Ambyssin
Winter can't come soon enough
And so we've come to the end, at long last. Gotta say, it's very weird for me to actually see a fic I've been able to follow on a week-by-week basis reach the finish line. Also... *sees chapter title* roll credits!
My guess is that we're operating in Glitch City here, at the start. There's not too much described initially, but there's just enough to give me the sense that something is very, very wrong here.
And, it's certainly quite the "As God am I," speech that Giovanni manages to give. Trying to frame himself in the most well-intentioned light possible. Saying it's for the good of the whole country. There's even some real world allusions with Unova (the Not America of the Pokémon world) and some paraphrasing of John F. Kennedy, there. Of course, there's this dissonant serenity to all of it, with the gigantic glitch!Gyarados hovering in the background. And all the while, Artemis just totally shuts down as she is struck with the enormity of what she's stumbled on to. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of good samaritans out there who would leap into the fray in a situation like this. There are also just as many that would react as Artemis would. And, I think you were the one who told me it's harder to be true than good. And this definitely felt quite true.
Meanwhile, Sovereign's bloodbath continues and there's a bit of a metaphorical groin kick with regards to the ROCKETS staff's opinions on Artemis. Other than than, not much to say there. Sovereign gets to Glitch City and bails out Artemis and Cass (which, really, kind of had to happen, and is fine by me) with a bit of snark in tow. Fortune cookie comment made me laugh a bit. And while I'm not always a huge fan of a multiple POV story constantly jumping back and forth, I think it works really well in the finale at ratcheting up the tension. Emilia starts to get to the bottom of things, and then Artemis and Sovereign confront Giovanni. But it's hardly much of a confrontation. In his usual, Giovanni way, he does that cocky shrug of his and makes them go away.
The out of body moment is weird. Which is probably what you going for. It was just a bit hard for me to visualize, especially the bits about her having very little of her left to do much of anything. Not really sure anything could be done about that. Especially b/c, if I'm reading the reviews correctly, this is the stuff that was added in in regards to some feedback that you got. So, I have nothing to compare it to. It's all interesting (especially the matrix stuff, as I state below), but, thinking about it, the shift to the spire is so sudden that it does feel like it suddenly got added in at the last second. I don't really think you need to change it. It's probably more of a me problem. Just thought I'd point it felt super duper abrupt. But that was definitely one heck of a way to snap her back to reality. Socking Giovanni like we're in a round of Punch-Out! Pretty hilarious in some sort of strange, messed up way. I also like the brief consideration Artemis gives to using the breach engine on herself, since both body issues and the abuse of power have been such major themes throughout the story. Possibly it even deserved a bit more attention. But at least it got brought up.
And then we start to get some closure for Emilia. The implications at the end of the scene with Lorelei are rather frightening to think about. That all of this could've had a bigger fish in the picture (or at least that the government was complacent in all of this b/c they might've agreed with the guy). The following scene, I can't quite tell if that's a bit of friendly leaning on the fourth wall, or making acknowledgement to the fact that Pokémon is a fictional entity to begin with. Is this breach entity actually some sort of extended metaphor for us, as the players? I must sound like an idiot. In any case, after all the chaos that's happening, I suppose a quiet conversation with plans to start "fresh," in Johto is about as fitting of an ending you can give to this as I think you could. And then, of course, Sovereign gets their licks in with Giovanni to bring that subplot to a close.
Side comment: the overall plot of this fic is super hilarious in a meta way, to me, given the events of Episode Rainbow Rocket. I won't say anything in case you (or anyone reading this) hasn't gotten to experience that yet. But, if you did, I'm just curious if you thought at all about this story and maybe had a chuckle about it. XD
Overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It scratched that conspiracy theory itch for me. And, I must say, this goes great with the soundtrack to Edge of Nowhere (a VR paranormal thriller game). Well done! ^^
My guess is that we're operating in Glitch City here, at the start. There's not too much described initially, but there's just enough to give me the sense that something is very, very wrong here.
It's also the cheesiest snap comeback she's ever heard. :V“Cassandra, what the hell are you doing here?”
“The right thing!” Cass yells back, which Artemis thinks is probably the best snap comeback she's ever heard.
And, it's certainly quite the "As God am I," speech that Giovanni manages to give. Trying to frame himself in the most well-intentioned light possible. Saying it's for the good of the whole country. There's even some real world allusions with Unova (the Not America of the Pokémon world) and some paraphrasing of John F. Kennedy, there. Of course, there's this dissonant serenity to all of it, with the gigantic glitch!Gyarados hovering in the background. And all the while, Artemis just totally shuts down as she is struck with the enormity of what she's stumbled on to. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of good samaritans out there who would leap into the fray in a situation like this. There are also just as many that would react as Artemis would. And, I think you were the one who told me it's harder to be true than good. And this definitely felt quite true.
Meanwhile, Sovereign's bloodbath continues and there's a bit of a metaphorical groin kick with regards to the ROCKETS staff's opinions on Artemis. Other than than, not much to say there. Sovereign gets to Glitch City and bails out Artemis and Cass (which, really, kind of had to happen, and is fine by me) with a bit of snark in tow. Fortune cookie comment made me laugh a bit. And while I'm not always a huge fan of a multiple POV story constantly jumping back and forth, I think it works really well in the finale at ratcheting up the tension. Emilia starts to get to the bottom of things, and then Artemis and Sovereign confront Giovanni. But it's hardly much of a confrontation. In his usual, Giovanni way, he does that cocky shrug of his and makes them go away.
Think you're missing italics here.You came to us.
And the italics ran too long here. XPSpeaking of which, Sovereign continues
The out of body moment is weird. Which is probably what you going for. It was just a bit hard for me to visualize, especially the bits about her having very little of her left to do much of anything. Not really sure anything could be done about that. Especially b/c, if I'm reading the reviews correctly, this is the stuff that was added in in regards to some feedback that you got. So, I have nothing to compare it to. It's all interesting (especially the matrix stuff, as I state below), but, thinking about it, the shift to the spire is so sudden that it does feel like it suddenly got added in at the last second. I don't really think you need to change it. It's probably more of a me problem. Just thought I'd point it felt super duper abrupt. But that was definitely one heck of a way to snap her back to reality. Socking Giovanni like we're in a round of Punch-Out! Pretty hilarious in some sort of strange, messed up way. I also like the brief consideration Artemis gives to using the breach engine on herself, since both body issues and the abuse of power have been such major themes throughout the story. Possibly it even deserved a bit more attention. But at least it got brought up.
And then we start to get some closure for Emilia. The implications at the end of the scene with Lorelei are rather frightening to think about. That all of this could've had a bigger fish in the picture (or at least that the government was complacent in all of this b/c they might've agreed with the guy). The following scene, I can't quite tell if that's a bit of friendly leaning on the fourth wall, or making acknowledgement to the fact that Pokémon is a fictional entity to begin with. Is this breach entity actually some sort of extended metaphor for us, as the players? I must sound like an idiot. In any case, after all the chaos that's happening, I suppose a quiet conversation with plans to start "fresh," in Johto is about as fitting of an ending you can give to this as I think you could. And then, of course, Sovereign gets their licks in with Giovanni to bring that subplot to a close.
Side comment: the overall plot of this fic is super hilarious in a meta way, to me, given the events of Episode Rainbow Rocket. I won't say anything in case you (or anyone reading this) hasn't gotten to experience that yet. But, if you did, I'm just curious if you thought at all about this story and maybe had a chuckle about it. XD
Overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It scratched that conspiracy theory itch for me. And, I must say, this goes great with the soundtrack to Edge of Nowhere (a VR paranormal thriller game). Well done! ^^