I suppose, given the needless and quite frankly almost aggressive obsession here regarding my personal abstaining from divulging my thoughts, I shall give in to peer pressure 'for a change', if only to hopefully put an end to the badgering. I shall be hiding all of the 'relevant information' behind inline spoilers, so as to not accidentally ruin the fun of theory-crafting for anyone.
Suffice it to say, given all the evidence present as well as not present, the blackmailer cannot have established identity within the game just yet. She is, to put it simply, a hitherto unknown character. Having played through the game and thought at length about the variables at play, the only reasonable conclusion can be that the blackmailer is simply unknown. There were indeed a number of potential candidates that could have fulfilled one or even two of the three key criteria in the matter, but none that could reasonably fulfil all three: Means, motive and opportunity.
I shall remind everyone of the most important facts of the case, before I delve into my 'theories' regarding the suspects.
- For starters, the blackmail began shortly after Ashe lost her virginity to Zoey. This could be a coincidence, but is nonetheless a relevant fact. At least for now.
The number from which the messages were sent was an unknown one, indicating a level of meticulous forethought and caution.
- The blackmailer in question knew not only where Ashe lived, but also where she worked, and evidently also had the number of her boss, Marita.
- The blackmailer is bold enough to contact Ashe directly, albeit anonymously, through text messages, never resolving to any 'delayed' forms of communications such as letters or emails.
- The culprit in question also has an entirely uncaring attitude towards duplos in general, as well as Ashe in particular.
- Given the lack of demands beyond merely 'toying' with Ashe in a sexual and humiliating fashion, it indicates - though not necessarily to a point of absolute certainty - that the blackmailer is of a sadistic, cruel nature.
- The blackmailer clearly also has the financial means to keep this manipulation going seemingly indefinitely, as not only does she have access to an extra phone or sim card to utilise for the blackmail, she also had the toy essentially hand-delivered to Ashe, rather than sent as a regular parcel. Additionally, she has the time required to dedicate herself to this matter at nearly any hour of the day.
Now, then. With the facts adequately established, let us begin with the first and perhaps most immediately suspicious potential candidate: The policewoman, Natasha. From a certain viewpoint, she could indeed arguably have had all three: Means, motive and opportunity. However, if one considers her more closely, one would undoubtedly reach the mundane but obvious conclusion of "Why and how would she?" She clearly has an unorthodox approach to 'law enforcement', but she does not seem like the kind of person to resort to blackmail of any sort. Pressuring someone, most assuredly, but in a twistedly 'righteous' fashion if such was to be her method. She also does not seem quite clever nor subtle enough to utilise this level of manipulation.
Next, one could indeed suspect Zoey, as she did have a very clear opportunity. But means and motive, arguably the more key criteria, are both utterly lacking. She would not benefit from this course of action in any reasonable - or even unreasonable - fashion, so it seems utterly unlikely that she would pursued blackmailing Ashe. Additionally, she would have needed to, for some reason, have had an extraneous phone or at least sim card on hand to send those anonymous text messages mere moments after having sex with Ashe. It simply seems wholly contrived that she would have had access to anything of the sort so shortly after their shared tryst.
The third candidate, Kate, could very much have had an opportunity to spy Ashe's peculiar anatomy shortly before entering her bedroom during the night of Ashe and Zoey's sexual escapade. But much like the aforementioned Zoey, she lacks motive. She does not strike me as an unintelligent woman, and the prospect that she would risk jeopardising her relationship with Evelynn over this is... well, that alone simply rules her out as a reasonable suspect.
Delilah, then. A girl obsessed with Ashe since childhood years, having spent a great deal of time near or with our beloved heroine. Surely she would have had ample amounts of opportunities? Indeed she would have. Additionally, she could very well be in possession of an extra phone or sim card with which to send those texts. In fact, she seems to even have a vague sense of motive, as well, given her obsession with the protagonist. But as has been pointed out, she is so obvious, in fact, that if it were her, it would be such a tremendous letdown as to sour the story as a whole. Furthermore, she is clearly overly protective of Ashe, and despite - or even because of - her obsession, her unrequited love and her apparent recklessness, she simply does not 'fit the profile' of a callous and cruel blackmailer.
Rachel and Evelynn are not even worth considering. Though they both knew about Ashe's particular sexual anatomy for years beforehand, neither one would go so utterly against their own character as to blackmail a member of their own family.
Fiona? No. Her loyalty to Ashe is so profound that I find the idea that she would be the blackmailer to be outright absurd.
Vanessa, perhaps? She certainly does seem to have the prerequisite callous and unattached nature, she is blatantly obviously a woman of extensive financial means, and though she lacks a clear motive, she could just be doing it to amuse herself for all we know. However, and this is entire a matter of interpretation rather than intuition, she seemed to have warmed up to Ashe after their first 'date'. With this in mind, it seems rather unlikely - to me, at least - that she would engage in blackmail not only during their second 'date', but even afterwards, as well. Additionally, she would have needed a third party to send the messages and control the buttplug vibrator, as she would most definitely have been unable to do either thing during aforementioned date.
Isabella and Cleo are both too unintelligent and disorganised to be able to orchestrate something this meticulate, so neither of them could reasonably be the culprit.
Lexi, whilst possessing a clearly far superior level of intelligence compared to the previously mentioned duo, has no means, motive nor opportunity of any clear kind. She is also quite clearly a very sweet and caring person; judging by the way she behaves with Ashe, I would say that aside from Rachel, Evelynn and Fiona, she is most definitely the least likely suspect of all.
Now, then. Lest my memory fails me, that would be all of the 'key' suspects. There are a number of other, thus far less prominent characters, such as Luna and Moira, but it seems wholly unlikely that the blackmailer should turn out to be any of them. I shall admit rather frankly that I never even considered any minor characters, as it would simply make for an unsatisfying or even aggravating 'plot twist' that any of them should have committed the act. Given the level of intricate writing of the game thus far, I very much doubt the author would make such a basic mistake as to assign a minor, unnoteworthy character to ostensibly be 'the main villain'.
Thus I have reached the singular reasonable conclusion that the blackmailer must simply be some thus far unknown party.
I should also like to point out that I did not bother all too much with any form of 'editing' of this ridiculous post of mine prior to sharing it, so as such, I apologise for the slightly disjointed and possibly tedious 'formatting' of it. Additionally, I had intended to keep this to myself until shortly before the next update would be released, not only to avoid 'spoilers' - such as they may be - but also to spare myself the effort of writing it all down 'in one go' as I have now done, and instead present it in a slightly more palatable format.
With all of that having been said, enjoy reading through my thoughts on the matter. If you can be bothered. Quite frankly, I rather suspect
some are simply looking to instigate interpersonal conflict.
~Liz.
