#it was mainly his dreads that i’ve been unsatisfied with

[the-lavender-clown]

Little human SOP!Donnie doodle I did traditionally because I feel like I haven’t been drawing his human form right for a little bit

[atopearth]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Part 4 - Trials and Tribulations (3rd game)

Turnabout Memories Omggg! I can’t believe we get to see Phoenix and Mia’s first meeting! I’ve always liked Mia so this is great! It’s so cute to see a younger Phoenix that is so cute and careless haha. Didn’t expect him to be the defendant for Mia’s second case ever though, but I guess it is a Phoenix Wright game, they gotta put him in the spotlight somehow, so if he’s not the defence, he’ll have to be a suspect hahaha. It’s so adorable when Phoenix cries lmao, but wow Dahlia is so cute and pretty, she’s an angel! Those butterflies hovering around her though lmao. The bottle necklace was really cool.

Wow, I really liked how this case turned out, it definitely feels more in line with the cases in the first game that I liked the most, mainly because it’s simple, it’s straightforward and it rounds up all the evidence and people mentioned nicely. I didn’t expect Phoenix to be so smitten with Dahlia though lol, but yeah, she’s really evil, not that we get to know what her motives for killing that attorney were, but dang was she evil to give the bottle that hid the poison to Phoenix so the police wouldn’t find it. I find it kinda funny that it ended up backfiring on her because Phoenix refused to return it to her later on so she had to keep dating him to try and get it back loll. Gotta feel sorry for the ex though, he noticed that she was dodgy and had stolen poison from his labs and was nice enough to warn Phoenix, but that instead led to his death, sigh, so terrible. Considering Dahlia’s last words, I guess we’ll be seeing her again… But yeah, I really liked this case especially with Mia being the lawyer, you can see how great she was even when she was a newbie. Lmao at Mr Payne losing his hair and screaming when he lost loll. Gotta love all the exaggeration, it really makes the game haha.

The Stolen Turnabout It’s nice to see Andrews living a better life now than when she was a manager. Lmaoo that no one noticed the urn being weird with the name spelt wrong since Pearl glued it back in the wrong places. Shocking that the village is famous enough that their “treasures” are being exhibited though lol. Otherwise, Atmey the ace detective doesn’t seem very interesting of a guy lol. I have to say, I miss Larry and his ability to complicate everything so it’s nice to see him again! Can’t believe he and Phoenix didn’t talk to each other for two years though! But, I guess considering the type of happy go lucky guy he is, Larry following a woman to Japan and then getting dumped is believable loll. I wonder if he makes all the girls he dates famous or something loll. Anyway, I don’t know why, but I feel like Atmey looks like and feels like Mask DeMasque. Okay, I love Godot’s look, he looks cool!! HAHAHA, I love him already, he’s never won or lost a case before because he’s a beginner hahahaha. He’s such an eccentric but it’s so cute, it was so funny and slack when he wanted to call his next witness, but Gumshoe said he hadn’t proven anything yet, and Godot says he already proved his incompetence LOL. And I love how Godot said the safest place to keep evidence is by him pocketing them hahahah. Gotta love everyone’s confidence here, Atmey especially, he didn’t even get to see the culprit’s face and was knocked out by him but he’s still so full of himself lolll. Gotta love how lenient the judge is with all the dodgy people, but I guess that’s expected since he’s not the best himself hahaha. LMAO when Godot said objection and threw his coffee at Phoenix (Godot Blend #102 hahaha) and you see the cup on his head whilst it’s dripping coffee hahahaha.

Anyway, what is wrong with Ron? Why is he so insistent on being Mask DeMasque and being pronounced guilty? Ohh wow, didn’t expect the CEO that was apparently blackmailing Ron to die, and to think that Phoenix proving him to be at the CEO office at the time of the theft saved him from the current case but now has caused him to be arrested for murdering the CEO. Aside from that, I love how when Godot is losing to Phoenix, steam comes out of his head or he just says random things about coffee to express his feelings lmao. Hahaahha Wendy Oldbag is Larry’s superior and partner in KB Security? Loll, they both sound so dodgy, I’m worried for this building. I wonder if Mask DeMasque is like two people or something lol. Hmm so Ron was the thief but someone gave him the plans and what to steal~ HAHAHA, lmao when Godot said “you did it, didn’t you?” to Ron when he was about to start testifying and Ron with a serious face says “yes” and then realises what he just said yes to and starts saying noooo LOL. Like the judge said, it really could have been the shortest trial ever hahahaha. Gotta love Gadot’s variety of reactions, it was so hilarious whenever he spat his coffee out at Phoenix uncovering things that were unexpected to him hahaha. Anyway, I really liked how things went on in this part of the trial! Even though it was obvious Detective Atmey was the culprit, it was interesting to see how he made everyone fall into the trap of thinking he was actually Mask DeMasque in order to get himself a guilty verdict of larceny as his alibi to protect him from actually being accused of murdering the CEO. That felt really clever and interesting imo. Well, glad to know Desiree really loves Ron as much as he loves her, so it’s a nice ending for them haha.

Overall, although Atmey was a boring culprit when considering his motives etc, I found the flow of the case really fun and interesting. The case started off pretty funny and amusing by introducing the broken urn from the previous game again and making it seem like a theft case, when really it interrelated with the idea of someone trying to use the double jeopardy rule (can’t be tried for the same charges twice when some sort of verdict has been made already) to get themselves out of the more serious crime. I liked the idea and the execution of it quite a bit and enjoyed how everything turned out~

Recipe for Turnabout A fake Nick?! Isn’t it a bit crazy that no one in court or anything knew it was a fake though?? Not sure if I like the sound of this case already… The fake also kinda tarnished his reputation for losing and getting a guilty verdict too! Well, I didn’t expect to see Maggey again, bad luck follows her everywhere, huh? Even when she’s been fired as a police officer and is now a waitress… Yahh, Armstrong is certainly an eccentric character… Well, uh, aside from the disgusting food, overly pungent flower smell in the restaurant and those weird dodgy aromatherapy oils he’s giving out, is there anything good about this guy or restaurant?! Omgg lace curtains in a kitchen, I am dreading the possibility of a fire already… Lmao when Maya in that maid/waitress outfit couldn’t entice Victor to talk and so she had to turn into Mia lolll.

Honestly though, Godot makes me want to drink coffee allll the time hahaha. Lmaooo at Gumshoe trying so hard to get Phoenix to doubt his testimony and evidence so that Maggey can be freed hahahah. Awww so cute how Gumshoe made a lunchbox for Maggey since she seemed to have lost weight from the stress of the case! Lmao that it’s just a bunch of weenies/sausages with rice though hahahah. I’m surprised no one cares or thinks the chef is suspicious especially since Maggey fainted when the guy got poisoned, like ummm okay?? I’d say that the idea of the Victor seeing a fake crime scene with a fake victim was interesting, but at the same time, it felt really implausible? Especially with how easily it was renounced by Phoenix because of the radio lottery announcement that occurs at 1:30pm every time? Lmao at everyone (even the judge hahaha) getting scared of Tigre’s dominating presence and shouting so they hide under the table lolll. Gotta love how calm Godot remains.

And yeah…the way they tricked him into telling the whole court what the bottle of potassium cyanide actually looked like etc was just..so, how do I say it? Unsatisfying??? Well, technically I felt like the whole story of this case and how it happened and why it happened was pretty bland already, but even the way they got him was just so uncharacteristically satisfying. I feel like what I enjoy most about the game is when they give you the evidence and the testimonies and that leads you to solving the case with clear cut evidence etc to show that “this person” did it. It just feels rather cheap when they deviate from that since it doesn’t feel like the reader themselves really did their part to show why this person is guilty, instead you’re reliant on Phoenix doing something random and dodgy to succeed. On another note, I found Maggey blaming Gumshoe and hating on him really annoying especially when she was a policewoman before and so she should understand that he had to give the facts, like seriously, you can’t blame him for telling the truth, especially when he ran around everywhere trying to help find evidence to prove her innocence. Not only was she not grateful for any of it, she KEEPS blaming him even after the trial ends! Like girl, he has no obligation (other than his job) to help her to such an extent that he’s even making lunchboxes etc for her, I was so annoyed with her, and do not want to see her again honestly, but I doubt it’s the last time we see her zzz. Considering how annoying she was about it all, I’m surprised she still ate the lunchbox in the end, Gumshoe is wasted on her. But yeah, basically, not a fan of this case in terms of story or the characters/witnesses. Victor was okay because he was a silly guy, but Tigre was so boring, even more boring than I initially thought.

Turnabout Beginnings I’m glad we get to see Mia’s first case! I was scared they might put it in the next game or something haha. Is Diego (another attorney in the same law firm as Mia) Godot’s father or something? Or is it actually Godot himself? Or am I just thinking too much haha. Omgggg I can’t believe Edgeworth is the prosecutor!! Young him is so cute though lol. Nah, Diego has the statement coffee cup, he’s gotta be related to Godot, it must run in the family!! Loll. Awww Gumshoe and Edgeworth go way back! So, is Melissa Dahlia? Did she change her name?? Honestly though, I’m not really interested in the case haha, doesn’t help how biased the judge is and how tricky Edgeworth is lol. Okay, that was unexpected, Valerie, Fawles and Dahlia were in on this “kidnapping” to get some cash out of it, but Valerie betrayed them and caused her sister, the little girl “Dahlia” to fall to her death on the bridge? Ohh okay, that turned out more interesting than I thought. I can see why Mia was quite traumatised with her first case, she was so close to revealing Dahlia to be the one that jumped off the bridge herself to keep that 2 million diamond for herself, and how she killed her sister and pinned it on Terry to stop the truth from getting out, and yet…Terry was so obsessed and taken with Dahlia that he chose to commit suicide instead, and it was by drinking poison from that bottle Phoenix had in the beginning of the first case in this game… That was honestly pretty saddening.

Bridge to the Turnabout Okay, initially, I was sceptical about this with the Iris seeming to be Dahlia thing and the temple stuff etc, but now that Phoenix is hurt and Larry wants Edgeworth to defend Iris, this seems like it’ll be a fun case! Like, sure, the court was dodgy enough to accept a paper attorney badge last time and not even recognise Phoenix’s imposter, but everyone knows Edgeworth is a prosecutor! How are they going to get around that? Loll. Swapping the judge out is a good idea to get around it, but I like the judge!! Well, the judges are brothers so I guess that’s cool hahaha. But yeah, I love the usual judge, he’s so silly, it’s hilarious! Anyway, lmao that the “blackmail letter” to Iris was actually Larry’s love letter hahahaha, he ended up scaring her away instead lollll.

Omggg Franziska vs Edgeworth?? I prefer Godot but I guess this match will be interesting. Hahahaha at the judge thinking Edgeworth looks familiar (since he’s the same judge that was in the Mia vs Edgeworth case back in the day) and Franziska insisting there’s no such weakling in the prosecutor’s office lolll. And then I love how the judge tries to get rid of Franziska’s whip but Edgeworth says she should be allowed to keep it since he doesn’t care lolll, what about the judge’s wishes?! Lmaoo at Sister Bikini (what a name btw LOL) being so short (because of her bad back) at the witness podium, you just see her eyes blinking hahahaha, and then they had to get milk crates for her ahahaha. Awwww Edgeworth is so cute to say he now understands why Phoenix feels so happy when he exposes contradictions in testimonies hahaha. Larry is hilarious, I can’t believe he was literally sketching for 15 minutes when the bridge was burning down instead of getting help LOL. It’s normal for Edgeworth and Franziska to insult Larry’s intelligence but lmao at even the judge saying he was surprised Larry actually witnessed an actual event loll. Gotta love how Larry makes every case he’s in more complicated haha.

Hmmm is Godot the guy that was poisoned by Dahlia?🧐 Is Elise Maya’s mother? She is!! Iris is Pearls’ sister??? Do they even know about each other?? Oh wait, now Iris is a twin?? Well, I was thinking that was the only logical explanation to the people sighting her everywhere and the extra psyche locks on the Sacred Cavern (where Maya is trapped) but I’m still surprised that they’re all actually Morgan’s (Misty’s sister, so Maya and Mia’s aunt) daughters! Ummm, if Iris’ father is a jeweller and he left Kurain village with the twin daughters after knowing that Morgan could never be the master, and if he gave Iris up to the temple and kept the other daughter… Does that mean Dahlia is the other sister and that’s why she really wanted that jewel in that case? Oh wow, Iris was a part of the fake kidnapping as well but somehow betrayed Dahlia causing her “killing spree”. Hmm if they stole the jewel as “revenge” on their father for how he treated Morgan (dumping her since she was useless to him), what was their plan exactly?

Hahaha gotta love that the trial has barely started and it’s already killing Phoenix since Iris just confessed she’s actually an accomplice to the murder! Well, the pendulum swinging the body back was pretty much what I expected even though it still kinda sounds rather far fetched… And I was wondering why Iris was weird, she’s actually Dahlia! I’m kinda confused at the idea of them being able to materialise Dahlia without actually having her body like possess someone? Since it’s implied initially that Misty was the one channeling her, but now that she’s dead, she’s still materialised?? I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but wouldn’t it be most likely that the one channeling Dahlia is actually Maya? And yep it was! I was thinking it was impossible for Pearl to have been the one channeling her since she already since she didn’t and couldn’t do it, so I was so confused haha. It’s good that Maya was smart enough to consult Mia and that’s how they were able to plan and get Maya to protect herself from Dahlia by being the one channeling her so that she wouldn’t be able to know that the one she actually needed to hurt was herself. That thing Dahlia kinda became when she was disappeared was pretty menacing, I feel like she would be back in a future game just because of how vengeful she is tbh.

Omg, the defence attorney Dahlia poisoned was Armando, the guy who was helping Mia out in that trial with Dahlia. Both Mia and him were still suspicious of Dahlia after that case so she killed him…. I knew it was coming, but to think that Diego Armando is really Godot… Like, don’t get me wrong, I love Godot’s looks, but I’m sure having to wear that visor to see things etc already kinda depicts how terrible his life must had become after the incident with Dahlia. Oh wow, Godot was in a coma for 5 years due to the poison… I never expected Godot to have loved Mia so much that he hated Phoenix for not being able to protect her whilst he was asleep. And I didn’t expect him to care so much that he made protecting Maya one of his reasons for living, since he knew that she was the most important person to Mia. It’s so tragic yet sweet… I didn’t think Misty, Iris and Godot all cooperated trying to foil Morgan’s plan though… Honestly, it broke my heart to see Godot trying to guide Phoenix to the end of the trial by himself instead of always relying on Mia. It’s true that he hated Phoenix for not protecting Mia, but Godot also hated himself for missing out on everything that happened as well, he felt like he failed as well. So having to see Phoenix point out that Godot was the murderer was so tough and terrible to witness, mainly because they all did what they did to protect Maya. Misty channeled Dahlia’s soul to prevent Pearl from doing it, but that meant it was up to Godot to stop her, and there was no other way to stop her than for Godot to have stabbed her at that moment. Although Godot doubts whether he did it for Maya or for himself (for revenge on Dahlia poisoning him), I think there’s no need to even think about it, even though he had his own sort of pride (for not telling Phoenix about the plan), in his own way, he did what he could to protect what was precious to Mia. And that honestly breaks my heart.

The other most surprising thing to come out of this was that in reality, Dahlia and Phoenix only met each other twice (when she used him to hide the poison and when she tried to poison him in the end), all the other times they met and dated and had a relationship, it was actually Iris trying her best to get the bottle back from him so that Dahlia wouldn’t kill him. Although, she obviously failed and that caused Dahlia to hatch her plan and not tell Iris about it because she knew Iris had fallen in love with Phoenix. Honestly though, I really wanted Phoenix and Iris to get together this whole time, so knowing that they used to be together was really nice. If only it was possible in the future too… I thought it was really cool and bittersweet how Phoenix and Godot shared a cup of coffee with each other at the end of the trial. I guess in a sense, he’s finally free since the case is resolved, but at the same time I can’t help but feel so sad about it all. Maya and Pearl are really strong for being able to keep up their smiles.

Honestly, I found the last case to be rather convoluted and boring because of the fact that I’ve never really been a fan of the supernatural element of the game with the Kurain channelling technique. The only times I liked them using it was to bring back Mia, but not really in an actual case, so that detracted points for me, and I guess also because Dahlia wasn’t a very interesting villain either. Dahlia is just like this ball of pure hatred for everything and everyone for betraying her and treating her like crap, and although it’s understandable, aside from her looks, there was nothing I liked about her lol. However, the last case definitely hit me in the feels the best out of all the cases in this trilogy, I legit wanted to cry because of Godot’s/Armando’s story and motivations, he was really relatable and I couldn’t help but really empathise with his hatred, his sadness and his forced acceptance of reality in the present. It was painful to witness because of how much it broke my heart. He is definitely my favourite character for this whole franchise. Larry and Mia being close seconds haha.

Overall, although I found the Maggey case and the Godot one lacking in terms of the case itself, most of this third game was great! I enjoyed most of it and really felt like it had the gist of what I loved in the first game so it was great to play through it! The psyche locks are still something I don’t like, but oh well. Honestly, I really wanted to play as Edgeworth a bit more but I guess I can play that other game with him as the MC? It’s on Android so I guess I can play it on that haha. I think my favourite part was being able to play as Mia, I really enjoyed getting to see more of her personality and how she worked her way through her cases and how much of an impact that first case had on her. She should get spin offs too! Tbh, my favourite case was hers with Edgeworth because just as it had an impact on them with the suicide at the end, I also found it very interesting and engaging with how the case flowed and how it ended up all going downhill at the last moment. I feel like it was a really refreshing take amongst the usual cases. All in all, I would definitely recommend the trilogy because it really is so much fun! I’m so sad that it’s over tbh, I hope they port the other games, I want to see more!! A lot of the things are silly especially with introducing evidence out of nowhere and all that, but it just makes the whole story so much more entertaining, so I think if you’re not crazy strict about how courts should be like and just want some law drama fun, this is probably the epitome of it, because I have to admit, it’s so satisfying to hear Phoenix and them shout “objection!” all the time haha. The dialogue is so witty, cool and fun that it really makes the game such a highlight with how the prosecutor and defence attorney interact, and you just gotta love the silly judge adding his random comments hahaha. I miss it already😭

[skygemspeaks]

My family is going to be moving houses at the end of June, and since I’ve started packing away my books, I thought I might as well share some of my books with y’all and give some book recs while I’m at it!

First up is the LGBTQ+ books I own. Unfortunately, I don’t have very many given it’s kinda difficult to find ones with plots that I like. (I contemplated whether or not to include the wtnv novel in this one, but seeing as it’s not centered around Cecil and Carlos, I decided to leave it out for now).

But anyways, here they are:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz - A coming-of-age story about two young Mexican boys, Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana, who are as different as can be, but who somehow manage to forge an unbreakable connection that spans from childhood to adolescence, and beyond. Ari is angry and confused and from a broken family. Dante is gentle, and emotional, and is “crazy about his parents”. Dante knows he’s gay. And Ari has no idea what to make of his relationship with his best friend.

This one is super sweet and isn’t in the picture because it’s with Natsu at the moment. But it’s really thoughtful and adorable, and I just love Ari and Dante to bits and pieces. Definitely a must-read, guys!

Beautiful Music For Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills -  About a young trans teen named Gabe who recently came out to his best friend and parents. The book is about him trying to make peace with who he is. Mostly, he does this through his love of music, and his bond with his next door neighbour, an old man who helps him get his first radio show, where he quickly develops a following of fans who fall for his unique taste in music and his quirky personality. 

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - A Harry Potter-inspired fantasy book with an absolutely fascinating magic system. We follow an orphaned chosen one who’s just trying to get through the his last school year at his magic boarding school, the Watford School of Magicks, while the entire magical community somehow expects him to save them from the villain who’s been stealing their magic. And not to mention having to deal with his archnemesis vampire roommate who has probably been trying to kill him since the moment they met in first year. But after being broken up with by his girlfriend, and invited to his aforementioned archnemesis’ house over Christmas break, needless to say nothing is going as he would have expected. This entire book reads like some kind of strange, drarry roommates au fanfiction, and it’s absolutely GLORIOUS.

every day by David Levithan -  “A” doesn’t have a body of their own. For every single morning of their life, they’ve woken up in a different person’s body, with no friends or family or life to call their own. And it’s all fine. A’s gotten used to it, made peace with their fate. They’ve learned not to get too attached to anyone, learned not to attract too much attention or interfere too much with the life of the body they wake up in. That is, until they somehow find themselves falling in love with the girlfriend of one of the guys whose body they’re borrowing one day. I actually had to consider for a while whether or not to include this book, because a lot of the most important bodies A inhabits throughout this book are male bodies, and the main female lead is straight. But A themself is nonbinary and pan. They identify as whatever gender the body they’re in is, and are attracted to people regardless of their gender. Loved this book to bits and pieces, really bittersweet. It has a sequel called “Another Day” which is focused mainly on the Rhiannon, the female love interest, but I haven’t read that one yet since I’m not terribly interested in her.

Fan Art by Sarah Tregay - This one is....very juvenile. And by that, I mean it’s one of those idyllic, clichéd ya romances that we all like to pretend we don’t like, but that has all the tropes that we just adore in fanfiction and that we inevitably end up finishing in one sitting. It’s about a high schooler named Jamie who’s recently realized he’s head over heels for his (seemingly) straight best friend, Mason. Cue teen drama and angst and mutual pining. A really cute, light read with an adorable little comic near the beginning.

More Than This by Patrick Ness - Seth attempts suicide by trying to drown himself, and is pretty sure he succeeded. He felt his skull bash against the rocks after all. Only...he wakes up, naked, thirsty, starving, and utterly alone. He has absolutely no clue where he is, but the abandoned, crumbling, overgrown streets seem somehow vaguely familiar to him.

A suspenseful, thrilling, heartbreaking post-apocalypse with a gay protag that absolutely definitely has room for a sequel, though I don’t think the author has any plans to write one.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg - Rafe Goldberg is openly gay, and has a pretty good life. His parents are super supportive, he’s popular at school and has lots of friends, and no one really cares that he’s gay. But he’s getting tired of always being labelled as “the gay friend”. He just wants to be a “regular guy” and not “the gay guy.” So when he transfers to an all-boys’ boarding school, he decides to become “openly straight” instead. But just when everything was going perfectly for him, it all starts unravelling when he finds himself falling for one of his new friends.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed it quite a bit while I was reading it, but the ending left me quite unsatisfied, and after having some time away to think about it, I’m not entirely sure I like the main character very much. He’s kinda really manipulative. Read at your own risk.

Proxy by Alex London - Sydney “Syd” Carton is a proxy. Rescued from the wastelands as an infant, his debt to the city was bought by a huge corporation that sells the lives of orphans like him to various rich and powerful people, who buy them as scapegoats for their own children. Syd’s patron, Knox Brindle, is exactly the rebellious, asshole bad boy that every proxy dreads. When Knox breaks an expensive vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox crashes a car, Syd is forced to donate a dangerous amount of blood to keep him alive. When a girl dies because of Knox’s aforementioned car crash...Syd gets the death penalty. His mad attempt to flee his fate leads to the accidental kidnapping of his patron and has the two of them branded as terrorists, leading to a crazy, cross-country chase that will change their entire world as they know it.

This book. Is literally one of my favourite books in the entire fucking world. Hands down the best dystopia book I’ve ever read. The characters are absolutely fantastic, the character development is fucking amazing (Knox somehow ended up becoming my fav character???), the world is rich and vibrant, and the book is beautiful and thrilling and utterly heartbreaking. If you read just one book from this entire list, let it be this one. It also has a sequel, for those of you interested, though I haven’t read it (and don’t plan on it either), so I can’t really vouch for it.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan - When two boys from completely different social circles and personalities somehow stumble across each other on one mutually crappy night, their shared name brings both their lives careening together in a strange, complicated, and downright frustrating way.

This one....was kinda dark. It was funny, because one of the Will Graysons is an edgy lil emo kid who thinks strictly in lowercase and writes angsty poetry and he’s absolutely adorable. But it also addresses some very real hardships and struggles that both gay and straight teens have to face.