#ace of mirrors

[anbaisai]

I saw this post and immediately knew what I had to do

[satsuha]

i want to believe they added that bit of red in nahyuta's design to indicate his connection to apollo...

[mirrori-mage]

Lovelistonosz

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

This is referring to the "Everything we know about Neige" post. I was just going to comment, but since it became quite big I decided to send here.

Seriously, the RSA boys throwing themselves in from of the NRC always gets to me, because they essentially sacrificed themselves to a unknown treat and I love how this shows the difference between the students on each school, and how RSA is always playing as a team instead of the each men for themselves style of NRC. And especially how that strength is the exact why RSA keeps winning against NRC in the intarscholastic spell drive tournament, and has done so for 99 consecutive years!

I love how around the beginning of the manga (also in the game, but I personally fell like the manga explanation was better) Crowley says how because the mirror's choice are always magicians with big potential, that also leads for a group of people who are somewhat arrogant and refuses to work together.

This is such a core part of the story, but I don't see a lot of talk around it, and personally, I think it's one of the biggest charms.

I do really enjoy how even by telling a story though the villans side, the writers were still able to showcase the very core Disney idea that the reason the heros win is because they are working together, opposite to the villains who ,for the most part, work alone and isolated. It also highlights the importance of dialog and conversation while ALSO showing how naive and self sacrifizing most of the heros are, with Neige and Chenya without think twice throwing themselves into the flowers to save the NRC boys.

I appreciate so much the dinamic of this two schools because by that we can see the strengths and weaknesses of BOTH sides.

Sorry if that was to long and sorry for any grammar mistakes or misspellings. Hope you have/had a nice day/night. Take care. ♡

[Referencing this post!]

It was definitely a really commendable moment for the RSA students, especially when Ruggie and Idia (in the same event) wanted to abandon their asses and save themselves 😭

I feel the common sentiment is to claim RSA’s wins against NRC are “undeserving” or impossible to believe when NRC has so many powerhouses, but it makes sense when you consider the philosophies of their students are so different. Neige and the dwarves performed a popular children’s song from the Shaftlands—a song which adults have nostalgia for and kids love, a song which encourages everyone to join in singing and dancing. Vil had a new song made, but the style won’t appeal to everyone and the lyrics are hard and brag about beating down a foe and winning. You won’t win the audience vote if your performance fails to emotionally connect with people.

RSA’s 99-year win streak in magift/spelldrive is no coincidence either. Their cooperation (which is emphasized in their school curriculum as well) allows them to pull victories, whereas NRC often falls apart due to in-fighting. Ace and Grim give an example at the beginning of Stage in Playful Land. Leona also states that their team last year started fighting before the game even started. It's a consistent pattern.

With the end-of-year tournament being a team composed of one member from each dorm (dorms which have strong rivalries and think they are better than the others), there’s bound to be even more issues that arise in a match. RSA wins not only because they have talented students that can work together well, but also because NRC quite literally tears itself apart from the inside out 💀

It's interesting when we think about how the Mirror of Darkness seems to select students that have great magic potential but are also very arrogant because of that same potential. And this also reflects in their morals as well; it's not uncommon to find NRC students willing to use underhanded methods to get their way (Jamil and Ruggie controlling NBC students to be meat shields, Leona in all of book 2, Jade suggesting they use booby traps to take down their Sledathon rivals, etc.), whereas none of the RSA students we've met so far appear to have morals that deviate from that of a typical nice yet naive "hero". NRC values self preservation, independence, and ambition, whereas RSA is far more self-sacrificing and caring for the entire group. It makes me wonder if RSA has a method of enrollment that minimizes the arrogance and underhandedness in its student population (or at least boasts humility or open-mindedness)? As far as we're aware, the students at RSA also have great magic potential... so what makes the students enrolled at NRC arrogant about it and the students at RSA not arrogant about it...?

I think what separates villains and heroes in Disney films is their dynamics with others. Villains often have henchmen or partners in crime, but the villains are definitely presented as the ones in charge while the others are subservient to them. Villains give commands and/or manipulate to get their way. There is a clear power dynamic, a leader and followers behind that leader’s ambitions. Heroes are willing to compromise, and you’ll seldom see heroes bossing around their friends or allies. If people help the hero, it’s typically of their own volition and not because they are ordered to. Sometimes they help because they are moved or inspired by the hero—but ultimately, their autonomy remains intact. The hero treats others as equals and not as a means to an end. Their kindness is a virtue that attracts others to them. It’s a “me against the world” vs an “us against the world” mentality.

[graveantics]

[hopetatic]

i missed my girls

[phoenixwithapencil]

To where, to where, oh wicked ones do you rush, Or why are you drawing sheathed swords? ... Does blind rage or some sharp strength, or guilt seize you? Answer me!

-Horace Epodes VII

the design, esp the face, borrows a fair bit from @u3pxx's version of Apollo (Their art is Incredibly Good and a massive inspiration to me. Also, the way they draw AA characters slaps, go check em out)

[3dsoplya]

lost

[kevin-ibw]

Vox when Lucifer forgot to add the "up" part when he said he was gonna fuck Adam VS Vox when Niffty stabbed the shit out of Adam.

He's in the ace specs ya'll I'm telling you.

[suguruuuuu-chan]

Every fantasy I have of One Piece is actually just increasingly elaborate ways of saving Ace at Marineford btw. Sometimes it’s showing up in the forest and letting the gremlin know he’s loved ugh

[fizzydrinkuno]

おつかれSUMMER (OTSUKARE SUMMER)

yuval yuval

[satsuha]

little sister

[r3dr3ality]

I like this idea. So....

Ortho got more color because he is precious babs

@middaymoony

[velvees-archive]

Making my case for ManoSouta, Ace Attorney’s token doomed yaoi

Bronco knew, and still he told nobody.

Ace Attorney Investigations 2 full game spoilers ahead!

Chalk it up to lucky guesswork or my expertly honed writer’s intuition (sarcasm), but so rarely do I latch onto side ships that when I found myself gravitating towards Bronco (Manosuke Naito) x Simeon (Souta Sarushiro, hence ManoSouta) simply because of this line, I knew something was up…

…and boy was I right.

Simeon Saint’s fall from grace was a direct consequence of subjection to a corrupt justice system and equally as corrupted individuals. There was his father, who saw Simeon’s existence as a means to an end (the end being a pharmaceutical “recipe” book that could cure Gusto’s affliction and a shiny world class confectioner title), his best friend, who kidnapped him and almost killed him on his dad’s orders, and—if that wasn’t enough to destroy someone’s psyche—there was the presidential assassination trio, who tormented, interrogated, and dangled their judicial and executive power over him like a special-brand curse.

This is a character who hit rock bottom so long ago he believes nothing is left of him except agony, paranoia, and anger. He crafts an intricate revenge plot that dishes Simeon-esque justice to everyone who wronged him. The acts are performed mercilessly, too, no hesitation, regret, or unnecessary feelings involved in the flawless execution of his plan.

Well, almost.

There was one person in the same boat—no family, no longstanding companionship (barring each other)—who set Simeon’s descent in motion. Ironically, it is also through this person that we’re shown what remains of his humanity.

For me to talk about Simeon’s feelings as shown before we found out he was the mastermind, though, we have to see how he reacted after the big reveal. Upon being fingered as the villain, Simeon makes it clear he does not feel remorse towards any of the people “he” killed. After all, they drew first blood; Simeon firmly believes retaliation was warranted.

That is, until Miles clarifies the following points surrounding Simeon’s kidnapping, his memory loss, and the fate of his and Bronco’s fathers:

The reason Simeon was kidnapped wasn’t so Bronco’s dad could kill Simeon’s; Bronco was only meant to stall Simeon so he couldn’t help his dad win the confectionary competition finale

When a murder did occur, the victim of the murder was not Simeon’s dad, but Bronco’s.

This is how Simeon responds:

“He deserved to die!…Didn’t he?”

This line, in conjunction with the contemplative flashback shown in the video, conveys Simeon’s uncertainty/regret about inciting Knight’s murder, though one could argue this is only in reaction to the revelation rather than a lingering attachment to Knight, who he “stopped thinking” was his friend 18 years ago.

But then he follows it up with this.

“Then what was all this…for…!?”

At this point, you have to ask yourself why Simeon is questioning his entire plan (keyword in the quote is all, not just Bronco’s death) because he realized whose father actually died. Technically speaking, Bronco did still kidnap him. On top of that, everyone else Simeon exacted revenge on still wronged him, so it makes no sense to say this unless Bronco’s supposed role in “Simeon’s” father’s death was pivotal in Simeon’s decision to proceed with his whole plot. In other words, the reason Simeon questions his plot after Miles’ clarification is because this fundamental misunderstanding was what pushed him to take revenge on everyone in the first place. Bronco’s betrayal weighed so heavily on him that Simeon had no choice but to kill him in line with his principles, but he didn’t actually want to.

I’m not saying he wanted to spare Bronco because of the power of friendship or some misplaced sentimentality. It was inevitable that Bronco would die by Simeon’s hand because Simeon vowed to get his revenge on everyone who hurt him. What I am saying is that Simeon’s resolve is clearly shaken once Bronco’s role in his suffering is cleared up. As soon as Simeon realized Bronco’s dad didn’t murder his dad, he regretted killing his only friend. This is the only time Simeon shows remorse.

You might think Simeon’s hatred for Bronco stems from his kidnapping and its consequences, aka setting off the chain of events that would ruin Simeon’s life outside of “his” dad dying. However, Simeon doesn’t hold a grudge over Bronco for anything other than the kidnapping. The statement, “If you hadn’t detained me 18 years ago…it wouldn’t have had to…end like this” is vastly different from “If you hadn’t detained me 18 years ago, none of this would have happened.” His “hatred” for Bronco was a personal grudge he had against his best friend, who also happened to be the son of his dad’s killer. Bronco was on Simeon’s list because his betrayal stung Simeon most. “What was all of this for” really meant, “I wouldn’t have gone through with any of this if I knew you weren’t involved.”

Had Simeon truly hated him, it’d be difficult to justify why he snuck away from his carnival preparations to talk to Bronco. Why did he pay such an incriminating visit when he’d already delivered Bronco’s chess set during visiting hours? And why did he tell Bronco he snuck something into it, leaving him vulnerable to counterattack should Bronco tattle?

Why did he bother saying goodbye?

Simeon’s actions betray logic because try as he might to hate Bronco with all his heart, he cared. Bronco Knight’s betrayal was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but imagine if the misunderstanding had been sorted from the start. Simeon's reaction to wrongfully killing Bronco was a stellar portrayal of his desire for genuine companionship, and a peek into what remained of his humanity before he was unmasked. He really was all alone.

If you’re still not sold on them being the doomed yaoi representatives of Ace Attorney, if a misplaced desire for revenge cutting their time short doesn’t make this tragic enough, then consider this: Bronco legitimately cared for and trusted Simeon, but unlike Simeon, he was left completely in the dark.

He’s legitimately excited to see Simeon’s performance. He happily awaited Simeon’s chess correspondences because he just likes being around him!!

Perhaps the biggest sticking point in all of this is that Simeon admitted he put something in his chess set, Bronco definitely opened his chess set, and yet when it came time for Fifi Laguarde to interrogate him (aka when she discovers the chisel), Bronco does not tell her he doesn’t own it, he does not tell her he’s been set up, and he does not tell her his best friend—who the precinct knows visited him—is the one who put it there. Why didn’t Bronco tell her?

That’s the greatest pull of their dynamic: we don’t know. Maybe everything happened too fast. Maybe he did try to protest. Maybe he ratted Simeon out but Laguarde was already in hysterics. Maybe Bronco didn’t understand why the chisel frenzied the warden so, and paid the ultimate price for it.

Or maybe, just maybe, Bronco already knew the moment he saw the chisel. Maybe he died a knowing victim of Simeon’s retribution. Maybe he thought it better that the knowledge of their past—Paul Halique’s ring and Simeon’s secret hatred— dissolve with his last breath.

Worse yet, maybe he couldn’t believe Simeon would do something like this. Maybe he continued to have blind faith in him despite the damning evidence. Maybe he believed in him.

[weel-solace]

Every time Will and Nico go out on a date, Will drives his old dusty truck

It doesn’t matter if Nico has a personal death chauffeur, Will would work on his truck and fix it and do idk fixing truck stuffs so he can drive because it was a gift from his grandpa and he’s honouring his legacy by keeping it moving

Meanwhile Nico is over there crying because there’s no AC, the window’s stuck and the seats are uncomfy

[okartichoke]

here are apollo and trucy !! finally (AA4 spoilers below)

i wanted to show that they were half siblings, but was finding it hard to find a bird species that fit both of them, so the inherited bleeding heart is what i settled with ! (featuring canon-typical obliviousness)

a couple more…

Another factor pushing Phoenix to work on his flying was so he could fly with trucy <3

Apollo is much less flight-avoidant than Phoenix, but still remains grounded (or flying low to the ground) most of the time. Trucy flies and hovers quite a bit. I imagine she works her wings into her magic routines somehow, too.

now, I don't want to make this post too long, so if you're interested in hearing any of my thoughts/explanations on these two, i made a separate text post for that here :] (the tldr is: if you wanna call this specific version of apollo any other small brown bird, be my guest)

hope you guys like them! ):3

link to masterpost