shorter than Mipha

Something that really cool about other Barbie is, as you’ll see again later, that whatever the situation she makes banter from it to make the other person feel comfortable. For Barbie, this is may be particularly comforting as she manages to get herself into all sorts of mayhem. They’re a good match!

This lasts until Barbie gets herself into another predicament at the academy’s doors, which are rotating doors. She falls while inside them, causing them to spin rapidly until they are both flung into the academy and all their belongings lie scattered on the floor.

Our other Barbie doesn’t seem the least bit annoyed or angry at what just happened, but rather amused, and says:

“I hope you’re better on the guitar than you are with doors.”

This marks beginning of their inside joke (yes, Barbie does get stuck in plenty of other doors).

Whilst they’re collecting their stuff, giggling at each other’s jokes, a member of staff informs them that they’ve arrived a day early. Aw damn! Fortunately, instead of going all the way back home, they’re allowed to set up their dorm (which they share — ‘and they were roommates’-) and get to spend the whole day together!

Until they get to their dorm, they have not idea that they both have identical names, so they adopt the nicknames ‘Malibu’ (because we all know Barbie lives in Malibu) and ‘Brooklyn’ (because Barbie is from Brooklyn). V cute! For the remainder of the movie they use those names, expect from around people they don’t know.

Then the first song starts, and it is a love song if I’ve ever heard one. The lyrics and visuals just show how quickly they’ve fallen for each other (bearing in mind, they only just met):

I love the concrete jungle

And I'm a beach girl

Together we're best of both possible worlds

Our duo's so dynamic

Like fire and rain

Together we can set it off

And make a Big Bang

Hey universe, look who's coming at ya

For the first time I found my perfect match and

How did we ever survive?

Before us (before us)

All I need now in my life

Is more us (is more us)

It's like we're meant to be like destiny so right

Yeah how did we ever survive?

Before us

And the second pre-chorus:

Through thick and thin we've got the brightest future

Where've you been cause I wish I'd met you sooner

Need i say more?

As for the visuals, here are some personal favourites (some of these things happen just before the song):

Here’s them playing a guitar duet together while snuggling into each other’s faces and throwing ‘I’m so in love with you’ glances at each other.

Here’s them dangling their slices of pizza above the other’s head and trying to stop the other from eating it. No idea how they found themselves doing that but, it’s really cute and they up laughing.

They also already share toothpaste…

and do other cool girlfriend things, such as:

Oh and Malibu gives Brooklyn a book, which seems to mean a lot to her because she hugs it to her chest. This book, i believe, is symbolic of their love for one another — the reasons behind this interpretation will become clearer later, but from this scene alone it’s evident that Malibu really likes Brooklyn, so much so that she willingly gives her a possession dear to her. A part of her if you will. Through this book, Brooklyn can learn more about Barbie and her interests — how cool eeeee

On an unrelated note, my sister and i like to think that the song ‘Try It On’, from Princess Adventure, is about trying different pronouns. So in the last film Malibu sang about pronouns and in this film she’s having a cool time with her gf Brooklyn and thinking about her sexuality/having her gay awakening part 2 (Dolphin Magic was part 1).

That aside, right after the song, they get on a train and Malibu has trouble with the doors yet again.

However, even though Malibu is imminent danger (to be more specific, when the train starts moving, she’ll probably die lmao), instead of wriggling out of the doors, she waits for Brooklyn to take her hand and pull her out.

Brooklyn doesn’t get annoyed either; she throws her some knowing glances and immediately eases Malibu’s embarrassment by joking about the situation:

Malibu: Was that a totally clueless tourist move?

Brooklyn: [sarcastically?] No, not at all!

Malibu: Honestly?

Brooklyn: [hint of sarcasm] No. [reaching for Malibu] Not at all.

Then they both lean in and laugh — it’s so sweettt

Now it’s time to sidetrack a little bit and talk about Brooklyn and Emily!

Soo, on the train, Malibu catches sight of a poster of the famous star Emily and, being a massive fan, enthuses about how great and popular she is. Brooklyn responds with apathy and disinterested remarks, pretending that she’s never heard of her, but then reveals (with pained expression) that she actually used to know Emily. She explains that they used to be good friends but one day Emily abruptly stopped talking to her; perhaps because her fame got to head.

At this point, i thought that maybe Brooklyn and Emily were in love but didn’t ever confess to each other — then Emmie left before either of them got the chance to.

Anyways, after that, the cutesttt thingg happens. Malibu, jet lagged and still adjusting to the time zone, yawns and Brooklyn teases her for getting sleepy. Drowsy Malibu protests, insisting that she isn’t tired because she wants to explore the rest of the city, but she falls asleep on Brooklyn’s shoulder. At this Brooklyn smiles, a long, lingering, fond smile; the kind where you’re lost the moment and thinking about something, or someone in her case. Still smiling, she then rests her head on Malibu’s and the two of them fall asleep.

Time skip to nighttime a couple days later when Ken gives Malibu a phone call. Dunno know much about the new Barbie Dreamhouse lore but Barbie nd Ken’s friendship is real cool — and being the supportive bestie that he is, Ken calls Barbie to ask how she’s doing nd encourage her. This phone call was well-timed because Malibu is feeling deflated from trying to keep up with the other students. She also tells Ken about Brooklyn; more specifically, she glances over at her while she’s sleeps and lovingly proclaims that she’s “amazing”.

It has only been a day and Malibu is already so enamoured with Brooklyn.

Alright, we’re just going to take a quick intermission for Rafa’s iconic self and equally as iconic line:

“The only labels we believe in are designer.”

Rafa is alsoo the designer that made the girls sparkly pride flag dresses: Malibu’s dress resembles the pansexual pride flag and Brooklyn’s somewhat resembles the bisexual pride flag. (Both dresses also have silver on them). Barbie, are you trying to tell us something?? (Can’t remember which movie it was but they also did the same thing with some fairies; they both had pride flag wings).

They also go on a little date later and change into their dresses, during which they take a surplus of selfies, stare at each other affectionately, hold hands and giddily spin around together.

It’s one of their very adorable moments because they seem to have made a habit of wandering off together in the city and ending up wherever, and wherever they go, they have an amazing time.

At one point during this little adventure, Brooklyn’s dad calls her and while she’s on the phone Malibu spontaneously tries to make her laugh — which works, and is so cute. She just wants to make her girlfriend happy.

Another thing that’s really cute about this is scene is what Brooklyn says to her dad on the phone:

“Yes. She’s very nice; you’d like her.” (About Malibu, while beaming at her with amusement and loving eyes). It’s as if she’s introducing her dad to her gf.

Then comes the big conflict, which even this couple’s bliss could not avoid. But before we get into that, let’s skip back a little to the moment when the girls and Rafa meet Emily.

So, to set the scene, it’s lunchtime, Brooklyn and Malibu are looking for a place to sit and they see free spaces at this table. Now, there’s someone already sitting at the table who introduces herself as Lee, when in actuality she’s Emily in disguise. She looks up and instantly notices Brooklyn; the surprise on her face is unmistakable.

Rafa comes by and sits next to Lee, whose disguise is soon blown by Brooklyn, who quickly realises that she’s Emily. Emily then explains that she’s wearing a disguise because she just wants a chance to train without anyone treating her differently because of her fame. She also tells them that when she started living with her dad, he stopped her from talking to her friends, basically so that he could exploit her fame.

i would include the scene or a gif here buuut I have surpassed the picture nd video limit, so here’s dialogue for the end of the scene:

Emily: “I even had to beg him [her father] too but my tour dates so I could come here this summer.”

Brooklyn: “I’m glad you did.”

Emily: “Yeah, me too. I’ve… missed you.”

Brooklyn: “Same.”

(They then smile fondly at each other in silence).

Brooklyn: “But don’t worry, I’m not gonna ask you for a selfie of for an autograph.”

Emily: “For you, I’d make an exception.”

Emily and Brooklyn are so obviously gay for each other, and, if you watch the whole scene, Malibu is just a bundle of gay excitement; it’s great.

Okay! So now let’s skip back to the present. Brooklyn, Malibu and Emmie are together on stage, presumably for a class of some sort, and warm-up together before it starts. Why? Well, Rafa is about to take a picture of everyone on stage and Emily, still wearing a disguise, doesn’t want to be noticed. So, being the considerate girlfriends they are, Brooklyn and Malibu walk Emily to rehearse in the corner furthest away from the camera.

The warm-up commences, and while they’re doing it, Emily catches Brooklyn bridal style and looks fondly into her eyes and she helps her back on her feet. Not only is this already incredibly adorable, but the fact that Brooklyn purposefully fell to be caught by Emmie makes it even better. That and the fact that Emily is a shortie.

Unfortunately, during this lovely scene, Malibu accidentally bumps into Brooklyn and she falls from the stage, resulting in a sprained ankle. From the instant that it happens, Malibu feels awful and at fault for her injury. It seems to be the only thing she think about, which is clear when she spends lunchtime ranting worriedly to Emily about it.

But as soon as she sees Brooklyn, she darts from her seat and to her side, all concerned but evidently excited to see her, and Brooklyn greets her with the same knowing smile and loving look she always has.

Brooklyn is actually on her way out of the building and Malibu, who was just eating lunch, follows her out. She just leaves her lunch to follow Brooklyn out of the academy to wherever she’s headed, all because she saw she was okay. It’s as if Malibu is so captivated by Brooklyn that she completely forgets herself — just gunna repeat this: they’re in love, i’m just saying!

Of course, on their way out, Malibu somehow got them stuck in the same rotating door situation as the first time they met — except this time she catches Brooklyn semi-bridal style. Once again, Brooklyn makes a joke out of what just happened to put Malibu at ease, which is just so sweet.

The girls end up at a park and another musical number commences.

The song’s actually pretty cool; they get to sing with Rafa, whose rapping part is nice. This song doesn’t lack in loving glances between Malibu and Brooklyn, and there are plenty of nuances of their affection. Here’s an example:

Interpret that clip how you will, but i like to think that Malibu is so taken by the moment that she almost kisses Brooklyn — and Brooklyn looks like she knows that Malibu’s about to, but they both decide against it in the last second. Why else would you stare into someone’s eyes and move that close to their face?

Alright so, we’re coming towards the end of the film, and now things are gunna take a turn for the worse.

Emily’s stinky, antagonistic father — who she is trying to get away from — decided to show up at the academy to make sure that Emily gets to perform at Times Square.

Annoyingly, he just had to be there when Malibu accidentally pushed Brooklyn off of the stage, so his bitchass uses the accident to his advantage by incriminating Malibu (i.e. claiming that she purposefully shoved Brooklyn to eliminate her competition) and has her expelled. All of this so that Emily has less competition in the contest to perform at Times Square.

So now Malibu is expelled, but before she gets the chance to tell Brooklyn, the headmistress does, and convinces Brooklyn that Malibu sabotaged her.

Upon hearing this, Brooklyn is in a state of shock and disbelief; she denies the possibility because she knows Malibu, and that she knows that Malibu cares about her — she would never do something like this. But this denial slowly becomes deep feelings of hurt and betrayal. It’s sad because, not too long ago, Brooklyn went through the same thing with Emily and now has to undergo that same emotional pain.

Throughout the scene, Brooklyn refers to ‘Barbie’ as ‘Malibu’ but realises that the headmistress has no idea who she’s taking about and hastily switches back to saying ‘Barbie’. Thought this was a nice detail as it could highlight how that was their personal thing, and how natural those nicknames became in such a short period of time. Alternatively, this could show the rift in their relationship as ‘Barbie’ seems formal now — she’s beginning to leave their amicability behind.

Later, Malibu finds Brooklyn in a practice room and tries to talk to her about what happened, but Brooklyn’s replies are cold because she believes what the headmistress said. Malibu protests, hurt that Brooklyn thinks she actually sabotaged her. They begin to argue, and then Brooklyn says the following:

“You know, for a while, I really I thought you were special.”

“I thought this [signalling between herself and Malibu] was special.”

“[Sighs] I guess I was wrong.”

At which I did squeal with a mixture of happiness and sadness; happy because i interpreted these lines to have romantic connotations, and sad because this is basically their break-up scene. Brooklyn called Malibu special!! She called their relationship special!!!! And with everything that’s happened so far, taking these words to mean something romantic just seemed right.

The song that follows is their version of Descendants’ ‘Space Between’, if you will. The lyrics, along with the music video, could be interpreted as a romantic ballad about heartbreak and reminisce.

Let’s take a look at the lyrics!

Brooklyn: Back here again, losing a friend

I thought I was strong, but I'm reeling

This time felt different, our connection was instant

But that was pure magical thinking

Brooklyn found a good friend in Malibu and then realised, now more than ever, that she loved her (suggested by the line “this time it felt different, our connection was instant”).

Sadly, their time together is now over and perhaps the idea that they could be something more was too good to be true, hence the line “but that was pure magical thinking” (as a pose to ‘wishful thinking’ — the change of phrasing here, from ‘wishful’ to ‘magical’, could refer to the surreal quality of their relationship and how ‘magical’ it was; like imagine meeting someone you get along perfectly with within a day of knowing them, you eat each other’s food, spontaneously gift them a an item of yours with sentimental value — in this case the book that Malibu gave Brooklyn, share toothpaste, wonder aimlessly around the city together, fall asleep on them, gaze at them fondly… etc etc).

Just move on from the pain

Soon it'll fade like a memory

You'll start over again

Evolving from this fateful origin story

The lyrics emphasise the extent of Brooklyn’s emotional withdrawal, which is a great amount. She’s trying to convince herself to move on but she keeps singing about Malibu, which could suggest that she’s having a difficult time letting go (further highlighting that she cared deeply about Malibu).

The line “soon it’ll fade like a memory” further implies that she doesn’t even want to forget about Malibu and allows their story to linger in her mind as a “memory”. “Fade” also suggests the gradual, instead of immediate, forgetting of their time together — her memories of their relationship may lose their vibrancy and colour, but they’ll still be there and somewhat intact.

Lastly, if i’m not mistaken, Brooklyn describes their relationship as a “fateful origin story” which are strong words — reemphasising the fact that what she and Malibu had was special.

A chariot streaks across the sky

So majestically

Two girls on an odyssey

In the city that never sleeps

Did a little research about what a “chariot” could symbolise in a romantic context and found out here (on a website about tarot cards, which i don’t know much about) that the chariot card? can mean that the person in question “has strong feelings for you, and they are trying to hold onto them without getting carried away by them”. Personally, i think this interpretation fits them because they refer to their bond as being special and surprisingly strong, and neither of them (not even now when they both feel betrayed) wants to let go/is finding it hard to let go. But they let themselves get carried away by the “magical thinking”, as Brooklyn put it.

However, the website also explains that these “strong feelings” could be a number of different things; romantic love, platonic love, hatred… And this could represent Brooklyn’s conflicting feelings as she sings this song; she’s not sure whether she loved Malibu, or if she hates her out of betrayal.

Riding high on a merry-go-round

Of modern mythology

Glory within reach

In the playground of our dreams, oh-whoa

The “playground” and “merry-go-round” described in the song could be symbols of eternal love, as merry-go-rounds spin and spin and spin, and the time you spend on the playground during your childhood seems to last forever. Nonetheless, at one point or another, these things come to an abrupt halt. But Malibu and Brooklyn weren’t prepared for the sudden stop their relationship would come to — perhaps they thought they’d last forever.

Our destiny with reality

In the race against the wind

Discovering a new part of me

In a fated friend

You’ll see it more as the song continues, but there is perhaps a semantic field of fate and mythology here. This brings to mind the star-crossed lovers trope: their encounter was destined, their relationship is basically sabotaged by external forces (namely, Emmie’s father), and it has now ended in tragedy.

Also, the line “discovering a new part of me in a faded friend” could be a continuation of the feelings expressed in the earlier lyric “this time felt different, our connection was instant”; could, in a romantic context, allude to her discovery of the fact that she likes girls, which she may’ve suspected with Emmie but confirmed with Malibu

Now you can read the rest, if you so wish, with just the occasional comment from me.

I knew finding you would be

An epic journey with no end

Or so that it seemed

In the playground of our dreams, oh-whoa

Brooklyn and Malibu: But you can't see shooting stars

In the city of marquee lights

Fate brought us together

Then tore us apart, tore us apart

Wish I could go back and restart

I'll race across the sky

To a world where dreams and friendships

Aren't destined to collide

Malibu: The chariot has landed

Stranded on this lonely island

Where great beginnings

Don't get happy endings

Glorious mythologies

Can slip out of your reach

In reality, best friends leave

The ride was just make believe

In the playground of our dreams, oh

One last thing before we move on from this love song; during the song we see Brooklyn enter their dorm to find all of Malibu’s stuff gone, except from the book she gave Brooklyn; which is lying alone on her naked mattress. Maybe she hopes that Brooklyn will remember her? Maybe she hopes that she remembers where they started? Maybe it’s a way of saying ‘you know the real me’? Either way, there seems to be this lingering hope on both sides that their relationship could be rekindled.

Right after the song ends, Brooklyn is practicing ballet in a dance studio, which may be her way of coping with/moving on from what just happened. Emily just so happens to walk up to the studio door, gazing fondly through the window with the most infatuation and fondness i have ever seen, at Brooklyn, and walks in.

She comes in just to see if Brooklyn’s okay and talk to her about the situation, but the expressions on her face just clearly indicate that she’s in love.

She also says that Brooklyn and Malibu “kinda reminded [her] of [herself and Brooklyn], you know?”, which says a lot because there is no heterosexual explanation for the way Emily looks at Brooklyn.

Moving on, when Malibu arrives home, she stays holed-up in her room, and when her parents come in to see how she’s doing, she says the following words:

Malibu’s mum: “Everyone who knows you would realises this is just a big misunderstanding.”

Malibu: [Exhales deeply] “I thought Brooklyn really knew me. Getting kicked out is unfair but, [voice gets croaky] Brooklyn thinking I pushed her? That’s worse.”

[Malibu’s parents leave and Playground of our Dreams instrumental version begins to play]

Aaaah she’s far more hurt by the fact that Brooklyn didn’t have faith in her than by losing the chance to fulfil the dream she struggled to keep in sight. Then, with sadness, she places her guitar in the space behind her mirror, where she can’t see it.

Interesting choice because every time she looks at herself she might be reminded of Brooklyn and everything she left behind in New York.

Malibu sinks into her knees and let’s out a lengthy sigh — but suddenly, she hears a faint singing voice. Listening intently, Malibu rises to her feet as the voice becomes clearer and clearer, until it’s owner is unmistakable. She dashes eagerly from her room to the bannister to find none other than Brooklyn singing ‘Before Us’ (their first song) at her front door. Brooklyn!! This girl flew all the way from New York to Malibu (which takes around 6 HOURS) just for Malibu, and to sing “how did we ever survive before us” to her, and also to apologise, and tell her that she’s not expelled because they found evidence of her innocence (courtesy of Rafa and Emmie).

Like she could’ve just called her, which would’ve been far more convenient. But she literally got her mum, who is a pilot, to fly her to Malibu (the place) and drive her to Malibu’s house.

Please, are they not in love???

They hold hands and hug and look at each other lovingly — even their parents give them the look: Malibu’s parents have the ‘oh okay, they’re in love let’s give them some privacy’ look on their faces and Brooklyn’s mum is just like ‘ohhh so this is the special girl she was telling me everything about’.

(Not to mention that the one of the first things Malibu notices about Brooklyn is her healed ankle — which is cute because it could suggest that her concern for Brooklyn came before anything else).

So after this, they fly back to the academy and find out that Barbie Roberts will be performing at Times Square. Which Barbie Roberts you ask? i honestly have no idea baghdhj because the film ends with them performing together in their pan and bi dresses.

Just lesbians being girlbosses on stage👏👏

Anddd thatt concludes this gay analysis of Big City Big Dreams! Sorry it was so long and if anyone is reading this, thanks for reading nd hope this has convinced you to watch the film✨

As her eyes reached the far end of the flowerbed, she noticed that the roses were progressively darkening — some appeared almost black. An immense shadow was cast over them and Kyoko’s eyes followed the large black silhouette of — what appeared to be — a plant through the fog. Peculiar was the only word she could use to describe it.

The plant was scarlet about the edges and towered above the rest of the vegetation. Its very own, personal army of deadly, carnivorous plants surrounded it — as if to guard the strange plant. Kyoko inwardly shuddered at the thought of someone being devoured by the things. Though, it wasn’t anything to worry about considering no one - not even Hiro - was stupid enough to approach a the armada of dangerous plants.

“Why, hello Kyoko.” The lavender haired girl’s head snapped at the voice, searching the fog for its origin. It was thick, but she didn’t need to see the speaker to identify them. She’d know that French accent anywhere. “This greenhouse is quite marvellous, yes?”

Kyoko watched as the fog revealed Celestia Ludenburg, who approached her from the other end of the rosebed. She too had been drawn to the roses, however, unlike Kyoko, she had been marvelling their beauty. The gambler found significantly less interest in searching for clues. Rather, at this stage in the killing school life, she found it pointless.

“Aside from the humidity, it’s extraordinary,” Celestia continued as she faced the detective, complimenting the greenhouse with that false optimism she found herself using a lot these days.

Kyoko, less taken by the peculiar plants, frowned slightly. “I’m just taking a look around.” The lolita smiled, her crimson eyes falling upon the roses. They glistened strangely as they inspected the flowers, matching the unnatural glow the red plants had. Kyoko noticed that both Celestia’s eyes and the roses were the same colour.

“Why are you here?” the detective inquired. She’d never seen Celestia so fascinated by anything other than the recreation room and milk tea. A small giggle escaped the lolita.

“Just because I’m the Ultimate Gambler, doesn’t mean I can’t take interest in other things,” Celes replied, chuckling to herself. She knelt down and took one of the roses in her hand, proceeding to stroke its strangely silky petals. “Red roses happen to be my favourite flower. I have no doubt that these have been modified, but they are beautiful nonetheless.”

Kyoko watched the other girl silently. Celestia’s eyes were now sparkling, and for the first time the detective perceived genuine emotion in the gambler’s eyes. Her legendary poker face had fallen away and even through the fog, her fascination for the flowers was unmistakable.

“I had a dream,” Celestia began, hesitating before she continued. At this stage, dwelling on dreams of the outside world was pointless. Maybe the beauty of the roses had awoken these forgotten fantasies or maybe the situation was so hopeless she never thought she’d see the day they’d escape this dreadful place, or maybe it was because she liked Kyoko significantly more than the others. Regardless, she found herself recounting the dreams that tortured her every night. They haunted her, tugging at the corners of her mind - often threatening to become an incentive to kill. Now, if she ever chose to commit murder, Kyoko would know why.

“I would live in a European castle surrounded by thousands of red roses, and they would grow along its walls.” The lavender haired girl listened, not knowing why Celestia was telling her this. There was an undertone of yearning in her voice — a sadness. If Kyoko weren’t a detective she may have missed it.

“You don’t want that anymore?” she asked, watching as the gambler rose to her feet. Every trace of that rare, genuine emotion had left her face and she became completely unreadable once again.

“If you recall, we are trapped here. It is likely that we will all die before we are allowed to leave,” Celestia replied bluntly, twisting a large tuft of pitch black hair about a finger. Her gaze had averted from the roses. Instead her dull, red eyes were searching the fog. Kyoko remained silent. “We must all let go of our dreams, otherwise we will all become murderers.” What she’d said wasn’t necessarily incorrect. The detective found herself considering the statement. Celestia, however, wasted no time in leaving.

“I will be on my way now,” the gambler said abruptly, both of her hands rested just beneath her chin. A sweet smile had been forced onto her lips as she spoke her parting words. “Goodbye Kyoko.”

The detective’s mouth was slightly parted at the lolita’s sudden transformation of mood. She herself didn’t show much emotion, but the way Celestia was able to manipulate her’s was was perplexing to her.

The fog swallowed the gambler’s silhouette as she walked away and only the clicking sound of her heels offered an indication as to where she was. Then the shutting of the door.

Kyoko’s eyes then fell upon the roses and the slightest frown appeared on her lips.

---

Celestia sat at her desk, using the mirror on her desk to remove her extensions. Night-time was approaching with haste but the gambler had no intention of falling asleep. Sleep would soon become inevitable, but if she could avoid it, she would. Dreams of European castles and red roses would eventually drive her to insanity. Besides, she wouldn’t have to worry about her body aching in the mornings or black rings about her eyes or being interrogated by her peers; her unrivalled poker face and heavy make-up made a wonderful team.

She had just removed the last of her accessories, and had organised them neatly on her desk, when there was a knock at the door. There were only a few minutes before her night-time rule would be enforced. She considered ignoring them: she didn’t have her extensions or her head accessories on. However, if someone had come to visit her at this hour then, knowing she was the creator of the night rule, they wouldn’t keep her for long. Celestia sighed, eventually someone would see her without her extensions. Fortunately for her, she hadn’t yet removed her make-up.

Accepting her fate, the gambler left her desk and walked to the door. She unlocked it, tiredly pulling open the handle. Now, standing before her, was Kyoko and in her gloved hands a single red rose — which Celes was certain came from the greenhouse. Its stem seemed as if it had been torn off in a hurry; it was slanted and ugly, and jagged at the bottom. Odd bits of epidermis had been scratched away — revealing the plant’s green, gooey insides. As for the rose’s petals, they no longer sparkled strangely like they had in the greenhouse. Instead, they shimmered in the faint light that seeped through Celestia’s bedroom door.

“Well, this is a surprise.” Was all she could manage as Kyoko handed her the ruined plant. The girl seemed unfazed by the gambler’s lack of hair or accessories, but Celestia took no notice. This entire situation had caught her off guard.

“What is this?” she inquired, slightly irritated at the lack of explanation and the sad state of the rose. Her crimson eyes remained fixed on the object in her palm, careful not to sting herself. The detective innocently placed a hand on her chin and a thoughtful expression overcame her face.

“I remembered you like roses.” Celestia glanced up, suddenly regretting that moment of vulnerability she’d had with Kyoko in the greenhouse. “You were so taken by them,” Kyoko continued, naming an observation she’d made of the gambler that morning. Even though she was still confused by the detective’s true intent, Celeste’s annoyance subsided and she managed to collect herself.

“Why exactly are you here?” the black haired girl asked, demanding an answer. At this, Kyoko looked up. Her eyes locked with Celestia’s, glinting like amethysts as she spoke her next words.

“There’s no reason to give up Celestia. We have leads and reason to believe this will all be over soon. Your dreams can serve as a form of hope instead of an incentive to kill,” she stated, as direct and forward as ever. Her words were simple, yet they meant a great deal to Celestia.

Red eyes fell upon crimson petals, which suddenly became significantly meaningful. A red as deep as the rose she was holding began to creep up her neck. It spread across her cheeks beneath her heavily applied make-up. The lolita could feel a tingling sensation about her throat and had to clear it before speaking next.

“May I interest you in a game of othello?” she asked, this time it was Kyoko who had evidently been caught off guard by the sudden invitation. “I happen to own a copy of the game.” Intrigued by the proposition, Kyoko nodded.

“Excellent!” Celestia cried, delighted with the detective’s answer. She held open the door, making way for Kyoko as she entered. The gambler locked then locked it, allowing the detective’s eyes a moment to wander around the room.

Her own eyes fell upon the rose again. It was beautiful — now glistening in the light of the room. Her eyes twinkled as she brushed a hand across the petals.

After a while, she looked up — embarrassed to find that Kyoko was staring at her. Once again, she cleared her throat — resisting the bright red colour that threatened to spread from her neck up.