A Case in Bucksville is a 2020 mystery web story by Looperreallyreallyrocks. It can be read here
and here.
A killer is on the loose in the otherwise peaceful town in Bucksville. Can Lenny Jones and his friends track the killer down before it's too late?
This story contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: It is heavily implied that Jason was abusive towards Michael, considering how forensic evidence was found of him mistreating Michael, and he appeared largely apathetic about Michael's death and even tried to have the investigation aborted.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Lenny snickers at Jason's insults towards Fred solely because of how over-the-top they are.
- The Alibi: All suspects besides the actual killer have this to help prove their innocence.
- Ambiguously Gay: During Lenny's nightmare, Principal Dietrich accuses him and Josh for being gay.
- Ax-Crazy: Jonathan Moore, a sadistic maniac who murders children because they find it funny. The killer drops all pretense of sanity after they are caught.
- Bait-and-Switch: We get a false reveal that Jessica was the killer which is followed by a scene where Lenny sees news footage revealing that no one was killed after her arrest before this turns out to be a dream, and it turns out that Jessica wasn't the killer since another murder happens while she is in jail.
- Big Bad: Jonathan Moore (real name: Jacob Lucas) is revealed to be the Serial Killer behind the strangulations.
- The Butler Did It: The presence of the Davis family's butler Nick is meant to imply that one of them is the strangler. None of them are, however.
- Canon Welding: Another of the author's stories 30 Days in Spring is briefly referenced in the story.
- "He saw Gravity Falls, a reality show, news about a bus going missing during a field trip for middle and high schoolers in Washington, and a talk show all playing on TV. Then he saw it."
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Unlike Ryan Rhodes and (to a far lesser extent) Adam Hemmensway, Lenny is a traditional hero with very few corrupting traits. He and his friends all end up solving over a hundred murders and bringing justice to the victims.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Mr. Voorhees's wife cheated on him and then got herself raped and killed, which is what led him to remarry and then move to Bucksville for a fresh start.
- A Deadly Affair: As described by the previous trope listed, Mr. Voorhees's wife was revealed to have cheated on him before he moved to Bucksville. She paid for it and then some.
- Disproportionate Retribution:
- Jonathan Moore killed his entire family simply for finding them annoying.
- Lenny and Josh suspect that Mr. Voorhees may have killed Michael over a piece of gum.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The story gives us a wide parade of suspects before revealing that Jonathan Moore, who was barely present throughout the story and seemingly had no relevance to the plot, is the killer.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Jason shows strong annoyance towards the people who try to comfort him over his son's death.
- Evil Gloating: Jacob Lucas gloats about how fun all his murders were and how much he enjoyed it.
- Evil Is Petty: Jonathan sadistically strangles children to death and happily watches the devastating ripple effects on their loved ones... because Johnathan finds their facial expressions funny.
- Faux Affably Evil: Jacob Lucas, the killer, puts on an act as a normal person in order to try and blend in.
- Hate Sink:
- Jonathan Moore is an absolutely repulsive excuse of a human being who murdered his own family when he was a teenager solely because they annoyed him and developed an addiction to strangling children to death. He is extremely proud of his actions, kills solely because he finds it funny, and has a habit of playing sick games with the residents in every town he targets just to cause chaos. As if he couldn't get any more loathsome, he even asks the police officers to let him commit one more murder in prison if he shows "good behavior", using the excuse that "everyone dies".
- While Jason Hynes ultimately isn't the one who killed his son, he is still nevertheless a bad-tempered and foul-mouthed Jerkass who hardly mourns his son and pushes away anyone who tries to comfort him or solve the murder. It is heavily implied that he abused Michael as well, and even the death of his wife isn't enough to make him appear sympathetic thanks to his coarse, slimy, and insensitive nature.
- Kid Detective: Lenny Jones does as much detective work as his own detective father.
- Kid Hero: Lenny and Josh (the main heroes of the story besides Fred and Timothy) are both teenagers.
- Lack of Empathy: Jacob Lucas has no empathy for anyone they kill, as they find it funny.
- Large Ham: Jonathan makes an effort to maniacally scream every other thing they say during the interrogation:
- "I can still remember when I strangled Melissa Berk, my first victim. That look on her face as her life left her fragile little body… it was HILARIOUS! Her dead face staring at me like that… GREATEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE! Then seeing her parents' faces as they cried… COMEDY GOLD, MAN! COMEDY GOLD!"
- Missing Mom: Lenny's mother never appears in the story, the reason being that she is on a business trip.
- Most Gamers Are Male: Josh and Michael are both devoted gamers.
- Nightmare Sequence: Lenny has a nightmare where all the people he wrongly suspected to be the killer confront and chastise him before he is attacked by the murdered children.
- Pædo Hunt: Lenny and Josh suspect Principal Dietrich to be a pedophile based on the way he looks at the kids at his school.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Jonathan kills because they find it absolutely hilarious and entertaining, and has a habit of playing games of cat-and-mouse with the towns they target. He also plants false evidence in Jessica Adams's house just to screw with the town further. This is not the type of behavior you would expect from anyone above the age of twelve.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Lenny and Fred are both visibly horrified and disgusted after learning of the fate of Mr. Voorhees's wife.
- Red Herring: The story, naturally, gives us false suspects who have alternative reasons for seeming suspicious. Ultimately, the killer turns out to be Johnathan, a seemingly unimportant background character that none of the protagonists paid any sufficient attention to.
- Rich Bitch: Lenny at first suspects that Tom Davis's family consists of this, but both of his parents turn out to be friendly people, even thanking Lenny and Josh for helping solve the case despite their age.
- Self-Made Orphan: Jacob Lucas killed his parents as a teenager.
- Serial Killer: Jonathan Moore, the strangler going around murdering children in the town, has killed over a hundred children in the past.
- Serious Business: Lenny reacts with utter horror and disgust over Teen Titans Go! playing on TV.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Jason doesn't exactly have a clean mouth.
- Villainous Breakdown: After Jonathan is caught, he loses all composure and superficial charm, and he begins Evil Gloating while laughing like a maniac and has the nerves to ask the police officers to let him commit one more murder in prison, throwing all semblance of sanity out the window.
- Walking Spoiler: Just look at all the spoiler tags on this page. Especially when we take Jonathan's seemingly minor role into consideration, there is virtually no way anyone can properly talk about him without blowing his cover.
- Would Hurt a Child: The killer, Johnathan Moore, considering that their M.O. is strangling children.
