#especially edgeworth he's so shaped...........

[varpusvaras]

At this point, for me, one of the most interesting paralles in Ace Attorney is actually Mia and Miles and Maya and Franziska.

They both start their careers for very similar reasons - Because of DL-6, because they lost their parents, because their families have long-running discourses in them. These things also shape their law careers a lot: Mia chose to be a defense attorney and Miles a prosecutor because of how their shared past affected them.

They meet for the first time in court on the opposite sides, and both go through a really messed up first trial that ends up with neither of them winning.

Most interestingly, for me, as an older sibling, is the fact that they are both the older sibling in their families.

Especially what hits close to home for me is the fact that they are the much older older siblings in the family. I have a similar age gap with my younger siblings as Mia and Maya have, and the one Miles and Franziska have is not that far off, either. I moved away from home when I was 16, on top of the large age gap, so my youngest sibling was a literal toddler when I left.

I can't help but feel like I've left them behind in some way.

This sentiment is very much echoed in text with Miles and Franziska. Franziska feels like Miles has abandoned him, gotten the attention of their father, the one thing she wanted, by just the virtue of being first (this is not the whole truth, but for a kid, the perceived truth is in practise the very same as the real truth). Miles does care about her, of course, but he is a traumatised and messy person who largely sees things from his own perspective, especially as a young adult, and thinks mainly about how he is supposed to do things and how he is supposed to operate his own life. Franziska does get left behind in all of that, and the resentment she feels is completely valid. It's maybe not fair to Miles, who did not ask for the many horrible things that drive him forward, but it does not mean that Franziska should just be understanding of his feelings to the ends of the universe, without ever feeling anything herself.

And then there's Mia and Maya.

Mia had, arguably, very noble reasons for moving away from their home. She wanted to find out what happened to their mother. She wanted to remove herself from the arguably very toxic situation that was primed for pitting her and Maya against each other, in order to lift Maya up. They are still in contact with each other, and are very much in good terms.

Mia still, just by being so much older and by removing herself so thoroughly from their home, left Maya behind.

Maya does not show any resentment about this outright, but when reading very closely between the lines, you notice that she is anxious and worried about her future, about the rest of her family, about her own abilities, about...everything. She hides all of this very effectively behind her otherwise bubbly personality, but it does end up coming through, especially towards the end of the first game. She has a lot on her shoulders, and she feels inadequate to deal with all of it. Her home is not really supportive either: the other adult in her life, her aunt, does not hold any true affection towards her, and most likely cannot show the type of support that Maya needs, either. If she could, Maya would not be saying things like "I wish that I hadn't woken up at all" when faced with things she perceives as failures.

No matter her reasons, no matter how much they love each other, Mia still left Maya behind.

And there they are: Mia Fey and Miles Edgeworth, standing on the opposite sides of the courtroom, one of them barreling head first into the tragedy that binds them together, and one of them running away from it as far as possible, while being chained to the ball.

[thecourtscorkboard]

A Brief Insight into Miles Edgeworth's Philosophy

Note: Unlike my case reviews, this will not be spoiler-free. Spoilers for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney in this writeup.

Heya, all! The 3-5 review is coming along, it's just a super long case. I'm working on it, I promise!

In the meantime, let's talk about Miles Edgeworth. Since this is a trilogy blog right now this is obviously going to be talking about his role and thoughts in the trilogy, specifically throughout PW:AA and JfA.

So.

What makes that autopsy report being outdated so special?

And so a million memes were born...

No, I'm serious. Why is this scene in particular so well-remembered and held in such high regard? This isn't a rhetorical question, take your time to answer.

I think it can really come down to two things here. First and foremost, this is the first time a prosecutor gets a leg up over us. It is the first moment in the entire series where the momentum suddenly shifts away from the defense, and while it's expected and maybe a little formulaic in later cases this one in particular hits the player like a broadside. Compare Edgeworth's performance when he says this to Payne's performance throughout 1-1. It's a massive step up in competency! The prosecution is not just the guy on the other side of the courtroom anymore: with this, Edgeworth becomes an active threat very early. It's also important that this is Mia's autopsy we're talking about: she was our mentor for the first case and now she's just another piece of evidence to be updated.

But it also serves a second reason. Until well into the franchise's lifespan, this was the first time we see Edgeworth performing his dirty tricks: and for a long time the autopsy report was meant to be forged. Hell, Phoenix outright says it in 1-4. The first time we see any of Edgeworth's tricks or skills in court is when he presents a phony piece of evidence to secure a phony conviction. It makes his sudden (although it's not so sudden, but we'll get into that later) turnaround in 1-3 when it comes to nailing Vasquez more impactful, and it makes our defense of him in 1-4 more meaningful: Edgeworth can forge evidence and gun for fake convictions, but he changes over the course of the game. Once he's put in the defendant's seat, he's forced to face phony evidence and phony witnesses himself while his father figure attempts to secure his own phony conviction.

And then 1-5 came along and decided to make this scene a million times better.

"I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!"

Ace Attorney loves mirrors, both literally and metaphorically. In this case, I'm referring to the latter: a lot of characters mirror each other, especially antagonists and protagonists. One of the most obvious is Phoenix and Kristoph. Both are defense attorneys, both serve as mentor figures to Apollo, they even have the same color scheme: but Kristoph is a narcissistic sociopathic manchild, an attempted triple-murderer, and an active abuser and gaslighter. Phoenix, meanwhile, puts others before himself very often, puts his own life in danger for others, and only ever manipulates criminals into confessing (or witnesses into giving him more information, but hush hush we're not talking about that right now). They're both manipulators, defense attorneys, and mentors, but Kristoph's traits are inherently opposites of Phoenix's: Kristoph is abusive and Phoenix sacrifices his own well-being for others; Kristoph is a murderer and Phoenix brings them to justice; Kristoph places himself above the law and Phoenix knows that the law shapes who he is. They are fundamentally mirrors of each other. The same in many ways, but warped.

I think the same idea applies with Edgeworth and Gant. Gant is intentionally meant to be the logical conclusion of Edgeworth's philosophy by 1-5, that a conviction should be reached by any means necessary. Gant genuinely believes that criminals should be punished and that what he's doing is just for the world. In fact, by the end of 1-5 he's outright praising both Edgeworth and Phoenix. Gant is a believer in criminal justice, but not necessarily the criminal justice system. He takes matter into his own hands to ensure that Darke is convicted for the murders he committed, and he does so by faking another murder with forged evidence and a convenient martyr.

And Edgeworth is disgusted by this. When he learns that he convicted an innocent man (innocent of the murder of Neil Marshall, at least), he is distraught. It's here, in the middle of 1-5, that Edgeworth completely dissociates "Miles Edgeworth" with "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth", I think: and this dissociation can be summed up in just five words. "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death."

Is this Edgeworth being a dramatic bitch? Yes. But it also does something so much more: it makes a distinct disconnect from "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth" and simply "Miles Edgeworth".

Forging evidence was just a line that couldn't be crossed: prosecutors have to do everything within their power to get a guilty verdict. Deliberately creating false evidence to get a desired verdict is unethical because it's not within the purviews and powers of the prosecution, unlike, say, submitting evidence to the court or preparing witnesses. What, you thought witnesses didn't practice their testimony? Early Trilogy Edgeworth is a man of loopholes, not necessarily a man of lies. Franziska does the same thing in 2-2 when she shows the picture of Mia to the judge, but doesn't present it as evidence since it would be illegal (which Phoenix then repeats in 4-1 with making sure Kristoph sees the poker card). If Edgeworth did something explicitly illegal like forging evidence that would make him a criminal, which are the worst kind of people in his mind: especially after he's already mentally separated the demon prosecutor from the child who killed his own father.

Like Damon Gant, Edgeworth is a strict adherent to the law. Unlike Gant, however, Edgeworth doesn't let his ambition cloud his judgement: he does the best he can and seeks the truth in every circumstance, it's just that his idea of "truth" has changed over the years; from "every defendant is guilty" to "every victim deserves justice", I feel. It's the same energy, serving the same purpose, but channeled through different motivations. This is why his turnaround in 1-3 is so impactful: Miles Edgeworth has realized that his idea of the truth, that all defendants are criminals, has been broken not once, but twice now. This is not a fluke anymore. He's been forced to question his own philosophy, and not too long after this case he's in the defendant's seat himself. Would his philosophy and personality have evolved so dramatically without his acting on that initial kernel of doubt in 1-3, that the truth isn't as simple as he wants it to be? I don't know.

So, let's circle back to that original question. Why does the autopsy report being updated matter so much? Well, it's everything I said explained in just one scene. Edgeworth went to lengths to make sure his information was as accurate as possible: that there was no room for doubt when it came to the truth. He did not distort the truth or create his own to do so. Maybe he was a bit of a dick for not telling us about the updated autopsy report, sure, but the truth matters more than courtesy when it comes to the Demon Prosecutor: and, as 2-4 shows, Miles Edgeworth.

Fascinating guy.

[box-dwelling]

KLARYAN KRISNIX PARALLELS PLEASEEEEE I HAVE SO SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT IT TOO BUT I CANT ARTICULATE THEM QUITE RIGHT PLEASE ADD YOUR VOICE TO MY INTERNAL BRAINROT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

@vexx-ation you also asked so here we go. (As have a few anons sorry this is long and it's taking a while to write everything down)

So my Klaryan take is kinda a mega theory that takes a lot of mini theories into consideration so here it is. This will be long. This will be unhinged. This is my Pepe silvia

Tw for discussions of substance abuse and abusive relationships

1) AA4 parallel foils

Ok so this is semi common knowledge. Every character in AA4 is ment to be a direct foil to a character in aa1. This is well documented and also applies to a lot of the witnesses too. Apollo is a foil for Phoenix, Ema is a foil for Gumshoe, Trucy is a foil for Maya, Klavier is a foil for Edgeworth. This goes on for almost every charcater in the game.

But here's the thing. The trilogy already has foils already. So some of these charcaters end up being massive parallels to eachother. A non relevent example I think about daily is that Trucy and Franziska are very similar but where this is relevant is Klapollo and Narumitsu. I have a post explaining this I'm more detail but basically while far from identical there are a lot of perhaps unintentional but at minimum unexplored parallels between Phoenix and Klavier and Apollo and Edgeworth. This is important.

2) Krisnix as an allegory for substance abuse

So first of my opinion of this doesn't really influence my take on grape juice but it's pretty undeniable that even if you don't think Beanix has addiction issues, hes almost coded to. There's the comment about Ema and the white powder and then the extent to which he's always surrounded by grape juice which at minimum looks like wine. In universe it's easy to see this as a part of his mask and that is my in universe take, he's trying to look in a bad way to hide how he's actually doing.

But I think we can take this further. Miles and Kristoph are superficially very very similar characters however underneath are deeply different and as such have a very different effect on Phoenix's mental state. Miles is absent during the 7yg at his request. And there's a miles shaped hole left in his life that he wants to fill with something that is superficially the same but is in it's effects very different and very bad for him.

Anyone who has dealt with addiction will likely recognise that pattern.

3) Klavier is on some level (whether he's in denial about it or not) aware that Kristoph is in some way dangerous or abusive and was running from him with the band

This is mostly just my take on how he acts in sucession and another very good post that I'll have to find that talks about how similar him joining the band was to the things the other people involved with the Gramarye trial did to try and evade Kristoph.

4) Phoenixs biggest flaw and how Kristoph tests it

So I basically never shut up about this in some places but might not have talked about it here so the tldr of this is that Phoenixs biggest flaw is that he is constantly trying to see the best in people. The final test of this is not breaking the black psyche locks and accepting that just because he's a human being with complexity, doesn't mean his actions are excused or that Phoenix has to forgive or protect him.

So this is where we can start bringing it together a bit.

Klavier and Phoenix are both very similar characters and both victims of Kristophs abuse. Phoenix has a relationship that exemplifies his harmful behaviour after the trial, it's pretty interesting to explore the same thing happening to Klavier.

Especially when we start to compare Daryan to Kristoph and find that they're superficially very different even if both of them turned out to be murders. Kristoph is reserved, Daryan is brash. Kristoph is classy, Daryan is flashy. Kristoph is well spoken and poetic, Daryan is straightforward. You get the idea.

And isn't that fucking fascinating? That Klavier ran to someone who was the complete opposite of his brother but ended up being just as dangerous? And also is it not really interesting that as Phoenix has to learn to accept Kristoph's humanity doesn't excuse his actions. If we take Klavier running to Daryan in this way to be him refusing to acknowledge the human side of his brother, that but running to the superficial opposite and not recognising what truly did make Kristoph dangerous, he fell into the arms of a murder.

And of course, the person he then falls for, is someone who is Apollo. Who is genuinely a good person but was Kristophs mentor and is very similar to him in a number of superficial ways. He has to stop running from his trauma and confront it head on.

Basically this interpreation means the klaryan/ Klapollo and Narumitsu/Krisnix love triangles function as basically a microcosm for how these two handle their trauma and how they have to over come it and each is a direct mirror of the other.

My take on Daryan

Ok people might have seen me joke that he's straight. Here's the thing. I think he definitely has been sleeping with Klavier. They are in some kind of relationship. Buuuuut, I do not think the feelings he has about the relationship are ever well traditionally romantic or sexual. I think it's driven from his side primarily by envy and rage that Klavier gets the spotlight more than him. He can never upstage Klavier on stage, but he can posses him. He can make him feel like shit as revenge.

My General Klayran timeline

They start whatever their weird thing is during the 7yg.

After 4-1 Klavier spirals a lot and it puts intense strain on their relationship because Daryan does not care about this bitch and does not want to support him

4-2 Klavier meets Apollo, sees him in court and kinda starts to develop a big old crush. He realises that Daryan is making him miserable and breaks it off after the case

4-3 newly broken up and it's taking its toll. Then we'll 4-3 happens and that's the end of them.

[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!

[wubbybubbly]

aww gumshoe’s trying to stand up for him…

also, I do like that edgeworth’s past corruption isn’t just being swept under the rug here. like, I do agree with him to some extent that eddie’s anger is understandable. regardless of his troubled past, edgeworth was a snake and I think it’s important to acknowledge his darker side. he hurt people. he was a cog in a machine that kept a broken system alive. however, as I pointed out in my last post, it bothers me when characters like eddie straight up demonize edgeworth for it. mini rant under the cut.

edgeworth’s reasons for becoming a prosecutor were incredibly nuanced. even during his early career, he was never a cookie cutter Bad Guy. so defining his “demon attorney” days solely by his connection to von karma (i.e. his pursuit of a perfect win record) is plain wrong. his motivation to prosecute was shaped by the tragedy he went through.

idk, I just think saying something like “I’m still angry at you for what you’ve done, but I understand that you were in pain and going through something I can’t comprehend” is really important, especially for someone like edgeworth. again, he was a fucking child. he didn’t become the “demon attorney” out of nowhere. he was trapped in a self-destructive cycle of guilt for over a decade. something that manfred, his mentor, had the power to alleviate at any time. but instead, he deliberately withheld the truth from the tormented boy, and miles had no idea of that power until he was in the defendant’s chair.

(it’s even sadder when you remember that edgeworth says in turnabout goodbyes, “if I had known the truth, I might have become a defense attorney after all.” what the fuckkkkk I’m killing manfred as we speak!!!!!!)

you can hold someone accountable for their actions without treating them like they’re satan incarnate. I actually find this flaw of eddie’s to be compelling, and I get why he’s not in the right headspace to see beyond his own anger and consider how gregory’s death affected his own son. like, I know that eddie isn’t privy to the information that the player is, so it’s unfair to criticize him for not acknowledging what edgeworth’s motivation to prosecute was. because he didn’t know anything. for me, it’s the fact that he doesn’t even try to understand that really bugs. he just jumps to conclusions and doesn’t think twice about how that might affect edgeworth. he has no idea what he’s talking about. flippantly throwing the name von karma around and making comparisons between them is certainly A Choice. it’s a very messy situation, and I know I sound angry, but I do love the writing here. it’s cathartic for eddie to lash out at edgeworth, and it’s selfish, just like how edgeworth himself used to be. and eddie has NO idea how similar they are in that regard, which is so juicy to me.

I’m excited to see where eddie’s character goes from here, but I’m still pissed at him for handling the situation horribly, lol. there’s a right and wrong way to criticize someone. eddie calling edgeworth out is fine, but he has to be accurate about it. or at the very least, acknowledge that he doesn’t know the full story. his feelings are valid, but they’re also self-centered. multiple things can be true at once.

I’ve been saying this ever since I played the trilogy, but edgeworth is someone who desperately needs to be told “I see you. I hear you. I acknowledge you” instead of “hey remember when you used to be evil” like THE WHOLE POINT is that he’s a human being too, gumshoe is literally the only person who points that out. edgeworth was abhorrent, but he was also in pain.

[oodlyenough]

I'm gonna use a cut 'cause this will probably get long lol

Yeah, obviously I don't yet know where exactly her arc is going to go in AAI2, but so far it feels like they've hit a bit of a reset button and I imagine that they'll end AAI2 with her... uh... starting an arc I thought she already had in the trilogy. I wouldn't expect her by AAI to have all her feelings about MVK sorted out, but I would expect her to be waaay past "what do you mean he's not perfect".

Franziska doesn't get as much material in the trilogy as I wanted, or arguably she should, but I thought what she did have painted a pretty good picture of who she was, and I also really loved all her material in 3-5, which I thought showed a clear progression from JFA and let us get to know her better. In 3-5 you get to see how she cares for people and you see how she demonstrates that care, whether it's bullying Edgeworth into self care lmao, her protectiveness over Sister Bikini, reaching out to Pearl (which backfires terribly lmao), staying up all night to free Maya, etc -- even Phoenix, for all that she rants and raves about Revenge against him, as soon as the earthquake hits she's offering to get him past the police line.

Trilogy Franziska is also imo clearly very shaped by having MVK as a father but she isn't especially motivated by him. JFA isn't about him as Phoenix originally assumes but about Edgeworth, then in 3-5 she makes it explicitly clear to Phoenix that her "revenge" at this point is for herself, and in court there's this:

So by the end of AA3 to me she seemed like she was on approximately the same trajectory as Edgeworth, if a step or two behind, ie figuring out who she is now that she doesn't have to or want to be MVK 2.0. I was hoping AAI would pick up where T&T left off, but so far it feels more like it was written based on like... the original character brief from JFA, lol.

In the interest of fairness to AAI though there have been some Franziska moments I liked -- like her saying being related to her by blood is no guarantee of anything. That's great and makes total sense she would have that kind of lingering trust issue, it's something I hadn't specifically thought of before and I appreciate the game giving it to me to chew on. (And it's a nice counterpoint to Phoenix who is the exact opposite lmao.) I also liked that referring to Edgeworth as the "likeliest suspect" and he immediately recognizes that tiny margin of error as a sign of her caring, lmao, they're so weird. And also that so far she's called him simply "Miles" all of once -- I wasn't sure I'd see adult Franziska do that in canon lol but I'm glad.

This post got really huge and kind of wandered away from the point sometimes, sorry. I am burdened with blorbo thoughts always

well, i've only finished the first two cases and have barely started the third. so far my impression of AAI is that it is like reading a moderately entertaining gen fic, where there are lines or moments that get quite a laugh out of me but an equal number of lines or moments that feel a bit off, or like the author flubbed canon continuity somewhere. franziska for example seems to forget and remember dl6 at random, so i assume someone off screen is hitting her with a fire extinguisher between cut scenes. etc.

also there have been no emotional stakes. the way i've seen fandom talk about these games i keep waiting for this last bit to change, but the longer it goes the more judge judy tapping watch.gif i am.

having said all that, i thought cammy meele was hilarious, and so were ms teneiro's hideous suitcases and the mournful music playing as she explained graphic design is her passion, and so is the concept of a police sponsored theme park. so it's not like i'm not enjoying myself at all. but, so far anyway, not a lot of meat on this bone, y'know

[characteroulette]

well all rightie then, it’s time to analyse how DGS1 handles grief really well in my opinion

(once again, spoilers for all of DGS1)

(also some spoilers for the original trilogy games) (and a little of DGS2)

okay So my thesis statement here is that Asougi’s character in DGS1 is the vessel through which Ryuunosuke and Susato’s grief is explained. Everything about how they relate to Asougi is their dealing with their grief in a simple message: Loss hits hard, but you have to continue to live and love. Life Goes On, shaping that grief into yourself if you allow it.

We start off with Case 1 as our baseline. The set-up. It’s a routine to show what life is like for Ryuunosuke before tragedy. (Fitting for an AA protagonist to have their baseline of normal being accused of murder.) This case does a really, really good job of setting up Asougi as our friend, our partner, whom we might spend the rest of the game with.

(I mean, the death flag’s kinda obvious if you’re genre-savvy; the mentor must die so that the student may grow into their own. But Asougi’s so likeable! He’s confident, genuine with Ryuunosuke, comfortably teasing, and looks at you with the same eyes as Klavier. What’s not to love? Also that small hint of something deeper is so tantalising that for it to go unresolved is pretty unthinkable.)

It’s important for us to see how much Asougi means to Ryuunosuke, how much the two really are best friends. This set-up is pivotal to what happens next in Case 2: the drop.

The way Ryuunosuke reacts to learning about Asougi’s death is real. He tries to deny it at first, can’t bring himself to believe it. Especially since he’s been accused of the crime! But the moment he sees that photo of Asougi that Sherlock took, that’s where the truth of it hits and he can’t run from it anymore. All he can do is try to push past that biting grief to at least solve his friend’s murder and set things right.

Susato’s own grief is portrayed really well here, too. She’s so angered and clouded by it that she totally ignores the fact that Asougi and Ryuunosuke are best friends and believes Ryuunosuke to be the murderer. Really, she just blames Ryuunosuke because it’s easier that way, since the wound cuts just as deep for her.

What really strikes me, though, is how the whole case isn’t just a one-note misery. Like real life, the two slip into sadness when they remember their dear friend, but they’re still able to joke around. They still get upset or sarcastic or excited. Because, though their grief affects them immensely, the message is that life continues. It can’t just stop for them like it did for their friend; life goes on. Not out of malice, but out of necessity.

Also, the way Sherlock acknowledges their grief is pretty great. That felt hugely validating to me, how he tells them that their mourning is important and how his jovial, joking tone was never properly taking that into account. The way he continues breaking in at the end to lighten the mood, too, is his own genuine way of trying to help, exhausting though he may be. It’s appreciated, at the least, to keep us the players from breaking down into tears as the conclusion rolls with no real satisfaction at the mystery being solved.

That final conversation between Susato and Ryuunosuke, at least, is hugely cathartic to make up for that. It sounds like it should feel rushed, honestly, dealing with the majority of the grieving process in just Case 2, but it doesn’t at all. It seems properly healthy, like the two are doing their best by confiding and taking comfort in one another in order to celebrate Asougi’s goals, to keep going where he can’t. Ryuunosuke and Susato both form their resolve here to continue to live, not just for Asougi, but for themselves as well. For life’s sake.

Because, again, life goes on.

(A brief tangent: Seeing the contrast of this story versus the original trilogy is also a really neat sort of view into Shu Takumi’s growth as a writer. Or the AA series’ growth as a whole. How Edgeworth handled his grief by never really acknowledging it in AA1, how he basically ran away from it by refusing to live as a sort of punishment against himself, is really sad. Then Phoenix handling his grief in JFA by turning to anger and resentment is just as heartbreaking. Phoenix disavows himself from it, trying to spare himself the pain by denying it, which only hurt him more and he had to have everyone around him break him out of that awful mindset. Then in T&T it’s Godot’s grief which drives the plot, as he turns his anger on Phoenix unjustly. He blames Phoenix for Mia’s death and lashes out at everyone instead of allowing himself the time to properly grieve.

And then DGS1 comes along to say that maybe the answer is just that life goes on and we have healthier ways to reconcile with our grief and it’s just real neat to see!)

In Case 3 and 4, we can see through Ryuunosuke’s discussion with Lord Vortex (/Stronghart) the continuation of his handling this grief. It’s a burden, one Ryuunosuke doesn’t fully understand, but he fervently takes upon himself because we want to live for those we’ve lost. (It is the Wright way, the Naruhodou way, to take on the aspirations of the friends you’ve lost. To mimic their mannerisms, their ambitions, in order to keep them close to your heart.)

(That’s a whole other can of worms I could dive into, honestly, how their decision to give Ryuunosuke all of Phoenix’s poses for the whole ancestor vibe while ALSO making it clear that Ryuunosuke took them from Asougi to begin with, it’s just. It’s good, it’s perfect, it’s the same brand of gay the series is known for and I’m love it.)

You also see, as the trial of Case 3 progresses, how Ryuunosuke is basically just living off of ‘what would Asougi do?’ as Susato coaches him along and it’s fun and bittersweet all the way through. Case 4 is where he gains more confidence in himself, but he still defaults to thinking of Asougi’s unwavering trust in him to help him and every time it’s handled with tenderness and shows just how much Ryuunosuke loved his friend.

And, if you’re like me and take every opportunity to examine Asougi’s badge and present it to Susato (/others), you see how they continue to grow with their grief. It starts off with both of them being unable to say much, still weighed down heavily by Asougi’s loss. Though they are continuing and life goes on, it’s still a wound too fresh to approach and hard for them to properly explain.

By Case 5, though, the two of them are more conversational. They’ve found their words, they’ve mended that wound as much as possible so that life won’t leave without them. It still hurts, of course, but it’s easier to think about. It’s easier to reconcile when they’ve been working hard and making friends and continuing to live. It’s small, but the progression is there and I really appreciate it.

Speaking of Case 5, though, everything about this one, in regards to Asougi, is pure catharsis. It really is like they’re looking their grief right in the face and accepting it as a part of themselves. Ryuunosuke looks back on his friend not just with fondness, but with gratefulness that Asougi could make such a big impact on his life.

(This is similar to the whole Phoenix and Mia thing, I feel, since Phoenix often thought of his mentor with the same sort of tone. At least, I think so. Remarkable how Phoenix’s grief can mirror the finalised version of Ryuunosuke’s with the help of spirit channeling! /joke)

Ryuunosuke and Susato have etched Asougi into their hearts and their persons and it’s just really, very good I like it a lot.

(okay time for a few paragraphs on DGS2 and Asougi)

Case 1 one DGS2 is a neat look into Susato’s mind and thought process. You can definitely tell she’s still just a 16-year-old with the mistakes she makes and how she tries to handle her own arguments, which is very cute. We also get to see her actually talking to Asougi’s grave and then see how her own relationship with Asougi has influenced her style (/poses) and aspirations. (Ryuunosuke, too. It’s cute to see how she’s ended up a mixture of both of them.) And it’s a great rug pull moment for the player, since the way that the grief is handled in DGS1 is so good and (almost) final that hearing Asougi might not actually be dead is a bit like digging up old wounds. I mean, we went the entirety of the first game coming to terms with his death, what do you mean his body went missing??

(Case 2 serves as a reminder. Like haha remember how Susato and Ryuunosuke both love Asougi and are sad about his death? Here’s the baseline again, get ready to have it wrecked!)

And Case 3 is phenomenal, too. The way Van Zieks is so understanding in his response to showing him Asougi’s badge is just. It’s perfect, he’s so gentle and empathetic that it shocks Ryuunosuke (even though Ryuunosuke did the same understanding and concern for Van Ziek’s situation Ryuunosuke please). Then the way that Ryuunosuke sees Asougi, disguised in a cloak and mask, and immediately recognises him. To me, that really shows how much he loved his friend. He knew Asougi for about a year and it’s been about nine months since Asougi’s death, yet Ryuunosuke recognises him just by the way he carries himself.

But, to him, Asougi is dead. He’s made peace with that. So, even if it plays on his mind, he can’t allow himself to think that. He puts it out of his mind completely and doesn’t think on it again.

At least, until Susato (who reacted very realistically by shutting down the possibility that Asougi might still be alive because that means Sherlock lied and she couldn’t take having that hope break her worse than before) sees the exact same thing just as immediately and shouts after him. The fact that they both see this disguised man and know it can be no one besides Asougi is insane. It’s love. It makes me cry, I wish they could’ve hugged him during the big reveal (though I know Japanese culture’s just not like that).

Anyway, DGS2 diatribe over. Back to the conclusion.

The whole of DGS1 is just a masterful example of how grief doesn’t have to destroy you, of how life can go on and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and how channeling that grief into motivation to keep their memories alive can be powerful. That it’s okay to still feel grief even as you heal, that it’s okay to have fun and keep living even as you mourn. Life is a mixture of levity and tragedy and, to me, DGS1 nails that mixture with perfection.

Absolutely legendary. Join me next time when I dive into the main theme of DGS2, which is literally ‘the dead will come back to life to haunt you’ thanks for coming to my essay talk

[curewhimsy]

Based on a dream I had

It was a rainy June day at the facility where we had summer camp. Water fell from the sky in heavy curtains. The ground was muddy and waterlogged and drenched with puddles. It was impossible to play outside.

Since everyone was stuck inside, a few kids decided to have a conversation-type game, debating which of two proposed characters would win in a fight.

More kids got drawn in, each pitting their favorite characters in, and defending them in the argument.

Some of the conversations were really funny, like when the kids decided the little pop-star Miku Hatsune could defeat Superman! How? Because she was involved with a company called Crypton, and Superman’s weakness was Kryptonite.

My name is Amelie Sugar. I’m just an average 9 year old girl who is often too passionate about things that don’t matter. I tend to get carried away often, and love to daydream.

It was finally time for me to argue which character I think would be the strongest. I chose Tinkaton from Pokémon. Sure, she was cute, but she was also a force to be reckoned with! She wields a humungous steel hammer forged she herself, and has the power to fling it around effortlessly! And despite being a fairy-type Pokémon, she doesn’t have a weakness to steel, because she’s steel-type herself too. And all fairies are super epic already because they slay dragons. And Tinkaton is so powerful that she slays Corviknight too! She’s an absolute menace!

“Tinkaton could take down anyone!” I said enthusiastically. “She brings down flying Corviknight by flinging rocks in the sky with her MASSIVE HAMMER. It’s super powerful and it takes a ton of strength to lift! And Tinkaton is a fairy, so she fights with the power of light and friendship!” 

“Well, I think the Steel Samurai could beat Tinkaton.” A boy named Miles Edgeworth said smugly. He was a year older than me, but in the same group. “The Steel Samurai’s element is steel, and Tinkaton is a fairy Pokémon. Fairies are weak to steel. Well? What do you have to say about that?”

“Miles… you’re forgetting that Tinkaton is a steel-type too!” I said back. “She doesn’t have a weakness to steel attacks, because her steel-typing gives her a resistance to it!”

Miles now looked visibly frustrated. It felt kind of good to be getting to him. The truth is, I don’t win often at anything, especially not at debates. I’m a bit insecure about it. And Miles is so smug all the time and is usually great at arguing! I felt a sense of victory to make him become quiet.

“Yeah, Ame! You TELL him!” My friend Joy cheered. Joy was my friend who was a year younger than me and looked up to me. It was flattering really, how cool she well, perceived me to be. 

“W-Well…” Miles continued. “Tinkaton’s hammer wouldn’t stand a chance against the Steel Samurai sword! It’s forged of the strongest mineral in the land. It might even slice right through that hammer! Take that!”

“Well, did you know Tinkaton is a master blacksmith herself?” I added on. “She forged her hammer herself, and it weighs a megaton and is iron-cast. One hammer hit to the Steel Samurai sword will bend it out of shape! And guess what? Tinkaton would just steal that sword, and the Steel Samurai’s armor, and use the steel to make her hammer even bigger! In your FACE!”

I laughed in victory. I saw Miles’ face turn red and flushed.

“…OBJECTION!” Miles yelled. Then he paused, like he couldn’t think of an objection. “I… The Steel Samurai… He… he never loses!”

“Sorry, Miles. But Ame just explained why Tinkaton is more epic.” Joy smiled.

“Objection! The Steel Samurai fights for the people… he’s a hero…” Miles said weakly.

Just then, I felt myself become a little apologetic.

“Hey, Miles? The Steel Samurai is important to you, isn’t he?”

“I… Of course he is!” Miles lashed out. “And you tried to make it all about your… stupid Tinkaton! One more thing. CALL ME EDGEWORTH. Only my FRIENDS call me Miles.”

“…Okay, Edgeworthless.” I said.

It was supposed to be a harmless joke.

The truth was, I was feeling a bit disheartened that Edgeworth said I wasn’t his friend.

But Miles… he was hurt. He started crying. I didn’t expect him to cry. He was usually so stern. All this time, I thought his heart was as hard and cold as steel.

“Amelie… How can you be such a jerk!” He sniffled. “You… called me such a horrible name! I… I won’t forgive you.”

Edgeworth gave me one last look of shame and hatred and ran off in tears.

I suddenly felt a bit of heaviness in my heart.

“What did you do that for, Amelie?” A quiet, sensible boy named Defota asked me. “That was really mean.”

“Well Edgeworth isn’t nice either.” I said to defend myself.

“You shouldn’t have called him worthless though.” Defota walked away as well. I frowned.

“Sorry Ame.” Joy said. “I know you didn’t mean that.”

I sighed. I still felt bad.

The game ended right there and everyone dispersed.

“Amelie, what the heck?” Taya went up to me, only seeing part of the scene. He seemed a bit skeptical of me, and I honestly didn’t blame him. “What did you say to Miles to make him cry like that?”

“I… I honestly wish I knew.” I said.

It wasn’t that I was really a jerk... I just had trouble understanding things… But did that really make me a jerk? I felt bad.

“I… I think I’m going to try to apologize to him. To Miles.” I said. But suddenly his words flashed through my head, and his angry, crying face.

“I… I won’t forgive you!”

What if Miles won’t forgive me?

[charybdiaa]

Turnabout Curtain Call Final Designs

Here’s the 4 final designs I worked on for the 4th case in Miles Edgeworth: The Ace Attorney!! (au details in my pinned post, for those uninitiated)

I tried to make all of them complex across the board, and I wanted to make them all work together when put on the same page. Honestly? I think this is my favorite series of designs that I’ve done for this thing, especially Larry. I’m really proud of Larry. 

Small breakdown of each character below!! I wanna get nerdy

Firstly, Lotta Hart:

I based Lotta on the 70s, for no real reason other than pure vibes. I wanted Lotta to have a bit more personality than “southern girl” so I gave her a style, and an old camper van! I kept her palette relatively similar to her palette in the games, but I added way more bright colors, like the rainbow around her head and waist. She just looks like someone who would go camping in the back of her van across the entirety of America for fun. Also she’s pretty. 

Secondly, Samurai Dog Larry Butz:

I wanted to give Larry a new look for this case, especially since I wanted to introduce his job as a carnie. I struggled a lot with this design, as a few of my long-term followers know. He originally looked like a home depot employee? then, when I tried a pure white apron, he just looked like a serial killer? I was struck with inspiration when I realized “oh, what if I leaned into the carnie thing?” and I was blessed with a colorful polo and the around-the-waist apron. I added a hoodie and a few christmas pins, and then it was perfect.

Thirdly, Manfred von Karma:

Since I gave most of the other villains a new look (excluding Redd White), I thought I would revamp MvK for the final case of the fic. I wanted Phoenix to reflect off of Von Karma, so I gave him the same color palette and shape build. They aren’t exactly the same, MvK has a more... european aristocrat vibe, while Phoenix looks a bit more modern and unique. They’re still similar and comparable. Since Phoenix was raised reliant on abusive relationships, it made sense that in adulthood he would fall back on familiar colors and shapes, even though they’re connected to someone he has every reason to despise. 

Fourthly, the mYsTeRiOuS wOmAn:

Since she’s replacing Yonni Yogi, I still wanted to make her mysterious, and give her the same fisherman vibe. I went with a different color palette. I leaned towards yellows and reds instead of grays and pinks, and I ended up with this hooded figure. I also needed to cover her face, for spoiler reasons. I changed up the bird so that this case would still have a little flavor, and I changed the name. Also for spoiler reasons.  

Finally, Anya the bird:

hehhhee birb sweet baby bird <:)

[legallymean]

Ace Attorney/Gravity Falls AU Overview

This has been in development for over a year, folks. Basically it’s a “what if the Feys were in tune with more than just spirits and Miles Edgeworth had heterochromia and wanted to be a scientist instead of a prosecutor” AU.

More details under the cut.

It starts... very far in the past. Twin flowers were born in the second dimension: Dahlia and Iris Hawthorne. Well, those aren't technically their "real" names, just aliases they picked to seem friendlier. Dahlia is a pink 12-pointed star, Iris's design hasn't been picked out yet. Dahlia grows up unhappy with her surroundings, and tricks Iris into helping her destroy the 2nd dimension with the help of a being called "Morgan Fey" (also an alias.) Morgan manages to contain things before they get too out of hand, and separates the twins, disguising Iris as a human, permanently, and keeps Dahlia in a sort of void.

Meet Miles Edgeworth. Him and his identical twin, Franziska, were born from an affair that Manfred von Karma had. Miles is the top of his class in everything he studies, and Franziska is right behind him. It seems like together, they can conquer the world.

But Manfred wants Miles to pursue law, and threatens to disown him if he doesn't. They have a big fight over it, and Miles decides to get a scholarship at a fancy American university since it's a way he can get away from Manfred. Franziska, in a fit of being afraid of being abandoned, accidentally spills water on his tickets. They argue about it, and eventually she agrees to pay for a replacement. Manfred is very not happy with this, and tells her that buying those plane tickets is the last thing she'll ever do with his money. So, she packs up all her stuff and buys an extra set of tickets to travel to America with Miles. Problem is, she loses him at the airport.

Manfred pretends that his youngest kids died, and since he's famous, people believe him.

He has a grand time at Ivy University and meets Phoenix Wright there. (He's a surprise tool that will help us later.)

Franziska, on the other hand, doesn't fare so hot. She has to resort to scamming people on the street by doing various scams until she gets chased out of state. One time, she steals a camper van by pretending she's a confused tourist. She still rides horseback whenever possible, especially in farm country, but seems to just accept her life of exploiting loopholes in the law.

Miles, on the flight to America, reads a little Geocities-esque article that's presented like a creepypasta. He doesn't believe it, but he's in for a laugh, and so he follows the little "ritual" in the article, then naps the rest of the time on the plane.

It lies dormant for a while, but then, once he moves to Gravity Falls after uni and decides to plant dahlias in his yard, a certain someone visits him in his sleep.

Dahlia Hawthorne introduces herself to Miles Edgeworth in the chess dimension- AKA his mind. They chat for a bit, and then Miles makes a deal with her. This goes about as well as you'd expect.

He attempts to find out more about her, including interviewing one "Iris Fey" with a suspiciously Dahlia-shaped birthmark, but then, the blackouts start. Dahlia randomly possesses him whenever she feels like it, as per their deal. It's not long, though, till they realize they can't build this portal unless they have a mechanic.

Cue Phoenix Wright. He's an engineer in this au, since it suits the plot. Miles invites him to Oregon, they start talking again, they get married, finish the portal and wham, bam, Phoenix sees Dahlia's true form and gets Very Freaked Out and stops working on the project. He also invents the memory gun and becomes Old Man Wright. Not a hillbilly, though. He's just a sad dumpster diver who listens to Sad Old Man Music. And adopts two kids, but we'll get to that later.

Miles goes on with his life, but then realizes Dahlia has awful intentions and intends to stop her before it's too late. He puts a metal plate in his head and calls up Franziska based on her last known location, and tells her to come see him in Oregon.

Franziska, thoroughly annoyed, decides to come see him to yell at him a little bit. Instead, she's greeted with a crossbow to the face, Miles with a stubble beard, and a leather-bound book with an M with a line and what looks like two sideways square brackets underneath it, which he tells her to hide but not destroy.

She gets mad at him, because "Miles, it has been 7 years since we last spoke." Christmas was three days ago as well, and she wants to have a nice got dang conversation for once. This conversation ends up taking them all the way to the basement, where they get into a fight and Franziska accidentally pushes her brother into the portal.

She, not knowing what to do, assumes his legal name "Francis von Karma", and decides to open up his old cottage as a sideshow/escape room. Wright is upset because of this, but he can't remember why.

Sometime in the gap, Wright finds two children, and a mother who can't provide for them. Phoenix being the bleeding heart he is, takes them to Franziska after legally adopting them. Franziska doesn't have enough money to take care of twins, so after Phoenix names the kids Apollo and Trucy, they're sent off to be raised by Franziska's older sister.

In Summer of 2031, Trucy and Apollo get sent to their Auntie Fran's house in Oregon, because Franziska's sister thinks it's important for them to. Hijinx ensues.

Sebastian tries to upstage Franziska and then later summons Dahlia to prove he's "the best".

Klavier and Apollo have an on-again off-again friendship, while him and Trucy try to best each other in the performing arts.

Franziska has hired Gumshoe (named after his favourite novels) and Maya Fey (Iris' cousin) to work at the Mystery Shack, and then Ema and Apollo get into a prank war.

Trucy befriends Kay Faraday and Athena Cykes. Simon Blackquill also appears sometimes, as a kind of role model figure for them. (The kids think he's very cool)

The Paynes like bread.

[askaceattorney]

Dear Gumshoe Fan,

No kidding?

Well, happy birthday, pal!  I hope this letter gets to you before your 15th birthday.  If it’s a party you want, you’ve come to the right guy -- I just happen to throw the best parties this side of town!

The Blue Badger’s in kind of rough shape for dancing at the moment, but I guess we could have him there as a decoration.  I’ll send out invitations to everyone I know, but I wouldn’t count on Mr. Edgeworth coming.  He kind of hates parties...especially ones where there’s dancing.

My birthday’s not until August, but you don’t have to spend too much on presents, pal.  Just finding out that I had a fan made my day, my week, and possibly even my year, so thanks a million!

So, uh...  Are there are any more of you out there?

-Dick Gumshoe

[4ragon]

Gimme that Uncle Ray goodness if you're still doing character opinions 👀

You got it!

Raymond Shields is I think an important part of Miles’s development in AAI2. I do really enjoy the characters who cover up their own insecurities by joking and trying to make themselves out to not being taken seriously, and I think Ray absolutely fits into this. He’s definitely a sort of keeping his head down, just trying to get through the day kind of guy, and I think that he struggled so much after losing Gregory. It’s not quite Godot levels of self vitriol and lashing out, but there is a lot of that anger and guilt and grief bubbling just under the surface that I think AAI2 helps him at least start to work through.

I will say, just as a small note, I wish they toned down the womanizer part of him a little more? The constantly asking for hugs thing doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers some of my friends, but it does rub me the wrong way a little bit. Like it’s a joke, I think even in-game he doesn’t mean for it to be taken seriously, but it’s still a little uncomfy in places. And every once in a while he makes a joke about the girls that gets a liiiitle too close to the line.

Like. There are certain tropes in Japanese media that can really get under my skin, especially when they’re in a character that I otherwise enjoy! Like, I want to like you, but can you scale it back just a little bit? There are ways to do it tastefully. I know a lot of people who aren’t fans of Ray, and I do understand why. 

But on the flip side, I think there’s also so much depth to his character. He’s a very different defense attorney than Phoenix is, I don’t think he has any of that bright eyed optimism of naivety that so defined Phoenix in the trilogy. And you know, you can kind of tell that life hasn’t been the easiest for him. He lost his mentor, a man he looked up to and trusted, a man who helped shape him into the person he was today, and then he became responsible for trying to keep up Gregory’s spirit by running the Edgeworth Law Office. I do wonder what his life was like outside of that, if he had many other adult figures to look up to.

And like, it’s absolutely not justified, but I do think it’s interesting to look at what Raymond’s misplaced anger toward Miles meant. I think that seeing Miles A) Turn away from everything Gregory stood for to become like the man who defeated him in court just before he died, and also B) Seeing Miles be so successful at it, so successful at being a lawyer while he struggled to keep his mentor’s dream going, both really would sting for Raymond. Like, Raymond doesn’t seem like he’s necessarily rolling in accolades. Not that he’s a bad lawyer, mind you, he’s clearly very competent, but I think he’s also the kind of guy who is willing to take on those defense cases of people who have done bad things and still need someone in their corner, you know?

(Also if you have the chance, this fic was really good, it’s a really in depth character study of Miles and Raymond and I love it a lot. It’s just them walking up some stairs but it’s just very good.)

But yes, I loved getting to see Miles and Ray reconnect. I think that Ray’s easygoing carefree attitude is a really good contrast to Miles’s very much no-nonsense approach to life, especially since Raymond seems very keen on passing at least some of it onto Miles. I think Miles really could benefit from coming to understand that worldview, that attitude toward life, and learning to respect it, you know?

But yeah, overall, I do enjoy Uncle Ray. There’s a lot of depth and care in his character.

[sophistopheles]

Rating the Good Boys of Ace Attorney

1.       Missile

The adorable, the original; a handsome Shiba Inu with investigative skills like no other.

Pros: a skilled, lovable, and clearly talented boy, faithful friend to Detective Gumshoe, the best secret weapon by far.

Cons: None known.

If you don’t choose Missile first just to walk around and find dialogue with this wonderful boy, you’re playing Turnabout Goodbyes wrong. Rating: 10/10.

2.       Anime Missile (Pess)

Edgeworth’s dog in the flashback episodes, a faithful and super-cute Pomeranian modelled and named after Shu Takumi’s own dog. Presumably an on-screen interpretation of Edgeworth’s dog Pess, who is such a wonderfully good girl that she is only mentioned in interviews and doesn’t even appear in the games, because Capcom knows that if she appeared the degree of goodness would melt the console.

Pros: another very talented boy, can easily find his way back home if he has a trail to follow. Abandoned once but still keeps up his spirits and looks after little Miles. Does a killer MvK cosplay.

Cons: Accidentally caused the class trial by giving Edgeworth’s money to Larry. Then again, the trial meant Edgeworth and Phoenix became friends, so I guess it was a good thing after all…?

It doesn’t bear on his score because he’s too cute to be malicious. Rating: 10/10

3.       Napalm

Mixing things up, we have a good GIRL here! Another Pomeranian; you can tell that she’s a Girl® because of her eyelashes, pink bow, and pink heart-shaped marking. Nevertheless, still an indescribably good girl.

Pros: Cute, stylish and ridiculously valuable girl. Indirectly helped Edgeworth become a prosecutor. Missile chasing after her in the same episode as Phoenix trying to contact Edgeworth makes her a lowkey Edgeworth mirror??? Very pretty with a wonderful name.

Cons: Absolutely none.

If she came up to me on the street I would cry because she’s so cute. Rating: 10/10

4.       Constantine

To add a twist, here’s an unbelievably fluffy non-canon boy! He’s Inquisitor Barnham’s dog, and is responsible for the scar on Barnham’s face. He doesn’t seem to have a canon breed, but that’s okay, because he’s small and fluffy and that’s what matters.

Pros: A good boy, with a lot of personality! He’s feisty and clever enough to give puzzles to Layton, Wright & co. Just look at him!!! I can honestly say I have never seen a better boy. He even plays a role in the endgame of PLvsAA when Barnham can’t make it.

Cons: Attacked Nick when he tried to pet him, so he’s not the most well-mannered boy, but that’s okay!! He’s cute enough to get away with it.

He may be the only dog in the world to be an official member of an order of knights. Rating: 10/10

5.       Shah’do

Ahlbi’s puppy who can’t seem to decide if he’s a dog or a hat. He’s canonically a Tibetan mastiff, which means that when he’s all grown up, he’ll be about three times the size he is now! Quite mischievous, but never causes too much trouble, and it all works out in the end.

Pros: He’s loyal, adorable, cute and intelligent, even sensing and reflecting Ahlbi’s emotions! He really is one of the cutest boys I’ve ever seen.

Cons: Naughty!!

Clearly has magical Khura’inese powers of cuteness, judging by the mitamah marking on his forehead. Rating: 10/10

6.       Jugemu

The dog who lives at the Toneido School’s Kurukuru Tei theatre, this boy deserves some more love!! A beautiful good boy with a very healthy appetite; he single-handedly convinced me that Turnabout Storyteller is the best case in AA6. He only appears in one graphic, but I love him nevertheless.

Pros: He has an adorable little kennel so he can stay out of the rain when he has to, and he’s instrumental in solving the case.

Cons: None whatsoever!

I wanted to see more of him! Rating: 10/10

 There are a few more good boys, but they have plot roles in DGS2 and AAI2, so beware of serious spoilers under the cut!

Spoilery (But Still Good) Boys

1.       Anubis

One of the scarier boys on the list! He’s the guide dog of the blind assassin Sirhan Dogen, and while he’s very clever, he’s also very intimidating! He resembles a Tosa, a breed also known as Japanese mastiffs. (He’s probably killed people in the past, but let’s brush over that for a moment.)

Pros: He’s a startlingly long-lived boy! Unless Dogen replaces his dogs on the down-low (which feels unlikely) he’s been at Dogen’s side for nineteen years! Plus, I feel like if I was nice to him, he would let me pet him.

Cons: You know what? None. He doesn’t have a single malicious bone in his furry body, he’s just a deeply loyal and obedient boy. It’s not his fault that his master is an assassin; he’s still a good boy!

Despite having such a scary reputation, Anubis did nothing wrong. …Kind of. Rating: 10/10

2.       Balmung

The second scarily good boy on our list, Balmung is another good but admittedly terrifying boy. He is the dog of a serial killer, the Professor, and he most closely resembles a lurcher hound, though his breed was never confirmed. Despite outward appearances, I promise you he’s a good boy at heart- he just happened to also be used as a murder weapon.

Pros: He’s the real Hound of the Baskervilles, how cool is that? He’s also quite an old boy, living for at least twelve years and remaining active even then. And he’s listed as his owner’s friend on the Ace Attorney wiki, which is also very cute, and strong evidence of his good boy nature.

Cons: …He’s kinda scary…! 

Overall, despite being quite a frightening boy, Balmung means well. Rating: 10/10

3.       Toby

In stark contrast to the previous two good but murder-y boys, we have one of the cutest boys of the whole series: Toby!! He’s Gina’s dog after she becomes a detective, and is honestly my favourite good boy in the series (but shhh, that’s a secret!) Toby is based on a dog of the same name from the Holmes novels!

Pros: Seriously, just look at him! He’s a classically cute boy. He’s the Platonic Ideal of what a good boy should be. And he’s talented, too- he helps Naruhodou solve a lot of cases!

Cons: …He does attack Naruhodou once. But it leads into the best joint reasoning segment of the whole game, so I can forgive him.

It’s especially sweet when you realise that in-universe Toby is probably named after Gina’s mentor, Tobias Gregson! Rating: 10/10

[browniefox]

The Spectral Turnabout 1/?

I did it. I’m writing a lil fic for an ace attorney and paranatural crossover

oOo

Okay, Phoenix thought, I’m having a mental breakdown. That’s fine, this is fine.

To be fair, it’d been a stressful few hours. It wasn’t everyday you walked into the office and found your boss dead with her sister sitting next to her body, and then stayed there as the body became cold, the scent of blood so strong and present that at some point you stopped noticing it. To be so close to death, and of someone you knew...

Then there was the questioning after the police arrived, going over the same facts again and again and again. It dragged on for hours, caught in that system, cold and judging people staring at him. He’d been on the scene, it was natural he might've looked a bit suspicious. It was morning by the time he was let out, a weariness weighing him down from not having gotten any sleep that night. The original shock had worn off at some point, but there was still this numb disbelief. Mia… Mia was dead.

There were also the hallucinations, and what made him conclude he'd lost some marbles sometime over the night.

For the few days, Phoenix had sworn he’d been seeing things. It had started small, just flashes of pale-purple at the edges of his vision. They’d started to appear with increasing frequency, and no rest seemed to solve it. Phoenix had figured it was just stress from work.

Well, Mia’s death had officially pushed him over the edge.

Ever since the police had taken Phoenix in for questioning, the purple figures had resolved into full-blown monsters. They ran around, seeming to only occasionally care about things like doors and walls when it suited their need. Some just stayed up at the ceiling, looking down with mild interest, while others were more active. And absolutely nobody else seemed to notice them.

“What the hell?” Phoenix hissed under his breath as an odd gecko-looking thing skittered across the room, going right over his foot. He swore he’d felt the weight of it as it’d done so, and the creature had paused for half a second and looked back at him before continuing on its way. He shook his head. Just his imagination. After he talked to Maya, he’d go home and get some sleep, and if the problem persisted then he’d probably see a doctor about it…? No, he couldn’t do that, not when he was probably out of a job now! Okay, he’d just ignore the problem then. Maybe it’d go away eventually.

Maya entered the visiting room looking just as glum and sad as when Phoenix had last seen her, but that wasn’t much of a surprise.

“Oh, it’s you. The lawyer.” She said, clearly surprised at seeing him there. Phoenix nodded. She sat down in the chair on the other side of the glass. He’d followed Mia to meetings with defendants before, he was vaguely aware of how this went.

“G-good morning!” He rubbed his eyes, trying to stay awake, and also trying in vain to make the hallucinations go away. There was a particularly strong one hanging around Maya, a dark-purple mist seemingly coming off of her and falling to the floor like dry ice. All of his hallucinations seemed to carry with them some form of that mist, although the color changed from figure to figure, and there was something about Maya’s that was just… sad.

Then, suddenly, she perked up a bit, looking him over. Phoenix flinched back a bit at the sudden interest in her eyes.

“Mia didn’t tell me you were a spectral.” Maya said.

“I-, uh, I’m an a-attorney?” Phoenix corrected.

“I did know that, but you’re a spectral.” Maya insisted, brow furrowing a bit, and gestured to Phoenix. He looked around himself, trying to pinpoint what made her think the word ‘spectral’, whatever the hell that was. He was in his suit still, he’d stopped by the bathroom to make sure his hair was still in decent enough condition. His hallucination did seem to extend to himself, indigo-vapor that wasn’t really there floating off of him in spikey and nervous waves. He looked back at Maya, still very much confused.

“I- you’re, uh, I’m an attorney, and I think you might need one…?” Phoenix fumbled awkwardly. She was still looking at him oddly and it made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. The mist coming off of her started to morph and shift, and right before Phoenix’s eyes it formed the words ‘Can you read this?’

This was starting to get a bit too weird for him, but Phoenix was tired, and probably still in the denial part of the mourning process which wasn’t doing him much help, and before he knew what he was doing he’d opened his mouth and said,

“Y-yeah, how’d you do that?”

“How long have you been seeing things?!” Maya demanded, sitting forward now and close to the glass, and Phoenix flinched back.

“For a couple days, but it’s gotten really clear since sometime last night.” He admitted.  Maya gasped.

“Oh my gosh, you don’t know.” She said.

“Know what?” Phoenix was sitting forward now, because he wasn’t going crazy, except he still sort of felt like he was, and his boss was dead, and he was talking to his boss’ sister who was being accused of murdering her, and he was hallucinating but hallucinations couldn’t really be shared and Maya clearly understood what he was going through, and it had been a very long night.

“You’re a spectral.” She repeated.

And then she explained.

oOo

The details were a bit hard to take in, but Phoenix managed to grasp the gist of it - Maya had been a little quick during her explanation, but that wasn’t too surprising considering the whole ‘murder trial’ they were both preparing for.

So, he was now something called a ‘spectral’, which meant he could see spirits. Yes, ghosts did exist. No, spirits weren’t really ghosts per se. Maya and Mia were from a long line of spectrals who doubled as spirit channelers, capable of pulling ghosts from wherever ghosts went when they died and allowing them to speak through them. It was probable that he’d become a spectral due to being around Mia, but there were several factors that went into it. Colors of spectral energy - the mist he’d been seeing - didn’t mean anything he needed to worry about, and she’d promised to show him some tricks to it when the trial was over.

Actually, Maya had offered to show him some tricks before the trial, but Phoenix had insisted that they wait until she was declared ‘not guilty.’ She’d looked away from him at that moment, but Phoenix had insisted again he’d get her free.

He couldn’t let Mia down like that.

Seeing Miles in court was a shock, but in another way, Phoenix had to admit he'd badly wanted to. If only it wasn't such a high-stakes case like this. The bigger surprise was the spirit that stuck around Miles.

It looked a bit like a borzoi, but much longer to accommodate an extra pair of legs and an insanely long and fluffy tail. The back two pairs of legs were more like a bird’s instead of a dog’s, and its ears were replaced with wings. It had wrapped itself around Miles, head near one of his shoulders and then spiralling around him. A muted purple spectral energy poured from the spirit in calm and steady waves, and it kept its eyes on him.

Miles didn’t react at all to the spirit, although it seemed to be fairly in sync with him, responding to Miles’ moods and such. Phoenix wasn’t sure how normal that was. There were spirits everywhere. Not enough that any place felt crowded, but more like mice or spiders, always there somewhere. So far, though, none of them seemed overly concerned about people other than watching the trial like the rest of the spectators.

Well, again, none other than the dog-like spirit who seemed intent on hanging around Miles.

During the recess, Phoenix asked Maya about it.

“Well, sometimes a spirit will hang around somebody they find interesting, especially if that person is a spectral.” Maya told him.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Phoenix sighed, shaking his head, “Edgeworth didn’t seem like he even realized it was there. And he doesn’t have spectral energy.” The spirit had floated off of Miles when he’d left for the recess, landing on the floor and following at his feet. On his shoulders, it’d given Miles the illusion of maybe being a spectral, but separated it became clear the essence was coming only from the spirit. “Could it be the ghost of one of someone he knew?”

“No, ghosts always look like they did in life. Occasionally, they’ll have minor changes in their appearances depending on how they perceive themselves, especially if it’s been a while since they died, but I’ve never heard of one changing shape that much.” Maya shot down.

“Well, no reason to dwell on it,” Phoenix shook his head, “We need to stay focused on proving your innocence.”

oOo

Being a spectral was, surprisingly, not all that different from not being a spectral. Having magic ghost energy didn’t mean he didn’t have to pay rent, and he still needed to eat, and he couldn’t fly or anything.

Maya kept her word, and they spent most of the days in the office teaching him the ins and outs of the world he was now a part of. She was a pro, easily able to create ‘compressed spectral energy burst shots’ - or ‘spec-shots’ - while Phoenix fumbled his way through the motions. It was a bit odd at first, being taught by somebody younger than him, but Maya was a surprisingly decent teacher. She was clearly experienced in the craft, having been raised a spectral.

He found himself thinking a lot about how Mia had been one too. Some late nights, when they were eating in the office, waiting for a client, Phoenix sore from the training, they’d talk about her. Apparently, Mia had noticed that something was up with Phoenix and had suspected he might be becoming a spectral. She’d planned to talk to him about it the night of her death.

Well, the best laid plans and all that.

“So, can things really be haunted?” Phoenix asked her one day while trying to focus his energy into a specific shape. He was trying to make it look like a dog, and it more closely resembled how he used to draw them back in kindergarten.

“Oh yeah, that happens all the time. Here, I actually have a tool on me.” Maya pulled a jade green gem from somewhere in the folds of her robes. She handed it over to Phoenix, and he turned it over in his hands. It was smooth to the touch, and shaped like a teardrop or a comma with a perfect hole in it, big enough for Phoenix to fit his pinky through. “This is my magatama, and you could say that it’s ‘haunted’, although the technical word is that it’s now a tool. A spirit was injured long ago, and now they live here! They’ve been passed from Fey to Fey for years.”

“Huh.” Phoenix said. It didn’t look particularly special. He handed it back to Maya.

“You probably won’t have to worry about that, though. Tools are usually used by people who are fighting spirits and stuff!” Maya smiled.

“Yeah, I think I’ll stick to being a lawyer.” Phoenix gave a small laugh.

oOo

So, maybe Phoenix had come to the conclusion about Miles not being a spectral a bit too quickly.

[wubbybubbly]

idk if this is considered a Hot Take (*gasp*) but this exchange is…kinda disappointing? the ending of aa2 set up a really compelling direction to take their relationship, and it sucks that nothing has really changed between these two since then. from a character perspective, I understand franziska’s reaction, but from a writing perspective, there’s a huge missed opportunity here. I think this scene robs franziska of a moment where she has grown to respect her autonomy. what I mean by this is that edgeworth relinquishing his badge gives her the push she needs to fight for her relationship with him.

if we remember edgeworth’s statement in aa2, “if you choose to quit your walk down the prosecutor’s path…then, this is where we part ways, franziska von karma” we could interpret franziska’s response here as anger at his hypocrisy, as HE’S the one quitting. after all, she’s afraid of losing her brother, and we saw this very clearly in aa2 when she was hellbent on dragging edgeworth out of hiding by defeating the man who “killed” him. she wanted him to return in shame, and grovel at her feet for thinking that he could run away that easily.

edgeworth didn’t really mean to give her an ultimatum at the airport—he said what he said because he wants her around—but in his efforts to push franziska towards change, he forced his framework for personal growth onto her. edgeworth selfishly thought that she would become more secure in herself if she re-evaluated her motives as a prosecutor, because that’s how it worked with him. but he still doesn’t understand the nature of her struggles; how his words to her, while well-intentioned, made her feel compelled to choose prosecution just to keep him in her life. 

edgeworth’s attempt at reassuring franziska (“you a are prosecutor. you have been and always will be”) still confines her to the role that was imposed on her since birth. because of the way he lives his life, edgeworth has the tendency to make other people feel alone—especially the one person he has habitually left behind. obviously, I don’t want to erase franziska’s faults here, because she’s equally culpable for the issues in their relationship—but since this part of the game is focused on her issues, I’m just going to talk about edgeworth’s flaws for now.

anyway, the conversation in the airport gives franziska a new perspective. in a role reversal, edgeworth is the one chasing after her this time. she doesn’t believe in herself, but he does. while his idea of change might be a tad skewed, his message to her is not—she is capable of transformation. she does have a choice in shaping her own life, and she can throw away the parts of herself that hold her back. franziska has no obligation to be the lawyer her father was, nor buy into his harmful philosophy. she can reclaim her identity as “franziska von karma”, and reject being seen as “manfred von karma’s daughter.” she does not have to be burdened with contorting herself to fit the von karma family creed anymore. she can fight for her own sake.

so, when edgeworth gives up his badge for kay without a second thought, it doesn’t make sense to me that franziska sees this as an instance of edgeworth “running away” from her (because he’s not, he’s literally trying to save someone—and his badge was threatened multiple times before this, so). I think it would be better if she grows fearful that she may lose him again. edgeworth and franziska were united under prosecution—and maybe this scene makes franziska realize that she wants to fight for their bond to be defined outside of that. no matter what she or edgeworth become, even if one day, neither of them are lawyers, they will never part ways. never.

I’d be less harsh on this scene if I felt like they were actually going to do something interesting with the fact that edgeworth quits the very path he kind of tethered franziska to, but I don’t think that’s the case here. it seems like they didn’t know what to do with franziska, so they just had her say this. I highly doubt we’ll get a proper resolution.

[greentrickster]

If the Ace Attorney characters are benders, what elements will they be? (they can also be non benders or the Avatar, it's your choice)

Ah, yes, the question I’ve been thinking about for actual, literal months, because I am a huge nerd (and take pride in that fact)! Here’s the conclusions I’ve come up with:

For Phoenix, I’d say either fire or non-bender. If he is indeed fire, then he’s absolutely as much as a combination prodigy/disaster with it as he is with being a lawyer, a disorganized mess for whom traditional bending practices don’t help much, but who still manages to have decent enough control over his element. He has absolutely set himself on fire more than once.

For Edgeworth I gotta say earth. He’s got that stubborn, unyielding quality you need to be a good earth-bender. However, while he has a strong talent with it, I’d say he was raised by either a different element or else non-benders who look down on bending, so all this potential he has with it got ignored for a long time. Post DL-6 he probably starts learning again, and by the time Dual Destinies rolls around he’s achieved true comfort with and mastery of his element.

Franziska von Karma is the most badass of badass non-benders and she is coming for your pressure points, your chi, and your soul. Can be a real learning opportunity to spar with, but do not engage if you have actually angered her, she’ll leave you drooling on the floor and she’ll wait awhile to tell anyone.

Trucy’s an airbender, and she uses it less in her show than anyone suspects, but she absolutely uses it all the time in her day-to-day life. Phoenix has a lot of heart attacks when she first comes into his life and is still learning, and she has her mastery arrows by the time she’s fourteen, so her hair’s shorter than it is in canon for the AA:AJ events, since it’s still growing back.

Speaking even indirectly of Apollo, he’s the Avatar, and no one notices until Dual Destinies, including Apollo himself, he always thought he was just a vaguely inept airbender. He doesn’t even have his arrows yet because, while powerful as heck, he lacks the control required for mastery. Part of the reason no one’s noticed he’s the avatar is that his experiences in Khura’in and the foster system have left him with some pretty severe mental/spiritual blocks. He’s beginning to work through them by the time SoJ rolls around, has started refining his airbending, and also started on water.

Klavier’s a firebender, and he’s not very powerful but he has control like whoa man, he has nailed this whole being-a-bender thing, and he is super insulted that everyone automatically assumes that he set his own guitar on fire, that’s absurd, he hasn’t accidentally set anything on fire since he was twelve-!!!

Call me crazy, but Simon Blackquill strikes me as the waterbender of the group. He shapes himself to the situations he’s in and just... I don’t have a lot of explanation for this one, it’s a gut feeling, feels right, yo. (Post-conviction there’s a lot of rumors that he blood bends, joke’s on them, he not only considers that sort of bending vile but thinks that, if you have to resort to that level, you’re just admitting you can’t win without doing so).

Athena’s another badass non-bender, but she’s light enough on her feet that a lot of people mistake her for an airbender. Her movement style is actually more like waterbending, however, as she used to follow along a bit when her mother was teaching Simon.

Sebastian DeBeste is just a regular old non-bender, he does not want to fight, he wants to music, and also law, this boy cannot throw a punch to save his life, but that’s okay because he’s got some powerful friends and they will wreck your shit if you mess with him, especially Kay, she won’t even have to resort to bending to do it, say good-bye to your existence online, jerk.

Speaking of Kay, airbender seems the obvious choice with her, but I can also see her as water or fire - the girl’s flexible for which element would suit her best. Heck, if Apollo’s not the avatar, she could be, and I would pay to see the hijinks avatar Kay got up to. No matter what she is, though, she’s good at it.

Maya I think is another non-bender, but with major spirit world connections, girl can just sit down breathe in, breathe out, boom, spirit journeying now, back later, send burgers. Same goes with Pearl, only even moreso, and also with the full intentions to one day punch Koh in every single one of his faces.

Larry... I feel like Larry’s a bender, but he never freaking did anything with his bending? He just wasn’t that interested in it, there were always other things catching his interest, like art, and girls, and acting, and trying to hold down a job. The joke in this universe, instead of ‘if something stinks, it’s usually the Butz,’ is that he’s actually a disaster-bender.

For Godot, I’d say firebender, and he absolutely uses it to keep his coffee nice and hot. He used to be pretty good at it, but the poison and extended coma messed with his chi pathways as well. Those, along with some mental and emotional blocks, mean he now has a very hard time producing fire.

Aaaaaand that’s everyone I can think of at the moment! Hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the matter, thanks for the question! ^U^