#big brother apollo justice

[sunset-peril]

Ashes Remain - Chapter Four - When We Met

~~~~

April 17, 2020

Nine Tails Vale

~~~~

"I. Already. Told. You!"

Huh? Who was that?

"I'm a lawyer assigned to this case!"

Wait. Lawyer? Could that be?

"I need to study the crime scene, so if you would please tell me where Kyubi Manor is...!"

"You can't fool me! You're just some delinquent high school student playing hooky!"

Apollo turned his head towards the flaming voices, just in time to see a woman, about his height, trembling with rage. "You stupid, pigheaded...! This attorney's badge isn't just for show, you know!"

Looks like we've just found Ms. Athena Cykes, Justice.

"Tsk! Why don't you believe me! Don't expect me to defend you in court if you ever get arrested!"

"Well," The other voice was sounding much calmer now. "I'm usually the one that does the arresting, so." He flashed a last resort smile. "Say, shouldn't you be getting back to school?"

"I already told you, I'm a lawyer, not a student!"

"That's it! Enough of your lies! You're coming with me!"

~~~~

Ungh... what happened?

His head hurt, and he was now face first down on Yokai Lane's dirt street. What just happened? The last thing he remembered was the police officer arresting Ms. Athena Cykes...

Wait, where was that officer now?

Oh, right. He remembered now. Ms. Cykes snapped as soon as that officer grabbed her, throwing his body into the air... and straight onto him.

"Urnngh... think you can watch out for the bystanders next time?"

"Ah, oh! Whoops! Are you okay?!"

"I think so..."

But that officer...

"I am so sorry! I do that when people suddenly grab me... it's like a reflex or something."

It's like a felony is what it is!

"You're Athena Cykes, I take it?"

"That would be me. And you are?"

~~~~

They were now inside the Fox Chamber, where the murder had occured. Him, and Ms. Athena Cykes. Or, rather, Dr. Athena Cykes.

Athena was a doctor. Mr. Wright did not tell him that. He learned the reason almost instantly: she preferred to be called Miss Cykes, which is who Mr. Wright said to look for. She said that 'someone else was Doctor Cykes.'

Could she be bipolar? Schizophrenic, maybe? She did seem more than an average amount of unstable...

"Apolloooooooo!" Her voice sounded rather whiny, like she was trying to achieve Chords of Steel but had the patience of a five-year-old.

He could see why the cop thought she was a delinquent instead of a double-degreed European doctor of psychology plus lawyer. Her education made her thirty, at least. Her behavior was more akin to a ten-year-old. He wondered if she ever tried the psycho-analyzing thing on herself. Perhaps she had, and was afraid of what she found.

"What, Athena?"

"Look! Look!" She pointed out a minimum of five different investigation spots.

He needed some coffee. She was running circles around him.

This is who Mr. Wright hired? The boss said he and Athena would get along pretty well, he was expecting someone down-to-earth and ready for the dark truths of death. Someone optimistic enough to dream, but real enough to know the world they lived in was dark and dangerous. Someone like Clay, Detective Skye, or Trucy even.

Definitely not this very tall five-year-old.

He was going to have to spend some serious hours repeating Athena's age and education tonight to remind himself that she was not five.

She flared up an unassuming tapestry, one he now saw was dripping in blood.

The smell became much stronger after being disturbed.

He had just barely waded through the scent himself when he heard a thud, and the tapestry fell to the floor. "Athena? Ms. Cykes?"

Athena had passed out and was now underneath the blood-soaked tapestry.

~~~~

April 17, 2020

Wright Anything Agency

~~~~

"Athena! Can you hear me, Athena?!" He continued to splash cold water on her, small amounts so she wouldn't drown, until her eyes fluttered open.

"...¿Quién eres tú?" Her eyes twitched weakly, and she didn't roll over or try to sit up. "¿Quién eres tú?"

"Él no habla español, Athena." Mr. Wright piped in from his desk. "Ingles."

"Ah, you speak English... Who are you?"

"I'm Apollo Justice. We've, uh, already met? At Nine-Tales Vale? You threw a cop at me?"

"Ah, I'm sorry... I'm having some trouble remembering. Did I pass out or something?"

"Uh, yeah. You did. You found a tapestry and passed out as soon as we both realized it smelled like blood."

Her eyes flashed cold, that little necklace she wore turned black. How odd...

"Ah, sorry... I tend to not be good... with sudden large amounts of blood. I guess it just shocked me."

"It's okay. Did you hit your head? Mind if I look and see if you have any bruises?"

"I'd prefer you not... actually."

"Okay, I won't look. Does it hurt though? You need any meds or anything?"

"Wowww, Polly. Look at you being so caring!"

Why did that statement make him blush? It was completely normal to obsess over someone who may have gotten a concussion!

"I have a bit of a headache. It's nothing severe. I think I'll try drinking some water before trying medicine. Thank you, though."

"Okay. Do you need to rest a little? We have an emergency air mattress in the back room if you need to stay down."

"That would be nice, thank you. Could you help me up?"

He took her hand and pulled her up slowly, gently supporting her in each stage. The glove she wore was very cold and smooth where her fingertips were.

Mr. Wright helped them set up the air mattress. Wright had figured it was only a matter of time until it was used, since Athena didn't have a place of residence here. Trucy brought her a cup of water, and she dozed on the mattress for a while in the back room while Apollo worked on processing evidence in the main space. He'd gone back for that tapestry after Athena settled, and carefully processed it as evidence while making a note for the record of Athena's little accident just in case someone tried to present any of her DNA as evidence.

While she may be a little off her rocker, none of her genetic material was on that fabric when the crime happened. She was just more than a little unlucky.

Plus, she seemed pretty nice. It didn't seem like she had a murderer in her, crazy or not.

Although Kristoph Gavin had taught him a cold lesson in assuming people's ability and willingness to kill. He would never forget that lesson as long as he lived. He was honestly shocked with himself for trusting Athena so easily.

The fact that she practically unzipped her heart and dumped it unceremoniously in front of him definitely helped. Kristoph was reserved, and wouldn't wear his heart on his sleeve to save his life, much less dump all its contents out in front of a stranger.

Athena was probably fine. Probably not a killer. Probably not a psycho.

Even if some of the things she mentioned to him, like the cop-tossing reasoning, were arguably concerning.

But if some random man grabbed Trucy like that, Apollo would also want him getting flipped. Where the lawyer in Apollo cried out 'Objection!' the brother in him replied with 'If the same thing were to happen to Trucy...'

Eventually, the brother and lawyer made peace and decided to place Athena in the "Probably fine" category. Enough to be trustworthy, but definitely questionable in more than one way. It would help if he could see her thought processes just as easily as her heart. He was glad he didn't get flipped while a) carrying Athena back or b) while she woke up. Perhaps she'd already decided he was an honest man, if cynical. Likely with psychology.

He did hope her default language changed to English though. He wasn't sure if he could tell her that he only spoke English, or that his name was Apollo Justice, he was her co-worker, and they'd likely be assigned as pairs for most of their cases every. Single. Day.

Her presence reminded him of Lamiroir though. Without having one good reason why, he felt safer around both women. Which was unnerving, considering she was five years younger than him. Lamiroir at least gave off a motherly vibe, and was old enough to actually be his mother. Athena just made him feel like a bucket of contradictions.

He wanted to talk with her. At the least, about the trial starting tomorrow. He needed to know much more about her before he invested too much. He needed Gavin-proofing.

But for now, he would continue to analyze the crime scene and any head problems she'd sustained in her fall.

After all, her name is Athena Cykes.

And she's probably fine.

[cenviswasteland]

Do you guys ever think about how much Klavier Gavin loses over the course of AA4?

-- Hella spoilers for Apollo Justice (AA4). Go play it, it's a masterpiece. --

Where is Klavier during 4-1? Probably preparing for a show, knowing him. How does he learn about what happens to his brother? Who tells him? Not Kristoph, he's already been taken away. Is it his family? Is it Daryan? Or does he find out from the paparazzi after his set is done, all shouting at him "Klavier! Klavier, do you have a statement on your brother's arrest?"

I wonder what happens in the in-between. Does he go to Kristoph, demanding the "what happened" and the "why did you do it"? Does he get anything? Or does Kristoph just stare back and give him vague explanations that mean nothing in the grand scheme of it all? Does Klavier beg for the answers he doesn't get? Does he cry? Does Kristoph just stare back, knowing that eventually Klavier will give up like he always does?

Klavier is so flashy in 4-2. I wonder if it's a front. I wonder if it's the hasty bandage wrapped over the aching, still-bleeding wound. After all, he's up against the same defense attorney that got Kristoph arrested. And that attorney is good at what he does. In a way, that's its own loss. It means that Kristoph's arrest wasn't a mistake. There's no way that Justice screwed up. Kristoph killed a man in cold blood, with almost no motive. And Klavier is just expected to move on. His brother is a monster. Move on.

I'm almost certain he starts confiding in Daryan in the in-between. "I dont know what to do." "He wouldn't talk to me." "I need to cut my hair now." "I can't look at myself." "He was arrested, Daryan. He killed someone, Daryan." "I look like him!" "I don't know him at all anymore!" "What do I do? What do I do?!" "I hate seeing him when I look at myself." "I miss him." "I look just like him!!" over and over and over. It's him putting his head in his hands, desperate to block out the vision. It's the "C'mon, Klav, we've got a show soon," as Daryan carefully turns him away from the dressing room mirror.

So what happens in 4-3, when Klavier starts to piece together the case? What happens to Klavier when he realizes, in time with Justice, that the shoulder he'd replaced his brother with did the same thing? What happens as Klavier watches Daryan break down on the witness stand? What happens as Klavier watches him get led away in handcuffs? What happens now that Klavier is completely, utterly alone? He can't confide in his murderer brother. He can't confide in his murderer bandmate. Who else does he even have?

…Justice? Apollo Justice, the man who got them both arrested? The man who pulled every little secret from the cases, who pointed the blame to them? Apollo Justice, the one that remains at the end of the trial, when the dust settles? The one who looks so proud of himself as he tears apart every person Klavier loves?

He can't take it. He can't take any of it. He hates the way he looks at himself in the mirror every morning, shaking off the sudden twinge of fear that he looks too much like his brother. He takes up smoking again, something he hadn't touched since turning the Gavineers into a serious endeavor. But the Gavineers don't matter much now, do they? He stops trying to get answers out of Kristoph. He does his best to not think about Daryan. He just wants to be left alone. He just wants to put his pieces back together. He can't get himself to pick up his guitars-- he nearly considers getting the ones in his office shipped off to a storage facility. Instead, he covers the case with bedsheets like he's a child again, and he starts safety-pinning newspaper clippings and red string to it. Maybe if he does enough digging, he'll be able to find out why Kristoph did what he did. Maybe, if he tries hard enough, he can shove the right evidence in Kristoph's face. Maybe, if he just does more, he'll be able to talk to his brother again.

It consumes him. He talks to no one. He barely goes home-- instead, he stays up for days at a time and collapses in his chair when his body succumbs to the exhaustion. He lives almost entirely off of coffee and cigarettes and whatever snacks are in the prosecutors' office break room. He looks awful. He feels awful. He stops making progress after a certain point, just falling into this awful, awful spiral of hatred and guilt and shame.

And it's nearly a miracle when Phoenix Wright comes to his office, asking him to help test a new trial system. He accepts without a second thought, not even bothering to check what case it was.

Oh, 4-4. Oh, when Klavier realizes with mounting horror what he's gotten himself into. When Klavier figures out that not only is his brother a murderer, he's a serial murderer. Kristoph has a seemingly never-ending web of lies, plots, schemes, and the like. And there's Apollo Justice, and himself, working in awful tandem to tear it all apart. Justice doesn't even realize that he's pulling Klavier apart at the same time, does he?

Klavier keeps looking at Kristoph, begging for any kind of retort. Any truth that can cut down Justice's line of logic. That retort doesn't come. The family closet's been full and shut for a long time, and now suddenly it's all being pulled out to the tune of "Objection!"

It's sick. It's an awful nightmare. He's not waking up from it.

Klavier is stronger than a lot of people give him credit for. But he's not strong enough for all this.

[xxneo-olde-tokyo-defendrxx]

rare footage of the sillies (you and apollo)

polly walks me to school like this. 10/10 depiction.

[rockgodklav]

do you consider yourself the jealous type ? 🤔

“Ach, maybe a little. I don’t feel much feel much, however.”

[thepollyjustice]

Can I have a hug? Please? It can be quick, just kinda need one.

He sighs lightly.

“..Okay, bring it in.”

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 6

Propaganda:

Kiriwo -

"Seems innocent at first and he's just a guy with a special interest in magic items, but watch out."

Arjuna -

"MASKING KING!!!!!! ok joke aside one of his biggest things is that he's super scared that if anyone gets too close to him they'll notice he's not perfect/has a 'secret darkness' (that's literally just a guy) and overall a lot of his storyline is a strong parallel for being neurodivergent and becoming more comfortable with accepting it. he's also super strict and hard on himself for any sort of failure that isn't in line with what's socially appropriate but at the same time he doesn't always have a good grasp on what that is which is how you get stuff like him blowing up a forest to try and impress someone. it also runs in his family bc his brother is autistic as hell too."

Sherlock -

"God, where do I start? I mean what Holmes adaptation, even if he's not the main character, would this be if he were not autistic coded? And our combo of autism and ADHD is absolute perfection, all tied up with a pretty, excitable face. Hit him with the crime hyperfixation and do not make him wear socks."

Apollo -

"Not canonically autistic but he has ZERO volume control plus he scripts/repeats stuff (“I’M FINE!!!”), sometimes mimics other people’s speech patterns (like replying “ja” to Klavier), sensitive to loud noises (stayed backstage at a concert cuz it was too loud) and bright lights (complained about the stage lights being too bright at the same concert + screamed when opening the hatch to the bright stage at magic show), and has been really into space since he was a kid, which could definitely be a hyperfixation (not to mention how he read every single one of Phoenix’s old case files back when he admired him). Plus he’s a little TOO normal, to the point where it circles back around to making him the odd one out, which is absolutely what masking feels like for me. Even when he tries to be fun and weird he gets strange looks/made fun of for not being weird in the right way. The list of autism symptoms is just a checklist for him at this point."

Heiji -

"90% of the cast in detective conan is autistic but heiji is the most autistic of them all."

Urara -

"Another alien who is so excited to dance with everyone that he does not understand that his intended purpose of inviting people to dance via water communication is brainwashing them into dancing and is causing extreme chaos. He nearly causes an apocalypse by being so excited about dancing but he apologizes and tries to make friends with Yuki at the end of the story. He is extremely soft spoken and try, finding it difficult to begin conversations and fidgeting."

Shu -

"speaking specifically about the first season but he was the "explains everything so the audience knows whats happening" guy. he was pretty antisocial (not sure if thats just how he was or if he lived alone [which was fucked up cause he was 11]) . im trying to think of more but my brain goes hghghhhggggh im just a big fan of him."

Vash -

"ain’t no way i’m the only one who’s submitted him. go look at the gif of him crawling in the dirt like a bug while he dodges bullets and get back to me."

Hyakkimaru -

"Due to a terrible curse he has lived his whole life without several body parts including his eyes and ears. Because of this he is often overstimulated and awkward in new situations (when he doesn't do what he does best, killing monsters and samurai with his sword arms) He can't say or express much, and often comes off as strange and creepy, but he is actually a cutie patootie full of emotions, has a big heart, a keen brain, endless inner strength and loves the people close to him! This adorable, cursed, demon slaying boy deserves everything!"

Kei -

"He has the tbh face. Also he canonically has sensory issues and gets sensory overload. He constantly wears earbuds. He has an extremely rigid sense of morality and considers himself a savior figure. He has a hard time relating to other people and is a bit awkward in his interactions."

[kosmicsound]

things i’m excited for in my drs:

youtuber dr

- creating music!

- living in a cute ass house

- being a polyglot

- my bf

- school being super easy

- generally having a laid back life

- going to harvard

- being well known in the music community

- hanging out w my bf's viewers on stream

pjo dr

- seeing my childhood in real life

- MEETING CARTER KANE THE LOML

- powers!!

- having present siblings

- my dad living IN chb (hes forced to be there but STILL)

- seeing all the different mythologies around the world

- going on adventures

- fucking with percy (we’re frenemies)

- taking care of the apollo children bc they are overworked and underpaid (not paid at all)

- visiting valhalla

fame dr

- not being socially awkward

- acting

- making music (again)

- the fame (duhh)

- chilling with my brother

- the compilations of "k being fucking stupid for 10 mins straight"

- having a platform for change

marauders dr

- seeing the hogwarts castle IRL (universal is just not the same)

- buying shit at hogsmeade (again, universal is just not the same)

- meeting my friends

- having house parties

- the dinners!!

- PLAYING QUIDDITCH.

- living the old money dream (the riddle fam is part of the sacred 28😜😜)

- raising adopted children (it’s literally just my brother matteo + anyone he brings home)

- i have an adoption problem

- teaching potions FUCK YOU SNAPE

batfam/mcu dr

- fucking with the justice league

- being famous (bruce wayne is the 3rd richest man alive)

- being rich

- PETER PARKER 😜❤️💕🫃

- having a big ass family that just keeps growing

- galas

- actually helping gotham

- fucking with the avengers

- remembering peter parker because BITCH im a biblically accurate angel i have too many eyes to just forget

- also the entire batfam is made up of cryptids, eldritch horrors, semi-demigods, and bruce wayne who is surprisingly the scariest of the family

- not recognizing any other famous ppl/heroes bc im busy with SAVING GOTHAM??

- being one of the only known gotham vigilantes bc duke and i r daylighters and everyone else are cryptids to ppl outside of gotham

[bracketsoffear]

Eye Avatar Bracket Lineup Round 1

Cecil Palmer vs. Lemony Snicket

Apollo Justice vs. Mike Wazowski

GLaDOS vs. Janet

Harry duBois vs. Futaba Sakura

Rachel Elizabeth Dare vs. Santa Claus

Kyoko Kirigiri vs. Ivy Alexandria

Prof. Brian O'Blivion vs. Sunset Shimmer

L vs. Dipper Pines

Doc Scratch vs. Sauron

Columbo vs. Jadis

TBH Creature/Yippee vs. Big Brother

Barbara 'Oracle' Gordon vs. Dib Membrane

Sherlock Holmes vs. Matilda

Guinan vs. Arthur Lester

Spencer Reid vs. Donna Noble/The DoctorDonna

Uatu the Watcher vs. Nikignik 100 Eyes in the Dark

Round 1 will close in 24 hours.

[luribourdon]

In Spirit of Justice, we learn that Apollo, as a kid, was "a rascal". And it's coming from Datz, a certified rascal himself.

So, how to we go from a troublemaker to the still cheerful but serious 20 years old Apollo ?

A first easy answer is : he grew up.

Then, being sent overseas, in a country he never been to, with nobody he knows, separated from his family, must have done a trick on the kid.

But I think another reason could be Clay.

A friend his age who lost his mom, distressed and very upset, navigating a new world that Apollo know too well. Maybe he became an orphan that day. I interprete the line "Everybody has a mother, why am I the only one who doesn't?" two way :

- He only lost his mother.

- He never had a father, or lost him early on. And he mostly see his classmates with their mom, but not so much with their dad. Single/stay at home mothers are more common than single/stay at home fathers after all (even tho, in the AA univers, we see more single dads. Maybe I'm reaching a little).

(I think the first option is the most likely, but I personally go with the second)

Some fans thinks his father was distant after that incident or that he died some times after.

Either way, Apollo helped him througt it, especially if he did became an orphan, and had to go to an orphenage or foster family. Maybe they start living as roomates in middle school in a way.

Apollo quickly matured so Clay wouldn't have to. He did like Nahyuta; he is the big brother in this situation, he took responsability and looked after him.

Another thing to add is that Clay lived a "normal" childhood, he didn't had to hunt for his food or hide in the sewers. He was "soft" compare to an already toughen up Apollo. Also, while Apollo arrived in Japanifornia alone, Clay had his best friend guiding him and Mr. Starbuck around.

[menelaiad]

Hi! I know your favorite character is Menelaus (mine too) and I wanted to ask you, what is your opinion about him in Euripides’ Oresteia? And in Euripides’ Helen? Because as I see, the Homeric Menelaus is a little different, and Euripides didn’t despict him as a nice character.

Thank you for your answer in advance! :)

hi, there!

heck yea! fellow menelaus stans unite, let's make jackets or smth.

UHHHHH i spoke about this a lot in my recent MA thesis and it's the foundation for my phd (or at least a big chunk of it) and yes i'm sorry this bitch is going off about her academics again.

so. euripides was athenian and it's fairly safe to say that the athenians altered menelaus characterisation on a HUGE scale and it was mainly euripides as he wrote the most works featuring him. and it's also fairly safe to say that euripides didn't like menelaus OR helen OR hermione simply because they were spartan and given the context of his time, he couldn't really be pro-sparta. so, he used menelaus' family in a myriad of ways to just mock ALL spartans and spartan culture. i won't go into that too much now and i'll focus specifically on the plays you asked about! :)

ORESTES (i assume you meant orestes? aeschylus did the oresteia but euripides just did this one?): so here we see .... menelaus being not very great with his family. but not in a mean way he's just .... useless .. coward like almost? he's a big fence sitter tbh. he doesn't wanna get involved in orestes' shit and that is painfully obvious. again. that's meant to make menelaus look shitty that he doesn't care about his family and his brothers death and his nephew literally having visions of hell BUT. personally? i dont blame him ASDFGHJK. man just got his wife back. got home. dealing with grief and loss and survivors guilt and maybe ptsd and shit .................... and then orestes turns up like 'help me fix my problems' BRO HE GOT HIS OWN DAMN PROBLEMS. and THEN they're like 'ok uncle that's cool. we're gonna kill ur wife and daughter though' LIKE LEAVE THE OLD MAN ALONE. i LOVE menelaus and agamemnon's dynamic. so i'm not saying menelaus didn't care about aga and aga's family. im NOT saying that. but (and i KNOW its my modern perspective) i can see why menelaus couldn't be arsed. and he wasn't even mean about it? he was just nonplussed. AGAIN the ancients would have HATED that, but my modern ass can relate tbh. and lets not forget. he's caught between a rock and a hard place. if he helps orestes, he risks greek wrath. which (in this play anyway) is already strong enough against him cause of helen and troy. so like. euripides has kinda put him in this impossible situation and then makes him the 'stupid funny lazy ass not helpful uncle' guy when he just backs out. which i think is unfair. AND TO TOP IT OFF. APOLLO COMES AND THEN TAKES HIS WIFE. AFTER EVERYTHING HE DID TO GET HER BACK. justice for this old man i s2g.

HELEN: OH HERE WE GO! SO helen is often referred to as a tragi-comedy which i think is very accurate. and euripides is using it to condemn war as a whole (athens had recently suffered a big loss) like if helen wasn't even in troy what was the point of the war? he makes menelaus very .... pathetic, for lack of a better word. and helen seems to take the reigns in their relationship, which would have been a huge no-no to the athenian audience. it would have made helen look domineering and unmanageable and menelaus weak and foolish. he also has menelaus cry a lot. cry and lament his losses as a king. again, the athenians would have hated a man crying. a GREEK HERO crying. but we have our 21st century vision and tbh ................ menelaus is fantastic in this play. he is so. real. he is so human. he is a man who is tired. who is lonely. who is heartbroken. a man who meets his wife who isn't his wife but actually is his wife ... and we're supposed to laugh at him because he's confused? he gets lambasted by so many characters and it's supposed to be funny and i think it is! i do think menelaus in helen is just .... an incredible character. he's so funny. he's so NORMAL. he reacts how you would expect a man to react. you see so many menelaus' in this play. menelaus defeated. menelaus in love. you see a menelaus in action when he comes up with the plan against proteus but also a man who respects his wife and knows when to shut up. i, much like the athenians back then, do have a giggle at menelaus in this play. but i don't hate him. it makes him all the more endearing to me and i love him.

these two menelaus' are (shockingly) two menelaus' that i like! i love helen's menelaus and i'm indifferent to orestes' menelaus tbh. but i think they're fine as portrayals and they make sense to me!

overall, me and euripides have a complicated relationship. some of his menelaus' i cannot tolerate. and some i adore. and i can actually connect his helen menelaus and his iphigenia in aulis menelaus to homeric menelaus. they're not identical by any means, but the way he behaves and his choices and stuff. you can see homeric menelaus in there somewhere, which is why i love them so much.

[the-bar-sinister]

(saying this as someone who likes the idea of dadnix) About the dynamics apollo-phoenix, many like the "phoenix is a dad to apollo" dynamic more than the canon dinamic (shitty boss, shitty client who nearly disbarred him shortly after making his debut, treats apollo as the cleaning person of the agency, clear favoritism towards athena, etc.) is because of apollo and trucy being siblings. And because the idea of phoenix adopting apollo so trucy can have her brother back is really compelling in this fandom.

Is the yearn for the woob, fix it and wholesome fluffy adopted family dynamics that is a prevalent theme in the franchise. And if canon doesn't support that is best to ignore it.

I feel you, anon. It's a very compelling dynamic to imagine for them. It's really emotionally satisfying, and it would be nice if we saw more of it in the text. I love to see their relationship get to that place in fanfic.

It's pretty clear that Apollo does crave Phoenix's approval, too, judging by his reaction in Spirit of Justice to Phoenix putting him in charge while he's gone, and saying he's proud of him. Not going to lie, that made me tear up.

But part of the reason it did make me tear up and felt like such a huge deal is because as you suggest, it stands in stark contrast to every other interaction between them in canon. Where Apollo is constantly given the shit jobs, manipulated, and passed over in favor of others.

The bonus case in Dual Destinies where Apollo is left alone at the office to do the chores while everyone else investigates (and makes fun of him), was a pretty egregious example of this.

I really want Phoenix Wright to be nice to Apollo, to have a kind of fatherly relationship with him-- but he just kind of doesn't.

The best he really manages in canon is jerk big brother.

context link

[trlvsn]

this long ass trainwreck of a post is about two types of cards and two types of hands in apollo justice: ace attorney. also about beanix. like, a lot. i got carried away.

i have already written a post about phoenix wright in turnabout trump and his decision to make apollo present forged evidence, but i will repeat myself a little for the sake of making sense. before, i have stated three definite motivations for his behavior: teaching apollo to never make the mistake of blind trust ever again, making sure that he wins the case and completely cutting himself off from the law, submitting to the image of himself that others see. "maybe i did, maybe i didn't, but who cares anymore" - phoenix wright, 2019, dear genties and ladymen of the court. but anyway, as fascinating as his character is in aa4, the only way to really understand it is to focus on the bigger picture. phoenix wright has been collecting evidence for seven long years, working on the jurist system, playing the piano, looking in the mirror and seeing the cracks from the big big punch the system landed on him. phoenix wright might still remember how to be a lawyer, but he is no longer part of the current system, in fact, he refuses to be. he frequently says he "quit law", meaning him not going back or trying to was somewhat of a conscious choice. bringing me to my second point and fourth reason of him forging evidence: the rules don't matter to him anymore, because these rules are not the ones he agrees with. he is no longer playing by them.

once you understand that, the point of view shifts. his actions are only wrong from a legal standpoint (aside, of course, from betraying apollo's trust, not excusing that but also not really talking about that right now), he is acting as a man, not a lawyer. look at the forged evidence morally: did it do harm? we know the man who he was trying to frame with the evidence is guilty (kristoph), we know he knows and we know he knows what will happen. what happens is: with the price of a small lie, a bigger truth gets revealed, and millions of other wrongs that the system created break. this action has led to good consequences and was done with good intentions (well, i assume), meaning it was, objectively, good, righteous. it's just that the law is righteous no more.

furthermore, when you look at phoenix's actions overall, we understand that the fire burning inside him has not changed. he is fighting for a better system, one that will never leave an innocent alone and abandoned, as now there are 12 jurists and any of them could be on that person's side, not based on their position or job, but based on reason and common sense. see me making the word job bold? that's for a reason, i will talk about the significance of jobs later. anyway, phoenix's seriousness about the whole thing is really well-demonstrated by sprite.

now. you might notice klavier and kristoph here. that's because, as noted by countless other ace attorney fans, phoenix's expression mirrors theirs. if it was just kristoph's, this expression of phoenix's would frankly concern me: a parallel with an "evil" character is not exactly a good sign. however, this expression gains a new meaning with klavier having it: aside from indicating that phoenix wright remains a sponge that adopts people's mannerism, he is experiencing a similar mindset to the gavin brothers: perfectionism. not in the von karma way, though, a different kind. this perfectionism means "i have poured my heart and soul into this concert/murder/jurist system and everything has to go right. for the love of god". it means phoenix's heart is in it. it means the mask falls.

the make falls, and yet phoenix wright remains in his hoodie and beanie. the mask falls, and yet, by the end of turnabout succession, he says he might learn how to play piano, or, maybe, perhaps, someday, pass the bar exam. weird, isn't it? the system is fresh and just, his honor is restored, but he is embracing the freedom of choice and a chance at authenticity instead of deciding what that authenticity will be for him right away. that, at least to me, is because phoenix wright is no longer defined by his occupation, and neither are any of the characters, really. here is where i come back to the job thing.

a wise tumblr user out there somewhere once said aa2 is about identity, and i completely agree. in the introductory case, phoenix loses his memories and regains his sense of self by, essentially, doing his job, remembering why and how he does it. and, like phoenix, aa4 is much more mature in the subject of identity. (not calling aa2 an immature game, just pointing out the development of identity as a concept). phoenix wright is a piano player slash poker champion, and yet he brings the truth to light and turns the system upside down. klavier gavin is balancing being a rockstar and a prosecutor; despite being a singer, he is factually serious and determined in court, despite being a prosecutor, he sings for thousands and is the most glimmerous of fops. ema skye - and boy will i say a lot about her in a separate post someday - is a detective, and yet she keeps her soul alive with luminol and fingerprint powder, using forensics despite not being a forensic scientist. apollo justice is a successful attorney, and yet he presents forged evidence in his first trial, and, while it wasn't his choice to do so, he also doesn't make the choice to go ruin his career and reveal the truth of the evidence, does he?

point is, the characters make choices, no longer identifying themselves solely with their jobs. they do what they do, and what they are is what they put out into the world. while aa2 is about identity, aa4 is about actions, making a change. no longer is it acceptable to stand by and observe - you either build a new system brick by brick and break the old one with your bare fists, or you're a victim slash pawn of it. or you're kristoph gavin and those like him - the one who the old system relies on, and the one who relies on the old system.

either way, the matter of actions, well, mattering, is really well-demonstrated by the importance of hands in aj:aa. i already talked about hands for a bit in this post, reblogged from @/phantommarigold. what inspired this line of thought was phoenix's tendency to hide his hands in almost every sprite of his, except for the objection one (which is stated was for the reason of hiding his true intentions, aka his "hand" as in hand of cards). the other reason, however, was the significance of hands in aa4 overall. kristoph gavin's hand has a devilish scar on it, showing his true identity and being a tell of his; apollo's perceptive powers are enhanced by the bracelet on his hand, which he so impolitely points at other objection-style, and so does phoenix in turnabout trump. klavier is a guitarist, so hands are quite literally an important part of his; but they are also very detailed in general, drawn with rings and great detail. in moments of weakness and confusion, he uses his hands to cover his ears, subconsciously desiring to ignore the truth (but choosing not to, of course. eh, that's for another post). machi tobaye holds lamoir by her hand at all times in order to guide her. things such as letters, written diaries, handwriting and fingerprints play a crucial part in multiple cases. i am confident that if i tried hard enough, i would find even more examples. point is: hands are important. hands symbolize action, creation and ruin, hands are our instrument, which we use to leave an imprint on the world. again, choices and actions.

but let's go back a bit. this will be a little niche, and yet i am compelled to point out the possibly unintentional tarot symbolism in character design. kristoph gavin has a devil on his hand, and frankly, that is very fitting for a name of the fifteenth major arcana. the devil traps, conceals the truth and holds immense power, which is essentially what kristoph does. the card is also associated with manipulation, which is also undeniably what he does to klavier at the very least. the card suits him, frankly even more than the descriptions of the devil as a mythical being.

before i point out the most obvious tarot reference, bear with me while i talk about the more far-fetched ones. first and foremost, trucy wright as the magician, the first arcana: someone who holds all the tools (the necessary (and forged) evidence, two times throughout her life) but isn't exactly at a point of bringing them into full action, someone who motivates and powers (her being phoenix's light), and, well, literally a magician. apollo justice as the sun - named after the greek god of the sun, bringing light and joy into life (by assisting with the downfall of the dark age) and possibly being childish (the naive behavior of accepting forged evidence in turnabout trump). are my descriptions of the cards fully accurate? no, give me a break, divination may be in my blood but it's not in my brain. anyways, lamoir as the star - constellations on her clothes, divine-looking, and the seventeenth arcana, following the tower - a symbol of a wreck, a disaster, a change (losing memories, in her case, and ... well, being shot does resemble the lighting that strikes the tower). this might seem insignificant for those not familiar with tarot, but the major arcana are famous for telling a story of life if put in the correct order, so it made sense to me.

now, the most important tarot reference of all is the one at the start of case 2. take a look at the transcript/description of the intro from ace attorney wiki:

Intro

The camera slowly zooms away from a wheel that is turning.

As long as we draw breath, the Wheel of Fate turns...

There are brief scenes of Phoenix Wright about to get hit by a car, Trucy Wright chasing someone, and a man playing on his harmonica. Afterward, it is shown that the wheel is part of a stand being pulled by a man late in the rainy evening. Everything except the wheels is silhouetted in darkness.

Spinning big crimes and little crimes together.

The man suddenly stops.

And when the Wheel stops...

The camera pans to another man blocking the stand-puller's way. As the camera begins to zoom away, there is a flash from a gunshot. The camera accelerates, showing part of a park before obscuring the scene behind some city towers.

You die.

the wheel of fortune is the tenth major arcana, and it's meaning is quite obvious.

fate is an uncontrollable force, one that is the most powerful in the universe as it is the universe itself. in this case, it spins a complicated tale, connecting small and big crimes, unintended consequences and failed plans.

in the end, what's done is done, no matter what you originally intended. you may not have wanted to present forged evidence, but you did. you may not have wanted this job, but you have it. you may not have known and you may not have seen, but now you do, and what you do next is what matters.

so you better be careful. tomorrow is a new day no matter what happens; time is inevitable, and so is change, but if you get your hands dirty and play your cards right, then, perhaps, the sun will shine on that day and the day after that.

[nyarumitsu]

i love how the more the story in aa progresses the more mia/phoenix parallels show up... even after pwaa, phoenix still carries mia's legacy with him in his own ways.

it starts off with how phoenix has the same mannerisms and behavior in court as newbie mia did and it's really cute watching them grasp at straws to pull a turnabout and succeeding! then we get into the good stuff of them starting their own law firms, right after very difficult moments in their lives.

mia almost loses diego, then starts fey & co. law offices. phoenix loses mia, then starts wright & co. law offices. those losses would have emotionally destroyed them if they didn't have some sort of support during those times. and mia's support was phoenix, and phoenix's support was maya.

it's so amazing how strong the both of them are, just taking case after case relentlessly putting their lives on the line for their jobs and greater goals. it's just that phoenix got a little more lucky and got tons and tons of help from mia past the grave which is honestly so badass of her.

in a way, i sincerely do believe that they saw each other as family. i mean, mia literally saved phoenix's life and probably didn't hesitate to apply to her law firm once he passed the board exam. again, i am filling up gaps here with my own interpretations up in here. i really did wish we could've gotten more interaction between them pre-mia death. maybe mia saw phoenix as this weird little brother she's never gotten, and maybe phoenix, for once in his life, was happy to finally find someone to rely on.

another thing i'd love to touch on is how ... incredibly devoted the two of them are. they love with their whole hearts and are dedicated to doing everything they can for their goals. bringing me onto the : dahlia and kristoph topic. these are two people who have greatly ruined their lives and how do they decide to bring justice to them... in the most badass ways possible.

mia literally got her revenge WHILE BEING DECEASED. finding out that dahlia was her cousin didn't even make her hesitate or anything, she just wants her gone for everything she's did. hurting all these innocent people, and diego, and phoenix. she was apart of such a big convoluted plan that she helped plan from the very beginning to be steps ahead of dahlia, morgan, and iris.

but of course, it all has its consequences. her mother had to join her to the other side, and diego just had to get himself guilty for murder. the plan worked, but so much had to be sacrificed. and, it was phoenix himself, with everyone's help who brought dahlia to justice.

then there's the seven year gap, phoenix's disbarrment, and everything kristoph-related. there he was, bringing back a whole new legal system just to finally bring kristoph to justice. somewhat, with the help of apollo. so much had to be sacrificed too just to reach that point, and it's even a miracle he was able to get control over the whole test trial.

he was forced to forge evidence. he gave said forged evidence to a newbie attorney, risking his career. vera's father had to die, vera herself had to be poisoned, trucy's FATHER had to die, and klavier had to lose his only family left. it's so incredibly crazy.

mia and phoenix absolutely turned the tables on them both time and time again, and still persevered even with all the sacrifices that were made. then basically phoenix got his badge back and now he's a boss too. just like how mia was to him and UGHHH. can you tell i love them so much? they're literally the crux of the whole game series they're my everything. love them. i love how their parallels were proven by godot himself during t&t where they both stood on trial together. godot, one of the people who knew mia the most, saw her spirit within phoenix too. and that made him incredibly happy... AAAHHH!!!

[tiger-in-the-flightdeck]

For the Superfam ask:

✨, 🦅, 🐕, ⭐, 🌠

✨ : What was the first superfam-related media you consumed?

That would be Superman The Animated Series, which I only watched because of Batman The Animated Series

🦅 : Favourite comic run of any superfam member

Definitely Kon's Superboy run. I really enjoy the whole series, but my favourite arc is post Sins Of Youth, when he has lost his powers and is trying to still be a superhero while also mourning Tana's death(we're not going to talk about Tana...) This arc also features former Central City Rogue, Mick Rory, working for Cadmus where he immediately takes a big brother type role on the Kid.

🐕 : An Elseworlds story you'd like to see

It would never happen because it's too 'fanficky' but I would love to see the Supers as actual gods, like ancient GrecoRoman style gods. Clark and Kara as the twin god and goddess of Truth and Justice. Which would mean that Jon and Conner are demigods like Hercules. (I have a whooooole Hercules au around Kon...)

⭐ : Most underrated character in your opinion

^^^ This precious baby boy right here ^^^

He's underappreciated both by fans and by DC. I do NOT understand why Kon doesn't get more love. He's got it all! A tragic backstory, identity issues, like every kind of trauma you can heap on a character, and he's sweet as can be. I will not rest until more people show him the appreciation he deserves.

🌠 : Something about canon/fanon you dislike

About Canon- I have two that are about equally disliked so I'll include them both. First- That Kon actually is the clone of Superman, which is retcon canon so you can be like me and ignore it when it suits your needs.

Second- That it has never been addressed that Kon is basically the poster child for exploited minors. Just ONCE I want there to be a storyline where the Kid talks about Tana, and Rex, and Knockout with someone else and that other person (In my mind it's Apollo for obvious reasons. At least, obvious to me) just sits there and listens in increasing horror because not only did this boy go through all that when he was FIFTEEN AND SIXTEEN FUCKING YEARS OLD, he has clearly never had someone take him aside and tell him that what they did to him was wrong.

About Fanon- That Clark is/should be Kon's father figure. There is no universe in which Clark should be anything but Kon's big brother. I'm very glad that that is the case with the current comic canon.

Don't get me wrong! Clark absolutely should feel guilty that Kon went through so goddamn much, largely on his own, without him ever really making any attempt to help him. But I don't think that Clark should ever have raised him. I think he should have thrown that little dude over his shoulder and carried him to Kansas where he should have sheepishly asked Ma and Pa to love on him and raise him up right.

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Round 2

Propaganda:

Amuro -

"Being a Newtype is just space autism to me. But also he sucks at falling in line in a structured environment, would rather work with machines than talk to people, and is only allowed as a child soldier because he's the bestest at big robots."

Kyouya -

"what's there to say? you know him. you love him. vote kyoya."

Euini -

"I relate a lot to his social anxiety, especially his performance anxiety that occurs when he's being watched by people, particularly due to his stress at needing to follow the plan/do things the "proper" way in order to not feel like he's a failure. he also stands like a lil autistic kid and i appreciate him so much for that.

(LIGHT SPOILERS) basically, he has a test that he needs to take in order to advance as a witch, and he keeps failing it because he cant perform properly while being watched by other people, even though he knows the "right" spells to use and why he's supposed to use them. on his third attempt of the test, he's prepared a "script" to use so that he can follow it and not worry about failing in the moment (in this case, his script is a hand-written book of the proper spells to use and the order in which he's supposed to use them), but when a part of the exam changes, he's no longer able to follow his script. because he's been taught all his life that there's only one proper way of doing things, his way of thinking is very rigid and he's not able to deviate from his plan without panicking. luckily, one of his fellow examinees (richeh from the autistic anime girls poll 💕) is able to convince him to try and change the way that he does things to something that is more attuned to his personal needs- basically change the way that he casts his spells and which spells to use so that he doesn't need to struggle with doing things in the way that everyone says that he should; the way that he cant seem to manage. but, even before richeh helped him with that though, he was still finding way to modify the "proper" spells a little bit to better suit his weaknesses. he was trying so hard to fit in to the mold that witch society gave him, but it just wasnt right for him and he was making it work however he could."

Aoi -

"He has a very devoted special interest in the idol Takada-chan, which he frequently imagines in fights and other situations… the moment someone (Itadori) expresses equal interest in something he is passionate about, he immediately declares them besties and brothers and creates a whole elaborate shared history for them that doesn’t actually exist. He’s not really interested in connecting with people who don’t share his interests. He’s seen as somewhat strange and eccentric. Though in the present he is respected because of his strength as a sorcerer, as a child he was very isolated."

Floyd -

"Has no emotional regulation skills and will make it everyone's problem. Prone to mood swings and can get angry at the drop of a hat, but can also be so goofy, silly, and lovely. Sways side to side for that good good stim, and loves to squeeze others (with violent intent and affectionate intent). Who doesn't love a good pressure stim? His interest in things can be fleeting, and his motivation to do things can change as quickly as his mood. Spontaneous and feral extraordinaire."

Apollo -

"Not canonically autistic but he has ZERO volume control plus he scripts/repeats stuff (“I’M FINE!!!”), sometimes mimics other people’s speech patterns (like replying “ja” to Klavier), sensitive to loud noises (stayed backstage at a concert cuz it was too loud) and bright lights (complained about the stage lights being too bright at the same concert + screamed when opening the hatch to the bright stage at magic show), and has been really into space since he was a kid, which could definitely be a hyperfixation (not to mention how he read every single one of Phoenix’s old case files back when he admired him). Plus he’s a little TOO normal, to the point where it circles back around to making him the odd one out, which is absolutely what masking feels like for me. Even when he tries to be fun and weird he gets strange looks/made fun of for not being weird in the right way. The list of autism symptoms is just a checklist for him at this point."

Ash -

"he just has those vibes ya know?"

Shou -

"His special interest is math. He uses math terms in regular conversations and calls people yoctograms/zeptograms which earned him monikers such as "math man" and "pi-face". Speaking of Pi, he once shouted 155 consecutive digits of it through a megaphone just because he could. He's so normal."

Sunny -

"Sunny has been told that his face is not expressive. He doesn't talk a lot and he often gets lost into his imagination. He is a great listener and recalls a lot of information being told he has a great memory (he is able to remember a whole speech about flower symbolism that his friend told him) He is compared to a cat."

Yuu -

"He’s like if an emo programmer boy was also completely unhinged and also had a tragic backstory."

[iridescentoracle]

The Klavier Problems Post

so. i talked about a bunch of things in that post i made earlier about how to fix apollo justice (the game though also the character) including all the little things i would do but the two big changes i think are needed to fundamentally fix this game are 1) making apollo’s inscrutable asshole mentor a separate character from phoenix wright 2) make klavier gavin an actual goddamn person.

and i talked about #1 at length last time, so here’s the post about #2.

so, klavier gavin. i keep trying to come up with metaphors that don’t feel too clunky to actually use in a sentence and not being satisfied but to me he is several pieces of cardboard lovingly painted and assembled to make roughly half the shape of a person, held together by three staples and a prayer. what’s there is great! it’s just. not an entire character.

conceptually he’s fantastic. an actually nice and helpful prosecutor? WILD. absolute galaxy brain development. who knew you could have one of those. an apparently nice and helpful prosecutor who has ties to the game’s main villain and so might be playing the long game, leaving the audience and potentially protagonist suspicious and unsettled the whole time, only to eventually prove himself genuinely a good person when things get desperate? excellent twisty fun, and provides obvious and delightful room for things to get interesting and complex.

and even in practice, there’s parts of that that are genuinely executed well! there’s at least a half-dozen points over the course of 4-2 and 4-3 where he clearly knows what’s really going on and gives apollo the opportunity to figure it out/prove it when he could’ve just gone for an easy win. he actually plays way more fair than literally any other prosecutor so far up to and including edgeworth in the matt engarde case! he’s way more forthcoming with info during investigation segments than anyone else would’ve been, both directly and by providing access to crime scenes apollo was otherwise blocked from, and i swear during the first trial especially he, like, hand-fed apollo the win. that’s FASCINATING and so so different from anything we’ve seen before, i love it.

the problem is… kind of the everything else? or like, that there isn’t anything else. he’s set up to be this massively complex character who actually has by far the most difficult/horrible time over the course of the game, and the writers just… forgot to actually put the complexity in.

he’s got all the pieces of an amazing character—this consummate performer who’s always putting on a show, perpetually performing who he wants to be and how he wants his audience to see him, hiding his true feelings from everyone around him, that’s great, that’s always a good time. someone genuinely good-hearted and honest who truly believes in justice and doing the right thing and playing fair so sincerely and completely that they can’t even see that the people they love are secretly evil? again, that’s great! i love that! that’s so compelling!!

but like. [padme amidala meme voice] okay so he’s a consummate performer who hides all his feelings. he does have actual feelings, though, right? okay so he’s genuinely sincerely good and honest and kind and would pick justice and truth over letting his loved ones get away with murder if forced to make that choice? again, he does have feelings about that, though, right? that’s not an easy choice to make?

and while i do love the introduction of a prosecutor who plays fair and is nice and friendly instead of [literally every other prosecutor in the entire series both before and after this game], it’s really fucking weird how chill he is about interacting with apollo and trucy. like. really fucking weird. why are they all so normal about each other? why is klavier so chill about helping his brother’s ex-employee who proved his brother was a murderer and the daughter of the man his brother framed for said murder? like. even if he’s all Professional™ to the point of managing to hide whatever he must be feeling just about his brother being a convicted murderer, how how HOW is he so normal whenever he’s interacting with apollo and trucy. it’s WEIRD it should be SO WEIRD where is the tension??

even more weirdly, why isn’t apollo weird about interacting with klavier gavin, in turn? even if we want to assume klavier is Just That Good at maintaining his persona, apollo is not a professional musician and doesn’t seem like a very good actor. he should feel extremely weird about this guy and he just… does not seem to. for that matter, trucy should feel weird too! that doesn’t need to be something the game actually digs into, it could be implied in passing that she’s also doing the performance thing and hiding all her actual emotions in favor of showing a carefully crafted persona to the world and that she only shows what she’s actually feeling to phoenix, in private, but NOPE not even vague implications in that direction really, she’s just. actually totally normal around klavier gavin and is a huge fan of the gavinners somehow??

but the weirdness (or rather, baffling lack thereof) doesn’t end with apollo and trucy.

again, not wanting to talk about/show how he feels about his brother for most of the game totally makes sense, he’s a consummate performer with a well-practiced facade etc etc, he isn’t even in 4-1 so by the time we meet him he’s already had time to practice being His Normal Professional Self. he’s got this. in my hypothetical rewrite he’s got this slightly less around apollo and trucy specifically because of their very specific personal connections but if we hear him talking to ema or to other people he’s definitely got this.

but in canon he literally finds out during a trial that one of his bandmates/good friends is also a murderer and a smuggler and was the one responsible for setting his guitar on fire which he was SUPER upset about earlier in the case, and his reaction to daryan’s confession is… playing air guitar and saying “you’re not in the band anymore btw.” there’s a couple minutes in the last case where he’s like “oh shit my brother committed a LOT more crimes than i thought actually” before he goes back to not caring. like, setting aside his expression bc limited number of sprites etc etc, based specifically on the actual dialogue he’s clearly distressed about the possibility of kristoph having been responsible for poisoning vera, apollo openly says “but you clearly think it is possible,” and then klavier is like “eh fuck it, i knew something awful was going on, yeah let’s make my brother testify” and… that’s it. air guitar time. kristoph spends half his time on the stand insulting/manipulating klavier/attempting to undermine klavier’s confidence in himself and it’s clearly working! until suddenly klavier’s like “haha yeah no it’s all good.” in the credits scene he compares the trial in which he found out his brother had attempted to kill at least three different people and he himself was partially complicit in kristoph being convicted, positively, to a rock concert.

like. there’s maintaining a professional facade and then there’s that.

he deserves to be so goddamn compelling. but like. in practice he’s not even a person. why doesn’t he CARE. why doesn’t he care kristoph is a murderer. why doesn’t he care apollo proved it. why doesn’t he care daryan is a murderer. why doesn’t he care kristoph is a murderer again, and also forged evidence and used klavier to ruin someone’s career and presumably would’ve used the forged evidence himself to win under false pretenses in klavier’s first case if he had the chance and and and. why doesn’t he care in the next game that his mentor got murdered. let him be a person with interiority i am begging.

but like. this is what i keep coming back to. i could fix it. i could fix him. not in the “oh i could fix him” generally-dating-related sense. more like the opposite of that actually. i could make him psychologically MUCH worse. but as a character he would actually be good.

it should’ve been such an amazing dramatic reveal/twist in the last case when the scope of kristoph gavin’s crimes begin to be revealed and klavier stays true. all game, he’s too nice and too helpful and apollo and trucy feel more than a little awkward interacting with him even though he’s always perfectly polite to them despite little hints of something darker underneath, moments when his perfect facade falters. he should keep apollo/the player off balance and unsure what to think of him, and we should suspect that he’s just as bad as kristoph but playing the long game even better.

and we get to the final case and realize kristoph gavin has been behind everything and at first klavier acts like he doesn’t believe it, and we brace ourselves for klavier to show his true colors and push the judge to end cross-examination and let kristoph get off scot-free even though we know he’s behind everything and we know klavier knows—

and then he doesn’t.

he hasn’t known all along, he wasn’t in on it, he’d adamantly repressed any suspicions he’d had all those years—so the gradual reveal that kristoph was behind everything is completely devastating, not least because he has to learn and process it all on the stand in front of everyone (not least both apollo and kristoph himself), and so the evidence builds, and finally, klavier has a whole entire breakdown of his own, that’s if anything longer and more dramatic than kristoph’s

and then he collects himself, and he apologizes, and he helps us win the case.

like

that would be

so goddamn compelling

and i genuinely don’t understand why that’s not what the game gave us. we were so close to getting that, why did he just brush it off? why didn’t he care?

so in the secret good version in my head, that’s what happens.

there should be differences in how he’s written outside the courtroom, too, though. like i said before, in canon, apollo-and-klavier and trucy-and-klavier should feel extremely fucking weird about interacting with each other and be varying levels of good at hiding it but none of them should be perfect, and i think it’s a major writing/characterization flaw that none of that is true. in this version, though, the situation is a little different: trucy could still potentially be a little weird around klavier gavin bc he’s kind of part of why her original dad abandoned her (and vice versa), but she doesn’t actually have to be.

because here’s the thing: in this au, klavier hasn’t done anything to phoenix at all except (if he didn’t take the whole seven years off for his band—which, given that he did still get someone disbarred thanks to his brother’s tip and probably still had weird feelings to repress about that, he might have!) potentially face him sometimes in court (where, as in canon, he’s an entirely fair and reasonable opponent who doesn’t resort to anything beyond lighthearted insults and is an extremely graceful loser, and in general is an absolutely delightful change of pace from the paynes or who-have-you), and while he is part of why trucy’s original dad left, that was as much (as far as she knows) the fault of shadi’s defense attorney for forging evidence instead of proving him innocent fair and square, and if her dad had actually cared he could’ve come back for her eventually, so while she probably isn’t sure about klavier right at first regardless, i think it would be plausible for her to not have any sort of a grudge by the time the game actually happens?

conversely, though, if phoenix stays a defense attorney he and edgeworth definitely get married within, like, a year, tops. so while trucy might not be weird about klavier, at least by the time the plot of the game kicks off, he’s kind of nervous around her, just like. not bc of the zak gramarye trial. because one of her dads is his boss.

but then that just makes any conversation trucy-and-apollo have with klavier that much more fun bc as far as trucy’s concerned, here’s that cool prosecutor who’s one of the nicest people she knows from her dads’ jobs! while klavier is slightly terrified but in a normal polite kind of way, and meanwhile trucy and apollo have their canon pseudo-siblings-because-they-don’t-know-they’re-biological-siblings dynamic, and finally klavier and apollo interacting is every bit as fucked up and tense as they should be about each other in canon bc oh my god you’re why my brother was exposed as a murderer and got sent to jail / oh god you’re my evil ex-boss’s younger brother, and how the hell do you talk to someone like that? because that’s what their dynamic should have been in canon and frankly we were robbed

nyquildriver: klavier being polite and helpful but obviously taken off guard frequently by these two would be so entertaining nyquildriver: it gives us the tension that we want while not being like, bizarre about it and resorting to like. flirtation? that feels weirdly like pandering nyquildriver: although klavier disguising his uneasiness with flirtation? that would be an interesting choice iridescentoracle: YES i actually love the idea of klavier flirting reflexively as like. a defense mechanism. when he’s stressed and doesn’t know how to respond he leans harder into the rockstar persona which includes flirting with everyone whether he remotely means it or not. it fits into what we do see of klavier in canon so well but like. turns him into more of a real person?

nyquildriver: honestly the pieces are there! they just didn't arrange them into a complete picture of a person, argh nyquildriver: after their first meeting apollo: what the fuck was that trucy: was he… into you? apollo: I don't think he was, which is why that was weird as hell??? nyquildriver: trucy's favorite running joke now is klavier flirting with apollo like he's a fan nyquildriver: she buys gavinners merch to plant on apollo/his things on the off chance that klavier sees it because the reaction should be hysterical nyquildriver: and that is worth giving up her allowance for however many years

iridescentoracle: god. and the like, deeply comedic irony that of literally everyone in the world who he could have this awkward and specific a relationship with, it just happens to be the one guy who can tell he absolutely does not actually mean the flirting and is perpetually accompanied by his sister who can also tell iridescentoracle: like, if apollo was ANYONE ELSE he might be able to actually pull off using Flirty Rockstar Klavier Gavin as a façade to get through interactions convincingly normally. but unfortunately, nyquildriver: and it would be a great way to keep the player off guard and suspicious of him too!