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thebadjoe · 1 year

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BAD JOE'S DRDT CH.2 CRIME SOLVING THEORY PART 1

So, I've been viewing and reviewing the videos for DRDT Chapter 2 up until the latest available episode (being 9 at the moment) and I've come across with so much information. Lots of subtle, yet interesting things. Thanks to those, I was able to connect a lot of dots and come up with a theory that just makes so much sense and I'd like to share it with you all. Before I dwelve into it, I'd like to repeat myself by saying that this is MAJOR SPOILERS and in case you wanna try to figure out the mystery by yourself or in case I end up being right with my theory, but you want to get those reveals happen as the videos are uploaded, then I'd definitly recommend all of those concerned people to immediatly stop reading and enjoy the ride that Danganronpa Despair Time has to offer. For those who want all the spoils, then let's do this. It's showtime!

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Step #1 : The sneakiest, but biggest clue

In episode 9, also known as the first part of the 2nd trial, we get to the part where the attempted murder on Ace is revealed (which was definitly bound to happen) and Nico, surprisingly enough, they take the blame. Some of the fans have a split opinion about this, based on what I've noticed. Some say that they're probably covering for someone, or that they attempted to save Ace and so on. I figured I'd take another look back at the crime scene of the attempted murder not only because of this, but also because eventually, we're gonna need to find out how it actually happened back then. It might end up being useful to learn for this chapter, it could definitly be related after all.

But what I end up discovering, I never expected to find a piece of information that can reveal so much about this chapter. I recommend you to watch Chapter 2 Episode 6 to watch the clue I'm referring to.

Let's first watch from 19:41 to 20:31, the part where Teruko is investigating the crime scene in the fitness room. She notices a couple props that we're also able to see. There is however one prop that's shown on the crime scene, but not mentioned by Teruko.

The roll of tape! The very same tape that Ace's killer used to stick the wire to the fan, which is also most likely the same tape Arei's killer used to put it on the bars of the carousel (IT'S SPINNY THING!!!).

Wow, you found the roll of tape! Why does that matter?

You'll see very shortly. But first, take a good hard look on where the roll of tape is positioned. Now, play the video at 20:31 and pay attention to the speech bubble. The bottom part of the crime scene is harder to see now that it's darker, but it's still transparent enough. At 20:37, you can still see the roll of tape barely. At 20:39, it moves Teruko's sprite, so the tape is hidden behind her. At 20:49, for a brief moment, the roll of tape is still barely visible. But then at 20:50, Ace wakes up. (dum dum DUM, he's not actually dead!) Nevermind him though. Here comes the most important part. 20:54...

The roll of tape is gone!

Wait, I don't understand... what does that mean?!

It's eitheir an error made by the creator, which quite honestly, there's absolutely no shot that this is the case for the simple reason that this is a background that the creator made. There's no way a prop that's part of the background can suddenly disappear unless they made another background, but without the tape. Why would they decide to change backgrounds at that specific moment?

So if it's not that, then that only means one thing : one of these three took the roll of tape!

No! That's ridiculous! It can't be!

You better believe it because thanks to this huge hint, it narrows down the list of suspects by a lot as to who murdered Arei. Let's not forget... we already established that this tape was used at the playground, the real crime scene and that based on the narrative, there exists no other roll of tape of that kind due to two factors : MonoTV cleaning up the fitness room (Episode 6-7) and Rose confirmed that there used to have tape in the fitness room (Episode 7). So now, only one of these three could've done it : Ace, Teruko, Eden.

There's no way the blackened could be Ace!

You're right. It's actually impossible. He's been nearly killed, he's wounded and his mind is set on anything else but murdering Arei. Also, no offense to Ace, but I don't think he has the smarts to pull this kind of murder scheme. Even if he did, we'd have to worry about him leaving blood traces on the roll of tape. The odds of that happening seem fairly high, but there's no blood sighted on any of that tape, so... He's out.

There's no way the blackened could be Teruko!

You're right. It wouldn't make sense. She is the protag, so it's be very weird to see her go so soon. Not only that, but unless it's for self defense, she literally has no motive to kill any of the cast at the moment. Remember, she's the only one who's totally fine with not escaping this killing game, just living here. So she's out. There's no way the blackened could be Eden!

... heh! Are you sure about that? Are you thinking this because this is one of your favorite characters or because deep down, you know that she's very kind and wouldn't hurt a fly?

Well... sorry for breaking the news, but disregarding the fact that she's the remaining valid suspect out of them three, she definitly has the motive and skills to pull it off. But putting that aside for now, take a look at this.

This was a couple seconds before Ace woke up and the roll of tape disappeared. This definitly shows the possibility that she could've taken the roll of tape as she was investigating. And we all missed it because of this explosive distraction : Ace waking up, shouting. When he shouted, he also pushed Eden which could've been the perfect moment for her to take the roll of tape without anyone else noticing.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen! I accuse Eden of being the blackened!

Nooo! Why eden?! I don't want to believe it! She had no reason to kill Arei!

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Step #2 : The simple, yet heartbreaking motive

That reminds me, let's talk a bit about one of the most popular topics this chapter in this community!

I've seen so many people come up with ideas as to which secret it belongs to who, especially since some of them could potentially be pretty incriminating in regards to the murder this chapter. Maybe some of these motives could play a part this chapter, but it's very hard to tell as we don't have a lot of information on that end aside from the motives we already know who it belongs to, but aren't related to the crime.

And it's true that cause of that, there's been a considerable amount of arguing going on between the cast, which could've resulted in a murder. But otherwise, for the time being, I would like to claim the following...

None of these motives in itself have anything to do with the murder of Arei and the attempted murder on Ace. This is just a giant distraction, a red herring to throw us off track on what actually happened. We don't need to know everyone's motive to solve the murder mystery.

While it is fun to theorize who could be the secret murderer, who's the manipulator or who's the main cause behind the killing game. I think that until proven otherwise, they're unrelated to the crimes this chapter, but will play a major role in the future chapters. Why would Eden commit murder then?

Let me ask you a question. Aside from their names starting with the letter A, what does Ace and Arei have in common?

Why does that matters? The culprit for Ace's attempted murder is-

Nevermind that for now. Focus on what they both have in common. One of the main reasons why there was so much arguing happening this chapter. That's right! They're both bullies! Ace's quite the bully, especially towards Nico (which we learn in the later chapters why that was the case). He was often causing a ruckus in the dining hall. It was not pleasant for anyone. Granted, Ace didn't really bully Eden much, but that's not the same case for Arei. Arei was pretty mean to Eden, even back to chapter 1. But chapter 2 was when she was pretty nasty. Back on chapter 2, episode 5, Arei bullied the crap out of Eden to the point where she exited the playground, crying. Here's a video for reference, as a reminder. (I recommend watching the vid of chapter 2, episode 5 from the beginning to 3:40)

Granted, later on, we learn that she did it to make Eden stronger, so that she doesn't become an easy prey in the future. She didn't really enjoy making her cry, she was just trying to help in her own way. Unfortunatly, Eden didn't really get to hear that as she was probably already far gone by then.

She heard something else however right after Eden left the playground.

Even though she was not in the playground, Eden most likely heard it : Arei being evil, a bully who only wishes misery on others. And that's pretty much the moment where Eden had enough. She snapped. That. was the motive behind it all. The cataclysm that broke this kind person's mind.

Hold on! That can't be right! There's no way she heard that!

Nope, that's wrong! We already have some proof that she could've easily hear it. There was the interaction between Ace, Levi and Teruko in episode 2. When Ace left the fitness room, Toruko talked crap about him, then Ace came back running, shouting and whining that he heard all of that. Then there's this!

The suspect herself claims that these walls aren't soundproof, so she is very well aware that things can be easily heard through the walls. So there you have it! The reason why she did it : to get rid of the bullies once and for all. Now then, let's talk about another big thing that caused some conflicts with the problem solving.

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Step #3 : Connections on the murder attempt

The mystery of the attempted murder on Ace is actually pretty interesting. There's a lot of likely different scenarios that could explain what happened in here. Most seem to conclude that culprit behind each of these crimes is not the same person. But what if I were to tell that it's actually the opposite?

That's right! I'm claiming that Eden planned and carried out both crimes at the same night without any accomplices!

But that's ridiculous! On Ace's attempted murder, Teruko found wires. The only person who could have that is Hu! She has wires according to the weapon list. So Hu is definitly involved!

Initially, I thought the same thing. Hu seemed incredibly suspicious because of that discovery.

But we've all been had! It was a ruse and sneaky trick by the creator by making us believe that it was her because of the glaring hint. But it's actually another red herring.

Aside from the computer lab, there is actually another source where the culprit could've gotten their hands on wires, but it's very subtle : the clocks.

The... clocks?

That's right! The very same clocks that Eden wanted to use to decorate as an activity with Teruko. It kinda suggests that she must've taken them. It's possible since the activity was cancelled because of the bullying. And inside those clocks, they contain wires... I think...

Not something I'm entirely sure of. But based on some research and some chat with a friend. The thing on the top right is copper wire. So Eden might've dismantle that clock with her tools and expertise and unrolled that wire. I gotta admit... I'm not quite knowledge about clocks, so there might be some misinformation. But I tried looking as much as I could and from what I gathered, most of the analog clocks have this kind of clock mechanism inside. So that seems pretty plausible, but feel free to correct me on anything related to the inside of clocks. Anyways, that's how Eden managed to get the murder weapon for Ace. In other words, Hu has nothing to do with the murder scheme on Ace.

But what about Nico? Why were they at the crime scene? Were they trying to save Ace? Were they helping Eden as an accomplice? Why don't they deny the accusations on episode 9?

There are a couple theories that could explain it, but I have one that makes the most logical sense.

Nico wanted to kill Ace for pretty much the same reason as Eden : To stop the bullying for good. Back in episode 6, it showed that they had the intent on killing Ace.

And that night, Nico was actually about to commit such crime, except that they were not as prepared as Eden. They were a tad late to, because at the time, Eden caught Ace off guard and brought him into the fitness room (something I'll explain later).

So Nico desperatly tried to look for Ace, get their revenge for the bullying. And because of that bloodlust, Nico's mind was probably hazy, not quite clear.

Then they found Ace in the fitness room, about to get murdered by whatever inventive trap Eden pulled. After that, I'm not sure what happened, but Nico broke the death trap somehow for whatever reason.

That's when Teruko and Eden discovers the crime scene and at that moment. Nico comes back to reality and looks at the situation they're in. At the time, they didn't know Ace wasn't dead, so Nico legit thought they killed him. So they panicked, they got stressed, they felt guilty and ran away.

That way, it would explain the reasoning behind their whole behavior and why Nico thinks they're responsible for the murder attempt.

But hold on! There's no way she could've done both of these crimes by herself and there's nothing that shows that they're related.

There's actually some similarities between both crimes.

For starters, they both use rather complex murder methods. Upon closer look, it looks like both of these seem to have some kind of mechanism involved which gives another reason to suspect Eden considering her ultimate talent. She works on things that has mechanisms, so it's nothing new for her.

Secondly, the state of both victims. No I don't mean Ace's neck being cut and Arei's neck being snapped. I'm referring to what else there was to learn about their bodies. Disregarding the red marks on Arei's wrists, we, as viewers, learned that there's no other kinds of injuries involved.

Meaning that they didn't get knocked unconscious with a blunt weapon of some kind. There is only one reason we learned that they might've fallen unconscious against their will : Rose's missing turpentine. Once again, not something I'm an expert at, but I'm guessing it must've been used kind of like chloroform, right?

Considering that it's Rose's custom weapon, it probably exists only one of these. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the culprit used it on both victims.

Come on now, that's impossible! There's no way she could've caught two people off guard!

Nope, that's wrong! We actually have proof that Eden is more than capable to pull it off.

As you can see, she was able to sneak on Teruko. So she could've done the same on both Ace and Arei. This is undeniable proof!

But wait, if she snuck on both of them, then that means...

That's right! Not only did she actually intend on commiting a double murder, Eden also planned on doing both at the very same night!

Bull****! It's impossible!

Oh, but it is possible! Why else would she pick the roll of tape after the investigation on Ace's attempted murder? There's also a lot more to this than just this fact.

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Step #4 : The requirements to kill Arei

So ever since Arei's bullying, Eden did a lot of planning and preparations. Like a whole lot! It's actually quite impressive! Once you find some hard proof and then connect a bunch of dots, you get to uncover quite a considerable amount of information on what's behind the culprit's mind. Right now, I'm here to lay it out all for you to learn as well.

Before she captures both victims, there was some preparation work needed. There's some that we already know. Stealing Rose's turpentine which is easily doable by anyone as Rose tends to be easily distracted. Grabbing Arei's rope which could've been grabbed by anyone as Arei discarded it, so monoTV put it in some kind of storage. Obtaining wire from dismantled clocks, I've already discussed this earlier, so this is obviously something she would do in advance.

And then there are some more subtle prep work involved. That rope... she had to set it up somewhere first before pulling off the whole murder scheme. But for that, she first needed to go to the movie screening room. The culprit needed to place the rope in a specific spot to put her plan in motion and it was somewhere through that room.

Here is some proof showing that the movie screening room and the playground are connected.

The culprit must've placed the rope on one of these metal thingy (I don't know the proper term) so that the rope would dangle on both sides, most likely reaching (or almost reaching) the floor of the playground. This was most likely set up at night, to not get caught.

That can't be right! I don't think Eden is strong enough to punch through walls and besides, we saw the movie screening room. There was nothing suggesting that the walls have been damaged!

That's right! There is no signs of punching into the walls or any kinds of damage at those walls. The culprit used her smarts and skills to get what she needed.

She used her tools to open a panel of some kind. Wanna know what's the best part? We have proof of that being possible and it's actually way back in Chapter 1, Episode 1.

As you saw on Eden's sprite, she definitly has tools. Even her custom weapon is a tool : the wrench! Granted, I doubt you could open this panel with a wrench, but maybe she needed it elsewhere, who knows?

To further confirm this rope setup, we also have more proof suggesting this possibility. It's back on Chapter 2, Episode 8.

The culprit must've moved one of these tube lights by accident and was unable to place it back for whatever reason. Or maybe they simply broke it. Eitheir way, this proves that my theory with the rope works.

Okay... then what?

Then it was time to go for the offensive! At nighttime, she probably baited Ace and Arei at different times through whatever means, then snuck up on them and get them unconscious with a cloth full of turpentine.

Next up, Eden placed Ace in the fitness and then she placed Arei's body eitheir at the playground or hidden in the changing room within the dress-up room. It couldn't have been the relaxation room since it was closed at nighttime nor could it be the fitness room since this was the death room for Ace.

The culprit definitly set up the death trap for Ace first because of the discovery of the roll of tape that I've shared with you all at the beginning. This discovery means that Eden took the tape to use it in the playground after setting up the murder on Ace. What was the actual death trap at the fitness room though? To be honest... I'm not quite sure yet. It must be involved with all the stuff that Teruko found during her investigation, especially the broom and stepstool since they're not from the fitness room originally.

I can't quite picture yet how the whole mechanism was designed, but at the very least, we know that it involved the fan and the wires. The wires was most likely around his neck while the fan was continuously rotating. I think that's what matters the most, at least. I'll let you guys know if I can figure out how the whole thing works.

Alright, you got the murder scheme on Ace sort of figured out. But there's no way you can figure out the one for Arei!

Heh! Think again! I have a fairly good idea on how that murder scheme works.

Although... I'll be honest... this is not quite originally my idea. I'm pretty sure I heard of this theory somewhere eitheir on tumblr or youtube, but it involves a quantity of props and the seasaw. So whoever that was, thank you!

Regarding the prepping time? She also gathered more, but it could've been done during the night of the murder. We have the water jugs,

a bunch of clothes,

and we have the roll of tape that Eden picked to do this! (And something else, but I'll get back to it later)

But what about the dead fishes?! Why are they here?!

I'll get back to it later. For now, don't worry too much about them.

Now then, here's how the culprit did it.

She attached the rope at the base of the carousel so that the rope would be pulled as she would turn it.

She rolled the bars of the carousel with the same tape so that the bars wouldn't be slippery as she rotates the carousel

On the other side of that rope, she attached the two jugs of water to it.

She readjusted the rope's positioning to make sure that the jugs of water would land on one side of the seasaw.

She surrounds the jugs with clothes to increase the odds of hitting the target.

She places Arei's alive, but unconscious body on the other side of that seasaw (mostly the neck) while probably attaching the wrists to the ground with the remaining tape to make sure she doesn't move too much.

She rotates the carousel, pulling the jugs upwards.

As she reaches the maximum height, she would release the carousel and let gravity do its work.

BAM! Arei's neck gets snapped and she dies.

Then following this, a few other things happen : the rope goes through the handle of the jugs from impact, the rope probably gets snapped in two from the impact as well, the clothes get wet from the spilled water (from the jugs) and the ground gets damaged from the corpse's sudden movement because of the impact of the murder.

Here is the proof to confirm this.

Another thing to note which could further explain why Eden is the culprit. I believe there was another use for surrounding the jugs with clothes. She wanted to add a "silencer" to her murder weapon.

In other words, because Eden knew that the walls aren't sound proof, she wanted to commit the murder as quietly as possible, to make sure no one else hears it.

After the murder, she had a few remaining things to do :

She used the first half of the rope to make it look like Arei has been hanged at the swing set.

She used the other half of the rope to "hide" it under the carousel

She grabbed the empty jugs, the two pieces of tape used to hold the victim's wrists and the ball of clothes.

She threw away the pieces of tape and the empty jugs in the trash can.

She hid the ball of clothes somewhere in the dress-up room.

And that, ladies and gentlemen is how she got away with almost a double murder and pulled it off in a single night.

But when did she pull off Arei's murder? She was with Teruko since the encounter at the dress-up room up until Ace arguing close by the students' rooms.

It should be pretty easy by now. She did it right after everyone went back to their rooms. That's when she went back to 2F to resume her murder scheme.

But that whole plan creates a contradiction with this and that!!! Without an accomplice even! It's impossible!

Don't worry, I do have a valid explanation to most of what seem like an issue and it actually makes sense.

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Step #5 : The finishing touches

Alright, let's tackle what seems like the biggest issue.

We definitly saw Arei alive the following day. So your time is murder is invalid!

No, that's wrong! You probably mean this, right?

Sorry to disappoint, but that's not Arei. That's actually Eden disguised as Arei.

How is that possible? She looks nothing like Arei!

No, but with a couple preparations and props, you can definitly put on proper disguise. I have two pieces of evidence that proves that this is possible and logical.

The dress-up room in itself is proof enough. Eden could've taken a copy of Arei's uniform in here, there's a wig that looks like Arei's hair and most importantly... Do you see the pink, heart shaped box on the brown desk? That looks like a make-up kit, doesn't it? So Eden could've easily make herself look like Arei with this.

As for the glove, I'm pretty sure that's the only reason why Arei's corpse doesn't have her glove anymore. The culprit was forced to take it from the corpse to fully complete the disguise.

But there's a bunch of people who saw Arei at lunchtime!

Yeah, but did they really pay attention to her at the time? Weren't they distracted by Ace whining on high noon?

What about Teruko? She cleared stared at Arei during lunchtime, so she should've noticed if it wasn't her.

Nope, that's wrong! We have proof explaining this issue.

When Veronika was telling Teruko that the character in a certain movie she watched looked like Teruko. Teruko would deny it by saying that the character's hair and eyes aren't the same colors.

So Veronika then concludes that she might be face blind. Being unable to recognize someone from their facial appearance.

It's not quite confirmed that she has prosopagnosia, but it's highly suggestive. Therefore, because our pov is practically the same as Teruko's, what we saw is what Teruko thought was Arei standing there at lunchtime when it was actually Eden disguised.

Both the lack of words from "Arei" during lunchtime and the fact that we don't see Eden's actual sprite in the dining room proves that this theory is possible.

On episode 7, Teruko, Whit and Eden were the first three to discover the body, yet the BDA bell made a sound. That proves she's not the culprit!

Nope, that doesn't prove anything. In fact, that's just another sneaky that the creator pulled on us.

Let's think of this differently. If we follow the logic that Eden is the guaranteed killer, then you have to ask yourself : why did it still ring?

From what we've witnessed...

She says this line right before Teruko opens the doors to the playground. Why would she say that suspicious line?

Was she nervous? Was she scared of something? She was actually scared of something that could've happened : the BDA not ringing.

If it didn't ring, it would've been game over for Eden. It would've narrowed down the list of suspects by a lot. She was afraid that this outcome would happen. Why? Because she thought that no one else discovered the corpse before them.

Yet, it did. Meaning that something unexpected, which worked in Eden's favor, happened : someone else discovered the body.

So now, we have to ask ourselves the next question : who discovered the body first?

We probably have a couple candidates suitable for this, but we have one specific individual who fits the criterias better than anyone else. Someone who's been acting suspicious since after lunch time. Someone that would fill in the few holes in my theory. That's right! The first person who discovered Arei's body is David.

What about the dead fishes?

Good thing that this is being brought up because the person responsible for placing those dead fishes all over the playground is actually David himself!

What? You don't believe me? Alright, let's go through each event from David's pov. Starting from lunch time (after the attempted murder on Ace) to evening.

He's eitheir looking for Arei after lunchtime or he's just roaming around the place for whatever reason.

He finds Arei's body sometime before late evening. He probably has a lot of negative emotions flowing through him.

But most importantly, he is confused, yet determined about one thing : "Why is she dead so soon? I saw her at lunch time, so she must've been dead sometime between then and now!"

He goes to the kitchen. Eitheir to spend some time alone, away from the corpse to think about this or because he was looking for something in the kitchen. Something like a knife maybe? You know... for revenge's sake. (This is definitly possibly because when David met Teruko, Charles and Whit, he didn't expect them to be there so late) and doesn't wanna join their late dinner because he's not in the mood.

After whit's suggestion, he goes to the relaxation room.

Upon taking some time to decompress and focus, he thinks of some facts he learned about the school's features. Like the fact that there are fans in the playground that can dry up wet stuff pretty fast and the fact the doors of the relaxation room are closed and locked during night time.

That's when he comes up with a plan : he takes the fishes in the relaxation room and places them in the playground.

That way, it'll help pinpoint more accurately the time of death of Arei and possibly find the culprit who doesn't have an alibi within that timeframe.

Unfortunatly for him, even though he was trying to help, that plan of his is actually gonna mess up the group for quite a while. Because as we know, the actual time of death was the night before the day he discovered the body first.

How did he catch those fishes?

Well... good question. I guess I may be slightly off with the ball of clothes theory that it's been used for the seasaw mechanism.

It's possible that it might've been used by David to catch fish more easily. Or... maybe the ball of clothes was used by both Eden and David. Yet another possibility.

Whichever is the case, there's probably an easy explanation for this.

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And there you have it! That's my whole theory about chapter 2. The whodunnit, the howdunnit and the whydunnit.

There are probably some other wacky, slightly valid theories that could work with someone else than Eden as the culprit. But personally, I feel like this is the theory that makes the most sense within the danganronpa theme, within the narrative, within all the hints we've been given. It almost feels like the creator is whispering to us that this is the way.

But hey, chapter 2 is not over yet. There is still quite things that has yet to be revealed. Heck, I never even mentioned the ripped up message in the trash can. Mostly because I don't to do with it since it's kinda missing clues. But maybe it will be connected with Eden's murder subtly, or maybe it'll be something entirely different. We'll see.

Until then, looking forward to see what's gonna happen in chapter 2 episode 10. Will I be right? Will I be dead wrong? Will I encounter a few errors where I'm gonna have to revise my theory? Only time will tell.

Thank you for the curious people who took the leap of faith to read this from the beginning to the end. I hope you had a good time. If I missed anything, feel free to let me know!

#danganronpa despair time #despair time #drdt #drdt spoilers #drdt theory

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gasstationclown · 1 year

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im gonna do a rambly thing because this is a rambly thing thats been in my brain and its actually sort of coherent and im incapable of shutting up so i want to share it. it also happens to be ace attorney because. ace attorney is running my life rn. but see more for said rambly thing (which will make the above make more sense, probably)

as much as i love the idea of the scene where apollo and klavier first meet, apollo looking at klavier and being Very Queer and klavier being like "ive never been looked at this way by a man before" and also being Very Queer, i dont think thats exactly what it is.

as ive mentioned a tiny little bit in a previous post, kristoph and klavier are nearly identical, and its kind of eerie how similar they actually are. theyre both easy to anger (though kristoph is a little more subtle until his breakdown) and tend to show this by hitting solid objects (wall for klavier, witness stand for kristoph); they have the same hair (which klavier seems to hav copied from kristoph); they both have sprites/animations of moving their hair out of their eyes, though klaviers is more sweet and suave while kristophs is more annoyed and disgruntled; kristoph has a sprite/animation where he kind of flicks his wrist and shakes his head, and klavier snaps his fingers (in the same general area); they both wear purple; they both wear glasses (klaviers sunglasses) with the same shape. the point is that they mirror each other

but, they are also fundamentally DIFFERENT. klaviers style is obviously rock n roll while kristophs is more traditional gentlemanly, and klaviers purple is much darker in comparison to kristophs. when klavier laughs, his head is tilted downward, but when kristoph laughs (in the flashback of what happened after the trial) his head is tilted up. kristoph tends to hold himself while klavier is much more loose. while they both tend to talk down to people, kristoph is more belittling and purposeful while klavier doesnt exactly seem to realize the wwords that are coming out of his mouth and just think hes being cool, yknow, like his brother. but, point is, theres a clear difference between them

you may be saying, "ok man can you just get to your point this is really stupid and youre dragging it on and its really hard to read paragraphs when you type so poorly" and to that i say yeah! i know! just hold on!

when apollo first sees klavier, he is HORRIFIED. a man so similar to his old mentor, the man that was supposed to teach him everything there was to being a defense attorney, the man that he helped send to jail on account of MURDER, appearing out in the open, so free and smiling. apollo is in terror and klavier somehow equates this to "i must look SO fine that this guy is giving me the same look women give me 😏" (which, i dont know what that says about the women he sees but) and completely misinterprets apollo looking him up and down in shock (apollo also literally says "mr. gavin?")

the reason apollo just seems to shit on klaviers person so much is because of how goddamn similar he is to kristoph, and he cant shake the feeling. and i think he recognizes that klavier and kristoph are NOT the same person, that klavier is not the same as kristoph, but he cant change that everywhere he sees klavier, he just sees kristoph in his place. and apollo cant find it in himself to be able to put a little trust in klavier being he just gives him this Icky Feeling.

i dont think apollo WANTS to hate klavier for being klavier either!! in turnabout serenade (i think?), when apollo and trucy go to talk to klavier on the stage, klavier greets them and apollo gives him an awkward "hiya". hes trying to be nice and polite and bypass his flight or fight responses but it comes out strained and uncomfortable. its much easier to say you dont like someone because theyre arrogant and whatever as an excuse than to say that oh my god, they look/act like someone who has made lasting damage/impact on your life. some jealously aspects could come from apollo thinking that klavier has it so easy despite also being horrendously betrayed by someone close to you because klavier just seemed to bounce back just like that.

i dont exactly know where to put this point, but after the first case and kristoph gets sent to prison, klavier literally cannot be lead by kristoph anymore. his brother isnt watching his every move, and he cant use klavier anymore (whether klavier was aware or not). theres just klavier, his own person

but, ok, whatever whatever, whats with the pictures. this one i can summarize easily, actually. in thinking [all of the above], i also thought of what would break the mirage apollo has floating around klavier at all times, and i think that would be something along the lines of klavier doing something that apollo physically cannot imagine kristoph doing as well. in this case, its kneeling down in the mud trying to find his key ring and then getting mud in his hair and being so oblivious to it. kristoph just isnt the type. and i think something like that would give apollo a moment of thought and realization. and then some like rivals to lovers stuff happens idk this post is over

#while i was drawing this i was like. huh. maybe i shouldnt have used red. this looks like a puddle of blood.#i know NO german i looked it up and google said damn = gottverdammt which sounds like it makes sense #im so sorry if its something horribly wrong #hope people appreciate trucy being taller than apollo. i think she deserves her dads tall genes. as a treat #also i love klaviers key ring so much i have never looked at an item in a game and immediately know who it belonged to until this #ace attorney #ace attorney apollo justice #apollo justice ace attorney #kristoph gavin #klavier gavin #trucy wright #apollo justice #ace attorney spoilers #ace attorney apollo justice spoilers #apollo justice ace attorney spoilers #art #my art #drawing #characters #character drawing #character art #fanart #ace attorney fanart #sketch #sketchbook #doodles #traditional drawing #traditional art #traditional sketch #also i promise this isnt how i plan on drawing my future comics i was trying to fill the page but didnt want to plan it ok? ok.

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jpivot · 29 days

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do you have any tips for makign the pngtuber?! it looks so cute, are they just idle animations or do they actually move when you draw etc?

it's just idle animation, the movement on the drawing/gaming ones just use the blink slots to randomly change between the "normal" pose and the "doing something" pose. i used veadotube mini so the only thing I directly control is the shift between talking/not talking and switching between the different states (standing/drawing/gaming). they're quite simple, it's just the movement of animation giving it the illusion of complexity. I know there's a way out there to map mouse/controller movement to your vtuber thing, but I didn't look into it because... well. I didn't want to lol

things can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. I'd recommend keeping the designs simple so it's faster to draw and make variations of. it took me one night to work on this one and I learned a lot about better ways to organize/set up my art/file for exporting as I was making edits. if I had a really intricate-looking drawing to start with, I'd have spent more of my time just drawing a single pose instead of being able to place an image in the program to see how it works and how things look in it. I started with just 2 static images and then went "what if it moved a bit" and then added things as I went. breadth vs depth, I guess.

hmm... as for tips...

the talk mouth is on a layer that covers up part of the face when I unhide it. this was nice because when I made a change to the animated drawing/controller poses, I could export out the talking variation immediately by just turning 1 layer on, instead of having to swap/redo changes between multiple layers (annoying). I also had the parts that moved (the arms) in a separated group, so when I changed the thickness of a line on his vest I didn't have to redo that change over and over again across 3 more frames. I still had to redo it for the 3 poses, but that's just 3 times total instead of 1 + 3 + 3 = 7 times total. if I were to do this again, I'd have things set up in a way where the different variations use as many of the same layers as possible, so changing something in one place automatically works for every pose.

and you can keep your life simple. for the animated frames I didn't redraw the arms from scratch for each frame of movement-- I just used the liquify tool to nudge them slightly and fixed up any small sections that looked weird. it ends up looking very intentional but with less work. it's easy to make it look bad though if you don't keep it subtle, I just had to feel it out by doing it.

...and you don't need to do any animation if you don't want to!! I just think it's cool and also a fun challenge. all the stuff I did on this one is built upon my experience making that older one I linked in my post, 2 years ago. the goofy crying pose i made for that is where I learned you weren't restricted to static images for the stand/talk/blink/blink-talk poses.

the drawing sprite in my new one has the default pose set as a looping "drawing" animation, and the blink is set as a "paused drawing" image. it used to be the other way around but I found a limitation with how setting the random start time and duration of the blinks worked, so I switched them.

#pivasks #the entire learning process is about trying to do something specific and finding out all the ways to do it bad.#and eventually you solve enough problems to end up with something less bad. perhaps good eveb #I tried the liquify thing because I wanted slight movement without the full effort of redrawing...#the only reason it worked out is because I've used liquify and done enough animation-adjacent things in the past to know what to avoid lol #that's experience I guess. look at the difference between my old one and this new one. that's experience!!

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beevean · 2 years

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It's aggravating how fans and media act like Sonic changed overnight in design, when in actuality it's been gradual, but people ignore 1993-1997 outside the not canon to game art Junio Toei Sonic. 3K flat out changed the sprite for a reason! It's basically like people thinking modern Garf walking on 2 legs was the late 80/early 90s, when in reality he walked as early as 1979, officially noted to 1981. Sega appeasing those noobs that dismiss most of the franchise aren't helping that notion

There is some Jam art that outright looks like the missing link between Classic and Modern

In this Adventure concept art you can see the evolution very clearly, and how subtle the changes actually were

Yes, Sonic is generally longer in his Modern design, but the style had been evolving for a while now. It's an interesting period to look back to!

(when Mania was announced trailer and all, I was genuinely surprised that many people did not like the 3&K style. I much prefer Sonic's sprites in that game over 1 and 2, I like his lil confident smile)

#sonic the hedgehog

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shnowyfox · 1 year

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all my mlp ocs in order of creation

DayDreamBreeze. also my original gamertag on minecraft! i uhm. shes not supposed to be a cheese changling. She's inspired by a fluttershy toy i had and the beautiful artwork for the honey queen chrysalis from ink rose's interpretation of her backstory. i swapped the honey for water and she's supposed to be a pegasus? but i drew her as a changling here for some reason and i have no clue why

Casey Cockatrice. Seeing pony youtubers discuss the show in their oc form, and thinking "wow, they're all just pegasi" i was like "i should do that but not be a pegasus" so i made an oc and never did that lol. probably a good thing though. anyhow. Casey was originally supposed to be an angel cockatrice but I didn't know how to do that without just making a chicken with a lizard tail until just now im realizing i should make it a dutchie omg. Casey enjoys the ponies and wants to befriend them but is confined to the everfree forest, so she has dawned a blindfold so she doesnt hurt anyone and she likes to hang out with zecora and collect herbs with her. she still just kinda does chicken/dragon things most of the time like pecking at the ground and sitting on treasure. The ring in her comb is supposed to be a halo. halos stuck in the character's design physically (usually through the hair or something similar) was a common thing i did for characters that were close to me at the time.

Lemon Lily. She is. very bright. she was supposed to have a much more subtle color palette but i didnt do that and now she looks like sprite lmao. anyhow. i drew her randomly when i went through a small mlp phase a few years ago, mainly just attraction for chrysalis, but i guess she exists. her cutie mark is supposed to look like a water lily made of lemons but it kinda just looks weird idk. i'd say her talent is supposed to be like.. maybe floral arrangement? i think i had some inspiration from early mlp background ponies and i remember the florists were my favorite.

JASON!! my favorite little idiot. he's a griffin i made in pony.town after realizing if i use the singular freckle and closed the eyes, it looked like he had tiny eyes and angry brows lol. all i do with him is act vaguely like skydoesminecraft and boop people with my bird fingers.

DayDreamBreeze 2.0. i literally drew this bitch and didn't do anything else with them. ever.

then is autumn breeze whom i've drawn literally in like my last post so im not doing it again rn. she's my LOE pony and if you want her lore go to the post where i drew her on my phone.

Honey Suckle. The only OC that I have surviving evidence of actually writing their backstory and whatnot. They were created with the idea of them experimenting on their body trying to turn themselves into a bee (basically beeatris as a horse, i know none of you know my persona beeatris but its pretty much her without the demonic activity and disney fairy influence), though i have thought of maybe changing it to her wanting to become a breezy or a changeling. She lost her horn because of this experimentation and is fluffier and has patches of hair on her eyes because of it. i forgot if she had a cutie mark or if i just didnt draw it or if it's overgrown? I think a lot of this character's experimentation was based off of memories of my brother who had leukemia and tried experimental treatments, mainly the fuzziness he got from his chemo or steroids i forgot which one it was. I also drew her as a kirin, idk if that was supposed to be a thing of like.. me doing it as an alternate idea of what she's aiming to achieve, as an alternate form of what she was born as.. or if it was just a doodle.. but it was pretty cool. a good quote for her is the vine thats like "i am a wolf on all levels but physical"

Next is Pegasus. I originally had a different name for them but i don't think i can share it here. Pegasus is also related to my brother though and is very cool. they're really just a celestial body as a pony like Celestia and Luna, but with more of a crystal pony inspiration. also, they speak enchanting table only and i think thats really funny. same size as Luna. also, she can hide in Luna's hair.

Stone Hoof. based somewhat off of Smokey Quartz from Steven Universe, i thought it'd be cool to also give them speckling like an appaloosa horse or vitiligo. you can't see their cutie mark but it's supposed to be a yoyo and i put it in the shape of the symbol of leo since im a leo and i designed them on the same day as pegasus lol. they are intended to be a friend to Honey Suckle.

Finally, we have... I didn't name this one actually. uhm. well! it looks kinda like scootaloo, especially g3 or 3.5. which was unintentional but she was one of my favorite ponies and i had a few toys of her so it kinda makes sense that this is what my brain thought of when i thought "well loved my little pony doll". The hair is based off of the fettucine hair on those g4 plushies and also somewhat based on dreads. the patterns on their hooves is the heartshaped horseshoe from those promotional toys where you can scan them in for video game perks. and the wings are colored after discord's wings. I also got inspo from Stitches from Animal Crossing.

those are the horses. 1 like = 1 more horse post.

i also have customs i made as a kid that i dont have pictures of but i could redraw. but they're basically just "this character but i painted this animal on their face."

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tyrorexdmzapp · 2 years

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Catch-up wave again- Recut 2/CS Recut (full OCs)

Catch-up wave 2- Recut 2/CS Recut, Part 1

Next up on the catch-up wave list is character sprites for the fantopic recut of the Wii U game with the Paper Mario name, Color Splash. Unlike StSt Recut, which was and still is seen by others as superior to the actual game, CS Recut was just as divisive as its own source material for various reasons (the number and use of past characters, the designs of some newer and even past ones, some added story elements).

While I am proud of what I did with Recut 2 or rather what Recut 2 did with the source material (to the point that the only way I can talk about CS is if it’s the recut, not the original- first time I’ve admitted this publicly, by the way), I also see where the criticism is coming from. This feedback has been taken into account for future fantopics, Mario Story Fruit Shake and Origami King Retold. That said, even those down the middle have tauted certain characters and elements as a good change.

Enough of that, though- here’s some reposted characters, new and redesigned, from CS Recut. Due to how different CS Recut is from the original despite using the same base locations and plot, this will be in two further subwaves- one for the completely new characters, and the other for those who mostly take up the same roles of generic or near-generic and nameless Toads.

THE MEMPHAWKS- A tough bird species, the Memphawks are both tough and wise. Rumors say their strongest member is a champion in the faraway Glitz Pit.

The Memphawks replace around 1/4th-1/5th of the generic Toads, with both unique and crowd-filler characters.

Had Rawk Hawk been used for a specific role in a previous original story, it’s entirely possible these roles would have been filled by a Madame Flurrie-based species instead.

THE VELLBEX- A goat species, the Vellbex are very rare, even in their homeland of Prism Island. Nearly 1/5th of the generic Toads are replaced with Vellbex, most of them unique.

I made this species both to show a more subtle way of including paper jokes (all of which were removed from CS Recut). The Vellbex were also a way to compromise with StSt fans, via making a species based on the memetic Goat thing from the preceding game.

EDWIN- A dashing young Slurple, Edwin’s big on the coinage and suckage power. Though formerly allied with the Musketeers, a misunderstanding due to joining Mario leads to a last conflict of interest.

Edwin takes up part of Justice Toad’s role (the part in Cherry Lake’s first visit), but becomes entirely his own character as the story goes on, though his Musketeer inspiration was D’Artagan...the human swordwielder, not the slug dog. In addition, he takes a large number (though not all) of Huey’s more meanspirited comments and money-focused nature so Huey makes a better first impression while also providing meaningful inner party conflict between more than just two characters.

LOUIS- One of Mario’s biggest fans, Louis the Memphawk knows all about the Great Gonzales, and wishes to help him on Prism Island. Louis himself has no counterpart in the original game. He and his father also reference a certain behind-the-scenes aspect of Mario, one that has become more important with a certain movie’s trailer.

MARIRANA DEEPS- The more carefree of the Deeps Sisters, Marirana doesn’t believe in limits (and neither should you). However, a degenerating relationship with her sister and the appearance of Mario’s friends sway Marirana to travel with them, if only to understand the next step for her to take.

This is the v2 design of Marirana that was used for the 2018 posting of the story. A newer redesign, seen below, was made years later for TOK Retold.

SUEBELLE DEEPS- The sourer of the Deeps Sisters, Suebelle is miffed at Marirana about something, leading her to leave and join with Birdo instead.

As with Marirana, this is the v2 design for Suebelle, with a v3 design made for TOK Retold.

#paper mario #mario story #paper mario recut #color splash #sprites

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parcy-anda-but-with-actual-posts · 2 years

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Semi-finished line of Fakemon I’m redesigning; long story short, an embarrassing number of years ago, I made Fakemon of a hypothetical Water-Music type sheep for a region based on a certain country... then Gen 8 happened. XD

A friend revived my interest in these guys, but an overhaul was more than called for; and that’s okay, because this was really fun and it’s not done yet! The evolved forms up there will have an aquatic form, for reasons better kept to myself if I don’t want to ruin any semblance of creativity these designs have.

Anyway, as with the last installments, I’ve been working at making Fakemon that actually look like Pokémon, I hope you like them. ^^ See bonus material and an obnoxiously extended Fake’Dex entry under the cut. ^^

Allegramb Dex Notes:

Young Allegramb are gregarious little Pokémon. They will bond and flock with others easily, attaching themselves to caretakers and peers to the point that separating them will cause great upset. At this stage, they are primarily concerned with playing in whatever water is available, honing their natural skills of manipulating it.

They gather water in the recesses of their backs, channeling it through ducts that lead to the head, from which they can fountain at increasingly higher pressure as they become older and stronger (though at this stage, it is more often used for bathing and play than battle). Males have trickier ductwork to practice with as pathways instead wind through intricate channels in their horns, as opposed to the singular blowhole-like structures of females.

There are times they let these recesses run dry, however, and that is when it is time to "sing". Air taken in through the mouth and nose can also be funneled through their skulls and out the openings, creating an array of calls. At the Allegramb stage, they have much to learn and often create quite the cacophony, but when matured, will weave elaborate tones for everything from battle cries, to warnings, mournings and courtship songs.

Throughout history, migrating herds would occasionally be mistaken for flowing rivers at a distance, their shining blue and white coats blending into one shimmering vision. In fact, these Pokémon would move from oasis to oasis, divining their location and — if only by chance — leading many a lost traveler to salvation. For this reason, the Pokémon are highly revered in the region and are extremely popular (and happy) in gardens.

While more subtle in the Allegramb stage, Tremwoolo’s overcoats grow to luxurious lengths, the hems of which go so far as to resemble fins in appearance and texture, and in fact, their fetlocks sport spines; to those unfamiliar with the line, this would be quite puzzling, but all is explained when they are allowed to fully submerge themselves in water…

Tens of thousands of years ago, the region was covered in rivers and seas, and the Allegramb line was fully aquatic. When the climate changed, populations adapted — or perished. Those that evolved to live in the growing deserts, attuned to the region’s oases, persisted and became the Allegramb we know today, but that affinity for deeper water is still there, in their very DNA!

~ ❧ ~

Not sure what will ultimately happen here, but I had whipped up a couple Shiny candidates for the babies (though a small unsatisfying area of the male’s overcoat was retained here, whoops), and while I’m leaning towards the Prismatic-Spring-Black-Sheep model for ‘more extreme environments’, the Red-Tide version is tempting for a regional variant basis. We’ll see.

And just for giggles and the sake of comparison... enjoy the original sprites from 2014... ;w;

#Fakemon #water-type #sheep

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soundtestmenu · 2 years

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i LOVE the design of susie's face and how she expresses. like in a large majority of her sprites her eyes are open 1 pixel tall, and this seems to be the default for her (it also makes her look extremely tired; she even has bags under her eyes...)

and this allows a lot of room for her to express with just her eyes, letting them be wide open to showcase a huge variety of emotions:

or express something more subtle, more nuanced:

(don't even get me started on how well her mouth is positioned on her face)

it's even more interesting when you look at her chapter 1 faces vs chapter 2

her eyes add a completely different energy to what should be the same expressions. her neutral face doesn't feel so cold anymore. her smile has a genuine, awkward softness to it rather than being very visibly joyless. even when she bares her teeth there's this new edge of mischief to it...

i think one of the most important things her sprites convey is how actually happy she looks after chapter 1.

her pupils are bigger on this sprite than any other, her mouth gives just the smallest grin and her whole look is so... soft. she doesn't make this face often, to the point where ralsei is caught off guard by it when she (arguably sincerely) makes it during a bit she does with kris.

(he also refers to it as "using that face" which. ralsei how much do you know)

it's just so heartwarming that you can see how much happier she is. she explodes with emotion and expression after being shown so much trust and kindness for the first time in what could be her whole life. someone jumped to take a bullet for her! they changed her life!! and now she would undoubtedly do the same for them! and when she comes back the next day she's SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM AGAIN!!!

she's such a warm character, and it's no secret that toby (who has stated that he personally draws all of the face sprites in the game) wanted to convey that in every way he could, and her facial expressions are a key part of it. faces are very clearly where he thrives in character design and susie is maybe the highest example of this

#deltarune #susie #long post #undescribed #(it's just face sprites)#thank you for joining me for today's episode of susieposting #tune in... later inevitably lol

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kitty-av · 2 years

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Ok, so I think I have finished ghost designs for my clones after they pop up in the zone after their destabilisation •^•

I also have color for them now - roughly at least. I may change hues or values at some point because I just mostly used this one pack of markers with nice saturation, and so if I ever decide to draw them digitally things will definitely change at least a bit.

But yeah, here they are, my bois but ghost addition:

I drew this man once on a sticky note and once on notebook paper, I added them both because I think both sketches have their charm. Dorian is no longer naked, so I had to incorporate his original design in more subtle ways like the belt. And his colours are generally the black and white of his original appearance.

I gave him a new hairstyle because I was already going for a glow up vibe, and I thought it'd look nice. I gave him some green in the hair because I wanted more green accents near his face just in case the detail on the suit ended up distracting away from it. Also hair streaks are cool.

Lastly, I was so proud of myself when I realised I could make the DP symbol into a tie accessory, the joy I felt when I randomly happened to sketch it like that was just... A lot.

Gotta love feeling smart for doing small details right OwO

This man. This man gave me a lot of trouble in the colour department. I already knew I wanted Dante in a comfortable/ casual outfit because he's the art guy of the squad, but after I figured out what it's generally going to look like, I realized that the whole green/yellow/blue triad looks great on paper... But it actually looks awkward in paper.

The markers I picked were giving me very few options because the green was dark, so I brought in another lighter one that didn't have a brush tip ( hence the roughness in some sketches ) and began to play around with the different combinations and with the way they'd look near the blue ( hence the swatches around the clothing )

In the end I settled for darker on the inside, lighter on the outside. After that I decided my man had way too little blue and thought it'd be cool to also give him blue in the hair to help tie the color together a bit more. It worked, but I like my sketch without the streaks more than the one I did with them, so I'm showing both.

Other than looking like a sunflower, the man's dark and green on the inside is also kinda his original colour scheme. His eyes were red as a Skelly, but I ditched that because I like my yellow/blue/green scheme and I wanted to keep it consistent.

This guy was the simplest to figure out because I already knew I wanted him to look the most superhero/ready for action one out of all of them. I gave him a uniform looking suit because I thought it'd probably be better for flying around and being tiny but also stylish.

I have multiple sketches of this lil man ( one in my own ) because of how simple and quick it is to actually pose and draw this man out of all of them.

I think this works because he's also quite expressive and mischievous so if he's easier to draw I can maybe push the outline and expressions more to show his emotions.

Also elf ears and fangs because that way he looks like a tiny fairy or sprite and that's very chaotic. You see him and you know he's a mischievous boi.

His hair is fire because why not, fire hair is cool. That's probably why they gave Dan fire hair too, it just looks nice.

Though for Dominic it's more of a general ' this guy is a free spirit ' vibe rather than a ' I am intimidating and very scary ' vibe.

He's red because I just thought it fit and it would help him stand out against the green of his brothers ( and also his own green from when he was a clone ) OwO

I think this is everything I wanted to show for now so yeah, I hope you guys like them (ㆁωㆁ) Have a good day/night!

#danny phantom #phanart #dp clones #danny phantom art

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adobe-outdesign · 2 years

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:3 any thoughts on murkrow and honchkrow?

Can you go wrong with a witch crow? In my opinion, never; though granted, I do think the design could've emphasized it a little more. Still, there's still some witchiness there with the modified hat, nose-like beak, and tail. The broom tail is actually one of the best elements in general; subtle enough that you might not pick up on it immediately but still noticeable, and the little pop of red to match the eyes works great.

The other good thing is the eyes. I don't know why, but I love Murkrow's eyes. They just have such a unique look to them, and there's something nice about the shape combined with the white pupils. It looks like you just told it a terrible pun and you're waiting for it to laugh but it's just tired of your shit.

My one issue with it though, as mentioned above, is that I would've liked to see it just a little more overt with its theme. As is, it's entirely possible to miss what it's based on, especially if you've never seen the beta sprite:

The eyes aren't nearly as good on this one, but the curlier hat really does wonders. I think they may have dropped it because it looks somewhat unbelievable as an organic part of the body, but I also feel like they could've fixed that by dropping the rim feathers, then making the curly part just one or two really long feathers, like a bird of paradise. But aside from that, this is a solid crow.

Anyone who's read my top 10 fav Pokemon knows that Honchkrow is on there. Why? Because it's a mafia don wizard crow, and if that isn't the best premise I've ever heard for a monster I don't know what is. I'd read an entire book about wizard mafia crows. It's also a good theme for crows; much like witches and corvids go together, the way crows operate in murders is also fitting of a mob.

I also just like the design in general. The huge chest feels very bird-like, the fedora is a nice extension of Murkrow's hat, the red spots help make the design pop, and the white chest feathers are both reminiscent of a suit and a wizard beard, which I always thought was cool. It looks sleek and imposing, it's a good continuation from Murkrow visually, and the theme is clear.

My favs are not immune to nitpicking however. One, I'm not big on the eye crescent. It's probably supposed to be a monocle, but it just makes the face look cluttered. Two, I kind of wish Murkrow's funky beak shape made it in there a little. And three, the wing feathers are a little weird. It's not bad that they bend upwards at the end; it's just that they clearly don't when you look at the wing that's being held up. Either make them all bend at the tip or make none of them bend, but keep it consistent.

And finally, I do have one more major problem with it, and that's that as sweet as a mafia crow is, it... kind of doesn't have that much to Murkrow. Like I said above, Murkrow is very clearly witch themed, but aside from Honchkrow having a "wizard beard" it doesn't really connect back to that theme at all. It's as if the person designing the evolution just looked at Murkrow and figured that the fedora-like hat would fit for a mob and never picked up on the main theme. It's visually connected enough that Honchkrow doesn't feel disconnected per say, but it also doesn't feel like it's as organic of a change as it could have been.

One thing they could do that I think would be cool would be to introduce a split Murkrow evo. When exposed to a Dusk Stone it evolves into Honchkrow, but it could also evolve into something else via level up. This alternate evolution could be a continuation of the witch theme; maybe the curly hat comes back into play, some purple is added to the palette, the beak becomes even longer and more crooked, ect.

Not only does this make sense in terms of Honchkrow being the don--rather than most Murkrow evolving into leaders, they instead evolve normally, and once in a blue moon one get a dusk stone and evolves into a Honchkrow to lead the others--but then you'd have your choice between the mafia bird or the witch bird, rather than having to go full mafia upon evolution.

Like I said though, at the end of the day, wizard mafia crow. You really can't go wrong with that.

#murkrow #honchkrow #pokemon #pokemon reviews #Ask

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capri-ramblings · 4 years

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Ooh requests are open! Can I request some headcanons on how the yandere octavinelle trio + Malleus and Lilia would react to their s/o being poisoned and afflicted with sleeping death where the only cure is true loves kiss? And surprisingly, their s/o actually wakes up afterwards.

Excuse me,yansweet, how dare you have such a deliciously well thought idea? I didn't do Azul and Floyd because they ended up a bit too similar with Jade though,so I hope you don't mind! 💖💖

Please Refer to Pinned Post. [This post was set on cued!]

[ True love's kiss? ]

Malleus Draconia

- Malleus is furious at first.

- He's blundering the halls of his castle when he hears of the misfortune cursed onto you

- How dare anyone lay their hands on you? And who were the fools who were so incompetent to allow it in the first place?

- This Fae King is ready to tear down the walls of his ancestral home until Lilia comes to soothe his anger, reminding him that if it was a curse begotten by another other than himself that there would be a cure for it no doubt.

- So,he simmers down. Compels himself to unsheath his claws and fury for another day.

- For now, he must go see you

- He smiles lightly when he does; The mere figure of you laid atop his bed in what seemed to be a deep slumber dousing his rage of fire.

- What an odd feeling he has when you are present. This gentleness that you evoke in his core is something Malleus believes no other being could give him.

- You are his special bride. His soulmate.

- "A true love's kiss" He murmurs underneath his breath, earning glances from both Lilia and Silver as they stood on each of his sides.

- Malleus considers this notion thoughtfully, wondering if he'd be able to do so for he wasn't a fool (though he felt he was one for your love) and he was aware of how stoic and reserved you had been with him despite the closeness he's tried to build with you.

- If he had kissed you then and you remained asleep. It would shatter a great deal of both his pride and heart.

- How would he cope with such a rejection?

- Truly,if he couldn't have you then no one else would have the chance to be.

- But if he did not attempt this then you'd remain asleep forever, and that seemed a fate worst than death or rejection.

- For then you'd be further away from him. You would have your freedom,your peace and he would be left with just a remnant of your existence.

- No, Malleus didn't want that.

- He wanted you, your soul,your laugh. He wanted to see the glistening of life kindling in your eyes, the sound of your voice cooing in his ears.

- If you remained in deep slumber, he would have none of this

- And he'd go mad.

- The world would matter not to him.

- If you demanded a kiss to awaken, he will give it to you. And if you refused him, he would litter your body with each mark of affection he has to offer.

- For if the Fates denied him your love , he would deny the world of peace.

- "Leave."

- The words were an order,drawled out with enough demand that Lilia and Silver didn't spare a second to obey.

- Malleus strode to his bed and allowed his gaze to drink the sight of your serene beauty bared before him, the way the light sprites lingered around you reminding him of a star he saw when he was younger.

- He wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to have him. If you could find it in your heart to accept his twisted one.

- Surely, a life encased in a dream was far from what you wanted as well?

- He knew you always had a spirit for living, and that by keeping you at his side Malleus had taken that away from you.

- But he'd promise to not repeat his mistakes.

- He'd allow you the freedom you so wished for so long as you accepted him as your one and only.

- Your true love. That's what he wanted.

- Malleus takes the place beside you, his weight causing the bed to sink ever so slightly as he leaned down to your face.

- Your subtle scent of flowers and grass greeting his senses almost immediately.

- "Be mine" He cooed,coaxed. Voice as gentle as a summer's breeze, a yearning song from the woods. "And I will give you the world."

- His lips presses onto yours gently and without a hint of greed in it. The sensation of being ruffled by the wind causing Malleus to furrow his brows before he loosened his body and deepened the kiss.

- Once he pulled away and your eyes remained shut, Malleus gripped the sheets. Expression feral, like a wounded beast.

- But then, your chest heaved a fraction more than it did before and Malleus watched in awe as your eyelids began to flutter open and your lips parted in a silent murmur.

- "___?" Your name leaves him breathless as it slips from his mouth and you turn your head in his direction.

- The glazed look in your gaze slowly regaining its composure the longer you lingered on his expression.

- "Malleus..." You called,soft and gentle it has him craning his head over you like a shrine to be worshipped. His hands gathering yours as he lifts them up to his lips where he lets it linger on your skin.

- "Malleus,I...I was asleep..."

- "Cursed,my raven." Malleus cut in, the hint of aggression he held before returning. "Someone had cursed you into an eternal sleep"

- Your expression shifted,from dazed to disbelief as you looked around the room before returning to Malleus's grief stricken form.

- "Eternity didn't seem to change much of your room."

- Malleus's eyes widened.

- Then,he laughed at you for that. A sound so broken and worn,you had trouble believing it came from the very same Fae who you knew to be cold and proud.

- "You didn't reached an eternity yet. I broke the curse." He said, and you tilted your head.

- "How?" The question was a quiet one, as if you didn't want to stir up the silence in the room.

- Malleus looked you straight in the eyes then. Gaze still and unwavering.

- "With a kiss." He said "A true love's kiss."

- And if that didn't answer his pleas, then perhaps, you could tell him yourself. For now, he knew the Fates were on his side and nothing you say would make him think otherwise.

Jade Leech

- Jade is livid.

- The very seams of control and patience he's paid attention to uphold slips through his facade like sand and his fists feel cold.

- The rush of aggression coursing through his veins then makes him see red as he strides his way to you.

- Floyd and Azul are waiting on him there, each standing at either side of your bed. He wants to tell them off for it, to bare his jaws and tell them that he didn't need anyone to play nurse for you.

- He knows it's unreasonable to act in such a way but he can't help it.

- All that meticulous planning to keep you from others reach, wasted.

- And it's entirely your fault,isn't it? You and your stubborn will to slither away from your one and only. The ungratefulness has Jade seething with more rage than he could ever contain.

- If only you'd stay put and not run off...This wouldn't be happening. You wouldn't be hit by that curse and Jade wouldn't need to wrack his brain for a solution to this mess.

- His wrath is silent though. Not a single word escapes him as he takes in the sight of your sleeping figure.

- Floyd makes a chide comment about it, ignoring the harsh glower in Jade's eyes but ultimately saved by Azul who seemed able to read the mood and divert the topic towards another.

- It takes days for them to figure out the cure for your curse but even when it's laid on the table before him, Jade finds himself frowning.

- A true love's kiss? What kind of childish fantasy was this? How could a curse strong enough to keep you asleep for an eternity be broken by a mere kiss?

- Surely this was some sort of joke. Jade turns to Azul for another possibility, but the Octo-Mer simply shakes his head.

- Jade involuntarily clicks his tongue, something he rarely does so openly but he thanks Azul for the information and asks to be left alone.

- He doesn't need anyone telling him the consequences if his kiss doesn't stir you awake.

- Then again, if he doesn't at least attempt to do anything, you'd remained unconscious and that was practically a death sentence wasn't it?

- Jade applauds you for making him internally conflicted. The fact that you alone could make him want to tear apart the world was no small feat after all.

- He somehow feels entitled to answer this ridiculous demand of yours, seeing that if he does wakes you up then it will be something he'll use against you

- Because if Jade breaks the curse it means you and him were meant to be, and he'd have the proof for it.

- So,he swallows his rage and he leans down to kiss you.

- In that moment where you actually stir awake and let out this almost pained gasp, Jade finds himself staring at you in awe.

- The very chains of his possessiveness coiling around you as his thoughts gathered together in one single notion of acceptance.

- He was your true love's kiss.

- How fascinating. How rewarding.

- Safe to say after this little event, Jade's primal aggression over you heightens to a frightening degree. Though oddly enough, he lets you do whatever you wished, going as far as allowing you to live away from him.

- And this is because, Jade has the full assurance that no matter how far a distance you placed between you and him or how harsh you acted towards his affection, it doesn't change the fact that if you were to fall into a deep slumber, the only one to pull you out from it is none other than Jade himself.

Lilia Vanrouge

- Lilia's temper simmers but he isn't entirely mad enough to start a war.

- No,he's a patient man and one with boundless knowledge.

- He's quick to identify the curse as a traditional sleeping curse and finds the cure for it rather amusing.

- He doesn't know if he's your so called true love, knowing very well that the relationship he's put you in is one similar to eternal confinement, but his heart flutters at the thought of you waking up because of his kiss, even if he knows it will never happen.

- Lilia is enamored by you, so much that he's taken note of every single aspect of your life. From your lineage to the people you linger about with to that boy you've always been in love with ever since your childhood years.

- You can't really hide anything from him, can you?

- He wonders if he can cheat the little curse with a transfiguration spell but then laughs at himself for such naive thinking.

- Instead, he sings you songs, every night. Not lullabies or love poems, but songs of ancient Faes. The kind that spins humans into a web of submission both body and soul.

- Oh,he knows he isn't your true love but he could be the one you can't live without, and that's all the same for Lilia.

- The song weakens the spirit of a human, and in turn the body itself, and a curse will only last for either a certain amount of time or until the one afflicted by it is dead. So, Lilia pushes you into a near death state, lulling your senses so dangerously low until you're pale as death and he can barely hear your heartbeat.

- Then seconds before you die, he cuts the curse off and reverse the song, healing you completely. It's a flawless plan yet risky if not handled by the right hands. Lilia smiles at his success, and that smile broadens when he leans down to kiss you, minutes before you stir awake and find that the person you lifted your curse was none other than Lilia himself.

- You're confused, but relieved. You hadn't remembered how you were placed under such spell but you remember the death-like state you felt, the way your body seemed to grow weaker each passing day you kept your eyes shut, but then as immediately as it happened, the heavy burden disappears and is replaced by the most soothing sensation you've ever experienced.

- And it's all because Lilia kissed you?

- You couldn't actually believe it, but how do you doubt something that felt as gentle as the lips that saved you?

- Perhaps, you've misjudged him. Suddenly,Lilia didn't seem all that hard to love.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland scenarios #twisted wonderland fanfic #twst wonderland yandere #twst yandere #male yandere #malleus draconia #twst malleus #yandere malleus #jade leech #twst jade #yandere jade #lilia vanrouge #twst lilia #yandere lilia

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ao719 · 3 years

Text

Full Disclosure: The Beginning

Full Disclosure: The Beginning (Part 13)

Characters belong to Pixelberry

Summary: A look back at Charlotte during the social season and engagement tour.

A/N: This is the last chapter for this little series (and it’s loaded - I’m so sorry. I just didn’t want to split it up into 2 parts). Thank you to @burnsoslow for prereading! And also @sirbeepsalot for prereading and taking your machete to it! And thank you for all of your wonderful comments, kind words, and love for Charlotte. I’m going to miss writing her story, but I’m sure some shenanigan filled one shots will occasionally pop up.

Catch Up Here

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Charlotte watched the clouds blur by as the plane prepared to land. She was anxious about returning to where her and Liam’s story began … and where it could very well end.

Liam had told her a few nights ago that he learned from Bastien that Constantine was the one behind the scandal. The news left her trying to wrap her mind around why the former King sabotaged her and Liam’s happiness. Now that the court was arriving in New York, they didn’t have much time left to clear her name, but they had a plan: they would confront Constantine themselves.

****

Charlotte stood in her hotel room after getting ready for the welcoming luncheon at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. She was on edge, knowing she and Liam would finally be confronting Constantine. She wanted answers as to why he did what he did, and she wanted him to clear her name.

A soft knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts. She opened it to reveal Liam on the other side; he quickly stepped inside, wrapped his arms around her, and leaned down to kiss her as the door latched shut behind him. “Hi,” he whispered against her lips as they parted.

Charlotte closed her eyes and smiled; being in his arms at that moment was the first time since leaving Paris she felt some sense of calm. “Hey.”

Liam looked at her, brushing his hand across her cheek. “Are you alright?”

“A little nervous,” she admitted.

“Me too. But it’s going to be alright. We’re going to do this together. And just think … all of this will be over afterward.” Liam smiled at the thought of clearing Charlotte’s name, ending his farce of an engagement, and being able to be with her, the woman he loved.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“We’ll get to the luncheon; I’ll be sitting at the table with my father and Regina. I’ll ask him to speak privately. When we get up to step out of the room, you follow.” Charlotte nodded as she let out a breath; Liam cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. “It’s going to be alright, love.”

****

The restaurant on the hotel roof was encased in windows, giving an uninterrupted view of New York City around them. Charlotte sat at her table with Maxwell, Bertrand, Olivia, and Drake, but her eyes were fixated on Liam and Constantine across the room. Liam kept glancing over, meeting her eyes, while he waited for the right time to pull his father aside.

“You okay, Brooks?”

“Huh?” Charlotte tore her eyes away from Liam.

“You seem distracted, Lady Charlotte,” Bertrand noted.

“Oh … I’m fine.” Charlotte and Liam hadn’t told the others Constantine was the one behind the scandal or of their plan to confront him. Liam thought it would be better to wait until they got some answers.

“How’s it feel to be back home?” Olivia asked.

“Honestly, it feels a bit weird. Don’t get me wrong, I missed the city, but my life feels so different now than it did when I left six months ago.”

“It feels like just yesterday when we met you in the bar,” Maxwell grinned, and Charlotte smiled at the memory.

“Remember when Liam first came into the bar while she was taking our order, and she hit the table and almost fell over?” Drake laughed. “And the menus went flying all over the place.”

“And then she fell behind the bar,” Maxwell chuckled.

Charlotte giggled. “I fell a lot that night.” Literally and figuratively, she thought.

“At least you haven’t changed that much, Brooks,” Drake laughed.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Liam and Constantine both rise from their seats. She glanced over, meeting Liam’s eyes; he gave her a subtle nod before heading for the doors that lead to the private outdoor terrace. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she stood.

“Where are you going?” Bertrand asked.

“To talk to Constantine.” Everyone’s brows furrowed. “I’ll explain later. Just … act normal.” Charlotte walked towards the terrace, careful not to draw any attention to herself. She slipped out of the door and could hear Liam and Constantine just around the corner, out of view from the others.

“So, what’s this urgent matter you needed to speak with me about, Liam? So urgent that you had to interrupt our meal.”

Liam could hear Charlotte behind him. “The matter is this.” He stepped aside, revealing her to his father.

“Lady Charlotte? What are you doing out here?”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him. “I’m here to make you face what you did to me.”

“I-” Constantine broke off, coughing. Liam instinctively took a step toward him, but he held out his hand; he coughed again before looking back to Charlotte. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really? I beg to differ.”

“Liam, honestly, what is the meaning-” Constantine began to cough again, clutching his throat. He doubled forward, trying to take a breath before he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

“Father!” Liam shouted, both he and Charlotte dropping to his side.

Just then, Regina appeared outside. Her eyes widened when she saw her husband on the ground. “Liam! What happened?”

“He started coughing and then collapsed! Call an ambulance!” Constantine’s complexion paled; he continued to violently cough and gasp for air as Regina quickly pulled out her phone.

****

Liam and Charlotte stood in a private waiting room at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, listening to the doctor explain that Constantine was resting comfortably. “The coughing fit was due to the cancer. I wish I could say it would get better, but …” Liam nodded in understanding at his words. “We’re giving him some oxygen and fluids. You may go see him.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Liam shook the man’s hand before he stepped out of the room.

“I’ll let you go see him alone.”

“No. You’re coming with me, and we’re going to talk to him.”

“Liam, it can wait. Really.”

Liam shook his head. “No, it can’t. Because, as much as I don’t want to say this -- despite the horrible things he’s done -- who’s to say that we’ll get another chance? He’s dying, Charlotte. And I refuse to allow him to take the truth to his grave.”

Charlotte took a breath and nodded as she let it out. “If you’re sure …”

Charlotte and Liam walked down the hall and stopped outside of Constantine’s door; they shared a look before entering the room hand-in-hand. Constantine lay in bed and opened his eyes when he heard them come in. His eyes widened upon seeing Charlotte with Liam. “Father …”

Liam stared at him, feeling a wave of conflicting emotions. He was angry for what his father had done to him and more furious for what he had put Charlotte through. But despite that anger, there was a sadness he felt seeing his father that way. He was pale and connected to wires, IV tubes, and oxygen.

For the first time in Liam’s life, the former King -- someone he once admired, respected, and thought was untouchable -- looked weak. And in more ways than one.

“What is she doing here?” Constantine rasped.

“Your Majesty, I know this isn’t the best time, but we need to talk to you,” Charlotte answered as they approached the bed.

“We know what you did,” Liam added, looking down at him. “You set Charlotte up.”

“Liam …”

“You owe me an explanation,” Liam spat. “You knew how I felt about her … you knew, and yet you sabotaged her. Do you realize what almost happened to her that night?” Constantine struggled to take in a deep breath. “And you dragged others in to do your dirty work. Lady Penelope. Bastien.” Constantine continued to stare at them, and Liam shook his head in frustration. “You really have nothing to say for yourself?”

“I just want to know why,” Charlotte said. “What did I do to make you do this to me? To your own son?” Constantine’s breathing became slightly shallower, and he looked away from them, fixating his eyes on the ground. “You know, after everything I’ve been through because of you, the least you could do is answer me!”

Liam noticed his father’s hand waving as he stared at the ground; he followed his gaze to his and Charlotte’s feet. “Charlotte,” Liam pulled her back.

Charlotte glanced down; her eyes widened, and she cupped her hand over her mouth. She had been standing on his oxygen tubing, temporarily cutting off his air supply. She then snapped her gaze back to Constantine when she heard him inhale a relieved breath, and she tried to push the laugh that she could feel coming back down. “Sorry!” she squeaked, then her expression turned. “Actually, you know what? No, I’m not! Ok … I am, but only a little bit sorry. Not like, fully sorry. I do need you breathing.” For now. Liam nudged her with his arm, and she cleared her throat. “You owe us answers.”

“Liam, now is not the time,” Constantine replied, his words dulled by the mask he was wearing.

Liam’s jaw tensed as his expression hardened. “We are not leaving until you give us an explanation for what you did.”

Constantine knew Liam wasn’t going to budge, and he let out a defeated breath. “Very well.” The former King shifted to sit up a bit more; he pulled the oxygen mask away from his face just enough so his words wouldn’t be muffled. “After I received the cancer diagnosis, and my health began to decline, I knew I would be unable to rule much longer.” Constantine glanced at Liam. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was place the burden of the crown on your shoulders so soon, Liam. But I didn’t have a choice. I wanted you to be prepared because these are difficult times for Cordonia. We’ve always had our share of enemies, but throughout my reign, I’ve seen them grow bolder. Once I realized I wasn’t going to be around much longer to help you face those threats, I had to secure Cordonia’s future.”

“By sending a man into my room? By having a photographer invade my privacy? And by letting the press tell lies about me while you sat by, knowing the truth the whole time?!”

“It was obvious from the night of the masquerade ball how Liam felt about you. I saw the way he looked at you. As the season progressed, those feelings for you did too. I knew given a choice, he would choose you to be his Queen.”

“Why would you sabotage that for me? Do you not want me to be happy?” Liam asked.

“Of course I want you to be happy, Liam, but this is bigger than just you and the feelings you have for some girl!” Constantine looked back at Charlotte. “I must admit, you impressed me. While your behavior and personality are rather … uncouth, you proved to be resilient and intelligent. And both Regina and I noticed how happy you made Liam … how he smiled and laughed more in your presence than he has in a very long time. But still … you couldn’t compete with Madeleine. She has been preparing to become Queen her entire life. You are an outsider. Yes, you could have learned … but inexperience is seen as weakness, and weakness, even in appearance -- especially in appearance -- is fatal. And you, Lady Charlotte, proved to be my son’s weakness. I’ve already lost so much to our kingdom’s enemies, and when I’m gone, there will be no one left to protect Liam from them.”

“Did you blackmail Olivia as well?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes. She is far too rash to be sitting on the throne, but I knew Liam would choose her over Madeleine, simply because of their friendship and her friendship with you as well. I had to eliminate her from the competition to ensure Madeleine was chosen.”

Charlotte shook her head in disgust. “My name and reputation have been ruined. You tried to tear me away from Liam and my friends … but that isn’t even the worst part. You would have forced your son to marry a woman he doesn’t love just because you think you get to decide what’s best for not only Cordonia but for him. And if we hadn’t uncovered the truth, Liam would have had to live with that for the rest of his life!”

“It was my duty as Cordonia’s King!”

“You have a duty as his father!” Charlotte snapped back.

“And you’re not King! Not anymore!” Liam added.

Constantine looked at him, surprised by the tone in his son’s voice. “Liam, please … I know I’ve hurt you, but this is the price of wearing the crown. I couldn’t afford to put your happiness, or Lady Charlotte’s, above our people’s future. And one day you will come to understand when you have to make similar sacrifices of your own and-”

Liam squared his shoulders and held up his hand, cutting his father off. “No.” Constantine’s brows raised in surprise. “You sit there and act as though you didn’t have a choice. But you decided what you were willing to do, what you were willing to sacrifice. What kind of King -- what kind of father -- you wanted to be. So here is mine. I love Charlotte. And had you not interfered that night, I would have asked her to marry me. I would be on this tour with her right now, actually enjoying myself. I may not have been able to stop you from hurting her, but I can still try to make this right. As King of Cordonia, I am placing Charlotte under my protection. I will help her right the wrongs that have been done to her by you. And I am commanding you, as your monarch, to help us in any way that you can.”

Constantine had never seen his son with a more fierce look in his eyes, nor had he heard him speak with such promise. He let out a breath, knowing he wasn’t going to change his mind but also that he wasn’t going to be able to help. “Very well.”

Charlotte eyed him suspiciously, not trusting how quickly he agreed. “How do I know that I can trust you after what you’ve already done to me?”

“My word is all I have to offer, Lady Charlotte. But unfortunately, I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”

“What does that mean?” Liam asked.

“I can’t come forward to clear Lady Charlotte’s name myself.”

“Why the fuck not?” Charlotte bit out, ignoring the taken aback expression on the former King’s face at her language.

“Admitting my involvement would shake the Cordonian people’s faith in their rulers. Past and present. So while you may not care what they think of me, be aware that they will question Liam, his motives, and how far he would be willing to go, as I have, to protect his throne. So unless you want that to happen …”

“Enough,” Liam growled, knowing his father was trying to intimidate Charlotte with his words.

“Is he right?” she asked, looking at Liam.

“Yes, it could happen, but I don’t care about that, Charlotte. I want your name cleared. I don’t care what happens to my reputation because of it.”

“And you’ve just driven my point home that she is your weakness,” Constantine said; Liam snapped his gaze over, glowering at him.

Charlotte shook her head, feeling frustrated. As much as she wanted her name cleared, she wouldn’t do it at Liam’s expense. “No … I can’t do that to you, Liam.”

“Charlotte-”

“One of us being ruined is enough. I won’t take you down with me. We have to find another way.”

“The only way is to find Lord Tariq. You need to get him to come forward and make a statement admitting that nothing happened that night. But even I don’t know his whereabouts. I encouraged him to leave in light of his … disgrace. I’ve had no contact with him since.”

“Fucking perfect,” Charlotte scoffed.

Liam took her hand in his. “We’ll figure it out.” Just then, the doctor knocked on the door, asking to come in to assess Constantine. “We’ll leave you to it. I’ll be in touch if I need anything.”

“Liam … I am sorry …”

“I don’t accept your apology.” With that, Liam turned and led Charlotte from the room. As they walked down the hall, Liam pulled her back into the private waiting room they were in before; he shut and locked the door behind him. “Are you alright?”

“Are you?”

“Don’t worry about me, Charlotte. I want to know how you’re doing.”

“I’m … I don’t know!” Charlotte threw her hands up in frustration. “I mean … what the hell are we supposed to do now? He’s saying he can’t come forward, and we have to find a man that hasn’t been seen in months!”

“I told you I didn’t care what would happen if my father came forward. Let him do it! Let him face what he did to you.”

“I care, Liam! I am not about to let you go down for what your father did to me. No. It’s not an option.”

“Then we find Tariq.”

“How?”

“I … honestly, I’m not sure.” Charlotte looked down, shaking her head; Liam stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look back at him. “But we’ll figure it out.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “We will.” He whispered the promise against her lips before kissing her again.

*******

The following morning, Charlotte stepped out of the shower in her hotel room. She had the day free before she would need to attend the UN Gala that evening. She wanted to work on locating Tariq, but there wasn’t much they could do until they learned of his whereabouts. They had told Drake, Olivia, and Maxwell about their talk with Constantine, but even they were unsure how they were going to find Tariq.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Charlotte looked at her phone on the nightstand, seeing a voicemail alert from an unknown number. She hit play before bringing it to her ear.

“Lady Charlotte, it’s Countess Madeleine. I have an absolutely vital task I need for you to complete. I simply have no time to pick up mine and Liam’s wedding bands before our return to Cordonia. I must insist that you be the one to do it as a thanks to me for allowing you to remain present on this tour and in Liam’s life. I trust you will retrieve them and bring them to me later.”

Rage coursed through Charlotte’s veins as she pulled the phone away from her ear. “Who the fuck does she think she is?” She clenched her hand into a fist before hurling her phone across the room.

****

Charlotte took the elevator to the first floor, practically stomping through the lobby as she mumbled obscenities under her breath. “Whoa, where ya going, Brooks?” Drake asked, coming back from breakfast with Maxwell.

“Out!” she answered before pushing her way through the revolving door.

Drake followed, knowing that she was pissed off. He knew Liam wouldn’t want him to let her go off alone, at least not without figuring out what was bothering her. He quickly caught up to her on the sidewalk. “You going to tell me what’s wrong? And where you’re off to so heated?”

“Madeleine sent me on an errand to pick up her and Liam’s goddamn wedding bands,” she spat.

“Wait, what?” Drake asked incredulously. “You realize you could have told her no, right?”

“Yes, so she could cry to whoever will listen about how awful I am. Sure!” As much as Charlotte hated it, she found herself being much more cautious with so little time left to clear her name. She was on edge, picking and choosing her battles, not wanting to get worked up over trivial things when something much bigger was at stake.

“Alright, well, I’ll come with you. You won’t even have to look at the rings.”

“Fuck her and her stupid rings. They’re probably ugly and gaudy as hell, just like her face!”

****

Charlotte stood in the jewelry store with her arms folded across her chest as she waited impatiently for the jeweler to come back from the back where he was grabbing the rings. She just wanted to get them, bring them back to the hotel, and try and forget that she was ever asked to do this.

“Here you are, miss.” The jeweler returned, carrying two black velvet boxes. “Let’s take a look.”

“No need for that.” Charlotte would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit curious, but at the same time, she didn’t want to see the rings, one that Madeleine would wear, one that Liam would wear, tethering them together. Forever.

“I’m sure they look fine,” Drake said. “Just bag them up.” The jeweler offered a curious look before placing them in a bag and handing it to Drake. “Thanks.”

Drake guided Charlotte out of the jewelry store. “You ok?”

“Peachy.”

Charlotte’s eyes kept glancing down at the bag Drake was carrying. He noticed. “You’re a little curious as to how gaudy they look, aren’t you?”

“No!” Charlotte scoffed. “Ok … maybe a little.”

Drake reached in the bag, blindly pulling out one of the boxes. He handed it to Charlotte. “Let’s see.” Charlotte took the box and opened it; it was Liam’s. It was a thick, plain gold band. “Well, that’s kind of bland. It’s very Liam.” Drake reached inside the bag and pulled out the other box, handing it to Charlotte. “How’s hers look?”

Charlotte held Liam’s and opened the other box. She scrunched up her nose. It was a thinner gold band with diamonds spaced out around its entirety, but nothing about it was appealing. “I thought she would have better taste than this.”

“It looks like a vending machine ring,” Drake chuckled. His eyes widened with a smirk when Charlotte plucked it from its holding spot and slid the ring onto her finger. She held her hand out to get a better look at it. “Yeah, you could do better.”

“I’ll say. Well, knowing she’s going to walk around with this ugly thing on her finger makes me feel a little better.”

“She’s only going to walk around with it if she makes it down the aisle, Brooks. We’re not going to let that happen.”

“I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high, Drake.” She plucked Liam’s ring from the box and handed it to him. “Here.”

“Aw, are you proposing, Brooks? Sorry, you’re not my type.”

“I’m blonde.”

“Too clumsy, though.” He took the ring and put it on his finger. “This feels weird as hell.”

Drake immediately removed the ring and handed it back to her. Charlotte hooked it onto the end of her finger while she slid Madeleine’s off. Suddenly, Charlotte stepped in a dip in the sidewalk, twisting her ankle, and her body lurched forward onto the hard concrete.

Both rings flew out of her hands.

Charlotte’s eyes were wide, watching as the rings went airborne, feeling like it was happening in slow motion. They both landed with a bounce and rolled … right into a sewer drain.

“Ohhhhhh, noooo!” Charlotte gasped.

“Brooks! Are you alright?”

“Drake! The rings! They … FUCK!” Charlotte shouted as passersby glanced down at where she was still lying on the sidewalk. She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the sewer drain where the rings had disappeared. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Oh my God!”

“Honestly … serves her right for asking you to get them,” Drake said calmly as he crouched down next to her. “Just think … there’s going to be some blinged-out rats strutting around New York.” He heard a sniffle, and his head snapped over. “Are you crying?”

“This is terrible, Drake! She’s going to say I did this on purpose! And as hideous as her ring was, it probably cost a fortune because Madeleine is nothing if not materialistic!” she wailed. She bowed her head, covering her face with her hands.

“Brooks, calm down. The rings can be replaced. Liam lives in a literal palace. That ring was probably pocket change to him. And Madeleine can most definitely afford another ring. It was an accident.”

“I need to call Liam,” she cried as her breath hitched. She pulled out her phone and dialed Liam’s.

“Hello, love. I was just thinking about-”

“Liam! The rings -- in the drain! They flew -- and now the rats have them!” she cried.

“Rings? Rats? Charlotte, what the hell are you talking about?” Drake took the phone from Charlotte, explaining to Liam what had happened. “Wait … Madeleine asked Charlotte to go pick up the rings?”

“Yeah, I figured that would be the only thing you’d be upset about. But Brooks … well, she is here kneeling in front of a sewer drain crying, and we’re getting some pretty strange looks, even for NYC.”

“Just get her back to the hotel. I’ll deal with Madeleine.”

Drake hung up the phone and tossed it into the now empty bag he was holding onto. “Come on.” He pulled Charlotte to stand. “Stop crying, Brooks. He’s not mad.” He knew the rings weren’t the real reason she was crying. It was everything else that was happening since her and Liam’s conversation with Constantine. The rings were just what set off the waterworks. He threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from the sewer drain, guiding her back towards the hotel. “You’d make a terrible ring-bearer.”

“Shut up,” she sniffled.

****

That evening, Liam stood on the balcony of his room, nursing a scotch while he waited to leave for the UN Gala. His mind went through the events of the day before. He had told Charlotte they would find Tariq, but he honestly wasn’t sure how. Tariq hadn’t been seen in three months, but he made a promise to her, and he had every intention of keeping it. He had two days and needed a plan.

Liam still wanted to let his father answer for what he had done, regardless of what it would do to him. But Charlotte was entirely against the idea. She said she wouldn’t allow him to sacrifice his reign and reputation, and that was the end of it.

Liam tossed back the rest of his drink before heading inside. Just as he grabbed his suit jacket, a knock came on his door. He walked over and opened it, narrowing his eyes at his visitor. “What the hell do you want?”

“Sir,” Bastien bowed. “May I?”

Liam hesitated for a moment before stepping aside to let him in. “Whatever you’re here to say, say it, then get the hell out.” Liam turned to face Bastien; his eyes landed on his now-healing split lip, a reminder of what happened in Paris. “Well? What do you want?”

“Sir, I spoke with your father earlier after he called me to his room to reprimand me for telling you I was working for him. He told me about your conversation …”

“Ok? Is that all?”

“No. After what happened in Paris … I began to look for Tariq myself.”

Liam perked up at his words. “So you know where he is?”

“I’m still waiting on a few calls, but I wanted to come by and offer my assistance to you again. You don’t have to accept it, and regardless of what you decide, I will turn over anything I find, but … I just … it’s the least that I could do for both of you.”

Liam saw the guilt in his eyes, and he felt his anger begin to let up. “Look … I’ll accept your offer to help Charlotte clear her name. But it’s going to take some time for me to trust you again, Bastien. You’ll need to earn it, and it’s not going to be easy. Not after what you did.”

“I understand, sir.”

Liam eyed him for a moment before nodding. “What have you found?”

****

Charlotte stood in the ballroom at the UN Gala with Drake and Maxwell. Liam had messaged her just before she arrived to tell her he needed to speak with her about Tariq. The gala was almost over, and she had yet to talk to him. Madeleine -- when she wasn’t shooting Charlotte dirty looks for what she assumed was over the ring debacle -- had latched onto him and pulled him around the room all night to speak with different dignitaries and guests.

While standing at the bar to get a drink, Charlotte felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Liam, offering him a smile. “Hi.”

“Hello.” He was fighting himself not to wrap his arms around her. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to get away until now.”

“It’s okay. What did you need to tell me?”

“Not here.” Liam glanced around the room. “Now that I’m free, I had a thought of sneaking out, getting some fresh air. Would you like to join me?”

“Like you even have to ask,” Charlotte chuckled.

Liam smiled. “I’ll slip out the back entrance and meet you outside.” Charlotte nodded, and Liam turned, casually making his way through the crowd to the back door.

Charlotte followed, making sure not to draw suspicion to herself. She slipped into the stairwell and made her way down the steps. She came to another door at the bottom and pushed it open, stepping into a small alleyway at the side of the building. She yelped when a pair of arms wrapped around her. She turned in Liam’s arms, and he leaned down, capturing her lips in his as he backed her against the brick wall.

“Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?” Liam whispered; Charlotte chuckled and shook her head. “You’re breathtaking,” he said before kissing her again. Liam moved his lips to her neck, and Charlotte softly moaned, feeling his teeth and tongue trail along her skin.

“Are we going to talk? Because if not, I have some really amazing ideas of how we could waste time in this alley.”

Liam laughed against her neck. “Care to share with the class?”

“Well,” Charlotte began, “one of them involves you hiking the skirt of this gown up and taking me right here, against this wall.” Charlotte laughed as Liam let out a low growl; he found her lips again, kissing her deeply before he reluctantly drew back. “So what did you want to tell me?” she asked. He began to explain how Bastien stopped by his room earlier, offering to help find Tariq, and that he took him up on the said offer. “Did he tell you what he found?”

“He knows that Tariq arrived at the airport the morning after the jamboree and flew to the States. He was waiting for a call to find his trail from there.”

“Does he have family here?” Liam shook his head. “Well … at least it’s something, I guess. It’s better than nothing.”

Liam watched Charlotte glance down at their intertwined hands. “What is it, love?”

“We only have two days,” she whispered. “What if … what if we don’t-” Liam’s lips cut off Charlotte; he kissed her slow and deep, making her head fuzzy and her knees weak.

“Don’t say it,” he whispered against her lips. “We can’t think like that, okay?” Charlotte nodded. She was still thinking about it, though. How could she not? Sure, they had something to go on, but that was merely a crumb at the moment. How fast could Bastien find what they needed?

Suddenly, the door they had snuck out of burst open, causing Liam and Charlotte to jump apart. Maxwell, Drake, and Bastien came barreling out. “There you are!” Drake called out as the three of them rushed over.

“What’s going on?” Liam asked.

“He went to LA, sir,” Bastien answered. “I have an address to the apartment building he was staying at.”

“Get the-”

“The jet’s already being prepared, sir.”

Liam and Charlotte’s expressions flickered with hope as they looked at one another. “Well, come on, kiss goodbye. We got a flight to catch, Brooks,” Drake chuckled.

“We’re leaving now?”

“Red eye, baby!” Maxwell grinned. “It’s a six-hour flight. We need to get there and back before the shower tomorrow evening. I’ll grab you some clothes, and you can change on the plane.” Charlotte nodded and pulled her room key from her clutch, handing it to Maxwell. “Meet us out front in a few.”

The three of them rushed back inside, and Charlotte faced Liam. “That was fast.” Liam grinned and leaned down to kiss her again, feeling the excitement course through him. “This is really it? Do you think he’s still there, in LA?”

“I’m hoping so, love. But yes … I think this is it.” They smiled at one another before Liam kissed her once more. They stayed locked in that kiss for a few blissful moments before Liam drew back. “You should head out front.” He cupped her face in his hands and smiled. “I love you, Charlotte.”

“I love you too.”

*******

After the overnight flight on the royal jet, Charlotte, Maxwell, and Drake had landed in LA. They had left New York at midnight, arriving at LAX at 3 am. They stayed on the jet in an attempt to get some sleep while they waited for a decent hour to look for Tariq.

Charlotte couldn’t sleep, however. She was feeling a wave of emotions. She was anxious, nervous, excited, and scared all at the same time. This was her last chance to fix this. The court would be heading back to Cordonia tomorrow, and Liam would be making the final preparations for his wedding to Madeleine unless Charlotte showed up with Tariq in tow to clear her name. Everything was at stake.

Maxwell had woken Charlotte up at 8 am; the three of them changed and went to grab breakfast before heading to the address Bastien had given them, where he learned Tariq was staying. “Ready?” Drake asked as they got out of the car.

Charlotte looked up at the building and let out a breath. “Yeah.” They entered the building and went to the elevator. Once on the ninth floor, Charlotte stepped off the elevator with Drake and Maxwell following behind her. Her heart was racing as she quickly made her way down the hall, scanning the numbers on the outside of the doors until she stopped in front of one. “This is it …” Her heart was now pounding as she raised her hand and tapped her knuckles to the wood.

A few moments later, a man opened the door; it wasn’t Tariq. “Hi. Can I help you?”

“Uh, hello,” Charlotte smiled tentatively. “Is … is Tariq here?”

“No, he’s not.”

“Oh, sorry. I may have the wrong-”

“No, he was here. This is my apartment; he was subletting from me while I was in Europe.”

Charlotte could feel the hope slowly beginning to dwindle. “Do … do you know where he is, by chance?” she asked.

“I don’t, I’m sorry. I got back about three weeks ago, and he left. I haven’t seen him since. He didn’t even leave a forwarding address for his mail.”

That sliver of hope she had been clinging to like a lifeboat in a storm was gone at his words. “Oh … okay. Thank you …”

Drake and Maxwell shared a worried look. They could hear the defeat in Charlotte’s voice, and both wondered the same thing: Now what?

****

Back on the royal jet, Charlotte settled into her seat. She hadn’t spoken a word since they had left the apartment complex. If she opened her mouth to talk, she wasn’t going to get out more than a few words before the tears would start, and she was trying like hell to keep herself together.

Charlotte stared out the window as the jet rolled down the runway and lifted into the air. Everything seemed to be crashing down on her at that moment. This was her last chance to find Tariq before it was too late. She had failed. And now she had a tough decision to make. The mere thought of it made her heart feel as though it was being ripped apart. As her mind became jumbled, she could feel the lump forming in her throat; the clouds outside of her window became blurred by the tears that began to well in her eyes.

“How are you holding up, Brooks?” Drake asked as he sat next to her. Charlotte didn’t respond; she continued staring out the window with her knuckles pressed against her lips. Drake decided to try and make small talk, although he was sure it wasn’t going to help. “I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to worry. We’ll talk to Liam when we get back and figure out what our next steps are.” He watched her subtly shake her head, and he knew exactly what she was thinking: What’s the point? Drake sighed, wishing she would say something. “Charlotte …”

At the use of her first name from him for the first time since her first night in Cordonia, Charlotte slowly turned her head and looked at Drake; the sadness in her eyes was palpable. She covered her face with her hands, and Drake wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest as he heaved a sigh.

She completely broke down.

“Brooks,” Drake whispered, rubbing her arm. He glanced up when Maxwell approached, and they shared a look before Maxwell knelt down in front of Charlotte’s seat. They watched her cry, knowing there was nothing they could do to make this better or right for her at that moment.

****

Drake, Charlotte, and Maxwell arrived back in New York with just enough time to get back to the hotel to change and make it down to the wedding shower.

Charlotte entered her room, feeling completely drained. She stared at the dress hanging on the door that she was supposed to wear to the wedding shower, and she let out a slow breath. She decided at that moment that she wasn’t going. She just didn’t have it in her to attend.

It would only make things more difficult.

A few moments later, a knock came on her door, and she turned to open it; Drake and Maxwell stood on the other side, both dressed for the shower and adjusting their clothing. “You’re not dressed,” Maxwell said as he looked at her.

“I’m not going to go. I think … I think it would be for the best. I need to get some air … try to clear my head.”

“Are you sure?” Drake asked.

“Yes. I’m just going to go for a walk. If Liam asks … you can tell him I’ll be in Central Park …”

****

After calling an old friend to make some arrangements for herself, Charlotte had left the hotel and walked through the city before making her way down to Central Park. She stepped onto Gapstow Bridge and looked down at the water below, seeing in it the reflection of the city behind her. She wasn’t there 10 minutes before she heard her name being called; she glanced over to see Liam making his way towards her on the bridge.

“Hi,” she said quietly as he approached. Liam immediately wrapped his arms around her, and she sank into his warm embrace.

When Drake and Maxwell arrived at the shower, they went straight to Liam to tell him what had happened in L.A. Liam tried to hide the heartbreak in his eyes when they told him that Tariq wasn’t there and how upset Charlotte had been on the plane. When they told him she had gone to Central Park, he snuck out of the hotel within minutes. He didn’t care if anyone was looking for him. Charlotte needed him.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte,” Liam whispered against her hair before kissing the top of her head. They drew back, and he cupped her face in his hands. “Are you okay?”

“I just feel … defeated and drained.”

Liam sighed as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I know it’s disheartening.”

“I’m sorry … about not coming tonight, I just …” Charlotte trailed off as she let out a breath.

“I know. I understand …” He moved to the railing and leaned against it.

“I just feel so lost, and I’m not sure what else there is we can do. He vanished. No one knows where he is …”

“I know,” Liam sighed. “We leave early tomorrow morning. Once we get back to Cordonia, we’ll figure everything out.”

“Liam, I …”

Charlotte swore she felt her heart stop as she cast her gaze downward, fighting back the tears that were already threatening to form over what she was about to tell him. It was a decision she’d spent the last three months coming to: what she was going to do should they not clear her name. Knowing what Liam was going to have to do when he returned to Cordonia left her with no other choice but to figure out her next steps.

Liam looked over at her. “What is it, love?”

“I … Liam, I’m … I’m not going back.”

Liam’s heart started to race, and he could feel the color drain from his face as he stared at her with his brows knitted in confusion. “What?” Charlotte stared at him, finding this conversation even harder to have than she already knew it would be. “What do you mean you’re not going back?”

“I mean … I’m staying here … in New York. I’m not going back to Cordonia with you.”

Liam shook his head vehemently. “Charlotte, no.” In one long stride, he was standing in front of her again. He slid his thumb under her chin, tilting her face up to his. When she met his gaze, a tear trickled from the corner of her eye; Liam leaned down to kiss her cheek, catching the briny tear on his lips. “I’m going to figure this out,” he whispered. “I’m going to find him. I’m going to make him come forward, and we’re going to clear your name and be together.”

Charlotte shook her head, her lip trembling as she spoke. “Not in time. I can’t … I can’t watch you parade around with her anymore. And I can’t go back … and watch you marry her.”

“Please, Charlotte, please give me more time. I promise you, I’m going to find him.”

“I can’t go back on a promise that you might someday find him.”

“But we’ve come this far … I just … I just need a little more time! Please … give me more time.”

The pleading look in his eyes and voice was slowly breaking her. “I need you to try and understand, Liam … and not make this harder than it already is.”

“Charlotte … you can’t give up …” Liam’s voice trembled. “We can’t give up.”

“I don’t want to give up … and I feel weak for doing it, because I love you, Liam. I love you so much … and you’re not supposed to give up on the people you love,” she spoke; her voice broke and rose an octave with each word as she tried and failed to fight back her emotions. “But I think it’s clear now that you were only mine to love … never mine to keep. And as much as it’s going to break me … I have to walk away … I have to let you go, Liam …”

Liam let out a shuddered breath as he looked away from her, attempting to blink back the tears, but like her, he failed to keep himself together. They came anyway. He didn’t want her to stay there. He didn’t want to give up on clearing her name or on them being together. He didn’t want to let her go or for her to let him go. But he knew it would be selfish of him to ask any more of her. Charlotte had been through enough over the past six months; first the Social Season and then the hell of the Engagement Tour. It had been hard on him, and he knew that whatever he felt over everything that happened, her feelings were beyond that. He couldn’t ask her to return with him on a possibility. She needed -- she deserved -- absolute certainty. He couldn’t put her through any more heartache.

No, Liam didn’t want to let Charlotte go … but he loved her enough to do it because he knew that she deserved better than him. She deserved a chance at a happy future, even if that meant that he wasn’t a part of it.

“Please … please don’t think this is a reflection on you, Liam. It’s not. I know that you tried. We tried. I know that you never meant for any of this, and it’s not your fault. I know who’s to blame … and it’s not-”

Charlotte was cut off as Liam cupped her face in his hands and leaned down, capturing her lips. They both tasted the salt from their tears. And they both felt their own hearts shatter just a bit more, knowing this was goodbye.

They parted, and Liam rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as his breath hitched in his throat. “I’m so sorry that I failed you, Charlotte. I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you … and that I couldn’t be the person you deserve …”

“Stop,” Charlotte cried. “You’re more than I deserve … and you didn’t fail me, Liam. I got to love you … and that means everything to me.”

Liam’s brows furrowed as he pressed his lips to hers once more. When he pulled back, he lifted his head and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger there for a moment. Charlotte felt a tear fall from his cheek onto her own, and she squeezed her eyes shut as he wrapped his arms around her.

This was goodbye. And they weren’t just saying goodbye to each other; it was so much more than that. It was goodbye to the happiness and laughter they brought to one another. It was goodbye to their inside jokes and the ones they never got to make. It was goodbye to all of the what-ifs and plans they had made. They were turning this page, knowing they wouldn’t be in each other’s next chapter.

It fucking hurt.

After a while, Charlotte opened her eyes, still in Liam’s arms, as her tears continued to fall. “I want you … to try and be happy, Liam … because you deserve that. You deserve to be happy.”

Liam subtly shook his head as he looked up at the night sky. How the hell was he supposed to be happy with anyone but her? He wouldn’t be. Not ever. “You deserve that too …” he whispered. “Where … where are you going to go? What are you going to do?”

“I made some arrangements for now. But you don’t need to worry about me … I’ll be okay.” Hopefully. Maybe, someday. Liam’s arms tightened around her. After a long, tearful embrace, Charlotte finally stepped back and wiped her cheeks. “I, uh … I should probably go.”

If she didn’t go now, she wasn’t going to be able to walk away from him. Charlotte swore she could feel her heart break in two as she looked at him; the pain, hurt, and longing in his eyes matched that of her own. She reached up and pulled Liam down, giving him one last powerful kiss, pouring everything she was feeling into it as his arms wrapped tightly around her. They slowly parted, and she stepped back, looking up at him.

It took her a moment to utter the words, knowing once she did, that was it. It was over. This was by far the hardest thing she ever had to do. And the worst part of it all was standing there, watching his heart break as he tried to hold onto the shattered pieces of hers.

Finally, she took a breath and held it as she forced herself to say the words. “Goodbye, Liam.”

Liam looked down, unable to look her in her eyes as he replied, “Goodbye, Charlotte.” He heard her turn and listened to her footsteps slowly fade away. He glanced up a moment later, chewing the inside of his cheek, feeling more tears fall as he watched her disappear.

They parted with nothing but the memories and the solace that maybe one day their paths might cross again.

*******

•Four Months Later•

Charlotte sat in the living room of her apartment, staring at the television; the movie If Only was playing on Netflix. She had a plethora of snacks next to her on the sofa and a container of ice cream in her lap as she scowled at the screen. Why do I even watch these? It is such a load of crap.

The sound of her phone ringing pulled her from her scathing thoughts. She reached over, seeing her friend Sonia’s name flashing across the screen; she hit the speaker button before turning her attention back to the television. “Yello?”

“Hey, loser! Me and some of the girls are going out. Wanna come?”

“Oh, see, I’d love to, but I can’t. I have a date with sweatpants, Netflix, and a container of Chunky Monkey.”

“That sounds absolutely pitiful.”

“It really is,” Charlotte let out a sigh.

Sonia could hear the television in the background. “Whatcha watching?”

“If Only.”

“A sappy romance movie in your state?”

“My state is just fine, thank you very fucking much. Oh, here comes this part …”

“I have to tell you this, and you need to hear it. I loved you since I met you, but I wouldn't allow myself to truly feel it until today. I was always thinking ahead, making decisions soaked with fear. Today, because of you … what I learned from you, every choice I made was different, and my life has completely changed … and I've learned that if you do that, then you're living your life fully … it doesn't matter if you have five minutes or 50 years. If not for today, if not for you, I would never have known love at all. So thank you for being the person who taught me to love … and to be loved.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up!” Charlotte hollered, grabbing a handful of chocolate chip cookies and throwing them at the screen. She spooned a large portion of ice cream into her mouth as her eyes, stinging with tears, stayed locked on the movie.

Sonia chuckled, “And you say your state is fine ...”

“Hush.”

“You need to find an outlet for this pent-up anger and sadness. You know what you need? You need to get laid! It’s been months! Which is why you should come out with us tonight! We’ll find you a nice, suitable bachelor to take you home and just dick you down real good!”

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to be dicked down, Sonia.”

“Okay, well … write it out then.”

“Huh?”

“You’re a writer! You write something, get everything you’re feeling out. Then you toss it away. Hopefully, those pent-up thoughts and feelings will go with it.”

“Write what, though?”

“Whatever your sad little broken heart desires. A book. An article. A letter to yourself … to him. Whatever you feel like having it be. It’s not like it will ever see the light of day. You’re supposed to throw it away with all those feelings when you’re finished.”

“Look at you being all therapeutic.”

“Well, take what you will from it. I did have four glasses of wine already,” Sonia chuckled. “Okay, I’m heading out. I’ll be at Kismet if you change your mind!”

Charlotte ended the call and stared back at the television. She scowled again. Watching a movie about fate, destiny, and what-ifs was probably not the best idea. She had plenty of what-ifs, should-haves, and could-have-beens of her own.

In the four months since deciding to stay in New York, Charlotte had gone through what she assumed were the typical stages of a bad breakup … if that’s what she could even call what happened between her and Liam. She went with it.

First, she was sad. Just fucking miserable all the goddamn time. She cried a lot. Her heart physically hurt, something she didn’t even know was possible. She felt constant regret. She questioned if she made the right choice to stay behind and not to fight harder. But it was too late now. What was done was done.

And she missed Liam.

To create a distraction for herself, determined not to be a walking blubbering mess the rest of her life, Charlotte re-enrolled in school. She didn’t need but a few credits to finish; one semester and she would be done. Once school started, her sheer heartache turned to gloom. She was the walking, human version of Eeyore. That ass. She was still sad, but the tears had stopped. Mostly.

And she still missed Liam.

With her graduation on the horizon, Charlotte started interning at the Herald. Her gloom then turned to this. Charlotte had turned into a slightly angry, bitter, and salty bitch who ate her feelings in the form of various sweets and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, generally paired with a few full-to-the-brim glasses of wine. She wasn’t angry with Liam, just the situation. She was absolutely angry with Constantine and Tariq, however, wishing them both very graphic and detailed harm inside her head.

And … she still missed Liam.

Charlotte let out a breath as her eyes settled on her laptop sitting on her coffee table; Sonia’s suggestion rang in her head. Write it out. She moved the half-eaten container of Chunky Monkey off her lap and grabbed the laptop, opening it up and going to a blank document.

The cursor blinked, taunting her for a good 30 minutes as she struggled to decide what to write. She had so much that she wanted to get out, thinking about everything that happened from the moment she stepped foot in Cordonia. She was the only one who came out of that experience damaged, even though she did absolutely nothing wrong. Her name and reputation were still tarnished. And the longer she let that sit with her over the months, the angrier she became. She had wanted to blow the lid off the whole story on more than one occasion, wanting to let everyone know who was really to blame, but thought better of it each time the idea arose. It wouldn’t help anyone. Not her. Not Liam. And it certainly wasn’t going to bring them back together.

Suddenly, that same idea struck her again. She could write that out. Her side. She could merely pretend to blow the lid off the story by writing her personal experience. She wasn’t sure it would release everything she was feeling, but it was worth a shot. She was just going to toss it when she was done anyway, just like Sonia said.

It would never see the light of day.

Charlotte’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before she finally began typing. After a few moments, she reached over and grabbed the carton of ice cream, scooping another spoonful into her mouth as she read over what she had already typed out:

A nobility social season refers to the traditional annual period when it is customary for members of a social elite society to hold balls, dinner parties, and charity events. The social season has always played a role in the political life of the countries that host such events. But the season also provides an opportunity for once of age women to be formally introduced and presented before the men of nobility. Take, as an example, the small country of Cordonia that lies in the Mediterranean.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to travel to Cordonia to compete for a Prince’s hand during his social season.

Or so I thought …

**********************

If you want to see Charlotte and Liam get their happy ending, you can read it in the original Full Disclosure story.

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