Who Dun It - MBS Challenge

Ok, first of all, I think Flo and Pumpkin threw me off the most. I have a very specific idea of what their art styles look like, and they were both very tricky! None of the art immediately grabbed me as theirs, or it was so close but I wasn't sure ... anyways, kudos to you both! I definitely think my confidence was thrown and I started making silly guesses hehehe

Through the Window - @oflightningandstars

I was very unsure on this one! The details in the background reminded me of Moth, and the windows looked similar to other art they've made. But the people don't look like Moth's! Then again, he's been studying anatomy recently, so maybe his style has changed ...

Secondary Guesses: floressr

Brief(case Related Injuries) - @sophieswundergarten

This just Felt like a Sophie fic. Reminded me a lot of Sparks, which I have read enough to memorize. Sophie writes excellent whump but often focuses on the aftermath! I think of that as her signature. There was no actual fighting, only the kids taking care of Kate.

I'll admit, I might have accused Sophie of writing Average, but I didn't think it was hers. The subject matter seemed like something she'd write to be tricky, but the writing style is very different than Sophie's!

Secondary Guesses: kaslynspeaks (last time we were in a voice call we discussed sign language, and that's when you were finishing your fic!)

Like we did when we were children - @pumpkinthistle

This one was tricky! The faces didn’t look like Pumpkin’s work. However, the swirls on the tree were kinda wispy, like how she draws hair, and despite what she says I do love her backgrounds and landscapes whenever she draws one

Look at her header image, for example. That and several other pieces look like they’ve been washed in watercolor. Now this one was in black and white, but the tree has definitely been washed over with something!

Secondary guesses: floressr (but I decided against it because usually her faces seem a little rounder/softer? It was difficult though and could easily be either)

Messages and Meetings - @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

Well if I didn’t write the one with Milligan and his agents and the Ten Men, and you didn’t either …. then who is flying the plane???

Curio is flying the plane. I know because I’m not flying the plane and we haven’t crashed yet.

I’ll be honest, I questioned my sanity on this one. Did I write this and get brainswept? Amnesia? SAD disease? It sounds exactly like something I would write. It even has my OC, Spencer. Someone was impersonating me!

I even went and wailed “IT WASNT MEEEE I’M LOSING MY MINDDD” to a few friends. I don’t think they believed me.

Then I was delighted. Everyone thought they had me clocked with Criss Cross. This would create the perfect amount of confusion and second guessing. Much of my deception credit is nothing I did at all. That all goes to Curio <3

I also know it was her because she recently left some comments on Time and a Half and I also know what her favorite scenes and details are :)

Besides all of this, Curio writes great action scenes and is really great at grounding the characters in physical space. Also, she has been known to end things on a cliffhanger before. I don’t think anyone else would want to leave Milligan in a pickle without resolving the situation >:) I know I couldn’t

Curio if you want to write a Ten Man fic together sometime you know where to find me. We share a singular brain cell apparently

Secondary guesses: Me (with amnesia)

When the sky breaks softly - @mashpotatoequeen

This is one of the ones I wasn’t sure about! I know MQ writes about the Benedict sisters very beautifully, and the beginning was so viscerally descriptive that she was one of my prime suspects

I’ll admit I started looking at line spacing/breaks/divisions at this point. I’m losing my mind

Secondary guesses: either pumpkinthistle or defloress writing, fandomqueen13 (because she also writes the sisters wonderfully), and I thought for sure this was Curio until Messages and Meetings came out

Sail your sea… - @kaslynspeaks

I stalked your ao3 with mixed results.

This fic HURT me. When I went on your ao3, I saw you love mcyt, which tends to love angst and broken relationships. THEN I saw you’ve written Major Character Death before, and I was like wow, you’re brave.

I started looking at line spacing again. I am going to disappear into the forest

Secondary guesses: mashpotatoequeen, oflightningandstars (however I couldn’t bring myself to believe Moth would do this to me. Who knows though?)

Average - @threedaycharter

This one gave me a lot of trouble. This was one of the last few I couldn’t figure out, and I was mostly trying to make people fit!

I went on your tumblr and your ao3. You’ve made some wonderful Reynie edits. Two conflicting options: you love Reynie, and this fic is almost about him but not quite; AND you know how to edit, so perhaps you made the zine. Much to think about…

I once again looked at line spacing and confused myself

The mbs fic on your ao3 is in first person in letter format, so I knew you weren’t afraid to play around with fics not in third person and in different formats. “Average” has the narrator directly address the audience as “you.” Coincidence???? (probably)

Looking back now I think you made the zine. Oh well

Secondary guesses: fandomqueen13 (kinda reads like a fairytale, which she has a series of, and has the narrator directly address the audience) and kaslynspeaks (angst, unhappy ending)

The Time He Missed - @lotsofsq

I wanted to run headfirst into a tree when there were no works about SQ or art in your style.

However I enjoy your WIP of SQ coming to work at the farmhouse … coincidence? I think NOT

I just remembered some of the discussions we’d had before about Moocho and Milligan and the vibes felt right

You are one of the only people I think would tag this as Moocho/Milligan

I’ll admit this was tricky though! I thought if you didn’t write about SQ then it would be about Garrison and Nathaniel mid-bitter divorce or something. This feels very sweet for you. Then I suspected you were trying to trick me and I put you down for this one anyway >:)

Secondary guesses: oflightningandstars

Lifeguard Duty - @mycatisholdingmehostage398

You have such a distinct artstyle! Great to have irl, probably puts you at a bit of a disadvantage for a mystery game (I’m so sorry …)

This was absolutely lovely though. You’re the only one I know with a currently running comic, and the watercolors (I think it’s watercolors)/ the way it was painted looks like you

I also know you’re a fan of Nathaniel, Jackson and Jillson, and their antics

You draw very expressive and silly poses and this had both of them!

Criss-cross - mvshortcut

This one was also very tricky.

Eventually I opened my laptop, opened my documents, and found a file called “criss-cross.” The text of the file matched the text of the fic.

I deduced I may have written this one

Nicholas and Company Destroy World Hunger - @mysteriouseggsbenedict

I was trying to create confusion with my accusations for funsies and see what people would believe. However, I knew this was Frances

I remember the whole prison industrial complex debacle and it’s a sequel to that wonderful fic

Even if I didn’t know that, I think I would have guessed you. It’s in your “crack fic voice” and features silly banter from the adults and Crawlings being just a bit ridiculous. Reminds me of the one where Milligan falls into a thorn bush turned crack, if that makes any sense.

Don’t Fear the Reaper - @floressr

Gonna be honest I was grasping at straws at this point

I had a feeling that Flo and Pumpkin didn’t both draw something for this challenge

Therefore, either one of you wrote something and I would have to guess what it was (scary), or one of you made visual art through an edited zine (still visual) (less scary)

Flo is very talented and I would not be surprised if you had revealed a secret hidden zine and editing talent

Out of the two I think Flo might have seen some of the show, but I wasn’t sure …

I no longer think you made this one but I can’t change my guess at this point! 

Secondary guesses: threedaycharter (this would now be my primary guess if I had another chance due to your editing talent!)

The Violet on Your Desk - @nobodysdaydreams

I Remember That Post. you can’t fool me

I did start to second guess that you had let someone else borrow your headcanon

But honestly, it sounded too much like you, especially your book fics. I reread your Martina one and it was in the same voice

Yes, the length was a factor, but I wouldn’t have ruled a shorter one out that sounded more like you!

Aside from me remembering the violet post, it feels much like that joke you made about curtain (in disguise) telling Reynie to “remember the black rook.” Symbolism and parallels turned silly

We are now getting into the Vibes portion. The summary sounds like the SOS summary

Your Curtain voice sounded really familiar from whenever you make a joke about him. You always say SNAKES AND DOGS when you’re doing a bit as Book Curtain

You love evil backstories that are slightly ridiculous 

I know Violet is an artist in canon but it’s really highlighted here just like in your fic

I don’t quite know how to explain it, but the ratio of dialogue to action and the descriptive dialogue tags and the way they are placed just sounds like you

Secondary guesses: lotsofsq (take a wild guess why. But honestly I only briefly considered it. I had you CLOCKED)

We’re All Alone - @heyitsthatonesmolgay

Video format! Gotcha!

Aside from that, the artstyle is a lot like you! The characters are very curvy/wavy in a really lovely way

You love angst and the second panel broke my heart

I had expected you to make something from the show to throw us off so I was a bit befuddled at first!

Secondary guesses: threedaycharter, fandomqueen13

The Waves of the Ocean … - @fandom-queen-13

Another tricky one!

This was narrowed down based on who had read Riddle of Ages (probably)

I remember a conversation about a year ago when someone suggested Samuel for Mr. Kazembe’s name. So the author would have had to be there for that or see that post

I know you love the Benedict sisters! The way the camera moves around also feels like you, if that makes any sense dfkjgh

I briefly considered Sophie but I thought she’d never make Constance say “freaking!” She would be much higher on the suspects list if not for that

I know you love constance and this fic focuses on her and her friendship with the others!

Criss Cross - @mvshortcut. It smells like Milk.

Nicholas And Company Destroy World Hunger - @mysteriouseggsbenedict based purely off of vibes and also majority vote on the poll

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor - ayuhh.... @mashpotatoequeen. I am just guessing now

The Waves of the Ocean, and the Light radiated to it - ummmm... @fandom-queen-13

how many more of these do I have left? I feel everyone should know I am doing this on a Kindle and it is VERY difficult. ok no more bolding I'm just yeah

the like violet on your desk one I am blaming on @lotsofsq purely because sq+curtain

when the sky breaks softly I'm feeling @sophieswundergarten yes no maybe so?

The time he missed. um. perchance. @oflightningandstars

Messages and meetings is 5k words so I'm guessing @nobodysdaydreams

we have now reached the people I do not know very well if at all. we are now playing roulette. I apologize

briefcase related injuries maybe @pumpkinthistle? Yes?

like we did when we were children um uh. @heyitsthatonesmolgay

Lifeguard duty MAYBEEEEEE @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

Dont fear the reaper @threedaycharter

we're all alone @mycatisholdingmehostage398 I think your cat held you hostage and that's how you made a whole video

Through the window @defloress

Through The Window - oflightningandstars

Brief(case related injuries) - sophieswundergarten

Like we did when we were children - pumpkinthistle

Messages and Meetings - acollectionofcuriousreblogs

when the sky breaks softly - >:) hmmm i wonder?

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor - mahpotatoequeen

Average - kaslynspeaks

The Time He Missed - lotsofsq

Lifeguard Duty - mycatisholdingmehostage398

Criss-Cross - mvshortcut

Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger - mysteriouseggsbenedict

(Don't Fear) The Reaper - threedaycharter

The Waves of the Ocean, and the Light radiated to it - fandomqueen13

We’re All Alone - heyitsthatonesmolgay

first, i’ll get the truth out of the way so i can get to lying and being silly sighhh.

(Don't Fear) The Reaper was in fact, mine!! i’ll be honest, i did consider submitting writing just to be cheeky and secretive (since i haven’t posted much), but decided i’d let you all off easy…. LOL jokes aside, i’ve been crazy obsessed with zine-making as of recent, and this felt like a fun excuse to make one!

now for the rest of you *cracks knuckles* ..

Through The Window @pumpkinthistle an artist?? and this is art??? ehh?? ehh??? *insert the “i’ve connected the dots” buzzfeed unsolved meme here*

Brief(case related injuries) @mvshortcut in my mindseye i see your chaos during these accusations and therefore i imagine you giggling evily with a big thought bubble above your head where it is kate being absolutely flung by a grown man with a briefcase

Like we did when we were children *points at @nobodysdaydreams* YOU!!! absolutely no art posted on your account ever, and known specifically for writing within fandom, and therefore i think in the alternate world that is the truth you have become especially talented in art….. accept it. i mean, truly, your stick figures are a masterpiece sooo :3

Messages and Meetings @mysteriouseggsbenedict you have a milligan profile picture, and this one is about milligan. YOU CANNOT FOOL ME!!!! my detective cap is too detective-like!!! cackles evily i mean detective-ly

when the sky breaks softly @heyitsthatonesmolgay you wrote geocaching posts and i had to geo catch these tears with this fic …. emotional hurt/comfort with found family has to be something evil i think. i think you have it in you to be evil.

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor @kaslynspeaks a hermitcraft fan, and all hermitcraft fans know they all post with weirdly long titles. this is the longest with 14 words!

Average @fandomqueen13 very introspective work meet someone with a mind that holds the knowledge of many fandom out there…. basically philosophy meets philosopher. guys i’m so good at this

The Time He Missed @acollectionofcuriousreblogs reposted an @mvshortcut moocho/milligan post once, and therefore i think they were in cahoots!!!!!! CAHOOTS I TELL YOU, CAHOOTS!!!!

Lifeguard Duty @lotsofsq sharks, they have lots of sq, so i counteroffer this *tag that reads S.Q. Pedalian (Mentioned)*

Criss-Cross @defloress i keep reading your user in the same tone as when “Con flores” is sung in Nuestra Canción by Monsieur Periné, and this fic also has the same fun happy feelings as that song. not in translation but like, i can imagine an edit of this fic go that song. fun and bouncy and light. totes makes sense. therefore i think an otherworldly being is trying to tell me something and that something is that this is YOU!!!! ACCUSED!!!

Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger @mycatisholdingmehostage398 i think the cat holding you hostage would like this one…. all cats act like they’ve been starved when in reality they get the needed amount of meals and probably also treats every single day . i ask for the cats everywhere, when will nicholas & company destroy cat hunger?

The Waves of the Ocean, and the Light radiated to it @mahpotatoequeen wrote DC fics… we talked young justice…. the use of The Light in the title….. (insert the one meme with the beams of light coming out of the brain)

We’re All Alone @oflightningandstars the one who i see on my feed most often due to wondrous reposts, and therefore makes me less alone on this app…. this one is reverse psychology, don’t you see?!?!?! probably is also a secret video editor and this is the debut!!!!!

Criss-cross: @sophieswundergarten

Like when we were children: @defloress

Nicholas and Company Solve World Hunger: @mvshortcut

We're all alone: @fandom-queen-13

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor: @mysteriouseggsbenedict

Violet on your desk: @lotsofsq

Average: @nobodysdaydreams

The Time He Missed: @kaslynspeaks

Through The Window: @oflightningandstars

Brief(case related injuries): @mashpotatoequeen

And now my fic.....

Messages and Meetings! @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

@mvshortcut: Messages and Meetings:

The writing style is very similar to Time And A Half, and the characters are too. I haven't met anyone else who goes as deep into Hardy and Gristle like Milk does!

@oflightningandstars: sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor:

He uses a very lyrical title, and the title's all in lowercase. Two signs of someone who writes such amazing fics! Also, it reminded me of another one of his Kate fics, so I had to choose him for this one!

@sophieswundergarten: Brief(case related injuries)

Everyone (or almost everyone, to be fair) knows that Sophie adores writing whump. The real queston is: out of the two if them, which one is Sophie more likely to write? Everyone else kept asking her about Average, but my gut says that she wrote the Briefcase one because it delves more into the characters we already know.

@kaslynspeaks: when the sky breaks softly

Sophie was also a good contender for this fic, as I know she enjoys the dynamics of the Benedict Sisters. However, the tagging on this one felt more like the ones on Kas's fics, so I had to put her here

@mashpotatoequeen: Criss-Cross

Everything must start. Why wouldn't she put herself as the first TMBS fic writer (/j)? All jokes aside, the warmth and fluffiness from this piece really matched MQ's vibes, and the fic made me feel loved, even if I wasn't there with them solving the crossword with them

@mycatisholdingmehostage398: Lifeguard Duty

Artstyles were what really helped my decision and the general watercolor palate seemed a lot like Ky's other comics. I cracked up when Jackson realized that HE could't swim, and Jillson holding him like a doll after pulling him out of the water!

@heyitsthatonesmolgay: We're All Alone

Again, I recognized Nick's artstyle out of the bunch. It's so creative that he'd make a video, and WOW! I'm not even sure what to say for this one, it's so angsty and it's wonderful!

@defloress: Like we did when we were children

Nothing beats seeing these children being children! It took me a little, but I recognized the artstyle after reconning her blog! The kids look so soft in that one, and I love the gray watercolor:)

@threedaycharter: (Don't Fear) The Reaper

(Don't Fear) The Reaper was a bit of a hard one: I've seen TMBS GIF edits like this one, but almost nobody I saw here was a regular producer of them. If I'm going to be completely honest, I don't know Ena that well, but when surfing through their blog, I saw a lot of GIFs. That's really what cemented my decision for me.

@acollectionofcuriousreblogs: Through the Window

This one's kind of a long shot, because all the artists have been picked off by now. I could have sworn that Curio draws a little, but I couldn't find any posts about it. But the tags on this work are very similar to her other works, so I just have to hope I guessed right

@nobodysdaydreams: Average

Honestly, I chose Bods for this one because it was what would throw us off the most. She's known for crack, yes, but also for emotionally devastating writing (see S.O.S.).

@pumpkinthistle : The Time He Missed

Every art piece I've seen wasn't in their style, so I assumed they did a writing piece. I can really see Milligan and Moocho in their style while reading that fic, so I chose them for this fic!

@lotsofsq: The Violet On Your Desk

Star's more known to me through art rather than writing, but she did hint that SQ was in her work, so I had to choose that one. But even if that hint wasn't given, I know that she relishes in the relationship between Curtain and SQ!

@mysteriouseggsbenedict: Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger

Unless Francis was in cahoots with anyone else, I don't see why she wouldn't write a fic about a fic she already wrote. Was she really? Who knows?

@fandom_queen_13: ?

Through the Window: oflightningandstars

Brief(case) Related Injuries: sophieswundergarten

Like we did when we were children: pumpkinthistle

Meetings and Messages - acollectionofcuriousreblogs

When the sky breaks softly - mashpotatoequeen

Sail your sea - kaslynspeaks

Average - threedaycharter

The Time He Missed - lotsofsq

Lifeguard Duty - mycatisholdingmehostage

Criss-cross - >:)

Nicholas and Company Destroy World Hunger - mysteriouseggsbenedict

Don't Fear the Reaper - defloress

The Violet on Your Desk - nobodysdaydreams

We're All Alone - heyitsthatonesmolgay

First up, "The Waves of the Ocean, and the Light radiated to it" I knew was by @fandom-queen-13, 100%. There are many ways to know this, but I called her out early, she's asked me to keep her secrets, and as an older member of the fandom, I respect that. I will say, writing about a baby when it is known that MQ and I love babies was a smart move, that did throw me off a bit a first. This is something I would write, honestly, but Queenie, you did it so much better, and I love it. Will be kudoing, commenting, and bookmarking later.

Next, we have Lifeguard Duty, which I suspect is by @mycatisholdingmehostage398. The art style looks very very similar to the other work they have on AO3, so it just made sense to me. Not that this is a bad thing. It's a great fic/art piece. 10/10.

We’re All Alone I guess to be @heyitsthatonesmolgay. The art style is very similar to what they made last time, and after looking a a few other details, I'm pretty confident on this guess especially since Nick has done animations before. Obviously 10/10 work.

(Don't Fear) The Reaper I guess to be by @threedaycharter. Not only because they are the only artists with any posts to come up when I search "Zine" on their blog, but because they are the only one who did any show related stuff and only tagged the show. They are a known show fan and run fan accounts for it. I considered Star for this at first, or maybe another artist, but after really looking and thinking about it, I decided to go with this guess.

Then we have two that I wanna talk about, Criss-Cross and Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger, both of which, obviously not by me, though I milked (pun intended) the Nicholas & co thing hard because I knew I'd be the perfect suspect. But who really did it? Here's the thing: it's know that Frances is open to sharing their crack ideas because they did so with me, and they'd most likely share with a friend, the question is who? Milk is a very likely suspect, since they also helped come up with the idea. The issue with that is that Milk's fics are very easy to spot. Milk is probably reading this and thinking "But I got rid of the double spacing you mentioned in your last who dunit reveal!" yeah, but I also noticed something else, something I intentionally did not mention because I knew it would come in handy if we ever did this again. Sure enough...it has. I'm pretty certain and guess that @mvshortcut wrote Criss-Cross unless of course they noticed what their mistake and made an under the table alliance with Frances to fool of us all and if that's what happen...that's fine. There's no shame. Because Bods B. Nobody only gets fooled by the best, and I tip my hat to both of you. But if it is you, Milk, then it's like I said 2 year ago, you can't tag both the show and the books if you do that consistently. Do it after the reveal. Otherwise, the turkeys can spot you a mile away. 🦃

But back to Frances. Obviously, they made the prison industrial complex, but they could have also traded the idea with someone. But, with no one else to suspect, and the clock ticking, I decided to give it to @mysteriouseggsbenedict for Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger. I hope you liked my Christian addition, I used a nice blend of Catholic, Protestant, and Atheistic influences that I think the fandom will appreciate.

Now we have a series of Milligan/Kate/Ten Men/Moocho fics, and this made it really hard, because Moth is of course #1 for this, but how to find him, hidden amongst a sea of Milligan? A scroll through his blog only reminded me that he does fan art too, which stressed me out even more. But then I realized on Milligan fic could be eliminated.

The Time He Missed I guess to be @lotsofsq. If they did a Nicholas, Nathaniel, SQ fic, I'd know instantly, but everyone did the books this time. However, I noticed one thing about Star's writing. They forget to capitalize the first letter of sentences sometimes. I was a little concerned about the em dash usage because Star hasn't used that yet. But no other fics had lowercase sentences like that. Moth also loves the Milligan/Moocho tag, but he write "minor Milligan/Moocho" not "relationship kind of" so, I still have to give it to Star, unless they collaborated with Moth to swap styles and fool me, and if so...bravo. I tip my hat.

Then I decided to take a break from the Milligan fics and look back at the art. There were only two left, and two well known artists in the fandom (pumpkin and flores). Now, the issue here is that a lot people (Sophie, Moth, me obviously) are known for writing, but can do undercover art, and Moth's blog did have art on paper, which threw me for a loop. I knew that between this possibility, and the fact that the other fics had me confused, and that fact that I still wasn't totally sure about Frances and the prison complex, I knew I'd need to be sure.

Like most people, I was 100% on Sophie for Average. It sounds like her. But then I noticed the AO3 tags. They didn't sound like her, and they were lowercase, and the fic had no relationship rating. Yet, Sophie does say it's hard to tag things.

I thought I'd reached the end. I flipped between Average, the Milligan fics, and the art tabs like a mad woman, searching for clues. I was between MQ and Moth for when the sky breaks softly and sail you see, but they'd both done very similar formatting things in their writing. But then, I noticed something that cracked the case wide open, just hours before posting.

But then I had a new problem. Moth didn't lock his fics this time, so now I had five fics and two art pieces by known arts and writers. It was challenge time.

I spend HOURS analyzing the formatting. I had scrap paper, charts, the whole she-bang. Finally, after a lot of scrutiny, I decided that Between Messages and Meetings and Average, I knew one of these had to be Curio's because she loves writing about people getting knocked out and kidnapped. The issue is, which one did she write? On the one hand, Curio wrote something short last year, but she also wrote the psychic file. So I scribed her down for Messages and Meetings @acollectionofcuriousreblogs since this has to be someone who knows and likes the Ten Men too and can write long fic. Now I know that Milk knows about them and as put them in polls before, but since I had Milk on a formatting thing, I thought this was pretty safe. This one also tagged both book and show, which Curio doesn't do often, but sometimes, so I thought it was a safer guess.

Finally, back against the wall, I went with my gut:

Brief(case related injuries) seemed the most like @sophieswundergarten based on the format, but I went back and forth a LOT for this one. I really thought it was Average. I did. But Sophie has never written a fic without a relationship tag before. If today is the day she was going to start, then bravo, but I didn't think so.

I was thinking that Average was @kaslynspeaks because the fic is unrated for relationships and the last one she wrote that was unrated was in 2025, which is plenty recent. It does give strong Sophie vibes, but at the end of the day, Kas has never written for TMBS before, so we don't really know what her writing looks like do we? I was going to do "when the sky breaks softly" for Kas at first, due to formatting, but then I realized that would but MQ on Average, and MQ hasn't written an untagged relationship fic since 2018. The math wasn't mathing, and I knew Kas was Average or Sky Breaks softly. She didn't make the art cause she put kudos on it.

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor contained em dashes as --, famously done by MQ and Moth. The spacing was MQ like but the topic and title of the fic suggested Moth. @oflightningandstars

Then, it was crunch time. The artists and writers, all trying to trick me.

Now, that left one fic for MQ, "when the sky breaks softly". I was unsure, at first. I felt like the formatting of the text of the fic was off for MQ. Everything from the title to the tags to the notes was her...except for the em dash. She'd never used them before, now all of a sudden here it was, rearing it's ugly head at me. Mocking me like a fool. I also keep rereading Milk's message in the discord about formatting in my mind. Suppose this has all been a trick by all of you to throw me off in revenge for the fact that I won last year? The thought haunted me. Who was really them and who was an impersonator? With three suspects left and only 10 minutes, I knew I had no time to second guess, as much as I might have needed to. It was now or never.

Therefore, I tentatively and cautiously say that @mahpotatoequeen wrote "when the sky breaks softly".

As for the art, that was tricky. And then there were two.

...Or were there?

Part 2: Bods' great dilemma

I realized, late in the game, that the window art looked very similar to Moth's early work. But if Moth did the art, that means Moth didn't do sail your sea, and if Moth didn't do sail your sea, that means MQ did it due to the -- thing, but if MQ did sail your sea, then that means that deflorss did when the sky breaks softly, and if deflorss did when the sky breaks softly then that means that either way, pumpkinthistle did the one with the kids up in the tree.

Now I had two options for my final guesses.

Option 1:

Sail your sea = Moth

When the Sky breaks = MQ

The tree art = Pumpkin

Window art = deflorss

Option 2:

Sail your sea = MQ

When the Sky breaks = Deflorss

The tree art = pumpkin

Window art = Moth

I realized quickly that either way, @pumpkinthistle most likely was Like we did when we were children.

So then there were 3 left.

Sea = Moth or MQ; Sky Breaks = MQ or Deflorss, and Window Art = Deflorss or Moth.

So I began to think of what the most likely scenario was here. Someone broke their patterns. Someone defied expectation. But who? If I just had one confirmed, the rest would follow by process of elimination. Then I noticed the tag on the fic was only ever used by Sophie which destroyed all my previous theories.

The thing is, the three of them pretending to be each other would require coordination. They would all have had to message each other. I see this as unlikely.

I was about to do even more grand investigation when I got a text and realized I'd procrastinated on this for far too many hours. I haven't eaten all day, my laundry is wet, I'm gonna give it to @deflorss for the Through The Window.

Actually, wait, Pumpkinthistle only does capital titles, so I'll swap the art. Final guesses (FOR REAL THIS TIME):

Through The Window @pumpkinthistle (secondary suspect if I had more time was Moth or deflorss)

Brief(case related injuries) @sophieswundergarten

Like we did when we were children @defloress (secondary suspect if I had more time was pumpkin)

Messages and Meetings @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

when the sky breaks softly @mashpotatoequeen (secondary suspect was deflorss)

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor @oflightningandstars (secondary suspect was MQ)

Average @kaslynspeaks

The Time He Missed @lotsofsq

Lifeguard Duty @mycatisholdingmehostage398

Criss-Cross @mvshortcut

Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger @mysteriouseggsbenedict

(Don't Fear) The Reaper @threedaycharter

The Waves of the Ocean, and the Light radiated to it @fandomqueen13

We’re All Alone @heyitsthatonesmolgay

And finally...

The Violet On Your Desk @nobodysdaydreams

I have no time for much else, but I leave you with this meme, and the promise that if I got a single guess wrong, I will be planning my revenge against those individuals (jk you guys are great)

Through The Window -heyitsthatonesmolgay

Brief(case related injuries) -acollectioofcuriousreblogs

Like we did when we were children - defloress

Messages and Meetings - mvshortcut

when the sky breaks softly - mashpotatoequeen

sail your sea, meet your storm, all i want is to be your harbor - mashpotatoequeen

Average - nobodysdaydreams

The Time He Missed - sophieswundergarten

Lifeguard Duty - mycatisholdingmehostage398

Criss-Cross - pumpkinthistle

Nicholas & Company Destroy World Hunger - mysteriouseggsbenedict

(Don't Fear) The Reaper - threedaycharter

The Waves of the Ocean, and the Light radiated to it - kaslynspeaks

We’re All Alone - fandom-queen-13