burn a picture update #3

its that time again folks !!! this chapter took a While to finish bc of how long it is (at least 5k words........) but anyway heres the logline:

Akane experiences the trial and tribulations of friendship. When she meets faces old and new, an undesirable emotion festers within her.

yeah.. this chapter, if u couldnt tell, focuses on akane's relationships. i specifically wanted to flesh out some dynamics that arent rlly talked abt in canon, such as her and diana. diana's my fav from ztd, so im a bit biased in that regard. i also go into her dysfunctional relationship w junpei at times which somehow took a lot of precedence in this chapter

diana and akane (pt: diana and akane)

while this isnt the first dynamic i wrote abt (the first was her and carlos, which wasnt too fleshed out. i plan on delving into that in another fic since they do have parallels and an already interesting dynamic in canon), it is one of my favs. i wish they interacted in canon more.. 

post-ztd diana finds interest in akane considering she's rather close w phi and sigma. this is essentially akane's first attempt at friendship that wasnt forged by fate, so its an interaction that she holds dear. they also r central to the ze series as a whole: diana was the one who released radical-6 into the world, and akane is the catalyst to almost each major event that happens in the series. they also went thru terrible things in life. through diana, akane experiences things she never rlly got to have in childhood, as she was busy w orchestrating the second nonary game among other things. i notice not many fics go into other events in akane's life, such as her parents' deaths and the fact that she lived in poverty with aoi. so i wanted to go into that a bit 

i have a dynamic specifically for vlr but thats for another fic lol

junepei (pt: junepei)

while they plan on getting married after they apprehend the religious fanatic, that doesnt stop their relationship from being tumultuous. junpei hides many things from akane: his feelings, maybe even something else, and akane wants to get to the bottom of it. 

idk smth felt off abt the fact that they got married so quickly. it makes sense, since theyre two traumatized ppl who make bad decisions. and while im glad they got a happy ending in ztd, i cant imagine things staying happy for long considering the bad blood they have against each other. 

akane traumatized junpei, and junpei loves a person who isnt akane, at least not anymore. junpei is also a cop who has seen many horrible things post-999, and akane's on the run from the law. 

but in the end, theyll always find each other, no matter what form their relationship takes. i hope that i can properly convey these thoughts in the fic. 

idk i have a lot of thoughts on how i view junepei's dynamic. i wont go too into it here as thats kinda spoiler territory but needless to say, its not rlly in the way most of the ze fandom views them.

i also delved into clover's feelings towards akane. akane tells her abt what happens in the axe ending, but it doesnt stop clover from promising never to end up like akane. akane, however, feels the guilt that she has bottled up for so long. this totally wont have bad consequences /s

excerpts (pt: excerpts)

Silence passes between them. She looks at the people around her, at couples and mothers with their kids. Tearing her eyes away from the sight, she looks back at Junpei. 

“I can’t help but feel jealous,” she starts. 

“Huh?” 

“When I look at the relationship between parent and child, I think of what I didn’t get to have.” 

“Did you do things like this with your mom?”

Akane shakes her head. “No. I don’t remember much about her. I was five, after all.” 

“Oh…” 

“So,” Junpei looks away, “about you moving away…” 

“...I dropped out of school,” Akane says, “to focus on the Second Nonary Game.” 

She leans closer to him, arms wrapped around his shoulders. 

“This is why memories like these are so important to me. I could have had them in my more formative years, but I suppose it can’t be helped.” 

thats it for now!! next chapter will be aoi centric bc why not <3 (heart). but for now, until the next update ^_^ (smile emoticon)