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bluebearial · 2 months

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Of Two Minds, Chapter 2

7.5k Words

Continued from Chapter 1! View the full story here.

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The mall is only a short walk away, thankfully. The perks of living in the city, you suppose. What isn’t a perk, however, is the sheer amount of people around you. You put your paw to your head, rubbing your ears and finding them flattened to the sides. You had hoped that a morning trip to the mall would mean a smaller crowd, but you were clearly mistaken. It’s not the weekend, is it…?

“Hey, Spectre?” You venture.

“Mwrrp~?” her voice rings in your head like an app notification. It stuns you for a moment – you’re not getting used to that any time soon, you figure. “Hiiiii.~ What’s up?~”

“What--… Um, What, day is it?” You keep your voice low, hoping you don’t look too crazy as you talk to thin air. She hums, tapping her claws against an imaginary table, then shrugs.

“I dunnyo, Caturday~?”

You give her a look—and for good measure, you imagine yourself giving her a look. She responds with her usual coyness, giving you a grin that spreads to your own face. A grin you quickly wipe away, grumbling.

“I’m sowwy, Purri, I don’t knyow what mew nyexpected! I’m a ghost.~ Prrr, it could be Meownday or Furriday, it makes nyo diffurence to me.~

…Of course, mew could nyalways look up.~”

You huff, and you do just that. And, towering above you, billowing in the wind, is a banner. Attached to the mall’s front façade, it reads:

!!!Weekend Specials, Starting Today!!!

Saturday, 2/24

“…Ah,” you utter, shoulders sinking. “Well, that’s—whoa!”

You stumble as a pair of cushions hit your back, pushing you forward. You look back to see Spectre’s dumb, grinning face as she shoves you towards the entrance.

“What’re you doing?” You hiss. Spectre snickers.

“It’s time to get a mewve on, darling! Myour furriend is still waiting fur mew, no?” She tilts her head. “Or, prrrhaps mew’ve furgotten?”

You cross your arms as you pick up the pace, grumbling as you step closer and closer to the mall’s vast, glass entrance.

“I didn’t forget,” you retort. You were just… taking a second, you reason to yourself, as you slip by a mallgoer with a quiet “’Scuse me.” Spectre hums, as though she’s hardly listening to you.

"Meow come mew’re so nyadverse to crowds anyway, sweetie?”

“It’s because… Well—Look at me, dude!” You look back at her, tilting your head. You curl your tail, letting it rest in your paws. “I’m… pretty… different, wouldn’t you say?” It’s Spectre’s turn to tilt her head, giving you the confidence to continue.

“I mean—This is great, really. I… I love the way I look, but…” You pause for a few seconds. “I’m… not exactly normal, am I? It makes me feel kind of…”

“Self-conscious?” She cuts in. You nod.

“Oh, hun, you don’t have to worry about nyall that. They purrobably just think you’re a furry or something!” She tosses her paw, rolling her eyes. You cough, mind definitely not drifting to your Tumblr account. Or your likes. Or your saved pictures. Or your Patreon subscriptions. Or--

“I am a furry.”

“Even better!” She purrs, giving you another shove. The sun’s light gives way to an artificial yellow as you enter the mall proper. You groan, partly due to her response. You rub your ears as the drone of the crowd begins to drill into your head.

“Wait—” You raise a brow, turning around to get a proper look at your ghostly companion. She floats before you, laying down in the air. A pair of thick legs – when did she sprout those? – are folded behind her. Her tail floats aimlessly behind her as she idly purrs. “How come nobody can see you?”

“Oh, that’s easy, cutie. I’m inviiisible.~” She wiggles her digits at you, ‘oooh’ing with a lilting voice.

“Wait, you can do that?” You put your paws to your hips. “How—How come you didn’t tell me? You didn’t even have to possess me~ahhahh~!”

Before you can even finish, she pushes against you, her body compacting as it near-effortlessly slips back inside of you. You find yourself on your rump in the middle of the mall’s atrium, shuddering and purring as you feel her energy spread inside you once more. You flush as you press your thighs together – your body having its own reaction from the experience.

“Nyaaa, I just wanted to be closer to mew…~” You hear her purr. Her silky voice is as close as it can be, filling your head like wispy vapor. “Can mew blame me fur that? Mew’re so comfy, Purriwinkle…~ Pwrrr, I really like you a lot.”

You grit your teeth, rubbing your shoulder as you meekly stand up. Your face feels hot, and you sincerely hope nobody is staring.

“Alright. Alright, Spectre. But… You know I’ve got my eye on you, right? I want my day to be normal.” As normal as can be, anyway.

“More like, you have myour mind on me.~ Mew technically can’t use myour eyes to see me when I’m in here, mew knyow.~”

“Oh my god, shut up…”

“Why do mew have myour mind on me so much, Purrrri~? If I didn’t knyow any better, nya, I’d think mew liked me.~”

“Shut uuup...”

“I’m in myour head rent furree, Purrrrri.~”

“Shut up!” You yell, a little louder than you wanted to. That got a couple of people to stare. The flame inside you immediately dies down, and you hurriedly walk towards one of the escalators. You hear Spectre giggle in your head, before reclining across your thoughts with a sigh. It feels… warm.

“Nyaaa, it’s a shame I can’t do anything more…~ I’d really love to test these claws…” she muses, splaying her fingers. Your fingers splay out in response…

“But.~” She continues, “A purromise is a purromise, nya? Where nyare mew meeting myour furriend, anyway~?”

“At the clothing store…” You muse, looking up at the signs. There are so many shops, and the hallway seems to stretch into the distance. Thankfully, you find the shop that you’ve been searching for. A bell rings as you enter, and you can’t help but curl your toes as your paws transition from a hard, stone floor to soft carpet.

“Oh! Good morning!” You hear a voice, directing your attention to the counter. You could just about see someone stocking some shelves behind the cash register, their back turned to you. “Welcome to The Clothier’s Corner—…”

The clerk falters as she lays eyes on you. Your fur bristles from the attention.

“Um—Hi,” you nearly whisper your greeting, giving a meek wave. “I was… wondering if you’ve met my friend, Roy?”

Wait.

“I mean— Not. If you’ve met him I mean, if you’ve, um, seen him. If he’s been here. Do you know if he’s been here?” The clerk continues to stare. You swear you could see her eyes dart up and down. Studying you. Staring. You could feel yourself getting warmer.

“H-He’s, a little shorter than me,” you soldier on, putting a paw up near your neck, “This tall, I think? He, uh, wanted to buy me some clothes, and--…”

And oh my god, she is still staring.

A few “um”s, and “uh”s later, you turn. And? You simply walk out. You don’t dare to look back, lest you see that clerk’s blue eyes staring you down.

You shudder.

And why wasn’t Roy there? You did a lot of looking around, while you were fidgeting over yourself, and you didn’t see any sign of him.

You also caught the clerk’s name tag. Aubrey, it seemed.

But why was Roy not there? You agreed to meet him there. Now you don’t just look like a freak. Even worse, you made a fool of yourself. A foolish little kitty, you are. All alone, uncomfortable in her own skin, with nobody but your weird ghost friend to keep you company.

But then, a thought bubbles into your head.

‘Maybe I’m just anxious’, you figure as you uncurl your tail from your leg. You aren’t a freak. You know that. You’re just different. Plenty of people like the way you look. You like the way you look, even if you probably should’ve worn some clothes. What made you decide to go completely naked anyway? You run your paw over your chest, as an odd thought forms. It’s not like anyone could see your nipples, you suppose… At the same time, you don’t exactly have the proportions to pull off the ‘cartoon animal’ look. You’re still, by all metrics, a naked person, right? It’s a little weird, maybe even embarrassing, even if a part of you thinks you were owning the look.

You stifle a groan, running your digits through your hair as you aimlessly wander in the vague direction of the escalators. A positive body image is great and all, but what’re you going to do now? You sort of planned your day around Roy being here. You wonder if you should just go home, but you’d may as well do something since you’re already here, no? Besides, what if Roy shows up later?

A sweet aroma then meets your nose. On cue, your tummy starts to groan. You follow the scent to a far corner of the atrium, stopping as you happen across a cute little cinnabon stand. You move to the end of the line and wait, tapping your foot impatiently. As it slowly advances, your anxiety begins to melt away. You’re too hungry to worry about… well, everything right now. Why are you so hungry, anyway? You’d eaten breakfast hardly two hours ago. And yet…

By the time you get to the counter, you’re fixated on the menu, too enthralled by the choices to notice the staff’s curious gazes. Did you want only one cinnamon bun? Or maybe you could go for two? Maybe three?

“I want…” You trail off, before collecting yourself, wiping the drool from your lips. “Four cinnyamon rolls, two large chocolate milkshakes, one large strawberry milkshake, and an iced coffee.” You place your order. Past a certain point, your words simply flow out with a confident purr. The cashier looks at his co-worker, then back at you.

“Ma’am, are you sure?”

…Are you sure?

“Um—” You freeze, feeling yourself shrink. “Yeah, I think I’m… Well—Actually, scratch that. I’ll just… I’ll just take a cinnamon roll and a large—sorry, small. A small shake, please.” By the time you finish backtracking, you’re curling your tail into knots again. You’ve nearly lost your appetite.

“Chocolate?” he asks. Gritting your teeth, you nod.

The cashier nods and, in a process that takes agonizingly long, retrieves your order. He looks as though he is about to ring up the total, but one look into your eyes causes him to stop. Something about his expression changes, but you can’t put your paw on what it is.

“For you,” he says, voice level, “It’s on the house.”

You snap at the opportunity to pull yourself from this situation, so you take your food and quickly leave.

What was that?

‘Why did I make such a big order?’, you wonder. ‘I’m not that hungry.’

Not to mention, why did he let you have your food for free? If you didn’t forget your wallet at home, you would’ve insisted that you should pay.

Though, it’s not like you’d have anywhere to store your wallet. You again chastise yourself for going naked, real good idea there.

You suppose you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, though, as you take a bite of your cinnamon roll. Sweet sugar graces your tongue as you bite down, followed by the rich, freshly-baked flavor of the bread roll itself. You close your eyes with a purr… By the time you finish, you find yourself wondering how much food you could’ve gotten for free? It’s not that you’re hungry or anything, but… As you sip your milkshake, you note that it is rather small. Smaller than you’d like, and you finish it quickly. A girl like you needs something more filling, no?

Thankfully, your next stop isn’t far away. The mall is full of places to eat, you find, and you soon happen across the food court. It’s a sprawling, circular room in the center of the mall. Various restaurants line the perimeter. All fast food, judging from the smell and their bright, vibrant signage.

Your favorite.

You let your sensitive nose take the lead, following the scent of grilled meat to the nearest restaurant. Thankfully, there isn’t a line this time. You’re greeted with another stare as you saunter up to the counter, but you don’t care.

Let them look, you think, tossing your hair with a paw. You lean against the counter, letting your breasts gently push against the corner. You don’t even have to look up at the menu to know what you want.

“One double cheeseburger with extra cheese, extra pickles, onions, aaaand… a small… No, large soda,” you say, as your tail slinks behind you. You feel like you’re forgetting something…

Oh! “And a large side of fries, prrrrlease.” You didn’t mean to purr it out that way, but it just feels good. Did you need any more of a reason? You watch as the cashier rings up your order, and tells you your total. You feel a tinge of worry as you remember your money situation, but then… An idea comes to your head, accompanied by a calming feeling. You lick your lips.

“Pwrrrr, I’m sorry, I don’t think I can pay for that right nyow…” You muse, resting an elbow on the counter, resting your head in your waiting paw, “Purrhaps there’s a’nya’ther way?” You tilt your head with a quiet purr, staring the clerk dead in the eye. She blinks, but she never looks away. It’s subtle, you hardly even notice it at first, but her eyes lose focus.

“Of… course,” the clerk replies, slowly at first, almost robotically, “There’s, anyather way. It’s… on the house? Just for you?”

You gasp! That worked? “Really?” You ask, even if a part of you knew this would happen. …Why was that? “For… for free?”

Your disbelief doesn’t last long, and you find yourself donning a thin, fanged grin. “Why thank mew, hun.~ Mew have nyo idea how much this means to me.~ Pwrrwrrrr…~~” The clerk blushes as your voice trills, and you watch as she turns and goes to prepare your order. She really is cute. That blonde hair almost has you jealous.

Wait.

You shake your head, trying to get a hold of yourself. Since when do you call people hun? Just earlier, you were scared to death of being Perceived. Judged. Merely looked at. Why are you so comfortable now? What’s gotten into you? You wonder what could be giving you such a boost in confidence…

…Ha. Nice try. You know exactly what.

“Spectre?” you whisper, “Spectre, what’re you doing?”

No response.

“I told you not to try anything.”

Still nothing.

“Because, y’know, I’ll catch you. Like now. …Spectre?”

You do your best to ‘feel’ your way through your own mind, but you’re not exactly an expert on introspection. You can’t even tell if your poltergeist of a passenger is still present. In fact, you realize that you haven’t heard from her in a while.

‘Purrhaps she’s gone?’, you wonder, ‘But… where did she go?’ You hope she’d return, as much of a pain as she could be, but you can’t think of any way to call her…

You pout, but your vexations begin to melt as you catch another whiff of that hot, beefy scent. As your thoughts begin to bristle with more carnivorous instincts, your clerk returns with a tray. Resting upon it is the freshest, juiciest hamburger you’ve ever seen. Your claws tap the counter as you hold your instincts at bay. You mutter a ‘thank you’ as you take the tray, and you find a table to sit down at. You don’t waste time. Clutching the sandwich in your hands, you marvel as it gives way under your gentle squeeze. Juice oozes out, staining your fur. Your tail curls as your pupils dilate. Your stomach growls hungrily, as if to ask…

What are you waiting for?

You tear into it, and oh my god. It tastes amazing. Your tongue sinks into a deluge of meaty flavor, causing your body to shudder with purrs. It has just the right amount of mustard, and the purrfect amount of ketchup, to offset the patty’s flavor. The buns are freshly toasted, with just a tiny bit of crunch. Your ears flick as you crunch into a healthy amount of lettuce, with juicy tomato slices to back it up. The melted cheese thickens everything up, and the onions give it all a much-needed kick. They even cooked the patty medium rare. Your favorite.

“Oh my god,” you mumble, cheeks ballooned with food. Once you start, you really don’t want to stop. You make tiny little meowls as you ‘nyam nyam nyam’ your way through the best burger you’ve ever had. You lick your hands once you finish, reveling in what you just experienced, but you realize something.

You still have your soda.

You’re not going to let it go to waste, are you?

After all, you need something to wash down all that food.

You do just that. Your cup is big enough to grab with both hands, and you try to get your racing thoughts in order as you slowly sip your drink. Your soda is… so refreshing, though… And you find yourself sucking harder and harder. This straw simply isn’t big enough, is it? No. You decide to pull the top off completely, leaning back as you pour a whole liter of cola into your mouth. Your elbows hit the table, and you let out an elated sigh.

…And you burp, too.

With the amount of bubbly, carbonated soda you drank? It was bound to happen, and it’s a hearty one. You feel a burble, and you feel it coming, and you cover your mouth, but a deep, embarrassing “bbhrrrp—” still gets through, causing you to flush. You sigh again, licking your lips, tasting just a bit of leftover cola syrup. That. Felt good. You hadn’t been that hungry in… A while, you’re sure. You don’t want to say you’ve never felt that hungry before, but you certainly can’t remember the last time. You feel like you’ve gotten your first glass of water in years, though. You are satiated.

…Until your tummy starts to growl again.

You put your hand to it, noting how round it feels. You must be full. But… there’s an emptiness at the same time. You don’t just want more food. You… need it. You’re starving!

“What’s happening to me…?” You groan, leaning back in your chair. This has to be Spectre’s doing, right?

“Speeeectre.”

Nothing.

“Speeeeeeee~ectre.”

Nothing at all, except for the foley of the crowd and your tummy’s now-incessant roiling.

“Spectre, come out! I know this is you.”

Nada. You grit your teeth, giving your needy belly a squeeze. It… prrr, does feel good to do that, at least. But, you won’t let Spectre win that easily. You know she’s giving you the silent treatment, trying to make you think she’s not influencing you. You just know it.

And you’re not about to let her win.

You stand up, feeling just a bit of extra weight come up with you. You haven’t gained weight. You know that. You’re just full. You almost don’t want to leave, but you know you have to. You think about what you want to do while you continue to wait for your friend. You could shop for clothes, though you’re not sure what would fit you. You could see if there’s a bookstore. Maybe you can find something interesting to read. You could grab a bite to eat, since you’re sure that your friend won’t show up for a while—No. You’re not hungry.

Ignoring your body’s pleas, you continue to ponder. You could browse the electronics store? You suppose that you could use some new earphones. You snicker.

‘As if they’d have anything that’d fit me,’ you think, maybe a little bitterly, ‘Maybe… earbuds? But I want something better. I deserve better.’

Back to your options… There’s also the food court—No.

No matter how hard you wrestle your thoughts, they insist on returning to one specific place. It doesn’t help that you’re currently inhabiting it.

“Spectre…” You muse, shaking your head. You’re trying, trying to put your thoughts back in order, but… You’re starting to drool. “Quit it. I’m… N,Not, hungry,” you say, wiping your lips. Your tummy begs to differ, growling and rumbling like an approaching storm. You try to think about something, anything aside from the tasty, irresistible smell of food.

You’re not hungry. You’re not hungry. You’re not hungry. You’re pretty hungry.

You’re so, very hungry.

A wave of relief washes over you, causing your pace to slow to a lazy, gradual halt. Your tail swishes idly against the floor as you feel your entire body relax. You bend forward a little, tummy rrrumbling with newfound fervor. Did it get… bigger? No… Surely not. You’re just full from before.

But… You do feel more… free? That word works, you think. It’s hard to really say, as your mind feels… slightly emptier than before. You feel good though. A certain feeling of satisfaction washes over you, as if acknowledging your hunger was all you needed to do. But, you know that that isn’t true. Being hungry is one thing. Doing something about it is another. Another rumble from down below, and your thoughts return with a newfound focus. Thankfully, you recall a pizza restaurant that caught your eye. Pattering up to the counter, you order yourself two—no, five slices. That should be fine. Five slices of pizza isn’t much. You’re just a little peckish, after all. You opt to wait until you’ve sat down before you eat, but you find it all devoured before you even get to the table.

But that’s okay. That’s fine, you figure. You’ll just order a whole pizza this time. That’ll sate you. You try to savor it this time, and god does it taste good. Pepperoni has no business being this flavorful, not from mall pizza, but it’s hard to deny the facts. The cheese oozes with oil, reminding you of its utter greasy cheapness, but that only makes it taste better. The crust is soft and rich with doughy goodness.

You mmmoan into your food, eyes rolling back as your tongue lights up with this addictively savory flavor. Something must be wrong, you figure. After all, weren’t you…

You shudder, and you burp that thought right out of your head before it has a chance to form. You go right back to eating, like the hungry, hungry cat you are, finishing your pizza in short order.

Speaking of ordering, you soon order another.

And another.

And another, until you finally feel truly full.

“Ffhhanktths,,~” You coo with a mouth still packed with food, standing up. A comforting weight follows you, much more than before, and it takes you a moment to find your balance on these wider, softer legs. You’re just very full. You certainly feel full, mostly, and you run your hands over your tummy. You purrrr heavily, reveling in the amount of ‘give’ that you feel. A soft blorp meets your ears as you squeeze to fit on the escalator. A short walk later, and after a quick stop at a conveniently placed sandwich shop, you find yourself back at the clothing store you’d visited so long ago. The bell rings as you open the door. You try to turn to fit through, but you feel yourself catch on the doorframe. Your feet’s claws dig into the floor as you put more and more effort into it. Finally, you slip inside with a pop!, and you could really feel yourself wobble just a bit from the force of it.

“Hi!” You hear a familiar voice, causing your tall, fluffy ears to angle towards the back of the store. You watch as an equally familiar girl emerges from beyond the racks of clothes, focused on carrying a couple of folded sweaters. Her gaze slowly drifts up from her cargo as she gives her well-practiced greeting. “Welcome to~OH my god.”

She nearly drops her clothes as she looks up, up, up at you. She looks stupefied. Your muzzle twists into a most predatory grin.

“Rememb~purr me?~” Your deep voice is as smooth as butter. You could see her blush from here.

“I—N-No? Wait, unless you’re that cat from earlier?” She stumbles over herself, even moreso as you stomp your way towards her. A couple of stands topple in your wake, swept aside by your bushy tail and sashaying hips.

“What’s wrong, mrrrr~?” You tease, licking your lips, “Don’t mew recognize me?”

Aubrey seems to freeze in place, looking down at the part of you closest to her. Your massive, perky tits. You could hardly see past them, down at poor little Aubrey. You curl a claw beneath her chin, coaxing her to look up at your face.

“Here, hun. I’ll save us both some trouble and prrrrrefrain from asking about any… clothing suggestions.” You glance at the store’s wares, scoffing quietly. “I doubt mew have what I need anyway.” You offer a warm smile, and a purring little laugh.

“So,” you continue, “Nya~I’ll just ask this. Where do mew keep myour collars?~ Surely mew carry them here. Unless I need to go to the pet store.~ Mmm… And… Nyaa, where are the changing rooms?~”

“They’re—They’re…” she looks away, “The, um. The collars will be over there,” she points to your right. She speaks breathlessly, voice low, nearly a whisper. “And the changing rooms are… in the back.”

“Thank mew, sweetie~” You beam. She nods, muttering something of a ‘your welcome’, but she doesn’t dare to back away. Good thing too, because you grab her. Your paws easily overpower her, though it’s not like she resists, and you pull her very close.

“Mew know… I seem to remember the way mew looked at me before.” You stare into her soft eyes. “You had myour eye on me furrom the start, didn’t mew?~” She looks stunned, and she doesn’t reply.

“Don’t lie to me nyow…~” You coo, and… She nods.

“You looked… really cute,” she croaks.

“I knew it!~” You grin. “And what about nyow?”

“Even cuter…” She’s purractically inaudible, but it’s all mew need to hear.

“Good.” You say, and you pull her up into a kiss. You feel a spark, and you purr into your target. By the time you separate, she’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Literally. Twin orange triangles flick atop her head, and she stims with her new paws, too stunned for much else. You stand, leaving your stupefied, kittified nyacquaintance behind so you can browse the collars.

You do find a cute one actually, if a bit simple. Black, with a silver bell. You whisk it into the changing room with you, finding yourself in front of a mirror.

You look good.

You find yourself enthralled in your own reflection. You… vaguely, remember how you looked before. You were small and you were thin, save for your middle perhaps.

But now?

You lean towards the mirror, which doesn’t take much, given the sheer lack of space in the room. You give a wide, sharp-toothed grin, one that only widens as you tug the corner of your mouth. You gaze at your collection of sharp, white teeth – including a pair of especially long fangs at the fore. You didn’t think you could pull off the sabretooth look, but.~ Licking over them, you happily stand corrected.

Your yellow eyes pore over the rest of your form. You look at your dewlap, at the way it rests atop your shoulders, and the way it flows down to fill your otherwise cavernous cleavage. You put a paw to that puffy, thick ring of fur, and you notice just how much bigger your paws have become. They were… hands before, weren’t they? Maybe? At least, they might’ve resembled thick hands with paw pads. It’s hard to say, the memory doesn’t come to you easily. But now, they’re a set of unmistakably fuzzy boppers, flowing seamlessly into your massive, thickly-furred forearms. It’s a pattern that’s reflected in your lower legs, giving you the appearance of fluffy arm- and leg warmers. A dark pattern of spots and stripes dances across your form, making you resemble something of a purple tigress, crossed with a pantheress. Judging from your mane, there’s a bit of lion in there too.~ If you were asked what kind of animal you are, you’d probably put yourself down as Cat and call it a day.

You lean back, landing your massive rear against the creaking bench as you collect one of your tits in your paw. You purr softly, but deep enough for the mirror in front of you to vibrate, as you run your thumb across your dark purple areola, breath hitching as you knead it. It was begging to be teased, as an electric sensation dances across its broad, bumpy surface.

You growl. You know that your other tit shouldn’t be left out, but you also know that you’re in here for a reason. Your body can… can wait. For now.

Lifting your free paw, you study the collar hooked in your sparkling claw. You fumble with it, grumbling as your paws prove a little too clumsy to handle such a small object. You manage to get a hold on it, however, and you lift it up to your neck. Maneuvering it around your neck proves to be tricky however, and your hefty dewlap does not help matters. You tug on it, hoping it would just. Get. Bigger. But it doesn’t give.

Until it does. Somehow, you find yourself pulling it longer and longer, until it easily fits around your neck. With a snap, it clasps together.

And you look complete.

…Well. Not exactly.

You lean forward again, bench creaking its protests under your immense weight, and you hum. Something seems… off about you. You look different. You’re not meant to look like this, are you?

As you approach a sense of clarity, a wispy paw appears from the corner of your vision, holding a black stick of lip gloss. Your gaze follows it as it carefully approaches you. It deftly runs the gloss along your mouth, careful to maneuver around your sabre teeth, painting your lips a deep, shining black.

Much better. It looks very good on you.

You’re not sure when, but you seem to have gained a healthy amount of eyeshadow too. It surrounds the tops of your eyes, doing well to accentuate your thick lashes. They compliment your pouty, plump lips as well, you think.~ The more you stare at yourself, the less you want to look away. Your frizzy jungle of hair perfectly frames your face. Your only free paw busies itself massaging your hulking, burbling middle. Your earlier binging has left you so full, but you couldn’t deny its other effects any longer. Nor did you want to. In fact, you revel in the amount of weight you’ve gained. In the time since you’ve eaten, your belly has developed from a taut globe to a plush, soft paunch, firmly cementing your gained weight as a part of you. You pinch yourself, hefting your chub from both sides, watching as your entire fluffy middle wobbles in kind. Your tail brushes against the wall, woefully neglected – at least, until you catch it in your paws. The mirror becomes your entire world as you ogle yourself – your fat, heavy, purring, gothic, divine self. You’re so pretty, so perfect, it’s enough to…

Y,You feel a sudden twitch from below, causing your purrs to ramp up in surprise. You hook your paws beneath your belly, hefting it up until you spot something soft and puffy underneath. Your… sheath is fat and furry, and about half the size of your fist. Another twitch, and you see a fat bead of pre start to ooze out. A wet, blorpysound fills your ears as your fat nuts churn below. Your sheath twitches again, begging for attention, and you don’t even put up a fight. You’re already squeezing yourself, purrs transitioning into naked moans as an intoxicating pleasure spreads across your nethers like wildfire. You pump your sheath like a big, furry onahole. Slick schlicking sounds fill your ears as you stroke back and forth. You coax a glob of precum out of your sheath, stifling a moan as it hits the floor. You continue for a little while, feeling lightheaded as you feel another twitch. A dizzying thought occurs to you - you’re using yourself like a fleshlight, as you continue to pump yourself towards the edge.

Soon enough, your cock emerges, already slick with pre. Your other paw gets to work now, stroking your thick, rock-hard rod. You already know you’re too big for this room, but the cold feeling of glass against your dribbling tip serves to remind you. Another creak, and you try your best to lean back, to give yourself more room, but there’s only so much you can do. You give up the struggle and let your instincts take over, dedicating both paws to your cock’s needs. Wet schlicks, mewling, and moaning fill your tiny room. You’re huffing your own pungent musk, causing your eyes to glaze as you ride this moment. Up, up, up, until…

“MRRRRRRIIIAOOWWW…~~!!”

The floodgates open, and you paint more than just the wall. You hold onto your firehose as you howl out, doing what little you can to keep it under control. It fires shot after shot of thick, dribbling seed. You grit your teeth, bucking your ample hips with every splurt. A lot of it ends up on yourself, something which you might’ve cared about in another life. You don’t know how much time you spend just, sitting there, panting as your cannonade finally draws down. You feel like you’ve spent hours in here. You’re sure that’s not true, even in your hazy-headed state, but you reach for your phone just to be sure. Your paw absentmindedly brushes your thigh, and you dimly remember something.

“Riiight... Nnnhho clothes. Nyoooo phone…”

Your head hits the back wall with a muffled thmp. You let out a tired chuckle as you try to recollect yourself. It’s… hard, though, given how the way you’re hotboxing your own musk. And—nngh—your cock twitches some more, one of its final acts of defiance as it adds to the puddle of cum under you. Just when the dribbling begins to slow, it twitches again, jolting your hazy thoughts as that sticky river flows anew.

Your head spins, and your fur glistens with sweat and seed after your ordeal. Even your own name is hard to come by. Periwinkle is part of it, sure, but… You push through your sticky, gooey thoughts. Your memories mix together and come apart, seemingly of their own volition. You know there was another name, though. It came from your own lips earlier.

“S…Ssspec…tr…um?”

You feel something drop into place.

“Purriwinkle Spectrum.” It makes sense. Your voice drops an octave, finally fitting your heavyset form. It sounds like a fusion of your old voice, and… someone else’s. Someone who you swear you know, but you just can’t put your paw on it. Oh well. It’s a little boyish, you feel, and you adore it for that fact. You hear a chuckle reverberate in your head, and you feel compelled to join it. You close your eyes, content to simply relax and ride your blazing afterglow.

Another voice, however, causes you to crack open an eye. It oozes through the wall, muffled. You suppose you should get cleaned up, and see what’s going on.

You start by grooming yourself. After all, how else is a cat meant to clean herself? You drag your long, purple tongue along your arms and legs. Your paws get special treatment – you make sure to remove the sweat and stickiness from your plump pads. You’re careful to get between the digits too, of course.

You lift one of your arms, making sure nothing has gotten under there. You nuzzle around your thick, dark underbrush, and—wow, you stink.

Good.

Once you’re satisfied that you’ve mostly cleaned up, you heft yourself up and finally leave the changing room. You rumble like an engine as you stomp your way towards the front of the store, where you find your orange friend speaking to someone.

It’s him.

Aubrey’s ears angle toward you, followed by the rest of her head. “Oh, meowdy, Meowstress~!” she calls out gleefully with a big-pawed wave. She puts them together, beaming her widest smile. “Nyaa~I was just telling myour furriend that mew’d be coming nyout soon.”

You nod at her, and she has to look up at you as you approach. She’s fully turned now, becoming the cutest cat you’d ever seen. Aside from yourself, of course. She’s a vibrant, speckled orange – with a creamy white face. There’s more of her that you’d like to see, but you opt not to undress her. She can keep the mewniform, fur now.

“Thank mew, Nyaubrey.~” You purr. Your paw rests on her head, and she rumbles up with a cute, tittering voice. “Now, could mew tend to the changing room?” You coo, tilting your head down at her. Your claws dig behind her ears, and she hikes her shoulders and kneads the air.

“A~Ah, o~of course, Meowstress…~” She gasps between bouts of purring. “I~I’ll… Get to that, nyow.~” You smile, and let her go.

And now, you’re alone.

With Roy.

You study him quietly. He’s so small. So cute. The way he jumps back as you kneel down in front of him. You feel a prey drive for a just moment, but you suppress it. As far as he knows, you’re just licking your lips for the fun of it.

“Roy.” Your voice seems to echo off the walls. “What seems to be the paw~blem…? Mew look as though mew’ve seen a ghost.”

“Pe-Pe-Pe-Periwinkle…?” He asks, as if there’s any doubt. “Periwinkle Valentine? What… happened to you?” You hum.

“Nya~lentine…? I’m afurraid mew’re mistaken.” You put a paw to your chest, looking him right in the eyes. “I’m Purrr~iwinkle Spectrum.”

“Um. Right. I… Think, I have the wrong person. Or, cat,” You hear him nervously chuckle. Your eyes dart down to his shoes. You know what he’s thinking. “I won’t bother you, I’ll just—hhrk!—"

You act fast. Your tail was already curling behind him, and it strikes like a viper. Coiling around him, and pushing him up against your body. Deep within your musky miasma, you notice him shivering less. Good.

“Roy…” You trail off, a hard edge forming in your voice. “Tsk tsk. We were supposed to hang nyout together, remembpurr?” He stays silent, wilting under your intense, yellow gaze. He does at least nod.

“Where have mew been, sweetie?~ Prrr…I’ve been waiting fur mew nyall this time…~” That silky, smooth trill enters your voice again and you feel his hands roam your fuzzy belly. He’s trying to find something to hold onto, isn’t he? Cute.~

“I got… h,held up at work,” you hear him say.

“It’s the weekend.” Your voice hardens again. “You don’t have work.” He grimaces.

“Um—Well,” he stammers, “Okay. You see~hee, it’s a funny story. It’s, like, well. It’smmff.”

You’re heard enough. You tighten your coils, covering his mouth with the end of your tail. Your ears fold down and swivel back as you stare deeply into his eyes. You pull him closer, carrying him up so your nose bumps against his. His body sinks between your tits in the process.

“Roy...” You hiss. “Do not lie to me. Ever. I am going to uncover your mouth, and you will tell me the truth,” you lay out your demands slowly, and carefully. He nods his acceptance, and you give uncover his mouth. You give him a quick peck. “Great. Love you.~”

“L,Love you too.” He squeaks. “And, I… overslept.” His reply is simple, but you could tell it’s truthful. Your bubbling anger immediately settles, like it wasn’t even there in the first place. You snicker, you giggle, then you full-on laugh.

“HAHAHAHAHA~~! Oh my gawd, that’s sooo like mew Roy.~” You trill…~ You roll onto your back, pulling him down with you. You hold him up like a toy, paws clutching his sides. “I told mew to set a nyalarm, mew little yarnball.~” He gives a noncommittal laugh, which has you tilting your head.

“B-But, um. What happened to mew—You?” He catches himself, but you tilt your head the other way.

“Pwrrp?~ What do mew mean?” You ask, setting him down. He rests atop your belly with a bounce and a bbworp, and he awkwardly tries to get comfortable.

“You’re…” He hesitates, maybe to find another way to word it, but. You watch his eyes drift up and down your form. The form that’s clearly big enough for him to sit on. Your belly, your bosom, your—oh my god, your cock – and the beanbag underneath. “…Dude, you’re huge.” He states, quite matter of factly.

You blink at him though. What makes that such a surprise? You’ve nyalways been a big, fat cat. You don’t remember a time when you weren’t this big, really. Unless…

“Ohhhhhh….~~” You coo, putting a paw to your cheek. “Nyeah, I got hungry.”

“What?” He looks bewildered.

“Mmhrmm~” You nod smugly, “Nyaa~ A girl’s gotta eat, mew know.~” You feel quite proud of that.

You smile up at him, lowering your eyelids as you start to palm up your doughy paunch. It squeezes in your paws so easily, and your throat begins to rumble anew…~

“But I’m only a little bigger. Mrrr… I’ve gained… Hmmm, maaaybe a few pounds?~”

“A few.” He flatly repeats. You purrrr in reply, idly licking your paws.~ “…Right,” he says. You feel him start to slide off of you.

“Roy…”

“I’m not running, don’t worry,” he says, putting his hand up. “But, Peri. You… seriously don’t see anything wrong with this picture?” he asks. You look down at yourself – nothing wrong there – and you look around the room. Sure, there are a couple of toppled clothing stands, but your loyal servant ~Nyaubrey~ is taking care of that. Looks like she’s done cleaning the changing room too! You’re splayed out on the carpet, slightly curled as a cat usually is. You look back at Roy, shaking your head.

“You’re telling me, you’ve always had those?” he asks, pointing at your tits. You squeeze them between your arms, blepping your tongue out.

“Wannya touch ‘em~?”

“And, that?” He points at your belly. Did he just ignore your question? Hmph. Oh well.

“Nyaaa, cute, right~? Mew nyalways loved my belly.~” You tease.~

“And that?” He points at your massive shaft, still a little sticky from before. You roll your eyes. Is he trying to test you or something? You’re sure you’d know if something was amiss. Right now, that ‘something’ seems to be your friend here.

“Mmwrrr…~ Nyalright, that’s enyough.” With a grunt, you sit up. Resting your arm on one of your knees, you curl your claw beneath his chin. “Mrrr… Let me say this as shrimple as pawssible, mmm?~ Yes, Roy. I’ve nyalways been me. I’ll nyalways be me. Nya’thing has changed. Now, this has gone on long enyough, prrrr…~ Nyare we gonnya hang out nyow, or what? Or did mew furget again?~”

He hesitates. You see so much doubt in his eyes, which confuses you, but he nods. You clap your paws together, grinning!

“Grrreat! Hey, Nyaubrey?”

Your servant darts up to you, though her eyes seem to swirl as she steps in your Musky Miasma.

“Y,Yes, Meowstress?” she meekly asks, paws clasped together.

“Can mew hold down the fort while I’m gone? I may be myour Meowstress, but there are other customers who’d want to purrrr~use myour wares,” you say.

“Oh, um, of course! I will do my best.~”

You pat her head, and she nuzzles up into your paw. The orange cat grasps your arm, pulling herself closer, close enough to rub her face into your fur. You could hear her sniffing you…~ She does let go, however, before she overstays her welcome. You snicker. She’s so normal.

“Good girl. Thank mew, sweetie~” You lilt. As she returns to the counter, you stand up and – as carefully as you can – grab Roy’s hand. His arm feels so small in your paw. ‘Not fur long’, you hope.

“Ready?” You ask.

“As ready as I’ll ever be…” He mumbles. It pains you that he doesn’t seem to be totally on board with it, but you know what’ll help with that.

“Let me show mew the food court first,” you offer, leading him out the door of the Cat’s Corner. Somehow, it fits you now. “It’ll change myour life, hun.~” He mumbles something, but you don’t care what. You pick him up. Planting your lips against him, you give him a nice, big smooch.

THE END

#writing #spectre #anthro #ghost

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bluiex · 2 years

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I absolutely plan to write the dragon scar where Grian accidentally turns Scar just for nyall. And myself of course I have the brainrot, but hope keynon doesn't mind me using some of these ideas cause they are GOOD I just have to get through some super brainrot that happened, I was falling asleep and thinking about how we were talking about Grian pinning Scar with his knees while straddling him. And Scar likes thats far to much and being able to flip Grian for a moment Yah, yah I started writing the Whole story in my head. Conman Scar meeting avian Grian after Scar cons a village into thinking he'll "take care" of their problem. Which he has no plans of and doesn't exactly believe them anyways. Besides it seems like some farm animals go missing and some shiny things too. Which is their fault for leaving them out and putting them out when they get stolen so often. Doesn't seem harmless to him He sure wasn't expecting to meet Grian, but he sure doesn't mind how it goes down. Can't say I've every successfully written smut but! Guess practice makes progress 🌿

YEeeeessss super excited to read it whenever you do write it :D

Omgomg I love this idea! askdhkj I'm patiently waiting for this fic *vibrates excitedly* Smut is deffo something you gotta write a few times before you get into the flow of it haha I bet it'll be amazng nonetheless

#scarian #bluie gets an ask poggers

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mspaintcats · 2 years

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Hey, just wanted to ask how you pick mods and how to become one? I’ve loved this blog for a long time and I love it when you add new mods, it’s cool to see new artists and what funny warrior cats stuff they bring to this blog! I just really wanted to know how to become one. If you don’t answer it’s perfectly fine! And if you don’t want to reply that’s fine too, I hope you continue this blog and all the fun things you guys post, love your blog!

Hi there! So sorry this took so long to reply, since well. Sadly a lot of us have either left tumblr or don't really check this blog anymore But to answer your question! The mods are all friends actually. We came up with the idea in a friend discord a good while back. But have talked a bit about opening a discord and adding in more mods that we felt comfortable with As of right now I'm not sure where this blog is going to go, but there has been talks of handing it to others. But I can't promise anything along those lines. As much fun as this blog is and as much as we loved it, things have changed sadly If anything changes tho we will update nyall! Since you have been so fantastic and supportive of this blog and us and we adore you <3

#mod willow #anon #ask #I'll talk with the others soon about this and see where we end up going!#Thank you for the cont love and support you are all amazing!

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undeadnecromancer · 3 years

Text

Last night I made a 🌿special🌿 butter and today I used part of it to make cocoa rice krispies so come get yall some

#I know how to make sushi and edibles why the fuck hasn't anyone married me yet #i also worked as a barista #and IM A COSMETOLOGIST #im going to be a kept creature I can tell nyall that much #anyway i was proud uwu #I hope you're all having a good night

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tittletattles · 6 years

Photo

@snapscube i was listening to prove me wrong for the first time and suddenly felt like drawing pretty princesses, this is truly the gay agenda

i was gonna draw hayley too but its getting super late........... i might draw her tomorrow tho cause Gosh i love these designs

#snubdub #hi im not sure how to tag these i dont usually do fanart of real living people fsdjkghsd #hjdghsjdfg #prove me wrong musical #drawing #i also wasnt sure who to @ so uhhh yeah !!! i hope i did good #also gn i totally lost sight of time so i really should sleep now gn!!! i love nyall 🐛

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trainingdummyrabbit · 3 years

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Care to infodump about some of your ee class pecking hcs?

[pulls out approximately 15 notebooks] aw man, i thought yall’d never ask.

pretense: this is going to be long as hell, i apologize, but when i say i fixated on classpecting when i was a homestuck i mean it. so most of it is going to be under a cut. i’ve also gathered headcanons from various fan-run blogs and posts, so if i ever need to reference them they will be linked appropriately. finally, a disclaimer. as there’s only so much canon content out for epithet erased, these will likely change over time as we get more character details (cough cough ramsey) so these are rather tentative titles. for those who want the tl;dr, here’s the list!

Molly: Page of Rage

Giovanni: Rogue of Blood

Sylvie: Prince of Mind

Indus: Heir of Heart

Mera: Mage of Doom

Percy: Knight of Life

Ramsey: Sylph of Breath

Zora: Maid of Time

...and now for the more in-depth part. as a note, while knowing things about homestuck would certainly be useful in understanding the following, it is not entirely necessary for basic comprehension. details under the cut nyall, we’re gettin Into It.

Molly: Page of Rage

pages are an... interesting classpect. they’re likely one of the strongest classes when at their peak-- but take a very long time to grow to that point. they are a passive exploitation class; they invite the exploitation of/through their aspect. in molly’s case, this is rage. rage is tied closely to negative emotions, doubt, and skepticism.

molly starts out... not very angry at all, actually. she’s very quiet and reserved-- just taking what comes to her in the path of least resistance. in fact, this is an incredibly common trait of pages: they do not embody their aspect whatsoever at the start of their arc. sometimes they even seem to be the reverse of it! but with a good support system (which molly thankfully has) and the time to grow, they can quickly become one of the most powerful assets of a team.

as molly began her character arc, she started to be able to stand up for herself, actively defying other people’s wants in favor of her own needs. becoming more steadfast. (”you’re going to have to stand up for yourself!” “no! ...how was that?”) this is a positive outcome of her personal struggle as pages tend to grow by stepping out of the shadows and embracing who they are, and rage players grow by learning to control anger-- not letting it control them but also not repressing it. and that’s what molly’s arc is all about! it’s about putting your foot down, saying “i won’t do what you’re telling me to do. i’m going to act for me.”

finally, classpect inversion. let me explain a bit first. classpect inversion is, essentially, when something happens to cause a player to either overindulge or completely push away their title. seeing as titles are intrinsically linked to them as a person and the way they are to grow, it's incredibly harmful to everyone involved to enter an inversion scenario. it can best be described as picking up a harmful coping mechanism to find some sort of control, only to realize it was doing nothing but holding you back. its pushing away who you are on a deep level, and it can have massive reprocussions.

a page of rage’s inverse would be a thief of hope, one who takes hope/plausibility for themself. as molly’s arc has been more or less completely positive as shown in-canon, there isn’t much textual evidence for if things were to go south and result in inversion. however, if molly were to be without the support system she has in-canon, it’s entirely plausible that a point would come where molly decides all at once, “i’m tired of being nice. i’m going to go off the shits.” and picked up an unhealthy outlet for the frustrations she goes through daily-- instead of waiting and accepting whatever comes to her, she may decide that, if she is not going to get the respect and happiness she deserved, she would just have to find some other way to get people to take her seriously. but it’s a good thing that didn’t happen. :)

Giovanni: Rogue of Blood

rogues are a passive distribution class. they invite the theft of or through their aspect, distributing it for the good of their allies. as an aspect, blood has to deal with bonds, realism, stability. blood players tend to thrive with close relationships with others-- and do wonderfully in leadership roles. in short, a rogue of blood would be able to shift the bonds of their teammates for the benefit of everybody. invite the theft of blood or through blood.

giovanni is another more or less positive example of a classpect! after all, he seems to be taking the leadership deal to heart, and very well at that! but there’s always more to be learned when it comes to classpecting. giovanni, when we first meet him, introduces himself as some big bad supervillain, complete with a squad of minions to do his bidding. but very quickly, that facade is broken to show someone who cares deeply about those who are under his wing-- and someone who would do a whole lot just to keep them safe. even though he’d only just met molly, he was willing to charge into danger to protect her! he forges these bonds incredibly easily-- and it is these bonds that help push him forward.

though, there is one thing that’s worth mentioning as well: giovanni’s “worst fear.” when sylvie uses nightmare fuel a second time, the bears they set to protect fort cool guy turn on them-- and it’s obviously not molly’s fear, as we know full well what that is. it must’ve been giovanni’s. and while this could have just been something played for jokes, it’s obvious that giovanni had some form of attachment to them, no matter how menial. (”plus, these guys are like... our guardians! they’re part of the banzai blasters too!”) which raises the thought: giovanni’s fear could have been people he trusted turning on him. and if we were to step a bit further into it, it could even be that its because of his own perceived wrongdoings. (”i should’ve been promoted to staff sergeant bear ages ago!”)

but that’s enough reading into joke lines. now it’s character development time. rogues tend to deal with learning how to control their emotions and becoming more independent. looking into the redwood arc (episode 5,) it looks like giovanni is already making steps in that direction! after learning of the banzai blasters being General Jerks, he decides to follow his own path. though the emotional control portion of this hasn’t made itself evident in canon yet, it is very clear that giovanni can be a bit impulsive with the way that he makes decisions and forms opinions, (”but i wanna hit him...”) so an arc with that theme isn’t entirely out of the question.

and then, inversion. the inverse of a rogue of blood is a knight of breath. one who protects/protects using freedom, movement, and adaptability. which, on its own, doesn’t sound like a bad thing. but should something bad enough happen that would cause giovanni to move away from his core aspect, things could get a little dicey. for example, if the bonds that he forged were to break for whatever reason, he would likely respond by leaning into a lone wolf ideology, rather than working back towards things in a healthy way. which would seem fine enough at first, but not having a support system like he has for most of his arc would be incredibly harmful without outside intervention. though again, it isn’t very likely, considering the fact that his arc seems to be moving in a quite positive direction. so there’s no need to worry about it. :)

Sylvie: Prince of Mind

princes are an active destruction class. they destroy their aspect, or through their aspect. mind, as an aspect, is pretty simple. it ties to thought, logic, and choices. princes usually tend to display traits of their opposite aspect, and a lot of their journey has to deal with not destroying themselves along their path.

now, in the beginning of sylvie’s arc, he’s already pretty set in logic. his entire approach to most things is logical, in all honesty! as such, we don’t exactly have an example of “ghosting” an opposite aspect. he’s already grown past that point! though, it’s incredibly likely that it were to have manifested pre-canon, but that’s not exactly information that we have. however, the the main root of being a prince of mind is incredibly apparent. not only does he incite destruction using mind in the form of strategizing, but he is also able to destroy mind by seeing through fallacies in logic. or well, he tries to anyway. he always seems to be cut short in one way or another.

now is where things start to get interesting. sylvie’s arc isn’t as positive as the other two. in fact, it full well could’ve gone south were it not for the museum arc. a prince of mind is incredibly vulnerable to destroying themself along their development-- which is actually plausible in this case. sylvie could have full well leaned completely into the apathetic and analytical side of his title-- completely ostracizing himself from others and in turn, isolating himself due to his reliance on his aspect. (”kid, do you have any friends?” “[proudly] no.”) however, in being forced to work with others (and even care for them, even if he wouldn’t admit it at first,) he was able to start making steps in the right direction.

princes, as a class, tend to have to learn to be less image-focused and narcissistic to reach their full potential. and well, that definitely needs work from what we’ve seen in-canon. he puts incredible value on the way people see him ("i'm not a kid." "doctor yo-yo. i’m a psychologist.") and should things go well, he'll start to put less and less importance on the way he is seen and rather on what he does. mind, on the other hand, pushes the user to not see themself as higher/lower than someone else due to intelligence and to keep everyone informed. and again, a pretty big part of his personality ("like i'd ever team up with criminal scum like you." "i've never been secure in my life!") and should his arc move in a positive direction, he'd gain a more healthy outlook on things rather than jumping to conclusions based on perceived intelligence alone.

as for classpect inversion, sylvie is a bit of an interesting case. the inverse of a prince of mind would be a sylph of heart-- one that meddles/cleans up heart/soul/emotions. and well, that doesn’t seem like a very bad thing at all, now does it? but no title is inherently good or bad. for example, to be pushed into an inversion scenario, sylvie could decide that he was tired of not being taken seriously and give up, rather than utilizing rationality and logic as a means to an end, he could give up that front entirely and shift into incredibly personal passive-aggressiveness, prodding others in a different direction via irrational complaints. in a way, he’s shown hints of this before during his first interactions with giovanni and molly-- rather than finding genuine reasons for his distrust, he pinned his lack of cooperation on the fact that they were “criminals.” meddling through heart.

Indus: Heir of Heart

indus was... difficult, admittedly! heirs are a passive manipulation class. they invite the change of/through their aspect. they tend to naturally gravitate to their aspect, and it changes them as much as they change it. his aspect, heart, deals with heart, emotion, and soul. it is inherent bias in the personal.

indus is actually a very good example of a heart player! his entire character revolves around honor and devotion. he set his heart to being a bodyguard, and that is the thing that he is going to do! even if it involves breaking a few laws in the process! and it’s not just the dedication to the task as a concept-- he’s also grown attached to mera as a person as well! though, the full effects his full title has yet to truly come to light. considering the one person he’s near enough to influence, it may be a bit of a tall task. all in all, however, an heir of heart would be very in-touch with their own wants/needs, and are very good at adapting as these things change.

one major hurdle of heirs is their malleability. a big challenge of being an heir is their vulnerability to influence. with indus, this manifests itself in the form of gullibility. he’s very prone to just accepting what people tell him as the truth. (”now we’ve got who knows how many thieves running around the museum!” “ten hundred i hear!”) he believes in people wholeheartedly! he doesn’t really function using logic much at all-- which makes his interaction with sylvie in episode three incredibly interesting. and by interesting i mean hysterical. sylvie and indus have opposite aspects-- mind vs heart. sylvie was full well ready to charge into a battle of wits, and began charting outcomes that could happen-- but indus didn’t have any of that. he believed sylvie from the start! after all, he said he would help, so obviously that’s the only thing he would be doing! there was no ‘mind’ to be destroyed. which lead to sylvie kind of clumsily stumbling over a nonexistent threat.

interactions aside though, there are other things he would deal with through his title. the heir’s challenge is to learn to communicate and work with others to get things done. heart players, on the other hand, have to learn how to strike a balance between being sensitive to their emotions and controlling them. all in all, this may manifest itself in an arc of re-evaluating his own values, and finding a course to stick with- whether that takes the form of finding a new path to follow or continuing along the current one with an extra step of self-assuredness. admittedly, this portion is a bit shaky without a bit more character details. where is the forbidden boy content. I Would Like To See It.

indus’ inverse would be a mage of mind-- one who understands and understands using mind, or logic, smarts, and choices. im gonna be frank with yall. i have no idea how this would manifest. partially because we don’t have much in-depth info on indus as a character, but also because thinking about indus being sad makes me sad. so ive elected not to. good day.

Mera: Mage of Doom

now we’re getting spicy. mages are an active understanding class. they understand and understand using their aspect-- they know every part of their aspect, the goods and the bads. doom, as an aspect, deals with decay, negativity, and hurt. a sad aspect, but with it comes wisdom, acceptance, and the understanding of limits.

now, right off the bat, mera is an extremely good example of a doom player. living constantly with the downsides of her epithet very easily falls into this role-- she’s no stranger to it. in fact, she knows it well from the very beginning. and this is where her class comes into play: her desire to understand it. to learn ways around the downsides, how to utilize it more effectively, to master full control of it. after all, she did spend multiple years specifically honing that skill. but well, it didn’t exactly go well.

mera is... a less than positive example of classpect development. mages as a classpect are an understanding class-- they’re meant to inform the team with their innate understanding of their aspect. however, mera isn’t exactly a team player. in fact, she’s incredibly anti-social, going so far as to even push away any outside presences in favor of being by herself. (see: mera ignoring molly’s attempts to empathize, insisting that indus was nothing more than an asset despite it being quite clear that she thinks otherwise.) she’s more or less resigned herself to her ideology, ignoring any attempts to show her otherwise in her ambition.

mages are intended to realize their own skills without being caught up in self-depreciation. and at first, it seems as though she has a pretty good handle on this part! though, while she is confident in her skills regarding her epithet, she is also well aware of its downsides. she’s likely had to change her entire lifestyle to go around it. so while she does have an amount of confidence, there is almost certainly some amount of tentativeness on her end regarding certain things. doom, on the other hand, is meant to teach the user how to split their time between others and themself. this one's big. right now where her arc stands, she's not giving much time to... well, anyone else at all. shes incredibly isolated and self-centered. she has better things to do. and that's something that her arc is really going to push limits on. and well, judging from the last time she’s seen in-canon, her arc may be going a bit south. which brings in: inversion.

the inverse of a mage of doom is an heir of life-- one who passively manipulates and manipulates through life, growth, and energy. another classpect that seems overwhelmingly positive. however, if pushed into an inversion scenario, mera would likely turn to trying to take control of her situation by force. realizing that the reality that she’s in won’t make room for her, she would try to make that room herself by manipulating the lives and energy of others. and well... it seems as though that’s already happened. not only does she have an ability that lets her transfer stamina from others to herself, the entirety of the museum arc was centered around her attempts to manipulate things in her favor. should things not make a drastic turn soon, chances are that her arc will end... less than ideally. here’s hoping.

Percy: Knight of Life

knights are an active protection class! they protect and protect using their aspect. quite straightforward! her aspect, life, has ties with life, growth, and energy. they tend to present themselves as reliable towards those they trust, while hiding the rest of themselves through one outlet or another.

considering percy’s line of work, her classpect isn’t really very shocking. her entire deal is protecting other people-- even at the cost of her own wellbeing. in fact, knights are very likely to overwork themselves, and percy (with her single star in stamina) is certainly no exception. even when being at the very end of her rope, she pushes on in order to complete her task. an officer of the law can never stop until the job is done, of course.

life players are incredibly rooted in growth and progress-- they strive to ensure that they and the things they care about are the best that they can be! and, while there is no specific in-canon example, percy is likely not exempt to this optimism. this is evident in her health-centric attitude (eats the same breakfast every day at 6am- a slice of bread and a glass of water) and her lawful attitude (”everyone knows the coolest thing to be... is an upright citizen.”). she wants to work for the betterment of the public, and she is determined.

knights, as a class, are meant to step out from behind the mask they put up and stand with their friends. this can mean many things for many different people, but for percy, it may manifest as no longer putting up a hypercompetent front and accepting help when she needs it. she has a bit of a tendency to march forward on her own, no matter the risk for herself. life players tend to have to learn to balance their energy output-- not putting in too much or too little. percy, as of right now, tends to put in more energy than she has to spare; and oftentimes far more often than is healthy. all in all, accepting the fact that other people can lend a hand rather than putting in all the effort herself would be a step in the right direction.

the inverse of a knight of life would be a rogue of doom-- one who invites the theft of or through their aspect. this is another case of there not being enough canon info to discern an outcome. or maybe i just haven’t thought of it yet! mysteries upon mysteries. i have been writing for hours. feel free to play in this space i guess.

Ramsey: Sylph of Breath

okay, gonna pretense this one by saying that pinning down ramsey’s was incredibly difficult. guess that’s partially why i settled for a breath player. that aside though, sylphs are a passive creation class! they invite the creation of/through their aspect! breath, as an aspect, has to do with wind, freedom, and individuality.

now admittedly, we don’t know a lot about ramsey from a backstory standfront. most of what we know of him is from a very present-tense point of view! there are, however, a few hints as to what his story could be. for example, we know that he’s swindled a very nonzero amount of money from multiple companies. despite that, his office seems to be pretty basic, even dingy from an outside perspective. so, we'll be functioning on a handful of headcanons: first, he likely didn't have a very stable early life, which heavily shifted his worldview. second, he doesnt actually keep the money he swindles, rather, he donates them to either various charities or people in need. after all, he's more han familiar with that struggle.

those headcanons in mind, it'll be a lot easier to pin down his classpect. for example, sylphs tend to work for the benefit of the things they hold as important, regardless of how others are to view their means. which tracks, seeing ramseys entire line of business. secondly, sylphs are an excellent supporting role-- especially when paired with the aspect breath. theyre prone to meddle where they can, giving morale boosts to their allies. ramsey seems to fall into this aspect as well, as he grows genuinely concerned for people he's known a relatively short amount of time, offering assistance for his own purposes at first, as seen with his assissting of percy. however, it shifts into a genuine desire to help within a day of them knowing each other. a slightly smaller but prominent trait is a common thread with breath players: evaisiveness. ramsey seems to be incredibly used to being on the move, and is quite difficult to pin down quickly. this could also tie into an unstable background environment, needing to be ready to hit the road at a moments notice. but i digress.

sylphs, as a class, are meant to learn that they have an influence on reality and, using that knowledge, healing. this shows promise for a future arc-- perhaps ramsey, after seeing the situation he's now in after episode 7, realizes that he now has a hand in the processes of the law. perhaps then, he could use that influence to try and mend the system as best he can with his limited influence-- or at least make it easier for those just trying to get by. alternatively, he could continue along the route he always had been, following a more internal arc of realizing that his actions mean things to people, and using that to get over an internal value of self worth. breath players are meant to learn to be assertive and not fall into being either too aggressive or too passive. this is also a difficult topic to tackle without more canon information, but it could manifest as ramsey taking a more active role in following his ideals, rather than sticking to a "this is the way things are" mentality. but we'll just have to wait and see.

finally, inversion. the inverse of a sylph of breath is a prince of blood. one who destroys or destroys using blood, the aspect of bonds, realism, or stability. which, frankly, is scary! this is another section i'm gonna pass on for now though-- mostly for the lack of concrete information, partially for the fact that ramseys character is incredibly hard for me to get a proper handle on. honestly im not super confident in his title, but it'll do for now.

Zora: Maid of Time

last one boys, how are we holdin up? zora! maid of time. maids are an actuve creation class-- they create time, and they create by using time. and time has to do with. well, guess. at the same time though, it has a very close tie with death and inevitability. so all in all, pretty obvious.

now, it is a bit curious that i assigned her a creation class. after all, she isn't very... healer-esque. but it's never wise to underestimate a healer class. after all, what happens to something with an overabundance of time? well, it'd decay off into nothing. and well, isn't that just her specialty? not to mention, titles are meant to challenge the user into being the best that they can be. and zora... has a ways to go. but should she choose to actively work together towards a task, things would be a lot different. maids are oftentimes held back by their aspect at first, and are intended to break free from that influence and forge their own path-- without rejecting their aspect entirely. with their newfoind control of their aspect, they are meant to find a balance between pushing it away and pulling it close. and considering the small bits we know about zora's backstory... it's interesting, to say the least.

maids, as a class, are meant to stop being as self-centered and provide/care for others. and well. zora... doesnt do much of that at all! in fact, probably the polar opposite! shes self-aggrandizing, she doesnt give a singular shit about most other people. (she probably even denies caring about anyone at all-- but we'll see about that ms salazar.) and while she isnt wrong about most of what she says about herself in terms of skill, it's... not that great from a player standpoint!

time players, on the other hand, have to grow and learn to be less dependent/independent. and zora is a huge example of the latter. we never got the chance to see in canon, but i wouldnt doubt that she outright refuses to get help-- even if she really needs it. she'd rather tough it out alone than reach out to someone else. and time players have to learn to find that balance without tipping the metaphorical scales. and well, im not quite sure if we'll be there to see it! so let's just talk inversion.

the inverse of a maid of time would be a bard of space-- inviting the destruction of/destruction through space. space meaning literal space, but also creation, matter, and, furthermore, the universe itself. here's where i go full into sburb talk-- i apologize, i held it off as long as i could. but its necessary for one scenario specifically. if things go terribly south with zora's arc, she could quite literally become a threat to the entire session-- but not actively, no. rather, through her role as a maid of time, she could get cocky. she could challenge something far more than what she could handle, gaining the attention of something that not even the players together can overcome. or, through her own hubris, she could deny assistence far enough to fuck up something royally, and never tell anyone on the assumption that she could fix it. inviting the destruction of sburb through her actions. she's not there yet-- but it'd be wise to keep an eye on her.

Source List:

[those with multiple instances used will link to a general area of the source.]

> Class/Aspect Challenges

> General Classpect Info

> General Class Info (See results list for full information on each)

> Inversion List

#piktalk #ee #hs #im so got danm tired nyall yall wouldnt BELIEVE #so much of this was so hard but yknow. we b fixatin #anyway this is prolly riddled with mistakes but its fine im in the middle of moving and im TIREDT #send an ask or smthn if u want clarification id b more than happy to explain lichrally anythin!!

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nep-moved · 4 years

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lotsa nyall don't know Iothric so here is my overly long post in which i tell u abt him 👁👁

i'm bad at talking nd idk how 2 start this off but here we go fjdjsk. i will be leavin out lotsa stuff abt the game bc i am just here 2 talk abt my husband gjfjsk

the game describes everythin so vaguely so forgive me if this this part sounds confusing but: in dark souIs there's this thing called the first flame !! it brought the age of fire, nd it was a v prosperous time nd bred lotsa nations !! before the age of fire was the age of ancients; the world was unformed nd not much existed there.

to keep the first flame going nd therefore keep the world from returning to that time of darkness, a rly powerful soul has 2 be given to the flame to keep it goin fr a while. lord gwyn was the first one 2 sacrifice himself to the flame (( he's also gwyndoIin's awful dad but this ain't abt him )) but ye. as time goes on there's more and more sacrifice needed to keep the flame alive.

in the time of dark souIs 3, Iothric's family wanted 2 create a child so strong they'd be the perfect person to link the flame. but they couldn't have a child like that naturally, so they resorted to 'unspeakable means' and that's all the game tells u gjfjsk. i'm not sure if i wanna know what they did BUT as a result of it, Iothric was born cursed. he was supposed 2 be a champion so strong he could link the fire but ALAS he was weak nd had v frail health, nd he didn't grow much, as an adult he could still wear his swaddling as robes, nd it's the only thing he's ever worn. why didn't nyall giv this boy some fuckign CLOTHES ffs.

but also can i gush a bit 🥺🥺 pls lookit him i think he's v cute despite his resting bitch face gjfjsk. also he looks like he rly needs a nap.. ME TOO c'mere let's snuggle.

nd pls note i say "despite" him always lookin grumpy but i lov that abt him gjfjdk

nd i'm sure nyall hav heard me talk abt his voice lots nd how much i adore it gjdjk. so pwease listen 2 him if u haven't his voice is SO preddy i am in lov nd i swoon whenever i hear it gjfjdk

NYWAYS !! Iothric has an older brother named Iorian !! the game never states why, but he decided to share Iothric's curse. a lot of ppl think it was 2 help ease his suffering which is 🥺🥺🥺 but nyways !! the curse left Iorian mute and unable to stand, nd their souls were nearly inseparable bc of the curse; they could nearly meld together. but it's said they're also nearly inseparable in kinship !! which u can tell bc Iorian obviously cares a lot fr Iothric nd givs up everything in order 2 protect him ;w;

eventually Iothric decided he didn't want to link the fire. we don't know exactly why but alas. him doing this sorta makes him the main antagonist of the game?? bc if he just linked the flame none of this shit would be happenin but LISTEN he is not bad ok. i don't blame him fr not wantin 2 do it, he had no say in it he was destined to from birth :(( it's v understandable that he doesn't wanna burn esp when ppl are tryna force him to fjdjsk. nyways him nd Iorian decided to hide far away nd just. wait for the fire to fade.

many ppl have attempted to come and kill them, but ofc they haven't succeeded gjfjsk. the ashen one, the character u play as, has to (( among lotsa other things but i am here 2 talk abt Iothric not the whole story of the game )) find nd kill him. him nd Iorian are the last boss u face before the Final Battle™️. so lemme talk abt their boss fight 👀

when u start off the fight Iothric's way up on his bed where u can't get to him, but this ain't an issue since he doesn't attack gjfjdk. just Iorian does, nd since he can't use his legs Iothric helps by teleporting him around the room !! when u kill Iorian, Iothric teleports down nd revives Iorian !! then he clings onto his back, nd that suggests he's too weak 2 walk :(( nyways during the second part of the fight u still gotta deal w Iorian but now Iothric's on his back shooting magic at u gjfjdk.

a v interesting thing abt that !! he can use RLY powerful magic, if being able 2 bring his brother back from the dead didn't already tell u that gjdksk. nd he does it all w/o a catalyst !! it's not said why he doesn't need one, but it's impressive bc even gods like gwyndoIin need one to cast spells but Iothric can do it w his bare hands just.. bc he wants to i guess JFDJK. either way i'm v proud of u sweetie !! nd remember when i said his soul's intertwined w Iorian's?? yea bc of that Iorian can't truly die unless Iothric does as well, so if u don't kill Iothric he'll just keep reviving his brother gjfjsk. but when Iothric dies Iorian also does immediately :((

there are multiple endings in the game nd in one of em u don't even hav 2 link the fire, but ur still required to kill Iothric nd Iorian?? why?? fr context in the game ur told 2 kill Iothric so u can go link the flame urself since he won't gjdjsk. but if ur not gonna link the fire?? why do i still hav 2 kill them?? i hate u fromsoft fjdjsk neither of them deserve this.

OOH can i talk abt this other thing 👁👁 i've been meaning 2 but never hav gjdjdk. OK SO !!! when i said Iothric was meant 2 be a champion nd all that, he was also expected 2 wield a special platinum sword !! but bc of his poor health he couldn't do that. nyways originally he was supposed 2 wield a scythe !! the sexiest of all weapons 👀

in conclusion...

its fuckign BIG so there's no way he'd be able 2 wield this if he couldn't do the same w that tiny sword gjdjsk but !! i always think how cool it'd be to see him use it in the fight... alas that will never happen gjdjsk 😔😔 NO MATTER i am happy enough seein him cast his pretty magic..

so uh. i think that's it?? unfortunately we do not get 2 know anythin abt him personally ;(( at least we have headcanons gjfjsk i hav many~

i lov my husband SO much he's brought me sm happiness.. nd i hope i can giv him plenty in return ;; he's been thru sm nd he only deserves the best jgdjkd i just want him 2 be happy nd safe :(( i Also lov my big brother Iorian w all my heart nd he Also deserves only the best !! both these boys r so good pls appreciate them

#i typed this at 3 AM apologies fr any typos nd. stiff that doesn't make the most sense GJDJSK #but here it is !!#shoutout if u actually read this #👑; ʟᴏᴛʜʀɪᴄ #nep gushes #this is the ultimate gush post FJDJAK

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mesmir-ized · 4 years

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happy valentine’s day nyall !

year three of making the same joke ! anyways, hope nyall like it & have a lovely valentine’s day/Friday ! per usual, musical & historical versions, depending on which one your secret gay lover prefers ! on that note, for those of nyall who don’t know, this is almost directly ripped from a letter from Mr Hamilton to Mr Laurens ! he was talking about how upset he is and how John is the only good thing in his life ! not as funny now that i think about it :( ah anyways ! hope y’all like it ! sending nyall lots of love !!!!!!

#hamilton: an american musical #alexander hamilton #hamart #chibi #artists on tumblr #mir.art

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nyllae-shiverflame · 5 years

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On Three

By the time the lang of the lock opening came, Nyllae had already ducked behind the door. When the shimmy of the knob came and the face swung open, she waited. …3….2…

The person stepped forward to inspect the empty room and the moment a low: “Fuck” was muttered, the Mage stepped forward grabbing the person from behind, hand clasped to their mouth and a well placed set of prongs from a fork was jabbed towards their jugular, “Scream and I will make sure you bleed out through more than one hole.” With a firm hold, Nyllae’s boot inched back and the door slowly closed. When the click was heard, she leaned in towards the ear of the servant, “I have questions and you are going to answer them to the best of your ability. If you scream, I will sever every cord in your throat until your only words are gurgles and grunts. Not even eating through a straw will be a means to sate your stomach. I have killed people in the past --” “Nod if you understand.” Nyllae whispered and then came a small nod from the man which spurred Nyllae to removed her fingers from over his mouth, one by one and she curled the crook of her arm around his front and throat in loose favor.

“Where is the Lord Starscythe.” “Out, millady.” “Where exactly?” “N-no one knows. He comes and goes as of late without explanation.” “And Macelius, has he been around?” “Not lately but Cerovel and Herl-- ah!” The servant jumped with the prongs of the fork pressed deeper towards his throat.

“What of them.” “They’re keeping a prisoner. They come and go several times a day. Even had me attend to him.” “Him?”

A nod was made from the man within her grasp and Nyllae tightened her hold but just enough to where he could talk, “Some woodsy lookin’ lad that they brought in. I don’t know what he looks like much with the beatings. I go in and offer him draughts and potions once or twice a day.”

“Where?” “The dungeon within the estate. You need keys to even get down there and it is guarded.” “Of course it is. These manacles, can you get them off?” “I can with a spell but the master would have my head if I --” “I don’t think you realize how much of a kabob your esophagus and sinew is about to become, my friend.”

“R-right… I’ll uh…” he lifted a hand to point towards the shackles that kept her hands warded from all forms of magic.

Without preamble she situated her wrist close enough without taking the fork far from its target. With a low incantation from the servant, the click of the manacles sprang and Nyllae pushed the man forward from her person. He certainly didn’t look armed.

While he turned about she shimmied the shackles from her wrists which already bore marks from them being heavy against her flesh for days, “He’ll kill him if you defy him and even worse -- he will cut down everything you have attachment to.”

“Not if I beat him to it.” Nyalle spoke out with confidence and as soon as her words left her, so did a flash of Arcane and the man who stood before her had swiftly been reduced to a simple cat, “No hard feelings, kid.” she added and stepping outside of the room she closed the door. A polymorph could last a good while but she wasn’t going to leave it up to chance for the cat to be released.

Now that she had her magic, she might have a need for more.

Quickly making her way from the rooms and down the spiral stone staircase, she crossed the dining hall but not before tugging free the steel sword perched above the mantle. It seemed to be a weighty weapon which would have to do. It took some time in avoiding any unwanted glances and attention but she had finally found the large doors leading below. Of course there was a lock upon the handles, barring access but for a well seasoned mage and battle hardened woman it wasn’t too much of a task. Taking the heavy lock in hand, she muttered two incantations which eventually yielded results when the curve of the lock released from the mechanism. At the top of the stairs she held a flicker of both fear and hope within her as she held the sword low and quietly descended the stairs.

[ To be Continued…]

#Blurbs #Family things #Of roses and quivers #Nyllae #Amorthon #Shiverflame and Blackwood

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dullanyan · 5 years

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awwrighty nyall ive done one of these like every year since 2015 so time for !!!

2018 year in review!!

why was this year so long. jeez

but also it was SO fast...

i think overall, for me, it was a rly good year!! 2018, however, was not kind to a lot of my pals and i Do Not Appreciate that. i rly rly hope 2019 will be kind to you all aaaa!!! pls stay strong!!!

so for me personally, it was pretty nice!! (which, after saying stuff abt how it wasnt for my friends, i FEEL RLY BAD LIKE “oh yea it sucked for them but i had fun!!” I DONT MEAN IT LIKE THAT I PROMISE AAAA

obvious highlight of this year??

MY ANGEL BABY DARLING PRECIOUS PUDDIN POP!!!!!

i knew i was gonna get a dog at some point in 2018 and aaah i got the perfect lil baby!!! shes barky and bites a lot and only loves 5 people but i happen to be one of them so im very thankful for that!!

also for my other kids

ive gotten even more, because i have no impulse control... but theyre all doing really well!! i hope they grow even more in 2019!! i may have to re-pot some but thats ok!!

i think ive definitely improved in my art this year, since ive been forcing myself to ACTUALLY draw hands hnfdjkhnjdfk

2017^

2018^ !!!

ive still got a lot more practice to do, definitely on different poses, more diverse expressions, etc etc!!

im hoping to get fit a little, i always want to lose weight and usually that doesnt work out for me... so instead, i’ll focus on exercising more!! and eating less junk and more healthy stuff, but u know!!

im 1 year onto my anxiety meds, ive made a ton of new pals and gotten closer to old ones, i went to my first concert!!! ive got plans for conventions in 2019, we’re gonna get animal crossing for switch and possibly pokemon gen 8, i really hope that 2019 will be as great as its building up to be!!

and i hope its a calm, if not good year for all of my friends, especially those who had a shitty 2018. i hope all the drama and chaos will fade away, slowly but surely, and that you can feel at peace as much as possible.

anyways, thats it for my long ramble. lets go, 2019, lets be a great year for all my friends and myself!!!

#this year in review #mawcie.txt #dogs #u dont have to read this its just personal ramblings!!#pls like if u do read it tho!!

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glixas · 6 years

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Dev Update #2

HEY NYALL, I’m back from Italy and am back to working on the game again. I’ve got a couple things to share!

Mechanics

While the game plays out like a standard visual novel, I’d still like to talk abt the mechanics (partially bcs i think it’s necessary, partially bcs im proud of them lol). The actions you choose influence the story in two ways. Story branch options have a more direct influence - they’re more about your reactions to situations than to Degris. The affection level choices, of course, affect how much he likes you! If you manage to pick all the right choices and max out Degris’s affection, you’ll unlock one of 3 good endings, depending on the route you choose!

Release Date

As we get closer to the promised time frame, I think it’s necessary to put an official release date to this project. For maximum quality and plenty of time for the playtesters, the game will officially release September 22nd, 6 PM EST. I hope you’re all ready!

Itch.io

Degris Simulator now has a live Itch.io page! When the game is released, it will be able to be downloaded here. Playtesters will also be able to use a key to download the game early once the beta becomes available. Any Dev updates made here from now on will also be added to itch.io, so you have two ways to check it out now!

Thanks yall, I’ll be keeping in touch <3

#dev update #degris simulator #fantroll #hs #hiveswap #homestuck #degris #mun.txt

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korishisector · 4 years

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Trial 1 Summary Post

All posts from the first trial will be contained beneath the Read More:

MICHAEL:

He hadn't been present for any part of the investigation. He'd been MIA the entire time -- as soon as he'd seen Chizuru's body, Michael had dipped almost immediately, and had only now decided to make a reappearance. His fursuit head betrays no emotions, and his posture is only slightly more slumped than usually as he quietly walks into the trial room and stands at his assigned seat without a word. Whatever's going through his head right now is difficult to tell, if there's even anything at all.

RURIRA:

When Rurira walks in, she’s trailing behind Desmond, Nana, and Miyu, holding herself in a tight grip as she begins shivering in the cool air of the concrete room. She’s looking worse than she usually does— mumbling incoherent words with a couple of clear mentions of their now-deceased classmate; one of Rurira’s closer (if only) friends she’s made over the past year. As soon as she’s standing at her miamikuma-assigned lectern, she starts to look her classmates over, gaze travelling as she mutters, most likely only loud enough for Sumiko and Nana to hear: ”...cleaned up Chizuru’s room. Where was everyone during investigation, we should figure out...” before her voice trails off again. She wipes some cold sweat off her forehead with the back of her bare hand, and pulls up her facemask over her mouth nervously.

IYASA:

A trial… None of this should have been happening. Iyasa knew that much as he stepped into the elevator, brushing off some of the ash and char that had accumulated on his once-polished shoes. A shower was one of the last things on his mind, despite smelling like a walking ashtray. He was their chaperone—one of them, anyway—and he should have been more attentive. If he had just been smarter, stronger, better… He shook his head free of such thoughts. He did what he could. He just had to hope it was enough. As Iyasa took his place at his podium, his eye trailed over the faces of everyone else in the room. His expression matched their own—sorrowful, nervous, uncertain. He wanted nothing more right now than to be free of all of this—well, for him and the underclassmen to be free of it. But there was nothing he could do except stand and wait for the evidence to come in. He could contribute so little, he had to hope it would be enough. Enough for what? A “successful” punishment? Hardly worth it. He cleared his throat and tried to offer a reassuring smile to the underclassmen, but it came out as more of a grimace than anything else. With a deep breath to calm himself, he continued to survey the others—hoping against hope that someone had found something, anything helpful.

NANA

Nana, despite it all, could walk in with her usual lazy smile and a bit of pep in her step. She had come in with Miyu, Desmond, and Rurira and was even able to follow Rurira to their assigned stations. "Ohoho? Using language such as 'punishment'? That's vague enough but that doesn't really get to the truth of things. Should I be the one to tell everyone that the one with the most votes gets-- Ah." She was ready to talk and spill but... Nana closed her mouth before she could continue, hearing her more nervous neighbor speak. "Tsuru-san said she cleaned up Madaraki's room. She also asked where was everyone during investigation so we could figure out... Nya know, what everynyan knows and solve this whole murder deal." She gave a thumbs up to Rurira, now assigning herself as the other's speaker-- There were some good things about being a loudmouth. "Ah, but if nyall have something meow-r (more) you'd like to talk about, I'm all ears~!"

LAURENCE:

Laurence approached their podium with shaky legs and a big nervous smile. They hadn't said anything, their eyes darting around the room rapidly. It's fine. Treat this like a game. People solve murders in video games all the time. How hard could it be? Well... Very hard when you were underprepared. Not to mention that you were playing with people's lives. But knowing that would only raise the difficulty. Man... This video game metaphor thing was not working at all. Now was the time for Laurence to use their brain. That's all. Just breathe.

DESMOND:

Entering with his group, he gives them one last look before heading to his podium. His expression is...hard to read. Giving everyone a moment to settle, Desmond nods at what Rurira said. “In addition to what Rurira asks, I’d also like everyone who wasn’t at the courtyard this morning - whether they didn’t get invited, or didn’t accept Chizuru’s invitation - to state where they were when the body was discovered.” “And if you were invited but refused to attend...I’d like to know why.”

IYASA:

"Well-" Iyasa began, using a gentle tone, "I was at the courtyard when the blast happened, and...after everyone else seemed to go chase ah...whoever that was...I remained behind and tried to stamp out the fires so they would not spread." He paused, sighing in resignation, "I remained there, with Hayashi-san and MASA-san, the three of us investigated the source of the explosion a little. I fear we did not find much, but-- ah...we can discuss that later, I suppose..."

MICHAEL:

"You guys are jumping into this...really fast. I mean, there's...something weird here." Michael speaks up after a few minutes, scratching the back of his head -- or rather, making an attempt to. "Nana talked about vague language like "punishment", but haven't we already...seen that? To the point where it's...a major issue?" He tilts his head at that, before making a lazy gesture to point at Miamikuma. "That...Californikuma file or whatever. Isn't it really half assed? I mean, the cause of death is just...organ failure. That could mean a lot of things. In, like, games and stuff, with how she was bleeding from the mouth, I would think poison or something, but...there's a reason the cause of death isn't...specific, right? Like there's something Nevadakuma's trying to...hide here. We don't even...know which or how many organs failed. And it's not like we're medical professionals...or anything." He shrugs at that, before tilting his head up to scan the room briefly. "I mean, what could be used...to cause organ failure in Chichi anyway...? Maybe she brought something like that with her herself? But she died - - really fast. From when we last saw her. And I don't think she had any wounds. Unless they're...somehow internal. We can't do that now, anyway. But -- Nebraskakuma's trying to keep things really...vague here. In terms of the cause of death. Couldn't there -- be a reason for that? Like...he probably wants to make this...difficult, or something. Considering all the. Setup. So -- maybe being more specific about Chichi's cause of death -- would make the suspect list more specific, too?" He lets the question hang in the air for a bit, before shrugging." Sorry. I'm not a detective...or anything."

RURIRA:

Rurira looks confused at Nana’s words for a moment. She shakes her head, and then nods. “I cleaned up Chizuru’s room. It was really messy, the bed was unmade and there was blood, Chizuru’s hand was bloody, she was coughing into her hand, and there was papers though Desmond cleaned those up, and all of the furniture, I made sure it was neat… why should …” Ah, if anyone found the crime scene a little more organized than initially found, looks like it was Rurira’s doing. She adjusts her mask with both hands again as she looks at her fellow classmates. ”How could anyone… here… Chizuru is our friend… Chizuru invited me to meet her.” Rurira blinks at Michael as if she’s just hearing the word ‘punishment’ for the first time. “Will… wh-what will happen to us?” She looks distressed, but after knowing Rurira for a year, no one should be surprised. CW: needles talk “Chizuru, Chizuru….” Rurira makes a gesture to showcase what she means, pretending to inject herself with a syringe into her upper left arm. “Chizuru had been injecting herself with something, yes, could she have just succumbed to her own experiments? Her own suffering?” She's mumbling nonsense again… /end cw Rurira straightens up suddenly, eyes wide and body shaking. “She’s been coughing up blood for a while now, it seems, when we check-checked her wastebin and… the hand with the… she’s been coughing up blood… there was a handprint on her bedsheets…” Rurira brings up her hands into her hair, closing her eyes. She takes a deep breath. Her thoughts are so out of order. “Mmm… Let me start over.” Take your time, Rurira. “I don’t know if she ingested something poisonous, but she’s definitely been coughing up blood due to something… the...birth conditional, maybe...” Her voice trails off there, but that makes more sense now, huh? “The… Nana, Miyu…. Desmond and I, we found a bloody smear on the West Bathroom handle, and a trail of blood going from the bathroom to Chizuru’s room. Paired with the blood in her hand, implying she’s been coughing into it, and how there was a bloody handprint on her bedsheets matching the size of it… there’s a timeline here we need to figure out.” She holds onto her podium and looks around with a shaky expression. this post is getting too long so i’ll hold off on some other things rurira might want to say so we can discuss! sorry this was two messages

MUTSUMI:

“Well, Brandt-san...” Letting a little groan escape his lips, the cracking of muscles popped against each pause of the counselor’s delivery. “... this may come to a shock given... yours and Tsuru-san’s budding acquaintanceship with the recently deceased... but Chizuru Madaraki was not the easiest to get along with...is it any wonder for the low turnout to the event, myself included?” Scratching his chin with a yawn, the ever disinterested appearance of Mutsumi was once again highlighted with droopy eyes closing. “Whatever information she was planning to divulge... her character was off putting to most, which I’m certain was a factor in this. My time sleeping in was certainly... something I appreciated more.” ... Despite the uncomfortableness of the tone Mutsumi spoke on, the counselor simply continued. “Why don’t we all... continue discussion. Brandt-san, you ran off with... what I would assume be Madaraki’s briefcase. Would you be so kind... as sharing the contents?”

DESMOND:

“While Rurira’s suggestion - that Chizuru’s death was due to her own illness - could have some merit, I have my doubts.” Desmond says, “As you pointed out senpai, I took Chizuru’s briefcase and it’s lock was forced open” Turning his attention to Mutsumi, Desmond doesn’t seem phased at all by his tone. “Before I get into all of the details, could you just clarify senpai - are you implying that you were invited, but didn’t attend, or that you weren’t invited at all?”

TSUTOMU:

Tsutomu didnt find much, A laughable attempt at investigation had yielded little in the way of evidence so they listened. Tsutomu was good at that in fact. Listening to his classmates go round and round, having Isaya vouch for their findings meant Tsutomu didnt need to draw attention. And yet he was as always piecing things together like it was a puzzle. A direct solution to an otheriwise complex set of clues and misdirection. "Excuse me, just so im clear as to what has been said so far, Chizuru's brief case was forced open but there was no sign of forced entry to her room.... where her body was found? So she wasn't running from her Killer." Tsutomu paused. "... If there was a killer. Regardless someone wanted us to find Madaraki's Body at the very least otherwise why lead us there. Which means someone knew beforehand Chizuru was dead and they forced open her brief case for.... i suppose her research, but who would benefit from knowing what Madaraki was studying?" Tsutomu's eyes glanced around the trial room, searching the faces of his classmates for a tell, something to denote guilt, or perhaps even witheld information. His own gaze remaining impassive as ever. "Anyway this is a digression, Desmond if you would be so kind as to tell what were the contents of the case?"

DESMOND:

Desmond's gaze wanders the room, meeting everyone's gaze for a moment before it settles on Chizuru’s empty podium beside him. “There was a lot of things. I went into detail about all of its contents when I was investigating with Rurira, Nana and Miyu, but I’ll try to condense it to the most important parts.” Desmond says, nodding at each of the others in turn. “Please remind me of anything if you feel like I missed something. I would also appreciate it if everyone would be understanding of the fact that, unfortunately, I cannot read any languages that use cyrillic.” “The most important thing that we were able to discern is that we were able to confirm that Chizuru was sick. And I have reason to believe that being here was likely making it worse.” “We found information about Madaraki Syndrome - an illness caused by damaged DNA that can cause immunodeficiency, predisposition to tumor development, increased chance of malformation of one or more internal organs, physical birth defects, among other things.” “The case study proposition - the document we found this information on - also noted that Ibrayeva, or IBa, Cells, a radiation damaged cancer cell, are the most dangerous part of this illness because - among other things - those cells directly attack the individual's healthy cells and will cause total organ failure. However, the document also states that creating a gene therapy vaccine has been attempted using genomes C.sphaerospermum.” “All this information is relevant because the briefcase also has several petri dishes with growths in them - one labeled C.Sphaerospermum, one labeled IBa Cells, and one labeled Modified Patient Stem Cells. The additional equipment in the briefcase - 5 syringes containing various substances - one of which is empty, please make note of that - an emergency surgical kit, along with her other notes and observations - imply that Chizuru was attempting to treat herself, but according to her notes was not succeeding. She had made note that she was feeling extremely nauseous, light headed, fatigued, had trouble breathing, had nosebleeds, intense migraines, and an overall pain rating of 9. Desmond takes a moment to pause, allowing everyone to mull over the information he had presented before continuing. “As I mentioned previously, one of the syringes was empty. In her notes, Chizuru recorded that she had injected an extra dose.” He’ll let them make the connection themselves. “The last thing I’d like to say - for now, since it is relevant - is that prior to her death, I spent some time with Chizuru, and she had significant concerns regarding the abnormal radiation levels she was recording.” “In our discussions while walking around, Chizuru told me that typically, a regular person would only be exposed to 1 millisievert of radiation a year. Absorbing that much radiation all at once is enough to pose a serious health risk. But based on her readings and observations, just being here for a week has exposed us to just under 2 millisieverts of radiation.”

After sharing this final piece of information, Desmond sighs, and for a moment looks visibly exhausted...before he returns to looking as neutral as ever. “Please let me know if there are any points you’d like me to clarify.”

SUMIKO:

Sumiko may not be smart... That's it. Despite being an incredibly modern piece of technology, her AI wasn't exactly the minds of the scientists who had created her. No, not really. To her core she was still learning about everything new. And you'd assume that a piece of technology like herself would understand science at least, but... The invention looked more and more confused as Desmond threw out fancy words. You could practically hear the gears turning in her head (literally) as she tried to keep up, confused and bewildered. She wasn't great at this murder mystery stuff, which was a shame considering how much she liked to watch detective movies. However, something clicked and she raised her hand politely.

"I wanna look at the briefcase, please!" She didn't wait to be called on and excitedly bounced up and down on her heels as she spoke, staring at Desmond. "Cause... I think I can do something! But it's a surprise, like, uhm, like in movies! And also just in case I do it wrong, kyohohoho!"

DESMOND:

"I would prefer to know regardless." Desmond replies. "I know you mean well Sumiko...but at this point I don't think that a surprise is something we'd be comfortable with..."

SUMIKO:

She frowns. "But Dessie! I just want to look at it! And if I can't actually figure it out I'll be super embarrassed!" She pouted. "Please? I promise I won't let you down!"

DESMOND:

"You won't let us down." Desmond assures her. "But please Sumiko. I think that it'd be best if we know what you're planning. Do you all agree?" He asks, turning his attention to the rest of the room."

IYASA:

Iyasa clears his throat and looks toward Desmond with a soft, reassuring smile (as good as he can muster, anyway). "Perhaps you can hold the contents of the briefcase to show her, if you are concerned with damages of some kind...? It seems ill-advised to withhold evidence if she can potentially offer some insight...right?"

SUMIKO:

"Aaawawawaa, don't get everyone else to agree with you!" She wailed, holding her head. "I just want to try and translate, that's all! I know a bunch of languages and codes!" She was sulking now, upset that her cool entrance was being dunked on.

DESMOND:

Desmond smiles at Sumiko, looking fond. "I appreciate you telling me Sumiko. Was there anything in particular you wanted to look at?" He asks. "The cyrillic text can be found on the front plaque of the briefcase, in some of the binders, and on the syringes. There is also a voice recorder, with a recording that I do not understand"

SUMIKO:

"All of it, please!" She holds her hands out expectantly, beaming from ear to ear. She was actually pretty excited to have a look at everything, that excitement only multiplying at Desmond's fond expression. "Just leave it to me!"

Sumiko took the case from Desmond, picking up the writing first and reading it over. Her smile slowly starts to fade as her pupils dilate much like a camera lens, flicking through the binder. She slowly moves to the recording, letting it play as her mechanics whirred gently. Her expression changes a few times as it continues and she closed her eyes for a few seconds as it ends. For a moment she's completely silent, processing everything she just read and heard. Then, her head lowers.

"..." Her voice glitches out a few times, almost like she's stammering as she tries to figure out how to phrase everything. "... It's not important to the case, I don't think, but... I think she did have the disease for sure. I think. Maybe. It doesn't say for certain, just..." She shakes her head, a gentle whimper escaping the robot as she slowly folded into a crouching position behind her podium.

"Uhm. The syringes say... 'Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Thursday'. Three of the full ones read Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, have a muddy red/yellow substance inside. The one which is mostly empty, with only a small amount of clear liquid inside, reads Thursday. But the sticker is wrong on Thursday. The rest of the stickers are perfect." She goes silent again, sullen and not even celebrating her help. "... Please don't ask me to repeat the recording or the binder. I don't wanna." She quickly adds, burying her face in her hands.

IYASA:

Despite his apprehension during the trial, Iyasa remained attentive during the surprisingly long lists of findings that others were bringing forward. Watching Sumiko's reaction to what she heard and read, he frowned slightly. "I'm...I admit, I'm rather confused. If I can...attempt to summarize..." he took a breath, "So...Madaraki-san was sick, terribly so...she kept her research regarding that sickness in her briefcase, along with medicine she created and self-administered. She...believed she had made a major discovery, hence her inviting us to the courtyard. Then, as we arrived, an explosion happened just as the meeting was scheduled to start. We saw a cloaked figure run past, presumably going to Madaraki-san's room, which had been presumably ransacked for no discernable reason. Ah...judging by the time of death, she had just...died...almost as soon as she was found...right?" He paused, looking upon the underclassmen and then toward his own classmate, "So...did she die of natural causes? Did the radiation she found worsen her symptoms to the point where her medication no longer helped...? Was she responsible for the explosion, was she the cloaked figure? If not, then who? And why? I...feel as though we have a great deal of evidence with no solid...understanding of what occurred. I...apologize...am I making sense? Was...she even--....was she really...murdered?"

ASH:

Ash didn't really investigate, unfortunately, but they were following along the best that they could, taking little notes in their notepad. Memory issues were horrid today. Regardless, Ash clears their throat. "... Ah... I would like to say I'm also confused... All of the syringes were the same, save for one? With a different-colored liquid inside? And that one had the 'sticker wrong'...? Are we sure this medication wasn't tampered with, in some way? I understand that she apparently used an extra dose, but... What if that was the dose that was tampered with...?" "If... That is the case, this still could very well be a murder," Ash pauses. "But if I'm missing something- And I feel like I am- You are all, ah... Free to correct me..." They do not seem very confident here, for once.

RURIRA:

After speaking, Rurira seems to zone out a bit - or a lot, actually. She’s staring blankly at the floor, not even her usual mumbled-out-loud thoughts making an appearance. She has long stopped gripping her podium and now just sways slightly in place as the conversation continues without her. It seems that despite her clocking out of the trial for a few moments, she must’ve understood what was still going on, because she pipes up at the “...Not… Not sure if any of her actual medication was tampered with from the source… in the second drawer of her dresser there were a lot of medication bottles. Many were unlabeled, and others were handwritten in - I’m assuming it was Kazakh. Of the ones in Japanese there were…” Rurira brings her hands up to start listing them off of her fingers: Midodrine, which is a medication to treat low blood pressure and anemic symptoms (hypotension). Prednisone, a medication to treat joint inflammation, immune system dysfunction, and breathing problems. Hydrocodone… heavy-duty painkillers. Rizatriptan, this is a medication to treat migraines. And… Progesterone, a hormone replacement medication.” She nods to herself, ensuring she’s correct. “Finally, there were some more medical supplies in the last drawer - hemostatic nosebleed dressings and a bronchodilator. Which is an inhaler. Next to it were a few canisters with varying names near it. This device is used to treat bronchiectasis.” “None of these items looked like they were tampered with - in fact, this dresser drawer seemed completely untouched, which was odd considering her top drawer definitely looked rifled through, like… like the rest of her room. But I'm unsure if these have anything to do with what's in the briefcase.” She thinks a little for a moment. “In one of her journals, in that first drawer, she had some entries in Japanese talking about her time here. There were pages missing, ripped out. The last one, most recent, read… something along the lines of her ‘attempting another invasive test’ and that she would need ‘a kn...kn-knife, or something of the sort.’” She looks to her classmates for help in this. She wipes some sweat off the side of her face. She seems feverish, or perhaps just really affected by the circumstances. “The… the sticker sounds like it was removed and then replaced, but… I’m not sure.” She clears her throat. “Also, I’m not sure if the cloaked figure was Chizuru - I have a feeling she may have been in the bathroom instead of the meeting, and walked from there to her room. It was only a coincidence we caught her dorm room open before it was nearly closed. It was swinging slightly, after all... She must’ve collapsed as soon as we got there.” She adjusts her face masks once more, eyebrows furrowing in worry. “Would she even have the energy to run so quickly, if she was coughing up blood? If her pain was at a level 9?” She’s shaking her head, not thinking that it’d be the case.

MUTSUMI:

“An invasive test...? About that...” With a low hum in contemplation, Mutsumi bobbed around, the hum slowly turning lyrical as the counselor slowly swung in place behind his podium. “Given the circumstances... and what has been unveiled about Chizuru Madaraki and her... shortening time limit, is it out of the question that her invasive test... was on us? Once again, it was certainly a point the deceased made... of how she felt about us.” Turning to his robotic compatriot, Mutsumi brushes away dusty locks to no avail, wispy strands falling back into place before his eyes. “Invention-san, I think it’s vital... that we learn the nature of Chizuru Madaraki’s experiments... just exactly was she attempting here? Is it anything related... to the explosive incident in the courtyard?” With a breathy sigh, Mutsumi massaged his neck. All this speaking was starting to give him a sore throat.

LAURENCE:

"Um... Uh..." Laurence decided to take this brief interlude to get some thoughts out. "I don't know... I think it's a murder after all. If there were unusually high radiation levels, then something or someone was causing them. So if that killed her, then whoever made that happen would be the killer. I think." Laurence rubs the back of their neck. "Besides, would, uh... Would Miamikuma make us do this trial for a death caused by illness?" Laurence looked over at Miamikuma. They weren't expecting the bear to weigh in, but who knows! "Also... Whoever threw that water balloon at her at the talent show should probably come forward. Just so we can confirm that isn't related to the case." Laurence hadn't forgotten that incident.

IYASA:

There were a few beats of silence as the recent questions hung in the air. It seemed that no one was willing to speak up of such things. "I...feel similarly to Morishibe-san, at least in that...I am wondering what the purpose of that explosion was, and what kind of experiment she was planning to perform. I...would not so quickly suggest that she was willing to cause us harm, but...it is not something I'm willing to discount either for at least...having some relation to what happened...I am unsure." Iyasa seemed uncomfortable to even be suggesting such a thing, causing him to look away from his classmate for a moment, muttering an apology as he realized how ill he had spoken of the dead just then. "As for...your suggestion, Laurence, as much as I want to know as well, I...doubt such a culprit would come forward now. With Madaraki-san...dead...I think...anyone would fight to hide their involvement in that sort of assault. Or else...ah...they would just put suspicion on themselves simply by virtue of having pulled such a cruel prank. Especially with a "punishment" looming...I have my doubts we will see a straight answer about that..." He turned his gaze once again toward those who he knew were in attendance at the meeting, "Did anyone get a good look at the figure who ran? Their size, or any other details? Perhaps that will help us to narrow down something...we at least know a few people it could not have been, based on who was present in the courtyard."

MICHAEL:

"..." Mike is silent for a second, before he looks up. "Who was...the last person who saw Chichi -- because, I think...I had a conversation with her. Before she -- died. Obviously. And we were...talking about Sumiko." He stops there for a second, pressing his fingers together awkwardly as if trying to put the words together in his mind, letting out a sigh afterwards. "I...wondered if -- the bomb. Wyomingkuma said that -- it would kill someone no matter what...right? And if -- Sumiko is, a robot, right, I wondered if...even if she didn't -- know, because...I don't know. AI -- I don't...know what she is, exactly. The specifics. But I wanted to...ask Chichi -- what if...the bomb was inside someone. Like in...movies. And things. And down that line of...thinking, wouldn't it be easier to...put the bomb in Sumiko compared to -- the rest of us. Like, if...she got hacked somehow. And if she -- blew up, that would kill her...definitely, right? So that would make things...true. But the bomb that went off. Was that the actual bomb? In that case, did...someone find it? Chichi was...busy checking radiation levels everywhere while we talked. She was doing that as soon as this...killing game thing. Started. Maybe even before then. But she told me -- if there was a bomb, she would have found it. But maybe she did find it. Or someone with her did -- what I'm saying, is, that...I think that maybe...the person who killed Chichi -- would have been close with her? Someone...like that? Who she would. Let hang around her. Maybe even into her room. Maybe she found the bomb. And it was what she wanted to show us. Maybe that was it. Something like that. But she got...stabbed in the back. But not literally. There's no wounds...Right? Yeah." He takes a second to breathe. Talking is hard. Words are hard. "...And maybe, the, uh. Person. We saw -- maybe they're...a third party. Maybe someone else tried to kill her too. Or something."

NANA:

"Woah, woah~ I think you might be barking up the wrong tree?" Nana raised her hand, leaning forward to bring a little bit of attention to herself. "For the most part, unless it's explicitly part of the motive Uglykuma shouldn't be able to directly kill us. I mean, like, he very much can if we break a rule or, uh, weeeell..." Nana pauses, rubbing the back of her neck. She wasn't directly looking towards anyone, it seemed like she was holding something back. "Even so..." she starts up again, clearing her voice, "he's shown, eh.... Well I wouldn't really call it mercy per se, but I guess restraint? But nyanyways~ Even the dummy bear has his own set of rules he can't outright betray, lucky us, riiiight?" "But if you're asking for more info on the figure, Takashima-chan can help with that!" This might be the first time Nana has ever referred to herself through just her last name. "I've been thinking that we got some really cute people in our class~" Oh god what is she even saying. "So I always thought that'd it'd be super duper neato if some of you guys considered becoming idols. Ah, but we'd have to get into units, riiight? Working together as a group seems to be the best way to go!" She was smiling more, her cat ears perked up and her tail swishing gently. "So since I've never really seen everynyan dance or sing, the best way I could group people is by height~! And if Madaraki-san was in a group, I'd pair her with Inaba, Nisha, Morishibe, Brandt, or Tsuru. Those are the ones closest to her height. Ah, and I guess I would put Mysterious Figure-san as well since they were her height too, nya know~"

DESMOND:

“We can narrow that list down even further.” Desmond says after Nana finishes her piece. “Out of those five people that you mentioned, Rurira, Miyu, and I were already in the courtyard - you, Adrian, Sumiko, Masa and Tsutomu can vouch for that. That would leave only Amami or Mutsumi as those who are of a similar height to the person we saw running away, and were absent from the courtyard.” Turning his gaze to Michael and Iyasa, Desmond continues, “Regarding the explosion. When we investigated the area, we found evidence of a small fire having been built out of garbage, papers, a discarded empty gacha capsule, a small tube of glue and some scraps from the kitchen. The glue looked like it came from the commissary, and we confirmed with Ramsey that someone had taken a half-empty bottle of cooking oil and the contents of the grease trap.” He says. “Based on that information I think that we can infer that the explosion that happened in the courtyard wasn’t part of Miamikuma’s threat. Or at the very least, it wasn’t structured in a way to cause death or a massive amount of destruction.” “Looking back at the explosion, while it was...impressive, frankly, it reminded me more of the types of explosions I’ve seen on movie sets - all show, no actual substance. So i think that, perhaps, that explosion was a distraction, not an actual attempt on any of our lives.”

AMAMI:

"I heard you need my word for today?" Her arms crossed the entire time, Amami raises her head, eyes peering down to Desmond, who called her attention. "You all should know by now that I am always fashionably late in gatherings, and this one isn't even an exception! It'd be a disappointment to see anyone try their minds in accusing me when my room was nowhere near Madaraki-san's. However, I found something or rather, someone, that may interest any of you. Riddle me this." She bats an eye at Mutsumi's direction. "As I was investigating Madaraki-san's room alone, it bothers me how Morishibe-san has done nothing but stand by the door the whole time and watch me. Listen to me, what is he? Placed in guard duty like a security guard to make sure none of the evidence has been tampered with. Everything in the room has already been picked up by a certain group who selfishly kept the briefcase to themselves until this very moment. What's there to steer clear of?" "Now, tell me how suspicious that was, but not at my face."

MUTSUMI:

Ears twitching like a wild rabbit startled into a flurry, hazy eyes pulled up from the slouch the counselor had slowly sunk into during the duration of his last keynote.

With a short snort, the student straightened up his posture. The furrowed brows and spacey look glazing over Mutsumi’s eyes quickly shifted with a succession of quick blinks. The mildly surprised expression painting the face of a student who certainly did not just dose off during a rather sweltering accusation simply wilted back into a usual, sloth like demeanor. .

“…yes, that is a suspicious course of action… I guess the person addressed is a suspicious person then…” .

Craning his neck, Mutsumi lets a slow, breathy sigh pass his nostrils and the muscles audibly crack under his skin. Eyes closed, the motions of a cat lazily stretching under a sunbeam coming to mind as the counselor lifts his arms.

“…What is a suspicious person like that to do… when burdened with the responsibility as your senpai, I wonder?” Arms outstretched the heavens, Mutsumi opens a single eye as his arms fall to a shrug.

“…What can a suspicious person like me do in a situation like this?”

“Would you say it’s suspicious that I’ve gotten to know everyone here… but not everyone here has gotten to know me? Would you say its suspicious that thrust into the role as an upperclassmen chaperone… I’m forced to keep tabs on the students, to know them… Like I would the back of my hand? To know their daily schedules… but keep at an arm’s distance, unlike some others who… would let their guard down on their duties…” Shooting over a glance at… someone in particular, A twitch flickered on the counselor’s brow line. “Given that sort of information about… that kind of suspicious individual… what would you think of them? Would you trust that kind of person?”

Relaxing a knit in his brow, it appeared as if the counselor would almost look something other than disinterested in the moment.

“What would you think of a suspicious individual like that discovering a body of classmate? Would you trust anything they would have to say, or would your suspicions prevent you from moving forward without bias? Perhaps this suspicious individual simply likes to drape tarps over themselves and flee blindly… haphazardly into the dewy morning hours. Maybe that’s simply… one of their hobbies. Or perhaps… in a flurry of a shocked discovery… amongst a distraction to pull away from somebody in particular taking the time to dispose of… evidence, a split decision was made… to make an even bigger suspicious scene than the one occurring… and draw bystanders to the scene before such a thing could occur…” Letting out a dry cough, the counselor’s hazy eyes stared downcast at his podium. “That’s just… a theory out there, perhaps. Maybe… that’s just the kind of person this suspicious individual is… thrust into a role utterly out of his league… unable to solve problems on his own…” … Taking a moment to roll up a sleeve, Mutsumi looked away as he wiped the sleep from his eyes, a hitched inhale extending to a yawn. “…That’s what I believe, anyway. Why else join a group to investigate the matter… and relegate himself to whatever is needed? Tell me, Nisha-san… it makes you feel good to put others down during this trial, doesn’t it? It’s kind of unfounded… saying that… especially…” Taking a moment to sway, the counselor fishes a container marked with odd chemical symbols in a plastic bag out of his cardigan. “…When some clues are overlooked…”

NANA:

Nana's eyes moved from one speaker to the next. She dug the ball of her foot into the ground while the other bounced a bit. The tail had begun moving more and even seemed to bristle as her leg bounced with more fervor. Even her cat ears seemed to flick about nervously as people spoke. Finally, she reached up, touching something unseen, hidden by the cat ears. A soft yet quick beep could be heard by the two who were at her side. Her ears perked into a default pose and the tail settled, neither moved again. "Wow~ Can't believe Brandt's trying to get mad at a pretty girl like Nisha for wanting to make an entrance! Geez, didn't you know it's impolite to be rude to cute girls?" Nana laughed a little with her own playful teasing, finally settling both of her feet on the ground. "Please forgive us, Nisha-san! I think people just like to make sure their friend's stuff doesn't get messed with. That's probs why something like a briefcase got moved. To make it up to you, I'll let you but only you look at my diary when I die, okay? Burn it when you're done reading it, I'm a super sensitive girl." "But enough about the secrets of a girl's heart, I can explain our reliable senpai's actions! Tsuru-san was super duper worried something would happen to Madaraki's body so Morishibe volunteered as a guard to ease her worries. Maybe that was all a ploy so he could keep a careful watch over who was discovering what and persnaps even try to discourage them..." She looks thoughtful for just a moment before ending up in a little giggle fit. "If that was the case, he'd super suck at that! We were able to investigate no problemo~ In fact, it was thanks to our one and only super reliable upperclassman that we could proceed with our investigation with no worries~" Nana turned to Mutsumi with a smile, holding up a peace sign to him as well. "Wow, wow~ Is Morishibe-senpai trying his hardest to look suspicious or something? Who else would bring out a container that held…” she squinted, looking at a bit closer, “Mercury. Just where did you find that?”

IYASA:

Iyasa listened to the various details and accusations that arose, but it wasn't until Mutsumi almost directly questioned Iyasa's efficacy as a chaperone that he flinched and showed a hurt expression. "I...deeply apologize, Morishibe-san, I have been doing my best. I...did not mean to leave you feeling as though I have shirked my duties...I will be better. All I found was evidence relating to how the explosion was made, but it did not seem very relevant to finding a culprit or determining a sequence of events, so I...let everyone speak first. I--.....regardless...I apologize. I have...not been as attentive of a chaperone as I should have..." He said this softly, bringing his gaze to the floor in shame. The one thing he did that he thought had helped, in fighting the fire, had been a waste of time as well. "I....if it matters, I believe the explosion happened because a partly-filled bottle was glued shut...the fire heated the liquid until it boiled, creating steam and pressure and..well... I...do not believe it is relevant, now, though, I apologize. However....I have-- one theory, but...then I also have a question." He paused briefly, "...what if Madaraki-san's announcement had nothing to do with the radiation itself? I mean.....ah.....is it possible she found something...harmful to someone here? Someone's secret? Perhaps even....relating to the person behind this whole..."game"? Perhaps what she found...gave this person reason to act...it's...just a theory, though..." He paused another beat, glancing at Miamikuma nervously as the theory left his lips, "I...in any case...I....am not certain this host will leave us much more time to deliberate, and as much as I fear voting for a culprit...I fear even greater what might happen if we fail to vote. Does...anyone have any ideas what actually happened? As in....a full summary of events...? Anything...?"

MIYU:

Miyu was confused. Really confused. It was an interesting rabbit hole, Chizuru's medical history, but it went way too deep, far deeper than she ever expected. And the conversation was going all kinds of confusing places. Someone left to guard Chizuru's room? Someone else was accusing them over that fact? There was a bottle of mercury? What??? What is happening? She was confused. "I'm... I'm confused." Thanks Miyu. "Um... We went to the courtyard at 7:30 to wait for Chizuru-san, but she didn't show... and then there was the explosion by the big ugly tower..." She tapped her chin. "And then, a cloaked figure outside the courtyard ran west from the big ugly tower, around the edge of the courtyard, towards the dorms..." She stopped a moment. "Um, did anyone figure out where the figure went? Could they have gone into a different room on the west side, maybe?" Positing over. Apologies if anyone brought it up earlier, her mind wandered. "Anyways, the figure. Brandt-san led the way after them, stopped around Chizuru's room, where we found her... I was late to the chase, so I'm not sure who got there first...?" She looks up, thinking again. "Um, anyways. In terms of what Chizuru might've found out, I wonder if it had to do with the bomb Uglykuma mentioned?" She hmmed under her breath. "I mean, that explosion, Brant-san said it was more... Hollywood-y? More fireball then destructive power? But more importantly I guess it seemed like the bomb was constructed with makeshift parts readily available around here? Not something that was just planted in secret, meant to kill?" She crossed her arms, starting to get on a roll. "Um... along with that, everything related to Chizuru's medical condition seemed to be untouched by whoever tossed her room, which means it had to be something related to this place the culprit was looking for? Like Iyasa-senpai said! Related to the bomb, perhaps, or somethign more..." Her bluster was fading fast. "Um... And does anybody know what killed Chizuru, and how? For a while I was wondering if she hadn't just... died, from complications, but no, someone definitely set up that bomb and led us to her. Possibly after tossing her room, and possibly killing her? What the heck is with that mercury? Where the hell did that come from? That's awfully convenient, but I suppose it could've killed her... But again, how?"

IYASA:

Whether frozen by indecision or otherwise, the gravity of the current decision felt paralyzing. Iyasa's gaze stuck to Miamikuma, unwavering, wondering just how much longer it would lounge around puffing its smoke before forcing them to make their choice. Not much longer, he assumed, and no sound theories had come up. "I...want to try to organize what...might have happened. I believe....as we were locked in, perhaps...Madaraki-san made an enemy, even one who pretended to be her friend. As...Morishibe-san said, some may have felt she was...difficult to get along with. I did not interact with her very much, so...I cannot say for certain myself...but...the water balloon that hit her says that she was...not friends with everyone." A deep breath. "...as we were locked in...she avoided people, and focused on her research. By only inviting a few people to her research reveal, that meant that maybe whatever she found, she only believed she could trust a few people to see it. Anyone not invited was likely someone she did not trust or did not particularly like. What did the attendees have in common? Is there anyone not present who may have been invited, based on that commonality?" He paused again, allowing this question to hang in the air. "In any case...it is clear this was done with the intent to prevent her findings from being revealed publicly, if her journal was damaged as you have described. To stop her event, they...had to....kill her. She was poisoned, if...Morishibe-san's evidence is to be believed...though I...admit I do not know how long it takes for poisons to take effect, so...it is impossible to say when she was poisoned, unless someone knows better...I cannot imagine it took...an incredibly long time...no more than a day...right? Was she poisoned this morning, as we were headed to the courtyard? Was she poisoned as she left the talent show last night?..." Finally bringing his gaze away from Miamikuma, he turned to the underclassmen. "...from there....I believe the possible scenario is...her assailant waited for her to react to the poison...and used that opportunity...of her being weakened...to take the evidence she intended to announce, and left her there to.........succumb. So...I think what we need to focus on is...when was she poisoned, and by who? When was her room ransacked? Who do we suspect would be...both capable and willing...and who do we believe is innocent?"

DESMOND:

“Before we address your points Iyasa-senpai, Mutsumi-senpai, please cut the theatrics - you still haven’t answered Nana’s question.” Demond says flatly, breaking the silence after Iyasa’s last point. “Where did you find that vial? Frankly. Could you please elaborate on the points you made without being as obscure as humanly possible?” “Correct me if I’m wrong, but from that convoluted mess, are you trying to imply that you found Chizuru in her room, dead on the floor, came to the courtyard - because you knew people would be there - in time to see the explosion, and once you saw that we had seen you, you bolted back to Chizuru’s room, knowing that we would follow you. And you did that so that instead of lingering to see what could have caused the explosion, we would find Chizuru’s body before someone could tamper with it before everyone else realized what was going on.” Desmond pauses for a moment before returning his attention to Amami. Staring at her for a long moment, Desmond’s neutral expression turns into a scowl. “What do you mean your room is nowhere near Chizuru’s? You’re literally in the same hallway.” “All of our rooms were assigned alphabetically. And the first four rooms - A to D - are in the same hallway. Adrian, Amami, Ash, then Chizuru.” He lists off. “It's common knowledge where all of our rooms are. And before you point a finger at Ash - since yes, their room is in that hallway, and unlike Adrian hasn’t had anyone vouch for them yet - Ash wasn’t the one who just lied about the location of their room.” “You did.”

MUTSUMI:

“Convoluted... mess? You can’t lead a horse... to water...hmm...” Brows furrowing as Mutsumi trails off, the counselor mumbles the rest of the phrase back to himself before settling back into place. A gaze now sliding between the assortment of characters before him, a slow blink leaves Mutsumi’s eyes as they turn to his addresser. “Well... feeling rather dejected and beyond further use, I decided my final fate to wait out this storm... would be where all the useless garbage goes, the waste disposal room...” With a dry wheeze that someone might mistake for a chuckle, Mutsumi’s pause to look around for reactions are brief. “... that’s a joke of course. There’s only one way to reliably dispose of unwanted items here... burying it in the waste disposal room. Scoping the area... seemed to be somewhat of a logical choice, I think. And it looks like something came out of it...” Swaying as he leaned into his podium, the counselor’s expression darkened. “...Do you get what I’m saying, Brandt-san? There’s a lot of suspicious people... all letting out the bare minimum... but the most suspicious... just keeps burying themselves even further in their own garbage every time they open their mouth... desperate to give themselves an alibi. But... it’s something they can’t help, after all... just like they cobbled together... a flaming distraction of garbage... they just can’t help putting garbage back together.” ... “...As for the cause of death, now that we know the cause, I think we know someone here... who can tell us a bit more about it. The timeline will be... a bit more clear then. And don’t worry... given the... kind of sloppy timing of it all, they’re not the murderer... this time...” With another placid placement of blinks, Mutsumi shifts his gaze away, awaiting a response from the group.

LAURENCE:

"Ah, could that be it!?" Laurence suddenly exclaimed in surprise. They had been silently mulling over the ideas presented to them throughout this trial. "I think... I think I may have an idea. Of what Chizuru wanted to talk to us about." Though they weren't the happiest about it. "She said there were super high radiation levels around the place. Well... I'm convinced that I know where they were coming from. I think that she figured it out too. Those invasive tests... I think she was going to scan everyone with her radioactive scanner. One by one. One of us was the cause of the radioactivity." Laurence turns to face Sumiko. "Sumiko... The truth is that you run on nuclear energy, don't you?" They nod. "That would explain it. High levels of radiation. Sumiko loves to be around other people, and if there was some sort of leak in her body... Well, that wouldn't turn out good for any of us. When you read the dossier and heard the audio tape, you seemed really shocked and upset. Is it because you finally made the connection?" They look very solemn as they turn their attention back to the crowd. "I... I can't think of anything that would be able to be around something irradiated without dying... besides a robot. Chizuru had to tell us all about it right away, especially given her condition." "So that's why... Why I think you must have killed her, Sumiko. To keep your secret." Laurence hugs themselves and stares down at the podium, not exactly happy about accusing a fellow classmate of murder.

MICHAEL:

"..." Michael looks up at that, looking straight at Laurence, before looking at Sumiko. "...You heard me earlier, didn't you? About what me and Chichi talked about. That you were suspicious. I mean, you're a robot -- you could be hacked, or something. But. Still. I asked Chichi, and...you know what she said?" Michael crosses his arms at that. His knees shake slightly, as his head tilts down, like he can't meet Sumiko's eyes. "Chichi...was adamant that you had just as much as a right to live as the rest of us. She was...rough around the edges. I know that. We all know that. But she cared about us -- that was obvious. She saw you as a person, Sumiko." For more likely than not the first time for everyone here, Michael moves. Not slowly and lethargically, not lazily, not like he's wading through sludge -- there's a quick snap of motion, as he slams his hands down on his podium. The sound of the impact echoes around the room, as for the first time in who knows how long, Michael yells. "So tell me! Tell everyone! That! It! Wasn't! You! That it was some accident! Or Chichi was just really sick! Or the bear lied about everything! Tell! Me! You! Didn't! Kill! Her! Tell me you DIDN'T KILL HER! TELL ME! NO ONE! HERE! KILLED! ANYONE!" The energy from that outburst seemed to evaporate from Michael, as he slammed his hands down on the podium with each beat. Letting out a long gasp for air, his fists continued to shake as he returned to staring at the floor. "...I'm gonna...be blunt here. You don't wanna repeat...the recording. Sure. You don't wanna. But did Chichi...wanna...die!? Huh!? Did she wanna die? No! No, she didn't! But she did! Do you wanna die? Do you want everyone here to die!? Is that what you want? No -- No, like hell it is!" Michael's back to yelling, his movements frantic and angry. "So tell us what you're hiding already...! I want to believe in you! I want to believe in what Chichi said! I don't know what it's like for you, that's true, but..." He looks up again, gaze focused straight on Sumiko. "I know it's probably hard. I know it isn't easy. I know you asked me not to. But I want to believe that you didn't do anything. There's something you're hiding. We all...know it at this point. And if you -- if you don't say anything, people are going to vote for you. And...no matter what the truth is, in that case, you'll die. And we'll all die, too, probably. Because I want...to believe that you didn't kill her. But there has to be something...in what you're hiding. So please." He takes a deep breath. "...Please tell us." And one more motion, as he throws out his arm. "Please! Show me that Chichi was right! That I was wrong! That I was wrong to suspect you! PROVE ME WRONG!"

MIYU:

Miyu raised her hand slowly, hesitantly. "Umm... I have a question. Didn't we all agree that the figure we saw could've only been a certain height? Didn't we narrow it down to Amami-san and Mutsumi-san? Isn't... Isn't Sumi-chan a whole foot shorter?" She blinked, unsure of her words. "So I'm confused... Even if something is wrong with Sumi-chan, why are we accusing her of murder all of a sudden?" Her bluster faded, and she looked down. "I mean, I... wanna know what this was all about too, but... it feels like we're jumping the gun a bit, yeah?" And she trailed off. She didn't have much right to speak when this was still all an extremely confusing mess in her head. Nothing made sense, so she may as well not chime in when she didn't understand. But something clicked in her head. "Wait, the water balloon? Could that have been when she was... poisoned? Assuming she was? It'd be nice if we could do a blood test, or something, to actually confirm she was poisoned with mercury. Would that even be enough to do it, though? I mean, her health was compromised, so perhaps, but... Oh, I don't know..." She trailed off again. Don't mind her.

DESMOND:

Like everyone else, Desmond listens carefully and silently to what everyone else is saying...but anyone looking at the blond has a very distinct impression that despite his calm demeanor he is...irritated. “As a reminder. Could we please keep the theatrics to a minimum? We’ve barely gotten anywhere despite how much evidence has been brought forward.” “So Mutsumi-senpai found the vial of mercury in the waste disposal room.” He says. “The question we should be attempting to answer now is why, and how it could fit in with Chizuru’s death.” Pausing, Desmond’s eyebrows knit together, eyes flicking toward several people in the room before settling back on Mutsumi. Sighing he pinches the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself quietly in french before looking foward. “Going back to one of Iyasa-senpai’s points - and linking it to Miyu’s suggestion - perhaps Chizuru did get poisoned prior to today. I can’t imagine organ failure happening that quickly especially if it wasn’t caused by external and very violent trauma. And maybe there was mercury in the water balloon. If anyone is familiar with the way mercury behaves and whether liquid mercury coming into contact with skin after being diluted is particularly hazardous, please speak up. “Addressing another one of Iyasa-senpai’s points - ‘what did the attendees to the 7:30am meeting have in common’? What we have in common is that Chizuru expected us to take what she said seriously.” Desmond lets the implication of what that says about everyone else who wasn’t in attendance left unsaid. “And I agree - I think that Iyasa-senpai is right that whomever killed her wanted to hide her research from us because there’s still pieces of Chizuru’s research missing.” “But getting back to the point that I made earlier that seems to have been left unaddressed…” “Amami lied to all of us, to our faces. Earlier, we narrowed down that the figure running away from the explosion could have been either Mutsumi-senpai or Amami. And in response to that observation Amami said that me questioning her was ‘disappointing’ when ‘her room is nowhere near Chizuru’s. Her room is in the same. Hallway.” Turning his gaze to Lawrence, and Michael, Desmond’s gaze hardens. “I can understand Mutsumi-senpai glossing over that - I had asked him a separate question after all - but are you seriously going off on a separate tangent when we just caught someone in a lie?” “Answer Amami. Now. Why did you lie about where your room was.”

AMAMI:

Of course , of course, Amami knows well a case like this would be to her taste, no wonder. While she listens, she's been taking mental notes of most of the details presented, including Nana's little diary. Still with arms crossed, she then flashes Desmond a pursed smile that quickly dissolved into a frown upon being accussed of lying. Mutsumi wasn't wrong when she did feel good on putting him down this trial, yet Desmond's a completely different case. How many times has he asked her to speak up? Is he this desperate of shooting her down? "I can see where you're coming from, Desmond-san, yet... I've no intention to lie. Have you forgotten of the stairs dividing rooms A to D? My room is not in the same hallway. It's not on the same floor as Chizuru's. You need to run down the stairs to get to hers. Mine doesn't require that strenuous effort." She rolls her eyes. "Not that it matters either. We are all aware that the general direction where the cloaked figure around my height ran to is west, and guess what, rooms A to D, as well as many others, are in the west half." A moment of silence ensues, then she sighs, looking at her classmates. "I'll cut to the chase since none of you can take a hint or two. My alibi is as plain as the clear blue sky you've been missing dearly since the explosions, I was in my room the entire time, preparing for that meeting. Like jeez, can't you be more considerate towards a girl?" Amami holds her forehead, seemingly displeased of the other. "There. That's my immediate answer. And before Your Kindness also answers your other question, do tell us how much mercury has been used from the vial."

SUMIKO:

A dull hum came from Sumiko's circuits as she recovered from her moment of sadness. It wasn't cute at all, and she was adorable! So she had to stop crying in order to be her normal cute adorable self, right? She wiped her tears and brightened up in an instant as she listened in, just a tad confused. And by a tad, I mean a whole lot. Just because she was a piece of technology did not make her smart in the slightest. In fact, she was incredibly stupid. But when Laurence turned to her and spoke, she blinked a few times. Radiation... Powered... "Snrk-" She snickered, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled at them.

"Silly Laurence! There's no way that Sumiko is nuclear powered! I was made by one man only! My Papa! Do you realise how many years and how many people it would take to make a robot that was nuclear powered?" She laughed, turning her torso so that her back was facing the crowd. "Also!" She opened a flap and pulled out a plug. "Here's my charger! You guys have probably seen it before, kyohoho! I am powered by electricity, not nuclear power!" She put it away and spun her torso back around, rocking back and forth on her feet with a smile. "Is that all? Cause your evidence doesn't add up at all! I won't kill Zuru Zuru cause that's illegal! Papa said I'm not allowed to do illegal things!"

NANA:

"Geez, why does it feel like I'm telling a lot of you to not pick on cute girls..." Nana sighs and fusses with her bangs a bit before raising her hand again to bring the attention back to her. "Alrighty~ So since it seems like Brandt's gonna get super peeved if we keep going with theatrics the always lazy and super cute Nana will try and make some of these things easier to understand, okie dokie?" "First off, let's talk about what we have in common. Is it really that'd we'd take things seriously? After all, it was Madaraki who said," Nana cleared her voice a bit, "how can I live in a world where everyday I’m told that “social media influencers” hold the same credence and importance. Kurokawa and myself, both people that were invited, kinda are internet celebs, huh? Like, it's even in my title and everything, nya' know-- Unless one of you thought the net was, like, a fishing net..." She paused, looking over at Sumiko. If anyone was gonna think that-- NVM! "So I'm juuuust saying~ If she wanted serious people, she wouldn't put my name nyanywhere near that list." "As for the balloon... From what I saw, no one present there was able to throw it. I was on the stage with Edwards and Fiore. From my point of view, I could see everyone in the crowd which was Brandt, Marlowe, Kusumoto, Inaba, and Hayashi -- None of them threw it. I would've been able to see someone move. Oh, and, like, obviously I didn't throw it. So if the water balloon is somehow involved then we have to look for someone that wasn't currently at the talent show at the time..." She fusses with her bangs once more before sighing. "Actually, shortly after that balloon was thrown... Iyasa arrived. He had stuff in his hands so maybe he didn't throw it but nya never know~" "Nyanyways so the thing about mercury..." Nana paused, looking over to Rurira who didn't seem to be doing the best. "Tsuru-san! Please tell the class about mercury poisoning if you can, pwetty pwease!"

LAURENCE:

"...A-Alright. I was wrong... and stupid.. S-Stop laughing, now..." Laurence just looked down at their shoes. "But really, Sumiko... We need to know everything from the tape and binder. If Chizuru's records have evidence that helps us catch the killer, we can't afford to miss it. Right?" Laurence will back Mike up on this one. The woman was already dead, anyway. Not like she can be hurt worse than being murdered. "Oh... Also... It's pretty obvious, but I didn't throw the balloon either. Everyone would've seen me do that." Better to clear that up. "...Well, the only people in the west wing who weren't there at the talent show were Kimiko, Amami and Masami, then... Saying you were just in your room isn't really a good alibi, either." "But I think we've been glossing over something important. The strange syringe. One of them contained differently colored liquid and the sticker was wrong. Can we really dismiss that? It's possible that it even was involved in the murder. So we shouldn't turn away from anything strange like that." "Also, uh... Desmond? Did you find Chizuru's weird scanning device when you searched her room?" They had been wondering about that. She always seemed to have it on hand. Nod nod. "Also, Miamikuma... Nobody found the bomb, right?" Maybe it was worth asking, just to try and clear that possibility up.

MIAMIKUMA:

"Upupupu, as far as you know, nobody found the bomb I hid. Since Cheezy-Breezy croaked, you probably won't need to worry about that little Easter egg for now. Probably."

DESMOND:

Desmond sighs. “...My apologies Amami. It appears that I misinterpreted the map.” Desmond apologizes. Turning to Laurence, Desmond nods. “I did find her geiger counter - it was in her briefcase.”He confirms. “And I agree that that vial must have something to do with the murder.” Turning to Nana, Desmond shakes his head. “I don’t mean serious in personality, I meant serious as in if she told us something was wrong, we would genuinely listen. We wouldn’t be in denial about something needing to be done.” Running a hand through his hair Desmond’s expression turns to one of frustration before smoothing out again. What could they be missing?

RURIRA:

Rurira jumps at the sound of her name being called. Her eyes widen and she looks to her right, and then just past Nana, straight at the vial Mutsumi is holding. She shakes her head, looking nearly horrified. “That is…” She pauses, squinting her eyes a bit to make sure she’s reading it properly. “Dimethylmercury.” She straightens back up. “it’s an organomercury compound - one of the strongest known neurotoxins on Earth.” and Chizuru… she, the syringes - “It’s a colourless liquid, looking very similar to water. Symptoms of exposure include itching and burning pain at first, then memory issues, muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting, loss of motor skills, body numbness, i-inability to speak, see, walk, difficulty breathing -” She looks around the room, wondering if everyone understands the severity of this substance. “There was a well-known case, where, a scientist working with it, got one drop of it on her latex glove and the exposure of the chemical absorbed through that barrier, into her skin, and was fatal enough to kill her only 10 months later.” “If dimethylmercury was in the water balloon, and if the entire 50mL was used…” Rurira shakes her head. “But… the residual clear liquid in one of the mislabeled syringes in Chizuru’s briefcase - there’s nothing left in this vial. I think Chizuru injected it, and may have also been exposed to it with the water balloon. Wh-When she came by to ask if I’d like to join her in the Courtyard at 7:30AM, this was after the talent show, I think.” It was clear that Rurira didn’t attend it, after all. “She seemed fine then, but it’s possible that the symptoms of the mercury poisoning hadn’t shown up until later. This could have included the trouble seeing - because I cannot fathom Chizuru injecting herself with a substance that clearly wasn’t one of the medications she created herself. She must’ve injected herself last night with the final 5-10mL dosage of dimethylmercury, finishing the 50mL vial Mutsumi is holding…” She steps to her left a bit, away from the presence of that vial. “I have no clue when someone could’ve gotten into her briefcase to switch out her medicine with the dimethylmercury, or why they would need to do that if they already knew the dangers of it - if they were the one to throw the balloon…” Rurira hums to herself, closing her eyes momentarily to remember something. “Today is Wednesday.” It’s Wednesday, my dudes! “I looked through Chizuru’s trash can and the empty syringe on the top had its label peeled off - it’s possible that this is where the second ‘Thursday’ label came from.” She rubs the back of her neck. ”I don’t know… I don’t know…” She mumbles to herself. “The… two missing syringes in the briefcase must’ve been for Monday and Tuesday. She did mention in her notes she took another dose, therefore, the third syringe used - possibly at random? I don’t understand then, why, whoever filled the syringe with the clear liquid… would switch the labels to say Thursday. Is it to throw us off track…? Why put the syringe back in the briefcase?” She looks around for answers, wringing her wrists, nervously. “I’m trying to figure out this timeline, it - I definitely think that the rifling of her room must’ve been this morning - perhaps when Chizuru left for the bathroom due to feeling ill - there was blood trails leading to and from, after all, maybe someone waiting slipped inside and broke open her briefcase, her lacquer box in her closet full of the other syringes - they must’ve taken her notes and then… used the explosion to burn some important information? There was evidence of burnt paper after all…” Her voice trails off into incoherent mumbling again. Looks like that’s all she has to say for now - it’s a lot of information, but she’s trying to figure out the timeline of events. Who could’ve even put that mercury into one of Chizuru’s syringes?

IYASA:

"I...have to agree with Sumiko-san. And...even if she were powered with nuclear power...I doubt Madaraki-san would have invited us to gather around a...ah...source of leaking radiation, just to prove a point..." "As for the...water balloon theory...it seems plausible...though...did anyone see someone throw it? If we cannot narrow down who threw it...then what?" He paused, "Also...I...have to wonder how much of the evidence found in her room or briefcase can be trusted, with how it was...raided." He once again glanced at Miamikuma, searching for any sign that what he said was correct, but was met with a poker face. Looking back down and tapping on his podium, he frowned. "I...in any case...I...believe some of us are....hesitating to voice a guess for the culprit. I...ah...am not sure we will be granted much more time...if...you have an accusation, perhaps...it is best not to wait much longer..."

LAURENCE:

Well, if there was nothing else to do, then Laurence may have to push forwards with an accusation. "I think... There's someone I need to hear more from before I can be certain, but they've been suspicious. I just realized that something about their actions doesn't add up." Laurence points at Mutsumi. "You. You were guarding the body, weren't you? So when would you have had the time to go to the waste disposal to find evidence?" Perhaps this was an incorrect line of thinking, but nobody gained anything from not speaking up about their doubts. "There's more, too. We've already established you could have been the one under the tarp. I believe very strongly that the person who set up the explosion and the person who ran away were the same person. After all, that person definitely would've had time to run away before the explosion, but they only ran away when they were spotted.After the explosion happened. I can only imagine that was done to deliberately lead people to the body. I'm not entirely sure why, but..." Laurence takes a deep breath, continuing. "Not to mention, you mentioned that you were a chaperone. You had to keep tabs on everyone here. Learn about them, learn about their schedules. Wouldn't that make it easier to kill someone? Easier to learn what Chizuru was doing? You weren't in the crowd at the talent show, either. So you could have been the one to throw the water balloon." Laurence turns to everyone. "Don't you all find it weird that nobody has owned up to throwing the balloon, even now? If it was unrelated to the case, it would be easy to clear up. Considering that the target ended up dead, it's just too suspicious for me to believe that it was just a prank unrelated to the case at this point." "Mutsumi, I want to hear what you were doing before the body was found, as well as what you were doing during the investigation. I also want to know where that tarp could've come from. If anyone knows, please speak up."

RURIRA:

Rurira looks like she doesn’t want to listen. How can someone, sure, not really one of their classmates, but someone who would often bother Rurira and Chizuru in the science halls, how could they - could they have done something like this? She wrings her wrists in thought. “....Just sort of showed up, didn’t really… taking notes and…” Rurira looked to Mutsumi, adjusts her mask over her ears again, and shakes herself out slightly. “I don’t want to do that.” She whispers to herself. At the mention of the tarp, she latches on to that piece of evidence and recalls - “There are tarps in the athletic storage room. There were two types; a few smaller than a tablecloth and some that were larger than that.” She nods, holding onto her podium for a moment, only to let go seconds later, her limbs swaying at her sides. “Only one was missing. Though… one did appear to be folded differently than the others - haphazardly. A small one. It had a faint smoky smell to it, so… does that mean it could’ve been around the explosion? Someone must’ve put it back… I made sure to fold it back, properly.” She adds that last part quietly, like she’s thinking out loud.

MUTSUMI:

Hearing another accusation hurled his way, Mutsumi could only shake his head in disagreement, the crinkle on his nose signaling something starting to bubble over in the counselor. “As a guidance counselor... as a peer, it’s one thing to guide you all... that’s... my purpose, to lead you in the right direction. It’s another to... tell you. I don’t like telling anyone what to do, or... what to think... I don’t like what I’m about to say now, either... but with lives on the line... I can’t afford to... hold back...” ... ”Iyasa-senpai is the culprit” Gripping the podium, Mutsumi’s brows are furrowed. The counselor’s shoulders are pulling into themselves, and at this moment, he is appears almost self conscious about the situation. “The evidence... pieced together implicates Iyasa-senpai. I think my suspicions arose... with Iyasa’s unusually friendly interactions with you all, despite him knowing his position... and responsibilities following our situation... here in Korishi.” Wiping a few loose strands, Mutsumi let out a shuddered sigh. “Edwards-san... I think I explained enough for you to discern... who was under that tarp... leading the group to the discovery... and why. From that... I believe it’s easy to understand... how I joined Tsuru-san’s investigation team following that*. Please...” Take a moment to wet a dry throat, Mutsumi swallows. “...let’s move on with... certain evidence. The urgency shown by Iyasa’s... invasive interactions with you all... following our entrapment... I suspect to be the beginning of that process. Our duty... as you know... is to protect the student body. I believe... Iyasa took this to heart. To protect the students... you all, by all means necessary...” ... “I think it’s made known now that... Madaraki-san was... not well liked, save for the few of you she... perhaps sought to utilize. I think it’s obvious now, aside from her announcement, that... Madaraki-san prioritized ‘like-minded’ individuals**.”

“Like-minded as in... those whose talents could benefit her own... or actively made a partnership with her. Iyasa-senpai fit neither of those categories, yet he made himself known... at the gathering this morning. What better reason... than to give himself an alibi? And... perhaps the most damning... was the distraction set; a recollection of recycled goods. Whose talents specialize in recycling such parts into something new? This was all... a bigger distraction, which I assume... was to be a misdirection to keep you all from discovering Madaraki-san in her room. For myself... I apologize... I did decide to attend Madaraki’s planned meeting. I went to her room first to discuss some matters... when I discovered...” Mutsumi trails off, before shaking his head again. “...whatever the case, I believe Iyasa was threatened by Chizuru Madaraki’s unknown plan, and decided to take... preemtive action. The syringe with the... out of place fluid? Did Madaraki-san even have signs of an injection? Maybe that’s why... the suitcase had been tampered with... to plant doubt about the cause of death. I believe now... from what I’ve heard so far... *that the water balloon incident was the source of the victim’s poisoning, yet... it’s me who is accused? It was just said... Iyasa appeared at the scene shortly following the incident**. I don’t like it, but...” Looking up from his podium, Mutsumi finally displays a sense of dread in his eyes. “... the pieces... just keep lining up...”

IYASA:

As Iyasa heard the words leaving Mutsumi's lips, he frowned as his expression quickly grew more and more hurt. For a brief moment, he seemed resigned to his fate of being accused by his peer, but he was then struck with a look of refusal. ".....you're lying, again...Morishibe." he said softly, as his eyes turned to the counselor, he seemed almost frozen in fear, unable to urge himself to speak further for a moment. "You always.......do this. Get into people's heads...see how far you can push them...see how you can...manipulate them...and once the finger points to you, you turn it on me...? These are...your peers...and you treat them like petri dishes.. You've...already damaged me enough--" he cut himself off with a sharp inhale, pushing his hurt back down into his stomach so he could carry on. "....as correct as you are that I attempted to befriend everybody, and attempted to remain a calm presence in all of this, I truly, honestly did not interact with Madaraki-san much at all. I gave her a greeting, and beyond that, the two of us only exchanged passing hellos because of how busy she seemed. Perhaps I was invited because I had befriended many of those who were already informed. If I recall,, you spent a great deal more time around her than I did. There are a few underclassmen I simply failed to interact with on a meaningful level...and you yourself made sure to emphasize how much I had failed my chaperone duties in response to that. You, however, are the person who sees fit to slander her reputation and insist she was heavily disliked. Projecting your own feelings onto them, to make your actions seem less harsh...? That is...how you would define that...she had reason to dislike you...and rebuff your treatment of her." His hands shook as he confronted Mutsumi, seeming less afraid of the counselor with each breath. "If you joined Tsuru-san's group right after disposing of the tarp, then when did you find the time to 'discover' that poison bottle? ....furthermore, how could I have thrown a water balloon accurately, with my eye missing? It impacts my depth perception, and I...admittedly...do not practice athletics much. You, on the other hand, could have thrown it from a hiding place, never made yourself known, and therefore no one would have thought to connect you to it. These...are all your mind games, Morishibe. I came late because I had to wait for my work to dry before I could safely carry it." [TW: Su*cidal Implications] Finally, with his piece said, he looked down at his podium for a beat, "...if I were to kill anyone, it would be me, to protect you all. What is a kintsugi artist in comparison to someone who could save dozens of lives with her research...? Or any of you? You're lying, Morishibe...I'm...sorry."

NANA:

"Wow, wow~!" Nana covered her mouth in a show of awe and surprised - terribly forced and played up, of course. She was smiling, closed eyes and all (^U^), with tight lips pressed against each other. "You both are very terrible role models. Maybe next time they'll give us some senpais with better morals, huh? ... Ahem, meow-rals." "Now here's the dilemma, huh. Which one of them is lying? Obviously, at least one of them is lying. I mean, I don't exactly blame them 'cause I probs would in their situation." She moves her hand, gesturing to Mutsumi next to her, "This guy is super sus! Like Iyasa said, he's been treating us like funky little things to observe, right? I mean, I'm def not the only one he's writing notes on while conversing~ I can't say I know everything about our sleepy senpai, but I haven't seen him go out of his way for us. I can't image he'd be the type to kill for the group as a whole or even worry super duper much to kill as an act of self preservation." Nana moves again, this time using both of her index fingers to point right at Iyasa. "And that give over there is also super sus! Sure he does his best to get close to us, but isn't that weird too? Especially for someone who's supposed to look after us. Not that I agree with the school giving us babysitters. Either way, outta the two Iyasa tends to get the most worked up. Like he said, he's gotten close to us so wouldn't he want to do something to protect his quote-unquote friends? Even now, with all his scary talk-- he sure likes to hype us up! Ah, nyand I'm not claiming I know everything about Iyasa, but if he's had his injury for-- fur awhile now, couldn't he have already adapted to it? At least enough to feel comfortable throwing something?" She moves her hands to her hips and lets them rest there. "But he's kinda, like, a really big pushover, huh? Or maybe Takashima-chan just has that effect on people~ Killing could be toootally of the question for him - especially planning a murder this elaborate and nyall~!" Nana pauses, looking between the two upper classmen before raising her hand. "Uglykuma, Uglykuma~ You know who the murderer is, huh? Like, you for sure, 100% no doubt, no questions asked know who the murderer is? Because I'm curious! What happens if they could be two murderers? Ah-- And what if there's an accomplice? Even without waiting for an answer, Nana makes her vote. "I'd consider their words carefully before making a super big decision. Though I'll admit this right away, I'm voting for Iyasa as the killer. Sorry, sorry~ I just really can't stand the pathetic wannabe hero types!" @Modi | Iyasa just bc theres a question for miamikuma in here! )

MIAMIKUMA:

"Of course I know, what do you take me for? Some kinda cub? If there were two murderers, which I'm not sayin' there are, I would only punish the one with the most votes. If there was a tie, well, upupupu...let's say we'd have a surprise on our hands. With that said, it's deeeefinitely not worth it to help someone with their murder plot, since you could easily get wrapped up and punished in the killer's place!"

MICHAEL:

"...I think...we should vote for a tie." Michael speaks up, pressing his fingers together. "If we can't...settle for one with conclusive evidence, it's...probably safer. For the majority, or...something. Like that -- I don't know." He quiets down after that, looking back at the ground -- seems like he doesn't have much else to say.

DESMOND:

Looking between Iyasa and Mutsumi, Desmond looks visibly uneasy. However after Michael suggests a tie, Desmond shakes his head. “No. I don’t trust that ‘surprise’.” Desmond says. “I don’t think aiming for a tie is the best move.” “Earlier, before Mutsumi-senpai laid it out for us, I was willing to believe Mutsumi-senpai had found Chizuru, ran toward the courtyard, and then after seeing he had gotten our attention, ran back to the room to lead us to her. But if that was the case, why not call out to us?” “Another thing that I think is important here is the motive behind the murder. Clearly, based on the missing pages and information from Chizuru’s things, whomever committed the murder did it because they wanted to make sure information stayed hidden...and between Iyasa-senpai and Mutsumi-senpai, I think that we all know which one is more likely to reach out and try to figure out things about us...like what Chizuru could’ve been researching about...”

NANA:

"We can't settle this with a tie. Based on Stupidkuma's words, I'm betting that either both parties will be punished or it'll count as a mistrial and someone uninvolved would be punished." She was tapping her foot more now before shifting her weight. She looked between the two upperclassmen before looking out at the rest of the class. "Vote for Iyasa." "I'm doing the best to say this with urgency even though that's super duper not my style at all." She was still smiling which was probably betraying how serious she wanted this to be, if she was telling the truth. "But you guys to need to realize that when Dummykuma says punishment, he means death. Whoever we vote for will die, basically in front of us. They're going to have a horrible execution." Nana leaned forward, holding onto the podium to keep herself stable. "From this point forward, we're gonna be faced with a lot of difficulties. The person you love most in the world, the secret you can't let anyone find out, something that scares you, something you want... That's all gonna be held over our heads while we're here. We can survive it, but we need the right people to help us survive. Who here has been diligently watching over us and not doing the most to involve himself with us? Who here is able to help us figure out things about ourselves and keep us calm?" She doesn't turn to look, but her eyes shift over to the side to where Mutsumi stands. "Compared to the guy who hasn't even told us his name, I'm more inclined to trust the senpai who tries to say things to get under our skin in order to understand us. This is just... a reasonable and logical way of thinking of things. Somehow I believe that they've both had a hand in this, but I'm willing to have Morishibe help us... even if Iyasa is friendlier."

IYASA:

Iyasa's eye widened in alarm at Nana's orders, but it was her explanation of what would happen to the accused that made his blood run cold. He stared at Nana, sorrow crossing his expression, despite the cheery manner with which she delivered such cold words. "I'm....I promise you, I have been truthful--...the reason you do not know my name is not for me to mislead you-- I...it is something very personal, it is for my own safety, nothing more....I do not know how to prove to you that I am being truthful, or that Morishibe is lying. It is...my word against his, but if there is anything I can say or do to reassure you of my innocence, please, I am willing to do whatever you ask to clear my name..."

#chapter 1 #chapter 1 trial

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