#He now lives a life in kurain

[nyaagolor]

The software I use at work is Not Working and I have an hour to kill before I can go home so here’s some HCs about assorted characters’ living situations bc I wanted to make notes for myself for fic purposes:

Phoenix: Used to live in a regular apartment, but moved into the apartment above Wright and Co Law offices with Trucy after his disbarment. Edgeworth paid off the building’s mortgage after Turnabout Goodbyes so Phoenix doesn’t have to worry about rent

Edgeworth: Owns a penthouse in LA. He rents hotel penthouse suites while in Europe but doesn’t have a permanent one anywhere other than LA because he thinks it’s a hassle. There’s a locked room in the LA penthouse filled with Steel Samurai merch

Gumshoe: Rents the shittiest basement studio you have ever seen. Does not own a bed. Genuinely questionable if the building is up to code (it’s prolly not)

Maya: Lived in Kurain Village until Mia’s death, then moved into the apartment above the office. After BttT she moves back to Kurain

Pearl: Lived in Kurain until her mother’s incarceration, then moved in with Maya in the upstairs apartment, then back to Kurain with Maya after BttT

Mia: Lived in Kurain Village until she founded Fey and Co law offices with Diego, at which point they moved into the apartment upstairs together until her death

Diego: Lived in a regular LA apartment until he founded Fey and Co with Mia. They moved into the upstairs apartment together until his coma. When he wakes from the coma he spends about half a year recovering in the hospital, then throughout AA3 just loiters around the courthouse because he refuses to speak to Phoenix. After BttT he goes to prison and moves in with Maya and Pearl in Kurain Village after his release

Franziska: Technically lives in the von Karma estate with her mother and sister, but is so busy traveling that she mostly stays in hotels. She used to spend holidays there, but Edgeworth has taken to inviting her to stay with him because she's not very close with the rest of her family, so now her room is mostly just storage.

Ema: Her and Lana lived in their parents’ house together until Lana’s imprisonment, during which Ema moves to Europe with an exchange family. When Ema returns from Europe, she moves back into the house with Lana joining her when she’s released

Apollo: He lived on the road with Thalassa and Jove until the latter’s death, then with Dhurke in the countryside, then in an American orphanage until he was 18, at which point I imagine he crashes on Clay’s couch for most of law school because he is technically an orphaned illegal immigrant with absolutely no money or credit. The internship with Kristoph and his job with the WAA gets him enough money to actually rent a place, but his lack of documentation and student loans mean he’s in the cheapest possible apartment. He keeps it extremely neat but there's only so much one can do. He and gumshoe can commiserate about it.

Trucy: Lived mostly on the road / in the tourbus + hotels with her dad and the troupe until she was adopted by Phoenix, at which point she moved into the apartment above the WAA

Klavier: Lived in his parents’ mansion with Kristoph until going to Themis. When he moved back he had enough money from gigging / his band to buy a fancy ass house and still lives there. It’s a little lonely by himself but when he let Daryan throw parties there it was POPPIN

Kristoph: Lived in his parents’ mansion his entire life. He got ownership of it when they died and raised Klavier in it, and continued to live there until he got arrested. Now he’s cushy in solitary cell 13

Athena: Lived in the space center then was shipped off to European relatives when her mom died. When she moved back to the states she got a decent apartment bc her WAA income was supplemented by those rich as hell European relatives

Simon: Lived in a small apartment with his sister growing up, which he continued to live in after she moved to the Space Center. It was sold when he was incarcerated. After his release he moved in with Athena briefly (no one thought it was a good idea for him to live alone) then to a small but nice apartment, which Edgeworth paid for until he could get back on his feet financially

[periwinkla]

I’m gonna ask a bunch of narumistu shippers this but how do you think Iris would react seeing that happen? Also how would your dream Narumitsu wedding play out, and would pearl be invited? I just have so many questions! I also love your art!❤️❤️❤️

Hi anon! <3 (I'll talk a bit about SOJ so - some minor spoilers ahead) I think Iris would be happy for them. If anything, she would be relieved she didn't ruin Phoenix's faith in love. They both got closure at the end of AA3 as he forgave her by telling her that she was the person he thought all along, and it seemed like a load was lifted off of her. Honestly I'm a bit bitter they didn't even make Pearl mention her during DD/SOJ because they mentioned Gumshoe, so I don't understand the problem there. She’s Pearl's sister, and we know absolutely nothing of her fate after AA3. I myself don't think much about the whole wedding thing, so the following is something I came up with just now that you asked. Haha.

First, we need to talk about the SOJ dlc. Would they even get married? For Phoenix, it seems he would want to, so that's out of the way. For Miles, I think he's so defensive about it that it could only mean he actually wants to, as well. For the record, I’m one of those people who doesn't want to get married, and I don’t think marriage is for everyone / every couple... but I just feel like that's the impression he gave off. Mentioning how romantic the flying chapel is doesn't help his case. Why did he even have the thought? Why did he think it was necessary to mention it out loud and to Phoenix of all people? 

That out of the way, we need to ponder the extent to which the AA world follows real world laws, because by JP law they can't legally get married. It could also be that it doesn't in this instance, which isn't entirely impossible since Phoenix was able to adopt Trucy (i researched this a bit some months ago - apparently single men especially can't adopt girls, but take it with a grain of salt as I couldn’t confirm it - I would need to go look at gov sites and you need to know JP well enough for that… and I don’t). Then again maybe Takumi just didn't know/didn't care. So who knows. But this isn't the only instance where AA laws would differ from JP laws, anyway. Either way, I think it would be really sweet if they got married in Kurain and Maya officiated it. Kurain seems to have different laws in the first place, and although most certainly they would be against marriages between men in particular… Since Maya became the master, I would think she would push to change that. And I think they would get married quite a few years after SOJ, so she would have had enough time to do so (the con of this would be that at least legally, their marriage wouldn't be recognized where they live if it wasn't permitted there as well - I think?). I particularly appreciate it when stories acknowledge and explore real world problems... so that's probably why this line of thought came to me.

I also think the Kurain thing is more fitting for them generally speaking (even if they could get married where they live), because they're both very reserved people. But they would still want their most important people around. And of course, Pearl would be invited, as she is one of these people. Also she will cry buckets during the ceremony.

As for the wedding itself, there would probably be some kind of disaster like a murder happen, let's be honest. Maybe a couple of them even. And maybe some kidnappings. Ghosts may be involved. And at the end of the final trial they would go off to Kurain again and get married at like midnight or something out of frustration and acceptance at the impossibility of their life ever going according to plan. Also Trucy would walk them both, together, down the aisle. And maybe she will make the rings disappear for a few moments, because why not. Just a final heart attack for the day to end it in a fitting manner.

Also thank you!! It makes me happy to know you enjoy it <3

[japanifornication]

oh man oh man. im always fond of phoenix w a praise kink and just. overwhelmed by love. miles fucking into him while whispering sweet nothings until he’s shaking from his orgasm after orgasm. make this slut cry from being loved and fucked! that one fic you wrote, “late night” was RIGHT up my alley and i swear i go back to it often

rubbing at the bags he can feel setting in beneath his eyes, phoenix has never been more tired in his life. not when he stayed up all night studying to get through law school. not the time he didn't sleep for three days a week before the bar and had to be forced to rest by mia. not when she was murdered, not even when he spent a night in city jail accused of that very murder.

the clop of two pairs of sandals patter into the distance as he watches maya, holding onto pearl's hand like a lifeline, head for their train under the flickering lights of the station. as they board, any remaining energy phoenix had escapes him and he sags back against the wall he's been leaning against, arms crossing over his chest as a sigh slips out of him.

it's hard to watch them go when they've only just got maya back, but with morgan headed to prison, they have a lot of things to sort out back in kurain, like packing up belongings and figuring out where they'll stay when they're there for training.

"it's getting quite late, wright."

he'd almost been falling asleep where he stood and the voice startles him, making him stand up straight and snap to attention. for a few minutes, he'd almost forgotten edgeworth was there. it's easy to forget, when it's quiet—he was dead for an entire year, after all.

"yeah. sorry to keep you waiting. you didn't have to do this, you know." phoenix says it automatically, like it's an obligation, even though he's not quite sure he is sorry after what the prosecutor did.

"i'm aware," is all edgeworth says, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear and then just briefly gripping at his elbow.

it's almost funny. when phoenix first met the man again on the other side of the courtroom last year, he looked like hell barely warmed over. edgeworth was the one with dark circles around the eyes, a permanent scowl affixed to his face. now, he looks oddly tranquil, if just a bit fatigued, and phoenix is the one who feels like garbage. things can change a lot in a year.

he clears his throat. "well. i won't keep you here any longer. let's get back to the car." he lets edgeworth lead the way back to his car—new since phoenix last saw it during state v. skye—and climbs back into the passenger seat, rattling off his address. it's a wonder he can even remember it in his current state.

it only gets darker as they head back through the city and by the time they make it to phoenix's apartment it's well into the night, not a hint of sun left in the sky. the car idles in the parking lot. neither make a move to leave or encourage the other to do so.

"so are you back living here?" phoenix finally gathers the strength to say. he means is he back residing within l.a. but the way it comes out almost sounds like he's asking if edgeworth is really, truly back from the dead and not just a spirit. "in l.a. i mean, not here obviously," he clarifies, as though there were any confusion whether or not edgeworth lived with phoenix. haha, very funny.

there's a slight squeak of leather as the man's hand shifts on the steering wheel, uncomfortable but not angry. "ah, i've only been back for a few days. i'm in a hotel, currently, but yes, i intend to find a new apartment."

"gotcha," phoenix says with an absent nod, chewing the inside of his mouth. "hey, um. i'm sorry about what i said, about… about you staying dead."

"wright, don't," edgeworth scoffs. "it's too late to take back words we've regretted, if anyone knows that it's me. don't waste your breath."

an exasperated laugh bursts out of the defense attorney. "okay great, because i'm not actually sorry."

edgeworth huffs at that with a slight shake of his head.

"but… do you want to come in for a beer or something? because this has been the longest day of my life and i'm sure even underneath that perfectly logical, stoic exterior, you can agree it's been exhausting." phoenix raises an eyebrow.

"a beer? tch." edgeworth's lip curls in distaste at the idea.

"what, not a beer drinker? i don't keep much in the way of wine or anything but i might have some whiskey," he offers instead.

edgeworth tilts his head, considering the offer with a slow blink. "i'm not sure you can afford my tastes, wright, but i'm intrigued." he unbuckles his seatbelt, indicating he's taken phoenix up on it.

"great." phoenix climbs out of the car and leads the way into his apartment building. he lives on the second floor, and they take the stairs up. it's faster, and he's not going to ask the man to take an elevator. it might have been a year, but he hasn't forgotten everything.

"sorry about the mess," he apologizes as he unlocks his front door. the last few days have been so long—he's been sleeping in his office and almost forgot about how much of a disaster his apartment is. he haphazardly tries to clean up before edgeworth can take in too much of the surroundings, scooping up dishes to bring to the kitchen and stuffing trash in the bin and kicking dirty laundry out of the way.

edgeworth is busy removing his shoes at the door and he manages to get the place looking a little less gross by the time he's done, then stops to take off his own shoes and jacket. he heads into the kitchen to see what he's got as far as alcohol, searching through his cabinets until he finds the bottle of whiskey he promised.

"how do you take it?" he asks.

"neat," comes the reply, edgeworth having followed him into the kitchen. he waits as phoenix pours them each a glass, then takes the bottle himself to inspect it. his eyebrows go up. "perhaps you've come into some fortune in my absence."

staring down into his rocks glass, phoenix tries to give a smile. it comes off weak. "if only. i inherited mia's liquor collection. went through most of it between you choosing death and now, if i'm honest."

adjusting his glass on the counter, edgeworth frowns down into his own drink. "ah. i see. ms. fey had good tastes, then?"

"i think she was gifted a lot of it, i'm honestly not sure." he lifts his glass to his lips, taking a deep swig. it burns on the way down. "sometimes i wonder… if i even knew her that well. if i'm doing any of this right. if she'd be proud of me. after a case like today, i'm not so sure."

"you saved her sister," edgeworth points out, palming his own glass and drinking from it absently. "i imagine that would mean a fair amount to her."

"yeah, i guess so. but i almost pinned a murder on an innocent woman. just feel like i should have figured out it was engarde a lot sooner, you know?" phoenix stands up straight, the tension awkward, and downs the rest of his glass in one go so he can pour himself another.

"i can see your point, though i believe you’re being a bit harsh on yourself. anyone under those circumstances would have struggled. i certainly fared no better, and i wasn’t the one whose loved ones were being held hostage for the majority of that case.” the words are mumbled thoughtfully over the rim of his glass before he takes another drink.

“why are you being so nice to me?”

his question obviously catches edgeworth by surprise, and the man finishes his whiskey before answering. “after hearing you be so honest about what you thought of my absence… i suppose it feels like obligation.”

the thought of any more drinks is immediately abandoned, because in the next moment, phoenix is grabbing edgeworth by that stupid cravat and pulling him close and smashing his mouth against his.

there’s a noise of protest, an initial objection, from edgeworth that seems to be more out of shock than anything, and then edgeworth’s arms are around his waist, crushing him close; he’s kissing phoenix back and he tastes like the whiskey they’ve been drinking and mint—toothpaste? breathmints? something else?—and phoenix sighs almost angrily against his mouth, furious he could have had this so much sooner if not for everything that had happened.

except that then edgeworth stops kissing him, to ask “wright, should i be doing this? surely you’re not drunk after a drink and a half.”

“i’m sober. kiss me, you son of a bitch.”

“it’s a bit rude to speak so poorly of the dead, you know,” he huffs in jest.

“good thing you’re not really dead.” phoenix’s hands fist in his hair as he tugs him back in for another kiss, and it’s all tongue and teeth and desperation, wanton for more.

before either of them knows what has happened, they’re standing in phoenix’s bedroom next to his bed. neither of them is particularly good at kissing and it doesn’t matter, because they’re kissing like it’s the last thing they’ll ever do and it’s driving phoenix insane.

unfortunately, edgeworth seems reluctant to do anything more than that. phoenix keeps trying to move things along—attempting to kiss down his throat, to bite him, to grab at his ass or unbutton his waistcoat—and edgeworth keeps grabbing at his wrists, moving them back to more appropriate places, kissing him like he wants to savor it rather than do anything else.

“just fuck me already,” phoenix finally groans, drinking in the way edgeworth laughs in response. when was the last time he even heard him laugh? not just a condescending chuckle from the other side of the courtroom, but actually laugh like he does now? when they were nine?

his back hits the bed as edgeworth shoves him away roughly. “fine. i’ll give you what it is you’re so desperate for.” he watches as the prosecutor tugs open his nightstand to survey the contents, and apparently finds what he expected to, retrieving the box of condoms from within and setting it atop the surface. “but i’m not doing this without some sort of safe word in place. it’s clear you’re not in a state to be taken at your word.”

“stoplight system,” phoenix replies, without hesitation.

that earns him a raised eyebrow, and for a moment it seems like he might be rejected, but eventually, edgeworth shrugs a shoulder and nods. “i’m familiar. that’s acceptable, can i trust you to actually use it?”

“funny of you to be asking me about trust right now.”

“wright.” there’s an obvious warning tone in his voice. “yeah. yes, i will use it correctly. green means go, red means stop, don’t stop unless i actually say that.”

there’s a hunger underlining edgeworth’s voice when he next speaks that makes all of phoenix’s skin prickle with desire. “alright. get on with it, then. tell me what you want.”

“god, thank you,” phoenix breathes. he sits up and grabs edgeworth by his belt, yanking him forward so he can undo it. “just want you to hold me down, make me take it.”

edgeworth blows out a long breath, but phoenix doesn’t look up, single-minded in his task now as he moves to unbutton the man’s slacks. the zip comes undone with relative ease, but the prosecutor’s shirt is long and held down by stays, partially blocking access to what he wants. it’s dark, and he’s a little drunk, and undoing the smaller buttons here is a bit harder, so he fumbles around with them as he talks. “you know. give it to me hard, don’t hold back, no matter what i say.”

edgeworth sheds his jacket and waistcoat and works his cravat free, discarding them on the side of phoenix’s bed before loosening the buttons of his shirt sleeves to roll them up. like this, phoenix can see the light hair that peppers his arms, usually hidden by clothes or distance across the courtroom or the fact that he thought the man was dead for a year. “is that how you normally prefer it?”

opting not to answer that, phoenix finishes unbuttoning the bottom of edgeworth’s shirt, giving him access to his boxer-briefs beneath. his fingers hook into the waistband and stretch it away from his skin, freeing the arousal steadily growing within and shoving them down as far as he can with the stays still hooked around his thighs.

he leans forward, gently cupping edgeworth's cock in one hand as he trails his lips down the side of it. the skin is so soft under his touch, but he doesn't get even a second to enjoy it; immediately, there's a hand in his hair, forcing his head back and away. he grimaces, baring his incisors but flooding with heat at the simple movement.

"someone's a bit overeager," edgeworth admonishes.

"yeah, well, when you've spent a year fantasizing about something you're positive you'll never get…" he steals a glance up at edgeworth's face, his chest starting to heave even though they haven't even started yet.

the man clenches his jaw, like the reminder hurts, but he feigns it away with a roll of his eyes. it doesn't fool phoenix, but he doesn't call it out. again, phoenix is pushed back to the bed like it's effortless, and edgeworth moves back to the nightstand to retrieve a condom from the box.

phoenix takes the opportunity to undo his own belt and slacks, shimmying them down along with his boxers around his hips. his thighs and hair are already slick with moisture, his dick swollen and begging to be touched.

he doesn't want to bother with the effort of fully undressing, so instead he rolls over while edgeworth applies the condom, ending up bent over the edge of his bed, ready and waiting.

he hears edgeworth spit into his hand, stroke it along his length then feels that hand on him for a brief, thrilling second, but he's already sopping wet, so it's unnecessary.

phoenix scrambles up the bed a little further but before he can really get anywhere, there’s a strong hand on his hip as the body behind him thrusts forward against him. with that one, swift movement, edgeworth is inside him, and he cries out, writhing against the sheets and trying not to just melt into uselessness.

a hand comes down against his shoulder, holding him down just like he'd asked for, but edgeworth leans in close and the other snakes over his mouth, preventing him from further cries as each snap of his hips makes phoenix want to scream. "is this what you wanted?" the man breathes hot and low in his ear.

he can only nod desperately, tears catching in his lashes as that cock rams into his g-spot and makes him quiver.

edgeworth doesn't stop. each thrust comes unbelievably hard, a loud slap of skin echoing through the room, but there's a pause between each one, and phoenix is grateful for that because otherwise he doesn't know how he would breathe. beads of sweat are already forming on the back of his neck, rolling down under the collar of his shirt. he quiets down, just panting against edgeworth’s palm, tasting the salt of his flesh, pushing back into each stroke and closing his eyes to bask in the feeling of him, to know it’s edgeworth pinning him down and spearing him open.

he's slick and needy and hasn't been so close to satisfied in what feels like forever.

he rocks his hips forward instinctively, trying to get friction on his own dick against the bed, but failing. edgeworth huffs out a condescending laugh in his ear. "not enough still? what are you, wright, a dog? must you hump something just to get off?"

phoenix whines at the suggestion but nods again against edgeworth's hand.

"yes?" he sounds mildly surprised, but not put-off. "alright." he straightens for a minute, pulling phoenix up so he can slide a folded pillow between the man's legs—phoenix's head is spinning and he lets himself be maneuvered bonelessly—before pushing him back down into the position they'd been in.

"are you sure this is how you want it, though, wright?" he asks in his ear again as they return to that pace of steady slams. "I'm happy to fuck you as hard as you'd like, but i had something a little different in mind." he slows down further, the thrusts turning into a sensual grind, no longer ramming into him with each one.

a sob leaks out of phoenix and he ruts against the pillow, mumbling against edgeworth's hand. his mouth is freed so he can speak. "please," he gasps. "tell me you're here to stay. that you won't leave again."

an anguished sound chokes out of the prosecutor. "i am not going anywhere, phoenix," he says after a moment of hesitation. there’s an edge to his voice, hurt but on the verge of something almost tender, and phoenix easily needs more.

"just need to feel it. need you to show me you're not going anywhere," phoenix begs. “just prove it to me, fuck me like you mean it.”

"oh, darling, i'm not leaving you." the term of endearment seems to slip out of edgeworth like it’s an accident, but he doesn’t take it back, and it feels like it stabs right through phoenix’s back and pins him to the mattress as much as the man himself is doing physically. edgeworth's hands reposition themselves to the bed on each side of his shoulders for more leverage and his cock grinds deeper into phoenix, forcing a strangled moan out of him. "i'm here to stay, and i'll prove it to you just like this whenever you'd like. that's it, open up for me, i want to hear you."

phoenix doesn't try to hold back his sounds anymore, more moans and whimpers and sobs escaping him in escalating volume as edgeworth fucks him and as he humps against the pillow. edgeworth has picked up the pace again, strokes coming faster, and phoenix's brain is dissolving into a puddle.

"harder, please," he whines.

"i'll give you harder, darling, but i want you to come first. you're doing so well," edgeworth murmurs, leaning down to kiss the top of his ear. "i know you can do it. it feels good, doesn't it? to grind on your pillow? be a good boy and come for me, phoenix."

a harsher sob is ripped from his chest. his hips roll against it more desperately even as edgeworth doesn't stop pounding into him. "i'm so close," he whispers shakily.

"i know," edgeworth reassures, lowering himself to further press into phoenix, more grinding into him again which just forces him more into the pillow. "does this help? if i drive you into it?"

"yes, yes, oh, miles…"

"come for me, phoenix, then i'll give you that hard, unrelenting fuck you want, to prove i'm not going anywhere. come on. come for me."

and phoenix does, rocking forward against the pillow one last time and causing his orgasm to explode through him. he clenches around miles and his cock twitches with each pulse and miles is still rolling his hips, forcing him into the pillow, and he can't come down, and he's fully crying.

"good boy," he hears from edgeworth, and the praise is music he never imagined he'd hear. "are you ready for more?"

he hasn't even stopped coming yet, he's not ready for more, but god does he want it anyway. "no," he offers unhelpfully.

"no? color, wright."

"green," phoenix spits, a string of saliva connecting his mouth to the bed where he was accidentally drooling against his comforter.

"good, so let me ask again. are you ready for more?"

having no intention of changing his answer, phoenix repeats himself. "no. it's too much."

he can almost hear the smirk in edgeworth's voice, and is glad they're both on the same page. "and you think i have any intention of stopping simply because it’s too much? how quaint. you can handle more."

another hard slam of his hips has phoenix shaking, pressing his face back into the softness of his comforter to muffle a yelp, but as quickly as it was given, it’s taken away as edgeworth pulls out.

“roll over, wright. i want to see the moment you break,” he’s commanded, and phoenix doesn’t make any rush of moving to do so. edgeworth grabs his shoulder and pulls, rolling him over anyway. hands grab his slacks and yank, and phoenix kicks to at least help get them off, along with his boxers.

arms hook under his knees and in an instant edgeworth is back inside him, making phoenix’s back arch against the mattress. the pillow is still under him, but now it's providing support, and edgeworth is still hitting all the right spots, and he blearily opens his eyes to find the man looking down at him.

the way edgeworth looks at him is almost reverent, quicksilver eyes soft but dilated with pleasure, hair disheveled and hanging in his face, sweat beading on his forehead. it's different from how phoenix imagined it might be, when he thought he was dead. then, he hadn't known this edgeworth so desperately trying to redeem himself. he'd only known the angry, spiteful one, full of loathing for everyone and everything, especially himself and especially phoenix. he'd thought his eyes would be hardened, creased between the eyebrows, a permanent scowl fixed upon his face. he can see a slight divot between his eyebrows, but it looks more in concentration, and there's no scowl.

"miles," he breathes, just a whisper on his breath. he's struggling to even catch it with the force he's being fucked with, knocking the air out of his lungs, but he gulps down another breath and tries again. "m-miles. take off the condom."

a dry laugh huffs out of edgeworth and he hesitates. "are you delusional?"

"i promise it's safe. please…" he's crying again and he hates that he's crying again but he can't stop the tears from leaking down his cheeks. "please. i need you to prove you're not going anywhere. need you to fill me up and make me yours."

again, edgeworth blows out an affected breath, this time much more obviously struggling with the decision. "you're sure?"

"yes, i'm giving you the green light, please, god," he pleads.

"fuck, phoenix." in an instant, he pulls out again, looking down as he uses one hand to attempt to take off the condom. it takes a minute to get it off, but eventually he does, and it gets tossed in the trash beneath the nightstand before the man drives back into phoenix's hot cunt, filling him now with no barrier between them.

there's no way to prevent the flood of tears now, no longer just a trickle but practically a waterfall. he pushes edgeworth's arms away from under his knees to adjust, instead hooking his legs around the man's waist like he can draw him in deeper if he tries hard enough, like he can just pull edgeworth into his body and keep him there forever.

for edgeworth's part, at least, he grips a hand under phoenix's thigh and with a slight grunt helps shift them up onto the bed properly, and then they're chest-to-chest and the prosecutor is kissing down his jawline, tongue delving out to lick up the salt of his tears and god, phoenix is so overwhelmed.

"how long have you been dreaming about this, wright?" that deep, sultry voice mumbles right against his ear.

phoenix answers honestly, and he's not just crying from the overwhelming amount of pleasure anymore. now he's ugly crying, and it's embarrassing, and his hands find the front of edgeworth's shirt and twist in it, holding on to it like a lifeline. "a long time but—but i thought you were dead," he chokes out. he can feel alarm crackle through edgeworth like ice underfoot, but it's too late, they've already plunged through. "i th-thought you were fucking dead, that i'd missed my chance—"

his words are muffled by a kiss, one that's just as desperate and hungry as phoenix feels. he half-sobs, half-moans into it, clumsily attempting to reciprocate as best he can.

"i know. i'm so sorry, phoenix," edgeworth hisses against his mouth when they part for air. his movements have slowed, this thrusts languid but striking deep, and phoenix just encourages him, heels pressing against his ass with each inward stroke. "shh, you're alright. i'm not going anywhere." the words sound like a promise.

another pathetic mewl bleeds out of phoenix, energy sapped from him at the apology. his legs fall from around edgeworth's hips, coming to rest on the bed, because he can't hold them up anymore, and it just spreads him wider, lets the man fuck him deeper. he sniffles and presses his face into edgeworth's shoulder to hide his tear-strewn face.

"there you go, darling. relax. i'll give you what you need. you're being so good for me." edgeworth's breathing is labored and phoenix can feel sweat through the man's shirt.

his hands let go of the front to wrap around his back, crush him closer. it's too slow, too intimate, it's not what he asked for or wanted, but somehow it is what he needed.

the rhythm of edgeworth's thrusts start to falter and suddenly there's a hand on phoenix's jaw, turning his face towards his. "look at me."

phoenix does. the expression on edgeworth's face is so hard to read, but it seems almost close to adoration, or maybe obsession, and a shiver runs down phoenix's spine.

"i'm here, phoenix. because of you."

those six words are phoenix's undoing. his hands claw for purchase against edgeworth's back, fingertips catching in the folds of his shirt as his whole body tenses, pleasure slamming into him like a fucking freight train and forcing an orgasm out of him unlike any other. he feels edgeworth jolt against him and knows the man is coming too, leaving that tangible evidence that he's here, he's alive, he's alive he's alive he's alive, i'm alive.

for the first time since prosecutor miles edgeworth chose death, phoenix wright feels alive.

spent and exhausted, phoenix can't even complain when edgeworth collapses atop him. instead, he hugs him close, albeit weakly, eyes falling shut and just cradling the man against him, reluctant to let him pull out or leave just yet.

when they finally do part god knows how long later, no words are exchanged. edgeworth painstakingly withdraws from inside phoenix with a grimace, then helps him clean up in silence. he doesn't say anything as he removes the rest of his clothing, leaving phoenix to extract the implications from that action himself and disrobe as well, tossing the rest of his clothes to the floor.

they climb back into bed and phoenix finds himself hesitating to get closer until edgeworth draws him in himself, an arm sliding around him possessively.

before phoenix can drift off, he clears his throat and asks hoarsely, "should we… talk about what just happened?"

edgeworth dismisses it with a half-hearted shrug. "if you'd like. in the morning, perhaps?"

fear grips phoenix immediately and he swallows, looking up at the man. "will you still be here? in the morning?"

a long, tired sigh hisses out of edgeworth's chest. "i may have nightmares still, and may not be in bed when you awake. but yes. i will be here, in the morning."

"you promise?"

edgeworth searches his face for understanding. he doesn't seem the type to promise things, and perhaps that's why the response is delayed, but after a long moment, he nods slowly. "i promise."

phoenix buries his face against his chest, and in a few minutes, he's asleep.

[nutmeg-mayonnaise]

Hello~! I am a new fan of Ace Attorney and I found your blog and absolutely fell in love with ur fankids and au, aaaa!!!! It's all so cute!!! I was wondering if I could ask a few questions about it, if you don't mind?

My first question is regarding Maya and Phoenix! So is Phoenix like a sperm donor for their kids together and it's like an agreed upon thing they talked about alot beforehand and felt okay doing because they're dear friends and close or is it more like a comfortable romantic-leaning relationship they've got going on where they have sex sometimes but they're more like cozy partners?

My 2nd question is about Miles!! I wanted to know how he interacts with the girls! For them, he's more like an uncle right? (Or is he like another father figure for them too?) Does he find it more awkward/harder to interact with them or does he soften up and treat them the same as Gregory??

Anyway, thank you for enlightening me to this au!!! I just got through the 1st game and could definitely see the Phoenix×Miles ship but I hadn't considered how well all 3 of them could click together! I love that you're exploring that happiness for them and now it's one of my favorite au/headcanon's for AA!!! (^^)💕

Hello friend (and Happy Pride Month everyone 𔓘⭒๋࣭ )!! Thank you so much and I'm so glad you enjoy the au, it means a lot! The three of them deserve a happy and loving life together and it brings me joy to see that other people think so, too!

I always love answering questions about the au so I'll be happy to answer!

There's a lot here so I have it all under the cut. :)

(And here's another teaser from my illustration series I'm still working on. I haven't had much time to make new artwork for the au lately ahh ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ )

Anyway, with your first question, it's funny because neither is exactly right. In the beginning, being a donor was something that both Edgeworth and Maya mentioned explicitly (Phoenix feels that there's maybe a "nicer way to put it") but that's essentially what they believed that they were getting themselves into.

They discussed it for nearly half a year while Maya still explored her options and met with other people in the mean time, and this was already after Maya was actively looking for a husband for more than a year and a half. Luckily, Phoenix already knew a bit about the matriarchy and history of Kurain Village, so Maya didn't need to explain much more about that to him. Regardless, the arrangements had to be discussed at length.

Maya didn't expect nor want Phoenix to drop his whole life to be her house-husband in Kurain, so they knew early on that they would spend their parenthood together on a visiting-basis. They visited each other often anyway, so it wouldn't disrupt their lives too much all things considering.

This obviously wasn't ideal on paper, and there was some lament that it was unreasonable for them to be full time parents together. However, with Maya finding herself feeling overwhelmed "in a bad way", as she puts it, whenever she met with potential spouses combined with Phoenix's anxiety with the history of unhappy marriages in Kurain Village and wanting nothing more than for Maya to be happy, they decided the "less than ideal" situation was the best option for them.

Then there was the matter of conceiving the kids, which I detailed in a previous ask.

Their journey to parenthood did push the boundaries of their friendship, and after exploring what those boundaries were, they often had to stop and ask themselves what they even were to each other anymore. They weren't attracted to each other, weren't super comfortable with being married for a long time (with Maya opting to label themselves as "hus-friend" and "wi-friend" in private). However, they still deeply loved each other, found some forms of intimacy pleasant with each other (eg, they enjoy cuddling and sleeping in the same bed but not making out nor having sex), and, obviously, had children together.

It wasn't until shortly before Mia (the eldest daughter) was born--nearly 4 years after Phoenix and Maya decided to have kids together--that they accepted that their relationship could not be defined and stopped caring. They knew what they were to each other and that's all that mattered. (Although, their relationship can be defined: it is queerplatonic, but they don't call themselves this because they are ignorant to the label.)

As for Edgeworth and the Fey girls, it's also a hard relationship to define. He doesn't see them as often as Phoenix does, because when Phoenix and Gregory visit Maya in Kurain, he opts to go to his house to rest and enjoy some time alone. He sees Pearl's daughters even less, since when Maya visits LA, Pearl rarely joins her since she takes over Maya's duties in Kurain.

While all four of the Fey girls call Edgeworth "Uncle Miles" or just "Miles", he’s considerably closer to Maya's daughters than Pearl's. Even before adopting Gregory, he found himself involved by counseling Phoenix and Maya throughout their journey to parenthood, was present when all three kids were born, and even named the youngest daughter (Melusina).

When the girls got a little older, Edgeworth isn't hesitant to discipline them (well, Mia--Melusina doesn't usually cause issues) if he needs to. He tries to give them equal attention but he can't help but be somewhat distant to them compared to his son. Sometimes he overcompensates and Mia takes full advantage of this--and Edgeworth knows it. All in all, he's somewhere in between a father to them and an uncle. Regardless of labels, he is very much part of their family.

Thank you so much for the question!

[l-i-n-u-s-k-a]

miss maya fey for the ask game!!

FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH

First impression: she is so silly,, I love her

Impression now: Maya Fey save me Maya Fey save me Maya Fey I love her so much good gobus, she's such a good character I would die for her I would kill for her but I won't because she would probably get suspected for the murder

Favorite moment: (spoilers ending of Trials and Tribulations) when at the end of the last trial of bridge to turnabout, even after confessing everything he did and admitting he did it for selfish reasons, Maya still thanks Godot for saving her life, because despite everything he still protected her and was on her side against all odds, and he is so touched by this raw display of kindness the Godot mask drops and realises how truly wrong all his actions had been and doesn't deserve gratitude from this little girl. This moment lives rent free in my head I'm constantly thinking about it

Idea for a story: I want more silly antics with her and Phoenix!!! Specifically I would love a story based on the officially licensed comic where they get handcuffed to eachother and obviously when Gumshoe can't find the key, shenanigans ensue. This trope is older than myself but I still love it. I guess I'm nostalgic for it for how often it was featured on Disney Channel

Unpopular opinion: I don't know how unpopular it actually is, but I don't think Maya ever regretted taking the position of master of Kurain. Of course I don't think it was ever easy for her, plus it comes with a lot of emotional baggage, but to me the culmination of her character is how she grows from being lonely and abandoned, or even shunned by her own family, to learning to rely on all the people who love her and whom she loves back, how she gets her strength from her all friends and family who support her, and that is how she decides to take over the role of master, not only out of obligation or responsibility, but because she wants to give back to the people who have been on her side when she felt hopeless, she wants to be mature and responsible for them, so that she can build a family and village based on love and respect

Favorite relationship: PHOENIX AND MAYA FRIENDSHIP FOREVER AND EVER!!! They're my bread and butter, they're my living breath, if Phoenix and Maya friendship have one fan it's me, if they have zero fans I'm dead

Favorite headcanon: she has a pink DS and all other kinds of early 2000s girly accessories and charms. This is totally because Ace Attorney is an early 2000s franchise, but idc shut up I'm projecting

[ladykailolu]

You wanna talk about sad thoughts?

Imagine this, After waiting for Mama to finish a trial while waiting in the lobby, Marigold sees her and Uncle Wright walk out with a funny-looking man in an orange shirt.

Mama tells her Uncle Wright will be watching her for a little while, while Mama takes care of something.

Flash forward to a few hours later, Wright goes to drop off Marigold at her office,

Everything is dark and stuff is all broken. And over by the window, Marigold sees Auntie Maya crying and Mama slumped over against the window.

...

Poor little thing runs over to Mia and starts shaking her shoulder

"Mama, wake up!" "We gotta go home now" "Mama?" "Get up, I wanna go home"

Sad and confused, she turns to Phoenix and asks

"Why won't Mama wake up 🥺"

Imagine having to explain to your boss' daughter that her mother is dead

But we don't have time for that because soon enough the police come and take Auntie Maya away

Poor 3 year old Marigold is just left there with Phoenix.

Sad and confused

Honestly, how do you tell ANY 3 year old that their parent just died??? Well, I've been digging into it, and the best way to handle it is to be honest with the kid and tell them what really happened, watered down of course and simplified to make it age-appropriate. Euphemisms generally aren't helpful. So, as painful and shocked as he is himself, Feenie pulls little Mari off to the side and tells her what happened. That her mother is dead. That somebody killed her.

Mari is still confused, as expected, but there isn't really much that Uncle Feenie can do when he's worried about Maya and has to prepare for trial. He'll tell Mari more about it later; he's sure that she has many questions, the worst of which may be one simple word--Why? Why did her mother have to die?

I don't think a three-year old would understand the "why" behind it all. She would understand death at it's simplest--a cessation of life. She can't talk to her mom anymore. Her mom simply isn't around.

She still doesn't understand it when she's sent to live with Aunt Morgan, and she's sad, but playing with Pearl helps cheer her up. And she still gets to see Aunt Maya and Uncle Feenie again, so she doesn't feel lonely. Maybe she's a little young yet, but Mari senses some icy vibes from Aunt Morgan, like it seems like Aunt Morgan is displeased with her at every turn, like she's slightly bitter about something.

Which leads me to this: considering that Mari is Mia's child, she's got the blood of the current Kurain master (Misty) in her. So maybe Morgan realizes that wiping out only Maya in her grand plan is not enough. She's gotta wipe clean the last of Misty's descendants from the face of the Earth. And when she sees that even Mari has spiritual power, she knows what she must do.

But do you really think that Morgan would go as far as to murder a little child? The same age as her youngest daughter??? Maybe she would urge Dahlia to make it look like an accident so she can alleviate some of the guilt. Because if she lets Mari get away and only Maya dies, Mari could always be set to become the next Master (even if that doesn't happen for years). But then maybe Godot listens in on Morgan's calls and realizes that both Maya and Mari are targets (at this point, he doesn't realize that Mari is his own daughter).

Then aa3 last trial plays out as it normally does. It just so happens that Dahlia was targeting Maya first then was planning to get Mari. Then Godot intervened and stopped it. Mari finds out about the whole plan and feels betrayed by her aunt and shocked by it all.

Btw where do Pearl and Mari stay after Morgan was sent to jail again? I got this vibe that they stayed with Maya and hung around either in the Kurain channeling school or Uncle Feenie's office.

(Imagine that Mia had a secret box hidden somewhere in her office with a gold locket decorated with a picture of a red and gold marigold on the front in slick enamel. She intended it to be a gift to Marigold as she got older. And inside the locket is a picture of Mia holding Marigold. Mia kept this small box with her everywhere to remind herself of her beautiful daughter. It echoes Misty carrying a picture of her daughters around with her.)

[snezfics-n-shit]

Sicktember Alt 1: "I Could Really Use A Hug Right Now"

Fandom: Ace Attorney Characters: Maya Fey, Phoenix Wright Notes: You ever think about just how much Maya has on her plate? Training, carrying the main family of the Fey clan on her shoulders, just being the master of the Kurain Channeling Technique? It’s a lot! On what should be a happy surprise visit to Phoenix’s place (which is at Edgeworth’s place now? Fancy!), it all comes crashing down. Mid 7yg, Phoenix is living with Miles, Maya is in her early-mid 20’s and has spent the past few years doing basically nothing but training. It's a mental breakdown! *Sad Kazoo Noises*

     It wasn’t just jet lag that had gotten to her. Maya, and most likely Phoenix as well, had figured that out by now. Pearly always worried about Maya getting herself sick from overextending, and Maya always tried to insist she would be fine so Pearly could be the carefree girl she deserved to be. Pearly didn’t deserve that kind of stress in her life, not after all Aunt Morgan put her through. Knowing that made Maya’s wish that her cousin could have taken her place as master very brief, no matter how many lives would have been saved if that were the case. 

Hours of training under a waterfall, late nights of channeling various spirits she sometimes couldn’t possibly care less about, and of course going back and forth on a packed airplane to acquaint herself with every spiritual landmark absolutely did a number on Maya’s health. She hadn’t left Edgeworth’s cozy guest bed since she dropped all her luggage on the floor yesterday afternoon. She didn’t even question why the guest room was free if Nick was supposedly crashing here. All she wanted was to sleep with maybe a side of curling up and dying. 

“Maya?” Nick’s concerned voice managed to have the volume of three air horns. “I know something’s wrong. You haven’t eaten for at least a day. I’m coming in.”

He was lucky Maya hadn’t even taken off what she was wearing yesterday, though she had no energy to do anything about his entry even if she was in her birthday suit. Meh, he had a girlfriend once, probably nothing he hasn’t seen before. 

“I’m not hungry.” Maya whimpered. 

“Not hungry?” Nick jokingly pressed his hand on her forehead, only to pull back in almost horror. “You’re actually burning up!”

“Good.” 

“What do you mean ‘good!?’”

“I just…” The dam broke. Maya had no time to prepare before the tears started flowing. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore.” 

“Do what anymore?” 

“Everything, Nick!” Maya hiccuped, then sobbed. “All I ever do is train and meet with branch family members who somehow didn’t run away from being Feys the first second they could. Do you know how many branch family members just move to the city and want nothing to do with us ever again? At least half, Nick! I don’t blame them one bit.” 

“Yeah, I think Bikini alluded to that kind of tension after she realized it was your mom who, you know…” 

“My mom’s dead because of me, Nick!” Maya instinctively wiped her nose on Phoenix’s t-shirt, but even if it was more from being sick than crying, Phoenix just let her go ahead with that.

“Maya, you know that’s not–”

“And everyone expects me to have daughters to put through this hell all over again!”

“I’m sure you can break the cycle–”

“I am the cycle! All my past relationships have failed because it’s just too much! Just because your parents could do that doesn’t mean I can. Besides,” Maya sniffled and wiped the lines of tears from her cheeks, “look how you turned out.” Somehow, she still had it in her to tease him. She was even able to laugh, if only just a little. “Sis did tell me how much of a spoiled brat you were in college.” 

“Hey! I got better.” Phoenix lightheartedly retorted. 

“That’s up for debate.” Maya huffed. “You still wouldn’t survive a day in the Fey clan! Heck, if your ex could channel spirits, you might have ended up in an arranged marriage and stuck with her.” 

“I’d rather you not even joke about that.” Almost a decade later, Dahlia was still a sore subject for both of them, though Maya seemed more comfortable talking about her than Nick was. “But… You do seem to be doing a little better.” 

“I guess I am.” Maya sniffled. “Thanks for listening to my feverish ramblings I’ll probably forget by tomorrow, Nick.”

“Any time, Maya.” Phoenix sighed through his nose. If Maya was as cynical as she was feeling just a few minutes ago, she might have interpreted that as bragging. “Do you want anything for that fever? We have Steel Samurai cooling patches in the freezer downstairs.”

“Tempting, but nah.” Maya really was sick to turn down anything Steel Samurai themed. “How about… Just a hug?” 

Phoenix may not have been able to completely wipe Maya’s full plate clean, but a hug? That was absolutely doable.

[azuramarigold]

Take My Hand

Mia Fey after three years since her mother left the village that it is time to say "SCREW IT!" to her family legacy. The only problem is - she can't leave the most important person in the world to her.

Day 4 in Au-Gust Writing Challenge - Runaway!

AO3 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3

Day 4: Runaway

-

Packing the last of their pitiful amount of possessions in sacks, she took a deep breath.

 I have to do this… it’s for my sister… it’s for me.

 Mia Fey repeated this mantra in her mind over and over as she paced the small room she and her little sister, Maya shared in Fey Manor. Maya, only being five years old, looked at her older sister with big, round eyes, biting her thumbnail as she clutched at a teddy bear to her chest with her free arm.

 “Big Sister…” Maya whispered, her voice squeaky. “Where are we going…?” she asked yet again. It was the fifth time in ten minutes she had asked it.

 It was the fifth time Mia had no answer.

 It had been three years since their mother, Misty Fey, had disappeared from Kurain Village after the channeling of Gregory Edgeworth had failed. The news got out and Misty was considered a fraud and a hack. Instead of trying to rebuild her reputation, she abandoned the village,

 And her two daughters.

 Mia was technically the next in line to become the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique as she was eldest daughter of the Main Family - however, after seeing what it has done to her family, she wanted nothing to do with it. She saw how it made her Aunt Morgan bitter and resentful toward her sister… Morgan was older than Misty yet she was not the Master due to not having enough Spiritual power. Morgan desperately tried to have her own daughters, only for her twins not to have any power either, like herself.

 The young Mia was thrown into training at a young age, and Dahlia along with Iris were thrown in too. When it was discovered that the twins had no Spiritual power, their father divorced Morgan and took them away form the village. The last Mia had heard was that he had remarried but only kept Dahlia and forced Iris to live at Hazakura Temple with another Fey Branch family member.

 Now, Morgan’s internal body clock was ticking, but she was desperate to find another partner in order to have another daughter. She believed if she had a daughter that was stronger than Mia their family could take over…

 And I’ll let them! I don’t care! Nothing is worth my sister’s life for!

 “Big Sister…?” Maya tearfully said.

 “We’re going to be okay, Maya… I promise…!” Mia assured, crouching down to her sister’s level. “I’m going to protect you… as your big sister, I swear by it!”

 Maya threw her arms around Mia, her sniffling. “You won’t leave me like Mama?”

 “I won’t…! I never will!”

 With that, Mia grabbed Maya’s sack and tied it around the small girl’s waist. In turn, she tied her own sack around herself. It was time to leave.

 The village was dark when Mia and Maya crept out of the manor, Mia putting her finger to her lips to signal her sister to be extra quiet. Both girls knew where ever creak was with every floorboard, so it was easy to sneak out. Once outside the manor, the cool breeze ripped through both of the girls’ yukatas, causing them both to chatter their teeth.

 Crossing the boundary of the village gate, Mia felt her heart pound in her chest. She knew once she crossed the line, she would never be able to come back – it would be the same for Maya. They were both abandoning their family legacy. Did Mia have the right to make that decision for her sister?

 Mia glanced down at Maya, who was looking up at her with her large, dark blue eyes.

 No… she deserves a better life…

 Together, they both stepped over the boundary and walked down the path leaving Kurain Village.

Notes:

- A much shorter story, but then end is open to interpretation!

[brainrot-yumm]

I just opened an Ace Attorney fic for the first time in months and immediately knew how to make it EVEN ANGSTIER this is wonderful (Extreme spoilers for game 2 and on!!)

So this fic is an AU of Bridge to the Turnabout but in the canon of the Engarde bad end. The big things that have happened in the 6 year timeskip in-between then and the story: Phoenix ran away and ended up apprenticing under Elise Deauxnim instead of Larry, changed his name to Nickolas Deauxnim, and started working as a children’s book artist (because everyone Maya knows either dies or does that). Maya decided to go to college and become a defense attorney pretty much out of guilt for what happened, got through it, and is now the Kurain Master and a lawyer at the same time. Godot woke up from his coma the same time as canon, found out that any sort of revenge was unobtainable, and defaulted on his main reason for living, keeping Maya safe. He becomes her mentor and keeps her from having an emotional breakdown too massive, it’s wholesome and they’re family now. Pearl hangs around as much as she can, basically taking over the role as assistant, and so she’s also family with her and Godot at this point and most people who know Maya know Pearl. Alright.

I just realized there is extreme untapped potential for the level of angst I could give Pearl. See, Pearl is 14 now. She fully understands that her mother is a bad person, and she fully understands what her mother has done to get her in jail. Her mother helped to kill a man. Worse, her mother helped kill a man in order to ruin Maya’s life in a way that would have directly benefitted Pearl. She killed a man for Pearl. Therefore, she killed a man because of Pearl. 

This has been messing with Pearl for a while. So when Morgan tells her to bring Maya over to the temple, it makes her horribly anxious instead of excited to finally make her mother happy. Worse, Pearl can read now, and reading about “bringing vengeance to fruition” rings a bunch of alarm bells. But she’s scared of her mother. So she takes Maya to the temple, but doesn’t follow any of the letters, and at the last second asks to train instead of Maya, because the pit in her gut is too large to ignore.

Things play out close to exactly how they did before. The same person dies and the same person kills. 

And in her eyes, Pearl has directly caused the death and ruin of two more people. Two more people that meant everything to Maya.

Of course, everyone reassures her, and Maya still loves her. But it weighs on her so badly. This could actually be a really good bonding moment between her and Maya. In this AU, after all, Maya holds onto Adrian Andrews the exact same way Pearl holds onto Turner Grey, Misty, and Diego. They’ve both been pawns causing pain and destruction in ways they never wanted by forces entirely outside of their control.

[much-the-millers-kid]

So… you know those HUGE mansions from ye olden days where not only did you have room for your immediate family, but also for extended family plus multiple generations plus servants plus visitors etc.? And how huge mansions like that are still a sign of wealth and luxury but no one actually needs that much room so most of the rooms go unused? What if the entire Ace Attorney Found Family lived in one of those?

Basically, Manfred Von Karma had one of these huge mansion homes with way too many unused rooms for him, Miles, Franziska, and possibly a wife and other child. Miles still lived there because why pay for housing as long as Manfred wasn’t kicking him out, but Franziska inherited it after her father was arrested. So post Turnabout Goodbyes Miles is there for a while alone because Fran is in Germany, and when he leaves and Fran comes she’s all alone in this huge place. Granted it was always more than was needed, but having only one person? It felt particularly lonesome.

Finally with them both being back in the states, they kinda stay in the same general vicinity. Fran unofficially puts Miles in charge of matters of the house when she starts working with Interpol and she’s not around as often. It’s still empty and way too much for the two of them, but it’s not as bad.

Then the disbarment happens, and Miles catches Phoenix in his office sleeping at his desk so Trucy could have the couch. Phoenix sheepishly admits that finances got so bad he had to choose between his apartment or the office, and the office had more space. Miles of course considers this unacceptable and offers Phoenix and Trucy their own wing.

…And thus begins the process that leads to the entire found family being under one roof.

During the 7-year-gap, Kay and Lang just visited so often two of the guest rooms eventually became theirs whenever they were around. Same for Fran offering a room for Maya and Pearl when they were in from Kurain. Gumshoe and Larry each hit some financial bumps that led to them needing a place to stay. Ema was offered a place when she stayed late so often helping with cases she’d fall asleep on a desk. Sebastian got to where he couldn’t stand being in the house Blaise owned so he got a room.

After Kristoph was arrested, Klavier finds himself unable to stand being in his brother’s home, and since he spent so much time traveling with the band he doesn’t have a place of his own, so Miles offers Klavier a place to stay. A similar offer is made to Blackquill who had nowhere to go after being released from prison.

Apollo had his own apartment, but he found himself staying in the mansion enough he ended up moving. Meikiko gets along remarkably well with Pess and Vongole.

Athena actually moved in before Apollo, since she had been studying in Europe. It was originally until she could find a place of her own, but well…

Nahyuta also has a place for when he’s not in Khur’ain, and there’s many others who rotate in and out whenever they just… don’t want to be alone. (Junie, Armie, Iris, Rayfa… just to name a few)

While they each have their own rooms, a lot of them have trauma that makes them not want to be alone. There’s the usual pair-offs (Trucy and Pearl being practically sisters, the ships, so on and so forth) but it gets to where sometimes whoever the last two on the couch are figure out they’re both not wanting to go to bed because they don’t want to be alone, and so they’ll just crash together. (Sebastian and Pearl definitely had a moment of both realizing they’d been manipulated in similar ways, and were practically siblings after.)

On nights where they know it’s going to be rough (anniversaries especially) they’ll bring a bunch of mattresses, pillows, and blankets and just make the ultimate pillow fort in the living room, just so no one has to be alone.

Miles and Fran consider it some of the best revenge on Manfred they could have: the house he kept insisting needed to be kept perfectly clean, was huge to show their status, and kept them isolated? It was now an actual home full of life and open to anyone who needed a place to stay, and with that many people, it was NEVER perfectly clean.

[penny-nichols]

You mentioned in your ask that you have 10 wips, I'm curious to hear what they're about!! :)

Ok so. Admittedly most of these are about Penny Nichols because I. Have a problem. But I'll explain em! Image is of my phone screen because I set my current WIPs out there and mostly write on my phone before I go to bed

Little Shop of Turnabouts: Little Shop of Horrors/Ace Attorney crossover fic! Apollo has to defend Seymour for Orin's "murder". This also means Apollo is going to cross examine a plant which I think gives him a one-up on Phoenix

Best Friends to Lovers: Claydar fic! Set 5(? 4? Something like that I think it's 5) years after Dual Destinies. Clay lives AU (obviously) Daryan has a lighter sentence than someone else would because I want him to. It's Clay and Daryan meeting each other and just like. Falling in live but there's ALSO going to be a mystery and angst. I can't help myself. I mean there's already angst I have 3 chapters up already.

Steel Samurai is Real AU: basically Penny is the Steel Samurai who is like. A vigilante who saves Maya's life and there's an alternate 1-3 and 1-4 and Mia lives. I think this is my only fic with Narumitsu at the moment. Also it has Feychols because I can't help myself.

Groundhog Clay: Timeloop Claydar! Basically once Clay dies he wakes up again, not on the day of the launch or anything, but one and a half years earlier on the day 4-3 begins. And so does Daryan. Neither of them really know what's going on but Daryan sees Clay and he KNOWS Clay wasn't there before and basically they've gotta get through the loop without Letouse or Clay dying

ASOLTAFKV the Squeakwel: a sequel to my fic A Series of Letters To and From Kurain Village (it's Feychols because of course it is). I've been posting my first drafts here as Turnabout Wedding Belles. Because it's a wedding fic. It has almost nothing to do with the previous fic except for the fact that at the end of the last one, the epilogue was a wedding invitation. Basically: there's been a murder at Penny and Maya's wedding and it's Phoenix and Trucy up against Klavier (ft Daryan and Ema as detective and forensics because I don't like making ocs and I like Daryan and Ema would be there for the wedding)

Mlem and Wooloo Solidarity: Penny and Simon Blackquill are friends. Besties, even. I just think the samurai nerds deserve to be samurai nerds together (platonically)

Royal AU Feychols: what it says on the tin. Basically Maya's a princess and Penny is her guard and an assassin attacks Penny (thinking she's Maya because she's wearing one of Maya's dresses. For the record when I wrote her getting shot in the shoulder with a crossbow I completely forgot about Franziska and her bullet shoulder I just thought it would be an area that would provide injury but probably wouldn't kill or prevent her from walking) and there's light magic (as in. Not a fleshed out magic system or anything it's kinda a thing but not a MAJOR thing) and I wrote one very good gay kiss that just happened to have a corpse in the background

Beep Beep Bitches It's the Mafia: mostly based on a dream I had where Dee was secretly Penny's mom because I like the trope of homoerotically having a weapon pointed at you. Penny's in the mafia now. Surprise. Also Mia lives and the Feys are chill Dahlia is cool and not murdery they're literally just vibing.

Swap AU (I'm Confused Already): the Feychols/Klapollo swap au where Apollo is Phoenix's assistant and Klavier is a PA hoping to be a star and Maya is a defense attorney and Penny is a musician prosecutor. A bunch of other people have switched places or roles in the story (like Mia and Kristoph) but there's very little of it right now it's mostly in the Frantic Tumblr Posts phase

Gay Gay Homosexual Gay: I already mentioned I like weapons pointed but gay. This has that and also Maya being possessed because that's also a concept I've been pondering for a while. So why not put both into one! Admittedly this is a new oneshot so it's more likely to be abandoned because I feel like I have stronger ideas for the other ones and I like writing multi chapter fics but if it gets published it should be fun

Bonus secret 11th fic that is like probably 3/4 of a year ish into planning? I don't remember when we started but it's been a while: another time loop fic. Centered around Penny and Kristoph and their relationships with their parents. Based off an RP from a server I'm in (I play Penny, friend played Kristoph, we're working on it together) also if you've seen me talking about my fucked up judge kinda oc (based on a guy who is only mentioned in 4-3 and is never shown or even named) and hus kid (same thing) this is basically The Thing With Them. It's nicknamed the Ancient Milfs and every time I try to explain it thoroughly I have to give like at least a page of backstory on Milf Lore

Yeah that's basically it! sorry to everyone who doesn't have #long post blocked and is on mobile, have fun scrolling!

[vickyvicarious]

For the AU mashup game: Marriage of Convenience & It's Not You, It's My Enemies

Okay, so at first I was considering like a historical AU or something, but, um... Well, actually I could imagine a verse where this works for modern-day Ace Attorney. It's a much longer fic than I'll ever write (so if anyone sees this and they want to have a go at the idea, feel free!), but I think it works really well for Miego!

.

In this AU we build off of Kurain emphasis on matrilineal succession and the whole thing Maya mentions where they often have trouble with men leaving. Maybe there's still an emphasis on legal marriages despite this, and with the main and branch family so small some kind of bylaws come into play.

Misty Fey is still technically the Master. But she's been gone for so long already, and Morgan has very little spiritual power, not enough to channel anyone or at least to do it well. Maya and Pearl both have enough power, but they're too young/inexperienced to continue the tradition as yet. They're still in training. When Mia, who is an excellent spirit channeler, finally tells Morgan that she wants to leave the village, she's met with heavy resistance. She is the only one really keeping their way of life afloat at the moment - and she's currently the primary hope for a new generation to follow this one.

Morgan, backed by whatever elders the village has, gives Mia an ultimatum: she can leave and study law only if she finds a husband within a set amount of time and can get him to take her family name. And, of course, prove that he is willing to provide her with children to inherit the power that will keep the village alive. She also has to regularly return to continue channeling spirits in a limited capacity in the meantime until she has a gifted daughter, or Maya/Pearl are able to take over the jobs. If she refuses to do this, she won't be allowed to leave at all.

Now, Mia absolutely could just leave regardless. But that would mean entirely cutting ties with her home. And while she has no interest in becoming the next Master or anything, she knows Maya wants to be a spirit channeler. Maya has already lost so much - Mia doesn't want to leave her behind entirely any more than she wants to put her in the position of having to leave her village, family, and future career behind. She might choose Mia, if it comes down to it - but Mia will protect her sister from that choice. She agrees to the bargain.

(This is a surprise to Morgan, who knows how little Mia wants to be involved in Kurain affairs, and assumed she'd refuse. She hoped to use it as a method to cast Mia out permanently, thus removing an obstacle between Pearl and the Master title down the line. If she played things right, maybe Maya would leave too, or at least her reputation would be tainted by Mia's departure and she could make a stronger case to shove her aside in favor of Pearl.

Still, there's a time limit, and she alters her plans in the hopes of Mia failing to find a husband who will take her name, failing to show any signs of trying for a child. She'll just blackball her then.)

So Mia is off at law school by this point, and she's actively looking around not only for a firm to join, but for someone who will agree to marry her in name only to fulfill this agreement. She dates Lana for a while, but the partner has to be a man according to the agreement, so she's still looking.

Enter Diego Armando, who works at the Grossberg Law Firm. Mia interns there for a while, and eventually gets an offer to join the firm as a lawyer once she passes the bar. At some point, she overhears or is involved in a conversation about Diego's desire to get permanent residency. He's Argentinian and currently living in the country on a work visa, but it's a long process and he's annoyed at how long it will take/wants to be sure that even if he left the firm he'd not be forced to leave the country. (I know very little about immigration laws, so I'd have to do some research on this or just make up Japanifornia rules).

Mia sees a win-win situation. She approaches him with an offer to get platonically married for several years. Long enough for him to become a permanent resident, which means at least two years if not a little longer so as to seem more realistic for visa purposes. She plans to have defeated Redd White and found her mother by then, at which point it won't matter if she gets a divorce, since she's certain Misty won't deny Mia access to her sister once she's returned. In the meantime, all he has to do is take her name legally (he can still use his name for work) and they might have to lie every so often that they're trying for a child.

Diego agrees, and they have a simple ceremony shortly after Mia passes her bar exam. She moves in with him, but it's pretty much just a roommates and coworkers situation; at the time, she's possibly even still dating Lana (who knows about the circumstances and is cool with everything). He meets Aunt Morgan and, while not exactly charming her, is at least able to pass muster enough for her and the elders to reluctantly agree that he fits all their conditions. He befriends Maya and Pearl both, neither of whom know about said conditions (Maya knows about the visa thing, because Mia didn't want to lie to her that much, but also didn't want to burden her with the Fey drama; Pearl doesn't know the marriage is fake at all and looks up to them as her new ideal of romance).

Over time, he mentors her more at work, they hang out more at home, and they become good friends. Mia breaks up with Lana eventually, if she were still dating her by this point, and slowly, the two of them start falling for one another. Diego much faster - but, by the time Mia's first trial goes so horribly wrong, they're both well into pining for one another. He holds off on trying to confess his feelings because he doesn't want to make her face any more big changes just yet... but he does try to go talk with Dahlia and see if he can get any evidence against her. She poisons him as in canon; as in canon, he goes into a coma and they don't know if he will survive.

Mia has it rough for a while. She's mourning the husband she never admitted to loving, paying for his hospital bills while trying to start her own law firm, and fending off all Morgan's attempts to shut her out of the family if she doesn't divorce him in favor of someone else. Not to mention, she's starting to close in on Redd White and beginning to realize just how dangerous a man he is. Phoenix is a bright spot in an otherwise pretty bleak time, and his belief in her/eagerness to work with her helps her a lot.

She eventually reworks her agreement with Morgan to divorce Diego if he doesn't wake up in a set amount of time. She has no real intention of doing so - romantic feelings aside, she knows he doesn't have any other family and she doesn't want to leave him alone to deal with being deported or anything if he ever does wake up. She kind of suspects he won't, though.

But then he does. Much earlier than in canon - just around the time Phoenix is officially hired on to the firm, in fact. He wakes up and while he's disabled for life now, he's still Diego, he's back and he doesn't want to waste any more time. As he's recovering and doing all his physical therapy and getting his mask developed, etc., he finally tells Mia that he loves her. That he wants to be with her for real.

She was already helping to take care of him. He moved back in with her, she'd promised him a job at her firm if he wanted it as soon as he's well enough to work... but even though for a moment (or heck, maybe a night) this is everything she wants to hear, a second later (or the morning after) she shuts him down and tells him they need a divorce.

She tries to couch it in Fey excuses, that Morgan is worried about his ability to father a child after his poisoning. But he offers to get whatever testing necessary to appease her. He even says that if she doesn't feel the same he's okay with that, he doesn't want to pressure her into anything, least of all out of pity. But he doesn't want to get a divorce that will just leave her worrying about Maya again, and finally she's forced to admit that it isn't his feelings for her. It's Redd White.

Diego has already paid the price once, and she can't bear the thought of putting him in danger again. She wants to divorce him so that he won't be an obvious target for revenge against her. She refuses to date him for the same reason, and won't let him convince her otherwise.

...Mia holds firm, despite all his best arguments, and their divorce gets underway. Diego is extremely frustrated because he doesn't want her to protect him at the cost of putting herself in danger, and denying something he knows they both want. When we intersect with canon again, he's at the office on the day Redd White tries to kill her. Maybe he arrives partway into the fight, and jumps in to help her. In the end, Mia still gets injured, and maybe even goes into a brief medically-induced coma after some surgery. Redd White gets away, but no one dies.

Diego's mask was knocked off his head in the struggle, so he was fighting blind and can't really testify as to the identity of the attacker. Since the trials are so accelerated, no one waits for Mia to be awake/coherent enough to give her own account. Maya gets arrested, and Phoenix is still the one to defend her/eventually himself, because Diego hasn't gotten his badge back yet. Instead, he acts as co-counsel when he can.

In the end, Mia recovers. And when she wakes up, Diego is waiting by her bedside. With Redd White taken care of, and proof that none of them are ever going to be entirely safe anyway, she finally lets him in and admits to her own feelings as well. They call off the divorce.

(Morgan is extremely irritated by all this, and would cause problems down the line... but for now, it's a happy ending.)

[maya-hee-maya-hoo]

Answer all these in your sincerest honest opinion.

what do you think of Nick?

what do you think of Edgeworth?

what do you think of these two idiots finally getting together?

Opinion on Magisteel? 👀

what do you think is Franziska’s best quality?

Do you think Pearly would do nicely as a leader of Kurain if she became one?

Nick is a boring old man, but he is perhaps the kindest and sweetest guy I know. He has done so much for everyone because he’s just selfless like that. Proud to have him as my brother-in-honor!

Miles may come across as an uptight asshole (sorry), and he intimidated me at first. I stopped treading in eggshells around him after he sent me a comprehensive essay on the Steel Samurai’s heteronormativity at like 3 AM.

Thoughts: FINALLY!?? Though I would like to file a formal complaint at how they scared the living daylight out of everyone. In their true fashion, I guess. I’m glad they finally saw sense and confessed, they make each other so much happier!

Yes?? 👀 Magisteel has a ton of parallels to Nick and Miles Edgeman, and we know just how “canon” they are 👀👀👀

Franziska’s best quality is easily her determination. Once she puts her mind to something, it’s hard to stop her from succeeding. It’s how she achieved success in her career, and... to some extent her personal life, with how she mends her relationships with a lot of people.

For sure! Not only is she a prodigy, she is responsible and takes the preservation of spirit channeling VERY seriously. Pearly is actually second in command right now, and took over when I went away for training. She isn’t quite confident in her ability to lead just yet, but I think she’s doing great!

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Witches, Chapter 32: oh. you know. you know the one.

The Cosmic Turnabout begins its first trial day on December 16th, which means that the crime takes place on December 15th, so happy December 15th to you all. I told you I would.

[Seelie of Kurain Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

[Witches of Los Angeles Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

----

“Of course I’m nervous,” Clay says. “The launch is tomorrow. Everyone’s nervous - what am I gonna do, back out now? Mr Starbuck is counting on me. And the director - everyone’s counting on me.”

And Apollo says something, the exact words irrelevant, soon forgotten, about how Clay seemed particularly on edge and had for the past few days, maybe? - but of course he was. It’s the reality of the launch finally setting in as they get close. Or something. Something like that, Apollo said, hands Clay his own way out, because here, in their living room, he’s not looking for lies. Clay is nervous and has gotten more nervous as the launch draws closer because that is how nerves generally work with regard to major events. He’s been training for this for years. The center hasn’t had a launch in even longer. Clay is nervous. Everyone is nervous.

Clay sits back down on the couch. He was pacing. He doesn’t do that. “But,” he adds, irritably, and he sounds like Clay again, as petty and irreverent as he can be, “Aura keeps sending me fucking emails. We settled this already!”

Apollo is not convinced that Phoenix knows how to send emails and he is glad for it.

(That’s such a normal thought to have. Bitching about bosses, coworkers, without knowing they sat on a crumbling precipice. The edge of everything.)

-

The livestream is down. There’s supposed to be a livestream of the launch, and it’s down, because the director of the Cosmos Space Center is both a genius and an idiot. Apollo tells Trucy all of the things that he has heard about the man, years of Clay’s stories, while they watch the livestream’s error screen. Apollo isn’t worried yet. A livestream is a very different thing than a rocket launch. One being screwed up doesn’t mean the other will be.

-

Clay gives Apollo a hug before he leaves, claps him on the back, said “See you later” with a grin because later can be a lot of things and it’s true if it’s ten hours or ten days or six months and it’s funnier the longer it is until that later. Clay says it’s funny, anyway.

(“See you later” is not a lie in a way visible to Apollo because Apollo’s fucked-up fae eye can’t see the future.)

-

They’re in the office because it has better wifi, and Apollo’s entire social life besides his roommate revolves around his place of employment and if that won’t bite him in the ass someday that one of his best friends, seven years his junior, is his boss’s daughter—

They’re in the office because it has better wifi and they moved the couches and the coffee table so they can both see a livestream error screen long past the time the launch was supposed to happen. And the door opens and Athena stumbles in and looks surprised to see them - like they didn’t talk about this and she said she probably wouldn’t come - and her clothes are rumpled like she slept in them. She sits down in the middle of the floor and shakes her head when Trucy asks if she is okay.

And Apollo’s phone rings. He has Starbuck’s number in case something happens at the Space Center and Clay can’t get in touch. Apollo’s phone rings and shows that Starbuck is calling. He wouldn’t do that unless something happened at the Space Center and Clay couldn’t get in touch.

“Hello?”

“Hey - Apollo?” Starbuck sounds terrible, words slurred like he just woke up, like he’s drunk, like he’s sick. “I’m - oh, god. I’m sorry.”

The world never has the decency to stop spinning. It keeps going, even while everything else falls to pieces.

-

They get about three minutes with Starbuck at the detention center before he is dragged back into interrogation. He is barely responsive through the conversation, still in shock, and Athena keeps looking at Apollo like - like what? Like he should also be in shock? Isn’t he in shock? A haze hangs over him. He hadn’t known he was driving to the detention center. Athena still looked ill and probably shouldn’t drive. Maybe Apollo wouldn’t either but he took the keys and started driving and they ended up at the detention center.

Trucy stayed behind at the office, her phone to her ear when they left. She was calling Phoenix - wasn’t she? Did she say? Apollo doesn’t remember. Starbucks called and then - and then Trucy called someone and Apollo and Athena are here. They don’t learn any details from Starbuck but Apollo can’t let his best friend’s mentor be blamed for his death. He can’t believe that his best friend’s mentor is responsible for his death.

They end up at the Space Center, swarming with cops who descend to tell them that no unauthorized personnel are allowed on the scene and then immediately scatter again. Neither of them have to say anything; just a glance at each other and they know what to wait for. They’re into the building as soon as no one is looking their way.

And it’s the Space Center that Apollo has been to before, always with Clay, and he’s with Athena now and Clay is somewhere here but—

He isn’t sure if he’s leading or if Athena’s leading or if they’re just walking until they end up somewhere or get stopped by a cop. And instead they are stopped by a cheery robot, one of the ones that roam the halls and register the faces and names of visitors. Apollo and Clay first visited when they were young enough that Clay thought telling the robot his name was Roxas was funny; when he started interning there it took weeks for them to learn his proper name because the robots were just smart enough that their programming wouldn’t accept a simple swap. And then Clay was an adult working at the space center, maintaining that it was still funny, and now Apollo is staring down a robot that greets him by name and makes something cold form in his throat.

It doesn’t need to register Athena’s name, either. She’s been here before. And she doesn’t like outer space; they talked about that before, once or twice. Again just recently. When Apollo mentioned the launch, this launch, this fucking launch that has—

Everything has gone wrong, the world pulled from orbit and left far adrift and pulled from orbit by a stronger gravity that swallows even the light. All the stars in the sky will someday die.

-

The victim’s body has already been moved from the scene. Clay has been moved. Clay’s body has been moved. What should Apollo call a corpse that he knew?

Fulbright promises to get them the autopsy report as soon as they have one. As soon as they get the chance to cut Clay up and search for truth in between organs and bones. Apollo can picture it. Apollo doesn’t want to picture it. Fulbright tells them, just between us, you know, that the murder weapon was probably one of the utility knives from the center’s toolkits - that’s what they found stabbed into the victim’s chest, after all!

The detective’s unerring cheer grates more than ever. So casual - doesn’t he know that Apollo’s best friend is dead? - How would he know that Apollo’s best friend is dead?

He shows them the knife, shaped like a boxcutter but larger than one. It is covered in blood. Clay’s blood looks like any other blood but it is Clay’s blood and Apollo wants to stop staring. Apollo can’t stop staring. When he tears his eyes away, he looks to Athena, and she is staring too.

-

They leave because Fulbright realizes that civilians shouldn’t be on the scene yet. A bomb went off in the rocket and a bomb went off in the main building and the area might have been secured but they’re not supposed to be here. Also as a detective he shouldn’t just be handing information to the opposition, right? He asks that like he’s having a crisis, like he hasn’t had that crisis before, like he doesn’t seem to go through this every time they try to wheedle information out of him. 

He tells them that on their way out they should grab copies of the center’s informational pamphlets for visitors. One of those has a map. It might help them to know the layout of the building. Wait, as a detective, should he tell them that? They’d probably notice them on their own, right? Down at the museum entrance. He’s just being polite.

Apollo grabs a few of the pamphlets and Athena grabs some and he doesn’t know how they’ve doubled up on them, how many extra copies they don’t need. How many times did he and Clay grab the same pamphlets that they’d read dozens of times before? They could compare the graphic design from the older ones to the newer ones - it never really got better. It was just different. 

How many times did they come here? Apollo has known to never count on permanence, never expect anything to stay constant - Dhurke taught him that. Foster homes taught him that. But the space center was a place to come back to, and they did. They came back and they came back, and the space museum was a place that was there for them, and Clay was a person who stayed. Apollo has known Clay longer than anyone. He has known Clay longer than he knew his own brother.

He knew Clay. He knew Clay longer than—

Nothing is permanent and no place is sacred.

And all of Apollo’s friends, other than Clay, are tied to his place of work. That office where today Athena stumbled in with rumbled clothes, looking sick and confused, and Athena—

-

Athena stares at the utility knife. Fulbright bagged it as evidence and the blood smears across the inside of the bag. Athena stares and stares and Fulbright takes it away and Athena is not staring at anything anymore, Athena’s eyes are just blank in her pale bloodless face. She looks as ill as she did when she first arrived at the office. “What?” Apollo asks. “Did you notice something?”

“Huh?”

“About the knife. You’re staring like - like you’ve figured something out about it, for our case.” 

“The - about the knife?” Her eyes remain unfocused. “No, I don’t - I’ve not seen it before, I don’t think.”

That wasn’t what he asked, and she looks like she’s coming down with something so he’d like to excuse her for being distracted but this is the scene of his best friend’s murder and they have to do their jobs right, they have to more than they’ve ever had to before, they can’t be distracted.

And they can’t—

He’s the distracted one, now.

-

His right eye. It’s his right eye, right around it, red scales like a reptile’s in a crescent beside his eye. He’d rip off that skin if he could, if it would make it stop. He’d grab that fucking knife and carve his eye out, put his blood on the blade together with Clay’s, if it meant that he wouldn’t have to see the truth through it. Was this supposed to be a blessing or a curse? Does it matter? Does it matter what it used to be to him? It’s a curse now. It was a tool in court but it’s a curse now.

He squeezes it shut. Maybe he can stop having to see it. Maybe the magic will go away. 

“I must’ve gotten something in my eye,” he says, and he couldn’t put a name to any emotion he’s currently feeling so how could Athena. Her ears and her gadgets are only going to be able to say that something’s wrong, and yeah no shit something’s wrong. She can’t know that he knows that she’s hiding something. She’s hiding something. She knows something about the knife that killed his best friend and she isn’t telling him. Why did she stagger into the office looking like such a mess? Where was she before that? What was she doing?

-

“No, I don’t - I’ve not seen it before, I don’t think,” she said, and then she blinked and her eyes were lit up all red, and she blinked again and it was gone.

But Apollo saw.

-

He doesn’t open his eye again until he’s alone in the bathroom rummaging in the cabinet behind the mirror. The bandages he finds get wrapped around his head, over his eye, and he hopes that’s enough to make it stop.

But it’s too late, isn’t it. Athena is hiding something and he knows she is hiding something. They’re in the office and she sits on the couch across from him with pamphlets spread out all over the coffee table in between them and she is hiding something. 

And she and Trucy and Phoenix all keep giving him these pitying looks because his best friend is fucking dead but the two Wrights also keep giving him these looks where he knows they don’t believe him about his eye. He tells them that he must’ve gotten something in it while they were at the space center and they both stare at him. Their eyes dart across his face, reading the lie in the ways that they do, and they know and what the fuck is he supposed to say? He can’t tip his hand to Athena. What if she killed Clay? What if she was at the space center and killed Clay and now she’s going to sabotage the defense? She promised Starbuck that she’d do everything she could to defend him and Apollo didn’t see that as a lie. What is she hiding? What did she do? 

He can’t tip his hand to Phoenix or Trucy. They adore Athena. They can both see truths with their own fucked-up eyes but would they believe him, really?

Apollo’s eyes, both of them, start hurting for real with the headache pounding right behind them, forming at the front of his skull. Has he eaten anything today? Has he had anything to drink? Trucy puts a water glass in his hand and he barely manages to spill it on the floor instead of the pamphlets. 

It grows dark outside. Trucy runs out to grab dinner for everyone; she puts food into his hand and he sets it aside. She takes it to the fridge at some point, tells him that they can reheat it later. Once Apollo’s stomach settles. His stomach hasn’t settled. Clay is dead and Athena is hiding something.

They have to go home at some point, don’t they? They’re supposed to leave the office sometime. It is dark outside and no one has left. Apollo can’t leave. His head hurts and his eyes hurt and he has to shuffle through the pamphlets until they tell him something. The knife, a map, a bomb on the HAT-2 rocket, Starbuck, Clay, Athena, Athena is hiding something, and if he thinks hard enough then surely he will find a strategy. He will find evidence. He will find the truth. He has to.

He tells them, Athena and Trucy and Phoenix, to go home. He doesn’t want to go home. If he goes home now, Clay won’t be there, and Clay wasn’t supposed to be there anyway but this is not the way that Clay is supposed to be gone. He is not supposed to still be on Earth. He was supposed to come back. See you later. Apollo was supposed to see him again.

They all look at each other, Athena and Trucy and Phoenix, and none of them go home yet.

Trucy brings him food again. “Polly, you’ve gotta eat something or you’ll collapse in court tomorrow,” she says. Phoenix had asked him if he was sure about defending Starbuck, if he didn’t want Phoenix to take it over. Trucy is wise enough not to try that. She knows him well enough to know. “You’ve got to be fed and watered.”

“And sleep,” Athena adds, and she presses the back of her hand against her mouth to hide a yawn. What time is it - how long has it been? Have even twelve hours passed since he got that phone call - and days have passed within those hours, dragging on in an agonizing eternity. “We should - we’ve got to be rested for the trial, too.”

“Then you should go home,” Apollo says to her. “Get some sleep.”

She looks at Trucy and Phoenix and they all glance back and forth between each other and him and then they all get up and step outside the office. He can hear their muffled voices but not the words. They could be talking about anything but if they left then they’re talking about him or maybe Athena is confessing a murder to them and they’re all deciding to cover it up. They love Athena like she’s family. And Apollo knows what the Wrights can do when they’re backed into a corner. Phoenix set him up to play his trump card for him, but Trucy was the one to place it in Apollo’s palm. She’s not stupid. She must have known then, or figured it out watching, probably without a hint, even quicker than Apollo did.

Surely they wouldn’t. 

But they could. 

“Apollo,” says Athena when they come back in, “you know we’re all going to do everything we can to help defend Mr Starbuck and find Clay’s real killer, right? And you don’t have to work yourself into exhaustion because we’re going to help you. You know that, right?”

He doesn’t see anything. Maybe that’s because she isn’t lying and she didn’t do anything wrong but she’s still hiding something and she really means to help, or maybe he’s really managed to stop the curse in his eye from making him see any more red. 

-

“No, I don’t - I’ve not seen it before, I don’t think,” she said, and then she blinked and her eyes were lit up all red, and she blinked again and it was gone.

But Apollo saw, and now that he saw once he keeps seeing it - they talk about the case, about the space center, and her eyes keep flashing. He closes his right eye. He wants it to stop. He doesn’t look at her. “I must’ve gotten something in my eye,” he says when she asks why he looks like that, if he’s okay.

She says she’ll drive back. When they reach her car she glances back at the building and Apollo can’t keep his eyes closed and he watches hers flicker red and then she blinks and it is gone again.

He doesn’t look at her for the entire drive back to the office.

-

Athena leaves, eventually. Then Phoenix and Trucy go to the back room and whisper some more and Apollo drops a pamphlet over his face and hopes that they will leave so that he can take the bandage off of his eye for a bit. And Phoenix leaves, eventually, after, but Trucy doesn’t follow him. She sits cross-legged on the couch across from Apollo and she stares at him. She stares over all of the pamphlets and at the dinner that Apollo has only taken a few bites out of. 

“Don’t you have school tomorrow?” Apollo asks.

“Yeah,” she says, and nothing more than that. She gets up and refills his water glass and when she brings it back she says, “When my grandfather died and Uncle Valant was arrested and my old daddy disappeared, I went to our little hideaway because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. But if I’d had anywhere else - anywhere at all - I wouldn’t have gone back. Everyone wasn’t even there every night anyway, but being there without them and after everything that had happened, it just felt too weird and wrong.”

“Oh,” Apollo says. It’s been a long time since she’s talked about those other Gramaryes. “Yeah.”

He has another place to go, but for how long? Does he want to be here, either, with Athena’s flickering eyes and all of his questions, so many goddamn questions and people who he doesn’t know if they would help him answer them—

His head still hurts. He lays back on the couch and closes both of his eyes. It doesn’t really help and after a moment he reaches back out to the pile on the coffee table and snags the pamphlet that has the map of the space center. He has looked at it a hundred times tonight, and dozens more earlier in his life. With the evidence they have - nothing that forms a narrative - the map isn’t going to tell him anything new. But if he keeps staring at it trying to etch all the corridors into his mind, he doesn’t have as much space to think about Athena. He can’t keep thinking about Athena and the knife. He can’t keep coming up with more theories as to what she’s done. 

But he does. He stares at the map and the possibilities whisper themselves to him with little voices at the back of his skull. Accomplice killer monster liar liar liar, what is she hiding, why is she lying. 

He opens his eyes. He didn’t know he had closed them again. Someone flipped the overheard lights off and the office is barely lit by the glow of the city that makes it in through the blinds. Apollo sits up, finding he must have dropped the last of the case papers he was holding; they aren’t on the couch with him. When he gets up, all of his bones including his skull creak and protest, but he manages to kneel down to check under the couch to be sure the papers haven’t slipped underneath. Nothing there, and nothing on the desk by the entrance, either. And no one here with him in the front room, either.

He rubs his eyes. Hiding the casework once he fell asleep so that he’ll have no choice but to rest longer - clever, and obnoxious, and frustrating, and he thought she understood how he needed to do this, that there’s nothing he can do but this - “Trucy?” he calls. “What have you done with everything?”

Silence. 

One of the blinds on the windows in the back is raised; the middle third of the room, part of the desk and the couch and the coffee table, is illuminated by the gloomy yellow light from outside. It is colder when Apollo steps through the doorway, so much colder than the uncomfortable winters have ever been in the office. The glass floor lamp in the corner looks like ice, but the windows haven’t yet frosted over.

Trucy isn’t here either, not asleep on the couch or sitting at the desk. “Trucy!” Apollo yells again. Silence answers him, and a tingling on the back of his neck, and he whirls around, expecting to find Trucy standing right behind him, but no one is there. Just the window, and the lamp, and Charley the plant that is already remarkably green and hardy even in the frigid air—

Don’t they keep Charley out in the front room? Apollo finds himself staring at the potted plant, dimly wondering if—

He finds no papers within the pot or beneath it, and he sets it back down, feeling at least a little stupid and much more than that, confused for a reason he can’t place. The plant is moved, everything they’ve put together for this case is missing, Trucy is missing, and - they don’t have a glass floor lamp like that.

Slowly he straightens up, and slowly he turns around to take in the room again. It is the size and shape of the back room of the Wright Anything Agency, but there is only one desk instead of three, and they don’t have that lamp, and they don’t have a couch and a coffee table in the back room.

The chill that grips him is from within his own body, now. He hurries back out front, his heart pounding in his throat, and takes in a room that looks nothing like the office he works in. They don’t keep a reception desk by the entrance; they keep two couches out here, instead. All of Trucy’s magic props are gone, and so is the piano. He should have noticed instantly that this was wrong. This place, whatever it is, wherever he is, could pass for a legitimate law office.

“Hello?” he shouts. “Hello?

With a snap and a clattering, the blinds over the front window shoot up like someone grabbed them and carelessly let them loose. Apollo’s heart momentarily stops. His reflection in the dark window stares back at him, pale and frightened and bandageless. The bold brown-and-gold lettering on the glass is backwards from this side, but legible, naming a place both familiar and not: FEY & CO. LAW OFFICES.

He’s probably dreaming, he finally thinks. This is crazy, so he’s dreaming, and if he tries hard enough he can force his eyes open and he’ll find the papers and Trucy curled up on the couch across from him. His eyes feel suddenly very heavy, and he wants to close them again, but even when he does he can still see the office all around him. Like he’s seeing through his eyelids and it’s hazy but still identifiable as the office. He’s definitely dreaming. This, for this moment, feels like the confusion of any other dream.

A freezing gust blows through the office and the front door bangs open and slams shut. Apollo can see clearly again, snapped back out of the dreamy blur. Something thumps softly in the back room. Apollo finds himself standing in the doorway looking in again, at the pale light and the unfamiliar arrangement of decor, and this time there is a woman standing silhouetted against the window. 

Apollo thinks he has seen her somewhere before, and Apollo knows he has never seen her before in his life. She has long straight hair and wears a black suit jacket and skirt. As he approaches, he can make out details of her face, her dark eyes and a mole by her mouth, and the gnawing familiarity takes hold again. He halts just out of arm’s reach of her, and she tilts her head and smiles at him, saying nothing.

Relief and terror in equal measure wash over him as he thinks he knows the answer.

“Mia?” 

Her smile widens at the edges, but her eyes grow sadder the longer she studies his face. “Oh, sunshine,” she says, and when she speaks it sounds as though she does with two voices, a stronger one and a faint echo beneath it. “What has happened to you? Where has the light gone?” 

Apollo’s own voice sticks sideways in his throat. His boss’s long-dead fae mentor stands before him, as though this is normal - as though she would go through the charades of flickering lights and flying objects if she could take shape to stand before them and have a conversation. Never once has Phoenix said that he ever spoke with her.

“How,” he begins, and then that becomes the entire question. “How - why? I don’t understand—”

She extends a hand to him, raising it to the level of his face. He steps forward though he isn’t sure that he should, and she lays her hand against his cheek. Her skin is like ice, but the gesture itself is warm. Motherly, perhaps. (Not that Apollo knows what it’s like to have one of those.)

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” he says. His voice cracks. “You, or - and Athena - she’s hiding something, we’re investigating Clay’s murder and she looked at the knife and she lied, she knows something and she won’t tell me and my best friend is dead and I don’t know how to trust her - she can’t have been involved, can she? There’s no reason that - but I didn’t know any reason why Mr Gavin would kill Shadi Smith, either, and that—”

Mia lowers her hand. Apollo steps back. His hands are shaking. In his lifetime, how many times has he been warned - how many separate people have cautioned him, Dhurke, Clay, Klavier, on and on - to steer clear of the Fair Folk, to watch his words, to never make a deal and keep a close hold of his soul? And now he stands before fae royalty and begs. “Tell me that Athena didn’t have anything to do with Clay’s murder. Please, just tell me that. In exchange, I’ll - what do you want for it, I’ll help. But I have to know—”

“And I cannot tell you,” she interrupts sternly, and Apollo takes another step back. Her flinty eyes pierce into his. “I observe, I listen, and I know all of what happens within these walls; I know much of the pain that each of you carries in with you. But I am not omniscient. Some hearts hold secrets that are locked away too deeply for even me to know them.”

She doesn’t know. Mia doesn’t know. How can she not know? “But you - you’re - Mr Wright told us how powerful you are, for you to still be here, and you’re - the royalty of the Winter Court! There has to be something - some way - or something I can give you—”

Glass shatters next to them and Apollo flinches away. When he opens his eyes, he sees glass shards scattered across the carpet, and Mia’s form has changed. Her skin and hair are white as snow or bone, and her eyes are red without pupils set in that skull-colored face. Above and below them, other tiny red eyes blink in unison, all of them glowing bright through the gloom. Her ears are elongated, poking through the shroud of her hair and ending in points. Even her clothing has changed, to a robe much like those that Iris and Pearl have worn, hers a white robe tied at the waist with a red sash.

And stark against her white skin, like the contrast of the red fabric and the white, blood smeared down from her forehead and matted in the hair on her temple.

“I am a ghost,” she says, gentle though her sharp teeth are briefly visible, and her voice still echoes when nothing else in this space does. “And a lawyer. Not a mystic or a goddess. I have my limits as anyone else - and a few more limits than anyone else, now.” She smiles wryly. “I belonged to the Winter Court whose powers strengthen as the days shorten, and despite that I must still borrow a voice and strength enough to use it. I would like to know. To be able to help everyone here. And to answer you, sunshine, truly I wish I could. But that is beyond me. I do not hold the keys.”

“Then what do I do?” Apollo asks. “I believe that Mr Starbuck didn’t do it, but we barely have evidence, and Athena - I don’t know what she’ll do. If she really - then she might sabotage the case, or hide evidence, or make new evidence, or—” He covers his eyes. He wants to rip the magic out of his face. “I don’t know what to do!”

“You do what a lawyer always does,” Mia says. “You believe in your client. You fight to prove their innocence and find the truth. And you make sure that your client does not see you doubt yourself. You smile for their sake, even if you don’t think there’s anything worth smiling about. There will be time to cry when it’s all over.”

Time to cry, huh? He hasn’t yet. He doesn’t know if he can, if there’s even enough left of him to feel anything at all. “I’m fine,” Apollo says. He doesn’t convince himself. Mia looks maybe doubtful - it’s hard to tell with the strange fae features that make up the upper half of her face. “I’m fine! I’m - I’m Apollo Justice and I’m - fine!” 

He still struggles to put the full force of his voice behind the words, but Mia smiles, an expression that was much more reassuring when she looked human, and not now that there are some dozen spider-like eyes staring straight through him. “Like that,” she says. “See? You know what to do. Your job has not changed. Now go, and do it. I know you are more than capable.”

Her form shimmers at the edges, like a mirage. Apollo can see through her to the window and out, to the snow aimlessly drifting out of the sky. “Wait!” he says, and he doesn’t know why he wants her to stay when he knows nothing else to ask her, but he dreads the thought of leaving this office to return to the one where he cannot freely speak of his fears. “Please, Mia - Ms Fey - wait!”

Only the glass shards remain, and a few small droplets of blood in the carpet amidst them. Apollo sits up and he is on the couch, with itchy bandages tied around his head and over his eye, and the coffee table next to him covered in pamphlets. Trucy sleeps curled on the opposite couch; she doesn’t stir when Apollo stands and slips into the back room. 

He looks over their three desks and the losing war they fight against Trucy’s props encroaching from the front room where they are meant to stay beside the piano. The middle window is the only one with the blinds raised, showing him the snowflakes glittering against the city lights. Searching the carpet on his hands and knees, he finds no trace of glass or blood.

To defend his client, prove their innocence in court - that is his task in any trial and every trial. The circumstances shouldn’t change that. He should want to save his client for the sake of saving his client, and to find the truth for the sake of finding the truth.

But - they do. The circumstances change everything. Maybe that makes him a terrible lawyer. Maybe that makes him a terrible friend. But how well does he know Athena? How well can he ever know anyone? His first trial taught him that twice over.

When he returns to the front, Trucy is sitting upright, staring silently, and more than a bit creepily, at him. “You have court in a few hours,” she says. “We should probably get you home to get ready.”

“Yeah,” Apollo says. It’s too late now to get ahead of the snow. He imagines wiping out on the icy sidewalk and tipping straight into traffic. Maybe that would solve a few of his problems, but it wouldn’t, not really - Clay would still be dead, and his true killer still at large, even if Apollo is gone.

His hand is on the front door knob when Trucy loudly clears her throat. She waves a compact mirror at him. “I’ve got a shortcut, remember?” she asks. “The gift of the Gramaryes.”

He hadn’t. “You haven’t done that in ages,” he says. Or maybe she has, and only when he isn’t around. They took the train up to Nine-Tails Vale the way normal people travel.

The shadowy archway appears behind them, opening down to rotting wooden stairs that splinter at the edges. Apollo’s memory has certainly been jogged now, but something about what lies before him seems off. “I don’t,” he says carefully, “remember this looking so…”

“OSHA-noncompliant?” Trucy interrupts, ever a businesswoman, though knowing the story about her mother’s death, Apollo knows that she didn’t inherit any sense of safety from her grandfather. “It wasn’t.” She stands on the top step and gingerly tests the next one down, reaching out to the side to brace herself against the wall. She freezes with her arm extended, and she steps backwards out of the doorway, bumping into Apollo who had joined her at her shoulder. 

“What?” he asks.

“Polly, the walls are gone.”

“What?”

“The walls, it was this claustrophobic—”

“I remember that; what do you mean they’re gone?” 

“I mean they’re gone!”

Apollo peers into the stairwell, not entirely unconvinced that this isn’t some stupid and ill-timed prank despite the quaver in Trucy’s voice. The walls were tight and suffocating, and while it was incredibly dark he could in fact still see those walls. He sees nothing of the sort now. He sees these stairs, as though of the most dilapidated basement of all time, and to either side of them, blackness. The void, in every sense of it, to the point that he doesn’t even feel his usual height-induced vertigo with no visible endpoint or ground.

“I think I’ll call us a cab, actually,” Trucy says. “Maybe let’s do that.”

They step away from the void. “I’ll just bike home,” Apollo says. “I’d do that anyway.”

“In this weather?” Trucy asks, even though he’s biked home in this weather many times before. There must be something else, and it’s plain on her face that there is, but Apollo has no idea what. “I’m calling a cab. I’ll even pay for it.”

“Fine,” he says, knowing how arguments with her usually go and also knowing that he has no patience or energy for it. “Sure.”

They wait outside for it, since there is little difference in temperature between the snowy street and the office. “Hey,” Apollo says after a while, and Trucy turns her head so fast that she smacks herself in the face with her hair. “Did you have any weird dreams last night?”

“Weird - no, not - I guess I don’t usually have dreams at all, or at least I don’t remember them…” She taps her chin. “I think I - had a dream about my mother? I don’t - I’m not sure why I think it was her, but that’s what I thought when I woke up. Anyway, that’s it, yeah, why? Did you have some really weird dream?”

So she didn’t see Mia, too. “Yeah, kinda.”

She stares at him but doesn’t verbally ask for elaboration, and he doesn’t elaborate.

-

His apartment is empty and that’s how it should have been. Clay wasn’t supposed to be here anyway. The silence is just silence. He doesn’t need to think about how during this silence, Clay is lying in a morgue somewhere when he should be in orbit. Apollo shouldn’t think about that or about Athena’s eyes as she stared at the knife, or anything but a strategy for saving Mr Starbuck. But he doesn’t have any evidence with which to craft a strategy, so he thinks about everything else, instead. Everything that he doesn’t need to.

[rivalsforlife]

Do you have anything you wished was different from Ace Attorney canon?

Hello I'm finally slowly starting to get around to answering some of these! Sorry for the wait.

Uh this ask got super long so a basic summary of it: narumitsu being canon in a well-written way would be nice even though I don't think it would ever happen, I stand by not bringing back Phoenix as a main protagonist in DD, and I'd also want to rewrite all of SOJ so that Apollo goes to Khura'in in place of Phoenix, to have more interesting character stuff going on.

So the longer answer is this:

Aside from some of the actually problematic stuff that I don't feel qualified to talk about, story-wise, I answered a sort of similar question about a year ago here. I have changed my opinions a little bit since then, particularly with regards to the canonicity of narumitsu... because while I do love narumitsu I feel like I don't trust Ace Attorney to actually do it properly. After all if this past November has taught us anything "making a ship canon" could actually be quite undesirable and I have no desire to see Phoenix and/or Edgeworth sent to superhell. (I literally know nothing else about supernatural sorry about that.)

If capcom were somehow able to make narumitsu canon but in an unobtrusive way and as a natural progression of the storyline, like oh hey, the court record profile for Miles Edgeworth's Obligatory Last-Case Appearance has Phoenix mention they're dating, and maybe there's a few lines suggesting they live with each other, but it's not like... taking the entire story to force them together and otherwise does not change the way they interact with each other and butcher one or both of their characterizations in the process? I'd definitely be happy about that. Not gonna lie even if they made narumitsu canon in the most terrible way possible I'd have a "holy shit I can't believe they did that it's the best day of my life" kind of moment before I could think about it critically. But I honestly see no chance of them ever actually making narumitsu canon, so that's quite unrealistic to hope for anyways.

Aside from that in that other ask I talked about basically the premise of an Apollo trilogy and not bringing back Phoenix as the main protagonist in DD, and I still stand by that, buuut in my other ask I did touch on making SOJ a different game where Apollo goes to Khura'in instead of Phoenix - and you know what I'm going to take some time to actually talk about my dream version of SOJ because there were a lot of little things about the one we got that I didn't like. And it's going to be very long. So it's under a cut.

SO yeah I talked about it a bit in the other ask. I think that Phoenix going to Khura'in is a rather weak idea both externally and in-universe. In one of the interviews, too lazy to find which one, Phoenix basically goes to Khura'in because the writers couldn't figure out how to challenge him anymore. ... And then they don't actually challenge him at all. Because oh well now we're going to this new country where they KILL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS WHO LOSE and then it's supposed to be *shocking* that Phoenix would risk his life for a kid or his best friend. you know the guy who ran across a burning bridge to save his best friend. you know the guy who got punched in the face, nearly killed by the mafia, and tazed trying to save his clients. This doesn't tell me anything new about Phoenix's character. His whole travel in Khura'in doesn't tell me anything new about Phoenix's character. Basically the only reason he's there is to see Maya - Maya who theoretically would be returning home in about two weeks. Maya who was still in her training for two more weeks when Phoenix visited so he wouldn't be able to see her anyways. ... And in the meantime Trucy had the biggest show of her life that was going to be on TV and Phoenix wasn't there for it. And of course Phoenix didn't return home after Trucy was accused of murder (yes he couldn't be there for the trial, but he definitely could have for the emotional support afterwards) and instead just sits for two weeks in Khura'in doing literally nothing after Ahlbi's trial.

(And yes I know about the anime prologue that has Phoenix think Maya's in danger... but that's not strictly canon since it's never mentioned in game, isn't technically a part of the game, and even still, why wouldn't he go home after knowing that Maya's safe and that Trucy had been ACCUSED OF MURDER. Honestly that's what makes me angriest about this whole thing is that it makes Phoenix out to be a terrible dad. We really don't need any more takes like that, especially not from canon.)

And what about Apollo, you may ask? Well, given case 5 of SOJ, Apollo actually has a personal link to Khura'in and ends up staying there afterwards... after being there for like a day or two. I should note here that it has been a while since I went through SOJ in its entirety so I am fuzzy on many of the details. But both through what I remember and some conversations with people who actually played the game recently, the motivation for Apollo to actually stay in Khura'in isn't that great. It mainly seemed like guilt about his dead dad who he hadn't been in contact with for years and had completely written off until a few days ago but oh he died and then went to go visit him so... better take up the law office!

If Apollo had gone to Khura'in in place of Phoenix and spent more time there, reconnecting with his childhood home and actually getting passionate seeing how corrupt the legal system is there (even though we have a corrupt legal system at home) and being driven to fix it, that would make for a stronger story, I think. The Khura'in plot is more personally focused around Apollo than it is Phoenix. Phoenix's connection to Khura'in is through Maya, but Maya doesn't really have much of a connection to it aside from "it's where spirit channeling is from and she trains there". But Apollo, I guess, grew up there. So it's so strange to me that they force all of Apollo's connection to Khura'in in the last case while Phoenix is running around doing who-knows-what for the rest of the game. Phoenix spends more time getting to know the state of Khura'in and the Defiant Dragons and case 3's whole thing but he isn't the one who in the end decides to sit down and fix it; that's all on Apollo. It almost feels like they forced one of the two plots in to everything. And it was probably conceived as a Phoenix story that they needed to fit Apollo into last minute because oops he's supposed to be a protagonist too.

Some other strengths to Apollo going to Khura'in include that it would shake up the character dynamics a bit. Instead of Phoenix defending Maya, it's Apollo defending Maya, and that's a particularly interesting thing to look at in the context of Khura'in's "we kill defense attorneys" system. Of course, Phoenix would risk his life to save Maya, 100%, every time. But what about Apollo, who hasn't met Maya, who only knows her as "Mr. Wright's former assistant" - would he risk his life for her? And I feel like Maya would argue more against him defending her because of that. "We're strangers, you don't know me, you don't have to risk your life defending me." (Sidenote that I was always upset that Maya didn't protest much when Phoenix offered to defend her, knowing his life was at risk - sure she knows him better and knows he's always been able to get her out of these situations, but at the same time, the fact that there was no "what about your daughter?" conversation sucks. I really wish SOJ wouldn't have like. completely forgotten about the phoenix-trucy father-daughterisms.)

Let's say Apollo goes to Khura'in. Phoenix stays at home. Phoenix gets a call from Apollo that's basically "uhh hi Mr. Wright you know your friend Maya, she's been arrested for murder, if I defend her and I lose we're both dead," then you can tie in to that moment in 6-2 where Phoenix (who can't make it in time for the trial!) believes in Apollo and his skills as an attorney, not just to save Maya's life, but also his own. It ties in a bit more to the overall challenge of defending someone at the risk of your own life. Again, Phoenix would have very few hesitations, if any, risking his life to defend Maya. Apollo may have more defending a stranger at the risk of his own life.

Then if you can actually have Apollo and Maya talk together that would be neat - Maya can tell him embarrassing stories about Phoenix's rookie days, for instance. Their dynamic would be quite a bit different from Phoenix and Maya's, and that would be an interesting thing to see, unlike what we have in SOJ where all of Maya's substantial interactions are with characters she already knows or brand new characters.

(It would also be pretty neat to know more spirit channeling politics and dive in more to Maya's perspective on Khura'in and also her role as upcoming Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique and where she plans to lead the village in the future and also reconcile with her family's bloody legacy, but I'm not quite sure how to fit that in right now.)

And how about Phoenix, back home in Japanifornia? Evidently he'd end up being in charge of defending Trucy. Now, I did love the siblingsisms in canon 6-2, but I feel like there is still potential for Phoenix defending Trucy. All of Apollo Justice has a bunch of good moments between Apollo and Trucy, and she's co-counsel on all his trials, but we've never had any substantial Phoenix and Trucy investigation or co-counsel moments. I feel like AU 6-2 would be a great opportunity to dive more into Phoenix and Trucy's relationship and how it may have changed after Phoenix got his badge back. Plus, Phoenix being "the only one who knows how she really feels on the inside", he'd have unique insider knowledge into some of the Gramarye stuff that comes up in the case and Trucy's personal connection to the Gramaryes, which Apollo knows a bit of, but Phoenix knows more of. ... Or at least, should know more of, given that he raised Trucy for nine years at this point and they're very close, and Phoenix knows her better than anyone else does, even if capcom has forgotten this.

... Of course having Athena defend the case would also be great because more Athena spotlight is never a bad thing, but it's hard to come up with a reason why Phoenix wouldn't be there to defend her. And doing more switcheroos in terms of role in the plot is a bit beyond the scope of what I have in mind right now. Sorry Athena.

Aside from that, Athena still gets Storyteller, Apollo still heads Turnabout Revolution, and Phoenix still gets the DLC case. Apollo stays in Khura'in in the end with a bit more to his motivations. Rather than it just being about carrying on Dhurke's legacy, it's also something Apollo is passionate about after all he witnessed here. While we're at it I'd still rework a lot of Turnabout Revolution to make it so that Phoenix genuinely believes in Atishon because that makes for sooo much more interesting of a plot and actual character development on Phoenix's part than "Maya was kidnapped again and Phoenix is only wrong when he has no other choice", but that'd require some more detail and this post is long enough already.

And in terms of other details that need to be sorted out, there's the question of why Apollo would need to go to Khura'in in the first place. I'd probably say something to do with Dhurke. Maybe he comes back a bit earlier - actually alive, maybe, though crossing borders would be a bit of a challenge, or he reaches out to Apollo remotely somehow and Apollo goes to yell in his face about abandoning him (or at least that's what he thinks he wants.) Then we could have some more Dhurke and Apollo bonding time, potentially? Idk, if you switch up Phoenix and Apollo you're pretty much writing a whole new game and obviously I have not worked out all the details, but I think if Capcom had tried to go with this route from the outset they'd have a stronger game. At least stronger character motivations.

So... yeah. Those are my opinions. If you read through this whole thing I'm very impressed because it got very long!

[sunset-peril]

Ashes Remain (A Man Named Terran #2) - Chapter One - Trial Interrupted

December 16, 2027

10:00am

District Courtroom Number Four

~~~~

"Hey, Hey!" A man in a bulletproof police uniform rushed the stand. "There's a live bomb! The bomb's been reactivated!"

Pandemonium flooded the courtroom as the gallery fled the courtroom.

"Apollo!" The red-vested lawyer's young co-worker pulled his arm. Her eyes darted around in terror, and her personal AI glitched around her neck. "Come on, Apollo!"

"No! I can't let it end like this!"

"Stay with me, Apollo!" Her brute strength overcame his reluctance, and they began to move.

He heard a scream, and yanked away from her. "Keep going! I'm right behind you!"

That was the last thing Athena remembered before pain blazed through the sides of her head, then stabbed the back, and her vision went black.

~~~~

December 16th, 2027

11:00am

Central Japanifornia High School English Department.

~~~~

It was family week at CJHS. Normally, such celebrations were reserved for the lower level schools, but the week-long celebration of family relationships was part of a greater study on the effects family had on the societal state of the youth.

Big words aside, it was a study to see if certain types of mental and physical states were directly connected to the presence, or lack of presence, of the student's family.

Trucy Wright had narrowly escaped being auto-sorted into the 'suspected personality issues' group. The study had already suggested imbalances with orphans, especially when the individual aged out of the foster system. She already knew this because her brother, or she called him her brother, Apollo Justice, was called on to be tested for the Aged-Out group. His special someone (as her best friend Pearl always designated), Athena Cykes, was also an orphan. She was pulled for two different groups. One was orphans who moved in with relatives instead of being surrendered to the foster system. Athena wouldn't talk about the other. At least not around her. Daddy knew, and she guessed Apollo knew too, but Athena kept very tight lips.

This made sense, as Athena was legally insane. She knew she'd be a bad mark for orphans. She was sweet as Pearl's rice cakes from her hometown of Kurain Village, but that designation would follow her the rest of her life.

Apollo wasn't the greatest advocate for orphans in the study either. Her brother in spirit had severe attachment issues. He was cynical, sarcastic and experienced episodes of heightened anxiety whenever suddenly separated from one of the three of them. He reacted the most when separated from Athena, which made her dad, the legendary Phoenix Wright, designate them as an official legal team so the court would automatically assign them both to every case they worked on. Justice n' Cykes, the Wright Anything Agency's shining stars in the darkness of the law.

No one explained exactly to Trucy what the Dark Age was, just that it caused her to lose her real daddy, Apollo, to become naturally distrustful, and traumatized Athena to the point she eventually moved in with Apollo to find respite from her nightmares.

At least, it was all like that until recently.

Apollo's friend died suddenly yesterday morning.

He didn't come home to Athena last night. Daddy was on the phone with her all night, trying to soothe her fears.

They started fighting at work. Athena hadn't come home the night before, and he demanded to know where she'd been after the initial investigation. She couldn't answer.

Daddy removed her from the room.

Being taken away while her brother and the woman she'd been certain he loved fought was frightening. Was this the Dark Age? Of course they had to have their huge fight the day of Family Intros. How was she supposed to introduce her family? She had her daddy, her brother, and her brother's girlfriend, but her brother suddenly started yelling and throwing things at his girlfriend, who happened to be insane?

She thought everything was going to be better now. Apollo was always happier with Athena, and Athena with him. The only thing she was lacking was a mom, which her and Pearl were working on behind the scenes. She didn't want to see Justice n' Cykes fight, it worried her.

At least her and Pearl were alright. Pearl had basically been raised by her dad and Pearl's cousin Mystic Maya (who was Trucy and Pearl's choice for a new mother) after her mother was convicted of murder, and would have been in the same group as Athena if she'd been just a few months older. She'd been telling Pearl about everything: Apollo's friend suddenly dying, him and Athena fighting. Pearl was glad to note they seemed a little more normal this morning when she left for school: Apollo kissed her head and bopped her hat and Athena was happily blabbering on about this and that before giving Trucy a bottle of orange juice, lemon bars for the whole class she'd baked to keep her mind off things, and a prop she'd polished for the day's presentation; though a bit removed from Apollo.

They both seemed removed from each other, but considering Apollo didn't go home last night, she supposed that wasn't too odd. It was definitely awkward for her when they arrived at different times.

Phoenix had texted her about 8:45 to tell her the pair had finally started talking to each other, but captioned it with the fact he'd rather have been with his daughter at school; it was awkward at the office.

She decided to ignore yesterday's events when she was called up, and had the happiest picture of the Agency she could find to show her class. "This is my family. Officially, it's only me and my daddy, Phoenix Wright. But the man in the red on the left is basically my brother, Apollo Justice. Daddy had asked Apollo if he wanted to officially be adopted, but he didn't want to. Polly's a lawyer, and wanted to reserve the court's time for adopting little kids and not his twenty-three year old self. But he did accept being considered part of the family. The lady on the right is his girlfriend, Athena Cykes. She's a doctor of psychology, and Apollo's legal partner. She's an orphan like Polly, but they seem to have a pretty good idea of family when they're together. She made the food I brought for the snack bar, and is only two years older than I am! I really look up to her when I need to know what a strong woman is. She can throw Apollo! That's actually how they met, she accidentally threw a full-grown cop onto him!"

The class erupted into laughter, and so did Trucy. Remembering the happier times helped her worry less about the current situation. At least until the phone rang.

"Of course, yes, I'll send her right away." Her teacher looked in her direction. "Trucy, you've been called to the front office. Checked out."

"Oh, okay! Thank you." Trucy handed the pointer back to her teacher and gathered her things.

"Tell Athena the lemon bars are really good!" Pearl muttered with mouth full. "I bet that'll make her happy!"

"That will make her day, Pearlie. I'll see ya later."

She carried her backpack out to the main office, where Prosecutor Gavin and Detective Skye sat uncomfortably on the carpeted chairs, muttering amongst themselves. It was Gavin's silence that struck her the most. Ema was like Apollo, with that no nonsense personality. Gavin though, was like Athena on a sugar rush. She expected the former rockstar to be flirting with the detective, strumming on a guitar the tune of 'Guilty Love' or 'The Guitar's Serenade.' He remained silent and subdued. "Ah, Fraulein Wright. Good."

"Prosecutor Gavin? Are you and Detective Skye here for me?"

"Yes, Trucy. Your father's gone on ahead, and requested us to pick you up." Ema held open the door and Klavier escorted Trucy out.

"Gone on ahead? Prosecutor Gavin, what happened to Daddy?"

"Nothing happened to Herr Wright... it was Herr Forehead and Sunshine."

They climbed into Ema's compact little car, sitting in excruciating silence. "What...? What happened?"

Ema bit her lip and crammed a fistful of Snackoos into her mouth, Klavier took a few too and munched nervously.

If it had something to do with Athena and Apollo's fight, the whole legal world must know. "What happened to Polly and Thena, Ema?"

She sighed, sliding out a box of tissues from under the dash. "There was a bomb, in the courtroom..." She nodded.

"W-what about the bomb? Polly and Thena are okay, right?"

"Fraulein, your so-called brother and his... special companion were inside the building when the bomb exploded. Their bodies were found in the rubble by the search team. Your father is at the hospital now awaiting their condition. We will meet him there, and hope for the best. From what I heard from the first response team, " His face tightened into that serious gesture that humorously reminded Trucy of an emoticon, though it was anything but humorous now. "we should expect they passed instantly."

They received a text while on their way:

Currently alive, not well. Over 70% of P's burns 3rd degree. Being kept under. T in surgery. Brain hemorrhaging in back brain from impact. Neither guaranteed.