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venus-is-thinking · 9 months

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A Narrative Defense of Eden Culprit Theory

Hello everyone!

As I’m sure many of you know, I, among others (notably @accirax, @1moreff-creator and @thebadjoe) believe Eden to be the culprit of the Chapter 2 murder case. I’ve seen a fair number of people say they aren’t convinced for one reason or another. While I fully understand people who don’t buy all the evidence/the insane contraptions we’ve come up with or people who are in denial, I was a little surprised at how many people I saw say that it would be bad writing for Eden to be the killer here.

While others are fully entitled to their opinions on who the killer is, I want to address this claim. Personally, whenever I’m reading a fangan, I always believe that I shouldn’t consider any killer to be “bad writing” until I see how it’s actually written. After all, there can always be a key twist you’re not expecting to make it actually make sense. Plus, in Eden’s case, I actually fully believe that all the building blocks of a narratively successful killer are already put into place. So, in this post, I’m going to attempt to back up my claim that Eden being the second killer actually makes narrative sense, and it isn’t bad writing either.

Because fangan writing is subjective and what any given author believes is the right move varies, I’ll be doing my best to support my claims with similar content from the canon game trilogy (given that that’s a pretty standard baseline) and from what we’ve already seen of DRDT thus far. That should (hopefully) give us some fair perspective into the sorts of narrative decisions the creator would want to make.

I’ll be going through various points at which I think something could or could not be bad writing, so hopefully that’ll provide some much needed structure to this theory.

Topic 1: Motive

I want to say this early: I do not think Eden is secretly evil. I think that in the context of killing games, “good” people can end up being killers, and I think that’s where Eden’s headed. I understand why, if some people have only seen Eden killer theories in the context of her being evil, they don’t like it. I don't like it either. I think it completely misinterprets her character.

For now, though, I want to talk about what motive she does have. There’s the fact that Arturo is threatening her, obviously. If she feels there’s a genuine threat to her safety, it would be decently reasonable to decide that, if her priority is her life, she’d rather try to get away with a murder than let herself be taken out by Arturo.

There’s another potential motive out there for Eden that might be enough to push her over the edge. That being, we know she cares a lot about her friends and relationships outside of the killing game too.

A lot of people, I think, have seen the theory floating around that goes “Eden is trying to leave to get back to the girl she kissed.” I’ve also seen it mentioned that this could be problematic, given that it could be saying “being gay = becoming a killer,” but I think there are several reasons why that doesn’t hold up.

First of all, we have a lot of canonically LGBT cast members. Nico is nonbinary, Whit is bisexual, and in the most recent Q&A, other characters such as Ace, Veronika and Eden herself were also all confirmed to be LGBT+. Given that Eden isn’t the “token gay character,” I think it’s a lot safer to make her a killer without sending the message “if you’re gay you’re a killer.”

Secondly, I think that there’s more to Eden’s motive than just whoever that girl is. I think the girl will likely be part of it and be relevant, given that it’s Eden’s motive secret. Because it’s the Chapter 2 motive, the motive secrets should play into things in general. But, it’s not like that girl is the only one from Eden’s past that she cares about, right?

Eden cares about her family, as we see in the scene where she talks to Levi. We know that Eden cares about her friends, as we clearly see within the killing game. We know that Eden cares about this girl. I think it’s safe to say that, for gay reasons or not, Eden has a lot of people she’d fight to get back to.

Rather than using her motive secret as the only way of justifying the “Eden wants to return to her previous life” motive, why don’t we look at other secret Eden content?

I’m talking about the secret quotes. I assume most people have heard about them by now, but basically, if you go to the characters’ profile pages on the main tumblr account and inspect elements, each character has a secret quote that you can find. Eden’s secret quote is “You can’t go back, no matter how hard you try.”

We haven’t really seen much of Eden trying to go back yet. I guess you could say that when she makes breakfast with Levi, she talks a lot about trying to get the group back together and back to normal, and that isn’t unrelated. Still, I think it makes a lot of sense if Eden is someone who’s focused on the past. After all, Eden’s talent is clockmaking. To the extent her talent influenced her personality/character themes, it seems like time is an important thing with her. Trying to turn back the clock and return to her life before the killing game would make a lot of sense thematically.

I suspect that Eden’s secret quote relates to the fact that she tries to go back to her previous life by escaping the killing game. “No matter how hard you try” definitely sounds like she goes to pretty extreme lengths, but she still fails in the end. That would be when she’s caught as the blackened and executed; she never gets to go back. It’s precedented for secret quotes to directly relate to how characters died; both Min’s “I wanted to save you” and Arei’s “Because that’s what friends do” tie into the way in which they arrived at their death. I could definitely see it being the same for Eden.

Interestingly, there’s another reason to consider that Eden might be extra-motivated to leave the killing game. That point is that Eden has been shown to be the main person fighting against the killing game. For example, she and Hu brainstormed ways to deal with the Chapter 2 motive.

That doesn’t really tell us anything though, right? It’s just trying to manage the killing game from within. That’s not it, though. It’s actually a repeated thing that Eden is constantly looking for ways to obstruct the killing game.

Even the plan to bore out the killing game, the one Veronika tells us couldn’t work because she’d get too horribly bored, originally came from Eden. I fully believe that there’s a reason we’re being told every other scene that Eden is working towards ending the killing game is that Eden has extra incentive to want the killing game to end, and that’s to try to return to the life and loved ones she left behind.

I also think it’s worth mentioning that, in the canon games, every single second killer commits their crime due to previous attachments that go beyond the killing game. Mondo kills because of the promise he made to his now-dead brother Daiya, Peko kills because of her allegiance to Fuyuhiko, who wants Mahiru dead due to the death of his sister Natsumi, and Kirumi kills because she’s actually the Prime Minister and needs to get back to her duties. Hell, Ryoma is even Kirumi’s victim because he doesn’t have previous outside attachments, which makes him feel like a more understandable victim for her crime. If you throw in “Eden has a lot of meaningful relationships back home and, here in the killing game, she misses them so badly that she’d kill to go back,” I don’t think it feels out of place.

This is pretty niche, but there’s also something I want to look at in relation to Xander and Min. Notably, the pinned comments by the official account in their bonus episodes.

Xander’s is “Someone who wants to hold onto the past.” Min’s is “Someone who wants to move on from the past.” While this trend doesn’t have to keep up, I think it would be interesting if every killer/victim pair had one of each. Arei pretty clearly wants to move on from the past where her sisters and classmates ruthlessly bullied her. Eden wants to hold onto it, hoping to return, but she can’t go back, no matter how hard she tries. Just an interesting thing to point out.

But Eden’s motive isn’t the only thing stopping people from believing she’d be a reasonable killer, right? There are other things to consider, too.

Topic 2: Story Arc

To be clear here, “Story Arc” refers to how Eden fits into the larger narrative and story of DRDT. I’ll be talking about her individual story and growth later on in the section labeled “Character Arc.”

For the most part, the larger narrative, at present, seems to be relating to Teruko and how she navigates her trust and relationships with everyone else. Eden is certainly a key factor in that, given that Teruko has basically acknowledged that outright.

Teruko actively tries to avoid being friends with Eden, given the fact that she’s very nice and it’d be easy for Teruko to be friends with her. To Teruko, that means she’d be opening up the door to get hurt to easily when Eden inevitably dies and/or betrays her. Wouldn’t it only be proving Teruko right if Eden were to become a killer?

Yeah. It would. And that’s the point at the story we’re at.

I don’t think it would make any sense for Teruko’s beliefs to be strongly challenged in Chapter 2. Like, at some point, I’m sure Teruko will figure out why it’s a problem to not trust anyone. After all, her secret quote is “It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all.” However, at this point in the story, things are going as she expects.

Think about it this way. Teruko believes that trusting people is opening yourself up for betrayal, and those who she gets close to will betray her and die. Let’s go through the people who have died so far, one by one, and see how they match up against that.

Xander: Was Teruko’s closest friend. Betrayed her by trying to kill her, then died. Check. Min: Was Teruko’s biggest supporter after she got stabbed. Betrayed her by actually being the killer, then died. Check. Arei: Previously shared Teruko’s worldview that being nice will just screw you over. Opened up and became friends. Had that friendship used against her to kill her. Check.

It definitely seems like, thus far, we’re validating Teruko’s worldview, basically as much as possible. No killer would validate her worldview more than Eden. That would make Arei an even closer parallel to Teruko (the person who she most tried to befriend was the one who tried to kill her in the end), and it would introduce another would-be friend as a killer.

Eden: Was Teruko’s biggest supporter after the first class trial. Betrayed her by being the second killer, then died.

It looks an awful lot like Min’s, right?

In a more predictive sense, there’s also the popular theory that Charles will be one of the Chapter 3 victims. If that holds true, it’ll be another example in the same wavelength.

Charles: Was more like Teruko and didn’t trust people, avoiding them to stay safe. After rejoining the group and beginning to trust people, he died.

If that prediction is right, it’d mean that the trend continues past the point of the second victim to the point of a third victim, which would mean that the second killer would likely fit into the pattern.

But that’s a whole lot of my opinion, right? After all, maybe Levi or someone who isn’t particularly related to Teruko is the killer, so Teruko stays mostly the same, too.

I do want to take a moment to acknowledge a bigger critique of this. It’s possible that some people might say that Eden killing here would be too repetitive in regards to Min and Xander. There are some key differences, though.

Eden was Teruko’s friend after she started being mean and closed off to everyone. Min and Xander never really got the chance to react too much to Teruko’s antagonistic antics because they died before she was really pushing people away. That means it would carry more significance. Teruko has also spent more time with Eden, so their relationship is a little bit more developed. Eden is also someone that Teruko actively tried not to get close to before she killed, which wasn’t true of Xander or Min.

Plus, I’d argue that it’s also supposed to feel a bit repetitive. This is what happens to Teruko, all the time. This is her life. It makes it feel more real and understandable how she reacts to Xander and Min if we as the audience begin to see and understand, oh, it really is like this every single time.

Besides all of that, though, there are a few more thoughts that lead me to believe that someone closer to Teruko might be the killer this time around.

One of the biggest points in favor of this interpretation is the MonoCredits.

MonoCredits are introduced in the scene where MonoTV asks Teruko to caulk the bathrooms. Then, she immediately uses one in the next scene where Charles is confronting her about her more antagonistic ways. At first glance, it seems like MonoCredits may have been introduced solely for that Charles interaction, and as a reason to plausibly get Teruko to help MonoTV out so that she could talk to it, too. However…

MonoTV gave Teruko two MonoCredits. That means she still has one. I wouldn’t blame you at all if you forgot this small detail– and that’s part of why I think the killer will be closer to Teruko.

MonoCredits, and the fact that Teruko received two instead of one, are a pretty unimportant detail. I wouldn’t expect the creator to necessarily expect the audience to remember that Teruko still has one once we get to, like, the Chapter 4 daily life. I think that, because of that, Teruko will probably end up using this second one sometime soon, so that the audience will have that “oh yeah!” moment when it comes up, rather than an “oh… I kind of remember that…?” moment.

There’s a very specific scenario in which I think Teruko might use it, too.

It’s pretty specific, but it’s already happened once, right? I think the most plausible situation for Teruko to use the second MonoCredit, if I’m right about it being this chapter, would be if she ends up in a similar situation before the execution again.

I can totally imagine Eden hugging Teruko and apologizing for betraying her trust, and Teruko, in the middle of freaking out, tells MonoTV she’s using a MonoCredit to get Eden away from her, which would then immediately launch into Eden being executed.

I think that could also be the right kind of push on Teruko’s character arc; her desire to get away from Eden led to Eden dying that much faster. It’d be something that could haunt Teruko a little bit and make her start thinking about how she pushes people away and what the potential failings of that are.

The final reason I have is just, like… overall despair. Chapter 2 is usually a pretty emotionally devastating case for the cast. Taka loses Mondo and Chihiro meets a pretty tragic end; Peko dying launches Fuyuhiko into his grief → survivor arc while Hiyoko mourns Mahiru; Kirumi leaves the group feeling guilty about killing the Prime Minister, plus Ryoma’s death as a result of him loving no one and no one loving him is pretty sad. Chapter 2 is typically a chapter in the canon Danganronpa games where things get worse, not better.

Then, Chapter 3 is used as a processing point where characters that aren’t in it for the long run are usually killed off, and Chapter 4 prompts the characters to start really moving towards the finale (Sakura’s death spurs people to want to fight and makes Byakuya realize why emotions are important, Gundham’s sacrifice sets the tone for Nagito’s insane Chapter 5 play and Gonta’s mercy kill in Chapter 4 directly leads into all the Kokichi “I’m the mastermind” stuff that happens in Chapter 5).

I suspect DRDT will follow a roughly similar pattern. Because of that, it would make sense if the creator wants to pick a very emotionally devastating second killer, frequently due to the relationships that character has with the cast. Eden is the perfect pick for this position.

Eden has also gotten A LOT of focus this chapter. Getting focus doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to die right then. After all, Charles, for instance, got a lot of focus in Chapter 1, but he’s still alive. It’s difficult to tell when a character is getting content that impacts their character moving forward and when a character is getting focus because their story is about to end.

In DRDT’s case specifically, though, the creator seems to heavily emphasize a character shortly before they die. Excluding Teruko, Xander was the most visible character in the Chapter 1 daily life. They focused on Min heavily during the Chapter 1 investigation to make sure that she got enough content in before her death. Between her fight with MonoTV, her heartfelt conversation with David, and the conversations she had post-death confronting David about his secret and defending Eden from Arturo, Arei got a lot of focus just before dying, too.

Eden is one of the most heavily featured characters, and to me, it feels more like one being set up for immediate payoff rather than long-term.

For example, David’s personality has shifted in a way that’s very interesting. People will want to see how his relationships with other characters are impacted and get to know the “real him” more before any potential death. Because of that, it makes sense that David’s heel turn is being set up for later, rather than being focus on him before he dies in Chapter 2.

Eden, on the other hand, has shown us pretty much everything she can with this perspective. If she’s already spent two chapters being nice, happy and supportive, where does she go from there that’s narratively interesting and different? The only answer I can really come up with is “becoming less nice, happy, and/or supportive.” If that’s where her character is heading anyways, then doesn’t it make sense that being a killer could be a succinct way to do it? We already have enough people running around who don’t trust people, and it would feel odd to add Eden to that contingent.

There’s one more story reason that Eden being the killer would make sense here. Check out the Chapter 2 title screen.

It’s pretty faint, but if you look after the “Glitters,” you can see faint text. It’s easier to see if you crank up the exposure.

You can tell what it is if you squint hard enough. Here’s me tracing it:

“A Good Person.”

The original chapter title is “All That Glitters,” which is pretty clearly a play on the saying “All that glitters is not gold” (RIP to anyone who just heard “all that glitters is gold in All Star by Smashmouth and didn’t question it. I was with you there). That seemingly applies a lot to this chapter, with appearances of success not being what they seem. It relates to the fact that J’s celebrity wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and David’s persona was too good to be true.

The good person interpretation is interesting, too. If you input “A Good Person” into “All That Glitters,” you get “A good person is not gold.” Now, there’ve been a lot of characters who’ve claimed to be or mentioned wanting to be good people over the course of this chapter. However, I think the person most at the center of that is Eden, who’s been called a good or kind person by a lot of people– at the very least, I know Teruko, Arei and Levi do this.

Eden being the killer would be another way to show that people can’t be infallibly good. Again, I don’t think Eden’s gonna pull a 180 and suddenly become evil, I just think she’ll show a little more nuance. Her being suddenly evil does about the same thing for me as her being undeniably good; it reduces her character down to one trait rather than making her a full human. I don’t want her to be a pure cinnamon roll, I want her to be herself.

Given this chapter title, I honestly think it’d be weirder if Eden didn’t do something notably Not Good this chapter. There could be other options, too, but Eden being the killer seems by far the most likely to me.

Topic 3: Relationships

I want to talk about Eden’s relationships to others in the cast. I’ve already mentioned Teruko a good bit, so I’m not really going to keep going over that. There are two others that I want to touch on.

One, Eden and Hu are known to be friends. They wash dishes together every night, and they generally seem to rely on each other for companionship and mutual help with steering the group in a more positive direction. Hu is someone who hasn’t gotten that much character arc focus, so I think she’ll probably be a bit more of a spotlighted character in the next daily life. Hu has already lost a friend and trusted co-leader in David, but I think it’d be even more interesting for her if she loses both of those people at once. With David in full-on evil theater kid mode and Eden dead as the killer, Hu will be forced to grapple with the fact that both of the people she trusted to help her guide the group not only aren’t helping her anymore, but did so in a way that betrayed her and her trust.

That’s very speculative, though. The main relationship I’m here to analyze is with Arei, the victim of the case in question.

Arei and Eden have a very complicated relationship. At first, they were pretty neutral. Then, after the cake scene, Arei appeared to be jealous of Eden and her friends for, y’know, having friends. Later, when Eden tries to invite Arei, Arei goes off on Eden and Eden runs out of the room crying. Finally, when Arturo threatens Eden into silence over his secret, Arei shows up and promises to defend Eden and do whatever it takes to assure her that her friendship is real.

This is pretty much the entirety of Arei’s character arc. Because we know that Arei is the second victim, I want to examine that in the context of the canon games’ storylines in Chapter 2.

Chapter 2 frequently deals with the concept of bullying. Kirumi’s kinda doing her own thing here, but if you look at Mondo/Chihiro and especially Peko/Mahiru (and all the lore behind that one), it’s pretty standard. Chihiro is someone who I’m pretty sure has been bullied, and Mondo fits the bully role well enough. SDR2 is the big one, though, with Mahiru being bullied by Natsumi, Sato killing Natsumi because of that, then Peko killing Sato under Fuyuhiko’s command in revenge, and THEN Peko killing Mahiru in the killing game as even more revenge. So, let’s look at bullying in DRDT Chapter 2.

The big and obvious one is Ace and Nico. Ace bullied Nico, and eventually they snapped and tried to kill him in revenge. That means that the creator, at least in this case, opted for a situation where the bullied kills the bully, rather than the other way around.

Arei also bullies Eden notably in Chapter 2, and now she’s dead. I’m not saying that it has to be the same thing, but I think it would be interesting to parallel Ace and Arei and Nico and Eden. Ace, with his fear of death, would have to process just how close he came to being a victim, seeing the same thing play out with Arei, who actually did die. Nico, who’s trying to dodge any actual blame for their crime, would see Eden get executed for doing roughly the same thing.

That’s something to address, though. What does this all mean for Eden? After all, Eden and Arei were friends now. It seems uncharacteristic of her to kill Arei for any reason. If I’m going to focus in on Eden’s character relationships, I really have to address that part.

Well, my answer is pretty simple. Eden simply didn’t believe her relationship with Arei actually changed. This might seem like an unfair claim at first, but if you look into it, it’s actually quite supported by the game.

Arei certainly thought Eden didn’t believe Arei’s sudden change of heart. She even goes as far as to call Eden out for it in the moment.

That’s not a very good argument though, is it? It disregards everything that happens afterwards, what with Arei explaining more and Eden hugging her and saying that her promise means “more than she knows.” It’s possible Arei convinced Eden during that second segment, so there’s not really any reason to believe that Eden didn’t believe her anymore.

Except…

Charles gets cut off by Whit here and immediately shuts up, which is played off as a joke. It is a joke, but I’ve noticed the DRDT creator is very good at putting in jokes that actually convey important information moving forwards.

The fact that the creator put in not one, but two references to Eden possibly not believing Arei makes me think there’s more to it than making a joke or moving dialogue along. Whit even phrases it as “you wanna do that later?” which might be a hint that we actually are going to come back to that point of conversation later.

For the record, I do think it’s also possible that Eden sort of half-believed Arei. She might’ve been committed to a murder plan by that point or something, so even if she thought Arei was being genuine, it’s possible she intentionally tried to convince herself Arei wasn’t genuine. That gets more into character interpretation, though.

Topic 4: Character Arc

This is the biggest one, in my opinion. If Eden is going to die here, what does her story say? Ignoring the big plot beats, Eden should get to have her own character arc, and if this is its conclusion, I want to look at where it went.

In the prologue, Eden is noted to stay positive, but she seems to be the most scared of the killing game itself. Here’s her slide from the official Prologue Recap video:

In Chapter 1, we honestly didn’t see too much of Eden. What we did see was mostly her being nice and friendly. It was also established that Arei picked on her. Here’s her slide from the Chapter 1 Recap video:

Notably, the creator paired all the characters up for Chapter 1. We already know Arei is going to be important to Eden’s story, whether she’s the killer or not. They did pair up Xander and Min though, so it’s not like it’s impossible that they paired a victim with their killer.

Anyways, that means that, going into Chapter 2, the things the creator wanted us to remember about Eden are that she’s nice, cheerful, and one of the people who defended Teruko. Through Arei’s slide, we’re also encouraged to remember that Arei picked on Eden specifically for baking. (Arei also manipulated Levi in that scene pretty heavily, but Eden is the one they want us to remember.)

Where does Eden’s character arc go from there? Well, I’d say that she basically doubles down.

Eden basically spends the chapter trying really hard to prevent conflict and stay friends/befriend everyone. She blackmails Teruko for the sole purpose of actually getting to hang out with her, she washes dishes with Hu, she makes breakfast with Levi, and she invites Arei to clockmaking to make sure she isn’t left out again.

That means that Eden’s story in Chapter 2 is that she’s trying to be the one to get everyone through this hard time.

Because of that, killing seems rather counterproductive. After all, Eden’s been trying to end the killing game on her own terms, right?

However, it’s possible that the message the creator wants to send us is that the cast isn’t currently capable of being entirely positive and friendly. While David pretended that the point of revealing all their secrets was so that they could get along, that was a lie. Eden being the killer would fit the messaging: with this cast, in this killing game, friendships aren’t a possibility right now.

Would it be a change in Eden for her to kill now? Yes, of course. That’s how it goes with killers beyond Chapter 1; something changes that prompts them to kill. Like I examined earlier, I believe the motive of getting back to her previous life, in combination with the constant fighting, Arturo's threats against her and her apparent inability to actually make a meaningful change in those around her, would be enough to get her to break and kill in this Chapter 2 position.

I’ve talked about motive, overall narrative, Eden’s relationships and her character arc. That’s pretty much everything, but there’s one more big point I feel I need to touch on.

Topic 5: Eden’s Breakdown

This is what I assume makes people have the biggest problem with Eden culprit theory from a writing standpoint. After all, this is a very emotional moment and feels very important for Eden’s character arc. If she’s the killer, it would all be a lie, and it would invalidate everything we learned about Eden from this moment.

Except, I don’t think that’s fully true. It’s very possible to have a killer have an emotional breakdown moment mid-trial that makes them seem more innocent, but actually very much relates to the fact that they did kill.

Even if she is a killer, I still believe Eden is a good person. Because of that, I think that she is genuinely haunted by Arei’s death, as well as Min’s. In fact, we know she’s haunted by Min’s death, before any of this Arei trial stuff happened.

Given the fact that Eden runs out of the room crying after this, I think it’s fair to say that Arei’s words stuck with Eden. Because of that, pairing it with Eden’s breakdown in the trial, we can conclude that Eden feels guilty for both Min’s death and Arei’s death. Because Min’s death wasn’t Eden’s fault, it’s easy to disregard both as her blaming herself for things out of her control.

It could be genuine this time, though. If Eden is the killer, at least some of that speech has to be fake (ex. When I saw that note, I knew someone must’ve overheard our conversation). However, what’s really interesting to me is what happens after the main part of Eden’s breakdown.

David goes on a little rant about how the victim would have to be incredibly stupid to actually fall for the note– or they’d have to be Arei, who wanted to be friends so desperately that she’d believe anything “Eden” told her. Afterwards, Eden says this:

This is Eden agreeing with David’s rant. The non-killer interpretation of this is that Eden is just repeating the same thing, saying that Arei died because of her and her weakness. But, if you look at it from a different perspective, the phrasing is… a little odd?

In her speech earlier, what Eden said boiled down to “I couldn’t defend myself, and because Arei was nice to me and tried to defend me, she died.” Then, David says, “Because Arei wanted to be your friend, she died.” That’s basically the same information and logic, right?

But Eden asks it as a question. Even though she said “it’s all my fault” earlier, this time she asks, “it really is my fault, isn’t it?” That means that there was something Eden didn’t know in David’s rant.

This could be several things, but I think the most likely thing is that, in my opinion, this is the point at which Eden realized that Arei was genuine about wanting to be her friend. Before this, she still wasn’t sure that Arei was being real, and that allowed her to proceed forward with her plan, keeping it together. However, once David, who got to see Arei in her breakdown, confirms that, yeah, Arei did that because she genuinely wanted to be Eden’s friend, Eden realizes that it was her fault.

Arei wanted to be her friend, but now she’s dead, and it’s all Eden’s fault.

Interestingly, immediately after that last line, Teruko starts talking, bringing us back to mystery-solving mode. However, if you look at Eden while Teruko’s talking, she’s sobbing.

Most of the time when a character is shown to the side, they’re left in whatever pose they were last in. For example, look at MonoTV making the :| face back there despite it having no relevance to the current point of the trial. In fact, MonoTV has that face for the entirety of Chapter 2, Episode 10. The last time MonoTV talked was in Episode 9, where…

Yeah, same face. It doesn’t change from there. My point is that, switching Eden’s sprite from the face-on, holding her wrist sprite to the sobbing and wiping her tears sprite is a conscious decision. They want to make sure we know that Eden is sobbing after that interaction with David. While that could be prolonged guilt from generally feeling at fault for Arei’s death, I think it makes more sense if it’s her coping with the fact that Arei did want to be her friend, and she killed her.

Conclusion

Well, that’s my defense of Eden culprit theory from a writing perspective. Hopefully it was fun to read, whether you agree with it or not. Again, my point here isn’t to shame anyone who disagrees or anything, it’s to provide reasoning for why Eden could be the culprit and to defend the creator’s decision if that is the truth of this case. I’d love to hear about any and all other killer theories as well in order to have the greatest chance of catching the real criminal.

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #drdt spoilers #fanganronpa #theory #thh spoilers #sdr2 spoilers #v3 spoilers #eden tobisa #arei nageishi #long post #drdt theory #thanks for actually reading gang #hopefully this gave some better perspective on why i believe eden could be the killer #and those who believe eden did it bc of evidence but not narratively hopefully this helped #i just feel bad if this is what the creator is doing and people call it bad writing #because it isn't and we haven't seen enough yet to deem it bad writing even if it was #but yeah. eden stuff

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linkspooky · 11 months

Note

um... hello

i’ve been wondering how did you go about characterizing Nanako and Mimiko?

i’m slowly going through your jujutsu kaisen fanfics, michikatsu has my heart, and I’m surprised how well you wrote nanako and mimiko in exponential growth so far.

were some of it headcannon? or did you come to those characterization conclusions based on what was shown in the manga?

Thank you for your nice words about my fanfics. Nanako and Mimiko were a pretty big reason for why I started wanting to write fanfic of jujutsu kaisen, because number one Geto's family is the most interesting thing about him as a character and how he contrasts with Gojo, and number two they're crimminally underutilized in canon. I also found their deaths unnecessarily gratuitous. It was a start of a long series of Gege wasting female characters.

Which is why I wanted to explore them more in fic, and also just explore the idea of Geto's found family. As for where I came up with the idea for their characters, I'll answer below the cut.

There were enough hints in canon about Nanako and Mimiko's cursed techniques that I was able to extrapolate what each of them did, voodoo dolls that force others to commit suicide and cursed photography. I also took a little inspiration from their character designs, Mimiko is obviously meant to be the dark / gloomy one, whereas Nanako dresses like a Gyaru. The fact that they're always near each other / clutching each other hints to a bit of a codependent relationship as well.

However, the rest of their characterization I basically had to make up. The biggest source of inspiration for them comes from Durara!! which is another urban fantasy series by Ryoga Narita, which deals with a bunch of supernatural creatures like dullahans, and vampires existing in an urban setting. I draw a lot of inspiration from Durarara!! because a big thing that Ryoga Narita writes well is having loads and loads of characters share screen time in a bigger story which is something I want to accomplish for Jujutsu Kaisen and it's huge cast. Especially since the aim of my fanfic series is to focus the spotlight more on the minor characters as opposed to the main trio.

Ryoga Narita is pretty famous for his eccentric characters, all of them are crazy in their own special way. One of the ways he manages to balance so many characters is each of them kind of has a gimmick or central concept they're based around. Mimiko and Nanako take a lot of inspiration from Izaya's little sisters, Mairu and Kurui.

Mairu and Kurui are based around the trop of "twins having opposite personalities", but it's a parody of that trope because they're doing it on purpose. Basically, the story is that when they were younger their older brother Izaya emotionally abused them by saying that if they were twins and the same person one of them should kill themselves because they had an extra. (Izaya is a lovely person by the way). They wanted to please their brother, so they decided to write all their personality traits down on a list and then divide them equally. Their theory is that by balancing out their strengths and weaknesses between each other they create the "ultimate human being."

Kurui decided to be the quiet one who's eccentric at school, like a Rei Ayanami expy, she wears her gym clothes to the middle of class and doesn't socialize with anoyone. Mairu decided to be the loud, attention hungry, eccentric one. She screams to everyone the first day of class that she's bisexual and willing to date multiple partners. When a bunch of girls try to bully her, she literally almost forces them to swallow thumb tacks. Kurui barely talks, and Mairu does all the speaking for her.

The twist is that they're intentionally doing that, it's an act for both of them. When they're texting people, or when they're in an online chatroom Kurui becomes the talkative one and writes in paragraphs, while Mairu gives one word responses. Which suggests that at any time they could just swap personalities. Both of them also consider themselves the same person, they want to date the same guys, and if they disagree on anything they have mental breakdowns.

So Nanako and Mimiko share the same central concept, but the thing is while I love Kurui and Mairu and their character concept is excellent they literally have no character development in the story they are in. They're never challenged over the fact that they are super codependent and can't exist without each other. They never really grow past the trauma of the emotional abuse that their brother inflcited on them. It seems like a subversion of the "twins with the same personalities" trope at first, but then they don't really go anywhere with it. Also, there's a lot of icky twin incest subtext between the two of them. They just legit kiss once because light novels are gross sometimes.

The closest the two of them get to character development is their relationship is the friendship both of them make with Aoba Kuronuma.

Aoba is a first year student introduced in the second half of the story, he's basically a foil for their older brother Izaya. He's like an Izaya who's less of a villain because he's younger and capable of making friends. A lot of his positive character traits come out in his relationship with the twins, because while he's a selfish user of people he tends to be really selfless and protective when it comes to them.

This could have been a jumping board for having the twins have separate identities, because they are both friends with him, but Aoba has romantic feelings for Kurui. However, they do the twin incest thing again because the first time Kurui isses Aoba, Mairu is like "I have to kiss everyone my sister kisses" and then kisses him immediately afterwards and says it's an indirect kiss with Mairu.

There's a sequel to Durarara! called, Durarara! SH!. The trio shows up in that novel, but the original plan for that series was to make Aoba the main character with the Kurui and Mairu as the other parts of the main trio. However, that was scrapped in favor of three new characters which I thought was a pretty big waste of their potential.

A lot of the things I wanted to see in the Aoba / Kurui / Mairu trio, I put into Exponential Growth for the Junpei / Mimiko / Nanako dynamic. Basically the whole idea that after meeting Junpei, Mimiko and Nanako's relationship can't remain the same because it used to be their whole world was just the two of them but there's suddenly this third person their own age they both want to socialize with. Also, the two of them can't both date him so he forces them to actually act like individuals.

My trajectory with Nanako and Mimiko comes from what I wanted from Kurui and Mairu which is this deconstruction of the idea that they're the same person, by separating them and forcing them to learn to be their own people. Also, the sheer amount of distress it would cause a pair of twins this codependent to be forced to separate and live on their own. Because they're at that time in adolescence where they're going through some major changes in personality so the coping mechanism that worked for them as kids is starting to break down.

The other major inspiration for them is Maki and Mai. The basic premise is that they have the opposite relationship that Maki and Mai do, but it's just as unhealthy. Maki and Mai are permanently separated from their childhood closeness, because Maki always pushes Mai away. Maki needs to assert herself as an individual. However, this need is so strong that she doesn't think she can have any kind of relationship because she views it as a chain dragging her down.

Whereas, Mimiko and Nanako have been clinging to each other since childhood. They have the relationship that Mai basically WANTS to have with Maki. However, Maki thinks they're utterly pathetic because they can't survive on their own and are entirely dependent on each other. Which is Maki's unhealthy and toxic ideal of strength. At the same time, Mimiko and Nanako think that Maki just plain hates Mai. They can't imagine a sister ever completely ignoring another sister and pushing her out of her life because they value family more than anything else. As unhealthy as they are, at least Mimiko and Nanako make it clear they both love each other.

There's also another foiling point where they are both equally bad at communication with one another. Mimiko and Nanako claim they're the same person, and share the same thoughts on everything but Mimiko is constantly bullied by Nanako. Nanako's extremely bossy and domineering in the relationship. However, it's enabled by Mimiko who's been depending on Nanako too much over the years to make all the decisions for them. They also talk a lot but rarely talk about their true feelings with one another and when they start to it turns into an argument.

On the other hand, Maki and Mai could probably clear up a lot of tension between them with ONE HONEST CONVERSATION, but neither of them are willing to do that.

#nanako hasaba #mimiko hasaba #nanako and mimiko #nobody dies au #maki zenin #mai zenin #zenin twins

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misssleepless12 · 4 months

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A03 Wrapped 2023 Edition

This is technically an ask game but I'm just gonna answer some of these here bc 2023 was a super big year for me in terms of how much I wrote!! And I'm just kinda proud of my silly self hehehe <3

How many works did you publish this year? 14! I wrote for four different fandoms! Blue Lock, Persona 3, PKMN Black and White, and PKMN Scarlet and Violet.

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? I've written so many things I'm proud of this year, but I'm gonna have to say riptide ! rnis in Rin's hometown of Kamakura, but I did sooo much research for it and put so much effort into it and then wrote it all in a three weeks in a massive brainrot streak hahah.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? Ohhh god time to embarrass myself again but the Chainsmokers was my top artist of 2023 and I also used so many of their lyrics and songs for inspiration. As evidence above hahaha~

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? In terms of number of fics, it's rnis/rinsagi at 4! But in terms of word count, otkr/tabieita came from the back with the surprise win!

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? The surprise contender that was tabieita hahah

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? Haha, haha.... ha. I'm sitting at five fully started/outlined ones already... oh boy XD

What work was the quickest to write? Gold Star for Effort which took me like four hours djfndkj

What work took you the longest to write? Pull in Case of Bisexual Awakening at five and a half months!

Your favorite character to write this year? Otoya Eita, my beloved womanizing green noodle ninja hahah

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Bris/ barousagi bug bit me recently so I know that wave of brainrot is coming!

Which work of yours have you reread the most? let's admit, without apology, what we do to each other .... my comfort fic

How many kudos in total did you get this year? 2,096! The most I've ever gotten in a single year and nearly half of what I've gotten altogether!

What do you listen to while writing? I have a bunch of character or ship playlists I made that I like to listen to! I also sometimes just throw rain sounds in the background too pfft.

Favorite work you wrote this year? Once again... Pull in Case of Bisexual Awakening! Literally changed the course of my year both in terms of my real life and my creative one writing that bad boy!

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? He is rawer, nowadays, somewhat like when Sae first rejected him but also not. ‘Somewhat’ because he still aches all the time, ‘not’ because he embraces it. All wound. No boy. No need for anyone to stem his bleeding because Rin’s at his best when he’s bleeding, when he can be obscene, when he can destroy. - from final boys

Biggest surprise while writing this year? That once I figured out a good process for going from idea-outline-actual writing to finished product, I was so impressed with the amount of writing I was actually capable of! I've always been a notoriously slow writer, which led to me not being able to post super often prior to 2023 But I really hammered out a writing process that works for me and I did the best I could with it I think! I hope to improve upon it this year and hopefully get a better handle of keeping my word counts in check too (chronic over-writer here dkjfndjk).

2023 was such a big wild year for my writing and I can only hope I keep up the energy in 2024. It was such a blast and I appreciate everyone who supported me through all the ups and downs!! <3

#sleeplessstuff #blue lock #fanfic

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eleanorose123 · 11 months

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brother and i finished rewatching zexal- time for the second half thoughts lol

there is a LOT more this time around, so it's under a readmore

right off the bat, Zexal II gives off major sailor moon energy in terms of "haha you FOOLS! the power you used to defeat last season's antag is USELESS now!"

ah yes.......gilag's design.............

brother and i have a long running joke that the barian emperors as a whole are just doing a group project and constantly struggling with the basic shit that people face when DOING group projects (infighting in particular)

also fun fact, my brother DESPISES the sound effect they use for the barian door opening during the chaos xyz summons

i want to say that 85% of shingetsu's shenanigans were planned. he wanted to put yuma through so much hell

furry coach duelist, never forget

TAKASHI TODOROKI MY SWEET BOY

ah rio "i will not be used as a shield to my brother" kamishiro.....we were so hopeful back then

alit remains to be a raging bisexual, we love that for him

though it does raise the question- since gilag couldn't recognize alit initially due to them not seeing human forms until then, could vector tell who they were or did he just hear their names be mentioned and go "wait wtf"

the friendship tournament ep remains to be one of the best one off eps of season 4 i swear to god

remember when the barians were supposed to come and collect haruto? yeah me neither

mizael is peak theater kid. i love that he and kaito fight on equal grounds and then by the end of the series you're hit with "btw mizael is like 15 and kaito's still 18"

rio may have unexplained (at the time) prophecy powers, but shark's got "i can tell yuma is in danger" senses

WE LOVE SHARK BEING A LONGING DUMBASS IN THE HOSPITAL

god i know that like- yuma's already gone through 3 seasons of shark-related emotions, but i wouldn't be surprised at all if it was alit who made yuma first go "wait, do i like guys?"

shingetsu also did a number on yuma with the same emotions, but for much different reasons

"im here to help astral" "yay!" "but don't tell him about me" "ok!" yuma we gotta teach you what a red flag is. though you are 13 and have already gone through a lot of red flags (ex. giving haruto to a stranger)

you think vector had like, a bazillion questions for yuma after seeing no96 for the first time, or did he zip his lip

we establish that kaito has global surveillance and satellites that can just- fire lasers anywhere. tenjos man

takashi and tokunosuke are canonly some of the biggest shippers in the series which is peak hilarity to me, i love that for them

im surprised anna even bothered with the uniform considering she just barged into the tournament regardless. then again, zexal rly loves putting characters in these middle school uniforms

also season 4 is filled way too much with underaged fanservice ugh

SARGASSO DUEL MY BELOVED

mizael refusing to use the lighthouse card cause it was cowardly is hilarious cause durbe is just right there like "hey"

yuma and his very bad no good day

RUIN ARC TIME

my brother was analyzing every second of each ruin tbh

he has.............a lot of thoughts on alit's backstory in particular

why is durbe's ruin in columbia of all places tho

yuma and co skipped so many days of school, you think the rest of the numbers club were just there like "where'd they GO"

we love kazuma desecrating ruins by adding markers and leaving behind coins that future teams will assume to be part of the ruin's treasures (like it did for gilag's)

also they really REALLY never fucking explain WHY kazuma knows all this shit fjdkhdfjkhfd

vector cannot sit still at all

they rly did no96 so dirty in the series. i love that he's a character fandom decided to flesh out beyond what canon gave us, he deserved that much

i rly thought there was more mutinyship moments than there really were jfdkhfdhjdfkhk ah well. they're full of potential

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE YUMA DEPRESSION ARC i know that sounds fucked up to get excited over, but it's also FEARSOME FOUR TIME

ill never understand why they bothered to go be like "heartland took a picture with esper robin" unless they just didnt want us to forget that's a character

"how'd you get your barian crests back?" "with the power of science!" is still SO funny

numbers club trying to be helpful only to get punished is foreshadowing for their fates the rest of the show

you know, you'd think kurage would've realized ryoga was one of the people he killed considering like- he knew his and rio's names. and their faces. but ah well

tokunosuke building a grave for astral is not talked about enough imo, that's like, one of the strongest scenes of the numbers club characters

kaninja you continue to bring me pain, you wouldve won your duel if you didnt say you poisoned kaito

ngl chris, you abusing kaito for a week straight for the sake of "training" was pretty fucked up

i hate the eliphas duel, i hate the eliphas duel, i hate-

"time to be with your REAL allies" durbe plz stfu

they never really do explain how nasch died. we just assumed he did himself in after seeing vector go down which is uh. hm

ahhh toku......the first casualty of the war.........

i wouldve liked more heartland backstory but THATS JUST ME-

jkfkfdhjdkf i love that it rly was just kaninja who was the reason kaito was becoming blind. messed him up even in the afterlife

astral/yuma remains to be so tender

i feel like if you ever want to make vector peak uncomfortable, just stare at him in silence until he breaks

i know that's the point, but once ryoga unlocks "nasch", his drama levels go through the fucking roof

also fun fact, between eps 122 to 143, something like 23 prominent characters die (tokunosuke, heartland, tetsuo, anna, fuuya, droite, gauche, roku, yamikawa, iv, iii, v, alit, gilag, durbe, rio, orbital 7, kaito, vector, mizael, eliphas, don thousand, shark)

"ryoga, my best friend" iv, i rly feel like that's a onesided sort of situation

alit/gilag deserves more attention ffs

GILAG DESERVES BETTER IN GENERAL TBH

i remember being numb by the point of durbe/merag's deaths. that hasnt changed

KAITO'S death tho, that still hits. mainly cause of the music

i love that obomi's affection for orbital only kicked in cause akari....kicked her

akari who was still trying to be in the plot, bless her for trying

haruto is going to need so much therapy tbh

numeron dragon's story is still so sad, love that dragon

it took mizael like 5 eps to get to the moon and another 3 eps to get off it

shark watching vector's performance and just going "........." the whole time is still hilarious. you know that'll always just be their dynamic even post canon

don thousand...........your design is so good but you are still so lackluster......

nasch vs yuma tho- THAT'S a real satisfying boss battle djfkhdfkj love that finale to pieces

aaaaaand now it's just pain and smiles all the way until the end :'3

the growing up storyline of zexal just really, really hits you by those last episodes ugh

there's so much to work with with the finale, and i love it to this day

still the best ygo series, i will not take notes on that fact

if you read all this, thank you

kattobingu <3

#zexal #WOO FEELS

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kickingitwithkirk · 10 months

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Greetings from Austin

Summary: Jensen and Jared are at odds over a monumental decision that changes their lives in a way they couldn’t have envisioned.

Pairing: Alpha!Jensen Ackles x Alpha!Jared Padalecki x Omega!OFC

Word Count: 2161

Warnings: a/b/o, J2 are married/mated, homophobia, bisexuality, biphobia, outdated beliefs, angst, cursing, jealousy, depression/anxiety, medical stuff, sexual dysfunction, infertility, IVF, surrogacy, subgender inequality

*additional warnings to be added in future parts.

Square filled: Non-traditional Alpha Traits @spnabobingo Maid Au @spnaubingo

A/N: Here we go again with one my weird as hell dreams, series Inspired by this art.

A/N II: There is no intentional hate or malevolence intended towards any of the Ackles or Padalecki families. This is a purely fictional piece containing real and created persons/names/events set in the fictional A/B/O verse. Some dates/events altered to fit story.

A/N III: thank you to everyone for hanging in there since it’s taken me ages to drop a new character, I’ve been doing rewrites/updating on all my series, more to come in future.

*no beta-all mistakes are mine

*divider by @writeyourmindaway

*images found online

Part IV

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

“DON'T YA’ BE YELLING AT ME, MR. MAN, EVEN IF THIS IS YOUR FUCKING HOUSE…”

“I gotta go,” tossing his phone on the bedside table, Jared, wearing his blessed socks, runs across the main room and slides on the hardwood floor into the kitchen and saw his husband standing three feet from Quinn as she’s vigorously gesturing with a paring knife while telling him off in her colorful language.

“Put the knife down!” The older Alpha’s voice resonates through the room, making Jared flinch, feeling the command’s power, watching Quinn set it on the counter and Jensen reach over, sliding it towards him.

She stood a bit longer before blinking in confusion, and then her demeanor shifted to madder than a wet hen, her natural lower voice dropped another octave, and the lilt became very pronounced. “Don’t ya’ ever use that fucking voice on me again!”

“You were threatening me with a knife!” Jensen picks up the item, making her laugh, “Holy fucking shit, are ya’ serious? Ya’ could barely use it for a toothpick, let alone...”

Jared stood there, mouth hanging open, have’n seen others take on his mate, wrongfully assuming he’d be the easier of the two to intimidate, but when let off its leash, Jensen's wolf made Dean Winchester look like a pussy cat.

“JARED!”

The younger Alpha's mouth snapped shut, “sorry, what?”

“I asked you what the surrogate is doing here?”

“The surrogate has a name.”

“What is Quinn doing here?”

“So..uh..okay,” Jared slowly starts around the island doing his sometimes awkward, hesitant thing. “A few days ago, I got a call from this number I didn’t recognize. It was about the ultrasound appointment scheduled while you were in LA.”

He paused to see if Jensen remembered, and yep, his mate was wearing his get to the fucking point expression.

“They informed me she’d canceled it because she was leaving town.”

Jensen's attention returned to the O, ”Don’t fucking start on me again, Ackles!”

“You know who I am?”

“Duh, Sherlock!”

Jensen would later try to justify it was jet lag and surprise finding their surrogate in their home, not her smart-ass mouth, for snarling at her.

“Och, save it for the cameras, drama queen. Ya’ put pants on just like the rest of us; the only difference is yours have designer labels.”

Jared interrupted the speeding downhill faster than an Olympic bobsledder situation, “I remembered her saying something about managing Mulroney’s Bookstore, so I called Clif to see if he’d get her to contact me and calls back saying some Alpha...”

“...who’s a flaming jackass!”

“Yeah, that’s what Clif called him. Anyways, he claimed to be the manager and had no idea where she was when another employee said they knew where she was living...”

“... that’s when ya’ boy shows up..”

“…I explained about the mixup...”

“…Padalecki followed me to my room to get the new date, then he caused a scene...”

“...I couldn’t help my wolf freaking out at where my..our pups were living...”

“…told ya’ it was there or the I-35 underpass!”

Jared bristled at the reminder, “The door had three locks, a barely functional heater, and a broken fridge. Cockroaches wouldn’t even live there!”

Quinn raises onto the balls of her feet and loudly reminds him about putting her in the shitter with the manager and getting fired when Jared shouts back in his booming voice, “there was a guy by the ice machine offering to sell me heroin!!”

“ENOUGH!” Jensen's Alpha voice echoes throughout the kitchen, quieting them both.

“She’s right,” Jared opened his mouth to retort, but Jensen countered with, “And so are you. Quinn, couldn’t your family help,” the Alphas wrinkled their noses at her souring scent, so he attempted another approach.

“I want to clear something up. I recall one of the stipulations for surrogates is that they reside in an appropriate domicile. Why were you living in a motel? Could you tell us what happened?”

“The flaming jackass tipped off the landlord I’m an O, and that fucker evicted me even though I never caused any problem or was late with rent.”

“There is a moratorium on evictions..”

“..that moratorium is a fucking joke!”

“What a minute,” Jensen said, and at the same time, Jared remarked, “It protects people...”

“Newsflash, Mr. Wizard, was created by and for the protection of Alphas and Betas! Take a hot minute to read the fine print, and you’ll find loopholes granting landlords, to quote, discretionary privileges pertaining to the eviction of those designated with the sub-gender Omega. In other words, they can boot O’s for any damn reason!” She gave the Alphas a hard stare, “So, enlighten me as to why y’all didn’t know a fucking thing about that bit?”

The kitchen got quiet as the Alphas glanced at each other, trying to find a non-assholey-sounding response. “Yeah, that’s what I thought; since it’s well known you two prefer Betas.” Quinn addressed the older Alpha.

“Padalecki and I have an arrangement. I keep the house and do meals in exchange for temporary boarding. No need to fret that pretty head of yours, Ackles; I’ll do me damnedest to stay outta the way."

🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎🐿️🫎

December 23rd Late Afternoon

Quinn heard Jensen’s surprised greeting covering the stewpot of goulash, slid it into the oven to stay warm, and peeked around the wall and saw him in the foyer hugging a small, older O, then a tall, bald Alpha carrying several bags crossed over to them.

“Let me help you with those, sir,” she offered, taking them couldn’t help but overhear his not-subtle sniff, “Jensen, who’s this?”

“Umm,” Jensen scratched the back of his neck, fumbling for a response, “this is the housekeeper, Quinn.” His mother-in-law peered inquisitively at the tall Omega before asking, “What happened to your boys' service?”

“I worked for it.”

Gerald Padalecki dubiously eyed the O up and down as she continued. “They pared down the staff, and Jared offered to retain me in exchange for lodging...”

“You live with them?” Gerald barked, “Jensen, that’s unwise considering...”

“Considering what Gerry,” his mate sharply asks, “the boys wouldn’t let someone stay they couldn’t trust.”

“I normally wouldn’t question their judgment, but she's an unmated O.”

“Whoa,’ Jensen jumped in, “are you suggesting that Jared or I...”

“Mama..daddy..what’re y’all doing here?” Jared couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice, wrapping his long arms around his mother, “thought you were coming tomorrow.”

“We decided to surprise you but got it instead.” Gerald’s gruff reply made Jared throw his husband a confused look, catching a whiff of his dad and Jensen, “What’s going on?”

“I bet y’all would like to freshen up after your trip.” Quinn blurted out, “Jensen, would you help me with their luggage, please.”

Taking the car keys, he follows her out the door, remarking, “you think fast, coming up with that story.”

“Ya’ were about to lose ya' shit on your father-in-law, and I didn’t precisely fib, just moved a few facts around,” Quinn shoots back, grabbing a bag while Jensen, fuming, retrieves the other, following her to the guest house.

How could the Alpha he considered his father even think, after everything they’d been through, found his dark thoughts distracted by two simultaneous acts; a deflating blow-up bed and his bewildered husband storming in shouting, “What the fuck was that?”

Jensen ticked his head towards the O and made the finger-in-hole gesture.

“I’ve gotten that shit since I presented,” the pair look towards Quinn with confused expressions. “Loads of Alphas still carry antiquated beliefs about unmated O’s, and I’m…pick an adjective to fill in the blank.”

“So much for a peaceful holiday,” Jensen grumbled.

“Yeah, too bad ya’ boy stuck his nose where it didn’t belong, right?” Quinn's tone was caustic. “I don’t want to be a bone of contention with ya' family. I’ll figure somewhere else to stay.”

Jared’s wolf simmers under his skin, “How? You have $636.96 in your account. That won’t cover a security deposit, let alone fir..”

“How the fuck ya’ know what’s in my account?!”

“Your laptop was open...”

“...and ya’ snooped...”

“...I happened to see it...”

“...still not your fucking problem...”

“...you’re carrying my..our pups, that makes it my fucking..”

“...ya’ are the most unfucking...”

“I’m tired of y’alls motherfucking bitching, so shut the fuck up!!”

Jensen wrinkles his nose, “Dude, dial it down; you’re stinking up the joint! And Quinn, Jared screwed up...”

“I never asked...”

“...doesn’t matter! He's trying to make amends, for fuck sake!” Jensen felt the vein in his left temple throbbing again.

“There will be many people dropping in or staying with us this fucking week, and this is how we’re all going to handle our situation.”

🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿🫎🐿

January 15th

“Humph,” Jensen jerked awake, slapping a hand around, and found his phone before cracking an eye open.

7:18 A.M.

Groaning, he dropped face-first into his pillow and wrestled his mates over his head to muffle the noise, but the pearls of his pup's laughter signaled he wouldn’t sleep much longer.

His fuzzy brain's insistence that coffee was more imperative than a shower has Jensen sleepily shuffling around the oversized couches, once again grateful they’d decided to move their bedroom to the main floor, spots the group in the kitchen muttered too damn early.

“That’s a bad word, Daddy,” JJ says, her frown a replica of his, “you owe the swear jar.”

“Your right, Birdie, sorry,” dropping a kiss on top of her and the twins' heads, stepping around them, pouring himself a mug, “remind me to pay it later.”

Hopping up on the counter, Jensen sips his coffee, savoring the black elixir rolling over his taste buds; he feels the caffeine penetrate his system, working its magic to turn his morning grumpyass into a civilized human watching his brood.

JJ and Arrow are busily festooning Quinn’s long, wonky braided hair with ribbons. Zeppelin and Icarus are sitting on the O’s lap, watching something on his iPad that's precariously balanced against her feet; felt his wolf purr in contentment, starting him when his mate materializes and gives him an odd look.

“Alright, y’all,” hopping off the counter, Jensen scoops up his son and flies him around, making airplane sounds, “Uncle Jeff and Aunt H/W/N will be here soon. What do all of you need to do before going?”

“Brush teeth and hair,” Arrow says, then looks at JJ, “grab our snacks from the fridge,” she reminds her, “and put them into our backpacks.”

“And do bath break!” Zep giggles as Jensen hands the pup to his mate and quietly says, “I wanna discuss something with Quinn.”

Jared reaches through their bond and finds a placidity in Jensen he hasn’t had for so long, but before he can deduce the causation, he gets distracted by the twins' squeals and escorts the pups upstairs.

Quinn eyes the older Alpha while securing a hair tie around her long braids, “what the fuck I do this time, Ackles?”

“Jared mentioned something about your leaving..”

“...I know ya' expected me gone before now...”

“...ya’ know what I expect?” Jensen snaps, mimicking her subtle accent, “I expect you to stop interrupting and let me get something out for fucking once! Now, could we please discuss this without fighting?”

Sitting at the dining room table, she says nothing, watching Jensen refill his coffee, grab another mug, and drops in a spoon of honey before pouring the brewed tea from the kettle, “Ya’ know how I take me tea?”

“I’m not a completely unobservant asshole,” Jensen self-deprecates, “you make a damn good cup of coffee,” he said, carrying both mugs over. “And I’m astonished how you balance everything, working at Emmer and Rye while keeping up with our hectic schedules. And what did you do to Jared?” Quinn looked confused, “you got him to put his wet clothes in the laundry instead of leaving them all over the bath. You’re either a witch or a goddamn miracle worker!”

“I gave him two options. Leave’um in the laundry or find itching powder in his clothing.”

“He’d just borrow my stuff...”

“...he did, once.”

“So, you?

“Clif said ya’ boy spent the day denying it was jock itch.”

Jensen was still laughing when the quartet came back downstairs, so Quinn placed both forearms on the table, leaning forward, and spoke softly, “okay, Ackles, the fucks going on with this little tête-à-tête? Cause ya’ been freaked the fuck out the entire time, so,” nodding to her mug, “What’s with the buttering up?”

“It’s about not leaving...”

“Quinns not gonna leave?” Jensen whipped around to find Arrow bouncing excitedly beside him, then she suddenly raced towards the front door, yelling, “Papa Jared, Daddy’s got Quinn to stay with us!”

Jared stood there scrutinizing the seated duo with an indecipherable expression.

“Looks like ya’ the one dropping me in the shitter this time, Ackles.”

tbc

Part V

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx @lyarr24 @flamencodiva @b3autyfuldisast3r @lassie-bird @nancymcl @spnbaby-67 @leigh70

Sam/Jared: @idreamofplaid Dean/Jensen: @thoughts-and-funnies @stoneyggirl2 @akshi8278 @beabutterfly987 @smoothdogsgirl @siospins2

GFA: @babypink224221 @waywardjoy @let-me-luve-you @all-4-wincest @ladysparkles78

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lopez-richter-fangirl · 1 year

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Just finished my rewatch and it’s swinging even more in favour of being my favourite show and it definitely might be the *best* show

The opening sets the tone so well but also, pleasantly surprised how long it took someone to die once we get into the show for real!

I do wish we could have got more of bryce but her onstage debut with them is so fun and she’s SO good

The title projection is COOL AF. I can’t remember if tcb said how they knew/found Joey but the lighting design of this show 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Lauren’s soprano I cryyyyy

This is suchhh a good opening number

Will NEVER STOP YELLING ABOUT LAUREN’S CHOREO I’LL ENGRAVE THE DAMN AWARD MYSELF

How anyone can say this show isn’t as horny as mamd with lauren’s scream/moan wait maybe that’s just me

Pete/steph I’m sorry I doubted you

The writing of this show is just so fun

Will is SO great as max

Obviously Grace is still unhinged but I do think she was a more grounded character in this show so while I definitely think it was a good move to make pete and steph more the main characters than they were originally I did find her fun to watch

Love this trio of nerds <3

“You don’t even need to try with me Pete”jokes 👏🏻 that are objectively 👏🏻 funnier 👏🏻

How did I not notice how GRABBY Lauren was in this scene the first time

Joey as pete I love himmmm

AND HE SOUNDS SO GOOD

Angela does these freudian slips VERY well

Dirty girl alone really is hornier than anything in mamd

The spins are so dumb but so fun

This is such a fun group too

Ruth baby I’ll talk to you <3

“I don’t want to though” Need I say it again jokes 👏🏻 that are 👏🏻 objectively 👏🏻 funnier 👏🏻

The escalation from bully the bully to bury the bully is so funny

I don’t know what it is about the nighthawks song but I LOVE it

“I love being alive” is so devastatingly good, you KNOW. You know </3

The SFX makeup is also so cool

Still feel robbed of their finest work the smoke club kids but it’s FINE

Joey’s “oh no” is too good

Lauren’s face when steph and ruth almost hold hands is also too good

Dan and donna <3 who are definitely married with dogs and kids

Hatchet town is so good

Okay didn’t notice Arm the first time

Barbecue monologues has no right being that funny

Lauren KILLS this scene. And just for once is such a great song and she also blends her character and normal voice really well. Took three hatchetfield shows but Jeff nailed it 🙏🏻

PAUL AND EMMA PAUL AND EMMA I know I already said it but it’s *perfect*, the flirting is perfect, and the 5 year joke *chef’s kiss*

Not even really a joke but spitting in his hot chocolate… objectively funnier

Twist of all twists (although I really should have foreseen it tbh) I am OBSESSED with if I loved you

Bisexual ruth special to us all <3

So glad we got a goof best part of live shows

The lighting with max in the car is also very cool!!

The LiB scene!!!!!!! It’s TOO good. I can’t even articulate how good

If there’s one thing about Joey Richter it’s he’s gonna make me cry with an emotional sacrifice scene 😭😭😭

Did get scared for one sec here in the reprise though even though someone already told me I was good

HEARTBREAKING AND HE DOESN’T EVEN DIE </3

Grace saving the day is proof you can have a predictable “twist” that’s still good!

This song is so fun!!! It’s such a great closing number because we all know this is where the show ends!!!

And lauren’s DRESS!!! It was worth being totally surprised by that. And lauren’s choreo will never shut up about it bestie girl its SO GOOD

And I hateeee to say it but pete and steph probably should have kissed. Suspicious

Also lauren in curtain call loml she looks so happy

It would have been a fucking blast to see this show in person especially for the first time, I should have done it tbh. I was so scared for WHAT. But they simply have to do it again sorry 2 weekends was not enough

#npmd spoilers

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askfinn5 · 3 months

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wait, is that FINN HUDSON? they kinda look a lot like MILO MANHEIM, don’t they? i heard the TWENTY ONE year old is known as the JOCK WITH A HEART OF GOLD around mckinley. it seems like they auditioned to be in NEW DIRECTIONS which is so lame? people at campus have said they’re +LOYAL, but don’t be fooled since they’re also -GULLIBLE. rumor has it, you can find them at FOOTBALL when they aren’t belting show tunes. their entire vibe revolves around THE SMELL OF FRESH CUT GRASS THE NIGHT BEFORE A BIG GAME, A PERFECTLY TOASTED GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH AND SINGING IN THE SHOWER but no one pays attention to that here in ohio.

🎤 auditioning with: summer of ‘69 by bryan adams

(MORE BELOW THE CUT)

LIST ABOUT 3+ HEADCANONS ABOUT YOUR CHOSEN CHARACTER!

Carole Hudson is a single mother and only had one child, Finn. It’s safe to say he is a Momma’s boy which is the main reason why he couldn’t bring himself to move too far away from her.

Finn is a closeted bisexual man. Fearing the reaction of his teammates and the people around him. If he hooks up with guys it’s on the down-low and there has to be no strings attached.

Finn’s favorite kind of music is what most would consider “Divorced Dad Rock” think: Nickleback, Daughtry, Lifehouse, Matchbox Twenty

Will recruited Finn for New Directions after overhearing him sing while he was showering after practice. No one knows this, but Will placed a fake joint in Finn's book and when it fell out he convinced him that the only way he wouldn't get in trouble was if he joined New Directions. And to Will's surprise he could play drums too!

Finn is the Captain and Quarterback of the McKinley Titans football team. He wears number 5 as a dedication to his father who wore the same number when he played football in high school.

He is currently under the "General Studies" track because he has no idea what he actually wants to do. He's currently on scholarship to play football and that's the only thing that matters to him so he figures at some point he'll just stumble into a decision.

Wanted Connections

Crush - Marley Rose

Secret Hook Ups (Men) Past- Nick Duval

Girlfriend -

Hook Ups (Female/Non Binary) -

Exes on good terms (Any) - Quinn Fabray

Exes on bad terms (Any)-

Childhood friends-

Roommate-

Suspicious Of His Intentions- Jesse St James

Flirtationship (Any) -

Ride Or Die (Any) - Noah Puckerman

Teammates (Football/New Directions) - Ryder Lynn

Tutor-Madison McCarthy

Friends- Dottie Kazatori

Gym Bros- Sam Evans

Frenemies - Jake Puckerman

Enemies - Sebastian Smythe

Rivals from Jealousy- Blaine Anderson

Mutual Appreciation- Rachel Berry

Step Brother- Kurt Hummel (not happened yet in game!)

#bio.#wmacintro

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designatedbreadbox · 2 years

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Menace in the Room

Fem!Ghostface x Reader

A/N: Based from this post! This concept is what immediately came to mind when I saw it. I tried keeping this short but that didn't happen. 😅 @bisexual-horror-fan hope you like this!

Wordcount: 2,115

TW: Character death, Swearing, Implications of past home invasion, Home Invasion, Implications of past stalking, Slight dehumanization

The sound effects of the movie echoed throughout the empty house. Light from the TV screen illuminated your face as every light and lamp in the house was turned off in order to keep the horror atmosphere alive. Curtains were drawn to prevent any late-night snoopy neighbours or wayfarers from catching a glimpse through the windows. You subconsciously leaned in closer to the screen, buttered fingers gripping the bowl in anticipation for the upcoming drama. As per typical theater tradition, the soda you were once drinking had gone flat since you neglected it in favor of the movie.

You jumped from your spot on the couch in surprise as the killer had unsuspectingly shepherd the victim into an unsavory position; pinned hard against the floor, movements restricted to desperate struggling. Despite the current volume the TV had, you gently swayed closer as if the few inches of movement would enhance your hearing abilities.

"Urgh! What do you want from me?!!? Son of a- let me go!"

"Now now. Is that anyway to talk to a lover? You were so gracious enough to let me inside your home." His voice sounded so tender and soft, almost as if he wasn't about to make them meet their maker. The killer gingerly rubbed the victim's cheek, a gross mockery of two lovers on a date.

"I didn't let in shit! I didn't do anything to you, so why are you doing this to me!?" The victim struggled harder to break free to no avail with tears filling their eyes. Rapid blinking did little to get rid of them.

"You know I'm doing this for you, baby. There's beauty in death and sweetheart, don't you want to be beautiful? To forever be immortalized as a work of art?" Blade now in hand, the killer raised his arm and angled his body to get a better view of the victim, ignoring their hollow pleas of forgiveness for cruel actions they had no knowledge of. The killer plunged the knife into-

Ring, ring, ring~!

"Ah!???" You shouted as the phone broke concentration to the film.

Ring, ring, ring~!

That fucking phone. Grumbling in annoyance, you wiped your hands on your pajama pants and grabbed the remote to pause the movie. You didn't allow the other party the oppurtunity to speak.

"Who is this? What do you want?"

"Not even a 'hello'? How rude. I'm hurt!"

And just who were they to police how you answered the phone?

"Excuse me? Who do you thi- "

"I just want to ask one question. Surely, you can give me that right~ ♪?"

Wait. This was how the victims died; according to rumors, it always started with a phone call. Oh, fuck no. You immediately hung up the phone, paranoia sinking its claws into you. Not even a minute had passed before the phone rang again, filling you with a lack of security. You froze in place, watching it ring until it stopped. Without missing a beat, you dashed upstairs to your room, grabbing the baseball bat for protection.

Tap, tap, tap.

No. Fucking. Way. Raising the bat into a offensive stance, you traipse to the tapping noise coming from the kitchen window. One hand hesitantly pulled back the curtains for you to see the not-so-mysterious caller. Icy adrenaline ran through your veins as she stood there, one hand on her hips with the other holding a phone as she waved at you from the backyard. She raised the phone to her ear then pointed at you, signaling she wants you to pick up. You watched as she slowly punched in the numbers and pressed call. She didn't have to wait this time.

"Back with an answer? Did I do something to upset you? Just say the word and I'll fix it~♪"

"I... I want.. you", Tension and fear spliced your words. "I want you to get the fuck out of my backyard."

" ...Okay."

Silence on the other end. Seconds felt like centuries, the bat becoming heavier as more time passed. She was still on the line; that much was certain. While you debated hanging up again, a faint thud grabbed you attention. Your worst possible fears were realized the moment you heard it. As you creeped your way through the dark hallway, you strained to hear any possible indicator that may help you locate her in your home. It was a seemingly impossible task, unfortunately, as the only thing you could hear was your beating heart.

A vague silhouette resembling a picture frame laid on the ground. Placing the phone on the floor, you patted the wall frantically trying to find the light switch, glancing over your shoulder in case she might be sneaking up on you. Once found, nothing happened when you flicked the switch. Repeating the motion did nothing.

A sickening feeling in your gut rose and festered, clouding your brain in a distorted haze. If she cut the circuit, got into your house, and knocked over a picture frame... then it's reasonable to assume she's biding her time. No, she is biding her time, and she used the picture frame as a diversion.

"You know, you should know better than to leave your window unlocked. It's so~ easy to get inside your bedroom. Hey, speaking of bedroom, why don't we "chill" together? Your bed seems big enough for us both after all~♪" Her voiced chirped through the phone, a layer of malice underlying her words.

This was double-edged sword. Perhaps in another situation, preferably one where you weren't being taunted with murder in your own home, you would've considered her explicit suggestion. She could simply be talking about your room, or be physically in your room. It was a gamble. So, why not humor her? "Alright, sit tight princess. I'll be right there."

Just when you reached the top of the stairs, a dark blob sprung around the corner and pushed you down the stairs. As you tumbled down the stairs, the bat flew to the floor and landed a good distance away from you. A few bruises and one throbbing head later, you squinted to see her sitting on the steps, resting her masked face on one hand with the other holding a knife. Perhaps announcing your impending arrival wasn't the best nor smartest decision you've made in your life.

The chances of you getting out of this with minor injuries is slim to none. It's possible you still have a fighting chance to get out of this alive, but based off movies, how often has that worked out? Everything about her was relaxed, simply watching you as you quickly tried working out an escape route. It was a standoff to see who would move first.

The will to see the morning sun again gave you the resolve to madly dash towards the bat. Your action came at the cost of experiencing a white-hot pain shoot through your calf. In a mindless motion, you fiercely gripped the bat and swung it over your shoulder, successfully connecting the blow to her head. She groaned in pain, holding onto the wall for support.

What few seconds you gained was used trying to stand yourself upright against your body's wish. Although the tv screen provided light, you opted to not see the damage, focusing on possibly knocking her out cold. How, though? Both cars are gone, front door is locked, and your leg is shit now.

Steadying yourself with your good leg, you brought down the bat hard. She fell to the floor again, not expecting you to get up so soon. Quickly hobbling to the door, you began unlocking and opening the door only for it to be slammed shut. Not even a second later, two more deep wounds joined the one one on your leg.

The sudden, erupting pain blocked you from thinking rational thoughts as your attention was now turned to how fast she caught up. She took advantage of your confusion, digging her gloves fingernails into your now injures shoulder and roughly pushed you to the floor. You barely had time to register what was happening before she was straddling you, a muffed giggle leaving her masked mouth. Your cloudy mind drifted to a scene in the movie you were watching before the nightmare started.

"How.. how did you get into my house?" You weakly tried to make sentences through the pain. "I made sure everything was locked."

She tilted her head. "Isn't it obvious? I gotta make sure I know my babes before I see 'em♪! How else can a girl prepare to surprise those she holds dear♪?"

She continued talking which bordered on monologuing, something about how easy it was to figure out where you lived and how little self-preservation you have. You did your best to listen and meet where you figured her eyes would be, but as the adrenaline was slowly wearing off, it took half a thought to realize just how.. revealing her outfit was. The most sensible part of her attire was the boots and mask. Her chest was closer to you then anything else, something she picked up on as she cut herself short mid-sentence. Something that became even more embarrisingly obvious with how deep your face flushed.

"Couldn't keep your eyes off, hm? I don't blame you for having exquisite taste after all♪"

If she was trying to convey a wink through speech, she succeeded. Beneath the ironic humor and playfullness of the situation lays the disturbing realization that this was going to be your final moment. There was no real way for you to fight back, nor any way for you to hopefully stun her long enough to make it to a neighbour's house.

At your final moments, you were going to die alone on the floor with no dreams of an imaginary help ever arriving. Being the independent person you are, your neighbours may not even realize something is amiss in their sleepy neighbourhood. They don't know that tomorrow morning, your family are going to come home to see a tragedy in their living room.

The grim reality plummeted your vision of getting out this alive to the point where you relaxed in the killer's grip. If she felt the difference, which she most certainly did, she didn't say anything about it. Everything grew eerily quiet. Light from the movie seemed to dim, surrendering to the darkness that's occupying the once vibrant home you grew up in.

Your voice was whispering despite that it's only the two of you there. "Just what did I do to you?"

You caught how her breath hitched. How she stiffened ever so slightly, how the grip she has on her knife tightened by a fraction. Begging for their lives', insults, and asking that damn question was something she came to expect and love. Acceptance of their death wasn't. It not only ruins the fun, but it gives a chilling reminder that the 'people' she kills have a family too. Sympathy is a feeling that's discarded once she dons the mask. And she hates how it makes her almost pity them. Almost.

"No reason♪. Do we need a reason to do everything nowadays?"

Bullshit. You opened your mouth to voice your opinion; however, she continued.

"You know, I'm getting hit with déjà vu. Reminds me of a scene from Phantom Knight's Reprisal. Don't you agree?"

Bloodloss prevented you from speaking further.

"You really hate me, huh? I can see why. I put so much fear into you, the silent treatment is only fair. Oh, well!"

She shifted to get more comfortable, an indication of the night's grand finale. The amount of bloodshed her readied blade has seen is unknown, and still is unknown as one more poor soul will join the rest. "Don't worry, baby. If an immortalized work of art is what you desire, then a work of art you shall be. You will never be forgotten."

. . .

A small crowd gathered in front of the humble house. Police cars helped act as a barricade against the curious and frightened crowd. News vans and reporters pushed against the yellow tape, persistently trying to get any piece of information. Crime scene cleaners darted in and around the house, making sure not to leave a single piece of evidence behind.

The crisp morning air felt freezing cold against family's faces. Cameras flashed rapidly, desperate to not miss a single moment as the now grief-stricken family exited the home.

Childrens' eyes were covered by their parents, teens gossiping somberly as they passed. Some people blame the police for lack of safety and security while other assure the opposite. Their differing opinions created a quiet chatter amongst the crowd. And unbeknownst to everyone, there was a small smile on a girl who passed that one would ever see.

#female ghostface #fem!ghostface x reader #gn reader #ghostface #ghostface x reader #slasher x reader

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gmbencompetence · 2 years

Note

there is a reason why nix hydra has low ratings on glassdoor, and theyve been known to be scumming for nearly five years now i have no idea why the fandom expects so much and thinks so highly of that shitty company and then get surprised when they do shitty things against what they think they should do. and its funny how people keep fighting on and on for fictif/the arcana even now, like when are yall going to wake up. good on you for leaving when you could!

I should clarify two things:

1) I wrote a very long Glassdoor review of Nix Hydra that was so angry, a loved one convinced me to take it down so that it didn’t cause problems for me or people still working there. I saved a draft somewhere…

2) My anger is entirely at very, very specific people at the company. By and large, the people who made The Arcana and Fictif were not only deeply passionate about making games for women and the LGBT community. They fought tooth and nail for this. Even as Community Manager, I would have long talks with some of the writers and artists about how they made sure to write [Female Character] in a way that validated and welcome queer femme players, or discussions of how characters like [Name] came from a place of empathy and compassion for mental health that was meant to provide comfort. I remember long meetings about very small plot points and not whether they would “make sense canonically”, but what effect they would have on the types of readers we want to provide games for.

It seems relevant to say that I co-led the initiative for sell Arcana posters to raise funds for The Trevor Project. This came from a place of real sincerity from my coworkers and I to leverage the rise in merch sales to do direct Good for the communities that meant so much to us. When I drafted the proposal, the percentage of profits I said we should donate was very low. This wasn’t out of selfishness but out of a fear that “The Boss Folk” would torpedo the project if I asked for too much. The person co-leading the project with me strongly insisted I ask for something significantly higher. Something like 80-90% (do NOT quote me on exact numbers). This felt audacious to my cynical mind, but I pitched it and the management approved it without hesitation. We barely covered costs on the Arcana posters, but it was done because we wanted to make sure we were giving money directly to people that needed support.

My point with this anecdote isn’t to say the company is all saints. I was very sincere that a lot of what happened there left me damaged and upset and hurt. But it is to say that the vast majority of people I got to work with chose to work at Nix Hydra instead of other places because they genuinely believed in the work and getting to make games for communities that don’t often get games made for them. That this was populated by people who cared, who fought for their art, and who wanted to make it for the people they cared about.

It’s been stated that our female-led routes didn’t sell as well. What hasn’t been explicitly said before is that we kept doing them because so much of the company fought with tooth, nail, and blood to make sure that wlw stories were being told.

Also, I was confused about my sexuality all my life, and Muriel’s route is what made me finally accept my bisexuality.

—

What I’m saying is that there are things that I disliked about Nix Hydra in the strongest possible terms. There are things for which I will always, always be grateful.

So I’m always down to complain about what messed me up there. And I’ll always be a little damaged about it. But I’m never going to write off the whole thing as entirely awful. I hope that makes sense and appreciate your reaching out. :)

#nix Hydra #arcana

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desbianherstory · 2 years

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...I’ve had people engage with my race while dating. Not in a positive way, but in a way that fetishises me. There was a woman, (yes, you guessed right, she’s white), who I went on a couple of dates with and my friends and I still speak about her actions to this day. I came across her on Twitter and we started talking over DMs. She showed mild interest, but not as much as I did: remember, I was eager to prove my bisexuality with women and non-binary people, so would find myself engaging excessively on social media platforms. We eventually exchanged numbers and went out on a date. On the lead up to the date, I would receive a flurry of messages, showing interest but also a very specific interest. She talked a lot about Bollywood and well … Indian things. At one point, assuming she knows more than me, would tell me things about the Bollywood stars I grew up with. I assumed she was just dense, but my horniness took over and I went on the date. It was awkward: she controlled a significant part of the conversation and as it was my first proper date with a woman, I was nervous. The date ended and I felt strange. A few days later we were still talking over text, and she kept talking about India and I found myself sighing every time her name popped up on my phone.

I was on the bus, coming back from a meeting when I looked at my phone and saw a message saying:

‘I’m obsessed with Indians now. Watching these movies like “CAN I HAVE ONE?”’

I stopped moving. In fact, it felt like the bus had stopped in shock too. It felt like everyone on the bus took a sharp intake of breath and were staring at my phone.

‘CAN I HAVE ONE?’

Can I have one? My mind goes to takeaways, because I always give people the benefit of the doubt. She’s hungry for a takeaway? No, she wasn’t. She was hungry for an Indian person. The cannibal nature of her fetishisation is not an exaggeration – there’s a need to devour the culture, the people, the art. They consume it.

‘Indian people fucking love me. I will be in an item song. I WILL BE.’

Do Indian people fucking love you? Really? Because this Indian person is really regretting that date. For those who don’t know: an item song is a number in a Bollywood film, performed by a dancer/actor who isn’t cast as a main character but is just introduced for this song – and it is usually very seductive. Like a sexy cameo that no one needed. I guess that sums her up as well.

‘I FANCY ALL INDIANS. Hahahahahahaha!’

The laugh was deafening.

She talked about adopting an Indian accent, about learning how to speak and write in Hindi and then perform her stand up (yup, she’s a comedian). She talked about wearing Indian dresses like they were costumes and has since modelled for Pakistani TV. She would send me scribblings of her learning Hindi and ask me to translate certain words.

I’m Punjabi. I know Hindi from Bollywood. Also, I can barely write in English, I can’t decipher what you’re writing, woman. Eventually, I stopped replying more and more. It took longer than it should have because my heart was broken over the idea that my first proper date with a woman went down like this. What were the chances. I was so adamant that men were the worst and then I was reminded that white women are not far behind them. She was not at all interested in me, my personality, my work, my looks, my desires … she was interested in the fact that I’m Indian. She didn’t care that I had a magazine that works with creative and young people. She didn’t care that I wanted to talk about systematic oppression. She definitely didn’t care about any of my stories. She didn’t even really want to be with me in any sense of the word.

She wanted to use me to learn how to be more Indian. This white woman. Turns out she was known in the comedy circuit for being problematic and my friends who were actual good comedians filled me in. I’ve been fetishised by men before, but that’s kind of expected. I have very little expectation from them, so I wouldn’t be surprised. But when it came from the first woman I went on a proper date with, it sent me down a hole of uncertainty. I wasn’t sure whether I was able to survive the dating world as a bisexual person, because men suck and now, I had this awful experience. So, what now?

Through time and speaking to others, I developed confidence back in myself, but it has still stuck with me. Now when someone says ‘I’d like to watch a Bollywood film with you’, after I’ve told them I’ve spent the whole day dancing to Bollywood songs, instead of saying ‘sure!’, my mind thinks ‘okay but why though’. And I scrutinise actions. I rarely give the benefit of the doubt. I often overanalyse.

Sharan Dhaliwal, Burning my Roti: Breaking Barriers as a Queer Indian Woman

#Sharan Dhaliwal #writing #indian bisexual women

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snezfics-n-shit · 7 months

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Sicktember (Belated) Day 22: Terms of Endearment/Nicknames

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Mia Fey, Diego Armando Notes: I have just been informed that today is Bi Visibility Day so as a bisexual myself, I am proud to feature the BISEXUAL POWER COUPLE that is Miego, which should make up for me being late. The events of Terry Fawles’s trial did a number on both Mia’s and Diego’s wellbeing. The two haven’t even been able to see each other for quite a while due to the case’s aftermath. Today is the day they finally have a reunion. Set some time after 3-4, so as long as you’ve played the trilogy, you’re in the clear if you have any concerns about spoilers. If you like the things I write, I always appreciate reblogs and comments; they really make my day!

“You’re just going to make yourself sick, kitten.”

Diego’s words of warning went unheeded. Mia saw no point in worrying about her health. Why would Mia care about feeling sick after weeks of feeling numb? The disaster of the Fawles trial was over in the eyes of the courthouse, the tears had dried with Mia being unable to produce any more, and all that was left was nothing. At least being sick would make her feel something.

She definitely felt something now, that was for sure. Not anything good, but it was a start. Her head was pounding, she felt like she was carrying a backpack of boulders whenever she moved, and breathing through her nose was merely a memory of days long ago. The congestion impacting her ears made her genuinely surprised she could hear the knocking on her apartment door well enough to send her into autopilot and open it.

“Diego?” She snapped out of said autopilot quite quickly. “What are you doi’g here?” She sniffled deeply before taking a good look at her boyfriend, who seemed almost as unwell as she felt. “You look horrible.”

“I was just about to say that to you, kitten.” Diego’s voice cracked just as he uttered that signature pet name, an overture to a set of rattling coughs. “You look as if you’re at death’s door.”

Mia shot a deadpan look at Diego, then simply gestured him inside to join her on the couch. Mia couldn’t think of any past partners she felt comfortable enough with to welcome onto a couch dressed in various unmatching blankets and wadded tissues that missed the trash bin. There must be a first time for everything, though.

“Get yourself cobfortable.” Mia instructed as she rested her head on Diego’s shoulder. “So, how do you feel?” Normally after asking such a question, it was rude to blow one’s nose before receiving an answer, but Mia and Diego had a silent mutual understanding that the confines of conversation etiquette could be loosened up at times like this.

“Like shit.” Diego responded tiredly. “I, uh, didn’t really practice what I preached to you.”

“Oh?” Mia smirked, leaning in closer to her boyfriend’s face. She had a look of mock disapproval for his ‘misbehavior,’ as she often put it. “Go on.”

“Hardly ate, barely slept, just had the Fawles trial playing in my head everyday.” Diego listed. “I take it you’ve been doing the same, kitten?”

“Sure have.” Maybe Mia would have sounded more ashamed if Diego hadn’t already admitted to his recent hypocrisy. “Is that why you came to see me? To apologize?”

“Not apologize, exactly. More that I was worried about you.” Diego caressed Mia’s cheek, saying nothing about how warm it was in case she already knew. “You haven’t stepped foot in the office for a couple weeks, and if I let myself get like this, well…”

“Aw, honey…”

Diego’s tender displays of affection were cut short as his upper body suddenly lurched forward with his fingers pinching his nose in almost record time.

“Hgkk’XXTT!! EKCHXXT!!” Diego’s stifling skills could be considered impressive when they weren’t driving Mia crazy.

“Don’t do that.” Mia scolded him, pouting. “Stifling only gives you a headache.”

“I can’t help it. It’s a–”

“Force of habit.” Mia finished the sentence she had heard Diego give as an excuse time and time again. “Some habits are meant to be changed, you know.”

“I mean, you do that thing with your tongue.”

“What thing?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“I really don’t–!! Hiiggkk!! … choo. Hngckk!! … choo.” Mia’s sneezes were punctuated with a thick sniffle, prompting her to blow her nose again.

“That thing!”

“Most people say ‘bless you.’” Mia said as she lightheartedly rolled her eyes.

“‘Don’t do that’ doesn’t sound like a ‘bless you,’ either.” Diego retorted.

“Well, then, bless you, honey.”

“And bless you, kitten.”

#snez attorney #my writing #my fics #sicktember #sicktember 2023 #let's go bisexuals

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echoes-of-kemet · 1 year

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Who would you say are your "main" gods? not necessarily major or minor, just who you focus on the most

I'd say the Netjer I focus on the most are; Anubis, Nephthys, Isis, Horus, Osiris, Set, Thoth, Ra, Bast, Khonsu, Hathor/Sekhmet, Meretseger, and Pakhet. That may change as more behind the scenes things go, but that's my present answer at least.

And as a bonus, have a set of wee character synopses for the gang under the cut 👀

Anubis (cis, he/him, pansexual, faceclaim is Keiynan Lonsdale): While he may only be prince of the Duat, he's every bit a goth short king. He inherited Nephthys' quiet and pragmatic character, as well as Osiris' charm and love for nature- animals in particular, dogs AND cats. (And everything else. Ammit was his idea.) Anubis is a soft spoken and fairly solitary individual, preferring to spend his leisurely moments on his own or with very limited company. He's deceptively shy and timid despite his royal standing, not to mention considerably more mellow than most of his family tree. He takes his duties in the Hall of Two Truths very seriously, making sure the scales are well tended and helping the souls of the dead through the hall.

Bast (cis, she/her, bisexual, faceclaim is Zazie Beetz): It comes as no surprise that the domestic cat was specifically crafted for Bast by her uncles Ptah and Khnum, the beasts’ temperament being closely derived from the goddess’ own personality. Companionable but independent, fierce but leisurely, self confident and feisty- though both are closely associated with the safety and warmth of home, they are by no means tame. The goddess herself would be the first to point out that she may be Ra’s current Eye and (in her mind) favorite, her father does not own her, however much they may try to inforce otherwise. That isn’t to say the first Pharaoh can’t be stifling at times- there was a reason she once left to wander the surrounding kingdoms- but she does her best to keep her father’s expectations and demands from dictating who she is.

Hathor/Sekhmet (cis, she/her/[Sekhmet]he, bisexual, faceclaim is Tessa Thompson): Once the Eye of Ra, now the current Queen of the Gods. Both goddesses are their own individuals yet part of the same being, similar yet different; Hathor is vain but Sekhmet is arrogant, Hathor enjoys leisure while Sekhmet would rather spar or run or lift, Hathor is very regimented in her schedule yet Sekhmet hates extensively planning ahead. One thing the two “sisters” can always agree on, however, is beer. Both are equally formidable combatants and have strong, radiant personalities, steadfastly loyal to their father and husband- though which they’d pick if forced to is yet another point of contention between the two.

Horus (cis, he/him, bisexual, faceclaim is John Boyega): Having something like the fate of a kingdom and avenging their father’s murder thrust upon someone at a young age is bound to have some long term effects. While Horus (the Younger) is a magnificent warrior with a good heart and intentions, he’s still quite lost in the role of Pharaoh, relying heavily on his advisors and queen for assistance. Some may (and do) argue that this makes the young king unfit to rule, too unsure and thus a liability, and Horus himself considers this every now and again. And yet he hasn’t destroyed the royal palace, or dried up the Nile, or allowed Heliopolis to be overtaken, or any number of other horrible possibilities. That has to count for something, right? And being able to admit that he’s gifted in leadership but by no means a genius, that it’s beneficial to have the advice of Isis and Thoth, that he himself is not the sole reason the kingdom still stands is a fair quality to have. Even if he’s otherwise overly self confident at times.

Isis (cis, she/her, pansexual, faceclaim is Danai Gurira): With no prior familiarity to the royal family, one couldn’t be faulted for assuming Horus got his egotism and verve from Osiris. But most any of the Netjer would be quick to tell you that while he certainly inherited his father’s graciousness (in some amount), the current king’s drive and intensity came from his mother Isis. Her cleverness and sagacity are well known throughout the pantheon, skillful enough with magic to compete with even Thoth- the very creator of it. And while she is by no means overly boastful, Lady Isis is very aware of her talents and carries herself with a suitable confidence.

Khonsu (nonbinary, he/they, bisexual, faceclaim is Donald Glover): Think Prince Naveen if nothing happened post his parents cutting him off- no Lawrence, no Facilier, no Tiana, no frog adventure- and he had to figure shit out himself. The only difference is Khonsu cut himself off from them- or, more specifically, his father Amun. Mut was every ounce the incredible mother she's known as, but Amun was on the polar opposite, "neglectful, patronizing, self-confidence-destroying dad" side. Along with some other factors, this culminated in a sleazy jackass of a man-child with a gambling problem, trouble making connections with others, and a massive ego to compensate for his utterly dismal self image.

Nephthys (cis, she/her, homosexual, faceclaim is Ruth Negga): By far the most subdued personality amongst her siblings, the goddess of mourning has an appropriately somber, melancholic personality. Beneath this cool outer layer, however, is a shrewd brilliance and natural talent for negotiation, a skill Nephthys employs to at least try and keep the peace. She’s perfectly happy being overlooked and underestimated (most of the time), having learned how to use this for her own gain. She is by no means a malicious, manipulative goddess, caring and compassionate by nature- but she is also not above using various types of persuasion to accomplish her goals.

Osiris (cis, he/him, bisexual, faceclaim is Idris Elba): A king in life as well as afterlife, the eldest of Nut’s children is the very definition of “benevolent ruler”; kind, gentle, compassionate, but firm and harsh when necessary. He has always been one to put the needs of others before his own, continuing his habit of overworking himself even after death. Despite his serious, stoic demeanor, the King of the Dead is still a very warm and bright individual, good-humored and amicable, doing his best to balance between professionalism and being personable with those serving him in the Hall of Two Truths- another habit carried over from his time on the throne of Heliopolis.

Pakhet (cis, she/her, homosexual, faceclaim is Sheila Atim): While not foreign in origin, Pakhet is a goddess that was alienated amongst the pantheon, driving her to a nomadic life of fierce independence. She resents much of the Netjer, with few exceptions held in a more vaguely disdainful opinion. Spitefully embracing the solitude forced upon her, Pakhet wanders the deserts of the world, her only sympathy being reserved for fellow travelers- whom she protects from the venomous stings and bites of the wildlife they face. The only deity with an actually positive relationship with the standoffish goddess is the similarly outcast Set, each other the closest thing to friends as they’ve ever had. Not that Pakhet would ever admit as such.

Ra (genderfluid, he/she/they, asexual/aromantic, faceclaims are Peter Mensah and Marianne Jean-Baptiste): While his reign as King of the Gods has long since ended, the solar god is still very much a ruler- his court is just considerably smaller these days. And despite the time, she is still resentful of her usurpation, as well as every other betrayal she’s perceived. Neither forgetting nor forgiving, Ra holds onto every grudge they’ve developed, keeping the few deities they still trust as close as they’ll let them. That being said, while Ra has abandoned Heliopolis and severed himself from the rest of the pantheon, he has by no means shirked his duties; she still sails Mandjet from horizon to horizon during the day, warding off her twin with the help of her crew during the night. Though their reasons for continuing this aren’t necessarily born of any care for those outside of their circle.

Set (demiboy, he/him, homosexual, faceclaim is Giancarlo Esposito): Whoever said envy was green clearly didn’t take the Red Lord into consideration. Before his banishment, he had always been in someone else’s shadow- Osiris was beloved even before he became king, Isis was celebrated for her cunning wit, Nephthys was never on anyone’s shitlist, even Horus-Ur was better liked by Ra. Until the feather-headed idiot got himself killed by a scorpion of all things. (How Set wishes he could’ve been more directly responsible for his death as well as Osiris’, extinguishing the solar god himself instead of neglecting to mention the venomous beast in his path.) It’s just as well that he was swindled out of his entirely legitimate victory; everyone hated him to begin with, and the feeling was mutual. This way he doesn’t have to deal with any of them, and they don’t have him to talk about behind his back anymore.

Thoth (genderfluid, he/they/she, bisexual, faceclaim is Paul Van Haver): Brilliant. Sophisticated. Exalted. All three are apt descriptions of the long standing royal advisor- though some might add eccentric, condescending, stuck up, and just plain weird. Thoth is acutely aware of the abnormality of his self-creation making him inherently different from the rest of the pantheon- not to mention his appearance being far from godly- yet he’s become a vital part of the royal court despite this otherness. He has served Ra and Osiris, and now Horus as their advisor, scribe, magician, doctor, and arbiter; he has quelled many potentially disastrous tempers, resolved countless troubles, negotiated innumerable confrontations. Even in the Hall of Two Truths, he's responsible for recording every soul that passes through, the goddess Ma'at entrusting him alone to handle her Feather of Truth. With all that in mind, as well as the god's genuine care for Osiris and his family, it's quite easy to forget the fact that Thoth is the God of Balance, and balance is not the same as order.

#asks #anonymous #lore posting #anubis #bast #hathor #sekhmet #horus #isis #khonsu #nephthys #osiris #pakhet #ra #set #thoth

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