#noah walker

Btw this first part was actually written before I fell behind, so DROS was a bit fresher on my mind.

"...I decide to head to the Nightclub to clear my head. Yeah, yeah. It may not make sense on paper, but I don’t want to risk going all emo mode by meditating or whatever instead." The image of emo Ellis is pretty funny lol.

[Aidan FTE 3 Start] Yay!!!

"Ellis: Lightning never strikes the same place twice, but thankfully, I do.

Aidan: Oh. You’re here.

Ellis: Just like in your dreams~" Good to see Ellis is flirting again, probably a good indication his mood has improved a fair bit since CH4 Part 1!

"Aidan: It’s not like I really do much of anything outside of the Resort, either." I kinda figured, but I'm still interested in what the guy actually does.

"Aidan: Uh… wake up, eat breakfast. Go walk, or look around, or drive to nowhere or something. Go see some city or town where nothing ever happens, because nothing actually happens anywhere. At some point there’s lunch and dinner, and… I don’t know. This is what I’m saying. It’s not like I had hobbies, or talked to people or anything." Does he have, like, a job? How does he do all this? What?

"Ellis: But, if you didn’t enjoy it at least a little, and you weren’t forced to do it, why would you do it?

Aidan: I don’t know. It wasn’t nothing, I guess. If you’re going to do nothing by yourself, it’s nice if there’s at least something to look at." What is up with this dude? I mean, we've always kinda known he didn't care about anything, but seeing the full extent of how empty his life seems to be is still kinda depressing.

"Ellis: Y’know, the party life! Or, you could be all artsy and visit landmarks and museums and stuff. You could get a job, if that’s more your speed? Actually, wait, were you not in school or employed before you were thrown into this killing game?

He shrugs.

Aidan: “Taking a gap year” was a good enough excuse for my parents. I didn’t intend on actually going to study anywhere, though." Well, that explains a few things at least. LORE!!!

"Ellis: If you didn’t know what you were gonna do, couldn’t you have spent your time figuring it out? You could search the world for whatever your passion turned out to be.

Aidan: It’s not like I didn’t try. I just… came up empty, I guess." Yeah. Extremely depressing.

"Ellis: That’s… unfortunate. But, hey, you’re the Ultimate Contrarian, right? Couldn’t you do something with that? Like, you could be a lawyer, or a critic, or a director, or something!

Aidan: Maybe, I guess. I’ll… put some thought into it or something." Well, that's something at least! Maybe.

"Why was he thanking me, though? Sure, I gave him a bunch of options, but I don’t think he liked any of them. If a super attractive, cool, and dazzling person came up to you and gave you a pile of trash, you wouldn’t have to thank them for giving you that garbage.

…Does that mean that Aidan is just thanking me for being a super attractive, cool, and dazzling person? That seems unlikely." [FTE End] Yeah, he's probably thanking Ellis for trying, if I had to guess. Given Aidan is starting to see the value in giving a shit about things, seeing Ellis actually give a shit probably helps? Maybe? Yeah Aidan continues to be a little confusing xp

"Harper: Aidan, am I correct in assuming that you and Davis have made up?

Aidan: Uh, yeah, I guess? Why?

Harper: Oh, well, I was just…

Harper rubs ver wrist.

Harper: I was wondering what all you did to mend your relationship. That’s all." Poor Harper has no idea what to do about Noah, as usual. Let's hope ve gets some ideas soon!

"Aidan: I mean, you saw it. I apologized, he apologized for some reason, and that was that. 

Ellis: Truly, you have a destiny as a self-help author.

Aidan: Definitely. Thanks for the tip." Pfft. Sarcastic Aidan's fun.

"Harper: I told him that I don’t mind anything that happened with Kennedy and Paris, but he still feels… distant. I’m not sure he’s forgiven himself for it." Yeah... Especially considering prior baggage between Harper and Noah, this is a pretty complicated situation.

"Aidan: My advice, though? Just talk to him. Say whatever it is you want to say directly without worrying about how he’ll interpret it or what he’ll think afterwards or whatever. If you tell him directly, it’s hard for him to misinterpret." Hey, Ellis might have had something with the self help idea, this is actually surprisingly good advice from Aidan of all people! Then again, for as little experience as he seems to have with actually talking to people, he is a smart and straightforward person, so it probably shouldn't be too surprising.

"I could always use some more bling. And, it’s free! Not that I couldn’t pay for it myself. (Unlike Paris, haha–)" Bro??? I get she's public enemy number one rn, but why is aris catching strays even in internal monologue??? xD

"Nothing murder-y could be happening in the Bar, right? It’s a safe zone!" All due respects, given the alcohol involved, I would actually classify the bar as one of less safe zones, but you do you Ellis :p

"Donning my luckiest look, I peek inside to see what’s going on: Noah, sipping a drink! Nothing murder-y, indeed. Wait, when did he get out of the Cellar?!" Yeah what? Noah's not about to catch any mm or traitor allegations, right?

"He turns to me with a smile. Now that I’m closer, though, I notice his hands are shaking pretty badly. 

Ellis: Uh… how long have you been here?

Noah: Not long. I just got out, like, a few minutes ago…" So probably nothing sinister, but my guy is still looking remarkably awful. Uh, hope this doesn't go too badly?

"And he headed straight to the Bar? On one hand, ayyyyyyyy [...]" Bruh xD

"Ellis: Were you… able to tell who was next in line?

Noah: No. You’re the first person I’ve seen since getting out. Though, they put me in the Cellar early morning rather than, like, now. More… morning announcement-ish." Well, good to get some kind of time frame on when the motive victim switches, and info on whether or not they're made aware of who goes in after them.

"Through further conversation, I get the sense that he isn’t that shaken up about the experience of confinement itself, unless he’s a better liar than I thought." Wait, then what is up with him? Curious...

"Oh. Ohhhhhh.

Man, I guess there would be some drawbacks to doing keggers since you were 10." Is it embarrassing if I had to look up what "doing keggers" meant? I imagine it's well established in this account that I'm a massive nerd, so probably not that bad. However, this is still an interesting and very worrying conclusion Ellis reached, let's see if she's right about it!

"It’d be super hypocritical of me to suddenly be the drink police, but I also don’t want to feed into Noah’s alcoholism. Then again, is a killing game really the best time to go stone cold sober? Even if Noah tried to quit now, there’s a decent possibility that he wouldn’t live long enough to reap the benefits. Then again, that’s the same kind of logic addicts can use to convince themselves not to seek help. My grandfather said the exact same with his blackened lungs when he was on his deathbed." YIKES. Yeah, addictions are rough in general, and killing games have a thing for making rough issues even worse.

"Was the winner of the fourth game placed into the fifth? Could it have been Mark’s friend, the Lucky Student, who eventually gave up her life for his? Did she regret not saving her closest ally in the fourth game?

If Mark and I were the last two left, and they gave up their life for mine, and I was then put into a seventh killing game, and made it to the end… would I do the same?

The other Lucky Student didn’t die without her own interference. Could I really be okay, watching my competitors get steamrolled over, and over, and over again?

Some luck, huh." Wow we're just going down a hell of a spiral, huh? That's a very depressing hypothetical, damn.

"Noah’s rejoined us, but Paris is gone. It could be because she’s decided not to eat with us anymore, but given that everyone else shows up, it seems she’s in the Cellar." Alright, new victim! Man, we're running through these days, huh?

"Harper: If it’s alright, I was hoping we could talk sometime later.

Noah: Talk? About what?

Harper: I just… wanted to check in with you, about the last week or so. It’s been a while." Go Harper! Sanest person in the cast strikes again, actually taking advice and talking through ver issues!

"It almost sounds like a teacher telling a student to stay behind after class… not that that ever happened to me. Eheh." I can't actually tell if Ellis is being sarcastic and this has happened, or if they were actually a somewhat responsible student, given they used to be a very different person than what they are now.

[People Discuss Options] I always love it when people talk about their options in stories :D

"Once again, my genius goes unappreciated. That, or I’m just being wildly unhelpful. How am I meant to figure out which is the truth, again?" The everlasting Ellis question, isn't it?

"Just as I’m starting to run the water and take off my jacket, I hear a knock at the door. I turn the faucet off (no need to waste water) and see who’s outside. It’s Aidan! It’s Aidan?" A fair reaction, especially seeing this is the start of an FTE. Usually the protagonist is the one visiting the person they want to spend the FTE with, no? Is this Aidan!RealProtagonist evidence???

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Putting a divider here because this is where I left off when I dropped off the face of the earth, as I’ve been known to do lol. If my memory of smaller details becomes suddenly horrendous, uh, this is why!

That said, and Aidan FTE is just the kinda thing you love to see when you’re getting back into reading a fangan!

“Aidan enters my room and sits on the couch upside down with his feet in the air, dangling over the back.”

Guy’s such a contrarian he sits the wrong way round, you love to see it x) Also wow new format for my reactions :O

“Ellis: I’d offer you a glass of water, but I can’t imagine it’d be easy to take a sip in that position.”

Pfft-

“Ellis: …“Hey, Ho” sounds wrong. He lets out a short laugh.”

It is a very funny surname lol. Good to see Aidan hasn’t gotten tired of jokes about it by now :p

“Ellis: I don’t do job interviews. I’m too pretty.”

Yeah I’ve missed this.

“…I looked down the road I lived on. That day, it seemed to go on, straight and empty, for ever and ever and ever. I didn’t know where it led, but I knew I was headed there. Until… a certain “stroke of luck” came my way.”

…Poetic. I guess Ellis wanted to leave her old life, which isn’t really news, but this is still pretty flowery imagery. Wonder what’s up with that.

“Ellis: Concrete. Chipping paint. A free cup of coffee from your office job that isn’t totally full ‘cause you got the last cold part of the pot. Mail with a little rust on it from the inside of the mailbox. That’s what I was gonna be doing.”

We are very poetic today, I like it! Yeah this tracks.

“Ellis: …The people I wanted in it were the people who told me that there were achievable things out there. Even though I knew there weren’t.”

Holy lore Batman! Who are we talking about, Ellis?

“Ellis: …I think it’s so nice, it makes me mean. Aidan: Really?  I look down at the floor. Ellis: You saw it in this very conversation. Aidan: In what way?  Ellis: As soon as I started talking about it, you got upset with me. Makes sense, ‘cause I was upset with myself, too.”

Ouchie. It’s an interesting perspective about it, at least.

“Ellis: Who wouldn’t? You get it. You didn’t want to be concrete, either. Aidan: No, I didn’t. And I didn’t have anyone I wanted in my future, or anything I wanted to do, or any plans either. I guess what I mean is… He glances away. Aidan: You don’t have to cover it up with me. I get it.”

Aw, Aidan’s nice :) And kinda awkward about being nice but it’s cool :))

“Man, why do I keep spilling my soul to every spiky-haired, 5’8” nonbinary he/him user who comes my way? Is that my type now?”

Wait let me check something… Alright yeah this is funny.

[FTE End] Funnily enough this felt more like an Ellis FTE than anything, but it was still very cool!

“Davis: Are you [Noah] avoiding Harper? Ve was asking if we’d seen you around a bit ago.”

Yeah, yeah… It’s not going great with those two.

“Noah: Sorry, I just, whatever thing’s going on with you is distracting me… Davis: “Thing”? Noah: Y’know, the whole…  He huffs. Noah: I’m straight, so it’s, like, a weird feeling, y’know? Davis: What do you mean…? Ellis: Wait, are you saying that you’re attracted to Davis?Ohoho, things are getting interesting. Noah: Isn’t everyone? That’s, like, your whole thing, right? Ellis: Robert wasn’t. Noah: …Oh. Haha. Hahaha.”

Okay, blatant topic change aside, meeting the Ultimate Mr-Steal-Your-Girl is possibly the funniest way to figure something like this out lol.

“Noah: Yeah… yeah, it’s… that’s… that’s totally cool. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

Though, to be fair to the guy, there’s probably better places to figure it out than in the middle of a killing game :p

“Noah: …Dad’s gonna kill me…”

Yeah that was the other thing I was worried about. Uh… well on the bright side this will only be a problem if Noah’s a survivor and his father lived through the Tragedy! … Which is not a very bright bright side, but it’s there.

“Davis reached out to reassure Noah, but he flinches away from him, throwing himself backwards– And over the railing.”

The way my eyebrows escaped the atmosphere. Are we good?!?!

“Upon closer inspection, Noah seems to be out cold on top of a crushed bed of flowers. Unconscious, but, definitely, thankfully, still alive.”

He better fucking be!

“We need to take him to the Infirmary. If only Vivi were still here… she’d know what to do.”

Don’t… fucking remind me about her, I’m still sad :,(

“Harper: What happened? I only heard the yelling, and… Davis: …  Is it really my place to be the one describing this? Still though, I don’t want to leave Harper totally hanging. If nobody says anything, people might start misinterpreting the situation as a murder attempt by Davis, which would not be good. I’m kinda glad Paris isn’t around to see this…”

It’s very awkward, this situation is.

“Ellis: I’m sure you’re, um… aware of some… stereotypes, surrounding frat boys. Noah ran into an… internalized bias due to Davis’ talent that made him act… erratically…?”

That is actually a pretty diplomatic way of putting that, good job Ellis!

“Ellis: Right, like Mr. Near-Resurrection via Stitches is gonna make things worse. Davis: …If they’re both my fault in the first place…”

That's a funny title, and don’t say that Davis you’re making me Sad.

“Ellis: That you’re an absolute benefit to have around, especially given that neither instance was your fault? This killing game is making people loopy. Thus, unless you’re the one who started the killing game, then it’s not your fault that the people around you are doing wack-ass things.”

It is a turbulent day when Ellis Fucking Ortiz is forced to be the voice of reason…

“Davis and I walk out of the Infirmary, and from the looks of it, he wants some space away from everyone, not just Noah. He heads back upstairs, while I, without any other ideas of what to do, continue on my path outside.”

It’s really funny to imagine this whole fiasco as basically a minor pit stop in the oh so grand plan of “going outside” lol.

“It really sucks for him that so many of his deep-seated issues are coming to life in this killing game, of all places. It’s a terrible way to go through any kind of self-improvement journey. And yet, it seems to kinda be forcing that narrative at the same time. What’s up with that?”

Wow wow wow Ellis, calm down with the meta comments or I’m gonna have to call the fourth wall police on you. That said, it seems the habit of Ellis and I saying the same things has stuck, what with the killing game environment comment and all!

“Taylor: Honestly, it’s been… pretty good. It’s kinda nice not having Paris here.”

Damn. Beef’s kinda legendary. Wonder which of the two is dying this chapter (?).

“Jeff: Yeah, it’s pretty nice. I guess it’s new to you, but cutting off people who are weighing you down is a great feeling.”

Yeah, you would say that, wouldn’t you?

“Taylor: It’d be kinda nice, though. To just… leave everything behind and start over. Vanessa: Like, here? Or at home? Taylor: I dunno. It’s just an idea, I haven’t actually thought about it. It just sounds… freeing, I guess.”

Jeff you’re corrupting them.

“Free, other than that you’re always shackled to yourself.”

Ah, there’s the poetics again! Was wondering where they’d gone.

“Taylor: I dunno. I would probably want to finish school first, so that I could have a job and everything, but just having a nice little house somewhere and making tea and reading books would be… nice.”

Nice dream Taylor :D

“Jeff: …If you’re actually, genuinely considering it… you should think about it first. Be sure you don’t want whatever you’re leaving behind. It’s harder to go back than it is to leave.  Oof, definitely sounds like there’s some history there.”

Yeah what? Is that lore I smell?

“Taylor: …For now, I guess I’ll just focus on the here and now. And breaking off from… whatever was going on with me and Paris. But… maybe someday.”

Yeah you know when you say that the death flags you’re waving are a little harder to ignore.

“Noah: Thanks for helping, though, and… making sure I was okay and all that.  Ellis: Hey, no problem. We gotta help each other out when we’re struggling, y’know?”

Nice Ellis :)

“Ellis: …It’s a nice quilt. I point at the blanket. A small smile returns to his face. Noah: Yeah. Harper’s… really amazing like that.  Ellis: I’m glad it wound up coming in handy. That seems like something that’d make ver happy. Noah: Yeah, probably.”

Nice Harper :)

“Noah: I’m surprised ve hasn’t given up on me yet. Well, not surprised, because I know ver. But… ve probably should’ve.  I start to laugh, then I catch myself. Ellis: Sorry. Not funny. It’s just… I’ve heard that kinda sentiment, like, a zillion times this past week.”

It is an oddly recurring sentiment. It’s almost like the narrative is designed to make the main character stop giving up on themselves!

“Ellis: You think you’re weak?Noah: … He won’t meet my eyes.”

Man we are Exploring Noah’s character today! That’s an almost bigger death flags than the ones Taylor was waving!

“Ellis: Although, if you need me to play damsel in distress for you, I wouldn’t be opposed to that arrangement. Wait. Shit. Maybe now is not the best time to joke about Noah theoretically being attracted to me. Ellis: I could, like, fail to do something on purpose, and you could come by and be super strong and save the day! I could, like… use a hose incorrectly? Or, uh… start a grease fire…?”

They’re calling Ellis the Monarch of Backtracking…

“That turned out better than I expected, to be honest! Like, not that I thought Noah was gonna hate crime me or anything, but… I dunno, maybe I’m just afraid of situations where I have to be the bigger person. Emotionally, anyways. Everyone knows I have a huge– Room. When I enter my room, I take a moment to appreciate how big it is.”

AYO?! You can’t just hit me with genuine self-reflection, then go to innuendo a line later! … Who am I kidding this is Ellis we’re talking about, of course he can.

—

What a nice little part we got here! Lots of Noah, lots of Aidan, lots of Ellis of course, what else could you ask for? The Mad Duo being alive again? Haha! Don’t remind me :(

Onto the next one!

Part 4

“Instead, it seems like Paris’ former bestie is the one who’s missing.”

Well, poor Taylor.

“Paris: What did you all say about me?! Ellis: Uh… what do you mean? And when? Paris: I know you were all talking about me while I was gone! Don’t pretend like you didn’t.”

Yo are we good??? I guess this is what being deprived of gossip for a day does to a woman.

“Aidan: If it makes you feel better, none of us really cared that you were gone.”

Bruh.

“Jeff: If you want the answer so much, the only one who even mentioned you was Taylor.  Paris: …Tay?”

Ooh… I’m turning into a Paris kinnie I wanna see this drama.

“Jeff: Fine. They said it was nice without you around.”

Yikes. Just out and say it, huh?

“Paris: …Mhm. Thanks for telling me~”

Oh I do NOT like that squiggly line. I doubt she’s planning murder, because she’d be the prime suspect like immediately, but there’s still other ways Paris could hurt Taylor and I’m Worried.

“Thankfully, I easily find Aidan in the Upper Common Room of all places. Why the hell is he here? Shouldn’t he be on the lower floor, ‘cause he lives– Man. Have I really learned nothing about the Ultimate Contrarian?” [Aidan FTE Start]

Yay final Aidan FTE! Also it’s immensely funny to me that the guy walks up the stairs just to live up to his talent, you gotta love the commitment to the bit.

“Aidan: …The fact that you’re one of the people who’s sometimes up here isn’t so bad either, I guess.”

YOOO! Friendship!!!!

“Aidan: It’s… probably for the best if I learn to be a little less contrary, anyways.”

Ooh, interesting!

“Aidan: I could have a future. The kind most people want. But I just… don’t. Ellis: You don’t want it, you mean? Aidan: I don’t. I don’t want the kind of life a normal, upstanding citizen does. I don’t want what my parents wanted for me. I just… don’t want anything, a lot of the time.”

This explains a couple things. It’s also nice to see how this parallels characters like Davis, who also has something you’d think most people would love with his whole “everyone wants me” schtick yet isn’t too happy about it; and of course Ellis to an extent, which is being explored here. Fun!

“Aidan: My family and the community I grew up in were always… traditional. And they didn’t like anyone or anything that didn’t fall in line with that tradition. So, from very early on, it was always, “make sure you go to church”; “you have to wear your school uniform”; “don’t question what we tell you.” It was awful.”

Ah, classic. Always fun to see one of these “rebels born from stifling environments” characters.

“Ellis: Sounds like it. Even if… No, maybe I should say this part out loud.”

You know for a character who’s always been pretty verbose in her inner monologues, Ellis has been pretty damn cryptic as of late. What did you want to say?!?! Please tell me!!!

“Aidan: I could’ve been “happy,” in whatever traditional sense there is. But I’m not.  Ellis: Yeah, that sucks. I’d say, “at least you’re here now,” but, uh… our current situation isn’t exactly the place in which most people want to be. Aidan: …Is it bad if it’s almost better, in some ways?”

I’d say it’s troubling, yeah. How fucking horrible does your home life have to be to even consider a killing game an improvement in some areas? Poor Aidan :(

“Aidan: It’s… weird. I don’t know why this is happening now, but, being here… For the first time, I sort of… Aidan looks away from me. Aidan: …There are finally some people that I could actually… maybe, want in my future. Assuming I have one, which I shouldn’t.  …Everyone keeps saying that to me.”

They do yeah. Not only do I hope that it’s good for Ellis’ self respect that people actually like them, I’m also very glad Aidan’s saying this in an FTE because otherwise it would be the biggest death flag yet. That aside, yay for character development! Because I assume Aidan is not just talking about Ellis, but also Davis! I… honestly forgot where their relationship was last I left off, maybe I should backtrack and check exactly what they had going on.

“Ellis: You… don’t want me around. People don’t seem to realize it, but… they shouldn’t. I…”

Ellis no… Maybe we can get some character development out of this, hold on.

“Ellis: You deserve a future, Aidan, whichever one you decide to make for yourself. The one where you travel places because you want to see how they live in those parts of the world, and wake up just to see how the sun rises over the horizon on that particular day, and order all the weird, mismatched fashion you could ever want online. I wanted to take that away from you. Just for me. Just ‘cause I wanted all those stupid, materialistic things that you see no meaning in. How could you not hate me…?!”

Aside from Aidan’s fashion choices catching the wildest stray in history, it really seems like the guilt about how Ellis was thinking about the killing game earlier on is finally catching up to him, huh? Crazy.

“A few teardrops roll down his cheeks.”

Holy shit, Aidan’s even more emotionally invested than I thought!

“Ellis: I already made up my mind that I don’t want to win anymore. Still, whenever I do anything related to that realization, people laud me as some hero. I… My entire life was already built on people thinking I’m great because of something I didn’t even do. You saw what that did to me. So, I won’t let that happen again. I’m just trying to be honest, for once.”

Fascinating character detail. Ellis’ past factors into her current sort of imposter syndrome, to the point where she thinks literally everything about her that people genuinely appreciate must be their mistake. I fucking love that so much!

“Aidan: Ellis, I’m not an idiot. It’s not like I thought you were looking out for anyone’s wellbeing before. You’re not some master manipulator.”

This is the funniest counterargument possible. “I was being dishonest - Well you weren’t good at it anyways!” lol

“Aidan: I’m telling you right now, I don’t care. The more you try to convince me otherwise the more sure I’m going to be.”

You really should have seen that one coming, Ellis.

“Ellis: …Fuck you. There’s an argument to be had against that statement, but you know I’m not smart enough to figure out what it is fast enough to respond to you in a timely fashion.”

This is also just great. Ellis you are a fangan protag debating is supposed to be, like, your thing.

“Aidan: You can be a good person or not. I don’t really care. What I do is up to me. And, right now, I’m choosing to spend time with you. So… deal with it, or something.”

Aidan’s just so damn goated it’s unbelievable.

“Then, we both remember that we were having this very loud and very personal conversation (in which Aidan actually cried, holy shit) in a completely public area.”

Oh yeah all that just happened in the common room xD

“Maybe I still don’t understand exactly who other people think I am. Maybe that’s ‘cause I never really figured it out for myself, beyond an aimless shell or a dazzling whirlwind. If you put them together, you get… I don’t know, a beautiful tropical storm? Hurricane Ellis, landing in a killing game near you. I’ll work on it. I have to, it seems.” [FTE End]

Woohoo! What a fantastic FTE! I loved it very very deeply. It’s probably my favorite from the ones I can remember. And that’s quite the note to leave off on, too! I wonder who the next FTEs are gonna be about…

“When I show up [to the pool], though, Davis and Jeff are already there at the Poolside Bar. Unlike last time, though, they’re both all smiles.”

Oh yeah, these two! I also kinda forgot where their conflict ended up last time, but I seem to recall them making up a bit during the third trial investigation.

“What did I miss? Last time I checked, these two hated each other. I mean, I guess Jeff kinda stood up for Davis in the Class Trial, and Davis told Jeff and I about the nature of his bachelorhood, but… that doesn’t automatically put you at bro status! What gives?!”

Or the trial. Again, fuzzy on the details because I fell into the void.

“Jeff: You want a drink?  I look down at my hands.”

Damn, Ellis took Noah’s alcoholism hard. If I recall correctly, I think I ended up giving Ellis addiction governance in the playlist post and Noah Poison, right? Too late to swap those around? lmao.

“I keep to my word of having only one drink as Davis, Jeff, and I continue our conversation. I can't exactly say that they have a lot in common, but in some ways, it seems like their differences balance each other out. That’s nice.”

It is! This was a surprisingly drama freee check-in with these guys!

“In the Buffet, I wind up with an odd crew: Paris, Vanessa, and Aidan.”

That is odd. I don’t think I remember Vanessa talking to Aidan outside of investigations and trials, though I’m probably forgetting something. {Hindsight: How the hell did I forget the entire Gun situation. Point kinda stands, though}

“Vanessa: Hey, is everything okay…? Aidan: What’re you sulking about? Paris: And why do you care all of a sudden?!”

Okay, so… Paris is doing horrible, as expected.

“Aidan: I’m not doing anything.”

Lmao.

“Paris: I thought Tay and I were friends. For real.”

Interesting perspective there. I seem to remember getting bad vibes from Paris and Taylor’s relationship from the very start, but I always kinda did it under the assumption that Paris didn’t quite see Taylor as an equal, if that makes sense. Like, they were always doing what Paris wanted, I don’t think that’s an entirely unreasonable assumption. But I guess Paris was just sort of entirely oblivious to the issues Taylor was having, and genuinely wanted to be friends and just didn’t know how to do that properly, which does fit what I remember well enough

“Ellis: If you want to win, that’s probably what you have to get used to. Paris: …When I said it, I didn’t mean it. Do you remember? I said Tay and I could find a way to win together. But… I guess somewhere along the way, I started believing it.”

I… really should brush up on what was happening when I left. But, yeah. It’s actually pretty fun that Paris is just now falling for the trap of focusing too much on winning, just as Ellis escapes that same trap. It’s one of those parallels that work so well you almost forget that Ellis and the rest of the cast have different creators lol.

“Aidan: Look, if there’s someone out there that makes you happy or whatever… don’t just give up on them out of nowhere. If you actually care about someone for once, that should matter. If you give up, maybe you didn’t actually care in the first place.”

Wonder who Aidan’s thinking about! (Hint: It starts with D and ends in avis. Probably).

“Paris: But… what do I do? Tay doesn’t like me anymore.  Aidan: I don’t know, talk to them? Apologize? Explain how you’re feeling? Why does everyone keep trying to ask me for advice?!”

Poor Aidan ended up with the reputation of the guy with common sense, and now people actually expect him to be socially competent, a true greek tragedy.

“Paris: …Then… tomorrow, I guess. I’ll… I’ll find a way to make Tay like me again. Somehow…”

Woohoo! You know, I think they could actually be good friends if Paris gets her shit together. I just hope we can all ignore that this feels like yet another death flag for Taylor and possibly Paris. I do think we’ve got enough time until the next murder for them to talk regardless, so I doubt it is. Hopefully.

“Still, Paris’ plans to do something “tomorrow” ring a little hollow. It’s not that I don’t think she’d actually do it– beats me as to whether Paris really wants to make a change or is just trying to lull us into a false sense of security– it’s that I’m really unsure about what tomorrow will bring.”

See it’s funny you say that because I very explicitly said I didn’t want to read that comment as a death flag, and now you’re making me worried.

“Taylor got imprisoned twice in a row, huh? That’s rough.”

…Motherfucker.

“Paris: …They haven’t been responding to my messages for a little while. I thought they just didn’t want to talk to me, but… Oh damn. I kinda forgot that you even could message the people trapped in the Cellar.”

That pretty massive oversight aside, I think we all know why Taylor’s not responding. The death flags… they were real.

“We all get to the bottom before any of us spot it: a body, charred beyond recognition. Is that… Taylor…?  Ding, Dong, Bing, Bong!”

God fucking damn it. You know, I joke about death flags so often I didn’t actually think those ones would come into play, but alas, I was foolish. Taylor no!!!! Also, charred? Yikes! Never something you love to see. I mean, actually I do tend to enjoy fire related mysteries, but I feel like Taylor would get mad at me for saying that lmao.

Anyways, this is sad. I liked Taylor a lot, and now they’re gone :( Lets try to quell the sadness with some mystery solving!

““The victim is Paris Hall. She died of poison in the Cellar last night at 2 AM.””

Never mind, first I panic. My heart fucking leapt out of my chest when I saw the wrong victim, then I remembered the file always has a lie, then I saw the poison and I’m going insane. I guess the first assumption is that the poison and time of death are true and the victim is false (given the location is trivially true), but the missing person does happen to be the Ultimate Impressionist, so I have to wonder…

“Paris?: What the hell is this?!”

I do like the question mark after her (their?) name, it’s fun.

[Investigation Start] Woohoo! I’m back in the building again!!!

-

You know, this is usually where I do the prediction game think, but, uh… I don’t think I can. Because I don’t actually know who the victim is. Again, my first assumption is that the victim name has to be the lie, because while Taylor disguising themselves as Paris sounds possible, in practice the switcheroo would get resolved, like, immediately at the start of the next part. Still, while the possibility of a disguise is on the table, I’m not gonna get ahead of myself. Let’s go straight into investigation!

Part 5

Weee! Investigation time! Let’s see what’s up with the victim thing!

“With Taylor’s talent, it’s totally plausible that they could be putting on the performance of their life as Paris right now. I have no idea how I’m supposed to prove who’s who.”

I mean, I feel like even with Taylor’s talent this can’t be that hard. Hair dye is probably an option, but there’s surely other differences in their bodies that would get noticed, right? There’s no way they look identical from the face down, right? And I have to check the handbook to see if the height matches. There are a lot of ways to prove this, is my point. Still, I guess we’ll keep that mystery going for a while.

Checked. Taylor’s height matches Paris’, but no one else’s.

“The body is burned. That’s all I can tell.”

Yep. Worries me that an immediate reason to do this would be hiding the identity of the corpse. Maybe Paris is the killer and is hoping people think she’s Taylor disguised as Paris? Or, I guess any killer could try to make people think Taylor is disguised as someone else. Because Taylor being the killer disguised as Paris would feel too obvious.

“Vanessa picks up the e-Handbook from the body and turns it on. Vanessa: It’s Taylor’s.”

See, I don’t like that this is how we’re doing it, because this is the one identity verification method which can most easily be faked. At least we can make sure “Paris” sent the messages they said they sent (I still don’t know what to do with the pronouns lol). Though, speaking of good fortune, it does feel a little odd that the entire body burnt but the handbook is functional. I don’t fully remember the handbook specifics, though, maybe they’re fireproof or something.

While we’re here, if Taylor is currently disguised as Paris, they may have been disguised like that for an entire day, which would mean that the whole Paris conversation about seeing Taylor as a friend wasn’t actually Paris. Part of what makes me think Taylor really is dead, and that the evidence they may be alive was planted by the killer specifically to make people doubt that fact.

“Ellis: Well, you’re not allowed to steal e-Handbooks, right? So that must mean that Paris is actually alive, and that first statement is a lie.”

I… forgot about that rule. Still, I figure taking a dead student’s handbook wouldn’t be a problem, maybe? So Taylor could be disguised and just put their own handbook next to the corpse, carrying the corpse’s handbook out of the cellar. Or Taylor really is the corpse and I should stop worrying about this.

“Vanessa: Well, Paris has been messaging Taylor a ton. They responded two days ago, when Paris was in the Cellar, but not yesterday, when Taylor was in the Cellar. If anything, I’d have guessed it’d be the opposite.”

At least the messages are real. I still wonder about the rules regarding dead students’ handbooks, though.

“Ellis: Well then… maybe the time of death is wrong, and Taylor died way earlier?”

Yeah, the lack of messages on Taylor’s side is strange. This is a clusterfuck lol.

“Vanessa: There’s… another weird thing. Um, I don’t know if you remember this setting exists, but in preferences, you can let other people have access to your room with their e-Handbook.  Ellis: …I did not. Vanessa: Well, it looks like Paris has access to Taylor’s room.”

Surprisingly, that’s one of the things I did remember, because it always felt like it could come up. This is peculiar, though. I need more evidence before I start going crazier than I already am.

“Harper: …I should mention… I did ask Monoquin. Contestants were… theoretically allowed to volunteer, if they wished.”

…Huh. Superficially, this doesn’t seem useful, because you can just walk down here in the night and that’s it. Maybe for setup time? But I have to wonder if it would have been possible for Taylor to impersonate someone and “volunteer” them to go down here. Would Monoquin see through that? Questions, questions…

“The wall suddenly falls backwards, knocking Jeff into a space I can’t see. There’s some noises behind the wall that I can’t tell the origin of; it sounds like movement. Then, a few moments later– Mark: Ow! Mark hits the floor of the Cellar. Ellis: Woah, wife swap. I mean, what?”

I- What? The fuck?

“Mark: I was in the Closet up in the Gym. How’d I get here…?  Ellis: Jeff… stepped on something, I guess? He was pulled into some darkness back there, and then an angel fell from heaven right before my eyes.”

I… Okay. This is a thing now. ???

“Mark: It’s not that I thought there was [a secret door], it’s that if there was one, I thought it’d be in here.  Jeff: And that’s because…? Mark: If you look at the map and think about how the Cellar is laid out and how big it is, the corner basically overlaps with the Closet. Plus, I never understood why this Closet even existed instead of being a rack or something, so I thought it could be relevant.”

Huh. Good reasoning from Mark! They’re so goated.

“The three of us work through figuring out exactly how the secret passage works. Our experiments conclude that the door only works if two roughly human-weighted things swap places. When something is on each location’s pressure plate, the mechanism activates and swaps the two, albeit a bit roughly.”

I- Okay, this is a little insane, but it works. I… don’t know what it means yet. Then again, if there really was nothing else in the cellar, it almost feels like the fire has to have happened somewhere else, so maybe this is a way to transport the body? I have no idea what’s happening here.

“Jeff: Why’s there a swap door in a Resort in the first place? I guess if this was for some kind of underground business, it’s an escape route…? Mark: …Right, yeah, the Resort. I don’t know either.”

I mean, I kinda doubt this was an actual resort ever, but I guess it’s never been confirmed whether this was specifically built for the game or not.

“Ellis: Anything of note? Aidan: Yes, but only because the answer is no. Davis: Meaning, there isn’t anything, even though it feels like there should be. Isn’t there supposed to be poison in this case…?”

That is most curious. People still get told if someone orders something anonymously, from what I remember. But Antonia had already used poison, right? Could someone have gotten hold of that?

“Ellis: Uh… well, poison can come from a lot of places! Maybe somebody repurposed something like cleaning supplies or pool chlorine that you might already be able to find around here.”

This also works, yeah. I imagine we’ll find some evidence indicating that if that’s the case.

“Aidan: Wouldn’t need it anymore. With the Salon and Makeup Store, you could change your appearance without having to order it, right?”

Oh yeah, speaking of disguises, forgot those are open now. Also, completely unrelated, “In Too Deep” is probably a pun on the cellar being underground I take it, but I am slightly worried about it being some kind of reference to “deep cover” (Kotoko reference?!?!- no), given the disguise thing.

“Paris?: Oh, hey Ellis. Welcome to Tay’s room.  Ellis: …Thanks. I take it you’ve been here before? Paris?: Yeah, a bit. Tay and I usually hung out in my room, though, so I honestly haven’t seen it all that much.  Ellis: Did Taylor also have permission to enter your room, then? Paris?: Yeah, of course~ It made it easier to hang out. See?”

Interesting…

“But, no matter how hard I look, it looks like Paris. Am I overthinking this? Does that just mean it really is Paris?”

Yeah I definitely got ahead of myself thinking it’d be easy to tell if this is Taylor or not. I’m leaning on “no”, though.

“However, when I check inside [Paris’ room], nothing seems out of the ordinary. There are only two empty hangers in her closet– one for the jacket and one for the dress, it seems, based on how her other clothes are hung up– but that’s just the copy that “Paris” is wearing. The body was so burnt that it tattered the clothes, so the body was probably wearing Taylor’s clothes at the time it was burnt. That, or something really weird is going on.”

It’s odd…

“Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun!”

Wait already?!?! We don’t even know how the fire was made! Or what the poison was! I can’t even tell who the victim is!

“Really, I was able to retain more from this investigation than I was from any of the past three, because this time, I was paying the most attention. I’m not going to turn a blind eye to these Trials anymore– at the very least, if my luck makes it so I have to win, I want it to be somewhat earned.”

Hell yeah.

“Why commit the crime at 2AM if it is in the Cellar, and nobody is trapped in there?”

I hadn’t even thought about that, but it’s so true. Is it possible it wasn’t in the cellar? I’m losing it.

““Paris” stands behind Paris’ podium– is that something we can use as evidence? Would Monoquin stop Taylor from standing there?”

I mean I’d assume Monoquin would let them, it’d kinda be pointless otherwise.

[Part End] Alright, time to check over the handbook and see if I can get literally any semblance of an idea of what happened, because right now I have absolutely no guesses!

… There’s fucking nothing there. I don’t know how the fire was made. I don’t know where the poison came from, or if there was even poison involved. I can’t tell what part of the file is a lie. I don’t know why Taylor didn’t respond to messages the day they were in the cellar, even though they’d replied to messages the day before.

Still, I guess I have to do a

Murder Theory

So, let’s start with a simple statement. If Taylor is not the victim, they are the killer. That tracks, right? Because if they’re not the victim, they’ve disguised themselves as the actual victim and are hiding within the group right now, which is silly unless they’re the killer. Thus, to know who the victim is, we may need to first ask if it’s possible for Taylor to be the blackened.

And I’m leaning on “no.” Because, to put it bluntly, it would be insane for the Monoquin file to say the victim is Paris if the killer is really Taylor. Their entire plan would revolve around the hope the class believes they’re dead when they’re really alive, so to cast doubt on that would be pointless. There’s some kind of reverse psychology 15D chess argument that Taylor could use this exact reasoning to defend themselves during the trial, but we don’t have Kennedy here, and they’re really the only one who might believe that. For now, we leave it there.

So, Taylor seems like the most likely victim here. Since the victim of the Monoquin file would have to be the lie, then everything else about it is true. Thus, “Taylor was killed by poison last night at 2 AM in the cellar.”

Now, at the risk of sounding like a certain Tetro Pink character, the poison’s gotta be right. Mostly because everything else about this is so absurdly nonsensical that I can’t see how that, of all things, would be the lie. Of course, I have no idea what the poison actually was, but we can go with it for now.

Then there’s the time frame, and this is what actually presents the biggest problem. Already, why Taylor would be in the cellar at 2 AM is a little beyond me, but perhaps the killer knocked them out somehow, dragged them down there, then the poison did the work. But the bigger issue is that Taylor just… wasn’t responding to messages the day before. Could the killer have stolen the handbook? There’s a rule against that, so you’d think it impossible.

So, heres the situation. If it were possible for the killer to stop Taylor from accessing their handbook for the entire time they were locked in the cellar, then I think that’s what happened. The killer somehow knew Paris was sending messages, so they hoped that Taylor’s lack of response would make people doubt the time of death. If the Monoquin file lied about the time of the death, the victim would have to be Paris, so the killer must be Taylor in disguise, killer gets away.

But that’s the thing; it’s an if. I have no idea if the killer would actually be able to do that, since stealing handbooks is against the rule. Maybe you can steal a handbook from a corpse under the argument they’re no longer a “player”, but for that to work, both the victim and the time of death have to be lies, and we’re cooked.

So we need to account for the possibility that the killer can’t directly interfere there. And that’s a gigantic issue, because I have no idea why Taylor wouldn’t answer. Maybe the nature of the messages changed? Paris learnt Taylor badmouthed her that day, so maybe her messages got aggressive and Taylor decided not to answer those. But if that were the case, surely we’d get some details about the messages themselves, right? So that’s a dead end too.

Was Taylor outside the room, disguised as who knows who, and just busy? Insane, though. Surely they’d be able to sneak in some messages in there somewhere.

And now we’ve gone in a circle. Because if there’s no way for the killer to stop the messages, and I can’t think of any reason Taylor wouldn’t answer them, something must have happened the day Taylor was supposedly in the cellar. Was Taylor passed out the entire day???

Of course, there’s the other option. That the murder did happen then, which would mean the victim actually is Paris. So the Paris in the trial is Taylor. Is that possible?

Let me say right now that the clothes aren’t an issue. Taylor could have grabbed the clothes from Paris’ corpse and replaced them with their own before burning everything. That works. Any other problems?

The messages are the damn problem, again. It makes no sense for Taylor to send messages and not answer them. Maybe they needed to leave their own handbook with the corpse in case someone found it before this point, but they could just not send messages from Paris’ under the argument that “she” was mad about what Taylor said the day before.

So Taylor!Victim fails due to the lack of messages on Taylor’s side, and Taylor Killed Paris fails due to the existence of messages on Paris’ side. I could see some insane plays where Taylor is somehow disguised as someone else, but height difference makes me hesitant that that’s the answer. I’m losing it.

Thus, we seem to arrive an impossibility. Taylor’s not the victim, and they don’t seem to be the killer. The only option is that someone else is the killer, Taylor is disguised as Paris for some other reason, and just doesn’t want to admit that because it would make them look really bad.

…But why??? And how does the killer factor into it??? How the fuck would the cast even find the killer??? What the fuck are we doing???

You know what? I accept defeat. I can’t. Venus, you beat me. I have nothing. We have no alibis. I don’t know where the poison came from. I have no idea how the gym thing comes into play. I don’t know why it’d be important for Paris and Taylor to get into each other’s rooms. I don’t even know how the fire started. I can’t even tell who the v i c t i m is. I feel like I could make better guesses seeing what way the trial starts, to see what options get ruled out first, but I can’t right now. So, congrats! I have nothing. Sorry about that!

Let’s just… Let’s just get to the next part, shall we?

Part 6

Trial time!

“Davis: You did lie last Trial. It’s not out of the question for you to lie again. Paris?: Hey babe, if you’re saying I’m lying about being me, then I would be dead! Make up your mind!”

It’s very confusing to talk Paris right now lol. Glad to see the characters are also having issues with that.

“Vanessa: We usually start with the MQ File, right?” [Evidence Select]

… Am I just supposed to pick the file?

[Right Answer: MQ File #4] Yeah lol. I guess it’s immersive that you have to do it even when it’s not really a puzzle lmao.

“Noah: Wait, but if you’re alive, why would it benefit the killer to say you’re dead? Doesn’t it just make the lie, like, super obvious? Jeff: It’d probably imply that she’s the killer. We’d be less likely to want to vote for the “victim.””

This is part of why this one’s so hard to think about. There’s a million ways the cast could take the file, so it’s not abundantly clear why the file would lie about the damn victim.

“Paris?: It could also mean that, shocker, someone is trying to frame both of us! Like, if the only logic you all can come up with for the lie is that either Tay or I is the killer, that’s probably what the actual killer wanted!”

Yeah, this is kinda what I’m leaning on in the end, but it’s still hard to wrap my head around the time of death in that case.

“Davis: I think the takeaway here is that we do need to address who the victim is. That’s one of the most basic case facts, right?  Harper: Yes, that’s… a fair approach. I suppose we’ll be debating this now after all.” [Nonstop Debate]

Save me, Nonstops, save me.

“Paris?: Tay could’ve picked anyone to impersonate!/Aidan: Taylor is the Ultimate Impressionist. Personality wise, they’d be able to pull off being any of us.”

I’m guessing we’re meant to shoot “Taylor’s Profile + Paris’ Profile” for the height thing, but both of these statements are literally the same so it could be either or. Leaning on Paris’ statement from a vibe check more than anything.

[Answer: Taylor’s Profile + Paris’ Profile -> could’ve picked anyone] Hell yeah! Off to a good start! I’m glad I remembered composites lol.

“Paris?: Isn’t it? Genuinely, do you think Tay could fully replicate my face? My charm? Do you really think that they could just become me, just like that? Mark: …We have to account for the possibility. Paris?: …”

She is NOT happy they think that lmao.

“Aidan: It’s a fair point, though. If you assume that Paris or Taylor is the killer, arguing too much one way or the other could be suspicious. It’s probably better for her if we don’t actually know who’s who. Mark: Or, if she is innocent, she might not want to admit that she doesn’t have a way to prove her own identity.Davis: There must be some way to figure it out.” [Nonstop Debate]

It’s not a great situation. Wonder if the clothes are gonna be brought up.

”Harper: It seems that the body showed no indication that the victim was Taylor.”

After reading the whole thing, it seems like it’s actually Taylor’s e-handbook getting shot at this, maybe?

[Answer: Taylor’s e-Handbook -> no indication] Well at least I’m doing better in the trial than in the investigation lol.

“Aidan: Anyways, I don’t think it’s definitive at all.  Harper: Because of the possibility of it being planted? Aidan: Right. All it proves is that Taylor, alive or dead, is fine having their e-Handbook on the body we found. That still leaves the option of Taylor being the true victim or impersonating someone else.”

Very true, but I’d like to talk about “Paris” having Paris’ handbook and the rule about stealing handbooks, because that’s the biggest thing on my mind right now. Does it count as stealing if it’s from a corpse?

“Mark: There must be something we can figure out with this, right?” [Question Completion]

I take it we’re gonna bring up the handbook rule?

Yeah this is pretty clearly “where is Paris’ e-Handbook now?”

[Answer: That] Yippie!

“Harper: Is that enough evidence, then?” [Evidence Select]

I take it we’re gonna choose the rule about handbooks, Regulation #13, yeah?

[Answer: Regulation #13] I never miss. Ignore all the times I’ve missed please.

“Mark: It’s true that when I asked Monoquin before, he said that while a dead student’s e-Handbook could be “borrowed,” it had to be returned before the Trial.”

I… forgot that was a thing that had been asked before! Yep, Paris is Paris, that’s nice.

“Paris?: Exactly what I’ve been saying the entire time!” [Select the Person]

Sorry, what am I selecting? The victim? Then, I guess we’re doing Taylor.

[Answer: Paris] …This one doesn’t count I didn’t know what the question was alright?! Good.

“Paris: Thank you, Ellis. I can’t believe you all doubted me like that for so long.”

Yay, the question mark’s gone!

“Mark: Speaking of Paris’ identity, though, that means that we really should know who the victim is.”

[Select the Person] NOW it’s Taylor, got it. [Answer: Taylor]

“Aidan: …Taylor would have trouble visually and/or vocally impersonating anyone else, and I’m not really sure what the incentive would be to put Paris’ name in the File if you’re trying to pretend someone else is dead. If Taylor’s impersonating anyone, they’d have to be the killer, so it’d make more sense to have the File back up your central lie with a truth.”

Yeah, this makes the most sense. Let’s see what’s up with the messages then.

[Nonstop Debate]

“Vanessa: That means Taylor must’ve been poisoned before being selected for the motive, right?”

It’s maybe a bit bold so early in the trial, but I’d shoot this with Cellar-Closet Swap Door. Because it was possible to go in and out of the cellar during the day, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to have been poisoned afterwards.

[Answer: The Fourth Motive -> must’ve been poisoned before] Okay, so I was right on what to contradict, except the argument was actually that there’s a two hour time frame between Taylor getting released and dying lol.

“Mark: It’s true that Taylor died in the Cellar either way. That means that, if they were poisoned after being released, they must’ve returned to the Cellar after being poisoned. Paris: But, like, why? It’s not like anyone liked being in the Cellar.  Mark: No, definitely not… Vanessa: Then how’d they end up dying there?” [Puzzling Pieces]

This sure is puzzling! It’s one of the weirdest parts of this case. Let’s see if the pieces help!

“Noah: If it was something that’d incapacitate them, the killer could’ve just, like, carried them back into the Cellar, right? Vanessa: But, did the killer even have access to the Cellar?”

Yeah, that’s kinda what I’m thinking. The swap door is probably the play here.

“Aidan: Monoquin wakes you up. Aidan: If you’re too tired to actually get up, though, I don’t know what happens.”

Interesting bit of trivia there, thanks Aidan.

Maybe we could go with Aidan’s idea? “Taylor was too weak from poison to leave the Cellar.” It’s a little janky, and I’m not confident on it, but it could work.

[Answer: Taylor was too weak from poison to leave the Cellar] Why do I doubt myself? I should lean more into my God complex, that feels like a good step for my character arc.

“Paris: But what about the rest of the day? Tay literally could’ve messaged me at any time. There has to have been a time where they realized they were dying before they couldn’t do anything, right?”

Thank you! The messages are driving me insane, we gotta talk about them.

[Nonstop Debate] Woohoo!

“Jeff: It’s also possible that, if they were gonna die either way, they didn’t really care what happened to us. Jeff: If we fail the Trial, it doesn’t matter much for them.”

That’s… a little harsh, Jeff!

“Paris: Besides, given the Customer Service Desk, the poison could be anything!”

I’m not sure if this is the direction we’re supposed to be taking, but you could shoot Customer Service Order List here, since we know the poison didn’t come from there.

[Answer: Customer Service Order List -> the poison could be anything] Man I am on a roll today!

“Aidan: Even if it’s, like, a household cleaner or something, where would they get it? The staff does everything around here.”

We brought up hair dye during the investigation, I’m sure the salon and makeup stores probably have some amount of things that are deadly to ingest.

“Mark: …Unless it’s not something common.”

I wonder. I did bring up someone potentially having gotten hold of Antonia’s poison, but that feels a little out there. Also that one might have been too deadly. I wonder if Taylor had any allergies… is that what Mark is getting at with that question?

“Mark: That’s true, but it doesn’t really matter, as long as the order description doesn’t give away any details on how the poison works. The File tells us it’s poison anyways, right? The killer must’ve had something in mind already for what they’d use to poison Taylor. Something they could get themself, or just by asking the staff. Jeff: And that mystery poison is?” [Hangman’s Gambit]

I actually have no clue.

I accidentally saw the answer, though, and I was right, surprisingly! It was Antonia’s poison! Hell yeah girl, go haunt the narrative!

“Jeff: Antonia’s poison was fast acting, right? Vivi told us, and Cass died from the poison before the stab wound.”

Yeah, that kinda throws a wrench into things. There is, of course, the argument that ingesting it would be less immediately lethal than getting it injected into your bloodstream, but it’s hard to be sure of that without knowing what the poison actually is.

“Jeff: Taylor would’ve had to be poisoned only a short time before they died. Fifteen minutes, maybe? Ten?”

But… it doesn’t seem like that’s the argument we’re going with! So… idk.

“Mark: Between midnight and 8 AM, when no one is in the Cellar for the motive, is the door open? Monoquin: No. It remained locked for the duration of the motive. Should the spotless win, it will remain unlocked for the remainder of the game.”

So I guess we know how the swap door comes into play here.

[Nonstop Debate] Door time! By the way, kind of completely unrelated, but I’m a little worried that Aidan hasn’t been as active in this trial as in others. Surely he’s not the killer, right? It’s been worrying me for a while now.

“Noah: But, until Taylor died, there was no way to get in or out of the Cellar, right?”

Swap door! That’s the bullet I’m shooting, obvs.

“Paris: Though that still doesn’t explain why Tay didn’t respond to my messages…”

Yeah this is still a problem btw.

[Answer: Cellar-Closet Swap Door -> no way to get in or out] Woohoo!

“Noah: Even if there is the swap door, though, does that really help? I mean, I guess it’d give a way for Taylor to get back in, but there should’ve been no one on the Cellar side to trigger it, right?”

Is this implying the killer must be someone who’d been in the cellar? Since it’s locked at night, the only way for them to put something on the cellar side is for them to have been there as a result of the motive. That might be getting us somewhere.

[Progressive Deduction]

1- What is our best lead on how Taylor died in the Cellar? a) They never left the Cellar b) They walked back in after they were poisoned c) They were swapped in through the secret door d) They didn’t

Going with c) here, though it’s interesting the question isn’t framed definitively. “Our best lead” and “the truth” don’t necessarily have to coincide. I think they do here, but still.

2- What would the killer have swapped into the Cellar? a) Themself b) Taylor’s body c) Me d) Nothing

“Me” is very funny, but I assume we’re going with b), Taylor’s body. Admittedly, it’s a weird way to phrase that, because Taylor must have still been alive when they got swapped into the cellar.

…Wait, how? Taylor died in the cellar, but how did their body get burnt? The killer would need to swap themselves in after Taylor to do that, or at least swap in something that could start the fire (even though that would probably leave behind evidence which isn’t there). So… the killer must have actually swapped themselves in. Final answer will be a), though I’m not 100% sure on that one. Maybe if the victim could be Paris, and the location was wrong, but we ruled that out because Paris has her handbook. I’m losing it.

3- What could the killer have swapped out of the Cellar? a) Themself b) Taylor’s body c) The next person selected for the motive d) An object

It’s gotta be d), an object. The next person wasn’t there yet, and both Taylor and the killer have to be in the cellar at the same time for the fire to make any amount of sense, so.

Here’s what I’m thinking. The killer gets put into the cellar as part of the motive, and somehow knows about the swap door. They leave a wine barrel or something on top of the pressure plate before they leave. When Taylor gets sent in, the killer uses the gym plate to get swapped into the cellar, with the understanding that the barrels will land on the pressure plate on the gym. The killer ties up Taylor or something (explaining the lack of messages), then leaves via pressure plate, swapping with the barrels again. Night comes, and Monoquin comes to collect Taylor, but they can’t leave, because they’re tied up, so they get locked in. Killer comes through the swap door again, poisons Taylor, burns the body, leaves. This all presumably to confuse the time of death and location, which would raise doubts about what the lie in the MQ file is, allowing for the possibility that the victim listed is wrong, which would incriminate Taylor.

I did tell you I’d have a better idea when the trial started, right? Still, I could see a lot of this being very wrong. Let’s see.

[Answer: c, b, d] For example, I could get what got swapped wrong. Oops. I still think my theory makes some amount of sense though. Assuming you can reliably get the barrels to stay on the pressure plate after swapping.

“Mark: I don’t think it’s likely that anyone would’ve figured out that that swap door existed unless they were in the Cellar. There’s no indication in the Closet that it’d swap you, and it’d be a pretty big assumption to make.”

I mean, you could know, given your previous killing game involved this cellar, but still.

“Aidan: …The barrels.”

I was right about that, apparently. And Aidan’s being helpful again, yay!

“Harper: I see. You could return the barrel to the Cellar when retrieving the body to burn it.”

I mean, you still have the issue that Taylor died in the cellar. So when we say “Taylor’s body”, we mean “Taylor’s still alive body, but probably very poisoned and thus kind of immobile”. But that still means Taylor was alive in the cellar, and could have crawled away from the pressure plate, making burning the body impossible. I’m losing my mind again, I don’t know what’s happening.

“Paris: By having Monoquin open the door for “investigation?” I guess it’d probably work…”

I… forgot that was an option oops. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense then.

“Davis: If that’s true, then we’re working with a smaller group of possible culprits than before, right?” [Evidence Select]

Fourth Motive, I take it? For the list of people who were in the cellar.

[Answer: The Fourth Motive] Yep. So that’s Aidan, Mark, Noah, Paris and Taylor. Plus Ellis was in the cellar when it first opened, but Aidan can probably confirm she didn’t do anything weird then.

… It kinda feels like it’s down to Paris and Noah, right? Taylor’s the victim; Mark helped discover the swap door, which would’ve been insane to do if he was the killer; and Aidan brought up the barrels and had little motive to leave (outside of FTEs anyways), arguments which by themselves mean little but together they’re strong enough. Interesting.

[Mixed Matches]

Murder Weapon: Poison, specifically the same fast-acting kind Antonia used. (B)

Location of Murder: The Cellar, as accessed through the swap door. (E)

Time of murder: 2 AM, the night between Taylor’s disappearances. (D)

Victim: Taylor, though the Monoquin File claimed it was Paris. (A)

Other Injuries: Burns, from an unknown source. (C)

[Answer: B - E - D - A - C] This might be the easiest trial minigame I’ve ever seen lol. It’s funny.

“Jeff: Sort of like Antonia, right? Even if someone’s around, the Resort’s big enough you can probably avoid them at nighttime. So, it’s really just about where you could manage to burn a body.”

I guess if there’s no fire damage in the cellar, it makes sense for the body to have been burnt in some other place. Hadn’t thought about that.

“Vanessa: Where, then? If everywhere would leave too much of a trace that we didn’t find, where’d it actually happen?” [Hangman’s Gambit]

There’s… no place on the map that matches four letter word + nine letter word, what. Maybe “pool…” something? Sure, let’s go there.

[Answer: Cafe Fireplace] I forgot that existed lol. But yeah, good call. Accirax clearly didn’t forget, that’s a pretty clean Hangman’s!

[Lie Detector]

I… kinda forgot how this one works. Was it always composites?…

“The victim is Paris Hall” -> MQ File Lie + Regulation #13/Taylor’s e-Handbook

“She died of poison” -> MQ File #4 + Customer Service Order List (??? I don’t know what the hell you want from me here)

“in the Cellar” -> State of the Body + The Cellar

“last night at 2 AM” -> MQ File #4 + Absolutely no idea.

Yeah I forgot what this minigame actually wants from me. This is probably very, very wrong.

[Answer: 1 -> MQ File Lie 2 -> State of the Body + Customer Service Order List 3 -> The Cellar + Cellar-Closet Swap Door 4 -> The Fourth Motive + Taylor’s e-Handbook]

You know what we’ll call it close enough!

[Intermission] Woohoo! It’s been a nice trial so far, hasn’t it? Everyone’s been pretty agreeable (probably because Kennedy’s gone :(), there’s been relatively little drama beyond the murder… it’s been chill. Let’s see how little that lasts now that accusations are gonna start going around, shall we?

Part 7

“Paris: I mean, Mark’s totally the most suspicious, right? Mark: I am? Paris: Uh, yeah? Like, think about it.” [Puzzling Pieces]

Wow, that was fast! Let’s see if it holds up.

“Harper: I suppose it’s possible there could be a hidden room on the same floor as the Cellar. Harper: Perhaps that would have a passage that leads outside, or to another place in the Hotel?”

What, like the Grotto? Ha ha, ha ha ha… Yeah no. I don’t remember where exactly it is, but I doubt it’s that.

I’m gonna go with “The killer wouldn’t want us to find the swap door”, because that’s what makes the most sense to me.

[Answer: The killer wouldn’t want us to find the swap door] Woop!

“Aidan: There is… something to the Mark argument, I guess. We haven’t seen them around much lately. Kinda makes you wonder what he’s been up to.”

Aidan, don’t… do this. You’re being silly, and that’s worrying me. Don’t be the killer please.

“Ellis: Mark wouldn’t sacrifice us just to leave. […] Paris: They could have memories that they’ve gotten back. We don’t know.  Ellis: And you got mad at us for throwing you under the bus…”

Man, Ellis is getting defensive, it’s fun to see!

[Nonstop Debate]

I have no idea what to do here. Everything everyone’s saying is true, there’s not really a lot separating the people who went to the cellar. I’m leaning towards someone having an alibi I’m forgetting, but I don’t even know what truth bullet to shoot there. Or maybe it’s wrong that “any of them could’ve had their whole plan figured out before leaving the cellar”, maybe Aidan was missing details due to being first, but I also don’t know how to argue that. Is it possible one of them wouldn’t be able to get the poison? Why though? I might have to take a wild shot here. Uh…

“Aidan: Any of us could’ve gotten Antonia’s poison, too.”

Shoot “state of Paris’ room” here, maybe? The poison wasn’t there, it’s the only thing I can come up with.

[Answer: “known that people are released at midnight” -> “Any of them”] I did forget about these bullets! It’s what I said before, that Aidan would be lacking info because he was first, right?

“Ellis: Actually, it would’ve been a lot harder for one of them to plan the entire crime in advance. Since Aidan was abducted first, he couldn’t’ve known that his imprisonment would end at midnight, or that the Cellar would stay empty until 8 AM the next day. Aidan: That’s… true, I guess.”

Yippie. Also I love how Aidan seems hesitant even about an argument to his own innocence lmao.

“Ellis: [Aidan and Davis] got back to good terms right after, so [Aidan] wouldn’t have wanted to spring the trap now even if that was his original plan. Not to mention how he feels about the rest of us…”

I love how everyone is defending Aidan all of the sudden, and how Ellis’ own defense seems at least partially influenced by the FTEs!

“Vanessa: It’s just Paris and Noah left as potential culprits then, right?”

As I said, yeah.

[Third Party Analysis] Woohoo!

Concession: Paris: “Besides, even if I’ll admit I want to win the killing game, I wasn’t, like, planning to kill about it!” [Closest thing she has] Noah: “I get that I’ve been taking this killing game pretty hard, and that might seem like a reason I’d want to kill.”

Defense: Paris: “So, if anything, they’d probably be more on their guard around me than anyone else.” Noah: “I’ll… start by saying that I don’t think I would’ve been in the headspace to come up with this kind of a murder when I was in the Cellar.”

Attack: Paris: “Noah’s been all prone to freaking out. If someone’s gonna snap and kill out of nowhere, it’s him.” [These are short sentences I’m allowing myself to put two of them here] Noah: “Even if it wasn’t her directly killing someone, she was willing to manipulate someone else into killing last Trial.”

Proposal: Paris: “Going to the Cellar probably totally freaked him out, so he’d be all ready to do something stupid right after he came out.” Noah: “Even if they weren’t as close as before, it’s possible that lingering relationship could’ve helped her get away with the crime somehow.”

Inquire! Paris’ Defense/Noah’s Proposal -> Taylor’s e-Handbook + Paris’ e-Handbook [Putting two options because they’re the same. Either I disagree with Paris saying Taylor would have been on guard, or I agree with Noah saying the relationship could have helped Paris, because they were still talking on their handbooks. Of course, there is the day of radio silence from Taylor which still worries me, but y’know].

[Answer: Basically the same thing for Distill. Inquire! Taylor’s e-Handbook -> Paris’ Defense] Yeah that works!

“Ellis: I don’t think you can say that Taylor was that afraid of you. After all, they never even revoked your ability to enter their room.”

That was the other argument, yeah. Probably a bit more important lol.

“Paris: Fine! Clear his name too! You think I care?! Jeff: …Yes, based on that reaction.”

Pfft-

“Aidan: What we’ve already said is pretty incriminating towards you. It’s not like we’re going to forget about all of it. Speaking of which, going back to the beginning of the Trial, you’re the one who’d benefit the most from us thinking you’re dead through the File’s lie. Paris: Okay, yeah, but if I really was the blackened, I would’ve just, like, pretended you were right!”

I was going to bring that up too, yeah. It’s a bit odd for her not to go with that strategy, though I guess if she got found out, she’d be immediately cooked, so.

“Paris: Oh, and now you’re using that as logic. Not when I say it, but when it’s against me. How thoughtful of you.”

Chat I think Paris’ persecution complex is going stronger by the second. The type of shit that losing your only friend does to you ig.

[Nonstop Debate] Gonna be real, I also have no clue what to do on this one. Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but I’ll go with my first thought. Earlier in the trial, Paris confirmed that she knew Ellis had been in the cellar when it first opened. Paris didn’t name any source. It’s possible, then, that she overheard them talking when they were investigating. And I’ll say that she was in the gym at the time, overheard them through the passage in the closet, and that’s how she figured out the connection. Final answer:

“Jeff: The killer is the one who figured out the switch door.”

Take this statement…

“Paris: Nothing actually links me to the way the crime was carried out, right?”

And shoot this one. I’m not too confident on it, but let’s see.

[Answer: Customer Service Desk + “they could have ordered from the CSD” -> “Nothing actually links me”] Ah, this actually makes more sense, yeah. The killer could’ve ordered poison, unless they needed it delivered in less than 48 hs. Paris would’ve either needed to order before going into the cellar, or risk not getting the poison in time. She’s the only one who would’ve had this problem, so she’s linked. Nice!

“Paris: No! You don’t get to do that! You don’t get to suddenly start feeling sorry for me now, after everything! You don’t get to pretend like you had no way to see what all of this was doing to me! All: … Paris: The Taylor who was my best friend? They’re gone. They don’t exist anymore. And every other suspect in this Trial has someone tripping over themself to defend them. Mark and Ellis, Aidan and Davis, Noah and Harper– all of you have someone! Just because my best friend never actually cared about me, suddenly I’m the bad person? Even though I cared about them…? Aidan: …Are you… actually crying? Paris: I’m a real person too!“

Holy crashout! I always expected Paris to do something evil at some point, but I hadn’t expected to feel so bad about it. Of all reasons for her to snap, huh? And again, it’s kinda fascinating that Paris genuinely viewed Taylor as a friend, even though she was a horrible friend to them. Very fun stuff!

“Paris: I’m a person. And I have wants, and needs, and dreams, and just because none of you see that, that doesn’t mean that I’m the villain you want me to be.”

…. *quietly pushes the Paris!mm theory under the rug.*

Who even is the mm at this point? Harper? I got no fucking idea which of these people could possibly be behind this mess, I’m losing it.

“Aidan: Can you come up with one thing that actually disqualifies her from being the culprit? One piece of evidence that actually points to somebody else? For all we know, this is just another manipulation tactic.”

Bit harsh, but fair.

[Scrum Debate]

Oh yeah, we gotta do one of these!

[Paris is innocent: Paris, Vanessa

Paris is the killer: Ellis, Aidan, Jeff, Davis, Mark, Noah, Harper]

Okay wow, I thought these things were supposed to be somewhat equal? That’s really funny.

“Paris: You’re totally saying that I’m the killer for, like, no _____!” -> Mark/reason.

“Vanessa: Just because Paris isn’t as _____ to the group doesn’t mean she’s the killer!” -> Harper/close.

“Vanessa: Paris and Taylor were _____! It’d be hardest for Paris to kill Taylor out of all of us.” -> Jeff/friends.

“Paris: So what if I _____ last Trial? That was for all of your sakes!” -> Noah/lied.

“Paris: You all only want to vote for me ‘cause you _____ me! It’s not fair!” -> Davis/hate.

[Answer: I got it right :)].

“Ellis: …Look, I don’t want to claim that you’re not a person, ‘cause you are.”

Lmao.

“Paris: Oh, so now you want to listen to me. Aidan: You have ten seconds to start talking or we vote.”

The group is. So done.

[Freestyle Feud] Let’s do it!

“You just want me to be the killer so I won’t mess up your little friend group.”

I’d prefer no one be a killer, but the evidence condemns you.

“What the hell is the reason that I would kill my friend?”

You had a falling out, and the loneliness you couldn’t bear. (?)

“You’re acting like I’m cruel, even though it wasn’t my fault!”

If you’re the blackened, boo, then I’d say that is wrong.

“It’s not my fault if she betrayed me first!”

What the fuck.

Uh… alright I’m freaking out but I have to finish the rhyme:

And it’s a twist, Mx. Long, but now I feel, the only things betraying you are your loose lips! (?)

You’re supposed to shoot a truth bullet at the end, right? Maybe Taylor’s Profile, which states their pronouns as “they/them”?

[BREAK!] Okay apparently you didn’t need a truth bullet, kinda forgot that. Also:

“Ellis: Woah, wait a minute– who’s the “she” in your outburst?”

I love that this doesn’t even rhyme, Ellis is so flabbergasted it threw off their whole flow xD

“Mark: Wait, but… that was impossible. We figured out that she had to be Paris.”

One thing that comes to mind is that Paris could have lent Taylor her handbook, so even if she died afterwards, it wouldn’t be stealing if Taylor still had it on them?

“Paris?: …Oh, yeah, I’m like, totally Tay! Can’t believe it took you all so long to figure out~”

Let’s go Paris Question Mark!!!

“Vanessa: Wait, but if Paris is the victim, then we don’t have a lie in the File, right? Like… that’s kind of part of the reason we believed it too, right? Mark: Let’s… talk it over. We can figure this out.” [Puzzling Pieces]

You know, the lack of messages for a full day before the supposed murder still worries me…

While there’s interesting points being brought up about what the lie in the file could be doing to help Taylor, I’m going with the solution “Paris could’ve given Taylor her e-Handbook willingly”, to address the main question.

[Answer: Paris could’ve given Taylor her e-Handbook willingly] Have I mentioned how much I love Puzzling Pieces, btw? Because I love it a lot.

“Paris?: What, so you could finally vote for me like you want to? Jeff: Guilt tripping’s not going to get you anywhere, considering that whoever you are, you’re definitely the killer.” That’s so funny. “I don’t even know who you want me to feel bad for but I don’t feel bad for you anyway.”

Lmao.

“Ellis: …Is there anything else we can look at? Like, what about the rule where you can volunteer to enter the Cellar? Could that have anything to do with it…?”

I’m wondering if we’re thinking the same thing about Taylor volunteering someone else via impersonation. Don’t fully know what the point would be, though.

“Mark: It’s 50/50 odds no matter who guesses, right…? It might as well be you.  Ellis: But… but, my luck doesn’t work like that. It only helps with picking the right stocks to invest in, and getting lucky poker hands, and…  Vanessa: I, uh… I bet you five dollars you pick the wrong answer?  Ellis: …Five dollars?”

Holy shit we’ve cracked the code. It’s easy! Why didn’t Celeste think of this in DR1?

“Mark: Take a deep breath. It doesn’t have to be right. We can talk about it afterwards, if you want. But, if you had to pick… who would it be?” [Select the Person]

That’s crazy. There’s literally no way to tell what you’re supposed to pick here. I wonder if accirax would have been able to pick either or if there was only one answer. Leaning on on only one answer, but who knows. {After reading the rest, yeah there was definitely a right and a wrong answer lol}. I am gonna go with Taylor, because while I still have many questions, interrogating the Paris idea is sort of a dead end since we’ve already talked about it. At least Taylor as a suspect might give us new ideas, and possibly explain the message issue.

[Answer: Taylor Long] Yep. Also: “Ellis: It’s… you?” The question mark stocks are Rising this trial!

“Taylor?: …” [Closing Argument]

Wow… Taylor Question Mark, long lost sibling of Paris Question Mark! Also, doing a Closing Argument without actually being sure of anything is so funny. Anyways, let’s see if what I’ve gathered makes any sense.

1- The Fourth Motive. Paris got locked in the Cellar two days before the trial.

2- Customer Service Order List. Here’s where it gets iffy. I’m gonna claim Taylor picked up Antonia’s poison by asking the staff for it only after Paris got locked in the cellar. I can’t be sure if that’s right or not.

3- Cellar-Closet Swap Door. After Paris escapes the cellar, Taylor poisons her, and uses the swap door so Paris dies in the cellar.

4- Paris’ Room. There’s a clothes swap here. Taylor puts their own clothes on Paris’ body, and grabs one of Paris’ outfits to disguise as her.

5- State of the Body. The body is burnt.

6- Paris’ e-Handbook. Somehow, Taylor had gotten permission from Paris to use her handbook, and so Taylor uses it to send messages to their own handbook. They had to leave their handbook next to Paris in case someone stumbled onto the corpse (that’s why they couldn’t respond), but also needed to send messages to replicate Paris’ recent behavior. It’d be suspicious if Paris had only sent messages one day, and not the other.

7- MQ File #4. The body is found, the MQ File is distributed.

I feel like there’s several ways to arrange this depending on what info you take of each truth bullet, but oh well.

[Answer: Motive -> Room -> Handbook -> Order List -> Swap Door -> State of Body -> MQ File] Other than the room and the handbook, I got it right. We call close enough!

“Ellis: The case began with the motive, as it usually does. “Usually”... ugh."

Yeah, sorry buddy :(

“Ellis: When the killer was trapped underground– one of five people to find themselves in that scenario– they planned a murder to enact upon their escape.”

You know, I completely forgot the killer had to go to the cellar before learning of the swap door. Uh, oops?

“Davis: Is it… really okay to vote, if we don’t know for sure? Aidan: Are we ever going to know for sure? Mark: …It’s okay. I trust that this is the right answer. So, if everyone’s ready, then… let’s vote.” [Vote]

This is crazy. You know, I’ve seen a cast almost get a vote wrong before- hell, I know a fangan where the cast does in fact get a vote wrong. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fangan cast vote before anyone’s actually sure about the killer. Crazy stuff.

“Monoquin: That is correct. I inhale sharply, and tears prick my eyes. I hide my crying eyes behind my arm. Ellis: Thank god… I didn’t… I didn’t kill you all…”

Welp! There’s one for the trauma books! Holy stress! And now Vanessa owes Ellis five dollars, lol.

“Vanessa: But, why? I mean, things were going pretty well… Taylor: Why would I kill Paris? You’re seriously asking me why I would kill Paris?”

I mean. You were also going to kill everyone else in the process. It’s kind of a lot.

“Taylor: I hate her. I hate her perfect fucking face and her stupid flawless pictures and I hate the way “I” was the only one she ever cared about in her entire life, but the “I” she cared about never even existed in the first place! Davis: “You” didn’t exist…? Taylor: “Oh, sorry! That wasn’t really me just there. I’m here to support you, so don’t worry about it!”  Taylor’s “usual” smile fades back to deadpan. Taylor: Not all of it was fake. But it wasn’t “me,” either. It was the person Paris wanted me to be. The person Paris would actually consider a friend, and the person who Paris would learn to care about.”

Holy! There’s some crazy reveals going on here. I guess I should’ve at least wondered if maybe the Ultimate Impressionist was putting on an act for a while :v

“Taylor: I don’t want any of this anymore. The me here, the me with my family, the me at college, the “me” anywhere, isn’t actually who I am. I wanted to get away from everything. To start over. To take the time to figure out who “I” am…  I look at Aidan. He looks back at me, but he doesn’t say anything, either.”

…They’re calling it the greatest timing for an FTE of all time! What are the damn chances it worked out this perfectly with the themes of the chapter? Crazy stuff.

“Taylor: Could I? Paris certainly wouldn’t have allowed it. She’d be all, “Tay, why are you being like that? We were totes besties~!” and you’d probably be weirded out, too. Besides, what kind of a place is a killing game to figure out who you are? Mark: …”

To be fair, Ellis’ inner monologue has kind of agreed with Taylor in the past, but goddamn Ellis’ friends are catching strays in Taylor’s final speech!

“Taylor: But, y’know, if you’re all living in happy friendship land, I won’t be stopping you, apparently. Continue living here forever, if that’s what you’d like. Keep hanging with your besties– those of you who have them, anyways.”

Well. Someone was speaking their true feelings while masquerading as someone else, it seems :p

“Vanessa: …Did you ever care about her? Taylor: Did I? They think. Taylor: …Yeah, I did. But not enough to try.”

Damn. Kind of a crazy thing to admit, but I respect the ability for self-reflection here.

“Ellis: …I guess this is what happens to people who want to win the game. Who give up. Who decide that their escape is more important than everyone else. I’m… not like that. I wasn’t. And I won’t be. I promise.”

Character development!!! *fire emoji* *fire emoji* *fire emoji*.

“Taylor: …I hate the part of me that hates her, too.”

Welp! That’s horribly sad!

“Taylor looks out at the crowd and bows. Taylor: Farewell from me… and her. “Besties stick together ‘til the end~””

Fantastically theater kid of them, it’s peak. And I love the one last weird impersonation of the dead for the road!

“What would your execution include?”

Damn. Taylor boutta get the 9-in-1 special, their own execution and everyone else’s! Though, now that I’m considering this, isn’t it kinda crazy the mastermind is able to arrange an execution based on the players’ vote? Like, there’s no way to account for every single possibility, right? Unless this is a simulation, which I doubt, or the mastermind is supernatural, which I doubt only slightly less. The mm might just be an Analyst like Junko, very certain of what people are gonna pick, but otherwise I don’t know how you pull this off. Or maybe I’m just thinking too hard about it xD

“Would they take away any input from me, then? Chain me down, prevent me from speaking, block my vision? Would they take away everything I had, everything my luck has given me? Let everyone see the truth behind the heart shaped sunglasses? The truth… isn’t as harsh as I feared. Everyone else told me that. But, if I were the killer… everyone would have shown me that truth, instead.

What would your execution include? YOUR ANSWER: Who everyone else thinks I am.”

That’s some pretty interesting philosophizing, especially regarding the truth and all. Still, writing down “who everyone else thinks I am” knowing it’s related to Taylor’s execution specifically is crazy lmao.

“Idk.”

Aidan is just fantastic for this xD

“The floor bucks Taylor backwards, slamming them into a wall. Then, just as fast, another piston fires, and another wall slams into that one with a deafening slam. When it pulls away again, there’s only the bloodstained impression of Taylor’s body left in the wall.”

YIKES. That’s a pretty horrible one, goddamn.

“The room is quiet. Without Paris, our usual chatterbox, it’ll probably never be loud in the same way again.”

Damn. Already missing her, huh?

The usual post-trial conversation with Mark and subsequent monologue are as fantastic as always. Really hitting us in the feels with reminiscing over everyone who was, and no longer is. And also:

“You never know when there might be another miracle around the corner.”

We end on a hopeful note! That’s how you know we’re closer to the end, the protag is getting ready for those hope speeches!

Anyways, thoughts on the trial. Holy damn, it was a rollercoaster. There were enough twists and turns in there that I really could’ve believed anything part way through. And making the seemingly obvious answer, “Taylor in disguise”, the correct one is a very bold move for a chapter 4, but I think it works! There’s so many other seemingly good possibilities that, even though the first possibility discussed turned out to be the right one, it never really felt like we were going in circles. Not in a bad way, anyways. Plus, Taylor's emotional state, revealed through their speeches as Paris and of course at the end, is a great source of drama and makes them a very fascinating character. Peak!

And while Ellis is busy doing that, we have a game to check up on. Finally knowing both the victim and the killer, it’s time to see where we stand!

Anyways, thoughts on the trial. Holy damn, it was a rollercoaster. There were enough twists and turns in there that I really could’ve believed anything part way through. And making the seemingly obvious answer, “Taylor in disguise”, the correct one is a very bold move for a chapter 4, but I think it works! There’s so many other seemingly good possibilities that, even though the first possibility discussed turned out to be the right one, it never really felt like we were going in circles. Not in a bad way, anyways. Peak!

And before we go to the Bonus Scenes, we have a game to check up on! When I left off at the end of CH3, bronze had 14 points, accirax had 16, Jonas had 17, and I had 20. Finally knowing both the victim and the killer, it’s time to see where we stand now!

Starting with Paris, we have what I believe may be a first! Three people guessed the exact same thing: CH3 victim! With the right role, accirax, bronze-ocs and I all get 1 chapter point! Jonas had predicted her as the mastermind (which would have been my guess at literally any point other than the prologue lmao), so that’s 2 chapter points and 2 role points! Welcome to the 21 point club, Jonas :,)

Bronze and I also agreed on Taylor, putting them as a survivor; that’s 2 role points and 2 chapter points. Jonas got the chapter right, but the wrong role, while accirax got the role right, but she predicted a CH2 kill for them, so they both get two points.

Ultimately, the standings are: I’m still in last place with 25 points, though I closed the gap by one point, as Jonas now has 23. Bronze-ocs and accirax keep themselves just under the 20 benchmark with 19 points each, tying for first place! Man, remember when accirax had the most points in CH1? The comeback is generational!

Will I manage to get back in the race? Will Jonas pull away from me? And how will the accirax-bronze tie resolve? See all of that, in the next post!

Anyways, Bonus Scene reactions!

1: Aidan & Davis

Oh hell yeah.

“To state the obvious, it’s dark in here. My eyes have more or less adjusted, but the majority of the light comes from the crack in the trap door.”

Oh, in the Cellar, cool setting!

“It’s not like I’m new to the sensation of sitting around and waiting for the day to be over. It’s like a reminder of what I’ve left behind, right when I realized I didn’t know what the Hell I was doing in the killing game, either.”

Well, I guess at least Aidan isn’t taking it too badly. Still :(

“Davis, then. I guess it’s not that surprising. I did kinda think he would still be mad about earlier, though…”

You’ll have to forgive me for kinda forgetting what that’s referring to, but from what I recall, something about Aidan not caring about certain things enough, or not communicating that he did, anyways.

“Davis: Is there, um… anything else that’s been going on? Aidan: Can we just talk about whatever you came here to talk about already…?”

Lmao. “There’s not any bushes in this cellar you can beat around” huh?

“Davis: I’m just… worried about you, is all. I missed talking to you. But, if you want, I can leave.  Aidan: No, you don’t have to. Ugh, what am I even doing…? How do I talk to someone that I actually… want to…?”

Bruh.

“Davis: …You’re not the first person I’ve had to worry about like this. I guess I’m sort of used to it. But, it feels sort of different now. I actually get to talk to you afterwards.”

… What? Ominous.

“Davis: It’s been seven relationships now, each ending more unfortunately than the last. From moving away to cheating to death, or anything else. I’m used to losing people. I… was scared I’d lose you too.”

Bro??? I guess we kinda knew relationships never work out well for the guy, but I never really thought death was a part of that equation. Poor Davis.

“But, even then, he’s comparing me to previous people he’s dated…?”

Yeah I wonder what that means Aidan, do you have any idea? xD

“Davis: But I was never the one breaking up with them. It was always them, breaking up with me. Even when it was their fault…”

… Even for the death ones? That’s kinda yikes if so.

“Davis: I don’t really blame them for it. This sort of thing happens to me all the time. So, I don’t really think of it as their fault… Aidan: Well, maybe you should!”

Davis no! Aidan get your guy some better self-esteem please!

“I did the same thing, after all. He’s right. It is the same thing. I… took away everyone else’s choice in the matter, to go ahead with whatever I wanted…”

Ooh… self-reflection! Aidan is so mature and smart and that’s very cool of him :)

“Aidan: Yeah. Just… I get how frustrating it is when people don’t let you decide how you want to do things. You deserve better than that.”

Oh, yeah, FTE backstory. You know a ship’s good when the narrative foils go crazy.

“Aidan: Well, I don’t mind talking, if that’s what you want. I wonder if that’d make him smile.”

Aww…

“I guess… maybe I like talking to him, too.”

AWWW!

That was a very cute and fluffy bonus scene, hell yeah! We love ourselves some wholesomeness in our killing games. Here’s to (hopefully) two more chapters of Aidan and Davis being cute with each other! :D

2: Vanessa & Mark

Ooh, a very interesting pairing here! Wonder what they could have to talk about!

“I know that this whole Cellar randomizer thing happens every day, and that it’s probably designed to be a miserable experience for whoever’s inside, but wouldn’t it be a whole lot nicer if it wasn’t…? I already feel kind of bad that I didn’t try to talk to Aidan or anything, especially after he’s been keeping my secret about the gun this long. So, if Ellis already talked to Mark today, maybe I should pay him a visit too!”

Yay Vanessa PoV! And she’s so nice…

“Mark: That… makes enough sense. I definitely don’t mind the company, so…  Yay!”

Vanessa’s inner dialogue sounds like me lmao.

“Vanessa: Well, how’s it been going? Mark: … Uh… did I ask something wrong…?”

Off to a stunning start!

“Vanessa: …Hey, Mark, what do you think is happening in the outside world? Like, beyond the Resort and all that?  Mark: Wouldn’t you know better than me…?”

Yeah you kinda asked the absolute worst person Vanessa lol.

“Mark: I still don’t really remember much about what it was like before, or what happened to it. If your memories are more intact, you’d probably have a better prediction. Vanessa: I guess, but you’re smarter than me. Mark: …Thanks…?”

Bruh. Ness come on have a little more faith in yourself!

“Vanessa: Do you ever wonder… if it’s safer in here? In the killing game? Mark: No.”

Wow, immediate. I guess fair, especially if he doesn’t remember much about the Tragedy, but still.

“Mark: You might be right. I have no idea what the world would be like, out there. All that I know is that the killing game shouldn’t be allowed to exist, because it’s too awful. Even if the outside world is worse, the fact that there are more options makes it easier to change for the better. The way you’d move forward outside… it’d have to be to change it, right? To find safety, to reinvent civilization.”

Wow. Alright? I see you Ultimate Hope. Lmao.

“Vanessa: …You still don’t remember anyone, right? From before all of this. Mark: No. Not in the slightest…”

Alright so we’re lying now. I guess unless Mark takes their previous killing game as part of “all of this,” but I don’t think Vanessa is privy to that information yet lol.

“Vanessa: …I sometimes wonder if my parents are okay, wherever they are.”

:(

“Vanessa: I just know that they’re not really… resourceful? They don’t really problem solve, or take things into their own hands. So, I’m sort of worried about them on their own…”

Alright? that’s… a pretty interesting opinion to have lmao. At least she’s honest about it?

“Mark: …What about your sister?  Vanessa: She’s really capable, so, it’s a lot easier to trust that she’s doing fine, wherever she is…”

That’s nice at least! Vanessa’s sister sounds cool.

“Being apart from her now has to be okay. I can handle myself. This is how I can prove that. I can make it through this killing game on my own…!”

Well, that’s… an interesting motivating factor lol. Works, I guess.

“Vanessa: Do you remember anyone well enough to miss them?  Mark: …”

Ooh… they’re thinking about the previous Lucky Student :o

“Vanessa: I’m sorry if it hurts that you forgot… Mark: …I’ll be okay.”

Aww :(

That was pretty nice! Fun stuff about the Tragedy and Vanessa’s family, though talking to Mark about anything that isn’t strictly killing game related is always gonna be a little awkward. Still, very nice scene!

3: Harper & Noah

Well, you can’t go wrong with this duo!

“How long does it take someone to wake up from a concussion?”

Ooh, and it’s after Noah fell from the railing, fun!

“Noah: I was… freaking out, because of Davis’ whole thing, and I ended up falling from the Promenade. That’s all. I frown. It seems like Davis’ attractiveness forced Noah into some form of self-acknowledgement.”

Just wanted to repeat that this is an immaculate plot point, fantastic way to figure out one’s sexuality lol.

“I’m sorry this is all happening to him, and I know he doesn’t want to acknowledge it, but… I feel as though I can help him. Or, at least, I can try to…”

Go Harper! Good luck!

“Harper: …Is your hesitancy towards self-acceptance related to your father’s beliefs? I’ve always…  My phrasing has really gotten away from me… Harper: …heard less-than-ideal remarks, when I’ve conversed with him.”

Yikes! You know shit’s bad when Harper can’t keep ver wording in check.

“Noah: What has he said to you…? Harper: Nothing I’m not used to.”

Yikes x2

“Harper: It’s not your fault who your parents are. Noah flinches slightly. Right. His mother…”

God, we are just piling on the family problems for the poor guy, huh?

“Harper: I, um… haven’t ever met your mother before, and I hadn’t heard you mention her, either. Is there… a reason why…?  Noah pauses as he processes my words. Then, his eyes begin to tear up, and he tries to stifle a sob.”

Alright, so this one’s gonna get extremely angsty then, awesome.

“I embrace him as he wipes at his eyes. Noah: S-sorry… I… Harper: No need to apologize. I’m here for you.”

At least Harper’s really nice :)

“Noah: My dad… isn’t a very good dad. Our relationship isn’t great, but I have to spend a lot of time with him, ‘cause of frat stuff. He rubs the back of his neck. Noah: And, um… my mom… didn’t want to deal with it anymore. So, one day, she left. Harper: I see. That makes sense. Noah: …She took my sisters with her. Not me, though.”

Well, that’s… sad. The backstory’s very interesting, but geez. Kinda rough for his mom to take the sisters and not him, what the hell?

“…I’m sure Noah asks himself these questions often, too. And, I can only imagine… seeing his mother again, but in the context of the roulette…”

Yeah, yeah… :(

“Harper: I, um… understand the feeling, with my own parents.”

I… well, that’s surprising! We haven’t really heard much about Harper’s backstory, have we?

“Harper: No one becomes as rich as my parents without exploiting others. Even if I’m not directly responsible for it, I’ve always felt guilty for reaping the benefits of their wealth.”

Yeah, that’s what I figured. Do you think Harper’s parents run a vineyard? I still wonder why that’s listed as ver dislike in ver profile.

“Noah: And, you give a lot of money away, anyways… Harper: I do. As much as I can. But, is that because I truly want to help people? Or, is it just because I don’t want to feel that guilt…?”

Ooh, interesting questions… Harper’s one of the characters which has been explored the least, I feel, so it’s nice to get this much insight on ver thoughts!

“Harper: Yeah. I’m really glad I’ve gotten to know you better, Noah. He smiles back. Noah: I’m glad I got to know you better, too.”

Woohoo! Nice talk! Really lovely to get more on these two, since again, I feel like we haven’t gotten much about them in the main series. Onto the final one!

4: Taylor & Paris

And of course, I guess we couldn’t end it off without the Trial’s main characters! The besties turned worsties… I wonder how this one’s gonna play out.

“It feels a little strange as I’m stretching my legs and walking through the Resort again after leaving the Cellar. After all, I’m not going to be here much longer, one way or another.”

Oh damn, are we gonna get a murder PoV as a Bonus Scene? That’d be incredible.

“I guess I don’t know how long it’ll take them to find “my” body, but the whole thing feels like a farewell tour of sorts. Like, look, it’s the Courtyard. Not sure if I’ll ever go back there again.”

Melancholic!

“Paris: OMG, Tay! Are you okay?  She takes a half-step forward like she’s about to hug me, but reconsiders.”

Aww, she’s trying :(

“All I have to do is get back on her good side for one night. That means telling her what she wants to hear– grovelling at her feet, admitting how wrong I was to doubt her. I can manage something like that, at least.”

Damn, killer PoV goes kinda crazy.

“Taylor: I just thought you were upset, since you stopped messaging me since yesterday…”

Oh my god are we finally gonna address what the deal was with this???

“In the moment, I just didn’t want to respond to her. Now, it’s part of my plan. I pick up my e-Handbook, pretending to look at my own chatroom. Taylor: Weird, it’s still not there. Can I have that?”

Holy genius plan! That works so well! Everything makes sense now!!!

“Taylor: Aww, you left my room permissions? I thought you might’ve gotten rid of them… Paris: Of course not. Besties always stick together~ Sure.”

Oof. They’re mad mad. I mean, given they killed the woman, I figure that should be obvious, but still.

“I run out of the room, quickly ducking into my own. I grab some snacks and two drinks from the mini bar, opening Paris’ drink and pouring the poison inside.”

And that’s how the poison was administered. I’m loving this frankly.

“Paris: …I’m really happy to have you back, Tay. Taylor: Really…? It’s surprising. Her tone is earnest, genuine. She doesn’t usually sound like that.”

Oh oh.

“Paris: I’ve never really had an actual friend before. So, you’re really special to me, Tay. What…? Paris: In high school, all of my “friends” were people I hung out with because we were of similar status. We had fun and all that, but we didn’t, like, care about each other. It was all politicking and rumors to stay at the top of the social ladder. Taylor: But, what about before that? Paris: I wasn’t really popular before that. I just sort of… watched everyone else. If people did go out of their way to talk to me, it usually wasn’t good.”

Oh no… we’re getting the entire tragic backstory only now that she’s drank the poison… At least the backstory on Paris is great, but I’m starting to feel sad.

“Why is she saying all of this now? What purpose does it serve her?”

Though I am living for Taylor not buying it even though it’s clearly the truth.

“People don’t really change. She seriously expects me to believe she was a totally different person just a few years ago? Even if her reputation was different, I’m sure she was still the same person deep down.”

Case in point. It’s so weird to hear “real Taylor’s” inner monologue, I don’t think I’d expect the person Taylor pretended to be to say something like this. Cool!

“Paris: Because I think I went too far in the other direction. I got used to being in power, and thinking like I was the only one that mattered. But that isn’t true. I can’t care about no one because I care about you.  Taylor: … No, you don’t. Don’t say stuff like that if you don’t mean it. Paris isn’t the kind of person who’s capable of actually caring about anyone, let alone “me.” Besides, she only thinks she knows who I am. She doesn’t actually know anything.”

Holy angst Batman! Taylor is now in deep denial to avoid feeling awful for what they’ve done, always a fun thing to see.

“Taylor: What is it that you like about me so much, anyways? […] Paris: You’re quiet, but that’s okay. I like that you’re different from me, and different from the people I’m used to. You’re… honestly kind of mean sometimes, but I like that too. I mean, how couldn’t I? It’s the same kind of thing I do. It makes me feel like we really are friends who can just be our authentic selves around each other.  Her voice is getting softer, quieter, as she continues talking. My heartbeat picks up. Why is she getting closer and closer to… what I’m actually like…? The kind of person I want to be, but can’t, because it’s not what anyone else wants?”

Holy shit this is getting devastating. Taylor is so desperate to keep hating Paris and it’s getting harder and harder the more likable Paris gets. Redemption and angst causing arc all in one conversation, Paris on that speedrun mindset.

“Taylor: You’re not telling me you like me because you actually like me. You’re just saying it because it’s what you want to hear about yourself. So, I’m not giving up on anything real. I’m just giving up on you.”

Yeah keep telling yourself that Taylor.

“…A plan well-started. But I don’t have time to dwell on that. I need to move on to the next step. And, once I’m out of here, I never have to think of her again. I look at her again. She really never saw this coming, did she? …Never again.”

Oof.

This was probably my favorite Bonus Scene of all time. I mean, the angst? The explanation of loose threads? The Paris redemption arc? The Taylor denial arc? It’s peak! What else can I say? Delightful writing, delightful pain and suffering, it’s great.

-

And that’s all for CH4! Wew, what a ride! To recap: Noah stumbled out of the closet so hard he fell off a railing, also he may be struggling with alcoholism and both daddy and mommy issues, Aidan started looking forward to the future through his FTEs, Davis improved his relationships and explained why Ultimate Bachelor is not Ultimate Boyfriend, Ellis’ self-esteem hit rock bottom and now she’s confused as to why people actually like her, Jeff accidentally corrupted Taylor with their “fuck this shit I’m out” mindset, Paris and Taylor’s friendship crashed and burned in spectacular fashion, the trial had as many twists and turns as Paris had followers, disguises were made that would put the Ultimate Imposter to shame, Antonia did a bit of recreational narrative haunting with her poison, etc, etc. Eventful!

It burned like nothing else she had ever felt before.

The blood was boiling as it poured down her cheek, splattering onto the ground and her hand in abstract patterns. She tried to flinch away from the sheer volume of it sticking to her skin, hitting her head on the tree behind her as her ears began to ring. Everything was muffled, voices shouting with no meaning in the words, and Tessa brought her hand up to her eye to try and staunch the bloodflow, doing her best to ignore the pain radiating through her entire skull; on instinct, she shut off the nerve-endings, as few as possible because she knew that they would be a bitch to wake up again, but enough to clear her head enough to think.

She had been launched to the entire other side of the courtyard from the force of the blow, and it definitely felt like it. She would be amazed if there wasn’t anything broken or shattered. Her chest was heaving with every breath, but she still tried to look across the way and see the person she had just thrown herself in front of.

“TESSA!”

Her ears didn’t stop ringing, and she could hear the others yelling louder as the Wolf Clan moved in. Propped up on her elbow now, Tessa had a much better view of what was going on. There was a blur of black and blue moving to Nya’s side and covering her, and Tessa could see well enough to know it was Noah, and she watched as he desperately tried to fight through the soldiers and get to her. His spear was flashing from the light of the blood moon, twirling in sync with Nya’s as they covered each other’s backs, and Tessa realized that Nya was also fighting to get to her. Everyone on the battlefield was fighting to get to her, including Jay on the far side where the hostages had once been, but there was one person missing—

“TESSA!”

And suddenly there was someone kneeling in front of her, hands on her shoulders and trying to push Tessa onto her back. Tessa didn’t have enough energy to resist, although upon spotting the Wolf armor she activated her powers and shoved as hard as she could, strength leaving her as quickly as the blood gushing from her eye and landing in the grass. The other person didn’t give in or flinch away, and she finally stopped shoving when she realized that the person wasn’t wearing a Mask.

“Tess,” Kaida said breathlessly, “it’s me, okay? You know it’s me.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” Tessa groaned, trying to keep her little sister from seeing the extent of the injury. First Master knows she had already seen enough of Tessa knocked on her ass. “Kaida, you shouldn’t be here.”

“Well, I am, and I’m the only one, so get fucking used to it,” Kaida snapped, and Tessa yelled in pain when Kaida forced her hand away from her eye. The loss of pressure was immediate, and Tessa panicked when she felt the blood rushing down her face and into her mouth, the taste of copper lingering on her tongue as she did everything but swallow it. Kaida tore a chunk off of the only clean parts of her clothes left, covering the eye that Tessa couldn’t see out of and putting pressure around her eye socket. “Jay and Noah are coming, okay? Just keep breathing, you’re fine.”

Blood still coated every inch of her mouth, and she forced herself not to vomit. “Yeah, yeah, fine, totally,” Tessa flinched when something started hitting her cheek, and she was startled to see that Kaida’s eyes were beginning to tear up. “I’ll be fine, kid. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Do not lie to me right now, Tessa,” Kaida said harshly. She looked back up at the battlefield, and Tessa saw the desperation in her glowing eyes. She wasn’t sure if the other girl was using her power or not. “Goddammit! Aren’t you people supposed to be superpowered ninjas who can do anything? Does anything include not being useless?!”

“You can at least try to be nice to me right now,” Tessa wheezed, vision blurring like a shifting kaleidoscope. Kaida’s face was quickly becoming nothing more than a swimming sea of colors, darkening around the edges as Tessa’s body fought against staying awake. Blood continued to drip down her face, having long soaked through the cloth Kaida was using and leaking out from the pressure seal she was trying to make. She couldn’t feel the tips of her fingers, and her hands started to shake as her chest heaved for air. Every broken rib protested the movement, the bruises in agony.

Kaida gritted her teeth and lightly tapped against her temple. “Stay awake. I still have to kick your ass in training, you need to stay with us, Tess.”

“Trying,” Tessa answered honestly, putting every bit of strength she had left into keeping her eye open. She gripped at the sleeve of Kaida’s uniform, trying to keep herself grounded, feeling the familiar sensation of dissociation setting in as the pain compounded on itself.

“Why the hell would you take that hit?” Kaida asked, breath catching on the last word. She increased the pressure around Tessa’s eye, her gloves starting to stain with the blood. “Jay would’ve been fine!”

The increased pressure made Tessa cry out, but she kept the rest of the swears and curses she wanted to let out contained. “Because I did, okay? I didn’t want him to lose an eye! Or you to get hurt!”

“Yeah, mostly because you want him to lose his fucking head instead,” Kaida spat, but Tessa could tell that there was only a little bit of heat behind it. She also ignored what Tessa had said about her getting hurt. “Can you stand? We’re gonna have to fight, I can’t protect you by myself.”

Absolutely not, Tessa thought, but decided to make an effort anyway, already reaching for all of the nerve endings to shut down. She nodded to the other girl, pushing herself up with one arm and bracing with the other, reaching for the sword that Kaida had brought with her once she pushed off her knee. Kaida was still decked out in all of her wolf armor, mask missing, kurisagama laying on the ground before she quickly grabbed it up and held it out in front of her. Tessa held the sword up, electrifying the blade and feeling the lightning writhe under her skin, and Kaida took up the place on her blind side as the wolf warriors descended upon them like a pack fighting for prey.

It had been a while since Tessa had fought with Kaida, but they still worked like a well-oiled machine; Tessa would slash upwards and send shocks through a warrior’s chest, armor reverberating, as Kaida covered her back, and then the blond would duck under as Kaida rolled over her back to keep up the attack. All of her senses were electrified, working overtime to keep Tessa aware of everything on her blind side, but she could sense that Kaida was doing her best to cover.

Her bad eye was pulsating, pain shooting straight through her head and to the back of her brain before exploding from the inside-out, even with the limited pain receptors. Gritting her teeth, Tessa pushed through it, at least until she realized that Kaida had disappeared from beside her. Whipping around, Tessa caught a glimpse of brown hair ducking under the warriors and rushing to Jay’s side, who was doing his best to fight through Cinder with Lloyd and get to Ras. Ras was chanting the ancient spell written on his scroll, the words lost to the wind raging around them, and Tessa panicked at the realization that she had no one to cover her blind side anymore; her stomach dropped, already hearing an enemy behind her.

“Kaida!” She yelled, before a wolf warrior successfully landed a blow to her knee, deep wounds slashed across the kneecap. Her knee folded almost instantly in protest, skin screaming, and Tessa’s palms scraped against the hard stone as she fell down. She threw her head back, trying to get a gauge on the person attacking her with her working eye so she could counter, but she could already feel the whistle of the wolf warrior’s metal claw coming down towards her head—

Until a spear landed squarely against the warrior’s chest and it was thrown backwards, the spear quickly circling back to who she knew was Noah behind her. His hands were quick to help support her as she tried to stand again, and Tessa turned her head to look at her brother, struggling with the effort and leaning on him heavily. Even just the small amount of lightning she used made every nerve she hadn’t deactivated come alive with sensation, and the feel of her brother’s gi made her want to hurl. 

In stark contrast to how Tessa currently felt, Noah was smiling with a face smeared with dirt and dust, a bruise forming on his cheek and hair tousled to the side. It struck her yet again how much he looked like Jay when he smiled, and Tessa was quick to return his smile with a small one of her own and fistbump his hand.

“Looking a little rough there,” he commented, hands on her face and rubbing a thumb under her eye wound, and Tessa hissed and pulled away in response. Noah’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, pulling his hand away, his left one covered in her blood. “Damn, hurts that bad?”

“Shut the nerves off. Can’t see out of it,” Tessa admitted, and Noah looked alarmed. “Come on, it’s not the first time this has happened. I’ll be fine.”

“Tess, you know you can’t do that anymore. It’s dangerous.”

“It was fine when Dad did the same thing. I’ve got it, Noah.”

It felt different from the time Dad injured her eye, and they both knew it, but Noah didn’t fight her on it. Instead, he grabbed up his spear, and his face hardened. “Sora and I are gonna protect you, Tess. We still have a job to do.”

“I do not need either of your protections,” Tessa growled, the sound hurting her throat, but Noah only chuckled as a strange shape formed in the corner of her good eye. Panic flooded her body, activating the adrenaline rush for a third time as the lightning came alive.

She reacted almost instantly, throwing up her sword and barely stopping herself before she sent the blade straight through Sora’s abdomen. Even just the slight movement made all of Tessa’s muscles scream in protest, and it took everything in her to not fold like a fucking lawn chair in pain.

Sora had her hands up, smiling sheepishly. “Hey there. You, uh, mind lowering that for me?”

With a sigh, Tessa did so with an absurd amount of effort, and all three of them turned to face the gathering crowd of wolf warriors stalking them, but they hesitated to attack after witnessing Wyldfyre thrashing other members within an inch of their lives. The dragon-raised girl yelled, drumming her hands against her chest before getting down on all-fours and fighting ten at once, making her way to the group and shooting off heat blast after heat blast.

“Did you call,” she paused, backflipping over a lone warrior and kicking him into the forest, “WYLDFYRE?!”

With a whoosh she was gone back into the crowd, fighting her way back to Arin and Lloyd. The three of them were safe for now, the remaining warriors and Cinder caught up in other battles, and both Noah and Sora supported Tessa on both sides. Kaida had finally reached Jay, and Tessa watched as the both of them located Ras, making a beeline for the black tiger at the top of the stairs.

Tessa watched in amazement as the Ninja fought vehemently against Cinder and his Shatterspin, with Kai finally getting up across the courtyard and launching into Rising Dragon, throwing Cinder to the ground. The yells and shouts were starting to blur together, becoming a giant cacophony of noise, and she started to get dizzy from the stimulation. Kaida and Jay were moving as one to get to Ras and Jordana, both close to the entrance of the Dojo, and they were almost there—

Before the sky itself began to rip open.

A bright orange light ravaged Tessa’s vision, black spots dancing across her one eye as she ducked her head, Noah’s arm thrown out in front of her only blocking a bit of the blaze. The wind raged through the clearing, ferocious and biting, much stronger than it had been just a minute before. Tessa tried to peek through her fingers, getting a glimpse of the large portal now looming over the courtyard, shedding small sparks of fire that left ashes on the ground where they fell and shining brighter than the bloody moon above them. Despair tried to make a home in the center of her chest but she wouldn’t let it, instead filling the void with some of the supposedly patented Walker Determination that came with her bloodline.

Ras had succeeded in opening the portal, but they still had a chance. The hostages were freed, all they had to do was hold out until the Blood Moon was over.

They could do that, right?

But in order to do that, they were going to have to do something big.

She was confident that they could, even with her injuries, and she yelled before unleashing a large lightning bolt into the middle of the courtyard with a slash of her arm. Everyone, friend or foe, flinched away, some of the warriors fleeing in terror and the Ninja staring with wide eyes in her direction, but it worked well enough as a deterrent. It took much more out of her then she was expecting, her wrecked knee shaking with the effort of holding her up, and she was quick to lean on Sora as the blowback hit her. Her hands were quivering as she dropped her sword, shudders starting to rock her frame and her nerves on fire from the strain of keeping the lightning from striking around them. Noah kept saying her name, trying to get her attention. Blackness started to set in her vision but she fought through it, forcing her eyes open, and watching as Jay and Kaida finally reached Ras.

And both of them were caught almost instantly.

The tiger whipped around at lightspeed and threw a punch at Jay, who took it head-on and flew backwards off the stand. Kaida had frozen, shocked at how quickly her father was taken down, and it gave Ras enough of an opening to grab her by her chestplate and jump to the center of the courtyard with her in hand. Cinder paused in his assault, wicked smile splitting his face in half as he watched his master hold up the struggling girl. The Ninja also stopped, worried that they might hurt her if they tried to press Ras. Her kurisagama was on the ground, useless, and Noah laid a hand on her shoulder in support, spear in front of him and at the ready. Everyone was frozen, watching what Ras would do, Kaida’s hair whipping around with the wind and somewhat covering the look of terror on her face. Her bun had come undone, and her hair was longer than Tessa was expecting, reminding her of what hers had once looked like.

“Let her go!” Jay yelled, getting up from where he had fallen behind one of the stone pillars.

Ras didn’t even turn to look at him, just scoffing in disgust with his eyes closed before opening them again.

With a growl, Ras examined Kaida in his hand, turning his head to the side and chuckling before snarling. “Traitors, the both of you. You lose, child. I hope you enjoy having a greater purpose than anything your father could give you.”

And he chucked her towards the portal as hard as he could, Kaida yelling out a curse as he did so.

Jay shot forward with the speed of a rocket, catching the girl’s hand and crashing into the stairs before he found his footing and braced, but the portal still threatened to swallow both of them whole.

Tessa watched on in horror with her one eye, scarcely breathing, loosely being held up by Sora as Noah rushed through the warriors to Kaida. Kaida was barely hanging onto Jay’s hand, the portal looming behind the both of them with swirling and angry oranges and whites as the wind whipped her hair to the side. Her leg was screaming in pain, all of her hard work shutting off her nerve endings coming undone by the second, and she yelled when she tried to take a step forward before her knee buckled under the weight. Sora caught her before she could fall to the ground, but Tessa still watched the tears rolling down her face land on the ground, turning the dirt to a different color before her head shot up at the sound of someone screaming.

Noah was running full speed towards their father, dropping his spear as he went. He yelled Jay’s name, and Tessa was nauseous as she watched how Jay lost his grip on Kaida’s hand finger by finger. Four, three, two, Noah was still running…and then it was just one finger, Jay’s index to Kaida’s thumb, and Noah wasn’t close enough. “NO!” she screamed, and she pushed off of Sora, sprinting through the invigorated warriors and threading the needle as best as she could with one eye and a bum leg.

It was only a few seconds, but it felt like hours. Tessa activated the lightning she had left, pushing it through her veins despite the pain as Jay’s hand began to tremble, and she sobbed as his hand finally gave out and lost its grip on Kaida. Riyu, who Tessa hadn’t seen since before she went down, tried to fly towards them but failed, the wind too strong for his untrained wings.

Jay was thrown backwards from the force and wind, crashing straight into Lloyd in the middle of his fight with Ras, but Tessa kept her focus on the portal in front of her. Every step felt like someone driving a stake right through her knee into the ground, but she kept running. Head pounding, chest heaving, legs screaming. She had no idea where Noah went. Almost there, almost there, almost there—

A hand shot out from the side of her vision, grabbing Kaida’s right as her foot started to get within range of the dark void. Noah quickly braced his feet against the ground, and Tessa poured on the speed when she saw his footing start to slip despite bracing against the stairs. Kaida was getting closer and closer to the portal, even with Noah’s help, and the boy whipped his head back at the sound of his sister screaming his name.

Tessa couldn’t see past the hair flying into her face, her good eye focusing as best as it could on her brother and sister as the blood fell down her cheek from her injured eye. Noah looked horrified to see her booking it across the courtyard towards them, one of his feet finally coming off the ground as Kaida was swallowed up to her waist. “No! You need to go!” Noah yelled, forcing his foot back onto the ground. “You need to go! Jay still needs you!”

“Fuck him!” Tessa spat, almost tumbling to the ground as a wolf warrior collided with her side. She didn’t fall, but her momentum was broken, and the pain made her knee spasm as she cried out. “I need you! Hang on, I’m coming!”

She was too far, she already knew that. She wouldn’t be able to pull them back in, her strength was already waning and she could feel the darkness trying to shutter her vision, but at least they would go through the portal together. They would have each other.

Finally, finally, their hands connected as Tessa’s leg gave out, but the warm feeling of Noah’s hand in hers numbed every bit of the pain. She braced on the bottom stair with her good leg, forcing the lightning to rush through her arms. Blood covered her left arm, some of it getting on Noah’s gi as he held fast to her hand, grimacing from the static causing his hair to stand up. His hand was still slick with her blood, causing their hands to slip dangerously.

“Tess, you need to go,” Noah said, some of his words getting lost to the wind, or the ringing in Tessa’s ears was too loud, “Jay and Nya need you, you need to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you and Kaida,” Tessa gritted her teeth, trying to pull, before a huge spike was driven into her skull and her vision went white with the pain. The barrier on the rest of the nerve endings had finally broken. Noah was crushing her hand hard enough to break her fingers, shouting her name as everything started to clear, her tongue tasting like coppery sludge as she threw up blood onto the pavement. It burned her throat and caused her ribs to scream in protest, and Tessa let a single sob from the pain out before locking it all back up.

Kaida was fighting to get a better grip on Noah’s arm, grabbing parts of his gi and panicking as they started to rip from the pull of the portal. “All of us need to get out of here! Now PULL goddammit!”

And Tessa tried, with all of her might, to pull her siblings back from the monstrous hole ripped into the sky. Her lungs were screaming, her eye pulsating from the pressure of lightning rocking through her body, and she was expecting her ankle to snap under the weight of all three of them. Both of her hands were clenched onto Noah’s sleeve, and both of them pulled and pulled and pulled and pulled—

Until a weight crashed into Tessa’s right side, and suddenly her hands were empty.

“NO!” she screamed, throwing the wolf warrior to the side but still falling, her leg unable to catch her anymore. 

Kaida was swallowed up almost instantly, finally out of sleeve to grab onto, and she disappeared into the portal with a cut-off yell. A sob broke out of Tessa’s throat when her body collided with the hard stone floor, but she kept pushing, forcing herself back up and throwing her hand out with as much force as she could muster to grab Noah. She may not have been able to save her sister, but she could still save her brother.

A memory flashed through her mind from their childhood; she was maybe six years old, right outside of the monastery in the courtyard. Noah was still little, shorter than her for once, and crying. Dad had passed by them, running into Noah and knocking him to the ground before walking into the monastery, slamming the door behind him. 

Tessa remembered being angry that her Daddy hadn’t said sorry, but was more concerned with her crying brother. She held out her hand for him, his eye still swollen with a black eye from them trying to play catch at the bottom of the mountain. Noah was still crying, trying to stifle his tears, but he still took his sister’s hand. The warmth of the memory filled her with too many emotions to count, and Tessa vaguely registered that tears were falling from only one eye.

She blinked, and there was no more monastery, just the gaping portal behind her brother as his foot finally slipped, and he was being sucked in.

But her hand was there! It was there. Noah could reach out and grab it, save himself, take her with him—

Noah did none of those things. Just as their fingertips touched, bloody and swollen, he pulled his hand away. He made no attempt to take Tessa’s hand.

“I’m sorry, sis,” he said softly, and Tessa sobbed as her left hand flew uselessly to the side from the wind blowing. “I love you, and I hope you get it one day. See you on the other side, Tessa.”

Tessa screamed, watching as her brother smiled large enough to make his eyes crinkle at the edges. He looked like Dad, in the photos kept around the monastery. And the smile never waned as his arm, then his legs, then his body, and finally his head disappeared into the portal. 

Noah and Kaida were gone.

She had nothing.

The force of both of them disappearing into the portal threw her backwards, and the world started spinning as Tessa rolled across the courtyard, bringing her arms to cover her face but unable to stop her head from smashing into the stones again and again. She finally came to a stop against one of the stone pillars, but didn’t get up, the adrenaline draining away like sand through a sieve and the lightning finally ceasing to power her nerves. The exhaustion set in, wearing on her bones like barbed wire with its pins and needles, and she was helpless.Even the roaring pain of her ruined eye wasn’t enough to activate her energy reserves, her newly broken ribs each complaining as she kept breathing against their will. She was done. If one of the wolf warriors or Ras or Cinder wanted to finish her off, they could, and there was nothing Tessa could do about it.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she would want to do anything about it now.

The wolf warriors all turned towards her, almost as if smelling her weakness as she lay against the stone, and they started to run towards her. Light glinted off of their sharp claws, the glow of their masks startling against the dark of the night as the Blood Moon started to wane at long last. Tessa tried to channel what little power she had left into her fingertips, forcing herself to her feet despite her destroyed knee, determined to at least try and make a stand…

And she watched in horror as someone jumped out of the portal, the wolf warriors ceasing their pursuit and turning to look at one of their true masters. They all went onto their knees, looking down at the ground as their master looked to the sky and laughed.

Nokt was free. And Noah was gone.

Her stupid fucking knee was the only thing keeping her from rushing the masked master, who was quick to lock eyes with her, still chuckling. Tessa’s ears were ringing louder than before, holding her fists in front of her and breathing heavily, and someone caught her from the side before she could collapse onto the ground yet again. Pain shot through her side and her hand clenched at it, feeling yet more blood ooze from a fresh scratch carved along her hip.

“Rest,” Nya said softly, helping her down to sit on the ground. “We’ll take it from here.”

“Noah,” Tessa stammered, pushing against the hand that Nya tried to press against her forehead, “Noah’s still in there, I need to—”

“There’s nothing we can do for him now,” Nya said gently, and Tessa sobbed when she saw a single tear form at the corner of the water ninja’s eye. “So rest, and we’ll take it from here.”

“I can’t, I won’t,” Tessa argued, and Nya sighed. She nodded, taking away the gentle touch, and Tessa mourned it as soon as it was gone.

Nya turned back to face the wolf warriors, going on defense to protect her daughter (when Tessa couldn’t even protect her brother), and both of them watched as Nokt attempted to do Shatterspin, slamming his foot once, then twice, and starting to spin—

Until a shape threw him right to the ground, and Tessa sobbed as she saw Jay pull his fist back and clock Nokt straight across the face.

“You SON OF A BITCH!” Jay yelled, smashing his fist into Nokt’s face again before Ras shoved him off with a roar. There was a deep cut under Jay’s eye, and he went toe to toe with the black tiger as he pushed the former lightning ninja away from Nokt. “Where are my kids?! Where the fuck are my kids?!”

Tessa’s vision was already starting to blur from exhaustion, but she forced herself up yet again. She would not die lying down. If they were going to take her life tonight, then she was dying on her feet, as a Ninja. It’s what her father would’ve wanted.

Jay didn’t last long before Nokt wrestled himself free and appeared behind him with inhuman speed, slamming his forearm into Jay’s abdomen and throwing him backwards off the stairs. Nya ran forward to catch him, both skidding backwards, and he stood back up, only looking slightly dazed as the two of them stood against Ras and Nokt, and Tessa was struck by how similar they looked to the one photo Uncle Kai kept in on his nightstand of the younger Ninja, Nya and Jay standing side-by-side. She stood, feeling little sparks fizzing under her skin, and she looked up at Ras with the same withering look that she saved for her father.

Lloyd and Kai stood off to the side with Riyu, weapons drawn and every wolf warrior knocked out behind them. Sora and Arin were on their other side, both poised to use their elements against the tiger and the wolfish man. Wyldfyre roared from her own section, powers on full display and showing no signs of the leg injury she had. Ras was gritting his teeth, ears flattened against his head, putting his hammer in the harness on his back before cupping his paws and yelling to the sky for his master to help.

The lights suddenly flashing around them were too bright for Tessa, slamming her eye shut and looking down as her ears popped from the pressure of all of the enemies disappearing into clouds of shimmering light, knee slamming against the stone as her body gave out for the umpteenth time. She didn’t know when she started sobbing, but couldn’t contain it anymore, the sounds lost to the wind as it roared even louder.

When she could finally look again, the entire dojo and the portal was gone, Ras and Nokt nowhere to be found and Cinder’s unconscious form missing. The Ninja were staring in horror at the empty spot where the Dojo stood, but Nya and Jay both whirled around at the loud sobs that wracked Tessa’s body. She could see Uncle Kai out of the corner of her eye, shock spreading across his face as he saw the sheer volume of blood on her face and down her gi.

Hands were on her in seconds, Nya’s keeping her steady on one side and Kai trying to push the hand now clamped around her eye away. Tears were falling hot and steady down her cheek, and she couldn’t taste the salt through the blood coating her tongue. “I need to take a look, okay?” Kai tried to soothe, and Tessa could barely hear him over her sobs. “Tess, honey, please. I just need a look. I need to see how bad it is.”

Jay was standing off to the side, Tessa’s blind side, and she could tell that he was hovering over her, the electrical signals from his nerves telling her that he had his arms extended without touching her. The hole forming in Tessa’s stomach seemed to be endless, every emotion she ever felt falling through and disappearing into the void, but the despair never stopped stabbing at every organ in her body with spears sharper than the edge of a knife. She could barely catch her breath between the pain bursting throughout her abdomen and the choking sobs forcing themselves out of her throat.

It happened before she could think about it; boiling anger filled her up from top to bottom, feeling hotter than the lightning that had been running through every nerve in her body, and before Tessa could stop herself she threw her fist out to the side and caught Jay’s knee.

“It’s your fault!” she yelled, turning so he was in the vision of her good eye. She didn’t knock him down, he barely looked like he felt it, but that just made her angrier. It was comforting to feel, to allow herself to feel, numbing the burning pain and replacing it with a colder fire. “It’s your fucking fault!”

To his credit, his stupid fucking credit, he did look guilty, perhaps more guilty than Tessa was expecting. “Kiddo, please—”

“Don’t fucking call me that!” She seethed, letting the words loose when she normally would’ve done anything to keep them contained. She had been waiting for this for years, for Dad to make just one slipup, one mistake that she could correct him for. It was his turn to finally feel it. “You don’t care. You never fucking cared!”

“You need to sit down before you pass out, Tessa—”

He was right, and she hated it. She hated how weak she felt, how little she knew it would take at this point to take her out. And that he wasn’t doing anything. “I don’t give a flying fuck! I took that hit for you! Can’t you be fucking grateful?!”

His expression hardened, but the fear at seeing the familiar face did nothing to deter Tessa’s anger for once in her life. “I never asked you to take that hit.”

“And I never asked to have a father like you,” Tessa snarled. The stretch of her mouth caused more blood to fall onto the stone below. “I never asked to be here! I never asked for another sibling to protect, and I never asked for you to lose the one person I had left!”

“I just lost my daughter!” Jay yelled, taking a step forward.

“I’m your daughter too!”

Silence settled over the group like a pile of bricks, only broken by the sounds of Jay and Tessa both breathing heavily. Both from emotion, and one with shattered ribs threatening to rip holes into her lungs. She was startled to see tears form at the corner’s of Jay’s dark blue eyes, mirroring hers, and they started to slide down his cheeks and fall onto his clenched fists. The anger was leaving, and it was the last leg that Tessa had to stand on. “I’m your daughter too,” she said, still angry, “and Noah is your son, but when did that ever matter to you? We were supposed to have each other. You always had me, but I…I never had you. I never had you. It didn’t matter what I did for Nya, or how many times I helped Kaida, none of it fucking mattered.”

“Tessa—” Nya tried to say, a hand going to her shoulder, but the girl shrugged her off.

“You’ve spent so much time sitting in your own self-pity, worrying about yourself,” Tessa clenched her fist, ignoring the spikes of pain radiating from her arm. “You are just like my father.”

“What?” Jay whispered, and the tears on his cheeks grew.

“Dad wouldn’t have cared about Noah getting lost either,” Tessa let out a single sob before forcing herself to stop. “The only thing he would be worried about is how it affected him, because he couldn’t possibly lose another person. It was always about him, and about how he felt, and how he would have to deal with it. It wouldn’t have mattered that there was another kid standing right there.”

She was expecting Jay to slap her, hit her, hurl words with sharper edges than their swords until she finally caved and admitted that he was right about everything, but to her shock none of the above happened.

Instead, her body began to shut down, finally spent and allowing itself to rest. Tessa knew that she wouldn’t be able to catch herself, fully expecting to hit the floor with no cushion and neither Nya or Kai being able to hold her up. The floor was getting closer and closer, and Tessa closed her eye to brace for the impact.

Arms wrapped around her middle, holding her close and lowering her down before cradling her against a large chest. Tessa started sobbing again, her good eye pressed into an armored shoulder as tears started falling, and Jay’s tears landed on the top of her head as he quietly shushed her. He cupped the back of her head, keeping her close, doing everything in his power to not aggravate her injuries.

“We’re going to fix it,” he whispered, and Tessa pounded a fist on his wolf warrior chestplate in objection. “I mean it. We’re going to fix it, Tess, and we’re going to get them back.”

And I’m going to make it up to you, Tessa heard him whisper, but she didn’t acknowledge it. She didn’t say anything, feeling Nya’s hands on her other side and Uncle Kai’s hands finally examining her face.