#we can add the other ac protagonists too if you want?

[teecupangel]

Submitted by @saberamane

Had a funny one-shot kinda idea pop into my head today at work. A modern AU where it’s Desmond/Harem (with Altair, Ezio, and Ratonhnhaké:ton) They’re all dating, probably in their 20’s (or early 30’s if you wish), they all live in a house they rent, and they’re all secretly Assassin’s. As in they all, individually, think they’re hiding their assassin background from their 3 lovers.

Now, like all good assassin’s, the house has random knives, daggers, guns etc hidden around the house, and since they’re all relatively the same, they find a hidden weapon they themselves didn’t hide somewhere, but think it’s just one they forgot about. Like they go to hide a weapon by taping it to the underside of an end table, just to find one already there, and they’re like ‘well I guess I already used this table, gotta find another one.’

And they all find out about each other when the house is attacked by Templar’s. They each panic, thinking they lead their enemies home to their lovers, and they have to protect them, just for all of them to absolutely kick ass together. And then come the questions.

How come you can fight so well? Where did you learn? Why didn’t you say anything? Then it comes out they’re all Assassin’s and even more questions are raised.

Turns out Ezio, who is the 'mentor’ of the Italian branch, is in America to not only set up new branches of his families bank (which funds the assassin branch in italy), but also to secretly investigate the 'grand mentor’, who is the leader of the whole assassin brotherhood, and therefore has more power than the 'branch mentor’s’. Because the new grand mentor shouldn’t have even been in the running for the job, and the italian branch think’s something fishy is going on.

Likewise, Altair is the 'mentor’ of the Levant branch brotherhood, and funnily enough, also there to investigate the new grand mentor.

And you guessed it, Ratonhnhaké:ton is the 'mentor’ of the colonial branch, which is separate from the main 'american’ branch. And is also investigating the new grand mentor.

And imagine their shock when they find out Desmond is the long lost son of the new grand mentor.

Then there’s some backstory, about why Desmond ran away 9 years ago, why the other three are investigating Bill (which boils down to Bill wasn’t a branch mentor at any point in time, and therefore shouldn’t have been in the running for grand mentor. The grand mentor is suppose to be picked from one of the branch mentor’s, who then appoint a new branch mentor to take their place. Bill came out of no where, and no one trusts that.)

And of course, jokes about how they all happened to end up dating each other, and how none of them really noticed the fishy behavior the others did, because it was normal for them. (And jokes about how the branches don’t communicate very well, because none of them knew other branches were investigating Bill. They could have coordinated better.)

====================

Additions by teecup:

Oh, oh, oh. We can also add in that the last grand mentor was Al Mualim so, for Altaïr, it’s much more personal because Al Mualim died under ‘mysterious circumstances’. The official report says the cause of death was natural causes but that sounded like bs and his last known location was the US and that’s why Altaïr is investigating the grand mentor as the legitimacy of his title came from a supposed letter Al Mualim wrote that named him as his successor which screams bullshit to Altaïr. People assumed that Altaïr believed that he was Al Mualim’s successor (which he was as he was the mentor of the Levant branch - which is still named Levant because he was in charge of the countries that had been part of Levant in olden times) but Altaïr is mainly there to solve the mystery... And get away from all the paperwork that he had dumped on Malik.

Ratonhnhaké:ton, on the other hand, is in charge of the Colonial branch which is actually older than the American branch and his investigation is due to the fact that the American branch had been fractured since William Miles became the grand mentor although they’re keeping it hush-hush from everyone. Ratonhnhaké:ton received the title of mentor from Achilles and his other task is to unify the Assassins cells in America (and maybe finally unify the Colonial branch and the American branch). (… the mentor of the American branch is a secret but everyone knows that, if someone wants to contact the mentor, they go to Gavin who becomes their mediator)

And then there was Desmond Miles who has the training and the habits of an Assassin, to the point that he saw the hidden weapons and just thought “oh, I already hid something here” instead of being wary. Desmond has no idea where the hell his father is or how he became the grand mentor because…

Desmond left the Farm nine years ago. To be more exact, he left the Farm a month before Al Mualim’s death.

Unorganized Notes:

I think it would be nice if Altaïr and Ezio would be in their early 30s as a sign of how long they’ve been mentors while Ratonhnhaké:ton is on his late 20s and Desmond is in his mid 20s.

Desmond still works as a bartender but he doesn’t actually have to work. He does like to buy grocery though. A common joke among them is Desmond is their kept man and bartending is just a hobby of his. Desmond doesn’t get offended because he does like bartending because he likes making drinks (experimenting on them) and people-watching.

Altaïr’s front is that he’s there to assist on a secret research and development project which may or may not be funded by the American Government. He keeps saying he’s bound by an NDA. There is a research project that he’s assisting with but he’s actually assisting one of the Assassin cells in the American branch headed by Clay (with Shaun and Rebecca, Lucy optional XD). The project concerns the development of a forcefield that would surround Earth as a defense mechanism (whether this is pure human tech or connected to the Isus is up to you)

Ezio’s front is that he’s supervising the construction a branch of the Auditore Banks. Desmond is always his plus one but a lot of people assume he’s just a boy toy. Desmond has also met his family via video call because Ezio can’t help himself. They’re a bit worried about him having to share Desmond (only because that meant Ezio is keeping it a secret from 3 people instead of just 1) but they like Desmond’s other ‘beaus’ well enough.

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s front is that he’s the landlord of the building they’re living in (they live in the top floor all by themselves) which he had inherited from Achilles Davenport who is kinda like his unofficial uncle. Achilles had retired to his old family home with his wife and Ratonhnhaké:ton’s (as far as anyone is concern) older brother (all of which are part of the Colonial branch with his older brother, Connor, refusing to take the mantle of mentor since he believed Ratonhnhaké:ton is better suited and he wished to focus on keeping his parents and his new family safe). He went to live with the Davenports with his mother after his mother had a huge fight with his grandmother that made them leave their village but things seemed to have gotten better since Kaniehtí:io returned to the village and was accepted back 3 years ago.

Ratonhnhaké:ton is still a Kenway but he doesn’t use the name as Haytham Kenway is the COO of Abstergo and the Brotherhood knows they’re just a Templar front. Also, Haytham and Kaniehtí:io separated long before Ratonhnhaké:ton was born and she never wrote Haytham as his birth father.

[battybiologist]

Despite being my favorite prosecutor of the series in my favorite games of the series, I do have a huge problem with Barok van Zieks' writing, and it's his racism. Not that I mind that character flaw, but rather how it's handled.

In the game, Barok is racist towards Japanese people. Mind you, most of the English characters are too, but Barok is not only openly hostile and contemptuous of Japanese culture, but he's also the only character for whom this is a focus point. Later in the game, he overcomes that racism through his legal battles and budding friendship with Ryunosuke, our Japanese protagonist.

That's not what I have a problem with. That would lie in the origin of this racist behavior.

See, unlike the rest of the racist characters in Great Ace Attorney, Barok is prejudiced against Japanese people because of his tragic backstory (big red flag).

When he was younger, Barok actually liked Japanese people, and was even good friends with one, Genshin Asogi, until Genshin was revealed to be the Professor, a serial killer who murdered several members of the judiciary, including Klint van Zieks, Barok's older brother who he idolized. From that point on, Barok had a deep mistrust and hatred of all Japanese people.

That part sucks ass, because the key to Barok stopping being racist is proving that while Genshin did kill Klint, he did so in an honorable duel which Klint accepted, because he was the real Professor and Genshin knew it was the only way to bring him to justice.

This implies at best that Barok would have never been able to overcome his bigotry without the proof of Genshin's innocence, and at worst that his bigotry would've been justified if Genshin really was the Professor.

But the worst (or best, depending on your relationship with headcanons/mods) is that this is so easily fixed, and in fact, the game almost gives us the answer wholesale:

The reason the Professor's true identity was not found is partly due to the efforts of the villains of the game, but also because the rest of the characters involved in his case, including Barok, put Klint on such a pedestal that they unconsciously rejected any evidence of his guilt.

If we want to highlight that moral (?) by contrasting it with our fix to Barok's racism problem, we can simply answer a question that naturally comes to mind with this set up: Why was the British judiciary, including Barok, so quick to write off Genshin as the Professor? Sure, he killed Klint, but he killed him with a katana, while the rest of the Professor's victims died of bite wounds. The game answers with the same Klint pedestal logic as before, but I think it should be because Barok and the judiciary are racist.

It's such a simple change, and yet it makes Barok's story so much better from a narrative and sociopolitical standpoint. Barok prides himself on seeking the truth, a deeply heroic quality in Ace Attorney. So the fact that his own prejudice, something he didn't even care to question for his great friend Genshin Asogi ("one of the good ones" in this scenario), caused the obfuscation of the truth would be devastating, and that devastation being the end of his bigotry would stay in line with the heavily character-focused writing of Ace Attorney and yield a much better message in addition of "racism is bad": societal biases left unexamined can blind us to reality, leading us to make awful mistakes that go against our core principles.

It also has a bunch of additional perks: Seishiro's anger would become additionally relatable for many POC, it would be a great and honestly ballsy commentary on law enforcement to make for the most popular VN series, it would create a nice parallel with Soseki Natsume's arrest, and it would add an interesting touch to Stronghart's characterization, what with him being racist (and a well-written racist at that) in the games already, but also becoming aware of said racism in others and using that to his benefit in our version.

Anyway, don't let the multiple paragraphs of criticism fool you, I'm making this post because I love these games to death

[sovonight]

since it's come up a couple times, i thought i'd just make a post about it! here we go:

i keep seeing you talk about this xan guy, but who is he?

xan is a potential companion in baldur's gate, the first game in the baldur's gate series. in the vanilla game, he has basic voice lines that play in reaction to commands, other companions, and the locations you're in. in fact, all of his voice lines can be viewed in the "quotes" section on the wiki; that's the extent of the content he has.

wait, i thought he was a full-fledged companion with friendship and romance paths? also, isn't he in baldur's gate 2?

he is, but only with the use of mods!

BG1NPC adds xan's banter, commentary, and romance path to bg1 (alongside a lot of other things, take a look at the readme!)

Xan's friendship path adds xan's friendship path to bg1

Xan BG2 NPC adds xan to bg2, as well as 2 romance paths, a friendship path, and a new soundset

Alternate Xan Soundset for BG2 restores xan's bg1 soundset to him in bg2, because nothing beats the original

if you want to romance him, make sure to play as an elf, unless you're ready for a bit of heartbreak ;( non-elves can romance him for a bit in bg1, but at one point you'll be forced to break it off.

i'm interested in playing the series, but where should i start?

i've broken it down here!

do you have any other mod recs?

i still play with the original (non-ee) games, so a lot of my mods are just widescreen fixes & bug fixes that are already covered in the ee games. but one list i have on hand is glittergear's bg2 mod recs!

why don't you like xan in bg2?

spoilers ahead, but:

i don't agree with his characterization and the execution of his romance paths as a whole

his bonded bg2 romance is worse than his bg1 romance, and intimacy with him almost always involves sex now, when it didn't before

he's been made ridiculously old

he's out of character, and many of his reactions are just odd

i don't agree with his death, and here's more paragraphs why

bonded xan is too ready to serve goddess!charname, when based on past behavior i'd think he would have a firm stance against it

his player-initiated dialogue options are poorly thought out

he was altered to have proficiency in darts instead of slings. darts fucking suck, why would you do this to him

his behavior would hurt radri, a lot

the list goes on

why are you still drawing/writing about him in bg2, then?

i love xan and radri together, i can't just write him out of bg2

😔 i can fix him 😔

but you think xan in bg1 is perfect, right?

not totally, i've always felt like his romance was biased in favor of one personality type

he is SO ace-coded to me, but his author clearly had a different vision for him

there's more, but they're all minor nitpicks compared to my complaints about him in bg2

you've complained a lot about him, so what do you even like about xan??

he's just so ridiculous, in the best ways

he can be snippy and dramatic, but also so kind

i love his romance in bg1

i enjoy his habit of carrying charname for romantic gestures, even though radri is like 200 lbs with light armor, and he's, what, 130 lbs sopping wet? i know, he was probably written with an elven waif of a charname in mind, but it's almost sweeter to think of him going out of his way to make it happen

you keep mentioning radri, but who is she?

my gorion's ward, my bhaalspawn, my charname, my beloved protagonist

she's like the kicked puppy to xan's pathetic kitten

here's an introduction, but honestly, it's easier just to read about them

why do you like the series, but not baldur's gate 3?

baldur's gate 3 has next to nothing to do with the series and should've been named something else

i was disappointed by it when i did play it

there's a sexual overtone over the entirety of the game

i'm tired of romances that put sex first

it's impossible for me to relax and enjoy the game

again, it's a really horny game

i'm just way too ace for it

bg3 overtakes all search results when trying to search for information on bg1 (which, being titled baldur's gate, doesn't get the benefit of a number to set it apart from the other games). sure, filters exist, but that doesn't change the fact that an era of easy information retrieval is over

what do you think about the references to xan in baldur's gate 3?

i want to die

i would rather kill xan myself than let bg3 touch him

it's a small mercy that he wasn't cursed with an actual cameo

[miyakuli]

A Space for the Unbound

Stand by Me

After the emotional When the Past was Around, a game I was particularly fond of, Mojiken and Toge Productions are back with another hard-hitting title. A Space for the Unbound plunges us into Indonesia in the 90s, where we follow young high-school students Raya and Atma as they confront the end of their world (I won't reveal any more than that, as the story is well worth the candle). What can I say, I can only recommend it, because once again, it's a game that left a deep mark on me:

❤ A truly moving story that touches on singularly human and mature themes. The script skilfully juggles between sweet moments and much more psychologically harsh scenes, and easily draws us in with the way it gradually distils clues about our characters and the world around us. And I'm not even going to mention the masterful ending - I still think about it with great emotion. A little gem of writing! ❤ Endearing characters, both human and animal ;) (ps: you can pet and name all the animals in the game, I'm screaming!) ❤ I'm a big fan of pixel art, and I can say that in terms of design, it's superb. From the detailed and nostalgic backgrounds, to the distinctive and memorable chara-designs, to the beautiful gameplay animations and cinematic sequences… it's a real treat! ❤ Not to mention the excellent soundtrack that accompanies the game. The music is pleasant, comforting at times, but also emotionally charged in the strong moments. And yes, the song at the end totally helped to make me cry :') ❤ Gameplay-wise, it's partly a fairly basic point & click, with little puzzles here and there that aren't too hard, but the game also offers different gameplay phases (such as QTEs and even an Ace Attorney-style court phase :p), so there's never any real sense of redundancy.

+/- I found all the quests relevant, even the more secondary ones; each one allows us to really learn about the protagonists' neighbourhood and its residents, and therefore to really feel at home there, which reinforces the nostalgic aspect of the game. On the other hand, some of them perhaps take up a little too much time for what they add to the story.

✖ Some actions require you to go back and forth quite a bit at times (and long!) ✖ Atma walks so slowly that you end up running all the time. So what's the point of the walking option x)

This is the second game from this studio that has brought tears to my eyes. They have a real talent for gently conveying emotion, through both storytelling and gameplay. I regret not having played it sooner, as it would definitely have got my vote at the Game Awards 2023, where it was nominated in the 'Game for Impact' category. Because yes, I'm not likely to forget it, and as the game wanted to teach me, cherishing your fondest memories is important for living and moving forward <3

➡ My Steam page

[crystalelemental]

So...okay, hear me out.  Unovan Villain arc is presumably next month.  Who...are they going to add alts for?

No really, follow me on this one.

Ghetsis is so likely as to be nearly guaranteed.  The antagonists are the focus here, and so far, Giovanni and Cyrus got alts, while Maxie and Archie only didn’t because they were Master Fair reruns.  Ghetsis feels destined for an alt.  So that’s one.

Colress is confirmed.  We found data in the files, we know he’s coming in.  Fans rejoice their nerd boy showing up.

Hilbert is a given.  He’s the protagonist, there is no possible way he doesn’t get an alt.  Nate can also be roughly assumed, but...Rosa just got one.  I find it hard to believe she’d get two new alts, likely at PokeFair tier each, within two months of each other.  Hilda’s in a weird space where it’s been about 4-5 months, but I still feel like that’s a bit too close together for another new one.  So I’m kinda discounting her as well.

Champions tend to get a big focus, with Cynthia and Steven getting hugely impactful alts, and Blue getting one in Kanto.  Lance is the only exception so far, and...sucks to be him, but Unova’s got a similar issue.  Iris is popular, but she’s getting an alt in like two weeks.  I cannot imagine them handing her two alts in less than a month, even if it’d be funny and they should.  Alder’s a definite possibility.  The man has gotten nothing in his life, and this is a good opportunity.  But he’s also Lance-tier in overall popularity so they might skip him for other focus options.

And of course, the talk of the town, Mr. Natural himself.  N also got a summer alt like four months ago.  And frankly?  Consider the current situation.  5/5 grids were just confirmed, and Raihan was added to the Lodge alongside this upgrade.  With the Unovan VA coming up...I expect N’s getting Zekrom focus, and will get his 5/5 expansion, allowing them to add someone else to the Lodge (help me manifest Caitlin or Iris, Cheren for my wife in a pinch).  But it also means there may not be a new N alt.  Recency and all that, but also the emphasis may be on rerunning his Master Fair, same as the weather titans.  So while possible, I don’t think N can be assumed as a guarantee.

But more importantly, I hope you see the crux of the problem.

Unovan VA is shaping up to be entirely male.  Every likely option without a recent alt is a male.  While I do think arguments that DeNA only cares about its female characters is stupid and maybe a little sexist at worst, I do think they tend to try to balance most events, and would want at least one female alt.  So...who?  Hilda?  I guess she’s the furthest back in time since her last alt, but four months is a short turnaround.  And outside of her, it’s options that got an alt like a month ago.  There’s...really no obvious female character to be around for this.

Which means there’s a very high chance we get Erika/Misty’d.  Just a random pull from the region to fill the gap where important female characters were supposed to be, because they forgot to add them apparently.  Elesa seems like an obvious pick.  It’s been almost a year since her Classic alt.  But ooooh boy do I not like the thought of that.  There aren’t many Electric-types that fit.  Her main team is accounted for, which means it could be Galvanula or Eelektross (infringes on Emmet), or it could be Thundurus (genies bad).  I don’t like that.  By association, Skyla’s possible, and hasn’t had an alt since March.  Which...is a lot closer, and I don’t think Skyla’s quite that popular, but who knows.

We all know what I’m going to say.  I’m hoping for Caitlin and Gothitelle.  But more importantly, I kinda hope the VA focuses on the Champion and E4.  I think that’d be really cool.  Grimsley’s super popular and I don’t think many would complain about another alt for him.  Marshall will literally never get one otherwise.  Shauntal is super overdue, and needs Cofagrigus.  And of course, I really want Caitlin to get some focus with her proper ace in Gothitelle.  And this would line up nicely for Month 1 of the VA.  Common grids could focus on Shauntal and Marshall, while grid expansion for Grimsley or Caitlin seems incredibly high.  Grimsley needs it more, but I do think DeNA prefer boosting Strikers first, so it might be Caitlin.  Then Month 2 focuses on a Master Fair for Hilbert or something similar.

I know, I’m reaching.  But I’m really curious what they’ll do.  Because it’s either going to be Hilda, a random curveball pick so it’s even across male and female, or the VA is entirely male but events around it are female-focused.  Time will tell.

[homestuckrichard]

Ace attorney Apollo Justice is one of the worst game in the franchise. [DD is even worse for me but I might talk about it in another post]

For me, one of the biggest problem with AA:Apollo Justice is that it's not even a game about him. Phoenix is a really good character here and his transformation in this game is quite an interesting take on his character. Trucy might be one of my favorite supporting characters and I wish she had a bigger role in DD (I'm end on this game for now so please no spoilers for lates games) but the emphasis on these characters is too strong.

The game that was supposed to introduce a new protagonist ended up with Apollo actually having a smaller role in the story than Phoenix and even Trucy. Because if you think about it, literally everything, every major plot focuses more on these two than on Apollo himself.

The rivalry between Klavier and Apollo is fun but bland, but aside from the fact that they sometimes stand on opposite sides of the courtroom, they don't have much in common(apart from having a relationship with Kristoph). Phoenix, on the other hand, despite the shorter interaction time with the Klavier, has a more important role for this character. Klavier actually helped ruin Phoenix's life, made Trucy stay with him, and what he did to Phoenix in the past, makes plot of this game. About Trucy there is even more, like backstory + interaction during the game.

All the plot around the Gramarye family is mostly focused on Trucy, even when Apollo is also part of the family the fact that he's somehow related to them for almost the entire game doesn't plays any role in the story.

Kristoph also has a small role in Apollo's life if we look at what happened to Phoenix because of him. The whole game is literally about Phoenix wanting revenge. Yes, the fact that he was Apollo's mentor makes sense and influences him but it still doesn't surpass the correlation between Gavin and Wright.

Apollo Justice makes a critical mistake as a game where like in Fallout 3, it's creates a story that is much more boring than what happened to the main character's father who is already the goal we have to reach for a large part of the game. Similarly, Apollo is a hero who has a more boring path than a person who is actually a supporting character. When at the same time he creates the main conflict of the story.

Which is strange when you consider that this game was originally not going to have Phoenix at all.

This all makes Apollo an underutilized character (and unfortunately they didn't fix it in DD, why would you add Athena if your last protagonist is bland). Which is why I don't really care much about him and again, strangely despite plans to completely detach from the original trilogy. The game heavily dependent on the nostalgia associated with earlier products, because if I didn't like Phoenix, the whole story, all the intrigue behind it all, would be absolutely boring to me. The whole jury thing is dumb, I'm not saying it's not, but at least because of my sympathy for Wright, I can at least root for him. Which is unfortunate for my perception of this game.

Other things that affect the game badly but I don't want to write long about them.

Pacing is so bad. Why the first process is more important than the last????

I'm not a fan of the trials in this game. The first one is absolutely the best and makes the others look bad. The second is cute etc. but slows down the plot to the point where I barely remember anything from it. I hate Turnabout Serenade. It was an annoying, boring and uninteresting experience. A 4th chapter- Wait!! I forgot it only had four parts. This is another pacing problem! I miss something in between that could build the atmosphere of the final.

Sorry Klavier fans but Klavier is slick one of the worse prosecutor. I understand that he is really just a yearman who doesn't really want to deal with the law and prefers the life of a celebrity. I would buy it if the whole story focused more on him and our protagonist but ultimately, he is bland to me.

Again I dont really like Apollo as a protagonist and his power makes no sense to me. Dude, just because I'm stressed doesn't mean I have something to hide, I'm just afraid of being falsely accused.

And maybe something else I forgot.

If you have thoughts on this, I'd love to read it.

[akihikosanada]

finished ace attorney!!! thoughts under a read more because of spoilers and it got kinda long. only opinion i'll state here is that i enjoyed it a lot and i would recommend it to anyone slightly curious about it ❤

ended the trilogy with mia and gumshoe as my favs. mia was too cool to live and gumshoe is pookie no other explanations are needed for either of them

the music was so good!!!! i think the trial music for the first game was the best one by far, but some of the songs related to specific cases were incredible (shoutout to aa1 case 4, aa2 case 2 and aa3 case 1)

my favorite case absolutely was the fourth one in aa2, i didn't know a single thing about it. from the maya kidnapping, the involvement of a serial killer, phoenix losing his very first trial, being able to get a bad ending and obviously the matt engarde plot twist. i did genuinely think adrien was the culprit

related to the matt thing it was the one twist i was not expecting at all nor had spoiled, i mean at one point godot looked like the only culprit possible (and accidentally had it spoiled to myself. rip) and manfred von karma just looks guilty as hell. also his theme song slayed i was mad they reused it in aa3 for the trials and other moments. he did not summon a glass of brandy out of nowhere while in jail for you to do this to him!!!!

i still stand by what i said in an earlier post, the cases with a fey right in the middle of them were definitely the best ones. also i really liked how the third game was practically all about the clan, even the prosecutor introduced in it. it's good that miles got his own spinoff series because we cannot forget that the two protagonists in the aa trilogy are phoenix and maya (and by extension the feys) !!!! you think at first mia will be the deuteragonist but then it turns out it's actually her sister!!!! this is their world!!!! all miles got was one case and even the dl-6 incident was about maya and mia's mother!!!!

not a fan at all of the franziska whip thing. it got old really fast as well. i can excuse murder but i didn't find the whole hitting people with it thing funny or entertaining.....it bothered me to the point i couldn't stand her tbh. remake the entire trilogy without her hitting people with a whip and i'll stan

already said a negative thing above so i'll say another one now. the gumshoe shit salary thing got old extremely fast like by the third game it felt like he got reduced to only saying he can't pay the bills and how all he eats are instant noodles. no idea what happens in the investigations games but i hope miles gives him a huge raise or i will keep hoping gumshoe petrol bombs him!!!!

kinda related to the gumshoe thing since they are both comic relief characters but larry also got turned lowkey into a creep that both phoenix and edgeworth couldn't stand while in the first game phoenix literally describes him as a "likeable guy who has been my friend since grade school" and thinks of him as a "good guy at heart" (started the first trial for these two quotes alone) miles also never describes him as a bad person or even a loser, he's a bit too silly alright but that's it. justice for larry!!!!! the writers don't know shit!!!!!

a while ago i said mia was too hot to live (i stand by it) but now i can add to this that diego was also too hot to live (he technically didn't die but you know what i mean) had they both lived and continued dating they would have outslayed outserved outcunted every single attorney in whatever country the games takes place in i mean murder suspicions aside no wonder dahlia wanted them both dead

speaking of dahlia i mean yes i wanted mia to beat her ass in both of her trials but before finishing the final trial in the trilogy i replayed aa3 case1 and like. ok yeah dahlia was highkey a girlboss like come on she staged her death at 14, murdered her half sister, (almost) murdered a lawyer in the courtroom and quickly disposed of the poison, attempted to kill the PROTAGONIST, killed her ex, and as a literal ghost she tried killing maya???? shelly de killer wishes i'm not sorry

speaking of mr. diego armando/godot i do wish it had been foreshadowed even slightly in the previous games, i mean there is a huge chance they had not planned it that early on in the series but still you know. planting seeds here and there. maybe in grossberg's office or even in fey & co. wasn't grossberg involved in another case in aa2? was that the final case? i forgor but maybe show something in his office by then? considering from the morgan scene post case 2 they had already planned stuff for later idfk. the fact that maya knew of him but was never mentioned by her even in the third game feels weird

oldbag was the best witness character by far. missed opportunity to have her interact with larry on scren so they could both give edgeworth an aneurysm. wuved will powers too ❤ can't be a coincidence the two slayest mfs came from the same case (even though i consider it the weakest one in aa1)

i am acros-girl till the end. free my man (from jail and being in the floppest case)!!!!

aa1 case 5 despite the new features and fitting quite well despite having been added later wasn't that hot tbh. it felt too long and i couldn't really connect with ema and er. her sister i forgor her name. the damon gant reveal was obvious from the moment he popped up too. COME ON even his leitmotif was evil as hell. on the other hand it also was the case that made me realise how much i missed maya LMAO sorry ema but you will never be her. starr and jake slayed though

aa1 fucked severely, aa2 was kind of boring honestly i can only say i enjoyed the second and fourth cases. aa3 was really good, but even though i cried and everything i didn't think its final case was as good as the fourth cases in the previous two games. it started very well but it kinda lost me with the pendulum honestly. i can accept channeling the dead but i have my limits!!! i also felt that the final segment with maya and godot could have been done better, a lot of time got spent on the stupid ass pendulum, not enough time spent in the emotional beats

this is a thought i had yesterday but it made me laugh that both desiree delite and matt engarde are brunettes who wear red clothes and like riding motorcycles. also come on one is rich and the other likes spending money??? you would think desiree is actually a matt who escaped jail and started hrt so shelly de killer wouldn't find her #girlboss #dahliawishes

i thought the whole trilogy being in 2d fit the game really well, honestly i'm kind of worried re: apollo trilogy and tgaa because i know some of it is in 3d but somehow i don't think it fits the style? also this is stupid maybe but i like how the only people that are voiced are the attorneys saying "objection" or "take that" or "hold it" in court, idk if they are voiced in the other games or not but i'd fear that. giving them enough time to speak and hear their accents would ruin the experience for me SJFLSDJKFJSDKL

i liked that the final scene of the game was with pearl and maya, in case you haven't realized it yet this is the phoenix and feys trilogy!!!

ok i was finishing this and i realized i had not talked about the gay lawyers at all. i see it and everything but also i think phoenix could do better. all in all it was gay but nothing that drove me insane playing the games (phoenix becoming a lawyer "to save him" was homosexual activity through and through though. same with the "unnecessary feelings" line

final thoughts: the feys would survive succession but not a single roy would survive ace attorney. also i hope aa7 is about ami fey's spirit getting revenge for the amount of times her urn got broken

[radiosandrecordings]

Been thinking recently about queer theory in audio, specifically in regards to intimacy and how different identities have different needs and how this interacts with the medium. 

The big examples, and the one I see most frequently talked about, are kissing noises, usually in regards to some of the Big Podcasts, TMA and Penumbra (It doesn’t really seem to come up in a lot of the other big podcasts - TAZ is a TTRPG, not an audio drama, W359 has no romance, there’s kissing in The Bright Sessions but it doesn’t seem to be that big anymore)

Here you’ve got to examine both what purpose the kissing serves, and what it actually sounds like, and to do that you have to take in to account the context of the show, the soundscape at large + the directing style, etc etc. Penumbra is easiest because it has what I would consider to be not a realistic audio style, but not an unrealistic one either. It doesn’t care about how you’re hearing this, there’s no framing device, so spatial awareness isn’t really done with rigidity - You can hear people talking, you can hear the THEIA talking to Juno, you can hear Rita over whatever she uses to communicate with Juno etc. I think S1 is best to examine here because S2 doesn’t really focus on romance, but S1 is primarily a noir romance, with all the heaviness and passion that that entails. When Juno and Peter are kissing you can hear it, and there’s a reason for that outside of genre convention too. Sophie Takagi Kaner specifically wanted the kissing to be very in-your-face (or. ear.) because they wanted the queerness, and specifically in this case the sexuality aspect, to be something unavoidable. The first arc ends with two queer people making out and you can’t avoid it, and that’s the intent! The genius of it though is that it’s also made to be plot relevant - This is Peter using his sexuality as a distraction, he’s sexy and he knows it and he’s about to escape into the night like the thief on a mission he is. And it doesn’t sound wrong in the soundscape, the whole show up to that point as been quite over the top, so this doesn’t sound out of place. The combination of dialogue, sounds, and Juno’s noir detective monologuing over the scene make it work.

Now take something like TMA. TMA also features a queer couple, but the big difference is that you do not hear anything intimate going on beyond a hug. And yes, part of this has been said on the director’s behalf to be because they just couldn’t get the kissing to sound good on audio, but whether it was the intention or not, another key difference is the fact that one of the two characters is ace. And it adds this really nice layer of like, schrodinger's kissing to the character. Because we’re told in regards to sex that he “Doesn’t. Like, at all.” but we’re never given any indication on his opinions on kissing and that’s fine! It isn��t that kind of story. Penumbra S1 I would argue is a romance, but TMA, even when it has the main character in a romantic relationship in S5, is not a romance because the horror and tragedy take far more priority. So I think one could argue that his aceness is shown through the fact that he’s never shown kissing his boyfriend, and that he can absolutely be read as kiss-averse, or maybe just kiss-sometimes, or maybe he’s fine with kissing and it’s just all off-audio, that’s the interpretable part of it. I’ve seen some bizarre takes in the past year saying that the creators of TMA are homophobic, even, for making this directing choice (Because ah, yes, let’s tell the bi man writing a m/m relationship that he’s doing it wrong) when I just don’t think people take the time to consider that A) Audio is hard to work with tone-wise and if they couldn’t get it to sound good, then they couldn’t get it to sound good B) not every queer person needs to be represented in the same way. Penumbra’s overt sexuality is it’s way of doing that, and intentional or not TMA’s protagonist’s lack-of is shown in a lack of those moments. 

If people are looking for audio dramas on the spicier side though, apparently there is a market for explicit audio drama? I’m not quite sure how it works but props to those people for finding out how to do that. I know Dreamboy uses third person narrating but I think there is some genuine audio drama with sex stuff out there, and Good For Them. But also, when a relationship is shown without those aspects, that can be just as revolutionary and queer too, as much as we live in a heteronormative world, part of heteronormativity is amatonormativity, so different media can be important in their stances for different reasons, they can co-exist and one does not automatically become bad by juxtaposing the other. 

[cloverthirteen]

Was Ace Attorney made as a satire on Japan’s legal system? -- An analysis

I wouldn’t really call myself an Ace Attorney fan--I’ve never played any of the games, the closest I’ve come being watching other people’s let’s plays. I do like reading about the series on wikis and interacting with fan content for it, though, so I do know a fair amount about it.

One thing I see being said pretty often by fans is that the series was intended as a satire/parody of the Japanese legal system, which is why the courts are ridiculously biased towards the prosecution, prosecutors often care more about perfect win records more than putting actual guilty people behind bars, etc. If you’re familiar with this, you’ve probably heard of Japan’s 99% conviction rate. This interpretation of the games and the way they work definitely makes sense.

But after hearing this many times I eventually noticed something. There isn’t a single actual source (creator statement, interview, etc.) that backs up this claim. Every time I see someone online say “the series creator made Ace Attorney to parody Japan’s actual legal system” there is never a link to an interview or anything that proves their statement correct. If someone has an actual, verified source from Shu Takumi or someone else who had significant involvement with the series, please prove me wrong and show it to me. But according to all of the creator’s statement’s I’ve read, there’s no evidence of the series being an intentional parody.

So, what do we know about the creation of the Ace Attorney series? Well, it was created by Shu Takumi, who wrote and directed the first three games. After working on the dinosaur survival horror game Dino Crisis for Capcom, he was given the opportunity to make any kind of game he wanted. He really wanted to make mystery and adventure games, and from that came Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

MC: Before developing Ace Attorney you worked on Dino Crisis. How does one go from dinosaur survival horror to virtual courtrooms?

ST: Dino Crisis was the brainchild of my then boss, Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. Working on his projects taught me not only how to make games, but also how to think about them. After Dino Crisis 2 wrapped, Mr Mikami gave me six months in which to create any kind of game I wanted.

I was still pretty wet behind the ears, but as I'd originally joined Capcom with a desire to create mystery and adventure games, this was a huge chance for me to make my mark as a creator. In the end it took a team of seven 10 months to produce the first GBA Ace Attorney title. Having the freedom to create exactly the kind of game I wanted was amazing and it was a real pleasure to work on that project.

MC: Can you remember when the idea of Ace Attorney first came to you? How did your bosses respond to the idea of a lawyer-based adventure game when you first described it to them?

ST: It was in 2000 when Mr Mikami said I could make my own game and my original idea was a fairly typical adventure with a detective as the main character. Most mystery adventures have the player choose from a number of different dialogue options for their character in order to progress the story, but I wanted a new gameplay style that enabled players to deduce for themselves what was happening, rather than just selecting canned responses. I developed this into the concept of facing off against the suspect in a crime and exposing the contradictions in their statements.

I was sure my new idea would be a fun and original take on the genre, so I started to revise the main character, since a detective would be too traditional for such an original concept. I asked myself, "What kind of professional would face off against a suspect and expose their contradictory statements?" The answer, of course, was a lawyer and so the Ace Attorney concept was born.

(source, from an interview on the making of the series)

Takumi’s original concept for the game involved Phoenix as not a defense lawyer, but as a detective. The gameplay was to consist of “facing off against the suspect of a crime and finding the contradictions in their statements.” However, Takumi eventually realized that taking apart contradictions wasn’t really a detective’s job, and decided to change the protagonist to a lawyer and the setting to a courtroom instead. And thus, the game’s concept was finalized.

Janet: As you know, “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy” is coming out world-wide this winter, and as I was brainstorming what to write about for this week’s blog, I remembered your tweets from 2010.

Takumi: Tweets from 2010?

Janet: …Well, it was a long time ago…

Takumi: ???

Janet: I-It’s OK if you don’t remember…

Takumi: …Oh, THOSE! Yes!

Janet: I remember reading them and being shocked by how different the original draft of the game’s story was – how Phoenix wasn’t even a lawyer, but a private eye!

Takumi: Yes, AA was originally supposed to be a detective game, so naturally, Phoenix was to be a private eye. But then, one day, I made a startling realization: the gameplay concept I was going for was for players to enjoy finding and taking contradictions apart, but that was hardly related to investigating or detective work at all. In that moment, I had it – I realized that the main setting for the game should be the courtroom.

Janet: That’s quite the jump, but you know, I can’t imagine this series being anything else at this point. 

(source, from an interview by Janet Hsu about the game’s early development)

During the development for the game, Takumi actually knew very little about the intricacies of the legal system--and in fact, he’s been very transparent about that fact in interviews. There’s even a story he talks about in a blog post where he was asked “shouldn’t we do some research on law before we make this game?” and agonized over it for a bit before deciding that being accurate about courtroom processes wasn’t important--what was important was that the game made the trials exciting and fun.

November, 2000. The characters were coming together, and I was working desperately on my first scenario (the current Turnabout Sisters). One day, I was asked about the one thing I didn’t want to be asked about.

“Mr. Takumi. Don’t we need to do some research on law?”

The knowledge I have about the law, pretty amounts to the one fact that in Japan we have the Roppō Zensho ('Complete Book of The Six Major Legal Codes').

“Don’t bother with that. This is a detective game. “

It should have been over with this one line, but…

“But this isn’t a detective game, it’s a lawyer game!”

“If it’s not going to be realistic, I don’t see why this should be about trials.”

“People who play this might get wrong knowledge from the game!”

“We might get sued by the Bar Association!”

“They’ll start complaining!”

…Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney GBA) is simply a “mystery game.”　“Being realistic” is not what is important. What’s important is emphasizing, and recreating the unique “atmosphere” and “tension” of the courtroom. That is why the judge uses a gavel, even though no judge uses that, and why Naruhodō shouts "Objection!" even though nobody does that either.　This game does not need a “realistic courtroom”!

Chasing the true murderer down to the end, and then getting applauded for that in the courtroom. That feeling of thrill and excitement. It was only by February of the following year when we finally manage to recreate that in the game. The couple of months after this had happened, we looked around, got lost and troubled our minds in search for the answer of the big question of “How do we make a trial into a game?”.  Fall was passing by, and the cold winter was close upon us.

(source, from an archived blog post by Takumi)

So, realism and knowledge of law wasn’t important to Takumi during the development of the series. But there’s also the fact that Takumi has actually personally denied that the Ace Attorney series was an intentional satire or criticism of the court system at any point. In fact, according to a blog post (done as if Phoenix and Maya were reading the column and commenting on it), he actually dislikes people seeing his work this way, as he never intended the games to have any big political statements.

A major prerequisite for Gyakuten Saiban is it’s so simple “even my mother could play it”.  So there is only one point at the core of the game: “Seeing through lies”.

Naruhodō: It wasn’t even supposed to be a game about the trials at first. Mayoi: Eh! Really?! Naruhodō: “Simple” is basically all this game is about, according to TakuShū. Mayoi: What do you mean? Naruhodō: He didn’t want to add all kinds of elements for the player to think about, like alibis, tricks or about the culprit. It’d just confuse them. Mayoi: Really. Naruhodō: Basically, you can proceed in the game if you just think about where the contradiction is. He figured that with that, the controls of the game could also stay simple. Mayoi: But, but, why the trials then? Naruhodō: “A story about a detective seeing through lies” wouldn’t be any different from the other games out there. So that’s why he decided to have someone whose job is seeing through lies as the protagonist. Mayoi: So a defense attorney. Naruhodō: Occasionally  TakuShū sees magazines introducing the game as “a work that dared to take on the theme of trials”, and that actually hurts him. Mayoi: He never meant to be something as big as that…. 

(source, from the mentioned blog post)

Ultimately I see how easy it is, if you know a good amount about both Ace Attorney and Japan’s legal system, to come to the conclusion that the games were made as a dig against the latter. However, somewhere along the line, people apparently stopped seeing this as merely a theory and instead as a definite fact. Now, that doesn’t mean that the theory is entirely unfounded--given that Takumi focused only on making trials interesting and fun in the games, you could say that the games work as an light, comedic parody, not meant to make any political statements. And hey, maybe there’s something I missed--maybe there were other people working on the series who did have significant knowledge of law and wrote some parts of the games as intentional satire of the system. Again, if anyone has evidence of this, don’t hesitate to provide it. But with what I know, I don’t think going “well actually” to people who point out the ridiculousness and unfairness of Ace Attorney’s court system is necessary. It’s simply that way to make the games more fun.

[itsclydebitches]

re: that ask you posted a couple days ago about the male and female representation in RWBY, part of what makes RWBY's whole 'girl power' thing ring exceptionally hollow to me is the fact that there are like... no women in positions of real power in remnant. like at all. except the big bad.

winter is second in command to james. glynda is second in command to ozpin. all of the headmasters are men (for no discernible reason, imo; why theodore and not dorothea?). the leader of the ace ops was a white man (and then winter seemed to take over clover's position instead of either of the women of color on the team, and she was still second to james). RWBY is an all girl team, but JNPR was led by a boy despite a girl arguably being far more qualified (pyrrha). the happy huntresses are all women, and robyn had no real power to speak of--she didn't even manage to win the election, because jacques rigged it, and then the council ceased to matter. there was one (1) woman on the council, but she was so inconsequential that i can't even remember her name. (i suppose we're lucky it was the guy and not her who james shot lol) jacques controls the SDC instead of willow, even though he's not even a schnee by blood and actually married into the family for power. (and we don't even know how he got it over his wife.)

and then there's the white fang, which ghira led and not kali--and it's ghira who leads menagerie itself, while kali seems to be a housewife. sienna had five minutes of screentime before being brutally killed and her position assumed by adam, a man. cordovin is basically a one off lackey we haven't even thought about before or since. neo was second to roman. you have cinder, sure, who is a second but to salem, a woman, and raven as the leader of the branwen tribe--but what does it really say about your 'girl power' narrative when the only women with genuine systemic power in your world are villains or antagonists with massive bodycounts??

atla has the same sort of problem--a couple great female characters, but all the leadership positions are men (except the kyoshi warriors, an all girls group, and even then the leader of their island is an old man) and the one female mentor figure also turns out to be evil--but it at least has some great writing to help overlook that fact, and it came out in the mid-00's and so has some sort of excuse of being a product of its time. but rwby didn't even start until 2013 and it's still going and still making these kinds of decisions well into 2021.

where is this supposed girl power, exactly? am i really supposed to overlook the very patriarchal worldbuilding just because the title characters are girls?

That's an excellent summary of the situation, anon, and as with so much in RWBY, it comes down to the full context. Any one of these examples isn't necessarily going to mean much on its own. It's when you look at the pattern that you can start making a case for those conclusions: Why is the show marketed on "girl power" set in a world where men hold the vast majority of that power? And, more importantly, why is that setup not the point? We could easily have a story where that lopsided gender dynamic is the problem that the girls are looking to fix, but... that story doesn't exist. Like the problems discussed with Jaune, the supposed point here exists only on the surface. Dig just the tinniest bit — the above — and you hit on a lot of structural problems with this "girl power" world.

To add just a few details to what you've already said:

Salem indeed has power, but she's never allowed to fully use it. Each volume the frustration with this grows as Salem accumulates more abilities and then just sits on them. From literally hiding out for a thousand years to worries that she won't use the Staff in Volumes 9-10, Salem really isn't allowed to be the threat she's presented as on the surface. And yes, this is absolutely due in part to the "She's too OP and the writers don't know how to let her be that powerful while still having the heroes win" issue, but again, context. That problem doesn't exclude others occurring simultaneously.

Same double explanation with Summer. Yes, dead moms are an incredibly common trauma to dump on a protagonist, but it still left Yang and Ruby with Tai as their primary influence. And Qrow. The uncle becomes the extended family influence while Raven is the absent one/eventual antagonist. It's personal power as opposed to political power, but Tai, Qrow, Ozpin, formerly James... most of the mentors are men. Maria, a key exception, has been ignored in that regard. The story announced that she was Qrow's inspiration, setup her being Ruby's new mentor, and then... nothing. Nothing has come of that. She disappeared for a volume and then went off to Amity and was literally forgotten by the story when evacuating everyone was the finale's whole point.

Like that Endgame moment I mentioned, the Happy Huntresses feel a little too forced to me. Yes, it's the same basic idea as in ATLA, but ATLA, as you say, has a lot more going for it. The Happy Huntresses feel... on the nose? Idk exactly how to explain it. Like, "Here they are! Another team of all women! Isn't this how progressive storytelling works? Just ignore how this is a one-off team of minor characters compared to the world building issues discussed above." And if you're not paying attention, you miss just how insignificant they are, with a side of Robyn being, well, Robyn. The Kyoshi Warriors, at least, are based off of Kyoshi. A woman avatar who is a significant part of their history. That is, presumably, why they're an all women warrior group (but who notably still teach Sokka). The Happy Huntresses are all huntresses because...? There's no reason except that meta "We want to look progressive" explanation. Just like having all the women superheroes team up for a hot second so people get excited and ignore the representation problems across, what? 21 films? Don't get me wrong, I love that May is among the Happy Huntresses. I think including her in the explicitly all-women group was one of the better things RWBY has done in a long time, but the rest is still a mess.

RWBY is arguably about these smaller groups as opposed to systematic power (despite the writers trying to work that in with things like the White Fang and the election. Not to mention the implication that everything in Atlas is fine now that evil Ironwood has died and taken the symbol of wealth (the city) with him. We saw a human holding hands with a faunus after all. Racism and corruption solved, I guess.) So yes, our group is dominated by women... but Whitley is the one saving Nora, helping to defeat the Hound (plus Willow), thinking of the airships, and providing the blueprints they need to escape. Salem is our Big Bad, except Ironwood is the one the volume focuses on. Ruby is our leader, but Jaune is the one leading the group into the whale and getting praised for how heroic he is. Ren does more to shake things up, even if he's painted as the one in the wrong. Oscar gets to confront Salem and destroys the whale threat. Ozpin provides the information they need to evacuate. Meanwhile, when the girls do things in Volume 8 it's almost always followed by a long-stint of passiveness. Nora opens the door so she can be unconscious for most of the volume. Penny keeps Amity up so she can also be unconscious for a good chunk of time. Ruby sends her message and then sits in a mansion. Blake fights so she can tearfully beg Ruby to save her. Weiss, as said, takes a backseat to Whitley (and Klein). They forward the plot, absolutely, but comparatively it doesn't feel like enough.

It's that pattern then, no one specific example. More and more the personal power, not just the systematic power already built into Remnant, seems to be coming from the men. Not all the time, but enough that scenes like the tea drinking moment feel like a part of a much larger problem. Pietro taking control, Watts hacking, and Ambrosius literally remaking her when Penny is supposed to already be in control of herself and her fate. Winter being presented as the active mentor to Weiss, only to turn around and claim that Ironwood was actually responsible for everything. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and May straight up commenting on how awful things are out there while Yang, Jaune, Ren, and Oscar lead the charge against Salem — with the latter three doing the most to forward that mission (no fear, semblance, cane). As others have only half-joked, Yang's supposedly badass moment was bringing up a mother she's ignored for six volumes and briefly blowing up the immortal woman for a couple of seconds (with Ironwood's bombs). Even Marrow is arguably the most significant Ace Op after Clover. Vine isn't actually a character, Elm slightly less so, Harriet is there to go crazy and try to drop a bomb (notably before admitting to never-before-existed feelings for Clover), but Marrow? He's the one who breaks out. Who is meant to heroically stand up against Ironwood. Who comments on how awful it is that teenagers are fighting and, regardless of how messed up the moral messages are, is supposedly pushing for active change while all the women in his group, including Winter, insist on maintaining the status quo. Look at all these choices as a whole, it makes throwaway worldbuilding choices like "All the Maidens are women" feel pretty hollow. Why does it matter if Amber is a Maiden if she dies in a flashback so Ozpin can struggle to pass on the power? If Pyrrha dies before becoming one so Jaune can angst about it? If Raven is one and then disappears from the story entirely? If Winter has enough power to break Ironwood's aura, but supposedly had no power throughout every other choice she made getting here? If Penny is one, but is continually controlled by men and then asks another man to help her die? It's just really unconvincing, once you look past the surface excitement of a woman looking cool with magic powers.

When you do consider the whole of the story — both in terms of our world building and who is forwarding the plot in the latter volumes, getting the emotional focus, being proactive, etc. — there are a lot of problems that undermine the presumed message RT wants to write. They say, "girl power" by marketing RWBY with these four women, but too many of the storytelling decisions thoroughly undermine that, revealing what's likely a deeply ingrained, subconscious bias.

[mercerislandbooks]

For the Love of the Rom-com

While I read across genres in the Young Adult section, I have a soft spot in my heart for the rom-com. Though this genre might come across as light and fluffy, in actuality the form is able to take on topics as varied as mental health, identity, immigration, racism, and grief, to name only a few. Sure there’s romance, escapism, and happy endings, but what kept me picking up one YA rom-com after another in the last month was the window into the lives of each protagonist. More than ever I’m seeing #ownvoices authors tell stories that reflect their particular experience with the characters that they hadn’t seen in novels as young people. In turn I get a glimpse into a life different than my own and subsequently widen my world view. Here’s a collection of some of my recent reads!

Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan

The debut novel from this Bangladeshi American author (and the first novel I’ve read by a Bangladeshi American) takes the fake dating trope and turns it into a thoughtful exploration of expectations across cultures. Karina Ahmed is a high school junior buckling under the weight of Bangladeshi parental expectations and coping with anxiety largely on her own. They want her to be a doctor. She secretly longs to be an English teacher. When her parents take a month-long trip back to Bangladesh, leaving Karina and her younger brother in the care of their grandmother, Karina is looking forward to a much needed break. But her quiet month is almost immediately disrupted when, through a series of circumstances, she is roped into pretending to be Ace Clyde’s girlfriend, Midland High School’s bad boy. As the two slowly get to know, appreciate, and, of course, fall for each other, they also encourage and call out each other’s strengths. Bhuiyan movingly portrays the complex experience of a Bangladeshi American female teen, trying to meet the expectations of her more traditional parents, navigate managing her anxiety, dealing with the double standard of her gender within her culture, and learning to stand in her own power.

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Given this cover, I expected something totally different from what the pages held. The main character of this “lost princess found” novel is anything but sweet and demure, the impression I had from the cover. Japanese American Izumi (Izzy) Tanaka is living her best average life with her single mother in the small Northern California town of Mt. Shasta. When she finds out that her previously unknown father is actually the crown prince of Japan, her world turns upside down. Once this knowledge goes public, Izzy is whisked away to Japan to get to know her father and become acquainted with the rest of her family. Having always felt out of place as one of the few minorities in her town, Izzy is hopeful that she’ll finally find a place where she belongs. But life at court is more complicated than Izzy can imagine, and she finds that in Japan she’s too “American.” Izzy’s voice is suffused with humor, so even as she struggles to fit in, her inner monologue made me laugh out loud. A slow burn romance with a hot bodyguard, backstabbing cousins, and relentless paparazzi shenanigans only add to the delicious fun. There’s talk of a sequel in 2022!

Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter

The premise of girl uses boy next door, with whom she (seemingly) shares a mutual dislike, to get to the boy she crushed on in childhood that has just moved back to town manages to squeeze in a slew of rom-com tropes with witty breeziness. Liz makes a deal with boy next door Wes that she will relinquish the parking spot they feud over daily if he will help her get a date to Prom with childhood crush Michael. Of course it ends up being more complicated than that. Liz is confident and comfortable in her own quirky skin, but is also still dealing with the grief of losing her mother, which seems to be hitting her more sharply as all the “lasts” of senior year are happening. Spending time with Wes in her efforts to get close to Michael, Liz realizes that maybe she doesn’t hate him as much as she thought she did. Movie lovers will appreciate that each chapter is headed by quotes from the rom-coms that Liz obsesses over. I appreciated the balance of snarky banter with an honest portrayal of the complicated relationship Liz has with her grief.

Love in English by Maria E. Andrew

I’d been meaning to read Love in English for months and finally picked it up. Ana and her mother have recently moved to New Jersey from Argentina to join her father, who’s been living in the United States for some time. In Argentina, Ana thought her English was pretty good, but finds that navigating high school in America is a daily struggle in understanding her classmates and teachers. Andrew uses blocks of ##### to show the parts of conversations Ana misses, drawing the reader into her confusion and frustration. Reading this novel, I was reminded of when my family hosted a Japanese exchange student in high school, and the hours she spent translating her homework from English to Japanese. Reading what it was like for Ana, I had a glimpse into what it might have been like for Miki, and it made me admire her, and all the people who come to the United States not knowing the language. I’m certainly not proficient in any other language than English. The short chapters are interspersed with Ana’s handwritten ESL journal entries, musings on the confusions of the English language and poems that play with varieties of word meanings. Ana is attracted to a cute boy in her math class, Harrison, but also bonds with fellow ESL student Neo, who is from Greece. While romance is a central thread in the story, what I found most compelling was the portrayal of what it’s like to live in a place where the ability to communicate and comprehend is limited. Ana’s perseverance and curiosity in the face of that challenge is inspiring.

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks

Last but not least I decided to continue my theme of YA rom-coms in my current audiobook and cued up The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss. Set at an elite boarding school for math and science prodigies, this is a dual POV narrative Evie and Caleb, best friends since childhood. Evie is one of the few females at their prestigious school, and excels in math and physics, but hasn’t shown any interest in the opposite sex until new guy Leo catches her eye - with his physics proof. When Evie decides romance might be worth exploring with Leo, Caleb has to figure out how to be supportive, despite the fact that he himself is also secretly in love with Evie. Alternating chapters between Caleb and Evie’s POV mean that we get to see what’s going on internally for both of them as Evie embarks on her first relationship with Leo, Evie and Caleb team up for a national physics competition, and the course of love takes twists and turns. While there is plenty of swoony romance, I also loved the way that Evie has grown to learn to live with her anxiety and how she sets the boundaries she needs to take care of herself while also pushing herself beyond her comfort zone. Parks does an excellent job of making the all the math and physics approachable for the layperson.

There are many more YA rom-coms to choose from in the Teen section, so stop by and see what catches your eye!

— Lori

[teecupangel]

Writing this as my pinned post since I have a bit of free time anyway.

Introduction:

Hi. You can call me teecup or angel. This is primarily my AC and writing tumblr blog.

I post my fics in AO3 as teecup_angel.

I also have this tumblr blog that’s mostly me reblogging other stuff and very rarely I post something personal, I guess.

I have a twitter too but I haven’t used it in… I wanna say nearing a year? Maybe??? Yeeaaahhhh…

I’m currently writing fics for Assassin’s Creed and my primary focus is Desmond Miles because he deserves better.

Warnings:

I will pair Desmond with anyone (and I mean anyone) and my OTP is AltDes. I also do write gen so if you want to look at my tumblr but you don’t ship Desmond with any of his ancestors, I suggest blocking the following tags (altdes, ezides, condes, haydes, eddes). I also use those tags even when it’s just hinted at just to be safe.

While I cannot stop any minor from looking at this blog, please note that this may contain nsfw posts and I curse like a repressed catholic who was not allowed to curse when they were young. Also, I use 'dumbass' affectionately.

For Asks and Requests:

My ask box is open for nonnies and I try to answer every ask I get unless they specify that they want to keep it private.

Also, if you left me a suggestion or request in AO3, I do try to keep notes of them.

If you do request something or just leave me a plot idea, the most you’ll get from me would be a rambling of how it could work and possible subplots we can add to it. I tend to write whatever strikes my fancy and I’m hesitant in posting too many wips in AO3. Here on tumblr though… short fic and drabbles galore. The only reason why I wouldn’t answer your ask is if I couldn’t get to it in time as I allot a specific time for all asks and reblogs I get. If you don’t see it answered, it only means I’ll get to it next time.

I'm also fine with anyone using any of the posts/fic here or in AO3 to write or draw something as long as the post is linked and I'm informed :)

Also, you can request any crossover ideas with Assassin’s Creed and I’ll find a way to kick Desmond into it. I am a big believer of Desmond is the ultimate isekai protagonist. XD

Concerning the tags of this tumblr:

I got lazy later on in tagging posts I reblog (mostly fanworks from other people) but:

Any ask I answer will have the tag: #ask and answer or #submission for long asks.

Any fic idea I write will have the tag: #teecup writes/has a plot or/and #fic idea: assassin's creed (note: this one usually does not get used for any reblogs with additional ideas so I guess check the reblogs and the replies? This also sometimes does not get used if I'm butting in on other people's posts because it kinda feels wrong to add it? I know I should add a different tag for that but we'll see if I do down the line XD)

Headcanons and analysis (they're sometimes the same???) have #teecup analyze more than necessary and/or #headcanon: assassin's creed

Sometimes I make edits with varying success of humor: #teecup edits (sometimes I do screw up use '#teecup edit' instead XD)

I also draw rarely: #teecup draws

AO3 Stuff:

At the moment (and this part will be updated if necessary), the following have a weekly Monday update:

Eagle of Alamut (Desmond gets thrown back to 12th century Jerusalem in his 16-year-old body, endgame: AltDes)

I also sometimes suddenly post sometimes 2 or 3 more fics all at the same time and it’s kinda my modus operandi to 'coincide' it with important AC dates.

(Also, for those asking me if I need a beta, yeah, most probably but then I would be obligated to remove the "No Beta We Die Like Desmond" tag and the tag is too funny for me to give it up. XD I'd appreciate any comments that tell me if I've written something wrong though, especially the non-English words I sometimes use.)

[aroclawthornes]

Blooming Brilliant, an Aroace Willow Park Manifesto

[id: a gif of a heart locket opening. One half of the locket displays a picture of Willow Park from The Owl House, winking and making peace signs with her fingers. Blue and yellow stars surround her. The other half reads "willow park my beloved." /end id.]

Greetings! It’s me, User Aroclawthornes, and instead of working on all the time-sensitive homework I have I sat down and wrote an essay explaining why I think Willow Park OwlHouse could plausibly be read as aroace, and why it would be a thematically enriching interpretation. I’ve never written anything like this before, so it’s oddly formal, a little pretentious, and contains a lot of qualifying language, but I'm confident that it gets my point across. I’m not intending to speak over other interpretations of Willow or assert that it's the only true way to read her, but it's a headcanon I find interesting, and I think there’s a lot of evidence to back it up, between certain elements that Willow’s arc employs to some good old overanalysed symbolism. If you're aspec, I hope this is validating; if you're not, I hope it's interesting; if you don't care, scrolling past it is quick, free, and easy.

Some disclaimers on terminology: I’m speaking from an aroace perspective, and so when I say “aspec coding” I’m generally referring to both orientations as a catch-all - a lot of the coding surrounding Willow could go either way. I’m also going to be talking about commonly accepted “aspec” narratives, but I’m aware of the limitations of this insofar as my experiences are only a single facet of the diverse range of aspec people in this world, so anyone who wants to add or argue anything - respectfully - is encouraged to.

Analysis below the cut!

The Thing About Plants

I’m not going to pretend that an association with plants is historically indicative of aspec coding, because, frankly, there haven’t been enough aspec characters to establish it as a convention, and it’s also a fairly wide-reaching branch of symbolism. However, I am going to propose that lighthearted comparisons between asexual people and plants (however misguided on functions of plant reproduction they are) are fairly common elements of budding ace teenage humour, as are related quips about photosynthesis.

[id: a screenshot of Willow from "I Was A Teenage Abomination", depicting her sitting on the ground while casting a spell over a small, pink flower. /end id.]

I’m also not going to claim that the colour green Belongs To Aromantics, and therefore that All Plants Are Belong To Us, but in tandem with everything else I’m about to cover, the connection between Willow and plants seems like a fairly plausible nudge to a relatively common element of aspec humour.

“Half-a-witch” Willow and the Late Bloomer Experience

[id: a screenshot of Willow with glowing green eyes, from "I Was A Teenage Abomination", depicting her summoning a mess of thorned vines. /end id]

Willow is literally nicknamed “half-a-witch”, in reference to her supposedly incomplete state - this is a sentiment eerily reminiscent of the pressure to find one’s “other half”, which affects aspec - especially aromantic - people particularly profoundly. She’s considered a late bloomer, someone who hasn’t reached the societal milestones of growth at the expected age, and who is derided and considered immature as a result of this perceived failure. However, we quickly discover that Willow is, in fact, an exceptionally competent and powerful witch - taken out of the restricting frame of the Abominations track, she’s able to grow into her own, “complete” person, therefore proving that she was never really lacking in anything in the first place. Like real-life aroace people, she was perceived as limited and immature based on the expectations and judgements of other people, but Willow was never deficient in anything, least of all herself.

[id: a screenshot of Willow and Luz from "I Was A Teenage Abomination". They are holding hands - the former is laughing with her eyes closed, and the latter is grinning, while covered in abomination goop. /end id]

As far as symbolism goes...the track Willow is initially put in literally requires her to conjure up another humanoid entity, with the expectation that she will therefore prove herself to be a whole and mature person. Only with this ability, she’s told, will she be successful and happy as an adult. The shapelessness of her attempts at conjuring an abomination reinforces this connection in my mind - if I may reference this quote from Ducktales 2017‘s (absolutely stellar) A Nightmare On Killmotor Hill, in which the protagonists explore their own subconscious fears via. the dream realm, for a second:

“I think that’s supposed to be my romantic interest, but I’m too threatened by the concept, so it never takes shape.”

A lot of young aroace people find themselves in situations where they attempt to convince themself of their interest in someone in an attempt to be “normal,” or end up lying in response to family members or friends’ questions about crushes. While Willow’s abominations, first and foremost, represent the expectations from her school, classmates, and family to be a successful, “complete” witch with a profitable future, I think that with an aroace interpretation of Willow they could also very easily be read as representing some latent insecurities over a lack of attraction, or pressure to find a significant other.

(I’m not condemning Willow’s dads, by the way - they seem like perfectly lovely fellas, and I’m confident that they were doing what they thought was best for her. They’re certainly very quick to drop everything to assure her future in Escaping Expulsion, so obviously they care about their daughter very much.)

Greens, Blues, and Yellows: Colour-Coding Willow Park

A while back, I made this post comparing Willow’s palette to the aromantic and aroace flags:

[id: a screenshot of a post depicting the aromantic and aromantic asexual flags, colour-picked from images of Willow in her Hexside uniform and casual dress respectively - these are overlaid on top of the flags. The caption reads "observations on willow park". /end id.]

The grey-and-green aromantic flag has long been the accepted mainstream symbol of aromanticism, and, as the above post - and many others - demonstrate, Willow’s palette reflects it near-perfectly. This could easily be a coincidence, owing to the palette of the standard Hexside Plant Track uniform, as well as her hair and eye colours - which are obviously supposed to be reflective of her plant-related abilities. However, given how fond of employing hidden meanings The Owl House has shown itself to be, I don’t think it’s far-fetched to claim that there’s at least a chance that her palette was constructed with the flag in mind.

The latter is...a bit more problematic for me, although it’s fun to joke about. The blue-and-yellow aroace flag was only created in December 2018, relatively late into The Owl House’s initial production, and it’s still relatively obscure, although on the rise in popularity as the accepted aroace flag (I only recently started using it myself), so I don’t know if Willow’s casual wear is enough to verify the presence of any deliberate subtext. I think it’s a fun coincidence, however, and (as was pointed out in this post) it’s cool that these blue and yellow stars surrounding Willow occur in the same frame as Luz’s bisexual decor:

[id: a photograph of Luz, Gus, and Willow, all surrounding a disgruntled-looking Principal Bump. Luz has flowers in the colours of the bisexual flag decorating her hair, while Willow is surrounded by bright blue and yellow stars. /end id.]

also seen above: powerful bi/aspec solidarity

Conclusion:

Do I genuinely believe that Willow is being deliberately written this way? If you’d asked me, say, two months ago, I’d have said probably not - as far as queer representation in kids’ cartoons has come, it has a ways to go, and focusing on transgender characters seems like a more obvious (and equally invaluable) route to go down. I can name maybe five explicitly aspec characters off the top of my head, two of whom have been written as alloromantic and/or sexual in adaptations or continuations of the source material (I have...some grievances with 2005 Doctor Who). But the emergence of Raine, an explicitly nonbinary character on Disney Channel, has given me a little spark of hope, and so, even if it’s never confirmed, it’s comforting to be able to see a character with such strong elements of aspec coding and think to myself, just maybe, that there might be some intent behind it.

I also...really want to see interesting things done with Willow. We’re halfway through Season 2, and despite some promising setup for her arc in the Season 1 finale, she’s sort of been left by the wayside lately in favour of developing the more “plot-relevant” characters, such as Luz, Amity, Eda, and Hunter. Frankly, I think it’s a disservice to her Season 1 development, despite how much I adore all the characters I just listed - beyond any personal motivation, the prospect that Willow could be aroace adds a lot of sorely-sought depth to her, and, as detailed, a lot of this has already been set up in her earlier episodes. I just...I think it’d be neat. Rarely do you get a kids’ show so brazenly queer in its themes as Owl House, and aspec people deserve to be included in that.

Willow would also be great aroace representation because, well - those five or so aspec characters I mentioned being aware of are all white or “raceless” (...also written as white, basically), and so an aspec Asian character would be a really lovely step forward in this area. Additionally, all the characters I referred to are also conventionally skinny, and Willow is not only fat, but written in a way that doesn’t treat this feature as a caricature. People who are more knowledgeable on these topics than I are absolutely free to make additions, as is anyone who feels like I’ve left certain details out.

tl;dr: Willow’s association with plants could be read as a cool nod to aspec humour, her “late bloomer” narrative is eerily reminiscent of some common aspec experiences, her palette speaks for itself, and it’d be really cool if we could diversify the so-far fairly bland sphere of aspec representation.

I’m going to conclude this by linking Rose by The Oh Hellos, because they’re my favourite band, they share The Owl House’s initials, and I also think it’s a good Willow song. Peace out.

[namiikawaii]

Luffy x Nami: A thread Part 1

Disclaimer: This is very long so be prepared to take some time & also if you haven't watched/read One Piece at all then don't read this if you don't want to read spoilers. Firstly I'd like to adress all the people who dont believe in a love romance in One Piece aswell as those who are against this ship or do ship Luffy and Nami with different characters: Please read the thread thoughoutly and don't jump to conclusions before you read everything. I will try to mention all of the issues that are underlying in regards to general things like love romance in One Piece and I want to consider counter arguments and create hypotheses in sight of other pairings like Luffy x Boa and Sanji x Nami (which I think are the other main ships when it comes to Luffy and Nami).   So it is important to be a little patient through all of this thread.

Let's start off with the question about love romance in One Piece... ''D: Doesn't anyone on Luffy's crew fall in love? Will there never be a tale of on-board romance? (Sanji is an exception in this case) I'm just wondering. -From Naoko- O: But they do... They're all in love...WITH ADVENTURE. (← good one)'' This is exactly the part of the SBS where Oda answered the question about romantic love in the Strawhat Crew. Firstly, this is obviously meant as a silly statement. It is definetly no confirmation but to see this as a serious statement is overexagerrating. Secondly, Oda wanted to answer this question by dodging it without nullifying it. What does that mean? He could have just simply said, there is no romance in One Piece and there never will be (this wouldn't be the first time that he would have answered a question in a direct and serious way). But no, he wanted to make sure that the audience understands that there is a difference between romantic love and romance (in an adventure) and that the Strawhats are on a journey of a romantic adventure which has nothing to do with loving each other in a romantic way. There are two reasons for that: -One Piece is a pure shonen/action Manga and it's target audience are teenage boys (at least this was the case when he made that statement, i don't know how that might have changed by now maybe) -For the other reason just imagine One Piece if there was active love romance going on...we wouldn't be near the story that we are now. Let's just say it would add so much more complications, to put it very simple (I don't want to go into that deep now). But now here comes the clue: All of this doesn't mean that Oda completely lefts love romance out. Because despite of all the points that I just mentioned there are pairings and there is also subtle (no explicite) love romance. Lets just look at the pairings, these are all pairings that I think the majorty of people wouldn't question: -Kaya and Usopp -Sabo and Koala -Shanks and Makino -Shakky and Rayleigh -Roger and Rouge -Oden and Toki

And yes none of these cases showed the love story between those people (maybe Kaya and Usopp if you really want) but THAT IS THE POINT! Only because Oda doesn't let the characters speak out ''i love you'' or makes them kiss all of the time doesn't mean there isn't any kind of romantic love connection between characters in One Piece (the kiss on WCI was an exeption though). This also doesn't mean that there is no possibilty of romance between the Strawhats. I get it that people see them as a familiy, and they truly are one. If there was romance between two of them during the story of One Piece the dynamic wouldn't be the same anymore, especially if there was a canon relationship between Luffy as the captain/ main protagonist and another crewmember. I mean we don't want to see Luffy prefering one nakama over the other. If he calls for his friends, he calls for everyone and not firstly for the person he's in love with. They are all equally as important as the others. But you have to remeber that they aren't blood-related and it wouldn't be weird at all if some of them are ending up together after the adventure of the One Piece. That's the reason why the hints that are given by Oda are really hints, not just merely coincidence.

And i wouldn't be here if Oda didn't hint Luffy and Nami in the past and he will hint them in the future or even more. Let's beginn chronologically with the bond-forming between Luffy and Nami and why their relationship is special EAST BLUE SAGA -Nami was intended as a crew-member from the very beginning, even before One Piece was existing. That's the reason why Luffy and Nami saw each other in the first episode of One Piece. It was to pay hommage to Silk/Ann the heroines of the Romance Dawn Manga. (Just read into it if you want to know more) But what's important is that they were the inspiration for Nami as a character/ as the heroine.

-Orange Town: Luffy and Nami meet for the first time in the Manga Nami reveals her goal to Luffy - which is ''to buy a certain village'' (keep this in mind) Luffy tells Nami why the strawhat is so dear to him - he won't be telling anyone afterwards these details again -Nami tricks Luffy. Buggy captures him but when Nami is forced to fire a canon ball at Luffy she refuses, starts a fight against all the Buggy-Pirates and finally at the risk of her own life she burns her hands facing the pirates with her back in order to prevent the canonball to blow up Luffy (she does quite much for this pirate guy she just met) - you see that at this point Luffy did touch something in Nami's heart because when they have to escape she literally instantly fires the canonball at Buggy without hesitation. -Nami sewing Luffy's damaged hat. Since then it's always her who takes care of it if it takes any damage/ if there is something to sew in it like Ace's Vivre Card. Now I want to put in here my first hypothetical compairison for the LuBoa and SaNa shippers. Just imaging now this same situation happening between Luffy and Boa. Luffys hat is ripped apart - maybe she knows that Luffys hat is his treasure maybe not but lets imagine she does know. She will of course sew it, would probably blush and say something romantic about her doing this for him. And as a shipper this would be the most romantic thing for you wouldn't it? In reality it is Nami who precisely watches Luffy and understands the importance of his hat to him, she goes up to him and fixes his strawhat, with the only difference that it is just more natural and less lovey-dovey from Nami's part (because of course she would never act like that if she was in love with someone). I am already asking you now, which lovestory sounds more believable? -Syrupp Village: There are a few cute moments (Nami catches Luffy and cheers on him and so on...) but i wanted to especially point out that these two are are sitting/lying on the ground after the fight and Nami playes with the Strawhat, Luffy is of course unbothered. But this already shows how comfortable these two are at this point, they know each other only for a few days now. And also this image of them two talking and sitting together is a theme that continues throughout One Piece. -Namis leaves with the Going Merry, looking devestated that she has to leave ''Luffy and the others'', and Luffys reaction after Zoro says to just leave her: ''I want her to by our navigator no matter what'' (These words are enough, no comment needed and also look at Zoro's face as Luffy is stating these words) -Kokoyashi Village: Luffy already trusts and knows Nami so well that he is enraged to hear that she allegedly killed Usopp - the others are sure that she did it but Luffy insists, and even when Nami confirmes to him that she indeed sent Usopp to the ocean's ground Luffy refuses to accept it and immediatly goes to sleep. (I'm sure it's because he knew that something was wrong but he knew he had to wait for Nami to come up to him)

-The famous moment hits different (for shippers and non-shippers): Luffy giving Nami his precious strawhat! He wants to show her how much she is dear to him, his gives her his treasure because now she's his treasure too (and you can see this in a romantic way or in a platonic way but just remember that Luffy never did this ever to anybody in the past or in the future) Now i want to mention something that i said earlier: people often say that Luffy didn't care about Namis story but let me tell you something different. Luffy already knew what Nami's obejectif was (to buy a certain village) now Luffy also knows that there is a pirate called Arlong and when Nami is stabbing herself she shouts his name in devastion. Luffy is not dumb, he understood already some parts of Nami's history - later when he is in Nami's room he understands the impact even more. It is so far from truth that Luffy doesn't know Namis story, he may not know some details, but he could conntect enough points to understand Nami's pain. And my personal theory is that he didn't wanted to hear Nojikto telling Nami's story because maybe Nami wouldn't have wanted him to hear it and it could certainly be that he knew that maybe he couldn't hold himself back and intervene before Nami asked him to do so and finally rely on him! -Genzo and Luffy's conversation: just read/watch it - it is a father to boyfriend conversation (i thought so even before i shipped LuNa) So far these are the most important moments for the East Blue Saga, and of course there are other things you could mention but i just wanted to point out the key moments that really built their relationship and created the whole fundament. Since I don't know when I can continue writing on this, I am just going to show some colourspreads which contain hints in my opinion. (Like Nami being represented as a queen, or Nami holding and wearing Luffy’s hat)

[todayinmagicalgirlhistory]

MHA/BNHA Tarot Deck Review

It’s been two years since I’ve purchased this deck and it has certainly served me well! So I decided to repost an old review I made of it here with a few tweaks since it’s been so long. I hope this is helpful for someone whether new to tarot or more experienced!

The My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) tarot deck is a fan made deck that can be purchased on Etsy (link below) that is definitely a must-have item for any diviner who is a fan of the show! It’s case it meant to replicate the hero analysis notebooks of the primary protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku.

The Deck: General

When it comes to card stock, this deck is decent. It leans towards the thin side so I recommend being careful of bending the cards too hard if you want them to stay in (relatively) pristine condition after continuous usage. However, you’ll find this deck is quite easy to shuffle regardless of your skill level. It is also perfectly sized so if anyone else has small hands like me, they are easy to work with.

The cards themselves have gold edges and the backs of the card are illustrations of the U.A. emblem. The shop owner warns in the product description that the gold edges tend to leave residue when using the cards. I’ve had this problem to a minor extent but it’s nothing too noticeable thankfully even after two years of usage. The owner also states that through continuous usage, this would no longer be a problem and I can attest that it has not gotten worse.

This deck doesn’t come with any surprise cards or bonus cards that are not traditional to tarot, but there are two versions of this deck you can purchase that is dependent on the customer’s preferences of the Lovers card. The standard version of this card have characters Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Uraraka holding each other in an embrace (you may view the image here, image courtesy of the shop owner.) The alternate version of the Lovers showcase the characters Gentle Criminal and La Brava.

I personally own the alternate version of this card although there is a deluxe deck you can purchase if you wish to have both versions in one deck.

The Deck: Illustrations

This deck has some very whimsical drawings in its body that are charming enough on their own, but I really do feel that knowledge of the characters and the series they are from beforehand really enhance them. 

In just these four cards alone we have characters Katsuki Bakugou, Shouto Todoroki, Denki Kaminari, and Eri on the Tower, Death, Fool, and Star cards respectively. Knowing each character's respective journeys and personalities of having their perceptions and views shattered, setting a new starting line for themselves, being a lighthearted class clown, and learning how to believe in hope again can really add a lot of depth to the cards for fans alongside the traditional associations these cards have. I feel that the illustrations themselves also showcase those characterizations and journeys very well.

However, the Major Arcana only make up 22 cards of a tarot deck. The majority are the other 56 Minor Arcana card suits and I believe the minor suits can pose a problem for some. This deck is a pip-style deck, meaning the minor suits all look the same with the only exception being the increase of a particular item on a card. This may be a con for some, a pro for others, and a non-issue for the rest depending on your preferences. For instance, the Pentacles suit below all have an image of No. 13 staring into the night sky.

The number of Pentacles then increase visually depending on the number of the card. This persists for cards Ace (or One) through Ten for all the minor suits, No. 13 for the Pentacles, Fatgum for the Wands, Nezu for the Cups, and Hawks for the Swords. When it comes to the Page, Knight, Queen, and King cards of any given suit, however, they all showcase an individual illustration.

With this being the case, some may find this deck to be very static outside of the cards that do have an individual illustration. But shuffling blindly for readings have been very colorful and enjoyable for me.

To be fair, the shop owner also states this in the item description but if you don’t read item descriptions ever for a product, you could in be for a potentially disappointing surprise if you ordered this deck expecting each and every card to be different.

Interpretations & Beginner-Friendliness 

I personally wouldn’t recommend this deck to beginners of tarot.

Traditionally, the minor suits are illustrated individually to hint at the meaning of the card and gather messages that are separate from other cards at a glance. However, due to a majority of the Minor Arcana sharing essentially the same illustration, you either need to already know your tarot symbolism or you will be spending a lot of time going back to your notes to look up what each card means.

The shop owner also says that they believe this deck may be harder for beginner tarot readers to use. After using it thoroughly for the past two years, I feel pretty confident in saying this is a deck best for intuitive and interpretative readings. So if you are trying to and wean off googling tarot card meanings every reading, this is a deck that is perfect for that. Otherwise, it may be best to use a different deck for a while before using this one to familiarize yourself with the card meanings.

In Summary

For fans of the show and tarot, this deck is the best of the both worlds and a must-have item. The individual illustrations are very fitting for the characters displayed on the cards and can add a bit more flair to a reading if you so desire to utilize them. This deck is much better for more knowledgeable, intuitive readers who don’t rely often on guidebooks to remember tarot definitions.

A majority of the minor suits sharing similar illustrations could be a problem for some, for others it could be a non-issue. Personally, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of illustrations initially prior to using the deck but quickly it became a non-issue for me. I do feel that the combination of individual illustrations, series knowledge, and intuitive reading make up for the lack of variety for some of the cards. I recommend giving it a purchase.

You can purchase this deck on Etsy from this shop. Currently the shop is on break though so you will have to wait until you can make your purchase! The owner should be back around the 23rd of August.

I give this deck a 9.5/10.

[autumnslance]

I've got a writing question that's been on my mind for a while: how do you keep your OCs from becoming self inserts? Every time I think of developing an OC I realize that it's attributes that I

Oops, you got cut off! But in general: all your OCs are going to have traits of yours; it’s inevitable. Sometimes big things, sometimes small things. It’s how we relate to them, and also just natural, I promise. We write what we know, and we know how we interact with ourselves and the world.

But there is a difference between sharing some traits with a character and making them a self-insert. It’s letting their life, their community and culture, their experiences, also influence their traits and thinking, in ways that might be different from how you would respond in a similar situation. Even if you share those attributes.

This is me so let’s go behind a cut shall we?

Dark Autumn is as introverted and solitary by nature as I am; she can and does interact in professional and friendly ways with people (as I try to do), but needs alone time to recharge. However, Dark also has a very different outlook and relationship with her family than I, since her family is large and supportive, very close knit. If family is a lottery, I got the $50 scratch off prize while she hit the Mega-Millions. So I take that into account when thinking of her relationships not just with family, but with friends and potential romantic interests; Dark sees things through a lens of positive, low-drama familial relationships that I can barely fathom. This also means she has a support network and resources myself and other characters don’t, so gets some wish fulfillment of working through issues with care and grace instead of remaining in unhealthy places. She is my “comfort OC” so gets a lot of good things I wish I had—which shapes how she responds to others, like taking care of a FCmate and becoming something of a big sister figure for him, or the responsible older sister figure of my group of OCs. Which is me, really, idealizing my own older sister tendencies into this giant woman who’s better at it.

Aeryn was written to be on the ace scale; not my first character to be so, but the first written that way as I began to realize where my own orientations lie and wanting to examine that through fiction. That she fell for a certain rogue in the process of playing through MSQ again was not at all intentional. I like Thancred as a character—he hits a lot of tropes I enjoy—but in my own mindset, he’s a frustrating younger brother. I didn’t think I’d do NPC x WoL shipping. But there it is, because in determining Aeryn’s own experiences and how those shaped her, it ended up working out that way (and I spent the better part of 2 years writing the characters separately to figure that out and if it could work before writing them together because it’s not something that comes naturally to me).

Aeryn’s internal anger is something I have a difficult time with; it’s outside my own nature to carry things like that. I have my angers, certainly, but they are different from hers. I tend to need a lot to set me off and then it burns out hot and quick. Aeryn’s more of a long boil she keeps bottled up. I’ve gotten a few things through various fics, I think, but it’s why I do things like reference arguments but rarely depict them. Being non-confrontational myself (I’m meek and have hangups thanks to my own life) it’s a challenge. Aeryn responded to childhood traumas (that I never dealt with), bullying (that I did), losses (that I haven’t yet), and the responsibility she’s been given (thank goodness I don’t) far differently than I. Maybe I’d be more volatile, too, if I had her life. But I understand where her anger comes from sharing some of the reasons, I just shape it differently than my own.

There’s a lot of things about Dark and Aeryn that are accidentally similar, just due to the timing of their character generation and other RP OCs made for other games along the way; “Oh I haven’t done X or Y in a character in awhile” sort of thing, but how each approaches those similarities and why—their quietness, their issues with using magic, their tendency to “adopt” others as family—all come from different places and resolve differently, too.

C’oretta comes from a part of me that doesn’t quite want to grow up. That wishes I had been more of the peppy, active, cheerful, risk-taking, live it up stereotypical party kid, that “popular girl” archetype I felt so often on the outside looking in about. As my second character, I wanted her to be different from Dark Autumn—visually, emotionally, mentally. Where Dark is steady, C’oretta is flighty. While Dark is people oriented, C’oretta’s a bit selfish (like I often feel). Dark’s introverted, C’oretta’s extroverted. Much of C’oretta’s attitude is a deflection against the hurts in her life, a way to fight back against some terrible things. It’s a way I could never react. But I also can’t get away from a character who loves to learn and wants to try new things—but where other characters gain the ability to stick with and see them through, C’oretta gets my easy frustration and boredom, and then the “ooh shiny” of a new interest. There’s a history of ADHD (or whatever the acronyms are now) and even autism and learning issues in my family; it’s possible I have some undiagnosed ND stuff going on, and people have noted these things in C’oretta that I’ve based on my own experiences and those of people very close to me.

Many of my characters have traits I wish I had, or were better at; patience, kindness, consideration, convictions, courage, thoughtfulness, and so on and etc. They’re good at skills I haven’t the knowledge in, or the ability to do. They’re certainly more active than I am, or could be! Because I can take the time to think and plan and research and write those things out better, and just maybe along the way not only learn something myself, but try to practice it better myself. I can even sometimes let them teach me what I can possibly do or be, not just imagine it as an ideal that’s out of reach.

I try to let my characters make mistakes I wouldn’t—or in some cases, have in my past, and that’s OK. Especially if I learned from them, but maybe the character does not. Maybe they do but it takes awhile, or repeated instances until it sinks in. Maybe I let them make errors I still make, as a way to puzzle out better solutions I should probably entertain for myself.

Character voice is something I’ve felt I struggled with in keeping my OCs distinct. Do characters ‘sound’ alike, in dialogue and prose? Having distinct ways of speaking helps; C’oretta’s breathless chatty run-ons are certainly different from Dark and Aeryn’s quieter tendencies. I have to remember to trim down Aeryn’s dialogue more often, say less aloud, add more gestures and facial expressions. I tend to be a talker, an over-explainer (if you can’t tell), while the only times she gets like that are specific. Dark’s somewhere in the middle of those two, like I am. A lot of the reason I like writing NPCs and try to keep them close to my interpretation of canon is to practice distinct character voice to get better at it in my OCs, so they don’t sound like me!

And something I’ve never admitted to before is that I think for me, it helps that from the time I was a kid watching various series of Star Trek, I always have had an in-my-own-head-only self-insert. She’s always a support character (that’s what I’m best at). She has cool and unusual abilities to help the actual heroes, cuz heck it’s my internal fantasy and that’s fun. She has traits I want to be better at or wish I had, developed over time with more energy and focus than I can actually muster in reality. As time’s gone on, she’s become more of a mentor and Mom Friend as I’m now older and see a lot of protagonist characters as “my kids” now. She appears in nearly every story I’ve loved over time, in one iteration or another. And because I have a headspace character where I can say “this is what I, ideally, would say and do and be capable of in this situation…” My other characters that I actually write about can vary between doing something similar (if it suits them) to doing something completely different (cuz darn kids never listen) as I can compare them to the self-insert and decide where to diverge.

So it’s a mix of myself and my traits and knowledge, but taking into account how each character would respond and use those same attributes differently than I do or would. Write what you know, write who you are—and then add in some wish fulfillment, some what ifs, some bad choices, some good choices, and shake things up. Give the characters tics and tricks different from yourself and let that shape them, too, by remembering to take those things into account (even if you have to tape a note to your monitor).

And finally, don’t be ashamed of your self-inserts; I’ve known some great characters that started as self-inserts and grew, through their experiences, into wholly different people than their writers over time. Heck, the epic romance my original WoW priest was part of was with a character that started as a self-insert; his player began the game knowing nothing of the lore or roleplaying, but as he learned the story and how to RP, and determined how his character fit into the world and how that shaped him, the character diverged over time, while still sharing some key traits (some endearing, some frustrating, as people are and all part of that friend). It’s not a bad starting point at all. The rest can come over time and practice, especially if you make a lot of OCs and try to make them different from each other while also being aspects of yourself.