Ace Attorney is one of those video game series that I just knew I'd have to crib from at some point. Not every series I enjoy is good for roleplaying, but Ace Attorney provides strong, multifaceted characters, and I've been tempted to use several of them. Of the rejects, Franziska von Karma got the closest, as seen in my last Rejected Characters Depot, but ultimately I went with Myriam Scuttlebutt.
Now, you may notice that when I pick characters to roleplay as that are from existing media, I pretty much never choose the main protagonist or lead. I might choose a character that is very important to the original material, like Edea Lee or Browny, but they aren't the star, they aren't the dude that's front and center on the cover. I didn't pick the Warrior from FF1, I picked the White Mage. I didn't pick Ultraman, I picked his archenemy Baltan. I didn't pick Axel or Blaze, the Streets of Rage leads, I picked Electra and the bikers. And so instead of roleplaying as Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, or even Athena Cykes, I went with the relatively minor Myriam.
I think that generally the lead characters don't have the fun personality quirks the side characters do. They're usually somewhat "everyman" and have a minimum of personality, or are kind of generically heroic. Meanwhile, I do my best work with unlikely heroes and quirky characters with appearances or shortcomings that aren't often seen in the heroes of an action-packed story. Plus, lesser-seen characters often feel like they have more to tell, as they weren't the focus of the initial story. We've seen Phoenix Wright in a half-dozen different games by now, so we know his deal. Myriam appeared in one case as a secondary character. She got a little arc to herself, but it was nothing compared to the series mains.
So on to Scuttlebutt herself. I initially considered her for a less heroic role, but instead of writing the tabloids, I decided to make use of the character development she received in the game, where she goes from a snoopy, annoying little git to a pitiable shy girl. After she got the courage to make friends in a more normal way, she swapped classes from Judge to Journalist and began a real pursuit of the truth. This is the Scuttlebutt I wanted, a character that fought for good with the printed word instead of with physical attacks (particularly because, an inch shorter than Sarah and with Ariel's body type but with neither Sarah's magic nor Ariel's physical ability, Myriam was the smallest, weakest human I'd ever roleplayed).
Myriam had two main roles. The first, her uncovering of rumors, was rendered unimportant quickly as I rarely found the time to interview other users' characters and (aside from Samus) couldn't think of much material to use anyway, so most of the onscreen rumors she debunked were related to my own characters. Instead I focused on her newspaper in general, and she had a nice little arc with Janet where the two eventually joined forces. The second role was her intelligence gathering, which generally consisted of her tagging along on adventures and then doing her trademark Box Park and sitting in the corner doing nothing while everyone else fought. She did get active a few times, though. While her attempt at The Hermit's hermitage didn't end well, she was able to fend for herself in Looney Land and during Wheelerplot. She even tried the Fite Club right at the end of the season, and won the match!
Myriam and Viola seemed to make a natural pair, so when Viola wasn't around Tenshi, I often had her team up with Myriam instead. While Viola initially disliked Myriam, I imagined that after breaking Viola's Psyche Lock, Myriam and Viola would gradually start working together. Both share a passion for information, and they are both shy and socially inept, but in different ways. Plus, it gave Viola something to do besides cling to Tenshi.
Myriam wasn't hugely important, and her planned return in Season 5 isn't going to change that. And that's fine. She's not supposed to be a major player. Myriam is on the sidelines, rooting for the movers and shakers and helping them with good press. She may not be able to suplex a train or punch a god in the face or nuke The Warp, but she has her niche and she does it well.
Oh, and for those of you unfamiliar with the source material: Myriam's hissing laugh and the choking "khak-khak" noise she makes when surprised, flustered, or nervous are both direct from the game and I have no idea what inspired those quirks. *shrug*
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