesn’t throw them at you just for the sake of creating artificial difficulty. Puzzles and plot are the main focus here, particularly in the game's second half.

Said plot is easily

Detention’s

greatest asset. From the very first scene, where a teacher is called away by the school’s political officer for unknown reasons, the game establishes a heavy atmosphere of dread. Its handling of Taiwan’s history really demonstrates the difference between people telling the stories of their own culture and an outsider doing it. A western developer would likely have gone much heavier on the White Terror angle, rather than taking the much more nuanced approach that Red Candle did.

The White Terror is both ever-present and distant. Like all people who live through history, Ray isn’t aware that her experiences will one day seem extraordinary to future generations, or that the society she lives in will come to be viewed as a transient period of darkness between relative stretches of light. This is just her life; she and her classmates and family and teachers have the same daily concerns as anyone else living at any other time, they just happen to exist in an environment where mundane actions and worries can get people killed. Feeling stifled by her surroundings and her home life and yearning to escape, but not knowing what that would look like in practice, Ray takes the kinds of reckless actions that young people the world over are prone to. The fact that her life is engulfed in tragedy as a result isn’t treated as remarkable or even unfair; it’s just the reality of the time and place she happens to live in.

If you’re familiar with

Silent Hill

-inspired games, you’ll know that they like to have Big Plot Twists of a certain nature. Very early on, I figured out what I thought was going to be

Detention’s

Big Plot Twist, but it turns out that the developers were one step ahead of me. Obviously anticipating this reaction from savvy horror fans, they de-twist the twist by basically giving the game away well before the climax. The suggestive symbolism littered throughout the personalized hell that Ray finds herself in lays out the basic fundamentals of what happened to her and the other characters and why she’s in the situation she’s in very clearly, and then a combination of cut-scenes and documents makes it explicit if you’re paying any attention at all. This turns out to be a smart move on Red Candle’s part, as trying to conceal the truth for a Big Plot Twist would likely have failed, and the exact specifics of why everything happened is more interesting than the mere fact that it did happen.

Ray herself is one of the best-written videogame characters I’ve seen in years. Initially encountered through someone else’s perspective, she comes off at first glance as the sort of timid, helpless heroine that horror likes to go in for. But as you peel back the layers of the plot, she turns out to be something very different altogether, both stronger and weaker than she appeared at first, and heart-breakingly relatable even as she’s caught up in circumstances that most of the people playing as her will (hopefully) never experience.

More than just well-written, Detention is subtle and intelligent. Visuals, music, plot and dialogue weave together in eye-opening and unexpected ways, forcing you to constantly re-examine things you saw earlier in new light. It really does reach the heights of meaningful, subtle symbolism that Silent Hill achieved at its best. At times, it might exceed it.

I’m enough of a

Silent Hill

mega fan that that’s high praise indeed. In case it didn’t come through clear enough, I loved every single second of

Detention

, from its mysterious, foreboding opening to it's heart-breaking conclusion. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the successor to the throne of the top tier of videogame horror that Konami relinquished when they started farming Silent Hill out to inexperienced studios, and my anticipation for Red Candles’ next game is physically painful.

All that aside, the game has a few irritating flaws. The English version is plagued with a number of typos and grammatical errors, including the occasional straight up missing word; judging by Red Candles’ English website, it seems like they don’t have any entirely fluent speakers on staff, and it shows. The problems aren’t enough to be a deal breaker by any means, but the mistakes are jarring given how well written the dialogue is, and it’s disappointing to see these errors uncorrected in a version of the game released well over a year after the initial PC release.

At one point, the game brings up a student/teacher relationship which (reading between the lines) appears to have become sexual. Taken at face value, the way the story leaves off this plot point could be read as alarmingly positive. Thinking about it a bit more deeply in context, the rose-tinted way the relationship is portrayed is being filtered entirely through the perspective of the student--who has understandable reasons for feeling that way and wildly mis-interprets other adult dynamics--rather than any detached authorial voice. The only third-party opinion we get on the situation comes from another adult who's generally portrayed as an empathetic type with her head screwed on straight; the fact that she basically calls the teacher involved a predator is, I feel, a pretty clear indicator of where the developers' own feelings lie (there are also some horror elements of the game that don't exactly paint the adult party in a positive light).

Still, I wanted to bring it up in case readers may be uncomfortable with the idea of playing a game that tackled this subject matter at all. Other than this plot point, the game stays entirely away from sexual violence and abuse, which I thought was an admirable bit of restraint given how dark some of the other topics handled are (this is, again, somewhere that I feel a western developer might have tripped up).

Also, the Switch version of the game chugs and drops the framerate during visually busy environments. I’m assuming this issue isn’t present in other versions of the game, but it’s something to be aware of if you’re considering where to play it.

Regardless of how you play it, I recommend you do play it.

Detention

is the best horror game I've played in years and easily one of the most nuanced, mature stories in the medium as a whole. I have no hesitation in making it my inaugural

Axis of Awesome

entry on Ferretbrain.

Themes:

Computer Games

,

Horror