Taurus Void

I really had to draw some ukrainian matchstick mascots

Yay, yippeeeee <333 Thank you for asking me about the woman of all time <3333

character ask game

notes for characterization? what are the most essential traits of this character to you?

adjacently—do you think fandom does the above traits justice? why or why not?

Prefacing this by saying that outside of fan art and some analysis posts, I don't engage much with the aa fandom in terms of dahlia, so I possibly won't have much niche insight on this front or area to comment on how the fandom treats her currently. I very much remember the days when she was treated basically the same way as in the game (a lying, conniving evil witch), and generally modern takes on dahlia differ from this, which I appreciate.

Going into the actual first question, I think it's so important that Dahlia is always lying. To everyone around her, yes, but also 100% to herself. I think she has no actual perception or understanding of who she is as a person and draws much of her identity from how others perceive her, hence why she goes so hard into the cruel, vicious, selfish persona that she presents. I do think she is all of those things, mind you, I just don't think that's all she is, which is what she desperately wants to be. If you don't care about anyone but yourself, you can never be hurt or betrayed. Yet, against all odds and her own efforts, I think Dahlia still has love in her. Most obviously for Iris, but also, strangely enough, for Pearl, just by virtue of her being Morgan's daughter and Dahlia knowing what that's like. What it takes from you.

So, yeah, essentially, I think it's vital to her character that 'dahlia hawthorne' is a mask through and through -- a mask she, crucially, wanted to throw away herself. I think she's the kind of character where you can never fully be certain if you understand her and that's because she doesn't fully -- never fully got the chance to -- understand herself.

Both appear smart and calculating (and Kristoph very much is while Dahlia is rather just witty and inventive, as this post correctly states) but are, in fact, absolute freaking messes whose main criminal history is covering for their failed crimes. Okay, to be fair, almost every final boss in AA is but it doesn't come as messy, rewardingly pathetic, and subversive as with those two. Gant (as great and complex as I find him but that's not the topic here; maybe I'll right on him next time) and Engarde were doing perfectly fine after their crimes and only took action to silence a potential danger to their reputation the second said danger appeared, with no strong emotional stakes here. Von Karma's murder of Hammond was a in a way part of the plan all along ever since DL-6, or at least taking Miles under his wing, even if the original murder of Gregory was done in a spur of the moment. Khura'inese Royal family just want to maintain their rule and crush the opposition after they failed years ago etc.

Of course, the Phantom is similar here to Dahlia and Kristoph as he wants to hide the evidence of his crime and is revealed to be deeply afraid for being uncovered and a threat for his life from his employers (despite being stated not to feel fear for his life and it being used as evidence?) but it still comes similar to de Killer fixing his own mistake than personal quest as Kristoph and Dahlia have. I also find it a bit funny that what he does is running after one evasive piece of evidence unlike his predecessors' killing spree. Plus, he's such a mess in writing department that I'd rather not touch it now. If you like him more than me, agree to disagree and feel free to write a continuation, I'd gladly read it your thoughts.

So, Dahlia kidnapped a valuable gem with her sisters and a "boyfriend" the script refuses to recognize as a groomer, for the reasons we can deduce but that aren't stated in the script directly. Then, Iris doesn't commit to her part, forcing Dahlia to use Terry as a scapegoat and escape herself, spending years in hiding. Valerie tries to come clean? Murder her and blame Terry again, then pose as a witness. What if Terry is proven innocent? Enter a fake relationship with a chemistry student to make a poison and coerce Terry into a suicide when Mia gives too good of a defence. Armando got suspicious of her so she murders him too, oops, now she needs to come up with an escape route via this random guy who doesn't matter. He refuses to give the evidence back and she and Iris spend months failing to do so until Doug realizes something's wrong and now she has to retrieve the poison, kill or put Phoenix in jail, clear her name, and maybe get revenge on Mia which is never her real goal aside from just a minor personal antagonism.

The OP is correct that Dahlia's entire criminal history is just tying the loose ends from the previous poorly-planned crime on the spur of the moment. But is Kristoph's main crime any different?

They start very differently as Kristoph is a great lawyer thanks to his implied trickery (almost like poker and stage magic are a recurring parallel for lawyering in this game...) He comes up with a great plan to defend a superstar celebrity with a forged page and presumably having his brother who respects him to prosecute against: the Japanese text states that it's Klavier who showed him Magnifi's diary and allowed forgery to happen. And when he refuses him by seeing through his facade, just decides to plant it to a lawyer he is jealous of and inform Klavier of the forgery in secret. Too bad Enigmar was so unpredictable he just straight up escaped from the courtroom and Mishams didn't fall for the poisoned stamp. Because as perfect as the crime is, sometimes you can't plan for everything. I'd even say that opposite to Dahlia, Kristoph isn't really good in improvisation. What they do have in common aside from the criminal history is their impulsiveness and desire (albeit for different reasons) to present themselves as much more collected and mastermind-like than they actually are.

The other villains succeed with their evil plans years prior our heroes manage to climatically bring them to justice: Von Karma gained revenge over his rival, a loyal protege, and, according to AAI2, retains his winning streak by preventing Gregory from clearing Tangaroa's name; Gant became a Police Chief with the Chief Prosecutor in his pocket; Engarde didn't even do anything purposefully but he his horrible self, thus pushing his ex-lover to a suicide; the Phantom completes the mission; and Khura'inese Royal family secured themselves two decades of the tyrannical rule.

Dahlia hasn't met any of her goals because she simply didn't have any but just escaping justice for another time, ends up in hiding and then hanged. Meanwhile, Kristoph might have managed to disbar Phoemix but that wasn't really his goal: it was to destroy two men who wronged him so he can continue his life as the corrupt rich lawyer. He doesn't though, as Enigmar is out free and in touch with Brushel, Mishams are unreachable and Vera's condition is his only saving straw, and he can't get rid of Phoenix for good since he has spend seven years pretending to be friends with his greatest enemy. Seven long years of being trapped by his own caution and paranoia, and by murdering Enigmar he doesn't finish his plan but just makes a desperate attempt to silence the witness he accidentally met, knowing that he still can't get to Brushel or Vera.

Throughout the story, from the tutorial twist to the finale, both of them haunt our heroes: Phoenix is clearly traumatized by Dahlia (her presence in the story of T&T and its recurring themes is its own essay topic I want to try penning one day), Mia hunts her to avenge Diego, Klavier and Apollo flinch when Ema does Kristoph's impression, Vera refers to him as nothing but the devil. They talk big and appear very formidable and dangerous even when they aren't present in the plot themselves and are serving their time. Not only is this a good decision to build suspense for a player but also sets us for the same twist: they are liars and only appear this scary as long as you buy to their bluff. Yes, not only heroes can bluff in these games!

Heck, they both even have the dialogues when they admit that they committed their crimes simply because they are evil and irredeemable, attempting to own the hate others feel towards them as a point of pride. Except, as Dual Destinies confirm, the black locks hide the inner truth: Kristoph Gavin can't even be this evil genius he wants to appear after failing at one plan. He's pathetic, petty, resentful prick so full of himself he can't accept the truth he knows deep down himself: that he isn't the centre of the world and that Phoenix Wright is just better than him as a lawyer.

You aren't changing. You've stopped. You're not needed anymore.

Have Dahlia had the black locks on her own? Of course, we don't see them for whatever in-universe reason, but the final speech makes it clear what she feared the most and why she left the living world for good. No matter how hard she tried, she can't fix her mistakes. She lost.

For all of eternity, you'll have to remain as Dahlia Hawthorne. A miserable, pathetic, weak creature who can never win at anything… And for you, there is no escape from that. No hope of freedom. Since the day you were executed… …the narrow bridge that once stretched out in front of you has burnt to a crisp!

That's what she has in common with Kristoph: both fear being left behind and cease to an irrelevance. A huge part of their defeat is that their confidence is built on lies

Batman: The Animated Series might've been famous for its re-inventions of certain villains and characters, but it was overall meant to be an adaptation of the Bronze Age and the earliest parts of Post-Crisis with bits of the Burton films thrown in. What did this mean for Joker? It meant that while some of the details behind his escapades would be different and he was given an origin as a nameless hitman, the Clown Prince of Crime was one of the most comic accurate villains in the entire show. He was funny, flamboyant, and theatrical while also being a hollow nihilistic monster with a nasty sense of humor and a bat obsession. While the blueprint for this take on the character was already great, the writing of Paul Dini, the addition of Harley Quinn, and Mark Hamill's vocal performance helped skyrocket the character beyond the confines of B:TAS and into a wider DCAU.

Batman Beyond might be divisive in some areas, but it ultimately was a delightful sequel to B:TAS complete with a perfect expansion of this continuity's Joker. Instead of being a consistent nemesis, Joker is instead portrayed as a phantom, a ghost who has had his legacy hijacked by a bunch of rowdy kids. Funnily enough it's this lengthy absence throughout the show that makes his return feel like earned. When Joker returns he does so through the trauma of Tim Drake, the Robin that he turned into his own little "Joker Jr" through outright torture, abuse, and a microchip with his own memories and DNA that's implied to be stolen and reworked. He has quite literally cheated death through trauma, living in Tim's skin until the moment came for him to make a grand comeback... all because he never got over the old Batman. Even after breaking the batfamily and literally dying, Joker never got over his rivalry with Bruce and it's this obsession that allows him to get ragebaited and killed off by the new Batman. The Joker of the DCAU was given the perfect sendoff here, but once he was out of the picture a new show emerged a few years later.

Despite having a more Early 2000s aesthetic due to being made in the Early 2000s, The Batman was a blend between Post-Crsis and the Silver Age, a fact that was evident through its Joker. While a lot of the darker bits of his character survived intact and they referenced the Killing Joke more explicitly, this Joker was absolutely absurd, zany, and manic. Between his wilder designs, crazy gymnastics, and Kevin Michael Richardson's amazing Hamill impression, the Joker of The Batman was definitely a memorable experience. But what if got a Batman show that went back to the campier days?

Brave and The Bold went back to the Silver Age, without any sort of twist aside from shining the spotlight on the rest of DC's catalog. As for what this meant for Joker, it meant that the writers had to go back to that campier and lighter era while giving him enough substance to be considered a proper tribute to everything he's been. So they made him a showman, an artist, an actor & director wrapped into the same villainous package. He's got his standards, he has rules for his game, and overall he just wants nothing more than to engage in his battle of wits with Batman without end. Even when he's been handed the unlimited power to destroy his nemesis for good, he psychologically cannot do it. Without Batman... the world would be boring for Joker. Chaos would reign, but there would be nobody that he'd personally consider to be a worthy foe... which perfectly leads me to our newest clown.

Caped Crusader is far from B:TAS's superior, but it did to further than it ever dared when it came to stripping back everything that came before and reworking everything for its setting. Instead of going back to a more Bronze Age inspired Gotham, the show went right back to the Golden Age... meaning that Joker is back to his roots. The Joker of the Golden Age started out as a theatrical mirthless killer who expressed some sadistic joy in his work, but Caped Crusader takes that earlier presentation of the character, and blended it together with one key detail from The Killing Joke. The result is a Joker who organically feels devoid of humor, devoid of life, who lets his victims do the laughing for him a majority of the season, and overall believes that he is the one rational person in a world filled with "insects." Then he encounters Batman, believing him to be a kindred spirit who needs to see his line of thinking, but then he is thwarted by him. While Joker is initially pissed about his plans going up into smoke, after calming himself down he is impaled by a steel rod that got knocked loose by a batarang... and his response is to laugh.

He just fucking laughs it off before falling to an unconfirmed demise, a moment that's not too different from the amount of times Joker "died" in B:TAS. This is the moment that the entire show was building up to since Joker's teaser in Season 1, the moment where the mirthless mask cracks and he's shown off to be the same cackling hollow nihilist that he has always been. Despite all of his claims about not being insane and how Gotham needs to be drowned in chaos, Batman is the one who challenges his views and succeed. It's this one victory from Batman that gets Joker excited for a war of attrition that might go on for years. In an odd way, Batman has given this Grimm Clown his smile. Props to the writers and Matthew Needham's more germanic voice, they really nailed this old yet new take on this absolute bastard.

Skver Mulʹtyashnyy ("Cartoon Square"), Myronivka, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Ballistic missiles.

More might still come...

"Overnight, russia carried out one of the largest terrorist attacks on Kyiv with around 600 drones, many dozens of ballistic, air-ballistic, and cruise missiles, and a dummy IRBM. Cherkasy, Kharkiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, and Zhytomyr regions were also under attack. Multiple shopping centers, apartment blocks and residential areas destroyed. Also, a reported use of Oreshnik on Bila Tserkva near Kyiv, The casualty count is just beginning to trickle in."

"National museum of Chornobyl in the historical building has been destroyed during the one of the biggest russian attack on the Kyiv."