SPOILER WARNING! This article contains spoilers from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles! |
|
|
|
|
|
Homumiko is the slash ship between Herlock Sholmes and Yujin Mikotoba from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles fandom.
Canon[]
The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures (TGAA)[]
- “I begin to think, Wilson, that there is more to this case than that which we have observed.”
- — The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro
Although they don't interact directly in this game, they are still significant narratively - Mikotoba being Sholmes' "Great Partner" who features prominently in Iris' series of short stories: 'The Adventures of Herlock Sholmes' - however, he is under the name of John H Wilson for the games entirety. The opening cutscenes of cases 2,3,4 & 5 provide a base for Mikotoba and Sholmes' relationship as investigative partners.
The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve (TGAA2)[]
This game continues the style of openings from the first game featuring Sholmes and "Wilson". However, their first direct interaction with each other was not until the end of Case 2-4.
Twisted Karma and His Last Bow (2-4)[]
Earlier on in the case, within The Great Waterloo Hotel foyer, Sholmes makes remarks about Susato's "unshaven father" and how he looked "reliable enough for a bearded fellow". With the context of their pre-canon concept designs, some fans interpret this as Sholmes being disgruntled with the change in his partners appearance in their time apart as he seems to take a peculiar amount of interest in it.
Later on in the case, Mikotoba is discovered passed out and sprawled over the settee of the 221B suite. Sholmes then decides to start an impromptu Dance of Deduction and upon opening the metal chest, he gets caught in a booby trap set up by Iris. He promptly gets launched into the air and collides with the ceiling, landing passed out directly on top of Mikotoba, providing what is considered to be one of the more out of context screenshots of the ship.
However, Sholmes manages to recover much quicker than Mikotoba and in the following moments, he drags a fainted Mikotoba upstairs and refuses Ryunosuke's offer to help, presumably wanting to get a moment with him alone. Some fans assume this is when they had their reunion, however, this is not confirmed and others think it took place within The Great Waterloo Hotel because of Sholmes' dialogue about Mikotoba's appearance.
With the aid of Klint Van Zieks autopsy report and Susato's identification of her father's handwriting, which was previously believed to have been Dr John H Wilson's, it is discovered that Mikotoba was Sholmes renowned partner all along.
- “Allow me to introduce you... to my great friend and partner... Mikotoba.”
- — Herlock Sholmes
Sholmes and Mikotoba had met 16 years ago towards the very start of Mikotoba's study tour in Britain. In a similar fashion to Homes and Watson's first meeting in A Study in Scarlet, Mikotoba had been looking for affordable lodgings near St Synners but eventually concluded that he would need to split rent with a lodger in order to afford it. This is how he was introduced to Sholmes, and their close proximity led to them to becoming close friends as well as an investigative team.
In the sixth year of the study tour, London was plagued with the infamous Professor killings and in the wake of Genshin Asogi's arrest, Mikotoba and Jigoku were summoned back to Japan prematurely. Following this point, Sholmes and Mikotoba did not see each other for the next ten years, having no interaction with each other outside of letters.
It is also revealed that Sholmes omitted certain information from Iris. Namely, he told her that his partner was her father, but never who exactly his partner was - only that he was the same person who wrote the case notes in the metal chest. Sholmes referring to Mikotoba as Iris' father - despite us finding out in case 2-5 that they aren't actually related - lends itself to some romantic interpretation because despite everything, he never contests the role Mikotoba played in her upbringing (no matter how short lived it was) and still considers the both of them to be her parents.
However, before Mikotoba can explain the situation of Iris' parentage to a steadily more angry Susato, Sholmes abruptly interrupts, urging for them to leave as there was already a carriage awaiting them downstairs.
- “So, get your coat, Mikotoba! The game is afoot!”
- — Herlock Sholmes
- “...You haven't changed one iota, have you? I mean really. I visit our home after ten long years... and when I open that chest in a fit of nostalgia, I quite inexplicably pass out. And as if that wasn't enough, when I eventually regain consciousness I'm plunged straight into all this!”
- — Yujin Mikotoba
Evidently, Mikotoba is already familiar with Sholmes' mannerisms and he comments, albeit exasperatedly, about how Sholmes hasn't "changed one iota", showing a comfortable level of familiarity them. Moreover, Mikotoba refers to the lodgings as "our home" despite not having lived there for the past ten years, displaying a strong emotional connection from the time that he was sharing rooms with Sholmes.
The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo (2-5)[]
Investigation[]
The next time we see Sholmes and Mikotoba is on the S.S. Grouse in their investigation segment together where we get to play as Mikotoba. This is after Mikotoba makes the connection to the boat ticket and they decide to head straight for a train to the ports of Dover, where they then take the ship to France in order to investigate the crime scene together. This was quite soon after the ending of case 2-4.
Following the talk with Ryunosuke, they try and enter Jigoku's cabin where they are then blocked by Tchikin Strogenov. However, they seem to have no trouble working together again - Mikotoba throws out various sarcastic responses to Sholmes antics and even Mikotoba, someone who's been relatively serious up until this point, has a few aloof dialogue options himself, such as attempting to mimic a mouse in order to distract Strogenov and give Sholmes enough time to pick the lock.
- “So if you'd be so kind as to afford me the requisite time, old friend, in your typically accommodating manner.”
- — Herlock Sholmes
They both seem to still be basking in the delight of their reunion, frequently referring to each other as "old friend". Similarly to Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories, Mikotoba seems more than ready to help his friend out, even in the morally questionable requests - perhaps even more so now that they're back investigating together for the first time in a decade.
Sholmes slips back into referring to him as "my dear Mikotoba" - a reference to the way Holmes calls his partner "my dear Watson" in the original Sherlock Holmes novels.
After setting off the ship alarm, they both venture into the cabin together. Overall, Mikotoba's demeanour is significantly more relaxed around Sholmes and from his lines you can tell he is noticeably more exciteable, which is distinctly different to what we see when talking interacting with him as Ryunosuke or Susato. This is when we see Mikotoba and Sholmes in their element and their dynamic really shines in the dialogue of their back and forth bickering as well as Mikotoba's continued sarcastic quips.
- “...You're a true missionary of the Church of Great Detectives, aren't you?”
- “Now there's a bold deduction worthy of a great detective, I'm sure.”
- — Mikotoba to Sholmes
Upon inspecting a chilled glass of ice, Sholmes observes how the ship must keep a refrigerated cold room on board and Mikotoba confirms this, going on to muse about the various foods he experienced on his way to Britain. In response, Sholmes says the line:
- “......... Hm, suddenly, Mikotoba... ...the sight of you is making my mouth water.”
Out of context, it seems like Sholmes is very forwardly flirting with Mikotoba and it has been construed this way by a solid amount of fans. Moreover, Mikotoba's stunned silence as well as his response "I haven't taken on the flavour of the food I ate, you know." does very little to help this.
Legendary Pair Dance of Deduction[]
Once they are discovered in the cabin, Sholmes and Mikotoba make one more push to locate Jigoku in what is the final Dance of Deduction of TGAAC.
- “It's really been too long, hasn't it, old friend? Ten years, no less! So... would you care to join me for a dance... of my inimitable logic and reasoning?”
- — Sholmes to Mikotoba
- “......Nothing would please me more!”
- — Mikotoba to Sholmes
Unlike his deductions with Ryunosuke, Sholmes does not fumble about in his deduction with Mikotoba. With the combined weight of their time constraint and being back with his old friend, Sholmes is willing to go all out in order to reach a conclusion in time.
This is arguably where Sholmes and Mikotoba's teamwork shines the brightest - Sholmes takes the lead for parts of the deduction before falling back, trusting his partner to follow his reasoning and pick out the correct evidence, which he then builds on himself. Mikotoba, for the most part, doesn't have much trouble following along and their logic flows together seamlessly - a strong testament to their efficiency as partners.
However, even with the high stakes, they still enjoy themselves; Mikotoba breaks out into his former, well-rehearsed tap dances and their dialogue is full of reminiscing and familiarity.
- “I must say, I didn't foresee ever doing this dance of deduction with you again, Mikotoba.”
- — Sholmes to Mikotoba
- “No, quite. But life is full of unexpected twists and turns, as we well know.”
- — Mikotoba to Sholmes
In addition to this, Sholmes dialogue towards Mikotoba throughout the deduction is largely encouraging, presumably keen to get his friend back in action. He has full confidence in Mikotoba's abilities and continuously prompts him to build on established points where he otherwise wouldn't, gives advice where he's troubled and gets him to play a more active role in the deduction overall.
- “Then please, do take the lead.”
- “So, impress me!”
- “Yes, you have the floor, my dear fellow!”
- “...and I'm quite sure you'll see it. In fact, I'd put a wager on it!”
- — Sholmes to Mikotoba
However, arguably the most obvious display of his confidence in Mikotoba is at the end, where he asks him open the trunk. Despite Mikotoba's completely baffled response, Sholmes only comments about how they have little time left and that it needs to be opened quickly, fully assured Mikotoba will work it out himself. In the end, with their joint efforts, Jigoku is apprehended and the trial is saved for Ryunosuke.
Fanon[]
Homumiko is the most popular ship involving Herlock Sholmes or Yujin Mikotoba on AO3 - however, it only gained traction with the release of The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. This is due to the reveal that they were partners all along, adding a much heavier weight to their dynamic and also making them an alternate version of JohnLock (a popular slash ship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson). Because of this, a large amount of fan content involves adaptations and references to the original Sherlock Holmes stories - this also means that most fan content explores Sholmes and Mikotoba's exploits pre-canon, in the 6 years of Mikotoba's exchange trip, where they presumably had similar adventures to Holmes and Watson.
Sholmes and Mikotoba's separation and their ten years apart has meant that long distance pining is a common trope used among fans. Additionally, fan works of homumiko as co parents are quite common because of the pre-canon concept art depicting Sholmes and Mikotoba taking care of a crying baby Iris. There are many fan works of their reunion too, since it was never shown in-game and took place somewhere off screen.
On September 15th 2022 various users collaborated and released a homumiko fanzine depicting Sholmes and Mikotoba's relationship over the years.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Herlock Sholmes/Mikotoba Yuujin tag on AO3
- Herlock Sholmes & Mikotoba Yuujin tag on AO3
- Homumiko posts on Twitter
- Homumiko hashtag on Twitter
- homumiko fanzine
Gallery[]
[]
Ace Attorney Ships • Ace Attorney Characters | ||
---|---|---|
SHIPS | het | Feenris • Justicykes • Magshoe • Miego • NaruMayo • NaruMiya • RyuuSusa |
slash | AsoRyuu • Homumiko • Klapollo • Krisnix • Manosouta • Narumitsu • Soutamitsu | |
femslash | Aurametis • Emamaya • Faraberry • Feyberry • Fradrian • Franmaya • Franziskay • Junithena • Lanamia • SusaHao • SusaMaya | |
poly | Weirdgirl Polycule | |
family | Faraday Family • Von Karma Siblings • Wright Family | |
friend | Investigations Duo | |
CHARACTERS | male | Phoenix Wright |
female | Franziska von Karma • Kay Faraday • Maya Fey |