#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

[graveantics]

[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)

[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.

[hopetatic]

i missed my girls

[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.

[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

[satsuha]

little sister

[gravevelvet]

used the world's worst pencil to draw this sorry

[bogkeep]

if my many years on tumblr have taught me anything at all it's that discoursing over semantics, especially of the Who Is Oppressed Enough To Ride variety, has never accomplished a single meaningful change for anyone ever - except maybe accidentally revealed how beneficial true solidarity across identities could be - and is frankly not worth dignifying with participation

[adultish-momma]

Dose of Daily Chaos - First Years

Welcome to a new series! Here, you'll see a glimpse into the doses of daily chaos that surrounds the Ramshackle Prefect by taking quick glimpses into their text conversations

This go around we have the first years. Yuu delights in naming people as song lyrics/titles in their phone, hence the various names.

[brodorokihousuke]

busting my ass on a really big drawing rn (document says 9.5 hours rn) and since it involves me "painting" Apollo I've like been... hardcore referencing his ajaa art as a reference and i think it's helped me with head structure in general

I was taking a break and doodled out these two! they looked nice enough for me to color and half refine. ik jacketpollo's hair shouldn't really stick out that much... i just like making it fluffy what can i say

psst if you’re only interested in my art, follow me over at @brodartrokihousuke

[admenace]

(maybe?) Spoilers for T&T!<3

Dahlia and Iris drawing

the best twins ever frfr i'm so them. I wanna squish both of them and feed them their favourite food and then braid their hair they deserve the world

fight me if you think dahlia deserved being hated the girl just needed some help T_T

Iris for aa7 PLEASEE I NEEED TO SEE HER OUT OF JAIL

[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