#karma comic layout | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

taffystake · 5 years

Photo

Batman and The Outsiders #1 Review

Written by: Bryan Hill

Art by: Dexter Soy

Colors by: Veronica Gandini

Now then, its time to see what this old hero team remade can do. Especially since most of its members are essentially the Extended Bat-Family C Listers that some people might not be as familiar or engaged by.

Our comic opens with a very normal scene of a father and daughter talking with each other. Well, it is normal until a strange man literally stops their car with a shoulder check, drains the father of his life with a touch, and proceeds to throw the daughter off an overpass when his touch proves less effective at ending her life. And she lands on top of a passing fuel truck, causing it to detonate and leave her....well enough to walk away. But before we can learn more, we jump over to Signal and Orphan, currently on the defensive from a man with a minigun called Saint John, who has been the instigator of church shootings in Gotham. Signal plans to recklessly rush Saint John before back-up gets there. But, thankfully for Signal, Black Lightning and Katana arrive just before he commits, taking down Saint John with a few blasts of lightning and one sword slash that destroys his minigun.

After the dustup is over, we see that team dynamics between Black Lightning as leader and the rest of the Outsiders are tense due to a lack of trust between members. One page later, we are with Black Lightning as he talks to Bruce, trying to figure why Batman made them a team and why he has Black Lightning acting as their leader. While he gives no true answer, Bruce leaves on the note that as their leader, Black Lightning should believe in the team despite any of Bruce’s thoughts.

A panel of Bruce being informed of the killing that started the comic later, and we are with Black Lightning and Katana. Black Lightning seeks to gain some insight into the team from Katana to have her act more as his partner in leading the team rather than as a subordinate. After a brutally honest acknowledgement of Signal and Orphan’s weak points, Black Lightning leaves as Katana’s sword begins to speak to her.

With Orphan and Signal, they race away from Gotham on a motorcycle when memories of a villain named Karma that apparently assailed Signal in a previous comic hit him. Eventually, the vision and the message it packs are powerful enough to make Signal force Orphan to stop the bike for a moment to simply let him collect himself. Which is when Batman calls them both in.

It’s here we finally get full answers as to the opening scene and its importance. Apparently, a few billionaires tried to create their own metahumans once upon a time. And when discovered, they tried to kill all of them to hide the evidence. Batman saved one family and that was who was attacked, Gabriel and Sofia Ramos. And so the Outsiders are to track down Sofia for her own safety, because despite her powers, she can still be easily killed, while Batman handles Karma. While Black Lightning is okay if the team wants to avoid the mission, they eventually agree to go.

Our comic ends as we follow Sofia, already on the run to St. Louis, when she gets grabbed and told who her assailant was, a dude named Ishmael, and who hired him on to kill her and her father, Ra’s Al Ghul. The one who did the grabbing, Kaliber, is a giant cyborg-looking dude who keeps proclaiming that Sofia apparently will create a new world after the current one dies off.

Now then, with a very cool story, it needs cool art to help set and match the tone it wishes to maintain. And while the character model work from Dexter Soy is serviceable, its his action drawing, his skill with panel layouts, and expression work that really help carry the story into this sleek and intense emotional place that lets the story stand as a very tonally unique comic in DC’s current line-up. I have very high expectations thanks to this comic’s initial setup and great art and I can very much see it meeting and exceeding them if everything goes well with it.

#dc #dc comics #batman #orphan #cassandra cain #the signal #bruce wayne #black lightning #katana #comics #comic books #comic book #comic #comic review #review #taffys take

2 notes · View notes

oosteven-universe · 4 years

Text

New Mutants #1

New Mutants #1 Marvel Comics 2019 Written by Jonathan Hickman & Ed Brisson Illustrated by Rod Reis Lettered by VC's Travis Lanham THE NEW GENERATION CLAIMS THE DAWN! The classic New Mutants (Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Karma, Magik, and Cypher) get together with a few new friends (Chamber, Mondo) for a new mission! First of all I have been out of the loop for a long time apparently so when did Rahne die??? Now that Hickman is saying a whole big FY to dying and coming back we open up with the return of Rahne Sinclair whom I never knew was dead. I am so lost and so confused but that's okay I'll figure it out as we go along because honestly, right now, all I care about is the fact that my favourite team of mutants are back together! Top of my pile reading list that's for dang sure and I wasn't disappointed in the least! The way that this story is being told is extremely well done. The story & plot development told in the sequence of events that we see along with how we learn information is spectacular. The way that the story is structured is so strong and it not only allows to get reacquainted with these characters but simultaneously starting off an adventure. The character development that we see is interesting because I have no idea what they've been through it feels like I am meeting them for the first time all over again. Remnants of who they were and the excitement of their being back together is the kind of excitement I want to feel here and I do. With the pacing of the story we get to see the twists and turns and predicaments they find themselves in and it's glorious. The way everything works together here and creates this super ebb & flow that is so captivating. I have not been this excited by a book in ages and just the fact that they are all back and together is huge. Now if we could also get a Hellions book I'd be happy because they've never had one and totally need one. There are some absolutely stunning new developments when it comes to the use of powers that we see here and I have to say that this is why I love this book right here. Also Doug is my favourite so seeing him expand, grow and become a leader well that's what we need to see. The linework from Rod here is gorgeous, the man's always been extremely talented but this is something I have never seen from him before and it takes my breath away. The attention to detail that we see and how the colour work is utilised through hues and tones to create shading without linework is beyond what we expect to see. Now I don't see backgrounds everywhere and I'd like to but to see Rod channel Sienkiewicz with Illyana's face is stupendous and then the next page at the space port and the way that page layout is utilised is the kind of stuff I wish were every page. There are so many wondrous pages here and it's just so incredibly well done. This is probably the best work I have seen from Rod. There are a number of things about the story that I love, make me question what the hell is going on and remind me of the past. This is a new time for them and there is something about Krakoa that I just can't put my finger on that I don't like and don't trust, with Xavier as well. So some time away seeking out Sam is just what they need. I am thrilled with this first issue the overall mood, tone and feel of the original team, plus Chamber and Mondo, are going to bring back some old fashioned what the heck did I get myself into by charging in feeling back to comics. They can fun and serious at the same time an we're already seeing that balance here.

#comic books #comics reviews #Marvel Comics #jonathan hickman #ed brisson #rod reis

1 note · View note

whiterosebrian · 7 years

Text

Impression of Tezuka’s Phoenix

It was about time I typed and posted another Impressions post, in which I attempt to think like a critic as I go about my personal journey as an artist and writer in training. What would I write about? I decided that I would read through and take a few notes on Phoenix by the God of Comics (that’s what many people call him—it’s not some fanboyish phrase I made up), Osamu Tezuka. I read the first six volumes, which are entitled “Dawn”, “Future”, “Yamato/Space”, “Karma”, “Resurrection”, and “Nostalgia”.

Phoenix not one story, but rather a sequence of more-or-less independent, loosely linked stories, albeit long stories which alternate between a science-fiction future and past centuries (and even skims over whole ranges of geologic time). The main recurring element in this sequence of stories is the Phoenix, depicted here as an embodiment of the Earth’s life-force. Tezuka referred to Phoenix, which he sporadically composed over decades, as his “life’s work” (which he unfortunately didn’t finish before his death in 1989). It was his effort at making comics into high literature.

The narration occasionally seems a little disjointed, even heavy-handed, in its presentation of evolution and death and rebirth, but the real efforts at deeply meaningful narrative in comics is most certainly laudable. On a side note, the sixth volume is especially weird in multiple ways, at least among the volumes that I read. Each story is quite solid in itself, though there is one aspect running through all of them that blunts the emotional impact.

As with Astro Boy and Black Jack, which I wrote about earlier, the art style in Phoenix shows a clear influence from the Fleischer brothers and Walt Disney. Furthermore, Phoenix too has a large number of silly lines and sight-gags. Because these are stuck into otherwise serious stories, the tone is uneven; one is almost sure to have a hard time telling which parts are meant to be serious and which are meant to be comical. Thankfully, these became less frequent as I read through the volumes mentioned.

Nonetheless, Phoenix can sometimes be spectacular to look at. The drawings within and among panels can show dramatic expressions, grand scenery, thrilling chases, and sophisticated faux camerawork. The difference between Tezuka’s artwork and even the likes of Jack Kirby are yuuuuuge; one reviewer on Amazon compared it to the difference between and old cathode-ray television and a high-resolution 3D screen. The scenes that are most clearly dramatic are very stirring indeed. The comic has some very effective panel layouts and striking compositions within and among panels—however, sometimes they are arranged in counterintuitive angles. The artwork serves the epic story fairly well overall.

The preceding text probably might make Phoenix sound like a mixed bag. Trust me, it’s a bag full of goodies, particularly for one such as myself who seeks to learn how to make beautiful comics. I’m thankful for yet another lesson. As for you, you too might consider giving Phoenix a look if you're old enough to appreciate the themes.

#osamu tezuka #tezuka #manga #comics #vintage manga

2 notes · View notes

fanonymousfan · 7 years

Text

Prompt 88

88: “ Karma’s a b*tch “

Alrighty! I got way more of these than I expected! Either way, thank you all so much for reading my silly stories. Enjoy! :D

“Are you sure about this?” Lewis whispered to Vivi.

“Absolutely, I need to get back at the both of you for drawing on my face.” she replied, waving a controller in her hand. The game on the television was paused at the moment.

“B-both of us? Does that mean…” Lewis trailed off.

“You’ll get what’s coming eventually,” she snickered. “All in due time.”

Lewis swallowed his nervousness as Arthur returned from the bathroom, wiping his hands on his pants.

“Artie, there are towels in the bathroom for a reason.” Lewis complained as Arthur flopped back down on the couch where the others sat.

“If they worked as well as pants do I wouldn’t be using my pants in the first place.” Arthur grinned, shrugging.

Lewis was about to argue when Vivi interrupted. “Alright! Where did we leave off?” she unpaused the game. “Ah yes, we were about to go into this haunted house in the middle of these spooky woods~” she said with a spooky tone.

“Oh great.” Arthur mumbled.

“Onward!” Vivi shouted, making the first person character move forward and run into the door. Vivi fiddled with the controls for a second and opened the door before continuing.

They continued playing, Vivi controlling the character as Arthur advised picking up certain items and Lewis chided the mess left in the house.

“Lew it’s just a game,” Vivi giggled. “It doesn’t have to make sense.”

“I know but seriously,” he waved his hand at the screen. “They even left the refrigerator door open! This is driving me crazy.”

“Hmm… the refrigerator?” She made the character walk over. “What could be in-” as she opened the refrigerator door a string instrument became shrill as a decolored, severed hand was revealed in the refrigerator.

“Ew.” Arthur and Lewis said in unison.

“Hmm, I was expecting more.” She turned the avatar away and suddenly a hideous creature was running at them from the shadows. A loud clash of instruments made the three on the couch jump and scream in panic. Vivi made the character run, but the house's layout had changed until it led them to one opened door. When Vivi ran through, it slammed shut behind the character, locked.

“Well I guess we can’t go back,” Vivi said, a hint of evil laughter in her voice. She approached the door opposite of the one they entered through. “So this way, then!”

As the character got closer to the door, they could hear the breathing speed up, and the sound of static began to get louder and louder.

“No no no no no…” Arthur whispered. Lewis glanced over to see Arthur was glued to the game, eyes wide. He also noted that Arthur had wrapped his arms around Lewis’ own arm, which made him blush.

Vivi was at the door now, ready to open it. They could hear the character's heartbeat now, and the static blocked out any music.

“No no no no no no no no..!” Arthur tensed as Vivi opened the door and all of the noise cut to silence.

Nothing happened.

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. “I hate when it builds up to nothing.”

“Hm, that… thing might come back,” Vivi said innocently. “Maybe I should close the door…”

Lewis looked at her, she was smiling mischievously. That wasn’t good.

Slowly, she made the character turn around. At first, nothing happened, until…

GRAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGG!!!!

The thing that had been chasing them jumped down from the top of the screen and grabbed Vivi’s character, causing a game over. At the same time Mystery, out of nowhere, jumped up on the couch next to Arthur with a paper monster mask on.

Arthur screamed and scrambled backward onto Lewis. There was a moment of panic which quickly died out as Vivi began laughing.

“Ahahahaha! Artie your face! Oh I’m sorry but that was perfect!” She cackled, falling off the couch and onto the floor.

“Leeeewwwwwiisssss!!!!” Arthur cried, clutching to the ghost. He babbled curses and apologies as he hid his face in Lewis shirt.

“Vivi!” Lewis shouted, but he was also grinning as he cradled Arthur.

Vivi appeared from the floor, her face red from laughing. “That’s what you get for drawing on my face with lipstick!” she snickered.

“You shoved us into dresses!” Arthur shot back as Mystery jumped back off the couch, pattering away with the mask.

“You lost that game to me! I earned that right.” she replied, crossing her arms and smirking.

“Maybe a movie would be better,” Lewis suggested, looking meaningfully at Vivi. “Like a comedy or sci-fi movie.”

“Alright alright, fine.” she pouted. “Sorry for scaring you, Artie.”

“It’s fine,” Arthur breathed. “I just hope we don’t get any noise complaints.”

Lewis nodded. “That scream was pretty loud.”

“Hey!” Arthur scowled, blushing. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine, Artie.” Lewis comforted. “Now, let’s pick out a movie. We can also make popcorn and-”

“Ooh! I can make the popcorn!” Vivi said, rushing to the kitchen.

“Don’t burn it!” Lewis called after her as Arthur giggled.

“I’m not gonnaaaAAAAAAAHH!!!!!” Vivi screeched. “MYSTERY WHAT THE HECK!!!!”

Arthur and Lewis looked towards the kitchen in time to see Vivi shaking a fist at Mystery, who still work the monster mask and was now running off towards the end of the hall.

“Hahaha!” Arthur mocked. “Karma’s a bi-mmph”

“Language,” Lewis said jokingly, a hand over Arthur’s mouth. “Or she’ll purposely burn the popcorn.”

“I would not!” Vivi yelled as she set the popcorn in the microwave, before adding; “Or maybe I would…”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Arthur gasped comically.

“Try me.” Vivi said, poking her head around the corner.

“Now now, children,” Lewis interjected. “Both of have had a good spook tonight, can’t we get along and watch a movie?”

“Fiiiiiiinnnnne.” Vivi mumbled as she returned with the snack.

“I guess,” Arthur sighed, realizing he was still in Lewis’ lap and struggled to free himself. “Can we watch Winter Soldier?” he asked as Lewis sat him in between himself and Vivi.

“We watched that last time!” Vivi complained. “What about Doctor Strange? Then it’s still the same series.”

“But…”

Lewis shook his head as the two began arguing about which movie was better. As he flipped through different movie channels, a sci-fi mystery movie came on, a favorite of both Arthur’s and Vivi’s.

Both stopped quarreling and became entranced by the screen.

Lewis chuckled as he set the popcorn in between then and sat back to enjoy the movie.

#fanon writes #prompt 88 #msa #mystery skulls #mystery skulls animated #anon #anonymous #this ones shorter #cuz i start traveling a ton tomorrow #which means even less sleep!#hoorah!

11 notes · View notes

falcon6 · 7 years

Text

Turnabout Design: Franziska and the von Karma Legacy

Hello, and welcome back to Turnabout Design, a novice’s look at character design using the Ace Attorney series as a base. I am the foppish fool Falcon who flounders and fawns for fictional females, and let us begin. Spoiler Warning: This is going to be covering a character specifically, so there will be story points gone over, mostly from Justice for All.

Even though there’s still a few points I could talk about regarding the first game, I feel it’d be better to go ahead and continue on with the second game of the Ace Attorney series: Justice for All. Considered by some people to be the weaker entry of the trilogy, with a fairly meh first case (Phoenix gets amnesia, whoaaaa) and a - in my humble opinion - lukewarm third case, it still etches itself up to good quality with a pretty good second case and one of the most memorable final cases in the entire series.

And part of that is due to the main characters and their arcs continuing. New characters pop up, old characters get new tidbits to them (Gumshoe having a crush on Maggey while also being a big hero...I should probably get to him at some point), and our main lead has a veritable moral crisis on his hands at the end.

But that’s not what we’re going to talk about today.

So I elected to put off on talking about Manfred von Karma, the first game’s final antagonist (aside from Rise from the Ashes) because, aside from his terrifying presence, he’s actually not a very grand design. To me, at least. I am aware that his design is actually an adaptation of the original design idea for “the rival prosecutor” (Edgeworth), but he never struck me as a very memorable design. A memorable character, yes, but his actual design layout didn’t strike me.

Not to mention, a lot of the deal with Manfred is that his actual character, in a lot of facets, is used to fuel motivations of other characters. He’s the opposing force for Gregory Edgeworth in the past which was needed for his murder, his involvement with DL-6 caused Miles Edgeworth to live with him and eventually set himself down the road to becoming a prosecutor. His involvement with DL-6 is what eventually (non-intentionally) led Mia Fey into law. His role as a prosecutor is used to be the “final boss” for Phoenix for the fourth case. The man’s actions reverberate throughout the original trilogy and beyond, in a lot of respects, but there’s not much to him beyond the need for a perfect record and a calculating, cold megalomaniac.

His child, on the other hand, bears a few of those characteristics along with a lot of time to grow beyond them into her own staple of the series. I’m talking, of course, of Franziska von Karma.

You ever wonder if she ever intends to....draw blood? No? Just me?

You liars.

The Design

So I’ve spent the last few times talking less and less about the actual facets of her design, so I think it’d do to try and fix that. First off, let’s see her silhouette.

A lot of the best parts about Franziska’s design is the lively actions she is able to produce in court. This is mostly due to including the whip into the picture. The whip is one of the most important parts of her design, both due to her character and due to the added action poses it can create. If a character can be defined by the tool they use, that’s a very good thing to consider when designing their poses. You can tell that, when you take the whip out of the equation, you’re still able to tell who she is in a list of Ace Attorney characters, but it’s not as clear if you throw other franchises in.

A lot of times, an external item like a weapon is almost as integral as a piece of clothing for a character. Of course, relying entirely on that for a character’s design isn’t prudent, as the weapon needs to be integral to the design. For example, if Link from the Legend of Zelda series were to not have a sword available, the clothing is still very distinctly him. The hood in particular is almost instantly recognizable, even with every other feature blacked out. And, forgive me, but even the Master Sword is still just a sword to a silhouette.

However, we look at Samus from the Metroid series, we end up having two ‘states’ of Samus. One with her Power Suit on and one without. (I count the Power Suit as a weapon, fight me) With her Power Suit, she is the same Samus we know, who is able to go into the unknown and fight whatever comes her way but without it, not only does the silhouette change but the actual gameplay changes. She can’t go in and fight aliens the same way without her weapon. The lack of her suit makes the encounters she faces more aligned on the side of cautionary, because she can’t deal with space pirates and monsters the same way as if she did have her suit.

Lot of talk to amount to “her whip is important”, huh? It’s a very distinct trait for her design that speaks of her character. She’s aggressive and wishes to dominate her opponent with nothing short of perfection in her case. She uses it to force her will through the court. She uses it for “reward” once with Detective Gumshoe, too. (poor Gumshoe)

When you look at her design, you can see that there are elements of Manfred in her. Compared to Phoenix, her design is more regal looking with a nice big bow and a stylish suit. Her gray hair masks her actual age, to the point that you’d have to hear it from her to find out that she’s actually a young prodigy. Her posture intimidates in court, with animations ripped from her father, yet her fragile ego causes her to lose her cool very fast, which includes a few distraught emotions in her sprites.

She builds up a cool facade with her whip and her dressed-to-impress confidence that she attempts to exude. To her, the impression she leaves is most important, which makes sense because have you ever gotten hit by a whip? She cares about the mark that’s made and aims to make sure her presence is known. And to a passerby, that is exactly what happens, because outside of context she looks like a very scary lady who will absolutely dominate you, in court.

Franziska is obsessed with perfection and control, even moreso than her father was. This is due to having not one, but two individuals she has to live up to. She lives up to her father in terms of name, but she must also live up to her “little brother” Edgeworth in terms of legacy.

Legacy

Now obviously when I say “legacy”, I bet you would say “but wouldn’t she get that from her father, as well?” Well, only tangentially. I personally believe that Edgeworth left a more lasting impression on her character than her father, and it’s mostly due to Mr. Phoenix Wright.

See, Franziska grew up with her father’s shadow looming overhead. To be anything short of the genius prosecutor that Manfred was would be considered a blight to her name. So she focused her energies on doing so, even though she personally admitted to herself that she’d never get to the same level of genius as her father. Still she studied and persisted, earning herself the title of “the Prodigy”.

Soon enough she heard of her father’s defeat at the hands of Phoenix Wright, but that alone did not set her off. In fact, she couldn’t care less about her father’s defeat. It was learning that the defendant was Edgeworth, then finding out that Phoenix had already beaten him twice before despite HIS perfect record, and then learning of Edgeworth’s disappearance (Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death) that set her off on her travels to Japanifornia.

Because she wasn’t facing against Wright for revenge of her father. She was going to prove herself against someone that Edgeworth lost to.

When I think of a “legacy” character, I consider a character that has a torch passed down to them, much like a family line of superheroes. In some ways they retain the same spirit as those who came before them, but they have their own spirit about them. Take, for example, DC Comics icon - and man with most elaborate basement under parents’ house - Batman. A few years back when Bruce Wayne had “died”, Dick Grayson took up the mantle of Batman. While Bruce was more stoic and cold in his style, Dick was more loose in his demeanor. He cracked more smiles and was more talkative. More relaxed. He couldn’t replicate Batman himself, despite how many years he studied under him as Robin, because he realized that he couldn’t do so. He instead took his own take and, depending on who you ask, succeeded in doing the role justice. He lacked confidence as Batman but was more than able to fulfill the role as Gotham City’s protector regardless.

Why I find legacy characters fascinating is the little bits of what is brought from the past into the role of the present and how that can mix well, can clash with other elements, and even be forgotten. Even Edgeworth did this, to an extent, when he was the antagonist of the first game. You didn’t know it until the fourth case, but everything that Edgeworth did was due to what was displayed to him by his teacher, Manfred. Winning at any cost. He sets that aside after the first game and finds his own path as a prosecutor, yet he still retains some elements of his mentor, such as his outfit’s similarities to Manfred’s and his posture when at the bench. Naturally, some elements would have to stay because of his iconic design, but even 7 years later in Dual Destinies, Edgeworth is still using the same posture, and his big change is that he also has an unbuttoned coat and wears glasses out of court.

So going back to Franziska, her main motivator for Justice for All is to “defeat Phoenix Wright”. She goes through the same methods as her father before her, but also took in Edgeworth’s forwardness in understanding the entire case, no matter the absurdity. She studied the Kurain Channeling Technique and even introduced it in the second case in order to prove that, even with something supernatural like channeling spirits which is beyond normal law, Maya would have still done the deed and is still guilty under law. She puts up a potentially damaging photo for her prosecution just to back Phoenix in a corner. In the third case she focused her energies on making sure Phoenix wasn’t getting any evidence she didn’t know about, which ended up costing her the case when she forced Acro out of the room before he could dispose of the murder weapon. And in the time she was involved in prosecuting the final case, she made explicitly sure that Adrian Andrews knew that she didn’t have to testify.

All of this was to defeat Phoenix Wright, who had inadvertently brought himself up as a target for all of her ire. The one who defeated her father and adoptive brother before her. All to stoke her ego.

But, of course, she didn’t.

Try as she did, she wasn’t able to defeat Phoenix. She got shot on the way to court to the fourth case and had to let Edgeworth do the job for her. Even then, she took it upon herself to get the decisive evidence to court just in time to give Edgeworth the win. Finally, Phoenix lost and it was because of her!

And yet, when Phoenix was so happy even after losing his first case (for a reason she didn’t know), she broke. She didn’t understand why he was so happy about it. She tossed her whip aside and left for the airport, to fly far away.

But then Edgeworth came to her with her whip. He spoke to her about what he found out on his trip. About how win records were meaningless. About how Manfred was wrong, and how a prosecutor’s job is to find the truth. She was still a prosecutor, but if she wanted to give up, then he would continue forward and leave her behind.

Handing the whip back to her was an important gesture, because as mentioned, the whip is a symbol of control. When she had it, she had always felt like she was in control of her situation. It was much like a security blanket for her. Handing it back after she tried to toss it away signifies that Edgeworth understands that prosecution is important to her and she needs to find her own path forward like he did.

Telling her that she’d be left behind is also important. It may have been cruel, but Franziska is a character who went through all that effort to overcome her own faults in order to try and surpass those who came before her. She was obsessed with it, in order to stoke her own ego, but she wouldn’t be able to do so if she gave up. Edgeworth knew she didn’t want to do that. She still needed someone to fight against, and being the doting little brother that he is (still like 7 years older), he took it upon himself to stoke that fire again.

And she vowed, in a show of sobbing emotion, that she would return and defeat Phoenix Wright and to become a better prosecutor than he.

Franziska is a great character even though her role as a prosecutor was done because the designers didn’t want to have Edgeworth continue to lose fights due to his popularity. She was brought in as a flawed and fixated prosecutor to further the prosecutor’s role as an antagonist while solidifying that which Edgeworth had proven before; that the prosecution is merely an antagonist, not a villain.

Her emotional weight is believable and sympathetic. Her personality in court is perfect for the role of making you detest her because of how many times she’s able to one-up Phoenix (you) as you go through the cases. And yet her overall character is someone you can’t help but feel for once it’s all over. She’s in a dogged pursuit of proving herself as better than those before her, and Phoenix (you) proves to be an obstacle she can’t overcome.

After Justice for All, she learns to pursue her goals for herself and not for any legacy she was supposed to inherit. She works with Interpol and assists Edgeworth in his own games, but she hasn’t seen much action since. Now that we know what Maya’s been up to in Spirit of Justice, I really want to see what Franziska has been up to in the years since next.

I want to know if she sued Larry for the use of her likeness in his children’s book, “Franzy's Whippity-Whip Trip“.

Conclusion

Wow, she’s tipping Gumshoe $5. That’s probably the nicest thing she’s ever done for him.

Even though her inclusion was the designer’s intent to keep Edgeworth from losing all the time, Franziska was a worthy entry in this series as an antagonist. Her flaws helped elevate her as an egomaniac that eventually made you empathize with where she’s coming from. She’s not perfect and can’t be the same level as what her father was, but that’s exactly what makes her such a good character.

Because true perfection doesn’t exis-

Okay, stop that. Get outta here.

Thank you very much for reading. It was fun to look more into Franziska and remind myself why I really like her. Most of these thoughts are just my thoughts, of course, so if you have any thoughts about her yourself, let me know!

Until next time...

You foolish fools.

#Turnabout Design #Ace Attorney #Franziska von Karma #Blog #Ace Attorney: Justice for All #Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All

28 notes · View notes

gamesoffate · 7 years

Text

The Darker Grey: Arc1 Ses3

[Watch P1 Here] | [Watch P2 Here] | [Watch P3 Here]

Games of Fate Session Three Report: Nazeem

Report for mission 3: By Nazeem. (This is so fucking stupid and a waste of time.)

So Anakah has started this ooh so brilliant idea of us writing reports for our missions after our two successful missions. Yeah and I drew the lucky straw in getting the first one. Great. Wonderful. Fuck it. Whatever. We are to be as true to how we felt in the moment so prepare for some good old bias. But hey it’s me so it’s usually rightful bias. Let’s get this shit show on the road.

We all come back to the Quick Brown Fox Tavern Thursday and are sitting at our normal table. Tired as fuck and really just waiting to get started. We all sit there silently, the others still waking up obviously. We wait fifteen minutes and the big lug next to me…Percy or whatever falls asleep in his chair. I get sick of this bullshit and head back upstairs cause why am I wasting time when I could just go back to sleep.

Hazel goes up to the huge woman Itniss and asks her where she is. So I stop and listen. Of course Anakah was supposed to be back thirty minutes ago. I use this moment to be my usual snarky, great self and say ‘punctuality isn’t one of their rules here.’

Itniss says we should be worried about her but I don’t care. Anakah looks like she could take care of herself. Or at least one would think. As if on cue, our gracious and timely leader bursts through the front door, sporting a lovely bleeding head wound. She looks pissed but isn’t she always? She is marching past when Hazel grabs her arm. I assume this will lead to another punch in the face for Hazel. Nope. And now she offers Anakah first aid in which she refuses.

I try to ask her what happened but she doesn’t tell me so I make a remark about her trailing blood. She shrugs us off and tells us to sit down. Great. Finally, mission time, instead of wasting the day away. Like I’d hang with these morons on my off time. They are as interesting as paper. Yunam isn’t sitting with us but with the group of shifters we saved last time and Sincere…the pissbaby. Anakah gets him to join us. That kid is so fucking strange.

Anakah tries to brief us on the mission. TRIES but she stumbles and groans like a beaten drunk. This is so fucking annoying. Through her babbling and noises, we discern that we are off to some bank to get an item she can’t fucking spit out. She has trouble. This is almost comical. It’s a weapon of some sort, locked away on the second floor. Storage box 257. We finally figure out she means a spear…..a stick with pointy end. I swear. We have 24 hours to complete this. Good thing we have been wasting time already. It’s whatever. I’m just ready to go get it done.

We arrive at the huge ass bank. None of us talk to each other cause seriously what intelligence could you glean from this rag tag group of morons? We look for windows and looking inside, it just looks like some normal bank. Hazel goes around looking for weaknesses or whatever. Suddenly she knows everything about this place. I mean the entire layout. Maybe she isn’t that dumb. Eh. She tells us the people in the bank use keys to get around and that there is a steam powered elevator in the back. Apparently this place is heavily guarded. GO FIGURE. It’s a fucking bank and the biggest one I’ve seen to be honest. All lock boxes are on the second and third floors with the latter being the most guarded and difficult to deal with traps and the like. Best not to touch anything. *Heavy Sigh* (Fuck you Percy).

Hazel states the obvious of getting a key and going up the elevator. Maybe we can jump someone that comes out she says. Then she brings up the ventilation system and how small it is. Of course we only have one tiny who could deal with such a thing so we all look to our token brat. I ask him to take this prestigious honor since Hazel hesitates in doing so. It had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to see what this kid could even do. I mean I still don’t fucking get it. Why the hell is he here? Hazel finishes off the request with a please. What is with the polite bullshit? We are going to meet up in the back of the building waiting for the kid.

Yunam runs off to do his thing. Whatever that squirt can do. I get curious to see how the brat gets in and follow after but he stops suddenly, frowns and shakes his head. Really? Secret brat. After some awkward silence I get tired of looking at the little shit’s face and go talk with Hazel in the back.

Hazel goes off on the spiel about security on the floors and how we can’t be sure of where the spear is with Anakah being less than on the top of her game with a likely concussion or some shit. Hazel asks how we take care of the guards. I of course say we should take them out quietly even though it’s not my style. Wish we could just shoot the motherfucker up less time wasted. But the after math would be just as bullshit so fuck it. We can pistol whip the morons and hide the bodies as we go along. But none of this shit matters until we get inside which is up to the success of Yunam. Getting sick of talking this guessing shit I just go quiet.

Noticing Percy just standing there silently for some fucking reason. I decide to ask what his thoughts are. Might as fucking well see if he has a brain at all? I highly doubt it. Percy questions if we ever burglarized. Hazel gives him a look cause of her old profession. I only sell drugs. So neither of us have. Percy then goes on saying it’s easy if you aren’t a dumbass about it then he makes a snide comment about me not keeping quiet. Piece of shit. Hazel then suggests Percy take the lead in this considering his background of being a penny thief. Guess even the most useless have their perks. Percy says that’s the best idea she had all day. What a twat. He’s about as egocentric as I am. But I don’t see him backing it up like I can. But hey, at least the tall brat is fucking useful for once, though it remains to be seen. Hazel gives Percy that funny looking bitch face. It was a very subtle difference from her normal expression.

Percy says we just have to wait. Unless he knows another way in. Of course he didn’t. Useless. The tall one does say we should stick close once inside. We will see about that.

Then the conversation returns to the, oh so hilarious face crotch thing and Hazel laughs. See how they laugh with a bullet through their stupid fucking faces. Fruit and vegetable boy shows up finally! About damn time. Talking with these idiots was beginning to drain fluid out my ears. But hey the kid has the key. Shocking really. Maybe he’s more useful than he looks. Eh, we will see. What now? Percy doesn’t know. Oh, master thief! Seems we are stuck going through the front. Joy.

Of course the braindead guards look at us through the door giving us stupid looks. I feel stupid. This bank operates so stupidly. I wave money at them to get inside cause isn’t that what a fucking bank is for?!

Percy uses some speaker system on the outside that Hazel had pointed out. Percy fools the idiots into believing we are going to make a deposit like normal people. He mentions that some of it could go into their pockets. Like hell I’m giving them my money I thought. But hey it works and we get in after some elaborate secret door stuff. How things are changing.

Inside, the bank is a main hall with two branching rooms with lines of tellers inside. It’s pretty fancy. The guards remind us for the money. I hesitate like fuck this shit first but you know what I don’t have time to give a fuck. I give him some money I can make back easily selling my shit.

The other guard asks what about him and fuck that. I’m not giving out any more money. The other fucks can give them some. But hey his friend bribes him with chili which shuts him up. I swear the amount of morons in this country.

Elevator is in the back but it just looks like a simple fucking wall. Thanks to Hazel we at least know it’s there. If it’s not we are going to have a problem. Seeing as we are the center of attention at the moment. I remember Yunam’s little rat thing. Maybe if he lets it loose it can grab their attention long enough for us to get by. Rats running around, nobody likes that. I nudge him and whisper it. Does he do what I think? NO! Of fucking course not! He puts the rat on the ground and starts making it dance while holding its hands. Is he fucking with me? Are you fucking serious. I can’t help but fight myself from face palming at this utter stupidity. What are we a bunch of fucking clowns? More likely than not when thinking about it.

Everyone is watching now so I shake my head cause damn… All the tellers can see them through the glass of the doors. There is no way I can sneak past now with all these fucking eyes. I seriously wanted to just shoot them all but I didn’t. I kind of wish I did thinking about it now. There were so many fucking windows in this place!

At the back both Percy and Hazel seem to be doing something strange at the exact same time. Hazel innocently drops her lantern and then all fucking hell breaks loose! Suddenly the windows crack on all sides and a fucking hurricane blows through, blasting jagged glass everywhere in a hail. Both fucking idiots were using magic of some sort to cause this shit! I try to dodge the rain!

The little shit has no problem dodging this shit, curling up in a ball, protecting his rat friend. He gets a couple of tiny scuffs. Hazel gets fucked up with cuts all over her arms and it’s all in her hair. Not having a good time but I’d considered that karma for the stupid shit that just occurred. I only have a few cuts but it’s superficial. Still I’m fucking livid. Percy’s big dumb ass has the glass floating around him with his magic. I’d love to just throw glass in his eyes. Yunam scurries toward the elevators and we all rush in after that disorienting mess. The guards turn to us and try to stop us but the doors shut.

Once we are inside the elevator I am so done with this bullshit I can’t help but sulk and mock them for their planning. Percy goes off on Hazel with what she did. Hazel spits that she was trying to crack the glass with some spell not knowing he would use wind magic at the same time. There is banging on the door but seeing a huge red button on this panel, I hit it and the elevator freezes, locking down and the lights inside flicker. Percy whines about her idea like it was the stupidest thing. I think they are both complete and utter idiots at this point.

Percy begins to bang his head on the wall. I quite enjoyed that. Not like he can do much damage to his brain or anything. Yunam being the weird shit he is sits legs crossed in the corner and eats a fucking tomato. Seriously?! What the hell is wrong with him?! How did I get stuck with them?! Why did I choose this?! But of course he was doing this. Of course.

Hazel is taking glass out of her hair. I can’t help but ask if we can go through the rest of this mission without making anymore stupid fuck ups. Percy argues that I didn’t have any clever ideas. And I challenged him on his definition of clever with his little display seconds ago. He blames Hazel. Communication zero. I can’t help but get annoyed with these people and their fucking stupid magic. Why does such stupid shit exist?

Hazel fights, saying they don’t have telepathy. Whatever. Excuses. Probably more likely than them talking about things though.

I hit the button again tired of being in this tight space with them and the doors open up. Fuck. I take out my gun cause fuck this. Might as well kill these guards now that the stealthy aspect is fucked. Hazel runs to press the button. Percy is sitting down with his head in his hands. I end up shooting Hazel in the arm as she goes for the button. She literally got in the way. She did that! But I couldn’t help but feel a prick of pleasure from it after their fuck up.

I shove her out of the way and then Percy somehow uses wind magic and sends a guard flying against a wall while the other who apparently is made of stone remains standing. Just as the guard still standing prepares to attack the doors shut again and he hits them. Percy presses his hand on the doors with a very pathetic look as if he was hoping to just go out the front and leave. Would probably have been for the best.

Percy throws Hazel a roll of bandages dejectedly. She bandages herself up as the banging continues. Yunam had got around us and pressed the dark green button. With a ding, the front doors open again. AGAIN! Is there just one floor?! The guard is thrown off and falls into the elevator with his giant swing, falling on his hands and knees. Hazel’s foot flies and kicks the guy the fuck out, a splurge of blood squirting out his nose as he fell back. It was pretty epic. Hazel then patches herself up. Yunam presses a blue button now and we finally move!

We reach another floor with a table at the end of a short corridor. That’s all that was here. Sitting on the table were three weird, slightly glowing orbs on it. I just walk out into the room cause fuck this shit. It was so obvious they were magical in some way. There’s no way I would fuck with them. Who fucking knows what those damn things could do. Then the unex…..you know what at this point it’s fucking EXPECTED!

The dip shit dumb ass fucking moron Percy walks up and touches the yellow one!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t help but keep a straight face. I. hate. These. People.

Hazel yells for us to get back and of course I go toward the elevator. The orbs are wobbling now then they flatten like ooze. The other orbs do the same and they pour onto the floor, the liquid increasing. The doors to the elevator shut leaving us locked in with the shit rising to our ankles! I can’t help but remind Percy that he fucked us as the kid does the smart thing and stands on the table. Feeling the ooze, it had the consistency of soap. I just stand there with a hand on my face.

Hazel asks for the key and I point to Percy calling him Mr. Touchy. Percy who apparently lay in the goop throws his hand up out of it with the key in hand. She snatches it and puts it in an invisible slit in the wall. I have no clue how she saw it. The walls on both sides happened to be doors that slide open and the goop reformed back into the orbs onto the table where Yunam was. I pull the kid from the table gently so he doesn’t accidentally hitting them again. I ask her to open the elevator so they can get back on. So tired of this shit. Percy follows, staring into place.

Hazel wants to check the floor. I’d have pretty much given up on this. But we get out and start searching. Yunam puts a tomato in the empty space between the other orbs. I don’t know. I have no clue. Don’t ask. We investigate the door to the right which has these huge lock boxes on either side. They are marked with number plates 307, 308, 309. The locks are special dials. Hazel goes off to 309 while I take the key from her and takes it and goes to the other side to see if the deposit box we actually needed was.

I heard later that while we were out, Yunam was trying to pick locks but they don’t open. Hazel finds one that’s been open plenty of times and finds an elegant necklace in it. She takes it.

I go to the left side the deposit boxes on this side are 301 and up to 306. Nope. Not what we need. We were on the third floor. I just go back to the elevator with Percy following for some reason. He’s been following me a good bit at this point. Who fucking knows why? He’s special. I don’t care.

Yunam comes running out and takes his tomato back. So his actions were pointless…as usual. Hazel checks the other side where I was seconds before.

I don’t have any patience left and push the light green button, not waiting for Hazel or Yunam to get in. I’m ready to get this mission over with. But you know what? The alarm blares! Literally…this is what happened! Its ear piercing and now the whole building is going off. Great. Wonderful. Just what I wanted. I hate everything. I’m even starting to hate myself. Percy looks at me expressionless. Yeah I get it!

I want to shoot the panel now but then I just punch the yellow button as hard as I can. Hazel jumps in just in time but Yunam does not. He just stands there and waves at us. Bye. He’d get out. Or not. Who cares? We make it to another floor with the alarm still going off. The floor we stopped on has us meeting a welcoming party of five guards with weapons in hand. The room was filled with countless deposit boxes, much more thin. I look at my ‘comrades’ and ask if they are going to get in my way or can I shoot them?

Hazel says be my guest. Smart decision. I aim at the guy closest to me but my irritation threw me off and end up hitting one in the back. I at least killed that one. Good enough.

Percy pulls out a crowbar out from under his poncho and bashes the head of the one near him. He could have used that to pry the elevator doors open on the third floor! I swear this group is the worst. The man gets bonked hard but still stands.

They try to counter Percy but he uses blue spirits to stop him with the axe coming just close enough to his hair. Another guard goes to whack Hazel. She throws the oil from her lantern on him, dousing him. He still attacks. She’s not fast enough to make use of the tactic. Whatever she was thinking. I shove the attacker and he cuts her but it’s not as bad as it would have been.

At least I helped her. I think we are even now on me shooting her earlier. Reminder. That was totally her fucking fault! Don’t try to blame me for that shit.

Hazel kicks them with her strong legs. Her obvious weapon of choice now. Percy hits the guy on the other side on the head, killing him.

Two guards go after Percy. They attack but he bobs and weaves, dodging all pretty expertly. I sort of wished they had hit him at least once. But hey, we can’t always get what we want.

Hazel kicks yet again and I get behind one and shoot them point blank but they move slightly and I shoot a nice chunk of his neck off. But he doesn’t die. He doesn’t fucking die.

Percy then kicks him in the nuts and that did it. Getting kicked in the nuts > getting shot in the neck.

The final guy standing tries to whack Hazel who fails at dodging. She sucks with that. I distract him by yelling at him. I called him a dip shit and he turns to me just in time for Percy’s crowbar to cave his face in from a spinning swing. It was gruesome and satisfying. I praised Percy inwardly. Something I never thought possible.

Hazel shoots the unconscious guy in the head while I go counting the many deposit boxes in the room to find the one we need. Percy follows (AGAIN). The deposit box 257 needs a key so I just start clubbing the lock with my gun until it breaks open. There’s the spear inside. A very fancy spear. One I know well.

Alright. You know this is long enough. Let one of the other fuck ups finish the rest. I seriously need some time away from these fucking morons. Fuck em. Percy can finish this shit considering he likes to follow so fucking much.

End of report.

#session summary #fate core #fate accelerated #victubia

9 notes · View notes