#also Ace Attorney seems to be one of those things I want to cross everything with

[commentaryvorg]

The Great Ace Attorney Final Trial Commentary: Day 2, Part 2

This is an ongoing mini-commentary covering the final trial of The Great Ace Attorney (Resolve) in line-by-line detail. It’s written from a perspective of already knowing the full truth of things, so there will be spoilers for facts that only get revealed later on in the trial. This is not a commentary to read along with one’s first playthrough!

(The commentary will update on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Check this blog to find any other parts currently posted, and if it’s not yet finished, follow to catch future updates!)

Now that we’re below the readmore, I can add that this isn’t quite a commentary for everything going on in the final trial. It’s focused specifically on Kazuma and what’s going on in his head, only covering things which are relevant to him in some way (for the most part). I already had a lot to say about him in a big analysis post over on my main blog – but I have even more to say about him during the trial in even more detail, so here we are!

We left off after Gina had delivered her second testimony but before starting the cross-examination part of it.

--- Testimony 2 – [Cross-Examination] ---

If you want to see every possible bit of dialogue from this testimony, you need to press statement 5 first, because it gets replaced with something else once you press statements 1 through 4.

Van Zieks:  “Every single person killed by the Reaper was a criminal of the first order. Lowlifes like that have no compunction about robbing hundreds of others of their futures.” […] Van Zieks:  “Their ludicrous acquittals in court give them the freedom to make hundreds more suffer.” […] Kazuma:  “So what? You justified your actions because you were protecting innocent people’s futures?” Van Zieks:  “…I’m not suggesting that the Reaper’s methods are justified at all. But life isn’t black and white. That’s all I’m saying.”

Van Zieks speaks up to try and console Gina in some small way, with a lovely nuanced view of how what the Reaper does is understandable even though it’s still wrong. And Kazuma is having none of this nuanced view that implies maybe van Zieks (who is totally the Reaper, he’s clearly talking about himself, right) isn’t 100% a monster and his actions might be justified. There was nothing justified, no protecting innocent people involved in murdering his father, must be what Kazuma’s thinking.

It’s interesting how Kazuma’s even temporarily able to entertain this idea that the Reaper acts to protect innocent people, when, as will be illustrated extremely clearly in just a little bit, he’s convinced himself that there is no sense or rationality at all behind any of van Zieks’s (the Reaper’s) actions. Seems this is one of those things that he brushes aside almost immediately because it doesn’t fit his very firmly-held view of how van Zieks definitely is.

(I’m skipping over Gina’s parts in this because she’s not directly relevant to Kazuma, but it needs to be said: she deserves hugs, I love her.)

The recap dialogue as the testimony loops back to the beginning is also something that’s easy to miss out on.

Susato:  “…Did you notice how Kazuma-sama reacted to Lord van Zieks’s words?” Ryunosuke:  “When he called him an even more sinister Reaper, you mean?”

I like how Susato, probably the most emotionally intelligent person here, picked up on Kazuma’s reaction to being accused of corruption. She cares about how her friend/brother is feeling about all this!

Ryunosuke:  “Well, I’m sure Kazuma intends to eliminate any shred of doubt that the man is guilty. He’s looking for revenge against the person he considers to be his father’s killer, after all.”

In theory, Kazuma’s certainly intending to eliminate all shreds of doubt about van Zieks’s guilt. But in practice, he’s doing a terrible job of it, since he seems to genuinely believe that his ridiculously flawed argument here is going to do just that.

Van Zieks:  “The ‘Reaper’… is an organisation.” Kazuma:  “With you at its head?” Van Zieks:  “………”

I love how much van Zieks is just not having any of Kazuma’s nonsense. Just a pointed silence and then continuing on with what he was talking about, not even bothering to acknowledge Kazuma’s completely unfounded accusation.

Kazuma:  “As shown by the passport found in the victim’s metal trunk.” Ryunosuke:  “…!” […] Susato:  “Is something wrong, Mr Naruhodo? You seemed a little shocked by something a moment ago.” Ryunosuke:  “Oh… No, it’s… it’s alright.” (I’m overthinking this, aren’t I?)

Oh, Ryunosuke. He’s very much sharp and observant enough to notice when Kazuma’s being subtly suspicious, but he doesn’t want to suspect his friend of wrongdoing, so he pushes it out of his mind and tries not to think about it – even though that means running away from the truth! It seems like his go-to method of dealing with something painful – as we also see with his grief over Kazuma’s death – is largely to Not Think About It. I had a lot of fun playing with Ryunosuke’s mental avoidance of his nagging suspicions about Kazuma in my fic.

It's also interesting to think about why Kazuma made such a slip-up. He didn’t need to go and mention that the passport was found in the metal trunk! If he was focused on revealing as little as possible, you’d think he’d have avoided saying that. But perhaps, the knowledge that the passport was in the trunk and if Ryunosuke somehow got hold of the former then he must also have seen the latter, with all that entails, has been bothering Kazuma to the point that it slips out.

Ryunosuke:  “Ah! Then perhaps what it said on the passport document… ‘Permission for the applicant and one additional person to travel’. Could that additional person have been…?” Kazuma:  “Clearly the assassin, who was meant to take Seishiro Jigoku’s life.”

It’s remarkably bold of Kazuma to just offer that up, considering that he was said assassin! I suppose he’s calculated that simply suggesting this fact can’t reflect badly on him, since it’s easy enough to figure out – perhaps he even thinks that by volunteering this idea, it’ll subtly make everyone less inclined to think that he could ever be the assassin himself.

Ryunosuke:  “Gina! Can you confirm that?! Against the final entry that listed ‘Grouse’ and ‘Seishiro Jigoku’… what name was written?”

Ryunosuke seems particularly urgent about learning this, given that this is preceded by a frantic desk-slap as opposed to one of his more confident desk-slams. I wonder if some part of him is beginning to put two and two together about who this assassin might have been, given other facts he’s noticed, and he’s desperate for confirmation or denial.

Gina:  “It, it just ‘ad like a question mark or summat there, I think.” Stronghart:  “In other words, Gregson himself didn’t know the identity of the assassin in that case.” Van Zieks:  “But Gregson was the one making the plans, was he not?”

Presumably what this is implying is that Kazuma was officially designated as the assassin for this job before he regained his memories, and therefore when Gregson didn’t know what his name was, rather than that the assassin hadn’t been determined when he wrote that entry.

(Really, though, Stronghart, what the hell were you expecting to do if Kazuma didn’t regain his memories before the mission? Did you actually seriously think he’d just agree to kill a guy for you out of absolutely nowhere?)

Ryunosuke:  (A nameless assassin…?)

Since Ryunosuke lingers on this for a moment, I wonder if a part of him is thinking about a certain someone in this room who was apparently “nameless” until a not so long ago.

Ryunosuke:  “What do you mean, a criminal?! Judge Jigoku is no criminal!”

Oh, Ryunosuke, if only you knew. (And if only Kazuma knew.)

But in this case, they’re talking about his petty crime of breaking a witness stand and saying some rude things about the British Empire during Genshin’s trial – which I assume was in fact genuine! There’s no evidence that Jigoku was involved in the half of the plot that framed Genshin, only the later half about the prison escape.

Kazuma:  “And there you have it.” Van Zieks:  “Have what?” Kazuma:  “Surely the accused hasn’t forgotten his own rule? That there’s no saving anyone who faces the Reaper in court… guilty or innocent alike.”

Yes, Kazuma, that’s definitely van Zieks’s own rule, obviously. It couldn’t possibly be that the idea that anyone would decide to kill Jigoku over such a petty indictment is so irrational that it didn’t even cross his mind, because he’s not actually the Reaper.

Kazuma:  “But then – ten years later – the mark returns to Britain once more.” [he smirks] “Perhaps now you start to see… just how vindictive the Reaper is.”

Kazuma really is so heartbreakingly convinced that van Zieks is just that petty and vindictive.

(When really, the pettily vindictive one here is looking a lot more like you, Kazuma.)

Ryunosuke:  “Come on, that’s absurd! To take someone’s life for that?”

The whole time he’s been engaging with the concept of the Reaper, Ryunosuke has been perfectly aware that there’s a point to it, that the idea is to stop actual criminals from getting away with their crimes through corruption and going on to hurt more innocents. So of course this is absurd to him. Even the Reaper – whoever he actually is – wouldn’t wait ten whole years just to murder someone over something as petty and minuscule as this.

Kazuma:  “Isn’t the whole premise of the Reaper absurd, killing those who have been found innocent? Clearly the rules by which the man operates… are beyond a sane person’s comprehension!”

But to Kazuma, the Reaper is supposed to be absurd. He has never engaged in this concept while imagining that there must be an understandable motive behind it, because he first heard about it from the angle of “the Reaper is Barok van Zieks, the monster who murdered my father even though he was innocent”. So there doesn’t need to be any rationality behind it for him. Killing innocent people for no reason is just what van Zieks does, in Kazuma’s mind.

This is such a heartbreakingly telling line which made it so clear to me that Kazuma has to have hated van Zieks for the better part of those ten years, ever since he read the newspaper clipping that came with the letter. His hatred is too irrational to not have festered within him for all that time.

Ryunosuke:  “But…”

Ryunosuke is bewildered by this, clearly sensing something off here but unable to find the words to articulate just how irrational his friend is being.

Not that he’d get to say much even if he knew how to, because he’s promptly interrupted by Gina objecting.

Gina:  “All this nonsense about the boss plannin’ to kill people… It’s cobblers! Come on, ‘Oddo!” […] Gina:  “You’ve gotta find a flaw! You do usually! Someone’s lyin’ ‘ere, no question! You’ve gotta work out who it is!”

Gina’s desperately begging for Ryunosuke to figure out some way to prove that Gregson wasn’t really part of the Reaper. But unfortunately for Gina, he can’t do that, because… Gregson was, and that’s just the truth.

Gina:  “I’ve ‘ad it wiv the lot o’ ya! It’s lies every bleedin’ place ya look in this world, innit? Well I’ve ‘ad enough!” […] Ryunosuke:  “So have I. After that little speech of Gina’s, I’ve made up my mind.”

Yet it’s interesting how Gina’s outburst (and Stronghart’s callous cruelty in firing her from the police force in front of the whole courtroom) nonetheless sparks something in Ryunosuke and spurs him to finally face the truth he’s been running away from for most of this testimony. Even though said truth is absolutely nothing to do with what Gina was begging him to prove. (And it also doesn’t involve anybody lying, just a certain someone knowing more than he ought to.)

Ryunosuke:  (I’m not going to let Gina’s plea for help fall on deaf ears.)

…Except this really isn’t so much about helping Gina as it is Ryunosuke helping himself and facing up to the truth at last.

Ryunosuke:  “I want to thank you, Gina. You helped me find my resolve.”

The resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo to not run away from the truth! …Even if it means his best friend has been up to some very shady things.

Kazuma:  “What do you mean?”

I like that Kazuma responds to this, taking an interest in his friend suddenly being more resolved than before. He may or may not yet have any inkling that this involves Ryunosuke zeroing in on him.

Ryunosuke:  (I don’t quite know what it means yet, but…)

Don’t you, Ryunosuke? Even though you examined the trunk as well? I have a feeling he may still be lying to himself just a little about exactly how much he’s able to piece together right now regarding Kazuma’s actions.

If you present either Gina or van Zieks as the person who said something inconsistent, the game will entertain the idea and allow you to attempt to present evidence to prove how, since they are testifying right now and I suppose the game thinks a player might assume it was one of them. If you present anyone else other than Kazuma, the game just tells you that no, they aren’t testifying and so can’t have said something inconsistent – even if it’s Stronghart, who perfectly well has also been speaking enough to have potentially said something suspicious, just like Kazuma! Alas.

Ryunosuke:  “By you… Kazuma Asogi.” Kazuma:  “Me?” Stronghart:  “Is this some attempt at filibustering, Counsel? Prosecutor Asogi has given no testimony.” Kazuma:  “What are you suggesting I said that was inconsistent?”

I enjoy how Kazuma isn’t trying to use the technicality Stronghart brings up, that he hasn’t been officially “testifying”, to get out of this. He knows he’s been saying things and that his words deserve just as much scrutiny as anyone else in the courtroom, and he has confidence in his ability to have not let anything slip or said anything incorrect. He’s very aware of how good he is at hiding things without lying, after all!

Ryunosuke:  “Which means that nobody should have known anything about the trunk. Unless of course… we’re talking about somebody who was present when the victim was killed.”

Kazuma was not, in fact, present when Gregson was killed. But by saying this, you sure are making it sound like he must have been, Ryunosuke! Ouch.

(Which, of course, would mean a lot more if Kazuma was actually going to be arrest—)

Kazuma:  “………”

Props to Kazuma for being able to remain silent and unresponsive even as he is likely beginning to realise exactly how he messed up. Perhaps because he’s already planning to brush it off as proving nothing, as he goes on to try and do, since he could totally have guessed or assumed about the trunk without having been there, right.

Ryunosuke:  “Answer me honestly, Kazuma!”

Ugh, it stings that Ryunosuke makes a point to demand Kazuma to be honest with him. He’s realising now just how much Kazuma’s been hiding and being evasive about lately and he just wants his friend to tell him the truth already.

Ryunosuke:  “On 31st October… where exactly were you?!” Kazuma:  “……… At the Port of Dunkirk, on board the SS Grouse…” [he smirks] Kazuma:  “Is that the answer you’re looking for, Ryunosuke?”

And Kazuma responds in what has to be the most infuriating way, seeming for a moment like he’s giving a straight honest answer, and then immediately deflecting into a “well that’s hypothetically what you want me to say, isn’t it?” Goddammit Kazuma just talk to your friend and tell him the truth, you know he’s going to drag it out of you anyway if you don’t.

Ryunosuke:  “Kazuma! What did you…?!”

Even though Kazuma phrased his words in such a way that they were an admission to precisely nothing, hearing him say this apparently shocked Ryunosuke into properly facing the fact that yes, he really was there.

Ryunosuke:  (I hadn’t considered the possibility before, but… if Kazuma was there on the ship, it can only have been for one purpose…)

And here Ryunosuke is only just beginning to consciously entertain the idea that Kazuma must have been acting as the assassin, even though that’s something easy to piece together from the moment it became apparent why Gregson was on that ship and that Kazuma was most likely with him. I really do enjoy the way Ryunosuke is so incredibly hesitant to accept each tiny step of the picture of what Kazuma was up to that day, even as he’s mentally resolved to face the truth now. He really doesn’t want to think any of this about his best friend!

Susato:  “Oh no, Mr Naruhodo! Surely… surely you don’t think…?”

And apparently Susato, too, didn’t want to think about this until now, until she sees some hint of it in Ryunosuke’s expression and realises just what he’s thinking.

Kazuma:  “Ha ha ha ha hah! Come on, Ryunosuke, you know the rules. The only thing that really talks in the courtroom is hard evidence.”

It’s pretty impressive of Kazuma (and also painfully jarring) that he’s able to break into one of his big hearty laughs over this, despite that he knows just how cornered he is. He must surely expect Ryunosuke to be perfectly capable of proving he did indeed do something very shady and illegal that day.

Kazuma:  “As I understand it, Gregson always took that case with him when he travelled. So as it stands… you’ve proved nothing.” Ryunosuke:  “Kazuma… are you challenging me to prove it, beyond all reasonable doubt? That you were there that day… in the same place as the inspector!”

I love how Ryunosuke can read his friend well enough to know that, despite Kazuma’s evasive phrasing, he is in fact challenging Ryunosuke to prove this. On some level Kazuma must know Ryunosuke can prove this and just wants to see his friend show off his awesome lawyer skills that he’s so proud of, even if they’re being used against him.

Van Zieks:  “He, he was there? With Gregson?”

Meanwhile, as Ryunosuke implies that he has strong proof of this fact, van Zieks has a notable reaction. What with his own grudge against Kazuma and the Asogi clan, I strongly suspect van Zieks is beginning to think that this may well mean Kazuma’s the real killer.

Ryunosuke:  “There’s a clue that you’ve overlooked! A secret this trunk can tell us.”

“Overlooked” is a bit much, since I highly doubt that Kazuma is unaware of his precious sword having been broken. And it’s not like he could have checked to see whether the tip ended up embedded in the trunk or not, as he hasn’t been able to examine it himself.

Ryunosuke:  (I can’t be sure at this point. I’ll need to verify it. But I have a nasty feeling… that I’m going to be right.)

It’s very notable that Ryunosuke’s thoughts here are not at all phrased like he is only just realising the significance of the blade tip in the trunk. It reads very much like he was already aware that this was a potential clue to Kazuma’s involvement and just thoroughly Did Not Want To Think About It until he had no choice right here.

Ryunosuke:  “And when it says ‘permission for the applicant and one additional person to travel’…” (…I can’t believe it was you, Kazuma…)

When you’re looking at the trunk in order to present the sword tip, you can examine the passport instead and get this new dialogue. Kazuma has not yet explicitly confirmed that he was the one on the passport, but of course Ryunosuke knows it anyway.

I also suspect Ryunosuke may be somewhat lying to himself about the extent to which this surprises him (or that his “I can’t believe it” statement isn’t precisely one of surprise but rather of hating to believe this about his friend). After all, his approach to cornering Kazuma here in general rather suggests that he already had a inkling things would be going in this direction and just really did not want to confront it until now.

Ryunosuke:  “Won’t you draw [Karuma]? Here in this courtroom… for all to see.” Kazuma:  “………”

Kazuma hesitates for a moment, despite that he must know how refusing would look. On some level he must just not want to reveal it – not only the conclusive proof of his crime (and not just that he was with Gregson, but that he attacked him because he wanted to kill him), but also simply the fact that he desecrated his clan’s esteemed blade.

Van Zieks:  “Exercise caution, my learned friend. That man is the son of London’s most notorious killer.”

Yikes, van Zieks! He is definitely low-key thinking that Kazuma might have killed Gregson, what with implying here that Kazuma might take the chance to attack someone with his sword just because he’s the Professor’s son.

Stronghart:  “Bailiff! Watch Prosecutor Asogi like a hawk!” Kazuma:  “…That won’t be necessary.”

And it’s that – and Stronghart going along with van Zieks’s implication that he’s dangerous – that compels Kazuma to stop hesitating and obediently draw his sword. The last thing he wants to do is make anybody think that he (and the Asogi clan in general) is some kind of vicious killer hiding his true nature. No doubt van Zieks’s words made his skin crawl.

There is an ever-so-slight quiver in the sword at the very end of the animation of Kazuma drawing it, just before it becomes a still frame like most AA animations end on. The animators did not have to include that tiny quiver, but they did. I enjoy this.

Susato:  “Oh no!” Ryunosuke:  “The tip… is broken…”

Susato is shocked to see it, but based on Ryunosuke’s body language, he isn’t, and is simply stating this as fact. He already knew, didn’t he – since probably long before he asked Kazuma to show them.

Van Zieks:  “…!”

(Van Zieks is also shocked to see this confirmation that Kazuma did indeed show aggression towards Gregson that day.)

Ryunosuke:  “If the fragment of metal from the trunk fits together with the end of the sword… the question of who was there with Inspector Gregson will be answered. Agreed… Kazuma Asogi?!”

Guh, Kazuma’s usually the one doing it to him, but here Ryunosuke’s using Kazuma’s full name. It’s like he’s trying to make this accusation and proof of Kazuma’s crime more formal and distanced, so he doesn’t have to think so hard about the fact that this is his best friend.

(He could have said “Prosecutor Asogi”, which would be even more formal and distanced – but no, Ryunosuke uses an exact mirror of the way Kazuma keeps addressing him.)

Kazuma:  “Expertly done, Ryunosuke! That’s a point to you, and well deserved.”

It’s also just really disorienting how Kazuma responds to this. Rather than showing any kind of agitation about what this means for him, he’s just… praising Ryunosuke’s lawyering skills? Kazuma is, after all, frustratingly good at bottling up any kind of distress he might be feeling, and in this case it seems he’s doing that by choosing to focus on just how proud he is of his friend’s abilities.

Stronghart:  “And the mission was…?” Kazuma:  “…The assassination of the mark.”

Kazuma is deliberately not naming the mark here, so as to hide the truth without having to lie. On the one hand, the mark technically was still Jigoku for the purposes of the Reaper mission they were supposedly on (which Kazuma definitely believes was genuine, because as we’ve seen he very much believes van Zieks would have wanted Jigoku dead for petty reasons) – but on the other hand, he’d have been able to figure out that this mission was also due to the exchange mastermind, who has to be the same person as the Reaper, expecting him to use this as his chance to kill Gregson.

Ryunosuke:  “Wha… WHAAAAAAT?!”

Ryunosuke, did you not basically figure out that Kazuma must have been the assassin just a little while ago? It seems that even then, he still didn’t want to properly face that fact, to the point that hearing it confirmed still elicits a shocked reaction from him. He is so hesitant to accept his best friend being an assassin, aaa.

Ryunosuke:  “You mean… you’re the killer whose name was omitted from this notebook?! You were following the Reaper’s orders… to dispatch Judge Jigoku…?” Kazuma:  “……… Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I have killed no one.”

Kazuma is somewhat dodging Ryunosuke’s question here, in order to avoid mentioning that the assassination mission he was on that day was in fact not quite the same one that Ryunosuke’s referring to.

But yes – he really hasn’t killed anyone. That’s the truth. I distinctly remember on my first playthrough, what with all of my own doubts and worries about what Kazuma had got up to, feeling relieved when he said this. Even though I actually (wrongly) thought Kazuma must have been lying about several things to do with the case, something in me knew he wouldn’t lie about this. I wish Ryunosuke was shown having some kind of a reaction to this line, too.

(But then, it doesn’t really matter, does it, because Kazuma never bloody gets arreste—)

Stronghart:  “Explain.”

Stronghart responds to this assertion of Kazuma’s with a curt demand and a very displeased expression, with the implication of “are you sure you didn’t kill anyone, you’d better be able to prove it.” Except no, he’s not thinking that, apparently, because he doesn’t do anything about Kazuma’s very likely-looking guilt, does he, grrrr.

(Maybe instead his irritation is more along the lines of “okay but you should have killed someone, that was the point.”)

Kazuma:  “But I never had any intention of carrying out the plan.” Ryunosuke:  “You were never going to do it…?”

Guh, Ryunosuke echoing that as soon as he hears it. He so desperately wants to believe that yes of course Kazuma was never intending to kill anyone, that makes sense, that’s the Kazuma he knows, unlike everything else he’s learning right now…!

Also, note Kazuma’s phrasing. He never intended to carry out the plan, which is the truth. He does not say that he never intended to kill anyone, because, um. About that. Saying that would be a lie.

Susato:  “…We can believe Kazuma-sama, I’m sure. After all, Judge Jigoku arrived safely in London the following day.”

Yes, Susato, because the fact that his target did not end up dead is definitely 100% ironclad proof that he had zero intention of ever killing him. That is definitely logic with no holes in it. (Oh, Susato, also just wanting to believe in him.)

Kazuma:  “Then we boarded the SS Grouse and made for the cabin deck – as indicated in the plan.”

Huh. So I talked earlier about how Gregson being here surely meant this was an information-gathering mission, but the way Kazuma mentions a “plan” here implies this was at the stage where Gregson had already gathered his information and finalised the plan to kill the target. In which case, I still can’t help but question why Gregson even needed to be there at all for the actual killing! (You know, in theory, if this were hypothetically a real Reaper mission and not a get-Gregson-killed mission.)

Kazuma:  “He wasn’t there, though. We decided to wait, but…” Ryunosuke:  “But you’ve already told us you had no intention of going through with it anyway.”

And again Ryunosuke butts in to remind the court that it’s fine, because Kazuma never meant to kill anyone, right? okay? Definitely nobody he needs to reassure of this, he’s just, you know, mentioning it. Again.

Kazuma:  “I didn’t come to Great Britain to take anyone’s life.”

Guhhhh. Knowing that Kazuma came to Britain with an assassination mission already weighing on his shoulders makes this line hurt a lot more. He really didn’t come here to kill anyone at all, despite the promise he was forced to make!

And yet. Again, this is very specific phrasing. He had no intention of killing anyone when he came to Britain. But after that, during one very specific moment in that cabin…? He’s not talking about that. To include that as part of his statement here would be a lie.

Stronghart:  “Then what became of Jigoku?” Kazuma:  “Gregson was no assassin. So the mark was spared.”

Given the ambiguity of Kazuma using the word “mark” here, what he’s really saying is something to the effect of “Gregson wasn’t exactly going to assassinate himself.”

Kazuma:  “I’m sure it’s easy enough to imagine what happened after that.”

On some level, his belief that van Zieks killed Gregson is bound to also be down to the idea that van Zieks is the exchange mastermind who wanted Gregson dead and had to do it himself when Kazuma refused to do so. But he can’t argue that in court without incriminating himself in another assassination mission, so, never mind, arguing that van Zieks killed Gregson for the failure to assassinate Jigoku it is, an argument he goes on to outline once again for the court as if it makes perfect sense. That still does make twisted irrational sense in Kazuma’s head as half of the reason why he would have done it, anyway.

Van Zieks:  “Objection! But if you did nothing as you claim… how did the tip of your sword come to be lodged in the inspector’s trunk?”

I like how van Zieks is the one to try and force Kazuma to answer this. Ryunosuke certainly doesn’t want to think about it, but van Zieks would very much like to know. And the timing of this, just after Kazuma’s yet again argued that van Zieks totally killed Gregson, feels almost like some kind of attempt to counter him and get back at him, just a little.

Kazuma:  “……… I don’t need to answer that.” Ryunosuke:  “…!”

I enjoy Ryunosuke’s little reaction there. Why doesn’t Kazuma want to answer that? If he really did nothing wrong, what would be so bad about saying what happened…?

Kazuma:  “The victim was killed by a gunshot. A small fragment of a Japanese blade isn’t relevant to the case. And accordingly… I choose to exercise my right to silence on the matter.”

Frankly I find this argument pretty bullshit! Just because it was a different weapon doesn’t change the fact that the blade tip very strongly indicates that Kazuma showed aggression towards the victim during a period in which the murder could have taken place. That’s pretty relevant to the case, I think! He could easily have switched to a gun after having his sword strike blocked! Stronghart should totally have been able to shut him down and insist that actually he does have to testify about this. But noooo, because apparently Stronghart cares more about convicting van Zieks than convicting Kazuma for some reason, grumble grumble.

As it is, this part’s only actual purpose in the narrative is to give an excuse for Karuma to be added to the Court Record, and not any actual kind of fun hinting at Kazuma’s potential guilt. Bah.

The great sword ‘Karuma’ has been entered into the Court Record.

I like how even the Court Record text wants to show the proper respect to Karuma by referring to it like this. Aww.

Ryunosuke:  “The tip of the great sword… broken… It’s such a shame. It’s been so meticulously cared for over the years. I can almost hear Karuma’s sobs…”

I love Ryunosuke personifying Karuma, imagining it sobbing at having been damaged. He really does care about the sword and see it as having a soul!

Ryunosuke:  (Kazuma must have really taken a swing for that to happen…)

He sure did. I wonder how hard Ryunosuke is letting him think about exactly what Kazuma was aiming at, or how he would have been feeling at the time.

Along with being able to examine Karuma’s broken tip, you can also get some new dialogue if you re-examine the blade tip itself in the trunk, now that Ryunosuke and Susato know where it’s from. This bit was updated as soon as Kazuma admitted to having been there with Gregson.

Ryunosuke:  “The tip of Karuma… So this is how it was broken. Kazuma’s swordsmanship is second to none. I can’t believe he’d misjudge it like that.” Susato:  “Clearly he wasn’t in his right mind. He didn’t have full control of the power in his stroke. Too distracted by malicious thoughts, perhaps…” Ryunosuke:  “Well, that wouldn’t be surprising. After all… he was on an assassination mission.” Susato:  “…!”

It is heartbreaking that both of them seem to be getting rather close to the thought that maybe Kazuma acted out of anger and malice and genuine murderous intent, ouch. And all because of their belief that he would never usually be this careless with his swordsmanship!

Kazuma:  “When a foreign dignitary invited to Great Britain goes missing for twenty-four hours… it’s only natural that the question of his safety should arise.”

This statement implies that any reason for Jigoku having potentially been murdered would most likely be some kind of international political plot, what with him being an influential foreign politician. This is actually what I believed was the real reason behind the obviously-bullshit Reaper mission on my first playthrough!

Kazuma:  “The Reaper has more than one assassin at his disposal. And he has the power and influence to give orders from the inside of a prison cell.”

Kazuma, do you have any evidence whatsoever to back this up? A list of the people who’ve been visiting van Zieks in prison so that you can point to potential conspirators, perhaps? Because I imagine you’ll find that Ryunosuke and Susato are in fact the only visitors he’s had. You can’t just make a wild claim like “this guy is capable of orchestrating a murder from in prison” without backing it up in some way!

(Except, apparently, you can, if the judge is Stronghart and he wants you to win the trial.)

This is, again, such ridiculous nonsense, but of course it makes sense in Kazuma’s head, because van Zieks is The Worst, don’t you know.

Kazuma:  “Isn’t that right… Lord van Zieks?” Van Zieks:  [swirling a chalice of wine] “…If I were truly the Reaper, I’d be able to tell you.”

Again, I love van Zieks’s thoroughly dry response to this. He is so done with Kazuma’s bullshit unfounded accusations.

(Another rare instance of Kazuma calling him “Lord van Zieks”, but in this case it could certainly be read as being delivered with heavy sarcasm.)

Stronghart:  “Guests of the symposium have been told to maintain regular contact with the organisers’ office. If the man can’t be located within half an hour… we will have to assume the worst.”

Really? We will have to assume that he’s freaking dead, and not simply that he decided to go against the instruction to stay in contact for one of a myriad of possible reasons? Mikotoba is also a symposium guest and has also not been in contact with the organisers since last night; does that mean we’d better assume that he’s dead too, rather than that he had some other reason for running off? This is bonkers.

Kazuma:  “No one would want to kill a harmless Japanese man who’d only just arrived in the country. Except, that is… for the Reaper, wanting to finish off a mark that slipped through the net ten years ago.”

Yes, Kazuma, there’s no other possible reason for anyone to want to kill an important foreign politician. Certainly nothing at all that you implied yourself just a minute ago by pointing out that foreign dignitaries going missing leads to worries about their safety. Nah, the only reason anyone could want him dead is if they’re a petty monster like van Zieks totally is. Kazuma’s mental gymnastics really are incredibly impressive.

Stronghart:  “I would have to agree.”

And of course, conveniently Stronghart is here to agree that Kazuma’s terrible logic makes perfect sense.

Stronghart:  “If we’re unable to confirm Mr Jigoku’s healthy existence in the next thirty minutes, you will face grave difficulties.” Ryunosuke:  “Ah!”

So here we have the situation: if Jigoku is missing, then he’s definitely dead, and if he’s dead, then it must be because van Zieks had him murdered, which is totally something he can do even from within prison and we don’t need to show any proof of that. So if Jigoku isn’t found then it means that van Zieks absolutely must have killed Jigoku, which also somehow proves he killed Gregson I guess because Jigoku’s murder isn’t even the one this trial is about.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

At this point, I really am stretching my suspension of disbelief as to how Ryunosuke accepts this. Idolising Kazuma to the point of not expecting to see flaws in his reasoning is one thing, but come on. Ryunosuke’s determined to defend van Zieks, so you’d think he’d be able to find the words to argue that there’s still no actual proof that van Zieks killed anyone.

The court empties for the recess, but Ryunosuke and Susato stay behind.

Susato:  “Kazuma-sama, the Reaper’s assassin… I feel as though I’m in a nightmare.” Ryunosuke:  “I can hardly believe it either.”

A brief interlude of Ryunosuke and Susato freaking out over something they actually ought to be freaking out over! It cannot be easy to learn this about their friend. (And they don’t even realise yet just how deep Kazuma’s involvement in assassination plots goes.)

Ryunosuke:  “But on the other hand… Kazuma isn’t in the habit of making up stories.”

I also enjoy Ryunosuke feeling like it must be true, even though he hates it, because of this. He knows his friend. Kazuma doesn’t lie, so he certainly wouldn’t claim something as outlandish as this unless it was the truth.

Susato:  “……… I have such a terrible sense of foreboding.”

It would be nice if this line of Susato’s were referring to the Kazuma-being-an-assassin situation in some way. But…

Susato:  “If something awful has happened to Judge Jigoku… then I feel as though things will only spiral further and further out of control.”

…never mind, this isn’t about Kazuma at all, it’s about the Jigoku situation. It’s valid for her to be legitimately worried about Jigoku’s safety right now, but even if he is dead, that should not have to have any bearing on how this trial for Gregson’s murder will go. Not you too, Susato.

Ryunosuke:  (I felt it from the moment I stepped into the courthouse this morning. That strange sensation that we were careering towards a foregone conclusion…)

This, too, is a line that would work so well if it were referring to Kazuma being an assassin! Given that he’d examined the trunk and other related evidence, Ryunosuke had plenty of reason to already have a subtle inkling in his head this morning that he was going to reveal something Very Bad about Kazuma’s actions that could lead to big trouble.

But somehow, this is actually about Jigoku’s situation as well, which… how on earth was Ryunosuke supposed to have had any sense this morning that things would turn out like this? He had been vaguely told that Jigoku was missing during the pre-trial antechamber scene, sure (though that’s after he stepped into the courthouse…!), but for him to link that to the idea that he’s been assassinated, and that this somehow totally proves van Zieks’s guilt is way too much of a stretch.

Really, it’s truly boggling to me that these lines, which would be so perfect for a narrative in which Kazuma is about to get arrested because of all his suspicious actions, somehow exist here in this narrative where that’s not remotely what happens. That and the sheer flimsiness of the insistence that Jigoku’s disappearance is extremely dire for Ryunosuke’s case make me seriously wonder whether Kazuma being arrested was the original plan by the writers, but for some reason it had to be cut. Like these lines are the remnants of it being written that way to begin with, but then this different turn of events was shoehorned in somewhat hurriedly, without the writers actually removing all of the build-up and foreshadowing that originally pointed towards Kazuma’s now non-existent arrest.

So anyway, it’s bunny time, something Ryunosuke was told to use only if they were “out of options”. Because pointing out that there has been precisely zero actual proof of van Zieks’s guilt presented in this entire trial day does not occur to him as an option, somehow.

Conveniently, not only is the court recess half an hour, but the SS Grouse is also going to leave Dunkirk for good in half an hour. So, if the writers wanted this part to be a race against time, they didn’t even need to have the pressure of “we must find Jigoku before the end of the recess” going on. We could just be worried about losing access to the evidence at the real crime scene if Sholmes doesn’t investigate it quickly! Jigoku doesn’t even necessarily need to be fleeing the country for this bit to still have narrative urgency!

Ryunosuke:  “We’ve just entered a recess. The trial resumes in thirty minutes from now.” Susato:  “And if we’re unable to present any new leads then, I’m afraid to say…”

Ryunosuke and Susato don’t even tell Sholmes that their current burning problem is that Jigoku is missing and might be dead! All they’re asking him to find is new leads, aka evidence from the actual crime scene that the actual crime took place there. That would work perfectly well on its own!

And even if Jigoku was still fleeing, the tension could be over the fact that Ryunosuke needs to summon him as a key witness to his version of events, and that he’ll have nothing to back up his argument if Jigoku isn’t found. We still don’t actually need the “if he’s missing he’s definitely dead and that definitely means van Zieks did it somehow” in order to create tension here.

Back in the courtroom after the interlude…

Ryunosuke:  (Kazuma Asogi… I know you, and I know you wouldn’t lie. But still, there’s no doubt… that you’re holding something back. You know more than you’re saying!)

Oh, he knows a lot more than he’s saying, Ryunosuke, especially since he managed to get out of having to tell anyone why he attacked Gregson’s trunk.

This is adorable, though. Ryunosuke understands his friend! He knows that Kazuma doesn’t lie (which is very correct) and can tell when he’s hiding things anyway!

So of course, Stronghart and Kazuma didn’t find Jigoku.

Kazuma:  “We must accept the unfortunate conclusion that the Reaper has already done the deed.”

No? There are a million other possible reasons as to why you couldn’t find him?

Kazuma:  “There’s no sense in wasting any more of the court’s time. The prosecution calls for an immediate verdict.”

No????? Even if Jigoku had been killed by the Reaper, that still provides absolutely zero proof that van Zieks is the one responsible, let alone responsible for killing Gregson?

Kazuma’s logic is so, so incredibly flawed here. Jigoku’s disappearance could theoretically be explained by van Zieks being the Reaper – thus, in his head, it’s been twisted around into proof that van Zieks is definitely the Reaper. This is some seriously heavy tunnel-visioning going on in Kazuma’s mind.

Ryunosuke:  “No. The trial cannot end now.” Kazuma:  “You’re a Japanese man, Ryunosuke. You should know when to lay down your sword.”

Even then, that time would not remotely be now! Even if Jigoku was indeed missing! Kazuma really is so impressively convinced that his terrible argument is in fact flawless.

It’s also interesting to see this little nod to it being a Japanese cultural thing – I think particularly a thing from the samurai culture which Kazuma was raised with – that one should know when he’s beaten and accept his fate with dignity. It’s ironic to hear this from Kazuma, of all people, who is so fervently determined to never give up on his mission to avenge his father. Really, he’s the one who’s having trouble seeing when he’s… well, not quite beaten, but certainly losing the battle a lot more than he’d ever be able to admit right now.

Ryunosuke:  “And you should know never to presume when the battle is won.”

At least Ryunosuke does throw this idea right back at Kazuma and somewhat point this out to him. (Though he’s only saying this because they located Jigoku, and apparently he would be giving up if they hadn’t managed to find him???)

Kazuma:  “The court has already been presented with all the evidence and heard all relevant testimony. And there can only be one conclusion: that the accused is guilty!”

No! It really, really hasn’t, and there really, really isn’t! Kazuma is so zeroed in on “van Zieks definitely did it” that it somehow fails to occur to him that whether Gregson could have been killed while he was on the Grouse is in fact a very relevant thing to discuss. The previous court day’s “let’s discuss whether Gregson was killed somewhere else on the day before he was found” really was just a deliberate diversion, because he’s not remotely considering doing so today, now that it might actually go somewhere.

Kazuma:  “Who on earth is this crucial witness?” Ryunosuke:  “…Seishiro Jigoku. The very man allegedly murdered by the Reaper!” Kazuma:  “J-Judge Jigoku?! You’ve found him?!”

Kazuma flinches back in shock at this revelation. He really was completely convinced that van Zieks had definitely murdered him. What do you mean that’s not actually the case.

Stronghart:  “But the investigations of every policing resource in the capital suggest that Jigoku is already dead.”

Really, Stronghart. “They looked for thirty minutes and couldn’t find him, boo hoo” totally suggests he’s definitely dead, right. Usually it’d at least take finding a body for someone to be so insistently presumed dead that quickly. Dude’s been missing for barely over a day, come on.

But no, because Stronghart really wanted to just convict van Zieks (for some reason) based on Kazuma’s horrendously flawed reasoning, and to let Jigoku safely flee the country and get away with murder. How dare Ryunosuke drag him here to testify after all.

Ryunosuke:  “Inspector Gregson almost certainly met with Mr Jigoku on the night of his death.”

Finally! Finally we have Ryunosuke arguing something to the effect of how Gregson was probably killed on the Grouse, actually. Why has he not been making more of a point of this before now.

Kazuma:  “………”

Kazuma remains silent and inscrutable. It may well be occurring to him that, huh, this sure is a relevant period of time that hasn’t been examined by the court and his case isn’t yet as airtight as he’d somehow convinced himself it was. But he’s not going to let slip any sign that he’s kicking himself over this, of course.

Ryunosuke:  “Which means that Seishiro Jigoku is the sole witness… who can clarify exactly what happened aboard the SS Grouse on 31st October!”

I mean. He’s not the sole witness. There’s one other very pertinent witness standing right there opposite you, Ryunosuke. But I guess in AA verse where it’s allowed for the lawyers standing in court to also be directly involved with the case, they just get to not officially testify because you can’t have a lawyer also be a witness.

(Again, Kazuma really should have been forced to talk about why his sword tip ended up in Gregson’s trunk, because that seems quite potentially relevant to the murder, actually.)

Kazuma:  “The prosecution concurs. The court must hear Mr Jigoku’s testimony. No judgement should be passed until all testimony has been considered.”

See, look, everyone, Kazuma’s still being very pointedly non-corrupt, making a big deal about how they must consider every angle and it would be unfair to hand down a verdict without doing that. He definitely wasn’t wilfully forgetting about any other possible remaining angles until just now when Ryunosuke pointed one out. The most fair and just and above-board prosecutor here, unlike that van Zieks.

Kazuma:  “………”

Kazuma has a lot of pointedly-shown silences in this bit, inviting us to consider what he might be thinking. No doubt he’s still managing to convince himself that Jigoku’s testimony will amount to nothing, because obviously van Zieks killed Gregson at Fresno Street and so he has nothing to worry about. His case is fine and correct and just. Van Zieks is a monster, and Kazuma is fated to win this trial and bring him to justice, so it's fine.

[askaceattorney]

Dear Anonymous,

My Raymond Shields essay can be found right here, but...do we really not have an essay for everyone’s favorite ambassador?

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Hmm, it looks like we don’t.  Allow me to apologize for that with some free coupons!

As anyone familiar with Ace Attorney’s plot knows, the writers do a pretty good job of making the culprits look like innocent bystanders (except for the ones who are shown to be the culprit at the beginning).  Colias Palaeno strikes me as just the opposite of that -- the guy who looks like he could be the one behind everything (or at least in cahoots with them), but in actuality is just as innocent and friendly as he appears.

His friendliness is apparent from the beginning, when he agrees to allow Franziska to join the investigation into the death of Manny Coachen.

His willingness to cooperate with Interpol and let them investigate so quickly sounds just like the sort of thing you’d expect from the one’s actually dunnit, doesn’t it?  He also has a bit of a nervous disposition at times, which serves to make him look even more suspicious.

The only thing we know for sure about him is that he’s a proud representative of Babahl and its chief industry -- namely, tourism.

If his vest was yellow and his butterfly pin was a nametag, one would instantly assume he worked at Walmart, am I right?  Heck, he wouldn’t even need the vest or pin, probably.

His charitable attitude toward Edgeworth and Franziska and his desire to see justice for Manny’s killer seem to indicate that he’s either trying to save face as an ambassador, or he’s just that sort of person.  Could there be a hidden agenda somewhere in there, though?  Once again, this seems like the perfect recipe for a culprit who’s hiding in plain sight.

For most of the case (which changes from a murder to a double murder after the discovery of Ka-Shi Nou’s body), Palaeno stays in the background, providing Edgeworth and company with important details whenever they happen to cross paths.  The only strange thing about their conversations is how he reacts when his former secretariat is brought up.

But then, almost out of nowhere, he reveals his involvement in some less-than-above-board dealings.

Apparently, those in charge in Babahl wanted him to hide the fact that Babahl’s Primidux Statue (once a Cohdopian national treasure), was a replica, while the real one belonged to Allebahst.  Like many diplomats, however, he had good intentions -- the reunification of Cohdopia was the most important thing to him, even if it meant telling a few white lies.  Politics at its best, in other words.

Even so, there’s still nothing to connect him to either murder.  In fact, the only potential motive he could have to kill Manny is their...peculiar working relationship.

Another possible motive pops up when we find out that his secretariat hired Ka-shi Nou (a.k.a. Mask☆DeMasque II) to steal Allebahst’s Primidux Statue, presumably to ensure that Palaeno would become Cohdopia’s ambassador.  Palaeno claims he knew nothing about it, but can we really trust that?  Did something perhaps go awry between them when the plan was carried out?  (Yeah, I know he’s innocent.  I’m just building the suspense here.)

The suspicion suddenly shifts in a new direction when Agent Shih-na is exposed as the disappeared smuggling ring member, Calisto Yew, as well as the one responsible for starting two fires and tampering with some evidence, but the case doesn’t end there.

The real ringleader is still out there, meaning that Palaeno still isn’t quiiiiite off the hook yet.  Another scapegoat appears when Agent Lang points the finger at a possible co-conspirator with Yew...

...but thankfully, that theory is short-lived.  It’s not like we needed any more twist villains, after all.

We get one anyway, of course, but thankfully, it’s not our dear friend Colias.

It turns out the mastermind was a different ambassador -- one with the same friendliness and charm as Palaeno...as well as a lot more pride and arrogance.

To make a very long story short, Quercus Alba turned out to be practically the opposite sort of ambassador from Palaeno -- one whose ultimate goal was power and influence, even at the expense, so to speak, of Zheng Fa’s economy.

Palaeno, on the other hand, was just the opposite sort of ambassador.

Rather than fame, power, or money, Palaeno sought peace between two nations who had been torn apart, and for the person standing in the way of that dream to be thwarted.  To that end, he even supports Edgeworth from the sidelines.

And the beautiful irony of it all is this: The very position of power Alba sacrificed so many things to obtain, including human lives, was ultimately given to Palaeno, who did little more during the whole fiasco than cooperate and provide help when it was it needed.

If there’s anything to take from his story, it’s that being the nice guy may not put you in the spotlight (not to mention some bad things will happen regardless), but it can always lead to great benefits in the end.  Sure, he’s not exactly a saint -- he even sold the fake Primidux Statue to Zinc LeBlanc without letting him know it was fake -- but his friendliness, generosity, and peace-loving attitude have undoubtedly earned him many grateful admirers, as I’m sure the citizens of the new Principality of Cohdopia could tell you.

Oh, and guess what?  I didn’t realize until doing this essay that his English name isn’t supposed to be a pun -- it’s actually the species name for the Moorland Clouded Yellow Butterfly!  That’s a mystery that always bothered me, so thanks for pointing me to that piece of trivia.

-The Co-Mod

[sturchling]

Adrien Agreste: Ace Attorney

I saw this idea from @lenoreofraven and I loved it. I had to try and write it out!

The class doesn’t just stand by during the Ladybug incident. Instead, they get a trial set up to prove Marinette’s innocence. Adrien becomes Marinette’s defense. What will happen at the trial?

Hope you like it!

Everything was going wrong for Marinette in this moment. Lila had accused her of stealing the answers to yesterday’s test, pushing her down the stairs, and stealing her necklace. Thankfully her classmates didn’t look convinced. And of course, Adrien knew the truth. He hadn’t realized how far Lila would go. He tried to say something to Mr. Damocles, but he was cut off, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are here by expelled from this school.” Everyone gasped. Lila started smirking, but no one seemed to notice except for Adrien and Alya. Before Marinette was made to leave the building, Adrien interjected, “Wait Mr. Damocles. You can’t just throw her out! This is to fast, and you didn’t ask for Marinette’s side.” This is the moment Lila sealed her fate. She never thought people would agree to this suggestion. She mockingly asked, “What do you want Mr. Damocles to do? Hold a trial?” Alya, jumped on board with the suggestion. Anything to save her best friend. “That is a great idea. We would be able to make sure we punish the right person.” When Mr. Damocles still didn’t look convinced, Nino chimed in, “Also, it would be a great learning experience.” Max jumped in at this point, “This method of teaching the justice system is 98% more effective than a lecture style. It would be very instructive” That was about all Mr. Damocles needed to hear to be convinced.

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Lila couldn’t believe this was happening. She had been joking when she suggested the trial. She didn’t think the class would push for it so much, or that Mr. Damocles would agree. Now she was stuck. She couldn’t object to the trial without making it obvious that there wasn’t much proof. At first, she was just irritated, but wasn’t worried. She had tricked her class before. She would be able to trick whichever of her classmates ended up on the jury. Then Mr. Damocles announced the plan. Of course, Lila was the witness to all of this, so her role was clear from the start. Mr. Damocles was going to be the prosecutor for the trial. Mrs. Bustier would be the stenographer, to make sure there was a record of the trial. Lila was ok with the setup for the trial so far. Then Mr. Damocles continued, and that is when Lila realized she was in trouble.

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Mr. Damocles announced, “Ms. Dupain-Cheng may choose one student from her class to act as her defense. Ms. Cesaire will be the court investigator and is in charge of gathering evidence. We won’t be having a jury trial; we will just have a judge decide. Since Mrs. Mendeleiev was not involved in the incident directly, she is the most impartial. Therefore, she will be the judge.” Lila paled hearing this. The science teacher would be a lot harder to convince than a group of students would have been. Marinette wasted no time, asking Adrien to be her defense. This infuriated Lila, and she only got angrier when Adrien agreed. Mr. Damocles said that they trial would be held tomorrow, so everyone had time to prepare. With that, the day was over and everyone went home. Lila went straight home and started rehearsing for her performance tomorrow. It would have to be the most convincing performance she had ever given.

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The next day, the class gathered in the class room and got ready for the trial. Alya had spent all night gathering evidence. She had wanted to get security footage, but apparently the cameras had been nonfunctional for a while. She gave all the evidence she had gathered to both Mr. Damocles and Adrien so they could read it over before the trial began.  Once Mrs. Mendeleiev arrived, the trial began quickly. Lila walked to the front and gave her testimony, “Well, I saw Marinette steal the answers to the test that we took the other day. I didn’t want to get her in trouble, but I eventually decided it wasn’t fair to the rest of the class who worked so hard for their grades, so I sent an anonymous tip to Mrs. Bustier. Then when we were sent Mr. Damocles’ office, Marinette got really mad at me, she yelled at me and was saying stuff like how I shouldn’t have said anything and she would make me pay for this. When we got near the stairs, I felt a pair of hands on my back push me and then I fell down the stairs. I yelled as I fell, and then everyone came out to help. When we got in the office, I finally felt safe enough to tell Mr. Damocles’ that Marinette had stolen a pendent that was passed down to me by my grandmother. When we went down to the locker room, Marinette opened her locker and my necklace fell out.” After Lila was done, she hid her smirk. She had done a brilliant performance. She was sure that she had swayed Mrs. Mendeleiev to believe her. Then Lila heard Mrs. Mendeleiev say, “Thank you for your story Lila. Mr. Agreste, you may cross examine the witness now.” Lila braced herself as Adrien stood up. She just had to keep her story straight and everything would work out.

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Adrien was prepared for this. He knew that Marinette was innocent. Now he just had to prove it. He walked towards Lila and asked, “First, you said you saw Marinette take the answers. When was this?” Lila answered smoothly, “Why, the day before the test. She stayed in the room after class and when Mrs. Bustier wasn’t looking, she took the answers.” “That is interesting. Because, myself and several other students saw Marinette leave as soon as class was dismissed. I would like to submit this evidence. Sworn statements from seven other students who all say they saw Marinette leave as soon as the school day was done.” Lila looked flustered for a second but quickly composed herself, “Yeah, but she came back to the school and that is when she took the test answers.” Adrien quickly faced Lila again, “Really, because you just said she never left. And we have a written record of that version of your testimony. Another interesting bit of evidence is Mrs. Bustier was sure that she saw the answer key when she left. She locked the door when she left, so Marinette couldn’t have gotten in and taken the answers after that point!” The rest of class started murmuring at this and Lila started to panic. She didn’t think Adrien would be paying attention to every detail, or that Alya would have found all of this evidence in one night.

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Once order was restored in the classroom, Adrien continued, “Now that we have covered the cheating accusation, lets move on to you accusing Marinette of pushing you down the stairs. First thing to point out, is you just said that you only felt hands on your back, and you didn’t actually see Marinette push you, is that right?” Lila got a bit more confident at this point. Her and Marinette were the only ones in the hall at this time, so it would be hard to disprove. “Yes, that is right. I may not have seen her, but it had to be her. There was no one else there.” “And yet, when you originally spoke to Mr. Damocles you specifically said that Marinette pushed you down the stairs, which suggests you saw her.” Mr. Damocles yells, “Objection, she never said she saw Marinette push her, just that she was pushed. And Marinette was the only likely suspect, as she was the only one present.” Adrien got frustrated hearing that, but moved on, “Ok, but there is still another problem with your story. You claim to have been pushed down the stairs. That makes a lot of noise. But even though this supposedly happened right outside Mr. Damocles door, and Mr. Haprele in the courtyard, no one heard anything until you started yelling.” Lila started to stammer, trying to come up with an excuse, but Adrien didn’t give her a chance, “Another thing that is important to note, falling down the stairs would cause a lot of injury. Bruises and scrapes and other very obvious injuries. The only injury you claimed was a hurt knee. However, within a few minutes of the incident, despite you claiming that your knee was hurting severely, you were able to walk normally.” The classroom erupted, as people discussed this new revelation. Adrien was right. By the time that everyone came to search Marinette’s locker, everyone saw Lila walking normally. Lila was becoming increasingly nervous as this trial went on. She was watching her whole story fall apart. She noticed that everyone was looking at her doubtfully now. Lila knew that everything rested with the last claim now, she had to be careful.

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Adrien continued his cross examination, feeling more confident by the minute that he would win, “Regarding the last accusation, you accused Marinette of stealing your necklace? The one that has been passed down through your family?” Lila replied, making her voice choke up like she is about to cry, “Yes, that necklace means the world to me. It was given to me by my grandmother and we all saw it come out of Marinette’s locker. I wish I had been wrong; I don’t want to think she could be so cruel.” Adrien smirked, “Interesting. You claim it is from your grandmother, but when we look at the necklace, we can see the Gabriel logo. This necklace is from his new jewelry line. It couldn’t have been passed down through the family like you claimed!” Lila got frazzled at this point and burst out, “What does it matter if it isn’t an heirloom. The point is that Marinette stole it. It was in her locker, it had to be her that stole it!” Adrien yelled, “Hold it! These are the same lockers that have been broken into time and time again. Chloe got into Marinette’s locker to get the present that Marinette made Mrs. Bustier. Alya got into Chloe’s locker when she thought Chloe was Ladybug. There aren’t even any locks on them. It is completely possible that someone else put it in the locker to frame Marinette.” Everybody realized Adrien was right. Those lockers have never been locked; anyone could have put the necklace in there.

  -----------------

Mr. Damocles stood up and asked, “Ms. Rossi, is there any reason that you are sure Marinette did all this. Any reason that Marinette might have to hurt you?” Lila saw her opportunity; this could be how she gets out of this. “Yes. Marinette is jealous of me since I’m closer to Adrien. She feels threatened because she and Adrien are just friends but Adrien and I are-” Adrien jumps up, “Objection!” Mrs. Mendeleiev turns to him and asks, “Yes, Mr. Agreste?” Adrien states, “Marinette isn’t just a friend,” Everyone in Mrs. Bustier’s class holds their breath. Could this be the moment that Adrien admits his feelings? Adrien continues, “Marinette is a very good friend.” Everyone in the class groans. False alarm. So, Adrien is going to be dense for another day, Adrienette won’t be happening today. Even Mrs. Mendeleiev seems put out by how oblivious this boy is. “Mr. Agreste, while I appreciate that Marinette is a good friend, lets try to stick to the matter at hand.”

  -----------------

After all of this, the trial ended quickly. Mrs. Mendeleiev ruled in Marinette’s favor. She said that not only did Adrien make a good argument, but Lila kept contradicting herself. Mrs. Mendeleiev also suggested that Lila’s mother be contacted, since she had been lying about this it was possible that she had been lying about some of her other ailments. Lila was horrified, how could everything have gone so wrong. Lila was led away to the office to wait for her mother. Marinette was busy celebrating have proven her innocence when Mr. Damocles walked over to her group, “Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I wanted to apologize for blindly believing the accusations.” After he told Marinette that she could of course return to school, he went to go deal with Lila and her mother.

  -----------------

It was quickly after that meeting that it was revealed that Lila had been lying ever since she arrived in Paris. Lila was expelled because of her truancy and Marinette wasn’t sure what happened to Lila after that. She never saw Lila around Paris again though. Marinette was so grateful to her class for believing her and for getting that trial to prove her innocence. Adrien enjoyed being Marinette’s defense, and now wondered if he should become a lawyer. His friends started jokingly calling him Adrien the attorney after the trial. Adrien was just glad that he could protect his friend. Adrien had warned Lila. Don’t mess with his friends or you will have to face Adrien Agreste, Ace Attorney.

[snezfics-n-shit]

Whumptober Day 23: Shiver

Fandom: Ace Attorney 

Characters: Larry Butz, Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Trucy Wright

Notes: Respecc Larry 2020. Trucy’s going away to college in two months and her Uncle Larry has come all the way from his last book-signing tour stop to celebrate Laurice Deauxnim style. In which Larry lies about as well as a Weeble and earns himself that extended stay with the Wrightworth family he’d been wanting since Miles and Phoenix got married. He just wishes it was under better circumstances. Now who wants some wholesome fluff? 

“You’ll remember to call us as much as possible, right?” Phoenix scribbled a checkmark next to a few names on the RSVP list for Trucy's graduation party.

"Of course, Daddy! I'm not going for another two months anyway, so don't worry too much yet." Trucy grinned, peeking once or twice in the hallway, looking for someone.

"Uncle Larry is still sleeping off his jet lag." Phoenix knew exactly what Trucy was going to ask before she even spoke. "He had a long trip here, so naturally he was pretty tired."

"See? When I suggested we prepare the guest room before his arrival, it wasn't for nothing." Miles commented before checking what names were on Phoenix's list, raising a brow at a few names that were clearly only contacted via spirit channeling. He could understand his father and Mia Fey, but then there was Harry Houdini written as if he could just be sent an invitation by mail. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Trucy, sweetheart, remember when we said your guest list should be realistic?”

“It is realistic! Aunt Maya said the mediums she’s training could use the practice.” Trucy crossed her arms. “I’m officially an adult now, so why can’t we go all out?”

“He’s right, Trucy.” Phoenix nodded, proud to see Miles putting his foot down about this. “We should really restrict the channeled guests to just family and friends.” He looked over the list again, noting how Trucy’s biological father was not even considered once. It wasn’t like he could blame her, but his heart ached sensing the hurt and betrayal that fueled Trucy’s decision. He put on a smile, though, just as his mentor taught him. 

“Fine.” Trucy sighed. “I hope Uncle Larry wakes up soon, then I can talk to someone who likes fun.” She teased.

“Trucy.” Miles feigned an authoritative tone, chuckling as he shook his head. In the corner of his vision was a figure sporting an oversized T-shirt in a familiar shade of orange.

"He's up!" Trucy sat up from the sofa to greet her Uncle Larry, who was now surely full of energy ready for a night of movies and calling Mr. Grossberg to ask if his refrigerator was running.

"Hey Nick, did you turn up the air conditioning while I was asleep?" Larry shivered on his way to the living room. "It's really cold in here!"

Phoenix and Miles looked at each other. The last time they significantly adjusted the air conditioner this year was during a particularly bad heat wave that had since passed. Not to mention, wouldn't Larry feel warmer in the LA heat after staying in states with far cooler climates?

"No, Uncle Larry!" Trucy giggled, assuming Larry was joking.

"I don't get it." Larry blinked a few times, looking bewildered by something only he could see. “I guess I might just have gotten too comfortable in that cozy guest bed of yours. I never really had a good sleep from those hotel beds.” He rubbed his shoulder. “All those hard mattresses really added up.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll appreciate every bit of sleep you’ll be getting this weekend.” Miles smiled. If this had been ten years ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed of letting Larry even set one foot in his house, let alone stay for two nights. He had to admit, seeing Larry so successful that his busy schedule typically only allowed weekend stays made him proud, but there was a tug of guilt about how he and Phoenix treated him in the past. Miles wondered, if it weren’t for Trucy, who had taken a liking to Larry from the start, would Larry have even wanted to associate with them? 

“So, Larry,” Phoenix stood up to pat his old friend on the back, “are you rested enough for tonight? Trucy’s really been talking up that movie night you suggested.”

“Should we order the pizza now or after a few rounds of Uno?” Trucy asked. Uno was a long-standing tradition for Larry’s visits, probably because it was one of the few card games he stood a chance against Phoenix, since having a card-playing professional win every time wasn’t very fun. Larry even had a solid win streak across his recent visits once Trucy declared herself too old for him to let her win.

“Actually, uh, I’m not really that hungry.” Larry shrugged, shivering again, already twice too many times for the middle of June.

“Did you eat before we picked you up from the airport?” Miles pushed up his glasses. “I don’t think you ate anything here before you fell asleep.”

“Nope.” Just as he answered, Larry was caught off guard by a deep tickle in his chest. He attempted getting rid of it with a brief cough, but as soon as he started, he couldn’t stop it on his own and let the fit overtake him.

"Larry?" Miles frowned in concern. "Are you alright?"

He was still coughing. It felt like an eternity until he could finally stop, and when he was done it was like all his muscles had left his body.

"Yeah." Larry's eyes were wide, he was still trying to figure out what just happened. "Allergies, probably." He guessed, tilting his head.

"That's odd." Miles said softly. "I recall you saying you were only allergic to cantaloupe just a few months ago. Something you told us you didn't eat from our fridge while you had hives on your arms proving otherwise."

"We caught you red handed there, Uncle Larry!" Trucy added, laughing at her own joke. The laughing stopped just as quickly as another coughing fit started from Larry, this one sending him dropping to his knees. “Uncle Larry?”

“I know that cough.” Phoenix held his chin. “You didn’t get your flu shot this year, did you, Larry?”

“How did you know?” Larry looked up from his position on the floor, his cheeks discolored from the strain. “I really planned to do it, though! I just forgot, is all.”

“It may be too late.” Phoenix crouched down to press his palm on Larry’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”

“That’s impossible.” Larry insisted. “I feel great. Can we play Uno now?” He attempted to stand up on his own, but instead almost immediately fell back down, this time supported by both Phoenix and Miles holding him so he wouldn’t hit the floor again. “This takes me back to those trust exercises we did when we were in school. Remember those?” Larry smiled as if that could prove his claims of good health.

“You can’t lie to us, Uncle Larry.” Trucy singsonged. Lying to any member of the Edgeworth-Wright family was just about impossible to get away with. Sure, a little fib here and there would be overlooked because it wasn’t worth the fuss, but Larry certainly wasn’t telling Phoenix his novelty ties were not at all tacky. “It’s not like we can’t play a game of Uno while you’re in bed, if that makes you feel better.”

“You’re absolutely right, Trucy.” Miles nodded. “Can you help us carry our guest back to bed?” He ignored Larry’s weak attempts to wriggle out and run for it. Where would he run to, anyway? Miles looked at Phoenix, then back at Trucy, signalling he was ready for the three to use their collective strength to hold Larry upright as they led him to bed.

Larry thought it wasn’t fair. Not just the fact he was outnumbered, but also that this would be how his desire for a longer visit would be fulfilled. There was no way he’d be allowed out of bed by Monday, not when blinking of all things was a source of discomfort. Don’t get him wrong, he couldn’t think of a better family to take care of him, but that in itself made him feel like he was intruding. He figured it was probably that ‘dad instinct’ he knew both Phoenix and Miles had down pat by now that explained their willingness to not only carry him to bed, but tuck him in as well. His face felt hot as he wondered if he was even worth being cared for like this.

“Don’t you, uh, think this is kind of weird?” Larry stared at the blanket over his legs, disappointed that it barely warmed him at all. “I mean, I’m not your family or anything.” He let his head rest on the soft, definitely expensive pillow.

“I don’t think it’s ‘weird’ at all.” Miles said as he walked to the guest bathroom.

“Yeah, it’s not weird.” Phoenix agreed, pulling the end table’s drawer open to grab the box of Uno cards that resided in it.

“And of course you’re family!” Trucy added. She sat on the edge of the bed, dangling her feet above the ground despite her being tall enough for them to touch the floor. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be Uncle Larry, you’d just be ‘Larry.’”

“Or we would just call you by your pen name,” Miles entered the room again with a digital thermometer in hand, “‘Laurice’ or perhaps ‘Mr. Deauxnim’ to be more formal.” He slid the thermometer between Larry’s lips and felt relief when Larry lifted his tongue in cooperation instead of fighting off the device like he initially expected. 

“Besides, bedside manner isn’t exclusive to family anyway,” Phoenix smiled. He slid the card deck out of the box and into his hand. “What else would we do? Just leave you alone, coughing up a storm and being generally miserable?” He heard the thermometer beep and closely watched his husband gently take it to analyze the numbers on display.

“Congratulations, Larry.” Miles’s tone remained flat. “You have a fever.” 

Larry wasn’t sure what it was about everything his old friends were saying that made him flustered enough to hide his nose under the blanket. Maybe it was the attentiveness, which, to him, seemed undeserved and out of nowhere. This was only made more apparent when he broke into another intense coughing fit that sent him doubling over. He could feel Phoenix’s hand carefully sliding up and down his back. 

“You said you don’t have any more book signings scheduled, right?” Phoenix saw Larry nod in response. He was grateful Larry wasn’t straining himself by talking if he didn’t need to. “So you shouldn’t have anything stopping you from resting.”

“Can Uncle Larry stay with us for a few more days after he’s feeling better?” Trucy looked up at Miles with puppy-dog eyes that held an impressive success rate over the last ten years. 

“I’m fine with that arrangement.” Miles adjusted one of the pillows to provide Larry with some elevation. “It would be a shame if you two never got your celebratory movie night. Of course, that’s only if he wants to extend his stay longer than we already have.”

“I don’t know.” Larry closed his eyes, finding that to be slightly less painful than keeping them open. “Are you really sure you guys want me here that long?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Phoenix trailed off before he shook his head with a laugh. “Just give it some thought, but first get some sleep.” He closed the curtains to keep the summer sun out of Larry’s eyes.

“We’ll leave you be.” Miles ushered Phoenix and Trucy out of the room. “I’ll bring you some water for when you wake up. If you don’t have an appetite, you should at least stay hydrated.” 

Larry nodded in understanding. His eyes fluttered open temporarily to watch the family leave the room. He picked up some of their conversation as they left, bits and pieces of debating when they should consider him seeing a doctor, a few comments about a trip to the pharmacy. The sincerity of their concern was not lost on him, prompting him to smile as he dozed off.

[nyarmand]

i forgot to respond earlier but YES if you feel up to ranking the cases you should! :D

i absolutely feel up to it! okay, let’s go! below, my rankings for all of the ace attorney cases i’ve played so far... please note that these are all subjective opinions and you may highly disagree, but this is how i feel :) please also note that this will contain me crushing hard on a couple of characters but i promise not to get over the top about it.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

The First Turnabout -- 2/10 I literally do not care about this one like, at all. I do like having Mia around, hence why it has 2 points instead of 0. But also it’s a Larry case and I really do not like Larry. Plus... everything else. I just don’t like it. (And Phoenix having passed the bar exam but not knowing what a cross-examination is, even if it’s just for tutorial purposes, drives me up the wall.)

Turnabout Sisters -- 6/10 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [sobs] This case hurts me. It hurts. Both because of the painful loss of sibling rights and because April May exists. Very different types of hurting, but all the same... She’s one of the reasons why this case gets points taken off of it. Another reason is that I’m just not huge on how it progresses; I’m never a fan of when Mia has to come in and be like ‘this is what you need to do!’ I like figuring it out myself, y’know? But also, heyyyyy, introduction to some characters that are very dear to my heart! Edgeworth time! Fantastic!

Turnabout Samurai -- 5/10 I like Will Powers a lot, and I would kill for Cody, and Penny makes me happy because she has the same name as me, and Dee Vasquez... Wow. Wow. She’s really something. But the plot is kind of boring and goes on for too long, Wendy Oldbag makes me want to defenestrate myself (especially when she talks to Edgeworth) and Sal Manella fills me with a murderous rage. So this case only gets a 5/10. It would probably get lower, except I really love Edgeworth realizing what’s going on and starting to help out, and the scene at the end... well. Well. I’m sure I don’t need to elaborate.

Turnabout Goodbyes -- 10/10 Excellent case. Perfect case. Could not think more highly of it. Yes my lifespan is decreased whenever I see Manfred von Karma but it’s okay. I love defending Edgeworth and I love the backstory even though I also hate it, and I love the actual realistic depictions of trauma, and I love cross-examining the parrot, and I love love LOVE the ending, of course, because getting justice has never felt so goddamn satisfying before. Yeah, I think this case is just my absolute favorite (so far).

Rise from the Ashes -- 9/10 This case hurts me deeply for a thousand different reasons. The sibling rights... The REMOVAL of sibling rights... (I cried. I actually cried.) Edgeworth suffering... It’s all so painful but it’s so well-written that it’s okay. Point taken off because the whole rotating evidence thing kind of annoyed me. ‘But isn’t that also a mechanic in the Investigations series?’ Yeah, but it’s okay when Investigations does it. Don’t ask me to elaborate.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All

The Lost Turnabout -- 3/10 This case only gets points for Maggey, and also Wellington’s cool ringtone. Oh, and the line about bananas. You know the one. Otherwise, it’s just kind of boring, though I do appreciate that they actually came up with an excuse as to why Phoenix suddenly needs everything explained to him again. Even if that excuse is a bit silly.

Reunion, and Turnabout -- 7/10 It’s not a favorite by any means, but this one is pretty good. Pearl is just baby. The whole Miney sisters thing is deeply upsetting to me, but in a way that’s kind of good. The Hotti Clinic makes me really fucking angry and creeped out, so points taken off for that. Also, Franziska has arrived, and oh boy am I glad to see her!

Turnabout Big Top -- -10000000000000000/10 NO NO NO NO NO. FUCK THIS CASE. I HATE IT SO FUCKING MUCH. I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS ONE. The only good thing in it is how Franziska talks about Miles, because sibling rights are real. But the rest of it? The rest of it can burn.

Farewell, My Turnabout -- 9/10 This is a really good case! I LOVE the twist, I didn’t expect it at all, and it was so cool. I also really like Adrian. Shelly de Killer is pretty cool too. And of course, Edgeworth is back! Hallelujah! Franziska getting shot though... :( And having to go to that damn clinic... :((( Oh and also I love Shoe with every fiber of my being.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

Turnabout Memories -- 7/10 Ah, another flashback case, and one that doesn’t absolutely destroy me emotionally! Mia is here! Phoenix Wright as a sick college student with no common sense is here! Dahlia Hawthorne is here! It’s quite a collection of interesting individuals, and on top of that, it’s just a cool case! Even if lovestruck Phoenix makes me feel like hitting someone... Sort of like what it does to Mia... 

The Stolen Turnabout -- 6/10 The case itself isn’t that good, to be honest. But I would kill for Ron and Desiree DeLite. They’re so sweet, and Ron is so funny... On the other hand, though, Luke Atmey can go Zvarri himself. I hated him from the very moment he first appeared. What an annoying, fraudulent ass. Also, Godot was there, and I didn’t like him, either, even though I hadn’t yet seen quite just how bad he can get. It was really nice to see Adrian living her best life, though!

Recipe for Turnabout -- 2/10 I really didn’t like this one... I don’t want to talk about it... I did like Lisa Basil though. Too bad she wasn’t much of a character. Oh, and Viola too. And seeing Maggey again was nice. But those were the only good points in an otherwise horrible case.

Turnabout Beginnings -- 7/10 The case is pretty high quality, but it tormented me. Seeing Edgeworth in that coat... with those sprites, just like von Karma’s... And that one line... I hated every minute of it. It hurt. The only way it could’ve been worse was if von Karma himself had been there, but that gets saved for Investigations. Mia being there again was fun, though. And Dahlia... Wow. Lots going on there. That ending was... a lot. Terry was a creep and I didn’t like him, but watching that... Yeah. Yeah. And Diego did not endear himself to me in the slightest.

Bridge to the Turnabout -- 8/10 Too much Godot. Otherwise, this was a really great case. Playing as Edgeworth was so much fun, and Franziska being there too was incredible, and the whole thing tying up all the loose ends was just... so cool. Admittedly, the case itself made me very sad, but... it was so good. So good. I wanted to kill Godot partway through, though. No one talks to Franziska that way. No one. Plus, his whole stupid attitude about Mia... Yeah, I hated his guts, that’s for sure. It also had the scene that I hate (Phoenix needs to fucking learn what PTSD is or I swear to god) but otherwise, very good case.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Turnabout Visitor -- 5/10 HELLOOOOOO I was so excited to finally play these games that the whole case is a bit of a blur, but I do remember not really finding it that interesting outside of the whole rush of ‘FUCK YEAH I’M PLAYING INVESTIGATIONS’. Jacques annoyed me. But it’s Investigations. Investigations is cool.

Turnabout Airlines -- 7/10 Okay, first of all, Edgeworth hiding Steel Samurai stuff in a law book is genuinely just the funniest thing ever. But this case was pretty fun! I love that Franziska’s working with Interpol now, good for her! The characters were pretty cool (I really liked Cammy) and I thought a lot of it was pretty funny, too.

The Kidnapped Turnabout -- 6/10 The only reason this gets 6 points is because it introduced Kay Faraday, who is my chaos child that I love dearly, and also Shi-Long Lang, who I have a very complicated relationship with. It switches from love to hate frequently. It also introduced their totally epic theme songs, one of which is now my morning alarm. Otherwise, I really don’t like it that much. The case goes on for too long, and a lot of the characters are pretty annoying. I really hate Lance. I feel bad for Lauren, though. Ernest... Ugh. Ugh. The man makes me want to break things. Every time he mentions von Karma, he inevitably says something that makes my blood boil. And it brings back Wendy Oldbag, which is always bad news, and she was so fucking creepy, and... yeah. I enjoyed seeing Ema again, though! She seemed to be living her best life :)

Turnabout Reminiscence -- 9/10 This case had too much von Karma in it, and the fact that he went and called Edgeworth worthless right to his face made me so angry and upset... But! It is still a very good case! I really like Detective Badd, and Calisto... Calisto is very pretty and fun, but... yeah. Also! Baby Kay! Baby Kay is everything! And the sibling rights, they were everywhere! The case was just full of them! I love Miles and Franziska bickering like regular siblings. I love the scene with the Swiss rolls. I love Franziska getting between him and her dad. Sibling rights are so real.

Turnabout Ablaze -- 6/10 This case was pretty eventful. Not a favorite by any means, but still good. I thought it was a little too long, though, and the ending just really felt like it was dragging out too much. It got to the point that I wasn’t even fired up anymore, I was just kind of trying to get it all over with. Also, whether he meant it or not, Lang accusing Franziska of murder made me mad. But some of the twists were cool, even if I figured out most of them ahead of time... Also, Edgeworth getting really mad about Larry playing the Steel Samurai was hilarious, in a mean way. I felt a little bit bad for laughing.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor’s Path

Turnabout Target -- 4/10 This one was kinda boring, to be honest. I liked seeing Shelly de Killer again, though, with his matching ice cream cone. And I liked Nicole. (I bet I know who her first mentor was...)

The Imprisoned Turnabout -- 5/10 This one also kinda bored me, unfortunately. Raymond ticked me off from basically the moment he walked onscreen, because sure, let’s blame Edgeworth for [checks notes] ah yes, being manipulated by Manfred von Karma since he was nine. Let’s do that. Nothing wrong with that at all. /dripping sarcasm Sebastian also ticked me off at first, but I’m warming up to him. Also, I was in love at first sight with Justine Courtney. [heart eyes] I am not embarrassed in the slightest to admit to it. She is amazing. Simon is really funny and I think it would’ve been hilarious if he was actually evil, but he was innocent, so... My blood ran cold when I found out the Berry Big Circus was involved, but thank god, it was only Regina. No Franziska yet. I’m really hoping Franziska will show up.

The Inherited Turnabout -- 8/10 I haven’t finished this one yet, but so far, I’ve been enjoying it, even if it torments me with sadness and anger. Once again, von Karma shortens my lifespan, but Gregory Edgeworth lengthens it. (I think it’s really funny that they got ProZD to voice him.) Raymond... I still don’t like Raymond. Though his eating the paper is funny. Also! Also! Katherine Hall! This game introduced two women in a row that I have absolutely fallen for, and I have zero complaints about this. They are incredible. Sebastian is really funny in this one and like I said I am really warming up to him. Yeah. That’s all I really have to say so far. Still no sign of Franziska...

I’m definitely excited to see where the other cases in this game will take me, and after that it will be time for Apollo Justice! I am looking forward to finally meeting the famous Klavier Gavin... But I am not at all looking forward to meeting Kristoph... Oh, well. I’ll live. Probably.

Thank you for reading all of this, haha! I have a lot of thoughts... Many thoughts head full (of Ace Attorney).

[throwing-summers-at-the-walls]

Hi, i hope you are feeling good! Im better than yesterday so i can finally answer you. First of all: i am so happy that you shared your fanfiction! i had a great time reading it! Im always open for more recs. Maybe your all time favorites? Or if you know some good h/c these are always welcome :) And YESSS please send me a link to your fanvids. -- yeah 13rw was super cursed. haha i also watched season 1 but thankfully i was able to sto watching becaue i could feel it making me feel bad (1)

I agree the suicide scene was just cringe (but i think i remember reading somewhere that they cut it out? idk) and overall this show just gave me the feeling that there was no hope and things are always getting worse instead of better and i hated that. but enough of that cursed show. can i just say i really admire how open you are about your feelings (like being suicidal and that) i realy, really admire this about you. i have so much respect for you that you can just share your feelings here (2)

I have never heard of ace attorney but that story you described sounds really good. and i get reading sth that isnt good for you and still doing it (because im a dumb bitch too :D) -- okay i might accept that Root will never grow on you (but i thought so too and look at me now :D) but i havent fully given up yet :)-- yes thats the girl. i think it was really sweet when she said that to Shaw. and i think Shaw appreciated it that someone tried to figure her out instead of just writting her off (3)

Shaw is really cool and definately also a badass and in combination with John its just great! but you will have to suffer trough some Shoot.  but maybe, maybe you will end up not hating Root. hope dies last (idk how the saying goes in english, sorry). -- Did you ever ship Caresse (in a romantic way)? cause sometimes i do and sometimes i dont and i get so confused about it :) but i think most of the time i like them more as friends. anyway her death really sucked and you are right with (4)

her death and them losing the library it felt like a different show (i mean i guess it was a different show then). i kinda get your feelings about the destroyed library because i also really loved it (and im really bad with change) but i dont think it affected me as much as you. but yeah i still missed the library very much. and while the subway is a really cool new place its not the same. (also the subway is super dark cause its underground and idk it just makes the whole thing less homey) (5)

Yes he is everything! such a great, interesting character and i wish there were more John-centric episodes! (like ones that explored his character more). that was one of my biggest dislikes of the later seasons that John wasnt featured as much anymore. i think he chuckled a few times in the show but a real laugh? i cant remember one :(  -- He did promise Joss to talk to Tyler so @show were is that talk? -- if seen the vid its awesome! thehiddenmemory has some great poi vids! (6)

yes i think so too. Like Grace would probably be relived and thankful that Harold is still alive and maybe they would even try again but eventually she would figure out that she cant trust him after lying to him for so long or sth like that and Harold would ofc realize that he is in love with someone else now. And then he finds out that John is still alive but stayed away cause he didnt want to get in the way of Harold/Grace. But then Harold comes back. And when they meet again John is like (7)

you came back for the machine? what about Grace. But Harold tells him he came back for John not the machine and then they kiss and have a happy live with Bear (sorry i got a little carried away here :D). -- Yeah Zoe is really hot and she needed more screen time! -- i hope you have a good day and i hope i havent messed up the numbers on the asks! :)

Hi ! I'm finally free from the resits, I hope you're doing okay with your thesis 💛

Sorry for replying late, there was the exam resits, and I read a bunch of fics, then I fell into pokémon and started bingewatching it. (Also I had a breakdown during therapy today so I'm gonna finish writing my answer to distract myself - it's been sitting in my drafts for so long rip)

Thank you !! It was a very personal thing, I'm really happy you liked it !! Your support and your comment made me thrive 💛💛

Tbh I was surprised to see it get kudos given that the only intended audience was my self projecting ass 🤣

So, my fav fics (my fav fic ever is in French, rip to y'all bc it's so good):

I am, I am, I am by RavenWhitecastle

Actually check the entire series this work belongs to: The Sinner and the Saint. I haven't finished it yet but I love it (I just skipped the explicit fics bc I don't like smut or sub!John)

Breaking All The Rules by talkingtothesky

Outsider Perspective by Neery

A Really Private Person by astolat

Hamartia (the hero's fatal flaw) by astolat

If Only for Tonight by spacemutineer

From Here, Where? by AKMars

Stroll by TheaNishimori

and the world was gone by lunarcorvid

a light that never goes out by vindicatedtruth

Limitations. by Michaelssw0rd

Reel you in and spit you out by Michaelssw0rd

All I Want For Christmas Is You by richmahogany

By What Power I Am Made Bold by brinnanza

Aftershocks by darringtons

At Certain Hours It All Breaks Down by nogoaway

construction of a kingdom by the_ragnarok

You Take Me Higher Than I've Gone by talkingtothesky

All Together Now by beadedslipper

I'll Let the Waters Still by brinnanza

Birthday Tradition by talkingtothesky

Things My Father Taught Me by KRyn

Truth is in the Eye of the Beholder by infiniteeight

Better Luck This Time by Lisztful

Motivations by JenNova

What's On the Table by cortue

In Another Life by Della19

I Thought We Already Were by talkingtothesky

Misunderstandings by thisstarvingartist

This is already fucking long omg so for the h/c: my bookmarks filtered with Rinch and h/c

Here's my playlist, it's mostly Rinch, but there are a few not Rinch vids, plus some scenes I like

This is long enough already, so it's time for a read more. Also, warning, we be talking about suicide

The portrayal of suicide is cringe most of the time anyway. If my suicidal ass can find a list of suicide methods and their lethality in 2 mins on Google you'd think writers who are supposed to do some research would be able to find them too but no they're like "ah yes slicing wrists" even though it's literally the shittiest method 🙄 (I just don't understand why slicing wrists seems to be such a popular method in the collective imagination ? It's weird.) At least in 13rw she took aspirin and cut herself vertically instead of horizontally but still, no hesitation wounds, and she dies even though she only got 4 wounds iirc ? I know more about jumping off bridges than slicing wrists, but it kinda sounds like bullshit to me. Also Netflix once suggested "beyond the reasons" to me, it's a sort of discussion with the cast and crew of 13rw and the only thing I remember is a moment of intellectual masturbation abt how they "opened a discussion abt suicide" 😬😬😬

They may have cut it out it's not impossible, idk I didn't hear about it, but it's not like I look for info about this dumpster fire lol. Maybe they faced backlash ? Wouldn't be surprised given how shit the show was. And yeah it has a hopeless vibe, I mean that's how it be when you're suicidal, but I didn't like it either.

You're sweet 💜💜 it's interesting that you find it respectable or admirable, I don't have an external point of view, so I'm just like 🤷 it is what it is. I understand where you're coming from though, I guess it's still quite a taboo subject, and suicidal people don't always feel comfortable talking about it, so me throwing around that I jumped off a bridge must be surprising. I'm detached enough from my suicide attempt that I'm able to talk about it without much of a problem, and I'm not really suicidal anymore.

Dumb bitches unite 👏👏👏 we be out there reading shit we shouldn't read

Yeah I think it's nice how the show didn't portray Shaw as a bad person for not having "normal feelings". Well, hope makes one live as we say in French (idk the English saying either lol) but don't hold much hope about me liking Root lmao

I used to ship careese bc they kissed in the crossing, but then I read some Rinch fics and I just ended up falling into it to the point where I stopped caring about careese. Now I think their relationship works better as a friendship.

Yeah all that change really puts me off... It just gives me "bad spin-off" vibes. Especially since there is less John :( and less Rinch :((((

Lmao yeah I just have a lot of feelings about early poi hgkfglrk. Also :/ I'm sad about the subway being less homey pls I just want happiness ?? I swear this show destroys my heart on top of owning my last braincell (brb changing my blog title to this lmao)

Mood I need all the John-centric eps, give me m o r e characterization and development and backstory and feelings hhhhhhh. I love him so much I just wanna spend more time with him. And that's what fics are for ! Yeah thehiddenmemory is so talented ! Astolat made some good ones too, on top of writing really good fics ! (Our fandom has been blessed with the presence of one of the ao3 founders hell yeah)

Also, remember how we talked abt the poi subreddit ? The other day I left a comment on there, wild I know. It wasn't a discussion about the last seasons though, I'm not crazy, it was about the impact poi had in our lives so I said it literally taught me English. Who knows maybe sometimes I'll comment again lol. I just don't wanna meet one of those people who prefer late poi over early poi.

Allow me to uuuuh write something based on what you said. Don't ask me how John survived with no major injuries, my man got that Thick Plot Armor alright. Hope you appreciate me getting carried away sjdkdksk it's kinda rushed and the first part isn't that good bc idk how to write Grace I'm just here for that sweet sweet Rinch stuff

Harold is eating breakfast with Grace in her kitchen – he can't think of her home as his home – when his phone vibrates. It's a text from the machine. It's a surprise, she barely contacted him since... He blocks the thoughts and the images coming to his mind. The machine sent him a picture. When he opens it, his heart misses a beat. Right here on his screen is a silhouette he thought he would never see again. His phone vibrates again. Another picture, this time it's unmistakably John, wearing his signature suit, Bear next to him. Transfixed, he stares at his phone until he feels Grace gently touching his arm. She goes straight to the point.

"Is it John ?" He looks up in confusion, but before he can say anything, she adds, "I hear you call him in your sleep every night."

"It's him, yes." He doesn't want to explain. He only wants to see John, to touch him, to tell him how much he loves him.

"You should go back to him. I like you, Harold. I am deeply relieved to see you alive. But I've been thinking, and... It's not working. This, us... You aren't really the man I fell in love with, the man I grieved... I can't trust you anymore." She doesn't say 'You lied to me' but Harold hears it all the same.

~

Harold sits on their bench. The machine indicated John often comes here. Soon enough, his arms are full of Bear, and John is standing in front of him.

"John. How are you ?" he asks when Bear finally calms down.

"Busy. And you ?"

Harold eyes him suspiciously – John once said he was busy when he was bleeding and way too close to death – but he seems to be well.

"I'm fine." He doesn't have time for awkward small talk." I thought you were dead. Why didn't you contact me ?"

"The machine told me you were with Grace. I thought you wanted to come back to your previous life. I didn't want to crash into it and ruin what you had."

Harold wants to be angry at him, but he understands. He did the same with Grace.

"You would never ruin anything. Besides, my relationship with Grace... didn't survive my lies. She's very dear to my heart, but she's a part of my previous life, as you said."

"So you came back for the machine, and the numbers, like the good old times ?"

Harold gets up from the bench.

"I came back for you. You are an important part of my life. The most important part."

John smiles, finally. He takes a step towards Harold, they're so close they could kiss. Harold reaches out, grips his shirt and slowly inches closer. He's still afraid of being rejected but John wraps his arm around him and kisses him. The kiss is over too soon. John's smile is even wider when they part.

"You're the most important part of my life too," he says before kissing Harold again. "You will stay ?"

"Always."

Damn I live for sappy Rinch stuff.

Bitches decided that Harold saying "always" is peak Rinch. It's me I'm bitches.

Also ofc I had to make a reference to number crunch, who do you think I am

Anyway. I hope you have a good day ! 💛

[sukikobold]

Another crossover no one asked for.

I’m trying to add to the list of crossover/AUs that still involve comedy.

[shewasanamericangirl]

screamin bout zi-o 36

i had fun doing this last week, so let’s make another screencap post! of course, i said that, and then it took several days to upload all the pictures because tumblr just stops fucking working sometimes. anyhoo! it’s yuko kitajima roast hour. image-heavy and spoiler-heavy, naturally.

so ginga blew everyone up and they ran away to a sewer it seems.

honestly that theory makes as much sense as anything else on this booty ass fuckin’ kamen rider show

i was just like...he isn’t

but then he was

swartz: she could step on me in those red pumps and i’d say Thank You

hora: i regret so much right now

uhr: *shonen anime character walking down the street pose*

then over quartzer plays and im starting to feel a little lost because i don’t get to hear about the episode according to woz’s book? hello??

yuko’s still out gettin her spa treatments and shit, god only knows how she got the money for all that, and somehow she never crosses paths with the cops or anyone who recognizes her from the news?? uh

honestly yeah?? a queen deserves to look GOOD. her theme music is eerily sexy, i need an mp3 of it right now

don’t get me wrong, im well aware that swartz is being a suck-up to try and get yuko to help with his plan to seize ginga’s power, but damn im kinda shipping swartz with yuko now too...i mean, he WAS looking at her while doing the sexy ice cream thing last week. what flavor ice cream would yuko be? black cherry chip maybe?

(headcanon: woz tries apple pie ice cream and declares it a crime against both apple pie and ice cream alike--but he still eats the whole coneful)

hora and uhr get ZA WARUDO’D down the stairs by swartz

we were all uhr right here

yeaaaaaah she just doesn’t want to fight ginga

tsukuyomi’s a mood. someone put a band-aid on geiz’s forehead pls

ok woz i get that if you’re looking for a despotic ruler to follow that yuko is likely a better bet than sougo, but you’re missing an important detail: if yuko actually had a shot at becoming queen of everything, she’d already have one of you in tow, and you would most likely hate each other.

...majou means “demon queen” in this case, not “witch”, right?

aaaaaand this...is the moment when yuko started making me very uncomfortable. the way she responds: “yes...i do remember. it’s you.”

and sougo’s face just lights up--my guy, she could so easily be lying. she didn’t say one thing about the band-aid or the playground or anything that’d indicate she’s actually sougo’s crush.

like...if not for the fact that sougo had such a crush on the seifuku girl, it wouldn’t be all that major a memory. it likely wasn’t for the girl in question--just a happy sunny day cheering up a lonely little boy. a beautiful memory, yes...but memories fade.

can someone please explain to me why woz’s characterization is all over the place in kiva arc? are you pro-yuko or anti-yuko, woz? i don’t understand what’s going through his pretty head at all honestly. he gets pretty taciturn in the scenes he’s not inhaling pie, but then at times he seems to think yuko’s cool aaaaaagh i don’t know

junichiro: meowing, just wanted an excuse to cook lots of food

sougo: “yay, uncle’s cooking!”

woz: [deadpan monotone] “yaaaaaaay uncle’s cooking...”

ive had enough of this evil bitch honestly but when she points it’s still Good Shit

ridiculous move name, but also an awesome move name

and turning to stone to heal up while the sun’s clouded over? very cool

denied

i noped so hard at this part. like...i really do feel protective of sougo. yuko doesn’t give a damn about him, she just doesn’t want him to get in her way.

nope. no. nuh uh. you two step away from each other right now.

YOU CANNOT MAKE BABIES WITH AN IDIOT FETUS

ok but in all seriousness, do you want time jackers? because, im calling it now, letting oma zi-o go in raw is how you get time jackers.

yeah im pretty sure miho would’ve kept at it if she’d lived, and yuko...shes not gonna listen to sougo

thank you for the much needed reality check furry man

so she’s a...fu-joshi? 👀

☝☝☝

yuko wears such fabulous shoes

was anyone surprised at this point that yuko was the real killer? i sure wasn’t. not after all the obvious lies.

i love her leitmotif. i need it. where do i download

SHE DIDN’T PROMISE SHIT

hey kids! it’s time for *mashes play button* la-la-la lies! yeah, tell me that you love me! la-la-la-lies! look deep into my eyes! la-la-la-lies! say there’s no one else above me! i’m the king of fools, cuz baby, you’re the queen of actually very hurtful and manipulative lies!

that’s such bullshit

now im the last person to be like “don’t play the dead mommy card”--i practically keep that card in the hello kitty wallet my dead mommy gave me. but i bet you yuko’s mom is just fine (aside from living with the trauma of knowing her daughter’s a murderer and pathological liar).

sougo,,,,,pls

thank you tsukuyomi. god sougo really needs a chaperone with yuko around, he’s way too dumb and thirsty.

GUESS WHO’S BACK. BACK AGAIN. fortunately, it seems swartz and woz have been just standing there watching him for the duration of the rain shower.

lest we forget (because i didn’t screencap it), when zi-o took the brunt of ginga’s attack earlier, it sent him flying. now, that’s a human body, which has some ability to absorb force because it’s mostly pretty soft and fluid. yuko’s manhole cover almost completely absorbed this blast--she barely shifted her weight on impact. is it just that she’s THAT ripped? 

then The Boys rider kick ginga to oblivion. rip ginga, you didn’t have a personality or a character arc, we never even saw you un-transformed--you were just a cool looking plot device with pretty attacks. but for that much, we appreciate you!

swartz looks so pleased with himself. he must not have watched the preview for this episode.

YOINK! gotta love how swartz doesn’t look surprised so much as puzzled.

sure am glad kurowoz took his other self’s advice and kept an eye on swartz

i love it so much how woz just has these magic scarf powers and it needs no explanation? hell, he can fly and time travel and make people fall asleep and he’s super strong too, with no explanation? and he’s the comic relief? ALSO HE’S REALLY HOT? woz is a being to behold honestly

speaking of super strong and really hot, yuko is KILLING IT in that gown. i mean...i guess that’s the intention. killing it. cuz she’s a homicidal maniac. haha.

she’s so good at pointing. yuko could be a prosecutor in shuichi kitaoka: ace attorney. (FUND IT)

yuko throws her manhole cover at the boys (rude!) and next we see geiz holding it. a shame we don’t get to see him snatch it out of midair. or did woz catch it and just hand it to him? we may never know.

zi-o. listen to geiz, zi-o. use the fucking watch. just use the watch, zi-o. you seriously plan on just letting another kiva go on a killing spree? do you not get by now what she’s capable of?

thank goodness zi-o has his retainers to make wise decisions so he doesn’t have to.

please note the placement of mars on ginga woz’s suit. very important.

I Love You

lmao

WHERE IS YOUR MANHOLE COVER NOW

my favorite character gets a beautiful rainbow final attack. i feel so blessed.

i mean...protecting all mankind would probably include protecting them from people like yuko. just sayin.

is it bad of me that my immediate thought right then was “at least woz’s attack wasn’t what did her in.”

this shot, especially in the context of the church, definitely gave me pieta vibes--albeit reversed somewhat.

weirdly enough, woz does an outro instead of an intro this episode.

at this point while watching, i said to shylax “you know what this calls for? pie!” but before i could finish--

--PIE! cmon sougo, it’s time to gobble up your feelings!

fucking woz, i swear, you have pie in your mouth and pie in your right hand and pie on your FACE and when your overlord expresses how miserable he is you just go for his uneaten pie with your empty hand.

...is it normal to eat pie like this in japan? because the only times i’ve seen americans make this much of a mess eating pie is when they’re toddlers.

oh hey, what do you know? looks like sougo’s first love wasn’t a violent crazy person after all. she also wasn’t yuko.

sougo’s just an idiot who will mistake any older woman who rubs him on the chin and calls him cute for his sailor girl.

previews!

i blame joshua kiryu

how eloquently this one line sums up not only kamen rider zi-o but kamen rider decade as well. that’s it, that’s the show. that’s the clusterfuck we will inevitably get whenever toei decides to make a kamen rider crossover.

LOOK AT THIS! TSUKUYOMI REMEMBERED SOMETHING! who is she smiling at? is it her dad? is that swartz behind her?! omg baby tsukuyomi is so CUTE!

“a team”. uh huh. is that what the youth are calling it these days? cuz when i was a wee lass, i believe they called it “fucking”.

so what have we learned this week?

very little about ginga

sougo does not remember faces all that well

before sougo dates ANYONE that person should be fully vetted by junichiro, geiz, tsukuyomi, and woz because CLEARLY HE CANNOT SAFELY CHOOSE A PARTNER FOR HIMSELF

i still really like yuko as a character, if not as a person. same as i enjoy junji ito manga, but would be very upset if most of it happened in real life.

swartz loves a woman who can kick his ass

what the fuck are manhole covers in this world

i can’t wait for baby tsukuyomi flashbacks! that, and more tsukasa.

[theonceoverthinker]

Nintendo E3 Wish List

In just a few short weeks, gaming’s most exciting event will be upon us!

I’ll be honest and own up to my bias: I love Nintendo! Apart from some of the console war BS between Microsoft and Sony that I basically treat the same way most normal people treat any given episode of The Bachelorette, Nintendo is the only one I really care about. I have a Switch and I can’t wait to load it up!

So what do I want to see from it? Well, here are a few things divided into some simple categories!

GIVENS - Stuff that we know for a fact is likely going to be showcased at E3

POSSIBILITIES - Stuff that we have evidence to suggest is coming to the Switch, but no confirmation as to when

REACHES - Stuff that we have no indication is coming, but I want to see nonetheless

This got long, so everything’s under the cut!

GIVENS

Pokemon Sword and Shield release date and new Pokemon - We ALL know this is coming. That said, we’re also getting a Direct next week, so we won’t be getting anything too extravagant, but still a little bit more news. My hopes for this are the stage two evolutions of the starters and one or two random others.

Animal Crossing’s release date and gameplay footage - Animal Crossing is on its way! I think it’ll be released sometime around mid-November and I can’t wait! What I want this time will be a deeper means of growing relationships between yourself and your neighbors. As for my big, out-there prediction for the gimmick of the next game, as stupid as it sounds, maybe something with time travel. Jumping ahead to our favorite holidays is part of what makes Animal Crossing so much fun, and Nintendo knows it. They even made ‘time traveler’ one of the rumors 

Second Smash Bros DLC Character Reveal - Yeah, this is gonna happen. My predictions? They’ll be released sometime this summer -- maybe August. As to WHO it will be, my predictions are Sans, Banjo, a Monster Hunter character (I heard a rumor and there’s a Monster Hunter-themed Smash Bros boss), Waluigi, Professor Layton, Shantae, and Sora (More on him later). Sans is my biggest hope for because I’m Undertale trash and want to go all Megalovania on Jigglypuff, the Ice Climbers, and Ridley!

More Labo VR Stuff - I haven’t been sucked into the Nintendo Labo hole yet, but I will say that the VR stuff for Odyssey seems pretty cool and VR is a growing big deal in the industry! This is Nintendo’s answer to that and if they do things for a few more upcoming and already released titles, I’ll have to check it out! My predictions are that we could see the Labo VR stuff happen for Yoshi’s Crafted World and the upcoming Animal Crossing title.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - I feel like we’re only gonna spend a few minutes on this game. it comes out a month after this conference and the time spent here will just be to entice a straggler or two into buying it.

Link’s Awakening - Like with Fire Emblem, I think this will be very short and just touch upon the basic changes and updates, but given that it closed out the last non-specialized Nintendo Direct, I’d be SHOCKED if it went without a mention.

POSSIBILITIES

Ace Attorney - From what I understand, we’re supposedly getting an Ace Attorney game this year, and I figure if any place will show it off, it will be at E3. Do I think it’ll get a red carpet or anything? No, but I could easily see a little clip of it during a run through of upcoming third party titles and that would be more than enough for me! I can’t wait for the next game!

Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker Re-Releases - So I don’t know how many of you saw Nintendo’s April Fool’s Direct (I’ve watched it...several times because it is laugh out loud HYSTERICAL), but some things stuck out to me as possibly legit, and those were the two Zelda ports. Both had trailers, and Wind Waker on the Switch had a ZR button on the screen with the rest of Link’s supplies. Could it possibly be coming to the Switch? And as for Ocarina, it’s been nearly ten years since it was re-released on the 3DS! With release dates that were slated for this winter, I think it’s possible that both could be on the way. Maybe they’ll even co-release Ocarina with Majora’s Mask!

REACHES

Super Mario 3D World Deluxe - There have been a TON of ports on the Switch from the Wii U. I don’t think that’s a problem at all -- the Wii U was not a commercial success, and the Switch was, but the Wii U had really impressive titles. I’m glad that they’re being re-purposed for a system that’s selling so more people have the opportunity to play these games. But out of all the ports, THIS is the one I want the most. I never had a Wii U and I want to play this game bad enough that I’ve seriously considered buying the now defunct console for it...BUT even as something of a Nintendo collector, I don’t want to HAVE to. So Nintendo, want to do me a solid and bring this one over? I know I put the word “deluxe” in there, but that’s only because you’ve done that with basically every port that’s hit the Switch thus far and given that you’re...you, you’ll probably add a playable DK or Wario or Waluigi (This is why I love you, Nintendo -- you don’t just do ports, but you make new stuff for your ports too), but honestly, if we JUST get a more or less straight port, I’ll be more than happy.

THIRD Smash Bros DLC character reveal - It has been a WHILE since the first DLC fighter was revealed back in December. We’ll DEFINITELY see the second fighter revealed at E3, but maybe, just maybe, we’ll see the third as well. I have no evidence of this, but hey -- a girl can dream, am I right?

Stardew Valley Update - I heard the creator of Stardew Valley is working on an update to his hit game, and I am PUMPED to play it! Maybe E3 will be the showcase for the updates given how popular this indie title has become.

Kingdom Hearts...something - Once again, just so I don’t spread any misinformation I have NO evidence whatsoever about this (I’m just a Nintendo fan and a borderline casual one at that), but given how Nintendo has released so many Kingdom Hearts titles, maybe we’ll get something. Now that Nintendo and Square have gotten so buddy-buddy between Cloud being in Smash and the releases of the Play Station X’s Final Fantasy titles on the Switch, I don’t think this is too far out of left field to suggest. Now, this could come in the form of a side title for the Switch, Sora in Smash, or hell, maybe one of the compilation re-releases, but I just have a feeling that this could happen.

[alligaytorrr-reviews]

A Retrospective on Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

               Being someone whose online presence began in 2006, gaining a peripheral knowledge of the Ace Attorney series was unavoidable. Still, I knew relatively little for quite a while: I knew that there were attorneys, and that two of them were named Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth; I knew (from the many memes) of “Objection!”; and I knew that at one point, Phoenix cross-examines a parrot. This, along with its popularity in general, was enough to give me a mild interest in the series, but not one strong enough to inspire me to ever make the effort to try it out, at least not until that effort became considerably easier with the release of a free demo for Dual Destinies on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Everything about this demo instantly endeared the series to me: the immediately charming characters, the excellently funny writing, and the series’ hallmark rush of endorphins from uncovering a lie and watching a cornered witness squirm. I had been in the market for something new to play, as I would shortly be spending three months studying abroad and knew in my down time I’d want the comfort of sitting in bed with my 3DS, and this demo solidified Ace Attorney as that something new. Being about to leave the country, I unfortunately had no time to track down a physical copy of the then-nine-year-old first game in the series, limiting my selection to what was available through the 3DS eShop: Dual Destinies.

                Dual Destinies, being the fifth main entry in the series, is by no means an entry point. But it was mine, and I fell in love with it. My first playthrough was overwhelmingly positive. I was enamored with everything about it, completely surprised to learn that beneath the often wacky exterior, both of the characters and the plot, there was a real depth to the game. I even considered it among my top ten favorites of all time. Later in the year, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy would release on the 3DS eShop, and I would also acquire a copy of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Through playing them, I would learn that this depth is the core of the series’ identity – that is, fun, lighthearted, and clever murder mysteries hiding truly emotional storytelling and excellent character arcs. I would also learn that all of those games were better at this than Dual Destinies, as my second playthrough of it was overwhelmingly unremarkable. My third playthrough, just recently completed, seemingly confirmed this and resulted in a 3,500 word critical essay exploring how the game shoots itself in the foot by attempting to do to much and succeeding at none of it. Yet, unbelievably, as I spent this time elaborating on my negative feelings, I found I had more to say about my positive ones. This doesn’t mean the game doesn’t do too much, because, oh, it does. But there’s just enough good in Dual Destinies that the end result is not one that entirely fails to succeed at what it attempts, just one that fails to capitalize fully on its potential.

               To understand Dual Destinies, it’s necessary to understand where the Ace Attorney series stood just before its release. The original trilogy of games is frequently and rightfully lauded for its stunningly well done ending, which manages to neatly wrap up major plot points and give nearly every character arc a satisfying conclusion – namely, that of main character Phoenix Wright. For all intents and purposes, Ace Attorney could have ended right there, and series creator Shu Takumi indeed intended as much. When it was decided that a new game would be produced, however, Takumi smartly breathed life into it by introducing an almost entirely new cast for what became Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney: newcomer lawyer Apollo Justice, along with a new investigation partner, detective, prosecutor, and… Phoenix Wright. Phoenix’s inclusion came at the insistence of Takumi’s colleagues and against his wishes, but I’m of the opinion that the final product works. Thanks to a seven-year timeskip, the game avoids stepping on the toes of his character arc from the original trilogy while managing to still do interesting things with him. His role as mentor to Apollo creates a fine (if not strictly necessary) through line for the series, and the overarching plot of him having been set up to lose his attorney’s badge and working to prove his innocence is a good one. Some complain that Apollo himself never really does much in the game, and this isn’t an inaccurate assessment, but a protagonist whose agency is constantly usurped by people with a better grasp of what’s going on is a great setup for interesting character development. Only, the game never really feels like it’s making that point (and, spoiler alert: Dual Destinies does nothing with that, specifically, either). Rather, the problem is not that Apollo lacks agency in and of itself, but that he lacks agency specifically because at the end of the day, this is not his game – it’s Phoenix’s.

               It’s for this reason – that Apollo Justice is not really a story about Apollo Justice – that Dual Destinies raises eyebrows with its first moments. Granted, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is not so much about Phoenix as it is about Miles Edgeworth, but unlike Dual Destinies, its sequel, Ace Attorney: Justice for All, doesn’t immediately introduce a new playable character. This character is Athena Cykes, a fledgling attorney who stands out well enough, being more energetic and chipper than Phoenix or Apollo. The setup for this case, Turnabout Countdown, is one of the more interesting for an introductory episode: a courtroom has been bombed, Apollo’s injuries sustained in the bombing make him unable to lead the case at the last minute, and Athena is thrust into the courtroom alone with her childhood friend’s freedom on the line. The game uses the same shortcut as it has in Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice to help the player connect with Athena (that is, making her terribly nervous) and as a whole, she’s a fine character. It’s nothing about Athena herself that causes unease – it’s the fact that her existing at all begs the question of whether or not Apollo with get justice (pardon the pun) in this game, and if Athena is doomed to suffer the same fate that he did in his debut. The game spares no time compounding these fears, as Athena, struggling in court, is soon saved by none other than Phoenix Wright, who takes over as the playable character halfway through the episode. Not even a full episode into the game, it begs the question of how it will manage to be all that it wants to be: sequel to Apollo Justice, introduction of Athena Cykes, and return of Phoenix Wright. Already, it feels like Apollo has been shoved aside for Athena, who is soon shoved aside for Phoenix. The game will eventually do interesting things with all three, but it never quite assuages the suspicion that it could’ve done better had it narrowed its focus.

               Turnabout Countdown now moves Athena into her alternate role as co-counsel (and investigation partner in later episodes), which causes the unfortunate shelving of Trucy Wright, whose relationship with Apollo after the previous game had plenty of unexplored territory that this game is uninterested in touching. For this loss, Athena offers something to gain: the Mood Matrix, this game’s new gimmick. This is a step up from Apollo’s Perceive ability as it involves some amount of critical thinking, but not much. The Mood Matrix is an admirable attempt to innovate and provide new gameplay for trial chapters, but unfortunately only seldom amounts to more difficult thought processes than “a witness wouldn’t normally feel happy when something bad is happening” and “a witness wouldn’t normally feel surprised when nothing surprising is happening.” Additionally, the explanation for how Athena makes it work is a bit goofy – it relies on her “special hearing” and “listening to a witness’ heart,” which feel like clunky ways to describe hyper empathy. Coupled with the sensory overload she’s described as having experienced as a child, it seems obvious Athena could be autistic, but the game doesn’t confirm this, which is a missed opportunity, especially when it results in such awkward ways of describing her “special ability.” The Mood Matrix has no penalty for wrong answers, so in the few instances where there’s a semblance of a challenge to these segments, a guessing game suffices, which doesn’t help it feel like any more of a worthwhile addition to the game. While on the topic of penalties, this episode provides the first opportunity to experience the excellent quality of life improvement to Game Overs, no longer bumping you back to the last save point, but simply starting over from the point where the player failed. Having to hold the B button to skip through a mountain of text you’ve already read has always been more of an annoyance than a fitting punishment. The penalty system is effectively meaningless because of this, but it can still serve as a personal measure of skill, which is ultimately for the better.

               The Monstrous Turnabout turns the clock back to show how Apollo (playable this time – a relief) and Athena first meet. Like all “filler episodes,” this provides an opportunity to enjoy some character interactions and have their personalities shine. It feels the most like it belongs in a sequel to Apollo Justice out of any episode in the game, starting with Apollo and Trucy taking a casual trip together, before Apollo is once again turned into errand boy, tasked with tracking down new hire, Athena. The fact that Phoenix has been traveling and looking out for new recruits is a nice detail that fits well with the mentor role he took on in Apollo Justice, and as Ace Attorney has always had a found family aspect to it, seeing the Wright Anything Agency expand is welcome. Plus, Apollo and Athena play off each other well, so though it’s unfortunate to see Trucy out of the spotlight, this episode is an overall win in terms of characterization. The case itself, despite featuring the novel premise of a murderous yokai, is mostly unremarkable. It, like all second episodes, begins the inclusion of investigation chapters, which are disappointingly neutered in this game. While other entries have occasionally whisked you away to your next destination, much of where to go and who to talk to was left up to the player. This game constantly ferries you around to exactly where you need to be, which may have been an attempt to streamline and avoid frustration, but ends up robbing the player of a sense that they’re leading the investigation on their own. None of this is helped by the fact that the Examine option is now restricted to only vital areas, especially a shame because all the scenes in the game are beautifully rendered and look great with the 3DS’s stereoscopic 3D turned on too. This case is also the first to show off the new Revisualization mechanic, which tends to come at the end of a case where a previous game would have had a character talk through “turning the case around” and is a fun way of adding visual flair to those moments.

              The most important contribution from this case, though, is the debut of new prosecutor, Simon Blackquill. As with every prosecutor following the first game, he’s equal parts actual character as he is gimmick. This time around, the gimmick is that Blackquill is a convicted felon, standing in court with shackles and having to rely on his pet hawk to deliver evidence and harass others in the room, as opposed to, say, a whip or a cup of coffee. It’s a fun new idea, and the moments where he inevitably breaks out of his shackles in each episode are consistently entertaining. He’s additionally accompanied by his minder and new detective for the game, Bobby Fulbright. It’s unfortunate to not have endlessly unhappy, but always amusing Ema Skye return from Apollo Justice, but Fulbright is a solid replacement. His “commitment to justice” schtick is grating, but in a good way, making him sufficiently annoying but easily enough manipulated into being valuable for the defense’s investigations.

              Now is the best time to talk about the DLC case, since after the second episode is the best time to play it. For Ace Attorney’s first foray into paid DLC, this is definitely a success. It enriches the main game, but the five episodes that comprise Dual Destinies are by all means a complete story on their own. For its price and length, it’s certainly worthwhile, especially given that Turnabout Reclaimed is the best case in Dual Destinies. It tells the story of Phoenix’s first case after regaining his attorney’s badge, so I’ll take this opportunity to say that this is a great plot point. The ending of Apollo Justice hinted that it would happen, and it just feels right to see Phoenix back in his iconic blue suit (especially with a spiffy update that helps sell his role as an older, seasoned mentor). As with everything in this game, though, it feels like a plot point that would have been better served by having more time and focus devoted to it, rather than sharing the stage with the development of two more protagonists. Ignoring that, it’s an excellent case on its own. Taking on the defense of an orca in court feels like only a logically step for Phoenix, and in an obvious callback to one of the best moments in the first game he even cross-examines the whale, though an earlier fake-out where you can either request to do the same, only to have your request shot down by the judge, or choose the correct option and have the judge express surprise that you didn’t make the request, cheapens its impact a bit. Sasha Buckler, the second defendant in the case, is the most likeable defendant in the game (besides Athena, anyway), and Marlon Rimes is the only culprit with any degree of pathos this time around. A revenge plot against a whale is a little silly, but at least it’s something, and it’s nice to see Rimes’ coworkers sympathize with his grief and welcome him back to the aquarium openly. More than the rest of the game’s episodes, it feels like it tells an impactful story on its own, something that makes for the best Ace Attorney cases. Pearl Fey also makes a return here, with welcome confirmation that she and Phoenix have remained friends over the eight years since her last appearance, but her personality is bafflingly untouched despite having last been seen as a nine-year-old. Considering the traumatic events she experienced at the end of Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, this is disappointing. Truthfully though, exploring her character any further would have only made an already-bloated game feel even more stuffed.

              Periodically, Dual Destinies has been making references to the so-called “dark age of the law.” This is ostensibly a major plot point, but in practice is more the vague idea of a plot point. The game cites the fact that a felon is serving as a prosecutor as evidence of this “dark age,” but this fails to sell the idea well when Blackquill doesn’t particularly stand out among the series’ existing cast of equally wacky prosecutors. It also claims that Phoenix’s case at the center of Apollo Justice’s story, where he presents forged evidence, helped usher in the “dark age,” which at least means that these two games have something to do with each other, but Phoenix never appears to feel any responsibility for this until the end of the game, so it too falls flat. The only time the game actually properly shows what this “dark age” entails is during Turnabout Academy, which is the episode’s strongest point. Professor Aristotle Means, with his “the ends justify the means” preaching, feels like an embodiment of actually tangible ramifications of the “dark age.” That attorneys shamelessly forge evidence to win their cases is bad, but that Means is successfully indoctrinating high school students into his mindset shows the sorry state of the Ace Attorney world’s legal system far better.

              Means is instantly hateable, and his ideological differences with victim Constance Courte make him particularly suspect, but the writing does a good job of forcing doubt that anyone could have done it but Juniper Woods, Hugh O’Conner, or Robin Newman. The case constantly jerks you around as the three friends pile lies upon lies in their attempts to take the fall for each other. This is never as emotionally impactful as the game desperately hopes it is, but it makes for a fun case where it’s hard to find your footing, and it’s satisfying when you prove they’re all innocent and get to take down Means, the true culprit. This is chronologically the first case where Athena leads the defense, though it feels as though the themes and character beats could have been the culmination of her character arc. Means frequently sowing doubt in her that she’ll be able to save all three friends without resorting to his underhanded tactics is a fitting challenge for her as a brand new lawyer. It makes for great character development as she remains determined to do things the right way and proves her capabilities to herself when she succeeds.

              The game now moves on to its penultimate case, though in actuality The Cosmic Turnabout and the next, Turnabout for Tomorrow, are one large case cut in two. The only notable parts of The Cosmic Turnabout specifically are that it’s the second instance of a bait-and-switch where one lawyer (Apollo this time) starts out the case only to have Phoenix come along and take over, which is frustrating even if it makes sense for story reasons, and the reveal at the last minute that Athena is the only suspect that fits your argument, which is an excellently disheartening moment. Besides those points, these two episodes are best talked about as a whole. Wrapping up the game, they attempt to do nearly all of the legwork for character development, which is far from a new occurrence in Ace Attorney, but no finale has ever had three attorneys and a prosecutor to tackle all at once. Despite this, it’s a great case that, through what could only be a divine miracle, manages to do all of this to some satisfactory degree, though it begs the question yet again of what it could have accomplished if only Dual Destinies would ever stop trying to do so much. In a way, it’s a microcosm of how the game holds itself back.

              Turnabout for Tomorrow begins with an investigation chapter featuring Phoenix and daughter Trucy. This is wonderful – Phoenix has always felt like he fit the role of a dad since as early as Justice for All, but it’s nice to have this dedicated father/daughter bonding time, something that hadn’t happened yet. They eventually come upon Apollo conducting his own investigation, having taken a leave of absence from the Wright Anything Agency to pursue the killer of his friend, Clay Terran, alone due to his personal connection to the case. This is the game attempting to provide a backstory for Apollo, but for the most part, the game is content to do little more than say that Apollo did indeed have a friend named Clay, show a brief flashback of the two as middle school students, and hope that it suffices. It doesn’t, but it serves as an excuse for Apollo to potentially be at odds with Phoenix, which provides decent drama and facilitates good development later in the episode. At this point, Trucy decides to stay with Apollo because she’s worried about him, which is an appreciated reminder that the two have a meaningful relationship, even if the rest of the game doesn’t care to explore it, but it does unfortunately cut short the time Phoenix gets to spend with her.

              After this, Phoenix returns to the office alone for one of the best moments in the game. He’s lost the trust of one of his employees and his own argument in court helped implicate the other in a crime. It’s a low point, by his own account the loneliest he’s felt since the start of his career, until he finds a letter from his friend and former assistant Maya Fey, reminding him that even without anybody physically by his side, he’s not truly alone. It’s a moment that could only happen to Phoenix now, as he reminisces about years gone by and reflects on how he’s handled his role as a mentor, which is what makes it so spectacular. It feels like proof that there are still interesting things to be done with the character. The strength of this scene is dampened a bit when it turns out that Maya’s letter doubles as an excuse for Pearl to show up. Having Phoenix investigate on his own, determined to do right by his employees, could have been powerful, but Pearl is here instead, presumably for no reason other than that fans like Pearl. Soon after, another familiar face returns, in the form of Miles Edgeworth. This is more forgivable, as it makes sense that the chief prosecutor would involve himself in a case concerning an international spy, and he’s a more fittingly challenging final opponent for Phoenix than Blackquill would have been.

              The investigation ends with Athena producing five black Psyche-Locks, a moment that feels like a genuine defeat. Despite spending the game with her, she’s still a relatively new character that the player doesn’t really know too much about, and it’s hard not to question if she may have just been responsible for her mother’s murder after all. It’s a fantastic setup for the excellent trial chapters making use of Edgeworth that follow it. Somehow, after all these years Ace Attorney has never managed (perhaps intentionally) to unseat Edgeworth as the prosecutor who is most in control and confident, and the way that he constantly turns Phoenix’s logic back around to prove his own assertions creates a lot of tension between the player’s attachment to Athena and uncertainty about the truth. It’s a direct reflection of Phoenix’s feelings, and it’s times like this where the player’s and the player character’s emotions are in sync that are Ace Attorney at its finest. The focus of these chapters is an exploration of Athena’s past and her trauma, which isn’t the most nuanced, though probably best for a game that wants to stay mostly relatively lighthearted. Besides, it’s already heart wrenchingly painful to watch her have what appears to be panic attacks throughout the game. The bulk of Athena’s character development comes from this, with Phoenix helping her to overcome her trauma. It’s good enough, but for a playable character, it feels like too much of this development comes at the hands of Phoenix powering through the case to uncover the truth. It feels more befitting of a supporting character, which Athena is not.

              Prosecutor Blackquill also receives his backstory here, revealing that he intentionally accepted a false conviction for the murder of Athena’s mother in order to protect Athena as well as the evidence that would help him take down the elusive true culprit. His concern for Athena makes him an immediately more likeable person, and his method of laying in wait for seven years to take down the criminal who wronged him draws obvious parallels to Phoenix and Kristoph Gavin in Apollo Justice, which sets the stage well as the two work together in the final chapter to put an end to the “dark age of the law” that their cases ushered in. The parallel, and even Phoenix’s culpability for helping cause the “dark age,” is never elaborated on as much as it could be, but this conclusion ties together Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies with an overarching plot that works. At this point it’s also revealed that the real Bobby Fulbright is dead, and has been impersonated by the spy and murderer of Athena’s mother known as “the phantom” all along. This twist isn’t particularly impactful as it doesn’t recontextualize much about Fulbright’s behavior aside from his willingness to help the defense.

              None of this, however, comes before Apollo gets his development too. This sequence is excellent, which makes it something of a tragedy. If Apollo’s arc had been laid out more gradually and his backstory fleshed out more, rather than it all coming at the tail end of the game, this might have been even more powerful. Still, what’s there is great: this is Apollo’s moment to decide what being a lawyer means to him, and it helps to define him more clearly as a character apart from Phoenix. This is Apollo’s answer to Phoenix’s Farewell, My Turnabout from Justice for All, which is to say it pushes his beliefs to an extreme and challenges him to reexamine what he stands for. For Phoenix, his unwavering belief in his clients is put to the test when he learns that he’s defending an unquestionably guilty man, forcing him to learn to balance that belief with the pursuit of the truth. For Apollo, his endless pursuit of the truth narrows his view to the point that he doubts even his own friend’s innocence, something he shows he desperately doesn’t want with the best line in the game: “It’s fine, Mr. Wright… even a bluff would suit me just fine…” This singular moment does more for Apollo’s character than the entirety of his own game and the rest of Dual Destinies, and it’s ever so satisfying.

              It was at this point when originally writing this essay that I realized I had made a terrible, terrible mistake. I had set out to discuss every way Dual Destinies sets itself up for failure in its lofty hopes of doing more than it was capable of, yet as I went through, case-by-case, and examined what worked and what didn’t, I discovered that there was a solid story here and that each of its protagonists is developed – if only a little. Originally, I had thought Apollo got the short end of the stick, receiving only one case that didn’t contribute to any sort of character arc and a paper-thin backstory. What I didn’t see was that the game does manage to use it to facilitate some amount of meaningful growth, even if it comes at the very end of the game. I started to think that maybe Athena was the worst off, and given that she’s supposed to be a main character on par with Phoenix or Apollo, I’m inclined to maintain that view, but as a character, divorced from expectations, her story is a touching one. And as for Phoenix, the game shows that his continued relevance has value.

              With one final, fist-pumping-ly exciting triple objection from our lawyers, Dual Destinies just about reaches its end and demonstrates what the game is really about. To some extent, it’s the continuation of Apollo Justice, challenging Apollo to develop as a lawyer. To some extent, it’s the introduction of Athena Cykes, exploring who she is and how she comes to stand confidently in court. And to some extent, it’s the return of Phoenix Wright, as he learns to serve his role as mentor and right the wrongs of his past. Maybe it should have been only one of those things – a more focused story might have made bigger strides for the characters’ development. But above all, Dual Destinies is a story of all three as a team. Unlike how Apollo Justice centered Phoenix over Apollo, no one character outshines both the others this time; each character’s growth is built off their relationships with the each other. Regardless of if this was the right direction, it was the direction nonetheless. In the end, for all its unused potential, Dual Destinies is at the very least, an Ace Attorney game through and through. The themes of discovering who one is and figuring out what one stands for are as present as they’ve ever been, even if they don’t get exactly as much time and attention as they deserve. The game is overly ambitious, certainly, but it crams enough goodness to just barely make it work – that, if nothing else, is an admirable feat.

[askaceattorney]

Dear jnv11,

Only one word comes to mind in that scenario:

Poor Simon would hit a new record for the number of times he shouted that word in a single trial, and Ms. Oldbag might actually run out of breath before she’s done complaining.

Dear jnv11,

You kidding? The woman’s tough, but she’d have a heart attack in no more than five minutes. It’s been a decade since we’ve seen ’er, plus young samurai prosecutor who was suspected of killing his teacher?

Dear anon,

I think what we’ll actually do is stop answering letters that involve real-world politicians altogether, or at least ones that defame them.  Just to be clear, the answers I came up with don’t reflect my actual opinion on Donald Trump.

Apologies to anyone who was hit the wrong way by those letters.  Make no mistake, I was very uncertain about whether or not I should even bother answering them, but the “answer everything you can” part of my mind eventually won over the “avoid political topics” part.  It was all in the spirit of comedy, but, as I should’ve expected, it became more hateful than funny, so I’d say I’ve learned my lesson now.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ethan Starbright,

..................................................Pff...

PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Okay, I’m not sure why, but the utter randomness of that fact cracked me up for some reason.  Thanks for that.

Dear Ethan Starbright,

.............

.....I don’t get it.

(Previous Letter)

Dear 55,

Glad to hear it!  The Ace Attorney series is good at revealing the plot at just the right pace to keep you guessing about who the culprit is and/or what the motive for their crime was, but it’s just as entertaining to see Phoenix and company find the truth for themselves, even if you already happen to know some of it yourself.

Plot-wise, my favorite game was Trials and Tribulations, mostly because of how cleverly it jumped from one timeline (and main character) to another.  Throughout the game, we get to learn more about the events of the past and how they relate to the present day situation -- Mia’s first encounter with Phoenix, Godot’s true identity and history, how Winston Payne lost his hair, and so on, and every tiny bit of it makes the game more intriguing.  My favorite part was Iris’s confession about what she did for Phoenix near the end.  I’d love to see Hollywood try and come up with anything as beautifully touching as that.

It’s been a little while since I listened to the soundtracks from any of the trilogy games, but I think my favorite one comes from the first game, since it’s the most memorable for me.  I sure didn’t expect to hear those kind of fast and engaging tunes in a game about a lawyer, did you?  The other soundtracks are great too, of course, but the songs from the first game (especially the cross-examination theme) are the most fun for me to remember.

Dear Anonymous,

That’s actually happened a few times before.  I remember one letter were Maya claimed she’d never been out of the country even though PLvsAA is canon in this blog, and there was another where Apollo sounded skeptical about spirit channeling, even though he’d been born in the land of spirit mediums.  Chances are we’ll have to delete letters that point out contradictions like that, but we’ll try our best to answer them if possible.  There’s no way to tell what Capcom will come up with next, but that won’t stop us from making guesses about it in the meantime.

Dear Anonymous,

If something changes in the canon that isn’t reflected in a previous letter, it’s not important. Previous means not in the moment. Not in the moment means no one will notice unless they go far back enough. And if they comment on stuff that happened a while ago, they... no offence, kinda need a hobby.

Dear Professor Oak,

Yes.

Dear Professor Oak,

No.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Lachtigall,

Sorry to hear that, but hey, at least they picked a different character for the idea, so your letter will still get an answer.  We both answer whatever letters we find regardless of which character they’re written to, but in answer to your question about who answered that letter...

Just kidding, it was me.

Dear guquis,

That should be fine if you’re willing to wait that long.  Just make sure to indicate that in your letter.

Dear guquis,

if you want your letter to be on a specific date, specify it somehow. And also specify if you want that info blurred so it’s not obvious. It’ll be easier for us that way.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ender,

It wasn’t intended to look scary in any way, but whatever floats your boat.  I thought she looked kind of cute like that, actually.

Dear Ender,

Trust me, neither of them are contenders in the scary contest anymore. Have you ever met Robert? THAT, sir, is scary.

Dear SC,

ComEVENo, huh?  That almost sounds like a Native American name.

I’ve finally finished watching Hotel Dusk, but I’ll save my reaction to it for last so I can go into full detail under the cut.  That’s how much I enjoyed it.

My favorite cross-examination theme is from AJ, believe it or not.  I love how it starts out slow and mysterious, then picks up speed and volume when Apollo’s about to discover a big truth.  It’s also nice how the melody begins on the offbeat.  It almost makes me want to dance to it.

I hadn’t thought much about which cross-examination I like best, but I’d probably go with the final confrontation with Furio Tigre.  While bluffing is nothing new for Phoenix, it was fun watching him use the supposedly useless evidence that Gumshoe gave him to give his doppelganger a taste of his own medicine.  It was one of those moments where I had no idea what his strategy was until Furio opened his huge mouth.  After that, it became an “Ooooooh...” kind of moment.

I’d love to see that case ranking you’ve made.  Every case has its ups and downs, but it’s fun to explore just what it is about each one that makes it memorable and...odd.  Let’s be honest, they all have at least a tiny bit of oddness added in somewhere, am I right?

-Modthorne and Co-Mod

(Hotel Dusk spoilers below)

Oh, man..........oh, MAN!!

Seriously, I can’t remember the last time a game’s story left me this satisfied from beginning to end.  To be fair, I just watched a playthrough of it on YouTube, so I might have avoided some potential frustration by not playing it myself, but man...  I can tell the developers put some serious heart into that game.  The music was delightful, the characters were all very charming, the art and animation style were done in a clever way, and the plot...  Man, oh, man.

First of all, there’s the setup: Kyle’s goal in visiting Hotel Dusk (aside from getting a delivery) is established from the very beginning -- finding his former police partner and figuring out why he turned rogue and forced him to nearly kill him.  Oddly enough, he has no real proof that visiting the hotel will lead him any closer to finding him -- all he has is a hunch.

Then there’s the way he goes about gathering information.  Even as a retired cop, his detective instincts are still keen, and by snooping around the hotel (with some help from his “old buddy” Louis), solving a few puzzles, and asking the right people the right questions, he not only gains tidbits of information about Bradley, but also learns the secrets of the hotel’s residents, and how they and their stories are interconnected.  And boy, did some of those connections surprise me.

But here’s what I loved most about the gameplay (and the entire game) -- in order to get the information he needs out of people, he first has to break them down to the point where they not only can’t hide the truth, but they realize how useless it is to keep lying to themselves.  In fact, Kyle said it perfectly himself during one of these confrontations:

Whether it’s pressuring a pretend author to admit to his plagiarism, telling the spoiled son of a lawyer how dangerous his revenge scheme is, or convincing a drunk father to appreciate what he still has -- namely, his daughter -- Kyle just won’t put up with lies, even if he has to sound like the rudest person on Earth to dispel every last one of them...and he doesn’t even need the help of a Magatama!

Like every game, of course, this one isn’t without its faults -- the interactive parts are short, there’s very little challenge in picking the right dialogue options (usually just whichever is less annoying), and the language, while not terrible, could’ve been left out -- but the charm of the story and its characters more than makes up for it.  Speaking of the story, it seems I was a little off on most of the predictions I made, but at least I was right about Melissa.  She didn’t disappoint at being adorable one bit.

Oh, and one more thing -- if anyone reading this feels like playing or watching this game, which I highly recommend, be prepared for your jaw to drop at the very end.  It’s that incredible.

And with that, my gushing about this game is over.  Thank you for suggesting it, SC!

[parttimestorier]

Some Thoughts on Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

I recently finished reading the fifth Ace Attorney game, and really enjoyed it overall. However, while I’d definitely call myself a fan of the series, it’s always had its flaws alongside its strengths, and Dual Destinies especially requires wading through some irritating mechanics to get to its great finale. The following post highlights the pros and cons of Phoenix Wright’s fifth adventure in my opinion, with minimal spoilers until after the second screenshot.

One consistent issue I have with the series is its increasingly annoying witnesses. For every witness who’s actually an interesting and developed character—or who’s just a weirdo but at least a funny one—there seem to be five who drive me absolutely insane. One thing that really bothers me personally is when the witnesses’ quirks involve long animations that play in between their lines, like Vera and her sketchbook in the last one, or Aura and her repeated assault of her robot companion. I’d rather cross-examine Oldbag again than watch a character I’m already annoyed with impede my ability to find out what happens next by repeating an action I’ve already seen before getting on with their dialogue. And I could just be noticing it more the more I play, but I feel like that’s become more frequent as the series goes on. Maybe increasing budgets and/or technological advancements have been making more sprite movement possible, but just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should.

This line made me laugh because I actually do have a “most annoying witnesses ever” list, which I’ve been meaning to update to include several Dual Destinies characters.

I also have mixed feelings about how Dual Destinies seems to be easier and more linear than some of its predecessors. I sometimes felt like it was underestimating the intelligence of its audience when it would show a flashback to something that had just happened as if it thought I had forgot, or when the characters monologued internally about their ideas rather than letting me solve the mysteries myself. But some of its changes may have been for the better, such as the removal of superfluous evidence in between courtroom days, and the way investigation scenes now highlight objects you can interact with more clearly. While most Ace Attorney cases aren’t too hard to solve, I always had at least one moment in the older games when I got stuck, and ended up wandering between rooms aimlessly or futilely trying to present every piece of evidence I had. The streamlining of Dual Destinies prevents those moments of frustration, although it may also come at the cost of removing some of the challenge.

Thanks for making it easier to try to advance the plot through process of elimination when all else fails, Trucy.

That being said, while I’m not sure any case can beat the third game’s “Bridge to the Turnabout” in terms of tying everything together into a fun and surprising finale, “Turnabout for Tomorrow” comes pretty close.

When I first started Dual Destinies, I was pretty skeptical about the new characters and mechanics that were introduced. Why did they have to bring in Athena and her widget thing when there was already a ton going on both narrative- and game-mechanic-wise with Phoenix and Apollo? Why did they also introduce a new detective instead of sticking with the adorable Ema Skye, and what was up with the ridiculous notion of a convicted murderer working as a prosecutor? Of course, all of these questions were answered in “Turnabout for Tomorrow”, with the important roles Athena, Blackquill, and Fulbright had to play, and with the connection between Athena’s psychological cross-examination methods and an overall theme of the importance of expressing and understanding emotions. And the twist that the seemingly jovial and enthusiastic Fulbright was really the sociopathic phantom was quite a shocking one for me—I suspected Yuri Cosmos and even Candice Arme before gasping at the real revelation. Even after all of that, I initially thought the phantom’s layers of masks were just silly, but they set up that wonderfully disturbing sequence in which he switches between multiple masks while breaking down over his lack of a real identity just before his death. I should have learned by that point to trust that just like in the original trilogy, the Apollo Justice games are always headed somewhere interesting, even in their sillier moments.

It was also fantastic to see a reunion between Wright and Edgeworth, with the latter possibly acting more like a realistic prosecutor than any character in the series has before. I’ve talked a bit in the past about how it bothers me that so many prosecutors in these games seem to be motivated to do the job by either cartoonish villainy or their own personal vendettas, rather than a desire to work in tandem with the defense to ensure fair trials and uncover the real truth. Edgeworth did exactly what I wanted him to in this case, by being as objective as possible rather than trying extra hard to either help Phoenix or convict Athena. And the cutscene in which they began the trial in the ruins of the bombed courtroom has to have been one of my favourite moments out of the whole series. The defense was born ready!

This case did a lot to help fuel my Wright/Edgeworth shipping too.

All in all, while I found some aspects of Dual Destinies frustrating, I’m glad I kept playing through them in order to experience its great story. I’m really looking forward to starting Spirit of Justice soon.

[dwam-crack-blog]

Beginnings

Given that I've randomly decided i could just use this place for blogging in general, I think I'm going to keep this first post relatively short.

I've been in the Ace Attorney fangaming "community" for several years now. I like to believe I've presented a substantial amount of content during those years when it comes to fancases. It's something I've personally, for the most part, enjoyed doing, and I hope the people who've played those fancases enjoyed doing so just as much. I also like to believe I've been around long enough to say I'm relatively experienced when it comes to witnessing how most projects -- both successful and unsuccessful -- are started, developed and ultimately concluded.

I'll be drawing attention to the unsuccessful ones here, for a moment.

Imagine yourself as a teenager. Maybe even a bit older. You've played a game you like. You really enjoyed it. Like, really enjoyed it. Something about it spoke to you. It got your imagination running. You kinda wish there was more of it. Then - lo and behold - you found out people have made an engine, maybe engines - that would allow you to create something like that. You check it out - you take a look at some of the stuff that's already been made with it. You think to yourself, "hey, that's pretty cool!" You maybe become a bit more familiarized with how the engine works, what it can and can't do.

Then -- you get this cool idea. It's a really good one. Like, so good you can practically picture it. It's a scene. Maybe even the final battle. You can hear the epic music. You can see the dialogue playing out. You can imagine the positive comments those other projects have gotten. Fuck it, maybe you even imagine an article in PC Gamer mentioning your game, claiming it to be a crowning achievement. You finally decide: "I'm gonna make it!"

So, you think it a bit more. You go to a forum dedicated to this sort of thing. You write out what will end up being your thread. You're careful to make sure you give just enough information about it. Too much, and it becomes a cluttered slog. Too little, and nobody will take you seriously. Chances are, you can't do art. But that's okay, you figure someone will help you out with that.

Granted, you're not entirely sure what you'll do if no artist comes along, or even if the project will be able to lift off the ground without it. But you're relatively sure it'll turn out fine.

So, you put the thread up. You get a few responses. Few people like the idea. Few people say they might consider joining, but nothing concrete. Someone asks you about how much you have so far. You tell them you're planning things. You give some arbitrary percentage - perhaps slightly larger than what even you feel is actually the case, but not like they'll be able to prove you wrong.

Eventually, someone comes along. It's an artist. They like the idea. They agree to work with you.

And thus, the project can finally happen. You're excited once more. The images of those cool scenes start coming back to you and you can't wait for it all to play out. The hype is real. More people are posting and expressing support. It's coming alive!

...But keep in mind I said "can happen".

In those aforementioned several years, I've seen this exact story play out many, many, many times. There are variations - sometimes the creator doesn't ask for help, says they can do it all themselves. Sometimes, they need even more than just an artist. Sometimes the project just ends up never happening exactly because there was no backup plan in light of there being no artist.

(Keep in mind, I am primarily talking about the perspective of an AA fangame developer, obviously things differ in other projects.)

There’s a lot of things that can happen here. But in the end, it comes down to one of these two conclusions:

The project lead plans everything out as promised, writes out the script and transfers what he has to into into the game, along with the artists' support. Everything seems to go smoothly, as if through a sheer miracle. Maybe there are some hiccups and hiatuses along the road, but fuck it, the job’s done.

More likely, however, the project dies for one or more of the following reasons:

The project never even leaves the planning stage. It turns out that the lead was far more interested in imagining all those fantastic scenes than actually making them a reality, always telling themselves: "ah, the means are there, it'll be done someday, now let me tell you about all these Japanese names I came up for my characters!"

One or more of the team's crucial members gets caught up in situations beyond their control and they're unable to do any work, slowing the project to a crawl, eventually killing it as others move on with their lives, as well.

The team members (most likely including the lead) don't understand the time and dedication necessary for something like this and are either unable to cooperate properly together, or simply cannot manage their time to make their work efficient. In other words, progress is too slow. Interest is significantly lost. Both from outside observers and within the team. Time passes and, very likely, my earlier point happens - where real life just catches up with them and the whole thing goes quietly into the night.

It just becomes boring to work on.

 Now, to be perfectly clear -- I'm not saying there's blame to be found in any of these situations. Sometimes, things just don't turn out the way you want them to. It goes without saying that, if you gathered a team, that you’re not going to want to have their work go to waste. Most, if not all people, have that level of professionalism and courtesy within them to have the mentality of “I got you into this, I have to finish it”. Of course you'll want to get it done.

But you can't get blood from a stone.

And, frankly, you're in no position to claim you'll get anything done. Your determination, and your honesty, and your sense of responsibility be damned. Things change. Stuff just ends sometimes. Someday, you could wake up and realize you just don't want to do it anymore. What do you do then? Force yourself to work to make a half-hearted product? Pass your vision along to someone else and later be unhappy with seeing how that vision’s slowly being changed without your consent? If you’re working alone from the beginning, you can’t even do that.

Here's the common thread here.

People really like the beginnings of things. I don't mean that just with fan projects. It's like that with literally anything.

It's exciting. Makes your heart beat faster. Gives you the shakes. Feels like an impulsive decision that was somehow still calculated. Thinking about winning? Nah, no need. You’ve already won!

But in most cases - in cases where things end up not working out - it's actually exciting because the entire time you're thinking about the destination, not the actual journey. Or, maybe that’s not even it. Maybe you’re just so caught up in the moment that the idea of failure doesn’t even cross your mind, leaving you unprepared when things start going bad. You're young, and you're inexperienced, and you just tell yourself you can do it. And hell - you probably can!

...Thing is, at one point or another, you just don't want to. Maybe because more important things will start happening in your life. Maybe because you weren't honest with yourself about the commitment you were willing to pour into it. Maybe things were out of your control and, again, you weren’t prepared enough to fall back on anything. Maybe because... shit, I don't know. Could be any number of reasons.

My main piece of advice here would be -- before you do anything, anything at all -- get as much work done you yourself can possibly do. If you consider yourself a writer -- write out the script. Nevermind the art. If there's something in that script your artist can't do, you'll make a compromise.

If you're the artist, get art done so you can show it off to other people (who knows, if nothing else, might be a good way to hone your skills?)

If you can code - fuck it, code in some of the script! Even if you’re unhappy with the dialogue, at least have the structure set up. Find a way to speed up processes. Make things extremely fast for you when the time to act actually comes.

If you’re a combination of these three - well, answer should be obvious enough.

But do as much as you can so that when the time comes to make that thread where you either need help or you're just announcing the project to the world, you have something to show to people. To prove that you're in it for the long run. But more importantly, prove to yourself that you're in it for the long run.

That way, you:

Have people be able to trust you enough to apply for help

Have sped up the amount of time the team will need to create the project, since a part of the work is already done

Have a better understanding of your own project and what exactly you want from it; plus, are able to communicate your ideas way more clearly

Even then, there's no guarantee things won't fall apart. But you'll have done everything in your power to truly push yourself to make your dream a reality, and not just jumping into the fire, not knowing what you're doing.

This was probably a really roundabout fucking way of making this point, and I don't even know if half of this shit is comprehensible to someone who has never been in the kind of forum I'm talking about here, but I felt like ranting so, eh.

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

ah i almsot forgot: warning, the following has mainly snarky opinions on Spirit of Justice. Reader discretion is advised.

and we’re back to our scheduled programming

time to be rendered unconscious against your will you lil shit

-

“i hardly think anyone could pass out from eating something like this”

clearly you dont know what world youre living in, Sadmad.

...also he... might be allergic, guys. ever thought of that? 

-

yes, EAT! EAT OR WE WILL HARASS YOU, POSSIBLY INNOCENT BYSTANDER!!! YOU THINK YOU HAVE RIGHTS???? CRAM THAT SHIT DOWN YOUR THROAT BEFORE I DO!!!!

-

...uh;

-

FIVE IS NOT AN OCCUPATION!!! EAT ANOTHER BUN AS PUNISHMENT!!!! REGRESS FURTHER!!!! HFKJGU;SUUSRSO 

coping jokes aside holy shit 

don’t hurt this tiny boy!!!

-

i hope you all feel guilty for being such pricks.

look at him. he's curled up under his jacket like a traumatized baby 

at least this personality... sort of aligns with how DID is supposed to work? But now i just feel even worse. Someone get that kid a teddy and a juice-box, stat!

-

“Its clear that none of his personalities could be the killer!”

A) one of the three could still be lying

B) there’s four so far, what’s to discount a fifth? triggered by... i dunno, a reefer brownie.

C) I'm actually glad he's not the killer anyway just wanted to point out the possibilities youre discounting there

-

i love that theyre playing the goofy X people music for a traumatized five year old who witnessed a horrific murder of a loved one.

-

“I believe the person who laid the cards out is the very person who killed the victim” WELL.... DOY.

-

“How quickly you move onto a new theory when your old theory proves false!”

WELL.......... DOY

-

I love that theyre all just yelling and screaming about murder while the tiny child cowers behind the bench

hello??? anybody with compassion anywhere? maybe in the gallery? a bailiff? anybody???

-

“his emotions are spiralling out of control! something must have really frightening him”

maybe 

THE FUCKING MURDER????

athena youre a psychologist; dont you know anything about calming people down or at least putting them at ease? youre gonna put scars on this kid’s scars!

i mean at least Cody Hackins was fairly fearless and defiant about what happened to him and only really broke down once it dawned on him what he’d actually seen. Owen is clearly very, very upset.

-

i passed out *image promptly closes eyes*

-

“poor kid, he's absolutely terrified of something”

KDJFKLDGDGL

“whatever it is, it might be the root of his out of control emotions!”

DSHFA;SLGHOHSO GIRSHG’ 

-

“see, all we got out of this boy is a tale he dreamt up”

fuck off sadmad

-

(sigh) Owen’s on his side, Shisho’s laying down, just get to it already

-

“rotating your thinking about?”

“oh! you mean turning your thinking around!”

“yeah, whatever...”

(SNERK)

-

“like the forehead, perhaps”

is that... just a random location or is it actually going to come true

also, back at the office, Apollo winces and he can’t figure out why

-

oh yeah its definitely gonna come back.

-

WHOA; OK, MANHANDLING 

MANHANDLING, NOT GOOD

STEP AWAY FROM THE ATTORNEY, BLACKQUILL

yeah just fucking manhandle the stressed out anxious girl. you piece of shit.  i knew me being your friend wouldn’t fuckin last.

-

“MOTIVE, OPPORTUNITY, EVIDENCE??? IS THAT ALL IT TAKES TO MAKE YOU STOP BELIEVING IT YOUR CLIENT?!”

to be fuckin fair, cuckoo, thats usually what loses most cases.

-

would phoenix manhandle athena?? would he berate her and shake her into doing her best?? i highly doubt it.

-

“prosecutor blackquill was just giving me a pep talk, thats all!”

athena thats unhealthy

-

legitimately simon’s been nothing but unpleasant this entire time. its fun to watch him wreck sadmad’s shit but he needs to keep the hell away from athena. whatever protective, elder-brotherly instincts he had for her in DD seem to have stayed in DD.

-

man I'm looking back at my previous commentary and i was. i was just so optimistic. how foolish. franziska, bring down your lash upon this foolishly foolish fool.

atcuall dont i bruise like a peach

-

jeez now I'm imagining Super Dad™ Phoenix Wright cross examining Owen with Athena instead and it’s melting my cold, hard heart

-

“unfortunately, i spy nothing of the sort”

again Sadmad acts like if he doesn't see the answer, then it’s nonexistent 

not very monk-y of you, Sadmad.

-

gotta admit, i love this unique murder weapon

ive actually nearly suffocated under soft, cold, gloopy stuff and lemme tell you, its not fun.

-

...i love that simon took that logic-attack for us 

maybe the animators just wanted to play his OH SHIT animation again 

-

i know it looks like i pick on everything but in fact i edit these down. sometimes i take out whole statements because i rationalize them and realize that theyre actually plausible and i let them slide. so just, y’know. if you think I'm just blindly going at it, i am actually giving this game the benefit of the doubt. you just dont see it.

...if you read these

...uh

-

they used the pre-prepped noodles in the fridge. c’mon guys, as athena would say: Andale!

-

“perhaps the victim was simply playing with the cards, and they hold no other meaning”

oh NOW THEY COULD BE UNRELATED TO THE CASE

OF COURSE, NOW THAT IT’S CONVENIENT TO YOU

you sack’a shit

-

nice cliffhanger, kid.

Oh well; I’m partially glad that the poor lil guy can get a rest, and partially upset that his last two surfaces put him through intense anguish. maybe get Uendo drunk and go to the theatre or something, guys. poor baby could use a pick-me-up.

-

n no–– rise from the ashes flashbacks–– RISE FROM THE ASHES FLASHBACKS

THE LUNCHBOXES

SO MANY LUNCHBOXES

AAAAAHHHHhhhhi gotta give bucky a hand; being drunk and riding a skateboard while supporting a tower of bentos isn’t an easy feat

-

ew slurping 

-

and simon extends his douchiness to the guys he's even shafting Athena for.

just, fuckin, lighten the fuck UP simon, CHRIST

-

TIDDIES

seriously tho; we haven’t had a proper boob joke in ages. actually Geiru kinda reminds me of April May...

 Meanwhile we’ve had several testicle references, a drunk guy, and the bloodiest overarching plot the series has ever had. I think we’ve left Ace behind and graduated to Edge Attorney

-

 to be fair the judge could totally be talking about her actual rubber balloons, considering his childlike personality at times. so maybe ITS YOU, SADMAD, WHO’S THE VULGAR ONE!

GET YOUR MIND OUTTA THE GUTTER!!

-

bloooon. i think Drifloon says that, too. Is that a japenese onomatopoeia or something? 

-

ooh he sadMad

heh

i guess its up to simon’s brilliant mind tricks to save us again..?

...yehhhh i knew it

-

...huh. didnt expect that. impressive use of air...sword... skill. 

-

IM NOT A KOORAHEENIST, SHE’S NOT GONNA HEAR ME ANYWAY.

-

i know what theyre building up and yes, i am super excited to see all those balloons pop

-

...i gotta ask tho, why does Athena think those balloon animals are bad?? theyre extremely intricate and they look a lot more like the thing she promised than most of the ones ive seen.

-

aw no the cake disappeared. i want a huge explosion at the end!!

-

“I’ma cut ya, witch!”

...

.....

........

i uh, i have to um,,,,,,, go now

-

SHES GONNA CUT OFF A TIT

GIRD YERSELF ATHENA

-

me, into my DS mic: HOLD IT. Hold IT. Hold it. hold it... hold it... bold it

athena; HOLD IT 

-

simon: athena youre stupid do something. I'm not helping you.

simon: this time I'm going to do something, but god forbid you dont run with it

i dont think we’ve ever had a co counsel add something to the testimony for us before. we’ve had them hint at answers and interrupt trials to get us out of tight spots, but never directly ordering something like that. Guess that proves just how highly BK thinks of Athena’s abilities......

-

ooh the cakes back and there was a pop

im super ready for this

-

shit thats a strong balloon. i wouldn’t advice biting very thing plastic...

-

............

the... fuck???

sadmad: here is what will prove that Geiru IS NOT the murderer!

(geiru reveals buckwheat allergy and ACUAL RED HAND)

how the fuck does that help your case, Sadmad?? We know that the killer used the dough to kill the master by suffocating him with it. Pointing out that she came into contact with the dough, WITH HER HANDS, IS PROVING SHE DID IT.

YOU JUST GOT HER CAUGHT LITERALLY RED-HANDED.

HOW DOES THIS HELP YOUR CASE??????

-

ok well apparently she could die just by being in the room but if we look at how badly her hand has reacted, and is still reacting, Geiru should probably have at least some difficulty talking if “breathing in the flour” was dangerous. If her hand reacted that badly from minor contact, her throat should be shut like a steel trap. what I'm saying is, she’s probably lying about the severity.

-

“As if I would do anything so underhanded”

oh sad-‘trigger my enemies into yielding’-mad, youre hilarious 

-

y’know i just realized, it is a little insensitive of Taifu to make/buy/keep soba around the place. if Geiru is this deadly allergic, he’s risking killing her simply because he can’t give up his precious noodles. thats like living with someone with a deadly peanut allergy and being all “can’t get enough of my PBnJ!!”

-

its time for

Off!

Brand!

Logic!!!!

-

oh. its not. ...ok

-

hang on didnt she say the dough was udon already, or am i misremembering? if she did and everyone just forgot, thats a little sad.

anyway, i guess thats... an alright twist. i still say that saying your witness is allergic to something and showing a reaction on the body part associated with the murder is stupid thing to do.

-

“dont lose your nerve now. keep charging forward or you'll feel my blade at your back”

I'm just gonna let that speak for itself.

-

ah THERES the off brand logic. and we’re finally gonna talk about those fucking noodles in the fridge. its been a long time coming.

-

i like that ‘ramen’ is a third choice every time

-

that was a pretty involved murder. “alright, kill the old man, hmm hmm... make a dish that i’m deathly allergic to to throw of the scent; just gotta get the cooking! make sure Uendo doesn’t wake up and catch me in the act~~ get rid of the dough in a way that is probably time consuming, lalala~ and there! Blooooon, the perfect crime!”

how much time did she have??

-

also how much blood did she lose form that knick on her forehead? if its enough to permeate an entire clump of dough, she should probably need a transfusion.

-

simon: dog pun. have you figured out the twist yet???? DOG PUN, BY THE WAY. JUST SO YOU KNOW.

-

all the balloons are there. its time.

-

seriously, thats gotta be a lot of blood. I'm getting Gingerdead Man flashbacks.

-

“i wanna thank you, simon. without your constant abuse, i wouldn’t have been scared enough to succeed for fear of what would happen if i failed!”

-

...its a bit premature for breakdown animations; the police haven't gotten back to us about the dough...

-

...i didnt like this balloon explosion as much as i thought i was going to. this is kinda just... uncomfortable.

-

you know, she shouldn’t have resorted to murder or blaming the crime on an innocent, but I feel like Taifu should’ve.... I dunno, either Trained her properly or let her down easy instead of forcing her to be a sexy balloon clown.

It’s clear she really, really wanted to succeed her father’s name, (which I'm a little confused about; was he one of Taifu’s students? What is Uendo’s real name then? what is any of their real names...) so I’m sure that if she just practiced enough, she’d probably be able to do what she needed to get to that level of entertainment. And if she couldn’t, letting her down easy and encouraging her to find something she actually liked instead of making her do... um... balloons would probably be a whole lot less nasty.

also wtf uendo; what did whet ever do to you

man all of these people were kind of dicks. except bucky. the guy who came to his trial drunk.

-

Sadmad: Hmm.... upon further deliberation... seeing as you won... I believe I shall afford you a basic sense of human respect.................. 

Athena: thats all I ask, prosecutor sadmahdi!

-

heyy he’s sobered up! or should I say... SOBA’D UP AAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH but seriously i don’t think they’ve said drunk or hungover once in this entire case what the fu

-

“no way... i almost got convicted out of convenience?” you, larry butz, maggey byrde and a shit tonne of other characters in the series. its actually a fairly common occurrence.

-

“he didn’t give her the name because he wanted geiru to find her own calling in life...”

...you know. after foisting a sexy balloon routine on her. to encourage her to quite entertainment. 

obviously Taifu was using the Simon Blackquill approach to encouragement.

“making udon was his way of showing his support of her in her new endeavour”

...what does that... mean

“oh, i’ll make safe dough instead of the stuff THAT KILLS HER to prove that i support her!”

genius

-

“So this entire situation happened because of a misunderstanding? How sad...”

i think you mean,,, hhhh

i hate misunderstanding plots so so much

-

this entire case is just “he was being an asshole to ENCOURAGE you, see!! now you HAVE to forgive him!!”

newsflash: no i dont. you know what works better than fear tactics, threats and coercion? 

BEING ACTUALLY SUPPORTIVE

-

“he probably used some tough love on you so that the shop wouldn’t just go belly up”

I SAID SUPPORTIVE. ARE YOU DEAF???

-

see? athena is being a little misguided but at least she's using a positive -food- to try to accomplish something.

“i’ll make sure its got all the TLC Master Toneido would’ve packed in it, too!”

you got it! one ice-cold, bitter, al-dente bowl with a side of vinegar, comin’ right up!

-

no athena!! brand loyalty!! mr eldoon will never forgive you!!!

-

“do us all proud, bucky”

or else

(flashes air sword)

-

Athena: I wonder if this gave me any experience as a lawyer...

Simon: HAHA WRONG, IF I HADN’T BEEN THERE YOU’D HAVE HAD THE SHIT KICKED OUT OF YOU. YOU SUCK, ATHENA, AND YOU DO EVERYTHING WRONG. FUCK YOU~!

see what annoys me about this is that when I first played Athena, I had some issues with her being too inexperienced to be a proper lawyer, especially with her court-related PTSD which could seriously endanger her clients.

However... Why are they bringing up her lack of experience in the one case (it’s not even a full case) in a game that isn’t even about her? And ignoring all the progress she made in Dual Destinies?

The way they’re talking about it is as if theyre setting up some kind of sequel; ‘you need to improve athena, you need to practice’. Which would have been all well and good for one of the cases in the first run of her own game... but Athena has been and continues to be a side character to Apollo and Phoenix. Rather than this moment coming at a crucial moment in her own game, it comes out of nowhere during a case she got last minute, couldn’t have prepared for, and is abused throughout.

what I'm saying is, the ghosts of DD past has come to haunt us. They introduced Athena too early and are bungling up her character development. Lawyers need a full set of games to let them grow. Just make an actual Apollo Justice 2 or Athena Cykes 1, but don’t insult us by pretending that this five minute shit actually did either of them justice.

-

Simon: I hope you stay shitty so that I can always win

brilliant.

you know, usually when a character is jerk with a heart of gold, that ‘heart of gold’ thing is supposed to show up at the end.

-

i was going to ignore the horrible joke but then Widget said “ROTFL”

what a... great way to end this....... great case

-

and so we close this one off, and for a case about tasty food, it sure left a bitter taste in my mouth. 

[pixelpoppers]

What I Get From Games

There are basically three things I get out of video games: chill, story, and action.

Chill games are ones I can play to relax. There's a difficult balance to strike here - the game must engage me, but at a relatively low level. My actions need to depend on the game state (purely rote actions like just clicking a button over and over to make a number go up are insufficient) but in a simple and straightforward way. Needing to pull in enough brainpower to do things like learn new systems (puzzle box or escape-the-room games where understanding each goal is a major required step in solving it), manage risk (like in an RTS with fog of war), or execute difficult inputs (like a precision platformer's tricky jumping puzzles) means the game is no longer relaxing. In terms of my concept of challenge profiles, the gameplay must challenge me a moderate amount on tactics and basically not at all on strategy or action. Similarly, any story elements can't be too exciting or too complicated. And it helps a lot if the game is "cozy."

Good candidates for chill games are puzzle games (Picross games, Dr. Mario, Faerie Solitaire), sandbox games (Endless Sky, The Sims), life sims (Animal Crossing, Disney Magical World), MMOs and grind-friendly RPGs (Champions Online, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning), and some rhythm games (Beats, Guitar Hero/Rock Band on mellow songs I know well). Even some action games can become good chill games if I've played them enough times (Kirby's Adventure, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy).

Common design decisions that ruin otherwise-good chill games for me are time limits (such as Stardew Valley's short days which punish you for being outside too late), which add non-relaxing pressure and make me feel like I have to engage in strategic planning, and friction (like the constant inventory management required by No Man's Sky... in fact, inventory management seems to be the most common form of this), which interrupts my flow and frustratingly gets in the way of what I want to be doing.

Story games allow me to immerse myself in a world or narrative. What I get out of these is similar to what I'd get out of a good book or movie - enjoyable atmosphere, interesting story, and/or likable characters. As such, the things that matter to me in all kinds of storytelling (internal consistency, good characterization, etc.) are important here as well.

Good candidates for story games are JRPGs (Persona 4, I Am Setsuna), visual novels (Zero Escape, Ace Attorney), puzzle-light adventure games (To the Moon, Night in the Woods), and walking simulators (Gone Home, The Beginner's Guide). Story-heavy action games (Iconoclasts, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons) can fit as well. Since story can be integrated with gameplay or almost completely separate from it, there isn't a specific challenge profile required and good story games can be found in basically every genre.

The most common issue that ruins otherwise-good story games for me is content gating - locking story behind unskippable gameplay challenges. This is okay as long as the challenges are themselves enjoyable and you can set difficulty to a level that works for you, but that's going to vary betwen players and it sucks to be playing a game for the story and then be blocked off from it because a challenge you don't enjoy is too hard. Catherine is my most notable offender here - I enjoyed experiencing and influencing the story in the visual novel sections, but the frequent climbing puzzles felt like sudden demands that I pass challenges in a totally different game before I'd be allowed to continue the story. I didn't enjoy this different game at all and struggled to pass even the first levels on the easiest difficulty. I wish I had been able to skip them; in practice that's what I did by handing the controller to Senpai-chan who was gracious enough to do the climbing puzzles for me.

Action games have active and engaging gameplay. For me personally, that usually means a challenge profile with moderate action, moderate-to-high tactics, low-to-moderate strategy, and zero-to-low preparation. My enjoyment of these games comes from learning to overcome challenges, so games must neither be trivially easy nor so difficult that I never feel like I'm making progress. Since that sweet spot varies so much, selectable difficulty levels are often quite important. Pacing matters too - the game must introduce new mechanics or challenges after I've had a chance to become comfortable with the existing ones but before they become dull. Freedom of choice in how to approach challenges also helps keep things fresh.

Good candidates for action games are platformers (SteamWorld Dig, Poi), shooters (Ratchet & Clank, Bioshock), action RPGs (Mass Effect, Dragon Quest Builders), open-world games (inFAMOUS, Saints Row), and rhythm games (Bit.Trip Runner, Elite Beat Agents). Some games start as good action games but keep going after I've learned basically everything mechanical and must then be sufficently good chill or story games for me to keep playing (Musou games like Fire Emblem Warriors often fall into this).

The most common issue that ruins otherwise-good action games for me is punishment. The way I process tension means that when I fail, I want to try again immediately until I succeed. Delays in my ability to retry a specific challenge are highly unpleasant and do not increase the eventual satisfaction of overcoming that challenge, so it doesn't take much of this to render a game simply not worth my time to play. Kero Blaster is a recent example - like in old-school Mega Man, if you run out of lives at the level-end boss you have to replay the entire level. I enjoyed learning the game's variety of weapons and well-designed levels and boss fights - but did not enjoy having to do an entire level again learning essentially nothing in order to try again on the boss. Relatedly, I do not enjoy roguelikes because when you die, you don't get to then try again on the thing that killed you. You have to restart with a new set of challenges.

I like to have exactly one game providing each of these three things at all times. Sometimes I get them from different games (recently I had The Sims 4, Dragon Quest XI, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate going at once) and sometimes I get them from a single game (Destiny provided chill via patrol missions, story via the campaign, and action via strikes). In some ways it's nice to find a single game that covers all the bases, but since I don't like to start a new game for a given category until I finish or drop the one I'm playing it also means I'm locked in to just the one game until I'm done with it one way or another - at which point I suddenly need to replace three things at once.

I'm curious how typical my approach is. I wonder what set of things other people get out of games and how they go about finding those things.