Quoted By:
Au Coup Par Coup is the crystallization of everything the series has offered thus far and then some. The characterization is insane, and because of that, the world’s able to really come alive. The story offers two-and-a-half prongs of storytelling, focusing on a main plot just as much as demonstrating the underbelly of Lumiose, and at the same time bringing a much-needed light to the paranormal of the Pokemon setting. Also I lied there is a canon character in Homunculus. It's the Hex Maniac that sells Moomoo Milk in X and Y.
I could write this whole thing specifically on chapter 14 of that story alone, but I digress. The fanfiction that directly chronologically follows ACPC is some incredibly short thing with seemingly random characters and likely explains some sort of important worldbuilding detail that doesn't actually matter yet in the current iteration of the series.
The ACTUAL story that comes after ACPC is a direct sequel: Honor, Courage, and Rectitude. As the second largest story in Homunculus but still a third the size of ACPC, HCAR follows the protagonist shortly after the epilogue. If Au Coup Par Coup feels like a full-course meal of country fried steak with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, I'll admit that Honor, Courage, and Rectitude feels more like a bowl of ramen. You added an egg to it, but it's still mostly just a lot of sodium and carbs. HCAR takes the narrative form of an action movie and faithfully sticks to that formula, with all the good and bad that come with the fact.
It's a thriller the full way through. Guns and explosions and blood and violence. The action burns too hot for Tex to utilize his full talents when it comes to flavor. HCAR could have benefitted from another 20k words, but alas. That's not to say that the story still isn't a strong one, but ACPC is a hard act to follow, and there's only so much you can squeeze in. This is where the series is technically cut off, as the epilogue is not yet written for HCAR. (cont)
