#LAYTON FOLLOWERS RISE UP

[des-fangirl]

HAPPY SYCAMORE SUNDAY!!! dont forget to bee who you aare for your priide

[call-me-rucy]

Do you think Professor Layton and Sycamore are color coordinated? I suppose Descole and Layton have a cool vs warm color thing going but I wasn't sure if Sycamore's design related to Layton's design in any obvious way. I think I may be over looking something.

Hey, thanks a lot for this ask, this kind of questions are right up my alley! :D

Before diving in, a disclaimer. I'm not a character designer (although I draw as a hobby) so my info/insight on this matter is merely from the unhinged Layton fan perspective ^^

Second disclaimer: I have already a post that touches about this topic, which can be read here: link. But I believe I will be able to better articulate my thoughts on the topic this time, thanks to the question.

Basically, I believe Layton and Sycamore are indeed color coordinated! And I rise the bet: Sycamore had no right to have the same colours as Layton, but he does.

Here is an image where their palettes are compared. They’re identical!

I think it’s pretty clear they have the same colours, now let’s think, why??

Think of Luke, and Emmy, and Aurora. They all have their distinctive, separate colour patterns. Luke is designed in blue so it can even in tiny pixel distorted form be distingished from Layton at a glance. Emmy follows the same pattern. So why on earth would a character designer so worried about character differentiation give two characters the exact same colours? And more so when one of them is the very main character?! In other words: why isn’t Sycamore color coded green?? (Or white?? Or any other colour??)

And it’s not like it didn’t occur to the character designer. Look at the Decapolice cast, also by Nagano:

The answer I propose is this:

AZRAN LEGACY SPOILERS FOLLOW:

I think this is because the main character of the Professor Layton series is Hershel Layton. And that’s the character that owns the orangey-red and black pallette, the one who screams to us “main character”.

Let me explain: According to the story, the main character of the Layton series was going to be Hershel Bronev. And it is because of this original role of main character that he has the orangey-red and black pallette. And that's so fucking smart.

It would have been so easy to just give design pre-Hershel Layton as the one with the red-black pallete and give the other character another colour. But instead!! The colour goes with the role!! So when Theo takes the role of "Hershel" and "main character", he takes the colours associated with those things, too!!

And this is a bit more watsonian but Hershel gives up the name and the role but not the red-black combo cause they are no other colours for him. So Des keeps his colours (which from a doylistic perspective, he doesn't strictly have to) and Hershel uses Hershel's colours so they both use the same, and also they have the same hair colour and skin colour which totally makes sense. And the Bostonius is the same colour as the Laytonmobile. Because of course it is, they're the same thing!

So here's Desmond Sycamore, a design that copies the professor's main character energy on the basis that he was supposed to be it but is also inspired by Descole's design (see the purple buttons and the shoes) so you see him and he looks like the ultimate rival. (But also Nagano managed to despite using the same colours, make it enough visibly different?? Which is so hard??)

Meanwhile, in a darker timeline where they didn't think the designs as much:

Would still have screamed rival, yes, but it doesn't say "we're made of the same thing" as the true design does.

I think it's impressive, honestly. It's peak storytelling STRICTLY IN COLOUR CHOICES. I wish to be half as good writer/designer as whoever it was that made this call (Nagano or Hino).

And this concludes this session of infodumping. I hope you enjoyed if you stuck enough to read this far.

Thanks again for the question, sweet anon! <3

Please, everyone feel free to send more Layton inquires and/or add your own thoughts to this post. Cheers!

[layton-love]

Heartbeat

Professor Hershel Layton x Reader. Reader is referred to once as “lady” but is otherwise ambiguous. Very fluffy and soft. SFW. 1,443 words.

     12:26 AM.

​​​​​​     You were sick of staring, just watching and waiting as his arms raised above his head yet again. He was stretching for the seventh time in ten minutes. Those arms belonged around you right now, you complained inwardly, huffing in petulant indignation. Was he doing this on purpose, just to get a rise out of you? To tease you? Surely he wouldn't be so cruel, not your beloved Professor, you thought half-jokingly.

     “Do you intend to sit at that desk until sunrise, Hershel?” You questioned the archaeologist, glaring at his back, arms folded across your chest.

     “I may have to if you keep distracting me. Perhaps you could try a puzzle in order to pass the-” The Professor was suddenly cut off by a yawn, followed by yet another languid stretch, “-the time.” He finally muttered out tiredly, rubbing the back of his head and neck. Sickeningly adorable. It infuriated you.

     “I'm already facing the biggest puzzle of them all." You retorted flatly, very much unswayed by his suggestion, “You're clearly exhausted, Professor. I doubt you'll be able to focus even if I'm pacified with solving every puzzle in the room for the rest of the night. Come lie down and rest. You can finish your work tomorrow.”

     You heard him hum in thought, followed by a long pause. You knew him well enough to know that this meant that he was actually finally considering your invitation. Your heartbeat began to quicken at this, waiting eagerly with bated breath for his decision.

     “Oh, alright,” He finally surrendered, his shoulders relaxing as he put his pen down. You beamed from ear to ear, sitting quickly upright. You couldn't help but eagerly kick your legs in schoolgirl fashion. “Indeed, you have a point. I've hardly made progress in the last hour, and that certainly isn't entirely your fault.” He turned to you with a playful smile and wink. The obviously delighted expression on your face gave him pause for just a moment as he considered how you'd been trying to pry him from his work for hours now. All that effort just to cuddle with him... You looked so pleased about finally succeeding. His expression quickly softened at this thought, a blush rising in his cheeks. Sheepishly, he began chuckling. "Goodness, dear. It seems I've neglected you a bit too long. It's terribly rude to keep a lady waiting; how ungentlemanly of me. You have my deepest apologies.”

     “Indeed. I'll forgive you when you finally get over here.” You replied, failing to sound truly cross with him.

     “Very well. I'm grateful for the opportunity to make up for my actions.” He half-joked, smiling jovially as he strolled over to the couch where you were. You held out your arms as he took the seat directly beside you and leaned in, allowing you to snatch him into your embrace like a dragon with its treasure. He laughed at your enthusiasm, a warm and delightful sound that rumbled softly throughout his chest. Tugging him down so that you were both lying on your sides facing each other, you nestled your head into him as he returned your hug and hummed a pleasant sigh, smoothly pulling you flush against him. As you both relaxed into the soft blanket-covered cushions, he ran his fingers gently through your hair, looking down at your head pressed to his bosom. The archaeologist could feel his face heating up. You were precious...

     ...

     You could hear his heart beating.

     It was the most wonderful sound in the world.

     Deep, steady, beautiful. This was the very sound of the person you love the most being alive. It meant that he was right here, right here, safe and sound in your arms, and you in his. It was entrancing. You felt as though you could listen to it forever.

     You let your hands wander with an innocent, loving touch, tracing his spine through the woolly fabric of his sweater. Your fingertips glided over his sides and shoulders, memorising the shapes. You felt him shift slowly, resting the lower half of his face on top of your head as he planted the sweetest kiss on the part of your hair. You giggled at this with a contended sweetness in your tone. “You're delightful.”

     “And you are my greatest delight,” the Professor replied, his voice soft and gravelly with sleepiness. Your heart skipped a beat at this, and evidently he noticed, a goofy grin being pulled across his face. The Professor then pulled you further up into his arms, keeping you close as he pressed his forehead to your own. His deep, dark brown gaze met yours, his eyes half-lidded. In them swirled a hazy mix of adoration and the cutest sleepiness – but the manner in which he looked at you, so genuinely, so incredibly... It was enough to steal your breath for a moment.

     It was the way you could see honesty in his eyes; you could see love; you could see him. The way there was nothing hidden from you.

     It was the way you felt completely safe when you were with him.

     You never had to question his motivations; you never had to question how he truly felt about you. He had no intention of hiding it, for it was right there on display—not that he had a problem with telling you, either.

     Hershel's eyes crinkled as he grinned, watching with a sense of childish awe as you got lost in his eyes so easily. He could feel your heart steadily beating against his chest; he could feel the gentle thrumming of it increase in intensity ever so slightly the longer you stared. The way in which you simply adored him down to the very bones of your being was breathtaking. He never considered the possibility of finding pure love like this again in his life; he never thought it possible. But now? Every day, every morning, when he wakes up and you're still there, you prove to him time and time again that nothing is impossible. You were incredible. You were his everything.

     Before, he'd tried not to frown when the question of Why? had drifted through his mind. Why did you adore him so? Why him? He wasn't exactly a stupendous or especially experienced lover. You had told him before that he was different from others, and he supposed he certainly was different, but he'd never considered himself to be the phenomenon you seemed to view him as. Over time, he came to the conclusion that he'd just simply have to accept it—accept that you... preferred him. You had your motivations, albeit they were a mystery to him. However, his inquisitive mind wouldn't quite let it go as easily. He tried to pinpoint it, tried to narrow it down, but the pieces just wouldn't fit into place.

     Now, in moments current, as he watched your mesmerised gaze directed at him, felt your heartbeat against him... Something inside him understood. It was wordless; there was no clear written or verbal answer, only the understanding that the puzzle was completed.

     That was enough for him.

     With lidded eyes, slowly, non-intrusively, he leaned in, his lips tenderly brushing against yours. He paused, waiting for a reaction, for permission. His fingers combed through your hair, trailing like the gentle kisses of raindrops down the back of your neck. You leaned in, returning the loving advance. He sighed dreamily, something like relief, as he fully leaned into the kiss, as if he'd been underwater and finally come up for air. The kiss was slow, loving, tender – honest. With feeling, with adoration, with commitment. There was no rush for anything or anyone else. It was all yours; every second of it belonged to the two of you. Those very moments in time—even those, too. His hands slowly trailed down your back, down every curve, the touch of his fingertips like promises. “A gentleman always keeps his promises,” you recalled him once saying. You hoped he would keep you, too. Hershel was a true gentleman, though; of course he would.

     You finally parted for air. You could feel the rising and falling of his chest in sync with yours. You let out a breathy laugh, smiling at him, a gesture that he readily returned. Every piece was in its perfect place, exactly where it was meant to be. Exactly where you were meant to be.

     You could feel his heart beating against your chest in rhythm with yours.

     It was beautiful.

[lutiaslayton]

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

ＰＡＲＴ　１６

〚ＦＩＲＳＴ〛〚ＰＲＥＶ〛〚ＮＥＸＴ〛

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation for the Japan-exclusive novellisation of the movie Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. The original novel was written by Aya Matsui under the supervision of Akihiro Hino, and belongs to Level-5.

This translation only aims to be a pleasant read for non-Japanese fans, nothing more: I made a few deliberate changes while translating in order to get the writing style closer to what is usually found in English fanfictions, as the Japanese storytelling can sometimes be different than what we are used to.

＊ Song of the Stars, Song of the Sea

The impact of the explosion that Descole caused sent me tumbling to the floor. When the white smoke faded, I saw from afar that Janice and Descole were rising in the air, along with the Detragan.

“Janice!”

I dashed forward to help her, but one of the wolves pounced on me and held me down against the floor. The rest of the pack soon came and surrounded us all, snarling along the way.

“Be careful, everyone!” Emmy yelled.

“Stop!”

I could hear Janice’s voice from high up, still rising higher and higher.

“If you want to help them, you have to sing, Melina!”

Right… This was not Janice, but Melina… But it was also Janice…

The Detragan came to a stop.

“Good. Now, this is the stage for your last performance.”

Her last performance? I wouldn’t let this be her last! I had to save her!

At that moment, the solemn sound of the Detragan resonated from afar. Descole had started playing… Was this the ‘Song of the Stars,’ then?

It was a strange melody. Even as I was in danger, as I could be devoured by a wolf at any moment, I couldn’t help but listen to it. It was sad, yet pure…

“Sing, Melina! Sing the Song of the Sea!”

I struggled desperately. I didn’t have time to stay stuck under a wolf’s paws when Melina was in danger! But the wolf was too heavy and completely unfazed…

“Now, Melina!”

The Song of the Stars resounded again… Then a beautiful voice started singing along. The ‘Song of the Sea’… I remembered that Nina had sung it to me on the beach, back when she still had Melina’s memories.

I already had found that song beautiful at the time… but the way her voice now resonated in harmony with the Detragan’s Song of the Stars couldn’t be described with just an ordinary word like ‘beautiful.’

Suddenly, a violent tremor hit the black castle. What happened!?

The quake also distracted the wolves, and Emmy seized that split-second opportunity to attack the wolf that was restraining me. The impact broke a mechanism that was attached to its ear… so this was how Descole was controlling them. Using animals for his evil deeds… This was unacceptable!

Emmy beat up the wolves one after the other. She threw one in the air and at another, sending them spinning… Her fighting skills were truly amazing.

The professor rushed to me and helped me stand up. “Are you alright, Luke?”

The floor was shaking so much that it was hard to stay upright.

“You will come back to life, Ambrosia! Rise once more!”

As soon as Descole's voice rang out, the surrounding walls began to crumble with a loud thud. The black castle rattled, and started to collapse.

“Everyone, run!”

Emmy, Mr Whistler, Amelia, Nina and Inspector Grosky ran up ahead. The professor and I followed, chased by the floor that was falling to pieces right behind us.

Any delay and we would fall into the abyss. We barely caught up with the others, and headed straight for the exit.

＊ The Detragigant

We fled from the collapsing black castle and ran up to the coast. The quaking ground had been put to rest, as if it had never happened. The sea was calm, and it seemed as if even the waves had forgotten how to break onto the shore and foam.

Descole’s voice soon broke the silence.

“Why? Why won’t it rise!?” he growled. “One more time. Sing! Sing again!”

The Detragan resumed playing the Song of the Stars. The tone, more intense than before, gave us a sense of Descole’s frenzy.

At that moment, I looked up at the professor’s face and widened my eyes. Judging by his expression, he was solving a puzzle right this instant.

When the professor is fully focused like this, there is a unique atmosphere that makes it difficult to talk to him. But what kind of puzzle could he possibly be solving now…?

“Of course!” he soon shouted.

Apparently, the puzzle had been solved.

The Detragan, then the entire area, suddenly fell to silence once more. Soon, Descole’s eerie laughter could be heard in the distance.

“Why… Why…? Hah ha ha…”

I had never heard such horrible laughter. It was a mixture between ambition, despair, and madness…

The next moment, he shouted:

“If the doors of the kingdom won’t open, then I’ll pry them open with my own hands!”

It sounded like the Detragan itself had just screamed. Descole played it again, but to my ears it sounded like the roar of a beast.

Then, the unbelievable happened. A fearsome weapon sprang out from the side of the Detragan’s keyboard. Then more came out, from the other side!

Lights flashed here and there out of the black castle… well, what remained of it. The lights brightened more and more, shining out through the gaps in the walls; and suddenly, a whole part of the walls cracked.

The black castle began to transform into… something else. Blocks were moved from place to place, arm-like parts were raised, and cords, pipes and wires were pulled up. Then the castle, now completely detached from the Detragan, finished collapsing at once.

We could only stare at the scene in shock.

A huge silhouette appeared behind the crumbling castle.

“What on Earth is that…?”

“It’s so big…”

Inspector Grosky and Emmy spoke out for us all.

“Professor, what is Descole doing!?” I asked.

Before he could answer, Descole shouted from the distance.

“Onwards, Detragigant!”

The… Detragigant…? This is the name that Descole found for this new machine? It was a combination between the Detragan and the black castle… In a way, this name was a perfect fit.

The Detragigant took a slow step forward, then jumped and descended into the lake that surrounded us. With a giant splash, the Detragigant landed in the deep waters; then it ran forward, without stopping, straight to the sea.

“Melina— Melina…!”

Mr Whistler was about to run after it, but Emmy stopped him.

“Someone, please— Melina!”

“If we could borrow the Kingdom’s power…” the professor muttered.

The kingdom’s… power? What was he talking about?

The professor started to run.

“Emmy, take everyone to safety! Luke, let’s go!”

I had started running after him before I even opened my mouth to answer.

Looking at the Detragigant’s rampage, all I could do was shiver in fear.

When I had written this letter to Professor Layton, never had I imagined that it would come to this.

I never thought that Descole’s aim was the Immortal Kingdom of Ambrosia itself… He was controlling this machine like a madman, and must have forgotten that I was even here.

Neither the first nor the second key had managed to awaken Ambrosia.

“Come on out, Ambrosia! Your treasure and knowledge must be mine!”

Under his command, the Detragigant dug into the forests, damaged the earth with its drills, and wreaked havoc on the entire site.

“Come on, show yourself!”

Ambrosia… If this continued, there soon would be nothing left of the island that healed me.

Descole’s anger kept building up. What was he doing? He had no right to destroy Ambrosia!

It was no wonder that he could not revive the kingdom.

But then… I saw a small helicopter coming towards us. And inside were… the professor and Luke!

My mind went back to the time when the three of us flew in that helicopter and reached the black castle… This had been one of the best moments in my… and Janice’s life, now that I was sharing it with her.

“How interesting… So you are willing to challenge me with this thing?”

Descole smiled coldly.

“Melina!”

I heard Luke calling… my name.

“Anyone who stands in my way will have to disappear!”

A rotating excavator from the Detragigant flew in their direction. Luke screamed…! This was far too dangerous!

At the most critical moment, the helicopter gained in altitude if ever so slightly… and just barely avoided the attack. Thank goodness!

Descole laughed maniacally. He was clearly enjoying this situation, and the expression I could see on his face from afar, as he manoeuvred all these levers and tried to destroy the small helicopter, was identical to that of a child playing with his toys.

But on the other side were standing the professor and Luke… very real human lives. I was once again overwhelmed with anger.

“Stop!”

I jumped on Descole’s arm as he kept manoeuvring, and clung desperately to him. I had to protect them!

But I was no match for him.

“Do not interfere!”

I was shaken off violently, and the force sent me rolling over the Detragigant. Quickly, my outstretched arms caught on a hanging pipe… Putting all my strength into my fingers, I managed to hang on.

I could feel air being blown out of a vent from right below me.

It was so hot…

　⇚　　　　　　　⇛

[film-in-my-soul]

Icemav missing scene please!

.⋆｡°✩ Maverick and Ice have a little goodbye after the Layton rescue. ✩°｡⋆.

Maverick is still buzzing, even two days later, even when the threat is gone and he's being told to pack his things so he can head back to dry land, where he thinks he needs to be, where it should be safe. He tells himself it's all that adrenaline from nearly getting shot out of the damn sky. From almost getting Slider and Hollywood, Wolf and Iceman shot down, too. If he ignores a closer, more probably truth, well, that doesn't have to be between anyone except him and his front seat.

He's folding his spare uniform in precise corners, following the sharp creases of it, and lets the routine settle him enough that the slight tremor under his skin doesn't make him shake. It's a familiar comfort, arranging his life into a box. Each fold and tuck as ingrained in him as slipping on his flight suit.

There are only a few hours left before he's on transport. He's said his goodbyes to Wolf and Wood, both of them staying on for their redeployment, and Sundown had wished him farewell and good luck in the mess hall that morning, his belongings already moved out of the temporary bunk they'd been put in. He knows there are more people he wants to shake hands with, tell 'em to keep the skies warm for him while he goes and teaches, but Maverick keeps himself to the room, worried the jitters still living in him will make him do something stupid, get his position at Mirimar revoked.

There's no Goose to temper him now, no RIO to back up his bullshit, no-

A knock against the frame of the door Maverick left open stops him cold, spiraling thoughts and all.

It's both usurping and a shock to see Ice leaning there, hip cocked and chin tipped down, eyes flicking over Maverick's mostly filled pack. He'd been up on a hop with Slider when Maverick had been given the departure information. Someone must have told Ice he was shipping back to California. As far as Maverick knew, Ice and Slider were getting dropped off at some European port for their next assignment.

For a moment, neither of them says anything, Ice just standing there, watching, like he's looking for an answer that might have been hiding in the layers of Maverick's shirts and Maverick watching him back, throat tight for some unknown reason.

Though, if he lets himself consider it, he might know. He could guess, at least.

They had their moment on the tarmac after it all. They were wingmen, friends now, and to pretend it wasn't at least a little bit cowardly to cut and run without a metaphorical Dear John was, well... cowardly.

"Teaching?" Ice doesn't say it like Maverick thought he might, all shit-eating and sarcastic, no follow-up like Wood had, ribbing him hard and asking if he was gonna ask the female cadets to turn in 'extra credit.' Ice sounds strangely approving, and for some dumb reason, Maverick wants to bristle at that.

"Yeah. Looks like you're gonna have to find someone else to keep sharp on your wing." It's more bitter than he means to be, than he should be, but Ice, catching him off guard again, doesn't rise to the admittedly weak bait. He smirks instead, snorting with an amused shake of his head as he stands up straight and walks into the room. He saddles up beside Maverick and knocks their shoulders together lightly before snagging the half-done undershirt from his fingers.

"Nah. They wouldn't measure up."

And that- that's a goddamn compliment, isn't it? Maverick's almost too stunned to speak, so instead, when he catches the sloppy way Ice is tucking his clothes into his pack, Maverick jabs him with his elbow, laughing when the taller man almost trips to get away from the strike.

"Guess I'll just have to train 'em up so they can."

"A dozen more Mavericks flying around? Don't think the Navy will go for that."

Maverick lifts his head and catches Ice's eyes. There's a lightness there, a fondness he hadn't been expecting, but it looks right, living there on Ice's normally stern-set mouth and pinched eyes, and just like that, all that restless energy rolls out of Maverick like it wasn't there to begin with.

"Guess we'll just have to see about that Iceman."

A pause, a look, a quirk of a mouth, and another nudge, maybe just for the sake of the pressure of touch.

"Guess we will."

Ficlet Bingo!

[dissociationswagcompetition]

Welcome to Round 2 of the Dissociation Swag Competition!

The Dissociation Swag Competition is a for-fun Tumblr tournament where nominated characters are competing in a friendly competition to celebrate those of us of the dissociative spectrum, including but not limited to: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder (DPDR), Dissociative Amnesia, Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD), Unspecified Dissociative Disorder (UDD), or simply anyone who experiences dissociation on a recurring basis!

As a note, this is not meant to romanticize mental illness, but rather push for more positive representation of our conditions. As someone with DPDR, I think it's important to be able to look up to characters who are like me and not just scary serial killers, and we deserve positive representation just as much as those with anxiety, depression, or other mental illnesses!

As a reminder, be kind during the competition, this is all for fun and has no stakes! Cheer on your blorbos, but don't be mean to the other competitors nor those rooting for them please!

Round 2 Matches

Round 2 will be split up into 2 groups, with the following matchups and dates their polls will go up:

Group A - Monday, February 20, 2023

Crona (Soul Eater) vs Darcy Wu (Amphibia)

Kris Dreemurr (Deltarune) vs Ferb Fletcher (Phineas and Ferb)

Maxim Kischine (Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance) vs Sunny/Omori (Omori)

Harrier Du Bois (Disco Elysium) vs Razputin "Raz" Aquato (Psychonauts)

Olivier Mira Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) vs Yellow Guy (Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared)

Laudna (Critical Role) vs Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods)

Raphael Hamato (Rise of the TMNT) vs Alfendi Layton (Layton Brothers: Mystery Room)

Sora (Kingdom Hearts) vs Cecil Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale)

Group B - Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Shallan Davar/Veil/Radiant (Stormlight Archive) vs Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)

Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs Mafuyu Asahina (Project Sekai)

Madotsuki (Yume Nikki) vs One-One (infinity Train)

Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Marvel) vs Nagisa Shiota (Assassination Classroom)

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII) vs Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Blitzwing/Icy/Hothead/Random (Transformers Animated) vs Kayano Mikoto (MILGRAM) vs Mike/Chester/Svetlana/Vito/Manitoba/Mal (Total Drama)*

Sayo Yasuda (Umineko No Naku Koro Ni) vs Ingo (Pokemon)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs Chara Dreemurr (Undertale)

*Blitzwing and Mikoto perfectly tied in Round 1, which is why they will both compete with Mike in a three-way poll in Round 2

[timeturner-jay]

Drabble Requests: Open

Hey guys! I just wanted to give another head's up that my drabble requests are still open, for anyone who wants to send in a prompt or two (or five or more, go wild)! Just send me an ask with the name of a character and a one-word prompt, and I'll write a short drabble for them. (If you have multiple requests, please send one ask per prompt, for simplicity's sake!)

You can pick any character from the following fandoms:

Outer Wilds

Kirby

Hollow Knight

Bug Fables

Pokémon (games or manga)

Fire Emblem

Legend of Zelda/Linked Universe

Professor Layton

Critical Role

DC Comics (but mostly the Batfam, I know them best)

Doctor Who

The Moomins

Rise of the Guardians/Guardians of Childhood

Lord of the Rings

[wilygryphon]

If I were to write an Ace Attorney adaptation series-

Mia would be a major focus of the first half of the first season, having a plotline of investigating Redd White and Bluecorp. We see her visiting her comatose boyfriend Diego Armando in the hospital, developing her as a hero of her own story before her death in the seventh episode. The early episodes examine her spiritual powers, showing her meditating and seeing different spirits as she does so.

The first season ends with the resolution to Turnabout Goodbyes, and it is then followed up on with a movie telling the story of "Rise from the Ashes".

Season 2 has mentions of police investigating a forgery ring prior to The Lost Turnabout. The first part of that case's episode focuses on Phoenix investigating the case and very nearly solving it aside from identifying the real killer (and only because he never met the witness) all in one day of investigation. Then Wellington knocks him out and gives him amnesia, forcing him to piece it all together again in court. During the investigation, Phoenix points out the originally-unmentioned contradiction of the victim supposedly writing something in the sand with a broken neck.

When thinking of who could have been responsible for killing Gregory Edgeworth after determining that the bullet that Miles had accidentally fired had been removed from the scene, Phoenix reflects on what Grossberg told him over an animation of the Revisualization sequence from the Apollo Justice trilogy. He and Maya realize the truth at the same time.

Season 3 includes an arc prior to the Recipe For Turnabout arc which adapts the Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright game. Prior to the London trial, Phoenix notices that the Magatama has run out of spiritual energy, explaining why it does not work while he and Maya are in Labyrinthia. This also keeps him from seeing Espella and Darklaw's Black Psyche-Locks (as well as possibly hundreds or thousands on the hearts of everyone else in Labyrinthia). Pearl recharges it after this arc.

When Gumshoe rescues Phoenix and Maya from Furio Tigre, he arrests the loan shark for assault and battery rather than let him go free until Godot summons him to testify in court.

The Season 3 premiere has Phoenix tell Maya how he met his mentor on the anniversary of Mia's death, with input by Marvin Grossberg providing insight on why she personally took the case despite her trauma.

[nintendowife]

The Nintendo 3DS / Wii U eShop is closing down in a couple of days so I’ve been making some last minute panic purchases during March. Here’s what I got this month so far, in case some of these spark your interest.

Crimson Shroud  What is it? An experimental RPG inspired by tabletop role-playing games. Follow the tale of a young man and his team as they find themselves drawn into the mystery of the Original Gift, the Crimson Shroud. Only available digitally on Nintendo 3DS.

The Denpa Men 3: The Rise of Digitoll  What is it? RPG that uses Nintendo 3DS AR features. Find and catch Denpa Men that live among radio waves in the real world and use them in combat to explore dungeons.

Pandora's Tower What is it? An action RPG originally released on Nintendo Wii in 2011. Break a curse that threatens to transform a beloved friend into a horrific beast. Available for Wii U in the eShop.

Pocket Card Jockey What is it? Game that combines the thrill of horse racing with the classic card game solitaire. There's even a story included!

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney What is it? Visual novel adventure puzzle game where Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright work together to solve a mystery. Combines the puzzle and exploration elements of Layton series and the trial mechanics of Ace Attorney series.

Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale What is it? A farming simulation RPG where farming is mostly optional. Crossover between PopoloCrois (a popular fantasy manga from 1978) and the Bokujō Monogatari series (formerly known as Harvest Moon and now Story of Seasons). Only available digitally in Europe.

Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson What is it? A fast-paced 2.5D side-scrolling beat 'em up game with lots of playable characters. Can the Hanzo and Hebijo Shinobi Academies unite and work together to fight an army of summoned demons?

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked What is it? A tactical RPG spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei series. Demons have invaded Tokyo and the city is in lockdown. You are inside the lockdown - will you survive? Forge contracts with demons who fight by your side, make decisions that will mean life for some and death for others.

[multifandomfanfiction]

Two Ghosts Chapter 11

TITLE: Two Ghosts Chapter 11 PAIRING: Iceman/OC, Rooster/OC (if you squint) RATING: T CHAPTER: 11/? SUMMARY: It was just a routine training session, but it changed Noel “Mongoose” Grenier’s  life forever. The legends of pilots flying through time vortexes was true, because it happened to her. Dropped into 1984 during Maverick’s Top Gun training, she must navigate keeping her secret while also completing the program…again. Will she return to her own time unscathed? Or will she lose her heart in the process?

[A/N - I can’t believe this story is nearly over! But beware dear reader, there is more angst coming.]

Graduation day had come and everyone was dressed in their Navy Whites.

Last time she wore her Navy Whites, they were shipping out for the uranium mission.

“Gentlemen and Lieutenant Grenier.”

Everyone laughed.

As the Admiral gave his speech, Mongoose was taken back to her Top Gun graduation. An older version of the man who sat by her side giving the speech, drinks with Phoenix and Rooster afterwards, worrying that she and Rooster would be separated.

“Hey, you okay?” Iceman asked her.

“Yeah. Just wish Maverick were here.”

Iceman and Slider were awarded the Top Gun trophy, which came as a surprise to no one.

“Congratulations, baby,” Mongoose told Iceman.

Iceman smiled and leaned in towards her ear. “You gonna reward me later?”

Mongoose blushed. “The only reason you won the trophy was because Mav quit.”

Iceman put a hand over his heart. “You wound me, baby.”

Mongoose looked into the crowd and saw Maverick. She smiled. “Mav! Over here!”

Maverick shook hands with Iceman. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Mongoose hugged Maverick. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Future Top Gun students need me apparently,” he whispered in her ear.

They pulled away and Maverick turned to Slider.

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Mav.”

Maverick walked away and Viper walked up.

“Gentlemen and Minx, of course. I hate to break up the party before it really gets out of hand, but there is work to be done. Some of you have to depart immediately. We have a crisis situation.”

Iceman squeezed Mongoose’s waist.

“Ice, Slider. Hollywood, Wolfman. Maverick. Minx.”

They were handed their orders.

Mongoose’s hands were shaking as she opened it.

“Maverick, you’ll get your RIO when you get to the ship. And if you don’t, give me a call. I’ll fly with you,” Viper said.

Maverick nodded. “Sir.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

24 hours later, they were on a carrier in the Indian Ocean.

“Aviators, this is bull’s-eye. The communication ship SS Layton has become disabled and has wandered into foreign territory. A rescue operation is to begin within the hour. Your mission is to give air support to that rescue. There are MiG’s in the area and tensions are high. If you witness a hostile act, you will return fire. Those MiG’s carry the Exocent anti-ship missile. They can fire that missile from 100 miles away. This is the real thing. This is what you’ve been trained for. You are America’s best. Make us proud.” Stinger said, “Ice!”

“Yes, sir!” Iceman said.

“Hollywood.”

“Sir!” Hollywood said.

“Sector Two. Maverick, Minx, you back them up with Merlin on Ready Five.”

“Yes sir,” Maverick said.

“Rise!”

They all stood up and Iceman approached Stinger.

“Excuse me, sir. This is not personal, but with regard to Maverick, is he the best backup that…”

“I know what’s on your mind, Kazansky, just get on it. You’re lucky I’m even letting your little girlfriend fly with you.”

“Mon…Minx is one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen. Sir.”

Mongoose followed Maverick up on deck.

“Good luck out there,” Maverick told her.

“Thanks. But I don’t think I’ll need it.”

Maverick smiled.

Mongoose spotted Iceman and Slider headed for their plane and ran over to them. “Wait!” Mongoose said.

Iceman turned to her and she kissed his helmet.

“For luck.” She opened her eyes and Rooster was standing in front of her.

She’d kissed his helmet right before the uranium mission and begged him to be careful. To come back to her. She could still remember how her heart had stopped when he called out that he had been hit.

She blinked and it was Iceman again.

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You good to fly?”

Mongoose smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Iceman knew she was lying, but he didn’t have time to question her. So instead he grasped her chin in his hand and kissed her softly. “Be careful.”

“You too. See you on the other side.”

Before she let him go, she slipped a note inside his flight suit.

A note he wouldn’t find until it was too late.

Taglist: @indynerdgirl @alanadetigy @the-untamed-soul​​​​ @marland56 @ireadthensuetheauthors​​​​ @kassieesworld​​​​ @theforevermorereject​​​​ @maverick-dont-think-just-do​​​​ @thescarletknight2014​​​​ @maverick-goose-rooster​​​​ @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy​​​​ @yougottalovefandoms​​​​ @maverick-wingman​​​​​ @shrimping-for-all

[rivalsforlife]

Ace Attorney 20th Anniversary Character Poll (and how to participate in it!)

Hey there. If you haven’t heard the news, Weekly Famitsu Magazine (a Japanese gaming magazine which has, historically, been where many new ace attorney games are announced) is going to have an article releasing on October 21st featuring Ace Attorney for the upcoming 20th Anniversary.

This is pretty decent news, I think, though we don’t know yet if there’s going to be a new game announcement or any other sort of news. What is confirmed is that they’re going to run a fan poll where you can vote on your favorite characters, cases, and Payne hairstyles, among other things.

This does not ask for personal information, and as far as I can tell, you don’t need to be in Japan to respond. The poll is, however, solely in Japanese, and I assume they’re expecting answers in Japanese as well. I took the liberty with the help of google translate to attempt to make a rough translation of the poll, and you can follow along with this and fill it out yourself if you wish! Keep in mind this may not necessarily be extremely accurate, because google translate, and if anyone knows better than I do, please do correct me!

The poll closes September 30th 2021 11:59 PM Japan time - so there’s not a lot of time to fill it out!

Here’s a link to the poll. The questions are under the cut.

Also, keep in mind that this will address characters that appear in all of the games, though no major plot spoilers are present.

I recommend using google translate on the webpage if you can, it makes things a bit easier to navigate. I didn’t put the Japanese phrases next to the translated answers, since there was no option to copy+paste, so it would take up too much of my time - I can if someone really wants me to, though. Don’t solely rely on google translate though, as sometimes it will do things like translate “Naruhodo Ryunosuke” to “Phoenix Wright”.

As well, for some things like character responses, you may want to double-check their names on the wiki, just in case I got something wrong (which is quite likely.)

Here’s the translation:

----

The weekly Famitsu November 4, 2021 issue (released October 21, 2021) features a special article on "Ace Attorney," which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the series! Among them, we will carry out an “Ace Attorney” series fan questionnaire. Please answer whatever questions you can.

There are 20 questions in total. If it takes too much time to fill in, the input may be reset, so if you feel that your answers are going to be long, we recommend that you prepare a separate text and copy and paste it.

Please note that answers to the questionnaire may be excerpted and edited and introduced in the weekly Famitsu, Famitsu.com, and other media operated by our company (KADOKAWA Game Linkage Co., Ltd.). 

* In the page, "The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures" may be described as "Great Ace Attorney 1", and "The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve" may be described as "Great Ace Attorney 2”.

The deadline for responses is 23:59 on Thursday, September 30, 2021.

QUESTION 1

ペンネーム（必須）

(Pen name (Required))

This is a free response question, so answer whatever you want your pen name to be.

QUESTION 2

性別（必須)

(Gender (Required))

This has three options, which are, in order: Male, Female, or Prefer Not To Answer.

QUESTION 3

年齢（必須）

(Age (Required))

The options are, in order:

Under 10

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

60s

70+

CHARACTER QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1

Q1.『逆転』シリーズの中からもっとも好きなキャラクターを教えて！(最大3名まで記入可)

“Tell us your favorite character in the Ace Attorney series! You can fill in up to three people.”

The following questions have a small free response box where you can put in the character’s name. Underneath that, in the larger free response box, you explain your reason. I’d recommend going onto the ace attorney wiki page of your favorite characters, going to the “names in other languages” tab, and then copy-pasting that name in there. If you’re avoiding the wiki because of spoilers right now, you can either send me an ask asking for the name and I’ll try to get back to you asap, or ask a friend who is not avoiding it.

You don’t *need* to fill out the explanation section if you’re not confident in your Japanese and don’t want to risk it being thrown out if it’s in English. You could try google translate, but keeping it simple would probably be best, otherwise it may come out weird.

QUESTION 2

Q2.『逆転』シリーズで好きな弁護士は？(メインキャラクター編)

“Who is your favorite defense attorney in the “Ace Attorney” series? (Main character edition)”

This is a selection box where the options are, in order:

Phoenix Wright

Mia Fey

Apollo Justice

Athena Cykes

Ryunosuke Naruhodo

The free response section below asks for you to give “A word on your favorite point”, which… I have no idea what that actually means. Sorry. Someone who actually knows Japanese, get back to me on that. It may be explaining why they’re your favorite, or it may be ... talking about pointing, it’s hard to tell with this series.

The next few questions (3-8) follow a similar format with the question then free response, so I will focus on the questions for each one.

QUESTION 3

Q3.好きな弁護士は？(サブキャラクター編)

“Who is your favorite defense attorney? (Minor character edition)”

This is another selection box where the options are, in order:

Marvin Grossberg

Diego Armando

Kristoph Gavin

Raymond Shields

Calisto Yew

Kazuma Asogi

Ryutaro Naruhodo

Gregory Edgeworth

QUESTION 4

Q4.好きな検事は？

“Who is your favorite prosecutor?”

Selection box options are, in order:

Miles Edgeworth

Winston Payne

Manfred von Karma

Lana Skye

Franziska von Karma

Godot

Klavier Gavin

Gaspen Payne

Simon Blackquill

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi

Ga’ran Sigatar Khura’in

Sebastian Debeste

Taketsuchi Auchi

Barok van Zieks

Zacharias Barnham

Darklaw

Flynch

QUESTION 5

Q5.好きな相棒キャラクターは？

“Who is your favorite assistant character?”

Selection box options, in order:

Maya Fey

Pearl Fey

Larry Butz

Ema Skye

Trucy Wright

Rayfa Padma Khura’in

Kay Faraday

Susato Mikotoba

Herlock Sholmes

Iris Wilson

QUESTION 6

Q6.好きな依頼人は？

“Who is your favorite defendant?”

Selection box options, in order:

Larry Butz

Will Powers

Maggey Byrde

Maximillion Galactica

Matt Engarde

Ron Delite

Terry Fawles

Iris

Wocky Kitaki

Machi Tobaye

Vera Misham

Juniper Woods

Damian Tenma

Solomon Starbuck

Ahlbi Ur’gaid 

Bucky Whet

Dhurke Sahdmadhi

Ellen Wyatt

Magnus McGilded

Soseki Natsume

Gina Lestrade

Rei Membami

Albert Harebrayne

Espella Cantabella

(Yes, I don’t think Turnabout Reclaimed is on here, for some reason. Neither is Zak Gramarye.)

QUESTION 7

Q7.好きな証人は？

“Who is your favorite witness?”

This is just a free response, since there would be too many options. Again, find your favorite witness and copy+paste their name in Japanese into this.

QUESTION 8

Q8.好きなマスコットキャラクター、動物は？

“Who is your favorite mascot character or animal?”

Selection box options in order (there’s A LOT, and I’m uncertain on some, so be prepared) are:

Steel Samurai

Mr. Monkey

Pink Princess

Evil Magistrate

Missile

Polly

Blue Badger

Trilo

Regent

Nickel Samurai

Jammin’ Ninja

Mr. Hat

Widget

Bum Rap Rhiny

Phony Phanty

Taka

Clonco

Ponco

Orla Shipley

Rifle

Sniper

Shah’do

Plumed Punisher

Sergeant Buff (the helicopter)

Proto Badger

Pink Badger

Bad Badger

Steel Samurai Daddy

Pink Princess Mommy

Rocky the Polar Bear

Patricia Roland’s white fox

Sirhan Dogen’s dog Anubis

Money the Monkey

Jezaille Brett’s swan

Astique the Elephant

Darka the cat

Wagahai

Toby

Usalock (Herlock rabbit)

Kumaris (Iris bear)

Chunosuke (Ryunosuke mouse)

Nyasked Disciple

Usato (Susato rabbit)

Hedgina (Hedgehog Gina)

Nyasogi (Asogi cat)

Nyan Zieks (van Zieks cat)

Eve the Cat

Constantine the Dog

Mr. Blue Badger (the Blue Badger of PLvsAA I assume?)

[can’t believe they put the parent versions of steel samurai + pink princess in there but not the iron infant?]

QUESTION 9

Q9.キャラクターの仕草(アニメーション)で印象深いものとその理由を教えて！(成歩堂龍一の滝のような汗、成歩堂龍之介の泳ぐ目、御剣怜侍の礼など)

“Please tell us which game has the best character animation (Phoenix Wright’s sweat, Ryunosuke Naruhodo’s darting eyes, Miles Edgeworth’s bow, etc.) and why?”

Selection box options in order:

Ace Attorney 1

Justice for All

Trials and Tribulations

Apollo Justice

Dual Destinies

Spirit of Justice

Ace Attorney Investigations

Ace Attorney Investigations 2

The Great Ace Attorney

The Great Ace Attorney 2

Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney

Then in the free response portion you can talk about your favorite animation and why it is your favorite. If you think you can do that. I just put in my favorite by searching up the character name and trying to google translate the pose, which may not be effective, but you can give it a try.

QUESTION 10

Q10.好きな“珍名”キャラクターを教えて！(小中大、星威岳哀牙、コゼニー・メグンダル、ジョバンニ・ジコールなど)

“Please tell us your favorite pun name! (Redd White, Luke Atmey, Magnus McGilded, Carmine Accidenti, etc.)”

First you select the game it’s from, I think, which are in order:

Ace Attorney 1

Justice for All

Trials and Tribulations

Apollo Justice

Dual Destinies

Spirit of Justice

Ace Attorney Investigations

Ace Attorney Investigations 2

The Great Ace Attorney

The Great Ace Attorney 2

Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney

Then in the free response you give the name. Again a situation of finding the character you want on the wiki and copy+pasting the name into there. This might be a little odd because of the pun names being different in English and Japanese, so proceed with your own discretion, I guess. (For instance, if “Rei Membami” is your favorite pun name for some reason, this would be very odd because “Haori Murasame”, her original name, is not a pun... looking at the name explanation sections on the wiki might be a good idea. If you’re totally not sure, you can pick one of the examples.)

GAME QUESTIONS

QUESTION 11

Q11.印象深い事件は？(最大3つまで記入可)

“Which is the most impressive case? (Up to three can be entered)”

They follow the same pattern of “enter a case” and then “explain why”. Again, you don’t have to fill out the explanation if you don’t want to.

The order of the cases is:

The First Turnabout

Turnabout Sisters

Turnabout Samurai

Turnabout Goodbyes

Rise from the Ashes

The Lost Turnabout

Reunion and Turnabout

Turnabout Big Top

Farewell, My Turnabout

Turnabout Memories

The Stolen Turnabout

Recipe for Turnabout

Turnabout Beginnings

Bridge to the Turnabout

Turnabout Trump

Turnabout Corner

Turnabout Serenade

Turnabout Succession

Turnabout Countdown

The Monstrous Turnabout

Turnabout Academy

The Cosmic Turnabout

Turnabout for Tomorrow

The Foreign Turnabout

The Magical Turnabout

The Rite of Turnabout

Turnabout Storyteller

Turnabout Revolution

Turnabout Visitor

Turnabout Airlines

The Kidnapped Turnabout

Turnabout Reminiscence

Turnabout Ablaze

Turnabout Target

The Imprisoned Turnabout

The Inherited Turnabout

The Forgotten Turnabout

The Grand Turnabout

The Adventure of the Great Departure

The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band

The Adventure of the Runaway Room

The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro

The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story

The Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney

The Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro

The Return of the Great Departed Soul

Twisted Karma and His Last Bow

The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo

On a Dark and Stormy Night

English Turnabout

Mysterious Labyrinthia

The Fire Witch

The Great Witch

The Golden Court

A Taste of Despair

Secrets of the Underground Ruins

The Story's End

The Final Witch Trial

The Last Inquisitor

The First Story

Since that is a LOT to navigate, use the Japanese to help you. The games are laid out pretty simply: if you know the game and case, you can find it pretty quickly. It goes mainline -> Investigations -> TGAA -> PLvsAA. Mainline Ace Attorney games are 逆転裁判 followed by a number corresponding to which entry it is, with the exception of the first game (which is first on the list anyways). Investigations games start with 逆転検事 and followed with a 2 for investigations 2. Great Ace Attorney starts with  大逆転裁判 with a 2 for Resolve, and Layton vs Ace Attorney is  レイトン教授 VS 逆転裁判. After the game title you can find the case number.

For some reason, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice’s DLC cases don’t seem to be on this list. Sorry if those are your favorites. Maybe yell in the free response box about that.

MISC QUESTIONS

QUESTION 12

Q12.触ってみたいのはどれ？

“Which of the following do you want to touch?”

The options are, in order:

Phoenix Wright’s Spiky Hair

Miles Edgeworth’s Frilly Cravat

Apollo Justice’s Sparkling Forehead

Dahlia Hawthorne’s Fluttery Butterfly

Lotta Hart’s Fluffy Hair

Kazuma Asogi’s Fluttering Headband

Golden Professor Layton

And there’s an option for “other” below.

QUESTION 13

Q13.食らってみたいのはどれ？

Google translate says this is “which do you want to eat” - I think it’s more like. “What do you want to be hurt by?” or something.

The options are, in order:

Oldbag’s Ray Gun

Steel Samurai Spear

Edgeworth’s Salary Assessment (aka a salary cut)

Franziska von Karma’s Whip

Godot’s Thrown Coffee

Simon Blackquill’s Finger Sword

Justine Courtney’s Extending Gavel

Susato Takedown

Barok van Zieks’ Heel Drop

And then you have a free response section to explain why... if you want.

QUESTION 14

Q14.以下の中で味わってみたいものはどれ？

“Which of the following would you like to taste?”

The options are, in order:

Dee Vasquez’s T-Bone Steak

The Cough-Up Queen’s Lunchbox

Godot Blend No. 107

Jean Armstrong’s Authentic (?) French Lunchset

Victor Kudo’s Birdseed

Detective Gumshoe’s Weenie Bento Box

Violetta’s Tea

Coldkiller X

Guy Eldoon’s Salty Noodles

Whet Noodle’s Soba

Dane Gustavia’s Candy

La Carneval’s Beefsteak

Van Zieks’ Holy Grail

For some reason they don’t offer you the option to justify your choice with this one.

QUESTION 15

Q15.ハシゴ派？　キャタツ派？

“Ladder or stepladder?”

The options are “ladder” and then “stepladder”. You have the option to put something else if you’re a heathen.

QUESTION 16

Q16.好きな亜内一族のヘアスタイルは？

“What is your favorite Payne Family Hairstyle?”

Options are:

Ace Attorney 1 and 2’s “73 hairs”

Ace Attorney 3’s full set of hair

Ace Attorney 4’s “hair only on the sides”

Ace Attorney 5 and 6’s Gaspen Payne Hair [idk what this actually says sorry]

The Great Ace Attorney 1’s chonmage

The Great Ace Attorney 2’s “sprout of hope”

Then you can put in a word about your feelings about the Paynes in the free response.

QUESTION 17

Q17.好きなBGMとその理由を教えて！

“Which is your favorite BGM and why?”

This is a free response so you’ll need to track down the song name itself… good luck with that. Then you can explain why in the free response section… even more good luck with that. The wiki does have the soundtracks of the games in English and Japanese, I believe, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.

PLAYER MEMORIES SECTION

QUESTION 18

Q18.『逆転』シリーズで泣いたことはある？　それはどんな場面？(※何度も泣いた人は、もっとも泣いたシーンをお答えください)

“Have you ever cried during the Ace Attorney series? If so, at which scene? (* For people who have cried many times, pick the scene you cried at the most.)”

The first option is a “yes” or “no” for if you’ve cried or not.

The second option is again picking a case, which I don’t feel like writing out again, but it’s in the same order as in question 11. Then in the free response you write what scene you cried in with that case. You could try finding the dialogue - this thread https://forums.court-records.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=29682 has a place to download the dual japanese and english scripts for most games except for aai2 and the great ace attorney games. For those ones... good luck.

QUESTION 19

Q19.開発してほしい『逆転裁判』グッズはある？(逆転裁判凡例つき六法全書とかなるほどくんのヘアワックス、考える人型の彫像時計など)※グッズ化が実現するわけではありません。

“Do you have any “Ace Attorney” merchandise you’d like us to develop? (Ace Attorney-themed law books, Phoenix Wright’s hair gel, a clock shaped like the Thinker statue, etc.) *This does not mean it will be made into merchandise”

This is a free response section, so good luck explaining, again.

And finally:

QUESTION 20

Q20.開発スタッフに向けて、お祝いのメッセージをお願いします。

“Give a congratulatory message to the development staff!”

If you don’t know what to put here, you can just copy and paste the following:

20周年おめでとうございます!

Which just says “Congratulations on the 20th anniversary!” I think. If I got it wrong, it’s hopefully not horrendously offensive. If you tried to type your answers and have no confidence in your Japanese, you can input “日本語は話せません”, “I don’t speak Japanese”, though they may have figured that out already.

And with that the survey is done and you can submit! We’ll see the results in October. Thanks for following along!

[pokefanclaire]

Secret Santa

Hello everyone! I’m no writer but I decided to have a crack at a fan fiction for a ship I absolutely adore. Alfendi Layton x Lucy Baker. Also I don’t own any rights to the game, or characters its purely my weird thoughts.

This fan fiction has mutual pining and teasing but is pretty tame. I’m not entirely sure how to describe this!

Secret Santa

‘Th’ Prof always uses the mug I gifted him for secret Santa. It’s a normal enough looking mug with “World’s greatest detective” printed in black ink and the inside is decorated with a flurry of magnifying glasses facing every which way. I watched him unwrap my gift for ‘im from under the Scotland yard Christmas tree about a month ago and he ‘asnt used another mug from the break room since’ Lucy thought proudly as she eyed the space allocated for making hot drinks.

“Good morning dear Lucy”

Lucy jumped in surprise of his sudden arrival and twirled to see a tired looking Alfendi sporting disheveled placid burgundy hair and 3 day old stubble across his chin.

“slept ‘ere again prof?”

“.. You know you have to fill that with water Baker?”

He gestured to the empty kettle Lucy was absent mindedly staring at. Alfendi laughed light heartedly at his assistants morning forgetfulness.

Lucy stepped aside as Alfendi began to make tea in his favourite mug. He had clearly slept in the mystery room last night she thought, yet his disheveled, unkept appearance did nothing to calm the flutters in her stomach or the increased pounding of her heart against her ribcage from his arrival to the break room.

Noticing the heat rising in her cheeks from his close proximity she snapped her attention toward the fridge to fetch a lemon slice to add to his earl grey tea Placid enjoyed each morning.

The coolness of the fridge gave her cheeks much needed relief, and Lucy gave out an audible sigh of relief.

“’ere ya are Prof”

Lucy beamed turning around. She felt a solid mass suddenly press against her entirety realising the Prof was standing right behind her.

“Sorr’ Prof”

she said stumbling back a step.

“It was entirely my fault I apologise dear Lucy. Are you okay?”

Smiling shyly placid prof tugged at the back of his neck nervously.

“It were nowt Prof, why’d you sleep at the mystery room anyways?” smiling at the nervousness she now felt. “was there some new case?”

“Not at all Lucy, I just didn’t want to get behind on paperwork. And besides my favourite mug is here at Scotland Yard. I really like it, and what it stands for”

Lucy stared at her mentor.

“I think I know who my secret Santa was”

“well you should” Smiled Lucy “been the worlds greatest detective and all that. Piece of cake for a great mind like yours”

Alfendi drank from his mug maintaining piercing eye contact with his dear Lucy.

“...And my dearest assistant, did you happen to find out the identity of your secret Santa?”

“nah Prof’ It was a crazy difficult puzzle with no instructions but it looks lik’ sum kinda box. I spent all Christmas day tryin’ to solve it. My ma and dad had a go too, and my neighbour tried but nowt”

“I wonder who would send you such a thing dear Lucy”

Lucy felt her cheeks burn from his relentless stare. She couldn't remember the last time Alfendi blinked…

“was ‘t you? Prof’”

Of course Lucy had her suspicions with him been the son of the famous Hershal Layton. A Puzzle sounded fitting. But she was a detective constable and all of Scotland Yard would of known that she would find a puzzle an entertaining gift.. Had Alfendi been staring at her this whole time? She watched his sweet amber eyes flicker to a darker, more dangerous shade of yellow.

Alfendi grinned sipping from his mug trying to guess her train of thoughts.

“You know, I’m quite good with puzzles my dear Baker. Can I possibly be of some help to you?”

Before Lucy could answer Alfendi had crossed the room to her. She had just enough time to groan as Potty Prof’s eyes met with hers. From his slightly crouched position he leant over her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

“because I am… the world greatest detective aren’t I Baker?”

“morning folks!” Dustin called glancing over at Lucy and Alfendi with a raised eyebrow “Not interrupting summat am I?”

Alfendi grinned at Dustin, his unkempt messy hair bright crimson.

“You ‘kay Lucy Love?” Dustin smiled, eyebrow still raised questioningly in Lucy’s direction.

Lucy was inches away from the grinning Potty Alfendi’s face, his unshaven dishevelled look making the break room vanish from her vision as heat rose to her cheeks. She took an inward breath, wanting to answer Dustin quickly before suspicion took hold and everyone at Scotland Yard would soon be making fun of her obvious crush on her mentor.

“um yea Dusti’ ta”

she finally managed with an altogether strange look on her face. Alfendi smelt of stale cigarettes, coffee and old books, an intresting and all together appealing combination rushing her senses.

“I’m just fine” Lucy added. Convincing herself this time.

“are you Baker? Because you look a little distracted by something, or someone perhaps?” he teased.

“then see ya Lucy love, have a good’n” Dustin stifled a laugh as he exited the break room noisily jangling his keys. “young love!” he added from half way down the corridor.

Lucy’s cheeks were hot, She could only imagine how uncomfortable she looked to Alfendi as he continued to intimidate her at her eye level.

“Baker, come with me”

He turned on his heels without looking back toward the break room certain Lucy would follow. Lucy hesitated for a split moment, deep in her own thoughts before racing to catch up with her handsome mentor. Out in the corridor, she looked left and right for Alfendi assuming he had gone to the mystery room she skipped up the corridor after him. The door to the mystery room was wide open, with no apparent inhabitant in there she knocked on the door.

“Hello? Prof? Are you here?”

her calls were met with silence but she observed on Alfendi’s desk was the still warm mug of tea, steam escaping the rim. He had to be here, She felt herself falter as she leaned inside the room knowing that it was most likely Potty Prof inside, Lucy felt the familiar heat rising to her cheeks at the thought of her Potty prof, the original Alfendi Layton. Fearless.

Lucy scanned the corridor once more before deciding to search the suspiciously silent Mystery room.

“Prof?”

Hands quickly covered her eyes as the door slammed shut behind her, heated breath brushed against the nape of her neck.

“care to guess which of your dear mentors is here with you?” Whispered Potty..

“Th’ original of course”

Silence fell once more.

“what did you call me just now” twisting to be sure he saw her lips move as she spoke. “not po…did you say original?”

“aye, I mean ya were ‘ere first wernt you? What woul you like me to call ya?”

Dazed Alfendi stared still covering Lucy’s eyes.

“...and Lucy, you aren’t scared are you? Of me I mean. Us”

He moved a hand to the side, brushing through Lucy’s golden hair. She groaned as the familiar scent of the prof fogged her consciousness for the second time that morning. ‘Get it together Lucy, he’s your boss! and this sort of thing isn’t allowed.. besides he’s just teasing. He never goes through with it, jus’ leaves me hanging. He’s all talk, that Potty’ She managed to comfort herself with her thoughts for a moment before allowing one eye to gently flutter open. He stared silently as heat rushed to her cheek turning her a shade of crimson familiar to Potty.

Alfendi gently traced the outline of her cheek with his outstretched fingers casually moving his face closer to hers before lightly brushing his thumb back and forth over her bottom lip.

“what would happen if I.. We just…..gave in Lucy?.”

Lucy stared at him in disbelief, convinced he was teasing as always she roared with hysterical laughter causing her to lose her balance and tumble forward into Alfendi.

“If I knew it was so easy to get you onto my lap Baker, I would of trapped you in the mystery room months ago”

Lucy’s eyes met with his, smiling broadly.

“I know you Prof, its all teasin’ an nowt else”

“one day I wont be able to stop myself Baker?”

Lucy was left feeling confused at the look on the now placid Prof’s face. Well placid Prof isn’t one for teasing, she thought about the living nightmare her life would become if both potty and placid decided to tease her. Shaking the thought from her head she tried to stand steadying herself on the sofa, offering both hands to the Prof she helped him regain his balance.

“Sorry abou’ falling onto you there Prof! I didn’t mean ta”

Alfendi didn’t reply, instead he stared down silently.

“wa is it?”

Her gaze fell on what had taken the Profs attention. Lucy was still holding Alfendi’s hands after helping him up.

“sorr’ Prof!”

Lucy let go of his hands instantly, retracting her arms from his direction.

“….Lu… Lucy… can you do me a favour please?”

Still looking down at his now empty hands.

“o’course Prof, anything”

Beamed Lucy, hoping by now he would of finally stopped teasing for the day.

“Can you try, to be less… perfect in my presence during work hours. I’ve found it very distracting of late” Alfendi didn’t bring his eyes to meet hers, but Lucy giggled at Pottys latest tease.

Alfendi’s hair was a placid, pale wine colour. He looked up with dull amber eyes.

“I mean it Lucy.”

A silence fell between them.

“tea prof?, how ‘bout I make us a brew! Earl grey with a lemon slice kay? Or would the othe’ trouble maker like a coffee?”

Alfendi laughed sheepishly as Lucy skipped from the mystery room toward the Scotland yard break room.

“Tea would be perfect my love”

morning turned to afternoon, and then dusk as 18:00 flashed on Lucy’s wrist watch.

“I’m ‘eading home now Prof, would you like to ride together?”

Alfendi hadn’t heard the question, or ignored his assistants declaration that she intended to leave.

“Is the mysterious puzzle in your backpack Lucy or at home?”

“s’in me backpack, I like it a whole bunch and who knows when i’ll figure it out eh?”

“May I see it Lucy? If you would kindly accept the help of your mentor”

“Sure Prof, I would love you to ‘elp me get a little further with solving the puzzle. Can I grab you some food from the take out place ‘round th’ corner” Understanding Alfendi will tackle her puzzle for a few hours at least.

“May I suggest something similar? I need to return to my apartment building this evening to take care of some household chores, and shave as i’m sure you’ve noticed I failed to remember to bring my razor with me into to work these past few days”

Alfendi ran a hand through his newly emerging beard with a disgusted curl tugging at the edge of his lips.

“we could grab some take away, and we can cycle to my apartment and I can help you with your puzzle while I take care of my chores”

“I uh.. I like it the stubbl’ I mean Prof.it suits ya somthin wicked”

Alfendi looked over at Lucy his hand frozen in the rough patch of hair now inhabiting his cheek.

“Can you confirm please, the newly emerged stubble you like?” Alfendi raised an eyebrow at Lucy.

“wel’ I guess yea.  stubbl’ or ‘least yours”

Lucy stared for a moment before realising she hadn't answered Prof’s next question.

“oh an’ take out at your place would be grand”

Alfendi didn't say a word until they reached the take out place near Scotland yard.

“what do you fancy Lucy? I mean from the take-out menu of course”

He grinned from ear to ear.

“’ello Potty, wondered if you were joining us this evening”

“Do you fancy something Italian Baker?”

“This is a chines’ restaurant silly”

He leaned into Lucy’s scarf sending his warm breath over her ear.

“I’m the something Italian silly”

“no, I don’t fancy any dam’ Italian”

“yes you do Baker”

Alfendi blew warm air over her ear and felt the gooseflesh wash over her exposed skin.

“yes you do.” he repeated.

The pair stood in silence: Alfendi grinning at her blush, Lucy pretending to be very interested in the Chinese food menu.

“now are you ready to order from the Chinese menu?”

[fallen-feather1992]

Winding the Future - An Unwinding Future Oneshot

Hi guys! I decided to write a oneshot set in my Unwinding Future universe! I'm going to post the link to it on AO3, as well as post it here, under the cut! Here's the summary!

Summary: How exactly did the future become so bad? How did Hershel, Desmond, Flora, and Luke get captured, while Raymond managed to rescue Alfendi? What led to London’s downfall, and the rise of the Family? This is what originally happened, when Al and Future Luke did not go to the past to warn their future selves.

I suggest reading Professor Layton and the Unwinding Future first before reading this.

Alright, the story is under the cut. Or you can use the link to read it on AO3. Have fun!

Professor Layton frowned slightly as he entered his flat, twenty-minutes to one. He’d noticed, for the past two days, two people following him.

He was… worried, to say the least. Because of this, he cancelled his afternoon classes, planning on picking the kids up from school, just in case.

But until their school let out, he was trying to figure out all he could about those following him. Yesterday, it was a sweet, little old lady, but he wouldn’t put it past the possibility that it was someone in disguise.

The other person following him, who had been since the middle of the week, was less subtle. It was a man in a suit and sunglasses.

He sat at his desk in his home study, looking through notes on previous cases, trying to figure out who would follow him now, and why. He wasn’t able to get through much, however, before there was a knock on his door. He stood, dropping a bookmark into the book on his desk, before answering.

“Desmond?” he gasped, staring at the man.

“We don’t have much time. I know I’m ten minutes early, but if we’re going to deal with whatever’s going on, we need to do it now.” Desmond pushed Hershel further into the flat and closed the door behind them. Layton simply let him, shock rolling through his body.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Layton said, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“Your letter? Friday, at one?” Desmond pulled the letter from his suit pocket, holding it up. “The second message in it?”

“Letter? But I didn’t send—I thought you were dead.”

Desmond froze, gaping at his younger brother.

“What?”

“The last time I saw you was at the ruins of the Azran Temple while it was falling apart…” Layton said, pulling the brim of his hat lower to cover his eyes.

“Hershel, I—”

BANG BANG BANG

Both men jumped and turned to the door, which shuddered in it’s frame. Desmond’s eyes widened at that.

“We don’t have any more time. Do you know what’s going on?” he demanded, backing away from the door. Hershel shook his head.

“No idea,” he said.

“Then I suggest—”

BAN-CRASH

The door slammed inwards, and three men forced their way into the flat, crowding the entrance hall. Hershel and Desmond quickly backed away.

“Boss says yous have to come with us,” the first man said, wearing a nasty grin.

“And who are you?” Hershel demanded, the anger only just contained to his voice at these men breaking into his home.

“You can call us… The Family.” The first man lunged forward. Desmond darted forward as well, jumping up and landing a wheelhouse kick on the man’s face. The man stumbled backwards into one of his companions, but the third managed to jump out of the way, grabbing Desmond by the back of his coat before he could land, and throwing him into the living room. Desmond hit the floor and slammed into the side of Hershel’s couch with a groan.

“Desmond!” Hershel yelled, before turning to face the men, the second having recovered. Both moved to grab him, but he jumped back, grabbing his coat rack and flinging it across their path as he moved, causing one of them to trip. Desmond let out a soft groan and started to push himself up, much to Hershel’s relief, but he knew they had to get out of there. He darted into the living room, dragging Desmond the rest of the way up and with him as he did so, and over to the window that faced the back alley, where the Laytonmobile was parked.

“Hershel?” Desmond muttered.

“Get to my car. I’m right behind you,” he said, pushing Desmond towards the window. He then turned to face three members of The Family, and his blood ran cold.

They had guns.

As the first lifted the gun towards them, Hershel dove towards an end table, grabbed the first thing his hand landed on (a rare puzzle box), and threw it at the man, distracting him from taking aim. The gun went off, the bullet striking the ceiling above Hershel, but it was enough time for him to dive out the window after Desmond. The two ran for Hershel’s car, and he tore out of the alleyway.

***

“Argh! Why are all the other kids at school so stupid!” Seven-year-old Alfendi trailed after Flora and Luke as they got off the bus, not too far from the Professor’s flat.

“Not everyone can be as smart as you, Al,” Flora giggled, glancing back at the boy she saw as a little brother.

“Still,” Alfendi huffed. “It’s almost like they try to be stupid.”

“I doubt that,” Luke said, shaking his head. “But maybe you should try to be nice to them? It’s what a true gentleman would do.”

Before Alfendi could respond, a hand grabbed his arm in a tight grip, yanking him backwards. He went to yell for help, to alert Luke and Flora who were in front of him, but a rough hand was pressed over his mouth.

“Alfendi?” Luke asked, glancing over his shoulder, just in time to see the young boy bite down as hard as he could on the hand covering his mouth. The man holding him yelped and released him. Alfendi tried to scramble away, but the man recovered and grabbed the back of his coat, yanking him back again, this time wrapping an arm around the squirming boy’s neck.

“Alfendi!” Luke gasped, while Flora covered her mouth in fear. “Let him go!” he yelled.

“Hmph. I don’t think we will. Especially not after the little brat bit me.” The man’s arm tightened slightly, and Alfendi’s eyes widened in fear. He grabbed at the arm, twisting and squirming, but was unable to get free.

Luke growled at that, flinging his satchel off of his arm, and launching himself at the man, surprising him enough he did let go of Alfendi for a second time.

“RUN!” he yelled at the other two as he punched and clawed at the man’s face. Flora grabbed Alfendi’s hand, and the two took off.

“Wh-where are we going?” Alfendi asked, blinking hard in an effort to not cry.

“Home! Hopefully the Professor is there,” Flora said. Alfendi nodded and glanced back, just in time to see the man yank Luke off of him and toss him to the ground. Luke gasped in pain, trying to push himself up as a van pulled up. Before the boy could react, a pair of arms reached out of the side door of the van and yanked him in.

“No…” Alfendi whispered, before narrowing his eyes, staring at the license plate and memorizing it.

He and Flora then whirled around a corner, getting to the street they lived on, and froze.

A few men, like the first one, milled around the flat, the door broken in. Another black van was parked outside.

“Flora… you don’t think…” Alfendi whispered, scared.

“I… I don’t know,” Flora whispered back.

Just then, more men spotted them. Flora tightened her grip on Alfendi’s hand, and ran in a different direction, pulling him along.

***

Hershel flew through the streets of London, glancing in his rearview mirror every now and again to make sure they weren’t being followed. He was trying to get to the school, to grab the kids, while also trying to figure out what to do. Desmond sat silently in the passenger seat, rubbing the side of his head, where he had smacked it when he’d been thrown.

“Who were those men…?” Desmond finally asked, looking over at Hershel.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them before,” Hershel said, slowing to a stop at a red light.

“But in your letter, you encoded the word ‘trap’,” Desmond frowned. “You clearly knew something was going to happen today!”

Hershel frowned at the light turned green, and he started through the intersection. “Desmond, I did not send you--!”

CHRASH

The Laytonmobile skidded sideways as a black van plowed into the driver’s side. Hershel’s head slammed against the side with a sickening crack. Desmond fared better, being on the passenger side, and simply hung on until the vehicle came to a complete stop.

“Hershel?” he said, turning to the Professor, whos eyes were closed, breathing ragged. He reached over, grabbing the man’s shoulder, only to jerk back when Hershel flinched in pain. “Hershel, wake up! We need to go!” he said, looking through the window at the van, and the men getting out of it.

“Leave… me…”

Desmond’s head snapped down, and he looked at his brother. His eyes were slightly open.

“I can’t,” Desmond said, shaking his head. Before he could say another word, Hershel’s door was yanked open, metal squealing against metal, and two sets of hands were pulling the professor out roughly. Desmond scowled at that, ready to jump them, to protect his brother, but froze when they leveled a gun to the side of Layton’s head.

“Come quietly, and we won’t hurt him,” the man said. Desmond’s eyes flickered between him, the gun, and the semi-conscious Hershel, before he sighed, lowering his head, lifting his hands in surrender, and getting out of the ruined car.

***

Flora and Alfendi ran as hard as they could, but soon found themselves surrounded. The men closed in on them, boxing them into a corner.

“Flora…? What do we do?” Alfendi whimpered, his breathing quick and shallow. Flora glanced down at him, recognizing the signs that he was on the verge of a panic attacks.

“We stay calm, Alfendi. We try to keep a clear mind. Can you do that for me?” she asked. Alfendi hesitated, before nodding slightly. His eyes then widened.

“Flora!”

Just as he said it, a pair of arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her side. Flora gasped, and struggled, but was no match for the man holding her.

“Boy, up here!” an accented voice suddenly called. He looked up, noticing the ladder to the fire escape they were under had been lowered, and threw himself at it, climbing as fast as he could. One of the men tried to grab him, but a flower pot dropped from above, landing square on the man’s face. Alfendi managed to get to the first landing.

“Don’t stop thar, lad. Keep climbing!” the voice barked from above.

“But Flora—”

“We’ll worry about her once you’re safe!”

Alfendi hesitated only a second more, before continuing to climb. Once he was at the top, the roof, he looked back to see the men watching him, and Flora was gone…

He turned to spot his savior, an elderly man with a hook nose, wearing a red suit.

“They… they took her… you said we’d save her too, but we’re too late!” Alfendi whimpered. The elderly man patted his shoulder.

“Now, now, lad. Please, calm down. We will save her, and the others. It just might take us some time,” he said softly.

“The others…? Wait! Luke and Dad? DAD was taken!?” Alfendi wrapped his arms around himself, trying not to give in to the panic that was filling his mind with static. “Who are you? Are you with them?”

“Of course not, lad. I’m… an acquaintance of the Professor’s. My name is Raymond.”

[mckitterick]

there's a hole in the world, full of ghosts as old as bones

(that’s a photograph of "Thanksgiving 1977," by Lawrence, Kansas, artist Elizabeth Layton that I snapped in James Gunn's basement tonight - another famous Lawrencian and one of the most important people in my life, who died in December) 

Just got back from visiting Jim Gunn's house.

So strange to be there where it feels we just had take-out breakfast from HyVee, even the carpet stain from spilled coffee is still there in the living room carpet. But Jim isn't.

Except he is. He's in every piece of paper, every stack of books, every award and trophy. He's there on his office chair, covered in cat hair. He's leaning on his yellow-handled walker, which he grudgingly used only in his last months. He's putting up watercolor family portraits and vintage science fiction art on the wood paneled walls, and cat posters in the garage. He's on the many bookshelves, the kitchen table covered in magazines and unopened mail, the refrigerator empty except for dried-up condiments. He's everywhere.

But he's nowhere, too. Except as dust in an urn in Pioneer Cemetery.

I sense his loss like a hole in the fabric of spacetime. As if there's something wrong in the universe.

Getting home, the only person to greet me is Miette Kitty.

All of this got me feeling very strange: This house should be full of life, of people. It used to be. Two other humans have lived here with me, before. But until I opened the door, only my kitty is here now. Like Jim's cat Annie, until our mutual friend Ruth adopted her.

Friends! Like so many during this quarantine year, all my friends are but memories, except for digital communiques and a few chilly outdoors chats - socially distanced, so no hugs, no sharing of food.

My students appear only as images in Zoom. These ghosts in my machine appear quite lifelike, and maintain dynamic conversations with one another every class period. But my classrooms have sat deserted all year. The lovely and troublesome scholarship hall we rent for our residential Science Fiction Summer program gathered dust last year, and will again this summer. And Jim could not visit either.

Then there's the hollow within: During this devastating year, I've found keeping up with the work, repairs, and personal stuff I need to do drains my energy to the core, preventing me from accomplishing most of the things I really want to do. Plus those I need to do to nourish my writing or friendships or anything else beyond survival.

Like complete my revision of my first Jack & Stella novel - which is sooooo close to being done, so thoroughly revised I'll need to post side by side versions to show my Patreon followers the vast difference from what they've seen last! But finishing has been like swimming through clay.

Did I die last year, but everyone was just too polite to say?

Feels like a black hole started collapsing in my life some time in 2019, and fell beyond its blue event horizon in the couple months between when my long-time partner moved out and Jim died.

Thanksgiving in the middle. Hence my choice of illustration for this entry.

This grief upon grief upon grief, after so many years of fighting various antagonists simply to keep going, all the while overcoming mental health challenges (and doing pretty well in that, I think)... yet everything has been very heavy to carry.

I can feel it in my bones.

Aging isn't about time, not really. It's about what happens over time, the accumulation of loss.

And so very much loss is pulling at my heart right now.

I read today that the Appalachian Mountains are older than vertebrate life on planet Earth. They have witnessed the rise of life from the seas, our evolution from lungfish. They've listened to the thunder of dinosaurs on the hunt or running for their lives. They've witnessed a thousand thousand generations of ever-changing beings, and the deaths of them all.

They are older than bones.

And one day the young Rocky Mountains will watch their eastern cousins crumble into the ground, long after humans have gone.

The man I've thought of as Dad - Science Fiction's Dad, as I've called him in several articles - is gone. I have the proof of witness tonight.

Another important mentor, Fred Pohl, died what feels like just yesterday. A few years ago, my (problematic) mother died. One of my Young Gunns (Workshop alums) died this year, after a couple others in the past decade. And I've only seen the rest, my stalwart alums who've become close friends, as Zoom figures.

Everyone in the world feels like ghosts right now. Or I am the ghost of Chris Who Was.

I'm feeling that loss, that weight we call age.

[butchedyke]

i was tagged by miss alex @hotrod2007 to answer 30 questions and tag people to also answer said questions. thank u my dearest soap eating friend this took me multiple days to complete because i got stuck on the last question <3

1. name/nickname: colleen! my beloved discord friends call me col tho

2. gender: teenage boy in a campy 80s film

3. star sign: scorpio! i finally memorised my moon and rising bc i was sick of checking my phone every time it came up but idk what it means so if scorpio sin virgo moon libra rising means anything to anyone. hmu

4. height: short but still taller than alex <3 (approx 5'3")

5. time: it was 11:53pm aedst when i started writing this but i just finished 2 days later and it's 10:16pm <3

6. birthday: november 4

7. favorite bands/groups: one direction, panic! at the disco (do not mistake me for someone that likes or respects br*ndon urie i just like the songs), i'm more prone to just listening to Songs rather than Artists so i'm p limited here dhksbc i've been listening to a decent amount of the cure lately tho

8. favorite solo artist: hozier, mika, harry styles, again tho i listen to a lot of individual songs rather than artists rip

9. song stuck in my head: nothing atm so i'm hoping to keep it that way. most of today i had our house by madness stuck in my head and i don't need that curse back

10. last movie: ready or not

11. last show: s*pernatural

12: when did i create this blog: 2012 :|

13. what do i post: that is such a good question!

14. last thing googled: azealia banks cat

15. other blogs: that's a secret 🧡

16. do i get asks: no and i don't know what i have to do to get them!!!!

17. why did i choose this url: i'm butch. i'm lesbian. that's it!

18. following: 516

19. followers: around 2660, it fluctuates when i change content or post mildly problematic things

20. average hours of sleep: a solid 7 or 8! benefits of living with ur gf who does full time shiftwork ur sleep schedule becomes weirdly regular around hers

21. lucky number: just like. whatever

22. instruments: i haven't touched it for a solid 12 months but cornet, i played in my local brass band from age 10 until i moved out at 17 and still sometimes play when i'm visiting my parents

23. what am i wearing: pyjamas 🧡 grey shirt with cats on it and long black shorts with skulls on them

24: dream job: dream jobs aren't real no one dreams of working whatever but i want to work in a museum! i'd be happy with any job whether it be curating or tour guiding or whatever but i know i need more qualifications :^| other than that though i'd like to work in a library!

25: dream trip:  not 2 be cringe but i'd kill to go to disney world. i've got a Thing for the lore of the parks, sue me

26. favorite food: lasagne. garfield kinnie (joke)

27. nationality: a*stralian 🤢

28. favorite song: atm either wuthering heights by kate bush or the lovecats by the cure 

29. last book read: i genuinely could not tell you the last book i finished reading but i got about halfway through howl's moving castle last year! shit's wack he's literally just a guy from wales? studio ghibli REALLY took some liberties and i thank them every day for it

30. three fictional universes you’d like to live in: suddenly ive forgotten every piece of media ive ever consumed 🧡  on the topic of studio ghibli though i'd definitely say the my neighbour totoro universe given that i have in the past had a cry over the fact that totoro isn't real, maybe ocarina of time hyrule but in a universe where nothing goes wrong and i just live my little lesbian life in kakariko village OR on the floaty island in skyward sword which i have Not played since i was about 9 but have positive opinions on (switch remaster when), and highkey the professor layton universe bc i love a good ambiguous time period and i like the idea of it being normal to just have puzzles everywhere and sometimes communicate through them. don't talk to me unless you solve this puzzle. icon behaviour

im always beaten to tagging the people i want to but im gonna do it anyway just in case <3 @lethbians @morbidstuff2019 @eastaustraliancurrent @dykearchie @zukkacore @pensomolto @afterafternoons obviously no one is obligated to do it and if any of my other beloved mutuals are compelled to u can say i tagged u this is an @everyone

[kamipyre]

PEOPLE I’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER  /

NAME  /  ALIAS /  ferre BIRTHDATE  / july 29th ZODIAC SIGN  /  leo sun, gemini moon, pisces rising ( i’m an astrology nerd sjdklfj talk to me about astrology if you want!! ) HEIGHT  /  5′2″ HOBBIES  /  uh....mostly writing and reading! i do play video games occasionally and i take long walks/runs on the daily. sometimes i play the piano as well <3 FAVORITE COLOR  /  sea green! i have a soft spot for yellow too though. FAVORITE BOOK  /  as of right now the friend by sigrid nunez and on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong.  LAST SONG  /   SHINee’s atlantis. i don’t intend to bring kpop into here- but SHINee’s the only kpop group i really follow these days. LAST FILM / SHOW  /   furuba fruits basket!! i could spend HOURS talking about the manga series and the anime- it’s one of the few pieces that can make me cry. it is by far one of my favorite series along with avatar the last airbender. INSPIRATION  /  well you see....i’ve had suki’s concept (both personality and backstory) for years. her concept was inspired by the backstory of the true villain in professor layton and the unwound future. it’s real funny because her concept is actually the very first one i came up for an rp character. through out my (very chaotic) time in rp, i’ve tried constantly to pull off her concept so she’s technically been through multiple incarnations. before now, it just never clicked for me and i’d end up developing previous incarnations into entirely different ocs. adding the burn scars, i think really got me to nail her personality down.  STORY BEHIND URL  /  ‘kami’ is the kind of paper one uses to make origami. and 'pyre’, well it’s self explanatory, but also it does allude to how a fire was also the funeral pyre for the happy family life suki once had. 

tagged by  /  i was scrolling thu @eternasci​ blog and decided to steal sjkdlfjs thank u :D tagging  /  steal it!! and then tag me also!!