#Long Beach Bail Bonds | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

phantom-witch · 1 year ago

Text

Phantom's Finished: Persona 5 Royal

Where do I even begin? It's taken 20 days at least to even start writing this. This is one of the most impactful games I've ever played. I've seen the impact on games as a whole this game has made, and this released the same year as BREATH OF THE WILD. The way games have used 2D stylisation especially as part of a limitation has been super inspired since this. This game is a masterpiece despite all its flaws and I'm okay to say that!! I'll split this up into many sections so this will be very long, you have been warned...

Context & Importance:

Before getting into the game itself, I wish to go into the significance of this. I was a closeted Trans girl who had heard of this game from the 2017 game awards, I then looked into it and became obsessed, I watched a whole playthrough of the og Persona 5. I wanted Joker in smash AND GOT THAT! But it took forever for me to have the opportunity to play it on switch. I almost gave up hope until last year in July it happened.

This was basically my most anticipated game of all time, of which had given me comfort alongisde playing Xenoblade 2 and Pyra helping me realise I was a girl. So these two games have very close and personal connections to me. Not only that, my partner and friends got to hear the majority of my reactions to this game whilst I projected a trans girl headcanon onto my beloved Ren Amamiya! (she/her will be the pronouns I use here) That's why this has been so hard to start, how important this is... it's overwhelming!

Final note, I'm not going to shy away from spoilers on both Persona 5 and the Royal content at any point, as it would be hard to discuss a lot otherwise, so SHOO if you don't want that!

Story:

I will be going over my favourite and least favourite parts and then Royals segment on its own!

The Amazing:

Where do I begin? This game has so many amazing moments! The entire build up to Sae's palace, Joker's awakening, Akechi's justice?? That last one I'll save for Akechi's section but gosh this game has so many moments! A favourite is how Futabas palace is really a gamechanger with both Futaba herself but the mystery around everything to do with her mum and how that effects Sojiro and even carries over into his second half of his confidant.

Then there's the whole build-up to Shido and the super close connection he has to Ren, after ruining her life. You feel the personal importance so powerfully as the game has built up connections to him and the main crew so well! Which in my opinion overpowers the obvious "save Japan" element of it in the best way. Once you send the calling card too, you get the coolest reveal ever with a takeover of Japan's network revealing Joker to be alive and it is SUCH a satisfying feeling!

Even the calmer moments of this game are beautiful. Whether it's a lovely dance with Kasumi at the festival, or Maruki's sessions, or the lovely time at the beach! Even in Hawaii when Ann and Ryuji have a lovely bonding moment with you. Simple moments like that make this game the beautiful experience it is...

The Awful:

Before I get into my three main things, I want to cover some minor things.

Firstly I believe that Ann gets way too sexualised throughout the story sadly, especially by Morgana. Furthermore, it feels the balance of the cast is sometimes a little off. Ryuji and Ann suffer this a bit but Yusuke is the worst for this and reduced to a bit of a joke sadly in terms of story. There's also a lot of gender stereotypes pushed for no reason on the cast at times that feels out of place for the rebellious message this game tells.

However, 3 things in this game bug me the most. First off is honestly just... Morgana. I'll get into him a bit later but he is such a hypocrite that when he finally gets negative talk back to him he immediately bails and it causes the games design and structure to awkwardly change focus and takes away partly from Haru's introduction! The one character that didn't need less screentime. Then there's how Ryuji gets treated especially in the out of place beat up scene after Shido's palace. He is literally disabelled despite managing to run so it comes across extrememly abelist having the girls smack him so hard like that. Bad vibes after an incredible moment. Finally, Yaldabaoth. I don't hate this at all for it's moment to moment experience, but my main issue is for a finale it really doesn't connect to our party like the Shido and it doesn't feel like the finale for the characters, moreso the world they're in.

Speaking of...

Royal:

The moment I started this part of the game, the eeriness was immediate... everything was wrong, completely incorrect. Morgana was a human, Makoto, Haru and Futaba had their parents still alive whilst Ann still had Shiho. And then Akechi arrives, fully aware of everything going on. With Kasumi's support after some sweet moments with her, they enter the palace they had encountered during Okumura's arc and the atmosphere is potent. Maruki shows a wish to help the world be better for everyone by creating a reality fit for them. But it's all artifical, fake, a lack of choice. Due to this pursuit, Kasumi is forced to learn of her true identity of Sumire, as her sister who is actually Kasumi is dead. Learning of the dancing sisters and how Sumire felt so low of herself and behind Kasumi, we also learn Sumire was saved from a car by Kasumi, causing a massive trauma and survivors guilt in her. Maruki altered her reality to make her think of herself as Kasumi.

This is how far Maruki is gone, to the point Akechi was even brought back to life due to the bond he and Ren share. The reason this is so much better than Yaldabaoth is because it's about every party member choosing freedom over a fake happiness. As what is living if you don't get to choose for yourself? This whole game happened due to this groups choices and will. Allowing Maruki's reality goes against everything they've gone through and being ignorant again. This new semester allows us to see more of Akechi shine, Sumire become her true self, Ren show her resolve and the phantom thieves stick to their truth. Whilst having an antagonist that is deeply connected to the main group. I'll go into Maruki himself later but wow, this third semester concludes the themes of the games perfectly with an ending that had me going "no, don't go..." because i grew in love with this group of teens so much. An amazing story with a lot of lovely moments and some hiccups.

Characters:

Here I'll be going over the party members, villains and any other's of note! To start with...

Ren Amamiya (Rin Rivamiya for my playthrough):

Never have I seen a protagonist designed with minimal lines to be so well characterised! She is such a lovable dork and I love her so much. Constantly trying to be cool and IS cool as a Phantom Thief, constantly expressing herself through the prompt options beautifully.

As stated, I projected onto her a lot whilst also seeing her as her own character as a trans girl who helped me a lot with my gender identity when I originally discovered Persona 5 in 2018. Ren makes this games personality and charm all by herself whilst everything around her compliments the charm she brings. I admit that I headcanon a lot but overall she is handled very well still! However, there are some questionable lines sometimes given this is adult men trying to write a teen boy poorly. But, this is a given with Persona sadly, and I'm willing to look past this for my own enjoyment.

With an amazing dynamic with most characters and beautiful climax to her ideals with every phase of the true final boss of Maruki... what a beautiful character I found such huge comfort in and glad how popular she now is.

Her Persona, "Arsene", is a beautiful representation of her will, strength and rebellious spirit. Arsene represents Joker's energy and the pallet and visual design of Persona 5 as a whole perfectly

Ryuji Sakamoto:

I already covered the poor moment for Ryuji earlier, but I feel this game doesn't take him seriously at all and that is such a shame. Morgana belittles him and that is never taken seriously, having his self-esteem constantly put down by another party member and sometimes treated as a joke despite having some lovely moments!

That isn't his fault though, and instead the short comings of the writers. This boy is loud, passionate and has one of the biggest hearts ever! If he makes a mistake, he tries to learn from it. A brilliant example is how after Okumura's palace he realises how he lost his resolve and sincerity for a while, too focused on the fame over helping those in need. Once he realises, he talks a lot about this mistake and genuinely grows massively from it.

We get to see how he looks out for others often in both the main story and his Confidant, alongside how he manages to get by with his injury and supporting his mom. I feel they balance his involvement out pretty well throughout the whole game.

Ann Takamaki:

Ann has to be the girl that gets treated the worst by this game, and that's such a shame! Funny how I'm formatting the images as I feel one of the biggest issues is how they designed her Phantom Thief outfit. It's super sexy which is exactly what Ann isn't comfortable in, to the point she expresses discomfort! That sucks and I think the design is actually quite poor and even fails at the catwomen inspiration.

Sadly she also gets quite dumbed down as the game progresses and her role is extremely non-existent for a while with a few high moments. This infuriates me as it is one of the rarer moments of hypocrisy this game goes for with a character that could have been much more empowering for young women.

Despite all this, I still adore the positivity and vibe she brings to the group, she absolutely is the one to lift people's spirits whilst being the very extroverted one in the group to help support those more reserved or introverted and especially has a lovely dynamic with the other girls and Ryuji, helping them all to express themselves wonderfully with a Confidant that slips a little as I wish it went over her growing stronger for Shiho and helping her to recover but instead is about an infuriating model. I love Ann but it's so weird how much problems this games has for me with how she is handled, which is very comparable to Rise who is another Lovers arcana in Persona 4.

Morgana:

*sigh* This is the can of worms character. Persona has a tendency to take their talking mascot designs and write them in the weirdest ways possible. Teddy in P4 was unnecessarily creepy and with Morgana they went, what if it wasn't as bad... but still a thing. Especially when it comes to Ann it really infuriates me how infatuated this cat is with this teenage girl and constantly calls her "Lady Ann" in a very flirtatious way. It sucks!

The thing is, he has moments of a good character shining through with his dynamic with Ren, and in the end of the base game with how he is a metaphor for people's hopes genuinely got me emotional! To the point it makes me so wish he was written differently.

Then there's... the Okumura Arc. Morgana loses his mind with the group because of his own insecurities and gets mad at a single time Ryuji belittles him. Which, would be understandable if Morgana hadn't been doing this to Ryuji for literally the entire game. He is one of the most hypocritical JRPG party members I've ever seen as someone whose favourite genre is this JRPG's. Plus he takes away from Haru's introduction in that arc which is such a shame as despite that Morgana and Haru have a lovely dynamic!

Yusuke Kitagawa:

Yusuke very much reminds me a lot of myself in many ways. He is extremely autistic coded with how his mindset is very unique and has an wonderful art focus. Even his Confidant is a wonderful showcase of him rediscovering his love for art beyond the Madarame Arc.

Speaking of, he is so heavily focused on in that arc and it is so beautiful how that arc handles him! Going over how he was manipulated and abused without even realising and how he learns and accepts this fact, whilst finding reconciliation with his late mother and the art she made to represent her love for him. It is very wonderful seeing his recovery from everything he went through and learning to recover.

However, as the game progresses, his involvment slowly dwindles more and more to the point he is more the comedic relief character and I heavily dislike that. I like the comedic moments but I wish he got more serious moments in the main story as I feel there's multiple missed opportunities with him. That being said, Yusuke grows a lovely dynamic with Futaba in such a lovely way that contrasts each other wonderfully! It made me smile whenever they interacted.

Makoto Niijima:

If I had originally played the original release of Persona 5 and not started with Royal, Makoto would have been my favourite character. Originally I didn't really understand the hype around her, but she has now become one of my favourites right next to Ren and two others I'll get to soon.

Makoto is really inspiring to me, she is very intelligent whilst still having sincere flaws or shortcomings (for example her social anxiety and struggle to connect with others). Her Confidant is about her overcoming some of these flaws as a genuine way to help her newly made friend whilst trying to feel more in touch with her peers. Not only that, she is an active member consistently playing a role in the story whilst having a nice contrast with her sister Sae Niijima whilst complimenting her too. In fact when the Sae Arc happens she gains an even more active role again which is awesome! My only criticism is that she seems to be portrayed strong and I feel they could have leaned into that with her building up her muscles past the game as her being strong in the real world would've been amazing (and I would've crushed hard over that in Strikers given she's a young adult now)

none of this has even gone into when she's introduced! Which smartly ties to everything that happened with her father to do with crime lords and how people around her that are old adults pressuring her instead of doing the work themselves to the point she snaps completely after the Phantom Thieves help her out and she decides to join for her own truth. Accompanied by an amazing Persona design with some very unique animations! She is very much a highlight of the original game for sure.

Futaba Sakura:

Whilst I clicked more with Makoto, I believe Futaba is the best written party member of the base game by a mile. She is full of personality that shines so bright, funny and they know how to be serious with her character beautifully.

Futaba has one of my favourite palaces in the game because like Sae and Maruki, it isn't an inherently evil person and more someone struggling a lot with their mindset on reality. Futaba's arc heavily focuses on this and how she copes with the survivors guilt towards her late mother, Wakaba. We learn how much adult's victimised her as the reason Wakaba was driven to her death to the point it caused genuine hallucinations. This isn't the kind of trauma that can heal after her treasure is stolen instantly. Sure, it's a huge help to her recovery but we see how after they take a lot of time with her as a group to help her be more comfortable and allowing herself to manage more overtime

This carries over into her Confidant where her sister (yes I said sister as that is very much the INTENDED dynamic don't be weird) Ren helps her to further her recovery, by supporting Futaba's checklist. This is the one Confidant I'm really upset I didn't finish as I adored her! Her dynamic with the group is funny, has amazing battle lines and has amazing use story wise which is shown off and contextualised super well! She is probably right behind Makoto for my favourites and any Persona game without her genuinely feels it is missing something.

Haru Okumura:

This is one of the characters heavily effected by the extra time in Royal. I've already covered how Morgana completely overshadows a good chunk of her introduction compared to how every other party member prior gets proper spotlight. But the reason it's so bad here is because she's the last standard party member in the base game so gets even less time than already due to Morgana overshadowing her arc.

However, not all is lost! As what is there is amazing, alongside a wonderful character design and lovely performance by Xanthe (love all her work). We get to see how she accepts and stands up to her father for her beliefs and how her family legacy is important to her over being rich. She is very sweet but deadly as she shows a more brutal side under that sweet tone. It's used for both endearing/comedic moments as well as a way for her to be more powerful in moments.

Her Confidant is fantastic as it goes through both the grief of her father dying in one of the rawest moments of the game but also her having to run the company he left despite only being 18. For the grief, she didn't even get to hear her father apologise for everything he'd done. Every other chapter allows for reconciliation except for this one and it hits so heavily. Haru has to continue on with that whilst learning to manage to support a company and it makes her one of the strongest characters mentally in this game. Furthermore, she learns and gains her goal for her future to go back to her family roots with her own personal homemade café and is able to be supported about that. I adore what we do get and how she's able to shine in Royal a lot better!

Goro Akechi:

Goro

Akechi...

One of the best characters of this game. He gets a lot in Royal but let us start with the base game content for him. Akechi is one of those twist villains that the twist isn't that he's a villain, but instead the how and the why. I find that is always more interesting when that is the focus on a mystery over "who?" He is established pretty early on as an opposing force to the Phantom Thieves ideals, of which builds him up throughout the game as a striving Detective that's also investigating the Phantom Thieves.

However, one Royal I can't save for later is his entirely new Confidant. It establishes his rival dynamic with Ren so well in a very positive way compared to how it develops later on to be more of a serious rivalry in the latter of the game. He almost lures the group in perfectly if it wasn't for a single slip up of him overhearing Morgana speak, to which it causes the best comeback and moment in the whole game. Akechi's jealousy shows so strongly whilst he wants an opportunity to get to his father to get his revenge. It gets to the point he is so determined to prove himself to Ren and the Phantom Thieves, only to see his true self with how aggressive and insane he is. Akechi's true self is amazing to see as we get an amazing design with amazing Persona and one of the best boss fights in the game. Combine this with a beautiful performance of how desperate he is to prove himself, to the point he is killed by himself, leaving Ren devastated. Akechi shines in vanilla and the new Confidant establishes his relationship with Joker adds so much to Akechi's build up to his highest moments, like when he kills Joker (technically) all in the name of his own Justice. Already a top 5 character here alone!

And then there's the entire new third semester in Royal. Suddenly appearing as not dead taking Ren's place to turn himself in. As mentioned, Akechi is brought back to life by Maruki through his new reality. Akechi being a smart detective is able to put the pieces together and learn this himself. One thing about Akechi that I really enjoyed is how he always sticks to his own beliefs, to the point he would rather stay dead over be brought back to life just to live some reality he never earnt. Stopping Maruki with Ren, fully aware of what will happen to him as we see him fully shine as a party member fully unhinged. No niceties, no compassion, just a fully blunt ready to get the job done man without having a façade to the world. Robbie Daymond does a fantastic job with him, as we hear such conviction to every line he delivers as Akechi is consistently firm about his beliefs. That's the brutal reality, Akechi was always meant to die and he knows it. Ren was the one that couldn't accept this as we see Akechi fighting for free will and the justice he chooses.

A character that was amazing goes to being one of the best in this game, literally in the top 3 of this game easily with how amazingly handled he is.

Kasumi & Sumire Yoshizawa:

Let's get the main thing out of the way, she is my favourite character of this game! I adore her and how she develops over the course of this game, especially as the main new character to this version of the game!

She's introduced in the prologue as someone you know in Sae's Palace, meaning you get a tease that she will be able to go through palaces by that point of the game. From a time perspective, the actual first time you meet is middle of Kamoshida's Arc where during a trip to school you see an act of kindness from her rudely interrupted by a man. She is clearly shocked but doesn't wish to cause a scene, establishing her kind yet non-confrontational as Ren tries to help her. It's not until Madarame Arc onwards she is more prominent role with interactions with Ren, most notably when they properly meet and introduce themselves to each other on a school activity. It even kicks off their Confidant alongside more interactions over the main story!

Her Confidant is only 5 levels long and it goes into her feeling a level of control with her body as she's growing and changing, whilst supporting her family and dead sister, Sumire. It's a lovely and super endearing Confidant where Ren feels equal in terms of the support given in return where her feelings are also considered and I love that! Kasumi really cares for Ren and vice versa which creates such a strong dynamic between these two that is very balanced. We then learn that Akechi and her know of each other and we have an interaction with Ren and those two where she proposes a wonderful opinion about how she really respects what the Phantom Thieves do but also believes people need to help themselves too as that won't last for society if people stop trying to change themselves. It shows a very open minded angle to her and how she's extremely intelligent by having a more nuanced answer for a serious topic in the world of these characters and I really like that, it considers how some might need that help whilst others are over-relying on it.

We get so many lovely moments, ranging from a beautiful dance with Ren smoothly dancing, to her saying Aloha in Hawaii with a cute gesture. We even discover this unknown palace with her, of which she learns of the Metaverse and Persona users. Even awakening to her Persona after showing such will power to fight for herself instead of relying too much on Ren, like she said about the Phantom Thieves! However, that's all we really see for the most part, outside of further lovely moments the game gives us. They intentionally make the awakening feel cool and yet, overall off and different in comparison to the other Party member's awakenings (more on that in a bit). I find a lot of queer-coded elements within Kasumi, in how her struggles of her own bodies feels akin to puberty, especially with a teenage trans girl and I felt very close to that alongside her charisma, self-doubt and struggles. I was like, "yeah I kin Kasumi so much I love her! She's just like me!"

Ah... oh Riley of 2022 how unprepared you were you innocent girl...

Cut to the new Third Semester to Royal, as the whole reality shift happens. The only suspicious people are Ren, Akechi & Kasumi going into the palace where she awakened to her Persona. The further in, the more suspicious I and the trio got that something was up with her, as manifestations of her memories start to show up with weird inconsistencies. Even seeing her get called by her memory as Sumire? Overtime they end up meeting the host of this palace, Dr. Maruki, only to reveal that Kasumi really is dead. The girl with us has been her younger sister all along, Sumire.

Sumire was Kasumi's younger sister, always feeling in her older sisters shadow and struggled to keep a smile on herself or even see her own worth. Because of this, there was an accident where Sumire stormed off after not being able to cope anymore with how low she feels. Kasumi rushes after she tries to call out for Sumire about an approaching car. Too lost in her head, she doesn't hear Kasumi as she is pushed away by Kasumi, saving her but crashing into her older sister. Sumire blames herself for all of this, she feels so low about her self and worth that not only does this all happen but she has such survivors-guilt too. Getting to the point she see's herself as Kasumi partly due to Maruki's influence. Upon remembering this she goes into a downward spiral of guilt and denial, begging to be Kasumi still as the Phantom Thieves (+Akechi) fight her Persona and then herself, rescuing her and escaping the palace as best they can. Recovering and sleeping from mental and physical exhaustion, Sumire wakes up at Leblanc whilst deeply apologising to them all for her actions, whilst thinking hard about how to move on with her life back as Sumire. With support of Ren and the thieves, she is determined to live for her sister since she would have wanted that, unlocking the second half of her Confidant finally.

Sumire is shown to be much shyer, keeping to herself and over-apologising much more compared to when she thought of herself as Kasumi. Exploring how as a dancer and gymnast she finds her own style instead of trying to copy what people liked about Kasumi, with a lovely tutor who is stern yet supportive of her growing. This Confidant highlights how living for someone else isn't really living, you need to live for yourself and I really like this for Sumire. The clear depression and anxiety she has due to how she's been made to feel by society and herself really hits close to home and I relate very hard to her journey, especially when I was her age. Grief and guilt have plagued her for ages, and the death of her sister was only a year ago. Her Confidant ends beautifully with her talking about how much Ren's support has meant to her, with her confessing to Ren as the trans lesbian flirts awkwardly back (love you Ren) at her new partner! Only for Sumire to finally perform her own dance instead of a copy of her older sister. Her tutor even notices this, commending her and being absolutely proud. Traits seen when she was presenting as Kasumi can still be seen as her own personality traits when she's more confident, and how they're easily brought out from additional support due to how little confidence she has. Speaking of "presenting as Kasumi", it's very trans-coded with how one experiences their own self-acceptance of their gender identity. It's easy to say "I wish I was cisgender" instead of embracing the you here and learning to support yourself on your journey.

I only have three criticisms of Sumire's handling. Firstly, I find her reclaiming the ponytail hairstyle for herself as a memory of her sister to be poorly contextualised in the game and feels extremely abrupt compared to everything else with her writing. It feels like they didn't want to commit to her new design in the endgame moments and reversed the design near the end. Secondly, I never got to experience her Showtime due to how easy to miss as the only one you don't get naturally through story. This sucks as it was the one I was looking forward to the most! Finally there is me being so selfish, I wanted her as a party member sooner. I love how she becomes apart of the group naturally but I love her so much I wish I got to use her outside of the last Palace in the whole game.

That being said, I think the length of this segment is a testament to how Sumire is my favourite character in this game, if not one of my all time favourite characters. They did a fantastic job with how they naturally integrated her to the plot of the game, with a beautiful job and range from Laura Post alongside the animators at P Animation Studio, perfectly representing the theme of will power and overcoming hurdles in your life with precise execution.

Sumire Yoshizawa, thank you for bringing me such joy and tears to my eyes 💙

The Villains & Antagonists:

If there's one thing Persona 5 doesn’t lack, it’s antagonists and villains! Every arc has one and they vary in quality, so let’s go over the more simple villains from the first half of the game…

By simplistic, I mean that they are easy to explain and define in how they are portrayed. For example, Kamoshida who starts the game off beautifully with an utterly detestable character praying on minors abusing a power of authority that very much happens in real life. He kicks this game off strongly with a simple yet powerful force for our first Palace. My only issue is Atlus’ hypocrisy with how underage girls in their games, including this one, are treated. Ann especially is treated with sexualisation, which is awful given she was the main victim of Kamoshida. That’s less a criticism of him and more the writers when handling other things in comparison. Next is Madarame, who has a really good aesthetic and boss design. His design for him and Palace are stunning, which is where my huge praise ends. I love this chapter a lot, but Madarame doesn’t have much to him than “the one that stole the Sayuri” as there isn’t much else to him? I can’t separate him from Yusuke whatsoever and it feels like there’s nothing else to him. That being said, he’s still enjoyable, just doesn’t come close to Kamoshida. Kaneshiro has to be the most “this isn’t about him” moments in a game, as it really isn’t. You don’t see him for long at all and yet I like that choice due to him being a crime lord. I find it akin to how Dr. Seuss in “The Lorax” book doesn’t show the face of “The Onceler”, AKA the metaphor of capitalism as to not humanise them. Here I felt similar intent behind Kaneshiro, however he is still an extremely simple villain. His arc is more for Makoto’s character than it is for him, whilst properly establishing the threat of another Persona user. A fun boss and fun palace still give him a leg up though! Lastly is Shadow Wakaba, who is a weird one given the villain here isn’t the Palace holder. Instead it’s Futaba’s visualisation of her mother after so many adults tormented her for Wakaba’s death. Of course this girl would become distorted in how she perceives her mother due to this! Not much else to say since a good chunk of it is covered in Futaba’s part.

Then we get to the nuanced villains, those with more depth either in motivation, or how they connect to the grander story. First up is Okumura, who is a bit of a tricky one to discuss without going into game design and barely linked story content within the same arc. Morgana’s whole fallout not only affects Haru but Okumura as well, giving a bitter feeling throughout that arc whilst allowing less time to develop. That being said, Okumura is a character who clearly started off with good intentions and lost his way and I really enjoy that about him. He is detestable and yet we understand why Haru loves the father she once knew. Only making it more tragic when he is eventually killed and not given the chance to reconcile with his daughter as a changed man. I would love him if not for the association with the worst boss in the whole game, if not any RPG I’ve played. Strong base, weak executions around it with some bad association around it. Next, here comes our first antagonist that isn’t a villain: Sae Nijima. Sister to Makoto, she is actively after the Phantom Thieves to the point of such desperation that it makes her lose sight of her own justice. She’s gone through a lot with Makoto, losing both parents and having to raise Makoto at a pretty young age and trying to get by in the prosecutor department as a woman proves to be difficult due to gender norms in society. This has a heavy impact on her mental health as she is pushed by higher ups, of which are secretly using her, to the point she resorts to scummy and unjust methods. A character so desperate to catch a group of thieves to the point of seeing herself as a protagonist of this story, falling into the trap of those controlling everything. However, she isn’t the true antagonist of this arc and instead built up as the reason the Phantom Thieves survive. Ideals challenged and thinking about her own justice and faith once more. Akechi I’ve gone over but his father, Shido, actually has a little to say. Whilst being nuanced, it’s different to Sae for me, in that the depth comes from around him and not from him. To elaborate, he is overall a very simplistic villain in that very enjoyable way that’s almost theatrical, but is also behind all the wrongdoings the characters have experienced. Ren got put under probation due to him, Makoto had to see her sister go through hell and back because of him, Futaba and Sojiro lost Wakaba due to him, and Haru lost her father. Even Akechi, someone working for him, was so heavily affected all his life to the point of madness and how his true self is revealed to be. Shido feels personal, a fight the Phantom Thieves have been so prepared to finally face and save the world from him. However, they allow a level of selfishness, by also having motivation on avenging everyone’s pain, especially Ren’s. I love Shido because of this huge personal connection with a powerful presence, making for an exceptional villain.

Along come the last two, Yaldabaoth and Maruki. Yaldabaoth is the final boss of the original release of Persona 5, and I have to be honest, despite the really cool set piece and moment I don’t care much for this and as the final boss think it is extremely weak as it barely ties to our main party with the exception of Ren sort of. Cool boss gameplay wise, super weak story wise. With that brief mention out the way, it’s on to Dr. Maruki from the Persona 5 Royal content of the game. Like I said at the beginning of this review, Maruki is the complete opposite here, as Maruki actively connects to our main cast consistently throughout the game. This is especially the case with Ren as she helps Maruki learn to research the heart of the mind, eventually bonding overtime as his paper gets completed. He also acts as a councillor that the students talk to, therefore allowing us to see the main cast talk about what they’re going through and struggling with. Maruki has such sweet goals, to help the world be a place where pain shouldn’t have to be felt anymore. He had gone through so much himself and seen so many people affected by reality that his will became so strong to the point he was able to alter reality. Therefore, his goal became to change the whole of reality to help people for the better… but the game brings to question if that really is a good thing? And the Phantom Thieves oppose this as free will is more important. I loved this as it ties the overall themes and motifs of the game with rebellion, freedom and individuality. Despite that, Maruki’s intentions come from such a pure heart of a man wanting to help, to the point of trying to be reality’s therapist. Ending with an amazing 3-stage boss sequence and amazing voice acting from the late Billy Kametz (rest in peace and lots of love Billy) and concluding the game masterfully and becoming one of my new all-time favourite antagonists.

Others of Note:

Here are the noteworthy thoughts on side characters go! Sojiro is probably my favourite confidant in this game, as he plays such a pivotal role to the found family of Ren with how the injustice she goes through is shown a shift of mentality. He grows to care a lot and show his softer caring side with Futaba and Ren, even their friends by supporting their cares and needs. Furthermore, he grows to regain his sense of justice and it’s such an amazing character growth! On the flip side there’s Mishima, who sucks due to the very incel characterisation he gets that makes him unbearable alongside his constant attempt to insert himself as your friend. It was annoying and I could not stand him. Takemi and Hifumi on the other hand each have a really well done support that I enjoyed a lot. Without going into loads of detail they both go into hardships these women face in their respective industries and it does an amazing job going into the kind of people that wish to hurt them. Yoshida was a fun one despite me struggling to listen to politics so directly (can you blame me as a trans woman in 2023?) but he clearly cared a lot. Kawakami sucks, there's no explaining it. It's gross and hypocritical, moving on. Justine and Caroline/Lavenza are a delight throughout comedically and thematically. The only thing I’ll mention is how forgettable the others felt either due to their intro or their overall support.

Gameplay:

This is a game after all! However, this game has two very contrasting sides to it, so let's get into both

Social Life:

Persona as a series likes to have two sides to itself, one of them being the social side. This sees Ren experiencing activities you can do throughout the game in a limited time. This can range from hanging out with other characters, studying, working at a part time job and so much more. The best part about this is how it has a consistent loop for rewarding each other for how they help your journey. Furthermore, they beautifully help with the “Thief Life” I’ll go into more detail soon. But you can get health items, weapons and gear and even abilities in the social side of the game that help for the thieves side! Limiting the time really makes you think about how to approach your stats and activities in what you need (i.e. money, social stats, abilities). Royal adds to this by having additional requirements to unlock the third semester. Speaking of, that allows for some final confidant interactions you wouldn’t get otherwise! Surprisingly enjoyable for what’s the most down time of the game compared to…

Thief Life:

The more typical RPG side of the game, but don’t let that make you think it’s traditional. This is what in my opinion is the peak modernisation of turn-based RPGs, as it enhances and adds to the turn-based formula to such an extreme that it may be my favourite turn-based combat of any game. There’s your basic attack, your gun with limited ammo per fight, guard, item and then Persona. Persona is the most in depth option out of all of them, of which where that character uses their will and inner self to cast magic attacks, physical or gun attacks and even buffs and heal. These all use your Spirit Points, with the exception of physical attacks using Health Points, and each element can have their own effectiveness depending on the enemy you’re fighting. If you expose their weakness, the game awards you with another turn in which you can act again or pass to a teammate and give them a stat buff. This allows for a learning of knowledge in the game and a chain of attacks that reward your knowledge. If every enemy is knocked down, you can do an All Out Attack for high damage and even quickly finishing a fight. This helps a lot with this games pacing for me as you can really quickly finish fights if you know what you’re doing and the game helps nudge a little to help you with that.

With a decently varied party you can choose between different playstyles that each play into different roles. Ren has multiple Personas too! Allowing for her to customise her options throughout the game through the fusion or interrogate system. This is where you either fuse personas together to make a new one with some attacks from the previous two or bargain with a shadow you knocked down to recruit them as a persona in your selection. Shin Megami Tensei, Persona’s older brother series, has had this for a while and it really works with how they added it within the unique elements of Persona and especially Persona 5 Royal.

Last but not least is the dungeons, aka Palaces. A Palace is a world with its own unique setting and aesthetic based on the boss of the place in the Metaverse, and that current arcs focused antagonists at that point in the story. These dungeons are all blooming with fun aesthetics, set pieces and level design that all vary in quality. Maruki, Sae and Shido had especially fantastic palaces with Okumura hitting more of a low point even gameplay wise. In Royal specifically, they added these 3 part collectibles called Will Seeds. Exploring rewards you for looking through every nook and cranny of a palace with these and getting all 3 in each palace grants you a huge reward. Bosses are overall good and play to the game's gameplay strengths mostly. Okumura again being the worst case for this whilst others range from pretty neat to some of my favourite fights in gaming. Royal’s final boss uses every mechanic beautifully as it is required to manage it, which Okumura’s boss tries to do but in a way that is much more draining and limits options too much. Instead there is many different approaches that beautifully use every system you’ve learnt the last 100 or so hours and can learn and manage in the way you have learnt to manage. With that there’s one last thing to mention, Mementos. This is a large palace that is a randomly generated dungeon that you can get deeper in throughout the story, sound fun and replayable right? Sadly, the layouts are so simple and repetitive that I found this to be pretty boring and would only do it when I needed to shut my brain off. I get Persona has always hand randomly generated dungeons but to me it’s clearly not working when the layout is so flat and repetitive without much to even do outside fighting.

Art:

Art is important to any medium, and it couldn't be any more true for this game too. There's a reason this game has stood out so much...

Music:

I’m sure it’s no surprise to hear this, but Persona 5 Royal has absolutely amazing music. Its use of Synthesiser as the main instrument adds such a smooth yet eerily unique approach to any part of the OST it touches, alongside the piano, violin, jazz instruments and so much more. Shoji Meguro perfectly encapsulates the phantom thieves and how they feel at every turn. Busy daytime? ‘Tokyo Daylight’ constant change of notes represents the mass amount of different people you’re passing by in central Tokyo each day. ‘Is it Boring’ accompanies anytime you’re in school with a long repetition of bars whilst also moments of tensity to show the mundane yet unfocused side of life you have to manage whilst being a thief. However, this OST wouldn’t have the strong identity it is known to have if it isn’t for the singer of any track with lyrics: Lyn Inaizumi. She sings every track with such power and yet grace and confidence that it is a match made in heaven for the themes of this game. The songs show her vocal range beautifully with the slow, tranquil ‘Beneath the Mask’ or the intense, determined ‘Life Will Change’. Persona 5 Royal’s OST is so cohesive and yet so varied that it never loses itself and that is beautiful. My favourite OST of all time.

Art Direction:

As already stated, the Palaces have beautiful varied aesthetics that keep most of them visually interesting. This applies to Tokyo as well, with the advertisements of the subway popping out at you left right and centre, or the town centre bustling with lights. Whilst not perfect, I would say it does what it sets out to do within the budget Persona 5 originally had amazingly and uses these limitations to its advantage. Speaking of, the menus and UI of this game show that in full force. Everything has a red, black and white colour scheme with minor colours accenting from time to time. The use of silhouetting and sharp poses whenever you select a menu option to cleanly transition is eye candy alongside the distorted look of where you’re selected on clearly catching your eye within the stylised font. Even in battles this applies, as the options you have look to come off the character themselves, even with a silhouette of them layered behind their model for additional flare. Additionally, the UI is made clear where every button is as the options are displayed like a controller layout perfectly. Ingenious! Finally there’s All-Out Attacks, which have a barrage of attacks in a cartoonish but powerful manner of black on red visuals. If this kills the enemy, the character that triggered it will come in to do a custom animation into a key pose, where it snaps to artwork of the pose perfectly in time. You are rewarded for playing with visual flare and it does all this within its own limitations perfectly. Innovating on what the industry hasn’t tried to this extreme yet due to a limitation of their team.

Character Design:

The majority of significant characters in this game have a massive variety to them. Even with the main party they come with two main designs. With their school uniforms, each of them have very intentional subtle touches that make them instantly recognisable. Ann’s hoodie, Ryuji’s T-Shirt, Haru’s jumper all show different traits and key elements alongside other key features like hairstyle, hair colour, expressions and much more. With their thief design, we get to see a lot of their personality shine even further. Ren gets to present as cool in an unapologetic way and she comes with a traditional mask worn in the 1900s. Makoto shows her powerful side and even the surprising strength she has, even if I wish she was a little more toned in her design. Yusuke and his traditional art fits the traditional Samurai, Futaba fitting with a more Sci-Fi tech outfit, Sumire having elements of dancer gear whilst also a clear conflict within her own outfit, reflecting off of Ren partly as we learn that’s her coping mechanism. There’s one that isn’t so good though, Ann. She sadly is given a very Catwoman-esque skintight suit, which she herself is uncomfortable in and is sexualised in too. My main issue is how this goes completely against her arc and the message of the general arc of the first game. Owning one's sexuality does not mean being sexualised and should’ve gone for another angle, like her fashionista or model side.

Morgana in both forms is very strong character design, going for a black and white approach akin to mascot characters of the rubberhose era with yellow and blue to make the collar/bandana and eyes stand out as contrasting colours. Every social link design does really well with variety of age, body types and features. From Sojiro’s curved beard to Yoshida’s broader body type. My only criticism is actually body types, despite just praising them, as that tends to apply more to the men than the women and older features aren’t used much if at all to make them more appealing. I want older looking women in games!

Finally, the Antagonists and their shadow designs. Each represents their main theme perfectly, from Kamoshida’s almost naked body to Kaneshiro’s bug look like a fly to a light as he is to money. Sae has a perfect villainess look to her especially within the context of the palace being a bank as Shido and Maruki both represent very different forms of discomfort especially in their designs (specifically third semester Maruki) with how their uniform is perfectly kept clean and without fault, Shido even having tinted lenses to show his tainted lens on the world. Whilst not perfect, I think the character design is extremely strong despite it and I look forward to seeing how this evolves in the series

Conclusion:

Persona 5 Royal is an extremely important game, to me, others and this industry as a whole. It pushed the boundaries of thematic intent through how even its UI and music so heavily emphasise the themes of this game. Persona games have always used it’s main colour to represent it’s theme (i.e. Persona 3 for blue to represent life and death) but this entry takes that to such an extreme and we are still seeing the repercussions of that today. Breath of the Wild influenced open design in the industry and how mechanically fine tuned and creative it can be, and I feel Persona 5 did this for the art, character design and music and stories of this industry. This is not a perfect game, no game will ever be and sadly a lot of bigoted people worked on this game which affected some qualities like the sexualisation. But I will never let that ruin what this game does so beautifully right as it is an important magnum opus of turn-based RPGs that fine tunes every issue the genre has had prior whilst fine tuning its own series mechanics to a stunning peak. Bias plagued this review and I’m well aware of this, but art analysis can’t be truly objective and this art stole my heart

10 notes · View notes

datascraping001 · 3 months ago

Text

Mugshots.com Criminal Records Scraping by DataScrapingServices.com

In today’s fast-paced, data-driven world, access to accurate and comprehensive criminal records is crucial for businesses, law firms, investigative agencies, and background check services. Whether you're conducting background checks, due diligence, or any kind of legal investigation, the ability to efficiently gather relevant criminal information can provide significant advantages. Mugshots.com serves as a widely used platform for this purpose, offering an extensive database of criminal records. That’s where DataScrapingServices.com comes in with our specialized Mugshots.com Criminal Records Scraping services, streamlining the process and providing high-quality, ready-to-use data.

List of Data Fields

Our Mugshots.com criminal records scraping service allows for the extraction of the following key data fields:

- Full Name of the individual

- Mugshot images

- Date of Arrest

- Location of Arrest

- Criminal charges and case details

- Court information and case outcomes

- Bail or bond details

- Aliases or alternate names

- Physical description (age, height, weight)

- Criminal history and prior convictions

- Affiliated law enforcement agencies

This structured data provides a 360-degree view of an individual’s criminal background, which can be invaluable for many professional applications.

Benefits of Mugshots.com Criminal Records Scraping

1. Enhanced Efficiency

Manual collection of criminal records can take days, if not weeks, especially when dealing with vast databases like Mugshots.com. Our automated scraping services eliminate the tedious task of manually searching for records. You can receive large volumes of data in a matter of hours or days, significantly reducing the time you need to invest in background checks and legal investigations.

2. Accuracy and Consistency

DataScrapingServices.com ensures that the information gathered is accurate, current, and thoroughly vetted. Since Mugshots.com is frequently updated, our scraping tools ensure you’re always getting the latest criminal record data. This up-to-date information is critical for decision-making in legal investigations, corporate due diligence, and compliance checks.

3. Customizable Solutions

Not every business or law firm has the same data requirements. Our Mugshots.com scraping services are customizable, meaning you can select only the data fields that are most relevant to your needs. Whether you're looking for complete criminal records or just arrest details, we tailor the service to suit your specific requirements, ensuring that you only get the information you need.

4. Better Risk Management

Having a comprehensive criminal history can help businesses manage risk more effectively. For companies involved in hiring, particularly for sensitive roles, access to reliable criminal records ensures that you make informed decisions. Similarly, for legal firms, this data is essential for building stronger cases and identifying potential legal risks.

5. Scalable Solutions

Our Mugshots.com scraping service is scalable, meaning it can handle small or large volumes of data requests. Whether you need data on a few individuals or a massive database for an ongoing investigation, our scraping technology is equipped to manage the task efficiently.

Best Business Directory Scraping Services Provider

Goldenpages.bg Data Extraction

Yellow Pages Business Listings Scraping

Google Business Reviews Extraction

Ezlocal Business Directory Data Scraping

Canpages Business Listings Scraping

Scraping Handyman Services from Thumbtack

Scrape Australian Businesses Listing from Truelocal

Scrape Business Listings from FreeIndex

Scrape Verified Business Data from Europages.co.uk

Google Map Businesses Data Scraping

Best Mugshots.com Criminal Records Scraping Services in USA:

Fort Worth, Kansas City, Orlando, Sacramento, San Francisco, Austin, Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Omaha, Mesa, Bakersfield, Atlanta, Long Beach, Nashville, Denver, Colorado, Fresno, El Paso, Washington, Jacksonville, Virginia Beach, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, San Jose, Boston, Albuquerque, Wichita, Tulsa, Las Vegas, Memphis, Louisville, Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, Raleigh, New Orleans, San Antonio, Columbus, Milwaukee, Colorado, Dallas, Orlando, Long Beach, Fresno, Tucson and New York.

Conclusion

The Mugshots.com Criminal Records Scraping service offered by DataScrapingServices.com provides an invaluable resource for businesses, legal firms, and background check agencies. With our solution, you get access to detailed, accurate, and customizable criminal records data quickly and efficiently. This service is designed to improve your operational efficiency, reduce risk, and ensure compliance with legal standards. If your organization relies on criminal background checks or legal investigations, our service can save you time, money, and resources while providing the data you need to make informed decisions.

For more information on how our Mugshots.com scraping services can help your organization, contact us today at [email protected].

Website: Datascrapingservices.com

Email: [email protected]

#mugshotscriminalrecordsscraping #mugshotsscrapingservices #datascrapingservices #webscrapingexpert #websitedatascraping

0 notes

cbbbailbonds3 · 11 months ago

Text

CBB Bail Bonds

When you or a loved one gets arrested, you can’t rely on just any bail bond company. CBB Bail Bonds in Long Beach is an experienced company that always gets the job done quickly and discreetly. Our knowledgeable agents will take over your case and work with you, making the process as simple and convenient as possible. When the law requires you to act fast, we give you the very best mobile bail bonds, 24-hour bail bonds, and affordable bail bonds.

Address: 444 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 800 PMB #905 Long Beach, CA 90802

Phone: 877-373-3631

Website: https://cbbbailbonds.com/long-beach-bail-bonds/

Our Business pages: http://www.countrypwr.com/444-w-ocean-blvd-suite-800-pmb-905-long-beach-ca-90802-usa/cbb-bail-bonds

1 note · View note

cbbbailbonds12 · 1 year ago

Text

CBB Bail Bonds

444 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 800 PMB #905, Long Beach, CA 90802

877-373-3631

cbbbailbonds.com/long-beach-bail-bonds/

1 note · View note

riddlersbailbonds · 3 years ago

Text

riddlersbailbonds

Riddler's Bail Bonds is a professional bail bond service serving Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. We can get you out of jail today. At Riddler’s Bail Bonds, our friendly representatives are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week to help explain the steps involved in an arrest, especially if a request for release on bail is involved, free of charge. We’ll walk you through the entire process so you don’t feel like you’re all by yourself against the legal system. And we’ll even work with you later to make payment arrangements tailored to your financial situation.

https://riddlersbailbonds.com/

#Riddler's Bail Bonds professional bail bond service in orange county professional bail bond service in long beach professional bail bond ser

1 note · View note

fugos-lil-fork · 2 years ago

Text

Some Random Mista Headcanons! (Some r kinda NOT SFW)

Has definitely thought about getting a navel piercing

I wouldn't say he's really clingy?( At least not in the level i hc Nara to be where he'd definitely want/need to know where his s/o is at, at all times in fear of them suddenly abandoning him-) But like, Mista does like it/feels relieved when his s/o updates him on where they're at/what they're doing just bc of y'know, mafia- And he's been left a bit traumatize by witnessing what had happened to the woman he saved, that he's afraid anyone he loves could suddenly have that happened to them and he, or someone like him, wont be there to save/help them.

Bc of that, I also think he absolutely hates ppl that get too handsy immediately. It's not jealousy, he's just genuinely afraid of his loved one being taken advantage of/being forced into do something they don't want to do.

Mf turns every game between him and s/o into a stripping game 💀

Absolutely adores PDA- (obviously I mean, I hc that mans has a thing for fucking in public so why wouldn't he love PDA?-)

I hc that this boi grew up with multiple siblings- Which is a reason why he's so over his stand. They just remind him of his siblings and bc he has younger siblings, he knows how to take care of them.

He loves the beach... Just that-

Mista keeps condoms in his boots. He sometimes accidentally pulls them out instead of his bullets 💀

The pistols always snitch on him, how he's feeling, and embarrassing shit he's done/said.

Definitely owns thongs-

He definitely has a playlist for when he wants to get down and dirty either with himself or someone else-

Ik this man's gropes his s/o on a regular basis 💀 Just a quick grab, squeeze, or smack of certain areas 😭

I ACTUALLY GIVE CREDIT TO MY FRIEND FOR THIS ONE- He hc that when Mista's desperately lonely and depressed about his s/o being away for so long, he goes as far as fucking his own pillow 💀 (that poor innocent pillow, #JusticeForMista'sPillow)

Kinda rare for him to call his s/o by their name. He absolutely prefers to use pet names/endearing names.

Man's jerks off twice a day, maybe three if wakes up to morning wood-

Definitely owns porn magazines (mf stole them tho-)

He owns two tube tops-

He has a BIG family. Aside from having a couple siblings, his older siblings have children. Has quite a bit of aunts and uncles as well as cousins. Yet, no one knows about his "profession". He simply tells them he works for a company that requires his to travel quite a bit. And whatever scars they're able to point out on him he shrugs them off as scars from guys trying to mug him.

He has a genuinely wholesome relationship with his family. The only reason they hadn't been able to bail him out of jail when he was thrown in it was because they didn't have the money to do so. However, they're all extremely proud of him for saving the woman.

He "worked" at a small family business growing up. (Worked, in quotes, bc he mostly goofed around or just lounged around in the back lmao-)

Has a family tradition where his entire family meets up at one of their homes just so they can all see and bond with each other. Obviously, he always goes, and has dragged the Bucci gang to it before. (Fugo and Abbacchio agreed that never again- Narancia loved how sweet and fun everyone was- And everyone demanded for Bruno return next time-)

He isn't sure if he wants children or not (biologically or otherwise) because he, obviously, loves the energy his big ass family brings. But, he also understands the reality of his line of work. Though, his family constantly pressure him to have kids one day.

✨Bi King✨

He's never out right said he's fruity to his family- He's heavily implied it to them. Some of them understand and actually accept him (bc they been knew ever since he started dressing himself up-) but others still don't get it and think he only gets pussy- (those who don't understand r actually the ones that pressure him the most to have kids 💀)

His mom and dad have known since day one that he also liked dick-

His siblings bet on whether he's gonna end up marrying a guy or a girl (some bet he's gonna stay a hoe and never get married-)

Spoils his family thanks to Mafia money

Sweats SUPER easily, that's the real reason he gets rlly stinky

Despite being naturally really warm, he loves warm clothing even during the summer (another reason as to why he gets stinky so quickly/easily)

Has absolutely no clue how to match outfits- He just throws on the first items he sees and since he considers his clothing nice/attractive clothing, he figures it all matches/goes together (it doesn't.)

Man's sleeps ONLY with boxers (or butt-naked-) and no blankets. Only uses the thinnest blanket known to man in the winter-

Absolute sucker for men in fancy ass suits. He somehow finds them as sexy as lingerie

Y'know how u fall asleep one place then wake up in your room? It's him. He's the one carrying you to bed whenever you fall asleep somewhere else-

He gossips a shit ton. But he's slightly better at keeping secrets than Narancia- The only reason he'd tell is if he's bored and wants to start up ✨drama✨ or the person who the secret came from pissed him off and he decides to expose them

Pretends to be in serious pain when he's not just so he could hog his s/o's undivided attention and they can shower him with physical affection-

He owns a motorcycle but only uses it on his days off when he goes out and to show it off

He's a soar loser- If he loses at a game he'd definitely start being like "Yeah... This game isn't really fun. Let's do something else"

Loves to leave bite marks on his s/o's thighs, neck, and shoulders

Needs to take at least one nap a day with his s/o, doesn't matter how long it is. He n e e d s it-

Can and does stick other stuff into his pants when he gets tired of holding them instead of using his pockets like a normal person

One of his favorite animated movies is definitely Sausage Party 😭

Every time he has sex in a multiple of four, he gets an STI 💀

339 notes · View notes

byrachel · 3 years ago

Note

Can you please write a dating Leah Clearwater headcannon please

DATING LEAH CLEARWATER HEADCANONS

NOTE: thank you so much for requesting! i actually already have headcanons about this, but it’s been so long since I’ve written that one so I’ll just do another one :) I hope you like these! this was kinda rushed so i might add on more later

— leah had some trouble accepting her feelings for you, the thought of being vulnerable again made her scared to commit and that was actually almost the end of your friendship. she started to avoid you as much as she possibly could, bailing on you with the worst excuses

— so you confronted her and you basically had to force her to talk to you, because she kept insisting nothing was going on, but the moment she felt you emotionally pulling away she confessed her feelings

— she honestly didn’t mean to confess, you were actually doing exactly what she wanted, but the thought of losing you scared her even more so she had to be honest and told you about her being quite uncomfortable with these new found feelings

— you completely understood where she came from and assured her she didn’t have to anything she wasn’t comfortable with and that everything would go on her pace and that’s how you slowly, but surely started dating

— there was no real intimacy in the beginning apart from friendly touches she was comfortable with, maybe you caressed her arm when you saw she was stressed, an occasional hug when she asked for it and from there you guys slowly grew into more

— the transition from being friends to lovers was kind of difficult, were you guys supposed to act different than before? did you have to call each other pet names? was it okay that you guys weren’t too lovey dovey? you watched the others basically suck each others faces, but it wasn’t really something you were into

— but you guys had your romantic moments, she liked taking you on outdoor dates. sometimes you guys picnicked on the beach, enjoying each other’s company by sharing embarrassing stories from your childhood, ambitions, unrealistic dreams, plans for the future and sometimes you even fantasized about running together and starting over in a no one knew you to escape from the responsibilities you both had

— it was actually on the beach you shared your first kiss. you guys were bonding over harder parts of your childhood, your hands cupping her face as she softly spoke and when her heartbreaking story finally came to an end you couldn’t help but attempt to soothe her aching heart by pressing your lips against hers. it was soft, brief, sweet, basically anything you were looking for in a kiss and definitely a kiss you would not forget about soon

— although she felt quite awkward about it, leah wanted you to meet her family. it was nothing too special, she told you to come over when both seth and sue were home and she introduced you to them. they got to know you over some tea and cookies and it was only an hour before it felt like you fit right into their little family

— over the course of your relationship you found out how creative leah was, she loved to draw and gave you almost all of her drawings as she didn’t see why she should’ve kept them herself

— she was surprised to find her artworks all of your room when she visited you one day. your wall was full of sketches of sceneries she saw around her, woods, beaches, houses and sometimes your face made an appearance as well. the moment she saw how much you cherished all her works, she started to see the sentimental value as well, keeping sketches of you above her bed so you were the first thing she saw when she woke up

— (whenever you came over she took it down, because she thought it was cheesy and the only reason you knew was because seth told you when you came over one day)

— unintentional sleepovers happened too often, but leah’s flustered gaze in the morning was too adorable. she wasn’t used to waking up so close next to someone, but the more it happened, the more she got used to it

— taking turns making breakfast after an accidental sleepover and having leah impatiently hover over you whenever it was your turn, her arms snaking around your waist and her head resting against your shoulder just to see how much longer she had to wait

— also neither of your parents getting worried after the first few times it happened, because they were getting used to it as well

— fights rarely happened, but when they did it was mostly about either of your poor communication skills. sometimes leah struggled with communicating her negative feelings in a way which wasn’t explosive. negative emotions made her feel uncomfortable and instead of making them known she would try to hide them, and she hid them very poorly

— in those situations you gave her the space she clearly needed, until she came back to you to apologize and to actually just talk through her feelings

— it wasn’t hard to forgive leah when it happened, because she was always apologetic and you could see she was learning to do things differently, her outbursts changing to her asking for space to process what she was going through before coming back to you to discuss it

— other fights or arguments after that were pretty minor and easy to resolve

— coming back on leah’s talent for drawing !! she attempts to teach you how to do it and even if you suck at it she saves them

#rachel’s assignments #twilight wolf pack imagines #twilight wolf pack preferences #twilight imagines #twilight headcanons #leah clearwater fluff #leah clearwater x reader #leah clearwater imagine #twilight headcanon

255 notes · View notes

dustofbrokenheart · 3 years ago

Text

The Lost Boys: Call 911

GIF by lostinsantacarla

Paul x Reader

Word Count: 2,550

Summary: Reader is out on patrol as part of the Santa Carla PD when they respond to a call out at the wharf.

Amid the riotous flare of fireworks and fire crackers, it was difficult to make out the quickly approaching cop car but Marko prided himself on being observative.

Paul, Paulie, P-Man, his forever partner on the other hand…

Grabbing Paul by the front of his tank, he pulled the other vampire down to hiss in his ear. “We got company. We bail on my signal, got it?”

The honey blonde nodded distractedly, mesmerized by the bright bursts of colors overhead. The reds and blues and whites and pinks mixed with the curtain of smoke, creating a kaleidoscope against the inky night sky.

He only heard part of what Marko was gripping about—something about a signal—but it wasn’t his fault he was having so much fun.

Another of their fireworks went off from behind Max’s Video, making him laugh even harder when some empty pallets became collateral. They splintered into pieces, the crunching sound of the wood masked by the other explosions.

Nothing said summer time fun like launching some Big Boys at the video store. It was a rockin’ light show and piss-off-Max scheme all wrapped in one. The crochety, old douche in question would no doubt have some choice words for them later but Paul wasn’t thinking about that; the only thing on his mind was blowing shit up.

In fact, he was so into it that he wasn’t prepared for the sharp punch to his ribs. He flew into the wall as Marko ran past, scampering to get airborne. “Go, go, go!”

The back door to the store opened with such force that it banged into the wall with a loud crack. Paul could sympathize. Two officers came through and before he could even think to pick himself up and run, they were on him.

The rounder of the two sat on his back, putting all his pounds into pinning Paul down. Normally, he would’ve thrown him off and maybe, probably, killed him, no sweat.

But.

There were too many people around that could catch him in the act. There’s no way Max would step in and not even Paul was stupid enough to slaughter that many people in plain sight.

Marko, he whined through the bond. A little help, bud? I’m kinda stuck.

All he got back was a manic cackle.

Paul squawked in outrage, knowing that the other would not be lending an assist. That traitor was all too content to sit back and laugh at him.

Whatever.

Screw him then.

It’s not like Paul had never been hauled in before anyhow.

“You know,” he grunted to the cop on his back, “It’s a good thing you’re not fat or anything, otherwise this would be more difficult.”

The knee dug into his back even harder and his head was pulled back by his hair. It didn’t hurt that much but still! He worked for hours to make his hair look good!

“Police brutality! I have rights, you know!” he yelled. The cop was starting to get on his nerves.

His face was shoved back into the ground and he ate gravel, sputtering to get the pebbles and grime out of his mouth with mixed success. The taste lingered and the only way to get rid of it would be to wash it down with something—

Hmm. He hadn’t planned on feeding that night but some pig blood would take care of it nicely.

He attempted to at least think of an isolated spot to rip out his throat without getting caught. Maybe in the cop car. Maybe he could drag him to the bushes outside of the station.

Oh! If the guy stopped for doughnuts, he could steal the car—doughnuts sounded good though. A nice chocolate glaze with sprinkles or something filled with strawberry jelly! The corner store on the boulevard had the best selection this time of night. He needed more hairspray, too, as long as he was at it, a magazine or three—he shook his head.

Come on, self, get it together!

“I’m going to find the one that ran. Officer Y/LN, you take this idiot back to the car and sit tight until I get back.”

Roughly, he was hauled to his feet and he had been so focused on the tub of lard that had him on the ground that he forgot two cops had burst through the door.

He planted his feet and refused to be moved as he glanced at the second one. It was like pushing at a stone wall, the other at his back unable to shove him into motion.

Immediately, Paul realized his mistake.

Why was he so occupied with that other asshole when he could’ve been looking at you, been pressed up against you the entire time?

The saying was that everyone loved a person in uniform and Paul was no exception. You made the normally dull standard navy uniform look good, the short sleeves showing off your arms and the pants managed to cup your ass in the tastiest way.

He’d cup your ass even better, if you gave him the chance.

Even the serious, disapproving scowl on your face was hot. What he wouldn’t do to get you to make that face with you on top of him, manhandling him any which way you wanted.

Screw his little feeding plan. He was willing to spare your partner in exchange for getting to know you better.

A big happy smile stretching across his face, he finally moved, dragging your partner rather than being forced forward.

“Hey, sexy,” he said with his signature wink, the one that always got him what he wanted with people. “Name’s Paul.”

To his disappointment, you didn’t respond and merely took control of his handcuffed hands as they were passed over.

As you lead him back through the video store, he pulled his arms to the left, acting like he was trying to resist. Just like he expected, you corrected him with a strong, tight grip that sent a rush down his spine.

“Ouch, babe, not so rough,” he purred. “I’m very sensitive.”

He glanced back quick to see your reaction and his bottom lip pushed out in a pout. You still wore a straight face that gave nothing away. No clenched jaw, no embarrassed tightening of your eyes. Definitely no hint of an amused smile.

Gods, babe. You were really testing him.

Guess he’d have to try harder.

***

You were new to the Santa Carla Police Department. Very new. New as in it was your first incident on your first night on patrol.

It was just your luck that you’d ended up with airhead who’d set off a whole fireworks display right outside of a crowded store, which could have serious injury, and was now trying to flirt his way out of it.

Hell—was he pouting?

For a city of its size, Santa Carla PD had a surprising number of job openings. You were new to the area, having moved because it seemed like a nice, sunny California beach town and you were in need of a change.

You didn’t have any prior experience but you’d passed all the screenings and tests and expected the job offer they made. It had benefits, the pay was good, and, importantly, it was legal which seemed to be in short supply around these parts.

That last part was a surprise, especially with the high number of missing people’s cases; you’d think that more places would be desperate to fill jobs, too.

Steering the suspect towards the check out counter, you flagged down the owner who had been the called in to the station.

He turned towards you with a smile on his face and greeted you politely. “Hello, officer.”

“We caught one suspect, sir. The other fled the scene and my partner went after him. I’ll get started on the report—are you planning to press charges?”

The smile was suddenly no where to be seen and he casted a glare at the handcuffed blonde.

“But of course. I’ve told this degenerate and the others in this gang to stay out of here a hundred times before. They’ve gone too far this time.”

The suspect merely shrugged his shoulders and winked at you which set the owner off further.

“That! That right there is what I’m talking about. No respect, no conduct. How is a father supposed to parent if he gets no respect? Maybe they’re missing a motherly influence,” he trailed off.

A motherly influence? Okaaay, then.

Clearing your throat, you tried to bring the conversation back to topic. “Yeah…Well let me put him in the car and then we can get started on the report. Have a good night, sir.”

That should’ve been the end of it but of course the blonde had to open his big mouth. “Bye daddy!”

Max’s hand came down heavy on the counter and you jostled the boy away before he managed to start a full-blown confrontation.

“You surely have a big mouth for someone who’s being arrested. Don’t make things worse for yourself.”

His head perked up and you had to really plant your weight to keep him from turning around and sending you flying into a display in the process. Definitely stronger than he looked.

You noted that piece of information just in case he tried anything else.

“Aww. Are you worried about me?” he cooed. “Don’t be. I trust you to protect me, officer.”

“Any one ever tell you that you’re ridiculous?”

“All the time,” he nodded happily.

The profile of the suspect was coming together in your mind. Clearly, he was simple.

Happy and excitable, and yes, even pretty, but simple.

There’s no way he had been the mastermind behind the firework plot; that honor was likely saved for the one who escaped. He probably hadn’t agreed to do it with malicious intent either. Unfortunately, his inability to think things through had landed him in trouble and he was your problem now.

When you got to the entryway he even tried to the door open. “After you, officer.”

With a resigned sigh, you prodded him forward. Again. Really, this guy was worse than a puppy. A puppy could eventually be trained to listen but seeing as how he was late teens/early twenties, it was doubtful he ever would.

“You said your name was Paul?”

The p in his ‘yep’ popped.

“Last name?”

“Just Paul. I wouldn’t mind getting your name though.”

There’s no way you were telling him that. He would be that much more insufferable if he knew. And try as he might to hide his full name, that would come out when you booked him at the station.

“Well, Paul. You’re being charged with public endangerment and vandalism. Under California law, those are both misdemeanor crimes so most likely—”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved away your words with a flick of his head. Annoyed, you yanked on the cuffs, causing him to moan. “I do appreciate a good pair of handcuffs.”

“You—!” You had to stop yourself from calling him a little shit out loud. No one would’ve stopped you, but you felt weird about it, almost like it would come off as being unprofessional.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to bring your voice back down. “Saying crazy things is only going to make things worse for you.”

“Promise to punish me if I don’t?” Another wink was flashed at you.

It was at that point you noticed he had long lashes for a male. They fluttered like butterfly wings whenever he blinked. Except you had a job to do and really shouldn’t care about how pretty he was.

You were so caught up in your thoughts that it took you by surprise when he leaned in close. Acting on tactical instinct, you threw him against the police vehicle, his torso pressed against the hood with legs spread wide.

The position was designed to be as uncomfortable as it looked so that there was little to no chance of him bucking you off. Good.

“Need I remind you,” you said gruffly, “That you are under arrest. Don’t test me.”

“You should most definitely frisk me,” he panted.

You sincerely hoped it was pain, and not from pleasure, but from your brief encounter with Paul, it honestly could be the latter. Your own heart was pounding in your chest as well but that was due to the adrenaline pumping through your system.

Or so you maintained.

Still, he had a point. Frisking was standard procedure to make sure the suspect was carrying anything potentially dangerous, or illegal. Hell. You were going to have to give into this particular demand, weren’t you?

Wanting to get it over with, you tried to be as fast as possible while still be thorough.

His muscles were surprisingly cold as you felt up his arms and then his back. It was summertime and when most people had problems overheating, it didn’t seem to be an issue for him.

You dreaded going anywhere near his ass but it had to be done. He even insisted on ‘helping’ by pushing his cheeks further into your hands by curving his lower back as you patted down his pants pockets.

“Check the front too. I could have anything down my pants, ya know.”

That didn’t sound suggestive at all. His flirtations were so over the top is was near comical at that point. You couldn’t let him know that though. You were the authority figure in this situation.

“Alright smart guy, the frisking is over with. And surprise, surprise there was exactly nothing in your pants.”

“You wound me, babe.” If he had use of his arms, his hand would’ve definitely been placed over his heart.

Standing him upright, you opened the door to seat him in the back. That had been the plan any way.

One second you held his metal clad wrists firmly in your grip and in the next, he twisted himself away effortlessly.

He spread his hands apart and although they each had a shiny steel band around them, the chain that had connected them broke off with a metallic clink.

Just like that he was completely mobile and he wasted no time.

In another imperceptible move, he covered your back with his front, his breath tickling you.

You couldn’t hold back a shiver.

“It’s been a pleasure, officer, but I really should get going. I’m just too cute for jail.” He rolled his head and his nose traced the shell of your ear with a deep inhale. “This was fun though. Let’s do it again, hmm?”

He shoved you into the back seat and luckily your reflexes were fast enough to catch yourself before you face planted into the leather seat. Thrashing like mad, you spun around as fast as you could but it was no use: Paul was already gone.

Stumbling out, you looked back and forth hoping to catch a glimpse of what direction he went but it was useless. Not only was that little shit stronger than he seemed, he was also faster.

Noted.

With a sinking realization, you knew you were going to have to explain this to your partner.

Oh, you were not looking forward to this…

Worst first night on a job ever.

_______________

Hope you enjoyed Paul! I feel like this is goofy and over the top but I guess that’s basically Paul’s vibes in a nutshell. Marko has definitely gotten Paul arrested before and Max has definitely called the cops on them before too haha. Thanks for reading <3

#the lost boys #the lost boys paul #paul the lost boys #the lost boys x reader #the lost boys imagines

122 notes · View notes

vintagedolan · 3 years ago

Text

hiraeth part five - hoaloha

masterlist | request the next concept!

“You seem miserable.”

“I am miserable.”

“Then just come home.”

“Kahua you know I can’t.”

He looked tanner over FaceTime. Or maybe she was just used to seeing more white people. She couldn’t really tell, but she caught herself staring at him as he rambled on, voice deep and strong.

She missed him. She missed home. It felt like her LA plan had turned into some sick joke, and she was patiently awaiting the cameras to appear and reveal it all.

At the top of her phone screen, a message appeared.

Tell me three things you like to do

Koa stared at her phone for a moment, chewing on her lip. It was the first non-work related text she’d gotten from him. Against her will, it raised her spirits a bit.

why?

Because we don’t know anything about you :(

If it wasn’t Ethan texting her, she wouldn’t have even responded. But she knew he was trying to make up for his brother’s shitty behavior, and in the day that she’d had to calm down and talk it out with Harlow, she’d realized she’d probably overreacted a bit more than she needed to. So, she answered as nicely as she could.

writing, surfing, existing, idk

“Bro, who are you texting?”

“No one.” It caught her off guard that she didn’t immediately tell him.

YOU CAN SURF?!

She must have smiled, because Kahua huffed. “Yeah, sure looks like no one.”

We’re picking you up in the morning at 7. Considering it team building

I’m from Hawaii dumbass of course I can surf

I don’t have a board though

Grayson has an extra

if you show up at 7 you better have coffee in that car

deal

She sent her address, having to rack her brain to remember the area code.

“Hello? Earth to Koa?”

“Sorry, it was Ethan. He wants to go surfing tomorrow. ‘Team bonding’ he says.”

Kahua frowned. “Why do you need to bond to write a book?”

“He’s just trying to get me back on his good side,” Koa muttered, and she regretted her words when she saw him stiffen. He was protective of her - to a fault.

“And what the fuck did he do to get on your bad side?”

“Nothing! Ethan’s a good guy, he’s just trying to cover his brother’s ass.”

“Okay, the what the fuck did his brother do to get on your bad side?”

The anger wasn’t lost on her. In her head she saw Grayson, his wide smile, the disappointment in his eyes when she’d stormed out.

“He didn’t really do anything. I overreacted.”

“Doubtful.”

“No really, he was just trying to be nice, I took it the wrong way, but he got the message.”

“Did he hit on you?”

She froze. “Huh?”

“You heard me.” His voice was more aggressive than she was used to - it made her uneasy.

“Uh no, he didn’t. He offered me a car actually.”

“He what?!”

“To borrow! Just to borrow, while I’m here.”

“Oh cause that makes it better,” he rolled his eyes. That unease came back into Koa’s stomach - she didn’t know this version of her best friend very well. It felt like a stranger on the screen.

“Alright hoaloha, I gotta go to bed, it’s late here.”

His own attitude seemed to register, and he frowned for a moment before he sighed.

“Yeah, I get you. Goodnight Koa. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

She wished she could sleep, but her mind raced even with her eyes squeezed shut. She even tried to bargain with herself - surely if she just kept her eyes closed, she’d fall asleep.

But the clock read 2, then 3, then 4, and she wasn’t even sure if she actually fell asleep before it was time for her to get up and get ready to surf.

She didn’t have the energy to put any effort into her outfit. It didn’t matter anyways... who was she trying to impress? She grabbed the first bathing suit her fingers touched and put it on, throwing her up in a bun and grabbing a towel, her wetsuit and a cup of coffee on the way out the door.

The twins were outside. She wouldn’t have known it was them if there weren’t 3 boards strapped to the top of the jeep. The windows were tinted enough that she didn’t know who was driving until she got in.

Grayson turned around from the passenger seat with a cup of coffee in his hands, face falling to a frown when he saw that she already had one.

He’d brewed two pots, since the first one was too bitter on his taste test.

“You underestimate me,” she teased, reaching out and taking it from him. It was still warm.

“Double fisting the caffeine, I like it I like it,” Ethan grinned, pulling out of the spot and heading for the beach.

“Hopefully the beach won’t be crowded so we don’t run into anyone on the swells,” Grayson mused just to fill the silence.

“If you’re good, you don’t hit people,” Koa said between sips, watching the palm trees fly by the window. The car was warm, cozy in a way as the sun began to rise over the ocean. It was no Hawaiian sunrise, but it would do for now.

He didn’t say much after that until they got to the beach. Ethan made small talk where he could, and Koa wasn’t unaware of Grayson’s eyes on her while she shimmied into her wetsuit.

“Need help zipping up?” He offered - his cheeks were bright red in an almost boyish way.

She could reach the long string and do it herself, but she let him as a sign of good faith, grateful that he brushed her stray hairs away from the velcro so it didn’t get trapped and stuck.

Koa returned the favor for him when he turned around. It took some tugging to get the neoprene to stretch over his wide back. She lingered for a moment as she took in his tattoo; three lions resting together, two young and one old, with the words above and below - others came before me, others to come. It made her pause for a moment, trying to understand. From what she knew of Grayson, it didn’t fit him, his personality, his arrogance.

But did she really know him at all?

“Is it stuck?” His voice pulled her out of her inner monologue, and it was her turn to blush.

“Yeah, sorry, hold on,” she lied, giving it an overdramatic tug and tapping his shoulder to let him know she was done before taking her board from Ethan and heading down the sand. The water was chilly, but she adjusted quickly, starting to paddle as soon as she could. The boys kept up with her well, which didn’t surprise her based on their biceps.

The separation came when the first swell came in. Koa surveyed it, eyes poignant to what was coming. When she recognized the way the water moved, she immediately turned and began to paddle. Three strokes and she should snag it.

Sure enough, the timing landed just right and she pushed up onto her board the way Amosa had taught her when she was three; press, tuck and push. The wave caught her in its grasp and pushed her forward, exhilaration pumping through every vein.

And on top of that board, headed towards the shore, she felt at home.

And in her ears, she heard Grayson.

Or Ethan. She wasn’t sure, but one or both of them were yelling behind her, cheering her on as she continued across the swell, steady and triumphant.

Grayson couldn’t look away. It sounded dumb, even in his head, but she looked majestic. He couldn’t think of another word for her as she floated across, as stable as if she was walking down the sidewalk. It made him gasp when she bailed to the side and tucked under the wave, but even that was graceful.

It took her a minute to get back to them, but the boys were still cheering. Ethan didn’t hesitate to pull her towards him, giving her a hug with wide eyes.

“You gotta teach us how to do that bro.”

“It’s all in the timing,” she explained, and then she was talking. Technique, and strategy and watching for the right ones, how to bail - everything she knew.

Grayson couldn’t get enough of hearing her talk, more animated than he’d ever heard her as she straddled her board and bobbed up and down in the waves.

“Help me catch one,” Ethan begged. She obliged him, watching closely as the next set rolled in.

“When I say it, no fucking around or you’ll miss it,” she reminded him. She saw one coming in quickly, gauged it in the same moment and began her instructions.

“Okay, go, go go go, now, up now!”

To his own amazement, Ethan caught it at the perfect time, feet getting underneath him more solidly than they ever had. He didn’t last as long as he hoped - it was no longboard, but still, he managed to ride it for a good 10 seconds before he bailed to the side. Grayson jeered at him with a smile, watching him bob back up and struggle to get back on his board to paddle out. He thought he could hear people cheering from the shore, and he hoped for a moment they hadn’t been recognized.

“My turn,” Grayson grinned, the butterflies in his stomach a product of Koa’s proximity or the waves, he couldn’t tell.

But when he turned, she was swimming away from him as fast as she could, desperate to get away from him it seemed.

The hurt came first, and then it was immediately replaced by panic. He put the pieces together quickly.

A woman yelling from the sand, running towards the water. Koa, barreling as fast as her arms could take her in the same direction.

And a small dot of pink, barely visible above the waves.

“That’s a kid, fuck, thats a KID!”

He swam as fast as he could, Ethan blindly following. But they were no match for Koa’s many years in the waves. She swam as fast as her board would take her, only slowing enough to ensure she didn’t hit the little girl. She was gasping, her blonde hair down over her forehead.

As gently as she could without wasting any time, Koa grabbed her and hauled her up onto the board, breathing for the first time when she realized the girl was okay.

“Hi sweetheart, are you okay? Are you hurt? What’s your name?” Koa brushed her hair back just as Grayson got there on his own board, panting.

“I’m Alice. I want my mommy,” she cried, shivering as she laid on the board.

“It’s okay baby, my name is Koa. I’m gonna help you get back to mommy, okay?”

But when Koa began to move, Alice cried louder, scrambling towards her and almost tipping the board.

“No, no the waves are too big! They’re gonna get us!” she whimpered, looking towards the shore. All of them could tell she was terrified, and Koa put on her most convincing smile.

“I know it! They’re pretty big, but guess what?”

“What?”

“Your mommy sent me to help because I have a special board, and it never tips over, no matter what. So we’ll be extra safe. And these guys are gonna follow us and make sure no waves get us, okay? We’ll be back to mommy so fast.”

She couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7, and Koa was glad. Children still trusted people. And Alice trusted her, her small hands grabbing onto the board as Koa began to kick them in with the boys following behind.

Ethan watched it happen, like the petals of a rose opening up for the first time in spring.

Grayson was melting. All it took was seeing her once in that light and he knew the reason why he’d sat outside of Monty’s, why he was willing to let her borrow the car, why it bothered him so much that she wanted nothing to do with him.

He watched her scoop Alice up and carry her to her mother, watched her accept the hug the little girl gave her in gratitude, and he knew that there was something about the stupid book deal, and Ethan being stubborn and her coming all the way from Hawaii that was meant to happen.

There was no going back from it.

It was done.

When Koa turned to look at him, she couldn’t read the emotion in his eyes. So she just looked; held his gaze and quirked her head a bit when it didn’t falter.

“What?”

“You just saved that kid’s life,” he said. “You’re incredible.”

“Eh, it’s no big deal, had to scoop up some cousins back home at least once a week.” She blew it off, but she blushed anyways.

“Says the hero. C’mon, I think that’s enough ocean for the day, let’s go get breakfast or something,” Ethan jumped in.

“You just don’t wanna let Grayson catch a wave,” Koa teased, nudging his shoulder. He bumped her back and Grayson watched with a smile as they all headed back up towards the car - he couldn’t care less about the waves he was leaving behind.

They got cleaned up and out of their wetsuits, and the best feeling came when Ethan tossed Grayson his keys and climbed into the back of the jeep over the frame, a silent push for Grayson to keep his momentum as Koa climbed into the passenger seat.

“Alright hero, what’s for breakfast?” He turned to her with a grin.

“Hmmm... bagels.”

“Bagels it is.”

#yes I am still pretending that ethan has the jeep okay ITS FINE LET ME LIVE #this was a good distraction #thanks for being patient :')#hiraeth

28 notes · View notes