Archive of Our Own ^beta

strawbeary04, Autist_fic, BagOfGroceries, Constant_42NS, Keptchalice8868, SweetnEtcetera, avalon_ultracentrifuge, AroAceCorvid, Tziput13, iuyThevi, Cake_Is_Cool, and Green_Phantom_Queen as well as 5 guests left kudos on this work!

1. Cake_Is_Cool on Chapter 1 Sun 06 Jul 2025 11:13PM UTC

   

   "It wasn't locked."

   "But none of you were free."

   That hit HARD.

   And Grace's "I hate that I miss him"??? Perfectly timed.

   And the art???? Gorgeous!!!!!

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2. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 1 Mon 07 Jul 2025 06:17AM UTC

      

      Thank you! I made this comic more than a year ago and not gonna lie, I'm still not normal about Book 3
      About "I hate that I miss him": I literally have no idea how anybody could process what happened to her, especially with no support system, homeless, and on that stupid therapy Train with a very dubious success rate. How do you deal with the fact that your best friend of seven years tried to kill you repeatedly and then died right in front of your eyes immediately after that. Like what the fuck. How do you even think about that person after that without compartimentalising everything. I'm going to scream

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3. VeryContrarian on Chapter 1 Tue 08 Jul 2025 04:09AM UTC

   

   Damn. I am also incapable of being normal about book 3 but I feel like most of the fandom has forgotten about it or moved on, so I am eating this content up with a spoon the art, omg the dialogue??? Hits with a depth that feels like canon 💚

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4. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 1 Tue 08 Jul 2025 05:50PM UTC

      

      Thanks! To be fair I only watched the show around March 2024 so I haven't had as much time to move on as most of the fandom had lol

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5. Cake_Is_Cool on Chapter 2 Sun 06 Jul 2025 11:15PM UTC

   

   "You are made of paper!"

   "I don't deserve it."

   Heartwrenching. You're an excellent storyteller and artist

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6. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 2 Mon 07 Jul 2025 06:18AM UTC

      

      Thank you!

      Technically this is the third time she is in that exact situation outside of a Train car with someone asking her to protect them, oops

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7. VeryContrarian on Chapter 2 Tue 08 Jul 2025 04:22AM UTC

   

   Omg the crane folding into different shapes to communicate… The turtle was diabolical 💚🥲✨

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8. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 2 Tue 08 Jul 2025 05:50PM UTC

      

      It's trying its best!

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9. Cake_Is_Cool on Chapter 3 Sun 06 Jul 2025 11:17PM UTC

   

   Awww I love seeing Grace explore the Train with her little origami companion

   And the lighting in all of your art! I love it!

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10. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 3 Mon 07 Jul 2025 06:21AM UTC

       

       Aaaaaa thank you
       I might draw more in the future, I don't know. I really can't get that idea of the Broken TVs Car being her equivalent of the Chrome Car episode out of my head but my ideas about it are sort of vague currently, more vibes than anything I could turn into a short comic. We'll see

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11. SweetnEtcetera on Chapter 4 Thu 21 Aug 2025 04:12PM UTC

    

    Yay! I'm so glad to see another chapter of this!

    Somehow I never put together that her sleeve clips were shoplifting tags, this makes me appreciate her design even more. And her origami companion is such a little treasure, trying to keep her warm and comforting her.

    The art is so good, the coloring and texture make it feel so full. And there were some really fun Grace expressions lol!

    Thanks for the update!

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12. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 4 Thu 21 Aug 2025 07:31PM UTC

       

       I just love that detail of her design. She had just stolen a bracelet in a shopping mall when the Train arrived, and she's been living in the Mall Car all these years, wearing shoplifting tags on her clothes. She never left her low point

       (oh and thanks for the kind words!)

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13. Constant_42NS on Chapter 4 Tue 26 Aug 2025 03:52PM UTC

    

    This is so wonderful! It's really cool that you've started posting here, and that there's someone else here who appreciates Lucy's potential as a character. I love how vibrant and expressive your art is, and the way you manage to tell such a rich story in so few panels. I especially love the first part, because the departure of the Apex and the time Grace sets out on her own path is such an emotional moment I wish we got to see in canon. It's one of the driving reasons I started that project of mine! I love grace's expression as she runs away, and the sad one-sided banter with the crane that has so much personality from both parties. Not to mention the firm grasp you have on Grace's character. That cruel inner monologue hurts all the more when it speaks from truth.

    All in all, bravo! I know this comment isn't too organized, but I had to gush about it because the comic's too cool not to. So awesome!!!!!

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14. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 4 Tue 26 Aug 2025 06:51PM UTC

       

       Thank you! I'm glad you like that fan comic, it means a lot considering how much I love Misplaced Luggage!

       I do write, but it's already very difficult for me in my first language, let alone in English, and I'm usually more comfortable with comics even if it's a lot of work. I was just reluctant to post my stuff on AO3 for years mostly because the site itself can't host images.
       I wasn't planning to draw more after that first part of this specific fan comic, but Grace lives rent-free in my head, sooooo yeah. I've recently thumbnailed pages for a short comic in that Broken TVs Car I drew previously, and I don't know if I'll actually make the pages but it's probably going to happen at some point cause I loved layering the neon colors.

       The ending of book 3 already suggests an origami denizen as a potential travel companion for Grace, but on top of that, I thought it would be good for her to have a non-verbal denizen as a friend because she'd have to fill in the blanks at times and inadvertently have short conversations with herself lol.

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    2. 1. Constant_42NS on Chapter 4 Thu 28 Aug 2025 08:16PM UTC

          

          I think that up until season 3, Grace has lived an entirely unexamined life, and hasn't had a meaningful look/conversation with herself for years. It seems appropriate that her denizen companion is mute, because she needs a mirror as well as a friend. I think that the reason the Apex is so attractive to its members is that it offers a simple, heroic view of the world without requiring effort or introspection, which is nearly irresistible for desperate, confused, and scared children. With purpose comes meaning, and suddenly they aren't stranded and alone - they're a family, and they're strong together! It's neat that Grace falls into a nearly identical trap even though she's their leader - they're all tied together by a tragedy they each had a hand in making.

          It means a lot that you still remember my project, and I'd like to confirm it isn't abandoned - I'll get to it eventually! These kids live rent free in my mind and they won't let me go until I've finished their stories!

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       2. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 4 Thu 28 Aug 2025 09:06PM UTC

             

             Not only that, but there's several moments early on in Book 3 where there's evidence that Grace was seeing introspection and being emotionally vulnerable as a weakness, something she either needed to hide behind masks or simply never think about. She starts to self-reflect about the dance lessons in episode 3 and immediately brushes it off, saying the other girls were just jealous. In episode 4, when she tells Simon her number is going down and starts to self-reflect a little, she explicitely says she doesn't want anyone to "see [her] like this" and "to think less of [her]". It clearly puts a massive amount of pressure on her. I don't think it's a coincidence if that golden mask is a recurring motif with her. We literally know her by that mask before we even know her face or her name in Book 2. It defines her, and it defines her vision of what she has to do as a leader. Their entire dogma has made introspection near-impossible, because it tends to make numbers go down, and obviously since they've been doing this for years, they've learned to avoid everything that could possibly lower their numbers. No wonder she basically had to be accidentally tricked into deradicalisation; that would never have happened otherwise. And that's terrifying.

             Also hell yeah more Misplaced Luggage

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          2. 1. Constant_42NS on Chapter 4 Sun 07 Sep 2025 06:58PM UTC

                

                Even after turning over book 3 in my mind over and over again, I hadn't made the connection with the mask. I think you have a really good view of Grace as a character, and I'm interested in her for much of the same reasons. And I agree that the scariest thing about the Apex is just how easily they could have never escaped the train or deprogrammed themselves. The pressure of leadership kept her in place, and the weight she put on the kids in turn kept them in theirs. They'd become each other's prisoners in this codependent way, each providing a hollow companionship/care to the other, and it all orbits the lies Grace convinced herself of ages ago. It's so sad and chaotic and interesting!

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             2. 1. JohannesVIII on Chapter 4 Sun 07 Sep 2025 07:22PM UTC

                   

                   That's one of the many, many reasons that make me love book 3. On some level, everyone in the Apex is a bully, and everyone is also a victim, and it's this big tangled web of problems and codependencies and the worst parts of everyone getting nurtured instead of their more positive traits. It's complex, it's scary, it's surprisingly nuanced, and it breaks my heart.

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