MURDER MANOR THREAD TRACKER

[speakveryclearly]

Week 0

Kanaya Maryam was "hatched" into the caste with jade-colored blood, a very limited class of vestal virgins destined to attend the "mother grub", a creature who is biologically the queen of the eusocial troll species, one of whom was her guardian as she grew up in the Alternian desert. When the mother grub died Kanaya cut out from her body the "matriorb", an egg from which another mother grub would hatch. She then got to engage in a fun game with her friends before they went onto an asteroid outpost, by which time the troll population had plummetted and all other mother grubs died. A crisis in the station led a friend of hers to blow up the matriorb and murder her; however, she transformed into a vampire after she died, and got her revenge on him. Then two humans joined them. Kanaya has spent almost two years languishing in guilt, loneliness, uselessness, and general misery. In other words, she wakes up in murder manor missing some memories and telling slightly less bizarre stories about her homeworld.

Friday

The whole situation is very disorienting considering a rainbow drinker doesn't spend much time sleeping. After carefully donning a customized hat and other clothing, Kaoru is the first fellow hostage Kanaya encounters, making a good impression through a polite request for hair bun assistance. Gundam is in a hallway, an equally tense human teenage boy, and they agree that they've been kidnapped with amnesia. Rin has taken up residence in the music room, a single-minded singing robot; Kanaya finds that charming as a similarly single-minded alien. Sonia is a sweet human girl who admires the garden with Kanaya. Later she ends up in the study, where Rapture rather aptly admits that only psychic powers can determine whether the situation is good or bad. Kanaya tries to spend the rest of the day and night reading books but is left with questions, not answers.

Saturday

Twenty-four hours later she's still stuck here and spends several hours stewing in the sunroom. Finally in mid-afternoon a clock rings, summoning all thirty guests to teatime where detailed information cards are disseminated. Gundam's card reveals his True Name and they share deep concerns about the extent of the surveillance. Rapture writes off the cards as downplaying her psychic powers. Yuzu, a completely unskilled human girl, desperately proposes possibilities for escape. Susan comes from a more rustic realm, leading Kanaya to vouch for the theoretical plausibility of the cards' factuality. As Kanaya expresses her confusion to the class, Lithuania agrees this isn't benign and Ukraine fears they are meant to be intimidated; Kaoru professes womanhood and Siren, a charming fellow alien, gives Kanaya her card.

After a while their hostess arrives on the scene and explains that they have been selected for a murder game. Like many others, Kanaya has questions for her. The nature of the game becomes clear soon enough. At this point Kanaya consoles herself with the knowledge that her strength should protect her, and she can defend herself if she must. The mystery conceit is much more confusing to her: Murders are not so much covered up on Alternia as committed wide in the open and shakily justified. Later in the evening, Kanaya tries to support the boyish nation of Latvia, only to end up intimidating him further. She is clearly the most outwardly inhuman member of the entire cast, and however charming some of them are, they might well be brutally murdered before her eyes in the coming days. She retires reluctantly, convinced matters probably can't get much worse right away.

Week 1

Sunday

Matters get worse right away. Just before sunrise an alarm goes off in Kanaya's room, alerting her to a letter from "The Producer" commanding her presence in the billiards room, which leads her to the smoking room. Lithuania was earliest and most outwardly anxious that there could be no benign reason for this gathering; Kaoru is there, a welcome familiar face, and so is Sonia. Touko Aozaki, a laid-back human adult, is also present, and the last to arrive is Spain, an optimistic nation. Then Lithuania reveals his status as The Producer, who has collected this group of designated killers, becoming the target of their undying ire.

They all protest vehemently until he shows them what their "incentives" are. Sonia and Spain's nations, Kaoru's twin Chizuru, Touko's personal magical power. (Kanaya hopes she needs it to... protect people...) And for Kanaya? The matriorb, of course. Allegedly all the other trolls will die if she disobeys, which is out of the question as long as her blood is jade, and she refuses to even process the threat. Beat into submission, she expresses her compliance with the similarly convinced members, who are depending on each other to not let a week go by without a murder plot, even though they are not allowed to collaborate openly. Kanaya admires Spain's hope, Touko's cool head, and especially Sonia's determination in the face of increasingly obvious amnesia. Kaoru, though, is the only one with whom Kanaya had publicly developed a rapport. Kaoru can be her friend; the other three can be her allies; everyone else in this house is a potential victim. Who first? Rapture? Her brooding wingmate, Mr. Altman?

A murder victim and a scapegoat are both required, and as much as Kanaya would like to pick someone deserving, they don't know yet who that would be. They discuss the matter until midmorning. The dissemination of the rulebook for the house at large is an afterpoint for Kanaya. She grimly endures the Q&A session with the hostess, silently struggling to memorize the excessive information. The incentive announcement simply cements what she and Sonia had already been certain about: Their amnesia, which committing a murder will cure. Most of the others are shocked, indignant, and self-righteous. An aloof and attractive girl, Annie, is less interested in these banalities and seeming like a good person than discussing the pragmatic possibilities for how the producers could probably mess with their minds through further amnesia or subtler blackmail.

Monday

Kanaya tries to pass the time. Kaoru languishes alongside her in the conservatory, Felicia, and her wingmate Ukraine admires an ill-fated attempt at learning the harp. Beat, a dead reaper boy, has been flying around to confirm the extent of their confinement. At the mandatory dinner rough rustic American Clyde initiates an awkward conversation about their respective worlds, hammering home her alienation.

Tuesday

When Kanaya comes across Gundam at breakfast that day she awkwardly expresses an insincere polite interest in the hamsters and suppresses a more sincere interest in his personal welfare.

Wednesday

Increasingly lonely, Kanaya summons Kaoru to her room. Blood-drinking is provided as an excuse for them to meet privately, smoothed over by demon regeneration. They discuss the role of chloroform, accomplices, and Clyde Barrow's inclination towards self-defense. Finally they discuss potential accomplices, and Kaoru rejects Kanaya's proposal of Gundam, as he is too much of a wild card, though both designated killers agree they will have to develop onesided attachments in the house. In the name of this goal she begins preparations to arrange sun-dried fruit for Gundam's hamsters.

Later in the day she lurks with Felicia for company in the library. The girl later leaves, and Alice comes into the library announcing that a murder has occurred in the Emerald Wing bathroom. She agrees to go help investigate, encounters Stiles lurking outside the victim Lydia's Emerald Wing bedroom, and accompanies him inside.

Thursday & Friday

When the suspect list comes out, Kanaya knows no member of her group is responsible for what happened to Lydia and allows herself to acknowledge it was awful. She makes various minor contributions, including investigating Susan's room with Stiles and discovering notes that she should become a "black ribboner". The outcome: indictment of the immortal witch Bernkastel, who wanted to regain the memories of her kismesis, which is a little more understandable but still sadistic. Her final interview involves a surprisingly civil discussion of why murders have to be mysterious.

Saturday & Sunday

The day after the execution brings a hollow, somber gathering in the smoking room, whose visitors have bitterly realized that they are very likely to get caught for committing murder and rule out chloroform altogether after the experiments in the trial. On Sunday, the incentive comes up: a secret, similar to chapter two of Dangan Ronpa. Kanaya largely refuses to read or reveal hers, since she knows a murder will be committed, and I was having trouble coming up with an appropriate way to phrase "vampiric greed is also a metaphor for her codependency" or "killed her friend", and she ends up saying "I liked the Trollight Saga unironically", which may have itself been a metaphor.

A popularity ranking is also posted. Anastasia is distressed about her dispensable ranking alongside Rin, who points out the discrepancy between the rankings and investigation contributions (as opposed to the trial itself). Kanaya chimes in bitterly that Anastasia can at least retain her moral superiority. Afterwards Kaoru gathers the clique to discuss the popular player's clue leading to a gun, though they fail to find anything.

Week 2

Monday

Kaoru is convinced to take part in the chloroform disposal brigade. In the evening Sonia leads a bar session that doesn't go so smoothly. Later that night Rapture receives a sponsorship and riffs off Kanaya's congratulations by calling her the main character. The nation of Poland wonders if this means there's a way in; Kanaya thinks the materials are already there and they need the secret passage map to find them, a plan Poland vehemently objects to given the requirement to target deadweight. "I'm not planning on killing deadweight players!!!" she cries, less than three weeks before she will request the secret passage map and murder a deadweight player.

Tuesday

Kanaya has a routine in this godforesaken castle. She puts on pretty clothes. She sits next to Kaoru at breakfast, in the conservatory, at lunch, and then there are a few hours to wander the house in complete purposelessness before they reunite at dinner, after which she is alone in her room to read murder mysteries and ponder the impossibility of her deceiving people anywhere near as thoroughly as Bernkastel. The only difference between any given day is what she wears and where she spends the afternoon. On one such jaunt Gundam is training his hamsters in an obstacle course, which she observes with a strained politeness. Everyone is completely bored and doing their best to mask their murderous potential behind a polite facade. Kanaya's got a vague scheme to murder Michael Altman.

The parlor provides Kanaya with an unexpected reason to hate Plato even more than Agatha Christie. She seriously considers mutilating the curtains as a diversion and ponders this with the appropriated sewing kit in her lap. Latvia frets that might break the rules, which he can't even determine in advance through guesswork, to which Kanaya riffs, "if you want insight into human psychology, I'm afraid you are asking the wrong individual." At Lithuania's similar concerns that she should disclose such vandalism at a trial, she points out to him, "Lithuania, what kind of a liar do you think I am. Everyone's falsehoods are identified in this kind of communal lifestyle anyway", adding, "Besides, who would strangle someone with curtains when so many more effective materials are available?" less than two months before Sonia will strangle Poland with the curtains in the dining room.

In a thread I would come to regret cutting short on account of my OOC lacking practical seamstress skills, Annie approaches and awkwardly asks Kanaya for assistance mending her inappropriately hemmed slacks. Kanaya is happy to help, and cautiously allows herself to enjoy one of the few moments she could display untempered altriuism in the house.

Wednesday

Seeking some variety from the breakfast-to-conservatory circuit, after a few hours sunbathing with Kaoru and the steely American woman Sharon Carter, Kanaya goes on an adventure to the garden, where she eventually discovers that dispensable-ranked player Minatsuki Takami's corpse is lying underneath the flowerbed, covered with delicious blood, which she tastes to ascertain its freshness. She rushes into the foyer to shout that "MINATSUKI TAKAMI MURDERED!", attracting the attention of Anastasia, who goes off to announce what happened to everybody. Meanwhile Susan and Lithuania join in to form the trio required for body discovery. As Kanaya continues to take issue with pretty much everything Lithuania says for no reason other than her secret resentment of his entire existence, they examine the body.

After some time Kanaya bows out to investigate the rest of the grounds and Susan takes over for her. Kanaya's adventure continues in the stables, where she and Poland investigate, and the chapel, where she and Alice collaborate using her glow as lighting but find nothing. By dinnertime most of the investigation has ceased, and she retires to the sapphire wing as is her usual custom. That night, one question bothers her - she had briefly initially imagined the ideal target as a villain who would succumb to temptation and attack another player unless she heroically intervened. Already the deadweight mechanic dominates her murder plots, but now two independent actors have tried to kill here. Why this time - and why merely dispensable Minatsuki? Considering the culprit's not a confederate, she has to do her best to find the answer...

Thursday

...and she's a suspect. So is Kaoru, who didn't even do it either!!! Poland is on there... and Ukraine and Annie, both deadweight-ranked. Kanaya fills out her alibi, bitter that her helpfulness has been seen as suspicious and insisting that she would not have called the others to the body if she had killed. Her main contributions the first day take place during this discussion. While Stiles and Felicia get into a technical discussion about time of death, Susan lets the topic drift towards Kanaya's own bloodthirst, which May and Gundam take seriously. Annie shuts them down, much to Kanaya's gratitude. She withdraws from the discussion after that. The progress is enough to exonerate Kaoru.

Spain tries to say the nations would never, ever commit a crime. Kanaya is deeply irritated by this - her fellow designated killer would rather defend Poland and Ukraine than Kanaya and Kaoru. Gundam openly decries their speech as self-serving; Sonia concurs equally forcefully, just more politely. As Kanaya sits awkwardly at dinner, openly vampiric and not eating, she thanks Gundam for his words and then they dwell somberly in the knowledge that they need more evidence. After that conversation gets too awkward to keep up, she sees Annie exhausted and brings her some red wine. They commiserate about the situation, leading to Annie declaring, "Kanaya--I don't want you to die." Kanaya doesn't want Annie to die either, but she leaves full of uncertainty, not sure whether the evidence to convict Poland or Ukraine can be found.

Friday

Felicia leads a discussion Kanaya participates in. Susan suggests that Minatsuki either trusted or was surprised by the killer; Kanaya points out that they never spoke and she can glow in the dark, making her very unsurprising. As Minatsuki's multiple injuries continue to drastically complicate the trial, for the most part the players only manage to exonerate Kaoru in addition to Poland. Spain even suggests that Kanaya's vampire speed would implicate her.

Increasingly angry that suspicion continues to rest on her as time is running out, Kanaya makes a TOPLEVEL accusing Ukraine. In her heart of hearts, she knows the evidence she cites is shoddy, but she does not want herself or Annie to die. Lithuania is quick to agree with Ukraine that a pitchfork does not work the way Kanaya imagines and Spain continues denouncing the vampire. Susan and Stiles are more sympathetic to Kanaya but continue to call out flaws in the theory. Latvia is the most vocally opposed to Kanaya's distrust of nations, who "I can't make you understand" bear the burden of their entire people--and her anger about this deep insult to the jadeblood's burden is what keeps her from backpedaling.

Near the very end of the vote Anastasia realizes that the dirt on the sapphire wing windowsill (Ukraine and Kanaya's shared wing, assumed to implicate them) would actually make the most sense if Annie were the culprit. However, several of Ukraine's supporters switched their votes to Kanaya - leaving Ukraine to be scapegoated the majority. Kanaya understands that she must have been wrong and Ukraine makes her promise to be careful, before she steps into the noose. Sharon Carter, incidentally, dies in the smoking room for her abstention from the vote.

Annie turns out to be the true culprit - and the true murder weapon was the fucking needle. Several guests openly attempt to strike Annie or suggest she be lynched. Though shocked that she was used, Kanaya accepts the explanation that the other giants of Annie's race would have all been discovered and killed if her true nature were revealed. She swallowed her shock and awkwardly expresses affinity, which only intensifies when Annie hands her another apology note. Meanwhile May apologizes to Kanaya for wrongly suspecting her, which she accepts with a stiff formality, knowing very well that the alchemist is still a huge threat.

Before retiring Kanaya heads to Susan's room, where they compare vampire myths; while Susan's suggestions about the merits of finding an auxillary passion have merit, Kanaya is made all the more self-conscious about her alien nature and dead culture.

Saturday

Kaoru is, as always, excellent company at breakfast. Reminiscence about traditional Japanese food segues into the arbitrary nature of their audience, the objectifying exoticism inherent in a human cast with supernatural supplements, the merits of Yuzu Aihara as an ordinary human in the midst of all this, and the vagaries of any term like "human nature". After lunch, Kanaya attempts to tidy up the garden; Rapture teases her about the temptation to give into blood. They ponder the permanence of the setting and the duration of the game.

Sunday

In the conservatory, Latvia approaches Kanaya to apologize and offer any recompensation she desires; her refusal is stiff, and she seriously considers biting him. He then asks about the dried fruit she has prepared, correctly guessing it's for Gundam's hamsters. Kanaya jokes that he would commit a murder if they starved; Latvia is nervously amused. Altman understands more intuitively the sun-drying involved, leading to an interesting comparison of the environments on Yucutan and Alternia. Finally the man himself arrives, initially confused that she is involving him. Kanaya denies she is performing charity as hamsters cannot cut food themselves. He is touched. She dies a little inside looking at the hamsters and not remembering their names.

Incentive is announced: Time travel. While Beat is tempted, Lithuania and especially Yuzu is more skeptical; Kanaya invokes some of Bernkastel's remarks and ends up casually comparing the Witch of Miracles to the equally remorseless Bard of Doom. Meanwhile, Gundam is concerned about May Chang's dispensable ranking; Kanaya's attempt to console him is called out as patronizing. The designated killers meet that night, with Sharon Carter's corpse for company, and discuss the threat May poses, while the producer pushes them further to eliminate low-ranked players.

Week 3

Monday

Monday starts for Kanaya in the conservatory as per usual; today Alice is there to consider the nature of the gardeners. Then Kanaya holes herself up in the parlor to begin drawing outfit designs for Kaoru, which Kaoru and Spain appreciate. She is spinning her wheels socially around all these people whom she is supposed to be either lynching or murdering, all the while publicly condemning both courses of action. Only one person exists outside of that dichotomy, with whom she might be almost open about her true self. Can she take that risk, when the designated killers are governed by such strict rules? After a few hours Kanaya finally follows Annie all the way out to the pond to ask what she's doing there. "Exercise" is the answer, which leads to more questions about the police squad.

Tuesday & Wednesday

Kanaya is in the library with Latvia when the clock chimes to signal that Dave Strider's body has been discovered. Almost completely unaffected by the threat of a murder, Kanaya volunteers to investigate the distant grounds. She makes no major discoveries.

Thursday

Belarus is a suspect (alongside Spain, who is clearly innocent - yet another murder the designated killers didn't commit) so Lithuania must deny her request to help bring in the body; Kanaya decides to help, her manner again tellingly biting as Susan's supervision is ruled optional this time. She participates in this discussion about the skeleton key being planted on Strider's body because the culprit thought that would be the best way to dispose of it. "Troll Occam's razor" suggests he is the victim all along, not an aggressor. Poland disagrees with her mostly on principle after her treatment of Ukraine, which Lithuania points out. Her final contribution for the day is a clarification of Altman's alibi.

Friday

Dave Strider was ranked as deadweight alongside Michael Altman and Aluminum Siren. Any would-be murderer could nullify their supernatural powers or request two items; the latter is what happened in Strider's case, the skeleton key and a katana. As the investigation is narrowed down to Altman and Siren, an uncomfortable self-defense angle emerges and Kanaya loses interest in contributing to the investigation. After all, two people a week are going to die; if this is inevitable they might as well receive the incentives. That's the reasoning the designated killers have already adopted for themselves, and she's extrapolated it to Annie too.

Eventually cornered and successfully outvoted, Siren confesses that she intended to frame Strider for attempting to murder Altman or at least gain sympathy for herself with this misleading angle. Kanaya aims for sympathy in her reaction, referring to Siren's description of her cosmic mission, which she coolly explains was completely falsified: In actuality, she wanted to retain her life and her powers, which she destroyed a galaxy to gain. Suddenly Kanaya swells up with rage - this could have been her too-good-to-be-true opportunity to kill a deserving person! She says as much, only for Siren to point out that was exactly why she had to defend herself, adding that Kanaya does not understand the thought processes of wicked people. Kanaya ragequits just before Siren is executed by her own hair and business cards - a fate that Kanaya is increasingly expecting to face herself. In spite of herself, she is still thirsty.

At dinner after the trial Altman attempts to smooth over some of the concerns that other guests had developed about him. Kanaya awkwardly comments on his family, which is still a largely foreign concept to her.

Saturday & Sunday

Please note that the timestamps in game comments may contradict thread tracker dates as more care has been taken here to construct a linear timeline.

Saturday drags on by as she makes a mechanical, cranky attempt to brush up on her chemistry, which Yuzu notices; Kanaya ends up expressing her certainty that they cannot prevent more murders. Sunday brings the new incentive - a precious item. Kanaya already knows what hers will be and her heart sinks - if the producers had more than one matriorb lying around, they would have also cast more than one troll. The ranking promises potential potassium chloride to a popular player. Kanaya identifies it as a lethal injection, or substitute for hanging, to Yuzu, who objects to the insensitive implication that hangings do not occur right here and now and she should not speak so callously when ranked so low. Kanaya shrugs that being murdered is not her concern.

At the meeting that night, Kanaya's reasons for being in such unsubtle despair become clearer: "Between all six deadweight and dispensible players, the only ones not us are May-- which, Spain, I am only noting for completeness-- Clyde, who as a target has several previously discussed issues of his own, and process-of-elimination frontrunner Kagamine Rin", whom she is also concerned would be willing to take action in self-defense this week. Kaoru assures her that Susan is "not insurmountable". So Kanaya resolves: This week she will kill Rin. She asks the producers for a secret passage map and a sword. As soon as she discovers a secret passage exists between the parlor and the music room, the murder writes itself; she will arrange an alibi, take a hot poker from the parlor's fireplace, go through the secret passage, and stab Rin in the music room, then replace the poker with a sword so nobody will suspect what actually happened.

Week 4

Monday

On Monday Kanaya sights Annie again for the first time - she did not bother to attend the trial at all, leading Kanaya to provide a summary of the death toll. Fatalistic, they speculate as to the bizarre lack of self-defense. As desperate as Kanaya is to be around her more, the conversation becomes uncomfortable for a reason she refuses to identify and awkwardly ends early.

Most of Monday she's holed up in the parlor, struggling to read Plato, then working on her sketchpad, but the activity is agitating instead of soothing her. Rapture suggests her obsessive drawings of Annie Leonhardt draw bad energy but quickly digresses into curiosity about whether the Stingers are represented. Rin helps her pick up the pad and gets to see Beat rendered as the Knight of Doom, though Knaaya does not remember what that means and is internally very emotional about Rin clearly being perfectly friendly. Kaoru gets to hear more about her idea that rendering Annie monocular would be justice. Kanaya admits the difficulty of attaining incentives is what bothers her the most, and Kaoru suggests escape is more important, though seemingly difficult.

Tuesday

Kanaya spends her last day of freedom mostly in the conservatory, but its flowers have been decimated. She is forced to share her question about how this transpired with Poland, who gleefully admits to being responsible: He made flower crowns. The garden wasn't good enough? Certainly not. Poland is openly delighted to have bothered Kanaya, whom he resents almost as much as Annie for orchestrating Ukraine's death.

As she insinuated to Yuzu, Kanaya does not sleep often (I had preferred the Twilight-style headcanon that rainbow drinkers do not sleep at all before Openbound blew that out of the water and so I never listed this as a Sebastian style ability) and she does not sleep tonight. She gathers chemicals and a cardboard box from the basement and study, which she plants inside the piano bench. She tests the secret passage from the parlor (fucking Socrates) to the music room (who the hell was Mozart). The sword and the map are both safely hidden inside the passage for now. She never looks at the rest of the map. Escape? Maybe she'll have time for that later.

Wednesday

The sun rises. Kanaya dresses in gloves and a hat with a veil, ready to murder an innocent person - and get away with it, she has to remember that part. The penultimate step is an alibi, but she is not . Like many previous days she is with Kaoru at breakfast, in the conservatory, at lunch, in the library, and finally a less common excursion: The kitchen, for an exploration of Nagumo cuisine. She steps out "to get the china". She fetches a poker and goes through the secret passage to the music room. Rin struggles as Kanaya hisses out some polite incomplete explanations that Sonia would not have been possible before stabbing her. Sapphire Wing is near enough that she can change out her gloves without fear--

When she comes back in Annie is there and suddenly the entire past week - Rin having her breakfast in the kitchen, Rin out in the lake to get trained, Rin and Annie make sense. Annie understands what happened immediately and points out Rin could not defend herself; and yet she lets Kanaya leave, eliminating any lingering resentment about the second week in her heart. She returns, with the china, to Kaoru, and they are more preoccupied with their creation than the ensuing murder investigation. Dinnertime arrives soon enough and after that she is forced into her bedroom. She doesn't even crawl into her absurd Earth human European bed. She arranges outfits for Thursday and Friday, not Saturday.

Thursday

Kanaya fills out her alibi with a much greater outward appearance of calmness and discovers that her co-suspects are the laid-back designated killer Touko Aozaki; deadweight and designated killer Sonia Nevermind; said young woman's worldmate and paramour, Gundam Tanaka; and, worst of all, Susan Sto Helit. Susan is on edge now that she and Kanaya have been suspects twice, that another murder was committed at all, and that her monitoring power was inadequate defense. May jumps up to vouch for Gundam, Sonia, and Susan - she really does have a point about Susan, I cannot emphasize enough how aggressively lawful good she is; if you combined Maya, Mei, and Sebastian, you'd get about a tenth her strength of character. Kanaya addresses them both with platitudes about the importance of evidence.

Poland and Yuzu were the two people who set off the public body discovery alarm because Annie had brought the cumulative total to three, leading to a theory of an accomplice that causes much suspicion to surround Sonia and Gundam due to their close relationship. Kanaya allows this to simmer and eat up screentime without stirring them further, along with other minor controversies about Gundam's generally idiosyncratic descriptions of his daily proceedings. With Stiles she suggests an item could be shared and also points out that coming from sapphire wing doesn't make much sense.

The box comes up next, leading Kanaya to preoccupy herself with flagrantly specious theories about its contents being used to generate the smoke. (The poor craftsmanship is obvious to Touko immediately.) Annie finally has enough of this and explains that she was the first witness and nothing more. Kanaya plays up her public shock. Meanwhile Gundam and Sonia are ruthlessly teased for going steady before marriage by Poland, and Kanaya's temper flares immediately when he calls Annie a bad person all around. Susan notices the strangely insistent sympathy.

May seeks a little more detail on the alibis after the exact time of death has become very clear. Kanaya brings up Kaoru, whom she only left "to get the china", and Kaoru amicably chimes in with a generous description of her presence, then moves on to distract May with discussion of familiar food as well as skeleton keys. Meanwhile, Susan, Touko, Latvia, and Poland congregate to stab Rin's body multiple times and determine a hot poker was the real weapon. Sonia leads a discussion about the true second deadweight item; Kanaya makes a few tepid misdirection comments but, much like Sonia, gets wildly indignant when Felicia reveals that a secret passage became known to a small group of players. While Sonia, Felicia, and Clyde go to take a look in the music room, Stiles leads a discussion about incentives; Kanaya describes the "Spiky ball" as "a sort of egg from my homeworld from which the mother grub, a highly revered creature, could be hatched. It's an incredibly delicate object in spite of the protective surface - I actually used to have one in my possession but it was destroyed." Sonia returns revealing that sheet music showed them the way to the parlor passageway -- and the poker.

Kanaya sits next to Kaoru at dinner and makes a request for letters to be delivered in the event of her execution. Kaoru is concerned but consents, and they exchange shaky banter about how embarassing the whole situation is. Kanaya does not eat her own food, being a vampire, of course; so she delivers her plate to Annie, who is refusing to eat at all. Though she accepts Kanaya's offer after some hesitation, she expresses concern about whether the others will judge Kanaya for "associating with a murderer". They meander into a philosophical discussion leading up to Kanaya insinuating she likes Annie. Making her blush is satisfying but Kanaya is nevertheless compelled to flee.

Friday

Kanaya writes until the wee hours of the morning, when she dresses all in black and still has no outfit prepared for Saturday.

The letters are fairly predictable: apologies to Gundam and Susan for getting them involved, similar ones for Touko and Sonia alluding to their incentives. To Annie she is deliriously grateful as much as she wishes she could tell her everything from the start. Kaoru receives cosmic gratitude for not having known how to pin up hair, for being her loyal companion this entire game, even in the conspiracy to avoid mens rea, and an exhortation to be more careful because Chizuru is at stake. The last line alludes to the only outlier, one Kaoru keeps private until the designated killers meet that night: Spain. She is quite critical of him for valuing other nations more than other designated killers, as is clearly the case if this trial turns against her, and urges him to take his turn next.

Alice announces findings from Rin's laptop, leading to a more thorough interrogation of Kaoru by her and Susan, who gets very indignant about Rin's plan to double murder deadweight and Susan herself, a discussion Kanaya nervously abstains from while hoping it will eat up screentime. Latvia brings up the dirty gloves Beat discovered during her room search, decimating once and for all Kanaya's hopes that she would pull off a needle level of evidence obfuscation, and leading Susan to conclude decisively the reason suspects were chosen twice.

Kanaya makes a desperate declaration that the offending material is actually grapite, clearly panicking however gentle Beat and Latvia are about their suspicions. Poland gleefully pounces on the dubious style. Felicia's skepticism is more subtle, and she accompanies Latvia to Kanaya's room. While Felicia makes a physical investigation, Latvia requests Kanaya make a drawing. She creates hereself in a noose and bestows it upon him. They return and Felicia announces the evidence. Poland immediately doubts that Annie's absence is a convenient coincidence.

Kanaya delivers her confession at large, bullshitting something about blood to further exonerate Annie before barreling forward into a discussion of eusocial trolls, the details of which she delegates to Gundam. Not only does he understand, he declares he will help her continue the work, citing the debt he owes her for... the sun-dried fruit. She breaks down, admitting it was an attempt to manipulate him; he in turn anticipated this and still respects her for not throwing Sonia the plausible accomplice under the bus. Speaking of her, the designated killer is very emotional about how unfair it is that a teenager dedicated to her people was driven to these lengths, clearly projecting her own fears; Kanaya tries to reassure her that death is nothing to be afraid of, and Sonia calms down enough to pledge her own resources alongside Gundam's to recreate the matriorb. This forms "a double promise", "like a marriage", something Kanaya still barely understands.

Stiles riffs about the plausibility of the incentives. Kanaya counters, "I'd actually be more afraid of what will happen in this place if we go a week without a murder. Somehow I doubt the producer of this show would like that very much." Speaking of insurance, Touko points out Kanaya could have fought hard enough to hang her; but, well, she was always too noble for it so as it is she can have a gravestone in the conservatory. Sotto voce Kanaya also requests she be kind to Annie if Stiles can't. Touko also theorizes that there might be a graveyard. Poland has no such mercy, insisting awful conspiring murderers like Annie and Kanaya deserve each other, and she's an "evil alien" just like Aluminum Siren, requiring Lithuania to step in and calm him down.

Annie is deeply regretful that Kanaya or Rin had to die; still, Kanaya gets an ardent promise to survive out of her. Susan asks the hostess if Kanaya could just hang. Aware of her situation and disappointed, she allows Kanaya to spend her last few hours sketching with Kaoru for company. Finally Doris calls her up for brief last words: Mother, I am so sorry.

To the shock of some single-celled organisms, Kanaya is executed. She hatches the matriorb only for the mother grub to give birth to mutilated larval versions of her dead friends and Rin, who devour her when she tries to abscond with baby Karkat, then devour each other. A shocked Kaoru finally delivers the letters, including to Annie who is devastated, and Gundam and Sonia who are awkwardly holding each other. Much to the disturbance of Sonia and Lithuania, Felicia is outright proud to an extent Alice and Susan find unnecessary. Poland leaves as promptly as possible, though Annie still catches up and slaps him.

Graveyard

As was frequent on many other seasons of Murder Manor, Kanaya in fact finds herself inside a graveyard. Deeply shellshocked by her execution, she is all the more confused by her softer sci-fi Homestuck memories: Fond ones of Prospit, but the Sgrub related ones were less than promising. Furthermore, this seasons the control over information is much stricter; victim and culprit wake up at the same time - and Kanaya only remembers that she was a designated killer, not who put her into that situation or her companions in that clique. She didn't write a letter to Spain, did she? The producer planted that sheet music and never intended for her to win and she hates him with all her heart. Susan suspected the murderer might have thought Rin didn't count; this pained Kanaya - but why did she insist Sonia was never an option? And why worry so much about the future of dear, sweet, innocent Kaoru?

Putting on a brave face, she staggers inside to greet her fellow ghosts: "Bernkastel, you were right about how hard adequately plotting a murder is." The witch amicably informs her that with good enough ratings she might get to see Annie again, alive. Ukraine is there too to apologize for Poland's assholery and promise her a blanket. Sharon is completely calm about the entire situation and happy to play at popcorning. Rin is surprised she's back at all, and accepts Kanaya's explanation to solicit a reconciliatory hug. By the time Siren cheerfully congratulates Kanaya on her scheme incorporating the sword (a reluctant tribute to her) and the mystery box, Rin is casually riffing that she would have taken the box herself. [LAUGH TRACK]

Week 5

The incentives come out: Hostages. Bernkastel ponders if it's fake, Kanaya admits actors are possible though they'd be separate either way, and Rin wonders, "Hey Kanaya, I almost feel like you did me a favor now... I'd have freaked out if Len was in there. ♪" [LAUGH TRACK GETS EVEN LOUDER] They also give Beat the sponsorship of a healing pin. Susan loses some of her powers leading to the double murder of Michael Altman and Belarus.

The victims never show up. Touko turns out to be the culprit. Not yet fully comprehending the extent to which this action indicates Touko Aozaki is a hero, she is overwhelmed remembering that Touko was one of the other doomed designated killers. Touko is calm enough about the outcome, but the infuriating sleuth who pinned her with Lithuania's help is another story: "touko would've chopped felicia up alive. end of discussion." As Kanaya apologizes for not finding a way to work with her week four, they move on to discussion of craftsmanship.

Week 6

For the halloween season, a haunting occurs; Bernkastel points out that Kanaya's ghost is haunting Poland, attempting to throw a poker at him, while Annie saves the day. Bernkastel winds Kanaya up into a hypocritical fit of resentment for Poland as her sympathy towards Annie seems to be almost more objectionable to him than the deaths she was complicit about - speaking of which, Ukraine chimes in to explain his viewpoint and calm her down. Though Latvia was lynched that week, Kanaya is only part of the welcoming party for the murder victim, Clyde, who assents to lay back with a coca cola.

Week 7

Kanaya leads the discussion; with Sharon's help she theorizes that "A third party either engineered Beat's enraged expression - maybe made him believe May was actually some sort of little demon - or was the true person at fault here." Kanaya is fairly confident that Kaoru cannot be ruled out. Ukraine and Latvia doubt that humans would approve of this show at all, while they agree that Kanaya's society would not have mostly brought in humans either. The reveal of Ochimizu's involvement (a sponsorship Kanaya and Touko promoted) sets the path towards conclusively implicating Kaoru, and Touko chimes in that Kaoru receieved a reward from the scavenger hunt as well.

After being devoured alive like Kanaya and Touko were in their executions, Kaoru arrives, receiving Kanaya's first ever theater bento, affectionately addressing her by first name alone now and grateful that her machinations kept him off the witness stand, professing "The weeks without you and Touko were awful", and letting her believe that his hair was fine in her absence because she taught him how to do it herself. They still cannot remember the other two killers and Kaoru informs her that members of their group were not even allowed to retire (they are too busy being rude to extrapolate this occurrence to Spain and keep frowning whenever he comes up), but "We... reached a mutual understanding of sorts." They are unified in their hatred of the producer.

Beat's arrival is more low-key as Kanaya and Ukraine reassure him he saved May and explain the sponsorship. Ukraine has also finished that blanket.

Week 8

Poland's body turns up week 8, leading Latvia to ponder Lithuania's likely anger at his boyfriend's death and how exciting the upcoming finale will be. Kaoru and Kanaya have noticed that Lithuania's never been a suspect and wonder just what special protections the producer has, but hope they can choke him with soda. Sharon idly approves of this. Kanaya throws one shoe at Rapture and another at Lithuania, as they are the main two people she and Kaoru suspect, though both of them know acting would have to be involved - which leads to Kanaya's teasing admission that in other circumstances Kaoru's deception would have bothered her. "You were not a bad partner to have, regardless, so I am glad things did not come to that," he says, and they affectionately bump shoulders.

Poland arrives. Kanaya is still deeply resentful of him - for being the good person she couldn't - and makes a popcorn delivery that fails because he is still so disoriented. Kaoru comes in to explain much of the designated killers' true situation, eventually suggesting he get popcorn, at which point Poland finally notices Kanaya to ask if her ghost was really trying to kill "me and your girlfriend". Without the energy to deny it, Kanaya barrels forward into the increasingly flagrant implication that the mastermind has never been a suspect and is someone Poland loved: Lithuania. He objects to accusations of his friends, which annoys Kanaya because everyone in the house is sort of a friend to somebody. She and Kaoru proceed to mock Felicia, a display that progresses into a full-on impression contest. Poland takes offense to Kanaya's description of Doris as "a smaller Sonia" and they get into another argument. Kaoru just hopes Doris will get her hapy ending, and he speculates with Kanaya for a while about possibilities for endgame... because they can't be sure they'll simply go home like none of this ever happened. [THREE YEARS LATER KAORU'S STILL STUCK THERE FUCK EVERYTHING ]

Sonia's arrival is calmer in all respects if nothing else. Kanaya had kept her cards so close to her chest in public, the realization that - comes all at once, and she does everything she can to support her as she frets that Gundam will die risking his life to save her (a complicated situation - suffice it to say he doesn't).

Week 9

Dear sweet Doris dies and "Lith" is written in blood. After Poland and Kanaya have another fight, all four designated killers converge and fantasize about punching Lithuania, or waterboarding him, or cutting off his limbs; one each for the ones who died, and Spain getting a milder punch.

Later in the trial Lithuania's status as plague ghost starts to become clear and Kanaya almost feels guilty enough to comfort Poland but he quite rightly walks out on her. A somber dk meeting ensues as they finally understand Lithuania must have been the person who commanded them, but are not sure if the plague ghost story is true or even if any of this is real.

Towards the end of the trial, Lithuania finally admits that he was forced to act that way because much like Spain his nation was at risk, and for explaining this, he blows up, while it's explained the low ratings mean the show shall be cancelled. Kanaya freaks out. She had found the plague ghost explanation so cathartic and satisfying, and still would rather like to punch Lithuania, a sentiment Ukraine and Poland shoot down quickly enough. Kanaya and Kaoru joke about wanting to take a real vacation after this is over and explain Japanese fashion, as awful as human government is.

Only a little later, though, all the lights in the theater go out, meaning that Kanaya's ability to glow in the dark finally becomes useful. Siren even compliments her for it.

Clip Show

The lights come back on and Doris announces that there will be a reunion special. (Rin has to be ready for a performance! At last!) Though at first delighted that she has joined them at last, the ghosts start to realize she is Not Okay. They begin at the very beginning: Week 1. Next comes a montage of executions. The designated killers riff about how fucked up theirs were: Sonia's objectively the worst, Kaoru's the most downright fucked up, Touko can't be forced to give a fuck about hers, and Kanaya explains hers involved dead friends (Rin counting). Doris leads another discussion about lynchings where Bernkastel winds up Kanaya again to talk about pitchforks with benevolent Ukraine, though Kaoru consoles her that she lived two whole weeks beyond that.

Speaking of the second trial, Doris brings in Annie for a discussion of week 2. While Kaoru and Kanaya worriedly speculate that this means she has died, Minatsuki engages her in a bloody battle; Annie literally grabs victory by the edge of her teeth. As soon as she makes eye contact with Kanaya, Poland asks if they are going to make out. "SHUT UP, POLAND!" (There will be plenty of time for that later underneath the concession stand. Not the projection room as Poland suggests. This comes back later.) Kanaya has a brief interview about her feelings of forgiveness in the whole situation and finally takes the opportunity to apologize to Minatsuki, who brushes it off. Both she and Annie are rather dismisive of Ukraine.

They finally get a break. Kanaya approaches Annie, they both say they missed each other, and then Kanaya commences cleaning up the blood in an oral manner that is utterly necessary, turning into an excuse for a kiss on the lips. Poland shouts "GET A ROOM!" but in response to that they only make out more. They are so emotional about this unexpected touching reunion and afraid of what comes next but what matters the most is that they are Together.

Rapture shows up and it's glorious. There needs to be some levity before the discussion of week 4, when the general audience finally realizes the true extent of Annie's compliance. Kanaya apologizes to Annie some more and they end up reiterating the Leonhardt philosophy of "greedy" as a good trait.

The next discussion leads to some fond reminiscences about the dk lyfe. Of course, this means they bring in another living guest: SPAIN. Alice shows up a little later for a discussion of her participation in Spain's trial, and they banter. Stiles shows up, takes in Annie and Kanaya together, leading to another amicable discussion about ratings and skin exposure.

Lithuania finally arrives and reveals once and for all that he was completely coerced, even allowing Ukraine's lynching to occur so that Kanaya would be protected. Kanaya realizes how little responsibility he actually had and breaks down. Gundam shows up too and Kanaya commends him.

Then they get another break. Kanaya and Annie sit together, pondering the meaning of good and evil in light of what Kanaya could see as a ghost. They receive a visit from Annie's moirail Stiles, ready to pay back Annie for one of the few conversations Kanaya missed: Her attempt to give him The Talk because he is her friend. Stiles is in turn trying to ensure that Kanaya is being safe; her confusion leads to some alarming and amusing revelations. Stiles was right to bring this up and both young women turn out to be rather amenable to the topic.

Party Games

For the second day of this reunion special, the producers have very kindly set up an open bar (stocked with blood! GOODBYE black ribbon) and party games. Spin The Bottle nets Kanaya THE MOST ADORABLE HAMSTER PROXY KISS FROM GUNDAM OF ALL TIME. Then she spins Lithuania and in spite of the many times her desire to punch him has been shot down, she finally gets her way, shocking him with a violent hatekiss. #HOMESTUCK. Sonia is impressed and Annie outright amused. Then Poland tilts Lithuania's bottle to himself, but his spin lands on Annie - not that Kanaya particularly minds her own chance to watch him be shocked. Annie kisses Latvia and Latvia kisses Ukraine. Latvia plays truth or dare with Kanaya; she truths him that he is not a virgin, while Latvia dares her to swap clothing. She does so with Rin. Annie finds this quite cute. GOD, LOOK AT THEM.

Also: Sonia truths Annie about "her wedding", leading to several jokes about Kaoru being Kanaya's best man. Annie also dares Kaoru to redo his hair, leading to Sonia finding a cake knife at the bar and outright cutting his hair short. When Kanaya wanders over to the bar, she almost does not recognize Kaoru. He explains what happened, smirks knowingly at her attachment to Annie (GET MARRIED SO HE CAN BE THE BEST MAN), and lament that they have not played Never Have I Ever. This human game leads to their denouncement of human nature, including a propensity for alcohol, raising the logical question of "can somebody die of alcohol poisoning" and "should it be Beat, who is a siscon just like you, Kaoru" or "Poland, what did he even do". Rapture is also at the bar and they have a nice talk about the merits of music and serendipity as it applies to the Stingers.

Awards

Sonia and Gundam win "better love story than Twilight". In the ensuing discussion Kanaya finally gains a rudimentary understanding of marriage. Poland wins Mr. Congeniality and jokes about "great personality" underneath the concession stand which Kanaya gets angry about because it's not the projection room and they have another fight. It's really embarrassing for Kanaya and she realizes she's taken this too far.

Limbo

On the morning of the fourth day, they discover that the ratings are in fact so low they will not be brought back to life after all, and the living are sent back to the manor with no memory of what happened. Kanaya is so horrified as to seriously consider alcohol; Ukraine seconds the sentiment and they put their heads together on why their suffering is so crucial to the producers. However, they can watch the game again, as the players try to determine the identity of the true mole... Felicia Marlow. Touko accompanies Kanaya as she regrets suppressing the urge to strangle her.

Though the players have the chance to execute her, Felicia explains that she has been an actress who went onto this whole show willingly, and if they spare her she will be able to bring back the dead with that damn machine, but the shells are probably out, and at this point as many players as were personally murdered must remain dead. At Susan's request Lithuania goes back first. Poland and Kaoru help Kanaya do the math; Poland reassures Kanaya that Lithuania will vouch for her. Kaoru's fate seems assured, to Kanaya's regret, and she vows to kill Felicia for his sake if they get the time. However, two unexpected developments occur: The players decide that they may be able to resuscitate Rin from her robotic body; and partly at May's behest they end up trading Clyde (who had after all been absent from some reunion episodes) for Kaoru. Good news, bad news.

Don't feel bad. You and Annie were the only ones who ever tried to understand me. Even if you killed me, at least you didn't do it because you dismissed me like that. I'd rather it ended that way. This way you can tell Annie we're all still friends. ♪

Finale

Susan drags Kanaya out of the servants' wing, a really great symbolic represenation of choosing life in general. She promptly receives permission to gravitate towards Annie - who is asking again if she missed her, freshly shy all over again. Kanaya reiterates Rin's message, they get emotional, and hold hands.

Meanwhile the lights go out - while Stiles is trying to rescue his canonmate Lydia. Poland does not want them to leave Stiles behind. Kanaya almost tries to garrote Poland in the crook of her elbow but Annie does not approve. Fortunately Stiles and Lydia are both OK.

They wait for the end about 24 hours in a shed. Kanaya talks with Gundam about what they have learned, the value of life. With Kaoru she is surprisingly honest about how little she expected him to survive, or Touko to frely give herself up, or even for Lithuania to come through for them at all. They discuss whether he will have any purpose beyond finding Chizuru. With Kaoru and Lithuania around her ribbing of Poland is silent and good-natured.

As for Annie, the two of them sit together, slowly recovering their memories of everything that happened those days and nights in the theater and murmur confidently about how proud they are to greedily fight for each other. Kaoru ribs Annie again about how they should marry and they talk about their homeworlds for a while; eventually Kanaya cuts in when they turn to flower arrangement. Annie does not get down on one knee but does propose - and Kanaya accepts in all seriousness. KAORU'S BEST MAN DREAMS FINALLY COME TRUE.

I understand what I'm supposed to mean in this ritual even less well than you say you do... but it's a kind of commitment, right? I want to fight for you, and let you fight for me, and be with you when there's no fighting to be done, as long as paradox space permits. Is there anything amiss in that description?

Annie gives Kanaya her ring, Kanaya makes her lower fangs into earrings for Annie, and then they kiss, pledging themselves to one another completely. A little while later they all finally end up in a hallway with a bunch of doors each labelled with their specific homeworlds. Sonia promises to never forget any of them. Gundam and Kanaya have faith in each other's quests. Kanaya and Kaoru acknowledge Lithuania.

There is also one door with question marks on it. Speculating that Felicia went through here, and knowing the game may continue, Sonia and Susan lend their full support to anyone who does choose to go through. Greedily, Annie and Kanaya want to stay together; though Annie is guilty about her failure to fulfil her duty to her father, she has nothing left to lose in Stohess. As for Kanaya, her role in Homestuck canon is of moral support; this task is something she can personally fulfil. Decided, Poland shows up just in time to tease them about a murder honeymoon, which both Annie and Kanaya can take in stride. After Annie's "Goodbye, Poland." They open the door together.