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sipsteainanxiety · 1 year

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when the night calls...

...do you answer back?

pairing: bakugou katsuki x reader

word count: 2.7k+

mentions: no pronouns mentioned, char death (bkg) but not reaaalllyyy, aged up chars (25+), supernatural elements in a pro-hero au, grief/mourning, horror-esque but it's romantic i promise, hurt/comfort, lowercase, part of the dark chocolates teahouse collab.

you thought katsuki was gone—that he had abandoned you in this life to move on to the next. you saw his body—lifeless, cold, still. saw him get lowered into the ground in his dark casket enveloped in his hero colors. you stayed, for hours after the funeral, at his grave. wondering why he had to leave—why he had to break the promise he whispered to you on the night you both said your vows.

you thought he was dead. that he'd left you alone.

you were wrong.

the shadows seemed to long for your touch.

they lingered just out of the corner of your vision, always appearing closer than they actually were. you'd turn to see them stretching in your direction in ways that did not align with the light. you played it off as your mind playing tricks on you—as your grief warping your perception. but it was so hard to ignore, so hard to simply shrug off.

they crept over your shoulder—a chill running up and down your spine. they followed along as you walked home after a long day at work. they wrapped around you as you slept. you found yourself lingering in the darkness, not quite understanding why you just—never felt like you were alone. not truly alone, anyways. it was slightly unsettling, but you learned to ignore it.

you weren't scared, not particularly. it was just—cold. it made you feel isolated, at times. like the world was trying to shroud you in this darkness to remind you of what you'd lost.

you needed time by yourself, that was all. you told your friends the same stilted words again and again. i'll be fine, you'd say with a smile, just give me time. you lay in bed—that too large bed with too many pillows—and twisted the silver ring on your finger. staring up at the ceiling swathed in the milky lighting of the moon. the shadows appeared to move before you. your mind did not relent in your exhaustion.

with each passing day the ache in your heart only seemed to grow deeper. you wondered if it would ever end. you wondered if you would ever heal.

it was hard, being at home. traces of katsuki lingered everywhere you went. he was in the large boots that rested neatly by the door. in the lingering smell of burnt caramel that plagued your sheets and clothes. in the worn handle of his favorite spatula. it felt like you were suffocating, surrounded by so much of him. it was only natural for you to want to escape—to breathe. but it wasn’t that simple, and stepping outside just made everything worse.

he was on the t.v. screens in stores as japan still grieved, his face on every news channel. plastered to every pole, every brick wall. memorials were scattered around musutafu. candle stubs lined the streets. they were constructing a statue dedicated to him in front of the agency he’d co-owned with eijiro. you did not let your gaze wander for long. you were torn—drowning in your own sorrows and the sorrows of the people who surrounded you.

moping around would do you no good, you came to realize one day as you stared at a framed picture in your bedroom. it was the two of you on your wedding day, fingers intertwined tightly—two threads woven together expertly. the setting sun cast long shadows around the room from the open window that seemed to latch onto you. holding on for dear life. you ran a finger down katsuki’s face in the picture—the gentle smile he’d graced you with. only ever shown in your presence. you set the frame down and sighed—longing.

it took a few days for you to clean the entire apartment. deep scrubbing it and dousing it in a freshener to get rid of the bits of katsuki that lingered in the air. you hoped—so desperately—that it would alleviate some of the pain you felt in your chest. but as you stood in your darkened living room that smelled like citrus, you only felt emptier, it seemed. you ran a weary hand down your face.

you couldn’t… quite bring yourself to pack his things away just yet, either. so you sat on your couch as the moon peaked at you through the slightly drawn curtains, a single candle lit on the coffee table before you. it was lavender scented. you slumped forward to knead your fingers into your temples. you were exhausted. you missed him, so much that it hurt.

you stared at the flickering tangerine flame as it gleamed across your corneas.

something whispered your name.

it was soft—faint like a breath of air—yet it echoed so loudly in your ears because of how quiet your apartment was. your eyes darted up and to the side, wide and searching in the dark. you were alone. you couldn't see much beyond the couch you were sat upon. you swallowed heavily and waited, straining your ears in case you heard your name again. but you didn't.

you wondered if your grief was driving you insane.

you pursed your lips and stood up so you could slowly make your way to your bedroom to retire for the night. the shadows around you grew deeper with every step you took.

behind you, the candle went out.

you felt as though you were being watched.

it happened out of nowhere, the feeling of eyes on you as you went about your day. at first you chalked it up to your nerves, maybe the fatigue that weighed heavily on your shoulders. but it persisted. the feeling was stronger at night, you noticed, when you were surrounded by the dark. or at least, you weren't as aware of it whilst you were bathed in daylight.

it grew harder and harder to ignore as time passed. in other circumstances, you wouldn't have let it affect you so much. you wouldn't have had such difficulty with proceeding on with your daily routine. but you were troubled by the weight of the stare and the voices that whispered your name at night—when you were at your lowest, sitting in that too cold, too wide living room that smelled like a mix of citrus and lavender.

what really shook you, however, happened one evening after the sun had set and a gloomy dusk settled across the navy sky. you were sitting on the couch in your living room as you read a book, the lamp in the corner turned on to swathe everything in a warm honey glow. after what felt like hours, you eventually got up to grab a glass of water from the kitchen. it was then that you felt your foot get caught on something.

at first you thought you'd fallen victim to the blanket that spilled over the arm of the couch like a lazy waterfall. but when you looked down at your foot, you realized it wasn't stuck on anything. in fact, there was nothing wrong with it. you blinked down at your foot slowly, not comprehending what exactly was going on. it felt as though something had wrapped around it, gripping tightly at your ankle. something you couldn't see.

you gave a halfhearted tug at it, noticing how it was in the shadow of the couch from the lamp's light. but it didn't budge—not one bit. something in your stomach seemed to sink and grow deeper as you tried to pull your foot free from whatever held onto it. you swallowed heavily and—with all the strength in your body—wrenched your foot free. out of the deep shadow it was encased in.

the force you used made you stumble back until you hit the floor roughly on your backside. you immediately tugged your legs closer to your body, staring wide-eyed at the spot your foot had been stuck in before. there was nothing there. the skin around your ankle seemed to buzz. a shiver crawled up your spine.

something had changed, that evening.

you started drawing your curtains wide open, letting in the sun's light during the day and the moon's at night. you kept the lights on in every room you were in, chasing away every last remnant of the shadows. you were driving up your electricity bill, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. anything to make you feel safe—in a place where you once thought you could not be harmed.

it made you jumpy—set your attentiveness on fire. it had gotten to the point where your friends had started to notice something was wrong.

"are you... okay?" mina asked you tentatively one day as you met with her for a late lunch. your eyes darted over to look at her from where they'd been lingering on the shadows splayed across the table. "you seem... nervous."

"i'm fine," you assured her quickly, clearing your throat. your fingers tapped at the laminated menu before you. "i just... ah... have a lot on my mind, is all."

mina hummed, but it didn't seem like she really believed you. "if you say so..." her dark eyes looked down at her own menu, then back up at your own with a newfound sincerity to them. "you know we're here for you, right? i know it's... hard. for you."

you looked at her—really looked at her. she looked as tired as you felt, though where she covered her fatigue up with makeup, you didn't. and you were reminded, just then, that katsuki had been her friend, too.

you reached over so you could give her pink hand a gentle squeeze. "yeah"—you gave her a soft smile that she reciprocated—"i know."

you found yourself, one saturday evening, sitting on the floor in the middle of your brightly lit living room as you shuffled through a cardboard box. in it, were photo albums that mitsuki had gifted you so long ago. they were filled to the brim with childhood photos of katsuki—from the moment he was born, to the moment he and you had finally moved in together. you weren’t sure why, exactly, you were compelled to crack open this box, but you did. and it was simultaneously the best and the worst decision you’d made since his death.

you smiled wetly as your fingers flipped page after page, trailed down picture after picture of katsuki. him when he was five, his palms popping like sparklers. him when he was sixteen, grumpily standing with eijiro outside u.a. him when he was twenty-four, an arm wrapped around your shoulders as he scowled off into the distance. you thought everything would get easier—you hoped and dreamed. but it didn’t. at least, not yet.

you sighed and shut the thick album gently. then you hugged it to your chest, closing your eyes as you reminisced.

you breathed in, deep.

there was the smell of burnt caramel in the air—faint.

your eyes snapped open just as the lights went out around you, plunging you into darkness.

for a moment, your breaths stilled. you blinked, your eyes wide as they adjusted to the sudden change. the open window allowed pale blue moonlight to reach into the room, but it wasn’t enough. you glanced around, wondering what had happened. power outage? you glanced at the t.v. stand, where the cable box on the shelf within it still blinked red numbers at you to tell you the time. that was odd. you frowned and slowly picked yourself off the ground.

the moment you moved, you immediately felt the weight of a foreboding, familiar stare. that bore straight through you and set each and every hair on your arms and neck straight. you froze and let your eyes trail around you, cataloging every piece of furniture, every dark shadow that stretched towards you.

and that was when you noticed it.

in the deepest, darkest corner of your living room.

there was something. something that seemed to draw in the darkness around it. that writhed and dripped as it pulled itself up from the ground. no, not from the ground, you discovered. from the shadows. it was large. it was tenebrous. and it terrified you.

but you couldn’t get yourself to run away. no matter how much you willed your legs to move, it seemed like you were rooted to one spot. you watched as this thing slammed a large, clawed hand on the floor—midnight like the shadows around it—and scratched its nails deep into the wood. it coalesced into what looked like a head and shoulders—a torso that moved in a way that was inhumane.

you took in a sharp breath of air when it rasped out something deep. that grated at your ears and made you feel the sudden urge to run. two crimson dots peered at you—bright like smoldering pieces of coal. and you realized you were looking right into its eyes.

it was difficult to decipher where the thing started and where it ended, with how wrapped into the shadows it was. you felt your heart leap up into your throat when it rasped that same word again—that you soon realized wasn't just any normal word. it was your name. and maybe that realization was all it took to jar you into movement.

you stumbled backwards, your instincts screaming at you to get away—run as fast as you could. it wasn't safe here anymore, it wasn't safe. you spun around and lunged for the front door, hoping, perhaps, that once you left your apartment, you would be okay. you could get help.

but you didn't make it too far.

something latched onto your leg, crawled up your body until you were twirled back around and forced into one spot. the thing wrapped its murky limbs around you, looming over you until all you could see was its strange, dark body. it pinned your arms to your sides and gripped at your chin to make you look up at it.

it said your name again—in a voice, you noticed, was familiar, somehow. with an undertone of this desperation. that gripped at your heart and caused you to look into its crimson eyes once more. really look at them. and what you saw reflected against them made you stop struggling. the pale moonlight backlit its features that slowly took on a shape you could recognize. you swallowed heavily.

"katsuki?" you whispered hesitantly. its grip loosened slightly at your voice. and suddenly you were burning up from the inside as the last bits of shadow slipped from its face and revealed one you knew all too well—that plagued you in your dreams and your nightmares. you slipped a hand out of his hold so you could reach up with shaky fingers and lightly touch at the curve of his cheek. his eyes closed.

"how are—" you choked out, your voice thick with emotions you couldn't even begin to decipher. your eyes frantically darted across his features, taking them in—memorizing them as though it was the last time you would ever see them again. he looked like himself, like your katsuki. but there was his underlying feeling that something was wrong. inhuman in the paleness of his skin and the way this darkness seemed to cling to him, unrelenting. "how are you—"

"i fought through hell," katsuki rasped out in a voice that seemed to echo in your ears, "to get back to you."

"you—" something seemed to lodge itself in your throat, just then. and all you could do was lean forward and wrap your arms around his shoulders. pulling him closer so you could rest your ear against his chest and listen to the thrumming of his heart. alive.

"it was hard"—he swallowed thickly—"i tried so fuckin' hard to let y'know i was here. but i was so fuckin' weak. couldn't do shit other than mess with the lights."

"all that time," you breathed as you turned your gaze to look up at him, "it was you?" he only grunted and held you closer. you bit at the inside of your bottom lip to keep it from trembling and buried your face into his dark chest. his body seemed to waver—shake, almost—like it could fall apart at any second. and that terrified you.

"what... happened to you?" you asked in a stifled voice, talking into his sternum. "please tell me you can stay."

"don't think 'bout that," he told you as one of his clawed hands came up to cradle the back of your head. you sunk deeper into his hold, unwilling to let go. "'m here now, yeah?"

you held him tighter—as though you could absorb him directly into your body. it was true, he was back. he was here as this tumultuous being of the night. that had clawed his way back to you—defying death as you knew it.

but at a cost you knew would never be repaid.

#teahouse collab: dark chocolates #no bc he LITERALLY fought thru hell to get back to u #bakugou x reader #katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #anyways um idk where i was going with this but uhhhh eldritch horror bkg ig #light dose on the eldritch #me to this one shot: i hate u biiitch #pain in my ass #bakugou x you

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sirenjose · 5 months

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Teahouse Tales Analysis

Translations of the backstory (by Pascal): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L_Lk5zmhuSHJMzS0ERV0jVHb-nWXgddwZJjT8oyJPmM/edit#

Translation of the event (by Pascal): https://docs.google.com/document/d/131Uuz69qVe6wJEOqnAx8LSWSdZyGUutg7kTd1zmNtUs/edit#

Teahouse Tales trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_qrWTpzbs

Teahouse Tales was the 2nd anniversary event for the Chinese version of the game. The setting for this event is a teahouse run by the owner Lady Thirteen (Michiko). Besides going there to drink tea, secretly the main customers of this teahouse are those who have “committed” something. They come to this teahouse “without direction in life”, “at the end of their rope”, seeking “salvation” and “financial aid”. Lady Thirteen hears out what they have to say, and if she believes them, she may decide to help them. The reason they go to Lady Thirteen is because she controls the town’s “information lifeline” and there’s nothing “she doesn’t know” or “a person she can’t protect”.

To support her she has her assistants Flying Guillotine (Wu Chang) and Sparrow (Norton). Flying Guillotine is a former famed assassin who now serves as her head waiter. He takes orders at the teahouse but also is in charge of “some of the boss’ more fearsome transactions” (meaning he likely kills for her when she needs it).

Sparrow is her second waiter. His role is to gather information and act as a “silver tongue” (based on the trailer), as he is “a master in the slick and sly, skilled in observation and indirect questioning, digging out and analyzing information amidst merrymaking”.

People go there to drink tea, but the teahouse also secretly gives aid to those who’ve committed crimes and come asking for help from Lady Thirteen. Lady Thirteen knows everything, as she controls the town’s information lifeline. Regarding her helpers, Flying Guillotine helps Lady Thirteen maintain order and eliminate potential problems, while Sparrow is in charge of gathering information. The player comes to the teahouse because they need her help with the photo album they have (of all their memories of the Manor). In return for helping with the photo album, Lady Thirteen asks the player to do a job for her: check gift boxes for poisonous gifts and help identify a traitor planning a “rebellion” against her.

One note about this event is that, depending on the choices you make during the event (based on the answers you give to questions you’re asked), you can get 1 of 2 endings: one where you side with Flying Guillotine, and the other where you side with Lady Thirteen.

After reading through the events and both endings several times, I believe there is for the most part only 1 timeline, with the events being given to us out of order and scattered about. The 2 endings aren’t mutually exclusive (Lady Thirteen’s ending occurs some time before Flying Guillotine’s ending). Each little bit of the event we get helps to fill a hole in the story we read in “Bone-Eating Gift”.

Bone-Eating Gift begins with Lady Thirteen having the player help her out by checking for poisonous gifts in return for assisting with their photo album. On Day 2, the player asks Lady Thirteen why she picked them to help her. She explains it’s because they are a “no-strings attached” outsider. They’re fresh, not familiar with anyone or anything at the teahouse, unbiased (at least for now), and only care about getting the photo album, thus making them the most suitable person to find the traitor for her. It also may be possible she has the player checking giftboxes as a way of testing the reaction of others at the teahouse (to further help her discover who the traitor is). The very next day, as a result of their talk with Lady Thirteen, it’s mentioned that the people at the Teahouse look at the player differently, while Sparrow and Jade Dew (Emily) notably keeping their distance from the player.

Day 4 has the player mention to Lady Thirteen that she should pay attention to Sparrow, because he’s been “acting odd” recently. This question makes Lady Thirteen unhappy, as she gives the player a “distasteful” look, before stating “He has remained by my side for a long time; He will not betray me”. The day after, the player is talking to Flying Guillotine who warns the player about Lady Thirteen and about how they should be careful about trusting her, before pointing out a window “at the child kneeling in the cold, wet snow”.

On Day 6, it’s mentioned today is Lady Thirteen’s birthday, and Sparrow thinks it’s a good day for lighting fireworks. The player asks if he’ll wish Lady Thirteen a happy birthday, but he says “No need, she just needs to know I’m here”.

The final day of Bone-Eating Gift brings up the fact Lady Thirteen is investigating Silver Steed (Freddy). She also gives the player their photo album before telling them “you and I both have what we want; and with this, you have my thanks”.

In the ending where you side with Flying Guillotine, we learn from Jade Dew about Flying Guillotine’s past, and why he wants revenge on Lady Thirteen. “The noble son of aristocrats studying abroad, who suffered until his family was broken and people had died. And every last part of it was because of Lady Thirteen; because of her ‘trade’”. Later, with the help of the player (they don’t really seem to directly help out. They just seem to support Flying Guillotine and not help Lady Thirteen) and Jade Dew, who gives Flying Guillotine a gun, Flying Guillotine kills Lady Thirteen.

In the ending where you side with Lady Thirteen, it starts with Bohea (Mike) asking Sparrow about where to put some goods, though they freeze when the player enters the room. Sparrow tells the player not to worry (about what he was doing), but when the player asks if they were doing some kind of business, he smiles and “put up a finger and shushed: ‘You must keep this private’”. After this (at this time, it’s said that the player is watching fireworks), it’s said that the player gets Sparrow in trouble: “I knew of business, but not how to do it, and I got discovered; Sparrow was punished for it”. The player feels guilty for getting him punished, but Sparrow tells them not to feel bad, “Lady Thirteen is my biggest benefactor. This job really is my responsibility, too” and says just to stand by their side next time.

Later, Sparrow tells the player not to sleep in “because of unnecessary questions” before saying they should go deliver refreshments to Lady Thirteen. Right after, he says “I believe she might be in danger” (the “Drops of water leaking from the roof ran down his neck” might actually be sweat, potentially to show he’s nervous). With Lady Thirteen, we find her with Silver Steed (Freddy), who’s apparently been beaten and dealt with harshly. Sparrow at this time is described as indifferent to him and what’s going on. Lady Thirteen says she’s trusted Silver Steed, but apparently he’s “gone and palmed off” Lady Thirteen’s goods, which is the reason for his current miserable state. She takes a stack of deeds from Sparrow, before saying to Silver Steed, “These are all your worldly possessions. Oh, not only that, but I just remembered. Your wife is newly pregnant, isn’t she?”. This apparently breaks Silver Steed and makes him freak out. He says he’ll talk, but before he finishes speaking, he’s shot and killed.

Now that I’ve summarized all of that, let me talk about what I think happened.

I’ll start with the beginning of Lady Thirteen’s ending, where the player finds Sparrow and Bohea talking about goods of some sort that Sparrows says is a “private” matter. Sparrow’s actions and behavior in this scene, especially since he doesn’t explain himself and he’s already been keeping his distance from the player, should be the reason why the player brings up to Lady Thirteen that Sparrow is acting “odd” and that she should keep an eye on him. The reason why they tell Lady Thirteen to be wary of him stems from Lady Thirteen assigning the player to help her identify the “traitor” at the teahouse.

Regarding the goods that Sparrow and Bohea had been handling, I believe these goods were for Lady Thirteen’s birthday. The reason why it was “private” is likely because he was trying to plan a party for her without her knowing. That’s why he didn’t want to tell the player what he was doing. It also fits considering soon after these events we hear about Lady Thirteen’s birthday. Things Unfortunately, things don’t go well for Sparrow and his plan after the player tells Lady Thirteen that Sparrow is suspicious, as this leads to him being “punished”.

Remember that one day mentioned a child kneeling out in the snow?

That was Sparrow.

Poor Sparrow is betrayed by the player and punished by Lady Thirteen all because he was trying to plan a surprise birthday party for Lady Thirteen.

This is likely why he tells the player he isn’t going to wish Lady Thirteen a happy birthday, and why her simply knowing he is here is good enough. He had just been punished by Lady Thirteen due to being suspected of being the traitor because of the player’s comments about him. We know Sparrow isn’t the traitor as he’s described as being completely loyal to Lady Thirteen. Lady Thirteen reflects these same feelings about Sparrow when she talks about him. Even though Lady Thirteen knows he would never betray her and that he isn’t the traitor, she is forced to punish him anyways to keep up appearances for the real traitor, to seem unbiased and on guard. Sparrow, because he is so loyal, accepts this and appears unbothered, with his only desire to help her out however he can. If Sparrow were to wish her happy birthday right after his punishment, it would ruin the image she’s trying to display to everyone and hinder her attempts to find the real traitor.

From her “distasteful” expression we know she was just as unhappy about having to punish him, but also aware that she now didn’t have a choice.

This scene explains the part when it says the player was “discovered” (aka they made a mistake) and Sparrow was punished. The mistake was the player suggesting that Sparrow was the traitor because they thought Sparrow was suspicious from whatever he was doing with the goods. The punishment was where we see Sparrow (the “child”) kneeling out in the cold ice and snow. Bohea was likely helping Sparrow out because he is the kind of person who wants to make people “smile” and “a rowdy crowd always makes him forget his fears”. Mike is a happy person who likes having fun, so it’s not surprising he'd be willing to help Sparrow plan a birthday party.

Switching now to Flying Guillotine’s ending, the beginning of this ending, where Flying Guillotine asks for the player’s help to get his revenge, occurs before Lady Thirteen’s birthday. One part I want to discuss is when Flying Guillotine says “Silver Steed has been discovered”. This comes after Lady Thirteen finishes her “speech” at her birthday celebration (and after Jade Dew gives Flying Guillotine a gun). Silver Steed being “discovered” should refer to the scene during lady Thirteen’s ending, where she kills Silver Steed for betraying her. This may refer to Silver Steed’s body being discovered from the Lady Thirteen ending, when he is killed for betraying her.

Silver Steed was also mentioned at the end of “Bone-eating Gift” on Day 7, which is the same scene Lady Thirteen gives the player the photo album and says “you and I both have what we want”. If Lady Thirteen has what she wants, this should refer to her goal of discovering the traitor, and relate to the “business” she is said to have with Silver Steed that day. Therefore, this implies that Bone-Eating Gift Day 7 happens before Lady Thirteen’s ending, after which is Flying Guillotine’s ending. This also implies the player didn’t leave immediately after getting the photo album, potentially staying at least long enough for the Lady Thirteen’s birthday.

So Silver Steed is killed before Lady Thirteen’s speech and before Flying Guillotine kills Lady Thirteen. If these 2 scenes happen near in time to each other, this could also mean that when Sparrow says he thinks Lady Thirteen is in “danger”, he’s sensing Flying Guillotine is getting reading to carry out his revenge and kill Lady Thirteen. This could also mean those “fireworks” were for Lady Thirteen’s party, and the “refreshments” he was brining to her were also from the party.

If Sparrow was at least in the previous scene when Silver Steed is killed, that means he is still alive and somewhere at the party. But the fact that we don’t hear about him at all afterwards, or anywhere in Flying Guillotine’s ending. I don’t think Flying Guillotine would’ve killed Sparrow. His only target was Lady Thirteen, the one he deemed guilty of killing his family, so he could fulfill his revenge. I don’t think he would’ve done anything to Sparrow once he accomplished what he wanted to do. But from there, we don’t really know what happens to Sparrow after Lady Thirteen is killed.

It's also possible, based on Silver Steed’s description (“What can compare? The gold clutched in your hand; is there anything more valuable?”) plus Freddy’s background that Silver Steed may have been involved if not mostly responsible for whatever led to Flying Guillotine’s family dying. It’s mentioned that Lady Thirteen’s “trade” is what caused it to happen. And if you compare this and the outcome to Freddy’s background, where he tricks Leo to buy a debt-ridden factory so he could take Martha from him and eliminate Leo (not to mention Leo and Martha both die, while Emma is orphaned), it fits really well with what happens to Lady Thirteen. Leo would be like Flying Guillotine’s family, regarding them getting a bad trade and getting killed as a result, with Flying Guillotine being similar to Emma since he, like Emma, is all alone now (Sparrow is similarly left all alone like Emma after Lady Thirteen is killed). Silver Steed being taken out by Lady Thirteen could relate to Freddy being taken out by Leo in the diaries.

From various bits during the event, I think Lady Thirteen may have known about Flying Guillotine and his desire to kill her for revenge. She likely knew why as well, which may have been part of the reason she had Silver Steed killed. She should’ve known about the “trade” that got his family killed, and if she finally learned that Silver Steed was the “traitor” that got them murdered, she likely wanted to eliminate him as a way to try to get revenge for Flying Guillotine’s family. Lady Thirteen is also continuously mentioned to know everything. Therefore, there’s a chance she knew Flying Guillotine was coming to kill her. She may have even let him do it. Maybe it was another way to make it up to him (help him end his suffering over his family’s death by letting him carry out his revenge).

During the “Sixth Tale”, it mentions Lady Thirteen has a photograph of everyone from the teahouse. The idea of a “family” is important to her. “On Lady Thirteen’s face hung a smile. ‘Not a single victory happens without relying on those by your side’”. Based on this, it’s possible that Lady Thirteen cared about Flying Guillotine as well, even though she likely knew he wanted her dead, and maybe that was part of the reason why she may have let him kill her (it depends on how involved she really was in his family’s death, and thus maybe she wanted to make up for her mistake).

To Lady Thirteen, the real “traitor” was likely Silver Steed, and she got what she wanted by killing him, but she likely also knew Flying Guillotine was the one who wanted to murder her for revenge. If she knew her death was coming, maybe she tried to send Sparrow away. Unfortunately, it’s probably more likely that Sparrow was around when she died, especially with how loyal he was to her and how much he cared about her. He may have even ended up having to watch his adopted mother get murdered right before his eyes.

I’m going to talk about Lady Thirteen a little bit.

In the backstory for Teahouse tales, it’s mentioned this teahouse is located in a Chinatown in Europe. This goes with Lady Thirteen’s skin description which describes her as a “foreign beauty”, referencing how Lady Thirteen isn’t from Europe. Her design notes also specifically refer to her as a “Far Eastern beauty”. This matches with her backstory, as we know she’s from Japan. Specifically, from her 1st deduction, her hometown was likely Eversleeping Town.

Michiko’s Deduction 1

Hometown: This is the last stop for our ancestors and the starting point for our journey.

A diary: Before entering, I called it Forever Sleep Town. Those moving objects really catch your eye on in those quiet, sleepy streets.

Sometime after this, 1 of her backstories from her release references she became the “best dancer in Yoshiwara”. Based on deduction 3 (and her backstory), we know she meets Miles at a banquet, after which they get married and he takes her back to his hometown. Considering Mr. Donnelly is at Lakeside, and Lakeside is near the manor, this likely confirms Miles’ hometown was in England. This fits with how the teahouse was stated to be in Europe and how Lady Thirteen is referred to as a foreigner.

Going back to the design notes for Lady Thirteen, it specifies that the purpose for her teahouse is for her own survival as well as to “protect those like her, her compatriots staying abroad, defenseless, while also collecting valuable information to exchange”. Lady Thirteen was far from home, all on her own, without any friends or support. She initially created this teahouse as a way to ensure she could make ends meet and ensure she could survive. But she began meeting others like her, who were potentially people also from the far east, and she sympathized with them due to her own circumstances. That’s when she decided to utilize the teahouse as a method to gather information, which she could use to help those that came to her for aid (meaning she likely used the info both for the sake of knowledge to help those wanting salvation, but also to improve her own finances which she could then give to those asking for financial help).

Due to being on her own in a foreign land from the far east, she had to become vicious to endure the foreign environment. This fits with her skin description, which talks about “the only way” to keep herself safe was by using other people: “For a beautiful woman who lived in a foreign country, perhaps the only way for her to keep herself safe... is to obtain sufficient leverage on people. Lady Thirteen always said, ‘Kindness alone withers the roses. Only the valuable nutrients will keep roses alive’”.

She wanted to ensure she wouldn’t get trampled upon by those who’d look down on her for who she was, and as a result of constantly socializing and working with people who aren’t always truthful or don’t always have the best intentions. As we see in her design notes, “in the world of Chinatown, no man dares overthrow her dynasty”. Lady Thirteen succeeded in building up her image as a “venomous woman, all snake fangs and scorpion’s sting”, “flirtatious”, “a manipulator, one who kills decisively”, “unyielding”, “clever and resourceful, ruthless, but never losing her kindness”. This allowed her “dynasty” to be protected for some amount of time.

Until Flying Guillotine starts planning his revenge.

If Lady Thirteen was killed due to Flying Guillotine wrongly believing she was the reason his entire family died, this could relate back to Michiko’s backstory. In her backstory, Miles’ father Mr. Donnelly really hates Michiko (similar to how Flying Guillotine really hates Lady Thirteen). After Miles has to leave for India on a business trip (he’s an army officer according to Michiko’s backstory), Mr. Donnely uses that chance to murder Michiko and then hide her body. When Miles returns, his father lies and insists that Michiko had eloped with a servant and stole some of the family’s property, though Miles doesn’t believe this. This can parallel the rumor that Lady Thirteen was the reason all of Flying Guillotine’s family had died.

Speaking of Lady Thirteen being killed, I want to briefly discuss the snake hairpin that she has in her hair in the Teahouse Tales poster.

The reason I want to draw attention to it comes from how this same hairpin can be seen during the Teahouse Tales trailer alongside Flying Guillotine.

The hairpin appearing next to Flying Guillotine while talking about a “conspiracy” to “end an era” is meant to further represent how Flying Guillotine is the one starting a “rebellion” and planning to assassinate Lady Thirteen.

We know Flying Guillotine was indeed forming a “rebellion” based on the various mentions of all those he is likely working. The first and most obvious is Jade Dew from his ending, who is literally the one to give him the gun and comments “looks like the plan was a success” with a “cheery smile”. Then there’s potentially Silver Steed (even though he may have been the one actually responsible for Flying Guillotine’s family dying, it’s possible Flying Guillotine didn’t know this, and it’s possible Silver Steed intended to betray him later) and Lantsang, who Flying Guillotine tells the player to find for him and let her know “Silver Steed has been discovered”.

This hairpin being used to symbolize her being killed also parallels Michiko’s backstory. Specifically, it fits with her deduction 5, which mentions a “hatpin”, which was likely the object Mr. Donnelly used to kill Michiko after Miles had left for India.

Michiko’s Deduction 5

Feelings: This is a completely different kingdom. The women wear exaggerated hats.

Buckle Hatpin: A delicate butterfly hatpin. It is 6 inches long and has a very sharp tip.

This seems to be confirmed by her deduction 9, which once again references the hatpin at the same time as mentioning a “grudge” and how “he must know”.

Michiko’s Deduction 9

Grudge: Unrequited love, endless complaints.

A diary: He really doesn't know anything? No, that hatpin... he must know. He has to know.

On to comparing Sparrow to Norton.

A one-word summary about Sparrow is that he is a good boy that’s completely loyal to Lady Thirteen.

Yes, Sparrow does watch Lady Thirteen kill people and isn’t bothered by it, but for the most part otherwise, he is a good kid. At the very least, Sparrow never kills anyone himself, and everything he does is for Lady Thirteen. Yes, she’s said to be ruthless, but it also mentions during the “Second Tale” (from the anecdotes or “Tales Proven” according to the translation) that she is still capable of mercy: “A beauty who kills decisively and ruthlessly, but in her hidden depths one catches a glimpse of rare mercy”. Therefore I don’t think she’s completely evil, which is backed up by her design notes which state: “ever and resourceful, ruthless but never losing her kindness, in the eyes of the people, she had long surpassed such descriptors as good and evil”. As such, I don’t think Sparrow would be completely evil either for following her. In any case, Sparrow being a good boy could parallel how Norton really is, despite how he seems in his deductions. At the very least, it could be referring to how he used to be before his parents died and/or before he went to the 13 mines. He, like Sparrow, never directly killed anyone, though his actions (or lack of action in the case of Sparrow at the teahouse) due lead to people dying.

Sparrow is also described as loyal. This can combine with how he’s described in that “Second Tale” I mentioned earlier: “Sparrow may be a master of cunning, but to those he cherishes, he is sincere and pure”. To me, that sounds like Norton is the kind of person who has a small, but close-knit group of friends (kind of like the ones introverts have) vs. other people who are more the type to have large groups of friends. Him being sincere and pure to those he cares about can also be a mirror for Norton and how he is. We might be able to see this with Ronald and Inference in Golden Rose Theater. Ronald, like Norton and how he acts in his official tweet responses, isn’t the type to really form relationships. He is mostly a loner that pushes people away when they try to get too close, and tends to avoid social interactions whenever he can. But Ronald apparently does see Inference as a friend (and he is mentioned to really trust the Detective and describes him as one of the only 2 “good” people in his mind).

There’s also the strong bond between Sparrow and Lady Thirteen. This could be a hint towards how Norton felt about his parents before they died. That may also maybe explain why he is so extreme in his deductions and acts the way he does, because losing them hurt him so badly. Just like how much it likely hurt for Sparrow when he found Lady Thirteen dead, and just like Ronald felt when he had to deal with the death of his father.

The fact Sparrow and Ronald both lose a parental figure may help imply Norton himself lost his parents at an early age. The fact Lady Thirteen and Ronald’s father were both betrayed and essentially murdered, and it was by someone they were close to, could hint towards what happened to Norton’s parents. Someone close to them, that they trusted, betrayed them and got them killed. The only person we know related to Norton’s parents is Benny. If Benny is essentially represented by Scrooge in Golden Theater and Marshall in Season 10 Essence 1 (the essence with Andrew’s Desolate Sands skin, specifically based on the description for Gold Digger in the Chinese version), not to mention what we know about Benny and his strong desire of “returning to the mine” to find gold, it could be a way of hinting that Benny caused Norton’s parents to get killed for a reason related to that and/or to his greed.

Sparrow is constantly described as being smart: with how he constantly watches the player (being on guard until he finds out more about them, and/or just making sure to watch out for Lady Thirteen to guarantee the player doesn’t do anything to harm her), how he’s described as having “day-to-day sharpness and slick wit”, being called a “master of cunning”, being the one in charge of gathering information, etc… This links to Norton being quite smart himself. It’s related to his willingness to learn, his desire to improve his skill and ability, eagerness to learn new techniques, etc… That was why in the letters of recommendation he’s mentioned to not stay with any one employer or place for very long. He’s getting different experiences, so he’d learn more things and be better at his job (and at mining). Then there’s also how he had to be incredibly smart and talented to be able to utilize magnetic prospecting after Norton changed from being a miner to a geological prospector (after getting the meteorite chunks which he made into his magnets)

The fact Sparrow looks innocent and childlike, but in fact uses this advantage to gather information (make people drop their guard with him, get them willing to talk to him or talk more than they would otherwise) is similar to how Ronald in the Golden Rose Theater gathers information as well (to use against Scrooge so he can get revenge and also so he can become the owner). This relates to how Norton is a good actor. He’s good at pretending, getting people to see him a certain way, and good at hiding his true intentions and how he’s really like (someone who doesn’t like social interaction or making relationships, a loner, someone desperate to change his fate, etc…). The character relations page even references this when it talks about how Norton trying to gather information from the old miners in hospice and how he managed to swindle Benny of the list of 13 mines.

Finally, there’s also how Sparrow is described as “listless” during the scene Lady Thirteen kills Silver Steed.

Listless means: having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid; spiritless; indifferent. I think this may be a good description for how Norton normally is, especially if you think about some of the tweet responses he gives that are a bit darker than his other, happier ones. It could also relate to how Norton is after the accident. He was traumatized by the entire thing, to the point he desperately wants to avoid the “darkness of the mine” and changes his job to geological prospector just to keep from having to go back into the mines. He’s guilty over the deaths of the miners (which his Soul Catcher skin hints at, as well as how in at least 1 of his tweet responses he mentions “don’t forget” in regards to the Golden Cave), which is why he’s somewhat self-destructive (the fact he smiles when you down him in game, meaning he seems to be happy about possibly dying or suffering). Basically, the accident really changed him, leaving him in a state you could describe as “spiritless” or “indifferent”.

These descriptions can apply to Norton in general too. He essentially doesn’t really care about anyone, which also relates to how he pushes people away, avoids social interactions, and is pretty much “indifferent” and shows “no interest” in a lot of things, except for himself and changing his fate.

To go to Sparrow’s skin description, it states how he’s never been shown kindness. This sounds similar to what we see in the Famitsu article. This article talks about how, before Norton went to the 13 mines, people were intimidated by him and how hard he worked to escape his fate. Then it goes into how, after the accident, people didn’t comfort him and actually avoided him, despite how he was currently in the hospital recovering from the injuries he received as result of the accident. Then there’s how Norton is a miner. They were treated horribly back in those days (essentially just like slaves) and working conditions were incredibly bad (there was a really high chance of dying on the job, and owners didn’t care about spending money on protections, health, or safety). Not to mention they were pretty much paid next to nothing, so Norton, especially since his parents had died and left him alone, was really poor. Basically, Norton has lived a tough life just like Sparrow.

About the other parts of the skin description, Sparrow having to blend into the adults’ world relates to Norton having to grow up (and mature) quickly after his parents died. With them gone (and at an early age too), he had to learn to take care of himself. He had to get a job to get food and some shelter, and as a miner he also had to deal with horrible conditions, a horrible environment, and horrible people. And all of this he had to do on his own.

Regarding Sparrow learning to disguise himself, this goes back to Norton (and Ronald) being “actors”. They pretend. They act a certain way around people and they don’t really show their true selves (not to mention they keep people away mostly, while Ronald literally wears a mask). Based on Sparrow’s description, learning to disguise himself seems to have been necessary for his survival (the same way Lady Thirteen had to according to her design notes), so its likely that Norton had to learn to do the same for the same reason.

Moving on to another thing I want to take note of, for Sparrow’s skin, I want to mention how his magnets actually have a message written on them.

The left one is “smooth sailing”. This is an idiom that means “to have a pleasant journey”.

The right one is “may you invite fortune and become more and more treasure”. This is another idiom that means “we wish you success and riches”.

Both are the sorts of things Sparrow would wish for himself (and for Lady Thirteen).

For the first one about “smooth sailing”, this relates to one of his deductions that talks about not being unlucky forever. Smooth sailing can also relate to Norton’s goal, to change his fate and have a more “pleasant journey” than the one he currently has. Pleasant meaning he doesn’t need to work at a job where he’s paid extremely little despite working so much, where he has to risk his life everyday surrounded by people who only care about themselves, and working for employers who only care about money and not at all for their employees. A journey where he doesn’t need to worry about whether he’ll live to see tomorrow or have enough food on his table.

For the second idiom that says “may you invite fortune and become more and more treasure”, this obviously relates to what Norton wants, meaning his desire to change his fate and acquire wealth. It could also specifically relate to how the 13th mine is his last hope and to his wish to find gold there.

Another note about Sparrow’s lion hat is that (in Chinese) it might be a symbol for driving away evil or bad energy/spirits, famines, and plagues. Basically, it protects people and things from threats and harm (or from spiritual influences), and may also bring good fortune.

A symbol for driving away evil (spirits) could relate to Norton and him being affected by the meteorite. The good fortune bit again relates to Norton’s desire to change his fate and acquire wealth. For Sparrow, this might mean he’s hoping to protect Lady Thirteen, kind of like how in that one part of Lady Thirteen’s ending he comments on Lady Thirteen being in danger. This could also mean that Norton is good at noticing things and has good instincts.

The very last thing I’ll point out to go with Sparrow being loyal to Lady Thirteen is how we can see in one of the posters for the event that Norton signed his name on a contract (of sale I think?).

This could be the scene when Sparrow first joined Lady Thirteen. It could be a way for Sparrow to prove his loyalty. It may also relate to how Lady Thirteen essentially adopted Sparrow (after she found him, whenever that was).

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