#hi guess who finally Actually got into ace attorney

[mint-mango]

lawyer dating sim

[illdothehotvoice]

I think ignoring the uh. problems with Spirit of Justice, I've come to the conclusion that I think my biggest issue with it is it really just kind of went "Oh! You want more focus on Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and it's characters? Sure, here you go! *retcons like. The entire game*"

Anyways I am about to complain a LOT about Spirit of Justice in the tags.

[kunikinnie]

kunikida wants to hold hands

BSD: Love is War? 100 Followers Event Genre: fluff Word count: 2k Warnings: none, I think Synopsis: This not-a-date couldn't get any worse. a/n: gotta make Kunikida happy somewhere, right? HAHAHAH AFTER 2 YEARS!!! also tagging @requiem626k! finally did it omg (also there's an Ace Attorney ref there somewhere hope someone notices heh)

This was not a date. 

That, dear readers, was the hundredth iteration of that very phrase in Kunikida’s mind. The ceaseless reminders were necessary for him to stay grounded in reality - or so he said.

Sure, he was in an amusement park. Sure, he was walking around with you. Sure, you were wearing clothes that were far more flattering on you than your usual.

But no. This was not a date. 

Your clients were chatting away in their line for one of the rides up to the very moment they entered it.

“It’s great that they’re having fun,” you said before licking your ice cream. It would be a shame if they hired bodyguards just so that they could have a “date” only for it to bore them, you thought.

“True, but don’t let it get to your head.” Your coworker’s eyes were fixed on your cone. “We’re not here to have fun.”

“I know. It’s still such a waste, though.”

You readjusted how you sat on the concrete bench, accidentally grazing his hand in the process. When you first entered the Agency, you used to apologize immediately after any accidental physical contact. However, years of working with your then superior have made you comfortable enough to ignore it.

For him, however, it was the complete opposite: the more he got to know you, the more he’d become mental over every single touch of yours, no matter how minor. 

That one just now was the 17th of that day alone - nearly thrice the daily average. Worse is that they lasted longer and had more skin contact than the average as well. Were you doing this on purpose? Or were you just that dense?

With how fast these numbers were rising, it’s no surprise how his blood pressure was about to set a new record.

“But we have to blend in somehow, right?”

“We’re already wearing casual clothes, Y/N.”

“Yeah, but we still don’t look like the others here - you know what I mean?”

Of course he knew what you meant. Most people that would visit an amusement park on a weekday were either students who had nothing better to do or couples whose schedules only allowed for these days. Guess which demographic happened to fill up the entire area during your mission.

…so what were you suggesting he did? Move closer? Win you stuff? Hold your hand? Because if you really wanted to, he would do any of those - even all of them at once. 

“We need to stay professional,” he said without missing a beat.

“Oh, just loosen up. Come on. You look like an annoyed dad forced to chaperone his teenage daughter with how deep your forehead lines are.”

At this point, he was used to your teasing, but still… annoyed dad? Really? Kunikida furrowed his eyebrows even further. “What should I look like, then?”

You stared at him, gears almost visibly turning. Under the scrutiny of your gaze he felt like the very ice cream that was melting in your hands. “Like this, maybe?”

Before he could guess what you were about to do, he felt something fluffy but stiff hug his head. It must have been a silly headband of sorts, judging from your barely-contained laughter - what the heck was it exactly?

He took the mystery headband off and stared at it. It was a pair of bunny ears.

“I thought you didn’t want us to stick out?”

“You wouldn’t stick out if you weren’t such a killjoy,” you grumbled. “At least you’d look cute with those on.”

 C-cute?

“Anyway, they're about to go to the next ride,” you said as you picked up your things and prepared to leave. “We should get moving too and stay professional.”

Ouch. A direct arrow to the heart. “Y-yes, got it.”

—

Unfortunately, Kunikida’s professionalism dwindled even further. But no, it wasn’t because of you. Well, yes, but actually no. 

The question of acting like a couple for the sake of the mission had been tossed around in his head countless times. Each and every assignment was given utmost importance and must be completed successfully at all means necessary. Had it been anyone else, Kunikida wouldn’t have given it a second thought.

But this is you were talking about. Something as simple as holding your hand was sending him into overdrive. Sure, he could hide his feelings as best as he could the whole day if needed, but what if he screwed up somehow and ended up putting you in an awkward position? Worse, what if you caught on behind his hidden motivations and rejected him in the middle of a mission? 

That would suck. Hard.

Plus, knowing that Dazai skipped work today and recently purchased a pair of binoculars, Kunikida was intent on not slipping up. What if that bastard were to take photos and tease him - worse, you, about it?

That would suck. Even harder.

“Are you okay, Kunikida-san?”

No, no he was not. “I-It’s a bit colder today than I expected.” It couldn’t be further from the truth - if anything, he wanted to sit forever under the shade - but it was the first excuse his dazed mind could come up with.

“Really? That’s new. You always come prepared.” 

Well, he was prepared with dealing with the situation at hand (i.e. lying), but it wouldn’t be right to say he was prepared to deal with his emotions for the rest of the day. If he were, he wouldn’t have had to stick to a stupid lie like this in the first place… although the temptation to use it as a reason to hold your hand was flipping his brain inside out.

But he was Kunikida Doppo. Professional detective of the professional Armed Detective Agency. He must not ruin his image any further. “It happens to all of us-”

He was cut off by a sudden draping of gentle warmth - you had put your own jacket over his shoulders. The astonishment left him speechless, staring at you like he had violated you somehow.

“Don’t worry about me. I literally just ate ice cream - you think I feel cold?”

“But-”

“It’s fine.” You smiled so sweetly to ease him but the guilt only continued to swallow him up. “Think about it as thanks for everything you’ve done for me.”

If that’s how you want to put it, then he had no reason to refuse. But that didn’t change the truth. How shameful of him, really. What a terrible senior, let alone aspiring boyfriend he was. If he were to receive any punishment for his acts, he would accept it gladly. He’d atone for his sins and live as a renewed man.

…and it seems someone above heard his prayer.

The two of you were now standing in front of the attraction your clients just entered.

“D-do we have to go in?” He asked meekly.

“I mean, shouldn’t we? If someone wanted to hurt them, the haunted house is the perfect choice. It’s dark, pretty isolated, and they could easily pose as one of the actors.”

Yes, you were right. You were absolutely right. The haunted house is the perfect choice in more ways than one… 

And just as he promised, Kunikida accepted his fate and walked into the realm of his worst nightmares.

Stoic as he was, you still took notice of his strange behavior. Despite the dim lighting you saw his face turn pale and his grip on your small jacket tighten significantly. Only then did your other senior’s words echo in your mind.

Nothing’s better than watching a horror movie with Kunikida-kun! 

Ah. How brave of him to enter then, you thought.

But to him, it was a foolish decision. It was the most foolishly made foolish decision he made that day as his mistakes had made themselves known once more. Just the heat from the additional jacket increased his sweat production, and his clammy hands nearly tore through the fabric. Never mind that you witnessed him like this now; at this point he’s so done the only desire he had left was not to tarnish the reputation of the Agency to your clients.

Although his senses were bombarded in almost every way possible, he forced them all to focus on the two in front of him - as if there were no one else, including you - and soon, it eased him by at least 20%. Then suddenly, an unaccounted 20% decrease relieved him as well - why that was the case he wasn’t sure.

He didn’t give the last observation much thought, however. By the time his brain slowly began to function again, you and your clients finally made it out of the house. Alive.

“I see why it’s pretty famous,” you chirped. “It really was scary!” 

You didn’t even seem bothered at all. Well, as long as you and your clients had fun, then all his suffering would not go in vain-

 Wait, since when was he holding your hand? 

“Oh, someone’s calling.”

As quick as the realization came, so did you let go of his hand to swipe your phone from your pocket. The mix of embarrassment and disappointment that swelled as your lingering warmth slowly disappeared couldn’t be fully described. 

“Yes. Alright, sir. We’ll be right there.”

—

And just like that, your clients left. Quite satisfied clients, you might even say.

“What a day that was!” You said as you stretched your arms. It was a surprise how full of energy you were, considering that you two were in the park for as long as the sun was up. “Weird that they didn’t catch the fireworks, though.”

“Fireworks?” 

“Well, it’s actually for some other event in some other place. But this is where the best view is!”

You pointed at the largest attraction in the park: the ferris wheel.

“...if you’d like to join me, that is.”

The two of you knew he had plans after your mission. In fact, you were convinced that he’d have rushed to leave right after they said goodbye. But to your surprise, he gladly accepted your offer.

��Of course I would.”

Half of him was surprised he gave in. The silent cries of errands to be done were almost deafening, given how much he had to reschedule because he spent too much time getting ready that morning. But the other and embarrassingly louder half was simply overjoyed at this opportunity to fulfill a secret wish of his: to ride the ferris wheel with the person he loved most.

Perhaps it was that elation that erased whatever anxiety he’d gone through that day. For the moment he began talking with you casually from the end of the line to the moment you entered the cab, he almost forgot every single embarrassing act and thought he’d gathered.

How could he forget the joy of just talking to and being with you? 

“Kunikida-san-” 

The fireworks started bursting in the sky, lighting it up with colorful hues.  

“You’re right,” you continued. “It is cold today.”

It took a few moments before your words registered into his brain. “Ah, right. Sorry about that.”

He swiftly removed your jacket from his shoulders and gently draped them over yours. And he should have just as swiftly let go, but the way you were staring at him made it impossible to let go. The look in your beautiful eyes… the thoughts that followed were nearly just as impossible to resist.

“I’m sorry.”

You suddenly stole the words he should be saying. But why?

“I should have been more clear.”

Before he knew it, you took his hand and grasped it firmly.

“This would warm me up much better.”

Hearing you say that literally took him aback. What was the meaning of that? Why would- Wait-

Your chuckle only deepened the redness on his entire face. “I’ve been trying to stop myself the whole day, you know.” You couldn’t have been joking. With that expression, you couldn’t have been… right?

“Then-” he nearly choked.  “Then you shouldn’t have stopped yourself.”

His voice was so soft that if you hadn’t been in an enclosed space, you might not have heard it at all. Yet every word made it through. “I thought you said we had to stay professional?”

He smiled. You were right. As your cab reached the top of the wheel and the fireworks boomed as loudly as your hearts, he finally intertwined his fingers with yours.

“I suppose there can be exceptions.”

taglist: @stygianoir, @irethepotato, @kisara-16reblogs, @thatdazaikin, @dazaee, @menshusband, @celestair, @bloobewy, @renaxnnas, @kunikida-simp, @fyodorisbbg

[oodlyenough]

apollo justice: ace attorney thoughts

over the weekend I finished playing AA4 so I wanted to try to put my thoughts in order. much to think about etc

spoilers for the whole game obv, but i haven't played AA5 or AA6 yet so any mention of those are speculation lol

I had heard some pretty mixed reactions to AA4 and I had a lot of reservations going in. It's also probably the AA game I've played that I've been the most spoiled for, which is a shame but probably an unavoidable consequence of waiting for the port while engaging with the fandom. I don't usually like being spoiled but I think knowing the broad strokes of what to expect actually helped here. I can imagine an AU where I blitzed through the first trilogy and onto 4 with no idea of what was coming and being... very upset and disappointed by the direction it took. Having several months to brace for things like Phoenix's disbarment, the 7 year gap, Trucy, etc definitely softened those blows and made me more amenable to them than I would've been otherwise.

Cases

For the most part I thought the puzzle solving was good and the pacing was solid. The puzzles were mostly challenging enough to be satisfying to solve but not so challenging as to be infuriating, and I don't think I needed a walkthrough at all. 4-1 is one of the best tutorial cases in the franchise so far (though I'd give the edge to 3-1) and 4-4 was a really cool finale. The middle two cases tbh I also found fairly charming, and there's usually a least one case in the middle that seems to drag forever, so that was a pleasant surprise. I played Investigations 1 right before this, and I thought both the puzzles and pacing in that game were frankly horrible, so AA4 won a lot of points just with that.

I did think Turnabout Corner and Serenade would be more relevant in the grand scheme of things. The half-spoilers I knew had me expecting a much bigger web of conspriacy than we ended up with -- I expected it to be more than coincidence that Phoenix got hit by a car, more than coincidence that the Borginian egg coccoons are related to poison etc ... like... I fully assumed this was going to tie into the atroquinine plot. But I guess not ... ? Lol

Characters

The new main cast are all very likable, despite my initial reluctance to have a new main cast to begin with. Klavier was an interesting change of pace as prosecutor, in that he wasn't particularly antagonistic outside of the court, nor was he particularly preoccupied with winning, but he was still fun and challenging enough to face off against. Trucy was fun and delightfully bonkers as all assistants should be. Apollo's longsuffering exasperation was hilarious. Ema is the BEST I loved having her as the detective I wish she was there all the time.

I loved Beanix, for the most part. I can see why he rubs some people the wrong way, and tbh I'm glad his last canon outing isn't ... this. But I didn't find him wildly out of character, or at least, when he was feeling "out of character" vs the trilogy it made sense given the intervening events. I also thought it was fun to see him from the outside and see what a galaxybrain 5d chess master he is. I do wish we'd gotten to see more genuine moments of him with Trucy.

Kristoph was fun as a villain, though I have to say fandom led me to believe he was much more of a mastermind puppeteer than he seemed to be in reality. I was expecting a whole decade worth of conspiracies! Instead he fucked up once and struggled to fix it for seven years, lol. I also found the Kristoph/Phoenix relationship a) very fascinating, b) not really what I'd been led to believe by fandom (shocker). I like the canon more though -- I like that instead of being a retread of the Dollie betrayal-from-someone-you-love it was two guys who hate each other being forced to play nice as part of their own schemes.

Criticism

I think it's fairly obvious AA4 was meant to be a soft reboot of the series, to pivot away from the trilogy cast and set up our new heroes in Apollo, Trucy, and I guess Klavier. I think this is probably the entire explanation behind Maya and Edgeworth (and others but lbr those are the big two)'s conspicuous absence... but that doesn't make their absence any less conspicuous. I can squint and forgive neither of them being there when Phoenix is accused of murder, even though I find that insane. I can squint around Maya maybe being off in Kurain during the Enigmar trial, even though I think they could've used a line of dialogue to explain it. But then we started playing past-Phoenix for huge portions of investigation and that started to fall apart for me. Sure, maybe he's pushing his friends away because he's depressed, or maybe he wants to keep Maya out of things because he thinks it's dangerous, or whatever -- you could at least throw in a line or two saying as much. Not mentioning them at all and setting AA4 so closely after AA3, where Phoenix fell through a bridge to save Maya and Edgeworth chartered a private jet, just feels ridiculous.

I also think, at the end of the day, the story here was focused on and pivoting around Phoenix. The core question of the game is "what the hell happened to/is up with Phoenix Wright?" I love Phoenix, so that alone isn't a negative -- except that I think it meant Apollo, Klavier and even Trucy felt underwritten. Trucy and Klavier have such personal stakes in the unfolding events with the Gramaryes and Kristoph, but we only spend a little time and hints on how that might influence Trucy, who mostly falls into the AA weird girl pattern of brushing off major trauma instantly. (Maya got this a lot too in the original trilogy.)

Klavier ... I like Klavier, but they did not do much with him. How did he feel about Kristoph going to jail? He doesn't seem to hold it against Apollo, which is uh, noble, but perhaps not believable. He says he values honesty and truth but do we know why?

Apollo, likable as he was, felt like a passenger in his "own" game, rather than a major character. He doesn't even solve much of the stuff happening in the big overarching mystery -- he is Phoenix's avatar in court, presenting evidence and clues Phoenix left for him. Unlike Trucy and Klavier, who I am pretty sure take a back seat from now on, I guess Apollo still has two more games to try and flesh himself out ... lol but I also know fan reception of those two is not great, so my expectations there are minimal.

Overall

A really solid game that I enjoyed playing, though I can see why it's controversial and not some people's favourite, if they really loved the trilogy. I think it's debatable whether this was the best/only way to continue the series after AA3. And I am excited to read and write a billion 7 year gap fics now.

[tossawary]

I've been thinking a lot about DCU stuff and Ace Attorney thoughts got mixed in by accident, because it's got a lot of the same themed, colorful character designs and silly pun names. So, of course, I started immediately daydreaming about a DCU-style Superhero AU for Ace Attorney. (I often do not fully control what I think about.)

And then I was like, "I think I just finally have to play Ace Attorney at this point, before I get stuck in a weird daydream loop because I don't know enough about the plot to worldbuild properly. I will let this be the final push to just start these games."

Based on my extremely limited knowledge (I have only actually played 2 episodes of the first game), here are my Superhero AU thoughts so far. I don't like 1-1 character role match-ups in general when I fuse worlds, so none of these AA characters are fully aligned with any particular DCU character.

Phoenix Wright would make a good speedster, I think. This is partially because of the spiky hair, but also because there's a terrible irony to being the fastest man in the world who keeps being too late to stop certain tragedies. It also suits the way he's apparently never properly prepared for anything but also quickly manages to pull through. He's probably still a defense attorney in his civilian identity. (In accordance with later games, he has to stop being a superhero for several years when he's framed for a crime.)

Besides Phoenix's mentor Mia, who is also both a superhero and a lawyer, ordinary civilian Larry Butz is the only person who initially knows that Phoenix has superpowers. He honestly hasn't told anyone Phoenix's secret identity! But Larry also somehow gets into more scrapes and "damsel in distress" situations than Lois Lane and he's not even an investigative reporter.

Mia Fey, Maya Fey, and Pearl Fey have a Shazam situation, I think, in which they transform into a "Mystic Champion" magically empowered by the ghosts of their ancestors. Like a Shazam & Danny Phantom fusion. Mia Fey was the first in her family to become a publicly known superhero. A lot of people don't know that it's not the original Mystic Champion (same face and same superpowered form as Mia, which breaks Phoenix's heart a little every time) until Maya or Pearl transforms back into a regular girl after the fight is over.

I think Miles Edgeworth is a Batman type hero, but one still partially ensnared by Manfred von Karma, who is his Ra's al Ghul. (This makes Franziska into Talia, but there is definitely nothing romantic there.) Maybe he does have superpowers of some kind, maybe not, and he could still potentially be a prosecutor. He doesn't have a Brucie persona, though. Phoenix is not impressed by Edgeworth's harsh and even cruel approach to vigilante work. (Steel Samurai was Miles' Gray Ghost or Zorro hero inspiration, I'm guessing.)

Gumshoe is Miles' Commissioner Gordon figure and doesn't know his secret identity yet. He's either going to learn in the middle of a really bad situation or he's just going to straight-up figure it out himself one day and scare the hell out of Miles.

I'm still thinking about characters like Kristoph and Klavier Gavin, Apollo Justice, and Trucy Wright, but I don't know enough about them to fully flesh these thoughts out yet. I think the Gavins would make good Kryptonian equivalents (a cold and calculating Superman and a rockstar Supergirl), Apollo might make a good Wonder Girl equivalent (his bracelet becomes a Lasso of Truth) as the lost son of an Amazon, and Trucy would obviously be fun as a Zatanna type of hero.

[lyrainworld]

Based of OG Ace Attorney cover, here's Leorio Paradinight crossover!

It was part of the HxH Game crossover event I 've decided to take part in.

If you want to learn more about this au, please click read more

About this au, some things are changed some stayed the same but just so you know, characters are kind of based on:

^Phoenix Wright - Leorio, aspiring defense lawyer, he wants to protect those whom people are averting their eyes from. He more or less willingly gets mentored by the stupidly smart brat Killlua who seems to know any law term and norm. They banter a lot but actually become decent friends.

^Maya Fey - Gon, a spiritualist of a world-renowed family Freecss with traditions. The rumors say they can contact the true spirit and connect with the netherworld. Has been saved by Leorio and Killua both, joins hands with them afterwards

^Edgewotrth - Kurapika, got mentored by the Zoldycks on how to become top prosecutor. He's utmost driven to not let any true criminal go unpunished. Gathers renown until the day he'll be able to catch Phantom Troupe and bring justice to the fallen, has a companionship with Killua bordering on sibiling bond

^Mia Fey and Franziska mix up - Killua, he has a pivotal role in leading Leorio's carier and actually becomes his mentor after triyng to cut off his ties to his inheritance as the Zoldyck heir, a true tycoon of the prosecution world. During trials if he decides to participate he takes on a role of a consultant.

As you can see, though Leorio is the titular attorney, Killua is the glue connecting everyone in here. But that just leaves all the more unresolved conflict because he hides the truth of his heritage. He found Leorio by chance and he got impressed by him after a second third take with the attitude he has, how it's not about money but bringing the truth to the table, pretty much opposite of the Zoldycks. I'm not good at writing but I'll try to say few things about their cases? It's more or less basing of "The Trilogy"but with the spin of HxH characters being themselves, it sure would reflect in the plot,

-A case about mysterious animal being spotted, the legendary Chimera Ant! Gon is a huge deal on this case because his spiritualist power call back to the wilderness and all the instinct one gets from it.A lot of logic/belief topic going on here and killugon spotlight

-A case of murder on the "Hunter X" movie plan, it's related to Gon because he was there to meet the main hero, Kite, his godfather. He gets roped into the investigation and is considered suspect for some time before

-Another case in which Gon is the main suspect. Since he's from family of spiritualists, vibing with the nature and otherworld. So when there's a case against him Killua is determined to find his innocence. Even if it means going against Kurapika. That's also the case that showcased Leorio and Kurapika's banter and whatnot so major old marriage leopika vibe

-There's a huge final case in which member of the PT's is murdered and who would have guessed, Kurapika is found bloodied on the crime scene. This is a very turnaround case because the one responsible for prosecuting it, is no one else but Killua after he disappeared (made a tactical retreat) from Leorio's side. Perhaps family pressure? Illumi blackmailing him? Being ashamed of 'tricking' Gon and Leorio and leaving Kurapika to deal with everything alone? All of the above, because now he stands against everyone he grew to be fond of. Eventually, the true killer gets found giving a chance to mend strained bonds, by joining hands in catching the real culprit all along that was hiding among the witnesses. The fake group member [wink] -Ps, Netero's just playing along for the trial's sake even if he's got the truth like way earlier, he's not naive, but likes seeing 'entertaining trial' as long as it's goes the right way eventually

-Leopika & killugon featured, all aged up, imagine lots and lots of banter and sexual tension in the court

That's it, thank you for reading my thoughts <3

[leam1983]

2024 in Gaming

Helldivers 2: it's become a running joke with the polycule, and approval with Progressive opinions or talking points now gets at least one of the three of us to jokingly pull out their smartphone to "call their Democracy Officer to report a case of treasonous activity"...

Walt isn't any better, but he's unlocked a few rocket-propelled weapons and now feels better sitting behind myself and Sarah while pelting the enemies ahead with weaponized Freedom.

Balatro: Walt and I's new favourite casual game, wherein appearance of it being a cutesy little variant on Poker suites turns into virtual crack. I've woken up in the wee hours to Walt's face bathed in his phone's OLED screen. When I ask him what's wrong, he typically replies something to the tune of "I need four thousand Chips, babe."

Marvel Rivals: it does what Overwatch 2 don't. As in, it's fun. Me, Walt, Sarah and a few of the boys on an all-Rocket Raccon match? You betcha! Also, there's Jeff the Land Shark, and Jeff the Land Shark deserves the world. Nay, the universe.

Astro Bot: didn't finish it, but I loved what Team Asobi cooked up. It's the most genuine, heartfelt, cutesy and engaging piece of corporate PR and Engineering porn to ever exist. Every button pressed during an Astro Bot session twiddles Mark Cerny's fun bits remotely.

Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree: bought it because I approve of the design ethos behind this DLC's existence, never played it because I suuck at FromSoft games. I made sure to watch some related content so I could point and laugh awkwardly if friends of mine greet me with a random cry of "BAYYYYLE!"

Worshippers of Chtulhu: Anno with a Lovecraftian twist. It's very broken, still very much in Early Access, but the promise is definitely there.

Park Beyond: Meh. Got it for cheap, I guess we're still not getting a decent heirloom to Roller Coaster Tycoon, after the Micromanagement nightmare that Planet Coaster turned out to be for me.

1000xResist: basically a Yoko Taro game not written or directed by Yoko Taro, and it's one of the deeper game-based experiences I've had in a long while. Strongly recommended.

The Cabin Factory: Spot the Difference for easily-frightened streamers who haven't played Exit 8 yet. It has an interesting narrative format and is one of the more surprising implementations of Unity Engine I've seen to date. I could've sworn this was a UE5 project! Beyond that, it's nothing special, but it's priced accordingly.

Clickolding: if Cookie Clicker had an uncanny sense of atmosphere and managed to creep you out with nothing except a sparsely-animated antagonist and a rising click counter, you'd have a sense of what this feels like. It does a very effective job at making you want to be as compliant and possible.

Daemonologie: The Salem Witch Trials in game form, or Ace Attorney if Phoenix wore a Quaker hat and had a fixation on nakey women doing odd shit in the forest. Very tense and minimalist, and very, very worthwhile.

Cryptmaster: it's basically a spruced-up oldschool MUD, with 3D black-and-white graphics and four zombified D&D character archetypes you control simultaneously, by either using your Arrow keys to move the entire party at once, or typing in the words that correspond to abilities or attacks. Very, very, very British humour is on offer, along with a script-writer that managed to predict most stupidly filthy prompts you're likely to try at any given point. It's hilarious and kludgey in just the right way, especially if you remember the nineties' MindMaze on Encarta '95.

Liar's Bar: Russian Roulette for Furries with a decent voIP chat integration. It's shallow and stupid fun, and the subject matter makes people behave in increasingly crude ways as the session goes on. If you're like me, you'll swear you played a round or two against a guy who was actually stone-dead-drunk and who actually had nothing to lose...

Silent Hill 2 Remake: finally, Silent Hill's fog doesn't feel like a performance-saving measure and actually creeps me the fuck out. It makes me feel terrible and has me contemplate not playing it, but it does make sense. Kudos to Bloober Team for finally manage to ground this one heck of a weirdo title.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: take Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Dial of Destiny, burn all copies, consign the masters to Disney's oubliette, thank Harrison Ford for his decades of diligent service and pass the fedora and bullwhip to Troy Baker, 'cause Machine Games and Bethesda have managed to find themselves yet another prime title to fuck Fascists up using fisticuffs or blunt weaponry. It's a great callback to Machine Games' own contribution to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, seeing as every single level in the game has the granular detail of their version of Prague. Slap some John Williams on, add the authentic audio samples for whip cracks and punches, lifted straight out of the movies. I haven't had as much fun raiding tombs or poking through lovingly-reconstructed real places since Nolan North last lent his voice pipes to Nathan Drake.

Imagine my surprise, when the Sistine Chapel turned out to be about the size of our condo building's parking lot! That's tiny! The more you know, I guess!

Star Wars Outlaws: this is what happens when a studio really, really, really wants to give the IP due diligence, but its decades of re-iterated design docs ruin the experience. Kay Vess isn't a galactic scoundrel; she's basically every Far Cry protagonist ever, except in third-person!

The Forever Winter: all crunch, no fun. An incredibly engaging premise, but the mistaken notion that the average gamer has several three-to-four-blocks to devote to this each and every single day. Worth at least a YouTube ride-along, to see the incredible work the Art Design team's pulled together.

Disney's Epic Mickey - Rebrushed: Warren Spector's poorly-received baby and love letter to classic animation gets its just desserts on PC. It's not super complex with only two basic mechanics based off of two buttons on a controller, but it managed to use an extremely limited toolset to great effect, even throwing in what feels like a younger relative's first potential exposure to the Immersive Sim concept of looking for unmarked routes through a level. The in-between side-scrolling levels are oozing charm, and essentially feel like some part of Spector wanted to play in the same ballpark as American McGee's Alice.

If anything, it cements the idea that non-verbal instances of Mickey Mouse should never be left in the same room as a magical implement or toolset. Ever. Verbal Mickeys can push past their childlike glee and reason accordingly, but the oldschool button-eyed and non-verbal originator is not to be trusted.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl: Have fun losing half your health because the ARMA-esque mechanics decide that grazing damage means holy shit, you almost died! Especially, have fun getting knocked flat out on your ass by mutants - over and over and over...

To be played in subtitled Ukranian out of implicit support, and to have fun with the Slavic definition of an acting range. It's like watching the second season of Squid Game, except you get the sense that their scale goes from Nonchalant to Pants-Pissingly Terrified with very little grading in-between.

And now, for Games I didn't really get into until 2024...

Valfaris and Valfaris II: Mecha Therion: side-scrollers that do their damndest to look like they stepped straight out of the pages of Heavy Metal as of the mid-eighties. Gorgeously grotesque pixel art meets with a banging soundtrack made up of certified shredders. The lead headbangs and throws the horns when he finishes a stage!

Brütal Legend: an oldie but a goodie, previously constrained to the PS3 but now quite cozy on my Steam Deck. It's got a semi-cohesive grab-bag of mechanics, sure, but it's got even more heart, along with a pre-stroke Tim Curry voicing the villain with the gooiest of all countenances. Imagine Shere Khan, but Metal as fuck.

Katamari Damacy: Re-Roll: I barely touched the original when it came out. Having managed to grab the PC port for cheap and knowing how well it plays with a Steam Deck, the Prince of All Cosmos' ball-rolling sojourn across the surface of our planet has turned into a nightly staple for me.

Baldur's Gate 3: Yes, I know, I'm late, you've all banged Astarion sixteen times by now, but I've got time for a long-form WRPG right now. I might not have this much free time once January 10th rolls around.

The Night Cage: not a vidya, but a really nerve-wracking tabletop game that's made for quite a few fun Friday nights at La Casa de Gremlin.

On My Backlog, You'll Find...

Metaphor: Re-Fantazio: I know it's beloved by all, but it feels so "so far, so ATLUS" to me, and I still haven't gotten over P4, P3 and P5's excellent PC ports. I also have Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne to go through, so I really don't know if I have it in me to tackle something in that same vein quite so soon.

Arizona Sunshine 1 & 2: I just can't be bothered to set up my Oculus Rift 2's Link Cable. I have the games, I just don't know if and when I'll play them.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster: I'm waiting until my old cheese strats fade into the back of my mind before I tackle this one. Plus, I'm torn about Frank West not being voiced by TJ Rotolo. He doesn't just... feels like he's covered wars, y'know?

Frostpunk 2: bought it to support the devs, am just not jazzed about having to sort of network my way across several simultaneous points of origin until the depressing version of a Dieselpunk sprawl covers the map.

The Yakuza series on Amazon Prime: SEGA's trying to become the Disney of gaming, but something about Kazuma Kiryu's story (or stories) have always felt distinctly and uniquely Japanese to me. As in, it requires a specific mindset and might not be for everyone. I'm waiting for a sign, basically - maybe one to pop my collar and rent a karaoke machine so I can belt out maudlin soliloquies to lost childhood innocence while smoking half a pack of cigs between every third or fourth stanza...

The Sonic Movies: yeah, sure, I'm in my forties, but Jim Carrey's going through a career renaissance by acting out Albert Einstein on crack. Yeah, sure, it's not either of my Robotniks (the Jim Cummings or Long John Baldry versions - for the memes) - but it seems like it might still be a trilogy of adaptations worth pursuing.

Plus, hey, I gotta start catching up on that Stobotnik shit, huh?

[cure-icy-writes]

Finally watched death note. these are my thoughts

-it's actually hilarious that light doesn't have a corruption arc. within an episode he decides that he is god, actually, and he's going to dedicate his long life to watching the news and murdering people.

-i don't think light's meant to be representative of all of humanity being devoid of morals. i think he's a special kind of shut-in freak who exclusively exposes himself to the worst aspects of humanity by watching the news and having no friends. he would doomscroll twitter and become corrupted like saruman and his orb.

-ace attorney would have a fucking field day with him. this guy kills mostly suspected criminals who haven't even gone to trial yet.

-i actually don't think that misa is a lesbian experiencing comphet. i think she's straight and has severe attachment issues. i think she deserves to be the protagonist of a gothic romance novel with a guy who is just as obsessively in love with her as she is with him. like babygirl you have got to ditch light and find an mcr boy who dresses just as elaborately as you and then never let him go. i still think misa deserves to kill people i just also think she needs a better boyfriend than light. get you a guy to match your freak.

-the scene where light watches a woman being sexually harassed through the glass window of a convenience store is genuinely horrific because it shows you how fucked up and detached his worldview is. at no point does he think "hm, i should go outside and be so confident that no one questions it when i pretend to know that woman and usher her inside the store where it's better lit and there are more witnesses". no. he goes "damn. i guess humanity is fucked. oh well i guess i'll kill that guy."

-literally no one is forcing light to commit mass murder. he could have stopped any time he wanted. furthermore, he could have made these deaths look like accidents. he was the one who very deliberately chose to make a name for Kira and taunt his enemies.

-misa is the second kira? no, she's KiraKira☆

-after being tortured by him for 50 or so days, i think misa deserves to torture L right back. she should seduce him and lock him in her basement. for feminism.

-i dont think ive seen anyone talking about how L can pilot a helicopter flawlessly the first time and says it's just intuition. buddy.

-shout out to the gorgeous clothes misa wears. like yessss beading lace trim on your gothic lolita coord complete with headdress and rocking horse shoes get it girllll

-L being surrounded with sweets and crouching like a gargoyle could be chalked up to autism. but by the time Near comes around and starts surrounding himself with circular tracks for toy trains, we're into surrealism. like you might as well declare the platonic ideal of princehood dead and turn into a car at this point

-the ending is so fucking funny. wdym L has been amoral this entire fucking time and only took on the case because he was bored. light could have asked misa to help seduce him and then they'd be kira3 forever. like he was so obsessed with a nemesis that he didn't pause to think at ALL.

-that said. if misa needs a guy to match her freak, then maybe light and L need to be in a cartoon where they can blow each other up and be fine next episode. light cannot fucking deal with the consequences of his actions

-the death note is the ring of power in a different font because it allows you to escape responsibility for your actions

[northlight14]

Fixing Larry Butz’s character development

‼️spoilers for Phoenix Wright trilogy ahead‼️

I’m aware that what I’m about to say probably isn’t anything new in the ace attorney fandom but I wanted to give my thoughts on all this anyway. I know both myself and a lot of the people in the fandom fucking hate how Larry was characterised in the 3rd game. I got told by a friend before hand that they completely ruined his character but admittedly I still held out a bit of hope, only to be majorly disappointed. As much as I adore the 3rd game, it does honestly feel like they forgot about everything that made Larry likeable in the first game. So this is basically gonna be me talking about how I personally would have developed his character.

First things first, they should’ve kept his personality and bonds with the other characters the same. While he’s similar and I’m more than happy with Phoenix getting annoyed with Larry, in the 3rd game Larry’s likeable traits are all completely abandoned and what’s left is just a womanising idiot and it feels like Phoenix straight up hates him. Larry can be a bit of an idiot who pursues relationships with women that don’t work out, I’ve got no problem with that as long as he isn’t creepy about it. But let’s not forget this dude interrupted an entire murder trial just to defend his friend he hadn’t talked to in literal years! Larry is loyal as fuck and in the first game Phoenix notes that while he always seems to get into trouble, it’s hardly ever his fault and he just has bad luck. If he was gonna be shown in the third game that should’ve been shown more. I guess it kind of is in some instances but never properly and it’s really disappointing.

Secondly, have him either make an appearance or at least be mentioned in the second game. This pissed me off so much Larry wasn’t so much as mentioned in this game. We obviously talk about Phoenix’s mourning period after “Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death” but what about Larry? He was childhood friends with Miles too who lost touch and just got him back only to lose him again! Miles, who in school, despite them having their differences, never told anyone about how he suspected Larry of actually stealing his money. That might not sound like a big thing but Larry even notes that if Phoenix hadn’t been the one being accused, he would’ve been. Chances are Larry was accused of stuff all the time as a kid. Considering that, Miles was probably the first person in a long time who didn’t want to get him in trouble. Continuing with this, Phoenix would be the only person Larry knows how knew Miles like he did and would truly know what he’s going through since they both lost that same childhood friend after just getting him back. Phoenix, the only person who’d understand, who spends that entire time refusing to speak about it, to the point he tells Maya to not even say his name. Literally all I want is either a few scenes of Larry trying to talk to Phoenix about it, only for Phoenix to shut him down instantly and then later Larry either also getting mad at Miles on Phoenix’s behalf or trying to calm Phoenix down about his return, and then also getting to see Miles again after he’s back from the dead and them having their reunion. Or, if there truly wasn’t time for any added scenes, just have it be mentioned in passing when Maya tries to talk about it and Phoenix just tells her “I’ve already told Larry and the others to not even say his name”. Just something small like that to show that Larry is also mourning the loss of his childhood friend adds just another layer to his character that I think he deserves and makes the whole thing more interesting in my opinion.

Finally, actually address his issues and insecurities instead of just making it a joke🙄 I feel like they tried to do this somewhat in the third game but honestly it just fell really flat for me. This isn’t me saying that Larry suddenly has to be this really tragic character because I definitely don’t want that. In a series filled with dead loved ones, murder and trauma, I really like that Larry can offer a form of comic relief. But if they’re going to repeatedly acknowledge the fact that he’s super insecure in the third game, at least go into why rather than just saying it🤦. Since first school Larry has been blamed for things to the point that his school had a fucking saying for it. It’s no wonder he feels inadequate in comparison to the other characters and it wouldn’t surprise me if him persuing these relationships with women is a way for him to achieve a form of validation that he was deprived of as a kid. Now obviously the game doesn’t have to go that deep into it and can leave things open to interpretation but I think Larry would have benefited from having a moment of seriousness during one of the cases after he messed up, genuinely asking Phoenix “how can I help? I know I keep messing things up. I have all my life and I want to make it right.” Just a moment of genuine friendship and reassurance between the two of them so it doesn’t seem like Phoenix hates Larry’s very being (seriously they’re supposed to be childhood best friends and they’ve stayed friends all this time but the third game has me asking why that’s the case)

Those are just my thoughts tho and I’m down to hear other’s opinions!

[mostlyihyperfixate]

Okay. I gotta write 750 words a day to fill my quota, and I don't feel like journaling about my day today, so I'm going to do a quick-and-dirty discussion of my thoughts on "Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice" before I really get into the meat of the final case. I'll see if my thoughts change once I finish it.

I'm gonna be real honest: I don't think I like this game as much as the others. And I feel really bad about it! I didn't want to be the person that waltzed in and just was mad at everything because waaah it's not Phoenix. I went in here with the mindset that I was gonna like Apollo, and I was going to give him a fair shot.

Frankly, I think this game would be better if Phoenix was just, like, not in it. He could just be some legendary defense attorney who retired a while back and no one is quite sure he went (and it's certainly not to Europe to be with his husband or anything like that). Phoenix kind of weighs it down for me, because I am sad that he the way he is, and I'm mad that he's kind of being an asshole to Apollo who literally has done NOTHING WRONG, and I'm also mad that he doesn't really even seem to care much about Trucy. Maybe that's developed more in other games? I expected more out of that relationship. And so I am torn between wanting to know what Phoenix is up to, because I love him, and then being like, "Get out of here and quit being mean to Apollo with a smile on your face" every time Phoenix does show up.

And I like Apollo, but I feel he's…wanting. I don't feel like I know Apollo. Don't get me wrong; I know Phoenix was just kind of the generic every dude over his head in the first game. The most we really got out of him was one thing that happened to him when he was a kid. But he had enough of a personal connection or personal stakes in his cases (at the very least, his past relationship with Edgeworth was there because Edgeworth was the prosecutor) that I felt like I had SOMETHING to go off. And it's not like I need Apollo to have a tragic backstory or some deep reason to be an attorney. But I have zero! Zilp! Zilch!

He literally hasn't gotten to know a single one of his clients for one reason or another the entire game, so I don't feel like I have a grasp on them either! And Apollo doesn't even get the benefit of playing off the prosecutor like Phoenix did in every game. I don't dislike Klavier; his being a genuinely nice guy isn't bad. But he sure doesn't add anything to the story for me, and I don't think he adds much (if anything) to Apollo's character either.

And at the same time, I feel like this game is trying to be much deeper. It's trying to tell me something about the legal system, and corruption, and broken dreams. But at the same time, it's so much more cartoony than the previous entries. The first game was always the one that took itself the most seriously, I feel (and it's my favorite of the original trilogy), and I did say when I finished Trials and Tribulations that I felt it hit maximum soap opera in Bridge to Turnabout. I also said I loved it for that soapy-ness. But this isn't soapy. This is a cartoon. What's with all these characters suddenly changing appearances? What's with every single witness being an over-the-top weirdo? WHY is Spark Brushel????

Let's not even get into how much I loathed Turnabout Serenade. It gave me a much greater appreciation for Turnabout Big Top. I mean, sure, all those adult men were hitting on Regina, but at the very least I feel like Moe wasn't going to let anyone actually lay a finger on her afterward. She's in good hands. And Moe was self-aware that I wanted him to go to Clown Hell for all those massive penalties…

Now that I think about it, the tutorial case was probably my second favorite in the series, after the opening trial to Trials and Tribulations. But the other two…were not that interesting. I haven't been in a huge rush to finish this one. Which…I guess I started it two weeks ago, so it's not like I've been dragging my feet. But I'm perfectly capable of going a day or two without picking up my Switch Light to find out what happens next. I'm not staying up until, like, midnight to get to the next chapter.

I've tried hard to avoid spoilers, but I'm not sure I have any massive theories for how this is going to wrap up. I have been really suspicious of Trucy's uncle ever since he showed up. Now that he's in the flashback, I note that I have not, in fact, seen Trucy's uncle and Phoenix in the same place at the same time. So I wonder if he had something to do with…….something. And obviously Kristoph has something to do with….something. And Trucy's dad has the same first name as the guy that got killed in the first case, so clearly he came back to do…..something. I just don't know what those somethings are.

I will also say: No way did Phoenix ever have $100,000 to his name to pay someone to forge evidence for him, considering this (apparently???) happened two months after the end of the last game, and the only client that for sure ever paid him was probably Miles. Not sure if the game is going to try to red herring me on that or not. But I had a good chuckle at that.

Honestly, I'd love to see more of Apollo and Klavier (separately and together) because I think they COULD be interesting. So far, this game just has failed to develop them at all. Again, I think part of the issue is that Phoenix's presence casts such a long shadow. I understand the plan was not to include him in the game originally, and I'm a little torn because, again, I love him, and I want to see more of him…just not like this. And I think it's kind unfair to Apollo both in and out of universe that he has to share his debut game with Phoenix.

Someone reblogged my Klavier post to say that the last case in Apollo Justice was their favorite. I have read on other parts of the internet that it's generally considered the worst final case in the series. We'll see what happens.

[frozenjokes]

Hiii! This is for the Q&A, I'm asking a few questions so feel free to skip around if you want:

Where do you find your AU inspiration? Does it come fully formed over a few minutes/hours or do you need to work on it for weeks/months before settling on the final concept.

Anything you've wanted to write but haven't gotten around to/had to abandon/never fully fleshed out? Less asking about unfinished stuff and more things you never started.

(Trying my best to phrase this) How do conceptualize of the different versions of the characters? i.e. Time Loop Scar and Pirate Scar are both offshoots of the same guy but they have completely different value systems and goals. Are the changes in their personality/behavior just because of their different situations or are they fundamentally different people? Nature v.s. Nurture I guess?????

Any personal head cannons you would like to be more popular?

Do you do writing outside of this? Other fandoms? Any original work?

(This last one is pure self-indulgence) Ever play Ace Attorney? I feel like you would really like Kristoph Gavin.

Happy 2025!!!

- Almost everything I do I’m writing as I go. I have a general outline that lives in my brain and it builds with time. I don’t have aphantasia but on that spectrum I really struggle to brainstorm without writing everything down as an aid, so besides an initial idea, things evolve as I go.

- Honestky most of this for me has to do with things that are a little unfinished. If I want to write something I usually do and then it consumes me entirely. Joy! I would love to start and finish the rest of the boatem ghosts prequels following pearl (who has done no wrong) and grian (actively screwing everyone in his life over)

- all of my guys are different people, but honestly in most of their cases I think having all their needs met would make them very similar to the ‘canon’ characters. For example, Grian in the cubscarian hotguy au is SOOO different from normal Grian but like if he did pottery and got into badminton and took his meds he could be a successful Minecraft youtuber… boatem ghosts scar is really nothing like normal scar besides the facade he puts up. that guy is imposter among us all the other scars would beat the shit out of him. all the timeloop prison au guys would be normal if they weren’t afflicted with The Curse. Thinking about it honestly most of the boatem ghosts guys are fundamentally different people, some more noticeable than others. Pearl is pretty different in that au but I think that was me being a little unfamiliar with her character. She did what I needed her to do lol

- give them brown eyes. all of them. scar can have green eyes but only him but if you give him brown or hazel eyes I respect you.

-this whole explosion out of me started with my first creative writing class where my final project was a short horror story surrounding two elderly women nearing the end of their lives, one of whom is deteriorating from Parkinson’s and finds a. ‘Solution’ in the woods near their houses. I’ve been thinking actually about putting it on ao3 eventually I just want to share it :) also a bad break up spawned boatem ghosts (coming to terms with grief) and mumbomaid (exploring the confusing feelings spawned from being aromantic and BEING CONFUSED why things could not just be normal again)

I haven’t played ace attorney but I’ve been meaning to!

[cryptidwithacopiccollection]

So I've been playing Ace Attorney with my little sibling

Some highlights include:

(Referring to Maya) "Is that her formal wear?-"

"-It's an acolyte's uniform"

"Oh because I was really confused for a second. I thought she was like, trying to be professional for the trial or something-"

"??? No"

"She's dressed like she's got a murder trial at 11 and a cosplay con at 12"

(Also referring to Maya) "can you tie your spiritual power to Burger King consumption?"

"Your honor, unshit my jorts" (referring to Phoenix's disgruntled sprite)

"Who cares about perjury we're all having fun here"

Jorts, Cont.: (in a frankly terrible Edgeworth impression) "tsk tsk tsk. The judge only has the capability to unshit the regular pair of basket ball shorts *uncontrollable laughter* there- therefore, his honor would be unable to unshit your jorts!"

I also need them to stop being better at the game then me, they've managed to guess a frankly unfair amount of twists and revelations; in no particular order, they are:

- Correctly guessed that Lotta was there to take pictures of Gourdy before even seeing her. Literally as soon as her camera setup was onscreen they went: oh that's a cryptid hunter. Why else would you need a microphone? (We hadn't even established Gordy made a loud noise)

- decided a van was probably used to move the body in turnabout samurai based on the fact there were no bloodstains on hammer's body & the background van in the entrance way- not even the actual relevant studio van.

- deduced during the investigation segment on day one of turnabout goodbyes that the 2 known gunshots had to be warning shots, possibly to draw attention to the people on the boat.

- decided that we couldn't trust the opening cutscene of turnabout goodbyes immediately even though they were fully accepting of the idea Edgeworth committed a murder

They also figured out there were two shots (before we'd even seen the gun) bc Lotta's camera caught the moment of firing, which shouldn't have been possible if there was just one shot. When we finally did get to see the gun, they immediately decided that the third unaccounted for shot was super important and were dead set on figuring out what/when it was.

We're on trial day three of turnabout goodbyes now and alas they appear to have been convinced that Edgeworth did kill his dad (though they're are starting to get suspicious of where the 2nd bullet went)

[nokistar]

I keep seeing a bunch of revisionism regarding Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (and it's followups), so let's do a quick review/recap of it and see why the rest of the Apollo Justice Trilogy was spent trying to get rid of Apollo Justice.

This is written by Shu Takumi, who wrote the original trilogy. It was also written with the hand of Capcom on his shoulder, kind of ruining everything.

Originally the game was going to focus on Apollo alone, with no involvement of Phoenix at all. They also wanted specific plot points to be implemented like the jury system in the final trial. They also gave him absolutely no time to actually write anything.

However, this doesn't excuse the game we got from being bad. It just means it didn't have the chance to be good, no matter how hard the creators tried. It's not a reflection of their abilities, it's a reflection of Capcom being terrible.

Plot-wise, Apollo Justice begins with the victorious ending of the original trilogy pretty much instantly being undone and Phoenix being disbarred because everyone in the courtroom is an idiot (a recurring theme with this game, especially in the third case). Phoenix takes evidence from a strange little girl, his defendant runs away in the middle of a trial leaving his daughter behind, nobody looks into the circumstances of the forged evidence presented, and so on.

It feels like an incredibly contrived situation to hoist a new character into the spotlight.

Apollo Justice is a guy. He's supposed to be a more straight-laced version of Phoenix, but that and the rushed writing of the story lead to him just kind of going along with the story while leaving no mark on it of his own. I the original trilogy, Nick and Maya would barge in to confront culprits outside of court, investigate old cases they think are relevant, and just generally being proactive. Apollo and Trucy are just kind of there, but at least Trucy has her magician stuff going on and a fun dynamic with her adoptive father.

Our prosecutor this time around is Klavier Gavin, a rock star. Other games in the series have prosecutors who whip you, attack you with birds, condemn you to hell, drink wine in court... and yet Klavier is somehow the most baffling one of all because his whole gimmick is... he has another demanding job. It has nothing to do with his character journey (it actually causes a plot hole because he shouldn't be prosecuting a case he has a personal stake in, being a possible witness to a murder case that happens at one of his concerts) and just feels like they needed to spice up his character in some way.

So what exactly is his character journey?

Nothing.

Klavier is an antagonist in the strictest terms, as he isn't a bad guy. He's simply opposing you. Even when you're the one who got his brother sentenced to jail. Even when his own brother is on the stand for murder, he keeps a cool, boring head. He has an unwavering sense of justice in his heart.

In other words, he's just there to give you evidence and question prompts. He has no character arc despite how close he is to the plot. He's even the one to go up against Phoenix on the case he got disbarred because plot contrivences.

Speaking of plot contrivances, Apollo and Trucy are half-siblings now. It doesn't affect the story in any way shape or form (other than giving Apollo his awful gameplay gimmick) and is just a last second plot twist for the sake of a last second plot twist.

If I were to be generous, I'd guess future games Takumi planned to write had a larger theme of family and this would impact that. Even in AJ, the theme of family is all throughout it. You have the 'mystery' of Phoenix suddenly having a daughter, you have the second case being about a Yakuza family, you have the Gavins. If the team had the proper time, this could have been important even just thematically.

But as it is, it affects nothing. As it is the game is bad. No amount of what ifs can change that.

And, this is where I really toe the line of being controversial, but I don't think it would have been good even with those what ifs. Why?

Because the Great Ace Attorney duology reran a lot of these problems over the course of two games.

A jury system with no effect on anything. A pointless family relationship reveal. A defense attorney who is pulled along at the whims of his mentor figure. A mountain load of plot contrivences.

So it's no wonder when a new writer came on board afterward, they pivoted so hard away from it.

However, with Dual Destinies, they do follow up on the biggest theme of AJ: the corruption of the justice system. The game is about bringing an end to the Dark Age of the Law. Undoing Phoenix's disbarment, weeding out corruption, focusing on a new generation of attorneys and judges. Even if you think the cases are weak, the thematics are strong. There's a reason why the final trial takes place in a ruined courtroom aside from it being a cool setpiece.

It also introduces Athena Cykes, who is her own character. She has her own motivations, her own way of doing things. She's bold, she can lose her temper. She's a fun character that contrasts Phoenix and was brought into the agency through Phoenix's character motivations.

Apollo, meanwhile, they didn't have anything to work with. A big theme with Apollo as a character is the wild contrivences they have to make to keep him relevant and I think that with the characterization and backstory given to the team by Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, this was all they could do aside from making him Athena's straightman.

This is why they spent Spirit of Justice getting rid of him. If he's got nothing going for him, they might as well write an entirely new backstory just to resolve that hanging plot thread because his backstory has to be something.

I don't want to dislike Apollo, but he wasn't introduced well and that introduction gave him no ground to stand on in future games. He's too straight-laced to work in a cast and world that's always been as vibrant as Ace Attorney's. And most importantly EVERYBODY hated this game when it came out.

That's why Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, despite their new tone, saved the series after Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The only reason people are so willing to fight for AJ is because these two did their best to fix what AJ broke.

[olivereactsaboutgarbage]

One Piece - Volume 35

Haha!! WOWIE!!! YIPPEE!!! I’VE RETURNED TO POSTING WITHOUT MAKING ANY NOTABLE MISTAKES!!!

I love One Piece! I love pirates! I love long-running shonen manga! And I also love italicizing random words for no reason! Do not pay very close attention to which words I italicize in what order! IT’S NOT INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT!!!

Chapter 328 - The Pirate Abduction Incident

Admittedly, even though February and March were, for certain reasons, not good months for me to have this additional task on my plate and actually expect to get it done consistently, the long absence has also done a number on me. What was happening in One Piece again? There were like fifteen new characters or something? I think I got spoiled at some point in February or March that one of them was evil... who were any of the fifteen of them again??? I don’t even remember when it was that I got spoiled.

Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll just jump into it! How much could I possibly have forgotten?

What? WHAT’S bad? What’s Sal talking about? Uh, hasn’t Oda ever heard of providing context clues??? -_-

Anyway, Tony Tony Chopper is standing near Sal, but Nico Robin isn’t. No one is a fan of that turn of events.

Oh right, I forgot, Sonic’s friend Tammy was in this arc being the mirror version of Sal. I hate Sonic’s friend Tammy! I hope he’s the person who I got spoiled about being evil.

Sonic’s friend Tammy says the Merry Go doesn’t have a spinal cord anymore. The... uh... what was I calling the guy from Ace Attorney: Justice For All? I guess I can call him Matt Engarde. Matt Engarde adds that carpenters don’t have access to cloning technology, so a ship without a spinal cord is dead with no cheap workarounds possible. It sucks for Lufpy... but I’d trust any assertion that came from Matt Engarde!

Lufpy doesn’t want to accept it. He doesn’t want to have to change this manga’s branding and merchandise. This, uh, this guy named... *checks notes WITHOUT GOLFING since I DON’T EVEN NEED TO GO GOLFING* Lorenz Hellman Gloucester Slightly To The Left... is his name. That guy tells Lufpy that makes Lufpy a bad person. Well, that’s true enough I suppose, if you take into account that capitalism systemically destroys innocent people.

Also there’s a guy who looks like a fed who hates the feds, and a fed who looks like an outlaw.

nami aren’t you an accomplished pickpocket yourself

Anyway, Nami decides to go to Franky’s House. I think that’s where the circus freaks live?

Unfortunately, Usopp is yet again dead while Nami is nearby. He’s lying on his back...

Chapter 329 - My Name Is Franky

Actually, I take back what I said about Lufpy being a bad person. The high ethical cost of survival increases the minimum severity of bad actions necessary to overcome humanity’s innate goodness.

That aside, chapter 329 begins with a flashback to what happened right after chapter 328. From that, I can intuit that a timeskip happened right after chapter 328!

Anyway, now that the flashback is over, it’s time for Zoro to talk to Sal and Sal’s friend Tony about what’s going on.

no, humans do that too

Well, maybe ships are still unique in that they do that in water. Humans tend to have a nice time in water, or drown, or both. Hey, that sentence I just said is kinda like the thesis statement of One Piece!

Anyway, Franky’s gimmick is that he has terrible financial sense. “Finally,” he says, “I have the exact amount of money I need, instead of slightly less. Since I don’t have slightly less, I won’t run into the problem where I spend it instead of having it when I need it. As a reward for giving me the exact amount of money I need, here’s money.”

Also, Usopp is there, because he changed his mind about being dead. Also, Franky is a star man, but like, also a robot? Hey, that’s just like Earthbound! Wait, but Earthbound’s gameplay isn’t very fun since there’s a lot of grinding, so why is Usopp there at Earthbound? I thought better of you, Usopp.

You’re one to talk, no-nose boy.

I refuse to acknowledge that triangle on Franky’s face as a nose. It is little more than a defect. Anyway, it looks like he’s wearing a mask, which would be on-brand for this arc since it’s an arc about people who wear masks, so he probably has no nose underneath.

See, I told you all Tony Tony Chopper was a yandere! Now he’s killing people so he can show off their blood. I knew something like this would happen.

Zoro, Tony Tony Chopper, and Sal all stand there and watch as Lufpy hilariously dies in water. And guess whose duty it is to save Lufpy from drowning? That’s right. SAL’S, AS ALWAYS.

Next, it’s time for the Combatant Trio to beat up Franky’s House. Already, I guess. Also, they’re mad at the house instead of the Starman, I guess. Also, Tony Tony Chopper grew huge muscles to blend in seamlessly among them, I guess.

Chapter 330 - It's Decided

WHAT??? TWO GUNS??? WHEN DID NAMI GET TWO GUNS? I THOUGHT HER THING WAS THE BIG STICK OF UNIMPRESSIVE MAGIC, WHEN DID SHE GET TWO GUNS

One of the Titans from Attack on Titan dies. I’m gonna be honest: That Titan had the type of swag I want, just... grotesquely warped, in true Attack on Titan fashion. I think I’m going to make that One Piece character my new Titansona. I will not show a picture of him.

The Combatant Trio and their sidekick continue to do various cool moves, so people start throwing garbage at them. The garbage does not prevent them from killing the house they hate so much.

Lufpy decides to stop being a capitalist, because on second thought he doesn’t even care that much about merchandise or branding.

Chapter 331 - The Big Argument

We open on the fed who looks like an outlaw. He’s not having a good day :(

Also, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester Slightly To The Left has a picture of Nico Robin as a little baby with lots of numbers on it. I miss Nico Robin. Where’d she run off to

Usopp is very much not a fan of Lufpy’s decision not to be a capitalist. I bet Usopp felt SO GOOD about his backstory being essential to the manga’s entire brand, huh? I bet it made him SO HAPPY. Well now he’s super upset instead, so the joke’s on him.

Oh right, I forgot how good Sal is at calling people out on their bullshit when it’s not his turn to be an idiot. It’s a good thing I didn’t forget anything else about Sal!

Lufpy decides to beat up a recovering hospital patient. Wait, and USOPP is involved in this situation, too?! I thought better of you, Usopp.

Sal tries to put a stop to this, but the events that will result in the End of Usopp have already been set in motion. Usopp decides a good way to accelerate this process is by challenging Lufpy to a duel.

Chapter 332 - Luffy vs. Usopp 

awww sad puppy :(

Usopp unleashes his most powerful attacks against Lufpy, but all it does is make a puppy sad. Zoro doesn’t want puppies to be sad, but he is powerless in the face of Usopp. There’s nothing to be done.

Damn this is badass. Usopp is way better at beating up Lufpy than Zoro is. Zoro was so bad at it, he accidentally beat someone else up instead. Although that’s in-character because Zoro is stupid <3.

Also, prior to those panels, Lufpy told Usopp to stop being a comic relief character. That was rich, considering who it came from. Anyway Usopp blows him up

Chapter 333 - Captain

Wow! 333! I won’t reach a chapter number this exciting again until 4444.

Lufpy finally ekes out the slightest advantage after spending the entire fight not doing that, but even that was exactly as Usopp planned. Lufpy is largely incapable of failure though, so Usopp‘s plans don’t matter much. Then Lufpy says “Well, obviously. Anyways I forfeit. You suck”

Sal attempts to prevent Tony Tony Chopper from doing doctor stuff to Usopp, saying that would be just as shameful as it would have been for Usopp to back down or something like that, but Tony Tony Chopper leaves some doctor stuff with Usopp anyways.

Chapter 334 - Big Trouble in the Secret Room 

It’s the Bean Bonus Room...! Hmm. Don’t ask me what that’s a reference to, because I wouldn’t be able to tell you.

Ooh! Is this arc gonna be a MURDER MYSTERY ARC with Lorenz Hellman Gloucester Slightly To The Left as the victim?! Hmm... Lufpy’s crew would need a detective... better hold off on getting a carpenter for now then. Which means they can just leave. Phew, glad this arc is over with! ...Wait, they don’t have a ship anymore. Well, Usopp can just leave, and everyone else can stop being main characters.

Lufpy and Nami are going to deal with the main plot, Oda forgot to include Nico Robin in this volume, Sal and Tony Tony Chopper are journeying to Oda to remind him about that, and Zoro... uh... Zoro... uh...

I guess sitting arcs out has historically been a favorite pastime of Zoro’s, so maybe this is no surprise.

OHHH, I forgot this arc had a train! Is the reason this arc has a train because it’s a murder mystery arc?! Franky loves being a train passenger.

Oh, and according to the Obligatory Murder Mystery Medical Professional, yet another mask is relevant in this arc. I hadn’t realized it until I’d written it out earlier in this post, but this arc really is going to be “ABOUT MASKS” in the same way as the Noland Kong arc was “ABOUT GODS”, isn’t it? The Quadruple-H mini-arc, then, would just have been a little bit of narrative housekeeping, like setting up Nico Robin’s whole dealio so that her character arc is primed and ready to intersect with this arc’s themes. Are all the One Piece arcs from here on out going to so heavily deal with themes relating to fundamental aspects of humanity and society? ...I mean I guess you could argue that that’s been a thing this whole time, but not nearly this deftly until recently. Bro... One Piece is good... and on an upward quality trajectory...

Sorry, I’ll stop rambling and get back to actually reading and commenting on One Piece like I’m supposed to be.

Franky took his mask off.

Chapter 335 - Warning

Well, his mask is off, but his face is imperceptible by the audience, and he’s mad. Meanwhile, the Scary Heart Woman has Scary Plans. This is due to the nature of some strange calamity that the townsfolk have gotten so used to that one of them is like “You DON’T KNOW?” when Sal asks.

OH... FRANKY IS... UM... FRANKY IS... UM...

Ugh, do I actually need to find the words to describe this?

Wait, I literally don’t. Check this out:

This is not what I expected from the leader of a gang of circus freaks who repeatedly get killed. The mask was somehow LESS bombastic than his face. I barely even get how that’s possible.

Oh, I was thinking to myself that Franky and Nico Robin BOTH seem too obvious to be the culprit if this were a true murder mystery, assuming we put aside the fact that Nico Robin has been a protagonist lately. I guess I was right to be thinking that, because the victim just implicated one and a half of the two of them.

I’m sure I would be blown away by this turn of events if I didn’t know how murder mysteries worked and was therefore very easily impressed, but neither of those things are true, so I’m just going to move on to the next chapter now.

Chapter 336 - Luffy vs. Franky

Franky... or, I guess now that his mask is off, I know him well enough that it’s not rude of me to just call him Ky, still has a rather inorganic nose after removing his mask. My assertion that he was a no-nose boy seems to hold water!

Also, he seems to be charging up a super attack, but Lufpy has not taken that as his cue to run. That’s Lufpy for you!

Ky’s super attack is actually fire elemental. Not only is Lufpy completely fine, but so is Nami, so I guess it was correct of them not to run. Good thinking on their part then.

Imagine if Nami was correct and Ky just died here after all the buildup. That would be funny. ...Which makes it entirely plausible. Except Ape already called dibs on fire powers, so probably not. Oda wouldn’t do something that would run the risk of making the audience get bored of fire powers, because then the audience might go away.

Predictably, Ky isn’t actually a fruit guy. He does have something no Devil Fruit holder ever will... detachable hands. I bet Lufpy is now regretting the fact that he didn’t run! Because when people don’t run, they regret it!

Meanwhile, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester Slightly To The Left is implicating the entire crew as conspirators against him. Well, that’s definitely wrong! He should really run those numbers again! He should do it now before it’s too late!

There’s also a cabinet barbarian.

Wait, woah, Ky has like, a gun with a scope? So he’s like DOING THE CYBORG THING doing the cyborg thing, then. Wacky! Almost as wacky as saying “there are only seconds remaining you fools, flee now I’m begging you” to a stinky pigeon! XD

Anyway, the fight between Lufpy and Ky gets interrupted pretty quick, because it’s Lorenz Hellman Gloucester Slightly To The Left’s squad of goons here to make Lufpy say he’s sorry! So sorry, but you had your chance! Is what they’ll make Lufpy say!

It’s good to be reading One Piece again.

It’s fun to be reading One Piece again.

I think I’m ready to not be nearly as absent if you stick around and keep checking this blog, or hit the follow button or whatever, so do STAY! :)

Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY! Do STAY!

[oodlyenough]

aa6-5 turnabout revolution

finished 6-5 over the last couple weeks, which means we've only got the DLC left for soj and the main series of games.

i gotta say ... i liked this finale a lot more than i expected to. i thought it was fun, and in turn that elevated SOJ overall. by far not the best ace attorney game i've played, but definitely not the worst. from the way fandom talks about this game and especially the finale i expected something awful, but i thought it had some fun ideas with mid execution, which is how i would describe ... basically every AA game after the og trilogy lol

anyway. more specifically (spoilers)

the first half of the case -- apollo vs phoenix -- is way up there on the "great idea, mid execution". i was immediately willing to assume phoenix had undisclosed reasons for doing his thing so i was immediately willing to let it slide, lol. "maya is kidnapped again!!!" is not the most compelling angle they could've done, but, whatever. also NPC nick seemed to have a brain in his head unlike player-nick, so that was nice

i also got a huge kick out of phoenix playing (essentially) the role of the prosecution and doing every dirty trick the prosecutors have done to him for 6 games: hiding evidence, leading the witness, manipulating the judge, etc. this prosecuting shit is easy!!! i imagine him making pointed eye contact with edgeworth in the gallery every time. also the idea of edgeworth and phoenix creeping around off screen for the first portion of investigation day 1 was awesome lmfao.

the fey lore was ???????????????? but i guess we can assume paul was lying about most of it lmfao so ... i guess. i WAS very annoyed by the kurain storyline mostly being about dudes and i did spend the whole case certain we were building to a reveal that the crystal of ami fey=the founder's orb bc ami=the founder. but uh. no i guess not. whatever

dhurke is a character i knew to be relatively popular in fandom but i can see why, he really cracked me up. actually his whole return out of the blue and apollo's extremely prickly reception are one of the relatively rare moments of interesting and competent character writing in these later games imo. i thought their relationship was handled pretty well and quite interesting. i mean, i suppose i find it a bit unreasonable that apollo got over 14 years of abandonment in like two days but lots of things in AA happen in hyperspeed

over in khurain i still found that case pretty good and even the trial days kept me pretty engaged, something SOJ had struggled to do to that point.

nahyuta is a bit of a weird one in that i find him overall underwritten and a little dull but i absolutely cannot fathom why fandom hates him so so so much while loving others lol, esp blackquill whose motivation is the same but more inexplicable. is he my favourite prosecutor? not by a long shot, but his circumstances were insane and his motivations were clear by the end and i ultimately just felt kind of bad for him. i liked him much more than blackquill or godot lmao sorry fandom.

but i still cheered when he was not the prosecutor for the last case LMAO bc i LOVED garan and her crazy anime transformation lmao, finally khurain delivers the True Fey ancestor experience: insane sisters who hate each other. chefs kiss. rayfa + garan + the dhurke/amara drama was very interesting imo. i knew that chick couldn't channell!! maya for queen tbqh

rayfa's a good character and i enjoyed her a lot. i was frustrated in the end that they tried to make it seem like her big development/inspiration/etc was apollo ... like ... it should definitely be phoenix, who spent more time with her and investigated with her and started trying to show her other ways of thinking etc. plus she just lost her parents and is clearly searching for guidance and it makes way more sense for her to find that in phoenix than apollo who showed up 2 days ago. i guess they're trying to 1. use the player character 2. push the dhurke connection, but it was stupid when shes obviously more attached to phoenix and/or nahyuta lol

jove "jangly" justice is the funniest name i've read maybe ever and i assume apollo's middle name is jangly. it's so funny how they build to doing his divination seance only to spend almost no time on him fhgkghhklg

anyway in conclusion i liked 6-5 a lot more than i expected. i thought it was pretty fun. i don't really get why fandom is so negative to this game, like even way moreso than DD, when this game is better by any possible margin from gameplay to animation to story coherency imo.

stray other thoughts:

-apollo's backstories are such a meme but i thought his backstory in this game made sense enough with aa4 (where he had no motive/little backstory at all and wasn't much of a player in his own story), and the characters implicated were real characters we got to spend time with and interact with. unlike clay.png

-edgeworth is there for No Reason At All (fanservice) and i find that deeply hilarious. he's nick's +1 and he had to sleep on the floor with a bunch of strangers and crawl through the sewer. hysterical.

-for maya fey's big return game i sure thought maya was going to get to do stuff besides what she always does in a finale, be absent for plot reasons. sigh. oh well at least i got a laugh imagining her and edgeworth spending the rest of the trial arguing about the plumed punisher while nick and apollo are held at gunpoint

-athena cykes sweetie i'm so sorry your role in this game was a fucking embarrassment. so insulting that they turned it all into impressing simon and shit, fuck off man!!! my earlier criticism of this game being sexist even by AA standards remains. even phoenix is like well i can't have you risking your life you're too young (reasonable) and then "simon would kill me" which she acquiesces to???? hfjhgkjg

-nahyuta bamboozling apollo's perceive power by being like "thats the secret... i'm always anxious" was so goddamn funny

[leviticus101st]

Leviticus101st makes a roster for Marvel vs Capcom 4

With the upcoming Marvel vs Capcom collection, a lot of people have been hyped for a Marvel vs Capcom 4 and have been making their dream rosters for it. So I thought I’d do the same. 

I will admit my main inspiration for doing something like this is the YouTuber Thorgi's Arcade, who I do recommend ya check out especially if you're into fighting games.

Also, the reason I've been posting like this lately is because I want to get the Death Battle Kick Starter in front as many eyes as I can. So if ya can, please consider donating, it's a common joke all they do is Marvel and DC, so if you like this topic, I think you'll want to back this: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deathbattle/save-death-battle

I’ll be going off of this image made by Dremmin (@/DreminErryDay) on Twitter for the roster size.

So, that means 30 Mahvel Babies and 30 Capsule Computer Characters.

I’m gonna start with the Capcom Characters, mainly because I want the harder one outta the way first………..Also, I want to get the stupid thing I’m gonna do outta the way.

Capsule Competitors 

Ryu (Street Fighter): No duh. It’s Ryu. Mr. Capcom Fighting Game himself. Ya gotta put him in. However, here’s my stupid plan. Ryu is going to be the only Street Fighter I’m putting on this roster.

Now hear me out, the big joke with Capcom is that they only care about a few of their franchises. Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Monster Hunter. And those jokes are accurate, it really has just been those 3. I want to give Capcom’s other IP’s a chance to shine.

However, as a compromise to this I will be making it so fighters have costumes that make them different characters. Think Echo Fighters from Smash or the costume stuff in NRS games. The only 

For Ryu, his would be Ken, Akuma, and Sakura.

Not every costume fighter will be from the same franchise, but for Ryu, I wanted to be pretty straight forward.

Chris Redfield (Resident Evil): Yeah, I just want to get the obvious ones outta the way. His three costumes will be Leon, Jill, and Claire. 

Monster Hunter…….(Monster Hunter): I guess we could just make the costumes from other outfits from the series.

Alrighty time to get to what I actually want to do.

Dante (Devil May Cry): We’re not quite out of obvious ones yet. 

Vergil (Devil May Cry): No dur.

Nero (Devil May Cry): I haven’t talked about how any character would play yet, since all the ones i talked about so far are returning. I feel like Nero would probably hit harder than Dante, but be a bit slower. Maybe more moves featuring his robot hand.

The Arisen (Dragon’s Dogma): All I know about Dragon’s Dogma is that the theme song slaps and The Arisen is a CAC, just make them an all rounder.

Soh (Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess): The game looks cool, so I wanted to include the MC. Give her the multiple mask stuff and let her call out the villagers. Frank West (Dead Rising): The Dead Rising Remake is on the way. It makes sense to include Frankey Westey. Also, we could make his costumes the other Dead Rising protags.

Regina (Dino Crisis): I saw the polls. Of course she’s gotta be in here. Make her all about gunplay and maybe let her ultimate have a dinosaur come outta nowhere. Costume: Ada Wong

Strider……(Strider): The vs games are all he’s got man. Costumes: Kenji, Ronin, and Ibuki

Fiona Belli (Haunting Ground): Make her dog Hewie do most of the attack and she can use running away from the villains from her game as specials and ults and such.

Hagar (Final Fight): Another no duh one honestly. Costume: Zangief

Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney): I am convinced the only reason he wasn’t in Infinite was budget. Costumes: Apollo Justice and Ryunosuke Naruhodo.

Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney): I just thought it was a good idea. Costumes: Franziska von Karma, Godot, and Manfred von Karma

Steve Spencer (Bionic Commando): The vs games are all he’s got man.

Sissel (Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective): Give him some ghost power and objects and stuff and bam.

Mega Man…..uh forget it, yall get the jist (Mega Man): A have to have in here. We can give him costumes for Protoman, Bass, and Roll.

Mega Man X (Mega Man): He’s got to be here vs games are all us Mega Man fans got aside from the collections. Also, we make his alternate skins Megaman.exe, Starforce Megaman, and Volnutt. 

Zero (Mega Man): Competitive players would lose their shit if he wasn’t here. Also, costumes will be MegaMan Zero, Omega, and uh…..OH! Ciel! We’ll go with Ciel.

William Grey (Dark Void): Uhhhhh. Look, I just wanted a variety of fighters okay? I don’t know a damn thing about Dark Void. Uhhh hang on here….He uses high tech gun shit and a jetpack. Just make that into a fighting game character. 

Samanoska Akechi (Onimusha): He’s a cool sword fighter. Leave me alone.

Tiffany Lords (Rival Schools): Rival Schools needs a W man, also I didn’t want to just Akira……..Actually ya know what?

Akira Kazama (Rival Schools): She’s basically the icon of this franchise. Costume: Mai Ling

Ran Hibiki (Rival Schools): Real talk, I’m choosing her because Superhero comics love their photographers. Costume: JJJ

Pyron (Darkstalkers): It’s a Capcom crossover. Darkstalkers needs to be here and Pyron was the big bad of the first 2 games, he needs to be in a big crossover.

Morrigan (Darkstalkers): No dur.

Edward Falcon (Power Stone): I just love this dude’s look okay.

Valgas (Power Stone): I need to start getting more villains. And this dude is just a wrestler with a power gem, he’s perfect.

Dr. Edward Bilstein (Star Gladiator): This dude is literally Darth Vader. Why would you not want this? Costume: Sigma

Mahvel Babies

Let’s just shotgun the returning ones. I’ll only say anything for different character costumes.

Iron Man: War Machine, Rescue, and Iron Monger.

Captain America: US Agent, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes

Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, and Silk.

Hulk: Red Hulk.

Thor: Leo

Wolverine: Beast, Sabertooth, and Deathstrike

Phoenix: Ingrid (CFE)

Magneto: Nova

Cyclops

Cable

Dr. Doom

Apocalypse

Ultron: Bass.EXE (Mega Man)

Deadpool: Gwenpool

Dr. Strange: Clea

NOW FOR THE LESS BORING PART

Kamala Khan: WHY WASN”T SHE IN INFINITE?! MY DAUGHTER DESERVES IT! That aside, I feel this one is obvious. Have her be a good range character with a bit of rush down. Kamala’s powers are insanely versatile and I think that’s the best way to implement them into a fitting game.

Morph: Just a heads up, I’m going to be referring to Morph here with They/Them pronouns, while to my knowledge they don’t have this gender identity in the books, I just think it’s good to have more nonbinary rep out there. Also, X Men 97 is goated and Morph is also goated there…..watch X-Men 97.

With that addressed, I want to use Morph because their shape shifting would allow for the appearance of characters we couldn’t put in the roster. And I know that’s possible, because that’s what X-Men 97 did with Morph, have them turn into characters they couldn’t fit into the story for cool references and cameos.

Costume: Axl (Mega Man)

Shang-Chi: The movie is goated. Just give him Iron Fist’s moveset. Costumes: Iron Fist, Chun-Li (SF), and Juri(SF).

Mr. Fantastic: Wow, we really have not gotten the FF into any of these games. Like I know Super Skrull is there, but it's still weird. I’d say make him an opposite to Kamala, make him a bit of a grappler with a bit more strength, but slower.

Invisible Woman: It’s gosh diddly darn Sue Storm, of course she’s on here. I say make her a zoner, that feels appropriate with her power set.

The Thing: Grappler. Wow FF has two grappler’s, I wonder if we’ll have two zoners. Costumes: Mr. X (RE), She-Hulk, and William Birkin (RE).

Human Torch: HOLY SHIT WE DO HAVE TWO ZONERS!

DareDevil: Have him use those sticks he throws as projectiles and him be an up close fighter. Also, when he blocks, have him dodge. Costumes: Elektra, Black Widow, and Ada Wong (RE)

Luke Cage: Make him like Scorpion, have him use his chain to bring opponents to him and have him be able to bring the smack down with good defense and heavy, but slow hits.

Vision: Have him be another zoner, his phasing and flight to get distance, and his laser to blast the foe.

Carnage: Rush down. This feels so obvious honestly. Costumes: Venom, Scream, and Mania

Blade: All rounder with his good amount of weapons. Costume: Donovan (Darkstalkers)

Scarlet Witch: Know Asuka from Guilty Gear. Yeah, just make Wanda do that. Costume: Tessa (Red Earth)

Loki: Trickster, technical fighter.

Kingpin: Slow heavy hitter, but what I wanted Kingpin on here because of an idea I had. Have his supers and ranged attacks be lower tier marvel villains. Costume: Red (Mega Man)

OH MY LORD, I’M FINISHED! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE ME LIKE A HALF HOUR TOPS! HOLY HELL!

Let me know if ya want me to do DLC or not….I probably will do it if someone asks, but I’m tired.