#turnabout big top has me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE :')

[mao-likes-2-draw]

guess who finished turnabout bigtop…

what the hell was that????? i felt like crying at the end because why was it so sad??

(spoilers under the cut, tw for suicide and mentions of grooming)

the ENTIRE thing was a fever dream. i know it was rushed and literally written under the influence, but GOOD LORD ????? some of the most insufferable characters i’ve ever seen were in this case. i was so tired when i finished it though i think they warmed up to me.

moe was something else, but me and my sister kept laughing so hard whenever he made the sprite like 😐 he was the real mvp of this case though (in a way??) very annoying sometimes though

regina was so bubbly and sparkly and her gimmick was just not working. this case has some of the most gimmick heavy characters, so i genuinely cannot deal with how bad some of them are. the whole plot involving regina was also kind of gross because of the age gaps between max, ben, bat, etc…i do understand her whole thing was about being sheltered and spoiled and unable to cope with bad things and blah blah blah though

big back ben… he was just an uncomfortable character. 31 in love with a 16 year old?? i did like the whole act with him and trilo at least, i like how he almost uses him as an outlet? or that’s what it feels like anyways

i actually did like acro. i thought he was dramatic and kind of an asshole for plotting murder on a 16 year old for an incident that basically killed his brother, but my sister was totally on his side. now i do feel like if the girl who inadvertently caused the death of my brother was in my room every day, taking out my trash and feeding me, and laughing and smiling, showing NO sympathy about what happened and saying “ohhh he became a star :)” i would go a bit insane too. not to mention him being wheelchair bound because of the incident, AND unable to leave the lodge because he lived on the third floor (someone move this poor man to the first floor please) the isolation must’ve been torture with the only person you see being what you see is the cause of all this. when he finally DID have enough of it and executed his murder plan, it didn’t even go right. he instead killed his only family figure he had left, leaving everything he had gone. his legs, his job, his brother, and finally the ringmaster. moe said he was livid when acro found out about the ringmaster’s death, because he didn’t even KNOW who he actually killed. he must have been crushed by that point, and he did contemplate suicide or turning himself in to the police. but he didn’t. because he KNEW bat was still alive, despite being as good as “dead” in the seemingly unshakable coma. he couldn’t kill himself or go to jail, because he needed to be there for his brother on the off chance he even woke up. he’s a murderer, but it wasn’t pure malice. one of the more sympathetic culprits in JFA .

max was funny, but again the whole thing with regina was really weird. i did like how he was a country bumpkin and his real name was billy bob johns and his flamboyant personality was great too

moving on, the whole case in general didn’t feel real. it was all zany and gimmicky, it didn’t seem like it should belong in AA. in fact, nearly all of the cases in JFA feel like a fever dream.

the plot was SO convoluted, and the whole trial parts were actually the worst. i liked the investigations. i think what i love about the investigations in little communities like the circus or global studios or the police department in rise from the ashes is the absolute TEA that the characters give you. like YES can i hear about all these scandals, and dee vasquez’s ties to the mafia and the rumors about edgeworth and blah blah blah… yess girl give me the drama!!

overall, everything felt unnecessary and over the top, but it’s a circus. i guess that was a point. still an absolute batshit case to go through, most insane and annoying story i’ve seen come out of AA so far.

justice for everyone in that fucking circus though. justice for regina too!! shes getting groomed left and right. will never forget this case for like another 10 years. God.

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

So in the ask Tumblr ate I said

So I too have problems with the Apollo trilogy. So I will list them. But I don't wanna be too negative so I will list positives of the other games.

Apollo Justice sees Phoenix get character assassinated and how come NO ONE DECIDED TO HELP HIM GET HIS BADGE BACK!? Also the magic panties jokes just make me uncomfortable, especially since Trucy is a minor

Dual Destinies had one case that is discount Big Top (I hate game Big Top as much as the next guy, but I was introduced to Ace Attorney via the Anime where it was amazing) and Turnabout Academy, where we find out that parents of a student have been bribing the teachers to give the student good grades without the student knowing. Um...THAT ALREADY HAPPENED!? WHY IS THAT NOT ACKNOWLEDGED!?

Spirit of Justice has amazing concepts executed poorly. That's also why it's my favorite of the Apollo Trilogy. I love media with missed potential. I like rewriting

Now for postives

The first Ace Attorney everything felt grounded and nessasary. No case felt like filler.

JFA has Farewell my Turnabout. Excellent case and I love fictional kidnapping plots. It was so emotional

TandT. Mia's first case, adorable Phoenix, the first non-murder case (though it turns to murder), my favorite defendant (Ronnie!), Iris x Phoenix, more Fey clan drama, Godot, Miego, AN EXCORISM IN THE COURT!???? I LOVE THAT GAME!!!!

Investigations! Flashback case! Mini ziska protecting Miles from her father by diverting his ire. Miles getting attacked by Kay. Franziska wanting a Swiss roll but not admitting it! SIBLING INTERACTIONS!

Investigations 2! The only appearance of my favorite Ace Attorney character, Yumihiko Ichiyanagi, known as Sebastian Debeste in the fan translation. Great character development for most characters, long cases, playable Gregory Edgeworth! Also I like to believe after the events of the game Hakari Mikagami remains Yumihiko's mother figure and Edgey becomes his father figure. But this game you constantly felt in danger, and you faced dangerous people. And there was a kidnapping plot! Logic chess is amazing and KAY AND EDGEWORTH ARE PRECIOUS! If not father and daughter than brother and sister

Bonus!

In Project X Zone 2, Phoenix just wants to go home. He can't because a Bounty Hunter will kill him. He is one of like, three sane characters, the other being Reiji Arisu (original to the X series) and Chrom (Fire Emblem)

Maya is HERE for the action! She says M. Bison has a butt chin TO HIS FACE! She is having waaaay to much fun!

Apparently during the trial, Phoenix had to tell Majima not to punch the judge

Lastly, I leave you with this offical art by Fire Emblem: Awakening's lead artist

2/2 Oh I forgot to add. I played the fan translation of The Great Ace Attorney and loved it. Best depiction of Sherlock Holmes

Responding under the cut so this doesn't get insanely long!!

My issues with AJ tend to be more from the standpoint that I find the cases to be slightly poorly constructed and uninteresting personally and less that I dislike the characters/characterisation of preexisting characters. I get where the character assassination viewpoint comes from, but I don't really agree/mind it very much. Phoenix has shown many instances where he will close himself off from his friends and simply refuse to talk because it hurts him too much to do so (not telling Maya what's up in JfA springs to mind immediately, but there's also the whole Dahlia/Iris debacle that happened which he just never brings up), so I think AJ Phoenix is just that pushed to the extreme. He's also got that tendency to mimic people he's around a lot, and we know he was hanging out with Kristoph very often during that time, so I think he picked up much of his slippery, oblique nature from him as well. Plus, he's been shown to go through extreme personality shifts; it's not that strange to me to think he'd have one when his life was falling apart around him. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not huge into AJ Phoenix, but while I may not like him very much, I do understand where it comes from. He wasn't even meant to be in the game at first so like. Eh. I'm mostly just glad he's still around.

As for the no one helping him get his badge back thing, I think they were trying to help. But the whole Dark Age of the Law thing doesn't happen in isolation; a failing legal system affects an entire society, so while I think his friends were trying to assist him as best they could, and as much as they would let him (because Phoenix isn't the type to readily accept help either. It has to do with that whole being closed off thing he does, and you can't really help someone who won't let you/doesn't want to be helped. At the end of the day, Phoenix is an adult and allowed to live his life as best as he sees fit), they probably had their own issues to figure out. As the future Chief Prosecutor, Edgeworth definitely would have been caught up in the entire mess that was the Dark Age and likely would have had too many more pressing cases to handle to really dedicate his time to Phoenix's plight. Phoenix probably decided it'd be faster and better for everyone if he took care of it in his own way. It's heavily implied that Edgeworth did help with the whole Mason system that comes in at the end of AJ, so I think they were probably working on it together in the background of the games anyway. I don't have much to say about the magic panties gag, that shit is weird, you're right HAHAH I don't think anyone who's played the game has found it funny so like ??? Don't know why it's there, don't like it, next.

I actually don't mind Big Top tbh; I think it has many interesting themes about secrecy, grief and responsibility. It's just a little long and has some WEIRD decisions made character-wise. The only thing I remember about DD's version is Trucy weeping, and Phoenix failing to fly back to be with her though she's been arrested (this is the bigger character assassination imo. Wtf, Phoenix. Even if you'd be late for the trial, you could still fly home). Shockingly enough, I liked Academy (in comparison to the rest of DD anyway). It's the single case which I actually found a semblance of enjoyment from in DD; it was funny and largely inoffensive, if not much else. Yeah, I'm pretty sure they were fine reusing Sebastian's backstory because it didn't play /that/ huge of a role in AAI2 and because AAI2 was never officially localised and therefore would be less popular/well known. I'm not particularly surprised; they've done worse than reuse a plotline.

SoJ is a complete mess in my opinion, but I'm glad you liked it <3

Mmhm, yeah, full agree on the original trilogy. It's great. Same with Investigations 1; I adored every single character introduced in that game. I thought it was super fun. I largely dislike the adjustment made in Kay and Edgeworth's relationship in AAI2, but I've spoken about that at length, so I won't go into it here. I found AAI2 slightly draggy and chaotic at times, but I get why people love it, and I really liked Sebastian and Justine. It was a lot more high stakes than usual, and I love that we got to see more of the prison system and the like, that was cool. It's a good one. I like it.

... Phoenix is being hunted by a bounty hunter?? Poor man can't catch a break. CHROM??? FEA CHROM????? Omg, it's him. Omg. I love you, Chrom. AND LUCINA!!!!! LUCINA, MY DAUGHTER!!!!!! That's soooo cute haha. This game seems like loads of fun. I like it so much.

[error707-thatdude]

Phoenix doodle time!! I LOVE the heterochromia + freckle headcanon so I wanted to try doing it!

I also said I would eventually have Phoenix carry Edgey so here it is in chibi lmao

[carbootsoul]

ace attorney :•)

omg miles thank u for sending me this ask completely unprompted <3 love wins

favorite character: apollo justice :) my little guy

least favorite character: man ace attorney has so many bad characters. a whole wealth of them. that fucking pedo puppet man from turnabout big top is probably very high on the list tho

brOTP: apollo and athena r SO funny investigating together absolute trans rights with those guys. same with ema + nahyuta + simon + klavier the dynamics between the 4 of them.. hilarious. they r in laws and partners in crime and mortal enemies and also in a band

OTP: faraskye :) and lanamia but i don't talk about it much bc.. no content :(( also hear me out hear me out valant gramarye/guy eldoon. match made in heaven. valants hair kind of looks like noodles too AND they both deserve good things (aka other middle aged men with silly little tragic backstories)

OT3: hrm hrm hrm. honestly i am not rly an ot3 person. if a character has romantic chemistry w multiple other characters i usually err on the "different ppl different times of life" thing bc i think it's more dynamic. that said. sighs kristoph/phoenix/edgeworth over the 7 year gap is a little fun maybe (i am not a freak i promise).

NOTP: oh so many. i am ignoring all the actual freak stuff bc u already know it sucks. so my controversial opinion is i don't like nahyuta/ema because i think ema's a lesbian. i think it can be kinda fun if it's like nahyuta/ema/simon MAYBE but even then. shrug. they're more fun as friends.

favorite storyline: thinks about turnabout trump and blows up. that was so wild and for a first case?? insane. also obv every final case in the trilogy

least favorite storyline: turnabout big top <3

what I wish had happened but didn’t: AURGH AJ TRILOGY WOULD HAVE SOLVED ALL MY PROBLEMS OH MY GOD. can u imagine.. also UR-1 being a case that's handled in about the same way SL-9 was w a rfta type case except athena comes back sooner than ema does. actual character development for klavier.. apollo getting character growth without stealing someone elses game.. phoenix fucking off.....

what happened that I wish hadn’t: hrm. u know i really wish they hadn't made everyone sit though penumbra podcast type kissing noises when narumitsu canon that was kinda uncomfortable

[mewtonian-physics]

also all of the asks for ace attorney

doing this one first bc i want to

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* i'm not sure if it really counts as a fandom otp all things considered but i never understood lang and edgeworth together, just doesn't work for me

Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?* yes actually, see above, i think they should just hang out and exasperate each other but in a fond way

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? don't even get me started. there was a whole week last year where the unfollow button was hit so many times...

Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* yeah. the creepy ones

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* i mean i still engage in it on my own terms but aa fandom treatment of phoenix and edgeworth makes me crazy and i can't go into the tags or i'll die

Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* not that i can think of

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* uhhhhhh nothing is coming immediately to mind. unless you count like, dahlia hawthorne, who i thought was a very entertaining antagonist right up until i found out about iris (now i would punch her in the face if we met)

Have you received anon hate? What about?* not for this i don't think

Most disliked character(s)? Why? kr*st*ph can fucking die die die die die i HATE abusive big brothers i hate them i hate them. also mvk can fuck off for being an irredeemable abusive piece of shit

Most disliked arc? Why? does kr*st*ph's existence count as an arc? if not then turnabout big top for being the most uncomfortable thing in the damn game

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? who's unpopular in aa? i dont know these things

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? i don't know. see above

Unpopular opinion about XXX character? have you seen the hatred i hold for certain characters...

Unpopular opinion about your fandom? i would take half of them to court in a heartbeat. i hope when they present evidence the music keeps playing

Unpopular opinion about the manga/show? if we're talking about shows, i actually didn't mind the anime! i have some complaints, but i'm glad i watched it

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? i want to see kristoph gavin die (actually i just want to see klavier punch him right in his smug face)

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen… i want a couple of the investigations characters to be in the main trilogy! i want to take out some of the characters like max galactica and put in characters i actually like instead!

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased? in denial? no. biased? yes. all people are by nature. i don't say it in a derogatory way, that's just how it is. people who don't ship something are biased in the same way that people who do ship something are biased (just in opposite directions)

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom? every time i see a kr*st*ph stan i feel very sad and angry. i am going to fucking snap one of these days

What is the purest ship in the fandom? idk. faraskye is pretty damn pure

What are your thoughts on crack ships? me/justine courtney/katherine hall when (in all seriousness as long as they're not creepy then go for it idc)

Popular character you hate? please see the guy i've been complaining about all post

Unpopular character you love? aai2 characters automatically less popular by virtue of no localization

Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? depends on who it is really

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX? gay marriage

Most shippable character? i... dont know

Least shippable character? idc the context i cant see trucy shipped with anyone ever or my brain starts steaming like a tea kettle

[imjustthemechanic]

Natalie Jones and the Golden Ship

Part 1/? - A Meeting at the Palace Part 2/? - Curry Talk Part 3/? - Princess Sitamun Part 4/? - Not At Rest Part 5/? - Dead Men Tell no Tales Part 6/? - Sitamun Rises Again Part 7/? - The Curse of Madame Desrosiers Part 8/? - Sabotage at Guedelon Part 9/? - A Miracle Part 10/? - Desrosiers’ Elixir Part 11/? - Athens in October Part 12/? - The Man in Black Part 13/? - Mr. Neustadt Part 14/? - The Other Side of the Story Part 15/? - A Favour Part 16/? - A Knock on the Window Part 17/? - Sir Stephen and Buckeye Part 18/? - Books of Alchemy Part 19/? - The Answers Part 20/? - A Gift Left Behind Part 21/? - Santorini Part 22/? - What the Doves Found Part 23/? - A Thief in the Night Part 24/? - Healing Part 25/? - Newton’s Code Part 26/? - Montenegro Part 27/? - The Lost Relic Part 28/? - The Homunculinus Part 29/? - The End is Near Part 30/? - The Face of Evil Part 31/? - The Morning After Part 32/? - Next Stop Part 33/? - A Sighting in Messina Part 34/? - Taormina Part 35/? - Burning Part 36/? - Recovery Part 37/? - Pilgrimage to Vesuvius Part 38/? - The Scent of Hell Part 39/? - She’ll be Coming Down the Mountain Part 40/? - Stowaways Part 41/? - Bon Voyage Part 42/? - Turnabout Part 43/? - The Apple Part 44/? - Vesuvius Wakes Part 45/? - Fire At Sea Part 46/? - The Real Jim Part 47/? - Return to Naples Part 48/? - La Mela

Okay, back to the plot.  At last, the Philosopher’s Stone!

The pigeons flew off in a chorus of squeaky fluttering feathers that was almost loud enough, with so many of them, to count as a thunder.  They swirled over the city like a slow-motion tornado of birds, and then, slowly at first but soon by the hundreds, they all flew to land on and around a particular building on the outskirts of the city.

“I feel like I should be doing some evil laughter,” said Sam.  ��Declaring myself the Pigeon Master or something.”

“Or you could be the Pigeon Man from Hey Arnold,” Nat told him.

“Who’s that?” asked Sam.

“It’s not a compliment,” she promised.

The pigeons had taken the direct route but the humans, of course, didn’t have that option.  They had to pile into two abandoned vehicles and find their way through the winding streets, now all but empty as the Neapolitans had fled the volcano.  They found the flock of pigeons perched all over a little palazzo that had once been the home of a wealthy family, but was now home to the Coral Palace, a museum and workshop of coral jewelry and shell cameos.

The Palazzo would have been quite a pretty building if it hadn’t been entirely covered with pigeons.  Instead, it made for a very strange sight indeed.  From a distance it looked almost as if the entire building and the empty car park outside were covered in a fluffy gray snow, with the close presence of the volcano suggesting ash, but as they got closer they began to see the birds moving.  There must have been thousands of them.  Iridescent heads popped up out of the mass, looked around, and then vanished again.

“That is probably about the creepiest thing I ever saw,” Sharon decided.

They pulled into the car park.  As they did, the birds moved out of the way ahead of them as if they were the Red Sea parting for Moses.  Sam brought the lead vehicle to a halt, then rolled down the window and leaned out.

“We made it!” he announced.  “You guys can go!”

The pigeons all took off at once, and for a moment nothing was visible except for thousand upon thousand of smoky gray feathers passing by.  Then they were gone, leaving behind a three-storey building with a pink and white columned façade.  Above the colonnade were the words Manifattura Corallo.  Everything, from the roof to the decorative architecture to the pavement in the car park, was coated with evidence of the pigeons.

“Nice,” said Nat, not bothering to hide a snicker.  She was imagining the faces of the Palazzo employees when they returned and found this.

“I’ll tell them to hold it next time,” Sam said.

They got out of the vehicles, and tried not to think about why it was slippery underfoot as they climbed the steps to the porch, where there was a row of windows.  Nat rubbed a place clean and peeked in – all the merchandise in the cameo factory showroom appeared to have been taken away, leaving empty glass-topped tables in a grand columned room with gray stone floors and peach-coloured walls.  There was nobody there.

This was a public building, Natasha thought.  How could anybody work here unseen?  Unless there was something else… something hidden.

They made their way around the back, and there they found a door with a Solo Dipendenti sign on it.  It was propped open, and beyond it was a hallway that joined the loading dock that took deliveries.  In the other direction was an employee washroom and a blank wall.

The latter showed a deep, flaking crack in the whitewash.  Nat got her fingers into it and pried it open.  Sure enough, there was a secret door there… one that had been forgotten long enough to be plastered over, but which had been recently opened.  She turned on a flashlight and found the door opened on a flight of steps.  When she turned the light off again, she could just barely see a blue light shining around the corner at the bottom.

They started down.

The wall on their left, as they descended cautiously into the dark, was smooth.  The one on the right was rougher, and when Nat shone the light on it, she saw markings where decorative architectural features, half-columns and rosettes, had once been attached.  This had once been the front of a building, before the new palazzo was built on top of it facing the other way.  In one spot, there were even some letters.

She traced them with her fingers – La Mela, they said.  The Apple.  That must be the original name of the villa.  Nat was betting she knew who had built it.

At the bottom of the steps they turned right, and found themselves in a tiny little room, almost a dungeon.  The walls were stone blocks – not modern cinder blocks but actual cut lumps of limestone – and the floor was big stone slabs.  In the middle of this was a huge bubbling cauldron, overflowing with what Natasha would have taken for dry ice smoke if it hadn’t been softly purple-blue.  Inside the cauldron itself was the source of the purple-blue light, which was not exactly bright, but it was difficult to look at, as if it would give a person a migraine if they let their eyes linger on it too long.

The cauldron itself was made of gold, glinting by the glow of Nat’s flashlight.  It stood on three legs, and between each a pipe, also made of gold, emerged from its belly.  Nat followed these across the floor into a corner, and then stopped.  There was a big crack in the floor there, as if an earthquake had broken it open, easily big enough for a person to climb into.  The golden pipes fed into that.

A ladder was also propped within the crack.  There didn’t seem to be any question where Newton had gone.

Natasha gripped the flashlight in her teeth and started climbing down.  When she put her weight on the rungs of the ladder, she felt them sag under her weight.  The ladder, too, was made of gold.

At the bottom of the ladder, twenty or thirty feet down, Nat found herself in a rough tunnel about six feet in diameter, with an arched roof and a flat bottom.  A lava tube.  Behind the ladder, it came to an end where a big boulder was blocking it.  In the other direction, it continued on at a slight upward slope.  The golden pipes continued off in that direction.  They should have been opaque, but they were glowing softly, in the same uncomfortable shade of purple.

“Do you still have your sunscreen, Sam?” asked Sharon.

“No,” he replied.  “I didn’t think I’d need it after sunset in the middle of the night.”

“If we’re all burned tomorrow we’ll blame your lack of foresight,” Nat told him.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I know this isn’t the time,” Jim observed, “but I gotta say, I enjoy the part where you guys are all giving each other shit as you’re saving the world.  It makes me feel like I’m in action movie.”

“Keep feeling it,” Nat advised him.  “In the movies the good guys always win.”

“You don’t think we’re gonna win?” Jim asked, honestly surprised.

“I’m definitely planning on winning, but it’s not a given,” Nat said.

They started following the pipes uphill.  The floor of the tunnel was crushed rock and sharp sand that would have been unpleasant to walk on had Nat still been in high heels, but much worse in just pantyhose.  At first, it just looked like stone, but as they continued up the slope, she began to catch glimpses of things glittering in it.  Eventually she stopped and reached down to pick up one of the stones.  It was no different in shape or texture from the others around it, but it was very, very heavy.

“It’s gold,” Desrosiers said.

Nat tossed the nugget away again.  “He said he didn’t want to make gold,” she said.

“The cauldron and the pipes must be gold, because it is chemically inert,” Desrosiers explained.  “Because the Philosopher’s Stone is in contact with this equipment, as long as it has no other template…”

“… the reactor will make gold,” Nat finished for her.  That must be how alchemy had come o be so closely associated with precious metals.

They kept going.  The tunnel snaked back and forth a little, it got narrower and wider, but it was definitely going east and uphill.  The further they went the more gold they found, until the stones under their feet were clinking instead of crunching, and people’s shoes began getting heavy.  Nat wondered if it were dangerous for them to be exposed to this.  Would their very bodies begin to transmute if they stayed in here too long?

They couldn’t turn back though, not now – they were here to save the world, after all.  After narrowing until they almost had to crawl, taking great care not to touch the glowing pipes, it widened out again and joined a larger channel.  The air was starting to get warm, and Natasha reached to wipe sweat from her brow.  It glinted golden as it dripped into the dirt at her feet, and she wondered if that were just a trick of the light.  In here, maybe she was literally sweating gold.

Finally, after what felt like hours walking in the increasing heat, the dust and the painful glow of the pipes, the tube opened out into a huge chamber.  Steam was rising from the ground all around them, mixing with the purplish fog and rising up to where the rocks arched above them, forming a space the size of a cathedral nave.  There might have been a couple of holes in the top to let it all escape, but Natasha couldn’t tell, because there was a huge thing hanging in the middle of the cavern.  A network of the golden pipes, arranged in hexagons and pentagons like a geodesic dome, surrounded it and fed the purple smoke into it, and in the middle was…

It was difficult to describe.  It looked like a huge round crystal, twenty-five feet in diameter, glittering with millions of tiny facets.  Inside that was a thing she could only have compared to photographs she’d seen in National Geographic, of the surface of the sun as seen through a special filter.  It was glowing dull purple, and seemed to be made of millions of tiny, squirming grains that appeared and disappeared and occasionally erupted, spewing little geysers of purple steam.  Where these touched the walls, the rocks turned from dark basalt to glossy yellow.  Gold.

“Well, hello!” said a voice.

They all turned.  Walking towards them from underneath the hovering monstrosity was Newton.

He was still wearing a t-shirt and frayed denim shorts, crocs and that beat-up green hat.  It didn’t look much like an outfit to make the philosopher’s stone in, and when Natasha compared it in her head to the image of the man in the wig and frock coat in the famous portrait by Kneller, she almost wanted to laugh.  She thought better of it when she remembered that she and her companions were all still dressed in their evening clothes, which was if anything even more ridiculous.

“You people are remarkably persistent,” Newton observed.

“We know,” said Natasha.

“We make a habit of it,” Sir Stephen agreed.

“Well, as you can see, you’re too late,” he told them.  “I have the Stone now, and I intend to use it.  ‘Nelle,” he added with a smile at her, “your advice was invaluable.  I need to use it before I can let it blow, obviously.”

Desrosiers nodded, her face calm but her fists clenched.  She caught Nat’s eye, then looked at Newton again.  “Since we’re all about to die anyway, perhaps we could give the Committee a demonstration of its powers,” she said.

[jake-marshall]

5, 9, 12 (can be a case, a game, an arc, whatever), 19 (go for it :P)

I can’t believe I have to put a disclaimer but I know how this fandom is with snooping around, so I’ll make one: these are my opinions, and boy are they salty.  As such, I’ve tried to slash out tags of ever ship mentioned in here (regardless of positive or negative speak of it), so let me know if anything shows up in the tags and I”ll go back and block it, because I”m not trying to spread hate; I’m answering questions for a friend who enjoys my saltiness >:pIf you don’t agree with my opinions, that’s fine, good for you, i don’t think everyone has to agree with me, just as I don’t agree with everyone.   Don’t try to engage me in a conversation about it because you can not possibly imagine how much I do not care.

 Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*I’ve already talked before aboutKl/apol/lo being the main answer for this (more so than Nar/u/mitsu Iguess because at least I understand where Nar/u/mitsu comes from) soI’ll mention these two:I wouldn’t say that the fandom hasmade me dislike La/namia, but it’s really disheartening that there’sso much content of it that’s either blatantly bisexual erasure(“they’re lesbians sorry i don’t make the rules!” shit likethat) and/or is less about celebrating the pairing and more of avessel to spread hatred of Godot (and very occasionally Jake).  So asa result I don’t actively seek out content for it the way I do otherships I like, which sucks, because  I don’t get to enjoy it as muchas I want to.  It’s my fave f/f ship after Junith/ena, mostdefinitely.As for a pairing I was originally indifferent tothat the fandom has soured me on?  Lmao Simon/Nahyuta anyone?  Backbefore SoJ came out and this was a crack ship that was born out of“omg Simon would think Nahyuta is so anime bishie! ^_^”(because they were aching for a male character to ship Simon with,I’m sure), I was just like “whatever.  Immature and side-eyeinducing, but ultimately, whatever.” Now, after seeing their purely negativeinteraction in SoJ treated as “omgz sexual tension!” when,if it was a heterosexual pairing, I GUARANTEE it would becondemned/considered wildly unhealthy (Kl/ema is the closest thing Ican compare it to?  Like, can’t bitches just dislike each other???),I can not possibly roll my eyes hard enough at this steaming garbageship and the idea that Yuty’s precious luv will heal Simon’s abusedbroken baby birb soul! And omgz they’re so hawtttt together i hopedem boiz maek out xD! It just reeks of “yaoi” fandom (andyes I mean that in a derogatory sense).  Oh, and don’t forget thatFulbright isn’t dead now, because he’s not even treated like he was alive in the first place! he’s just a plot device for Simon to angstover even more so Yuty has more chances to soothe him!  Ew.I mean, I guess it boils down to, Iwouldn’t dislike this ship so much if it was actually acknowledged asa silly crack ship instead of being extolled and placed on thispedestal as if it’s some pinnacle of how a relationship should be. Because ah, no, as a legitimate pairing it really is total andcomplete shit.Most disliked character(s)? Why?GOD well my most hated characters arecharacters we’re supposed to dislike, and/or love to hate?  I sayKristoph a lot for this since Klavier is one of my faves, and becuaseof how innocent Vera was.  Gant and MvK too, because of (likeKristoph) how long they were willing to be so self-serving anddeceitful and manipulative and had no guilt over their crimes?  But Imight hate Kristoph the most because, like Dahlia for you, Holly, Isee him get a lot of apologists, which is gross.

 I see this a lot for Phanty too, theapologists and humanization of him when he’s nothing but fuckingtrash, and I hate the fandom for it? but I don’t care about Phantyenough to really hate him (opposed to hating a certainship involving him COUGH COUGH). He’s just like some meme to me; Ilaugh at him and would rather spend my time focusing on Fulbright andhow much I like him because he’s the one who deserves my time, notthis loser^.   

Kristoph, however, was a betterdeveloped/written character. Even though we don’t know what’s behindhis psych-locks, and granted his motive was petty, I think that’swhat makes him interesting and creepy and realistic, and therefore heevokes a stronger opinion from me.

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I really like TUrnabout BIg Top a lot, because I generally like ensemble casts such as this, and Acro is one of my favorite murderers.  I definitely understand why it makes people uncomfortable but I also have to wonder if people dislike it and JfA in general for the reason that there is little interaction between Nick and Edgey.   I don’t think Moe is as annoying as the fandom generally thinks he is, either, I honestly find him pretty sympathetic in many ways; it’s just his testimony that’s frustrating, as the player.

 It puzzles me when this fandom whines for poc/disabled characters and then we have Acro (even though he assumably wasn’t born physically disabled considering he was a professional acrobat but) and lmao no he’s boring.  But wait, actually, it doesn’t puzzle me…  because..... (see below)

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

Oh there’s more than one thing, and it’s certainly not exclusive to the AA fandom but:

If you think ANY character (other than a commonly hated one like Godot of course) is white OR cis OR straight OR neurotypical you’re a horrible person who doesn’t support marginalized folks! 

Along that vein, if you don’t ship X popular gay ship/do ship x het ship, you obviously are just a homophobe! and should kys because you don’t ~respect the source material~ 

Also along that vein, a character is ONLY interesting if you slap on random labels re: their sexuality/gender identity/mental health because that’s what defines them, of course!

Female characters can do whatever the fuck they want and can not be criticized for it, because it’s always justified and they’re always the victims but if you like a morally grey male character (or even just find him interesting as a character!)… that’s right!  You’re awful!

On a more personal note:  It’s perfectly acceptable to develop an AU where Dadworth lives, or where Mia lives, or where Clay lives, or Jove lives, or literally any character not named Fulbright lives, but if you ship (ACTUAL) Black/bright  you’re an idiot who isn’t following canon, how dare you!I hated this fandom going into it so I’ve kind of been like… resilliant to letting it get to me too much, and I have made some wonderful friends and it’s really reinvigorated my love for writing, which is important.  BUt on a whole, it’s a shit fandom and I advise against people getting too involved in it, if they have any opinions on the games/ships/characters that might mildly differ from the majority.

[pinksweatergettingbetter]

//siblings bein’ siblings :’)

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boy theyre really piling on the dick with roger. and yet, it somehow feels kinda forced. not quite as goofy-forced as ‘matt swirl my brandy and show off my scratched eye engarde’ but still... 

he’s so obnoxious that i wanna hold up a hand like “chill, chill, youre the villain, you dont have to try so hard. yeesh.”

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In spite of everything, it's still (Tr)u(cy)

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Did Godot also ghost write the gramarye creed?? We didn't need this man 

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I love that she's "magical girl Trucy"

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That is a HUGE ASS SWORD. Trucy must be ripped to balance that shit with one hand 

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(Cries) the judge bravo’d her my heart

And Apollo asks her to be careful I fhfhfhggg 

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JUDGE! Don't call her a butt!! - Bonny: a fan of mine took some footage of the me in the show. It's kind of creepy but it might help.

Me: ok well it can't be any creepier than the normal show footage which focuses on her quite a bit anyway---

(Footage is shot from backstage)

Me: BODYGUARD. DEMAND A BODYGUARD IN UOUR NEXT CONTRACT.DO NOT PERFORM WITHOUT ONE.

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"What a waste of time"

I know, sadmad, it is a waste of time hinting And blabbing on when the contradiction is SO PAINFULLY OBVIOUS

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To this games credit, I actually looked thru the footage to check for the edit and it's actually there. You can see the screen skip ever so slightly. I mean it's a little improbable that Trucy was still in the same position after twirling but that's a neat little detail. Not bad, SOJ, not bad at all.

- (Snerk) sexy pan up shot for mr retinz

- I know everyone loves the 'what's crackalackin homie" line but it stinks of pandering to me

It's like mr grossberg saying his hemerhoids were doing the Harlem shake. But I don't even think they were referencing the meme back then.

Also something about the way they write Nahyuta feels like the equivalent of a foreign character saying "it is-- 'ow you say..."

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Burger barn sounds like the shittiest restaurant on earth. I wonder if it was the Ramen Ranch in the Japanese version...

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"It's pretty long so I'll just show you the part with.." OHHH NO. We learned our lesson in dual destinies. We watch ALL the footage, damn it.

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That must be Trucy! ... Six seconds after she runs in the opposite direction, also shown rising up into the rafters. ‘kay. Sounds legit. Prosecutor sadmad, please call me a moron and threaten more insignificant reincarnations...

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"It threatens to disrupt the karmic course of this case" You mean it's so bullshit that you're obviously going to lose, right? It's ok, you can just come right out and say it. Nobody will mock you.

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huh. retinz just called sadmad ‘pretty boy’

gee whiz guess theyre gay for each other now. c’mon fandom work your magic.

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I'm starting to really not know what the victim’s last rights actually are. could you be a lil more clear on that sadmad

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“My OBJECTION.... is NOT FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT!!!”

but it sure is for mine [snicker]

also gr8 excuse there, roger

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“every industry has its own way of doing things, just as we in the legal profession focus exclusively on evidence and testimony’

really? for some reason i thought you were more interested in The Magic Pool and The Screams of the Condemned.

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i can see theyre trying to write sadmad funny but its just not.... funny???

even with roger’s obnoxious persona i find him funnier. his texting sprite is hilarious. he just looks so fuckin pleased with himself.

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Lang Zi says... Nahyuta needs a different schtick.

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( well this numbskull has a thick skin, so there )

-holds back tears-

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phoenix, drunkenly, from the gallery: DEAD PERSON... PUNISHING SOMEONE THROUGH A SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBER..? APOLLO GEDDOWN THE FUCKIN GHOS’S ARE COMING AAAHHH

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“not bad for a shitty soap opera twist”

yeesh, that was a very sudden bout of self-loathing from the writers.

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poor manov. somehow i feel more sad about his death than the entirety of the victims in DD (apart from Clay that is)

i mean he was just some magician tryna make it big.

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(sigh) they tried to do the ‘are you high’ joke again and yet they still dont understand what made it funny in the first place.

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“Strange are the karmic threads before me...”

is that Koorahneese for ‘shit, I'm losing!!’

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NOW I FEEL EVEN WORSE FOR MANOV

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i love when villains do that thing where it’s obviously fucking them and a jury would haul their ass to jail in 2 seconds but since it’s the bench trial system theyre like :3c I'm not admitting to anything! I just revealed something incriminating and suspicious as fuck but since my name isn’t carved into it you cant punish me~~~

im not being sarcastic either, at this point its just funny 

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apollo: AHH, HOW DID YOU READ MY MIND?!

roger must have assistant’s blood in him; all of them can do it 

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ohhhh. ohhh. i think. i see how he did it. if so, shit bro; that’s fucked up. but actually a pretty good sneaky murder method, with some pretty good foreshadowing that really stuck in my mind. 

Not bad, SOJ. Not bad at all.

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‘do you think the audience will let you get away with the twins schtick twice in a row?’

alright writers, your self deprecation is making me a little uncomfortable now.

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i like picturing manov’s soul sitting on he judge’s head.

“could you hurry it up? I'm tired of listening to butterfly over there banging on about last rights. i just wanna see retinz get his ass kicked.”

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wait did i completely miss something 

what the fuck is with the random tuna boat joke

did i miss a reference to it before

is it a joke on turnabout: tuna-boat ??

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hang on. is this a half-case? 

they did this in dual destinies with the two last ones. i guess they can’t fit five full cases into a game after all... for some reason.

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i was right! well done. thats a well written twist. anyway, most importantly:

IM STILL CRYING OVER MANOV. HE DIDNT DESERVE THIS

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as much as i appear to like ragging on these games, i really hope the rest of the cases are as good. 

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sadmad: you f––

writers: [shake heads vigorously and make cut-throat motions]

sadmad: ..! ..uhh... [opens up a thesaurus] dim-witted... ignorant... imbecilic?

writers: [nod and sigh in relief]

sadmad: putrid red pepper. 

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“just some good old fashioned logic”

oh look at that they just admitted the ‘rethinking the case” mechanic is just an off brand logic rip-off.

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wow that was the most over-the-top prosecutor breakdown I've ever seen. how did that even work? physically, i mean

maybe the soul butterfly is getting its revenge

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NOO!!! NOT VALANT!!!

also holy shit that was one helluva hallucination. I'd like to think Magnifi was responsible from beyond the grave for one last feat in dickery. 

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Trucy’s absolutely right and murder is 99% never justified, but Magnifi is heavily implied to be a bag of dicks. 

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“Wow trucy, i never knew that being the best could be so tough good for your dating life’

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“do you think I'm a naive greenhorn?” “No, she's not...”

don't use the ‘smile in spite of everything’ thing, don't use the ‘smile in spite of everything’ thing, don't use the ‘smile in spite of everything’ thing––

Ff fffffuuuuck

god dAMNIT

what is japans obsession with smiling thru shitty times??? its, like, ok to cry when you feel down, you know? its admirable to be strong in times of distress but your worth isn't based solely on how well you can pretend not to feel like shit

why not present that quick-ass thinking she did to get around Bonny’s mistake? THAT is the mark of someone who’s ready to be on stage. somebody who’s ready for any eventuality; that’s the mark of a clever performer. she kept a cool head and let the show go on; thats impressive!!!

get this shoe-horned in shit outta my face.

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alright alright... theyre trying to have an emotional moment between siblings. ill calm down... for now.

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Apollo: You’ve really changed Edge––– eh h I mean, Nahyuta.

Nahyuta: fuck you. 

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trucy: you don't like to talk about your past, do you? because you always change the subject!

apollo: its not so much that i don't like to talk about it as that it’s constantly being rewritte––– 

[shotgun cocking sound from capcom]

apollo: I-ITS PARTY TIME, ITS PARTY TIME, EVERYBODY’S GETTIN DOWN BECAUSE ITS PARTY TIME

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phoenix: you're a full fledged lawyer, apollo

apollo: aww gee thanks

phoenix: do you know the definition of full-fledged, in the bird world

apollo: uh

phoenix: it means they fly the coop. leave the nest. go to a completely different country, shall we say

apollo: ah

phoenix: just putting that out there apropos of nothing.

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PHOENIX TALK TO YOUR FUCKING DAUGHTER. CHRIST. shit. sigh.

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apollo is now fucking dead, and living up to the title “Spirit of Justice”