#how is herlock alive

[barschter000]

benbaro ryulock double date (running into each other in the ER because Herlock and Albert drank chemicals again)

[itsbebebe]

Love how in lots of aa mainline fics trucy and apollo find out that phoenix was hiding the fact their mother is alive and theyre siblings and go "how dare you D:" (or at least apollo will and sometimes trucy joins in). Meanwhile in most tgaa fics iris finds out herlock was hiding the fact that baroks her uncle and just goes "okay <3 yay <3"

[daipeanutsaiban]

Hello! Um I know it's been a few months since you said people could ask you more questions on your tgaa thoughts, but I was hoping to ask about your baskerzieks and genshinxwife ones. Like how they met, or what their last in person convos went like before each couple separated/died, etc, bc I really adore your Lady B & Mrs. Asougi designs! They deserved first names 😭

Also I'd love to hear your genklint/ville thoughts too if you care to share those!

ALSO I wanted to say you're 100% correct that if Kazuma & Klint ever actually met good ending au Kazuma would think he's the most annoying person alive. It's funny if genklint is platonic or romantic too, it's like Herlock Sholmes is right there and instead Kazuma thinks his dad's bf (best friend OR boyfriend lol) is significantly worse. Something something hating your parallel

Anyway no pressure, and sorry if you aren't looking to answer more questions at this time!

HI i love to yap and to yap about dgs especially so you're good haha <3 i'm the kind of person who needs to be asked tbh bc i tend to be self conscious/doubt myself so questions are always super appreciated 🥹💗 this post got LONG so i'm going to put it under a break to spare anyone who's just here for art or trying to look at memes during their lunch break

TL;DR: klint and primrose were engaged as kids but it was broken off upon his parents' death, it was renewed when he earned prestige as a prosecutor; their last conversation was when primrose forced him to confess his crimes to her but she'd started having doubts months ago; in my favorite hc, gkv never pursued one another beyond dropping hints here and there but because i am bisexual i also want them to have fun; genshin and yukari met by chance as teens and genshin had to convince his father to let them marry each other after finding out she was pregnant; he could never say his last words to her because writing about the professor's identity could've endangered her and kazuma.

first of all thank you so much, it makes me so happy when people enjoy my designs and characterizations for lady baskerville and mrs asougi!! for clarity, i'll be calling them by the names i gave them in this post, primrose and yukari respectively.

klint and primrose's engagement was decided by their parents and they met as children- i think they were probably feeling awkward around each other for a while since children don't really care about such things (right..?) and primrose actually chose to spend her time reading when her father would take her to visit, and she might've even been more interested in talking/playing with barok because there wouldn't be the daunting idea of an engagement looming on the horizon lol. eventually, she and klint do grow closer and come to consider each other friends thanks to him putting in a lot of effort to make her feel welcome and also have more fun (she finds him boring- i characterize klint as having been a very serious and dutiful child, though he does play with and dote on his brother).

when the van zieks parents die in my hc, losing their life in a fire specifically, primrose's father chooses to cancel their engagement because he doubts klint can suitably provide for his daughter- a cruel but logical decision as klint is just fourteen years old with no backing or achievements. as an aside, the fire is declared to be an unfortunate accident but klint silently believes it was premeditated- this incident contributes to him considering prosecution as a career. out of care for his brother, he never brings up this idea to barok.

still, primrose is a very clever child who's acutely aware that her father's doting is a form of control (such as making her wear beautiful, white clothes to easily find out if she's been sneaking out, which i think i talked about before), and she insists on meeting klint either at his estate or in the city while they both (and occasionally barok) wear disguises/common clothes. the latter option allows them to meet people outside of their social caste, and to develop a sympathy for them from an early age which also contributes to klint's growing bitterness towards other nobles. throughout his struggle to be taken seriously by these men in spite of his age, primrose continuously encourages him and even spies on her father's meetings with other gentlemen to then report to him, and this continues in their adult life with her reporting rumors and "gossip" from other ladies about their own husbands (with perhaps dire consequences in the long run, haha...)

primrose has ambitions of her own, though, many of which are philanthropic in nature and stem from guilt at being born in a wealthy household to a father who does not care about people other than his own. they are difficult to achieve as an unmarried woman (or even as a woman in general), as her father would never greenlight her ideas, and as such she becomes enraged with klint when he allows the engagement to be dispelled due to believing she would ultimately "be happier with someone else" when it would effectively condemn any ounce of freedom she could have. from primrose's perspective, klint is the only candidate for marriage because he actually respects her and understands her as a person.

their engagement was eventually reinstated following klint's multiple achievements, chiefly when he made a name for himself as an extremely prolific prosecutor and primrose's father couldn't really object to it (ha) anymore. when i researched, i learned that men in the victorian era would commonly get married in their thirties once their careers were established, and i especially like that for this couple because it means that genshin could've attended their wedding. (it's also amusing to picture klint pitching him as the best man while primrose is firmly in barok's camp and they have a silly spat about that, haha. but ngl i prefer genshin as their best man because it was tradition that the best man would drive the married couple to their month long honeymoon directly after the ceremony so. he could stay behind a little while if you catch my meaning. teehee)

on the topic of genklintville, my ultimate preference/personal "canon" is that they never outright acted upon their romantic or sexual interests in one another although the tension was clearly there. but like any bisexual on the internet, i like to indulge a little bit, as shown in my previous paragraph hehe. i like to imagine a kind of kinship between genshin and primrose as they are interested in similar literature and share a similar sense of humor as well (chiefly teasing klint- in a deadpan manner for genshin). klint and primrose tend to dote on genshin in a way they think is discreet, because they can sense his loneliness at being apart from his family even though he generally doesn't voice it, but as we all know genshin isn't a fool and it leaves him quite flustered haha. genshin also relates to klint in the way that they are both heirs to something "greater than them" (the asogi clan/the van zieks heritage) and sometimes yearn to break away from it which might contribute to why genshin left for london if the first place. i'd like to add that if i draw genklint without primrose present, it's taking place with her knowledge and consent, though them being pushed to cheating due to increasing stress or suchlike circumstances is an interesting angle- it's just not something i see myself making at present. though now saying that has made me think about the ways it could be fun to explore the way klint's lying and gaslighting keeps piling up, so what's one more lie? so i'd be interested in reading a story that would attest to his guilt from committing the act and his gaslighting towards not only his wife but also to himself, hmm. the best way that i can put it is that if i'm to explore gk without the v, she must be a relevant character because i'm not about to discard a canon female love interest to focus solely on the yaoi lmao.

now for genshin and yukari, or genyu for short as i like to call it in my head (lol)... there's a lot to cover here too 😵‍💫 some of this, particularly the stuff concerning ayame, is still undecided on but i thought the more context the better!

to understand their dynamic, it feels important to state/repeat my headcanons about the asogi clan aka genshin's immediate family beyond her and kazuma, which were mentioned here. but to summarize, they are very patriarchal, strict, and the type to suppress their emotions. genshin is his father's illegitimate child, and his real mother is... hm, well, she won't ever appear in my art because it's suitable for her character, but she's a high ranking courtesan, aka "oiran", and therefore pregnancy/being a mother could bring shame to her and likely ruin her livelihood, because they are meant to project the image of being unattainable both in appearance.. and price. her disappearing for some months to a year wouldn't be all that suspicious as few men can even afford to meet her.

because the oiran brings the House where she works good money, they help her cover up her pregnancy and her son's existence by sending him to live with his father as soon as possible. once, genshin tries to visit his mother, but he is turned away. in short, his first experience was to be abandoned by someone who was supposed to love him. i think this backstory also serves to give reason to his name (written with the kanji 'shadow' and 'truth') because he is a truth meant to be hidden by the government. if you think about his father giving him that name, it becomes quite sad and implies shame for bringing his son into the world. i think it would also justify the personality i like for him, which is more reserved and serious than how i portray the rest of the visiting trio (with a boisterous but ambitious seishiro and a downtrodden but shy and earnest yuujin), and with a greater disposition for being suspicious... which is naturally a good thing for a detective.

genshin's father's wife lost her life to an illness some years prior to genshin integrating into the asogi clan, which is why he sought comfort from the oiran. to avoid unsavory rumors and to preserve both women's reputation, syoma (genshin's father) forbids his son from venturing outside of the house - paralleling primrose's childhood, which they could bond over later in life - until he turns a certain age. he's the dark sheep of the clan, to make it short. it's by sneaking out as a child that he meets seishiro, and then yukari who is accompanying ayame.

as an aside, i want to add that while syoma holds misogynistic beliefs, he still feels a sense of responsibility so he does eventually pay off the oiran's debt in the end- not that she's particularly grateful since he led her on and made her promise not to abort his child without ever planning to marry her. not a great guy, but def a fun character to write. those are things genshin deduces in his teenage years, and he swears to never become like his father.

as for yukari, her family history is also nebulous, and i don't know if i even want to establish her circumstances before meeting ayame and genshin because i like the meta irony of those details remaining unknown to us just as they were unknown to those around her outside of how she is tied to other people. ayame's friend, genshin's wife, kazuma's mother- never her own person. she reaches a breaking point during genshin's absence, but i won't go into detail about that for now because it's part of a long project of mine. what i can say about her is that she does housework for ayame's family in exchange for room and board, but she's not categorized as a servant because ayame cherishes her, a privilege that makes her feel awkward at times.

genshin fell for her due to her frank and joyful approach to life which was so different from the outlook he was raised on, and she piqued his curiosity with her unusual and often "silly", but free, behavior. he has the utmost respect for her, which is why as much as i like gkv and think it could work in a modern au with yukari's inclusion/approval + rapid methods of communication, i think realistically genshin wouldn't have the heart to start anything with someone else when she is waiting for his every letter so far away. he wouldn't be able to read the expression on her face, and she could easily lie about being okay with it.

in this wikipedia article about marriage in japan in the edo period (1600-1868), it reads: "Members of the household were expected to subordinate all their own interests to that of the [household], with respect for an ideal of filial piety and social hierarchy. [...] Marriages were duly arranged by the head of the household, who represented it publicly and was legally responsible for its members, and any preference by either principal in a marital arrangement was considered improper."

you might've guessed where i'm going with this, but genshin's father had already chosen a wife for him, and that person was ayame, who is from a 'good' family. obviously that marriage didn't go through with yukari becoming pregnant at 18 or 19 (!!), and syoma capitulated to genshin's request that he be given permission to marry his girlfriend which only further strained his relationship with his father further. as for ayame, she was fortunate that the man she was interested in was studying medicine, and therefore struggled less for her family to accept yuujin as her husband. but for yukari, although she knows genshin doesn't love ayame, there's always that nagging feeling that she was the "wrong" choice. after all, she has to witness the interactions between genshin and his family every day, and her presence is often the source of tension. her only rock after ayame's death and genshin's departure is her son, who starts rejecting spending time with her as he grows older because, well, he's a teenager (something i want to expand on in that project i mentioned).

in yukari's case, she was never able to read her husband's last words as even writing about the professor's identity could endanger hers and kazuma's lives, but perhaps genshin had promised he would briefly return at the half-way point of his stay overseas and then ended up having to break that promise by choosing to investigate the professor killings before eventually losing his life. yukari's feelings of helplessness were confirmed as the truth in her eyes then.

as for primrose and klint's last conversation, it's been sitting in my wips for a while LOL. i def think she had her suspicions, and when she finally gathered her courage to confront him, he broke down and told her the truth. i've revised this comic and especially its dialogue so many times that i don't even know if i like it anymore, please pray for me 😅

It's funny if genklint is platonic or romantic too, it's like Herlock Sholmes is right there and instead Kazuma thinks his dad's bf (best friend OR boyfriend lol) is significantly worse.

this made me laugh LMAO honestly kazuma would be so petty about it meanwhile i feel like he'd get along super well with the man's own wife 😂 i also think that as an adult kazuma would admire his father less and even be a bit of a tsundere lol, but yeah in a No One Dies/Good Ending AU(tm) he'd probably resent genshin a little for leaving him and his mother, whose struggles he witnessed firsthand for ten years. hell, maybe he does resent him in the current circumstances even if it's not the dominant emotion when it comes to his father, it of course being grief... still. lord van zieks get your paws off my dad!! 🙄💢 also if genshin starts reciprocating the attention kazuma might start killing LOL

...this answer is now well over 2000 words and i still feel like i'm leaving things out i feel CRAZY omg. autism diagnosis unnecessary atp lmfao.

also just found this in my #yukanotes i should've just copy pasted all this augh. i love yukari very much she is extremely dear to me. 😊💗

thanks again for your questions I'M SORRY IT'S SO LONG....... i DO love to yap 🥹🥹💗

[teacup-captor]

I love your headers!! Would you be willing to show your previous ones? I like how they evolve as you find new interests :D

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING OH MY GOD.

For a bit of context, for a few fucking YEARS my tumblr header was a userbox that just read "This user's special interest is Steven Universe". I kept wanting to change it, but I didn't have anything else to change it to, and I was always hesitant because it was always still too accurate. So I pulled this psychological experiment on myself and I succeeded and I got SUUUUUUPER hyperfixated on Good Omens and decided to make THIS!!!!!!

I still love this!! It's my second favorite iteration of the header because look at these colors they're so damn nice! I made this header with the express purpose of changing it as I get new super big hyperfixations, also I just felt the need to add a disclaimer to my blog LMAO I was reblogging SO DAMN MUCH FANART. That's basically all I reblogged 😭 The plan was always to watch the header have leftovers of whatever other interests I got. Along the way new things will come and occupy most of the space in my head, but there will still be remnants of the other things I love and have loved. This header is and will continue to be a visual representation of that and it's beautiful

Now here comes S\herlock & Co., which at the time was actually maybe my most intense hyperfixation ever. Like I mean I was thinking about this shit all day. I haven't shared as much art in AGES. I thought it'd be really fun to just cover up Good Omens with cardboard, but it really didn't look like cardboard, and the tape would be like disproportionately huge lmao. My fave part about this then was how the tape had little air bubbles. My favorite part about it now is probably that you can still see the "G" from the original header, and that the L in Sherlock is capital by accident. I have this real habit of accidentally writing uppercase letters at random when I get too excited. Usually it's in the start of words though lmao :P Also you can see how I specifically didn't plan out the spacing because of the large gap after "Co." that I filled with a smiley. During this time I also had my FIRST EVER profile picture change on tumblr. I'd had the same profile picture since I JOINED. My discord friends, especially those who see me using PK, know damn well we're indicisive with our PFPs lmao so changing a pfp we'd had for a long time was a big thing for us

I also changed the background color on this. In my head this is in like 5 different layers. The unaffected arch around my PFP, the color changing background (that still remains in the same kind of gradient, though), the color changing "I just have AuDHD", the permanent "This isn't a Good Omens themed blog I swear", and then everything else I can put on top. This totally isn't how it works, but I'm imagining the background as like an LED kind of thing hehehe :3c

Oh boy. Iden part 2. I was NOT in a good space during this time. I didn't know what to do with myself, what kind of fandoms to turn to instead and whatnot, and I wasn't ready to let go of this thing that had been so good to me before. That's why I just scribbled red marker over the "& Co." part and changed the smiley to a frowny. Because I was NOT feeling :). I also really liked how the marker went onto the background. It was an accident but I kept it.

Aaaaand away with Sherlock!! I. Got. So. Fucking. Hyperfixated. On. Paper Mario Origami King. Oh my god. I played it so much it hurt. That's the first Mario game I ever finished, as far as I remember as well omg asgsjghaf

Mario has been a special interest before, and it made a grand return!!! My faves are Peach and Bowser and they always will be. And I LOVE Mario Kart ok?

I also started to listen to Find Us Alive here :D I was working over summer and it took me an hour to take the bus home, so I'd listen to FUA as I played Paper Mario :P it was BEAUTIFUL ✨

I also changed my pfp back to the one I had for years at that point I couldn't stand having the previous one anymore

Oh and look at Super Mario. It says SuPer Mario. With a capital P. I did NOT do that on purpose ashgsajask

Derpy Hooves. Derpy Hooves. DERPY HOOOOOVES!!!!

I've loved My Little Pony for AGES and Derpy's always been one of my faves. This is when I tipped over the edge though heahgshdjsf

I drew the hearts because this is when I changed to my Derpy Hooves pfp :D

Oh and see how the "E" in Derpy is capital?? Told you I had a thing lmao

This wasn't all that intense of a hyperfixation, so I knew it wouldn't last long. I didn't have anything to replace it with, though. UNTIIIIIIIIL...

Oh my GOD, look at this beauty. It's my favorite so far. I'm trying to make the gradients match the colors I associate my current Biggest Thing with, and right now it's a beautiful black white and red combo. I didn't make it all black though, because the header would be entirely unreadable. Look at this, it's a mess. It's painted over all willy nilly. There's marker still visible. That one piece of tape is STILL there. There's HOLES in it for heaven's sake! And... Is that the spray paint from the Mario iteration?!!! Good fucking lord this is a mess. Look at how horribly spaced all that text is. Did I even plan for this?! Those flowers look so silly! Dumptruck is here...? He's not even IN this podcast!!! I fucking love it so much you have no idea. "Glass explodes ok?" is one of my fave references. Glass explosion chamber 2024

I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE HOW IT WILL CHANGE EVEN FURTHER I LOVE MY HEADER SO MUCH THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK!!

If anyone wants to do something like this, go ahead!! ^w^

[vickyvicarious]

So this conversation... hoo boy, does it pack a punch. I had completely forgotten to think about what Kazuma being alive would mean regarding Herlock until Susato and Ryunosuke brought it up, but... this is a really agonizing betrayal. And even when they confront him on it, he just delays, waits out to see what they know, what he can get away with. So many times he just sits there for a long moment, letting them talk. He asks Susato, "You're quite sure?" He says this:

This is utterly infuriating. I would lose it here. And it's all the worse because Ryunosuke counters this with nothing but a certainty in Herlock's skills. He had to be lying, because they trust him to have known the truth. They aren't willing to believe that he made a mistake when he announced Kazuma's death, any more than they doubt their own recognition of him actually being alive. The confidence here hurts a lot in context. The friendship with which they approach this conversation. And he never tells them!

I'm sure the truth will come out eventually, and he'll have had his reasons, but... Ryunosuke has lived with him all along. Susato so clearly admires him so much. They're all friends. And he's seen how deeply they are grieving, he must have, and he's chosen to stay silent all this time. I'm so so impressed again by Ryunosuke and Susato's willingness to extend that trust further, to wait to find out answers.... And then even to continue investigating together with him shortly afterwards. It would be completely understandable if they couldn't. I still feel like they need to get properly angry at him, but maybe they're saving that for after they know the whole situation.

[hearing-a-lot-of-things]

Well hello my dear fellow! I am quite intrigued by that small device around your neck. Looks fascinating. Ah I haven't introduced myself have I? I am Herlock Sholmes the greatest detective of the world. Also I accidentally traveled through time.

Weren't you alive in, like, the 1900s? How do you 'accidentally' travel through time?

[velvees-archive]

TGAA 1-2 Spoilers (Live Blog)!

at the time i’m posting this, i have something to confess: i am currently on TGAA 1-4. i wrote most of this while i was on 1-2 so it’ll still have that real-time accuracy, but i don’t know how i flew through TGAA. it took me a long time to get through 1-2 and then i ate 1-3 up in one sitting and i’m now almost done (i think) with the 1-4 day 1 investigation. i’ll also still post my 1-3 breakdown + some 1-3 reactions bc those are already drafted.

this game is peak. the pacing is rocky and some segments drag on, but i am more than willing to stomach the lows when the highs are as high as this.

i did have various reactions to 1-2 which i will link here, here, and here, so let’s get into the meat of this case. warning: copious amts of glazing ahead!!!

i am in complete awe. this case gave me everything i could’ve asked for and then some. it is impossible to stress this enough, but being funny goes a long way in an ace attorney game. in any media, actually. maybe shu takumi has a really good grasp on humor and comedic timing. maybe it’s the other writers or the localization team that give TGAA that extra oomf. whatever the case, i’ve laughed out loud so many times while playing 1-2, the same way you’d laugh at everything your crush says bc you think they’re kinda neat and sometimes maybe a little funny and-

i will say that the case started incredibly slow despite the reveal abt who died (already talked abt that but ouch?), but considering this case introduced one of the most popular characters in the franchise, slow build up is to be expected. i’ve seen the name “herlock sholmes” around and he did NOT disappoint, especially when he abandoned the silliness and locked the fuck in at the case’s climax. it’s actually peak.

speaking of characters that don’t disappoint, while susato’s presence starts out unimpressive in 1-2, she quickly becomes one of 1-2’s most entertaining characters. they have never missed w the judicial assistants EVER. i love my weird girls and susato is no exception. there are a lot of emotional moments in her dialogue that convey how much respect she had for kazuma. it’s in the music, the word choice, and the sprite usage. i can’t believe how well this game gets characters’ emotions across with the few dialogue boxes they’re afforded. sometimes less really is more.

i got chills during the lead up to the confession. everything that happened was unfortunate, really. i’m bitter bc of how kazuma’s death played out, but god, the logic was good. no doubt in my mind that kazuma was going to consult w ryunosuke instead of ratting pavlova out. i know i keep saying this but the reveal is peak. we’re only on the second case but the characters feel so alive. the atmosphere is fantastic. and again, herlock sholmes actually knows how to lock in!

ryunosuke is written wonderfully in this. you can feel his grief/frustration; more than once, i felt ready to tear my hair out bc of how uncooperative everyone else was being. it is unbelievably cruel to accuse him of murdering his best friend.

i will admit that i expected a court segment and didn’t get that, but you know what i DID get?

this, which, arguably, has way more character!! ALSO! the inspector is back! and did i mention i love herlock sholmes? i love herlock sholmes!!!

in a not-so-smooth segue into character relationships, the depth of ryunosuke and kazuma’s devotion towards one another genuinely leaves me breathless. there’s nothing i like to see explored in media more than a bond like theirs. i was and am a firm satosugu shipper; that should say a lot already!

this isn’t to say that i ship them (though, as with most ships, i do keep an open mind). what i’m really trying to explain is how taken i am with ryunosuke’s loyalty towards kazuma and kazuma’s complete and total faith in ryunosuke. ryunosuke decides to cram study law for 40 grueling days so kazuma’s dream can live on through him. the last thing kazuma thinks about before he dies is ryunosuke, because he trusts him so much he sought his opinion on how to move forward w pavlova’s situation. we as the player don’t have much time to get to know kazuma yet takumi manages to sell their relationship in a way the second trilogy couldn’t sell many of theirs. i am deeply moved. this is so poetic and indicative of an otherworldly kind of love.

i’d also like to take this moment to double down on what i said about kazuma’s katana and his soul, which finds itself in ryunosuke’s possession at the end of the case. SYMBOLISM!

i was holding onto some hope that kazuma faked his death, tho i see that’s probably not possible now? i mean, two people were jailed for his murder. surely he wouldn’t agree to involve innocent people. he’s much too noble for it….

unless, ofc, the thing he absolutely had to accomplish in london forced him to abandon his morals.

ik what you’re thinking: bro’s still coping? and to that i say, yes. yes i am. even tho what we’ve seen of kazuma goes against what i’m saying, i am. do i actually believe my own bs? questionable.

there are definitely things i’m missing, like how the many great deductions + that whole thing abt letting someone’s gaze lead elucidates what kazuma was up to during his final moments…that is A MASTERCLASS on big reveals. beautifully done. there are other things to praise like susato’s fixation w keeping things orderly + her fangirling over sholmes. i love how she extracts knowledge from infobooks and silly magazines. there’s so much depth to her character.

i leave the case with mixed feelings abt the killer. she’s just a kid but god why did she have to assume? at the same time, though, her quick thinking was the difference between life and death for her. i am clawing at my walls!!!

CASE VERDICT: 8.5/10

i love this game.

[pyritewitch]

Drabble 4 of many Swap TGAA AU posts

Ryunosuke Bits Part 2 Bitches

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Last time on TGAA Role swap AU: Kazuma desperately tries to prove his existence is not a curse to everyone he knows. Not going too well as his best friend is accused of murder after going out on a date to dinner with him. Then same best friend is shortly "killed" after Kazuma convinces him to go to Britain with him, so 0-2 so far. Got some sweet gloves outta it tho.

Naruhodo is thankfully alive, but now in the clutches of the totally trustworthy MAEL Stronghart. Who pretty much guilts him into obeying him and doing everything says even after his memories are returned. Onto the show!

Now enters Gina

Gina is finally released from holding and, with the help of Herlock threating Gregson, joins Scotland Yard as a protégé detective.

Not a lot of the force are willing to take her seriously as a little girl and prior thief to boot, but she does prove herself to Gregson and Van Zieks, as she's able to think like a criminal. She finds hidden compartments where smugglers store things and uses her little gang of east-enders to find out info around town.

Still with her personality she doesn't take too well to being looked down on and butts heads with a lot of the older staff. They can't do much to retaliate as Gregson becomes attached to her and will tell anyone off who tries to pick on her.

Her eager personality and need to be taken seriously ends up with her getting into small but constant fights with Ryuunosuke. Not only is he a rookie, in sense like her, but he is taken more seriously even though he's wearing a mask, and no one really knows his name. This is a one-sided antagonism as Ryuu just tries to stay out of the way and tries to get along with her.

Another thing that bothers Gina about him is the fact that he only communicates by writing. Gina can't really read all too well given her background as a street rat. Her lack of reading skills and bad paperwork is a constant flaw that the older workforce loves to poke at and something that Gregson can't really defend her from.

When working on a minor case together, she notices that when he thinks no one is around, Ryuu will quietly talk to himself. Furious, Gina pulls him aside and really lays into him. Accusing him of mocking her just because she struggles to read and her background.

Horrified, Ryuunosuke ends up blurting out that no, he really respects her insight and her out of the box thinking. Then, realizing he talked out loud, begs her not to say anything to Van Zieks or Stronghart, or he'll be in tremendous trouble.

Gina realizes that she was wrong and apologizes, swearing she won't tell them. She also starts to understand that Ryuunosuke seems to be in an awkward situation. She clocks in his accent and asks if he has any relation with Susato and Kazuma, but he refuses to answer.

After that little scuffle, Gina takes a lot more notice of Naruhodo's surroundings. Sees how everyone seems tense around him and willing to ignore him unless it's absolutely necessary. Also, notices how weird Stronghart treats him. Acting like he is a pet and sending off this way and that.

When she brings this up to Naruhodo, he's dismissive and tells Gina that given the circumstances, of course, people are cautious about him. When she brings up Stronghart's actions, he gently chides her, saying that Stongharts has done so much for him and Scotland Yard, so of course he's gonna help him when he can.

She doesn't press too hard on the issue for now but makes it a note to herself to be there for Naruhodo. As given that both of them are outsiders here, they have to look out for each other.

And they do. When put on cases together, they shine and compliment each other. Naruhodo being able to read people and help Gina with her paperwork. While Gina speaks up for him when others ignore him and pushes people to follow through on his hunches.

They soon become a trio as Gina recruits Maria to their friend work group, becoming a rookie trio. Ryuunosuke, in a similar vein with Gina, accidently reveals to Maria that he can talk by getting scared and screaming when Maria expresses interest in cutting him open.

Maria likewise promises to not tell anyone, making note that really besides Gina and maybe her mother no comes to talk to her anyway. The trio get comfortable enough that when discussing case notes and theories, as long as their in the coroner lab's Ryuu feels comfortable enough to take off his mask.

During this time, Ryuu really feels grateful to both Gina and Maria. Before, he really only had Stronghart, who he was forced to depend on and really was the only person he talk to and, in a way, be himself. Now, in the lab, even though it has to be secret, he finally has a place where he can belong with people he can talk with, joke around with and bond.

Then comes the bad news. As throughout this time, Naruhodo has been keeping tabs on Kazuma and the gang even though he's not supposed to interact with him yet.

He starts looking deeper into the past cases that Kazuma has worked and really digs into case 1-5 and the circumstances surrounding it.

With the help of Gina and Maria, he's able to get more info and even decode the morse code message. Though Stronghart soons learns of this and decides to use this opportunity to push his own narrative.

Under the guise of doing his own research on the case, he invites Naruhodo to see the evidence he "discovered" on Kazuma and why he doesn't trust him.

He reveals to Ryuu that Kazuma signed and stamped an exchange student assassin contract and that the other exchange student was Asa Shinn, the real name of the woman whose crime he was accused of.

Naruhodo looks over the evidence again and again but can't deny that this is Kazuma's handwriting and personal stamp on the contract. Stronghart also needles in, that this is why he really didn't want Naruhodo to be in contact with Kazuma, as he was deceiving him.

Saying Kazuma pretended to be his friend and saying that he truly believed he didn't kill Wilson, knowing that it was part of the assassin exchange the whole time. Knowing that Jezell would get off scot-free and using this case as a means to get Ryuu to defend him later on for murder.

Naruhodo can't find a flaw in his logic, and this devastates him. He starts looking back on his friendship with Kazuma and wonders how long he had planned this deceit and if he ever considered him a friend?

(I feel like I should mention this jic but while it's treated as a throwaway line, Kazuma in the original does state that he didn't know the other exchange student and that case 1-1 was directly related to the student exchange contract and i am absolutely using that to create drama)

For about a week or so, Naruhodo withdraws and takes a break from working. Holing himself up in his apartment, which is under Stronghart's name. During that time, Stronghart makes sure he's visiting the lad. Comforting him and saying he's sorry that he had to find out this way. Meanwhile, he also pushes away any other visitors like Gregson, Maria, Gina, and even Van Zieks. Stating that he's sick and he can't handle any other visitors.

When Naruhodo returns, he mostly acts the same, but those close to him, especially Gina, notice a change. He's much more attentive to Stronghart and his demands, putting them at the highest priority. Slowly, the nickname "Stronghart Hound" starts to creep up and attach itself to him.

Gina, with her sense of loyalty, will yell at anyone who dares call him that. Though she can't help but notice that now if she even dares question Stronghart's motive around him, he'll act completely out of character and even yell at her for daring so.

To be continued...

[mydearfellows]

I need to talk about Miss Susato.

Spoiler of TGAA2 last case below. (The Plot Twist™)

Susato Mikotoba, around 4 years old. Living alone with her grandmother. As she start to have a grasp of the world around her, she came to realize other children her ages were surrounded by people they called 'parents'. 'Mother', 'Father', forming a 'family'.

Naturally, she start wondering where those 'parents' came from, and why she didn't has any. Maybe they only come under certain conditions ? Or when you get older ? Where do people find those 'parents' ? How could she get parents, too ?

So, full of innocence, she asked her grandmother about it.

And I don't know her grandmother. I don't know if she was more of a grumpy old lady or a sweet grandma, if she told Susato the truth directly and harshly, or trying to be tactful about it.

But I know that no matter how you explain that truth to a child, they will only ever reach one conclusion:

My mother died because of me. And my father was so sad he left.

It's my fault. It's because I'm born.

He must hate me. That's why he left me here.

Maybe I shouldn't have been born at all.

So my mother would still be alive, and my father would still be happy.

Though of course, a child isn't entirely aware of those thoughts, and even less able to articulate those.

But similar thoughts definitely shaped our dear lady, as she's way too often feels like a burden to another. And that cause me great pain to hear her say such things.

(Or, if you allow me to drop the act for a few seconds: violently slam desk GIRL. DON'T SAY THAT. YOU'RE NOT A BURDEN. YOU'RE A PRECIOUS LITTLE BEAN AND EVERYONE LOVES YOU AND YOU SAVED THE DAY SO MANY TIME--- YOU'RE NOT A BURDEN. ahem.)

I think about this fairly often- way too often, in fact.

Sure, my dear Mikotoba is a great father overall. He's always kind to his daughter and does his best for her all the time. Indeed, he was in a great pain back then, and didn't had the strength to take care of a such fragile little being that is a baby.

He can't truly be blamed for it. But his absence, and most importantly the reason behind it, had an strong impact on his daughter; One that might never entirely disappear.

I hope, at least, that learning her father's absence is also what allowed the legendary pair known as The Great Detective Herlock Sholmes and his Great Partner 'Dr. Watson' to exist bring her some peace, in a way.

[unluckedtj]

Question about Ticket Swap- I'm presuming Barok is the defense for most of, if not all of the AU? Also what cases, if any, from the original game remain?

was not expecting a question on this au but i am pleasantly surprised!!!! thank you for the ask!!!!

but ouhhh! good question! barok is not quite the defense, i kind of wanted a mix since we don’t necessarily have to follow a game format for it. i wanted to cycle between herlock and barok if that makes sense

more below the break!

something that i kind of use as a foundation: in the jp dlcs (london side), while we do have herlock acting as the defense, we are still mostly playing from ryunosuke’s point of view (with herlock’s pov being in the descriptions of the profiles and evidence)

i kinda want to have something like that, so we get to keep the whole thing of not truly knowing what’s in his head, switching to barok’s pov when sholmes has something figured out.

other than that, i feel like barok would still think like a prosecutor, even on the defense bench. but also because i really wanted to have some scenes where he fanboys over kazuma, who is a prosecutor in this au too (similar to susato and sholmes i imagine).

barok being forced into being on the defense bench is something i find interesting to collide with his will to be a prosecutor as well as his will for justice. i also imagined him wanting to mentor under kazuma because of this (which… i find kinda funny, actually. maybe i’ll write more on this later, but i like to think that sholmes and barok wouldn’t actually see each other very much but fate keeps putting them together. like, barok mentoring under kazuma, herlock working with ryunosuke, completely separate paths with only iris really connecting them both, but every case they keep ending up with each other because they have to work together to get through it)

for the cases itself… i’m not quite sure, since a lot of important things are jumbled around (like timing, and uhh.. klint being alive). since tgaa is so interconnected in its storyline, it’s hard to pick the cases apart to put in an au without delving into another one. but also, i don’t think it has to rely on the original tgaa cases since: tsau takes place in japan! most of it, really.

i think at most, i can maybe try to see how i can input the tgaa1-1, tgaa1-4, and tgaa2-1 cases, especially because i like the thought of soseki natsume being involved and prosecuted by klint (albeit, still get not guilty… by who? idk, divine intervention until i figure it out 😭)

[loosesodamarble]

Hello senpai it's 🖤 anon. For oto-may

Can you answer 2, 24 and for 25- what otome games will you recommend me to play? (Seeing your pages makes me want to play them)

Welcome back 🖤 anon~! Always lovely to see you around!

Thank you for the questions. And thanks for waiting for the answers! I uh... kinda went off so I'll be putting the lengthy answers under the cut!

2) Otome I would like to play

Right off the top of my head, I'd love to dive into Collar x Malice Unlimited, Piofiore: Episodio 1926, Virche Evemore: Epic Lycoris, and Radiant Tale Fanfare!

However, seeing as those are fandisc/sequels and I still need to finish the original games, I kinda can't. Not without running into massive spoilers and being left totally confused at least.

And actually, Epic Lycoris and Fanfare have yet to release in English so even if I did already play through Virche and RT, I wouldn't be able to play them right away...

Okay okay! But for a title that isn't a fandisc, the only otome that is currently catching my eye is Cupid Parasite.

Which is weird because literally none of the love interests in that game have long, luscious hair which is my usual weakness. But the art looks good and the concept of the literal Greek Cupid working as a matchmaker for the most un-matchable men ever seems funny.

And I have a feeling that there would be more going on than just cringefail men making out with a Greek deity.

24) Favorite otome

I've mentioned Cinderella Phenomenon as a fave of mine before. So another one of my favorite otomes would be Code Realize: Guardian of Rebirth, as well as the two fandiscs Future Blessings and Wintertide Miracles.

I just... KJAHGIOAUEHTIAEHKJBELIGHEAKLJAEIUTHALEKTHA!

I really love the series! It did take me a while to really warm up to it but once I let myself get absorbed in the world and the characters, I got really attached. And with each entry into the series I played, the more I loved all of it. Cardia is such a sweet but strong-willed heroine. Several love interests stole my heart with their tragic stories. And for the ones that didn't leave me in tears, they were decent enough and good for getting a laugh out of me.

The side characters are pretty interesting too. Delly and Finis are like my baby brothers. Queen Victoria kinda talks down to Cardia and the boys at times but we can forgive her because she's kinda cool in how she's like "the kingdom and its people are my children, and a mother protects her children." Watson. Just Watson. He's a treasure.

The artwork of the game is beautiful too! UDAHGAEUHIAHR! All of them are winners in my opinion. ESPECIALLY HERLOCK! He may have needed to wait for the fandisc to get his route but it was made up for by all his cgs being LITERALLY THE BEST!

And the thing is, I love Code Realize so much that as I came close to completing the third game... All I needed was to read the epilogues of Wintertide Miracles and then I'd have the full stories and all the cgs... I was close to completing it and I paused and went "wait, I don't want the story to end yet. I want to keep falling in love with this game and the characters."

So I decided to delete my save data for all three games and buy other otomes to play so I could delay seeing the end of Code Realize's story. If I saw the ending, then the story would be concluded and I didn't want to imagine closing the book on Code Realize! AAAAAHHHHHHH!

I'm gonna replay Code Realize and actually see the epilogues of Wintertide Miracles one day. But not for a long time!

I just want the series to stay alive in my head with the ending just out of reach for as long as possible... That's how much I love it.

25) Free question: what otome games will you recommend me to play?

If you're looking to play an otome game, I'd suggest Cinderella Phenomenon.

It's free to play and available either through Steam or itch.io. The basic premise centers on a princess breaking a curse placed on her by a witch and along the way, she falls in love with a handsome young man, also under a curse. But even that base idea has a few twists to it.

Cinderella Phenomenon (or Cin Phen for short) is a straightforward, choice-based dating sim. And even light on how many choices you make. Not counting the Common Route (which is the section of an otome before you're locked for a single guy), you only make 21 choices total, three per chapter with a guy, excluding the final chapter which is either the Good or Bad Ending. Cin Phen is also nice in that you are allowed to have a guide, the Right Choice Indicator, to clue you in on when you've made a choice leading you to the Good Ending. It can be delayed for some choices and you can even turn it off if you want to play blind.

While I... disagree with a trope used in one route, all of the main characters and a good majority of the supporting cast are good, likeable people who each deserve a happy ending. No one is perfect and a couple show difficult sides of themselves at times but it makes the characters rounded and entertaining.

There are also dark themes like political corruption, emotional manipulation/abuse, and death. Though I'd still say Cin Phen is a pretty safe starting point when it comes to dating sim.

[drbtinglecannon]

Herlock Sholmes! And Barok

Oh boy my favorite loser addicts!

This got really long lmao so under the cut.

Herlock

I am admittedly a little anxious getting these two because typing this up I realized almost all my thoughts on them are extremely unpopular lol so I need everyone to prommy not to kill me 🙏

How I feel about this character

Ngl I hated his ass in 1-2 haha I was mourning Kazuma so bad, but he grew on me quickly like some kind of fungus. I was routinely laughing but cringing at the shit this guy did on screen. I do have qualms with how he handled the Iris situation (like. A Lot of them...he needlessly caused her so much more anguish by letting her think any parent of hers was still alive and by keeping her at arms length because he didn't think he was worthy to assume the role of dad even tho she imprinted on him like a duckling, not to mention the whole parentification she went through due to his issues) but I find him to be a fascinating flawed individual with a really fucking good design, I want his clothes so bad, also his theme is great. He lies but he wants to do what's right but he's manic but he's got a delicate ego but he's hilarious

Also round of applause to Herlock for giving us the Dance of Deduction, sure it dragged on at times but it was fun, extra applause for the dance around a bomb that one case

All the people I ship this character with romantically

Vanlock. I don't vibe with him x anyone else for a variety of reasons, none of them being "it's problematic" (short of like. Something actually illegal) so much as "I don't like that age gap" or "I don't like that ship because it makes one or both of them kinda scummy if they were fucking around" etc (like he knew Kazuma was alive, it would make him such a jackass if he was with Ryuu while Ryuu was grieving Kazuma y'know?)

He and Barok have bitter exes energy the few times they interact which is already hilarious but also post canon everything wrt Iris would result in a ridiculous co-parenting situation. I think there's a lot of interesting angst & healing potential between the little family dynamic there and I have written & read a lot on it, they're just really funny. It can be wholesome or toxic!

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I do think that maybe back in the day Herlock had unrequited feelings he never acted on that Yujin politely pretended not to notice

*prepares myself to get shot* hm/mk. I know they're the Sherlock Watson duo, but they are an iteration of it where I love their weird platonic friendship and not the romantic/sexual angle. They are inarguably important to each other and I think being platonic makes it more interesting the way they connected and kept in touch the entire time since they separated. Herlock brings out a levity & silliness in Yujin that's funny to see, and was almost certainly a major catalyst in Yujin healing from the loss of Ayame

My unpopular opinion about this character

I know some shippers think it's romantic that Herlock considered Yujin to be Iris's real dad but I think it was irresponsible and selfish of him to do that, considering Yujin did not seem to feel that way himself and poor Iris suffered for years from it. Like bro YOU'RE her dad! (He gets there eventually tho)

One thing I wish would happen/had happened in canon with this character

Ryuu should've punched him in the face when he realized his involvement in Kazuma's "death"

Barok

How I feel about this character

My poor little meow meow, the saddest wettest prosecutor. He's hot and his theme fucks really hard and he sucks so much but it's soooooo funny for the most part. It's interesting how difficult he is interpersonally to Ryuu & Susato (bc he's a racist bitch) while also being one of the most helpful prosecutors in the series from the gate. He's such a bitch about it the entire time tho but he really does indulge any stupid argument as he genuinely cares for justice (EXCEPT with Soseki he just wants to ruin that poor guy's life)

I get a bit defensive of being a bvz fan because like, yes he is racist, but also he's a British noble from 1899-1900ish he realistically would've been so much worse irl (almost every British char you interact with is racist 😔). I guess it's just like, this is the setting of the game, and it's completely understandable that's a deal breaker for people!!, but the fandom at large back in the height of when the duology localization came out was extremely aggressive against anyone even vaguely amicable to him. He's supposed to be a flawed yet sympathetic antagonist, he's the main prosecutor that's how the entire series has operated!! He also does show genuine remorse and dedication to change by the game's end, and I think it's important to let flawed characters get better because we need to let flawed people get better. He's realistic in an ugly way

All the people I ship this character with romantically

I do think the idea of Barok having a small crush on Ryuu post canon is funny tho, but I don't think he'd act on it. That's also the only vibe I get for gen//baro because there is absolutely no way Genshin would return such feelings when Klint is right there being a sluttier age appropriate option

Again just vanlock. I am very picky on ships, sorry to be boring haha.

To go a little more after my comments above, vanlock just drove me absolutely insane right after I finished the games, and some of my favorite fanfic I ever read was a series about their growing relationship post canon. I left comments so long I went over word count, which is as impressive as it is embarrassing! I also wrote a lot of fic for them, at one point I had the most posted by 1 author haha

My non-romantic OTP for this character

My unpopular opinion about this character

Barok & Ryuu, they have the funniest rapport. I actually didn't realize "learned friend" was lawyer slang when I originally played the games, I thought Barok was just being a cunt and Ryunosuke decided "fine I'll be cunt too, bitch" when he started saying it back. Bvz pal he just wants to be your friend but you're so mean and intimidating haha! The way Ryunosuke just approaches him in 2-3 and is like "Soooooo heard your brother got murdered" and then later that same day shows up at his office with Iris, calls Barok ugly and Klint hot in the same sentence, and the two of them just harass him until he finally runs out of things to say, god it was so fucking hilarious.

The only way that entire scene would've been better was if Barok's desk was smashed and poorly reassembled like in the concept art

I like him haha

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

I always wished he cared a bit about his sil, especially because his ass is not beating the incest allegations with how heartbroken he was about Klint & being British nobility in the 1800s 😭 it's difficult being a fan of this loser

I understand why Klint would be most important, but I prefer baskerzieks being genuinely in love and Lady B as another doting older sibling to Barok, so I wish he had acknowledged the tragic death of her too. I do wonder if part of why they kept her so far from any bit of the story is because Iris looks SO MUCH like her to the point it would make him look extremely foolish not putting 2&2 together when he first met Iris

Oh also Shu Takumi please. Please tell us how he got his facial scar. You told us how Enoch had white hair which isn't even that weird for aa why did you not tell us how a main character got a facial scar that he has an animation where he touches it? Please

[ultraviolet-ink]

ryuunosuke for ask game >:3

AHHHHH MY SPECIAL BOYYYYYYY <3

How I feel about this character:  Specialest boy of all time, love of my life, can do no wrong at all, he could spill soup on me and I would apologize to him <3

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Well, I just so HAPPEN to be co-running a Ryuu Centric ship week (18+ only!!), so don't mind my shameless plug hehehhehehe. Anyway, let me go ahead and put this list: - Susato - Barok - Herlock - Yujin - Stronghart - Hosonaga - Gina - Maria - Jigoku And last, but not least, Ryuu <3

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Ryuu and Iris have such an adorable dynamic together! They are the BroTP of all time <3 That scene where they both snatch Barok's wig? 100/10

My unpopular opinion about this character: He is not an uwu soft boi, also, I think it's good that he returned to Japan at the end of the duology, he's forging his OWN path

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: He deserved to lose it, to just go absolutely apeshit... he's a much nicer person than I would be in every situation he's in. Basically, I want him to pull an Apollo Justice and straight up deck people in the face (Sholmes for hiding Kazuma being alive, heck, Kazuma for being a dick =3=)

my OTP: Y'all already know, I do be the RyuuSusa CEO lol!

my cross over ship: NGL, while I'm workshopping my Monkey Island AU.... I lowkey ship him with Guybrush Threepwood lol! They're both plucky protagonists who also feel in over their heads at points lol!

Just look at him, he's a very lovely guy <3 a headcanon fact: He totally wears glasses when he's older, specifically the windsor style!

Sauce Here!

[leo-regulus]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I KNEW IT!!!!!! I told you it would rewrite your whole brain and wreck you!!!!!!!

If you have not seen the Escapades, you need to do so, right now. They are incredibly important. But, all the things I've been saving for you!!

Firstly may I sell you on asobaroryuu. It has everything. The mostly-canon Asoryuu, the obvious prosecutor/defense of Baroryuu (with a dash of 'you're the one who saved me'), and the messy 'we're getting better together or not at all' of Asobaro. But all at once, which is just. Very good.

Secondly may I sell you on 'Yuujin probably taught Barok, Kazuma, and Susato the same regional dialect of Japanese sign language' because it leads to a very funny situation in which MD decides that just because he can't talk to anyone outside the office doesn't mean he can't sign to them, and so informs Barok via sign during 2-3 that he thinks the defense went to clown school, leading Susato to object and just go "OBJECTION! The defense did NOT go to clown school!" which leads MD to realize she has in fact been privy to his every snippy little comment to Barok over the entire trial.

Thirdly may I point out that Kazuma's desk was either a) custom commissioned for him by Barok or b) Genshin's, both of which hurt. Which leads fourthly into pointing out that Kazuma's prosecutor outfit is very very similar to Klint's, and if not for the height difference, one could make the argument he's straight up wearing Klint's clothes. (Given that Klint was, however, 80% leg, it's still possible.)

Fourthly, please just imagine the telegram conversation between Herlock and Yuujin about getting Kazuma off the SS Burya.

Fifthly, I must note that Kazuma's mother died a year after they found out about Genshin, and it's implied to be either suicide or death through grief. Black psyche locks say at least 60% of his daddy issues are secretly mommy issues (because he wasn't good enough for her to stay, because he wasn't his dad, so he must clearly idolize him like she did and fight for his innocence because she believed in him), especially since he was eight when he last saw his dad and how much do you remember from being eight because the answer is Not A Lot, so like, that's mommy issues.

Sixthly this is 'canon doesn't say it didn't happen' territory but wouldn't it be fucked up if Kazuma just. Didn't tell anyone his mother was ill, because he was so self-sufficient even then, and buried her by himself, and Yuujin only found out a couple weeks later that she died and took him in?

Seventhly, Kazuma as the Masked Disciple lost his memories of almost everything. I want you to pause and imagine him encountering many things that Barok takes for granted, and his utter joy at normal things like buskers and street ice cream. Please imagine Barok being forcibly reintroduced to the Simple Joy of Being Alive because his apprentice has never seen a street musician before in his memory and goes 'they just DO that?? For the joy of everyone?? My lord we HAVE to dance do you know how to dance but I don't we HAVE to". Also the man was under a heavy black cloak in the middle of summer and he couldn't take it off, they went for ice cream at Least once.

Eighthly, because I had to save the best for last... Kazuma didn't intend on bringing anyone with him until Ryunosuke happened. Sure, there was Susato, but she was absolutely using Kazuma to get to England as much as he was using everyone: she wanted to know why her father abandoned her for this place. Given that he took on the assassination mission and all that, it's not a stretch to say he did not plan on coming back from England... until Ryu gave him a reason to. And even then, everything good Kazuma thought he had in himself, Ryunosuke already took and made his own. By 2-5, he's falling apart. He's lived a revenge mission for ten years, and he's realizing that this isn't a revenge story, that he was wrong, that he's never really going to get the satisfaction he wanted, because it won't come out of revenge. And most stories ask "well, what's left after that?" because really, there isn't much left of Kazuma once you take his revenge quest away.

Except. He knows he can go on, he can move past this, because he already has. People question sometimes why Kazuma wanted to stay with Barok and they usually reason "because they both lived in their grief and revenge for a decade, and he's hoping for guidance" and that's true, but... Kazuma was his apprentice for a few months, without his revenge quest. As the Disciple, he got to be, well, not normal but free. He got peace and stability and certainty, all things he hasn't had since he was eight years old. Being the MD is absolutely the most crucial part of Kazuma's arc, because without it, he'd be super dead like most revenge arcs tend to end. MD-era Kazuma could live without the mission, so it follows that so can post-canon Kazuma. Tripping over that damn cat was one of the best things to ever happen to him, and I will absolutely make sure everyone knows it.

Anyway welcome to post-TGAA insanity. Do tell me when you start AAI2, it's where my url is from and you're gonna be insane about that too. ;)

Alexa, play Only As Good As My God by Everything Everything. It's scenic for the downfall of Stronghart, as a song about police brutality also fits the mastermind behind the killing of many nobles and criminals who claims it's all in the name of justice. The horse imagery in this song aligns with Stronghart having unicorn motifs in his design. Funny how a symbol of purity and innocence is also a symbol of power and Stronghart took that from 0 to 100.

Van Zieks can you please roundhouse kick Stronghart for me? He's right next to you. Take the shot.

Sholmes: Well, back to my home planet. Beam me up, Iris!

The prosecutors have forgiven each other at last. Damn, Mikotoba saved the life of Klint's daughter, but the mother sadly passed. Van Zieks was completely left outta the know, but since the family name was tarnished, she was kept hidden for her safety.

WAIT.

SHOLMES TOOK CARE OF THE CHILD YOU SAY?

IRIS IS THE DAUGHTER OF KLINT?! SO SHE'S BAROK'S NIECE?!

Oh this is so funny to me cause I've been imagining Iris as Apollo's ancestor because of her deductive abilities taught by Sholmes (so Apollo would also technically be related to Sholmes teehee), but now that Klint is confirmed to be Iris' father... that would mean Apollo is distantly related to Edgeworth in my hypothetical family tree and that's wild.

Aw man, Van Zieks is resigning. NEVERMIND KAZUMA COMING IN CLUTCH TO CHANGE HIS MIND!

Sholmes n Mikotoba are so fuckin' cute dude I love their dynamic so much. Ay we got the pocketwatch back for Gina! A perfect memento mori!

This sentence aged like milk left out in the scorching sun before Gina even opened her mouth.

Iris is happy with her adoptive dad Sholmes, and him n Mikotoba continue to be extremely cute. All is right with the world.

Ryunosuke has made up his mind to return to Britain as a defense lawyer. I hope he'll visit his friends here when he can. SHOLMES N MIKOTOBA HAVE TO SEPARATE AGAIN NOOOOOOOOO

:00000000000 KAZUMA'S HERE TO SAY FAREWELL AUGHHHHHHHHH AND HE'S STAYING AS A PROSECUTOR HELL YEAH DUDE! OHHHHHH MY GOD HE'S ENTRUSTING KARUMA--HIS SOUL--TO RYNOSUKE AAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM CRYING MAN YOU GO KAZUMA SLAY YOUR DEMONS I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Aww yippee Susato's staying with Ryunosuke! Kazuma and Ryunosuke promise to duel each other in court someday! En garde!

OH MY GOD SOSEKI COVERED IN KITTENS WITH REI AND HOSONAGA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS THE B TEAM I NEED!

MY HEART... I LOVE THEM... WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

AWWWWWW SHOLMES N MIKOTOBA ARE DANCING TOGETHER YAYYYYYYYY

My babies <3

MY BABIES <3 X2

And that concludes The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles! This was an incredible duology that will stick with me for a long time. As much as the first game's cases may not have been as much to my fancy, the characters immediately hooked me in and the second game made it all worthwhile. The pins were set and knocked down in a fantastical fashion! TGAA2 might've actually surpassed Dual Destinies as my favorite Ace game, which is a tough height to reach! The Phantom is still my favorite culprit though, so don't worry no one's gonna steal his title heheh.

And with the story of the ancestors at an end (for now, please Capcom make a Van Zieks Investigation game with Kazuma as his assistant I beg you it's what I crave), it's time to go investigate some men with Edgeworth! Starting tomorrow! Perhaps I could write up my live reactions for this newly remastered duology, too, hmm... I'll let future Neo decide!

(To The One Who Saw This Escapade Through To Its End, And Whom I Welcome All Ramblings From - @raymondshields)

[maraariana01]

OK SO:

• a candle

• soap

• iris' dangerous chemicals

• ink

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW YOU FUCKING ATE/DRANK, SHERLOCK?????

[aceredshirt13]

On what occasions does Ryunosuke Naruhodo get paid?

(inspired by this post)

THE GREAT ACE ATTORNEY: ADVENTURES

Case 1-1

Defendant: Ryunosuke Naruhodo

Does Ryunosuke get paid? Unless the economy worked much differently in the Meiji period, Ryunosuke unfortunately cannot pay himself.

Case 1-2

Defendant: Also Ryunosuke Naruhodo

Does Ryunosuke get paid? There wasn’t a trial, so he couldn’t pay himself even if he could pay himself.

Case 1-3

Defendant: Magnus McGilded

Does Ryunosuke get paid? Nope, because in canon he blatantly refused to take any money from him due to McGilded’s obvious murder energy.

Case 1-4

Defendant: Soseki Natsume

Does Ryunosuke get paid? I’m pretty sure Soseki has about five shillings to his name, and none of them are going to Ryunosuke. He’d probably try to pay him a tiny bit, though, and Ryu would refuse.

Case 1-5

Defendant: Gina Lestrade

Does Ryunosuke get paid? Even if she weren’t a homeless teen stealing to stay alive, there’s no way in hell Ryunosuke would charge her a cent. She’s long since been absorbed into the Baker Street family unit. No escape.

THE GREAT ACE ATTORNEY 2: RESOLVE

Case 2-1

Defendant: Rei Membami

Does Ryutaro Susato get paid? Given that Ryutaro is neither a real lawyer nor a real person, there is no way any payment could be legally given - and since Rei is Susato’s closest friend, Susato wouldn’t take it even if she could.

Case 2-2

Defendant: Soseki Natsume again

Does Ryunosuke get paid? If anything, Soseki has even less money than he did previously. So I seriously doubt it. Maybe he pays him back for both trials once he becomes a successful author?

Case 2-3

Defendant: Albert Harebrayne

Does Ryunosuke get paid? Oh, he absolutely does. Yes, Ryu may have said that he didn't need a monetary reward after Albert said he'd have given him all the grant money if he could, but Albert was so so grateful to him that I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to repay him again later (beyond gifting him the little scientific journal he was published in as a memento). And even if Albert's insistence is turned down once again, well... let’s just say Ryu will be getting a significant check in the mail, whether he wants to or not, from a certain wealthy - and very grateful - prosecutor.

Cases 2-4 and 2-5

Defendant: Barok van Zieks

Does Ryunosuke get paid? Once again, very wealthy prosecutor, very handsome check. And it definitely helps when the defense attorney in question literally uncovers and unravels everything you thought you believed about your family and the world at large, positive and negative. I feel like that deserves a handsome check.

BONUS CASES

Escapade 8 - In The Bailey

Defendant: Herlock Sholmes

Does Ryunosuke get paid? Knowing Herlock, almost certainly not. But Herlock appears to be giving him room and board free of charge, so that’s honestly probably enough to cover this fever dream of an accidental parakeet assault case.

DLC Case 1 - Japan Side

Defendant: Kazuma Asogi

Does Kazuma get paid? Kazuma is following in his partner’s footsteps by also not being able to pay himself. Even if this trial wasn’t a farce.

DLC Case 2 - London Side

Defendant: Iris Wilson

Does Herlock get paid? He better fucking not. I know how Herlock is about trying to get money, sometimes even from Iris, but given that almost the entire thing was his fault (despite his, and Iris’s, actually very sweet intentions) and the fact that technically the charges were dropped, I’m gonna say that he isn’t getting monetary compensation from her. At most, Iris might perhaps pay him in tea.

In conclusion, thank God Ryunosuke and Susato had a stipend and a place to live rent-free, because otherwise they’d have starved to death before Barok could put any money in their bank account. (Or perhaps they’d have been more willing to take McGilded’s money, despite the murder energy.)