Archived fic rec - Slow Dance

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: Slow Dance

Author: pantswarrior

Fandom: Phoenix Wright / Gyakuten Saiban / Apollo Justice

Rating: PG

Pairing: none, gen

Warnings: anxiety attacks, social phobia/agoraphobia, mild PTSD, parental death, grief

Other notes: kink meme fill, minor character study, ensemble cast, art, friendship, family, magic

Length: 18k

Summary: After Vera’s trial comes an even more difficult struggle: trying to figure out what a normal life is and how to live it.

 

Minor character stories have the potential to be amazing. Imagine, a whole other perspective you’ve never seen in canon. A minor character usually gives the author a lot of freedom, since there’s less canon to adhere to.

Here, the author takes what we know of Vera from the last case–that she’s been sheltered all of her life, and pretty badly traumatized by her father’s death and her own near-fatal poisoning–and digs deep into her head, into what a person would have to face if they’ve never been outside, never taught to interact with people. Vera’s progress goes in fits and bursts, startling forward and stumbling backward, and her fear and anger over her inability to be “brave” or even “normal” is really sympathetic. She heals so slowly. In real life, healing is slow. I applaud the author’s attention to detail in portraying the healing process, both the triumphs and the setbacks.

If nothing else, I’m sure everyone has had a point in their life where they were scared to move forward, to go out into a new place or school or job. There’s just so much emotional resonance with this story.

This story is written in the present tense, which usually sounds a bit odd. Yet here it helps you get into Vera’s head, the very here-and-now, in-your-face, overwhelming nature of her fears. To her, when she gets scared or panics, she’s unable to think of the past or the future, just the panic rising in her right that moment. There’s also a great sense of forwardness in her, in that she wants to get away from her past, but she can’t yet see a future where she is that strong.

It’s a gorgeous fic. Just go read it.

 

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Originally posted on tumblr on 09/27/12