#OK EDGEWORTH SHOULD BE FIXED NOW?

[dolotonglo]

aa trilogy/investigations ponies for the soul

[myspacepoet]

What's your headcanons about the gavin Brothers, i ask because in your latest peice of art, I saw an article about Edgeworth's demon prosecutor days, and thats got my interest peaked.

it’s everyone’s lucky day, because this was the exact amount of gentle prodding i needed to write all this out. if you’ve already read this on the discord you should check it again cause i added some more stuff at the bottom <3

i’m gonna preface this by saying that i couldn’t give a single shit about kristoph’s canon motivations. i haven’t played aj:aa and have no intentions to. kristoph is mine now and i’m giving him the backstory and motives i think are interesting. fuck off <3

i’m also working on a base assumption that kristoph is 8 years older than klavier, i’m not fact checking this as i don’t have the brain capacity to internalize the ace attorney timeline, and also that the gavins are actually german and lived in germany for at least a good while, because i do what i want

longpost warning, posting this from my phone so no cut very sorry

the gavin parents are these moderately known defense attorneys, konrad and elizabeth. i might write this scene out one day but at some point they have a date night, they go to see a thematically fitting play/musical/opera (i haven’t decided which), leaving 10 y/o klavier in the hands of 18 y/o kristoph. they don’t come back.

they decide to take a walk after the play/musical/whatever and stumble across a dead stage hand in the middle of the park, and are arrested for it after they call the police. now, i have done the bare fucking minimum of timeline checking for reasons previously mentioned but i believe miles MIGHT have been 20 at the time???? and hopefully also in germany??? but BASICALLY miles gets assigned to the case, and Makes A Bunch Of Shit Up™ and gets them convicted.

methinks the bullshit motive miles came up with was that like something the stagehand was involved with went horribly wrong during the production and the play/whatever was essentially ruined (the real culprit was actually the egotistical lead actor who was angry at the “performance of their life” being ruined by the stagehand) so kristoph starts resenting the courts and law in general but prosecutors ESPECIALLY. at first it’s just resentment for miles but then he realizes “WAIT A SECOND. it’s not HIS fault, HE is just a symptom of a larger problem” the problem of course being the rampant corruption in the general legal system and the fact that trials are so skewed towards the prosecution.

this is because i first of all believe there should be genuine consequences for miles’ demon prosecutor days, and also i think the most compelling villains are the ones that see an actual, valid, problem but pick a batshit insane solution.

this leads us neatly into the fact that instead of resolving to FIX the system, he resolved to get REVENGE on the system, which i personally think is a really interesting choice.

as i am a sappy little bitch and think sibling dynamics/relationships are just the bomb, this has a lot to do with klavier. the idea of kristoph having a soft spot for klavier, no matter how little it shows later in life, gives it me heart palpitations so im adding that.

kristoph decides to take his blind rage and all-consuming resentment out on the first sad sack of shit he sees. the sad sack of shit in question being phoenix. he’s like “hmmmm… some sorta… beacon of morality… some sorta… hero…” and decides to fuck his shit up.

it wasn’t ever REALLY ABOUT phoenix, more about inflicting the pain he and his brother felt after the loss of their parents on the courts and legal system, hurting miles (the guy he hated in the first place) was only a bonus to him. killing zak was just out of paranoia for his super secret villainous plot being uncovered etc. etc.

editors notes:

- ok i wrote all this out then realized i FORGOT SOME THINGS but didn’t feel like finding where they should go in the main wall of text so here they are <3

- konrad and elizabeth are convicted when klavier is 10, kristoph is 18, and miles is 20. they’re around 40-45 at the time.

- they’re executed 2 years later, after which kris and klav decide the pain of living in their childhood home with their parents dead is too much so they move to america, this is also about the time kris stops actively resenting miles in particular

- another reason kris and klav stay in germany for so long is because there’s a very very long custody battle over who gets klavier now that konrad and elizabeth can’t take care of him, eventually ending in kristoph taking custody of his brother

- kristoph used to be very protective of his brother, his only goals being to protect klavier and get his revenge. this eventually turned into just getting his revenge

- kristoph definitely had like an eye-twitch-internal-screaming moment when klavier announced he was gonna become a prosecutor, but rationalized it to himself as having some sort of man on the inside or something like that

alright that’s all i can think of for now

[transguyedgeworth]

HALLO i hope all has gone well with bugs and such ur probably dealing w that as i type this but i have more headcanons >:) so! i hope these are helping deal with evil evil bugs

-maya still has a bunch of mias clothes she gave some to lana and some to pearl but sometimes she’ll wear a sweater or something that was mias

-phoenix doesn’t really like hospitals

- reminds him too much of bttt and falling

- yes i think capcom should have realized that falling off a damn bridge should give a man a good bit of upset and trauma capcom i am outside your door

- miles bottles up his feelings A LOT because there wasn’t any place for feelings in the von karma house. he’s trying to get better though

- he mostly bottles up his anger because he sees mvk in himself whenever he gets angry because mvk would be angry a lot

- fran also does the same but with any happiness or personal pride she may feel

- they both try to work on it, maya and phoenix are good influences on them

- miles has visited mvk in jail once. he won’t again

- franziska will never visit him

-miles likes to knit

-maya is sooo superstitious not like ohh if i break a mirror i’m dead but like Bigfoot Is Real and I Saw Him At Gourd Lake

-edgeworth and phoenix go often to a little coffee shop and always get a pot of tea

-sometimes phoenix brings flowers

-LMAO edgeworth asks what they are sometimes and unless they’re the two types of flowers phoenix knows he has No Idea

- the bathroom at wright and co is haunted

- maya attracts ghosts like nobodies business

-fran is afraid of spiders and maya is Violent towards spiders

- fran will shriek from the other room and maya will run in flip flop in hand, take one look around the room, and chuck her shoe at the spider. she never misses.

-maya LOVES that bakery they investigated in that one case i cannot remember the name of the one with the like. french dude? and tigre?

-pearls and maya make a scrap book for wright and co

-phoenix still draws (he was an art student and i am projecting onto him) sometimes but always drags edgeworth to art museums and talks about the art

-building on game night with the wrights they also have video game nights. phoenix is so bad and maya is still competitive but fran and edgeworth when paired against each other are Scary

-fran also sometimes lets her little brother win and gets dramatic about losing but it makes her happy to see edgeworth excited

- edgeworth has a journal bc someone once suggested it and he writes in it so often

- he also carries a certain picture of him larry and phoenix when they were kids and his signal samurai keychain in his inner pocket and fiddles with the keychain

-maya loves decorating the office for holidays

-the only thing phoenix can make well is soup and hot chocolate and he makes them at least twice a month when it’s cold

-edgeworth won’t admit it but he’d rather eat phoenixs almost burnt soup and melted bar hot chocolate than the stuff from the fanciest restaurants

- when edgeworth and phoenix propose they both propose at the same time and it’s so awkward but so so funny they both say yes of course but phoenix will tell that story to anyone who listens

ok that’s all for now! idk if i have any more (that’s a lie i have so many thoughts about them but idk how many of them are coherent) anyway i wish you best of luck with all the hubbub!!!

everything is going well thank you for the concern!! housing sent someone out to fix up the hole in my wall that they were coming through and the pest control guy just left and is now treating the outside of the building. these are absolutely helping me deal with the stress so thank you for sending them in! 

starting strong with the clothing thing, i love love LOVE your interpretation of the fey clan so much. it is canon in my brain now. capcom wishes they could think of this shit. also giving some to lana? precious, sentimental, amazing. lanamia nation rise up. thank you for my life. the detail about maya believing in cryptids and the bathroom being haunted? accurate and hilarious. and yes big agree that she still likes tres bien (i’m pretty sure that’s the name), she worked there briefly so of course she’d have a soft spot for it. i literally adore the idea of maya being hella Into Stuff, like cryptids and holiday decorations and winning at game night, and the scrapbook idea slayed me on sight. i am in tears.

LITERALLY WHY DOES CAPCOM IGNORE THAT PHOENIX HAS BEEN THROUGH SOME SHIT??? like what the hell. man almost died and then like two days later he’s like “lol i’m Completely Fine :)”. unrealistic. capcom let him be Affected by experiences please. 

kinda building off of that, AGAIN WITH THE WRIGHTWORTH STUFF MAKING ME TENDER??? i love them goin on little dates and being domestic... art museums and coffee shops and phoenix being Dumb about flower breeds and miles loving his cooking.... i am Soft i am Yearning. AND THE PROPOSAL THING!!!!! I HAD THIS SAME FUCKING IDEA GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!!!!! IT’S JUST SUCH A THEM THING TO DO...

and oooh edgeworth. good for you king, journaling and knitting and stimming and learning healthy ways to cope with your emotions. also the anger thing i totally get. like not to Overshare or anything but i used to have a lot of issues expressing my anger because when i did it reminded me too much of my dad so i feel that. 

the vk sibling stuff also spot-on tbh. good that they didn’t visit manfred except for miles’ one time. fuck that guy. let him rot. they are Learning and Growing together.... fran letting miles win at a game also perfect. she cares about her little brother even if she has trouble showing it sometimes. also love that her one weakness is spiders. that seems very fitting to me and i LOVE the image of maya just. chuckin a shoe across the room to defend her Wife from the eight-legged terror.

also you are free to send me incoherent thoughts if you want that’s the form most of my thoughts take anyway fjnfjsf i’d still love to hear them if you’re willing to share!

[turnaboutyandere]

Tw for domestic abuse

Ihave this concept stuck in my head for soulmate au. See phoenix met his soulmate in college when he was dating dahlia and to prove his love to his sweet dollie he was rather cold to them.as much as it hurt him he was borderline cruel. In front of people. And that my friends is how viscous rumors spread

Months after the dahlia case he tried to reach out to his soulmate to find that they switched universities. And it hurts. it hurts so badly to know he turned away a chance of what could be true love and that he hurt his soulmate so much they felt the need to fall of the face of the earth.

Then by miracle he meets them again not threw a case but threw an outing with maya. Their working at either a coffee shop or cafe and blatantly asks her coworker to serve them outloud in front of everybody. Including the owner who isn't too pleased that y/n was being rude to a customer until she told him thats her soulmate. Then the owner straight up tells phoenix that y/n is a daughter/son/child to him and to fuck off.

And he does . Hell he's not even mad cause though y/n's voice was nonchalant and they did embarrass him in front of maya, their eyes were so sad.

So he swallows his pride and admits to maya just what he did. And she, ever the sweetheart tells him it's not too late to find love and that he can definitely fix things. And he takes it entirely too far.

And trying to fix things slowly became stalking and he sees just how much that one cruel moment hurt y/n whom was bullied at school and abused at home from a young age.

When he realized this that he was one of many to fail y/n he doesn't feel better. In fact he feels worse, much worse. He feels he should have been a light at the end of the tunnel for them. A savior. Instead he was mean to them over a girl that made a absolute fool out of him.

So he does his best to aid them in there day to day while they ignore him completely. Any attempts at helping is sidestepped and any affection is blown off.

Then he finds out they have a boy/girlfriend and he breaks down. Phoenix is dead convinced that this person is going to hurt y/n like dahlia hurt him(and he's not wrong) but like there's nothing he can do about it. If he takes this person to court y/n would just hate him more so he just suffers in silence

Then it comes out that y/n's boy/girlfriend beats them and all hell breaks lose.

He pulls as many strings as he can; documenting the abuse,hand delivering it to the police.blacklisting this absolute garbage person to other defences attorneys, and even gets edgeworth to prosecute. (Who saw the videos of this person beating their lover and would absolutely love to prosecute)

When it's all done y/n is crying quietly cause they were attached to that asshole and though their alot calmer then he was it reminds him of the day dahlia was found guilty, but that's ok he's right their now and y/n is very very single

-lightningbug anon

I... Have no words. There’s literally nothing I can add to this without ruining it. This is perfection. The story, the characterization, Phoenix’s guilt and subsequent spiral into obsession, his darling’s backstory, the ambiguous ending... Like, my God, Lightningbug Anon, you really pulled all the stops and delivered an amazing story.

EVERYONE COME AND READ THIS AMAZING STORY! I WANT EVERYONE TO GAWK AT LIGHTNINGBUG ANON’S TALENT!

Seriously though, welcome to the Anon Squad and more importantly, thank you so much for sharing this with me. This ask watered my crops, fed my children and cleared my skin. If you ever decide to turn this into a full-length story, please let me know because I will happily read it.

______

- Mod Dollie

[maki0725]

Klavquill 1-5

やっと少し書けました、なかなか全体がまとまりません…今までの分で10-15％くらいでしょうか…

At the evening on December 30th, Simon Blackquill is worried about what he hasn’t predicted——unexpectedly invited to Klavier Gavin’s place, he has about 30 hours to prepare. Considering time to visit WAA, he has just 24 hours or less.

He has never stayed any friend’s home, people would think it is quite reasonable because he has lost almost all time of his twenties though he has a question that if he had close friends whose home he could stay even if he hadn’t been in prison .

It’s easy for him to interact with mentors, old people and children, how to communicate with them is clearly fixed. But with people from the same generation, he hasn’t known what to do. He went to the private boy’s school during middle and high school years, in spite of his almost always top grade, no one asked him to show his notebooks. He had a good physic and was good at sports, he had never been buried but classmates rarely talked to him and he himself didn’t want friends particularly.

He only did study or Kendo practice (it was his habit from his childhood) after school, sometimes his grandfather took him to Rakugo and birdwatching(and following Soba shop) on holiday...... It was miraculous if he had friends of the same age as him.

But no matter how hard it is, he has to learn manners of visiting a friend’s home as a 29-year-old man. In 24 hours. He can never disappoint Gavin.

He comes to think of asking Athena though immediately gives it up. She is smart and social but she is a teenage girl, she seems not to have an answer he wants, he doesn’t want to confuse her. Next, he thinks of Edgeworth. Though it’s a holiday time, he can never bother his boss with his personal matter, he gives it up. And he doesn’t assume that Edgeworth is good at social relationships with a few exceptions. The only reliable person under this circumstance must be her, but...

At last, he is writing a small note in the little park placed at the edge of the town after dark. There is a gloomy building that he has known well behind the park, now his sister is in that——according to his knowledge, she must have a leeway time now between dinner and extinction, if there is “leeway time” for a prisoner.

“Go, Taka”

He stares at the back of his partner flying to Aura’s window with his note.

After a while, the hawk comes back with a reply from his sister. Simon gets it with both hands as if it were an oracle. It says “You’ll go to your friend’s home!? Unbelievable, just take condoms, everything will be ok if you prepare them”

His big sister’s handwriting is somehow light, she must have misunderstood something important. His sight has been reddened and he writes back in haste.

“What are you talking about!? He’s just a co-worker, don’t say stupid things!!”

Shortly after his flight, Taka comes back looking scared slightly.

“Huh? Say it from the beginning, you idiot!! I’ve thought it was a big deal as you did such things”

It might be a big deal for him. Simon recovers his mind and asks her for a lesson.

“He is so nice, I don’t want to disappoint him. What should I take? Just so you know I don’t know what he likes and he would say he needs nothing if I ask him”

Taka flies to his sister with a little confused expression for being repeatedly sent back and forth, Simon stares the dim window.

“He never gets angry even if you fail a little, he is a person who dares to invite you to his home. Take your favorite drink and say “Let's drink together, for it's delicious”. If you’re still worried, take something like chocolate. Buy it at the department store, not at the supermarket, GODIVA pleases everyone. And then buy one for me and bring here next year. I don’t need reply not to be found by the guard”

Her handwriting has become more calm, Simon feels her unclear sympathy and encouragement thanking her.

12月30日夕刻、かつて予想もつかなかったことに夕神迅は悩んでいた。思いがけず牙琉響也の家に招かれ、訪問までの猶予はおそらく残り30時間ほど……成歩堂の事務所を訪れる時間を考慮すれば、準備に当てられる時間は24時間もないだろう。

思えば、彼は友人の家に泊まりに行ったことなどなかった。20代の殆どを喪失しているから、といえば他人は納得するであろうが、彼としては、仮に刑務所に入っていなくても、家を行き来するような友人ができていたかは甚だ疑問だった。

相手が、師匠や子供であれば話は簡単である。どのように接すれば良いかは明白であり、果たすべき役割は自ずから定まる。

しかし、こと同世代の者となると、どう接して良いのか分からなかった。中学から高校にかけては私立の男子校で過ごし、成績はほぼトップだったが、誰も彼にノートを見せて欲しいとは言わなかった。体が大きく、運動もできたので、いじめられることこそなかったが、同級生はろくに話しかけて来ず、彼自身も別に友人が欲しいとも思っていなかった。部活動に勤しむこともなく、放課後は勉強か幼い頃から通っていた剣道の稽古、楽しみといえばせいぜい鳥の観察に時折祖父に連れられて行く高座と、その帰りに寄る蕎麦屋……これで同年代の友人ができるほうがおかしい、とさえ思われた。

しかし、苦手だからといって何もしないわけにはいかない。承諾したからにはそれなりの振る舞いが必要だと思われたし、彼自身、牙琉をがっかりさせたくなかった。何としてでも、「29歳の男が友人の家を訪問する際の相応しい行動」を身につけなければならない。24時間以内に。

まず相談相手として思い付くのは心音である。しかし、いくら特殊な事情があるからといえ、30目前の男が10代の少女に「友人との付き合い方」を尋ねるのはいかにもきまりが悪かった。彼女は社交的で聡明ではあるものの、年代も性別も異なっている。夕神の求める適切な答えを彼女から引き出すのは甚だ困難と思われ、夕神は彼女を困らせたくはなかった。次に思い当たるのは御剣であるが、年末も差し迫った夕刻、上司にそのような質問をすることは上下関係を重んずる夕神にとって考え難く……そして、失礼ながら、御剣もごく一部を除き友人付き合いを得意とするようには到底見えなかった。

このような時に頼れるのは、不本意ながらも、彼女を措いてはいないだろうと思われたが……

結局、夕神は、日も暮れてから町外れの公園のベンチに座り、街灯の薄明かりを頼りに小さなメモにペンを走らせていた。公園の裏手には、現在彼の姉がいる古ぼけた暗い建物がある。彼の知識によれば、今は夕食を終えて消灯前、ある程度余裕のある時間である。服役囚の生活に、「余裕」というものがあればだが。

「頼むぞ、ギン」

彼は相棒の鷹にメモを託し、姉の窓に向けて羽ばたく小さくも頼もしい背中を見つめた。

程なくして、メモを咥えた相棒が神の使いのように戻ってくる。まるでご神託のように、彼は両手でメモを受け取り、拝むように覗き込んだ。

『友達の家に行くの？あんたが？そりゃめでたいわ、とりあえずコンドームだけは持ってきなさい、あとは何とでもなるから』

姉の字はどことなく踊るように軽やかだった。浮いた話のない弟に春が来たと誤解しているらしいが、夕神は姉の勘違いに目の前が真っ赤になった。急いで反論を書き散らす。

『バカなこと言ってんじゃねえ、男で同僚だぞ、何でそんなモンがいるんだよ！』

程なくして相棒が戻る。彼は少し怯えているように見えた。

『はあ？ そんなら最初から言いなさい、このバカ！ あんたがわざわざこんなことしてくるんだからよっぽどのことかと思うじゃないの！』

余程のこと……ではあるかもしれない。彼は気を取り直し、恥を忍んで姉に乞うた。

『いい奴なんだ、がっかりさせたくない。どんなもん持ってきゃいいのか教えてくれ。言っとくが好みはよく分からねえし聞いたって何もいらねえって言うに決まってるからな』

何度も往復させられ、いささか呆れ顔の相棒に願いを託し、姉の窓の暗い灯りを祈るように見上げる。

『あんたを家に呼ぶような人なんだから、少々失敗したって怒りゃしないわよ。あんたが好きな酒でも持ってきゃいいのよ、おいしいから一緒に飲もうって言えばいいじゃない。心配だったらチョコでも持って行きなさい。その辺のスーパーじゃなくてデパートで買うのよ。ゴディバもらって怒る人いないから。 見つかると面倒だから返事はいいわよ、わたしの分も買って、年明けに持ってきなさい』

少し落ち着いた筆致に、分かりにくいながらも姉の労りと慈愛を感じる。夕神はしみじみと、彼女の有り難みを噛み締めた。

[farafeys]

friendly arrangements?

my second aa fic, written in august pretty much right after i finished spirit of justice lol

characters: Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes, Klavier Gavin, mentions of both Wrights and the cat Apollo takes in in the aa5 drama cd

1739 words; gen with strongly hinted at klapollo but mostly just awkward-nice conversation; big spoilers for aa6 and the aa5 drama cd, mentioned aa4 spoilers; 

two calls apollo makes while looking for a catsitter (link to ao3; fic under cut)

The second day after Dhurke's trial, when most of the Wright Anything Agency was back at home, after a long day of setting up paperwork and cleaning out years of mess from the Sahdmadhi Law Office, Apollo finally sat down and took a moment to unwind. Now almost used to the idea of living in Khura'in again, he remembered a problem that had slipped his mind in the chaos of the past week: there was no one to take care of his cat. After a moment of hesitation, and another moment to check the difference in time zones, he called Athena. She picked up at the third ring. "Apollo! What's up? Are you okay? Everything groovy with your scary new job?" "Hey Athena." His voice was considerably more level than hers. "I'm fine, we fixed up the office some and I talked a bunch with Nahyuta." Athena's peppy 'ooo' sounded tinny through the phone. "Cool beans! Were ya just calling to say how much you miss me already, then?" Her cheeky grin was somehow audible. "Ha ha ha. No, I had a, uh, favor to ask you, actually." Athena stayed quiet except for an expectant hmm, letting him continue. "I kinda, uh, forgot about it until just now but- actually, do you remember the circus case with the cat?" "Hmm? Oh YEAH, that fucker who framed Trucy! Why do you ask?" Apollo pursed his lips at her choice of words. "I never found the owner of that calico I told you guys about, so she's mine now I guess? And I don't know who's gonna feed her and stuff now, so..." Athena gasped at the mention of his cat. "Oh yeah, your girlfriend! How could I forget! Do you want me to take care of her?" "If it's not too much to ask... yeah?" Athena hummed for a moment. "I don't know... birds and cats don't get along, right? It would suck if Taka beat up your girlfriend." "Stop calling her that," Apollo said tiredly. "Right, I forgot Prosecutor Blackquill lives with you now... shit, I don't know who to ask besides you." Athena made a sad sound in the back of her throat. "What about Mr. Wright?" "Yeah, either he'd forget to feed her for a week straight or Trucy would want to try out her new combustion magic on living subjects." His tone was dry. Trucy had slyly suggested trying that particular trick on Apollo several times in the past month, and he was bitter. "Ha! Yeah, you're right, I guess."  They were both quiet for a moment. If Apollo weren't dozing off from exhaustion, he would've suspected the younger attorney of planning some wild idea. "Saaaaaay, Polly," her sudden sing-songy words made him jump a little, "why don't you ask your favorite prosecutor friend?" Apollo stuttered out a "Wh-" which was ignored as she continued, "You know, the handsome charming rock star one that you get worked up over whenever you talk about him? I bet he's GREAT with cats." For a few seconds all he said in response to her ingenious idea was some angry spluttering sounds. "What- why would I ask him that? What do you mean, good with cats??" Athena laughed loudly and said, "He just seems nice! And like he wouldn't mind doing you a favor, ja?" She waggled her eyebrows alongside her excellent impression of Klavier, despite Apollo missing out on the performance. Apollo spluttered into his phone more. The irritation had at least woken him up. "What's that supposed to mean?! Athena!" She giggled. "You said you don't have anyone else to ask, right?" She cut off Apollo's 'But-', continuing with glee, "and if you don't ask him then there's no one to watch your girlfriend, jaaa? Aaaaaand!!! If you don't ask him then I will!" Apollo jumped up from the couch he was lying on. "ATHENA." "Woah, turn down the Chords there, dude. Sensitive ears, remember?" She didn't sound particularly bothered. "Aaaaanyway I've gotta go over to the Prosecutors' Office anyway to get some stuff from Simon later so! You got until lunchtime to call your boyfriend, Polly!" Apollo was pacing now, a scowl on his face. "I feel like this is probably some kind of harassment. I'd tell someo- I'd tell Mr. Wright if I thought he wouldn't just egg you on." Athena gasped theatrically. "I'm just helping a friend take care of his cat!!! And going to have a chat with my second favorite prosecutor about his favorite absent defense attorney!" Apollo grumbled some curses away from the phone mic, then took a deep breath. "So it sounds like you're planning on talking to Prosecutor Gavin today anyway?" "Hmm, yeah! I've decided on it now, and I've never changed my mind about anything." "...Right. And I'm guessing that you're going to talk to him about me whether I call him or not?" Athena's responding 'Duh' was Chords of Steel levels of loud. "What else would we talk about? The weather? Music? Junie? OH!!! Junie... Anyway! Yeah, I'm a gossip machine, Polly! It's a great way to practice analyzing emotions, you know." Apollo ignored her and poked a finger to his forehead as if he were nearing a breakthrough in court. "So if I do call him now, I'll get the leg up on you with whatever you're gonna say!" "Huh?" "Got it. I'll call him right now. Nice talk, Athena." "Uh, yeah! Have fun fixing a whole court system." Apollo hmphed, said a quick goodbye, and asked her to pass on his greetings to Blackquill and the Wrights. He hung up, found Klavier's number in his phone (Trucy had given it to the fop about a year ago, and he texted Apollo periodic congratulations on cases, well-wishes for holidays, and other ridiculous frustrating things), and gave himself a minute to get a glass of water before calling. He picked up after the first ring. "Hallo? Herr Justice? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Apollo bit back surprise at the use of his actual name and irritation at Klavier's smooth voice. "Uh, hi, Prosecutor Gavin. I don't know if you've heard, but I'm not going to be in the country for a while." Klavier hummed in response, "Ja, I heard about the trial in Khura'in through Herr Edgeworth. Sounds like you and Herr Sahdmadhi have had quite the week!" "Uh, yeah." Apollo lost his train of thought for a moment. "A-anyway I have kind of a big favor to ask, and I wouldn't be calling you but Athena can't and I don't know who else I could ask and SHE said to ask you-" Klavier cut him off before his rambling picked up enough speed and volume to rival a freight train. "Woah there, Herr Forehead, what exactly is this momentous task for me? Nothing illegal, I hope." "Of course not!!" Apollo's voice broke, turning louder and squeaky from indignation. "It's just my cat, I don't know who's gonna take care of her and I don't think there's a way to get her to Khura'in any time soon." "Oh! I did not know you had a cat!" He sounded enthused, much more than earlier in the call. "What is the little one's name?" Apollo winced. "Uh. That's kind of a weird story actually, I found her with a collar and at first I was just watching her until I could find the owner, but I never did and I never actually... got around to naming her?" Klavier's voice betrayed an amused smirk. "Then what, pray tell, do you call her, Forehead?" "Uh... Kitty." Klavier muffled a laugh that didn't match up to Apollo's memories of him, shoulders shaking, tossing his head prettily while mocking him from behind the prosecutor's bench. "Kitty! A fitting name indeed! I imagine, then, your favor is simply to take care of the feline Fraulein, ja?" "I... yeah. Is that ok?" Apollo was only half expecting to get this far. The conversation was far more painless than the ordeal he had expected. "Of course!" There was a smile in his voice, a wider more genuine one than his typical pasted-on rock star grin. "I am very fond of cats, after all, and Vongole could use the company during the day." That name sounded old and familiar to Apollo. "Vongole? Wasn't she Kristoph's dog? I... I hadn't even thought about what happened to her." Klavier hmmed. "She has been my dog for quite a while now, and seems much peppier for it." Apollo was for a moment at a loss for words. It had been a very long two days, and he did not feel at all equipped to handle thinking much more about Kristoph. However, Klavier interrupted his anxious reverie: "But! Even the most charming, coolest yellow labrador gets a bit lonely! I'm sure she'll be great friends with Kitty for however long we house her." Apollo startled, both at the offer and at the conversational lifesaver. Ugh, this guy was cool. "R-really, you're okay with this? Just like that?" Klavier hummed a lilting sound like a shrug. "Ach, surely your Kitty is more a blessing than a burden." He paused for just about a second. "And thisis the sort of thing one does for a friend. How should I go about retrieving Miss Kitty, then, Forehead?" Barely resisting the urge to throw his phone across the room or slap himself in the face from the out-of-the-blue declaration of friendship, Apollo said, "I, uh- you can use the spare key to my apartment and just pick her up, I guess? Athena knows how to get there, she said she's going to your office later." "Ah! Fraulein Cykes is always a delight." "Ha, yeah. Um, Kitty doesn't need any special food or anything, she's got her shots and stuff, I found her outside but I keep her indoors 'cause it's safer... Oh, the spare key is under the doormat!" "Cool, cool. I look forward to meeting the little lady." Apollo thought he could hear him smiling again. "She's a great cat! She's only met, uh... Clay and Athena but she's really friendly with strangers! ... Uh, thank you for this, Prosecutor Gavin. It's a lot to do at this kind of notice." Klavier snorted. "Ach, it's nothing! And, the title is a bit much now, ja? Just Klavier is fine." Apollo chewed the inside of his mouth for a second. "Klavier. Thanks."

[thefun41]

Next up is Lesbian!Maya This one was definitely a challenge! I’ve drawn Maya a few times but I think this one is the best so far!

I’ll be blabing under the cut but in the meantime look forward to Gay!Klavier (hopefully) on Wednesday!

Edit: I have been informed that this is not the flag currently used. :/ I was wondering why kept seeing a pink one, just not where I was looking.

(Warning : rage and bitching below)

*deep breath* OH BOY! OH GOLLY AHH JEEZ Like DAMN was this a challenge. This took me an entire week!!! Other then Sebastian (because of that jacket) all of the pride requeswts have taken 3 days or less. During those 3 days I research an outfit, make a sketch, normally have a goofy side image to post before it because my brain is hyperactive, obsess over how to pose them and make the final image. Not this time!!! Even though this was an incredible struggle there was a lot that was learned by this… experience. 

So let’s break it down. 

Struggle #1 : Which flag are we using again? On the Ace Attorney Amino, the requester requested a Lesbian Maya. Here is the issue, in my research I have found a lot of lesbian pride flags and narrowed it down to 2. The lesbian pride flag which is  purple one with the black triangle and the battle axe (which was used) and lipstick lesbian, which is this pink one (see above). Now this bodes the question : What’s the difference? Well as far as I can tell, The purple one came first and is generally an umbrella flag for lesbians, while the pink one was made spicifically for a lesbian subculture : lipstick lesbians. There is a stereotype that lesbians are “masculine”, lipstick lesbians are very comfortable with their femininity, in fact very “girly” and seemed to be underrepresented sooooooo they have their own flag and subculture, kinda like the opposite of gay bear that we covered last time.  It seems like the Pink flag overtook the purple one in popularity OR whoever made the pink one was just better at marketing, who knows. Now the requested went with “a regular lesbian” so battle ax flag it is. Also battle axes are cool, so there’s that.  

Lesson learned : the LGBTQ+ community is waaaaaaay bigger then I thought with subcultures and whatnot. Knowlage is half the battle! 

Struggle #2 : Fashion is hard guys.  Picking the outfit took at least 2 days, and then I changed it at least a half dozen times. there are 3 issues I had (lists within lists, listception) : Maya’s limited style,  using the colour pallette with my messed up, self-restricted viewpoint, and Maya’s age. First Item, off the top of my head, I believe Maya is only seen in 5 outfits, her usual outfit, iris outfit for a moment, a waitress outfit for an hour, a red dress in that one promotional image where the case is super fancy, a white suit outfit thing for soundtrack stuff and a conductor uniform??? Out of the ones I can rememer, mostof thesse are dresses. When debating on weather or not I should put her in a dress I decided no because (as far as I can remember) she’s always ion a dress. and then my brain went nuts with questions.

Why is she always in a dress? is that sexist? It is a problem? What’s wrong with with her always being in a dress? Why do I want to really get her out of a dress? Am I sexist? why do only women were dresses? Is it the hips? Why don”t men wear dresses? Can they? They don’t really have hips so they can’t really wear skirts. Wait a minute men do kinda wear dresses, I mean kilts and kimono’s exist. would the bulge be an issue? Would men emphasize their bulge like women emphasize their breasts? Can men look good in dresses? Can any man look good in a dress? Can I put Edgeworth in a dress and make him look good? I’ve seen a ton of Phoenix in dresses but why not Edgey? … So yeah a lot of useless questions taking up my time for no reason. The point is I purposely designed an outfit with pants … this obviously did not happen. I had this idea of a cozy look in a cute sweater but this leads to the next issue. The issue with this cozy look? It’s too simple.Yes that look is cute but it’s not for me, it’s for the person who requested it. Any it’s entirely possible that this person may have seen the other works from this pride project and the outfits I made for them and then they just get Maya in a sweater? It’s a cute sweater but it didn’t seem fair. A similar issue happened with Phoenix but the solution to that was just to open his shirt and BOOM, extra layers and thus a more complex look. Now maybe the the OG requester wouldn’t mind but I just couldn’t do it, I feel like I needed to give her an outfit with more effort into it. And thuys Maya went back into skirt, now this lead to the third issue : Maya’s age. I found a lot of nice outfits, outfits that would look great on Maya! … When she was a teenager. Now maya is most definitely a full grown women and not a child. Now weather or not I pulled off the 28 year old Maya will be discussed later but nonetheless, all of those cute outfits I found? Out the window. I was so indecisive that I just asked my brother to pick one. Honestly? I really liked what he picked, and I confirmed with my dad that, yes, you can put this outfit on a almost 30 year old. The scarf ended up being omitted in favour of her magatama, otherwise we ended up with the same problem as before, it’s too simple. this time with a few days of work under our belt so there was no way I was going to start over. The solution to this was a nice floral pattern based on a cherry blossom. this makes it more visually simple. I think it looks pretty! After all that work I do like the end result. 

Lesson learned : Stop. Over. Thinking. Things. And for the love of god sketch it out. Just looking on google and imagining on the character  sometimes will not cut it. If I don’t get it relatively quickly, doodle, draw and scribble some more.  

Struggle #3 : Why can’t I draw women?? I am one?!?! Like seriously, why, it makes no sense. Well actually it does make sense because I am fairly sure I can count the amount of women I’ve drawn with one hand. It’s a simple measure of practice. I was foolish to think that simply drawing human’s would be enough. sadly that is not the case. Men and women are built differently and of course I failed to accommodate… many many times. The amount of times I have modified maya and changed her proportions is unreal. One thing I do all the time is make the abdomen too long and I have no idea why this is. Her face! I have no cluw what went wrong the first dozen times but it just didn’t work! I wish I could explain why but it just didn’t look right. you”ll notice that she doesn’t have lips even though she does in her new design, It’s because I have never been able to draw lips. Ever. Not once. Does she even look like an adult? I can’t even tell anymore. She is a little thicker then her concept art but making her look thinner just didn’t work out. Her arms, I had to hid them since the preportions were all off, the hands were held together in front of her checkl and they were too lanky and there was nothing I could do to make it look good and don’t get me started on her hands please don’t. If I didn’t cut off her legs I would have issues with that too. Her breasts, how on earth do you shade those??? Does not compute. DOES NOT COMPUTE!!!  So yeah the struggle is real. The solution? Trial and error. Just keep trying until it looks good. Play with your strengths. A friend of mine told me that she reminder her of Tina from Bob’s Burgers… ok? Sure. So after all that while I do like the end result I also see what can be improved, and sadly we have reached the limits of my skill at this time. 

Lessons learned : Practice practice practice. I don’t draw enough women, I need to draw more women. I can’t quite comprehend how cloths fall on the chest area and obviously looking the mirror is not a solution. What is the solution? Drawing naked people. … No seriously. Once I learn proper anatomy and human proportions and how muscles distribute over the body not only will I have a lot easier time drawing these characters I will also be able to figure out how clothing would fall on their bodies and i’ll have a easier time shading. Right now I’m drawing and shading clothing without knowing WHY it’s folding like that or why the light is hitting this area. Of course I’ll be doing this for both men and women because as started before, they are built differently. do you know what I also can’t draw? Children. I am NOT applying this to the kiddies. That’s weird and gross. The kids will have t deal with being freaks. I’m cool with that.

Struggle #04 :  Life How did we break 3 fuses at my house while I was at work? Why did it effect half my room upstairs, the computer setup that is downstairs and the WiFi on the main floor when the thing used to blow the fuse was in an upstairs room across the hall. why did no one fix it until the next day? Why just leave it like that? Why did I sleep in until 1 when I’ve been consistently waking up at 9? I had things to do what gives? Why did I accept a split shift the next day when I’m exhausted? Why do I get super stressed out when I set an alarm that I can’t sleep? Why am I spending 3 hours writing this when I never bothered to put this much effort in school work? How have I not punched someone yet?

Lessons learned : Don’t rely on anyone but yourself. Do what you can with the time allowed. Pat yourself on the back for not resorting to violence. How to change fuses. Writing this is very therapeutic.  Did you last this long? Who knows! All I do know is that yes this was a struggle but I plan on learning from this. Next up is Gay!Klaver and I’m REALLY looking forward to it!

[wrightworthmakesmylifeworthwhile]

fantasy au shit

ok so to celebrate 1000 followers im posting more of this fantasy au shit i posted the first part at like 400 followers so if you haven’t read it part one here

Consciousness dawned sluggishly, resting on Phoenix like a thin blanket. As he peacefully grew more and more aware, he could hear a faint voice quietly chanting over him. Another few seconds, and he could understand the words.

“Revera, revera…” A woman’s voice intoned, using a spell Phoenix recognized to slowly revive him.

Unfortunately, the world was not so patient. “Hey! Spikey-guy! Wake up!” Another voice screamed into his ear.

Phoenix jerked awake. He nearly bumped heads with the person who had screamed. She was a teenager, no more than seventeen, with black hair bundled into a little topknot.

“Maya, stop that.” Mia chided from nearby. The baker looked to pinpoint where the woman was, in the process recognizing the inside of his own house.

How did I get here? How did they get here?

The leader, the one who had been chanting, leaned down to look over him. “How are you, Phoenix?”

“I… I'm not alright!” The baker could still feel a burn in his chest, ruling out the possibility of the events before being a dream. He didn't dare to look at the heart shaped mark the pendant left. It would surely scar.

“Dollie hurt me! Why would she do that?” Phoenix searched for answers in the leader’s face. “ Wh-Why would she hurt me?”

He could feel treacherous tears welling up, and turned away before the others could see them fall.

The leader sighed heavily. “...It isn't your fault. If anything, it's ours. Dahlia Hawthorne is an estranged member of the Fey clan. Throughout the years, there have been many of us who have used their powers for nefarious purposes. Dahlia was one of those, and after much deliberation the clan agreed to take her powers away. Her magic was stored in the bottle of that necklace,” she gestured at Phoenix’s burn.

“Dahlia would only ever be able to have her powers return if the necklace was given to her voluntarily by someone not in the family.” The woman met Phoenix’s eyes. “...I guess she talked you into doing that?”

The baker nodded miserably. That does make this my fault.

“Um, Mystic Misty?” A quiet voice piped up “I brought the object that you wanted…” The speaker was a tiny, seven year old girl with mousy brown hair twisted into strange loops. She held a candlestick.

“Thank you, Pearly.” The leader, Misty, took the candle from her, and little girl retreated.  “Phoenix, do you mind giving us some light?”

“What?” Phoenix pushed away his tears. “Oh. R-Right.” He touched the candle and closed his eyes. He frowned.

The flicker of fire on his fingertips that had come to him so easily throughout his life was nowhere to be found. No matter how hard he strained, he couldn’t produce any fire. “I can't!”

“I was afraid of this.” This time, it was Mia who spoke. “You're cursed.”

“C-Cursed?”

“Dahlia couldn't take revenge on those who took her powers away from her, so she did the next best thing she could; she stole away your magic powers. Do you remember her casting any spells like that?”

I can't use magic, I can't use magic… The loud, destabilizing mantra rang around in Phoenix’s head, making it hard to think.

“Of course not.” The baker chuckled in disbelief. “There has to be some mistake! She can't take away my powers! That's dark magic!”

“Dahlia’s not the person that you thought she was, I'm afraid,” Misty said grimly.

Everything slowed. He could feel the blood rushing through his ears, the thoughts swirling in his head. What am I supposed to do without magic? It's all I've had. It's everything I've worked for! What about my family line? What about my business? I’ve never had to bake without magic! If I can't bake… if I'm not a mage, what am I?

“I have to have magic! I’ve just got to!”

Mia’s surprisingly sympathetic voice cut through his panicky haze. “Phoenix. Think back. Try to remember what she said to you. Did she say there a way to reverse this?”

The ex-mage took a deep breath. He tried to focus. “Uh. She did say something… b-but I don't remember what! Oh Dollieeee!” This time, the tears did spill over, flooding down his cheeks.

Mia’s sigh sounded suspiciously close to “of course.”

“We’ll have to figure it out together. You're our responsibility now,” Misty said.

“What?” Maya squawked. She fell off the foot of Phoenix’s bed with a loud thud, startling Phoenix. He'd forgotten the girl was there.

Pearl directed an inquisitive look at Misty, gnawing on her thumbnail.

Phoenix sniffled pathetically. “Really?”

“Really?” Mia said flatly.

Misty nodded. “I'm sorry, Phoenix. Dahlia has already been on our radar for years. If we had been more careful, this could have all been prevented. This is a Fey matter. You never should have gotten caught up in it at all.”

The ex-mage gaped, wiping his runny nose on the hem of his sleeve.

“We’re honor bound to help you get your powers back.” Misty bowed.

Mia groaned quietly.

“This is going to take forever!” Maya hopped up from the floor. “No offense,” she added, glancing at Phoenix.

Just because you say that, doesn't mean that the hurt goes away...

Pearl didn't say anything at all. She stared at Phoenix as if his soul was laid bare before her. It was kind of unnerving, really.

The leader huffed. “It won't take that long. We keep the most of our powerful magical artifacts stored in the castle. Odds are one of them will have a solution to your little dilemma.”

“In the…” Phoenix blinked and wiped away the last of his tears. “Wait, does that mean…”

Misty grinned cheekily at him, “Ever been inside the King’s castle?”

The Kingdom did not have the most fanciful of castles. Quite the opposite. Very much like the King himself, the castle was square, robust, and practical. That was where the similarities ended. The castle was otherwise unremarkable. Gregory Edgeworth, by contrast, was remarkable among rulers: known throughout the realm as a just leader who cared about his subjects.

Despite Phoenix living only half a day’s travel away from the castle and having seen the King on public occasions, it had never been in an individual setting. It was fair to say that Phoenix was a tiny bit nervous.

Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods…! What do I say to him? What do I do? I've got to bow, right? But how low? What are the Feys going to do? Maybe I can do what they do?

“Hold,” Misty called, putting her hand up. The Feys stopped. Phoenix bumped into Pearl.

In front of the leader was a stony lamp post. It held no light and seemed to serve no purpose. The only out-of-the-ordinary thing about it was a swirling mark with a star on it etched in the stone at about chest height. A rune.

Misty traced the spiraled rune with a finger. Sparks flew up in the wake of her fingertip. There was a grinding sound and all of a sudden, the drawbridge of the castle was down.

Misty turned and met eyes with Phoenix, grinning. “I always love that part.”

The Feys turned and started to cross the drawbridge as if nothing unusual had happened at all. Mouth hanging open, Phoenix looked at the castle with new respect. Clearly there was more than met the eye.

Briefly, he tried to run his finger over the rune in a vain hope, but nothing happened. Phoenix hurried to catch up with the others on the bridge.

By the time he had drawn even with the Feys, the King had already arrived. Gregory’s countenance brightened upon seeing the company. He strode over to them, stopping just short of the eldest Fey.

“Misty,” he greeted with a genuine smile, unlike any Phoenix had ever seen. “It's been far too long.”

“I agree,” Misty hummed, eyes alight with amusement.

The two stood looking at one another for another moment before Misty broke and launched herself at the King in a hug, laughing.

“I missed you, you cretin.” Misty pecked Gregory’s cheek quickly.

Phoenix's jaw dropped. Did she just call the King a cretin? And kissed him? Does she want to get herself killed?

To his endless astonishment, King Gregory didn't even slightly mad. If anything, the man was flustered.

“...I’m glad to see you too.” The King managed at last. “You didn’t write. How long do you think you'll be staying?”

“Probably not very long, unfortunately. We’re here because we have a little situation to fix.” Misty glanced over at Phoenix.

One of Phoenix’s hands entangled itself in the hair on the nape of his neck as the King’s full attention turned to him. Gregory seemed just as uncomfortable as he did at having been seen in a moment of unprofessionalism.

“Ah. Of course,” the King cleared his throat. “I wish you luck with your… situation.”

“Thanks, Your Majesty,” Phoenix grinned sheepishly. I can’t believe I’m talking to the King of the whole realm! “I really appreciat-”

“That reminds me,” Clearly Mia didn’t realize what a big moment this was for him. “We should get started. The sooner we fix this mess, the sooner we can catch Dahlia.”

“Dahlia?” King Gregory’s tone was one of worried surprise.

“I’ll explain it all later,” Misty promised.

“Sis’ got a good point! Let’s go use Nick as a spell-dummy!” Maya grabbed Phoenix by the arm and started to tug him across the courtyard.

Spell-dummy? “Wait, no!”

“We’re not going to do it like that, Maya.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Nice to see you again, Sir King Gregory!” Pearl chirped.

The King smiled gently, kneeling down to her height. “It’s very nice to see you as well, Pearly. I’ll dispatch a messenger to tell you three when dinner is ready.”

“Thank you!” The little girl turned and skipped after the playfully quibbling sisters and the protesting Phoenix.

The afternoon went by quicker than Phoenix could imagine. At first, he couldn’t help but be stunned by the castle’s immense collection of magical objects. But eventually, even the most legendary of artifacts seemed to blur together as Mia, Maya, and Pearl all took turns harnessing the power of ancient potions, rings, goblets, hourglasses, statuettes, scepters, mirrors, and tomes in an attempt to cure him. More than once Mia had to reverse a carelessly cast spell (usually one of Maya’s) to ensure that something didn’t go horribly wrong. 

”Hey, this one says it can turn anything into ash!” Maya held up a crystal skull with far too much eagerness. Phoenix’s stomach turned.

Pearls bit her thumb, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” She already had her hands full healing a welt on Phoenix’s arm from another one of Maya’s “good ideas.”

“He’s called Phoenix,” Maya shrugged. “I dunno, maybe he has to be turned into ash for the rebirth of his magic powers or whatever.”

“No.” Mia vetoed, not bothering to look up from her tome.

Thank you.

Grumbling, Maya turned away, making as if to put the skull away. But at the last minute she whirled around and cast a nasty-looking spell straight at Phoenix. The baker shoved Pearls out of the way, then jumped hard right to dodge it. Behind him, where the spell hit, a shelf of important looking magical texts started turning to ash before their eyes.

“Look. Are you sure there even is a cure?” Phoenix said, panting and doubled over his knees.

“Of course. Any magic that’s done...” Mia strode forward and, with the wave of her hand, returned the texts to their original form. She gave Maya a meaningful glance. “Must also be able to be undone.”

But after another few hours upon hours of spell upon spell with no results, all four of them were beginning to get tired and discouraged.

“I knew Dahlia was a feared mage, but I had no idea how powerful her dark magic was,” Mia muttered to herself.

Evening fell outside the castle windows and the group had to abandon their task halfway through for dinner. As they made their way down a winding staircase, Phoenix felt a tiny hand touch his back.

“Don’t worry, Sir Nick,” Pearl said. Although Maya’s nickname for him had taken off, the girl felt a need to add a level of respect to it. “I’m sure we’ll find out how to fix you!”

“Thanks, Pearls,” Phoenix muttered, feeling vaguely humiliated that he had to be reassured by a seven-year-old.

The four emerged into the large arched dining hall. There was one very long banquet table with only a few seats. On the table Phoenix was shocked to see that there wasn't much food.

Really, he wasn't sure what he was expecting. Probably plates filled with more mouth-watering meats than a butcher’s shop, delicate little sugary cakes and pies, and exotic spices that cost more than his entire home. For a castle, this banquet was shockingly ordinary.

Maya noticed his confusion. “The King said something about not wanting to live a life of plenty while some peasants live out there with so little. Y’know.”

“It's about class in-ee-qual-itty,” Pearls bit her thumbnail.

King Gregory himself was at the head of the table, an empty chair on his right and Misty on his left. The others Feys started to file into their seats. Phoenix followed suit, and found himself sandwiched between Maya and Pearl, sitting across from a strange man that he didn’t know.

“Oh, there you are! Any results?” Misty called out to them.

“Nothing’s working yet,” Mia said, sounding as dismayed as Phoenix looked.

Gregory frowned in sympathy, “I’m sure there’s a cure somewhere in there.”

“We’ve collected hundreds of magical artifacts over the years,” Misty chimed in.

“Yeah, and we’ve blown through half of them in one afternoon!” Maya said, sneaking a bite before she was supposed to.

“That still means there’s half of them to go!” Pearl chirped, far more optimistically.

I hope you’re right, Pearls.

Silence fell over the table as they waited for the last member to join them, and fill in the empty seat so they could begin the meal. Maya smuggled a few more furtive bites before Mia nudged her.

“He’s late,” the strange man across from Phoenix barked, breaking the silence.

“I’m sure the Prince is busy attending to his duties.” King Gregory said.

Before the man had a chance to respond with something nasty, the King continued. “Phoenix, I suppose you haven’t met. This is Manfred von Karma, the my advisor and second-in-command.”

Phoenix studied the Royal Advisor. He was an older man in a jeweled robe with long white hair. His face was etched in a permanent scowl.

“...Nice to meet you,” Phoenix lied.

Manfred’s eyes narrowed at him. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

“Uh, I—”

“I’m sorry I’m late.” A younger man swept into the room, closing the door behind him with a loud thud. He wore a red tunic with interwoven with an elaborate gold design. He bore an air of regality, and his prematurely gray hair just added to his distinguished aura. Phoenix knew immediately that this must be the Crown Prince.

“I was reading,” Prince Miles said. He took his place on his father’s right. He met Phoenix’s eyes and smiled at him.

“Reading what?” King Gregory sounded excited. Everyone at the table started to eat.

“Hmph! You let this boy get away with far too much, Your Majesty.”

Prince Miles’ attention swiveled. “Sir Manfred,” he greeted diplomatically. “If you're dining with us tonight, that must mean you have some news.”

“Fantastic. Just what I want to talk about at the dinner table. Politics,” Misty groused.

The King squeezed her hand and smiled apologetically. “It won't take long, dear.”

Manfred cleared his throat, rather self-importantly, Phoenix thought. “Yes. I come bearing news from the south-east.” He leaned forward, as if he was sharing a secret. “Your Majesty, there was another attack. They suspect the cause was rooted in magical extremism.”

Mia snorted with derision.

“Those damned mages have been at it for weeks! I recommend military action, Your Majesty. They must be stopped before they wipe the rest of us out!” Phoenix jumped as Manfred slammed his fist on the table to illustrate his point.

King Gregory looked uncomfortable. “My guards are stretched too thin right now to even consider military action. And, please, Manfred, I ask that you keep present company in mind when you talk about issues of magic.”

The mood at the table had shifted. Pearls and Maya picked at her food, keeping their heads ducked down. Mia was openly disgusted, and though Misty seemed more composed, her eyes were blazing.

“Of course. I apologize for my insensitivity.” He seemed more satisfied than sorry. “I am merely saying that there are some dangerous people out there. We need to take action soon so we don't find ourselves regretting inaction later.”

“Have you possibly considered,” Mia cut in, voice dripping with irritation, “that vilifying an entire group for the actions of a few is not only baseless fear-mongering, but also completely counterproductive and stupid.”

“...I have a headstrong daughter as well,” Manfred said in a deceitfully calm voice. He turned to look at Misty. “The difference is that I taught her respect.”

“Learn some yourself,” Mia snapped. “Excuse me.” She stood from the table and stormed off.

Wow.

Misty took a sip of her wine, but Phoenix swore he saw her grinning behind her goblet.

Not to be outdone, Manfred stood up and strode out of the room.

Those that remained at the table were silent for an unbearably lengthy moment.

Maya sprang up and hastily began stuffing rolls into her hood. “Well, looks like dinner’s over! Let’s go, Pearly!” She grabbed her cousin’s hand and practically sprinted from the room.

King Gregory blinked. The poor man had been caught in the middle of cutting his steak and been stuck that way for some time. “I suppose she's right. It does appear that dinner is over.” He set down his utensils, suddenly looking very old and tired. “I'm inclined to agree with her. Magic has been a huge asset to this kingdom, and making broad generalizations rarely does anyone any good. ...But that’s a discussion for another time. I’m going to retire for the evening. Good night, everyone.”

Misty followed him out, leaving Phoenix all alone with Prince Miles.

I wonder what he thinks of all this.

Phoenix studied the Prince’s face, but it was unreadable.

“...You must be Phoenix Wright.”

“That’s Wright,” Phoenix said immediately. He mentally kicked himself right after the words left his mouth. Stars, Phoenix! He’s a prince! You can’t just say stupid things like that to a prince!

Prince Miles frowned, “That was bad.”

Phoenix laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, desperately trying to alleviate his own idiocy. “Good thing I’m not a court jester, huh?”

“I don’t think you’d last very long in the profession.” He smiled and gave Phoenix a short bow. “My name is Miles Edgeworth. I’m prince of the realm.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Your Highness!” Phoenix stumbled over himself to bow in return. Prince Miles steadied him.

“There’s no need for that. Call me Miles. You’re our guest here. Ah, speaking of that...” The Prince trailed off, looking awkward. “You’ve come at a bit of a bad time. The Feys already occupy most of our guest rooms, and our last remaining one is under renovation. You’re to room with me. I’m hoping that’s not an issue...”

“Y-You would just let me—”

Prince Miles looked away, “It’s not ideal, but it isn’t completely unheard of. Mystic Misty and my father frequently share a chamber in order to leave other rooms free.”

Phoenix nodded quickly. “It’s not an issue for me.”

Silence lingered for a beat. The Prince’s gaze lingered on Phoenix’s face, expression still inscrutable. Finally, he seemed to realize that it was his turn to say something.

“Ah! But I’m being a poor host.“ Prince Miles coughed into his fist. “Would you like to see the royal gardens?“

Me, in the royal gardens?

“I’d love to!“

“Fantastic. I’ll show you the way then.” Prince Miles pushed open a door that lead outside, leaving Phoenix to follow.

Outside, evening had fallen and the stars shone bright overhead. Everything was quiet as the two walked through the castle's’ garden. Waist-high, neatly-trimmed hedges lined the path, interspersed with brightly colored flowerbeds. Magnificent trees with purple leaves looked on in the background.

Prince Miles kept walking, but Phoenix lagged behind, trying to take it all in.

“These gardens are gorgeous!”

“Thank you.”

“...Is dinner always that crazy?”

“Not typically. When Manfred is over, though...” The Prince paused, waiting for him to catch up.

Phoenix snorted. “He seems like a real piece of work.”

“He can be harsh, but he’s a brilliant man. That’s why Father keeps him around,” Prince Miles crossed his arms defensively. “He’s taught me a lot.”

“Sorry.” Phoenix wasn’t, really, but he didn’t need to go out of his way to insult the Prince’s tutor. Maybe there was more to the old coot than he knew.

Prince Miles unfolded his arms and looked curiously at Phoenix for a long moment. “Not that it’s any of my business, but what exactly is it that you do for a living?”

I can’t say I’m a mage. Not anymore.

“Oh, um, I’m just a baker.”

“I have to wonder,” The Prince said, glancing sidelong at Phoenix. They walked by a golden statue of a hooded woman bearing a seven pronged sword. “We’re not hiring at the moment. What’s a baker doing here at the castle?”

That’s really not something I want to get into.

“Sorry, but that’s on a knead-to-dough basis.”

Prince Miles groaned. There was a long pause, then, tentatively, the prince ventured, “That was a… crumby joke.”

Coming from the always-serious Prince, the pun surprised Phoenix. He burst into laughter. Prince Miles laughed too, albeit much quieter. He quickly coughed to try and cover it up. Phoenix wished he wouldn’t. His laugh was probably the best thing Phoenix had ever heard.

They fell silent as they reached the end of small garden, basking in the glow of the other’s presence. Phoenix followed as the Prince started to climb a grand, double-sided staircase.

“Miles, what were you reading earlier?” Phoenix asked.

“I’m sorry?”

“The book that made you late to dinner. Must’ve been interesting. What was it?” Phoenix rambled, “Y’know, maybe I’ve read it or something.”

“You’re literate?”

“Hey, you don’t need to sound so surprised!”

Prince Miles huffed, flustered. “Well, it’s not as if most people are.”

“Yeah, well, I need to be. How else would I know how to...” learn new spells and read tomes. “read recipes,” Phoenix finished rather lamely.

“Of course.” The Prince sighed, “If you must know, it was about government. The delicacies of running a country.”

“It must be a lot of pressure.” Phoenix frowned sympathetically. Just thinking about all those people relying on you... And he’s my age!

He shook his head in wonderment. “Candidly, I don’t know how my father handles it.”

“Sounds like you really admire him.”

“My father is a great leader. I have a lot to learn from him.” A light had sparked in the Prince’s already stunning gray eyes.

Phoenix smiled warmly at him. “For what it’s worth, I think you’ll do a great job.”

You seem like a good man. Just like your father.

Prince Miles’ cheeks turned pink. He muttered a “thank you” before hastily turning back towards the castle doors.

“W-We should head back inside. It’s getting late.”

Before following him, the baker turned to look back at the other wing of the castle. In the moonlight Phoenix could see Misty and King Gregory standing close together up on the balcony of the castle’s main tower. They looked happy.

[turnaboutstupid]

(1/??) ok it’s been like half an hour im back with a more thought-out idea. so like in this au it would be more like a title than a person? like instead of when the avatar dies, they’re reincarnated, it’d be like when the current avatar dies it goes to the next person BUT since it’s more like a title there’s no reincarnation? like they can still contact past avatars but they’re all separate people AND you can just give it up instead of dying. it still follows the earth —> fire —> air —> water cycle tho. this is VERY long i’ll probably split it up sorry. so my idea is that mia, maya, and pearl are airbenders bc air nomads and acolytes : hazakura temple nuns and shrine maidens and acolytes, they just match for me. so mia is the avatar but because she’s the oldest in the main fey bloodline she’s like expected to stay at the air temple or something but she’s the avatar she wants to master the elements and go see the world! so she gives up whatever the airbender equivalent of mystic mia would be, and she ends up meeting lana (im thinking firebender?) and learns firebending from her, and im gonna ignore godot for now, and she meets phoenix, a waterbender, and learns waterbending from him but she like has to teach him something bc she’s his mentor idk yet. lana like stayed in the fire nation so it’s just mia and phoenix traveling, mia’s like you should meet my sister we’ll visit the air temple after we hit the earth kingdom and then in the earth kingdom there’s factory pollution upsetting a spirit or smth that’s always an avatar plot and she goes to try to fix it and the owner of the factory k*lls her (redd white) and phoenix is like what the fuck and goes to the air temple and meets maya and they go take down redd white together and that’s where phoenix and edgeworth reunite