A Tears of Themis fanfic, utilizing an SCP-like universe together with Youkai. It's not as strange as it sounds.
It is hosted on Ao3 here
and written by 'NepetaLeijon27'.
This work shows examples of:
- An Ice Person: Artem can freeze people who have committed crimes. When you get him angry, this is turned up to eleven as the cold becomes much more intense, to the point that just touching him will turn you into a frost-bitten corpse, regardless of your criminal record.
- Beware the Nice Ones: None of the subjects with the exception of Bobby Davis are particularly hostile. But when they are agitated, more of their Youkai nature surfaces, changing their appearance and their powers are way stronger when they're angry. This causes their high ranking.
- The Blank: Although not explitly mentioned, William Lewis seems to be this as a noppera-bo. The current face he has is a projection.Dr. Syter: Oh, stop yapping. You don’t want to go through what I went through! I bet you were staring at me all the time just to humiliate me!Dr. Lewis: Staring? I wasn’t staring! I don’t even have a face!Dr. Syter: Right. As if projections can’t stare. [rolls eyes]
- Cat Boy: Bobby Davis, due to the absence of a charm, has cat ears and two cat tails.
- Cute Monster Boy: Despite all of them being in containment and scaling on the higher end of the danger scale note , they're not described as looking any different from the love interests we know from the game, with the slight exception of Bobby Davis, who still looks normal but with cat ears and tails. However, you won't like them if they're angry...
- Demonic Possession: Luke was a normal human until he accidentally uncovered an inugami, which continued to possess him, and consistently feeds off his lifeforce. When he is angered, it is implied that the inugami takes full control over his body, resulting in Prophet Eyes, an intangible body except for large teeth and claws, and an inability to use human logic or speech.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Played with. Previously, Youkai had to consume human hearts in order to uphold a disguise, but modern technology has largely made it so that they do not need to anymore. Most of them wear a 'Charm' that eventually goes from a normal charm on a necklace to part of their body. Artem's entry establishes that the soul of Youkai is naturally cold, and that of humans is warm, and the charm provides artificial warmth. Still, not all Youkai wear one.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: All subjects are addressed with 'it', despite all known subjects taking a male form.
- Last-Name Basis: Every staff member are registered by their last name, but players of the game should know who everyone is nonetheless.
- Literal Metaphor:
Word of God says that Artem is a snow spirit because his subordinates perceive him as acting cold towards them. - Little Bit Beastly: Luke, when he's angry. Uncommonly, however, it is a sign of the inugami taking over his mind. Also Bobby Davis, but his case is permanent since he lacks a charm.
- Mind Rape: Vyn can induce this when he's angry. Not that you'd see much of it outwardly. While the details are not known and its results are very clearly Mind Control, Syter does describe it as 'the scariest thing ever'. When Vyn does this to Syter, the latter starts to twitch and shouts 'What are you doing to me?'.
- Mythology Gag: Numerous.
- The very name of the story itself and the subject's names. 'MJB' is short for 'mitei jiken-bo' and '未定事件簿', which is the name of the game. The numbers used correlate to the identities of the subjects as well - they denote in which part of the in-game story they first appeared in. For example, Luke is MJB-0105, because he made his first formal appearance in stage 01-05.
- The reaction Bobby Davis has to Marius obviously stems from chapter 4, as Marius uncovered the truth together with the protagonist.
- All charms have the names of the 'chips' used to upgrade cards of the respective four. Vision for Luke, Equalization for Artem, Infinity for Marius, and Mind for Vyn.
- The 'Cell Requirements', when present, often resemble their own rooms in-game.
- One more for Bobby Davis: his Playing with Fire power is obviously taken from chapter 4 as well, where fire was an overarching motif.
- Necromancer: Bobby Davis can control corpses, making them look as if they were alive to the point that they cannot be distinguished.
- Playing with Fire: Marius can use so-called kitsune no yomeiri, atmospheric ghost lights which behave like fireballs but are some form of Faux Flame. They can still knock out people they hit though.
- Played more straight, Bobby Davis can use real fire, with the two tips of his cat tails acting like lighters. This has posed a problem, since the staff really doesn't want their building burnt down.
- Reality Warper: Marius, but in a different way. He can bend the perception of individual people, so that everyone perceives him as something else if he'd want to. His paintings can also bend perception - one kind will appear so beautiful in the eyes of the viewer that they will keep looking at it until it is taken away from them, and the other will trap them in extreme anxiety and anguish.
- Stealth Pun: When Artem is angry, the tips of his dark hair turn a blueish white. They're frosted.
- Tranquil Fury: Vyn. It's to the point that they couldn't even succesfully agitate him at first since he behaved like a Mellow Fellow all the time, and they had to drug him to do so. Even after having done that, he still seemed to be calm and did not change outwardly except for Glowing Eyes of Doom and some facial markings, compared to the other three, that all undergo heavy physical changes when they get angry. Still curious as to what the effects are, they sent someone in to go check out what Vyn's 'angry mode' is all about. And hoo boy, did they get an answer.
- Youkai: All named characters are implied to be them. They seem to be rather true to their original lore, with the exception of some minor things such as the fact that they take the form of Cute Monster Boys. To be more specific:
- Artem is a snow spirit. It is lampshaded how the Youkai is commonly named 'snow woman', and the file insists to use 'snow spirit' instead. Interestingly, he cannot stand sources of warmth aside from his own charm, much like numerous tales of yuki-onna that seemingly died when exposed to warmth.
- Luke is human, but is posessed by an inugami. He's the only one whose body is fully human. Furthermore, it is shortly mentioned that his caretaker, Aaron Yishmir, is a kappa.
- Vyn is a satori, and can read minds as a result. While satori are known for killing humans and raping women, Vyn says that he is above doing 'such things'.
- Marius is a kitsune.
- Bobby Davis is a nekomata. You know, those creatures known for causing large fires and impersonating dead people.
- Syter is a kawauso, and from what the meeting transcription implies, Lewis is likely a noppera-bo. Lewis, Syter and Rosworth are all mischievous, but rarely dangerous Youkai, mirroring their status in the game.
- Celestine is a tsurara-onna, which is the reason why she was assigned to Artem.
- The protagonist is a rare benevolent kijo.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Luke has only 3 years and 2 months left to live, due to the inugami stealing his lifeforce.
