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bramblewolfbooks · 2 years ago

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“Critically acclaimed” game designer Sahoni’s mostly stream of consciousness list of top 5 2022 games I actually got to play this year

Not to be that guy, but this was a weird year for me in that I actually got a chance to play games this year. Some bizarre alchemy of stability, financial independence, and learning to set better boundaries has allowed me, nominally a game designer, to actually play games. It even let me play enough games to have a top 5. Not that this has ever stopped me in previous years from having an opinion.

But being able to have a game in my hand and have that experiential and tactile experience first-hand instead of having to rely on watching along with friends or watch a let’s play has left me with some unexpected opinions. I found myself willing to put myself out there for the imperfect or a game that doesn’t meet the platonic gamer ideal. Not that this has ever stopped me in previous years from having an opinion.

But I’m certainly more secure in them.

The following list is a series of games I came away from still thinking about them. There is no real order to it all, just that I have thoughts and I want others to share with others the experiences they brought me in the hopes you can make your own, or tell me about games that made you feel the same way.

Scarlet Hollow

Scarlet Hollow is the game that finally cracked through my shell and got me to like visual novels. It’s not like I haven’t played any before. I love games Like AI: Somnium files and Ace Attorney. But for some reason, there has always been a giant mental disconnect for me on a gameplay level. Something about needing just that little bit of game just to let myself surrender into the sort of stories this medium can tell.

But I never felt that need with Scarlet Hollow. Scarlet Hollow, by Black Tabby Games, is a horror visual novel set in Western North Carolina. And as a North Carolinian I clocked that from the get. That’s my home. It might have been that familiarity which helped me make that connection, but the game has two major strengths that really kept me engaged.

The first is the strength of Abby Howard’s (of Junior Science Power Hour and The Last Halloween) heavy inky arts, making up the hand-drawn and tenuously detailed backgrounds and expressive character-first portraits of the game. I constantly found myself stopping to just soak in a character’s expression or at the reveal of a new horror. If comics are a narrative-visual medium, where the parts come together and blend to tell a greater whole, Abby Howard took that same lessons to heart about pacing and presentation into this visual novel, elevating it to something greater. This is a very comic book sense of each scene transition being treated like a page turn or new panel.

But I think the aspect I enjoyed the most was the dialog. This game has two big systems going for it. The first is, at the beginning of the game, you choose basically two powers for your character out of 7, including options like “strong”, “booksmart”, and “talks to animals”. But soon after that the game springs on you it’s second hidden system. Certain dialog choices you make will reveal and inform your character in the future.

Very early on there is a forced and awkward conversation with a guy on a bus who offers you a bag of boiled peanuts (one of those North Carolina touches) and you have the option to say “no thanks, I’m allergic to peanuts.” from that moment on, if you chose this, you are indeed, allergic to peanuts. Maybe it’s my infamiliarity with visual novels, but I found both of these systems novel. This is a game where I never felt like there was a bad dialog choice. All of these possibilities had potential to lead me somewhere interesting, scary, or emotionally revealing.

I was drawn deep into the world or a dying North Carolina mining town that understood how a small town actually works. With southerners that reflected the sort of people that make up my world and not some country music construct or white liberal nightmare. People of color, queer folk, the blue collared and deep rooted. It also acknowledges native folk exist unlike most Appalachian narratives I see where we tend to be an afterthought at best.

Only 4 parts of the planned 7 are out so far but if you end up craving more as I did you should also check out Slay The Princess, the studio’s other visual novel, which features the voice talents of Jonathan Sims of the Magnus Archives as a self-aware narrator urging you to kill a chained princess in a remote cabin and in order save the world.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a hot mess. There is no other ways to describe it. It’s constant crashes, weird graphical bugs, and seasickingly uneven writing leaves a lot to be desired. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t some of the most fun I’ve had in a game in years.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a tactics game from Firaxis, the same folks behind the x-com games and you can certainly feel that. There is that technical grit that you should expect, especially on higher difficulties you can feel yourself gritting your teeth as you solve the puzzles they present you with, trying to maximize your economy of card plays and movements.

I really found satisfaction in how they expressed the various superheroes of their cast through the card based deckbuilding mechanics that make up your movement options. The best example I can think of is how Iron Man is a sort of high damage jack of all trades, but he’s expensive and likes to be the center of attention so he wants to clog up your hand with more Iron Man cards. Peak Tony Stark.

But everyone seems to have their niche, although some people don’t seem to feel that way until you unlock their passives. Spider-man is a low damage character that excels at bouncing around the screen pecking off minions and using environmental damages. Captain America is a tank character that specializes on building a resources called shield and the group shared heroism. Magik (from New Mutants, a personal fave) reposition and teleports enemies and allies both. Blade messes around with bleed. It’s satisfying and made to feel more empowering and accessible than x-come with things like your attacks always hitting (this, of course, applies to your enemies too). It feels good. I’m going to keep coming back to replay this.

The other half of the game is that you’re in this explorable campus, a haunted abbey transplanted from Europe in a pocket dimension outside Salem. (The game unwittingly makes a lot of assumptions that you’re white.) Your marvel OC, a very predefined in a commander shepherd sorta guy, explores this space for resources, costumes, and more between all the standard x-com prep stuff. There is also the social links which is probably the meat of the experience.

The social links are your time to spend one-on-one time with each character. I remember notably when they first announced the game, they spent a not insignificant amount of time telling video game outlets “No. You can’t romance any of these characters. No. you can’t kiss them. You can just be...really good friends.” Par for the course for marvel’s weirdly defensive sexlessness outside of comphet. (something that feels reflected in the fashion of the game to be honest).

Marvel has always been weird about OC’s, even outside of the normal comic book company “lalalala, please don’t show us your oc’s we don’t want a plagerism suit.”

I genuinely think this is the first time they’ve allowed them in any form outside of a lego game since the 90’s. I certainly remember the surprising lack of character creation in their official Tabletop games. Or that one time they tried to make an official marvel fanfic site with the rules “no oc’s” and “no shipping”. I remember how long it took for them to embrace the concept of “spider-sonas”.

But despite this, all these hang-outs feel strangely intimate. Not always romantic, but definitely intimate. I’m talking about someone’s deep personal trauma deep in the woods and then gifting them a music box of a song that’s from their favorite album. I have no doubt in my mind my Hunter and Blade are dicking down hard in the woods. Despite some anne-riceian views on fandom, Marvel can not stop the fanfic. My half-demon is kissing the half-vampire right now.

The writing, while uneven, never doesn’t feel at least comfortably saturday morning cartoon at it’s worst. Which, honestly, is something I’m perfectly okay with for a supehero affair. Same with the quippy nature that seems to be grating some folk with this game. I don’t understand why we’ve suddenly decided to start blaming Joss Whedon for something that’s been a staple part of American theater and film since vaudeville. It’s not like quips and banter aren’t an established and recognized part of superhero fiction and there are plenty of very real things we can blame him for instead. It’s pulp y’all.

I will say when the writing is good, it’s excellent. It knocks it out of the damn park and the out of combat stuff and tiny little exchanges are some of my favorite things. Whether it’s the story about your immortal lesbian aunt that raised you to be a weapon, her wife (now a ghost that is hiding in the abbey), and the scarlet witch. Or Tony Stark having to learn humility and to give other members of a club space instead of running them over in an attempt to be the big boss guy. Or introducing other folks to Magik’s whole deal. It all just feels good and earned.

I came away from this just desperately wanting Firaxas to make a New Mutants game in this style now. Please. I’ll buy about 12 copies just by myself.

I’m a firm believer that about 90% of non-comic related super media doesn’t earnestly engage with the concept of superhero comics as a medium, either out of embarrassment or apathy. Superhero media is big, strange, and often high-concept weird. None of which I would use to describe most things post Iron Man. It’s a big reason why I think people have this big bland aftertastes after the past 15 years of so of being hosed down with the greatest afterswill of DC and Marvel.

A have a heuristic just for batman shit of “how easily can you see this man throw a batarang?”. Because if you can’t be willing to buy into the conceits and fantastical that much, how much can I trust you with anything else? How can I trust you to understand the underlying nature of the stories being told?

Midnight Sun’s understands a couple of things about superhero fiction better than most. One, that the strange and fantastical are vital to both the color of the world and greater humanity of these characters. Two, that a world of superheroics are very much build upon a conceit of duty and responsibility for others. You don’t see a lot of superheroes in movies and tv ever really doing anything superheroic. And while not all superheroes define themselves by some form of duty, it still defines their greater world. Superman in the Christopher Reeves movies takes the time to show him rescuing civilians. Into the Spiderverse shows Miles struggling to live up to this idea of doing right, even going to far to state the message of “anyone can wear the mask” directly to the audience.

Midnight Suns takes great care to tell you who all these characters are fighting for. It shows them stressed out and frustrated about not being able to respond to every situation, even the ones that are personal, after being stretched thin. Agreeing to help others do what they can when faced with tragedy. Even just being there for a friend when they need it. If you ask me, that’s marvel midnight sun’s greatest strength. I can deal with tony stark and bugs if it’s a story about that.

Signalis

I probably don’t have much to say on this that hasn’t already been said, but it’s so nice to see a game that wears it’s inspiration on it’s sleeves, but still is not afraid to be it’s own thing. I’ve been watching this game for a long time. Just the right amounts of alien, RE, silent hill, and anime. I was so pleased to see other pick it up with the enthusiasm I’ve been rooting for it with. It deserves it.

Signalis is quiet.

Yes, it has it’s share of space-y white noise and grinding Akira Yamaoka industrial, but it’s not afraid to just be quiet. It’s honestly refreshing in a world of games who can never shut up.

But Signalis wants you to feel that gripping sense of being isolated and alone. It’s precedented on being lonely and the only times you’re not alone are when you are in danger. Limited inventory leaves you with no room for something sentimental. No favorite weapons here. Not lockets you keep with you. It’s illegal to even be alone with yourself. Even when you do find someone to talk to there is an emotional separation that acts as a brick wall between you and them.

You are lonely.

It’s retro scifi style is made to evoke things like alien, but also the building genres and expecations of vhs horrors and our own nostalgia. VHS is a lonely technology. It’s use of ps1 aesthetics are made to push the feeling of playing a game by yourself late at night while a crt tv hums and scans.

I think the thing I like most is when the game stops to show you this, cutting from it’s gods eye third person view as you stomp about a metallic brutalist hellscape and pulls you into first person, made to experience this cold isolation first person as you explore a diorama or a dark snowy gap between buildings. It’s taking you, essentially, the main character’s only companion, and making that as non-existent as possible.

Soul Hackers 2

It’s the best game Atlus has written since the ps2 and I will not be taking any notes on that. It’s pure objective fact. It’s a game about adults in a capitalist hellscape, dealing with adult problems and relationships in a very anime way. I once heard some youtuber describe this Atlus budget title as “the best vita game you’ve never played” and that still feels apt.

You can see this game struggling to make thew most out of what it’s be given with static backgrounds, bland repeating dungeons, and a combat system that just kinda feels like it needed to bake for about 20 more minutes. But what it made it’s choices to include put in so much work.

As a sequel to a ps1 game about detectives (and humanity as a whole) of a sort summoning demons on their cellphones/weapons in a cyberpunk dystopia experiencing the emergence of new life in the form of AI, Soul Hackers 2 decided to take a different approach. It’s a game about emerging AI experiencing humanity, while being detectives of sorts who can summon demons on their cellphone/weapons in a cyberpunk dystopia. Very different.

I found myself delighted to spend time with it’s characters in all the various ways the narrative designers found ways to inject scenes and story into the normal dungeon crawling loop. All fully voice acted of course. I got drinks with them. I listen to them bitch or praise food we got together. I listened to little skits every time I unlocked a new passive ability for them that revealed some new wrinkle in their personality. This limited cast felt like it had the chance to be colorful and fully realized characters. There was an emotional maturity there I have otherwise felt lacking in other Atlus titles.

People were allowed to have complicated and maybe even unhealthy relationships and not only does the story acknowledge that, but the characters too. But that doesn’t mean that relationship is solved. People are messy and that’s something our little ai fragment is gonna learn again and again. Party members had tension and buck against each other, but it always felt like it would be something understandable on either end. It trusted you to understand things, make inferences, and read it in good faith. Probably lessons I could learn myself when it comes to writing.

Tinykin

Tinykin is cute. It knows it’s cute (maybe to it’s detriment at times).

In tinykin, you play a starfaring anthropologist looking for the ancestral home of humanity, only to end up in a house, frozen in time in the 90’s and you the size of a bug. You travel from room to room, collecting things to satisying chirps and navigating cities set up by various bug civilizations trying to get an answer to why...and to build yourself a new spaceship.

But it was a perfect bedtime game. Chill. Very little tension. You mess up and miss with a jump, you “died” with a little pop and reset to your place before the jump immediately. It’s a collect-a-thon that didn’t really track or gate things based on how much you collected. It’s the wort of game you could just set up and let a little cousin go to town without worry they’ll get frustrated or lost, because getting lost is half the point.

I wasn’t really biting any of the very high school atheist commentary on the nature of religion the game was throwing out there. Luckily the times it popped up were brief and inconsequential. What was much more appealing was all the ways you can move. You get a bubble to float off a double jump, a soap bar to slide and grind, and a collection of pikmin like critter to command and allow you to get to new places in an assortment of ways.

It felt good to move from one end of the room to the other like an off-roading borrower and you could feel just how much time the devs spent to make it so. Mid my playthrough they added challenge races which adds a whole new layer to how those tools can be used. This is a game I’m dying to see speedrun. Games I didn’t get to play but wanted to... -Live-a-Live

remake of a rpg classic, finally in English. I'd play this for music alone.

-Kowloon High-School Chronicles

remake of a ps1 cult game, finally in english. I want to be a high school indiana jones dungeon crawling to solve the mysetry of why a bizarre omnitemple is underneath my high school filled with occult-y weirdos. Interesting dialog system

.-Inscryption

card game cool. genre-bending card game things by a guy whose previous weird expectation subverting games I found neat.

-AI: Somnium Files- Nirvana Initiate

I loved the first one and it just looks like more of the same

-Ghostwire: Tokyo

I don't want to play this out of an expectation of this being some horror or action experience that would be fulfilling in any meaningful way, but rather pure vibes. Like a VR chat world with actual shit to do.

-Norco

A cyberpunk game about the invisible south. I'm in.

-Citizen Sleeper

Cool cyberpunk game about a robot finally earning freedom for their indentured servitude, only to find out their warranty has expired and their body is failing...takes a lot of cues form solo journaling games.

#games #goty #goty 2022 #mostly just stream of conscious rambles #scarlet hollow #midnight suns #signalis #soul hackers 2 #tinykin

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purupurple · 2 years ago

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i believe that will be it for me this year digital art-wise considering my tablet cord has had enough of my nonsense and now it's basically dead (tablet itself seems okay though so that's good... but its pretty old...) and also i'm going out of town soon so there won't be much time to do any drawing for a good while i think. maybe i should take my sketchbook though... guess i'll put some thoughts under a readmore

well... what a year. i should write about it on my neocities before i have to fly out. remember neocities? i sure didn't for a solid six months. hey, html is hard, what can i say? that aside, i'd like to thank everyone for the support this year. my blog grew quite a lot because i was drawing quite a bit of subway boss stuff and apparently that was a good idea. like, dude... i've just been having a prolonged brainrot episode and it's still probably going to keep going for a good long while. even larry hasn't distracted me long enough to not draw ingo and emmet for one day. even without submas art i would probably still be drawing pokemon stuff, unless i decide to be real bold and re-experience my great ace attorney phase (yes i had one (no i didn't post about it. thank god)) or something like that. regardless of whether my interests shift of my activity rises or falls, and whether those who follow me now stick around or move on, i'd still like to express my gratitude for your support. and not just to people following me, but to the people liking and/or reblogging my content and to those who will follow me in the future. without the feedback, i figure i would not be posting so much. funny little notification on funny little computer make the smooth little brain become happier brain, which is a "i want to draw" brain. the amount of notes doesn't matter overall, but it's nice to be acknowledged. i still do a lot of drawing that isn't shared here because it's just stuff i do for me, but its still pretty nice to be able to make stuff that is suitable to post and to see it actually get attention.

as for the plan next year, there might be some big changes in store for me yet. and i would still like to continue to draw subway bosses. but maybe i'll start posting some original content too (like i mean i have a tag for it and i kinda haven't been using it sooooooooooooo) and more frequent posts would be nice. maybe not once a week but just here and there. perhaps i'll share more sketches. i would like to acquaint everyone with my ocs, and maybe get around to rewriting their toyhouse pages which i took down to work on and never did WHOOPSIE DOODLES

okay i think that's enough, i have to save some of this for my diary on neocities like i said... see y'all next year AYYYYYY (im so tired)

#this isnt art

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chocolate-theft · 7 months ago

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About Me!!

Hello! Welcome. I just realized I never officially introduced myself and now here I am lmao.

I go by the username: Chocolate_Theft.

Just a fellow fan fiction writer on AO3. A very delulu one.

Any pronouns are fine with me since why not, I don't care.

I write:

Basic ahh description of me:

Active Fandoms:

- Dead by Daylight

- Resident Evil

- Silent Hill

- Jujutsu Kaisen

- Bungou Stray Dogs

- Ace Attorney

I’m mostly in the Dead by Daylight fandom. Plus, I have been the biggest shipper of Pyramid Head x Danny Johnson (Ghostface) for the longest time now (aka PyraGhost, that's their ship name, I'm the one who makes the rules.)

They're seriously my OTP and I write fics for them! It’s sad that they’re underrated😔

This pairing is literally the reason why I decided to create an AO3 account.

What To Expect:

I will post a lot of PyraGhost related content (duh). Maybe some other ships/interests/memes that I will post in the future.

My writings and perhaps fan arts.

I won’t post something that makes me uncomfortable. So yeah.

Other:

DMS are always open on Tumblr. Interact with me if you want! And if you’re a PyraGhost shipper like me… PLEASE TALK TO ME!! I CAN’T DIE ALONE ON THIS HILL!! Lol but jokes aside I love making fandom friends. And I will try my best to reply.

I'm only active on Tumblr, AO3 and Discord by the same username: chocolate_theft (but I won't be accepting any friend request on Discord unless I know I know the person). If you somehow find me on different platforms posting stuff, that’s not me bro.

Please do tell me if someone is reposting/stealing my works, thank you for understanding.

Main Pairings:

Pyramid Head x Danny “Jed Olsen” Johnson | The Ghost Face { PyraGhost }

Albert Wesker x Chris Redfield { Chrisker }

[Note: A remake of this ‘about me’ post will come soon bcs I just find it messy.]

#About me #introduction #outdated

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multifandom-fanfic-writer · 10 months ago

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20 Questions for fic writers

Let's goooo

How many works do you have on Ao3?

36! Well that's certainly A Number

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

585,468 (gonna his the 600k soon)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Which don't I write for? Lol. Mostly Naruto and Hannibal. I've also written several fics for TMA, MCU, Ace Attorney, The Sandman, and fics for OFMD, GO and the Witcher.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Shinra Tensei (Naruto: Akatsuki!Sakura fic(

you may be a sinner, but your innocence is mine (cute hannigram)

howl (non-trad a/b/o hannigram)

brighten the darkest hour (sandman hob/dream, but only bc i posted it on the right time i think tbh)

hold me, kiss me, rip off my tongue (plot and porn hannigram)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely! Not super fast, but I keep all the comment alerts in a folder of 'not yet answered' and move them from that folder when I've responded. In general the longer/more detailed the comment the more I try to give a very nice reply because I appriciated the comment. That can be hard to do without spoilers or leaving people to interpret the story how they like, sometimes.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

absolutely butterfly. I mean everyone dies. It's super tragic. Only time I really sat down to write an angst fic

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

probably Cooking for a Cutie (hannigram x queer eye). I mean, Will gets actual help, the Fab Five are wholesome and in character, and it's really just happy all is well vibe in general.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on Ao3. I used to post on ff.net as well, both when I was a younger (and less good) writer, and got hate there. Even on Shinra Tensei when I used to post it there. Which I stopped. Because ff.net in my experience had so much haters compared to Ao3, where I've gotten criticism, yes, but not hate.

9. Do you write smut?

Heh. Yeah. Though often they are shorter fics that are centered around the sexual tension, with some exceptions (like my Steddy Hands fic) and for my big novels who are more dystopian vibe I don't write smut, because it doesn't fit. It has to fit the plot/themes of the story.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

A bit - I wrote a good omens/sandman crossover, and the aforementioned hannibal/queer eye crossover. But they are not very crazy, honestly, keep to both of their canons as much as possible, too. I wouldn't consider them crazy (though the second one more so than the first).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! A couple of times, all of them Hannigram, I think. All of them in Russian at the Russian fic site, and they asked permission and I linked to that fic site too. I even went their once to read the comments there hihi

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. I did do a collab once where someone made art and I wrote fic. That was nice, but honestly not my favourite experience, especially the deadline attached to it. Same reason I've done a zine once but aren't a fan of it (for me) or those weekly prompts thing or whatever. I want to write when my muse is on, when I have time and energy for it, otherwise it isn't fun anymore. Co-writing a fic would also only be pressure for me.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

Hmm... honestly, I think my favourite thing to write is the dynamic between the protagonist and the fucked up world they live in (maybe personified through a saviour or villain). So... yeah?

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have two I want to finish but fear I'll never have the inspiration for again - one is a CR RPF fic that I have the second (smut) chapter half-written for, but I wrote such a long time ago I would have to re-write the whole thing, and I'm not sure I want to anymore. Second is a TMA JonElias fic I've written 4.5 out of 5 chapters for and I just don't have the muse for anymore. Maybe I'll finish the second one someday, but I'll probably won't finish the first.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Difficult for me to say about myself, lol. Uh. Worldbuilding, I think, and character voice? And fight scenes, or at least that's what people like about my Naruto fic. It also depends a bit on the thing I write fanfiction for. I'm honestly not quite sure. I'm not good at naming my own strengths lol

17. What are you writing weaknesses?

Writing things in too many words / using too many words, including over-used unnecessary words I think. Or worldbuiling something an obvious way and then missing an obvious question. Although that last one is also style, I don't worldbuild everything to the detail.

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

Not a fan, honestly. It can be done well - a very small couple of lines in another language said by a random not-even-minor character with the translation at the end of the chapter or otherwise somehow provided. But it can mostly be confusing and cause me to scroll up and down annoyingly.

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

LOL Jonas Brothers self-insert fic in my native language which thankfully never saw the light of day HAHA

20. Favorite fic you have written?

Oh most certainly my life's work Shinra Tensei and the sequel Bansho Ten'nin. Not only my biggest and longest fic, but also the one I love most. Which is why I started writing it around like 2015 (posted first chapter in like 2017) and am still writing it, and finally moving into the 4th and last arc soon.

#about me #fanfiction #20 questions

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ocpdramblings · 10 months ago

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Maybe I should start using this blog to talk about my hobbies as well so that I can associate it with things I like. I like art, I do a variety of mediums. Watercolor, charcoal, graphite, trying to get into pastels and gouache, digital, not a fan of acrylic but I can do it, really want to try oil painting but I don’t have the space for it to dry.

I like reading classics a lot. Pride and prejudice is a fave rn and I impulse purchased Jane Austen’s entire works. Read the predecessor to Dracula, Carmilla. Very good. Very gay. Way more gay than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be subtext. It was not. I also like reading trashy books as well. I really enjoy the ones that TikTok recommends that have absolutely insane plot premises. I don’t care about the writing at that point I just need to read.

I’ve recently gotten into Overwatch. Never played a FPS before. Made a couple new friends from it. Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Hollow Knight, I really wanna get into Celeste. On the second Ace Attorney game, I love mobile and gacha games, I wanna play more otomes even tho I’m not a big fan of romance when I am implicated.

I unmask a lot with this blog and every time I reread a post I can’t help but think of how bland it is and how I’d never talk like that in real life.

My favorite game is Okami. Never met other people who like it. Very sad.

I watch anime, tho I do this thing where I’ll watch a popular anime a couple years after it comes out. And I tell myself that it’s to see if it lives up to the hype but honestly it’s bc I’ll have random moments in which I want to watch anime and then the only ones that come to mind are popular ones on social media years ago. I say my favorite is Bungou Stray Dogs but that’s actually my favorite manga not my favorite anime. My fav anime rn is probably High Card. Doesn’t have the highest budget but I like the premise so far and the characters. My favorite mangas are Bungou Stray Dogs, Kuroshitsuji, and Witch Hat Atelier (also not caught up on). I wanna start reading firefly wedding.

I read a lot of romance manhwas, mainly with female leads but I have a couple with male leads that I adore. I haven’t watched any tv shows in a while but I’ve been telling myself that I’m either going to watch Hannibal or Dexter. I’ve been wanting to consume more queer material involving women since I’ve found that despite being sapphic, very few women media shows up recommended to me. Favorite movie of last year was Bottoms. I watched it several times. I want to get into cdramas. The next film I see will either be The Handmaiden or Maja Ma. Or one of the Saw movies. Been on a Saw movie binge with friends. I find the themes inconsistent. An unforgivable crime.

There’s no actors I’m particularly into. Never got into anything Marvel aside from Spider Man. I plan on reading the comics soon bc a friend of mine really likes Spider man and I want him to know I care about his interests.

I’ve found a new enjoyment for figure skating. I have a couple of male skaters that I quite enjoy, but I’d like to watch more and eventually get into some female and ice dancing pairs as well.

I crochet. Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. I graduate with my bachelors in the spring. I plan on doing my masters in IO psychology. My favorite color is blue and pink. I’ve been dying my hair for I think two years now. Maybe six months away from two. My friends say that I am surprisingly progressive in regards to my political views. I don’t know what that is supposed to mean.

I have a new car cause I recently got into a car crash. I’m very privileged. I don’t have to worry about money. I do regardless. I somehow have this personality disorder, and I have had one of the best life’s a child could have. Though every time I say that my friends say that’s weird considering the amount of trauma I’ve gone through. I think I have turned out well despite my circumstances. I like caring about other people. I’d like to make it my life’s goal to improve the life of somebody I don’t know yet.

Feel free to reach out to this blog anytime. It’s a side blog so I’m likely not gonna end up following anybody but I like talking.

#my post #personal

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mantisfriendd · 1 year ago

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(have a graphic here that says welcome)

hey.

I'm Mantis Friend

I consider this an 18+ blog not because I frequently post 18+ content but because I want the freedom to do so if I want, usually though this is just a place for me to post art and reblog things I think are funny.

(full resolution cat pic at the bottom)

Number one Mr. Cupcake fan

I'm mainly an artist and musician but I also do a lot of other things, including shitpost, if you just wanna see my art, I've tagged it all as "#my art" if you wanna see my music I've tagged it as "#my music" ... if you only wanna see the nonsense I've tagged all of it as "#shitpost" any thing I reblog is now tagged "#re🅱️log" so you can mute that tag if you only wanna see my wholly original unhinged rambling and art. "🅰️sks" is the tag for asks.

Reblogs, replies, and follows are NOT a endorsement. Simply put I cannot do a full background check on every person I interact with on this site, obviously if I catch someone I'm following doing something awful I'll unfollow them then, but there is simply no time efficient way for me to do that with every person I ever interact with ever.

(more info below the cut)

https://href.li/?https://mantis-friend.neocities.org/

some more info about me for the nosy:

he/him

I'm a big fan of:

Five Nights at Freddy's , Ace Attorney , Undertale/Deltarune , JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, The Persona Series and Doki Doki Literature Club!

I consider myself a collector, I mostly collect Retro games and pins, but also anything that catches my eye, I have almost the entirety of Star Trek on VHS, I've not watched a full episode yet.

UPCOMING (?) PROJECTS:

Webcomic:

I have been working on this webcomic for quite awhile now, which is unfortunate because I started it with the intention of it not becoming one of my huge projects that never come out.

That being said this will be the first wholly original project I will make.

The comic is inspired by Shonen manga, specifically Jojo's, if that sounds like something you might enjoy, stay posted! I don't have a venue for the comic at the moment but I think I may host it here on Tumblr!

Role Playing Game:

Dont expect this one any time soon, I want to make sure I am at least somewhat competent in Game Maker Studio before I work on this idea I've had for years.

As this project is so on the back burners because of the skill needed for me to actually start work on it, I can't say with certainty what the game will be like when I finally start development, right now it is a scattered series of artworks, documents, and soundtracks, but this is what im building towards.

I will say that this game as I Invision it currently, is inspired by the Persona series, with elements of Ace Attorney's investigation and Cross Examination sequences. The only other thing I will say about this game is that I intend to have a mechanic to replace the "level up to get stronger" mechanic that most traditional RPGs have.

Finished Projects:

VIDEO A DAY PROJECT:

Back in 2021 I decided I wanted to upload a video to my YouTube Channel every day that year, and that I did.

Mostly songs you'll notice that the quality of the videos takes a serious nose dive during most of the year, they aren't all great but there are some good things in there.

I have a playlist of all the videos here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUv6pXjkdl6Bgq5Nim0AJuYzxNImg-Ga_

I do not recommend you watch them all, please don't, but it might be fun to scroll through the playlist and click on ones that catch your eye.

if you don't wanna do that then you at least watch the first video Black on White https://youtu.be/iI9HQg9lyjA and the Last https://youtu.be/qjdoybrOduQ which is a remix of the song using the experience I gained through the year. and who knows maybe there is some secret hidden in the end screen if that last video ;)

you can find me in other places here:

My website is janky but (hopefully) the best place to link you to anything you might desire (if your desire is more stuff by me)

YouTube is where I post my music and other video things: https://youtube.com/channel/UCKDmQwajLVwu_FKKlPqebUA

I sometimes post to Instagram but the way it works kind of annoys me so you might not find all my art there, but you will find some game boy photos!

I have a Gamejolt account but I kinda forget about it

on discord I am "mantisfriend" DMs are open, for now, feel free to DM me!

I have a Twitter but I find myself using it less and less as the CEO makes a fool of himself and guts the platform

I have a Reddit account but I am not really using it anymore as the CEO makes a fool of himself and guts the platform

I got a Newgrounds account have no idea how this site works!

If you want to Email me feel free to email [email protected]

and of course feel free to message me here as well, I'm probably most active here now that reddit has become worthless.

PROJECTS I'M APART OF:

currently I am a composer for the FNAF fan game Fazbear Rebrand

(sometimes this link breaks for no reason, but if you search Fazbear Rebrand on gamejolt it should come up)

Thats the only one for the time being, but I'll make sure to keep this post relatively up to date

Thanks for reading!

#pinned post #information #bio #my art

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gayfrenchtoast · 3 years ago

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Ace Attorney Swap AU

This is the shortest I could summarise the start of this I'm sorry. Also I may have gotten some law a little mixed up I'm sorry too I'm an idiot

Pheonix was in the elevator that day trying to protect Miles. Miles passed out much faster in the elevator than before and Pheonix was one one who threw the gun before passing out

Misty Fey assists on the trial and Miles is thankful for them, this is where he meets Maya for the first time.

Pheonix is furious that the Balif didn't go to jail in the end because he is convinced its him (and tells himself it has to be him because he's terrified it was actually himself) so when he sees Von Karma demands to be his protoje. Seeing an opportunity to keep his secret under as tight wraps as possible by controlling Pheonix he accepts

Pheonix is in the Foster system so Von Karma easily gets custody of him. Meanwhile Grossberg takes Miles in and becomes friends with the Fey's. They all suggle together when the media bears down on the Phycics and being told his father's spirit was there and wanted to protect Miles is great comfort to him. Miles dosent know that Gregory is protecting him from the truth.

Pheonix grows up in Germany with Franziska as a sister. Von Karma of course misstreats him and his tutalidge is relentless but Pheonix becomes a fluent German speaker and well versed in law by the time he is a teenager. Every time he fails he rises again and does better. He does his best to cling to his kindness and optimism, actually forming a pretty good relationship with Franziska, but he is often punished for it. He keeps a steely exterior to avoid trouble.

Meanwhile Miles struggles, he misses his father and best friend but Mr and Mrs Grossberg are jolly people and encourage him to do something with his love for steel samuri. He decides he wants to work on film and invests himself in all parts of the art of it. This makes him happy though he still suffers depression and nightmares. He also often gets to visit the Feys and as is the one to introduce Maya to Steel Samuri.

While Miles is in University he has a few identity crisises, one about possibly dissapointing his father by not becoming a lawyer too and one about maybe being gay. Being on an arts course does that too you. It also didn't help that Mia Fey was working under grossberg and he was jealous. He goes to a library to read some books on identity and some on law and is found by Dahlia Hawthore. Dahlia pretends to be a sweet innocent ally and becomes Miles' first friend in a long time (despite being at uni Miles has been awkward, polite and standoffish with most everyone he's met) and he promises to help her our however she can while she promises she'll keep his secret.

So Miles ends up in court accused of murder. Mia jumps to defend him with Grossber because that's their boi and Miles is terrified they're gonna find out he's gay and so refuses to turn on his friend. However when the tables are flipped and he realises he's been had he realises he's more at risk than ever of having his secret exposed and he may have unintentionally betrayed the feys. Despite this Mia seems to pick up that Dahlia has soemting on him and interupts when she seems to be about to say anything incriminating. Unfortunately Miles had figured out that the necklace given to him was important somehow so he intentionally lost it and it was never found. So they are both let off scot free.

Miles feels guilty for betraying Mia yet inspired by her skills as a lawyer. He apologises after the trail and she reassures him, even jokes about being even, and then they talk law. He's still on the fence until looks down the hall and sees none other than a young Pheonix fucking Wright in a garish royal blue jacket with the gold and frills and all, even the cravat, and wearing a stone cold expression as he is talked to by Von Karma.

Miles all but bolts over to his old friend to say hello. When he calls to him pheonix sees him coming and, a supprised and happy expression starts to flicker on his face before Von Karma steps in and prevents Miles from getting and closer. He lectures Miles about being am Edgeworth and therefore a pain and to stay away from his ward. Pheonix is then issued into the courtroom to start his trail, not responding when Miles calls for him again, and as soon as he's gone Miles has made up his mind and vows to be a defense attorney. Pheonix would have to talk to him then.

#ace attorney au #ace attorney #miles edgeworth #pheonix wright #lawyer swap au #wrightworth #narumitsu #mia fey #marvin grossberg #gregory edgeworth

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numberoneanika · 3 years ago

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ahaha. fictional characters

hello and welcome to my (sometimes) multifandom blog. i am absolute chaos

fandoms i'm in, other blogs, about me, and others V

other blogs:

@campcamp-soupicane (dead because Where Is Season Five. im also probably not going to get back into camp camp anytime soon. so.)

@rarepair-central (also dead because i have Several Hyperfixations And Hobbies. i plan to revive it with danganronpa rarepairs)

@vivazaki (somewhat dead, and main blog, no fandoms rather than shitposting)

fandoms:

listen okay once upon a time i WAS in multiple fandoms but well. as of now i'm just obsessed with danganronpa.

fangans i also like:

dra/sdra2

danganronpa despair time (I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT IT!!! VERY NORMAL!!!)

brave danganronpa: coward's paradise

project eden's garden (VERY!!! NORMAL!!!)

danganronpa (he)artless deceit

ace attorney games i've played through:

pheonix wright trilogy

apollo justice trilogy

miles edgeworth investigations 1 and 2

other media:

raincode

favorite characters and ships (that also conveniently doubles as a simp list for many of these characcters! ask me about any of the bolded items and i will love you forever):

canon dr: kiyotaka ishimaru, gundham tanaka, korekiyo shinguij, shinnaga, sondam, ishikuro

drdt: arturo giles (sorry everyone i'm a kiyo fan it was bound to happen), charles cuevas, rose lacroix, charuko, terurose, veroruko, teruvid, whitco

dra, sdra2: haruhiko kobashikawa, nikei yomiuri, hajime makunouchi, emma magorobi, setsukei, makurobi, satsuhiko

drhd: tomoya morita, denshi shigenobu, ryuuji himura, akimoya, katsuhidechou

bdr: ichirou taida (trust guys he will Not die), no ships yet

p:eg (unfortunate acronym): ulysses wilhelm, mark berskii (purely out of my speculation i think about him being the mastermind so much i think it's a problem), kaimon, ulymon

aa: matt engarde, KLAVIER GAVIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, damon gant, SIMON KEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rules???? i don't know????

credit me if you use art. and uhh don't be a dick

dni-

-homophobes and transphobes

-TERFs

-racists

-no any-religion phobes (INCLUDES ANTI-THEISTS ISLAMOPHOBES AND ANTI-CHRISTIANS!!!!)

-xenophobes

thin ice:

proshippers

about me:

i'm anika but you might've known me as kaileighs-multifandom-mayhem. the only reason my url didn't say anika is because i was weird and insecure about my name

i go by she/her and am aegosexual (ace but i still think about horny shit sometimes), cis, and bi-questioning

possibly autistic. i think so. maybe adhd still looking into it

i'm indian but i live in america in the midwest where i have never seen a hill. it's on my bucket list actually

kinlist: whit young (drdt), min jeung (drdt), sebastian debeste (aai2), klavier gavin (aa4), trucy wright

dob is 23 august, where my summer birthday lads at

yeah that's it

good and nice. goodbye

#intro post #introducing me #introducing myself #kai's multifandom blog #danganronpa #danganronpa despair time #brave danganronpa #dra #sdra2 #project eden's garden

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jayce-y · 3 years ago

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Stuff about Great Ace Attorney that stood out to me

So I just finished both great ace attorney games and just had to gush about it. Will contain spoilers as I write random thoughts throughout the entire game, including things related to the final case. I’m serious. You will miss out on some pretty epic reveals that are so much better being experienced yourself so please only read once you’ve completed the entire game.

-Ryunosuke’s darting eyes and cute table slams and stuttering his words slowly transitioning to confidence was so smooth throughout the two games.

-When Kazuma did his first table slam I was like: “DAMN SON that’s hot”

- I was jumping in my seat when I realized there was an investigation with Yuujin and Herlock. And the TAP DANCING. Gosh I love this game.

- I found it so hilarious whenever Barok Van Zieks was determined to ignore Ryunosuke, but then Ryunosuke would inadvertently insult him and he’d be forced to speak up to defend himself.

-Enjoyed the english dub, especially on that reunion scene where Kazuma is revealed to be alive.

-Herlock being a dumbass and nearly killing all of them by mistaking a time bomb for an anti-gravity device. My reaction to him was the exact same as Gregon’s. *glare*

- omg when Iris finally calls Herlock “daddy” was the cutest moment ever. Happy for Herlock.

-SHAMSPEARE WAS SO ANNOYING OMG

- they are so fricking lucky that the “SHOLMES” number combination puzzle still worked with the localization for opening Jigoku’s suitcase haha.

- ALL OF KAZUMA’S THEME SONGS. Literally even his prosecutor theme is so great and when you first hear it you’re like, oh shit we’re actually going against him, but then you hear the familiar theme and you carefully look at his actions, you realize he still sees you as his best friend, but his mind is just so overtaken by revenge.

- Also loved the Pursuit theme for this game. Other songs that stood out were Edoch Drebber’s theme and Susato’s theme.

-Kazuma’s...white....skin-tight...outfit... Also I noticed his hair got slightly longer haha.

- I loved how extra all of Barok’s animations were. Speaking of animations, why were Edoch Drebber’s animations so frickin satisfying to watch. Like seriously especially the one with the smirk, I can look at it forever.

- Found it really interesting how different it felt going against the three prosecutors, Auchi, Barok, then Kazuma. With Auchi, it was like, super easy to make him flustered and feel like you’re winning. He was stuck-up and prideful and not willing to admit he was wrong when he so obviously is. With Barok, it felt like going against a metal wall. Like, it wasn’t even that he was stubborn (in fact, if he saw merit in your argument, he’d go along with you), he was just flawless in finding kinks in your arguments and shutting them down professionally and efficiently. With Kazuma, he had the sharpness of Barok but not the professionalism (makes sense as Barok has way more experience) and there was an emotional side to it since he’s your best friend who supported you so much in the first case.

- knowing Kazuma’s true goal now, I wondering if he was serious in case 1-1 when he said “if I fail to defend Ryu then I don’t deserve to go to Britain”. He wouldn’t lie about something like that, so either he was 100% sure he would win (which I'm not sure he would’ve as the lawyer since he faltered during one of Jezaille’s testimonies, and it was Ryu that found the contradiction), or Ryu really meant so much to him that he’d truly meant what he said and would give up on finding the truth about his father due to how disappointed he’d be in himself?

- I was reading about people saying Case 2-4 and 2-5 were Kazuma and Ryu’s “divorce arc” and I was so scared for the angst but once I actually played, I realized that Kazuma’s malice is never directed at Ryu, despite him defending Barok. On the contrary, he wanted Ryu to be at this trial to see it through with him to the end because he knew it was going to be too painful to travel this road by himself. And gosh I loved that speech where Ryu helped Kazuma see that hate was clouding his judgement. Yes Kazuma is so different compared to case 1, but once you understand his mindset for the past ten years, I think the way he acted towards everyone makes sense.

- I also laughed so hard in one of the final scenes, right after the trial with eveyone in the defense antechamber and Susato was like: wait til you see the smile on Barok Van Ziek’s face. And he just suddenly appears with the biggest frown on his face. Then later Susato was like: If Kazuma saw you now he’d have the biggest smile. Then Kazuma suddenly appears with the biggest frown on his face. I don’t know why, maybe it was just how suddenly they appeared that made me laugh.

- so much pain in case 5. I actually cried when Klint Van Zieks was reading out his confession letter. Probably was because of all the build up leading up to it. Genshin, Kazuma, Barok, Klint, Ginny, Gregson, Yuujin... so many people were pushed to their breaking point.

- I found it amusing to see the different art styles of the different artists working on the game through the character profile icons.

- loved the bittersweet, but mostly sweet, ending where they separate but promise to meet again soon.

That’s all for today, might add more if I remember them.

#great ace attorney #spoilers #thoughts on game

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tiecladartist · 3 years ago

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Barok for the Character Headcanons! :D

Coming from you, this feels like the ask came from Barok himself!

Character Headcanons:

1: sexuality headcanon - May be projecting for this one, but I see him as either ace or demi. At the very least I don't think he'll even be thinking about relationships until he's better worked through his trauma (losing your ability to trust others for several years makes being vulnerable with a S/O a little difficult methinks).

2: otp - Barok X Arts and Crafts. I'll be honest, even though Albert/Benjamin was the first character to pop into my head, I didn't really see them as being romantically involved. And so, this is my OTP. I see making the diagrams for cases as something almost therapeutic for Barok. Considering he spends a lot of time tense and on high alert, I feel like it's probably nice to be able to just sit and work on something like that in the safety of his office. He'd take pride in all the little details, perhaps so focused he doesn't notice when he gets some paint on his face from moving his hair out of his eyes (wiping it off as soon as he notices though because an English gentleman can't walk about with a dirty face). I just want Barok to be able to relax from time to time, and art (even for the sake of work) is a nice outlet/distraction.

3: brotp - And this is where Albert/Benjamin comes in! I loved their dynamic. That belief Barok had in him, defending the instant kinesis machine so much because even if it was utter nonsense it was important to Albert/Ben. Not to mention sending his only real friend back to Germany despite having the opportunity to catch up and have some positive and happy interactions for once, all out of concern for his friend's safety? Like, Albert was more or less all he had left from his happier past (I know Tobias was there too but they seemed to interact on a mostly professional bases now), Albert/Ben was someone Barok knew he could trust in a world filled with perceived enemies. He was someone that genuinely made him happy! And yet, Barok was willing to put his own happiness and this chance for one good day aside because he was so worried the Reaper's curse would take Albert/Ben away and it'd be Klint all over again. He cared about his friend that much!! I have many many feelings about their friendship and how great it is but I am going to stop myself now xD

4: notp - Barok X Sholmes - As entertaining as it is to see the dynamic of serious/closed-off and "I'm just here to start s***" I could never do this to Barok. I feel that over time the two of them could have the occasional evening of fun debate, or maybe even intellectual discussion with the right topic, most likely because Iris is pushing for them to get along better, but it would probably only work if it's in small doses, so a relationship would be out of the question.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head: This man sleeps at a desk more often than a bed. Office aside, I feel like back at his home he gets ready for bed, glass of wine in hand, bed ready to go, and thinks "I'm not quite tired yet" and heads to his writing desk instead, working on paperwork, or perhaps reading a book that's caught his attention. Then, before he knows it, he wakes up with his pen in hand or a book on his lap. I feel like it started when he was taking his break, since he was no longer on a work schedule, and perhaps the poor sleeping habit stuck around. Or alternatively, it's a result of him not wanting to be alone with only his thoughts before bed. He needs to keep his mind distracted or he begins to think of Klint, or the curse, or if he'll be taking a safe enough route to get to that meeting tomorrow, perhaps he's less likely to get jumped if he takes that street instead? or...

6: one way in which I relate to this character: Barok seems to try to avoid getting close to people. It took two whole games and a jailcell for him to open up to Ryu about his past, and even that took some effort. While it's not to the degree of our wonderful god of death, I also find it difficult to trust or open up to people out of a fear of it hurting more when they inevitably leave. I'll say what's needed in the moment, what's expected of someone in whatever relationship I have with them, but I find it hard to properly open up about my feelings and allow myself to be vulnerable despite seeming honest on the outside. And then, just as he did in the final case, one day someone with enough persistence crosses that invisible threshold and I'm like "alright time to exposition dump if you're clearly sticking around anyways"

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: His "passive aggression" (to put it mildly) to Ryu is probably the biggest culprit. I could go on for hours analyzing the causes of, mindset behind and thematic purposes of his treatment of Ryu, but it doesn't change the fact that he does say some pretty rude and uncalled for things at times. Explanation does not equate to excuse after all. Though, I don't remember it being as bad as the fandom portrays, so I'll be paying more attention to it on my Twitch playthrough. (At the very least, he isn't physically assaulting the defense like some other prosecutors, as low of a bar as that is to reach). That being said, I also appreciate the fact that the characters in this game have flaws! People aren't perfect, and the less appealing sides of the Great Ace Attorney characters make them feel all the more real.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? Enemy of his liver, Old Bailey janitors, Japanese Lawyers and his own emotions, I have to declare him a Problematic Fave xD

#Thanks for the ask!#Hopefully the answers are to your liking :)#They ended up a little long because I love talking about and analyzing this amazing character #tgaa #tgaa2 #the great ace attorney #the great ace attorney 2 #tgaa spoilers #tgaa2 spoilers #dai gyatuken saiban 2 spoilers #dai gyatuken saiban #dgs #dgs 2 #dgs2 spoilers #dgs spoilers #Barok Van Zieks #posts about this game require so many tags my goodness

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bagadew · 3 years ago

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The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band (Part 1)

Last Time: With a little help from Susato, the lady in pink, we discovered that Miss Brett poisoned Dr Wilson with Curare, a fast acting poison that’s only effective when introduced into the blood stream. In a last ditch attempt to avoid justice, Miss Brett destroyed the evidence right in front of the court, but fortunately my man Hosonaga was on hand with new evidence he’d taken from the crime scene, meaning that all we had to do was catch the thief of a rare golden coin, and tie Miss Brett up with her own words! At last I (Ryunosuke) was acquitted!

...only to find out in the lobby that Miss Brett has managed to privilege her way out of any consequences and was gone like smoke in the wind. (Also Kazuma used his sword in a way I found very hot, and I think I’ve accidentally doomed him to death or moral corruption.)

I’m 90% sure The Speckled Band is a Sherlock Holmes case, and I’m 49% sure it’s one of the ones I’ve read. I’m guessing this is where we’ll meet The Great Himbo Detective Herlock Sholmes then!

Well I guess that answers that then.

(And yes, I have read this one)

HERLOCK!

And he’s voiced by Professor Layton maybe???

Ooh, this seems like a Study in Scarlet, are we doing a Study in Scarlet guys?

Herlock has a magic gun!?!

Also I’m not digging this Japanese scripture and talk of it being penned by ‘the victim himself’. Kazuma what did I tell you about leaving my sight?

Wait... I could have sworn I just saw Hosonaga dressed as a sailor...

Oh balls, am I about to be accused of murder again?

Honestly I can’t take you anywhere Ryunosuke

Well Ryunosuke, you remember how you went to a lovely restaurant and got arrested for a murder you didn’t commit?

Well, it’s just like that but substitute restaurant for ship.

Also I’m not liking how little I’ve seen of Kazuma...

Ryunosuke we really need to have a talk about you just saying what people want to hear.

ITS FUCKING KAZUMA ISN’T IT?!

Nononononononono

I knew this was coming, you knew this was coming, Ace Attorney law dictated it was coming as soon as it set Kazuma up as both my mentor and best friend.

But even so, I thought they were just empty threats! I didn’t think they’d actually follow through! Or that we might at least enjoy Herlock Sholmes ad his magic gun together first.

I realise I’m stalling here, but maybe if I just don’t click I’ll not have to see his body.

Sailor Man, I understand that you’re very upset, we all are, but I need you to understand that I’m grieving here.

The man I love took one look at the morally compromised shits I’m normally into and decided he’d rather die than join them! And yes I know I’m still stalling and not taking this as seriously as I should because I still don’t believe it!

See, me and Ryunosuke are on the same page!

I didn’t Susato, but the problem is that you and I have only just met and I’m not very convincing!

Kazuma you legend! I refuse to believe you are dead until I see your corpse.

Now Ryunosuke’s all: I can’t believe they tossed your case around that much. I thought I was going to die.

And Kazuma’s telling me he’s just amazed I fitted inside his trunk in the first place.

Kazuma you can’t be gone! Who else will condescendingly tell me to go to France and ask rather than translate a French label for me?

Now Kazuma’s telling me (Ryunosuke) that I’m going to have to live in his cabin for the next 50 days.

Also we’ve got to keep this from Susato because we’re breaking the law and Kazuma doesn’t want us to take her down with us.

Lol, every day I get shoved into the wardrobe by an uncaring Kazuma!

Oh, that’s what the message said!

God knows what the steward thought Kazuma was keeping in his wardrobe though

See Ryunosuke, this is why we think before we speak.

I don’t envy the real killer when Susato gets hold of them.

From what I can find out it’s a locked room mystery, and the cause of death is still undetermined, so I’m guessing something like poison then rather than an obvious thing, like being stabbed with his big sword.

On one hand, I really hope it wasn’t something like Curare, because I don’t want Kazuma to have gone out like that, but on the other hand poison would explain why the killer didn’t need to be in the room when he died and why Kazuma didn’t strike them down with said big sword.

Ok, so Kazuma, legend that he was, got up every day at the crack of dawn to do sword training. And Susato, who I’m begging to suspect is incredibly hardcore, go up before him so she could go and wait for him outside.

Now that’s interesting.

The two of them seem like they were pretty close, so there’s a good chance it’s just that she’s so familiar with Kazuma’s habits that she can tell the second something’s off, or it could be that there’s some other reason we need to work out.

If that’s correct that means Kazuma was killed in the small hours of the morning.

You know up ‘til now I’ve been assuming Ryunosuke was knocked out or something, and that’s why he was unconscious in the wardrobe, but now I’m starting to think he might have just been sleeping in there.

:((

Wait why’d Kazuma write in Russian?

Like I’d buy that he might know it, but I don’t buy that’s it’s what he’d write in in his finger moments.

Well that proves my innocence then, all we need to do is get some witnesses to verify the ‘go to France and ask’ moment from the last case

Oh ok, I didn’t manage to screenshot it, but it seems that I (Ryunosuke) didn’t put myself in the wardrobe. That’s very odd.

I can see a vent up there, so maybe someone gassed us and then got in while we were asleep and set up the crime scene.

Kazuma said I should come, next question

Ryunosuke, with some of the words that come out of your mouth I don’t think you should be throwing stones.

Love?

Apparently not.

This is going to be something ominous isn’t it...

I’m starting to feel like Kazuma knew he’d never see England.

Kazuma how many toes did you tread on?

Oh fucking hell!

You can’t die and be heading down a dark moral path, that’s not fair!

Yeah, I want to know that too.

So my poison/drugging theory seems to be holding up. Apparently Kazuma bought me something to eat, I climbed into the hiding wardrobe, and then it’s lights out from there.

Given that I didn’t wake up when Kazuma was killed I’m going to say that also back that theory up. Even if it was silent I feel like Ryunosuke would have woken up if someone was going round the cabin knocking ink bottles over and killing Kazuma.

No, don’t blame yourself Ryunosuke!

It’s my fault really, if I was going to find Kazuma hot I should have made sure I could manifest inside my switch and protect him!

Ah, of course! Isn’t her dad a professor of pathology? And she seems like the sort of person who picks things up pretty quickly!

In other words, if this is a poisoning, she could be the perfect person to be partnered up with.

:(((

Susato is fully prepared to kick our ass if we try and leave, and as the woman who got up before Kazuma, I think we should listen to her.

:(((((

I say we team up as an investigative duo and catch this bastard!

Yeah!

SHE FUCKED US UP!!!

Susato didn’t come here to play! Especially when we might have killed Kazuma!

(Editors note: this isn’t a bad screenshot, Susato genuinely made Ryunosuke’s vision go blurry)

I know we need to investigate, but my god this woman’s got a fist to match her convictions.

You know when I first met Susato I was a bit afraid she was going to be the inverse of Maya to the point of being meek and shy.

Now I see what a fool I was.

Susato might be prepared to politely follow the rules, but woe betide you if you break them.

She’s even named it!

Again I know this is bad for us but GO SUSATO!

(God damn it you can’t all be my favourite characters)

Her own special martial arts form Ryunosuke!

And just like that she regathers her composure and carries on as if nothing had happened!

I like how she’s still just standing over me.

Ok Ryunosuke let’s go!

(Seriously though we don’t want her as an enemy)

Ah of course, Kazuma stuck the seal on the wardrobe, and the fact Herlock Sholmes (the himbo detective) had to pull it off means I didn’t leave!

No one respects poor Ryunosuke...

So it seems that Susato doesn’t believe we’re innocent just yet, but as we’ve presented the possibility of doubt before her she will let us investigate this room.

Given the buck wild nature of the last trial she was involved in, I honestly can’t blame her for not ruling this possibility out. After all if this was something a witness in a trial had said I’d be thinking the same thing.

Susato’s going to be watching us to make sure we don’t disturb the crime scene, which again is fair.

I’ve got to say, I’m really digging Susato’s cautiously suspicious and sensible nature. It feels like a good counterbalance to Ryunosuke’s beautiful but naïve outlook on life.

I bet if Susato had stowed away onboard a ship you wouldn’t catch her immediately confessing as soon as a sailor started to press her.

Who am I kidding, Susato would never have got into this situation in the first place.

*sob*

Ok so far we’ve got:

A) Half a pink kimono fastener on the floor next to a brick red mark

B) One disturbed table, with the remains of our roast chicken dinner on the floor

C) The terrible knowledge that Kazuma spent his last night on earth hungry because he didn’t like chicken

D) Kazuma’s precious katana, that he loved dearly and that he’d apparently managed to persuade the government to let him bring to the UK.

Oh yeah, drive the knife in why don’t you game!

Why do I feel like Ryunosuke’s about to get roasted?

There we go.

(It’s what Kazuma would have wanted)

DON’T JUST GO WITH IT RYUNOSUKE!

Back to investigating, we’ve got a ransacked shelf, and Kazuma’s London diary.

Just, you know, to rip my heart out...

It looks like the final entry’s incomplete, which means Kazuma was probably writing it when the incident happened. Unfortunately Susato is violently insistent that we respect the Kazuma’s private thoughts after his death, so we can’t read it.

We’ve got the inky Russian(?) on the floor which none of us can either recognize, nor read (including me)

(Sorry to any Russians reading this by the way, I can only assume you’re screaming that this isn’t Russian, but I’m just going by what the Great Himbo Detective said in the cut scene.)

Ok, so the sailor who’s been guarding us got very flustered when we asked if everything was normal last night, meaning that either he’s been skiving off, or everything was in fact not normal last night.

Oh sweet, it seems that Ryunosuke and Susato both read detective novels, and while we’ve shot down the possibility of using the needle and thread trick to unbolt the door from the outside (side note: I must remember to try that later), I feel like both they, and the player who immediately started trying to rattle off facts about Curare, have had a bonding moment.

Ok, I think that’s this half of the room done, let’s go and check out that vent I saw earlier.

So the vent connects to the room next door. That means if the grate could be moved we have a way in and out of our crime scene!

HERLOCK SHOLMES!!!

I mean, he’s quite hard to miss Ryunosuke

(I think Ryunosuke might have an Apollo complex short)

Understatement of the century

Her and me both Ryunosuke, it’s The Great Himbo Detective!!!

WE’RE TALKING TO HIM!

AND HE’S BLANKING US!!!

Herlock Sholmes I understand that you’re in a critical point of your investigation, but you need to understand that Ryunosuke, Susato and I are sad and need to see your magic gun.

YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!

IT’S LIKE HE HEARD ME!!!

OH GREAT HIMBO DETECTIVE CHEER ME WITH YOUR WITH YOUR ECCENTRIC ACTS THAT ARE RELATABLE TO MY AUTISTIC ASS!!!

OMFG HE’S SO INCREDIBLY WRONG!!!

I hope this is the way all of his deductions go from now on.

Also I’m sorry Russia and the Russian language, I should not have believed what the man, who on reflection was sold to me as the great himbo detective, said.

Susato’s buying it!

Susato look into my eyes and tell me Ryunosuke could ever make it as a soldier.

No, please do!

And the bullet flies a mile wide!

I’m still upset about Kazuma, but I’m somehow also having the time of my life

SUSATO YOU KNOW I’M FROM JAPAN!!!

SHE TOOK ME OUT!!!

AND MY GOD AM I HERE FOR IT!!!

Ryunosuke’s finally snapped!

What I find amazing is that the Sherlock Holmes Herlock Sholmes stories clearly exist, basically unchanged in this world. So either Dr Watson Wilson was either lying through his teeth to spare his friend’s feelings, or he is the stopped clock is right twice a day person who Herlock actually hit the nail on the head for, and therefore he believed everything that was said.

‘On rout to foreign climates’ that’s how ships work Herlock!

Exactly!

I’ll say one thing for Herlock though, you can’t beat him down!

How am I both Ryunosuke and Susato in this scene?

Yeah Naruhodo-san! I thought you read detective stories!

Quick Susato! Get him to sign a copy!

Um... has no one told him yet...

I’m also curious about the fact that he still believes Dr Wilson’s in London. Either there are two Dr Wilson’s, or something weird is going on here.

Look at his hat Ryunosuke, it contains all the information you need

He got his own name wrong!

Hosonaga, I don’t know if you can hear from wherever you are on this ship dressed as a sailor, but there is a fight and you are rapidly losing!

(Also to be fair to Herlock, as someone who’s been playing a lot of Hitman recently, looking inside the wardrobe already means he’s doing a lot better than literally every character in that game.)

Ok so it was Russian then and I no longer have to apologies!

Do you think Herlock has ever been to Russia?

Ok Mr ‘is this cow a cat?’

:(((((((

HERLOCK THAT LOOKS NOTHING LIKE ME!!!

Ok everyone, we’re also on the lookout for a missing Russian Ballerina along with Kazuma’s killer. I don’t know how, but I wouldn’t have been told about her if she wasn’t relevant

I can’t believe we’ve finally found the vindictive part of Ryunosuke’s beautiful personality!

We’re finally reading Kazuma’s diary!

Oh fuck, Kazuma was bitten by an adder

Wait, if that was the case why didn’t he dispatch it with his big sword? We’ve seen him do precision work before, so that can’t be it.

Either way, I think we really need to talk to the person in the room next to mine.

Also: Herlock Sholmes gets seasick!

Did she just break my cuffs?

My mistake she’s just showing some tough love to get me to buck up!

Let’s go team!

HOSONAGA!!!

“What are you doing here?” “I think that should be my line” This feels like that meme of the two Spidermen pointing at each other

I wouldn’t be so sure Susato. Hosonaga seems a lot like me, a bunch of disabilities held together by sheer force of will.

He still has a job!

(Or his superiors are just trying to send him as far away from Japan as they can)

HELL YEAH HOSONAGA, LETS PUNCH THE RULES UNTIL THEY SQUEAK!

(Also your superiors are definitely trying to ship you out)

Oh...

That would explain Kazuma’s whole vibe.

Although something about this feels wrong. No disrespect to Hosonaga, but as determined as he is he doesn’t exactly have the physical prowess you’d associate with stopping an assassination. I know I haven’t exactly seen him at work yet, but something about this feels like he was set up to fail.

Now the thing is, that while he can cut it as a waiter, Hosonaga isn’t exactly built to fit in among sailors. It’s not going to take a genius therefore, to work out who Kazuma’s guard is, especially if he’s been around Kazuma from dawn till dusk. That’s probably why his killer had to kill him in his cabin, and it’s also why they probably drugged his food (which means they didn’t know him enough to know he didn’t like chicken)

:(((((((((((((

On the plus side though, it looks as though Hosonaga believes in my innocence.

Come on Hosonaga, remember when you bought Miss Brett to us!

Hell yeah Hosonaga!

Hosonaga heard my call! He heard that he was losing his place as my second favourite character and came back swinging!!!

Determination Ryunosuke!

Also probably hacking up a lot of blood, that does wonders to unnerve people in my experience

Now, I should present Kazuma’s diary here... but...

Yes, everything is as it should be...

He’s digging it!

Oh no he took it as an insult!

Sorry Ryunosuke, that’s the crime scene thief’s now

Ok let’s do this properly then

Yeah boy!

LETS DO THIS TEAM!!!

Ryunosuke, do you remember nothing about this man?

Hosonaga didn’t come here to play!

Ok, we’re moving on out (except not right now because I’ve still got a couple of things to look at before we go)

I think Ryunosuke might be a bad influence on Susato...

Also I feel like I’ve pegged Susato wrong regarding the rules. Susato’s just very good at keeping up the appearance of following them.

Come to think of it, the fact she’s a judicial assistant, despite women apparently not being allowed in the Japanese court other than to testify should have clued me in.

Susato Mikotoba: Breaking the rules in front of you, but in a way you don’t notice

(Also the bell pull’s not working, but I think we all expected that)

Susato I’ve been living in a cupboard!

Don’t pity me!

Ok, so I’m not quite sure when Ryunosuke and I started thinking as one, but we’ve all agreed it’s happening now

Ryunosuke do not get caught in the mousetrap!

Susato can see right through me (Ryunosuke)

Umm...

This is the Phoenix Maya dynamic inverted, and I am living for it.

Susato: Now this is an emergency button, it’s very important you do NOT press it!

Ryunosuke: *lunges for the trigger*

It feels amazing being the wayward partner!

Our rout into cabin 2’s blocked by approximately 1 ton of sailor, so for now Susato and I will have to dick around avenge Kazuma out here in the corridor.

It seems that last night’s log is mostly blank, so I’m guessing I was right about the sailor on duty skiving off.

Hmm, so the person in the next cabin’s probably quite important then. Given what just happened with Miss Brett that’s not a good sign.

And it seems like I’m not allowed to visit whoever it is without an invitation... which might prove tricky given as how there in there and I’m out here

Ah good, a Western Gentleman, that’s just what we need!

Hmmmmm

These guys left their post for a while didn’t they?

Either that or there’s something (or someone) they’re keeping off the records.

This might be a bit of a wide shot, but that mousetrap makes me wonder if the crew has some sort of secret pet squirrelled away somewhere. It doesn’t entirely add up what with them putting traps down, but with everyone in Ace Attorney having something to hide it’s all I can think of now.

Bif Strogenov’s left to report to the captain, nows our window to violate some privacy!

HERLOCK SHOLMES!!!

Shot down!

Herlock that thing’s tiny, I don’t think anyone’s in there!

It moved!

Guess I’m eating my words!

Herlock???

Ok, we’re not allowed to look inside the case, or indeed anything, but fortunately we have HERLOCK SHOLMES THE GREAT HIMBO DETECTIVE!!!

Deduce away Herlock!

Herlock... are you about to tell this man that he’s also the Russian Assasin? Are you going to do this round the whole ship until you get it right?

Wait this is working!?!

Herlock Sholmes is Susato’s one blind spot and Ryunosuke’s one point of clarity

CHOOCHOO!!!

THIS IS AMAZING!

He’s not entirely right though...

(Editors note: I completely managed to miss capturing 90% of the ? icons)

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!

HERLOCK LOOK AT THIS MAN’S NOSE, LOOK AT MY FACE! NOW LOOK AT THE MAN IN THE PORTRAIT!

However, the newspaper in his pocket and the little ! icon seems to suggest there’s some connection there.

(Editors note: I also managed to miss every ! icon)

And there is a crime being committed, but it’s not to do with the case.

Yeah, it probably just contains one of those pets we’re not supposed to have.

So... a baby?

So do a lot of people Susato

Ok, so The Great Himbo Detective is actually really good at making observations, it’s just how he applies them that’s shit.

I wonder if this is what Dr Wilson did for their partnership, but he just cut out the bits where he said things like: Herlock these people have completely different faces, maybe there’s a different reason they’ve got the paper?

Ryunosuke normally: The fact Hosonaga’s working in this restaurant clearly means he’s struggling financially!

Ryunosuke around Herlock: You can’t just say the first guess that pops into your head!

HERLOCK BUSTED US OUT!!!

(Ok he’s also the reason we were in handcuffs, but still)

Olay!

What! Noooooo!

‘Course Correction: Hold it Mr Sholmes!’ What a title!

Important news just in: Ryunosuke can’t grow a beard

A part of me says that he was about to use the sheers to cut up that paper, but there are obviously other copies around the ship, so unless he’s planning a sheers rampage that can’t be right.

Hello!

Wait a second... with that reaction to the paper... is there a Russian Ballerina in there?

WE DID THE HERLOCK SHOLMES COOL SPIN AND CLICK!!!

Also look at Ryunosuke’s little cocky smirk!

He’s really getting into this!

And I couldn’t be more proud!

We’re tag teaming it!

Herlock I swear to god if you tell me she’s that assassin

WHAT DID I JUST SAY!

(Editors note: Got that one!)

I sure am Susato!

Keep telling yourself that Ryunosuke, we can all see the truth

Ah, so the nose was fake too

That makes a lot more sense now!

Well she did disappear with a priceless tiara

He said, rubbing his hand in glee

This is definitely the start of a beautiful friendship!

Damn straight I do!

Bingo

For some reason I pictured it as being pink though, I don’t know why

Anyway so, while Nikolina does need money it seems that she didn’t steal the tiara. Apparently it was given to her as a present.

Also Nikolina is only 15, and has run away by herself for reasons currently unknown. I’m starting to get the feeling that the crew (or at least the two we’ve met) might have been looking out for her.

Oh yeah, the moving travel case!

Given the rules regarding pets, I wonder if that’s what’s in there? It would explain the attitude of the sailors we met.

Is it the Russian Revolutionary Herlock? You have to tell us if it is...

He’s learning!

Yep, she’s looking at the pet rule sign, now show me the pet!

Whoooooooo!

Yeah, I’m pretty sure the guys on the door were covering for her (and probably her pet too)

Hmm, so Nikolina’s running from someone, so she decided to disguise herself to be safe and has been a jumble of nerve ever since.

Can I see...

Bless you Nikolina, but you’re not the best at keeping secrets. I’m pretty sure the crew have collectively decided to just look the other way and let the traumatised 15 year old have her pet.

HE CUFFED ME AGIAN!!!

I wonder if Nikolina’s beloved pet’s a snake?

Can I just...

Fine...

No, everyone must see my badge!

HA!

Ok now let’s go back to actually playing the game!

So, because she’s a jumble of nerves, Nikolina hasn’t been noticing much about what’s been happening around her. However I think she’d have probably noticed signs of danger, like loud noises, so I’m a little curious as to why she didn’t pick up on the sound of the tableware being sent to the floor.

From what I can gather about her ‘never dancing again’ whatever happened probably has something to do with the ballet.

Either that or she’s worried about being linked with her old life if she goes back on the scene under another name.

That’s a good point actually, while people are funny and I can get her wanting a memento of her life, that’s an incredibly distinctive memento to have.

It must have some sort of emotional significance, I think she said it was given to her by an Earl, so maybe her father?

Hmm, that’s a pretty distinctive thing to try and pawn Nikolina.

Yikes! So the Novavich Ballet’s got really unethical working conditions. (Which probably shouldn’t be too much of a shock given the time period.) Now I understand why Nikolina’s so keen to never put herself in that situation again.