#ohhhhh my g-d. hello

[nonbinarychaoticstupid]

SHE LOOKS SO HAPPY I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE

[michaelmylove]

im gonna liveblog hello from the hallowoods when i feel like it, so this is the first one

this guy sounds like Cecil but with a less deep voice

what did he say his name was it sounded ridiculous

is this like wtnv. hell yeah i love wtnv

oooh theme this is fun

so its like... wtnv + early tma?

yeah his dad was not a librarian

spoopy key :3

if i zone out for 2 seconds i miss a ton so. adhd is gonna make this fun

spoopy siren key :0

bro this dude not getting drwoned by sirens is the same vibe as that guy that straight up left the distortion's hallways bc he was gonna be late for dinner

tiny picnic sandwich my love <3 (- this guy probably)

adverts!

weird ass squirrel

the music- :DD fun! so light hearted! yay!

what is being described- ♪ൠ 𝕋ℍέ ⓂＯＮˢ𝐭𝔢г 𝓈ＱǗ𝒾𝐫ｒєㄥ ʷｉｌᒪ 𝓶ᗩᵏ𝐞 Ⓨ𝓸𝓤 𝕡𝐀𝔶 Ƒ𝓸я ⓎόỮｒ ｓ丨𝔫s

*diggory graves*?? bit on the nose

n o n b i n a r y g h o s t <333

yknow what 'diggory graves' is on par with enby names actually

2 ghost?? fun :D

not.. ghost. zombie?? boy is ghost. dig amn't.

aww even in death they're so polite

evil migrane piano?

OHHHHH *KEYS* oh thats clever

heyyyyyyy we'll track down your loved ones but only to tell them to pay for something!

DIGGORY HI HELLO AGAIN

afab enby zombie lets goooooooooo

L E S B I A N

oh no. ded lesbian? :[

persephone?

p e r c y ghost

<333 gay

LESBIAN SONG

yes you have youve got a wife

help the ghosty boy with your zombie lesbian fingers!

damnit ghost logic

why would they break it

I WANT THE ANSWER DIGGORY

its giving the not!them table and im scared

is percy their kid omfgggg

mood

you can remember like nothing dude ??

this is legit so sweet

<33333

im gonna go to sleep now, ill be back tmrw

[tsuki-sennin]

Gorgeous everything! Connect everything!

Kamen Rider Legend's still here! And he's looking even more Gorgeous than ever!

Spoilers, I guess...

-The audacity of this man to call himself a "living legend".

-I kinda respect it, actually.

-Mr. Saigetsu, I don't think trying that supplementary material stuff a second time's gonna work much better.

-So is... Kivat-Bat II dead? Did he blow up in the chaos?

-I mean, he's not all that bad a guy once you get to know him, so this seems a little excessive of you, Kaguya.

-"Hello, Hotaro..."

-"Whoooo..."

-Went right back home.

-WHERE DID YOU GET THAT

-To be fair, I was utterly baffled when he transformed into Dark Kiva with no issue, but I could reasonably believe him being a Fangire.

-Having the Ark on standby, on the other hand???

-"You must all enjoy the shiny."

-Well, lets get comfortable, Kaguya~! We'll be a bit off.

-Butler-san...

-"Oh crap, my remedial English!"

-Still just urban legend...

-You think by now somebody'd have caught him in 4K.

-White guy!

-...I mean, he did play Howl Pendragon on stage for a while, right? Or am I thinking of someone else?

-"Knowledge is power, my boy! And it's through polishing the diamond of your mind that it shines like the sun!"

-HE SMELLED NICE, HUH????

-D

-Do you not have school

-Spanner and him get on like a house on fire.

-"The Kaguya fandom grows ever brighter!"

-Gorgeous!

-Gigist...

-Where ya goin, boss?

-"Ooooh~! Painted flames on yourself, hmm? Quite a fascinating look... I wonder if..."

-ExceedMighty Fire! ...Would this make him RisingAxel?

-Oh... Yeah...

-He can do that...

-He is doing that.

-YOU GRABBED HOPPER1

-Amazing Mighty Smash!

-"Did you like it~?"

-Put them down!!!

-He angy

-Ohhhhh, I get it now.

-He lonely

-I suppose there's no sentience to the Ride Chemy Cards.

-Mr. Saigetsu returns.

-Too cheap to spring for Ark-One, buddy?

-I weep for any fan artist who wishes to draw Legendary Legend.

-Gorgeously bad mood...

-Oh, never mind, I guess he isn't too cheap!

-The power of prediction~!

-A parallel between Hopper1 and Kaguya...

-Handshake :)

-Ark-One with the plastic sword!

-Oh he jacks catchphrases too.

-Oh that's a nice standby

-Yosh!

-Man I would not have gone back.

-Okay, Hundred people.

-Exactly what are you guys doin?

-THAT IS JUST

-OKAY HI ARK

-Done fucked up big time.

-It is Kaguya who vanishes

-G

-GRAND ZI-O OKAY

-COOL

-SURE

-FINE

-WHATEVER

-I DON'T EVEN

-OKAY

-NICE

-NAH IT'S COOL I'M NOT MAD OR ANYTHING

-I'm really not, I'm just

-What

[jacksonswangsauce]

Another Round(m)

Kim Jongin x Y/n

Imagine you and Jongin are dating. He always missed you so much when he would go to work that he hired you as his secretary. He is the CEO of a design company and is filthy rich.

Well one of the many reasons he has you working there is because of the hot and steamy moments you both get to encounter, without having to wait allll day until he gets home.

On one particular day you get a call...

"Hello?" You answer, stapeling some papers together, phone in the crook of your neck.

"I need you to come in my office for a minute." Jongin stated, before hanging up.

You shrugged and hung up the phone.

After giving your makeup a quick touch up, you strut your way down the hall and to Kim Jongin’s office.

You knocked on the door three times before entering.

Jongin was leaning back in his chair and drumming his fingers on the glossy, dark wood desk infront of him.

"Lock the door.." He said, his voice deep and sensual.

You smirked to yourself and did as told. He’s feeling dominant today... You thought, as you closed the blinds as well.

All the while, his eyes followed every movement you made. The way your short pencil skirt lifted as you reached for the blinds. How sexy your chest looked as you turned. The dark bouncy curls that floated around your face as you walked.

He was desperately licking his lips at the sight of you.

When you turned back to face him, he locked eyes with you. "Come here.." He purred, eyes dark and hungry.

You came up to his desk and sat down on top of it.

His eyes grazed over your caramel thighs as they were now exposed by your tight, black, pencil skirt.

"Yes baby?" You said saucily, tucking your hair behind your ear and leaning forward.

He gulped at the sight of your breasts in that low cut blouse you were wearing.

You had unbuttoned a lot of the buttons before coming in.

"Get on my lap now!" He groaned, loosening his tie and trying to resist the urge to touch himself.

You didn’t hesitate, you walked right up to him and sat on his thighs.

He gripped your face and kissed you roughly, sucking and biting at your lips. He parted his mouth and you followed, loving the way he worked his magic tongue all up in your mouth.

You felt yourself beginning to throb and started grinding against his clothed member as he made out with you.

"Uhh..my little sex kitten.." He moaned, reaching his hands under your blouse to unclip your bra and throw it aside.

He practically ripped open your blouse to grope both your breasts with his warm hands.

"Mmm so sexy.." He moaned, licking your nipple.

You bit your lip and grinded even harder against him.

"That’s it!" He undid his belt and pulled down his dress pants and Versace underwear.

"I need to f**k you!" He stated. "I wanna’ feel your tight kitty cat clenching around my d*ck." He grunted, reaching out to grip your thighs and snake his hands up your skirt.

Your mouth watered at the sight of his very erect and pulsing d*ck that was now poking the inside of your thigh.

You were so glad that you decided to wear your sexy thigh highs and lace lingerie today. But then again, you always dressed to impress.

"I’m all yours Jong.." You smirked, sliding off your skirt to reveal your black lace g-string and garter.

"Woah...that’s hot!" He exclaimed, biting his lip while admiring your gorgeous curves.

Then you unclipped your garter and slid off that g-string. You were about to take off the thigh highs too but he stopped you.

"No time for that princess, just ride me already!" He slapped your ass, making you chuckle.

"Damn...so needy today-" You smiled, pearly whites glistening through your red lipstick.

He was leaking pre cum all over himself, it was such a hot and messy sight.

"F**K!" He exclaimed, as you suddenly slid down on him.

He closed his eyes, concentrating on your slow movements, sliding up and down...up..and down..

"Oh babe...faster..ohhh..please-" He gripped the arms of his chair.

His breath hitched in his throat as you picked up the pace. "Uhhh-" *gasp* "OH!" He exclaimed.

You held onto his shoulders for support and began bouncing wildly on his d**k.

His chair was squeaking in time with your movements, it was music to his ears.

"J-J-Jongiiiiin...." You scrunched your eyes shut as he thrusted up, trying to match your pace. He knew just how to angle himself to hit your g-spot. He’s had a lot of practice...

"F**k yeah baby...say my name!" He moaned, gripping your ass and digging his nails into your smooth skin.

Over and over, he kept hitting your sweet spot. Thrusting and rolling his hips into you. Wanting to make you feel amazing and cum over and over.

"Oh Jongin!" You sighed, nearing your high.

"Come on baby..." He encouraged you, pumping himself deeper inside.

"I’m gon-n-na...Ohhhhh-" You rested your head in the crook of his neck and orgasmed, juices pouring out of you.

"That’s right princess, cum all over my d*ck like a good girl!" He said, as you rode out your orgasm.

He was still thrusting violently feeling himself nearing his release. "F-F-F**k...Uhhh"

Hearing your hot moans and feeling you climax on him sent him over the edge.

"OH...F**K!" He moaned loudly as he released inside you, shuddering and spasming with pleasure.

You just smiled at him, loving the satisfied look on his face as he climaxed.

He smiled back with hooded eyes, high on you.

"Y/N.." He sighed, reaching up and bringing you to his lips in a slow yet sensual kiss.

"I love you." He grinned, pulling away to look at your face.

"I love you too-"

You were interrupted when there was a knock on the door.

You looked at Jongin wide eyed and scrambled to get off of him. His d**k slid out with a pop as he had still been inside of you.

He quickly pulled his pants up and adjusted his belt as you grabbed all your clothes and ran to his personal office bathroom.

After composing himself, he opened the door to see who it was.

"Mr. Kim...we have got to install those sound proof walls, ASAP!" His assistant exclaimed, looking around to see if anyone was listening.

"Well you better get on that because until then, we’ll just have to drown out those complaints with even louder sessions. If you know what I mean..." Jongin winked at his assistant and closed the door.

"Y/N! Round two?" He called.

[chut-je-dors]

1!!! 3!!! 24!!!! 25!!!! :D

1. favorite fic you wrote this year

already answered1! :D

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

oh god you’re killing me. uhhh ohhhhh oh g o d. so many of those haven’t actually been published yet......... one certain scene in Guidelines comes to mind, which is in fact in the next chapter (i’m betting YOU can guess which one it is cos you got Beta Knowledge, hahah) other than that...... uhhhh well, in ten minutes the whole scene where paul fingerfucks john (:DDDDD) for the first time, well that is. a nice scene. i don’t know if it was nice to write because editing that fic is always exhausting, but it’s a........ NICE SCENE,,, also, this (bold bits are the FAVOURITE LINES that i had floating in my head for like a year before writing this scene):

Just then there were thumps from the stairs, and John appeared under the living room arch with wild, unkempt hair, his glasses slightly crooked on his nose.

“Hi Mum! Toddletee!” he greeted and fixed the position of his glasses, looking for all the world like he’d been doing house chores all morning (he had) without caring about his own appearance (he hadn’t).

“Hello, love,” Julia smiled at him warmly from the couch and John bounced up to kiss her on the cheek, then proceeding to shake Todd’s hand shortly.

“Good to see ye both, ‘s been ages,” he grinned, and next up whirled towards Paul to give him a peck on the lips before moving onwards to David.

“Dave, me boy-o,” he said, all cheer and pent up energy, “wanna go and grab biscuits from the kitchen?”

David, understanding the word ‘biscuits’, immediately let out an excited ‘oui!’, his world narrowing down to the promise of the sweets, thus his shyness forgotten for a moment.

“C’mon, grab a hold,” John pointed at his leg and offered it towards David, a game they’d figured out almost by accident a couple of days before — and David threw himself forward with a large smile, wrapping all of his limbs around John’s leg.

“Oh no,” John whined and started dragging himself and the boy out of the living room, “there’s something so heavy in my leg — oh God, it’s too much—”

They disappeared into the kitchen, David’s gleeful and bubbly laughter echoing over from there.

‘He can’t see it, can he,’ Paul wondered idly as he stared after the whirlwind named John, watched his interactions with David, how naturally he understood the boy’s wants and needs. John, while being afraid of being a bad father, did his utmost at not being one. And he couldn’t see it himself at all.

24. favorite fic you read this year

uhhhh i’ve read so much that it’s near impossible to say,,!! but An Unofficial Introduction to the Avengersis one of my favourites, i’ve read it probably five times in the span of a few months. Four (Or Five) Reasons for Kidnapping Tony Starkis also like, SO good,,, also like, pretty much each and every steve/tony fake relationship fic i’ve read, as well as each soulmate fic, because heck, SOULMATES,,,,, HNGH

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

soft spoken words, muttered in moments of affectionby @imaginebeatles

a fic that won’t hurt anyone. so soft. fluffy,,, romantic,,,,, y es,. also doesn’t hurt it’s been written by puck, whom i LOVE     

[ohbelladonna]

5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 20, 22, 23, 26, 28. i'm totally using you for good music recs ^^

5: A song that needs to be played LOUD

100% either ok ok? by half (dot) alive or never enough by rex orange county

6: A song that makes you want to dance

probs GONE, GONE / THANK YOU by tyler, the creator or be by hozier

9: A song that makes you happy

uptown girl by billy joel it is a Bop i listen to it sm it’s a fucking Slap

11: A song that you never get tired of

gloria by the dear hunter because g o s h it’s so good that whole album i can never get tired of it

12: A song from your preteen years

def toxicity by system of a down without a doubt

already did 20!!

22: A song that moves you forward

you got spirit kid by coheed and cambria bc m a n it gets me so fucking amped up for whatever the fuck i’m about to do it’s one of my go-to songs when i’m trying to look forward at anything

23: A song that you think everybody should listen to

hELLO I’M TYPING IN ALL CAPS PLZ LISTEN TO if all goes well by the dear hunter it is. such a jam ohhhhh my g o d literally. anything dear hunter is INCREDIBLE IT’S S O GOOD i would die for them

26: A song that makes you want to fall in love

would you be so kind by dodie!!!!!! ohhhhHH when i found out about that ep i would listen to it all the time and then i got vyvy into it and it’s So Good omg it’s still a banger

28: A song by an artist with a voice that you love

i absolutely love coheed and cambria’s new acoustic of the gutter bc m a n you can feel how soft claudio’s voice gets i fucking Love It

music asks!!

[scarlettlawyer]

Part 12 of my reaction/commentary to the Phantoms & Mirages Saga, the fanfic series by @renegadewangs​

(Chasing Phantoms): Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

(Haunted Specters): Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

(Vanquishing Mirages): Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Vanquishing Mirages / Lifting Spirits: Part 10

Lifting Spirits: Part 11

We are rapidly hurtling towards the end. Or… the “end”.

--------

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 12

A single line into this chapter and it had already one-hit-killed me (IN A GOOD WAY). What.

Ohhh my weakness, my weakness…!

THIS SONG?? HIM? THIS SONG???

I have such happy and important memories attached to this song, it’s not just a case of “oh it’s upbeat and I like it” for me, it goes pretty deep. I’m BARELY into reading this chapter and was already put into an unbelievably good mood on the power of the song alone and the memories I have attached to it, let alone everything else about the fact that he is the one who is listeni – ohhhhh going straight for my weaknesses aren’t we.

I’ve gone over being so very happy that he has the ability to listen to music and enjoy it before but you went right ahead and, this was a whole other level, suddenly.

He can pick up & enjoy the happy vibes of this song, aaaah…!

He is listening to Wham! on repeat and no matter what you do, no takebacks, I’m cherishing this for FOREVER. XD

IT’S SO GREAT AND SO AMUSING BECAUSE IT’S H

“You take the grey skies out of my way! You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day! Turned a bright spark into a flame-”

He was going to die. He knew he was going to die.

Honestly GREAT work here with the mood contrast, but I was too busy being blown away/happy and amused by the song situation and shocked that the narrative just did this xDDD like I picked up on this mood whiplash and was like “um whoa” but it kinda passed like a blip when it came to my absorption of this scene/overall mood ahahaha.

Truly though, what excellent contrast going on here simultaneously wherein the reader is drawn into reading of these two threads of such different emotional resonance at the same tiiiime.

And it’s scenes like this where he’s doing stuff like, you know, just sitting and listening to music and the PORTRAYAL and I’m just sitting here like oh my g… s-stop encouraging me… please stop encouraging me… “I’M BAD ENOUGH AS IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A PHANTOM FAN I REALLY SHOULDN’T BE ENCOURAGED LIKE THIS..!” sdkjnsdnklsd …The rest of this chapter refuses to stop said encouraging. :P

”If, through some miracle, they’ll grant me leniency, I think I’ll spend the rest of my life tucked away in some quiet little corner. That’s the best way for me to stay out of trouble, isn’t it?”

But the image this gave me was so absurd it refused to stick and just bounced right off. That’s just – no, nah, that’s not how this works, you know? There is no good ending. That’s impossible. It’s execution or prison and that’s that. And I was still advocating for execution. Welp. This statement took me off guard and there was this moment of… A sense of… Something. Before I dismissed it. Before it got lost again amidst the other things as I read on.

“One might argue that trouble has a way of hunting some people down.”

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 13

Phoenix Wright would be taking the defense again, as it was just as the Luster trial;

“wait wait wait WHAT – PHOENIX WRIGHT IS DEFENDING? PHOENIX WRIGHT?”

This info is just CASUALLY dropped in this “oh yknow just like with the Luster trial” manner - NO??? THE LUSTER TRIAL WAS A PURE PLOY TO CAPTURE MIRAGE AND THE PHANTOM BEING THE DEFENDANT WAS JUST, BAIT. AND HE WAS ACTUALLY INNOCENT OF THAT SPECIFIC CRIME IN QUESTION AND THE VERDICT ULTIMATELY HADN’T MATTERED ANYWAY AND? IT WAS ALREADY KINDA WILD TO SEE PHOENIX ACTUALLY BEING THE PHANTOM’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY EVEN BACK THEN AND AND AND…!

It’s NOT like the Luster trial it’s VERY different.

Phoenix Wright taking on the defense of Alexander Luster Jr’s case IMMEDIATELY implies a couple of things. Since Phoenix Wright is the posterboy of the entire Ace Attorney franchise, and he has won ALMOST every case he has taken and in each and every one of those scenarios where he won the case, he has indisputably been on the side of good and the side of right and- and he, as a rule, always tends to side with what is right and what is just. He is always ALWAYS striving to be on the side of justice. AND HE IS NOW ALEXANDER LUSTER JR’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY…

The dynamic of the games alone, the Ace Attorney Specific Tropes™ instantly then marks whoever’s side Phoenix is on tends to be a) The Right, Good Side & b) The Winning Side, applying both to the defense of Lex here. That’s what this tells us. That’s what it tells me. Told me. The narrative is directly reaching over and saying “Phoenix is advocating for him, and therefore this is the team you SHOULD be on. This is the team you should be cheering for”. And given Phoenix’s track record, the chances of him losing this are very, very slim.

And I was kind of sitting there like “Hello??? Excuse me?”. The narrative seemed to almost have this… assumption that we should be… Automatically accepting of this. That somehow, we should uncritically want Phoenix to win this trial and for Lex to win his lenience. By bringing Phoenix into this that’s kinda what it appears to definitively tilt the direction in. And I, with a years-old grudge against a character in an ENTIRELY different story written by an entirely different person*, and had been stubborn & adamant from the very beginning that the phantom NEEDED to face execution at any cost when the notion of rehabilitation was raised, was NOT buying it. I was not buying this. The narrative felt like it was making an assumption about the audience’s predisposition – about the audience’s wishes - that still did not apply to me.

*TttP is, for the record, not the only reason I felt the way I did at this point in the narrative. I’ll get into some of the other things fuelling my feelings on the matter a little later. But heh, yeaahhhhh.

Because like, you have characters like Bobby and Athena who are already fully established Lex-supporters, which is totally fine, but Phoenix has barely been in this and we’ve had no scenes at all with him interacting with Lex – there’s been no set-up of “Phoenix wants to advocate for Lex” – we are simply informed of this matter-of-factly, which implies “of COURSE Phoenix would take on Lex’s defense, it’s so OBVIOUS that it’s the right thing to do.” And I was like “oh so we’re doing away with subtlety somewhat on this front regarding the narrative’s agenda?” sdjsdbks. (I MEAN. LEX’S PORTRAYAL AND HOW WE’RE MEANT TO FEEL ABOUT LEX IS NOT SUBTLE AND I ADORE(D) THIS FIC FOR IT, but this was still different – a different angle as it is beginning to tackle the notion of rehabilitation/redemption/leniency head-on. The former was all fun and games but the moment the latter got raised I was immediately in a battle stance).

[Me, pulling up my sleeves: “oh so this is how you wanna play this huh. Bringing in the Big Guns with Phoenix being on his side- you talk a big game but see, not sure if you’re gonna be able to back this up buddy. Biting off more than we can chew, it looks to me.”]

Okay and the other reaction I had to this casual mention of “oh btw Phoenix is gonna be defending Lex”? IT WAS REALLY FUNNY BECAUSE IT WAS THIS SUDDEN JARRING MOMENT WHERE IT WAS LIKE OH, THIS IS ACE ATTORNEY FANFICTION. Okay I want to make this clear – I never at any point “forgot” this was Ace Attorney fanfic, of course. But like. This whole 4th fic so far has been focusing on Lex – now so far removed from the counterpart we see in canon, and Benny, an OC altogether, has also been so prominent and under focus. You of course, still have characters like Bobby and Simon but, see, at this point, this is the fourth instalment of the series, and we’ve been with these characters for so long now. We’ve been spending so much time with them that – these characters – the canon characters that were getting all the focus at this point were just about all VERY removed from the centre of the ace attorney series. It feels so very, very tucked away in this – such a niche little corner of the ace attorney universe with some very specific characters interacting and driving the plot forward, and having spent so much time with them independent of the rest of the ace attorney cast it’s really felt like they’ve well and truly taken on a life of their own that’s attached to this series specifically. Reading so much about “OC”s like Benny and Lex (because in AA canon there is no “Lex”!) and everything and then all of a sudden casually throwing the central character of all of the mainline ace attorney games casually back into the plot like this felt jarring in the best possible way. It was just like “oh, RIGHT. Phoenix. He actually EXISTS in this world. He’s still around, I mean, obviously. This is Ace Attorney Land. Oh my god. In spite of everything – in how much EVERYTHING has evolved and separated itself from and focused on this one tiny little realm of ace attorney characters and canon… he’s still around and can actually get involved in the plot like this. That’s so wild.” LIKE. I MEAN. It well and truly felt like Phoenix Wright was from A Different Universe, so independent and separate from a world where Lex, Benny, Alive & Post-Randy Bobby, and even Blackquill (after how much this fic has focused on him and a specific interpretation of his character) exist. Honestly to even think that Phoenix Wright and Alexander Luster Jr actually exist in the same canon fic verse… whoa.

“The fate of execution does not necessarily mean perfection. If leniency is deserved, leniency is what the prosecution is meant to support,” Simon found himself arguing despite his better judgment.

Me: “SIMONNNNN NOT YOU TOOOOO”

Me at this, on top of the whole Phoenix Wright Defending thing: [resigned, frustrated sigh] “You’re not gonna kill him, are you, Author? You’re not gonna go through with it and kill him off, are you?? I told you like two fics ago to KILL HIM.”

I was a) a phantom fangirl & had been for years (of course) b) “Lex is great how can you not love Lex?” c) Uh… still actively advocating for his execution d) NOT pleased that it looked like said execution was not gonna be followed through on by the narrative.

Okay, but this line from Simon was also frustrating for another reason: it engages with real-life morality, just as Benny’s assessment that Lex being “taken out back and shot” is not something that he feels is “the right thing to do” does.

I was sitting in an ever-so-simplistic corner and not critically engaging with how the ace attorney universe’s punishment system actually functions. The death sentence, as we all know, is so very prominent in this universe. If you kill someone, you die, them’s the breaks it seems. That’s the universe’s rule so that’s the rule we go with, right? Only taking this universe’s criminal justice & punishment system & morality into account, it was So Very Easy for me to sit there and fiercely be all, “the Phantom killed people, and even if he can feel things now, that won’t bring those people back, therefore he gets executed because THAT is justice according to the laws of this universe and justice won’t be served until that’s carried out.” This simplistic stance bypasses entirely any questioning or attempt to consider the actual “justice” of such a system, and flatly refuses to even question the ethics of capital punishment – a topic that can be so very controversial IRL.

It was frustrating to me personally because the narrative seemed to be bringing real life morality into this. In real life, so very many places have abolished capital punishment altogether. It’s a lot harder to flatly argue that Lex should be executed when considering that, realistically speaking, rehabilitation is the far more desirable option and if at all possible should probably be strived for in real world scenarios.

I was arguing for execution on the basis of Ace Attorney Morality and the narrative was retaliating with a taste of Real World Morality which gave me pause. I was so steadfast and convinced of my stance that to have it momentarily shaken like this was exasperating, because “no see, I know I’m right, see, I have to be right, because the alternative is just too far out of reach. It’s too absurd, it’s a pipedream… The phantom was just that sucky that even applying IRL morality… I must be right… right? Yeah. Anything else is just unrealistic. It can’t be done.” I shook it off, and ploughed onwards with my stance.

Leniency from the court system didn’t mean there would be leniency from those outside the courts. With so many people out for the Phantom’s head, there was no telling how fast any sentence that wasn’t the death penalty would lead to a furious rebellion. There was no telling how fast someone might attempt to hunt down Alexander and finish the job that the executioner was deprived from.

“Whoa, very good point. Okay, so maybe there’s a chance he’ll get executed after all since not getting executed is not necessarily being shown as the “better option” in this regard by the narrative. There’s still hope for an execution yet. A nice, clean execution if the alternative isn’t being portrayed uncritically as the “best” option.”

Simon wondered vaguely if he should apologize for all the times he’d thrown a blade at the defense or sent Taka their way. Ultimately, he decided against it.

Sdkjdskj

The scene with Bobby and Palaeno just before the trial begins… How worried Bobby is and how much he truly cares for Lex… It’s just not a joke anymore. It hasn’t been a joke for quite some time. It’s being played completely straight. There’s just nothing to even really laugh at or be amused by here?

Back in Haunted Specters a lot of Bobby’s behaviour towards/concerns for the phantom can largely be written off as Rule of Funny and also accepted BECAUSE of its intentionally surrealist nature & impression it leaves the audience. I readily accepted it because it slots into the character dynamic(s) role and set-up crafted by the story so perfectly, and it’s so much fun.

I, of course, could see the direction Simon and Bobby’s behaviour was heading towards… Yes, they were getting too attached for their own good, to the point where things would become painful. I knew it was coming and I accepted that and, in fact, I was READY for it.

But Lex.

What I did not foresee was the huge, HUGE transformation that took place. Lex changes everything. It changes the dynamic that is subsequently involved. It negates anything about Bobby’s behaviour being “kinda funny in a misguided way”. The existence of Lex changes it dramatically from “haha funny & surreal behaviour from Bobby” to just plain “Bobby is very invested in this man and very worried for him” and there’s nothing funny about it. We just feel plain bad for Bobby and that’s it. I’ve focused on Bobby pretty exclusively here because he’s the one whose narrative thread we’ve been following the most in this particular regard, but. There are many characters (like Palaeno) who care about Lex, and it’s played straight.

It is a scenario that can very much be pulled off and played straight with the emotionless phantom, but Lex’s whole existence throws an unexpected curveball in HOW the situation is played straight and the subsequent impact had on the audience.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 14

“Quite a long list of murders, several attempted murders, grand theft identity and all the crimes that accompany such a thing, terrorism, vandalism, assault, perjury in a court of law, selling government secrets… To name only a few.”

“And the defense’s assertion?”

“The defense’s assertion is that every single one of those crimes was committed by the Phantom- WAAGH!” Phoenix broke off into a terrified holler when Von Karma snapped her whip at him.

SDJBDKJSDJK perfect.

Volent smiled, his kindly demeanor at odds with his rather arrogant response. “Instability, Your Honor. The concept is exactly what it implies- the defendant’s emotional state is not stable. To put it in layman’s terms, he suffers from severe mood swings. I couldn’t uncover enough symptoms that would allow a full diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, yet I would daresay that further therapy might’ve confirmed such a thing. … It wasn’t my job to diagnose any sort of disorders either way.”

Whoa WHOAAA SPECULATION OF A REAL-LIFE DIAGNOSIS…!

This was SO good to see. I really REALLY liked – no, LOVED this a lot. It was just like, of course, of COURSE…! It’s not just cartoonish “hehe look at how emotional he is!” THERE PROBABLY WOULD BE AT LEAST SOME LEVEL OF CONNECTION THAT COULD BE TRACED TO REAL-LIFE DISORDERS…! I don’t know how to express how cool I found this kind of connecting-it-to-real-life to be and introducing mention of a REAL-LIFE disorder.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 15

Benny taking his testimony and turning everything around on its head was SO awesome. So very awesome. Only reason I’m not elaborating is that I have so very much to cover in this post…!

Simon’s. Testimony. My god, Simon’s testimony. I KNEW it was coming but ohhhhhh wow…! I’m still in awe, dude.

“Did you hear, mommy? It must be true love!”

OKAY YEAH OKAY THANKS FOR HAVING WACKED ME IN THE FACE WITH THIS LITTLE REMINDER WHEN I WAS STILL LICKING MY PHANTOMQUILL WOUNDS DFKJSDKLSDNS

BUT ALSO I REALLY LOVED THIS LINE LOL CAUSE LIKE? There’s a kid out there in this fic’s universe who canonically ships phantomquill. But it’s more than that it’s like!!! Phantomquill as a ship is definitely grouped in some of the LEAST kid-friendly ships I know. When I think about phantomquill the LAST thing I think about is a kid being aware of it let alone shipping it – it’s such an interesting juxtaposition to have (presumably) a child, given the information they’ve been presented with, immediately go “Oh True Love!” about what is, in standard practice, an unbelievably dark, twisted and angsty ship.

But in any case, it was around this point that I just kind of started thinking to myself “Oh my god… Oh my god… The author is actually gunning for this, she’s ACTUALLY gunning for a full second chance for him, THE ABSOLUTE MADMAN. BUT WHAT’S EVEN CRAZIER IS THAT SHE ACTUALLY APPEARS TO BE PULLING IT OFF.”

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 16

Crack! Franziska cut him off with a quick snap of the whip. “You must pay due respect to Cohdopian court regulations, Your Honor! This trial has an international nature, thus we can apply international rules. The defendant has recently regained his Cohdopian nationality and this method of questioning is a common occurrence in his home country’s court of law.”

This is ABSOLUTELY allowed, I’m not even gonna attempt to dispute it. Rule Of Drama is in full effect here and I LOVE it, it has my full support.

“Now then, witness. My first question,” Franziska leaned forward, resting one arm on her bench. She was watching Athena with a smug grin on her face. “Do you think the image of your mother’s corpse will ever be erased from your mind?”

OHHH MY GOD. I am… here for the brutality of this direct approach. It’s… necessary.

Lex had turned a few shades paler in a matter of ten seconds.

GET READY LEX. GET READY LEX. Strap in buddy. You WILL sit there and you WILL suffer. You are fantastic and amazing and my favourite character but :^) you’re on your own here.

Franziska shook her head in exasperation. “Tsk tsk. Very well then… Witness, is it true that the defendant took you hostage after he escaped from the federal prison in February?”

As we know, Chasing Phantoms felt like a separate entity from the rest of this series to me, and I had been somewhat less engaged while reading it. This just made me go “oh my god… she’s right… that happened in this series too…!” YOU WERE NOT ONLY TRYING TO ULTIMATELY GIVE THIS MAN A SECOND CHANCE IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING HE’D DONE IN CANON, BUT HE HAS ACTIVELY DONE EVEN FURTHER TERRIBLE THINGS IN THE CANON OF YOUR STORY ON TOP OF ALL THAT. And you WEREN’T even shying away from acknowledging it either. You were shining a spotlight DIRECTLY on this fact as you ploughed forward against the incredible odds. AMAZING. You ALREADY had your work cut out for you and you had gone ahead and actually ADDED to that workload, you absolute madman, this was wild.

But not only this, you were, here, in this scene, drawing a direct link between Chasing Phantoms and Lifting Spirits, with their two such vastly different narrative landscapes. You are reaching out and reminding the audience - having the audience acknowledge the part of the story when the phantom was at his worst while showing us him, a changed person, at his best.

You’re not even trying to hide or gloss over a damn thing.

I don’t even know what to say about Phoenix’s cross-examination of Athena it’s just so good. So vivid. Like, I can picture it in my mind.

It was Lex who spoke up. It was Lex who pushed himself to his feet, his manacles producing a soft clanking sound as he did so.

Oh my gosh… Here it is…

This whole scene where he says thank you. It’s soooooo sappy but I don’t care, I don’t caaaaaaaare I LOVE IT IT’S PERFECT and I will eat it up I WILL eat this sentimentality up forevermore. I’d actually misremembered this scene as being complete with gratuitous tears and big, glistening eyes listen it’s over-the-top and I LOVE it being over-the-top. IF YOU’RE GONNA GO ALL OUT WHY NOT GO ALL OUT? And it DOES do just that SPECTATOR’S COOING I. I LOVE this goddamn series oh my GOSH.

I was so very stubbornly trying to work against my favourite character, but you brought your A-Game. You put in overtime for this character. it felt like WHY DON’T YOU JUST GO RIGHT AHEAD AND DRAW A FLIPPIN’ HALO ABOVE HIS HEAD?! DSJNKSDKJNSDNKJ. So much of Lifting Spirits was me BEGGING you to stop encouraging me to such a ridiculous extent, to no avail.

And noooow it’s AURA TIME.

Enter: Aura Blackquill.

A smile flickered across Aura’s face, but it disappeared again the moment her eyes fell on Alexander. Even from such a great distance, Simon could see it: the raw hatred that was shimmering through. It was no wonder, really, that Alexander cowered in his seat. Most people would think to duck for cover if they were on the receiving end of such a terrifying glare.

OHHHH MY GOD… AHAHAHA… YES.

“I have quite a few things to say to that miserable excuse of a defendant,” Aura began, her tone of voice as venomous as the look on her face. “but such words aren’t befitting of a lady and it appears some clods thought to bring children to this courtroom, so I’ll keep that particular feat of vocabulary to myself.”

Alexander cowered even further. Surely, he understood just how much Aura hated him. Just how far she’d be willing to go to see him hanged. Having her here in the courtroom must’ve been agony on both ends, for Alexander feared for his life and Aura ached to end it.

OMG. GET HIM. MAKE. HIM. SQUIRM.

“What I will say is this. If this monster hopes to be human, he needs to understand that real humans don’t get second chances at life. Especially not those who rob others of their only chance. We live as flawed beings and we die as flawed beings- the size of the handicap makes little difference. Why should he deserve to go on while others don’t? The rules of life and death apply to everyone, no exceptions.”

What a horrific speech. Leave it to Aura to spew something like that.

“I MEAN… SHE… HAS A POINT… SHE RAISES A VERY GOOD POINT…”

The worst part was that from the corner of his eye, Simon could see Apollo Justice nodding.

HHHHHHHHHHHH

Aura slammed one of her hands down on the witness stand, her shackles clattering loudly as she did so. She was addressing Alexander directly, now. “I am not speaking only for myself, I’m speaking for everyone who’s lost someone dear because of you. I’m speaking for everyone who’s suffering because of you. Believe me, we are great in number. We will not forgive and we will not forget. You can’t run from us.”

Ohhhhhh GOOOOOOOSH I WAS 100% CHEERING HER ON DURING FIRST READTHROUGH OF THIS SCENE BUT I AM TERRIFIED OF WHAT TRACKING GHOSTS COULD ENTAIL PLEASE SEND HELP

Alexander shivered and hid his face behind his hands.

PLEASE I JUST. PLEASE. NO MORE. Look at him.

“Hm. No, I believe I’ve made up my mind. Taking all the testimony into account, it’s clear to me what needs to be done.”

The judge raised his gavel. This was it. The moment they’d been working toward. The moment they’d been working for. Alexander’s life hinged on these next words. Nobody dared to speak. Nobody dared to move. Bobby’s hand once again found Simon’s own. He squeezed it in return and glanced sideways to see that Ambassador Palaeno was crossing his fingers.

Me: [Shakes head ruefully] “Well, okay, very well. You did it, author. You earned this, well and truly. Go ahead. You can have this. You actually did it, I suppose. I can’t believe you did it, but you actually earned him his right to a happy ending. So… I won’t object. It’s all yours for the taking.”

I mean, the fact that the trial was ending just after AURA’S testimony was a little foreboding, but… It just wasn’t enough to balance out the rest of the trial and the tone of the entire fic. The verdict felt so clear, I mean, c’mon. C’mon. And the narrative slant, too. The narrative and the POV characters that we are following are so very biased in his favour. This IS what the entire fic had been building towards, and the entire fic had been so terribly biased towards him and the notion of salvation.

So I’m like [rolls eyes], “alriiiight, go ahead, if you must. Give the man his verdict of lenience like ya set out to do. I’m not complaining like I thought I would be. You win again. You set out to do this and I don’t know how, but it looks like you actually got there in the end. If you insist, then he doesn’t have to die after all. I accept that.”

”It pains me to conclude that rehabilitation and civil commitment are impossible in his case. That is why this court finds the defendant guilty and hereby sentences him to immediate execution.”

…Come again?

Um.

Lifting Spirits, Chapter 17

They'd known from the start that there could be only one ending to the Phantom’s tale. They'd known, yet they struggle to accept the bitter disappointment that comes with it.

Execution… Immediate execution. How soon was immediate? Quite soon, apparently, as Lang gestured towards the Interpol escort.

WHAT THE F U D G E

They saluted and made to surround Alexander. To grab him and drag him from the courtroom. The spy jumped up from his chair and backed away in painfully apparent fright, but there was nowhere for him to run. The agents snatched him by the arms just like that. The spectators became even more agitated.

“IMMEDIATE” EXECUTION?! THAT’S… THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS THOUGH. That’s SO fishy. You can’t – you literally can’t just take someone out back and promptly shoot them IMMEDIATELY after a sentence is handed down… can you? THAT’S NOT HOW THIS IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. THERE’S SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE, PROTOCOLS AND PAPERWORK TO BE FILLED OUT AND SCHEDULING TO BE DONE… DON’T tell me they’re just gonna – WAIT. JUST WAIT. HOLD ON NO YOU CAN’T JUST – NO.

At the very least, “immediate” execution seemed like it would be carried out a few days after the sentencing, not… like… ACTUALLY immediately. BUT THE STORY SEEMED TO BE PLAYING IT LIKE THIS.

Just because it felt unrealistic, unrealistic to the point it was fishy, didn’t mean the story couldn’t be about to implement just that, though.

Yet, even through the chaos, Phoenix Wright’s shouts were heard.

“OBJECTION! Your Honor! The defense…-! The defense would like to cross-examine the last witness after all! Your Honor!”

But the judge was already getting to his feet. He was preparing to leave the trial behind. That was only natural. The verdict had been delivered and once that was done, no one could change it.

This is the bad end. This is the game over. God DAMMIT Phoenix you should have LEARNED by now that if given the option to further question the witness or not, you ALWAYS take it lest you choose not to and get an immediate game over. Okay. You need to listen to me. You DID save right before Aura gave testimony, right? So you need to press the start button and reload at an earlier save point and then when given the option to PRESS you- sdkjdflndslksdkj

“Lex!” Athena rushed out from behind the defense’s bench to block the group of Interpol agents. To stop them from dragging a struggling spy out the back door, towards the prosecutors lobby.

YES ATHENA SAVE HIM. SAVE HIM.

It didn’t do much good; there were five of them and only one of her. She was shoved aside as if she wasn’t even truly there.

AAAAAAAAAH

Alexander… He was attempting to fight back like a madman now. Perhaps he was a madman. He was digging his heels into the ground, moving every which way to try and slip through a crack in Interpol’s escort, yet their hold on him was too great. He was screaming, he was shrieking. […]

He would be taken away to be killed. A fate he’d accepted for himself a few months ago, yet things had changed. His desire to live had grown too great.

NO NO NO NOOOOOO. NO!

Phoenix Wright stood motionless by his bench, head buried in his hands.

The miracle never happen.

“I can’t. I have to… I have to see Lex,” Bobby insisted once more.

“No. Last will and testament need to be compiled and you would only get in the way. We’re taking the Phantom to be executed the moment all the final arrangements are done.”

THAT’S SO MESSED UP. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! THAT IS SO MESSED UP. “LEX. IS LEX IN THERE? IN THE ROOM? WHY CAN’T WE HEAR HIM HE WAS YELLING SO MUCH BEFORE WHAT’S GOING ON.”

“This is the only ending this story could possibly have and you knew that from the start.”

Oh how daaaaare you turn this line back around on me like this, against me. The first time I ever heard the equivalent of this line in the series, I knew it was planted with the intent to come back to bite the audience. I was all “hah, you don’t scare me. Joke’s on you because that ending to this story is EXACTLY what I want, so TRY me.”

Seeing it again NOW was terrifying. It was a threat. I did not truly believe that the story would end like this. But this line… embedded into the narrative as it had been, was effective at convincing me it was plausible… it was POSSIBLE. Recurrent lines like this would destroy me on a regular day when I know that they’re coming. I had done NO preparation to handle this line doing exactly what I figured it intended to do when it inevitably came back around because back then, when it was planted, it is exactly what I had wanted, and therefore felt like I didn’t need to. And in the interim, the narrative had gone soft, so very soft, so very, very soft on him, and appeared to no longer have what it takes to go ahead and kill him off, the arc words laying forgotten. Until now, being wielded with full force. Didn’t like the sound of this at all.

Now I would like to break down different aspects of the scene(s) that unfold in the aftermath of the verdict, because there are so many angles at play here:

1. The verdict is still unbearably painful even when clinging to the thought/hope and possibility that he isn't dead/manages to survive/will not die

Because we've spent the entire fic being shown just how much Lex is brimming with emotion and personality and potential from head to toe, only to be told at the end that all of it was worthless, that all of it IS worthless: that he is unworthy of salvation, that all of the striving was for absolutely nothing and MEANS nothing. That, even if the plot allows him to go on living, even if the characters and the narrative (and the audience!) clearly believe he is worthy of a second chance, the law and the legal system doesn't. That in the eyes of the law, his life and newfound being is not worth preserving.

A solid three fics spent on development - and the verdict declares in one fell swoop at the end of it all that he should die, the verdict declares he shouldn't even get to live and should in fact be killed as soon as possible.

The law does not know and does not care about the things we and the characters have seen, the things that the characters have been through together, or the extent of his suffering and STRIVING all the way up until this point. The law doesn't care.

The narrative seemingly turns on its audience in an instant with a snarl. "Well, what did you expect? You're an idiot for expecting anything more than this. Haven't you forgotten who that man is and what he's done? Don't tell me you were actually stupid enough to have hope. You're naive. Just as naive as the characters are. Even when you could see for yourself they were getting too attached for their own good, what did you do? Did you actually follow in their footsteps? You should have known better. You should have had more foresight than that. In fact, you DID have the benefit of foresight and you WASTED it! You have even less excuse than the characters!"

At least, that's the stunt it TRIES to pull, and momentarily, for a horrible, horrible point in time it almost works. But then I'm yelling my defiance too. It's like, "no, actually, story, stuff you, I wasn't stupid at all for having hope, because the narrative itself was the one to give me that hope and that belief in Alexander Luster Jr in the first place. It's wanted us to believe in him from the very beginning, so it's no wonder. This story has been ridiculously biased TOWARDS him, and I know that for a fact because I've been fighting against his having a second chance the entire time and received nothing but opposition in terms of the narrative's directional slant."

So it's like, okay, it wasn't stupid at all in terms of narrative portrayal. The audience can't blamed; it's no wonder they believed. But were they objectively right in doing so or was their belief misplaced after all?

There's this dizzying moment of "WAS the verdict right in its decision? Is what the judge says really true? Is there genuinely no hope for rehabilitation in his case? Is there something that the Judge can see that we can’t?"

The thought of it is so painful. Are the characters supporting him and the audience just idiots, but the court - the judge can objectively see the "full unbiased picture" that we aren't getting, in order to have reached this conclusion? Is he really not worth a second chance? But how? How?! How can that be!

And then the thought passes, it's shot down. No, no. Rehabilitation - a second chance - is obviously possible. How can it not be possible? How can you tell me I'm wrong?! It has to be, look at him. if you've been paying attention to Lifting Spirits for five minutes-

2. The verdict was not the right decision to make and does not bring about any kind of justice.

The verdict is wrong. That's the conclusion we arrive at. There is nothing just about this situation. There is no victory here.

“No! This can’t…! This can’t be right!”

This is wrong. This is not justice. The narrative doesn't even attempt to say otherwise: that's how it's being portrayed. The narrative AGREES that this is wrong.

“Let go of me! This isn’t right!” she hollered, hoping to free herself from Lang’s grip. “You can’t execute him! He’s not a killer anymore! Let go of me!”

Up until the very end... Even as the verdict was being read and I was convinced it would side with lenience, I wasn't entirely sure of what the right choice was, even though I had finally decided to accept such a verdict of lenience.

In the aftermath of the verdict's announcement, I still wasn't sure what the "right" course of action was, how best to handle his case, or what "should" be done.

But it didn't even matter any more. I didn't - I didn't care. I no longer cared about that. It didn't matter what the “best” decision was anymore, I wanted him to- where, where is his lenience?! Give - GIVE it to him!

I was desperate for him to have this regardless, to have this second chance, it was painful and this didn't feel right.

In a sense, when it came to the question of what "should" be done, or what side I was ultimately on come the end, that alone - my feelings and response to this situation - clearly gave me my answer.

And if he didn't die, if he managed to escape death somehow, that wouldn't truly be good enough in alleviating all the pain of this. No, that's painful and would imply still that he's not good enough. But that is antithetical to what we have been shown, and the idea hurts. He needed to be fully, properly have his second chance recognised in the eyes of the law. It got snatched away when it was so close and I couldn't - it needed to happen.

It’s torturous.

3. The main characters that we have been following are actively invested in his survival and his second chance. They WANT him to live and they do not WANT him to die.

Wasn't this what I wanted?

But the thought of his impending death was hurting our main characters so much more than the alternative. They weren't asking him to die. They weren't expecting him to die. It's a very different situation.

For Alexander Luster Jr, the chance of redemption hinges not upon accepting death, but in being granted life.

This idea of him needing to die... One of the key ideas it comes from is that to give him a second chance is disrespectful to all the people that he murdered and all the people that he's hurt, emotionally and physically.

But characters such as Athena, Bobby and Simon are members of that group of people hurt by the phantom, and they are the ones advocating for him, they are the ones who are desperate for this chance and his survival - for him to have a chance.

There is, of course, a very impressive list of other people hurt by the phantom for whom his death is deemed important and necessary. But we have not followed their POVs. As it stands, when we think of who the phantom has inflicted harm on, many of the first characters that may come to the reader's mind are those who /want/ him to live. So what meaning does "disrespectful to those who have suffered because of him" continue to hold when they are our main point of reference?

It does still hold meaning. But it's far more difficult to uniformly advocate for the man now known as Lex to die when this is how at least some of the phantom’s victims feel.

4. The bar for his salvation is set very low, and the severe injustice invoked by that bar seemingly not being met by the court's standards is portrayed very strongly.

The bar is so low. A) There is no need to forgive the phantom of all his many crimes, but merely to acknowledge Lex as his own person b) lenience. Just. Lenience. Not “all charges are dropped you are free to do as you wish”, lenience.

And in contrast, everything about the fake-out screams injustice, almost outlandishly so. The speed at which everything happens – he’s hastily carried away. Bobby and Simon not getting to say goodbye. The characters, the spectators who were on his side screaming their defiance. Everything is taken to its extreme in a mad rush.

And then, of course, there's Aura.

5. The narrative makes no pretence at ignoring the harsh reality of what the phantom was like and what he has done. There is unabashed acknowledgement.

I'm glad Franziska asked Athena if the image of her mother's corpse would ever fade. At that point I was a little like "whoa, okay, at least we are acknowledging this. We are ACTUALLY tackling this angle, I’m impressed.”

And then Aura just came in and blew me away. Aura came along and put my very own thoughts into words, she said EXACTLY what I was thinking, right at the last minute. Words I thought would be left unsaid, and would therefore leave me feeling somewhat frustrated and unsatisfied. But she voiced them and forced the story to confront the fundamental unfairness of the killer getting a second chance when he took away his victim’s only chance.

6. The narrative fully acknowledges that there is no way to make everyone happy and satisfied regardless of whatever outcome is chosen.

“In light of all the information and all the opinions shared with this court, I believe there is no way to please everyone.”

Through both the wording of the judge's verdict and the extremely divided and opinionated spectators, it's abundantly clear. This was a great signifier for me because to give him a happy ending, favourite character or not... It can be very hard to be fully satisfied when the consequences of his past actions are ongoing (e.g. people who are still feeling the losses of loved ones that can never be replaced) or if it feels like certain perspectives are being conveniently ignored/overlooked so as to justify a happy ending.

I fought against Lex's salvation partly because I was convinced that there was no way I could be completely satisfied with it, and that it would therefore feel somewhat hollow or sour if thought about in too much depth.

But the narrative just went right ahead and said "you might not be 100% satisfied, and that's fine; not everyone is going to be 100% satisfied in-universe anyway. Such a thing is impossible. If you're expecting all of the characters to be satisfied before YOU accept the ending, then I am telling you right now that you're asking for something that's never going to happen, because it's just not realistic."

The narrative also played a sneaky little game of "okay, if you're not happy with this, then here's a glimpse of the alternative. Now tell me, which ending do you prefer?"

I’d already conceded and accepted the presumed outcome towards the end, but the story wasn’t satisfied with my mere acceptance. Ohh no, it was like, “not good enough, you’re going to REALLY want this. You have to REALLY want this.” And BOY, AFTER THIS CRUEL FAKE-OUT DID I EVER.

The ending made itself all the better because it forced me to really work for it. Noooo way in hell was it gonna feel even remotely hollow, no way in hell EVER, I am no way no way gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

The acknowledgement of ANY ending’s inability to satisfy absolutely EVERY angle of every perspective in and of itself made me rush over to embrace the ending in all its splendid glory.

“That’s ridiculous! We’re just as much Lex’s family as Palaeno is!” Bobby blurted out.

There it is. There it is. The conclusion… The inevitable conclusion of what this entire series has been building towards since around Haunted Specters.

There’s only so far you can take a joke before you have no choice but to play it straight.

1. Set up and frame a seemingly absurd/surreal/odd scenario and seemingly play it for laughs

2. Keep playing it for laughs

3. Keeeep going. Keep running with it

And through both escalation and narrative reiteration and reinforcement…

4. It’s not a joke anymore and the audience is invested, Actually. No matter how odd the set-up seemed originally.

I loved that Lang immediately responds with anger to Bobby’s proclamation. I loved that. It makes sense that he would. In fact, it is a completely reasonable response. And we have spent so long building towards this. Lang’s irritation and misgivings about Bobby’s level of investment have been clear as day for a long time – he’s made no secret of it - and they have been building, and right here, Bobby confirms to him beyond all shadow of a doubt that he is too far gone, he is too far gone. He crosses a line. He crosses a line and it is too much for Lang. Two powerful opposing perspectives come to a head in this single moment as they both explode forth at once.

You played Bobby’s investment completely straight… and then you turned it back around on its head again as it is confronted like this by Lang. It is not enough to merely play it straight, but here, the narrative goes one step further and asks “if it is played straight, if it is grounded undeniably now in the character and the narrative’s reality, what does that mean? In what way should it be approached?”

Lang was right; this was bordering on Stockholm Syndrome. They shouldn’t care this much about Alexander.

I am. Floundering.

You are MEAN. YOU ARE MEEEEEAN. XD.

Maybe it was a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome.

No, no. This was a horrible kind of stinging slap to deliver.

Lang framing it that way was fine.

But a character like Bobby potentially internalising it was so very harsh a punch.

For other characters to react to and interpret Bobby (and Simon’s) investment in Lex in a realistic way was one matter. For the characters whose POV we’ve been following the whole way to take up the same line of thinking… felt like a horrific intrusion on some kind of sacred space. An unbreachable, unwritten narrative rule supposedly laid out by the series itself felt as if it were being mercilessly snapped clean in two here.

It seems so very cruel, narratively speaking, because it felt to me like the reader was never ASKED to frame the behaviour and dynamics of the characters in a realistic or critical manner. It was. A JOKE. It started as a surreal joke, serving its specific narrative purpose and then moving on its way. To have ever been realistically critical of the characters’ behaviour felt like it would have only hindered what the narrative seemed like it was trying to do at the time. And of course, it became more than a joke but the narrative has been tailored for the audience to be invested in these characters’ connections. To abruptly rescind on this unwritten rule of “this is fiction and therefore we can have some fun with it and set up some interesting character dynamics!” was like stinging betrayal.

Or rather, we ARE perhaps asked or even encouraged to be critical, but perhaps not in the way it is suddenly portrayed here. The reader does in fact pick up on the fact that Bobby and Simon are getting too invested and that this investment is perhaps not in their best wishes. But that investment seems to be portrayed so as to be compelling, something we are drawn to… not… like this. Or maybe that was just how it felt to me.

For a character like Bobby to be thinking about Stockholm Syndrome… It is not a clear-cut case of Bobby being hurt and grieving. He ponders framing his own grief and attachment in a critical manner. That he “shouldn’t” have been invested or cared this much. That felt so negatory of Lex and his whole existence… It felt negatory of the very plot that the readers had become so very invested in.

Cruel, cold realism.

You finally brought this particular narrative thread to a head, made it so very realised, and then immediately you appear to set about deconstructing it. Through Lang’s reaction. Through the internal thoughts that go through Bobby’s and Simon’s minds.

But my instinctive response is, "no, NO. Your attachment means something. It MEANS something! It's NOT just Stockholm Syndrome!"

If it was the emotionless phantom who had died that they were mourning, then sure, to think of their feelings in this manner... I don't think I would object.

But Lex is full of emotions, he cares!!!!

They can't possibly turn their back on the bond they'd ultimately grown with Lex like this. They can't.

And they aren't. They are just suffering a lot right now, trying to make some sense of this situation - anything, anything to try and make it stop hurting, to force it to hurt LESS. The narrative seems to teeter dangerously close to borderline dismissing the bond they'd grown with Lex through gritty, negative framing tied to a sense of realism. But ultimately...

It didn’t matter now.

Does it, would it even matter, how it's framed at this point? It wouldn't make a difference anyway. What's done is done, what happened is what happened.

The hurt inflicted by Bobby's internal thoughts in this moment and my instinctive objection to them is drowned out and washed cleanly away as we return to focus on the hurt caused by the overall situation and its magnitude. "Does it even matter?". It's like, who cares, who cares about analytical dissection right now, this is where we ended up either way.

It’s something Bobby considers but he’s just too tired to ponder it much because what difference did it even make? That same tiredness to fight back against the framing applied to me, as there was so much else to worry about in this moment.

What was perhaps the most cruel aspect of it all was that Alexander- no, the Phantom had attempted to shield them from this sort of devastation.

Oh no nooooooo. This hurt. Just twist the dagger in some more hhhjghj. It was absolutely true. The phantom had foreseen this. When it came to something like that kiss scene – I was busy focusing on so many other aspects of it, and very distracted by so many narrative threads after that and into Lifting Spirits that I totally failed to seriously register that attempt to shield a character like Bobby from this pain. I should have been prepared for that particular narrative angle to circle back around and I absolutely was not, I had not taken it seriously enough and had been far too distracted. I had been very dismissive of the phantom’s actions in that regard and found him so very stupid for it. Like, “yes, Bobby is too attached, this is apparent, but for GOD’S sake…”

Should have probably expected this, but I did not, and therefore it came as a very harsh shock that the phantom had seemingly been Right All Along.

This was so worrisome. Was the story REALLY about to dump a “this is the best outcome in a sense, as Bobby and Simon’s attachment was too unhealthy anyway, so this was the only way. It’s the best thing for the characters who should never have allowed themselves to senselessly get attached” on us?!

I knew there was one more fic to go in this series. I knew that much, and I did my best to cling to that, to cling to how suspicious and fast this all was, that they didn’t even get to say GOODBYE, but some of the narrative framing was so very scary. I did start to feel a tiny bit of panic, struggled to keep it at bay. But I was on the verge of becoming VERY, VERY upset. I could not allow myself to do so until I finished this fic, because if I allowed myself to become upset – to lose hope over this - it would be all over – there’s no telling how much it would’ve crushed me.

I just needed to power on through and keep reading as fast as possible before I had the chance to become upset. Just… keep reading, keeeeep reading, until I could relax once more… There had to be a reveal that he is okay, there had to be, because the alternative was too unbearable to consider.

The mere possibility of this truly being how this fic ends was way too terrifying.

It was like you suddenly out of nowhere grabbed my arm and BRUTALLY twisted it and just went “oh my god, shut up about phantomquill. Shut up about phantomquill. And will you STOP complaining already about every godforsaken little thing? I’ll kill him. I swear to god, I will kill him. I’ll do it. Do not test me. I’ll do it.”

This couldn’t be the end (could it?!) but there was no way in hell I was going to risk growing complacent and trying to call your bluff. I was terrified. I could NOT risk this all being real no matter what, no matter how small the risk might or might not be I was so scared.

“Please… Just… Just… Don’t do this. Please. Just let him still be alive.”

And he was.

“So… will you finally shut up about phantomquill? Will you finally be GRATEFUL once more and ACCEPT what you are given?!”

Oh, yes. Yes, Meowzy, please, just don’t hurt me.

XD

When there is a defining moment in a story that causes me to flatly deem that moment and by extension everything after it technically “non-canon”, it is VERY hard, nigh impossible, to win me back, because it tends not to matter how fantastic anything that comes afterwards is – because the line of continuity to get to that point had been fundamentally broken in my eyes, usually senselessly so. The appreciation of great stuff from afterwards doesn’t feel “complete” because I am no longer capable of considering it the “true timeline”.

By “win me back” I don’t mean “enjoy the fictional work in question”, because I am still completely capable of doing that if there’s still awesome stuff going on. I mean “restore the work’s claim to being the “true timeline” in my eyes.”

A lot of the Lifting Spirits journey is winning me over and winning me back over. I had already largely gone “okay, okay, I guess… all of this stuff is just so awesome that it’s still pretty much the true timeline. It’s just so good.” Unlike in some other instances where I had made the “non-canon” declaration in the past:

-There is absolutely no drop in writing quality whatsoever. The work demands its place in the true timeline with the rest of the series because it fits in seamlessly

-Just about everything going on is so great and awesome that you’d be hard-pressed NOT to want to fully accept and embrace it all

-The occurrence that I had declared the work was “finished” over (Fake Phantomquill kiss) was so very inconsequential and minor in the grand scheme of things. The declaration loses its meaning when it becomes to seem like just a blip in the radar of all the amazing stuff going on

-The actual goings-on of the scene do fit in fine with the rest of the story, and the scene is not TOO central or relevant to what takes place afterwards so as to be a constant reminder or thorn in my side that I had been baited. The story moves on from the scene after it plays out to far more pressing matters.

But still, STILL, I had withheld its right to Full Canonicity in my eyes. I had been “wronged” XD.

But the fake-out… and then the ending… I was nothing but grateful. True timeline. True timeline. This WAS the true timeline; this is the true timeline and I fully acknowledge it 100%. I embrace it. Why would I EVER throw this golden ending away for the sake of some one-sided phantomquill, if I had to make that choice?! Never.

I’ve much more to say and/or elaborate on, and I will do so… in the next post!

Wow. Looks like one more post and I will have finally done it. That’ll truly take us to the end of Lifting Spirits…

[tenaciousarcadeexpert]

Criminal Minds-The Good Ol’ Days

@marvelfanlife, @itsmeedee, @veroinnumera​, @derekmorgansoffice, @dontshootmespence, @cynbx, @jaqren, @blitzz11, @beenthroughalot, @princesswagger14​, @sunflowerpsalms   

Chapter 5-Love is in the Air

Just another collaboration with @princesswagger14

Saturday came along as Garcia woke up to the sight of Courtney tapping her arm.

“Garcia, Garcia….” “What?” She groaned as she puts her glasses on.

“”Are we still going to the pancake house today?”

“Oh crap, sorry hun. Ughh what time is it?”

“It’s 9:30!” Courtney responds as she points to the alarm clock.

“OHHH SHIIIT!” Garcia yells as she runs across the room to grab her towel and runs to the showers. She dashed out of the room, passing Kate and Tara just when they left the showers.

A few minutes later, Garcia returns to see her roommate nonchalantly sitting on top of her bed.

“You ready sweets?”

“Uh huh.” She stood up as the two of them leave their dorm. While walking, they suddenly stop to see Ashley.

“Hey Garcia.” “Hey.”

“I see you’re in a hurry.” “Yeah, we are.”

Ashley tilt her head to see a dark-haired Asian girl standing beside Garcia. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh uh Ashley, this is Courtney, my roommate. Courtney, this is Ashley.”

“Hello Courtney. How are you?”

She asked as she shook her hand.

“Pretty well.” “I see. Garcia has told me so much about you.” She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah, she said that you’re an artist.” “Oh uh.” She awkwardly chuckled. “Yeah, I am.” Ashley smiled. “So, you two seemed well dressed. You girls heading somewhere?” “Yeah, we’re heading to this pancake house near the campus.”

“Oh well I hope you guys have fun. I’ll see you around.”

“Bye hun!” Garcia waves at Ashley as her and Courtney walks away.

“I didn’t know that you talk to her about me.”

“Yeah well i can’t help it! When i have these great friends, how can i not brag about them!”

“Does she know…..that I-” “Yeah, she knows. But don’t worry, she’s among the few who went on the trip with me, so she won’t rat us out.” “Okay.”

As they walked into the pancake house a red head walked up to them and sat them in a booth in the back, asked what they wanted for drinks and walked off to give them a few minutes to look at the menu.

“Wow Courtney, you picked a really good place.”

“I told you that it was a good place.”

“Yeah…” Garcia said as she looked at the menu. “They have every thing, like s’mores french toast and jumbo cinnamon rolls. And ooo, red velvet pancakes? I’m definitely getting that.” “Cool.” She chuckled.

“What are you getting Court?”

“Let’s see…….I think I’m getting the chocolate chip pancakes.”

“OOO that sounds good.”

“Mm hmph.”

“So how’s your project coming?”

“Pretty good. I just need to make a few more touches to it and then I’m done.”

“Nice. English class is kicking my ass though.”

“How so?”

“Well my teacher is pushing us to ‘get into the character.’ but she is REALLY getting into it. Like she’s stepping into creepy territory.”

“Ah I see.”

“Yeah i think she’s low-key crazy.” Garcia and Courtney both laugh as thier redhead waitress walks to their table to take their orders. After the waitress walked away Garcia looked at Courtney.

“Soooo…” Garcia started.

“What?” Courtney tilted her head, confused.

“Do you like anyone around campus?” Garcia asks as she wiggles her eyebrows at Courtney.

“No, not really. I’m not in the mood for romance.”

“Oh come oooon! I know you at least have a tiny crush on someone! Tell me please!”

She sighs. “Okay, there is this one guy that I’m really close to.”

“Oooo, tell me.” She squealed.

“His name is Nick, and he’s an art major like me.”

“Ooo do you think he’s hot?”

“He’s pretty average. I wouldn’t say that he’s hot or ugly.”

“Well, I think you should tell him you like him.”

“I don’t know.” Courtney leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms. “What if he has a girlfriend? It’s not easy for me to find someone to be with.”

“Well girly, you’ll never know unless you try.”

“I guess you’re right. I just don’t feel attractive enough.”

“Well I can assure you my fine smokin’ hot furry friend, you are more than enough.”

“Smokin….” She chuckled. “Why thank you Garcia.”

“No problem.” “Yeah….how about you?” She leaned over. “You have a special someone?”

“Nope!”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

“Um I-I uh yep! No one!”

“I see……” She tilt her head and squint her eyes, much to Garcia’s confusion.

“Uh Court, whatcha looking at?”

“Uh…..I see some dark haired man with a dark tan staring at us just by the entrance.”

“Wha-oh ohhhhhh.” Garcia turned around to see Luke staring at her.

“Who’s that?” Courtney asked. “Do you know him?”

“Oh uh...no, I’m mean yes. He’s Luke.”

“Ohhhhh i see.” Courtney says as she smirks at Garcia. “Is that your cruuussh Garcie?”

“What?! No.” She shrugged her hand. “Uh, okay.” She took a sip of water, only to see Luke walking towards them. “Oh look, he’s walking to our table.”

“NO shooo him away!”

“Wha-I can’t I can…...oh.” “He’s right behind me, is he.” Garcia whispered as her roommate nonchalantly nods. She sighs and turns around. “Hiiiiiiiiiiiii Luke.”

“Hey, what’s up Garcia?”

“Oh, me and my roommate were just treating ourselves to some fancy breakfast.”

“Oh nice. Mind if I sit with you?”

“Uh sure.”

“So what do you want heathen?”

“I uh think I’m gonna bet the stuffed french toast with strawberries.”

“Ooo, that sounds good.”

“French toast is nasty…. Heathen.”

“Woah Garcia. Since when did was I ever a ‘heathen’ to you?”

“You’ve always been a heathen, heathen.”

He chuckled. “Oh okay then.”

 The waiter then arrived as the three of them ordered their meals and drinks. Once she left, Courtney stood up and heads to the bathroom, leaving Garcia and Luke both alone at the table, much to Garcia’s dismay.

“So……..” She taps her fingers.

“What you’ve been up to lately huh?”

“I uh, have an English paper to work on.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s so boring.”

“Oh yeah? What’s it about?”

“Pride and Prejudice.”

“Oh I could help you if you’d like?”

“Really? You could?”

“Yeah, I’ve read that book a couple of times before. Plus I’m pretty good in English.” “Well, you didn’t need to rub that on me.” “I’m sorry, but I can help you out, maybe even check for any mistakes and what not. But only if you’re okay with me looking over your work.”

“Fine, you can help….. Heathen.”

“Okay, when is it due?”

“Thursday.” “Oh okay.” He paused for a moment. “Is it okay if we work on it at the library tomorrow?”

“Uh sure….” Garcia responds.

Luke nods in response. Just then, Courtney returns to their table not long till the waiter returns with their meals.

“Wow, the food looks so good.” “I know right. Let’s dig in.” As the three dig in their meals, Courtney felt something touching her lap as she looked down to see a small folded up napkin resting on her lap. She then unfolds it.

“Thanks Courtney.”

She looked up to see Garcia give her a subtle wink and smile just as they eat.

            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Back at the campus, JJ and Kate were at the cafe, chatting with Will, just getting to know him better. After an hour has passed, Kate decides to leave, much to JJ’s dismay.

“Aw Kate, don’t you wanna stay here and be with us a little bit longer.” “I’d love too, but i have an assignment I’d like to get started on.”

“Seriously, couldn’t that wait.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I mean it could……...if I want to get an ‘F’” JJ sighs. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye see ya hun!”

“See ya.” Both JJ and Will wave just as Kate leaves. Once she was gone, the two of them stare at each.

And then there were two.

“So……..” “So……..Jennifer.” Will croaked. “I uh….” “Yeah?” “D-do you want to go somewhere else to talk?”

“Uh sure, you have any place in mind?” “You mind if we go somewhere off campus?” She raised an eyebrow. “Where? The mall?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

The two got up as they decided to hang out at the mall.

            ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A few hours later, Tara and Emily decided to relax at Em’s dorm after spending the entire day at the mall and then the nearest pharmacy buying ice cream and candy. Emily had admit, she didn't think that she’d get so close to Tara. But after getting to know her more, Emily found herself wanting to know more.

“Holy crap! Look at all this junk! My mom would kill me if she saw me now.” Tara said while walking to Emily's dorm.

“Well, it was pretty worth it though.”

“Haha ain't that the truth.” They both lay on the bed as they stare at the floor now covered in empty boxes and candy wrappers.

“Damn, we made such a hell of a mess. If Elle saw this, she’s gonna freak.”

“Well good thing no one else is here but us.”

“Yeah, just us.” “Yeah.” The two longingly stared at each other for a moment, admiring the close up of their faces. Suddenly, the two leaned close to the point that they felt the other’s lips brush against theirs, and not long after, they found themselves kissing each other as Tara placed her hand on Emily’s cheek.

As Emily reaches to put her hand sliding under Tara’s shirt the two break away as they hear the door opening.

“He-woah!” Kate gasped as she caught the sight of the two girls struggling to compose themselves.

“Did I interrupt something?”

“Wha-uh no. We-we’re.”

“Just about to leave.”

“Oh okay.” Kate smirked. “I’ll see you guys later, have fun.”

The two girls shyly walked away, still flustered from the experience.

                           ------------------------------------------------------------------

  Not long after, Hotch tries to comfort Matt just as he gets ready for his date. Much to his dismay, he couldn’t help but watch as Matt panics.

“For god’s sake, it’s just a date! It’s not like you're going to see the Queen.”

“I know, I know.” Matt groans as he marched around. “Where are my-” “Your shoes are over there.” Hotch responds as he points to the pair of black shoes by the bed.

“Oh okay, thanks.” He replies as he sat down and puts his shoes on. Hotch then sat down beside him.

“Relax Matt.” Hotch said as he rubs Matt’s shoulder. “She’s not gonna like you if you're all jittery and jumpy. You'll be fine. Breath. You guys are just gonna watch a movie and then go somewhere nice to eat.” “Yeah, i-it’s just that i really like her, you know?”

“And?” “What if, what if things don’t work out between us.” Hotch sighs. “Oh Matt, Matty. If she didn’t like you, would she have written ‘M+K’ scribbled down multiple times on her notebook? Or when she keeps bugging me on how ‘Matty’ is doing whenever I see her in class?”

“Really?”

“Really man, now let’s go so that you're not late.”

“Okay, thanks.” The two head out as they walk to the girls’ dorm. Once they reached Kristy’s dorm, Matt took a deep breath and knocks.

“Who is it?” Someone asked.

“It’s Matt.”

“Oh okay. Be there in a minute.” Kristy shouts as she took a few touch on her makeup and styles her hair up a bit before turning to Haley.

 “So?” “You look great.” “Eh….I don’t know.” She turned back to the mirror

“Kristy, what are trying to do?”

“Just fixing myself up a little bit. Maybe the hair needs fixing.”

She sighs. “God, your hair looks fine.” “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe it’s the dress.” She responds as she looks at her dress.

“Kristy…..” “Okay, it’s not the dress, but there is one thing it needs. Like a little………...support?” She asked as she looks down at her chest.

“Kris. Are you gonna keep the poor guy waiting? Man is probably sweating bullets.”

“I know, I know, I just-” “Easy Kris.” Haley consoled. “You’ll be fine.”

“You're right, you're right. Okay im ready.”

“Good.” She pats her on the back. “That’s my girl. Now go out there and show Matt what you're all about.”

“I will, I will.” She responds and she took a deep breath before opening the door to see Matt standing outside.

“Hey.” “Hi.” “Wow, you look great.” She blushed. “Why thank you. So do you.” “Thank you. So, are you ready?”

Kristy nods. “Mm hmph.”

“Good, lets go.”

Both Hotch and Hailey look as Matt and Kristy walk down the hallway.

“Well um i should head back.”

“Not so fast mister. I want my best friend to be happy and safe, so I'd like to see the friends he hangs with. Why don't you come in for a bit, we can chat.”

“Oh uh, okay.” Hotch reluctantly responds as walks into her dorm. He awkwardly stands as she closed the door.

“The name is Haley by the way.” She said as she turned to him.

“Um, I’m Aaron, but most of my friends call me Hotch.”

“Oh, so is it okay if I call you ‘Aaron’?” “Uh sure.”

[zgce]

Dance Partner

Genre: Fluff af

Member: Moonbin

Synopsis: You perform with Moonbin for a Valentine’s special stage and he asks you to be his girlfriend on stage (and on camera).

Word count: 1,300+

G/n - group name G/i - group intro G/f/d - group fandom (name)

You were now in Fantagio’s dance studio waiting for your best friend and crush dancing partner Moonbin. He was assigned to make a dance number for a special stage and got you as his partner.

The concept was ‘Love’ seeing as it is February. The male idol didn’t have anyone he’s comfortable with except you. To kill time, you danced to 'Oh Nana’ by K.A.R.D. and had it as warm up as well. Halfway through the song the door creaked open.

“Oh, y/n. You’re early” Moonbin placed his bag next to yours. You stopped the music and wiped the small amount of sweat that built up on your forehead with a towel. You then noticed your matching shoes. It was his idea to buy them a few months back. 'We’re both dancers. Let’s buy matching ones’, he said.

“I just started warming up,” He nodded and proceeded stretching. Now you were both warming up while also having fun dancing to girl group songs.

You both agreed to help each other in choreographing. Moonbin showed his ideas first and you agreed on what to use, what’s next and what else to do. You ended up with a mixed themes. He said that it’s to show the different kinds of love. You sent a remix made by you a few days ago and it was chosen by both your companies.

While practicing the parts though, Astro appeared along with a few members of the staff setting up 'Ddoca’. They entered loudly as usual and greeted you with much enthusiasm.

“Hello, Ddoca-yah. I’m practicing a number with y/n of g/n today,” He ushered you in front. “Introduce yourself.”

“G/i. Hello, Ddoca. I’m y/n. Nice to meet you,” You waved at the camera then proceeded to your previous spot. You played the song and danced alone.

Moonbin covered the lens while saying, “No, no. That’s a secret for now. Wait for our performance.”

After practicing a few more times you plopped down onto the floor next to your bag and grabbed a water bottle. Moonbin did the same.

“Ohhhhh. Hyung, matching shoes?” Sanha said while pointing Ddoca at your feet. The camera was then pointed towards your face so you gave a wink. The members proceeded to tease the two of you but you didn’t mind.

Recording lasted for a few hours or so, the members (mostly Sanha) distracting you from practicing by making you laugh. You said goodbye all together. Moonbin offered to walk you home. Back then you would have refused as your houses were fairly distant from each other, but now your dorm was only a walking distance from the building so you agreed.

“How have you been so far? Hope you’re not stressing yourself too much like before. I told you that you should relax more,” You chuckled and shook your head.

“I hope I can but an idol’s life is hard,” Moonbin nodded as he also knows the difficulty of being an idol. You chatted more to catch up and with that you were in front of the building where your dorm is. “Good night, Binnie. See you tomorrow.”

You walked backwards into the building while waving. He did the same and left only when you had entered the building completely.

“I wish I can tell you, though.” He sighed and continued walking, scratching the back of his neck.

It was finally the day of the performance so you were being pampered in your usual salon. You replayed the song over and over and moved along with it for a bit while remaining seated. However, the music stopped when someone called, the music to your performance being replaced with your ringtone.

“Good morning, y/n. Where are you now?” You heard the members in the background and the faint sound of an engine so you knew that he’s in the van.

“I’m in my usual salon. Why do you ask?” You heard Sanha and MJ’s loud voices asking Moonbin if it was you on the phone then eventually screaming hello in hopes of being heard. You chuckled.

“Sorry about that. What do you usually drink in mornings? How about food? Do you want anything?” You tapped your finger on your thigh as you think of what to request.

“Hot choco and chocolate bread please,” You said ‘cutely’ and laughed.

“Yes, ma'am. See you later. Bye bye,” And with that the call ended but not before hearing the screaming duo yelling goodbye as well. You clutched your wildly beating heart and sighed. You saw your hairstylist smiling at you.

“You like him that much?” Your eyes widen at her statement. She knew? “Honey, it’s so obvious. Even Jackie here knows.”

You glanced at the gay stylist as he walks by and he winked. Great. Now you’re ruined.

“Please don’t tell hi–” Your words were cut off by the sound of the door opening.

“Y/n your boyfriend’s here” You saw Jackie’s wink once again and how Moonbin’s ears reddened. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

You tried hard to change the upcoming topic so you gestured him to sit down next to you. Making eye contact with him through the mirror, you smiled.

“Hot choco and choco bread. You like chocolate too much,” He murmured something under his breath but you couldn’t really hear it.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Moonbin immediately shook his head and averted his gaze. The atmosphere was getting pretty awkward so you just ate quietly. “W-wanna take a sip... or something?”

You stretched your arm to hand him the drink. You expected him to just take the cup and drink but he did something more surprising. He held your wrist and guided the drink to his lips then drank. You felt heat rush to your cheeks.

“Smooth, Moonbin. Smooth.” Jackie stated before stepping out of the room, laughing lightly. You swore Jackie was always there on the right time.

After a few more moments of awkwardness you both proceeded to KBS’ building. Rehearsals will start after half an hour so you called your group members over for the sake of not being bored.

Footsteps were heard from outside so you stood up immediately thinking it was the girls. But you were proved wrong when you saw Astro outside with MJ holding Ddoca. Jinjin and Rocky raised the bags of food they were carrying and you immediately smiled. Who could say no to food anyway?

“Wow, this episode turned into a mukbang,” MJ stated while chewing.

“Don’t talk when your mouth is full, hyung,” Rocky replied with fuller cheeks. You were laughing with the others when you heard knocks.

“Hey!” You exclaimed when you opened the door. It was, for sure, the remaining members of g/n. The two groups greeted each other then ate.

Finally, it was time for your performance. Moonbin was behind you being cheered on by his members while you were being teased by your group mates. Your makeup was being retouched so you couldn’t do much except for sending them a glare. The two of you were then called onto the stage. You took your position and so did he.

The dance was almost ending when Moonbin was handed a mic.

“Aroha, let’s say it together,” Confusion was written all over your face especially when Astro and your group went on stage with… cardboards? They slowly turned the cardboards around along with Arohas and g/f/d’s shouts.

“Y/N WILL YOU BE MY GIRLFRIEND?”

Your hand flew to your mouth. It was just so overwhelming. Is this real? Is it a dream? But you got your answer when Moonbin walked over to you and held your hand. He pointed the mic towards you, anticipating your answer.

As you remained quiet Moonbin grew visibly nervous. “Of course,” The fans and the members behind you cheered when Moonbin hugged you tightly. He kissed your forehead and pulled you to his chest again.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

[sashayed]

Good afternoon, elegant natural beauties. Do u guys want to read a short, incoherent stream-of-consciousness review of Every Single Perfume I’ve Sampled since May 2016? of course you do! I put a star next to the ones that are good on me.  i originally wrote “next to the ones i recommend” but of course every perfume smells completely different on every person so Who Knows. i don’t wanna get blog sued for recommending you a fragrance that smells like a butt on you.

★ annick goutal ce soir ou jamais - rose! big, overblown, spicy rose. musky. amber. really good! a little too floral for me personally but it’s very like a flapper wearing a rose in her hair & i would recommend for somebody else

annick goutal grand amour - unremarkable, thin floral. also gone almost immediately?? what even was this. annick. get it together.

★ annick goutal nuit etoilee - ohhhh, yes. soothing, but not boring. something like -- blue-gray forests and -- mint tea? it's cool and delicate and sort of cozy. mint leaves and resin. herbal, graceful, understated: warm tea and a pine fire on a cold night. it’s too elegant to be homey. it’s like if your ex-wife of 20 years invited you over to dinner and everything in the house was lovely and the dogs were asleep and even the trees outside tapped their branches on the glass just as you remembered it, but over dinner you realized from the coolness of her glance and the graciousness of her manner toward you, you knew absolutely that she had moved on, and however kindly she treated you you would only ever be a guest in this house -- your ex-wife might wear this.

★ l'artisan mon numero 6 - sort of woodsy and masculine in a good way! sandalwood, hibiscus. a gamine in a bower.

annick goutal petite cherie edt - can something be both powdery and juicy? pear and soap? it's nice -- very girly and sort of demurely playful -- but even with a surprising musky note down in there, it doesn't make much of a statement. 

★ atelier cedrat envirat - a greener, woodsier Orange Sanguine. in spite of the name, the cedar is much more of a basenote, a strong vibration; more noteable are the citrus tones, especially as it dries. more lemon-lime than orange. delicious and fresh and invigorating. i can wear OS at any season, but this feels very summer-specific.

balenciaga b. - fresh at first but then….weird old bread?? what? what is happening. it’s still not bad but there’s something so floury/powdery about it. in spite of that bakery/kitchen association it’s not spicy – it’s green & dry. Fine, but not a keeper.

cb i hate perfume burning leaves edt - not so impressive on me anymore. it used to feel cozy and i'd get a hint of rich woods but now that sweetness is more like....bbq sauce. like, i just smell like i wandered into your house with grill smoke in my unwashed hair. this is fine and great when it happens organically, but a lil too meaty for my taste in perfume. not great projection either.

cb i hate perfume i am a dandelion - sharp & earthy greens – what florals there are are more crushed than blooming. i’d want to layer this with something but by itself it’s too much mica/dirt on me.

cb i hate perfume wild hunt - WET EARTH. foliage and moss. ozone. that low alcoholic thing that’s very cb-typical. round dirt. fades very fast.

clean rain - cheap but good. nothing remarkable though and it fades VERY quickly to regular bar soap. you could get the same effect for a fraction of the price with that $8 cucumber melon body splash from bath & body works.

★ comme des garcons blue santal - oh HELLO good MORNING! clean, tomboyish, scented wood and juniper. a ski lodge smell -- outdoorsy, but more moneyed than natural. the perfume equivalent of super-expensive ”reclaimed wood” scandinavian furniture.

d'orsay intoxication - bluh. the two words that come to mind are “honey” and “widowhood,” tbh, which makes this sound better than it is. it's just a sort of indeterminate, dated chypre floral, with an old-lady's-bathroom musk. which is better than old-man's-bathroom musk, obviously, but i'm not into this.

★ demeter honeysuckle edt - as pure and natural on me as annick goutal’s way more expensive chevrefeuille. projection & lasting aren’t as good but SUCH a fresh, sweet, uncloying honeysuckle.

derek lam 10 crosby drunk on youth edp - your cute friend’s hair after a shower. fancy girl shampoo. then it blossoms out and gets deeper & sweeter--pure honeysuckle, but still soapy, hence the shampoo. lovely, but too $$$ for basically a nice bathroom-steam smell.

dkny be desired edp - starts w/ sweet grapefruit & violet – then that shampoo-y smell – then the shampoo gets synthetic. it’s not BAD exactly, just mad artificial with a sharper and sharper plastic line through it. although ooo, as it dies down it gets REALLY nice. not worth that early stuff but very sweet and sporty.

dolce & gabbana intense - strong & sweet. intoxicating but also marshmallowy? tuberose. kind of like a lollipop. yes. booze lollipop. i dig it but it’s too sweet to be a standby for me. although the boozy vanilla about 15 mins in is SUPER delicious.

elizabeth & james nirvana black - i’ve heard this suggested as a dupe for Black Orchid but nirvana is WAY sweeter on me. more licorice, less tobacco and the vanilla comes across much less organically. some scents kind of fold your own smell into themselves and enhance it? that’s the goal for me & this w/ my particular chemistry is like the opposite. very “mask”-y.

★ giorgio armani si edp - YUM. lychee with some sharper fizz behind. black pepper? then incense/spiced wood? super sophisticated & sexy. reviews say “vanilla” – i’m not getting that at all.

gucci flora glorious mandarin edt - a burst of tangerine, then low slightly spicy flowers. good, but not great.

★ guerlain idylle - oo. oooooo. delicious. this is described as a “floral” but i’m getting something richer – something of that amber vanilla musk that i used to get with Black Orchid. i guess i smell the rose under that. as it dries it gets sweeter but not in a bad way – fruit-sweet, like a wet raspberry.

★ imaginary authors cobra and the canary - tobacco, smoke, leather. very distinctive and really kind of nice. i think you could pair this with something femmey for a really interesting layered smell but WHO HAS THE TIME!!

★ issey miyake a scent - spring. sharp cut green flower stems. wet but guarded. crisp. lemon tree & hyacinth in the very back. like it a lot. as it wears down it becomes deeper and more floral – a wet garden. (had this on same arm w/ d&g intense & they’re like the opposite of each other. a palate refresher!)

★ juliette has a gun mmm - sooooo good! like….creamy white flowers and orange rind and cinnamon? as usual with white flowers it’s a little sweeter than the woman i picture myself to be, but true to its name it is DELICIOUS.

laura mercier nuits enchantees - VANILLA EXTRACT! so delicious but unfortunately then this weird powdery almost nutty?? note appears. almond? or wait: marzipan. ough, that must be the patchouli. yeah, no thanks.

le labo vanille 44 - so good at first! rich warm vanilla-extract vanilla. spicy. wintry. something a little like rubber or plastic – or playdoh?? – deep under it, which is the only drawback -- except that then as it dries it fades to just that rubber plastic thing. :/ this was a disappointing relationship.

miller harris la pluie - weirdly old & incongruous on me – like one of those perfume sampler packs i played dress up with as a kid. not bad, but seems to have nothing to do with my skin.

oscar de la renta something blue - PURPLE MARKER SMELL? remember those smelly markers and the purple one was really good? this is like a fancier version of that. then it goes to more complex flowers.

★ pinrose treehouse royal - this is SO FAMILIAR, why?? what is it? vitabath??? green, delicious, ginger underneath. cassis and vetiver. very clean. i’ve never tried pinrose before and i really like it!

★ pinrose campfire rebel - oh wow. oh WOW. green smoke. everything i stopped getting from burning leaves – none of that charcoal meatiness. just clean autumn air and good whiskey. i gotta get more pinrose!

★ prada luna rossa - POWERFUL dude musk. spicy herbal, amber-y. Very very masc. Feels like Jean Dujardin inviting you behind the boat house for a cigarette.

ralph lauren polo black a wealthy, slightly effete dude sauntering out of the locker room. tropical fruit and sandalwood. very clubby, but also VERY delicious – at first. unfortunately it fades FAST to Eau de Douche. like, not the vaginal hygeine product, just a douchey guy in a club. ugh.

ralph lauren romance - very femme perfume-y – the opposite of luna rossa. Flowers first – rose & lily? Feels like the dullest body splash you could get from Victoria’s Secret. Inoffensive, boring flowers.

stella mccartney sheer - fruity! a less strong l'imperatrice. juicy. sweet and soapy.

★★★ tom ford noir pour femme - ohhhh shiiiiiit yes. ohhhhh you’ve done it again thomas. musk and vanilla. warm smoke. cardamom. this perfume is a cardamum blessing. i feel so sophisticated yet sexy yet also somehow cozy and warm?? a femme fatale in an oversized sweater. oh god, it just gets better and warmer and sexier every minute. WHEN WILL I BE RICH?? @daeontherun bought me a tube of this for XMAS because she’s a SAINT and we all put it on and spent the rest of the evening deeply inhaling our own wrists. can’t recommend highly enough.

[tsuki-sennin]

After the surprise worldwide invasion of the Bognaarok, the Ohsama Sentai have gone and done it! Knocked them back real good! However... the strange jubilation of the Bognaarok is cut short by the appearance of a mysterious man...

...yes, I'm still narrating, I can't have Jeremy be the only one around here, can I?

Spoilers, I guess...

-You must be this infamous Spiders Jeremy I've heard so much about.

-"You old. Cringe. Fail. Ratio."

-The world is about to be flipped.

-"Yeah sorry, Gira vanished. ...don't ask where he is, Racles doesn't need to know."

-Kaguragi's nerves of steel.

-Makes sense, bees are absolutely vicious critters.

-"A proper state funeral."

-...I really like your new hairstyle, Himeno.

-Absolutely immaculate.

-Gira has long fantasized about his life as a revenant.

-Based Kuroda.

-Aw that's sweet, Yanma's having fun.

-What they believe in :)

-ROBO GIRA

-"Becoming a cyborg is every dude's dream!" ...you uh... have no idea how ironic that is.

-Oh well, this is cute :)

-What've you got for us, my Queen?

-A fairy tale~!

-JESUS GIRA

-Rita is unmoved by evil, cyborgs, or Christianity.

-MOFUN

-It's important to have nice stories in times of conflict.

-Rita almost got spoiled on their blorbo show.

-I'd ask "What kind of kids' cartoon has smugglers" but when I was a kid I was a fan of the PBS Kids program Wild Kratts, starring the very same Chris and Martin Kratt behind Zoboomafoo. Wild Kratts had a rotating cast of poachers, so I can understand the importance of showing criminal masterminds.

-Awwww, Kogane-neesan :)

-As long as there is one person who believes in you.

By love and trust and faith will we be saved. A single soul's enough, when 'gainst the world We stand. Apart. Alone. Believe in me, We plead. We pray. And answer they… I will…

-By the way, go play Live A Live, it's goated.

-Hello, Jimmy.

-Oh, a lady Bug!

-Nagabajim~!

-Our boy is dead :(

-"Shut the fuck up, Racules!"

-Oh

-Uh oh

-Ohhhhh, that's spider web.

-"Waaaaaaah~! Waaaaaaaaaaah~! Girraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Cry you fool!"

-"Oh, excuse me..."

-"I don't like your idea, Racules."

-FUCKER TOOK GIRA

-"Oops~!"

-Okay, that's just silly.

-What's your deal, spider boy?

-W

-Wh

-What

-D

-Did you shit on him????

-Oh my god, you did!

-Kind of a storyteller, okay

-I mean, you guys are trying to kill people.

-I don't doubt that the Bognaarok's disdain didn't come from nowhere, considering you live deep underground while humanity gets to enjoy everything else, but-

-It's bug time, I guess~!

-That was easy!

-Oh, never mind, here comes the family!

-"You didn't die for nothing, Nagabajim~!"

-That's a solid contingency plan, I'll give 'em that.

-They ate our friends!

-Ohhhhh

-"What?! Did Nagabajim really die for nothing!?"

-Ohhhhh, there he is! Jeremy!

-Literally OP, as far as I can see.

-Venomix Shooter!

-"Oh, what took you so long, IDIOT!?"

-G

-Guys Go?

-"Sweet dreams~? :)"

-Jeremy Brasieri.

-An ancient story teller.

-More Dock In!

-Holy shit!

-That motherfucker just iced our main villain!

-JEREMY

-THIS WAS ALL ABOUT YOU ALL ALONG

-BRUH

-HE GOT ME

-DUDE

-WHAT THE FUCK

-Okay!

-Incredible first showing by King Jeremy, I guess!

-BRUH-DUDE

-WHAT

-HUH

-HOW

-WHAAAAAA

-NANDAYO!?

-EHHHHHHH!?

-Okay!

-Incredible first showing by King Jeremy, I guess!

[tsuki-sennin]

Our beloved Ohsama Sentai planned to reveal Gira's deception in spectacular fashion... but of course, freakin' Jeremy had to come in and steal all our thunder! That jerk is yuckin' it up in his narration, acting so smart and tough. Who does he think he is?!

...well, that's partly why we're here today~!

Spoilers, I guess...

-"I'm the king, dum-dum. I can do whatever I want."

-Noooooo, Himeno!

-You've gone too far this time, Spiders Jeremy!

Yanma: Yes, we know about the King-Ohger book. It's only the foundation of literally all organized religion in the world. Jeremy: Oh cool, then you'd be happy to know that I wrote it all down~!

-Damn, okay I see you King-Ohger.

-I don't think we've had a (proper) Sixth Ranger be genuinely and consciously villainous since Mikoto.

-I suppose it's fitting he's white, black, and gold on a story involving an alternate Earth.

-...of course, I'm counting my chickens a bit early, so...

-He was biding his time, that Jeremy.

-"Whoa, what!?"

-I see Rita's never heard of Rip van Winkle.

-I'm going to be feeling a lot of things about Jeremy, aren't I?

-Hi Dezzy, sorry I thought you blew up last episode.

-Morphonia, hello~!

-Just like Racules, eh?

-We now have a whopping three antagonistic factions all at the same time in the 12th episode.

-"Duuuuude, spoilers! Sheesh, just give me a headcanon, eh? :3"

-"I headcanon you as a menace to decent society."

-"See, now you get it~!"

-Read between the lines~!

-Man, these ski-lift chairs must be really disorienting to sit on.

-Oh

-He got us.

-T

-The Thundercracker?

-"Give me the spider boy, bee boy."

-Ohhhhhhh

-Holding a little lady hostage, eh Racules?

-Suzume, Suzume... I'm not sure what manner of bee she'd represent, but

-N'Kosopa~! Lie detection~!

-OH MY GOD

-Damn, okay!

-"Owie"

-"So like, are you supposed to be killing me?"

-Jeremy Brasieri. A little over 2000 years old.

-SHIOKARA NOOO nLHJKHLB

-YANMA WHAT THE HELL MAN

-G

-Gin

-I have to imagine what it's like to see them live.

-"Not bad, you sure know what you're doing~!"

-OH

-Okay, guess it's Himeno's turn to analyze

-Rita's screms give me life.

-They kidnapped him.

-"My, you're scary~!"

-I see Himeno changed her hair back.

-"Oh is that all~?"

-"You are the Spider Man."

-Well, he's got the sass, the powers, the Anti-Venom/Spider Armor Mk. 1 color scheme...

-...speaking of which, I plan on seeing Spider-Verse 2 Part 1 soon.

-The way he's both a storyteller and playing literally everyone around him is also definitely a send up to Anansi, from the West African Akan people's folklore.

-Jeremy the Spider Man.

-Help us out, Kaguragi.

-"I'm a bigger liar than you, spider boy!"

-D

-Dude?

-"Wonderful."

-Well, he's definitely got the moves. I'd expect nothing less from him

-"Come ON, dude~! You've gotta know~!"

-THEY'RE DENYING HIM HIS COOL REVEAL

-"Jesus Christ, you people SUCK at this!"

-Six~!

-Ohhhhhh

-OH?

-I really like this silhouette art-style.

-Very puppet theater-y.

-Ohhhhhh

-Quite literally. Spiders Jeremy.

-LHJK>H

-"Yeah, I can get behind peace :)"

-Pan icon Jeremy Brasieri.

-...I feel very personally marketed to by Spiders Jeremy.

-"...did I just make friends? ...I guess I did~!"

-Hello Dezzy!

-...I guess he says no.

-...ohhhhh, his jingle

-His transformation

-His INSERT SONG

-HIS FIGHTING STYLE

-HIS MOVES

-This character is everything now.

-"See you later, I suppose."

-I swear my fealty to you, my king.

-Ohhhhh, that's a tarantula.

-A big one too.

-...I am feeling many things.

-I think they're good things?

-Idk man, Sixth Rangers are just

-The most effective marketing tactic of all time