#rather than murder mystery

[strawbubbysugar]

It’s so upsetting that if only Moon didn’t go with Sun, or Sun never went to the cave, or if that damn nasty ass rabbit didn’t do anything an was actually a normal not evil rat, things would have gone according to plan, and no one would have to deal with all the conflicts coming off of the incident

Oh believe me there would still be conflict, just a different flavour.

#ask #bethroned #bethroned spoilers #there is no world in which things are settled completely peacefully #would’ve been more of a political intrigue vibe if moon had been the one you married tho #rather than murder mystery

[mobiuslab]

There seems to be such a big focus on 'dreams that never end', especially with the Golden Hour being the everlasting last hour before the next day arrives.

Oddly enough though, it doesn't seem like we are trapped inside a dream loop. But I want that. I want TB to be angry and irrational and to be obsessed with saving Firefly. I want what we've seen so far to be just a precognitive dream, and for TB to try over and over again to change the outcome, waking up every time they fail. I want them to drive themself crazy, desperately chasing after an impossible outcome.

And once the TB stops torturing themself and finds catharsis, the needle of the clock can finally move past midnight, signaling the dawn of a new day with TB finally able to move on. That's how I would write a story about neverending dreams, loss, grief, and self-blame, but again, it doesn't seem like the story is heading in that direction.

#honkai star rail #star rail spoilers #hsr spoilers #it feels more like a murder mystery where you have to figure out who you can trust who's lying to you #rather than a time-loop story about obsessively trying to save a girl #but then again the conversations with Archeron kinda imply that there is something familiar about all of this #firefly

[unproduciblesmackdown]

ok another one in that i went over everything again expressly to pick up murder mystery clues, especially in the beginning

noted as the first appearance of mordecai, hanging out in the garage. to be perched on the hood of a car, leaning back, is so whimsical for him. jaunty. but also, being the earliest appearance in the comic / its own timelines, you know. more informatively, it sure seems like atlas was shot or something there. looks like it matches his design even from the mostly obscured look we get at it, and presumably there's any all the more unobscured view available to everyone in-universe. it's also presented as part of someone's file, so that's noted re: drago, though it may just be the required framing to present it as a photograph that'd exist at all

then introduced to mitzi in the next page, and i've helpfully added the arrow b/c i was looking for it like "well, based on this Theory that the basis of mitzi and mordecai being in cahoots and having an understanding about it is their mutually having a personal/emotional connection to atlas (at least on their end b/c we see so little from atlas and hear even less. even when people would usually say one is personally connected to their wife. are they)....might mordecai show up at the glimpse of atlas's funeral" and i'm noting how closely that design there aligns with mordecai's, even though this isn't high res enough to be absolutely certain. but: seems to have a shaded-in coloration, center streak in the ear, sharply triangular corner of face (especially a feature in these earliest depictions, rather than this triangularity incorporating a bit more waviness / curve later), light uhh muzzle nose mouth area, what could be the outline of the light stripe under the eyes, light eyebrows >:c ly arched, & pince-nez or just glasses if that's the only option when you're cats....there's a lot of "wow that really could be mordecai huh" design alignments that are otherwise just a lot of coincidences like, whoops drew this background rando who matches so closely one of the main cast members....characters. getting theatrical out here. and what's then also noticeable is: none of the other background randos resemble any other characters, even when if mordecai is simply here as an Important Employee, where's viktor, where's anyone else we know was already around, where's the employees who remained steadfast who are shown immediately after this, versus mordecai who, as an employee, did Not loyally stick around at lackadaisy, but as someone with enough emotional investment in atlas for that to indeed be the foundation of his and mitzi's murder mystery Understanding, to then also maybe be the only lackadaisy employee at atlas's funeral (presumably with mitzi's knowledge), to have left lackadaisy out of grief rather than professional interests....hmm

mordecai also in this picture, where again everyone's hanging out, next to atlas and singled out by being the only person not sitting. did he just get there, maybe. is he On The Job still, i.e. maybe by being something of an [almost always active personal bodyguard] here. seems he'd face more Away from atlas for that. but not like i know what he's up to otherwise, and Thee Point may be to more symbolically have him standing apart. with even viktor also there, sitting and chilling, to show how mordecai Might also be doing that....but isn't. also of course tingling with mystery senses about what mitzi was going to have said to wick here, about how she would hate to, dot dot dot...then changes her mind upon Considering Atlas

here's mordecai Standing Near atlas again while socializing is happening. while he is also distinct from a) mitzi, in that this is confirming (if somewhat implicitly) that mordecai was in fact already associated with lackadaisy & atlas before atlas met mitzi, and b) viktor, who was still stationed with the arbogasts' funeral home, wherein i'm also considering this relevant b/c naturally it emphasizes that the professional viktor & mordecai duo's existence doesn't make them interchangeable: backing up that mitzi sure may have had a reason beyond a coin flip for having this secret with mordecai rather than viktor (and, of course, the reason probably isn't just "i need to work with some lackadaisy employee who can fire a gun" in the first place)

a couple more points being

mordecai going on and on about professional approach all the time; could simply be his preference, could be an expression of the like precision / methodical perspective that makes him good at biting and killing, could be [that] plus just how he deals with his job being biting and killing when it's unlikely he was up to that before the train ride ft. atlas and atlas taking him on for that success....i also wonder if he took a Professional Approach to killing atlas / thinks of it in that way, even if that reason for [secret mystery involvement with mitzi on this] was an emotional one, and that being recent and tumultuous has him like tripling down on this. even though mordecai may not have killed atlas either, even presuming atlas Was shot and killed. and knowing that mitzi gave him a gun, or mordecai gave her the gun, or they passed it back and forth a few times for obfuscation

the pig farmers start wandering into a dark area of lackadaisy's caves and there's bones back there. what goes on in said caves....all this coming about b/c atlas opportunistically took advantage of the cave access, seems like the kind of environment with real potential for some figurative resonance. like also the rivers.

mitzi telling wick that atlas was the murderous one in the relationship....not necessarily that significant when like, technically who around here Isn't murderous. just like there having been "here's the body stashing cave section" isn't necessarily extraordinary in its literal existence, but with the symbolism of wandering into the caves and finding an area with no light, where you start walking on old bones, and are about to be killed yourself....hmm. and re: atlas's murderousness, sure is possible to team up to kill someone to protect a fourth party, even though like, who. and that would add another layer of "mitzi and mordecai care about the same person" on top of their presumed [handshaken] emotional regard towards atlas. possible, but like, who would that be. it seems unlikely atlas would, say, threaten ivy or something. and how would that incorporate that [there has to be the Mitzi's Asserted Culpability] element. but these things are sure noted

not directly related to the mystery but i will leave off again on the mordenico agenda. even though, also, it is a "bite me a zillion times, two zillion times shy on me" situation like, what are the odds the [inroad of intrigue over shaking up the glitter in your funny little guy who everyone usually just would rather ignore] situation is actually bound for working out. yet [Also Everything Else. like in this scene and the prior Hotel Room Fête encounters] and declaring yourselves as the same and trying to stay friends no matter what....we can dream

#mfw people are like ''yeah mordecai's so good at math & even actually enjoys it Buuuuut everyone hates the hell out of his personality'' #Oh You Don't Say.... #see the all the more extensive post last night for going ''But How Does It Figure In'' more thoroughly lol #crowd clapping and cheering at another installment of this series. or you should be #though i'm sure past the ''yeah i'll probably have a tag for something if i post abt it three whole times at least'' point out here huh #lackadaisy #someone's post like ''those cats you were autistic about when you were twelve'' several options there for us all #lackadaisy cats for me to be sure (twelve or thirteen; anyways); could be Jellicle (i am now a staunch cats the musical advocate on #principle rather than ''i've ever seen it'' but i saw Some of it for reference probably around that age lol); warriors #or the cats we should all be autistic about....any actual ones. i'm petting some right now. like nya; see #mitzi and mordecai murder mystery

[irbcallmefynn]

Pangea was so cool we should do that again sometime

Just grab some rope and close up those gaps

Just imagine how awesome public transportation could be without any of those pesky oceans in the way! You could take a train from California to Amsterdam! How cool would that be?

#bedposting #pangea #public transportation #it would be so easy to visit some of you if planes didn't need to exist #I'd much rather chill on a train for a few days than sit in an uncomfortable plane for a few hours #also the murder mystery genre would be epic again

[bluehairperson]

I don’t want to start drama but I’ve seen some concerning posts floating around about how distasteful and disappointing it is to see certain creators “support” Dorian and I hate to break it to you guys, but if you’ve ever interacted, shared or created anything regarding The Arcana you are supporting Dorian yourselves.

Being in the fandom alone is supporting Dorian by creating engagement, publicizing the game and being part of the audience they’re trying to target.

And even if you were to delete your whole blog and everything you’ve ever posted to enjoy the original game in private you would still be supporting Dorian by bringing traffic to the app they now own.

The one and only way you have to stop supporting Dorian, if you care about it so much, would be to distance yourself from the series entirely and go join another fandom. Never play the original game ever again and never interact with any fan creation regarding it from now on. 👋

#you're basically saying you dislike people supporting the company by working with it #while you yourself are supporting the company but indirectly by giving visibility to their brand #let's be coherent please #I personally don't care about dorian just like I never cared about nix hydra #but I still like the game so I'm gonna cherry pick whatever I want #and full offence but between this and continuous character and ship discourse you guys are unsufferable lol #you're murdering the fandom from the inside by being toxic af and finding the most bullshit excuses to attack artists for shit #that doesn't matter and then you turn around and whine and wonder why the fandom is dying and no one is posting anything new anymore #like MMMMMMMMMNHHHHHHH 🤔🤔🤔 #it's a mystery I wonder why #mentioning this because I also saw some discourse about dorian being awful for supporting quote unquote tOxIc and aBuSiVe ships 😨😨😨😨 #with the most basic and vanilla couple I've ever seen here #like nix hydra was never great either but I've never ever seen posts claiming that if you support them you must be an awful person #what changed exactly? #it sounds to me that you guys are just really bitter that the new quote unquote canon content is... not super good so you're trying to #vent your frustration in any way you can #which means attacking independent artists who use the platform because it's easier to reach and demolish them rather than the company itself #I log on here to recharge after a day of work and all I see is people acting like twelve year olds trying to be mean like bruh #it's literally the hom3stuck 2 fandom situation I called it #tagging this as discourse so you can blacklist it if you don't wanna be annoyed #discourse #the arcana #dorian era #not art

[mejomonster]

When Unknown (adaptation of Priest novel Dage) comes out February 24 I will be watching.

#rant #unknown #to watch #1 any priest adaptation and im !!! #2 its a taiwan drama so im really curious what an adaptation turns out like with no censoring #also curious if the show ends up changing a lot like just Out of Choice #(ive seen idk a lot of real life setting taiwan dramas and not much like magical setting ones. but itd be jnteresting #to see a supernatural priest novel adapted in taiwan. since there wouldnt need to be weird Now Sci Fi changes like Guardian) #maybe taiwan would do some of the police crime novels priest did... after all History 3 Trapped Kiseki etc... taiwan CAN do romance/crime #(in fact its exclusively almost all taiwan dramas ive watched bl or bg lol im just a sucker for action murder mystery) #anyway ah. i have not read dage yet. cause oddly the departure INTO real life daily #rather than crime novel/supernatural novel is actually s lot harder for me to read. i learned words mkstly from supernatufal horror mystery #novels... real life regular setting stuff is harder...

[pochapal]

so there's definitely this thematic refrain of loneliness being banded around. first as a description of the island then as a description of beatrice's omens and now as a description of battler's absence.

#umineko liveblog #ep1 reread #for a murder mystery story the text sure does seem to be more preoccupied with identity loneliness and interpersonal relationships #rather than the killing and the violence and the mysteries #most heated debate topic in history: is umineko's narrator a detective or a romantic

[friendofthecrows]

Hate that I already have so many projects and so little time >:(

I want to do a murder mystery themed tarot deck, bc I love tarot and love murder mysteries. And I have SO MANY associations with various mysteries/elements, motifs, or characters from said mysteries that you could give me ANY theme and I'd have something it reminds me of from one of those shows/books/etc.

Like it would be 90% an extended major arcana, and not follow the traditional tarot structure well, technically making them oracle cards. But I don't like how most oracle cards look with the meaning written out in one little sentence at the base or on the back, I'd prefer the meanings to 1. be more complex, interpretable, and LESS universally applicable 2. be in a separate guidebook or be completely left up to personal interpretation. Plus, I might follow the traditional tarot structure a bit if I find enough parallels. All the decks I have are tarot decks not oracle cards, bc I just find the general aesthetic + the short, universally applicable meanings appalling (for my own use, no judgement on people who like them). Like it feels like fortune cookies, no matter what's happening in your life you could say the fortune fits, and I, personally, hate that. I wish someone would make oracle cards that are more nuanced, detailed, complex, and interpretable. So anyways, I want to.

But I have absolutely no time for that so it's going to end up on my infinitely long project waitlist. Probably right after the paper project, which could work out well if I actually got to them, since I could make the cards on the fancy paper. I'd make a paper that is specifically perfect for cards, and possibly try to work in some intent, enchant it, or mix in herbs that correspond with divination or psychic ability. It'd be pretty cool :)

#hal rambles #tarot #oracle cards #murder mysteries #sorry about rambling about another project i probably won't do #goncharov comes first #then if i have any spare time papermaking #then this #i'm so busy T-T #and of course my project list doesn't count things like college chores and work #which eat up the main chunk of my day #listen. i'd rather be busy than be bored #but i also wish i had time to do All The Things!!! #i also count writing as a given separate thing #because no matter whether i make time for it or not it will happen #like i just Need to write sometimes #anyways i ended up making this post because i was going to ask people's ideas for such a deck (as if i don't have enough lol) #and then i was like 'hm i shouldn't do that when i have all these other projects going' #i know i only listed 2 others in these here tags but trust me. there are a lot more #i'm just more excited about this idea than a lot of those so it ended up landing right after paper instead of farther down

[cicadagaze]

If you could change the pov of a book what book would it be and what pov?

oh god.... this is a really good question.... hmm.... gosh it's been too long since I last read the series so my memories are pretty vague. I don't think I can give a specific book, but I think tnp would be pretty interesting to have Tawnypelt as one of the pov characters, rather than Brambleclaw.

OR WAIT NO ACTUALLY.... into the wild from Ravenpaw's pov! it would probably be super interesting to see his thoughts throughout the book. him knowing what happened but being unable to do anything. the anxiety, the fear. oughhh it'd be really cool.

#ask #anon #like yeah i guess it would kinda ruin the whole murder mystery plot #but man i think it'd be really interesting! #and this isn't me being unhappy with firestar's pov obv #i love that book dearly #this'd be more of just.... an alternative thing #rather than something i think would be better #ty for the ask!!

[doux-amer]

Watched the Glass Onion and well. It was a movie.

#why was this such a bad movie year #i didn't care about comparing it to knives out #that wasn't the problem #so my disappointment didn't come from that #it was mostly puzzlement that people were frothing at the mouth over this movie #so much of it is shallow and bad idgi #the pacing? the weird structure that hurt it? rian what was this... #even before GO came out though i was worried #because the heart of the movie wasn't benoit in KO #and i honestly think he's much better when he's playing off another character rather than being the central focus for most of it #i love him but it's true okay #this just felt like a discordant ensemble movie with nothing going for it #even the visuals were blegh #other than the lights out clue-esque scene and the one where everyone's running around #and you only get glimpses of the person #i'd love to watch more murder mysteries by rian and ones featuring benoit blanc but eh #this was forgettable

[stomarinaandthechloroplasts]

bro lestrade and mycroft never even fucking met and we were like "we will go down with this ship".

#guilty #it's as if the entire show was a romcom rather than a murder mystery adaptation #tot #sherlock #mystrade #how do i fucking remember their ship name curse my memory

[unproduciblesmackdown]

woah... that's some premium human (kittycat?) heart in conflict with itself

(fr everyone in lackadaisy is kittycats to me lmao. going like, whoa, neat humansona ideas....)

and also fr like everyone get in on "mordecai killed atlas even though of course he didn't do it b/c he Wanted to: bet on it" if only for the fun drama of it all....it Is fun & funny to me that like, sure there's only so many major characters, and sure there's no incorrect one to point to like "wow what a delight" but i wasn't really That previously aware that mordecai is like a fan fave like omg the bad bitches (especial popularity) he pulled by being autistic :'] we just don't expect to see it lmao. like this theory should also be more popular then if even just by virtue of that premium kittycat heart in conflict with itself material it supplies. pointing at mordecai like haha he's sooo upset about all this and That Is Why He Quit, not to go investigate marigold which he's also just said he Wasn't doing until just now. we've seen the [oh grief? besot? interesting] bonus material....not that i don't think most people do imagine that of course mordecai has a good amount of emotional investment in things driving him here, but this does ramp it up which i think also works as an argument in its favor; like i'd be inherently more skeptical about any theory that required mordecai to actually care less about things lol than about any that gives him more personal emotional motivation

truly like "we know mordecai wouldn't want to kill atlas..." (agreed) "...so he can't have been the one to kill him" like first of all lol no way is it a Writeoff anyways, like we've got a mystery here but we Won't imagine ways in which [nobody could ever kill someone they didn't want to kill] wouldn't apply? second of all: Think Of The Drama Of Him Killing Him Even Though He Wouldn't Want To

#i also lean towards the additional drama of ''he felt a gay type of way about atlas'' lol #this theory does though add more mystery around ''what Specifically is mordecai investigating rn then?'' #since i don't think it's [specifically who shot atlas] what with that having been mordecai; to me.... #could be ''who knows that mordecai shot him'' but could also be something broader #such as the whole mystery of ''what were the circumstances that led to atlas's death'' #lackadaisy #mitzi and mordecai murder mystery #and i also know they're not Not kittycats...insofar as it's Not ''au of this world: what if ppl had been bipedal cats'' lol #and rather ''it's just this world as a setting in a fictional story & ppl are cats for fun & practicality & other rewards'' #i will always remember the way the one time i recommended lackadaisy in person they rejected it b/c of the cats thing lmfao.... #like yeah idk if you're first & foremost worried abt your state-issued fursona idk what to tell you i guess.... #anyways you're so right. elevator pitch for this theory: intensifying mordecai's anguish marinade beyond [annoyed by own job] #joke's on him. his teamup with the savoys is a delight. see also my theory that: #where the comic cuts off currently the savoys Are abt to burst in & shoot gracie & have to become either more Friend Or Foe to mordecai #than he would like. out here like ugh we just work together can you Not forcibly carve sigils into my chest while serafine is like lol. lma #unbelievable........there's nobody you can put in a room w/mordecai & Not have it be a dream team #autistique funny little guy....the universal [makes it a dream team] ingredient

[choices-and-voices]

Okay but guys

GUYS

#trystan is gender of choice so it can’t be them #it HAS to be lydea or astrid #and it honestly could be either of them because this book loves its side plots #but you have to admit that lydea makes the most sense #she *was* the crown princess when trystan was in exile & she and the queen doubtless had plans to maintain a politically-conservative rule #but that would be predicated on a) eliminating trystan #b) eliminating the act for heir equity (because otherwise vasili would take lydea’s place) #and c) making sure to eliminate juliana in the process (because she knew that lydea didn’t belong in the conventional line of succession) #killing juliana & framing trystan for it did all those things in one go #but then trystan came back & wanted to revive the act with nadja – so it was necessary to kill her #and then sebastyan kept pushing for the act – so he had to be killed as well #other supporting evidence for this is that lydea went mysteriously MIA at the time of sebastyan’s death #contradictory evidence is that it’d be odd for her to *kill* him to eliminate him rather than just letting him take the fall for the murders #the only explanation I can think of is that maybe sebastyan also had incriminating intel on lydea? #remember: he did have juliana’s locket in his possession #and he may have written something about lydea in the ledger we handed over to her #and we did hear him on the phone at the gala to somebody he’d made a ‘deal’ with #maybe he’d promised keep lydea’s illegitimacy secret in exchange for something? but then she realised that if he got accused he would tattle #it’s all only thoughts but it’s SO interesting to think about #I can’t wait to see what happens next #playchoices #choices: stories you play #crimes of passion #fandom essay #original post

[futurefind]

"Explain Nasuverse mage Rea w.o explaining Nasuverse mage Rea:"

(Loose translation anyway:

if runes are used as supplemental magecraft like nails or screws, Rea uses them as brick n mortor for entire structure (and it WORKS)

unintentional (if unspoken) speciality in magical circuits construction and, with proper study, magecraft effecting the soul and outright Concepts directly

(FGO Rea absolutely works on an anti-Servant magecraft by targetting the 'thread' that allows that incarnation to have been summoned from the throne in the first place (ie via excising the cause and effect that allows them to have been summoned in the first place, for that summoning)

(Lesser example of this is FGO!Master subverse being incentived to develop 'artificial nerves' Mystic Code for when her Crest bs acts up, ie every rayshift, to mitigate how much it kneecaps her in the field)

she's an American magus that only spent time in Mage's Association for politicking/pawn reasons, and because she's so humble and friendly she has no idea how op any of her bs actually Is. she tries to explain/share it to people and it goes in one ear and out the next

#about // rea #about // rea (nasuverse) #tldr shes a Mad Genius whose ingenuinity is incomparable #combined with her semi functional crest and high quality circuits + her absurd precision = absurd mana efficiency ? #and shes 10/10 walking epitome of 'so fucking glad ur token moral mage fsr' #also she had patents as a TEENAGER and could easily hit Brand sooner than later (if by 'sooner' i mean mid 30s fgo 'reamom' subverse) #(n could def qualify as a Color rank w hcs putting her in yellow) #pettiest 'inventions' include mana batteries that gather mana FROM THE ATMOSPHERE rather than owner #and also electricity free barely anything civilian friendly (buttons!) climate control magical system #......and also how she she sees Mystic Locks as a CHALLENGE rather than a Guarantee n so doubles hers up w bio signatures #(n similarly has a v complex but precise home security system thats both workable for civ mom + wont murder civ theives LOL) #...dont ask abt the structure of her soul (see: crest bs) cuz its lowkey HIGHKEY /extremely/ terrifying + she has no idea ++ #she has yet to at all work on processing the involved trauma At All and would def have a Very bad time if u pointed it out #([re opness] *+ her absurdist reaction times INCLUDING high speed reaction n even ADVANCED magecraft w said reaction times?? whistles) #edit: i even made an entire spreadsheet of the elder futhark + how rea uses them #even tho That level of detail is not just unecessary but counterintuive to nasuverses focus/reliance on Mystery #'the important is not the fine print just the How/What and (Broad) Methodology (mostly the former)' me vc: no <3

[homunculus-argument]

Imagine if people only worked six months out of the year. Half the people would be winter workers who choose to grind through the dark months and then chill and play during the summer, and half of the people would be ones who would rather work through the warm season and then rest and hibernate in peace over the winter, more or less free to choose whichever you like.

There would be families with a strong identity about which season they work in, and people who say that someone "has only ever worked one season" as a way to imply that someone isn't adventurous by nature. There would be parents who agree to take turns working opposite seasons, so one of them can always be at home with the kids, and old folks who lament that their adult children and niblings were Forced By Circumstance to work opposite seasons from them, while the youths in question welcome the work as an excuse to avoid these inconvenient relatives.

You never know if the construction worker up at 6 am in the summer spends their winters writing murder mysteries, or if the winter shift librarian spends their summer cultivating a rare breed of heirloom apples. Or simply meditating, observing nature, living quietly and baking bread. Asking someone "what do you do in your free season?" tells as much, if not more, about the person than "what do you do for a living?" And nobody answers "nothing". Everyone can think of something that they want to do, perhaps not productive, but still enlightening, constructive and cultivating.

Nobody who is in full health and well rested can stand spending half of the year simply doing absolutely nothing.

[erythristicbones]

me: i have too much religious trauma to work with a story about angels/demons/etc and that's fine. ive got at least three separate OC universes, i don't need to ponder another one

*sees one piece of really cool religious artwork*

me, weak and self-indulgent: oh god, oh fuck

#hi im posting a lot today and i was gonna apologize #but tbh i think week long silences and then three days of nonstop text posts is part of my charm #anyways.....yes im weak and i might consider working with a world where angels/demons could exist #bc i dont think i can squeeze them into any of the current ones w/o a lot of upheaval? #i mean technically i havent at all thought about the lore for my timetravel/spacestation murder mystery story #besides the fact that timetravel exists and therefore it doesnt coincide w any of the main universes #i was thinkin that 'verse would be more science/sci-fi based rather than my fantasy ones tho #and idk if i can make angels work within that context #i dont like having lots of universes 😔 #ive always worked w/ the idea that i would pour all of my effort into just 2 or 3 very well thought out universes #......and then the horrors of having story inspiration that cant fit in said worlds #idk i guess for now i'll just compile my ideas within my 'random story ideas' doc #and it'll stay in limbo until i make a decision