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multiharlot · 4 years

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real life bau (rls 2) / matthew gray gubler x fem!reader

summary: matthew meets the real life bau

warnings: this one is so long for no damn reason. adjfhalfkh sorry. but i had fun writing it.

masterlist

part one

third person pov

“please give a nice warm welcome to matthew gray gubler!”

matthew stumbles out onto the stage, nearly tripping over himself as he waves into the crowd.

“hey!” he smiles widely as he sits down in the chair.

“hey how are you?” the interviewer chuckles.

“i’m great! and yourself?”

“i’m great. you seem like you’re in a fantastic mood.” the interviewer chuckles, as matthew adjusts himself in the chair.

“i am i am. i just got off the phone with my girlfriend.” he smiles proudly, making the interviewer smile.

“ah, y/n right? i’ve seen the photos of you two together but you’ve never spoken about it. is this an exclusive?” the interviewer asks as he sends a playful smirk matthew’s way.

“i guess it is, yeah.” matthew chuckles.

“well you two are absolutely adorable.” he says, crossing his left leg over his right.

“thank you! she was actually really nervous when i asked her if it was okay if started telling people we were together.”

“i’d be nervous too. you see all these people?” the interviewer chuckles, motioning out to the fans against the glass outside the building and the fans in the crowd.

“yeah. yeah i could understand why, which is the reason i never wanted to push her into things. but she was okay with it and now i could scream it off of a roof if i wanted to. well, i actually can’t, she said that’s too dangerous and i’m too clumsy to be on a roof anyways.” he laughs, making the interviewer laugh as well.

“well let’s talk about her. give us the scoop. to hell with these questions.” he shrugs, throwing the cards over his shoulder.

matthew laughs, adjusting the small backpack in his lap.

“well what do you want to know?”

“how’d you two meet?”

“she came in to consult on criminal minds after the first season. spencer reid’s character is actually based off of her.”

“you’re kidding.”

“no it’s true. she’s legally a genius. IQ of 187, reads 20,000 words per minute, eidetic memory. all of it. of course i made spencer my own and threw in little things here and there, but i also threw in little character traits that belong to her too.”

“this is so cute. keep going. tell me more.”

matthew chuckles as he runs his hand through his hair.

“for instance, spencer wears mismatched socks and is super awkward in both movements and social situations because of me. but the germ thing, that was inspired by the girl herself. and it was actually written in that spencer would be sort of...all over the place? so his neatness and those little mannerisms is all y/n.” matthew smiles proudly as the interviewer gushes.

“so essentially you’re dating yourself?” the interviewers laughs, and the crowd follows.

matthew is quick to shake his head in disagreement.

“no. there’s plenty of differences between the character i play and my girlfriend. for starters, she’s the strongest woman i’ve ever met. mentally and physically. she could definitely beat me up if she wanted to. spencer? not so much.” matthew laughs, a warm feeling arising in his chest as the thought of his girlfriend flooded his mind.

“as much as i love every second of this, i’m getting the evil eye from my producers, so let’s get on with this interview.” the interviewer smiles, picking up the cards from the floor.

as the interview went on, y/n and her team watched from their plane. her cheeks were hot and red and her team smirked at the girl sinking into herself.

“you know, you guys have been together for almost a year now and it’s not fair that you’ve met all his friends but he’s met none of yours.” fields says, taking a seat next to her as he sips on his coffee.

“well he’s flying out for a few weeks. that’s why i cashed in my sick days.” she smiles, blowing softly into her mug of hot coffee.

“and you weren’t gonna tell us?” their unit chief, lucas benjamin, asks.

“well i was i just...i dunno.” she shrugs, afraid of voicing the things she wanted to say.

“hey, what’s up?” phillip asks as he places a comforting hand on her forearm.

“i just...once he meets you guys. that makes it real. it...it means i have something to lose now. you know?” she sighs, chewing nervously on her bottom lip.

phillip lets out a low breath, exchanging concerning looks with the two other men on the plane. they all shift their gazes to crystal, who’s deadpan gaze pierces through them.

“hey, this job get’s hard. but having something to lose just makes you work that much harder. it’s gonna be okay, kid.” she smiles, leaning her head on the edge of the couch.

“yeah. and i’m sure we’ll love hollywood.” phillip says.

“ooh. hollywood. i like that.” fields smiles, making the girl groan.

“please don’t call him that when he gets here.”

the two boys exchange looks, nodding their heads at each other. they were definitely calling him that when he got there.

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

“i missed you so much.” matthew mumbles into her messy hair as they sprawled out beneath the covers.

“i missed you too...i saw the interview. we watched it on the plane.” she smiles as she runs her fingers through his curls.

“we?” he questions, quirking an eyebrow at his anxious girlfriend.

“yeah...like...the team. my team. you know. the real life bau.” she shrugs, sitting up and clutching the sheets to her body.

“hey, why’re you so nervous?” he chuckles, sitting up and placing his warm hand on her cool back.

“ummm...do you wanna meet them? maybe?” she asks, looking over at him with wide hopeful eyes.

he smiles and nods his head.

“if course i would.”

“o-okay.” she smiles, turning away from him and grabbing her clothes from the floor.

“is that what you were so nervous about?” he chuckles, watching her throw her dirty clothes into the hamper and change into new ones.

“yes, now come on. let’s go, they should still be at the office and they really wanna meet you.” she wiggles excitedly.

he shakes his head, watching her every move, soaking in every moment with her that he had. he watched as she ran her finger gently over the hangers in her closet, pulling out an orange corduroy skirt and sheer black tights. she glances down at her bedroom floor before picking up matthew’s sweater and throwing it on.

“hope you don’t mind.” she smiles, and he just shakes his head, staring dreamily at her.

it’s almost as if it was all happening in slow motion. he watched her pull on the tights and tuck the sweater into the skirt, his heart beating slowly in his chest. she sat down and pulled on her high top black converse, neatly tucking the laces into the top of the shoe. she stood up, smoothing out her skirt and matthew’s eyes skimmed over her body, taking mental photos of every inch of her.

“i love you.” he says, making her cease her movements.

she turns to him, a soft smile on her face.

“i-i love you too.”

his heart seems to skip a beat as he smiles wider, standing up out of bed and pulling her into him, pressing a firm kiss on her lips. she smiles against his lips before pulling away completely.

“come on, get dressed lazy. i’ll make us coffee.”

eventually, the two made their way to the quantico building. matthew was in awe of how similar the building actually was to their set.

“it’s crazy similar, huh? i’m always amazed whenever i watch the show.” y/n smiles, dragging him into the elevator as he clips the visitor badge on his shirt pocket.

“yeah, it’s actually kind of amazing.” he smiles, squeezing her hand softly.

“by the way, i really like this.” she says, pulling at the ends of the long sleeves of matthew’s sweater.

“it looks better on you than it ever could on me.” he says, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into him.

“okay mr. i’ve modeled for tommy hilfiger.” she snorts, making him roll his eyes.

the elevator dings open and she’s immediately met with the eager faces of her team.

“you guys couldn’t have waited in the bullpen like normal people?”

“come on now, sugar. you couldn’t have possibly thought we were normal people?” phillip smirks.

she rolls her eyes as her and matthew walk out of the elevator.

“well, matthew, that’s declan fields, we joined the team at the same time. and that’s phillip hannigan, resident pain in my ass, but also the morgan to my reid. this is abigail bronwin, our technical analyst, then there’s crystal miller, our communications liason. and lastly, lucas benjamin, our unit chief. matthew, meet my team. team, meet my matthew.” she smiles, leaning her head against matthew’s chest.

“her matthew. oh how gross!” fields gushes sarcastically.

“nice to meet you hollywood. come with us, let’s have a speak.” phillip sighs, wrapping his arm around matthew’s shoulders and pulling him away from y/n.

“no...no let’s not have a speak!” she says, rushing up to them.

“no. we’re going to have a speak, sugar.” phillip says, waving her off.

she look over at her female friends, silently pleading for their help. they simply shrug, following behind the boys. they seat matthew at y/n’s desk and he looks over the organized desktop and his eyes fall onto a duo frame. one side had a photo of her and matthew, and the other side held the drawing he had made for her on the day that they first met. he’s soon snapped back into reality when he hears y/n shouting over the male agents.

“i will take him and i will walk away. i will do it. i’ll quit!” she threatens, making everyone snort.

“no you won’t.” they all say in unison, making y/n frown.

“it’s fine, baby.” matthew quickly reassures, making a giggle arise in her throat at the sound of the pet name escaping his mouth.

“gross. okay. so hollywood, we’re just gonna lay out some ground rules. cool? good. first rule, treat her right or we’ll make your murder look like an accident. and i know you know we have the skills to do that.” fields says, leaning up against the desk.

y/n releases a sigh as she nervously chewed on her fingernails.

“if it makes you feel better, this method helped ward off my last boyfriend. and he wasn’t shit.” crystal shrugs, looping her arm through the panic ridden girl.

“and they do this because they love you. we all do.” abigail smiles, leaning her head on the girl’s shoulder.

“rule number two, never forget that we’re federal agents, meaning if you hurt her in any way shape or form, we’re coming for you and we’re charging you with assault on a federal agent. and don’t even think to run. we have an abigail and a vast network of contacts around the globe, there’s nowhere in this world where you could possibly hide.” lucas says, a stern glare looming over matthew as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“last but not least, rule number three, if you break her heart. i promise you, i will ruin your life. you see, y/n and i...we both lost our parents at a young age. so...we’re all we’ve got. and for a long time, it was just me and her. i’d lay down my life for that woman, many times i almost have. and she’s done the same for me. so if you break her, i promise you, you’ve got a world of hurt coming your way.” phillip says, making y/n sigh and chew faster on her nails.

matthew lets out a low breath, relaxing his shoulder and nodding his head.

“you got it.” he smiles, making the girls furrow their eyebrows and the men smile.

“you got it? that’s it?” abigail laughs sarcastically.

“i wouldn’t do any of those things, so i don’t have to worry.” matthew shrugs, smiling over at y/n.

she bit her lip nervously before sticking her hand out to him.

“well, now that you’ve met the real life bau, how about we all go for dinner?”

they all glance at their watches before nodding their heads. matthew stands up, grabbing y/n’s hand and bringing it up towards her chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. phillip throws his things over his shoulder before patting matthew on the back.

“i like you, hollywood. now tell me, is aj single?”

“jesus phillip.”

“what? a guy’s gotta know.”

taglist:

@dreatine @slytherinintj13 @mileven-reddie @eleventhdoctorsangel @haileymorelikestupid

#spencer reid #mgg imagine #matthew gray gubler imagine #matthew gray gubler x reader #Criminal Minds #criminal minds imagine #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader

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thats-h0w-th3-light-g3ts-in · 4 years

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This Is Me Trying Bobby and Alex

This one opts to destroy those stupid webisodes they thought were a good idea ... enjoy! Everything in this story that sounds like Taylor Swift lyrics are Taylor swift lyrics and do not belong to me. Everything else came out of my messed-up shipper head!

I’ve been having a hard time adjusting. I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting.

“Bobby..“ Alex was quite shaken seeing her former partner standing outside her apartment. It was 11 pm and she had actually just changed into her pyjamas to go to bed, when the doorbell rang. Since Bobby had decided to go to Maine to write a book and she herself transferred to the Counter Terrorist Squad she hadn’t seen him. She’d been mad he’d left just like that. She’d actually thought he was getting better with going to therapy and getting along really good with Dr. Gyson. Alex and Bobby had a good time working together again after the short hiatus they’d had, but it apparently wasn’t enough for him. He had handed in his notice rather suddenly and taken off, throwing Alex into cold water once again. It had been almost six month and she hadn’t heard from him once except from that Christmas card he’d sent her. She’d tried forgetting him throwing herself into a relationship with Adam, a firefighter she met one night in a bar. She’d probably known it from the start but only lately she had admitted to herself that he wasn’t the right person, and they wouldn’t have a future together.

I didn’t know if you care if I came back. I have a lot of regrets about that.

“You’re back.“ She heard herself saying as in trance. She’d lost herself in Bobby’s all too familiar, brown eyes as soon as she’d opened her door. So often she’d tried not to think about him, to enjoy the time with her new lover, to just get Robert Goren out of her system, but she couldn’t. Every time Adam kissed her neck or squeezed her hand she’d just wished he was someone else. She did not want to believe it but it became crystal clear the moment Bobby appeared before her eyes.

Pulled the car off the road to the lookout. Could have followed my fears all the way down. And maybe I don’t quite know what to say, But I’m here in your doorway.

“I am…“ Bobby replied, nervously fidgeting a stack of papers in his hands. “I finished the book, I wanted you to be the first to read it.“ He reached the manuscript to her. “Are you insane?“ Alex breathed angrily. She bit her lip as not to either punch him in the face or start crying. Bobby looked at her frowning. He took a step back, away from her. He knew he’d screwed up.

I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying.

“Look, I know you’re upset but can I just come in for a second? Hear me out and then you can throw me out?“ Bobby begged her, piercing her eyes with his. Alex stepped away from the door although she promised herself not to. He followed her rather halfhearted invitation, and was left standing lost in the midst of Alex’ apartment. She shut the door then walked towards the other end of the room not saying a word.

They told me all of my cages were mental. So I got wasted like all my potential. And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad. I have a lot of regrets about that.

“I’m sorry I never called.“ He kew it was a weak thing to say but he didn’t know how else to start. He’d been going through situations like this with Dr. Gyson a million times and he knew he should just tell Alex how he felt about her but the words wouldn’t form. It was like desperately trying to draw something from memory but all that comes out is a messy doodle. “It’s fine I figured you must have lost my phone number and my address but then there was that Christmas card, how thoughtful.“ Alexes words were the ones shooting to kill now, but Bobby knew he deserved it. All she wanted to see those past six months had been the eyes she was staring into right now. Now, she just wished they wouldn’t be so wonderfully, corruptingly intimate.

I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a square. Fell behind all my classmates and I ended up here. Pouring out my heart to a stranger, But I didn’t pour the whiskey.

“I … I had to do it my way. I had to do it like this or not at all. This book is the only reason I am able to stand here right now and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.“ Bobby clenched the paper stack fast in his hands. “We’ve been there Bobby, we’ve been there before and honestly, I don’t wanna go there again so why are you here? You want me to read your book? Leave it at my coffee table and I’ll get back to you in the next … say, six months.“ Alex turned herself away from her former partner feeling the tears creeping up on her. She wiped them away as quickly as they poured out of her eyes. She had given him a million chances and she had always told herself one day it would work, but she’d always been left bloody, broken and bruised lying on the floor like one of their many murder victims. She was not gonna let that happen again, giving in and pretending like everything was fine.

I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. At least I’m trying.

Bobby could feel her tears burning in his mind and he sat the manuscript down on the little desk next to the door and walked out. Alex flinched as she heard the door shut. She turned around hoping despite everything she’d just said Bobby was still standing there, his brown eyes screaming at her from afar like they’d always done. They weren’t. He wasn’t. There was nothing but silence. She walked towards the door clutching the knob. She pulled all her strength together not to open it again. Instead she leaned herself towards it breaking down sobbing. She wiped her wet face, her chest was jumping up and down as her heart raced like a rocket. She picked up the manuscript Bobby’d left fo her. She let herself fall down to the floor right there and then and bended back the first page.

And it’s hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound. It’s hard to be anywhere when all I want is you. You’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town. And I just wanted you to know that this is me trying. (And maybe I don’t quite know what to say)  I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying. At least I’m trying.

The time had stood still as soon as she’d lain her eyes on the first paragraph of Bobby’s book. The first words she consumed were 'For my partner’, and it was as if someone had pushed a knife through her stomach. She devoured paragraph after paragraph like she was born to do so. She had never thought Bobby was even capable of producing words like this. To the world it might have been a manifesto, the story of a scared little boy who’d grown up to be an even more scared man, but to her it was a confession. Every line and between was what she never knew Bobby could feel. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed for having sent him away. It felt like she knew everything now, everything she’d always wanted to know, everything she’d ever wanted him to say. Hour’s had passed in minutes and her eyes were burning like fire. All the water coming out of them couldn’t extinguish it. She dropped the manuscript upon the last words she’d read and realised she hadn’t moved an inch. She was still occupying the same spot she had placed herself in after Bobby’d left. Without even thinking she grabbed her car keys. She manoeuvred her car as if pulled by invisible strings. She didn’t even know Bobby still had his old apartment but she knew she had to try. She walked up to his door and rang twice - three times as if the building was on fire. Her heart was pounding in her throat and although she couldn’t be sure someone would open she felt he would. The seconds she waited felt like hours in the dim-lit hallway of Bobby’s apartment building. The adrenalin rushed through her veins like lightning as Bobby finally pulled the door open. His eyes hung heavily in his face and the angles of his mouth were bend downwards. Alex could now see how sad, exhausted and tired he looked. His eyes, however, lit up as soon as he realised it was Alex standing in front of him. She wouldn’t wait a single second longer. As if he was the opposite pole of a magnet she shot towards him, pressing her lips on his. He embraced her, a bolt of lightning shooting through every last corner of his body. He was convinced he would never let go of her ever again. Their faces parted for just a moment, but their eyes locked even harder. Bobby wiped a strain of hair out of Alex’ face and pulled her head closer to his again. She felt Bobby’s beard on her skin and tasted his breath. She decided then and there she never wanted to not feel his warm hands pressed against her back, his body close to hers, his breath on her face. Bobby pulled her inside his apartment not letting go of her lips on his. He slammed the door shut. She knew it now, she knew he was trying, that he’d been trying all those years. She knew now, that he, in his clumsy and pathetic, self-loathing way had always loved her. Giving her the book to read was the greatest love confession anyone could have ever made. She saw it now and she couldn’t really understand how she didn’t before. Tonight she had decided to make the first step and she had not been wrong. She found herself in Bobby’s bed entangled with him, her body pressed against his and it was the most enchanting and miraculous she had ever felt. His hand was gliding through her hair, hers was clutching his shoulder blade like holding on to an angel’s wings taking her to heaven. They were united in blissful euphoria, closer than they had ever been, so wonderfully together and beautifully in love. Nothing mattered at that moment to either of them, but the other. No job, no fire-fighters no past wounds. All the scars she had from being left broken by him were mended with every time she felt his sweaty body clutching tightly against hers. All the trauma, all the doubts he had ever had felt so silly now that he felt like nothing could ever pull them apart. He wanted to feel every inch of Alex’ body forever one with his own. He felt like a child on a ferris wheel ride, so beautiful, so perfect yet so innocent. Feeling the endorphins racing through his body like fireworks, until the wheel finally stops and you are on top of the world only the stars above you. His very own ferris wheel ride ended with Alex finally laying her head down on Bobby’s chest. None of them lost a word, Bobby kissed her hair holding her closely. After a while he could feel her head getting heavier and her breathing more even and peaceful. She had fallen asleep but there was no way he could. He stared up on the ceiling feeling blissfully complete having Alex’ body so close to his. A thousand thoughts ran through his head but they were all overruled by the remarkable memory of their first night together.

#law and order criminal intent #goreames #robert goren #bobby goren #Alexandra eames #Alex eames #vincent d'onofrio #Kathryn erbe #love #ship #otp #bobby x Alex #goren x eames #fanfic #fiction #fanfiction #enjoy

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i-am-a-passenger · 4 years

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Number Log

Book 3 hasn’t even dropped and here I am writing mall rats fanfiction...

Summary: Simon has been keeping a log of every Apex member's number when one day he realises that he's never actually noted down Grace's number and jumps at an excuse to spend time with her.

ao3 / ff.net

113 - Saoirise, 908147 - Jonathan (Jon), 746 - Michael, 579 - Tanesha, 65796 - Milton, 168 - Jane, 1789 - Patience, 6547 - Sandeep, 5531 - Pete, 575 - James, 65472 - Ronja, 941 - Luke, 25 - Joshua, 156 - Kiesha, 7621 - Maleka, 1383 - Chadira, 69 - Charlie, 17 - Faith

Simon sharpened his pencil while skim reading over the log he was keeping of everyone’s numbers. He flipped the page and cross referenced a few of them - they’d picked Faith up just a few weeks ago and she wasn’t making as much progress as was expected. Then again, his log said she’d started out at just 9. They’d found her just in time.

He turned the page back and wrote - Todd.

Todd sat on the edge of a maskeshift bed in the pharmacy they’d converted into a hospital for any injured Apex members. His broken foot had been revealed to be just a broken toe which Simon had carefully taped to another so it would heal straight. Simon was normally the one that tended to these sorts of injuries while Grace handled explorations, so he was used to it. Normally Simon joked around with the kids to get them comfortable enough to not fidget when he pulled out splinters or bandaged scrapes, but today he had other things on his mind.

Simon tried to smile at the boy while glancing at his right hand. Todd had his hand resting on the bed so Simon couldn’t see his number, just a feeble glow emanating from the edges of his fingers.

“How’re you feeling?” Simon asked.

“I’m okay.”

“That’s good. Now-” Simon lent forwards, “Jane told me your number went up when you kicked that nasty null and broke your toe.”

Todd’s face brightened, “Oh yeah! It went up to 218!”

“Really?” Simon tried to hide his disappointment. Going up by eight points was hardly a feat, but he couldn’t let Todd see that. “That’s great! You must’ve given that null quite a kick! Can I see?”

Todd thrust out his hand while grinning but his smile quickly faded when he saw Simon’s expression.

“Your number…” Simon stated, “has gone down.”

Todd looked at his hand, which clearly read 212.

“I-I hadn’t realised! I promise I didn’t do anything to make it do that!” Todd insisted.

“Are you sure? It couldn’t have just gone back down by itself… and you were doing so well…” Simon said sadly.

“I’m sorry…”

Simon silently wrote down 212 next to Todd’s name.

“It’s alright Todd- you’re still just a kid. Your number’ll sort itself out and if you keep trying hard then hey, maybe it’ll even be like mine one day.” Simon gloatingly held out his arm and turned it slowly so Todd could drink in the full glowing beauty of the glowing lines.

“That’d be so cool! What do you get when you have the highest number?”

“You get to be the best.” Simon answered and said softly, “Like Grace is.”

“Is that it?” Todd looked disappointed and his number whirred as it dropped to 210 again. “Sorry!”

“It’s alright Todd.” Simon said glumly- the boy was clearly a lost cause if he couldn’t keep his number steady for even 5 minutes. He crossed out the two and put a zero. “Just stay off your foot for a while.”

He closed the number log and left the pharmacy with it in his hand.

The Mall was mostly empty aside from a few kids milling around the loot drop- but since the car Grace went to check out hadn’t had anything worth bringing over they were just raking through old treasures. Grace really hadn’t been happy about that car. The train wasn’t designed for passengers to live in one car and the difficulty finding food without straying so far from the base you couldn’t get back was meant to encourage them to travel - so if they couldn’t get more supplies soon they’d have to send out a team of scavengers. If they got lost that would be devastating but it wasn’t like Simon and Grace could let The Apex starve. The bags of cotton candy Grace had brought back from The Lucky Cat was hardly a good meal. Grace was probably worried. They were losing food and they’d lost a passenger.

A knot tied itself in his stomach as he remembered how Grace had lashed out at him when they boy took the exit. What did she mean show some respect? The boy with the chrome null and deer had taken the exit- the only people who did that were people too weak to see the truth, yet alone live it like they did. Grace knew that. Didn’t she?

Of course she did! Grace had been on the train longer than him, her number was bigger than his- bigger than anyone's. She was the best. Grace was so capable and clever, brave and responsible, and Grace was also really funny. And kind. And, if he was being honest, beautiful.

And angry at him.

As The Apex’s leaders him and Grace had their disagreements. Grace had initially been against the idea of trying to bring over soil from other cars and grow their own food saying cars not designed for produce wouldn’t let plants grow- apparently she’d read it in her book. And he was always against Grace going off to explore cars by herself. But those were understandable arguments, even if he didn't agree with Grace he could understand her. And he was always safe in the knowledge that beneath all the petty arguments him and Grace believed the same thing. So why had she been so mad at him?

Grace was probably in the pawn shop she’d converted into a storage unit for interesting or valuable items salvaged from train cars. She spent most of her spare time there- reading or working on something. He could go and ask her for an explanation but she didn’t like to be bothered when she was working. And bother her was the last thing he wanted to do if he’d already done something wrong. If only he had an excuse to go talk to her…

Simon sat down on one of the broken escalator’s steps and started idly flicking through the number log. It always brought him a sense of peace and purpose to look at the progress him and the rest of The Apex had made over the years. It was crazy to think he’d started at just 5301. He wondered what Grace’s starting number had been. He flicked through the book but there wasn’t any mention of her name. When he reached his most recent log he realised that no one had ever actually transcribed Grace’s number.

Or at least not until today.

Grace shook the red spray can up and down as she prepared to tag the golden mask she’d ripped off a null.

At first she’d been using it as a disguise but now that The Cat knew it belonged to her there wasn’t any point- she may as well have some fun and decorate it. She taped the stencil over it and started spraying when the bell at what had once been the shop front rang.

Grace heard the unmistakable clink of Simon’s weird partially metal shoes and grinned. She quickly pulled the freshly painted mask over her head and hid behind the door.

Simon gently knocked on the door behind the dusty counter and pushed it open when Grace jumped out at him. The old white t-shirt she wore for painting was splattered with red paint and so was her mask so for one second Simon didn’t recognise her and nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Boo!” she said and laughed at his reaction. Simon grinned at her, happy that she wasn’t angry at him anymore and decided to play along.

“Oh no a null!” Simon said with mock horror, “What have you done with Grace, you monster?”

“Something terrible. You should forget about this ‘Grace’- you’ll never see her again.”

“No way.” Simon solemnly placed a hand over his heart, “Grace is unforgettable!”

Grace laughed and removed her mask. “So what are you here for anyway?”

“I was noting down some of the kids numbers after Todd’s went up and I realised that we’ve never actually noted down your number in the log.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

“So…” Simon asked sheepishly, “can I?”

“What ,you wanna write it down in your little book thing?”

“Uh. Yes.”

She shrugged. “Okay.”

Grace removed her opera glove, revealing the glowing green digits snaking up into her tshirt’s sleeve. That was new. Simon had been sure that her number only reached her elbow, a little higher than his own one. She tugged the sleeve upwards to expose her angular, dark brown shoulder that was now studded with digits.

“Woah…” was all Simon could say.

“Yeah, pretty cool right? It went up by like, a whole ten thousand when I set the mirror police on that chrome girl. Maybe even more.” Grace said casually while stretching out her arm so Simon could drink in all of it, “It’s okay…” she said smugly, “Admire me…”

“Have you checked if it goes up any higher?”

“What?” Grace smirked, “do you want me to take my shirt off?”

“But of course...”

“Aw stop it. And nah. Just the shoulder. I’d like to get it so big it goes around my neck one day though- like a necklace.” Simon watched Grace draw her hand across her delicate bare neck as she talked, “Wouldn’t that be pretty?

“Yeah.” he said distractedly, “Yeah it would.”

“What about you?”

“Me? Well… So long as I can get mine above yours and wipe your smirk off I’ll be happy.”

Grace snorted, “In your dreams Simon!”

Simon laughed but it stung a little to know that he was forever behind Grace just because she’d been on the train longer. It was maddening to always be the second-in-command, the back up leader if anything happened to her. He wanted to prove to her that he was just as important and capable as her, just as deserving of admiration. The thought of Grace admiring his number suddenly came to him. Wouldn’t it be nice if Grace could look at him the way he looked at her? “I know, I know. Can we start?”

Grace offered her hand to him palm up and he took it. Grace’s hand was warm and soft, and her pale palm was lit emerald green by her number. It had been a long time since they’d touched like this. When they’d first got on the train they’d held hands all the time, the world had changed so suddenly and the train could be so frightening- and they only had each other to hold onto. But they’d stopped doing that for some reason. Maybe because they were older? Things were different now. They had been for a long time but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He ever so slightly squeezed her hand- wondering if she noticed.

If she did she didn’t give any indication and just gently smiled at him as he copied down her number.

“So…” Grace began conversationally, “How are the kids doing?”

“Well I dunno… I think the chrome null shook them up a bit. And so did the other thing that happened.” Simon tried to only vaguely mention Jesse’s exit just in case Grace blew off at him again. It had been a while since they’d been alone together, just like they used to be, and he didn’t want to ruin this moment. “I’m trying to remind them of their progress with their numbers just in case they start getting ideas.”

Grace slowly nodded. “Yeah. That null was so real looking it was scary. You know I honestly thought she was a passenger when I first saw her! Isn’t that funny?”

“Yeah I guess so.Todd said so too, but then he saw that she didn’t have a number and theeen he... went ahead and broke his toe.”

“How is Todd doing anyway? His foot okay?”

“Todd was fine when I saw him- oh!” Simon remembered the main reason he’d even gone to check in on Todd and said with the glow of a proud parent, “His number went up!”

Grace smiled back at him awkwardly.

“Though it went down a bit after I talked to him.” he admitted, “But I promise I didn’t do anything to make it do that!” Simon insisted. “Or I… didn’t do anything on purpose. I-”

“Simon.” Grace’s voice was unusually sharp.

“Yes Grace?”

“Simon I’m… I’m a little concerned.” Grace had always thought of herself as a logical person- nulls had no numbers, people did, so therefore nulls weren’t people. She’d have figured it out even without the book. And people were people. And people were what she cared about. After years of raising kids who started with numbers like 4 or 8 how could she not have faith that everyone could join their ranks? And if everyone could join The Apex, and The Apex was important, that meant everyone was important. But after seeing Simon’s disgust at Jesse taking his exit she’d had the horrible, nagging doubt that Simon wasn’t logical. Or not like her, at least.

Now, she loved Simon’s passion more than anything but he did listen to his heart more than his head. He’d always try to talk her out of exploring cars and complain endlessly when she was gone for longer than he expected for one thing. But if Simon couldn’t understand her logic then logically he needed to be corrected. But illogically, there was nothing Grace wanted to do less than hurt his feelings.

“Now you know that I trust you more than anyone and that you’re not just my second-in-command but my best friend.” She began gently, turning her hand palm down to hold his, “And I care about you because I care about every member of The Apex but well… I guess you especially. And… and that’s why I have to mention that you care too much about the numbers and not enough about the people that have them.”

“What do you mean? Getting our numbers up is the whole point of the Apex- that’s what you believe too. Right?” Simon said uncertainly.

Grace sighed and let go of his hand. “Simon we both know that’s not what I’m talking about. Simon… I didn’t say that The Apex is wrong, and that numbers don’t matter. What I said is that people matter more. If someone has a tiny number they’re still a huge deal, and sometimes… sometimes people are even a zero and choose to take their exits. But they’re still people Simon! They’re still humans- humans that were probably in a lot of pain and loneliness because of what happened to them. We have to respect all of them.”

“I know I know." He muttered, "But you really can’t expect me to believe that someone like, what was his name? Jesse? Someone that let a null take advantage of him and then chose to take the exit is just as important as me or you. Yeah right.” Simon scoffed.

“But Jesse was important." Grace shot back, "It’s not his fault that null took advantage of him- nulls are programmed to trick passengers into getting their numbers down, if anything it’s our fault for not getting to him sooner. Or not getting to him at all. You say Jesse was weak for taking his exit but we were weak for not being able to help him. You can’t pin the blame on some scared kid Simon! It wasn’t his fault that he did what he did. But it was- is ours for letting it happen. And right in front of the other Apex members too!" She said in exasperation, "We might have some… difficult questions to answer. And what happens if some of them decide to get their numbers down thinking they’ll go home?”

“Oh so now it’s fine to want people’s numbers up?" Simon almost yelled, "I don’t understand what you’re saying. Either you’re on my side and getting your number up like the conductor wants is good, or you’re with the nulls and that dumb robot and want everyone kicked off our rightful train!”

Grace hadn't seen Simon get so riled up in a while. She looked at him sadly. Why couldn't he understand her? Simon had always understood her and been so kind. It was almost scary to see him so angry. Couldn't he see he was scaring her?

Why couldn't he think logically?

“Simon… you really don’t get the nuance do you. Simple Simon." She teased but he didn't smile like he normally did, "Okay let me.. Let me think of a way to explain-”

Simon looked away in embarrassment. Now she was talking down to him. He shouldn't have lost his temper like that. “I’m not one of the kids Grace. You can just tell me things straight.”

Grace paused and then said slowly, “Okay then. Let’s say that my number is smaller than yours. It goes down, or it was always like that. What does that mean?”

Simon looked at her in confusion. “Well it… it means that… it means that you… made a mistake?”

“Let’s even say that I have a medium sized number. Only 5 no… 4 digits." Grace calmly continued, "Maybe even 3. Does that change how you view me? How you talk to me and act towards me?”

“No of course not! Grace we’ve known each other for years I’ve seen how capable and talented and..” he stopped himself saying beautiful just in time, “And... smart and strong you are. It wouldn’t change that.”

Grace tried to remain serious but she couldn't help but smile at his flattery. “So… does that mean… that if my number was at 13 you’d still listen to me? And at 12? 11? 10?”

“Yeah yeah. Even at 10 you’d still be Grace, unfortunately for me…"

Grace decided to graciously (ha) not respond to that. “How about at 4?”

“4? Yikes… I’d be lucky to catch you just in time.”

“So you understand that it’s not the numbers you should be looking at, but the people?” Grace asked.

“I suppose I understand. Sort of.”

“And what would you do if…” Grace asked carefully, “if my number reached zero and I got my exit?”

Simon didn't say anything. Grace worried he was going to have another outburst. He looked away from her, silent, and when he looked back he looked so sad Grace was caught off guard.

“If we’re being honest… I-I think I’d cry." Simon said in a sad, serious voice she'd never heard him use before.

"You leaving me and going away like that is just… it’s awful." Simon tried not to show it but whenever Grace left to go explore the train without him, all he could think about was what would happen if she got hurt. Or got found by One One and taken away- away from him. The thought of Grace leaving to never come back made his heart ache. "If you left I’d probably stop caring about The Apex and try get my number down just so I could follow you.” he admitted.

Grace was so shocked she couldn't say anything for a few moments.

“Simon… That’s… Coming from you that’s a lot. I- thank you." Grace reached out and touched his hand again with her numberless left hand. The numbers did affect the skin, specifically how it felt temperature wise, making everything slightly duller. So when she touched him with her normal hand she felt the unfiltered warmth coming off him for the first time, "Me too.”

“Yeah…” Simon said bashfully.

“And you wouldn’t think I was…" Grace hesitated as she remembered what Simon had said about Jesse, "weaker than you if I did make that choice? Worse?”

"I mean I-I wouldn’t be able to understand it, and I’d be so mad at you and so…so... upset and- and lonely. And I’d hate myself for letting that happen to you.” Grace squeezed his hand sympathetically and he slowly squeezed back, “But I wouldn’t ever think that there was something wrong with you."

"Glad to hear I'm flawless!" Grace said smugly.

Simon rolled his eyes and grinned, happy that things were back to normal between them.

“And don’t worry about Todd okay?" Grace said cheerfully, "He kicked that chrome null on impulse and if you get your number up by doing things spur of the moment it goes down really quickly. Because you haven’t really changed who you are at the core, and your number reflects that. Look- my number’s gone down too.”

Grace held out her arm so Simon could see how much her number had shrunk over the course of their conversation. Her shoulder was bare again, and the green numbers stopped in the middle of her upper arm. She'd lost a few hundred at least.

As she looked at her arm Grace suddenly had an image of her number completely vanishing and a thought occurred to her.

“Simon.”

“Graaaace…” he answered playfully.

“What would you do… if I didn’t have a number?”

“You mean if you were what, a null?”

“Yeah. What would you do in that situation? I’m curious...”

“Well uh…" Simon frowned, "I guess I’d have to dislike you, not because of anything personal- but because like… you’d be a null and that’s how we have to treat them. So I guess I’d try to leave you alone. I don’t like it when we have to wheel a null that looks or acts like a person. I know they’re not really real but it’s just- I know that you’re much braver than me and probably never hesitate but it’s just- I just can’t get it out of my head that I’m hurting a kid."

“I’m not braver than you Simon,” Grace said softly, “You’re just as brave as me. I know what you mean I.. I get that too. Doubts and things like that. Don’t get hung up on it.”

Simon got flustered and looked away. “Well jeez. Thanks Grace. I didn’t think you ever had moments of like, I dunno, weakness and stuff like that.”

“I’m only human, Simes. Not like the nulls.”

"I know I know- once they get crushed and the orb comes out and you realise that it was never alive in the first place. It was just pretending to be human, trying to get you to trust it so it could trick you. Makes me absolutely sick. Is that what they think of us humans? Some kind of costume they can wear? Absolutely disgusting.”

Simon remembered the reason they were even talking about this and considered what he’d do if he met a Grace that didn’t have a number.

“But I guess if… if one of them acted like you it’d be different and… and if I had to wheel you then I don’t think I’d be able to do it.”

“I wouldn’t be able to wheel you either.”

“Such flattery!”

“Eh. Don’t get used to it, socks and sandals boy.”

Simon shook his head. “I make one wardrobe error and you never let me forget it.”

Grace gestured at Simon’s entire outfit and raised an eyebrow, “One?”

"Okay maybe I make several wardrobe errors." Simon said stiffly, "but that's rich coming from you, miss whatever those weird tags on your sleeves are."

"I guess we're both pretty awful-" Grace admitted.

"We deserve each other."

"-But you're still worse."

Simon stuck his tongue out at her while Grace reached for her discarded gloves. It wasn’t until she let go of him that she realised they’d been holding hands the whole time- like they used to.

She pulled her gloves back on. Simon watched as the lilac satin covered up her long arms inch by inch until only a few stray digits were uncovered. It was weirdly therapeutic to watch her slide her long fingers in and tug the fabric up. She had such nice arms.

“You know Grace… I always wondered why you wore your gloves when if any of us deserve to show our numbers off it’s you. But I think I can understand now. You don’t want to show it so people won’t treat you weird and like you’re better than them, or something, right?.”

“Yeah pretty much. Plus it can be harder to get past certain nulls if they see how big I’ve grown it- but don’t get me wrong I love showing off my number. I mean look at it- Isn’t it beautiful? Grace pulled the glove back down and raised her arm so that the glow shone over her face, reflected in her dark brown eyes.

“Yes,” said Simon, but he wasn’t looking at her number.

Grace turned away from him and pulled out a box from one of the old shop’s filling cabinets. Simon watched as she started digging through the things she’d salvaged from the cars they raided. Clearly she wanted to get back to her work. Simon closed the number log and begrudgingly got up to leave, sad that whatever intimacy they’d been sharing was already over.

“Where are you going, socks and sandals?”

“Huh?” Simon said, lingering in the door, “Don’t you want some space to focus?”

“No it’s okay. Anyway, I got something for you. I meant to give it to you right after I came back from The Lucky Cat but y’know, stuff happened.”

“You got me a present?!” Simon asked excitedly and Grace grinned. Simon could be such a kid.

“Here,” Grace handed Simon something small wrapped in a candy wrapper. He had to appreciate the thought, even if it meant whatever his gift was it was probably covered in residue candy. “I had to smash a crane game to get it for you so you’d better like it.” He took the wrapper and there was a postman figurine.

“Oh my god he’s perfect! Wow, look at the paint job-” Simon closely inspected his new treasure, “They did the greying bits in his hair and everything- they even did his buttons a different colour! Now that’s what I call attention to detail! I love him, I- thank you Grace.”

“You’re welcome, Simon.” Grace tapped her fingers on the box she’d pulled out. It had been a while since her and Simon had just spent time together just the two of them. Which was to be expected from looking after a horde of squabbling children, and she loved looking after The Apex, but that didn’t mean she didn’t sometimes miss the days when it was just the two of them against the world, exploring the train all by themselves as if no one else existed. Simon probably had things to do and he clearly wanted to get going. If only she had an excuse to talk to him…

“Hey um, if you want I can… show you some other stuff you might like?”

“Really? Sure!” Grace pulled out another filling drawer and started laying out various trinkets, describing what null she had to trick or punch to get each one while Simon watched her.

It was true what Grace said about number’s gained from impulsive or quick decisions- you lost them almost as quickly as you gained them. Grace’s number had unwound itself from her shoulder and was almost level with her elbow again. In order to really get it up you had to build up yourself, put in years of dedication and learning from mistakes, trying your hardest until your true essence shone out of your hand in a beam of pure green. It took years to make a good number, kind of like, Simon supposed, it took years to make a good friendship.

#infinity train #simon infinity train #grace infinity train #infinity train book 3 #infinity train 3 #cartoon network #infinity train fanfiction #grimon #mall rats #mall rats infinity train

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bitnotgood28 · 4 years

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Thank you @hometothecanyonmoon for tagging me!!

1) When did you become a Louie?

Embarrassingly late. I’d say around mid-April 2020, since that’s around the time I learned about Larry and joined the 1D fandom. I focused mostly on Louis and Harry and whatever they got up to, so during that I just noticed little quirks and started to pick up on their personalities. Harry is sweet and dorky and I adore him, but I love Louis’ wit and his sarcasm and his compassion, basically his character in general. Afterwards, I learned that Louis has recently released LT1, so I downloaded the entire album to give it a listen and have not stopped listening since. His whole album is a blessing, all of his music is so meaningful and touching; you’ve heard his songs and lyrics, yeah?

2) Why did you become a Louie?

Multiple reasons, the two main ones being his music and his personality. I’m not greatly interested in the type of music that’s mostly being released at present (no offense meant), and Louis’ voice is just incredibly unique, something I really like in artists. Everything that he’s written has been sincere and expressive, like a touch of rawness in them, especially when he sings. There’s just so much emotion behind every word and note, and his voice!! It has the sweetest rasp to it and his voice has gotten stronger and more powerful over the years, yet it can still be soft and light like during the bridge in Defenceless. He is also such a sweetheart, treating everyone kindly and with understanding unless he thinks they’re undeserving of it. The way he socialize with children and animals makes my heart melt, he looks so happy and excited during those interactions with his crinkling eyes and his smile-goodness, he is truly God’s gift.

3) One thing that drew you in specifically?

Easily his charisma and satire. His humor and jokes always stood out to me during interviews, his quips are just hilarious, that sweet boy. He draws attention to himself and leaves an imprint on you, and you get attached to him and his personality and his cheekbones-essentially his entire being. I was also kind of irritated with the amount of lines he and Niall were given compared to the other boys, so I paid more mind to the two of them (along with Harry) at the beginning. I think it’s also because I tend to notice those who aren’t as noticed or not quite under the spotlight-is that they proper description? Anyway, between Louis and Niall I wound up taking more of a liking to Louis with his sass and his cheek and his eyelashes. Man, is he even real? He’s so sweet and genuine, he’s endured so much and has continued to stand strong after each blow; it’s as heartbreaking as it’s inspiring. I just want to wrap him in a blanket and take him far away from all the cruelty present in the world, maybe feed him some tacos and stroke his hair until he falls asleep. He can still joke around and enjoy life while also doing his job and doing it brilliantly, might I add. I feel like he’d be a wonderful best friend to have, empathetic and supportive, someone you’d be able to stir up chaos with but also who’d keep your moral compass pointing in the right direction. Honestly, I’m quite certain that God created him with the thought of sunshine and sunflowers in His head.

4) Favorite song on Walls?

Oo, that’s difficult. I love Always You, its tempo and it’s tune are just really lively and upbeat. I’ve also got a special place in my heart for the lyrics of Fearless (God, that second verse and chorus and first verse - the whole song), Defenceless (“I come running to you like a moth into a flame,”? “I’m too tired to be tough, just wanna be loved by you,”???), Only For the Brave (“It’s a church of burnt romances and I’m too far gone to pray,” “All the lonely shadow dances from the cradle to the grave,” this song is so lyrically poetic and I love every second of it), and Two of Us (the bridge.. God it’s so melancholy yet somewhat hopeful[?]). Kill My Mind also has this great indie rock sound to it, I’d gladly listen to it for hours. I.. am realizing that this absolutely does not answer the question, but I hope you now understand how good Louis’ songs are and how much I love them <333

5) Who would you want Louis to collab with?

Okay, I took a bit of time on this and I think one would be Alessia Cara. I’d really like to hear how they would sound together, considering how unique and distinctive both of their voices are individually, and how the music they produced would mesh with each other. Another would probably be Ed Sheeran, lyrically I think they’d be quite powerful like Louis and Alessia, but I’m not sure how they’d sound as a unit. It’d be interesting to hear though, I’m sure. Last is Harry, and if you’ve heard edits and that duet in the chorus of Truly, Madly, Deeply, you know what I’m talking about and you know how good they sound together.

6) Favorite Hairstyle?

Peaky blinders is one, he looked like a sweet little hedgehog during that time. Cinnamon swirl is also high on the list. He looked like actual royalty (I mean when doesn’t he, but this is god tier princely) and everything was right in the world. He was just- the living embodiment of delicate. His messy quiff and messy fringe back in 2013-2014 were just.. so attractive? Those hairstyles also make me miss seeing his full face :((

7) Back to You, Just Hold On, or Miss You?

(where is the Just Like You option)

I love the lyrics and meaning behind Just Hold On, it’s all really hopeful and motivating. The whole song was really well done, Louis and Steve Aoki did such a good job. Miss You also has a great sound to it, and you can really hear his accent throughout the whole song (fook, luv, anova, need I go on). I also love the bit of violin (I think it’s a violin) they added in the second pre-chorus and final chorus? It adds kind of like a lighter factor to the heavy guitar and drums already present in the song, and some sort of assurance that everything will be okay (I’m bad at describing things I’m sorry akdjsjdj). Back to You, God the notes they hit during that song.. beautiful (“We don’t know how to make it stop,” and “I love it, I hate it and I can’t take it,”). Can I also just say that Louis and Bebe both looked really, really attractive during that music video? Like damn please hold back on the extra chili, it’s already hot in here.

8) Louis in suits or sweaters?

Louis in suits is just.. all his assets (ha) are accentuated and he looks so sharp and beautiful, his shoulders just a bit broader, and his curves more defined. Then when he wears blue suits, his eyes are just that much more blue. Louis in sweaters, on the other hand: sunflowers incarnate, sunshine and kittens, a soft heated blanket with socked feet and a fireplace while snow falls softly outside the window. He looks so, so warm and huggable and sweet with his sweater paws- imagine being his friend and being able to cuddle him? Just snuggle and chat about what he’s got prepared for LT2, maybe watch a horror movie. God truly has His favorites. In conclusion: Louis in sweaters.

9) Favorite tattoo?

I think the compass was really well made, like the shading and the contours make it look almost lifelike. Then it points to HOME, which I think is so sweet and personal, like he already knows what ‘home’ is to him and he’s sure that that’s where he’d want to go back to, every time without a doubt. I also like the “It Is What It Is” tattoo, it’s written elegantly, kind of like a Ballantines font and it’s definitely an eye-catcher, displayed on his chest. The stag one also isn’t bad, its right eye is just a bit more bugged out than the other. It makes it a lil more special though, it’s easily identifiable as Louis’ tattoo because of that and the antlers are sort of majestic.

10) Favorite Louis photo (currently)?

I am going to pretend I read that as ‘photos’ because I am an indecisive little shit :))

(HELLOOOO HE LOOK LIKE THE SWEETEST HEDGEHOG // He is just- in his element, he is living up there)

(He makes the tousled hair look so good what the hell // Does this need elaboration, I mean, his smile literally powers everything on earth, and the crinkles by his eyes, and his sweater, and his lil canines, and-)

(Please God he is. Ethereal. Stunning. Perfect. In both photos, his eyes are just. Bright. And the cinnamon swirl, I- I’ve ascended to a higher plane of existence. He’s just so beautiful. Gorgeous really.)

11) Random extra?

When one is given the opportunity to express their love for Louis Tomlinson’s accent, one must accept.

His accent is like. Familiar, a bit like home (no, I’m not English), and I love that he’s been able to keep it even after years of living abroad. He has one of those accents where you can tell it’s present even when he sings, and when he uses endearments, God, it’s just so charming and sweet. It’s also really strong and distinctive, you can tell who he is by the first syllable or word he says. It’s a part of who he is and I love it so much and I love him so much, Jesus Christ akjskjd

I had fun being able to talk about Louis in this, there’s so much to him and every bit of it is another ray of sunshine <333

I tag @adorelou-28, @makethebestofwhatyouget, @28-oops-hi, and anyone else who wants to do this, no compulsions :))

#thank you Rae!!#i swear its been weeks since ive been tagged to do this and i am so sorry aldjakdjjd #tag games

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modmamono · 4 years

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Why Space Channel 5 is one of SEGA’s best dumbest games ever, no questions asked. (Report 1 & 1/2.)

Space Channel 5 on the Dreamcast is one of my favorite things ever, let alone favorite video games. Though I more often watch it on YouTube then actually play it.

For those not in the know, Space Channel 5 is a game series developed by United Game Artists and published by parent company SEGA. And that’s the most Wikipedia quoting I’m gonna do in this gush piece.

There aren’t many games quite like this rhythmic, Simon says game. At least in style because this game has that in spades, the gameplay anyone can do. And I am not at all qualified to explain its style because I wouldn’t how to describe it as besides maybe very 70s?

Point is there’s something charming about this game, and I think SEGA agrees with me on that. The lead character, Ulala (seen above), appear in these games to name a few years after new Space Channel 5 games stopped being made after 2002:

2004: Sega Superstars

2006: Sonic Riders

2008: Sega Superstars Tennis and Samba de Amigo

2010: Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

2012: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Project X Zone

2015: Project X Zone 2

And not to mention the invading aliens have been skins of the titular Puyo Puyo in that series for a while I can’t determine. Possibly since at most 2007 up until current day with Puyo Puyo Champions in 2018/2019.

ALSO not to mention the VR game that came out recently! (How could I forget that? That’s the main reason I’m doing this.)

So it is clear SEGA loves this game and it’s sequel a lot. I don’t think their most beloved cult classic NiGHTS: Into Dreams gets that much love from the company though it certainly does get a lot itself, most games wish their parents still loved them that much long after they had a game. Anyway...

Now the part where I actually talk about the game.

I wanna say, first and foremost. This is not a review of the game. This is just gushing about why this game makes me happy.

And everything I’m gushing about is just what you get from the from one playthrough of the game. Save for one exception, I will not be talking about supplementary material, nor Space Channel 5′s lore.

And yes, this colorful dancing/rhythm/simon says game has lore. Basically any non-repeated character model has their own biograph. So I will not go into that.

You’re not missing too much, there are interesting tidbits, sometimes they fill you in on background details of the story.

Speaking of the story. I’ll start in a second. But if this is new to you, you can watch it here first (The first playthrough is only half the video):

youtube

Prologue:

We start off with a bunch of alien sitting on a space couch watching space TV. These aliens are known as the Morolians and they’ll be the main antagonists for the evening.

This cutscene has no dialogue, so this is all open to interpretation for a first time viewer. Though I do enjoy this split second foreshadowing:

And that’s when the title screen appears. Blasting you with the series’ main theme Mexican Flyer. Look it up if you must. You’ll be hearing it a lot, it’s the game and Ulala’s leitmotif.

Report 1: This is terrorism attack on an airport... I’m gonna ignore that.

This is the only piece of supplemental material I’ll talk about, as it’s present in the game itself, but not elaborated on, and it is important to two of the character.

The game starts in a flashback. In the year AD 2489 a spaceship exploded. Everybody on board died safe for a little girl.

She was rescued by a man working for Space Channel 5. A news organization that with a specific focus on dancing. That last bit is nothing special though, as everything in this galaxy revolves around dancing.

After the little girl is saved by this kindly Channel 5 Gent (Age 25) she knew what she wanted to be after she grew up. She wanted to be a sexy dancing reporter for Space Channel 5 just like him (presumably). And to meet him so she can thank him in person.

10 years later......

It is AD 2499! And the Morolians attack a space airport and their ray beams hypnotize people to dance silly.

THE HORROR!

And that’s when Space Channel 5 sends in Ulala to report on the progress.

But what they’re actually doing is for Ulala to solve the problem instead of the Space authorities.

One character I do wanna mention now is that Ulala’s producer, Fuse, is an unseen character yet is important later. He’s the one briefing Ulala in the screenshot above. And oversees Ulala’s every move.

Also Ulala never got to meet her rescuer. He either left shortly after Ulala got rescued, or shortly before Ulala joined. Given what we learn later, likely the former.

Anyway onto the show:

BAM!

BAM!!

BAM!!!

I will always love that. Ulala got down on the ground in the panicking space air port to coolly report on the panic.

As quick aside, I wanna mention that Ulala doesn’t run in this game, she slowly struts and all of her struts are simply majestic. And those amazing struts lead her to the first gameplay section of this game.

Some Morolians hold a few hypnotized people hostage. This is is a dance battle. Meaning you got repeat exactly what the aliens do in the exact rhythm they did it in order to save the hostages. And I love this gameplay. It’s simple yet fun (provided you got minimal lag, you should look into that if you wanna play this game).

The controls are:

Up: Up

Down: Down

Left: Left

Right: Right/Light

Button 1: Chu (Aliens)

Button 2: Chu (Humans)

And this is how normal people settle things in this world apparently:

Party 1 (usually the Aliens) make up a tough but fair pattern for Ulala to copy in the hopes of psyching her out.

Party 2 (Ulala & Co.) gets as many chances ad she got. And the better she does more people tune into her news report. If she wins she gets what she wants. Saving the hostage and getting Party 1 out of her hair.

Every single one lives by this code of honor and I honestly have no clue if there’s an in-universe reason. But I love it regardless. I love it when people say: Up Down Chu Chu Chu. And the Ulala repeating it.

Though frankly, I don’t like it when the Morolians issue the commands. I like it when others do the exact same commands in this same game, so it’s a little bit of a bummer the Morolians do it.

Anyways. You save the hostages and they join in on Ulala’s unstoppable strut as will always happen if you rescue people. And they strut to the second gameplay type: The Shoot-out.

The controls are the same as the above but now you gotta watch out for humans in the mix.

In general these are trickier. And I might go into that later. But they do work on the same rules.

Don’t worry I won’t go over every dance or shoot-out unless there’s something special about it.

Also I’m pretty sure you kill people if you push the wrong Chu. Don’t do that, it’s bad for the ratings!

Skipping over three battles.Something new happens, rival space news station: Space(?) Channel 42 has a reporter of their own out on the field. And that reporter is planning to steal Channel 5′s viewership. And this is HER!

You do a dance battle and she dies.

Though seriously, I like this game does this. It’s not only aliens you fight, but other factions of the Space News Media. And it’s always a nice shake up when someone besides her shows up.

You see, for the most part any reoccurring enemy has recognizable mannerisms you gotta batlle, and her is no different. It’s hard to describe for me. You kinda gotta play or watch the game for yourself to see what I mean, but I think it’s best exemplified in Report 2. And the following games.

Though one thing’s for sure, each non-normal Morolians or rival reported does bring their own genre switch with them. Heck sometimes even normal battles have unique genres. I’m am not musically inclined so I wouldn’t know hers or most others.

Any way, before she dies she give an emotional speech and gracefully suggests to take her Channel 42 guitarist with her and Ulala accepts that’s the least she could do for a lousy reporter like her.

And then it’s boss time!

Yeah, actual bosses with actual boss characters. And not like the recently deceased as shown above. She’s practically for all intents and purposes another Morolian dance battle.

And it’s down to funky jazz music, not unlike what you’d see in Sonic Adventure! Even Ulala comments on it, confirming it’s dietetic Where does it come from? Not sure, there might be an explanation somewhere. But do keep that in mind. That the music we hear is also the music the characters hear as well.

Anyways:

Not Pictured: Super Stretchy Arms.

I think it’s a bit of a misnomer. Invader is correct, that’s what it’s here for. But is it really a robot? It moves like an organics and is a bit rubbery. This basically goes for all Morolian robots.

I can suspend my disbelief. You shouldn’t nitpick too much about Space Channel 5, it doesn’t want you to think too hard about it’s world even if there’s a lot to it. I’d be concerned if Space Channel 5 did wanna put its story and world building first and foremost.

But “Hypnotized Robot Invader”?

What?

Spoiler.

Robots and hypnotism... I’m pretty sure a sign that we made perfect human-like Artificial Intelligence if they can fall susceptible to Hypnosis. Even then I doubt it.

Sorry, that’s always bothered me, I get what they mean by it. It’s just the word choice... Did they mean Hypnotizing Robot Invader? This boss is great.

It starts off with a normal dance battle, but you get to watch a new Morolian enemy’s moves. It’s also quicker on the draw along with a few softballs to throw your timing off. Pretty good stuff.

And that applies to the next phase as well, where the the shooting starts.

I don’t have much to say.

Unlike the robot’s final phase where it’s the first phase again, but with guns and the robot goes to berserking speeds with the input commands.

And after you beat it, it joins you in a strut.

As does everyone you saved, No matter the gender, nor age, nobody is embarrassed imitating Ulala no matter what she does. We’ll be half as lucky to get a cool future as cool as 2499.

And with that the first report is over.

Report 2: (Age 35)

At the Morolian HQ (Presumably), their boss doesn’t like failure.

But like a good boss he doesn’t dwell on failure and moves on to the next plan. One of his lackeys has this plan: Another boss battle dance robot who operates on:

The everyone at the table is impressed. So I guess Ulala is screwed, game over.

This level is more of the same as the last one more or less, it’s possibly the most boring level in the series in that regard. It’s not bad, this is just the game bulding enough a status quo before they change things up in Report 3.

But that doesn’t make this level any less interesting to talk about, so I won’t go over it much.

The short story until something new happens is: Space Ship (think of it as a fancy yacht but in space) is being attack by Morolians, Ulala is send to report on it, and being the professional she is saves hostages as well.

She saves the captain, crew members, stewardesses, waitresses, the Space Diva (OH NO! NOT THE SPACE DIVA!), passages and the like.

UNTIL!

He voice says “I’m gonna steal you show, Space Channel 5”. And you see this ship flying by:

Another rival reporter, this one a pirate broadcasting station.

Side note: That’s sounds like the most important kind of pirate ever. Alternative news/non-mainstream with no money/rating motive blinding everything with journalistic integrity? Yes, by all means. If they’re pirates then so are Secular Talk & The Humanist Report.

Back to the silly dance game. The Pirates either jam or hack Channel 5′s signal and the Ulala is stuck with them for a while.

And then we meet that where we meet the gent above.

“[His] name is:“

“JAGUAAAAARRRR!!!” “JAGUAAAAARRRR!!!“

(Age 35)

LET’S DANCE!

Dude, I love Jaguar (Age 35) he’s gotta be my second favorite character in the series on account he’s just cool and incapable of embarrassment.

Remember the deceased of the last report? The Channel 42 reporter in the blue dress? He’s her counterpart for this chapter.

But whereas the deceased’s gimmick sounded air headed for a lack of a better term. Maybe, girly? Point is, battling her didn’t feel too dissimilar to battling Morolians despite her rhytmic mannerisms.

Jaguar (Age 35)’s gimmick is that he just adds. He starts with a simple Up. And then he adds a Chu, and another Chu. Eventually it becomes a really long chain of commands, it has to be some of the longest in the series. And you have to do them all from start to finish because he does them all sequentially. Can you repeat?:

Up. Chu. ChuChu. Right. Left. Down. DownDown. Down. Chu. Chu. Chu.

He is easing you into it, but it is by no means an easy fight. Because after the chain is at its longest, he just spamming ChuChuChu in quick succession. And then a simple Chu.

After defeat Jaguar & Co, escape by jet-pack, saying they will meet later.

This battle is a highlight for me. Coco Tapioco and the big bosses to come are better if you ask me (with exceptions). But Jaguar (Age 35) is some of the best the normal gameplay goes.

And you could argue what normal means in the context of Space Channel 5. But effectively, like Channel 42′s deceased, functionally he might as well be another Morolian if he wasn’t there to be set up for later. Because you do get person that just joins your Strut Club like everywhere else.

You gain his Jazz Man and you get a great sax solo as a reward beating him. Like how you got Channel 42′s guitarist for beating them. I like the think the Jazz Man can work for Jaguar (Age 35) again while the Channel 42 Guitarist is blacklisted.

And before we move on from Jaguar (Age 35) check out his Chu pose:

BOSS TIME!

Jaguar (Age 35): The alien mothership is retreating. Don’t you have to follow them, Channel 5? Fuse: Blast you, Jaguar [Age 35].

With the pirates giving chase, Ulala is left with the cowardly alien robot to elegant music.

Ignoring the robot’s title, while silly, its cowardice is its greatest asset. For it has kidnapped some space schoolkids, making their space teacher worry. Their space teacher can actually be seen at the start of the report.

Space fashion, am I right?

I’ve exceeded Tumblr’s invisible limit of what to put in a blog post. I’ll have to rewrite this boss what I have to say for this boss. So full, can’t spell check! We’ll be back!

#space channel 5 #sc5 #ulala #dreamcast #chu #gushing #jaguar #fuse #pudding #coco tapioca #morolina #morolians

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