#Gumshoe - A Next Chapter

[arainmorn-art]

Looking at your excitment because of Gumshoe's appearance I've decided to practice drawing him in Deciphering's style now.

There're going to be scenes with him in the chapter, but okay, I'll add him in the earlier pages on the background because we love huge himbo puppies here and miss this one x)

...I will forget about his pencil next time I'll draw him. I've already forgot it.

[loremaster]

oh yeah. so i’ve been rewatching a playthrough of rain code with my partner, and this line from vivia’s second gumshoe gab really got me:

now, it’s implied that all the gumshoe gabs take place before chapter 1… so i wonder… given what happens in the story and to whom… has vivia changed his tune about this at all?

of course there’s a lot to read into with this scene, vivia’s being coy about the idea that he is immortal (which, I wondered the same thing as yuma for the same reason in the beginning), being his usual secretive self. it’s also clear he’s thought about this hypothetical a lot, what you would do if you lived forever, and how it’d all eventually lead back to craving death in the end

we now know that vivia is not immortal, he’s just extremely fixated on death for other (understandable) reasons. he is absolutely able to die and kinda… lives his life on that edge, however long it may end up being. but even though ghosts, spirits, and the afterlife have been part of his reality for his whole life… immortality has not

it sounds like it’s straight out of a story. a fantastical idea that could only be real in someone’s made-up world. romantic, not in a relationship sense but in a thoughtful, poetic sense. for vivia, someone who craves (eventual) death, the idea of craving a death you can never have, that yearning… of course it’s very romantic. it makes one’s heart flutter, the thought of feeling anything that strongly… forever.

to him at this point, it’s a fantasy. it’s a story. it’s fictional. an idea to mull around in his overactive head, yet another escape from reality.

but as we find out later… here? it’s absolutely real. it’s real and it’s everywhere and it’s everyone.

when does that fantastical yearning for death cease to become romantic and instead become horrifying?

it’s only been three years since the people of kanai ward were replaced with immortal doppelgängers, so we don’t really know for sure… will they still die of old age? of sickness? or, if left unchecked, will an imperfect homunculus go on to live forever?

they can die, sure. but not in the way that vivia is so intimately familiar with. the homunculi leave no ghosts behind, instead their bodies keep walking - forever, while their minds remain shut down. it’s unclear really but it seems as if their spirits are trapped within their bodies but unable to control them. to die without being able to move on to any sort of afterlife is the exact opposite of what vivia yearns for. his whole life, he’s been connected to this other world, to people who have moved on from his life to that world, and one day wishes to join them there. but being held in this interminable jail between either world must be hell to him. too terrifying to be called romantic… and yet

we still have to talk about yakou.

yeah that’s right, you all thought it, this is why you came here to read this post

of course with vivia being as secretive as he is, it’s hard to say definitively whether his feelings for yakou are romantic in the relationship sense… (i personally do believe so, i’m going to cling to whatever scraps of queerness i can get) but they absolutely for sure are in the poetic sense. yakou was able to help vivia back up from his lowest point and give him something - and someone - to live for. gave him a place to call home. sounds like it’s straight out of a story.

and yet after inspiring vivia to stop chasing death, he immediately resigns himself to his own as soon as he gets that letter, in order to reunite with his wife.

yakou, as an imperfect homunculus who has died (through his own machinations), is now trapped in that zombie hellscape. no ghost, no spirit, no rest for the dead. he is, at least according to vivia’s definition of it, Unable To Die. …sounds like it’s straight out of a story…

yakou’s body is just a shambling husk now. and even with a potential cure for zombified brain cells thanks to his wife… what next? that still doesn’t solve the immortality problem. he’s still gatekept from the everlasting peace and quiet of the afterlife. he’s still separated from his beloved. he’s still Unable To Die. and in his current state he’s even unable to form enough semblance of thought to yearn for his own death.

so vivia has to do the yearning for him.

how romantic.

[daezedglownut]

Chapter 1 of 2 is now up 👉👈

Pairing: Gumshoe/Edgeworth

Rating: Explicit

Summary:

In the middle of the night Miles makes a dating profile in a fit of frustration. When he awakens the next day to undo this egregious lapse in judgement, he spies someone has left a message in his inbox.

Well, it would be rude not to reply, wouldn't it..?

[weltato]

Rating: General Audiences Warnings: None Category: M/M

Relationships: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright

Characters: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth, Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright

Additional Tags: NaruMitsu Week 2024, Growing Old Together, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Photographs, Pictures, Cute, Short, Short & Sweet, Mentioned Maya Fey, Mentioned Mia Fey, Mentioned Pearl Fey, Mentioned Larry Butz, Mentioned Apollo Justice, Mentioned Athena Cykes, Mentioned Trucy Wright, Mentioned Franziska von Karma, Mentioned Godot (Gyakuten Saiban), Mentioned Gregory Edgeworth, Mentioned Kay Faraday, Mentioned Raymond Shields, Mentioned Sebastian Debeste, Signal Samurai (Gyakuten Saiban), Blankets, i forgot gumshoe im so sorry, also there aren't mention tags for some people and that's just sad :((, so im gonna make them myself, Mentioned Lotta Hart, Mentioned Justine Courtney, Mentioned Pess (Gyakuten Saiban), btw im not using the new names bc ew have you seen ray's??, Mentioned Detective Badd

Chapters: 1/1 Words: 558

Series: Part 8 of 'NaruMitsu Week 2024'

Summary:

The memories of the people in their life told through the pictures that clutter up their home.

Day 7 of NaruMitsu Week 2024! Originally written as part of a multi-chapter fic, now uploaded separately.

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The seventh separate upload of the mini-fics I wrote for NMweek24!! That's your lot!! Maybe I'll do this again next year :D

Tell me which fic was your favourite <3

[domini-porter]

I Wrote You A Story: Hard Luck, Chapters 1-4

Rizzoli & Isles, F/F, Noir AU, Rated T for Tommy guns and Tommy's There, Too

You ever get dizzy for a hard-luck dame? A gumshoe with a gun on a storm-dark night? And also that they're Maura and Jane, and that they can't stop flirting? Well WELL.

Brains, bullets, bad people doing bad things; rich men found dead in their fiancées' beds; corruption, complications, and crackerjack intrigue, all wrapped up in a plot so thick you'll have to eat it with a spoon.

It's a hardboiled ode to hardboiled noir, and I offer its first four chapters to you <3

AO3 links and (spoiler-free) excerpts below!

Chapter 1: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

I haven’t set foot in a church in so long I’m sure God’s forgotten my name, but I know a sin when I see one. And I’ve never been big on prayer—I can talk to myself just fine—but I still remember the first thing that came to mind when the door swung open was my Ma, making me repeat the Hail Mary until she got sick of hearing it. Not because I needed God. No, what I was going to need—a realization as sudden and clear as the jagged slash of lightning that showed me her face for the first time—was forgiveness.

Chapter 2: Coup de Foudre

She gave me that tight, annoyed little pout again as she slowly turned around, hands sliding across the slinky black satin of her dress to prove there wasn’t any place to stash an iron. Made sure I got a good look, too, even dipping a digit into the tease of cleavage at her scalloped neckline. “Satisfied?” Literal and figurative darkness or not; if I’d been cooked before, now I was the full Christmas goose. Still. “You’d be surprised where some dames can fit a derringer.” “Would I,” she purred. “Even in a dress like this one?” “In even less than that.” One eyebrow up. Tongue flicking at her lower lip. Jesus H. Christ.

Chapter 3: Don't Let the Button Men Bite

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” she’d murmured, flickering yellow lamplight making her glow like a gilt Pietà tucked in a votive niche as she lowered her lashes, gazed down at the ground. “But not here. Please,” she’d whispered with that wobbly little quiver of both voice and lip that had me on the ropes every time. “Take me somewhere. Anywhere. I don’t care. Just . . . get me away from this place. Please.”

Chapter 4: Benny the Bunny

All that would have, should have been enough for one person to stew on, except that person was me, and I had even bigger problems. Problems thinking wouldn’t be able to solve. Problems I was going to have to face sooner rather than later, since Lomond had just slowed the Rolls to a smooth halt. “All right,” I muttered. “Let’s go.” Hauled myself out of the gleaming machine, glancing furtively for any early risers. So far, everything still seemed to be buttoned up tight. One less problem, at least.

see you next time, kid

[pingo1387]

i'm working on a fic... coming soon to an ao3 near you

[ID: Three sets of fanart combining characters from Detective Conan, Magic Kaito, and Ace Attorney. All images are pen sketches on paper. Shinichi is drawn as Conan in each of his appearances.

The first set is one image. It shows Kaito Kid facing ahead and smiling. He is in the detention center. His text box reads, "Well, look at that, little detective... you actually found me a lawyer."

The second set is four images. The first image shows Detective Gumshoe and Inspector Nakamori, both from the chest up and seen from the side, facing each other and shouting.

Nakamori: Kaito Kid is my prey, mister!

Gumshoe: Yeah?! Well, this ain't your jurisdiction, pal!

Nakamori: I'm not your pal, buddy!

Gumshoe: I'm not your buddy, guy!

Nakamori: I'm not your guy, friend!

Gumshoe: I'm not your friend---

He is cut off by Phoenix in the second image, shown facing ahead from the waist up with a look of surprise.

Phoenix: Detective Gumshoe?

The third image shows Shinichi in a similar pose.

Shinichi: Inspector Nakamori?

The fourth image shoes Gumshoe and Nakamori whirling around and shouting simultaneously, "What?!"

The third set is three images. The first shows Edgeworth from the waist up at a 3/4ths angle with a look of slight confusion.

Edgeworth: By the way, Wright... who's the boy? He's not another Fey, is he?

The second image shows Phoenix and Shinichi standing next to each other, both facing forward. Shinichi is smiling and Phoenix has a blank look as he says, "Huh?"

The third image shows Phoenix turning around and repeating, "Huh?!" in shock. Shinichi responds by looking up and saying cheerfully, "Hi, Mr. Wright!"

End ID.]

[ask-carmenpondiego]

So sorry for the lack of stories, my wonderfully patient gumshoes! I’m currently going through an area of stress and training during my work and some other personal projects but I assure you the next chapter will be up soon! Hopefully this week! I don’t mean to keep you waiting, but Real Life has ways of delaying and creating suspense!

So, I need to get back to doing my thing, make sure you finish your thing, drink water, dont forget your meds and eat some real food, not just chips and coffee. Dont be me. Lol

I will see you lovelies soon enough!

Tah for now!

Carmen~

[demonadelem]

New chapter of my plotty established relationship fic, new chapter goes over Miles Edgeworth Investigations 2 as promised

Except:

“You pointed out I get mean when I get nervous and it leads to scaring others away,” Miles said.

(Oh yeah. I did say that… during foreplay of all things.)

“I have to admit, I realize you were right. In uncomfortable social situations I’ve been known not to hold my tongue before I make unwarranted comments. I’ve been careless with my words, this leads others to become aggressive or agitated with me.” “It’s no big deal, I accept that it is a part of you... Although you should be nicer to Gumshoe. He’s done alot for us, you gotta be less of a prick to him.” Miles glared at him. “That isn’t the point, upon careful reflection it has hindered my investigations on multiple occasions. Which brings me to my next point, I have developed a strategy to improve my social skills.” Phoenix slowly nodded. (I think he’s just learning how to mask better, I wonder if he’s gotten diagnosed with anything yet.) “I call it... Logic Chess!” he tapped his temple as if he said something profound. "e-excuse me?” Phoenix stuttered. “As you know, chess is one of my hobbies. There are many tactics available on the chessboard as there is in communication. Using the image of a chess game, I can stay one step ahead of a conversation!” “Is that really how chess works?” Phoenix found it strange he needed an entire mind palace in order to not insult people. He didn’t pause to consider what Phoenix had said, “With this new strategy I will be able to greatly improve my interrogation techniques-” Phoenix supposes he can’t judge if it works. Miles rarely got this excited over anything that wasn’t to do with Steel Samurai. He did promise himself to give Miles room to grow, so really he had no choice but to encourage this. Besides, he often isn’t aware of how he comes across. “-Then I will throw my chess pieces at their chess pieces and OBLITERATE THEIR TESTIMONY.” “What.”

[geminmyeyes]

Chapter 5 - Beyond Light and Shadow (Tumblr Backup)

<- Previous Chapter

First Chapter (Includes Tags, Warnings, etc)

Next Chapter ->

Silence hung for a moment upon the shock and harshness of the Kenbumajin’s words, beckoning the other to come out and fight already.

Whether any of them liked it or not, there was going to be a brawl between the two, and it had to be between only them. No interfering, no support, nada. Even if it was awfully tempting when things would get dire.

“O’ great king from the sun, come forth, Kenbumajin, Karna!” Chiharu began to initiate, the full summoning call being heard loud and clear, without any interference. “Make them fear our power!”

For a mere moment, the swirl of solar flare lit up the cemetery like it was bathed by the might of a summer afternoon’s sun once more. But once the flames died down, the familiar gold plated Kenbumajin made himself present once more, those matching gold eyes tensing up as he looked down.

Usually, Karna wouldn’t hesitate to mark his presence with a rude string of words, but he held back. Perhaps waiting for the right moment, a rare bit in politeness. That or crafting something extra potent to throw the way of his younger and (in his words) snobby brat of a brother.

It was best to not waste a moment longer. Any time spent twiddling thumbs would result in everything being burnt to a crisp.

“Silvery son of the storm, please lend me your strength!” The words effortlessly flowed into Touma’s mind as he shouted, the voltaic cyan key being inserted into the Ogre Watch with a sense of power. “Possession, Kenbumajin, Arjuna!!” 

Summoned forth for the first time in ages, in a precise strike of electrifying energy, the blue haired Kenbumajin appeared. Despite the tensions, he remained poised and calm, even if there was a slight twitch in his hands.

With the first movements coming from Karna, the two quickly clashed together like thunder and lightning.

Silver bolts of lightning, golden arrows of flame, like yin and yang, night and day. A storm of two different kinds of light, the harsh rays of the summer sun, the cool, volting cracks of lightning during a spring thunderstorm, fighting over who would be the brightest of them all.

Voltaic arrows managed to hit the opposing Kenbumajin, just like as legend told, the archer that never missed.

Though, the child of the sun was no slouch either, his own infinite supply of arrows landing a few fiery strikes on the other. Each strike resulted in an unparalleled shiteating grin.

“The first time I’ve been in this form in ages, and it’s against you,” Arjuna sighed, seeming to be annoyed with the whole fight. “Can we just get this over with? I’m only doing this so you don’t hurt those children.”

“Oh, am I just a bore to you now? Mister best archer in the whole wide world sick of having to prove his worth to his own, much cooler brother?” A higher pitched, condescending string began, the solar flare Kenbumajin’s once jovial face turning into something more grim and serious.

“If you wanna end this so badly, then just shoot me clean through the neck like you did back in the Throne Wars, smartass,” Karna beckoned in an uncharacteristically cold manner. 

Keeping his composure, Arjuna stood firm, still gripping to his bow. But Touma could tell that without a doubt, the legendary Kenbumajin was nervous out of his wits end. How he managed to stay so composed, he had no idea…

“Silence!” Arjuna finally spoke out. “I can’t ever relive that moment again, not now, not ever…”

“I guess I’ll just have to end you myself then!”

But then, there was a wrench thrown into the fated duel. It got the hot headed Kenbumajin to stop with a puzzled look on his face.

Or rather, a bit of sparkly pink Yojitsu was casted, glimmers of bright pink striking the boisterous Kenbumajin.

That could only mean…

“Ayame!?” Akinori yelled, everyone looking to face the girl. Goodness, the young gumshoes hadn’t seen her in person since last year. “You probably shouldn’t interfere, this is a pretty bad fight and you could get hurt—“

“You stop hurting my friend right this instant, mister!” Ayame demanded with a shout frightening enough to make everyone go quiet for a moment. Karna turned to face the girl.

“Huh, never seen you before, didn’t know you brats networked so easily,” Karna commented. This was followed by a slight snort. “What are you gonna do next, ask me if I want to go to a tea party?”

The frilly girl took a stronger stance. “Apologies for my rudeness earlier, sir. Please stop hurting my friend right this instant, mister!”

A much larger heart was casted by Ayame, and radiated enough power that it needed to be punched rather than flicked off. It caused a greater impact as well, if it was followed by an attack name and a change of background, it would have been enough to annihilate the average monster of the week.

While the yojistsu wasn’t enough to defeat such a powerful Kenbumajin, it was enough to make him get disoriented. 

“Now’s your chance!” Ayame gestured in encouragement. “I’ll get to explaining in a bit!”

Following the encouragement, Arjuna took his stance, readying the legendary bow. An arrow pointed right at Karna, not with the intent to kill, but to get him to just admit defeat and retreat.

“Behold! Typhoon Bolt Oversurge!” Arjuna yelled, wind ramping up behind him as he fired off an arrow that was an entire thunderstorm condensed into a single arrow. Bolts of lightning, the hard hitting downpour, hitting Karna right in the arm. 

The fiery Kenbumajin seethed as the arrow hit his arm. He had to retreat, even if he hated that very idea. But not before getting the last word seething all the while.

“You might have won this time, but don’t think I’m going to lose next time, asshole. When we duel, the sun will be shining, and you’re gonna be so sorry,” Karna seethed, retreating back where he came from.

With the threat gone, there was no need for the lightning Kenbumajin to be summoned, and thus, Touma was returned. Shirogane appeared as well, looking slightly inconvenienced but accepting it with a bit of a shrug.

“First thing’s first, Ayame and Dorothea, was it? How did you two end up here?” Natsume asked. Dorothea gave a nod as Ayame, who was able to speak the same language as her friends, was able to clear things up.

“It was after school and me and Dorothea were going to retrieve a paper one of her teachers discarded rudely,” Ayame began, trying to recall the events. “Then some sort of bird-like shadow started to attack us, Dorothea ended up stumbling into this weird circular mirror with a purple frame. I followed after her, and we ended up here.”

“A mirror that sent you here…I think I remember my grandma talking about something like that,” Akinori pondered.

“But that bird, that must have been a youkai for sure,” Natsume thought, giving a bit of a yawn. “What time is it?”

“00:17,” Touma answered, looking at his phone. “Or 12:17 am I believe in the 12 hour system.”

Everyone stared in shocked silence. Gods, they were out extremely late, weren’t they? Any group discussions on the mirror and the bird could be done on phones with group chats and the like. Natsume quickly suggested that Ayame and Dodrthea crash at her place for the moment until they can get all of this sorted out. At least they had tomorrow off.

Unlocking the front door, the three girls had hoped everyone was fast asleep so they could all pile in without anyone noticing. 

The feeling of the door not opening quite right due to someone already trying to open the door was enough to turn Natsume’s blood ice cold. The least worst would be Keisuke who’s already used to all these supernatural shenanigans, and knew to stay quiet.

Panic began to beat through the girl’s heart to see her mother opening the door, still haven’t gone to bed yet but looked ready to.

“Natsume…why were you out so late?” Natsume’s mother inquired, looking even more shocked to see Ayame was there. “And aren’t you supposed to be in France? Is that one of your friends from France, how did you get here?”

“There was a purple mirror and—“ Ayame tried to explain, Natsume quickly shushed her with a look of ‘she has no idea about any of this youkai stuff and will think we’re crazy if we tell it straight’ in her eyes.

“Oh she’s just here for a brief visit with her roommate! J-Jetlag sure is disorienting isn’t it Ayame and Dorothea?” Natsume hastily tried to say, quickly leading the girls to her room to crash for the night, knowing that she would have a lot of explaining to do in the morning.

Unbeknownst to the girls, the older woman just stood in silence after closing and locking the front door after the girls crashed in. She always saw Natsume (or in some rare cases, Keisuke) with that white wristwatch. How very nostalgic.

Purple mirror, and traveling long distances so easily. She knew what that meant, it was unbelievably convenient when she was a girl, especially with the ones in St. Peanutsburg.

But those days were long gone, even giving her watch to a certain friend of hers. She was curious if repairs could be done, but it was more of she didn’t want to think about the horrors that made her no longer want to see such specters.

And yet, she’s haunted by it. Gods, even her own child is hanging around her old friends, she has to pretend to not see them. 

However, today was the day to finally face some old demons. Eyes glazed with hesitation, a nervous finger hovering over a contact that had barely been used.

The quiet rings of the phone were deafening, reminding the older woman that she was going to have to face the inevitable, and face it right now.

“H-Hey, Inaho, sorry for calling so late, it’s a bit of an emergency,”

“You know me, midnight is when I’m the widest awake. You haven’t called in ages, Fumika. What’s the matter?”

“I’m going to need my watch back if you’ve finished those repairs, one of Natsume’s friends, she got transported here all the way from France by what I presume to be an Ungaikyo.”

“Gotcha, youkai activity has been ramping up a lot lately. I think the King of A Hundred Demons is making a comeback,”

Meanwhile, Natsume, while trying to get some sleep, could hear her mother conversing over the phone. Whatever she was talking about on the other end, she could not hear a word from where she was in the house. 

But her mother’s voice sounded grave.

“What?! …I can’t believe the seal and curse forged by you, me, and Keita’s medals and summoning capabilities from our watches would break so soon…I thought it would be well past our lifetimes when it would finally break!”

“I know, we lost against the King of the Hundred Demons…But he had one hell of an army…those Four Calamity Generals that impersonated generals from the three kingdoms era…their god king that was unbelievably powerful from all the strife and conflict from the past millennia…the dragon that could cause droughts by just existing in an area…plus the guy himself and his sister were no pushovers!”

“We had nearly a decade of befriending and mastering youkai and everything…and we still couldn’t completely defeat that hundred demon king! If only…what’s her name, Hebihime, hadn’t plotted to summon him…”

“Yeah…Yeah I’m hoping those rumors are all false in the end. Maybe it’s just an impersonator to get us all worried…”

Natsume eavesdropped with quite the surprised look on her face. All along, her parents had been involved with youkai?! Not to mention whatever their final battle was, it went horribly wrong, and it may be up to the detectives to pick up the pieces?

Could they really do it? Sure, the Sacred King’s Armory are incredibly strong youkai without a doubt! But are they strong enough to face a demon king with who knows how many horrific and powerful calamities?

Trying to sleep it off would be the best bet. It was probably nothing, but it was still bugging Natsume.

She could see visions of a king so immensely powerful, one that all the top one hundred of the most vile demons flocked to. He was their king, their master, and all of them would bend to his cruel will.

As for Ayame and Dorothea, being warped back to Japan wasn’t exactly what they had in the cards for their day off. Surely with all the youkai Ayame had dealt with, they could probably hitch a quick emergency ride on Suzaku if things got dire.

Though before trying to knock out for the night, a quick post on Usuranura

 about what had happened wouldn’t hurt. However, when loading the page there was a large notice on the submit a sighting page.

Hello, we have temporarily closed the submission box for the next 12 hours due to constant spamming by a user seeming to evade any and all IP bans I impose on this anonymous user.

If you see a 21 month old girl named Moriko please send it to this email address, so I can hopefully contact her worried parents. Who, again, keep spamming (I know you’re worried, trust me I know what it’s like, but I want to make sure sightings don’t get buried!)

Indeed, there had been a spam of messages that were deleted upon refresh, showing rather jumbled writing pleading for help in finding Moriko. Small, wears pink, has fluffy, frizzy latte foam colored hair. The text of the messages seemed to be pretty scrambled, either due to panic, lack of finesse with touch screens due to long nails or inexperience, or both.

Either way, even with the panic someone had in their heart, sleep needed to come first after this long, strange, and eventful day. Even if it was only for a mere wink of sleep, everyone needed it.

Yet, despite hunkering for a peaceful slumber, the girls had a feeling another bird was looming by. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn’s sunlight only barely started to crack through the horizon when Ayame was woken up by Natsume’s mother knocking on the door gently, asking for her name in particular.

“Ms. Amano, what do you need? It’s really early…” Ayame asked, rubbing her eyes. 

In the older woman’s hand was a watch, a lot like the ones everyone in the detective agency had. However, instead of going around the wrist, it was tied by an azure chord, contrasting nicely with the pearlescent whites and rosy pinks that made up the watch’s casing.

“I’ve heard about how you ended up back here, and, well…” She tried to explain, Natsume joining in with her friend.

“Mom…I heard you last night talking with Saki’s Mom…What on earth happened and have you been able to see youkai this entire time?”

Knowing that it was going to be a long, difficult conversation ahead, the three got ready for the day and moved into the living room to discuss things.

“The short answer is…Yes, I’ve been able to see youkai since I was at least 11, during the most eventful and strange summer of my life,” Natsume’s mother began to weave her yarn. “Not only myself, but your father and Saki’s mother as well. We were Watchers that were able to stop just about any threat without much issue!”

“However, there was one threat that nearly wiped us…The King of One Hundred Demons. He was the leader of a faction during the Great Throne Wars long ago, with the intent of annihilating the human race. An…incident when your father and I were in our last year of high school occurred when a youkai girl with the title of Hebihime 

 “We were experienced and would not let him attempt to reach that goal again, but it took literally everything. Our medals, summoning capabilities of our watches, all of it just to seal him, and in order to ensure he’d never return again, your father gave up his memories of youkai to enact a powerful curse.”

“It seems that curse, one that would not let him reawaken until humanity was able to play god by one to one clone a deceased human to perfection, has been broken…” Finally, the woman concluded. “That demon king is no joke. Some of the strongest youkai we came face to face with were merely his underlings.”

“I never knew any of that, I’m sorry you had to go through all that, mom. I’d understand why you never brought it up until now…” Natsume answered gently, allowing her mother to hug her gently.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, but I hope the rumors of the resurrection of that demon king are a hoax,” The girl’s mother responded back, trying to hold back tears. “I cannot let him hurt you or anyone ever again.” 

Natsume was quiet for a moment, breaking away from the embrace to put her hands on her mother’s shoulders. “I know what we may face may be horrifying, but if we can beat Soranaki, we can beat this King of A Hundred Demons guy no problem. Just…trust in us, alright?” 

“Yeah!” Ayame added in. “We’ll make him very sorry that he messed with us!”. Dorothea nodded, not really understanding due to the language barrier, but tried to piece things together from body language and tone in the voices. 

“Thank you all, it’s painful to remember that time…but I remember a possible weak point,” Natsume’s mother began. “A possible weakness of The King of a Hundred demons, or better known as—“

Any overview of the demon king was cut short by a deafeningly loud screech. 

“What was that?!” Fumika commented, Natsume and Ayame scrambling for their watches to try and figure out the source of the sound, though the latter looked a bit confused.

“Mrs. Amano, how do I use this thing?” Ayame asked, fumbling with the watch until pressing a button that not only flipped open the watch’s main lid, but shined a fairly bright light and made a few radar-like bleeps.

With both watches’ lights shining, the youkai had made itself clear to be some sort of monstrous owl, aglow with blue spectral flame. It let out another horrifying sound, making the damned screams of a barn owl sound like a gentle serenade of a songbird. In terms of size, it was pretty small compared to other youkai, a bit larger than a Great Grey Owl, but was much smaller than, say, Suzaku.

“Tatarimokke!” The youkai wasted no time getting to introductions, letting the house know right away who it was and what they meant.

Even if it was pretty small, it knew exactly what Natsume was doing when she instinctively grabbed for the arc of the (mostly) reliable red feline. The feathered fiend jumped onto Natsume, trying to claw at her with its sharp talons. It was enough to make her drop the arc, but before Tatarimokke could even get a scratch in, it was met with a hearty whack of a rolled up magazine.

“Get off my daughter you overgrown turkey!” Fumika cursed, trying to keep a level head but treating the monstrous youkai like it was a small bird that had flown in by accident. “Girls, focus on getting this thing outside! I just got new tiling installed in the kitchen yesterday, I can’t afford to see you or my hard work get hurt!” 

As instructed, the girls chased Tatarimokke out of the house and right into the front yard. The further away they could get away from the neighborhood, the better given how there would be more space to do battle against this beast.

Without much or any hesitation, Dorothea grabbed a nearby fallen branch, and started smacking Tatarimokke with it.

“Dorothea! That’s not a normal owl! You could get hurt!” Ayame spoke, knowing she was the only one between her and Natsume that could speak fluent French. Dorothea kept standing her ground.

“I know, but I heard a stick is effective on fending off crows, so it must work on owls?” Dorothea admitted, Ayame being the only one who understood her French. There had to be a youkai capable of breaking these weird language barriers… “But I think with a bit of this, you guys should be able to get in after it without being swooped in!”

One hard bonk and the owl was down, it’s screechy breath wheezy and angry. It knew once it got back up, it would try to tear these girls into shreds.

Right as Tatarimokke was about to get back up to slash apart the girls, it heard a voice. A voice it recognized.

“Don’t hurt her! Moriko, it’s me!” A voice cried out, a voice with the strain of a father who’s voice had gotten exhausted and hoarse trying to find his child. 

“Oh…you must be the one who was spamming Usuranura last night…” Ayame commented, looking at the panicked and running figure calling the child’s name. He shambled to try to intervene, clearly exhausted from tirelessly looking for the individual named Moriko.

Though to one person, it rang a bell.

“F-Fukuro!? H-how are you even alive!?” Natsume gasped, absolutely flabbergasted that such a youkai had managed to survive.

But it was true, Fukurou was there, alive and mostly well. He still wore the same attire he did two years ago, though a bit more tattered and with a few stains of blood from trying to take control of Fudo-Muyoou. The tips of his feathers were permanently a dark teal, the same for his red tipped, talon-like hands. Or rather, hand, as quite visibly he lacked a right hand and part of his right forearm. 

The owl rested its face in the humanoid’s arms, tears forming in it’s vacant, soul piercing eyes. Finally, it cried out something that wasn’t a shrill screech.

“Papa…Papa I’m sorry…” The youkai cried, the ominous energy fading away as all what was left was something that was the polar opposite of the monstrous and destructive owl. It was a small child, only about the age of a toddler. She was dressed in a kimono and hifu, forged from the finest silks dyed in adorable pastels, and adorned with a few flower-like accessories. Even a few bits of teal to pop out from the pastel pinks, to match alongside her father.

“There there Moriko…” Fukurou spoke with such a gentle softness. “I know it wasn’t your fault…I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Girls, are you alright?” Fumika stepped out, wondering what all the commotion was. Just as things seemed to end well, there was a curveball thrown in for good measure.

Appearing was a certain someone who carried the title of Snake King proudly, his blue, slit-like eyes staring down with intimidation. He was pursuing Fukurou it seems, given the older owl’s reaction to the very presence of the Han’yo. Even Fumika seemed to blink for a moment. Something about him rung a bell.

“L-Lord K-Kaira! I-I can explain! I-It wasn’t my faul–” Fukurou tried to answer, only for his daughter to stand up between the two adults.

“Don’t hurt papa!” A shrill from Moriko boldly opposed the snake king, without the knowledge that he held the title of Great King for over a year in Enma’s stead. Had Fukurou not held her back, her tiny fists would have absolutely tried to punch the half snake right in the shins. “Papa’s nice! Papa made me not angry! Dushala made me a meanie for no reason!” 

Kaira and Fumika in particular looked shocked at what the owlet girl had confessed. 

“…I see, so she’s the one behind this…all those rumors are true after all…damn the gods…” Kaira cursed, giving a sigh. His face became a little lighter as he looked at the younger youkai. A quite awkward but clearly earnest smile graced his face. “I am not going to hurt you or your father. Though with what happened to you, I got worried.”

“Don’t worry, mister snakey man,” Moriko answered swiftly. “Papa keeps me safe, new friends keep me safe.” 

With a bit of non-verbal gestures, she was allowed to wiggle out of her father’s grasp to toddle over to Natsume. Her teeny tiny clawed hands holding an arc that she was just barely able to grip. The braided girl gave a smile, taking the arc and saying “Thank you, Moriko” while ruffling the fluff of hair.

“Right, about the whole dying and coming back thing,” Kaira began to explain. “I was in charge of being the final word in a lot of punishments towards youkai that had caused trouble around when the Soranaki incident was happening. I don’t know what had gotten over me at that moment…but I somehow could feel that causing youkai to go berserk wasn’t something Fukurou was doing willingly or freely. 

“I decided that I would allow him a second chance in raising Tatarimokke, a youkai born from a deceased human infant due to any number of reasons, both natural and manmade. If the child perished or was harmed by his own hand, I would immediately take his soul to Infinite Hell myself.”

“But, you’ve been doing a good job, Fukurou. Spoiling her, dare I say, those silks aren’t cheap and you haven’t gotten anything new in a while…”

“Well, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” Fukurou concluded, absolutely relieved he wasn’t going to be dragged back. “But, it perhaps may be a bit dangerous now.”

“I hope you never have to know her name,” Kaira concluded. “It is best you try to hide yourselves as Enma and I fear something horrifying could take place in this town once more.” 

Just about Kaira was about to make his leave, a voice called for him. 

“Wait! Lord Kaira, is it? We ended up here by accident due to a mirror kept by one of Dorothea’s teachers, is it possible you can take us back to France? Pretty please?” Ayame explained, Kaira pausing for a bit.

“Your teacher has an Ungiyako? I thought there was a Faerie that would serve the same purpose. I can take you back no problem, though I encourage you to try to see if there’s a way to fend yourself. Youkai are everywhere, after all.”

———————————-----------------------------------------------------

Of course the moment Goku Kyubi asks about Shutendouji leading the way, he takes her to a deserted mountain where there’s no sign of life, and even the spiritual energies are pretty low. The kitsune’s mismatched eyes looked at the oni, a displeased look in her eyes.

“So…Where’s that big fat papa you said you would lead me to?” Goku Kyubi inquired. Shutendouji shot a bit of a stone cold look back at her.

“Yeah so, about that,” Shuten answered, azure, flame-like energy starting to form around his arm. “All the stuff about Ibuki Douji, all his backstories, that was a load of crap I just made up. I’d figure such a wise goddess like yourself would pick up on all the inconsistencies, but guess not.”

If she was merely just calmly angry before, Goku Kyubi was absolutely seething and she made it clear with her high pitched rant of a voice. 

“You STUPID brute!” She shouted, a force of energy knocking her back before she could rant some more, but she still tried to stand firm. “How dare you insult AND hurt a goddess like myself, and the queen of a hundred demons herself for that matter!?”

“I may be stupid but I’m not an idiot,” Shutendouji bluntly gave a shockingly levelheaded response to the festering angry fox. “Not so much of an idiot to let you over to all that I have left.”

“Then what is it you have left, sacreligious idiot!?” Goku Kyubi kept her ranting game going and going strong. She managed to jump up and grabs her humanoid hands around Shutendouji’s neck, her expression becoming much more enraged. “You better tell me the truth or else you’ll never wish you messed with the Great Divine Almighty Goddess Goku Kyubi!”

Shutendouji merely sat silent, Goku Kyubi gritting her teeth as brightly colored red and blue energy casted from her hands, and with a simple chant, put the oni in his place, unable to move.

“Come on, speak up!” Goku Kyubi commanded, her tone becoming impatient by the second. She kept casting sparks of ember in hopes to get him to finally speak up. “Unless you were birthed from the void and nothingness, you have to have a parent!”

“Mo…Momiji…She’s my mother, and you’ll be sorry if you try messing with me…” Shutendouji managed to mutter after a bit of prodding, the kitsune roaring into laugher

“Bah! What a joke!” Goku Kyubi laughed. “You, the son of the legendary Momiji?! Don’t joke with me, just because you’re an Oni doesn’t mean you two are related! Come on, she was a scholar, leader, and warrior who wielded a youseiken, you’re merely a low ranking frat boy compared to her!”

Just then, a thought came into the Kitsune’s mind, a sinister grin appearing on her face. “Tell you what, regardless of if you’re related to her or not, I have the perfect use for you after all,”

Using her magic to make massive claws out of red and blue flame, she grasped Shutendouji to make sure this time he could not run away or lead her astray.

“W-Wait, what?! What are you gonna do!?” Shutendouji demanded, Goku Kyubi fumbling out a little portable mirror to head back to the palace lair.

“You’ll see, and perhaps if you really are related to her, I will be sorry. But I’ll outsmart her and make you actually useful for once!”

[darlingatlas]

Things that happened in my friends and I’s Ace Attorney Playthrough Pt. 11 (Drunk Edition!)

Happy New Years!

Previous Post

Cast: Me Friend 1: L Friend 2: M Friend 3: C

xxxxxx

M: Hamilton x Phoenix Wright slash fic???

xxxxxx

M: Wait, von Karma is German Me: Yeah, I’ve been doing a German accent this whole time! M: I thought she was French? Me: WHAT??

xxxxxx

M: He’s (the judge) looks like he’s napping right now!

xxxxxx

M: They’re going into anime grunt territories.

xxxxxx

Gumshoe: Oof. M & L: *laughing their asses off*

xxxxxx

M: My Gumshoe is like Muscle Man if he were a New Yorker. C: *Goes off on an angry New Yorker tangent*

xxxxxx

M: Fuck, I forgot Pearl’s voice L: Creepy. M: *does a creepy voice* L: Oh I hate that.

xxxxxx

L: Japanifornia M: You can’t have shit in Japanifornia!

xxxxxx

M: Why are Lotta’s eyes so far apart? L: Fish eyes. M: How many people are fish-people are in this game?

xxxxxx

M: She literally just objected and went “bruh” 

xxxxxx

Mia: Do you remember what you told me yesterday? M: No, we haven’t played in two months.

xxxxxx

L: I’m afraid, you said you didn’t like the next chapter, right? Me: No. L: *fear*

xxxxxx

L: How old is Manfred von Karma? Me: Hold on let me look. *intense googling* Me: Google says he was around 65 by Turnabout Goodbyes L: WHO FUCKED VON KARMA AT 47??? Me; Remember, he said he had a granddaughter, which implies he has another kid since Franziska is 18. L: WHO WOULD FUCK VON KARMA TWICE???

xxxxxx

Bonus! A glorious gem L created after our playthrough (M claims Maya looks like a turtle poking its head out of its shell with this sprite.)

[ems-self-ships-galore]

Turnabout Distraction - Chapter One - This Laissez-Faire Life

“Sam! Sam! Sam!”

(Jeez…and I thought the cases I’ve won and lost in the past carried out much longer than this one.)

“Hey, Earth to Samara.”

“Oh, Hey Pearl,” Samara greeted a hyper Pearl Fey with a smile whilst trying to recuperate from the trial, “How did the trial go? Did you win? Tell me! Tell me!” Pearl asked as Samara took notice of Phoenix, Maya, and Trucy walking towards them.

“Pearl, how many times have I told you not to run away from us like that.” Maya scolded Pearl, “Sorry Maya, but I wanted to see Sam.” Pearl stated, “It’s no big deal, May. Also I’m sorry Pearls, but I lost the case this time.” Samara told Pearl, “But maybe next time, I’ll be sure to win,” She added.

“Hey my stomach is growling, we should go get burgers!” Maya suggested, “Yes, let’s get burgers!” Trucy agreed; Samara seemed that this idea would be a sufficient way to rewind after a day of work, but she looked over to see her sister Jacqueline standing near a potted plant tapping her wristwatch.

(Shit, that’s right. I have to go with my sister to some fancy restaurant to talk about future cases after this trial was done like I promised.)

“Unfortunately, I have to call a rain check. My sister requests my presence; but maybe next time I might be able to tag along,” Samara stated as she walked towards Jacqueline.

“Short case, am I right?” Jacqueline remarked as Samara rolled her eyes. “Yes Jack, short case. It just seemed that the Judge and Payne wanted to get the case done.” Samara stated as she and Jacqueline left the court building.

“Jack, I have one simple thing to ask of you, dear sister.”

“Yes, Samara?” Jacqueline wondered when she became confused by Samara's  request. “Out of all places, you took me to a fancy looking, low rate place such as this?” Samara inquired as she and Jacqueline stood in front of the building. “Well, the last place fell out of favor when I called the other day. So this will have to do,” Jacqueline stated as she walked into the restaurant, Samara following behind.

(Tell that to my ex who for our first date took me to this place…no wonder that relationship didn’t last which basically cemented my distraction free lifestyle.)

“Now let’s not brood here and let’s talk about business.” Jacqueline said as she and Samara sat at a table, “What about business? Did you have an epiphany regarding a future case that is potentially coming our way?” Samara asked.

“Not quite, It’s just that Gumshoe paid me a visit in my office today.” Jacqueline began. “What does that doofus detective want with you?” Samara wondered. “Well, he handed me this,” Jacqueline had reached into her satchel and took out a file that was labeled, AM-4; “Turns out, there was a body found just recently over behind the Hotti Clinic.” Jacqueline added.

“And you’re bringing this up to me because why?” Samara asked. “I would take the case, Sammy; but a case going by the name of AM-4 seems too rough for my pace. I’m bringing it up right now because I want you to step in,” Jacqueline explained as Samara took the file and opened it, “Kelly Raine, 25 years of age, nurse practitioner at Hotti Clinic, was found dead with what looked like a slit across her throat done by a paring knife also found at the scene. A witness claimed to have seen a 29 year old James Bedlow also at the scene,” Samara read aloud the file.

“Tomorrow, I’ll pay this James Bedlow a visit over at the detention center.” She declared. “Well well, when did Samara Murphy start taking on cases so damn fast?” Jacqueline wondered with a smirk on her face. “This is one of the things we both signed up for when we passed the bar exam back home all those years ago.” Samara remarked. “Yes yes, until we got notices that said “I’m sorry, but our firms are full at the moment.” I think that call from the last law firm back home was our savior to getting us both a job here in LA.” Jacqueline stated. Closing the file, Samara stood up with her sister following behind. “I don’t really think sitting here for so long talking about business is doing much for me this evening,” Samara said as she walked out of the restaurant.

“Where are you headed?” Jacqueline asked, “Back home, I’ll review the case more until it’s time for me to sleep.” Samara said as she got in her own car. “You should get home too, Jack. I assume you have other cases to look over,” She added as she drove off. 

(So much for business talks at restaurants…)

Walking into the living room of a darkened modest house fit for a defense attorney, Samara sat down on the couch and took out the file she was given. Surely, she was thinking to herself that a simple murder case like this was going to be an easy one; but given the inconsistencies regarding the characterization of this now deceased Kelly Raine based on what was written in the file, Samara began to doubt the basics here.

The file stated that Kelly and James had broken up a while ago on rather moderate mannered terms, yet the two remained in a steady friendship since then up until the murder.

Surely, the reason that James Bedlow had been at the wrong place at the wrong time was because he had not heard from Kelly and had gotten worried about her like any caring friend would do in this day and age.

Perhaps something was off about this case.

There was, with little doubt, something much more sinister going on behind the scenes here.

And Samara was damn near determined to get to the bottom of this, like any sane attorney would do when faced with a case of this caliber.

Grabbing her phone, Samara immediately dialed Phoenix.

“Hello?”

“Phoenix, I need to speak with you.” Samara began.

“Samara, are you aware of how late it is?”

“Phoenix, It’s only 5-” Samara paused for a second to look at the clock on the wall, “-:40 PM. Not even that late.”

“Well, what do you want to talk to me about?” Phoenix asked.

“I need to inquire with you about a particular case, titled AM-4. I already overviewed the basics of the case itself; the body of a 25 year old nurse practitioner by the name of Kelly Raine was found behind Hotti Clinic recently, I was hoping you’d be aware of it, at least.” Samara briefly explained.

“I think early today while you were still in the courtroom, your sister mentioned the case to me. She initially wanted me to take on the case.”

(Huh, something Jack neglected to mention to me.)

“Heh, you’re kinda too late for that, Nick. I already accepted the case by agreeing to meet with the accused tomorrow at the detention center,” Samara pointed out. “But it would be nice if you could at least be somewhat involved,” She added.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Tomorrow, I need you to find anything you can regarding the deceased while I talk with the accused. From what I’m reading here, there’s too many damn inconsistencies here.” Samara suggested.

“On it. Also maybe tomorrow swing by the agency with the file you have on hand; I might be able to find those inconsistencies you’ve mentioned.”

“Will do.”

[ao3feed-narumitsu]

(How Could I Fear Any Hurricane?)

read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/48262483

by apollojay63

The last thing Phoenix Wright expected two years into his disbarment was the deed to the boat rental shop on Gourd Lake, but hey, stranger things had happened. And maybe now he would have a safe place to rendezvous with a certain prosecutor the next time he’s in town.

Narumitsu Week 2023 Day One: Lies and Secrets

Words: 3007, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Narumitsu Week 2023

Fandoms: 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright, Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth, Itonokogiri Keisuke | Dick Gumshoe, Naruhodou Minuki | Trucy Wright

Relationships: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright, Naruhodou Minuki | Trucy Wright & Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright

Additional Tags: Pre-Slash, Seven Year Gap (Gyakuten Saiban)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/KXY4wQh This is an automatic feed of all new stories posted to the Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright tag on AO3. Because of that, it is not guaranteed that Miles and Phoenix are the main characters in the story, nor the only ship. Please verify content upon clicking through to AO3.

[kingdomoftyto]

OKAY, done. Finally. I beat AAI.

I have too many thoughts so I'm putting it behind a cut

First, the negative stuff, because from a design standpoint this game bums me out.

Gotta say, I still had fun with it, but I also understand why Investigations hasn't gained as much traction as the main series. It's, uh, a bit of a slog, if I'm honest. I had high hopes for the "seamless transition" I'd seen touted between the Investigation phase and the Argument phase (this game's replacement for Trials), but in practice I think it actually hurts the pacing pretty badly. Instead of a long buildup of gathering evidence followed by a satisfying sequence of breaking down testimonies, and a single climactic moment where you finally land the baddie.... instead, it's a series of bite-sized sleuthing segments interspersed with smaller one-on-one arguments. The arguments are never as satisfying as the main series' cross examinations, and even the eventual breakdowns don't feel as dramatic or gratifying.

(And the Logic system had SO much potential but was mostly wasted on far-too-obvious deductions instead of the stuff that might have actually made you feel clever to piece together.)

This next point is super subjective but the cases themselves also feel kind of... boring in comparison? That might seem crazy because one of them involves kidnappers in mascot suits bashing Miles over the head in a haunted funhouse, but I honestly found untangling the crimes a lot less interesting than in the main series. Maybe it's because there's more focus on forensics than on testimony...? But I loved Rise from the Ashes in AA1 and that case was PACKED with forensics minutiae...

I think it honestly might be due to the lack of a trial as the driving force behind the narrative, because you're not doing things to save a defendant and you don't have a courtroom opponent to worry about, which changes the entire... idk, vibe of the story. You're just kind of solving murders because they happened in your proximity--which works perfectly well for other detective media but feels wrong for the AA formula, somehow? The writers for this game try to emulate the urgent feeling of protecting a defendant by having a character you know get accused of murder in every single chapter, but it feels lower stakes than, say, Maya getting arrested, because you're getting involved before any real case has been built against them. The only ones arguing against you tend to be detectives in this game, not lawyers (even Franziska is just assisting Interpol in this one), and Lang tells you right out that he doesn't care about actually proving anything as long as he gets a suspect--he wants the actual guilt of the accused to be dealt with later, at the eventual trial. It feels nothing like fighting for your defendant's life while the judge's verdict hangs over your head, to be decided at any moment.

... Also the text scrolls way too slowly and the music's not as good :(

ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, however:

Kay's awesome, Yatagarasu's a fantastic concept, and more Franziska and more Gumshoe are always welcome.

Speaking of, in a total reversal of the pattern established by the rest of the series, the last case was not the best and the penultimate case was easily my favorite. This is in no small part because it featured tween Franziska, the looming presence of Manfred, and the single most dramatic moment of the game--when the villain whips out a gun and nearly shoots Miles in the courtroom. (There's also more emotional payoff in this one with how he initially comforts little Kay than in anything that happens at the end of the game, imo.)

Btw, it's nowhere near as much as I expected from the memes, but Miles' occasional mentions of Phoenix are also really awesome every time (and, yes, really funny too). I was especially hype when he brought him up during the very last interrogation segment:

(It was undercut a bit by the solution he was struggling to find being blindingly obvious, but that's a me problem)

Of course the biggest appeal of the game is simply getting to see more of Miles in general, and I think it does a fair job of delivering on that. It's got lots of fun headcanon fuel (he's a flower snob!!), some great interactions with other characters (Franziska, Gummy, even Larry!!), and at least a tiiiiiny bit of character development for him, as he continues to work out what his goals/purpose are going to be and what he's willing to do to achieve them. It's cool to see where his headspace is at post-Trilogy, though the timeframe of the game being restricted to the span of less than an in-universe week kind of limits how much of a glimpse we actually get into how he's holding up.

This Youtube comment on the soundtrack really hits the nail on the head for the exquisite dramatic irony plaguing me throughout the game due to its placement in the timeline:

(AAI takes place about a month before Phoenix's disbarment, if I understand the timeline correctly... lmao feelings)

I expect the story to be more interesting in AAI2 and to hopefully expand on what this game started. Trying not to get my hopes up too high, but cautiously optimistic...!

Anyway, IN SUMMARY:

Weakest game in the series so far imo, mostly because the mechanics change the core formula in a way that doesn't do the pacing any favors. No regrets playing it because the characters are more than worth it, but bit of a letdown when it could have been a super cool idea for a spinoff.

At least we got some adorable sprites of this nerd out of it

[melovez]

Gumshoe held the piece of parchment to the light and gave everyone around him a moment to examine it.

“What it is is very, very old, and very, very evil. In old English it was known as Bearnetend, which roughly translates to Child-eater.”

He tucked the paper back into its protective sleeve and placed it down on the desk, drumming his fingers against the hardwood anxiously.

“Unfortunately, thats not a misnomer.”

[tncdevelopment]

a proper updated reference for gumshoe, The Next Chapter's resident paranormal archivist. his interests include podcasts, history, prepping for the end of the world, and astrology. he stands at about 5'11, for reference purposes.

[ask-carmenpondiego]

Good morning Gumshoes!!

I hope your day is a good one!! Just gonna share a bit whats on my little ol thief brain, knocking around..

The most surprisingly difficult thing, other than picking out what to have as the next target for my heists, is that figuring out the inbetweens of the heists and the major events in the story when retelling it. There is a lot that was not very eventful. Mostly slice of life and every day things then like months later major disaster that we need to scramble and overcome or else this high stake heist cant happen or something..

I’m currently working on chapter 7 and theres a spot of just… nothing. Might make a joke chapter of just that “the chapter where nothing happens for like almost a year” and just have them sitting watching tv and Carmen forgetting something burning in the oven “my spinach puffs!” Or some one mini paragraph of stupid.

You know, I think I’ll do that. Because that just kicked off the next story bit that will finally get into the good creamy center. The closer the story becomes more current, the tougher it is due to me still figuring out details. This will be fun!