#and played up layton's skills way too much

[jistda]

Digging through cutscenes to see if there are any more interesting discrepancies between English and Japanese Descole. And I'm definitely reading into this one way too much, but...

In Last Specter, where in English he says "Hershel Layton, I hope you are prepared to play your part", in the Japanese version he says 「工ルシャール・レイトン、 その名に恥しぬ活躍に期待しよう」 -- "Hershel Layton, I hope you live up to your name"

Of course he’s probably just referring to the fact that Layton is well known for his puzzle-solving skills, but if we put this in the context of AL, to Descole, “Hershel Layton” was the name that almost became his own.

We go back to the flashback scene in AL, where the first thing Roland says is: "You're the famous Hershel, eh? We've heard that you're a very clever boy" (or in Japanese "we've heard throughout the town about your excellent reputation").

"Hershel Layton" came into his name with a reputation already. And that was a reputation that young Des had made for him. The “I hope you live up to your name” is almost like he wants to see what Layton has made of the name that he gave to him.

I wonder, was this the scene that Descole was thinking back to as he readied himself to meet his brother again?

[lutiaslayton]

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

���ＡＲＴ　１６

〚ＦＩＲＳＴ〛〚ＰＲＥＶ〛〚ＮＥＸＴ〛

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation for the Japan-exclusive novellisation of the movie Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. The original novel was written by Aya Matsui under the supervision of Akihiro Hino, and belongs to Level-5.

This translation only aims to be a pleasant read for non-Japanese fans, nothing more: I made a few deliberate changes while translating in order to get the writing style closer to what is usually found in English fanfictions, as the Japanese storytelling can sometimes be different than what we are used to.

＊ Song of the Stars, Song of the Sea

The impact of the explosion that Descole caused sent me tumbling to the floor. When the white smoke faded, I saw from afar that Janice and Descole were rising in the air, along with the Detragan.

“Janice!”

I dashed forward to help her, but one of the wolves pounced on me and held me down against the floor. The rest of the pack soon came and surrounded us all, snarling along the way.

“Be careful, everyone!” Emmy yelled.

“Stop!”

I could hear Janice’s voice from high up, still rising higher and higher.

“If you want to help them, you have to sing, Melina!”

Right… This was not Janice, but Melina… But it was also Janice…

The Detragan came to a stop.

“Good. Now, this is the stage for your last performance.”

Her last performance? I wouldn’t let this be her last! I had to save her!

At that moment, the solemn sound of the Detragan resonated from afar. Descole had started playing… Was this the ‘Song of the Stars,’ then?

It was a strange melody. Even as I was in danger, as I could be devoured by a wolf at any moment, I couldn’t help but listen to it. It was sad, yet pure…

“Sing, Melina! Sing the Song of the Sea!”

I struggled desperately. I didn’t have time to stay stuck under a wolf’s paws when Melina was in danger! But the wolf was too heavy and completely unfazed…

“Now, Melina!”

The Song of the Stars resounded again… Then a beautiful voice started singing along. The ‘Song of the Sea’… I remembered that Nina had sung it to me on the beach, back when she still had Melina’s memories.

I already had found that song beautiful at the time… but the way her voice now resonated in harmony with the Detragan’s Song of the Stars couldn’t be described with just an ordinary word like ‘beautiful.’

Suddenly, a violent tremor hit the black castle. What happened!?

The quake also distracted the wolves, and Emmy seized that split-second opportunity to attack the wolf that was restraining me. The impact broke a mechanism that was attached to its ear… so this was how Descole was controlling them. Using animals for his evil deeds… This was unacceptable!

Emmy beat up the wolves one after the other. She threw one in the air and at another, sending them spinning… Her fighting skills were truly amazing.

The professor rushed to me and helped me stand up. “Are you alright, Luke?”

The floor was shaking so much that it was hard to stay upright.

“You will come back to life, Ambrosia! Rise once more!”

As soon as Descole's voice rang out, the surrounding walls began to crumble with a loud thud. The black castle rattled, and started to collapse.

“Everyone, run!”

Emmy, Mr Whistler, Amelia, Nina and Inspector Grosky ran up ahead. The professor and I followed, chased by the floor that was falling to pieces right behind us.

Any delay and we would fall into the abyss. We barely caught up with the others, and headed straight for the exit.

＊ The Detragigant

We fled from the collapsing black castle and ran up to the coast. The quaking ground had been put to rest, as if it had never happened. The sea was calm, and it seemed as if even the waves had forgotten how to break onto the shore and foam.

Descole’s voice soon broke the silence.

“Why? Why won’t it rise!?” he growled. “One more time. Sing! Sing again!”

The Detragan resumed playing the Song of the Stars. The tone, more intense than before, gave us a sense of Descole’s frenzy.

At that moment, I looked up at the professor’s face and widened my eyes. Judging by his expression, he was solving a puzzle right this instant.

When the professor is fully focused like this, there is a unique atmosphere that makes it difficult to talk to him. But what kind of puzzle could he possibly be solving now…?

“Of course!” he soon shouted.

Apparently, the puzzle had been solved.

The Detragan, then the entire area, suddenly fell to silence once more. Soon, Descole’s eerie laughter could be heard in the distance.

“Why… Why…? Hah ha ha…”

I had never heard such horrible laughter. It was a mixture between ambition, despair, and madness…

The next moment, he shouted:

“If the doors of the kingdom won’t open, then I’ll pry them open with my own hands!”

It sounded like the Detragan itself had just screamed. Descole played it again, but to my ears it sounded like the roar of a beast.

Then, the unbelievable happened. A fearsome weapon sprang out from the side of the Detragan’s keyboard. Then more came out, from the other side!

Lights flashed here and there out of the black castle… well, what remained of it. The lights brightened more and more, shining out through the gaps in the walls; and suddenly, a whole part of the walls cracked.

The black castle began to transform into… something else. Blocks were moved from place to place, arm-like parts were raised, and cords, pipes and wires were pulled up. Then the castle, now completely detached from the Detragan, finished collapsing at once.

We could only stare at the scene in shock.

A huge silhouette appeared behind the crumbling castle.

“What on Earth is that…?”

“It’s so big…”

Inspector Grosky and Emmy spoke out for us all.

“Professor, what is Descole doing!?” I asked.

Before he could answer, Descole shouted from the distance.

“Onwards, Detragigant!”

The… Detragigant…? This is the name that Descole found for this new machine? It was a combination between the Detragan and the black castle… In a way, this name was a perfect fit.

The Detragigant took a slow step forward, then jumped and descended into the lake that surrounded us. With a giant splash, the Detragigant landed in the deep waters; then it ran forward, without stopping, straight to the sea.

“Melina— Melina…!”

Mr Whistler was about to run after it, but Emmy stopped him.

“Someone, please— Melina!”

“If we could borrow the Kingdom’s power…” the professor muttered.

The kingdom’s… power? What was he talking about?

The professor started to run.

“Emmy, take everyone to safety! Luke, let’s go!”

I had started running after him before I even opened my mouth to answer.

Looking at the Detragigant’s rampage, all I could do was shiver in fear.

When I had written this letter to Professor Layton, never had I imagined that it would come to this.

I never thought that Descole’s aim was the Immortal Kingdom of Ambrosia itself… He was controlling this machine like a madman, and must have forgotten that I was even here.

Neither the first nor the second key had managed to awaken Ambrosia.

“Come on out, Ambrosia! Your treasure and knowledge must be mine!”

Under his command, the Detragigant dug into the forests, damaged the earth with its drills, and wreaked havoc on the entire site.

“Come on, show yourself!”

Ambrosia… If this continued, there soon would be nothing left of the island that healed me.

Descole’s anger kept building up. What was he doing? He had no right to destroy Ambrosia!

It was no wonder that he could not revive the kingdom.

But then… I saw a small helicopter coming towards us. And inside were… the professor and Luke!

My mind went back to the time when the three of us flew in that helicopter and reached the black castle… This had been one of the best moments in my… and Janice’s life, now that I was sharing it with her.

“How interesting… So you are willing to challenge me with this thing?”

Descole smiled coldly.

“Melina!”

I heard Luke calling… my name.

“Anyone who stands in my way will have to disappear!”

A rotating excavator from the Detragigant flew in their direction. Luke screamed…! This was far too dangerous!

At the most critical moment, the helicopter gained in altitude if ever so slightly… and just barely avoided the attack. Thank goodness!

Descole laughed maniacally. He was clearly enjoying this situation, and the expression I could see on his face from afar, as he manoeuvred all these levers and tried to destroy the small helicopter, was identical to that of a child playing with his toys.

But on the other side were standing the professor and Luke… very real human lives. I was once again overwhelmed with anger.

“Stop!”

I jumped on Descole’s arm as he kept manoeuvring, and clung desperately to him. I had to protect them!

But I was no match for him.

“Do not interfere!”

I was shaken off violently, and the force sent me rolling over the Detragigant. Quickly, my outstretched arms caught on a hanging pipe… Putting all my strength into my fingers, I managed to hang on.

I could feel air being blown out of a vent from right below me.

It was so hot…

　⇚　　　　　　　⇛

[crystalpallette]

it's late again and I'm being more delusional! some more thoughts about the butterfly's effect au(my au where emmy goes back in time) under the cut, for potential professor layton spoilers

so anyway today at work it was slow so I was able to get fully lost in my thoughts, I've got like a basic plot set out now wooow

(I turned around the idea of making this a comic quite a bit, but then I realized three longterm comics at the same time is a bad idea. I'm confident enough in my writing skills to make this at least a fic though !)

without giving too much away, I've pinpointed some places where emmy will be able to make some small but significant changes to the timeline. these include but are not limited to: misthallery, during the finale; monte d'or, in the reunion inn; and the azran sanctuary, right in front of the proper entrance(where the good ol betrayal happens). I've thought about changing some things in ambrosia too, but I'm not sure what I can without breaking my rules for emmy here ngl, in order for this to be an actual story there have to be rules to keep us going

the butterfly can't be all-powerful, and it's going to have some limits. (eventually it will break and emmy will be stuck in a timeline with no way of going back anymore, but that's ok because by that point she'll have come to terms with most everything she needs to)

I'm still not 100% sure what the hell this butterfly is supposed to be. I know aurora will be able to sense something about it (she's a robot, she can do that probably,,) but it won't be azran, and since that's the canon go-to explanation for a lot of wacky stuff I'm kinda fresh outta luck yeah? but you know, I play fast and loose with canon anyway so it's probably fine.

the ideal goal here is to have a "prologue" fic with the events of the prequel trilogy, then maybe a followup fic following the original trilogy with emmy added to the cast. I'll be happy if I get that first one up and finished in any timely manner, though, and that followup fic would require some more thinking. I joke a lot about emmy cutting down playtime of games by account of being emmy, but that can't be the case for everything or we'd be out of a couple games. so that's all just some speculation for now.

(only time will tell if I ever get this story off the ground! stick along with me if you'd like to LOL it's gonna be a ride for me specifically but there are empty seats right next to me.)

[todayimgonnaplay]

Today I'm gonna play: Gravity Rush

I've never owned a Vita, since I had my PSP at the time, and thought it was just a mildly upgraded PSP. I've heard of Gravity Rush years later when I saw some artwork of it and thought it looked great! This time, I thought of emulating it to try it out.

I'm a little familiar with Japan Studio's work, such as Patapon, Ape Escape and PocoRoco which were all beloved childhood games to me. I didn't know it was developed by them until I saw the splash screen, and it makes sense cause the one thing all those games have in common is having characters that speak fictional languages. It's quite endearing!

Gravity Rush has this unique mechanic of well...bending gravity to your will to progress through the game. And it is so much fun than I expected! You're placed in an open world with lots of freedom to go anywhere you please, and it's been a while since I had fun with an open world game, the last one being GTA 5. With gravity being central to its mechanics as well as story, the game really did a great job with how much you can play around with it. There are nice little details too, such as gravity affecting NPCs or props, so you may end up unintentionally flinging innocent people, but there are no consequences for doing so which is funny. Combat also includes gravity, as you fight in the air for certain enemies to hit their weak point, and also use special skills to deal more damage. I'd say the combat aspect is a bit awkward to control (maybe it's better on native hardware), but it's simplified enough that it's not too complex. You're also given little challenges, side quests and some grinding mechanics for more replayability and flexibility in level design.

The greatest strength this game does have however is its art style. It's set in a picturesque town that reminds you of older European towns. The scale is quite big overall as the towns seem to be split into districts you can travel to, which really shocked me for a portable game. It immerses you so well that it feels like you're in a fantasy movie!

Story-wise from what I've played so far, it's quite charming and leaves enough mystery to get you curious. The inhabitants are charming, and especially the protagonist Kat! It sort of reminds me of Professor Layton in a way. I also like the narrative choice of using comic strips and navigating through panels by swiping on the screen. The game definitely makes full use of the Vita's features both in story and in gameplay! Kinda feels like the The World Ends With You of Vita in that sense.

I do think the UX is a little lacking. The UI is fine, with it being minimal and functional, such as having markers to go to your destination. But having to navigate with markers by transitioning through 2 screens is a little tedious. An enable/disable minimap could work so you can gather your bearings, similarly to what Final Fantasy 7 Remake does. Text also stops your movement until it disappears, and the choice of font gives me the impression that I'm playing a an early build, rather than a final product. It might be a nitpick but for a game that looks impressive, having a UI just pop in and out with simple text felt off. It does the job though, often handholding the player on what exactly they should do. But (if not already, I haven't checked the settings) maybe this could also be a feature that could be turned off for players that prefer to be more adventurous. Some nice points however are how Kat's hair and scarf indicate where gravity is, acting like a compass so you know when you're not on stable ground. It's also interesting to see how Kat reminds the player of the objective if she falls off the map without her gravity powers. I see it as a useful feature for people who haven't played in a while and forgot what they were last doing.

In terms of character designs, they have a nice fantastical feel to it that's memorable, kind of like the same feeling that Studio Ghibli designs give. Even Kat's companion, Dusty is memorable enough for being a literal galaxy looking cat. I give praise to Kat's design in particular for being functional in gameplay like with her hair and scarf. Music is also another strong asset of this game. Fully orchestrated and quite jumpy with its melody, it enhances the environment and situation very well. Apparently the composer, Kohei Tanaka, has also composed for anime such as One Piece and season 1 of JoJo's Bizzarre Adventure. So he's definitely a seasoned veteran!

Overall the game has been very charming, unlike any other that I've played. It gives me Mirror's Edge vibes in a tiny way because I can't find a similar game to that but this one has that traversal aspect too, so it scratches that itch. I think it's worth getting native hardware to play this, so hopefully I get to grab one someday soon!

[magewardensurana]

reading @ladyloveandjustice‘s PLvsPW liveblogging is making me remember how much potential this game wasted.

I mean, yeah.  I love it buuuuuuuuuuut...

okay maybe i’m still bitter about them cutting both emmy and edgeworth

[allthecanadianpolitics]

though as much as i support the ndp, im concerned abt the lack of detail regarding their energy and carbon platforms. if we're going to push the ndp left we should focus on genuine commitment to effectively reducing emissions

I don't think there's a major lack of detail:

After having overseen emissions increases every single year in which they have been in power, the Liberals have set a target that is not in line with what the best available science says is needed, and won’t do enough to prevent the catastrophic consequences of warming above 1.5 degrees.

Parliament recently passed C-12, to put in law our collective commitment to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. New Democrats are proud of the role we have played in getting here – from Jack Layton’s advocacy for climate accountability legislation almost 15 years ago, to our success in ensuring C-12 included short-term accountability measures – measures that will be so critical in setting Canada up to meet those targets.

C-12 was a step in the right direction, but it was not the bill New Democrats would have written. New Democrats are committed to helping stabilize the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To that end we will set a target of reducing Canada’s emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by 2030, reaching further wherever possible to account for Canada’s fair share. We know that reaching net-zero by 2050 means taking action now, during the term of this next Parliament. We will work with partners to establish multi-year national and sectoral carbon budgets as a key guiding framework to develop Canada’s path to 2030 and beyond. And we will create and fund a Climate Accountability Office, to provide independent oversight of federal climate progress, to engage the public, and to make recommendations on how to achieve our goals.

Putting a price on carbon has been an important tool in efforts to drive emissions reductions. We will continue with carbon pricing while making it fairer and rolling back loopholes this Liberal government has given to big polluters. But we also recognize that carbon pricing won’t be enough to tackle the climate crisis. Further action is needed.

Building on net-zero legislation will also be a priority for a New Democratic government. We will support Canada’s net-zero target by reviewing financial legislation, such as the Bank of Canada Act, the Export Development Canada Act, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, to ensure federal financial levers and Crown corporations are aligned with the goal of net-zero. We will work with provinces to put in place a framework for corporate climate accountability to ensure mandatory transparency on carbon risk from publicly traded companies. And we will ensure that strict rules are in place to prevent big companies from using the purchase of offsets as a way to escape their net-zero obligations.

One thing we won’t do is continue down the path that Liberal and Conservative governments have chosen when it comes to spending public money on oil and gas subsidies. Under Prime Minister Trudeau, the federal government spent $18 billion to support oil and gas exploration, production, refining, transportation and more in 2020 alone – and that’s on top of purchasing the Kinder-Morgan oil pipeline. New Democrats know that public funds are best spent supporting the transition to renewable energy, rather than on profitable oil and gas companies. We will fulfill Canada’s G-20 commitment to eliminate these fossil fuel subsidies and redirect these funds to low carbon initiatives, and make sure that future governments can’t reverse this by putting in place legislation to ban any future oil, gas and pipeline subsidies.

We’ll work with the provinces and territories to make Canada an innovation leader on methane reduction in such areas as real-time monitoring and leakage detection, ensuring that provincial methane regulations are genuinely equivalent with the federal regulations, and increasing the ambition of those targets in the 2025-30 period.

The federal government can also model change, by becoming a trail-blazer in energy efficiency, clean technologies and renewable energy use. We will lead by example and procure from Canadian companies producing clean technology, ensure that federal buildings use renewable energy, and move the vehicle fleets of the federal government to electric by 2025, choosing made-in-Canada wherever possible. We will protect Canadian businesses who are taking action to transition to a low-carbon future with a border carbon adjustment that will level the playing field on imports from areas without a carbon price. And we will appoint a Climate Emergency Committee of Cabinet and establish astrong Climate Emergency Secretariat in the PMO to ensure a whole-of-government approach to responding to the climate emergency.

And:

Canadian workers are worried about their place in the changing global economy. The global climate is changing, and Canadian jobs are changing too. But successive Liberal and Conservative governments have left workers to navigate these shifts on their own. New Democrats know that skilled Canadian workers - construction, trades, engineering and others - will be needed to build a low-carbon economy. We will put those workers front and centre of our climate action plan, and fight for workers and their communities to make sure nobody is left behind.

We have a plan to create over a million new good jobs in all communities and rebuild local economies with meaningful, family-sustaining work in every part of the country, all while helping to make the changes we need to succeed in a low carbon future. This will include jobs building green infrastructure in communities across the country, and because products produced by Canadian workers have some of the lowest carbon emissions in the world, we will require the use of Canadian-made steel, aluminum, cement and wood products for infrastructure projects across the country. And just as climate change disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, we are committed to ensuring these same communities benefit from the job-creation and community-building benefits of these investments.

As we turn the corner on COVID-19 and build an economic recovery for people, we have a precious opportunity to build back better. New Democrats would ensure that recovery funding is used to support our net-zero objectives. To that end we would ensure that large businesses receiving recovery funding agree to plan for net-zero – and we would ensure those funds go to supporting Canadian jobs, not executives or shareholders.

The workers most impacted by the changes in our economy cannot pay the price of inaction on climate change. We will work together with labour, employers and the provinces and territories to find solutions for workers and communities. This includes providing dedicated employment support combining access to expanded EI benefits, re-training and job placement services, ensuring companies retain and redeploy their workers when in transition, and ensuring that workers nearing retirement have the retirement security they have worked their whole lives for, without penalties to their pensions if they retire early.

We will boost clean tech research and manufacturing with new funding, incentives and Buy Canadian procurement of environmentally friendly technologies. This will help bring more innovative Canadian clean technology to market and support Canadian manufacturing of batteries, energy storage solutions and alternative fuels like biofuels made from waste. It will also help keep jobs here in Canada.

We will work to put in place joint workplace environment committees – modelled on the successful joint workplace health and safety committees which have had a major impact on making workplaces safer – to help reduce emissions at the source in every workplace.

And we will support sustainable agriculture, working with Canadian farmers to promote sustainable land-management techniques and methods to reduce GHG emissions. We’ll also work with the agricultural sector to help them access low carbon tools and technology, and adapt to climate-induced weather changes and other impacts of the climate crisis, including the associated increase in pests and invasive species.

And:

Our communities are where we can most clearly feel the impacts of the climate emergency – and one of the best places that we can invest to rapidly reduce emissions, save money and make life better.

At the current pace, it will take 142 years to retrofit all low-rise residential buildings in Canada. New Democrats will undertake a mission-based approach, setting an ambitious retrofitting program to upgrade where people live and work, including requiring large scale building retrofits in all sectors. And we will set a target of retrofitting all buildings in Canada by 2050 – beginning with upgrades to all buildings built before 2020 in the next 20 years. Helping families make energy efficient improvements to their homes through low-interest loans help save families almost $900 or more per year on home energy costs. Targeted supports would be provided to low-income households and to renters. Supporting retrofits to improve indoor air quality will also help prevent further waves of COVID-19.

We will work with provinces, municipalities and Indigenous government to make sure that communities have the resources they need to cope safely with extreme weather events. This National Crisis Strategy will help communities plan for and adapt to the changing climate and the weather extremes we are already facing – particularly for vulnerable, remote, and Indigenous communities. The strategy would be supported with long-term funding for adaptation, disaster mitigation, and climate resilient infrastructure. And a new Civilian Climate Corps would mobilize young people and create new jobs supporting conservation efforts and addressing the threat of climate change by undertaking activities such as helping restore wetlands, and planting the billions of trees that need to be planted in the years ahead.

We’ll improve the National Building Code to ensure that by 2025 every new building built in Canada is net-zero. Energy efficiency and sustainable building practices will be at the core of our national housing strategy, leveraging the power of federal investments to create good jobs all across the country delivering the affordable homes Canadians need.

As more Canadians have become accustomed to working from home as a result of the pandemic, more than half of Canadians living in rural areas still don’t have access to high-speed internet. We will make sure that every Canadian has access to affordable, reliable high-speed broadband within four years. This will include taking the first steps to create a Crown corporation to ensure the delivery of quality, affordable telecom services to every community. Supporting more remote work will reduce commuting times and support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[clockwork--artist]

“But that’s not how it works!”

“Okay, but get this.”

I have two morons Professor Layton OCs that I’d love to introduce to you all! Meet Tom and Davina! If I could draw them in the PL artstyle, I would. Unfortunately, I cannot not. :pensive: 

Prepare to see more of these losers in the future!

More information on the two below the fold!

“Though seemingly reserved and not very expressive, Tom is a sharp-tongued and witty English boy living in America. He has a bit of trouble with reading, but this doesn’t affect his ability to read sheet music and his excellent piano playing, nor his puzzle-solving skills. Despite being a brilliant bluffer, he doesn’t hide his feelings for a certain friend very well.”

You heard the blurb! It’s Tom Clarke, a character I once described to a friend as “a British dumbass with smartass energy.”

Some basic info:

His full name is Thomas Mark Clarke. His parents (and me, lol) made it rhyme on accident.

He’s 13 in Unwound Future.

He’s supposed to be 5’7”, but I feel bad for Layton when I draw Tom taller than him.

He thinks he’s straight, but he’s probably some amount of Demi.

He’s from the Northern UK. His hometown will appear in a story I swear I’ll write.

Some fun facts:

He’s not one to become invested in any media, instead opting to engage in what his friends enjoy. As such, Davina convinced Tom to learn the entire soundtrack of The Eternal Kingdom on piano. He went above and beyond, translating the entirety of The Eternal Diva into melody-compliant German as a joke.

Tom takes fencing classes and formerly took dance classes. These aren’t the most beneficial skills in the world, but his dad made him take them.

Speaking of dance, his six years of dance class never made him hate the activity. He loves to dance when he has the chance. He’s surprisingly good at waltzing.

He’s way too good at ice skating. It may be on account of his six years of dance, but either way, he’s way too good. Just because you lived in an icy climate for the first ten years of your life doesn’t mean you get to be a show-off.

His parents forgot his middle name. They keep calling him Michael, but he’s adamant that it’s Mark. They don’t listen. Davina is conscious of this but calls him Michael to piss him off.

Tom likes the more riddle-y kinds despite his literate ineptitude. He’s good at math puzzles but doesn’t like how much you have to think about them.

Tom plays chess and is surprisingly good at it, maybe even falling into the tryhard category. He doesn’t play for fun but will let inexperienced players clown on the craft to get used to it and have fun. He primarily plays black.

He’s not really one to visually express his emotions. The most you’ll ever get out of him is a small smile, a raised eyebrow, or the look you get in a restaurant when you’ve been waiting for your food for 20 minutes and are very peeved, but you don’t want to look impolite as you wait for 40 more minutes. When you do get emotion out of him, it’s usually when he’s speaking and is very distinct.

He moved to California (Japanifornia?) just after Last Specter. He– very distinctly– did not want to move. Tom’s fine with America, now.

He’s related to Flora. They’re third cousins, to be exact. No one knows/has realized it and won’t for a while.

Luke and Tom have been friends since around the age of 5, and they’ve been pen pals since about the age of 7. Even after Tom moved, they kept in close contact!

When he met Randall, he (without hesitation, mind you) said, “The Masked Gentleman is a twink?” It’s the hardest Davina has ever laughed.

-------------------------------

“Underneath a timid and aloof demeanor, Davina is a bright young girl invested in the arts and humanities. She has an eye for art on par with the professor’s and is an artist herself, taking any time she has to draw the things around her. Her love of music and ancient civilizations has led to an admiration for The Eternal Kingdom and the work of Desmond Sycamore.”

Yep, it’s Davina Alavara! She’s Tom’s best friend and occasional travel partner! Every adventure she’s been on wasn’t planned, and she didn’t sign up for any of this.

Basic info:

Davina is 13 in Unwound Future.

She’s just a bit shorter than Luke, so like 4’10”.

She is very ace.

As stated in her blurb, Davina is from America, specifically California (Japanifornia?), and is Latina!

Some fun facts:

As stated in the blurb, she is obsessed with The Eternal Kingdom. She has sketchbooks upon sketchbooks filled with the costume designs, the set, Janice Quatlane, etc. She even memorized all the songs.

She has an interest in Mezo-American-related archaeology, as well as the obligatory Azran. Davina was never too invested in Azran-related study until she found out about Sycamore, and then it spiraled out of control from there.

She got obsessed with the legal system for some reason. She knows tons of penal codes and general strange law knowledge off the top of her head now. She still seems pretty interested in a certain attorney and his prosecutor rival.

Tom roped her into fencing. She thinks it’s payback for making him learn all the Eternal Kingdom songs.

Davina was super scared of Layton (and Emmy, but less so) for a while, not exactly knowing why. She didn’t trust him and found him intimidating. She warmed up to him, eventually.

To be fair, she’s not really a social person— not as of late, at least. She’s good at talking to new people, she just has trouble finding enough confidence to approach. Getting Davina to trust you enough to start making meaningful conversation is another story.

Strange insults and threats are Davina calling card, so prepare to be told to jump off a microwave or whatever non-anachronistic equivalent to a microwave is.

Davina’s very good at slide puzzles but has no idea if that’s because she’s insanely perseverent or if it’s a genuine skill. To be fair, she never really solved puzzles before meeting Tom and had no idea what a hint coin was until meeting the professor. 

She’s a living storage unit, thanks to the massive bag she carries everywhere. Davina clears it out occasionally, but it just gets filled back up again. She always has her current sketchbook, a folder of loose blank paper and sketches, her pencils and pen, a glasses cloth, a pocket dictionary, and a handkerchief.

Davina plays chess with Tom sometimes and isn’t very good at it. She “developed” a method of play she calls “Ammunition Chess.” Whenever she takes a piece, she will either forcefully knock it off the board or pick it up and chuck it at her opponent/spectators. It has gotten her in trouble multiple times, but she doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Davina loves drawing portraits of her friends and people she meets and has a folder full of pages upon pages of them. She doesn’t seem to like to draw herself, though.

If Davina is in a car that isn’t going incredibly fast, has windows she can roll down, and at a level she can comfortably look out of, she will stick her head out. You cannot stop her; you can only advise her when it’s a good time to stick her head back in. Also, prepare to hear commentary about how pretty the landscape is if you’re going somewhere rural.

[sophistopheles]

Rating the Good Boys of Ace Attorney

1.       Missile

The adorable, the original; a handsome Shiba Inu with investigative skills like no other.

Pros: a skilled, lovable, and clearly talented boy, faithful friend to Detective Gumshoe, the best secret weapon by far.

Cons: None known.

If you don’t choose Missile first just to walk around and find dialogue with this wonderful boy, you’re playing Turnabout Goodbyes wrong. Rating: 10/10.

2.       Anime Missile (Pess)

Edgeworth’s dog in the flashback episodes, a faithful and super-cute Pomeranian modelled and named after Shu Takumi’s own dog. Presumably an on-screen interpretation of Edgeworth’s dog Pess, who is such a wonderfully good girl that she is only mentioned in interviews and doesn’t even appear in the games, because Capcom knows that if she appeared the degree of goodness would melt the console.

Pros: another very talented boy, can easily find his way back home if he has a trail to follow. Abandoned once but still keeps up his spirits and looks after little Miles. Does a killer MvK cosplay.

Cons: Accidentally caused the class trial by giving Edgeworth’s money to Larry. Then again, the trial meant Edgeworth and Phoenix became friends, so I guess it was a good thing after all…?

It doesn’t bear on his score because he’s too cute to be malicious. Rating: 10/10

3.       Napalm

Mixing things up, we have a good GIRL here! Another Pomeranian; you can tell that she’s a Girl® because of her eyelashes, pink bow, and pink heart-shaped marking. Nevertheless, still an indescribably good girl.

Pros: Cute, stylish and ridiculously valuable girl. Indirectly helped Edgeworth become a prosecutor. Missile chasing after her in the same episode as Phoenix trying to contact Edgeworth makes her a lowkey Edgeworth mirror??? Very pretty with a wonderful name.

Cons: Absolutely none.

If she came up to me on the street I would cry because she’s so cute. Rating: 10/10

4.       Constantine

To add a twist, here’s an unbelievably fluffy non-canon boy! He’s Inquisitor Barnham’s dog, and is responsible for the scar on Barnham’s face. He doesn’t seem to have a canon breed, but that’s okay, because he’s small and fluffy and that’s what matters.

Pros: A good boy, with a lot of personality! He’s feisty and clever enough to give puzzles to Layton, Wright & co. Just look at him!!! I can honestly say I have never seen a better boy. He even plays a role in the endgame of PLvsAA when Barnham can’t make it.

Cons: Attacked Nick when he tried to pet him, so he’s not the most well-mannered boy, but that’s okay!! He’s cute enough to get away with it.

He may be the only dog in the world to be an official member of an order of knights. Rating: 10/10

5.       Shah’do

Ahlbi’s puppy who can’t seem to decide if he’s a dog or a hat. He’s canonically a Tibetan mastiff, which means that when he’s all grown up, he’ll be about three times the size he is now! Quite mischievous, but never causes too much trouble, and it all works out in the end.

Pros: He’s loyal, adorable, cute and intelligent, even sensing and reflecting Ahlbi’s emotions! He really is one of the cutest boys I’ve ever seen.

Cons: Naughty!!

Clearly has magical Khura’inese powers of cuteness, judging by the mitamah marking on his forehead. Rating: 10/10

6.       Jugemu

The dog who lives at the Toneido School’s Kurukuru Tei theatre, this boy deserves some more love!! A beautiful good boy with a very healthy appetite; he single-handedly convinced me that Turnabout Storyteller is the best case in AA6. He only appears in one graphic, but I love him nevertheless.

Pros: He has an adorable little kennel so he can stay out of the rain when he has to, and he’s instrumental in solving the case.

Cons: None whatsoever!

I wanted to see more of him! Rating: 10/10

 There are a few more good boys, but they have plot roles in DGS2 and AAI2, so beware of serious spoilers under the cut!

Spoilery (But Still Good) Boys

1.       Anubis

One of the scarier boys on the list! He’s the guide dog of the blind assassin Sirhan Dogen, and while he’s very clever, he’s also very intimidating! He resembles a Tosa, a breed also known as Japanese mastiffs. (He’s probably killed people in the past, but let’s brush over that for a moment.)

Pros: He’s a startlingly long-lived boy! Unless Dogen replaces his dogs on the down-low (which feels unlikely) he’s been at Dogen’s side for nineteen years! Plus, I feel like if I was nice to him, he would let me pet him.

Cons: You know what? None. He doesn’t have a single malicious bone in his furry body, he’s just a deeply loyal and obedient boy. It’s not his fault that his master is an assassin; he’s still a good boy!

Despite having such a scary reputation, Anubis did nothing wrong. …Kind of. Rating: 10/10

2.       Balmung

The second scarily good boy on our list, Balmung is another good but admittedly terrifying boy. He is the dog of a serial killer, the Professor, and he most closely resembles a lurcher hound, though his breed was never confirmed. Despite outward appearances, I promise you he’s a good boy at heart- he just happened to also be used as a murder weapon.

Pros: He’s the real Hound of the Baskervilles, how cool is that? He’s also quite an old boy, living for at least twelve years and remaining active even then. And he’s listed as his owner’s friend on the Ace Attorney wiki, which is also very cute, and strong evidence of his good boy nature.

Cons: …He’s kinda scary…! 

Overall, despite being quite a frightening boy, Balmung means well. Rating: 10/10

3.       Toby

In stark contrast to the previous two good but murder-y boys, we have one of the cutest boys of the whole series: Toby!! He’s Gina’s dog after she becomes a detective, and is honestly my favourite good boy in the series (but shhh, that’s a secret!) Toby is based on a dog of the same name from the Holmes novels!

Pros: Seriously, just look at him! He’s a classically cute boy. He’s the Platonic Ideal of what a good boy should be. And he’s talented, too- he helps Naruhodou solve a lot of cases!

Cons: …He does attack Naruhodou once. But it leads into the best joint reasoning segment of the whole game, so I can forgive him.

It’s especially sweet when you realise that in-universe Toby is probably named after Gina’s mentor, Tobias Gregson! Rating: 10/10

[julesnichols]

21 with the three engineers and Layton, please!

From here.

“Oh, no,” Melanie’s eyes widened as she shook her head, “Sorry, but no.”

“Melanie, please,” Layton dropped what he was holding onto the engine floor, “You’re my only hope.”

Javi and Bennett exchanged glances, silently debating whether or not to get involved in whatever the hell was happening. 

“Just because I had a kid doesn’t mean that I know anything about that,” she gestured wildly to the standard issue crib set Snowpiercer had given him, its parts scattered about haphazardly now, “Oh no. I took one look at the instructions on how to build Allie’s, and conveniently forgot to set it up until I was ready to pop and someone else had to do it for me. No.”

Bennett took one look at the desperation on Layton’s face and tentatively offered, “I can try my hand at it, if you’d like.”

Layton shot him a relieved look, “Yes. Please, yes.”

Bennett nodded, getting up and making his way cautiously to the pile, wondering how the hell it was meant to be assembled into anything resembling a crib. 

                                                               ~

At some point, Javi had joined Bennett and Layton on the floor. Melanie alternated between watching out the helm’s window and turning the chair to watch the others, an amused expression on her face every time she did so. 

“You could give us a hand you know,” Bennett said at one point, meeting her eyes. 

She smirked, “I’m good here.”

“You just like watching us suffer,” Javi grumbled. 

“Hey,” she put up her hands placatingly, “The three of you seem to have this, but if I’m wrong about that…”

“Someone should probably be driving the train,” Layton chimed in in an attempt to keep the peace; the other men glared at him. 

Melanie, delighted, shot him an approving smile, “Thank you for that.”

“At least help us carry it back to his quarters later,” Javi begged as she turned to face the window again. 

“I’ll see if my schedule’s clear,” she retorted without looking back at them. 

Bennett caught Javi’s eye and they exchanged a look, Layton glancing between them for a moment trying to understand what was being said. Before he could ask, however, Bennett was standing. He watched the lanky man put a finger to his mouth to preemptively shush him; when satisfied that Layton would be quiet, Bennett slowly crept up behind Melanie. 

He leaned down, whispering something in her ear and jumping back when she flew out of her skin at the unexpected sound. Layton and Javi watched for a moment as she turned her chair around and she and Bennett got lost in some sort of play argument, laughing more than shouting. 

“Damn,” Layton chuckled, shaking his head a little in disbelief as he returned to the task at hand. 

“What?” Javi’s brow furrowed. 

“Are they always like this? I didn’t know that she could laugh that much,” Layton looked at the people in question again, nodding slightly to indicate what he meant. Though Javi and Layton couldn’t hear what was being said at the helm, it was clear that they were having fun.

“Oh,” Javi shrugged, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Must be annoying sometimes,” Layton tried. 

“Here, give me that,” Javi mumbled absently, waiting for Layton to hand him the requested part before answering, “Sometimes, yeah, it really is. They’re kind of idiots.”

Layton snorted, “Not sure that she’d take too kindly to being called that.”

Javi smiled for a moment, a barely perceptible thing, “She’s alright with it. They’re idiots, but they’re my idiots. Don’t you dare tell them that I said that, or I’ll throw you into compost.”

“I won’t,” Layton assured him, “We can’t choose family, can we?”

“No,” Javi shook his head, and then met his eyes, “But that’s not always a bad thing.”

“It isn’t,” Layton agreed; he surveyed their handiwork and blinked in surprise, “Hey, are we actually done?”

“Huh,” Javi blinked, “We are.”

“Damn,” Layton grinned, “You got skills.”

“Thanks,” Javi smiled back, “Sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy.”

“I’ll say,” Layton looked at him proudly. 

Javi, about to speak, was cut off by the other two people in the room, oblivious to their triumph and on a collision course with what they’d built. He yelled, “Hey, watch it! Otherwise Layton and I will goof off while you put it back together.”

“Sorry,” Melanie grinned sheepishly, out of breath. They’d stopped so short she’d ended up smacking into Bennett, who had reached back for her hand to steady her. He let go under the unimpressed gazes of Javi and Layton. 

“Well since you didn’t break it, you can help Layton take it back to his place. I’m done. I have the train,” Javi told them, standing. 

“I got it,” Melanie told Bennett before he could even think to speak, and looked at Layton, “Ready?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, standing too, “Thanks.”

“Sure,” she replied easily. 

They took opposite ends of the relatively compact piece of furniture and lifted, awkwardly shuffling out of the engine. Bennett took his usual seat. When Layton and Melanie had disappeared, Javi turned around. They looked at each other for a while. 

Then, they laughed at the absurdity of the situation. 

[askaceattorney]

Dear Starry,

Co-Mod: Sorry for almost missing this letter, first and foremost.

As an introvert, I don’t show much personality most of the time, but I do see myself in the quirks of the Ace Attorney cast every now and then.  Sometimes I just want a break from what I’m dealing with, like Phoenix...

...sometimes I get overemotional when things don’t go my way, like Larry...

...sometimes I get too excited when they do go my way, like Pearly...

...and sometimes I struggle not to explode in a fiery inferno that’s visible from space, like...well, like a lot of characters.

But the character I relate most to, as I’ve mentioned several times before, is good old Ms. Cykes.

She’s got skill and ambition, but still struggles in her self-confidence every now and then, and right now, that describes me perfectly.  (I hope the first part does, at least.)

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Thanks, I guess.  *blows a noisemaker half-heartedly*

(Previous Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: I might be willing to share that ship, oddly enough, except for the fact that I've already played through most of the Professor Layton series, so...yeah.  It’s probably not gonna work.

(I still need to finish it, don’t I?)

Dear Starry again,

Co-Mod: I...honestly can’t say I know.  If things go my way, I’ll be doing something I love (or at least enjoy), like drawing/animating for a TV show or video game, writing music, or possibly even working on a game development team.  If Ace Attorney (and life) have taught me anything, though, it’s that no one can predict the future, so maybe I’ll be doing something completely different.

As far as TV shows go (I’m allowed to answer both, right?), most of my favorites were the classic ones, like Green Acres, The Andy Griffith Show, and just about any Looney Tunes cartoon.  I also enjoyed a lot of Nickelodeon’s shows, like Hey Arnold!, Doug, and that one about the sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.  What was his name again...?

Mod Paups: Mmm for TV shows I’d say Dragon Ball is what I mainly watched, and maybe Pokemon, but that’s about it. I’m not certain where I see myself in 10 years, hopefully it’s good!

Dear Starry again (again),

Co-Mod: I’m guessing you mean this one.  Thanks for waiting to see if it showed up.  For anyone else who’s wondering if your letter fell victim to Tumblr's glitchery or not, letters now take roughly 3 weeks to get answered, so feel free to resubmit it if you don’t see it after that long.

Dear skibot99,

Co-Mod: Technically, DGS2 letters are still off limits, but I sometimes dance around that rule if the letter is only about DGS2, and not addressed to a character from that game.  Let’s just say that letters like that may or may not get answered, so only send them if you’re feeling lucky.

Dear springtime562,

Co-Mod: My mistake!

The other Mods are starting school, so I’ve mostly been on my own, and I’m balancing this blog with two part-time jobs, so...you (collectively) can probably expect a few more errors in the near future.

Dear d0midink,

Co-Mod: Let me just start by saying that if this isn’t one of the nicest compliments we’ve received (and we’ve received quite a few), it’s definitely a contender.

I’m just happy we’re still able to do it with everything else we’re going through (not to mention everything the world’s been through lately), so thanks a million for your support!

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: None in particular, but I do sort of miss answering letters to the Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney cast.  They have their own unique sort of charm.

Mod Paups: Well in my case I looove love answering letters addressed to any of the antagonists, specially Damon Gant. He has to be my favorite character to write as, he’s just so fun!

Dear rogertheegg,

Co-Mod: I’m guessing what they’re referring to is the “culprit feels remorse in the end” concept in each case.  I definitely prefer Marlon’s breakdown over Acro’s, mostly because Marlon put up more of a fight, plus he showed a lot more emotion.  We also didn’t have to cycle through a bunch of profiles and evidence just to remind a clown about a magician’s three symbols, so there’s that, too.

Mod Paups: Honestly? I don’t feel as if Turnabout Reclaimed succeeded or was better? And if I had to choose, I prefer Big Top over Reclaimed. I guess it’s just a matter of tastes.

Dear kxhyuns,

Co-Mod: I repeat myself, but...thanks a million!

It’s been an honor to take what Ace Admin and the Mod created and keep it going for so long.  I’m just glad we’re still gaining followers and make the characters sound like themselves.

Here’s the letter you mentioned, by the way.  Pretty trollish, if you ask me.

Dear TGSPLS,

Co-Mod: Me too, pal, me too.  Looks like it’s finally time to accept this certificate of death for the Ace Attorney series.

(I could be wrong, of course.)

But hey, at least the fandom’s still as alive and well as ever, as evidenced by this very blog!

Never let the flame die out, folks.

Dear mungeondaster,

Co-Mod: Are you kidding me?  My answer to both ideas is YES!!!  I’d like to see a shopping scene and I’d LOVE an open world Ace Attorney game!  Heck, I’d be fine with an anime retelling of AJ, DD, and/or SoJ, an Ace Attorney-themed chess game, Lisa Basil Teaches Typing...  JUST GIVE US SOMETHING, CAPCOM!!!

*huff, huff, huff*

While we’re on the subject, I once had a dream where I was playing a point-and-click adventure game similar to King’s Quest VII, with Maya as a playable character.  I’d pay a huge sum for that if it became a reality.

-The Mods

[gamersonthego]

Chase Koeneke’s Top 25 DS Games

The DS was a fascinating system. It was the first salvo in Nintendo’s pivot to more innovative and oddball gaming, priming an audience for the Wii console that was about to come. It was easy to laugh at this thing. How the hell were you supposed to pay attention to two screens at once? And yet, developers found interesting new ways of using the dual screens to create a slate of awesome and original titles. I haven’t played every DS game. Hell, I haven’t even played all the ones I’ve wanted to (like The World Ends With You or Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story), but here is a list of my 25 favorite DS games. If you don’t see one of your favorites listed, let me know. I could always use another game to add to my never-ending backlog. 1. Advance Wars: Dual Strike 

I may be president of the Fire Emblem fan club these days, but back in the DS era, it was all Advance Wars, all the time. And Dual Strike represented the peak of the series, even if it may have gotten a little too complex for its own good. The dual front mechanics and new units types felt mostly superfluous, but the online play is what made this game truly special in its day. It’d be great to see Intelligent Systems come back to this series one day. 

2. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

I love to tinker. I love to grind. I love job systems with lots of unique skills. Dragon Quest IX has all that and much more. While some may not enjoy the blank slate party you’re given, I loved building a completely customized team. The main campaign is extremely meaty (HowLongToBeat clocks it in at 48.5 hours), but the amount of endgame content is truly staggering. With proto-StreetPass and SpotPass functionality, the game felt truly limitless (for comparison, HowLongToBeat says a “completionist” playthrough balloons up to 752 hours!)

3. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver

Nostalgia keeps the original Red & Blue as my favorites of the series, but if I’m being honest with myself, these are the best Pokemon games ever made. These remakes smoothed out the few rough edges from Johto and added in the modern functionality from Diamond & Pearl (like the Global Trade System). This double-long Pokemon adventure is one of the best, with expressive new sprite work and a remastered soundtrack.

4. Monster Tale

Don’t be discouraged if you’ve never heard of Monster Tale. No one has. It came out late in the DS lifecycle (like, five days before the 3DS launched), so it very quickly was buried in the mix. And that’s a shame because it’s one of the best DS games ever made. Developed by the makers of Henry Hatsworth (#19 on my list), Monster Tale makes great use of the two-screen concept, having a Metroidvania brawler on the top screen and a virtual pet simulator on the bottom. The two games worked in tandem as your pet could come up to the top screen to help solve puzzles or battle enemies. An excellent aesthetic and tight controls make this one of the best games you’ve never played.

5. Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2

Speaking of games you’ve never played, what is a licensed anime game doing in my top five? It’s here because it’s actually a really great RPG. You get access to a large cast of unique characters and arrange them on a 3x4 grid for surprisingly tactical combat. You may rub a hole into your DS’ bottom screen with the game’s poor special attack quick-time events, but if you can get past that, it’s a real gem. I wrote more on this series back in an old GOTG SP if you like what you’ve heard.  

6. Mario Kart DS

This is the best Mario Kart game, don’t let anyone tell you different. No silly gimmicks like two people on a cart or motorcycles or anti-gravity: Just good, tight racing action. A bevy of great new courses (like the incomparable Tick-Tock Clock) and retro tracks (Moo Moo Farm, Choco Mountain, Donut Plains 1) complete the package. There are plenty of other good Mario games, but this one’s the best.

7. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Look, I’d be lying if I said this game was as good as the ones on the Game Boy Advance, but I love Golden Sun with all my heart and this entry does have some cool ideas. Lots of cool characters, some amazing summons and a very useful encyclopedia that can be accessed within the natural dialogue of the story: There’s good stuff here. The graphics may not be great and the game may be too easy, but I enjoyed my time with it, even if I was mostly reminiscing about the GBA games.

8. Final Fantasy III

I’ve mentioned it on a number of shows and in some of these GOTG posts, but I just don’t enjoy Final Fantasy’s Active Time Battle (ATB) system. I like my RPGs strictly turn-based. And Final Fantasy III is that. While not the strongest game in the series by any stretch, it does have a fairly robust job system that I appreciate, and the updated 3D graphics were great for the time (and led to a beautiful, yet too difficult version of Final Fantasy IV not much later).

9. Picross 3D

I love Picross. I’ve written about it here before. But Picross 3D changed the game, literally. That extra dimension made for much more interesting puzzle mechanics as you strategically chipped away blocks to reveal the figure within. So charming, so fun and occasionally, so challenging. I’m glad a 3DS sequel was eventually made, but this original is still the one to play.

10. Meteos

My very first DS game, Meteos immediately showed me how the DS era was going to be different, both in design and input. In this puzzle game, you’d need to skillfully use the touchscreen to line up blocks and bury your opponents while monitoring their progress on the top screen. Each planet you played on had a particular quirk to it, keeping things fresh as you matched and rocketed your way to victory. Extremely fun and a sign of the innovation to come.

11. Animal Crossing: Wild World

12. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl

13. Chrono Trigger

14. Metroid Prime Hunters

15. Retro Game Challenge

16. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

17. Pokemon Conquest

18. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

19. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

20. New Super Mario Bros.

21. Pokemon Black/White

22. Space Invaders Extreme

23. Advance Wars Days of Ruin

24. Kirby: Canvas Curse

25. WarioWare D.I.Y.

[dontfeelbadimusuallyabouttodie]

Secrets Secrets Are No Fun | Bellamy x Reader

*Before the 100 were sent down to Earth there was a time of peace. Bellamy was working towards being a fair and just guard, all the while keeping his family’s secret. However, nothing has ever come easy for this dark haired leader, while working towards his dream, he meets someone unexpected. Y/N is one of the lucky few to live in luxury on the Ark. Her parents serve as members on Jaha’s Council. She never knew what lay beyond the Alpha Station. Soon, a chance encounter with a mysterious guard will open her to experiences she never thought were possible.*

My mother once told me that you never realize defining moments in your life until they become memories. That an ordinary day has the capability to completely change you as a person. Some believe that it’s the big moments that shape you into the person you become.Yet, she believes it’s the small details that slowly transform you. 

That being said, let me tell you, sitting here in Earth Skills, is definitely not a defining moment that will mould me into a better person. Our professor has been droning on for twenty minutes now about how to find drinkable water in a desert environment. I shift uncomfortably in my seat and then peer out of the window to my left, fighting against my heavy eyes to take a much needed nap.

Earth floats out there, void of any life and incapable of supporting any habitable conditions for humans, at least for the next few years. At least that’s what we’ve been told since we were old enough to understand. I’ve always dreamed of what it’s like down there, is it barren like a desert, or have the toxic oceans filled with mutant creatures? Ways of rebuilding the once prosperous land are always flitting through my thoughts. The architecture, buildings, and bridges that I’ve seen in movies and books fascinate me. 

I wonder if I’ll ever step foot on Earth in this lifetime. Part of me wants to see it happen and the other is scared at the possibility. I’m jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of laughter which is unusual because no one ever enjoys Earth Skills. I look around and see that the last few students are packing up to leave and Professor Bose is chatting up two guards.

One is a tall, serious looking man with bright shaggy blonde hair. He looks like he’s never smiled a day in his life. I can tell even from where I’m sitting, his straight posture and crossed arms signaled that he meant business. The other guard is a smiling young man with beautiful tanned skin. I’ve never seen him before and that’s a damn shame. 

He fills out the guard uniform nicely, and he stands laughing with Professor Bose in a relaxed stance. His hair is slicked back and I can’t help but wonder what it would look like messy. Like if I were to run my hands through it would it fall in waves or it is naturally straight?

“Miss Y/L/N, is something the matter? Class ended ten minutes ago.” Bose finally realizes that I’m still here.

I snap out of my stupor with rosy cheeks and began to collect my things. “Uh no, everythings fine, Professor Bose, I was just riveted by your lecture and had to take a moment to process it all.” 

Bose seems to like my answer and proudly straightens to his full height of 5’3. His cheeks fill with color as he says, “Why thank you, Miss Y/L/N, it’s nice to know my efforts to prepare you are appreciated.”

The burn of guilt settles into my stomach, I’m so going to Hell for that. The two guards turn their attention to me. I flush with all of the eyes on me and quickly shoulder my book bag.

Before he can ask me any more questions I slip out of my desk and quietly pass the two guards, not making eye contact with either. I make my way over to my locker to pick up a few things for my next class.

“Hi!” A bright and chipper voice squeals behind me, causing me to jump. A familiar face comes into view and I recognize one of my best friends, Briar. Her brown curls sway as she bounces in her spot. 

“Hi Briar, you’re looking even more energized than normal.” I say with a smile. 

“Why thank you, Y/N/N. I’ve been dying to tell you about the gossip I heard today in Ark History.”

I shake my head at her antics because she knows I have no interest in hear say but I let her tell me all about it on the way to our next class. 

After another boring lecture, Briar and I make our way to the cafeteria. At lunch, my group of friends gather around a table and catch up. We joke, laugh, and even argue over the most trivial things and I treasure this hour every day. 

“I say we skip fourth hour and take a trip to the cinema, they’re playing the Hunger Games! You know that’s my favorite classic.” Jen exclaims. 

“I don’t need any convincing, I’m down. Anything to get me out of Layton’s class, I swear that man has it out for me.” Brexten groans.

Jen laughs, “Well of course he does, you set him and the classroom literally on fire.”

“How was I supposed to know sulfuric acid and potassium mixed together was explosive?” I quietly giggle at him. Brex was incredibly good looking with his green eyes, perfect golden tan, and sandy blonde hair, but damn, his looks did nothing for that boy in school.

“That was the whole lesson! You slept through it and tried to finish the lab in ten minutes.” I outburst with a peal of laughter along with my friends much to Brex’s dismay.

Just as we’re settling down, a stotic guard passes by assessing the room. “That's the fourth guard I’ve seen today.” Mumbles Jen, looking down at her plate, pastel purple hair cascading over her face like a shield. Our group goes quiet as the man leisurely strolls past.

“Yeah, what’s up with that? I’ve never seen so many guards here.” Being that we went to school in the Alpha Station, crime really wasn’t an issue. Guards were super chill and there have been days where I haven’t seen any patrolling the Station.

“I’ve heard that something went down with the Griffin’s.” Brext shares. My spoon freezes halfway to my mouth.

I wasn’t super close with Clarke or her family. I knew that her parents did really important work and we would casually chat if we were at the same event, but I wouldn’t classify us as friends. The only common link between us was Wells. He was Clarke’s best friend and he was a close friend of mine. I don’t remember Wells ever mentioning or acting differently the past few times we’ve hung out this week and surely he would say something, right?

“Like?” I pry.

“Beats me. I’ve heard several different rumors like deliberate engineering failure to overthrowing Jaha.”

“Oh my god.” I roll my eyes. All the tension in my body eases, people on this ship have nothing better to do than to start stupid rumors to make their lives more exciting.

“Anyways, so we all cool to skip tomorrow?” Jen changes the subject. 

Briar and Brex both nod in agreement.

“Sorry I can’t, I’ve got a meeting with Jaha, kind of like a job shadow thing.” I say offhandedly, like it’s no big deal.

“Oh future Chancellor Y/L/N, I approve!” Briar exclaims.

I giggle at the excited brunette, “No way, I’d be awful! I just can’t narrow down what I what to do after school. I was talking to Wells in History about it one day and the next thing I know Jaha shows up to our pod and offers to help me out.”

“If that were me, I’d be shaking in my space boots. That man has the power to float anyone on the Ark!” Briar shivers. I roll my eyes at her.

“He can’t float people for no reason Bri, and besides he’s over at my house all the time with my parents. I forget he’s there sometimes.” I say fiddling with my orange. 

The afternoon quickly wraps up, and I’m walking back to my pod. I need a nap and I need it now. I could barely keep my eyes open for the whole day. I mentally curse myself for staying up reading old romance archives on my tablet. I would swear that I won’t do it again, but I know, my parents know, my friends know that it would be a lie. 

I grab a snack from my fridge and plop down on our couch. I turn on some old comedy program archive that I’ve seen a million times before. As I watch the screen I slowly eat my snack and cover up with a blanket.

My tablet is full of readings and homework due and the smart thing to do would be to start it early and get it done, but I know I’ll just wait to finish it in a panic at the last minute.

My parents left a note on the fridge saying that they would be working late and to call in for dinner. For the rest of the night I video call Briar and chat, watch so much bad old reality TV archives, and call in Chinese food and eat way too much of it.

When I look at the clock it reads 11:28 PM, and I know that my parents will probably aren’t coming home tonight. I turn off the living room lights as I walk out and head to my room. 

I take a shower, brush my teeth, and get ready for bed. I climb into my comfy sheets, waiting for sleep to come over me. But it never does. I toss and turn, I try listening to soothing music, breathing exercises, and counting sheep.

Do you know how desperate a person has to be to count sheep on the Ark? I’ve never even seen a real sheep before! Then this thought makes me pull out my tablet to find a picture of a sheep, which lead to me reading up on sheep and what they did on Earth. 

This whole thing somehow spiraled into me watching old video archives of people making wool shirts by hand. My eyes strain from staring at a screen for so long, I check the time and realize that it’s 1:02 AM. 

School is going to be so much fun tomorrow. 

I throw my head back before deciding that I can’t stay in my bed any longer. I throw off the covers and head to my kitchen. I grab a glass and hold it under the faucet. 

Maybe a walk around the Station would clear my mind. I glance down at my sleep shorts and long tee, my bare face and messy bun would probably scare someone but normally no one is walking around at one in the morning so I decide to chance it. 

I slip on a pair of slippers and grab my key. The dimly lit hallway is quiet no sound to be heard except the almost inaudible hum from the Ark keeping us alive.

I pad through the silent halls until I find what I’m looking for. There’s a small sitting nook that looks out at earth not too far from my pod. Whenever I can’t sleep or in need of inspiration, I come here and stare out the window until I feel something.

Earth spins out there, blissfully unaware that some of it inhabitants would soon return to gauge whether or not it’s safe for us to come back. The thought of possibly having a life on earth is terrifying. All I’ve ever known is the Ark but wouldn’t life on earth where you can travel great lengths, play in an actual ocean, sit under a real tree be surreal?

“What are you doing out of your pod?” A voice behind me questions.

I turn to face the voice and pale. First it's a guard and im technically breaking curfew by being out of my pod and secondly it’s the cute guard from Earth Skills I saw today.

“I’m sorry!” I blurt out then start to stupidly sputter an explanation why I was out so late. The handsome guard stands with an amused expression.

He leans over me to look out of the window and my heart stops and falls into my stomach. Then in an instant, it starts up again in double time. He was so close I could smell him. The strong smell of cinnamon and spice surrounds me and I refrain myself from leaning in closer and breathing him in.

He looks out the window, pausing for a moment to take in Earth. Then he straightens out and looks at me again. 

“Nice view. I’m Bellamy.” He holds out his hand.

I shakily take it. “Nice to meet you Bellamy, I’m Y/N.” His palm is warm and his long fingers gracefully wrap around mine in a firm and gently shake. “So, Bellamy, am I in trouble?” 

He thinks for a moment, “Since you’re the first person I’ve seen on my patrol and considering I don’t see anything hazardous, I’m willing to forget I saw you.” He smiles and I can’t help but smile back.

“You had me worried there for a second, thank you.” I reach up and fix my bun, a single strand falling from it and into my face. I realize that I look like a hot mess in front of a super cute boy for the second time that day. 

“Who did you piss off to get this shift?” I ask, pulling my knees into my chest. Bellamy sits down next to me and stretches out his long legs. 

“I’m a new recruit. We usually get put on these shifts until we prove ourselves and move up in the ranks.” He explains. I notice the way his freckles move as he speaks and find it adorable.

“My turn. Why are you up so late?”

I rub my arms to keep my hands busy. “I can’t sleep and I don’t know why. It seems like all day today I’ve been dying to close my eyes and then when it comes time to actually sleep, I can’t.”

I shrug my shoulders. Bellamy waits for me to continue, sitting beside me in comfortable silence. “My brain doesn’t seem to want to shut off ever. Every time I close my eyes I have a million thoughts running through my mind. It’s been like this for weeks and I’m afraid it’ll never go away.” I nervously laugh. It seems that the early morning hours have made tired enough to share my feelings with a complete, albeit attractive, stranger. 

Bellamy is quiet for a long time, and I start to wonder if I’ve scared him. But before I can crack a joke to try and smooth over the depressing turn this conversation took, he responds.

“I feel that. Ever since I’ve become a guard, it’s like I’m trying to prove to everyone and myself that I deserve. Prove to my family that I can support them, prove to my superiors that I deserve this job, and prove to myself that can handle it all.” His takes on a raw edge, like he’s been tormented with these thoughts for a long time.

I nod, “It’s a lot to keep to yourself, but you also don’t want to burden your friends or family, so you just…” I trail off.

“Keep it to yourself.” He finishes and we lock eyes. It seems like we have a lot more in common than I thought.

I nod again, not trusting myself to speak anymore. We sit beside each other and stare out the small ship window. The sun slowly begins to peak its head from beyond the horizon when I finally begin to feel exhaustion overtake my system.

I feel my eyes flutter and I stretch my neck out to try and become comfortable. My forehead falls forward makes contact with something warm and soft. I’ll rest for five minutes and then I’ll go home, I tell myself. 

A hand gently rubs my back, waking me. My eyes lazily open and I yawn. “Hm?”

Bellamy chuckles, I feel his lips press into my temple. “Sorry to wake you, but people are going to start waking up soon and I should get back to my rounds.”

I lift my head up and realize how close we are. I was sleeping on Bellamy’s shoulder! Dear God, what if I said something in my sleep? Did I drool on him?

I can feel my cheeks burn and I quickly stand. Bellamy does the same, his dark head towers over mine.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you. How long was I out?” I straighten my shirt and I don’t dare to look him in the eyes. 

“Don’t sweat it, and you were only out for a couple minutes. I’ll walk you back to your pod.”

Not like I can say no to that, I smile and thank him. We quietly make our way through Alpha Station making small talk. I realize that I really enjoyed talking with Bellamy tonight, I confided in him with things that I couldn’t tell my friends or my family. It was nice to not have to put on a face for someone. Disappointment rushes through me when we stop at my door, we’ll probably never do this again.

“Here we are.” I announce, stopping by my pod door. “Thanks again for tonight and walking me back.” 

“My pleasure. And, you know, if you ever need to talk again, I mean, you don’t have to come to me I’m just offering, I wouldn’t mind- uh if we…” He stutters, a faint pink blush fills in the apples of his cheeks. 

I’m smiling like an idiot watching him try to form a coherent sentence. “Yes?” I press.

He clears his throat. “If you ever need to talk to someone again, I usually have this shift four days out of the week. I liked talking with you tonight.” 

My chest does this weird fluttering thing and I try to respond too eager. “I liked talking with you too, Bellamy, thanks. And your offer goes both ways. If you need to talk I’m up late almost every night anyway.”

I unlock my door, I say good night to Bellamy one more time and watch him wave me off before closing the door. I have to be to school in a few short hours, I hope I can get in enough sleep so I can be at least a little bit coherent. 

I slide under my covers, and this time it seems like sleep is waiting for me. I blissfully sink into a dreamless sleep. The last things on my mind before I drift off are freckles and dark hair. 

[miximax-hell]

As always, it’s been a hot minute. But, uh, hey! I hope you’ve all been fine!

Can you believe that this is actually my 20th reference sheet? That’s crazy. I am hecking slow, but I honestly thought I’d have stopped doing this (way) before I reached the double digits. But, hey, I’m still kicking!

And, to honour such a number, it was about time to add another Raimon baby to this blog, so I’ve gone for one of my very favourites. Shishido is very dear to my heart for a variety of reasons (that I will make sure to explain thoroughly when the time for it comes) and I’ve had this miximax in mind for a very long time. In fact, I’ve been ruminating on it since @raynef-art (btw, today’s Raynef’s birthday, so go and wish her a happy birthday if you can!!) and I talked about Shishido on Skype years ago. When was that, even? 2016? 2017, perhaps? In any case, it sure has been extremely long. But, thankfully, all of that ruminating led to one of my favourite pairs in this whole project! Katrielle Layton is a fantastic fit for Shishido, and I will do my very best to explain why this is the case in this post.

So, for more on ShishiKat, please check under the cut!

As always, I like to use this first paragraph to talk a bit about random stuff, so feel free to skip it if you want. Long story short, I’ve spent the last few months (since mid-May or so) job hunting like a beast. Big ol’ companies from all around the world, like Rockstar, Revolution, The Creative Assembly/Sega or Build A Rocket Boy have shown interest in me, but it’s led nowhere so far, which is extremely frustrating. Heck, there’s a company who contacted me first and they still didn’t give me the job in the end. >:| But I did an interview last Thursday and I should get an answer soon, so let’s hope that goes well...! It’s an awesome job, close to where I live (so I wouldn’t have to move), the company is super successful and two friends are already working there. It’d be incredible to join them and keep progressing in my career. And, well, money doesn’t hurt at all either. Gotta get into the wheel of capitalism. Anyway, job matters aside, I’ve recently finished some games that have become personal favourites of mine, like Valkyria Chronicles and Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star (even if the first one was arguably better), but the one that undoubtedly takes the crown is Marvel’s Spider-Man, which shaped up to be a game as brilliant as Insomniac’s previous titles, if not even more so, and has become one of my favourite games of all time. Sadly, Spider-Man isn’t originally a videogame character, so I won’t be including him in this project (as much as that pains me). So we’ll have to take other routes if we want to have a Marvel miximax here... I’m on it, but suggestions are still accepted.

So, Shishido! Who doesn’t love Shishido? He’s just so lovely. Look at him! Look at him right now! How can someone without visible eyes be so PRECIOUS? Don’t you just want to channel the annoying aunt within you and pinch his cheeks and nose? Well, we still can’t do that, but we can try and do him justice by giving him a truly awesome miximax. (The quality of the art that accompanies said miximax may vary in quality, but that’s not Shishido’s nor Katrielle’s fault--it’s entirely mine for not being better.)

So, friends who have been here for a while and have a good memory may be thinking, “Hold on a minute, you! The Professor Layton franchise has already been represented within this blog--you miximaxed Fudou with Hershel Layton himself!” And you’d be right. You might even be thinking I’m betraying my own rules by using two characters from the same franchise. Well, that isn’t the case, as PL is a Level-5 franchise and I may (and tend to) use up to two characters from each franchise made by L5. It’s all here. But, even with all of that, there’s still a question that remains and that I figure many people might have in their heads: if Fudou is already miximaxed with Hershel, isn’t Shishido basically a copy? Does Katrielle really add anything to the table?

I’m glad you asked. Well, I’m glad I asked, because that’s what led to all of this. ww And, thankfully, yes. Yes, she does. But before answering that question, we have a much more important question to ask:

Who is Shishido Sakichi?

Hino, that lovely piece of work, is actually really fricking good (when he actually tries) at something I’m unable to name, hence why I will refer to it as “scattered storytelling.” It’s similar to environmental storytelling in the sense that we’re never directly told many things, but we can still figure them out thanks to the looks of a character, the scenarios we see, audio queues, etc. Video games offer many resources to build up rich environmental storytelling, but what Hino (and probably many others--it’s not like he invented the wheel!) does is give us hints scattered across different pieces of media to try and figure out what some of his undeveloped characters are all about. And let’s be real: original Raimon is a lovely collection of undeveloped characters. So let’s check out a few things about Shishido and see where they take us.

Shishido was one of the first members of Raimon, being one of the 7 players the team had before they were forced to look for more people to have a match against Teikoku. He was, however, replaced by Kidou when he joined the team, and he stayed as a benchwarmer until he got injured by Gemini Storm. Then, as he joined the Dark Emperors, if you talk to him in the game before the match, he mentions how he’s been pushing himself past his limit for a long time, only to keep feeling like he’s mediocre. Finally, during the match between Raimon’s older and newer members, he is shown facing Kidou and getting past him despite how afraid he was of engaging directly with such a big rival.

On top of that, his in-game descriptions go like this: “He is becoming the team’s key-man by developing his own pace,” (IE1) “His laid-back personality can make him the butt of his team-mates' jokes“ (IE2) and “The Aliea crystal has given him an invincible self-belief“ (IE2 DE). Let’s admit that it’s not a lot to go by, but maybe we can get something out of all of this.

As usual, I explain this better in the heat of the moment while talking to someone who’s ready to listen, so Raynef or my girlfriend probably got the better version of what I’ll be trying to explain now. However, those conversations are so old that I'm having trouble retrieving them, so... welp. ww Let me try anyway.

Judging by what we know about Shishido, we can try to figure out what his character development has been like. We get his first in-game description as soon as we can see him in our in-game menu; that is, before the first Teikoku match even takes place. At this point, aka at the very beginning of the game, Shishido is a player that is “becoming the team’s key-man.” Slowly, perhaps, but he is on his way. However, this process is halted abruptly when Kidou joins the team, as he replaces him as a regular first-team player. Now, a valid question would be, “why did Kidou replace Shishido and not any other midfielder?”

It would make no sense to get rid of Someoka or Kurimatsu to let Kidou in the pitch, as he’s not a forward nor a defender. But, among all the midfielders in the team, why Shishido? Why not Handa, Shourin or even Max (who is technically a forward, but has been playing as a midfielder, so it’d make a lot more sense to bench him)? The most obvious answer would be that everyone else has abilities that Kidou can’t properly replace/mimic/make up for; or, in other words, that Kidou is like an upgraded version of Shishido more than he is an upgraded version of any of the other characters. And what is Kidou, exactly? A brilliant midfielder with incredible control over the ball and a great strategist overall. It’s this last part that we’re most interested in: he’s a strategist. A game-maker, that is. What one could easily call a vital part of a team or, even, in more poetic words, a key-man. What Shishido used to be, or was going to become, before Kidou showed up to steal his spotlight. Not to mention the incredible pain one must feel upon being replaced like that... (This was best explained by @mimiflieder on her fic, Change of pace--it’s about Handa and Ichinose, but the same thing applies. I totally recommend checking it out!)

This theory is further supported (in sad ways) by his in-game description in IE2. His personality remains the same (laid-back and doing his at his own pace), but he has gone from being a key-man WIP to the butt of his teammates’ jokes. Sure, the jokes are blamed on this laid-back personality, but something doesn’t quite add up. Check out his quote while he’s a Dark Emperor: he’s been pushing himself too hard to achieve nothing. Is that really what you’d call ‘laid-back’?

In the best case scenario, everyone sees him as being laid-back and chill to the point of being funny: he’s not making a fuss about being replaced in front of his teammates. However, he’s been trying as hard as possible in secret to become the best he can possibly be... only to still be eclipsed by Kidou and the other talented members of the team in every sense.

In the worst case scenario, his attempts to improve are very much obvious to his team, and the lack of results or the gap between the two key-men not becoming any smaller is what makes him the butt of jokes (but I hate this scenario because Raimon babies are all sweet and supportive boys who’d never do this. I DON’T CARE IF TEENAGERS ARE CRUEL AND STUPID BY NATURE. RAIMON BABIES ARE BETTER THAN ACTUAL TEENAGERS, OKAY, AND THEY’D NEVER DO THIS. THEY ARE PRECIOUS LITTLE ANGELS.)

In either case, he was destined to be--heck, he might have already been in non-spoken parts of the game--Raimon’s game-maker, but when Kidou came around with his superior skills, Shishido became, simply put, obsolete. That made his self-esteem sink and eventually threw him in the arms of Aliea in a desperate attempt to finally be better and stand up to Kidou. That’s why his in-game description as a DE talks about his boosted self-esteem, much like Handa’s talks about how that jack-of-all trades is using the meteorite to become master of all.

And, of course, this makes that scene during that final match ALL the more relevant: not only does it signify the triumph of hard work and resolution over sheer talent, fleeting as it might be, but it’s also the end of a long, long journey of self-deprecation, self-improvement, guts and sheer fear. Shishido was literally SHAKING when he saw Kidou running towards him, but he pulled himself together and won. He was no longer the inferior one, the replaceable one, the laughing stock. Little and unexplained as it may be, it’s a truly emotional finale to his personal and unspoken journey.

(Another and more positive way to look at it is that Shishido is meant to become Raimon’s game-maker and key-man AFTER KIDOU LEAVES, so all this time by his side has been a massive training camp of two years to learn his ways and then add his own twist to everything he’s learnt. This leaves some issues hanging, but it will at least let me sleep tonight.)

What we have here is a pretty solid theory pointing at Shishido having what it takes to become a game-maker. But, hey, that’s just a theory! A GAME THEORY! ...And what this means is that there’s evidence supporting it, but we have no way to confirm it unless one of you guys can go and casually interrogateview Hino (and if you do, that’d kind of come in handy, actually). However, the pieces fall together a bit too well to be just a coincidence, right? At least, I think so. And even if they don’t, we don’t have much more to go by, so... it’ll have to do.

Anyway, we’ve (somewhat) answered the question about who Shishido is. It is, therefore, about time to answer the main question this post laid on the table: is Katrielle a good aura to use when her father is already part of this project? And, even if she is, why would Katrielle be the best match for Shishido? Let’s start by explaining what makes Katrielle non-redundant despite bearing her father’s surname and being very similar conceptually.

In essence, Katrielle and Hershel fulfill very similar roles: a smart person who likes puzzles and is hired to solve mysteries no one else can solve. But anyone who knows anything about these characters will know that, really, they are absolutely nothing alike.

Hershel is the perfect gentleman: well-behaved, modest, calm and cold-headed regardless of the situation, polite to a fault, boasts perfect manners, and he manages to get along with even the most unfriendly people in the world thanks to his infinite patience, unwavering kindness and the smile he has on his face whenever he greets someone. Not to mention that his investigation process is long-winded and meticulous, and keeps telling Luke to not make quick assumptions when he jumps into conclusions ahead of time.

Meanwhile, Katrielle is pretty much the polar opposite: proud (heck, the first episode of the anime has her saying her skills are better than her father’s!), funny, dramatic to a fault, jumps to crazy conclusions so fast that everyone around her is always surprised by it and doubts she even put any thought into them, has a quick temper sometimes, she works as a detective just for funsies (and glory, to some extent, as she’s constantly struggling to be taken seriously by people who’d rather talk to her dad), she’s easily swayed by yummy food, instinct and imagination move her much more than hard evidence... This alone is enough to make the personalities of ShishiKat and FudoLay totally different, but, of course, this train doesn’t run on personalities, but on powers and skills. So let’s discuss not what Kat offers, but what Shishido needs.

We’ve established that Shishido was a game-maker in progress. Now, let’s keep in mind that this project includes all of the main characters from IE, IEGO, IECS and IEGalaxy, and they could all potentially be sharing a side of the field with Shishido, so let’s see whom he is competing against.

Of course, we have Kidou, the genius game-maker, the absolute commander of the pitch and, well, a living legend trained by another living legend: Kageyama. He has a miximax too, but you guys have not seen it yet. In due time.

We have Fudou, whose natural intelligence is (arguably) on par with Kidou’s and has received some training by Kageyama as well, even if he didn’t reach the same level of legend nor acted as a game-maker nearly as much as Kidou did. Fudou is, however, enhanced by Hershel Layton, whose influence upon mixitransing helps Fudou stop being such a little shit. That allows him to focus enough on the game and on his teammates to surpass Kidou as a serious and cold-headed strategist who is able to treat every situation as a puzzle and find the precise moves needed to solve it. Not to mention that, of course, Layton boosts Fudou’s intelligence as well.

Shindou has his miximax, which turns him into a "gamemaker of truth who can appraise people and the general situation, while combining both stillness and motion." Pretty self-explanatory.

Taiyou and Hakuryuu, upon mixitransing, become "midfielders of unparalleled accuracy, who can see into the future and attack the enemy's weak spots with their analytical reasoning." These two aren't technically game-makers in Chrono Storm, but Zhuge Liang was a frigging strategist and these two are given analytical reasoning through their miximax. Not to mention they were probably game-makers when they were part of their original teams.

The way the canon tried to keep Shindou and Taiyou/Hakuryuu from overlapping was by casually disregarding Zhuge Liang’s strategist side and focusing on her Keshin and ability to see the future/what no one else can see, so we can scratch Taiyou and Hakuryuu, as they won’t easily be taking the role of game-makers anymore. We can also discard Kidou, as FudoLay completely outclasses him for the time being. (Look at me, I sound like I’m writing an article on Electrode for Smogon--) So, ShishiKat’s only real challengers are FudoLay and, uh... does Shindou’s miximax have any kind of fandom name? I heard people refering to Kirino’s miximax as Kirino d’Arc, but that’s about it. Anyway, to keep it simple, I’ll call it ShinOda until someone brings up something better.

So, yeah, ShishiKat is competing against ShinOda and FudoLay. ShinOda focuses on a complete control over when to move and when not to move, arguably to preserve his teammates’ and his own stamina and maximise what everyone can do with their natural reserves of energy. FudoLay, on the other hand, uses analytical thinking to find the most efficient moves in any given situation. As I mentioned, he treats every situation as a puzzle, and, as Layton would say, “every puzzle has an answer.” One specific and perfect answer that FudoLay excels at finding, using the minimum number of steps necessary and turning the solution into pure art. He is, however, still Fudou, so he’d probably push his teammates to the limit in rough ways in order to achieve that perfection he is aiming for. And it’s still Layton, so we can expect some long-winded thought processes that take long to pay off--but when they finally do, HOO BOY.

It's good being analytical and smart, but perhaps, just perhaps, Shishido could use a little something to make him different and stick out among his peers. Something that is a bit more... proactive. Unpredictable. Slightly impulsive. But still as witty as one can ever be. He needs to combine the brains with the brawn, and blend it all together with much-needed cheerfulness, since all the game-makers we’re dealing with here are cold or outright pricks.

Shishido needs to improvise to the point of making things up for no reason and eventually making them work in almost miraculous ways. Focus less on what’s in front of his eyes and more on what other possibilities could be there. Act more on instinct than on careful observation. Give commands that are a lot more roundabout that those of Shindou, Kidou or Fudou, but end up paying off in ways that not even he could always predict. Jump into the problem head-first and solve it in-situ instead of looking at it from afar and pondering for long periods of time. And, of course, among all of that, he needs an enormous self-confidence to pull it all off, as his premises may seem utterly ridiculous and he must believe in them whole-heartedly to convince everyone else.

Katrielle Layton checks every single one of these boxes. It’s Katrielle, and Katrielle alone, who can turn Shishido not just into a replacement for the times when Kidou and Fudou aren’t around, but into a true force of nature that can assist the team at all times. It makes Shishido useful and non-redundant--which is, of course, much more than the anime did for him. Let alone the manga, where Shishido didn’t even appear. (I mean, the manga gave us Tamano bby, but still--)

And the best part is that they don’t step on each other. ShinOda is fantastic (and I won’t comment on my own ideas), but no one is objectively better at being a game-maker than the rest. Different situations will call for different approaches, so their relevance will shift as the rivals change or as the rivals adapt to one style or the other. Or, heck, they can simply all work together to keep their rivals guessing and come up with even greater strategies that combine everyone’s fortes.

Also, I’m watching Katrielle’s anime with my girlfriend and that is what made me consider her for this project in the first place, so props to her! (But sorry for butchering the design, dear ww)

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch. 2 thoughts (no promises that I’m going to do this every week like with Undead Unluck, but I sure would like to)

[Spoilers, That’s Exactly What I Did]

Iroha tries to return the AR glasses to Kogoe, citing that he feels like using them was cheating, but Kogoe points out that they’re just a tool and they don’t actually solve puzzles, they only highlight the necessary information for solving them

This is, to me, indicative of a central theme of the series; similar to how Medaka Box analyzed how everyone’s ability to put in effort varies but is just as valid, Cipher Academy notes that not everyone has the same capacity for problem solving. Case in point, Kogoe apparently isn’t very good at solving puzzles herself despite the fact that she’s apparently a skilled inventor and puzzle creator. Iroha, on the other hand, doesn’t have the eye for spotting the method for solving a puzzle, but once he knows where to start, he can put the pieces together quite well, though maybe slowly and systematically. Both of them are very smart and will be necessary to solve the puzzles that hide the Morg (the cryptocurrency stash that apparently serves as both a prize and a way to identify the most talented students), but neither of them could do so on their own

I’m willing to bet that Toshusai will also have an invaluable talent distinct from Kogoe’s or Iroha’s as well, both because she’s been established as a major character right from the get go and because this chapter establishes that no one’s stance is as cut and dry as they seem. Kogoe definitely has ulterior motives that she’s not sharing with Iroha, but Toshusai’s suggestion that Kogoe is going to try to inflate the value of the Morg by using it to incite war can’t be taken at face value either. I’m not saying she’s wrong, just that there’s undoubtedly more to it than we’re being led to believe

In broader strokes, I’m really loving that the puzzles are being numbered. Not only does it feel like a very Nisio Isin thing to do, it also helps give this series a game-like feel. Most notably, it feels like Professor Layton, which does the exact same thing except that it gives each puzzle a point value rather than a star difficulty rating. I have to wonder if the numbers themselves will somehow play into a puzzle later on? I wouldn’t be surprised

Being introduced to the rest of the class and getting a brief glimpse of their personalities and how varied their character designs are, again, feels extremely Nisio Isin while also giving us a chance to familiarize ourselves with Iwasaki’s artistic talents. Every single one of them looks distinct and like their words match their appearance, and I’m sure they’ll be memorable in their own right once they’re allowed to interact with Iroha a bit more intimately (which I assume at least a couple of them will if this is all a big competition)

I’m still trying to get a handle on Iroha’s dynamic with Toshusai since it’s only been literally two chapters and Toshusai was barely in this one, but Toshusai having weapons at the ready to protect Iroha while also talking to him with what seems to be mocking politeness (”why not sit your butt down?”) really seems to set a bit of a begrudging but unquestionably loyal tone

Toshusai giving Iroha a secret message in class by tracing her finger along his back was also...ouph, y’know? I definitely wouldn’t have been able to pick up on the message, I’d have been a bit...distracted in that scenario, myself. Still, Toshusai reminds Iroha to put on his glasses, demonstrating that she’s definitely playing the part of looking out for him, though it’s hard to say if she was legitimately trying to help or trying to catch him in a lie. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it’s a puzzle manga by Nisio Isin, I expect subterfuge everywhere

I’m not sure whether to expect Iroha and Toshusai to get paired off, but after Katanagatari I’m prepared for anything Nisio might try to pull

The responses seemed more positive this week, though still with some dissenting opinions. Fortunately, it occurred to me that Cipher Academy doesn’t really have any direct competition in Jump at the moment. More than half of Jump’s current lineup is battle manga, about a quarter of it is gag manga, and one is a...what would you describe Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins as? Drama? Psychological horror? Mystery? Normally a genre is established right off the bat, but this one’s three chapters in and I’m not sure what to make of it. Anyway, Ichinose’s Sins is the closest tonally to Cipher Academy, and that still gives a very wide berth. Super Smartphone seems like it would have been in the same category, but with that gone so quickly, the niche it would have filled is quite nicely opened

Looking back, I think that Cipher Academy is most similar to Enigme considering its use of puzzles. Super Smartphone was more like Death Note in how characters had very specific tools that they needed to utilize to achieve their goals, but this is literally being presented with a scenario that has a specific solution and being asked to find said solution. The only difference is that there aren’t supernatural powers (which I sorely miss from Enigme, by the way)

My hope is that Cipher Academy will get surprisingly popular, just enough that Viz will realize there’s demand for Nisio Isin content and localize Medaka Box. I’m not at the point where I’m gonna be calling for an anime, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I get there within the next few months

[thewomaninlilywhite]

@thecircusofyourmind see, I actually answered all these in a googledoc the day you sent me the ask, I’m just The Worst and never posted it...

Disclaimer: I left out some questions I’m not comfortable answering (usually because thinking about the answer made me too anxious)

Also, Christine is my therapist… her name comes up a few times in these answers

1: How tall or short do you wish you were?

I am 5’ but I wish I was shorter because, growing up, I was always the shortest so now it’s weird and makes me feel uncomfortable when I’m not...if that makes sense. Like, it feels like part of my identity is gone? (Christine lowkey roasts me for this one)

2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not)

I’m such a cat person. I love cats. I’d want a either a pure white persian or a bombay or a maine coon.

3: Do you have a favorite clothing style?

I love the fashion of the 1930s-1950s

4: What was your favorite video game growing up?

I played way more mario kart than my skills (or lack thereof) would suggest. Also, professor Layton (still do!)

6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

Warning: Very sensitive and overemotional: handle with care. Is prone to bursting out into showtunes she thinks she can sing, but can’t.

8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic]

I’m a melancholic mercury (I do shakespeare so I always think in terms of temperaments and planets, especially because I have too much sanguine tendency to identify as purely melancholic, but it is definitely my dominant temperament)

9: Are you ticklish?

Absolutely

10: Are you allergic to anything?

I’m lactose-intolerant, I try to cut back on gluten because of my Hashimotos, I also can’t eat peppers and usually avoid soy, but I’ve never actually been tested for allergies so like, who knows

13: Are you a cat or dog person?

Cat

14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson?

An elf, I’m already small

15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber?

I subscribe to so many different YouTubers for so many different reason, but if I had to pick one, I’d probably say Kathryn Morgan because her videos have helped me so much as a both a dancer and a person (especially with my diet and lifestyle because we have the same thyroid condition)

16: How tall are you?

5’

18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!]

115lb. but I’m trying to lose weight (I want to be under 110, and trust me, I’ve got plenty to lose)

19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits?

To an extent

20: Do you like space or the ocean more?

The ocean, the infiniteness of space makes me too anxious, plus, I’ve always lived near the ocean.

21: Are you religious?

Yes

22: Pet peeves?

Slow walkers, people who don’t give you personal space in the queue, people who have no respect for the people around them in public places in general, the list is actually pretty long.

23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]?

I basically am nocturnal – I literally can never concentrate on important things until after 8pm

24: Favorite constellation?

Scorpio because I can always see it when my family goes up to Maine over the summer so it makes me think of that

25: Favorite star?

So tacky, but I love Polaris; I feel like it’s so magical to think that long ago sailors would look up at the sky and based off this little guy, could figure out where they were. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy for some reason.

26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls?

I never had on eso I had to google this and they’re beautiful

27: Any phobias or fears?

I have anxiety (social phobia, arachnophobia, thanatophobia, claustrophobia, fear of abandonment, fear of the unknown, the list is long and my therapist doesn’t like me going this deep into it because then I get overwhelmed and trigger a panic attack – we’re working on my social anxiety first…)

28: Do you think global warming is real?

I think the earth goes through periods of cooling (ending in with the ice ages) and warming (which we are currently in) and therefore do not think that warming is CAUSED by humans, but I do think humans are speeding up the process

30: Favorite movie?

Mary Poppins, Rebecca, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Confessions of a Shopaholic are the only movies I’ve sat and watched all the way through on more than one occasion without being distracted so...

32: How many pets have you owned in your lifetime?

I had a cat named Lucky when I was younger, I currently have a cat named Lindsay, and, when I was younger, I had two goldfish who I named Dora and Boots (and Lucky ate them when the bowl got [mysteriously] knocked off the counter)

34: What is a color that calms you?

Lavender and Ballet Pink (gee, I wonder why)

35: Where would you like to travel and/or live?

New York is my home, I adore Paris, but I could see myself living in London

36: Where were you born?

Long Island

37: What is your eye color?

Hazel, though sometimes they appear blue when it’s raining

38: Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert

39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs?

I don’t believe in them per se, but I do read my horoscope everyday because the one I use tends to have little motivational sayings in it and they help boost my mood

40: Hugs or kisses?

Depends on who they’re from

41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now?

A lot of people...

42: Who is someone you love deeply?

Everyone...I love far too much

43: Any piercings you want?

I have two holes in my ears and I don’t desire any more than that

44: Do you like tattoos and piercings?

I don’t think they make a person MORE attractive, but I like how they allow people to express themselves, especially with the artistry involved with tattoos. You can learn a lot about a person based off what they put on/do to their bodies

45: Do you smoke or have you ever done so?

Absolutely not – I don’t like associating with people who do… it makes me very uncomfortable

47: What is a sound you really hate?

Loud noises

49: Can you do a backflip?

I wish

50: Can you do the splits?

Definitely

53: How are you feeling right now?

Lonely

55: When did you feel happiest?

When I am dancing

56: Something that calms you down?

Listening to music, reading, writing, dancing, sketching...

57: Have any mental disorders?

I’ve been formally diagnosed with multiple types of anxiety disorders (GAD, Social Anxiety, other phobias, OCD) but… let’s just say there are things I keep from may therapist that may imply I have others...

58: What does your URL mean?

It’s a reference to The Woman in White and The Secret Garden

59: What three words describe you the most?

Passionate, Loyal, Overwhelmed

60: Do you believe in evolution?

Simple answer: yes

61: What makes you unfollow a blog?

If they post too much about politics (because I use social media to escape the real world, not to be reminded of it, plus a lot of things [especially on here] are not fact-checked so I don’t believe much of it anyway), if they start posting things that make me uncomfortable or strain my own mental health, if they’re rude to me or other bloggers

62: What makes you follow a blog?

I like them and/or their content

63: Favorite kind of person:

Trustworthy and open

64: Favorite animal(s):

Puffins, Penguins, Cats

68: What is your MBTI personality type?

I’ve taken multiple tests and it’s always either INTJ or INFJ, but their percentages are always close to 50/50 so it really depends on the situation

69: What is your star sign?

Libra

73: Do you have platform shoes?

I have platform heels?

74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself?

I’m currently trying to read every Hercule Poirot novel (is that interesting? Idk I’m a pretty boring person)

75: Can you do a front flip?

Again, I wish.

76: Do you like birds?

Sure

77: Do you like to swim?

Yes

78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you?

I rarely go ice skating. I used to love it when I did, but I haven’t gone since my knee surgery so I think I’ll be too anxious to enjoy it

82: Something you really enjoy doing:

Being creative

83: Favorite person to talk to:

I don’t like talking to people

84: What was your first impression of Tumblr?

I thought it’s what all the “cool popular girls” at school used, but I didn’t understand it and didn’t actually use my blog until months after I created it

85: How many followers do you have?

730

86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes?

I have before, but I’m not sure if I still could.

87: Do your socks always match?

Yes

88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely?

Yes

89: What are your birthstones?

Opal

90: If you were an animal, which one would you be?

A fox

91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be?

A rose, sweet and elegant, yet prickly and cautious toward people trying to use me

92: A store you hate?

Urban Outfitters

93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day?

I shouldn’t drink more than one cup of decaf a day, but sometimes I do… sorry Christine

94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds?

Neither

95: Do you like to wear camo?

No

96: Winter or summer?

Winter

97: How long can you hold your breath for?

A minute, last time I timed myself

99: Someone you look up to:

Laura Michelle Kelly

100: A store you love?

H&M

101: Favorite type of shoes

Heels

102: Where do you live?

New York

103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why?

No because I have a very sensitive stomach and would literally die of malnutrition if I didn’t eat meat because I can’t eat a lot of food that vegetarians/vegans use as supplements

104: What is your favorite mineral or gem?

I love amethysts and pearls and opals and diamonds

105: Do you drink milk?

I can’t

106: Do you like bugs?

No

107: Do you like spiders?

...I’m arachnophobic

108: Something you get paranoid about?

Everything, I have an anxiety disorder (actually multiple…)

109: Can you draw:

Kinda?

111: A question you hate being asked?

“Why do you keep to yourself all the time”

112: Ever been bitten by a spider?

NO THANK YOU

113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach?

Yes!

114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days?

Cloudy, I get chronic migraines so the sun can be too much for me

115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now:

Joe, one of my absolute best friends (he gives the BEST hugs)

118: Do you have freckles?

Yes

119: Favorite thing about a person:

If they treat me kindly and gently and don’t make fun of how emotional I am

120: Fruits or vegetables?

Fruits

121: Something you want to do right now:

Sing

122: Is the ocean or sky prettier?

Ocean

123: Sweet or sour foods?

Sweet

124: Bright or dim lights?

Dim, but not too dim

126: Something you hate about Tumblr:

How catty people are

127: Something you love about Tumblr:

The way little niches form

128: What do you think about the least?

Things that trigger my anxiety ?? How is this question supposed to be asked ??

130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now?

No one, that’s rude

131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself?

I don’t like anything about myself (Christine’s gonna come for me for this because she always tries to get me to answer these kinds of questions and I never can)

132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures?

My teeth can’t physically show when I smile?

133: Computer or TV?

Computer

134: Do you like roller coasters?

Yes

135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness?

No

136: Are your ears lobed or attached?

Lobed

137: Do you believe in karma?

Yes

138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are?

Like a 0

139: What nicknames do you have/have had?

Jillibean, chicklet, Jilli, Jill, I usually just go by Jillian though

140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends?

Yes

141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink?

Shout out to my girl Christine for putting up with my disaster of a life every friday morning at 9am!

142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others?

I feel like I have no influence over others

143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help?

I like giving help, but hate giving gifts because I feel like I’m so bad at it

144: What makes you angry

When people don’t listen to me, when people aren’t being fair (in a situation where fairness is due)

145: How many languages do you speak fluently?

2 – English and French

146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries?

I prefer people who are nice to me

147: Are you androgynous?

No

148: Favorite physical thing about yourself:

Wasn’t this already asked? Nothing

149: Favorite thing about your personality:

Nothing

150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person.

Joe, Sammi, Lindsey

151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose?

Victorian England

152: Do you like BuzzFeed?

Yes

154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons?

YES is this not something people do?? (sorry Joe)

155: Do you like to play with others’ hair?

Yes (seriously wishing Joe used tumblr so I could tag him in all these things)

156: What embarrasses you?

Everything, legit my entire existence is an embarrassment to everyone who associates with me

157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious:

Everything, I have an (several) anxiety disorder(s)

158: Biggest lie you have ever told:

“I’m fine”

159: How many people are you following?

139 – I did like a cleanse over the summer

160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)?

84,034 and I actually just gasped at that number – why am I like this?

161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)?

None

162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)?

4,901

163: Last time you cried and why:

Watching “When Calls the Heart” earlier had me teary-eyed, but I was kinda at my Grandmother funeral a few days ago so???

164: Do you have long or short hair?

Long

165: Longest your hair has ever been:

I don’t know, I don’t measure it?

166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon?

I like religion when it is practiced in a way that doesn’t harm other people. I don’t believe that anyone should be forced to follow a religion, but it can really provide safety and guidance to people when followed correctly.

168: Do you like to wear makeup?

Yes – it’s an artform to me, and I love experimenting with different looks!

169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds?

Head, yes, hands, no and I really don’t know what I’m doing wrong because I know all like the techniques and stuff I’m supposed to be employing and they never work ???

170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully?

yes

[bubblemoon66]

Domestic Valduggery Headcanons:

For @skulduggeryweeks and based off of these questions on deviantART. 

Who cleans the most? Contrary to that, who is the messiest?

Skulduggery does most of the cleaning, he has to do something while Valkyrie is sleeping after all. Valkyrie is definitely the messiest, partially because she's the only one using half the stuff in the house (I mean it's not like Skulduggery's going to leave mugs or bowls lying around when he doesn't use them). And partially because she comes home after a 48-hour stakeout kicks off her boots, make herself a round of toast and then tells herself she clean it up later when she's caught up on her sleep, and by that time Skulduggery's already put everything away. However, Valkyrie does get better at cleaning up after herself once she moves to Meek Ridge and adopts Xena. You can't just leave shoes lying around with a puppy around after all.

Who usually cooks?

Valkyrie. She's the only one who eats, and she'd just feel weird asking Skulduggery to make her anything more than a cup of tea or coffee. Although Skulduggery will get her food unasked when he knows she's too tried to do it herself (usually takeaway, but he's made toast and heated up cans of soup quite a few times).

Who is more inclined to be jealous or possessive? ​

Valkyrie.

Skulduggery's more or less fine with Valkyrie having romantic/sexual partners because: 1) She's a adult who can make her own decisions, 2) He wants her to be happy no matter who's it's with,  3) Her having a romantic/sexual partner in no way diminishes what they have, and 4) It won't last long.

Valkyrie, on the other hand, would get very jealous very fast if Skulduggery flirted with anyone besides her. While she's fine with his past relationships, she would not react well to a new romantic partner - she wants to be the most important person in his life, and damn anyone who comes between them.

How do they resolve their arguments?  They resolve themselves, mostly. Neither Valkyrie nor Skulduggery like to apologise, so it's easier for them to let arguments fizzle out. They're aware they've both got massive egos, so if one of them back off or changes their opinion, they accept that as a kind of apology that saves face. But if someone does apologise it's usually Skulduggery, because  while he's  aware that Valkyrie can forgive him for a lot of things, there's still this underlying fear that she will leave if he pushes too much. Valkyrie's in the position where she knows Skulduggery will forgive her for anything, no matter what she does, so she rarely apologises directly. 

Who has the most nightmares and how do they deal with them?

Valkyrie, because she's the only one who sleeps. If she wakes up from a nightmare she usually calls Skulduggery or goes downstairs (when she's staying over) for a chat, to try and distract herself from it. If she's having a nightmare and Skulduggery's around (usually because she's fallen asleep on a sofa or in the car) he'll wake her up if it's severe enough. But if it's not too severe he talks or sings to her in a gentle voice instead.

While Skulduggery doesn't have nightmares, he sometimes has flashbacks. Valkyrie usually tries to help by talking softly and reminding him where he is. If she thinks he might have a flashback, or if he's recovering from one, she might also touch him to reassure him she's there. But she tries not to touch him if he's in the middle of a flashback because it tends to agitate him even more.

Who pays for the food the most, when they go out?

Skulduggery. Valkyrie got into the habit of letting Skulduggery pay for everything when she was young, and didn’t have access to her inheritance, and she never grew out of it. It's literally never occurred to her that maybe she should offer to pay for things when they're together. Skulduggery doesn't mind though.

Do they enjoy dancing?

Yes. Skulduggery's enjoyed ballroom dancing for centuries. Valkyrie enjoyed leaning capoeira as part of her combat training (which isn’t quiet dancing, but there are a lot of similarities) and occasionally dancing at clubs. But they don't start dancing together until they 2021. Skulduggery offers to teach Valkyrie how to waltz in preparation for the Requiem Ball. And they enjoy it so much he ends up teaching her how to foxtrot, then swing, then tango, etc. They end up dancing at a lot of functions and in private after that. The tango ends up being both of their favourites because of the energy and the passion.

Do they ever trade clothes?

No*. Skulduggery is a skeleton who wears carefully tailored clothes and Valkyrie is muscular woman whose biceps would split any shirt of his she tried to put on. And Skulduggery won't be caught dead in anything that wasn't custom made for him, because he's vain AF.

*The only exceptions are the ones in canon when Skulduggery's had to drape a jacket over Valkyrie to preserve her modesty or she's wearing his hat.

What do they do when they're bored and together?

They like to talk about everything and anything. They watch movies, play games on their phones, and share music. Sometimes they'll practice magic or fighting or dancing together. And sometimes they just like to do their own thing in the same space - Valkyrie will read a book and Skulduggery will do a crossword.

What is their ideal vacation?

Valkyrie says her ideal vacation would be lazying around on a beach, but to be honest she'd get restless after a few days and want to try surfing or sightseeing. And then she'd get bored of that after a few more days and start looking for some real adventure. 

Skulduggery's ideal vacation would be taking a case in a cultured city (Paris, Rome, Prague...) that's stimulating but where he still gets to spend a lot of quality time with Valkyrie and they come away mystery solved with no injuries.

What do they do after a hard day at work?

Chances are a hard day of work for them involves some form of injury. So it's usually spent waiting for each other in a medical bay or patching each other up at home or in a hotel room. There's usually a lot of thoughtful gestures - Skulduggery will make Valkyrie hot drinks, cover her with a blanket if she falls asleep, etc. Valkyrie will hug Skulduggery, squeeze his hand, or rest her head on his chest. They're both reassure each other verbally if they needed, to make sure the other is okay and feels loved/cared for.

Do they attend any clubs or formal parties together?

I don't know if this means clubs like night clubs or clubs like rotary clubs, but either way the answer is no, unless they had to for a case. 

They regularly attend Sanctuary functions and mage parties together, however. They both grumble about that part of their job, but secretly rather enjoy spending the night dressed up on each other's arm making fun of the other guests. For Skulduggery especially, it's nice to go as a couple, because he spent so many decades attending them on his own (he could only occasionally convince Ghaslty to be his plus one, and only occasionally convince mage hosts to let Gordon be his plus one).

How do they spend time if the other is gone? 

Skulduggery tries to keep busy with work, there’s usually paperwork or unsolved files her can work though.He tries not to bother Valkyrie (unless it’s an emergency or she contacts him first) when he knows she wants to spend time with her family, but he’s mentally keeping a list of ‘things to tell Valkyrie next time we talk’. 

Valkyrie spends time with her family, takes Xena for walks, catches up on some reading, and works out when she feels up to it. She also spends a lot of time moping around her house, doing nothing in particular. Unless she’s busy with her family or in a bad mood, she’s sending Skulduggery funny texts every five minutes. 

​​Do they have a favourite video game they enjoy playing together?

The only video games they tend to play are the apps on their phone and they can play them in the Bentley while on a stakeout. Skulduggery's favourite is Words With Friends, because it's easy to understand the point of it, he can show off, and he usually wins. He also likes the ones that remind him of old card/board games like Poker and Chess.

Valkyrie's favourite is Draw Something because they get to make fun of each other's terrible drawing skills. She also likes racing games and Fruit Ninja because she's better at them then Skulduggery is.

Also I can imagine a Valkyrie thrusting an old 3DS (with some Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton games instated on it) into Skulduggery arms with a 'here I thought you might like this'. And Skulduggery's not really sure what to do with it, so it ends up in drawer in his house, sitting untouched for a while, until Valkyrie's away for a long weekend (or even in Meek Ridge). And then Skulduggery remembers it, and decides he decides to see what the fuss is about... and he likes it. Not because it's entertaining or stimulating, but because it's this happy little thing his best friend gave him because she was thinking of him.

Thoughts on PDA (Public Displays of Affection)?

They don’t kiss, or do any of this big romantic gestures in public, but there’s a lot of casual touching when they’re not thinking about it. She grabs his hand to pull him along,he guides her with a hand on the small her back, she links her arm through his, he brushes a stay strand of hair from her face... that kind of thing. The frequency of which has led to a lot of gossip in the magical community as to what the nature of their relationship actually is. 

​​Thoughts on each other's friends?

Valkyrie's liked every one of Skulduggery's friends. He's (generally) a good judge of character and his friends tend to call him out on his BS so Valkyrie instantly likes them, and they tend to like her for the same reason.

Skulduggery isn't as keen on Valkyrie's choice of friends. He'd never admit it to her, but he thinks she makes friends too easily. He'll acknowledge that some of them (Fletcher, Tanith) are good reliable people, but he needs to know someone for a long time before he can actually call them a friend. And sometimes she's make friends with dangerous people (Caelan, China, Solomon) and he worries about how much she trusts them.

Would they ever get married?​

I go back and forth on this one.

Sometimes I think Skulduggery won't be able to remarry. He spent so long thinking his sole purpose/the reason for his continued existence was to avenge the death of his wife and child, and to remarry would be an insult to that. And then there's the fear that marriage would leave him vulnerable. He (along with everybody in the magical community, tbh) is aware that Valkyrie's death would destroy him emotionally, but as long as they aren't married he can pretend he could cope with it.

But then Skulduggery's also pretty old-fashioned when it comes down to it. And I think he’d like the idea of ebing a husband again. There's this newness to him since he met Valkyrie/Serpine was killed - he accepts that he's a different person now. So if he got married again it would be a part of his new life, and have nothing to do with the old. 

I think Valkyrie would be okay whether they got married or not. She already knows that their lives revolve on each other. And she knows that they're as devoted to each other as two people can be. So whether there is a ring involved is irrelevant. She'd say yes if Skulduggery proposed (I mean, assuming they'd been romantic for a few decades) because she'd know how much it would mean to him. But overall Valkyrie's comfortable with the way things are. She wouldn't go out of her way to change things. So for that reason I don't think she would do the proposing.

If they did get married there wouldn't be a big white wedding (because that would be asking for trouble, and who would they invite anyway?). It would just be the bare minimum: a government official, two witnesses, some paperwork... they probably won't even dress up for the occasion. He'd give her a signet ring with his family crest on it - which is the only real outward change n their relationship. Valkyrie would still be addressed as Detective Cain (and occasionally Ms. Cain, but never Mrs. Pleasant). They don't ever announce their marriage to the public - rumours about a secret wedding spread, but nobody but their friends ever get a straight answer.

[As a an addendum: I think both Valkyrie and Skulduggery would be reluctant to label their relationship (beyond anything but 'partners') for a long time. They'd probably never use words like 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend' or 'dating' or 'exclusive' even if it resembled those words, because labelling their relationship would mean acknowledging what a mess it is and neither of them want to go into that]. 

Thoughts on kids?

(I have a plan to write a fic where Skulduggery and Valkyrie discus this, but it's at the bottom of a big pile of fics to be written)

Skulduggery has long since accepted that he'll never have kids, but even if he could, the thought of being a father again fills him with dread. It would feel like a betrayal to his first child and wife. And he'd be living with the constant fear that something could happen to them at anytime. Yet at the same time, being a father was one of the best experiences of his life, and he sometimes gets a bit wistful for it.

Valkyrie hasn't really thought of having kids of her own. If someone mentions it she brushes it off with an 'I'm too young to think about that' (well into her two-hundreds). But when she is forced to really sit down and think she starts to panic. She knows having kids would be disastrous with her lifestyle. And deep down she has a fear that she would hurt them, like she hurt Alice. She loves spending time with other people's kids though, and if she ever got nieces or nephews she'd tried to emulate her Uncle Gordon and be the eccentric relative who lives in the big creepy mansion and gives expensive gifts from far away places.

I think Skulduggery's infertility would put him off starting a romantic relationship with Valkyrie. He knows she doesn't want a family, but he still feels that if they started a romantic relationship, he'd be taking away her choice to have a family. I.E. She won't have kids because they couldn't and not because she doesn't want to. Valkyrie thinks that's ridiculous, and points out there are other ways she could have a kid if she did want one.

Thoughts on each other's family? What does each other's family think about them?

Valkyrie doesn't have much of an opinion on Skulduggery family, for obvious reasons, but she's always interested in hearing about then when Skulduggery's willing to share.

Skulduggery thinks Valkyrie's (immediate) family are nice people. He appreciates that they just want their daughters to be happy and healthy. But his relationship with them is tense. Melissa loathes him - she blames him for Valkyrie's breakdown and can't forgive him for dragging them all into this mess. She's already uncomfortable with the idea of Valkyrie's friendship with Skulduggery (and her involvement with magic in general) and if their relationship went any further she'd flip out. Desmond has mixed feelings. To him Skulduggery is a symbol of magic, and magic is full of awe and wonder. So he can understand why Valkyrie wants to be a part of that (and he thinks it's pretty amazing that she is). He supports Valkyrie's lifestyle choices, including her choice to be with Skulduggery, more than Melissa. But he understand why Melissa is upset, because deep down he's worried about his daughter too.