#and people will say 'but iris we never really saw how ace was' and i will say that that doesn't matter | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

boypussydilf · 2 years ago

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i know u asked for sherlock and iris for the character relationshjips ask game SO if someone else hasnt sent them yet do them but i want to hear you ramble abotu homumiko also. [holding you at gunpoint]

as you know i got a homumiko ask already but everyone look at it again “basil its long and incomprehensible and most of your followers dont even really know who these guys are” LOOK AT THEM. THEYRE KINDA WEIRD

ANYWAY !!!!!!! YAYYAYAYAYA IRIS AND SHERLOCK YAAAAAAAY. this post is probably gonna get long too so heres my eyecatch so people who dont wanna read all that are still forced to see them

describe their canon relationship/dynamic

tumblr is being buggy with this post.

God…. how do i…. they have so much going on …. lets start with the basics hes her dad. Obviously. thats her dad. he was handed a baby and just went Ok!!!!!!!! and took care of her forever. thats her dad. Iris’ main, initial frame of reference for The World and Being A Person is This Fucking Guy.

There is also the fact that thru most of the games she is not Calling Him her dad </3 consequences of. him telling her hes not her dad ansbJSHJSNSJSNSJSNWJS. even still as ryuu & susato say they have a parent child relationship … for the jokes abt iris being more lkke the parent of course which Is True and a Straightforward Joke But Still Really Funny. but he still is. like. The Dad Equivalent. Her Guardian. even when not actually Her Dad. they have a mutual duty of care. Sherlock makes sure they have money to buy food & Iris actually Makes Edible Food and thats about it you know.

they have the funniest fucking dynamic. Ever,. they treat each other like Equals. they talk to each other like Colleagues. They literally try to steal money from each other. iris bullies him all of the time and he also sort of bullies her back. Iris walks around loudly announcing embarrassing facts about him in public and Sherlock yells at her about it and no one feels bad and they love each other. and she kicks him. theyre so funny

Basically just. thats her dad. they are also best friends being each others constant companions for ten years (Because he raised her from birth). they steadfastly look out and care for each other. and every morning they wake up and try to invent new ways to be mean to each other

your ideal/headcanon version of it? how does it differ from how it is in canon & why is this your favorite version? any other alternate versions of it you enjoy?

in terms of Their Relationship Dynamic there is no way to improve upon it. there is nothing to change. theyre perfect. this is the best relationship ever. but i still of course have lots of headcanons about them. where do i even begin

for one thing as is probably already clear i thimk every day abt what capcom refuses to give us answers on: Iris’ Early Childhood and The Process Of Sherlock Raising Her. please i wanna know what that was like. And continues to be like tbh its just not something we see much bc its not relevant to ryuus side of things…… First of all: he has undeniably tried his best to take care of her and done an overall good job. look at her. Mikotoba would not have trusted sherlock with an entire fucking baby if he was not confident the man could like. Handle It. Successfully keep another human alive and make sure she comes out overall well adjusted and all that. But hes still. Sherlock Holmes (Ace Attorney Character). He. again. does not seem to have any perspective on what to prioritize. I just think he went “okay time to teach iris The Basics” and then jumped straight from “heres how to write your name” to giving her lectures on something he learned the other day about aerodynamics and skipped over a bunch of stuff in between and didn’t really realize until she, like, saw an owl and went UNAUTHORIZED FUCKING BEAST? because she was like 5 and had still never heard of an owl.

Also im glad everyone in the world independently got up and thought “he definitely took that baby to crime scenes” because he definitely took that baby to crime scenes. Like. As everyone has said 200 times. What the hell else is he gonna do? He has to take cases or he DIES. There is no one he is close enough to for him to go Hey take my baby for a while. He’s broke as fuck permanently he cant PAY someone to watch her. Come on 8 month old child who’s still figuring out how to, like, Exist, let’s go Solve A Mystery. I don’t think she’s ever, like, seen a dead body, though. It’s all in my head, you understand, I have the whole escalation of it in my mind - when shes a Really Tiny Baby he has to just focus on Watching Her and can only take the kind of cases that can be solved sitting in the living room (he is going insane), then when he gets past the “what if i stop paying attention to her for ONE SECOND and she EXPLODES” phase he can do stuff that actually requires Investigation, then the second she’s able to Talk he goes Yeah that probably means she can Help with investigations now. and shes iris so hes right. I think 1-5 is prrrrrrobably her first Murder Investigation though. shes a little girl! you don’t take a little girl to a murder scene! Except under special circumstances!

This veered in … some slightly different direction than just Their Relationship i guess but fuck dude it was fun. Like. I like them. I think about them. i think sherlock went oh god oh fuck i dont know what children are like whats good for children *thinks about him as a child* I WAS WEIRD WASNT I THAT WONT WORK *iris turns out to be Just Like Him* Oh thank god here 4 year old child take this chemistry set and scrap metal. Go wild.

what do you like about their relationship, why is it interesting or enjoyable to you?

I swear to god ive probably said this on 80% of these ask game responses: I like family. They family. all ace attorney games kind of have a Found Family cast in the end, but they dont generally refer to characters who dont have clear cut straightforward straight up family relationships As Family, except DGS, which has ryuu explicitly call them His Family, and, and, I don’t know that the themes of The Importance Of Family & Family Being Something You Can Choose play a huge role in the story of dgs itself in most places, esp the Chosen Family bit, but its THERE, in ryuu calling the gang his wonderful family & iris adopting him and susato as her siblings & mikotoba caring for asougi like his son and Most Prominently, Iris Calling Sherlock Her Dad. which i will elaborate on the importance of in a minute but anyway i just think theyre really cute and really funny

what about the individual characters involved? what does this relationship mean to them, what makes it unique among their relationships?

YOU REMEMBER THAT THING I SAID BRIEFLY IN THE HOMUMIKO ASK ABT MEETING SOMEONE RIGHT WHEN U REALLY NEED IT. *pulls out yet another pepe silvia style conspiracy board* Here i actually made a chart.

I don’t remember almost anything abt the mainline AA series, only remember this bc I’ve seen it mentioned so much, and don’t even remember it clearly enough to know for sure if it’s Dialogue From The Game or just Conclusions People Reached but you know that shit about, Phoenix gets disbarred and its A Bad Time For Him but its Less Bad Than It Could Have Been because at the same time he gets Trucy and now he has Trucy. Like. Same concept. “Accidental Child Acquisition leading to Better Ability To Cope With The Shit That Just Happened In Your Life” is more common than you might think apparently. Inspiring! Every Day This Man Holds Off Emotional Breakdown Until AFTER His Baby Is Fed

If i was ever going to say more about his side of things thanjudt. All That. i forgor. shes dotter. incontext the “i raised you well!!” line is just , a joke abt him being proud of her for something He Very Much Does Not Ever Do Himself but still like WAH . proud of dotter.

Anyway originally i was like, what the hell can I say about iris? That’s her dad and that’s about it. And then I went Simon are you fucking STUPID? THATS HER DAD. THATS THE POINT. God… oh my god …….

Basically!! Returning to the point about Choosing Who Your Family Is and how Sherlock & Iris and specifically Iris calling him her dad for the first time (since we met her) is the most prominent example in the game!!!

Iris’s Whole Deal™️ is she got her World Changed by finding out sherlock wasn’t her “real” dad and her dad was Some Guy She’s Never Met and now she goes then who the fuck IS my dad? Where do I come from? Who Am I? and her Search For Her Dad, Desire To Meet Him, & Attempt To Feel Closer To Him By Reading His Notes And Putting Herself In His Shoes is like. a big part of her identity. For like maybe almost half her life up to this point too!! And …… then she gets closer & farther away & closer & farther away and she decides Susie & Ryuu r her Siblings and somewhere in all of this. decides it doesnt matter quite That much who her “Real” Dad is because shes not defined by her biological father and she already. Has a dad. cries. And. And. And because of the time she spent Not Thinking Of Sherlock As Her Dad it means hes her dad ultimately because She Decided It . not bc he or anyone else said it should be like that but bc she decided he is her dad.

So like . you know. starts sobbing in the streets. anyway they r just both very very important to each other

favorite interaction they have in canon

First prize goes to the off-screen interaction Iris mentions in the credits where she gave him a note that just said like “thank you for everything daddy!” and he read it and started crying. Its like. The ONE thing about dgs2 i remembered with Clarity. in the years between my first & second times watching dgs i thought about it often and i still do.

Second prize goes to her going “oh its just a wax figure see *KICKS HIM AS HARD AS SHE CAN*” itsso fucking funny. that was not necessary. at all. she just wanted to kick him huh

favorite interaction they have in your head/a situation you want to put them in

FUCK UMMM. UHHHHH. i already kind of talked about it but even though i dont think its really even IMPLIED? that sherlock has ever taken her to Investigate A Case? she just stays at home generally? In my heart she goes with him and helps out somet8mes. i want to see it.

what else. obvious and not really the kind of thing id put in this category generally but like Iris finds out her dad was klimt when. hey fuckos!! When r u going to tell her !!!

alsgo i have a weakness for Older Iris content like ough my god 🥺🥺 ou my goed 🥺🥺😭 She growed. one day she will not be the most powerful 10 year old in the world she will be the most powerful 20 year old in the world. show me !! show me !! I want to see!! she is going to do so fuckinf much its unreal!!

Finally, i thought of this ages ago for reasons now forgotten to me and just remembered it today. sherlock & iris & date & mizuki hangout. tehyre *checks notes* girls who do violence on their dads sometimes and that’s about it but its funny right

In conclusion: kiss on top of iris little baby head. appreciate her

#this post took uhhh. LIKE 5 OR 6 HOURS TO MAKE .#MAYBE CLOSER TO 7??#i hit post limit. then ikept getting interrupted by other stuff. then i made the post very long #its. very long.#*iris voice* this is my cringe ass roommate who always breaks the dishes when he washes them #OH: IN BETWEEN THE VIOLIN THING (MENTIONED IN OTHER POST)#& JUST. LIKE. IN THE POSITION OF A DGS FAN HOW CAN U READ THE SH STORIES AND NOT SOMETIMES GO #‘LOL IRIS WROTE THIS’#ITS LIKE. LOL IRIS WRITES ABT SHERLOCK IN A WAY THAT MAKES HIM SOUND COOLER THAN HE IS #‘YOURE SO FUCKING LAME. DONT WORRY ILL MAKE PEOPLE THINK UR REMOTELY COMPETENT’#LOVE IT. LOVE HER #basilask #dgs from my brain

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hopeymchope · 2 years ago

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Jurassic World Dominion

So I've actually been a big fan of the Jurassic Park franchise basically my whole life, and I just want to say: I have no idea why people are hating Jurassic World Dominion as much as they are.

Honestly, I'd probably rank it like fourth out of the six films, but I'd still say "pretty dang good."

A large number of semi-random and SPOILERY thoughts follow:

I love that we went back to the primary Big Bad of the novels (and the Behind-the-Scenes Bad of the first film) and finally spent time on them in the movies! I’m always happy to spend time digging into the source material of the novels — and believe me, there’s still some stuff in the two books that I’d like to see brought to film someday...

I’m glad that they didn’t split up Owen and Claire between films again. The habit of sequels always splitting up/bringing back together the various couples is dumb.

I am legitimately surprised that Claire and Owen just drove off with Maisie at the end of the previous film and simply never told anyone where she was or spoke to any authorities about her. They legit just kidnapped her ass. Granted, she consented to that, but it’s still fucked up? She probably is heir to the Lockwood fortune, and frankly, shouldn’t Iris (her nanny/housekeeper from the previous film) more entitled to guardianship... ?

I wish they found a way to keep Franklin and Zia in the movie for a lot longer. Those two were some of the best parts of Fallen Kingdom.

Kudos for talking about Claire’s lingering guilt for the first film and the end events of the second. However, I kind of wish Maisie had gotten some time to ponder/process her own guilt for what happened. Although she certainly has her own internal identity struggles to work though.

Since Grant and Malcolm already got to return for previous sequels in major ways, it’s cool to have Ellie lead the charge for the original trio this time around. I respect and admire that decision.

As happy as I am to see the original trio return, I can’t help but wish we got Julianne Moore/Sarah Harding tossed in, too. That would’ve been so great. The Lost World film needs more respect, and she was a great complement to Ian’s character. But really, it’s a packed house in here already. It might’ve been hard to drag in even MORE characters.

Surprised that we never saw Lowery from the first JW return. They foreshadow his presence on the BioSyn compound by showing his face in the papers of former Jurassic World employees who have moved to working for BioSyn, but he never surfaces. Instead of giving us some new characters running the communications in the mountain-framed reserve, it would’ve been absolutely aces to use Lowery and/or Vivian again!

That Malta sequence is absolute goddamn dynamite. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time thanks to the brilliant editing and pulse-pounding score. VERY happy to have Omar Sy back in the cast for a while, too! He was the one I was most worried about throughout this scene. Even though I knew Claire and Owen would escape safely, I was still completely on edge about how in the hell they’d do it. 10/10 sequence.

Santos was such a nasty piece of work that it’s downright weird for her to not linger in the movie longer, IMO. She is so pointlessly cruel at times.

DUUUUUDE, they figured out a way to explain/bring in finally getting feathered dinosaurs without getting rid of what we already have. SO fuckin’ nice. Mad respect for this.

I did NOT expect them to suddenly give Dr. Wu a sympathetic arc, but I’m surprisingly ok with it. It makes sense for him to finally grow from his prior experiences. And yet... I think he should still have to somehow answer for a lot of what he’s done. Particularly the Indoraptor. Like, there’s no good goddamn reason to ever create an Indoraptor unless your goal is to make a militarized killing machine, dude.

It’s worth noting that Maisie is told very clearly that she is necessary in order to prevent the world from entering a major famine that will result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands. And after initially seeming very receptive to the importance of this, she promptly says “Fuck those people” and makes a break for it. I get that she wants her freedom and that teenagers are rebellious, but that is fucking harsh.

Therizinosaurus and Pyroraptor sequences were very cool. They looked awesome and did very cool stuff. They even managed to justify the Therizinosaurus being aggressive and scary in spite of it still being a clear herbivore through clever unspoken storytelling.

Giganotosaurus, on the other hand? Kinda underwhelming, IMO. And hey- are we supposed to believe he has the same “movement based on motion” as the T-Rex does in the movies, or what?? Because they seem to imply it but never clarify if (or why) that would be true.

Dilophosaurus is back after being absent since 1993. Yay! But they’re ALL juvenile-sized, without a single one being adult-sized. Boo!

Sam Neill/Alan Grant seems like he’s the least engaged of the five returning leads. He’s mostly here for his check, and I can’t fault him for that. I just wish he had a little more to do that would show off his expertise and experience with these creatures. I’m glad he’s present even if he’s got little to do besides phone it in — it definitely wouldn’t be the same without him.

Ian gets some of the best dialogue, of course. His pessimism about the world speaks to me deeply.

This movie falls into the half of the franchise that is sadly afraid to kill off any sympathetic characters. I honestly prefer it when they’re willing to let likable characters die, because it really raises the stakes. But at the same time, I didn’t particularly want to see any of these new characters go down? Idk. Maybe I would’ve been okay with losing Ramsay? Or, hey - why not have Dr. Wu get his little redemption arc but still die by the end? Idk.

By the final act of the film, it becomes pretty obvious why the characters were kept separated from one another for most of the running time. It’s just a real problem to juggle that many characters all trying to avoid dinosaurs in a GROUP, y’know? It’s hard to track them all in a single shot, and it’s hard to keep the stakes feeling high if no one’s actually dying along the way. I saw one of the guys from Easy Allies compare it to watching a large, tightly packed group trying to maneuver through a haunted house; there’s definitely truth in that.

The ending fails to address a few major outstanding issues, IMO. I really wish they had given us some lip service to talk about the finer details of how the significant number of dinosaurs in the former BioSyn preserve is going to help make coexistence with the remainder easier to handle... or how, exactly, Claire and Owen are allowed to retain custody of Maisie. After they kidnapped a girl, the world went on a four-year manhunt for her, and then authorities finally rescued everybody and obviously were like “Oh shit it’s Maisie Lockwood” and then ........ ???

........it feels weird and kind of off-putting to actually see Grant and Ellie kiss? I never realized until this moment that they share extremely little on-screen affection in the first JP. But hey, at least they finally got back together... even if it’s much too late for them to ever follow up on Grant’s newfound affection for/tolerance for children in the first film. Alas.

#jurassic world #jurassic park #movies #jurassic world dominion #jurassic world: dominion

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daddywright · 3 years ago

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I have only recently got into the ace attorney fandom, and this story was the first story I read, and I feel spoiled! I absolutely loved every chapter, so I'm gonna word vomit here and tell you everything I love about this!

"She offers him a smile. It’s small, tentative, but it possesses a strength that makes a hidden part of him twist and burn with quiet envy." the first time we see nick's wish to be as strong as mia!

Considering the fact that nick didn't have any prominent figure in his life, it makes sense that he would look up to gregory so much

"Phoenix looks up, and starts walking towards Mia Fey

He doesn't stop for two years."

THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MIA AND NICK HAD WAS PRECIOUS AND DESERVES MORE THAN WHAT THE FANDOM GIVES THEM

"Larry’s arms wrap around him, squeezing almost too tight" People forget that Larry and Phoenix were good friends too, and Larry would help his best friend

"Nobody believed him, nobody but Mia" Maya is what Phoenix is to Mia and I adore that

"He wishes, desperately, that he’d said it while she was still alive. I loved you. For everything you did." Not you absolutely breaking my fucking heart

Also the first AA game felt unnatural in the sense of how seemingly unaffected Phoenix seemed at Mia's murder so I'm really glad you wrote it this way

"Expensive. Thoughtful. Too much." SHUT UP NICK YOU DESERVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

Also quick break to mention how I absolutely fucking love your writing style and i wish I was literally half as talented as you cuz the last time I read something that made me feel this multitude of emotions was ocean vuong. And I practically worship Ocean Vuong. So now I worship you too

"You're a stranger to me // When will I stop hoping?" I never really realised just how badly nick musta been hurt by good ol' bratworth before this fic, but now that I have read it, it would have hurt him so bad

"Is this why you never answered my letters? Because I was a reminder? Because it hurt too much?" Honestly what happened to miles and phoenix's friendship hurts so much because it should have never happened, and miles didn't deserve that.

"Maybe Miles Edgeworth is not the man he thought he’d be, either." yo when I tell you this hurt I mean this huRT

Fun fact! My birthday is on the same day as DL-6 anniversary. Gregory Edgeworth died on my birthday. I feel horrible now

"monster. You were nine years old and he's a monster. " No one has made me feel this much emotion for what happened to Miles in a single sentence other than you. I commend you for that

"I love you," he says quietly. He has never said those words to anyone, except for Dahlia Hawthorne.

Maya sniffs in his ear, crushing him tight. "I love you, too."

He has never heard them back.

PHOENIX HAS NEVER HEARD THE WORDS " I LOVE YOU" COME BACK TO HIM ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME WHY NOW I'M SAD

"Tell me everything. Every detail—" Miles is worried bout nick and why wouldn't he? gods you're so gay miles but tbf if I knew someone like nick irl i'd go ballistic too

"He determined the motive for his own assault...with amnesia. Naturally." My man's smart af and he is king

"Is that what she thinks of me? That I'm like that? That I don't care about who the bad guys really are?" Gumshoe noooo you're hella precious! Also this particular chapter was so well written! loved this soo much!

Also taking a minute to appreciate the pacing! Rarely do I ever come across an author who just hits that sweet spot of perfect pacing and you did! so thank you!

Alright so here are a few thoughts that I felt capcom needed to do which you did for us!

no. 1 - Address the trauma phoenix faced with not only dahlia but also with mia's death

no. 2 - Actually fucking flesh out a good relationship dynamic between larry and phoenix

no. 3 - actually! have! phoenix! be hurt! in bridge to turnabout! istg my man would not have dropped from a burning bridge to a freezing river only to have a cold

AUNT FRANZY AND PEARLS MAN!

THEY CUTE

ok so I have a LOT of feelings for bridge to turnabout and HOO BOY BUCKLE UP

So I always thought that in this fic, miles must have felt fucking awful! I mean he very clearly hates who he was and what that has led to but that must have been doubled over with this case! Phoenix would have died if not for mia and it would have been indirectly miles's fault. I think about that alot

Like he said that he very much regrets whatever he did as bratworth in the phone call with gumshoe but i don't think he anticipated this. poor edgeworth

Also I think this was the final nail in the coffin for miles. Phoenix forgave him, after all the fucked up shit miles did, and that made that man go "how is this guy so fucking compassionate awwwww shit I'm in fucking love with this idiotic brave man".

my main thoughts were "holy shit phoenix must have been feeling awful." like to learn that you were in love with a person who turned out to be a murderer but then not a murderer cuz everything you felt about that was real and just...... it must have hurt. He never fell in love with dahlia. it was iris, always. and WHAT ABOUT MILES DURING THIS!!! Like to learn that the man you love was falsely led to believe that he was in love with a person he rarely met and then learn that his ex who is not murderous might still be in love with him because "that was real. that part was real." like damn. people just gloss over this

also I feel terrible for iris F in the chat for iris lads.

Dahlia literally haunting that courtroom scene. I felt mia's power. I felt her desperation. I felt everything and I am once again in awe of the absolute power your writing holds.

also godsdamn pearls had to go through all that shit huh. also FRANMAYAAAAAA THANK YOUUUU

I too, am a hoe confused as to what I should feel towards diego.

Ok anyways we jump to disbarment now

"He just winks at her and says Maya has other talents, and if Mystic Maya overhears, she puffs up at him like the fish from the aquarium she saw once, the one with all the spikes and silly eyes."

you know what constantly amazes me? your ability to change tones so effortlessly. When writing from edgey's pov, the language is sophisticated. precise. when writing from pearly's pov your language is simplistic, child-like. from phoenix's pov it's natural. grounded

"She never knew anybody who made faces like him, growing up in Kurain, and it’s one of the things that makes him special." Yo phoenix is the most amazing uncle ever and we all know it ok he's brilliant

I'M RUNNING OUT OF CHARACTER LIMITS

PEARLY CALLING EDGEY AT FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE I'M SOFFFFTTTT

“I think I did something really bad." trucy baby no it's not your fault

pearl and trucy bonding supremacy. my girls would fuck shit up

"She’d meant to do this properly, one day." Thank you for giving importance to maya's feelings. thank you for treating her like a real human being. thank you

“Everything that happened...for what? It’s only gotten people hurt. Pearly. Our mother.” Me. Me." I felt so bad for maya here. I wish I could tell you in precise words about how this exact framing of the sentence is what broke me. "me. me" maya deserved more, but mia did all she could

"What do scared kids need? ...Food." not you breaking my godsdamn heart again. phoenix just knows what's it like being a helpless child, and he'll be damned if he ever lets anyone face that again

“‘Course, Pearls,” he says reflexively, before frowning. “What for?” reflexively. if every man in the world could be like phoenix wright then the world would be worthy of the gods

"Another one?" give it 2 years edgey she'll be your daughter too

"after countless hours creating the man’s living space in his mind from the background snatches he’d seen in the man’s ridiculous video calls." NOT ONLY DO THEY VC FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT ALSO MILES ACTUALLY SPENDS TIME TRYING TO RECREATE HIS ROOM?? BECAUSE HE WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE IN IT??? good gods these bitches gay. good for them

"because just as day is light and night is dark, Phoenix Wright is an honorable man." damn straight. you love to see it (it being a 27+ year old man pining for another 27+ year old man)

also hey miles! how do you feel about the fact that the man you love changed his fucking major and degrees halfway through college just so he could see you again only for you to be incredibly rude to him and make him end up in jail! (i bully edgeworth cuz i love him)

"Wright finishes, shrugging like it’s nothing, like his commitment and belief isn’t the most extraordinary thing that Miles has ever faced." it's more than pining at this point. it's incredible faith and trust. Miles had someone who cared about him even after all those years despite him having changed so drastically, ofc he would be surprised. Miles loves phoenix and so do i.

also HOT DAMN YOU WRITING IS JUST * MWAH *

Also the whole segment where they kiss is just !!!!! miles wants! it's beautiful! THEY'RE IN LOVEEE

receiving poisonous bottles which your ex tried to kill you with. My man can't get a break huh

Miles being chivalrous and protective and absolutely stealing my godsdamn heart (and phoenix's too)!

Klavier being the absolute king that he is we stan

The hostage situation section? gods miles must have been terrified.

Phoenix not being able to promise pearly that he'd always come back home and miles hearing it and like... ouch. my heart. you didn't need to do that (but i love your for it)

GODS THE CLIMAX WITH KRISTOPH WAS SOOO SATISFYING AND LIKE MY MAN PHOENIX REALLY PUNCHED THAT BITCH HUH

klavier baby I am so sorry

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

and thus my comment ends. I believe I have almost used up all of my commenting limits and i leave with these few parting words : HOLY SHIT YOUR AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU!

also I made a playlist on spotify for this fic! here's the link : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3k8lRHiO8ZXQDLpiTUL7SN?si=fc3b35b4ab064867

gods this was long huh

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY....WHERE DO I BEGIN...THE FACT THAT YOU BROKE THE CHARACTER LIMIT ON AO3 AND MADE A PLAYLIST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

thank you so much for all the amazing things you said....i am crying on a Wednesday morning knowing my writing was appreciated this much. thank you!

#ask tag #long post #my fic #nymphietonkslupin

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who-ever-said-i-was-nice · 4 years ago

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Hi! I like your writing so much 🥰🥰🥰. How incredible they are! So, I have a resquest about how Napoleon, Mozart, Leo, Comte,Vincent, Will ( sorry if it is too much) react to a MC who is taller than them 😂😂😂 ( like her height is 185cm) and how they fall in love with her. Thank you so much ☺️☺️☺️

Ah girl. I'm sorry for taking so damn long. I am buried under so much work, but now I have a few minutes to spare so I decided to finish this for you. I hope you enjoy and It was worth your wait. Love you and thanks again.! Here is the part 2!

Napoleon

Napoleon was strolling around the mansion one evening. It had been a surprisingly good day. He want out with Isaac and taught the children, he sparred with Jean. It was fulfilling. He walked passed the Door, but when he got to the end of the corridor he heard something. He turned around and hurried back, only to find..nothing. He looked both ways and was ready to dismiss it, but then he heard a small sniffle come from behind an open door a little down the hall. He opened it to reveal a very beautiful girl. And she was so tall, which only added to her beauty.He, Napoleon, The nightmare of Europe, The emperor of France, felt like the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. He quickly recomposed himself and glanced back to the woman who looked about ready to cry. He closed the door and took her hand. "Why are you hiding behind a door? Everything's alright you don't need to hide. And - he paused a little - please don't cry nunuche. He smiled at the woman and extended a hand.She took it without much hesitation. "Can I have your name?" he questioned, looking slightly up to gaze into her E/C colored eyes. " Y/n" she responded rather timidly and Napoleon felt his heart flutter. -------------------Time skip to two weeks in-----------------

Napoleon still felt an odd stirring feeling whenever Y/n was around. Fortunately he had now realized why. He had fallen in love with her. He wanted to tell her, he really did, but he couldn't figure out how. One cold winter night he plucked up the courage to tell you, which was a lot harder then he would have thought. He walked out into the garden looking for a very specific flower. Finally he found it. An Algerian Iris.

He picked it with careful hands and hurried to Y/n's room. He got there and swallowed hard before knocking on her door. Y/n opened it and stared down at the man. He cleared his throat. " Y/n, I know I haven't known you for too long, but I can't suppress these feeling anymore. Over the past month you have always been there for me. We laughed together, shared memories together and even made new ones. Your smile always lights up the world and no matter what happens I want you to remember, I love you." He smiled up at Y/n. Tears of happiness streamed down her face. He offered her the tiny flower. She held it with such gentleness, as if it could shatter at any moment. She then embraced her lover as she sobbed. Napoleon hugged her back, his face buried in her neck. He urged her to lean down a bit and he kissed her. She kissed back smiling into it.

Mozart

Mozart sat alone in his room. A thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, as he tried so desperately to perfect his new masterpiece. His skilled hands glided over the keys gracefully. Suddenly he was pulled out of his thoughts by the loud noises coming from the dining room. He got up. Annoyed at all of the residents for ruining his concentration. He walks out of the room in a hurry. When he makes it there, he turns the corner ready to throw an insult at them, however the words die in his throat as his eyes land on the tall figure standing in the middle of the room. He's baffled at how tall that woman was. He quickly composed himself and walked over to her. The closer he got, the more he noticed about her. The way her eyes sparkled as she talked to the residents, how she would bring her hand up to her mouth when she laughed, the sway of her hair, the way she shifted her way fro one long leg to the other. But most importantly, he noticed her eyes dart around a little when looking down, as if she was afraid of something. Mozart, however could not put his finger on it. He was soon spotted by the infamous flirt, Arthur. " Mozart! Our loved composer. Come over here don't be shy." he flashed his boyish grin and Mozart made a small noise of irritation, but cam up to her. " Hello, I am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer" He looked up to find her eyes shining with excitement. "Hello! I'm Y/n. It's a pleasure to meat you! I love your music and..." She just kept going, rambling about how amazing he and his music was. Mozart will never admit it, but it warmed his frozen heart. As he watched her talk all he could think about was: ' You innocent, little lamb. Where you the one I was missing? I didn't even know I was missing something till now. Someday, somehow I will make you mine'

-------------------Time skip to two weeks in-----------------

Mozart was playing the piano, channeling all his anger into it. He missed a note and jumped up immediately. He was angry and sad, but worst of all he felt betrayed. He banged his fists against the wall as tears streamed down his face. He didn't want to cry. He fought with all his might. but the river just kept flowing. He could not have her, he could not. That was the truth. He heard a small knock on the door. He yelled an angry 'go away', but the door opened anyway. In stepped Y/n. When she spotted him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and worry. She hurried over to his side and placed a delicate hand on his back. Mozart tried to trow a sarcastic comment her way, or at least push her or get her away from him, but he was rooted to the spot, crying his eyes out in front of this sweet, little lamb. " Wolf? What happened? Why do you cry?" her voice was cracking with worry and fear. Mozart lifted his head from the wall, but did not meat her eye. Instead he starred at the ceiling and spoke in and unusually quite voice. " That man...downtown. He had his arm around you....I didn't know you had a lover." He finally looked at her, only to find an expression of shock on her face. " You mean the man that walked up behind me, put his arm around me and attempted to flirt, only to get punched by Jean?" Now it was his turn to be surprised. However he could tell she spoke the truth. Had he watched a little longer he would have seen it all happen, but he was consumed by his emotions and as his anger turned to a forte, he could not look anymore. Everything slowed down. It was a peculiar feeling. It seem like all noise had been muffled and all the thing and events faded. She smiled. A soft, sweet smile. She reached up and gently whipped his tears. She found his jealousy a bit childish, but she knew that she loved him and she would have broken down too. She understood and so she could accept. Mozart's eyes softened as he gazed into her smiling eyes and basked in her tender touch. They both moved at the same time and met in the middle. It was a sweet and gentle kiss filled with love.

Leo

Leonardo da Vinci. The renaissance mastermind.That is what people called him, or so he had been informed by Sebastian. He always thought long and hard about that. He had invented and created a lot of things, yes, but he was not always certain he deserved that title. A nagging fear always crept up on him. Was he really that special? Was he worth it at all. After all, he faked his death. He lied to all those who adore him now. He did not deserve anything in his mind. And even if he did, he could not keep it forever. Time kills everything he loves. The people he cared for turned to dust in his hand and the hand on the clock just kept ticking. On and on and on. For eternity. He shivered and set the pocket-watch he had been fixing down. He needed some air. And a cigarillo. As he wandered the corridors he heard a bang coming from the direction of the magical door. Curious, he walked towards it only to find a simply ethereal woman standing and yanking at the doorknob. He walked up to her. " Can I help you Cara mia?" She spun around with a glare on her face looking ready to fight, but she relaxed when she saw that the man standing in front of her was not a threat.

-------------------Time skip to two weeks in-----------------

Over the course of the week, Leo found himself enjoying her company more and more. The truth was, that he had caught feeling for her. She had beautiful h/l h/c hair and e/c eyes that sparkled every time she talked about something she liked. Not to mention, she was tall. Really tall. Taller then him actually. And he loved that. He thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Whenever she wore her 21st century pants or skirts you could see her lovely long legs. However he tried to push these things away. He could not harbor feeling for a woman he knew he was going to loose. He could not control or tolerate the ace in his heart every time she would pass him by, or help him with something. Unfortunately, he knew that if he gave in he would hurt a thousand times more. It was 12 o'clock at night and he could not fall asleep. Well not that he was trying to hard. He got up and decided to walk around the mansion. As he passed Mozart's door he heart Y/n's small sobs. He stopped dead in his tracks and listened. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but he caught a few words. ".. Can't have him......doesn't love me....I'm too tall" Those words where like an electric shock to him. He could make out Mozart comforting you and another voice that he believed was Jean, but he couldn't concentrate. It felt as if the whole world caved in on him. He was selfish. He had chosen his comfort over your and now this was the price he had to pay. He should have known. The bill comes due. Always! He pulled himself together the best he could and knocked on the door. Everything went silent. Mozart opened the door, looking even more pale then usual. He was about to shut the door in his face when Y/n soft voice rang out. "Don't, it's alright. I will talk to him" Jean looked ready to protest, but he let her go anyway. The stood facing each other in the hall. Leo looking slightly up to meat her teary eyes. He reached up and wiped her face. He met her gaze once again and whispered: "I'm so sorry." He pulled her in and kissed her with everything he had. Pouring all the hurt, denial, pain and love he felt. She kissed back with just as much passion. Finally he had to pull away for air. He looked back at her again." Don't ever say, you are too tall, mia bella"

As you can see, it got really long. Idk if this is what you had in mind, but yeah. I will do the other half and maybe other residents too, because this was really fun. Once again thank you for your patience and have an amazing day/night.tags: @nad-zeta @dazaiswindow @blu-tigerr @jeanstan @ichigoamamiya @shookspearewrites @chaotic-coyote I ummm taggd you guys here, idk if you want me to tag you again next time or you want me to stop, ummmm tell me i don't really know how this works so if this is not how I'm supposed to do it, tell me. I appreciate it😅

#ikemen vampire #cybird ikemen #ikemen vampire leonardo #ikemen vampire mozart #ikemen vampire napoleon #asks #i am kind of confussed #like when the hell did it get this long #bruh

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renegadewangs · 3 years ago

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Van Zieks - the Examination, part 7

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: (see Part 1 for the more detailed disclaimer.) - These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I’m outlining stems from my own views and experiences. If you believe that I’ve missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. -The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. - I’m using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what’s said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent. -It doesn’t matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Back to the second game we go for The Return of the Great Departed Soul! (Part one, this is another two-parter case)

Episode 2-3: The Return of the Great Departed Soul

So now, chronologically, six months have passed since The Unspeakable Story. Susato returned to Japan at the end of the first game and hasn't returned yet. Ryu was reprimanded for all the perjury and the questionable McGilded defense, so he had his right to stand in court revoked for now and instead had to focus on studying English law some more. He's done so quite patiently and now he feels he's ready to return. He just needs to get Stronghart's permission first. Meanwhile, the Great Exhibition is happening in Hyde Park, pulling in visitors and scientists from all over the world. Exciting! (S)Holmes hands Ryu a newspaper with an article on the exhibition, talking about how the brighter things shine, the darker the shadows cast behind them. By now, Ryu is fluent enough in (S)Holmes speak to know this means he should flip over the newspaper. There, we find an article of an entirely different sort.

So not only was Van Zieks apparently attacked, Ryu shows horror and concern at the notion. No hard feelings from our wholesome boy! (S)Holmes explains that London's finest criminals often find ways to get acquittals from trials through bribery, threats, sham witnesses... We saw this in McGilded, of course, so we know all too well how dangerous that can get. But since the Reaper and his curse are immune to such tactics, when a ringleader or fellow ends up being 'taken' by the curse, retaliation can occur. So it's established that this isn't the first time Van Zieks has been attacked by a group of thugs. Fortunately, Van Zieks is an “accomplished combatant” who doesn't take these attacks lying down. Unfortunately, the thugs were carrying guns this time. Uhoh.

This warms my heart, it really does. Van Zieks has been a terrible scumbag, but Ryu doesn't think he's gotten his comeuppance at all. He's genuinely concerned for this man and intends to find out more about his condition. So since he was planning to meet with Stronghart and ask for attorney permission anyway, it's the perfect opportunity to also ask about Van Zieks! Iris decides to tag along because she wants to visit the Great Exhibition. Let's shove the newspaper in Stronghart's face as soon as the game allows it.

The phrasing of “number one prosecutor” is interesting, but then... We never learn of any other (living) veteran prosecutors in this country, so of course Van Zieks would be number one. Stronghart says there's no need for concern; Van Zieks would not be so easily dispatched. Street ruffians are no match for him, since he's a very capable fighter. Seems like that sword he carries around isn't just for show after all. As for why he was attacked this time... Well, a month ago Van Zieks prosecuted a leader of a criminal organization. Nice to know he didn't just return to retirement and instead got back to work like a normal person without cherrypicking his cases based on what Ryu's doing. The defendant was acquitted, no doubt thanks to large sums of money being shifted around behind the scenes, but he still met a dramatic end just yesterday during an accident at the Great Exhibition. The man in question was Odie Asman, and the one now being detained on suspicion of murder without a defense attorney is Professor Albert Harebrayne. Albert's case has just been assigned to Ryu, so we're sure to find out more about Asman as we go. As as final touch, Ryu asks Stronghart why he continues to use Van Zieks as a prosecutor. Since the criminals are becoming fearful of the curse and attacking him, it's dangerous to Van Zieks himself. Stronghart explains that he has two reasons: Firstly, Van Zieks is the best prosecutor in the capital, bar none. And secondly, any deaths that have occurred outside the courtrooms after his trials have nothing to do with him. (S)Holmes alluded to the same thing, saying that Van Zieks had a rock-hard alibi for each and every mysterious death.

“So he will continue to prosecute on behalf of the Crown. ...Unless he wishes otherwise, of course.” With that, Stronghart admits he needs to get going since he's already 11 hours late to his next appointment (fsdkjfls). Ryu asks where he might be able to find Van Zieks and is told to head to his office. So even after being told that Van Zieks is just fine, Ryu is still concerned and wants to discuss the matter with the man himself. Let's gooo! Naturally, the first thing out of Van Zieks's mouth when he catches Ryu and Iris in his office is to wonder what the heck they're doing here.

So there's several things of interest in the office, with the game automatically addressing the biggest one: Van Zieks has an apprentice now! It's a mysterious, rigid dude wearing a hood and a mask who is absolutely not familiar to us, nope. We don't know him. Gosh, what a mystery. Van Zieks doesn't seem to know who he is either, instead just referring to him as his apprentice and nothing more.

Ryu sees this as an opening to ask about the attack on the Reaper that was in the newspaper. Van Zieks admits that he too is very interested in the true identity of the Reaper. “Assuming, that is, such a fabled fiend genuinely inhabits our great courtrooms.” The conversation halts for a moment so we can examine the office and this is the best opportunity for humanizing traits we've gotten so far, so LET'S DO IT! The enormous portrait in the back is the first thing to peek at.

Iris says whoever painted it exaggerated the subject's handsomeness, which in turn is reminiscent of Napoleon ordering the painter to make him look more attractive. That's super vain and not an attractive quality in a person at all. I laughed the whole way through that bit of dialogue and Van Zieks, who was in earshot the entire time, gets his feathers ruffled.

When Ryu asks who it is then, Van Zieks doesn't reply. BACKSTORY ALERT! Examining the chalices and bottles on the left leads to Van Zieks explaining the hallowed bottles are filled with the finest grapes from the finest vineyards he visits (so it is grape juice!!!) and he personally oversees the chalices being made by the finest crystal craftsmen in the world. Right, so not only is he filthy stinkin' rich, he's a perfectionist. Iris points out that Van Zieks throws the chalices and bottles around like they're worthless, to which Van Zieks says:

“Before you open your mouth next time, you should consider the poor artisans whose work you defile.”

As it turns out, passive aggression is contagious now. Ryu replies with a “So it's my fault? Silly me! How could I ever have thought otherwise?” and honestly I love that he's got enough guts to say this out loud. Our boy is growing a spine. Examining the wine casks has Ryu and Iris theorize about how there might be dead bodies in there, which once again ruffles Van Zieks's feathers.

Snrk. Examining the big diorama in the middle of the room has Ryu and Iris wonder whether Van Zieks can't go to the Exhibition in person and this is his way of dealing with that, which has Van Zieks snap that it's obviously an investigative aid. He even has pets of sorts in his office, in the form of a couple of bats hanging from the curtains. Alright, so the game's definitely humanizing this poor man now. No matter how many crazy stories Iris and Ryu come up with about him, there's usually a very innocent explanation to debunk the eerie myths. Something particularly interesting happens when Ryu shows Van Zieks his defense attorney armband. Van Zieks asks what the reason is for showing it to a British prosecutor, to which Ryu admits that he doesn't quite know. Van Zieks is silent for a bit, then says that he understands. “There's merit in reminding yourself of who helped you become what you are today.”

As he says it, he reaches for his prosecutor's badge and if you're aware of the backstory, you'll know he's thinking of Klint. More importantly, this conversation puts Ryu and Van Zieks on the same level. Ryu is always thinking of Kazuma, who 'helped him become who he is today' and the armband signifies this, along with the sword. Similarly, Van Zieks lost someone very close to him and he's walking the path of prosecutor in his brother's memory. Ryu thanks Van Zieks for understanding and it's very significant that Van Zieks understands in the first place. Remember, in the first game he was under the impression that a Japanese person could never understand a British person and vice versa.

Showing Van Zieks the newspaper article has him looking a bit embarrassed, pointing out that a reporter must've been nearby and he'd been careless to let himself get photographed. Either way, all the thugs responsible have already been apprehended. The investigation into Odie Asman's activities meant that their arrests were already imminent anyway, and some hoped to kill Van Zieks before that happened. Much like McGilded, Asman used his wealth to buy his way towards an acquittal in court, but “he got his comeuppance in the end.” Which is strange, right? Very suspicious. Van Zieks asks whether Ryu believes he has some sort of divine ability to make an accident like that happen. Ryu admits that would be far-fetched, and thinks to himself that even if Van Zieks were the Reaper, he'd have to be innocent of this particular death. We also learn that Van Zieks is familiar with Professor Harebrayne, the suspect in the Asman incident. When told that Ryu will be taking on the defense, Van Zieks is shocked.

Van Zieks goes on to explain that he knows Albert quite well. They were at university together. While he's lived in Germany for quite a few years, Albert is actually from a respectable British family. And despite Albert being in the science faculty and Van Zieks in law, they got along quite well. Now he's in pretty hot water for that Asman accident.

Hm. I don't quite know what to make of this reaction. I think what's going on here isn't that Van Zieks is rattled because Albert is being defended by a Japanese person, but because he's being defended by a rookie attorney who was just disbarred for six months for accidentally encouraging perjury, false witness and crime scene tampering in a court of law. Yes, Ryu has won his trials every single time, but it came at a price. Aside from this, there's one other thing Van Zieks knows about Ryu: he'll pursue the truth, no matter what. This means that if Albert indeed didn't succeed at inventing teleportation, it'll be revealed in court because exposing shams is Ryu's whole deal.

We learn that Van Zieks will be the one to prosecute Albert tomorrow, which is curious to say the least. Ryu wants to know why he'd do something like that, with Iris pointing out that so long as the Reaper is the prosecutor, Albert is doomed. Van Zieks replies that he's a Crown prosecutor and a mortal like any other; he's no demigod. In other words, he doesn't believe the curse to be a real curse. Iris points out that everyone who's been prosecuted by Van Zieks has died (which is already objectively wrong), to which Van Zieks replies that he usually prosecutes the vilest wretches of society.

… Harsh. Ryu points out that Soseki wasn't a vile wretch though, with Iris chiming in that Gina's also turned her life around and she's working very hard now. Van Zieks admits that things have changed ever since meeting Ryu- which of course has to do with Van Zieks's need to face Ryu in court even in mediocre trials rather than pursue his usual corrupted targets- but the point is that if any of those vile wretches died in mysterious circumstances, it was “at the hand of their own kind”, not Van Zieks's. So basically, he believes that they were killed because they were dubious people engaged with dubious activities, not because of the Reaper's curse. Not only that, but ever since the rumors of the Reaper began, the number of serious crimes in London has decreased significantly. Even the most hardened criminals can be made fearful of their lives. Therefore, if his pseudonym of the Reaper can serve a useful purpose, he'll “adopt it gladly and with honour”. Ryu repeats that which he already told Stronghart; that it's putting Van Zieks in danger.

He really is a prosecutor on the edge with nothing to lose, huh. So what Van Zieks is basically saying is that he doesn't care if he dies, so long as he spends the rest of his life serving the 'useful purpose' of carrying the Reaper moniker to intimidate the vilest of society. But is that really all there is to it? (Spoilers: It's not)

There's a bit more talk about the mysterious apprentice here, with Van Zieks explaining the man was placed in his care under Stronghart's orders. He's wearing a mask on Stronghart's orders and also doesn't speak to anyone from outside the office on Stronghart's orders. HM. Van Zieks claims that Stronghart isn't one for “meaningless follies”, therefore he must have a good reason. This implies that Van Zieks believes in Stronghart's judgment almost blindly. To round up the conversation, Van Zieks asks about “that Nipponese man. The one arrested twice in succession six months ago. With the stoop. And the moustache. And the jitters.” Looks super offensive at first glance, but I gotta admit, after six months I wouldn't remember Soseki's name either. Better to describe him than to guess the name and get it wrong. Still though, just because it's not super offensive doesn't mean it's not offensive. Just saying “the one you defended six months ago” would've done the trick. Either way, Ryu says he's doing just fine and a letter from him arrived by post just the other day.

So this is interesting. Earlier, Van Zieks claimed in his own words that he doesn't believe in the curse and those who died had it coming to them, but he's still inquiring after Soseki. Perhaps not so much because he's worried about Soseki himself, but because he's curious whether this man has successfully escaped the curse so far. He would know that for a fact about Gina, but the only way to verify Soseki's status is to ask Ryu about it.

Time to leave this glass cage of exposition and meet the defendant in person! Albert spouts a whole lot of dialogue about how his machine is treated differently depending on whether the case is treated as an accident or as murder. If it's murder, it can be examined up close and that's what Albert doesn't want. It has to be treated as an accident so that it'll be protected from prying eyes through The Special Dispensation for Scientific Equipment Act (wow that's a mouthful). Of course, that's not entirely what we're interested in. Let's ask about his friendship with Van Zieks! Ryu asks what he was like back in his university days and the answer surprises him.

HAH, wonderfully written exchange, this one. Albert goes to describe him as “the little darling of the Van Zieks family, with all its great aristocratic origins”. So Van Zieks has some very noble blood in him. We could've already guessed this from his title of Lord, but apparently it's a bit more serious. I could derail here with wild theories about his family originating from the Netherlands and having migrated to the UK around the time the first king of the Netherlands, Willem I van Oranje Nassau, rose to power in 1813. Willem changed the way nobility works to some degree in the country and not all noble families would've agreed with his way of doing things. But anyway, point is, Van Zieks is a big shot. Albert says that it was kind of a shock to him when he came back to Britain and discovered 'what Van Zieks had become'. He heard that there was 'a very big event' that completely changed Van Zieks after his graduation, but doesn't know what it was because he was already in Germany at the time. So here we have some more traces of that backstory and we have enough pieces to start sticking some things together. We know Van Zieks was once betrayed by a friend and we now know he was a very modest, pleasant gentleman when he was young. Whatever happened must've been very harsh indeed to turn him into such a sour lemon. Either way, Albert doesn't seem to know yet that Van Zieks will be the prosecutor and Ryu doesn't have the heart to tell him.

So let's investigate the crime scene! Here, it's confirmed that Gina Lestrade is indeed just fine and now in training to become a detective with Gregson. Cute! So eventually we get to talk to Gregson about Van Zieks and how he's acquainted with Albert. Gregson is overdramatically shocked to find out that the two of them are old buddies.

Remember when Van Zieks took a five year hiatus and nobody had to mysteriously die from the Reaper's curse? Those were the days, eh Gregson? Now he's even prosecuting his own friends willy-nilly. Gregson states he has no idea what goes on in Van Zieks's head (a sentiment we've heard before in 1-4) and goes on to bring up the newspaper article about Van Zieks being attacked. When told that our good old pal the Reaper is just fine, Gregson utters a very uncomfortable “glad to hear it” which honestly had me wondering whether he'd preferred Van Zieks to die.

Up until a certain someone gets killed and stuffed into a suitcase, I'd reckon. Gregson says that Van Zieks is a top class prosecutor, but not even he can always push the right verdict through. “Sometimes justice can't win.” Gregson explains that naturally, Scotland Yard suspected Van Zieks at first and assumed he was taking matters into his own hands. There was a very thorough investigation and the outcome was that Van Zieks was in no way related to the mysterious deaths. So that's three people now who all insist Van Zieks couldn't possibly have committed the murders. Gregson says he's willing to stake his reputation on it, even. Of course, Gregson would know for sure, wouldn't he? But the narrative is telling us over and over that Van Zieks himself isn't the Reaper, with even Van Zieks himself implying he'd like to know just who the Reaper is. There's a conspiracy happening that Van Zieks is the centerpiece of, with the narrative really pushing the mystery aspect of it. The writers want us to care about the truth of the Reaper for sure.

OOOH that's meta! Ryu, being nosy and overly invested in Van Zieks's life, asks Gregson whether he knows about the 'incident' which changed Van Zieks after graduation.

Okay he clearly knows. Even a first time player can tell from this single reaction that Gregson's lying. The mystery thickens! At the end of the conversation, when Gregson's gone off, Iris recommends asking (S)Holmes about it instead. Safe bet, since (S)Holmes continuously knows more than he's letting on. To the house of wax we go! When asked about it, it's clear that he does know something (and is described as suddenly clamming up), but before he can explain there's a distraction in the form of Madam Tusspells and we have to sit through a mostly-unrelated Joint Reasoning segment. It leads into a conversation about a mass murderer known as the Professor. Ten years ago, there was a series of murders which rocked the capital right around the time Van Zieks graduated from university. Five people were killed before the man was caught and executed. This fifth victim was Klint van Zieks, Barok's older brother.

I really, really dislike this phrasing because Van Zieks was already studying law to begin with. He'd just graduated as a prosecutor; his brother's death had nothing to do with him pursuing that path. Anyway...

OOOH that's meta! So remember way back in the first essay when I said the backstory is optional? Well, here it is. The Great Ace Attorney is going all in for it. It's being tied to the ongoing plot, just as pretty much all the main prosecutor backstories are. Edgeworth's backstory is tied to Von Karma being the final boss, Godot's backstory is tied to the Fey lineage, Klavier's backstory (I say this lightly) is tied to Phoenix's disgrace... Now Van Zieks's story is tied to the serial killer who ruined so many lives a decade ago. And technically, we already have all the puzzle pieces we need for the next twist; we know Van Zieks was betrayed by a Japanese person who was his friend. So really, we can now say with absolutely certainty that the man arrested and executed back then was a Japanese buddy of Van Zieks.

The investigation segment is pretty much over, but the game has one more scene for us. This is something Ryunosuke won't witness, but the scriptwriters deemed it so important that we're ignoring Ryu to focus solely on the two characters involved. And cutting away from our main character is something that usually doesn't happen in Ace Attorney. Even when characters like Phoenix or Ryu are out of commission for whatever reason, a new 'main character' takes over for a second and we see everything from their point of view. I can think of only one other scene viewed without Ryu there, which happened in 1-5 just before Susato had to leave London. So what we have here is a very private moment between Van Zieks and Albert.

AWWW... The scenes in the office were great and all, but this right here is perhaps the most humanizing exchange we'll ever see with Barok. The reason for that, I think, is precisely because Ryu isn't there. He's alone with an old friend now, which means he can let his guard down more than he usually would. Even so, it's worth noting here that he doesn't look directly at Albert. He stands with his back to him the entire time and I'm certain this is intentional, because they could just as easily have rotated him into that sideways view that's often used in dialogue and courtroom scenes. He made his way down to the gaol to speak with his friend after ten long years, but is reluctant to look right at him. The conversation itself feels rather distant as well. Albert is delighted to see Van Zieks, but the sentiment isn't returned vocally. Van Zieks points out that they're meeting again “in prison of all places” and that the court will decide Albert's fate tomorrow. When Van Zieks raises a warning, Albert says he already knows his friend will be prosecuting and doesn't appear bothered at all at first. He does try to raise a question in the form of “Are you really...?”, but ultimately drops it and says that he knows Van Zieks has his best interests at heart. Van Zieks says he wouldn't entrust the trial of his friend to anyone else, and Albert thanks him for that. So my first guess upon taking in that dialogue is that Albert wonders for a brief moment whether Van Zieks really is the Reaper/really is cursed, only to shake it off because he considers the man his friend. Van Zieks seems to know it's risky to prosecute Albert, but deems it more important to handle the case himself than to let someone else do it. This, as we learn later, has to do with the Special Dispensation for Scientific Equipment Act and the protection of Albert's scientific secrets.

Next day, we're at the Old Bailey! In the defendant lobby, Ryu is once again told by Albert that the true goal to aim for in this trial is to protect his scientific hypothesis. So hypothetically speaking, the ideal outcome here would be to prove the death was accidental and that the kinesis was a success at the same time. (S)Holmes and Iris don't believe Albert's theory to be sound though, instead saying it couldn't possibly be done. In the courtroom, Ryu faces off against Van Zieks once more for the first time in six months! The judge is quick to point out that Odie Asman is a name familiar to him; a man who was prosecuted only a month ago by Van Zieks. When he asks whether this death is the work of the Reaper, Van Zieks instead describes it as “divine retribution”, but also “a direct result of the actions of the accused, Professor Albert Harebrayne”. The prosecution asserts that the instantaneous kinesis demonstration was a success. He himself can't say for certain whether it's a sound theory, but it's being investigated by the British government since it was deemed to have potential and the prosecution's case aligns with the notion that there was indeed instantaneous- You know what? Let's just call it teleportation. That's easier to type.

Unfortunately, Van Zieks doesn't want to follow the accident angle. Instead, he outright accuses his old friend of murdering Asman using the totally-functional-teleportation-machine-which-totally-worked to be the sole benefactor of a scientific grant. Harsh. Very harsh. I don't entirely understand why he didn't pursue the accident angle instead, but then, I don't quite know enough about law. My guess is that as the prosecution, he's not allowed to. Scotland Yard found enough evidence at the scene to substantiate a murder plot, especially that damning screwdriver that Ryu so graciously handed to Gregson, so that's what the prosecution has to go with, maybe? It's up to the defense attorney to debunk that down to an accident, then, so in essence Van Zieks is counting on Ryu to 'defeat him' and prove the murder aspect wrong. It would align with the conversation Albert had with Van Zieks in prison, where he said that 'it was a terrible accident and the young Eastern man acting as his defence assured him that he can prove it'.

So speaking of that screwdriver, Albert tries to discredit it himself by saying that if he had stabbed Asman on the stage, there would've been a whole lot of blood. Van Zieks pours himself a glass of wine and 'congratulates' his friend on a good rebuttal.

“Here's to you, Albert!”

Albert laughs it off sheepishly, saying he's nothing compared to “Barok” (awww, first name basis), but a chalice is immediately flung. Van Zieks says Albert neglected to mention one crucial possibility, which is that the lack of blood is explained by the notion that the screwdriver remained in the victim's chest to plug the wound. Therefore, since the demonstration was totally a success, the screwdriver was teleported along with the victim. Ryu thinks to himself that he had no idea the victim had been stabbed and wonders whether Van Zieks kept that information to himself to keep the upper hand on purpose. This whole thing jars me a little, because the screwdriver is brought up relatively early in the trial during the very first cross-examination. Is not mentioning it during the opening statement and waiting for Gregson to bring it up three minutes later really the same as 'keeping it to himself to gain the upper hand'?

Either way, Ryu counters, saying that the screwdriver was found at the stage and therefore didn't teleport at all, with Gregson serving as an official witness to this location. It's pretty clear from the next dialogue that Gregson never told Van Zieks where that screwdriver was found.

“That you contravened the Special Dispensation for Scientific Equipment Act?”

Gregson is immediately up in arms, but it's fine. There was no investigation needed to find a screwdriver lying in plain sight. So now Ryu decides to tighten the screws. He claims that if the prosecution can't explain the inconsistency (the screwdriver being found on the stage but no blood being there so clearly it must've plugged the wound), the testimony is unreliable. Van Zieks doesn't reply and Ryu thinks to himself that he looks stumped, but uh...

He just looks annoyed to me. The person to object next is not Van Zieks, it's Albert. He says that metal can't be teleported with the machine, so it only makes sense the screwdriver stayed behind and there's no inconsistency at all. Van Zieks suggests: “Clearly we should hear the accused's explanation. … Or should I say, this brilliant scientist's explanation?” And I think here in these two sentences we have the crux of the issue. Albert wants to be treated as a legitimate scientist above all else. Even if that means he's branded a murderer, so long as his hypothesis is protected and the confidentiality stands, it makes no difference to him. This was likely discussed with Van Zieks the night before as well. Albert is apparently willing to die for the sake of his scientific principles and... Well. I'm sure Van Zieks can understand. He's willing to die for the sake of serving the Reaper purpose. In a way, this means the defendant and the prosecution are in cahoots together, which is another first in Ace Attorney history. The two of them are fighting to keep the hypothesis of teleportation intact and if Ryu manages to prove that it was an accidental death, then great! Unfortunately, the second that screwdriver was discovered, the chances of that became slim to none. It was murder, plain and simple. On a sidenote, I found this little gem:

I'm counting this as humanization, because the underlying sentiment here is that despite his haughty better-than-thou attitude, Van Zieks is still friends with someone so very scatterbrained, his name is forgotten sometimes. Even Ryu is taken aback by the purity of the friendship.

Heh heh... Time to cause some more havoc by informing the court that Asman's metal-rimmed glasses were still on his face and since Albert already said metal can't be teleported, his hypothesis is a load of tosh. The jurors go up in arms about it, saying the machine should be stripped down and examined. The game gives Ryu the option to either raise an objection or 'wait and see', but this is another one of those fake choices. Waiting and seeing just leads to a bit more dialogue between the jurors before Ryu steps in of his own accord. He says Albert would have no reason to build such an elaborate fake machine and put on a public display for murder, but Van Zieks counters with the very good reason: Money. The jurors are even more outraged, calling him a fake scientist who's only in it for the guineas, and Albert begs them to believe that his science is built upon a sound hypothesis. Van Zieks comes in to 'save the day' (sort of).

“The fact remains that the victim was transported instantly to the Crystal Tower. Which means that the experiment... was a success.”

And I gotta say, this next bit is just very enjoyable to me. The way it's written is so great.

HEH HEH.... Van Zieks has some more witnesses to summon who saw the incident from some 'very special seats', but let's end the essay here for now and pick it back up next time!

#dgs #dgs spoilers #tgaa #tgaa spoilers #barok van zieks

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smallersocksx · 4 years ago

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My Problems with the Pokémon Journeys Anime

Pokémon Journeys as an anime has divided the Pokémon community in so many ways but in particular last week’s episode has sparked a lot of debate and personally, I had mixed feelings about the end result. So, I thought I would write down my opinions on the Pokémon anime in its current state and comparing it to some of the previous anime.

I feel the need to say this: these are my opinions I am just as entitled to my opinions as you are to yours, so you don’t have to read this if you don’t want to. Secondly, this will probably be a long post but I’m going to split it into sections so it’s hopefully not too overwhelming.

But these feelings have been building up and up and I think I’ll feel better writing them all down and getting them off my chest to some extent.

Introduction:

So, I’ve essentially been a fan of Pokémon for as long as I can remember particularly watching the anime when I was very young. The anime didn’t really begin to stick with me though until around AG and DP in particular. The first Pokémon game, I played was DP which is why I have a particular fondness for that series and that cast of characters and Pokémon.

I didn’t watch the series as intently around the time of BW because I found Iris’ character rather annoying and I understand she developed and grew as the series went on but that initial characterization of her kind of ruined the series for me. But I did dip in and out of the series mostly for Ash’s Snivy.

My friend recommended that I watch the XY series and I fell in love with the cast and the storytelling that the series provided as it reminded me of DP. Sun and Moon was a good series as well providing fans with some of the most heart-breaking and tear-jerking episodes to date. (And Rowlet).

When they announced that Journeys was Ash travelling around the world instead of staying and travelling in a specific region, I’ll admit I was sceptical. To be honest, I kind of preferred the old formula particularly as I’m a creature of habit myself but I decided to give this new series a chance as the premise did sound interesting and there was the potential for Ash to reunite with some of his old travelling companions.

With the benefit of hindsight, I realise this was one of the problems: the series kind of relies heavily on the nostalgia provided by older fans.

The Premise:

The whole premise of Journeys was Ash and his new friend, Goh travelling the world and there lies one of the series biggest problems. For a series that is meant to be about travelling around the world, a bulk of the series has been set in Kanto in particular Vermillion City where Sakuragi/Cerise Lab is situated. Now that shouldn’t be a problem as Ash and Go need a place to stay and go home to. The problem is we are nearly 60 episodes into the series, they hardly seem to leave Vermillion City or Kanto for that matter.

I went through all the episode synopses released so far to see how many episodes Ash and Go travelled to an alternative region. In this case a visit to a different region only counts if Ash and Goh (and Chloe) visit the region therefore episode 32 wouldn’t count:

Johto – 2 episodes

Hoenn – 4 episodes

Sinnoh – 2 episodes

Unova – 2 episodes

Kalos – 2 episodes

Alola – 1 episode

Galar – 11 episodes

Arguably, as this is meant to a Gen 8 anime, its not particularly shocking that they have visited Galar the most especially as Ash hopes to battle Leon someday. Nevertheless, the initial premise and selling point of the Journeys series is travelling the world and yet only 2/5 of the series so far has been set outside of Vermillion City. They promised the world (no pun intended) and are kind of falling flat…

Goh and his goal:

Now Goh is certainly a character that has divided the community some love him and some definitely hate him. Personally, I’m in the middle, I like Goh’s personality I thought his rational and logical personality made him a great counterbalance for Ash. The problem I have with him is: his goal, his rapid character development, and his status as a protagonist.

1) His Goal:

Goh’s goal is to catch every Pokémon in existence and considering there over 800 Pokémon that is a lofty goal to begin with. Initially, I thought it was an interesting goal as we never had a character wanting to catch every Pokémon as there are some trainers in the anime universe who only specialise in a specific type, some who catch only cute Pokémon, some who only catch evolutionary lines etc. Therefore, I thought this was an interesting goal and wondered how they would execute its portrayal and there lies the problem…

Goh was named after the game Pokémon Go and is essentially being used as a walking advertisement for Pokémon Go and the Let’s Go series as his gimmick is throwing a Poke Ball at a random Pokémon which can get pretty old very fast. I honestly didn’t understand the need to create a character to promote these games as it has been 4 years since the release of Pokémon Go. Arguably, they could be trying to re-ignite the hype around Pokémon Go as after the initial excitement a lot of people stopped playing or uninstalled it as it was taking up a lot of space on their phone.

One of the things, I particularly love about the anime series is not only the human cast gaining character development but their Pokémon as well. Around the AG series, the writers really begun improving on giving each Pokémon their own unique personality traits as well as traits of their species. It gave the Pokémon more depth and made them memorable for example there’s Dawn’s prideful Piplup, Brock’s weird and wonderful Sudowoodoo who would salute every time he came out of his Poke Ball, Clemont’s gluttonous Chespin and Serena’s shy Eevee to later a confident Sylveon. The list could go on and on but I think you get the point. Therefore, this gives me my second issue with Goh’s goal.

Goh’s goal is to catch every single Pokémon currently in existence, with so many Pokémon, there is difficulty feeling any attachment to them. Cinderace and Sobble (and now Grookey) are the Pokémon Goh is most seen with, needless to say, Cinderace underwent a lot of development and was interested in battling which to be honest I found a little strange as Goh’s goal doesn’t particularly align with Cinderace’s interests. Nevertheless, it is clear that Cinderace is Goh’s ace and utilises him when he does need to battle. Sobble didn’t receive any development until 26 episodes after his capture. However, aside from Cinderace and Sobble we don’t feel any particular attachment to his other Pokémon, one strength is that anime does give each of his Pokémon some spotlight like Goh using his Goldeen to teach Jinny’s Feebas how to swim elegantly but aside from that.

My final issue with Goh’s goal is development, from a story-telling point of view his goal isn’t that engaging like with some of the other goals we’ve had in the series. Take Dawn for example her goal is to be Top Coordinator in order to do that she needs to win 5 Ribbons, participate in the Grand Festival and win the Ribbon Cup. On paper it sound simple but it’s not, we have Dawn’s arc where she lost twice in the Performance Stage fell into depression, lost confidence in her abilities and was uncertain as to whether or not she was a good coordinator. It wasn’t until she befriended May and competed against her that Dawn found a renewed sense of confidence in her abilities, even after that Dawn still lost a few contests before being able to compete in the Grand Festival where even then there were a few rough moments like her battle with Ursula.

My point is even though Dawn (and May’s) goal looks simple on paper they had a lot of struggle to get there. Whereas, with Goh’s goal and the current execution of it, I don’t get that same sense of story-telling especially when he’s already caught a Legendary Pokémon, there just isn’t that same level of struggle. The most I could see Goh struggling at this moment is not catching a Pokémon the first time round.

2) His rapid development

One of the biggest issues I have with Journeys is pacing and development, and this issue isn’t just exclusive to Goh. In the beginning, Goh is a rookie trainer after catching Scorbunny and as we saw in the Flute Cup his lack of battling experience caused him to be eliminated very quickly and yet 29 episodes later, he’s defeating a Flygon with a Fire-type and using a technique Ash had once used himself in his battle against Grant. I understand Ash and Goh are close friends and understandably their traits are going to rub off on one another for example Goh’s logic and caution has rubbed off on Ash to the extent Ash had his Dragonite use Dragon Dance in his battle with Korrina. Before this, we’d never seen Ash use these types of moves in his Pokémon battles. I have no issues with Goh developing as a character, everyone loves good character development, my issue is with how rapid it is.

I’ll use Dawn’s arc as an example again, I loved it because it was well-paced, in the first season of DP Dawn was overconfident in her abilities which led to some losses particularly towards the end of the first series and Dawn didn’t fully recover from this until nearly midway through the second series of DP. Arguably, Ash’s influence has caused Goh to develop an interest in battles but I feel like we haven’t seen him go through enough battles to justify the level he is at.

3) His status as a Protagonist

To be honest, I didn’t realise Goh has a protagonist status until someone pointed it out to me, I just saw him as another one of Ash’s travelling companions. This is one of the biggest issues Goh haters have with him and that’s feeling as though Goh is taking the spotlight away from Ash and there are a lot of episodes focusing on Goh. Arguably, Ash has taken on the role of mentor like Brock had done once for him. However, my issue with Goh’s protagonist status is that I don't feel like Goh's goal justifies him having it, even in episodes focusing on Ash and his participation in the World Coronation Series, Goh still manages to catch a Pokémon which as I mentioned before it got old pretty fast. I can understand some people would see this as a good thing they are both closer towards their goals but if an episode advertises its going to focus on one character, I want it to focus on that character.

In some of the previous series when May, Dawn and Serena were participating in Contests or Showcases, Ash would generally put his training the back burner and support his friends. Likewise, his travelling companions would support him during his gym battles. In some cases, Ash would even get ideas for his own battles from watching them compete like the Counter Shield from Ash watching Dawn and Ambipom.

Sometimes, I feel like Goh is there for the sake of being there like in Episode 56, I honestly felt like him and Scyther/Scizor didn’t need to be there. The episode did focus on Ash and Farfetch’d relationship improving but I felt like the only reason Goh was there was to have his Scyther evolve their presence at the training camp didn’t really contribute anything to the story.

Ash and his Pokémon:

Whenever Ash starts a new journey, he always starts with a clean slate leaving his most recent Pokemon with Professor Oak or Kukui. One of the things that excites fans the most is guessing which new Pokemon from the new generation Ash would catch. Arguably, since Sun and Moon, certain traditions have been turned on their head. Some of these traditions included:

Ash catching the regional bird e.g., Starly, Pidove, Fletchling etc.

Catching at least one of the region’s starters

Although, in Sun and Moon, Ash never caught the regional bird and it was one of the first series with Ash not having a water-type either. However, in this current series, Ash only has 2 Generation 8 Pokémon being Farfetch’d (which will evolve into Sirfetch’d) and Dracovish. This is kind of understandable as Ash isn’t based or travelling around Galar but to be honest it’s still disappointing.

As many of you know, in the most recent episode Goh caught Grookey completing the Galar starter trio (which I’ll cover later), however, a majority of the fandom wanted Ash to have Grookey as they felt personality-wise Ash would be compatible with the Chimp Pokémon and it would continue the long-held tradition of Ash catching one of the new region’s starter Pokémon which is why this latest capture has sparked a lot of controversy with some people calling Goh a thief.

Personally, I would have liked Ash to catch Grookey but in one of the earlier episodes like when they first visited Galar. The reason for this being the storyline development and I know many will argue Ash is a Champion he doesn’t need a starter at this point but Leon in the Sword and Shield games took on and trained the starter that was left over after the Protagonist and Hop had chosen theirs. However, as I mentioned earlier one of the things, I love about the anime is each Pokémon having their own personality and character but also their own traumas and trials to overcome alongside their trainer this can be particularly reflected in the case of Ash and Infernape.

I am not trying to suggest they re-create the Ash and Infernape storyline with Ash and a Grookey but one of the ways a Pokémon develops as a character is through evolution or in some cases like Pikachu and Bulbasaur choosing not to evolve and finding strength in staying the way that they are. Pokémon when they evolve can go through personality-changes whether that be good or bad but having a Pokemon at its first evolutionary stage allows us to go through that development and journey with them.

Which is one of the issues, I have with the series, Ash caught two fully evolved Pokémon being Dragonite and Gengar. Before anyone gives me any grief, I love Dragonite and Gengar’s personalities but as they are fully evolved, we don’t get that same sense of development as we’ve had with some of Ash’s other Pokémon. The only development I could see for these two is potentially learning a new move or overcoming a stronger Pokémon alongside Ash. But having two fully evolved Pokémon makes it difficult to go on a journey of development alongside them. There is also the fact, Dragonite and Gengar are meant to be incredibly strong Pokémon and yet Ash hardly uses them.

Another one of the biggest issues in Journeys as previously mentioned is Ash not fully utilising his team. Whenever, a battle occurs Ash either uses Pikachu or Lucario, the others are kind of pushed to the side and that annoys me so much particularly with Farfetch’d and Gengar. I’ll start with Gengar, Gengar was abandoned by its previous trainer and told to wait in an abandoned building that would later become Cerise Laboratory and in the earlier half of the series (before Riolu) Ash utilised Gengar a lot like in his battle with Visquez and Team Rocket but after Riolu came along Ash used Gengar less and less. In Episode 57, Gengar was taking its anger out on Renji, Chloe and Chrysa and Chloe pointed out that it may have been angry Ash left it behind. This is what I found frustrating; Ash is kind of repeating the behaviour of Gengar’s previous trainer.

Next is Farfetch’d, personality-wise Farfetch’d reminds me of Ash’s Buizel and Hawlucha, with how prideful and aloof it is. I feel like the writers thought they couldn’t flesh out Lucario any further so they decided to focus on Farfetch’d and after two Farfetch’d-focused episodes I can’t help but feel that Farfetch’d is going to evolve in the next episode and that’s what annoys me, that is lazy writing, they haven’t given time to develop Ash and Farfetch’d relationship although it has definitely improved since Episode 56, I feel like it’s too soon. Farfetch’d has so much potential to grow as a character before evolving as I previously mentioned evolution in the Pokémon universe can contribute towards development and I feel like for Farfetch’d they’ll use it in a positive light as Sirfetch’d are noted for their fighting spirit and noble personality. But, as I mentioned before, I would have liked to have seen more development before an evolution.

Then there is Dracovish, this was a completely unexpected capture, however, many fans were surprised by how strong Dracovish was in the games. However, Dracovish was captured in Episode 50 and nearly 10 episodes later, we haven’t seen it… On the other hand, many of Dracovish’s Pokédex entries state that it can’t breathe unless its underwater, therefore, applying that logic to the anime world, may make battling with it difficult...

Team Rocket:

One of the biggest complaints’ viewers have is the series use of Team Rocket. Particularly, using their use of the Gacha machine and using them to create easy conflict. I love Team Rocket; they are basically lovable idiots to me. They’re meant to be “bad guys” but we’ve seen on many occasions they’re kindness and compassion such as rescuing a bunch of wild Ekans and Koffing from a Pokémon hunter and releasing their Arbok and Weezing to protect them whilst they distract the hunter, Meowth sympathising and trying to cheer up Litten following Stoutland’s death are just two examples of their kindness.

Nevertheless, the Journeys series has been utilising them poorly using them as convenient plot device and in my opinion Team Rocket deserve so much better than this. Initially, a lot of viewers may have found the Gacha device interesting but much like Goh throwing a Poké ball at a random Pokémon it got old fast. Similar to one of my issues with Goh, we don’t feel any attachment to the Gacha Pokémon they use unlike other series where they had their own Pokémon which I’ll get on to in a minute.

I feel like the writers missed a huge opportunity, as one of the initial selling points of the series, particularly to the older fans was nostalgia. Team Rocket keep some of their old Pokémon in Team Rocket Headquarters and as the series seems to like staying in Vermillion City, Team Rocket could have collected their old Pokémon and use them similar to when they brought some of their Hoennian Pokémon to Sinnoh. I loved some of Team Rocket’s Pokémon like James’ Mime Jr. and Inkay and Jessie’s Gourgeist and her Yanmega was noted to be strong.

Moreover, in series such as AG, DP and XY they expanded on Team Rocket’s role outside of trying to steal. Jessie showed a promising career in Pokémon Coordinating (particularly in DP) and Pokémon Performing, I loved how she became a rival for Dawn and Serena and particularly in XY, Jessie showed maturity in her loss in the Semi-Finals much to Meowth and Gourgeist’s surprise compared to when she begrudgingly congratulated Dawn on her victory. I just loved the fact in these series they expanded on Team Rocket, showed their friendship and support for one another whether it was cheering each other on from the side-lines or willingly helping Jessie in her pursuits of fame and glory. I realize in Journeys, it’s a bit difficult to expand on Team Rocket’s role in this way but they way they are currently using Team Rocket is to be honest kind of insulting to them as characters who we’ve watched grow over the years.

Chloe, Yamper and Eevee

I’ll get this out the way, I honestly love Chloe, and I’ve loved her development so far, I think they’ve gotten the pacing right for her when they’ve given her focus. I think many people like Chloe because she is similar to Serena, in the sense, she doesn’t have a goal and is discovering what she wants to do in life which is something a lot of people find relatable. I think what would be interesting for Chloe’s character if she does decide to be a Pokémon Professor after initially feeling as though the idea was being forced on her by her peers. Anyways, one of the biggest issues with Journeys is pacing, it takes ages before they actually decide to give a character development and ever since Chloe got Eevee, I feel as though Yamper has been pushed to the side (which is kind of ironic as Chloe calls Ash out on this) and I know Yamper is Professor Cerise’s Pokémon but Yamper acknowledges Chloe more than his own trainer. I feel like a great way to use Yamper was for Professor Cerise to actually give Yamper to Chloe when she was old enough to have a Pokémon, as a lot of Chloe’s earlier development was a result of her bond with Yamper.

Next is Eevee, I love Eevee it is one of my favourite Pokemon, but I also feel similar to Goh, she’s a walking advertisement for the Let’s Go Eevee game as she is unable to evolve. However, the fact that Eevee is unable to evolve makes her a good match for Chloe who is uncertain of her own dreams. Nevertheless, what I don’t understand is why they are trying to promote one of their older games in a new generation (especially when Lana’s Eevee (which don’t get me started) should have filled that role). Also, with Chloe catching Eevee, arguably, she should be joining Ash and Goh frequently, this could allow for Chloe and Eevee to develop and find their own path but aside from joining them twice in Galar, they’ve hardly left Kanto. Which is frustrating because I love Chloe and Eevee and I don’t want it to be another 20 episodes before we get any development from either of them.

Structure

I’ve realized that above I’ve kind of been focusing on the characters and some of the issues surrounding them. Arguably, one of Journeys biggest issues is structure or lack of it for that matter and pacing. Everything is all over the place but I’ll cover each section.

Pacing:

One of my biggest gripes with the series is pacing, lately we have been having back-to-back filler episodes and I don’t mind having filler every now and then to give us a break as you don’t want a show to be too content-heavy. And I don’t mind when the filler is at least entertaining but that Gulpin episode from two weeks ago was absolutely pointless, I’m sorry. So much stuff has taken place off-screen and Ash went up by 500 ranks to Rank 415 they could have taken out some of the filler episodes and used it to show Ash training at least or put it towards actual development for characters like Chloe and Eevee or Farfetch’d.

Another issue, I have with the pacing and I think a lot of you will hopefully agree is the pace of Goh catching a legendary Pokemon (which I’m in the middle about). Normally, around the end of the series, all of the respective characters have found or are closer to their goal like Dawn and Serena coming Runner-Up in their respective competitions or having confidence to keep pursuing their goal. This is normally, in the last series of that generation’s anime adaptation but Goh’s already achieved such a huge milestone towards his goal in the second series. I can’t help but feel as though this has been completely rushed.

Continuity:

Continuity in Journeys is strange, I can see it as a strength and a weakness. I’ll start off with the positives, continuity-wise I like the fact that Journeys at least references to past episodes and characters for example episode 57 Chloe’s younger brother says he’s going to a sleepover at his friend, Jinny’s house, the girl with the Feebas from episode 31. Or episode 47, Goh uses his prize from winning the Pokémon Eating Contest to have a dessert tour around Unova’s Castelia City. These small examples of continuity are something I can appreciate. But I can’t help but feel some of the past characters returning are merely fan-service for the older fans, so far, some of the character returns haven’t really contributed to the series’ narrative aside from the Alola episode contributing to Goh’s development.

A good example of utilising a past character is the Wallace Cup arc, with May and Dawn helping each other out of a losing streak and allowing Dawn to renew her confidence. I think no matter the outcome, both Coordinators gained something from the tournament even if Dawn lost to May, I think she would have had a regained her confidence but winning the Aqua Ribbon allowed her to re-affirm her self-belief and skills.

Episodic vs Linear:

Now I’ve watched a few videos on this to have a better understanding, the reason why Journeys feels so unstructured is that for some reason the writers chose to go down an episodic route instead of linear. The best example I know of episodic storytelling is Phineas and Ferb where characters and elements are introduced and can come back. But utilising episodic storytelling in a series like Pokémon feels like an unnatural choice we’re meant to be following these characters and their journeys towards achieving their goals whereas in a linear narrative this would be a lot clearer.

The Setting:

A lot of people have an issue with the fact that a series, that promises travelling the world, it really fell flat. As I have previously mentioned, so far only 2/5 of the episodes have taken place in other regions, most of the time Ash and Goh end up staying in Vermillion City. With the way things are currently being executed, I honestly would have preferred a Sword and Shield anime, with Ash at least travelling around Galar, it would allow for the Galar story to be more fleshed out instead of shoe-horned into a four-episode arc and with the announcement of the Sinnoh re-makes, I feel as though they are going to promote that in some way in the anime later on. (Perhaps with a Dawn cameo).

As I’ve been writing this, I’ve kind of realised one gripe I have with the anime that has become rather blatant as of late. That is the commercialism in the anime, I understand the anime is utilised to promote the game and re-makes of games but with this latest series the commercialism is blatant and honestly annoying. An early example of using the anime to promote a game was the Johto arc in DP to promote HeartGold and SoulSilver. Whereas, currently we have Goh, the human advertisement for Pokémon Go and Chloe’s Eevee promoting Let’s Go Eevee (which I honestly don’t see the need to advertise older games).

The controversary with Grookey…

Needless to say, the latest episode of Pokemon Journeys has sparked a lot of debate and anger particularly from Goh haters who have declared him a thief and are dropping the anime. There are some people who don’t mind Goh catching Grookey, they may have disliked the storyline they used for Goh to catch Grookey. I’ve made my feelings clear, that I would have preferred for Grookey to have been introduced much earlier and for Ash to have caught it.

However, I do have an issue with the way Goh caught Grookey as I can kind of understand why people are calling Goh a thief, I wouldn’t go that far maybe immoral at the most. The initial concept of Grookey belonging to Team Rocket was interesting but the whole story falls flat when they don’t give us any backstory like how did Team Rocket catch Grookey? why was Grookey so desparate to stay with Goh? was Grookey being mistreated by Team Rocket?

Honestly, if Grookey was being mistreated by Team Rocket, I’d understand why it’d want to leave them but this is Jessie, James and Meowth, the trio that released Mimikyu and Mareanie since they didn’t want them to be left in Team Rock Headquarters because they’d thought Mimikyu and Mareanie would be unhappy. So, I honestly can’t see the mistreatment storyline.

Also, the fact that Grookey smashed its own Poké Ball to gain its freedom kind of undermines other storylines that have seen Pokémon being abused by their trainers as they could have arguably smashed their Poké Balls to gain their freedom. Although, you could argue there is an element of fear in these cases.

I feel like if they built up the story more, I may have been more accepting but I kind of find it hypocritical in the sense Goh wants this Pokémon that belongs to someone else and it smashes its own Poké Ball to be with him. Whereas, its bad when Team Rocket try to steal someone else’s Pokémon but its okay for Goh because he’s the protagonist. Considering this is a kids anime that kind of sends the wrong message. I honestly would have found it more interesting if Grookey decided to stay with Team Rocket that would have been an interesting twist with Team Rocket having a starter Pokémon on their side. Plus, we know, James loves his Grass-types.

Conclusion:

Basically, I needed to get this off my chest and honestly, I feel much better for it. No Pokémon anime series is perfect by any means but lately I feel as though the writing has taken a huge dip and it has taken the enjoyment out of the series. I’m still trying to give the series a chance and hopefully I can warm to Grookey under Goh’s ownership, I think if the episodic formula has taken away the storytelling element that I love about the Pokémon series.

I have honestly never seen a Pokémon anime divide the community so much but I’m hoping that things begin to improve particularly if Ash’s Farfetch’d evolves in the next episode.

#pokemon journeys #pokemon #pokeani

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millytempesta · 4 years ago

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Save me.

Chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 4.

Paring: Asahi Azumane x reader

Rating: Fluff, hurt/comfort, smut.

Summary: Asahi is a marine biologist, who is in charge of taking care of the strange creature that they found.But what happens when he discovers that other biologists are experimenting on his precious sea treasure, leaving it a shaky, scared mess?He'll need all the help from his friends to rescue the little fish and take it back to his blue house.

Warnings: This chapter contain SMUT, MENTION OF DARK THEMES, as DEATH, WAR and MASS DESTRUCTION WEAPONS (ONLY MENTIONING), MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOMEONE.

A/n: Late night confessions, a few details of (Y/n)'s past and a very steamy scene...

It was late in the evening, the sun almost gone, no one, except for the cleaners and security, was around in the lab. Changing his lab coat to the cleaner one, Asahi made his way to the pool with a big clothes trolley (I’m not sure how it’s called, is the big trolley that cleaners use to put all the dirty laundry), keeping his face hidden from the cameras, thanks to the basketball hat he found together with the other clothes. Cleaners had a special card, who allowed them to move freely around the lab, including the restricted part he was working in.

Opening the big door to the restricted area, he quickly made his way to his office, where cameras couldn’t film him. Running upstairs, he turned off the music, shouting for the mermaid name.

After not even a second, her head came to the surface, looking at the agitated man with questioning eyes.

“We need to go now, come here quick!”. Shock filled the girl's eyes, letting her jaw fall open. Her finger came out, signaling for the man that she wanted to communicate. Pointing her finger to herself, and then to the door from where Asahi came from with still her mouth agape, she asked for confirmation. “Yes, I’m taking you out of here, but we need to hurry, I don’t know how much time we still have before someone will come and check”.

Quickly giving a nod she signaled for him to wait with her finger, disappearing under water. After a couple of seconds she came back, with their photo in her hand. She swam to the edge, pulling herself out of the water. Strong harms picked her up, and for the first time -and hopefully last-, Asahi made his way down the stairs and into his office, where the trolley was waiting for them. “I’m gonna put you inside of it, okay? You need to stay hidden under those covers”. Gently placing her down, he tried to hide her body, but her tail was too long to fit inside. “Oh no! Your tail is picking out, they’ll see you… What should I do? I don't have a plan B for this!”. Sweat started forming on his forehead, blood started draining from his face, shock filled his eyes.

He messed up.

He needed to find a solution, and very fast. It was not time to panic, her life was in danger.

“-sai”.

A sweet, fragile voice came from behind him, making the man spin looking at the closed door- wait… If the door is closed, then who- “Asahi”. Brown iris slowly moved from the door, looking at the (h/c) haired girl, whose eyes were staring right back at him. His mouth opened, but no sounds escaped, making the very shocked guy look like a fish.

A giggle escaped the girl, moving her tail up in the air. Her scales started losing their bright colour, her beautiful fin slowly got smaller and smaller, taking the shapes of what seemed to be… Feet?

Her tail slowly separated, turning into two (s/c) legs. Folding her new legs, she repositioned the covers over her smaller body, hiding completely her skin from the cool breeze coming from the AC on the wall. Still shocked and gaping at her, the girl opened her mouth again “We need to hurry Asahi, we don’t have time”. Breaking him out of his trance at the mention of being caught, he fixed the covers one last time, making her body completely non visible for other curious eyes.

Pushing the trolly out of his office and out of the restricted area, he made his way on the elevator, pushing the 1st floor bottom.

The door opened, a corridor with just a couple of cameras appeared behind the elevator’s door. Entering the cleaning storage room, Asahi started searching around for clothes. After finding a sweater with the lab’s logo on it and a pair of shorts, he gently moved the covers. “You need to wear this, so you won’t look too suspicious, and now that you have legs we can move more easily to the parking lot”. Handing out his hand to her, he helped her out of the trolley, turning his back to give her privacy while changing. A light tap on his shoulder made him turn back around, making blood rush to his face at the view. The sweater was too big for her, it was covering her hands, making the girl fight for her fingertips to come out; The shorts were hidden by the top, making it look like she was wearing nothing under. If the situation was different, he would have taken a photo of how cute she looked- But now was not the time! He had a mission to finish.

Taking hold of her hand, he pulled her to the elevator, pushing the parking floor bottom. It was all going so smooth, even too smooth. That’s when the elevator stopped to the 3rd floor.

Panicked he took his hat off, putting it on top of the girl’s hair and pulling her behind his wide shoulders. His eyes widened at the man in front of him.

“Oh! Doctor Asahi, still here? It’s pretty late, did you fall asleep again on your desk?”.

Doctor Furukawa entered in the elevator, pushing a bottom and making the doors closing. Pulling the girl even more behind him, Asahi tried to maintain his voice stable. “Y-Yeah, I was really tired, you know how it is, the cold is making me even more sleepy…”. Smiling at the young man, his lips falled back into a line at the view of someone behind his shoulders. “Doctor Asahi… Who are them?”. His face became pale, sweat started coming from his hairline, shaky hands started to fidget with his top. “T-t-they are… They…”.

‘FUCK ASAHI WAKE UP! I need to find an excuse, and quick-’.

But before he could the elevator came to a stop, a bell sound preceding the opening door. Still terrified he looked at the Doctor stepping out of the small space, stopping right out of it. “I hope you are ready to face the consequences of your action Doctor Asahi, they’ll start a hunt for you…”. Gulping down Asahi nodded his head, only to realize he couldn’t see him with his back facing him. “Y-Yes… I’m ready for my destiny, but-”.

Turning back to face him he put a hand to block the door, making him stop in his sentence. “I knew from the start that you would have taken good care of her, your kind nature is a gift Asahi. I considered you as my own soon as soon as I saw you at the university. I saw your warm heart where everyone else saw only a scared mouse.” Opening his bag, he took a key out handing it to him. “This is my boat’s key. Save her my boy.” The door started closing. “Thank you Doctor Furukawa”, said Asahi, bowing to the man. A warm smile was the last thing he saw before the shiny metal closed. A tear made his way down his face, followed by a small sob. A cool finger caressed his cheek, drying it from the salted drop.

He opened his eyes, a warm smile appearing in his face at her worried expression. Putting his hand on top of hers, he turned his face, lips brushing against her palm. No words needed to be exchanged, the silent in that moment spoked for tousen of words.

Finally reaching their floor, they run to the car. Strapping her in, he made his way to the opposite side, strapping himself in. Turning on the car, a yelp escapes the girl’s lips, startled by the machine’s sound. A hand flew to hers, squeezing it in a reassuring way. “It’s okay, it will help us to move faster, you are safe”. Nodding her head she repositioned in her seat. “It’s gonna start moving now, but don’t be afraid of it, okay?”. Another nod came as a response.

The car started moving, making its way out of the laboratory, and to the beach.

Night’s lights came into view, illuminating the city near the streat. People walking near buildings that Asahi took photos of during the day lights, adorned by Christmast decorations. Curious eyes studied her surroundings, admiring all the lively streets. Coming to a stop at the red light, he let his eyes run around her features. (E/c) eyes locked with brown, an apologetic smile was all he could give her. “I’m sorry I can’t show you around… I bet you are curious to see all those places I took photos of with your own eyes”. Shaking her head she reassured him “It’s okay, you give me enough to remember”. Moving again at the blue light, he looked at her with the corner of his eyes, nervous coming back to him.

“So… Y-you can talk?”. Nodding slowly, she turned her gaze to his face. “I bet you are asking why I never talked before”. Taken back by her blurtness, he shankly nodded his head. “They were already doing enough experiments without talking, just imagine what they would have done if they discovered I could communicate easily with them. They would have started asking questions about me, my race, if there were more out there… It was better faking being like a stupid fish-”. He quickly interupted her with an hurted voice “You are not a stupid fish!”.

Shock filled her eyes, a silent fall in the car. A chuckle escaped her lips, her body shaking from trying to keep the laugh in. Red exploded in his face, embarrassed by the situation “H-hey it’s true! D-don’t… Don’t make fun of me…”. Completely letting herself go to laugh, she caressed his arm reassuringly, “I’m not making fun of you, you are just too cute!”. Turning his head to her, he felt his cheeks burn up from her words “C-C-C-CUTE?! I-I’m n-n-note cute!”. Another round of laughs followed his statement, making his embarrassment fall, joining her laugh.

Her cold hand made its way to the one not holding the steering wheel, squeezing it lightly. “You’ve always been the only one who ever treated me with respect, making me feel at home…”. She brought his hand to her face, cool breath hitted the back of his hand making a shiver go through his back. “Making me feel…”, she moved his hand to her cheek, “... So… Loved…”, nuzzling her now red face into his palm.

Stopping the side at the stop, he looked at her features, illuminated by the orangey street light, making her eyes shine in the dark car. “So beautiful…”, he whispered it so low, that she would have missed it, if it wasn’t for her accentuated senses. Moving his hand on her hair, he pulled her face closer, eyes slowly closing, breaths mixing together, their lips almost touching- BEEEP! Startled by the sound, their head bumped into one another, making them hiss from the contact.

An awkward silence filled the now moving car, both of them not daring to comment what happened.

“S-so…” clearing his voice, he tried to find something to talk about. “If you don’t mind me asking, are there more of your species?”. Humming in though,, she looked back out of the window. “I don’t know… I… My family died when I was little… I have lived alone since then…”. Sadness took over his body, looking at her with teary eyes, he took hold of her hand. “I’m so sorry…”. His expression made the girl’s hearths melt. Squeezing his hand, she gave him a reassuring smile, “It happened ages ago, when the big bomb was dropped... In a second they were gone… I don’t even remember their faces anymore…”. Silent filled once again the car, unable to find words of comfort for the girl.

The silence was broken by her once again “That day I understood how greedy humans were, how primitive for going one against the other, all in name of power and money… I spent my whole life hiding in the deep blue… Waiting for my time to come… But mermaids’s lifetime is basically infinite, we don’t die of old age”. Silently listening to her story, he left out some hums once in a while, to show his interest. “You know, the day Doctor Furukawa found me… I was hoping for them to end my life… I arrived at one point where I couldn’t bear anymore being lonely… But instead they took me with them, locked me in a pool and started doing experiments on me… I was so scared… After each test, my body felt like thousands of knives were dug deep on my skin, but because my body regenerate so quickly, no scar or scratch was ever visible”.

Worried eyes looked at her figure, fidgeting in his seat “Why didn’t you ever tell me that they were hurting you?”. Not able to look into his eyes, she kept looking at the city’s lights now far away in the far distance. “I… After all that happened I… I know now it was stupid of me-but I was afraid that the only human that ever treated me good, would have turned agaist me… And once again I would have been alone”. Tears started falling from her eyes, light sobs filled the car. Parking the car in a rest area, away from the noisy street, he turned his body completely to her.

“I would never hurt you, you know it… Right?”, his voice shaky, unsure of her reaction. Holding both of his hands to her face, she looked at him through her thick lashes. “I do know it now, I was just so afraid of losing the only reason that made me want to keep living”. Slowly, unsure, he approached her face, leaving her enough time to pull away if wanted. “I will never leave you on my own free will… I…”, her hands made its way to the back oh his head, inching closer and closer to him. “Sssh I know”, and the last space was gone, lips connected with one another, cool breath mixing with hot, making their lips the same warm perfect temperature.

Hot hands started roaming around her small frame, caressing every dips, curve and delicious softness, making the girl gasp in his mouth. Liking at her bottom lip, he made its way into her cold cavern, tasting the sea saltiness of her small wet muscle. Eagerly, she pulled at his man bun, freeing his hair from his confines, making them fall around his face. A light pull of his long brown locks, pulled out a light moan from the man’s mouth, making the girl’s legs clench together. Loving the sound, a sensation of confidence washed through the girl, making her push the man back in his seat and making her way in his lap. Eagerly connecting their lips together, she pulled their body flushed together, making their crotch brushing to one another.

Parting for air, he lightly pushed her face away, making their eyes lock to one another. “Y-you don’t have to do it, we can take it slow you know, we can-” she interrupted him with a kiss, pushing herself on his growing bulge. A low groan is swallowed on her mouth, making wetness go in her panties. Rough hands take hold of her sides, pulling her more firmly against his hardness, making it brush perfectly against her clit. “A-Asahi!”, her head going back from the pleasure.

Hot lips start sucking marks on her neck, eliciting more sounds from her. He started trusting up, hands squeezing her sides, probably leaving marks -not that neither of them cared. Small hands sneaked under his top, feeling his bunky abs under her fingerprints. Getting the hint, he moved his arms up, allowing her to take the shirt off, lips separating from her, now marked, skin. Blown wide eyes stared at his well built body, drinking in every inch of skin visible.

Before he could feel even slightly conscious, she started peppering kisses on his exposed skin. “You’ve got the body of a God Asahi”, she whispered on his skin. Feeling his ego boost up, confidence came to him, taking hold of her top. “May I?”, he asked, wanting to be 100% sure of her consent. Caressing his face she smiled at him “You may”. Without needing to be told twice, he quickly got rid of the offending piece of cloth, letting out a pleased groan at the sight in front of him. “Look who’s talking…”, he groaned under his breath, one hand coming up to cup one of her breasts, gently squeezing it.

Arching her back, she continued moving against his crotch, letting small moans escape. His mouth connected with one of her nipples, suking lightly at it, eliciting a more loud moan from her. One of his hands moved to the other nipple, twisting it between his fingers, while the other hand moved on her back, slowly making its way on her ass. Her hands flew into his hair, scratching at his scalp. “A-Asahi, I want more”. Unable to decline her request, he switched to the other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the other. With both of his hands free, he pulled her sweatpants off. Reaching for under the seat, he made space for their body and reclined the back, switching their position, so to make her feel more comfortable.

Leaving a smooch on her lips, he lowered his face down her body, leaving a small kiss around her soft skin. When reached her panties, he traced the wet spot with his pointer finger, feeling her twitch under his touch. “You are so wet already”, moving the cloth aside, he traced the wet lips, stopping at her bud, making a small circle motion. A loud moan echoed inside of the car, eyes opened wide, the girl looked down at him. “W-what was that?”. Chuckling to himself, he blew on it, pulling another moan out of her. “This? Is your clit, is a very sensitive part of women’s body”. Pulling her panties off her legs, he pushed the soft thighs apart.

“I’m gonna make you feel really good now, you can stop me at any time, okay?”. Taking hold of one of his hands, she nodded at him. Eyes rolled on the back of her skull, the moment he lached his lips on ler hardening bud. “A-Asahi!”. His warm muscle moved down, entering her wet hole, fucking her with his tongue. “O-Oh God! Asahi!”, one hand squeezing his big one while the other flew on his hair. A long finger made his way inside of her, making her back arch away from the seat. Moving back to her clit, he started pumping the digit in and out of her, shortly after adding another one. At a particular trust and scissoring, a shout of his name came from her lips. “M-more! Asahiiii”. Suking harshley on her bundle of nerves, a knot started forming on her belly.

A third finger entered her, scissoring around her spongy walls, hitting her sweet spot. “So-aAaaAh- so c-close”, a harsh pull of his hair, caused the man to moan on her clit, the vibration pushing her to the release. Eyes seeing stars, mind going blank and mouth opening wide with a silent scream. Waves of pleasure wash over her body, making her shake in delight. Only taking his mouth off when sure of riding her full orgasm out, he pushed himself up to her face, placing a sweet peck on her sweaty cheek. Caressing her hair, he looked into her eyes. “Should we stop? You seem to be tired”. Narrowing her eyes she switched position, sitting back on his lap.

Nails lightly scratching down his pecks, she opened his trousers. “I want to become one with you”. Pulling his trousers and underwear down enough to freed his member, she started stroking it with her hands. Kissing up his jaw, she nipped at his ear, whispering seducity against it. “You are so big Asahi, I want to feel you inside of me so badly”. His resolution snapped, taking hold of her hips and positioning himself at her entrance. Looking with pleading eyes, he stroked the tip on her wet cavern. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she slowly lowered herself on him, causing a loud moan to escape from both of their mouths. Once filled inside of her, hips locked together, he went for a deep kiss, pouring all his carnal desire for her in it.

“I’m gonna start moving now, tell me to stop if it hurts”. Receiving a nod as confirmation, he slowly pushed her up his leight, only to lower her back down. After the first few experimental pumps, he started moving her more fast, slamming her body back down with more force. Screams of his name filled the car, mixed with grunts and moans and skin slapping against skin. Pleasure fogging both minds, both running after their release. The first to snap is (Y/n), still sensitive from her first orgasm, spasming around his cock, pushing him to his own release, spasming inside of her wall, coating in withe warm cum.

Both stilled on the car seat, hugging their sweaty body, and leaving sleepy kisses on eachother skin. When his breath came back to a normal pace, he started scratching her scalp, leaving sweet kisses on her forehead. “We should find a camping space to spend the night, a hotel will be too dangerous, they might find us”. Nodding, she slowly got off his lap, hissing at the feeling of his soft cock exiting her sensitive cavern. Tirely dressing back, they sit quietly next to each other.

Turning to look in their eyes, a warm smile spread on their faces, eyes filled with adoration and love for the other, feeling so connected like never before. “We should leave now, so that tomorrow night we will arrive at the sea”. With one last sweet kiss, he started the car, going back to the main street, and driving to the nearest camping site. Now out of the city, stars shine in the sky, making the night more magic. Looking at her lover, a sad sansation falls on her body, making it hard to breath. Thinking about tomorrow night, a tear dropped from her eyes, quickly hiding her face from him, not wanting to make him worried.

To think that tomorrow they’ll part ways, made her heart hacker, while her mind remembered her that she knew this would have happened one day, because creatures of the surface can’t be with creatures of the deep blue mass, he would die under water, unable to breath. Turning her face to him, she stayed up all night, hoping to tattoo his features in her brain, not wanting to forget him ever. Only when the sun started to wake up, she found herself unable to keep her eyes open, whispering a small “Thank you”, she let herself hug from the dark world of dreams, imagining a life with someone to swim with again.

#azumane asahi #asahi x you #asahi x y/n #asahi #asahi fluff #hq asahi #azumane asahi x reader #haikyuu azumane #azumane smut #hq azumane #azumane x reader #azumane x you #azumane #haikyuu #haikyu x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyū!!#haiku #fanfic

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askaceattorney · 4 years ago

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Turnabout Memories

Hello and hap’piraki, everyone!

(Whoa... Déjà vu.)

Now that we’re finally nearing the end of this (*twitch, twitch*) year, and now that I’m preparing to step off this blog for a time, I’d like to take a moment to reminisce about all the ground we’ve covered since the day I first discovered the uniquely fun experience of Ask Ace Attorney.

It all began a few years ago when...

Oh, right -- this’ll probably be pretty lengthy, so I’ll continue below the cut.

It all began a few years ago when I discovered Ask Ace Attorney through a Google search. I don’t remember most of the details, but when I first found out about a blog that attempts to bring video game characters to life through blog posts and the power of imagination, I thought the idea was both strange...and amazing.

I’d only recently started getting into Ace Attorney at the time (after seeing Matthew Taranto’s hilarious mashup between it and the Kirby series), so I decided to send in a few letters and see if they’d get an answer. Sure enough, a few months later, I saw the first response to one of them! It was a pretty exciting feeling, to say the least.

I’d share that letter response here, but unfortunately, it included my real name, so we’ll have to save it for later. For now, here are a couple of the earliest ones from me: a deeply emotional one from Dahlia to Iris (a little far-fetched, maybe, but I CAN SEE IT HAPPENING, THE MOD), and a short, punny one from Moe to Phoenix. Not surprisingly, I enjoyed seeing the characters react to them in ways I found believable as much as I enjoyed writing these and several other letters. I knew the Mod (the only moderator here at the time) wasn’t affiliated with Capcom, but his character portrayals were spot-on each time, and my creative spark and love for Ace Attorney received some constant fuel for a while thanks to this blog.

And then...this happened. For a brief moment, I thought about how fun it would be to see if I could do what the Mod had been doing for so long, but then I decided it’d probably be better to leave it in someone else’s hands. Sure, I was a huge fan of Ace Attorney and its loveable characters, but did I really love them enough to pretend to be them on a hugely popular blog? Naaah.

I went over the rest of that story once before, so I’ll just give a brief recap here: my friend the Modthorne won the audition to become the next de Modder, I asked her if I could join, and then it ended up just being me here, followed by Mods Paups, Kristoph, and Maya. That’s the way we became the Ask Ace Attorney bunch.

So, when I first made my debut as the Commode Co-Mod, my only real strategy for answering letters was to emulate the Mod's style. I honestly wondered if I could accurately portray so many different personalities in a believable way, but, with a few hiccups along the way, I somehow managed to pull it off to some degree. I also started developing my own style and becoming less conscientious about how my portrayals looked (that definitely took some time, though), and worrying less about the blog’s popularity and overall performance review. That, I believe, was a big part of what made both of those steadily rise over time, until we ended up reaching and surpassing 12,000 followers! (I’m still geekin’ out about that one.) Just relaxing and going with the flow made things a lot easier for me, and apparently helped Ask Ace Attorney reach its current level of popularity. Something tells me that choice paid off in the end, and thank goodness.

I of course have to give credit to the popularity of Ace Attorney and its characters, as well as the Mod for giving me and the other moderators so much material to start off with, but I sure never expected my role in helping to build the Ace Attorney fandom’s strength and size to be quite this large. Heck, just getting to create things for so many people is a huge honor, so...what can I say to that, except a huge thank you to Capcom and the Mod?

Don’t worry, I’ll get to thanking all of you in just a moment. ; )

So, anyway, that’s all the general stuff. Let’s talk about the highlights of the last three years, now, shall we?

My first holiday-related post was an April Fool’s Day one, so let’s start there. We came close to hearing about Phoenix’s lawyer camp incident...

...gave a few of the characters a chance to ask some questions of their own...

...had a little run-in with some of the bad guys...

...and briefly opened the window into some characters’ minds.

We sure didn’t fool around when it came to fooling around, did we?

Then there was Halloween. We dealt with a creeper in the darkness...

...let one of the lesser-known characters go on a brief venture beyond the fourth wall...

...let some characters switch outfits and personalities for a short while...

...and paid homage to a classic interactive cartoon by letting them give out candy.

We sure had our fill of sweets and spooks, didn’t we?

And then there was Christmas, which included some of my favorite content. We enjoyed a musical performance by several members of the Ace Attorney cast...

...a less flattering musical performance by yours truly...

...a short play taking place in Pearls’s dreams...

...and a fan-made song parody about a non-canon (but believable) incident involving Phoenix and a reindeer.

(Sorry if that image cursed anyone for life, by the way.)

I don’t know about you, but I loved every bit of our holiday hijinks.

And of course, we can’t leave out some of the great moments that occurred on non-holidays, including Her Benevolence falling victim to a classic comedy gag...

...Pearls meeting herself from a different time period somehow...

...Apollo taking a trip to the Pokemon world in his dreams...

...Athena getting tricked into thinking she had passed on briefly...

...Trucy getting caught red-handed by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself...

...and, uh...this thing happening to Iris.

No idea what I was thinking back then. Sometimes you just have to go with the moment.

Not to mention one letter response that received an unexpected explosion of popularity. Edgeworth always did know how to drop a sass bomb, didn’t he? And one moment I’ll likely never forget is the letter regarding Athena’s hair. For the record, I thought the shorter hairstyle looked okay, but somehow I didn’t think she would feel the same way. Make of that what you will. X )

Of course, it wasn’t all fun times and laughter -- I ended up stepping on some toes by accident, making a few jokes in bad taste, struggling to keep a balance between blogging and the real world, and...well...

...that happened. I don’t regret a moment of it, though, because if Ace Attorney (and life) have taught me anything, it’s that powering through the less enjoyable moments in life is what makes us stronger, and what makes the good times that much more enjoyable.

But out of all the fun, hilarious, thought-provoking, and deeply touching moments that stood out in the last three years of blogging, the one I would say I enjoyed the most is this one. It was my first attempt at responding to a letter in character (with one of the biggest “characters” in the series, no less), but, as with many of my letter responses, it also included some of me in it -- specifically, the part where Athena tries to sound optimistic, but not too prideful. That was the sort of attitude I wanted to have whenever I answered letters -- I wanted to keep the fun and creativity of Ace Attorney and its characters going without injecting too much of myself into it. The series wasn’t mine, after all, and neither was the blog, so my main goal was simply to sound like the characters.

And with that in mind, let me just say this: If any of these letters (even one of them) have made you smile or laugh on an unpleasant day, made you think about things from a different perspective, or simply helped you suspend your disbelief for a moment and believe you’re actually talking to someone from a video game, then my goal has been reached.

Anyway, I didn’t mean for this to be my goodbye speech (I’m saving that for later). What it is is a sincere thank you for the fun and creativity that I and the rest of the moderators were able to engage in with all of you, thanks to our shared love of Ace Attorney, its characters, and its unique humor and depth. Every last piece of witty dialogue, every picture, every song, and every custom sprite (the last of which can be found here), was inspired by your creativity and willingness to participate in this imaginative collaboration work.

I hope you’ve enjoyed it at least half as much as I have. You guys are awesome.

-The Co-Mod

#Mod Post #Co Mod #Mod Commentary #Feel free to share any of your favorite moments that I missed

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rivalsforlife · 4 years ago

Note

For the fanfic ask: F, K, S, X, Y (whichever ones you feel like answering) <3 Love your work!

Alright, thank you!!

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

oh no. Uhhh I’m probably going to think of something else like five seconds after posting it haha, but at the moment one of the dialogue scenes I really like is the dinner scene near the end of chapter 4 of The Catch-Up Game (linked here for easy reference). The... whole thing is pretty long and I like a lot of it, so I’ll just share a (relatively?) short snippet form it here:

“You did more than enough, Edgeworth,” Phoenix insisted. “If it weren’t for the Jurist System — founded upon your research — I would’ve never been able to clear up my scandal. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten my badge back at all.”

“The badge wasn’t all there was to it.”

“... Maybe not,” Phoenix admitted. “It’s not like we can change that. And it’s not like I would’ve wanted you to do more. It was difficult enough to accept help as it was. Besides, you’re — you’re here now, aren’t you?”

“Phoenix,” said Edgeworth.

It’s not like it was unheard of for Edgeworth to say his first name. It just… happened so rarely, Phoenix could count on one hand the times he’s heard it since grade school. Only when it was just the two of them, never when they were in some sort of public place.

But… Phoenix really liked the way Edgeworth said his name. It wasn’t like he pronounced it differently, or anything. There was just a sense of hesitance to it, like it was something precious he was holding in his mouth, and speaking it too forcefully would cause it to shatter. His name was all soft syllables, in Edgeworth’s voice which rarely softened anything, and it made Phoenix feel like he fell back into deep water after he’d just regained his footing.

“So much has changed,” said Edgeworth. “Hasn’t it?”

“Mhm, tell me about it,” said Phoenix, sinking back into his chair, trying to stay afloat. “Maya’s the Master of her village, Pearls is looking into college, Apollo’s running his own firm while Athena’s taking on more cases by herself, Trucy’s off on tour… and you, Chief Prosecutor.” He let out a faint, self-deprecating laugh. “Meanwhile it feels like I’m stuck in place. Still the same attorney I was when I started out.”

“I don’t think that’s true, but even if it were, there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” Edgeworth asked. “I hastened towards my position, as it was the best vantage point from which to eliminate corruption. I know I’ve made great changes. I don’t regret my choices, and wouldn’t choose differently, if I had the chance to do them over. But…” He gazed at Phoenix for a long time. “There are things I missed,” he continued, barely audible. “In some ways I’m still stuck, as well, and the thought of moving forward… terrifies me.”

“... I think I know what you mean.”

“Do you?”

Phoenix didn’t answer, lowering his gaze to where Edgeworth’s hand rested almost halfway across the table. If he wanted to, he could reach out to hold it. Broad hands that he would trust the world in. But he still didn’t know what it would feel like in his, or what expression would cross Edgeworth’s face if he had the courage to take it.

Edgeworth stared at him with an unreadable expression, almost curious. “Well, you don’t have to say anything,” he said. “What matters most is that I can be here with you now.”

“... Yeah,” said Phoenix. “I agree.”

One of the major difficulties I have in writing, especially writing dialogue, is being Even Remotely Subtle at any given point, because I am an extremely unsubtle person who does not pick up on social cues! This scene though, actually most of this chapter, has to sort of subtly set up the big event at the end of chapter 5, as well as make all of Phoenix’s motivations seem sort of plausible before he actually gives the explanation a little later. Reading it over it wasn’t actually very subtle but for me I think it was a huge step in the right direction haha.

Mainly: Phoenix fears that Miles is going to leave him again, along with everyone else he loves in his life, since everyone is starting to move on ahead without him. He’s only just gotten Miles in his life in a semi-permanent way and is terrified of losing that. Miles, meanwhile, has been so focused on his career his whole life and is just now starting to realize the other aspects of life he’d been missing out on, namely developing his relationship with Phoenix, which he’s slowly starting to work up the courage to make a move on. And they’re both aware now that they love each other (even if Phoenix can’t fully admit it to himself yet), but scared to actually take that step forward, so they tiptoe around the subject even though they both know they’re discussing it... and end up taking wildly different conclusions away from the conversation as a result, which leads to the disaster at the end of chapter 5.

Also I just kind of like how pretty some of it managed to sound, somehow. The description of how Miles says Phoenix’s name is probably one of my favourite lines in the fic haha. Overall, I feel proud of myself any time I think I can pull off a dialogue scene where people don’t say what they mean haha.

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

Hmm prooooobably the Iris Wright Ace Attorney AU which is the one where Phoenix ends up killed by Dahlia, and to atone, Iris helps put her in jail and then takes on Phoenix’s path as an attorney... which I haven’t really written much for yet, but talked about here a little while ago.

It’s fun and angsty because Iris has to deal with a lot of guilt of pretty much being the downfall of the two people she cared about the most, but you’ve also got Miles, who has his realization that maybe what he’s doing isn’t great so much harder and faster because the realization comes with “when you ignored the truth, it set off a chain of events that caused the death of your childhood friend.”

Phoenix and Miles don’t end up as close in this AU by virtue of Phoenix being dead before they even meet, but Miles learns Phoenix became an attorney to save him -- and was in the courthouse when he met Dahlia because he was studying to become an attorney -- and even though Miles hadn’t spoken to Phoenix in ages, he was still Miles’ first friend and someone he held dear to his heart all those years they were separate (which I do think is true in canon too, but seeing him as an opponent made that less apparent in AA1-Miles), so news of his death indirectly because of Miles hits him pretty badly.

I did write a fic about Miles responding to Phoenix’s letters in this AU during the events of JFA as a way of trying to work through his grief. I was going to post it during the AU day for narumitsu week this year but ended up not doing that since The Catch-Up Game was stressful enough for people haha.

... I can probably come up with angstier stuff if pressed but AA isn’t one of the fandoms I crave a lot of angst for.

OH WAIT NO I looked through my fic ideas doc and saw one that’s basically a DL-6 But Worse AU where Miles dies instead of Gregory -- kind of like The Illusion of Control, which broke me, but plot-related stuff would probably be different. A key part is them somehow managing to solve DL-6 in seven years, so that there’s the thematic parallel of Gregory then taking in Franziska (and raising her well!)

(S I already answered here!)

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

... Apparently Miles Edgeworth? I don’t necessarily like making him suffer, I just think that you can explore many interesting aspects of his character... through his suffering... and given my fics, he’s the one I make suffer the most, so. Does it count as making him suffer if it’s canon that did it first?

Y: A character you want to protect.

Mostly the kid characters who have suffered so much more than they deserve: namely, Pearl and Trucy. Especially Trucy at the moment considering the repulsive stuff people have been writing about her in the aa ao3 tag recently.

#fanfic ask meme #asks

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westallenfun · 5 years ago

Text

All We Want for Christmas Is You, Chapter 1

WestAllen secret santa gift

From: @jade4813

For: @abbeyb77

Note: I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and I REALLY hope you enjoy your Christmas present!

Title: All We Want for Christmas Is You

Rating: G

Synopsis: When a bolt of lightning splits Barry Allen and the Flash into two different people just in time for the holidays, Barry struggles to find a way to tell Iris how he feels about her - and figure out if she really loves him or the scarlet speedster. My Westallen Secret Santa gift for @abbeyb77!

Chapters: 1/5

Iris had always loved Christmas. She loved everything about it. She loved the songs and the snow and the lights strung up in every window. The cheesy movies, decorations covered with glitter, and sugar cookies with brightly colored frosting. Every year, she looked forward pouring herself a giant glass of eggnog, putting on her dad’s old record of Christmas carols, and decorating the tree.

Everything about this time of year made her so happy, she didn’t complain when her editor called her at the last minute to ask her to cover a fluff piece after the reporter who was originally assigned to it got the flu. It was hardly the type of story to land on the front-page, but she didn’t mind. She wasn’t even bothered when a road closure doubled her morning commute. Instead, in the privacy of her car, she belted out Christmas carols the entire ride in. “I have been so good this year! And all I want is one thing; tell me my true love is near! He’s all I want, just for me, underneath my Christmas tree. I’ll be waiting here. Santa, that’s my only wish this year,” she sang off-key as she shut off her car and hopped out.

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she continued to hum to herself as she jogged up the front steps to the Central City Police Department. Just walking through its front doors reminded her of the thousands of times she’d come to visit her dad at his desk, growing up, and the memory made her smile.

But this trip wasn’t for a casual visit. She had work to do. Pulling out her phone, she skirted a crowd of tiny, rambunctious children and leaned against the wall as she waited for the show to start.

—

“I look ridiculous,” Barry muttered in the next room as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. For the tenth time in at least as many minutes, he tried to straighten his cap. It of course immediately tilted askew again.

“You look…well, the kids will love it, at least,” Singh replied, trying to cover his smile.

Barry huffed and adjusted his hat again, trying not to think about how absurd he looked. Or how his tights were starting to chafe. “How did I get talked into this again?”

Singh chuckled. “Because you were late to the meeting where we talked about the governor’s new STEM initiative in the local school system, so when I announced the governor wanted us to host a program, everyone voted you for the job. Let this be a lesson to you. If you don’t want to dress up like an elf, show up on time.” In the other room, he heard teachers call their kids to order, and Singh handed Barry a giant plastic reindeer print. “That’s your cue. When you get out there, just remember…they’re six. Try not to confuse them.”

“Six. Right. Got it.” Sucking in a deep breath, Barry adjusted his cap one more time and then pasted a grin on his face and bounded through the doors. “Hey, kids! I’m…um…I’m…”

His lines completely evaporated from memory when he scanned the crowd and saw her. Iris West. Ace reporter for the CCPN. And girl he’d had a massive crush on for over almost a year. He’d known CCPN was sending a journalist, but he never imagined it would be her; she usually covered more hard-hitting stories than this type of fluff piece. There were rumors her last story breaking a bribery scandal at City Hall could land her a Pulitzer.

He’d been trying to find a way to say more than five words to her for months now, and he’d gotten too tongue-tied every time. And now she was standing three feet away, staring at him in his ridiculous elf costume. With tights. Her eyes bright with laughter, she hardly was hardly looking at him like he was the man of her dreams.

So much for suavely sweeping her off her feet.

His heart sinking, Barry tried to pull his attention back to the task at hand. He suspected his face was bright red as he stammered, “I’m…um…I’m Barry, Head Elf here at Santa’s workshop. I’m responsible for helping to make sure things are neat and tidy around here.” He gestured around at the lobby, which had been decorated for the holidays. Half of the area had been decorated to look like Santa’s workshop, and that’s where Barry was holding his show. Tearing his eyes away from Iris, he plowed ahead with the script. “Oh, my gosh! Who made a mess of Santa’s workshop? We’ve got to get this figured out before the big guy comes back! You’ll help me, won’t you?”

As the kids cheered, he held up the plastic footprint Singh had handed him. “Excellent! Whenever there’s a mystery around here, I help get to the bottom of it by looking at clues. I found this one outside. You know we elves can tell a lot from looking at footprints just like this. We can tell what kind of animal it’s from. Will you kids help me out?”

The kids cheered, and Barry tried not to think about what she might be thinking as he turned his attention back to the children in the audience. “Thank you! So, like I said, elves can tell what kind of animal left prints just from looking at their shape! Take a look at your feet. Have you ever noticed the prints you leave behind when you walk in the snow? I bet they look a lot like this.” He held up a large picture of a footprint and then stared between the two with an confused expression on his face. “Is this what the footprint I found outside looks like?”

The children shouted no, and he shook his head. “I think you’re right. What about a polar bear?” As he held up a picture of a polar bear’s paw print, he gave in to the temptation to look towards Iris again. She had a hand up, covering her mouth, but her eyes were filled with laughter. His stomach twisted at the sight.

What must she think of him? Given his luck, probably that he was a giant dork. He’d never have a chance with her now.

—

Iris tried not to giggle as she watched Barry teach the kids a few basic concepts of forensic science in a fun an engaging way. For their part, the kids were engrossed in his show, their excitement almost overwhelming when they realized that the “prints” Barry found outside belonged to a reindeer. From there, Barry found some crumbs and they helped him identify that the crumbs came from sugar cookies. Finally, Barry found some white hairs, which he held up for the audience to see.

“You know, I bet if we can figure out who left these behind, we’ll finally uncover who made a mess of Santa’s workshop. But this hair is white. Who do we know that has white hair like this? Is it me? Does this look like my hair?”

“No!” the kids yelled, practically bouncing up and down from their seats on the floor.

“No? Hm…I guess you’re right. What about…this pretty lady.” He pointed right at Iris, and she rolled her eyes at him with a good-natured smile. “Does she have hair like this?”

“No!” the kids screamed even louder.

Barry approached one of the kids in the front row. “What about you?” he asked the little girl with red hair and freckles. “Does this look like your hair?”

The little girl giggled and shook her head while the children around her shouted louder still, “NO!”

“Huh. So who is it? Who has hair like this?” Barry asked, feigning confusion for the audience.

“SANTA CLAUS!”

“Santa Claus?” Barry gasped. “Do you think this could be Santa’s hair?”

The audience shouted their agreement, just as the door opened and Captain Singh strolled in, wearing a red suit with a white wig and beard. “Ho, ho, ho! Did somebody call my name?” he asked jovially, with a voice that had grown accustomed to carrying over a room full of busy detectives for many years.

At the sight of Santa, the children lost whatever shred of composure they had left, squealing in excitement. “SANTA CLAUS!”

The wave of sound almost bowled Iris over, and she watched Barry wait for it to ebb a bit before continuing. “Santa! Did you make this mess?”

Santa hung his head. “I did. I’m sorry, Barry. Everyone knows when you make a mess, you’re supposed to clean it up. Isn’t that right, kids?”

The kids screamed their agreement, but Iris wasn’t really paying attention anymore. While Barry’s attention was distracted, she lifted her phone and snapped a couple of surreptitious photos, telling herself they’d be a great addition to the story. But if she was honest with herself, she really wanted the photos because Barry just looked so darn adorable dressed up as an elf.

She’d met Barry before, of course. They’d even spoken a few times in passing at various crime scenes, when Iris was looking for a quote. She’d always thought he was kind of cute, but that was about as far as it went. Every time she and Barry talked, he seemed desperate to be anywhere else, so she’d assumed that he wasn’t a fan of reporters and hadn’t given it a second thought.

But seeing him now, dressed up in his ridiculous costume and going through this whole act just to make some kids happy – and hopefully get them excited to learn about science – he was…perfect. Charming. Adorable. And so damn endearing, when Santa made his excuses and left and Barry the elf ask the kids in the audience if they had any questions, she almost raised her hand and asked him out on a date. She knew he wasn’t a fan of reporters, but maybe she could convince him to give her a shot.

Before she do something utterly humiliating – like give in to the urge to ask Barry about the dating habits of elves at the North Pole – a tow-haired child in the front row asked, “Mister Barry, is Santa really the Flash?”

Barry straightened, clearly surprised by the question. It wasn’t what she had been expecting, either, though she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised it came up. Ever since she’d broken the story of Central City’s resident superhero and given him his official moniker a few months before, he’d been a hot topic for discussion. Mystery surrounded him, since nobody had yet landed an interview, including Iris. That didn’t stop everyone in the city from having an opinion – on who he was, where his powers came from, what he could do, and even what it would be like to date a superhero.

“Oh. Um…no, the Flash and Santa are two different people. The Flash helps Santa out sometimes, though! It’s hard to deliver all those presents in one night, you know!”

“How old is Santa?” another little boy asked.

Barry considered the question. “I don’t think anyone knows. He’s really old, though.”

Undeterred, the little boy pressed, “My daddy said Santa and his elves don’t age, so why do you look so old? How old are you? A thousand? Are you thirty?” His voice made it clear that might be even worse. Iris had to press her hand to her mouth to muffle her giggles.

“I’m…um…elves don’t…they don’t age like normal people so…I’m actually pretty young for an elf! I…um…next question?”

A shy little boy raised his hand and asked in a voice barely above a whisper, “Does Rudolph really have a red nose?”

Barry’s excitement was visible as he replied, “Yes, actually! Some reindeer really do have red noses because of dense nasal microcirculation.”

“Micro what?”

Barry grimaced. “Six. Right. Um…some reindeer have a lot of blood vessels packed into a really small space, which helps regulate their temperature up at the North Pole. So that makes their noses look red. Rudolph…um…just has a brighter red nose than most!”

A little girl raised her hand. “Does Santa have any girl reindeer?”

He nodded, once again losing himself in excitement over the topic. “Absolutely! You know, reindeer are unusual because both boys and girls grow antlers. Of course, the male reindeer usually lose their antlers in winter, so really, when you see all those pictures of reindeer with huge antlers, they’re probably either girls or boys who have been…um…” As though remembering once again the age of his audience, Barry shot a desperate look around, blushing bright red. “Um…boys who have kept their antlers due to…um… Santa’s magic. Any…any other questions?”

Oh my god. He was so endearing, so adorably flustered, Iris’s hands tingled with the desire to grab him by his silly elf shirt and pull him in for a kiss. However, this turned into a bark of laughter at the expression of sheer terror on Barry’s face when another little girl asked, “My mommy said I’m getting a baby sister for Christmas and it’s growing in her belly. How did you and Santa put it there?”

“What?” he squeaked in alarm, and Iris had to smother her laughter behind her hand. “I…I…I didn’t…I…it’s…I…” His face was almost puce when Iris finally took pity on him.

Stepping forward, she cleared her throat to get the crowd’s attention. Meeting the little girl’s eyes, she said, “You know, my daddy used to be friends with Santa when I was growing up, and do you want to know what he told me? He told me sometimes Santa’s greatest gifts aren’t presents. It’s making wishes come true. So he didn’t really put your baby sister in your mommy’s belly. He just helped make your mommy and daddy’s wish come true.”

“So that means he can turn me into a dragon?” a little boy yelled excitedly from the other side of the room. From the long-suffering expression on his teacher’s face, Iris suspected this was a recurring topic of discussion.

She pressed her finger against her chin as she considered the question. “Well…I suppose he could,” she began slowly, prompting a glare from the teacher. “But I don’t think you’d really want that. And neither would he.”

“Yes I would! Because then I could eat anyone who annoyed me! Rawr!”

Iris laughed. “That is a good point,” she conceded. “But Santa loves you just the way you are, and you wouldn’t be that person anymore. And, anyway, Santa only brings presents to human boys and girls…and sometimes the pets that love them the most. So if he turned you into a dragon, he wouldn’t be able to bring you presents. And I’m pretty sure eating people would put you on the naughty list, so he wouldn’t be able to come visit you anymore. Wouldn’t that make you sad?”

The little boy looked stunned. “I…I never thought about that,” he murmured, sitting back down with an expression of intense concentration on his face as he mulled over her revelation.

“Anyway, it’s time for me to get back to making toys with the rest of the elves!” Barry blurted, and Iris could swear she felt his hand brush against hers before he started to edge towards the door. “Thank you all for coming and for asking really insightful, really hard questions. Don’t forget to see Shirley at the reception desk for some cookies! Bye everyone!”

Seizing the opportunity, Iris darted through the door behind him. “Great job out there.”

He jumped and whirled around. “Iris! I…thank you. I probably looked like a giant dork in this costume.”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know. I think it takes a lot of confidence to go out there like that.” Sucking in a deep breath, she seized her courage. “So, anyway. I’ve been thinking. I was wondering if you wanted to –”

Before she could finish asking him out, several cops flooded into the area, racing towards the door. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Metahuman spotted downtown,” one replied quickly as he hurried to the door. “Singh said to get your CSI kit ready. We may need you later.”

“Oh. I –” Barry began apologetically. “I’m sorry. I should really –”

“No, of course. You have work. I can come by later for those, um, those questions I was going to ask you. You do what you gotta do. Um…but you might want to change before you go.”

“What? Oh, right,” Barry replied, looking down at his costume with a sheepish smile. “Thanks for the help earlier.”

“My pleasure,” she responded with a warm smile before turning and darting out the door. If there was a metahuman downtown, she needed to get down there. Everything came second to a story, including her love life. When she jumped in the car, she turned on her police scanner to the site of the action, pulling over a half block or so away and jumping out to get a better look.

She gasped when she noticed two tornadoes forming in the sky overhead. “Oh, my god,” she breathed. The winds picked up, lifting a semi off the ground and sending it hurtling down the street toward her. Iris knew she wouldn’t be able to get in her car and get away in time, so she turned to run.

Before she could take more than a couple of steps, she felt herself get swept off her feet and had a moment of terror that she’d been caught up by the tornado. When she opened her eyes, however, she saw that she was wrapped in the Flash’s arms as he carried her up the side of a building to the roof.

“Hey there, pretty lady. Just getting you out of the path of danger.”

“Um…thank you,” she breathed. “And I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything. But with those tornadoes overhead, I’m not sure this is a lot safer.”

“I’m on it,” he reassured her, setting her carefully back on her feet. “Thanks for the name, by the way. The Flash. I like it.”

“You – you know who I am?” It hardly seemed like the time to worry about that kind of thing, but her brain seemed to be stuck in neutral.

“Of course I know who you are, Miss West. Believe me, you’re not an easy woman to forget.” Without another word, he raced off, leaving Iris dumbstruck behind him. She raced to the edge of the roof and bent over the ledge, watching the trail of lightning that trailed behind the Flash as she tried to get a better look at the action.

—

It felt good to carry Iris in his arms, Barry mused as he raced back to the ground. Not that this was the best time to think about that, but he always found it hard to get Iris out of his mind. He thought about the look on her face when he’d put her back on her feet. Like she was as captivated by him as he always had been by her.

Maybe things weren’t as dire as he’d thought. Sure, she’d seen him in a dorky elf costume, but surely he could recover. Maybe someday he could get her to think about him the same way he thought about her.

Not that this was the time to worry about that, he acknowledged as he saw a tall man with sandy brown hair tuck a metal wand into his coat before turning to the window behind him. Incredibly, the window seemed to ripple, its surface turning reflective, and the man stepped through. Another man with dark hair and a beard followed, and Barry followed without a second thought.

A second later, a flash of lightning streaked overhead. It arced toward the ground, striking Barry just as he touched the strange, shifting window into which the two men had disappeared. The impact blew his body backwards, sending him sprawling into the alleyway, and he groaned. It was the second time in his life he’d been struck by lightning, and he couldn’t say the experience became any more enjoyable through repetition.

Feeling like he’d been hit by the semi he’d saved Iris from a few minutes before, Barry moaned again. When he finally gathered the strength to open his eyes, he saw that he was naked. Desperately hoping nobody was around to see him in such a state, he staggered to his feet.

That’s when he saw it. A man dressed all in red, lying a few feet away. Even as he watched, the man groaned and struggled to stand, pushing his cowl off his head as he did so. When he finally straightened, Barry found himself staring into a face as well as he knew his own. In fact, he knew that face because it was his own.

Somehow, Barry was staring into the Flash’s face. Which shouldn’t have been possible, because he was the Flash. Then again, if there was one thing he’d learned in the past year, it was not to doubt the impossible.

Still, it was hard to believe his eyes. “What?” he asked, feeling all the blood rush away from his head. He tried to vibrate his hand at super-speed, but nothing happened, which is when Barry realized he no longer hand his powers.

“What?” the other man asked, sounding as incredulous as he did. Lightning sparked in his eyes, and Barry realized what had happened. As hard as it was to believe, the lightning had split Barry Allen and the Flash into two different bodies. What was he supposed to do?

“What?”

#the flash #westallen secret santa #westallen #submission

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callunavulgari · 5 years ago

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TOP 25 FICS OF 2019

1. these roads will take you into your own country by @notbecauseofvictories | American Gods | Laura Moon/Mad Sweeney | WIP | 33k

Here’s a joke for you: a Muslim, a zombie, and a leprechaun walk into a bar in Misery, Indiana. No one stares, because no one in the puckered, shitty asshole of Misery, Indiana gives a fuck. The Colts are playing.

Heather Says: So. It’s funny that another of @notbecauseofvictories‘s stories is at the top of my list again this year. Keep in mind this list is sorted by when the fic was read rather than favorites (because that would get real complicated real quick). Clearly there must be something about January. There’s just something about the writing that is easy to slip into, be it a Star Wars fic or a Labyrinth fic or even a fic about Johnny and the Devil. This was lovely and I can’t wait until it’s finished.

2. eighteen wheels on an uphill climb by @honkforhankcon | Detroit: Become Human | Hank/Connor | 91k

Hank is going to die. He’s going to die right here in Kentucky, 53 years old, halfway to broke, and tragically sober. Survived only by a nine-year-old St. Bernard and the 31-year-old twink who delivered the fatal blow.

Heather Says: I don’t think that this is the first DBH fic that I sought out after beating the game, but it is the first that I loved enough to make it to this list. I didn’t think that I would go for a modern au for this fandom, certainly not a modern au wihere Hank is a truck driver and Connor is a sex worker (albeit briefly?) but here I am.

3. Fuck pride (pride only hurts, it never helps) by ImogenGotDrunk | Detroit: Become Human | RK900/Gavin Reed | 41k

After the android uprising, Connor becomes a permanent fixture in the DPD. That’s fine. Gavin can accept that. The dipshit’s more human than he used to be, and a decent detective to boot. Gavin can deal with him being around. What Gavin cannot deal with is Connor’s replica; two inches taller, blue-eyed, and with a mouth that Gavin doesn’t know whether to punch or take between his teeth. The RK900 model has been assigned as his partner for the foreseeable future.

Heather Says: I also never thought that I’d like a fic with Gavin in it. But I got curious about all the Reed900, and well, this fic really won me over. The writing is fantastic, and it softens Gavin while still keeping him believable. Also, well, I like the enemies to lovers thing.

4. Almost Cool by @blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 30k

While filming the Yuma Territorial Prison episode, Shane gets bitten by what he thinks is a bat. Spoiler alert: it's not.

Heather Says: This is actually the first thing that I read for this fandom. In fact, this is the fic that got me into Buzzfeed Unsolved in the first place. I’d seen a lot of art and gifs and fics pass my way, but I was only ever slightly interested in what I saw until this fic came through my inbox and piqued my curiosity.

5. Pride by @astolat | Game of Thrones | Jaime/Brienne/Cersei | 22k

Jaime didn’t understand why Cersei suddenly insisted on trimming his hair and shaving his beard, but he also didn’t care to fight her on it, even though he’d just as soon have kept the beard: it was bitterly cold in the small tower room with its arrow-slits.

Heather Says: Wowza. This fic was intense. I’ve always loved Jaime and Brienne. I’ve loved them since the second book, which was read at least a few years before I started loving them in the show. Adding Cersei to their dynamic would have probably been almost impossible to pull off if it was anyone else, but @astolat lives to surpass my expectations.

6. Skin and Scales by Ernmark | The Penumbra Podcast | Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla | 18k

The man glares, and this time, Damien is certain it isn’t a trick of the light: those eyes are violet as amethyst. He wears disdain like a second skin–- or, perhaps, like the scales that he is missing. “Lord Arum?”

Heather Says: I was one of those people who skipped through all of the Second Citadel episodes during my first listen through of Penumbra. The stories were good, but the pull of Juno was too great. A couple months after I finished, I went back and listened to everything I didn’t. And let me tell you. Lizard monster. Honorable knight. Bookish girlfriend. Poly. It hit every single button I had and then some. This fic really hit the spot when I ran out of story.

7. someone you like by caela | She-Ra | Adora/Catra | 5k

catwithabat u think ur so hipster but u just look like a lesbian 27m she_ra @catwithabat bc… i’m a lesbian. lmao 5m

Heather Says: Noooot usually a big fan of high school fics. Namely because I’m not in high school anymore and well, after you read so many in your teenage years they sort of lose their luster. This one was phenomenal enough to change my mind.

8. Sands of Time by @tirsynni | Legend of Zelda | Ganondorf/Link | WIP | 98k

Link awakens in the desert with no idea how he got there, to encounter his worst enemy...except it was the King of the Gerudo, not the King of Evil, he faced.

Heather Says: I have seen a lot of really good Link/Ganondorf art over the years, but never really stumbled across a fic that didn’t have judicious amount of non-con involved. But the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer happened, and everybody started drawing really pretty art, so I went looking. And lo and behold, @tirsynni saved the day with this gorgeous time travel/fix-it fic.

9. killed with kindness by veterization | Persona 5 | Akechi/Akira | 52k

Goro can't quite figure out why so many people keep acting like they're his friend. (Or: the one where the Phantom Thieves decide to know thy enemy, befriend thy enemy, love thy enemy, crush on thy enemy).

Heather Says: I’ve read a couple of veterization’s fics over the years, and to date they have never disappointed me. They published this in June, and I think I clicked on it mostly because I was bored and hadn’t read any good P5 fic yet. This was basically just what the doctor ordered, and I was really happy to find something where Akechi’s story went ever so slightly different.

10. paper thin by @ebonybow | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | 9k

Shane’s new neighbors are a morning-sex kind of couple.

Heather Says: So I went into this one knowing very little about how Sara fit into things. I didn’t know she was Shane’s girlfriend. I’d never even seen her, but I clicked because I like poly and I trust the author. I was 100% not disappointed. There’s also another fic with a very similar dynamic here, which is also aces.

11. damn.nation, now available on itunes by @kaikamahine | Good Omens | Aziraphale/Crowley | 11k

When lowly tempt-pusher Amphora (formerly of Stairwell 7B North, before she Fell,) gets the notice that end times are nigh, she gleefully quits her job and cancels her Netflix subscription and takes her place among the legions of hell. This, it turns out, was a bad plan.

Heather Says: Elizabeth may have only written one fic this year, but she made it a damn good one. I’ve always loved her OCs especially, so I was pretty tickled that this is 10k+ of outsider pov. Also, demons! Demons are great! This demon is great! I want like 9 seasons and a movie about Amphora, just saying.

12. The Dragon and Her Wolves by hapakitsune | Game of Thrones | Jon/Sansa/Daenarys | 60k

When the truth of Jon's birthright is revealed, control of the North and Daenerys's claim to the Iron Throne are both called into question. To preserve their tenuous alliance and secure her rule, Daenerys puts aside her personal feelings to arrange a marriage of political convenience between Jon and Sansa Stark.

Heather Says: What do you mean season 8 didn’t exist and the show totally ended with a three way relationship between the two most powerful women in Westeros and Jon Snow? Never been a big fan of Jon/Sansa before this, but this is another of those writers that I would literally trust if they wrote a fic about a fork and a spoon.

13. never tell me the odds by @wildehacked | Wolf 359 | Eiffel/Hera | 9k

“I tried Star Wars," he says, adjusting the phone under his neck, "and it was way underwhelming.”

A shaky breath from her end. “Well, where did you start?”

Heather Says: I don’t remember which of @wildehacked‘s fandoms I started reading first. Most recently it’s been The Magnus Archives (more on this later). The point is, they’d written Wolf 359 fic and it had Hera and Eiffel and it was literally everything that I’ve been looking for since the series ended.

14. Find Me Somebody by raiining | Good Omens | Warlock/Adam Young | 11k

“You left me,” he said. “You both left me, for him. And I can’t even blame you, because I’d have left me for him too.”

Heather Says: There was an Art. The art was lovely. So I went looking, because that’s what I do when faced with beautiful art depicting a rare pairing. And I found the holy grail. Like, possibly my favorite Good Omens fic? Ever?

15. flirting with fire by @brawlite | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | WIP | 7k

Steve's a cop, Billy's a firefighter. It's not a grudge, it's just a regular old small town rivalry.

Heather Says: Okay so brawlite has written a lot of great stuff this year (more on that later), but I read this in bed at the beach house this August while I was reeling from both a horrible sunburn and like seven hours of mild to moderate day-drinking while everyone else was still throwing back shots right outside my bedroom door. Jaws was playing on the tv and I wasn’t even paying attention to it, because THIS. Long story short, I’ve been thirsty for more ever since.

16. gold, when you find me by mmtion | The Flash | Iris/Barry | 53k

It's not that Iris hates The Flash, per say - more that she hates writing about The Streak in a weekly, pun-heavy comic based on The Flash.

Heather Says: I never would have thought that a canon pairing would make it to my Top 25 list, but here we are. I like Iris/Barry a lot better when they don’t grow up together and spend a lot of time playing the Superman game, apparently. Also, this was really well-written, and sexual tension has never been something I’ve felt from Barry and Iris, but I felt it in this fic. Just. Damn.

17. never gets old by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger| Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 78k

Falling in love with a cam boy named KingSteve isn't the smartest thing Billy Hargrove has ever done, nor is it the most healthy -- but the good choice is rarely ever the fun choice, and Billy is all about living life fast and loose.

Heather Says: Told you I’d come back to it. brawlite and toastranger are a fantastic team. last year was cherry pie and under the covers, this year it’s camboys and cop/firefighter dynamics. Also, I have a really strange fascination with fics where a character has an instragram. It’s really, incredibly strange. Also also, every time I see this fic title I get that one Discovery Channel song stuck in my head. And no, it probably isn’t the one you’re thinking.

18. ways to save the world by @wildehacked | The Magnus Archives | Martin Blackwood/Jon Sims | 19k

“I left you,” Martin says softly.

Heather Says: And we’re back at wildehacked too! The Magnus Archives was a thing that happened to me. This is I think the first fic I read for it while listening, and it was so very close to what we got in canon. I think when it comes down to it though, I still prefer this fic, even if the ending of this season was pretty fantastic.

19. The Denial Twist by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 35k

“This is kind of surreal,” Shane says, taking a sip of his tea. It’s piping hot and delicious, except it tastes like hot chocolate and not like tea at all. “Sort of—Wonka-esque, right? Or Alice in Wonderland.”

Heather Says: While the vampire one is my favorite both because it is excellent and because it was my first, this one was bizarre and sexy and also I read it like only a month or so ago! The dancing was my favorite part, but having dreams to work with made this story fantastically interesting and I loved every second of it.

20. silver in our lungs by taywen | Spinning Silver | Miryem/The Staryk Lord | 4k

The marks had been with Miryem for as long as she could remember. There were a number of them, all the same shade, following one after the other around her left wrist. They were pale as old scars, though they felt no different from the rest of her skin, and her mother claimed that Miryem had been born with them.

Heather Says: I really like soulmate aus. There’s so many different ways to twist them and the way they can sometimes change the dynamic entirely and other times not change them at all is just fascinating. I’ve been hoping there would be more Spinning Silver content on ao3 and running into this while I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for yuletide was a real treat.

21. you got me begging, begging, i'm on my knees by plalligator | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 5k

Costis has a particularly enlightening evening. (or, that struggle when you're a guard who's in love with your rulers and it turns out you would kind of like it if they bossed you around a little)

Heather Says: I accidentally re-read the King of Attolia and it made me consider ships I had perhaps not previously considered. This was really lovely and just steamy enough.

22. something more alive than silence by pageleaf | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 21k

It was a good thing that six months after the king had promised to halve the guard, he still hadn’t done it, because since then, there had been two attempts on the king’s life.

Heather Says: I want to only type the words AGONIZED NOISES to describe this fic because that’s basically my headspace when I get 21k of a shiny new ot3, but I mean. Really. This is super good and maybe my favorite yet? Why didn’t I start reading this fandom when I first read the books?

23. Timing it Right by DragonBandit | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 14k

The dragon chooses, Mark knows that as well as any boy born in a weyr. He'd never considered what that would mean if the dragon picked someone you hated. He's starting to think that was a mistake.

Damien's gold rises at Whitney. Mark tries to make things right.

Heather Says: This should actually be somewhere back in March, but I apparently closed out of the tab at some point. I never really got into Pern much. I have the first three books, but got most of the way through the first one a long time ago and then never picked it back up. I didn’t think I would like this, mostly because of the fact that I hadn’t gotten into the books, but was surprised to find that I absolutely loved it.

24. Keep It In Your Sights Now by LuckyDiceKirby | Shades of Magic | Lila/Kell/Holland | 9k

Holland travels with Lila and Kell. Somewhere along the way, they reach an equilibrium.

Heather Says: I love the new things I’ve discovered during my yuletide trompings. I don’t think I ever actually considered this pairing when I first read the books, but I am just so enamored with the idea of the three of them together. Like, why did I not realize that potential back then? This was lovely, and I loved it, and I want so much more out of this pairing than what ao3 has to offer me.

25. Charioteer by petrichoral | The Queen’s Thief | Gen & Costis | 13k

Captured in battle and stuck in the Mede capital, Costis has given up all hope of seeing his country again. But Eugenides has a habit of turning up where he's least expected.

Heather Says: Technically this shouldn’t be on here because I only read it today, but it was really wonderful and so canon typical. Gen and Costis were perfect in it, Irene was perfect in it. Everyone was perfect and nothing hurts.

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ansheofthevalley · 5 years ago

Text

In one kiss, you’ll know all I haven’t said - Chapter 1 “Late night talks and late night calls”

Summary: It's New Year's Eve, and ace student Sansa Stark has had a great year. She is at the top of her class in the Daeron School of Political Science; she grew closer to her big brother (and now protector) Robb; she made awesome new friends and was adjusting perfectly to the change moving from cold, icy Winterfell to the bright King's Landing. With her family in town, this holiday season was supposed to be perfect for Sansa, but life is not a song. Life, Sansa would learn, has funny ways to show us what we need; and sometimes, what we need is way better that what we ever dreamed of.

"Come on, Margaery. We're going to be late!" Sansa reminded her friend for the twelfth time in the last thirty minutes.

"Well, yeah, Sans. That's the point" her friend replied, her voice an echo finding its way to the small living-room.

"We don't want to be punctual, we want to fashionably late" added Loras, Margaery's younger brother, sitting in one of the dining chairs, scrolling down his phone. The Tyrell siblings were socially savvy as they were beautiful. And they are really beautiful. "But you are forgiven because -"

"You're from the North" screamed Margaery from her room, trying to finish her brother's sentence. Sansa could picture the bright smile in her face as she said that.

"You guys know that Winterfell is not made of ice, right? And that we don't live secluded from people?" she retorted as she rolled her eyes. The siblings would always taunt her with how different she was from southenerns. "You could totally pass for someone from the Riverlands or even the Reach, but the moment you open your mouth, well, that gives it away that you're a northener" Margaery had told her once, in the early stages of their friendship.

When she first arrived at Aegon University, she had a hard time making friends. She's naturally reserved and missed her friends back home, especially Jeyne. But she found a great friend in Margaery. She first met Margaery in her Political Theory class and has since "been under her wing" as her friend puts it. Both Loras and his sister taught her "the Southern way" to do things. Sansa realized it was not just the climate or the scenery that differentiate the North from the South. It was the people, their way of thinking, their way of doing things. And even if the lesson they taught her was really about how to deal with boys, which trends to follow and how to get invited to the coolest parties, Sansa saw a deeper meaning in it. She always did. That was the reason she was a Political Science undergrad. She knew that something as simple as a word or an action is way more than just that. An action, simple as it may be, could wield great power. Words could easily work as a veil or be what they were intended to be, and Margaery understood this. She comes from a very powerful industrial family, she knows all about words, actions and power. The Queen of Thornes is her grandmother, after all.

"OK, I just had the greatest idea for next Halloween" Margaery exclaimed, coming out of her room in her green bathrobe, barefeet and with her make-up half done. "I'm a genius. We get you a blonde wig and bam, you're Elsa. And I'll be your Anna. I tell you, I'm a gen-"

"I'm going to stop right there" Sansa interrumped her friend before she got too excited by the idea. "It's a hard pass on that one. I'll never hear the end of bad Frozen puns" she quickly added when she saw her make what Loras dubbed "the little rose" face. She'd always make that face when she wanted something, ever since she was a little girl. Since then, that face had seen fair its share of successs.

"Besides, Frozen costumes are so 2014" Loras added, winking at Sansa. Margaery's idea of a Frozen revival wouldn't see the light.

"You guys are no fun" she grumbled, slowly walking back to her room.

"And you're making us late"

*****************************************

After waiting thirty minutes in their aparment for Margaery to get ready, plus the forty five-minute ride (with various agurments in favor of an Elsa-Anna ensamble for next Halloween from Margaery) from the apartment to the house of the Harry guy that was throwing the party, it was official: they were late.

The house wasn't a house, but a post modern-style mansion. There was a fountain just in the middle of the driveway, surrounded by beautiful flowers brought from all the corners of Westeros. There were even some essosi wild flowers. The whole scenery screamed money. The three of them looked at the house, then at each other, then back at the house.

Margaery was the first to snap out of the beauty of the facade. "OK, Jeyne Westerling told me this guy, Harry Hardyng, is like the heir of Arryn Mountain Woods or something like that" she started to explain.

"But since he is new to the game" Loras continued, looking around him.

"And has lots money and space to spare" Margaery said with a grin.

"He now wants to surround himself with the best of Aegon University" Loras finished, looking completely pleased with himself.

"But have you even met him?" Sansa inquired.

"I've seen pictures of him" Margaery replied. "Those baby blue eyes..." she sighed.

"But how do we know he's not... you know..." she continued, gesticulating with her hands.

"A werido? A creep?" Loras finished the sentence for her. "Sans, I admit you got a point" said with more seriousness than what their current conversation required.

"Oh Gods, what if he is one of those who's into feet?" Margaery muttered, "I don't know if I can handle that" horror written on her face.

"Well, if he's one of those, worry not, dear sister" Loras consoled her with a melodramatic, jesting tone. "You have ugly feet" that had earned Loras a slap on the arm. Sansa couldn't help but laugh. She always loved it when the siblings jested. It reminded her of her own family, of home.

"Well, I didn't mean a foot fetish" she laughed, "but how about we go inside and see for ourselves?"

When the trio headed arrived at the double-winged door they were received by a grey-haired man in a dark suit, with a not so amicable face.

"Names, please" inquired the man

"Margaery and Loras Tyrell and Sansa Stark" as always, Margaery was the voice of the group.

The grey-haired man looked at the list in his hand, and, after letting out a little sigh, opened the door for them.

If the facade had dazzled them, the interior of the mansion was a whole other thing. White marble floors, stone-colored walls covered with various abstract and cubist paintings, a great, crystal chanderlier that hanged in the center of the room, couches and chairs in cool shades of blue and a great crystal wall that made way to a pool. The room screamed opulence from wherever you saw it. Sansa didn't like it.

There was jazz music playing in the background, and a whole group of people dressed in an elegant yet simple way, conversing and drinking wine that the Tyrell siblings and Sansa didn't know.

It was in that moment that Sansa regretted listening to Margaery and wear the purple mini dress.

Shortly after, the host approached them and introduced himself.

"Hello and welcome to my humbling home" Harry started. "You must be Margaery and Loras. I've heard a great deal of the beautiful roses of Highgarden" he said with some sweetness in his tone. "And you must be Sansa, the beautiful winter rose of Winterfell". Sansa didn't like how he make them all sound like things valuable only on beauty and influence.

"You have a charming home, Harry" Margaery was quick to respond.

"Your garden up front is beautiful. I've never seen those flowers bloom outside the Reach" Loras added.

It seemed it was her turn to say something nice, even though she wasn't feeling the whole "I shit money" vibe of the place and the host. She was about to say something about the room, but she asked about a painting in the shades of blue and purple hanging near where they were standing instead.

"Georgia O'Keeffe, the Black Iris III. Beautiful, isn't it?" he said as he moved to her side. "You can feel the raw sensuality in the way she uses the colors" Harry said, almost in a whisper.

She had a dire need to roll her eyes at the move Harry was trying to pull. Ugh, just my luck, she thought.

"I like the colors, but I'm more into Impressionism and Romanticism. Monet, Bazille, Janmot, Friedrich..."

"I see" Harry laughed "Fine Arts undergrad, I gather?"

"Political Science, actually. Me and Margaery actually-" she turned around to say something to her, only to find out that she was gone. She could see Loras with what she thought it was a TA at the Naerys School of Fine Arts.

Oh, well. It seems I'll have to do this on my own, she thought.

When she turned, she saw him, really saw him: blond hair, baby blue eyes, perfect smile. The young, handsome, sweet, attentive heir. The guy every girl on campus would and most certainly will fall for. But behind those pretty eyes and perfect smile there was a cunning young man, probably used to get what he wants. And he was sweet, too sweet.

"Politics?" he sounded surprised. "I never thought a pretty girl that knows a lot about art like you would torment her pretty head with... arguing" he said with a charming smile.

Smug wasn't enough, he's also sexist. "Oh, it's not arguing" she commented, starting to move around the room, with Harry quickly following her. "At least it isn't when it's done right" she smiled. "It's all about people. It's about everything that surrounds them" she continued as she took a look around the room "It's about being able to detect their wants, their needs, and the best way to make it all happen" she said as she moved closer to him. Harry was like a hawk, never taking his eyes off of her. "But..." she trailed off.

"But?"

"But it can also be about dangers and how to handle them, how to detect them and neutralize them, in way where nobody gets hurt. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't" she continued, locking her eyes with his. He nodded and smiled. He seemed to catch what she was saying. She gave him another sweet smile. "I don't want to keep you from your hosting duty" she concluded.

He professed his wish to continue their conversation later in the evening, and left her with a very decorous, and very unnecesary kiss on the hand.

It was official: Sansa hated the guy.

She walked around the room some more, trying to find her friends, only to remain alone in a room full of strangers. But just when she was heading towards the gardens, she saw Margaery with two glasses of what were probably a couple of mojitos. "Marge, where have you been? You left me alone with that... that..." Sansa whispered, trying to calm herself. After all, it was not her friend she was angry at.

"With that hottie?" Margaery laughed.

"With that asshole!" Sansa replied as quietly as she could. "Give me that" she took the other glass and took a long sip.

"Hey, easy. We don't want another..." her friend looked around her before continuing "another Jon situation" Margaery couldn't help but giggle at the mention of Robb's best friend.

"Jon situation? Nothing happened that night" she was quick to reply, and even quicker to redden.

"If your definition of nothing is admitting through tears that you had a crush on him pretty much all of your childhood, then throw up, then pass out, then wake up the next morning in his room while he assured you that you slept like a rock while he slept in the living-room and said he wished you were feeling better and that you two could pretend that what you said never happened..." she said, no longer holding back the laughter "OK, then, nothing happened" she took another sip of the mojito to stop laughing.

"OK, it's true that I'm not a heavy drinker and that sometimes, sometimes, I get a little... soapy" she tried to tell Margaery, but she just kept on laughing. "But he took care of me and never brought it up, unlike some people I know" she pointed out, taking little sips from her glass.

"Oh no, he would never do that. Jon Snow is the spitting image of chivalry perfection" she said in a melodramatic tone, similar to her brother's when he's teasing either of them. "You said that to me for forty minutes before you professed your love".

"Oh, shut up. It's been months since it happened and I want to forget about it. But I can't, because every time I drink something with alcohol in it you 'worry' about a Jon situation" she berated her friend.

"OK, no need to get all defensive, I'm just teasing" Margaery said while hugging her. "Besides, Jon Snow doesn't know shit if he can't see what a great, beautiful, smart young woman you are" she said, in all seriousness now. "So the veredict is final on Harry?" she asked, doing a one-eighty.

"Oh yeah. But don't get me started"

"To be honest, I truly don't know what I expected from the new guy" Margaery started, lifting one of her perfectly trimmed eyebrows, "but it certainly wasn't this. I mean, who invites professors to a party? I just saw Loras flirt with that TA from one of his classes".

"Well, he's not technically a professor, you just said he's a TA. And we definetely didn't dress for the occasion" Sansa said, looking down at her attire.

"Oh, honey, no. The occasion was not for us. We look great" her friend replied. Sansa was wearing one of Margaery's dresses, a long-sleeved purple mini dress with silver high heels. Margaery was wearing one of her favorite ensambles, a shimmery gold crop top with a matching high-waisted mini skirt with white-and-gold ankle boots. Both had their hair down, in a cascade of curls.

(Continue reading on AO3)

#jonsa #jon x sansa #sansa x jon #actuallyjonsa #got #asoiaf #jonsa au #holidays au #modern au #college au #jonsa fanfiction #my fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #enjoy some fluff just in time for the holidays

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overplannedbutunnamednpc · 4 years ago

Note

Amnesia Campaign Lore Time! To help us make it to next week 😔 19 for all because that feels like tasty shit? Then: 2 for Glade, 17 for Coriander, 3 for Ecstasy (take that bitch down a peg 😤) and 16 for Iris!

19. What was their first impression about their partner/person they are courting? Glade: oh i wrote about it. just a sec lemme Fetch her. okay i’m back. “He won’t ever forget the first time he met her. Hymn is a gleaming sort of girl riding on the back of a royal carriage, her horns almost clanging against the helmet of her companion, another Crown paladin giggling with her as they wait for the carriage to make its way back to the palace. She does not see him.” then we also have, also pretty good, “One good thing, though, about living in a city with problems with population: You tend to see the same face twice. And what a face. Glade has seen plenty of the Crown sporting the golden tattoos that intricately adorn their face. He’s never seen someone wear them so lovingly. The gold catches the sunlight when she smiles at him, and the coppers in Glade’s pocket that he stole out of a tip cup inside the market feels like it’s burning a hole in his pocket in the face of it.” so like. long story short: he thought she was fucking gorgeous and way too good for him. and he was right. but he was also .... wrong? much to consider.

Iris: hmmm. okay so I THINK iris and cylthia met post demon siege. probably not immediately post so its not like cylthia was covered in demon sludge or anything? but like still maybe the both of them were pretty harried just by virtue of. most of the palace still covered in demon guts and whatever. so honestly I don’t think iris took much notice of cylthia specifically the first time? her first impression was very likely “attractive tiefling who is number Two in the order of the people I need to personally thank for their service to this city.” it was only after she and her father looked into the backgrounds of who mfu actually Were that she really took note of cylthia because she was the best candidate for the propaganda they want to do. iris waited another meeting or two before actually approaching cylthia, to get a better impression of her and whether or not she’d be a good choice, but her First impression was rather stark.

Coriander: big. like, aliviva had told her that she was sending her a creature similar but different to how she herself was, but that didn’t do SHIT for how BIG yocheved actually turned out to be. it was also rather difficult to communicate with them. she’d sort of forgotten the nereid language since divorcing aliviva, and yocheved def speaks a different dialect, and she’s not great with people at the best of times, so it was like. kind of a weird time? they ended up figuring it out though!

Ecstasy: it basically shook out to “yeah she looks like she has the lowest ac.” like was she attractive yes but it kind of didn’t matter until she talked back with a gun to her proud chin and then it was kinda like

2. When they have a crush on someone, how do they let them know? glade will try and find any excuse to See them. i mention again the aladdin au where he lifted lent’s holy symbol from her just to try and make sure she’d see him again, and he meant it as a joke but also like. he Did seek her out when he could! he liked her! he liked seeing her! she seemed to smile when she saw him so he brought her hot drinks while she was on guard duty when it was cold out and he took walks that took him past the crownsguard barracks twice. which sounds like. sort of creepy but lent very explicitly liked it and invited it and he mostly did it when she was on shift so he could see her and she wouldn’t get in trouble for being distracted. so its okay.

17. What sort of characteristics or quirks draw them to someone? coriander likes... i’m gonna say intelligence different than her own. she wouldn’t like someone with intelligence too similar to hers because she’s too competitive for that! but I think the reason she fell for aliviva and yocheved were that they were and are very socially/emotionally intelligent. she doesn’t have that sort of intelligence so she doesn’t feel competitive about it, but she does like intelligence and displays of it and that does attract her to someone!

3. Tell us about a time they were rejected. so like. ecstasy for sure was not cool enough to have any sort of relationships before she had the guns and shit to back it up. however!!! I don’t think that stopped her. ecstasy is the PINNACLE of “fake it until someone actually believes that you’re really sexy and cool and probably the youngest first mate ever and decides to sleep with you for it”. the trouble is that actually you’re the cabin boy at best, and you were kind of counting on going to their place? but they’re really insistent about seeing “””your””” ship and like. you don’t have that. so you’re kind of in the middle of a side street and you gotta really awkwardly explain that hey you were totally lying and you don’t have a ship actually. and then obviously they do Not take you home with them. f.

16. Do they have at least one bonding activity they devote to doing with their partner exclusively? ;p no she does. i think the things that are exclusively for iris and cylthia: family planning, soft romance, and any inventive spellwork that iris is currently coming up with. there’s just something about like. when everything else is in the public eye or at least the eye of your family, you specifically try to put things aside to do exclusively for yourself/your partner. and that’s okay!

#misscleverlesbian #glade #coriander #ecstasy #iris

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isagrimorie · 7 years ago

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Thing I noticed re-watching Nanoha Reflections:

Fate’s already taller than most of her peers!

Nanoha and Fate are damned strong to carry their friends! So magic + increase physical strength?

I love that Nanoha doesn’t forget her friends and are actually brought into the magical group, and Arisa and Suzuka’s parents were also invited in.

Team Mother got to relax and have coffee while Arisa’s dad took care of the kids.

Magical shields are effective against bullets. Take That people who are determined to show Grim Dark military easily winning against TSAB.

It was really awesome to watch Hayate fight and use magic and use it without using her barrier jacket.

Amitie is awesome.

Are is in mini mode, she’s really trying to conserve magical energy for Fate and that makes me want to hug her so much.

Um, how do they know who Hayate, Fate, and Nanoha are? Even down to Fate’s backstory? I doubt that was advertised -—wait, are they from a future????

I can’t get over how Hayate kept listing all of Amitie’s traffic violations! Something worthy of a future Special Branch Investigator and Future Commander.

Kyrie did a lot of terrible things and all for nothing. In the Nanohaverse, Ends Justify the Means never ever works out.

Nanoha (the character) must really hate ‘The End Justify the Means’ mentality because in her experience all that ever does is lead to more heartache with zero results.

Shooting poor Rein was just terrible!

Hayate calling the Tome of the Night Sky her treasure, shades of her fully embracing the Master of the Book role.

Maria says that Bardiche in particular is very hard to upgrade, possibly implying Bardiche’s design is unusual? After all Linith (who possibly had Precia’s knowledge in engineering) designed it. And as mentioned Precia was a genius, of a whole other level.

Arisa noticing Nanoha’s pensive look and thinking that with Nanoha, it’s not far off to think she might go somewhere she can’t follow. And knowing Nanoha’s future, it’s true, Nanoha moves to Midchilda. It’s very bittersweet.

It’s that look and her determination that had me questioning why Nanoha shifted to Combat Instructor, and on a Watsonian level I know it might have to do with Nanoha’s injury.

Fate has a long way to go becoming the Enforcer we saw in StrikerS, she still gets startled by appeals to her good nature, but her determination to help people like her, who was so determined to do anything to help the people they loved and unwilling to listen to anyone else might be the jumping point for Fate choosing to become an Enforcer.

Haha! Nanoha’s response to, ‘But why would Amita choose Fate as her interviewer?’ was a confident, ‘Maybe because she looks gentle?’ It’s like Nanoha is 100% startled when people don’t think that of Fate. I fully believe Nanoha goes around saying stuff like that to the point that Vita gets annoyed.

I am a bit confused about stealing the Tome of the Night Sky, I thought the Book was connected to Hayate’s linker core?

I honestly love that it’s Fate asking witness questions with Lindy on hand to supervise, it feels like a step for Fate becoming an Enforcer.

Hee. Fate unknowing using her charm to get Amita’s promise they’ll work together, and Amita getting more and more flustered at Fate’s enthusiasm and positivity.

Hah! Vita’s face learning that Amita chose Fate as an interview because of her ‘gentle face’ and Nanoha’s happy ‘validated!’ reaction is everything.

And then Fate insightfully zero-ing on an important detail that could help with their case/mission, Iris.

If you really think about it, Shamal’s powers are terrifying, she can reach in to get someone’s linker core, computer core, heart, if she so chooses. Good thing she’s on the side of good people.

Honestly Nanoha’s will power is something else, she doesn’t believe in half measures, she’ll lay everything on the table and the some more. Giving it her full 200% is always her life’s motto— which contributed to her injury in the future. And the reason why Nanoha’s learned to play things smartly, doesn’t mean she’ll stop giving everything her 200% when it comes down to it.

Nanoha’s fight with Stern showcases once again what an inventive fighter Nanoha is, most bombardment mages just stay where they are in a fight. Not Nanoha, she uses the Beam War as cover and momentum no move forward and make the fight a close quarters fight. When Nanoha tells Fate in StrikerS that she was sturdy, she wasn’t kidding. Kid’s tougher than a diamond. And a willpower that’s a thousand times tougher.

Fate’s first instinct this time around is to talk to her opponents, she internalized Nanoha’s method very well, but with her own twist, in that she’s initially not willing to give a fight her 100% until she’s certain. Nanoha’s technique is, talk to the opponent, get their motivations but if repeated reaching out is spurned. Make them listen through superior fire power.

Lindy saving Fate tho! Fate calling Lindy mom! Fate realizing all the people she lost is in her and she has more family because of it!

Hmmm… it seems like Bardiche is more connected to Fate. The moment Fate became more certain of what she wants, Bardiche became better (season/movie 1 and 2). The moment Fate became certain of her family, Bardiche activated (Reflections). Raging Heart (raging is so much better than raising heart! fight me!) seems to work with Fate as a true AI partner, the Book is a utensil to Hayate and Rein is a really cute true living constructed device. But just like Arf, Bardiche seems to be a part of Fate, he doesn’t need to vocalize his thoughts because he already knows Fate’s thoughts. They can work in sync without talking.

Body horror! BODY HORROR!!!

Is Iris the second villain in (animated) Nanohaverse who doesn’t have good motives beneath their terrible actions?

‘Goodbye, Stranger.’ Ouch. That is the harshest thing Iris could ever say to Kyrie, and this is the harshest wake-up call of all too. Again proving, in Nanohaverse, the End doesn’t justify the Means.

‘I’ve had enough of regretting because I gave up, causing someone to be sad. That is the purpose of my magic.’ Nanoha, you’re a fifth grader! You are 10! (or 11!).

I wonder why the Wolkenritter didn’t recognize Levi, Stern, and the King? I would’ve thought he was the previous owner of the Book?

BODY HORROR!!! BODY HORROR!!!!! AUGHHHH! EXPLODING EYE. WHYYYYYY??????

I love that when Nanoha and Fate aren’t partnered, Fate is usually partnered with Signum. They complete each other very well, and I would like to think Signum taught Fate more sword techniques. Fighting wise, Fate’s style is very diverse.

Although, I’m not keen at how often the Wolkenritter, especially Signum, are defeated in this movie.

AHHHHH. BODY HORROR. I SEEM TO HAVE ERASED THE AMOUNT OF BODY HORROR I SAW I THIS MOVIE. AND THEY’RE HURTING FATE AND SIGNUM! THEY ALREADY HURT CHRONO. STOP THIS!

I will always love how hungry Nanoha and Raging Heart to update their systems in order to level the playing field against an enemy.

Fighting wise, Fate has a diverse set of it. But Nanoha? Nanoha’s magitech capabilities are a hybrid of everything she can see a use for, there’s no limit to what Nanoha can and will incorporate to help her win a fight for a happy outcome.

‘A magician helping a crying child’ once again, this fits so well with what I think Fate’s Enforcer work in the future, that now it’s strange to me they’re not working for the same branch as partners.

Also, this is why Nanoha is the Ace of Aces.

#film: nanoha reflections #magical girl lyrical nanoha #nanoha takamachi #fate testarossa #hayate yagami #wolkenritter #lindy harlaown #fate t harlaown #signum #vita #shamal #zafira #arf

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