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4ragon · 3 years

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I'm not the original anonymous but I would extremely want to see that essay about Apollo's trust issues.

Also since I just finished Spirit of Justice, do you think Lamiroir ever told Trucy/Apollo about her and if so what would be their reactions?

Let’s see if I can write this up without crying again like I did on twitter.

So a while ago a friend of mine asked me why I liked Apollo, and I really couldn’t put my finger on it. I knew he was my favorite, but unlike Simon Blackquill, I hadn’t done that deep dive into figuring out why. I’d always just sort of loved him, and was never able to pinpoint the part that made me care about him so much. It drove me crazy, too, I love rambling about characters that I love, and I love writing from Apollo’s perspective more than anything. So why did I love him? Why did I care about him?

Well. I figured it out. I figured out my answer.

I think there are two things that characterize Apollo more than anything. One: He has trust issues. He genuinely believes that the people around him don’t give a shit about him. Especially after being betrayed multiple times in that first trial, he truly and deeply believes that the people around him are only trying to hurt him and is too scared to really believe that they care about him.

And two: He cares so much about the people around him that he constantly helps them anyway.

So like. And I won’t tag her because I don’t think she’d appreciate it, but I was watching the laquilasse AA4 stream last night, and the entire opening of Turnabout Corner is so striking to me, especially right after the end of Turnabout Trump. At the end of Turnabout Trump, Apollo’s trust and belief in Phoenix is finally and thoroughly shattered, and Apollo lashes out, punching Phoenix in the face. And for good reason! That was a huge breach of trust! Apollo literally did the exact thing that got Phoenix disbarred, namely present evidence that wasn’t real. Sure, they never exactly claimed it was the real deal, but Apollo didn’t even know it was faked, he just trusted Phoenix and this new piece of evidence and it almost fucked him over. It did sort of fuck him over, he did lose his job and his Mentor.

And then, Phoenix calls him and says that they’re in trouble, and Apollo doesn’t even question it, of course he shows up to help.

Like. You can feel how much he mistrusts Trucy on their first meeting, in everything he does and says. Especially when Trucy and Phoenix are in the same room, he’s actively thinking about how he doesn’t ‘buy their act’ when Phoenix is calling Trucy daughter-ly nicknames. And then, in a way, he’s kind of right? They guilt him into essentially being their errand boy, and I feel like they’re constantly and loudly using him throughout so much of the game.

And Apollo was there anyway. Apollo doesn’t even trust them and he’s still there the first instant Phoenix says he needs his help.

Like you can loudly do and say whatever you want and crush his dreams and betray his trust, and despite everything, there’s always that part of Apollo that desperately needs to help anyone who asks him. He can’t even bring himself to trust them, and he’s still crawling back the moment someone needs him, ready to let them disappoint him over again.

Like this struck me about Apollo from the moment I played AA4, but he’s so lonely? And desperate for connection? He cares so much about a world that has always and consistently never cared about him, and he just keeps caring and keeps caring even as that starry-eyed naivete is ripped away. And I feel like he just wants someone to care about him back, but never really able to believe that they do, because they never really seem to, because every time he allows himself to trust it’s just thrown back in his face so horribly.

Here’s an interesting thing I noticed: in Turnabout Trump, there’s a really interesting line. Phoenix has accused Kristoph of being the murderer, the extra person in the room. Kristoph takes the stand and claims to have witnessed the moment Phoenix committed the murder. And this exchange happens:

Apollo: There must have been someone else there at the moment of the crime!

Kristoph: Justice... I just said I saw no one. Not a soul.

Apollo: B-But, that goes against what Mr. Wright said!

Kristoph: Ah yes, this mysterious "fourth person"... ...who would conveniently be the "real killer", I suppose.

And this is well past the point where Phoenix has accused Kristoph of being that person. There’s no possibility at this point that they’re both innocent, it’s either one or the other. And Apollo is still so desperately trying to find a way for them both to be innocent, basically saying, “Just give me a fourth person and I’ll believe you.” And then Kristoph turned out to be a monster, and then Phoenix turned out to have betrayed Apollo from the start, and as far as Apollo is ever aware, none of the care from either of these men was ever real. He trusted, and he suffered the consequences.

But again. He’s still there. Someone pointed out a while ago, but Apollo stays. Apollo shows up to the Wright Talent Agency under false pretenses, and he complains and hems and haws, and he still stays. Why?

Phoenix and Trucy loudly manipulate him into working their case. They’re perfectly happy to flaunt that they’re basically tricking him. And he stays. Why?

Because Apollo can’t trust them, but he wants to so fucking bad. He doesn’t even seem to like Phoenix that much, but he wants that connection so fucking bad. He cares about them so much and he doesn’t believe for a second that they extend that feeling back at him, and he’s compelled to stay anyway.

He knows Trucy is practically using him, and he’s a sobbing mess when he thinks she was kidnapped for a few minutes. He’s cynical and mean and it’s all just to cover up the fact that he loves all these people around him with all his heart and they never once pay it back. And he comes back anyway. He’s like a fucking loyal dog that is never given enough affection and so he’s constantly trying harder and harder to earn that love while never believing he’ll ever really get it.

(Shit nope crying again)

It’s just so sad. And this is all without adding anything from the 3D games. The 3D games do build on this theme in one way or another, but from the get go, this is who Apollo is. A caring young man who is constantly punished for caring and yet can’t stop caring anyway.

We see it again in the 3D games. And I think part of why I don’t enjoy DD as much as SoJ is that DD doesn’t capture this mistrust the same way. It’s so surface level, that sense of betrayal and mistrust and anger he gets consumed by in that final case. And the worst part is it doesn’t have to be! There’s already that foundation! Apollo has been hurt already a million times. The only person he’s ever been able to trust, the only lifeline that’s kept him above water since he was a child, was Clay Terran, and now that was taken from him because he DARED to trust someone new. That’s so fucking compelling! But we never get that! We never get to see how Apollo is feeling. We get that he’s convinced Athena did the murder, but never really get into the Why, into the What This Means for Apollo.

It’s a bit better in SoJ. We see how far he’s come in terms of trusting people when he trusts in Trucy wholly and immediately in case two. And then, conversely, we see his mistrust and hurt when they introduce Dhurke into the mix. Apollo refuses point blank to believe that Dhurke had come to visit him, that Dhurke cared about him. Apollo demands to know why Dhurke was there, what Dhurke wanted, how Dhurke was going to use him. He’s been able to slowly start building that trust with people like Trucy, but he still cannot let himself trust again when Dhurke had already betrayed that trust.

I said it before, but as much as I hate the slapdash ways in which Capcom keeps throwing backstory at this boy, I love what the backstories are, because they build on this angry, cynical, lonely young man I care about so much. He’s been hurt and abandoned and used and betrayed since he was young, and being good never truly paid off for so long, but he kept doing it, he kept being good, he kept caring about people because he couldn’t help it, and kept hoping that maybe they could care back. And eventually I think it does start paying off for him. People do start caring about him. And I feel like it takes until around SoJ for him to start really believing that the people around him might care about him too.

Also congrats on finishing SoJ! Since there’s a very good chance that they might be announcing AA7 soon, I...hope? fear? expect? that they’ll touch on this then. However, I also worry that they’re going to botch it up so hard.

I know what I want to happen. I want Trucy to be angry. I want her to be angry at Lamiroir and Phoenix. She is constantly putting on a mask to try to make the people she loves happy, and I feel like this is a reasonable breaking point. After all, this is kind of the one thing that Phoenix hasn’t been honest with her about. She had a brother right there, and knew the whole time?! She had a mother there the whole time?! And no one bothered to tell her?! I think she’d be heartbroken, and I think she deserves to be angry. She’s been through so much, and they never give her time to really grieve or be upset.

I think Apollo would be ecstatic and angry at the same time. All he’s ever wanted was family, and now he does! He already loved Trucy, and thought Lamiroir was amazing, so I think he would be so happy to have that family back in his life. On the flip side, I do think he’d be angry at Phoenix, particularly for keeping it to himself before Lamiroir came into the picture, but I think if they talked it out, Apollo would come around to it and be able to forgive Phoenix.

#ace attorney #apollo justice #it's time to cry about apollo again god help me #spoilers #ace attorney spoilers #aa4-6spoilers #i love this boy so much I don't know if this does it justice #meta

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lesbianmarth · 4 years

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it’s been a while since i posted about aa but i just finished soj in its entirety tonight. here’s my new list so far

i still have to give thoughts on cases 4 5 and dlc so that’ll be under a cut. spoilers!

6-4: this was such a filler case, almost shamefully so. i don’t know why they thought they could manage to do this in the 4th case when every game with 5 cases has been pretty consistent about making the 4th case plot relevant, sometimes literally just a preamble to case 5. so yeah i think this one was kinda ass

the two things it had going for it: one, athena. in 6-2 i actually got confused about why i ever liked her, because in that case she felt like she was just acting the part of the Peppy Teen Girl With a Rowdy Streak that makes up almost every assistant character. But then as SOON as she started bantering with Simon in 6-4 i was like “oh, THAT’S why i liked her!” was nice to take control of her again.

two, uendo toneido. while i don’t think you can say the DID was portrayed with quite the necessary respect or kindness, it was handled better than i’ve seen other media handle it-- at least it’s not completely demonized. other people have written more on that in better detail so i’m not really the judge, but the basic point is that this witness was mad fun to read, and even the dumb jokes like the changing number of floor cushions were entertaining. thus why this case is in the “hard carried by one side character” tier.

especially since there was like nothing else going on. no connection to the main plot, only two other characters besides uendo, and for some reason the clown tits girl was here instead of the magic show case (and to be honest, she wasn’t enjoyable for me even BEFORE she did the standard aa female villain thing and changed her speech pattern as soon as she fell under suspicion). just a weird, nothing case stuck right around the point aa games usually enter endgame. And especially weird because...

6-5 part 1: inexplicably there are two separate cases in the final chapter and each gets one day of investigation and trial. such a weird setup, and it really shouldn’t work... but i think it kinda barely does. barely. it would still have been better to split it into case 4 and case 5 though.

i have a hard time articulating much on the first case bc it sort of blends together for me. the main thing is that the concept of it being a civil case where apollo and phoenix face off is really good. it was a good change of pace, even though you knew it was gonna be a murder somehow anyway. sarge was reasonably nice, i guess, paul atishon had some good animations and quirks (my favorite being when he tries to just walk away from the stand to avoid answering a question), and the logic of the actual murder was good enough.

but i especially got those strong “oh this is a FINAL case!” vibes during the segment in the cave, and that added so much to it even if not much of it was relevant in the first half of the case. the adventure feel reminded me of some of the (out of context bc i still havent played it) scenes i know from 3-5, which is a good association to invoke imo. and it did a lot to give apollo and dhurke time to bond.

speaking of which, dhurke, holy shit. what a KING. i don’t think i’ve ever liked a dad character in ace attorney this much. he’s so genuine and like down to earth that it’s impossible not to start liking him and believe how much he cares for his sons. the bit where he rescued apollo from the cave flood... i felt it in my heart

6-5 part 2: let me just get this out of the way: ga’ran sucks. her design after she goes full evil is so bad, she’s so malicious that it’s immediately obvious she’s going to be the culprit, her breakdown is ridiculous and just embarrassing to watch, and inga had already established way more charisma as a villain when he did the “those were orders of execution actually” bit in 6-3. with that said,

i actually liked it for the most part. the spirit channeling stuff was excellent imo-- they probably use it to similar or greater effect in 3-5 but as someone who again has not played that, i was surprised and almost impressed by how well it was applied. maya was relevant for something! it feels like it’s been ages!

rayfa was a little underutilized, i think-- her moment of determination where she stops letting ga’ran have control over her was alright but it fell flat bc it didn’t have any weight during the moment. i kept hoping she would like, wordlessly take of her shawl and do the little verbal preamble to the divination seance while ga’ran kept yelling at her to stop, but no, the script can’t be good like that, i guess. and since she didn’t get to be the investigation assistant for long, none of her charm in that role carried through.

but DHURKE!! oh my god! in a game almost devoid of emotional impact, his involvement in this case really hit. the way they painstakingly animated his death, the scene where he makes a promise with maya, and then the weight of knowing in hindsight that everything he did in the first part of the case was after he’d already died and just wanted to see his son again before passing on for real....... it hurt. i felt something during that section. this case would also be hard carried by him if not for the fact that i really liked the murder bits.

amara was good too--liked how they made her suspiciously serene and accentuated it with the lightning strikes to make her look like a hidden murderer character about to reveal herself, only to walk it back and confirm she was being forced to act that way. i thought it worked. nahyuta was boring though, i’m sorry-- i get the motivation with having to be a bastard bc his sister and mom were basically held hostage, but the only time i found him compelling in that mess was the bit where he removed his one fingerless glove and revealed he still has the dragon tattoo. that was it. athena was also completely unused the whole case (not even a single mood matrix? really?) and trucy one again went without any role of importance.

the ending also... yknow, a friend said they had to end it this way bc they never figured out what they were going to do with apollo (since following up on what they started in aa4 clearly wasn’t an option???) and just threw him on a bus to get rid of him. i agree with that-- he really feels thrown to the side, and with that i think trucy’s officially stranded with no hope of any character advancement. and the way they ended the game with phoenix and lamiroir deciding “yeah, maybe NOW we should finally tell those two they’re related” honestly felt insulting lol

but maybe the dlc case will let things go out on a high note...?!

6-6: it was okay.

it would’ve worked pretty well as a filler case in an older aa-- honestly i think it’d be one of the better filler cases, certainly worth replacing the shitty ones like 2-3 or 3-3 or, hey, 6-4. but whether i’d say it was worth paying for... eh.

the time travel conceit was done well enough, i think. the way they tied it back to sorin and pierce’s backstories was nice, and the twist about having two receptions was good, although they needed to treat that as a real twist with much more gravity. when the truth comes out it just feels like “oh of course that’s what happened” rather than a big surprise worthy of the Confessing the Truth theme. it’s sort of important because the case becomes a lot less interesting when you take out the time travel element.

far as characters are concerned, i think they needed more side characters to sell the whole thing-- another sprocket family member or another servant of the household. it felt a little limited-- sorin and pierce are pretty good witnesses and i like their quirks and their secrets, but the only alive woman (ellen) has very few traits and no connection to the deeper story of the case, so she falls really flat. the old aa characters didn’t add much- maya and edgeworth were just there for fanservice, ema didn’t get to do much other than acknowledge for the first time in years that she’s a big edgeworth fan, and larry is annoying as hell like he always is.

and oh my god i actually forgot while i was writing that, how they put in athena and trucy but only used them for brief slapstick where trucy would try to set athena on fire and shit. again-- no mood matrix? couldn’t even try once to fit those two characters into something?

i did like pierce’s transformation into his surgeon form though-- that was really cool. loved him doing surgery on a robot, taking xrays of the lawyers, and his breakdown was fantastic-- he would make a really good culprit if they didn’t whiff the last bit of pathos at the end. i don’t think he should’ve been aiming for revenge on sorin; it would have hurt much more if he was still loyal to the guy and never intended for him to be in danger, but the final “why’d you do it?” talk in the trial just felt flat and one-note, much like the one in 6-4.

... so that’s spirit of justice! not a super positive experience but i’m happy to say it’s done. as much as i want to go and replay dgs, i think when i do go back to ace attorney i’ll be replaying the trilogy for the first time since high school

#ace attorney #aa playthrough

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wardencommanderrodimiss · 4 years

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Chapter 27: a short one today, a post-trial wrap-up which includes conversations about nightmares, teeth, poodles, and bad deals. As you do.

[Seelie of Kurain Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

[Witches Chapter Masterlist] [ao3]

----

“Do not let Professor Courte’s death be in vain. Proudly carry on your mentor’s legacy and spirit; I have no doubt she would hope for nothing less from each of you.”

“I have nightmares about my teeth falling out,” Robin says. “This is totally not gonna help me get over that.”

“You have nightmares about your teeth falling out?” Hugh asks.

“Oh c’mon, maybe it’s not your nightmare about failing all your tests, but you try and tell me it wouldn’t be horrible if suddenly all your teeth started getting loose in your mouth and you couldn’t get a dentist appointment for months, and then—”

“What?” Hugh interrupts before Robin can get her impassioned dream diary really going. “No, I was asking because I have that nightmare.”

“It’s not an uncommon stress dream,” Athena says. “I can’t tell you why it’s that, but you’re far from the only one - or far from the only two. Not a nightmare I’ve had, though.” She idly flicks her earring, sending the crescent moon swinging back and forth. “Mine are…” She stops moving her finger but the momentum keeps her earring moving. “Actually, I never remember what any of them are. How about you, Junie? Teeth?” Juniper shakes his head. Apollo ponders how that one-word question seems utterly inane if one hadn’t heard the beginning to this conversation. “How about you, Apollo? What’s your go-to stress nightmare?”

Fae-red eyes in the faces of everyone he loved long ago in another life; he grabs Nahyuta’s hand and falls with him down into the rapids and no one saves them this time, Dhurke abandoning them then like he did abandon Apollo a few years later. “Drowning.”

Athena winces. “That’s a rough one,” she says, and Widget adds a consolatory, “Oof.”

“Thena,” Juniper says sternly. “We’ve all had enough stress, don’t you think? Why don’t we take a rest from thinking unnecessarily about unrelated stressful things.” Appearing properly chastened - Apollo needs to learn the trick to getting Athena to feel shame, because he’s never managed - Athena nods and goes quiet. Juniper’s expression softens. “Thank you so much, Thena. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there - how I ever could have made it through such a twisted case without you.”

“Oh, it was y’know,” Athena says, shrugging. “I’m kinda like a pro at this now.”

Three cases now, she’s had to reach such convoluted depths. Apollo has unfortunately been through more and he wouldn’t call himself an expert. But today, he’ll let her have this one - mostly. “I dunno, Athena,” he says, fighting a grin. “You have to admit we were pretty tied up toward the end there.”

“Boo!” Athena yells, which gets Robin going too, but Juniper covers her mouth and turns away, giggling. Hugh rolls his eyes, like he thinks he’s somehow above this. “Get outta here, Apollo!”

“Okay, sure thing.” He needs her for a ride back to the office, but he can make a dramatic show of walking away now and turn up at the car.

“Ah, Apollo, wait,” Juniper says. “I, um, wanted to thank you too. For all the help you gave Thena, always being there for her - and for me. It really helped me keep hope, knowing there was someone else so amazing on my side.”

“Oh, ah, don’t mention it.” He had expected Athena to take all the praise on his one, and he wouldn’t begrudge her it: it’s her first case as lead, and her best friend. “But thanks. I know I’ve still got a lot to keep working on.” Like how to contort his brain in the way Athena did to come up with Statue Charades. “I hope this whole ordeal doesn’t scare you out of law.”

Juniper shakes her head. “Absolutely not.” She sounds firm on this point, her resolve strengthening in the opposite direction of Apollo’s concern. “I want to be able to work with amazing lawyers like you to help people who end up in these situations. I want to be as good as Professor Courte was. I want to do what Prosecutor Blackquill said, and make her proud.”

Oh, to have a mentor whose legacy would be that - all the honest good they did, and nothing else. Not that Apollo envies Juniper (or Klavier) in her (their) grief, never, but he just - wonders. Despite himself. Stupid thoughts like that.

Speaking of Phoenix, he wonders where he has gotten off to and tells Athena he’s going to head out and look. Down the hallway, Myriam Scuttlebutt lurks in perpetual cardboard incognito, peering around a doorway. Apollo doesn’t think she notices him approaching, but she holds up a hand and swings it backward into his chest to make him stop, hissing “Shh!” rather loudly for someone apparently trying to maintain stealth. Apollo should be the mature adult here and shoo her along instead of stopping, but he’s vaguely curious as to what she’s trying to spy on, and he glances out.

Outside of the courtroom, Fulbright never strays far from Blackquill, waits at hand ready for trouble, but he has stepped to the side in a cursory gesture of not involving himself in the conversation. Blackquill, for his part, never looks at him; the gesture on his part is of pretending that Fulbright does not exist at all. Taka sits perched on his arm and he strokes the bird’s feathers as he converses with, of all people, Klavier. Apollo hadn’t quite realized how tall Blackquill is - much as he hates to admit it, most men are taller than him, and he doesn’t pay attention to the specifics of how they would all stack up against each other - but he has a couple inches on Klavier, especially with the way that Blackquill stands uncomfortably straight and upright, and Klavier casually slouches.

“—and far and away a more underhanded technique then I anticipated of you.” If he had to guess, Apollo figures this is a conversation about the forged tape and the analysis of it that Klavier had done. Or maybe he had an idea of how Klavier got in and out of everywhere he shouldn’t have been during the investigation. Or those two things are reasonably intertwined. “I will not make that mistake of underestimating you again.”

“Underestimating me?” Klavier repeats. Weirdly casual is how Apollo would choose to describe Klavier’s tone. Not particularly bothered by - well, everything that there is about Blackquill. What was it that he said, a long time back? “Not unpleasant”? Apollo can’t agree with that on principle. “Ja, you thought this pretty head had nothing in it?”

Very weirdly casual, Apollo amends. To the point that Klavier hasn’t corrected his course away from his usual, what the hell should Apollo even call that? - his usual flirty charm? (For a certain value of “charm”.)

“You aren’t that pretty,” Blackquill says dryly, and with that Apollo thinks he has entered yet another fever dream. His life seems like a series of successive but always slightly different fever dreams, but at least his teeth haven’t fallen out yet. “And I am well aware that you only look and act dumb.” A smirk crosses his lips. Klavier recoils in offense and Apollo can’t tell if it is or isn’t feigned. “No, I based my assumption of your capacity for sneaky tricks off of the fact that you, even as the remarkably intelligent prosecutor that you somehow are, have yet managed to turn one of the Wild Hunt’s own fiercest hounds into a dumpster-diving show poodle.”

Apollo’s heart drops straight through his feet. Blackquill has to be referring to Vongole - Blackquill knows about Vongole?

Beside Apollo, Myriam grumbles something and her arms fall to her sides, her pen no longer at the ready on her notepad. “I give up,” she mumbles, but then she turns toward Apollo, hitting him in the shoulder with the top corner of the cardboard. “Is this some sort of code they’re speaking in? Is this some - this can’t be…”

He’s not going to ask her what her assumption is or isn’t.

Klavier raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think she looks much like a poodle,” he says. Out of nowhere, Vongole is suddenly at his side, her ears relaxed and her tail idly swishing back and forth. She twists tight in a half-circle around Klavier, her nose raised, pointing at Taka, and Blackquill’s eyes follow her slow movements.

Blackquill can see her. Apollo, Phoenix, Trucy, and Vera - he thought that was all of them. And Klavier, and Kristoph. He thought that was why - it was only them, tangled in it as they were. But Blackquill—

“Besides,” Klavier adds, not sounding nearly as cold as Apollo would have expected him to be at this subject being brought up, “I fail to see how I am responsible for her decision to eat literal garbage.”

“Wait, are they talking about an actual dog?” Myriam mutters. “A - no, that can’t be right.”

“And with that attitude, I certainly see how you will never fix that problem,” Blackquill says, smoothing out a few feathers on one of Taka’s wings. Now Klavier frowns, his eyes narrowing. Blackquill doesn’t elaborate on what he means about either Klavier or Vongole, what exactly they have done wrong, and he instead adds, “But I do believe I must be on my way. There may be more to glean from the gummed mouth of that double-dealing fool of a professor.”

Klavier, already scowling, doesn’t change his expression, but he his voice is suddenly icy, sounding all the world like his brother at his worst, as he says, “Give him hell.”

“Oh,” Blackquill replies, “I intend to.” He turns on his heel, Taka alighting from his arm. “Fool Bright. Let us be off.”

Maybe the reason they assigned Fulbright to Blackquill was because they knew they’d need a detective with the patience of a saint to be stuck around him all this time. “As you insist, Prosecutor Blackquill! Until next time, Prosecutor Gavin.”

Klavier doesn’t say anything. He appears to have spaced out entirely, watching Blackquill’s back as he leaves. Vongole looks up at Klavier expectantly, waiting for something, and when he still doesn’t move, she darts off, slipping through the door as it’s closing behind Blackquill - as though she couldn’t just pass through it after it closed. Myriam raises her notepad again and scribbles something; Apollo glances over and just sees the word dog written and underlined twice. Impressive journalistic talents, he thinks, as behind him loud footsteps and louder voices herald the arrival of the others. Apollo steps back and straightens up, determined to look like he wasn’t eavesdropping. Myriam has no such reservations.

“Hey! Prosecutor Gavin!” Athena calls, waving to him across the lobby. He jumps, startled for a moment, and then relaxes into an easy smile. “Thanks so much for your help! We owe you one!”

His smile falters and doesn’t recover as immediately. “Ach, it was nothing, Fräulein. I’m simply glad that you were able to find Frau Professor’s killer.”

“Still,” Juniper says. “Thank you for all of your help. I - um, I’m Juniper Woods. I—”

“You are the Fräulein chosen to sing with me, of course.” Klavier gives her a small little bow of acknowledgement. Apollo suddenly wonders what would happen if he had shaken her hand, if iron would burn her the way they’ve had to be so careful with Vera. The way Klavier said these same iron rings left a scar on his brother’s hand. “Lovely to finally meet you, though I do dearly wish it could have been under better circumstances.”

“Me too,” Juniper says. “I’m sorry that you didn’t get the chance to see Professor Courte again. She mentioned to me how much there was that she wanted to talk to you about.”

Each time they’ve met these past few days, Apollo has kept a careful eye on Klavier, watching for whatever he’s trying to hide. But nothing’s hidden right now, Apollo thinks. Klavier’s smile crumples and what’s left isn’t simply grief, but more like distraught horror. More like the expression of someone being told of Courte’s death for the first time, not “yeah, she was looking forward to seeing you.” There’s no reason that should be a surprise to Klavier, but that’s what he seems to be: surprised that his mentor wanted to see him. Why would he think she wouldn’t?

“I - I’m sorry,” Juniper adds hastily, seeing Klavier’s brow furrow and him blink a few too many times in quick succession. “I shouldn’t have - have mentioned right now—” She rubs her own eyes with the back of her hand.

“Ah, not your fault,” Klavier says. He does a worryingly good job of keeping his tone breezy even with his head tilted back, hiding from them his eyes and any tears that may be gathering in them. “It is - it is as it is, now, and we to in some way or another live with it.” He falters, voice going softer as he speaks, until he seems to give up entirely on the pretense of having something to say. Lowering his head and shooting a bright, blinding, lying smile at Apollo, he adds, “I should be off now. I have spent enough time out of the office this week that I am sure Herr Chief is not pleased.”

“Just tell him that you were helping us!” Athena chirps. “He and Mr Wright are friends, and Prosecutor Edgeworth knows me and likes me! I can put in a good word for you.”

Klavier laughs. “Thank you for the offer, Fräulein, and I’ll let you know if that becomes necessary. Also” - he has barely turned away from them before he spins around and snaps his fingers, and Apollo can’t be sure that he didn’t do that all on purpose to be dramatic - “there was talk last night among the academy administration of, if the trial should end today, which as we know it did, they might extend the school festival to tomorrow, to have a proper honoring and celebration of Professor Courte’s life. Keep an ear out for that, and perhaps I will get to see you all tomorrow, ja?” He winks at Juniper.

“Oh, no,” Juniper whispers. “You mean I’ll still have to sing after all?”

“Good work, you two. Sorry I couldn’t get around to saying that sooner.”

Apollo had been pondering how to tell Athena that she might have to give up hope of a debrief with Phoenix until tomorrow; they had waited in the courthouse main lobby for twenty minutes after the Themis students left, until Phoenix finally called to say he would catch up to them later.

Later, though, is hours later, the afternoon wearing on and on, long after Trucy has arrived back from school. They have time to explain the trial to her in all of its horrible detail, leaving her with their same questions, and the only person available to answer them missing, and apparently not particularly inclined to tell them why he’s disappeared or when he’ll be back. It’s like Apollo’s first year at the agency again, except he and Trucy have someone else with them now.

“Thanks, Boss,” Athena says. “Where’d you go?”

“There were some things I wanted to know about Means,” Phoenix says, “so I had to go talk to Edgeworth to get me in to talk to Means myself for a bit.”

“What did you find out?” Athena asks. “What was the motive? Was it for-sure—”

Phoenix tosses his suit jacket over the back of the couch. “Yeah, Means was the one taking bribes,” he says. “Courte suspected that and went to confront him, on the stage, where he killed her. He had seen the note she made of props she would need for the mock trial and pieced together some aspects of the script from that, in order to make the murder seem like it was modeled after the script.”

“So Courte was - she was just a good person, after all,” Athena says softly. “And she was just trying to do the right thing.”

Phoenix shakes his head sadly. “And I suppose she thought that Means, her long-time coworker, would be reasonable enough that she could confront him alone without concern - or she was too fired-up to consider the possibility - and then he killed her.”

“You never really know someone,” Apollo says. Juniper’s friends, an odd bunch with odd secrets, certainly, turned out okay, yet still - still it was someone they trusted, someone the victim trusted. “So do you know what was going on with Means’ speech? And why his - why did—?”

“His teeth?” Phoenix asks, uncomfortably casual for the actual event that they’re talking about. He heads back for his desk, waving for them to follow, and he flings himself down in his chair and kicks his feet up on the desk. Some habits don’t change. “You recall that very interesting barb he made today, when he was trying to claim Juniper was the killer? The ‘in half’ remark? Did you wonder why he knew that?”

“She—” Apollo glances at Athena. Means wasn’t there that first day, when she told them. But the second day— “Juniper definitely had moments at the detention center where she looked - not exactly totally human. I guess I thought…”

He hadn’t thought about it at all, actually. He was more interested in Blackquill’s response.

Phoenix steeples his fingers together and rests them under his chin. “He said he suspected from that, and he—” He closes his eyes and presses his lips together. “I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you to imagine that a man like him, who forged evidence as an attorney and took bribes as a professor, also made some other kinds of deals.” His eyes snap open, blue now. “Means didn’t have the Sight. He shouldn’t have known. But he had what we’ll call an ongoing contract to get information like that about people that he thought could help him - against Juniper, or against…” He waves his hand. Apollo remembers arguing with him last night. “Whoever. Opposition research, of the fae sort. We’re probably fortunate he didn’t try to learn anything about us.”

Apollo reaches up to his face, his eye, without meaning to. He thinks about his dreams about drowning, the people he once knew who appear in them.

“What does this have to do with his teeth?” Athena sinks into her desk chair and slumps over to rest her head on her arms.

“One has to think was the fae on the other end of the contract very suddenly calling in payment for those services rendered.” Phoenix’s phrasing does a remarkable job of obscuring the actual horror of the situation.

“He offered up his teeth?” Apollo repeats.

“He didn’t say,” Phoenix says darkly, all the levity he feigned moments ago gone, “so I’m not sure he did. That may just have been what got extorted from him. All considered, probably lucky they took his teeth and not his tongue.” He shrugs, still far too casual. “Words are the weapon he needs this information for, after all. But I think he might be a lawyer who thought that his legal work was enough experience to be able to safely deal with them, and he was very much wrong.” His feet smack heavily against the floor as he sits up. He sighs. “It’s bad when the cost of a deal is worse than something that might be a curse.”

“What might be?” Athena asks, mumbling from how her cheek is smushed into her arm. Trucy sits on the floor, leaning up against her desk, quietly listening.

“The issue with Means’ speech. Why I had to give you the magatama, Apollo. Could be a curse. A self-aggrandizing man like him, I’d bet he’d be furious that his grand speeches make the audience physically incapable of paying attention to it and him. But on the other hand, he did use that to his advantage by moving the body during his speech. He knew that everyone would be put half to sleep by it and disinclined to even try to look around for where he was sitting.”

“So there was some sort of glamour in his words?” Apollo asks. “But we never had a problem following what he was saying any other time.”

“I’d guess it probably gets going once he hits over a minute or two of uninterrupted speechifying,” Phoenix says. “Presuming it’s a curse, and not something he chose. Which I couldn’t tell you. He was reluctant to answer anything, then the police wanted to talk to him again so I ran out of time. I was more concerned with finding out how he knew - about Juniper and whatever, anyway.”

That “and whatever” hangs in front of Apollo’s face as a very loose thread, one he desperately needs to pull.

“Oh,” Phoenix adds suddenly, and Apollo watches the metaphorical thread be snatched away from him. “While I was waiting to talk to Means, I got a call. Themis’ school festival is being extended - the mock trial and the concert will be held tomorrow. I’m going, since I might still be teaching a lecture. You two can have the day off or come along, whatever you like.”

“Can I skip school and come too?” Trucy asks.

“No,” Phoenix says. “You can come after your school lets out.”

“How was High School Drama, Day Two: Electric Boogaloo?” Clay asks.

“Not Guilty,” Apollo says. “Now I’d like to go sleep for the next sixteen hours and hope I don’t have nightmares about my teeth falling out.”

“Oh weird,” Clay says. “I have that dream sometimes.”

#fic: the witches of los angeles #roddy fanfics

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pinksweatergettingbetter · 7 years

Text

warning, the following has mainly snarky (and possibly furious) opinions on Spirit of Justice. Reader discretion is advised.

Trucy, you don’t need to take sides. There’s one side. The truth. And both Apollo and Phoenix are on that side.

They’re not at the same bench but they’re on the same team. It’s gonna be ok.

“I’m sorry too, little lady! this is all my fault..”

Oh so trucy gets an apology, but not Apollo? cool cool whatever

Trucy, if Phoenix and Apollo become bitter enemies over a property dispute then they weren’t really all that close to begin with.

Dhurke: invalides trucy’s feelings while simultaneously spouting more of his Manly Man shit

“one minute we’re trading blows, and the next, we’re having drinks together”

well if that’s his mentality i can see why he thinks its ok do be an utter fuckwad to everyone

“We’re simple creatures at heart! Hah-hahahaha!”

yes... men are so simple at heart... they’re just a bunch of neanderthals... thanks Dhurke, truly you are the way to the future.

To be honest, I am glad that this is a civil case. When I first saw the publicity I was sure they’d made Phoenix a prosecutor for no reason and I was furious.

I’m not super glad at the way things turned out but at least the bullshit counter didn’t go into the red and explode.

Phew. I’m actually sighing in relief here. Maybe I can pretend what follows is all a friendly game or something.

Aww; poor Judgey’s confused :(

...they seriously don’t need to have a falling out to be on the opposite side of a courtroom. Lawyers face each other all the time.

They don’t have to hate each other, they just have to keep things professional, otherwise they’d cause a conflict of interest. Like... it’s not ideal but tbh it’s more a danger to their clients than each other.

Y’know, I’m gonna dare to be optimistic here; as much as I hate this storyline and most people in it, this is actually an interesting and character-developing scenario.

Apollo has to face off against his mentor, the guy who... well I’d say Kristoph taught him all his tricks, but Phoenix was a sort of moral guiding force, I guess. Apollo standing up and holding his own against a superior is a legitimate way to show that he’s come into his own. Plus, since it’s not framed in a negative light (or at least, it shouldn’t be) it’s more impactful than phoenix being straight up evil since that would make it easy to take him down. This is a contest between two people who simply happen to be on opposite sides of the chess board. Again, it’s a pretty legit way to show Apollo’s growth.

...that said, I just wish it wasn’t happening after zero character build up and a heaping serving of bullshit. :T

Oh well. At least they got something right.

it is pretty hilarious how much they’re trying to up the drama though. it’s not that deep, guys

I guess Atishon just doesn’t have legs

[snerk] his shitty speeches are actually kinda funny. ...if a little cliché.

...he’s standing... but I'm still not ruling out that he’s legless...

Tbh, even though Atishon is clearly lying, the fact that Datz basically threatened the orb out of Buff does make this kind of in their favour.

...Apollo, don’t overcomplicate the case. All you have to do is prove that it’s not the crystal and you can have it.

Reasons Apollo would make a good rebel: He doesn’t blab his rebelness all over the place for no reason.

SEXY PAN UP SHOT FOR MS. SKYE

nice ankles, ms skye.

“Ema..?”

“Use some manners, we’re in court”

thats not the way you acted the last time you were called as his witness :/

whoa seriously whats with the sudden crazy 180 for Ema? Yeah, she’s grumpy, but suddenly she’s acting like Apollo’s some rude little shit off the street. Why is she upset that he’s going up against Phoenix? Why does he need to apologize? JUST BEING ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE COUTROOM DOESN’T MAKE YOU ENEMIES.

or did the SOJ team forget the lessons we learned in the trilo–– oh who am i kidding they’ve never even laid eyes on those.

“You’ll never get the job done with that attitude. Take it from someone who’s been there” Been where???? Been where, Ema?????? what the fuck are you talking about what is going on

haha the fey statue and the urn were ‘stolen’, huh? yeah. stolen from a better game.

pfft. So Buff’s some Kaitou Kid type, huh?

y’know ive been neglecting to mention it but have you noticed how much they skimp on animation compared to DD? DD had like 20 tiny animated cutscenes, and SOJ has one lame one at the beginning of each case to set it up. I can’t believe they even slashed the animation budget.

has anyone noticed how unfocused 3D phoenix looks. he looks like he’s just. staring out into space.

i love they don’t use gendered pronouns to refer to Buff’s kid. Remember the last time they did that? Mr. Andrews......

“I was shocked to see the urn that came from Kurain in Kurain”

anyway quit referencing actually good games, SOJ. Back to the shame corner for you.

oh COME ON. How do you steal a fucking wall relief?!

and he really couldn’t just get a fucking permit? what the fuck is this

“but good intentions are no get-out-of-jail-free-card”

they are a sentence-lightening card, though! either way, this is one of the things i like most about AA. No matter how good your intentions were you still dont get away with cold-blooded murder.

OR KIDNAPPING, AURA. HAVE FUN IN JAIL YOU SHITTY EXCUSE FOR LESBIAN REPRESENTATION.

every single theft of an artifact can be attributed to Dr. Buff. every single one.

alright, so we’re back to that whole ‘missing object report’. Thing is, unless there really IS a Crystal of Ami Fey, this wouldn’t work out. Atishon has to provide evidence that he owned the item, or that it existed in the first place. If this crystal turns out to be made up I’m gonna pitch a fuckin fit.

Don’t disappoint me, SOJ.

“Wimperson”

ah, SOJ, with all the comedic genius of a third-grader.

...to be fair i could say the same about Larry but i like larry and AA1. and it also plays into his phrase-thingy!

seriously. gimme pics of the crystal or we’re gonna have some serious problems.

“So how do you know this item is the thing he’s looking for”

“he said so”

THATS. NOT EVIDENCE.

oh judge, your oldness never ceases to be to be enjoyable

(that wasn’t sarcasm btw i love that dumb running gag)

seeing phoenix scream from the opposite side of the table is very enjoyable. just because i love seeing phoenix scream but also like having that scream not mean something bad for my case.

i get to have my cake and eat it too! <3

um i dont think you can put dashes in email addresses.

“Don’t tell me!”

“Oh, but I will anyway.”

I love Apollo so, so much.

so you looked far enough into this that you tried to hack his computer but you’ll accept “its mine cause i said so” as concrete proof of something??

“Maybe the recipient of the email was a dog lover!”

he might be on the other side with the kid gloves off but phoenix is still Phoenix “a baseball also has stitches” Wright.

fuck. he walks to the bench. he cant not have legs.

...but maybe........

what the fuck

Atishon has the same birthday as my dad

DISGUSTING

oh my god, seeing phoenix /sweating/ on the other side is even more surreal

i also love that everyones making ‘politicians are gross’ jokes willynilly but they all forget that they’re Criminal Defence Lawyers

“This is... Quite... a thing... you’ve said”

I'm wheezing

this is turning out to be way funnier than i expected

please SOJ I'm having fun don’t stop me now

i mean he has a point. if Atishon leant the item to Bluff to study that still means that Atishon owned it in the first place.

HOWEVER, WHERE THE FUCK IS THE PROOF OF THE ORIGINAL ITEM IN ANY WAY RESEMBLING WHAT WE’VE GOT HERE.

its so weird to see phoenix on the wrong side of the bench that i keep getting his voice wrong when i read him out loud. i keep making him sound deep and authoritative instead of... well, how he usually sounds.

“Well, grandchildren ARE meant to be spoiled... I mean, that’s what grandfathers are for!”

judgeyyyyyyyyy

im crying

ema: can i fuck off now

“lets get more info on the crystal”

FINALLY. thank you, athena.

NO, NOT ITS HISTORY, DAMNIT

PROVE THAT IT EXISTS AND YOU OWNED IT.

“back in the old country”

...england..?

pft i though his testimony said “The Hilarious History” instead of illustrious history and i was so ready

“he protected the spirit mediums, a minority back then, from the rest of the locals”

well thats a big fat lie because

A) Kurain village is build on mediums

B) no way the Fey clan would allow a male ruler

we could reaaaaaaaallly use some photo evidence, Atishon.

“One Ives Shineto”

ok what the FUCK. where the hell are all the women?! HEY. SOJ TEAM. DID YOU EVEN GLANCE AT THE oh of course you didnt fuck meeeeeeeeee

also whats that pun

FFFF PHOENIX YA LIL SHIT

“The transformation the mediums underwent when channeling spirits frightened the locals”

i am glad to know changing your entire bone structure is as scary looking as it sounds. of course, i doubt people would be frightened for too long when they were talking to deceased loved ones.

i must say they did do a good job writing Atishon’s lines.

“The Kurain channeling technique is known to have originated from Kooraheen, and Ami was said to travel there to train”

No, Ami invented the technique, and according to your backstory, she lived there first. Can you even keep your own facts straight?

I mean, apart from all this being bullshit and i hate it.

i legit cant believe it took THAT LONG for phoenix to point out the fact that the handover agreement was signed under duress.

that'd be like, the first thing i pointed out.

...ah, there it is. I knew this couldn't stay a happy little civil case for long. Here comes the murder.

Also, really Phoenix? You didn’t bring up the fact that he might have been killed any earlier too?

Now that theyre bringing up the pile of books, I realize how ridiculous it is that there were so many of them on the ground. Pulling out one book might dislodge one or two next to it, but not the entire shelf. For the books to have fallen like that, they would have needed to have been shoved from the other side, or for the shelf to have listed forwards. neither of those things are possible. and nobody noticed this?!

i mean the only reason i didnt think about it was because i knew this was murder from the start.

Man, Phoenix, with all your “with respect for the dead” talk, it sure did take you a while to bring up the fact that you knew he was murdered and the police should probably be getting on that right now.

>edit: Actually I just realized how despicable that is; keeping the fact that this was murder secret just to use it later on as a quick bargaining chip in your civil case.

Hey capcom? You can screw up the series all you like but FUCK you for making Phoenix a skeezy piece of shit on par with the likes of von Karma. Because you know who else withholds information that sensitive for such a petty reason? MANFRED VON KARMA.

Fuck you, capcom, fuck you, fuck you, FUCK you.

“Did you forget who you were up against, Mr. Justice?”

All I do is hurl baseless accusations!!

wow the second this turned into murder i just got tired of this case. Also, Phoenix, you better back your butt back to your seat. Being a murder case, this requires a prosecutor... something that you are not.

theres AN AUTOPSY REPORT. WHY ISNT THIS A SEPARATE TRIAL. THIS SHOULD BE A SEPARATE TRIAL; THIS SHOULD BE BEING... TRIAL-ED IN ANOTHER COURTROOM. you can reference it, and use it as evidence, BUT YOU CAN’T JUST COMBINE THEM.

Damnit, Capcom, I TOLD YOU NOT TO DISAPPOINT ME.

BUT YA JUST COULDN’T HELP IT, COULD YOU.

...Datz is in the gallery... But he was just in jai–– fuck it whatever

ok now that this is a murder trial Atishon’s non-answers aren’t funny anymore, theyre ANNOYING. I WANT THIS SHIT TO BE OVER AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. YAP ME A CONTRADICTION OR I’LL CRAM YOUR BELOVED PLAQUE UP YOUR POLITICALLY INEPT ASS.

“Try me, o lord of plebs”

its been a long time since any meme-y type person has called someone else a pleb... please try to keep up, SOJ.

i love that phoenix, at the end of each statement, politely states “get the fuck on with it, asshat”

why the fuck did he

fall asleep what

OOO THE JUDGE YELL

AW YEA

“What did I ever do to deserve this?”

you existed in the first place, Apollo. I’m sorry.

No.............

I do not like that Phoenix used the phrase, “Witness, I think it’s time for you to come clean.”

You know who uses phrases like that.

Assholes.

“You should know I always come fully prepared, Justice!”

( buy it, buy it, buy it, buy it––)

...Right, so Phoenix isn’t a prosecutor but he sure as hell has been doing a lot of prosecutorial things. Calling all the witnesses, explaining the case, etc.

Oh and he and and Atishon still didn’t tell anybody that Buff was most likely murdered right off the bat so ffffffuck you capcom

Fuck you, Datz. Stop laughing and fucking focus on the fact that you’ve been accused of murder and it’s kinda tough on your ol’ pal Apoll– oh wait silly me i forgot none of you give a rats ass about him. All you do is laugh and eat and sit around waiting for Sadmad to come home.

“Better brace yourself, son”

Hey guess what Dad warranty expires if you haven’t made or tried to make contact in 20 years so get that word out of your nasty mouth, Dhurke.

“Worried this might make a rift between you two...

...and that you might then leave the agency”

haha

“Hahaha. She has an active imagination”

hahahah

hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA

“...Nothing a little persuasion couldn’t handle.”

Capcom. If it was something douchey. I will tear you in half.

SEXY PAN UP SHOT FOR

robot guy

i remember when i used to be excited for each new case. now I'm just scared what new horrors the next will bring.

hang on why does the drone not have a special sound font? if it didnt disguise the operator’s voice it would be kind of obvious who they were...

HOLY SHIT MISSILES

SO... THE WHOLE “BOMBS IN THE COURTROOM ARE HORRIFIC THING” FROM DD IS JUST FORGOTTEN, HUH??

hang on.

“Capitalist pig; I’ll turn you into pork stroganoff”

is “Sarge” legit Russian, then? That explains the “Komandir” thing. Shit, I have to change my voice.

ok so Sarge is written with an American Sargent phonetic accent, but uses Russian rankings and seems to be communist. What am I missing???

“I guess he does dress like he’s in the military...”

hes a paratrooper!!! why dont you know that? i thought you grew up with him.

“That’s true. Papa didn’t keep our house locked up.”

...the... archeologist... with a house full of priceless treasures... didn’t lock his fucking doors.

hey congrats for trusting the mediums and all but guess what? thats irresponsible as fuck and incredibly stupid for a supposed thief so I'm kinda surprised it took you this long to be discovered/bumped off.

those have got to be nerf bullets cause firing a GUN in court is just fucking ridiculous. like too far for Ace Attorney. Melee weapons, ok. Long range firearms? No.

...Though... Note to self... Next time, when creating parody prosecutor, you now have legit grounds to just give him a fucking gun........

“Sorry, but I’m afraid lawyers are missile-proof.”

Note to self. Upgrade gag prosecutor to missile launcher.

ooh, i see this drone is in the same vein as the Assassin’s Radio.

“Courtroom warriors don’t use guns or missiles, because evidence is our weapon of choice!”

Ahah! THATS why prosecutors are so violent. They never have any evidence to back up their assertions so they just fuckin ASSAULT people.

i... had a little chuckle at ‘truth bomb’

“What’s with him and Siberia of all places?”

Well context wise it seems he's some kind of... Defected-to-communist American?

Huh. Athena’s powers must be based purely on sound waves then. Interesting.

Anyway, it’s mood matrix time! Hooray!!! I’ve warmed a lot to the Mood Matrix to be honest. I like the glowy lights.

I’m gonna make a guess right now that something was on fire. Cause thats some PTSD shit right there.

pfft the gallery was so on board with their new judge overlord. Also thank goodness this is Ace Attorney and this shit is allowed to fly, cause you’d get your ass handed to you if you tried this in real court, pal.

Um, I wouldn’t dig any deeper if sarge is still in such a state. It’s not... safe. Either that or you best hope that thing’s bottomless magazine has run out. Plus, I love that whoever’s watching over the actual Sarge in the Lobby hasn’t tried to stop them when they noticed them SCREAMING AND PRESSING THE ‘FIRE’ BUTTON REPEATEDLY.

Or they’ve left Sarge unattended and the Dark Age of the law isn't over because it was an omnipresent thing to begin with...

its ok, game. contrary to what you think, you did write Sarge’s backstory in a memorable enough way for me to remember it up until now.

Huh.

HUH.

So... the person involved in writing Ace Attorney Investigations... Has written a sequence in which we must burn evidence to prove a point, huh?

DONT YOU HINT AT ME, GAME

that solemn moment of reflection doesn’t include Phoenix cause he’s over behind his desk bawling his eyes out

“I’LL BE YOUR NEW PAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

actually Athena’s got a point. Her tragic backstory is much more similar to Sarge’s than Apollo’s. She can properly relate to losing one’s last family member in a horrific way.

S––

Well, considering her age, Cutesie Pan-up shot for Armie.

Apollo’s having serious Robin Newman flashbacks right about now

ahhhhhhhhhh. her mom was Russian. It all makes sense. Tbh just for now, forgetting everything else, this kind of does feel like an old case. I’m at peace... for now.

i guess it’s less of an orb and more of some kind of lantern then. Cause you can’t really burn a crystal

unless its

whitcrystal

hahah

hahahahahahahhaha

so far I'm ranking the cases from best to worst: Magical, This part of Revolution, Foreign, Rite and Storyteller.

sgsjgsjsjjs athena’s INTENSE LOOK OF HUNGER as Apollo burns the orb

“I wanna see me some sweet mama goddess”

damn shit thats her face

thats uh

ohhhh

oh i see. I was wondering what the ‘great power’ the orb could bestow upon people was, and now I realize that since it depicts her face, if someone knows her name, they could channel her. And since she's basically an actual goddess that would bestow some serious power.

not bad, not bad at all.

i know i highly dislike Kooraheen but i legit feel kinda blessed

“The issue is crystal clear”

*seals phoenix’s fate with a fucking pun*

dont keep saying “did we just win” before the verdict is handed down, you'll jinx it.

oh hey, blackmail. its like a perfect reenactment of Capcom getting Phoenix to sign onto this sequel.

Phoenix: According to the legend, once the founder returned... She would bestow spiritual power onto the person who solved the riddle.

Apollo: ...Y-youre kidding, right?!

[Apollo looks flummoxed, the gallery whispers. We cut back to Phoenix’s smirk, and then––”

???: Phoenix... Just give it up.

[Phoenix screams in shock. We pan back to Apollo......... Who now has D-Cup breasts and a very familiar face.]

/...i wish.

legit tho i cant believe he's trying to pull this. I'm cackling

this is the lawyeriest lawyer ploy ive ever seen

“What’s gotten into him?”

bad writing.

sdsgsdhjafhgj EVEN THE JUDGE IS CALLING BULLSHIT IM CRYI

(sigh) i guess we’re really gonna have to finish this, aren’t we. oh well. on we go! let’s forge ahead!

y’know i just remembered that Pearl appeared like, once in this. Was that her only part? I guess she just existed to remind us that Kurain village used to have girls in it.

noooooooo fuuuuuuuuuuck

i really hope the contradiction doesn’t require pressing because i aint sitting thru this fuck’s antics again.

it has rounded corners.

and its huge.

phoenix and apollo’s objections are too similar, i can never tell who’s screaming.

“There haven't been many murders there, I take it”

well........ not “many”

i love that Atishon pledges to banish murdeer from Kurain village and Apollo is all “yea good luck with that” like Murder is inevitable, even in a tiny village like Kurain.

Thats. kinda terrifying.

...though considering the way Kurain is...

i cant tell phoenix and apollo’s voices apart (sigh)

i never know whose objecting

Phoenix: my client couldn't have viewed the murder directly from where he said he was, but the fact remains that he had inside knowledge of said crime!

...phoenix, you’re just trying to help apollo along, right? you didnt seriously believe that that sounded positive to your case, instead of Shady as Fuck, right??

“You talk big, Mr. Justice, but do you have what it takes?”

he just finished telling Phoenix he was about to put what Phoenix taught him into practice. Phoenix should be swallowing a lump in his throat and trying not to cry of pride right now.

“that suitcase could be a weapon anyone could use!”

yeah... yeah! even someone in a wheelchair!! oh wait wrong case.

..........but we still have someone in a wheelchair

a 3D crimscene view

haven't seen that shit since AAAJ

‘THAT SHITSTAIN ON THE BOOK PROVES HE WAS HAVIN THE COFFEE SQUIRTS, CASE CLOSED BOYS”

sorry i just felt like being vulgar

“and there it is, the final excuse cornered killers are so fond of”

holy shit

i love apollo

phoenix shut up please, just shut up

let it end

let me rest

oh wait

ah here we go.

“hes a bright young politician with a future ahead of him, its in our nations best interests to avoid burdening him with the taint of scandal”

hey, uh Enshiro

ill never forgive you for putting those words in Phoenix Wright’s mouth

“Lawyer! Do something! Or a bad thing will happen to ‘her’!”

no? nobody else heard that incredibly obvious threat? nobodys gonna

“whats he talking about? well, i can ponder that later. for now...”

FUCK

YOU

DO YOU HAVE A BRAIN THAT IS CONNECTED TO YOUR FUCKING EARS?!

HOW THICK HEADED DO YOU HAVE TO FFUCKING BE TO NOT RECOGNIZE A GODDAMN THREAT WHEN YOU HEAR ONE YOU

YOU

YOU PUTRID PICKLED RED PEPPER?!?!??!?!

Athena: oh yeah i also heard Atishon making blatant threats at Phoenix but meh, phoenix made me pinky swear not to tell.

I’m not shitting a lung in fury, I’m just getting rid of an organ i dont need through the nearest available passage. I’m perfectly calm and not cursing this game, Eshiro and his entire team to the pits of their own stupid made up hell.

“I had no idea. This must’ve been excruciating for him.”

i wanted to write a sarcastic jingle but i had trouble coming up with rhymes, so the blunt bottom line is:

when you’re not good at writing, simply steal clever and impactful plots from previous iterations so that you’ll seem clever and exciting

i mean

nobody even remembers Farewell my Turnabout anymore, right????

what the fuck is his deal with being king

OH SHUT UP DURKE

GO FUCK YOURSELF

think youre gonna steal Franziska and Mia’s thunder????????????? no

you aren’t a fucking fraction of an inch as cool as either of them.

“he’s saved my neck so many times”

when

“where there’s a will, there’s a way”

how about where theres a whip, theres a better game?

“wait................... maybe we can summon the founder now that we can see her face??”

aww. you got there in the end, didnt you apollo.

...that doesnt automatically spare Maya’s life. Pearl is also a spirit medium. And i’m fairly certain there are other–– oh wait SOJ retconned that neverMIND

anyway, Atishon could still bump Maya off and then force Pearl to channel Mamma Kooraheen

OH MY GOD HE JUST BROUGHT UP PEARL

WHY PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID

WIMPERSON BROUGHT UP PEARL

THE IDIOT VILLAIN BROUGHT UP THE FLAW IN YOUR BRILLIANT PLAN

GSEGFISGUILSGIULSGUI;SRHG

“pearl wouldn't help you if anything happened to maya”

um. you morons think he’d politely ask her to help??? he's already kidnapped someone and threatened their death?? he and his founder aren't above torture or blackmail????????????

you FUCKING MORONS

why even bother resigning? just do what you did before and let him go to jail.

...this’d better just be a lead up to his breakdown animation

YOU COCKSUCKING FUCKSTAINS JUST END IT ALREADY

END IT END IT END IT EDN TI EDNEI HDFI HSRLG SIHFLIHIR HF;LIVHLSIRHIGHISRHOVGLORIH’WI’HSGOI’WSGZIHSI

“if only you'd been smart enough to kill the girl, too...”

wow

...what the fuck

well that was... interesting.

i cant even celebrate Phoenix congratulating Apollo, I'm just so tired

there are like 85 sarcastic remarks i could make but I'm just so exhausted

yay we got the orb

dootdootdoot dootdootdoot

even the judge doesnt want to have anything more to do with this.

im right there with ya judgey

“All I can say is, thats my boy!”

NO, YOU DONT GET TO CLAIM PARENTAL PRIDE OF THIS KID

HES NOT YOUR BOY

YOU BARELY RAISED HIM

GO HOME AND DO YOUR SHITTY COUP

“Still, its kinda nice to be appreciated”

if only you actually were, Apollo

yeah, thought so... ill bet they dont even channel her. cop out.

“tsk, thats no fun” indeed, trucy

i love how nobodys like “OK WHERE’S MAYA??? IS SHE OK???”

its fine her whereabouts are unknown and the last info on her was just that her life was in danger

pfffff

its alright, Armie has a place at the WAO

"i knew if i admitted i could walk, id have to leave the house”

uh honey newsflash: you can leave the house in a wheelchair too. I'm pretty sure your dad would let you stay inside anyway

christ how fucking corny can you get. I CAN WALK AGAIN. why dont we just have Tiny Tim in here throwing away his crutch and dancing a fucking jig

see, there we are. Maya’s still in danger you fuck wits.

and part one is over, folks! i am pooped. and furious.

till next time.

#sulking over SOJ #im so.... i #this fucking game good christ this fucking game

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