#post-turnabout countdown

[sunset-peril]

The Sound of Our Silence - Prologue - Memento Mori

~~~~

December 19th, 2027

6:35pm 

Ruins of Courtroom Number Four 

~~~~

No one will stay me now. 

A ginger blur stormed up the stairs to the courthouse, blazing through the halls towards the marked double doors.

You may have had your way until now, but the beast is free.

“Legali!” The doors blew open. 

Monarchs fluttered from older ears as eyes gleamed upwards towards the cold sapphires in the doorway. “Ah, if it isn’t Wright’s newest pity project.” 

The monarchs and their wearer were brunted over the defense bench. 

"Mrs. Legali! Are you alright?" A fresh-faced man, around Mr. Justice’s age, began to jog over with clipboard in hand. 

"Outside!" Newfound Chords of Steel roared while eyes flooded white, and he scattered. 

Meanwhile, Legali had just pulled herself from the ground, clutching to her left shoulder and the bench. "What… the hell was that?" 

"Oh… you know very well why I'm here." She sneered. "And if you like what you have, you'll keep your mouth shut and this courtroom empty of guards." 

A singular scoff echoed through the ruins. "What am I, your hostage?" 

She laughed once. "Oh, I don't have to do a thing, do I? All I do is exist… and everything you love is in danger." Even closer she drew, until the ginger's breath was upon the elder attorney's throat. "Oh, it would be so easy… so so easy… but it would leave such a mark." She cackled then, forsaking the professionalism of a single laugh. 

"I warned Wright about you. But that foolish man trusted sentimentality over reason."

"Of course you would." The small LED display on her necklace glitched. 

Bribery! Briber in the house! Its glitchy little face sputtered without remorse.

Its victim sputtered too. “My pardon?! Who are you to throw out an accusation like that?!”  

Legali’s assailant chuckled softly, mellow after the psychotic outburst. She turned her back to the elder, but not her head; no, never her head, as she meandered to the prosecution’s bench and slid an arm over its polished wood. “I will keep quiet, you won't even know I'm here.” She smirked. “You won't suspect a thing, you won't see me in the mirror.” A hand gestured out to the attorney. “But I’ve crept into your heart and you can't make me disappear… 'Til I make you.” 

“I’m sorry, are you singing?”

No chuckle was heard. “I made myself at home in the cobwebs and the lies, I'm learning all your tricks and I can hurt you from inside.” A grimace on her face? “I made myself a promise. You would never. See. Me. Cry. 'Til I make you.” The ginger’s desk slam rattled the ruins. “You'll never know what hit you. Won't see me closing in. Oh, I'm gonna make you suffer, this hell you put me in, and I'm underneath your skin.” A cackle rose once more and she leaned over the bench with her back turned. “The devil within…”

Now the victim seemed angry. “Who even are you?”

Her eyes were empty and no shred of emotion was found on her face. “I will be here when you think you're all alone; seeping through the cracks, I'm the poison in your bones. My love is your disease, I won't let it set you free, 'Til I break you.”

Realization tore through Zegali’s face. “No… It can’t be…”

Victory glowed on the other and a scarred neck was displayed in a show of victory. “Finally! You really think I would just forget everything?! Everything you did to me. Look what you made of me!”

“None of that was me! I know you’re just a scared little child looking for a scapegoat, but I am not the cause of your life.” 

“Oh, really, now? You’re sure that you’ll get out of this unscathed, without ever having to even fight? You’re certain no blood runs down your hands? Really?” 

“Murdering me will not undo these past seven years! I understand you’re a traumatized little girl looking for control, but please, attorney to attorney, revenge gets you nowhere-” 

“Nowhere but prison, I know. I did nothing wrong, but still ended up in the worst of them, because of you. And I don’t have to raise a finger. Never again.” 

“You… are not that little girl…”

“I may never have been. But that matters. All I have in this world is my memories, and I’ll follow them until this body fails. How many will fall before me… only time will tell.”

Legali turned to flee, and the other allowed her. Instead, she turned to the gleaming emblem of justice, dangling haphazardly to the only object remaining intact: the judge’s bench. But she couldn’t face the symbol of justice. Her head bowed for the first time that evening, and her voice soft and weak. “And now we're here at a standstill, I wonder if you feel the kind of pain that rips your insides out… That's something I know all about. Shocking, ain't it? Is it because I can't be her? Made your mistakes and make me hurt.” Her voice cracked and broke as she desperately fought the thoughts and tears. 

“I can't fix you.” 

~~~~

Use of song lyrics encouraged by one @athena-appreciation-page

Songs present -

"The Devil Within" - Digital Daggers

"I Can't Fix You" - The Living Tombstone (ft. Crusher-P)

[fraeuleintaka]

Official Investigations Manga

This is the 63rd post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 18 days left until release!

Today's topic: the official Investigations manga!

Yes, you read that right, there is an official manga of Ace Attorney Investigations! (There's also one of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney but the Investigations one is better.) It's not explicitly canon to the games but it doesn't contradict anything either so you can easily take it as canon if you want to.

The Investigations manga consists of 4 volumes each containing two different cases. They're not all the same length, some are longer, some shorter, but they're all really interesting. The cases are as follows:

Turnabout Costume: A murder at a costume party at the Gatewater Hotel. (A short but highly entertaining one! Poor Miles gets mistaken for in costume and directed to the completely wrong event 😄)

Turnabout Last Number: A murder at the last concert of a famous rock band that Gumshoe wanted Miles to accompany him to. (This is what Turnabout Serenade wanted to be, there I said it. And this case completely pulls it off! Not to mention, Miles at a rock concert is glorious 😂)

Turnabout Bullet: A police officer chases an armed jewel robber into an abandoned building and everything goes wrong. (This is a comparatively serious one but still really good. The cast is quite small but the tension lies in what exactly happened in a very limited timeframe.)

Turnabout Museum: A rare piece of art is threatened to be stolen by a famous group of art thieves and Gumshoe is supposed to protect it. Then a murder happens. (Another really good one with a lot of action from Gumshoe and a last surprise twist at the very end! Miles is almost arrested for the crime of being too handsome and I love it 😄)

Turnabout New Year: The mysterious death of a company's president on New Year's looks like a suicide brought on by a family's curse. (Also relatively short and one of the weaker ones but still entertaining and full of Japanese New Year's traditions. This one I found the most obvious, I think.)

Turnabout Silver Screen: One of the stars of a series of successful detective films is murdered after the premiere of the latest movie. (One of my favourites, this is so good! Also one of the longest ones and really emotional, among other things Miles deals with a controversy around the verdict of one of his previous cases.)

Turnabout! The Secret of the Orges: After their car broke down Miles and Gumshoe are forced to stay at a decrepit hotel in the middle of nowhere, a murder happens with an orge being the prime suspect. (Another one of my favourites! It sounds ridiculous (and it is) but the premise is used to its full potential. There are so many wonderful, funny and tragic scenes and the murder method is genius.)

Turnabout Clinic: A murder at a supposed wonder clinic that doesn't live up to its reputation in more ways than one. (Again a relatively short one and on the weaker side though that might also be my bias against clinic settings. Finding out how it was done was the most interesting and tricky part.)

The Investigations format lends itself better to crime stories outside of the games (especially if they have to be on the shorter side) than the trial structure from the main series (which the PW manga struggles with a little). Most (not all) of the cases involve Miles and Gumshoe just going about their business when murders keep happening around them so it feels very familiar to the games 😄 Apart from these two (and Ema appearing in one case) no other characters from the games make appearances which is a bit sad, I would've loved Kay or Shi-Long to show up. That doesn't take away from the stories though, especially since they have to establish their case-specific casts in a comparatively short amount of time so not filling half of them with familiar faces helps in making the mysteries more interesting. It also puts Miles and Gumshoe and their (work) relationship in the foreground which I really appreciate, you get a lot of adorably cute interactions between them and Miles even shows his caring side on multiple occasions! There's one manga-specific character appearing in multiple cases (a female officer, Officer Hammer, who works with Gumshoe and Miles) and one character that first appeared in the PW manga who makes a return in one case (though it's not necessary to have read that to understand her character).

The manga takes place sometime after JFA and before the 7 year timeskip but other than that they're not specifically set between any given cases of the games or even give any specific dates. That helps them not interfere with anything and they basically fit wherever you'd like to put them in the timeline. They sometimes refer back to previous events in the manga (so the cases are chronological) but not to anything really specific from the games, just a few general points that are the established status quo after JFA. You could technically even read them before playing any of the Investigations games though I wouldn't recommend it because it helps to be familiar with Miles' general investigative approach. It's very reminiscent of how he works in the games just without framing his deductions and interrogations in the way of gameplay mechanics.

Of course, in the original the manga - like the games - is set in Japan and unlike in the games they couldn't really change the art in the translation to reflect the location switch so the story is notably more Japanese. In some cases it's still hardly noticable but in others it's very obvious (Turnabout New Year is the most extreme). It's not really a problem imo but it does feel different than the localised games the Western audience is used to. The translation kept all the other localisation changes though, like the names, and "translated" all the new names with the usual puns to match. They're not quite on the games' level but I definitely appreciate them even trying. I also like the art and how the characters are drawn, it's dynamic and expressive without being too over the top and while some panels look a bit weird (because of a weird perspective or a mismatched scale) most of them look nice and are creative with how they depict various scenes (including the culprits' "breakdowns"!) so that the characters aren't just statically talking at each other half the time.

In terms of story and mysteries, they work extremely well! Naturally, the mysteries are simpler since the cases are shorter but they're really well done with interesting twists and even some shocking reveals while always giving you the opportunity to figure stuff out on your own before the explanation is provided. I could easily imagine any of them working as a case in the games, they're that good. I'll definitely write more on the cases individually and what I think of them at a later point but that'd be too much for one single post. Suffice to say, there's not one I didn't like and if you can get your hands on these (they're out of print, sadly, and very hard to get now), I highly recommend them!

[aceattorney-countdown]

Daily countdown START!!!

46 days until the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is released

In 3 days, on december 13th, the preview for the Foreign Turnabout will be posted

Question of the Day: what is your ideal AA7?

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

I've had a thought about my watchthrough of Turnabout for Tomorrow.

Namely, the live-posting. I don't I can manage that the same way I could with the last few.

I can already predict that I'll have A LOT to say about it - the plot, how well it pays off prior threads, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly etc.

I cannot in good faith do all of that on-the-fly as I always have.

So here's how it's going to work; instead, I'll be compiling screenshots and my associated thoughts into drafts. These will be collected up until the end of the game, where I'll go back and sift through them all once it's had a day or two to sit with me. I'll likely be doling these out piece-by-piece rather than all at once to make sure everything is in order. This also means I can slow down a little afterwards and focus my efforts on that essay I keep nattering about. It would have been best if I approached that with everything in-tow rather than in the midst of things, so I'm not going to repeat mistakes and push that back till after I have everything.

After that? Well... there are a lot of Turnabout Countdown and Monstrous Turnabout moments I didn't capture so I'll be doubling back to round out my collection, along with a short skim of the highlights to make sure that I have everything important.

All of this will be put under a new "DD Analysis" tag for clarity's sake.

It spares you guys of the spam going forward and me from having to stop every 5 minutes to conjure paragraphs on why I think this is neat/garbage. It's a win-win on all fronts!

Thank you for following this wild journey of mine so far!

[taranturat]

Soon, I'm going to be doing a project to rewrite Dual Destinies, while keeping the general story it tells. It's going to be a playable game made in Unity, and will obviously be free.

Now what I'm posting here for is, I want community feedback on what the biggest points to rewrite will be. Note that I will not be removing major events, or removing characters, simply rewriting them to be better handled and done well. What I have so far is that Trucy will be written more accurately and be involved in a lot more cases, Klavier is going to prosecute Reclaimed, and be a character in turnabout for tomorrow, Athena is going to lead Countdown and the confrontation with the Phantom, Phantom will get more foreshadowing and screentime.

Please reply or reblog with any more suggestions!

[axl-ul]

The Flight of the Western Crane: Chapter Six

(A reupload/repost of my fic/dark retellingof Journey tot he West because the whole AO3 site, where I originally posted this, got taken down for now)

(General info about this fic/wip/retelling is here)

****

The leader slithered further into the light,“Thought you were a bit strange, at first. That you’re too smart. Lowkey old-fashioned, you see, old man.“

Wukong, who was the person of the rogue’s interest, stretched out declaring,“I was starting to miss you, as well. Especially after you blinded me in a completely fair fight.“ The simian sneakily readied his cudgel, his rough knuckles turning white, and stood in front of the witch to cover her frame with a majority of his own body. Although the dining hall was spacious enough for her to dodge, an unfamiliar feeling nudged him on to protect her. Even if it made him sick from the stomach, he decided to listen to the strange inner poking. “Then again, what else should I expect from a snake who had no remorse after killing his own comrade.“

“He knew what he was getting into,“ the mountain ruler barked back.

Meanwhile, Márgerdra saw her chance to speak up and seized it,“Just like those who hired you?“

“Shut it, woman. You better prepare for a serious talk after I’m done with that pipsqueak.“

“Want me to peck you on the left cheek as well for goodnight so you don’t feel lonely, darling?“ Márgerdra winked at him. Her compassionate facade disintegrated soon enough. Big eyes hid behind narrowed eyelids, cherry lips twisted into a furious grimace. Strands of hair wet from the underground humidity stuck to the vest and formed wild spirals similar to a bristled animal's back which gave Márgerdra a resemblance of a mad wolf. “Look, we know you’re a treacherous scoundrel. It can still pay out if you tell us who’s the puppeteer behind all of these schemes.“

The fiend didn’t seem to listen. His gaze lingered on Wukong. The stillness of Golden Viper’s expression made it impossible to estimate his future actions. Echos of the breeze sliding beside the enemies enlivened blood in their veins which rushed inside like an eagle coming down on its prey. The countdown for the whirlwind of cold metal rang against their innards.

Before they knew it, the fiend threw sharp darts and leapt to the side. Márgerdra and Wukong barely dodged it, one of the darts even penetrated the monkey’s loose sleeve. In return, Wukong leapt forward, his feet carrying the lean figure as if he were gliding through space. Gruff yells drummed against the walls and several stones fell down from the ceiling in a menacing response. Ruyi Jingu Bang’s golden blaze flooded the hall, causing Golden Wind Viper to stumble out of his cover. The cudgel tripped his legs up and sent the rogue down his nose to meet the limestone floor. Unhesitatingly and through the dull pain, the snake swiftly rolled sideways when the end of the Sage’s staff impacted next to the elongated head several times. As the Monkey King prepared himself to deliver a final blow to shatter his opponent’s skull, venomous saliva dashed in his direction. Wukong jumped back immediately before the spittle crashed and harmed the monkey man, which gave Golden Viper the opportunity to regain his fighting stance. Márgerdra used the small pause and replaced Wukong as the attacker. Her spear inflicted cuts on the rogue’s torso and abdomen. Alas, it was never enough for crossing him out of the list. Her feet in soft embroidered shoes brushed against the colourful paved strip of floor. Fluent turnabouts took turns with slight retreats only for the fiend to be met with a new set of stabs. A large bowl with nuts and apples, kicked by the woman, crashed against Golden Viper, breaking into thousands of pieces. Distraction that was much needed enabled the Wolf Witch to tackle the snake to the ground. The plan didn’t succeed, unfortunately. Even though the witch had a fair share of experience with sparring, the viper’s hidden knife cut the witch’s side. In an effort to save herself from further wounds she had no other option than to retreat thus letting Golden Viper throw her onto the nearby table. The loud crash rang down the cavern’s long throat far into its never-ending depths. Splinters found their way under her skin and painfully stayed to reside under it, agonising her every move. The idea he finally got rid of the hostile foreigner filled Golden Wind Viper with an indescribable joy. Knees straightened as thin legs carried the lanky body towards his second target. Curved knives peeked out from the leather belt.

Three swishes, three attempts to wound Wukong’s shin but none could penetrate through Wukong’s prompt staff spinning. Well aware that Golden Wind Viper’s knives went after his side knee ligaments the monkey man saw the enemy’s slyness so he undertook a risky step. Never stopping his staff spinning, the monkey pushed forward instead of further retreat and slowly drove Golden Wind to the wall. Fumes escaped their nostrils as the rage burnt their lungs and new grunts were born from the back of their throats. Chilling hostility and emerging bruises on their blazing skins covered with sweat followed their clash until two fighters met the steep wall with a hanging moss. Another set of rocks fell down, the dust followed their every step as the cavern angrily began to wake up from its long slumber. The giant may soon roar in doom and chaos.

Clenching the dark metal, Wukong’s hands brought down his cudgel to wedge the snake into the rock formation. Instead of reaching his goal the ear-piercing clangour filled the whole cave the moment when fast blades met the cudgel. Pushing against the much hated opponent, the snake demon yelled in anticipation of finally slashing the curved knife with a large turquoise gemstone through the monkey’s ribs. Yet, none of his expectations lived long enough to see the daylight.

Wukong had been around far longer than Golden Wind Viper. Despite his cudgel possessing several fatal flaws he never once thought of getting rid of Ruyi Jingu Bang. Quite the opposite, in fact. Downsides became his benefits. While the blades were still pushing against the black of the staff the Great Sage rose fingers on his left arm, gently leaned to the side and let the blades alongside with Golden Viper slide down thus gaining the upper hand once more. Once on the floor, Wukong finished his agile twirl and pinned the reptile chest to the cold stone. He raised his leg high and brought it down as quickly and hard as he was capable of. Cold wind surrounding him was set ablaze by Wukong’s gaze as pupils turned bright red. Slippery Golden Wind Viper stopped the monkey’s foot at the last second. His poisonous teeth stroke to sink into Wukong’s ankle until another hard kick from the side stopped the bald head. A tip of a spear appeared dangerously close to the snake’s bare throat. Márgerdra’s distant look chilled both men and even sent shivers down the simian’s spine until he felt his long tail reacting as well.

“Let go of him. Or I’ll make sure nobody is going to recognise your corpse ever again.“

Golden Viper gulped and stammered out,“Didn’t you need me to rat on somebody? ‘Cause in that case I’m much more valuable alive than dead, gorgeous.“

“Poor choice of words,“ Wukong uttered under his nose once he heard the nickname but decided to let the scene unfold itself in the natural flow.

Before Golden Wind Viper could’ve found more bold words Márgerdra had already lowered her heel deep into the snake’s crotch, her spear never leaving the presence of his neck. “You got some nerves to call me like that after forcing yourself on me and an innocent young lady.“ Ignoring his eyes bulging out of his skull and painful moans, she pressed further. “Secondly, who said I can’t dig up information even after your death?“ The viper froze. His breathless form seemed to have merged with the mountain itself.

Wukong raised his brows, the scar above his left eye twitched slightly,“That’s forbidden, blondie.“

“What about his behaviour? Do you see it as unproblematic, perhaps?“ she barked while her attention never turned away from the snake.

“Look, I’m down for all sorts of shenanigans and crazy tricks in magic. But reanimating the dead isn’t the best option.“

“Suddenly, a conscience is waking up inside you. Please, go on.“ Her voice carried a tired undertone.

“Back to this stuff? Alright. I was starting to miss your heartfelt comments.“

“Do not, I repeat,“ one of her hands let go of the long handle with a raised index finger, her tone remaining calm,“do not try to play this game with me.“

“Why not? Are you afraid to lose?“

“Of course not! But we have a business here, don’t we, imbecile?“

Golden Viper watched them for a while. His eyes flickered from one to another, surprised to see two demons to be so stubborn. He let out a confused whimper. Immediately, Golden Viper regretted it. First of all, he could’ve seized the chance for his escape. To add more salt into the wound, Wukong and Márgerdra snapped their heads toward the lying snake demon, disturbing looks making a nest on his shoulders. Now, he truly has to speak what’s on his mind so as not to get either eaten up by the tall beauty or be beaten to death by the impish macaque. “Can you simply decide what you wanna do to me? You’re like those humans after living for a whole lifetime together.“

Most probably, the remark hit the right nerve because Márgerdra spoke a simple yet unsettling command,“Tie him up, monkey.“

“Finally getting to find out where Shifu is?“

“Exactly, honey.“ Wukong couldn’t tell exactly whether the temperature truly dropped down or it was only his mind playing tricks on him upon witnessing the stillness of the woman’s porcelain face.

All three of them froze in place. Out of the blue, the southern wall began to crumble. 

****

“Shifu!!! Stay back!“

“Brother Bajie! I think I can’t keep them away any longer!“ Wujing felt the strength leaving his body.

“Wujing, we can do this! Just hold on!“ Mei and Bajie yelled at struggling Wujing while their grazed hands were throwing the dirt from the tiny buried passage Sanzang’d noticed.

“I can’t!!!“ Sandy yelled out when one of the better armed demons forced to the front row and nearly stabbed the long spear through Friar Sand’s thigh. Wujing cried out but he never let go of the barred door.

Sanzang almost ran up to help his youngest disciple. Soon, the young princess stopped him. A bone-chilling howl reached everyone’s ears alongside the unmistakable shaking of the ceiling above their heads. The time seemed to have stopped for a brief while. An unsettling feeling washed over Mei. Despite the ever-present fear she chose to follow her guts. Her fingers curled into a hardened fist and punched through the remaining blockade. Quickly grabbing the young monk by the collar she commanded Bajie and Wujing to follow through. As they hoped, the short tunnel led them out into an open space. To add to the prisoners’ little joy a picture of the Lady Wolf Witch and the Monkey King standing above the disarmed gang leader came into view. Nearly yelling out in their small victory, they ran up to the duo nearly tackling them down.

“Wukong! We found you, my disciple!“

“Shifu! Are you alright?“

“Yes! Yes, I am. Thank you for your concern. We barely escaped the guards-“ That was it. The guards. All of the snakes could’ve easily sneaked through the tiny hole. Yet no-one except for them arrived.

“Shifu? Big Brother?“ Ol’s Sha stuttered the only words he was able to dig from the back of his mind. Slowly raising his index finger, the fish-like demon pointed at the trembling wall.

Everyone gasped including the viper leader who in the meanwhile sneaked away from the distracted monkey and the witch. When Wukong noticed the figure crawling away, his stretched out hand clutched Golden Viper under his neck, the life soon escaping from the parted lips. In the meanwhile, dark eyes found the witch’s whip hanging by the viper’s belt from the deer skin. Wukong didn’t contain his bubbling emotions anymore and yelled out not realising his voice became the last drop for the wall to collapse. So did the ceiling and the floor under them.

Screaming and grabbing anything in sight, the group protected not only their own lives but also the lives of their comrades. As soon as Sanzang saw Golden Wind Viper struggling on the sliding rock he yelled at him through deafening noise,“Come on! Take my hand!“ The frightened fiend tried to do as he was told. However, the exhaustion from his previous fight prevented his legs from bouncing off correctly. The ruler of the Mysterious White Cloud Cave fell down with many of his stolen riches.

Wukong hesitated no longer and punched a new way out with his staff. Acting first and questioning later, his Master was thrown in first, His younger disciples and the princess following him closely behind. Márgerdra with Wukong were the last to leave the room.

A victorious smirk formed on the monkey’s face only for the demon to be cooled down by the terrifying discovery. The group was at last out of the cave. Instead of the flat platform a steep treeless downhill welcomed them alongside the burning sunshine.

Hairy legs gave up and he rolled down the cliff just like the rest of his companions. Mixture of screams and swearing filled up the whole valley, making its inhabitants look over the highest peak with a peculiar cloud of dust around.

Sharp mind swiftly regained the lost control over the muscles, the Monkey King’s eyes burst into flames. He somersaulted in the air and landed on all four, diving down the mountain side. The flexible spine curled in the manner of wild waves belonging to the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, the gale got under the loosened tunic, lightly brushing his fur and hair. His tail helped him keep the balance as he caught up to Sanzang.

“Jindou Yu!“

A cloud with a golden hew formed under their feet and let themselves carry further without the deadly danger.

“Wukong! The others!“ Tripitaka pointed down, terror in his watered eyes.

“On my way, Shifu.“ The old monkey leapt down once more, now catching and forming a cloud with his juniors and Mei aboard who thanked him profoundly just before he was out of their sight.

His sharp gaze never turned away even if the branches from the newly emerging vegetation whipped him harshly. The hair-raising dash was coming to an end. Dwarf pines became shrubs of lively mahonias and hollies and those grew either into fragile cherries or majestic trunks of firs and maples. No matter what plant Wukong encountered, it certainly posed a deadly obstacle. At last, he saw Márgerdra’s body still falling through the air. The blonde was desperately stretching out arms and legs in hopes of hooking on a branch. He was fed up with wasting time anymore. The Sage summoned his somersault cloud for the third tie. Legs wrapped only in footwraps bent, the simian body hunched forward thus allowing the Monkey King to reach beyond his limits. A ground appeared in the view. The blood rushed into his head. He could feel the pressure increasing inside his skull, cornering his hopes for saving the woman. Márgerdra’s yells now clearly reached his ears. He crouched even more. The clutch around his chest made him hold a breath.

Márgerdra hugged tightly to the tiger skin, tugging it close to her chin. She survived plagues, she outlived many kings, she witnessed the downfall of her family. Faith in reconciliation burnt in her heart until now. This was it? One miserable fall? Never bringing Mei home because she slipped all too early? She grew up in the mountains. She was the mountain. This can’t be her end. She refuses to die like a scoundrel.

Only her shallow breaths remained. It’s just a dream. Nothing more. Only a bad dream. When she opens her eyes she’ll be in her quarters, warm blankets around her. The palace, all that comfort, Mei. Safety. Home. Just don’t cry. She should be better than that.

She closed her eyes.

“Márgerdra!“

Before she knew it, a familiar warmth surrounded her. The smell of bitter herbs and salty sweat reached her nose. The witch noticed she was falling no more. Instead, her body floated at a much more casual rate. A strangely soft thing brushed against the bare of her legs. Márgerdra couldn’t put a finger on what in particular it could be as she hadn’t dared to open her eyes, yet. She only snuggled into the lean chest.

“Don’t worry. I got you. Alright?“ Wukong’s hoarse voice repeated the same sentence over and over again. “I got you.“

Trickles of sweat made his face markings shine in the hot and humid space of the forest. He was hugging the witch with all his strength, his presence calming her down as she was finally assured to be sound and safe. Carefully, he peaked over the edge of his cloud. He caught the falling woman just in time. Had he been a second late, she wouldn’t have survived their escape.

The second the golden cloud put them down Márgerdra looked up to Wukong. He saw her intense gaze, her eyes retained their different shades of blue. “You’re a madman, Sun Wukong.“

He didn’t reply, neither did his face twist in anger. The monkey reached behind. “This is yours.“ He was holding the old whip with a dark red handle. Márgerdra’s eyes brightened up. Before she took it back, she offered her own hands with the yellow tunic and kilt from the tiger skin. “You, too, forgot something.“

“How did you get my stuff?“ Wukong asked while exchanging the items.

“When I was falling down I managed to grip onto your tunic stuck in between the ruins. Then, it all collapsed. But I couldn’t let go of it. I don’t know why, though.“

As if a poisonous dart paralysed her, when she realised the pressure of his palms against the nape. “Don’t touch my hair, please.“ The witch recoiled, the constant action Wukong couldn’t stop thinking about.

“Big Brother! Lady Wolf Witch!“

“Wukong!“

“Márgerdra!“

Two remaining clouds with their eager passengers flew down. Four people ran toward their beloved companions to greet them, shouting, crying out in pure joy and forming a circle around them, everybody hugging their friends until they were ready to stand up and do what was needed. To resume their search and to find a safe place.

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Taglist (let me know if you'd like to be added): @vanessaroades-author @rubywrite @aohendo @rbbess110 @jgmartin @outpost51

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List of chapters:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

Epilogue

[screamingaboutaceattorney]

Dual Destinies Cases Ranked

First 3D AA game, let’s go!

DISCLAIMER: Spoilers ahead! This is also all my own opinion (and subject to change), so please don’t take this as fact or whatever. Also, there are very few cases that I actively dislike, since most of them are extremely good in my opinion. Enjoy!

#6: Turnabout Countdown

I don’t strongly dislike any of the cases in this game, but I don’t like most of them too much either. That aside, though, I don’t really care for this case. Ted Tonate isn’t a very interesting culprit, and Gaspen Payne is not someone I enjoy going against. I do really like Juniper, and it’s satisfying to take Payne down a peg or two, but I feel like this case isn’t the best first impression.

#5: The Monstrous Turnabout

This case is not one of my favorites either, but I’ve got to give it more points than Turnabout Countdown for introducing so many great characters--Fulbright, Simon, and of course, Athena. Damian Tenma is a cool defendant, Jinxie is adorable, and the twist with the wrestler roles actually threw me for a loop. I don’t like Florent L’Belle or Phineas Filch, though, and I wish they didn’t tell us who the culprit was immediately--that’s a first case thing, and while this is the first case chronologically, it’s not in the right place gameplay-wise. This case is good enough, but not that good.

#4: Turnabout Reclaimed

This case is just... so stupid. I love it. Phoenix gets his badge back, and immediately shoves it in an orca’s face. They put an orca on trial. For murder. That’s hilarious. Silliness aside, though, I liked this case a lot more than the aforementioned two. Pearl comes back (though she needed to be redesigned, not just slightly taller) and I love her, the characters are fun, and I really appreciate the fact that the WAA helps the culprit, too. I only wish it wasn’t DLC, but it’s easily the best case to fill that slot.

#3: Turnabout for Tomorrow

Turnabout for Tomorrow is batshit insane, and wonderful for it. Miles came back (which I love), Apollo is in pain (which I don’t love (also fuck those poses and their similarities to he-who-shall-not-be-named)), the reveal was well done (not as well done as AAI2′s mastermind, though), and the WAA teamup was incredible and needs to happen again.

#2: Turnabout Academy

I love Junithena, okay? Athena’s first trial is a momentous occasion, and we even avoided Third-Case syndrome! The characters were really well done, the plot was intriguing, and Klapollo is my fucking OTP. That is one of my least favorite things about this case, though--they ruined Klavier’s design! I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but his 3D model looks nothing like his sprite and, while Yuri Lowenthal is a great VA, Klavier doesn’t sound right in his voice. That isn’t really the fault of the case, though, and it’s mostly something I can ignore.

#1: The Cosmic Turnabout

I’m going to preface this segment by saying this: CLAY DIDN’T DIE. I don’t care what Capcom says, he didn’t. But given that this case is about his “death,” I’ve got to refer to it as such. Anyways, I love this case. It’s sad in all the right places, and Apollo’s moral dilemma, while highlighted more in Turnabout for Tomorrow, was done perfectly. Solomon Starbuck is an interesting defendant, exploring the Space Center was fun, and overall, it’s a wonderful(ly sad) case that, while not accurate in terms of Clay’s death, is still one of my favorites.

[alto-tenure]

the great pretender (how 5-3 foreshadows the final villain)

So, my friend is playing Turnabout Academy (I won't tag em in this post because this is eir first time playing DD and this post will contain spoilers for 5-5), and while discussing it with him I noticed some...thematic parallels.

The thing with Turnabout Academy is that everyone is hiding something.

And that's perfect for a villain that hides in the shadows.

In Turnabout Academy, we meet a cast of characters from Themis Academy, a law-centric high school.

Juniper Woods, who we actually met in the first case, but this is chronologically the first case. Her presentation in 5-1 is very different from 5-3.

Hugh O'Conner, a defense student who's top of the class.

Robin Newman, a prosecution student.

Myriam Scuttlebutt, a judge course student who'd really be better off as a stenographer or a reporter.

...and Aristotle Means, a professor who resembles an elementary school teacher more than a high school reached.

All five of these characters have their own secrets, some more obvious than others. They all put on veneers to hide their true nature from others.

The Phantom, the main villain of the game, is a master of disguise. All of his methods are reflected...in each of the characters in Turnabout Academy.

Myriam's veneer is the most obvious, and it is she who comes first. She disguises herself physically as a box to eavesdrop on conversations. The Phantom is the master of physical disguise, able to make uncanny facial masks that resemble any person he wishes to.

Hugh lied about his age -- we don't know the Phantom's age. Presumably, it isn't the same as Fulbright.

Robin lied about her gender. The Phantom has female masks -- he could lie about his gender. Not that we know what it is. The game generally refers to the Phantom with he/him pronouns, so that's what I'll be using.

Aristotle Means lied about his innocence in murder. This one's also pretty obvious -- the Phantom killed Clay Terran and Metis Cykes, and managed to preserve the idea of his innocence for seven years.

Finally, Juniper. What is Juniper lying about?

Well, for that, we have to look at the one other character that appears only in Turnabout Academy: Klavier Gavin.

Klavier’s appearance in Turnabout Academy is definitely at least one part fanservice. But it does serve a thematic purpose -- it gives a reason for Juniper's difference in demeanor between Turnabout Academy and Turnabout Countdown.

You see, Juniper is head of the student council. And as such...she has a lot of burdens and pressure upon her. Her personality in Turnabout Academy is influenced by the ideal image of the student council head -- similar to how Klavier's demeanor is masked by the expectation to act like a real rock star. Juniper’s sentimentality and Klavier’s perfectionism are holes in the image both have constructed of themselves, whether as the serious student council member or as the fun-loving rockstar.

The fake personality of the Phantom is the real personality of Bobby Fulbright. But the hole in the image is the lack of emotions when analyzed with the Mood Matrix -- for someone who demonstrates overemotional reactions, having none in your heart pokes a hole in the cover.

Turnabout Academy provides each piece of the puzzle. A different façade for each character -- only for the final villain, the Phantom, to combine them all.

[reginaldqueribundus]

Countdown to Disco: The Finales

alright you fuckers listen up smart! I have just finished rewatching every Star Trek television series finale in order to deliver to you all, as promised, a countdown ranking them from worst to best, as part of my overall countdown to Star Trek Discovery or whatever the fuck I’m calling this

So please enjoy my thoughts on how each live action Star Trek ended (live action because I haven’t gotten around to watching the Animated Series yet—tragic, I know). Please remember, this is only my opinion, and done mainly for fun. Don’t get your tribbles in a twist.

#5 (AKA: The Worst One) The Original Series – “Turnabout Intruder” (1969)

Where to fucking begin with this one? Well, for starters it isn’t really a “series finale” in the sense we think of today. Series finales were only just starting to be a thing, and no one had the money to do one anyway; the show had just been cancelled after only three seasons. “Let’s get rid of Star Trek. No one will miss it,” said NBC, in a decision they never came to regret, ever.

But “Turnabout Intruder” isn’t just bad because it’s “not a finale” or whatever. It’s the worst on this list for a whole different reason, namely that Gene Roddenberry had a complete fucking meltdown after his divorce and, like a Pokémon evolution or Ichigo activating his bankai, transformed his weird sexism from a miniskirt fetish into full-blown misogyny. You might think I’m exaggerating, up until the part where Captain Kirk literally says it’s better to be dead than be a woman.

Captain Kirk’s jilted ex-girlfriend Dr. Janice Lester uses ancient alien machinery to do a Freaky-Friday body swap with him and steal his ship (because women are vengeful harpies who will take everything of value from you!!! squawks Gene, sweating furiously into his typewriter)—which isn’t all that unusual, an impostor tries to steal the Enterprise every Thursday afternoon—but Janice is never really given any motivation beyond “women are crazy, amirite??” and nothing is done with the switch. Jim-as-Janice is rendered completely helpless in their fragile feminine body and spends 90% of the episode in bed, whilst Janice-as-Jim flips back and forth between looking like they’re about to fall asleep and MAXIMUM SHATNER™ OVERACTING MODE. 

Which is a shame, because this could have been at least a decent episode if not a satisfying finale. The side characters get plenty of screen time, and it’s interesting to see them contemplate outright mutiny as their captain’s actions grow more and more objectionable. But nobody ever thinks to do anything smart like ask Kirk something only he would know, the situation resolves itself without any help from them, and half the actors seem like they just want to get this over with.

The Original Series, from whence all Star Trek sprang, and which had amazing episodes like “Charlie X” and “The City on the Edge of Forever”, didn’t deserve to end on such a flaccid off-key note like a limp penis being slapped against the keys of an out-of-tune piano. And that’s why “Turnabout Intruder” goes in last place.

Next -->

[queenlua]

Ace Attorney case tier list

so, in the past year, i finished replaying games 1 through 5 for the first time in forever, and also played game 6 for the first time ever

so here’s where i ruthlessly rank each of the cases based on that most scientific metric of all, My Opinions:

OPENING CASES

S-tier: Turnabout Trump (4-1).  I already knew this case, and I still gasped with surprise when Phoenix showed up, and when Kristoph showed his true colors, and when Apollo realized OH SHIT OH FUCK I REALLY AM ACCUSING MY BOSS OF MURDER HUH... what a wonderful, splashy, shockingly concise case to open up the post-O.G. trilogy world.  Marvelous.

A-tier: Turnabout Memories (3-1).  Seeing Mia Fey (finally!) in action is a long-awaited delight; seeing Phoenix being a total dumbass was an unexpected-yet-perfect and fitting delight.

B-tier: The First Turnabout (1-1).  Solid lil’ case with some conventional-but-well-executed humor.  I’ve got a soft spot for Larry Butz.

C-tier: The Lost Turnabout (2-1), The Foreign Turnabout (6-1).  The former’s fine but a little forgettable; the latter has some fun gags (Payne’s ridiculous new outfit, dude absolutely shredding on the mandolin, etc) but is marred by how uh... kinda silly the game’s core conceit is, lol

E-tier: Turnabout Countdown (5-1).  The context surrounding this introduction is just sloppy (badly handled in media res + let’s lowkey retcon game 4 isn’t a great setup), and also the case itself is just. irksome. ted tonate is just fundamentally irritating to look at

FINALE CASES

S-tier: Bridge to the Turnabout (3-5), Turnabout Goodbyes (1-4).  No explanation needed.  God they fuck so hard

A-tier: The Cosmic Turnabout + Turnabout for Tomorrow (5-4 + 5-5), Turnabout Succession (4-4).

The former two cases are what makes AA5 worth it, and they make for a tremendously fun ride.  It fumbles the execution in some notable ways (Apollo’s sudden j’accuse moment feels a little forced/awkward/inadequately foreshadowed, and damn it sure would’ve been nice to know Clay Terran at all before he died, and also The Phantom’s final meltdown could’ve used a bit more emotional heft)... but okay let’s be real, I’m here for Simon Blackquill, and this case gives me so much of him so who gives a shit.  (And Aura!  Condescending obnoxious engineering queen!  I love her!)  

As for Turnabout Succession... while I earnestly wish the game had explored more of Klavier’s feelings about this whole setup, and some more emotional beats for Apollo, the case still makes for such a satisfyingly twisty and fun investigation overall (the poison stamp! what a ridiculous murder method! I love it!) that it’s a more-than-worthy finale.

B-tier: Turnabout Revolution (6-5), Farewell, My Turnabout (2-4).

The former does some cool stuff—I particularly like the opening half, where Apollo’s being real snippy and coping with Frankly Bizarre Dad Feelings, and giving Apollo a chance to finally throw down against Phoenix is a blast.  The latter half of the case starts feeling a little... ridiculous? cramped? idk? like, they didn’t do nearly enough foreshadowing about Nahyuta’s whole deal for me to care about his drama, this justice system is so obviously silly and the manner in which the revolution is playing out strains my already-suspended-sky-high disbelief... fun, and flashy, but more noise than signal in the last part, I guess.

As for Farewell, My Turnabout: of course I love Edgeworth rolling back into court goin’ through SOME kind of bizarre emotional arc of Hey I’m Totally Healed Now and obnoxiously preaching about Truth TM.  And it’s cool that the game set up a case where you want to lose.  But the net result is a bit strange tonally—it’s trying set up some kind of message about It’s Not Just About Winning, It’s About Pursuing The Truth, but it feels really muddled when that’s combined with Okay But Maya’s Literally Being Held Hostage Like Right Now, Surely A Reasonable Justice System Has A Process For Dealing With This Obviously Complicated Situation, Right?

but also Franziska takes a fucking bullet (how did I forget about that) and then gets to roll in like Ms. Save The Day so, really, lots of good shit here

FILLER CASES

S-tier: Reunion, and Turnabout (2-2), Turnabout Beginnings (3-4).  Look, the first one gives me all the Fey family drama a girl could ask for, and the latter gives me young Edgeworth being a total shit in an obnoxiously shimmery outfit.  The whole enchilada is here

A+ tier: The Magical Turnabout (6-2).  DELIGHTFUL!  MAGICIAN!  SHENANIGANS!  Like you get to guess the trick behind a magic act as part of the case, how fucking fun is that, and also the Apollo & Athena duo’s chemistry is perfect, the villain is a FANTASTIC bastard, and even the bit characters you meet during the investigation are total delights... Probably the best “standalone” case in the series, in that it doesn’t rely on any emotional connections to previous cases (unlike 2-2 and 3-4) to still totally and completely rule.

A tier: Turnabout Samurai (1-3), Turnabout Reclaimed (5-DLC).

For Turnabout Samurai, I remembered before this replay how delightful the TV SHOW STUDIO investigation and actor-fandom stuff was; I had TOTALLY forgotten Vasquez calling in her mob connections to try and wreck you.  What a fantastic villain; what a fun case.

Turnabout Reclaimed is just good solid goofy nonsense.  Probably receives a boost for me in particular because, yeah, Simon Blackquill.  But then again who isn’t giving cases a boost on that account; they are MISSING OUT

B tier: The Stolen Turnabout (3-2).  Ron and Desirée are so great sighs into hands

C tier: Listing roughly in order of preference: Turnabout Academy (5-3), Turnabout Serenade (4-3), Turnabout Sisters (1-2), Recipe for a Turnabout (3-3), Rite of the Turnabout (6-3), Rise from the Ashes (1-5).

Four of these (5-3, 4-3, 1-2, 3-3) are perfectly solid cases; I just don’t love them quite as much as “thievery hijinks” or “Hollywood hijinks” or other such particularly delightful flavors.  Everyone has a favorite flavor of Jolly Rancher and all that.

Rite of the Turnabout is interesting and connected with the larger themes of the game in a cool way, and makes good use of the divination mechanic.  However, the last bit gets twisty enough to actually be kind of confusing, and said larger themes of the game are... kinda hard for me to take seriously... which, yeah, leads to it feeling a little stilted when it really should be singing.

Rise from the Ashes landed awkwardly for me.  I know it was added well after the first game’s release, and it does a good job of continuing some of the cool stuff from that game—it’s neat, in isolation, to see Phoenix and Edgeworth working together (while still sniping at each other!), and some of the DS-specific mechanics are neat.  However, I just didn’t feel like I learned quite enough about Ema and Lana to care about them like I should, and retconning “(almost certainly true) rumors that Edgeworth was involved in Shady Shit TM” into “actually Edgeworth was totally ignorant of Shady Shit TM, like at worst his crime was willful ignorance / incuriosity, he was just been manipulated by the Police Chief”... makes Edgeworth less interesting to me!  Like, it’s cool to see Edgeworth caught off-guard and under pressure, but I wish the circumstances had been different?  Also Gant’s theme song is annoying as shit, which is petty but hey this is my blog post so

D tier: Turnabout Storyteller (6-4), Turnabout Corner (4-2), Turnabout Big Top (2-3), The Monstrous Turnabout (5-2).

Turnabout Storyteller has some fun gags with My Dude Simon and also Taka, but was heavily marred by Everyone Talking Down To Athena The Entire Fucking Case Oh My God Can You All Just Shut Up.

Turnabout Corner has... lots of fun elements but... look the fucking stolen-panties setup just grates ok

I don’t think I hate Turnabout Big Top the way most people seem to, but I did find the final murder setup more annoying that I remembered this playthrough—bro you were really sure the dude was going to conveniently stand right there and the heavy statue was definitely going to strike a killing blow and not just give the guy a concussion?  ok lol

The Monstrous Turnabout suffers mostly from poor puzzle/investigation design, being too hand-hold-y, and also having a core gimmick/setting that just wasn’t really my thing.  Alas!

[askaceattorney]

(Previous Post)

Dear guquis,

Co-Mod: Well, that’s a relief.  I thought a mass crucifixion sounded a little dark for the Pokemon universe, but you never know these days.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear mungeondaster,

Mod Edgeworth: Wow, I just spotted this when going through our list of letters. Your comment is appreciated, though.

Co-Mod: Glad to hear it, and thanks!  I wish I knew for sure who wrote that response, but regardless, I have to agree that it was hilarious.  I almost want to see Pearl using Edgeworth’s cravat that way now.

(Playlist in Letter)

Dear bluedragoncody,

Mod Edgeworth: I’m not usually one for countdown videos, but I suppose I can check these out when I get the chance.

Co-Mod: I only had time to watch the “Top Fourteen Ace Attorneys” video and I just have to say, anyone who places Athena in their top three clearly knows what they’re talking about.  I also enjoy it when someone puts effort into editing a video (especially one that involves original art), so I appreciate that as well as his insight into the characters.

Dear Vivyn,

Co-Mod: It’s actually pretty simple.  Just click the gear icon in the top-right corner of your editing window (for lack of a better term), then go to the drop-down menu next to Text Editor, select HTML, and place the text you want to be small between the tags <small> and </small>.

Example: I’m sorry!  <small>For the way you were raised...</small>

I hope you’ll make good use of it!

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: I agree, at least in terms of class.

(If we put aside her bad whipping habits, at least.)

When it comes to style, on the other hand...

Sorry, but nobody out-styles the Cykester.  I welcome any challenger to her superb styles in the courtroom (as would she, I’d imagine).

Dear Rogertheegg,

Mod Edgeworth: I’d like to have known more about Gregory Edgeworth. He’s the best Defense Attorney and Best Dad.

Co-Mod: I'd love to know more about Detective Arme’s background, too, now that you mention it.  The attitude she displayed upon discovering Ted Tonate’s bomb-selling business makes you wonder what she was like on the job.

I’d also kind of like to know a little more about Cinder Block Cindy Stone.  I’m not exactly a huge fan of models with a bunch of Sugar Daddies, but she apparently felt some attachment to at least one of them, as pointed out by Phoenix.

And to top it off, it’s the Butz, of all people.  That takes a special kind of girl.  I almost (almost) want to see what their relationship could’ve become if not for her cruel fate.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Can do!  His tag is now #British Judge.  With that in mind, we may have to pick something else for the judge from Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.  That’s become my main strategy for new things here, anyway.

Mod Justice: Perfect. Thanks!

Also, regarding Co-Mod’s response above: here’s an idea for the PLvsAA Judge: “English Judge” (I mean, he DOES appear in “The English Turnabout,” after all).

Dear dawsongfg,

Mod Edgeworth: ...... they’re alright. I prefer the ones with chocolate chip or from Dennys.

Co-Mod: I’m more of a waffle fan.  Pancakes are nice, but...kinda boring to look at, in my opinion.  Of course, that might just be because I once worked at McDonald’s, where I saw more than my fair share of them.

Mod Justice: They’re fine, but I always preferred the “Fast Food Breakfast Staple”: the Breakfast Sandwich. I especially love the ones at McDonalds with the “Griddles” as the bread! That with sausage, egg and cheese between them are definitely my favorites out of all the variations.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Dawsongfg,

Mod Edgeworth: How about this?

NO!

Mod Justice: You mean Little Ms. Robo-Voice? NO THANK YOU.

Although I wonder... could the AAI2 Translation Team replace that voice only?

(Referenced Post)

Dear Dawsongfg,

Co-Mod: Hmm, how to word this...  It wasn’t really scary so much as unpleasant.  I knew Trucy wouldn’t harm me, but that didn’t make being tied to a chair and stuck in a dim, dank closet for several hours any more fun.  If she wasn’t one of my favorite cha--

Ahem...  If she wasn’t one of my favorite performers in the world, I’d probably be suing the panties off her.

Dear dawsongfg again,

Mod Edgeworth: I personally don’t mind, but I think Mod Justice was kinda like

Co-Mod: I’m guessing you’re referring to letters that are intentionally rude.  So long as you’re not purposefully insulting a specific person or a specific group of people, you can be as much of a troll as you want.  The good kind, that is.

Mod Justice: Yeah, we really need to get some more clarification regarding “Troll Posts” here. Don’t worry, they should be up soon enough after this post makes it out of the queue.

Dear Anonymous,

Mod Edgeworth: HOLD IT! (turns on this song) Proceed.

Dear dawsongfg again (again),

Mod Edgeworth: Yes. In fact, I have the full set of Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth mangas, including the two casebooks.

Co-Mod: I haven’t, actually.  I might have to do that sometime soon just so I can protect my Nerdiest Ace Attorney Nerd title (which I just made up).

Mod Justice: Can’t say I have, honestly. I’m not too big on Manga anyway. Never could get into it, no matter how hard I tried...

-The Mods

[fraeuleintaka]

AAIC Gameplay Video (PS5)

This is the 57th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 24 days left until release!

Today's topic: some Gameplay footage from the PS5 version of the collection!

I talked about some of the gameplay we could see from the Switch video but there's also one for PS5 showing other scenes and aspects of the game that I'm going to talk about in this post. (Before you're confused about some of the screenshots, I took them from the Switch video but they also appear in the PS5 video and I wanted to make both posts about the same length so I included them here.)

Going back to the title selection screen for a minute, when you start the game or a case for the first time the artwork isn't unlocked yet which makes sense to avoid potential spoilers and also functions as a sort of reward for finishing the case (the DS versions did this as well). Instead you get this fancy little screen with just the episode title. I love the gold framing that carries through the entire menu design and the outline of the Prosecutor's Badge behind the episode title, it looks gorgeous!

With that we also get the new name for the first case of Investigations 2: Turnabout Trigger (Turnabout Target in the fan translation). I really like Target as a name and Trigger is pretty similar and just as snappy, it's a good choice imo. It even wonderfully foreshadows its relevance for the rest of the game, as this is the case that "triggers" the whole chain of events following it. In that sense the name is particularly meaningful and I love that.

Apparently, before you start the game for the first time you get asked directly to pick the art style that you want to use, it's not set to one of the two by default which is kinda nice. You can always change it during playing, of course. It's also useful to see an example animation directly in the menu so you know exactly what each of the two styles looks like. Very accommodating. The loading screen is great as well, the little burgundy-coloured knight piece fits perfectly! Simple and pretty!

The PS5 video shows some more of the menu structure and options screen. It's about as gorgeous as I expected it to be! The black chess pattern for the save files, the large Prosecutor's Badge outline for the options menu, the gold framing for everything... Love it! There's an Autosave file which is neat when you forget to save and several different save slots available. The options include pretty much all that you could ask for, even adjusting the Text Window Transparency or turning Text Skip on/off altogether. It's so weird to see because I'm still used to playing Ace Attorney games with no such options at all 😄 But it's definitely good to have! You can even change the Automatic Play Speed for the automatic modes. Interestingly, there's a warning that says that you won't be able to get some accolades when using Story Mode. Since you basically get the answers given to you, you don't really "achieve" anything regarding the solutions when playing so it definitely makes sense to disable that. Otherwise you could just skip through the hard parts and still get all the same achievements as the others which would make them feel cheap. But it's definitely something to keep in mind when wanting to use Story Mode to only get through one specific question you don't know the answer to without having to present every piece of evidence randomly; maybe that will already prevent you from getting some/all accolades.

Seeing the chibi sprite animations in continuous action in the gameplay highlights even more how well they work in the interactions and how amazing they look! Just Miles' visibly shocked face when stumbling upon the body in I1-1 followed by him dropping his suitcase without really noticing adds so much to that scene! And his epic side-eye to the intruder threatening him with a gun - even more badass!

It's hard to see on screenshots but the animations are wonderfully fluid and it just looks amazing. They even have some mouth movements for the longer animations when characters are talking. I also don't recall the crowd being this animated during I2-1 in the DS versions. Here, they regularly turn their heads to different directions and some even twitch a little at their spot just like you'd do when being impatient. Or maybe they also did back then and it was just more difficult to see with the pixel graphics... Anyway it looks great and makes the whole scene feel even livelier and more genuine!

I also love how funny Nicole (Tabby Lloyd) looks waving her arms around and trying to get Miles' attention. Waving frantically, standing on her tiptoes, her eager smile when holding the microphone towards him. Everything just comes across even better with all the added details! I genuinely can't express how much I love these new chibi sprites and animations. These two are already my favourite games in the series but with this the experience is gonna be incredible on a whole different level! Can't wait to play through them again myself!

On language, "Ruffles" is a fun nickname for Miles and it's completely in-character for Nicole to call him that! I think she didn't use any kind of nickname in the fan translation but I like this addition, it makes their interactions a little more unique. I don't recall if Lotta has a nickname for him, maybe she adopts this one from her mentee? Would be fun!

Somewhat sadly, I have to report that they changed Miles' iconic "I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious-looking nook and cranny" line for the 2nd game. In I2 it seems he says "I must scour the scene and inspect anything that catches my attention" whenever you get a close-up view of an area to investigate. It will be missed but that seems to support the interpretation that Miles isn't as obsessed with nooks and crannies as some people might've painted him as 😉

[major spoilers for Investigations 2 in the last section]

As per my last post, I'm not going to do an extensive line-by-line comparison between the two translations but I do want to compare one line directly because it's one of my favourites in I2 and I remember the fan translated version by heart. It's this one here from Huang's (Wang's) speech just before he's shot at.

Fan Translation: "The Hammer of Justice shall be brought down upon all evil!"

Official Translation: "We shall crush the wicked with the righteous hammer of justice!"

Content-wise the two lines are pretty equal, "righteous" doesn't really add anything that isn't conveyed with "of justice". The official version sounds a bit more impressive and fancy whereas "all evil" and the passive voice from the fan translation makes it easier to apply the line in a completely different context. That's the reason I love this line so much: On the surface, Huang is talking about putting a stop to the criminal activities doing harm to his country but since he says this right before the shot of the fake assassin rings out, the moment a certain someone's revenge scheme kicks off, you can also see it as him announcing his and his cronies' own downfall as they are the evil (or wicked) the hammer of justice is brought down upon (or crushing).

I adore this double meaning as it's so wonderfully ironic and poetic in a way and I hoped that the official translation would keep the line similar enough so that it still applies. And it does! Yay!

[aceattorney-countdown]

Soooo apparently the Turnabout Storyteller preview hasn't been posted on the day I thought it would (I realised this 3 days late. I'm incredible). It will probably be posted this week instead. Sorry for the mistake! I won't update all the previous countdown posts but the following ones will be corrected :)

[attorneys-against-court-violence]

Dual Destinies Binge: Start!

And so it begins, my proper nose-first look at Dual Destinies. Imma start with the opening and post my thoughts as I go - I'll save the thoughtful analysis for after I've drunken it all in, like with the other games, and just give bullet-points to start with.

Opening with dead silence over a ticking bomb and a panicking courtroom... that's pretty chilling. Consider me on board.

Eric Vale? Or someone similar-sounding ig. Most Phoenix voices have a similar vibe anyways.

And there's Athena Cykes; getting pumped for the trial, saluting the guard, getting excited and running up the stairs (only to fall back down, whoops)... It's a nice intro to the light-hearted side of her character! Just adorable!

Not getting over Widgets voice though...

Pinkie-promise I'll keep my personal feelings about her off the table until I'm done with this, I need to be impartial here

Yeah, Phoenix got his badge back quick... I'll take notes on how long we go without mentioning AJ post-beanie shot. Something tells me it'll be the entire game.

Speaking of AJ, I wonder how fans of that game felt seeing their boy messed up in a weird coat. Not sure what to make of it right now other than "that's rough, buddy".

I'll report back once I'm done with Turnabout Countdown (which is ~2 hours long in the playthrough I'm watching, so sight tight!). It won't quite be live-posting, but I'll check in as often as I can - ideally after each segment.

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

I love the Widget translates Athena’s thoughtfully put-together complaint into a 90s kid insult. Athena...is a true 90s kid at heart.

[marinapeixes]

To celebrate the re-release of all the HS music on Bandcamp, here is a list (with links!) of my favorite HS music. There’s talent and heart in the vast Homestuck musicverse, and I highly recommend exploring it if you haven’t, returning to it if it’s been a while, and sharing your own favorites if they’re still in your mix today.

So here are my top 25 favorite Homestuck songs, including fan material:

In comic | On albums | On fan album* | Not in any collection**

Doctor | Candles and Potency** | Planet Healer | Pale Rapture | Trepidation | Voidlight / Whispers in the Voidlight** / Haven** |  Carne Vale | Austin, Atlantis / piano duet** | Crystalanthemums / Crystalguitarthemums* | The Lyrist | Skaian Birth / Skaian Dreams Remix / Skies of Skaia | Ascend | Terezi’s Theme | Sburban Jungle / Sburban Countdown | Renewed Return | Another Chance | Knight in Two Dreams** | Seer of Same-Colored Scalemate Combos** | Cuddlefish* | Purple Bard |  Forever / Beta Version / The Deeper You Go | Three in the Morning (RJ's I Can Barely Sleep In This Casino Remix) | Superego |  Skaia Ad Infinitum* | Dreamers and the Dead

Short but somehow very long descriptions of why I love each track under the cut:

1. Doctor | George Buzinkai | Homestuck Vol. 1-4 The original. The iconic. A genuinely haunting and atmospheric track, I think this was a big part of what really drew me into the story when first reading it.

2. Candles and Potency | Jeremy “Solatrus” Iamurri | (Youtube) I’ve posted this here before but like. This is still such a mystery to me. It was played as part of the stream leading up to the release of Volume 10. Why...was it not part of Volume 10. Why does it have no official release.  I live in terror this video source for it will be taken down. It’s a stunning remix of Candles and Clockwork (x / x). Listen to it all the way through - the piano bit is my favorite.

3. Planet Healer | Seth “Beetfox” Peelle | Homestuck Vol. 5 Changes the mood of Doctor from “mysterious” to “inviting.” Great soundtrack for a playable segment of the comic, great to listen to on its own.

4. Pale Rapture | The Black Curtain | coloUrs and mayhem: Universe B This song has a noticeable physiological calming affect on me. I also just like it.

5. Trepidation | Svix | Homestuck Vol. 9 Energetic and uplifting. One of my cheer-up songs.

6. Voidlight | Thomas Ferkol | Homestuck Vol. 10 (Whispers in the Voidlight / Haven) I think I’m okay admitting that I like the preview version of this better than the final - because I still like the final great deal. I like that Whispers in the Voidlight has less layer, but I like the ending that was added to Voidlight. I’m pretty happy having both versions in my mix. It is a very comforting song to me.

7. Carne Vale | Malcolm Brown | Cherubim Still gives me shivers. This was the standout for me when Cherubim was released, and I’m glad it was put in the comic later - it made [S] Game Over. more palatable. 

8. Austin, Atlantis | Clark “Plazmataz” Powell | Homestuck Vol. 9 (Austin, Atlantis (piano duet)) I cried the first time I listened to this. That’s...a recommendation. Sometimes the titles of instrumental songs don’t affect my impressions of them on a conscious level, but this one definitely did, and I actually felt an emotion like looking at a sunken city that I used to be able to walk though. Both versions are very good.

9.  Crystalanthemums | Alex Rosetti | Homestuck Vol. 5 (Crystalguitarthemums* | Eric “Jit” Scheele | Land of Fans and Music 2) Another iconic leitmotif. I love the track itself, and Crystalguitarthemums is a fan release that has a similar mood of tranquility. 

10. The Lyrist | Thomas "EidolonOrpheus" Ferkol | Cherubim I tended to skip the less exciting tracks on Cherubim at first, but now I love this for being sad and sweet and very pretty.

11.  Skaian Birth | Mark Hadley | Song of Skaia

(Skaian Dreams Remix | Homestuck Vol. 2 (original), Skies of Skaia | Mark Hadley | Homestuck Vol. 1-4) The “Skaian” motif is very magical sounding. Like Voidlight, I find Skaian Birth very comforting. As of the posting of this, the Song of Skaia album seams to have bean eaten by the mass-reuploading...I hope it gets reuploaded as well.

12. Ascend | Joren “Tensei” de Bruin | Homestuck Vol. 10 This was such a good medley track. It was so ambitious in how many motifs it tried to pull together, and the fact that Tensei said they were tackling a music style that they hadn’t seen much in HS music before...and it all paid off spectacularly.

13. Terezi’s Theme | Toby “Radiation” Fox | Alterniabound  What a great character theme. It’s pretty busy for a VG theme, but it seems to tell a whole story. I think it was The Lemonsnout Turnabout that established the harpsichord as a Terezi sound, and that was also a Toby Fox track, and it’s very effective.

14. Sburban Jungle | Michael Guy Bowman | Homestuck Vol. 1-4 (Sburban Countdown | Michael Guy Bowman | Homestuck Vol. 1-4) Early on I considered this just as iconic as Doctor, and I was surprised it didn’t get used more. (If you want to see it used effectively as a motif, check out #21 on this list.) It really helped the mood shift as the comic got more serious and dramatic.

15. Renewed Return | Marcy Nabors | Homestuck Vol. 10 Another great medley track. Whereas Ascend has kind of a party atmosphere, Renewed Return is solemn and dignified in a way that is very satisfying as a conclusion to a long narrative.

16. Another Chance | Eston Schweickart, Erik “Jit” Scheele | One Year Older Homestuck is freaking long, and very meandering, and I’ve forgotten many of the plot beats. But one way to remember them is if they have a killer tribute song. Another Chance always reminds me of a time when achieving god tier still felt like an incredible achievement, of how menacing Bec Noir was, and of the feeling of seeing a character resurrected. One Year Older appears to be another casualty of the reuploading...this was a beautifully cohesive solo album, and I hope it comes back somehow. Please give it another chance.

17. Knight in Two Dreams** | Malcolm Brown | (Tumblr) Hm. I think what I love about is that this track makes the time spent on the meteor feel real. The rhythm makes me thing of the passage of a lot of time. The music also makes me think of a sort of unease with being in close quarters with people and not being able to leave. And finally, it also has the sense it is waiting for something...as they are all waiting for their journey to be over.

18. Seer of Same-Colored Scalemate Combos | Alex Rosetti | (Tumblr) Speaking of Terezi’s harpsichord...This was the theme for a fun tile-swapping puzzle game made by insecureillustrator, which sadly I think is defunct now. In any event, the song is really fun.

19. Cuddlefish | Thomas Ferkol | Land of Fans and Music 2 Very sweet and calming. I like thinking of quieter moments in the HS multiverse, like the trolls started SGRUB.

20. Purple Bard | Gec | coloUrs and mayhem: Universe A I wish I knew more music words because I want to say what I like about this song is...the...mixing?? It’s very immersive, there are a lot of layers to it that contribute to making it creepy and kind of hypnotic.

21. Forever / Beta Version / The Deeper You Go | Michael Guy Bowman | Moebius Trip and Hadron Kaleido The instrumental tracks on MTAHK all give me a sense of depth of time, the remoteness of Skaia and the Medium, and the cyclical nature of SBURB. Spooky. It all makes the story seem much bigger somehow.

22. Three in the Morning (RJ's I Can Barely Sleep In This Casino Remix) | Clark “Plazmataz” Powell, Robert J! Lake | Homestuck Vol. 1-4 I love this one largely because it is nostalgic from when I first got into Homestuck in 2012 and for a while only had Volumes 1-4 to listen to (I didn’t discover the Bandcamp page until later). It might have to do with the fact that it’s sandwiched between Sburban Jungle and Doctor on the album, but it’s a fun and yet soothing track.

23. Superego | Yan "Nucleose" Rodriguez | coloUrs and mayhem: Universe A This captures a mood that I can’t put into words. I’m not sure if this was composed as a Vriska track, but if it wasn’t I’m glad it ended up as one, because it’s a feeling I don’t think any other song has. 

24. Skaia Ad Infinitum | Andromeda's Cadre | Beforus This reminds me of all my old favorite DDR tracks. The melody makes me think of the changing Spirograph that represents Skaia.

25. Dreamers and the Dead | Thomas "EidolonOrpheus" Ferkol | Alterniabound This and Cuddlefish have always had a similar feeling to me (moreso than other Thomas Ferkol tracks). I like to think about exploring the dream bubbles as analogous to swimming through Alternia’s oceans.

Honorable mentions to Rustblood and It Be Like That Sometimes, which are only not on this list because they are technically Hiveswap and not Homestuck. If Homestuck really is continuing, and if there’s going to be more Hiveswap, I’m very much looking forward to more music.