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ngage2003 · 8 days ago

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Hi I love your mh character analysis posts they are so GOOD, would you be able to do more about Tim pretty please :]

First of all, Thank you :-)! Second of all, yeah I have some things I can say about Tim, though a bit funnily, they are a bit discoordinated compared to some of my other analyses.

After all, out of all the characters in Marble Hornets, Tim Wright is the one we know most about, as his life is laid out for us pretty definitely over the course of the series. Because of this, my focus tends to be on his metaphorical other half, Masky, but I do have some things to say about the two of them and their upbringing, and a few unanswered questions which I will try to satisfactorily put my pen to.

⟦content warning: discussions of child abuse/dangerous households, suicide, hospitals, and wildly off the rails theorycrafting⟧

Alright, so why is Tim a system? This is a question some of you may raise your eyebrow at if you're unfamiliar with DID but stick with me here. We know that Tim only started being taken by the Operator and having seizures in 1995, when he was a child, but over seven years old. (I'll get into how we know this later.) We as a society honestly don't know a lot about Dissociative Identity Disorder and its sisters but one thing we do know is it is caused by extensive stress/trauma inducing dissociation in a extremely young childhood, usually under the age of seven if not even younger, where the mind dissociating from trauma to protect itself causes it to fail to coalesce/develop properly into one identity. That is the main theory behind how DID forms, and given that Tim is only seeming to be extensively exposed to the Operator at seven, but would that be enough for Tim to develop DID? Alex didn't develop it, despite also being hinted at having been exposed to it at the same age.

Note: In enttry #37, we see a home video of Alex at 6 years old in 1991, with heavy Operator distortion implying that it has somehow corrupted this tape and/or was here. This combined with the fact Alex repeatedly goes to a playground to confront/find the Operator in my opinion more or less guarantees that he saw it as a young child. This makes sense especially considering the original "Something Awful" forum pictures in my opinion. Alex's backstory with the Operator basically directly references them, which would make sense since they literally inspired the series.

Granted, you could just hand wave this or go "ok but who cares, they probably weren't even trying to make a character with DID," and yeah, you're right, but I want to actually look at Tim's character and explore his childhood a bit to try to understand it, especially in relation to this fact.

Our main fount of information in relation to Tim's childhood is Entry 66 and Entry 60.5. I am going to start with the latter, for a few very specific reasons.

See, in Entry 60.5, we actually get to see 5 of Tim's medical documents, not just one. This is a fact that is seemingly forgotten a lot by the fandom, and I wanted to get into it for my speculation.

The first document we see though is a Pediatric Admissions Profile from December 12th 1995, followed up by a Pediatric Admissions Assessment of the same year at 11:45 A.M. I do not believe these records are from his institutionalization, but rather a hospital visit that directly proceeded it, one that was probably caused by Tim having a seizure at home and needing to go to the hospital, but lets take this one step at a time.

These Admissions forms explain that Tim's conditions and symptoms at his time of admittance, ones we know well as products of Operator exposure. They also give us a precious piece of information that never comes up again though.

Tim's mom's name.

Janet Wright answers all the questions on the Pediatric Admissions Profile, and it is through her answers that we learn several facts, like that Tim has completed 2nd grade at the time of these papers, (meaning he is probably in 3rd,) and that he is on an anti-convulsant, along with the fact he has a history of falls, apparently needs/has glasses, has emotional barriers to learning, that someone has smoked in the house in the past year, and that Tim lives at home alone with her.

This is something reaffirmed on the PA Assessment, which was probably something that either a nurse or his Psychiatrist filled out by asking Tim himself questions.

Under Category 5., Assistance required for Care, there is a part where it says that for emotional support, "Child relys on: Mother (✓) Father ( ) Sibling ( )". Additionally, it also says asks, "who else besides parents might be staying with child?" Which is answered with a Not Applicable, along with the question, "has your family had any recent changes in your life? (moved, divorce, birth, death, new job, etc.)" Which is also answered with a no.

It continues, and we learn from it that Tim has poor orientation to time along with his chronic headaches, as well as signs and symptoms of depression, as well as that he struggles to engage with peers his age and doesn't have/begin hobbies.

Most importantly though, it is mentioned that his condition isn't affected by his household, which could refer to simply his seizures, but I think is important to mention given his depressive symptoms. At least in this moment, it doesn't seem like to the person doing the assessment that Tim is depressed due to his mom.

(Though that can be hard to pick up on but regardless.)

We also learn that he experiences high risk on a Fall Assessment Scale, as he is checked off as "confused, disoriented, hallucinating, combative," and having a history of "syncope, seizures,"—which is underlined—"postural hypotension".

I believe he only really started to have seizures this year though, as it is mentioned under "Plan of Care" that he ran away from home two "somethings" ago before being found at Rosswood, which I believe to be weeks or months. (If it was two years, why still mention it here?) I don't think that Tim ran away though, but rather, was taken and teleported by the Operator and Operatortured, an event that left him having chronic seizures. After all, despite Jay being exposed to the Operator for years, we only see him begin to have those only after the Operator snatches him in Entry 72. I think this snatching/possible Operatorture is key in it inducing/beginning to induce seizures.

Moving on though, two of the next three documents are from the same day, with both being from 7/8/02.

The first (Delayed Therapy Communication Form) that we are shown being filled out at 15:10 or 3:10 PM, and the second being an assessment (Suicide/Self-Harm Assessment Tool) that was filled out at 8:45 in the morning, probably by hospital staff in preparation for therapy later in the day. On the latter, Tim was left with a rather high suicide risk score, and a comment of supposedly untrustworthy answers.

There is a document that Jay reads sandwiched between these two though, from 1/10/Year Redacted. It is a Brief Operative Progress Note, about a procedure seemingly in relation to an unmedical wound with a ton of redacted information, and based on placement and the fact "Hoody" purposefully arranged the papers like this, I believe he was trying to imply to Jay that this was a suicide attempt by Tim at the start of 1996, which led to his hospitalization.

Wow. Ok. That was a lot. Let's summarize and break down the facts though.

At the end of 1995, Tim Wright is being raised by his single mother, Janet Wright, with it being unclear if his dad was ever in the picture. Tim was probably in 3rd grade at the end of 1995, which puts him at around eight to nine years old. At this point, he seemingly had a history of seizures, but around this time he also started showing symptoms of depression, hallucinations and even supposedly "ran away" from home at one point.

It seems like Hoody, based on how he organized these papers, seems to want us to think that at the start of 1996, Tim had either a suicide attempt, or a violent episode that could've been misconstrued as a suicide attempt.

Note: Personally, I think it was misconstrued. I say this because well, we know how the Operator can warp reality, and in Entry 66 Tim says, "My mom [sent me inpatient] when I was really young, but she never told me exactly why," and that the doctors seemingly gossiped about the fact he had violent episodes and hallucinations which led to him being institutionalized, which he doesn't remember. Of course, maybe Tim was just lying to Jay and leaving stuff out, but based on the rest of this scene and everything else he says, I find that unlikely. I think it is possible that Masky tried to defend himself and Tim from the Operator and got hurt in the process, and due to his lack of verbality and strange/differing behavior from Tim's, it was interpreted as a violent and/or suicidal episode cause by a hallucination. Either way, none of this does align with the fact the wound is "clean," but that could be more about it not being infected and/or recent than a clean cut.

Either way, after this, in conjunction with advice from doctors and the stress of caring for a mentally ill child and hospital visits/bills, Janet Wright admitted Tim into inpatient care.

It is after this point, (based on dialogue from Entry 66,) that we know Tim sort of fell out with his mother, as she "wasn't really around" for him to ask things. I can't say why she distanced herself from him, and honestly that is where my sympathy runs dry for her, but we know based on what Tim doesn't say that he more or less didn't have any family. His mother was probably raising him on her own, and her decision to put him inpatient probably had to do with the fact she just couldn't care for him and genuinely thought it would be better/safer.

Ok. Cool. Unfortunately, still none of this answers the question as to why Tim is a system. Based on all this supplementary evidence though, I do have two kind of routes/ideas I could see as possible/likely which I want to share, so pick your poison.

A】 Janet Wright was neglectful, either by accident or on purpose.

Neglect can cause DID, especially severe emotional neglect causing a disruption in child development, and if Tim's dad was never in the picture, along with the stresses of being a single mom, it could be hard for Ms Wright to meet Tim's needs. Maybe she didn't even want to be a parent, but found out she was pregnant to late, and so decided to "give it a shot."

The real mold in the juice box for this theory though is the fact that Tim's medical records (Pediatric Admission Assessment, Page 2, 6. Abuse/Neglect/Exploitation Screen) answers no to "evidence of neglect by caretakers." Granted however, this is when Tim is in 3rd grade, and it can be hard to always pick up on emotional neglect. Perhaps it could be misconstrued as depressive symptoms for example, and Tim's issues with starting hobbies and connecting with peers could be due to him not being properly socially met/developed growing up, but honestly I am unsure how I fully feel about this theory.

What it comes down to is just that, besides knowing she smokes regularly, we don't know much about Janet Wright, and while she fell out of touch with Tim, that could be for literally any number of reasons. Demonizing her or deifying her both kind of make me grimace. Maybe she blames herself for his condition and her guilt drives her away, and after a while she felt it would be wrong of her to go back after abandoning Tim in the first place. Maybe she just never wanted a kid and took the option to ditch him. The point I am getting at is we just don't know.

Which is what brings me to theory two.

B】 Tim's dad was in some way abusive, causing Janet to leave him to protect Tim but leaving him with trauma.

It would explain why Tim's dad isn't in the picture in a way that feels concrete, and why Tim never tried to reach out to his dad's side along with why he has DID. Maybe too, if Janet was in an abusive relationship, that somehow got in the way of her reaching out to her side of the family, which is why Tim never did either and why she didn't have any help for raising him and dealing with his conditions.

I don't really have much to say on this one either, but it would explain why there isn't direct evidence of neglect along with why his mom isn't blamed for his depressive symptoms by the doctor and why Tim said in his Assessment that he relies on his mom for emotional support. That is because he does, but they were just unfortunately in a situation for a while where he couldn't properly get it.

Sure, she probably isn't perfect, but in this reading she does care for him, and did try to get him a better life.

I think this would especially make sense when you consider the fact that Masky, Tim's protector alter, has a feminine presentation.

Often alters formed in especially early youth will take heavy direct inspiration from their environment, especially parents. Maybe since Tim's mom did protect him some of the time and eventually got him away from his dad, this idea of her and by extension femininity as a whole being this unstoppable, almost deified force of nature stuck with him on a subconscious level. She was fierce and seemed impenetrable, especially to a little kid who idolizes their caregiver in the face of abuse, and I think that influenced why Tim's brain made a protector like Masky that is simultaneously feminine aligned out of the blue and so aligned with defending people/defensive violence.

Because yes, Masky is violent, and often they do threaten/attack Alex with "Hoody," but that could easily be because they remember the fact Alex attacked them in Entry 56/57 along with stuff like the fact "Hoody" most likely told them about how Alex killed him and needs to be taken care of. They know Alex is dangerous, and so a lot of their actions are protective or in an attempt to save other people.

Like, in Entry 35, their motives can be hard to read, yes, but if they just wanted to fight someone they could have easily gone for Jay instead of running past him to get Alex. I actually think they could've easily been waiting here because they knew Alex was following Jay and this was the last place Jay was, and they wanted to stop Alex from getting to him because he could (and literally does) try to kill Jay. Along with this incident, they stop Alex from shooting Jay and Jessica in Entry 52, and seemingly distract him while those two escape and drive away to safety. They also act to protect/save Jessica from the Operator and Alex with Hoody in Entry 76. They also seemingly only stop directly working with Hoody after he hurts Tim, i.e. causing him to have a seizure to trigger them out, which Masky seeming to sever their partnership over.

Listen, there's no answer as to why Masky is feminine, and maybe there doesn't need to be, but based on how DID works and Masky's general behavior, to me it is obvious that they took subconscious inspiration from something, and I think it could be how their mom protected them and Tim.

Note: This is not to say Masky and Tim have a maternal/parental relationship, even if Masky is partially based on their mom in an abstract sense. In my opinion, they have a relationship almost similar to like, how siblings will go through trauma together and be bonded by that fact because they wholly understand what the other person is going through, or how a slightly older child might try to take care of a younger one and be parent-ified but still while not holding the authority and control of a parent, though obviously different because they're a system. I guess my main point though is that they're equals, and Masky loves Tim very much. Masky does have some power over Tim because they cause amnesia when they front during traumatic episodes and accidentally puts him in danger sometimes, but ultimately they have a more push-pull relationship to me, even if Tim isn't aware of it. Because, even if Masky does front sometimes, Tim is usually the one in control almost all of the time. But really that's another post I could make lmao.

Either way, whatever way you think Tim got DID, one thing is clear. His life fucking sucks.

If you want my personal belief on what his childhood is like, taken with a bit of salt, I don't think Janet Wright is purely innocent, (she could've very easily been incidentally neglectful given the vagueness of the circumstances,) but I do think that Tim's dad could have been a shithead if only because of how it parallels my Alex headcanons and I like that, along with Masky being based on their mom aesthetically to some extent.

(As a system, I loveee system weirdness.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.

#Tim Wright #Marble Hornets #Janet Wright #Masky #(to some extent at the end. and also bc im talking about systim)#ng.systim #ng.mh #sorry if this is messy bleh i need a nap smiles #ng.analysis

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surging-eyes-seeing-through · 3 months ago

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(Post DD Apollo hehehe) A lot has happened these past days but now that you've caught Clay's killer you could say its "finally over". Well, the case, at the very least but I think there's still plenty of things left out in the open. Like, how do you feel, now that that's been resolved? You barely had time to properly process or grieve your loss. Did Clay even have a funeral by now that you could attend? And is it odd to be back at the agency? Do you even feel like you're allowed to be there after everything that has happened? And what are your plans for now? Do you want to focus on healing (body and mind) or would you rather start working again? You've said you're not even sure if you're fit to be a lawyer anymore, do you still stand by that?

(sorry theses are a lot of question all at once but I just feel like...this is a -its over, but it's not- kind of situation, you feel me? love your account, pls take all the time you need to answer this 🙏)

"Yeah... the case concluding wasn't really the end, was it? I'd even say it feels worse, to not be constantly focusing on something, but... I'm still happy it's done."

"His... his funeral is next week. I know I need to go, for him and everyone else, but... I'm still having trouble processing it all. I feel like I'll panic and ruin it for everyone... I don't want that. I've been enough of a burden these past few days. I'll... I'll at least plan on going stargazing, where we used to do it together.... We were... planning to do it this weekend, and... I'm not standing him up, even if he's..."

"The Agency... I'm still on leave. Even if I wanted to work, Mr. Wright told me he wouldn't let me, not until I've taken time to rest. I'm not sure I'd be much help anyways, with a concussion and all the... emotional stuff I'm working through. And I know my apologies were accepted, but... I can't help but feel like everyone sort of hates me for what I did.

If I'm fit to be a lawyer... I guess I need to think on it. I mean, I don't want to give up my career, but... some introspection is due on my part. Maybe not now, though, my... thoughts are all scrambled, still."

//dw dw this part is literally the root of my hyperfixation i could write about it in and out of character for EONS, on god

#~𝔸𝕟𝕤𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 ..//~ apollo responds #apollo justice #ask blog #ace attorney #ace attorney ask blog #dual destinies #~ clay mention

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jotunvali02 · 7 months ago

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Playing Turnabout Goodbyes, last part

"The second bullet was never found."

Ah-ah-ah. No, no, baby.

"Tsk, tsk" as Von Karma would say.

FEE-FEE has the second bullet. It's the FIRST one that's cleverly hidden in front of everyone.

"Sorry, Maya. I was wrong."

OMFG... are you back at being stupid, even in court??

"Maybe the bullet HIT the murderer?"

Yeaaaaaah!! Congrats for Fee-Fee who needed again the intervention of a dead woman to help him figure shit out! 🥳

"Hey Nick. Remember what Grossberg said about Von Karma and his vacation shit?"

Maya, Maya... did you just find the culprit again??

My God, YOU should be a defense attorney! YOU deserve that fucking badge! Take it and scream "OBJECTION! I am the defense now!"

"I know Von Karma. Perhaps too well." My baby 😭💔

and here comes the metal detector, gracefully lent by Daddy Gumshoe!

"Mister Von Karma, get NAKED bitch!"

omg, that loud BEEP must have frozen Edgey's heart and all of his blood vessels.💔💔💔

"Who wouldv'e thought you'd dig your own grave trying to convict Edgeworth?" = "You touch my senpai, I destroy you, bitch."😊 #yanderefeefee

What kind of reaction must one have when the man you literally saw as a father for 15 years proudly admits he is the one who killed your real father and screams that he'll "bury you"?

After he managed to convince you a few minutes earlier that you had murdered your own father?

Anyone would have burst in screaming tears.

"It's all just a good memory"??? Maya, the FUCK??? did you forget-?? Nevermind.

"Larry? What happened now?" My thoughts exactly!! X)

"Wright, there are $38 in that enveloppe." "Yeah, so?" Omffffg,

PHOENIIIIIIIX !!!!

"Edgeworth?" "Hmm?" "I love you, baby." *kiss* "I'll murder Larry and I'll come back."😘

"Where does that leave me? I've become a defense attorney because of what you two did!!"

Wrong! Stop blaming others for your whimsy, shitty decisions, Feenie. It's not their fault if you're a lonely, emotionally-dependent and obesessive psychopath.

Oh, and Edgey and Larry agree with me!

"If I had known, I'd become a prosecutor!" Hmm, an AU prosecutor Fee-Fee, hey?🤔

"Same for me, only the other way around..." No, no, baby.😢 Don't be sad. "If I had known the truth, maybe I might have become a defense attorney." My baby!!😭😭😭

Feenie, hug him!! WTF are you waiting for??

And stop that fucking happy tune when my baby is obviously miserable inside!!!!

"Want to switch, Wright?"

Yes!! YES!!! Follow your dreams, baby!! 😭

Aaah?? Fee-Fee didn't answer!!!! 👀👀👀

Wai-wai-wait!! So while everyone was partying and drinking their ass off, Miles was still in detention? All alone?? More than likely crying and being sad and crushed inside??

"I couldn't help you. I was useless."

Shut up, Maya! THAT'S NOT TRUE!! You helped and you nailed it more than Phoenix!!

Yeah, not just with the bullet, Feenie. SHE also suggested out of the blue Von Karma might be the murderer while you had no clue he might be!

*gasp*?? Edgey got a hug from Daddy Gumshoe?😭 (at least, I fucking hope so! that's the least he needs!!!)

Huh? No trial for two months??

WTF did you do during that whole time, Phoenix? And just how did you pay your rents? Yeah, rentS, I suppose the Wright & Co offices aren't free to use!

*gasp*! I hope for your ass you spent them visiting and comforting your boyfriend! (in exchange for the paying of your rents, maybe? like you wanted?)

Also, when 9 years-old Miles felt unconscious, the two adults with him felt unsconcious too? Like, all the three of them, at the same time??

Either baby Miles had a prodigious endurance or the two adults with him were exceptionnally weak-bodied.

Or Takumi didn't think about sth basic as that so that Gregory's murder happens easily and smoothly. Cause bitch, HOW the fuck Yogi couldn't have recognized Von Karma then and why wouldn't have Gregory tried to defend himself? And HOW couldn't they have heard Von Karma screaming?

I've just realized that whole story of Greg's murder doesn't make any sense from the begining!

#ace attorney #turnabout goodbyes #phoenix wright #maya fey #miles edgeworth #narumitsu

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lucero-is-here · 2 years ago

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SPRINTS OVER, JUMPS OVER HURDLES, DOES A BACKFLIP AND LANDS ONTO A STAGE DRESSED LIKE JUSTIN LAWSON FOR SOME REASON

Ladies, gentlemen and folks! I am your host, Ronnie! But today, you will call me Jules. The star guests today are the dupont family! AS A WHOLE!

And here they are! And the baby.

Requested by:

NOW LET’S DO IT!

- Charles blows up his equipment every now and then

- Maddie tried an experiment with Charles once and it ended badly- the entire room dedicated as a lab exploded

- Charles and Maddie get ice cream together sometimes. They just go on little ice cream dates.

- If Charles was alive long enough to see George a lor, he would sing to George every single night without fail.

- Charles would be a male wife sometimes if he was alive

- Maddie has cursive and very messy handwriting-

- Charles’s hand writing is kind of neat, but also quite big.

- Charles is kind of bad with people.

- Maddie loves physical activity. She does a lot of exercise and is really strong, strong enough to lift up Charles.

- Maddie gets almost no sleep sometimes- she sleeps maximum 8 hours in a week. Then there is Charles always telling her to sleep more.

- Maddie can do backflip somehow. It always scares Charles for some reason because she does it out of the blue.

- Maddie usually wears high heels cause of her mom. She hates them.

- Charles wears loafers most of the time. He has this one pair of shoes he wears all the time because that’s how much he likes them.

- Maddie’s hands are a little rough from working and taking care of George, but she loves it and finds pride in them!

- Charles’s hands are almost always covered with some kind of smog from inventions. But he always washes them, and he’s really particular about hygiene too. He won’t let himself touch George or Maddie or anyone if his hands are dirty.

- Maddie loves strawberries- sometimes though, Charles says she looks like a cute strawberry cause of her hair and her freckles.

- Charles counts the freckles on Maddie’s face for fun sometimes. He absolutely loves it and finds it so fun for no reason.

- Maddie knit herself a hat to look like the green part of a strawberry. Sometimes, she puts it on and walks around screaming: “I’M A STRAWBERRY” for fun. She does it to scare people sometimes, but mostly to make people laugh.

- Charles has squishy cheeks, and Maddie loves to squish them. She just politely asks, before squishing his cheeks.

- when Charles eats, he looks like a hamster and it’s adorable.

- Maddie is like a crow. She kind of likes shiny things. “It sparkles it glitters it shines…I MUST HAVE IT FOR MY NEST,”

- Maddie made a blanket nest once. She wanted to keep it but Charles wanted to sleep and didn’t want to destroy the nest, so Maddie destroyed it and convinced Charles she is still happy without it so he could sleep.

- OH THESE TWO GO ALL PUT IN APRIL FOOLS DAY- THEY ARE PRANKING EVERYONE AND ANYONE IT IS HILARIOUS

- The both of them would share responsibilities for taking care of George if Charles was still alive.

- Baby George likes ducks.

- Maddie makes Arthur Wright babysit for her sometimes. “Yeah you need practice cause you’re gonna have a family too one day Chief. And I need to work so have fun,” was literally what she said one time. Though she usually would just carry George around when she works for the fun of it.

- Charles gives George little kisses. Maddie picked up George by the ankle one time and dangled him in the air (don’t worry no babies were harmed. In fact this baby was 5 years old when Maddie did that and he actually had fun. Do not dangle a baby in the air by the ankle that is dangerous)

- Charles and Maddie read before going to bed sometimes.

- George becomes an inventor in the future! Like his dad!

Okay that’s it. I’m done for now. If I think of more, part 2-

Someone breaks down the door. “OH COME ON- STOP CHASING ME I HAVE AUDIENCE! YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE PROOF I PUNCHED THAT JAUBERT GUY IN THE FACE!” Jules screamed before running off.

#criminal case #headcanons #dupont family

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cornertheculprit · 2 years ago

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Zak: Well, the prelude may have been longer than the main attraction. Shall we begin our game? My final competition?

Phoenix: Final...? Why?

Zak: As you said, I have come out of hiding today to make this document legally binding. Once that is done, I shall slip once more underground.

Phoenix: ...Without seeing your daughter?

Zak: ...... It would be best if I did not. ...Seven years ago, we played. Seven years ago, I lost. I already lost to Magnifi. I do not care to lose to another. And I have heard that you never lose.

Phoenix: ...It's just a rumor.

Zak: Yes... for it is impossible to never lose. Unless one has an ace up one's sleeve.

Phoenix: ......

Zak: As a magician, it causes me no end of irritation. To think a mere lawyer might be out there, pulling the wool over so many eyes.

Phoenix: Hey... I just signed your document for you. Maybe you could try lightening up?

Zak: That was that. This is this. For my final competition, I will destroy your perfect record, Phoenix Wright. This... will be my final performance. You are warned.

Phoenix: (This guy is beyond serious... So much for a fun evening of cards.)

my brain has been rotating this exchange around like a rotisserie chicken in the microwave for the past few days and for the life of me i can't pinpoint WHY it's driving me up a wall in an insane way so i'm just going to write everything i think and hope to god i hit the nail on the head and scratch whatever itch this is causing.

there's something to me about how trucy was the one thing that gave zak pause while he was planning the trick to abandon her and how he still wears the locket of her around his neck and yet how he refuses to even see her even though she keeps a picture of his face hanging in her home and talks to it every day so she won't forget what he looks like and then the next time she hears about him (presumably from phoenix, because she knew about it by the time of turnabout succession) he's dead. and also something about how zak is a man who prioritizes his pride above all else and how he was vengeful enough to hire someone to plant a card on phoenix so that he could either a) break phoenix's seven year win streak himself or b) expose him for "cheating". he was so genuinely pissed about the fact that a "mere lawyer" (or ex-lawyer in this case) was "pulling the wool over so many eyes" in a way that he, a fully-fledged magician, could not that he would resort to his own form of trickery. it kind of mirrors what kristoph did with phoenix seven years earlier—getting someone else to "plant evidence on him" as it were. earlier in their meeting phoenix literally described him as "dangerous" and zak is literally making phoenix go "hey man...calm the fuck down. lighten up a little" in a way that reminds me of people trying to calm a spooked horse. the dialogue when you present the wrong thing to zak (when talking about thalassa) actually reinforces just how fucking SERIOUS zak was:

Zak: ...Let me be frank. It is true I do not wish to talk of her. And now, there is another I could care less about. ...You.

Phoenix: Ah.

Zak: Take care you do not end up "missing" yourself.

Phoenix: (For some reason, it's extra scary when magicians threaten me.)

and i mean he literally did hit olga with the bottle later when he got pissed again so. hm. maybe what's still driving me so insane about it is that it all comes back to the idea of "foolish pride." because remember when phoenix was talking about edgeworth in justice for all and he said "he clutched onto his foolish pride too fiercely... and died for it" and then remember when trucy asked phoenix if he was so sad about losing his badge because of his own "foolish pride" and phoenix says "yeah that's pretty accurate" and trucy says that zak used to talk about "foolish pride" all the time and in the end it's literally zak's foolish pride that got him killed. he TRULY resurfaced from hiding to pass on the gramarye rights yes but given the context of the situation i think it's safe to say that became an afterthought when he realized where phoenix was and what he was doing and that phoenix was living on the reputation of having a perfect record. and speaking of perfect records!!! how funny is it that phoenix gave edgeworth shit for his perfect record and then proceeded to live on one himself? something about edgeworth going "i will do anything to get my guilty verdict. anything." in aa1 and zak calling phoenix out on using trucy as the "ace up his sleeve" during big games and phoenix going "er... gotta use the resources at hand, i always say" because even though he doesn't do it OFTEN he IS doing anything he can to secure his win streak. he's already sickeningly good at poker obviously (just like edgeworth is already sickeningly good at prosecuting) but sometimes you just need that little extra oomph. an extra resource to use. and zak knows. and phoenix knows that zak knows. and maybe that's part of the reason why zak was so angry? not that he has any room to speak (HE IS ALSO DOING ANYTHING TO GET HIS WIN) but that IS his daughter getting used as a "resource" and phoenix reaping the benefits (little as they may be) with his win streak and maybe maybe maybe that win against him seven years ago was a fluke. maybe phoenix wright is nothing without his luck and trucy. but then the game is played and not only does phoenix discover the planted card he even manages to win the game. zak came out of hiding for nothing and was killed for it. phoenix takes the locket (whether it's before or after zak is killed is unclear—nonetheless, he takes it) and eventually tells trucy about the fact that zak is dead. that he didn't want to see her (maybe he doesn't tell her this—but trucy being trucy would realize it). that the reason he was there was to beat phoenix in a game of fucking cards no matter what he had to do. and eventually phoenix hands her the gramarye rights and tells her the second reason zak was there that night and that doesn't really make things better but it doesn't exactly make things worse either. it all comes back to foolish pride doesn't it. foolish pride foolish pride foolish pride!

#this is just how my brain works. i've been typing this post for forty minutes. just sitting here and Thinking

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deputy-buck · 1 year ago

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Miscellaneous Tag game

Thank you for makin this and tagging me Mar!!! @ronald-speirs

Favorite place in the world you’ve visited?

I haven't been many places at all, and all of the places I enjoyed are neighboring states (Florida, SC, Tennessee, Alabama.) so it's almost the same as being home. I'll say Alabama, went to a cliff that my parents, aunt, and uncles used to climb and camp at all the time, idk what it's actually called but they always called it Sand Rock (take a guess what the rock is primarily made of...) it was entirely untouched when they used to go, but now there's fucking campsites and a huge pavilion there, I hate it bc the pictures my parents took made the place look so perfect and secluded, no trash anywhere. Now there's a fucking dumpster with shit leaking out of it and stupid "Beware! Cliff!" signs everywhere like no shit there's a cliff its a rock wall you idiots-

Something you’re proud of yourself for?

.... girl idk- I guess I'm proud of how regardless of the circumstances, I always stick to my morals and principles. Thanks for that one, dad.

Favorite books?

Oh!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!! hmm-

One Bullet Away - Nathaniel Fick. Probably my favorite of all time, it's so well and personally written, made me cry every time I read it.

Islands Of The Damned - R.V. Burgin. I love how simply he wrote it, like he really put his authentic self on those pages and didn't try to seem "more educated" than he was because he was just a little Texas boy and I loved that about him.

Those are really the only ones I can recall details from so I'll stick with those, but I did enjoy Helmet For My Pillow - Robert Leckie a lot, I read that in the truck while waiting for my brother to get out of class,. Generation Kill - Evan Wright was also good but it read so... grade-school-y, ya know?

My To Read list is:

With The Old Breed - Eugene Sledge. Started it but couldn't continue bc it seems like he's censoring himself a bit and IIIIIIII don't fuck with that, I'll power through it eventually though.

Red Platoon - Clinton Romesha. It's by a Medal Of Honor recipient from The Battle of Kamdesh, the only reason I haven't read it yet is bc i will sob about it for days after and I'm not ready for that.

My To Buy list is:

China Marine - Eugene Sledge. I WANT TO KNOW EVERY LITTLE DETAIL OF HIS TIME IN CHINA AFTER THE WAR-

(switching to non-war books oops)

Call Me By Your Name & Find Me - André Aciman. I just want to kill myself really, I want to hurt so bad that I never recover. Both are written in first person though and I hate that shit...

The Power Of The Dog - Thomas Savage. I watched the movie first and now I need to base my whole life off of these pieces of ART like fuckkkkkkkk.

Fellow Travelers - Thomas Mallon. Uhhhhhh yeah I want to submerge myself in this series entirely. Supposedly there's an ass ton of changes from in the series from the book, like Hawk being in the Army in the show and not the Navy like in the book, and I need to know if there are Seaman jokes-

Something that makes your heart happy when thinking about it?

Maizie 💚💚💚💚 my goofy goopy gooby girl 💚💚💚💚 my baby 💚💚💚💚 my sweet little bully girl 💚💚💚💚 the light of my life and the hindrance of my life-path 💚💚💚💚 the most stressful thing I've ever had to deal with day in and day out 💚💚💚💚

also cock. yeah that makes my heart happy too.

Favorite thing about your culture?

The MEN- okay I'll be serious. I'm not exactly sure what my culture is since Southern culture is Black culture (no I won't fight anyone on this unless you've been here, experience life here, and looked into literally any staple of Southern culture and seen that yeah 99% of it is rooted in Black history) and I'm.... Ghostly- I love the sense of community and the general easy-going but also absolutely chaotic feel you get everywhere you go. Like yeah I could get called "baby" and "sugar" and "honey" by the sweet old cashier, and then right when I walk out of the store I could suddenly be helping some stranger pack a deer with ice and have blood all over my hands and arms, the polarity of Southern-ness is great.

When did you join the HBO War fandom? What was the first show you watched?

I want to say two and a half years ago, not really sure though- Band of Brothers was my first watched it back to back like four times, then Gen Kill and watched that one probably four times back to back as well, then The Pacific like two or three times back to back, and now I'm suffering through MOTA.

Have you read any of Easy Company’s books? If so, which ones were your favorite?

I have not. I don't really want to either bc I don't want to realize all the inaccuracies of the show vs the true events. Like the little things, I don't want to watch the show with distain-

Favorite HBO War character and your favorite moment with them?

Oh fuck you Mar, I can't choose!!

BoB: I cannot choose, I can't. I love so many of them way too much that it hurts. Loved whenever Johnny yelled "BULL!!" like yes bestie I would scream his name too-

GK: Poke <3 whenever he was on screen was my favorite. I think his "and all the love in their hearts, from their wives and children. And all that hate, dog. All the hate it took to blow these motherfuckers away. It's destiny, dog! White Man's gotta rule the world!" and that was the first time we saw Doc smile too, love that for them. Alternatively whenever he looks at Brad with his shark-like smile, I would FOLD if he looked at me that way.

TP: SID AND YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS MAR FUCK I LOVE THAT BOY SO MUCH I NEED HIM SO BAD. When he tore Gene a new one about why they were the ones that made it back and not all those other guys, like yes put your boy in line-

MOTA: *crickets*

Do you make content for any fandoms, if so; what sort of content?

HBOwar: Sort of? Not as of late but I have written a few fics and made a few moodboards, can find all of them in my masterlist. I'm sorta working on some TP stuff but it's so hard for me to write for that while FT is consuming my every waking thought.

Fellow Travelers: HAHHAH I CAN'T STOP- Oh I've already made so many little webweaves and edits and a moodboard, and rn I'm working on a puppyplay fic hahah

UFC: I don't make content though I kinda wish I had when I was super-super into the fighters on a personally level lmao

Favorite actor/actress and your favorite film of theirs?

I don't have one, like there's not a specific actor/actress I've watched shitty film for. I usually enjoy Mads Mikkelsen in whatever he does, Jabob Pitts is also lovely, Anne Hathaway is my If I Was Straight actress

Favorite quote/s that you wish to share with others?

"Give what you get and don't complain when you get what you give."

Random fact your mutuals/followers don’t know about you?

Mm, I don't know, I'm always cold and I hate it and will never willingly live any further north than where I currently live, also no further west than Louisiana cause fuck Texas on a personal level

If you’re a writer, do you need a beta reader (say yes so I can be your beta reader 🤭)?

I don't know what a beta reader is please explain SOMEONE-

Three things that make you smile?

Actually being on a job site regardless of how anxious it makes me, I've spent way too long doing what I do from home and not being a part of the installation process.

Hearing other people laugh, idk why but hearing anyone laugh makes me smile.

These pictures of my goofy goopy gooby girl

Any nicknames you like?

Buck is a nickname and I love it cause it's so fucking HICK like ME

List some people you love to see around on tumblr!

@ronald-speirs !! even though like none of your posts from any of your blogs are showing up on my dash?? hate you tumblr-

@ableedingpen !! BRO I WANT TO KISS YOU YOU ARE SO FUCKING AWESOME TO SEE IN MY REPLIES LIKE I GET STUPIDLY EXCITED-

@corkyviolet !! your screencaps are so fucking good and I cry at all of your edits-

@verawhisk !! we don't post the same content anymore but I do still love to see you around, V you are the GOAT

What would you do during a zombie apocalypse?

Shoot myself. No joke, I don't want to deal with that.

Favorite movie?

uhhhhhhhhh, All Of Us Strangers ripped my heart out, not sure if it's my favorite though

Do you like horror movies?

No (sorry Mar) they never appealed to me, I prefer a documentary about real fucked up and gorey events-

Tagging: anyone!!! have fun y'all!!!

#tag game #MarMar✿#buck brawls

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mugeesworld · 2 years ago

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Franky with a chubby partner head cannons!

Franky doesn't get posted about enough! I love Franky! And I think he would absolutely love a plus size partner so here we go! I didn't talk about y/n being chubby as much in this as I did in the luffy one. (That being said it still talks about it but i talked about it a bunch more in luffys) And the reason is I think Franky could care less and would see you as "normal" just like everyone else. I hope that makes sense. If you read both it might help??... Maybe

I randomly come back here and add any idea that pops in my head and that is fairly often. So this gets updated almost everyday!

NSFW / female y/n in mind

(Pegging is mentioned. If you don't like that skip over the part that starts with * and when you see it again it ends.)

Luffys part is on my page!

Franky grew up around kiwi and mozu so he definitely knows how to treat a lady. He sees them as little sisters and as the older brother he knows all about girl stuff.

He knows that beauty isn't just being skinny and that it comes in all shapes and sizes. And the two that raised him we're also plus sized. (Shout out to my girl kokoro. A plus size queen!)

Kiwi and Mozu definitely lectures him about stuff. Not only that but it hurt Franky to see the two of them struggle with their own insecurities and he was always there to tell them they were beautiful like a older brother does!

So Franky has never been the type the judge people based of weight. I personally think he would like a more plush partner. I can feel it in my nuggets.

He never sees size as a problem since he is tall and huge himself. Plus since he is so large I think he would like a little more to grab.

Let me explain.

Have you ever had a pillow or a stuffed animal that was really small and sorta awkward to sleep on or hold. But you have that favorite big pillow/plush that you could lay on and snuggle for day's. It's just more satisfying for him I think.

That being said franky wouldn’t only find you hot he would find you adorable. He would see you as both a goddess and a teddy bear that he wants to hug and never let go.

And not in a way that’s like one of those weird “compliments” that’s like “I bet you give the best hugs! You’re like a marshmallow I want to hug you” yeah no. He doesn’t want to in that way. At least not how that comment was interrupted

He would want to hug you and cherish you forever. Like how a kid has that one stuffed animal they’ve had since birth. Can’t imagine loosing it or leaving it behind.

When he first seen you he wanted nothing more then to throw you over his shoulder and take you. (Not in a yandere way)

His mouth would drop open and his face would blush a light tent of pink. Shocked at what’s in front of him. Stuttering over his words. Forgetting how to breath!

Scenario time!!!

Lets say you’re a ship wright that recently got a job at water 7 building ships.

You wipe your forehead as you finish hammering in a nail. “Finally done” putting the hammer down you decide to head to paulie to see what he needs done next.

In the mean time frankys out on his daily stroll around water 7 and decides to go mess with galley law cause way not. He makes his way over to the ship yard seeing paulie and heads towards him.

Just as you arrive next to paulie so does franky. “I’m done with the task you gave me paulie. Now what?”

Franky finally notices the goddess in front of him. “H-Holy smokes! What a pretty lady!”

Paulie lifts his head up from what he was currently working on sighing. “Franky I don’t have time for your crap today and…..y/n…. you really need to change clothes?! You shouldn’t be wearing something like that!”

You look at paulie confused “I’m literally wearing shorts and a tank top…. What the hell am I supposed to wear in this type of weather?"

"I say let the lady wear what she wants! YOW! Especially if it looks that good!"

Franky tilts down his glasses to get a better look. "Frankyyyyyy.... GET OUT!?"

And with that Franky scuries away leaving Paulie frustrated and you confused. Franky made a mental note to come back tomorrow to see you again... ;)

CUT 🎬

Franky loves to just sit back and watch you prance around the ship. The way you look so graceful and elegant. He can't put into words how much he enjoys watching your beautiful figure walk around.

He gets hit with straight serotonin just staring at you. He could do it all day. It makes him happy to know that that beautiful lady is his.

He would call you doll face or maybe even princess. But he always changes up with the names but he definitely has a few favorites.

He likes to catch you off guard when you're looking at something and come up behind you. Pulling you into his chest. Grabbing your waist and lifting your chin up to look at him. Sometimes to ask for a kiss or even just to tell you lunch is ready.

Or sometimes just to simply check in on what you're doing. And just stand there and watch curiously.

His love language is touch and acts of service. So if you give him a chance to do either of thoses he's on it!

Oh you're tired of walking? Hop on his shoulders for a ride. Your back hurts? He will massage you. If he hears you complain about anything even something like not being able to open a jar. He is on his way to his work shop to make a gadget just to help you.

He would love to just carry you around everywhere. Like how a queen/king is hoisted up on a chair and carried around. That's you the queen and Franky as the chair. He let you sit how ever you want. But I think his favorite way would be for your legs wrapped around his head on his shoulders. Or you sitting on one side of his head on his shoulder. Probably playing with his hair too.

And don't worry about hurting my guy. He's literal metal. You ain't hurting this man. SIT YOUR ASS DOWN. He offers you a seat on him when ever y'all walk. And if you twist your ankle he is grabbing you and putting you on his shoulder.

Imagine. You and Franky started dating recently. You haven't sat on his lap or shoulder yet and you are scared of hurting him even though he has said it won't hurt him and that you are a feather to him. While walking around a island he starts to notice you limping. He asks whats wrong and you respond saying you're fine you just twisted your ankle and it's sore.

Boom light bulb. He knows you're not gonna like what he's about to do but he decides it for the best even if it gets him punched in the head. He picks you up putting you on his shoulders and keeps walking. You start to protest and ask to be put down scared that you are to heavy but he reassures you you're fine. For the rest of the day you spent the day on his shoulders exploring the island until you could go back to the ship to let chopper check you out.....

Literally about to cry ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡ that's so wholesome. I'm literally kicking my feet in the air right now twirling my hair!

He you get tired of him carrying you and decide to walk he will offer you his hand. He loves just touching you in any way. Little stuf like that means the world to him. So wholesome! 😭

He likes having you in his lap. With the size difference it's like he is sealing you away from any bad thing that might try to hurt you. He wants to keep you safe. And the only way to make sure you are 100% safe is when you are in his lap.

He loves when you come in his Workshop to see what he's up too. He could talk to you for hours about what he is working on while you're resting on his lap.

Literally anywhere he likes doing it. He don't care! He will rest his head on top of yours and pull you closer to him wrapping his arms around you.

Or if your legs are wrapped around him and your facing him. He gets so flustered if you pepper is face with kisses. He loves having you hold his face and just smooch his face all over. Especially if you wear lipstick and it leaves marks.

This man is the last person to get embarrassed.

I can picture him holding you in one arm carrying you to y'alls room cause you fell asleep in his workshop while he was working. He didn't realize till he heard soft snores while talking about his latest work.

He would loveeee to cuddle. Having you rest on his chest or having you on top of him is so comforting.

He knows the exact feeling of having you lay on him and if you move he will wake up immediately and ask where you're going. And then wait for you to get back.

That being said his chest is hard cause its metal. He would definitely have a way to change out his chest plate or something so it's soft. Just for you.

When it comes to his favorite parts of you like tits or ass. He genuinely can't decide. He loves all of you. He loves to grab and grope every inch.

Now keep in mind this man is a machine. The options for down there are endless.( He can still feel pleasure tho)

Let me explain. Franky loves to pleasure you. And he is not at all scared of toys. He encourages them tbh. He loves to build new ones knowing he will test them on you later that night.....

Franky would find every little thing that turns you on. Would know every inch of your body and know exactly how to please you. He is a master pupitier when it comes to your body.

He gets pleasure giving you pleasure. Doesn't matter what way.

He would even modify his body for you if you were comfortable with it. Like his tongue... Or.... Ya know 😉

This guy's is open to anything. If you want to try it he's down. Doesn't matter even if he thinks he might not like it. He will try it just cause it turns you on. If he doesn't like it boom he will make a gadget to try and satisfy that kink for you.

Now let's get into some more kinky type stuff.

One word

Pegging (don't like? Don't read it!)

I think he would dig it. He looks like the type of guy that would be comfortable with his lady taking charge. I get no toxic masculinity vibes from him.

Especially if he can't feel pleasure in his front half then definitely. Cause he said only his front was cyborg. (Pre skip)

He would help design a strap that both you and him would enjoy.

If y'all did try it and he enjoyed it he would definitely tell someone whether it's the crew or a stranger. "Aw yeah! It was amazing! 10/10 would recommend!"

Leaving you embarrassed and everyone else confused and grossed out.

Definitely a soft pleasure dom or switch.

Wouldn't admit it but likes being teased. Seeing you tease during sex makes him weak making him stutter.

And if you are the type to take charge and say not to touch you while you are he will listen or try too. He respects you and will listen to your every command.

He lovesss to see you on top riding. The few it's self puts him in a daze. He will let you do your own thin but he also likes grabbing your waist and pulling you down while he moves his hips up. Another reason is cause when y'all are finished you can just collapse right on top of him and cuddle.

If he's in charge tho..... He would not stop till you are a moaning mumbling mess from overstimulation and pleasure. (If you consent to that much)

He loves to hear you moan. Letting him know he's doing a good job. Definitely has a praise kink.

Loves when you play with his hair.

He always checks in with you during to make sure it's not to much or if he's moving to fast for you. Always has a safe word for you.

The only thing I think he wouldn't want to do is the basic gross stuff. (Vomit, number 1 and 2) and stuff that might hurt you. Like genuinely hurt you. Like knifes or hitting you hard hard. Spanking is fine though. He probably like that😼

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chocopinda · 2 years ago

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10 films I love

tagged by sweet @zurdoabsurdo I'm so sorry for being so late :')

I gave it a lot of thought and in the end only the first few are big big favourites, the others are just films I've seen recently or remember enjoying otherwise I'll be thinking about this forever.

Parasite (2019). I only saw this somewhere last year but from that point on I've already had multiple friends watch it with me, it's so fun and every time I watch it I swear I notice new things. I love the plot and the way it balances it's more serious tones with the comedic ones. Big big big love for Parasite.

Snatch (2000). This and Parasite honestly share a number 1 spot together, this has been my favourite film since I was 15 or so I think. It's just so stupidly fun, there's not a single second I've been bored while watching it. It's my ultimate comfort film. Just as with Parasite, it manages to be funny but still has a few more serious moments. Soundtrack has Angel by Massive Attack so that's a good bonus too.

Hot Fuzz (2009). Another big comfort film! Though I pretty much enjoy anything that Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and/or Edgar Wright are involved in. I love the dumb humor and the town it takes place in reminds me of my own sometimes, which makes the experience so much better.

Shaun of the Dead (2004). The only reason this one is below Hot Fuzz is because of the latter's town residents. Also I just enjoy police/crime/cult stories more than apocalypse ones. World's end isn't on here because I still have not completed watching the Cornetto Trilogy.

Donnie Darko (2001). Love me a film where literally everyone (at least kind of) sucks. Gotta be one of my favourite genres. So many theories as to what the film's various scenes and ending mean and represent. Anyway, 28 days left!

Fargo (1996). Again, love me some crime in my entertainment. So strangely endearing at times for a film that's described as a thriller though, the police woman and her artist husband have completely stolen my heart when I watched it.

Midsommar (2019). Very very pretty and visually interesting film, I love all the art on the walls and the little runes embroidered in the dresses. I'm a person that's easily swayed by pretty visuals and even more so if that includes flowers/florals. So I really enjoy the costumes and aesthetic, go figure.

Call Me By Your Name (2017). Most interesting to me is the fact that it's about a temporary love, I don't feel I've seen that often without the film ending in the couple getting together at the end despite all odds or something. And to me the 'temporary' relationships/situationships/whatever you want to label or name it, are just as valuable and worth telling stories about. So I'm glad I could find that in this film, plus the pretty scenery that remind me of going on vacations as a kid.

Pulp Fiction (1994). Yeah yeah my taste is boring I know, I just like my crime drama's. Also, I want to kiss Mia Wallace.

Django Unchained (2012). Banger soundtrack with the exception of one song that felt very out of place. Again a serious film with a funny side. Western costumes drive me absolutely wild.

Anyway, tagging @nachitoesmuybonito , @jasonsnowwhitebrody , @kettleghost , @bluewaterlily , and I don't know anyone else right now that I haven't seen tagged already. Sorry in advance if it turns out you did already get tagged before :') As per usual, don't feel pressured to participate.

#tag games #personal

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azuramarigold · 2 years ago

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The Found Turnabout Ch2

Series Summary: When Apollo Justice was literally shipped off from Khura'in back to his native country in America, he had issues from bouncing from foster home to foster home - that is until one day in the courthouse he met Phoenix Wright at the age of twelve years old. With a new found family and starting to learn the legal ropes early, Apollo joins Phoenix Wright on some of the earlier cases and the downfalls.

Chapter Summary: Apollo goes to his first official foster home - at first things seem to all fine and dandy, but things take a dark turn.

AO3 CH1

Chapter 2: Foster Home #1 – The Rodriguez’s

It’s been three days since staying in Aria’s home.

Apollo was adjusting to America a little better with the noise at night, he much rather it be silent though. Every night he was still crying about missing his home in Khuar’in, but he just had to remember to say what Dhurke always told him.

“You’re Apollo Justice, and you’re fine.”

I’m Apollo Justice and I’m fine.

I’m fine.

“Apollo, dearie,” Aria called from the living room.

Apollo was just sitting in the bedroom he was given, reading a book. Despite being from Khura’in, English was a secondary language. He learned how to read and write English very well along with Khura’inese. When he spoke English, he had an accent from Khura’in, so sometimes it was hard for Aria to understand him with certain words.

So, Apollo did as he was told. He ran into the living room, both cats following close behind his heels. When he saw who else was in the living room he stopped dead in his tracks, one of the cats running into his leg.

“Heya, pal!” the scruffy detective from the precinct called out to him with a wave. He was still friendly like before, but Apollo had an uneasy feeling.

“Hap’piraki,” Apollo greeted, his voice weary. “What are you doing here, Detective Gumshoe?”

Gumshoe then held up some paperwork. “We officially have a foster family for you stay with, kid,” he announced with a smile. “They’re willing to take on another kid.”

Apollo felt his heart drop. He liked it here.

“Why can’t I stay with Aria?” he demanded, his voice starting to get louder.

Gumshoe shook his head sadly. “Sorry, pal, she’s a temp,” he got up from the couch with a grunt. “She only takes on a kid for a couple of days to at most two weeks until we can arrange the more permanent solution.”

“Apollo,” Aria gently said, her voice soft. “This family has a couple of kids your age, you’ll have fun with them.”

“You’re like, what, nine years old?” Gumshoe commented. “That’s what a translator at the precinct got out of your birth certificate. We can tell it’s not your official one, but it was an official one for the country.”

Apollo pouted as he crossed his arms, his bracelet uncomfortably burying itself into his skin. “Yeah, I’m nine, so what of it?” he huffed.

Gumshoe just sighed, “You’re just too young to grasp everything right now.” He then turned over to Aria. “Sorry ma’am, about this. I know you go through this a lot.”

Aria then approached Apollo, “Come on dearie,” she whispered. “Let’s get a bag packed for you…”

“But…!” Apollo tried to object.

“Please, Apollo.” Aria’s voice soft, but stern.

He did as he was told. Aria Commons was the nicest woman he had ever met, she had opened her home to him. Apollo wondered if his own mother had ever been that kind to him at one point in his life.

Once in the bedroom he had been staying in, Aria pulled out a small suitcase that was in the closet, Apollo noticing there were multiple ones inside.

How many other kids has she done this for…?

Aria began packing some of the more common clothes that Apollo had been fond of; these included some jeans, red sweatshirts, white t-shirts, and a pair of red/white sneakers that were recently purchased for him. The small bag of toiletries was also placed in the bag as well, that had his red toothbrush, toothpaste, and shampoo and bodywash.

“I have a question, Aria,” Apollo then said.

“Yes, dearie?”

“How’d you know I liked red?”

She gave him a smile. “You just seemed to gravitate toward it,” she replied. “Did you know in Greek mythology the god Apollo’s color is actually pure white?”

Apollo scrunched up his nose. “I don’t like white that much,” he said simply.

“You coordinate it with your red though, I notice.”

“Apollo is also the god of music, archery, poetry, and the sun – I bet you knew that.” Aria winked at him. “I’ve seen you read all the books here in the house, because I have a few on mythology.”

Apollo gave a laugh, “I was told my parents were travelling musicians… I’m not good at music. They named me the wrong thing.” He knew she was trying to make a light conversation while packing, just trying to make him feel more comfortable while this was going on.

On the very top of the suitcase, she then placed the book that Apollo was currently reading – a law book introducing someone to defense law. It was something that he had asked Aria to buy for him when she out on the town the other day.

“It looks like you’re already halfway through this, huh?” Aria commented when she zipped the suitcase, seeing the bookmark in the book.

Apollo beamed, his smile large, “Of course!”

“You were serious about becoming a Defense Attorney, weren’t you?” she then asked him.

“Of course, I am!” he stated proudly.

It was then he realized that his measly possessions were all packed away in that suitcase. Now it felt more real that he was leaving the house. He didn’t want to leave.

How many people are gonna just set me aside?

Aria then held out her hand for Apollo to take, which he did gently. She gripped his hand tightly, as they left the room, her rolling his newly obtained and packed suitcase behind him. With each step, his heart grew heavier and heavier, as if stones were being placed inside.

Blood roared in his ears – he couldn’t hear the conversation between the detective and Aria at this point. All her heard was just a constant pounding.

He took a deep breath.

I’m fine… I’m fine… I’m fine…

It was then Aria dropped to her knees and gave Apollo a hug, her crushing him into her.

“You be safe out there, okay, dearie?” she whispered in his ear. “I’m sure one day we’ll meet again. Be good.”

Tears threaten to sting his eyes, but Apollo couldn’t allow that. He forced himself to take a deep breath, but no words came out. Instead, he just nodded against her shoulder.

“Alright, kid,” Gumshoe called out. “Let’s get ya to the new place.”

Apollo practically felt himself prying out of Aria’s arms as he took his suitcase and followed Gumshoe out of the house and to the police car. Gumshoe loaded the suitcase into the trunk and opened the back passenger door for Apollo, and with a glance behind him Aria gestured to him that it was okay for him to enter. Just entering the police vehicle made his stomach churn. He hated being in any type of car.

The passenger door closes, just as Apollo saw Aria sadly waving “goodbye” to him. He managed to wave back before the tinted windows obscured his vision.

Apollo buckled himself in, him remembering from the few times he had been in Aria’s coupe. He took a deep breath, bracing himself.

The scruffy detective started the police car, the sirens silent and no lights on, and he pulled away from the small house that Apollo was growing attached to. As the house began to become a dot in the distance, Gumshoe picked up speed as he left the residential area and was approaching entryway to the freeway.

Apollo’s stomach churned and his face flushed, he had to try to control his breathing by breathing through his nose and out his mouth. The few times in Aria’s car he had vomited, the motions of the vehicle were just too much for him. Even the one time they took a bus together he felt very sick; however, when they took a train to a bigger brand clothing store for something it was a much smoother ride.

“You’ll like this place, pal,” Gumshoe piped up, seemingly trying to make conversation. “This couple have two other foster kids – both boys ‘round your age, like ten and eleven I think.”

Apollo glanced out the window, barely seeing his own reflection as the other cars race by. He didn’t really care about being around other kids, it was always him and Nahyuta anyway; even though the two were not related by blood, they were close like brothers.

The scruffy detective then pulled the patrol car off the exit ramp of the freeway, but he did it with such a sharp velocity that Apollo couldn’t control his breathing anymore. He finally vomited on the floor of the patrol car, his hacking catching the eye of the detective in the rearview mirror.

“Ah!” Gumshoe yelped. “Really, kid? Ya couldn’t have told me so I can pull over?!”

“… sorry…” Apollo groaned pathetically. “I get car sick…”

Gumshoe just sighed, “I guess it can’t be helped…”

After another twenty minutes of driving, the detective finally arrived in front of large two-story home. As soon as he had stopped the car, Apollo immediately jumped out of the patrol car and proceeded to vomit once again near the tire; he felt bad for doing it in the car the first time, so he really wanted to make sure it was done outside so Gumshoe didn’t have any more to clean up than necessary.

Apollo felt a large hand on his back, it almost felt like a gentle patting. After his retching he was then handed a napkin and a bottle of water from the front seat of the patrol car by the detective. The young boy managed to utter a thanks as he wiped his mouth and chugged the water empty.

The scruffy detective popped open the trunk and grabbed Apollo’s single suitcase and rolled it to him. “Ya ready?” he asked gently.

“No…” Apollo muttered, wiping his chin from the dribble of water.

Gumshoe gave him almost a… pitiful look. “Hey, pal, I know you’re upset,” he began. “But ya gotta give this family a chance, okay?”

He has a point…

Breathe in. Breathe out.

I am Apollo Justice and I am fine.

Apollo then grasped the handle of his suitcase and started to follow Gumshoe up the path to the door of the large home. Each step felt heavier, despite his suitcase being pitifully light. Blood roared in his ears again, just like when he had to leave Aria’s house.

What if they don’t like me…? What if I get sent away again?

They were finally at the door and Gumshoe rang the doorbell. A lovely chime was loud enough to be heard from the outside. There was barking coming from the inside, which made Apollo jump; he wasn’t a big fan of dogs.

The door opened and a tall, well-built man with deep tanned skin, jet black hair, the darkest brown eyes Apollo had ever seen, and wearing a business suit that was pure gray with a black tie had answered the door. The silver glasses that framed his face looked from the detective to Apollo with a look of confusion.

“Good afternoon, sir!” Gumshoe greeted enthusiastically. “I’m Detective Dick Gumshoe, we spoke earlier on the phone. This is the Rodriguez household, right?”

The man once again glanced between Gumshoe and Apollo. “Yes… this is the home…” he answered slowly. “I thought you said you were bringing a child that was from Khura’in?”

It was Gumshoe’s turn to look confused. “Um… I did sir…?” he puzzledly replied. “This is Apollo Justice, nine years old. The precinct had sent you guys all the paperwork a couple of days ago with his info and picture…”

The man rolled his eyes. “My wife handles all of that,” he gruffly stated. “She just told me there was a kid coming from Khura’in.”

Apollo couldn’t take it anymore. He pulled on Gumshoe’s tan coat with his free hand to usher him down. When Gumshoe did bend that was when Apollo started talking in Khura’inese, just loud enough for Mr. Rodriguez to hear.

“Pal, ya know I don’t understand what you’re saying… right?” Gumshoe grumbled, him facepalming himself.

“Does he even speak English?” Mr. Rodriguez snapped angrily.

“I do,” Apollo answered, him with his Khura’inese accent.

Mr. Rodriguez glared at him. “Then why were you not speaking it earlier?” he demanded, clearly annoyed.

Apollo shrugged. “Ya didn’t ask, pal,” he retorted, a smirk on his face. He heard Gumshoe try to stifle a chuckle.

Before Mr. Rodriguez could even reply to the child, a voice from inside called, “Dear, is that the detective at the door?” A moment later a woman with caramel colored skin and copper tinted hair came to the door, her eyes the color of an almond and large like a doe’s. A pink apron was tied around her waist, covering her white skirt and blue blouse. “Ah! It is you!” she cheerfully squealed. She then glanced down and saw Apollo and she beamed a lovely smile. “And you must be Apollo!”

“Yes, I am, ma’am,” Apollo replied respectfully. “Hap’piraki,” he then greeted.

The woman giggled, “Aren’t you so polite!” There was a scoff from Mr. Rodriguez. “And you have such a cute accent!”

Apollo furrowed his face in frustration at that comment.

“I’m Luciana Rodriguez,” she then introduced. “You can call me ‘Lucy’ though, the other boys do.” She then grabbed Apollo’s suitcase and handed it to her husband. “Honey, take this to the room that Apollo is going to be staying it.”

“But-” Mr. Rodriguez tried to object, but his wife just ushered him away inside the house.

Lucy then shook Gumshoe’s hand. “Thank you, Detective. Hopefully you’ll get out of the slump and be back on the homicide cases soon!” she said gleefully.

“Uh… sure…” Gumshoe replied, not entirely sure what to make of that comment. He then handed Apollo a small business card. “Here ya go, kid. If ya need anything just call, alright?”

Apollo graciously took the card and put it in his red jacket pocket. He had a feeling maybe one day he’ll need it.

Lucy then led Apollo inside the large foyer, him seeing above him a crystal chandelier that sparkled in the sunlight that shone through the large window that was above the door. The dog that he had heard earlier had come running down the large marble stairs that were to his left, the creature being a large and yellow with brown eyes; the dog had jumped on him, startling him with a yelp, and began to try to lick his face.

“Looks like our dog, Cosmo, already likes you, Apollo!” Lucy beamed, her smile large. “It’s adorable too! His name is ‘Cosmo’ and you’re ‘Apollo’, all space themed!”

“My name is Greek… like the Greek god of the sun ‘Apollo’,” the boy tried to explain, him trying to push the dog off him. He was already not a fan of the thing. He much preferred the quiet cats that Aria had.

I miss Aria…

“If you’re name is Greek then how come you’re not a foreign kid from Greece?” Mr. Rodriguez’s condescending tone piped up as he walked down the stairs. His wife gave him a glare, but he ignored her. “I was told we were getting a kid from Khura’in, wouldn’t you be Khrua’inese which is Asian?”

Apollo deadpanned, “That’s very rude.”

Lucy didn’t miss a beat, “Emilio!” she chastised. Apollo made note that “Emilio” was Mr. Rodriguez’s first name. “Does that really matter?” she exasperated.

“He could be lying,” Emilio replied simply.

“I don’t lie,” Apollo glowered, his tone going up in volume. He was starting to get loud again. He instinctively rubbed his bracelet that was on his left wrist with his right hand, in a way it helped him calm down.

Inside voice… that’s what Aria told me to try to remember…

Lucy could tell Apollo was getting upset and she took his hand. “Let me get you to your room so you can unpack, okay?” she softly said to him. The boy nods as they headed up the stairs. A scoff and a huff were heard from the bottom of the stairs by Emilio.

The second floor had lovely dark wood flooring in the hallway, four doors to his right. The end of the hallway looked like it turned more to the right so it could go deeper into the home.

“Your room is the third one down,” Lucy told him. “The very end room is the bathroom you boys will share.” She then led and opened the door to Apollo’s new room.

The room was easily double the size of the one he had at Aria’s. It had a double bed that was completely white with its bedding next to the door where the light switch was, his suitcase laid on top. There wasn’t a window in the room, but there was a large television that was turned on that emulated outside with birds chirping and the sound of rainfall. Underneath the television was a desk and chair, it had a few notebooks and pencils neatly placed in the center. A dark oak colored dresser was on the east wall, it had six drawers – all completely empty Apollo noticed when he opened them – and at the top was a few books in regards to math and science.

The room was also bare, the walls completely white and blank. There were no shelves, no posters – just a solid emptiness a void of all emotion. The floor was still the same dark flooring as the hallway, not even a rug to fill the large empty space.

It just felt too empty. Apollo didn’t like that.

“How do you like it, Apollo?” Lucy asked him. “We of course will go shopping to get you a few things and a new bed set to something you like.”

“It’s… nice,” Apollo offered, giving her a weak smile. He then went to his suitcase and began to unpack his bag. The first thing on top was the defense law book that Aria had bought him – that cover a pale yellow with a picture of a rhino in a suit pointing to something off the cover.

“Defense Law…?” Lucy asked quizzically. “Why would a nine-year-old be reading about defense law?”

Apollo had jumped. He didn’t realize she was reading over his shoulder. “I want to be a defense attorney when I grow up…” he explained.

To his surprise, Lucy laughed. She laughed in hysterics. “A defense attorney?” she bellowed. “You realize they don’t make any money, right? They’re always trying to make sure criminals are walking our streets!” She had the look of distain in her eyes. “You would actually try to make sure a murderer was let off the hook to be with us regular people and kill again?”

Apollo tried to shake his head in disagreement. “No… no, that’s not what-”

“If you really want to be a lawyer,” she continued, her face flushed from laughter. “I suggest being a Prosecutor.”

He felt crestfallen, his hair drooping. He felt the book being taken away from him with force. “H-hey!” he yelped. “Please… that’s mine! My first foster father… he was defense attorney back in Khura’in…”

Lucy again laughed. “And…?” she questioned; her voice almost now snarky. It was almost like her personality did a complete 180, her now so… cold. “From what I’ve read about that kingdom is that they loathe defense attorneys and if they lose the trial the criminal and themselves are jailed or executed.” She then gave a shrug. “Seems fair to me.”

Apollo just couldn’t believe it. The book was more special than he first thought. It was not only because he wanted to become a Defense Attorney, but because Aria bought it for him.

Just as quickly as the iciness crept into her, the sunniness came back out. Lucy clapped her right hand into the book cheerfully. “Anyway! Please unpack your things! Dinner shall be ready in about an hour!” now it seemed like her voice was overly sweet like honey, like it was fake.

Lucy then left his room as he began unpacking the rest of his pitiful items. It didn’t take long for him to do, his little bit of clothes only fit in one drawer. His toiletries he just kept on the desk until it was time to brush his teeth later. Now, he seemed bored because now he didn’t even have his book to read.

“So, you must be the new kid, huh?” a rough voice asked from the doorway. Apollo looked up from the desk as he was messing with a notebook to see a kid that was a little older than him - most likely the eleven-year-old that Gumshoe mentioned - that was African American with milk chocolate skin with equally colored eyes and his hair as black as raven feathers that was in a Twists hairstyle. He was wearing a yellow basketball jersey and purple basketball shorts, and white high-top sneakers covering his ankles with a popular brand in red on the side.

“Uh… yeah…” Apollo replied weakly. “My name is Apollo… Apollo Justice.”

“Tyler,” the other boy replied. “Tyler Jones.” He then glanced around the room. “I’m guessing you’re new to the whole ‘foster’ thing, cause you ain’t got shit.”

Apollo’s eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be cussing…” he whispered. He then muttered something in Khura’inese. He knew a few cuss words in the language, and when he or Nahyuta accidentally uttered even one of them in front of Dhurke or even when Datz, Dhurke’s friend and right-hand man when it came to their group, was around there was hell to pay. Apollo shuddered internally at the thought.

Tyler gave a shrug. “Eh, what those two assholes gonna do?” he snapped. “Send me off? Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Another boy the popped his head from around the doorframe, who looked a lot meeker. He was blonde with pale skin, his eyes green like the grass in a meadow. The top part of a purple shirt could be seen. “The new kid is right, Tyler… lay off the cussing for a bit…” his voice was very feathery. “Emilio washed your mouth with soap last week, remember?”

Tyler jolted. “That stuff was nasty!” He then straightened up. “You’re right though… I can’t afford to get kicked out right now… This is my second home and Lucy said I can go for the basketball team at the school.”

“Basket… ball?” Apollo echoed, clearly confused.

The meek boy came into full view form the doorway, revealing he was wearing jeans and white tennis shoes. “You have a strange accent…” he commented. “Do you not have basketball where you’re from?

Tyler looked completely shocked. “How do you not have basketball!? Next, you’re gonna tell me you don’t have lacrosse or football too!”

Apollo gave a blank stare.

The meek boy whispered to Tyler, “I don’t think he does…”

“Dude!” Tyler screeched. “Where the hell are you from!? MARS!?

“Khura’in,” Apollo replied with a shrug. “Also, ‘Apollo’ in planet terms is associated with Sun Mercury.”

Tyler looked back at the meek blonde. “Sam, is this kid fricken serious?!” he then shouted, him nearly going into hysterics.

The meek blonde, Sam, nodded, “He is correct about the ‘Apollo’ thing in Greek mythology.”

Tyler deadpanned, “I meant about the lack of sports in that Cure whatever place…”

“We have bike riding,” Apollo offered. “And we also have archery…” He was considered okay at archery, which was funny due to his namesake; A few times Dhurke took him and Nahyuta hunting for chickens for the rare occasion of meat, and it was usually him and Dhurke that got the kill.

Tyler then sighed in exasperation, “Whatever, man.” He then grabbed Apollo by the arm. “Welcome to the Hellhole known as the Rodriguez House, new brother.”

Tyler and Sam showed Apollo around the house, the dog Cosmo following close at their heels.

The house was abnormally large on the inside; it seemed way too big for a family of five and one dog to live in. Despite the boys each having their own room and sharing one large bathroom, there was still Emilio and Lucy’s master bedroom and bathroom with an additional four bedrooms and three bathrooms in the house. There was also a game room, complete with a pool table and foosball table.

“We can pretty much do anything we want here,” Tyler practically bragged during the tour.

The kitchen put five-star restaurants to shame. It was all stainless steel, and it seemed like it had the newest appliances on the market. There were three cooks in there along with Lucy, busily cooking and baking. For the most part, Lucy was clean and was barely doing anything, she was just sipping a glass of wine.

When Sam showed Apollo the backyard, the boy could barely tell that it was a residential backyard. It seemed like it was an outdoor bar, a full bar with every type of alcohol you could imagine stocked to the brim behind the counter. The pool was glittering like crystals, and of course there was a spot to swim up to the bar, and the pool had its own rock enclosure and waterfall.

I know where I am not going.

“Do you have a swimsuit?” Sam asked happily, his eyes beaming. “The pool is heated and everything! It is so much fun!”

“I don’t swim,” Apollo replied quickly, almost too quickly, his hands up defensively.

The memory of him and Nahyuta being swept up in the river almost engulfed him, just like the fast current that almost took them. It was a stupid mistake the two made thinking they could handle jumping on the rocks, but they both slipped and fell. The current was too strong, and as Apollo thought he was going to slip under the water with his flailing arms desperately trying to reach shore, Dhurke had grabbed him and Nahyuta just in time.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

“Okay,” Sam just said. “No big deal.”

Tyler then clapped his hands, “Oh!” he shouted. “There is only one place we can’t go in the house!”

“The basement,” Sam finished, his voice almost trembling. “It’s where Emilio does a lot of his work, so it’s private and he doesn’t want us kids bugging him.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. “Guy’s a prick, but he makes all the money to afford it here.”

Apollo was curious at that. “What does he do…?” he arched an eyebrow.

Tyler shrugged. “I have no idea,” he honestly said. “Every time I ask, I get yelled at.”

Before Apollo could ask more a voice, belonging to Lucy, called out, “Boys, dinner is ready!”

“Finally!” Tyler bellowed out, hands on his stomach. “I was withering away!” He then grabbed Apollo by the arm. “Come on, Apollo, you’ll love the food here!”

The table that he was seated at was big enough that Apollo thought it could put the Khura’in Royal family’s dining area to shame – not that he had ever been there himself, but he had seen pictures. He had sat next to Sam, who sat next Tyler, all three boys having a plate with prime rib with a baked potato that was stuffed to the brim with all the fixings and a side of grilled asparagus with butter and sea salt.

Lucy and Emilio were at the very end of the table, both eating and chatting lightly. Lucy, of course, was still drinking her wine that Apollo had seen earlier. Alcohol was a thing in Khura’in, he has seen Dhurke and Datz drink once in a while, but it wasn’t a major occurrence, and it was a peach sake that him and Nahyuta snuck a sip once.

And Dhurke was super angry while Datz laughed.

As everyone ate, Apollo moved the food around on the plate. Since arriving in America he still had mainly a vegetable based diet like back in Khura’in. Even when Aria had made him the hamburgers his first night, he felt horrible stomach pain as he was not used to beef. Slowly, he ate the asparagus, which was honestly the best he has ever ate, as it cut with his fork so simply and effortlessly.

“Do you not like the food?” Emilio barked angrily.

Apollo jumped at the sudden noise, even Sam did as well. “Um… I don’t usually eat meat…” the brunette tried to explain, his face flushing red in embarrassment.

“Who the hell doesn’t eat meat!?” Emilio sounded super exasperated. He glared at his wife. “You had to pick the broken kid, huh?” He then took a large swig of his own wine. “First he has an accent, two he wants to be a Defense Attorney, and now he doesn’t want meat.”

Tyler muttered loud enough for Apollo to hear, “Damn… just ignore him, Apollo… he’s probably drunk…”

Apollo wasn’t the type to keep his mouth shut. “In Khura’in, we eat mainly rice and vegetables,” he raised his voice, which to him was a little, but to mainly others it was considered “loud”. He had always been naturally a loud kid, just had the diaphragm and lung capacity to project his voice very well. Dhurke had told him if possibly he had better vocal training, he probably could’ve been a vocalist like his parents were. “The only meat we typically eat is pork and chicken, only the royal family would eat something as luxurious as beef.”

Emilio sneered, “Then be happy you get something so luxurious.”

“Not when my stomach isn’t used to it and I get sick,” the red-clothed boy counted. “Unless you want me to vomit all over your nice home, I rather have another helping of these very delicious asparagus, please.”

That was when one of the chefs from earlier then brought out more asparagus for him and took away his prime rib and his potato. With a cheerful “Thank you” in traditional Khura’inese, Apollo dug into his pile vegetable; Sam and Tyler tried to mimic the word in poor pronunciation but Apollo appreciated it nonetheless.

After dinner was not as exciting. Sam and Tyler showed Apollo the gaming room where the three played some video games, although Apollo lost horribly as he was not used to them. Finally, Lucy told the boys it was time for bed as Sam and Tyler had school in the morning.

“I do have to get you registered for school,” Lucy told Apollo. “But they’re going to have you take some tests so they know what grade level to start you off in tutoring even though you’re technically in the fourth grade.”

The words that were coming out of her mouth made absolutely no sense to him. Dhurke had made sure he and Nahyuta were taught very well; Apollo knew how to read in both Khura’inese and English by the time he was four, and Nahyuta knew higher math and basic science when he was six. The two boys had never gone to a place called school.

His first full day in the new home was a rough one to say the least – he enjoyed his time with Tyler and Sam, but he had rather be either at home in Khura’in or with Aria. Once he was all set in the large bedroom, the blank walls that surrounded him seemed overly suffocating. The white bareness of it all was consuming him… complete emptiness.

“You’ll like this place, pal.”

“This family has a couple of kids your age, you’ll have fun with them.”

The voices of Detective Gumshoe and Aria echoed in his mind. Was he really going to like it here? It hasn’t even been a full day and the “Foster Father” was a complete jerk to him and the “Foster Mother” was already being two-faced.

The next few weeks were completely uneventful to him.

As promised, Apollo was registered at a nearby elementary school, a private one at that. He was forced to wear an all-black uniform with a white undershirt – the fabric feeling completely itching and stiff against his skin. The school even forced him to gel his hair down against his head, but it stubbornly kept trying to creep up.

When he was given his testing he had actually exceeded the levels of expectation, keeping him at the fourth grade level, but they gave him extra work to keep him stimulated. As this was a private school he attended, he took on extracurricular activities, including another language with Sam, as he attended the same school for fifth grade; both taking on Spanish.

I’m sure Spanish will come in handy while speaking with clients in the future… probably more common than Khura’inese.

Tyler attended the private middle school, him being in multiple sport extracurriculars. It seemed he was aiming for being in teams and captain positions for high school so he could end up with top notch scholarships for college.

Apollo’s relationship with the boys was going on well, they were getting along quickly. However, his relationship with the “parents” seemed to have faltered. Lucy was still insistent on trying to have him change his career path in life, her buying him many different law books that had nothing to do with defense law – every book had to do with prosecution, insurance fraud law, civil law, health insurance law, and divorce law.

Seems she rather me become any other attorney but a Defense Attorney…

Lucy pushed a very similar narrative on Tyler and Sam. She encouraged Tyler in sports only for a scholarship, but whenever he mentioned about becoming a professional basketball player or lacrosse player, she threatened to pull him from the team. Sam had mentioned he wanted to be a psychologist, but Lucy told him they were quacks and if he wanted to be a doctor of any kind it should be a surgeon or cardiologist as they made more money.

Emilio was the same as ever. He ignored all three kids and for the most part was only in the basement. The man would spend hours in the basement just to come upstairs, eat a meal, and leave the house for hours on end with large suitcases only to not return with them.

One day Apollo finally asked, “What do you even do in the basement, Emilio?”

The man had given him a hard glare. “Adult things,” he had practically growled. He had muttered something in Spanish, and thanks to Apollo taking Spanish classes he understood what was said.

“Nosey little asshole.”

“What are in the suitcases when you leave?” Apollo had then asked.

“Clothes.”

At the time, Apollo felt an uncomfortable tightness on his left wrist. Emilio’s left nostril flared, and he sniffled as he said that word. Something didn’t seem right.

It all came to a head one fateful day in December…

“Yo, I hope we get that new gaming console for Christmas!” Tyler cheered, him throwing his backpack onto the floor of the foyer when the three kids arrived at home after school.

Winter break had finally arrived, all three were off school for the next month. Apollo kept hearing the word “Christmas” thrown around for the last month since living at the Rodriguez’s. Just a couple of weeks ago they celebrated something called “Thanksgiving” where he ate turkey for the first time, which was easy on his stomach like chicken, and he enjoyed it. However, the term “Christmas” he was not used to, and everyone kept talking to him about it as if he did know.

Sam nodded in agreement to Tyler. “Oh, I know!” he laughed. “The graphics card on the new one is supposed to be, like, eight times better than the last one!”

Apollo gave a lighthearted, “Yes, agreed…!” and to put the icing on the cake he did a small “fist pump” he saw other kids at his school do.

Tyler laughed at him. “Pol, that was the lamest, and I mean this in the nicest way possible as your older brother here,” he howled. “But that was truly, the lamest fist pump I have ever seen! And I’ve lived with Sam for four months!”

“Yeah -! HEY!” Sam was about to agree but then just realized what was said.

Tyler gave Sam a small playful shove. “Ya know I’m messin’!” he joked. He then turned to Apollo. “So, ya gave Lucy any ideas for what you want for Christmas?”

Apollo gave a blank stare. “I… I don’t know…” he honestly said, his hand running through the stickiness of his gelled hair. He absolutely hated the gel. “We didn’t have Christmas in Khura’in.”

Sam gave a gasp, “YOU DIDN’T!?”

“We prayed a lot, to the Holy Mother,” Apollo offered. “Well, my family really didn’t much, we didn’t do the strict schedule the rest of the country did.”

Sam then pondered for a moment. “Wait… I think in my class we talked about Khura’in today… that’s the country that has a lot… of Spirit Mediums, right?”

“Yes.”

“Like… summoning the dead…?”

“Not really… it’s channeling a spirit and hosting the soul in your own body. It’s mainly a woman thing though.”

Tyler scoffed. “A country of Spirit Mediums…? Sounds like a B-Ghost movie plot.”

Sam gave an audible shudder. “That’s terrifying!” he cried. “I never want to see that!”

Apollo agreed, it was terrifying. He’s seen it once, it was from the Master of the Kurain School when she had visited when he was four, where they do a special form of channeling. Instead of just hosting the spirit and the spirit speaking through the host, the Master of the Kurain, or anyone from that bloodline, takes on the form of that person. Their body shape changes, hairstyle, certain facial features like a mole or scar shows up, height and weight become noticeable, and their voice matches; the actual spirit is there using the body like a puppet.

It was the most disturbing thing Apollo had ever seen, and he never wanted to see that again.

Apollo went to his room to put his backpack away. In the past few weeks, it was as promised where there were things bought for him to make his room feel more like his own. His plain white bedding was replaced with red and black; a black rug was placed on the floor to take up space, a small bookshelf that started collecting the various law books and Spanish language books, and he was bought a small laptop to be able to do schoolwork on. The walls were still bare as ever, he had no idea what to do to fill the space – so every night when he tried to go to sleep, the bareness of it all engulfed him.

�� Once he was done putting his books away from his backpack, he ran to the bathroom so he could run his head under the fairly large sink to wash out the hair gel. If there was one thing about the school that he absolutely hated was that it tried to force him to conform – they forced him to gel his hair every morning due to his “horns”; one of the teachers even tried to come at him with scissors until he ran away screaming. Once a week they try to put him in “speech therapy” with the Speech Therapist of the school to work on losing his Khura’inese accent.

“Dinner’s ready!” Apollo heard Lucy call from the kitchen. He dried his hair quickly and ran down the stairs, Cosmo the dog suddenly at his heels.

Everyone was accounted for at the table – all except for Emilio.

“Apollo,” Lucy said sweetly. “Can you just open the basement door and call down to Emilio and let him know dinner is ready?”

The boy nodded politely, and he obediently went to go do the task. He opened the basement door and called down. There was no answer. He raised his voice slightly, which in normal terms was almost shouting. There was still no answer.

“There is only one place we can’t go in the house!” Tyler’s voiced echoed in Apollo’s head.

“The basement!” Sam’s voice finished.

But Emilio isn’t responding… and I don’t want to get in trouble by Lucy either…

So, Apollo stepped down the stairs. Because the house was so new and luxurious, the stairs didn’t make one sound, so it was easy for him to go down quietly. Once he was at the bottom he saw that the lights were on and that he was in a completely furnished basement; the floor carpeted a generic tan, a couple of couches that were black leather with a large coffee table between them, and along the wall…

Wait… what are those…?

Apollo walked over to the large pile of what looked to be sacks of flour… Each sack had the weight of them printed on them and the amount of money of their worth… some of the bags were worth over one hundred thousand dollars. He backed away quickly, he didn’t want to even touch it. A glint caught his eye. On the coffee table in the center was a handgun with a few stray bullets lying about.

“What are you doing down here, kid!?” a gruff voice demanded.

Apollo spun around and saw a tall man with blonde hair wearing a black suit and tie glaring at him. The man would look like any other normal guy if it weren’t for the jagged, raised red scar that was across his face. He pulled something from his side, another flash of silver, and a handgun was produced.

“Thought that idiot told you kids not to come down here…!” the suited man grumbled.

“L-Lucy said d-dinner was ready…” Apollo stammered nervously, his brown eyes not leaving the gun.

The man sighed with fake sadness, “Looks like things are gonna end like the last kid they fostered…” There was a sound of the man cocking the gun. “Ya see… the last little bastard that came down here cause he was all curious got a lead aspirin…” The man then forced Apollo to look at him in the eyes, the boy seeing that the man’s eyes were an unusual shade of lilac. “Luckily, I made it look like a good accident so Little Miss Housewife could still be a foster mom to kids, but only if that idiot made sure nothing like that happened again.” He gave a subtle shake of his head. “Looks like all three of you boys need to die…”

Sweat beaded on Apollo’s forehead. America can’t really be like this, can it!? Dhurke had made it sound like he had to leave Khura’in because it was more dangerous there than anywhere else! Now there is drugs and a man threatening to kill him!?

“APOLLO, GET OUT OF HERE!” the voice of Emilio screamed as he came out of seemingly nowhere, tackling the man to the ground.

A loud bang! went off and there was a scream.

Apollo ran up the basement stairs as fast as he could, him practically tripping and almost smashing his face against the steps. As he ran past the dining room he heard Lucy try to call out to him, but there was more screaming as there was another gunshot. He finally made it up to his room and frantically searched for the card Detective Gumshoe gave him the day he was dropped off. He found it at the bottom of the sock drawer and took off, running around the corner of the hallway to get to the back of the house, to the one place he knew would have a phone: Lucy and Emilio’s room.

Another gunshot rang out and he heard wood splintering precariously close to his ear. He couldn’t think about how he was almost just shot and kept running. Once he made it to the Master Bedroom, he slammed it shut and locked it; he was panting but he had not time to catch his breath. He found the phone on the nightstand and immediately dialed Gumshoe’s number – praying to the Holy Mother herself that he would answer.

“This is Detective Dick Gumshoe, how can I help ya, pal?” the scruffy detective’s voice greeted.

“Detective! It’s me, Apollo Justice!” Apollo frantically cried, his voice high pitched and he could feel tears in his eyes.

“Oh, heya, kid… is every-”

“THERE IS A GUY IN THE HOUSE WITH A GUN!” and right on cue a shot blasted through the door and whizzed past him, shattering a picture of Lucy and Emilio on their wedding day that was hanging on the wall.

“Whoa, pal!” Gumshoe screamed into the phone. “That explains why everyone here is scrambling – we got multiple calls from the neighborhood there! I’ll be there myself in five minutes – you get yourself holed up somewhere!”

There was a click and dial-tone. The detective had hung up.

SLAM!

The door was kicked open and the blonde man was in the entry way. He clicked his tongue, “My, who knew a little foreigner orphan boy would be the cause of so much trouble in this operation…” Behind the man, Apollo saw that Emilio was limping down the hall, a gun in hand. “All that idiot had to do was just follow the rules, let his wife play ‘Mommy’ and he got to have all this money and big house – but like he said, you’re a noisy little prick.”

“Drugs and guns are illegal…” Apollo squeaked out.

The man then laughed, “So is murder kid, but how many trials of that do you see on television?” He gave a shrug. “All we do is frame others, and the Prosecution is so relentless… even the innocent is Guilty!”

Apollo winced. “So, the legal system in America is messed up too, huh?”

“Why do you care?”

“I’m going to be a Defense Attorney – I’m going to make sure assholes like you don’t get away with this!”

A loud bang! once again rang out, and there was a sickening crunch! A hole appeared suddenly in the middle of the blonde man’s head, and his lilac eyes widened in disbelief and shock just for a moment before they glossed over. He fell forward with a heavy thump! as scarlet pooled beneath him.

Emilio was at the doorway, a gun raised, and him panting heavily. Blood was on his left side and there was a hole on the left side of his suit jacket; he must’ve been shot when he had tackled the man in the basement.

“Apollo!” Emilio shouted as he limped over, concern in his brown eyes. “Hey… hey, kid! Are you okay!?”

Apollo didn’t say anything. He just stood there, numbness creeping into him.

“You have blood on your face…” Emilio whispered as he took a cloth from his left breast pocket. He began to try to wipe the blood from the boy’s face, but it seemed to only smear it.

A loud booming voice then shouted, “This is the police, pal!”

Emilio immediately stopped what he was doing and stood up, his hands raised up. The gun he had earlier was on the ground next to him.

“Hey, Apollo, you okay, kid!?” Gumshoe bellowed.

Again Apollo said nothing as red and blue lights began to fill the now darkening room and the night began to creep in that cold, December evening.

Apollo, Tyler, and Sam sat on the couch in the living room as the police swept the entire home.

Lucy was put on a gurney, a sheet over her entire body. Scarlet stained the white sheet as the body was still seeping with blood. The gunshot that Apollo had heard while he was running past was the blonde man pulling the trigger on her, killing her instantly.

Tyler and Sam were uninjured, and Apollo was thankful for that. But a lingering guilt clutched onto him. If he hadn’t went down to the basement… Lucy would be alive.

It turned out that Emilio Rodriguez was part of large drug smuggling operation in Los Angeles, him being blackmailed since he was in high school. Emilio had done something in his youth that caused the head of the organization to use that to their advantage and blackmail him for years. Of course Emilio got plenty of money, ended up meeting with Lucy who was his high school sweetheart and got married – the two couldn’t have biological children, so they went into being foster parents, and Lucy wanted to make sure each child would have the best career path for them that was legitimate so they could not possibly go on this path; she seemed to be rough and maybe seemed heartless when it came to their dreams, but deep down she only had their best interests at heart.

The reason why Emilio was so rough on the foster kids… was because of the death of the first kid that him and Lucy fostered. Just as the blonde man had said, the child had wandered down to the basement and caught sight of the illegal items. While Emilio insisted that the child would not say anything, the kid was taken care of so to speak and arranged in a way where there was an accident not tied to the home. He became cold to the next foster children that came into the picture, which was Tyler, then Sam, and finally Apollo, so that they wouldn’t meet the same fate.

Everything was confiscated in the basement, and Emilio was arrested for illegal possession of drugs and firearms as well as murder. As Emilio was being escorted out of the house in handcuffs, it looked like he almost had the look of peace on his face along with sadness.

“Sorry you kids have to be shipped off again…” Emilio said as one of the police officers guided him past. “I… I really wish it didn’t come to this.”

Apollo felt a pang in his chest. It was his fault after all.

Once officer each then escorted the boys to their rooms so they could pack their belongings. Gumshoe escorted Apollo himself, him seeing that the boy was tense and was moving very stiffly.

Apollo packed in his suitcase clothing, the legal books he was given, and the toiletries. He didn’t bother with the laptop as it was already confiscated by the police in case of other shady business. He zipped up the suitcase and approached Gumshoe, who looked a little shocked that the boy barely packed anything.

“You… sure you don’t have anything else…?” Gumshoe asked wearily.

“No…” Apollo replied stoically. “This is all.”

Gumshoe and Apollo went back downstairs, just in time to see Tyler and Sam be put in the back of two separate police cars. Cosmo the dog was put in a Humane Society van, ready to be put at a center so he could be adopted out himself.

I guess I put the dog in the same boat as us…

“Alright, pal,” Gumshoe said gently. “Let’s go…” as he began to lead the boy to his patrol car.

“Where are we going…?”

“I think I know where we are going, Apollo.”

This time Gumshoe had a couple of plastic bags from a convenience store in the back seat for him. As the scruffy detective put the car into gear, Apollo immediately felt his stomach churn and made a grab for a plastic bag. He couldn’t hold it in anymore – from between the fright of what he witnessed earlier, the blood from the man, Lucy’s dead body, and now the car, he just let retched into the bag.

“I… learned my lesson last time…” Gumshoe tried to say lightly, him grimacing at the sounds of the boy vomiting.

The stomach acid stung his throat, and his face streaked with tears. Every time he closed his eyes he just the man’s face with the hole in the middle of his forehead. He saw Lucy’s lifeless body on the gurney. He saw Emilio in handcuffs. He saw Tyler and Sam being once again shipped off to another home.

“Here we are, pal…” Gumshoe softly said as he pulled over the patrol car.

Apollo looked up to see a very familiar looking house. He opened the patrol car door and unbuckled his seatbelt and ran up the sidewalk that led to the front door. Before he even made it to the door, it opened and the warm light poured out with a silhouette of the woman who had taken care of him before.

“ARIA!” Apollo wailed, his eyes brimming with tears. Aria only crouched down and let the boy crash into her embrace. He started wailing in hysterics, a combination of Khura’inese, English, and now his new budding Spanish of everything. His whole body shook as he cried, but he felt comforted as Aria’s warm hands gently rubbed his back and consoled him.

“It’s going to be fine, Apollo…” she whispered to him. “You’re fine.”

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