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iobsessoverfictionalmen · 5 months

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Midnight Roses (1)

AN: This fic contains canon-typical violence and behaviours, manipulation, mentions of death, murder, orphans, pain, blood, blood drinking, torture, memory manipulation, prison, and criminals.

Chapter 1

“Some things will never change,” Rosalie thought with a mental shake of her head after Edward and Bella had left the Cullen’s house. The family’s return to Forks had been anything but peaceful especially since Edward, Bella and Alice had just returned from Volterra.

Rosalie was mature enough to admit to herself that she was partially responsible for sending Edward to Volterra to face the Volturi. However, she was also calm enough to realise that Alice and Edward were the main ones to blame for that situation. Had Alice contacted Edward directly (and Rosalie knew that she could because the two had been in contact during their time away from Forks), this entire situation may have been avoided.

Rosalie knew that some of her family didn’t believe her apology to Bella and Edward was genuine. That annoyed her. Rosalie wasn’t one to behave thoughtlessly or recklessly, especially when it came to her family.

All she had been trying to do was remind Edward of the Volturi and their rules when it came to vampires and humans yet it seemed that her adoptive brother had been all too willing to ignore those rules. Now not only were the Volturi aware of Bella’s existence, but they had also ordered that she be changed into a vampire or face death.

The blonde vampire wasn’t naïve enough to think that if Edward ignored the Volturi’s ruling that Bella’s death would be the only one that the Volturi would seek. The Volturi would destroy the majority of her family, leaving only the repentant ones.

In this instance, repentant was code for vampires that had a gift that Aro wanted. While Rosalie knew she was beautiful by human standards and even by vampire standards, she didn’t have a gift that Aro would want to possess which meant that she would be one of the vampires that was killed because of Edward’s disregard of the Volturi’s rules.

Physically shaking her head this time, she walked out of the front door. The air outside was warm but Rosalie paid it no mind. She came to a stop twenty metres away from the Cullen house and as she leant against a lush, ancient tree, she closed her eyes.

“I tried to show Bella that being a vampire isn’t a goal she should fight to attain but she chose not to listen to me. Please, somebody out there, show her that being ‘in love’ with Edward isn’t a good enough reason for her to become a vampire and throw her life away. Help me.”

Rosalie smelt the change in the air before she felt it. her eyes snapped open just in time to see a green orb appear in front of her. She blinked in order to confirm what she was seeing and the orb exploded outwards before she even had a chance to think or yell.

Caught in the grip of the orb, Rosalie was dragged through the air at speeds she didn’t think were possible. When the orb let her go, Rosalie felt dread curdle in her stomach.

She and her adopted siblings along with Bella were standing in the middle of the throne room in Volterra and the Kings of the Volturi along with the guard were staring at them. Rosalie’s feeling of dread grew stronger as she noticed the two wives, Athenodora and Sulpicia, were also gazing at the Cullens.

Rosalie had a very bad feeling that the Volturi had been discussing the course of action that they were going to take after Edward’s dramatic actions in Forks and Volterra.

“We did not expect to see you again so soon.” Marcus intoned gravely, “I am certain however that your arrival has to do with the unexpected appearance of this book.” Marcus held up a book with a black background and two pale hands cupping a red apple. Rosalie could easily make out the title of the book from where she was standing. She had no idea why a section of the day was the book title but that wasn’t her most burning question.

“Great King Marcus,” Rosalie began. “When did that book appear?”

Aro inclined his head at her polite address of his brother, “It is splendid to see that my old friend Carlisle has taught one of his children how to behave. To answer your question, this book arrived mere milliseconds after Bella, Edward and Alice left. It is such a fascinating book.”

Movement caught Rosalie’s eye and she noticed Jasper’s posture change. “Why do you believe that King Aro?” Jasper asked formally.

Aro smiled, “Because this book is about our dear young friend Isabella Swan of course!”

“You mean that book contains my thoughts and feelings and you intend to read them out loud?!” Bella gasped.

Rosalie was grateful she didn’t shriek with outrage. If Bella had, it could have ended very poorly considering where they currently were.

“Oh no, Bella,” Caius stated with a mocking note in his voice. “You misunderstand. All of us have already read the book and we have more than a few questions about the content of it. You have been brought here to answer those questions.”

Emmett moved to stand next to her and she looked into his eyes, which was easy to do because of the heels she was wearing. Due to their history and the amount of time they spent together, they were easily able to read each other’s body language. Emmett was curious about this turn of events and Rosalie could tell that he was also curious about the orb that had brought them to Volterra. Admittedly, Rosalie was curious about that too. It must have taken a tremendous amount of power and intent to control energy like that.

There was a faint clang that disrupted the silent conversation between Rosalie and Emmett. Her enhanced senses registered another heartbeat and the soft thudding of footsteps. Rosalie knew that the Volturi would have been able to detect these new sounds as well yet they didn’t seem bothered by them.

Rosalie saw Bella turn towards the doorway as the unknown individual moved closer. A young man appeared in the doorway. Rosalie estimated his age to be around twenty-four at the most. He was tall although Rosalie observed that he was noticeably shorter than Marcus. The stranger had calculating green eyes and brown hair that had been neatly styled.

“Alabaster!” Aro cried joyfully, “Welcome home! I trust your journey was an eventful one?”

Alabaster had a small smile on his face, “I am glad to be home.” He commented as he moved toward the dais. He greeted each member of the Volturi guard individually and Rosalie saw a soft look sweep across his face as he gazed at Felix.

“The Cullens, I assume?” He asked once he had reached the dais. The brunet stood with his back to the Volturi as he gazed at the guests standing in the throne room. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.” He remarked, clasping his hands behind his back, and fixing the family with a shrewd gaze.

Something warned Rosalie that there was more to this young man than met the eye and she chose to hold her tongue.

“Alabaster, you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting young Bella Swan yet, have you?” Aro questioned. “She is a new addition to the Cullen family.”

Rosalie tensed.

Alabaster nodded in understanding, “It’s not the first time I’ve heard of a human thinking they’ve fallen in love with a vampire.”

“I am in love with him!” Bella replied heatedly.

“I do love her!” Edward retorted immediately.

Alabaster focused on them. Edward glared back at him in response.

The staring contest ended a few moments later when Alabaster shook his head dismissively.

“Do you bring news Alabaster?” Marcus demanded.

Alabaster turned to face the King. “My apologies. I was distracted. Your mate is tying up a few loose ends and then she will return to Volterra.”

The effect that Alabaster’s words had on the occupants of the room was instantaneous. The guard stood up straighter and Marcus shifted in his seat. Rosalie noticed that even the two wives had content expressions on their faces. The mood in the room changed from a tense one to a relieved, happy one.

“Who are you talking about?” Edward demanded, “Marcus doesn’t have a mate.”

The mood soured again and Jane bared her teeth at the vampire as she stepped forwards, “Be grateful you have been granted awareness of this information. Few are privy to it.”

“Jane,” Alabaster sighed. “My father taught me that there is nothing to be gained by arguing with someone ignorant.”

Jane clenched her jaw but stepped back to stand next to her brother.

“Is she…?” Bella asked tentatively.

Alabaster raised an eyebrow, “Ask the question on your mind or remain silent and wonder for the rest of your days.”

“Human. Is she human like you?” Bella finished her previous thought and red coloured her cheeks.

“Not that it’s any of your business but she and I are not simply human.”

“You have a heartbeat!” Alice protested.

“And a heartbeat is an indicator that an individual must be a human?” Alabaster challenged.

“As amusing as this interaction is, perhaps we should return to the matter at hand?” Caius prompted.

Alabaster inclined his head and sat down on the steps of the dais. He grinned up at a beautiful brunette vampire who glided forwards and came to a stop at the foot of the dais.

“Unfortunately Bella the last time you were here we were not introduced. I am Sulpicia. Are you aware that you are not Edward’s mate but his Singer?” Sulpicia questioned. Her voice was melodious. Rosalie had never met a vampire who didn’t have a melodious voice and she guessed that was a way to lure their intended prey. There was something else in her voice though, something old.

Bella looked at the Cullens, mainly focusing on Alice and Edward before she looked at Sulpicia.

“No. I didn’t know that.” Bella replied, “What is the difference?”

To Rosalie’s surprise, none of the Volturi snarled in response to her question.

“Maybe they understand that it’s a genuine question and their anger lies with Edward.” Rosalie thought.

Sulpicia tapped her hand against her thigh. “It’s a very important difference. A vampire can never harm their mate because the idea is too repulsive. However, a Singer has enough power to constantly cause the vampire to crave their blood. The vampire is at risk of losing all self-control whenever they encounter their Singer.”

“Can a vampire grow to love their Singer?” Bella asked.

“There are instances where that has happened in the past,” Sulpicia admitted. “Many Singers have been transformed into vampires because the vampire convinced themselves that they loved the human. Believe me when I say the relationships fizzled out after a short period of time following the Singer’s transformation.” Sulpicia’s voice held a note of sadness as she finished her sentence.

Bella’s leg twitched like she wanted to step away from Edward.

“My turn.” Demetri announced. “What do you like about Edward, Bella?”

“His hair, his eyes, the way he smiles. My favourite smile of his is the crooked one that he has.” Bella answered instantly, looking up at Edward.

“Let me rephrase that,” Demetri scowled. Clearly he was dissatisfied with Bella’s answer. “What personality traits do you like about Edward? I know you’re not that shallow that you simply focus on an individual’s appearance.”

The throne room was quiet as Bella tried to find an answer for the tracker. “He’s a good listener.” She answered eventually, “He remembers things that I’ve told him.”

“I disagree.” Felix stated. “We read that you told him you didn’t want to go to prom long before the two of you encountered James, Victoria, and Laurent. Following James’ attack and your release from hospital, Edward ignored your wishes and took you to prom.”

“Yes but…”

“But what Bella?” Alabaster prompted. His voice was slightly muffled due to the fact that his chin was now resting in his hand.

“He didn’t want me to miss out on any human experiences because I was dating him.”

“But you told him that you didn’t want to go to prom.” Alec retorted harshly. “Weren’t you angry with him for ignoring your wishes?”

“What do you want me to say?” Bella erupted. “Yes, I was angry with him after he ignored what I said! My leg was broken in two places and in a cast because of a vampire that attacked me! I nearly died in that attack! Maybe that’s why I didn’t protest like I normally would when I realised that Edward had ignored me!”

Edward looked at Bella as if she’d grown a second head.

“They’re not trying to be mean or aggravate you. Sulpicia, Demetri, Alabaster and Alec are trying to make you understand that your relationship with Edward is not a good one.”

At the same time, Rosalie and Bella spun around to see the new person that had spoken. Rosalie had that feeling about there being more to the person again when she gazed at the new arrival.

Demetri sped to the newcomer’s side and the two of them had a rapid conversation in Greek.

Rosalie pivoted around and she saw Alabaster lift his chin out of his hand and smirk at the new arrival. Marcus’ face looked gentler and kinder as he gazed at the new arrival.

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jaimrennnn · 11 months

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The person who offers the most potential as a character in TWP is

Jaime. Listen. Characters that have little no backstory, have not been explored much or retain an air of mystery but are set to be a significant character often have the most potential.

We don’t know that much about their personality, their secrets, their POV. We still aren’t familiar with the character and that’s what makes them very intriguing.

the way Jaime was introduced had to be one of the best character introduction in TSC series. When we first heard of Jaime. He’s depicted as a power hungry asshole who betrayed Cristina his soon to be parabatai but when we met him he seemed fine. He didn’t come off as a bad person. Very normal in fact. He also displayed strong loyalty to Cristina and his family when he was wounded and sick in prison along with his brother which is a complete contrast to what we first heard of him in Lady midnight.

His first flower card reads ‘changeable moods’ to which many people theorized as him changing sides often and there are some who interestingly interpreted it as bipolar personality disorder. There is a strong possibility that Jaime might be an Anti Hero character. Which could lead to a very compelling arc in the books. Something usually different than the norm in TSC series. Jaime could be one of the best morally grey character in the series if done right. Personality wise he has a charming personality, he does have a very mysterious and a ‘wild’ aura to him. I want to know the backstory to the tattoo he got. And I remember someone mentioning that Cassie said one of Jaime’s tattoos signifies his ability to control his temper which further raises alot of questions about him. The last thing we heard of him is him missing in Faerie when he was sent on an important mission. What was this mission? Was he kidnapped??? We needs answers!!!!!!

Through Jaime we could learn more about the Rosales. Their relationship with the fair folk. Their family heirlooms,the Mexico City institute, Their history and how they became one of the most important and rich Shadowhunter families. In Lady midnight Mark says Cristina comes from a very old shadow hunter family which makes her sort of a princess or royalty.

I’m really excited to learn more about Rosales family since we keep having characters mostly from Herondale, blackthorn, Carstairs and Lightwoods who are mainly white European families (I still love them all🫶🏻). It will be so amazing and iconic to have a Latino, Hispanic and POC family to have so much importance and exposure in a series.

Lots of fans dislike Jaime for very reasonable reasons for what he had done to Cristina and the possibility of him being in a relationship with Dru due to age gap differences. Jaime as a character is always brought up or mentioned in context of his relationship to Dru but very rarely individually as his own. I just hope Cassie doesn’t change her plans in order to side track Jaime to appease fans because that means giving up on a character with so much potential. I hope she keeps Jaime as a significant character in TWP as originally planned.

many fans just minimize TWP to their faves reunion, possible love triangles and relationships angst when TWP has so much to offer than teenage romance. It’s freaking based on Arthurian legend! Cassie has stated many times that the shadowhunter world won’t be the same after the events in TWP which certainly leads to high expectations for this series.

@cassandraclare

I would definitely ask about Jaime next time Cassie opens her Q&A.

P.S. sorry if this came off as incoherent and all over the place. English is not my first language and it’s sometimes hard to express my thoughts in long paragraphs.

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accirax · 9 months

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Literature Girl Insane and the Color Connection Theory

(Spoilers for DRDT’s Literature Girl Insane MV, as well as through Chapter 2 Episode 11. Vague spoilers for Super Danganronpa 2 and New Danganronpa V3. Because the images in this post are mainly designed to showcase the colors presented in the MV, there will be no image IDs in this post.)

Wow! Literature Girl Insane is… so much!! There is literally so much to look at that I don’t know how we’re supposed to handle it!!!

I mean that all in a glowingly positive way, to be clear. The DRDT creator has granted us an exciting puzzle that may take months to fully solve/analyze (or maybe we’ll never finish it), with so many facets that there are still things that I haven’t seen much of anybody talking about.

Speaking of, I’d like to take a look at the colorization of some of the lyrics! As per my eye, there are 15 distinct colors that appear in the lyrics of the MV. I distinguish the lyrics as “the words that are outlined in black (or white, when the color is black),” so any of the colored text in the background, such as the literary passages, will not be included in my analysis.

An important piece of information that I’ll reference a lot is the official colors that have been assigned to the students. That being, the color that the first letter of each of their first names gains when the students enter the Class Trial.

Because Xander never attends a Class Trial, he has no confirmed color, unless I’m forgetting something. However, based on his bright hair, I would have to assume that the color of that letter would have been a fiery red. It’s even on the opposite side of Teruko on the color wheel.

David has two colors; one for his inspirational speaker persona (yellow) and one for his depressed theater kid persona (gray). I don’t think J’s color changes between being listed as J Rosales and J Moreno. Although I didn’t put it on the chart, MonoTV appears to have no color, with all of the letters in its name remaining white. Some of my personal assignments will go against these color choices, but I think it’s still important to keep in mind.

Since Tumblr doesn’t want to let me use as many colors as I want, I will put in an image of what each color looks like the first time it appears. I’m going to analyze each color in order of how many times it appears in the MV, from most to least. That means the first color is…

Red

are all just idiots (final verdict); Bye; whatever; Goodbye.; go mad; together; are all just idiots!; Bye; broken; go insane?; ignorant; God; go mad; great applause!!!; Aa; won’t change; original; you’ve killed so many; and disappear!; 1; medicine; [untranslated characters]; [untranslated characters]; [untranslated characters]; go mad; self delusion; isn’t it!?; ah,

(If you want time stamps and pictures of the characters, I wrote them down in the document Venus and I compiled together)

Red appears 28 times throughout the MV, and as you can tell, they’re very… edgy. It’s a very interesting color, given that there are multiple characters I think it could apply to.

The first option is Veronika. Her color is a bright red, and she’s no stranger to creepiness. Things like “go mad” and “you’ve killed so many” could definitely be words she’s spoken to her problematic faves like Arturo or David. The selection of “broken” could apply to her hidden quote: “once something is broken, it can never be pieced together in quite the same way again. The same goes for people.” If Veronika herself is something that is/was “broken,” going insane could apply to her as well. Some people have already called her delusional, which could fit right in with “self delusion.” With her chaotic attitude, I can also easily imagine her using the intense punctuation (!!! and !?) seen on some of the lines.

The biggest problem with this interpretation is that, frankly, I don’t think Veronika merits this level of importance in this MV. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t like Veronika, or don’t think she’s important– I love Veronika! I just don’t think she’s that important to David, who this MV is about.

They could have more of a connection in the future, given that Veronika has started simping for his dark side, but thus far they’ve barely interacted at all. The most damning rebuttal is the cast list at the end.

Would the color that appears the most in the MV really go to a character that doesn’t even make the supporting cast list?

The main way that I can imagine that Veronika actually is red is if she is the mastermind. That would explain how she could claim such a prolific color in general, yet why she wouldn’t yet be listed as a Main Role– because David (presumably) wouldn’t know that she’s the mastermind. If David survives for a while alongside mastermind Veronika, it would also give more of a chance for their relationship to develop down the road.

Still, it would make more sense to me if red did belong to a listed character; even better if one of the main roles. Someone like…

Option two: Xander Matthews.

Xander is obviously a key player in this MV, and like I said, I would guess that his character color would be red. Even if it was, say, yellow (for his eyes) instead, I don’t really think anybody could complain if he showed up as red in the MV.

The focus on the word “bye” would also fit Xander. He’s dead now, and David has clearly been thinking about him, so he could constantly be saying “bye” to Xander after the rebel “and disappear!”-ed from life. Xander had to treat his eye in the infirmary, so “medicine” could make sense for his character. “You’ve killed so many” could be something that David could imagine Xander saying to him in his guilt-ridden spirals. Although, as far as is confirmed, David has never actually killed anybody, including in his secret. Venus adds that “You’ve killed so many” could be Xander speaking to himself, stewing in his survivor’s guilt about the death of his family. She also says that “go mad” sounds like something a British person would say. You never know what she’ll have to contribute /lh.

Speaking of things Xander could say, though… I have a hard time imagining that he would say some of these things. I’m sure Teruko would tell me that I’m naive to have any trust left in the guy, but some lines just seem out of character for him, to me? Like, calling everyone idiots and telling people to “go insane” feels very different from how he acted in Chapter 1. Maybe if Xander was reflecting on his own “going insane” after he stabbed Teruko, it could work?

The line that stood out to me the most for not fitting Xander was actually “won’t change,” though. Man’s the Ultimate Rebel. He’s all about inciting change in people. Whatever this thing is that won’t change– David’s attitude, the mastermind’s wickedness, the continuation of the killing game– would he really be chiming in to say that it’s immutable? But, if I don’t really think that it’s Xander or Veronika, then what red person could be left?

Ah, right… the classic copout option, #3, Mai Akasaki.

I say “copout” because, overall, we know very little about her personality. Therefore, it’s easy to put words like “idiot” and “insane” into her mouth because there can’t be too much of a counterargument. It does seem like a pretty big contrast to her characterization as Unnamed Student (assuming that’s her), but given this series’ penchant for moral bankruptcy, I wouldn’t be surprised if her nice exterior hides a more sinister slant.

However, there are some genuine points in Mai’s favor here. First is the red color– Mai’s hair is red, and Teruko even notes that Xander’s red hair reminded her of Mai’s. Thus, if I speculated that Xander’s color could be red, Mai’s could be too. She’s at least in the Supporting Cast, unlike Veronika. “Bye” and particularly “and disappear!” would also fit Mai well, given her absence in the killing game. “God” is also of particular note, as it’s the first word in Mai’s roman numeral quote, “God is dead.” Mai also seems to be worshiped like a god among those who remember her (Teruko potentially excluded), and the MV notes her as “someone dearly loved.”

Those three aspects of God could be leading us to the conclusion that red represents Mai in this MV, and it’s that interpretation that I’ve decided to roll with. I promise I’ll pick up the pace for the next colors, okay?

Yellow

game; Bye; cat; is what you’re told; ambition; the falling slanted sun; Bye; “happiness”?; dead; make noise; The acclamation is; live; original; 2; Let’s do that! [translated]; shout; ah,; miserable

While Eden is the only holder of the color yellow as of Chapter 2 Episode 11, I think this color has to go to the man, the myth, the now-starless star himself, David Chiem. I mean, c’mon. It’s his MV. He has to have one of the most prominent colors.

But even beyond the yellow, there’s a lot that points to David here. Since I just mentioned the fading of the stars in David’s eyes, let’s start with “the falling slanted sun”. As the sun itself is a star, this line could represent both how the stars have fallen out of David’s eyes and how he, a star, is falling in the public’s perception. Given his determination to save his career, “ambition” certainly fits David’s character, and he “make[s] noise” every time he gives a speech, making people believe “what [they’re] told”. But despite his stage persona, he’s always felt “dead” and “miserable” on the inside.

Perhaps the most interesting line here is the “Let’s do that!”, which can be seen here.

(It’s the only line in Japanese we were able to translate ourselves T-T)

Even if it’s a “let’s do that!” instead of a “no, that’s wrong!”, which means that David is arguably only agreeing with himself, the protagonist imagery here is exceptionally clear. Not to mention, every canonical protagonist post-Makoto has been able to access consent points as well.

I’ve definitely seen people out there theorize that David may become Despair Time’s protagonist one day, and while I found the concept merely amusing at first, the more evidence piles up, the more I’m forced to believe it may be true. So, if David is represented by the color yellow, this could be further evidence/foreshadowing towards his future role. If so, I’m particularly intrigued by the fact that yellow has both “dead” and “live”. It seems like David’s alignments and beliefs are still up in the air.

Green

this guy →; Bye; a life full of much shame; make noise; this guy; anonymous; Bye!; substance of the arts; this guy; original; 4; make noise; clown

Similar to yellow, there are two primary candidates for the color of green. And while Hu has a better argument than Eden did on yellow due to being listed in the supporting cast, her greatest competitor, Teruko, is also in the supporting cast.

Did you know that green appears thirteen times throughout the MV? Of course it’s fucking Teruko.

There’s a good argument to be made that, with her tragic backstory, Teruko is one who’s lived “a life full of much shame.” Doubly so if you believe that she has the “the killing game is all your fault” secret, which I personally do. Because she’s moved around so much and doesn’t seem to have many attachments to people, you could say that she’s “anonymous” in a lot of her actions.

Teruko “make[s] noise” frequently in both Daily Life, when she refuses to avoid the subject of murder and thrusts knives at people, and Deadly Life, where she maniacally laughs her way through solving the entire trial for those idiots twice in a row. However, due to her over-the-top lack of trust in anybody, I could still believe that David would see her as a “clown”. A smart clown, but a clown nonetheless. (She also had her sillier moments as well, especially when Xander was alive.)

The line that makes the least sense to me is honestly “substance of the arts,” especially given that it’s part of Veronika’s roman numeral phrase. Teruko doesn’t seem particularly artistic to me. Maybe it’s just meant to imply that she’s a girl with a lot of substance? If “the arts” were theater, it could be saying that her life is very tragic and dramatic? And if Teruko is a substantial, dramatic character, maybe Veronika would appreciate that? I’m obviously reaching, but I still do believe that green represents Teruko here.

Cyan

dog; No Longer Human; game!; I; isn’t that; original; LET’S LAUGH; just like that; 3; cry; foolish; “kapukapu”

While it might seem like this color should belong to J, given that it’s quite similar to her character color, I actually believe that this color represents someone else. Namely, MonoTV.

MonoTV’s official character color is white, but its face is obviously a bright cyan. It even tells Teruko that its favorite color is blue in Chapter 2 Episode 3, so I don’t think that calling MonoTV cyan is a stretch at all.

The most obvious clue that MonoTV could be cyan is “dog,” which is pasted over “cat” (in yellow) at 0:37. The replacement of “cat” isn’t written in the original lyrics of the song, so the creator definitely intended for this to relate back to MonoTV. Why not give the mascot itself the line correcting the species? “No Longer Human” fits along with this creature angle as well.

“game!” is another obvious one, as MonoTV is the excitable host of this killing game. While “LET’S LAUGH” seems sweet out of context, in the killing game, it could seem much more heartless and robotic. The all-caps approach also makes it feel threatening. “cry” could also be a command to the students, like when MonoTV encourages them to create more drama in Chapter 1. I don’t remember a specific instance of MonoTV calling the students “foolish”, but it doesn’t seem out of character at all.

I couldn’t figure out exactly what a kapukapu was, unfortunately. It’s a reference to Yamanashi, a children’s book by Kenji Miyazawa, but they don’t actually describe what a kapukapu is in that book. When I googled “kapukapu,” it came up with a Sega character described as an antagonistic “orange cat creature with yellow eyes, a zigzag shaped tail, and big sharp fangs.” The creator definitely knows more Japanese than I do, but if they were similarly struggling on this one, they may have also googled kapukapu, seen “evil cat” and said, “yeah, that sounds enough like MonoTV.”

I should also probably talk about the “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” portrayed at 2:43, which has shown up in the red, yellow, green, and cyan sections so far. These numbers representing Mai, David, Teruko, and MonoTV definitely feels plausible to me, especially if you throw in the wrinkle that David could become the protagonist. The qualification could be “mysterious characters with a darker side,” “characters related to the formation of the killing game,” or even “the most actively important characters at the end of the killing game.” This interpretation makes me more confident that these assignments are correct, although there’s obviously room for debate.

Pink

anonymous hopes,; heart; Rolling with laughter and turning into clowns; brainwashed; degraded copy; original; [untranslated character]; clown; painful

And now, onto a color for which I feel there’s basically no debate. If these text colors do correlate to characters, this color has to be Whit.

For starters, he’s the only character assigned the color pink, probably because it’s so prevalent in his design. I can imagine “Rolling with laughter and turning into clowns” paired with his XD laughing sprite, fitting how he’s the biggest canonical joke-teller in the cast. “heart” fits his Ultimate Matchmaker talent perfectly, while also representing how his empathic ways can make him the heart of a group. MonoTV literally mentions that he has “too many damn hearts on [him]” in Chapter 2 Episode 2. “painful”, meanwhile, can represent his secret, and how he represses the painful memories of loss regarding his loved ones.

The most concerning and confusing lines here are “brainwashed” and “degraded copy”. You could definitely pull these for mastermind Whit analysis, but since I’m not a strong believer in that theory (perhaps because I just desperately don’t want it to be true), I’ll go with another interpretation. Brainwashing could be something that Whit essentially does to himself, controlling his mental state and forcing himself to be happy. “degraded copy” could be how Whit feels about himself in regards to his mother. Although we don’t know too much about her, we know that he doesn’t relate to his dad, and he dyes his hair to be more similar to his mom. Since he idolizes her so fiercely, it’s possible he feels like he can never be as great as she was.

There’s always a lot to unpack with Whit “repression” Young, but… for the sake of post length, we’re moving on.

Gray

(after all); whoever else; (turbatus); XI.; whoever else; [untranslated character]; thing

Despite the fact that we’re running out of colors at a rapid pace, I actually think this one is David again. Specifically, clipless David, after his color turned to gray. C’mon, he’s the star of the show! He gets special privileges.

The gray character feels very depressed. It doesn’t seem to care about anything, using vague terms like “whoever else” and “thing,” as well as taking “turbatus,” AKA “troubled.” David has already claimed to have a family history of depression, and although he’s a liar, I don’t know if he was bs-ing that one. Based on his worldview as portrayed in Chapter 2 Episode 11, it’s not much of a leap to assume David feels this depressing gray way.

The inclusion of “XI.” is quite interesting, given that that’s Mai’s roman numeral, “God is dead.” In my mind, this further cements a potential relationship between Mai and David (and that Mai is red and David is yellow/gray). Just look at the colorization of the quote “XI. God is dead”!

That’s both of David’s colors on either side of Mai. Maybe, as the protagonist, David will be the one to take down Mai, the “God”?

If gray isn’t a second David, I would suggest that this could be Rose. While she isn’t particularly associated with the color gray, “(turbatus)” is part of her roman numeral quote, and she has plenty of troubles of her own. Based on her hidden quote, “In the end, the only thing I can do is watch my wretched life go on,” it would be reasonable to believe she is also depressed. “whoever else” and “thing” could refer to her absentmindedness, and how she tends to forget things that aren’t important to her (despite her photographic memory).

Orange

← that guy; shout; that guy; let’s play!; that guy; original

So it’s a little random, but my best guess is that orange is Ace? Mostly because he’s the only true orange color in the class trial– Min and Rose have sort of orangey colors as well, but to me, they don’t fit the lyrics super well. Not to say that Ace does, but there’s more of an argument there to be had.

“shout” is the most Ace-like lyric to me. Most of his (amazingly) voice acted lines are screaming in some way. He yells a lot, whether due to stress, excitement, or anger. On that angry wavelength, “let’s play!”, though it sounds innocent, could be something bitterly yelled out at an opponent. Like, “oh, if you wanna play, let’s FUCKIN’ play, Nico/Levi/etc!!” Given that Ace identifies as a man, he would be a more classic “guy” choice than Min or Rose would be as well.

The repeated “that guy” puzzled me at first, but I did find a solution. The thing that was tripping me up was that the orange “that guy” is always paired with the green “this guy.” If Teruko is green, then why would David be putting Ace on the same level of importance as Teruko there? He and Ace have barely interacted!

But then I remembered that there’s one key place in which they did interact, and that was in the second class trial. Ace takes part in revealing David’s secret when he exposes the conversation David and Arei had in the relaxation room. And then Teruko agrees with him, saying that she’s always found David’s behavior suspicious. David could pair Teruko and Ace together in his mind as “this guy” and “that guy” as the main ones who exposed his secret. Whoever else was there doesn’t matter; they were the main ones at fault.

Plum

change!; like that; original; change!; a cup of poison

Purple time! This one is Charles, I’m pretty sure.

Charles has probably had the greatest positive character arc thus far (other than maybe Arei?), so him being “change!” is very fitting. He’s certainly urged Teruko to change for the better, and maybe he’ll do that for David in the future too. “like that” is part of “Do it like that / let’s live together!”, which could refer to Charles warming up to his classmates. Notably, that is part of VII., which is J’s roman numeral. J did possess Charles’ secret and tell him about it, but it’s not the strongest connection.

“a cup of poison”... does not bode the best for Charles’ survival! However, it could just be referring to his custom weapon being strychnine. Rose’s secret weapon is also poisonous in nature, but (spoilers for the post) I’m not sure she actually has a color in this MV. Thus, if the creator wanted to give one of their poison recipients the “cup of poison” line, Charles may have been their only option. It could also indicate that Charles’ strychnine is more important to the story than Rose’s turpentine (a concerning concept, given that the turpentine has already been involved in an attempted murder), but… who can say! (I am in denial)

Black

you; the track to the ideal country →; you; you

We’re running out of colors here, and it would be pretty weird if the second member of the main cast didn’t have one. That’s right, I’m saying that black refers to Xander, despite his red leanings. However, his color was never officially assigned, and his gloves are black.

David seems very fixated on Xander in this MV and its associated content. Thus, the triple repetition of “you” could indicate David repeatedly thinking about Xander throughout the days. Although, if Xander is the black text, Xander should probably be the one saying “you”. Perhaps instead, it’s about how Xander cares about and fixates on specific individuals, like how he noticed that Nico was alone at lunch and went to go talk to them. I’m giving the guy a glowing review, but it kinda seems like David is doing that too.

“the track to the ideal country →” also reminds me of Xander. As the Ultimate Rebel, he calls for country-wide reform. So, he could believe that he’s leading the way to the ideal country. Abstracted a bit, this could also relate to his motivations for attempting to kill Teruko. He may have believed that killing her was “the track” to save everyone and get them out of the killing game.

Although I wish I could give him a color with greater importance, this one makes a lot of sense to me. It is the first color that appears, for what it’s worth.

Dark Blue

cry; original; big

This one is… hard. I’m not super confident about it– “cry” and “big” do not give me a lot to work with. I’m going to give this one to J for the time being, mostly based off of a fringe theory I developed about “original”.

Yeah, “original”. That 8-color madhouse that I’ve been ignoring so far. To be honest, I don’t know what to do with it. It’s possible that “original” itself is meant to apply to all of the characters featured in it– the word is generic enough that I believe it could apply to all of these characters.

However, I was trying to figure out if this could be hinting at a Chapter 6 trial composition. Eight people seems like way too many for Chapter 6, but if you say it includes Mai (red) and MonoTV (cyan), you only need six surviving students. While casts usually roll up to the endgame with 5 people (based on how SDR2 and v3 went), all you need is to skip a double victim case or have a blackened-less trial to get up to 6.

Under this theory, that would put Teruko, David, Charles, Whit, and Ace in the Chapter 6 trial. (Do I really believe this is true? Not really, but, man, what a dream.) I don’t know exactly how much the creator is paying attention to balancing their final cast, but I have to imagine they would notice that Teruko is the only girl listed there.

That was the deciding factor that swayed me into calling this J over Arturo, as both of their colors are blue. I can see J as a survivor much more easily than I can Arturo, and she would be a second girl (or third, if you count Mai) in the trial. I’m definitely not super convinced, though, so take dark blue with a grain of salt.

Light Blue

cry; cry; idk!!!

So, this is… bleak. This person is not having a great time. Based on color, I’m saying this one is Nico. (That’s also why I didn’t mention them as a non-male blue person on dark blue).

While Nico is definitely less of a crybaby than people might have assumed based on their first appearance, it’s still true that they have multiple sprites with tears in their eyes. “idk!!!” could reference how they struggle to communicate with others, and never know what’s considered “polite” to say. “idk!!!” is also part of Nico’s roman numeral, connecting it to them again.

You could also read “cry, cry, idk!!!” as a timeline of what Nico has done so far in the story. They were anxious, got bullied, and cried a lot, until something in them snapped. What are they gonna do after they snap? Idk!!! Kill Ace, maybe? Either of these options, along with Nico’s official color, are enough to convince me that they could be light blue.

Soft Blue

You’re called an; the world

Hang on, isn’t there another blue non-man you haven’t mentioned yet? You’re right. It’s because I think soft blue is Arei.

Even without her class trial color, Arei is a character covered in blue from head to toe, so she would definitely fit one of the blue options. “You’re called an” reminds me of her for multiple reasons. One, she’s a bully who gives people mean nicknames, so it could be her calling someone else something cruel. Two, many aspects of her personality were derived from her sisters bullying her, so you could say that she’s defined by what she was called as a child. Classic cycle of violence type stuff.

“the world” is a little iffier, but there’s definitely still an argument to be made. In her rant to David and Teruko, Arei makes clear that she believes the world is an inherently cruel place, and that she’s only one piece of that meanness. If she ponders the state of the world frequently, “the world” could be related to her character. (She’s also my world, so–)

Mint

“Idiot”, pointless

Another character who is not having an excellent time! Well, if this alternative green isn’t Teruko, it’s probably Hu, as she’s the other character assigned green. That would also mean that we’ve cleared every character in the cast list, other than the mysterious M__ N____i(___).

While this is not my opinion, I think David currently sees Hu as a “pointless” “idiot”; another person in the long line of manipulable people that he was destined to control. He literally calls her a “fucking idiot” at 18:30 of Chapter 2 Episode 11. It’s also possible that this is how Hu is feeling about herself right now– she says in that same episode that “If no one relies on [her], then [she] won’t be useful anymore.” Since she wasn’t able to prevent Nico from attempting murder or see through David’s lies, she could believe her existence here is pointless.

Kind of an L, but I think this makes sense.

Orchid

doubt; shout

…um.

So, in the assigned colors, the only people with purple-ish pink-ish colors are Charles and Whit, but they’ve already been assigned colors– purple and pink, no less. The next closest person to being purple is Levi, so I guess I’m giving this to him?

It’s not like “doubt” and “shout” are terrible for him. He definitely has moments of doubt when it comes to understanding Arei’s mind games, or when apologizing to Ace. Speaking of Ace, “shout” could refer to the moment in Trial 1 where Levi snapped and threatened to strangle Ace.

I also don’t know if it has any significance that these two words rhyme. Probably not, just because I don’t really see how this would point us to any character, but it’s something worth mentioning.

We’re almost at the end!

Periwinkle

world

Part of the reason why I disliked giving Levi the orchid quotes was because his color fits this periwinkle color much better, but I digress.

For starters, let me say that I’m pretty sure this is its own color, but it could be that my eyes are deceiving me from staring at this MV for too long, and this is actually part of purple. In that case, Charles is also my world, so we good. (The other color assignments are subjected to my opinions as well. I tried screenshotting everything and bringing it into Photoshop, but it was coming up with different hexcodes for colors that were clearly meant to be the same thing, so I gave up and went with subjectivity. If you think something is assigned wrong, let me know!)

As I just mentioned in the orchid section, there aren’t really any more pink or purple characters left in the cast, which leaves us with a problem. Based on the answers I landed on for all of the other colors, I found myself left with Min, Eden, Arturo, Rose, and Veronika. I sort of associate Min and Rose with purple based on the colors of their outfits, but officially, they’re both sort of brownish.

That’s why… I actually think this might be a character we haven’t met yet. Namely, Diana Chiem (should she actually exist), the woman in the video/the hand holding the acceptance letter, the class’ teacher that Min mentions, or M__ N____i(___). Or, some combination of these people, should any of them actually be depicting the same person.

Periwinkle is the last color to appear, which could correlate to how this character will take a while to appear in the story. Their one and only quote being “world” matches how this person is currently in the outside world, not the killing game. They could also be a connection David has to the outside world.

I’m aware this is even more of a copout than calling Mai red, but I honestly believe in this more than any of the other students.

And with that, we’re finally done! I’m always a sucker for matching things to other things, so this was a lot of fun. I might have more to say on this MV in the future, or I might not, but either way, it’s been an honor to piece this thing together with you guys.

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khaleesiofalicante · 4 months

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LBAF & Etymology etc

Happiest of Name Days to Vicky. Here is a little treat for you @fangirlingismygame because I love you so. 💙

There is a tradition started by Diego and Cristina in the Rosales family where the children are named after the letter A. Cami and Theia were almost named Athena and Aurora respectively.

Gwen was named by Lance as such because Lancelot and Guinevere is one of the first love stories David taught Lance.

Joan and Atlas don’t have a middle name. Cami and Arjun’s middle names are Rosales and Iris’ middle name is Jazmín.

Iris was named after the particular flower because it’s the flower Mallory left over Selena’s ‘grave’ when she buried her under the snow in LBAF IV. Gabriel picked it because it’s the flowers that helped them find and save Selena during that day.

While Joan was named after a combination of Jonathan and Julian, she is also named after Joan of Arc - who is in fact considered a national and feminist hero in France.

The name Madeleine derives from the biblical character Mary Magdalene.

It's mentioned that Joseph and Madeleine are the 'It Couple' in the Clave. Their ship name used to be Belleheart (Bellefleur + Goldheart) meaning beautiful heart.

Régine’s middle name was going to be Davina, a female variant of the name David. Madeleine and Joseph kept it as secret to reveal it to David after she was born, but Madeleine ended up not naming her daughter that way.

The name Silverstone (Lance and Arthur’s school) is based on a Formula 1 Grand Prix in the England.

Harry’s surname Anh (Vietnamese) means intellectual and bright.

Arthur names all the animals he cares for and brings home after characters from his school plays and favourite musicals.

The Lightwood-Bane, because of Max and David’s mundane wedding and now mundane life, is one of the only names that is registered and documented accordingly to mundane law. It means mavid family can vote in mundane elections - among other things.

Prince of Darkness is a name actually used to refer to Lucifer in Manichaeism (a former major religion during the the 3rd century). Prince of Darkness, in LBAF, was inspired by the Shakespearean quote in King Lear (Act 3 Scene 4) “The Prince of Darkness is a gentlemen” hinting that devil will disguise himself as a good man in order to deceive you.

The Crimson King, in several interpretations, refers to a malevolent and evil force - including in Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series.

Both Iris and Hermes are names of two famous greek gods both known for being messengers.

Hermes last name Cain is similar to most warlock names - single syllable and has a dark/sad meaning. Cain refers to ‘first murderer’ from the bible after Cain and Abel.

Everyone in the family pronounces Lance’s name with the British pronunciation (David was adamant about using it) while everyone in his school (including Harry) uses the American pronunciation.

The only people (whom he knows) who don’t refer to Arthur as AJ are David and Kincaid.

Joan’s dog’s full name is Oliver Twist - named after a famous fictional character like all Herondale/Fairchild pets.

Other Max no longer goes by Lightwood-Bane and has a different surname in the Other Timeline (his present/our future).

Arjun is named after an infamous archer in Indian mythology.

Before Lance found about Kincaid’s destiny, Crimson King used to be one of his favourite bands - they’re a famous rock band from the 1960s and 70s.

And finally, Lance and Arthur were the names I had picked out for my own children, but I gave it to Mavid because I love them so much and wanted my unborn, imaginary children to have two wonderful parents.

#okay bye #also probs no lbaf update tomorrow yall but will keep you posted on Wednesday x #lbaf #lbaf next gen #my fics #love beckons all fallen

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a-student-out-of-time · 1 year

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//Alright, first off, does this Joss my theory about Arei and J switching places? Nope, I’m still convinced

//In fact, I’m even more convinced than I was last week, but for that, I wanna take you on a deep dive through everything that’s happened

(Just a heads up, this involves discussions about suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and murder)

//First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room here: everyone’s secrets. MonoTV arranged them by order of who received them, not whose they are:

//If you have trouble reading this, here’s all of them written out:

Arei: 'You're a murderer, and you hold no remorse.'

Whit: 'You exist to manipulate others. Everyone else exist to be taken advantage of.'

Nico: 'Your body is falling apart, but you'll still refuse to eat.'

Charles: 'Ever since you kissed her, you were afraid your sexuality would ruin your friendships.'

Arturo: 'You hide your name and birthright to pretend that you aren't the daughter of Mariabella Rosales.'

Levi: 'Blackmail, rumors, lying, stealing, slander. You did everything you could to ruin your sisters' lives.'

Xander: 'You always treated the competition with ruthlessness, but poisoning them to win was a bit too far, wasn't it?'

Min: 'You're constantly blaming yourself for the death of your parents and siblings. It doesn't matter that it's not your fault, just that you didn't go with them.'

Rose: 'Your mother is dead. You always omit the truth.'

J: 'Your older brother died, but you don't remember him at all.'

Eden: 'Your younger sister killed herself because of you. You should have never left.'

Hu: 'You only took on your talent to distract from your incessant need to harm yourself for fun.'

Veronika: 'You were quite the hopeless child. Dying once wasn't enough, so you attempted suicide three times.'

Teruko: 'You took on your talent to earn money for your family. But you've since put them in a lifetime of debt.'

Ace: 'No one accepted you because of your identity. You were constantly mocked by your family, your peers, and everyone else.'

David: 'How could I even select what secret to be your motive? Just about everything you've done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault.'

//There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s go one by one with what we know, and we can extrapolate who the rest are.

//Easy ones: J is the daughter of Mariabella Rosales, Nico is Nonbinary and was mocked for it, Rose accidentally buried her family under a mountain of debt, Charles’ brother is dead and Arei got her sisters sent to reform school through all those tactics. We can also assume that, because they’re not around, Xander’s and Min’s secrets were flipped

//That’s already seven down. Now we can eliminate the obvious ones:

Arei: 'You're a murderer, and you hold no remorse.'

Whit: 'You exist to manipulate others. Everyone else exist to be taken advantage of.'

Nico:'Your body is falling apart, but you'll still refuse to eat.'

Charles: 'Ever since you kissed her, you were afraid your sexuality would ruin your friendships.'

Rose:'Your mother is dead. You always omit the truth.'

Eden: 'Your younger sister killed herself because of you. You should have never left.'

Hu: 'You only took on your talent to distract from your incessant need to harm yourself for fun.'

Veronika: 'You were quite the hopeless child. Dying once wasn't enough, so you attempted suicide three times.'

David: 'How could I even select what secret to be your motive? Just about everything you've done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault.'

//For that, I must draw your attention to everyone’s hidden quotes, which are hidden in the HTML code of DT’s tumblr site, arranged into this master post here courtesy of @despairing-disaster all are relevant here:

//To me, along with my previous theories about Ace attempting to hang himself, leads me to believe his is that he’s already attempted suicide three times. Which...really puts a new perspective on his not wanting to be the butt monkey

//The fact that Whit seems to think very highly of his mother, dyed his hair to look like hers, and has this weirdly cavalier attitude toward death leads me to believe that his mother is actually dead. The fact that he always omits the truth makes me think he’s also really broken up by it all

//This, plus Levi’s scene with Eden at the start of this chapter, lead me to believe that he’s the one whose sister committed suicide. Likely because he cut ties with them and left her with, as he described, a horribly toxic family.

//The self-harming one doesn’t even need a hidden quote, because I’m certain that’s Veronika. She’s not only weird things, she also gets bored easily and longs for stimulation, as she made clear to Teruko last episode. The title of Ultimate Horror Fanatic is very odd as well. Plus, look at her design:

//Both her arms, legs and her entire body are covered. Chances are she’s hiding a ton of self-harm scars under there, given the nature of that secret

//That’s another four down

Arei: 'You're a murderer, and you hold no remorse.'

Whit: 'You exist to manipulate others. Everyone else exist to be taken advantage of.'

Nico: 'Your body is falling apart, but you'll still refuse to eat.'

Charles: 'Ever since you kissed her, you were afraid your sexuality would ruin your friendships.'

David: 'How could I even select what secret to be your motive? Just about everything you've done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault.'

//Let’s be real, that last one can’t be anyone but Teruko ^^;

//That leaves us with the final four. But for a summary, here’s how all the motives we know and I’m sure of should’ve been arranged:

Arei: Blackmail, rumors, lying, stealing, slander. You did everything you could to ruin your sisters' lives.

Whit: Your mother is dead. You always omit the truth.

Nico: No one accepted you because of your identity. You were constantly mocked by your family, your peers, and everyone else.

Charles: Your older brother died, but you don't remember him at all.

Levi: Your younger sister killed herself because of you. You should have never left.

Xander: You're constantly blaming yourself for the death of your parents and siblings. It doesn't matter that it's not your fault, just that you didn't go with them.

Min: You always treated the competition with ruthlessness, but poisoning them to win was a bit too far, wasn't it?

Rose: You took on your talent to earn money for your family. But you've since put them in a lifetime of debt.

J: You hide your name and birthright to pretend that you aren't the daughter of Mariabella Rosales.

Veronika: You only took on your talent to distract from your incessant need to harm yourself for fun.

Teruko: How could I even select what secret to be your motive? Just about everything you've done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault.

Ace: You were quite the hopeless child. Dying once wasn't enough, so you attempted suicide three times.

//That leaves just four secrets and four people to assign to them: David, Arturo, Hu and Eden. Our options are that these four are made up of a murderer, a manipulator, a closeted lesbian/bisexual and someone with an eating disorder/degenerative disease

//Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: whoever’s in the closet has to be a girl, given the phrasing. I’m gonna say it’s most likely Hu, given how quick she was to come to Nico’s defense and how she wanted it revealed as late as possible. I was worried she might be the murderer, but her hidden quote makes that unlikely:

//It was specified the murderer has no remorse. This is a clear demonstration of remorse, and likely for something else entirely.

//Maybe Eden is the killer or manipulator? To which I say, that’s ridiculous. Eden’s role in the story has been as the beacon of hope through all this, and was the one to move Teruko’s heart with her speech about optimism. Her being the killer would be surprising, sure, but would it actually be good writing? I don’t think so.

//Yes, it’s possible that she’s the manipulator, but I can’t see that simply because this chapter is very clearly leaning on the fact that Teruko’s inability to trust people is going to be a hindrance more than an advantage. Having the one person who’s always tried to befriend her be a liar and manipulator just feels wrong from a writing perspective.

//Instead, because she once said she spends over half a day working on clocks, I think it’s more likely that she’s the one who has the disorder/disease. Her body is falling apart on some level, and it might explain why she’s so short.

//One of the symptoms of chronic malnutrition is stunted growth. It also wouldn’t fit Hu, given that she’s pretty shapely. True, body mass doesn’t always equate with physical health, but the fact that it specifies “your body is falling apart” suggests that it’s someone smaller and thinner.

//So that leaves our last two: David and Arturo, and odds are that one’s a murder and one’s a manipulator. And at last, I can return to my theory about Arei and J.

//Yeah, no wonder she looks so horrified

//But here’s a the thing: Arturo and David are both good candidates either of these secrets. Their quotes don’t make it exceptionally clear either.

//Both of these are good candidates if you wanna look at them, and if you analyze their talent and behavior throughout these chapters, it could go either way.

//Arturo could be a murderer who killed ugly people, making him literally Dr. Steinman from Bioshock, or he could be a con artist who scams celebrities, hence why he only operates on them.

//Likewise, David could use his status as an inspirational speaker to either manipulate the hell out of people (which he’s done throughout this chapter) or he’s covering up the fact that he killed someone. Either way, the irony is that Xander’s idol is exactly the kind of person he’d take a stand against.

//But more to the point, no matter who it is, Arei knows who they are, since everyone’s names are on the motive secret letters. Arei went into the playground meeting with David knowing he’s either a liar or a murderer.

//Why is that relevant? Well, now that we can take a closer look at the body, consider this interesting detail that @tophats-tea was kind enough to point out in their own theory.

//This is Arei’s hair normally, from the start of the chapter. Notice how it comes to a stop halfway down her neck?

//Take a look at her hair in the victim reveal:

//Her hair hasn’t come undone, you can still see the braid on the other side. Even if it was, the hair on the right side still hands freely, and you can clearly see it comes down much further, even past her shoulders

//There were only four days between the motive reveal and the BDA. Nobody’s hair grows that fast. Not to mention there was no attention brought to this fact, nor to her face. The only details anyone specified were that her neck was broken and that her wrists had irritation marks on them from some kind of binding.

//And who was the only people who really examined the body in detail? Teruko, who we’ve learned may have prosopagnosia, and Arturo, one of our two potential murderers. That’s it. Nobody else looked closely at her face, just that they were looking for specific death details.

//And that brings me to J, who had some prominence in this episode as well. She was selected as one of the guards to make sure nobody tampers with evidence, and then she had these questions for Teruko.

//These are funny and all, but they’re colorful enough that I’d actually expect them from Arei instead of J.

//It’s curious too, because one could say that it was only possible that J could’ve known that Teruko pulled a knife on her, unless she told Arei or she heard that Teruko did the same with Charles. Either way, that news would get around.

//And for the record, take a look at J’s hair

//It’s so short that it seems easy to hide under a wig that long. Arturo and Teruko wouldn’t have thought to check under it, hence why they likely didn’t notice.

//There was also the interesting detail that J was the one who asked when it was the last time everyone saw Arei, and they all say it was at noon yesterday. But at no point does she specify if she saw her anywhere or not. Everyone glossed over that detail.

//And of course, if my theory is correct, that means Arei approached J knowing either the plastic surgeon that’s been hounding J or the person she just traumadumped to is actually a murderer, which suggests two possibilities:

//Either Arei was the one who offered to switch places with J to try and protect her, or J was the one who suggested it to Arei. And I’m starting to suspect it might be the latter.

//Because consider this: if Arturo were the murderer, why would he target Arei? While Arei likes J, I don’t know if I can consider them close enough for him to actually, for example, feel threatened by her presence.

//But David? He’s actually got a damn good reason to try and target Arei, having made up his secret about depression and was the one who encouraged her to be a kinder person. Which, if this is true, suggests that Arei knew he was full of shit and as a murder, or she saw right through him as a manipulator.

//While I still think what she said about her sister and Eden were all genuine, this is also Arei we’re talking about; a girl who’s motive was about lies and manipulation.

//And that suggests David was planning to target her, but instead, he captured and killed someone who was dressed as her.

//The other key player in all this is Eden, the person who apparently made up with Arei off screen, and was happy to elaborate, but Teruko didn’t care. And throughout these last few episodes, it seems like Eden has been trying to work with Teruko, maybe get her alone for just a couple minutes to talk, but Teruko’s blown her off every time

//You know what I think? Arei clued Eden on who the murder is, and she’s trying to let Teruko know. Why do I think that? Because of Arei’s quotes, both public and hidden:

//These two quotes have been at the forefront of all these theories, and with every episode, they feel more and more relevant.

//Not to mention, and this from a Doylist perspective, but the fact that Arei’s only really had two big scenes so far this chapter. She strangled MonoTV with the rope, she had that big emotional episode in the playground...and then she was basically off-screen until she died. That feels like a waste to me; even Hibiki got more development than that, and anyone who’s followed me for a while will know how much I hated how dirty she was done.

//I’m not simply wishing for Arei to be alive because I like her as a character. I’m saying it because she received so much narrative emphasis and there’s so much going on involving her this chapter that it feels like a waste for her just to be dead. Not unless they’re gearing up to a big reveal

//And with how things are seeming to play out, my initial theory that Arei wanted to protect J might actually be that J wanted to protect her instead.

//The final detail I want to discuss for this is the note Rose and Teruko found in the trash.

//The only details I could really get out of this were “friend” “than ever” and “7:30.″ A meeting definitely went on at some point, and odds are it involved Arei and either J or Eden.

//Rather than discrediting my theory, this episode has actually given me more ammo to suggest this is actually the reveal we’re gearing up toward. And I for one am excited.

//So yes, thank you for reading this long-ass rant, stick around for more theories if you wish ^^;

#mod talks #a student out of time #danganronpa despair time #arei nageishi #J moreno #eden tobisa #David Chiem #veronika grebenshchikova #arturo giles

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selencgraphy · 1 year

Text

Please Don't Leave Me Hanging

part one: it must be exhausting (always rooting for the anti-hero)

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Female!OC (Jessie “Dice” Rosales)

Warnings: cursing, fluff, angst, overthinking, panic attack, self deprecation, jealousy, abandonment issues

A/N: ANDD WE'RE BACK BABYY!! merry christmas to those who are celebrating today or happy holidays if you're not! reconstruction of the series begins and jessie and jake have returned :) unfortunately, part one is as sad as it was the first time. most of it stayed the same (i really liked how it came out the first time so) but it probably won't be like that for the rest of the series. again, apologies for this whole fiasco but i hope you stick with me again :)

previous part // masterlist // next part

“What the fuck, man,” Coyote sighed as he sunk two more in a pocket. “You got a rabbit’s foot on you or something?”

Lining up another shot, he looked up at his friend with a smirk. “Who needs a rabbit’s foot,” he started, pausing as he took the shot and sank it perfectly without even looking. “When you’ve got pure skill?”

Straightening up, his gaze somehow immediately found her among the crowd, his eyebrows raising in surprise. Making her way towards the back, the other pilots looked at each other anxiously as Hangman set his cue down to meet her halfway. Her eyes skimmed over his name tag before she spoke. “Seresin.”

“Rosales,” he retorted after doing the same. The tension that filled the bar spread to each person in their presence, causing an atmosphere of aching nerves. All of the other pilots knew how much of an asshole he was to everyone he met, some having just experienced it mere minutes ago. So as he stared down the newest edition of their special detachment back to Top Gun, their breaths wavered in anticipation. Jessie was the first to break, unable to hold back the smile she always displayed in his presence. As soon as the corners of her mouth turned upward, he, too, grinned before quickly pulling her into a hug. “That was not what I was expecting, at all,” one of them whispered, causing her to laugh.

When he let her go, he held her shoulders and leveled with her. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you got called back here too?”

“You know me, Jake. Always one for surprises,” she said with the grin on her face growing bigger. “She called him by his first name, no one ever calls him by his first name,” another one of the other pilots whispered amongst themselves.

Once again, he pulled her into a tight embrace. Over his shoulder she could see her new colleagues whispering at each other, confusion and shock splashed across their expressions. “I think we broke them,” she whispered.

Letting go of her once again, Jake turned to face his colleagues. “Guys, this is Jessie Rosales. Better known by her callsign, Dice.”

It took them a beat to fully process what had happened before they introduced themselves one by one. “It’s nice to finally put some faces to the names I’ve heard of over the years. Jake has told me a lot about some of you guys.”

At her comment, he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “What?”

He cleared his throat and the others stood awkwardly. Oh. “Has this asshole not told you guys about me?”

In the same order that they introduced themselves, they all shook their heads. Suddenly, her fist came into contact with one of his shoulders, causing him to groan out in pain. “Oww,” he groaned.

“Oh I love her already,” Phoenix chuckled.

“No no no, you two don’t get to be friends,” wagging his finger and pulling her away towards the bar.

“I’ll talk to you later, girl,” Phoenix shouted.

Jake yelled back over his shoulder. “No you won’t!”

She laughed at his apprehension. “Why,” she whined. “She seems cool.”

“She’ll ask for blackmail material and knowing you,” he started as they leaned against the edge of the bartop. “You’ll give it to her in a heartbeat.”

Her hand went to her chest as she gasped in feigned offense. “How dare you think so low of me?”

He let out a small chuckle before Penny came up and asked for their order. From afar, the other pilots observed in awe. It wasn’t until a familiar bell rang from the bar did he finally separate from her. As she watched him drag a customer out the back, she noticed Rooster at the piano with Phoenix, Bob, Payback, and Fanboy surrounding him. When the realization of what song he was playing kicked in, she made her way towards the piano to join them and sing along.

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain

Too much love drives a man insane

You broke my will

But what a thrill

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!

Jake followed behind Coyote as they re-entered the bar to find everyone singing along while Rooster played. After rolling his eyes at his co-worker’s showboating, he searched the crowd, only for him to find her standing in front of the piano singing along with everything she had. It always annoyed him when Rooster did something like this, but he could care less about his stupid rivalry right now. Coyote asked him something but none of the words registered in his head. “Huh?”

“How long have you known her?”

“Mmm, about 20-ish years? We met in high school.”

Coyote’s eyes widened in shock. “High school?”

He laughed at his friend’s confusion. “Yeah, high school.”

“Have you told her?”

“What?”

Coyote repeated his question, enunciating each word as if saying the same sentence would clear things up, but Jake still looked at him in confusion.“Told her what?”

“C’mon man. Ever since she got here, it’s like you’re a whole different person and you’ve got this look in your eyes whenever you look at her.”

“There’s no look,” he quickly defended. “We’ve been best friends since high school and I just- I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“Mhm,” his friend hummed, not quite believing what Jake was saying. “Whatever you say, man.” When Coyote left to get himself another drink, he gazed back over to the piano, finding her in the same place she had been a minute ago. A smile crept up on his face as he watched, his cheeks burning but that didn't matter.

—

Everyone filled the seats at the fromt of the hangar, a small podium placed front and center. As Admiral Bates introduced their instructor, everyone turned backwards to see who it was. Now fashioning a flight suit like everyone else, the man that had been thrown overboard at the Hard Deck last night walked down the middle of the seats. “I give you Captain Pete Mitchell. Call sign, Maverick.”

At the sight of him, Jake and a few others sank into their chairs, faces flushed in embarrassment from last night's shenanigans. Jessie was the only one to notice how the excitement left Rooster’s face as he walked past. When the captain came to stand at the podium, he nodded his head towards them, his gaze obviously directed more so at a few individuals, including Jake. Before they knew it, training started and people were arriving back one by one with 200 pushups on their to-do lists.

“Ga-damn look at those muscles work,” she remarked as she walked past him on the tarmac towards her own plane.

Too tired from making it to 105, all he could do in response was scoff. “You’re next,” he said in his head.

The day ended with Maverick and Rooster almost running themselves into the ground. When Jake returned, he headed to the locker room where he bumped into Jessie. “Hey Jess, I’m just gonna change and we can-”

“Where’s Rooster?” That was certainly not the response he was expecting.

“Out doing his push-ups.” As he said that, she started to walk towards the door. “Hey, where’re you going?”

“To go see Rooster?” Before he could say anything else, she was already out the door. It shouldn't have been a big deal. She was just going to check on a co-worker because that’s who she was. Still, the ache in his chest persisted. Now on his own, he looked for Javy in hopes he’d be free to hang out. “Sorry man, Fitch and Trace got this thing going on and I told them I’d go. You can come too if you want?”

He shook his head. He knew the others didn't like him, so why annoy them by tagging along uninvited. “Nah it’s okay, go enjoy.”

The work day ended an hour before the bar even opened so when he arrived, the place was empty aside from Penny and her daughter, Amelia. “Bar doesn’t open til 5,” the young girl called out when the chimes on the door rang.

“Aren't you a little too young to be in a bar, kiddo?”

She shrugged and put her head back down towards her homework. From the back room, Penny came back out with a crate in her hands. “Hangman,” she greeted, a hint of surprise in her tone. It was normal for him to be one of the bar's first customers of the day, but she didn’t expect him this early. “Bar doesn't open for another hour, what can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

“Training was sh-” He turned his body to follow Penny as she walked to the bar and as he was about to curse, he glanced over to the young girl at the bar and caught himself. “Bad and everyone else is doing their own thing so uh… do you mind if I just hang around here?”

Setting down the crate, Penny turned back to face the pilot. In the quick glance she took at him, she couldn't help but notice how he fiddled with his hands and his confidence was nowhere to be seen. “Of course. Just no beer until we open.”

“Thanks Pen.” Taking a seat near Amelia, he looked over her shoulder to see what she had been working on which made him chuckle to himself. It was nice to see that the U.S. middle school curriculum hadn’t changed much. After a few minutes of skimming through the book next to her, she let out a frustrated sigh and hung her head. “Need some help kiddo?”

“English is annoying.” At the girl’s statement, he let out a breathy laugh. “It’s been a while, but I read that book when I was in middle school. What question are you tryna answer?”

From afar, Penny watched Jake help her daughter with her homework with a small smile on her face. After a few head scratches, the two high fived and Amelia picked up her pencil and started to write quickly. Ever since she had met him, Hangman acted like an arrogant asshole. His confidence created an energy that both attracted and repelled others. But the man that was sitting at the bar seemed like a completely new person. There were hints of genuineness here and there, but most of the things that came out his mouth were sarcastic comments and insults. Maybe it was because he was talking to a 13 year old girl, maybe it was because there were no other pilots in sight. Penny didn’t really care. Glancing between the clock and them, she sighed. 5 minutes until opening and her new bartender hadn’t come yet. “Sorry Hangman, I’m gonna need you to hang out outside for a bit. I gotta take Amelia home and my newbie is a no-show so…”

As he stood up to leave, her daughter started to talk. “Hangman can take me? This place is pilot central and I’d rather not hold them all up just because you had to take me home.” Penny looked from her daughter to him, a look of hesitation on her face.

“Only if you’re okay with it. I don't have anything to do anyways.” Looking between them and the clock once again, she grabbed a napkin and pen and quickly wrote down her address and phone number. “Once you drop her off, text me so I know she made it home, capiche?”

As he took the napkin from her hand, he gave her a small salute and Amelia ran around him to give her mom a quick hug before making her way out the door. Arriving outside, he found her standing next to his car already. “How the hell did you know that was mine?”

She scoffed. “Process of elimination. This was the only other car besides my mom’s so…”

He looked around the parking lot, only finding Penny’s ‘73 Porsche and his ‘96 Charger parked in front of the bar causing him to shrug. “Alright, get in.” The car ride was pretty quiet apart from the songs that played on the radio and the hums from each of them as they followed the song. “Can we stop for some ice cream?”

He glanced over to her and then ahead towards the tiny shopping center. Why not?

As soon as he parked, she ran out of the car and into the shop. When he entered, she was already ordering, and when she finished she turned to him and asked, “Do you want anything?”

“Are you paying?” he replied with a smirk on his face.

“You’re the adult with a full-time job,” she quipped, eliciting a chuckle from him. Once he ordered, he paid and took a seat in front of Amelia. They ate in silence until she finally spoke up. “What’s your real name?”

“Jake,” he quickly replied after licking his spoon.

“Jake,” she muttered to herself, testing the name. “ You know, you’re not like what they say you’re like.”

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, unsure of where she was going. As she spoke, she fiddled with the contents in her cup. “My mom told me about you. About how much of an asshole you can be sometimes. But having met you, I think you’re actually kinda cool. You didn’t put up that act I hear about all the time.”

“Act?” he questioned, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yeah. Act,” she said after taking a bite. “I’m 13, not stupid. The question is, why?”

Why? Why did he put on this so-called act? Was it an act? Even he wasn’t completely sure. The girl in front of him pulled him from his thoughts when her chair screeched across the floor as she stood up. “Meet you in the car?” she asked as if she didn’t just send him into an existential crisis. As he slowed to a stop in front of the Benjamin home, Amelia grabbed her backpack and sprang out of his car. Upon shutting his door, she leaned her head down back through the open window. “You’re a good dude, Hangman.” At that, she turned around and headed for her front door, yelling over her shoulder. “Thanks for the ride! Don’t forget to text my mom!”

At the reminder, he grabbed his phone and typed in the number that Penny gave him earlier that day. He watched to make sure Amelia made it inside the house before giving his full attention to the phone in his hands.

Stopped by for some ice cream on the way home and just dropped her off. Be back in a few. - Hangman

He checked his phone for any other notifications but nothing came up. Today’s training was pretty brutal, maybe she just went home. That’s what he tried to tell his brain at least. It didn’t take long for him to get back to the bar. The parking spots that were empty when he had left were now all mostly filled. One parked car that caught his eye was a first-gen Ford Bronco that he was heavily acquainted with. Too focused on the Bronco, he missed the sight of another familiar car by a few inches.

As he entered, he beelined for the bar where Penny greeted and thanked him for taking her daughter home before asking for his order. “The usual?”

He gave her a quick nod and when she left to grab a beer, his eyes scanned the crowd in boredom. It didn’t take him long to find his Hawaiian shirt-wearing co-worker. He was in the far right corner of the bar, cue stick in hand as he circled the table. When he moved to reveal his opponent, his brain short circuited. Differing thoughts running wild.

She blew you off.

It’s not that big of a deal, she’s just playing pool.

She chose Rooster over you.

So? She's your best friend, not your girlfriend.

But that’s where it starts and then before you know it, you’ve lost her completely.

Calm the fuck down. Breathe, Jake. Breathe.

The sudden thud from a beer bottle allowed him to escape the thoughts that quickly overwhelmed him. It had only taken a glance, but Penny immediately noticed the paleness in his skin, blank expression, and fidgeting hands. “Hangman, are you okay?”

Her eyes glanced in the direction his head was turned and looked back at him. His breath quickened despite the pleas he yelled inside his head at his own body. “Yeah, I uh- I just need some fresh air. Thanks Pen.” At that he practically ran out the back door, leaving the beer he ordered in its place.

As soon as he made it outside, the cold air slapped him in the face but did nothing to cool him down. He took a deep breath. You can feel the wind. You can smell the ocean. You can see the sunset. You can hear the seagulls. Breathe in, breathe out. You’re okay.

“Jake?” He didn't need to turn around to know who was calling out for him. His response was choppy as he tried to relax. “I’m fine, Jess. Just go back inside. Hang out with Rooster.”

You’re not fine, dickhead. Don’t push her away.

It wasn't hard for her to notice the shakiness in his voice and how his body shook even when he had his back to her.

Despite his words, she worked her way towards him, finding herself standing directly in front of him. With everything he tried, he still couldn't control his breath, his chest rising and falling faster and faster. She moved her head in front of his face in an attempt to catch his gaze. He felt her hands on his shoulders and knew she stood in front of him but everything was blurred. All he could sense was the heavy thump of his heart, her voice slightly muffled underneath it. “Jake. Jake, look at me. Look. At. Me.”

Punctuating those last three words, her voice became clearer and he looked at her. Without saying anything, she started to take deep breaths and waited for him to copy. His breathing wavered as he tried to copy the slow pace of hers. When it evened out and she was sure he was calm enough to talk again, she asked, “What happened?”

You did. “Nothing.”

“It didn't look like nothing.”

“I said it was nothing, Jess,” his tone a bit sharper than he meant for it to be. Her face filled with worry, but she knew it wouldn't help to press too hard. “Are you sure?”

No. “Yeah. I uh- I think I’m just gonna head out. Get some uh- some sleep. You go have fun with Rooster.” Before she could say more, he was already walking around the corner towards the parking lot.

It took him forever to fall asleep. Even with the impending tick of the clock in his room closing in on 5AM, his mind raced. Eventually, his brain grew tired of the storm it brewed and let him fall asleep. The next few days blurred together with training feeling like some kind of excuse for Maverick to pick on them rather than training them. His brain went on autopilot and the asshole facade completely took over, pushing everyone away—even Jessie. She used to be by his side 24/7 but now? Everywhere he looked she was next to him with the biggest smile on her face and her cheeks flushed. He always teased Rooster for waiting for the right moment, but now here he was over 20 years later still keeping her at an arm’s length. Ironic isn’t it?

The rivalry he had built with the other pilot made his thoughts worse. No matter what it was, everyone seemed to choose Rooster. He shouldn't be thinking like this, making it such a big deal. She was allowed to be with who she wanted to be with, but his heart took over. Logic was clouded by emotions in a snap. The rampant words that bounced off the insides of his head made him feel like he was losing control over everything. Everything except flying and so his cockiness increased tenfold. Snarky comments in the air over comms and that irritating smirk pushed everyone’s buttons. Earlier that day he had been looking at the pictures of the classes before him in the rec room and stumbled upon familiar faces. It wasn’t hard to find out more about them and what had happened all those years ago. So when they were all gathered in a conference room going over what Rooster could have done instead to survive, the words just flew out of his mouth. He knew it was harsh but maybe that’s what he wanted to be. Or maybe he didn’t. Why did I just say that?

Everyone was on their feet now pulling him and Rooster away from each other, quickly shrugging off the hands that held him back. He should've stopped. Every possible button had been pushed. But he didn’t. “He’s not cut out for this mission and you know it. You know I’m right.”

“Jake, that’s enough,” a voice asserted just to the left of Rooster. His eyes jumped the person next to the man in front of him, the cracks in his heart growing bigger by the second. The look on her face scared him beyond imagination. He had seen her get mad before but this was the look everyone else gave him. One filled with anger, disappointment, and resentment. In the time they’ve known each other, she’d never looked at him like that. This was it. The promise he made to himself all those years ago shattered as she looked at him. The mask broke for merely a second, realizing what he’d done and his feet took him away from everyone before his mouth could do any more damage. The last thing he heard before the door closed behind him was Maverick dismissing everyone for the day. He half-expected another set of footsteps to follow behind him but the silence that filled the hallway as he left the building proved him wrong.

When he got into his car, he drove with no real destination in mind and ended up at The Hard Deck. The parking lot was empty, indicating that Penny wasn’t in yet. Made sense considering the time. His phone vibrated a few times. Glancing down at the screen, there were dozens of texts and missed calls from Jessie.

What the hell were you thinking?

Where are you?

Jake, answer your phone.

Please, just answer.

He couldn't face her. Not now. So he kept driving, and he drove until he reached the Strand. The beach was fairly empty aside from a few joggers passing by. He’d never been down this way before, always taking the bridge to get back to the mainland. So there he found himself sitting in the sand just before the water turned it mushy, staring off into the horizon. Growing up in Texas, he had never even seen the ocean until he went to San Diego. Going to the beach was one of the first things he did.

Something about it was just so peaceful. The waves crashing, the sight of the sun setting on the horizon, the seagulls cawing, or the breeze that blew through his hair. Whatever it really was, it put the crowd of restless voices in his head at rest. But reality always had to set back in eventually. He didn’t even realize he was crying until his nose started to run, but even then, he made no effort to wipe the tears away. Instead, he curled his legs up towards his chest, rested his forehead on his knees, and closed his eyes. He was just so tired. A mix of orange and purple painted the sky as the sun set, almost mimicking the forever-occuring battle in his head. The devil on his shoulder continued to beat the angel time and time again. But no matter how hard he tried, the wall of arrogance he had built up so long ago to save himself had eaten away at the one thing he never wanted to lose. You’re a good dude, Hangman. Maybe Amelia Benjamin was wrong.

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