#its so stupid and also goes directly against canon information

[lesbianyosano]

every time i remember the ‘dazai is the book’ theory i have to fight the urge to engage in physical violence

#its so stupid and also goes directly against canon information #also the ‘book is just bsd itself’ theory is awful not bc its unplausible (that too) but mostly bc thatd be the worst ending imaginable #like if thats how bsd ends i will start biting people itd be so so bad jfc #like the bsd fandom constantly talking abt how smart and well read it is only to spout the dumbest bullshit imaginable huh #there are some good theories dont get me wrong #especially on here like tumblr bsd fans are pretty chill and overall fun #but tiktok is awful and the character limit in the comments is killing me #txt. #anyway bram not being an actual doa member theory my beloved

[queen-ofsunflowers]

DadWorth AU: Part 4 (Trials & Tribulations)

Unlike the previous parts, this is mostly just shenanigans since Kay and Miles at this point are starting to work on bettering their relationship after their reunion in Farewell, My Turnabout. So it’s fun and kind of angsty times because Phoenix still falls off a bridge. Miles is present for most of the cases, excluding Stolen, but his appearances mostly take place in the background.

< Part 3 | Part 5 >

Turnabout Memories

Kay’s junior year at Themis starts and the students are given a chance to look into previous cases for a project that they have to do. Kay decides to do the one that inspired her to be an attorney. Or at least, for her to start following Mia’s career. Which if anyone remembers from part 1, was the State v. Wright 2014.

At the time of the case happening, Kay didn’t recognize the defendant’s name. But now... Now she knows who it is. So she goes directly to Phoenix to get an explanation. In front of just about everybody.

Today is Embarrass Phoenix Wright Day.

If you’re wondering, Kay is absolutely stunned by the fact that Phoenix ate the necklace. She knew it happened, but it’s only now hitting her that the defendant who swallowed the bottle and the amazing attorney who so far has been the only one to beat Miles and her semi-mentor figure are the same person.

The Stolen Turnabout

With Miles out of the country, Kay (and maybe the boys klavier and sebastian too, I’m not sure) is dragged down to Lordly Tailor by Maya, and that’s where things go from there. She’s kind of surprised that it was the urn that got stolen, picking up pretty quickly that it wasn’t worth that much in the first place. (Though this might be due to her involvement in 2-2, so she knows that it has been broken before.)

Kay stands with Phoenix on the matter of whether or not Ron actually stole the urn. According to her, the guy “couldn’t even pickpocket a blind man”. Pearl kicks her in the shin before running out of the detention center. Maya and Kay have gotten pretty close to each other because of the events of Farewell, since they were kidnapped and that’s some strong bonding there. So, Maya’s hurt by both of them believing in Ron’s innocence, but with Kay’s involvement, she quickly starts to think that they might be right sooner rather than later. Still, since it hurts, Kay takes Maya’s place temporarily on the first day of investigating.

Things that happen here are Kay starting to steal stuff herself. For example, she swipes the blackmail letter on the first visit to the DeLite’s apartment. (”kay, we’re defense attorneys. we don’t steal.” “but you take evidence all the time. how is that not the same thing?” “...moving on--”.) 

Kay can’t stand Atmey, especially when he starts rambling on the way he does. She both states that Gumshoe’s a better detective than he is (some of that being bias, but still) and calls him out when he claims that Miles has called Godot the best prosecutor in the country. Miles doesn’t even know who he is. Phoenix finds her interactions with him slightly hilarious (it’s a sixteen year old girl tearing an eccentric a-hole a new one, after all.)

Kay’s able to stand co-counsel for the entirety of this trial due to it taking place completely on a weekend. Which means she also gets to meet Godot. He’s... To her, he’s flat out weird. He’s Cyclops with a caffeine addiction. And he’s not able to avoid her snark either.

She gets really happy when they get the Not Guilty verdict on the first day, and her relationship with the Feys gets patched up, too. And then all that goes down the drain when Ron is arrested for murder. More investigation is needed.

When it’s revealed that Ron is actually Mask ☆ DeMasque, Kay feels kind of bad over the remark she made the day before since most of those thefts were kind of impressive to her after she read about them. That’s about as much as what happens during the investigation. She really gets into the whole phantom thief stuff, much to Phoenix’s dismay.

When it comes time for the trial, Kay feels so much satisfaction in catching Atmey. She hates him so much. She doesn’t, however, like the fact that Godot keeps throwing coffee at the defense team.

I should note that Kay thinks that Godot’s voice sounds familiar, but she can’t place why at this time. It’s been YEARS since the events of Beginnings, and they didn’t even interact. Kay just watched the trial and heard him speak. So, that whole mystery is still under wraps for now.

Recipe for the Turnabout

Kay, Klavier and Sebastian are at Wright & Co. when Gumshoe bursts through the door, scaring the crap out of the three of them and Maya in the process. She, much like Phoenix, is confused as heck as to what he’s talking about when he tells them about the phony trial. She can also vouch for what happened and the fake Phoenix. (I have plans for what happened there, i just need to watch/play the game there myself...) So everyone is confused, and this warrants some footwork.

Phoenix Wright ends up being followed by a group of teenagers during his investigation. This has been going on for a while. He’s accepted it. It’s part of his life now.

When it comes to Tres Bien, Maya’s not the only one who gets roped into working there. Through misunderstandings, Kay gets pulled in as well. The guys kind of just run off, leaving the girls in their unfortunate situation for now.

Phoenix is stuck with the boys for the time being, which leads to some pretty fun and interesting interactions, including their reactions to meeting Tigre for the first time. Sebastian’s just confused because Tigre is taller, older and the only thing about Phoenix that he shares is their hair style. Klavier verbally voices this, just going off on how the hell anyone could mistake the two. (and loses his shit at the cardboard badge. from a distance, yeah, but seriously?!)

When they eventually come back to the restaurant, being the stupid teenage boys that they are, Klavier and Sebastian find the situation Kay is in hilarious. Klavier takes a picture of Kay in the Tres Bien outfit because “everyone needs to see this”. (Everyone mostly being Ema, whose in Europe.) Kay tackles him to try and get him to delete the photo, but he doesn’t. It becomes Kay’s contact picture in his phone.

whether or not kay continues to work here after the case is still up in the air. her and miles’ financial situation is pretty good, but kay’s also the independent type, so i feel like she’d want to save her own money for things instead of having to ask for it.

It’s lucky that at this point the girls are saved from their forced jobs, and Phoenix brings them down to the park, where things go as they do in canon with Maya channeling Mia to get information out of Kudo. Phoenix just kind of pushes Kay behind him while Mia does her thing, because if Miles ever found out he let Kay do something like that, he would never forgive him. It does lead, however, to this interaction here:

“and what have we learned today?” “take what you got and exploit the men who think with their di--” “okay! let’s get back to the investigation, shall we?!” “...klavier, why are you looking down at your chest?” “huh? just thinking.”

listen, klavier doesn’t button up his shirt all the way for a reason, and this is why.

Kay gets a bit ticked off that the prosecutor is Godot again (something that the guys predict because she complained about her hair smelling like coffee for days after being in the splash zone of the last trial). Fortunately, she doesn’t have to be here since the trial primarily covers school days. However, the Themis Trio does help out with the investigation when they’re free, taking a look at Blue Screens while Phoenix and Maya handle Tres Bien. They regroup when its time to head to Tender Lender.

Things go pretty much the same from there until the end with the confrontation with Tigre at Tres Bien. There’s another change here since Tigre and Armstrong are outnumbered. Phoenix still gets punched, but its not Tigre who grabs the medical papers. It’s Sebastian in a moment of panic. This basically leads to them playing keep-away with the papers as they try to get out with them and get away from Tigre. It doesn’t work out, though, because eventually as the papers are returned to Phoenix and the gang goes to flee, Tigre grabs and pulls an off-guard Kay back. It’s an exchange -- the papers for the girl. (think that one situation in ablaze but without the threat of getting shot.)

But that’s not what happens because like in canon, Gumshoe comes to the rescue. And he is more pissed off than before because that’s his pseudo-niece. Phoenix and the kids run out of there as soon as they can. Later that night, Miles asks about the bruises on Kay’s arm from where Tigre had grabbed her. She’s not sure what to say.

Miles gets involved in the background of this case due to Kay’s injury, helping out Gumshoe when it comes to getting the bottle analyzed (and getting assault added to the list of crimes Tigre is charged with.) Both him and Kay are pleased when Tigre gets arrested.

Turnabout Beginnings

We already covered this case in Part 1. Kay was in the audience watching. Primarily, this is mostly skipped aside from Kay mentioning it to Phoenix very earlier on. I’m talking like... last part early during Reunion. Thinking about that while in the hospital sparks his interest in taking a look at it via Mia’s case files.

Bridge to the Turnabout

With Miles out of the country, Kay is free to kind of do whatever. Because she’s friends with Maya, Pearl drags her up to Hazakura, partially against Kay’s will because its cold and she hates the cold.

She faintly recognizes Iris because as said before, she sat in on Beginnings. She knows what Dahlia looks like. However, because it was so long ago for her, she doesn’t quite remember why. She does play into Larry’s whole artist thing, but refuses to call him Laurice. (”okay... good for you, larry.” “laurice!” “i’m not calling you that.”)

As for Elise, the most that Kay knows about her is that she’s an author. Though, unlike Maya, she does take note of how similar she looks to the painting of Misty, as well as Maya and Mia. (maya must’ve noticed some similarities herself, but why she didn’t say anything is a mystery to me.)

Kay’s starting to think that this trip might not be so bad... until everything goes to shit when she’s woken up by a scream. As a result, both she and Phoenix head out to the courtyard and discover Elise’s body. Unlike Phoenix, however, Kay has her phone on her. She’s not able to tell him this, though, because Phoenix is already running to the bridge. She gives chase, trying to catch up.

Things go on as normal. The bridge is on fire, they meet up with Larry. And Phoenix runs across the bridge. He falls. Kay screams.

Kay and Larry both find and pull Phoenix out of the river. Larry calls the police while Kay is trying to calm herself down and keep Phoenix from possibly dying. The only person she can think of to call is Miles. So yes, in this version of the story, Kay handles the phone call to Edgeworth, so things are a bit more well explained on that end. Not entirely, because Kay’s freaking the fuck out, but a bit better.

The police arrive, Iris is arrested and Phoenix is taken to the hospital with Kay riding in the ambulance as well (after some heavy persuasion.) She’s at the hospital all night, and is there when Miles arrives. He’s relieved that she’s alright, especially after the phone call he received from her last night. It’s pure luck that Phoenix survived the fall with minimal injury and a cold. Kay calls him stupid in at least seven different ways when they’re finally let into his room.

Kay is still freaked out over everything that happened the night before, so she sticks by her dad’s side. She’s there to straighten out Larry at the detention center and explain the magatama in a bit more detail than a fever-hazy Phoenix since she’s seen him use it multiple times before. Alon

Basically, Kay is the Maya to Miles’s Phoenix here. Miles doesn’t want her to be on the case with him, but she does so anyway. She claims it’s because she’s the defense attorney in training and she knows more about it than he does since she was there, too. During the investigation, Kay finds out about Pearl and Maya being on the other side of the bridge and gets worried as heck for their safety.

She’s also the one who handles getting Franziska to prosecute. Kay lies and says that Phoenix had a pretty big case on his hands that still needed a prosecutor, and Franziska took the bait. Needless to say, Fran’s a bit ticked off when she discovers the truth.

But the best part about this is father-daughter standing at the bench together. It is a lot of fun banter between them and Franziska, too. And Kay gets another Larry-Induced headache when he testifies on the stand. Though, due to what happened with Goodbyes, she trusts him to some extent and his trying to figure out what the heck actually happened.

When the trial gets out and Phoenix is back in the saddle, Kay calls him stupid again for investigating while sick. She works in tandem with both him and Miles for this part of the case. Yeah, she’s part of the investigation team.

She’s relieved when they finally find Pearl on the other side of the bridge (Kay gets a small hug from Pearls, have that visual.) She, like everyone else, is confused about why Godot is there. Unlike the others, however, Kay is incredibly close to fighting a man about twice her age when he starts going after Phoenix for his involvement in Mia’s death.

When the earthquake hits, the first thing Kay’s mind goes to is her dad. She races to find Miles first before anything else. She’s lived with him since she was ten years old. She knows about his fear of earthquakes.

After discovering the locks on the door, Kay does follow Miles out to the garden. He does get a hug from her, since she’s not sure what else to do at the time. Compared to last year, it shows that they’re doing a lot better. She’s also there when Phoenix comes by and manages to figure out the Hawthorne connection pretty quickly. She leaks the information to Phoenix, despite Miles’s protests. (”i’m not a prosecutor, so i don’t have to keep my mouth shut.”)

When it comes to the trial the next day, Kay’s in the gallery with everyone else since Phoenix claims that he has to do this alone (another thing that Kay calls him stupid for.) She’s on the edge of her seat the entire time -- watching as Phoenix unmasks and stands before the spirit of the woman who tried to kill him. And after exercising her from Maya’s body, Kay claims that she’s no longer phased by anything weird that happens in court.

Though, she is surprised when Phoenix accuses Godot of the crime. She doesn’t like the guy as much as the next person -- he’s a huge jerk -- but what? As the mystery begins to unravel, she starts to see how he got there, she’s kind of awestruck. She never expected Phoenix to come into his own like this. In the end, though, Godot confesses and things go pretty much the same way as they do in canon.

After all is said and done, Kay promises that she’ll become a defense attorney as great as both Mia Fey and the amazing Phoenix Wright. Phoenix will deny that this ever happened, but he did start to tear up a little upon hearing that. He becomes her mentor after the events of this case. It’ll become an important factor in Kay’s decisions later on that year... right around April.

And that’s it for the trilogy! There are some more parts that I want to add on, such as the ripples all this has created in the later games -- the investigation games especially.

#ace attorney #ace attorney au #dadworth au #kay faraday #phoenix wright #klavier gavin #sebastian debeste #maya fey #godot #diego armando #larry butz #miles edgeworth #franziska von karma #mia fey #furio tigre #luke atmey #ron delite #dahlia hawthorne #kay edgeworth au

[writingmyselfout]

Because I Could Not Stop for Death - Chapter Five

Language: English

Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter

Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Reptilia28′s Don’t Fear the Reaper Challenge, Manipulative Dumbledore, Black Hermione Granger, Slight Ron Weasley Bashing

Prologue 1 2 3 4

Chapter 5: This Is My Now

Summary: Sorting Ceremony

THE ride to the castle is not as eventful as Draco predicted, despite the slight delay caused when Ron Weasley loudly complains that Draco took his spot and Hagrid, realizing that all other boats already have four students, redirects him to be the fifth in the next boat over. Harry is too busy admiring the sight of the giant castle before them, with what looks like every visible window lit up against the night sky, to pay Weasley much mind. He understands now what someone means when they say something is breathtaking, because he’s sure he stopped breathing for a moment when he first saw it, and isn’t sure he’s quite managed to catch his breath as the boats take off across the lake.  

   He’s not the only one fascinated. There is silence except for the sound of water lapping against the magically propelled boats as their journey starts, with whispers only starting up when they’re about halfway across. Their boat is in the lead, but the fleet of boats--which Hagrid informs them is nineteen out of the school’s total of thirty-six--are close enough that the voices of one carry over to the occupants of those closest. Granted, Harry thinks, it’s possible that it only seems that way because Ron Weasley, in the boat just behind theirs on the left, is loudly complaining about Draco Malfoy having shoved him out of the way when he was going to sit with Harry Potter. A blatant lie that Draco scoffs at, but doesn’t deem to try to refute from this distance.

    When they disembark on the other side of the lake, they are on a landing stage slightly sheltered by rock formations. Hagrid looks them over, making Draco smile at Harry knowingly when he picks Neville’s frog up from their boat and hands the animal back to him, reminding him to hold onto it this time. Then, when he’s sure that no student has been lost, he leads them up some stone steps. Harry thinks this must have been a cave at some point, rocky walls closing in slightly on either side with lanterns alternating from one side to the other to light their way, and he thinks it’s a good thing he’s not claustrophobic as the shadows they cast on the ceiling make it almost look like it’s moving down closer to them.

    At the top of the stairs is a stone landing, similar to the one below they’d stood on after getting out of the boats, but the bright lanterns on either side of the door make the design on it clearly visible. The stones are gray, with a darker one used to create a capital letter H. The door before them, a large, sturdy-looking wooden door with metal bands across it and a small little hatch in the door. When Hagrid pounds his fist heavily against the wood, Harry expects it to open and a face to peer out, but instead the door opens completely, light flooding out from inside, and standing there is none other than the dark-haired witch, Professor McGonagall, in emerald green robes.

    “Evenin’, Professor,” Hagrid greets. “Got yer first years here, all seventy-seven of ‘em.”

    “Thank you, Hagrid. Come along then.”

    They shuffle in after her and find themselves now in a brightly lit room. There’s a large rug covering most of the stone floor, and directly across the door they come in through is a large fireplace, with an equally large fire lit and blazing within. It makes the room pleasantly warm after the cool air they were just in. There are two long tapestries on either side of the fireplace, totaling four, each of them in different colors and with an animal displayed prominently in its center around a letter. To the left are some benches along the way, and some portraits of landscapes above them. To the right is a door, which is where McGonagall walks to as she waits for them to all come into the room.

    Harry goes over in her direction after a brief glance around the room. “Hello, Professor,” he greets, a little shy. He’s never really been close to a teacher before, but while he doesn’t want his new classmates to think he’s a teacher’s pet, he rather likes the woman who helped ensure he could attend school.

    “Mr. Potter.” She addresses him formally, but she gives him a small smile, which negates her stern tone and her previously stern demeanor. “I see you made it onto the train all right.”

    Harry nods, and almost goes on to tell her about being moved into the smallest bedroom upstairs, but Hagrid closes the door then, signaling that all the students are inside. The big man makes his way around the students and out of the room through the door they are near, and Harry realizes this conversation will have to wait as the older witch clears her throat to draw the attention of all the students. Once all eyes are on her, she speaks.

    “Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” she begins. “The term officially begins with a start-of-term banquet attended by the entire school, which you will be joining shortly over in the Great Hall. Before you can take your seats, however, you will be sorted into one of the four Hogwarts houses.” She gestures over towards the tapestries hanging on the wall by the fireplace.

    The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each has its own noble history and has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are students here, your house will be like your family within Hogwarts. You will sleep in your house dormitory, study and spend free time in your house common room, and most, if not all, of your classes will be with the rest of your housemates. You will also work together with your house to earn points for your house. Your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to your house, whichever it may be.

    “Now, the Sorting Ceremony will take place in front of the whole school, so I suggest you all smarten yourselves up while you wait.” She runs a critical eye over them, pausing here and there on specific students. “Now wait quietly while I check to see if they are ready yet.”

    Without another word, she leaves through the same door Hagrid left, and voices erupt in her wake. Students asking each other what house they think they’ll join, and what the Sorting might entail.

    “Harry.” He turns to see Draco just off to the side with a group that seems to already know each other, waving him over. Harry goes over to the group, which consists of two girls and three boys besides Draco, assuming that these are the friends he previously mentioned. Sure enough, once he’s reached them, Draco says, “These are the friends I mentioned earlier. Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabb, Gregory Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and Millicent Bulstrode. Guys, this is Harry Potter.”

    Others nearby hear the name and there’s a ripple effect through the room as it’s whispered back and forth. Harry tries to ignore it as he greets Draco’s friends. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

    Theodore Nott replies in kind, but he’s the only one. Pansy Parkinson leans into Millicent, saying in a loud whisper, “ The Harry Potter, huh? Somehow not as impressive as the stories would have us believe.”

    Harry feels his face grow warm while Draco scowls at her, but before either can respond, there’s a collection of gasps and a few screams. Looking around, they see what has startled some of the others, as a group of almost two dozen ghosts have come streaming through one wall. They’re just far enough that Harry can’t make out any conversations until a ghost in tights and ruff notices the students below them and asks what they’re all doing.

    “New students!” The answer comes from the ghost the first had been speaking with, a pleasant looking, chubby man dressed in a long corded tunic robe of some sort. Harry isn’t sure what it’s called, but he’s certain the man is a friar of some sort. “I believe they’re waiting to be Sorted, yes?”

    Various students nod. Harry looks over at Draco, and he hopes this isn’t a stupid question because it didn’t occur to him until now, but he wants to ask before McGonagall comes back. “How are they going to sort us?”

    “Honestly? Don’t know,” Draco admits with a shrug. “Mother and Father wouldn’t say. It’s tradition to go in not knowing.”

    “My brother Fred said it hurts.” They turn to see Ron Weasley, who’s clearly been eavesdropping.

    “H-Hurts?” Neville Longbottom, using one hand to try to fix his robe which is fastened under one ear, stares at Ron wide-eyed. His grip on his toad goes slack and he almost loses it before Hermione Granger nudges him.

    “I doubt it,” she responds once Nevile has regained hold on the toad. “It is a school, after all. They aren’t going to let us get hurt .”

    “Okay, Miss Know-It-All, what do you think it is?” Ron grumbles at her, glaring. “Since you know more than me.”

    She frowns at him. “I am just saying, it is highly unlikely that a school is going to purposely allow students to get hurt for, what, dorm assignments?” Neville next to her visibly relaxes, and there are a few murmurs of agreement. Ron’s face goes a little pink. “Now it doesn’t say in Hogwarts, A History what the Sorting entails, but I imagine it’s more likely a test of some sort.”

    “Oh, ‘it doesn’t say in Hogwarts, A History ’,” he mocks, pitching his voice higher and causing a few kids to snicker. “That’s not even one of our textbooks. What kind of nerd does extra reading before school?”

    Her darker skin doesn’t visibly change colors, but the way Hermione presses her lips together and crosses her arms reads to Harry clear as day as if she’s embarrassed. She doesn’t respond though, and Harry is annoyed with Ron Weasley all over again. He thinks of all the times he was bullied by Dudley in front of other students just before teachers came back, or in front of his aunt and uncle, leaving Harry unable to defend himself or talk back, and he decides he’s not putting up with it here. Even if the bullying isn’t directed at himself.

    “Just because you can’t read doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t enjoy it.” Both Hermione and Ron look over at him in surprise, though Ron’s face turns a shade of red that almost matches his hair.

    Then, to avoid getting caught in a confrontation on the first day by Professor McGonagall and because Neville was struggling one handed to fix his robe before he froze to watch the back and forth between Hermione and Ron, he goes over to him. “Want me to hold Trevor while you fix your robe?”

    “Oh, yes, please. Thank you.”

    Neville hands the toad over and adjusts his robes, just in time for McGonagall to return. She calls for them to get in a line and follow her, turning to lead them out. Hermione hurries to do as she’s told, very clearly trying to put distance between herself and Ron Weasley. Neville takes his toad back with another muttered thank you, hurrying to get in line as well. Harry follows suit so that Neville is in front of him, with Draco at his rear. They’re led across the large Entrance Hall, so big that he’s certain the entirety of the Dursleys’ house could fit in there, and the ceiling so far above that he can’t make it out despite the many flaming torches lighting up the room. They pass massive double doors to their right and a grand marble staircase to the left, towards another set of double doors.

    There’s the dull roar of hundreds of voices on the other side of those doors, which grows steadily louder as they approach, and Harry swallows nervously as his mouth suddenly goes dry. What if it is a test? He read through the books, but it’s not as if he could practice any of the spells, and he’s never been good at instantly memorizing stuff. He’s always been a hand on learner, needing to put whatever was being taught to him into practice to really grasp it. How embarrassing if he fails out of the school before he’s even started?

    The doors are thrown open and the voices die down to a silence as all eyes turn to look at the line of students being led inside. They walk between the center two out of four long tables, that start a few feet from the entrance and down across the large room almost towards the other end, from what Harry can see. He tries to not make eye contact with the students on either side of him, so instead he draws his attention up to the floating candles and the night sky above, half listening as Hermione explains to Neville that she’d read it’s enchanted to look like the sky outside. He thinks maybe he read that, but isn’t sure, and is tempted to ask how many times she’d read her books or if, unlike him, she has the kind of memory that allows her to read something once and just remember it.

    “What is that ?”

    Draco’s question makes Harry look down, and he sees that they’re approaching a platform that is shaped in a half circle. There’s a single step to get up onto the platform, and then there’s a stool set in the center, with a battered looking witches’ hat. Behind that is another two steps leading up onto a slightly higher platform where a table runs from Harry’s left to his right. There, a long line of adults are seated, and he realizes these must be the school’s teachers and staff. Before he can find Professor Snape to wave, he finds a pair of twinkling blue eyes staring at him, and he recognizes the face from his Chocolate Frog Cards. The headmaster is literally watching him.

    Unintendedly, he stops in the spot as he’s overwhelmed with the most powerful feeling of mistrust he’s ever felt, and a voice seems to scream in his mind, Do not trust Albus Dumbledore!

    Then Draco walks into him, not having noticed what he’d stopped, and they almost fall over. Harry quickly apologizes, face red, and hurries forward as McGonagall directs them all to line up between the professors’ table and the stool so they’re facing the rest of the school. Once they’re all lined up, they stand there for a moment, nothing happening until the hat suddenly begins to sing.

    Harry’s eyes go wide and he is able to momentarily forget the headmaster behind him, astonished at this turn of events. Getting Sorted by a magic hat is better than anything else he’d imagined, and he’s immensely relieved. He claps along with everyone else when it finishes, and then listens as the first couple of names are called and students begin being sorted into the different houses. It isn’t until after each house has received one student that Harry remembers that he and Draco might not be in the same houses.

    “Draco,” he whispers, turning to the other boy. Draco looks over at where McGonagall is standing, holding a long roll of parchment from which she is reading students’ names, and then back at Harry, a single eyebrow raised in question. “Remember, if we’re in different houses, we’ll still be friends, right?”

    Draco blinks at him surprised. Hadn’t Harry asked him that right after they met, when they were first discussing the houses? Draco still isn’t convinced that it’s possible for them to stay friends, but he figures it won’t hurt for them to try at least. So he nods. “Sure, but don’t be mad when my house gets more points than yours.”

    Harry just grins in response, looking back at the students being sorted in time to see Hermione Granger is still sitting on the stool. He wonders if it’s normal for it to take this longer before she finally gets sorted into Gryffindor. His parents’ house. It would be nice, he thinks for what must be the hundredth time, to be in the house they were in, and get to see some of the places they once spent time in. There probably weren’t any traces of them or anything, but it’d be one more thing he would have in common with them. Plus, he would already know his Head of House with Professor McGonagall, whom he already knew he could trust. The only other professor he felt that way about right now was Professor Snape. Granted, if he ended up in Snape’s house, Slytherin, that might not be so bad either. Draco was sure he’d be in that house, so at least he’d have a friend there.

    Neville Longbottom also ends up in Gryffindor house after slightly longer with the hat than most other students, and he grins happily as he goes to join them. When it is Draco’s turn, the hat is set on his head and there is a few seconds of silence before he is, as he’d predicted, announced as the next Slytherin. Harry is happy for him, knowing that is the house Draco wanted, though it’s tinged with a bit of disappointment that he wasn’t last minute put in Gryffindor, like he himself hopes to be. Then he waits for his own turn to come. He tries to ignore the irrational fear that he won’t be Sorted at all, thinking it is just his nerves, but it isn’t easy. He still thinks it’s been too many good things after another, so surely the other shoe will drop soon.

    When Professor McGonagall finally calls, “Harry Potter,” the room is overtaken by a deafening silence. He’s actually tempted to stick a finger in his ear to see if something is suddenly blocking all sound, because it’s such a drastic change. Instead, he takes a few slow steps forward, hoping he doesn’t do something embarrassing like fall flat on his face as he’s acutely aware of every eye in the room being directed in his direction.

    He’s actually a little relieved to finally reach the stool and have the hat placed on his head, as it falls down and covers his eyes so he can no longer see all those faces staring at him.

    Well, well, what do we have here? Harry startles, although after the singing, he’s not sure why the hat speaking comes as a surprise. Strange…

    Suddenly, Harry’s certain the hat is going to tell him he doesn’t belong, and he feels his heart drop. Great , he thinks. I really don’t belong here.

    Oh, but you do , the hat contradicts, surprising Harry again because of course it can read his mind. Plenty of talent here, good head on your shoulders, and quite a bit of courage, with such a thirst to prove yourself. Yes, no question, you belong here.

    Then what is strange? Harry asks, curious now that the hat has assuaged his fears.

    The hat is quiet for a moment, as if it’s searching or perhaps deciding how to explain. Then, it says, There is magic here unlike any I have seen in all my time, and I’m quite old. Yes, strange, varying magics are at work in you. How very intriguing you are, Mr. Potter. Harry wants to ask more, try to understand what the hat is telling him, but the hat moves on, asking, So where shall I put you?

    Harry frowns in response, wondering that question himself. He has no real feelings towards being put in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Based on the hat’s song, he thinks he’s loyal enough for the former and maybe not smart enough for the latter, but he’s indifferent to either. He hasn’t met anyone interested in either, or made friends among those already sorted into it yet, so it’s hard to muster any enthusiasm besides it meaning he will remain at Hogwarts so long as he’s sorted somewhere . Gryffindor, though, has most of the few people he’s met and liked thus far, besides his emotional connection to it. But Draco is now in Slytherin.

    So Gryffindor or Slytherin, eh? Any of the Hogwarts houses could help you on your way to greatness, I’m sure, but these two especially.

    Then where are you putting me?

    I’m rather partial to Slytherin for you, but where would you like to be ? The hat counters.

    If those watching could see his face, they’d see Harry blinking in confusion and surprise. Instead, he blinks at the inside of the hat, not having expected the question. I’m not sure. I mean, Gryffindor, I think? It’s just, I’ve a friend in Slytherin. He said those houses are rivals.

    Hm . The hat is quiet for only a moment, before it says, Their founders Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were rivals and friends, you know. For a very long time.

    Oh . If the founders themselves could be both rivals and friends, surely Harry and Draco could manage that too, right? Gryffindor then .

    You’re certain? Won’t have any regrets? Then off you go, to “GRYFFINDOR!”

    Professor McGonagall removes the hat, and Harry blinks at the brightness of the room as he stands. The table on the far left has erupted into cheers, with many of them standing and clapping, and the Weasley twins chanting, “We got Potter!” repeatedly.

    Harry makes his way over, noticing as he does that the rest of the hall is staring at him still as the next student is called to be Sorted. His face warms, and he wonders if he’ll ever get used to the attention as a boy with a badge comes over to shake his hand. His red hair is such a distinctive, familiar shade that he’s not at all surprised to learn this is another Weasley, and in fact the one he’d heard speaking with the woman at the station.

    “Harry Potter! Welcome to Gryffindor. I’m Percy Weasley, one of the Gryffindor prefects. Such a pleasure to have you join our house!”

    “We got Potter! We got Potter!”

    Percy lets out a long suffering sigh before he turns and hisses at the twins, “Stop it! Do you want us to be the first to lose house points?” He shakes his head, then motions for Harry to follow him back to where he’d been sitting.

    Harry sits to Percy’s right, returning Neville’s shy smile and wave with a nod. Hermione is sitting on Percy’s other side, shaking her head at the twins who were still chanting a few seats further down, although they’d brought their volume down. Presumably to avoid notice from the teachers.

    “I wish people would stop staring,” Harry mutters, noting as he takes a seat that people are still looking over in his direction.

    Neville, sitting across from him, replies, “Well, y-you’re Harry Potter . You’re famous, you know.”

    “Well, that, and you’re the first hatstall in years,” Percy adds, taking a seat to Harry’s left.

    “A what?”

    “Hatstall. It’s what it’s called when the hat takes a while to place you.” Percy motions towards the hat where someone is almost instantly sorted into Ravenclaw. “Most people only take a minute or two. You three,” he motions to Harry, Neville, and Hermione, “took longer than most, but it’s only a hatstall if it’s more than five minutes.”

    “Was it really that long?” Harry asks, surprised.

    “It doesn’t feel that long in the moment,” Hermione muses. Neville nods his head in agreement.

    They watch the rest of the students get sorted, cheering whenever another Gryffindor is added to their ranks. If Harry’s cheering is a little less enthusiastic when the youngest Weasley also becomes a Gryffindor, he doubts anyone notices over the brothers’ loud cheers. Percy gets up again specifically to congratulate him and then comes back, his brother in tow. Harry, seeing that the free seats are on either side of where he currently is, moves to his left to take the one Percy had previously been occupying. Hopefully, the older boy won’t think anything of it except that Harry is trying to be considerate, and not hoping to avoid sitting next to his younger brother.

    Luck is with him in that although he doesn’t know what Percy thinks about the switch, not only does he not bring it up, but he takes Harry’s previous seat, leaving Ron to take the second one on his other side, so at least they’re separated. It has the added bonus, Harry thinks, to put him farther away from Hermione, who Harry thinks likely doesn’t want to risk another confrontation over dinner.

    The room quieted as the old headmaster stood up to welcome them all, saying a few gibberish words and sitting back down to applause and cheers. Harry doesn’t pretend to join in this time, frowning at the old headmaster. He doesn’t see Draco across the hall giving him the same raised eyebrow he had on the train, curiosity piqued.

    In any case, soon his and all the other students’ attention is drawn down to the tables as the golden place settings magically fill with food. He’s astonished, having never seen so much food in one place in all his life. Best of all, for only the second time in his life, he could eat to his heart’s content and no one would stop him or take the best for themselves, as his cousin often had. He filled his food with some of nearly everything on offer, and Harry is sure after a few bites that he has never had anything so good before.

    While they eat, talk revolves around questions from younger students to the older regarding classes or when the first Quidditch match will take place. Some discuss how happy or surprised their parents will be about their Sorting, which draws attention to the three seated near each out who had taken the longest to be Sorted.

    “What took the Sorting Hat so long to place you?” Ron asked, leaning around Percy to address Harry.

    He shrugs but Neville responds with another question himself. “Was the hat trying to convince you too? Thought I’d end up in Hufflepuff, but it insisted. Gran will be really happy about it.”

    “It was between here and Ravenclaw for me,” Hermione informs them, though she doesn’t look over in Ron’s direction as she answers.

    “What about you, Harry?” Neville asks.

    “Slytherin.”

    Percy looks at him in surprise. “ Slytherin ? That, uh, well a bit of a surprise, really.”

    “How come?” Harry asks.

    “ You-Know-Who was a Slytherin, s’why,” Ron offers, mouth full of food. “So were a bunch of his followers.” Ron looks directly at Harry. “Including Malfoy’s dad.”

    “He was found to be innocent and under the Imperius Curse,” Percy reminds his brother.

    Ron gives him an incredulous look. “ Dad thinks that’s a lie.”

    “Yes, well, the Ministry doesn’t,” Percy rebutts, mouth a thin line of disapproval. “So you would do well not to spread rumors about the Malfoys."

    Harry puts away this bit of information, but refuses to give Ron the satisfaction of a reaction. Instead, he pointedly ignores him, turning back to his food. He’ll think about what he’s just learned and decide what, if any of it, to bring up with Draco later.

    Talk then turns to their families. Neville tells them all to laughter about his uncle trying to get him to do magic, although Hermione gasps when he tells them he was dropped out of a window. Seamus Finnegan takes over then, causing more laughter when he explains the shock his father received the first time his son performed accidental magic, as it led to finding out his wife had secretly been a witch the whole time. Many others have parents who are both witches and wizards, so they’d expected coming to Hogwarts, while others had been caught completely off-guard like Hermione, whose parents were both Muggle. Harry admits he was raised with Muggles himself, and therefore hadn’t a clue about being a wizard, much less famous, prior to receiving his Hogwarts letters.

    Many are surprised by this new and Harry, realizing he doesn’t want to answer any additional questions about his Muggle relatives or the parents he doesn’t remember, turns to Percy and asks about what they might expect from their first day. Percy is more than happy to tell them all about the things they’ll learn first year, his enthusiasm matched only by Hermione, so that Harry is drawn into talk of classes and schoolwork. It effectively makes everyone else lose interest in being a part of Harry’s conversation for the moment, and although he’s not nearly as keen on what Percy is telling them as Hermione clearly is, he nevertheless finds himself looking forward to getting to learn real magic for himself.

    It is while Percy is telling them about starting off small in Transfiguration with their Head of House, Professor McGonagall, that Harry happens to glance over towards the High Table. At some point, the stool and the Sorting Hat were removed. On the closest end is Hagrid, drinking from a goblet, with Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore speaking to each other somewhere around the middle. Further down he sees Professor Snape, speaking with a man wearing a purple turban, whose back is currently to Harry. He wonders if it might be the same turbaned gentleman from Diagon Alley he’d seen Snape speaking to, but he isn’t sure just how common turbans are in the wizarding world to say how likely that might be.

    Just then, Snape looks over and catches his eye. He nods his head towards Harry, who lifts a hand to wave when there’s a sudden pain in his forehead.

    “Ouch!” He presses his hand against his forehead, surprised.

    “Are you all right?” Percy asks while Hermione tilts her head to peer at Harry’s face.

    “Oh, uh, yes. Yes, I’m fine,” Harry assures them, the pain in his scar already fading.

    “Is it your scar? Does it often hurt?” Hermione’s gaze is curious as it runs over his forehead.

    “No, actually. Never,” Harry admits. Which is true. It’s never once, in all his life, bothered him. “Say Percy, who is that speaking with Professor Snape?”

    “You know Snape, do you? Let’s see.” Percy runs his gaze along the High Table until he spots the purple turban, just as the man turns allowing them to better see his face. “Ah, that man would be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell.”

    The desserts disappear from the table then, and the room quiets as Professor Dumbledore stands up. He addresses the room to inform them of a few start-of-term notices, of which were included the information that the forests on the ground as well as the right side of the third floor corridor were forbidden to students, the latter coming with the warning of a gruesome death for any who did not heed the warning. Percy mutters about this being news to him, noting that the prefects should have been informed, just as the headmaster has them all sing the school song to whatever tune pleases them.

    At no point does the man ever directly look at him, as far as Harry can tell, but somehow, he’s sure that the man is still watching him. It’s an unnerving feeling, and he’s glad when the Weasley twins finally finish their funeral dirge version of the school song and they’re dismissed to go to their houses.

    Already, Harry has so much to think about, and classes haven’t even started yet. He thinks he’ll definitely need to get some sleep if he’s to be prepared for what tomorrow will bring.

Story Notes:

Chapter title is a Jordan Sparks song.

#Because I Could Not Stop for Death fic #BICNSFD #Harmony fanfic #HP fanfic #Harry Potter

[akechicrimes]

there’s this thing called the “perfect victim myth” that a friend of mine introduced me to, which is the myth, even the requirement, that a person’s pain and trauma is only valid if they were on their best behavior, did nothing wrong, and can in no way be faulted for contributing to their own terrible situation. trauma is only trauma if you sat there as an unsuspecting, poor faultless blameless disempowered victim, and terrible things were inflicted upon you without any of your input whatsoever. it’s only if you did absolutely zero things wrong that you’re allowed to be considered a victim.

therefore, akechi did things wrong, and therefore cannot be a victim of anything on his own end. right?

i cannot stress enough that this is simply not how abuse, abusive behaviors, or trauma works in real life, and that believing such a thing does a disservice to not only all people who’s been victims of abuse, but also anyone who believes such a myth.

look--insofar as persona 5 is a game in which the main characters are all victims of someone else doing something bad to them, i think yusuke is probably the best example of an unfortunate real-life victim situation, so let’s talk about yusuke for five seconds: he actively prevents the PT from trying to save him, defends his abuser at the expense of himself, and even after he’s joined the PT, he sometimes oscillates wildly between “i hate madarame and refuse to even speak of him” and “i miss him terribly and still speak fondly about him and my time living with him.” he never really seems to unlearn a lot of behaviors he picked up from living with madarame--things like not caring for himself at the expense of art, not listening to his own hunger cues, and arguably has a whacked-out relationship with money due to madarame’s own whacked-out relationship with money. personally, i think he also has difficulty with respecting other people’s personal boundaries because madarame never respected his, hence him inviting himself to live with ann, or inviting himself to live with akira.

now consider a situation where yusuke drives the PT off, continues to live with madarame, drives himself into the dirt to supply madarame with his art, and eventually fulfills nakanohara’s prediction of killing himself in despair. is that yusuke’s fault? arguably, it is, isn’t it? someone extended a hand to him, and yusuke refused. even consider a situation in which yusuke successfully calls the cops on the PT, like he very genuinely attempted to in canon, and akira goes to jail because of violating his probation. what then? now it’s not just yusuke is at fault for his own suicide, but he’s also done a terrible harm to akira that will follow him for the rest of his life. what then? are we supposed to have sympathy for him now?

that’s not such an unusual situation. that happens. that’s why nakanohara warned the PT about it. it has happened before and will happen again, and not just in the gameworld of persona 5.

if you come away from that story believing that that’s yusuke’s fault, i’d say that you’re not wrong, but you’re not right, either. it is probably partly yusuke’s fault. is he still a victim? did terrible things still happen to him? that is also true. 

does it really matter if it was partly his fault?

also now consider the woman that shido was harassing. what about her? do we sympathize with her? she helped get akira convicted to save her own skin. is she a victim or an abuser? should i sympathize with her or not? arguably she should have stood up for herself in the first place, right? maybe she shouldn’t have left herself alone with shido, either. when akira came to save her, maybe she should have run. when the police came, she should have testified that akira did nothing wrong. she probably would have had her life ruined by shido for the rest of her life, in that he’d probably go out of his way to destroy her career forever after, and she knew that, but hey, she should have stuck up for akira, right?

then there’s makoto--makoto who did some pretty colossally stupid things re: the yakuza incident, makoto who still had the nerve to love her sister despite her sister’s vaguely-immortal legal practices, makoto who didn’t immediately refuse kobayakawa when he arm-twisted her into doing his dirty work. what if makoto had decided that the letter of recommendation was more important? do you know how badly makoto shot herself in the foot by pissing kobayakawa off? that letter of recommendation might have been the difference between her going to the best college in the country to graduate as a doctor in law, and going to a run-of-the-mill college for a simple undergrad degree. her pissing kobayakawa off probably didn’t make her sister’s life any easier, for that matter; half the reason why sae acts as ruthless as she does is because there’s so much workplace misogyny against women in the justice system, and sae’s little sister being a shit to her principal probably didn’t help at all. so who’s to blame for all this? are we allowed to sympathize with makoto? how about sae? how about kobayakawa--makoto refused to help kobayakawa, and that directly contributes to kobayakawa getting fucked over by shido because kobayakawa wasn’t able to give shido what he wants. am i allowed to feel bad for him?

a lot of the cast of persona 5 doesn’t do anything even morally grey in this respect. the game goes out of its way to inform us that akira did Zero things wrong in trying to defend that woman from shido. ann is nothing but a perfect victim on her end, and is the model of a victim who resisted; she tried to run away, tried to tell kamoshida to stop, even had a good long sympathetic cry in an animated cutscene. haru is the exact same way. (ryuji gets put through the meatgrinder by his old track team for his actions, but if anything, ryuji has the opposite problem--he did everything right, and was punished for it. he’s the situation in which the woman stands up to shido and gets brutally destroyed for it.)

the point that i’m trying to make is that issues of victimhood and abuse get really messy. shido has a lot of dialogue that implies that he groomed akechi to do what he wanted, and there’s dialogue that tells us that akechi willingly volunteered himself for the role. both of those things can be true. we can acknowledge that akechi probably didn’t have much other options in his life besides his half-cocked plan to get revenge on shido. we can acknowledge that in all likelihood, i don’t think akechi ever really thought he’d live for very long; either he dies in poverty or he goes out with a bang against shido. we can acknowledge that simultaneously he probably did have other options that he should have chosen, like working a shitty low-wage job for the rest of his life because of his parentage.

so was akechi forced into this situation or not? if we can answer that question, things will be simpler, won’t it? we can say definitively: akechi had a choice, and therefore it’s his fault. akechi didn’t have a choice, and therefore it’s not his fault. 

so which is it? was he forced or not?

the truth about abuse is that the victim always has agency. always. ALWAYS. and because the victim has agency, it is often very difficult to say that the victim was “forced.”

the victim is always making choices for themselves. the victim always feels a modicum of control. the victim is always telling themselves that they could walk if they really wanted to; they’re staying because they’re going to make the situation better; they’re going to work hard and achieve their goals, even. this is the case of people looking at a battered woman and saying, good god, why doesn’t she just leave him? isn’t this a simple issue? is she being literally forced to stay with him? if she’s choosing to stay with him, is she really still a victim or a battered woman?

the truth about abuse is that it relies on pressure, and on limiting options. very rarely does abuse ever force anyone. in yusuke’s situation, there is enormous pressure for him to stay with madarame, both because of emotional ties, yusuke not having legal rights as a minor, yusuke not having the financial means to support himself, and simply the career prestige of having been madarame’s student--but is yusuke being forced to stay with madarame? arguably no. for the woman who accused akira, there’s pressure to do as shido says. but she has the option to refuse shido only in technicality, in the same way that someone being mugged technically has the option not to hand their wallet over, and consequently get shanked or shot.

as for akechi, there’s a lot of pressure to comply with shido, even when akechi feels like he’s doing it willingly, and even when akechi IS doing it willingly. there’s a lot of pressure to do terrible things such as murder, that akechi could technically say no to. akechi retains agency throughout his entire story, even when his agency is highly pressured to operate in ways that serve only shido’s benefit.

this is because akechi is a far more realistic victim than most victims of abuse in most media. he retains agency. and sometimes having agency means that you are highly pressured to do bad things.

this is the other thing about the “perfect victim myth”--a lot of it relies on arguing, “well, the victim is a victim because they had no other options.” that is to say, someone can only be a victim if it’s clearly demonstrable that they had no agency whatsoever in the situation. and this is simply not true. not of real life victims, and it shouldn’t be so for fictional victims.

and, not to mention, sometimes having agency means that you just straight-up do bad things because you’re coping badly. i mentioned earlier that i don’t think akechi intended to live very long, and that comes primarily from his willingness to sacrifice himself the instant he decides not to go through with his plan to kill shido. for a lot of kids in shitty situations growing up, it’s very difficult to see yourself growing up and having a fulfilling, happy future as an adult. if you’re not intending to live very long, why wouldn’t you consider all bets off? it’s not like you’re getting through this alive.

the other unfortunate fact of victims retaining agency is that they don’t always use it well, especially when they’ve been thru some shit, and this is almost always used against the victim to say, “well, you should have done this instead.” the entire thing smacks of ways to gatekeep “victimhood”--this magical status that lifts someone above criticism, above having flaws, and above the unfortunate status of being a human being. it’s a way of saying that certain characters are not allowed a right to their own pain because they didn’t fulfill certain criteria. it’s also a way of dehumanization, and avoiding the fact that real life is complex, and that doing good, doing bad, and even just doing living with other people is messy and often painful even at its best.

when someone acts out and makes bad decisions because they’ve been through a terrible situation or are in a bad headspace, obviously this does not excuse their actions, but it is possible to not excuse their actions and understand that people do not always cope well. coping is not always a cute waifish girl in an indie road trip movie. coping is not always a cute waifish girl crying in a bathtub. sometimes coping is being in such a headspace that you’re A-Okay with being murdered by your cognitive double because you don’t have anything else to live for. sometimes coping is latching on to the idea that if you just get revenge on the person who did this to you, maybe then you’ll be okay.

in the myths, the perfect victim is never responsible. the perfect victim is never an active player in their own lives. the perfect victim always copes well, according to the script, and never inconveniences anyone else. the perfect victim is always a heartwarming and uplifting story for other folks to feel good about. the perfect victim is, in a lot of ways, neatly packaged, bundled up, sanitized, and further dehumanized by removing their flaws.

i strongly do not recommend subscribing to the perfect victim myth. it benefits almost nobody, except for abusers who get to claim they didn’t abuse anyone because their victim didn’t fit the perfect victim model.

ultimately, my point is that i understand if akechi is not your cup of tea. lots of characters are not my cup of tea. i will never be a die-hard fan of, say, hifumi togo. i like her well enough, but she’s not for me.  you can dislike akechi!! nobody said you have to like him!!!

but i strongly dislike when people bring morality, victimhood, and rhetoric of abuse into justifying why they don’t like akechi.  but when you start talking about the reasons why akechi is the absolute worst and nobody should be allowed to like him because of reasons you’ve pulled out of the perfect victim fallacy, you’re doing a disservice to literally everyone everywhere who’s ever been in an abusive situation. no, not even that--you’re doing a disservice to everyone everywhere who’s ever suffered pain because of what someone else did to them. you become part of the rhetoric that invalidates people’s suffering and keeps us thinking of victimhood/abuse/trauma as a black and white issue.

and ultimately you’re doing a disservice to yourself, because one day, someone will hurt you, and you’ll believe that you don’t deserve to feel bad about it because you weren’t the perfect victim. 

do yourself a favor and quit it.

#meta #mine #tw abuse #tw suicide #tw just general rough conversation about trauma #i should probably mention that there's maybe no anti-akechi fan who will really read this #but it was cathartic for me to write at the very least

[galaxy-bread345]

Part One: Where’s The Foundation

This is an analysis of Jak/Keira’s relationship in the Jak and Daxter series specifically why I think it doesn’t work. This analysis only covers the first three games and potentially Jak X if I feel up to it. I will not be going over The Lost Frontier cuz I don’t see it as canon and I have no desire to analyze it. I will try to keep this analysis as unbiased as possible but understand that I have biases and they may slip through.That being said if this is a important ship to you and you don’t want to read someone being critical of it, don’t. 

Ok, lets begin with the first game The Precursor Legacy. Its established early on what everyone character archetype: Jaks the main protagonist/ hero, Daxter is the comic relief/ sidekick sorry buddy you are, and Keira is the smart friend/ love interest. As we see in the first cutscene upon meeting Keira both boys are obviously infatuated with her. Daxter tries his hardest to flirt with her throughout the entire game to no avail. Keira states it very clearly: she doesn’t date animals and shows blatant disinterest to his flirting. Jak doesn’t flirt with her, hes very quiet and shy around her. We know hes interested in her because of his body language. When she flirts with him hes blushes and becomes very nervous, looking everywhere but at her. He stares at her when she gets the Blue Sage’s machine to work with a dopey look on his face. At the end of the game, Jak and Keira try to kiss which is rudely interrupted by Daxter cuz hey they just saved the world why not celebrate by kissing your crush? 

This sounds good, right? There’s just one problem: there’s no indication of a working friendship. After reviewing all of Keira’s dialogue it can be broken down into three parts: 90% of it is talking to both Jak and Daxter about the zoomer or helpful advice on how to complete tasks, 5% is responding to Daxter with a sassy remark to his flirting and the other 5% of it talking to Samos. There is only one time she directly talks to Jak and thats when she tells him to be safe after pleading with Jak and Daxter to go save her father. Keira talking about a “brave adventurer” and batting her eyelashes at Jak is a direct remark to him while answering Samos’s question but not what I would call having a conversation with him. Neither of them talk to each other or act like friends would. There’s no jokes, no activity that they both are interested in that they do together. They have interests that are associated with each other with her being a mechanic and him racing presumably. She’s not involved in his shenanigans with Daxter and he never tries to get her to come along on the adventure. She is essentially a helpful and friendly person and I hesitate to even call her a friend. This goes for both of them. Jak doesn’t go out of his way to understand her projects and he helps save her father because he’s not an asshole not yet at least  he cares about Samos and wouldn’t want anything to happen to him regardless if he was Keira’s father or not. 

Their interactions with each other revolve on the other providing a service. For Keira, its someone to test out her zoomer and to be able to work on tech. The journey isn’t personal to her until Gol and Mia capture her father and are threatening to destroy the whole world. It wasn’t personal to her when Daxter got turned into an ottsel and him remaining an ottsel doesn’t heavily effect her either. She uses the opportunity of the boys needing to travel for them to test out her zoomer. She isn’t upset at least in the beginning or even distraught over what happened to Daxter. Tbh, the only one who seemed mildly upset over what happened to Daxter is Jak. Samos isn’t so much upset as rather disappointed that they didn’t listen to him. He jokes that if Daxter were to remain an ottsel then he could take care of the village rat problem so not much sympathy there. For Jak, he has someone to give him the technology to travel and the advice on how to complete tasks. His interactions with her revolve around acquiring tools and information. Its a service that anyone can do if they are a mechanic or understand the area. So there isn’t anything keeping him emotionally invested in knowing her as a person. In a hypothetical scenario, if Jak were to leave and go on an adventure he doesn’t need Keira so long as he has someone with the tools and information to help him. We know there are other ways of traveling, mainly by boat and there are older people who have more experience and knowledge of the terrain than Keira. She is a teenager much like him so there are going to be other people in the world with a more comprehensive knowledge of it because she has not lived long enough to acquire that information and experience. 

Simply put, there is nothing keeping them together as friends. Good relationships require a good friendship and the ability to communicate with each other. They don’t do that. What they have is shallow interest in each other because they find the other attractive and useful to their own benefits. It would be incredibly easy to write Keira out of the gameplay and have her dialogue be given to another character which does not support the idea that Keira and Jak are close to one another. On the other hand, if you were to write Daxter out of the game it would change everything. Partially because the goal is to change him back but also because Jak’s friendship with him is a central aspect of the game. Jak, even though it was accidental, is the reason Daxter is an ottsel. It was Jak’s idea to go to Misty Island at night to explore it. It was Jak’s idea to continue to wonder around even though there were lurkers in the area. It was Jak who pushed Daxter into the pool of eco. Jak made a mistake but he then tried to fix it because he cares about Daxter as a person. He cares about him as a friend.  Even though it got him in trouble he still went to Samos because Samos knows more about eco than he does. Even though changing Dax back meant fighting monsters and putting himself in danger he still did that. Even though changing Dax back meant crossing a bunch of terrain and doing tasks he might not have liked i.e. mucking through boggy swamp, dealing with giant spiders, suffering the cold of the mountains because dammit he needs powercells. RACING OVER OPEN LAVA TWICE AND DEFEATING A ROCK MONSTER WHO COULD HAVE EASILY KILLED HIM IF IT WERE NOT FOR ECO!! Jak went out of his way to help Daxter and even before all that the game already establishes them as friends because not only do they converse and have direct conversations with each other but they also have similar interests (adventuring/ exploring) and are established as hanging out to the point of Jak’s Uncle seeing Jak without Daxter causes him to question where his friend is. And its a two way street. Daxter looks out for Jak. He didn’t have to sit on Jak’s shoulder and also put himself in danger. We know he’s cautious because he is constantly pointing out danger and advising against doing something stupid/ reckless. He helps collect the materials they need to power the zoomer. It would be very easy for Daxter to argue that due to the fact he is now a tiny animal that he should stay in the village, out of danger ,lets something tries to eat him. The biggest thing of all is that Daxter never holds Jak’s mistake over him. After realizing that they need the white eco to defeat Gol and Mia, Daxter agrees even though this could mean he stays an ottsel for the rest of his life. Yes, it was a life and death situation but after the fact Daxter never brings it up. (If this fact is wrong please inform me, to my knowledge Daxter never brings it up.) He never gets angry or upset or even blames Jak for what happens. They both know it was accident but that wouldn’t stop Jak from feeling guilty over completely changing Daxter’s life. It wouldn’t stop Daxter from feeling angry and hurt over suddenly no longer being human. Jak and Daxter are friends and continue to be friends regardless of what happens because they are emotionally invested in each other. They don’t need a service from each other but rather they actively choose to be there for each other. This is what makes Jak and Daxter’s friendship believable and Jak and Keira’s not. This is why in the The Precursor Legacy Jak and Keira’s relationship doesn’t work because there is no solid indication of a working friendship to begin with. 

In the next post I will go over their interactions in Jak 2

#jak and daxter #jak & daxter #character analysis #Jak #keira hagai #daxter #samos #jak/keira #ships #me writing about relationships #also me let me just write an entire paragraph dedicated to jak and daxters friendship #cuz its sweet #I dont know if the keep reading link works on mobile #if it doesnt pls let me know so i can fix it #i want to make this easy to scroll past for the ppl who dont want to read this

[howtolistentomusic]

Dear people that think the Goodwill wants to sell your Ziploc baggie of used crayons: it doesn’t. That shit goes directly into the trash, right on top of your broken furniture. Surely you mean well when you donate, say, an old dresser with a busted leg. But good intentions can’t magically transform a ragtag crew of temp agency employees into proper handymen. 

If, however, you need an informed opinion on one of those homemade mixtapes that sometimes find their way into the warehouse, I might be your man. 

Once upon a time I managed to con my way into the world of online music writing. As one might expect from a blogger haughty & naive enough to write under the banner How to Listen to Music, many of my insights have aged terribly. But I was constantly learning from the best critics, journalists and bloggers in the field and HtLtM was gaining steam before my fragile discipline collapsed under the weight of increasing visibility. I still believe deeply in the merits of the template I created to analyze songs on Youtube, which was unlike anything on the internet before or since. Maura Johnston seemed to like it, at least. 

And yet I failed miserably at turning these creative endeavors into a sustainable career. So here I am, handling donations at my local Goodwill warehouse for minimum wage. Today old man Kenneth and I are inside the container, which is the detachable part of a freight truck the drivers dump on the dock for the roll-off team to unload. We’re placing the donations on the open edge for the guys outside to grab and toss into gaylords. Yes, the thick cardboard boxes with an open top we place on pallets to store donations in are called gaylords. And yes, my coworkers think this is hilarious. Death, taxes, and “they’re calling you!” from one roll-off laborer to another every time the term is overheard. 

***

“You dropped this,” Kenneth says as he hands me a crate of CDs. 

“If there’s no Justin Bieber, it’s not mine.” I say.

“You better cut that shit out!” David says. 

“He’s joking,” Donald tells David. 

I laugh.

“I know you!” Donald says.

“Dude, I’m a poptimist.”

“A what?“ 

Let’s start by pointing out that it’s a hell of a lot easier to be an "authentic” artist, as a certain orthodoxy of criticism dictates one should be, when your very existence isn’t under constant attack. You’re in luck, straight white dudes! Again. What a coincidence. 

Poptimism basically says nay! to all the noise. The Beatles go to Jupiter to get more stupider. Gaga goes to Mars to get more candy bars. Or college, I suppose, if your childhood sucked.

“It means I listen to pop.” Among many other genres, to be very clear. “Top 40. All the stuff you guys probably hate.”

“Bullshit!” Donald says.

I don’t know who he thinks I am but it’s clearly someone much, much cooler. 

“I thought you were smart!” David says.

“Am I no longer smart if I listen to Justin Bieber?”

“Nope!” says Kenneth.

“Oh shut up!” I say to the grizzled geezer. “Go jack off to Creedence.” 

“I’d rather get gang banged by CCR than listen to that little homo.”

You heard it here first. Listening to Justin Bieber: gayer than being gay!

“Really? Justin Bieber?” David says. “Wow. You think you know a guy.”

“Any recommendations?”

“Marvin Gaye! Stevie Wonder! James Brown!”

What’s Going On. Songs in the Key of Life. Think. These are all stone cold classics. I have a healthy respect for these artists but they aren’t in my regular rotation.

“Those guys are before my time. If we move up a few decades, I’m totally there. New Edition, Boyz II Men, Soul 4 Real …”

“Now we’re talking!”

“Bieber’s better though.”

David throws up his arms in wild exasperation, as if his favorite sports team just botched an important play. He doesn’t seem to understand that I’m trolling him.

To be clear, I do indeed listen to Justin Bieber’s music. “Baby” is catchy as hell, and the song’s DNA can be heard in other notable pop releases from the era such as Katy Perry’s blockbuster Teenage Dream and internet darling Carly Rae Jepsen’s Kiss. I also like “Never Say Never” if only for hearing Jaden Smith say “No pun intended / was raised by the power of WIll.” And for an album created by a former child star falling apart at the seams, Purpose has no business being as good as it is. Stand-out track “Love Yourself” contains the immortal roast “My momma don’t like you and she likes everyone.” And with its heavy utilization of short, staccato notes and sudden, dramatic rests, the song is my favorite example of a distinct style of guitar playing favored by many male musicians. Such “cool pauses” give these songs a slightly broken, incomplete feel that mirrors the artist’s self-assured “deal with it” tone and I love it.

Even Carlos, my arch enemy, likes “Love Yourself”. A while back we were inside the warehouse creating pallets of our best furniture to be sent to proper Goodwill retail locations. Supervisor Anna miraculously felt like hearing some contemporary hits that day and had the building’s three radios tuned to Live 105.5, our local top 40 station. “Love Yourself” played. 

“This is Bieber’s only good song,” Carlos told me. He tried to sing along but quickly lost the words. “Sing it!” he said. “I know you know it!” 

I wasn’t sure if I should be offended by being stereotyped or impressed by his accuracy. Nonetheless, it was true! I did know the words! I picked up where he left off.

”‘Cause if you like the way you look that much / Oh baby you should go and love yourself / And if you think that I’m still holdin’ on to somethin’ / You should go and love yourself.“ 

It wasn’t a particularly strong vocal performance but Carlos, somehow, was awed. 

“Daaaaaaamn!” he cooed. It was perhaps the only time I ever impressed him.

Carlos, in case it wasn’t clear, is an asshole. He’s the type of open misogynist that progressives, in our insulated internet bubbles, are shocked to realize still exist. My masculinity isn’t up to par with his standards and he likes to torture me because of it.

Carlos is off today but there’s a small part of me that wishes he was here. He’d have no trouble buying the fact that I listen to Justin Bieber. At the same time, I know I need to be careful. After all, Bieber is far from my favorite musician. But I can’t help it. Playing Bieleber is such a fun and easy way to rile up my coworkers.

“You need a lesson in quality, my boy!” David says.

“I’m all ears!” I say, but he just shrugs.

If I wanted to be really mean, I could point out that David just might be the true Bieleber in roll-off. See, David the Bieber-hating quality expert is the same David that sometimes drops me off at the bus station after our shift ends. More than once on these trips, a Justin Bieber song played on the radio. Did he change the station? Nope! 

David seems to be harboring a lot of hate for a musician whose songs he doesn’t even recognize. This doesn’t surprise me, of course, because Bieber hate is barely about Justin Bieber.

Leonardo DiCaprio. Robert Pattinson. Zac Efron. Boy bands. The Biebs. Celebrities like these are cut from the same cloth in that they’re overwhelmingly attractive in a way that draws ravenous, predominantly female fanbases. In turn, this provokes intense contempt and ridicule from traditional dudes everywhere. This is bullshit. It’s retaliation against open female desire that, in an affront to their entitlement, isn’t directed towards Man McAverage.

Evoking “quality” is no exemption from these kinds of considerations. Many people treat the word as if it’s an objective and universal set of standards everyone intuitively understands but this is nonsense. Quality is more like a self-shaped hole we attempt to carve into the world, both encompassing and reproducing our ideals, desires, prejudices, etc. It sure as hell doesn’t explain itself.

I’ve been immersed in the world of music writing for a long time. My favorite publications tend to be ones that upend the very idea of quality. The Singles Jukebox gathers a variety of writers to weigh in and score the same song, and reading wildly different takes on what makes art good or bad is enlightening. One Week // One Band achieves something similar by inviting a different writer (sometimes a professional, sometimes not so much) to take over the blog for a seven-day deep dive into a musician they love, with “no rules and no canon” dictating who that musician can be. And then there was Hipster Runoff, the defunct but brilliant meta exploration of taste and identity that often delved into the ingredients of quality that we don’t like to talk about. 

I think I ‘like’ them because they are differentiated from 'traditional music’ and 'modern indie music.’ When I listen to them, I exist on a higher plane of musical appreciation and consume products for 'all the right reasons.’

- Carles, the voice of Hipster Runoff, on Animal Collective

Quality shouldn’t be a Get Out of Bullying Your Co-Worker Free card. But after a lifetime of living with what is often considered bad taste, I’ve learned to be on the offensive just in case.

Try harder, fuckers.

#minwagepop

[softgrungeprophet]

it’s that time again. time for me to be annoyed/frustrated at the comics that came in the 20-teens that simultaneously responded directly to the 2000s, followed in the 2000s’ continuation, but completely glossed over and ignored the very serious topics that were brought up. and then we get the fucking 2018 run which does NEITHER and just seeks to make it worse for shock value without being even remotely thoughtful about anything it does! wow.

we could have had some really interesting growth for eddie and the symbiote’s relationship by honestly addressing things like eddie’s illness, hypocrisy as anti-venom, his status as a victim of abuse, and so on...

of course i know if i say “eddie is a victim” people will get hissy but like.... i’m not saying he’s an innocent blameless baby who was manipulated into being the weirdo he is... i’m just saying... he’s a victim of abuse. he’s been taken advantage of a lot. almost any help he’s received has required some kind of reciprocation.

he’s a shithead and he went off the deep-end after new ways to die because remender’s version of eddie fucking sucks, he’s smug and weird and violent, and also he’s been neglected and tortured and abused and experimented on and he needs therapy and blah blah blah

he’s also not some fuckin accidental drunk driver who was hit into thinking he’s innocent. that’s so fucking--jeez. everything about these retcons donny has been doing miss the point even more than the comics he says he loves so much. it’s wild. like i don’t like new ways to die OR new ways to live, remender’s run was okay but i hated the way he wrote eddie, marvel knights spider-man just sucks in general, the hunger 03 also sucks, but like they do feed into each other in a way that.... sort of makes sense....

i just wish there was a way any of the comics would have said, “hey look there are some ways in which eddie is a victim but there are also some ways in which he needs to take responsibility for his actions”

but that kind of nuanced take is impossible for the way these comics are put out and canceled and retconned and so on forever.. it’s so ... ugh.....

the hunger 03 sucks... it also influenced over a decades’ worth of Venom comics including costa’s in its own weird way.... and i just wish we could simultaneously be like, Yes the symbiote is not inherently evil or corrupting but Also it did abuse Eddie, and Yes Eddie has been treated poorly for a great deal of his life and Also is a motherfucker who needs to be held responsible for his actions.

Is this hypocritical to be like, “can we address the 2000s” while also saying “2018 run is not valid”

in my defense even the shitty 2000s were like a continuity and didn’t try to fully retcon every single aspect of venom lore that ever existed (tho it sure did plenty of retconning....) whereas the current run... is doing exactly that....

of course this goddamn run will probably also influence the following comics unless the next writers retcon the retcons or like, ignore it and it gets put into its own earth or something. idk. like no one really counts dark origin right? and that works cause it also had a negligible influence on the rest of the comics. but like, the bad hunger had a very lasting impact on the comics. so i guess we just hope that donny cates, despite currently selling super well, does not actually influence any of the comics that come after?

i don’t fuckin know. i just think it kind of sucks that like “eddie was abused” is something that gets used as either a “lol no that never happened and if you talk about it you hate the symbiote” or else an excuse to demonize the symbiote even after its own character growth arcs in the apparently supremely unpopular gotg and space knight stuff... lol

maybe if every fucking series from 2013 to 2016 (minus costa which is honestly more 2017) didn’t get canned we could have gotten more. like honestly, 2016′s Carnage--for all its flaws--seemed like it had something to say about Eddie as a character, about his flaws and so on, and I gotta wonder where that was going. It flat out says “Venom didn’t make Eddie Brock a bastard” so like? But then at the same time all of the symbiotes in that series were completely silent so? I don’t even know.

Cullen Bunn was clearly going somewhere too but I have no idea where other than “symbiote is alive but has trouble communicating” and “eddie is coming down from his murder spree as he realizes flash thompson is in fact helping people as agent venom”

the two fit together in a very strangely complementary way. sometimes i gotta wonder about a universe in which those two comics in particular ran concurrently to address venom, flash, toxin, and eddie’s many issues. but toxin’s probably gone... though in my heart they are with jubulile and her mom in south africa, learning what it’s like to be part of a loving family...

man. the resigned “Okay.” at the end of twav...... twav good imo.

anyway

i don’t even know what the point of this is. i’m all over the place in this post. it’s frustrating that donny has made it kinda impossible to bring up eddie’s victimhood without like... qualifying it to the ends of the earth to clarify that you don’t think he’s some kind of pure cinnamon roll who’s been dreadfully manipulated for 12 years....

I feel like I’m not making any sense!!! Words are hard.

I feel like I’ve kinda been avoiding writing about the symbiote though in part because it’s hard for me to balance that many characters and in part because of Donny’s stupid bullshit, which is dumb as fuck but I guess that’s what he wanted huh!!!! Need to read Lethal Protector to cleanse my palate but it’s taking forever to get it from the library because they only have one copy.

ugh

The symbiote is not an evil creature like he wants everyone to think... goddammit.... but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t carefully address both its and Eddie’s mistakes without fabricating new different mistakes to obscure the previous ones. Or whatever. Fuckin I don’t know lol the entirety of the continuity is just a bunch of bullshit. 80s-90s continuity largely separate from 2000-20...15ish continuity largely separate AGAIN from the 2016 continuity yet also directly tied to it, against completely separated from the 2018 continuity which is off saying “fuck you” to literally every venom writer to ever exist since Eddie’s conception, ironically including the guy who wrote the cursed hunger

What am I trying to say! I don’t know! i feel like a broken record. There’s a lot of empty space between Agent Venom and 2016 that was never filled! also between 2016 and 2018 lmfao.

Donny “everything went wrong and I’m not going to explain how other than ‘God’ and ‘Eddie lost his job cause screaming symbiote’“ Cates really pullin some shit. what do you mean eddie tends to work toward solving his own problems EVEN WHILE DYING. waid’s mini-story in NWTD showed that eddie, despite being sad and sick and exhausted was still like.... eddie, stubbornly searching out his own solutions and getting angry. ofc i’m not sure how well it succeeded at parts. the comics in those days were still pretty steeped in the weird symbiote hallucinations that it was never clear if they were meant to be caused by the symbiote or just eddie’s sick brain. like the Last Temptation. I have a love-hate relationship with those two issues... I think they’re pretty well-done but also something about them just rubs me the wrong way. 

Anyway back to Cates: it’s not like there wasn’t space for a spiral after FH or anything. You could have really dug into Eddie and the symbiote’s insecurities wrt family and parenting. but nah. let’s just make it so there’s a SECRET CHILD, and oh the pre-established sibling? we could have dug into her and made her a real character. but no, she doesn’t exist, women are either fake or dead or violated.

asshole.

but again like..... the 03 hunger, cursed and bad... like... it’s still workable. you can work with the corrupting forces, the addiction metaphor (on the SYMBIOTE’S part, with adrenaline) and the intense codependency, and still have them move on and into a healthier-by-comparison relationship.

but cates’ run is like... much harder to recover from if it has as lasting of an effect, because it leaves no part untouched, and goes beyond “normal” abuse into really weird unforgiveable territory... like the canon of that comic is the canon in which everything has been completely changed into something unrecognizable.

i joke about my AUs being unrecognizable because, visually at least, they WOULD be unrecognizable for most Venom fans, but the comics inform them as characters a lot in the stories i write in those AUs, from the 96 good hunger, to the 03 bad hunger, to space knight to venom inc, and so on. But donny cates really is out here essentially reverse-engineering retcons to justify his characterizations.

barely related: the way eddie was raised and the way he coped by overachieving and so on and so forth makes me think he would have--despite presumably gaining a great deal of confidence in college once out of his father’s home--been really vulnerable to being taken advantage of by like, other students or teachers, but idk how exactly to articulate what i mean like... uh... not even that he WAS taken advantage of but that his need for validation would have left him open to it... i guess??

that’s got pretty much nothing to do with this post though but kinda ties into what i’ve said before about how i think eddie was a withdrawn and isolated adolescent who only opened up in college. why i disagree with donny’s retcon for that reason in addition to other reasons--the way he’d been shown to be bullied as a kid in previous comics, as well as the lack of history of alcoholism, the clarification in lethal protector that carl wasn’t physical, so on and so forth.

again that’s not related to this post really... and it’s like, a good 50% headcanon, but it makes sense in my head as something that fits his history?? i guess?

#nadia reads venom #this is way too fuckin long what am i even talking about anymore i don't know #long post #this is basically half of what i think about 24/7 #sometimes u just gotta barf out a bunch of words #to organize your thoughts #now... did i succeed in organizing my thoughts? never.

[arse-blathanna]

always at your six - 3/?

Chapter 3 : open doors

[Ao3] [Fic Tag]

Fic Summary: The Mother of Invention went down barely a year ago, and the time in between has been rough for York and Delta. It’s been tough for Tex too, but she has information, and she needs someone to help her get some things before someone can beat her to it.

It’s a good thing York’s out of work.

Rating: M

Relationships: Eventual York/Tex/Delta.

Characters: York, Tex, Delta

Tags: Transhumanism, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, Background Relationships

Word Count: 10403

Chapter Summary: York and Tex storm an active Freelancer facility, and are finally able to start getting some answers.

Author’s Notes: This chapter took much longer than I would have liked to finally get out into the open. The next chapter should be up much sooner. 

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you like the chapter. 

"You see anything down there?" York whispers the question from his position on the ground. Tex is next to him, her elbow bumped up against his own.The two of them lie in the bushes near the Project Freelancer compound that the two of them had decided to go after. He can't see much from where they are, and even if he could, there was only so much he could do with one eye. For that reason, he’s keeping his eye on what’s going on directly around them (although Delta does more of the work running his motion trackers,) while Tex stares down a sniper’s scope.

If they were closer it would have been theoretically possible for Delta to try and hop into the systems at the facility, but as things stood that hadn't become much of an option for them. It's a good reason that Tex has a sniper rifle and is staring down the scope, making calculations much faster than York ever could on his own.

There is a slight pang of jealousy that York feels over that, which Delta seems to tamp down on his own. It’s a stupid thing to get jealous over anyhow. "There's nothing yet." Tex grumbles, not bothering to look over at York. "You could afford to make yourself useful though."

[Read it on Ao3]

"I'm plenty useful." York replies, stretching his shoulders in the process. "Just not at long-range. I thought you knew that when you came to get me. Need me to open a lock or do hand to hand, fine. Sniping and recon? That’s what I had North for."

He sees the way that Tex almost relaxes and looks at him from behind her helmet. The tilt of her visor says everything that it could ever need to say. Mostly, it says that she really wants him to just shut up, but York can't just do that.

See, York has this problem and has always had this problem and he knows that everyone around him hates it. York's problem is that since the day that he learned to talk, he has never known when he was supposed to stop talking. It’s a curse, one that makes him constantly run his mouth and get into problems he would have been otherwise. It's one thing in normal situations and in conversations where he's just likely to offend or put his foot in his mouth.

When it comes to being in the field, it’s even worse. He either clogs the radio channels with chatter or ends up compromising something. Breaking someone’s concentration. It's the reason he's been the recipient of too many "North outs" and the reason that he knows Maine couldn't stand him. South had hated it, Wash had been on the receiving end of one too many snappish comments, and Carolina was probably the only one that was able to scare him enough to make him shut up.

York's never been able to find a good way to explain that he runs his mouth when he's nervous. Delta's helped a little bit, but not nearly enough. It's part of the reason that he's now fidgety and nervous. He doesn't think that Tex realizes that he's talking so much for a reason. She probably assumes that he’s just being a pain, York thinks. If she thinks something else, then she probably just doesn't care all that much and just wants him to quiet down.

"I could have found someone else to help." Tex says plainly, and York clamps his mouth shut, shifting around nervously where he's lying. "Delta, are you able to do any sort of scan?"

There's the silence, and York feels a little bit of comfort knowing that Delta isn't going to start his usual projection. Sure enough, Delta's voice comes in over his and Tex's radios, but for York it's a bit much, since Delta is already in his head anyways.

It makes it almost like he has to hear his AI partner in stereo. But more like a migraine than just overlapping sounds. Not fun.

"Affirmative." Delta says to them both. On York's HUD, he sees his map light up, and he's sure that Tex is getting the same image. Almost all at once, and like North were there with them commanding them to do it, Delta was setting trackers and that was something that York could take comfort in. It’s a desperately missed part of a routine that he’d long fallen out of. "Targets spotted."

"What have we got?" Tex asks, letting her head lower again back down to the scope on her rifle. The way that she shifts tells York that she has managed to see something. He didn't know what she would have seen, but he took note of it anyhow. If there was going to be a fight, he was their first line of defense. York knows that.

"There are two guards at the front entrance," Delta begins to explain, notes appearing on York's HUD faster than the AI's voice could explain the situation. "It can be expected that there will be further reinforcements inside. Due to the facility's status as a Freelancer base, it can also be expected that there will be simulation troopers-"

Out of the corner of York's eye, he sees Tex tense up and it leaves him with a lot of questions that he is sure he won't get any sort of answer to. He'd been to a few Sim Bases since becoming a Freelancer, but York had always taken care to try and avoid being sent to them. He'd never had much taste for bloodshed, really. Beating up on idiots isn’t his idea of fun, at the end of the day. It never had been.

The two of them both let the statement hang in the air for a little too long though. York doesn't want to deal with guards and sims if they don't have to. Whatever is going on with Tex is her business, and he doesn't want to go ahead and pry. She has a right to her privacy.

What needs to happen is that the two of them need to be able to concentrate and do their jobs. Not focus on the number of things that could go wrong, or the people that are likely to get hurt in the crossfire.

York knew himself. He knew Tex. If it came down to it, both of them were prone to direct action.

Specifically, direct, improvised action.

He closes his eyes, reaching out for any connection with Delta because he feels that might be what he needs to make him feel a little bit better. Delta sends back a comforting pulse that runs down his spine and leaves tingles in its wake.

York swallows and lets himself try and take the lead. Even if he hates having to do it.

"Well," He says, keeping his voice even and desperately hoping that it wouldn’t betray his nerves. "If I've learned anything in my life, it's that where there's two guards, there's always going to be ten more, at a minimum."

"Where'd you learn that one?" Tex asks, and there is some rather obvious amusement in her voice. "One of your times setting off alarms?"

"Oh, you know, petty theft, war crimes, getting thrown out of malls, jaywalking. You know how it goes." York jokes, and he's starting to feel a little bit more calm. "D, I'm guessing you can't get in there just yet?"

"Affirmative." Delta responds, sending a pulse to York that is enough to calm him a bit. If Delta were human, if he'd had the ability, York knew that it would have been like a hand smoothing down his back. Or maybe a neckrub. "Although I can predict with an 86% probability that guard rotations will be occurring within the next twelve minutes."

York looks over at Tex, and she nods back to him. Both of them trust Delta plenty, and that was something that York knew Delta was more than well aware of. If anything, they'd been given somewhat reliable information. He was willing to take it and run with it.

"How are you so sure?" Tex asks, just looking for another confirmation that moving in was a good idea.

"My statistical matrix suggests that most Freelancer facilities with the exception of the Simulation Bases are run according similar schedules and with identical protocols." Delta explains, and York can all but feel him there, zipping around in the back of his head and going from memory to memory, bits of information to bits of information. "Past experiences have shown that the guard at a Freelancer base would change at 1 pm local time."

"So we've got ten minutes." Tex says, and she's already getting up. York doesn't like this too much, but he gets up just the same, stretching slightly as he prepares to do his job. "Ready up, York."

"Working on it." York says, letting out a sigh. "D, I'm gonna need you on my left." He says, and receives a quiet chirp in response that he's sure that Tex isn't able to hear. All at once, there's a sensation like his head is spinning and his vision changes and straightens out in a way that has never been even remotely comfortable. When he’d first gotten Delta implanted, there had been definite nausea. York’s glad that little side effect is gone for the most part.

"Acknowledged." Delta says once the two of them are ready. York blinks once, twice. Takes a breath and tries to get the dizziness to go away before it can become a problem. "Calibrating."

It's about the best that he's going to get out of Delta for a bit and York knows it. He just lets Delta take him along for the ride, and while he wants to let himself sink down into the little ones and zeroes and just be there with Delta while his eye adjusts to the neural intrusion, York can't allow for that to happen.

Within a minute, he's able to see on that side, at least to some degree. It's better than it was, when he could only really see lights and very vague blurred shapes. Delta sharpens the image just enough to heighten York's awareness, and York is truly grateful for it. Even if he’s going to come out of it with a headache later.

"Are you good yet?" Tex asks, and York can tell that she's completely frustrated with the waiting. He can't really blame Tex for it. "Or do we need to stand around more while our window closes?"

"I'm good." York says, making a determined choice that they weren't going to tell Tex that he was going to end up sick if this lasts much longer than two hours. The two of them stand up on the ledge, York checks his gun one last time. "Delta?"

Delta's words showed up on the text line on his HUD, and York is sure that Tex is getting the same image.

D: Synchronizing on Agent Texas' mark

York looks to Tex for confirmation that she’s ready.

She nods, giving a little gesture with the tilt of her chin, and turns towards the way down the cliff. "On my mark we're going down. We'll follow the blueprints that we were able to get ahold of to get in and make our way through the building until we reach the data storage." Tex stares at York. "Do you think you can handle that?"

"Me and D will have it." York replies, putting on his usual confidence. "Waiting on you."

She nods and the tilt to her visor tells York that she’s smiling. Confident, in her own effortless way.

"Mark."

"Sync." York snaps just as quickly as as Tex did. He makes sure to follow her from several feet back on the way down. The entire time, Delta keeps him with a constant stream of information. Always giving pointers on their surroundings, on places to take cover, and which rocks were the least likely to give way under him.

In a way, it almost feels like York is taking a backseat, while Delta pilots. It’s odd, but strangely comforting. It’s comforting in the same way that the quiet of the hillside is. Almost there, but not quite.

All that York really hears is the sound of their own footsteps. Tex shoots York a look that tells him quite clearly that the two of them needed to hide at around the same time that they reached the perimeter around the Freelancer Base.

Tex glances at him over her shoulder before leaping down, tucking herself away behind a small barrier. Before York even realizes it, her outline has melted away, along with her.

Shit.

Delta whispers to him. ‘It would be advisable to find cover.’

York can’t exactly find it in him to retort, so he just decides to wait and watch from the treeline. He can follow the slight shimmer around Tex’s outline, and watches her make it past the gates with ease. She slips into a small guard hut, and York waits patiently. Moments later, the first guard falls to the ground, unmoving, before the second follows suit in the same way, falling forward and his face smacking against the wall.

It’s about as good of a signal that it’s safe to move as he’s going to get. York checks his shoulders before gripping his shotgun tight and sprinting towards the base. He slips into the guard hut, where he finds Tex waiting for him.

“I’m going ahead.” She tells him. “Follow in four on my mark. And York?”

“Yeah?”

“Try and keep a low profile.”

York frowns and watches as Tex slips away from him, whispering a “mark” into her helmet radio which York can only answer with a sync. He doesn’t have much time, so York lets himself get up properly and casts a look around the hut. There are little displays showing security footage. Not much, but it’s something.

“D, try and copy this for me. Or keep a feed going in my helmet.” York whispers to his partner. Delta pops up by one of the screens and his projection flickers. Acknowledgement.

It’s a few seconds of waiting before York is able to confidently go ahead and slip out of the hut. He tucks himself into the shadows, watches the feed that Delta’s maintaining for him, and sprints from wall to wall. It’s somewhere around the back of what looks like an administrative building that York finds his way in.

It’s a vent, probably connected to some sort of internal filtration system. The cover for the duct is nothing special, and so York sees an easy opening. All that he has to do is dismantle it and get in. York checks the trackers, which Delta makes sure to flash for added help. Seeing that it was clear, York kneels down and gets to work removing his tools from the little compartment in his gauntlet. In this case, all he needs is a screwdriver.

York gets the bolts open easy enough, checks the width of the opening, and thanks science for the filtration technology on his helmet before assuming the position and readying himself to go in. It’s a tight fit, but York’s slimmed down since the Mother of Invention went down. For the first time, it’s something that he’s grateful for.

Once he’s inside, York pulls the vent cover with him and sets it in place, like it had never been moved in the first place.

He checks the text channel he and Tex are using.

TX: Where the fuck did you go? NY: In the vents. We’ll be there. TX: Don't blow this. NY: Me and D have a camera feed. We can get there. Meet us near the data center on the third floor. TX: Got it. With that communicated, York closes out the text channel and begins to crawl through the vents, the same way that he'd done in a time before the Mother of Invention, and then had adopted when he didn’t want to be bothered.

The only difference was that now if he did such a thing York wasn’t likely to see reprimand from the Counselor or going to get a slap on the wrist for his transgressions. This time around, if he was caught, York had reason to assume there would be a shoot on sight order. Or something.

It’s a chilling thought. One that York knows he can’t shake easily. He tries to push it to the back of his mind, and makes sure to keep moving.

He places special attention to silence, and works his way through with a mixture of guesswork and checking his trackers and cameras for signs of where he might have been. Tex has a cloaking unit, so York’s confident that she could navigate a building without getting caught. Even if she did, Tex would just kick asses and take names without being bothered.

But York really isn’t looking for a fight and he’s already in the damn vent, so he figures he might as well use it.

'York,’ Delta's voice chimes in his mind, and York can't even begin to do enough to hide his relief over it. 'There will be an opening coming up on your left side. It should lead us to a maintenance tunnel. With the main staff of the building on break, it is likely to be a good pathway.’

"Thanks D." York whispers, turning his head almost violently in search of that opening. It peeks out, just in the corner of his vision. York crawls closer and casts a glance down the tunnel- it’s empty of anything more than dust. And what looks like what could have once been part of someone’s lunch. No rats, that’s the important thing. He takes a filtered breath, steels himself, and makes the turn.

Thankfully, Delta’s already recalculating their path to the designated meeting place. York creeps forward and whispers to his partner. "Let Tex know we’re on the way for me, would you?"

"Acknowledged." Just like that, Delta flickers back away and his light went with him. York blinks and shook his head, following the vent until he was reaching an opening once more.

The good thing about vents, York knows after too many years of making bad decisions and breaking laws and occasionally crashing spaceships, is that they can act as a light source, and that they open easier from the inside than the outside. All that he had to do was press out on it, then the damn thing fell open a little too loudly with a clatter.

York hears the clang and freezes dead in his tracks before scrambling to reach out for the vent and pull it back into place. When York holds it there, it feels like he’s holding on for dear life. He lays there in the vent for a moment too long, looking for any sign that he was about to have company. Tex's voice comes in over the radio like a blessing. Or a godsend. Or something.

"How are you doing out there York?" She asks, her voice quiet. For the first time York wonders whether she's using her voice modulator to send a message without saying a word out loud. Knowing what she is, he figures that it's entirely possible that she could. He had just never considered the possibility before.

"Alright." York whispers, and he feels himself relax a little when he realizes for certain that the coast was clear. He takes a breath before slipping out of the vent and replacing the cover where it should have been. He doesn’t bother to bolt it into place. He doesn’t have the time for it.

"On my way."

"Good." Tex says, just as York is climbing into what is probably an old service elevator. It too, is thankfully empty of rats and York’s glad for it. "Delta, can you-"

"Affirmative." Delta responds, his projection jumping out from York's shoulder as the lift begins moving. All that York needs for Delta to do is see whether or not it was possible to speed the damn thing up or not. If they could get to the third floor faster, then that was a good thing.

"What's going on there, York?" Tex asks, and she sounds thoroughly annoyed with him at that point.

"In a service elevator, on my way up." York tells Tex, letting himself stand and stretch his legs. He leans against the wall, just for a second. "What's going on for you?"

"Third floor." Tex growls back at him, "By the data center you wanted me to meet you at. Where you should already be."

"Yeah, well I'm sorry that I don't-" York stops talking when he realizes that the elevator felt like it might have been moving faster. Delta had done his job, and is already beginning to show an updated version of the camera feeds that they had, trackers in motion for them. "I don't have cloaking, okay?"

"Yeah," Tex growls back at him, but there’s an edge of almost-softness to it. "I know."

"I'll be there in a minute." York whispers into his radio as he slips out of the elevator and into a hallway. He gives a quick check over his shoulder for company on both sides before hurrying his way down the hall, clutching his magnum just in case the entire way. “Promise.”

"I am real close to opening this door without you, York."

York winces internally, because he knows exactly what would happen if Tex did things her way. Mostly, every alarm would go off in the damn building and they were going to have something to deal with themselves. York really isn’t in the mood for a fight either.

"I'm almost there." York hisses as he slides around a hallway, skidding a little bit on the linoleum before finally seeing the door. "Just cover me." He asks, and just like that Tex seems to all but melt out of the shadows. She positions herself at his back as York finally got a first look at the door.

The second that he sees the lock mechanism and activation, York's stomach drops and his heart sinks. Holographic lock, because of course it was.

Like that, York realizes that this is going to be a lot harder than he’d initially anticipated. He glances back at Tex, unable to help the guilty feeling already starting to settle in his stomach. “Could use you out here, D.” He mutters.

On command, Delta’s projection appears by York’s right shoulder.

“Correction and detections only.” York tells Delta as he reaches out and taps on the lock mechanism. “If something’s weird, tell me. I’m not interested in that bullshit like-”

“Acknowledged.” Delta replies before York can even finish talking. The blue holograph leaps forward at him, too fast for York to track properly without perfect vision.

Showtime.

"Dammit, York." Tex hisses, looking back at him over her shoulder and seeing the lock- possibly for the first time. Hopefully for the first time. "You're going to be able to get this, right?"

"I’m really loving the vote of confidence, Tex." York says, flexing his fingers and allowing himself to slide them into the first layer of the mechanism. The little magnetic implants in his fingertips react immediately, and York can almost feel the give of the lock as though it were a mechanical one. Without that feeling, a holographic lock was unworkable. Since most people didn't have little implants in their fingertips or specialized gloves, that made holographic locks so much more secure.

But York, despite everything, is ultimately a professional, and he has everything that he needs to be able to do his job.

"How long do you need?"

"I don’t know. Could take a minute or two." York answers, doing his absolute best not to allow himself to jerk back from the lock and risk setting it off. He needed to concentrate, breaking it would get them both into trouble. "Could take longer. Give me 45 seconds at the least."

“You know that we don’t exactly have that much time.” Tex hisses at him, but she was there at his back anyways. York needs it, more than anything. More than he’s willing to admit. Even if he's about to be shot, he needs to know that Tex is going to be there covering him the entire time.

So York takes his first really good look at the lock, wracking his memory to remember which model it is because to say that he’s out of practices is probably generous and he knows it. York can’t even remember the last time he’d looked at a patent document. He hasn’t worked anything more than an encrypted lock in months. He pulls his left hand away from it, feeling for a twist or something that would give him an indication.

And there it is, the feeling of something twisting against his right hand. Just as quick, York slides his left back in and concentrates because it was an important first step out of the way. “I know that we don’t have time.” York mutters back to Tex. “But if you want to get us in without a chance of setting off alarms, you need to give me as much as we can afford.”

Delta lights the area between York and the lock, his light intermingling with the blue of the lock, which York has at this point identified as a Charon model, possibly a few years old. "Agent York," Delta starts. "I have detected an irregularity with the lock."

"What is it, D?" York asks, pausing because he has a feeling that he wasn't going to have much leeway if Delta was bringing up there being some sort of problem.

"There appears to be a purge trigger embedded into the lock." Delta explains, his hologram shooting into place beside York's right hand. "Should you trip an alarm, the sensitive data stored here is likely to be destroyed."

"And if that happens will you be able to do anything to get it?" York asks, doubling down on his work and concentrating as best as he can. He's glad that Tex hasn't heard this conversation just yet, if only because he knows that if she starts on him he's not going to be able to hold it together. The mission will crumble under his fingers the same way that every other one did once the pressure got to be too bad.

At least he didn't have the Director shouting in his ear this time.

"Negative." Delta responds. "I will continue to assist to the best of my abilities."

"Thanks." York mumbles, finally working his way all the way through the first layer of the lock and going down into the second one. "Could use your help here. I think it’s symmetrical."

Delta's hologram disappears, and York could feel a slight shiver run down his left arm as he recognized that Delta was sliding into place, taking over his nerves for just a bit so that the two of them could stay stable. At the very least, Delta can keep any tremors in check and match with York’s organic pace.

The two of them work together, opening the second layer and moving into the third. The third is the hardest to navigate by far, a mostly round ball of sorts with various bumps, edges, and ridges. York blinks, headache already beginning to set in and takes a deep breath. He knows what he needs to look for, he just needs to be able to find it. That's hard when it feels like his left arm isn't his own, and his vision is getting blurrier.

"Delta-" York hisses under his breath. "Look for a dividing point. If you find it, let me know."

"Acknowledged." Delta says, but the relative silence is worrying.

There's a gunshot that makes York jolt in surprise because he hadn't been expecting it at all. He holds his hands as still as he can, glad that Delta still has control on the left and looks over his shoulder to see that Tex has disappeared on him, and he doesn't have a chance to contact her or jump into battle himself.

"Shit." York says, reaching in deeper into the lock. "Delta, about that kill mechanism-" He feels like he should be shaking like a leaf but can’t.

"What the hell do you mean there's a kill switch?" Tex snarls from behind York, and he relaxes when he realizes that she's just cloaked.

"Don't mind it!" York replies, a little too quickly. "D, how much time would we have-"

"Roughly fifteen seconds." Delta responds. "We would have a 35% chance of success-"

"D, what have we talked about?"

"Not telling you the odds." Delta makes York twitch in the left leg, but not nearly enough to make him move around too much. "I apologize."

“Thank you, Delta.” York mutters when he finally sees the break that he was looking for. He takes a breath and doesn’t allow himself to release it until he’s slid his fingers into it and has begun to carefully pry it apart, twisting and turning it like it’s a padlock until the door opens with a click. York pulls his hands back from the door and stands up immediately.

Tex shoots him a very dirty look and while York feels the immediate urge that tells him to get out of there before she can punch him, he just makes his way into the room with her, and as soon as the door closes he hits the switch on the side of it to lock it back shut. At the very least, they weren’t going to have company unless its someone that can open it themselves.

“What the hell was going on there?” Tex all but shouts at York as he makes his way over to the computer. He’s already in the process of getting Delta to unhook. “Were you about to-”

“It’s done!” York responds as he pulls the storage chip that Delta’s put himself on out of the slot on his armor. “Don’t worry about there being a killswitch. We would have known if we’d set it off. We’re in”

“You mean if you’d set it off.” Tex growls back but she makes her way over to his side anyway. There’s the sounds of people on the other side of the door talking and making a commotion amongst themselves, but they’re going to have to make it work.

“Semantics.” York mutters as he makes his way over to the first computer he can see that looks like it would be useful to them. It’s a desk that has more notes and paperwork on it than others, so it feels like a good starting point. Even if they can’t get in normally, York knows that Delta has put together all sorts of functions to get them through a few measly passwords.

He drops down into the computer chair and slips Delta into place and waits for a moment before a small black command prompt box appears with Delta’s signature shade of green for the text. It's comforting, and York tries a few common passwords and old codes that he'd hobbled together during his time in Freelancer. When nothing works, Delta takes control and he watches as text appears in the command prompt, almost so fast that his eyes can't track it.

Tex hovers over his shoulder, her arm braced on the back of his chair behind his left shoulder. York feels a little apprehensive about it, but doesn't bring it up. She's quiet when she asks him about it. "So Delta's looking for files?"

"Files, schedules, just about anything that could be useful." York mumbles. "At the very least he'll be able to get us better blueprints. More up to date information-"

He cuts himself off mid sentence when a image appears on the screen, a real-time map of the facilities, with each person in armor marked, save for him and Tex. York blinks and looks over at Tex. "So I guess we did change Freelancer after all."

"Tracking their own men?" Tex asks, looking back at him for confirmation that was what he was talking about and that it wasn't just him running his mouth. York wants to be offended, but he can't find it in him. "Yeah, guess so."

"Delta," York says out loud because Delta will be able to hear him no matter what. "Can you copy that and send it to us?" He asks before getting a copy of the map sent to his helmet. York smiles behind his visor because there's no way that Tex wasn't gotten the same things.

Tex nods and decides that it's her turn to speak to Delta. "D, if you can just copy the drives." She commands, like she knows that there isn't even a single way in which Delta would even dream of disobeying the order. There's a quiet beeping noise, and a progress bar appears, and the two of them watch as it moves closer and closer to finished.

The banging at the door and the shouting gets louder. York swallows hard.

"Tex-"

"Yeah, I've got it." She responds. Tex takes a few steps away and out of the corner of his eye York watches as she cracks her knuckles, then her neck, and then flips a table into place to act as a shield of sorts. York isn't personally a fan, but they're going to need every advantage that they can get. Especially when they're already low on supplies. "Get Delta and we're getting out of here."

"Working on it!"

And yeah, York is at a point where he's beginning to panic. He sees Delta give the sign that it’s okay to remove his drive, and yanks it out perhaps a little more roughly than he should have. York makes a note to apologize to Delta for that later, but doesn’t dwell on it in favor of slipping the drive back into its slot in his armor.

He picks up his shotgun and jogs over to the door, placing himself securely at Tex’s side. The map that Delta had taken is beyond useful, and it gives York plenty to prepare for. Between him and Tex, the two of them are going to be able to fight through without too much trouble. It’s just a matter of the two of them needing some sort of plan to use.

“What do you think, Tex?” York says, pumping his shotgun in preparation for what was to come. “Who throws themself into the middle of the fight first?”

Tex shoots him a look from behind her helmet, and York raises an eyebrow from within his own. Already he has a bad feeling for what is coming next, and he really doesn’t want to see it play out.

“You first.” She says, standing up. “You’ve got the shotgun. Go in and give them a spray, then I’ll get us through here.”

York nods and places himself in front of the door. Tex slips into position at its side, by its control panel.

“I love that when they handed out upgrades,” York mutters while doing what he can to try and hide just how frustrated with it he was. “They decided that I was going to be the expendable one.”

"I'm sure they were just hoping it would shut you up." Tex responds as she waits, preparing to go in right behind York. She slips into nothingness, bringing up the comforting absence that the active camo unit in her armor can only provide. The two of them count down, both waiting until Delta gives the mark. It feels like an eternity, but Delta gives the command, and Tex bursts into action like she has a wire in her that was drawn so tight that it had finally just gone ahead and snapped. It’s at the very least, a break in the tension.

She slams her elbow into the control on the door and watches as it opens wide. York, already poised for a fight unloads the first shell he has into the crowd in front of him. She watches as they're knocked back and York flings himself into action in that way of his that bordered constantly on being a mix of stupid, reckless, and downright suicidal. He's trying to fight his way through on hand to hand combat alone, but that won't be enough.

She doesn’t leave her teammates behind.

Tex leaps in after him, using the space that she has to give herself a running start and launch into the fray herself, her feet directed straight at a visor. The man that she hits gets launched back into the wall, leaving behind a more than sizable dent. It only adds to the confusion, but by that point York is already slipping out and breaking into a sprint towards a window at the end of the hall.

Tex knows exactly where this is going, and has to wonder just how much of York's behavior came from working beside Carolina in the field rather than something logical like common sense or some sort of ingrained survival instinct. At the very least, she can trust that Delta is there in York's head giving instructions the entire way.

Not that it helps much, among the amount of gunfire and chaos whirling around them.

It doesn't matter at all once she flings herself out the window behind them and braces herself for the three story drop.

York lands in a roll and is on his feet and sprinting towards a mongoose as fast as he can, and Tex is quick to overtake him. She launches herself onto it and before she gets a chance to realize it York is behind her back, arms around her waist, and shouting in her ear that the two of them need to go.

She drives as fast as she can as far from the facility as possible, glad that she's the one steering because she doesn't know just how deep York and Delta have linked at this point and she really doesn't want to find out that York is really suffering as far as his vision goes the hard way. Tex just puts all of her focus into driving, and gets them out of there.

Hours later, the two of them are pulling up in the safe location that Delta had selected for them. Tex tries to dismount from the mongoose first, but only gets stopped by a particularly sluggish York. She helps him off and the two of them stagger inside for the empty bed so that they can finally look over what they have and put themselves to work.

York drops onto it wordlessly, and for the first time that night Tex realizes that there is bright red on his armor, and she can't be sure whose it is.

"York." She says, keeping her voice as hard and as commanding as possible. "Are you hit?"

"Just a scratch." York mumbles, sounding a little bit distant. There's a pause, and then Delta is projecting into the near emptiness of the room.

"Agent York sustained two bullet wounds during the battle. I have been at work with his healing unit attempting to repair the damage."

The thing about this is that Tex is glad to know that Delta is active and doing his job. York is as much her partner is he is Delta's, so neither of them can really afford for him to be hurt, but that doesn't keep her from getting frustrated with York anyways.

How long had be been in pain without saying so much as a word to her about it? How hadn't she noticed it in all of the confusion? It should have been obvious, but York hadn't said a word. Maybe it had been the adrenaline rush keeping him up.

"Thank you, Delta." Tex says to the AI, knowing fully well that it is all that she is going to be able to say at this point. Talking to York directly is probably going to be out of the question for a little bit- at the very least it is until she knows what she is actually dealing with on his end. "You know we couldn't have done any of that without you."

"I am here to assist." Delta responds before his projection flickers out, just as quickly as it had first appeared. She feels a certain affection towards Delta. The two of them will probably talk that over later, but for the time being, she needs to look after York.

Tex sets her things down on a small table that was tucked into the corner of the room that the two of them were calling home. She begins to slip out of her armor, bit by bit until she is only in the undersuit that feels as much like skin as the synthetic texture that covers her bones.

"So," Tex says, not bothering to look back over her shoulder at York. "How long have you been bleeding out?"

"Around the time with the window." York mumbles. He shifts a little bit in the spot where he's laid down. Tex takes a seat nearby, watching how York's back rises and falls. There's an almost stutter to it, and that's when Tex realizes that York is drugged up and undergoing some sort of microsurgery. "I've been through worse.” He says it like this is routine. Something that he can just be used to.

"You know that isn't an excuse." Tex responds to him. York shifts on the bed, reaching for his armor and taking his sweet time to get at the storage slot on it. She watches him fumble with it before removing the chip in it and offering it to her. Tex takes it, feeling it beneath her fingers.

If she wanted to, she could probably pull away from herself and try to sink down into the code and see what is on it for herself. Tex doesn't know if it would freak York out at all. She just sets the chip down on the table before walking over to the bed and seating herself on it.

York looks up at her, his mismatched eyes still hidden away from her behind his visor.

"How're you doing, anyways?"

"Delta'll put me back together." York mumbles, clearly exhausted. "Just gotta..." He picks his hands up and Tex can see the way that his entire body seems to tense with with the motion. "Just gotta let him do it."

She reaches out for York's hands and gently presses them back down to his sides on the mattress. They go with her, weakly. Tex feels a pang of something terrible, so she looks over, reaching out for Delta already.

Without her needing to say a single word out loud, Delta is there.

"It will be unsafe to remove York from his armor fully for some time." Delta explains, having clearly already predicted what Tex had wanted to ask him about. "He may need to remain in his breastplate for at least another hour."

"Can I get his helmet off?" Tex asks, because something about making York lie there in armor when he is already in pain seems cruel.

"You may." Delta says, his head bobbing and his projected gaze settling on York's face. "I will be able to maintain his medication and microsurgery without it."

"Thank you, Delta." Tex says. "York, can you-"

He tries to pick up his head, but before he has to do anything extra, Tex has her hands on the sides of his helmet, supporting it as they slid down to the catches on it. She hears the air hiss out, and removes the helmet as gingerly as she can.

York's head settles against her thigh, and he looks exhausted, in pain, and far away from her. His hair is matted with sweat and messy. He’s pale. None of it looks good on him.

"Hey, Allison." York mumbles, the words coming out slurred. "I feel floaty."

"You would, York." Tex laces her fingers through York's hair, petting it down gently. It sticks up insufferably at the front, and she is surprised to find that there isn't even a touch of gel there.

York's eyes slip shut in a way that tells Tex that he is more than just a little bit content. For a long time the two of them sit there, with York all but asleep or unconscious while Tex does what little she can to offer him comfort.

Her hand passes through his hair again, and Tex feels the gentle press of his head into her touch. She sighs, even though there isn't any reason for her to do so- its one of those things that she realized early on that she could do. It was along the same lines as blinking- it didn't do anything for her, but it made her blend with humanity more.

"We got it." York mumbles when he's finally coming back around. "The data, we got it, right?"

"Yeah." Tex answers as she pulls her hand away from York's hair. He seems to take the lack of contact with some sort of disappointment. Instead of complaining York lets out a huff and pushes himself upright.

"D?" He asks, his voice small and meek in ways that didn't even begin to suit York. "Can I get out of this stuff yet?"

There is a long pause, and Tex watches York get this almost shy inverted look that crosses his face. He smiles just slightly when he apparently hears something that he likes, and Tex watches as York climbs out of the bed on shaky legs.

His hands tremble as he begins to get at the catches on his breastplate, and when it falls to the ground carelessly Tex can't help but cringe. York is probably too exhausted to care at the moment, if the way that he just immediately strips down out of his undersuit is any indicator.

Apparently the fact that he has more than a little company is something that doesn't occur to York much either.

Something down in Tex, buried deep in her own code tells her that the best thing to do is avert her eyes. York is military, and she is too. Between the two of them there should be no care towards nudity whatsoever, but Tex worries anyways.

She doesn't though. Her eyes fall on York's form as the undersuit slips off of his body and reveals the golden tan skin beneath. The fresh scars are there on his shoulder, and York cranes his neck a little bit to get a look at them.

Really, the work that York's healing unit is capable of doing is nothing short of impressive. He has a new scar formed, red and angry and probably sensitive. York reaches out and lets his fingers prod at the wound gingerly. His wince speaks for itself.

"You're going to be fine, right?" Tex asks, leaning back on the bed and watching York. The best thing that she can do is distract him away from her presence. They are there to do a job, everything else is on the side and there isn't room to let themselves get distracted, regardless of what was going on.

"Should be." York says, sounding a little off when he talks. "You know, I would love to do something that doesn't require me to get shot for a living." He turns back to her, standing there in little more than a pair of black compression shorts and a knee brace on his left leg. She hadn’t realized that he uses a brace or anything of the sort.

"I can imagine." Tex responds. York walks over to join her on the bed and leans forward, detaching the brace from his leg and letting it drop down onto the floor with the same lack of care as he'd shown with the breastplate. She ends up on his left, and can only notice the patchwork that his skin is on that side.

It starts with the scars on his face, but his legs and arms had only been so protected. There’s also a mess of tissue around his waist where the shrapnel had clearly gotten him.

The guilt that stabs at Tex is very, very real.

Despite all of it, he's... attractive. In a way that nobody really had been to her before aside from...

She doesn't let herself follow that specific line of thought. For both of their sakes.

York settles though, leaning back into the bed and reaching out for a blanket so that he could pull it over himself. Tex watches him and decides to lie back herself, because maybe being there and joining him isn't such a bad idea. She doesn't have to think about how good he looks there in the hotel light. She can think about how he is there, alive and real and all in one piece.

Tex stands up and takes a few steps away from the bed to slip out of her own undersuit. She hears the creak of the bed, and when she glances back over at her companion she realizes that he is watching her.

Something in his expression is off though, far away and distant almost like...

Tex shakes the thought and turns to York, crossing her arms over her chest once the top she was wearing under her armor had been tugged down. "Is there a problem?"

She glares daggers at him, and for a second it seemed like York as going to shrink back. Instead he holds fast, the bob of his throat  obvious when he swallows. His eye is glued to her.

"Nope." York mumbles. His voice is cracked, just slightly. Tex doesn't have to imagine the effect that she is having on York.

She rolls her shoulders though and walks back over to the bed before dropping onto it next to York.

York turns onto his side, slow and careful so that he can face her before reaching out for a blanket and tugging it over himself. His eyes seem to slip shut, but there's an uncomfortable pinch to his expression. He must be talking to Delta, Tex realizes. What they could be talking about at that point she doesn’t know.

Tex lies back in the bed with York though. She doesn't need to sleep but playing along for a night like she can doesn't seem so bad. The situation can be intimate in itself without her needing to sleep.

The two of them lie there for some time, side by side. York's breathing never evens out all the way, which leaves Tex fretting over whether he could have had some lung damage.

Finally, early in the morning, York speaks.

"This is weird, right?" He asks, voice barely even choked out for her to hear. "I mean-" He shakes his head. "You have someone else, right?"

Tex hesitated because that was a question that there wasn't an easy answer to. By all technicalities she had someone- but it wasn't clear. It wasn't something that she had ever had a choice in. It wasn't something that she was ever going to be able to truly heal from.

No matter what, Tex was left with the gaping hole of memory in her. She had been taken and used, and she hates it.

It was complicated, and at this point Tex didn't want to deal with complicated anymore. She wants to be able to rest and leave the things that Freelancer was behind her. She wants to be able to leave the person she was meant to be behind.

York doesn't deserve complicated anymore either.

"I don't know what I have." Tex says, keeping her voice down and turning her head so that she could meet York's eyes. He watches at her with some sort of expression that she had only seen him give others. "I guess that I could ask you the same question though."

And just like that, Tex saw all of the life in York's eyes die. He looks away from her and lays back down again, settling his hands on his ribs like that was going to make him comfortable. It couldn't have been.

There's a slight twitch to his neck, and Tex reaches out to touch York, but stops, her hand hovering inches away when she gets a ping from Delta that feels like don't.

"York?" Tex asks, bringing her hand back down. He ignores her, turning onto his side and curling into himself. For the first time since she and York reunited, Tex realizes that he is too small. He's getting muscle back and eating regularly seems to be helping but-

He's broken.

"I don't know." York mumbles. "You didn't-" He starts to say something and only cuts himself off, letting out an audible groan in the process. His head thumps into the pillow a little too hard and Tex imagines that is something that Delta is far from happy about. York curls up more, reaching back to place a hand over his neural implant port, where Delta is resting.

"York, you don't have to-"

He takes a deep breath, shuddering and too far away. "This is so fucked up." He chokes out, his shoulders trembling as he gets the words out. It sets off alarms in Tex's mind that this is wrong. Something is wrong.

She decides to sit quietly and wait instead of acting directly. If he wants to talk, then Tex will trust that York will do that himself.

Finally, she watches him push himself upright, the puckered pink scars that were fresh on his skin moving with the motion. York grabs at the blanket on the bed and tugs it over his shoulders, almost burrowing into it for comfort.

"You didn't know them like I did." York says finally, his voice far away and quiet. "And you're asking me to-"

Tex blinks. "So there is someone else then?"

York doesn’t say anything, but the vague gesture that he made with his hands managed to say even less than he could have out loud. "I don't know." He mumbles finally. "You're asking me to quantify things that-"

"York?"

He's quiet again, his face with that pinched inward look that it always gets when he is talking to Delta. There's a slight nod from York, him hugging himself at the same time. Tex watches his entire body tense all at once before relaxing once more.

"Agent Texas," York's voice says, but it isn't quite him. The intonation is wrong and so is his cadence. "Agent York has asked that I assist him in this conversation. I hope that is alright."

Tex is definitely peeved at that, because she now knows that York is trying to dodge a conversation that he doesn't want to have. She isn't even sure that she wants to know what his answer to her question was anymore.

"That's very kind of you, Delta." Tex says instead of giving a reprimand. She can trust Delta, she is sure of that. York can't lie for shit, but Delta will at least give the truth. "What does York need you to say?"

"He is having difficulty with the word retrieval required for this conversation." Delta provides, York's expression passive and distant as he speaks. It's almost jarring, seeing the puppetry in motion and without a suit of armor in play. York's right eye stares straight ahead rather than at her. "I must ask for your patience with him on this matter."

Tex’s brow furrows because there is absolutely nothing right about this situation as it is now. She watches York’s face, knowing that it isn’t really him there under the hood. It’s just Delta, taking over and doing things that will inevitably leave York feeling exhausted, even more than he already was that day.

“Sure thing, Delta.” Tex says, mostly at a loss for anything else that she could have said to the Ai on the matter.

Where York would have done more or been more expressive, Delta just gives the absolute slightest of nod. He seems to take a conscious breath, but then begins to speak. “Agent York’s relationship to many of the Freelancers was complicated. He has yet to properly deal with these feelings and finds them upsetting.”

“What do you know, Delta?” Tex asks, knowing that she can at least try to get something out of him. “That he won’t tell me.”

“I only feel at liberty to give so much.” Delta responds to her, York’s voice still coming out stilted and his expression still distant. "I will only say that his romantic entanglements amongst your squad were often left undefined."

Tex can't help but feel some sort of guilt over that, because there were certain things that were known around the Mother of Invention that she had realized. While the Director and Counselor didn't necessarily know everything, there were open secrets among the agents. Once which she had eventually heard whisperings of while she was there.

York had once had something with Carolina- the specifics were unclear on that one. He’d had something with North Dakota as well, but nobody had ever said what that could be. The point was that York slept around and everyone knew about it. Tex had only found out about it through the grapevine, but had never had reason to confront York about it.

It only made sense that it would be upsetting for him to try and talk about.

"I understand that, Delta." Tex says. She sits up and slips into the space that's at York-Delta's side. Delta gives only the slightest response, but it is so far from human in nature, even if he is attempting to match York's usual mannerisms. He shivers, and it ripples through York's body more like electricity than water. "I just wish that he and I could be honest with each other."

"I understand." Delta responds, York's grey eye flicking down to the ground for a second before flicking back up and straight ahead.

Tex realizes that Delta was avoiding looking at him for some reason.

"Delta-" Tex says, since this is at least a chance for her and the AI to talk without anything complicated happening. They should probably give York a chance to rest, all things considered, but-

But it's a chance to be with Delta, and for them both to feel a little bit more real.

"Agent Texas?" Delta asks, his head moving in a way that managed to look stiff. "Is there something wrong?'

"No." Tex replies, watching the AI in York's body. She picks her hand up and reaches over for the two of them, placing a gentle hand on York's shoulder and wondering whether or not Delta can feel it, or whether he’s able to derive comfort from the gesture. "I just wanted to let you know that you did well today."

"I am merely here to assist." Delta responds, and for a second Tex could have sworn that she'd seen the quirk of a smile beginning to form at the edges of York-Delta's lips. "Your performance should also be commended."

Slowly, carefully, Delta began to turn towards her, York’s full body moving with the puppetry. He picks up a hand, like he is testing the waters and reaches out for her and places his hand on her arm. Tex almost wants to shiver, even though it doesn't do her synthetic skin any benefit.

York’s fingers are rough and calloused over. They don’t suit Delta.

"That's very kind of you, Delta." She says, keeping her voice down and feeling almost afraid to see what would happen if she said much more. "I just wanted to thank you."

"I consider that to be unnecessary." Delta says, York's eye flicking down to the space between them and his face looking a little bit sad. "But I will thank you."

Tex lets her hand travel up York's arm, and she can practically feel Delta under it. She lets it move up and up and up until she is cupping York's scarred right cheek.

Delta stares ahead at her, mouth opening just slightly for... some reason.

It feels intimate, in a way that interaction with Delta never has. Like something has been stripped back away into something raw.

Tex wants to kiss him, but she can't bring herself to when she doesn't know how conscious York is underneath it all. Not when she doesn't know if he has calmed or if he's still upset. She feels a pull for Delta, the same that she did towards the Alpha, but the feeling is too hard to deal with and confront.

No matter what, she always finds herself wondering just how much control over those feelings she actually has.

It's part of what makes keeping York around feel safe. She chose him, for better or for worse.

She doesn't know if she can choose Delta or not. She doesn’t know if it’s even possible.

Delta's eyes slip shut though, and Tex is too aware of the way that he tilts his cheek into her touch. Tex lets her thumb caress the scarring by York's eyes.

When they open again, the clarity is back in York's expression, Delta apparently having slipped back to where he belonged again. York seems less tense, all things considered.

Too intimate, Tex tells herself just before she tears her hand back to herself.

York smiles very weakly at her. "Hey." He croaks out at her, soft smile on his lips now that he's calm again. "Happy to see me?"

"You have no idea." Tex answers. She pulls her hand away and for a second she could have sworn that York was trying to chase her touch. Instead of thinking about that, she pat the space on the bed beside her. "Why don't you try getting some sleep?"

York nods and she watches as he lowers himself back down to the mattress, grabbing at a blanket and pulling it up over himself loosely.

Tex looks down at him as he makes himself comfortable, and feels something terrible akin to heartache.

It isn't worth dwelling on. She lays down beside him and tries to power down, listening for the way that York's breathing eventually evened out.

#agent york #agent texas #delta ai #rvb #red vs blue #york/tex/delta #oops my hand slipped #mantiswrites #always at your six

[waqasblog2]

SEO Checklist: Never Forget Anything About SEO Ever Again

Original Publish Date: May 8, 2015 Most Recent Update: January 16, 2019

Why You Need An SEO Checklist

Yup, never.

Some 8 years back, when I was just starting to get serious with this SEO thing, I scoured the Web for an SEO checklist that would help me remember all these new things that I was learning.

I found nothing.

Besides a list of linking strategies that included profile links, forum signatures and spamming bookmark sites, I never really did find a good one.

It would’ve made it exponentially easier for me to learn SEO if I could have printed out something and marked it off manually back then. I could review it, internalize it and plan out tasks better.

Time traveling to the present day: I snapped out of my unproductive daydream, I put my glass of wine down and I told myself to stop reminiscing about the past.

Then it dawned on me. Why not make one?

That small epiphany became this blog post and infographic. You can also download a bonus printable version at the end of the post, which includes local SEO checklists that aren’t in the infographic.

Click here to download a free SEO checklist that you can print out and use today, whether you are still learning the ropes or already running an SEO campaign. PLUS, bonus local SEO checklists that are not found in the infographic.

Grow your digital presence to get more leads with this FREE newsletter (and free resources)

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I wanted this SEO checklist infographic to be the longest infographic you’ve ever seen… literally.

I know the stats about how it’s not ideal. How it’s not the best thing to do and how stupid an idea that is to make such a long infographic.

Sometimes, you just need to do something different.

Besides wanting this to be remembered as the longest infographic about SEO ever, I wanted it to be REALLY useful.

There are a lot of people out there that can benefit from this, much like I would have if I am starting all over again today.

So, with that said, let’s get started with some quick explanations of why I think each one is important.

Research

Research is arguably the most boring part of SEO for many, but I personally love it. You have to embrace the research part to get a feel of what you are up against and what you will be doing.

Your whole SEO strategy will depend on your depth of understanding so DO NOT ever skip the research phase.

Market Research Market research gives you a feel of the whole landscape.

Chances are, you will be working on a more specific website. By doing market research, you open your mind to what’s out there, what they are doing, what’s working for them and so on.

Look around, vertically and horizontally. The information you learn here will come in handy when you start creating your SEO plan and link building strategy.

Niche Research It’s time to niche it down. Who are you going up against directly? What’s the overall state of the niche when it comes to SEO? What types of results is Google showing you when you search? Local? Maps? Mostly Yelp? Video dominates? Are news sites being shown?

Knowing these will help you prioritize what you need to do to get visibility as soon as possible.

Competitor Research Who are your direct competitors? What are they doing? How aggro are they?

Compile your direct competitors. Search using the keywords you are targeting on Google and list down all your competitors.

Compile their link profiles, identify which site is getting the most links, note down the link types they have and what their audiences are sharing.

Keyword Research Now that you have done your competitor research, you can use the data for this phase.

You’ll be able to see the keywords they are ranking for based on the anchor text from their links and you can use tools like SEMRush to find out what other keywords they are ranking for or bidding for.

Compile those keywords and add your target keywords into a list.

Whip out Google’s Keyword Planner, paste the keywords in and watch the magic happen.

You’ll get a ton of suggestions you would have never thought of in the first place.

Data Gathering Now, it’s time to start compiling the data you’ve researched and gather some actual stats about your website.

Compile the initial keywords and backlinks you’ve acquired from the research you’ve done above. Put them into organized lists.

You also need to answer things like: What’s the current status of your website vs your competitors? How optimized are their websites? How many links do they have now?

You need to activate Google Analytics so you can get data about the site you are working on.

You need to crawl the site you are working so you can have the data by the time you get to the on-page SEO phase.

Google Search Console

We love today’s version of Google Webmaster Tools. You can get a ton of data simply by using this.

You can:

Check for crawl errors

Check for penalties

Check if the sitemap has been submitted already

Check HTML improvements needed

Check for broken links

Grab all the data you can and fix them now or until you get to the on-page SEO phase.

Bonus: You might also want to submit your site to Bing’s Webmaster Center. Just for the sake of it. Just do it.

On-Page SEO

This often gets the most criticism from die-hard link builders but nowadays, a lot of them have come to accept on-page SEO as a major part of the overall SEO process.

Today, a lot of pages can rank purely from relevance and good on-page SEO work so never neglect it.

General

For those that are new to SEO, you might not be aware of some of these.

These are best practices that you must apply early on and throughout the life of your website.

The following items are very basic so if you have questions about any of these, please feel free to ask in the comments area.

Start with these:

Add an XML Sitemap

Add Navigation

Add Menus

Use Breadcrumbs

Add a Robots.txt file

Check for Canonical

No-index thin pages – Tags should definitely be no-indexed. Category pages that don’t have unique content should be as well.

Fix all the problems found in Webmaster Tools

Title – ensure keyword presence / check for H1 tag / use long-tail keywords

Check Meta Tags

Fix all pages missing Meta Titles (Stick to 60 characters)

Fix all pages missing Meta Descriptions (Stick to 150 characters or less)

Fix all images missing Alt Text

Check h# tags (e.g. <h1>, <h2>, etc.)  and order them properly.

Optimize Content

Now it’s time to check your site’s existing content.

For many of you, you will be thrown into a project for big website that’s pretty messed up, with content that has been built over the years.

Do not be afraid to change the content if it will improve it and do not hesitate to cull those worthless pages.

Review Visual Design

Keywords

LSI keywords – Use LSI keywords to make your content more relevant.

Publish the usual static pages (Privacy/Terms/Sitemap/About/Contact/Etc.)

“Try” to keep indexed pages static

Refresh or update your site’s content regularly

Monitor Bounce Rate

Externalize Code (CSS)

Performance Tweaks

The performance of your website is IMPORTANT, especially in today’s SEO landscape.

Though the Mobilegeddon update has been underwhelming so far, it will become more important as time goes by so fix your website today.

Check multi-browser-friendliness

URL Optimization

Your URL structure can be easily neglected but it can have a good impact on your rankings and even user re-call.

The best practice is to keep it as short as possible, aim for below 100 characters.

Incorporate primary keywords into the URL

Use absolute URLs

Simplify dynamic URLs with mod_rewrite (Say no to dynamic URLs when possible)

Use 301 redirects for rewritten URLs

Set up non-www to www redirect (or vice versa)

Using Schema

Less than 30% of the websites out there actually use it. Take advantage of that. Schema is here to stay. It doesn’t mean that it’s useless because Google Authorship is dead.

Though its direct impact to SEO is still not actually “proven” in a concrete way, it’s indirect effects are actually very obvious.

Whatever you believe, like I always say, optimize everything and you will succeed in SEO.

Refine/add markup for possible schema (Official Logo, Articles, etc)

I highly recommend that you check out SEOGadget’s (ok, BuiltVisible, I miss the name…) guide on schema over here.

Off-Page SEO

Clearly the most popular part of SEO is your off-page work, more commonly referred to as link building. It is where you want to spend the bulk of your time besides planning and creating your content.

Some of the strategies below are old-school, some are new and some are really niche specific. If you have question, feel free to ask them in the comments area or you can start a new conversation over here.

Set Up Brand Alerts Setting up Google Alerts, TalkWalker and Mention are practically staples in any SEO campaign today. Moz also has neat built-in tracking tool, so if you are a subscriber, be sure to make use of that.

The reason you’d want to do this is that you want to know immediately when someone mentions your brand (and any other relevant keywords) anywhere in the Internet.

This allows you to track your reviews, negative press, blog mentions, forum questions and more! You’ll have the chance to get a backlinks by jumping in early and you also get to build better brand loyalty by showing that you care enough to respond to their posts or issues.

Find Unlinked URL’s and Brand Mentions If you are working on an established site, then chances are, there will be a ton of unlinked mentions out there for you to take.

Tip: There are a lot of ways but start with the simplest method by using Google

Brand -Brand.com (LeapFroggr -leapfroggr.com)

Competing Company Links Find your competitors, look around vertically and horizontally in your niche and category.

Compile them and check their links. Then go out and get those links. They got it, why can’t you?

Ranking Competitor Links Search for your target keywords and find those direct-ranking competitors. Chances are, you won’t see a lot of them during your competitor research phase.

Now compile these sites and check their backlinks.

Find Important Links Using Link Intersects Basically, you want to find the links that already link to your competitors.

Why? There’s a higher chance that you can get those links quickly.

You can use Excel after you export your competitor backlinks to see which domains link to them but for those rare SEO’s that don’t really like spreadsheets (like me) – then CognitiveSEO has a tool for it, so does Link Research Tools and as well as Moz.

Create Social Media Profiles Create your social properties and make sure to put a link back to your website.

If you can’t use them yet, then treat it mainly for branding purposes and to reserve the name when the time comes that you might actually need them.

Broken Link Building Broken link building is basically a strategy to start a conversation with a webmaster.

You give them something and they might eventually do you a favour. That’s the basic idea.

Knowing that, you can get creative with it. Here’s a great article from Erika about broken link building.

Richard Marriott over at Clambr also put up an awesome tutorial.

Utilizing Relevant Pinterest Boards Join or ask to get invited on Pinterest Group Boards. PinGroupie is a good place to start.

True, Pinterest links are no-follow for the most part but Pinterest can bring you tons of traffic and visibility.

You will get links that you would never get by doing normal link prospecting. You can even take it a step further and check the people that shared your pin and reach out to them. You can message with people directly in Pinterest now, just in case you haven’t been using it lately.

Join Expert Roundups Expert roundups are a dime a dozen nowadays and they are getting bigger and bigger each day just to stand out and squeeze out the most social shares.

You don’t have to join all of them but you should join some of them.

For the most part, these are on blogs with their own readership, so it’s a chance for you to get your brand out there and eventually pull in more links.

Oh, you can also be the one to do expert roundups and offer that as part of your outreach. Lots of people will link to it if you use a proper angle for the roundup.

Guest Posting on Influencer Websites Guest posting is not dead. They should rephrase that.

It’s more like guest posting on blatantly fake blog networks is almost dead.

People keep complaining about it but it really isn’t dead. In fact, it’s more important and more precious now than ever.

Find the right sites, build the right connections and create great content for their audience without over-using anchor text.

Blog Commenting To Build Relationships

Blog comment links are mostly no-follow. The real value is in the relationships that are formed.

I’ve met a ton of people simply by doing guest commenting and I got connected with new people that eventually linked to me because I took a bit of my spare time to build these relationships.

I met Matt Capala through blog commenting and he has sent business my way and exclusive connections. (Blatant Plug: Buy his book.)

Some relationships are started through email, some are started by joining local networking events and some can be started simply by blog commenting.

If you want to learn by example, my friends Adrienne, Donna, Harleena, Sue, Don, Carol and Ryan are great people to learn from.

Utilize Quote Directories Sounds funny, but there are many quote directories out there that can be used for links.

Since we are talking about directories, go ahead and look for blog directories, startup directories and niche specific directories. The links can be acquired easily and for the most part, free.

Get on Sites that Offer Awards If you are running a pet website, then you can find sites that offer awards both locally and internationally. Run a service business? There are plenty of business awards you can join. If you run a blog, go out and find sites that offer blog awards. Run a podcast? There are awards for that, too.

In many cases, being nominated can get you a link already… but do try to win so you can show off the award and get other perks.

Contribute to Newsletters Consider this as a way for you to get your brand out there. It’s also a way to get targeted traffic and acquire loyal readers.

So where does the SEO part come in? You can find sites that would allow you to publish content exclusively for their subscribers. It’s like guest posting but only through an exclusive list of people.

You can also get on newsletter publishers that publish recommended content each month. Many of their subscribers use the newsletter content when publishing their monthly or weekly link roundups on their own blogs. That’s where your link is going to come from!

As a side benefit, believe it or not, some people will copy the newsletter content directly and paste it on their site.

Get on Institution Websites Confused? These are also known as .gov and .edu links.

I could talk about hacking their sites, I could talk about manipulating their Moodle platforms and others but…this is sort of a white-hat blog.

The traditional way is to get on their resource page. You can also offer work to them in exchange for a link. One of my older tricks is to track down the student editor and give him beer money.

The .Gov sites will sometimes have forums that give do-follow links. Sometimes you can be a supplier to a project or event depending on your niche. It can open lots of doors for you if you do it the right way.

Get Links from Local Chamber of Commerce Websites Local CoC websites are plenty but the rules are different for each one.

In most cases, it’s pretty easy to get links from them. Just ask what you want do for them or what their requirements are.

Don’t Overlook New Bloggers New bloggers are going to look for mentors. They look for people that are already where they want to be. They will ask questions and they will need guidance.

If you have people following you or somebody emails you, do not hesitate to help them out. Relationships built out this way can net you links you will never really get by simply doing prospecting.

Also, when building out your prospecting list, you will encounter new blogs. Do not hesitate to reach out to them. It doesn’t mean that they don’t have readers and it doesn’t mean that the link you’ll get is worthless since they are a PR-0 site.

Often, these bloggers have really die-hard followers that jump on any recommendation they make and these followers are usually bloggers too. Imagine the extra links you’ll get.

Oh, and in time, the link you get will become more important as they become more important in the space.

Do Guest Podcasting Podcasting is BIG right now and 99% of the time, these podcasters have their own blogs so they can put the show notes there. You don’t have to even start your own podcast.

The idea here is to get on those podcasts. That’s a 100% sure, high quality link.

Submit to Curating Platforms Curating platforms like Scoop.it can share your content out and link back to you. In many cases, these are no-follow links but they have users of their own. Plus these users that curate have blogs. The things they curate get sent to their blogs and their readers get to find your content because of their referral.

My personal favourite is Flipboard. It has brought me a ton of traffic already and readers actually do stick around.

Use LinkedIN Pulse I only just started with LinkedIN Pulse but it’s pretty good so far.

The reason isn’t really for the link, but for the brand visibility. You can assume that the people that follow you and see your work on LinkedIN already have their own social presence online. They might also have blogs.

With my few articles so far, I have gotten some new links because they found my site from my LinkedIN posts.

Plus, you can republish your content on LinkedIN Pulse so it’s not really duplicate content. I don’t do this but a lot of other people do. Maybe you should try it out.

For tips, Paul Shapiro made the best article about it (ever) over here at Noah Kagan’s blog.

Get on Publisher Websites I consider the top tier publishing sites here, such as Entrepreneur, HuffPo, BusinessInsider and more. Depending on your niche, you will find other really big publishers so make sure to get on them.

I also consider the viral sites, like Buzzfeed, under this category. The normal way to get on these sites is to write on their backend and try hard to get your work on the main site. If not, then it won’t really be indexed.

If you want to be creative, my favorite tactic to get on these viral sites is to start from the smaller blogs and work my way up. I spread news or rumors on smaller blogs that I know these viral sites take news from. Once it’s picked up, you push it again on the next level and things will again, snowball from there.

Find Community Websites Community sites like  and Kingged can give you some good initial traction. You’ll be able to meet new people, share your work, gain visibility and eventually, links.

Don’t Forget StumbleUpon and Reddit If you look at the StumbleUpon idea, it can look so Web1.0 but it can still bring in good traffic. Their Ad platform is also good if you plan it out right and know how to get it to catch on. Once it does, it will snowball. You’ll get links, one way or another. One of the people I’ve been following since forever is Ross Hudgens. They put out this cool guide about SU that you can check out here.

As for Reddit, it is only getting hotter so people can say whatever they want about how worthless it is for SEO but for me, Reddit has brought my sites tons of traffic and netted me links from hardcore, badass sites. Ain’t too shabby. Plus, it can do this…thanks for the spot Dan.

Find Uncredited Images It’s inevitable.

People will steal your images. Steal? Sounds harsh. Well, sometimes bloggers just grab it off Google images. It’s a completely innocent thing to do so I understand.

Good thing we know SEO! That practically means a free link in my eyes.

Use Google’s image search and upload a photo. It’ll show you places where the image was used. You can also use Tineye to do this.

Oh, infographic promotion can fall under this as well.

Submit to Slideshare If you do speaking gigs, present to your company or other groups, then you probably have a collection of slide decks. Simply use sites like Slideshare and share your content there!

Do you create blog posts? Repurpose your blog content into slides!

Need more Slideshare tips and tricks? Then get it from no other but the queen herself, Ana Hoffman from TGC.

Note: You can also submit PDF’s to Slideshare but there are also places to submit PDF’s so you can share your book or whitepaper to the world.

Get on Magazine and News Sites Local ones will tend to be easier to get featured on to but bigger, global news sites are still possible. It will just take a bit more work and patience.

What I do is to find the editor or a connection to the editor. Once I get introduced, it’s easy to submit a piece and get a piece published.

Joining HARO, which will be mentioned shortly, can also help you get on some of these sites.

Find Resource Pages Resource pages is one of the oldest plays in the book and it’s still one of my favorites.

Why? Competitors neglect them and I don’t have to worry about content. Easy, relevant links. Boom.

Join HARO and Participate Help A Reporter Out aka HARO is one of the best ways to get free press.

You get emails with different topics. You reply to the reporter and send an expert direct-to-the-point answer.

HARO isn’t the only game in town, I listed down some of the others here.

Here’s a tip: Use your mail to filter out the daily emails to find relevant phrases or words so you don’t have to check each one.

Use and Monitor Hashtags like #PRRequest Besides HARO type sites, there are hashtags out there that are used by journalists. It’s a way for them to get stories and participants. You can tweet out your topic with the hashtag or just monitor it.

Again, much like HARO, you need to pick your spots and be patient with this. Once it works for you, it’s gold.

Do a Link Bait You basically write about something controversial, something timely, something that’s not the norm. Put it out in front of the right people and BAM! You get links!

I covered it a bit more on this post.

Create Badges This is old school but still effective today, especially for certain niches today.

You create a gimmick badge, you share it to the community with a link back to you to show their support or to brag about their level in the community.

It’s sort of like those blog directories that want you to put their link on your site first to confirm your ownership. Then you forget to remove the badge and you just gave them a free link.

Find Links Pointing to Your Social Media Account but Not Your Website This is simple yet highly neglected.

By doing a simple backlink check on your own social profiles, you can dig out some pretty easy links.

To take this a step further, compile your competitor’s social accounts and check their links.

Use a Service? Submit a Testimonial! If you use a service or bought a course or maybe you are a member of a group/newsletter, then you can try to share your learnings, testimonials and results to the owner.

If you are purely in this for the link, which I know you are, then make sure the site you are contacting has a testimonial area.

For a more extensive process, Bryan Harris, THE poster boy, explains this like no other.

Support Crowd Funding Projects I mentioned it briefly here but I have talked about this on the newsletter pretty extensively in the past.

You basically find crowd funding projects that offer a link from their websites. You support them and get the link when they go live.

Charities to Support There are tons of charities you can support. Look around your local area and find those with websites.

Of course, you need to be aligned with their vision. >_>

Q&A Sites Q&A sites are mostly no-follow links but they bring in relevant traffic. They also rank pretty well and can get you spots in Google’s results.

That way, you can get more visibility, new users and eventually, new links.

Find Forums Forum links are not dead. They are still really nice and they still bring in targeted traffic.

You just need to look for relevant forums and jump into the conversation… or you can manufacture a way to start a conversation and jump in later to pitch your link.

Google removed my fav filter, which is “discussions” so just for you, here’s my secret. This nifty Chrome plugin.

Note: Just don’t go out there buying mass forum signature and profile links.

Research How an Author Did it I love this technique because I can sort of see how someone I look up to got to where he is today.

I could see how hard they worked, how they did it, the creativity they showed and more!

I could then do something similar and set myself apart from what he already did.

I talked about this extensively on the newsletter and I mentioned it on my post over here.

Supplier Websites This is mainly for e-commerce websites where you have suppliers that have sites. Just ask for those links.

If you are a business or a blog and have someone you work with that has a site, then you can also ask for a link from them. Easy, high quality links are always welcome.

Do Successful Content BETTER As mentioned in my previous post, my go-to strategy when it comes to link building is simply just doing better content than what’s already working out there and get all their links!

It basically means that people are interested and you can get those links.

Brian Dean calls this the Skyscraper Technique so if you want to learn more about this, check out his blog post!

Comment Scouting Comment scouting is a way for me to simply get ideas from the comments area (be it in my own blog or another blog) and create content for whatever the need I see there.

Then you contact the commenters and commenters on other blog posts with a similar topic.

I am creating a post about this and I’ll be posting it soon. Signup for our newsletter so you never miss an update!

③⓪① Build Category Specific Sites – 301 Them Category pages on a website are probably the hardest pages to get links for. E-commerce sites will benefit from getting links to these pages greatly so one way of getting links is by creating separate websites.

Cultivate them, get them links and then 301 those domains to your main category. #WIN

Since you read all the way here, here are a few bonus strategies that aren’t in the infographic!

Speaking and Conference Links Volunteer to speak in front of an organization or a conference. That’s almost a guaranteed link.

Does the conference have sponsors? They probably mentioned the conference on their website as well. Ask for a link back to your site!

Management and Sponsor Links Let’s say you are working on a celebrity’s site, then get a link from her agency’s site. Get links from her sponsors and magazines that mention her.

Are you getting paid to show off products? Get links from your sponsor’s website!

WikiPedia There are certainly different ways to get WikiPedia links. Knowing a moderator, sheer luck or WikiGrabber.

Use it and find a way to get a link. Don’t forget your etiquette.

Infographic Links Lastly, infographic promotion. Submit it to directories, reach out to sites that already publish infographic posts or sites that can be granted exclusivity.

It’s really a versatile way to build links so you can get really creative with it.

BTW, if you liked this infographic, please use our embed code that you saw at the bottom of the infographic.

Tell us about it and we’ll help you promote it. We’ll even write a unique intro for you!

Everything Else

Once you get to this point, it’s basically icing on the cake. Most of these are things that can’t be qualified under the categories above.

Some are minor, some are really vital once you start ranking and some are just for maintenance.

Social Media

I had to start it off with this.

When it comes to discussing social media’s direct effect to SEO, it will almost always be controversial. No matter what people say, social media is a part of our online and offline brands moving forward.

For me, social media does not have a direct effect, but a more indirect one. Actually, there are plenty of indirect ones!

The point of this being included here in the checklist is that you need to make sure that your website is set up properly and linked to your brand’s official social platforms.

Create those social media accounts – these basically help with SEO indirectly as they carry your brand name.

Adding social sharing buttons can potentially help you acquire new users and eventually links.

Link these social media accounts to your website – For example, Google+ can ask you to verify your site and page.

Also, you can use Schema to link your official social profiles.

Conversion Rate Optimization

CRO, which is an art on it’s own, does have processes that affect your overall SEO. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to convert more of your existing visitors.

Some of the things you need to do are:

Continue to speed up your website

Check your bounce rates

Be sure you don’t cause duplicate content when A/B testing

Track if you are ranking the correct page (that is converting)

Sound familiar? They should be.

Knowledge Graph

The knowledge graph is still a mystery for many. If your brand is still not an entity within the Knowledge Graph, then you need to start taking some steps to include yourself there.

Start by getting a Freebase account (by the time you read this, Google might have moved over to WikiData)

Check out Andrew Isidoro’s post as well as Krystian Szastok’s post.

Rank Tracking

Rank tracking is not as talked about as it used to be but if you are serious about your SEO work, then it’s still a must.

The Google Webmaster Tools data you get about your rankings are simply an average of where you place.

If you want more accurate data, be it local or country specific, then you need to track it yourself, be it using software (we use Rank Tracker and Advanced Web Ranking) or one of the many cloud hosted rank tracking tools out there.

Just to throw it in here: I get this question a lot. Does it hurt your ranking if you keep checking the rankings daily? I haven’t seen any evidence of it as I track things pretty aggressively.

Reputation Management

Skeptical?

Let’s start by mentioning that you need to claim your brand’s identity everywhere. It will save you a ton of time and headaches in the future when the brand you are working on is big enough.

You also need to monitor mentions about your brands either to stop negative things from escalating or get links.

So, can online reputation management be a part of SEO? Definitely.

Ongoing Server Configuration Checks

Your server will need to be tweaked regularly. Especially as you grow your traffic more and more.

The last thing you want is a slow site or a site that is down for long periods of time.

Things can get misconfigured, it’s just the way it is so doing regular checks are important.

Other Avenues to Improve Branding Online

You can do more besides traditional link building.

You can build up your brands on different ecosystems that are also crawled by Google.

From YouTube, to Apple and even Amazon. These are all major search engines on their own and building your brand within them can add to your SEO… and they take up space in Google’s results so that’s another bonus for you.

Keep Up with New Google Guidelines

Google’s guidelines will keep on changing. It’s just the nature of the game.

If you don’t monitor SEO news regularly, make it a point to pick your favorite SEO websites and subscribe to their newsletter (like ours) or RSS feed. Schedule a time in the month to do quick reading sessions to keep yourself up to date.

Schedule On-Page SEO Checks

As you publish more and more content, things can get lost in the shuffle.

Maybe you don’t have a system in place yet for other authors that publish within your site. Maybe you are just forgetful when it comes to SEO and just want to focus on creating content.

Doing a regular on-page SEO checkup will only help you in the long run so don’t overlook this.

Screaming Frog is our favorite but Google Webmaster Tools can also give you some good data.

Schedule Regular Backlink Profile Checks

This is probably the most ignored thing EVER. I cannot stress the importance of this especially if you are already working on a popular site or a competitive market.

Things can go wrong rather quickly (penalty/de-indexed) or it can be the reason why your site is being held back from improving in the rankings.

Checking your link profile regularly will help you see what’s wrong. Maybe you are over using your anchor text, maybe somebody is sending you spammy links or maybe you just aren’t doing enough.

I would suggest using and even Google Webmaster Tools when doing link profile checks.

Now Here’s How You Can Put It to Use

As I mentioned earlier in the article, we created a FREE SEO checklist that you can download and print out.

It’s basically a group of printable checklists, including 2 checklists for on-page and off-page local SEO.

Here’s where you can download the checklist:

Grow your digital presence to get more leads with this FREE newsletter (and free resources)

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[msrenai21]

Okay, against better judgment, I’m going to post my headcanons about the Pokémon world in general (using only the games, both main series and spin-offs that I know). I am a foreign language enthusiast as well as aspiring translator, so a lot of my headcanons will be based on languages and culture of the Pokémon world. I’m also going to sprinkle in other headcanons of mine that are semi-related when applicable.

Keep in mind, these are mainly thoughts for my version of the Pokémon world in general as well as for my main Pokémon AU (it’s a canon-divergence AU, so all the in-game events are present, just slightly altered when needed). So please, don’t consider this canon nor me ignorant.

All right! Sorry for this long intro, but I’ll begin under the cut! I’d also like to warn everyone that this post is very long and if you do read all of it, you’d have my utmost respect.

EDIT (6/26): I changed Unovian from Italian to Latin. I feel this change is a little better considering quite a bit of the names in Black/White are based of Latin words (and tbh I like it a little more and it fits better than Italian). Also, I realized I made a mistake with the language Idem; it should only be Idem, not Idemian!

This is so huge I’m not even sure where to begin.

Let’s see, first up is how I see each region individually and what they were based off of. This is the biggest change from canon to my AU so far, in that, while I know that the first four Pokémon regions were based off of various parts of Japan, I only made it so that Kanto is based off of Japan.

My AU is as follows:

Kanto = Japan Johto = Mainland China Hoenn = South Korea Sinnoh = Russia Unova = New York Kalos = France Alola = Hawai’i

Now, each region has its own language of communication that corresponds to the country their land is based off of. For example, Kantonian is Japanese (but is referred to as the former within the world).

Kanto = Kantonian (Japanese) Johto = Johtonian (Mandarin Chinese) Hoenn = Hoenn (Korean) Sinnoh = Sinnoan (Russia; omits the “h” when referring to the language because it is not pronounced) Unova = Unovian (Latin) Kalos = Kalosian (French) Alola = Alolan (Hawaiian; Alola also uses Pidgin Idem which is based off of real life, Pidgin English)

I’ll also note that the Orre region (from Pokémon Colosseum) uses Orren, which is based off of Mexican Spanish specifically. This is semi-important information because I headcanon an unnamed character hailing from this region; I’ll get to him in a moment.

Now, since every region has its own language, how can they communicate? Well, they kind of all got together way way back in history and created a conlang (constructed language) with which to communicate. This language is known as Idem and it serves as the lingua franca of the Pokémon world, meaning it’s based off of English and how it’s used in our world. I’d like to give thanks to my wonderful gf @saphruikan for giving me permission to use her made up language in my AU. Idem comes directly from the Latin word, idem, meaning “the same.” In the present world of Pokémon, all regions officially use their own language and Idem and everyone is absolutely required to be bilingual (which is not a problem because the majority of our real world is already bilingual), but, of course, this doesn’t stop anyone from learning more.

And the second set of headcanons I’d like to throw out is still a little relevant to the previous ones, but it mainly has to do with Sun and Moon characters, their naming schemes, and relationships to other unnamed, in-game characters. To start us off, however, are things I thought about for Maxie and Archie in the Hoenn region.

When not dealing with business and team duties, Maxie and Archie prefer to speak/read/write in Hoenn (Korean). Since Trainer Brendan and Trainer May originally hail from Johto, their native language would be Johtonian (Mandarin Chinese) and Idem, which leads to each team leader changing to Idem so they could have a Proper rivalry.

Also, before I move on to Sun and Moon, since Maxie and Archie do not have canon last names, I decided to use their Korean localized names as their last names. This would make Maxie to be Maxie Majeok and Archie to be Archie Agang (I’ve seen people do this with their Japanese names and I thought the idea was really cool). But the reason I used the Korean names is because of the Hoenn = South Korea in my AU.

OKAY SUN AND MOON

To start off, I use Moon as the protag for my AU. She is the younger sister of Sun by three years and their parents are ex-Magma and ex-Aqua grunts. Sun and Moon were both born in Hoenn, but after Team Magma and Team Aqua disbanded, their parents moved to Kanto and their full names are Moon Byeol and Sun Byeol (byeol or 별, being the Korean word for “star”). They grew up learning Kantonian and Idem at school while learning Hoenn at home. After moving to Alola, however, Moon struggled with the accented Idem but eventually became used to it and started to learn Alolan (much to Hau’s and Hala’s delight).

Kukui, my man, my guy, can speak Idem, Alolan, Pidgin Idem, and Kantonian. He helps Moon feel somewhat at home by starting off in Kantonian for her before shifting to Idem.

Guzma HATES using Alolan and absolutely refuses to do so. This reasoning goes back to how he was raised, especially with a foreign father who looked down upon the usage of Alolan and taught Guzma to do the same. He can understand it fluently, of course, but he will NOT use it. He only ever communicates and thinks in Idem.

I should also mention that, unlike in other regions, Alolan way of naming children and families is MUCH different. Most regions adhere to taking on the name of the father (or mother in some cases), however, Alolans tend to not have last names. Most people just have their first name, or, like on Ula’ula, people have a first and middle name only. For those in Alola who do have a last name, 95% of the time, they have a foreign parent who wanted to keep up that naming scheme.

My best example would be with Guzma’s and Plumeria’s families. For Guzma in my AU, his father is from Pyrite Town in the Orre region (that’s why I mentioned it earlier) and his name is Lael Albida (based off of the White Laelia — laelia albida [to adhere to Sun/Moon naming schemes with flowers]). Guzma’s mother is Pikake (a jasmine — Jasminum sambac) and she is a native Alolan, coming from Iki Town. Lael uses the traditional first and last name combo, while Pikake has only her first name. Guzma’s full name is actually Guzmania Albida, but because of the events implied in-game (which are true in my AU), he shortens his first name and completely gets rid of his last name, leaving himself with just Guzma. As you can see, the naming pattern for people on Melemele island is just a first name, but since Guzma’s father is from another region, he made sure that his last name passed down like it would in his own hometown.

Now with Plumeria, since she and her family are from Ula’ula, they will have a first and middle name. Plumeria’s mother’s name is Helia Rostra (based off of the Hanging Lobster Claw or False Bird of Paradise — Heliconia rostrata). In my AU, Plumeria has two younger siblings, a sister who is the middle child of the three, and a brother who is the youngest. Her sister is named Hibisca (”Hibbie”) Rosa (based off of the Hawaiian Hibiscus — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and her brother is named Rotheca (”Roth”) Serrata (based off of the Blue Fountain Bush — Rotheca serrata). AND FOR PLUMERIA BC I ALMOST FORGOT, her full name is Plumeria Rubra.

tl;dr everyone speaks many languages and the naming scheme in Alola is different than in the rest of the world THE END

(I feel SOO bad for how long this has gotten and I’m really sorry bc I know it’s boring and my headcanons are weird and stupid;;;))

#pokemon #pokemon au #pokemon headcanons #pokemon sun and moon #my headcanons #jenny does the thing #long post #VERY LONG POST