#i have made a bunch of ace attorney shorts based of me and my friend's arguements

[kaixserzz]

The idea of reader and dottore flirting but also bickering Infront of the fatui is just so humorous and interesting to me, I saw some ppl on fatuismooches's blog (I love their content go check them out ❤❤) and it just kinda rubbed my brain in the right way

Dottore doesn't know what to do with us, we're a wonder he's still figuring out, even after all these years! He's undoubtedly loyal to you and adores you whole heartedly <3

But that's not to say he'll bend over all the time for you,, you can be quite the handful at times.

The doctor will bring you to various meetings, most being for important affairs regarding the fatui, but he trusts you enough as his assistant and partner to not break his trust. This allows you to have access to much more of a perspective on situations dottore may be dealing with.

And with that being said, you would give him your personal opinion after things are finished being said and done. Dottore takes your thoughts in consideration, but that doesn't mean he entirely agrees with you. This leads to silly arguments insuing in his office, you not agreeing with something, and he acting out in a stubborn fashion. The fatuus that guard the area within the laboratories can hear you two talk, trying to ignore any possible information that may lead to issues for them, but also trying to understand what makes you feel as though you have an opinion on the matters of anything!

Hearing you talk to the doctor, the 2nd fatui harbinger, the madman known for the horrors created within the confines of the lab, being talked down to as if the two of you were equals.. 😓

I wonder how workers like mister krupp (manhwa readers 🤭) viewed you.

YESSS THIS i love for dottore and reader arguing!!

you're the only person who can argue with him equally because he values your opinions and perspective!! you're not like the assistants he had where they would just agree with everything he says because they're too scared to voice out their opinions. even then, their opinions are always "that's too inhumane" or something like that. you are bold, and absolutely holds no fear towards him. that just excites him! he loves riling you up, seeing your brows furrow or you roll your eyes at him.

arguments don't usually get too heated. its comparable to those arguements you and your classmates have trying to solve a problem a teacher presented to you. there could be snark remarks, shouting or very sarcastic gestures, but it's all light! you've been like this since the akademiya, arguing who's more right or wrong, teasing each other. ya'll argue like an old married couple and dottore would never have it any other way 🫶🫶

when your views clashes against his, ofc he's gonna wanna hear why you think of that while also defending himself!! its like always a debate whenever you argue!! always happens with experiments and scheming!!

thats why he made the segments anyway! perspective! yours just matters the most of course :3

i think most of the fatuis regard you with great respect. mostly because if they upset you, they will very much upset dottore as well. if you were nicer, then they would absolutely love to work for you. body guard? heaven sent job. but if you are just as mean and horrible as dottore? they'd wish they never got into the fatui :3

[lyllyan-weiss]

LONG Character Survey: Lyllyan Weiss

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Lyllyan Aster Weiss

NICKNAME: Lyl, Lily, Lil' Lily.

AGE: 21

BIRTHDAY: 11th Sun of the 6th Astral Moon (November 10th)

ETHNIC GROUP: Auri|Xaela (In Eorzea)/ Human (Out of World)

NATIONALITY: Eorzean (In Eorzea)/American (Out of World)

LANGUAGES: Eorzean, Draconic, basically anything due to the echo.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: She is Bi. Swings both ways. She loves all.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Depending on the different routes on the story, she will be either single or taken.

CLASS: Jack-of-all-trades

•Knows everything and knows how to play everything.

• Favors caster classes above everything else.

HOMETOWN / AREA: N/A

CURRENT HOMETOWN / AREA: Shirogane is where her apartment is, but she sees Ishgard as her home that she spends her time in, and then the Crystarium had became home to her as well.

PROFESSION: Scion, Adventurer, Full time hero in both her world and Eorzea. In her world she is a waitress and an artist/animator.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Right now it is Brown with Light brown Highlights

EYES: Purple (Right), Green (Left)

NOSE: Small and Sharp

LIPS: Small and full

COMPLEXION: Pale but fair.

BLEMISHES: None.

SCARS: In Eorzea, her scars are battle scars that is more aligned on her back. They do not show up when she is in her world.

TATOOS: The Scion Tatoo on the part where the neck and back meet.

HEIGHT: 5'0

WEIGHT: 130lb (Eorzea)/ 150lb (Her World)

BUILD: Short, Thin and fit.

FEATURES: None really.

ALLERGIES: Rolanberries in Eorzea, Strawberries in her world.

USUAL HAIRSTYLE: Long hair with a half braid in the back in Eorzea. In her world she has short hair that stops in the middle of her neck.

USUAL FACE LOOK: Warm color Eye shadow applied lightly to the eyes and a very nude color for lipstick in Eorzea. In her world, she hardly puts make up on, but usually has dark circles due to being tired all the time.

USUAL CLOTHING: Depending on her mood, she'll go very modest, or wearing a bikini with thigh boots. In her world, she is always modest with usually a t-shirt and sweats.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEARS: Bugs (Mainly Arachnids, spiders are the worst.) Antilions that hide in the sands. Losing her love ones. Becoming Sin Eater. Being alone. Falling.

ASPIRATIONS: Explore all of the worlds she could go to, but also to make animations that can change the world.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, happy go lucky, Compassionate, tries to take care of everyone, protective, loving, friendly, trusting.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn enough to push past her limits, usually getting her hurt. She so selfless that she tends to forget about taking care of herself. She can be too trusting of others that she often gets hurt in the end. She usually bottles her problems with the worry of being a burden to others. Very emotional driven (Just ask Ser Zephirin).

ZODIAC: Scorpio.

TEMPERAMENT: Artistic and Motherly

SOUL TYPE(S): The Priest, The Artisan, The Server.

ANIMALS: Cat

VICE HABIT(S): From the definition that I read, her faults are that she feels like anything bad that happens to her or her friends are her fault, and that she sometimes Envy others. But her hobbies that she enjoys are reading, triple triad, drawing, and writing.

FAITH: The Twelve. Even in her world she believes in the Twelve.

GHOSTS?: Definitely

AFTERLIFE?: I hope there is one.

REINCARNATION?: Well so far that we know, reincarnation is a thing, right?

ALIENS?: I doubt the world was made for one type of civilization, plus multiple worlds. Yes.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Uh...Alphinaud does politics for me.

ECONOMIC PREFERENCE: Just trying to survive, man. Stable, I guess.

SOCIO POLITICAL POSITION: Uh... Alphinaud???

EDUCATION LEVEL: Lyllyan herself has had up to some college in her own world. In Eorzea, she has an understanding of Aether and well has learned all the classes, so being able to pick up something new, she can learn fairly quick.

FAMILY.

FATHER: Captain Carebear (Mykel Weiss)

MOTHER: She doesn't have the ability to go to Eorzea so her name is Lynn Weiss.

Siblings: Lucas Weiss(Rafien Dalarain(Deactivated)), Nathaniel Weiss(Random Guy (deactivated)), Olivia Weiss (Never been to Eorzea).

EXTENDED FAMILY: Grandmother(Nana)(Deceased), Granfather(Poppy), Fortemps Family (Rest in Peace Haucherfaunt).

NAME MEANING(S): Lyllyan is based off of the Lily flower. Aster is based off of the Aster flower, and then Weiss is a name given to those with white hair or pale complexion.

HISTORICAL CONNECTION: Um...Ascian? Amourotine?

FAVORITES.

BOOK: If its Manga, It's Rurouni Kenshin. Books would be the 'Septimus Heap' series by Angie Sage.

MOVIE/PLAY: Movie would be 'Wizard of Oz'. Favorite Play would be 'Hamilton'.

5 SONGS:

•'Seasonal Feathers' by Len and Rin Kagamine

•'Drakkar' by Distrion and Electro-Light

•'Light it Up' by Robin Hustin and TobiMorrow (feat. Jex)

•'Stitches' by Shawn Mendes

•'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran

DEITY: Thaliak

HOLIDAY: Valentione

MONTH: November/ 6th Astral Moon

SEASON: Spring

PLACE: Rak'Tika Greatwoods

WEATHER: Rain

SOUND: Ocean waves.

SCENT(S): Cherry Blossom, sweet.

TASTE(S): Favorite food is Bacon so....also likes sweet things.

FEEL(S): Fuzzy blankets, warm cloth, soft.

ANIMALS: She loves all animals! If she had to narrow it down, it would be Cats, Pandas, and Chocobos. Does Pokemon count?

NUMBER: 8 but screw Construct 8

COLORS: Purple, light green, light blue.

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Drawing.

BAD AT: Math. She used to bring her homework to Eorzea to have Alphinaud and Urianger help her.

TURN ONS: Oooo. Funny, kind, calm, generous, but also romantic.

TURN OFFS: Selfish, rude ass hoe, and killing my friends.

HOBBIES: Singing, Drawing, Reading, Exploring, Triple Triad.

TROPES: Mother Hen.

AESTHETIC TAGS: Chocolate and Caramel. Honey. Lavender and Leaves. I think that's how this works???

FC INFO.

MAIN FC(S): Scions of the Dawn. It consist of Dad and myself.

ALT FC(S): None.

OLDER FC(S): We did have an FC on Gilgamesh called Lionheart with the Tag FF8. It was one that we had started the game when we got out of beta, but moved to different server/data center.

YOUNGER FC(S): *Confused Au Ra noises*

VOICE CLAIM(S): ??????

GENDERBENT FC(S): *Even more confused Au Ra noises*

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: IF YOU COULD WRITE YOUR CHARACTER YOUR WAY IN THEIR OWN MOVIE, WHAT WOULD IT BE CALLED, WHAT STYLE WOULD IT BE FILMED IN, AND WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?

•So, I'm already making a comic that I want to make as an animation for the story of FFXIV with my character and her friends. This character was specifically built for FFXIV, but it has a twist. Kinda like a Sword Art Online ordeal, but instead of Millions of people playing are stuck in the world, it's just like 100, but they aren't stuck, in fact they are just chosen to go between their world and Eorzea. If they die, they don't actually die, but respawn, even in their own world, but they feel how they die and the only way for them to die in any shape or form is by natural cause like old age or sickness. This would be a 2D animation in the anime style and be a multi episode series with multiple seasons. I even though about branching out to go certain routes so that Lyllyan can end up with all my favorite characters. I would call it Final Fantasy XIV: A World Reborn.

Q2: WHAT WOULD THEIR SOUNDTRACK/SCORE SOUND LIKE?

•With it being a Final Fantasy story, it would have Final Fantasy Music.

Q3: WHY DID YOU START WRITING THIS CHARACTER?

•Lyllyan Weiss was made to represent me and she still does, but also inspires me to be more like my courageous heroic self. Because of this, I have been able to do things like crossing a bridge that's in bad shape to get to the other side without the fear of falling, just to get back to my mom who went to the other side on a trip we had.

Q4: WHAT FIRST ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS CHARACTER?

•She is literally me.

Q5: DESCRIBE THE BIGGEST THING YOU DISLIKE ABOUT YOUR MUSE.

•Just like me, she is stubborn and hard working, but there are times she pushes herself way too much. She hesitates to ask for help, not because she doesn't trust the people around her, but more of trying to not burden them. Others wish she would open up to them and also rest when she can. Raha has to literally force her to rest, and she nearly gets herself killed against the first battle with Rahjit because she kept getting back up to fight even when the others beg her to stop.

Q6: WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN COMMON WITH YOUR MUSE?

•Almost everything. Major thing is that she doesn't look like me, but also I know when to quit.

Q7: HOW DOES YOUR MUSE FEEL ABOUT YOU?

• I feel like if Lyllyan and I were to meet in person, we'd get along just fine. We would play video games all day long if we could.

Q8: WHAT CHARACTERS DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE INTERESTING INTERACTIONS WITH?

•OH BOI HERE WE GOOO

- Leveilleur Twins: Alphinaud and Alisaie are very close to Lyllyan. Alphinaud used to pull Lyllyan out of class to have her hurry up and go through the story, now its chill and play ace attorney. Alphinaud, depending on what route is taken, is definitely in love with Lyllyan and is constantly teased about it by everyone. Alisaie is like a sister to Lyllyan. They have had many nights where the pulled 24 hours playing Sims. Alisaie is who Lyllyan tries to protect the most between the two. She's also the reason why Lyllyan is now Bi. Lyllyan absolutely adores her and if the route is taken, they end up being the cutest couple.

-Leon D'hart: An Alt character that I made that depending on the story and route, he is also Lyllyan's Lover. He is a character made by Square Enix to be the Warrior of Light replacement if Lyllyan did not succeed in preventing herself becoming a light warden. His story with her is a bunch of trial and tribulations, but in the end they do end up married.

-G'raha Tia/Crystal Exarch: The main story Lyllyan's Lover. Great friend to start out and tears were shed when he sealed himself into the tower. He really kept Lyllyan guessing when he was Exarch. When Emet-Selch kidnapped him, Lyllyan was hellbent on getting him back. Now she visits him at the first everyday bring stuff from Eorzea for him, and even occasionally stuff from her world. He is her world as she is to him.

-The Scions: Thancred and Lyllyan are like Big brother, Little sister. He protects her, and scolds her as such. They may act like they hate each other, but the moment either gets hurt, the other is at their sides. Though rumor has it that Thancred had feelings for Lyllyan. Y'shtola is close to Lyllyan, but is usually not around often. Shtola usually is often around to keep an eye on Lyllyan's aether since her amount is quite high compared to the others and her fellow Warriors of Light. Urianger is someone who used to hardly talk to Lyllyan, but started opening up more after the years. He had watched her grow from 15 moons to now 21 as the others, but they seem to be more special to him. Lyllyan swore to protect him if anything ever happened especially after he asked her her thoughts on his new attire. Tataru is a precious angel and if anyone was to hurt her, Lyllyan would kill everyone and then herself. Ryne, even though she is not a scion, she is a scion. Ryne worries about Lyllyan, but is often in awe of her. Lyllyan and Thancred adopted her, and she's ended up calling Lyllyan mom on many occasions.

-Ser Aymeric: Depending on the route, he would be Lyllyan's Lover and he tries to protect her when he can, be it politics or in war. He has a dream to journey with her, and though he can't do so with Lylyan Weiss the Au Ra, there is nothing saying he can't make a character and become a Warrior of Light himself and travel with Sakura Yue(Lyllyan's Alt).

-Zenos Yae Galvus: So this guy commits Seppuku and then shows up at Lyllyan's job as her new Bartender. They end up becoming friends through the job, and the fact that Zenos is bored out of his mind that he can't go kill people,but finding out later that he is back makes Square Enix themselves worried about this guy.

-Estinien: Lyllyan had adopted him as her Edgy Son. He hates it. He reminds her that he is older than him, and she retorts about beating him as a Lalafel. He usually starts brooding after that on a high building that usually takes Alphinaud and Ser Aymeric to get him down.

•I'm only stopping this cause there are so many more characters!!!

Q9:WHAT GIVES YOU INSPIRATION TO WRITE YOUR MUSE?

•Music and Playing Final Fantasy. Mainly XIV, but others do count too, but also reading all the other fanfiction and comics about final fantasy XIV.

Q10: HOW LONG DID THIS TAKE YOU TO COMPLETE?

About...4 hours? Maybe more? My hands definitely hurt from all the typing! XD

============

Tagged by @amandafullmetal

Tagging @ladyramora @ranier-layarte @scholarlostintime @fabledtactician

[gottagobuycheese]

UPDATE/INTRO - Hello, friends!

So uhhhhh I’ve been gone a fair while, but it looks like in the mean time a bunch more of you made the flattering and questionable decision of following along with me through this chaotic mess of a website, so to all you new folks: hello and welcome! In light of that, here’s a quick intro thingy: 

Name: Cheese (like the Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends character)

Content: basically anything that catches my interest + occasional current events stuff, resource posts, and other miscellaneous things 

I think most of you newer folk came for the Good Omens stuff (which works out because I am still thoroughly obsessed), but some other stuff that I’ll always love that you will likely see include Avatar/LoK, Legend of Zelda stuff, Ace Attorney, Undertale/Deltarune, and art/writing resources and tips 

(On that note if anyone’s read The Rise of Kiyoshi and wants to scream about it please do scream about it here with me) 

Original content: I sometimes post my own art or writing, 99% fan-based content, but it’s very irregular (I am definitely not an Art/Writing Blog™) 

Tags: I tend to ramble in the tags a lot

Like a LOT a lot 

You will either find it entertaining or get sick of it really quickly in which case I sincerely apologize 

That being said I try to tag everything and if you have something you’d like me to tag just ask! 

Activity level varies widely: I’ll alternate between reblogging a lot and just not being around for weeks or months at a time

DO NOT WORRY IF YOU DON’T HEAR FROM ME FOR A LONG TIME WITH NO EXPLANATION: my life is quite busy atm and looks like it’ll only get busier, so any time I’m on here is probably time I shouldn’t be on here but also my brain needs a break sometime 

Personal posts: tagged “Cheese’s personal molasses”; I highly advise blacklisting it or skipping those posts unless you want to get to know me uncomfortably well 

Though honestly the amount I yammer on and on in the tags of random posts, if you’re a tag-reader you’ll probably get to know me uncomfortably well anyway XD  

Oh yeah most personal post talk will happen in the tags as well so I don’t clutter your dash...I hope 

Talking: I’m always down to talk about any of my interests or stuff I’ve made or whatever, so please don’t be afraid to approach me! I promise I am probably more afraid of you than you are of me, haha 

Also I’m apparently about as intimidating as a marshmallow so 

As is evident by the length of this post, which was going to be short and snappy, it takes me forever to get to the point and I am very sorry 

tl;dr: I’m Cheese, posting is irregular, original content is more irregular, I am pathologically unable to shut up, and I’m very pleased to meet you! 

[attract-mode-collective]

Not An April Fools Gag; That’s A Game Boy Advance With A GameCube Stick Affixed For Reals

What you're seeing is a modded GBA that I spotted on eBay. It's a real thing! Though it doesn't magically grant analogue control to all the digital input only games on the system, which is all of them for the record (sorry). Then again, it could be argued that the controls in WarioWare Twisted is technically analogue...

That aside aside, welcome to yet another recap of stuff posted over at the Attract Mode Twitter! Though this time it's gonna be a bit on the short side, relatively speaking; even I know covering two entire whole weeks has led to hard to handle Tumblr posts, so I'm going to try concentrating on just one week at a time/attempt weekly updates.

Let's see how well that goes...

Hey, it's SF2 IRL thanks to ARKit (via prostheticknowledge)...

At the time, when I first tweeted about it, there were only three left of Amanda Visell’s Player One Mario; no idea how many there are now...

When you can make a decision regarding lunch (via @Mechazawa)....

If you appreciate both the ease of slip-on sneakers and the taste of ghosts, then Games Glorious has something for you (via miki800.com)...

As a connoisseur of video games on the printed page, it is my goal to one day own a copy of Namco's newsletter that was distributed in game centers during the 80s & 90s, NG (via miki800)...

Remember that time Namco got someone from Yellow Magic Orchestra to hawk their wares (via namcomuseum)...

Both in print and on TV…

The YMO member in question, Haruomi Hosono, also did a Xevious remix album, which longtime readers of the blog will hopefully recall.

Sticking with Namco CMs, there’s a pair of longtime faves that I could have sworn I’ve already posted as well, yet cannot find. Though as noted, many times already, the search functionality here is broken.

So here’s a boy playing with his Famicom in the middle of the woods...

And here’s a girl playing with his Famicom in the middle of the woods...

Back to the subject of print, can’t seem to find any info on the Futabasha Fantasy Novel Series, which (I think) was a line of video game novelizations; this one appears to be written by the creator of Xevious himself (via shmups)...

The focus here is supposed to be the Lawson’s reward card with Kirby on it, but I am all about that Space Invaders whatever the heck it is (via miki800)...

Spent MANY hours at Japanese bookstores during my college years, flipping through Sega Saturn Magazine; seeing these VF Kids ads again makes me feel all warm & fuzzy (via thesegasource)...

This (what I believe to be a) farewell image of the face of the Saturn from the very first issue of Dreamcast Magazine, also gives me the feels (via oldgamemags)...

BTW, everyone knows the identity of Saturn's pitchman (Segata Sanshiro), but what about the Mega Drive's? (via yokosuka87)...

Back to the Saturn; I love how Sega want from Segata Sanshiro to Hidekazu Yukawa for the Dreamcast. This launch edition of the console, btw, was spotted at VideoGamesNewYork...

It's also where they Kira Kira Star Night DX for twice the asking price, as @gamespite)...

Speaking of music, to fully enjoy this animated gif of Eggman running…

… you need to have this song playing (via lunaticobscurity).

And to fully enjoy this image of Eggman on the sax…

... you need to have this song playing (via very-territorial-oak).

@ondoruragitan sez: "whoever designed that clown lady in ace attorney is probably the most horny artist to ever exist" (it's funny cuz it's true)...

So the big news these past few weeks, especially among video game folk my age, has been the end of the Toys R Us. Many have been sharing artifacts from the glory days, with my fave example being these old flyers, with the obvious highlight seeing all the original MSRP prices (via retrogamerblog)...

Oh, and don’t forget the gifs (via nintendroid)...

The following are more appropriate for my way, way overdue batch of game culture snapshots, but since we're on the subject of retail anyway; I recently stumbled across Nintendo's collab with Bloomingdale's that I had no idea even existed...

Took a bunch of pics, but unfortunately, due to the harsh lighting at the SoHo store, it was impossible to capture the women’s section, hence the abundance of men’s wear...

These women's sweatshirts are the best example of the line's overall design sensibilities, or lack thereof; it’s just a bunch of random Nintendo sprites on attire that is available at Bloomingdale's, period. That's all it aspires to be, nothing more...

... And that's a real shame, cuz aside from the quality of the clothing itself being high, some of the ho-hum looking designs could be really engaging with a few minor tweaks, like this b&w women's jacket with a very random assortment of b&w Super Mario World sprites...

In addition to clothing, you had accessories, like iPhone cases...

Plus sunglasses, which revealed Super Mario World playing on what appears to the naked eye to be a blank, white screen....

Speaking of Super Mario World, here's a hamster enjoying the game (via @kousuke_teppei)...

The lil guy also owns an original Famicom, and here we is playing Solomon's Key (thanks to @Topherocious for helping me to identify the game)...

Being that friend who is REALLY into video games means I'm asked a wide variety of questions from folks who are not, like why @beesmygod  is "freaking out" over a Sonic & Garfield two pack for the PC...

... I'll be honest, I don't really understand why either.

Here we have a mockup for an ad blocker that replaces banners with GBA screenshots, which I really want to see happen (via @tinycartridge)...

I also really want to see this happen too (via @truongasm)...

Back to Tiny Cart; that's where I found out that you no longer have to play emulated Tiger handheld games sans backgrounds...

Nothing beats a pic of a dimly lit arcade, especially when it's shot on ACTUAL film (via mendelpalace)...

As for this particular arcade show, @kappuru theorizes "it looks like cinestill film, or a filter designed to mimic it." (via parkerwoods)...

"WHO IS THIS NUN?! WHY DOES SHE LOOK SO SINISTER?" is a great KOF related question (via vice-s-assistant)...

And "BOWL BEFORE ME" is a great KOF related gag (via brondeef)...

"this is the best cosplay i’ve ever seen" is a a great costume play related observation made by lunaticobscurity...

"how to get away with playing super mario odyssey in class" is the caption given by retrogamerblog...

"Stardew Valley gave me 500 characters to use as my farm name, so I put down an entire 1-star amazon review for an Independence Day DVD" is the explanation given by @NoahHafford...

Hey, you never know, maybe one day a homebrew dev might make “Shinjuku-Nichome Gay District Serial Murders” a reality? (via mendelpalace)

When you’ve got one copy of Melee with two boxes, and one copy of Air Ride with zero boxes… just gotta improvise (via stellatuna)...

When you’ve got a killer Game Genie code but no paper to write it down on... and then you discover the code does something totally different (via theassortment)...

And when I asked what this 4koma featuring a Dreamcast VMU was all about, @JonahD was kind enough to explain: "VMUs are playing hide and seek, Black is seeking. One VMU thinks hiding in the controller would be good but it makes a bunch of noise and they’re found immediately" (via posthumanwanderings)...

Whereas I have yet to find out what all these Sonics are doing at a German airport (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

I normally don’t let the weather get to me, yet the constant cold weather in NYC over the past few weeks began taking its toll, to the point that I’m starting to resemble an upside down Super Famicom/European SNES (via sixteen-bit)...

I also really wish I could have checked out Sakura-Con, and not just cuz the weather is so much nicer in Seattle, but to pick up @alexisparade's Monster Factory zine...

I stared at gif illustrating the wacky perspective-related behavior of Super Mario 64’s trees for an entire day, no joke (via suppermariobroth)...

Here we have the rarely seen alternate angle of the internet famous "LAN party gamer duct-taped to the ceiling" photo (via reddit.com)...

Turning the clock back even further, here's yet another kind of party, one that doesn’t involve first person shooters but shoot ‘em ups; it’s the 1986 Hudson Caravan (via videogamesdensetsu)...

Recently, a modded NES Max controller showed up on Kotaku, in which the cycloid nub has been replaced with an analogue stick...

... Which actually appeared the day after I spotted that modded GBA at the very top of this page. I am also willing to admit the disappointment over my tweet not catching on as expected/hoped it would, hence why I'm sharing another pic...

At any rate, I was also reminded of my buddy Nick Santaniello's modded Jaguar controller, which allows for arcade perfect Tempest 2000 controls...

... Which in turned led to me republishing the post from which it hails from originally, my recap of Nick's Shmup Appreciation Night, for Medium (and also sharing additional pics on Twitter)...

BTW, for those wondering, based upon the last round of tweets; the kitchen isn’t just for playing old Mega Drive & PC Engine shmups… you can also play old Naomi fighting games (via internetflexin)...

Guess that's it for now? Sorry, but it finally feels like spring in NYC, and I feel the need to step away from the computer & enjoy weather! Just like Mega Man (via arcadequartermaster)...

[falcon6]

Turnabout Design: Shaping Up a Detective and a Child

Hello, and welcome back to Turnabout Design, a novice’s look at character design using the Ace Attorney series as a base. I am waiting about as long as you are for Gumshoe to pop up in Ace Attorney 7 or whatever, I’ll even take Dai Gyakuten Saiban where it’s revealed he’s a time-traveler, just. Anything......and let us begin. This time, I will NOT spoil much in terms of plotlines for cases or anything involving the two characters I talk about.

So previously, I jumped ahead into Justice for All and Franziska von Karma. While doing so, I failed to bring up a pretty big character from the first game. One of my favorites, in fact. The scruffy detective himself, Detective Dick Gumshoe.

It was at that time I was considering what I could discuss for each post that would be relevant to the actual subject at hand, instead of using half of the post to describe how much I love the design and character like some sort of fanboy. If you read my posts, you probably noticed how I did with that.

Eheh.

So I kind of put the detective off, much like he puts off a good meal of noodles in his cardboard home.

Still, I thought up a pretty decent subject matter to discuss, and I thought “Why not combine two characters into one post to get the point across?” So I had another character come along. The lovable semi-assistant to Wright and spirit medium prodigy, Pearl Fey.

Two fairly different characters, aside from a specific trait I’ll talk about later. However, they provide a fairly important example of character design that I can discuss at length. I knew I liked these characters for a reason!

Shapes

From our earliest development as human beings, we have been a shape. When we walk into our work or school location, we are surrounded by other people of various shapes, all carrying their own shapes. We eat shapes, drive shapes, walk on shapes, stare at shapes, yearn to ask shapes out but can’t gather the shape of courage...you’re reading this on a shape right now. Shapes are very crucial to both design and art in general.

Artists use shapes to construct the form of a piece. They look at forms and try to break them down into simple, geometric shapes so they can be easier to digest. It’s why you see a lot of artists start with very basic shapes for “blueprints”. It is a lot easier to piece together a drawing in form than it is to try and create the entire picture at once.

Character design, however, seeks to push those elements further. The shapes you use to form a character may very well define the character as well. 

Let’s take Detective Gumshoe.

Specifically, let’s look at how you can simplify his shape as a square.

Shapes, like colors as I mentioned before, can detail a lot about a character’s personality and can be dependent on the artist’s own point of view. Those can usually coincide with the viewer, but not always. As this series has always been opinion-based, I’ll discuss my thoughts on what I think square means.

A square, much like a rock, is dependable. It’s sturdy and a bit intimidating. A square implies weight. When a character is big and muscular, a round shape doesn’t really cut it for describing them. They almost seem like a wall.

For Gumshoe, we know he is reliable to a fault. He is steadfast in wanting to do the right thing and very rarely goes against the lead prosecutor of the case unless he truly believes that they are incorrect in their judgements. He’s an ally to Phoenix and Maya, but is still a loyal friend and confidant to Edgeworth. The working relationship with Edgeworth and Gumshoe is stable, regardless of how many pay cuts the poor detective gains. Even in times of great turmoil and potential harm to his person, he gives his all to try and secure the day, even if he outright fails doing it. He can do it when it counts, pal!

In contrast, let’s take a look at Pearl. Pearl, like most younger “cute” characters in anime, can usually be exemplified as a circle.

A circle, or oval or sphere, is usually described as a ball. A ball is bouncy, playful. A bit endearing. The lack of edges makes the shape feel more safe. Most of the characters people think of when “famous cartoon character” comes to mind are usually given that spherical shape as a base. One of the most famous examples, Mickey Mouse, is just three circles when simplified. It’s a safe bet, then, that circles are going to be very popular when it comes to character design.

With Pearl, we know she’s adorable. Her first appearance is as an innocent bystander and later on becomes a staple of the first trilogy for Phoenix and Maya to work with. Her design is endearing, making her a fan-favorite. She’s a warm presence in Phoenix’s life which strives to help him succeed in his job, either to help Maya in some way or trying to force the two to fall in love together. She’s a precious flower that keeps getting involved with murder somehow, so basically Phoenix and Maya are terrible guardians.

Can’t believe he has a kid...

Angular Tangent

Now, those aren’t the only shapes of course. The two I emphasized are simply the ones that made sense for Gumshoe and Pearl.

Another common shape that people like to use for design is a triangle. The angular lines usually imply a deviousness. Cunning. Threatening. Determination. They are also the more energetic of the shapes, usually because they imply direction and movement. Dynamic. These tend to pop up most in villainous characters, who are usually given more pointy features. 

Downward triangles are pretty common for devious characters.

A triangle doesn’t have to be shown in a sinister character only. It can be a good indicator on more fun, light-hearted characters, like Athena.

Triangles imply energy. Athena is a bundle of it.

So while triangles indicate caution, they also imply energy and optimism. Consider how a star, which is usually a symbol of hope, is a bunch of triangles.

And also consider how a star can also be used in a demonic summoning, and you understand that shapes are as varied as everyone else.

Innocence

So let’s talk about the characters real fast, since there’s one thing that defines them both that I think is a pretty good concept: an endearing childlike personality.

Gumshoe is not a child. He’s a bumbler and sometimes pretty stupid, but he’s as adult as all the others. He’ll focus his efforts on trying to help solve the case in whatever manner it takes. He’s a loyal companion to Edgeworth for years, and Edgeworth is not keeping him on because of his ineptitude. It’s because he knows, no matter where things may lead, Gumshoe will have his back. That’s the kind of working relationship you respect, and Edgeworth more than likely understands that positive influence in his life.

Gumshoe’s got a childlike loyalty for whomever he’s allgned with at that point, be it Edgeworth, Phoenix, or even Franny. It’s a sort of endearing trait that keeps him close to most fans’ hearts. It shows very well in how he’s able to get along with child characters like Pearl and Kay Faraday.

Pearl, of course, is an actual child, but her presence as a child helps ground Phoenix. Murder after murder makes the life of a defense attorney pretty grim, but Maya and Pearl are sort of like lights in his life that helps him keep moving forward. When Maya is in danger, Pearl is always able to put her feelings of the moment aside to help Phoenix in any way she can, be it as an assistant or by trying to summon Mia Fey to help them.

They promote ways to better their charges in any way they can, and that has helped them both in various ways that only the audience can really notice.

Conclusion

So what did I learn from making this post?

Shapes can be seen as different from a lot of people’s perspectives. Shapes are going to be key in differentiating a character.

I kind of went over this in my Phoenix post, but the shape of a character is actually a lot more than just its silhouette. It’s the actual feel of the character. The silhouette is good for making the design unique, but their character only begins once you assemble the design that was hiding beneath it. You can make a very unique blob of a character that you want to be scary, but if it’s just implied roundness, then it’ll look cuter than scarier. Meanwhile, 50 sharp angles on a baby’s face is going to make me very afraid to hold that baby.

Shapes are going to be a key to designing characters for me, especially as a graphic designer. Shapes are everywhere and can imply anything.

It’s just all about how you use those shapes.

Thank you for reading. This was a bit short considering how long it took for this post. I may end up making something faster for next time, but I’m not sure yet. It really depends on if the mood works.

Whenever I do, it’ll probably be a bit of a gushing-about-character post. Until then, it’s just a Distant Trace...