#love the fact that Descole went

[jesterday00]

Spent the entire time I was drawing this insulting Descole’s stupid outfit. Removable collar and tall ass pirate hat fucker.

[heal-the-ashes]

Random PL related facts about me I've been wanting to share but never have (and that changes today). It's only two facts, but maybe I'll have more to share eventually.

One: I've consistently spelled Don Paolo's name wrong. Even after I finished all 6 main games. Guys, it was only when I went on here when I realized, Oh god. His name is Don Paolo. Not Dan Paolo.

Two: I spent about 10 real life years thinking Randall was dead. Maybe more. I only played the games this year. A family member played MM when it came out. I was too young to understand puzzles. But. But when I watched them play. They were at the end of Akbadain. And I saw the whole cutscene. All I knew was I saw a boy fall and that boy Loved Puzzles.

I never forgot him. I kept wondering what happened to The Boy Who Loved Puzzles And Fell. Who Was Also Related To Masks.

Sometime when... idk, maybe around the same time/age, my family members watched Eternal Diva.

I saw it with them, because Oh! Funny Hat Man Who Speaks Weirdly Is On A Ship With My Favorite Blue Character Luke!

And there's—(gasp)—a guy with a mask!

I thought. Guys. For the entire like decade. I thought Randall and Descole were the same person. (This is where TEoA came from btw)

And I thought Randall's name was "Randy". (Remembered only like a year ago. Me wanting to find out what happened to "Randy" (and now being able to) made me play all the games.)

However, I'd like to add what I call "the cutscene that isn't there at all," which probably was a dream or my own made-up reason for "The Boy Who Lost Randy".

Hershel indeed had the mask. My childhood brain didn't understand why "Randy" didn't give The Other Boy the mask. So, in my childhood brain's version, he did. In fact, I think it was a whole imagined cutscene where The Other Boy, after Randy's hand slipped from his, tried again to reach for him. But what was in his grasp next was not the warm embrace of his friend's hand—It was the cold, lifeless mask that doomed his friend. And going back to "the surface" as I thought it to be, The Boy Who Survived went to inspect the mask. To use it. To figure out why it took Randy's life.

And it. Didn't. Work.

Whatever it was supposed to be used for, The Boy didn't know what it was. He didn't know why it didn't work. I knew it had some sort of power—It just refused to activate.

And The Boy was so unbelievably upset: He threw the mask, being within a green-themed office with other archeological artifacts. The mask hit other items, knocked them off shelves, broke some things.

The Boy Who Survived hated it.

He hated the mask—and everything he was doing. Because there was nothing he could do to save his friend. To get answers. To have peace.

The Other Boy may have walked away from it in my childhood brain's version.

But I never did.

But I also could never play it until now. Though, whenever my friends, years and years later, told me: "Let's do an escape room!" or whenever I saw a puzzle…

I thought of him.

I thought of The Boy Who Fell.

I was reminded about how passion can sometimes lead to success or victory. Or crumbling defeat. Or loss that was too great to even imagine at a whole, wider scale.

It was only the December of 2023 that I realized I could find out what happened to Randy.

I looked up, "Professor Layton and the Mask". Miracle Mask showed up. It had to be it.

I looked up, "Professor Layton and the Mask Randy".

Randall Ascot showed up.

And I.

Found.

Out.

The Boy Who Fell... never died.

The first thing I sought to do was watch Eternal Diva. It was the first thing I had available.

And then I found out that The Masked Man was NOT "Randy". I went so, so long believing that they were the same person.

That The Other Boy grew up, adopted a kid (im sorry i didnt know the lore but i thought luke was adopted by him), and decided to go on a cruise vacation. On said cruise vacation, an evil guy showed up and was making a bunch of people disappear and fall from inside the ship. He was evil. He was bad.

But The Other Boy Who Was Now A Man With An Adopted Kid cornered The Bad Guy With The Mask. In a room on the ship, btw. The Detragiganto didn't exist.

They were almost the only ones left. They were The Survivors of the Masked Man's Game.

The Eternal Diva—the woman that the movie was named after—flew in the room, because she was a ghost, and absolutely obliterated The Masked Guy Who Was Bad.

She revealed his identity.

She revealed that he was Randy.

The Man Who Didn't Remember Because He Fell.

And The Man Who Survived All The Way Back Then was so, so, so saddened. So betrayed.

I'm quite happy. I'm happy that I can think of puzzles without thinking about The Boy Who Fell and The Boy Who Survived.

That every battle of wits was no longer a battle of life.

Oh, it sounds dramatic, but don't pity me. It's so, so hilarious to me. LMAO

I'm glad I can finally share this.

[brambletakato]

if you’re worried the wordcount’s gonna scare away readers, it probably won’t. i’d absolutely read a 2k post if it’s about my guy jean desmond descole sycamore. honestly i’d read a 20k post about him if i could. pinky swear

... ok so i was actually working on this a few months back.. I wrote a very long draft, then I saved it and came back to it, cringed myself out and just. never posted it,,, but after a few months since I figured that its just because I went too deep into it right off the bat instead of giving a ""small"" summary so here we go ATTEMPT 2!!!!

(also if you're an oomf, you're a part of the campaign and you know what orange spoilers mean then do NOT read further pretty please bats my eyelashes at you) AND PROFESSOR LAYTON SPOILERS

So when I talk about campaign Des, I'm referring to a version of Descole that I've roleplayed for almost 5 years now (which is INSANE to me . has it been that long??? whar??? since when??? it's still 2019 is it not????)

The campaign hook is that it's essentially a mass isekai/amnesia plot; Your blorbo from some fandom gets sent into this world patchworked from other universes and whatnot, and they have to figure out their past whilst also finding out how to get back home. Super cheesy stuff on paper ngl, if you read it on some tv series' synopsis you'd probably skip

But its stupid fun to be a bit silly and have Jean Descole from the professor layton series interact with The Mario from the paper mario series and its a guilty pleasure :]

So as for a summary as to what happened over the 5 years (and then I can clarify on any points if anybody is curious (cricket noises));

To clarify who Descole is in this campaign, he only remembers bits of his life in regards to the canon/campaign rp. He remembers having a wife and daughter, but he doesn't remember that they're dead. He remembers his parents getting kidnapped and having to give away his brother, but he doesn't remember what happened to him after that. He remembers bits of his crimes as Descole, but never why other than for either the Azran or Targent. He's right in hindsight, but it's not he's expecting in the present time. He doesn't remember Raymond at all :( poor guy

He also accidentally adopted a young Trucy Wright (like... around 7-8 years old?) because her father is nowhere to be found and his group is actually nuts with close to no responsible adults. ... Actually why don't I talk about them for a sec;

He ended up in a party of like... 9-10 people and yes that is just as insane as it sounds. Some characters would join or leave the party but it has consistently been 7 characters attending excluding Descole. and yes they're all played by different people except mario who's played by the host, so thats like. 8 players at the table at one time

Anyway so this party is pretty much the source of most of his trauma in the campaign funnily enough. One of them blackmails him about his past and then tries to turn the rest of the group against him (meanwhile he dont know SHIT !!! given the amnesia situation), Descole gets defensive and accidentally fans the flames which ends up in the greatest betrayal for him;

When that person shot him in front of the entire group, both friends and foes alike, and they all turned their heads away from him as he bled onto the snow.

I'd love to get further into the party's hijinks(?), how the party came to be, and ultimately where they are now but that's the bare minimum you need to know (and I'd love to answer anything about them!)

Anyway, it's still unknown to this day how this one thing happened, but it's heavily implied to be because of psychological stress mixing with a third secret ingredient; Sometime during all of this, Descole kept finding himself in a room in his sleep-- And often his sleep was plagued by unspeakable nightmares, so this uneventful yet cozy room would've been a comfortable break for him...

... If not for the fact that Desmond lived there, too.

So Desmond is played by the fucking amazing host too and he's apparently a manifestation of his subconscious, and Descole REALLYYYY didn't like that (very much weirded him out, especially since Desmond was extremely blunt and near emotionless; he'd try and give advice but Descole was super nuh-uh about it)

His unease around his subconscious was enough to where he tried to sleep deprive himself to prolong seeing that guy + having nightmares, which that went well (he almost legitimately died lol)

As they have more chances to genuinely talk, their relationship changes. For better or for worse?... Can get further into that if anybody asks lol

Oh one more thing, because the canon roleplay took super long to have sessions, some players opted to have non-canon roleplays to fill in the gaps of time... Which ended up becoming their own side-campaigns that the host would sometimes join in as well. In fact the host has like... A few non-canon campaigns that he's running, and to be honest there's a few non-canon campaigns I end up thinking about a lot

You might've seen the terms "SS", "Chamber RP" or "Persona RP" in my tags and those are some of the non-canon campaigns. Right now we're focused on the canon rp and Chamber RP, which Chamber serves as a tutorial/introduction for a huge overhaul of the ttrpg system we use. We're still in Act I of canon, but Act II is VERY soon which will be using the new system.

SS; Player hosted, everybody fights an evil version of themselves that doesn't have amnesia while trying to take down an international cooperation. This is super fun because Descole in this one finally remembers WHY he did all of those terrible criminal things in the past...

Chamber RP; Host's campaign, amnesia is reversed; You remember your canon counterpart but not the campaign memories... But this doesn't last long as memories of the after starts to seep in. In a similar vibe of the Zero Escape series, you have to find a way out of a sci-fi laboratory while carrying the metaphorical torch of your forgotten hundred other attempts.

Persona RP; Host's campaign; In stark contrast it's super slice of life-y most times lol. Des gets a job as a teacher in this one??? It's set almost 3 years in the future of the canon campaign and as the name implies is SUPER Persona based. There's a strange other plane of existence that supposedly has the answers as to why they have amnesia... And the serial murders that's been going around town.

Anyway I'm definitely leaving out big details for the sake of brevity but I'd be happy to answer anything and thank you if you've read this far!! finally feels good to get this all out ngl

[professor-glasses]

I can definitely understand why people hate Bronev so much, but sometimes I feel like he gets a little too much. Don't get me wrong, he's committed some terrible crimes, but I feel like people show more hate for him than any of the other villains in PL. For example, Clive. Clive lost both his parents when he was a young child, which can be extremely traumatizing. He went with his plan of revenge which was to destroy London. He probably killed many people(those crushed apartments give me chills) for no real goal. In the end, he admits that he was wrong. He'll probably spend the rest of his life in jail, but he's still young. He can still "atone" for his crimes. Additionally, he grew up with Spring and her husband(forgot his name), who showed him love and support. Bronev lost his wife and both his sons due to Targent kidnapping them. Bronev watched his wife die in front of his eyes, and he was forced to work for Targent, who was most likely armed with lethal weapons. We have no real backstory to Bronev, what his intentions were when he solved the Azran Legacy, what he went through in all those years. He was truly blinded by great stories until the golems destroyed everything he worked for. The past decades of his life were a lie. In the end, when he gets arrested, he probably won't live long enough to redeem himself. He threw his entire life away just to be told that he might've destroyed the world. And when he says Layton's real name, it tells me that he never really forgot about his children. He still remembered their names after decades of not seeing them or interacting with them. Both villains are tragic, but for some reason people seem to hate Bronev more. Bronev's backstory is truly heartbreaking, and I think it has a lot of potential. (what if he believed that the Azran's power could bring back the dead-) Sorry this got really long, but I hope you have a good day.

@targentis is a Lot more qualified to speak on matters concerning Bronev than me (for one thing I haven't replayed PL in ages) but I agree. I think the fact that ppl see Clive and go my baby boy and things like that because he is a little young dude makes a lot of bias like. As has been pointed out by others the Appeal level of the character by which I mean do fans fawn over them for romantic or thirst reasons probably has a lot to do with things. (I wouldn't have believed it but being on tumblr long enough now I realise just how much this affects people's attitudes toward characters it's still Weird to me but that's probably bc I don't experience either feeling type so. anyway that can be equalled too tief is working hard on doing so)

Also the fact that clive doesn't do much to the main cast visibly so people have less Personal reasons to hate him while a lot of people are mad at bronev about things he did which ended up affecting the main cast bc more people care about and will get emotional on behalf of the main cast than countless unseen npcs in buildings

descole did more to the main cast but also I think the blame that would otherwise fall on him gets shifted onto bronev

[northernscruffycat]

Fandom: She-Ra! (Don’t worry about spoilers I spoiled myself already!) ...Ship: Mai/Ty Lee ...Character: Inko Midoriya, best mum ...Two fandoms: She-ra and Steven Universe! ...5 Characters: Catra, Zuko, Peridot, Jean Descole and Disney’s Stitch. (All the redemption characters!)

Thank you for giving me a lot of topics to write about! You’ve made my morning: She-Ra: (Disclaimer that I love this series so much, I just have a lot of mixed feelings in my opinions) Favorite character: SPOP has a great cast of characters who I love, but my fave has to be Scorpia. I was so endeared by her and rooted for her happiness the whole way through. Least Favorite character: Hesitant to post this, but I never... really cared for Catra that much. I can see why she’s an important character to a lot of folks and the wlw representation she brought is so important, but I didn’t really gel with her character personally. 5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Scorpia/Perfuma, Entrapta/Hordak (either or both), Seahawk/Mermista, Bow/Kyle and Catra/Glimmer Character I find most attractive: Scorpia haha Character I would marry: Scorpia again, she’s like the perfect wife. Character I would be best friends with: Kyle, because he needs some good friends who treat him nicely. The “Shut up, Meg” attitude that the rest of the cast had towards him made me kinda uncomfortable tbh, even though I know it was intended as a joke. a random thought: There’s so much potential for this series to carry on and I’d love to see an official comic or something pop up that expands the universe. An unpopular opinion: I actually thought they were hinting towards Bow/Kyle with that one scene back in s1 and was surprised to hear that Kyle hooked up with the lizard guy off-screen haha my canon OTP: Scorpia/Perfuma Non-canon OTP: Adora/Huntara (just for something I haven’t already listed) most badass character: Adora, my fave jock pairing I am not a fan of: I already posted about this in that Glimmer character thing recently, but Bow/Glimmer as a romo ship character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I feel unfair answering this one, since I’m sure the writers were being restricted by what they could include in the show. But I guess it’s fair to say I’m not a fan of that Bow’s siblings thing that happened, if that counts. Since it’s something that wasn’t revealed until after the show wrapped up and could’ve been completely avoided if there had been more black writers on the team. favourite friendship: The main trio - Adora, Glimmer & Bow. I also got super invested in Catra & Scorpia, so I wish they’d had more of a resolution at the end, since they kinda built that up and then dropped it in the last season. character I want to adopt or be adopted by: Bow’s dads Mai/Ty Lee: when of if I started shipping it: It was sometime after watching the series when I went on deviantART and saw cute fan content of them. my thoughts: They’re a nice ship involving two characters who’d be supportive of each other and help each other heal. Which after all these characters have been through, is what I want for them. What makes me happy about them: Their dynamic is so darn cute! Just seeing these two together makes me feel glad. What makes me sad about them: I mean, they’re probably never gonna be canon. Even if Bryke keep being vague for all eternity about if Zuko is still with Mai, that sadly locks Mai off from being able to be with anyone else by proxy, since she always needs to be at least considered an option for Zuko. things done in fanfic that annoys me: I’ll have to confess that I’ve never read any fics for them. things I look for in fanfic: Same again. I love ATLA, but it’s not a series I’d seek out fic for. Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I guess I’m not entirely opposed to the Mai/Zuko thing? Maybe? I’m not sure about Ty Lee tho, just someone who’d treat her well, I think. My happily ever after for them: They seek each other out for comfort after everything that’s gone now and just kinda realise they’ve been in love with each other all along. who is the big spoon/little spoon: Ty Lee is the big spoon and Mai is the little spoon. I hope there’s fan art of that. what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Training together, maybe? I’m so rusty on my ATLA knowledge that I need to brush up, so I can answer this better. Inko Midoriya: How I feel about this character: She is perhaps the greatest anime mum I’ve ever seen. I love her, I would die for her, I would marry her. All the people I ship romantically with this character: Mostly just All Might. I guess technically also Aizawa for the OT3, but I don’t think we’ve seen them interact yet. My non-romantic OTP for this character: Obviously I love how supportive she is of Deku, it’s part of one of my favourite moments in the whole show. My unpopular opinion about this character: I’m not familiar enough with the fandom to know what the unpopular opinions are. I hope that everyone likes her. One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I just want her to be happy knowing that her son is safe. my het ship: All Might/Inko my fem/slash ship: I don’t really have one, since we haven’t seen her interact with any other milfs my OTP: All Might/Inko my OT3: All Might/Inko/Aizawa (also, Aizawa bottoms) a head cannon fact: It is a fact that I blew her a kiss and wished her a good day. She-Ra & SU crossover ship: Hmm... how about Pearl x Huntara? I mean, Pearl seems to have a type when it comes to women and Huntara fits into that type. 5 Redemption Arc Characters rankings: 1. Peridot 2. Stitch 3. Zuko 4. Catra 5. Descole

[targentis]

tarot questions answer if you want xoxoxo love n light

these ask prompts got buried but anyway im going to answer them all

the fool: do you have any nicknames?

um! people used to (and some still do lol) call me Zan when my name was Zandre. some of my irl friends call me Smeemon. a handful of people call me Dessie sometimes JFSJFJDJ

the magician: have you ever written a poem or song about somebody else?

yeah like 99% of the poetry ive written lately is about my joyfriend JDSJFJDJ ALSO i wrote a song for them and that's literally the reason we are together today :')

the high priestess: what is your dream date?

SUSHI. DATE. i would also like to just wander around a museum holding hands......we go get sushi and THEN we go to a museum. and then we go home and chill. i am a simple man with simple needs

the empress: do you think you will ever get married?

yes. yes. yes. absolutely.

the emperor: what are some names that you like?

fun fact names could probably be considered a special interest for me so i cannot list them all due to having a literal list thats like a mile long. um but some of my favorites are probably Sebastian, Lucien, Lorelei, Riannan, Nico, Meredith, and actually literally any name starting with a V

the hierophant: do you believe in ghosts?

yeah i guess! pretty sure i was haunted by some girl named Kimberly at my old house lol

the lovers: do you have a crush?

😳😳😳😳 dont tell anyone but i have a crush...........on my joyfriend !!!!!

the chariot: thoughts on astrology?

its complicated and i dont quite understand all of it but im trying to learn

strength: what is your dream occupation?

video game composer babey!!! 

the hermit: what is your favorite soda pop?

coca cola babey!!!

wheel of fortune: first three songs that come on shuffle?

Circles by KIRA, Challenge by Cellar Darling, Forget by MARINA

justice: favorite color of rose?

THE OSIRIA KIND please look it up tumblr will die if i try to post a picture but its like. red and white and its gorgeous

the hanged man: favorite movie soundtrack?

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. ITS SO ICONIC JOHN POWELL REALLY WENT OFF WITH THE MOTIFS

death: what are three things you want to do before you die?

hmmm.........meet all my internet friends, finish my descole costume, and have a dramatic and villainous wedding.

temperance: can you describe a strange dream you’ve had?

HELP IVE HAD SO MANY. one time i dreamt i was engaged to des and some lady in a bathroom kept pestering me about it bc she wanted him for herself so i gave up and gave her the ring like "ok u can have him"

this was a bloom memory. JFSNBFJDND

the devil: do you enjoy thunderstorms?

yes! i get to tell Thor i love him

the tower: favorite colors to wear?

black. also red i just really look good in red

the star: have you ever seen a psychic?

nope! i kind of want to, though, just to see what it's like. i wonder if any of the psychics in town are actually legit, considering i live in a tourist city.

the moon: have you ever written a love letter?

heehee yes...one day i will be able to send all my love letters too...

the sun: do you believe in magic?

of course i'm a witch

judgement: do you enjoy school?

um yeah i suppose so but it does stress me out a lot lol

the world: do you like waking up early?

no i hate it i hate it so much EJRJSJFDJFN

[rainymeadows]

I rewatched Eternal Diva and this time I took notes as I went through

Dive under the cut if you dare to experience my mad in-the-moment ramblings (warning for spoilers for pretty much the entire prequel trilogy)

-          Don Paolo’s voice sounds like what Papyrus’s voice probably should

-          Winter Layton is precious in that giant coat

-          Janice is so pretty omg an angel

-          Layton geeking out over the Detrogan is goddamn adorable

-          I love how everything is greyed out in Janice’s flashback

-          Suuuuuuuuper subtle indication that maybe “Janice” seeing how young this little girl was is what prompted her to find a way to put an end to this whole thing

-          Whether it’s a moped or the Laytonmobile, Emmy drives like crazy XD

-          Bitch you ain’t on Top Gear

-          God her big sister relationship with Luke is adorable tho

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaah Layton smiling at their banter dad’s so happy for his son

-          They did such a good job reusing the game’s music for this movie

-          The opera house looks so cool but so precarious – my first thought upon seeing it was “when is this thing going to sink”

-          I MEAN IT’S ON A CLIFF

-          Janice’s voice is so pretty TToTT

-          I like that they kept the Japanese vocals for her singing

-          SONG OF THE SEA-SHADOWING

-          I hate that Layton and Luke were the ONLY people to honestly applaud the performance. Everyone else is a DICK

-          First time I saw this dude, I thought “that’s a puppet, no ordinary person moves like that even in animation”

-          Once again, Layton putting a polite and gentlemanly spin on “fucked if I know, my dude”

-          Lol I love that even the people who didn’t applaud and thus apparently knew what they were in for weren’t down for dying

-          Fuking cowards

-          Layton is always DTF (down to fight)

-          GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          FUCK YES

-          This dude’s manliness is infectious

-          “Gee, I wonder who’s behind this-“ *Descole’s theme starts playing* “-oh well never mind”

-          Honestly who else but Descole would be this fucking extra tho

-          Gotta admit I love the twist of the opera house being a ship, I was totally expecting it to just go plunging into the ocean at a moment’s notice

-          Aaaaah the CG in this movie is really well done

-          Layton’s angry face is kinda ridiculous but I love it

-          I love that it’s pointed out like “where tf did all these sharks come from”

-          I prefer Cartoon Saloon’s Song of the Sea, but this one’s pretty too

-          Lol as if a MAN-EATING SHARK could keep down GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          I’m surprised he can see over the top of his chest hair

-          God, the detrogan is such a cool instrument and I really wish something like it existed irl

-          Ah, it’s only like fifteen sharks, Grosky will be fine

-          I love the air of mystery surrounding Oswald Whistler

-          Layton’s hat is made of 100% pure uncut husband material

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE HOW PUZZLES ARE USED IN THIS MOVIE IT’S SO GOOOOOOOD

-          I’m so glad they didn’t scrap it entirely coz I mean they’re so integral not only to the Layton games, but Layton himself

-          This music box tune kinda gives me Gravity Falls vibes tbh

-          I think the backing melody sounds pretty identical to the tune’s intro

-          I love that this movie actually lets us see inside Layton’s head and his thought process, it’s so much better than just having him put everything together seemingly offscreen

-          Tbh any puzzle where “the night sky” is the solution is bound to be a good puzzle

-          I just fucking love the implied MASSACRES in this movie

-          God Luke is so goddamn precious

-          Pffft pumpkin dude is so subtly duplicitous

-          Okay I have ot pause for a bit to rant about layton’s design because it’s SO GOOD. Warm colours make him seem welcoming and kinda comfy and the simple facial features, while a bit Ditto-esque, do combine nicely with his overall shape to scream “friend”. Professor Layton is friend shaped. And of course there’s the popped collar to show that he’s cool, the high collared shirt gives a scholarly vibe, his shoes which I stg are plimsolls show a practical side and of course the quintessential top hat shows that he’s a Gentleman first and foremost. Add the amazing voice to that and BOI I DIE

-          Although I can’t help imagining that gif with the teddy bear slapping eyebrows onto its face to look angry whenever he gets mad

-          Luke is not friend shaped. Luke is son shaped.

-          Precious bab shaped

-          Wpw a sea captain I would never have guessed other than the “sailor” accent and the fact that you’re wearing a sailor’s uniform

-          Ugh I love these quiet moments where things can sink in and characters can just talk to each other, I really wish more movieswould do this

-          I love that even if you don’t have a literal look at his thought processes, you can still see Layton THINKINg

-          Agh Amelia is SO CUTe this series is so good at designing beautiful women and cute girls while also making them look DISTINCT

-          I like that they hinted at her intelligence by having her solve the puzzles by herself

-          One advantage a film has over the games is that the visual novel format kinda limits the dialogue, coz it’s hard to convey one charafter talking over another

-          I really like the side characters. They’re simple, yes, but they don’t really need to be complex

-          I will admit that the limits of Layton’s simple facial features means it can be hard to tell who/what he’s looking at sometimes…

-          “that man” asked me to write an opera, huh

-          WHY DOES NOBODY ASK WHO

-          Fuck descole’s theme is SO GOOD

-          WHERE DOES HE GET THE FUNDING FOR ALL OF THIS THOUGH

-          And Grosky boards the ship just in time for it to blow up XD I love this dude

-          I can only imagine his gigantic pecs act as a flotation device

-          Layton preventing Luke from looking at the exploding ship THIS MAN IS SUCH A DAD HE’S SO GOOD

-          I love this scene with Emmy investigating because these parent’s appearances are just enough to make it ambiguous whether they’re Nina or Amelia’s parents

-          Seeing them all wrapped up in blankets is kinda cute tbh

-          LET. THEM. SLEEP.

-          I wonder what Layton uses to keep his hat on?

-          Lol Emmy pushing a fossil aside to look at the map

-          I can only assume, given that they set off from the White Cliffs of Dover, that this island is SOMEWHERE off the coast of mainland Europe in about the same region as Spain

-          Ugh I LOVE Emmy’s uppercrust accent, the fact that she sounds like such a refined lady is such a fun contrast to her literal arse-kicking

-          Also this is totally BBC news lol

-          I love the detail of the historian’s scrapbook being kinda hodgepodge with bits falling out

-          And I love the Ambrosia Seal being super detailed but the subtle incorporation of a sheet music design

-          Gotta admit I totally thought this little banquet was poisoned on my first watch

-          Lol I love that pumpkin guy just KEEPS POURING THE WINE

-          Ugh that beach looks SO PRETTY, I want to go there

-          Janice is totally crushing on Layton, pass it on

-          D’awwwwww luke trying to befriend ‘melina’ is SO CUTE this boy must be protected at all costs

-          Layton how did you hear what she was humming from all the way over there

-          Why do so many anime characters have inexplicable super senses

-          Those wolves’ eyeliner is on point lol

-          “I’m not built for running” lol mood

-          FUCKING HELL DESCOLE WHO IS FUNDING ALL YOUR SHIT

-          HOW MUCH DISPOSABLE INCOME DO YOU FUCKING HAVE

-          Admittedly on my first watch I wasn’t as familiar with descole’s theme, but I saw that castle and I just thought “it’s descole, only he can be that extra”

-          The twist of using the cages for personal protection rather than to trap the walls is simple, but so clever

-          I love that Mr Whistler was one of those accidentally trapped outside. Keeps suspicion off

-          And I love Layton saying “well that solved PART of our problem”

-          YOU SHUT UP LADY THE PROFESSOR IS AMAZING

-          And then he trips and falls lol that’s what you get for wearing old man shoes

-          “Even a good gentleman needs to get some exercise!” pfft

-          Oh hey, they found the starter house that Descole was using while he was building that castle. I wonder what texture pack he’s using?

-          And here Layton puts MacGuyver to shame in the most Ghibli way possible

-          I’d love to see someone try to build this thing XD someone call the Mythbusters

-          Bjut I adore how even LAYTON isn’t sure how this fucking thing works

-          Fucking NERD

-          Yeah, these filmmakers were TOTALLY influenced by Ghibli

-          This is so Castle In The Sky, it hurts

-          “Hang on tight! NOT TO THE PILOT!” – best line in the movie

-          You can’t escape it, Layton. You is a dad

-          DID YOU GUYS NOT SEE LAYTON LAPUTA-ING HIS WAY IN

-          It’s great how all those puzzles seem like they could be ripped straight out of the Layton games, complete with outside-the-box bizarre thinking required to solve em

-          I’m so proud of Luke for solving it!!!!! Such a good boy

-          RUDE

-          Yeah, just stand in the middle of the suspiciously empty room, I’m sure nothing will go wrong

-          That’s what you get for shoving Layton aside, bitches

-          Lol I guess luke could just step through the bars if his head was a bit smaller

-          DESCOLE HOLY FUCK YOU ARE THE KING OF EXTRA

-          “humble scientist” GOOD GRIEF WHAT A LOAD OF SHIT YOU DRAMA QUEEN

-          I love that Emmy can FLY A PLANE

-          Holy shit grosky there are better ways to signal for help

-          And LESS GROSS WAYS TO DRY YOURSELF OFF IN A PLANE

-          Yeah, see, you lost your knickers

-          Ugh, god. I adore this scene with Layton in Melina’s room. It’s so quiet, the soft evening lighting… aaaaaaaaaaah so peaceful, but you can still feel the tension in the air, especially after Melina comes in

-          Oh my god, Layton plays like an angel *swoon*

-          The lack of background music in this scene is what makes it so perfect, the tension is so REAL

-          Lol I love the historian just standing there like ‘welp there they go’

-          NOOOOOOOOO LUKE DON’T CRY

-          BIG SIS IS HERE

-          Oh fuck yes

-          EMMY I LOVE YOU

-          God she and grosky are so fantastic XD

-          WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT LIKE THAT EMMY

-          Somehow emmy gives me Michelle of the Resistance vibes

-          God, I kinda love it when you can tell Layton’s already put it all together and is just biding his time

-          AAAAAAAAAAH I love the subtle resemblance between Layton and what you can see of Descole’s face

-          In hindsight, that… stole? Is that what it is? The fur thing isprobably to hide his face shape because it most likely ups his resemblance to Layton

-          But he’s totally wearing black converse like the extra hipster nerd he is

-          God, I can’t even imagine the nightmare of having your memories overridden and personality suppressed

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the summation. I love this part in pretty much every Layton thing

-          “Assisting you was the scientist, Jean Descole!” Descole: lol hi

-          LAYTON YOU ARE SUCH A DAD I LOVE YOU

-          Him being gentle with kids is so sweet

-          Also damn this backstory is a lot. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a loved one, but I’m not surprised a father would do anything he could to keep his daughter alive

-          “When did you realise I was involved” “ur an extra bitch who lives for drama, who else could it be”

-          That brief bit of Luke without his hat just makes him look even more BABY BOI MUST PROTECC

-          Okay real talk when did Janice get hold of the key

-          I’m guessing it was in the commotion when Mr Whistler grabbed Luke

-          SUCH A GOOD TWIST I LOVE IT

-          My heeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaart goddammit

-          In hindsight, the hint of Janice wearing Melina’s pendant was really subtle and clever

-          GODDAMMIT DESCOLE CAN YOU STOP BEING EXTRA FOR LIKE TEN SECONDS

-          It’s kinda cool that he’s an archaeologist too though. It really does run in the family.

-          The way Descole and Whistler’s schemes intertwined was really cool

-          Yeah, it just wouldn’t be Descole if there wasn’t some over-the-top machinery

-          YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MAGIC MUSIC THIS IS MY SHIT

-          When escaping from a crumbling castle, do be sure to grab your boy.

-          AAAAAAAAAGH THE SCENERY IN THIS MOVIE IS SO FUCKING GOOD

-          Good lord, there it is. Descole just can’t function unless he has some ridiculous Humongous Mecha at his command

-          This thing looks especially monstrous and I love it

-          I don’t think I’ve seen ANY faults in this movie’s animation, jesus Christ

-          Descole, did you learn nothing from the attempted excavation of Troy? It’s very possible that your efforts to unearth Ambrosia will be what destroys it!

-          Aaaaaaaagh this flying scene is intense as FUCK

-          Layton and Luke are SUCH A GOOD TEAM

-          WHAT IS THIS MUSIC I LOVE IT

-          Luke you are SUCH A GOOD BOY

-          Sorry but you’ll never be mob tho

-          Mob is perfection

-          JESUS CHRIST DESCOLE ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL A CHILD

-          I was about to ask where that explosion came from but then I realised it was probably a petrol-powered chainsaw

-          Layton who told you that you could look this goddamn epic

-          But I love that he’s taking on the sword-armed Descole with a PIPE

-          That footwork tho

-          Layton must be an amazing dancer

-          So cool that he’s patiently explaining why Descole was wrong

-          Sun, stars and sea. I feel like that’s a Dothraki term of endearment meant for oceanfairing

-          MORE MAGIC MUSIC I AM BLESSED

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THIS IS THE FUCKING COOLEST

-          I’M SUCH A SLUT FOR MAGIC MUSIC GODDAMMIT AND THIS IS DOUBLE TEAMING ME WITH SINGING AND PIANO

-          I do enjoy that despite its emergence, Ambrosia is still partially submerged. Some movies would’ve had it rise from the sea completely

-          Lol at Descole losing his shit because SOMEONE ELSE found the answer

-          Yeah, bad idea attacking someone right on top of your humongous mecha’s control panel

-          “DESCOLE!” dude he’s fine you really think he’d die

-          I was going to ask why Emmy didn’t use her plane but she probably couldn’t get to it in time

-          Yeah, this is SO Ghibli. The gigantic industrialised machine self-destructing on the ruins of an ancient civilisation lost to nature

-          Noooooooooo don’t do this to me movie, nothing kills me like sad flashbacks

-          Ow my heart

-          This hurts

-          “I’m sorry, Father. I’ve only ever brought you grief and sadness, haven’t I” as someone who’s struggled with depression this is a whole-ass mood

-          NO THIS HURTS STOP IT

-          Also the lil detail of Whistler’s waistcoat being the same shade of purple as Melina/Janice’s dress

-          NOOO DON’T MAKE LUKE SAD

-          “I’m so glad all of you were my very last memory.” Damn that line hits hard

-          GIVE THE GIRL A HUG, LAYTON

-          I said a hug, not a hand on the shoulder, she needs a HUG

-          Seeing the destroyed detrogan really hammers it home, huh

-          It’s very kind of Grosky to let Whistler play one last time in memory of his daughter

-          When I got into the Layton series, I was no expecting to be hit so hard with the FEELS

-          “Do you know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

-          GNU Ambrosia, I guess

-          Ugh it’s so PRETTY tho

-          Fucking sparkles and shit

-          D’awwwww, I love the image of Luke patching up the wolves, he’s so sweet

-          Knowing the truth about Emmy and seeing her being so happy with Layton and Luke makes it really painful :’(

-          The world needs more of Layton with a big, happy smile

-          Awww, Author Lady and Pumpkin Dude kept in touch

-          GROSKY GOT HIS UNDIES BACK

-          Ugh seeing Layton and Luke peacefully listening to that music is SO CUTE and SOFT

[pengychan]

I see you played Azran Legacy. Thoughts on Descole?

That fucking drama queen. He’s such a stereotypical dramatic angsty villain with tragic backstory and everything he does is SO over the top, I can’t help but love him. But my favorite thing isn’t even the drama as much as the fact he’s a giant hypocrite.

“Targent is the worst, they stop at nothing to reach their goals, Bronev will threaten and kidnap people’s families and won’t hesitate to hurt children.”

Oh yeah. Those awful, awful methods you didn’t hesitate to use in two games and an animated movie. Fancy that.

Seriously though, that is really my favorite thing about this character: for all of his hatred against Bronev, he’s not that different at all. While Layton is the apple that rolled down the hill and the fuck away from the tree, Descole is the one that fell right by it. And really, he’s not an idiot. I bet he realizes that, and he hates it. He hates himself as much as he hates Targent and hatred is all that keeps him going. 

I’d actually say that his path is even more self-destructive than the one Bronev took. For all the shitty things he does, Bronev sees something at the end of it all - the chance to change mankind for the better, that something worthwile can yet come out of the destruction of his family.

“I lost everthing, but if I unlock the Azran legacy, it won’t have been for nothing. I can still give it a meaning. I just need to keep going. If I succeed, it will have been worh it. Keep going. No matter what. Keep going. Keep going.”

The huge irony being, of course, that in his quest he actually destroys what was left of his family. But still, he held onto that delusion of  something great waiting just around the corner, the greater good lives were worth sacrificing for. 

Descole, on the other hand, has nothing to latch on but revenge. That’s all. There are no thought of a glorious future - all he can aspire to is the bitter satisfaction of bringing down his enemies. Afterwards, there is nothing. He already lost and nothing can make him feel like that loss was worthwhile. 

And that is why I would love to know more about where he went on to do after The Azran Legacy, after losing the one thing he had to drive him forward. It’s probably a good thing he’s got Raymond to look after him because really, this guy is a complete wreck and definitely needs all the help he can get.

[raifuujin]

So, I have a notepad document I started a couple of months back about Professor Layton thoughts. ( About the actual series. ) Just thought I’d copy and paste the things in it with some minor edits before I forget about it again, since I don’t feel like making a ton of posts for these.

There are only four orphans, three parents confirmed to be dead. Flora, Tony and Arianna, and Clive. Everyone else is either unmentioned, or circumstances weren't confirmed. (Going by orphans being /kids/ whose parents were gone. Anton was an adult when his father died, I don't count him or his brother. The specifics of Emmy’s situation was never mentioned.)

Clark and Brenda are not abusive to Luke, and Luke loves his parents. They trust Layton to look after him after Layton helped them all during Last Specter. They should not be treated like they were terrible people and that Luke should only ever look at Layton as a parental figure. They’re one of the few families that actually show both parents that exist in the games, why try and destroy it in toxic ways?

Clark had his wife and family butler taken hostage and was worried any action he took could make Descole harm them, and still helped Layton in what ways he could. Any other situation with him, at most, Luke was embarrassed by this dork-ass parents. Like any normal child would be.

Pretty much all of the big villains (barring Jakes and Hawks) are written as fully fleshed characters. Backstories, motivations, dynamic personalities. There are just as many reasons to like them as there are to dislike them, and it'd be a matter of personal opinion. Other characters are written to be disliked, and it's obvious when that is the case. So if the majority do dislike certain characters, there's usually a reason. If people like characters, there is also a reason. It means they were written as intended.

Level 5 does not hate the female characters. If you want to be upset about Flora, you can be, but in terms of how things were written, everything with her makes sense. She was kept sheltered in a town where she knew everyone and no one harmed her until Don Paulo came. Writing-wise: It makes complete sense. You can be upset that she wasn't given much chance to grow as a character within the games, though.

Lady Violet and Baron Augustus were the ones dead in Curious Village. Katia wasn't the only one mentioned that had died, Duke Herzen was also dead in narrative. Both of Sophia's parents are gone. Anton's mother is never mentioned. Both of Clives parent's were dead, Constance, and Claire. ( First instance of leaning one way. ) Barde and Loosha dead. Chelmey's mentor in the special eps. (Numbers went the other way.) Melina. One guy had months to live, grandfather dead by the credits. Randall's father. Aurora. Unnamed wife and daughter. Rachel. (The female death count outlier.) Newton Belduke.

Prior to Azran Legacy, female, story-related deaths (in game and backstory/flashback) weren’t exactly majority. (Entirely based on memory, so feel free to tell me I missed some people.)

Just because things aren't mentioned doesn't mean they don't exist.

Headcanons are fine. Just don't let them bleed into being considered fact. Fanon, however widely accepted, is still fanon, and not everyone will agree with it.

Some people do like the game for the puzzles. When you come into the games blind, people only know it is a puzzle game series. They find out the stories later. Not everyone knows everything about the games right away.

If people only recently get into the series because of something popular, they could like the games just as well as anyone who's been around for years. Everyone should be welcome to enjoy a series.

( Just to right some of the ideas that seem so pervasive that are extremely uncomfortable to me. Some ideas shouldn’t become so popular. )

[professor-glasses]

Rules: Answer 20 questions then tag bloggers you want to get to know better

Tagged by @tsukiakarinobara!  Thank you!!

Name: Jak  B)

Nickname: Jackie ig

Zodiac sign: Leo

Height: 170cm, rounded to nearest 10cm

Languages you know: English and a bit of Japanese (trying to learn very slow)

Nationality: Australian my dudes

Favorite flower: Hmm, I don’t think I have one

Favorite season: Anything not summerlike

Favorite scent: Honey or dark chocolate or my candles, or post-rain air

Favorite perfume: n/a

Favorite designer: n/a

Favorite color: I like lots and lots but my last specific fave was purple

Favorite animal: Owls!  I love many though

Favorite fictional character: Descole from Professor Layton

Personality: I’m not sure how I’d describe my personality, I am a very slow and steady kind of person sometimes, and sometimes very fast and hyper (although that is less often), and while I normally think I don’t open up much or well, I can get very attached to people, mostly when we become friends through sharing interests.  I like to try and be funny but it’s much easier irl where I can act stupid than online.  I can be quick to decide one way but change my mind later!  It depends.  I like understanding everything as much as possible.

Hobbies: Art, music, a little bit of writing, gifmaking, organising timelines

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: I do like all of them, but I will go with tea

Average sleep hours: 7

Dog or cat person: Both but I am allergic to cats

Number of blankets I sleep with: 1

Dream trip: Somewhere colder with mountains and trees hopefully!

Blog established: November 2018

Followers: 125

Random fact: I recently went through and traced some of my original music motifs to where they first showed up and it was pretty interesting!  There was one main theme that I made in one thing which then spawned two others when I went to use it elsewhere.  There’s also one motif who appears once right early on in the piece timeline and then randomly shows up later for some reason.  I end up thinking of my motifs as people who show up and grow and migrate.

I am tagging @jeanjesusdesmonddescole, @winter-soltis, @eruryuga, @jasontoddism, and anyone else who’d like to do it if you want!

[professor-glasses]

how about.....All the special interest asks!!

A. ALL OF THEM???

O KAY

HERE GOES

💖 Current special interest?

biggest current: DMC/PL without a question. but you could probably guess that (also does that technically count as two or one I’m not sure sfksjfk)

🔥 How many special interests do you have at the moment?

Counting DMC/PL as its own separate thing, 3: DMC, PL, and the above

😇 If your special interest is a video game/movie/tv show/etc, who’s your fav character from it?

Descole/Sycamore from PL and Vergil from DMC this was not surprising at aLL ASDFKLHASL (I do love a lot of the characters from both of them though I just have very personal reasons for these two in particular ofc)

💎 When and how did you discover your special interest?

PL was… some years back, I’m not sure when?  But it didn’t really become a real special interest until 2 or so years ago.  I’m not sure I lost track

DMC and DMC/PL literally started at the exact same time: 2019 end of March, beginning of April, I’ve been fixating on it practically nonstop since

✖️️ Is there something you don’t like about your special interest?

I can’t really think of anything I specifically dislike about PL, there are a few things I like less about DMC, it is by nature kinda violent but since the focus is mainly on Stylish Action and not gore I’m not normally bothered by it and it’s quite fine and alright.  But there is the odd cutscene I prefer to skip. it’s not even that bad visually it’s just. idk. mainly this 1 cutscene from DMC1

also in DMC4 there was quite a lot of stuff that I really liked but there was also noticeably more. sexual stuff than in any of the other games and it just felt really weird and out of place.  maybe it’s worse because I’m ace but that was the one main thing detracting from that game for me.  which is hmmeh :| because I really liked the setting and I liked seeing Nero’s arc and stuff

🐒 What’s your favorite line from your special interest if it’s a video game/movie/tv show/etc?

THIS IS KIND OF HARD BUT WAIT

You’re feeling brave, but only because you haven’t lost anything yet.

From DMC5:

That day, if our positions were switched, would our fates be different?  Would I have your life, and you mine?

💫 Favorite fact about your special interest?

I have no idea my brain is getting tired ghsgk a favourite random fact about DMC is just something I find neat which is the relation of two of the games’ release dates and their relation to me and my sibling’s birthdays

oh yeah and in the dmc/pl timeline the year in which the bronev family and the sparda family got tragically split is the same year, apparently

💕 What’s your fav thing about your special interest?

that’s terribly difficult.  I love the characters.  AND THE MUSIC I LOVE THE MUSIC FROM BOTH SO MUCH PL IS AWESOME AND AS IM TYPING THIS THE EPICEST PART OF DMC3 OST JUST STARTED PLAYING

(from dmc/pl, I love descole’s and vergil’s friendship, i just. waaa i miss it)

🍳 Do you have a stim related to your special interest?

does like staring at gifs for ever and ever and ages count? stimboards when I can find them?  I’m not really sure about this one sdkfsj

I have this one smelly. dried herb plant small bag thing that’s supposed to be insect repellent or smth which I got because the label/name was perfectly connected to something from my des canon (also it just smelled good).  Does that count?  does it?  I guess it kind of does?

🌠 What’s a past special interest?

Two of my big special interests that were main in the past but aren’t currently are Pokemon and the Guardians of Ga’Hoole book series by Kathryn Lasky (and just owls in general.  That’s what started it though.)  They’re like semi-active rn, I just got back into rereading GoG and I wish it had an existent fandom

also Lord of the Rings or most anything Tolkien

🏘️ What was your first special interest you can remember?

hm.  I don’t know.  Pokemon has been one since before I was 10, I probably had something before then but I don’t remember it

🍭 What’s a headcanon/theory you have about your special interest?

the entire dmc/pl au does this count ehehEHEHEH

ok how about the azran in the dmc/pl au.  Back in the beginning, the demon world and human worlds were one, coexistent.  But at some point they split, and that coexistence was lost; the demon world from then on sought to dominate the human world.  The Azran were descended from the original humans and using their knowledge from before the split, were able to protect themselves from the demons’ threat, and even harness and bend demonic power to their own devices to make their technology.  However, when their empire fell, the seals they put in place weakened over time, until demons were able to get into the human world again.  This is when the legend of Sparda took place 2000 years before the present and he reseparated and resealed the worlds

🌟 Did someone introduce you to your special interest?

MY BEST FRIEND INTRODUCED ME TO DEVIL MAY CRY AND IT WAS AMAZING LOOK HOW THINGS WENT FROM THERE

😂 Something funny about your special interest?

wacky woohoo pizza

no I’m just kidding.  inspector grosky in eternal diva is the best.