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artemisandhersilverbow · 7 months

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Ok, if you, like me, were in the minority of people who didn’t immediately fall in love with One Dark Window… like, the consistent rave reviews popping up on various algorithms have been simultaneously confusing and making you feel very left out? Well, I’ve got news!

In my humble opinion, Two Twisted Crowns (book 2) is mostly a total knock out. I obvi gotta sit with it longer (I just finished at 3am)… revisit some exceptional quotes that left ya girl blushing (dresses were almost ripped).

Duologies can feel like such a mercy in the fantasy space and looking at the series as a whole, i’d now happily recommend it to anyone not looking to tackle a new 3-6 book series/investment at this time. Also a good one for newbies to the genre. It also isn’t just another copy-paste SJM variant and that almost feels like a rarity with the big new releases.

Book one, I really struggled with the messy (albeit cool on the surface) magic system, the constant rhyme thing felt really hokey and made me struggle to get into the writing (which is mostly very good), the MCs were outshined by the side characters and just weren’t really my type, and the pacing is so odd like - sometimes so slow and sometimes so fast - it’s like, “Wait hi, I need more info please.”

25% into book 2 I genuinely thought, “I think more has already happened in this book than in all of book 1.” And that’s when I realized I was hooked and in for a late night.

Book two is action-packed and the plot is operating on so many levels - thanks in part to more povs. Ironically, part of me was like so grateful I had read book one, even if I didn’t like it, so I “knew the rules,” and could run along this faster-paced, more ambitious book 2.

Obviously I think the magic system, and general world building, was infinitely more successful in TTC. Gillig just used the framework and the lore with a higher level of craft and focus. We scaled back on the goofy rhymes - tho not entirely lol. But I credit the attention paid to the world/magic as a big part to why I read this whole thing in an evening! It felt like a really unsatisfying missing piece from ODW and, clearly, with that amended I more than liked it! I got that unmistakable all-consuming euphoric rush that only binging a great fantasy can give you.

*spoilers ahead*

I would also be fully lying if I said that what made this book work for me wasn’t just… the big focus on Elm and Ione. Yes, I had to google that name pronunciation for my own sanity at a certain point. But within their plot, in particular, I was like “ok, now this is what I call a magic system.” I have no idea why this same concept was just utilized and pulled off so much more successfully in their narrative arc… but it was. I still liked the odyssey into the woods with Ravyn and the Nightmare, but I fully credit Elm and Ione for making me love this book. Did I miss Elspeth a lot… I plead the fifth.

The Elm-Ione romance had everything I was missing in ODW! Like hot, hot tension. Sexy build up. And idk their growth and stories and strength genuinely made THIS tender little reader shed a tear. Their dynamic felt really honest and fresh and different. I’ve been getting a little burnt out by copy and paste romantic plots, in fantasy in particular, so these two took me by surprise. Yeah, I was just kind of floored by their romantic journey.

What can I say, I’m weak for an emotionally intelligent boy who can communicate his need to be topped (and like traumas and other things). Some of their build up tension scenes had me blushing the hardest any book has made me blush in 2023. RIP OFF THAT DRESS BABY!!!

Anyway, if you felt gaslit by the hype around ODW, but you already read it, I’m hear to say that TTC is more than worth it. You’ve already made it that far, what do you have to lose?

Unless your me who is going to be feeling that decision to not go tf to bed!

#book review #two twisted crowns #one dark window #rachel gillig #some spoilers #fantasy romance #gothic fantasy #duology #elm Rowan #elspeth spindle #Ione hawthorn #Ravyn yew

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mymovingfingerwrites · 4 months

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okay, so I did talk about the kiss in your DMs, but I'm sending an ask about the other things in that end part of the chapter:

THE KIDS PROTECTING PERCY.

throughout the story, we see Percy trying to protect the kids - he consistently thinks up ways to keep them out of certain dangers and how to influence them to work more on their defenses, etc.

but here, the kids are holding him, and standing in between Percy and Tom. Harry might not have meant to protect Percy in that way, but he shows a resistance to Tom wanting to get closer to Percy.

and Percy, oh dear Percy, he is exhausted. simply drained. but he is still trying to protect the kids. he is literally on the ground. his soul has just been messed with, and he's spent countless weeks sleep deprived and likely malnourished.

Percy is just. constantly Older Sibling his way out of things. if he doesn't like a situation involving his younger siblings, he puts his own discomfort and pain behind his need to Protect.

and he managed to get Tom to apparate them away. taking the danger away from his brothers and sister (I know technically he isn't related to 3/4 of those kids, but cmon. that's his bonus brothers and sister right there).

but does this speak to Percy’s ability to wrap Tom around his pinkie finger, or Tom’s care for Percy? I think both. Maybe Tom knows what Percy was doing, or at least suspects. but Tom also was about to, if he hadn't already, come to the conclusion of his feelings. he had his own agenda, especially with the confusion on how Percy could've felt any pain from the horcruxes fighting, to get him away from a crowd.

yeah honestly I love the original kids. I love Hermione of course but I also love these idiot boys—Ron, who I think is the quintessential Weasley, loyal and brave and so caring of his family; Harry, whose first instinct is always to put himself between anyone and danger; and even Draco, who in this story is slowly learning what it means to be part of something greater than himself (that doesn't involve a sadistic Dark Wizard, ofc).

And in ASOR I always felt like the kids would love Percy back, or at least like him. Even in the original, you can tell how much Ron cares about and is hurt by Percy. He sits next to them at dinner and talks to them about their classes and their professors and he checks in with them at the Yule Ball. And in this story he helped them with the DA and he dipped into their story and he guarded them from harm. I just love the idea that Percy has no idea that they care about him back (that he cares about them too). In ASOR I had everyone else realize that Harry and Ron trusted Percy before Percy realizes it himself because. Isn't that just classic Percy behavior???

No comment re: Tom and Percy. Keep reading :)

#a study of resonance #some spoilers

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nayialovecat · 9 months

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Day 4 - Envy

When someone who is considered a terrifying, fearsome demon is disgusted because of you, know that you're doing something wrong…

In fact, the most jealous character in Cult of the Wrath is Wrath themself - who can't stand that Sozo is friends with someone other than Wrath. But I didn't want to repeat the character, so I chose a second one who committed the grave sin of envy. It's a good thing that Ratau wears green - I can't imagine any other colour for envy. Time for spoilers!

Long, long before the Lamb, Narinder chose Ratoo as his vessel, and he took his role with due dedication and was a really good leader. Ratoo had one flaw: an irritating little brother who was always overshadowed by his older brother - and now he was overshadowed even more. And in the end he couldn't bear it anymore… Yes. Many Ratau fans may hate me now - but in my AU Ratau has his issues and is not an innocent being. Of course, with time, he become wiser, he changed, regretted his actions, but… what he did, he did, what happened, was happened.

A fun fact you may have noticed or not: Ratau is totaly drunk here. According to the Cult of the Wrath storyline, Ratau challenged his big brother to a drinking match (which he won - the only thing he always had an advantage over his brother was a strong head) just to gouge out brother's eye. The eye of someone whose blood runs through Ratau veins (i.e. his or his family member) was part of the deal with the Fox. In the story, the scene drawn here looks a bit different - a bit more words are said, which is summed up by the comment of a slightly amused Fox, which said: "I'll tell you something, Ratau, I'll tell you, because you're completely drunk and you have no right to be offended… You are the biggest bastard I've dealt with in the last hundred years. You're a greedy little pest who hardly deserves to live, and oh, I cannot wait for our next meeting and final deal. But we'll talk about that when you're sober."

#Cult of the Lamb Anniversary Art Prompts #Day 4 Envy #Ratau the Rat #Ratoo the Rat (mentioned)#Fox the Demon #Demon Fox #Guardian of Deals #Teeth in the Darkness #Cult of the Wrath #Cult of the Lamb #some lore #some spoilers

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mhut7 · 3 months

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Ok but like what ifffffff Rody got over Manon around when he started working for Vince like he wouldn't talk about her or be sad she didn't call him because she broke up with him because he was overworking himself. So they're ex's would that leave a window were Vince doesn't kill her, he doesn't die, Rody doesn't burn down the restaurant, and we could get a happy ending??? Hmmm????

#dead plate #give us a happy ending:'(#some spoilers

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senselessalchemist · 1 year

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Some more little guys

#saroart #dead cells #tagging dc is exhausting given the lack of proper names so i refuse #some spoilers #attempting to draw after days of not drawing is hell #anyway. just some little guys #i am so bad at bosses just so so bad i cannot do most of them hitless #even on 0bsc u.u #yes i could practice but also no

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fluidstatick · 6 days

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The game has only been out for a few days now, but I watched zmannzilla's longplay of INDIKA yesterday, and I'm rotating it furiously in my mind like it's a rubiks cube. The devs at Odd Meter Studios fled their country to make sure they could finish and release the project, and I'm so grateful they did. The world really needs a game this smart. It makes incredible stylistic choices with the titular character's perception of the world, examines prejudices against the disabled and incarcerated, points a dispassionate philosophical eye at religious corruption, and breaks wildly from expectations over and over again.

More, including some spoilers, under the cut.

The unfortunate anti-Roma and antisemitic moments in some of the background context irritated me. They employ the g slur to refer to a side character, and depict him stealing money. Later, it's said that two brothers who own small businesses across the road from one another are forever angry, because each brother thinks the other one is making more money. We eventually meet one of the brothers, who is unfortunately a blatant hook-nosed handwringing grifter stereotype.

This is a pair of nasty missteps at the back end of an otherwise truly gorgeous horror adventure game. As Indika carries a letter from her monastery to the diocese, she digests the plight of a wartorn community that doesn't trust her, her orthodox religious order, her innate compassion, or her practical knowledge.

While stumbling through the streets of a bleakly reimagined 19th century Russia, Indika gains a reluctant ally, and they grapple with their conflicting philosophies, until those conflicts become a matter of life or death. When is an attempt at salvation actually betrayal? Can the trust Indika has built with her comrade be salvaged? Should it be? What does doing the Right Thing look like in a nuanced, jaded, ambivalent world?

The ending made my breath stick in my throat. The leveling and points system is genius, in my opinion, though I notice many reviewers have already expressed displeasure in it. I think it's powerful and fascinating, if you look at it close enough; the leveling asks, do you want a little bit of a boost now, or accrue a greater store of points over time, later on? Note how each new level ability is labeled. Note what happens each time Indika adds something to her inventory. Light candles. Notice That One Candle that's not like the rest.

Indika finds her way through platform puzzles by navigating her own mind. Level geometry, scale and reason fluctuate wildly. First she's trying to follow orders, then she's trying to survive, then she's trying to make sense of the senseless.

I've seen a little art in the Indika tag so far, and it's mostly shipper stuff. I'm not judging people who bring shipping energy to this story, as there is textual romance here, but I think it's a cog in the story's mechanics, more than a setup for a happy ending. The relationship is tenuous at the best of times. there's honesty in it, but there's also a great deal of stubbornness, resentment, immaturity and selfishness. I don't think there's meant to be a textual happily ever after for either of them. Indika finds a sliver of inner peace behind the shattered remains of her assumptions, and the game ends on a comma, a question mark, a blank space where objectives and threats and grim certainties used to live.

Anyway. Go watch it. Buy and play it for yourself, if you can. Just like its heroine, it isn't perfect. Just like its narrator, it's only as terrifying as you want it to be. And, just like the political and spiritual systems it examines, the surreal meandering narrative has only as much power as you decide to give it.

8.5/10

#indika #odd meter #video games #review #some spoilers

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justkeeponsimming · 1 year

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** Growing Together Code provided by the EA Creator Network - thank you!! **

We’ve missed infants with Reed’s generation, but I had to see what our Generation 8 sim would look like as an infant.

The most precious little bean! 🥺

#the sims 4 #ts4 #sims #simblr #sims 4 #differences in the family tree #ditft #quick legacy gen 8 #legacy challenge #some spoilers #but I had to share!

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snowflakeanimelover · 2 years

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The Secretary(Hawks/Keigo Takami x Female Reader) Part 3[FINALE]

Look here for part 1 and part 2

Tag List: @lukneetoonz

Prompt:

Hawks: You gotta stop doing that.

(Y/N): Doing what?

Hawks: Saying things that make me wanna kiss you.

Relationship: Hawks/Takami Keigo x Female reader

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Warnings: Cussing, humor, fluff :), Season 4-5 spoilers

— — — —

“It’s a miracle. She’s been here for a month.”

My confident shoulders drop at the sound of my other boss’ words. I turned away from Hawks to meet her eyes. “I’m right here, you know.” Shikira smiled at me from the bottom of her heart as a reply. The man next to her gave me a polite but nervous smile.

Shikira has been by my side during my work here at Hawks agency. She helps with setting up meetings for the number two hero and gives me lots of advice. She’s my second boss. It’s hard for me to ever be mad at her. The woman has a heart of pure gold, always being so kind and even buying me a caffeinated drink in the mornings to keep me awake.

Hawks, being his ungodly self, lays a heavy hand on my head in an annoying pat. “She’s a lucky one, huh? Aren’t you glad to find someone like Little Bird here.” He says to Shikira.

The woman giggles at his normal antics, while I growled at his next nickname for me on the list. Not that I know he has a list full of nicknames for me, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did have one. “Oh, of course I'm happy she’s here! A miracle worker!” She kept her close-eyed smile towards Hawks and I. But her eyes open quickly in shock. “Oh! Hawks, you have a meeting with the Hero Public Safety Commission. And (Y/N), they want you to join.”

Hawks and I ironically turned to her in shock. I know a bit about Hawks past, surprisingly given by the hero himself a while back.

“Hawks.” I call out as I clean the mess from his dinner in his office. The called man sat at his desk, filling out paperwork I gave him. I wasn’t looking at him, but the way he hummed told me he was listening. “What is the Hero Public Safety Commission? I mean…what are they to you?” He had a meeting with them just earlier that day, in which I was not able to attend with him. Those are the only meetings I am not allowed to attend. Every other meeting I’m with him to retrieve information for him.

I hear him chuckle softly. “Curious, are we?”

My hands freeze from cleaning. “I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.” I say, returning to my chore.

Hawks lets out a long sigh, his chair creaking as he moves in it. “It’s okay, little bird. I don’t mind telling. You, at least.” He says. My eyebrows furrowed annoyingly at the usual nickname, but I decided to give up on fighting him. I look up at him in curiosity, setting the small trash can down to listen carefully.

My fists clenched the longer he told his story. How they took him in as a kid when he showed potential for saving a few people. His parents were abusive, but once he was taken in, his dad was arrested for being a criminal. Sure, his life got a bit better, but not very much.

“You didn’t get to live a normal life as a kid.” I say quietly. As much asI didn’t want him to hear it, my mouth speaking without my brain being in control, I knew he did. I didn’t let him speak up, the hot salty tears flowing down my cheeks hopefully being hidden behind my hair as I bow down. “Thank you for telling me, Hawks. I’ll be sure to keep it to myself. I’ll be leaving now.” And with that, I was out of his office and heading home.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” I ask the hero as I follow quickly behind him. My hands clasped each other in nervousness, unsure of what the Commission wanted from me.

Hawks glanced at me. “If they want you there, then it’s fine. Relax, alright?” He coaxed gently. I didn’t notice we stopped just before the doors, his gloved hand grasping onto mine. “Just stay close to me and you’ll be alright. I promise.” I hated the way my heart pounded against my chest by the way he was trying to calm me down. I nodded at his words, letting him let go of my hand and opening the door.

“You called?” He asked, stepping forward to an older man and woman. The man smiled at me as I followed behind the hero after closing the door.

The man turned away, looking out of the giant window. “Hawks, we want you to be a spy for the Paranormal Liberation Front.”

I remember full well what the Liberation Army was. With the many meetings we’ve had about what little information They’ve gotten on them. My hands subconsciously gripped onto each other tightly. Was I worried about him? The number two hero who was too fast for his own good? A hero who was so strong, nothing so far has taken him down?

Yes. I was so worried, I felt sick to my stomach.

"If dirtying my hands can somehow bring everyone peace of mind, I'll gladly take on this task." Hawks bows formally, his wings sprouting up. One of his many feathers that fell off of his wings fell on my head. I gently pick it up, looking at it carefully. So many thoughts ran in my head, I practically missed the whole meeting.

“(Y/N).” The old man calls my name. I slowlylook up at him from the feather. “We would like to speak to you alone.” Hawks gave me a worried glance before leaving the room. “Now, then. You’re probably wondering why you’re here.”

The woman takes a step forward. “We can tell how close you and Hawks are.” I wanted to argue about that statement but refrained from doing so. I’d get fired if I did. “With you by his side, we can feel at ease.”

“Yes. You, besides us, are the only one who knows about Hawks’ new mission. Can we trust you to keep it that way?” The old man questions me.

I grip the feather in my hand. “R-right. I’ll look out for him!”

The woman chuckles. “That’s good to hear. You are free to go.”

— — — —

“So, what’d they say?” Hawks asked me with a smile. We got back to his office, just him and I.

“You already know what they said.” I frown. His head cocks to the side in question to my words. I forcefully shove the feather I was holding into his chest, making him grab it. With his quirk, I already know he was eavesdropping on the conversation with his feather. I turned away quickly, letting my warm cheeks cool off a bit.

“Well, I guess I should be going.”

“You’re leaving now?” I turned to him in a panic. He’s going to sign himself up right at this moment? Is he crazy? “You can’t be serious!”

He shrugs his shoulders. “You heard what they said.”

“But…Hawks! Why did you even agree? E-even though you're a great spy, you’re also a hero!” I ramble off. “They could easily be suspicious of you! And…and you could die!”

Hawks groans aloud, scratching the back of his neck. “You gotta stop doing that.”

I look up at him. “Doing what?” I growl at the way he was ignoring my short speech.

“Saying things that make me wanna kiss you.”

My face felt so hot I thought I was getting sick. He said that with such seriousness, there was no way he was joking. “H-Huh?!”

The hero chuckles as he steps closer to me. With his words, it was only right for me to think he’d do just that. I closed my eyes tightly for impact, but his surprisingly soft lips touched my forehead. His gloved hand rests on my cheek to keep me steady.

When he leans back to look me in my eyes, he smiles. “I’ll be alright.”

I used my quirk to hold onto his hand that held my cheek, making sure he didn’t leave. But I didn’t use so much of it to where it’d break his hand. He looked at me in slight shock when he couldn’t pull away. “You better come back, Keigo.” I say his real name, the one he told me to start saying when it was just the two of them. I never said it until now.

His thumb starts to softly rub circles on my cheek. My body leans into his touch. “I promise, (Y/N).”

#My hero academia #fic #bnha #mha #hawks #hawks x reader #keigo takami x reader #keigo takami #x reader #female reader #reader #finale chapter #part 3 #love this little fic #so cute #major fluff #some spoilers

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characteroulette · 9 months

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A study on Prosecutors --

(On AO3) (next)

So the Ace Attorney series has a vast cast of colourful characters. From their protagonist to their one-off witnesses for a trial, there's bound to be one or two who catch your eye. A main draw for many are the prosecutors in particular and a lot of thought goes into making them appealing to us. They're our villains, but they have to be likable enough for us to want to spend time with them. So, from start to beginning, here's a personal analysis on how each games uses every narrative trick available to it to make us like their villains.

First, Edgeworth.

He's introduced to us in a very specific way; someone who's all ready tied quite personally to our protagonist. There's an air of mystery to him even as you enter the first day of the trial; Phoenix knows him somehow and there's dark rumours surrounding him. The first day of the trial does its best to "prove" those rumours true! Everyone knows about the famous "updated autopsy report" scene and what follows. Another important factor in this is the cross-examination with the bell boy. Edgeworth does use underhanded methods to win his cases, so it seems to us. He's really willing to bend the rules in order to get the culprit declared guilty. (He's right, of course, for wanting that update for the autopsy report. We saw it in the intro ourselves; Mia didn't die instantly when Redd White hit her. But it's a sting to us and it goes to prove his methods aren't the cleanest and so all we can think of is how despicable this move is, how brilliant it is for him to throw us off completely.)

And then, the second day of the trial. He confronts Phoenix before the trial specifically to almost warn him that there's no mercy. He comes to show off to the player that there's a deep seated darkness in him, just not in the way we might have thought from that first game. And Phoenix's manner towards him is crucial to our own feelings towards him; Phoenix doesn't get upset or even react much differently than he had when talking with Gumshoe about it. He merely says, "You've changed." And then Edgeworth walks away and the trial can begin.

Edgeworth fighting against Redd White starts the important trend of Edgeworth not being quite as in control as he likes to think he is. He can't control any of his witnesses and it's a crack in his affect. It's the first sign towards him being less than the demon he presents himself as, the first moment we get to see there's something endearing buried beneath his coldness. It also brings his ruthlessness and quick thinking back into sharp focus; the very moment Redd White is about to confess, he tells White to do so. To confess, in fact, to a different crime; to placing the wiretap. It's a brilliant move that sets everyone off-balance, it handily explains White's involvement without him having to be the murderer, and it gives White the second wind he needs to drive Phoenix (and us) into a corner, to deserve our deus-ex-machina that follows. As a personal note, this is the moment where I started really liking his character. It's such a brilliant bastard move that I couldn't help but like him immediately for it. Oh, this man is actually a bastard, I thought to myself. I'm going to enjoy grinding him down completely as this game goes on. (Exactly what the story wanted from me, I'm sure.)

But with Mia's help, we win the trial and save both ourselves and Maya. The mystery is left hanging in the air: who is Edgeworth to Phoenix and what happened to make him fall so far to darkness?

This isn't a question that will be answered in case 3, but this is where the writing goes into overdrive to endear us fully to our prosecuting rival.

The first day of the trial is a comedy of errors. We get to witness firsthand how much careful control Edgeworth places in his methods, in his scripts, and how lost he is without all that. He's floundering so hard with Wendy Oldbag, who makes strange assumptions in her testimony that he has to run with and omits important things due to forgetting or just not being allowed to say. It becomes a bit of a game for him as well; he's figuring out what exactly happened just the same as Phoenix is. He starts working with Phoenix right at the end, just for a moment, after his own witness lied about the full scope of things.

This is important, this glimpse of working together with Edgeworth. It's a hint, a taste of what's to come, and it's masterful in how quietly it's slipped under our focus. We're reeling, too, after all, from Oldbag's sudden truths.

But we need to investigate some more. And so we head on into the second day.

I don't think I can overstate enough how well each Gumshoe anecdote goes towards endearing us to Edgeworth. Having a character with 100% faith in someone as darkly presented to us as Edgeworth is goes such a long way in demonstrating their humanity. Edgeworth may appear ruthless and dubious, but he's so goofy. He crushes a cup full of hot coffee and burns himself!! He stands at a window and mumbles Wright's name to himself over and over!! He's just as much of a trainwreck as everyone else in this universe and it goes so far towards endearing us to him, to building up our own trust of him when it's needed most.

Trial day two is one step forward, two steps back for Edgeworth. He's managed to find stability in Sal Manella's testimony, he knows this proves that only Will Powers could be the criminal here, and yet everything falls apart once again when Cody takes the stand. Once again, Edgeworth finds himself floundering and scrambling for ways to discredit Phoenix's methods of questioning Cody. He tries to make his belief in Powers' guilt work, but Phoenix throws it all into his face. By the end of this day, there's practically no way Powers can be found guilty of this murder. And so Edgeworth is left in shambles, no longer able to cling to his belief that everyone is guilty, that if he just gets a guilty verdict for everyone then he can make up for his own failings.

(We get a glimpse of it, but the real reveal is yet to come.)

(This investigation day, I feel, is where Gumshoe is cemented as our lovable oaf of our friend. He saves us from Dee Vasquez's yakuza/mafia men. He gets his big damn hero moment and gets to be a little in awe of it himself. This is the moment, right here, where we can really just fall in love with Gumshoe. It's another small point towards our endearment to Edgeworth, albeit one that's a detour into a different character study.)

And thus, we come to the third trial day. Our strongest, most definitive look into Edgeworth as something more than just our villain/rival of the game.

It's stated right out the gate that Powers cannot still be considered as the guilty party. That Edgeworth's approach to this particular testimony has to be different, focused on proving her lack of involvement but unsure of where to go from here. He lets Phoenix and Vasquez run most of the show, watches as Phoenix engages in a battle of wits with her, and flounders all the while in what he's supposed to do here. He shouldn't be needed, after all. There's no way Powers can be guilty, so what is he even doing here?

Seeing Phoenix falter, however, brings him the answer. In a sudden move, he throws out an objection. He stalls the trial because the truth, the full truth, has yet to be pulled from this witness. The full truth is within their grasp and after seeing Phoenix claw at it so desperately, he has to see it to the end. He can't let it hang in uncertainty; he has to figure this out or it will eat at him like so many other things in his life. (His father's death. His own guilt. His first two trial experiences. SL-9's darkness. So many unanswered questions hang over his head that we've yet to become aware of, and still they inform his turn here in this moment. They fit together to form this picture of a man who has been shown the light of truth which can dispell his own doubts and he latches onto it in a desperation, in a moment of casting aside his own helplessness in the face of all the darkness he's accrued inside him. He wants to find the truth! He's cast it aside for so long in his efforts to punish himself for a crime he believes he committed and yet still, yet still, he can't help but stumble forward into that light at the first moment he's allowed. He wants to believe in Phoenix, he wants to believe in something besides his own demons, and it shows in his stumbling, in his floundering, right in this moment.)

Because of his efforts, Dee Vasquez slips up and allows us to dig into her lie. Because of his moment of accepting the light of the truth, Phoenix is able to prove Powers' innocence.

Another iconic scene, Edgeworth comes to us after the trial and tells us in no uncertain terms to get out of his courtroom. He's not lying when he says he's been saddled with uncertainty and unease; after all, if Phoenix was able to show him this truth, then it brings up a doubt he never wanted to acknowledge.

*How many innocent people has he convicted in the past four years?*

*How can he say what he's doing is right when the truth he's been fighting for has never been the full truth?*

We've inadvertently cracked him wide open. We've inadvertently shown him a reflection of his own darkness and he could no longer stomach what he saw.

Which leads perfectly into our next case where we get to put all of this building endearment and trust into practice by defending Edgeworth from that looming darkness.

First off, everything about the scene between him and Phoenix in the detention centre is perfect. If you assumed he would give in so easily and allow us to defend him, then you haven't been paying attention to him. He's so stubborn he didn't give in to assisting us prove Vasquez's guilt until it was literally the last moments of the trial. He's been actively avoiding any revelation in his life for years. Of course he'd reject us outright. Even when Phoenix makes a heartfelt plea, is his usual irreverent self with his misplaced humour, Edgeworth won't even tell us a single detail.

But we, and Phoenix, know better than to give up. We know that, to get him to admit to anything, we have to dig deep. (A wolf who pursues the truth like it's an illness; Phoenix is a great character, too, because we're the ones who drive him to this in our own endeavours to Know.) So we investigate and learn and when we return, he has no choice but to admit that we're the only ones whom he can place his trust into.

We're the only ones willing to take his side. A favour in return for another; he doesn't remember, but it's important enough to Phoenix that we also begin to understand what exactly drives these two to be so Normal(tm) about one another. We begin to see that Edgeworth is less detached than he likes to believe himself.

It all comes very much into sharp focus the moment we meet Manfred von Karma. (Here's another thing the Ace Attorney series does really well: a contrast in mentors. We see how Mia teaches and nudges Phoenix and us along, how she can be stern and gentle in the same breath. She's clearly fond of Phoenix and treats him accordingly. A huge contrast in everything about Manfred and Edgeworth's dynamic. Edgeworth respects him deeply, but he doesn't seem to have any regard for Edgeworth at all. He talks about Edgeworth in a detached and unfeeling way so much that you could find yourself wondering if he knew Edgeworth at all if not for how many cues Edgeworth clearly takes from him. The difference in mentorship of Grossberg to Mia and Diego to Mia, of Kristoph to Apollo and Phoenix to Apollo, are also fascinating but I'll dive into those some other time agh.)

First of all, it's in their similar poses, it's in the way Edgeworth introduces us to the idea of Manfred. Second, it's Manfred's actions which reflect sharply right back onto Edgeworth. Suddenly, the way Edgeworth conducted his witnesses in the second case makes so much more sense when watching how Manfred controls Lotta and Gumshoe with his iron fist. It becomes apparent that Phoenix is outmatched when we can't find anything to gain a foothold and we're nearly at the end of our rope. We've come too far to back down here! We've grown too endeared to Edgeworth to let him down in this moment! There's darkness in him and we have to shine our light onto it, to reveal to him that he's not the demon he portrays himself as!

(I really feel Phoenix's desperation when he says, "I'm the only one who sees the real Edgeworth. I'm the only one who can help him!" Because he's right. We're the only ones who can help, who are willing to help, whether it be by playing the game and continuing the story or by seeing that same light in Edgeworth that Phoenix believes in so fervently.)

But despite everything leading up to this truth of Edgeworth's innocence, despite all our belief, Edgeworth himself can't believe it. It drives us, drives Phoenix to dig in further, to claw out the whole truth no matter how messy and ugly.

I cannot overstate enough what a masterclass of buildup and payoff 1-4 is to Edgeworth as a character. It's a culmination of how surprising it is to suddenly regard your main antagonist, your main rival whom you've fought against for the past two cases, as your ally. It takes some kicking and screaming to get Edgeworth to even be forthcoming to us about everything, it takes hard proof and full bluffing of a whole theory before Edgeworth tells us the whole truth. But we know he will. We trust him to trust us in turn because this is where the whole thing has been leading to.

And the catharsis to proving Edgeworth's innocence even against his own despair cannot be overstated either.

It really is no wonder that Edgeworth is a fan favourite. The leadup to his being fully instated as a mainstay ally is just absolutely beautiful in its execution. At least, it is to me.

(Edgeworth's continual growth as a character in his consecutive appearances are great, too, but by that point we've been endeared to him so of course we're happy to see his returns. Or annoyed, idk this is about my experiences lol.)

Anyway yeah, Edgeworth is great and the buildup of him becoming our friend is really good.

#Momo writes stuff #Ace Attorney #Miles Edgeworth #Some spoilers #Essay time for Momo #HOLY SHIT #I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO GO SO LONG #sobbing pls read my labour of love....#Hey I uhh like Edgeworth lol #Had way more to say on him than I expected #Now this is a proper fucking essay #Character analysis be like #Literary analysis be like #Literary analysis brain goes brrrrrr

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