#first Franziska of the year many more to come

[eighteenthofoctober]

Starting this year's art journey strong with this diva!!

My traditional skills are getting rusty but we'll get em back

Asks are opennn you can request characters or AUs or anything (appropriate that is!!)

[musashi]

aai2's english translation has done an amazing thing in furthering franziska's juvenile tendency to address people she's close with like she's a child.

here are some facts about franziska:

she addresses nearly every single person she meets aggressively formally and professionally. firstname lastname. sometimes, mr. or ms. firstname lastname. other characters point this out. it's weird, clunky, and a quirk specific to her.

franziska is obsessed with appearing more grown up and professional than she is.

despite her dedication to this facade, she cannot break the INCREDIBLY JUVENILE habit of calling her murderous, long-dead father "papa."

(it pisses me off when people erase this about her. she only ever calls him "my father," twice in canon. he is almost ALWAYS "papa")

to the contrary, franziska does not seem ashamed/embarrassed about this tendency at all, even though she seems very embarrassed about other childlike things she thinks/feels/does.

until aai2 this was exclusive to manfred... but it is now canon that she does it to anyone she considers family, or close to family.

in the fan translation, blaise teases her about being a little girl and calling him "unky boo boo" once upon a time. in the official translation, franziska still calls him uncle in the present day. her first inclination is to call him uncle winner, wholly informal, absolute (pun) whiplash.

okay, cute, but probably not worth noting... AND THEN SHE'S OUT HERE CALLING HILDA "GRAMMA" AS WELL. one thing about me is that when i was TODAY i learned about her having some optional dialogue that alludes to the two of them knowing each other.

(i could go ON about how manfred must have loved her so much more than we see in canon--how often did she insist upon coming along with hm? how often did he find himself unable to say no to her big sparkling eyes? hilda does not say "that's franziska" hilda says "that's von karma's little girl!" which means hilda knows her through manfred. every single person who spent any amount of time around manfred von karma in his heyday knows franziska, which means that she was following her papa around like a little duckling, and he loved her enough to make space for her at his back)

my fave thing they do with franziska is the little hints that her facade is just that. too many of them spoil the subtlety, of course, but they are there--the flavour text about her shaking and looking scared the two times she's a victim of gun violence and thinks no one's looking. the hints here and there that she has a terrible sweet tooth she's trying to control. the meltdown at the end of JFA. and "papa." these are all little ways that the writing nudges us and says franziska is a professional, but she's also quite young, and never really let herself be a kid. she does a great job at hiding most of it, but these little tendencies leak out here and there.

by giving her two more people in life she does this to, it's no longer just that papa is Special Enough that he gets the same treatment from a 3 year old franziska as a 30 year old franziska. no, she does that to everyone she grew up looking up to, any odd work friend that manfred brought around or let her pester.

adorable. absolutely adorable.

[ot3]

can i please hear your thoughts about franema. blease. i know they have something going on between them

oh yes yes.... franema happy to talk about it. for starters just everything about how ema behaves herself in aa4 makes me believe that would be some excellent yuri because bitch4bitch femslash is always so important.

in general though i think they're two people whose lives are very centered around their work (as much of the main ace attorney cast is) but they center their work extremely differently in a way i think would cause the other person to question a lot about their own perspective. I think a situation where two characters can really ruffle each others feathers just by existing in proximity has a lot of good ship fodder.

i think in many ways franziska is what ema wanted to be. she's a child prodigy, competent and excelling in her field and earning respect from a very young age. meanwhile when she's several years older than fran was passing the bar ema is still just a high school student just dipping her nose into forensic science for the first time. by the time she's in her mid 20s ema still isn't at the level of career success fran reached in her teen years, being stuck as a detective after failures to pass the forensics exams. and i think it's really worth paying attention to the fact that Detective was specifically the job that lead to her sister's life turning to shit, so i think the longer and longer she stays trapped in that position the more she's gonna start feeling like the walls of her life are closing in on her. i know we don't know where fran is at career wise during this point in the timeline but my personal headcanon is that she ends up doing a lot of work with interprol and primarily specializing in prosecuting cases that take place across various countries' jurisdictions, and has had good success doing so.

Then on the flipside I think Fran see's ema's fully self-motivated passion for forensics as something enviable and admirable. Fran is i think someone who has spent her entire life running through a treadmill of carrots and sticks that dictated what her life was going to be like since she was born. Obviously prosecuting is the family trade and she was started extremely young, then pitted against someone much older for the majority of her childhood. I think the ebb and flow of validation or disinterest from her peers and family was such an overwhelming motivator that she never had the chance to even consider whether or not there's anything she's passionate about. As an adult, i think she does come to find an honest passion in her career but it's nothing like what ema has, it can't be decoupled from external validation, and that's something she's come to understand as a bit of a weakness.

Then interpersonally i feel like since ema is much more personable and socially adjusted than fran, i could feel that being something she instinctively kind of leverages against fran to try and level their playing field. like, okay, franziska may be this bigshot famous prosecutor (just like edgeworth, who ema wants sooo bad to impress) but ema can find ways to embarrass, frustrate, or otherwise fluster her in social settings so that's totally the same as being intellectual equals right. right. right. (<- thoughts of a girl who is definitely being normal about the situation). but i feel like fran could kind of learn to be grateful for the lack of deference ema treats her with and it could be a real first step to them actually getting to know each other better.

i feel like they'd have a lot of similar opinions on the broader aspects of life. i think they'd both be fine with a more casual relationship that involves a lot of traveling for work and isn't particularly romantic by a lot of people's standards. and i think it would be fun for them to fuck each other. overall it just works imo. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[rivalsforlife]

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Interview Highlight

This is coming a little late - on September 1st, just before the release of the AAI collection, there was an interview on Netlab with Tatsuro Iwamoto (character designer), Kenichi Hashimoto (named in this article as the producer of the AA series overall), and Shunsuke Nishida (producer of the AAIC collection) about the games. It's a long interview with a lot of interesting elements including the reactions to the announcement, a brief mention of the consideration of changing some moments for modern times (example given is the LGBTQ content in the 456 collection - I believe referring to some events in DD, but no specifics), details into the process of upgrading the character minisprites, the staff's favorite characters and cases, why Franziska is 13 in the key art, and other fun details. The part I want to highlight here is what they say about upcoming merch and the future of the ace attorney series.

This small segment of the interview had one part previously translated by nintendoeverything, but there are some little details that I noticed in the full interview that were incorrect so I'm posting this here. But please note that I'm doing this primarily with auto-translate with tiny corrections on the tiny bits of AA-related words in Japanese that I know, which isn't much, so there are likely still inaccuracies in this. Please don't hesitate to correct me if you spot any!

--The " Ace Attorney Series" merchandise has been very popular, including the "Ace Attorney Investigations Lottery" held on Capkuji Online. What do you think about fans purchasing merchandise? Hashimoto : As for merchandise, I have the impression that it sells out across the board for the past few years. The "Ace Attorney" series merchandise is basically sold out on the first day, and it's the same for the "Ace Attorney Investigations" series. This year is the 15th anniversary of the "Ace Attorney Investigations" series, and I've been talking to the store staff about "putting out a lot of Ace Attorney Investigations-related merchandise". There are things that we haven't been able to put out before because it's the 15th anniversary, so this year, the "Ace Attorney Investigations" series is especially hot. There are still some goods that haven't been released, so please look forward to them.

Since there hasn't been much AAI merchandise since around the time of the original release of AAI, I'm super looking forward to seeing what they'll put out. The Capkuji Online lottery they speak of is the one that had the giant tsum of Edgeworth, and I really hope they someday will make that available for general purchase.

--Many fans are hoping that purchasing merchandise will lead to new releases, but is that actually the case? Hashimoto: That's true. The fact that we have such passionate players' support is something that the entire company, including the management, can recognize, even more than just us developers, so it's very important. Of course, the sales of merchandise itself do not cover the development costs of new titles, but it does lead to discussions about how to develop the game in the future if it's that popular, so the fact that people are purchasing merchandise is a very important indicator.

AA merchandise does seem to be doing very well.

--Since this is a work with many overseas fans, we asked overseas users, "What would you like to tell the developers? What would you like them to hear?" Particularly impressive was the feedback from users living in independent language regions, who were pleased with the multilingual support for "Ace Attorney Investigations 1 & 2 Collection," following "Ace Attorney Apollo Justice Trilogy." In the midst of all this, the one thing that has been attracting attention is the future development of the "Ace Attorney Investigations Series." What are your thoughts on this? Hashimoto : We will not stop the "Ace Attorney Investigations Series" content. Of course, we want to develop it in various ways, including other media types. I think there will be something to tell you when it is time to make an announcement, but at the moment I can't say anything.

This part is what was translated in the interview I linked, but it misses a few key distinctions: One is the specification of "Ace Attorney Investigations" over "Ace Attorney". (Or "Gyakuten Kenji" vs "Gyakuten Saiban", if that makes things clearer.) So that makes me think that this isn't referring to an AA7 or Apollo Justice anime, but something specific to the AAI games -- whether that's an anime adaptation, maybe another stage play, or possibly in the future...... aai3.

Another note is what the translated interview calls "mixed media", which comes from "メディアミックス" (literally "media mix"). "Mixed media" in English, to my knowledge, generally refers to a single piece of art which is made up of different forms, which is not what they're talking about here. The Japanese term used here appears to mean more of a "multimedia franchise" - extending the series beyond just games, to other forms that will bring in a wider audience - which makes me think they have something in the works that's not a new game, but something in a different form related to AAI. So I'm curious about what they have planned, whether it would be an adaptation of the existing games or original work with the same characters like my favorite stage play Turnabout Teleportation.

And on the topic of stage plays...

--While there are many die-hard fans of the plays, unfortunately the performance of " Ace Attorney: Turnabout Parallel World " has been postponed. Will we ever get to see lawyer Miles Edgeworth, the perfect idol Franziska von Karma, and the number one host Larry Butz? Also, is there any possibility of a novelization? Iwamoto : (Whispering) Please say it. Please say it more (laughs). Hashimoto : Due to the schedules of the cast, it may be difficult to do it in exactly the same format, but I personally would like to see it. I'm always thinking about how I want to do it and make it happen.

Turnabout Parallel World was a stage play intended for 2020 that got postponed for obvious reasons... and then rescheduled for 2021, where it was postponed again for the same obvious reasons. It hasn't been officially cancelled and we haven't heard anything about it since then, and to my knowledge this is the first acknowledgement of it since then. It does sound like they want to include it in some way.

Novelizations of new AA stories aren't a new concept, but have typically been Japan-only and not gained much traction in the English-speaking fandom.

Finally, Hashimoto's comments to close out the interview:

Hashimoto: As I mentioned at the beginning, I thought it was important to have people play existing content on the current platform, and with the release of "Ace Attorney Investigations 1 & 2 Collection," we're finally ready. I want to deliver it to people who don't know about the "Ace Attorney Series" or haven't touched it, including people in countries with additional languages, as well as in Japan. As I mentioned earlier, we will not stop the "Ace Attorney Series" after that, and it will continue to the 25th and 30th anniversaries. We would like to continue preparing for new developments and expand the series.

The use of "Ace Attorney Series" here doesn't make a distinction between mainline or investigations (just "Gyakuten series"). So while there's definitely something in the works for AAI, there's probably something for mainline as well.

The 25th anniversary is coming up fairly soon in 2026, with the 30th anniversary in 2031. This is not nearly as far away as it feels like it should be. Judging by this interview and similar ones over the last year, it feels more and more likely that we will be getting new ace attorney content in one form or another in the next couple of years at least.

Of note to the Athena fans, the interview also contains this comment from Hashimoto, when talking about favorite characters in AAIC and the series overall:

Throughout the series, I've always liked Athena (Cykes). I've always thought to myself, "I wonder if there's something Athena can do as the main character?" (laughs).

It's not the most serious statement or necessarily a promise, but maybe the tiniest nugget of hope for Athena fans.

Anyways, those are the highlights of the interview from me - again please correct me if there's anything that needs correcting. I highly encourage people to check out the full interview since it has lots of interesting stuff, and hopefully there will be a properly translated version of it out someday!

[vikkirosko]

Hello! Can I request Miles, Phoenix, Franziska, Manfred, the Judge and Dick with a female anarchist child reader?

Reader is a homeless 12 years old who lived all her life in the street. She was raised by other homeless and even got an education from them.

Reader is street smart and smart in general, she's nice to old people and poor/homeless people but is an anarchist in heart and hate all that touch the legal/financial system.

She's a little delinquent too, making illegal street art, steeling things (food, clothes, nice little things for her and the other homeless) and regularly messing with the police forces for fun. She was arrested many times, but never got judged since she's only 12.

Things are that reader is a key witness in a murder case. Her testimony is very important for the trial. The only problem is... she refuse to say the truth or even testify correctly. Taunting the lawyer, prosecutor, police forces and even the judge for their inefficiency.

The truth is, she hate how "the normal society" view her and the other homeless/delinquents and how they treated them. So why helping those who rejected her and her people.

How they convinced her to be at their side is up to you.

Thanks!

Platonic headcanons Little Anarchist

⚖️ Phoenix Wright x child fem!Reader 🚲

Phoenix was not very good at communicating with children. That's why when you met him, he didn't know what to do. You were a homeless girl who turned out to be a witness in a murder case. You saw with your own eyes everything that happened and it would seem that you should have told the police, the prosecutor, or at least him, the lawyer, about everything, but it was not so. He realized this when your testimony, which he received from the police report, was radically different from what you told him

He tried to find out from you about it, but pretty quickly he found out that you were openly mocking him. At first you didn't talk about yourself and didn't answer the question why you refuse to cooperate, but your patience quickly ran out. You shouted loudly that you would not help the system that rejected you and your family. As it turned out, you were homeless and considered other homeless people as your family. It was unknown where your blood relatives were, but you clearly didn't want to help people connected with the law. You were wary of everyone, even Maya, but you usually didn't express any obvious negativity towards her. However, Phoenix understood that without your help, the real criminal would remain unpunished

After the first day of the meeting, he decided to try to talk to you again. At first you didn't want to talk to him. You just wanted to spend time with your family. However, when Phoenix said that the killer could kill you or someone from your family because you were a witness, you were visibly worried. You and Phoenix talked for a long time, after which you were able to come to an agreement. You didn't want people close to you to suffer, so you agreed to tell the court about what you actually saw

Even after the case was closed and the criminal was in prison, Phoenix continued to communicate with you. He and Maya visited you, brought various things and helped you and your family. They understood that you didn't become homeless because you wanted to, but you were a smart girl who could have a bright future and if you had agreed, Phoenix would have tried to help you get into school or improve your life in other ways

⚖️ Miles Edgeworth x child fem!Reader 🚘

Edgeworth is sometimes seen at the police station. He didn't understand who you were, sure that you were a bully or just a kid who often ran away from home. However, when you were the only witness to the murder, he found out that your situation was much more complicated than he could have imagined. You didn't have a home, your family were homeless people with whom you lived and you hated the police and the entire judicial system as a whole and he couldn't get honest testimony from you

Several times he tried to talk to you himself. Each time your testimony differed from the previous ones and it was not clear if there was any truth in what you said. He tried to stay calm, but you did everything to make him lose his temper. Sometimes it even seemed to him that you didn't really see anything but were lying to annoy the police. However, when he went to look for you after the first day of the court session, he found out that you really saw something. This was confirmed by other homeless people with whom you lived

They told him that on the day of the murder you were in the next building where the murder happened. You ran to them scared, but despite that you didn't tell them about what happened. It was thanks to one of the homeless people that the police found out that you were a witness to a murder that happened. When Edgeworth told you what he found out, you looked annoyed. You didn't want your family members involved in this, but Miles told you that your family's safety depends on you. He was sure that the killer would try to get rid of the witness who knew the truth if he was free, which means you and your family would be in danger. His words had an impact on you

You couldn't keep hiding the truth when the lives of your family members were at risk. That's why you were honest about what happened at the trial. You breathed a sigh of relief when the killer was found guilty. Every time Edgeworth saw you at the police station, he turned a blind eye to some of your misdeeds and helped you to the best of his ability. He gave you money and tried to help you and your family start living better. It was the least he could do

⚖️ Franziska von Karma x child fem!Reader ⚜️

Franziska didn't have much patience, so when she found out that a police detective couldn't get testimony from a key witness in a murder case. She got angry because of this and she went to conduct the interrogation herself, but when she saw the witness, her resolve weakened for a few moments. That witness was you. You were a twelve-year-old girl in old, many times darned clothes and with a look full of contempt and irritation, and even the formidable appearance of the prosecutor did not cause you fear and did not destroy your determination not to tell the truth

She tried several times to get the information she needed from you, but you didn't tell the truth. You've changed your testimony a lot of times, confusing the investigation. At first Franziska assumed that you were connected with the suspect, but she learned from the detective that you were a frequent guest at the police station. You were caught stealing and painting on the walls of various buildings. You were homeless and lived with other homeless people. You were caring towards those whom you considered members of your family, but you were distrustful of the police and everyone connected with the judicial system. Franziska felt it for herself when her patience came to an end. She started shouting at you, but you responded by shouting too, although even grown men were lost when she was angry

She spent a long time trying to find out from you what she needed. For all the time that the investigation was conducted, she managed to get attached to you and find out your story. She found out that your parents abandoned you and the tramps took you in. They took care of you and you took care of them in return. You were angry that others turned away from you, your family and other people who found themselves in a difficult situation. That's why you didn't want to help the police. Franziska talked to you for a long time. She was able to convince you that the system was really not always fair, but deceiving the police you will not do better and the criminal will be released. It was able to convince you to tell the truth

After the criminal was found guilty, Franziska decided that you could grow into a decent person, so she decided to take care of you herself. She gradually gained your trust and intended to take you with her to Germany so that you could grow into a person who could change the system and make sure that the people you considered your family and similar people could live much better than you and your loved ones lived

⚖️ Manfred von Karma x child fem!Reader 🔫

Manfred von Karma was not the most patient person. For the sake of closing the case, he was ready to go to great lengths. Therefore, when he found out that the investigation was not progressing due to the fact that the witness was constantly changing his testimony, he felt annoyed. He couldn't let this ruin his perfect string of victories, so he decided to take up the witness interrogation himself. However, he did not expect that this witness would be a twelve-year-old girl. It was you. A homeless girl who saw a murder, but lied to the police about what she saw

You didn't care about what the prosecutor was trying to find out from you. You continued to hide the truth, ignoring all his discontent. You weren't going to tell him what really happened. He even started to put pressure on you, but you weren't afraid of his threats. You knew he couldn't put you in jail, so you weren't afraid of him. Even when you were told who exactly he was, you did not change your position, continuing to change your testimony every time

He had to resort to threats. You didn't care what happened to you, but when he started threatening that people close to you would be in an even more difficult situation. You couldn't let that happen, so you had to tell him the truth. You weren't sure if he needed the truth or if he just wanted to hear from you what he needed. You were angry and left after the court hearing, not wanting to see him ever again in your life

Your opinion about the judicial system has only strengthened. You understood that no one would believe you if you said that the prosecutor threatened you, so you were forced to remain silent. You just hoped that Manfred von Karma wouldn't ruin the lives of your family members after closing the case

🚔 Dick Gumshoe x child fem!Reader 🐶

You and Detective Gumshoe met before the murder took place. You were brought to the police station several times when you were caught stealing or painting on the walls of city buildings. He didn't understand why you did it every time, but he couldn't hold you accountable for your actions anyway, so he tried to appeal to your conscience, but you didn't listen to him. When you were brought to the station as a witness, he knew your story and the last thing he wanted was for you to get involved in this case

He took over your interrogation, trying to soften it for you, but you were silent, did not tell him about what really happened. All he knew for sure was that you were a witness to a murder. This worried the detective. He knew that you were a smart and kind child, but sometimes you could be rude because you didn't trust the police and everyone connected with the judicial system. He tried to take care of you as much as he could. I brought you a snack and didn't let others be rude to you, but you kept silent

Gumshoe talked to you for a long time, trying to convince you to help. If it was someone else, you would never have told the truth, but the detective helped you for a long time. He treated you to delicious food, bought groceries and necessary things for your family and helped you in any way he could. He was the only cop who cared about you. That's the only reason you told him the truth, knowing that it was important to him and that he would not deceive you

Even after the case was closed, he continued to take care of you. He didn't know how hard your life was, but he didn't want it to be even harder for you to live than it is now. Sometimes you forgot that you should be mad at him. Sometimes you thought that if there were more police officers like him, then maybe it would be much easier for you and your family to live

👨‍⚖️ Judge x child fem!Reader ⚖️

It was not the first time the judge saw how children became witnesses at meetings. In all the years that he worked in court, he saw a lot of strange things, so he was not surprised when a twelve-year-old girl acted as a witness in a murder case. You didn't look scared, on the contrary, you were annoyed and didn't hide it. However, he quickly realized that it would be a very long court session, because when you were asked to repeat your testimony, you told a completely different story

You didn't tell them what really happened. Because of this, the court session was greatly delayed. When the court session was postponed to the next day, he met you in the corridor. He saw you trying to steal some food from the cafeteria. He didn't expect this, but instead of calling security or somehow interfering with you, he paid for a full meal and treated you to it. All the time that you ate with him at the same table, you did not stop looking at him suspiciously from time to time

During lunch, Judge tried to talk to you. At first you were in no hurry to talk, but then you told me why you didn't tell the truth. He was surprised when he found out that you were homeless. He didn't know how to help you, but he tried to at least make sure that you would leave well-fed and you wouldn't have to steal food for at least some time, which is why he gave you money so that you could buy food and things that you and your family needed. You were surprised by his action and looked at him with the same suspicion, but the next day you did something that surprised Judge. You told the truth about what you saw

When the court session ended, you told Judge that the only reason why you did it was because he helped you. You were grateful to him for helping you yesterday, but you're not used to being beholden to someone, so you decided to help as best you could. Judge hoped that over time your life would become better than it was at the moment and was ready to try to help you if you turned to him for help

[trlvsn]

alright, but here are my actual coherent thoughts on aa4 (first two cases) so far.

1. klavier gavin, coolest prosecutor in the west, seeing the prosecutor's bench as a stage and the court as the demanding audience. klavier gavin, well-spoken and composed (we barely see his frustrated sprites compared to edgeworth, franziska and diego), always summarizing the case, helping the witness have a complete testimony, interrupting apollo and drawing conclusions before anyone else can. klavier gavin, control freak when it comes to his performances, and even more of a control freak when it comes to the court, covering it up with the laid-back attitude and the air guitars, klavier fucking gavin, and i'm only at the second trial in the game. good god this man is something else, i want to study him so bad

2. phoenix "maybe i did, maybe i didn't, but it doesn't matter since i'm not an attorney anymore" wright. my god. seven years of shame and disgrace, so he gives into what the people see him as and does exactly what is expected of him, becoming actually guilty of a crime he was prematurely accused of. is it desperation? is it punishment? is it the complete loss of one's sense of self and the need to confirm to anything because then he can at least be something? or was it the fear that if he didn't go that far, if he didn't bend the rules, kristoph would have gotten away with it and it all would be for nothing? i wonder how paranoid the years have made him. i wonder how many of hours of sleep he gets, and how many minutes of it are peaceful. no man predicts the future so well without obsessing over the past.

3. i would wear those shoes too i think. honestly the colors are great and i feel like they would look pretty good on me you know

[contritecactite]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤

Thank you for the ask, Quoth! I think you'd be pleased to know that I had trouble narrowing things down (they're all my favorites today), but I got there eventually.

1. Promised Me a Feeling

Ace Attorney, T, 2.8k, klapollo

Post-AA4, Edgeworth accidentally invites himself to dinner with Klavier and Apollo. It's painfully awkward, but it helps him find the courage to take the next step.

I took a huge internet break years ago (my own 7yg hehe) and only returned to fandom in 2021. "Promised Me a Feeling" was the first time I felt genuinely confident in my writing again, so it holds a special place in my heart.

2. Third Time Charmed

Ace Attorney, G, 3k, Maya

Maya visits the building for the "first time" three separate times. Whether it's housing Fey & Co. Law Offices, Wright & Co. Law Offices, or the Wright Anything Agency, it always manages to be just the opposite of what she's come to expect.

In a lot of ways, this was a celebration of being part of a fandom in which I'm "allowed" to enjoy female characters and to place value on non-romantic relationships. Those were two quick ways out the door in my 2008-2012 spaces.

3. And a Borrowed Car

Good Omens, T, 3.6k, A/C (ambiguous)

Aziraphale falls asleep in the stolen Jeep, Crowley remembers that his flat could use some cleaning, and they end up sharing a very nice room somewhere and talking about things they've lost and time they've wasted. It turns out all right in the end.

An attempt to integrate some details from s1&2 into book canon. Casual intimacy, only one bed (because it's what they wanted), soft with an aroma of their inherent angst. Feels like some of my best characterization, but I could be wrong.

4. Anthems of Joy

Ace Attorney, T, 17k, FranMaya

When Maya and Franziska's intention to get married is made public, they get railroaded into using their wedding to generate good press for the district prosecutors' office. Over the next few months, Franziska finds that her relationship with Maya isn't the only one that gets strengthened in the pursuit of happiness. Also, I wrote what feels like half a Sesame Street episode for this. You're welcome/I'm sorry.

A weirdly personal fic that was a long time in the making. I don't know what I can say about it concisely except that I hope someday I can let go of as many hangups as Franziska.

5. Competitive Inhibition

Good Omens, M, 15k, A/C through the ages

In biochemistry: a phenomenon in which a molecule is blocked from binding to an enzyme by another molecule with a similar structure—like a demon preventing an angel from binding completely to Heaven or, more to the point, doubt and fear keeping an angel from wholly welcoming a bond with a demon. Or: The ups and downs of sharing 6000 years of life on Earth with an angel who wants desperately to be doing Good.

Written for a gift exchange, this ended up being a long series of vignettes that alternate between good times and bad times (with a hopeful ending). I even did some (very) cursory historical research! I'm very proud of it despite it apparently not having very broad appeal.

[faerieyuri]

22 - maya. 23

22. Give us a headcanon for [Maya]

My headcanons are fleeting and ever-changing like the wind, but I'll share one that consistently takes up brain space.

I think a lot about trans girl Maya and what implications it would have for the gender politics of Kurain Village. Not that the canon text of AA gives trans people much consideration, or gay people for that matter, but I like to think about it and want to explore it more in fic.

Like, was Maya treated poorly until she came out as a girl? What sort of guilt--or even impostor syndrome ("Am I really a girl or did I just want to keep the support of my family")--would come with knowing she would have been all but exiled if she hadn't come out? Also, what does it imply about the nature of channeling if the power is gender-specific and trans-inclusive?

I have a fic planned but not yet written where transfem Maya kindles a friendship with transfem Miles -- initially over fandom, but also supporting Miles through her own transition, with some shared angst and bonding after Phoenix retreats into his 7YG self-destructive depression hole.

23. Has your favourite character/ship changed over time?

YES OH GOD. I joined the fandom 2 years ago as a Solid Wrightworth Only Girlie....sorry to everyone who subscribed to my ao3 over that, because in the course of hearing from many cool people gush about many other ships, I have become the multishipping joker. It's actually a huge problem for me to find fandom spaces I feel comfortable in, because I can't stand interacting with people who can't see beyond their OTP into other possibilities. I was lucky enough to have the first server I joined be one where people are really supportive of each other's headcanons, so I guess it opened up Pandora's box for me.

Also, I started off a classic Edgeworth fan with a hint of Adrian Andrews, and now I am a stalwart Franziska defender, Maya champion and unhinged Kristoph lover. (Still love Adrian though!) Taken together......I dunno what that says about me.

--

Source game here!

[beevean]

🔥 for anything TGAA related, be it shipping, fandom, or storywise or whatever tickles your fancy!

Oh boy :P

Well, I mentioned many times that I dislike reducing Ryuu to an uke babyboy, when my man is ferocious and an enemy of the state. This is especially bad when he's shipped with Asougi and Barok. My friends, those two would crumble like sandcastles compared to Ryuu. Ryuu is the seme of the love triangle :P

I don't like Iris. I really don't. But not because she's annoying or a bad character, so I struggle to explain why. My issue is that her status as an improbably genius is taken too seriously, and it's too straightforward. Yes I know that this is the franchise where minors can become lawyers, but that usually comes with a consequence! Franziska is probably the best deconstruction of the teen genius trope of the series, and back then it wasn't even a trope! I wish Iris suffered more consequences of being the "adult" of the house. (also minor but her theme is like a cheesegrater on the ears, I have to mute the game when it plays :( )

While GAA2 is a fantastic game, I wish it kept GAA1's direction when it comes to treating the political themes. It's weird how the first game puts a lot of emphasis on the abuse of power of the British Empire and its systemic xenophobia, only for the second game to reduce the whole conflict to a classic AA villain. Related to this: I still believe Barok's racism and his arc of overcoming it makes sense, but instead of simply saying "japanese killed brother, now i am racist", his story should have been "I never met a Japanese person before and the first one I ever met killed my brother, everyone around me has told me since childhood that Japanese people are untrustworthy and cruel and I couldn't help getting convinced of this during my 5-year isolation". See, it doesn't sound so simplistic anymore, and it would have kept the idea that Barok grew up with toxic ideals as a British nobleman, incarnating both the worst and the best traits of the empire.

and uhhhhhh benbaro deserves more love. they cute. there

klimtex also deserves more love because i'm a sucker for their master/dog dynamic lol. i don't even know if the ship has an official name, couldn't find a thing on pixiv :<

[characteroulette]

A study on prosecutors -- (previous) (next)

Let's get into the weeds of the Investigations games.

Judging any of the prosecutors in the Investigations games, Edgeworth included, is a difficult thing to do. We're not privy to their style of prosecuting, after all, since the whole game takes place outside of any trials. I guess this shows how much stock I take from said trials, but it is a core mechanic to the Ace Attorney series, so I feel justified on that one. Judging a prosecutor from half of the usual info makes things a bit of a harder sell to me, they really missed an opportunity to get us into the courtroom properly.

But I digress. Let's go down the list.

First off, Jacques Portsman. He's a first case villain for sure, as we know he committed the crime and his over the top performance is really grating. I kinda never believed him when he claimed to be a prodigy or some up and coming star because of that, though. Like, sir, you're a first case murderer. You're not that hard to crack, especially as the game has to tutorialise everything for us.

His being pretty awful is kinda the point, however. Here is one of many prosecutors whom Edgeworth has to work alongside in the office. He's as corrupt and ruthless as anyone else, he's another in the many who believe that winning and making a name for themselves is all that matters in the world of the law. He's a symptom of the way the law operates in this world, far from the cause. That's at least one fascinating aspect to him.

It's yet another show of how Manfred could have gotten away with his forty year streak without anyone so much as batting an eye at it.

Speaking of, let's dig into Manfred a bit deeper, seeing as he's the only other prosecutor we really meet in the first game. (Faraday gets like one line before he dies, so I can't really count him.) He's acting Edgeworth's superior here, no matter how much Edgeworth refers to him as his mentor. This is a disconnect that always struck me about what we get to see of their interactions; Edgeworth really does respect Manfred from the bottom of his heart. He sees Manfred as someone who helped him find structure and strength in his life after what happened to his father. But Manfred doesn't return that respect at all. Really, a lot of how Manfred speaks to Edgeworth here reads as condescending, and that's before he goes off about how worthless Edgeworth is. His promise of an hour of recess is also one that stood out to me; he expects Edgeworth to partake in some of the dirtier tactics that he (and Franziska) might. He's leaving that option open for Edgeworth to do whatever necessary to get his guilty verdict, to prove himself a perfect von Karma. It doesn't end up happening because we have to preserve continuity -- I mean, the trial gets cancelled due to murder shenanigans, but it's a detail that's always stood out to me.

We get a lot more intriguing a look into Manfred's character in the second Investigations game. He adores his wife to the point of proclaiming her the best chef in the world. That's weirdly humanising for him!! And he loves his daughter, too, even if he's not very good at showing it. He may be a wicked man, but it wasn't actually by his own hand that he had to tamper with evidence. Hell, maybe that's why Gregory was able to call him out. (He forged a WHOLE BODY and that'll forever be hilarious to me.) (Well, an autopsy report. Same difference.) What I would GIVE to be able to see the actual trials between Gregory and Manfred, with Gregory struggling to find any hold and Manfred acting composed while also hoping his evidence doesn't get called out. It had to be one hell of a battle, Gregory isn't one to go down without a fight.

Anyway, Byrne Faraday. I figure I might give a bit of a thought on him from what we can extrapolate.

Kay loved him dearly and he was definitely doing his best by her. That promise notebook they had between them is so sweet, the man was trying his best to be a good dad. He had some level of corruption, though, considering he was one foot to the Yatagarasu. Sure, it was more for justice than our usual prosecutor fare, but he was still cheating to get guilty verdicts. Even if his corruption swung the other way than where we're used to seeing, it shows he was willing to get his hands dirty for his justice. It shows his lack of faith in the legal system he was a part of, another symptom to this dark age. (As an aside, these two games are the true lead-in to Dual Destinies. Not Apollo Justice. You want the themes and points of DD to ring stronger or truer at all? Play the Investigations games before going into DD, it'll all make more sense that way. Or, as much sense as it can make.)

It is fun seeing how much they have to strain to get us to like Faraday, though. At least, I feel he's supposed to be likeable, since they focus on him being a good dad and not the fact that he was working behind the scenes to help rig his trials. A perfect contrast to Manfred, whom the games don't even try to make likeable since we all know what becomes of him in the end. And yet they put in just enough to get you to see him as less a monster than you might have. (The Inga solution! It works on me every time!!)

Also funny that there are only two new prosecutors introduced in the first Investigations game and they're both basically bit parts. Because then we get into the second game and meet our more traditional opposing prosecutor, Sebastian Debeste.

Ahh, Yumihiko Ichiyanagi. A mess of a child. Starts out pompous and believing he's always right because that's what everyone around him is forced to say to him. He's a nepotism baby, his dad's the Chief of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee, after all. He's a brat and a pest and he's also so stupid you find yourself wondering how the hell he managed to get his badge in the first place.

Well, this is a world of dumbasses, you suppose. How else could simple logic be a superpower? You move on and concern yourself more with whom you suspect to be the true villain pulling the strings here, Justine Courtney.

Her subtle pushes and buttering Sebastian up are near sinister. It's like she's using him as a mouthpiece at times, a way to get her own goals and work done here. She wants to seemingly destroy Edgeworth, nearly singularly focuses on this goal at times, and you can't help but find pity for Sebastian being caught up in her scheme. He's seventeen and it shows far more on him than it does on Klavier or Franziska. He's floundering while everyone simply congratulates him on a job while done, unable to save him from those depths, that darkness.

What is the point of using this boy as a smokescreen, you wonder. How can parading him around be worth any of his foolishness?

Then we meet Blaise and realise, oh. He really was just a pawn in the grander scheme. He was a way to get closer to the true villain. He was merely getting in the way, being a foolish and stupid child, of everyone's true goals.

Franziska whips him and he doesn't even protest. He shouts out in pain like everyone else, but he never once tells her to stop. He just takes it, doesn't think of his usual profession of being the best.

He just takes it.

From that small detail alone, I couldn't help but immediately worry for him.

Justine shows her hand at last. Even if she had come to care for Sebastian, she's out to strike Blaise down no matter what. Blaise is the one behind that one strike against Manfred's reputation, he's behind this whole smuggling ring, he's everyone's antagonist as we all converge on this one point. Sebastian tries to stick up for his father, but even that lends to our favour. He gets in the way once more, he slips up just enough to give us what we need, and his father reveals to him in the cruellest possible way that everything he thought he's accomplished has been a total lie. He couldn't even be a worthy pawn to his father. He's a failure, through and through.

And Edgeworth gets to be the one to help him stand back up on his own two feet.

I cannot stress enough just how excellent an idea it was to have our final logic chess game be against Sebastian. How we have to use it more as a way to break through all that despair and anguish instead of for our own gain. Edgeworth being able to be a voice of strength for Sebastian, being able to offer this boy you thought your enemy for most of the game a spot of hope, is so good. It's exactly taking the lessons behind what made Edgeworth himself so good in the first game, at least in my opinion.

And we get to see bits of an actual trial!! We get to play assistant as Sebastian stands up to his father in one of the most hype scenes ever!! I'm so proud of this fail boy who came such a long way. A crybaby who, with the help of those actually willing to back him up and show him the right way instead of propping him up with false praise, is able to stand his ground and prove his father the villain he is.

He breaks that chain of legacy tying so many of our Ace Attorney characters down. Holy shit we were robbed this game, actually, huge shout out to the translation team who allowed us all to experience this cathartic moment.

[toads-n-moss]

gonna ramble about the no dl6 au again because i need to talk about the symbolism of the masquerade outfits.

(also lil announcement/question at the end :3)

first of all, the masks

let's start with phoenix's. while many of the masks are not accurate to the actual animals colors, this one i tried to stay close to the original colors.

phoenix's mask is that of a dove. more specifically, a mourning dove.

if you are visited by a mourning dove, it is meant to symbolize the visitation of a deceased love one. it symbolizes a message of hope and emcouragement from the loved one.

phoenix's mask essentially represents his old self, the version of him from chapter 1. but that version of him is dead, and a new version of himself has taken his place. but the mask is still a message of hope to miles. a message that phoenix is still there underneath the prosecutor veil.

next we got franziska's.

her mask is that of a lamb. lambs are often symbols of purity and innocence, but that's not the message i wanted to convey. what else are lambs symbolic of?

sacrifice. blind followers.

at this point in the story, franziska (alongside phoenix) is still a blind follower to manfred. while both of them begin to have their doubts against him, they'd never dare to say anything.

the ideals and behaviors of what a von karma should be are so deeply woven into franziska's identity, that she ends up sacrificing who she really is. the fact that the mask completely hides her eyes just emphasizes the blind follower aspect.

next up is miles' mask.

miles' mask is that of a raven. while ravens usually symbolize death or the warning of death to come, ravens can also symbolize grief and mourning in literature.

for the five years between chapters one and two, miles mourned phoenix as if he were dead, even though he was simply just missing.

the red on the mask, while mainly is just there to complement the outfit and make it stand out, also represents something important. after phoenix was attacked in thorns of the turnabout, miles felt constantly guilty for being unable to save phoenix. he feels that the blood is on his hands now.

but the symbolism doesn't stop at the masks!!

phoenix's corset and cuffs

his cuffs are of course meant to resemble the sleeves of franziska's canon outfit.

but the corset... ohhh the corset. phoenix's mask is a bird, which birds typically symbolize freedom. but his corset resembles a birdcage. trapped without even realizing it, his wings clipped and his freedom taken away.

but...

someone has the key to his freedom.

now time for the question :D!!

if i were to open up a Q+A for this au, would yall be down to ask things? these questions could be about character designs or story elements or case details or just silly headcanons. i may respond in text or art form, depending on the question asked :D!!

i will not be offended if you say no btw! /gen. i just want to make sure i know how much time i should dedicate to the asks without drawing too much of my attention away from main storybuilding posts and finished art pieces.

[kyndaris]

Overruled!

One of my white whales in gaming was Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Gambit. Much like The Great Ace Attorney duology, for many years after it was released, there was no localisation. Some attributed it to the fact that the first Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth sold poorly. Others said it was due to the difficulties of translating the subject matter for a Western audience. Despite this, there was a fan translation of the game. One that was painstakingly cobbled together by those in the fandom.

While I never did play through the fan translated version (it involved far too much shady downloading of online ROMs), I did watch snippets of a playthrough.

Alas, watching a game isn't the same as playing it. At least, when it comes to me.

The joy I would have normally derived from playing through an Ace Attorney game simply wasn't there for me. Besides, I had so many other games I needed to get through. And, upon stumbling upon the Danganronpa series, I could have fun with solving murders in an entirely new setting! More than that, I could also be involved in hackney-styled trials, and where, after a case is solved, the punishment for said crime is DEATH! All in gory pink blood.

My love affair, of course, with the Danganronpa series will have to wait, however, for another post (when I play and finish Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. I will get there! Eventually!).

So, imagine my surprise that shortly upon releasing the Apollo Justice trilogy, CAPCOM announced the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection for release in 2024!

Although, I suppose I should not have been surprised. They DID release the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles only a few years back despite the fact many feared it would never come to the West.

It was with glee that I grabbed hold of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection that I set about playing through it. I may have been behind on 2023 and 2024 game releases but Miles Edgeworth standalone games were a top priority! And even though I'd already played the first game in the collection, I would gladly do it again (Turnabout Ablaze notwithstanding)!

After all, given how I write up game impressions on the internet, it doesn't seem like proper journalism if I only play only one of the games.

The Ace Attorney Investigations games, as previously stated, stars Miles Edgeworth as the playable character. The first game sees the star prosecutor of Japanifornia getting involved in numerous murder cases in quick succession. The poor man is even knocked out a few times too. He's even falsely accused. Despite this, our favourite cravat-wearing-British-accented (and possibly gay or aroace) rival remains cool and calm in the face of danger (the only instance being when he was tied up during the kidnapping incident at Gatewater Land).

Many of the cases in the first game are quite quick, taking only a few hours to get through. And while each murder case Miles tangles with are intriguing in their own right (with some fairly strong writing in terms of characters and the build-up of deducing the murderer), there is also an overarching narrative of an international smuggling ring. One that Interpol is trying to track down, and which the whip-happy Franziska von Karma has been assigned (I honestly forget she's only 19 sometimes).

Speaking of which, I do like how Investigations provides some deeper insight in Franziska. As with many of the characters in the franchise, she has daddy issues. Something which is pointed out in Investigations 2 (honestly, the whole game that is Prosecutor's Gambit should be called Daddy Issues).

In the end, Miles, in the four days from his return trip overseas (which is a little absurd given the timeframe) manages to uncover the mastermind behind the smuggling ring. He also solves four murders, reunite with a young girl who used his cravat as a tissue seven years ago, and attend a Steel Samurai show at a foreign embassy!

Talk about a whirlwind number of days!

Of course, one does not simply talk about Investigations without complaining about the last episode: Turnabout Ablaze. Back in my younger days, playing it on the Nintendo DS, I remember being frustrated at how long this last case felt. Especially when Miles is able to quickly deduce Alba's involvement. But due to his status as ambassador and the rules around extraterritoriality, Miles and the team were hard-placed to have the ex-general arrested.

And I wasn't the only one! After discussing it with bleachpanda, even she had grown tired of the endless back and forth between Ambassador Alba and Miles. All the 'Hold It's' and interruptions from every single side character just to nail the man.

Still, I like to think it was all worth it in the end.

That said, I'm surprised people weren't arrested more and evidence scrounged up later. Especially in instances where there was sufficient suspicion cast on the likes of many of the murderers in the second game.

In contrast with the first Investigations, Prosecutor's Gambit was a much more personal case. No longer were Miles and the gang dealing with an international smuggling ring run by a foreign ambassador. True, there was Kay Faraday's backstory and trauma to dig through in the first game, but Prosecutor's Gambit also added further depth to Miles and his quest for the truth. The themes in Prosecutor's Gambit were far more complex and I loved the new additions to the cast including Judge Verity Gavelle and rookie prosecutor Eustace Winner.

What's more, Prosecutor's Gambit also showcased off the man Gregory Edgeworth was before his untimely death in the DL-6 incident.

Ever since the first game, we knew Miles had initially wanted to be a defence attorney, like his father before him. It was not until Gregory was killed in an elevator that he chose to become a prosecutor.

But who was Gregory Edgeworth?

Prosecutor's Gambit was able to showcase this and more as it delved into the final case Gregory was involved in before his untimely death. In so doing, it helped paint in the rough edges of who this pivotal figure was, the beliefs he carried, and how his legacy was continued by his son.

Gregory's relationship with Miles stood in stark contrast with that of Eustace and Excelsius. While a young Miles was never seen in the third case of the game, Gregory's thoughts were never far on his son (although, one did have to wonder who was looking after Miles while Gregory was investigating. Do NONE of these characters have loving mothers? I mean, who even knows what Phoenix's parents are like). Eustace, on the other hand, is considered an utter and complete failure by Excelsius, a controlling and abusive individual who has risen to the position of Chairman of the Committee for Prosecutorial Excellence.

It is shown in the game that Excelsius will do anything: manipulate evidence, 'disappear' inconvenient witnesses and people, and take advantage of the law simply to get ahead. His is the quintessential lawful evil.

When he is taken down in the fourth case of the game, before Eustace lands the finishing blow to him in the last case, it is oh so satisfying! Especially because it shows Eustace's own growth and ability to finally step out of his father's shadow and be his own person. More importantly, taking out Excelsius is like extracting the cancerous corruption sitting in the heart of the legal system.

However, despite the menacing nature of Excelsius, he is not the mastermind of the game. No. Rather that is Simeon Saint: victim and criminal in equal measure.

And this is why I like Prosecutor's Gambit so much.

The law is a necessary aspect of keeping society intact, and the people who comprise it, safe. But the law isn't perfect. People often fall through the gaps. High numbers of indigenous in custody, racial profiling of suspects, etc. Despite our best efforts, injustice remains in our world.

Worse, many people who were wronged, who were abused in the past, end up becoming abusers themselves. Thus, perpetuating an endless cycle of hurt and pain and trauma.

There are innumerous real world comparisons that could take the place of Simeon Saint. Heck, even Miles himself started off as an antagonist wholly focused on obtaining a 'guilty' verdict for any and all suspects regardless if they had committed the crime or not.

It is here where Prosecutor's Gambit shines as it casts a light on how legal systems can fail.

But, most importantly, it also sheds light on those very same servants of the law facing down the contradictions within the law itself and fixing them where possible. Humans err. As laws are written by humans, the next logical conclusion is that the law, too, can err.

By recognising where missteps have been taken, it is up to us, humans, to change the law and have it evolve with us. You see this all the time. Or, at least, you do in Western countries. New legislation is pushed through parliament quite regularly to reflect the changing landscape. Amendments and addendums are also added to clarify parts of legislation that may also be confusing.

Overall, while Ace Attorney Investigations Collection keeps the core gameplay loop very much the same, the few gimmicks that have been added (including Mind Chess and Little Thief simulations) help to bring a unique spin to the formula. As with most visual novels, however, it is the narrative and characters that shine in these games. And shine they did. From old staples like Larry to even new ones like Eustace and Verity.

In fact, I kinda want a new game starring Kay Faraday, if only for the developers to stretch their wings in an entirely new direction. Here's hoping there will be a few more games in the franchise!

And if not Kay, why not Athena? Or maybe a spinoff with Franziska?

As a side note, it felt so weird to have Shaun call Verity his mother given there's only a thirteen year age-gap. I mean, did she adopt him when she was fourteen? WHY DID THEY MAKE VERITY ONLY 26?!

[loregoddess]

14, 15, 25 for the Love your fandom ask

14) the ship that always makes you smile Hmm, for long-running media, probably Midna x Link from LoZ:TP, bc that's basically the oldest ship in my fleet and it still brings me lots of joy. For mid-running media, probably Kay x Franziska for AA (my first rarepair), Rinea x Faye for FE:SoV (rarepair I wasn't expecting to see others ship), and Ashe x Dedue (literally got me to go out of my comfort zone to figure out how to draw cute ship art, when I was really bad and afraid of drawing people interacting). For stuff that I've gotten into over the past year, probably Alear x Pandreo from FE:Engage, and Mineru x Purah from LoZ:TotK (also I'm kinda silly goofy happy about Jin x Xiaoyu finally getting some development in Tekken 8, but that's bc I had to suffer watching it come to fruition over like, 20 years of my life, slowest goddamned slowburn I've ever had to endure).

15) the character that always makes you smile Oh, lots and lots. Long-running media would be Shad LoZ:TP, love that guy, I get excited anytime I see him. For mid-running, Satoru Hosonaga, my beloved from DGS/tGAA, a decent number of FE characters (Kurthnaga, Rhys, Libra, Flora, Lukas, Faye, Dedue, Ashe, and Ferdinand come to mind off the top of my head), most of the FF7 cast but esp. Red XIII/Nanaki. For more recent things, Alear and literally any of the Engage characters actually, the Octo2 crew (and also the Octo1 crew, and a fair amount of NPCs from both games); I also read Dungeon Meshi recently and I gotta say one of the most casts of all time, I haven't settled on favorites yet but damn were there some good characters.

25) a piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces Block button is your bestie, don't feel bad for blocking people for any reason whatsoever so that you can peruse the fandom tag in peace. But also, if you find other fans who are making stuff you enjoy, support them by reblogging their art or headcanons or writing or whatever, or even just liking their stuff.

Do what you want to see in your fandom if you have the energy. I like to see people excited about things they love, whether that's a character or a ship or something about the story or their OCs or their own headcanons, like, doesn't even matter if it's not my Thing, I genuinely enjoy seeing people happy and brave enough to share that happiness in the main tag, so I try to also share stuff that brings me joy when I engage with fandom stuff too. Share joy when you can.

This is not to say you should never be negative ever like, you should also give yourself space somewhere to be a petty snob about things that tick you off. You don't have to make it public, but at the very least give yourself an outlet to let the negative move through and out of you. Believe me there are so many things that tick me off so much about either fandom spaces or various media that I could rant about for hours, but I just choose Not To Share It after I've written it out bc writing it often makes me feel better--or I go and find a trusted friend who I can be like, "Hey I gotta vent about something stupid real fast, will you hear me out?"

Lots of things in life are never all positive or negative feelings, but no emotion is inherently good or bad, so it's important to let yourself feel those emotions and let them pass without bottling them up. Otherwise they stagnate or explode, and neither is fun to deal with the aftermath for. But like, it's okay to be pissy about things from time to time.

Have fun, but never feel like you have to engage with a fandom just because you used to be a part of it, or you got into a new thing. I treat fandom like a public park, I can go there when I want to enjoy myself but I can also leave anytime I want. If a bunch of mean people are hanging around the park I know there are other parks, and I can just go to those instead and cultivate my own little garden to make up for the park I won't go to anymore. I might even get to invite some friends to that garden. Honestly, most of the time I'm some weird forest hermit who only comes out sometimes to haunt the park, and I think that's just fine as well. Engage with fandom in a way that makes you comfortable.

[katethevampire]

Ace Attorney au where Mia bought a house before her death that's haunted by all the attorneys besides Phoenix. They all died in mysterious ways. Mia bought the house to try and investigate like she did with Redd White.

After her death Phoenix gets the house (technically Maya inherited it but shhhhh he pays for everything) and they realize, uh oh! There's ghost!

Most of the ghosts died within the last 80 or so years (still working on the dates), all of the ghosts haunting died either in or around the house causing it to have a bit or a reputation... One that Phoenix doesn't know about before agreeing to move in.

Each ghost has their own design related to how they died (and I definitely didn't steal any of them from TBHK /s) Most of them I don't have a cause of death for quite yet so if anyone can give me ideas that'd be great! Also as I haven't finished all the games and just going off of characters I've seen people mention. I'm probably forgetting some characters, if there's a prominent attorney character that I left out then let me know! If I don't add them after than I probably have an idea for them/want them to be alive, really don't like the character (unlikely since I'd REALLY have to hate them), or haven't played their game yet or seen enough to know that they're important (e.i. I know Kalvier is important even if I haven't played his game yet). All of the ? Are things that I need ideas for.

Ghost of | death | who they were/what they did | When they died

Edgeworth | strangulation | a bit past his brat era. | Died maybe a year-6 months before Phoenix became an attorney

Mia | blunt object (same as game) | the same as in the game before her death, the only difference is that she was also trying to solve why so many people, specifically attorneys, had died in that house. | 2016

Apollo | Lost blood circulation | Thinking he was fresh out of law school, just absolute terrible luck, fell down the stairs after seeing Kalvier's ghost | died right before his first trial, some time in the early 2000s (all that voice training for nothing....)

Kalvier | ? | Was a rock star (and prosecutor!) In the 70s or 80s. | After coming back from tour Died from a stalker fan breaking into his house (credit to Tumblr user @cursed-edgeworth the idea!)

Blackquill | Electric Chair | Studying under Metis | late 1960s, executed on false murder charges

Franziska Von Karma | blood loss | went looking for Miles after he was reported dead | She fell into the pool after being shot (maybe by the some person who got to her brother? Both times a strange card was found nearby...) A month before Phoenix became a Lawyer. 2016

Godot/Diego | poisoning | The exact same as the game, except instead of going into a coma Diego died. | Defense Attorney | 2013. When Dahlia poisoned him she used a much slower acting poison, over the course of about a week he got progressively more and more sick, his vision became spotty, coughing up blood, etc. By the end of the week he was dead. (Once again credit to Tumblr user @cursed-edgeworth for giving me the idea!)

Athena | ? | Studying law, trying to save Blackquil (like the games, only in the 60s) | Late 1960s- earlier 1970s. Was killed by The Phantom as a final loose end to tie.

[sprinklecipher]

Foolishly Foolish Fools (in graphs), Pt. 2

Last year, I made some graphs about how often Franziska says “fool” in the AA trilogy (as you do), and now I’ve got data from the Investigations duology, so I made some new graphs about how much she says any variation of "fool" across all her canon in-game appearances :)

More graphs and details below the cut ~

Here’s the percent of her dialogue lines that contain a “fool”-based-word in them somewhere:

And lastly, here’s how many times she says each specific variation of “fool” across the series (first overall and then excluding AAI2, since that uses an unofficial translation):

In total, Franziska says 261 fool-based-words (238 if you exclude the AAI2 fan translation)

Overall, she has 39,716 words of dialogue, so that’s a rate of 0.66% of her words being some variation of “fool” (including vs excluding AAI2 doesn’t change the percentage). That might not sound like a lot, but for reference, that’s about as often as REALLY basic words like “he” or “with” occur in typical English text.

She uses at least one variant of “fool” in 104 lines of dialogue (88 if you exclude AAI2)

This comes out to an overall rate of 104 / 2,898 lines -> 3.59% of her lines contain at least one “fool”-based word (88 / 2,647 -> 3.32% if you exclude AAI2)

Data source: a data set I pulled together using the episode transcripts in the AA wiki (and processed with a python script). It includes all dialogue across the AA trilogy and investigations duology, including optional/skippable lines. For AAI2, the wiki transcripts use the unofficial fan English translation.

[fraeuleintaka]

Character Introduction (Investigations 1): Dick Gumshoe

This is the 31st post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 50 days left until release!

Today's topic: Dick Gumshoe Character Introduction!

Gumshoe has been a staple of the AA series since the very first game and although he has worked together with several prosecutors over the course of the original trilogy it's also been extremely clear that he's extremely close to Miles and somewhat of his personal assistant so it's an absolute must for him to appear in Miles' solo game and fulfill that role.

Similar to Gumshoe's profile description in every single AA game he ever appears in his introduction mentions that he's a detective at the local police precinct and in charge of the initial investigation when there's a murder. While definitely true the latter isn't really the role he fills in Investigations 1 as other, higher authorities are mostly in charge of the investigations (Shi-Long, Shih-na and Franziska) and Gumshoe gets involved for the sole reason that Miles is involved and Gumshoe goes to help him whenever he can.

I really like that he's described as being at his best when he does field work and runs around to gather information. A point is often made throughout the series about how incompetent Gumshoe is (with the salary cutting running gag, for example) and how he's too stupid to come to any correct deductions that aren't completely and blatantly obvious. Some games are worse about this than others and while some consider Investigations 1 to be his all-time low I vehemently disagree. There are jokes made at his expense, as usual, but he also gets some stellar moments to really shine and Investigations 1 (with Investigations 2 continuing it) delves into why Gumshoe is so loyal to Miles and why they are so close. So it perfectly fits that his character introduction focuses on what Gumshoe brings to the table and why Miles would want to have him around for all these years. Miles is the deduction powerhouse so that's not something he needs in a partner but he does need someone who helps him gather all the information in the first place and who he can trust to do the legwork and do it well. Gumshoe may not be the best at connecting pieces or deducing stuff but he does shine in so many other areas and that's what makes him and Miles such a great team.

Continuing from that, the last line of his introduction is something I especially adore, how Gumshoe trusts Miles more than most detectives would trust prosecutors. If that doesn't encapsulate their relationship! Gumshoe has so much trust and faith in Miles, to a degree even Miles sometimes underestimates, and likewise Miles trusts Gumshoe to a degree he trusts nobody else, he might not admit it so directly but you can easily see it in his actions. I love that they put it forward so explicitly!

I also love Gumshoe's full character artwork a lot. It really captures his personality. He smiles but in a somewhat apologetic way as if he wasn't quite sure if he just did something wrong but wants to do his best anyway. He's not just all humble though, he stands tall with his hand in his pocket like an experienced investigator would. He also has the same dramatic wind-blowing effect on his coat that Miles and Kay have. His chosen chibi sprite animation is him saluting which I also really like. With the added details it looks all the more stalwart and attentive!