#trearoos

(Previous Letter)

Dear Trearoos,

What kind of attitude is that to have about him?  I couldn’t call myself a psychologist if I just gave up on someone because of the sheer number of problems they have?  Besides, he obviously still knows how to be friendly, so how bad can he be?

Technically, you’re not a psycholo--

Yeah, yeah...  Technicalities. 

Dear Trearoos,

I’m afraid I cannot find criminals which can’t be seen.

If you want my suggestion, perhaps seek therapy. Something I’ve learned from an old friend, is that a simple therapy session can help locate a culprit.

(Previous Letter)

Dear trearoos,

Another lawyer out there with my hairdo, eh?

(Gee, what are the odds?)

I’d be happy to help him and his friends out anyway.  If they’ve been given a pardon, they at least deserve a decent defense in court.  The most peaceful plans are always the best ones, in my experience.

(Anything beats flying a helicopter into a building, at least.)

Dear Anonymous,

That’s probably because the maker of Inga’s sprites requested that they keep the link to them a secret.  I doubt we’ll ever use his gun sprites in a letter though, so here are the talking and non-talking ones:

(Link in Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

That's an interesting theory, all right, but I doubt it would hold up in court (either in the Ace Attorney universe or the real world).  Either way, from what I remember, it seems to like the game tried to make it clear that he was the culprit behind Manov’s death, completely for the sake of revenge.  Even if he didn’t, the guy clearly has some anger to work out, so hopefully a prison sentence will do him some good.  That’s my less-hot take, anyway.

Dear Anonymous,

Clever, but I doubt puppy eyes are enough to sway His Honor’s opinion.  Heck, I doubt he even knows an iPhone from a Gameboy Color.

(Previous Letter)

Dear trearoos,

Rrroooo got it!  That’s a line from Bubs, by the way.  I can’t remember where he said it, though...  Think you could help a fellow Homestar fan out?

Dear skibot99, 

I’ll do my best at answering, though.  I like to think of ask blogs as a way to “fill in the blanks” by showing what characters are like when they aren’t fulfilling their role in their game, movie, book, etc.  For example, what’s Sonic like when he isn’t busy thwarting Dr. Eggman’s plans, what’s Donkey Kong like when things are peaceful on his island, and what’s Henry Stickmin like when things are (ahem) normal in his world?  And if the character happens to be a silent protagonist (ex. Mario, Link, Kirby, etc.), that’ll give you even more blanks to fill in, which makes it more challenging, but also more fun.

So, the key ingredients for an ask blog are a deep love and knowledge of the series your character(s) are from and a good imagination.  If you know what your characters are like in their series and can fill in the rest with your imagination, it’ll be easy for your followers to go along with the illusion that they’re really talking to people from a fictional universe, which should be your main goal, aside from just having fun with it.  As long as you can make it convincing and fun, there’s no real right or wrong way to do it.

I don’t know very much about the Kingdom Hearts series, but I assume there aren’t any sprites you can grab from a resource page, so you’d either have to make drawings of the characters, find some still images, or clip some from gameplay videos (or even make gifs from them if you’re feeling up to it).  It might take some work to get it the way you want it, but like a lot of things, it gets easier over time.  And in my experience, the best source of motivation is your love for the series and its fandom, so keep that in mind if it starts getting burdensome.  I hope that helps!

(Previous Post)

Dear starry-nightengale,

It was an announcement so much as something that wasn’t announced.  That letter was in reference to TGS 2020, which, unless I missed something, didn’t mention a new entry in the Ace Attorney series.  That may not be solid proof that it’s reached the end, but that’s what it’s beginning to look like.

But, as I mentioned before, the fandom’s nowhere near dying, so that’s good news, at least.

Dear Anonymous,

It’s an interesting idea, but I can’t say I feel the same way (and not just because I’m a closet Justicykes shipper).  Besides their considerable age gap, I see their relationship as more of a big-brother-and-little-sister one.  Whether they’re on the same side or opposing each other, Simon can’t seem to resist the opportunity to tease Athena, but he also knows how to provide help whenever she needs it.  In his own way, at least.

I also have a hard time picturing Simon in a romantic relationship with anyone, to be honest.  I’m not saying it’s impossible, but any hopeful candidate would have to put up with his moodiness, his twisted humor, and his equally moody feathered friend.  I’m sure there might be someone out there who can deal with all that, but finding them would be a big challenge, to say the least.

Dear clowncomputing2,

Not at the moment, unfortunately.  I don’t know about the other Mods, but I haven’t watched the anime, and even if I had, making sprites from it would be a bit tricky.  Perhaps that’ll happen somewhere down the road, but for now, characters and cases from the anime are off limits.  Sorry.

Dear Anonymous,

Youse talkin’ to me!?

Dear skibot99 again,

For me, it’d have to be Tahrust Inmee.  That might seem unfair, considering his murder was that of himself, but let’s not forget that he was willing to let an innocent woman and her lawyer lose their lives in order to hide the truth.  Normally, this would be enough to give me an overall negative view of a character, but his motive was to protect his wife and unborn child from certain death.  That may not excuse his actions, but it did put him between a rock and a hard place.  I’m honestly not sure what I would be tempted to do in his situation, but I know it’d be a difficult decision.

I definitely feel for Yanni Yogi, too, but we weren’t given as many details about his past, plus his only motive was revenge, so my sympathy for him isn’t quite as strong.  While we’re talking about tragic culprits, I should also mention Simon Keyes, who “was himself a victim,” as Edgeworth worded it, as well as the almost-killer Katherine Hall, who just wanted to find whoever was responsible for her adopted father’s unjust prison sentence.  Not to mention the overload of remorse she displayed afterward.

(Previous Letter)

Dear trearoos again,

Yep, I’ve been a fan of the Henry Stickmin series since Infiltrating the Airship.  I’ve been meaning to buy the collection, but haven’t made the time for it just yet.  I’m looking forward to seeing all the fails.

In the meantime, here’s some distraction for you:

Dear mungeondaster,

Not yet, but I like what I’ve seen of it...which mostly just includes the blooper reel (Strong Language Warning).  Your description of it makes it sound even more enticing, so maybe I'll get around to it soon.  I've been aching to give something a Co-Mod Seal of Approval lately, anyway.

(Previous Letter)

Dear trearoos,

His father?  He looks like...?

...I believe that’s what’s called a “spoiler,” isn’t it?

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Their friendship (or friendly rivalry) is one of the best parts of the series in my opinion, mostly because of how many changes it goes through.  They start out being childhood friends turned courtroom enemies in the first game, followed by reunited friends after Edgeworth’s trial, followed by estranged friends after his sudden departure, until they’re finally close friends and trusted allies in the fight for justice (but still willing to go at each other’s throats as part of that fight).

Oh, and...

Thought I’d thrown in some variety there.

(Previous Letters: #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1)

Dear FernandoLemon,

Nope.  What would surprise me is if any of ours made the list.  We’re all pretty decent at character portrayal and humor, if I may say so, but competing with the Mod is an impossible feat for us.  He’s someone who knows how to squeeze every last drop out of Ace Attorney’s hilarious cast.

(Previous Post)

Dear Inferno,

Is this the one?  That was me.  Bullets’s name lends itself to some great potential for puns, doesn’t it?

(Video in Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Hey, if it means having a wife who calls me “especially handsome,” I’ll shave the thing right off.

Dear skibot99,

That's a hard question to answer, honestly.  As I’ve said before, I’m not prepared to give up hope for a new Ace Attorney game just yet, but I might be willing to give the series a final farewell if we don’t see anything new by the end of the year.  We’re not there yet, though, so I guess we’ll see.

Speaking of series that have been in a “drought,” I just recently started playing Paper Mario: The Origami King (the last two Paper Mario games were both a bit of a letdown, as you may know), and so far, I’m not disappointed.  Call me optimistic, but if (pardon the expression) turnabouts like that can happen for one series, why not another?  Again, we’ll just have to wait and see.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Inferno again,

The idea behind that picture was the Proto Badger trying (in a silly way) to look scarier than 2020, but you might have a point there.

Dear Guquis,

(Source)

I use the Mod’s old sprites for most of them.  For example, this monstrosity was born from this one.  I never thought I’d be recycling horrific images on the internet (especially as someone who hates horror), but sometimes life is funny.

(Video in Letter)

Dear Starry,

Congratulations on finding a wholesome Phoenix Wrong video, first of all.  Most of the ones I find are a little more on the “wrong” side, so thanks for sharing this one.  Here’s a Co-Mod Seal of Approval for it:

I’d suggest sharing that video with any of the main characters, except  Edgeworth, for obvious reasons.  Or go ahead and share it with him if you’re feeling a bit sinister.

As a side note, I can easily see that being what von Karma’s voice sounds like.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Trearoos,

I’m actually one of the few remaining gamers who haven’t played Undertale, but I watched both jacksepticeye and Markiplier’s let’s plays of it.  That letter happened to remind me of Fr the main character attempting to explain anime to Asgore.

Dear Anonymous,

I was going to say that sounds like a bit of a stretch, but then I remembered...

The “warning from Blaise” theory sounds a little far-fetched (I imagine she would’ve acted more afraid of him in that case), but the “harmless prank” idea is believable, and might even explain why she became a judge.  It’s from little misdemeanors like that that bigger crimes stem, after all, and who better to put a stop to them than an angry judge/mother?

(Previous Letter)

Dear jnv11,

That’s true, except that Miles said it was every defense attorney he talked to who turned him down.  If we assume he never talked to Raymond (which isn’t too hard to imagine), then no canonical error exists.  Raymond could’ve even been in a different country, for all we know.

Best of luck with your job and the move, by the way.  I know how big a pain both can be.

Dear Esn,

In all seriousness, there have been a few instances like that, but I prefer not to make a big deal about it.  What’s done is done.

Dear trearoos,

Right back at you, then.  Happy birthday!

Whatever day it was, I mean.  Sorry our mail moves at a snail’s pace around here.

(Previous Letter)

Dear trearoos,

Ronnie’s a tough cookie.  He can handle himself all right!  I’m sure they’ll supply him with everything he needs to stay safe while he’s there.