I have no words. There are none to express how beautifully crafted a piece this is. Authors like me can only hope to achieve a work such as this. I applaud you.

Though I said I have no words, I will try and find them for this amazing piece.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*

Now, I read your reviews, and there are some I agree with, and some I don't. For instance, I loved the sentences at the end of each flashback. The one that surprised me the most was the last line of the Mayor's Wife flashback. It startled me, as it was a very violent ending, though I suppose I should have expected that...

I also found the flashback of the Merchant's Son to be a very intriguing one. I, personally, did not think that the Merchant's Son deserved to die (but who is man to decide who lives and who dies?), along with the Banker's Daughter or the Village Doctor. The Banker's Daughter was not attempting to kill her sister (at least, I assume her sister died. Everyone else did), and the Village Doctor was forced to take his only living relative's life. I assume that couldn't have been at all easy for them. The same applies to the Merchant's Son. He was stating what he thought to be fact, and was young at the time of his mother's death (at least, I assume he was young. He was repeatedly called a boy and acted young as well). He might not have realized the consequences his words could cause.

Another thing I enjoyed about this story was the flashbacks. They were a marvelous addition, and brought the whole story together. I personally believe this story would be incomplete without them.

My personal favorite flashback was the Village Doctor. It just resounded with me, how his patient was his last living relative, and I enjoyed it extremely.

I actually had to read some parts numerous times, not because your writing was bad (far from it), but because I was attempting to figure out everyone's identities.

Concerning who I thought everyone was, well...

Count: Ganondorf (I originally thought Roy, but then I wondered if Roy was one of the brothers in the Merchant's Son flashback. I'm also still unsure, because to me, Ganondorf seems to obvious a choice. It's for that reason I decided the Count wasn't Bowser, along with the fact my gut was telling me the Count is either Ganon or Roy. Not to mention the ladies with the bright red hair, which seem VERY characteristic of a Gerudo woman from the Zelda series. If so, then my guess is definitely Ganondorf.)
Mayor: King Dedede
Mayor's Wife: Peach
Merchant's Son: Marth (brothers being Ike and Roy)
Chief Inspector: Fox (I originally thought Ike, but then I reread and saw the line 'foxy eyes', and began suspecting Ike was the other brother in the Merchant Son's flashback)
Fur Company Couple: Popo and Nana (I can't believe this couple, whoever they were, shot a man and left him to die.)
Orphanage Director: Zelda (also, I think her brother who she poisoned was Link, because he wore 'green robes' and was blonde)
Blacksmith: Snake or Wolf (couldn't decide which, descriptions almost seem more like Wolf, but something in my gut's telling me Snake)
Banker's Daughter: Jigglypuff (it was the combination of the description of her laugh like an 'opera singer's vibrato' and her 'fat thumbs' that made me come to this conclusion)
Museum Curator: Wario (I was unsure of this one, the only thing making me come to this conclusion was that the curator was described as 'greasy' and 'pudgy')
Playwright: Olimar or Luigi (I thought Olimar because of the Bulborb mentions, but then thought Luigi for the accent mentions)
Village Doctor: Doctor Mario

If you are still active on this site and read this review, I'd love it if you could send me a PM to let me know if I was at least close in my identity guesses (otherwise, the suspense would drive me mad XD).

One last note, the final line really struck a chord with me. The funny thing is, I didn't even fully realize what it meant until I reread it (and perhaps if I had realized what it meant the first time I read it, the line would't have struck me as deeply as it did). "Come dine with me" changed to "Come die with me." I applaud you for that.

I just reread this for my tenth time, and finally have found the right words to say to such a story. This... this is no ordinary piece of fanfiction. It has such a gift and quality to it that no other story has. This, besides MouseMaster42's- The Game are my two favorite fanfictions ever. Simply executed, flawlessly presented. The Count was believeably the most fleshed character, even if he did not have much of a role rather than the the end. Each way you presented a new character, if flowed smoothly and accentuated each other very well. My favorite ones had to be The Count, The Orphanage Director, and the Play Director. Your vocabulary is exemplemary and beautiful. Each description, each emotion you invoke lifts off the page of text with such quality; the imagery created is fantastic, and the reader must be quite daft to not notice such fine work. Since some characters seem easier than others, you let the reader get just enough description, just enough creativity and insight to pull in such a character. Fabolous job.

I think the Fur Traders were Nana and Popo- seeming they're colors are pink and blue, as well as that they sell furs. I rarely see such a couple like those two in this story; with an incident of true, cold heartedness.

The Mayor and the Mayor's Wife would have to be Mario and Peach. Vocabulary used in this section, was pure gold. Nothing much I can say about it than how magnificent the two of them were presented and led up to.

My favorite character of them all was the Play Director- who I think was Olimar. In the beginning of this little flashback and pre-introduction; he was given a role not many people could pull of well, and with such confidence and dignity. Like the 'Pikmin' references. At the end, with the knife; I probably would of done the same thing, had gotten so wound up in the production and glory in it, I would have stood up and cheered my heart out.

This defines fanfiction. This defines what literature should be. I even loved this story so much, all of the teachers I've ever had have read this story, as well as most of my friends who are able to bear such a taunting and daunting challenge of words and grammer. Beautiful. Standing ovation.

Paradigm

I love how you ended each 'past' with 'And the _', it made things very interesting.

Thank you for writing this!

First, I want to make a confession. I have no experience with this fandom. I'll try to leave a good review, but I'm not really qualified to assess this thing. Really sorry about that.

And now for the actual review.

Although I am completely fandom blind, I was able to follow this piece pretty easily. I didn't feel like I was missing way too much to actually enjoy the story, which is usually what happens when I read something from an unfamiliar fandom.

You had a nice vocabulary, my favorites being "penultimate" and "rotund." You use such splendid adjectives! Also, you did a great job setting up the short flashbacks. It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on in each scenario, and I love how each one ended the same. Just a simple sentence, but so striking. I think the one that shocked me most was "And the man left her his corpse." After the third flashback, I finally figured out that there was a pattern. One thing I can definitely say after reading this: You sure know how to use your words. ;)

While we're on the subject of words, you did a great job setting up the scene. Everything was described nicely, but it left a little room for imagination. "Polite laughter echoing off rounded walls" had to have been my favorite. You described the mood and the walls in six words; that definitely deserves some recognition.

One thing I was confused about- what happened to the banker's oldest daughter? I know she fell down the stairs, but how bad was she hurt? Everyone else killed someone, but (apparently) not the banker's daughter. I've fallen down the stairs at least twice, and I didn't even get a sprained ankle, but I've also known of someone who broke their neck falling down stairs. So it's pretty vague there.

You did a good job with keeping the backstories original. None of them were too similar, which definitely took skill, considering there were thirteen of them.

All in all, a very well written piece. Keep up the good work!

So much sparkling imagery in this one! I was taken in completely, right off the bat because it drew me in. I'm not familiar with Super Smash Brothers or anythin glike that, but I'm a major Agatha Christie fan and Dumb Witness is one of my favorites, and I could also see bits of And Then There Were None. They all came together very nicely.

I can't really comment on who any of the characters are in canon, but they all came across very strongly here. I really loved the count particularly, because he was such a strong character that really spoke volumes to me. Really gorgeous piece. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Cheers, dearie!

I enjoyed the Agatha Christie story that was the inspiration for this fic, and I liked your take on it as well. Even thought I wasn’t able to guess many of the characters, this was an enjoyable read. And the minute attention to details reminded me of detective novels too.

I like that you start with sounds, and small little details that give the reader an image of a dinner party, or some sort of gathering, even before you start the part with the count inviting everyone for dinner. It sets the tone for the piece. The opening lines:

/The slow, rhythmic grinding of a knife on meat. A clink of clattering forks. A tap on a glass with a stainless silver spoon. Polite laughter echoing off of rounded walls./
Are a lot slower and detail-oriented than “They dined together.” The slow pace works well in your piece, since it’s almost like there needs to be time for what some of these people have done to sink in.

The only critique I have is that some of the sentence structure was confusing. For example /The servant lowered his head and gave the man an ear./ I understood after reading that line again that you meant he listened to him, but the way it’s worded I got a very different visual first. haha But maybe that was your intention, since it does sort of add to the sort of grotesque feel from some of theses stories.

With the woman in the red dress, I thought you might be re-doing the “red herring” from your inspiration, but from the ending, I guess not. But I do like how their meal and the repetition with the color red seems to re-inforce the idea that they all have blood on their hands in one way or another.

This was a very interesting fic, and I sort of wish I was familiar enough with canon to guess the characters, but it was still a fun read.

Completely fandom-blind here: I looked up "Super Smash Brothers", found it was a punch-em-up video game featuring crossover characters from other franchises, and am not a great deal wiser. So I'm reading this as original fiction rather than as an exercise in identifying the characters...

I think I was about four or five 'chapters' in before I worked out the common theme behind all of the backstories and knew what to look out for! And yes, there is definitely an Agatha Christie precedent or two, although there doesn't seem to be any particular motivation for the staging of the dinner party here - save for the irresistable wordplay of the Count's message.

You have managed to come up with thirteen different scenarios of guilt without any sort of overlap, which is quite impressive: although I wasn't clear whether the doctor was supposed to be a murderer or not. It read to me as if he was deliberately inducing a 'crisis' to have an excuse to turn up sounding concerned in order to be rid of his relative, given the comments about "knowing full well the meaning of her movements", "only for a while" and the twitch that finally was involuntary - but I may have been biased by the common theme of the other stories. The count's story I didn't find very clear at all: I didn't understand what he initially saw, whether the woman 'flew' in a literal sense or if this was an indication that he pushed her, and who the people he saw from the top of the cliff were.

The other chapters are pretty much self-explanatory. I think my favourite was the first one, with the boy in the well - the perfectly logical child's cry of 'how does retaining the protection of the gods rescue the boy in the well whom they didn't protect?', versus the self-satisfied superstition of the unaffected adult world.

I did have a lot of trouble with the writing style of this piece, and I'm not sure how much of it is conscious choice of 'inappropriate' vocabulary in order to startle and how much is genuine confusion or typo problems. For example "I shall not ordain to your pearly requests" is as flowery as the rest of the dialogue in the Mayor's Wife's Tale, but makes no literal sense - I'm not clear whether it is the character or the writer choosing the words here. ('Accede' to his requests - whether 'pearly' or not! - would be the expected usage...)

"The doctor rearranged the stethoscope around his neck rampantly" - it's possible that 'rampantly' really is meant in this context (perhaps it's rearing up?) but it's certainly disconcerting to encounter. Likewise the "canonic sounds of glass simultaneously dropped" just might be a poetic way of suggesting that the sounds ran round and round the table offset in canon, but to the unwary reader it looks more like a mistake. And I suspect that the poisoned brother was intended to "sink back into his seat" after trying to rise, not "slink back", and the Count to squint towards "the source of the noise" rather than "the source of the house" upon hearing a whistle.

There are some repeated issues, like slips into the present tense in the middle of passages in the past tense, e.g. "the family begins setting plates at a picnic table located on the shoreside. A slight breeze was blowing". The expression "off of" also occurs in a number of places, as does the use of "that" when referring to persons (should be "who", i.e. "two red-haired women who looked alike")

Structurally, I found that the way the last line in each Tale was used to list the crime was sometimes confusing: it works when it is an actual 'reveal' of the last event in the Tale, but where the crime has already occurred a sentence or two earlier, the repetition can imply an additional action being added. For example, in the Orphanage Director's Tale, does the woman administer prussic acid to her sleeping and helpless brother, or is the 'sleeping draught' actually the poison? Is the 'flash of red hair' that flies past in the Count's Tale the consequence of the boy's push, or does he push the woman off the cliff as a result of the temptation of seeing it? In the Banker's Daughter's Tale, the sister rolls down the steps, the dog barks, and the sister apparently goes tumbling down the steps again: it was the self-evident recap in this one that eventually alerted me to the deliberate structure being created.

A couple of definite typos: "wile" for "wily" and "dissproval" for "disapproval".

I like the way that the story opens "on a pleasant and stormless night", which I take to be a deliberate subversion of the classic "dark and stormy night" beginning...

. For the Story of the Week at the Reviews Lounge, Too. .Fandom-blind!.
( SO SO SORRY about the squished-up review. I wanted it all to fit in okay :) )
ONE: I like the way that you set the scene so well with the many noisy sounds of a dinner party. I like the eerie nature of the letter- it seems very mysterious and vague, and I find that enticing since you want to read on and see why he invited them to dine. It seems that the count's power or acquaintanceship is something the others in the land desire, and that gives him a very controlling atmosphere. The letters might have been received warmly, but something tells me he's got darker intentions. The descriptions of the lavishness of the place work nicely, almost like the diners are so fascinated by the sophistication that they wouldn't think about what else the count might have had in store. TWO: The shocking introduction draws you in well; it makes you wonder why the boy seems so panicky. I like the naivety and hopelessness when he's told they might not be able to save his cousin. I like the emotionless tone of the last sentence, like the mayor wasn't at all bothered about the boy's situation. THREE: The way you give the woman a royal air is done well ,since you use the 'robes' and 'jewels' which I associate with sophistication and riches. For me, she seems very troubled- in my interpretation, her untouched plate was her feeling too down to eat, and perhaps the completely-drunken wine to drown her sorrows? - - - - - -FOUR: I like how you've set up the idea that the man has made an effort to woo his love and she just doesn't seem to care. The sophistication in her dialogue is written well, as her apparent snobbery as well. The ending to this section shocked me, and I like the mystery of it as well- although I interpreted it as suicide, there could be many other interpretations of it. I think that makes it more shocking, the unknowing of it. FIVE: You nicely show the man's knowledge as well as mention it, through the book and his intrigue in the horse statues. I find that your descriptions of setting are lovely and convey such a good atmosphere, like the way you are very good at describing rich, regal places. I think you portray a naivety in the boy that I knew would be the end of all that china, so good job foreshadowing there. I found the child quite creepy, since his words were quite advanced for his age, and the thoughts that this mother didn't love him were very cold. The tragic ending only amplifies this coldness, and it's a very tragic and unsettling section ending. SIX: I think the characterisation here is good; the chief isn't all powerful and tough and has an emotional side as well, and this gives complexity to the character. SEVEN: I really like how the inspector sent her off, but she never came back ,since the recurring theme of death in these sections is something very unsettling. It seems that the simple, formal dining setting wouldn't make you think of a person with a history so full of traumatic happenings. EIGHT: Once again, you have a great way of describing the classy, 'rich' sort of style of the characters as well as the angry character's large focus on their romantic movements, like their 'touching' and 'twisting'. NINE: I can foresee the seemingly-happy beginning of their trip meeting a terrible end, and I like that each ending of what appears to be a flashback is often tragic, almost like the unexpectedness of death among us. I think the ending of this was interesting in the way that their TEN: I think the reflections on the past in a lot of the non-italic sections work nicely, since they seem to ease you into the larger reflections on their pasts, hinted at by their emotions in the present. I think it's good characterisation in the ways that we see the changes in the character, as well as what may have caused them.
ELEVEN: The sense of loneliness or loss in the woman as she looks at the photo is powerful and makes you feel quite sorry for her. I found it incredibly shocking that her parents were dead, but now I can sort of see why an orphanage director may have been her job of choice- wanting to give children the family she couldn't have, and the ending was shocking for me since I didn't realise she'd poisoned him- I assumed the 'sick' was to do with that ill feeling in your stomach you get when you're shocked... Amazing tension builder there. I think this is my favourite section so far. :) TWELVE: The portrayal of the man's anger and irritability is good, such as in his shouting just because of a spillage of wine. I like the hint that he has more devoted followers than even perhaps a religious figure. THIRTEEN: The harsh sounds of the metalwork in the beginning creates quite a 'powerful' atmosphere and, combined with 'champion of the forge', makes the man seem quote dominating and bit intimidating as well. I think the portrayal of his naivety when the customer seems to be flirting with him was quite funny, actually. On the other hand though, he doesn't seem the naive type, so I'm wondering if it was avoidance. I found it dramatic when the sun glow wasn't exactly what was glowing on her chest, since I took it to be some kind of jewellery and, given the man's hostile nature, I wondered if he would steal it. The descriptions when the man hit her with the crowbar was very brutal, especially with the 'fury' and the flying metal. The murder to gain some diamonds, for me, was incredibly shocking... FOURTEEN: Now that his past was mentioned, the prevention of the wine spilling was symbolic, for me, of him wanting to prevent another spillage of blood caused by his own hands from now on in his life. The glittering pink and curled hat and giggling gives the character here a very childlike, happy, carefree feel. FIFTEEN: The use of the poem here, and the girl's lack of control over stroking the dog, makes her seem very young, and the poem gives a hint of childlike innocence about her. It's sad how the parents have a 'favourite' child though, and I can bet now that the little girl is going to be so upset, and perhaps might kill her to get the attention, if she's that desperate. I'm not entirely sure on this, but now I can see a hint of sneakiness, when the girl asked the dog where she'd put its ball. Perhaps she wasn't so much being curious. Perhaps she was just being sneaky, and perhaps she'd planned the whole thing...
SIXTEEN: It's actually rather creepy how she's still being like a child, playing with her food, since the death of the sister- which I took to be cause by her herself- is something I imagine the others wouldn't know, and the others probably just see her as any other girl, rather than a killer... That's just my interpretation, though. It's a good touch that the museum curator seems to be happy to have an interested audience; I wonder if he feels lonely, not having many people who will listen to him talk about his passion? SEVENTEEN: I like how, at the start of this part, there's some vagueness around the thing that they've been waiting for, since that made me wonder what it was, too. It's a good touch that we see the curator's reaction before we see the object, since that peaks the excitement very well. The point where the curator said we wouldn't be paying for them was dramatic, since I immediately thought that it would cause some tension between the two characters. It was greatly effective and brutal when the other man couldn't even reply before the curator had beaten the man to death with a bone. EIGHTEEN: I think that the playwright was an interesting role to put one of the SSB characters in, since playwrights are highly creative, and this one appears to be a 'jack of all trades', and I can imagine that with so many skills, he could be more than capable of killing someone. Considering he aims for perfection, I'm thinking someone criticised his work and he lost it and killed them. NINETEEN: I like how the man is already letting out his seemingly- inevitable inner critic. I like how his many assorted diagrams shows us his organisation and dedication. The way the many lines of the actors is shown, and the actions, is almost written like a play and its stage directions in itself, almost like the director is overseeing his work and remembers every little bit of it. I absolutely loved the part that mentioned the audience's obliviousness to whether it was an act or not. I couldn't believe the director when he got up and gave a standing ovation to an actual death in his play. It seems that gaining his audience is more important than the lives of his actors, and that's so coldly terrifying. TWENTY: It's rather ironic how the village doctor appears to be someone who is rather sick. The hints that he is slowly deteriorating are an interesting touch, as I wonder how this has affected his past at all.
TWENTY-ONE: I think you do well to show the doctor's attention he pays to his patient here, as he can read the words that she implies with her small movements. It seems the doctor has only tried to relieve her for a while, but my interpretation is that he has accidentally killed her. However, I was shocked to see that he had chosen to end her life. However, his intentions to kill don't seem like the previous ones do, since he killed her so she didn't have to live in pain. TWENTY-TWO: I think 'none other than the count himself' gives a dramatic end to the story, as we finally see what made the count to be like he was. I took the count to have been the most benevolent and hostile of them all. TWENTY-THREE: The summer house setting creates a nice moment of calm to ease us into the drama later on. I found the child's dialogue to be quite distant and held-back, and for me, that gave him a very dark atmosphere, and so when he saw the woman, I imagined that he was going to push her, too. TWENTY-FOUR: I found the anticipation of the last dish to make the reader anticipate it, too; what made it so special? I wanted to find out. When he said that

So...I know absolutely nothing about this fandom, I'm afraid, so I won't be able to comment much on potential characterisation, at least in relation to canon.

That said, I loved this fic. Reading it as a work complete separate from background information, I really loved how you characterised each of the characters, making them obviously unlikeable even before you introduced their particular backstory.
In that respect, your descriptions and imagery were fabulous, and I could definitely imagine each of them come to life through your words.

Your introduction was extremely compelling. I really like how you brought in the sounds and experiences of dining in a large group, and then made an effort to mention that all of this was happening on a [pleasant and storm-less night], because that seems to make all of their crimes all the more dreadful, when compared against a pleasant day.

Going by your end A/N, I'm guessing the book you were inspired by 'Ten Little Indians?' I could see the inspiration, certainly, but in the end you made this fic all your own.

There were just a couple of problematic places that I noticed:
[Let's shall] in the bit about the flashback with the couple seemed just a bit awkward. I think a different phrase of agreement would probably be a better fit there.
Also, the flashback for the count was a bit difficult to follow for me. I think that could cleared a little bit more - I'm a bit confused as to who a) was the first figure to soar off the ledge, the sister or the man and b) who the count pushed off

But aside from that, this was brilliant read. Thanks a lot for sharing this one - I definitely won't be forgetting it, or the chills it gave me, anytime soon.

The frequent technical errors made this exceedingly difficult to read. For example, you tended to mix tenses ("had drank," "breeze was blowing... a picnic basket sits") and misuse phrases ("a la Thinker style"). Additionally, you repeated words rather than searching for synonyms or ways clauses could be combined ("faces" in the fifth paragraph), occasionally to grammatical detriment (sorry, couldn't find the example I was looking for).
On the bright side, I liked the structure of your piece a great deal, and while you overstated some symbols (the appearance of the girl in the blacksmith's forge), the ending came together beautifully. The repeated flashbacks were an interesting way to expound on characterization. Trying to guess the characters was incredibly challenging, and the only one I really think I recognized was Zelda. (I thought I had Peach for awhile, but then you had to go and add another person in pink.) Honestly, I'm glad that I didn't recognize more, as I'll probably reread this in hopes of figuring out the puzzle.

I really like the set-up for this. After the first 5 or 6 paragraphs really made me think of an Agatha Christy novel, or like a murder-at-a-mysterious-dinner-party movie. It set the tone for the rest of the piece, all based solely on your descriptions. Very well done.

And then wow. I’m not exactly familiar with the fandom, per se. I’ve played the game/owned a few of the earlier versions of Super Smash Bros, but I don’t read much in the fandom, so I wouldn’t recognize any quirks. I was able, however, to recognize most of the characters because you did such a creative job of placing them in your world. I also like how, in some instances, you incorporated their video game universes into their situations. It was all just very unique and impressive – and fun to read!

The flashbacks were all very well-written. You were able to get across a lot of information and background very quickly without seeming like you were spouting out events chronologically; they were part of the story instead of just a chain of information. I also like that, although, all the stories shared the same purpose with the same ending, so to speak, they still read differently. It didn’t get repetitive, which I think is hard to pull off.

/All thirteen of them, the count and his followers, dining at an expansive, stretching table that was covered with red placemats and lied on top of an equally lavish crimson-colored carpet./ Okay, so “lied” is incorrect here, and I’m thinking the right use should be “lain.” You had the right idea because we do use “lie” when there’s no direct object, and I believe your use does not constitute a D.O. But, the past tense of lie is lay (like, “She lay on the floor, reading.”) and the past participle is lain. In short, I know that “lied” is wrong but close, but I’m too tired to figure out there rest. This probably wasn’t helpful at all. There were also some comma errors, but they were not so bad as to be distracting. Just little things, like incorrect comma splices or incorrect punctuation on clauses.

/The sunlight shone from behind her back, casting the woman in a scene similar to an icon, but perverted./ Oh, there’s just something about this line that really resonates with me.

Haven't played in a while, so I don't remember all the characters. The ones I could guess, though, are as follows:
Mayor: Mario
Mayor's Wife: Peach
Inspector: Fox
Orphanage Director: Zelda
Baker's Daughter: Jigglypuff
Doctor: Dr. Mario or Luigi...I guess based on which game we're basing this off of. Incidentally, this and the banker's daughter were the only two stories where I felt like the person shouldn't be as guilty or should have died. But that's a different story. )

Great job!

Well now, this was an interesting fic. Definitely not something that I was expecting coming into reading this. And I have to say, it was pretty interesting. I was definitely getting a sort of modern-day gothic style feel from it, and it kind of seemed like a Smash Bros. version of The Canterbury Tales to me, so it was cool to sort of see those elements mixed together into a fic.

I did like the fact that you didn't come out and say which character was who exactly, because it kept me sort of guessing which character from the game fit with the character you had them playing here. It helped to keep me as a reader on my toes and thinking about the different stories and characters. At the same time though, I did think some of them were a bit hard to pinpoint which character they were exactly. I'm not entirely sure what you could have done about that, but maybe that was sort of what you were going for? I will take a stab at who I thought was whom though.

Mayor - Dedede, since he's fat and has hairless hands
Mayor's Wife - Jigglypuff, mainly because of the numerous little bits about her voice
Merchant's Son - Marth, with his blue hair and "thick sholderpads"
Chief Inspector - Either Fox or Wolf, what with the "foxy eyes" and the growling
Fur Company Couple - Nana and Popo, since they reflected the whole pink and blue thing
Orphanage Director - Zelda, because of her necklace of triangles
Blacksmith - Ganondorf, since he has that suit of armor
Banker's Daughter - Peach I think, because she was in a pink dress
Museum Curator - Going with Wario, because he's sort of greasy, chubby, and short
Playwright - I'm thinking Meta Knight, because of the whole mask thing making him sort of like an actor and he is bald, but I'm also leaning a bit towards Olimar too, since there were references to the Bulborb Kingdom
Doctor - This one I'm kind of stumped on, but I'm going to go with Game & Watch, because of the whole "old" thing and being "in the shadows"
Count - I'm sort of stumped with this one too, but I'm going with Bowser only because of the red hair thing, and the fact that I already used Ganondorf, haha

So yeah. I have to say, my favorite little "flashback" or whatever you want to call it would have to have been the one with the merchant's son. Just the way you related the fake pieces of china into the fake love of the mother for her son was just executed very well. Plus, it seemed a lot deeper and well thought out compared to some of the others, or at least to me anyway.

Now I guess it's time for a bit concrit. First off, I felt that some of your sentences got a bit wordy and complicated in there at times, especially in the short little dinner scenes. Take this sentence for example:

"A loud, rustic, smooching sound brought upon the growling of the chief inspector before a loving couple situated on the opposite side of the table in front of him."

I had to reread this sentence a few times to sort everything out, and even now I'm not sure if I have everything completely straight. There were quite a few other places in there where you had similar things going on, which is why I figured I'd bring it up.

And then I guess the only other big piece of concrit I have is the seemingly lack of motive. Why did the Count poison everyone? I mean, I know that they were all somewhat not-so-nice people, or were at least partially responsible for the death of another, but why would he himself chose to bring everyone down with him, and why that particular night? I mean, I can sort of see part of the reasoning with his back story section about the lady talking about penance, but I would have liked to have seen a bit...more I guess.

But yeah, that's about it. Really, it was a very interesting story to read and definitely different. And I think you did a very good job with it. Cheers!

Disclaimer: Not familiar with SSB, so I can't help with canon or characterisations, sorry!

I will say, though, that this is an amazingly written fic, genuine publishable-quality, and sorely underreviewed. You may well have heard it already (I don't check reviews before I throw my two cents in :) ) but I think that may well be because of its length... or rather, its length as a one-shot. I'd seriously consider breaking this up into at least a two-shot, which may well help give it the attention it clearly deserves.

Love your sensory details, particularly your attention to colour... "crimson-coloured carpet" has a lovely crisp alliteration to it.

The boy's conversation with the mayor about the rope was *fantastic*. I rarely like Aesop-y tales in fanfic (or any other kind of fic ;)) but you've done it right and I loved every second of it. I'm not sure why he said "brother", but I assume that's a point of canon I'm ignorant of.

The blacksmith sequence is bloody brilliant, too. I ADORE the "fury of a drunken god" line. Brutal and wonderful.

I too, am a massive Christie fan, and loved your homage...and this whole thing, really. Bravo x

Haha, I was thinking of And Then There Were None all along as I read this wonderful piece, so I'm assuming that would be the one you were referring to at the end? It really was outstanding - your writing was extremely beautiful, elegant, elaborate and flowing delightfully, I loved the way you introduced each character one by one, smoothly going from one to the next, and the way you described each of their crimes in italics, and with the last line giving a perfect sense of closure each time. The fic's opening was very beautifully handled and set the atmosphere of the feast quite well, and the end was simply chilling. Great job, truly!

I don't really know the fandom well enough to guess the identities of everyone in the story. Not only that, I looked at the Wiki, and there are a lot of characters to choose from. I think the mayor is Mario and his wife is Peach. That's about all I can guess, I think. But that's fine. I don't think I needed to know who was who for this. This was absolutely amazing. You say you were inspired by the works of Agatha Christie, and that's awesome, but I also saw this at a bit of an allegory of the last supper in a way. Maybe I'm the only one who saw religious undertones in it, but especially in the last scene, I thought with the betrayal and turning the water into wine that it sounded much like Jesus Christ in a way. Not only that, the particular number of people...13. That was the number at the last supper as well...not that Jesus would ever think of killing his disciples, but I think you know what I mean. I'm not sure if you intended the religious undertones or not, but anyway, this was an awesome story. All the murders were quite shocking to me, but they were so well done. My favorite was the one with the little boy and the mother where the boy knocked the case of artifacts down and the boy accused his mother about not caring for him and then she hung herself. I just loved the powerful feeling of that scene. And the last scene was such a shock...something I wasn't expecting. That was really well done. Awesome story. Thanks for writing. :)