Name: Aretha Flores
Pun: Aretha derives from 'wreath', Flores from both 'floral' and 'fluorescent'
Age: 62
Occupation: Retired doctor
DA Post:[X]

Name: Seikah Kuya
Character Owner: DA User AkaneKyoko
Age: rll rll old
Occupation: Emperial guardian
DA Post:[X]

Name: Odessa Swansong
Pun: Odessa derives from Odette, the heroine in Swan Lake; Swansong is a further reference to said ballet
Age: 55
Occupation: Primaballerina
DA Post:[X]

Name: Brandy Alexander
Pun: Her name is shared with a kind of bar drink
Age: 27
Occupation: Bartender
DA Post:[X]

Entrant's Name: Sugary Sweet Sprites
Entrant's Website: Tumblr, DA, CR Forums



Character's Name: René Pozak
Age: 67
Occupation: Haute Couture Fashion Designer
Full Sprite Sheet: DA link



Brief Physical Description: An overweight older man with a slightly unfortunate face, René focuses less on his physical body than on his clothes. In his mind, a designer is no designer if they can't make any body, any face, any anything look good. As such, his clothes and hair are very flamboyant. His white hair is styled into a strange curved mess punctuated with a curved quiff.

Brief Personality Description: René is a world renowned designer. His clothes and other artistic projects are known worldwide, and he is incredibly passionate about his work... not that anyone could tell. In fact, Mister Pozak is notoriously inexpressive. Unless he seems particularly inspired, he's most likely to be wearing the same bland face, speaking in the same bland monotone, even in dire situations. Combined with an intimidating resting face, most people assume he's a typical grouchy old man. He does care very much about other people and the lives around him - he's just horrible at expressing it, is all. An awkward man who wants to build his art and build the lives of those around him.



Connection to canon characters: For a few months leading up to a fateful day, he hired Lotta Hart as a photographer, citing the "adolescent framing and lighting" as keys to her charm - "amateurism bringing a life to [his] work no amount of studying could give." She would go on to be arrested for the murder of René's protege, turning René into the latest witness for the Wright Anything Agency.

Brief Background:

When Pheonix heard that Lotta Hard had been arrested, he immediately came to her aid. The case seemed simple, as usual. Amateur designer Rex Gravenslash had been stabbed once in the chest and bled to death. At the time of the murder, René and cosmetician Kara Mess were busy preparing model Delilah Plasquet for a photo shoot, leaving Lotta as the only person with the opportunity to commit the crime. René expressed concerns for Lotta, but ultimately his testimony confirming their alibis and explaining Lotta's movements as he saw only seemed to finger Lotta further, as though he was setting her up.

It wasn't long before one piece of evidence turned the case around - an electric blanket René used to help with arthritis. According to Wright, Rex's body was draped in the blanket to make the body seem newly dead upon discovery, but the true crime was before anyone else arrived at the studio. This only left René as the true killer, and the case was set to close.

Just one problem; Lotta herself insisted that despite his arrest, René was innocent, and forced Wright to reexamine the case.



As it turns out, René hated himself for being romantically interested in his own protege, based on a large age difference and the intrinsic unhealthy power dynamic. Not wanting to hurt Rex, he had used his connections to find a different internship for the designer to distance them. René maintained his innocence, and the agency took his case. The new angle was René and Rex had fought over these feelings of his, and after a heat-of-the-moment killing, René moved to shift the time of death to frame Lotta.

The only remaining witness for the early morning was Kara Mass, who had arrived early for unspecified reasons. Contradictions in the her testimony and the case against Mister Pozak revealed that Kara wasn't there to just do cosmetics, she was there as a thief, stealing valuable fabrics, bits of jewelry, anything she could sell to help raise money for her son's bail. Now hiding nothing, she told them what she saw as she was sneaking through the building. She reported a crate containing several studio lights that René already reported having moved to the crime scene beforehand.

In all, the cover-up was built to keep the other three under suspicion and detract form the true criminal; Delilah Plasquet, who had killed the victim the previous day over trying to steal this internship from him. Knowing she had no alibi that day, she hid the corpse in this crate overnight, using the heat from the studio lamps to keep the body warm overnight. Rather than preserving the body though, keeping it at body temperature sped up the decay of the body, leading to further delays the coroner could use to accurately assess the time of death. With that update, the rest of her plan unfurled in front of them. It was only with the real killer being found and himself and Lotta being found innocent that he smiled for the first time in front of Wright.



Name Meanings:
-René comes from famous contemporary artist René Magritte. Pozak is a play on both "pose," as he is a fashion designer, and "Pollock," famous pop artist.
-The case victim, Rex Gravenslash, is meant to have a deceptively evil sounding name for who is essentially a sweet and gentle person.
-Delilah derives from "the liar," plasquet from "plastic."
-Kara Mass's name is a play on the cosmetic product mascara.

Further Notes: I wanted to draw him more in the style of the original Ace Attorney than the later games. While the art does get nicer, I always think of the colors of the original game as the truest Ace Attorney art style, and wanted to emulate that. His design wasn't meant to be like the cute assistant or cute prosecutor or cute whatever that are usually made, he was meant to be a one-case sort of suspect. Someone slightly dumpy, slightly ugly. Somewhat inspired by Kane Bullard or Ernest Amano. For everything I was aiming for, I was happy to come out with a design like this that captured all the ideas I had for him.

Name: Cassandra Grimoire
Pun: Cassandra is a figure in Greek mythology who has the ability to see the future. Grimoire is a term for a book of magic spells, and has its etymology rooted in 'gramarye,' thus referencing her parents.
Age: 6
Occupation: Fortune telling 'bubblemancer' / Elementary school student

Parents: Maximillion Galactica and Zak Gramarye

How they came to perform together may forever be a mystery, but what is known the sheer immediate attraciton between these two. Their magical powers, their love for cards, an eye-searing amount of pink. It was a match made in heaven. Or in this case, backstage at a magic show. And as everyone knows, when a man and another man love each other very much, they make a lot of magic. So much that they managed to spawn a child out of nothing. Ashamed of accidentally a whole child, they gave her a fake name and sent her to an orphanage, to start her life away from the countless peering eyes and horrid scandals of the celebrity world.

But the Gramarye name is inexorably tied to the Wright name, and Trucy took interest in this child's seemingly real magic abilities. And when watching the girl perform at her school, she came to a shocking fortune that would come to pass, and suspicion would fall on the pair for the murder of her gradeschool teacher, miss Kimber Garten. So just how was her fortune manipulated, and who was really responsible for Kimber's death?



I wanted her design to invoke romani fortune teller stereotypes without being offensive. Her color palette was made to be similar shades that still looked cluttered together, hence all the pink. Max's thing is the hearts card suit and Zak's is the club, so I thought Cassandra's should be the spade, since that's sort of a mesh of the two symbols. Her hair was designed so when viewed from behind, like her witness stand sprite, her hair would look like an upside down spade symbol.

I didn't just want another generic magician, so I went with the magic of Max with the seer powers of Zak, like how Gramarye's can use the percieve ability. The natural combination of magic and hyper-competent vision is foresight. Originally, she was going to be carrying a crystal ball, but I wanted something more kiddy, more silly. The end idea was she would be a 'bubblemancer,' and would use her magic (bubble) wand to blow bubbles and read the future in the irridescing bubble fluids.

Name: Vishnu Sarkehl, stage name "Shivers"
Age: 28
Occupation: Bassist for hardcore punk rock act The Pissers



Personality:

Vishnu tends to scare people. His blunt way of talking, gravely voice, and almost impossibly tall muscular build have a way of demanding respect. Ironic, because he is by far the softest member of the Pissers. He performs the role of the stereotypical quiet bassist well. The band is built on a sense of irony, their songs supposed to be taken as satire, and Vishnu's appearances are meant to be similarly sardonic. He stays quiet and listens, analyzes, contemplates. A deep thinker. He's a sympathetic soul, a passionate performer. More than anyone else, though, he cares for his boyfriend, second guitar Ritchie Whamond, the overly energetic and confrontational ying to his yang.

His interest in punk rock has stemmed from a love of the past, a want to not see the old ways die off. A preservationist. His respect for the band stems from their willingness to stay true to their guns and perform in a now unpopular genre, their respective performing talents. His habit of giving out far too many sample CDs to anyone he meets isn't for himself, it's to give his thanks to the rest of the band and show his admiration. He is also a performer, but not just for the Pissers. His love of old styles has also lead him to learning various old skills; most often when he isn't practicing, he's either honing his talents as a classically trained watercolor painter or training his operatic vocals. Yes, opera, a secret known only among the band.

On stage though is a different story. He transforms. His basslines are smooth yet energetic, detailed and highly skilled. His performances on stage are just as vibrant, with his tenancy to jump off-stage, threaten audience members, and put himself into all kinds of danger. On stage, he performs as an utter madman who cares about nothing, not even his own safety. His jacket is testament to this, having been long burned after a particularly pissed audience member managed to set it on fire. He now wears the jacket with pride, like a badge of honor.

Case Backstory:

The Pissers were living the ideal punk rock life. Not living for fame or fortune, but they had a nice pool of their own loyal fans and lived only for themselves. What changed this for the better was the band frontman, Blake Flagstad. Hailed as a prodigy for his composing talents and unique style of guitar playing, the music world started taking The Pissers and their retro style seriously. The fans weren't complaining, and neither was the band. Things should have been wonderful.

Until the show. It was supposed to be their penultimate show before their first album with 8 by 8 records was to be released. One of their largest shows ever ended with band drummer Phillip o'Brandaigh, referred to by fans as Puke, tumbling forward on the drums and vomiting blood. An alcoholic, his death was executed with a poisoned bottle of vodka. But before the show, only four people had access; the other band members who spoke highly of Phillip, and their soon-to-be manager Trillion Harcourt. Unfortunately, Mrs. Harcourt was found with the poison on her person, and communications with her company revealed severe reservations about working for The Pissers, and with Phillip specifically. She was arrested on the spot.

Athena Cykes was the attorney for Mrs. Harcourt, but no matter how deep she dug into the pasts of the various band members, she could find nothing but respect and admiration between the four of them. And yet between it all, only the four of them are possible suspects, and if Harcourt didn't do it, it must have been an inside job...



Puns in Own Name:

“Vishnu Sarkehl” as a whole is a play on ‘Vicious Circle,’ an album by Indianapolis hardcore punk act Zero Boys. Aside from being a very meaningful album for me personally, the cover of the album was also the inspiration for the color palette, down to the shade of yellow being taken directly from the album cover.

“Vishnu” is a Hindu god who, in the Hindu trinity known as the triumvirate, is associated with the preservation of all things. As well, his surname is meant to sound similar to circle, both of which are indicative of his preservationist personality and interests. Vishnu was also chosen as a reference to infamous Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, hence his role in the band.

His performance name, “Shivers,” derives from another member of the Hindu triumvirate, Shiva, who is associated with the destruction of everything. This is meant as a tougher version of his true name - a mimic to his on-stage performances being far far more hardcore and violent than his true personality.

Puns in Supporting Character Names:

Phillip o’Brendaigh is a play on “full up on brandy,” an homage to his addiction problems, specifically with alcohol. Puke is a further reference to these self-destructive habits.

Blake Flagstad is a play on Black Flag, the iconic and highly influential late 70s California hardcore punk act. “Flagstad” further derives from Kristen Flagstad, one of the most highly renowned opera singers in history, a reference to all the praise Blake receives as a performer. This would also serve as a subtle hint to Vishnu’s secret vocal talents.

Ritchie Whamond is supposed to be an unfittingly posh name for a punk act, which Richie deriving directly from Rich. The spelling comes from John Simon Ritchie, the real name of Sid Vicious. Sid Vicious was another influence for Vishnu’s name, with this meant as a reference to their closeness. Whamond, and more importantly his stage name “Whammy,” comes from the term whammy bar, a part on most electric guitars.

Trillion Harcourt first and last names derive from “trill,” a musical term, and “hardcore,” the genre of music she manages. Trillion is further meant as a reference to her high-up status and the high praise she receives from those around her. The character as a whole is meant as a loving homage to the Jem and the Holograms character Elise Harcourt, a manager under 5 by 5 Records.

Drawing References: Jay Elbird for muscular structure, Furio Tigre, Daryan Crescend, Luke Atmey, and Mike Meekins for various coloring and clothing details, Viola Cadaverini to help with dark color palette, MC Bomber heavily referenced for CD graphic

Name: Kara Mass
Pun: Flipping her names gets "Mass Kara," which is a play on mascara
Age: 43
Occupation: Cosmetician
Lazy Sprite Sheet: [X]

DA Post: [X]

DA Post: [X]

Entrant's Name: Sugary Sweet Sprites
Entrant's Website: Tumblr, DA, CR Forums



Character's Name: René Pozak
Age: 67
Occupation: Haute Couture Fashion Designer
Full Sprite Sheet: DA link



Brief Physical Description: An overweight older man with a slightly unfortunate face, René focuses less on his physical body than on his clothes. In his mind, a designer is no designer if they can't make any body, any face, any anything look good. As such, his clothes and hair are very flamboyant. His white hair is styled into a strange curved mess punctuated with a curved quiff.

Brief Personality Description: René is a world renowned designer. His clothes and other artistic projects are known worldwide, and he is incredibly passionate about his work... not that anyone could tell. In fact, Mister Pozak is notoriously inexpressive. Unless he seems particularly inspired, he's most likely to be wearing the same bland face, speaking in the same bland monotone, even in dire situations. Combined with an intimidating resting face, most people assume he's a typical grouchy old man. He does care very much about other people and the lives around him - he's just horrible at expressing it, is all. An awkward man who wants to build his art and build the lives of those around him.



Connection to canon characters: For a few months leading up to a fateful day, he hired Lotta Hart as a photographer, citing the "adolescent framing and lighting" as keys to her charm - "amateurism bringing a life to [his] work no amount of studying could give." She would go on to be arrested for the murder of René's protege, turning René into the latest witness for the Wright Anything Agency.

Brief Background:

When Pheonix heard that Lotta Hard had been arrested, he immediately came to her aid. The case seemed simple, as usual. Amateur designer Rex Gravenslash had been stabbed once in the chest and bled to death. At the time of the murder, René and cosmetician Kara Mess were busy preparing model Delilah Plasquet for a photo shoot, leaving Lotta as the only person with the opportunity to commit the crime. René expressed concerns for Lotta, but ultimately his testimony confirming their alibis and explaining Lotta's movements as he saw only seemed to finger Lotta further, as though he was setting her up.

It wasn't long before one piece of evidence turned the case around - an electric blanket René used to help with arthritis. According to Wright, Rex's body was draped in the blanket to make the body seem newly dead upon discovery, but the true crime was before anyone else arrived at the studio. This only left René as the true killer, and the case was set to close.

Just one problem; Lotta herself insisted that despite his arrest, René was innocent, and forced Wright to reexamine the case.



As it turns out, René hated himself for being romantically interested in his own protege, based on a large age difference and the intrinsic unhealthy power dynamic. Not wanting to hurt Rex, he had used his connections to find a different internship for the designer to distance them. René maintained his innocence, and the agency took his case. The new angle was René and Rex had fought over these feelings of his, and after a heat-of-the-moment killing, René moved to shift the time of death to frame Lotta.

The only remaining witness for the early morning was Kara Mass, who had arrived early for unspecified reasons. Contradictions in the her testimony and the case against Mister Pozak revealed that Kara wasn't there to just do cosmetics, she was there as a thief, stealing valuable fabrics, bits of jewelry, anything she could sell to help raise money for her son's bail. Now hiding nothing, she told them what she saw as she was sneaking through the building. She reported a crate containing several studio lights that René already reported having moved to the crime scene beforehand.

In all, the cover-up was built to keep the other three under suspicion and detract form the true criminal; Delilah Plasquet, who had killed the victim the previous day over trying to steal this internship from him. Knowing she had no alibi that day, she hid the corpse in this crate overnight, using the heat from the studio lamps to keep the body warm overnight. Rather than preserving the body though, keeping it at body temperature sped up the decay of the body, leading to further delays the coroner could use to accurately assess the time of death. With that update, the rest of her plan unfurled in front of them. It was only with the real killer being found and himself and Lotta being found innocent that he smiled for the first time in front of Wright.



Name Meanings:
-René comes from famous contemporary artist René Magritte. Pozak is a play on both "pose," as he is a fashion designer, and "Pollock," famous pop artist.
-The case victim, Rex Gravenslash, is meant to have a deceptively evil sounding name for who is essentially a sweet and gentle person.
-Delilah derives from "the liar," plasquet from "plastic."
-Kara Mass's name is a play on the cosmetic product mascara.

Further Notes: I wanted to draw him more in the style of the original Ace Attorney than the later games. While the art does get nicer, I always think of the colors of the original game as the truest Ace Attorney art style, and wanted to emulate that. His design wasn't meant to be like the cute assistant or cute prosecutor or cute whatever that are usually made, he was meant to be a one-case sort of suspect. Someone slightly dumpy, slightly ugly. Somewhat inspired by Kane Bullard or Ernest Amano. For everything I was aiming for, I was happy to come out with a design like this that captured all the ideas I had for him.

Name: Vishnu Sarkehl, stage name "Shivers"
Age: 28
Occupation: Bassist for hardcore punk rock act The Pissers



Personality:

Vishnu tends to scare people. His blunt way of talking, gravely voice, and almost impossibly tall muscular build have a way of demanding respect. Ironic, because he is by far the softest member of the Pissers. He performs the role of the stereotypical quiet bassist well. The band is built on a sense of irony, their songs supposed to be taken as satire, and Vishnu's appearances are meant to be similarly sardonic. He stays quiet and listens, analyzes, contemplates. A deep thinker. He's a sympathetic soul, a passionate performer. More than anyone else, though, he cares for his boyfriend, second guitar Ritchie Whamond, the overly energetic and confrontational ying to his yang.

His interest in punk rock has stemmed from a love of the past, a want to not see the old ways die off. A preservationist. His respect for the band stems from their willingness to stay true to their guns and perform in a now unpopular genre, their respective performing talents. His habit of giving out far too many sample CDs to anyone he meets isn't for himself, it's to give his thanks to the rest of the band and show his admiration. He is also a performer, but not just for the Pissers. His love of old styles has also lead him to learning various old skills; most often when he isn't practicing, he's either honing his talents as a classically trained watercolor painter or training his operatic vocals. Yes, opera, a secret known only among the band.

On stage though is a different story. He transforms. His basslines are smooth yet energetic, detailed and highly skilled. His performances on stage are just as vibrant, with his tenancy to jump off-stage, threaten audience members, and put himself into all kinds of danger. On stage, he performs as an utter madman who cares about nothing, not even his own safety. His jacket is testament to this, having been long burned after a particularly pissed audience member managed to set it on fire. He now wears the jacket with pride, like a badge of honor.

Case Backstory:

The Pissers were living the ideal punk rock life. Not living for fame or fortune, but they had a nice pool of their own loyal fans and lived only for themselves. What changed this for the better was the band frontman, Blake Flagstad. Hailed as a prodigy for his composing talents and unique style of guitar playing, the music world started taking The Pissers and their retro style seriously. The fans weren't complaining, and neither was the band. Things should have been wonderful.

Until the show. It was supposed to be their penultimate show before their first album with 8 by 8 records was to be released. One of their largest shows ever ended with band drummer Phillip o'Brandaigh, referred to by fans as Puke, tumbling forward on the drums and vomiting blood. An alcoholic, his death was executed with a poisoned bottle of vodka. But before the show, only four people had access; the other band members who spoke highly of Phillip, and their soon-to-be manager Trillion Harcourt. Unfortunately, Mrs. Harcourt was found with the poison on her person, and communications with her company revealed severe reservations about working for The Pissers, and with Phillip specifically. She was arrested on the spot.

Athena Cykes was the attorney for Mrs. Harcourt, but no matter how deep she dug into the pasts of the various band members, she could find nothing but respect and admiration between the four of them. And yet between it all, only the four of them are possible suspects, and if Harcourt didn't do it, it must have been an inside job...



Puns in Own Name:

“Vishnu Sarkehl” as a whole is a play on ‘Vicious Circle,’ an album by Indianapolis hardcore punk act Zero Boys. Aside from being a very meaningful album for me personally, the cover of the album was also the inspiration for the color palette, down to the shade of yellow being taken directly from the album cover.

“Vishnu” is a Hindu god who, in the Hindu trinity known as the triumvirate, is associated with the preservation of all things. As well, his surname is meant to sound similar to circle, both of which are indicative of his preservationist personality and interests. Vishnu was also chosen as a reference to infamous Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, hence his role in the band.

His performance name, “Shivers,” derives from another member of the Hindu triumvirate, Shiva, who is associated with the destruction of everything. This is meant as a tougher version of his true name - a mimic to his on-stage performances being far far more hardcore and violent than his true personality.

Puns in Supporting Character Names:

Phillip o’Brendaigh is a play on “full up on brandy,” an homage to his addiction problems, specifically with alcohol. Puke is a further reference to these self-destructive habits.

Blake Flagstad is a play on Black Flag, the iconic and highly influential late 70s California hardcore punk act. “Flagstad” further derives from Kristen Flagstad, one of the most highly renowned opera singers in history, a reference to all the praise Blake receives as a performer. This would also serve as a subtle hint to Vishnu’s secret vocal talents.

Ritchie Whamond is supposed to be an unfittingly posh name for a punk act, which Richie deriving directly from Rich. The spelling comes from John Simon Ritchie, the real name of Sid Vicious. Sid Vicious was another influence for Vishnu’s name, with this meant as a reference to their closeness. Whamond, and more importantly his stage name “Whammy,” comes from the term whammy bar, a part on most electric guitars.

Trillion Harcourt first and last names derive from “trill,” a musical term, and “hardcore,” the genre of music she manages. Trillion is further meant as a reference to her high-up status and the high praise she receives from those around her. The character as a whole is meant as a loving homage to the Jem and the Holograms character Elise Harcourt, a manager under 5 by 5 Records.

Drawing References: Jay Elbird for muscular structure, Furio Tigre, Daryan Crescend, Luke Atmey, and Mike Meekins for various coloring and clothing details, Viola Cadaverini to help with dark color palette, MC Bomber heavily referenced for CD graphic