#never played a layton game but my brother had one when we were little!!!

[razzafrazzle]

[image description: a page of drawings of professor layton. in the middle is a fully colored headshot of layton looking at the viewer and smiling. around the headshot are uncolored sketches. the first sketch has layton standing with his hands clasped together happily. the second has layton wearing a cardigan and thinking hard about a puzzle piece. the third sketch is of layton as tbh/the autism creature, with the blurb "yippee :o]c" written next to him. the fourth sketch is a drawing of luke triton looking up at layton and saying "very interesting, professor! have you ever been diagnosed with autism?". throughout the page are also small doodles of flowers. end id]

been watching holly hollowtones's playthough of the layton games... i like the man he makes me smile. the only british person allowed ever

[lady-layton]

hi! so I was combing thru ur PL tag, and I noticed u have a large collection of dvds/cds. i hope this doesnt come across as rude or imposing, but do you think it would be possible for you to "burn" and upload the videos/audio to youtube? highest priority has to be the interviews, esp with the seiyu, i don't think i've ever seen that ANYWHERE. even if most people can't understand the japanese, having an archive of this content allows us to archive the games, their development, and the fandom. second priority would probably be any commercials featuring cutscenes from the 3ds games, as they were never released in HD to this day. besides that, i have been able to find most of the CD releases online, but i was curious about the premium cd layton theme cover song. if you are worried about copyright law or just don't want to, that is understandable 👍 but as it stands, there is more and more layton content completely lost to time (like the flip phone exclusive official art and games) and without its preservation, the less and less there will be to celebrate as the anniversaries continue... i hope that's not too dramatic. as far as i can tell when it comes to copyright strikes, i uploaded layton game content to YouTube and never got any (i got one immediately over the utena anime) so i believe it is safe, but there are alternatives like gdrive etc. "burning" (copying) dvds is also very simple if you have a computer.

I REALLY really hope I don't come off as demanding. Ultimately it is 100% your decision. But the layton fandom of today (in its tiny size) would thank you. It also would be a nice way to look back in time, as I personally played all the games only in 2020. I'd love to know more about the process behind the development of the games in general, but as the fandom even at its peak was never huge (and bc its been 15 years...) very little of that has been recorded in western fandom, vs big IPs like Zelda or even Fire Emblem. It'd also be really cool to hear the thoughts of someone who was there when things WERE happening!

Regardless, I will respect whatever decision you make. Game (and game-adjacent) preservation matters a lot to me, but I do know how to take a "No". I hope you can understand my perspective however. 😔 While I don't think the fandom will ever fully revive (unless maybe we got a switch port of each trilogy like Ace Attorney), I hope the new generations of Layton lovers can appreciate each other as well as the old fandom they built upon. Thank you for hearing me out!

Hello!

First of all thank you so much for this ask (o´∀`o) To be honest my plan with buying these commercial DVDs in the beginning was to preserve a part of Professor Layton history. There is so much about Professor Layton that have disappeared over the years, since some fansites and blogs have shut down long ago. So I really want to save as much as I can of what is left.

I've been looking into transferring the trailers, interviews and such to some online archive in some way. Sadly I have not had the time to properly sit down and research how to do it more exactly, but I do have a close friend of mine who is willing to help. If I get them uploaded somewhere I will absolutely share the links through this blog! It would be even more fun if a subgroup would be willing to help out with texting some of the clips as well. I have managed to collect quite a lot of these DVD's since I last updated my collection, but I should have the following:

3 different DVDs for Curious Village

4 different DVDs for Pandora's Box

2 different DVDs for Lost Future

1 promotional DVD for Eternal Diva

3 different DVDs for Spectre's Call

3 different DVDs for Professor Layton VS Ace Attorney

1 DVD for Layton Brothers Mystery Room

1 DVD for Professor Layton and the Phantom Thief

1 for Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

1 for Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy

1 for Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy DX

I also have this one DVD from Code NEO from 2007 that I remember purchasing because it said to have some Layton content. But it got to me just now that I have never checked it out. Perhaps I should do so, so I know what is on that disc haha.

About the premium CD I have been pondering over uploading it as well. I'm not so sure how comfortable I am with sharing MP3s online, but since it's from quite an old era by now and not released outside of the premium disc I could perhaps make an exception.

[101flavoursofweird]

hi there, I'm here because I'm having feels about Layton. I know that Bronev was some evil motherfucker, but I don't think he was a terrible/abusive dad before Targent kidnapped him. Do you have any headcanons about what preTargent!Bronev family was like?

I’m sorry this has taken a little while to write!

Leon has no surviving blood relatives and neither does Rachel... What other reason could there be for the Laytons coming in to adopt one of the brothers? Other than social services not existing in the Layton world

Leon proposed to Rachel with a silver ring that had a blue gem in its centre. Rachel would ask whether the gem was a diamond or sapphire, but Leon would jokingly never confirm. The gem was actually from a (deactivated) Azran crystal.

Rachel was a photographer (Where do you think Emmy got her first camera?), and the Bronev family home was filled with her photos. She would often ask Leon to be her MODEL.

Before Leon Bronev became dangerously involved with his Azran research, I can see him being a good, albeit easily distracted, dad, much like Layton is with Flora.

Leon miiight have accidentally left his kids in the car, but it was just one time when he was exhausted after work and anyway, Hershel managed to get out of the car with Theodore. Rachel was not impressed.

It could get very snowy in the hilly area where the Bronevs lived. On snow days, they would go out sledging or attempt to build igloos.

In their remote little village, the Bronev family were known as a ‘nice family of archaeology nut heads’. They weren’t exactly reclusive, but the family kept to themselves.

For years, Hershel begged his dad to let them adopt a dog, but Leon refused because they wouldn’t have time to look after a dog. Then one day, much to their sons’ joy and Rachel’s disgust, Leon comes home with two ferrets. “My colleague… He was going to have them put down. I had to do something—!” Leon doesn’t think that ferrets will require a lot of exercise and attention. How wrong he is…

The Bronevs would often go on ‘family outings’ to archaeology sites, with a picnic. They might even end up camping— though, Leon can’t put up a tent to save his life. While roasting marshmallows around the fire, Leon would tell his family tales from the Azran civilisation.

That coin toss game Bronev uses to test Layton in his office during AL is a game from Layton’s early years. Leon would play it with his sons for fun, and that’s mainly why Layton is able to beat him during AL.

Hershel (Desmond) gets his love of reading from his father. Before Leon became utterly obsessed with Azran texts, he spent part of his time reading classic spy novels. He would watch the movie adaptations with Rachel.

Rachel gifted Leon that brown flatcap we see him wearing in the AL credits pictures.

One year, before Spectre’s Call, a young man with spiky blonde hair and a flatcap turns up late at Layton’s class. The student (Carmine) is apologetic, but Layton is left shaken by their encounter. Layton is certain the two of them have never met, but why does he seem so familiar…?

At some point after Azran Legacy, Desmond Sycamore sends Layton an old photo of the Bronev family. That’s when it finally clicks for Layton. For the first time, Layton gets a glimpse of a younger Bronev— smiling with short spiky blonde hair poking out from under his flatcap.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Hollow VII

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Angst Characters: Alan Tracy, Scott Tracy, John Tracy, Jeff Tracy

Seventh and final part of my contribution @gumnut-logic‘s SensorySunday: Sixth Sense. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Well, this marks the end of my SensorySunday campaign.  Turns out I managed 69181 words over the course of this challenge!  Somewhat sad this challenge is over, but that just means it’s time to move onto something new... or go back to all the wips I neglected in favour of this.  Whoops.

Alan didn’t notice when his bedroom door opened, barely wide enough for someone to slip through before closing again with the smallest of clicks.  His head was buried in a game – educational, because Dad only let him play educational games in his room – and the fact that he was no longer alone with the ancient Professor Layton didn’t occur to him until his bed dipped and someone groaned quietly.

He jumped, almost dropping the ancient console – something from Dad’s own childhood, passed down through brothers until it found the hands of the best gamer in the family – as he twisted to look at the uninvited intruder.

“Scott?”

“Shh!” his eldest brother hissed, before groaning again and gingerly laying down, spread-eagling himself across Alan’s fire engine red comforter.

Alan squinted at him, setting the old console down and turning around completely to face the brother stealing his bed.

“Should you be up?” he asked, and Scott gave a sheepish grin.  “Scott, you’re hurt!”  His brother winced and gently rested a hand over the pyjamas he wore, right where Alan knew he had several stitches, far too much medical glue, and multiple layers of gauze.

“I’m okay, Allie,” he said, patting the bed next to him with his other hand.  Alan took the silent invitation to lay next to him – it was his bed, why was Scott acting like he was in charge – and eyed him dubiously.

“Why aren’t you in the medical room?” he asked, frowning.  “Grandma will be angry.”  Scott winced.

“Grandma thinks I need to eat,” he shuddered.  “Homemade food.”

Just the mention of homemade food when Grandma was around was enough for Alan to shudder, too.  No wonder Scott had escaped.

“What about John?” he asked, and Scott paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“I couldn’t get him out,” he said.  “But Grandma’s letting him have proper food, not…” he trailed off, but Alan understood.  They all understood when it came to Grandma and food.

“Okay,” he said, and Scott cocked an eyebrow at him.  “You can stay.”

“I knew you’d understand,” Scott grinned, wrapping an arm around him and gently pulling him close.  “Best little brother.”

Alan glowed at the praise, even if he knew by now that they were all ‘best little brother’ when it suited Scott.  Just like they were all his best big brother when they did what he wanted.  It was still nice to hear.

The fact that Scott’s arm was shaking slightly was not so nice, and he frowned at his brother. Scott had closed his eyes again; his skin was still pale – paler than Alan’s, he realised when he put his hand on his forehead.

“I’m okay, Allie,” he mumbled, cracking a single eye open a sliver to peer at him.  “Just tired.”

“Promise?”  Alan remembered Dad carrying him in, blood dripping onto the floor.  It had been a few days since then, but it still gave him nightmares.  He hadn’t played any of his zombie games since.

“I promise.”  His eye closed again and Alan watched as his breathing evened out, chest rising and falling steadily in sleep.  Scott spent a lot of time sleeping now; Grandma said it was normal because he’d lost a lot of blood, but it worried Virgil so it worried Alan, just a little.

He curled up against Scott, careful not to get too close to anywhere he was hurt, game entirely forgotten in favour of watching him.  Just to be sure.

There was a commotion outside, hurried footsteps passing past his door in both directions before someone knocked and he froze.

“Alan?” Dad called, pushing the door open.  “Have you seen- ah, there you are.”

Alan made a shushing noise at him, and Dad smiled, making a show of walking into the room on tip-toe and silently closing the door behind him.

“Is he sleeping?” he asked, and Alan nodded.  Dad padded across the room and sat on the edge of Alan’s bed, reaching out and brushing Scott’s hair back from his face.  Scott didn’t react, and his smile looked just a little sad.  “You can’t sleep here, Scooter; this is your brother’s bed,” he murmured.

“I don’t mind,” Alan said immediately, and Dad gave him a smile.

“I’m sure you don’t,” he agreed, “but Scott needs to stay in the medical room where your Grandma can keep an eye on him.  I’m impressed he made it all the way up here.”

“He said Grandma was cooking,” Alan said, and got a chuckle.

“That would do it,” Dad nodded before standing back up.  “Well, even I’m not cruel enough to subject Scott to that, so I’ll let him hide here for now.  Don’t let him leave when he wakes up, though – he shouldn’t be walking around.  I’ll fetch him later, when the threat’s gone.”

Alan nodded his agreement and watched Dad leave the room before settling back down with Scott, at least until he heard the voices.

“Have you found him?”

That was Grandma, and Alan tensed again.  Dad understood, right?  Dad wouldn’t make Scott eat that?

“He’s hiding in Alan’s room.”  What? Now Grandma would come in and Scott would have to eat her cooking and he’d be miserable!  How could he do that?

“He can’t hide forever,” she said.  “He’ll have to face it eventually.”

“When he wakes up,” Dad promised.  “Getting to Alan’s room exhausted him.”

“When he wakes up,” she agreed.  “He can’t avoid John forever.”

Wait, what?  Avoid John?  Why would Scott want to avoid John?  Wasn’t it Grandma’s cooking he was hiding from?

They moved away, leaving him sat on his bed with his biggest brother taking up most of the space. Alan looked at him, seeing how pale he looked, before coming to a decision.  It was easy enough to find his spare blanket and drape it over Scott, tucking him in gently before padding out of his room and heading for the medical room.

John was sat up in bed, tablet propped up in front of him as he read whatever was on the screen.  He looked up as Alan approached.

“Hey, Alan,” he greeted with a grin.  Alan glanced over at Scott’s abandoned bed as he passed it, before perching on the chair next to his brother.  John also looked at the bed for a moment, before setting the tablet down and facing him as best he could with three of his limbs in casts.  “Is something wrong?”

“Grandma said Scott was avoiding you,” Alan blurted out, and John sighed.

“He is.”

“But…” Alan faltered, not expecting that response.  Why would Scott avoid John?  That didn’t make any sense.

“He’s got it into his head that this is all his fault,” John explained.  “He blames himself even though it was my idea, and he’s avoiding me because he thinks that’ll keep me safe.”

“What?  Why?  Scott keeps us safe!”  Alan couldn’t imagine a world without Scott there to keep the nightmares away.

“Because he’s an idiot,” John sighed.  “It doesn’t help that Dad had a go at him for exploring the paths when we were told not to. He’s grounded for two weeks after Grandma discharges him.”

“Scott’s in trouble?”

“Because he disobeyed me. John is also grounded.”  Alan jumped when Dad started talking – he hadn’t noticed him.  “Is Scott still in your room, Alan?”  He nodded. “Well if he’s going to sleep he might as well do it here.”  Alan watched him leave before turning to John.

“But… Grandma’s cooking..?” John chuckled lightly.

“The one thing she can make is hospital food,” he assured him.  “The soup she’s feeding Scott is perfectly edible and he knows it.”

“Oh.”  Scott had lied.

“He’s just upset about what happened,” John continued.  “Don’t worry about it.”

When Dad walked back in a few minutes later, Scott was still covered in Alan’s spare blanket.

“Do you think Scott can borrow it a while longer?” the man asked as he gently lay a still sleeping Scott back on the bed.

“Will it help?” Alan asked, and he nodded.  “Then yes.” He reached over and straightened it out over his brother again.  Scott let out a small groan and Dad backed away.

“That’s my cue to leave,” he said.  “Alan, could you stay with your brothers for me?”  He nodded, and the man left the room.

Barely a minute later, Scott’s eyes opened.  They landed on John and immediately snapped shut again with another groan.

“Scott?”

He opened his eyes again.

“Allie?”

“Don’t avoid John,” Alan said immediately, watching blue eyes widen.  “You’re his big brother!  You can’t ignore him.”

“I got him hurt, Alan,” Scott protested.  He started to sit up, then made a face and lay back down again.  “It’s my fault.”

“I’m the one that wanted to go out to see the stars,” John argued.

“I should have stopped you!”

“If I wasn’t going to listen to Dad, why would I listen to you?”

Eyes wide, Alan looked between his two brothers.  Both of them looked agitated, confined to their beds by their injuries but with a point to prove.

Scott opened his mouth a couple of times but no sound came out.

“Scott, whose blanket are you holding?” John challenged, and Alan watched as Scott looked at it, running the edge of the fabric through his fingers.

“Alan’s?”  Scott looked at him, surprised, and Alan shrugged. “Why?”

“So you didn’t get cold,” Alan told him, and Scott softened, smiling at him.

“Thanks, Allie.”

“You know it wasn’t your fault,” John continued.  “If you honestly thought you were a danger to me, you would never have run to Alan, would you?”

“Hey!”  Alan wasn’t entirely sure what John meant by that, but why wouldn’t Scott go to him?  He was his brother too, right?

Scott heaved a huge sigh, and Alan looked at him in surprise.

“Stop being sensible and right,” he grumbled, but without any malice.

“I’ll stop when you don’t need me to,” John retorted, but he was smiling.

“Hush you,” Scott muttered. “C’mere, Allie.”  He extended his hand and Alan took it, letting his biggest brother draw him closer.  “This is your blanket so share it with me, okay?”

Alan wasn’t entirely sure what was going on anymore.  Scott and John seemed to have just solved an argument but he didn’t understand what it had been about or how it had been solved.

“You’re not going to avoid John anymore?” he asked, stopping just short of the bed, and Scott shook his head.

“Not anymore,” he promised.  “Come up here?”

“Okay.”  Alan climbed onto the bed, kicking off his shoes and curling up under the blanket with his biggest brother.  It was warm and comfy and safe, and even though it wasn’t bedtime he found himself getting sleepy.

“It looks like they’ve sorted themselves out,” he thought he heard Grandma say some time later.  Dad laughed.

“As if they’d have it any other way,” he replied.  A hand brushed his hair lightly.  “Sleep well, boys.  Look after each other.”

Of course they would.

Fin

[thenovelartist]

Mystery Room

AU August - Day 22 - Crime AU

A/N: Based completely off one of my favorite video games of all time: Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. It’s a phone app that I highly recommend to anyone who likes mystery/puzzle games.

It was her first day on the job and she was so excited. After all, it’s not every day someone is recruited by Paris’ finest police force a day out of the academy.

She pulled her lucky black cap down over her red hair before walking into the building.

“Ah, Detective Constable Tikki,” Chief of Police, Mr. Fu, greeted. “How wonderful it is to have you join us.”

“It’s an honor being here, sir,” she said, bowing slightly.

He grinned. “Now, I’ll show you to your office.”

Tikki followed the surprisingly nimble man.

“You will be working as an assistant of sorts for one of our most… eccentric inspectors.”

“Oh?” Tikki asked.

“Don’t worry,” Commissioner Fu said. “I saw your file. You’ll certainly be able to handle yourself in the Mystery Room.”

“That sounds ominous,” she commented, slowly growing a little nervous.

Commissioner Fu chuckled. “That’s what the other detectives like calling it. It’s nothing more than the office where all the hardest, seemingly unsolvable cases are dropped off at.”

Tikki’s eyes widened. “And I’ll be working there?”

“I have faith in you,” Commissioner Fu said. “You have a knack of putting cases together like one would fit together a puzzle. Even the more absurd ones. You also have a healthy dose of patience and perseverance. Which is needed if you are ever going to survive working with Plagg.”

She frowned. It wasn’t exactly encouraging.

Commissioner Fu opened the door to the office, and Tikki about died at the disaster zone that was the interior.

Papers. Everywhere.

“Maybe you can keep him in line,” Commissioner Fu said with a smirk. “He’s the best we have, but he may need a little… caretaking.” With that, Commissioner Fu spun on his heel and walked off.

Leaving Tikki to stare at the mess. “Oh. My. Kwami.”

…

“What do you think you’re doing!”

Tikki dropped the papers she was organizing. “I… I…”

He looked at her expectantly. “You… you…?”

“I’m your new assistant,” she managed, sticking out a hand. “Detective Constable Tikki Cheng at your service.”

Plagg looked at the hand, then snorted. “You’re my new assistant?”

Shyly, she lowered her hand. “That’s right. I start today.”

Plagg looked at her a moment longer, then sighed. “So be it. Guess I could use the help. Just don’t clean up my office.”

Tikki frowned. “But… it’s a mess.”

“I work best in chaos,” he said. He then walked over to a pile, grabbed a file straight out of the middle, then handed it to her. “If you’re going to stay, you gotta prove your worth. Solve the case, and your job will remain.”

Tikki took the file, but before she even cracked it open, she looked around for a place to sit and think. Maybe even a spot to spread out her file so she could see what she was actually looking at. “Um… space?”

Plagg smirked at her. “I thought your file said you were really good at thinking on your feet, cookie.”

She frowned. Infernal man.

Well… she’d show him.

…

“Done.” She dropped the case in front of him. “It was the butler. He strangled the girl with a necktie but did it in such a way it looked like her lover.”

Plagg quirked a brow, then took the file to look at.

“Well,” he said after a while. “Looks like you’re right. You can stay.”

She smirked. “How kind of you,” she sarcastically bit out. “Now, do I get a desk or a chair, at the very least?”

Plagg pointed to the couch covered in papers across the room. “You can have that. And the coffee table.”

“And what about the files?”

“You can clean them off as you solve them.”

Tikki’s gut sank as she looked at the dozens of folders.

From behind her, Plagg chuckled. “Welcome to the Mystery Room, cookie.”

…

Three weeks later, her table was cleared off. The cases she solved were elementary, and she was able to crack a couple each day. Plagg was a pain in her arse, to say the least. He looked at her with mild approval with each case she dumped in front of him, completed and solved. She never interviewed anyone, but that was because once she solved the case, her notes were all given to some lower police officer to fulfill.

“There,” she said, handing him the last of the case files. “Finished.”

He looked at the file, then at her. “Well done,” he said. “You solved the mundane cases. Your speed was impressive, though. I will give you that much.”

Tikki scowled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that these cases,” he waved the file folder she had solved. “Were all cases that should have never come into the Mystery Room because the police force should be competent enough to handle them. Thank you for clearing them so I didn’t have to.”

Tikki’s jaw dropped in mild offence.

“Pick your jaw off the ground,” he snipped. “You proved your worth having you around on the force, but you haven’t proven your worth in here. For that, you have to solve this case.”

Tikki took the file folder, cracking it open and slowly reading the information.

And quickly realized that, unfortunately, Plagg was right. She could already tell the other cases were child’s play compared to this one.

“Not so smug now, are we, cookie?”

She glared up at him, not willing to admit he was right.

“The case is a curious one,” he said, standing in order to begin pacing the room. “And far more typical of what we get here in the office. At least, what we should be getting in the office.”

Tikki looked all over the information. This would be a hard one to crack.

…

“I’ve gotta say, cookie,” Plagg said as they waited for their suspect to be brought in for interrogation. “I really didn’t expect you to solve that so quick.”

“Please,” she scoffed. “There is no more creative person in the world than a bitter woman gathering blood money. I thought you would have known that after working here so long, kitty cat.”

Plagg sputtered in surprise. “Kitty cat?”

Tikki shot him a smug smile. “Considering that reaction, yes, I think that nickname will do quite nicely.”

He stared at her a moment longer before slumping in his seat with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, making him look like a put-out child. Tikki couldn’t restrain her laughter.

…

It was her first interrogation, and Tikki felt like she was failing.

Confrontation had never been one of her strong suits. Especially with people who couldn’t be reasoned with. She hated to say that she was thankful that Plagg was there to keep her on track, but he was and was doing a very good job at it, too.

“For the last time, where is this murder weapon?” the suspect purred. “Because I certainly don’t see it nor have you presented me with any possibility.”

Tikki was just about to hand it to her when a cool voice came from beside her.

“It’s disappeared.”

The woman turned to glare at Plagg. “Disappeared.” She deadpanned. “Is that really the best you can come up with?”

Tikki turned to Plagg, who somehow didn’t look like the man she remembered. His eyes were wild and the smirk on his face was completely unsettling. She swore that even his hair was darker, more ruffled, his bangs hanging in front of his face to shade his eyes. “Yes,” he purred. “Because that’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? You didn’t use the stake to kill him. You can never fully get rid of traces of blood. No, you used something that would disappear completely in the heat of the night.”

Plagg chuckled, and it caused Tikki’s hair to stand on it’s end as gooseflesh rose up and down her entire body. “Yes, my lovely assistant is right: you are a creative girl. But hardly inspired. Murders for money usually cause people to get sloppy. Greed clouds the judgement process when it comes to executing a clean kill.”

“Plagg?” Tikki said, her voice weak with uncertainty. “What are you—”

“Quiet!” he snapped, turning to glare at her with teeth bared and eyes wild.

She did as demanded.

“So,” he purred, turning back to the woman he was interrogating, one who looked about as unnerved as Tikki by Plagg’s sudden switch of demeanor. “Where were we? Oh yes, I was about to tell you how you committed the murder of your—oh, what was he?—fourth husband? Yes. Number four who happened to be the owner of a very large life insurance policy. Sitting on all that money that you could never access as long as he was breathing. So you had to stop it. Getting a man drunk certainly isn’t fair.” He tsked her. “Oh, I bet you were a tease all the way home from the bar. Then, you took him up to the house, but you weren’t going to fulfill the promises you were probably telling him all night. No. You took him out to the balcony instead. And he didn’t fall off onto a garden stake. No. You stabbed him with a knife of ice. Orchestrating the rest was easy.”

Her eyes widened, and it was clear as day her game was up. “Wha… how…”

“The blood spatters didn’t line up!” Plagg shouted, slamming his hands down on the table in front of her, causing the woman to flinch. “And you aren’t going through mourning, you little minx. You’re acting isn’t that good. And don’t give me the shock excuse, either. Your body language alone proves that. You are far too happy for this event to have happened to your fourth loving and doting husband.” Plagg snarled. “Pathetic.”

The woman looked away.

“This all ends,” Tikki finally spoke up, “with a confession.”

The woman looked up at her, then eyed Plagg. “Just get him away from me.”

“After the confession.”

She gave her statement, and Tikki quickly dragged Plagg out of the room.

“What was that in—are you okay?”

Plagg was holding his head, hands tightly in his hair. He looked as though he was swaying, so Tikki reached forward to steady him.

Only for him to completely pass out.

“Plagg!” she shouted as he fell to the floor, taking her with him.

She scrambled up into a sitting position, then shook his shoulders. “Plagg?” she frantically called. “Plagg!”

But he was out cold.

She sighed. Don’t panic, Tikki. Don’t panic. Only… what did she do now?

[dropdistance]

My Professor Layton’s games ranking ง( ᐛ )ง

I was feeling like ranking the Professor Layton’s games from my favorite to least fav one... let’s review this together (◕▽◕✿)

Be careful though, it might contain spoilers if you’re planning on buying the games, especially on the Azran Legacy, I can only advise you not to read if you haven’t played it yet.

1 - Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Actually, this one is my favorite game so far. I’ve loved the storyline, well, it got me very puzzled at times. 

The soundtrack was amazing, as for all the games y’know, but the main theme is so incredibly pleasing to listen to. The game allows you to visit places of London, as for Chinatown and stuff.

The plot twist of the end got me yelling, even if we all knew at some point that if they actually didn’t travel in time there wouldn’t be any Luke adult existing yet.

But I love the character that is Clide so much. Also, one of the part that I loved, finding out about the past of Hershel and Claire, I thought it was so cute to find out he had a lovely girlfriend back at that time. And that thing with the evil Layton, I wondered what it was all about.

My favorite features of the game : I love the soundtrack as I already said. The storyline is well-thought. Not so difficult nor easier puzzles, nice places to look for. Thinking you have traveled in time, idk, I kept a very good memory of it.

2 - Professor Layton and the Curious Village

I’ve hesitated a long time before figuring out that I would rank the first game as my second favorite one.

Indeed, it was the first game that I bought since it was the first one released. I remember loving to play it so much for hours, at that time I was in middle school and I really was trying to solve every puzzle by myself (with hint coins for sure, I wasn’t that clever yet).

I got pretty surprised at a few moments of the game, as the first murder of Rupert, Ramon’s kidnapping, and I clearly remember being so SCARED of Don Paolo like, who on Earth would get scared of such a funny character ಠ_ಠ... I was a smol bean...

My favorite features of the game : As stupid as I can sound, it was cool to set up both of the Professor and Luke’s hotel rooms with furnitures that we earned during the game. Also, well, the game was so mysterious and the puzzles got me.... puzzled? ¯\(ツ)/¯ but I still love playing it even today, I kept a good memory of my first experience with it.

3 - Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

There are a few parts of the game that I’ve disliked and that I realize only now, but let’s be clear : I really appreciate all the games.

So, about that game, the thing that I’ve “disliked” - it really is much of a word, I just think it could have been better - was the end. The vampire thing, and well, all the plot of the end, I think it was a bit far-fetched. Like, I didn’t completely understand the development and the purpose of the ending. I guess I was hoping for something else. Sadly, it was the part which got me disappointed.

On another note, it doesn’t mean that I don’t play it all over again. Despite that, the game is cool, the trip by train, exploring the Molentary Express and different places as we go further, trying to discover how on Earth could such a little box actually kill people around- and I won’t lie, I got scared at times ಠωಠ suspens, suspens. 

It still is my third favorite game, because I really have enjoyed it and until now, I didn’t care that much about the ending in details.

My favorite features of the game : Will you make fun of me if I say that my favorite part was to make tea for Folsense’s residents ? ✧w✧ I spent hours trying to prepare new teas... (I don’t even like tea.......)

4 - Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

The most recent game (besides the one with Katrielle) that I probably finished faster than the others... (Luke is always fucking jumping all over the place)

Okay so, for this one, I remember being so intrigued by the mystery around the Azran population and legend - that, if I remember correctly, first heard about in the movie The Eternal Diva (which was excellent, tbh) - and the end got me so startled like, there was so many revelations at the same time, I couldn’t believe,,,,, I was so in shock I might have cried. “What... OH MY. OH MY GOD. IT CAN’T BE??? NOOOOO... IT’S A JOKE RIGHT? WAIT, WHAT!!!!!! THE HELL!!!!!!!!! BUT HOW- EMMY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!” - these might be the word I have used.

I really was wondering what could be the said Azran Legacy, and I wasn’t disappointed. The total opposite of what I think of the second game. The end got me real shook because well, EVERYONE FUCKING DIES?? BRONEV KILLS AURORA???? DESCOLE IS FREAKING HERSHEL’S BROTHER!!! EMMY IS HIS COUSIN!!!! BRONEV IS THEIR FATHER!!!!

I found the game amazing, and to get the opportunity to solve mysteries around the world, to travel with the Bostonius and stuff, really, I enjoyed it a lot.

My favorite features of the game : As I said up there, to travel around the world was a nice idea. And all the revelations... it got me pleasantly surprised. I loved getting into the fashionista world with Luke too. ( ͡º ͜ʖ ͡º )

5. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

I took so much time to get this one over but hey, at some point, I did it.

Yeah, I took my sweet time to finish the game because I didn’t have much free time besides school and I kind of forgot about it at some point. One day, I simply told myself that it could be great to at least, see the end.

It’s not my favorite because it didn’t mark me as the others did, but I liked it, it was interesting to get to play in the past when Randall still was Hershel’s friend. They were about to find the treasure and he fucking fell off.

But let’s face it, we all knew it was him all along. 

Actually, I wasn’t sure about the powers of the mask, and that was a great plot twist to figure out it was two masks in the end. The storyline and the mysteries around the miracles were nicely imagined. It turned out it wasn’t much magic after all.

My favorite features of the game : Everything about the Azran population was so interesting to me, in the game just as in the last one, even if some parts of the ending were predictable. Let’s get it clear : Henry is a sweet little bean.

6 - Professor Layton and the Last Specter

To end the post, my least favorite Professor Layton game, for one and only one reason (maybe two).

The only reason I rank the game as my least favorite is because it has been so long that I’ve played it and to be honest, I don’t remember it at all, except a few parts. I’ve only played it once and never got to do it again. Sadly, I’ve lost my cartridge and I bought a new one like, two months ago. 

As far as I remember, the end got me disappointed as well but as I said, I really should play it again to have a better and constructive opinion about it.

My favorite features of the game : The scene on the gif was cute. They were lovely together. (◕ ω ◕✿)

Here’s everything about my ranking of the games. I haven’t written about the game with Phoenix Wright and the game with Katrielle because I haven’t played it yet.

Feel free to ask questions to me or drop submissions about games, movies, animes that you like, if it happens that I know about it, I might do another ranking post !

I hope you guys have a nice day and you enjoyed reading thist~ (◕��◕✿) see ya soon !

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

alright so we’re back with chapter three - the Great Witch

-

i wonder how much of their memories Nick and Maya have actually recuperated 

the whole thing seems a little dodgy...

-

“This bench looks like a torture tool– shall we try it out on you, Nick?”

why is Maya so bloodthirsty in the game?? i mean she’s mischievous, but...

-

ahhh their widdle walking sprites are so cuuuute!

-

hang on– is that a picture-picture of Barnham with his dog?? if so, that should raise a lot of questions...

also why is the only person who *doesnt* comment on the painting Phoenix? he’s the art major.

-

you know, ive seen plenty of Phoenix X Barnham, and Darklaw X Barnham, but I’ve never seen any Phoenix X Darklaw 

i wonder why...

maybe Ive just never come across it

-

“Mr Wright, are you alright?”

(no response)

he's dead guys the fucking dog killed phoenix wright 

-

luke: I can talk to animals maya: haha omg cool! phoenix, laying in a pool of his own blood: hurgle

-

wait did maya just call Barnham adorable by proxy 

-

things layton likes: puzzles, stone lanterns 

-

oh fuck i forgot about the puzzles

also what the FUCK muffet

-

Patty: I believe in your Phoenix

Phoenix, trying not to cry: cool cool cool

-

aww. its nice to have a moment to just talk about feelings, especially between the sidekicks. 

...

...dont go into the forest you little fuckers

-

maya likes helms..??

-

“I used to come here with Nick. He’d carry the water pots, and I’d cheer him on!”

that reminds me, theres no plumbing. in fact, since its the middle ages, theres not even any outhouses. maya and phoenix have canonically shit in the streets

-

DOGS AND CATS, LIVING TOGETHER–

-

its 12:30 on a school night and I've spent over an hour trying to help a dog deliver mail 

oh maya solved that one! thats the first AA solve of the game. ...er, to me.

-

i dont understand how piccarats work

like, the previous puzzle was 30 piccarats and it was ridiculously easy. this one’ twenty and ive already lost ten points

maybe its to do with how my brain works– the 30 one was a pattern/colour puzzle, and I'm an artist. this one’s about directions, and I'm ASS at directions.

-

darklaw what are you WEARING

you look like a skimpy medieval furry

seriously what is with the metal skirt on bare thighs 

is that supposed to be comfy 

-

man these backgrounds are so beautiful 

-

why did she specifically tell Maya to be wary of witches

-

“You certainly both love your food. Personally, I’d just like a little more sleep...”

amen bro

-

oh fuck

Drosselmeyer wants to see Layton. dont let him brainwash ya!

-

“So this is the deathknell dungeon? Looks more like solitary confinement to me.”

considering the fact that she can see out the door, i doubt its solitary nick. solitary is a sealed box from hell.

-

Maya: you were just scared that nick would fuck up like always!! because he's an enormous fuck up haha!! Espella: i... no, i think he's really great

Phoenix: ...hey can i change assistants please

-

OH HO

CLIFF HANGER 

-

one does not simply

visit the storyteller

-

“come to think of it, during that parade, the storyteller did seem to be held in high esteem by all the townsfolk...”

guys have you not realized that youre literally meeting god yet???

ah see Layton’s got it

c’mon luke keep up

-

pfft they think Layton’s a hatter 

just wearing a tophat does not a hatter make 

-

ah the knights garrison

this is where Chucky stopped playing on his second third-space save 

I wonder why...

-

“And so the travellers finally arrived...”

yeah well first of all??? if you wanted me to get in there faster maybe dont make your door a fucking puzzle maybe 

fuck you old man you aint shit 

(btw i managed to solve it accidentally in the recommended 4 turns by pressing 3 random buttons and then realizing id somehow succeeded)

-

Storyteller: [farts suspiciously]

-

Storyteller: you guys are bad because you stopped me killing children

Layton: 

-

“OOPS”

DUFLUS SHFLS 

LUKE ITS OK 

I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH TO BE MAD

-

Espella: it’s true... that the towns folk look at me in a different way

well for one thing youre a different art style than most of them without being anything usually associated with said art style 

-

oh ok that i was not expecting 

she’s,,, jesus???

-

Maya spitting truths here 

-

wait hang on a second 

first of all– “the great witch is just a character of myth” yeah well EVERYONE is a character, Espella

also, she says she came to live with Patty 5 years ago... which is also what Phoenix and Maya said

when their memories all got altered to include phoenix and maya, does that mean they like, had a whole growing-up-together for five years roster of memories?

13 y/o Espella and Maya meeting, bonding over stuff, wondering why only Maya had to make bread and Espella didnt 

Phoenix–– hell, in the time frame, he’d be ‘Pheenie’ being their older brother. Acting like his 25 y/o self, or harkening back to those days and acting accordingly??

and how shitty it must’ve been when they realized none of it ever happened.

-

“Were these things... My memories?”

well probably not considering im pretty sure that tiny kid being flown over was you

-

i feel bad for nick’s... wherever is getting bitten, but this does lend credence to my headcanon that animals hate phoenix so 

also the inquisitor office theme needs to chill the fuck out

-

“Exactly what are you doing over there on all fours”

dont do that 

“He just sits back and lets his dog bite people, err... I mean, me”

he’s lucky nobody flips the fuck out and bites back. i suppose nobody would dare if they knew it was his dog, but still. not very responsible.

-

“Dr. Delduke” eh

well now

-

“He was no witch.” “Why?”

“HE was a man.”

( Welp, can’t argue with that. )

hey!!! equality to witches!! boys can be witches too!!

-

“Maya... can you get this mutt away from me? I can’t feel my leg.”

“Aww... So soon? I was hoping he’d use you as a blue chew toy just one more time.”

ok, seriously, what is UP with Maya? I can’t remember her ever being this violent in the original series. Like, she hit Nick over the head with the shichishito that one time, but she wasn’t constantly wishing harm on him??

-

as much as i appreciate seeing a tiny maya model i fucking hate the cloud puzzle fuck you for doubling up on it

-

oh i lucked into the answer awesome

this seems to be a running theme...

-

every time someone looks at the bell tower, they always comment on the bell never being heard. it must be foreshadowing.

-

wow Jean is very short

...also I'm calling it now, HE DID IT

-

hmm Greyerl’s voice actress is a little more noticeable than Luke’s...

also OH OK. the fucking bell tower just MANIFESTED OUT OF PURE FLAMES

THATS COOL

-

“He reacted in a moster peculiar way. Unlike others who saw it, he seemed unsettled, as if he was truly afraid of something” 

oh i dunno, maybe the DEMON BELL TOWER???

-

Maya: only YOU can fuck up that badly, nick!

ok... genuinely, utterly, seriously, why is Maya so malicious in this game? She does tease Nick a lot throughout the series, but its usually in a more playful or goofy manner. A lot of the things she says in this game seem sort of unnecessary or weirdly hurtful... especially since phoenix hasn’t done much to warrant any of them.

-

hmm

well, I know what happens to Maya

but what the hell is he doing to Nick?

also I do hope there’s a reeeeeaaaaally good reason for all this...

-

layton flings out his arm to shut luke up skdgkafajkf

-

wait why did the owl bring them that

-

“Luke, my boy... We have the need... to rent a steed.”

LAYTON

oh and they fucking did

-

“You think that’s bad? You should see Nick try and do the laundry– Now that’s a major blunder!”

see that seems a little more in character somehow

especially since its something that seems like he would fail at.

still, weirdly insult heavy...

-

hey hey 

100 coins

-

“in an alchemy sense”

shouldn’t that be an ‘alchemical’ sense?

-

“I guess you’re more suited to small, dark, damp places.”

is that a reference to the mushroom thing??

-

phoenix, in someone else’s abandoned basement: oh no their house plants are dying :( ill water them 

this man??? is pure??

-

“Well well well. If it isn't a well.”

NICK

-

“Come to think of it... I haven’t noticed any plumbing here in Laborynthia.”

HA 

I WAS RIGHT

THEY SHIT IN THE STREETS

-

“As things stand, Mr. Wright is in serious danger!”

uh the story said Maya would die, not Phoenix. It said he’d be cursed, but Maya would be tried and burnt. You should probably be more worried about her...

-

great witch: sup guys I'm gonna fuck shit up

game: the following is too horrifying to look directly at; here, have some shenanigans with Luke and that other bard Bardly was complaining about.

-

“Birdly”

fuck you perhaps

-

NO

WHY IS EMEER THERE

NOO

-

also hi Layton you’re looking a bit uh 

a bit 

...well this hardly makes any sense

doesn’t Layton appear not long after this? also, it’s easy enough to prove Maya’s not a witch; just hand her the staff and ask her to politely turn Layton back. 

that or just cry on him real quick; worked for Ash

-

bweuuuhhh dont cry luke pls

luuuuke

its ok luke magic isn’t real luke

...though from what I’ve heard of your universe, someone could have used Science to turn him into gold and that could be totally real so

just 

c’mon in for a hug lil guy

also see yuh all next time for part... four? i think?

[miximax-hell]

Hello, everyone! It hasn’t been long at all since my last post! ...For once!

While I looked for that Tetsukado sketch from last time, I happened to come across some (albeit by no means all, because there were many) of the sketches I made before I came up with HiroGeo’s final design. Given how different they are from each other and from the final design, I thought it might be interesting to bring those to my blog as well. I have no shame in showing how bad I am because it’s no secret, anyway.

As you can see, the first three sketches have been quickly lined in SAI. That’s because the paper sheets I originally drew on were SUPER dirty and it was tough to even distinguish actual lines from previously erased lines and whatnot. Truly a mess, but that’s why they’re doodles and not actual drawings, I guess.

Anyway, I love Hiroto and I felt he deserved some more love--especially because his miximax got many more notes than average, so people must’ve liked it... to an extent. Therefore, let’s talk a bit more about him!

As usual, you can find more information about HiroGeo under the cut.

Now that we’ve made it through the cut, uh, what’ve you guys been up to? After many, many years, I finally beat Final Fantasy VIII the other day. What an amazing game! It had the nostalgia factor going for it, since I first played it when I was rather young, but I never got past a certain point in the middle of disc 2, so it was still full of surprises. A very healthy combo. Kind of like Harry Potter 8, which I’m reading right now, btw.

And, since I was at it, I started playing EarthBound and Broken Sword 5 too. EarthBound hasn’t quite... picked up the pace yet, but I sure am enjoying BS5! It truly reminds me of the first and wonderful installments before Broken Sword 3 ruined everything. Oh well. We can consider that a bad nightmare, I suppose. A very bad one.

Oh, and since I mentioned it in my last update a few months ago, I got the True Pacifist Ending in Undertale. What an incredibly lovely game. I can’t bring myself to go for the killing spree necessary to get the other ending just yet. Incidentally, I completed Layton 2 and beat Tomb Raider, Pokémon Sun and Hatoful Boyfriend while I was still in America. I’m surprised I got so much done even though I was so busy...

Okay, moving on! Since I talked about HiroGeo’s design in depth last time, I can’t resort to the easy solution now. And, for the sake of being sincere, I’ll admit that HiroGeo isn’t a miximax I have thought much about beyond the designing process. Funny, because Hiroto and Geo are both very dear to me, but I guess the design was way too exhausting as it was and I didn’t feel like putting any more effort into it. Whoopsie. ww So, as of now, I only have some ideas regarding his Keshin and... that’s it. I don’t even know much about his powers at this point.

So you might be thinking, “Wait a minute, you stupid idiot!” Yes, you all insult me in my mind. I blame my well-disguised low self-esteem. “If you don’t even know what powers Hiroto would get from Geo, why the hell did you put them together?” Well, that’s exactly what I’ll try to explain today.

Even though 99% of my friends, acquaintances and relatives aren’t aware of this, before Inazuma sucked me into an obsessive vortex for years and years, I was actually a Mega Man Star Force nerd. It was (and is) one of my favourite games, and the one I was into at the time. In other words, it was my last obsession before Inazuma hit me in the face with a flaming ball. As such, I really, really wanted Star Force (from now on, SF) to be part of this project from the very beginning. I didn’t know whom I wanted, but I needed that franchise to be represented here somehow.

As such, much like I have done with other franchises (with more or less success), I started looking for a good aura and a good vessel. While I considered that little shit called Solo/Rogue, I’m not one of those people who enjoy that kind of “I’m evil, but everyone will be obsessed with me” trope. In fact, it usually irks me quiiite a bit. I’m not one to usually like evil guys, sadly. ww

So, really, my only good options were Geo/Mega Man or Sonia/Harp Note. And I’m sure those who’ve played SF will be pissed because I didn’t choose Harp Note and I went with the “easy” choice (and, in fact, it bothered me too, because she’s great), but stay with me, please. There is a bit more to it than meets the eye.

The reason why I chose Mega Man over Harp Note wasn’t a matter of whom I prefered or whom I thought would bring better/more useful powers to the mix. It was because I randomly saw how well Mega Man and Hiroto worked together. I simply didn’t find a match nearly as good for Harp Note.

Hiroto and Geo share a lot. The obvious link, which I have mentioned before, is that they share a theme, and that’s something I love. Both Hiroto and Geo are related/linked to space. Hiroto, being a fake alien and having meteorite-related hissatsus, has an obvious connection to it. Geo is constantly looking at the stars and has a passion for astronomy, goes to space in many occasions as Mega Man, the name of his series is Star Force and even his dad is an astronaut. Which, by the way, leads to the next link.

Even though they are very different, both Geo and Hiroto have *+*+*daddy issues*+*+*. We all know about Hiroto’s: he’s an orphan, his loving adoptive father turned into a monster that forced him to fight, said father ended up in jail... Quite the rollercoaster. Now, Geo has his fair share of those issues too. While not always a main theme in the series, Geo’s lurking objective is to bring his father back home, since he’s been stranded in space... if I remember correctly. Said father has been missing for a loong time, leaving Geo alone as he learnt of his new powers, causing him a heavy depression that kept him from going to school, etc.

They both know what it is to miss a father and to want to save him. They were both very affected when the close relationships they shared with their fathers suddenly changed, so I believe they’d have a lot in common and to talk about. And, well, I find it important to talk about uncomfortable subjects if you are trying to improve your relationship with someone. It brings you two closer, and that’s very important in a case like this.

If sharing a theme and daddy issues wasn’t enough, both Hiroto and Geo are shown to be rather intelligent and good with machines. They are both strong-willed and ready to fight for the “greater good” even when they don’t want to, and they both inherited something very important from their dads: Geo got some weird goggles and Hiroto got... a full successful company. (Hiroto wins this time, I’m afraid. Sorry, Geo bby.)

What makes this extra interesting, however, is how Geo evolves. Hiroto is shown to be mature, intelligent, cold and thoughtful. A reliable, serious person. Almost a big brother to those who know it. However, while Geo starts off cold and in a similar (although by no means same) vein, as he matures and manages to open up to others again, he actually becomes much more laid back, suddenly talking about food and naps and whatnot. Meanwhile, Hiroto’s premature maturity (no pun intended) takes him in the complete opposite direction. I think this is worth exploring as a concept. With Geo’s influence, Hiroto wouldn’t be reverting to a more childish version of himself, because Geo’s attitude doesn’t come from him being childish, but from maturing into a more relaxed and presumably happier person. Hiroto would simply have the opportunity to see life with those same mature eyes, but in a much calmer way. In a sense, it’d give him the chance to “take a break,” if you all know what I mean. To move on from the pain that, show it or not, he holds in his heart. In a franchise like Inazuma, where maturing has constantly meant becoming more serious and angry and powerful, maturing into someone happier would be a refreshing change, I think. Refreshing and much needed.

So, yeah. As I said, I really don’t know much about how Geo’s powers will affect Hiroto’s abilities, but I’ll figure something out. The reasons alone were so good and unavoidable that I’m sure pieces will fall into place on their own as soon as I start thinking about this subject properly. And, as the guy running this stupid blog, trust me when I say that that’s what really turns a normal miximax into a true perfect match.

A match made, rather than in heaven, in the stars.

[seynabri]

Tokyo in Tulsa 2017

It's that time of year again. The time when us Nebraskans (plus one Iowan) pack up our things and journey down to Tulsa, Oklahoma for an anime convention. That's right. Tokyo in Tulsa 2017!

So things got their kick off on Wednesday. When Dani and Kelsey came over to my place to finish up cosplay work and stay over so we could all leave together the next day, with my little brother Brock in tow of course. Among the happenings on Wednesday: My boyfriend came over, I stabbed the top of my foot with a sewing pin (Skills. I have never stabbed the bottom of my foot with one but managed to stab the top.), and Dani and Kelsey went on an adventure to buy food for the con. It was an eventful Wednesday.

But this isn't about our Wednesday fun times! It's about an anime convention. Which we headed for the next day mid morning. It was like most of our trips down. Uneventful with plenty of roadkill to look at. Kelsey and I spotted one deer on the side of the road with a bone sticking out of its leg. Things are brutal in the midwest.... But we made good time!

Kelsey’s car’s gps is out of date. Which is hilarious because it looks like we’re driving off road here. xD

Hotel check in stuff. Bed claiming. Food set up. The usual. At the time it was just the four of us in the room. But our ever faithful Skyler and Erin would be joining us at about... 2am... 3am? I don't remember what time it was when they got there. I was half asleep. All the way from Minnesota! Before that though Brock and I were the only two who preregistered.

If this isn’t the quintessential photo of our generation I don’t know what is.

So we made our way down to the convention center. Where the line was outside in the gross, humid, heat. Thankfully the sun was on its way down so there was that. But we ended up waiting in line for an hour before we got our badges.

This is what happens when Kelsey puts on gloves to paint things and I’m texting my boyfriend. xD

The rest of the night was spent finishing cosplay and trying to figure out audio programs for our skit. Also Joey and Sarah G stopped by for a bit to say hi and chat. But then it was sleep time. Until a few hours later when we were woken up by the Game of Thrones theme song blaring from Kelsey's phone signifying that the final two of our group had arrived! Then it really was sleep time!

Friday

So Friday rolls around and the rest of our group went down to get their badges. When they came back it was time to get ready as well as time to record the audio for our skit. I didn't really have anything to record since I would be playing Howl and my rather high female voice would not be fitting in the least bit. Although I did record Kiki's one line.

That day Dani and I were debuting our female versions of Professor Layton characters. Specifically professor Layton and Luke. We decided to use our own hair for it rather than wigs since they were our own designs anyway. And my vision for Luke was curly and short. So Dani worked wonders and curled my thin, flat hair and hairsprayed it to death to get it to stay. It did stay. Showering that night was kinda gross. But it stayed! Also the millions of bobby pins helped.

Best part about own design? Got to wear my glasses. :D

Time for female Luke Triton’s debut!

Time for some puzzle solving!

Brock was Kylo Ren that day while Kelsey was Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service and lastly Erin was Sheena from Tales of Symphonia. All of us except Skyler and Erin left the room first and traveled on down to the convention. Our first stop was the cosplay table to sign up for the contest. We left a very confused Joey there. The combination of characters was very confusing. And since we had yet to complete the audio he didn't have any single hint about what it could be.

Terrible lighting while waiting for the elevator! Look at this beautiful group!

We are serious puzzle solvers.

Joey has stolen Kiki’s broom! D:

It was then shopping time. Running through the artists alley and then the vendors room. Looking at all the things before deciding what to buy. I want to say at some point on that day is when I bought a few prints. Possibly also the day I bought a little german shepherd phone charm. So cute! :D

I forgot that we totally did the hall cosplay contest. :D

Get it, Kylo!

Such an adorable Kiki. :D

Erin joined us at some point and we did some wandering and shopping and such. We didn't go to a single panel the entire weekend. There just wasn't anything interesting to us. Although I guess the last thing we did was technically a panel. I'll get to that later though.

Luke is not impressed. I mean, can Kylo Ren solve all the puzzles that Luke has? I think not!

Such a lovely group.

So Friday. At some point Skyler came down and there was wandering. Skyler and Erin went off at another point and there was more wandering. The rest of us headed outside for a little photoshoot. Erin stumbled across us and hung out during the photo taking. Then it was back to the room for some food and resting.

Goodnight little Kiki!

So much cute!

You might want to look behind you Kiki....

Kylo doing some sulking.

Let’s solve those puzzles!

Puzzle spotted!!!

Look at this professor’s beautiful face. Look. At. It.

Too sexy. Much too sexy.

From sexy to adorable! Get you a girl that can do both.

Ready for some fun puzzle nonsense.

SKIRT!

Someone’s creeping on us!

A wild Sheena appears!

Gotta check those pictures!

Meanwhile. A Kylo broods.

Luke needs to solve the mystery of this strange flying girl.

SILLY FACES

End of photoshoot!

I thought I kinda looked like a ballerina when I took my shirt and hat off. xD

Eventually after much work the skit audio was done! Then it was down to our usual practice spot on the second floor of the hotel. We set up our door for the first time. Had a guy who was an engineering student stop by and look at it out of fascination. Then it was practice! Our usual blocking things out. Trying to hit our lines. I never did do that great at that one. Having not recorded them I didn't have them as memorized so I missed them more often than not.

After a while we considered outselves practiced enough and went up back to the room. Fitting a fake door into an elevator was an adventure. But after all that we got ready for bed since we had to be up bright and early for prejudging.

Saturday

Prejudging is a thing. A thing we have to get up early for, get ready quickly for, and make sure we all get there on time for. Which we did because we're awesome like that. Also we were the first skit to go on. Then disaster struck! Our door started to fall apart halfway through the skit. Which threw us off. Or at least threw me off. We were feeling a little bummed about it.

Waiting to perform!

But then! Joey. Our friend. A judge. The one recording the skits for the judges to watch later. Called us back and informed us that he forgot to record our skit. So we got to do it again! This time Kelsey and Brock went back while other skits were performing to tape the door together so that we wouldn't have the same problem.

As we waited to go on again we watched the other skits perform. Once again calling the first place winner. (I mean, they've won every year we've been competing so no surprise there.) And then we did a flawless second performance! I kid. It was far from flawless. But much better than the first one! Thank you Joey for forgetting to record!

I wish I could remember what all we did that day but it was probably the most low key Saturday we've ever had at a convention. We did the usual wandering and shopping. We did a mini photoshoot outside. It was HOT. Too hot. I almost died. Not really, but it felt like it. Also among the things we did was take a nap. We were all so exhausted so we hung out in the room. The older of us showed our age and fell asleep while the younger ones played around on their phones.

Our Studio Ghibli ladies!

Our Fionna and Marshall Lee!

lol skyler

Even adventurers have to eat!

She flies!

So pretty!

Good luck sweeping all those plants!

I don’t think the bright colors help with Kylo’s temper...

Gotta check those pictures!!!

We look so thrilled.

After our super chill afternoon we had to be down at the convention center for the contest. We sat in the usual room and waited, chatting with each other and those around us until it was time to line up. Our skit went pretty well. Although at the time of writing this I still haven't seen a video of it so I'm not entirely sure of that. But we got a lot of laughs so that's always a good sign.

Sophie’s doing some levitating while waiting to go on stage. :D

Getting so close to going on!

AAAAHHHH!!!

I think this picture makes it look like some kind of musical.

We have a video! Thank you Jeremiah!

We watched the rest of the contest from the side of the room and although we didn't win anything we had a lot of people compliment our skit on our way back to the room. Which took forever by the way. I think that was the longest elevator wait we had the entire weekend.

The floofiest service dog. :D

Good fluffy doggo.

So up in the room we dressed down and ordered pizza. I forgot to mention that we had watched Live PD the night before and we were back to watching it again that night. Good times. Jeremiah came up to our room while we waited for the pizza. But then... tragedy struck.

Skyler's phone rang. He answered. But no one spoke on the other end. It rang again. Once more no voice on the other end. Erin figured. Hey. The pizza must be here. I'll go down to the lobby and see if I can find it. Time passes. Too much time. Several more people go down to find her. More time. Everyone but me is gone from the room now looking for Erin/the pizza. I get a call. There. Is. No. Pizza.

Basically Pizza Hut screwed up somehow. They did come. They claimed they called like 10 times. Lies. And after that failed they just left. They said they could remake it and come back but by that time we were far too hungry so we just had them refund us instead. We ended up getting food from the food trucks instead. Which the others so graciously brought up to me. (I was suffering from a pretty bad headache at this point. I didn't leave the room for the rest of the night.)

Once everyone was back and we were eating we sat around and talked and ate. Joey, Lisa, Sarah??, I can't remember who all visited the room while we ate. Our awesome Oklahoma friends posse! That's who! And we watched Live PD. Joked about sitting in cars for 3 hours. Doing things.... After everyone had left Dani, Brock, and Kelsey went down to the rave while Skyler and Erin went outside for a bit. So I was aaaaalll aloooone. Muaha. I just got ready for bed and talked on the phone with my boyfriend for a bit.

But anyway. Once everyone had returned it was sleep time!

Sunday

We all took Sunday to sleep in. We were all exhausted and since Skyler and Erin were staying an extra night we didn't have to rush to check out. It was a very lazy morning. Getting ready slowly and packing all our stuff away. We also did a bit of cleaning since you know. We kinda trashed the place.

So this was a thing that happened over the weekend. Flooding on the second floor next to the elevators!

At one point Dani, Brock, and I went down to the restaurant because I wanted coffee. Afterwards we went back up to the room and realized everyone else had already gone down. Dani and Brock were hungry so they stayed to eat while I went off to do my last bits of shopping for the weekend.

For a while we were kind of all over the place. Dani, Brock, and Kelsey were in the game room at one point. Brock shopped by himself another time. Skyler and Erin were running around as casual Fenris and Hawke by themselves. Although I know Kelsey found them at some point. I was alone for quite a bit though so I can't speak to everyone else's activities.

Such an adorable fenhawke! (As a side note. This picture sparked a conversation between Dani and I about how ridiculously good Erin is at makeup. Give me some pointers Erin! D:)

Kelsey and Brock in the game room!

Look who Kelsey found!

*tnt2015 flashbacks*

AWWWWWWWW

After all my shopping I plopped myself down on the floor in the convention center and played on my 3ds, took silly pictures, entertained myself until Dani found me. I would have joined her in the game room but they didn't allow bags bigger than a certain size and mine was certainly too big.

When I said silly pictures I meant snapchat filters. xD

Sunday selfies!

The one panel type thing we attended all weekend was one of the last things we did on Sunday. Joey and Lisa and others were running an Iron Cosplay contest. Which basically consisted of teams that had a limited amount of time to put together a cosplay using bizarre items. It was entertaining. While they were working I ducked out quickly to treat myself to to dippin dots. Those things are so expensive. But so good.

Watching the contest! I’m back there somewhere. xD

Beautiful.

Silly selfie!

The iron cosplay contest entries!

The Nebraska (plus one Iowa) crew!

Us and our Oklahoma peeps!

Silly poses everyone!

Once the contest was over we went and talked with our Oklahoma friends and me, Dani, Kelsey, and Brock said our goodbyes to them. We left the convention then and got all our stuff packed away and into the car. Then we said goodbye to Skyler and Erin and we were off! Pretty uneventful drive home. We spent a good chunk of it brainstorming about future skits and bouncing ideas off each other about possibly doing an artist table one of these years. It was a fun drive.

We think we’re so cool.

skyler what

Google maps what is this stereotypical nonsense?? I mean... you’re not wrong..

Once again had a pretty amazing time at Tokyo in Tulsa. It's starting to have a bit of a different feel as some of our usual Oklahoma friends weren't there and some of the ones that were aren't on staff anymore. So it's shifting but we still love it there and will still continue to attend. So here's my thank you to everyone who made it amazing!!! I love all of yooooou!!!

Our video!

[askaceattorney]

Dear tanlerst,

That isn’t your fault.  There are currently over 2,000 letters in the inbox, and there hasn’t been a day yet that we didn’t get more, so the sad truth is that it usually takes 4 to 5 months for a letter to an AA character to reach the bottom of the queue and get an answer.  I wish it wasn’t that way, but as long as your letters are coherent and follow the rules, we’ll make every effort we can to answer them.

Letters to the Mods come in much less frequently, which is why I’ve been posting them on a weekly basis.  I’d love it if we could speed up the answer rate of every letter, but that’s an idea we’ll have to wait on for now.  I blame the Mod for making this blog so darn popular.

Dear Anonymous,

First of all, I’ve never heard a name pun I didn’t like.  In fact, I’ve always liked the names people came up with for the Mod -- Modfred von Karmod, Modot, Holy Moder, etc., although I never came up with one myself for some reason.

Secondly, those comparisons sound very appropriate and well thought-out, but Larry strikes me more as a Chewbacca kind of guy -- the one who has his talents but who’s mostly just there for comedy relief.

And on the topic of Ace Star Attorney Wars...

(Art by TinkBellQ)

(Video in Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for compiling all of those statistics -- they might come in handy somewhere down the road.

[Statistics added to Court Record]

Interesting how Dahlia’s preferred method of murder never seemed to work out for her...unless her goal was to poison her own moral standards, which she did quite well.  Apparently, even the murderers can’t tell how things are going to happen.  For some of them, that’s their entire motive -- killing out of fear of what will happen if they don’t.

I’m about ready to see Athena come into her own as a defense attorney, too.  She’s definitely shown that she can stand at the defense’s bench on her own without panicking.  All she needs now is the self-confidence to figure things out without someone by her side (physically, at least), and I bet she’d take off on her own saga of cases the same way Phoenix and Apollo did.  Given, he had a co-counsel during most of it, but he at least did most of the critical thinking on his own.

There’s one notable prosecutor you didn’t mention, and that’s Godot.  Sure, he only prosecuted 3 different cases, and it was mostly for his own selfish reasons, but his smooth style, his personality, and his jazzy theme music made him stand out as an adversary in the courtroom.

And while replacing Maya as a co-counsel is like replacing Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune, I feel like Athena fits the position pretty well, especially with her emotion-detecting talents.  It sure beats turning into your colleague’s deceased mentor without anyone else noticing somehow.  Sorry, Maya, but that’s just cheating in my book.

Oh yeah, and...Grossberg might not be the most pleasant co-counsel to have, but at least he doesn’t sing in the courtroom.

Dear SC,

:D to you too!

So, Ghost Trick takes place in an unknown country in the Ace Attorney universe, huh?  I’m sure glad Dahlia never discovered that meteor...  (Dang it, why do I keep bringing her up?)

I haven’t been able to see 999 yet, but I have started watching a playthrough of Layton Brothers: Mystery Room.  It’s very intriguing from what I’ve seen so far, and the jazzed-up music helps to make it even more engaging, much like in an Ace Attorney game.  I can’t help but wonder, though...  Why would anyone order a sandwich with fried fish, pickles, egg, lettuce, pineapple, and smoked salmon?

I’m still planning on exploring the Layton series, but so far the only game I’ve played that includes the professor is the Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover.  I wouldn’t exactly call that game great, though.  I’d call it a masterpiece.

To start off, the introductory music and gradual illumination of the courtroom (to the beat of the music, no less) is one of the most creative things I’ve seen at the beginning of any game.  Then there’s the story, which carefully mixes the styles (including the gameplay styles) of the two different series, and the amazing plot, which keeps you guessing until the very end.  The music and visual art experienced throughout the game were pushed to an amazing level, especially when compared to those of the previous games in each series, and the voice acting was remarkably good in my opinion.  It was our first time hearing Maya, after all, and I think they did a great job of bringing out her character through it.

The ending wasn’t quite the same as an Ace Attorney ending, but it still left me satisfied for the most part.  The mysteries and conflicts of Labyrinthia were solved, the sins of the past were forgiven, and two of the most famous video game detectives got to work together in one of their wildest cases yet.

I can understand why some might be uneasy about such a big government project being kept a secret even after everything that happened, but we can at least rest assured that Labrelum, Inc. will use its resources for more reasonable purposes, rather than just to convince a young lady that she isn’t a Great Witch.

Speaking of witch which, they really had me going with the whole “witchcraft” thing for most of the game.  Either I’m really that gullible, or Capcom and Level-5 are just that good at storytelling.  In any case, I can tell they poured a lot of effort into this game, and I genuinely appreciate it as a gamer.

Dear aceattorneyfanforever789,

What the--!?

My identity’s been compromised!  MAYDAY!  MAYDAY!

Just joking.  I guess it’s my own fault for not changing everything that shows my actual name on my blog.  Fortunately, that’s all been remedied now, so hopefully I can keep that a secret for a little longer.

Anyway, to answer your question, I haven’t reached your letter yet for the same reason I mentioned earlier -- it takes 4 to 5 months for us to get to a letter and answer it, simply because of the sheer number of them.  But as long as it follows the rules and makes sense, it should eventually make its way to us and receive an answer.  Believe me, I’m as eager to see them all get answered as everyone else is.

-The Co-Mod

[camryndaytona]

I did quite a bit of gaming this year because I find it relaxing and an easy escape from everything around me. I also (finally) upgraded my gaming system and stepped out of just Nintendo. Before now I’ve only ever played Nintendo games (except for a few computer games), being faithfully addicted to The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and Professor Layton.

Because so many of these games are available on multiple platforms, I’ve also included which system I used to play the game.

Breath of the Wild

Wii U

Although this list isn’t in any specific order, Breath of the Wild definitely tops the list as my favorite game of the year. I’m honestly more than a bit obsessed with the Legend of Zelda (the first game I ever played was Link’s Awakening, which I stole from my half-brother (still haven’t returned it)). I even named my two leopard geckoes Link and Zelda.

Link and Zelda are my precious babies. . . . . #legendofzelda #thelegendofzelda #leopardgecko #gecko #leopardgeckoofinstagram #lizard #link #zelda #pets #petstagram

A post shared by Camryn (@camryn.daytona) on Jul 4, 2017 at 3:54pm PDT

Not only does Breath of the Wild have a huge open world and stunning graphics, it also has a compelling storyline (although I’m still not sure how it fits into the Zelda timeline). And this Zelda game has by far my favorite version of Princess Zelda (I swear I’m going to cosplay her one day), whom I love despite thinking her voice actor sounds like she was trying really hard to do a Hermione Granger impression (no hate though, just a note). Here’s a funny story I found about her voice actor.

https://twitter.com/CamrynDaytona/status/754483420403798016

I haven’t gotten the expansion pack yet, but I definitely plan on getting it soon.

I played this on Wii U, because I’ve yet to upgrade to the Switch, but my friend who has a Switch says it plays perfectly. And I’m still impatiently waiting for any updates on Netflix’s Legend of Zelda series. Which might have moved to Amazon. Or not be happening at all. Seriously, I NEED UPDATES.

https://twitter.com/CamrynDaytona/status/754480522433273856

Another honorable mention is Hyrule Warriors, which helped fill the void while I was waiting for Breath of the Wild. If you’re considering getting it, I would suggest getting it on Wii U, not DS, as it really benefits from a larger screen.

The Elder Scrolls

PS4

This year I played both Skyrim and Elder Scrolls Online, and I have a hard time picking a favorite. While there were definitely parts of Skyrim which I preferred, ESO had the advantage of a bigger world. And so much more to do! I’m still not even a fraction of the way through all of it. It’s the first online multiplayer game I’ve played since my Lord of the Rings Online phase a few years ago (I finally gave up on that because the graphics were so bad), and I was surprised by how little I minded having other random players running around. Other than one instance in which a guy added me to a multiplayer just to flirt with me, the other people have more or less left me alone to kill people in peace.

Shadow of Mordor

PS4

I’m once again using this broadly to mean both Shadow of Mordor and the recently released Shadow of War. I played both of them for the first time this year, and they played no small part in my decision to finally get a PS4. I was really hesitant going into this game because I knew it included both Celebrimbor and Annatar, as well as a lot of other references to Middle Earth History. As a huge Tolkien Nerd, I was afraid they wouldn’t do the characters justice. Despite the fact that they gave Celebrimbor a wife and child seemly for no other purpose than to kill off (and so that he could say Sauron “seduced” him without sounding gay), I didn’t mind the changes to canon at all.

https://twitter.com/CamrynDaytona/status/942814193924919296

Shadow of War takes the changes even farther (and seems to contradict their own canon at times), but I still don’t mind. It’s a great game and even though I really wish there was more Celebrimbor and less Talion, it’s still enjoyable. Shelob still worries me though.

The Sims 4

Mac

I currently have a Lord of the Rings inspired world (90% of which is just me creating characters, making them befriend Elrond, killing them, and making them haunt him), one with a bunch of characters from Doctor Strange (for some reason The Ancient One wants to marry Karl Mordo), and then a world with random sims with funny names. I never really got into the Sims when I was younger, but I have been enjoying playing it more recently.

Nancy Drew

Mac & PC

I’ve been playing the Nancy Drew Computer Games by Her Interactive for years, but this year I got really addicted to working my way through them (over the summer, when I had meant to be working through Zelda).

https://twitter.com/CamrynDaytona/status/863634946736496640

Any fellow gamers out there?

Feel free to add me on platforms so we can play together!!! And let me know what games you enjoyed this year!!

Origin: SunflowerSupreme

Playstation: SunflowerSupreme

Steam: CamrynDaytona

Games I Loved in 2017 I did quite a bit of gaming this year because I find it relaxing and an easy escape from everything around me.

[ibubbystuff-blog]

Creative Non-Fiction, Caleb’s Portfolio

Carl

I’m pretty sure that everyone has that one friend. Yes, THAT one friend. That one friend you just can’t live without. To me, that friend is named Carl. We don’t go way back in preschool, or elementary, we met in Middle school. I keep saying that we met in Seventh grade, and he argues that it was actually Sixth grade. We both have terrible memories. But it doesn’t matter when we met, I’m just glad that we’re friends now.

During the time before I met Carl, I had no friends. A loner who couldn’t decide where to sit, and doesn’t wanna sit alone. But there was a table that was full of guys that I sat with, and they were always in a Yo Mama fight.  I only knew a couple, but I laid low, but that didn’t work when it was my turn, and I was obviously terrible at it. I ran away from that table into a different table with a two guys who looked like a fluffy marshmallow and a skinny twig. I was there for about a week, then the next week came by and then that fluffy marshmallow came over to me (yea, that was Carl). The skinny friend of his moved from a different school district, and Carl had no one left, and he made the chance to say “Hi,” and said that I seemed cool. Essentially, I met my closest friend from running away from a Yo Mama fight.

From there, we started to hang out frequently. We shared the same interests in video games and wanting to create a Youtube channel together. We enjoyed playing the living crap out of Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3. In fact, I was the one who got him into Dragon Ball Z, which was really surprising that he didn’t like the show because that was my childhood (I still thank my older brother from teaching me very well to this day). When we wanted to be in the pool, obviously I would see his fat gut with stretch marks reaching up to his chest, and then he said, “These aren’t stretch marks, these are my lightning tattoos!” There was a reason why I called him a fluffy marshmallow, and he’s the best tall, fluffy marshmallow to me.

If we stayed over the night, we would stay up for a long time until it was 2am or sometimes later. But when we went to bed, we would actually have deep, meaningful talks.. And then it would end in complete laughter. One of those times would have been the story of Captain Rainbow. I was on the couch and he was in his bed, talking about our existence, the universe, god, etc. Until we finally started talking about games that were never localized outside of Japan. That game was Captain Rainbow. Then Carl showed me the box art of the game. Then I replied, “Captain Rainbow? Huh, I thought be’d be more pink.” (Essentially if you don’t get enough sleep, you’re practically drunk). He then began laughing, and said, “It’s Captain rainbow! He represents all the colors of the rainbow, and pick isn’t even on the rainbow!” Oh the wonders and joys of being tired.

There was a story that happened to him, and he told me in great detail. I knew that Carl was a very avid gamer, he especially loves the series called Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. On Christmas Eve of 2015, he and his dad went to a Gamestop to buy me a gift, and to take advantage of the sales. One of the games that he was looking for was Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it which made Carl a little upset. But after celebrating New Year's with me, they looked up where the game was at, Sturgis. Carl and his dad jumped into the truck and went on their little adventure. But first, they stopped at a gas station. While Carl was getting gummy worms off the shelf, he noticed that there was a large selection of Alcohol at the end of the aisles. After getting back into the truck, Carl and his dad talked about that. “They must have alcohol there so that when terrible parents bring their kids, the little shits can get candy and the parents get alcohol because they don’t want to take care of their kids.” Down the road while he was eating his gummy worms, they collaborated into making, “Where the Fuck you’re at Scale.” This is how it worked.

“The top of the scale is City, the big city areas like Battle Creek or Grand Rapids. Next is Town, the basic small town areas. Then there’s Village, areas like Richland. After that, is Farm Country. Farm Country is rural areas with barns and lots of animals. And then there’s Country, areas with few houses and people. But then there’s B.F.E. (stands for Butt Fuck Nowhere)(I know it should be BFN, but that’s how Carl said it). No houses, middle of nowhere. Second to last is the Echolands. That’s when it’s so quiet and there’s no one around your voice echoes. Finally, theres *Banjo Music.* When the sound of a banjo breaks through the silence. If you are in the area, RUN. Even if your buddy is taking a shit on the side of the road get him in the car and drive. It’s ok if he shits in your car, because that banjo is usually followed by creepy old men with missing teeth, deep country accents and will more then likely, rape your booty hole.”

After all the hilarity, they finally made it the Gamestop in Sturgis, getting the game another another Ace Attorney game. So on the way home, Carl and his dad had even more fun. The first thing they saw was a grody looking motel. The sign out front said, “stay and get a free show.” While it may have meant a movie or something, the first thing that came to their minds was something else, something completely different. Carl said “ Is that free show a hooker? Imagine some guy passing through needing a place to stay for the night and the front desk worker says here’s your room key, that’s Candy she’ll be staying with you tonight.” The next building they saw was a one-room schoolhouse building with a graveyard. “That’s creepy.” Carl stated. “Probably the dead bodies of all the naughty kids!” Carl’s dad laughed. At the end of their adventure, Carl and his dad ate dinner at Fazoli’s and made their way home. Carl really enjoyed his games and they still treasure this road trip today. Holy crap, what a story he told me, I wish I was with him on that adventure.

I can guarantee that Carl will not change for when he gets older. We’ve already made some plans about living together and owning a house and paying off some bills and other expenses. By then, we’ll have jobs and a youtube channel that makes money as well. We hope to get a lot of cash and hopefully live our lives. Even when he’s older, he’ll still be that fluffy marshmallow I knew years ago, maybe with some facial hair too and a whole lot more funnier.

These are some the fantastic stories I have to share about my closest friend, Carl. I honestly can’t live without that big fluffy marshmallow, he’s too awesome. We’ll still get drunk from staying up at 2am, we’ll still play games and have a blast. I will definitely know that we will still be together, and become the weirdest and craziest granddaddy’s of that age.

[101flavoursofweird]

Let’s talk about PL Fathers

As much as I harp on about the lack of mother figures in the Layton series (Lucille, Brenda and Mrs Ascot regardless), we need to talk about the fathers of the series...

First, the good, because there’s a lot of good. Of course, we have Hershel Layton. Papa Wolf. Friend to All Children. He’s taken in Flora, Alfendi and Kat. And it’s fair to say Luke sees him as a father figure. Layton’s just good with kids. He listens to their concerns, no matter how unbelievable they sound, and he’s on the same level as them, speaking with a soft calming voice (Flora, Nina, Luke). Layton’s one issue is that he tends to leave Flora behind and hurt her feelings in the process. Considering all the danger Layton’s seen, (Luke and Aurora actually died during AL), this is definitely understandable, and it’s a reasonable flaw for his character to have. It just... would’ve been nice if he and Flora had come to some resolution during Lost Future. He saves her, they hug in a picture and escape from the Mobile Fortress. That’s the end of that issue, apparently, and we don’t get another word in from Flora.

More good - Roland Layton. (The professor had to be inspired by someone!) When Miracle Mask was announced and the first screenshots of Roland appeared, my first impression was that he was a little older than I expected. Not that there’s anything wrong with this! Just based on how young Layton looks, I expected his dad to look young for his age too. But despite his wrinkles and his white beard, something seemed right. Roland looked wise, kind and a bit dozy. In Miracle Mask, he has a tendency to wander around town, leaving his wife worried and his son to chase after him. (Where have I heard that before?) He talks about archaeology with Hershel (much to Hershel’s dismay) and sits down for dinner with his family. It’s clear he, Hershel and Lucille are very close. Roland and Lucille show up during Azran Legacy too, but perhaps not enough to feel the full weight of their presence and how much they mean to Hershel. Bronev threatens their lives, but the urgency of that moment hinges on two characters we haven’t even shared a cutscene with. Oh, we get a cutscene later (with voice acting) where Roland and Lucille make a... questionable decision, taking one Bronev brother and leaving the other (’not-Hershel’) behind. I’ll always think Desmond organised the whole thing so he’d purposely be left alone, but still, that could’ve been clarified if that was the case.

Even more good - Clark Triton. You can still have your headcanons. You can still have your scenarios where the Tritons are out of the picture. You can still have your father-son relationship between Layton and Luke. I’m just going off what we see in canon, where Clark appears to be a concerned father to Luke. Yeah, they clash heads, and I’m sure that didn’t stop after the fourth game. They have several adorable bonus episodes, and Clark and Brenda even show up during AL. Unlike the Laytons, they aren’t essential to the plot. Clark and Brenda are just.... there for Luke. Clark values his work, but he sets aside time for his family. They have their silly moments, like with the dress-up game. They have their deeper moments, like when they discuss the past as Gressenheller. They trust Layton enough to look after Luke and they realise Luke is growing up. It’s a little jarring when you play the original trilogy and there’s no mention of Luke’s parents (Does he even have parents?) until Unwound Future - and it’s in an upsetting moment for Luke, when he mentions moving away. Personally, I hope Clark and Brenda show up in the PL anime and, if it is based off the games, we get more presence from them in the original trilogy plot lines.

And the best, of course, is Raymond, who just wants to look out for his stupid drama son. This is one mystery in Azran Legacy that I’m glad didn’t get an explanation. As Raymond’s profile states, ‘How the two met is unclear, but there is undoubtedly a strong bond between Descole and his loyal butler.’ Their interactions and dialogue make it so evident of they have a strong bond. We’re shown this as well. Raymond’s scenes may be limited, but he sticks with Desmond to the start and the end of Last Spectre, he saves his butt during Miracle Mask, and saves him twice during Azran Legacy. And that scene with him and Descole on the Bostonius at the end... it’s one of my favourites.

Speak of the drama son... Let’s talk about Desmond! We can assume (again AL leaves a lot to the imagination) he was a loving father and husband. In Mossinia, he mentions his daughter would’ve been around Umid’s age, suggesting Umid reminds him of her. Then we get to the Nest, where it’s strongly implied that Bronev had something to do with the death of Desmond’s family. Desmond, becoming Descole, swore to get revenge on Targent and the Azran.... by hurting several other families. The Tritons. The Whistlers. Layton, Emmy and Luke. Until Miracle Mask, we don’t get any indication of why he uses people as means to an end. It’s not like he ever looks at Clark and thinks ‘If I can’t have a family, no one can!’, or hints that he’s trying to save Melina after he losing his own daughter. Thankfully, all is revealed in Azran Legacy... er, sort of. He didn’t care to mention his partner and daughters’ names. Maybe they didn’t mean that much to him after all. After how he treated Luke, Brenda, Melina, and Angela, a part of me doesn’t really want to know There is something ironic about seeing Descole attacking families after Bronev took away his family. He’s becoming Bronev, as much as he claims to despise him. This would be a really interesting realisation for Desmond... if they’d care to address it. He never outright apologises to Layton. Luke never gives him a knowing look or asks ‘Why?’ after Descole saves him - after Descole harmed his family in the past. It’s just brushed aside with a line about getting in Layton’s way. Then he flies off in the Bostonius as the end.

Bronev is just... Bronev. I still believe he was a workaholic, somewhat absent father, even before Targent kidnapped him.  

Look at his face! He’s already kind of obsessed with the Azran, just like Desmond and even Randall were. This creates more sympathy for all of them - the Azran has this effect on people - but the difference for Randall is that we saw him interacting with his friends, his girlfriend and his mother later in the game. We never see Desmond with his partner and child, but the Bostonius gang becomes his makeshift family. He acts fatherly to Luke and Aurora and he tells bad dad jokes. Bronev talks to Rachel... on her deathbed. We never see him interacting with his children when they’re younger. We never see him interacting with younger Emmy. He’s the worst father because he’s never given the chance to be a father. (If you like Bronev, good for you! But would anyone complain if he’d had more scenes?)

To wrap up an overly long analysis, Level 5 should focus more on showing rather than telling. (At least when it comes to their father figures.) One last example: Whistler is not shown to be the best person - He gets arrested at the end of ED - but he’s a caring father for Melina... to extreme levels. Yeah, he’s terrible for using other people’s daughters to host his dead daughter’s memories, but he feels it’s his only solution. For Melina.

There are so many shots in Eternal Diva of him just looking at Melina’s photo or worrying about Melina. Sure, this is a full-length movie, so there’s bound to be more character-moments than in the games... 

But with the PL anime coming up, if it is based on the games, then Level 5 have another chance to show us things that weren’t present in the games. Show Layton bonding with Flora. Show the Laytons’ reason for only taking one child. Show Bronev with his family and Emmy. You can do it, Level 5! 

[askaceattorney]

Dear Potatoes,

(Never thought I’d type that.)

First off, I didn’t get the reference to Extra Credits because I hadn’t heard of it, but I’m checking it out now, and BOY, is it blowing my mind with how in-depth it gets.  I almost feel disqualified from critiquing any video game ever again.  I’m still going to, of course, but MAN...

Second, none of the material on this blog is copyrighted, so feel free to do whatever you like with it on your own blog, someone else’s blog, or wherever you want.  We just prefer not to do any roleplaying on this blog because the amount of time between submissions and answers means it would literally take years to finish it.

Third, as much as I’d love to play Super Smash Bros. with the Mod and Modthorne (and as much as I love that game series in general), doing a “Battle of the Mods” would be a big challenge at the moment.  Even if we were able to play it together remotely, there’d still be the matter of audio and video recording, which is something I know very little about.  It’s not that I don’t like the idea, it’s just that there’d be a lot of configuring to do.

(Songs in Letter)

Dear Anon,

I’m unfamiliar with the Dark Souls series, but I can’t deny that these songs are well-written and majestic-sounding, even if some of them have too many dissonant-sounding chords for my tastes.  By the way, I should mention that I love music written for video games, and that it’s usually what I love most about game.  I can only imagine how captivating a game with a soundtrack like this could be.

So, here's what came to my mind after briefly listening through the songs:

Firelink Shrine makes me think of someone sharing their tragic backstory while on the witness stand.

Gaping Dragon sounds like a sudden turn of events, such as someone going missing or a witness’s true identity being revealed.

Ornstein & Smough sounds like the introduction of an antagonist character, such as a cold-hearted prosecutor.

Track #22 (whose name I won’t spoil) sounds like a tender moment, like a reunion of two long-lost friends, or a reconciliation between two enemies.

Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight sounds like one of the ending tunes in a game, signaling a happy ending for everyone.  Everyone who likes organ music, at least.

I honestly don’t know how to rate how well any of these would fit into an Ace Attorney game; most of them sound to me like they’d be over the top for any of the current games, but who knows?  Maybe someday the series will have music as epic and intricate as that.

Dear nameless2003,

Thank you very much!  This isn’t just very humbling to read, it’s also a huge relief for me -- I sometimes wonder if I’m getting the characters to look and sound like most people think they would.

Probably the biggest reason I find it easy to pretend to be a character from this series (other than having played through the games like a maniac) is that a lot of the humor found in it is exactly the kind I like to use in my creative projects, as well as in real life.  Things like plays on words:

...unexpectedly funny moments:

...and the characters’ cute and hilarious reactions to things:

...are just what I love to use in things that I write and draw, as well as one of the things that I love most about Ace Attorney!  You’ve just got to respect the quality humor involved in little things like these.

Besides that, there are quite a few of the characters that I can relate to in one way or another.  Phoenix’s struggle to keep pressing on when things are getting messy, Maya’s excitement about the smallest things, Larry’s stubbornness when things aren’t going his way, Apollo’s confidence in his abilities, and Athena’s desire to do better at everything she does are all things I’ve felt at some point.  These feelings might be more exaggerated in the characters, but they’re all something that even the most unemotional human being can experience.

I can’t really answer for the Mod and Modthorne.  All I know is that they both have some serious natural talent for writing.

Dear Anonymous,

No trouble at all, my friend.  I haven’t run into either of these letters in the inbox yet, and, as far as I can remember, haven’t deleted them, so it could be that they either haven’t reached us yet, or Tumblr messed them up somehow.  It might just be what pops up next, for all we know, but if you get tired of waiting, feel free to resend them.  Sure, it’ll mean another few months of waiting, but it’s the best way to make sure we receive your letters.

No need to apologize, either -- letters that break the rules show up all the time.

Dear Southern Corn,

Sounds like you were in a good mood when you wrote this.  Way to be!

I’ve taken a look at a few other visual novel games, but to be honest, I haven’t been very good at stepping out of my comfort zone when it comes to video games (which for me is Nintendo and Sega, and not much else).  It’s not that I’m opposed to trying new things -- I just get timid about exploring something when I don’t know whether it’ll be satisfying or disappointing.  Of course, that’s the only way to discover any good game or series (Ace Attorney, for example), so I could probably stand to lighten up a little bit there, huh?

I watched a playthrough of Ghost Trick, and I thought it was a pretty cool game overall, especially in its strategic gameplay and its series of interweaving plots, but I probably would’ve like it better if it didn’t focus so much on deaths and ghost-related occurrences.  Those just don’t appeal to me the same way that Ace Attorney’s crazy-yet-believable mysteries do (spirit channeling aside).

I haven’t played the Layton Brothers, or any of the Professor Layton series, for that matter, but the Modthorne has told me a lot of good things about it, so I’ll definitely invest some time in it when I get the chance.  Zero Escape looks like it might be interesting, since I enjoy room escape games, but from what I’ve seen of Danganronpa, it look like it’s too sadistic to be very enjoyable (correct me if I’m wrong there).  And Hotel Dusk can’t be too bad if its main character had his own trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so I might just see about that game as well.  Thanks for the suggestions!

Here’s one I would suggest if you haven’t tried it: Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher, a free online game that’s more than slightly influenced by Ace Attorney.  The Mod has mentioned this game more than once before, and I found it to be very interesting, even if you’re not into philosophy.

Dear Anonymous,

First of all, thank you for sharing this.  I wouldn’t have uploaded your letters if I’d known how you felt about them.  I actually liked the one you mentioned, by the way.

Secondly, as I mentioned before, I’m not sailing on any ships.  I enjoy the thought of Apollo and Athena growing closer as they take on more things together, but I don’t see it as their destiny.  Whether Capcom made them for each other or just wants them to remain close friends, I’ll accept whatever they decide, even if it’s not what I was expecting.

Thirdly, I understand how it feels to be depressed by a video game, movie, book, etc., especially when it comes to romance.  There have been quite a few fictitious couples that I (along with many others) have wanted to see a romantic spark between, but still haven’t -- Mario and Peach, Link and Zelda, Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty, and so on.  But, as disappointing as it can be, there’s really no point in blaming the writers for it, because the romances found in a good story are just like the ones in real life -- they don’t always go in the direction you expect them to.  They might work out, or they might not.  That’s why I find it helpful to decide in advance to let it go however it will and hope for the best.

And lastly, there was no harm done in sending those letters.  In fact, the reason this blog exists is so you can write whatever you want to the characters.  You can praise the ones you like, slam the ones you hate, create an awkward situation for them, or do whatever else you prefer.  As long as you keep it civil and don’t intentionally try to hurt the feelings of any real people, anything goes.  Just keep in mind that we’ll portray the characters as we see them in the games, which may or may not be what you were hoping for.

One other thing -- while Apollo and Athena might be separated for now, I have my doubts that it’ll be for good.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all.

-The Co-Mod