#that part of me is INSANE

[roosterbox]

I’ve been reading almost nothing but Narumitsu for the last few days, and inspiration struck. I want to do an Inception Ace Attorney AU. To be perfectly frank, I just want to do an Ace Attorney AU for any of my fandoms (thought of a Stranger Things/Steddie one too!) but Inception was the first one to jump out at me.

To whit:

When art student Eames saw the headline, he couldn’t believe it. A picture of his former best friend Arthur - older, taller, with a hard look in his eyes - under the words “DEMON PROSECUTOR.” That sounded nothing like the kind boy he knew when he was nine.

Eames decided then and there, perhaps a bit recklessly, to change his major - the entire course of his life, really - to law. Luckily for him, he wasn’t going in blind; the famed defense attorney Mallorie Cobb, who had helped him out of a difficult situation in the past, was willing to befriend and mentor him, even as he bungled through his first case. She was a bit ambivalent about his decision when he told her his reasoning, having had several in-court run ins with the Demon Prosecutor himself, and seeing nothing redeemable about him. But Eames was passionate. More importantly, he was passionate in his defense of his friend. And in his passion, Mal could see the heart of a true lawyer.

Please forgive my rambling. There’s even more behind the cut, lol.

Spoilers for the Ace Attorney series!

After a nerve-wracking first case, which sees Eames’ first client being his other oldest friend, Nash, tragedy strikes. Mal is murdered, Eames meets her sister Ariadne (the alleged murderer), and finally stands across the courtroom from the Demon Prosecutor. Arthur is both the same boy he knew, and completely unrecognizable. Knowing his friend spent 15 years as the ward/adopted son of the ruthless Maurice Fischer, even Eames could see the emotional walls Arthur was putting up.

And yet.

And yet, as the case took turns and twists and somehow Eames found himself on the chopping block at one point, even then he noticed something important about Arthur. Though Fischer was known to demand perfection and guilty verdicts no matter what, Arthur seemed more concerned with finding the truth. Several times he made observations and objections that hurt his own case, but which helped Eames uncover the true culprit. But he brushed Eames off when he tried to talk to him about this, and maybe other things.

And then, when Arthur found himself in the hot seat, everything changed. Eames leapt at the chance to defend him, and together they barged their way into the root of a 15 year old conspiracy involving Arthur’s defense attorney father Joseph Gordon, and his mentor Maurice Fischer. And through it all, Eames sees his friend - the friend he once was - shining through the years of trauma. And then, name cleared, Arthur vanished, leaving behind a very ominous note:

“Prosecutor Arthur Gordon chooses death.”

Which seemed to point to only one thing.

Eames was utterly heartbroken. He hadn’t yet told Arthur about his own personal realization (that he was hopelessly in love with him), and now he would never get the chance. But even though his reason for his career change was apparently gone, Eames had grown to love being a lawyer. Plus, he couldn’t leave Ariadne to run Cobb and Co. alone. It was Eames and Co. now. Which Ari loved to joke about (“He’s Eames, I’m Co!”).

After nearly a year of various cases and weird clientele, their lives were thrown into the meat grinder again. Ari was kidnapped, and Eames was forced to defend a man who was so obviously guilty, even the judge was questioning his logic and abilities. And if that wasn’t enough, Arthur returned. As happy as Eames was to see his dear friend (love?) alive, so too was he beyond angry, remembering the almost-year he spent mourning him. Arthur, for his part, was apologetic and rather devastated upon finding out how deeply his disappearance affected Eames. But there were more important things to worry about. Working together, in a slightly more official capacity this time, they exposed the murderer, saved Ariadne, and made plans to finally sit down and talk. Which they did. About their past friendship, Arthur’s disappearance (and the note he left), and what this meant for their future. And though he planned to just lay his soul bare and confess how he felt, Eames sensed that Arthur was content to just repair and maintain their friendship, and nothing deeper. After 15 years without him, Eames told himself that this was better than the coldness of before.

At least, until Dusky Bridge.

Until Arthur, an ocean away, got a frantic call from Nash saying that Eames was dying. A call which sent him on the fastest flight back to the states. Which sent him running through hospital halls until he found himself in his friend's room. His friend who, despite some bandages here and there - and a rather persistent cough - was none the worse for wear. Even though, as Arthur was quick to point out, he fell 40 feet through a burning bridge into a raging river. Eames, seemingly embarrassed, downplayed this. But he did ask for Arthur’s help, which the other man agreed to unreservedly.

Eames handed him his defense attorney badge. And asked him to defend [Iris, name to be changed] in his stead. The sheer trust Eames had invested in him at this request was overwhelming. It, along with the stress of thinking Eames was injured and/or dying, caused Arthur to finally let the rest of his walls down. He confessed his true feelings towards his oldest friend, bracing himself for rejection. But of course, Eames laughed, and told him he felt the same.

They agreed to discuss things more at a later date, much like before. Which, case resolved, they did. Among other things.

The case itself brought to light many strange and bizarre happenings. Things about Ariadne and her family. About people from Eames’ past which he’d rather have forgotten. And it marked the appearance of Mal’s estranged husband Dom, a prosecutor who seemed hellbent on destroying the life of the man he blamed for Mal’s death: Eames.

Cases referenced in my notes (so far):

The First Turnabout

Turnabout Sisters

Turnabout Goodbyes

Farewell, My Turnabout

Bridge to the Turnabout

… with a few other tiny references sprinkled here and there, of course.

I’m only focused on the main trilogy right now; the thought of bringing in Apollo Justice and the Seven Year Gap feels a bit too daunting. I’m already having to come up with my own OCs to fill in a few of the characters, lol. I’d love to include Rise from the Ashes (I think Saito would make an amazing Damon Gant), but there are sooooo many side characters in that one… Saito would also make for an interesting Kristoph Gavin, if I were to cover that whole debacle.

(Now I’m having flashes of Eames taking on his own protégé, a young and ambitious defense lawyer named Steve Harrington (aka Apollo Justice), whose main rival/love interest is the rock star prosecutor Eddie Munson (aka Klavier Gavin) Combining three whole ass fandoms into one AU? I need to be stopped, lmao.)

Don’t expect anything concrete any time soon. This is a project that needs care and attention and time to grow, like the Paint Shop AU. I’ll keep you posted on further developments.

[infizero-draws]

device theory part 3 good

[demaparbat-hp]

She will (and he'll let her)

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[mwagneto]

fascinated by just how much marvel movies (and shows) managed to perfect the formula of making 2 male characters Just gay enough that the fans who want that will go UMMM IT'S NOT BAIT THEY'RE LITERALLY GAY LOOK!!!! but not too gay that homophobes even pick up on there being any subtext let alone get mad. extremely insidious form of bait. obvious examples being fatws and loki and more recently deadpool 3 and now venom 3

[siggiedraws]

Being friends with Light Gaia has its perks

[mintystea]

hey yeah sorry i cant go out tonight im rewatching leverage (2008-12) and leverage: redemption (2021-). yeah its time for me to indulge in the fantasy of karmic justice through heists and found family, unveiling greed and corruption of large corporations, and death to capitalism again. sorry about that.

[technically-human]

Welcome to the reverse verse! This is part 1 of 2 of a commission for @i-am-as-normal-as-you-are and I can't wait to tell you all about it, because I'm incapable of being normal and chill about these concepts, so I ran with it.

Charles Rowland was born in 1900, his mum was from India and moved to the UK after marrying Charles' dad, a soldier who was not... very loving. Charles' heritage gave him some problems, but none as bad as that one time in 1916 when he was sacrificed to a demon and spent the next 7 decades in Hell. He doesn't like to talk about it, except when it can get him what he wants. He was always an angry boy, or so he thought, but after his time spent in Hell, it became so much worse. He's explosive and unpredictable, and so he mostly avoids conflict. He doesn't need to fight anyone, as his charming personality and sweet smile (plus a few smart calculations) always seem to be enough to convince people to give him what he asks for. And when the fight is inevitable... well, he has Edwin for that!

Edwin Payne grew up very sheltered, in a deeply religious home, and he is proud of that. Don't try to argue with him, because he surely has a Bible verse that will help him win (and if not, he is not above using his croquet mallet now that he has someone to keep safe). Unfortunately for him, he realized at a quite young age that he felt attraction towards other boys. Even worse, somehow other people could tell as well, including those peers that ended up killing him for it (the rumour spread throughout school was that he had died due to AIDS, and most people just accepted it). He never acted on those unnatural urges of his, but when he met this ghost who had just escaped Hell... he decided not to risk eternal damnation, and to stay here with Charles, instead. Edwin has no interest in the supernatural or in magic, and sort of looks down on them, but luckily his friend's got that covered.

[ashleyloob]

I think about the theory in how you're never more than 6 degrees removed from someone in the world, and the best example of this was finding out one of my long time internet friends actually went to college with human pet guy/cybersmith AND had the pleasure of rejecting him from a job interview post grad

[wine-dark-soup]

arcanists: we wield the most complex form of magic... arcanima. one must master arcane geometry to weave patterns that respect the flow of aether, which in turn will create powerful creature that can help you in combat. this is very dangerous and very powerful, it's not for the weak of mind

also arcanists: anyway we use that power to inspect ship crates lmao

[smile-files]

even if we each are nothing, i can still feel your hand holding mine... and isn't that worth everything?

[yyenky]

[fyllophobia]

[emjee]

Thinking about how the main character of Conclave is a man with doubts who is not enjoying himself and his name is Thomas Lawrence which in terms of saints translates to Man With Doubt Being Roasted Alive. It’s so on the nose and I absolutely love it and wouldn’t change it for the world.

[allthepandasintheworld]

tonight's mood is listening to disease by lady gaga on repeat (i probably wont finish this sketch but like. guys)

[mail-me-a-snail]

anyway waddahell why not publish some of the helmet party doodles i have saved in my drafts... ft. blu engie and his insufferable golden retriever guy