#kinda want people to give iris the same grace too

[kobitoshiningneedle]

Sister Iris of Hazakura Temple: the Ultimate Defendant of Phoenix Wright

(this is a writeup I've submitted in AA subreddit, so if you recognize the text, this isn't a Matrix lag. Yes, I have a strong opinion about Iris and I want to speak about it more!!)

Starting with the obvious, any Ace Attorney game has a strong and multilayered story and good replayability because of that. It's a very interesting endeavor to just find missed details, to rethink and reconsider some moments in the game after knowing the full story. After completing the game and reaching the major resolution of the plot and mystery, one may look back to find a pleiad of more obscure details that support main plot threads and enrich them. One of the most interesting details of TT's plot is the final defendant and the way she was presented in the game. I believe Iris embodies a lot of thematic weight, and she and the story around her propose a very meaningful challenge - both for Phoenix and for the player

Firstly, the circumstances around Iris are intentionally subversive. After 2-4 we learned that not every single defendant is innocent, so of course we become suspicious when the mysterious girl finds herself at the defendant seat - only for us to be proven that Iris is actually is unlike her sister at all and is a good person (but not completely innocent, to be fair, but about that later). So it's a subversion of an already subversive case, which paints Iris and Bridge as a whole in the very interesting light, tying all three finales of the trilogy together

Perhaps the main theme of the trilogy (and the franchise at large) is trust in the clients and, on the bigger scope, to your friends and close people. Phoenix-Iris relationship embodies that theme, and, again, can be considered a culmination, a resolution of that theme after the three games. It's evident that after the disastrous trial in Memories Phoenix still couldn't let his "Dollie" go. There still was a part of him that believed the girl he spent months with was a genuine person, and when he, at last, learns the truth, he literally says: "You've been the person I thought you are". Reassuring words for Iris herself, they pretty much conclude the "trust theme" and reveal that, again, Phoenix was right to trust the person. Of course, it's really interesting to see a hero being mistaken and growing from that, but it's not any less cathartic to realize that he did a right thing, regardless of the obstacles

Now onto Iris herself. She's an interesting specimen within AA universe on her own, and, despite common opinion, she steps beyond just being a nice-girl-who-is-not-her-murderous-sister. The crux of her character is finding strength, again, her own "two to stand", figuratively speaking, outside of her twisted familial loyalty. Yes, Iris IS guilty by association with Dahlia morally-speaking, as she didn't try to tell the police about Dahlia's atrocities. In some ways Iris is meant to mirror Godot - both of them made mistakes trying to take matters into their own hands thinking they were doing the right thing (Godot with his masterplan in 3-5; Iris with her idea to replace Dahlia and retrieve her necklace and postponing this until Dahlia strikes again). But while Godot's ultimate downfall was caused by being boastfully overly-confident in his capability to protect people, Iris' calamity, again, stems from her inability to speak for herself - she didn't even manage to tell her real name to the person she liked or simply steal the necklace from him

I think it's important to understand that Iris has her flaws - not some cutesy quirks like being shy or anything, rather, more ugly flaws that can affect other people and make her own life worse. Characters aren't meamt to be perfect people all the time, and being framed as "good" in a story doesn't exclude them from being objectively the reason for some atrocious events. I would even argue that a good story should never shy away from such decisions. Iris *is* nice and well-intended unlike Dahlia (who, on the contrary, despite wanting to bring harm was in some way the reason Mia and Phoenix have met which kickstarts the bittersweet emotional journey for Nick in the trilogy), but things she did weren't always good or had benign consequences. Besides, someone being so self-deprecating that it harms not only one"self", but others too is a fascinating and sorely realistic juxtaposition by itself

Nevertheless, after Edgeworth asks her to not deceive Phoenix anymore, she finally decides to tell him (in the front of the whole court, no less - kinda unusual place for a meek girl to confess) the truth about her sister and herself, tells her feelings - and after Phoenix reassured her that she was worth Phoenix's trust after all, maybe that instigates her growth as a person (note that it doesn't necessarily mean that she and Nick should be brought back together, it's more about their past relationship and what they both can learn from that now, after there's no more secrets). The theme of truth is always intertwined with the theme of trust and its importance in our lives. Just like in any other Ace Attorney case, only the reveal of her truth is able to free Iris from the shackles of her disastrous family.

It would be fair to say that Iris was cast aside by the case - after all, the Bridge had a lot going on in it, so you has to look closely to see something about her. There are a few details I personally find endearing about her. When she is in the detention center speaking with Edgeworth, presenting various profiles to her (like Larry's or Maya's) makes her respond in a very positive manner, like "This is a hardworking person", or "This is a very reliable woman". Funnily, Edgeworth remarks that Iris isn't a good judge of people after that, and that may be so - on the other hand, however, it indicates that Iris just generally tries to see good in people. Even about Dahlia, she says first and foremost that she was "strong and never complained about anything" - she understands her twin sister the most. Cumulatively, it all points at the fact that, despite spending the majority of her life in seclusion, she may be perceptive to some degree (the other example, when there's a wrong choice in her Psyche-Locks segment, she suspects that Edgeworth may have a deep secret inside on his own). In many ways she shares these traits with her younger half-sister Pearl, who is a sheltered, but unusually perceptive child herself

There are a few other interesting tidbits about Iris, but these are more like my overthinking. Iris, despite being raised far away from the city, is actually capable of being well-adjusted to modern society, she's relatively well-versed with technology, she managed to go to the university in place of Dahlia. The other interesting moment is the fact that she and Phoenix did have some sort of affinity in fact, because their relationship lasted for eight months without seeming issues (aside from the obvious not-telling-him-my-real-name problem), and, from my experience and observations, even if it's not that log of a period, it happens when two people have similar fundamental worldview and mindset. So Iris, at least to some degree, has something in common with Phoenix - maybe it's her positivity regarding people in general?

Anyway, I believe Iris is worth at least some attention from the fanbase - and not only as one of the possible love interests for Phoenix, but as a character who, as many other people in the Fey family, had a lot of odds stacked against her throughout her life, but in the end having a silver lining and the chance to finally be happy and honest with herself

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend for just a brief note. This episode just made me sad. Not the good sad-but-the-hurt-comfort-will-be-worth-it sad, just sad. I'm not going to bring The Discourse into your inbox, but I think I'll just pretend this episode doesn't exist (except of course for the fabulous attempt at sex doll resuscitation by Nancy) until next week. Also where the hell are Paul, Marjan, and Mateo??!! These characters are more interesting than just fun banter, give them screentime dammit!!

This episode was....fine. Like, I laughed at some of the Owen/O'Brian shenanigans but I do not give one single fuck about O'Brian so why would I care about his neo-nazi nephew? I said in the tags on a couple of posts that I'm not here to watch the FBI investigate a terrorist plot, or some kind of Criminal Minds torture-fest (next week is the episode I'm kind of dreading a bit 🤷🏻‍♀️), there are other shows out there for people who enjoy that! I'm here to watch first responders go out on calls! Sometimes they're funny, sometimes suspenseful and exciting, sometimes the crew is in danger and it's stressful, and sometimes they get confronted with something that applies to their personal life and helps to move that arc along for them.

We have.....not gotten a lot of first responding in these last two episodes. And consequently, we are getting very little for the 126, and basically NOTHING for Paul, Marjan and Mateo except for a few quips. Nancy too, but Brianna has ATE every scene she's been in this season and she at least got to have some input on Tommy's storyline in the first 2 episodes. I don't just want Paul, Marjan, and Mateo (Grace, Nancy, Judd as well but they're getting *something* at least) each to have 1.5 episodes centered around them, I want to see them involved in other characters' stories every week and doing their jobs on multiple calls! We had ONE team call out during the episode these past two weeks and probably the same next week. This is like, the other side of the coin from the problem the OG is having which is too many calls with nothing to tie into the mains' arcs and long set up to fill time, where as LS is having some enjoyable calls but so few of them and they are trying to cram too much outside plot into the episode so we loose the first responder element a bit.

As for the Carlos/Tarlos stuff it's also...fine. (I'm more worried about them leaning into the creepy factor next week like his last detective storyline because that shit is Not For Me.) I personally enjoyed the scenes with Iris and Carlos (though it's hard to reconcile them being so ride-or-die after having zero idea they were anything more than vaguely acquainted through Michelle before now), and I liked that he believed her when the detective didn't and I like that they aren't trying to pretend like she's "cured" now. I'm not too worried about the angst because I get Carlos kinda shutting down and blaming himself and everything he and TK brought to Iris' doorstep all at once, but I feel like we aren't getting ANY idea what is going on in TK's head. He had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene with Tommy but that was all about Iris not where his head is at, he and Carlos aren't talking about it, does Owen even KNOW?! Because we haven't seen Owen and TK even talk this season (WHAT?!), he hasn't gotten to sit with Judd or Nancy or any of the 126 and vent, not even his sponsor has had a mention! This IS a Carlos centric storyline so I'm not surprised we're seeing his POV and his interactions with Iris, but because the show is spending SO. MUCH. FUCKING. TIME on this Owen plot right now too, were not getting to see TK's side of this (though hopefully next week!), while still having time for a call (singular because god forbid these first responders get to do any first responding).

It's all just...fine. It's fine to watch, I'm laughing, and holding my breath, and yelling for Carlos to look out behind him, but then the hour ends and it's all just....fine. I get ending on the Carlos cliffhanger, but I would rather have some angst in the form of TK calling and calling and leaving measages to ask when Carlos is coming home overlayed by Carlos getting taken, than to save it all for next week and rely on torture for the angst, but that's just a personal preference for me and I wanted more than just one episode of TK being frantic that something is wrong and Carlos isn't answering. 🤷🏻‍♀️

To end on a lighter note, Nancy deserves an Oscar, even if it's justa handmade one by the team, for her dramatic performance reacue of Crissy (alexa, play "Chrissy Wake Up"), and Tommy and TK can get little mini Supporting Role statues as well. Definitely a highlight of the season so far.

[a-tale-of-legends]

I'm thinking about how some of the main story lines of the main series pokemon games have, specifically the ones that fall flat to me.

For example, in FireRed/LeafGreen the story is very simple and while I don't personally find joy in playing through the games, it does it job right as an introduction of this world.

Hgss( or just the Johto games in general) the story is a continuation of what happened in FRLG. And that's fine! Great actually! But my problem is how some things could have been done better. Story wise, gameplay is a different story. In hgss , team rocket is having a revival and their end goal is to call Giovanni through the radio tower and regain power. And in my personal opinion, that just make team rocket look like a joke, cause there entire operation depends on one man. Maybe that was the point, but for the player character to try and stop something that the police should have been actively trying to stop already is very silly to me( though can you really trust the police of this world after all the shit that happens every year or so? Probably not). Not to mention the whole side plot with Suicune and the box legendary and how it's so disconnected to the main plot, when I feel it could have been connected somehow. Silvers arc is very good, but I feel like the revelation that he's Giovanni's son should come in main game ( like the mid-end), and not in a fucking event that doesn't exist anymore. Makes his hatred to Team Rocket more personal that that they're just weak. I have a few ideas on how the hgss plot could go with changes but that's a different post. Oh!

I wasn't expecting to enjoy Emerald as much as I did, but I did and it was so fun. I liked how at the end of the day, it was Rayquaza that saved the day, not the player. The characters that were important to the plot really filled their purpose. Though I will say, the evil teams reasoning could have been better, and Steven/Wallace honestly didn't do much other than a few battles( though that's still better than Cynthia). In my own timeline for my oc's, I want Oras and Emerald to be mixed a bit, which is gonna take a lot of planning and drafts from me, but that's for future me to worry about.

Dppt. Platinum specifically. The story is very straightforward, just like the past 3 games before it, and the characters are fun in their own right. I should just say it now that a good story doesn't have to be thought provoking, or a grand masterpiece. Simple stories are fun, and that's why I like Emerald and Platinum so much. The "problem" with platinum is just a few characters fall flat/ could have been expanded upon. Cyrus is a really interesting character and it would have been nice to understand him more other then the emotion thing. Cynthia *sighs* is such a disappointment as a character. I love her, I do, but she does LITERALLY NOTHING. Yes she gives some exposition, but she's, like, the champion! One of the strongest at that! Steven falls into the game category of letting the player do literally everything, but he is shown to be fighting the main evil team at. least once. Cynthia does nothing. And that's sad. She's so cool. And it's even sadder when you realize that's a trend among female characters in this franchise but that's a different topic for a different day. But other than that, the simplicity of Platinum is fine, in my personal opinion.

BW and B2W2 kinda caused a shift in the story telling of pokemon. The story was darker, the villain was more evil, the characters were just *chef kiss*. I will admit that I am biased towards these games, if that wasn't obvious enough from my ocs, so I have very little criticism. Not saying that criticism can't be made, and it should, but I can't think of anything other than the female character thing. Iris, I love you, but you too did nothing in B2W2 as Champion. I'm only excusing you cause your a literal child. Bianca is fine and deserves more love but I wish people would stop demeaning her( though I guess that was part of her growth)

XY! I used to hate it before doing a nuzlocke and now I'm just disappointed. In terms of story premise, it was good. Like really good. But in terms of execution, Arcues this was terrible. In my experience with the game, the way the game presented itself was so lack- luster, I felt like I was doing a chore than playing a game( the game was much more entertaining as a nuzlocke, but it still felt like a drag at times). The characters, I believe, where the greatest offender to this. There is very little for me, the player, to care about the rivals, let alone call them rivals, and some things feel so left-field and shoehorned in. Calem/Serena calling the player their friend near the end of the game when their was no proper build up to it? Shauna saying she's friends with Clemont and thus knows how to unlock a security door. The other two noy contributing to anything and just feeling like a waste of space. And is it just me, or was their supposed to be some sort of conflict between our "friend" group and just lead to nowhere, only to resolve itself??? Is it just me??? Diantha only appears twice before her battle, has a member of the evil team member as her elite four( who gets away just fine?????), and just does nothing. This, I feel, is the worst offender of badly written female characters in this franchise. Dear Arcues. I guess Lysander was interesting? Not really. This whole game is a mess.

SM/USUM, despite my grips with a few directional choices, are very good games. This post is getting long, so I won't go into it.

Same goes to SwSh. It's like XY, in that the plot idea was really good, but it feel flat. It's saving grace, at least to me, where the characters. And, well, the fandom just throwing out headcanons left and right, but that's a fanon thing, not a canon thing.

Okay that's all, and thank you for listening to my Ted Talk. Also female pokemon characters deserve better. And simple plot does not equal bad writing, unless the execution suck. Okay bye

[coldflame96]

Turnabout Parent Trap, chapter 20 (the end!)

I finally finished this bad boy and the last chapters a bit shorter so I thought I’d do something a little different. Don’t read if you haven’t read the rest of it please. 

It’s been a long journey. Thank you for sharing it with me. :)

Read the full thing on AO3 here

February 11, 2029

Gatewater Hotel Imperial Hall- Los Angeles, Japanifornia

Phoenix was nervous. Well, not nervous exactly, but more just excited. He was getting married! Not for the first time, but hopefully the last.

“Nick, they’re almost ready for you,” Maya came in. And then she gave him an unimpressed look. “What have I told you about messing with your tie? And your hair. Look at you, you’re a wreck! Don’t make me get my sister in here!”

“No thanks,” he muttered, “You’re bad enough.” And got a light smack on the head for that. He saw how the deep purple she was wearing brought out the bronze tones in her skin as she readjusted his tie and smiled.

“You look beautiful, Maya.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I do. My wife’s a dress designer.” And then she smirked. “Besides, you’re the star here. Miles won’t know what hit him.”

“He’s seen me like this before.”

“Sure, but you look way better now than you did at 21. I saw the pictures.”

“Wow,” he scoffed, offended. “That’s-“ And then he paused. “Wait, really? I’m 36, how is that even possible?”

She shrugged. “Some people get better with age.” And then she gave him a smug look. “You were pretty dorky before.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Y’know,” she started, starting on his hair now, “I’m kinda surprised you’re even doing all this again. Kinda figured Miles wouldn’t wanna bother.”

Funny story about that. “It was his idea, actually.”

“Really? Wow. And here I thought he was the pragmatic one. Guess he is a romantic, after all.”

She finally took her fingers out of his hair, and he made to run a hand through when she smacked it away.

“I just fixed it, Nick!” she glared. “If you mess it up again, I’ll kill you.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled.

He heard a piano start playing and Maya grinned. “Well, that’s your cue.” And then she offered up her elbow. “You ready?”

He took a deep breath, and then linked his arm with hers. He was born ready.

~~~~~~~~~

Apollo sat next to his sibling, who practically had stars in their eyes as their parents exchanged vows at the altar. The old bearded guy gave them permission to kiss and they did eagerly which of course was something he’d seen many times at this point, but he clapped along with everyone else.

Trucy giggled from next to him and he looked at them curiously. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” they shook their head, “It’s all just kinda crazy, isn’t it? Two years ago, I didn’t even know you existed. Now we’re at our parents wedding.” She laughed again. “It’s all just so backwards!”

He rested an arm on their shoulder. “Yeah, I guess we were never very traditional, huh?”

“Nope!”

He vaguely heard Dad announce something, and then people around them started getting up. “Oh, I guess it’s time for the reception.” He offered his hand. “Coming?”

They took his hand.

~~~~~~~~~

When Iris had learned that Pearl, her younger half-sister, had moved to Germany last summer, she was disappointed. They had been getting to know each other rather well and she thought that she could finally tell her the truth about her.

But then Mr. Wright had told her she’d gone to Germany when she came to visit one day and she thought that was it. She’d waited too long and lost her opportunity. And then he had told her he was getting married. And even invited her. She wasn’t even sure if she deserved an invitation after what her sister did, but she appreciated it none the less.

She had been about to decline, but then Mr. Wright had told her Pearl would be here, and well…now here she was. It was only too bad she hadn’t been able to get Pearl alone so far. Maya had been quite welcoming and friendly and allowed her to mingle in with their group, but this was a delicate matter. She couldn’t just blurt it out in front of everyone.

She saw Mr. Wright pass through the hallway, from what she was assuming was the bathroom, and he nodded at her, pointing his eyes down the hall.

“You should catch her before she goes back in,” he advised.

“Thank you.” And then she already started walking.

“Iris?” he called out, and she turned her head in confusion. He gave her a small, shy smile. “Thanks for coming.”

He really was quite handsome…she felt her face heat up and she mumbled, “Of course.” And bolted down the direction he’d pointed her at, ignoring how her heart skipped a beat.

Mr. Wright was quite the charmer. She sometimes wished she’d been the one engaged to him once upon a time instead of her sister.

But it probably wouldn’t have worked out either way. His heart clearly belonged to someone else.

She was broken from that train of thought when she saw Pearl’s familiar figure just about to open the door back into the reception room.

“Oh, Ms. Iris!” she gasped. “You look so pretty!”

Pearl certainly looked quite beautiful herself, looking grown up in her dusty pink A line.

“Thank you, Pearl. You too. Did Ms. von Karma make that dress for you?”

The girl grinned. “Yes, she did!” And she did a little twirl. “Do you like it?”

She smiled gently. “I love it.” But she should get to the point. “Hey, Pearl, do you mind taking a walk with me? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

She perked up curiously. “Oh, okay then.”

And Iris led the girl to the courtyard where they wouldn’t be disturbed.

Like peeling off a bandaid. Hopefully it wouldn’t bleed.

~~~~~~~~~

Gatewater Hotel Banquet Hall- Los Angeles, Japanifornia

Miles watched as Phoenix opened the bottle of wine, Where Dreams Have No End, 2010 etched on it. He nodded, raising his glass in a toast and once he got the satisfied clink, they both took a sip at the same time.

Miles raised an eyebrow. “Oh, this is better than I remember.”

Phoenix shrugged. “Well, you know what they say about fine wine.”

Miles eyed his partner appreciatively, saying without much thought, “Yes, much like yourself, it ages quite handsomely.”

Phoenix gave him an incredulous look at that and Miles noted with pleasure how his ears turned red. “What, are you drunk already?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he huffed, “I’m not such a lightweight to get drunk off one sip of wine.”

Phoenix didn’t say anything, instead choosing to focus on his cake, their live performers starting with a slow, melodic song. Which brought up a concern…“Are you sure inviting them to perform was a good idea?” he asked his husband softly, touching his arm, the performers in question being the singer Lamiroir and her partner Herod, formerly known as Thalassa Gramarye and Jove Sadhmadhi. Though the young blond pianist they had with them was unfamiliar to him.

Phoenix looked at him, distracted for a moment from his cake. “Lamiroir is Apollo’s favorite singer, right? Why would it be an issue?”

Miles really didn’t like it when he acted willfully obtuse. “You know why, Phoenix. Having them here with the kids is a risk. What if they say something?”

“They won’t. I already talked to them about it.”

“Apollo and Trucy aren’t stupid, as you well know. What if they find out?”

Phoenix grabbed his hands, pressing a light kiss to his fingers. “Miles, they’re 14. They’re old enough to know that they didn’t just sprout up from nowhere. It’s not like we have anything to hide.”

“Well, yes, but-��

Phoenix didn’t let him finish that sentence, kissing him firmly. Miles pulled away, glaring with no heat.

“That was quite rude.” He got a kiss on the jaw in response. “I was talking and-“ Another kiss. “Ugh, you’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

Phoenix looked smug as hell. “Is it working?”

Yes. “No.”

He chuckled, “Liar.” And then kissed him again, softer this time.

“Hey lovebirds!” Larry called out, causing them to break apart. “Come get your pictures taken!”

He rolled his eyes and watched as Phoenix did the same.

He supposed a few pictures wouldn’t hurt. But not before he kissed his husband another time.

~~~~~~~~

Trucy never really “got” Apollo’s type of music. She was always more into upbeat stuff like the Gavinners, but this Lamiroir lady…was not bad. Her voice was beautiful, and she could see why Apollo liked it, even though it was kinda slow in her opinion.

Something about her was weird though…Familiar somehow. But Trucy was sure she’d never met a celebrity before.

She watched as the man with Lamiroir started playing something faster paced on his guitar and she smiled. Now they were talking.

“Dance with me, Apollo!”

“Trucy, I don’t dance.”

She rolled her eyes, and then she spotted a familiar dark head and got an idea. “Fine, I’ll go dance with Clay then.”

Their eyes went wide and they grabbed her arm. “You can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Because!” their eyes darted. “Because I’m gonna dance with him!”

She asked faux innocently, “But I thought you said you don’t dance?”

“Well, I lied!” And then to her delight, they marched over to Clay, saying something to him that she couldn’t hear, and he looked both confused and pleased as they started dancing awkwardly.

She waved sweetly and laughed as Apollo glared at her and Clay waved back.

“Excuse me, Miss,” she whirled around to come face to face with her grandfather, his eyes twinkling. “May I have this dance?”

She curtsied dramatically. “Of course, sir.”

And she let him twirl her around. For an old guy, he was surprisingly graceful.

~~~~~~~~

Mia was feeling quite good after her couple glasses of champagne. Light on her feet and even lighter in spirit. She was giggling as Lana twirled her again, resting her head on her shoulder.

She heard a cleared throat and she turned to see Phoenix standing there, looking incredibly handsome in that suit. Mr. Edgeworth sure knew what he was doing that was for sure.

“Do you mind if I borrow your wife?” he asked Lana.

“So long as you give her back,” was Lana’s response and he laughed.

And then he grabbed her arm. “Come and dance with me, Mia.”

“Careful, Phoenix,” she grinned like a shark, “Your new husband might get jealous.”

He snorted. “Okay, how much champagne have you had?” he asked, as he started to sway her gently.

“Not enough.”

“I somehow doubt that.”

She saw how carefree he was and smiled. “I’m really happy for you, Phoenix.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It feels good to have a wedding I can actually go to.”

“Why? So you can drink all the champagne?”

“Exactly. Get lit, as the kids would say.”

He cringed, which delighted her. “Please stop.”

She laughed. “Stop what? I’m sticking with the times.”

“You’re not. I live with two teenagers. Neither of them ever say that.”

She pouted. “Well, they used to.”

He muttered, “Yeah, maybe in the Stone Age.”

She flicked him on the head. “Don’t be rude. I’m not even 40 yet.”

“What is with you Fey women and hitting me today?”

So Maya got him earlier? She wondered what wise crack he said to deserve it. “Don’t be a baby. Someone has to keep you in line.”

“I have a husband for that.”

“He’s too soft.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but then refrained and just pouted. “Whatever.”

She patted his cheek fondly, pouting. “Phoenix, will you get me another champagne?”

“No.”

Damn, that usually worked.

Maybe this wedding was a mistake.

~~~~~~~~~

Franziska watched as Maya danced with Pearl, Iris having to leave in a hurry for some other obligation, Kay was dancing with Frau Skye’s younger sister and well…she was quite bored.

She was feeling restless. She saw her stupid brother in the center table kissing his foolish husband like the shameless man he was and had a solution.

She stalked over to their table. “Miles Edgeworth,” she said sharply, and watched them break away, her brother looking a bit disgruntled. Ugh, obscene. 37 years old and acting like a lovesick teenager. “You will dance with me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that a request or an order?”

“Yes.”

He rolled his eyes. “Alright then.” And then he stood from his spot.

Phoenix Wright looked amused, and just said in a dry tone, “Good luck!”

She levelled her glare to him. “You’re next.”

He just got even more smug, which annoyed her. “Can’t wait.” Sometimes she lamented the loss of her riding crop. She missed the days when men cowered at her feet.

“Was your wife unavailable?” Miles asked flatly, doing an elegant twirl.

“Shut up,” she snapped, and then she mumbled in embarrassment, “Yes.”

“I see. So you were bored.”

She glared at him but he was unperturbed. She would have to attempt a different method. She switched over to her native tongue and said in a wistful tone, “Why must you assume the worst of my intentions, older brother? Is it not acceptable for your sister to dance with you at your own wedding?”

“Of course it is. My apologies for doubting you.” He didn’t sound completely sincere but she supposed that would be good enough.

“I am taking your husband for the next song.��

“Just don’t kill him, please.”

“No promises,” she said in English this time. The song ended and she made her way back over to where Phoenix Wright was. She nodded. “Your turn. As promised.”

He grinned. “Oh, good, I’ve been waiting!” Then he turned back to her brother. “If I don’t come back, take good care of the kids, yeah?”

“Of course,” Miles said solemnly and she rolled her eyes, dragging the man out by the arm.

She was expecting him to have two left feet as he was an absolute disaster in everything else, but he was surprisingly competent.

“I must admit, Phoenix Wright, I am pleasantly surprised.”

“Hmm?”

“I did not peg you for a dancer.”

“I took some classes.” And then he got that stupid smug look again that made her regret ever saying anything nice. “See, I guess I’m not totally hopeless at everything, huh?”

“Debatable.”

“I never got to thank you, by the way.”

She pursed her lip. “For what?”

“For making Maya happy. Taking in Pearls. You’ve grown up a lot.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I hope you’re not intending to imply I’ve gotten soft.”

He gave her a wry look. “I would never imply that.”

“Good. Because I will happily rip your head off your body if you hurt my brother, I hope you understand.”

She heard him gulp. Ahh, yes there was the fear she so desperately missed. “I understand completely. Thanks for clearing that up.”

She smirked. “My pleasure.”

~~~~~~

The party was finally over, her and Herod packing up their belongings. She’d been rather hesitant to come here when Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth invited her. She didn’t want to cause any trouble with their family, of course. But Mr. Wright had assured her it was fine and said he wouldn’t say anything so long as she didn’t.

And she hadn’t planned on saying anything. The twins she’d given birth to 14 years ago were flourishing under their care just like she knew they would. They didn’t need her. Sometimes she felt that twinge of regret when she would see parents with their children walking the street together, but it quickly passed. She’d made her decision, and she was no longer able to bear children. It just wasn’t meant to be, she supposed.

She wondered if her partner knew…

“Excuse me, Ms. Lamiroir?” She heard a child’s voice and turned around, coming face to face with both of the twins. Had they…figured it out? She wondered if they inherited her ability of observation.

One of them, the one with the shorter hair in a spiffy pantsuit, spoke up. “I’m a really big fan of your work. Can I have your autograph?”

Oh, that was it? “Oh! Of course!” She mimed writing. “Where should I…?”

“Right here.” They shoved a vinyl album in her face. Her vinyl album. She smiled ruefully. Life had a way of connecting things, didn’t it?

She got out her fine tip marker. “Who should I make this out to?”

“Apollo.”

She nodded and signed out To Apollo. With Love, Lamiroir. “There you are, dear.” She handed it back to them.

“Thank you so much!” They sounded breathless. But the other one didn’t say anything, only assessing her quietly which made her a bit nervous.

“Did you need an autograph too?” she asked.

The child blinked, as if caught out of a trance. “Nah, I’m just here for moral support.”

“I see.” She saw the one who’d gotten her autograph run over to one of their fathers to gush, but the other one was still staring. “Was there something else I could do for you?”

“You just look familiar. Have we met before?”

She frowned, thankful she had a cloth covering the bottom half of her face. She saw the child’s fathers off only a few feet away with their sibling, Mr. Edgeworth looking at her curiously.

“No, we haven’t. Unless you’ve been to France?”

They furrowed their brow. “No, I haven’t. Sorry, I must have been thinking of someone else.” And like that, the tension was gone as the child grinned. “Thanks for playing tonight! Your voice is really beautiful!” And then they waved to join their family.

“Sweetheart,” Herod put his arm around her shoulders. “Am I crazy? Or are those two…?”

“They’re just the grooms’ children,” she finished, but she could tell by his face that he wasn’t convinced. She tapped his wrist gently. “We should hurry. They’re going to close down soon.”

He paused for only a moment before nodding. “I’ll grab Machi.”

And like that, the party was over and they all went their separate ways once again.

~~~~~~~~

May 23, 2029

LAX Airport- Los Angeles, Japanifornia

Apollo got a sense of déjà vu, though the airport was different this time.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Papa asked as they walked in through the door. “You got yourself into quite a bit of trouble the last time.”

Apollo rolled his eyes. “Well, unless there’s a secret triplet that me and Trucy don’t know about, I don’t think that will happen again.”

Trucy snorted at that, but Papa just glowered. Apollo thought he was due for a scolding for getting smart, but Dad steered Papa gently away. “They’re fine, Miles. They’ll look after each other.” And then he gave them both a stern look. “Right?”

He nodded furiously, while Trucy, who was always much braver than he was, just rolled their eyes. “Yes, Daddy,” they sighed out.

Papa was satisfied with that. “Very well. But you call us if anything goes wrong.”

“We will.” He went to hug him. “Bye, Papa.”

He gave Dad a hug too while Trucy gave one to Papa and then, after Dad practically dragged Papa out of the airport, they were finally able to get through the baggage line.

He wondered if all his friends from last time would still be there.

~~~~~~~~

May 24, 2029

Maine, USA

“Alright, campers, we have made it to our destination! Welcome to Camp Gourdy!” Trucy was jolted awake from the loudspeaker and then nudged her twin. “Polly, we’re here.”

Apollo blearily opened their eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight, and then their eyes widened as they sat up. “Oh! Hey Trucy, we’re here!” She gave them a flat look. “Oh, right.”

She rolled her eyes fondly. “Alright so, as soon as they open the doors we have to make a run for it. Otherwise, we’re not gonna be able to get our luggage.”

“Why wouldn’t we be able to get it?”

“Just trust me.”

“Okay.”

They quickly shoved their way to the front, ignoring the squawks of protest from other campers. Trucy saw her bright blue luggage and Apollo’s red bag about to get buried. “Quick, Polly, grab it!”

“Got it,” they grunted, hoisting their bag over their shoulder.

She grinned in triumph and gave her twin a fist bump. “C’mon, let’s go get our cabins.”

She looked around curiously. Everything seemed the same from when she was here last. Not that she expected much to change.

They approached the check in, and she was mildly amused to see it was the same grumpy old lady from last time. Windbag, right?

“Name and pronouns!” The woman barked.

She blinked. “Sorry, what?”

She huffed, still grumpy as ever. “I said your name and pronouns, whippersnapper, I don’t have all day.”

“Oh! Uhh, Trucy Wright. She.” And then she added on. “Or they.”

“Well, which is it? She or they?”

“Both?” Windbag gave her a flat look and she grimaced.  “Just she then is fine.”

The woman handed her a name tag that read Trucy. She/her. Yellow. Wow, so maybe things were a little different. She wondered if people complained about them not being inclusive enough.

“Name and pronouns!” Windbag barked to Apollo, who flinched under the intensity.

“Apollo Justice!” they yelled, making the old woman wince.

“Don’t shout, child, my ears still work!”

“Sorry.”

“Pronouns?”

“He.” Windbag glared and Apollo flinched again. “They?”

“Fine.” She threw the nametag at them and Apollo couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

“Well, she’s as unpleasant as ever, I see,” they huffed. But then they furrowed their brow again as they looked at their name tag. “There weren’t pronoun options last time.”

Trucy shrugged. “Maybe they’re catching up with the times.”

“Well, they could do it a little nicer.”

“What cabin are you in?” she asked, nodding towards the tag.

“Green.”

So they were in different cabins again. Interesting.

~~~~~~~~

Apollo hadn’t expected to have the exact same cabin mates as last time, but he was still a bit disappointed that Athena wasn’t here. He’d quite liked her. But the other girl, Junie, was here so he supposed that counted for something.

“This is the first time me and ‘Thena are separated,” the girl sighed out.

“Oh, do you know what cabin she’s in?”

“Yellow, I think.”

“Oh, that’s the same cabin as Trucy.”

Junie frowned. “Trucy? Isn’t that the awful girl you got stuck with last time you were here?”

He grimaced. “A lot’s happened since then.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” Junie just continued to stare at him expectantly. He supposed he should elaborate. “We found out we were twins separated as babies and that our parents were divorced, so we switched places and our parents are back together now and happily married.”

She looked like she had a lot of questions, but just said, “Okay. Well, um, congratulations!”

“Thanks!”

~~~~~~~~

Trucy was unpacking her things when a familiar face came bouncing up to her, that tall, ginger girl from last time. Agatha?

“Oh, hey, Apollo!” She grinned.

“Not Apollo,” she said wryly.

“Oh, you’re the other one!” she put her fist in her hand. “Um, Tracy?”

“Trucy.”

“Gotcha! Well hey, is Apollo here too?”

“Yep. They came with me.”

“Oh really? Wait, does that mean you guys actually are siblings?”

Was she serious?

“We look identical.”

“Well, yeah, but it could’ve just been one of those weird freak Twilight Zone things!”

Trucy cocked her head. “What’s a twilight zone?”

“Oh, it’s this show my mom really likes. It’s about like people who get stuck in like alternate worlds. Sometimes it’s kinda scary, but I find the vibe of it really soothing.”

Sounded interesting, actually. Maybe she could check that out when she got home.

“Sounds cool,” she admitted, “But it was nothing crazy like that. Our parents just separated us when we were babies because they broke up.”

The taller girl’s eyes bugged out. “What?! That’s awful!”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but then we traded places and forced them to talk again and now they’re back together, so it all worked out in the end.”

The girl grinned. “So my theory was right then!”

“What theory?”

“Oh! I guess you wouldn’t know,” she chuckled, “So you see, me and Apollo both have Greek names, right?”

“Yeah…” What was her name again?

“And my mom is single and his dad is single, or was at the time, so I theorized that we were siblings separated at birth.”

Trucy stared at her blankly. “You guys don’t look anything alike, though.”

“Well, no, obviously because we’re not related, but…” she held a finger up. “The theory was true. Just not for me.”

Well, she couldn’t argue with that logic.

And then she got a hard pat to the back. “But hey! I’m glad it worked out for you!”

She was strong. Trucy always did like strong girls. “Thanks!” she grinned, leaning closer. “What was your name again?”

The look she got for that was priceless.

~~~~~~~~

The mess hall was the only time all the campers came together. Atleast the ones in his age group. So he was only partially prepared for a whirl of orange to practically tackle him to the ground.

“Apollo, oh my gosh! I missed you last year and I thought you got banned and were never coming back!”

“Athena,” he wheezed, “You’re choking me.”

“Oops.” She let go of him quickly. “Sorry.”

He set his tray down on a free table. “So you’re in the same cabin as Trucy this time?”

“Yep!” She slid in the chair next to Junie, grabbing her hand and squeezing. “She told me all about your crazy family!”

‘Crazy’ was an understatement. They were utterly mad.

With just the three of them, and Trucy chatting it up from a distance, it really felt like old times.

“So where do you live now?” Athena asked, “Are you still in Germany?”

He shook his head. “No, me and my father moved in with Trucy and my other father last summer.”

Athena gave him a sympathetic look and said in broken German, “it was adjustment?”

He nodded. “Only a little.”

He was curious why she couldn’t say that in English, but at the awestruck look Junie was giving both of them, he figured she was just showing off.

“Well, atleast Trucy won’t try to dump a bucket on your head this time,” Junie said quietly.

He certainly hoped not.

Maybe he could finally have the full camp experience he wanted from the beginning.

~~~~~~~

It had been a bit of a rough sleep for Trucy that night, as it usually was anytime she was in an unfamiliar place. Though atleast she didn’t have nightmares anymore. Those seemed to have stopped a while ago. She wondered if it was because Papa was there now.

In an echo of last time, she heeled her sneakers on and snuck down to the nearby lounge for some coffee. Daddy didn’t like her drinking coffee unless it was decaf, and Papa swore by tea, but they weren’t here and what they didn’t know didn’t kill them.

As expected, the place was a ghost town. Just how she liked it this early.

She sipped her coffee gingerly, remaining blissfully uninterrupted this time, and then jolted a little when the trumpets went off. Well, that was her cue to disappear.

She quickly changed into her t-shirt and shorts, tying her hair back, which was getting long again. She wondered if she should cut it. She’d gotten spoiled from it being short for so long. But now it was almost halfway down her back and starting to be a nuisance.

The first day for her cabin didn’t officially have anything scheduled, so when she heard familiar sounds of a cheering crowd and the clink of metal, she wandered towards it.

She shouldered her way closer to the front, her height making it hard to see, and smiled when she saw the fencing match, the familiar dodge and jab. Oh, she’d missed that. Maybe she could incorporate more sword fights into her magic shows. Though she was sure Papa would have a heart attack.

She heard the cheers and then Counselor Lotta, still with the same full afro and the southern accent, “And the winner again is Apollo Justice. Our undefeated champ so far! Any of y’all brave enough to challenge them?”

She grinned. She raised her hand, shouting out, “I’ll take a whack at it!”

“Wha’?” Lotta looked around, “Who said that?”

Trucy kept her hand up and watched as the crowd let her go to the front, still grinning as Apollo’s face came into view.

Lotta squinted at her. “Now why does this seem familiar?” Then she shrugged. “Whatever. Put your gear on and git ready to face off.”

It was as she was putting her helmet on that Apollo asked smugly, “Are you ready to lose again, Wright?”

She smirked, even though they couldn’t see it and held up her sword. “I’m gonna win, Justice.  And I’ll do it without pushing you in a basin.”

Apollo got in position. “We’ll see about that.”

“On yer marks!” Lotta called, and then she put her arm down with a whistle.

And Trucy swung.

[liliesoftherain]

My Hero Academia Main 3 Boys x Reader

Ch. 7 The Big Day is Here!

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6

Here’s the next part!! Finally we get some action(: I hope you all enjoy and I’m sorry for nay mistakes! Thank you all!

TAG LIST: @rizamendoza808​ !(: @iris-suoh​ !(: 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

You spent the last two weeks training extensively, focusing on how to use your quirk while trying keeping up your stamina up and your heat down. You felt confident when the time for the sports festival rolled around, especially since you were able to train with your father whenever he had the time. Training with him was always nice, because he was a strong man who didn't hold back, too much anyways. 

So when you found yourself in the locker rooms in the arena, you didn't understand why you were feeling nervous. Maybe it was because you'd be on every television screen in the country? Or that'd you'd have to go up against classmates? While it could have been both, you also believed it was due to your dad watching you from the crowd. Even if he didn't care if you placed, you wanted to make him proud.

"Awh man!" Mina's whine ripped you from your thoughts, " I was totally hoping I could wear my costume!"

"At least everyone will be in uniforms," Ojiro smiled, "That'll keep things fair right?"

"Some people have costumes designed to help enhance their quirks, and the other students who aren't in the hero course don't have costumes at all, so it would make it an even bigger disadvantage for them."

"Oh that's true, I guess you guys are right." She huffed at your words of wisdom, still wanting to wear her costume because she wanted to be cute.

"I wonder what they'll have in store for us in the first round." Sato asked in a nervous manner, he didn't look so confident.

"No matter what they prepare we must persevere ."

"Right."

Iida busted through the door, screaming as always, which caused everyone to turn to him.

"Everyone get your game faces on! We are entering the arena soon!"

You let a small smile grace your lips, hoping it would somehow wash the nerves away. 

"Modoriya." Todoroki called out to the kid, stopping to be face-to-face with him.

"Hey Todoroki, what's up." You all looked on at the boys not really caring that it was almost like eavesdropping, they were talking out in the open after all.

"I think from an objective standpoint, it's fair to say that I'm stronger than you."

"Uh! Um, well yea.." Izuku trailed off, brows pulling downwards.

"However, you've got AllMight in your corner helping you out. While I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two, just know that I will be the one to beat you, even if you have his help."

The stare between them caused high tensions to fill the room, Denki tried his best to to lighten it up but it did nothing.

"Yea what's the big deal, why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?" Kirishima added, putting a hand on Todoroki's shoulder before the said boy threw it off, not even turning to him when he responded back.

"We aren't here to be each other's friends. Don't forget this isn't a team effort."

"Wait a sec Todoroki," Midoriya called out to him, halting Todoroki from leaving.  "I don't know what's going through your head or why you need to tell me that you'll beat me, and yea you're better than me, you probably have the best potential out of everyone in the hero course.."

"Midoriya maybe you're being a little hard on yourself, and the rest of us too.." 

"No, he's right you guys. All the other courses are coming at us with everything they've got. We really need to do what (y/n) told them we would that day, and bring our best. And fight to stand out. And I'll be aiming for the top too, using no one's help but my own, that means even AllMight's." Izuku finished his speech, eyes set firm in determination, staring straight into Todoroki's cold eyes. 

"Fine." Todoroki turned his back on him, looking at you instead, "we've all got secrets and help, even if we don't want to admit it."

"Excuse me?" You questioned, not liking his tone.

"You heard me Hakamata, do you believe I have no idea who your father is?" Your eyes narrowed, standing quickly to look him down, which didn't do much because you still had to look up, but you felt it was now a more level playing field.

"You think you know me based on my father? Even though I know who your father is too, I never once said anything about you being his son. I never accused you of "getting his help" whatever that's supposed to mean. I don't know about you but I'm fighting to prove myself, by myself, just like everyone else here. And I'm not going to let my father's fame blind everyone around me." You jab a finger in his chest.

"Even if they know who I am, I'm going to show everyone I'm more than just my father's daughter. You too should be wanting to prove you're nothing like yours." You saw his eyes open for a moment, before you turned on your heel and stormed out of the room, heading down to the opening of one of the arches that lead to the field. 

You were told you had to wait here, and could come out once you've been announced by Present Mic, and from under the cover of the large opening, you saw his face pop onto the screen 

"Hey welcome to the U.A sports festival! Make some noise you rabid sports fans! Get your cameras prepped and ring your horns because this year we're bringing you some of the hottest performances in sports festival history! I've only got one question before we get this show on the roll, ARE YOU READYYYY?! Let me hear you scream for these awesome students!"

Being told to go out in groups, the first one being your class, you were huddled together to wait for the right time to go out. You made sure to stay away from Todoroki as possible, ignoring the side eye he was giving you, as well as all the other looks from your class. Now was not the time to get distracted. You had a festival to win.

"While these up and coming stars fight for the chance to win it big and get first place, this first group who you'll have the pleasure of seeing is the group all know and love, who are no strangers to the spotlight, the ones who withstood a villain attack, the famous hero course students from CLASS 1-A!"

Everyone began to walk out, almost blinded by the light and made deaf by all the screaming. It was incredible to see so many people here for the first year fight, normally the arena was only this crazy for third year students. 

"I didn't know there would be so many people!" Izuku stuttered, his head whipping around to look at everyone around them.

"I hope we're still going to be able to give a good show with all these eyes on us."

"That's what heroes have to go through every day Iida, the public eye watching and demanding. It's no different form now." You responded with a smile, turning away and looking forward.

"Present Mic sure did talk us up a lot, kinda makes me nervous." Kirishima was doing the same thing as Izuku, just less intense as he was scanning the crowd. You put a hand on his shoulder, and gave him a reassuring smile before turning to Bakugou.

"How are you feeling Bakugou?" 

"Yeah man, you look a little.." Eijiro trails off, seeing Bakugou looking at the ground, a little surprised when he lifted his head with a dark smile on his face.

"I'm not worried, this makes me wanna win even more!" 

As Present Mic announced all the other students, you couldn't help but try to look for your dad in the crowd, even though you knew you'd never be able to spot him from here. Filing into rows, you tore your gaze away from the crowds, and looked to the announcer standing on the podium.

"Now for the introductory speech!" The R-rated Hero Midnight stood tall, an interesting choice of a weapon in her hand. She winked and blew kisses before getting serious.

"Silence everyone!" She smacked her whip-like object and you felt yourself blush. Was this really appropriate for this kind of event?

"For the student introductions, we have Katsuki Bakugou!" You turned to look behind you and moved slightly so he could walk by. You shared a look with Momo who shook her head.

"This is going to be a disaster.."

"He's the first year rep??"

"Well I guess that hothead did finish first in the entrance test."

A large sigh was made at your right, and you saw a girl from the gen ed studies. She looked at you all with annoyance in her eyes and arms crossed.

"He only placed first in the hero course exams."

"Oh right, sorry." Midoriya apologized, Sero leaning closer and muttering to all of you,

"That girl seems to really hate us."

"Yea and we've got Bakugou to thank for that." Denki pouted.

Your eyes rolled at his pouts and looked to see Bakugou walking up the steps to stand in front of the microphone next to Midnight. Silence rang throughout the crowds, spectators and students alike holding their breath to see what he would say.

Bakugou stood with his hands in his pockets, looking over the students.

"I just want to say, I'm going to win." You along with everyone else in your class sighed at his words, hearing the boos come from other courses. Bakugou simply threw a thumbs down, uncaring as he called everyone a stepping stone.

"He may be brash but he is strong, I don't think it's over confidence, just him being rude as always." You whisper to Kirishima.

He only mumbled an agreement, not wanting to get trashed talked any more than the class already was. Bakugou walked back to stand behind you, and you turned your attention to the screen. The words  "First Game" in large writing stood out.

"Anyways without further ado, it's time to get going! This is where you students really begin to feel the pain!" Midnight pointed her whip at the crowd.

"The first fateful game of the festival is..." The board spun and spun till it stopped. "Tada! An obstacle race!"

"All 11 classes will participate in the dangerous race, the track being 4Km going all around the stadium. I won't restrain anyone, at least in this game." A sinful grin crossed her lips. 

"As long as you don't leave the course you're free to do whatever your heart desires! Now then, take your places contestants!"

The students walked over, and you managed to snag an area towards the front, but not good enough. If you thought this through, you knew everyone would be rushing, and it would be packed just like how it was when the students panicked the day the reporters broke through the school walls. You had to make sure you weren't caught in their swarms. 

The lights started to dim one by one, and you prepared your body, waiting for the last light to dim so you can sprint off. You took in a breath, as you heard the last buzzer.

"BEGIN!" And you were off, shoves from other students threatened to send you to the floor but you weren't budging. 

"And we're off to a racing start! How about some commentary Mummy man?" 

"How did you talk me into this?"

"What should we be paying attention to this early in the race?"

"The doorway."

The yells from everyone around you made your head pound as you pushed people aside to get through. You used your power almost like stilts to push you up, making you slightly taller than the people around you before you dropped your power to start running on them. You felt bad, of course you did, your shoes were probably painfully digging into their shoulders and heads while using them as push off points.

Many kids tried to knock you down and many almost succeeded, it was hard to use living beings as a runway after all. Yet you always were able to land on someone else for support, and even though you wanted to apologize you had no time to do so. Next thing you knew a blast of freezing cold air came through the tunnel, and you saw the students you were running on unable to move. 

You were outside of the area now, and saw Todoroki speeding away while leaving everyone else stuck to the ground. You used some kids shoulders to jump off of, seeing the ice unable to let him fall, and skidded after Todoroki. 

The ice was slippery but you caught yourself on solid non-frozen ground, using your quirk to quickly speed after him. Hearing shouts from your classmates behind you made you smile, until you locked gazes with the half-and-half boy as he looked to see who wasn't caught in his trap. You stared at him hard, a smirk coming to your lips as his eyes narrowed before looking ahead.

"Nice trick Todoroki!" Momo shouted.

"I WON'T LET YOU TWO AHEAD OF ME SO EASILY YOU BASTARDS!" Bakugou yelled after the two of you, and you felt pride swirl in from getting ahead of the boy.

Although it didn't last long as he used his quirk to get ahead of you by blasting himself in the air, and while it was hard to tell you assumed he was. It was amazing that Mineta actually jumped by you with incredible height, surpassing both you and Bakugou. You watched as he was going to land on Todoroki, till the boy was knocked from the air by a giant robotic arm. 

You watched him fly back, nowhere near you guys anymore. You came to a halt, breathing heavily while trying to see what was going on. Giant robots from the entrance exam blocked your path, and you felt more students stop behind you, as you stared ahead.

"OH! Looks like we're in for a treat here, enemies showing up out of nowhere! A test of strength and cunning! IT’S THE ROBO INFERNO!"

Shouts around you about the disbelief that hero course students had to take these on during the exam were drowned out as you looked for any point of passing by them without getting too physical. You remembered your battle during the entrance exams, and the zero pointers were definitely better to avoid than to attack head on. Not that they were too challenging, you just needed to save strength for the rest of the race and couldn't afford to get overheated here at the beginning.

One attacked, and Todoroki was quick to freeze multiple at once.

"I wished they put in more effort, seeing as my dear old dad is watching." You heard him grunt out while looking in shock about the force behind his ice attack. There was an opening between the legs of the robots and you wondered why he created a path. He must've had done so for a reason, no way he'd leave the opportunity for everyone to cross.

He ran off and you waited while everyone tried to follow, it was a trap. He was going to set everyone up. He confirmed your suspicious and he let them fall haphazardly towards the ground, and you used your quirk to launch yourself up as soon as they did. By willing the light in your feet to shoot out, it gave you a boost to send you up while everyone was running back, giving you a heads start from the others besides Todoroki.

"That's Shouto Todoroki from class 1-A pulling ahead to an early lead with a devastating display! Amazing! He's the one we should be watching, it almost seems unfair!"

"His attack was both offensive and defensive-"

"NO WONDER HE WAS LET IN ON RECOMMENDATIONS! He's never even fought those robo infernos before, but even still they didn't stand a chance for those jaw dropping moves!"

More robots came through the dust cloud that was created by the others falling. You grit your teeth as you were heading straight towards it, no way to dodge it unless you wanted to fall back flat on your ass. Best chance you had was to keep going, and land on the robot to either slide down his back or do another jump. 

"Eijirou Kirishima from class 1-A makes it out from under the scraps of metal, SHEESH talk about a breakthrough debut for this rookie! WOOOOH TETSUTETSU FROM CLASS 1-B WAS ALSO STUCK UNDERNEATH, going beyond!"

Once you landed on one and had no time to think as you launch yourself off of that one to the next. They tried to swing at you but you dodged, using your quirk to help your speed and make you jump more swiftly. That led them to miss you while they swung for you. 

Once the last row of robots was cleared, you saw the ground come at you faster and faster, and you had no good way to brace your fall. You sucked in a breath and encased yourself in light, hoping it'd take off some of the sting. You landed with a hard thud, and felt yourself rolling. You tried to catch your breath when you finally came to a stop, grunting at the pain. You'd have to work on it if you ever wanted to do something cool like that again.

"Class 1-A's (y/n) Hakamata is launching herself over the big hunks of metal! What a genius! As the number 2 in this race right now, we should also try to not let her out of our sights! GO GO GO STUDENTS!"

You pushed yourself off the ground, running through your pain. You didn't have time to sit around, you knew students would be coming soon.

"ANOTHER 1-A STUDENT, KATSUKI BAKUGOU, IS LAUNCHING HIMSELF JUST LIKE MISS HAKAMATA. She's such a trendsetter! But she better pick up the pace if she wants to stay in her number 2 spot, otherwise she may have it stolen right out from under her!"

"Thanks for the idea glitter bomb!" You heard Bakugou yell, and used your quirk to try to give you some more speed. While you only heard him because let's face, it he was loud, you knew it was only a matter of time before he'd take your spot. Just like Present Mic said.

You saw the next obstacle approaching and stopped just in time, spotting Todoroki's back facing you. He gave a quick glance back unfazed before jumping onto the rope, allowing the ice to bind his feet to the rope before sliding all the way across. 

You felt stuck, unsure of what exactly to do, but you needed a plan before you fell behind.

You decided to try something you never thought of before, and willed your light to solidify in your hands, and melded it into a hook of some sort with a strap. You let this strap wrap around your wrist and you connected the hook to the icy rope Todoroki made. You let yourself fall and yelped as it hurt to hold yourself up with one hand.

You brought your other hand up bracing yourself as you used your feet to push off, using the rope as a zip-line. Thankfully the rope didn't snap from the heat, all thanks to the ice acting as a barrier. 

Reaching the end of the rope where it connected with another dirt pillar, you brought your feet up to stop yourself from slamming into the side. Reaching up with one hand to the top, you pulled yourself up with difficulty and unhooked the claw from the rope. You panted, looking to see you still had quite a few left, but you'd be fine as long as you stayed on the path Todoroki took.

You heard popping sounds and looked up, seeing Bakugou fly over you and all you did was curse as he made a snide comment.

"Thanks for sucking enough to let me pass, I'll look down on your from the winners podium shitty glow worm!"

You picked yourself up and continued your half-ass attempt of a zip line, noticing other students starting to make their way to the beginning. 

"For those of you who thought that task was easy, let us see how you feel about the second one! If they take a spill down they're out, to pass this test they'll have to get creative!"

You ran up to the last one, but you jumped down too fast and screamed out as a searing pain made its way down your arm. You couldn't lose focus, unless you wanted your light to turn back into its regular form and have you drop into the abyss.  So despite the pain you still held on, using your other hand for support as you made it to the other side. But when you reach the end, you couldn't pull yourself ups, it hurt your right shoulder too much.

'I must've dislocated it!' You thought in a panic, trying to figure out a way to move unless you wanted to go down. 

No. That wasn't an option. You bit your lip through the pain as you began to swing your body, feeling tears make their way down your cheeks as you finally had enough momentum to kick you legs up and use that as a leverage to use your good hand to pull you up the rest of the way. 

You clutched your arm, not knowing what to do. You looked back and saw students already at least a third of the way, so you ran on, still clutching your arm to make sure it wasn't jostled too bad while you did.

"In the world of heroes, it can be hard to get popular without a flashy quirk, right EraserHead?" 

"I don't know what you're talking about idiot."

"Looks like Todoroki is still skating by easily! And it looks like Bakugou has taken over second place from our little miss Hakamata-Oh what's that? It looks like she hurt herself! Whatever will she doooo!??"

"Obviously keep going, she's still in third place isn't she. She managed to pull herself up with a hurt arm and all, she wouldn't let herself quit now."

"YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, KEEP FIGHTING GIRLY WE'RE CHEERING FOR YOU!"

They were embarrassing you, and letting others know you had a weakness right now. You ran on glaring at the ground in front of you and grumbling. 

"And now that we're approaching the last obstacle, so when everyone else catches up, you better tread carefully cause, YOU'RE STEPPING ONTO A MIND FIELD!!! If you look hard enough, you can see where each little bomb was placed, so you don't have time to look around, keep those eyes on the ground! YEAH!"

"You better tell them the disclaimer."

"RIGHT! Keep in mind folks these were designed for the game, so while they may be loud and flashy, they're not that powerful.."

"Good."

"JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WET THOSE PANTS!"

"Oh get a hold of yourself.."

You came up to the 'DANGER' sign and looked behind, noticing people running to catch up to you, since you weren't as fast as you wanted to be with your shoulder the way it was. You kept your eyes down and tried to speed walk, being swift but as careful as possible. One bad move and you could be blown away, that wouldn't help at all.

At first all you heard were little explosions caused by Bakugou's quirk, before explosions from behind you drowned it out. People were rushing and acting carelessly, trying to make it to the lead. You wondered if it would be worth it to try to make those light rays into stilts again, even though your body was already warming to an uncomfortable level, it was still bearable. 

You looked and saw those two weren't that far ahead, and if you tried hard enough you could take them both. You felt heat pool at your feet, extending it till it solidified and you grew taller. You were even more careful now, making sure the bottoms had no chance of touching any bombs.

"You made your declaration of war to the wrong guy!" A blast followed Bakugou's shouting rang out and you saw he was attacking Todoroki!

"JUST LIKE THAT A NEW STUDENT TAKES THE LEAD! The crowd is going crazy, there's nothing we love more than an upset! Hey hey hey, the rest of the competitors are catching up too! C'MON HAKAMATA KICK IT INTO HIGH GEAR IF YOU WANNA STAY IN THE TOP 3! "

"You're supposed to be unbiased.."

"Uh... AND WHAT'S THIS !? CAN OUR TWO LEADERS FIGHT EACH OTHER AND STAY IN FRONT OF THE COMPETITION?"

You were getting close to them. you planned on sneaking past them while the were too busy fighting and running into the lead. You were right behind them now, only a couple steps behind, when an explosion larger than any other went off. You snapped your head back and saw something, someone, soaring through the air.

"What was with that explosion, that's way more powerful than it should of been!? WOAH LOOK AT THAT, INCREDIBLEEEE! Whatever just happened, it caused class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya to be suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!" 

He zoomed passed you guys, and you felt your eyes widened in disbelief. 

"AND JUST LIKE THAT THE LEAD IS MIDORIYA'S!"

Even though he was still cutting through the air, you saw his momentum slow and Bakugou took off after him. 

"DEKU, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HUH?" 

Todoroki created an ice path, before sprinting off, it seemed he didn't care to try to keep from unintentionally helping the others, he just wanted to catch up to the boys. You quickly used that to your advantage and willed your stilts to go down, just leaving enough heat to grip the ice as you raced off after them. 

You were trying to catch up, the pain becoming numb as your body was ignoring it while adrenaline ran through your veins. The only sounds you heard was your heartbeat thumping loudly in your ears as you continued to chase the three.

"LOOK AT THAT PLOT TWIST, THOSE TWO AREN'T FIGHTING ANYMORE, THEY'RE CHASING MIDORIYA! Having a common enemy will do it for ya in this type of competition! This fight is far from over!"

Izuku was falling fast, looking as if he was about to headbutt the two boys while coming down face first. You were only a few steps away and you willed your legs to pick up the pace.

"Dammit!" You cursed, trying to hurry. Izuku twisted in the air and swinging down his large piece of metal, hitting the ground causing an explosion to go off and you ran straight into it. You were tossed up and yelled in pain. You somehow were pushed forward by the explosion, and landed clumsily on your feet. You stumbled, holding your arm tighter as pain shot through it once more. Two blurs raced by out of the smoke and you bite your lip so hard you began to bleed.

'I refuse to lose!'

You raced after them but it was no good, even though you cleared the minefield you were now pretty far behind them. 

"With another stunning move, Midoriya has blasted by his classmates from 1-A, I don't believe it but he cleared that minefield in an instant! EraserHead, your students are amazing! What the heck are you teaching them?!"

"This has nothing to do with me, each of them is powered by their own drive to succeed."

"There you have it, EraserHead is a terrible teacher!"

"I'm what?"

"Who would've imagined at the beginning of this race that the climax would be so thrilling! The first to make it back to the stadium is the winner!.."

You were in the last stretch, begging your body to keep your fast pace, using your quirk to try to pass the boys. Already feeling the sweat pouring down your face as your tried to breath in. It was almost impossible and you felt like you were drowning with not enough oxygen. You entered a hallway, the finish line up ahead. But you were too late..

"Izuku Midoriya is our champion!"

You slowed down once you have passed through the doors, your hand on your knee as you gasped in breath, trying to calm your wild heart and cool your body down before it hit unsafe zones. 

Other students began to pile in after you, and you smiled nonetheless. You came in fourth, and there is nothing wrong with the number 4.

You arm was still hurting and you knew you had to pop it back into place somehow. You were going to ask Bakugou, but he seemed too upset, probably at the fact he lost to Midoriya. 

Speaking of Izuku, he was most likely the best person to ask.

"Hey Izuku, can you help me?" You motioned towards your dangling arm, he squeaked at it. 

"W-WHAT HAPPENED?!" 

"I dislocated it, can you help me pop it back into place?" 

"I uhm yea I guess uh, how do I do that?" You felt uneasy, maybe he wasn't the best person to ask. You'd do it yourself but you didn't have the time to sit through the pain, you needed someone to do it for you.

"The contestants are pouring in one after the other, let's hear a round of applause for all of our competitors as we get the results ready!"

"Here." A gruff voice spoke out, grabbing your good arm and dragging you away from Izuku as Ochaco and Iida came up to him. Izuku looked at the two of you surprised, trying to call out but his attention stolen by his other friends. You were just as surprised to see Todoroki of all people, especially after what had transpired between the two of you in the waiting rooms. You eyed him carefully, and he saw you were hesitant.

"Do you want help or not. I'm most likely the only one here who knows how to do this." As much as you wanted to be stubborn and walk away, you nodded. You did need the help.

He made you let go of your arm and slowly began to lift it. You hissed, the pain sharp and hot as he slowly raised your arm. Both of his hands held onto your wrist as he made slight up and down motions while going continuing to lift. 

Once your arm is about a 90 degree angle, Todoroki makes small circular movements for a bit, before titling your arm towards your head, you let out a whimper and he stopped. You looked up at him and saw he was staring back to ask in a silent way if you were okay.

"I'm okay, keep going please." So he did, moving it by your head to make about 120 degree angle, still rotating your arm till you both heard a pop. It hurt, just like when you dislocated it the first time, but now the pain faded and you were left with a sore feeling, you went to rub the muscle when ice touched it.

"Icing helps." You didn't know what to think of this guy. He acts like a total dill-hole one second and a perfect gentleman the next. 

"Yea.. Uhm, thanks Todoroki. Look I'm sorry about-"

"Don't. I still meant everything I said. I'm going after Midoriya.." He stopped, looking away and taking his hand off your shoulder. 

"But I too, want to prove myself. So be ready because I wont lose to the daughter of Best Jeanist, even as you fight as your own person. I'll be the one to take you down too." His eyes narrowed at you, but this time you looked past the malicious intent in them and saw the eyes of a boy trying to be something greater than himself.

So you just smiled, giving your sore shoulder a roll, even though it still hurt it was feeling much better now that you can move it. Staring right back at him, a similar look in your own eyes.

"And I won't lose to you, as you fight just as Shoto Todoroki."

"The first game for the first years is finally over and what a game it was! Let's take a quick look at the standing shall we?"

You both looked at the board as Midnight yelled out, interrupting your conversation and pulled up the results:

1: Izuku Midoriya

2: Shouto Todoroki

3: Katsuki Bakugou

4: (y/n) Hakamata

5: Ibara Shizoki

6: Juzo Honenuki

7: Tenya Iida

8: Fumikage Tokoyami

9: Hanata Sero

10: Eijiro Kirishima

The rest of the students were announced but you were still staring an awe at the top 10. Poor Bakugou looked done as he placed third. You'd trade him spots if he wanted to complain.

"Only 42 students made it into the next round but don't be upset if you didn't make it, we have made other ways to help you guys bask in the spotlight hehe." Midnight smirked.

"Now the real fun is about to begin, the chance to move yourself into the limelight. Give it your best shot!" She cracked her whip, which made the screen start to roll in deciding what the next round was going to be.

"Let's see what we have in store for you next! Let's see... Ah, prepare yourself for this young ones!"

'Calvary Battle' popped up on the screen, and you wanted to groan. Now you'll have to take part in a team, which wasn't bad but now you'll have other people to worry about more than just yourself.

Midnight explained the rules revolving the silly game, but added a twist.

"Each player has been assigned a point value based on their results from the race. It starts from the bottom for example, the 42nd place is worth 5 points, and the 41st is worth 10. Till you go up and up, and 1st place is worth... 10,000,000!!!"

You all looked at Izuku, his face going white in shock as he processed his information. Some were in disbelief, some were starting to plot. Everyone was going to go after the first place winner to get those points, no doubt about that. 

"That's right, it's the chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top! Let's get started!"

[throwing-summers-at-the-walls]

Hello again ☺️Yes, that would have been really cool! I already read two of your recomnendations and i love them so thank you again for sharing! I can understand you being unsure of your writing but i bet there are people who will love it. Judging from how you answer your asks and how much you love John i have no doubt that i would love it. But if you dont wanna post it anywhere i would completely understand too. (1)

Im glad i came around to like Root cause otherwise it would have been hard to watch season 4 & 5 cause she appears a lot. I think part of it is cause i watched it witch my family and my dad loves her so i started to like her more too (you know who you love sth cause someone else loves it?) and then eventually i liked her to. Shaw i loved from day one and i loved her sibling energy with John. The John and Shaw dynamic was one of my favorites. I love their teasing and their chaotic energy (2)

As for Shoot i think its kinda cool that the writers just went with it cause of the chemistry and i like Shoot a lot. John and Harold would be amazing too (i mean whats better than one queer couple? Two queer couples!) And there are some parallels between the ships so there was room for both of them. Eventhough Harold and Grace is cute too. And i feel John has chemistry with almost everyone (not always romantic chemistry but also platonic chemistry if thats a Thing 😂) and (3)

in Addition to rinch i also really liked John with Zoe. The only one he had zero chemistry with was the theraphist imo. That ship was just weird. I wish they would have used that time for more Rinch scenes instead. -- yes someone who agrees about the happy end! I dont understand people who wish for a sad end. Like John is my fave character ever and i just want him to be happy with his newfound odd family and maybe someday adopt a cute baby with Harold or become an uncle or idk just be happy (4)

But in my Imagination he didnt die and someday he and Harold retired and started their quieter Happy life with Bear. --- yeah poi Reddit loves the later seasons and hates the first and i noticed they can get a bit mean with people who dont agree (thats why i only read and never write anything). Also said you could skip most of S1 which is just sad cause its a great season 😔 i will accept that i lost validity (is this even a Word?) for liking Root 😂 also yea 4x20 is the ep with the carter hallucinations so check it out. But a warning: Root appears :D sorry this ask got so long, but i just love talking to you and i always look forward to your replies :)

Hi !! Happy to see you're back :)

Glad you liked my recs ! I think there's quite an amount of fics with suicidal John out there actually. Not that surprising since it's canon.

I appreciate your support ! In the long run idk if it's healthy for me. Like a few months ago I fell back into ace attorney and I read a lot of fics about Miles being suicidal and it affected me negatively. Sometimes I purposefully seek out suicide fics. And it may not be the most healthy thing to do. So I'm not sure about that fic. Bc I do wanna write it, but idk if it'd be healthy, as catharsis, or unhealthy, as rumination. I mean I've been writing that body horror fic with some projection of my body issues and it's fine. But yeah I'm pretty sure that if I ever finish it I think I'll post it – after all I posted a fic in which John jumped off a bridge a long while ago before I got suicidal (foreshadowing my own life here lmao). I also wanna try to work on my other wips

Yeah I see, that's understandable. Ngl Root makes me not motivated to get to these seasons during my rewatch (which technically wouldn't be a rewatch). It's wild how I feel nothing for Shaw (she do be kinda hot tho,,,, muscles,,,,,) but I think it's mostly bc I wasn't that interested in her back then and it's been so long since I watched the show I don't remember shit about her. She'd be able to grow on me I think. Yeah I've seen a lot of posts about that "mayhem twins" dynamic around here it does sound cool. Also it's refreshing to have a male/female relationship that isn't turned into a forced romance. But I'll always have a soft spot for S1 and its four core characters.

It's nice if they have chemistry, I didn't feel like they did. Yeah I'm still disappointed that they didn't go for Rinch too. I mean come on their chemistry is so painfully obvious ! I dislike the word queer but mood pls just give me canon Rinch I'm fucking begging hhhhhhh. I'm quite sure the notion of chemistry works with non romantic relationships as well. John is definitely good with people. He looks scary and brooding but he's just a good man who wants to help people ! I love him so much and same he's my fav character of all time !! Also I love seeing him interact with kids he's so good with them. But I also love when he's being an absolute badass. Damn I always forget about Grace gkjdfkjfd I don't have anything against her though, Harold and her are cute together. (Not much into the grace/harold/john OT3 tho, I've seen it around after return 0 but :/ not my thing. But hey good for people who like it.)

I liked John and Zoe too. Even if he had chemistry with Iris it's so cringe, didn't think poi would fall as low as portraying such a relationship between a therapist and a patient. Guess that shows the decrease in quality in the later seasons. Sad they did that shit when as you said they could have showed more Rinch. Like come ooon Rinch is just. Right fucking here. Just make it canon you cowards.

Yeah fuck sad endings (John didn't die obviously) I want my men to be happy and in love and live a good life together with their dog is that too much to ask. Like sometimes I read fics with MCD bc why not but most of the time I just want happiness. Fluffy domestic Rinch is so good ! Gives me so much life. I have a soft spot for married Rinch as well. Also while we're at it let me rec this domestic fluff fic:

Yeah not surprised. And you're right don't waste your time arguing on reddit lol it's not worth it. It baffles me when people say S1 is boring like ??? Where ?? There's literally soooo many eps I love in this season !! 📣📣📣number crunch is the best ep📣📣📣 Glad they stay over on reddit with their last seasons and their shit opinions about S1 smh. Like imagine being a fan of a show and disregarding the season that created the basis of the show and developed characters and relationships. Big brain time uh

I'm quite sure validity is an actual word, and that's how it be if you like root :/ I don't make the rules :/ you're the half valid anon now 😂

Oh well I shall endure root if it's a good ep ^^

It's cool !! I love your long asks !! I hope I didn't get lost in my own reply lmao

[anarchist-puppet-on-strings]

Stories Worth Telling

SUMMARY: Jackie only said yes to this interview in hopes of getting people to hate him less.

TW - VERY BRIEF MENTION OF PEDOPHILIA

Jackie’s nervous. He hopes to any higher being that may hear this that he doesn’t look as anxious as he feels. When people see him from afar they see someone calm and collected, a joke or witty comment at the ready. He prays this interview doesn’t reveal what a dorky mess he actually is to the public.

He watches with vague interest as the reporter he’d saved a week ago—Danny—got ready. A notebook was pulled out of her bag, pencil pulled from behind her ear, phone opened to the voice memo app and set on the table between them…. It seems like she really thought this whole thing through huh. Maybe she knew he'd say yes.

He fidgeted uncomfortably. He'd never done this sort of thing before. He’s talked to few people for extended amounts of time as Jackieboy Man and that was to calm a few victims, most being children—this is a journalist. The voice in his mind told him he'd mess this all up and make even more people hate him. Oddly enough, that thought is scarier than some criminals he's fought.

The phone sitting on the table, ready to record their whole conversation is more like a viper than a phone at this point. It stares at him like it’s waiting for him to fuck up once.

“Alrighty then looks like we're nearly ready!” Danny chirped happily. “I’m going to start recording our conversation—if that's okay with you,” she said, shooting him a questioning glance.

Against his better judgement, he swallowed and nodded nervously.

She tapped the screen and suddenly the interview had begun.

“So Jackieboy Man—can I call you Jackie?”

He nodded before catching his mistake. “Err yeah. Go for it.”

“Great,” she said absentmindedly, flipping through her small notebook. “First off: why’d you agree to this interview? You’ve shied away from reporters before.”

His mind blanked and he’s left struggling to pick out coherent thoughts. “Uh, well, I was kinda hoping this would clear up some questions people might have about me? I dunno, make them hate me less? And you seem less demanding and invasive than the other ones who’ve asked.”

She hummed, glancing up at him with a soft smile as she scribbled something down and flipped back a few pages. “What makes you think people hate you?”

He scoffed. “Oh please, I’ve seen the looks I get. And I can hear all the rumors.”

Someone started something saying he’s a leader of some new gang or something. While it’s kinda amusing, it hurts his fragile reputation of being the new hero in the city. Enough people didn’t trust him as it was and he didn’t need some stupid rumor messing things up even worse than they already were.

“Well, what you’re doing is illegal,” she pointed out dryly, giving him a look that he’s all too familiar with. Stay in your lane; it’s not your job. That look always pissed him off.

Jackie couldn’t help but bark a sardonic laugh, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. “Yeah, well, the cops aren’t doing shit, so I’m steppin’ up instead.”

Perhaps he shouldn’t have said that because now her interest is peaked. Her hazel eyes were glittering in excitement as she leaned forward.

“Ah, I’m sorry; that was uncalled for-”

“No, no,” she said eagerly. “Go ahead. What’re your opinions on the cops?”

Relax, Jay; this is an interview. It’s all about you. You’re not gonna get in trouble… yet.

“Well, I don’t really needta tell anybody how corrupt this city’s justice system is. All I see when I turn on the news is about how some cop abused their power and aren’t gettin’ charged blah blah blah.” Now that he’s clearly listening to himself, he realized how bitter and… sad he sounded.

“It happens pretty often,” Danny noted, pencil scratching against paper.

“Christ, it’s like this happens every few weeks!” He complained, running a hand down his face and over his mask. “It’s stupid! I mean, it’s not hard to be a good person!”

“Is that why you’re doing this?” She cut in. “Because of all the corruption?”

“Well, yeah, why else would I be doin’ all this shit?” He asked. “I have a job and stuff to do. Why would I want to be doin’ something I don’t needta be doin’?”

“People can argue that you don’t have the right to do that. There’s law enforcement after all.”

“Technically we just talked about why we can’t trust the cops but I’ll humor you. Ya can’t just sit around, twiddling your thumbs while you wait for someone to stop the people everyone put in power cuz nobody’s gonna stop them. Sometimes ya have to step up and be karma.”

“That’s… that’s quite the statement. Very raw.”

Jackie hummed.

Silence fell for a minute until Danny spoke again. “A while ago, one of my coworkers caught a video of you stumbling into an alley after a gunfight between two gangs when she arrived on the scene. Did you get hurt?”

Shrugging helplessly, he glanced down at the ground. ”Maybe.”

“Do you… do you get hurt often?” She asked. To Jackie’s disbelief, he heard genuine concern in her voice.

“I mean, yeah… not too often for bad injuries but normally scrapes and bruises here and there every night.” He chuckled. “Most the minor ones are my fault anyways. I’m not exactly graceful.”

More writing.

“Aren’t you scared?” She asked.

“Of what?”

“Getting hurt.”

“Oh, nah, not really,” he said dismissively. “What happens happens. I just brush it off and keep going.”

“Do your family and friends know you’re doing this?” She asked.

He blinked. “What?”

She repeated the question.

“Uh—no. I don’t have any family or friends.” It slipped out before he could stop it.

The look he received was of pure pity. He hated it.

Danny tapped her pencil against the edge of the table, watching as his leg bounced up and down.

“So… tell me about your spray painting.”

“Uhm, what d’ya wanna know?” His brows furrowed. Of all the things she could’ve asked, she asked about that?

She hummed. “Well, what’s with all the messages? You have some pretty meaningful ones plastered across the walls.”

Trying to recall any only resulted in a jumble of memories. All he could really remember is the fumes of paint and the dark shielding him from prying eyes.

“Which ones? I’ve done a lot.”

She flipped through her notes again and pulled out a few pictures stuck between some pages. A bright green eyeball with the optic nerve hanging down with a blue iris and a black pupil was present in every picture but...

Danny spoke before he could examine them of them close enough. “‘Don’t tell me what you want to be; tell me what you want to do.’”

He shrugged. “It’s always what d’ya wanna be when you grow up. I think what you’re gonna do is much more important.”

She furrowed her brows while nodding before moving onto the next one.

“‘Respect existence or expect resistance,’” she read aloud.

“I think that’s pretty self explanatory.”

She gave him a patient smile. “Tell me anyway.”

Jackie sighed heavily. “People don’t respect one another and then suddenly everyone is surprised when others start to say something about it or try to do something. It’s hypocritical.”

Once he made it clear he wasn’t going any further, she continued down the line. “‘Smile because you’re loved.’”

That one made him smile slightly. It’s one of his favorites. “I think reminders are nice. People always have someone who cares, even if they don’t think so.”

She stared at him for a moment before smiling gently. “That’s a nice message.”

“Yeah, I wish people told each other more often.”

“‘Stop being silent.’” She tapped the mute button drawn next to the phrase.

He stared her in the eyes. “Citizens have power. They’re just not using it. They’re trying to scare us into silence and it’s working. We need to do something.

“‘How many have to die?’” She turned the paper towards herself and rattled off, “‘Charlie Unger, Hailey Davis, Michael Crow, Thomas Marsh, Cale Sanders, Macy Parish, Gail Sullivan…’ and there’s many more. These are names of protesters.”

“And people who the cops killed,” Jackie added steelily.

“Why those names?”

“People have argued whether some of these people were “good” or not, but here’s the thing: most of them were children. I know Macy was 16 and the others were mainly older highschool or college students. You can say they were adults but they were still in school. They had things they’ll never get to do now, and they’re not getting their justice. It isn’t fair.”

Danny’s silent as she slid the picture back into her bag. She turned her attention on the next one. “‘Divided we stand, united we fall.’ This is pretty similar to the American motto.”

“Mmm it’s switched around.”

“Why this one? Are you bashing America?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the p. “I’m bashing this city. We all have our differences, opinions, and stories, and we let those define us. But when we fall down, we fall together. We have the same fate eventually. We stand divided but we fall united.”

She hummed again (she did that a lot). “What about this one? ‘Always watching?’”

“I don’t remember doing that one.”

Danny frowned. “It has your calling card by it. Or, at least, what looks like it.”

He frowned, turning the picture to face him. The words were jagged and sloppy with little care for how it appeared. But the eye by the words was… wrong. It was black with a combined neon green iris and pupil. It looked… ominous.

“That’s not mine,” he said. He picked it up, trying to figure out where this was. “Do you know where this is?”

She reached over and plucked the photo out of his hand and flipped it over.

In scrawling letters it read: 65830 Detroit Boulevard

Drumming his fingers on his leg, he hummed.

“Can I, ah, take a picture of this?” He asked, flipping it back over and staring at the cryptic words.

“Go ahead.”

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he snapped a picture of the graffiti. He copied the address into the notes app before turning it off and putting it away. He slid the photo back to her so she could shuffle them back into her notebook.

She cleared her throat after a minute and continued. “Your latest stunt caused some controversy. People say you have no right to reveal people’s personal information like you did.”

“I’d say those rights are forfeited when you’re caught doin’ illegal things.”

“So it can be argued that your rights are forfeited as well?” She pointed out, jabbing her pencil at him.

He shrugged again. “I mean, yeah, sure.”

The answer must’ve let Danny down. “You’re pretty nonchalant about all this.”

He smiled. “Well, at least I know where my morals lie. I’m happy to say I’m not on the deep web watching little kids like McCallister was.”

At the mention of that, she became uncomfortable. “Why’d you reveal that information to the public?”

Jackie grinned. “Because he couldn’t be left off the hook with the whole city angry, no matter how corrupt the cops are. Even if he escapes criminal charges—which I doubt—people’ll throw him outta office. You have ta get people’s attention for them to listen.”

“I… I think that’s enough for now…” She said weakly.

“Oh? Am I free to go?” He asked.

She shoved her notebook into her bag and picked up her phone. “Sure, just give me some contact info, so I can get in touch to ask follow up questions.” It sounded like she didn’t realize what she’s saying. Contact info from a hero? Psssh.

He laughed as he made his way to the open window. “Nah, you’ll see me around. Just holler.”

“Hey! Wait!” She sputtered.

It’s too late—he’d already swung his legs over the windowsill and dropped down onto the fire escape.

Danny rushed to the window and peered out, watching him vault over the railing and drop into the darkness of the alleyway. She sighed, phone clutched in her hand. She looked at the new recording named by the date and time. “Oh well, at least I have this.”

This would be the biggest story since Jackie’s appearance—maybe even bigger! She could feel it.

(A/N) I’VE WORKED ON THIS FOR  D A Y S  AND IT’S FINALLY DONE!!!

Tag list: @assbutt-of-the-readers, @stuck-in-a-l-o-o-p, @bloodsoakedheretic 

[medea10]

Medea Rambles - Parents in the Pokemon Anime

If you watched Pokemon the way I have for the last 20 years, you start to notice things along the way and start to get a little curious.

Take the second episode of the original series for example. A simple line that might have come and gone. When Ash reaches Viridian City and his mother mentions that it took Ash’s father four days to reach that town. You probably won’t give it a second thought especially if you just started the series.

Fast-forward another year or so and you start to question about Ash’s father a little more. You only see Delia. And at times you’ll see Delia being accompanied by Professor Oak. Go a little further and you watch the third Pokemon movie. Sure this guy Professor Hale has a wife and child, but what kind of past does he share with Delia? More years pass by and you start keeping this question in the back of your mind. Who is Ash’s father? And along the way, you’ve compiled several theories on that question. And for added drama, you might have added Giovanni from Team Rocket to this paternity suit. And then you meet some of Ash’s other companions and notice that some of them are also without another parent...or just flat out DON’T have any parents (to our knowledge).

Don’t get me wrong, I love how Pokemon has given us different families to look at throughout the years. From Ash’s small family with Delia, to May’s family, to Clemont and Bonnie’s father, and despite it being dysfunctional as fuck, Brock’s family, we see different things.

But when I see single parents like Delia, Johanna, Grace, Meyer, and Abe (and if you’re not keeping up that’s Ash, Dawn, Serena, Clemont, and Mallow’s parents), I often wonder what happened to their partner. I don’t find anything wrong with this. Single parents rule! I was raised by a single parent and have the highest respect for them. I just get curious is all. I’m sure everyone else does too. I know I spent just about 20 years speculating who was behind Ash’s creation. And I know we will never know Ash’s father’s true identity. Though thanks to a certain light novel, we can officially squash any chances of it being Professor Oak, Professor Hale, or Giovanni. I know it seems wasteful to bring up the parents of this show. I mean, they send their child out at the ripe-old age of 10 to catch wild monsters in a ball and get caught up in butt-loads of trouble. Meanwhile, they stay at home or do their routine day-to-day jobs like proper adults. But we have to remember this one thing.

THEY BROUGHT THESE CHARACTERS INTO THIS WORLD! Delia didn’t spend God-knows-how-long to squeeze Ash out of her lady clown-car to not get a mention or appearance every now and then. So yes, mention these parents! In most cases, they’re great, offer great comedic relief, a home-cooked meal every now and then, and there to wipe away the tears. Well...those are the good ones. Brock and James had some interesting families. And I use the term ‘interesting’ loosely. I will mention Jessie’s train-wreck of a life later. And then there are those characters whose parents are never mentioned. While Misty has three older sisters, her parents are never mentioned or seen. Iris’s parents are never mentioned and all we know about her is that she was probably taken care of by the village elder (not even a grandparent). Cilan has his brothers Cress and Chili, and once again, no mention of parents. And then there’s Tracey...Okay, here she goes again!

*sighs dreamily* TRACEY! No mention of parents. Not a damn thing. We’re not even sure if Tangelo Island (the island where Ash and Misty first met him on) is where he’s originally from. Yes, I’m guilty of writing fanfics of Pokemon and decided to add backstories to characters like Tracey, yes especially Tracey because he’s worth it and deserves it. I’ve written fics where his mother dies when he was younger, fics where she’s just sickly, and other ones where she’s perfectly fine and she’s actually there. And while I was at it, I had Misty’s parents be on constant business trips, Ash’s real father died in a car accident, and Dawn’s father did bad things (that’s the cleaned-up spoiler-free version of it) That’s the fun of writing fanfics. It’s fun to imagine your favorite characters with things the show would never think of doing or bother throwing a bone to. It’s been 13 years Pokemon. Are you gonna show my anime husbando or not? Tick-tock. Needless to say, the Pokemon anime has been rather lax about the identity of these missing parents. And people without a trusty search engine or are not fluent in Japanese are shit-outta-luck. Because some of these characters have some interesting, sad, and down-right fucked up family back-stories.

On the anime’s surface, there are only a few standard families shown. May and Max have their parents Norman and Caroline. And despite having one almost fall-out episode in mid-AG season, they’re quite the happy family. Sophocles’s parents are quite the cute-lovey type and because they look too much like each other, I’m starting to have other theories. Like are Sophocles’s parents brother and sister...like Milhouse’s parents? (don’t be silly Medea, they’re not). And the same happiness can be said about Kiawe and Lana’s families.

And then you have the single-parent household as seen with Dawn, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and Mallow. I’ll get to Mallow later.

Brock... *sighs* Yeah, fun times with this one. As we all remember from episode 5 (and in the dub), his mother died and his father ran off, leaving Brock alone to take care of the 10 brothers and sisters. In actuality, Lola left the kids in Brock’s care, she didn’t die. Imagine my shock in 2004 when I learned that Pokemon Chronicles was a thing and that the bitch was alive and well this entire time. Thanks a lot 4Kids. Even when Lola and Flint are around, they often leave and do erratic actions. And usually it’s up to the eldest siblings (Brock and Forrest) to take charge. Trust me, their doofy behaviors have lead to the Pewter Gym to almost be shutdown several times. So, they’re not the best of parents.

Lillie and Gladion gets a little complicated. In the games, we all saw that Lusamine wasn’t a very caring mother and would put her work ahead of her children. She even downright verbally disowned them at one point. Harsh. The anime decided to be nicer to Lusamine. Yes, she’s dedicated to her work, but also cares for her children Lillie and Gladion (though Lillie had her own reservations about her mother early on). Lusamine even sacrificed herself to the Ultra Beast in order to save Lillie. That’s a mother for you! Where does it get complicated? The father, Mohn. In the games he disappeared while researching the Ultra Beasts. And in the anime, Gladion and Lillie have assumed that he has passed away. But thanks to revelations in SM108, there’s hope for both as Mohn could still be alive. I just fear that his memories will be gone like in the games.

James of Team Rocket had one of the best backstories in the entire anime with the one episode Holy Matrimony back in season one. I’m actually surprised they kept a lot of things in tact in the English dub. Yes, both of his parents are alive and they are horrible people. Faking their deaths to try and drag James back home and force him to marry a dominatrix. Yeah, Pokemon has some fucked-up backstories. Time for it to get more fuckier! Again, if you’re not fluent in Japanese or haven’t lived in Japan during the height of the Pokemon fandom, you probably didn’t know these existed. RADIO DRAMAS! Yes, Pokemon had them! And with that, Jessie’s backstory time!

In the dub, we were pretty sure that Jessie was either very poor or in an orphanage and very poor. In actuality, Jessie’s mother was a high-ranking member of Team Rocket and left her daughter at a young age in order to search for Mew. And because Miyamoto was never heard from again, Jessie was sent into foster care. Wonder why the anime never wanted to cover that little detail about Jessie! Kinda shines a light on how sad it was that she used to eat snow for dinner.

And then between 1997-1999, Takeshi Shudo (creator of the Pokemon anime) came out with the light novel, Pocket Monsters The Animation. And that’s where we learn a little more about several original characters. Ash’s mother Delia was indeed a young mother. She met a man, got married, and had Ash when she was around 18-19 years. And in a flash, Ash’s father left on a journey and hasn’t been back since.

Brock’s mother Lola married and divorced SEVERAL men after Flint left the family. Most of Brock’s siblings are just half-siblings, if not all of them. Do you know why Brock keeps hitting on older women? He wants to bring one home to be a mother to the young siblings. DAMN. And as for Misty, her parents left Misty and her sisters. Yeah, you’re gym leaders now. Laters! Okay, I can see why the Pokemon anime decided to be a little laxer when it comes to some of these stories. Abandonment is not a happy story to write for an age-appropriate anime like Pokemon. And maybe because of the rate of women having babies at younger ages, they probably didn’t want to show that Delia was one of them. And then Brock’s story...Yikes, man! Yeah, stories like Delia, Lola, Misty’s parents, and even Jessie’s mother might be a little much for little children to absorb. Or so people thought in the 90s when Pokemon first debuted. Nowadays, there’s so much in western media and even anime that has advanced from just 20 years ago. Look at how parents are portrayed in western animation like The Loud House and Steven Universe. Who knows, Gen8 of Pokemon could possibly give us a same-sex family (one can only hope).

In the latest episode of Pokemon (Sun & Moon episode 108), we get an unanswered question of a character’s parent. All we knew about Mallow was that she has a father and a brother. This being the 20th year watching Pokemon and have gotten so used to seeing characters in single family homes, I decided not to give it a second thought and write fics later down the line. That was until a couple of weeks ago when we learn about an upcoming episode involving a pokemon and communicating with the dead. And we get a screenshot of Mallow crying. Holy shit. Is Pokemon really going to do this? Or is this going to be a bait and switch?

Guess what, they gave us a story about Mallow’s mother. They even went the extra mile to show us that she was actually sick in the hospital and mention how Mallow’s anger-induced words were her final words to her mother. In this episode, we see Mallow reunited with her deceased mother even for just a moment. I’m glad we got an episode like this. There are children who have lost a parent at a young age and sometimes don’t know how to deal with the feelings that come up pre, during, or post-death. And many of us wish we could say one last unresolved feeling to that loved one again. Mallow definitely wanted to see her mother again and she got to say what she wanted to and even hug her before she disappeared.

DAMN POKEMON. Mother/daughter moments are like my absolute weakness. And while I didn’t cry, I still felt the feels deep in my soul. That also means Misty and Togetic’s goodbye is still my #1 for saddest Pokemon moments. However THIS is now #2.

I honestly think Pokemon is evolving when it comes to stories about the character’s parents. And other heavy subjects including death. Writers are seeing that children are more mature than they originally thought. In the last two years, Pokemon has talked about death 4 times (three of those were pokemon deaths). God only knows what the English dub will do to this episode. We’re getting more heart-wrenching stories from this series. I’m glad I kept with watching Pokemon well into my adult years. Cut through a lot of the crap and sometimes, you get little gems like this. I can’t wait to see if Pokemon has it in them to continue giving us stories like Sun & Moon episode 108 (and others) or even on the same level as the radio dramas and Pocket Monsters light novel. Maybe not the Brock story. Okay, I think that’s all I wanted to talk about here.

[mind-reader1]

Searching for You (Part 2/4)

A/N: This is part of an ES mini-series! This is part 2 for Endless Summer Appreciation Week Day 2! Thanks for hosting @brightpinkpeppercorn and @mysteli ❤❤❤ Catch up with Part 1. This is also for @choices-december-challenge Day 8: Family (sorry it's a day late) hosted by @kinda-iconic 😍

Warnings: Innuendo, angst

Pairing: Jake x MC (Taylor) 

Word Count: 3,401

You can find the series masterlist here.

Last Time: Uqzhall killed Jake in cold blood and Taylor reminisces about the first time Jake told her that he wanted kids, but she wasn’t ready. 

Thinking back to that moment now, I wish that I had taken Jake up on his offer, that we had tried to start our family. Things could have been so different, maybe this would be our second kid, maybe Jake would still be here with me.

“It is okay Cat-a-liss.” I rubbed my eyes one last time and let Taari go.

“Thank you Taari.” He gave me a smaller smile than his normal one, looking up as footsteps approached.

“Taylor?” It was Diego, he knew instantly that something was wrong and opened his arms for me.

“Taari, go find Seraxa or something else to do.” The little boy ran off, understanding that whatever was happening was an adult matter. I recounted to Diego through broken sobs and snot rockets what had happened, that time hadn’t reset itself as it did in the past. He dragged me straight to Varyyn who was in the throne room, meeting with his people. Varyyn rose immediately when he saw Diego helping me in, he sent the rest of his people away to come back tomorrow, this was a more pressing matter. Diego recounted for me what had happened, Varyyn paced at the mention of the old shaman’s name.

“Please Varyyn, is there another gem like the one in your necklace I broke, something I can do to bring him back. I need him.” I hadn’t even told them I was pregnant yet, my emotions were all over the place, furious with Uqzhall, destroyed that Jake might forever be gone, and of course terrified about the tiny human growing inside of me.

“Taylor...I, that was the last of that crystal. They are special and not meant to be used for such matters even if I did have one.” I was furious, I shoved Varyyn and Diego held me back.

“Taylor!” He had never seen me like this, not even with Rourke.

“You don’t understand! I need him back Diego! I can’t do this without him!” Again, my body was wracked with sobs, I collapsed at Varyyn’s feet, begging him for help. I quickly shuffled away though, I could feel the bile rising up in my throat again. Morning sickness? Guilt sickness? Anger sickness? All three? God only knows.

“What do you mean? Can’t do this without him? Taylor, I know you loved him but...you are your own person, life goes on without those we love.” Varyyn’s words were meant to be comforting, after all, he had lost his mother battling Cetus with us.

“No! I’m pregnant! I’m having a baby. I didn’t get to tell him, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know he’s going to be a dad. I’m not ready, I can’t do this without him.” I screamed, my thoughts coming out in a jumbled mess. Both men stood still, they finally understood. Diego was the first to comfort me, rubbing my back as he pulled my hair into a ponytail. I don’t think either of them really knew what to say, I didn’t know what to say.

“I need answers Varyyn. I need a way to fix this.” He nodded, dragging a hand down his face, I think he knew that I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“We won’t stop until Uqzhall is found and answers for his crimes.” My head shot up.

“I’m going to kill him, Varyyn. No one touches him but me, you understand? I don’t give a damn about what Vaanti tradition might have to say about it, he killed Jake in cold blood in front of me, I get to kill him. If you find him before me, keep him here.” Varyyn didn’t say anything until Diego shot him a warning look, he nodded.

“For answers, I would seek out the Anachronists as they are the most familiar with time anomalies here. However, Diego and I cannot go with, we hold titles and they will not allow us in.” I understood but I couldn’t do it alone, I had barely found the Anachronists the first time and there were 13 of us; I had also barely survived as Uqzhall had tried to kill me, Jake was the one who saved me. Jake, everything seemed to circle back to him. Every thought, every memory, and now every conversation I had. I couldn’t stand to think about his body lying there in front of our house, now cold and stiff, his bright blue eyes stuck open forever staring at nothing. I shook my head violently as if I could shake the thought away, Varyyn and Diego watched me curiously, they didn’t want to say the wrong thing and set me off again.

“I can’t do this alone. I need help! I barely survived the Anachronists last time and Jake was the one who saved me, with the Clockmaker's help. How will I even know how to find them again, I don’t have the crystals.” I felt like I might be sick again, my head swirling as I tried to figure out what my options were, how I was going to do this alone. Being a part of Vaanu, I never actually had a life before La Huerta, I’ve never known anything but my friends and Jake by my side. Suddenly I was supposed to do it alone and I had a baby to think about, that still freaked me out too, it didn’t feel real, at least not until I finally told someone.

“Have you told anyone else?” I shook my head.

“I came here first for help, I thought you might have answers for me. I can’t ask our friends to risk their lives for Jake though. We’ve all finally settled, it’s not fair.”

“Tay, we’re a family. We look out for each other as best as we can. You know they’ll help you, especially if you tell them why.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair nervously, of course, he was right, I still felt like it wasn’t their responsibility though; I had gotten myself into this mess. I nodded and began walking out, even if I wasn’t going to ask for anyone’s help I needed to stop at the Celestial to get supplies. I began the journey alone, I honestly couldn’t stand to look at Diego or Varyyn anymore, they hadn’t been of any help or comfort. I descended the bridges in Elyystel keeping my head down from prying eyes, everyone recognized me as a catalyst by now, but they always saw me with Jake. Despite the warm humid air around me, I felt a cold shiver run through my body, I pulled Jake’s jacket out and slipped it on. It was too big on me, but I didn’t care, I loved that jacket and everything about it, Jake’s smell lingered on the fabric, reminding me of the very first time he let me borrow it.

***********

Everything had happened so quickly, I opened a portal with the strange gun we found, and the Watchers had roped Diego, trying to pull him away. I desperately held onto him, but he let go, he let himself be taken. The blinding white light surrounded us and then we were on the rooftop again as if nothing had happened, only something had, the Watchers and Diego were gone. Everyone marveled at how we made it, stunned, unsure of how much time had passed. IRIS appeared, she told us we had been gone for 204 days...six months.

“Wait, Taylor, where’s Diego?” Craig asked. That’s when I lost it. My best friend who I couldn’t save had been with the Watchers for six months, he probably thought we would never come for him. I began sobbing and everyone looked at me, I couldn’t form the words to tell them, though they could probably figure out on their own what had happened. I felt a soft fabric surround my shoulders as I stumbled back to a bench, burying my hands in my face as a shiver ran down my spine. I was embarrassed that I had been unable to save him. The cushion sank next to me and a pair of strong arms surrounded me, pulling me against them. I looked up to see Jake, he had covered me with his jacket, he never took that jacket off. He gave me a sad, small smile, and looked at me, rubbing his hands up and down my back gently.

“What happened, Princess?” I recounted how he slipped out of my grasp, the Watcher who had attacked us in my room was the same one who had grabbed Diego. He was patient and listened to my story all the while trying to calm me, I had never seen Jake so gentle, not even in my room that night after we had destroyed it.

“We’ll find him.” He tried to reassure me with his words, but I could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe it, still, he was just trying to help me and I appreciated his effort. I gave him a small appreciative smile and squeezed his knee before standing up.

“Let's go find Diego.” Everyone followed me down into the Celestial. That was the very first time Jake gave me his jacket, though I noticed it became a bit of a thing after that, not that I minded. I loved being able to breathe in his scent, feel the familiar fabric touching my skin. Any time Jake thought I was cold or needed comforting, he was there with his jacket. When we began to make our trek into the mountains to the MASADA facility, before Grace pulled out her extra winter coat, Jake was there wrapping his jacket around my shoulders. It was how I knew he really cared about me.

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

I inhaled deeply, the scent of whiskey and aftershave warmed my heart just a little. What would Jake want me to do? He’d probably tell me to stop crying and move on, he did that just about every time he died, he should have known by now that there was no moving on from him. We promised each other forever and goddammit I was going to get it! He would do anything in his power to bring me back and so that’s what I was going to do. I entered through the lobby doors and the cool air felt refreshing compared to the heat outside, no one was in sight and so I wandered through the lobby hoping to run into someone. It didn’t take long, I rounded a corner and bumped right into Sean, he reached out to steady me, a smile on his face.

“Hey Taylor, where’s Jake?” Jake and Sean had actually become quite close since we defeated Rourke, who would’ve thought? They had become so close that Jake would probably have wanted Sean to be the godfather...I felt nauseous again. I had forgotten all about the baby for a moment. Sean took in my appearance when I didn’t say anything, lost in my own thoughts, he looked me over concerned.

“Taylor you look green. Why are you wearing Jake’s dog tags and jacket?” I was going to have to explain again what had happened to Jake. Should I even tell them about the pregnancy, my plan? I was still trying to wrap my own head around all of this. I dove towards a plant in the hall and threw up what little food I had been able to keep down. I could feel Sean hovering behind me, as I pulled myself together.

“I need to talk to everyone.” Sean helped me over to a chair in the lobby and gathered everyone, I was only going to say everything once. I could feel everyone’s eyes boring into me, they knew something was wrong the moment they saw me wearing Jake’s jacket, curled up on a chair. I thought about telling them about the baby but decided not to, I didn’t need that influencing their decision about helping me or not. Besides, it didn’t seem fair to tell everyone before Jake even knew, I shouldn’t have told Diego and Varyyn, but I was desperate for their help, hoping they would have some kind of solution.

“What’s going on?” Quinn was the first to speak in a soft voice, her hand gently resting on mine. I looked up at my friends through watery eyes, trying my best to push the tears back. It felt like I hadn’t stopped crying since he died, maybe it was pregnancy hormones, or maybe I was just blaming everything on them to make it easier.

“Jake is dead. Uqzhall killed him and the time loop hasn’t reset itself, I need to go to the Anachronists to see if they can help me and I can’t do it alone, but I don’t want to ask you guys to put your lives at risk with Uqzhall still out there.” Once the words started they just came pouring it, I didn’t stop to take a breath until I was done, and the tears started to spill out my eyes. Everyone looked at me in silence, trying to wrap their heads around my rushed confession. Sean stepped up first.

“I’ll go. We’ll get Jake back.” Sean gently rubbed my back and looked at the others. It was quiet until Quinn spoke.

“Me too, you guys helped me when I was sick.” I nodded gratefully at both of them. A wave of nausea hit again, and Michelle eyed me curiously as I ran for a trashcan.

“That’s the second time you’ve thrown up, maybe we should wait a couple days for you to get better,” Sean suggested but I shook my head. This wasn’t going to get better, and I was on a time crunch. Sure, I still had about seven or eight months left if I did my math right, but it was La Huerta, time worked in funny ways here.

“I’m just upset, it’s nothing. Sitting around here isn’t going to bring Jake back.”

“I’m coming too.” Michelle marched up. Estela and Grace started to step up too, but I stopped them.

“I don’t think we should all go, as grateful as I am for all of you. Diego and Varyyn are staying here and searching for Uqzhall, they could probably use some help with that. We started packing up what we would need for the journey, Raj cooked us some food, making it mild for my stomach which I was incredibly grateful for. Zahra and Craig approached us just before we left, she held something out to me that looked like a phone.

“It’s a solar-powered satellite phone.” She held onto one and I smiled, it was her way of saying that she cared about us.

“Let us know when you find them,” Craig added. I nodded and gave Craig a hug, wincing at just the slightest pressure on my boobs, they were sore and that had been my first hint, but they only got increasingly sore. I tried to hug Zahra too, but she refused, I would take what I could get. Michelle watched me, seeming to notice me wince, but she didn’t say anything and continued to pack her stuff saying her own goodbyes. Even Aleister took the time to say goodbye, the three of us had never really gotten along but we could still be polite, though he seemed genuinely worried about us as we left. I felt stray tears slide down my cheeks and I wiped them away before anyone could see, I didn’t even know why I was crying, I was finally on my way to getting Jake back.

I expected the journey to only take a week, but it had been two now and we still weren’t there. Every morning I woke up before my friends, the morning sickness worst then and occasionally right before we would stop for the night. I did my best to hide it and the smallest of bumps that had begun to grow, no one would notice yet...except for maybe Jake. I tried not to think about him, it made every second feel like an hour on our long days of hiking. I was beginning to wonder if we were never going to find it. One day we came across a river and decided to stop and cool off for a bit, fill up our water bottles, and give ourselves a break. We had to have been close, we had been gone for about a month at this point. Sean peeled his shirt off and jumped into the water, quickly followed by Michelle, they usually weren’t ones for PDA, but he snaked his arms around her waist and kissed her even though she playfully tried to fight it. Watching them sent my mind spiraling into thoughts of Jake again, taking me back to a day we had been working on our cabin.

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

Jake and I heaved one last piece of wood up to finish the roof of our cabin, we had been working on it all day under the sun and I was exhausted. I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to carry myself back to the jet ski so we could go back to our room at the Celestial. I collapsed in the grass, laying on my back staring up at the shell of a house we had built, Jake came and laid down beside me.

“Whatcha thinkin’ bout, Princess?” I rolled onto my side and looked over at Jake, running my fingers up and down his sweaty bare chest.

“I’m thinking about how I don’t know that I’m going to be able to move from this spot. I’m so tired, but looking up at our house, how close we are, it’ll be worth it.” Jake chuckled and kissed the top of my head, his hand resting against the small of my back.

“The hardest part is done now, we’ve just got to set up the inside, and get some furniture.” I laughed, I hadn’t even thought about that. I had no idea how we were going to make that happen, but I had a feeling that Jake had a plan.

“I feel like the hardest part is going to be getting anything else done after we have a bed in there.” Jake’s chest rumbled beneath my head.

“I guess we’ll have to get that last then.”

“Jake when has that ever stopped us? The first night we met, we destroyed that hotel room, even the closet. The second we have a piece of furniture we can sit or lay on we’re done for.” I looked up and saw the familiar crooked grin on his face.

“You don’t think married life has made us soft, Princess?” I snorted, he knew it had been anything but.

“Top Gun, our friends basically kicked us out of the Celestial because they got tired of us.”

“Maybe you’ve got a point. We should get back before it gets too late though.” I groaned unable to move another muscle.

“I was serious Jake, I don’t know that I can move another muscle.” He rolled me over, his weight a comfortable and familiar feeling on top of me.

“I don’t think I could carry you down to the jet ski. How about we go relax in the creek for a bit and then head back. Think you can at least make it that far? I’ll make it worth your while.” He winked. I pretended to really ponder his offer, we both already knew the answer though.

“I think I can make it that far.” He climbed off me and helped me up, we took our time, strolling hand in hand down to the creek. Jake was already in his swim trunks so I shoved him in, he came up spitting out water, his shaggy hair hanging over his eyes.

“That’s how it is? I see?” I laughed before peeling off my own clothes and jumping in. Jake chased after me in the water and I tried to escape to no avail, he had me wrapped in his tight embrace.

“Jake!” I giggled as he nibbled on my earlobe.

“I got you now Princess.” I wiggled and turned in his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck and legs around his waist.

“You’ve always had me, Top Gun.” He kissed me and slowly peeled off our bathing suits as I deepened the kiss.

Perma-tag: @brightpinkpeppercorn @sleepwalkingelite @ooo-barff-ooo @endlessly-searching-for-you @agent-bossypants @roonarific @likethetailofacomet @zaffrenotes @mysteli @vickypoochoices @kayann9 @jlouise88 @zigortega4life @findingdrake

Jake Tag:  @endlesstaylormckenzie @sophie-summer @feartheendlesssummer @darley1101 @emomoustache​ @xo-endlessmayhem-xo

As always, let me know if you’d like to be moved, added, or removed from my tag lists! 

[flightfoot]

The “Trials of Apollo” fanfictions of grace--the-fangirl: A meta-analysis review

While I was working on that Meg & Artemis comparison analysis post, it struck me how similar my Artemis portions were to the fanfics by a certain prolific ToA writer - @grace--the-fangirl. She’s written almost a dozen ToA fics, mostly centered around Apollo’s and Artemis’s relationship. She’s really made the two characters her own, playing up certain character traits - like Apollo’s vulnerability and Artemis’s protectiveness - in order to emphasize the little brother/older sister aspects of their relationship, and to provide some fantastic hurt/comfort goodness!

While all of her Artemis’s are fairly similar, there are some minor differences between them. Most of them take care of Apollo when he’s hurt or in danger immediately, giving him a hug and support, such as when Hyacinthus was murdered in “I Loved Him And Now He’s Dead”, 

Artemis knelt next to me. She opened her arms, offering a hug. I don't deserve her kindness. I don't remember accepting the hug. I practically lunged at her. I don't remember burying my head into her shoulder. I couldn't face her. I couldn't face him. But suddenly I was in her arms. She held me tightly. She wasn't judging me. She cared. She was holding me.

Other times she doesn’t realize just how much Apollo needs her, until something really extreme happens, and she realizes just how much Apollo has been hurting, how much he’s needed her, that she hasn’t seen. In Zeus Broke a Sun God, while Apollo is breaking down in front of her, he makes this confession:

When you comforted me I was so confused. I didn't understand why you cared about me so much... I mean I KNEW just… I wasn't really great off right then mentally… Arty you never really acted like you cared much if I was sad… “held me as I sobbed” so to say.. I've.. I've had my share of shitty moments and you didn't ever pick up on that fact… sometimes I really needed you and you just waved me off… so I was surprised in the least… kinda..” Artemis avoided his gaze. But finally she spoke “When did I..?”

“Hyacinth…” he whispered. Artemis felt a pang of recognition. Oh “I Just… I really needed you and you said something like “Apollo you’ve had hundreds of lovers how is this one any different” and that just tore me apart inside… but that's the past and.. And I forgave you for that and it doesn't matter any more” Artemis was speechless. She suddenly felt horribly guilty.

This Artemis WASN’T there to comfort Apollo for Hyacinthus’s death, at least not right away. She didn’t have the people-reading skills she needed, to tell just HOW MUCH Apollo was hurting at that time... but she knows now, she’s helping now. She cares just as much for Apollo in the previous story, but her “perceptive skills” dial is turned down slightly in comparison, so she just doesn’t REALIZE how badly he needs her.

Sometimes, though, her own rage and sorrow can blind her to just how badly off Apollo is. When Apollo tricks her into shooting Orion in “His Fault”, she’s SO angry, and SO broken over Orion’s death and Apollo’s role in it, that she convinces herself that Apollo DESERVES the pain and agony he’s clearly feeling:

So she one sided iris messaged him. Apollo was sitting on a stool, he was shaking and sobbing. His shoulders quaking like the ground when Poseidon was angry. Good She thought. Apollo dug his nails into his cheeks and left golden trails down his cheeks. His breaths were fast and uneven. She didn't care at all . He deserved this. He killed Orion. (She had pulled back the string. She had released the Arrow. She had m u r d e r e d him) waved her hand through the rainbow. He was suffering. Good. He deserved it. (Not her fault not her fault not her fault)

Even when she sees him mutilating himself, stabbing himself, that she considers that maybe she needs to talk to him. But she fools herself into thinking that this was a one-time thing, since she’s still angry, and just... doesn’t want it to be true.

Artemis did this many times and only just missed Apollo hurting himself. Until the time she didn't leave. It had been 8 years since they had spoken, and she one sided  iris messaged him. Apollo had the dagger in his hand, Artemis watched him carefully. He took the thing and stabbed it through his palm. (The hand that pointed at Orion before she shot. His hand) Artemis watched in horror as he kept doing so. Again. And again.  When he finally stopped there was a pool of ichor under him. His hand looked like swiss cheese. He growled and threw the dagger, before he fell to his knees, cradling his hand to his chest.  “I deserve this” He growled. “I hurt Artie.” He clenched his jaw and retrieved the dagger, forcing himself to pick up the weapon with his mutilated(maimed, mangled, butchered) hand.

[...]

Artemis stared at the place the rainbow had been, she momentarily contemplated going to see Apollo. But her resolve hardened. It wasn't like he did that often.

How wrong she was.

It’s not until her anger cools, and she sees Apollo truly on the edge of being gone forever, that she finally gives him the comfort he needs.

Artemis had finally decided to speak with her brother again. He had suffered for a decade and the sun was starting to dim. She found him standing next to Chaos staring into the abyss with this accepting(resigned, sad, calm, b̸̢̡͠r̶̡͞o̢͟͠͞k̨̕͏̶ȩ̴̡ņ̛̕͜) expression, one of his feet fizzing out of existence. She froze. She didn't know what Apollo was thinking or doing THAT close to Chaos, but it couldn't be good(it was bad. Very very bad.) . She called his name, simply intent on getting him as far away from the darkness(void, abyss, infinity)  as physically possible. She didn't like her brother much right then, but being that close to the void was extremely dangerous(hazardous, perilous, risky, treacherous, unsafe). He turned around, shocked and surprised. His eyes were dull and lifeless. She didn't realize that.

She led him away from there. They both knew they needed to have a serious chat…

[...]

“Ar-Artemis?” He murmured, his voice shaking. She pulled him into a hug. He froze. His entire form rigid.

“I don't forgive you, but i'm willing to let it go” He gasped and she felt tears soaking into her shoulder. He tried not to start sobbing he really did, but he couldn't stop himself and suddenly he was in Artemis’s arms and sobbing. His shoulders were shaking with effort and she wasn't pushing him away. “I love you Apollo.. And you're an absolute moron.. But i love you”

Even now, even as angry as she’s been, she can’t stand to see Apollo disappear. Because regardless of the universe, she loves him, and even at her angriest, she’d NEVER want him to disappear. Every Artemis will always comfort Apollo, if she realizes how much he’s hurting. That’s the bedrock of Grace’s characterization of her.

In some portrayals, (one in particular), Apollo isn’t the only one in need of comfort. While Artemis may be the main one who tries to stay strong and be the emotional rock, she still has her own emotional needs. She feels like she can’t show her vulnerability, like she has to hide how much she needs comfort. Of course, that’s when Apollo steps up.

“Oh, Artie…” His voice was quiet, concerned. “May I come in?”

I tried to respond, but all I managed was a choked whimper, so I just nodded.

Apollo took a step inside, closing the door behind him, and guided me to the nearest bunk, we sat with a dull thud.

“It's okay.. We’ll be okay.. We’ll regain our immortality. I promise.”

I only managed a shaking sob.

He scooted closer to be, rubbing my shoulder.

This is the last thing I wanted… and what I wanted most.

I didn't know what to think.

Him being here… I didn’t want to worry him. He doesn’t need to worry. I’m fine.

I’m not fine.

I’m NOT fine.

I felt like something broke inside of me, I sobbed into my hands.

Apollo pulled me into a hug, I let him. I buried my head into his shoulder. (The Hidden Oracle Plus One, chapter 17)

Artemis can TRY to be Apollo’s rock, but she’s a person too, with her own emotional needs. Apollo may need her comfort more often, but sometimes, she also just needs someone to hug her as she cries and tell her that everything’s going to be okay. That crying, being upset, being afraid, it’s all OK. That she’s not alone, she doesn’t have to go through this by herself. It shows that she’s not invulnerable. She’s a person too, and when she needs someone by her side, Apollo will always be there for her. They take care of each other. It’s just that, in most of Grace’s fics, Apollo needs to be taken care of more than Artemis does. Since in THOP+1 Artemis is nearly as vulnerable as Apollo is, it’s one of the few chances to see Apollo comforting Artemis.

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Of course, you can’t talk about Apollo & Artemis’s relationship without discussing Apollo too! Unlike Artemis, Grace’s Apollo is basically the same in all her stories. Only his circumstances change. He always needs Artemis, and is devastated whenever she’s mad at him, like in the earlier example where she’s furious with him over Orion, or in one of her earlier stories, “Alone”, where she’s just not talking to him for some petty reason, presumably not realizing just how much it would hurt Apollo. Without her, he starts spiraling into depression, convincing himself that he’s awful. 

He wanted Artemis. He wanted his gods forsaken sister. He wanted her right now and he felt horrible for wanting that. The one thing in this world he wanted most was for his sister to reassure him he wasn't in fact a (worthless) failure at being her brother, at existing, at everything. He so desperately wanted her to tell him that he wasn't horrible.

This sentiment holds true throughout all of Grace’s fics, though how much he truly KNOWS that Artemis cares for him varies from fic to fic, based on the Artemis in question. 

“3 things Apollo can’t make himself tell Artemis” summarizes this nicely, since it’s set in the same universe as “Alone” and “His Fault”

Apollo never could say how much he needed Artemis’s approval. How much he wanted her to just tell him he was good. How he needed her to assure him he was doing okay. That he wasn't failing or just horrible in general.

If any of Grace’s Apollos don’t have their Artemis by their side, they do very poorly. Luckily, Artemis usually catches on that Apollo needs help, even when he tries to hide it, such as in Five Python Related Incidents, after he’s had a nightmare about Python. He’s tried to hide how badly the fight with Python affected him, but Artemis knows. And she comforts him as best she can without being intrusive.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Apollo freezes caught red-handed. “I- I mean of course you did. That's a stupid question..”

Apollo wiped furiously at his eyes with his free hand.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked quietly.

He shook his head. No then.

I nodded. “Okay. You don't need to… You want a hug?”

Apollo shook his head.

“Okay…” I squeezed his hand gently. He had tears slowly rolling down his cheeks.

He’ll tell me about Python when he’s ready.

If he’s ever ready.

Others CAN comfort Apollo and help him, but it’s fairly rare that he’s with people who he feels comfortable opening up to besides Artemis. It only really happens in one of Grace’s fics: Astraphobia: The fear of lightning. Here, Apollo is flying in a plane with Will, Austin, and Kayla as a thunderstorm rages. He starts having flashbacks and panic attacks, and his kids catch onto why he’s having them.

“Does- does Zu-” she cut herself off. Better to not alert him. “Does he ..?” She didn't finish her sentence.  We all knew of which he she was referring too. She sounded terrified. Like she feared my answer. “Hurt you.” Will finished for her. “Does he, or has he ever hurt you” There was a sad look in his eyes. The same sad look Artemis gets in her eyes whenever she finds me sobbing. It had been a long time since I had pissed off Zeus to the point of him blasting me, but the threat is always there. Looming over me like a cloud of pure pain and anguish. I nodded weakly. I would tell them the entire story later. I couldn't right now. Not without making myself start sobbing. “Oh gods…” Austin mumbled, looking green. He looked at me like he was only first seeing me. I lowered my gaze to my shaking hands. “it… it was a long long time ago” I muttered, my voice trembling.   “..Still, doesn't make it right..” Kayla murmured.

Unfortunately, Apollo just doesn’t have a lot of people he feels like he can open up to, show his vulnerable side to. Still, when he does, they support him. I especially like that Kayla affirmed that even though it was a long time ago, it “doesn’t make it right”. Apollo really needs to hear that. That what Zeus did - what he still threatened to do -  was WRONG.

Grace wrote another, somewhat similar story, called “Lightning Storms and Emotional Baggage”. In this one, Artemis IS there. It starts with Zeus blasting Apollo for a simple mistake, and continues onto The Lightning Thief, when Zeus is furious over his lightning bolt being stolen, and is causing lightning storms everywhere. Artemis finds Apollo. He’s afraid that she’ll call him what he calls himself: weak. 

“Sorry.” I murmured, I couldn't meet her eyes. More thunder, my hands started to tremble. She wasn't supposed to know. Artemis looked at my hands, before she realized, apprehension dawned in her eyes. I waited for her to call me weak. For her to laugh or make fun of the fact that thunder actually terrified me.

If I could go back, I would tell myself to tell her sooner. Artemis would never, never make fun of me for somthing like this. Ever.

Grace’s Apollo tends to think that everyone thinks of him the way he thinks of himself... which isn’t too different from canon, honestly. But he’ll always open up to Artemis if pushed, even though he’s terrified. And whenever she knows the full depth of his feelings, she’ll comfort and protect him.

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As is probably apparent by now, Grace almost always writes these two in hurt/comfort fics, with Apollo being emotionally and sometimes physically hurt, and Artemis providing comfort - though she does have a handful of hurt/little-to-no-comfort fics, such as  “Zeus, the worst father in all of eternity. Wait no, that's Kronos. Zeus, the SECOND worst father in all of eternity.”, which basically just shows EXACTLY how Zeus strips Apollo of his immortality, and the previously mentioned “Alone” and “His Fault”. Grace is EXCELLENT at these hurt/comfort fics - as should be obvious from reading even just the excerpts I’ve included in this analysis. I really want to examine in more detail WHY the hurt/comfort she writes works so well, by examining the fic she’s written that’s the best example of it - “Zeus Broke a Sun God” (In case you’re wondering why that one in particular, instead of any of the other fics I’ve mentioned: most of the others are too short, at 2000 words or less, or are “The Hidden Oracle Plus One”, which is a bit too long for me to analyze in full, isn’t complete yet, and has to fit Grace’s hurt/comfort around the canon plot, so it’s not as good an example for this. Also, “Zeus Broke a Sun God” is my favorite of Grace’s stories and I wanna analyze it. So sue me.)

“Zeus Broke a Sun God” is actually an AU of Grace’s first TOA fic, Zeus, the worst father in all of eternity. Wait no, that's Kronos. Zeus, the SECOND worst father in all of eternity. That one’s required reading for properly understanding “Zeus Broke a Sun God”, since it documents the actual torture that Apollo underwent before “Zeus Broke a Sun God” began, with Zeus capturing Apollo, and burning him with greek fire. Constantly. For months. With no ambrosia or nectar. Until he was mortal, and was ready to be thrown out of Olympus, and start ToA. “Zeus Broke a Sun God” starts shortly before the process is completed, 5 months in. 

The story starts off with short, snappy sentences, with each sentence on a different line.

Artemis was scared for her brother.

It had been nearly 5 months since he had been seen on Olympus or otherwise.

Zeus refused to tell her his whereabouts, or even a hint towards his location.

But Artemis knew that wherever he was, he was hurt….

...And that Zeus was causing it.

For about a month now, she could hear an... echo, of sorts, of his voice just.. begging Zeus to forgive him.

He sounded terrified and small .

She could practically feel his despair.

Artemis had had enough.

He was sobbing for her.

Begging for her to come find him, save him.

She had to find him.

It wasn't a matter of choice anymore.

Separating the sentences out allows each one to be emphasized and processed as a different idea, really driving home EVERYTHING each sentence is trying to convey. It’s very useful for eliciting an emotional response, which Grace definitely succeeds at here. She separates out a lot of sentences for this story. Whenever she clumps them together, she tends to be trying to convey a single concept with those sentences, such as here: 

Apollo didn't move. He just sat there staring at her, looking more terrified than before. “Y.. You came…” he murmured, his voice shook. His eyes were wide. He looked at her like she wasn't real, like he was just imagining her.

The description of Apollo here conveys how SHOCKED he is, using multiple sentences to drive home how broken and disbelieving he is. Putting the sentences together tells the reader that they all have a common thread like this, some core “thing” that binds them together, and makes them more effective together, instead of separated out like the others around them are.

For another example of this:

She looked at him quizzically, he nodded violently. This was the most forward reaction he had had to anything she had said. He still hadn't spoken a single word to her other that the repeated thank you’s and the thing about her coming and Zeus draining his newly regained immortality again.

Again, a core idea is conveyed: that Apollo is traumatized and broken enough that he can barely speak.

The short, separated sentences are also very effective for conveying more tense scenes, like when Artemis takes Apollo up to Olympus to confront Zeus:

When they arrived in the throne room, Apollo was basically clinging to her.

When Zeus saw Apollo, thunder rumbled and he looked absolutely livid.

Apollo was shaking.

Zeus shouted something, but it was lost to the loud thunder.

Apollo’s grip on her arm tightened.

Zeus raised his master bolt, Artemis felt no fear. She was going to protect Apollo.

She watched as Apollo flinched back and covered his head.

Anger rushed through her.

She wrapped an arm around him pulling him next to her.

The sentences are quick and flashy, the narrative equivalent of a series of fast cuts in film, letting the reader easily keep track of the actions, though not actually showing much action each time.

After the bout of short sentences, gradually Grace starts stringing more of them together as the tension lessens, allowing the reader to relax a little:

“You need rest Pollo” Artemis said. He shook his head violently. Artemis sighed, and stood up he grabbed her arm. “.....Don't leave….” He begged. She frowned “i'm crossing the room.” He didn't let go.

She looked at Thalia helplessly, before pulling away.

She went and got her box of Stygian sleep from the truck near the wall, She opened it carefully and Apollo’s eyes widened as he recognized it. Before he could pull away he had breathed it in. He fell forward into Artemis’s waiting arms with a whimper.

“Shhh….. Your safe now Pollo… Go to sleep…” He shifted for a moment, trying to fight the spell. He couldn't. He murmured something unintelligible and passed out. Artemis set him down on the cot, smiling sadly.

The immediate danger has started to pass, and every sentence doesn’t need quite as much emphasis now. There’s something of a sense of relief in these sentences.

Oh, dialogue also tends to be separated out, but that’s to make it easier to keep track of who says what. Different reason, so it doesn’t count for this.

Of course, whenever short sentences return, the tension starts rising again, as every sentence is drilled into the reader’s head:

Artemis felt sick.

A few seemed to be seriously infected.

Artemis once again felt anger bubble inside her.

Gods didn't GET infected wounds.

You can FEEL her disgust and anger here, through just these short, blunt lines.

When Artemis comforts Apollo again, the sentence clumps - they’re short enough that I don’t know whether they actually count as paragraphs- return.

She wasn't all that surprised Apollo was appearing like this, just.. Shocked. It had been years since he looked 12. She sat next to him and draped her arm around his shoulders.

He relaxed a bit when she did this. “You want to talk about it?” she inquired. He shook his head a no. “Okay… Apollo.. Do you want anything?”

“..n..nectar..” he choked out. He just couldn't get himself to talk right now.

“Apollo you're a god, you can just will nectar into existence,” Artemis said quietly. “You are NOT powerless. You can summon your own Nectar Pollo... So don't act like you can't” Apollo stared at her, then summoned his own nectar.

There’s still a lot of tension and emotion in these lines, but it doesn’t feel like something’s about to snap, like when she uses those short sentences.

Finally, after a time skip where Artemis helps Apollo recover, full paragraphs enter the story.

Ever since Artemis had rescued Apollo, nothing was the same. Apollo was different. Artemis spent a few months trying to help him recover, but it was like she was speaking to a statue for a few weeks. Yes no maybe, he didn't talk much. And he clung to her presence. She was starting to understand what Apollo meant when he used to try to explain why he was protective of her. Just the need to protect.

Apollo wasn't on Olympus often, and had one of his godly sons run his chariot. Only actually riding in it a few times a week at most. He spent most of his time alone or with Artemis and her hunters. He didn't harass them. He didn't even look at them. The hunters saw this, and some of the oldest hunters already knew something had happened to him the moment he showed up in there camp…

Since everything here is in past tense, there’s not much tension present, so full paragraphs and long sentences work well, especially since this is a bit of an info dump, catching the reader up on what happened in-between scenes, so the story can resume and not leave the reader confused.

Oh, and not to forget the actual content here, I really love this whole part of the story, where Zeus blasts Apollo again:

13 years after the giant war, and Zeus ruined everything. He had crushed any trust he was regaining in his father. He had blasted Apollo with his Master bolt, and it would take him weeks to reform. If he wanted to. If he was hurrying. His consciousness shattered into billions of pieces across the earth. When Hermes went to tell Artemis, she went into a panic. She knew Apollo wouldn't want to reform. That he would stay scattered for as long as he could…. 

[...]  

It had been three months since Zeus vaporized Apollo, and Olympus was unusually quiet. Artemis was out searching for fragments of her brothers consciousness to try to convince him to hurry the fuck up. And then she found one…

Artemis was walking around a city when she felt the faint presence of her brother. Despair was the only emotion she felt from him. She felt sick as she searched for it, trying to  contact him. She managed to form a weak link with him. “Apollo!” she yelled into the void that was her brothers fragmented mind. Artie She heard him whisper. His voice scared and small. Distinctly younger that normal. “Come back Apollo, you know you can't stay in this state forever. There's no point.” ‘m sorry “Just come back” do I ‘ave to? “Yes you idiot” it's ‘ard tho.. Don't wanna ‘ome back.. Only make things worse “No you don't. And I miss you, I know it's hard but you can do it” okay fine

A small form phased into existence in front of her, flickering and sort of staticy. She latched into him and pulled him into an embrace. His form solidified and he sagged against her. He didn't appear to be much older than 8 or 9. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him into her. The younger Apollo looked, the worse he felt. He sobbed into her, and she just held him. Eventually she brought him to her tent with the hunters and he fell into a fitful sleep there, with Artemis curled up next to him.

I especially loved the dialogue from Apollo, it really showed how miserable and tired he feels, and it fits his younger form well. The regression is a good way of showing how powerless he feels, and how much he needs protection. Artemis makes sure that he gets that protection, and tries to make him feel safe.

Gradually the story moves to more pure comfort at the end, with Apollo confessing what Zeus did to him, absent any major new trauma. Hearing HIS side of that whole sequence was really heartwrenching, and also gave some nice context to the earlier scenes where Artemis rescued him. Plus we get Apollo actually SMILING. After everything he’s been through, reading about that brilliant smile of his was really heartwarming!

And I especially love the ending scene, where Apollo analyzes Artemis’s relationship with him, and sums it up nicely:

“The tides have turned dear sister. For most of our existence I've always been the one who was protective of you.” She gave him a sour look. “I still am..  but you are being protective of me now.” Artemis nearly choked on her nectar. Apollo smiled at her.

“I am not!” Her voice was quite a few octaves higher than normal.

“Yes you are. You feel like anything that goes 10 feet of me that could possibly be dangerous needs to be destroyed at all costs because I'm your brother and my safety is important and you will destroy anyone who attempts to hurt me.”

Artemis opens her mouth to protest but he’s right. Her cheeks flushed. Apollo laughed, an idiotic grin on his face.

“You probably feel insurmountable rage whenever Father comes into the conversation. Whenever I feel sad you just want to coddle me. Because I'm your…” Apollo visibly cringed. “little brother” Artemis stared at him, a smile making it's way across her face.

“FINALLY YOU ADMIT IT! I'M OLDER!” She whisper screamed triumphantly. Apollo groaned. “I mean yes, your assumption is correct. I am protective of- oh fuck it IM OLDER. YES.”

“Artie-”

“I love you little brother” She smiles brightly at him, and  reaches over and ruffled his bright blond hair. Apollo’s cheeks were bright red. He hated this. But honestly, his entire mindset had been shattered by Zeus and everything that had occurred since the giant war. He hardly saw Artemis as his younger sister anymore, only as his equal.. And that was him denying that he saw her as older. He would still defend her honor with his life, and brutally murder anyone who harms her, but their entire twin dynamic that developed over millennia was different now. Neither twin minded much. Change wasn't bad after all.

There’s such a sense of hope and relief here! After all the tension earlier, it’s finally released, and catharsis is achieved. It also nicely sums up the relationship that Grace typically tries to portray between Apollo and Artemis.

Of course, that’s not QUITE the end of the fic. There’s a chapter two, which allows another sort of release, with Apollo coming to terms with his own feelings, and finally getting to vent at Zeus.

Apollo was done forcing himself to appear happy. He was done forcing himself to smile and to pretend everything was okay when he felt as if everything was falling apart around him. He felt scared and terrified and anxious and tired. But for the first time in what felt like eons he didn't feel so cripplingly alone. Artemis was willing to speak with him about anything, She didn't just laugh him away and mock him anymore. She loved him. He knew she loved him. He didn't have to pretend that he was happy, (a great improvement actually) because no one expected that of him anymore. He could sit quietly on a bench and no one would look at him strangely. He resented the “ what's wrong with you” look. He hoped he would never have to force himself to act so overwhelmingly fake again. He could just go talk to Artemis if he wanted, but right now he was content to sit here. He didn't feel like someone was choking him while he sat here in public. He wasn't expected to be how he was before. He wasn't seen as cheap entertainment good for a laugh but not much else. While he still felt scared and nervous.. He felt less stressed and caged and fake .

It’s a relief to read about him feeling better, a release to read about how, although he still doesn’t feel great, at least he doesn’t have to pretend to be OK on top of that, and at least he knows he has someone he can confide in, who will always be there for him. It’s melancholy, but hopeful, and kinda peaceful.

And then Zeus comes in to ruin Apollo’s day.

His actual question is presented fairly mildly... but the answer is anything but.

I have noticed an extreme difference in your personality. I would like to inquire why.”

Apollo stared at him, before he burst out laughing. A broken depressing sound that shocked Zeus.

“Of course father. You torturing me for months certainly didn't do this on its own, no. For hundreds of years i forced myself to act happy. To pretend i didn't want to just sleep and scream at how worthless i am. I pretended for years that nothing was wrong with me. That I was okay! That the optimistic sun god didn't want to curl into a ball and sob because i'm too horrible to save a single person i love from death! That I was okay. That maybe if i acted if i wasn't hurting i wouldn't hurt as much. That i wouldn't be so alone. Maybe if i pretended i was okay then it would happen. Well whoop dee doo father, you torturing made me realize i don't give a single fuck about that facade and that maybe, just maybe if i just let myself break then someone might care enough to wonder if, i don't know, good ole opti-fucking-mistic, cheerful, never down Apollo needs someone to make sure he isnt drunk out of his mind and sobbing on the floor of his apartment because no one gave a shit about him? You all just figured that you could say whatever the fuck you want and i didn't mind? Just leave me alone. I don't want to deal with your stoic bs about how you torturing me was for the best and that how you finally got me to crack after years of false cheerfulness. Great job. You managed to break the wall i built around myself for years in 5 short months! Great job father! Now just leave me alone.” Apollo snapped, glaring at his father.

Apollo finally gets to vent here, for both himself, and the reader. We vicariously experience his same grief and rage, and satisfaction now that it’s finally out, that Zeus finally knows. It also shows the reader more of what Apollo was feeling, reinforcing the sympathy we have for him. 

Of course, Zeus doesn’t take too kindly to this, but Apollo manages to get away before he can blast him. He and Artemis go to safety on Delos, and have one last talk, where Apollo reinforces just how LONG he’s been suffering, and Artemis is just... THERE for him. She won’t leave. And she makes a promise on the river Styx:

Artemis sighed and squeezed his shoulder. “I promise to protect you from father. I swear it on the river Styx that I will do my absolute best to protect you from father. You will NOT become mortal any time soon or EVER if I have anything to say about it. Okay Apollo?” She announces. Thunder rumbles in the distance, sealing the deal.

This last promise of protection is the climax of the story, leaving the reader with the certainty that she will try... but the trepidation of knowing that she might fail. Still, she’ll be there for him, and will never stop trying to protect him. It’s a melancholy, but hopeful note to end on, much like the last chapter... though there’s a tinge of anger this time around, lingering from Apollo’s earlier rant, and from the knowledge that Zeus might try to take out his anger on the people precious to the Twins.

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Grace is a great writer, and I’m really glad she got the ball started on ToA fics! Seriously, I don’t think they actually existed before she came around (not counting Solangelo fics, which could often be categorized as HOO fics instead.) Her Apollo and Artemis are interesting to read, and even if they differ from canon a bit, they’re great characters in their own rights. 

[kulvefaggoth]

HI THIS IS YOUR LOCAL GARBAGE GAY BOY AND HE WANTS TO VENT ABOUT KINGDOM HEARTS

A couple of days ago i had an enligtening talk about my favorite hot garbage series with a mutual and i kind of ended up realizing i had a lot of pent up stuff about it that i never really let out

While i did vent a little already i feel like i need to put this really out of my head because it’s been consuming me in a way. And since this site is designed for just screaming random stuff into the void i wanna take advantage of that for once

Now first and foremost this is meant as a very personal thing. This is not an elaborate critique or a well thought work. This is a vent and i want this to be read as a vent by a gay with a lot of feelings about video games. ESPECIALLY about Kingdom Hearts and some stuff about KH3. 

Now let’s get to the meat of this course of mind screaming

I’ve been into Kingdom Hearts for a very long time. The first game i played was Kingdom Hearts II (the original KH was kinda hard to find here for some reason) circa 2005/2006. Bear in mind i had no idead what KH was. Game advertisement wasn’t (and still kind of isn’t) a big thing here in Brasil specially if you were a poor kid like me. Hell consoles were pretty inacessible to most of the people i was close with and me and other 2 kids must’ve had a PS2 in the same time frame. The main way you would know about new or cool games was through word of mouth or recognizing brands like Castlevania and Mega Man. 

But i was always kind of a freaky little avant-garde child which meant i ended up having a very different taste from most of the people around me. I had like 1 other friend who had actually played a Final Fantasy around let alone something like Shin Megami Tensei for an exemple which i also didn’t even knew was a thing. And i’ve always tried to find something new. Something that gave me some new experience. I’ve ended up playing a lot of more niche games like Drakengard and the Atelier Iris games (god i still love 2 and 3 a lot) and it was this mindset that eventually led me into the game that had a bunch of random anime kids and disney characters in it’s cover.

To say that i was confused by KH2 is an understatement. I knew absolutelly nothing about the previous games. Who is this “Sora”? Who was the red haired man? Why the fuck am i fighting with a giant key? Again what the hell is up with the Disney characters? Also bear in mind i must’ve been 9/10 yo brazillian kid whose entire english vocabulary came from video games and a couple of songs. Some stuff wasn’t even the plot getting dense it was just me not getting the actual language. 

And yet it’s also an understatement to say the i fell very deeply in love with that weird little game. The combat was great. The plot had SO MUCH DRAMA and i knew only about 1/3 of what was happening at any given time. Keyblades where fun and ridiculous. Demyx was a bitch.

As soon as i’ve finished KH2 for the first time i used what little internet i had back then to learn more. I found out there was a game for the easy emulated GBA. It kind of sucked but it was more Kingdom Hearts. Being unable to locate a copy of KH1 for a while i did the only thing i could actually do: i’ve played and replayed KH2 to exaustion. I did most of the stuff except a couple of the minigames and gummy routes because they where boring. The feeling of learning how to fight against Sephiroth, mastering his moves and eventually being able to beat him with a Kingdom Key in proud was a big moment for me. Beating all the Hades cups felt great.

About a year later i was able to get a copy of KH1 and by this time Re:CoM was out so i got that too. Played both of them throughly even thought KH1 clumsy mechanics kick my ass to this day probably.

Then another year passes i hear two new games where coming out... to consoles i didn’t own and honestly i couldn’t justify the cost of to my parents. I was pretty bummed but still i kept getting invested. Hell i was already balls deep into this series and only dreamed of how it would take off in the future. I even remember kind of writing a “script” for a sequel that i tried to make with two other randoms in RPG Maker. Never went anywhere and i know in my heart it sucked but still. That was how into this i was. The prerelease hype for Days was killing me even. Member XIV? How?

Also side note: to my edgy ass 12/13 year old self the idea of playing as Organizattion XIII was literally a dream. 

Days came out and if you where like me in the good old days of youtube videos that had like 5 minutes at max then you know that video game let’s play were almost impossible to do. I had to get a LOT of info from second hand about what actually happened in Days. Then i ended up getting a “decent” pc and was able to emulate it with absolute WORST frame rate. Still it worked and i was able to know what was happening.

But BBS was a completly separate beast. PSP emulation was basically non-existant when it came out so it actually took me a couple of years to actually play it. I had a friend that had a PSP (and that to this day i feel only got a PSP because i kept raving about it having both a KH game and a Final Fantasy fighting game on it because he was 100% that little shit but that is completly besides any point) and of course he couldn’t lend me because it was pretty expensive around here and that’s a very useless tangent.

Anyway time passes as it must and just as Sora fell deeper and deeper into the realms of sleep i too fell into as much Kingdom Hearts stuff as i could. The complex theories, the AMVs (GOD the AMVs), the plot summaries for games i didn’t play, all that good shit. So for years i’ve built within myself this... tension i shall call. The grand plot momentum that mr Nomura seemed to be building. The misterious indentities the hinted at hidden plots. The nature of stuff that seemed very vague and opaque. And as the new games where released it seemed more and more that they where building blocks into the grand prize: Kingdom Hearts 3.

Now here’s the thing. I don’t 100% agree of the narrative that we waited “13 years” for KH3. I think if you where actually a fan of the series back then then each game in it’s own way seemed to be it’s own event. With that i want to say the while we ALL waited for KH3 for me at least it seemed it needed time to build up. 

Now here’s the thing. Between BBS and DDD being both in consoles i didn’t own and me getting an Xbox 360 (PS3 prices where absolutelly INSANE here) i seemed to drift a bit away from KH. While before i waited for new game releases with baited breath i now found myself very blasé about DDD. I was getting used to it i guess. Also high school came and a lot of stuff started changing. KH felt like a bit too connected to my childhood too i guess. I was still a fan and still loved it to death but KH ended fading away a little for me even if it lighted a fire in me when people talked about it. This must’ve been around 2010.

I think it wasn’t until KH3 was formally announced that it all came back to me. The drive to find and consume and engage with as much of KH lore and theories as possible. Also i didn’t really get into “proper social networks” as a whole until 2012/2013. Weirdo i know. By then consuming these thing was a lot easier. Internet was a lot more acessible. I could just open up a tab of a KH wiki in my phone and read away from there.

And there was this rush y’know. This thing of finally seeing a finish line. Not that actually expected or even wish for KH to end but it was KH3! The big one! And remember the tension i’ve mentioned earlier? It was always kind of present and it ended up skyrocketing during this period. I was already knowledgeable about KH but during this time i was almost a goddamn lore master. I knew the whole gig inside and out. Even the weird shit from DDD. The stuff they added to the collections just kept it going too. As did X/UX (which in my grand KH tradition i too didn’t play but i think most people feel me here).

All a big ball of complex yarn and plot and madness that would SURELLY burst with KH3. After all this time all this tension it would come. Release. Answers.

But to me that was the aspect in which KH3 failed.

Now don’t get me wrong i actually like KH3. Quite a lot. And Nomura did apparently tied up a lot of arcs. The lost are found and saved. Piss Grandpa Xehanort is dead.

But it didn’t release my tension. It didn’t burst it into the magic fireworks and ecstasy. The tension is still here. Hell the tension seems even stronger now.

And a lot of it has to with how KH3 seems to still be hiding so many fucking cards from us. Literally in one case. It was a vague feeling of unceartainty before but when i came through the Sleeping Worlds theory it just RUSHED onto me. The story doesn’t feel complete.

Now this is not the same as FFXV. I have a couple of... harsh opinions about it and it’s plot and story are front and center on the list. That story was absolutelly unfinished but not in the same way. To me it feels like Nomura just HID parts of the story. We are not getting the full picture. A lot of shit is really really REALLY weird. I’m still not over Riku’s sudden haircut.

But here’s the real gag to me. Nier: Automata gave me the same feeling the first time i played it. But then i came upon route B. And then Route C. and that’s when the TRUE game showed itself. Nier kept a lot hidden but it was hidden within itself. If you just keep playing you actually can access those hidden parts and eventually you reach your true goal. The actual ending. An ending so final that you might even like giving up your save data to help somebody else achieve it too is the only true option.

Yet KH3 has no such crowning grace. At least not for now. And that’s half the reason i made this. 

KH3 feels incomplete but in a way i could really love if the game eventually completed itself. Reading the Sleeping Worlds theory i was like “omg this makes VERY much sense. but if it makes so much sense why isn’t it in the game?”. And then it clicked. DLC. It’s 100% possible the actual plot may come as DLC. 

But an even darker thought crossed my mind and it’s filing me with actual rage: This is meant to be another game. This is the Powers That Be (Nomura, Disney, Square-Enix, take your pick...) unaturally extending this “Saga” beyond it’s ending point. If it does turn out that KH3 had some dream hijinks going on then it was 100% possible and BETTER to include that in the actual game. But since KH is known for having so many side games what is the harm in doing another right?

Well you harm the integrity of your plot. I know we say the plot is hot garbage but come the fuck on that is what is holding us here. Or at least it’s what is holding me for so long. Setting up another saga is absolutelly fine but breaking away for you ending like this is even worse. How? Why? The why is probably money but still.

Or maybe KH3 is just meant as that. There is no twist not weirdness. Maybe all that is by design y’know. 

This is long enough already. I’m tired. I started writing this at 2:30 am. It’s about 4am now. I slept very little last night.

This is a big colletion of nothing i guess. Not even sure it helped me. Oh well.

[thesinglesjukebox]

LOONA - BUTTERFLY [6.20] Does a [6.20] count as stanning? Who can say...

David Sheffieck: The LOONA meme has so far been more memorable than the LOONA singles, but this might be the point where that relationship flips. "Butterfly" packs in hooks but doesn't overload itself, and the chorus sounds like DJ Snake giving pop a chance -- which surprisingly turns out to be a great idea. If they can keep this up they might start to match the hype. [7]

Iain Mew: Sometimes I want a song, and sometimes I'm happy with an expressive wash of sounds that cascade over any structure, words set loose and floating around as the next best thing to the flight they invoke. This is one of the latter times and then some. [8]

Alex Clifton: There are moments in "Butterfly" that just soar unexpectedly, like the pitch-shifted "fly like a butterfly" in the chorus. Every time it hits my arms feel a little lighter, like I might ascend myself. A song about flying should convince you that such a thing is possible, that you too are going to take off and accomplish your dreams. I think LOONA has succeeded here without going too twee (a difficult line when writing about butterflies specifically). [7]

Iris Xie: Wow, if you actually enchanted the holographic '90s butterfly clips I had as a child and made them sentient, I think it would be this song. LOONA continue isolating the highest pitched parts and amping up the woozy house aspects of Grimes's output, but that only helps hone the girlish, but not childish, wonder that is present here. I am slightly disappointed that the vocal track makes it sound like there's only one single voice rather than twelve unique voices, and there could be better usage of the harmonies, but the instrumental does the heavy lifting here. The three hooks of "fly like a butterfly / I better be around you / wings, wings" weave in and out of the drops, sonically conveying the theme as the notes go higher and higher. However, what stands out to me is that "Butterfly" really lays K-pop and its genre tropes bare -- there's a substantial force behind this song that actually communicates the feeling of being commanded to pay attention and listen to LOONA, and if you know K-pop, you know exactly what is happening in each section of the song performance-wise, right down to the hand gestures and winks. If you do well in biding those instructions, you will be rewarded by being grabbed and thrown into the group's particular dreamscape. Here, this is emphasized through the surprisingly substantial fierceness of the drops, which repeats throughout the song. I've been listening to K-pop for several years now, but I don't think it's ever been so evident to me until this song what the genre tries to accomplish -- a deep grab for your attention, within every possible method, but always starting with the song. [7]

Ryo Miyauchi: The climactic release has been important for LOONA songs at least since the yyxy era. The ghastly beat of "New" suggested a shedding of youth into a more adult phase of seeking danger as thrill. The future-bass drop of "Egoist" ripped off the binding chains to finally achieve self-acceptance and self-sufficiency. And when the group came together as one, the drumming rush at the center of "Hi High" unleashed their emotions with its very intensity in tact not unlike fromis_9's "Love Bomb." "Butterfly" opts to do the same with its huge squeaking drop that rids their inhibitions as a direct expression of the transformation phase in their metamorphosis, cutting through the silence with power but also with grace. However, that spotlessness of the song's choreography also makes me want more songs like "Heart Attack" and "Hi High" from LOONA that reflect just how hard to sort and suppress their feelings might be. [6]

Anna Suiter: When "Butterfly" was released two weeks ago, I would've given it a [4]. The song just felt flat, and everyone's voices ran together except for Chuu's. But eventually that pitched whistle bit in the chorus got into my head and stuck there. It really does make you want to fly a little bit. When you include the very deliberate diversity of the music video and the overall "we are all LOONA" them of the promo, it floats a little more, even if it's not enough to truly make it soar. [7]

Thomas Inskeep: This seems to start off too slowly at first, but once the chorus hits you realize that this is the musical effect of the chrysalis becoming the butterfly. And after a bit, the woozy tempo makes all the sense in the world (especially with that bridge). This is EDM pop using its powers for good rather than evil: "Butterfly" is frankly kinda weird, and for K-pop fairly out there, but it works, and grows on you. [6]

Rebecca A. Gowns: With the usual disclaimer that I haven't heard much K-pop, here goes: I like the vocals in the verses, and strongly dislike the vocals in the chorus (too much high/low pitch-shifting for my taste, and the word "butterfly" is too feathery and insubstantial). The verses feel like they're building up to something, but then the chorus is too obvious, a glitter pen doodle of a butterfly on a middle school binder. Which is fine, I guess, just not really my thing! The instrumentation works in some places (the opening, the bridge), but for most of the song it just sounds like a cacophony. [4]

Katherine St Asaph: Like "Teenage Dream" with twelve hundred thousand other things going on. Plenty of them are good things, like the pinging high notes or the breakdown like an EDM drop through compound eyes, but together they make this so damn crowded. And I still don't understand the ARG hype at all. [6]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Incredible how every Orbit is delusionally praising these OT12 LOONA singles as if they're not terribly predictable and a major step back from the pre-debut material. Blockberry Creative understands that people are already invested in each member and will gleefully obsess over the convoluted ARG elements, so it's tempting to feel like LOONA's music is now an afterthought given the dip in quality and creativity. "Butterfly" has the same talk-rapping we've heard ample times before, and the same dance music tropes that K-pop fans love slapping with the not-exactly-accurate term "future bass." The attempt at capturing the lyrics' sense of boundless, buoyant ecstasy is obvious with various musical elements -- the trailing off of vocal melodies, the ebb and flow of the beat, the reverbed snapping -- but it feels frustratingly restricted, like performative gestures at something it couldn't possibly achieve. The occasional dubstep wobbles provide a gritty contrast to the song's otherwise pristine sound, but "Butterfly" is ultimately too formal and insipid to soar. You can "stan talent," sure, but talent doesn't guarantee good songs. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[crushingonguysfrombooks]

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

Rise, red as the dawn! I can't believe it's over now. After years of reading these books, it feels numbing to know it's come to an end. Now, let's get into the pros and cons of War Storm. Overall, it was a great book but the ending was OKAY. I still think this series should have a trilogy, but Aveyard far exceeded my expectations for War Storm. Usually the last book in a series is a total letdown for me, but I felt War Storm did well. The plot moved along at a good pace, I was invested in the characters, and for the most part I felt that everything that needed to occur did happen. The fight scenes were written with vivid detail but I felt that the last battle was too short. After all the hype about Norta and the Lakelands, I think it should have been extended longer. The romance was well developed and overall it was a slow burn but I think for this case, that was the best thing to do. I wish I could say I was pleased by the ending, but unfortunately I can't. However, I don't know if I feel disappointed or resigned but I know I wasn't pleased. The story concluded with too many loose ends and I still had various questions. In regards to the romance, I think there is enough to allude to what happens but I would've liked a bit more closure to be sure. There were also characters that I didn't get to see at the end and it made me wonder what happens to them. I'm not against open endings, but I was left with too many questions to be satisfied with the finale. It didn't truly feel like an epilogue to me. It kinda sort of ends like the Hunger Games but with less information if that makes sense lol. In the end I just felt placated, like I couldn't be upset because I knew it was going to end this way. Mare - She essentially did what I expected her to do. She never wavered on her beliefs and did not let anyone change her mind. I also didn't think she was as annoying as she was in previous books, but I did appreciate that she maintained her strong character. However, she can be a little narrow-minded and because of that, she tends to close herself off to other options. My thing with Mare is that she always has to have it her way, and she expects others to give in to her demands. She was upset with Cal over not giving up the throne but he was right, she was also unwilling to compromise for him. Cal - I love Tiberius Calore and I'll tell you why. He's loyal to a fault, he's composed, he's kind, he's caring, and he's absolutely dedicated. At the end of King's Cage I was devastated by his decision, but I could understand why he did it. In War Storm, Cal struggles having to choose between his kingdom and what his heart desires. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think that Cal choosing to become king wasn't that bad of a decision. He was the better option against Maven and there was no way the High Houses of Norta would back the Scarlet Guard's position of equality between silvers and reds. I think that Cal would have been a great buffer for the people and with Mare at his side, he could've made significant changes to push Norta to become like Montfort. I'm not saying it was ideal, but it wasn't the worst option. I took it as Cal choosing the people over his own wishes and it was selfish of Mare to make it about herself. By the end of War Storm though, I think that Cal made the best choice he could. Many people have said that if you are a MareXCal shipper than the ending sucks, but I felt that it was clear what happens next with them. Maven - My heart has always been split between the Calore brothers. I loved Maven, but my love for Cal was always stronger. In War Storm, Maven continues to be an enigma of a character but with all the atrocities he had committed, I felt there was only one ending for him. I know people wanted him to have a Warner-esque story, but come on y'all! Why would we romanticize a murderer? How could you possibly root for someone like that? Either way much like Mare, I was torn about how I wanted Maven to be dealt with. Evangeline - She was literally the saving grace within the book. I was not a fan of her character in the beginning, but she grew exponentially and was one of the few I could say changed for the better. I looked forward to her chapters and was rewarded with her cunning and snarky words. I only wish her story would've been tied up a little more nicely. Iris - Sorry, but I hated her chapters. I thought most of them were boring and I'm put out that she was able to manipulate Maven as she did. I thought he was a lot smarter than to fall for her tricks and found it a little unbelievable that was able to catch him off guard. I also thought that she was weak-minded with her family and like Maven, she was quick to bend to her mother. Quick Pros: Gisa - So adorable. Mare's family - I love seeing them all together. They offer us with sweet moments. Farley - Always a pleasure. She's clever with a hard bite. Under different circumstances, I think she and Evangeline would've been great friends. Volos and Larentia Samos - Their ending was bliss. They got exactly what was coming to them. Quick Cons: Cameron - She had such an instrumental role in the previous books but here we barely get a whiff of her. What's the point of building up a character if you're going to reduce them to nothing in the future? Jon - "To rise and rise alone" was the prophecy he gave to Mare...but it never came true? Sure she rose, but she rose with the Guard. I thought his prophecy meant she would have to succeed without anyone else's help. Kilorn & Cameron - Okay what the hell? This legit came out of left field. I was totally on the Kilorn & Gisa ship. Ptolemus - He definitely needed to meet the same fate as his father. RIP Shade.

[makku-ruko]

Ash likes who??

Okay first of all, I’ll try not to make this too opinionated and second of all, let me makes this clear. Ash is ten. Ash is DENSE. Ash does not give a shit about love or romance.

Now let’s get into the shipping. Pokeshipping. Yeeeaaaaah no. One sided. Misty is definitely crushing on Ash but remember my first point? Ash is dense. He doesn’t even see it and ideally he probably isn’t interested enough to question why she behaves the way she does. Yes, she was his first FRIEND which explains why he seems to react the way some mistake for romantic attraction. Ash canonically holds his friends near and dear to his heart. Friends. As to how it’d play out, I don’t really think so. Sure it could work but let’s remember that Misty is a lot like a mom. Yelling at him about how childish he is (well scolding), nurturing at times. Ideally, I think he’d move away from something like that hence why he challenges her, makes jokes, etc— friendzoning. No thank you mom.

Serena. Amourshipping. Hooooo boy I get so IRRITATED when people start using the excuse ‘she’s his childhood friend’ or ‘she loves him’ or ‘they kissed!’ No, Serena is the one who initiates all of this. It is one-sided and she’s going through white-knight syndrome (as other girls in harems tend to go through). Ideally, if she stayed with him a lot longer, I could see her awakening romantic feelings within him because she’s started it off but as of now, there’s nothing. I think his brain shut down for a moment when she kissed him. He knew it was meaningful as it’s clear that now he knows she likes him but I don’t think he actually felt any way about it. More like ‘Wow...y...you like me...’ aaaand that’s it. As for how they’d be together, I think Serena is too feminine. She’s more like the way you’d put a random dude next to a woman and call it a couple. He’s a total boy. She’s a total girl. Ash...doesn’t really care about girl stuff nor does he understand it.

Now these are the most popular ships. The others aren’t as popular but they’re cute so that’s fine, people don’t dispute about them as fiercely as they do about the two above. Just be clarify, I’ll be brief with how Compatible I feel the rest are. (Saving the best til last) Dawn is a cool friend! She’s determined like he is and hyper too. Upbeat. Someone he can be lively with. Same with Iris however she is a LOT more like him. So much so that they clash often. (I didn’t forget someone did I?)

Finally, mah main girl. May. She was the pokegirl that was around when I started watching and I always took a liking to her. Why? Because she’s chill and a diamond in the rough. She is probably the most developed of the pokegirls, going through a journey to find herself and stand tall on her own (as well as taking care of Max). The girl next door. I agree that her and Ash have a student-Teacher relationship completely and that he feels the need to protect and take care of her— this however isn’t romantic and I know it. The reason why I like advanceshipping so much is because both Ash and May are themselves and kinda similar but not enough to clash. They’re clearly very compatible as best friends and Ash can surely chill with her. She’s a girl but also that pal you can hang with (like me). There clearly isn’t any romance brewing but they’re comfortable with each other and it’s just so satisfying, so much so that their development from now into something romantic would look a lot more natural. If they stayed together, I feel like they’d get closer in a completely calm fashion. And personally, I think a romance that blooms so calmly is something Ash could really settle into. It’d give him time to confirm whatever he’d be feeling and the density would slowly lift. Smoothly. Gently. And I think that would just be adorable.

(Bonus: Pokemon movie 9 (my all time favourite) was doing some hinty stuff. With the luvdisc and manaphy seeing May as it’s Mom and perhaps Ash as it’s Dad. King of the sea, Prince of the sea’s mom. Oh boy they hinted. Nothing happened. Nothing brewed. But maybe the hinting was there to show the potential. Ash and May are friends and they’re very special to each other plus all my previous points that some ships don’t have in my opinion.)

To finish, I don’t think May likes Drew. She probably turned to feeling that way because as a girl, if a dude brings you flowers, you’re flattered and start thinking along the romantic lines. Drew is clearly flirting but my God he does it wrong. Gives her flowers and acts all nice sometimes when normally he’s just an ass. If they were in a relationship, I feel like his pride and arrogance would mess it up and May deserves better. Harley is....hhh I still haven’t forgiven him for what he did. But no. Just no. Ideally and canonically, my girl is good standing on her own. She’s got style, grace and she’ll punch you in the face~ Ash or not, I just want her to be happy and shine.

[ffxvthingies]

how the chocobros dance

ignis

NEVER dances in public!

the only exception is citadel events

and even then that’s only if he MUST

It’s to no ones surprise that he’s really good at waltzing and slow dancing

move smooth and percise

but that’s the only time people have ever seen him dance

until Noct came home early and saw Ignis dancing while he was cleaning

to say surprising would be an understatement

Noct just stood there, jaw to the floor, watching silently

iggy was doing a ballet routine with some hip hop mixed in.

the music was some Kpop type group (they’re actually his guilty pleasure)

He looked beautiful dancing!

all flowy and elegent

Noct couldn’t get enough of it (was quickly getting a hard-on due to the beauty)

Then the song ends, Iggy does his final pose

Noct is clapping

Ignis shrieks and leaps back

he crashes into a book case

comics and games are crashing onto him

“what are you doing here, highness!!”

“uhh, i live here? Why did you never tell me you could dance like an actual angle????”

iggy his tomato red with embarrassment

Noct feels bad and helps him up

cleans up the mess while iggy is just standing there too horrified to move

“apologize Noctis, I did not mean for you to see me doing such... things.”

“you’re shitting me right?? Specs you were so good!!”

Noctis demands iggy dance for him more now

it gives him an excuse to go home on time quicker in the hopes of seeing iggy dance

Noctis learns that iggy is the best at both ballet AND hip hop!

which is totally unfair because he looks so good doing both!

Iggy has begun to dance for/with noctis when he knows he had a hard day

he puts on some toons  (which is how Noct learned that iggy not only loves classical music but also rap??? iggy stop having so many interests!!”

depending on the song he’ll dance accordingly to cheer noct up

classical? twirl around and leap while putting stuff away

rap? do some sick fuckin moves while cooking and raps along with the music

kpop? Those are special occasions, where he’ll do a routine from the song

he does it as a birthday present for noct every year

it may be Nocts favorite present ever!

Noct appreciates it always

prompto and gladio are finally allowed to see iggy dance while they’re on the road

each one has their jaw dropped to the floor getting boners

iggy learns to open up around them and becomes comfortable sharing his interests!

Noct

Like iggy, he’s not a big fan of dancing in public

but him being the prince means he got all the lessons in ballroom dancing and waltzing

not as good as iggy

but is still up there in talent

it’s a bit hard for him to do it with his leg

but with Gladio’s PT and Iggy’s magical hands

he’s able to dance for a couple of songs before his leg starts to give out

whoever he’s dancing with is always surprised by his talent

he’s graceful and strong when he dances, strict in his movements due to years of training

When Iris came to her first Gala, gladio made noct dance with her

outstretch his hand and ask her like a prince

it was the damned cutest thing!

she was giggling and dancing (poorly) with the prince who was smiling because he’s happy for her!

They dance every gala now

it’s not the best dancing

it’s two kids doing some slow dance at an adults party

but they make the best of it

Noct will expertly spin her around and she’ll giggle

they’ll pretend they’re some long lost lovers and run away hand in hand to the gardens (as an excuse to get away from everybody)

then they hang out and eat fancy foods

Noct likes it when he dances with Iris

but that’s gross boring people dancing

when he’s out with Prom (at the arcade, at home) he turns into a goofy dancer

he moves with the music

bouncing up and down and pumping his fists

hair flapping

its kinda funny to see the prince do this

he also totally dances like an old man

doing some dumb ass dance moves thinking he looks cool

he doesn’t

doing the sparkler and lawn mower

he looks so stupid but they love him all the same

he’s more reserved when he’s around people who are not prompto, gladio, or iggy

claims its because he’s the Prince and it would be a bad image to see the prince dance such a way

it’s because he’s emberassed

but the bros always find a way to bring noctis close and dance with him

Gladio

People assume he’s not the best dancer due to his size

and they’re right

this boy is too big for most dances

his leggys are too longg and they can’t get the movements right with fast pace music (hip hop, ballet, you name it)

but that doesn’t mean he  has two left feet per say

this boy can waltz like a mofo

he made a deal with lil noct to learn along with him after Noct refused to learn

Clarus and Regis were proud of him and told him as much

that it was good that he was willing to learn and stay with his Prince

but he just REALLY wanted to learn how to waltz!

He’s seen the princess movies

and goddamn did he want to dance with a princess when he was little

he still does

the dork

but he didn’t let anyone know that

they just thought he learned so that his Prince would agree to learn

but that didn’t mean he had to dance well!

he does

he’s incredible

while Iggy is fluid and light on his feet

gladdy is strong and percise

the women who dance with him are amazed!

He’s lifting them and twirling them around like they’re nothing

ALL of the women (some of the men too tbh) are begging to dance with him!

but he can’t share the same enthusiasm

“they don’t even know the basic travel movements! Let alone know what to do to make a lift look GOOD and not just me lifting up a person while the cling to me!!1″

if he’s gonna dance, he’s gonna make it good!

No half assing it!

it makes him not want to dance anymore

they just don’t appreciate the art!

When Iris starts coming to the events, gladio dances with her because he knows its been her dream to dance like a princess

and he does

he spins her around and they dance around the room with her on his feet

everyone’s getting pics because its SO C U T E

Clarus is getting a picture

it  hangs up in his office now

Gladio holding Iris up on his hip, one hand on her back like a gentlmen

the other holding her hand out as he dances around, their smiles bright and carefree

but then he realizes that she’s the perfect excuse to not dance with anyone else!

“Lord Amicitia, would you care for a dance?”

“Apologize, but I already promised my little sister this next dance”

take THAT unappreciative dancers!

Then noct makes him and iggy dance together at a gala

and it’s straight up like in the movies when a circle forms around the main character and love interest

they’re like the perfect match

they’re taking turns leading

the transition is seemless

when gladio lifts iggy continues to dance and its honestly mesmorizing

they get a huge applause when they’re done (gladio is dipping iggy who has a leg wrapped around him, head tilted back and arched beautifully)

but that’s all dancing within gladdy’s element

outside of that

it’s... not the best

again he can’t like do some sick moves because of his size

so he sticks to bouncing on his feet and letting the music guide him

Prompto

D E S T R O I E S at Dance Dance Revolution

don’t event try

you will lose to this man

no one is sure how he does it

Noct is a close second to his talent

but he just can’t compete with Proms quick reflexes

it is a sight to see him on that thing

he always gets a crowd

always gets money too??? but not like he’s complaining

the most open w/in the group with is dancing

will gladly bounce around to a beat and do some goofy dance move

he’s not very good at just dancing

if there’s no strict dance moves or arrows showing him where to put his feet

he just looks a bit like a drunk college student dancing at all times

but it’s still cute

out of the four he’s the worst at waltzing

he just can’t get the movements down

he goes to quick, mixes his feet up, just not a graceful dancer when it comes to it

“buddy you fucking crush it at the arcade! Why can’t you do a simple box waltz?”

“Because I wasn’t born doing a stupid 1 2 3 box movement noct D:”

he’s not really upset

he knows he’s the best dancer out of them all (at least he likes to think so)

the amount of times both him, noct, AND gladio have tried to convince iggy to do a dance competition with prompto is like... so many

he finally agrees when they’re on the road

it’s at a Haven

away from all signs of civilazation

even then iggy’s bright pink as he’s dancing

Prompto’s just having a great time

but it is a close call

they do a number from the Kpop group (for while iggy is shy about his appreciation for their music, prom absolutely LOVES it!)

it really is a close call

they’re both so concise and fluid

Gladdy and noct call it a tie

until gladdy sends the video he managed to take to Iris

she declares Iggy the winner

amongst ignis being utterly BETRAYED that his bf would do such a thing!

he’s a smug little shit

Prompto just shrugs and congratulates him

but now he tries to make iggy dance whenever he can

he’ll put on some music and challenge iggy

“c’mon iggy! you gotta defend you title as best dancer of the group!!”

slowly iggy starts to open up about dancing

he does a lil jig when driving (safely of course!!1!)

He’ll dance almost always now when he’s cooking dinner

prompto will always dance with him!

[elizabethschoices]

Endless Summer, Book 2, Chapter One: My Thoughts

Yeah, yeah, I’m three weeks late. Oops.

(lmao don’t take that out of context)

Yaaay, Book 2 of another diamond-gouger! I wonder how much I’ll be left out on this time around because I can’t pay for every single diamond option! No joke, guys, I don’t even really know what went on last book because I kept seeing all this stuff on the site about Rourke and all this, but I didn’t pay out the ass for diamonds so I had no fucking idea what you guys were experiencing. IMO, that’s a shit way to play your game. Anyway, onto the review. The music sounds like something I heard in a Zelda game. Twilight Princess, specifically. We are ‘bathed in light’ and a voice is speaking to us. It asks if we want to import our Book 1 choices, so we will! I’m romancing Sean in this one. :) He was the first LI I went after in this series, so I see no need to change that because most of you guys like Jake instead. Sorry Michelle.

#NotSorry

The echoes of the past ‘wash over us’ and we’re given a brief reminder of last book’s events. Then we get to choose our MC’s look. I love how mine looks, but I’ll go through the new stuff and see if I like anything!

Eh, I didn’t really wanna change anything about my face and hair.

I shall be known as Elizabeth!

We’re back where we left off and Michelle is amazed that the bright light is gone. Sean declares that we’ve made it through the portal and have gotten away from the Watchers. Craig then asks us where Diego is, but before we can answer, Iris appears! I like her character sprite. She tells us it’s been a while since we last saw her and it’s been a total of 204 days since we interacted with her. Which means Grace, Diego, and Raj have been with the Watchers for that long. Hope they aren’t dead. That would be pretty sucky.

MC says Diego’s name sadly and then the screen fades to black for our title screen!

Literally who is comforted by the unknown???

We’re sitting in the atrium, everyone trying to process what the hell we’ve been through. I can’t even begin to imagine how I’d react during all this crap. Probably dead, since I’m overweight and can’t run for days.

MC is focusing on Diego and just barely realizes that Sean is talking to us. He’s telling us that we all should get some rest, but MC says that basically everyone is too restless to sleep, since three of their friends are gone. MC is asking Sean questions he can’t answer, but he did hypothesize that since we were MIA for six months, the Watchers probably gave up on finding us.

Sean promises us we’ll save them. <3

He’s inspired MC to get out of her misery and look towards the positives, at least.

We’ll go talk to Aleister first, and I’m sure he’ll start blubbering on about Grace and generally giving no fucks about the other two actual human beings that are also missing with Grace.

He is totally out of it right now, like how MC was just a moment ago before talking to Sean. MC apologizes for not being able to save Grace, and he actually doesn’t get shitty about it. What a wonderful development. He understands we had to protect the majority, simply because that’s what a leader does. MC starts to say she isn’t the leader, but that’s bullshit. Aleister says the same, and also tells us that a leader needs to understand their followers.

Ah yes, here we go with the not caring about anyone but Grace part of the conversation. Throwing literally all of us to the wolves for a girl, nice.

I literally snorted.

We’ll talk to Zahra and Craig next.

There’s giggling by the fountain of the atrium apparently. Oh boy. Is a penis exposed??

Oh, the statue is just supposed to be Rourke in a toga. Talk about stroking your ego. (Which you can also do with a penis. :P)

I’ll join in and make a bad joke. There’s been so much drama and bad news that a laugh couldn’t hurt anyone. We got a point with them both, who are currently neutral towards us.

Our foot slips on the tile and we notice a green puddle on the floor.

ew.

We’ll talk to Michelle, Quinn, and Iris now. Michelle is getting her doctor on and gently dabbing Quinn’s face. Quinn seems very used to the fact that she had a ‘little’ bloody nose. I’ve only ever had one and it was awful. It just kinda came out of nowhere. I was playing Frisbee with my friends at school and suddenly blood was coming out of my nose.

First grade memories. <3

Michelle tells us how it was not a little problem, and that in fact it was bleeding for a while, but she thinks it’s all good now. Quinn asks us how we are feeling, but MC notices how Michelle appears concerned and asks if Quinn is actually okay. Iris interrupts and says that Quinn has lower-than-normal blood pressure, lost weight, and before she can tell us about the white blood cell count, Quinn (who is still all happy and smiley) says she’s fine.

Michelle thinks that the portal had a larger effect on Quinn than anyone else, and attempts to look at something, but Quinn brushes her hand away.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her with an angry face.

Great, I already suck at the relationships.

I think that Quinn should listen to her, because Michelle is literally A.) Training for this and B.) is only trying to help her.

We got three points with Quinn! Also, she is so cute.

Michelle doesn’t take too kindly that Quinn will only let her examine her because of us, but regardless she looks her over. For now, she says she looks alright, but still needs to be checked on every now and again. She asks Quinn if she’ll let her do that, and Quinn looks to us before granting Michelle permission to take care of her.

Michelle finally asks us what we’re even doing over here. We inform them on the ‘plan’ to save Grace, Raj, and Diego.

Michelle says she thinks they can handle it, and then we move on. I think Iris spoke to us one time.

We head over to Lila, Sean, and Jake now. They’re all huddled together and speaking quietly. Whatcha hiding?

Jake says they’re trying to figure out who it was that could have possibly been there the whole time. Um, maybe the guy that owns the place?

Lila doesn’t think anyone was there, and Jake says that Iris reported that she hadn’t detected anyone. But Sean is right when he says that just because she didn’t see them, doesn’t mean they weren’t there. He tells us that a lot of stuff has been moved around. That doesn’t just happen.

He can tell because he has a photographic memory. That’s cool! His point is that someone has been living here and probably looking for something. Jake brings up how we found the instructions about the Hadean Zodiac, which we have no idea what they mean.

Now Sean is talking about how maybe people came to rescue us in the last six months and that we may have missed our window. I wonder if the outside world knows we’re gone though? Like, has it only been a day or so to them, or has it really been six months?

Jake says that if anyone were to come to the island for us, it’d be to kill us, not to rescue us. I’d have to agree on that note. I think it’s an okay silver lining, myself. Apparently Sean and Jake were asking Lila about anything she knew about long-term arrivals to the island.

Lila is starting to freak out, and keeps switching between POVs on how she refers to herself. Lila suggests that Diego, Raj, and Grace would have come to the hotel if they escaped the Watchers, as that’s what she would have done. I’m not so sure they would, but then again, what choice would they have? The Watchers know that jungle inside and out. They’d be safer in the hotel than not.

Everyone gathers around in a circle and Sean lets us take the lead. MC basically says everything she’s already said. Zahra asks how we’re supposed to do that, and Craig responds with his go-to tough guy stuff.

Sean recommends an expedition so we can get a read on how our situation has changed and how we can go from here. Jake says that out trail is six months old and that we’ll find nothing. So MC asks Jake what he thinks, and he thinks that they’re dead.

We have such a lovely group, don’t we?

The never-ending pissing contest is about to start until Sean looks at MC and stops himself from taking the bait. Estela finally makes an appearance and says that we will be as good as dead if we just leave the hotel without any kind of plan or destination in mind.

So the group decides we’ll look for clues that may lead to our missing members, and then Sean gets up and starts the equivalent of a football speech. We break and head up to our room, where we feel a cool sea breeze. The window is still broken from when the Watcher swung through, and a seagull is sitting on the windowsill. MC shoos it away and goes into the bathroom to freshen up.

We see Diego, but then we don’t. Okie.

MC decides to change her outfit. Not a single one is free, as is to be expected. I have 25 diamonds and I don’t really want to waste them on clothing. They smell like crap, but I literally do not care. I work manual labor six days a week. At some point during the week when you run out of shorts because the humidity just got kicked up like a thousand notches, you start not to care what you wear to work because you’re just gonna smell like sweat again in the first hour.

We meet at the atrium again and think about who we should look for clues with.

i want dis one

also thank you PB for not making me pay diamonds for this ily

We meet Sean on the roof, and he’s looking at the rooftop garden. The volcano is smoking in the distance. Has it erupted lately? MC jokes about him having nice eyesight, and it turns out he actually doesn’t. He’s got contacts! How cute. <3

He tells us not to tell any scouts about it, but cuts himself off and looks down, ashamed. Aww, baby, don’t be ashamed! It’s okay to think about yourself sometimes. And you will have a life back home to return to, Sean. I know it. <3

Sean falls into his typical self-deprecation, angry with himself for how Grace, Raj, and Diego were left behind. He can’t help it. MC tells him that he can’t change the past, because it’s not okay for him to think like that. All it does is damage him mentally.

He does make a pretty good point that it could possibly happen on La Huerta. But he gets our point and we earn a relationship point with him. MC gives him a small pep talk and he clearly adores us. He asks us what he should do.

Kiss me, that’s what you should do lmao.

She says either accept the mistakes or don’t make any, to which he says he might be making one at this very moment. Is it not kissing me? Please say it’s not kissing me. I want to be smooched.

OH GOD CAN I GET MY SMOOCH NOW?!

THAT MISTAKE IS NOT KISSING ME RIGHT NOW YES I WOULD LIKE TO START DATING SEAN

We start kissing and it’s really good and I’m swooning so hard right now and then Zahra ruins it.

She says there’s something we’re going to want to see, so we take a break from making out and enjoying life to go see what’s going on. She asks if the doors she’s staring at have always been there, and none of us have seen them thus far. Quinn notices how the wall is chipped where it meets the doors, along with some plaster stuck to the carvings. These doors were recently built? I dunno how plaster and stuff works.

Jake says they were hidden, since the plaster was stuck to it. What was hiding it? How did we not notice it?

Sean asks who found them or how they even knew they were there. Aleister says the Roman numerals for 79 A.D. is engraved on the doors. Zahra says the carvings on the doors are pretty screwed up. Iris says it’s a depiction of humans turning to ash due to a volcanic eruption.

Okie.

MC says it must be a carving of... Well I don’t know. I know La Huerta has a volcano, but has there been an accident involving the volcano? Pompeii strikes me as a possible answer, since that incident is like, the most popular volcano incident I know of. Though it could also be La Huerta? I’m gonna stick with my original answer.

Two points for Aleister! He says he’s got no doubt in his mind that we’re right. Zahra opens up the doors, revealing some sort of library. It looks pretty cool.

We’re all looking around the library until MC notices Furball is scared of something. She follows his gaze to a red velvet frame on the wall that has a stranger scepter in it.

So, it’s a Hydra in the shape of a caduceus, which is the worldwide symbol of medicine, according to Iris. It’s the only item in the library that she can’t identify. Michelle points out the scepter’s inscription.

Craig found a book of Homer’s poems, and comments on how he likes The Simpsons. Jake says that this Homer is a poet, and Craig gets offended because he knows that, he just likes the show.

Jake has no idea how to say caduceus, and I have no idea how to spell it, so thankfully I’m writing this review and already had it written down. ;P Caduceus. Hey, Iris likes us now! Sweet!

We also got a point with Jake, but all in all he’s still pretty neutral about us.

It says something happens when the scepter is held over glimmering water. Where have we seen someone standing over glimmering water?

The atrium.

Two points with Michelle! She’s still neutral towards us though. And plus one with our new boyfriend. ;)

Zahra says the fountain is a sundial!

Oh hell, we’re supposed to know what time to use it based on what we know? Hell if I know!! Hmm... Marking the height of day... Noon? That’s also the time closest to us.

Yay! It was either two or three points with Lila, I’m not sure.

We rush to the atrium with the caduceus and Sean goes all b-ball star to get the staff into the statue’s hand. My babe is so sporty. <3

We all head down into Rourke’s “sex dungeon” as Jake put it. Sean takes our hand. <3 <3 <3

Lights turn on and we see some sort of trophy room. Something is broken.

Michelle is charmed by an idol made of amber and makes us touch it. Suddenly we’re in a sorority room and playing as Michelle.

Oh god, it’s the breakup scene. Sean dumps Michelle all angry and leaves, and then her sorority sisters offer some comfort, which Michelle politely declines. They go away and within mere minutes, Michelle can hear them talking outside of the house about her. They lied to Sean about Michelle cheating (I would like a motive pls) and then suggest that at some point, she did cheat on him because she’s a ‘total skank’ and everyone in the sorority hates her.

Michelle just gets angry and then we’re suddenly yanked forward and on a stormy beach. Michelle is climbing up into a rusted sailboat, and then Quinn shouts for her to stop, worried. Zahra says she’ll get herself killed, and then Michelle starts talking about how nobody wants her there anyway, and that she’s being blamed for the death of Craig and Aleister.

Wut? Pls refresh memory ‘cause I don’t remember anything about them dying.

Jake implores Michelle to get out of the boat, telling her that we are all her friends. She’s crying and insisting that we aren’t her friends, though at this point in the game we all should be because we’ve been through so much shit together. She pushes out to sea before Jake can stop the boat.

The sea monster is still in the water as Michelle makes her way out further into the ocean. Before we can see what happens next, we’re back in Rourke’s museum as ourselves, not Michelle, who is standing next to us.

MC asks how long she’s been standing there, to which Michelle decides to be a rude little bitch and talk about how she gave us the idol a second ago.

The screen fades to black and suddenly we get this like, trophy case type thing, where the idol Michelle held appears.

aka here’s a trick to make you emotional people pay us diamonds

Craig tells us to check out a crimson glove he found in one of the domes, and apparently it feels familiar to us. We try to get it out of the dome, but the button to open it doesn’t work. Craig suggests smashing the glass, and for 12 diamonds we can.

Na, I’m good. Leave it alone.

Jake picks up some kind of electronic device and calls Craig ‘Craigslist.’

Love it.

He pushes the buttons on the remote a couple of times and then suddenly the wall behind him splits open. Behind the wall reveals a gigantic wall-to-ceiling screen, and on the screen is satellite imagery of La Huerta.

It pinpoints a location named the “Hostiles’ Stronghold”, which MC believes means the Watchers, and Jake theorizes that it’s where Raj, Diego, and Grace currently are.

MC tries to tell the group that some can stay back if they want, but Zahra cuts her off because frankly I’m sick of that crap too. Everyone clearly is ready to go find our missing friends.

Good god that chapter was long as hell. I did most of it last night (I started it at 9:30!) and when the clock struck midnight I was done, ‘cause a bitch gotta get up at 7 for work. So I finished the rest of it tonight. :)

Until next time!