#as soon as maya leaves huh. okay yeah sure makes as much sense as any thing

[simonstamenovic]

okay yeah now theyre getting restless which is crazy.

[the-hidden-writer]

A Second Chance: Chapter 6

An Ace Attorney fanfic. Read on both AO3 and FF.net!

Summary: Miles learns the identity of his “dead” mother, and the aftermath of that revelation is a tricky one. Especially when his newfound little sister is trying to turn him into a spirit medium.

AKA Miles is a Fey. Miles also doesn’t really know how to family properly.

[Chapter 1] | [Chapter 2] | [Chapter 3] | [Chapter 4] | [Chapter 5]

Comments make my day! :D

The Cousin

“She did what?”

Maya felt like tugging her hair out as she paced around the couch, flapping her hands about as if doing so would fix all her problems. After her super abrupt phone call with Pearl, she’d practically ran to Phoenix to relay what happened. Long story short, it hadn’t gone well. 

“I don’t know, Nick! I just started telling her and then she ran off crying!”

Phoenix looked just as puzzled as she felt.

“Did you tell her gently?” He suggested, but by his accusatory tone of voice Maya was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

“I was excited, okay?!”

“Fine, fine…” Phoenix sighed, leaning back. “I get that.”

After a few seconds, Maya slumped onto the couch next to him. “No, you’re right,” she admitted, uncharacteristically quiet, “I should’ve been more sensitive.”

Phoenix opened his mouth to argue, but Maya cut him off.

“I should’ve realized it would be different for her.”

She honestly felt like she should have known, but she’d been so tied up in her own self-justified excitement that she’d failed to even think about what it would mean for Pearl, and for everyone else in general. 

“Wait,” said Phoenix, interrupting her thoughts, “why would it be different for her? She’s met Edgeworth before and she was fine with him. I know he can be a bit… intimidating, but still, I wouldn’t run away screaming.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t.” Maya couldn’t help but laugh. 

Phoenix gave her an extremely pointed what’s-that-supposed-to-mean look.

“No, it’s just that…” Maya began awkwardly, before letting out a small sigh. It wasn’t a nice subject to talk about, but it had to be done. “Look, I’ve told you about how the village doesn’t have the best history with men, right?”

Phoenix nodded gravely. 

“Well,” she continued, trying to find the right words, “when we were young, Aunt Morgan liked to drill it into our heads that ‘all men tied to the Fey clan are evil’. If she ever caught us talking about them we’d get told off.” She paused, lost in the memories. It made sense why her aunt would think that, now that she knew about Dahlia and Iris. “Now I never really took any of her lectures to heart, but Pearly…”

“...she would cling onto those words for life.” Phoenix finished. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“I just don’t get it though!” Maya whined. “Like you said, she knows Edgeworth, it shouldn’t be such a big deal.”

Phoenix scratched his chin in thought. “Remember, she doesn’t know him as well as we do though, she’s still intimidated by him.”

“Yeah, who wouldn’t be.” She replied instinctively, before slowly turning her head to look Phoenix directly in the eyes. He gave her That Look again.

“Why not just take him over to Kurain so they can talk it out?” He suggested, after a few uncomfortable seconds. “He can get to see her properly, and Pearls can see that he’s a pretty cool dude. Kill two birds with one stone.”

“Nah, that won’t work.” Maya replied. “Aunt Morgan’s not the only one who has a thing against men, and suddenly bringing in Edgeworth and telling everyone he’s the master’s brother probably won’t end well.”

Maya noticed Phoenix’s wince but didn’t mention it. She’d paraded into Kurain Village with him by her side many times, and it’s true that some of the women had been… less than polite toward him.

“Well you can’t just leave it at that.” He said. “Miles is gonna want to speak to her eventually, and you don’t want her screaming as soon as she sees him.” “Yeah, I know, but I just don’t know how!” Maya huffed.

“I could talk to her?” He offered. 

“No way! If you do, she’ll think I sent you, and when she’s angry she will go to surprising lengths to avoid people.” Pearls had once climbed an entire mountain to avoid having a bath. It was not something to be taken lightly.

“So what you’re saying is, we have to fix this from far away. Great.” Phoenix groaned.

“Actually,” Maya jumped suddenly, her eyes lighting up, “that’s exactly what we need to do! And I have a plan of how we’re gonna do it.”

Phoenix cringed at Maya’s newfound determination. Maya’s plans tended to be quite dramatic, to say the least. They also happened to be really hard to talk her out of doing them.

“What are we going to do?” He asked unenthusiastically.

“If we want to get them to talk it out properly, we’re gonna need a secret weapon!”

“Secret weapon?” Phoenix asked, fear creeping into his voice.

Maya pushed him to one side, sprung up from the couch, darted across the room, and grabbed a notepad and pen. 

“Yeah! Trust me Nick, with this, Pearly and Edgeworth will be best friends by the end of the week!”

~._-_.~

“Hey pal! Over here!”

Detective Gumshoe waved frantically from the station platform at his target who was peeking at him behind the phone booth.

“M-Mr Detective!” Called Pearl Fey as she slowly made her way toward him, tugging at her robes.

Gumshoe noted that the poor girl’s eyes were puffy and swollen, and he guessed it was probably from rubbing them too much. Poor kid. At first he’d thought that Maya had been exaggerating about her being upset, but apparently not. 

It only made him more determined to complete his mission.

“Hey, sweetheart! A little birdie told me that you were feeling down, so you’re old pal Dick Gumshoe’s here to cheer you up!”

Pearl looked hesitant, and Gumshoe thought that he maybe shouldn’t have shouted so loud. He didn’t want to frighten her, after all.

“Are you the surprise Mystic Soma told me about?” She asked.

Gumshoe nodded with enthusiasm. “Uh huh! And I’ve planned a whole day of fun! Just you wait little missy, we’re gonna turn that frown upside down!” He demonstrated this using his own face and some strange noises to accompany them.

People had always told him he was good with kids, but he’d always replied by saying he was just doing his job as a friendly citizen. But as he watched Pearl’s nervous face crack open into a fit of giggles, before getting covered with her hands when she was overcome with embarrassment, he half-believed them.

After that, it wasn’t that hard to convince her to come with him, but they’d gone to double check with her guardians first. He already had permission but he needed an excuse to use up the time before the next train. He also managed to get a free cup of tea with it.

He was slightly concerned, when the train finally arrived, that Pearl was so confident in navigating it herself that she ran off inside without him. He was on a mission dammit, he couldn’t fail at the very start!

Truth is, when Maya and Phoenix first enlisted him for this task the day before, he hadn’t had much time to prepare and think things through. Luckily for him though, they already seemed to have things all planned out. He hadn’t hesitated in agreeing to it of course (especially once Maya so kindly offered that Phoenix could pay for the train tickets) but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous. There was a lot on the line.

All he could do was hope that it all worked out.

The train ride itself wasn’t anything special. He made sure to regularly ask Pearl a random question so she wouldn’t get bored, but toward the end they’d ended up bouncing up and down in their seats, singing the songs he’d taught her on the journey. The small handful of other passengers had sent them plenty of annoyed glares, but he was used to it and she didn’t seem to notice. They had fun and that was all that mattered. The fun didn’t stop there, though. 

Once they arrived, Gumshoe let Pearl sit in the passenger seat as he drove around the city. He wasn’t sure how much she’d already seen but thought a tour couldn’t hurt. 

He also didn’t have enough money to take her inside anywhere special, so a tour would have to do.

Pearl spent most of the time gazing out of the open window in awe. She was familiar with the streets around the courthouse, and the pair stopped for a moment outside to see if they could hear any heated arguments from inside. They obviously couldn’t, but it was fun nonetheless. 

He purposely avoided driving past Wright & Co Law Offices because he was supposed to be providing a distraction. 

Time passed surprisingly quickly, and it was a good few hours before he noticed Pearl start to fidget and wiggle around in her seat. Sighing, Gumshoe checked the time. 4:26pm. Almost time.

“Hey kid, wanna go to the park?”

Pearl looked up at him, brows furrowed in confusion. “What’s a park?”

It took every bit of effort in his bones to not slam down the break right then and there. Alas, this did mean that he couldn’t hide the look of abject horror on his face.

“You’ve never been to a park?” He asked incredulously. 

“I don’t think so?” Pearl replied, shuffling in her seat. “Maybe I have, but I don’t know what it is. I’m sorry.”

“Right, that’s it.” Gumshoe grit his teeth together and thrust his foot onto the gas. “We’re going to the park this second and you’re gonna get to play there if it's the last thing I do.”

He might’ve been speeding, probably was in hindsight, but whilst caught up in his determination he didn’t notice. Anyways, it was more important to let this little girl experience a park as soon as humanly possible. 

And oh, the look on Pearl’s face when they went inside the park. Her eyes shone with wonder, she jumped up to touch the leaves whenever they walked under a tree, and as soon as the play area came into view she tugged at his trenchcoat and pointed shyly.

“Can I go play there?”

“Knock yourself out!” He said instinctively, before hastily adding “I mean go play as much as you want, I’ll be over here. That’s just a way of speaking.” after Pearl’s jaw dropped in shock.

She really was a sheltered kid, huh.

He sat on the bench and watched her play for another hour. She was surprisingly agile, and she was scrambling across the jungle gyms meant for kids double her age. He almost had a heart attack when she bolted to the monkey bars and began to swing across them as good as any monkey, speeding past the other children leaving them gaping at her in amazement. Or maybe fear. He couldn’t speak for them, but he was definitely terrified of this nine-year-old.

When she eventually tired herself out, she joined him on the bench. Gumshoe thinks that in the few hours they’ve spent together, he’s just made a friend for life.

“Hey,” He leaned in close to her ear, and whispered: “wanna get some ice cream?”

“Yes please!” Pearl squealed, clapping her hands together happily; a stark contrast to the sad little girl he’d met at the station.

He bought her a vanilla cone covered top to bottom with rainbow sprinkles, and she asked him multiple times if it was actually edible and if she was the one meant to eat it. 

What he didn’t tell her was that he wasn’t going to have dinner that night, but one little girl’s happiness was well worth the price of one little meal. He was starting to get sick of instant noodles anyways.

While she was busy eating (her face scrunched up whenever she licked it because of the cold, and he found it absolutely adorable) Gumshoe kept on anxiously checking his watch. The face was cracked slightly, but he could still tell the time so it was all good. It was about 5:50pm, which meant that his target would appear any time now. He wasn’t sure where exactly, but he kept his eyes peeled.

After a heated debate with Pearl about how ice cream was made, he spotted him. He was sitting with his back to them on a bench on the other side of the playing field. He looked like any other stranger wearing a black coat from that distance, but Gumshoe’s eyes were trained to seek him out at all times. And there he was, right on schedule.

“Hey Pearl, wanna piggyback?” He asked once she’d finished her treat.

“Yeah!”

“Hop on!”

He stood up and bent down in front of the bench, which Pearl used as a boost to stand on before leaping onto his back. She was light, and even Gumshoe’s own nieces weighed twice as much as she did. He grinned.

“Ready? Here we GO!”

They ploughed through the playing field, whooping, and Pearl bounced up and down with each stride. When Gumshoe noticed their target standing up to leave, he forced himself to go even faster.

“MR EDGEWORTH SIR!”

Edgeworth’s head snapped in their direction and he dropped his briefcase in surprise. The man was positively shocked to see them, and Gumshoe felt a twinge of guilt for maybe/probably ruining his ‘much needed alone time’. 

“D-Detective?!”

“Um, Mr Gummy?” Pearl tugged at the collar of his coat. “Where are we going?”

She’d stopped cheering and now her voice sounded frightened. Gumshoe felt lucky that he couldn’t see her face right then, or he might’ve ended up abandoning the mission altogether.

“Just gonna go talk to a friend.” He replied, as cheerfully as he could. “He’s super cool, he’s the best guy I know!”

He felt the back of his collar get tugged again. “I d-don’t want to…”

Seeing as they were almost there, Gumshoe gradually slowed his pace to get his breath back.

“Don’t worry,” he huffed, “it’ll only be for a minute.”

“Detective, what are you doing here?” Edgeworth asked once they were close enough to not shout to be heard. Then his eyes settled on the young girl trying to hide behind Gumshoe’s scruffy mass of hair. 

“Pearls!” He said, eyes wide. Then, to Gumshoe in a stage whisper that sounded a lot more like a hiss of a snake: “Does she know?”

Gumshoe nodded happily. “‘Course she does! You know who Mr Edgeworth is, don’t you Pearly?” He felt her climb higher onto his back and guessed she was nodding.

Edgeworth’s eyes were unblinking and his lips were parted slightly as he stared at the girl on his back. Gumshoe had done his job, now he just had to wait and see if the mission was successful.

“Hello Pearls,” Edgeworth said hesitantly, extending every syllable. “How er-, how are you?”

Without warning, Gumshoe felt Pearl slide off his back in an instant and didn’t have time to process what was happening before she was charging toward Edgeworth, fist raised. She struck him in the stomach causing him to double over in pain.

“You abandoned Mystic Maya!” She shrieked, throwing another punch onto the already-winded Edgeworth.

“Watch out sir!” Gumshoe cried ten seconds too late.

“You left Mystic Maya all alone and she cried about her family and you didn’t help her!” Pearl shouted, still throwing punches. “And she trusted you!”

“I-I didn’t know- OOF” Edgeworth wheezed, before letting out a groan as his thigh was slapped particularly hard. Gumshoe desperately wanted to pull her off him, but wasn’t facing problems the best way to solve them? So he held back until she aimed for a nasty spot to punch, because then he hastily grabbed her and pulled her back.

Pearl was crying now. “You sh-should have been there for her!” She wailed.

“I’m sorry,” said Edgeworth while he regained his breath, “I am really sorry Pearl, but I honestly didn’t know. If I’d known then-”

He cut himself off and looked down in… shame? Gumshoe watched him in concern. He didn’t seem interested in finishing his point though and instead crouched down to her level.

“I didn’t know.” He repeated, gracefully pressing a hand against his heart. “But I promise that I’ll try to make it up to her. Will you allow me to do that?”

Pearl sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “Y-You really didn’t know?”

Edgeworth nodded slowly.

She brushed her tears away, all cried out, and grabbed onto Gumshoe’s coat. “Did your dad know?”

At first, Edgeworth huffed in disbelief, before his face softened. “Yes, I think he did. But he loved Maya, Mia and their mother very much and didn’t have a choice to leave them. He passed away when they were young, and didn’t get the chance to tell me.”

As far as Gumshoe knew, Edgeworth had no way of knowing any of what he’d just said. It also then occurred to him that he was a very good liar. Had he been lied to before without realizing it? 

They stood there in tense silence for a few moments, waiting for Pearl to react.

“You’re not lying?” She asked quietly. “No.”

Lie or not, it seemed to work, and all of a sudden she let go of her grip on his coat and darted towards Edgeworth, wrapping him tightly in a cuddle that looked like it was squeezing the life out of him.

“I-I’m sorry!” She wailed again from within his chest. “I thought you left on purpose! Mom said everyone leaves to hurt us and I thought you did as well and I’m sorry-”

As she rambled into his torso, Edgeworth was as stiff as a statue. His hands were frozen a few inches away from Pearl’s back. They were shaking, as if unsure whether to touch her or not. His eyes were pointed at Gumshoe, desperately begging for help, pleading for him to intervene and just say something, anything, but he didn’t. So he was just left to squat there awkwardly as a little girl cried into him.

Gumshoe watched on from the side, feeling a wave of pride wash over him. 

“Um, Pearl?” Said Edgeworth, once Pearl had finished her long apology. “Would you like to go and see Maya?”

Pearl shuffled away and turned to Gumshoe, who nodded gleefully. She looked back at Edgeworth and nodded.

“Right then.” He said, standing up and brushing himself off. “We’ll go to Wright’s office.”

“Mr Eh-ji-worth?”

“Yes, Pearls?”

“Please can I go with Mr Gummy in his car?”

Gumshoe smiled. Mission accomplished.

[chibimultishipper]

For the Zerhys prompts: Zer0 gets hurt and is a huge baby about it. Rhys helps comfort them.

((Thank you for this!  I had a lot of fun with this one AO3 here is the link!))

Rhys was in his home workshop tinkering with a new gun prototype for Atlas.  He had gained inspiration from his inability to aim and was currently trying to work an a line of Atlas guns that would track enemy movements so all the user had to do was fire.  He had hit a snag in his last testing session and couldn’t stop thinking about the stupid prototype.  Even now it was his day off and he was still tinkering with the damn thing.  He wished his busy mind would allow him to leave things alone, but it didn’t seem like that would happen today.

All of a sudden he heard a faint banging noise.  Banging?   Where the heck was that coming from?  He put down his tools for a moment to open his workshop door.  Doing say made the sound increase in volume, in which Rhys realized someone was banging on his front door.  Rhys checked his watch and looked at the time.  7pm.  It wasn’t terribly late but usually anyone he knew would at least call before coming over at this time.  The only person who would usually come unannounced was Zer0, but at this point in their relationship they usually just walked in.  He looked to see if he had received any messages and he noticed several calls from… Maya?  Why was she calling?  Before he got a chance to check any of the voicemails she left the banging on the door got more aggressive.  Rhys was sure it would break at any moment.  “I’m coming I’m coming!”  He yelled running to the door.  He checked the peep hole real quick just to be safe.  There he saw Maya as he suspected but she was holding Zer0?  He quickly opened the door.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t home.” Maya comment letting herself in as she held Zer0 bridal style in her arms.  Damn she was stronger then she looked.  “You didn’t answer any of my calls so I was prepared to break in.”

“Sorry.” Rhys apologized, glad that he didn’t have to repair a broken door.  “I usually turn all forms of communication off when I’m in my workshop so I can focus.”

“Put me down.  This is / embarrassing.”  Zer0 muttered.  Rhys raised an eyebrow at Zer0’s lack of effort to finish their own haiku.  It wasn’t uncommon for them to drop the attempt all together, but it felt different this time.  

“Are they okay?”  Rhys asked worry now apparent on his face.

Maya rolled her eyes as she not so gracefully dropped Zer0 onto the couch.  They make a sound in annoyance but didn’t say much else.  “Yes their fine, they are just being a drama queen.”

Rhys crouched near Zer0. “What happened?”

Maya shrugged.  “They got slashed up pretty bad in the stomach.” Maya pointed at the cut in their suit that Rhys was for some reason noticing just now.

“What!?”  

“It’s fine.  Admittedly it was a pretty fatal wound at first but I was able to heal it- well most of it. “  She sighed in frustration.  “The blade they were slashed with was laced with poison so I wasn’t able to heal them completely.  Right now it’s just a minor scratch.  It definitely hurts but not as much as Zer0 is milking it.  They have had worse!”  Maya yelled at them causing Zer0 to dramatically put a hand to their helmet.

“I am dying.  Words / are difficult. I can barely / count syllables now.”  They paused. “See I messed up.”

This was a lot to take in for Rhys poor heart. “Wait so you said poison didn’t you?  Are they really dying?”  Rhys tried to keep tears from welling up in his eyes.  All the things he hasn’t said yet.  All the stuff he wanted to do with them.  He wanted them to still take a vacation with him.  He wanted to convince them to try ice cream.  He wanted-

“They aren’t dying.”

“Oh thank god.” Rhys let out a sigh of relief.

Maya shrugged.  “Yeah turns out they are completely fine on the poison front.  Normally that type of poison at that dosage would have killed a human but well, you know.”  Maya gave a vague gesture with her hand  as if that somehow represented ‘Zer0 is an alien!’, but Rhys still understood what she meant.  “The only thing wrong with them is that they are a little sore and the poison is causing them to experience intoxication like symptoms.”  

Ah, things were beginning to make sense.  “Okay um, just to clarify.  I mean I know you said it already but you’ve also said a lot of things that to a non vault hunter like me sound super fucking alarming, they’re not dying right?  Just in a weird intoxication type state?”  Rhys asked.

Maya smiled. “Exactly.  I want to apologize about bringing them over like this.  I was going to take them back to Sanctuary but they insisted they come here.”

Rhys gulped. “R-really?”  

Maya nodded.  “Yeah it was annoying.  Like, super annoying.  I told them ‘I’m sure Rhys has better things to do then to listen to you whine and complain the whole time’ but then they threw a tantrum.  Then they started screaming about how much they liked you and- Ow fuck!”  Maya held their side and moved away from the couch.  Zer0 had just kicked her.

“You know you can leave now.”  Zer0 said.  It sounded more like a threat.

Maya rolled her eyes.  “You don’t scare me Zer0.  Just for that, when you ‘sober up’ I’m telling Rhys about all the embarrassing things you’ve said today.”  She looked at Rhys, clearly annoyed. “They’re your problem now.”  

“Ah huh um o k-kay.”  Rhys was still reeling from the information that was thrown at him.  Zer0 wanted to see him that badly, and the idea that Zer0 had thrown a tantrum when they didn’t get what they wanted.  He kinda wanted to see it.  

He shouldn’t be surprised that Zer0 wanted to visit him.  They had been dating for some time now so it’s only logical that you would want to see the person your dating after a near death experience.  Rhys just couldn’t help the fact he that he was still wowed that Zer0 for some reason liked him and was dating him and wanted to see him and-

“If they start breaking stuff, call me.  Otherwise, don’t.”  Maya clearly had her daily dose of Zer0 for the day.

“Uh yeah okay got it!” and with that she was out the door.

“I don’t throw tantrums.”  Zer0 stated as soon as she left.  

Rhys smiled to himself.  That sounds like something someone who throws tantrums would say.  “Okay.”

Zero shifted their head to look at him.  “I’m serious.  I don’t.” [(︶^︶)]

Rhys kneeled down in front of the couch again.  “I know, I believe you.”  He turned his attention to the hole in their suit which revealed his scar.  “Does it hurt?”

“Yes, very much so.”  Zer0 attempted to emphasize their pain by making a groaning sound but it didn’t translate well with their communicator so it just sounded like static.  

Rhys looked determined to assist.  “How can I help?  Do you want some ice? I can put ice on it.”  He paused.  “Does ice reduce swelling for you?”

Zer0 shook their head. “No, opposite.  Heat.”  Heat?  Did he have anything that could generate heat for them?  “Oh!  Hold on I’ll be right back!”  Rhys ran into his bedroom and pulled out a chest from underneath his bed.  He opened it and quickly shuffled through it’s contents.  An old photo album,  his first binder- ah here it was!  He grabbed what he was looking for and pushed the chest back underneath the bed.  He brought the item back to the living room and Zer0 looked at him with a slight tilt to their head. [ ? ].

“It’s a heating pad!”  Rhys exclaimed as he plugged it into the nearest socket.  “I use to get really bad cramps underneath my stomach and this always worked wonders for me.”  He pressed it against Zer0’s wound causing the vault hunter to flinch away slightly.  “Sorry! I’ll be more careful.”  He gently placed the heating pad on Zer0’s wound this time.  They didn’t flinch away.

“Anything else?”

“Water. Please.”

“Right!”  Rhys ran into the kitchen and got Zer0 a cup of water quickly bringing it back.  When he tried to hand it to them, they made no effort to grab it.

“I’m just, so weak.”  [T_T]  to try and prove their weakness, they attempted to raise their arm but it just fell back into their lap.  

Rhys tried really hard not to laugh. “Uh.  So you can’t lift your arms now?”

Zer0 shook their head.  “Poison spreading.  My limbs feel fuzzy.  Like… “  They tried to remember that phrase that humans always use.  “Jam.”

Rhys accidently let a snort slip through.  “Do you mean jelly?”

“Yes, that.”

Rhys really tried to keep it together but a small fit of laughter came out.

[T_T]  “This is serious.”  Zer0 complained.  

“Yes of course! I’m sorry.”  Rhys consoled, a few giggles escaping.  “Can you lift your head for me please?”

“I don’t know if I can manage.”

Rhys placed the water on the end table next to the couch.  “What a shame,  I was going to have your head rest in my lap and try to-”  Before Rhys can finish Zer0’s head immediately shot up giving Rhys space to sit down.  “Wow you did it!”  Rhys exclaimed with fake excitement.

“It took all my willpower.” [´-﹏-`；]

“Right.”  Rhys sat down and Zer0 immediately placed their head in his lap.  Rhys hand gently tapped on the glass of Zer0’s face to which they responded with [｡>﹏“Can I take this off?”  Rhys had seen Zer0’s face before, but they still didn’t feel comfortable being without their helmet all the time yet.

Zer0 was quiet for a moment. “Yes.”

Rhys gave them a gentle smile that made Zer0’s heart feel like it was going to beat out of their chest.  “Thank you.”  With that Rhys released the two clasps that resided on each side of their face.  They gently pulled off the glass in the front and placed it on the end table.  Rhys paused, staring into the four red eyes that were looking back at him.  Now was not the time to get embarrassed!  “I’m going to sit you up a bit okay?”  Rhys used his hands to sit Zer0 up a bit more so that they wouldn’t choke.

“This is what you wanted right?”  Rhys asked gently placing the water to Zer0’s lips so that they could drink.  Zer0 placed one of the hands that they supposedly couldn’t move because they felt like ‘jam’ on Rhy’s thigh to anchor themselves as they slowly drank from the cup in Rhys hands.

It was a simple gesture, one any person would be willing to do for their loved one while they were sick or in pain.  Still this moment felt… intimate.  Super intimate.  Rhys let out a quiet yelp as Zer0 tightened the grip on his thigh.  Fuck he could feel his heartbeat banging on his ear drums.  The steady rhythm of it seemed to radiate throughout his whole body.  He wondered if Zer0 could hear it too.  He wondered if Zer0 was having the same problem or if he was overthinking it.

Zer0 began to pull away from the cup but Rhys wasn’t paying attention and accidentally spilled some on their face. “Fuck! Sorry.”  He quickly put the cup back on the nightstand and tried to get up.  “Let me get you a napkin-”

Zer0 stopped him.  “It’s fine.”  

It was silent.  It wasn’t awkward necessarily but it felt like something unresolved was in the air.  Zer0 had begun staring at him, or did he start staring at Zer0?  He didn’t know for sure.  They stayed like that for a moment  and Rhys felt antsy. “Do…do you want anything else?”  He asked.

“I want… “  Zer0 stopped themselves.  They seemed confused, or rather, concerned.  Maybe worried?  A frustrated chirping noise came from their lips, not their translator this time.  They glanced back at the water and then looked at Rhys again. “Drinking is hard.  You should siphon the water into my mouth with yours.”

A beat of silence, and then Rhys burst out into laughter.  He didn’t know why he got so nervous.  He always put Zer0 on this petesdal because they were this cool ass vault hunter.  He often thought that he wasn’t good enough for them, and that he was a nuisance to ask for things.

But moments like these brought him back into reality.  Zer0 was for sure a cool ass vault hunter, but at the end of the day he was also just Zer0.  His nerdy awkward datefriend who loved him.

“I am not spitting water into your mouth, that’s gross.”  Zer0 looked mildly disappointed “Can I kiss you instead?”  Zer0 perked up and nodded vigorously.  Clearly this is what they actually wanted.

Rhys leaned in and gave Zer0 a gentle peck on their mouth.  Their lips were a bit rougher than his own but Rhys always appreciated the contrast in the sensation.  Zer0’s jam hands (Rhys was never letting them live that down) caressed Rhys face, bringing him in closer.

When Rhys parted for air, Zer0 attempted to dive in for more, but Rhys stopped him.  Zer0 gave a chirp whine in protest.  “I don’t know Zer0 you still seem pretty week, I don’t want to stress your body out to much~”  Rhys teased.

Zer0 gave him a deadpan look before standing and stretching their legs.  “I feel better already.”

Rhys bit his lip to die down his laughter. “Looks like a miracle to me.”  

“Yes. Miracle.”  Rhys screeched as Zer0 picked him up and brought him to the bedroom where the two proceeded to make out for the rest of the night.  

[arcadiasarchives]

The Price of Memory

It was strange sitting around with my friends after everything. The old pub we’d practically lived in since university still looked exactly the same. The booth we always commandeered no matter how packed the place was still had the little sign with ‘reserved’ written in red that the owner had put up when we became her best customers. The table was still stained, and in one place burned where the girls had tried a little experiment that had gone about as well as could be expected. My friends were all still the same, still did the stupid, endearing, infuriating things they always had done and probably always would. But then why would they be different. We all promised ourselves that nothing would be different when everything started and nothing had happened to change that. Not really. But then there was something different wasn’t there. I was what was different. Because they thought that I had forgotten, but I remember. Everything

I remember the beginning, the magic and the secrets we all kept. I remember the adrenaline and the happiness of being part of something no matter how dangerous it could be. I remember the darkness, the battles, the war. But I’m not supposed to, I remember that as well. It feels terrible, continuing the charade when they’re all so obviously worried about me. Even grumpy old Samael makes a special trip every so often to discreetly see if I’m doing any better. Under the guise of dropping off forgotten homework or chasing up missing papers.

It’s hard for the others to get me up to the university to see him for secretive check-ups as I’m not taking ‘night classes’ like they are. Of course, his magic, sneaky as he thinks it is, hasn’t picked up on anything because there’s nothing there to find. 

No old spells were hindering my memory. No brain damage. No curses or spirits or any such thing. No just good old fashioned threats and violence. It was amazing how well those things still worked. A little shocking that a man with so much power at his fingertips would resort to that but he’d always seemed like a traditional sort of guy. So here I am sitting in the corner while Jax and Kieran try to discreetly have an argument at the other end of the table about how to deal with a lich. Alice is doing her best to talk over them, telling me about this really weird thing that happened at the bookshop today. It’s interesting but I’m sure the real story is even better, the way she trails off in places and has to think for a second means it’s having all the magic cut out of it for my benefit. But that’s the price I pay to keep them safe. Or at least safer. I know that Adrian didn’t get hit by a car while crossing the street and that Maya didn’t burn her hands while cooking. But I can’t keep them safe from everything. Not with what they stick their noses into all the time and at least this way there’s no big bad waiting around every corner. Just every other corner.

Nicolai, Seth, and Grace come in looking more than a little worse for wear just as Alice is about to tell the boys to fuck off. I can tell because she always gets this really annoyed look right before she says it. They were getting a bit too loud to ignore and I was going to have to ask what they were on about soon. I don’t like doing it but I can only pretend to be so oblivious for so long before they start to realize it’s deliberate. They don’t come over to the table and my heart skips a beat as Jax goes over to talk to them. This can’t be good, it’s never good, and I feel myself crossing my fingers under the table. I never believed in luck, still don’t most of the time, but I’ve started testing it every once in a while just in case.

“Hey, apparently Samael’s had to move our lecture so we’re going to have to leave now if we all want to be able to get our stuff.” Jax is looking at me apologetically, it was after all the first night we’d all been supposed to hang out for ages. “I’m sorry man.”

“It’s fine, you can’t control your classes.” I smiled as Alice got up, ruffling my hair as she did. Samael rearranging lectures was code for, information possible fight, so not something to be too worried about but my stomach was still twisting at the thought. 

“We’ll do it tomorrow or the day after, promise.” She said as she headed around the table to grab her coat, the others all nodding enthusiastically.

“I’ll hold you to that.” I wonder if my cheer sounds as fake to them as it does to my own ears. If it does they don’t say anything and I watch them go, ignoring the way my stomach twists at the thought that this could very well be the time one of them doesn’t come back.

My ginger beer is looking a lot less appealing now. The bubbles popping every so often reminding me how fragile everything was. How fragile life was. My friends lives. Well, there goes my resolution to stop drinking. Alice and Adrian are going to be disappointed in me. They're so happy I’ve stopped drinking they haven’t even asked about it. Which is good because I haven’t come up with a suitable reason and as much as they love me none of them are going to buy any of the generic shit people offer up. Me my reason is based purely on logic. When I’m drunk I can’t always control my brain. If I don’t have control over my brain I might say or do something that gives me away. So now I only drink when I’m alone, which is pretty sad, but even that’s a rare thing. Tonight is just going to be one of those rare things. I’ll be sober long before I see anyone.

“When exactly are you going to stop all of this nonsense?”

Looking up from what is probably only my third glass of whiskey I find Maggie with her hands on her hips giving me one of those looks. The looks reserved for people who cross her or people who need a life lesson taught to them. I’ve been on the receiving end of that look before, for both reasons, but I can’t think why I’d warrant it now.

“Huh?”

Definitely not one of my more eloquent replies but it’s my first time drinking in awhile my brain’s a little sluggish.

“You heard me young man. It’s not nice what you’re doing to them.” She reprimanded as she sat across from me.

I don’t think my blood has ever run cold so fast in my entire life. And that’s including the time I accidentally came face to face with a hell hound. Coincidentally it was also the first time I came face to face with a hell hound which certainly didn’t really help matters. Hey on the plus side I was more or less sober already.

“I’m sorry what.” The look she gave me could have melted stone and I immediately raised my hands in surrender. Maggie was not someone you wanted mad at you. “Sorry sorry I just...”

Her face softened as I tried desperately to figure out what to say. She couldn’t know what was going on. For starters, she had no idea all the weird shit we’d gotten into. If she had noticed something it probably came off as some sort of cruel game I’m playing at the expense of my friends. The thought alone makes me want to vomit.

“Sweetheart sometimes I wonder what on earth made Samael pick you lot.”

Okay, that was weird, she shouldn’t know Samael, there was no reason for her to know Samael any better than she knew us. Certainly no reason for that highly accurate comment. Maybe I’ve already drunk too much. If my tolerance for alcohol is that low my life really is shit. Maggie shakes her head like she does when she catches people showing off around her bar. It’s that disappointed mother face with a hint of challenge in it that no one has ever dared counter. I’m certainly not about to start.

“How do you think Samael finds gifted people with potential. It’s hardly like he goes out to find them is it.”

And oh, oh, that makes a lot of sense. The reserved sign had gone up not long after Samael began tutoring Kieran, Grace, and Ace in the arts of magic. It had been a little while before any of the rest of us learned or joined but yeah it would have been around the same time. I reached for my drink though not completely convinced more alcohol was the answer. So many little things I’d noticed over the years began to take on a whole new life. The fact that the cold hardwood chairs and benches had suddenly been replaced with padded ones just after Alice and Alec spent the night being thrown through walls. No one ever noticing when one of us looked like death. Ace being barred. I quickly turned away from that last thought and back to the matter at hand.

“Have you told Samael?” Which was definitely my more pressing concern because not only did I have no way of explaining this without giving myself away his brain would immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion.

“Of course not,” Maggie said with a rather put upon air, like it was completely obvious she wouldn’t tell him. Considering she’d told me not a minute ago that she was the reason he’d picked us out I think she could have cut me a little slack. “I’m sure you have reasons. Very good reasons in fact.”

“Yeah.”

Now she’s looking at me expectantly and I know she wants me to tell her. I shouldn’t, it’s too dangerous it could ruin everything. But at the same time, I want to. I need advice, need to know what to do because there’s no way I can keep this up forever. Besides short of a complete stranger I can’t think of anyone better to tell. If she’s telling the truth no one knows about her, I doubt anyone even suspects, and if she hasn’t told Samael yet she’s hardly going to now. But it all boils down to that doesn’t it, if she’s telling the truth. Because if she’s not that means she’s one of Kyle’s which is going to ruin everything. I really really hate my life sometimes, and to think everything had been going great just a few months ago. Of course, this is Maggie so if I don’t tell her she’s going to get it out of me somehow. Besides I want to trust her.

It doesn’t take nearly as long as I ever thought it would, but still long enough that I know it’s the right thing for me even though I regret it just a little. Maggie looks sympathetic, her hand resting on mine and it’s one of the most comforting feelings. I trail off about not knowing what to do and finish what is now my fifth whiskey wondering where I can go to get more if this ends really badly.

“I’m so proud of you Xander, I know none of this can be easy.” She smiles at the little noise I make though even I don’t know whether or not it’s agreement. “But I think the best thing right now is to tell Samael.” Panic must have shown on my face because she immediately raised her hand to stop my protests. “Not the others, just Samael. Think we can manage that? It’s alright to say no.”

I think about it for a moment my head already beginning to nod. Samael will know what to do. Samael always has an answer.

“Yeah, I think we can manage that.”

[auspicious-lilana]

Ultimate Spiderman (Peter Parker x Stark! OC x Sam alexander x Danny Rand)

Summary: When people hear 'Maya Stark' everyone would think about the perfect, smart. good looking, rich, student body president of Midtown High.Nobody but her childhood friend Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man and her new team of heroes. Ava, Sam, Danny, and Luke AKA  white tiger, Nova, Iron fist, and Power Man knows about her secret of being Queen's very own Mistress, soon to be ULTIMATE Mistress

Part 1 

“I know you're out there you wall-crawling menace! It is the duty of every New Yorker to report the actions of these masked miscreants. So listen up: As long as J. Jonah Jameson is CEO of Daily Bugle Communications, I won't rest until New York has seen the last of Spider-Man!”  I rolled my eyes as the mentioned spiderman webbed the screen Jonah’s face was just on. 

______________________________________________________________________________

 Other kids I know start their day with orange juice. Us? We- well not Mistress- get yelled at by a 100-foot tall cranky pants. Where’s a little love for the spider-guy? I'm down here with Mistress everyday trying the best we can at this hero routine. It's not easy to learn the ropes by yourself-expect Mistress who gets trained by Mr.Iron Man- Let's face it, introduction to super heroing isn't a high school elective. Speaking of school, I still have to pick a cake for Aunt May before first period. Then its hang time with our best pals MJ and Harry. And maybe a nap between classes.  But first we gotta save that cop from a skidding car.

______________________________________________________________________________

I was quick to act and quickly sent a force field to stop the car from crashing into the bakery. Oh, I knew fully well Pe- Spiderman had to pick up that cake for Aunt May. 

“I’m starting to think Jameson is wrong about you two, spider, Mistress!” 

“Spread the word Chief!” Spidey yelled back from the building he was gripping on to and I floated beside before we landed down a roof to see Trapster.

“Heya bug brain and the wicked witch of the west, I knew that had to draw you two out” 

“Nice to see you too Trapster” I replied sarcastically rolling my eyes. We’ve been heroes here in Queens for about a year and we fought this guy THREE times already, All being a complete fail. Let's skip forward all the gross stuff (yes I mean the slime thing, that is one thing I don’t ever want to mention AGAIN) 

“This is when I leave the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man note? Can I borrow a pen?” The Villain's eyes widen in terror but no spidey/magic sense? This is new. I said before the both of us paused the show.

______________________________________________________________________________

Let us explain the whole spidey sense or Magic sense for Mistress thing. 

It's like an early warning system that kicks in whenever there's a danger to happen.

And maybe it's on blink 

______________________________________________________________________________

Spiderman began knocking on his head. 

“Hello? This thing on?” I facepalmed at his ridiculous strategy. If there is no spidey/magic sense and the Villain is in terror it only means one thing...

“Spider-Man, Mistress” S.H.I.E.L.D. of course. We turned around to see Nick Fury stepping out of his helicarrier. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. That's the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Or as Spider-Man would put it, The super spies.

“You super spies make an appointment to sneak up on hardworking superheroes?” I mentally sighed as I didn’t want to seem unprofessional and ruin the whole great magic Sorceress image but really Spider-Man? Really? 

“Kid” Nick pointed at the mess Spiderman had done-yes spiderman cause I went off somewhere to do an errand while he took care of it- in the process of stopping Trapster. “We got to talk. No one's saying you stop the bad guy but look around you. Is this the way Captain America would've done it? Cap could have stopped Trapster within 5 seconds. You took 3 minutes. With lots of collateral damage.”  Yeah, Uncle Steve would’ve finished this job in 5 seconds, exactly why I was trained by him. It could’ve been faster if I had joined in but Spidey-boy here would’ve been regretting big time later. 

“We-”

“You mean you, I took no part in this” 

“Fine. I do a good job!” 

“For a clueless rookie” 

“Yeah- huh?” I shook my head at my partner. Don’t take this the wrong way! I knew Peter since I first started school and I love him and all- as a friend- but even I can be done with his idiotic ways. 

“Look, everyone starts out clueless. Even Iron Man back when he was a novice. But he learned. Eventually. What would you say if I can help turn eventually into right now for Spider-Man and Mistress?”  I’m not surprised Dad was a novice once since he cracks jokes in battles right now but he knows when to be serious, and when to be not...also cause I may or may not witnessed his first mess-up when he tried out his suit back when I was what? 6? 7?

“Heh. I knew it. You want me to buy a line of self-help books. Not interested. Besides, I'm tapped out till payday so if we're all done here I'm gonna…” 

“I’m serious, Peter Parker, Maya Stark”  you may not see but I raised my eyebrow under my mask before Spiderman or now Peter turned to him confused. 

“You know?”  If that isn’t the stupidest thing to ask a super spy then I might as well go shave my hair. 

“Everything. Super spy, remember?”   

______________________________________________________________________________

Don’t tell me another flashback

You know it, Maya. Anyways Growing up with Uncle Ben and Aunt May,and being friends with Maya was a pretty typical childhood. Until the radioactive spider bite and Maya getting kissed by some butterfly that had potion on it. After came the powers and that terrible night I-

We. Peter. We. 

Right WE lost Uncle Ben. That was when we made a promise to do something good with the hand of fate dealt us. Things  I wouldn't joke about even if I knew how.

Which brings us to what we are now

____________________________________________________________________________

“With great power comes great responsibility. Good words from a good man” I looked down. Even if Uncle Ben wasn’t really my Uncle, he still treated me like I was his niece whenever I came over to Peter’s. 

“Uncle Ben was the best,” I saw Spiderman look away glaring at the sidewalk. 

“It's been what? A year now?” 

 “It would’ve been his birthday today” I sadly mentioned as I looked down at my brown boots that seemed more interesting at the moment. 

“You two honored it doing what you do. Now I'm offering you the chance to do better. To really learn about responsibility.” 

“Translation?” Spidey asked growing curious I'm guessing since he’s now looking at Nick. 

“I want to S.H.I.E.L.D. train you to be a better Spider-Man and Mistress. The Ultimate Spider-Man and Mistress”

 “And how Ultimate is Ultimate?” I saw Trapster running away behind Nick but before I could do anything Nick had shot his gun high hitting a pole which knocks down on Trapster knocking him out.

 “That Ultimate”

“Sweet”

 “Cool,” Soon Peter’s phone rang and he checked to see it was MJ calling. 

“Seems I got to put my Ultimate phone into Ultimate vibrate, hehe” 

“Your tech needs to upgrade” Nick placed a new web shooter on Peter’s wrist. “S.H.I.E.L.D. tech guys developed this next-gen web shooter”

 “Too big, too clunky” Nick stuck his hand out. “I didn’t say no”  That obviously meant he liked it but had too much of an ego to admit it.

“With your talent and my training, you can learn to be a better heroes. The next Cap, the next Iron Man, one of the greats” I’m pretty used to people saying  I would be the next Iron Man or Tony Stark since I am his only daughter or family but I can tell by the way Peter’s eyes shined, he was more than honored to hear it but again hid it with a ‘cool’ act. 

“Thanks for the offer, but I'm not allowed to talk to strangers. Have a nice life okay. Cool?”  Peter swung away as Nick and I shook our heads.

“Teenagers” 

“Correction. Teenage boys” Nick nodded before turning to me.

“How about you kid?” 

“I’m in. I guess, seeing how dad would try to get me to agree with the offer either way so I can follow his footsteps to become an avenger of the next generation” 

“Good choice. Let's go” 

“Wait. now?” 

“Yes.” 

“But I need to get this cake to peter” I brought the cake out from a place I kept it in during the fight with Trapster. 

“I’ll get Coulson to pass it to him after his classes” 

“Wait a sec” I quickly did a summoning spell getting paper and pen and wrote a note for him. “Give him this too” 

“Okay. we must get going now” I nodded as I boarded the Helicarrier.

***

Peter unlocked his locker to see a note drop out. He looked at it confused before opening it. 

Hey, Peter! 

I won't be coming to school today as I decided I would say yes to Nick’s offer (Don't worry I’m only checking it out! I won't join till you want to as well!) make sure to pick up Uncle Ben’s cake from Principal Coulson! Your welcome!

-Maya S. 

Peter thought about the note a bit taken aback Maya would agree to do something without him, but then again she is Iron Man's daughter. It was in her blood to do this! 

“Peter. I've been calling you all morning. Where have you been? And where’s Maya?” MJ stood by his locker with a notebook in hand as Peter smiled at her. Peter thought about Nick’s offer before making up a lie.

“Uh, the bus broke down? And Maya’s home sick” 

______________________________________________________________________________

I hate to lie to MJ. ever since we were kids nobody’s been a better friend than MJ...well except Maya though. Like the time we were 5 the two of us ran away together and tried to get Maya to do it too but her dad had security on her, also, we weren't allowed to cross streets so we just walked up and down the driveway. When we were 12 we decided to finally get serious, Mistake! 

______________________________________________________________________________

“That sucks, anyways I wanted to show you this” MJ showed her a video of Jameson. 

“ It is the duty of every New Yorker to report the actions of these masked miscreants. Especially that ticking time-bomb called ``Spider-Man.”  

“Doesn’t that jerk ever shut up? And don't you find it weird he hates Spiderman but doesn’t complain about Mistress?” 

“This ‘jerk’ is going to someday give this journalism student her first job, and besides, I think it’s because Mistress is cleaner with her messes and less talkative too.” Is she saying I talk a lot?

“You want to work for Jameson? Total nightmare” 

“That's what it takes. Jameson's the biggest game in town. Kids have to be realistic Petey. We can't all be like Harry or Maya. “  As soon as Harry was mentioned Harry was seen coming towards them.

______________________________________________________________________________

Meet Harry Osborn.  I love Harry. Everyone loves harry, even Maya does. He’s rich(as well as Maya), He’s handsome (Maya also has equal good looks)  but most importantly he’s been a friend to me when I need it. 

Since that day we met, we’ve been best friends forever. Well that’s life here in Midtown. It’s okay

______________________________________________________________________________

I sensed my spidey sense before I heard the voice of the one person I never liked. 

“Hey Puny Parker!” let me rephrase myself. Life here in Midtown is okay, except for one drawback. “Its locker knocker time! This time there won’t be no Stark hottie to save you this time!”

______________________________________________________________________________

 If Tony Stark were ever to hear this I swear this guy would be swimming with killer sharks or even worse. And the guy’s name is Flash, Flash Thompson the Sasquatch sized football player. There's always this rigid consistency to our relationship.  

Just once I’d like to turn it around instead of always once again being locked in my own locker.

______________________________________________________________________________

I somehow stayed in my locker till the janitor opened it to see me again before he started rambling on how I should stand up for myself and how he in my age did this and that while I awkwardly walked away. 

Soon Harry and I were at lunch as the lunch lady winked at him before he uncomfortably dragged us away as he awkwardly smiled at the lunch lady.

“Dude, Locker knocker time again? Thompson is such a tool” 

“That's the worst thing that happens to me today. I'm coming out ahead.”  I was about to eat before my senses went off. Remember the spidey/magic sense me and Maya talked about? Well, this time it's kicking up a storm.  An explosion happened behind me as we all fell back and the frightful four-well three at the moment- came in while holding up the principal. 

“Attention students. Your principal has something to tell you.”  Wizard exclaimed as he levitated the principal in front of him.

“ Students. Your attention, please. Your school is now under the control of, of…” The principal trailed off not knowing who they were. 

“The Frightful four” Thundra finished off.

“Uh, there’s only three of you” MJ awkwardly pointed out. 

“Quiet!” Wizard yelled and threw the principal into the wall in frustration. 

______________________________________________________________________________

These guys are bad news. Wizard, master of high tech gadgets. Klaw, the villain made of living sound. Thundra, ruthless warrior women from an alternate future timeline...Don’t ask. And Trapster- oh wait Maya and I already captured him. 

______________________________________________________________________________

“Before the Trapster was captured, he learned Spider-Man and maybe Mistress as well attends this school.  And unless they give themselves up, we'll tear this place down brick by brick.” Wizard explained.

“Yeah!” A student yelled. 

“We’re serious” The kid quickly shut his mouth in fear. 

“Klaw. So who is our mysterious wall-crawler and cold witch? A teacher? A student? A cafeteria lady? They seem reluctant to talk. Klaw, make them listen to reason.”   

“STOP IT!” I yelled angry as everyone got it by a sound wave. 

“Peter no!” MJ pulled me back but I pulled away.

“Heh. Definitely not Spider-Man or Mistress” 

“I’ll crush the runt” Thundra volunteered. 

“ Don't crush him, make an example of him,”  Wizard said as Klaw sent the sound waves at him making Peter fall back yelling in pain as he gripped his ears tight. Harry held back MJ so she wouldn’t get hurt. 

“Shut it down! I’ll talk!” Peter yelled. Klaw stopped and Peter got up and saw his lunch. 

“Listen up. Everyone needs to hear this. Food Fight!” Peter quickly threw food at Wizard, soon everyone began throwing food at them as Peter took the opportunity to hide behind a pillar and took off his shirt to reveal his suit. “This is nuts. How do they know? How did they find me?” Peter saw the tracker on his arm and took it out and smashed it. “Fury was right, I have a lot to learn about responsibility,”  Peter said to himself before placing on his mask and coming out from hiding to see Klaw pointing his sound laser arm at a group of kids. “Dude! Don’t point that thing! It might go off!” Klaw looked at Spiderman as he shot a web onto his arm so it can hit Klaw making him dizzy from sound waves. “It really stinks to be you today. Actually, it probably stinks to be you every day. Then again it could be me. I haven't washed this suit in a week.”

*** 

Maya was walking around the Base with Nick Fury touring her around the helicarrier. She had already placed her cloak down since this whole base was filled with secret agents, who would spill her identity?  “Here’s where we keep weapons and gadgets inspired by you.” Nick Fury said as she looked at the different things that were being tested. Cloaks filled with weapons that can be used at anytime. masks with built in lasers. An invisibility cloak. All similar to hers but different sorts of upgrades and such. 

“Maya Stark, meet Dr.Curt Conner. Dr.Curt Conner, meet Maya Stark” I nodded at Dr. Curt Conner as I saw a missing arm? he soon pushed down his arm and stuck it out for me to shake with a grin as I shaked his hand.

“It’s nice to meet the daughter of a genius like Stark. Makes me wonder if you’ve inherited those genes” 

“She had. How do you think she’d be able to help build the Iron Man suit Mr.Stark is using now and have a much higher IQ then a lot of her scientists” 

“Would you ever be in interest of working with us?” Dr.Curt asked as I politely shook my head. 

“I’m made for the field. As much as I love too, I have a good reputation of Mistress to uphold.” 

“Yes, yes. I’ve seen you fight, your a good one.”

“She’s obviously the better Stark” Fury said, I’m guessing he’s not much of a fan of Dad. 

“Have she taken the entrance simulation yet?” 

“She’s just about to” 

***

Peter quickly changed back to normal and ran into the cafeteria from the lockers -one of them having Flash in them- to see MJ holding an unconscious Harry.

“Oh, this is all my fault.” Peter looked up from Harry to see Mr.Osborn. “Mr. Osborn. I'm sorry” Mr.Osborn picked up Harry, scowling. 

“Why apologize Peter? What could you have possibly done?”  Mr.Osborn left with Peter looking down guilty. ‘I wish Maya was here, maybe then She could’ve helped protect him and...clean up my mess once again…’

Soon Peter got home to aunt May cooking. “Peter!” 

“Hey Aunt May” 

“Are you okay? I heard there was trouble at your school” 

______________________________________________________________________________

I know what you're thinking: Spider-Man lives at home with his doting old aunt? Loser. Think again. My aunt is pretty cool. She works all day. Then Monday night she's at yoga. Tuesday, it's French cooking. Thursday it's bowling. Her full schedule lets me come and go as I please. Of course I have to keep the Spidey stuff on the down low. There's no way she'd approve of her little Petey mixing it up with super villains. At least it’s easier for Maya. Her dad already knows about her secret as well as mines so she doesn’t sneak around.

______________________________________________________________________________

“yes, Aunt May, Those psychos never touched me” I wish I could say the same for Harry.

“You know what. If we had Norman Osborn or Tony Stark's money, I would put you in private school immediately.”

“Yeah, that’d be sweet. Hey when’s dinner?” 

“It's almost ready, put the candles on the cake”

“Cake?” 

“Yeah, the one right there on the counter” Aunt May pointed to the boxed cake. I chuckled and smiled. Maya once again cleans up my mess. I went up to my room and sat down after a nice dinner and cake. It was weird not to eat with Maya since she comes EVERY night..she must be training hard to become what Fury promised huh? Ultimate Mistress... Nice ring to it. I looked back at at the picture of me and Maya from where we were in science camp when we were 11. You’re always there to clean up after me Maya. Not once have I ever returned the countless favors you had done for me… maybe it's time to change that. I nodded to myself and changed into Spider-Man and gone out to the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier that up in the air. Okay, let's do this. Put out the welcome mat S.H.I.E.L.D. Spidey's come a callin. Fury's right. With his help, I can do better. I'm done with this one-sided duo loser routine. It's time for me to step up and show the big boys and Maya what the Ultimate Spider-Man can do. I shot my web up high for it to backfire and not reach the Helicarrier...Great. I began falling as I brought out Fury’s web shooter he gave me. Fury's tech boys better be on their game or I'm street pizza. Whoa! Yeah! Okay, not too clunky. I thought to myself as I gripped onto the Helicarrier.  

“Intruder alert. Intruder Alert” Lasers came out from the Helicarrier and began blasting me as I dodged them while holding onto the steel wall of the Helicarrier.

“Whoa! What is this? Blast the Spider-Man and win a panda?” I started webbing all of them before I lost my footing and fell. I quickly shot another web and got myself up there again but on top of the Helicarrier instead. 

“Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert” Then out of nowhere, all the laser targeted me… I was cornered. Then out of nowhere, all the laser targeted me… I was cornered.  I turned to my side to see Nick Fury, who turned off the security system with a press of a button. I quickly took off my mask and saluted. “Your friendly neighborhood Ultimate Spider-Man reporting for duty sir!““ Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. Spider-Man. Hope you survive the experience. “ Nick Fury said as he walked off leaving Peter there standing awkwardly. “Uhh, to be continued?” 

[spideymood]

Never Judge a Book by its Cover - Tom Holland // Part 1

Hogwarts AU

Pairings: gryffindor!tom x hufflepuff!reader

Request: Please, more tom holland at Hogwarts. Maybe a Tom Holland x Reader, where Reader is a shy Hufflepuff who silently crushes on him, and Tom is the braggy Gryffindor who she doesn't think she has a chance with? And then he accidentally asks her to the Yule Ball when trying to ask some hot girl and discovers she's awesome and not judge a book by its cover?

Word count: 2.1k

Author's note: I combined this request while also completing my entry for @spideypeach  and @astral-parker ‘s writing challenge. Even though the end date was 31st December...at least I kind of made it in time ahahhha. I realized it got very long, so I turned it into a small series. Anyway, you may see that the ending is very...rushed. That’s when I realized the end date was four days ago, and I realized it yesterday.

Warnings: Maybe a little strong language...

Part 1: Promposals

Red and brown leaves flew around in the air. It was autumn. The cold November air filled your lungs with scents of rain and dirt. You sat silently on a cold stone bench in the courtyard finishing your homework. Your yellow Hufflepuff scarf kept flying and blocking your History of Magic book.

Some may have wondered why you didn't just study in the library. The answer was that you simply just loved Autumn. In addition that the season contained the spooky month, you adored seeing the gorgeous colours. Maybe it rained a lot, but it was also very refreshing.

Another addition was that the over-confident but attractive Gryffindor, Tom Holland, also spent a lot of time in the courtyard too. Swift glances were sent his way, without him noticing. Your crush on him was ridiculous.

You knew that he was known as a player, not only a Quidditch chaser but also a player among girls. However, you couldn't help but fall for his charm. The spark in his eyes when he talked about things he liked always made your heart flutter.

Yet you knew that you would never have a chance with him. He was far too interested in someone else. Everyone with eyes that worked perfectly would see his admiration to one special girl.

That was, of course, the Slytherin Liza Patek. She was beautiful with raven black hair and forest green eyes. Liza was everything you wanted to be. Maybe your silly crush on Holland had made you think that you had to be like Liza. However, Liza was pretty and extremely kind. There was no doubt most guys and girls fancied to her.

"Just to let you all know, if my name was picked up from the Goblet of Fire, I would definitely win the Triwizard Tournament." you overheard the braggy Gryffindor brag. He sat on the side of the fountain made of rock, with his brothers and mate. They all wore their robes with their respective house colours.

"Uhuh, yeah sure Holland." his best friend Harrison Osterfield replied sarcastically. "You would win - and every girl in the universe would just love to touch you all the time!"

"Oh my god, I'm Tom freaking Holland and I'm the hottest guy in the universe!" his younger brother Harry mimicked.

In response, Tom just laughed. "Hey, I was just joking, shitheads!"

In one split second, his eyes wandered to yours. His deep brown eyes that you wished would be on you all the time. You could feel yourself blush as he shifted position to talk with his mates. Were you fantasising the whole sight exchange?

Thankfully, your Hufflepuff scarf hid your reddened face. Silently, you picked up your books and notes, ready to go. You knew you wouldn't be able to focus anymore. Not because of the windy weather, but your eyes would send quick glances to Tom every thirty seconds if you stayed.

Honestly, you felt betrayed by your heart. Out of every single person at Hogwarts, and even in the world, you had to fall for the cockiest guy ever. And he didn't even know your name. How would ever have a chance with him?

You had to walk past the boys to make it back to the Hufflepuff dorm. There was another way, but you were tired and didn't want to spend an extra 15 minutes walk just because you didn't want to walk past your crush. Even though you didn't want to catch any attention, you would not take a detour because of something ridiculous.

"Y'know, the Yule Ball is approaching. Do you idiots have any dates yet?" asked Sam Holland. He picked up Harrison's History of Magic book from the solid ground.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe three dates?" Harry shrugged while grinning. Many would say the curly-haired boy was a real player in his year.

"Oiiii!" Harrison and Tom laughed as Sam cracked a smile. You could sense Harry blushing from the sudden laughter.

Harry fixed his curly hair as he laughed. "Ah, just admit it. The ladies love me." All the boys laughed.

You walked as casual as possible. You had no desire in disturbing them, and you did positively not want their attention. It would be too much. But your books were very heavy and the ground was slippery.

There was no surprise that you would trip. But you did not imagine to fall right into Tom Holland's lap. Your books were accidentally thrown in the fountain as you lost your balance. Your wand and quill ended up on the ground as your body was thrown onto Tom's lap.

Fate was really playing with you.

"Oh my god, I'm so-so-so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to..uh..fall on you. I'm so sorry!" you excused immediately. You moved from Tom's strong body as you looked after your books. "Shit!" Your books were in the fountain.

"Hey, let me help ya." Sam offered as he helped you to pick up your books from the cold water in the fountain. "Are you okay?"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you guys." you picked up your wand as you mumbled a spell to dry your books. "Tergeo." Hot air sprung out from the tip of your wand as it dried your wet books.

Tom didn't really know what to do. A moment ago, he was joking with his mate and brothers - and the next second there was a girl on his lap. He didn't recognize the girl until he saw her face. It was the one Hufflepuff girl who spent all her time in the courtyard.

He had heard from a lot of people that she was very kind, but also shy. However, Tom had never really cared to get to know her. He knew they shared multiple classes, but he had never noticed her much. "It's okay," Tom answered blank, moving away from the fountain.

As soon as your books were dry, you picked up your books and left. "Sorry!" you excused again. You could feel the boys' eyes on you as you walked into the old castle.

Back in the courtyard, the boys kept their conversation about girls on. "Such a girl-magnet, huh?" Harry snickered.

"Ah, fuck you, Harry." Tom rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," Harrison shrugged. "You know what? I'm going to ask Maya to the Yule Ball."

"Oooh, so you're finally going to ask the girl you've had a crush on for three years," Harry stated sarcastically. "Y'know, you've tried to ask her out before, but you always chicken out, Haz. I won't believe it until I see you asking her out with my own eyes."

"What about this. We need to ask out a girl in front of everyone. The bigger proposal, the better." Tom challenged. "And the best and most romantic proposal gets bragging rights and ten minutes worth of shower time for two months."

"Oh, I'm in!" Harry shouted. Tom, Harrison and Harry were in the red and gold Hogwarts house, while Sam was in Hufflepuff. To say at least, Sam had to be the judge.

"Deal." the three boys nodded at each other.

"Get ready to shower in cold water, cause I'm goin' to win!" Harrison smirked.

"Let the game begin," Sam announced.

Tom had planned everything. The roses leading to the pavilion, then the nice notes and of course the fireworks. If everything went as he planned in the pavilion, like Liza accepting his promposal, everything would go perfectly.

The air was cool as the sun was setting in the horizon. Tom felt the nerves almost taking over his body. He had never been that nervous. It even surpassed his stress level from when he studied for his N.E.W.T.s.

The proposal in the pavilion was only a small and private one. Tom had also planned the proposal in front of his friends and brothers to be in the Great Hall in front of everyone. With even more fireworks and roses.

Liza Patek wouldn't be able to resist him. Not a single girl would be able to.

"Hey, I heard you wanted to talk to me." a calm voice spoke. Tom recognized the voice. He turned around to see the one he had been waiting for. Liza.

Her dark brown hair framed her face which Tom had dreamed of multiple times. It had taken him a while to get the courage to ask her out. If there was one thing he was afraid of, it was rejection.

"Yeah, um...um," Tom had lost his sense of words. He couldn't even say a proper sentence. "Y'know Yule ball is coming, and I was wonderin' if you wouldliketogototheballwithme."

Liza's confused look made him even more nervous. "Um, I don't know what to say. I would've loved to go with you, but someone else asked me first." She looked deeply into his eyes. "I hope you understand."

Tom's mind went blank. The only words he got out of his mouth was, "Oh, okay."

"I mean, this whole plan was amazing. And I love all of the roses. I know there's a lucky person out there who deserves this more than I do." Liza excused. She gave Tom a soft kiss on his left cheek before leaving.

Tom had never been rejected. Never ever. It was a new feeling for him. Heartbroken, he went back to his shared dorm room. His face was blank. His biggest fear was rejection. Rejection from friends, family and others. He didn't want to fail at anything. But now he failed at something he was incredibly nervous about.

After all, he forgot about something very critical. His public proposal. And didn't turn out as he expected.

It was a week after the incident. The one where you ended up on your crush's and managed to embarrass yourself. Out of the many embarrassing things you had been through your entire life, that was your worst incident.

Since the event, you hadn't dared to go back to the courtyard. Now you were stuck in the silent library. There was nothing bad with it, but it didn't feel as personal as the courtyard, where you had your own space to do whatever you wanted to do.

The library was cold and smelled horrendous. Some other student had managed to spill a lot of pumpkin juice on the stone cold floor and the old carpets. Three days old pumpkin juice stains did not smell good.

Sighing, you decided to take a break from studying. You were studying all the time. Closing your History of Magic book, you checked the dusty iron clock on the left wall. The clock was almost seven in the evening - which meant dinner was almost over.

Picking up your books and parchment paper, you ran in a hurry the direction of the exit. The empty halls were filled with the smell of tasty food from the Great Hall.

When you arrived the filled hall, you were surprised to see everyone watching you. The crowd went slowly silent as you stood by the entrance. You froze at the sight. Did you have anything in your face or hair?

Suddenly, you heard loud explosions from behind. You turned around in fear, to see multiple colours erupted from fireworks. It took a while until you figured out the firework made a sentence. "Will you be my date to the Yule Ball? Love, Tom."  

You couldn't believe it. What in heaven was happening?

Red roses fell down from the magic sky of the Great Hall. All you could see was the fireworks and roses. Turning around, you saw the amusement in everyone's eyes. Then, the realization hit you.

At the end of the hall, laughter erupted. "Honestly Tom, I really thought you could do better! She looks so bloody confused."

Tom froze the moment the fireworks went off. "Fuck," he whispered to himself as he turned around, looking after the poor person who would get all the attention. He almost dropped goblet with gillywater when he realized you were in the middle of it all.

Everyone watched, wondering what your answer to the very confusing promposal. Who could say no to Tom Holland? A sane person wouldn't be able to, they thought.

You couldn't handle the attention. So you did the only reasonable thing. You turned towards the exit and ran.

Anyway, just wanna say that it makes me so happy to hear your responses to this!! So please leave a message or something <3

And it will also make me happy if you reblog this so others can read this ;D

Add yourself to my taglist?

Permanent: @ultrunning @moonkissedtom @starlightfound @hydrated-bag-of-bones @jubaydahk @imaginesandfeels @ewolfwitchwisegirl @noir-spiderr @hollandharrison @lustful-holland @payyyy @beautifulwisdom2001 @sweetieparker @isthisnotit @marvel-pilot @petersrogers @courteousdolan @nebulafading @positiveparker @casuallytumblingdownthestairs @dreaming-queens @teenwolfbitches2 @fockeytom @veronicas-littleworld @peter-prkr

Permanent Tom Holland: @parkerpuff  @reengard @othersillyfangirl @inlovewithmobtom @the-queen-procrastinator @tomshufflepuff

[katdvs]

Author Note: Another pull from the request jar.  Enjoy!

Nyquil Haze

Riley’s head was swimming as she sat on her couch, a Hallmark movie was on, she was sure she saw Mariah Carey, but it had to be the Nyquil she had chugged not long before. Why wasn’t she falling asleep? That’s all she wanted to do.

This cold was kicking her ass. It was the only way she could explain it. Her head hurt, her nose was stuffed up, she was cold, then hot, her throat felt like it was on fire.

She didn’t want to think about her hair, less than a week ago she’d gone to get it styled differently to enter in her twenties—maybe even prepare to see him again, but now a week later it was a tangled knot on the top of her head.

At least she was home alone, she was thankful she convinced Maya and Smackle to go to the Christmas party without her. It was Zay’s annual Ugly Christmas Sweater party, which just meant he’d have Christmas Vacation on, a keg flowing of Keystone Light, and everyone would be dressed in ugly sweaters.

It also meant Lucas was back for the Holiday’s.

Her headache throbbed at the thought of him.

She wrapped her fuzzy blanket around her body, trying to ignore thoughts of him, but she couldn’t focus on anything but memories of him.

His lips on her neck, his hands on her body, sunshine on their skin as they rolled around on the blanket in the park. She easily could get lost in him, in them, and she did.

They broke up before they left for college, Lucas was going to Texas A&M, Riley was going to Berkley. He thrived in Texas, had a new Girlfriend by the time they all came home for winter break. Riley meanwhile wasn’t happy in California, she transferred to NYU the next year, moving into an apartment with Maya and Smackle. She dated around, eventually getting sort of serious with Bradley.

Bradley turned out to be a bore. Oh, sure he did everything right. But the spark, the connection just wasn’t there. So, when he proposed after a romantic dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant, she knew they were at the end. Of course, only a few hours later she was online when she saw the comments from her friends on a picture Lucas had posted of him and, whatever the bleach blonde was named.

Seeing that picture of Lucas and whatever her name had hurt her more than realizing she’d been in a nowhere relationship.

That was six months ago, and now her blood still boiled over it. What was wrong with her? Had she watched too many of these damn movies where old loves reunite.

Riley had never been so thankful for a cold in her entire life. She was far too sick to go to this stupid party she never enjoyed—really, she would much rather spend the night with hot cocoa—maybe a little peppermint schnapps in it, and White Christmas playing on the TV.

If she closed her eyes she could almost feel it, see it, the only thing that let her know it was a fantasy was picturing Lucas next to her.

Riley opened her eyes, she hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep. Someone was knocking on her door. Fuck Maya must’ve forgotten her key and Smackle must’ve eaten the Rum Cake that ugh she didn’t even know who made it just that it was strong and made her stomach turn at the scent of it.

The knocking on her door continued, “Riley are you okay?” the voice was muffled against her clogged ears as she pushed herself up from the couch.

She hugged her body, still feeling cold even as she wore her old Yankees hoodie—okay it was Lucas’ she stole it from him years ago and it was too comfortable for her to ever think of giving it back. He would have to pry it from her cold, dead body.

“Riley, open the door.” The voice pleaded before the sound of the locks turning could be heard.

Riley opened the door, leaving the chain up, “What is going on?” She looked up, her heart racing, it had to be the Nyquil this couldn’t be real.

Lucas stood on the other side of the door, “I um missed you at the party. I heard you weren’t feeling well and I just wanted to come check on you.”

“Just a minute.” Her voice hoarse and stuffy as she closed the door to undo the chain, she figured if she looked awful he wouldn’t care, he didn’t care about her. “Hi.”

“Hey, damn you’re really sick.” His face fell, he’d been hoping in a twisted way that she was faking it to avoid him.

She threw her hands um and then down defeated, “Yeah, I’m miserable, thanks for stopping by.”

He stuck his foot between the door and the frame before she could close it, “Riley, I came to see you.”

“You saw me, I’m sick, and miserable. I have my Nyquil and my Hallmark movies, this is like some Lacey Chabert marathon or something so I’ve got a good 10 movies to watch with the Queen.”

Lucas didn’t understand her, “Okay, you’re sick. You can’t be alone, you are making no sense at all.”

“No sense? You want to know what makes no sense, how Mariah Carey thinks she can play someone who is supposed to be the same age as the Hallmark Queen Lacey Chabert, and we’re not supposed to side-eye the fuck out of that.” Riley collapsed on the couch, exhausted from the mini-rant.

Lucas entered the apartment, set the bag he had with him down before he closed and locked the door, at least he thought he locked it. Why did the girls have half a dozen locks on their door? “So, what are you watching?”

“Hallmark movies,” She looked up to him, “Why are you still here?”

Lucas removed his scarf and jacket, revealing he wore a deep purple sweater that was plain far from the theme of Zay’s party.

“Did Zay kick you out for not wearing an ugly sweater?”

“No.” Lucas smirked as he studied the living room, “So this is where you, Maya, and Smackle live huh?”

“Yeah, it’s perfect for the three of us.” Riley pulled her blanket up around her just before Lucas sat down. “You don’t have to stay, go, hang out with everyone.”

“Riley” he looked at her gently, a sparkle in his eyes that still screamed she was the most beautiful woman to him, even if her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes puffy, her sinuses congested. “I wanted to see you, I miss you. We haven’t spent any time just us in a long time.”

Riley pushed herself up, grabbing her bottle of Nyquil before she started fighting trying to get it open. She relented when Lucas took it from her, opening it with easy, “Last time it was just us Lucas was a very long time ago.”

He handed her back the bottle of Nyquil, “You’re right, it was a very long time ago.” He watched as she drank the green medicine straight from the bottle. “Whoa, Riley slow down.”

“I just want to sleep this cold away.” She sighed as she watched him take the bottle from her and close it.

“I guess you don’t want the rum cake I brought you.”

Riley cringed, “Fuck no, just the thought that turns my stomach.”

Lucas stared at her, “Okay Nyquil makes you curse, that’s crucial information to have,” He was silent for a moment, “Maya said it was your favorite, honestly I’m not a fan of it myself but Cassidy insists I bring it with me, and well I can’t subject my family to it.”

“Oh yes the bleached blonde girlfriend.” Riley rolled her eyes as she flopped down on the couch.

He felt his heart flip, Riley was jealous. He tried to hold back the smile spreading on his lips. “Not a fan of Cassidy?”

“I don’t know her,” Riley pushed up from the couch, swaying a little, feeling Lucas’ hands on her hips to hold her steady.

“Is this my old hoodie?” He’d always thought she took it, he figured Maya would’ve convinced her to burn it in a trashcan in an alley.

He was touching her, holding her up. If Riley wasn’t lightheaded already she would be now, “I’ve had this for ages, I don’t remember where I got it.”

He pulled her down onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist so she couldn’t escape. “So, how’s Bradley?”

“Who?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Your boyfriend. Slimy guy, far too slick, a lot like Charlie that guy in middle school.”

This had to be a dream, why else would she be on his lap, with his arms around her. She was sure she could feel his fingertips making small circles against her back. She rubbed her head, still feeling the throbbing, “I broke up with him months ago. He proposed and I realized I could never marry him.”

Lucas released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in, “Good, he wasn’t right for you.”

“Yeah well your rum cake blonde isn’t right for you.” She covered her mouth with her hands as soon as she realized what she said.

“You’re right, Cassidy wasn’t right for me.” He took a hand to pull her hands away from her mouth, “She’s just a friend Riley. Yes, she wanted more, and there were times I wanted to be able to want more with her. Like after I’d see an Instagram post of you and Bradley on a date, or a snapchat about your wonderful boyfriend.”

“You aren’t dating Cassidy?”

“Nope, she and I went out once on a date freshmen year, and I think she wanted to throttle me by the end of the night.”

Riley was confused, “Why did I think she was your girlfriend if she wasn’t?”

“Because I never corrected you.” He sighed, closing his eyes, “You thought I moved on, you seemed so happy I had, like you were relieved.”

“You’re stupid” she pushed him and he fell back against the empty part of the couch, bringing her with him.

“Nyquil Riley is mean.” He attempted to tease her, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn’t pull away.

“Lucas let me go.”

“No” He stared into her eyes, trying to calculate if she would remember, if he could have the courage to do this all over again, “I can’t, I never did.”

“You don’t make sense Lucas.” She whined the way only a person feeling as sick as she did could get away with.

“I love you, I never stopped, I never let you go, I never moved on, it killed me that I couldn’t, I tried but failed because it’s you Riley, it’s always been you.”

Riley pulled away from him, sitting up, dizzy and now she wasn’t sure from what, “So you think you can come in here, tell me you love me and what Lucas? What did you expect me to say?”

“Tell me we still have a chance.” This was it, this would be a turning point in his life. He felt a chill ripple through his body as she paced in front of him. “Or you can tell me the truth, that I lost my chance with you, that we’re over and never meant to be. Break my heart once and for all.”

Riley leaned against the door, her hands resting on her forehead, “Did I just confess that I’m still in love with you? Maybe it’s the Nyquil forgive me.”

He felt the surge of confidence as he sprang to his feet, “No, you didn’t just confess that until just now. I had confessed that I’m still in love with you.”

Riley yawned, patted Lucas on the chest, “This was a great Hallmark, Nyquil dream, I’m going to crawl into bed now.”

She didn’t realize it was real. Lucas wanted to scream. “This isn’t a dream.” He sighed.

“Of course, it is.” She took his hand, “You won’t be laying next to me when I wake up in a few hours, but since it’s a dream I can drag you into my room and fall asleep next to you the way I do in all my dreams.”

“And if I’m next to you when you wake up?”

“You won’t be.”

“But I will.” He felt a sadness rain down on him.

Riley cupped his face, feeling the slight stubble since he hadn’t shaved that morning, “You’re never next to me in the morning, but your always with me in my dreams.”

He didn’t speak, he knew she wouldn’t believe him right now, so he just followed her into the room which was smaller than he was used to, but at least it wasn’t a twin bed. She tossed the throw pillows to the floor as he slipped his shoes off.

Riley threw the bedding back for both. This was this craziest dream she’d had so far, and it felt so real. She crawled into the bed, patted the empty space next to her, feeling the shift of the mattress as he laid next to her.

Lucas pulled the blankets above them as Riley turned off the light. He wrapped his arms around her, listening to her fall asleep, determined to be here, holding her when she woke up.

Riley felt her body relax against the form next to her surprised by how real this dream felt.

When Riley woke up, she heard someone snoring.

Who the hell would be snoring in her bed?

Please tell me I didn’t call Bradley last night. She slowly looked over, gasping, this couldn’t be.

Slowly she slipped out of the bed and went to the door, opening it so it wouldn’t squeak, before she went across the hall to Maya’s room and opened the door, going to wake her best friend, “Maya, Maya, wake up.”

“No, go away.” Maya hid her head under the pillow.

“Lucas is in my bed” Riley hissed.

Slowly Maya looked up, the pillow balancing on her head, “He naked?”

“No, he has a girlfriend, right? Why is he in my bed?” Riley’s head felt heavy as she tried to remember what happened, “Wasn’t he at the party?”

“For like a minute, he disappeared once he found out you weren’t there.” Maya punched her pillow, “I don’t think he has a girlfriend, he told me that Cassidy girl really likes him, but it’s not like a thing.”

“But all the pictures on Facebook, Instagram…”

“Yeah because you don’t post pictures of you and Zay hanging out, or you and Farkle?” Maya rolled her eyes, “Go back into your room, give him your cold and the two of you can ride it out naked in your bed.”

“Maya” Riley gasped.

She glared at her best friend, “Go back to your room Riley. You have a hot man in your bed, and I don’t know why, so go find out. Get naked together, don’t. I just want to go to sleep and forget that awful rum cake Zay got me to eat.”

Riley cringed, “Fine, I’m going, but you’re buying me cocktails when he breaks my heart.”

“Fine, whatever, just go.” Maya moaned.

Riley left the room, taking a deep breath before she slipped back into her room, she stood at the end of the bed, wondering what to do. She reached over shaking his leg, “Lucas, wake up.”

He shifted, and it appeared like he was reaching for her.

Riley felt her heart skip as she watched him. “Why are you in my bed?”

“You thought it was a dream and that you would wake up without me next to you.” He rubbed his eyes.

“Did I call you and ask you to come over?” She sat on the bed trying to make sense of what was going on.

“No” He looked at her, “God you’re beautiful.”

“I’m disgusting right now, I’m sick.”

“What can I say, even sick you’re beautiful.”

Riley turned away, “So you just came over?”

“Yeah, I was worried you were avoiding me.”

“Why would I avoid you?”

“Because we haven’t been alone since our break up.”

“Four years,” Riley felt a sob start to bubble up, “But then again we haven’t been around each other that much.”

He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, “Don’t cry, please Ri, don’t cry.”

“You don’t remember anything about last night, do you?”

“No” She barely got the words out as she tried not to cry. She hadn’t cried over him in so long, why was this happening now?

He braced himself as he nuzzled her neck, “You don’t remember that I told you I love you? That nothing ever happened with me and Cassidy, she’s just a friend.”

Riley closed her eyes as she felt his touch, “That really happened?”

“Yes” he was desperate to kiss her, she wasn’t pushing him away, but still she wasn’t opening herself to him either.

“If you feel that way, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I didn’t think Bradley would appreciate it.”

Riley blinked, feeling the tears run down her cheeks, “I only dated him because I thought you moved on.”

Lucas sighed, “I only tried to move on because I thought that’s what you wanted me to do.”

Riley turned to him, “Don’t be stupid Lucas, I want you to be happy, but part of me is always going to need you to want me, need me.”

He sucked in his lips, as he cupped her face, the pads of his thumbs wiping away her tears, “I have needed you every single day we’ve been apart, I’ve wanted you every single day we’ve been apart, I have loved you every single day we’ve been apart.”

“You have?”

“Yes.”

A pout formed on her face, “This isn’t fair.”

“What’s not?”

“I need you, I want you, I love you, but you’re in Texas and I’m in New York.”

He smirked, “You’re in New York, I’m in New York.” His finger traced her hairline.

“Right now, but after the New Year…” Her heart sank already thinking of it.

“I’ll be here, in New York. I graduated a few days ago.”

“You what?” she didn’t understand.

“I graduated, it’s only a semester early Riley. But I saw no reason to stay away longer than I had to. I had to be near you again, if I had to stand back, choke on my feelings, watch you love another man, I was prepared to do that.”

“You’re, you’re back?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I’m back.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I start a new job in January at the Central Park Zoo, and then I apply to veterinary programs.”

“So, you’ll leave again.” She looked down, maybe she could just chug some more Nyquil and pretend she didn’t remember this, save them both the embarrassment.

He pulled her close to him, “I’m hoping, that by the time I find out where I get in, you’ll want to go with me.”

“You have a lot of plans for a guy who didn’t know I was single until last night.”

“I had a lot of dreams that I’m hoping you’ll share.”

Riley closed her eyes, inhaling his scent…she could smell him, that woodsy scent that was just naturally him. Her sinuses were clearing up. “I don’t know, you’ll have to tell me about them. After the shower.”

“Should I stay in your room, or should I go get us coffee or something?”

Riley took his hand in hers, “I was thinking you would join me, I might have a spare toothbrush you could use, and then maybe you could help me shower, I’m still a bit weak from this cold.”

“Weak huh?” He studied her, “Well, I will do whatever you need, whatever you want.”

“Good, good.” Riley pulled him off the bed with her, “Come on, I’ll need a lot of help.”

“You sure it’s not all the Nyquil you chugged last night?” He was close behind her, their bodies touch as they shuffled towards the bedroom door.

“I did not chug Nyquil.”

“You did,” He nuzzled her neck, “I guess I need to stay close to make sure you don’t chug anymore cough medicine.”

“That’s only one of many reasons you need to stay close.”

He gave her a tight squeeze, “I don’t plan on letting you go at all Riley, I know what life is like without you and I’m not a fan of it, especially when it’s so much better with you.”

“You better watch it, I might fall in love with you more than I already am.” She warned as she took him into the bathroom where they brushed their teeth quickly, finding an off comfort in this morning ritual together.

“Minty fresh.” Lucas smiled after they finished and Riley went to turn on the water.

“Think you could help me get undressed?” She felt nervous, she hadn’t been naked around a man, well since the last time she was naked with him.

“Of course, but I have to do something first.”

“What?” worry fluttered through her body.

He cradled her face with the palms of his hands before kissing her, his arms dropping to hold her waist as her knees gave out.

The moment his lips met hers Riley felt as though a lifeline she had been missing all these years was returned. She kissed him back with a hunger she forgot existed inside of her.

Lucas lifted her up, sitting her on the small counter as he pulled away, “Let’s get you showered, you’ll feel better once you get clean.”

Riley nodded as she felt his fingers in her hair trying to undo the tangle of curls and the hair tie.

Lucas undressed her carefully, making sure he kept her stuff in a pile so it could easily be gathered when they were done.

“Come on Cowboy, strip.” Riley told him as she sat on the bathroom counter with nothing on.

“You sure?”

“Positive.” She watched him as he pulled the sweater off along with the t-shirt he’d worn under it. Her eyes followed the defined lines of his muscles, he was stronger now, he hadn’t gotten lazy in college like some guys she knew. She held her breath as she watched him pull his pants and boxer-briefs off, a smile on her lips as she saw his physical reaction to her.

Lucas pushed his socks off with his feet before coming back to the counter and helping her down, “Come on let’s get you clean.”

Riley stepped into the tub, feeling the heat of the water and steam as she grabbed onto the railing, suddenly thankful that it had been installed by a previous resident. Lucas joined her, helping her to wash her hair, holding her when she got a little dizzy, she wasn’t sure if it was the cold, the shower, or Lucas.

He took her shower pouf and her body wash, scrubbing her body, every so often he heard a sigh of relaxation and pleasure. He took a moment to wash himself before they rinsed off and got out, wrapping a towel around her first and insisting she sit down for a moment, while he wrapped a towel around his own body. “Feeling any better?”

“A lot better, but I kind of want to lay down again.”

“Okay, come on.” He helped her up before grabbing their clothes, leading her back to her bedroom.

Riley laid down on her bed, keeping the towel against her body, “Lay with me please.”

“Of course.” He left their clothes on the chair before he joined her.

“Mmm” Riley sighed, “This is a dream come true.”

Lucas smiled, “I’m glad you think so.”

She rested her head on his chest, “Stay and hold me.”

“Of course.”

[rpchive]

111th Encounter-- Play The Game

take a chance!

Azreldeh floats idly in the console room while Jay and Demo remain seated at the console. Nydins has gone off to eat, and Rio seems to be elsewhere. Daedalus meanders into the console room, shortly followed by Collin. "Ah, there you are. Got stuck with piloting duty or something, huh?" Demo: Hey, someone's gotta look after all this stuff when Nydins isn't watching... Daedalus: Makes sense. Didn't realize you had a license to drive vending machines, though. alienrabitt: Well, I mean, I built it, so... Collin: I forget that sometimes, honestly. Feels like a different life when I think that far back, which... actually is kinda accurate now that I think about it. Demo: Yeah, seriously...uhh, I guess we're landing soon, but I'm not really sure where...I can't read these coordinates for anything...

alienrabitt: Your guess is as good as mine. I just hope it's nowhere dangerous...

Demo: Ugh, don't encourage it...

The IT slows to a stop over time, and Demo opens the door to find someone waiting on the other side. Though she quickly tries to close it, the person stops the door from fully closing and pulls it open enough to slip into the IT. A blue demon stands in the doorway; violet horns curving behind her head in the vague shape of a heart as her gold eyes settle on Azreldeh. The demon is dressed in a black, silken robe with purple trim and a purple and gold sash tied about her waist; her long, black hair done up in a knot that prevents it from touching her clothes, small bells can be heard jingling as she turns her head to face Demo. "...Sorry about being so pushy, but I needed to be here." Collin: W-Woah, hey, hang on a second! Who are you? ???: Oh, forgive me. My name is Merri; I'm...well, I guess the equivalent is somewhere between a court jester and a handmaiden. I practically raised Azreldeh, so of course once I heard that she'd gone missing, I looked into it immediately. A moment passes as Collin visibly struggles to sort through the new information before he finally replies again. "You what? Azreldeh, do you know her?" Azreldeh: ...I do, but...why are you here? Merri: You never came home! The entire 7th district has been looking for you everywhere; we went into a state of panic once the next in line for the throne went missing... Daedalus: The next in line for what? Are you telling me this flirtatious disaster on wings is royalty? Merri: Watch your tongue, or I'll rip it out...! ...But yes, she's royal.

Azreldeh: The only royalty I am is royally confused. Look, I'm...not going back to the mirror. There's no point; the district never even meant anything to me.

Merri: You...! You don't mean that; you've spent your entire life working towards the throne! You can't just give up! We need you!

Azreldeh: Find someone else.

Merri: ...No way! You need to come back now! The entire court's gonna get involved if you don't! Collin: Look, I don't mean to butt in or anything, but I'm pretty sure Azreldeh was banished or something anyway. I don't think she could go back even if she wanted to. Merri: And just what would you know about Azreldeh?! Collin: I mean, she helped us out the last time we were in the mirror world, which was partly why she wound up with us afterwards. The "royal" thing is definitely news to us though... Merri: So you're the ones responsible...I should've known the moment I saw you that you'd all be trouble...fine. If you won't come back on your own; I'll give you a reason to come back!

Leaving the IT, Merri leaves the door open, allowing the group to see a large, red, runic circle form beneath the whole of the IT. As Azreldeh begins to protest, Merri finalizes the cast, causing the entire interior of the IT to burst into a flash of red light. As the spell subsides, Daedalus and Demo find themselves alone in the console room with Azreldeh, and Merri is now holding a rectangular, black box with intricate, ornate gold decorum covering it. Contained within are dolls of everyone else that had previously been upon the IT.

Merri: ...I'm surprised; it looks like a couple of you were exempted! It's very rare for someone to be immune to trickster magic...

Demo: Wh-what did you just say?! What did you just do?!

Merri: Isn't it obvious? I'm a court jester; tricks, pranks, and jokes come naturally to me! I have fae blood, after all; it'd be an insult for me to not be the best at what I do. Regardless; I've taken your friends hostage. If you want them back, you'll have to come to the 7th district and face the other 6 court members in their trials! But, of course, this wouldn't be fair if I didn't have rules, especially for both parties. The first rule is that you will always get the person bargained for back. The second is that, if you fail the trial, the person you bargained for will be punished for the loss before being returned to you! And the third is that all the trials will be one on one challenges. You won't be able to join a trial unless the previous person failed or becomes incapable of completing it on their own. Understand?

I sat on all this for a really long time, and, conceptually, I feel like this arc was a genuine breath of fresh air! writing these logs will be a pain now, but in the moment, all this was super fun to write, and I was so excited to get it all out there

Daedalus: You little-

He catches himself and forces himself to take a deep breath. "... Okay, question time. What the hell do you mean by someone being "punished" before being returned?" Merri: That's gonna be decided by the council member you're challenging! It could be anything.

Demo: ...What happens if we break a rule?

Merri: If you break a rule, then we're allowed to do anything we want to one of the friends you're competing for. And if we break one, you automatically win that trial, no consequences! Daedalus: I'm guessing once we get someone back, they're allowed to help with theses trials too? Merri: Of course! They'll be free to participate, if they're able. Daedalus: How comforting... Demo: ...So we're starting with you, right? What do you want?

Merri: Hmm, yeah, I guess I should be the first to show you how things will work. Alright, um...I'll bet...hmm...Hod. Or, well, Paprika now, isn't it? I doubt she'll help any of you much, but it's a start. My trial is simple; all you need to do is get Azreldeh to the 7th district so that you can do everyone else's trials! It's basically a giveaway! Anyway, I'll be waiting, so hop to it!

With that, she closes the door of the IT, leaving the trio behind.

Demo: ...This isn't fair... Daedalus: Fair or not, we're royally fucked if we don't play along. Pun not intended, but not taking it back.

anyone Azreldeh fucks gets royally fucked, one way or another

Azreldeh: ...We won't need to move the IT; I just need a mirror. The mirror I use will always lead to that dimension, though, so maybe we shouldn't go crawling through the bathroom mirror... Daedalus: Fine, I'll go dig one out of a closet or something. I'm sure the IT can whip something up. I'll be right back.

Daedalus hurries back into his room for a minute, then returns shortly with a full-body mirror on a set of wheels. Pushing the mirror up against a wall, he dusts his hands and turns back to the others. "Think that'll work, oh super secret princess?" Azreldeh: ...It will. Look, I...I'm really sorry about this, I never knew Merri would--

Demo: Save it. You're just gonna have to say sorry to everybody else that this happened to. Might as well do it all at once...

With a quiet nod, Azreldeh heads over to the mirror, gripping the frame tightly. The frame blackens, warps, and twists into a wicked shape as her reflection shifts from standard to her dimensional standard, where it refuses to make eye contact with anybody else, its tail curled around itself in discomfort as it shields itself with its wings in shame. Azreldeh wastes no time in pushing her way through the mirror, refusing to allow either former trickster a full view of her reflection. Daedalus glances over to Demo and considers saying something for a moment. He shakes his head and sighs instead, then steps through the mirror after her. Azreldeh descends the crystalline steps of the mirror towards what is presumably the 7th district. Merri waits patiently at the base of the steps, seated upon the box that now contains an unknown amount of their friends within. Daedalus: Oh for fuck's- Can you not treat our friends like a fucking chair? Merri: Oh, don't worry; I took the time it took you to get here to distribute your friends among the council. All that's left in here is Paprika! Don't worry, the box is very sturdy. Daedalus: That's not really much better. Look, whatever, we're here. Now give H- Paprika back. Getting up from the box, Merri unlatches it, retrieving the lonely doll from within and tossing it up into the air. In a red flash of light, Paprika returns to normal, crashing down briefly only to be caught and gently places back upon the ground by an unseen force.

Demo: Do that again and I'll rip your horns out...

Merri: Do what you'd like, but don't forget that I'm the only one who can change your friends back. Anyway; your next trial will be whoever is the closest council member...good luck! Daedalus: What, you're not gonna give us a map or something? Merri: Why would you need a map? Azreldeh lived here! Daedalus: Fair enough. You alright there, Paprika? Paprika: Wh-where...where is this?! What's going on?!

Demo: Another thing we'll have to explain to everybody else; look, just...this is the dimension Azreldeh came from; that demon kidnapped everybody else and turned them into dolls; and if we don't do some dumb stuff for their council members, everybody's gonna stay that way...

Merri: Well, not everybody. Aside from Paprika, there's two people I had to change back already. One of the council members needed them as they were for their trial. Daedalus: The hell is that supposed to mean? Who were they? Merri: Jay and Maya. They're currently with the third council member. Daedalus: Oh hell... Jay's gotta be losing it right now, knowing him.

--it took me a minute to remember why that sounded wrong, but we’ll get to that

Demo: Azreldeh, do you know where they are?

Azreldeh: Oh, definitely. He's gonna be the easiest to find; he never leaves his room. Daedalus: The fact that you already know who would want that sort of setup concerns me for a number of reasons. Azreldeh: N-no, I just know who has which seat is all! And the third council member is never at any meetings in person; he always sends somebody else for him or projects. Daedalus: Alright, well lead the way then. The sooner we get everyone back, the better. Azreldeh leads the small group into the 7th district, where Paprika gets even closer to her, increasingly more unsettled by their surroundings. She does not untense until the group reaches the courtyard of an absolutely massive, black building that seems to stretch for miles in the other three directions.

Demo: ...This might take a while...

Azreldeh: Nah, it'll only be a few minutes. He hates stairs. He lives on ground level in a room that's not surrounded by anything else for about 3 blocks. Daedalus: He hates stairs but he lives in... Ugh, nevermind, not even gonna question it right now. Let's just find this dude. Azreldeh leads the group towards the long stretch of empty, featureless hallway that leads towards the third council member's room. The shortcut seems to have been made exclusively to cut down the time and distance it would take to get back to the room, but the halls surrounding the doorway still seem to be just as long as Azreldeh had promised. The shortcut lets out to a singular, gray, metal door among the expanse of blackened bricks; a small, glass slat of a window being the only thing visible upon its surface. Knocking upon the door, Azreldeh is met with the nervous, high-toned voice of either a young adult or a child. "...If you're not the princess; take a hike! Meeting's not for another 7 months, so don't bother trying to lie to me."

Azreldeh: I am the princess; now open the door...

???: "Oh, miss Azreldeh; why didn't you say so?! Here to play my game at last; I never thought I'd see the day. Normally I wouldn't even dream of doing this, but for once, I'll open the door in person, just for you!"

After what feels like at least 10 minutes, a demon no taller than three feet answers the door. Face obscured by a mess of black hair, all that is visible beneath it is an ear-to-ear grin upon pudgy, freckled, purple features. The demon is dressed in a style that could only be described as a disastrous mix between anime protagonist and 90s hacker aesthetic; the ragged collar of his comically oversized, red cape shielding the remains of his face from view. Turning around to usher everyone in, tiny, dragon-like wings that are absolutely incapable of granting this demon any form of flight or levitation can be seen barely poking out from the edges of his large cape.

"Oh, I've never been happier to have company! I've never even had company! Well, come in; come in! Ehh, I...guess the other three can come too...jeez, three girls at once; I must be really lucky today!"

Making a point to step over the demon on the way in, Demo rolls her eyes. "Don't hold your breath; not like anyone would be able to tell..." Daedalus: This is gonna be a riot, I can already tell...

He follows the other in, taking an exaggerated side-step away from the demon to put a distance between them. With a little grunt, the council member shoves the door closed behind the group, then starts to head to the center of his room, where the dim glows of absurd amounts of electronics can already be seen. Varying cables run along the length of the floor for what feels like miles, all of them incredibly neatly organized, making it difficult to trip or step on any individual wire. Everything seems surprisingly well kept and clean despite the lack of lights from anything other than displays, keyboards, screens, and the like. Upon reaching the center, an array of electronics from all ages are set up, each individual object in peak condition, well kept and running perfectly. Each one, however, seems to have an adapter that connects to something elsewhere, all the wires converging into a massive pillar in the dead center of the room, which stretches even out of the room, making it seem like the room had simply been built around the pillar solely to house it.

At the base of the wired pillar are a handful of chairs capable of reclining all the way down to a lying position; two of which are currently occupied by Maya and Jay, who seem entirely unresponsive and unconscious.

???: Isn't she beautiful? All this technology has convirged to create the most flawless ARG known to this entire dimension! I only managed to test run it once, but the guy I brought in didn't leave the same. I've heard whatever I've built is so incredibly powerful, connecting to the game can destroy your entire perception of your actual reality! So naturally, I figure it's the only challenge fitting of your....entourage. Daedalus: ... You're somehow doing yourself a negative amount of favors, which I thought was impossible until this exact moment. ???: Hahahaha! So, what do you think? You and your entourage against my CHaRMs; what do you think will win?

CHaRM stands for Cognition Hamperer and Reality Manipulator

Azreldeh: You...seriously did this? All by yourself?

???: Of course I did!! Who do you think I am?! I'm the one and only; the OG; the coolest;  the smartest; the best of the best; the 100%! I! Am! Anagram!!

A massive screen lights up upon the tower displaying "4N46R4M" in big, white letters. Daedalus: ... I'm trying to hold it in. I'm really trying...

this guy and Asmodon would be best friends

Anagram: ...Ooh, if I could pick who did this...alright, pal; I was told all I could do is issue the challenge; but for you guys, it's first come, first serve! So...pick which one of you will be lost to my CHaRMs first, alright? Daedalus: Oh don't worry. I'm sure everyone's just chomping at the friggin' bit to give it a whirl, but if no one else objects, I'll go. Paprika: A-are you serious?! This thing could seriously mess you up...!

Anagram: Oh no, let him try. If he can even make it past the launch sequence, I'd give him an hour tops before he totally forgets who he used to be. Daedalus: Look, out of any of us, I'm the one that Jay and Maya would be most familiar with, aside from maybe Demo in Jay's case. If we need to find them and snap them out of... whatever this is, I'm probably the best starting point. Azreldeh: ...Please be careful...

Demo: Please bust this turbonerd's toy from the inside out. Daedalus: Oh I'd be glad to. Anagram: Ugh, if you're done being such a punk, lie down and get wrecked by CHaRM already. Quit wasting the princess' precious time. Daedalus: Don't worry, I won't take long.

He steps over to the nearest open chair, stretches himself out for a moment, and then takes a seat. As the chair reclines back and Daedalus' vision clouds to a dark void, several checks run for a moment before CHaRM kicks on in full. Daedalus' perception jumbles if only for a moment as the game attempts to assign him some sort of alternate persona, but fails to do so, loading him into the world as what seems to be a 1:1 replica instead. There is, however, one subtle difference upon his entry, but his cheeks return to normal so quickly that the symbol that had previously been there leaves no trace behind.

even though his tricksterism leaves him immune to CHaRM; Daedalus should still be at a disadvantage due to Lobotomy; but I don’t think it winds up bothering him, much to his convenience

Daedalus seems to have appeared quite a bit away from a town of some sort. The hill he's currently upon has a view of the town, but not much else aside from a few trees, one of which another person is currently patiently seated under, their car parked a little way away. Daedalus rubs one eye as he squints and looks at the area around him. "Ugh, well credit where it's due, it's definitely realistic here alright. Now then, uh..."

He awkwardly approaches the seated figure under the tree nearby, unsure of how best to start the conversation. "Uh, hey. Sorry to bug you, but can you tell me where I am?" A young man in his early to mid 20s sits beneath the tree, still in his work clothes from some sort of part time job. Stretching from beneath his short sleeved shirt is a long scar running down the back of his left arm from presumably his shoulder all the way down to his wrist; a jagged mark upon his tan skin that doesn't seem to have been made by anything recognizable. Sunglasses obscure the view of his eyes, but he turns to face Daedalus anyway. "...You're pretty much in the countryside if you're way out here. There's a town a little bit down the road if you're looking, though...your bike break down or somethin'?" Daedalus: Yeeaah, something like that. I'm in a bit of a hurry trying to find a couple of people too, so that doesn't help me much. ???: Oh, sorry man. Do you know where they are? Daedalus: Nnnnope, I'm kinda flying blind here. Name's Daedalus by the way. ???: Seriously? Your parents must've been really into classics. Mine's Allen. Daedalus: Eh, my parents were into a lot of weird things. Anyway, I'm looking for a guy named Jay and a girl named Maya, both in their 20s. Ring any bells? Allen: ...Maya? Like the place? Dude, you've gotta be from, like, out of town or somethin'. Anyway, don't think I've seen anybody with names like that in a while. Guess your friends skipped town. Daedalus: I somehow doubt that.

He eyes Allen's scar for a moment, then looks back at him curiously. "Hell of a scar you've got there. What kind of thing does that?" Allen: ...Oh, that? Dunno; I've had it since I was way little. My folks kinda skirted around it; I'm pretty sure they dropped me or something and don't wanna talk about it... Daedalus: Uh-huh... One last question, if you don't mind.

He takes off his sunglasses and blinks as he adjusts to the light for a second. "Does the name 'Collin' mean anything to you?" Allen: ...No, it doesn't. I'm not really sure what you're trying to get at here... Daedalus hums a dissatisfied note and puts his sunglasses back on. "Well, it's a little hard to explain, but the people I'm looking for might be a little confused about what's going on here and who they are. I've just got a funny feeling about you." Allen: ...Well, I'm not really confused. I mean, there's some stuff that doesn't line up; but who really knows everything about their childhood, or why they like what they do, man? Some shit's just inexplicable. Daedalus: Oh? Like what? Allen: I dunno, man; I just liked the night. I could never sleep right, I was always trying to get on the roof and stuff; as soon as I got my license, I started looking for a place with the best view of the stars. I'm not cut out to be an astronaut, I mean, I don't have the brains for that shit, but I just feel like I gotta get there, y'know? This planet just feels like a ball and chain weighing me down; I just wanna go...up. Daedalus: Like a road trip through the stars, huh? Seeing all there is to see? Allen: Anything, man; I just wanna get the hell out there. I wanna know what's there, who's there; I know we can't just be alone. There's gotta be more than just this... Daedalus: Oh believe me, there is. You don't know the half of it... or maybe you do? Allen: There you go with your weird, vague shit again... Daedalus can't help but smirk. "Hey, maybe I'm just trying to get you to think outside the box? I mean really, you've never thought that this place was kinda weird sometimes? Or maybe there was something you were missing, or forgot?" Allen: ...I mean, it is weird. Most of the time people don't show up from out of town, and none of them have been as weird as you. You definitely didn't come from anywhere around here; you're probably the weirdest thing I've seen in my whole life; especially with your taste in questions. Daedalus: I get that a lot. But seriously, you never thought that any of this was strange or suspicious? Allen: ...Not until you showed up. I guess it is a little weird to be so desperate to want to get to space; but I mean...what am I supposed to do about it? Even if I'm the guy you're looking for, I can't...do anything? I'm just me, man... Daedalus: Maybe, but if you're really who I think you are, you're a hell of a lot closer to the stars than you think, bud. Allen: ...I just...I dunno...I don't know anything about the guy you're looking for, and I definitely don't know you. Daedalus: Like I mentioned, his name is Jay. He's quite literally born from the stars, and he fell in love with my twin brother, Collin, the person who essentially wished for him to exist. He's stubborn as hell but cares about Collin with all of his heart. He also lost an arm from the shoulder down at one point.

He pulls his sunglasses down again and points at Allen's scars with his gaze for a second. "How's that for a start?" Glancing down for a minute, Allen grabs his scarred arm reflectively before quietly whispering "Where the hell is Maya, then?"

Daedalus got really good at keeping his cool, and I kinda do wanna push him hard enough to really panic at least once. but, I mean...I’ve thrown a lot at him already, jeez...

Daedalus: Sorry, repeat that? alienrabitt: Maya; we need to find her, don't we? Daedalus: That we do! My guess is she's somewhere around the town down there, unless you know of anyone with a rough past and a tough outer shell? alienrabitt: Well, no, but if I was waiting for someone to meet me here, I bet I made friends with her twice. I doubt it's gonna be as easy as getting her to point a gun at me a second time... Daedalus: Nice, you do remember! I was gonna feel really fucking dumb if that didn't actually work and you were just some made-up person in this place. alienrabitt: It's...slowly coming back together. Kinda surprised I didn't question your eyes; but I can't really tell with my sunglasses... Daedalus: Honestly when you didn't recognize me at all I was a little worried inside. But whatever, that doesn't matter now. Right now we just need to find Maya and snap her out of whatever this place has done to her. alienrabitt: I'm...not even sure what's going on right now. Gonna miss having both my arms when we get home, though... Daedalus mumbles something in a more hushed tone before picking his volume back up. "There's gonna be a lot more than that to deal with once we're back... Uh, anyway, did you say you were waiting here to meet someone?" alienrabitt: Well yeah, she meets me here all the time when we're done with work. She'll probably be here soon enough... Daedalus: Sounds good. Guess we'll just have to wait here until she shows. Anything else you wanna know in the meantime? alienrabitt: How'd you even know where to look for us? Daedalus: Azreldeh led us to some other demon who had you and Maya hooked up to this simulation thing. alienrabitt: We're...what? What...happened? Ughhh...we gotta get out of here; where the hell is Maya...?

A second car finally pulls up beside "Allen's," and a young woman in a barista outfit quickly hops out, tossing her cap in the passenger seat, but keeping her long, black hair up in a ponytail. "...Sorry about the wait; we got all sorts of slammed suddenly. Mike had to slip me out the back door..."

alienrabitt: It's, uhh...it's fine. Hey, this is gonna sound kinda out of nowhere, but has anything felt a little...off lately?

???: Huh? Not really, why? Also who's this guy? He a friend of yours or somethin'?

alienrabitt: Sorta...technicality gets a little weird with him. So wait, work got really busy all of a sudden? Like, about...maybe an hour ago?

???: ...Yeah, we never have rushes like that. How'd you know?

alienrabitt: Well, that's when he showed up and started talking to me.

Jay gestures to Daedalus.

???: Seriously?! What, was that whole crowd your friends or something? What kind of prank is this?! Daedalus: Uh, they... shouldn't have been? I thought I came here alone... alienrabitt: ...Mae, did anything else weird happen?

Mae: Well, yeah; the road was blocked off, so I had to use some weird back road to get here. I'm lucky my car made it; it was seriously rocky...but I didn't see any construction or anything going on...

alienrabitt: Somebody tried to keep you from getting here...

Mae: Al, you're freaking me out a little here...what's going on?

you know; Zenith’s real name was Alexander. CHaRM called Jay Allen; and his nickname became Al

and the nickname Clair gave Zenith? Al

Daedalus: Let me take it from here. Mae, right? Have you ever felt like things have been off around here? Or maybe you've had some strange thoughts or feelings that you couldn't place? Mae: ...Not really? I just kept coming up here because I figured Al'd probably slip and kill himself trying to look at the stars in the dark one night. Daedalus: Fair enough. Do you remember how you became friends? Mae: Yeah; he doesn't drink coffee, and I don't read physical books or anything, but we still wound up meeting on our way to work. I bumped into him, but I'd already finished my drink, so nothing spilled on him. Daedalus: Uh-huh... What're the odds, eh? By the way, do the names "Maya" or "Lobotomy Corporation" remind you of anything? Mae: ...How do you know about that...? Daedalus: Let's just say that this isn't our first meeting. My name's Daedalus, by the way. Mae: ...I never told anybody about...but I don't know if they know where I am... Daedalus: They don't. We dealt with them not too long ago, actually. We went as a group and took the whole place down, remember? Mae: ...I don't really...I remember a Sephirah...I was supposed to transfer to her division, but...something went wrong... Daedalus: Yeah, they put you on a ship with a flower monster and then tried to blast you out of the galaxy. Starting to sound familiar? Mae: I'm...not putting it past them. So how did I meet you two, then? Daedalus: Our friendly neighborhood giant robot flew in and carried you back to our ship in a glass coffin thing. A couple of drinks, a few fakeout gunshots to the torso, and a near-death experience or three later and we're all good pals. Maya: ...I'm still sorry about that...I'm...sorry about a lot of things...but we can talk about that when we get out of here. Daedalus: Good to hear that you're back with us, Maya. Now the question becomes, well... how to get the hell out of here. There is a low rumble like thunder before the trio's vision fades out, and they find themselves returned to Anagram's room, where he remains pouting a few feet away from Daedalus' chair. "Ugh, you did it after all...fine. Well, I can't give you anybody else since you...just got them, but I can tell you that the 2nd council member is heading for the 8th district with some...precious cargo. But they're being bodyguarded by the 6th council member; so you'll have to get through her first." Daedalus groans and clutches at his head as he leans over on one arm of the chair. "Ugh, fuck... Somebody pay attention to what he's saying for me..." Paprika: ...Will they be expecting us?

Anagram: All of us are expecting you. Now get going; if you wait too long, you're gonna have to go through more than just us. You came here, after all; you didn't think the word would travel, did you? Of course they heard about their counterparts being incapacitated and captured; so now youuuu have to play the heroes and get them back; or else demons will rush to the surface and terrorize humankind for all eternity for sealing us away! ...Not like you care about exposition; you probably just want your friends back, huh? Daedalus: I... hate all of you so goddamn much... Anagram: Hahahahaha! You'd better get moving! They're gonna get away if you can't catch up! Daedalus struggles out of his chair to a standing position. “God, shut the fuck up you stunted shut-in shit heap. C'mon princess, before our friends get even more fucked over than they already are. Chop chop."

yeah, there’s that relapse sound I was expecting

Azreldeh: R-right. We're at the center of the 7th district right now; odds are they'll be intercepted as soon as they hit the border of the 8th by their guard captains...

She floats out of the room, leading the group back out towards the courtyard. "...They'd probably be looking for the fastest way out; but from here, we can probably intercept them..." Daedalus: Sounds... good...

He stumbles for a second but manages to stay upright. "Fuck, this must've been what XL was talking about. Sorry if I'm getting a little, uh... testy. That damn chair thing must've aggravated this shit with my head." Paprika: I thought you were just mad at him, honestly...are you gonna be okay? Daedalus: I mean, I was mad, but... Look, I'll be fine by the time we catch up with the next batch of bastards. Someone should probably get Maya and Jay up to speed though... Maya: So I'm guessing everybody else is still missing...what exactly happened?

Demo: ...Azreldeh turned out to be the princess of this district, and when she didn't come home, they sent her nanny to bring her back. She didn't wanna leave, so her nanny turned everyone into dolls and fucked back here into the mirror dimension. Now we have to do their trials or everybody else will stay dolls...

alienrabitt: And I'm guessing you don't know where anybody specific is...?

Demo: If I did, do you seriously think I would've gunned it for /you/? Clair's still out there...

Maya: Jeez, I didn't think you still got so upset with him...

Demo: Just...focus on what we need to do, please. I'm not comfortable here... Daedalus: Join the club. Azreldeh: ...So we're gonna cut through a couple of streets here, and from there we'll be on the road between the 7th and 8th districts...I bet the 6th council member'll already be waiting... Daedalus: Don't suppose they'll just want to play checkers or something, will they? Azreldeh: Knowing her? It could be...a number of things...

Approaching the road, the group finds who is presumably the 6th council member waiting for them. Pastel green hair interrupted only by the long, red horns shooting up at least a foot from her head is pulled into a long ponytail that stretches beyond her back rests between her long, skinny, bat-like wings. Her outfit, which is practically for decoration only, is a skimpy little black leather bikini with lace accents, a little blue bow resting at the center of her top. Wedged firmly within her cleavage are two of the dolls she is meant to be guarding; one easily recognizable as Fawkes, and the other barely recognizable as Collin around its other surroundings. Curling her tail in excitement, the demon rests her golden eyes on Daedalus and Jay as she smiles, her silky voice chiming happily as she addresses them. "So nice of you to not keep a lady waiting! You can call me Sír!"

alienrabitt: You...! You...!! You put him anywhere else!!  Now!!

Sír: What's the problem? He can't see or feel anything; so it's not that big of a deal...not like it matters, you're looking pretty lacking...

alienrabitt: SHUT YOUR MOUTH!! Daedalus: I wouldn't fuck around with him if I were you... Sír: Again, he's not even aware of it, so it doesn't matter. Anyway, you have to do my trial now that you're here, huh? Looks like you're already volunteering, and I haven't even said what I want. Alright; so, like, here's the thing. I'm like, not supposed to let you through here without some really big fuss, but I totally don't wanna fight any of you, so like...I guess I'm gonna have to, like, pick something else? But I think I know what'll hold you up a really long time. You don't want anything to happen to this guy, right?

She points to Collin's doll.

alienrabitt: Just move him, just fucking move him...!

Demo: ...Yeah, you're right. So what do you want?

Sír: Race me on the edge of an active volcano! These dolls aren't fireproof, but, like, I totally am, so anything stuck to me is, like, suuuuper safe, and you're gonna get fucked, flatsy. Anyway, you can hold the robot, 'cause I like seeing you get all riled up like that. You're like, super cute when you wanna kill somebody.

you stupid fucking pisslord; he’s flatchested because he’s a man you idiot

Azreldeh: There aren't any volcanos in here...

Sír: Wait, seriously? Ugh, then, like, what's the hottest thing in here? Well, besides me.

Azreldeh: Probably the pit of actual fire around my dad's house? Sír: Right, then I guess we'll race around...fire, then. Kinda lame, but I mean, like, the screams of the damned'll probably scare you a little, I guess? Daedalus: The only thing striking fear into my heart is your butcher shop treatment of spoken language. Sír: What. Everrrrrr. So, like, are we gonna do this, or what? 'Cause, like, I've gotta catch up with Sake if you're not gonna commit.

alienrabitt: No, I'll do it...

Sír: Awesome; then, like, let's get hot I guess.

Snapping her fingers, the group finds themself abruptly teleported to the capital of the 7th district, where a massive, black bridge stretches across an ocean of green flames, the distant sounds of screams nearly drowned out by the crackle of the flames alone.

"Okay; so, like; it's just gonna be one lap, 'cause I really gotta get back to Sake, but if you lose, I'm gonna fuck up your little boy toy, okay? The robot's gonna get it hard enough, 'cause, like, you're not fireproof, so like, he's exempt or whatever. Anyway, I'm ready when you are, so, like, lemme know when you wanna start..."

Demo: Please get this over with so we can quit hearing her talk...

Shifting to their hermes form, Jay fastens Fawkes' doll to his back in one of the glass-like containers his own dolls normally contain magic in, wearing it like a backpack. With a quick gesture towards Sír, he readies himself to race off, and the pair of them shoot off towards the lake of flames within a matter of seconds. Daedalus: I can't help but think that turning into a rabbit for a race is...pretty ironic. Demo: Don't jinx it, dude... Daedalus: Please, knowing Jay, he'd tear himself apart to keep that valley demon from touching Collin if he had to. Paprika: It's...a little late for that. Daedalus: Look, you know what I mean. And you guys get onto me for cracking jokes, sheesh. As the pair rounds the halfway point, the pit of flames seems to flare up abruptly. Desperately trying not to let Fawkes burn, Jay makes a sharp turn up, effectively breaking off the track. As this happens, Sír glances back, notices Jay has stopped, and exits the pit as well. The pair returns to the group, and Sír continues to keep Collin right where she left him as Jay returns to his humanoid form, holding the ball with Fawkes in it in his hands as he stares down through it with a mixture of shame, hate, and disgust.

Sír: So, like, you kinda forfeit the race, which means that, like, I win? But I, like, have to give your guy back, so, uhh...hmm...alright, you can take him back, but only at the border of the 8th district. Got it? I'll meet you there. Until then, he stays like this, but you get your robot back, so, like, silver linings?

Shrugging, Sír takes off again, and Fawkes returns to his proper state, bursting Jay's container as he does so. Fawkes' body tumbles to the ground while his visor flickers wildly for several seconds. It finally resolves into a spinning wheel, then blips away after another moment. Fawkes pushes himself into a seated position and rotates his head back and forth to look around him. "... Well, this is definitely not where I remember being last." Demo: This...can she seriously get away with this?!

Azreldeh: Technically? Yes. Sír didn't break any rules, she just took advantage of her surroundings. Fawkes: I'm getting the feeling I've missed some things. What happened? Where is everyone? Paprika: A demon came to try and take Azreldeh back to the mirror, and when she said no, the demon turned everyone else into dolls. Now we have to do trials for all the council members of her sector, or everybody else will stay dolls...

Demo: If we win the trial, nobody gets hurt; but if we lose, the council member gets to do anything they want to the dolls they have. This one had you and Collin, and Jay just lost. She's gonna take Collin to the border of the next sector; your counterparts are there. Fawkes: That's... not very good news. Azreldeh: We just need to catch up. She said we couldn't have him back until we reached the border, and technically, once we get there, he's untouchable until he's "ours" again. Daedalus: So I'm guessing that's our next stop, then? Azreldeh: It has to be. The 8th district doesn't have to follow our rules. Fawkes: Then it sounds like we don't have time to waste. I trust you know the fastest way there? Azreldeh: Well, yeah, but Sake's probably gonna hold us up. Daedalus: This just gets better and better, doesn't it? Azreldeh: The good news is that he's not very strong, at least. He's probably gonna pick something easy, but time-consuming on purpose... Daedalus: Sounds like a swell guy already... Azreldeh: Normally, I'd say we could bribe him, but I'm not sure if that'd be considered cheating... Fawkes: What would we bribe him with? My chassis doesn't have a wallet, unfortunately. Azreldeh: Fish. Daedalus: ... Come again? Azreldeh: You'll...understand when you see him.

With that, she takes off towards the road again, leading the group away from the palace. Jay stays at the back.

alright, we pick up the trials again next time!

[quonit-aceattorney]

1-5 Reaction

Rules:

Q = Me, Quonit.

BF = Bardic Feline, the friend that made me spend 30 dollars on the game and whom I am messaging

I don’t use those when I send the messages close enough my username doesn’t appear.

Any typos (unless they are funny and part of the conversation) will be fixed.

Index

—

Q: I'm doing the next one sorry for all of the messages

wow what was even that opening

what girl?

febuary 2017. I remember this month well.

Q: Who's this girl?

hey she looks like an adult! Second girl without her main feature being boobs :D

no mai is dead I took her spot though, she was in the tutorial level.

:D yay am I better

YES INDEED

yes phoenix please I like this girl a lot

i didn't know my name could also come with one m!!! My name is Emma, I had no idea people could also be named Ema with one m

aww so she isn't an adult I still like her though

phoenix please she's only like 10 years younger than you

BF: Hahahaha yeah, Ema is the Maya stand in for this case

BF: She returns for the fourth game, which takes place 7 years after the third game

BF: Still not very busty, even in her mid twenties haha

Q: :O Interesting!

I like Ema.

Q: What age of people did they think were gonna play this game? If kids then why does it seem they talk down to them so much?

I'll get back to playing

Q: oh so that beginning scene actually meant something

She's know Mia because she was kinda well known

okay why is she bad

how did she even get in teh office in the first place?

hahahaha no im not trading my badge for 50$

what do you mean ''yet''

Q: I LIKE LANA

HER OUTFIT IS GREAT

Q: it's obviously a coincidence that the two siblings are so alike, but if it motivates you then sure I wanna get to the second game

Q: you're telling it from the witness' perspective Lana. Do you remember what happened? What was your motivation?

Q: hi cowboy detective please don't kick me out

what

I AIN'T SCARED OF NO GUN LET ME EXAMINE

Q: why are we having this stepladder conversation again

Q: this office looks like Edgeworth

Q: maybe you wouldn't be low on money if you did your job

Q: five thousand???

MAN edgy must be rich!

BF: The stepladder debate is one of the running gags of the series haha

Q: interesting!

Q: that and Phoenix (and later Apollo and Athena) presenting his badge every chance he gets, and cross-examining non-human witnesses

Q: yaaaaay I liked cross-examining the parrot. 

I still can't believe they let me do that

Q: wait a second the bundle doesn't come with the fourth game just the first 3

oh well it's still a lot

Q: examining the examined. This could be useful.

Q: yeah, no, just the original trilogy

Q: alright, makes sense. Are they still making games for it?

BF: the fourth game came out well after the original trilogy ended, and it only JUST got an updated port to iOS and the 3DS e shop

Q: great an adult woman with a main feature being boobs. I liked the other ones more.

ah, alright. how good/bad is the anime I'm curious

BF: and yes!  in the main series, there are six games total...five and six only came out in digital form for the US, no physical release

don't focus so much on the boobs, it's just drive you crazy

and Angel really isn't THAT busty, she's just got a bust emphasizing outfit

Q: huh, alright. If I feel like it maybe I could get them.

fine. I'm not eating whatever she just handed to me though, she doesn't seem very trustworthy true I guess, not really as bad.

BF: she very much does that on purpose to put you off your guard, btw

she's not EVIL

but she's smart as hell, and she's not necessarily on your side right now.

Q: oh so it's intentional, alright that's more forgiving than the developers just wanted another boob-joke.

Q: angle please we're looking for evidence please stop freaking out Ema

Q: yaaaay edgy! I knew this was your office!

BF: hahaha yep

his office is as frilly as he is

Q: "this office looks like edgeworth"

why is there a dead body in your car that car looks too dirty to be yours it isn't even purple

BF: oh and to answer one of your comments from last night when I was asleep...Phoenix/Edgeworth is an overwhelmingly popular ship, to the point where it can become a bit annoying if you ship either of them with anyone else.

or if you like any of the rarer pairings, period hahah

Q: edgy we know you didn't do it I'm on your side and always will be

except when you're not on my side

With how his dialogue was set up in that chapter I am not surprised how much of the fandom ships it.

Q: Phoenix that was a very cruel joke, remember the case two months ago? Very cruel.

Q: gumshoe isn't dead lol must be mia's fualt he randomly appeared in my head, same with maya

Q: ya why do random flashes of random people keep appearing

how do i investigate this

BF: hah...if it's the bit I think it is, that's just Phoenix connecting him to the INCREDIBLY NEAT AND CLEAN OFFICE

BF: which Gumshoe totally takes times out of his day to keep tidy because that's just the kind of stuff he would do for Mr. Edgeworth, pal!

Q: Well I bet the lunchlady and edgeworth and I'm investigating while edge is in his office.

possibly but phoenix actually commented on "why did i just have ___ randomly appear in my head". whatever I'll keep looking

I guess!

BF: gumshoe just a big old loyal puppy who loves Edgey

lol no that's the reason hahah

Q: gumshoe!!

still needs a better name

Q: I need to copy paste my reaction in a place I'll be able to easily get to later because this will probably be very valuable to me later on.

(Edit: Fuck me for making me do this)

Q: edgy tell me what the trophy thing is

no mumbling

edgy you did good why are you being so defensive over the shield

Q: well the fact it's broken could be important so please tell us

Q: oh ya! I can examine the examined now :D

Q: well 5:12 and 5:15 are very close to each other so this is important that they are so precise

who's this cartoony cop!!! he doesn't look like he's drawn in the same style as everyone else in the game!

Q: noooo i want the report

Q: Edgeworth in the Wild: A Documentary

Q: YABADABADOO

Ema why

Q: huh, so apparently phoenix doesn't just teleport? man that must be so annoying when I don't know where I'm going for them

Q: blue badger looks like a pokemon that is why he seems familiar

Q: yaaay i found gumshoe

ema knows too much poor edgeworth indeed, I hope soon he can get a break

dance till you die

Q: "they make a good pair" so I guess this game isn't against gays, cool.

Q: well i mean the letter probably will get us somewhere if this game is going to progress

Q: oh so is Angel dating Marshal? What a turn of events

yaaaay i can get in now

...I just realized I can use headphones on a DS... Interesting....

Q: the music hahaha. Marshal theme song

Q: don't think too hard on cannibalism and you'll be fine

Q: Marshal is fun

BF: hee hee yeah, I like him.

Q: "well if phoenix showing his badge to everyone is a running joke guess I better help with that by showing it to everyone".

This case is pretty fun so far, not even a single irritating thing yet

BF: LIke Ema and Lana, Jake Marshall is actually deliberately made to be sort of a nod to another pre-existing character haha.

BF: and yeah, Rise from the Ashes is a good case!  I remember finding some of the trial segments to be tricky, but overall, it's solid

tQ: "Noe to self: when finding evidence, think of Texas"

who is this pre-existing character?

BF: and it makes good use of the new mechanics that were introduced for the DS

Q: it does!

BF: you won't meet him until the third game haha

but yeah...Ema and Lana are clearly meant to be nods to Maya and Mia

BF: Jake, less obviously, is sort of a nod to Godot

Q: and thankfully this gets Phoenix motivated again

godot... who's that? I should probably know

BF: Godot plays a MAJOR part in the third game, you'll know him the second you see him.

He...stands out.

to put it mildly.

Q: can't wait to meet him

when will the Y guy (shack guy DL-6) appear again he's already pretty interesting that's probably spoilers

BF: Yanni Yogi?  He only appears in that case, sadly.

though there's a background reference to him in one of the spinoff games.

BF: He's one of Zarla's faves

Q: I assumed... he seems pretty interesting, sad he had to leave so soon. As you saw I was REALLY shocked when a character zarla drew appeared that I didn't even know would be in the game... sad to see him leave so soon.

Q: forgot to talk with Marshall, maybe I can progress through this

oh yay the autopsy report

Q: tell me about yourself marshall, how long has your cowboy career been going on?

why would you kick out gumshoe!!!

D: I don't know if I should break the news to him or not

Q: well that isn't even an option so

the detention center doesn't even update ever

Q: uuuhhhhgggg I hate being stuck like this where can I goooo

Q: still stuck >:( It's been almost an hour

quonit

just let me gooooo

03/24/2018 (Two days later)

Q: FINALLY I DID SOMETHING there was a note in the trunk but it seemed to have done nothing... don't even know if the two people I can talk to would react to it.

as i suspected it did nothing >:(

I think the phone is the key but the only thing it will let me examine is the trap!!!

03/24/2018

Q: I asked my brother to help and he FINALLY HELPED

He found another scroll bar on the examination thing that I never noticed and found it :D

Q: no cowboy pls i really worked hard to get this far

Q: phoenix has a phone? how come we can never use it?

...what do i do with the phone?

how did my brother turn it

= and -... where are those buttons?

Q: going to my brother

Q: why not press the button again???

Q: where do i gooo

Q: i give up I need to draw

BF: hahaaha

BF: aaaah sorry I've been busy unpacking boxes

I wouldn't have even thought to tell you about those double screen investigation rooms!

there are like...at least two of those in this case.

the car park area and the evidence room

Oh, and because this took me FOREVER to figure out when I played it the first time: when you dust for finger prints, you blow the powder away by blowing into the mic on the DS

Q: I don't expect anybody to be on while I send messages. Do not worry, I do not expect responses immediately. Also packing boxes??? did you move :O

double screen investigation rooms? tell me more. If you mean ones where you have to move the screen I did do that a lot... and yet I still can't find much. I finally got the phone in my inventory and tried to check the last call but it still won't do anything THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME THAT IN ADVANCE I GARENTEE I WOULD'VE GOTTEN STUCK

Q: Where I am si that I think I have all of the items in my inventory. A full page and then the phone on the next... am I missing something? I heard that Ema is supposed to tell me that I have everything I need

BF: aaah if you are in the car park, one place you need to check is the muffler of the car

Q: muffler? I got the paper that was in the back, I'll examine the car more I guess

BF: and yeah, the game usually gives you some hint when you've found all the things

BF: I forget if you can get it now or not, but there's some cloth shoved into the tailpipe of the car

Q: dont' think i can thanks though

I'll tell you what I have in my inventory and you tell me what I'm missing for the first part

Q:badge, id card, knife, shield trophy thing, parking stub, blue badge pannel, goddman's autopsy report, note from the back of the car, and cell phone

BF: hmmm....and you've shown absolutely everything to everyone and poked at everything on every available screen?

Q: yeeeesssss

:( I'll try again

BF: (oh and to answer your earlier question, yes, I did move into my house today)

Q: yaaaaay

shouldn't there be a wiki or something for this that says what to do

BF: if you are absolutely stuck, I'd look up the Games FAQ walktrough

Q: :(

why does this game make me so stuck all of the time

BF: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ds/925589-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney/faqs/44304    here, this one is spoiler free, you just gotta get down to the right case

Q: :D thank youuuu

Q: :O HEY IT WORKED

HOW DID I NOT NOTICED THIS

Q: Lana why are you not on edgy's side

Q: of course you don't know everything going on here phoenix, if you did we would win but right now we don't win

this game but we know everything beforehand

Don't believe your client, just believe in them. got it.

Q: oh ya angle exists i forgot about her

BF: haha FIGURING OUT WHY LANA IS DOING WHAT SHE'S DOING IS A BIG PART OF THIS CASE

Q: BACK

I had to trim the grass in the front yard. We got an actual letter saying that we needed to so that was odd. It's done now though

angel will never stop talking, and Edge doesn't seem as annoyed as some of the others. huh.

oh my god judge can't you be a little more professional ARE YOU EVEN ALLOWED TO EAT RIGHT NOW

Q: you decline every offer phoenix until an impossible one pops up. Phoenix why

Q: If you hate prosecutors so much then maybe you could help me

please I'm begging

Q: wait you have more then one boyfriend

did i hear that wrong

ugh so she does

"care to join" If that is what I have to do to get information out of you!

BF: hahaha

yes, Angel and her many boyfriends

Q: Ema's notes are funny

BF: this boyfriend, that boyfriend, the other boyfriend

you know, as you do

Q: "the yet another boyfriend is still open"

I'd like to know who is who

Q: wait isn't B block for defense attorneys not visitors?

Q: how she names them reminds me of the chicken 'mine'

"That's mine, that one's also mine, that's another one of mine, that one is yours, and that one is not yours." we actually considered naming our chickens that haha

Q: Ema is learning my table-slamming technique.

Q: "my boyfriend worked in the photography division" WHICH boyfriend?

Q: "Prosecutors are, by nature, well-versed in the location of a man's vital organs" I already had to prove with twice Edgy did NOT murder anybody!

yes phoenix kill the egg

Q: okay so i learnt as much as I could while pressing, and there seems nothing wrong... I need to find the objection item

Q: THE LEFT-RIGHT HAND TRICK

ALWAYS WORKS

Q: EDGEWORTH

HOW COULD YOU SILENTLY SAY OBJECTION YOU HAVE BERTAYED ME

ALWAYS OBJECT

Q: of course it was planned! We already established whoever the killer is planned to do it in edgeworth's car

Q: "mommy, are prosecutors bad people?" hahaha oh my god

yes lets tell the audience how to commit murder

edgy that pun was terrible and you know it

Q: Ema what is that note

you can't smell his breath from over here what

I do have an objection!

Q: I'd like to know how she got into the food business

Ema you're on MY side

Q: remember?

Q: it's so rare when the thing I immediately think of and object with actually works and the characters see what i see

Edgy you look like you're on my side

Q: Ema do you hate me

Q: The person that seems most on my side in this case is f***ing edgeworth and he is actually the one pitted against me so you're all failures.

Q: >:(

I got so stuck at this part and had to retry a few times and I finally gave up and went to the tutorial and that isn't helping

FLOOR PLANS WHY DON'T YOU WORK

Q: :(

Q: Why can't I just gooooo none of the evidence I have works at all

Q: I PROGRESSED AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I PRESSED

UHHHH

Q: OHMYGOD THE FLOOR PLANS FINALLY WORKED

WHAT CHANGED

Q: she'd lie because as I said she has a grudge

Q: five minuets???

wow that's a long time

Q: if you have evidence please tell me

how was this judge hired

WHY THE SHOE WHY DO YOU HAVE HIS SHOE

what is this blood type it could also be common

Q: why does edgy continue to seem like he is on my side lol

Q: that brings in the question: how many lunches do you actually have in there

Q: if it does how come she was blee- oh ya the hand injury

Q: ohhh to wash away the bloood okaaaay

now to defeat you edgy

Q: Okay so more then one photo, I NEED MORE PHOTOS.

Q: Mia thank youuuuu

oooo the fun music started playing, im onto something

Q: "Yeah! (I'll think later" is the best line in the game

IT SUMS UP THE THOUGHT PROCESS WHEN I PLAY THE GAME

Q: Salmon swimming upstream in a river of quicksand

ya sounds like Phoenix

Q: the muffler in the muffler

Bad feeling about following advice given to you by Marshell??? What a silly thought!

Is something wrong edgy? why are you so upset?

what is bothing you Eedgy pls tell me

OH MY GOD ANOTHER SUPRISE CHARACTER HOW HOW IS HE IN ACE ATTOURNY WHAT ??????????????????????????????????????????????????

is he just gonna stand there or...?

Q: Udgey... that's a new one

afriad indeed, terrified I might say.

Wrighto... also new

Q: when i send my live reaction to the game should i have more context to what is going on

Q: rereading it i think i should

Q: I've been taking more pictures of art I wanna send you but it still isn't doing anything

Q: Alright so i opened the Ace Attorney save file and I have no idea where i am. I'm pretty sure this is right after the first trial

tiny village... where am i and why

i think this isn't my file??

BF: I was about to say...

Q: ruinion and turnabout?

what? something is wrong

BF: if you are in a tiny village, the only one I know of is Kurain. and you don't go there the first time until 2-2

yeah, you are in game 2 there

that's Maya's village.

Q: we fixed it!

My brother wanted to play and he mistook the game two save files as extra save files and he just decided "fuck it im not waiting for her to finish" and just started playing through

interesting :o

OH YA WE'RE TALKING WIT THIS GUY :D

swimming? why that specifically?

little worthy? is that a name?

DISTRICT OF THE POLICE UH NO I DON'T KNOW THIS GUY

aww so if he's number one he probably won't be on my side :(

damon gant, I like this guy

OH YA I forgot about edgeworth! Worthy haha didn't think of that nickname yet. I'll add it to the list. He must be very scared of this man

BF: hahah yesss Gant is great.

Q: so a muffler is a scarf? is that just another name for a scarf or is it a type of scarf?

he just keeps standing there and blinking

edgy back on this feet, finally stopped just sitting there silently in what I'm assuming is anger and fear

BF: it's a type of scarf. I can't tell you what exactly makes a muffler a muffler though. they just wanted to use the pun, though, I think

aaah the Gant stare.

Q: they seem to love naming puns, not just the people's names now.

"That's not fair!" There are a lot of things that aren't fair in this world, edgy.

Q: A WRITTEN APOLOGY

That kid from earlier in the audience: mommy is this how trials usually go? Mom: no. I am not even sure what is going on.

BF: hahah trust me, the pun names get more intense with each game.

Q: I feel bad for edgy haha

I can't wait

oh my god SOMEBODY JUST OPEN THE KNIFE

Q: THEY ADDED  A CLAPPING SOUND FOR HIM

I DID NOT EXPECT THIS

Q: ...the note may have something to do with this

but along with everything else i think of in this game it's probably wrong

nah okay

Q: time to look through my items another 20 minuets and hope the character see what I see

Q: when in doubt press on everything

Q: good job ema! I'll examine the knife!

Q: SL-2... something similar  that wasn't a tag. again was it the note

OH MY GOD IT WAS THE NOTE

Me and gant both love 'objection'. I'm still mad at Edgy for that. I will hold it against him forever.

BF: hahaha NEVER FORGIVE YOU EDGEWORTH

BF: you and your habit of updating the autopsy report

Q: "Do you have evidence?"

"yes! (I'll think later)" is still the best line in the entire game

a habit of mine? is that not something everybody does?

I feel so honored being told "I win, Wrighto!"

BF: heh

Q: :D He'll tell me about the knife now!!!

Q: I only get to hear bout one thing.... better choose wisely.

Where the victem was found could help, seems like it could work How the victim was killed could be a little more risky but all of these are pretty good When the victim died... it could also be 5:15, and I could find a way to show it was planned... but I'm not sure

there probably wont be any consequences though

I'll roll my di

Q: it's 1 so i guess we're going with that

Q: didn't we GO to the evidence room?

Q:

Gant: :long stare: Gant: You two make a great pair! I swear this is intentional. It's not even just that chapter.

Q:

Gant: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Gant: :long stare: Gant: Sure why not! well alright then! I'm learning about it unofficially :D This is already very casual so why not

Q: why is the victims gender there

that is unimportant WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HE MURDER

Q: Gumshoe won't die Phoenix he was in the credits!

Q: alright now not only is edgeworth being called worthy he's being called little worthy

do these two know eachother???

Q: that id is the same as the one we have here >:O

Q: :D the fun music is playing

Q: EDGY REMEMBER WHEN HE SAID HE COULDN'T TELL YOU WERE THE CORPS WAS FOUND

IT'S ALL ON YOU EDGY IT'S ALL ON YOU.

 Q:EDGY WHY DID YOU JUST SHOO OFF MEEKENS

IT'S STILL ALL ON YOU BUT MUCH MORE DIRECTLY YOU THIS TIME

Q: oh my god NOW WE'RE DOING NICKNAME PUNS

Q: hehehe FINALLY Edgy looks like the fool instead of me :D

Q: What i think happened is that they were killed, and their body was dragged through the back of their care, and brought here

oh boy angel's back

Q: Oh my god ANOTHER CASE

WE ALREADY DID DL-6 UGH THIS MUST AT LEAST HAVE AN INTERESTING STORY

Q: What I think happened: somebody killed the detective, put the body in the back of edgy's car, Edgy drove back to where he should, left, later the girl opened the back. something about her stabbing him.

Q: no that doesn't fit

screw this case

Q: oh no I'm defending Meekens now too???

Meekens just looks a lot more cartoony then everything else

Q: why did they let him bring a megaphone

Q: oh so goodman's the villain.

BF: uhhhh...nooot exactly, no

Q: i learnt that quickly

I found gant again! he has his own theme song. Sounds like a king.

Q: Honestly I still feel bad for Edgeworth, hope he gets out of this.

Q: uhhhggggg I just got stuck i really wanna figure this out fast instead of wandering around forever. Not sure if it's just with me or if this game just needs better... instructions maybe?

Q: In court when your stuck press everything. In over world when stuck talk to everyone again, present every piece of evidence again, and examine everything again. Then still find yourself stuck.

BF: this case is one of the worst for that sort of thing, I'll admit. I've played it multiple times and there are still places where I forget how to proceed

Q: I don't like using the tutorial at all but I've had to use it twice to proceed, at least I have that. When this game came out people would just be stuck and never get to f***ing leave, and when they did they would be like "THAT WAS IT THE WHOLE TIME I MUST BE DUMB". Are the later games better at this?

Gant: If somebody just walked up to me and asked for 50$, i'd give them 50$! in that case can i have 50$

Q: You know I want to get to the evidence room but why not let's just sit here and talk with Marshell for another 6 hours

Q: I can finally go the the evidence room yaaaay

Q: See, Gumshoe's got the right idea on those 50$

BF: it varies by case, I'm not going to lie!

Game 2 has some added trickiness because it introduces a new mechanic during investigation mode.

said method is a touch more refined in the third game.

Q: in your opinion what is the best game (random question)

general stuff happens, i didn't comment on it

Q: I'm sorry, the game wants me to go to the secret room, do all these things, get no sign that I found then all, and then go to edgeworth's office???

HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIGURE THAT OUT

Q: fine a little bit of a clue but this case really wants players to get stuck

Q: OH MY GOD WHY IS THE BELLBOY HERE DOESN'T HE WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE

Q: hahahaha I can see how you got stuck when the game told you the blow, It did NOT specify in the mic.

Q: non bloody prints???

I can't choose any of the fingers and all 5 are bloody! what do you want me to do im stuck on this sceen

Q: my brother helped :D

BF: heh

BF: Um...my favorite...well, tough to say.  Obviously, I'm particularly stuck on game 2, though on retrospect game 4 is pretty fascinating (both for what it is and what it could have been)

BF: Generally speaking, most people agree that game 3 is the best of the original trilogy, though (game 2 isn't hated, but it has this ONE CASE that is near universally hated)

BF: Of the spinoffs, I'm personally partial to the second Ace Investigations, though that one you can only play in English via  a fanpatch

I'm still playing game 6, so I don't know how I'd rank that one just yet

and there are two spin off titles that I have no way of playing in English at all right now, which is frustrating. No idea where I'd rank either of them. but the animation for those is PRETTY.

BF: Oh, but if you get a chance, one game I strongly recommend that was created by the original creator of Ace Attorney that isn't an Ace Attorney game (though it is allegedly set in the same universe) is a game called Ghost Trick.

Q: Interesting! I'll be sure to check out ghost trick. I wonder if I'll be able to tell what the hated case in 2 is when I get to it...

BF: hahah I'm willing to bet you'll figure it out. I personally liked the case, but it has some issues for sure

Q: alright. I was gonna start playing again if you still want me to send you the endless messages that give you no context to where i am or what im reacting to

BF: AMONG said issues is that it does what no other case had ever done before it, and it has a couple of cross examinations where you can get frigging penalized for a bad PRESS

Q: oh no D:

BF: It warns you when you get to it, but it's still really annoying

taking away my ability to badger the witness without repercussion!

but yeah no, feel free to ramble, I'm just here working and rewatching episodes of the Maxx

Q: >:(

I saw a post and thought of the judge from this game. "The judge could sentence you guilty for murder wearing hello kitty pajamas under their robe and you would never know” yaaaay

Q: About to go to the court thing. FINALLY lana is back it's been a while >:(

Q: oh yay lana gets to be a witness

nvm im a moron the cartoon guy i forgot his name gets to be

MEEKENS YOU'RE NOT THE KILLER

THAT IS NOT AN OCCUPATION RIGHT

Q: there seems to be a lot of talking down to kids in this game :(

Q: why do people let him bring his megaphone

same answer with the kid and his sword

Q: i mean i like the blue badger

Q: bet the tape won't help much

HEY ITS ANIMATED

well hey it was a little helpful

Q: 

Edge: :slams hand on desk: What the hell was that wriggling piece of plywood!?

my new second favorite line

Q: the problems was he was wearing gloves

probably not that's what first comes to mind though

Q: or the light was already on

Q: gloves were rubber? how did i not notice that

Q: why would he need the gloves in there if he was goodman

Q: he could've stolen the card

who is the 777... card at the top

Q: WHY IS THE KID STILL IN THE AUDIENCE

WHY TO PARENTS TAKE THEIR KIDS TO MURDER TRIALS I'D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH THIS CHILD AND EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT MAYBE YOU SHOULD'VE ACTUALLY WENT TO THE TRIAL WHERE I DEFENDED EDGEWORTH IF YOU STILL THINK HE'S SO BAD

Q: :D I think edge just complimented me, it's probably going to turn into an insult though so ill just enjoy it while i can

Q: fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck youuuuuuuuu

Q: the fake killed goodman not lana

no that wouldn't work dammit screw you

Q: HEY GUMMY HOW ARE YOU

NO GUMMY STAY

HEYHEYHEYHEY HEY WHAT

awww lana's finally being useful

Q: Ema don't run it's just a serial killer

Gummy why >:(

saaave pooiiinnt

oh my god Marshell i forgot his personality

Q: please provide me with a reasonable explanation why there were bloody handprints of yours in the evidence room (and no ID saying you signed in but i think i just missed something on that)

Q: somebody actually messes up in grammer in court and one of them yells objection but its about the grammer and they keep fighting about i

Q: edgy don't worry just let me get to my menu my lack of experience means nothing

wait is he giving me advice? is he being nice???

Q: noooo just let him beeee

or not his reasoning was okay though

Q: At first i was sad to find out it was his brother now im just thinking COWBOY PROSECUTOR THAT WOULD BE FUN

Q: what do you think happened to your brother jake

Q: MY DEFENDANT DID NOT KILL HIM AND YOU KNOW IT

YOU JUST DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE IT FOR MONEY

you know i could put that anywhere in almost any case and it could still work (with a pronoun swap but aside from that)

Q: ARRRRRGGHHHHHH

Q: OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT YOU

YOU DO GET THIS IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL RIGHT

Q: edgy is being very nice to her yay

I MEAN EMA YOUR NOT USELESS YOU STOPPED HIM FROM GIVING THE VERDICT TWICE

THAT WAS SOMETHING NOT EVEN MIA COULD DO HE GAVE THE VERDICT AND I BEAT HIM ANYWAYS THOUGH SO :/

Edgy is used to me making claims with the idea "I'll think about it later" in mind of course hes going to scoff at everything i say

I PROBABLY WOULD

YA THREE WHILE PAGES OF EVIDENCE THAT'S A LOT

Q: hey hey jake's back i was wondering where he went

Q: "Just one moment! I will not let such far-fetched balderdash in my court room"

HAHA VERY FUNNY JUDGE. AS IF THIS IS THE MOST FAR FETCHED THING YOU'VE SEEN HERE.

YAAAY PHOENIX GOOD JOB

Q: why is everybody immediately blaming edgy again I already defended him from two murders WHEN A VERDICT WAS ALREADY GIVEN

Q: stop being so mean to edgy

Q: hi lana please help me

ocassionally what what i didn't understand what they said i need to know

awww how dare you now your going to get all three of us in trouble

Q: that kid in the audience actually as an adult took the weirdest trials hes been to and put his own characters in it and made it into a game

oh my god the noise of the crowed is so terrifying because it's on repeat i need to turn the sound off

Q: saaave

Q: good think ema isn't dead

Q: Ema it’s not yours its your sisters putting blame on yourself just leads to depression okay

Q: to lana. MAYBE SHE'LL FINALLY BE USEFUL

YAAAAY

Q: Deal with the devil as a minor so that when your older he doesn't have a legal claim to your soul.

that's unrelated and unhelpful but

Q: now to show you every single piece of f***ing evidence

Q: or not

HI MARSHELL

Q: do do do

do do ddoo dodo doo dodo do doooo ddo do dooo dooo doDOdodoooo

(Edit: do do doooo

do doooo

do doooo

(now go reread it from the top with those last two as the start) )

Q: no marshel come baaaaaack 

noooooo

Q: I just wanna get to 2-4

quonit

:D

Things are going well!

HE STARTED LUAGHING IM SCARED

LHIS LAUGHING IS TERRIFYING

Q: :D Thank you Jake!

Q: Well gant does make a good point

Also about you paying my rent Edgy

Q: I wonder if there are anymore choices or it it's just dialogue.

did I win??

Lana smiled at me :D

"stop it mah you're embaressing meeee" is how this dialogue feels like

Q: yaaaaay I win

Q: awww ema I she'll say she's proud of you too

Gummy you keep doing this

bring him back

Lana :D

Q: Maya will be very proud of me when she comes back

awww hugs!!!

wait edgy was hiding why is he angry

aww ty

Is Lana making you scared I'm pretty sure she was your boss at some point or something I forgot at this point

Q: oh nooo Gant make Edgy scared of who he might be in 10 years. Somebody teach him not to do that.

Q: Aww thanks Lana

the difference between you gant and vampire is that you have friends doesn't that makes you feel better

Q: bye edgyyyy

Edgeworth you keep saying that and it's wrong every time >:( please stop breaking promises

what a storybook ending

OH HI GUMMY

couldn't you make edgy do it instead i don't have money

BF: Did you notice you could do fingerprint powder on the bottom screen during the credits?

Q: ya! Can i blow it too?

BF: Make bonus images appear haha

Yep!

Q: :D

After this i need to sleep this is fun though!

time for game two :D

Q: will blue badger get to stay though is my question

Q: Hey so Angel will be on my side, it will just be in the next game!

Q: I really do think the judge it wearing hello kitty pajamas under that robe

Q: credits done! That was very satisfying :D