#or more like edgeworth would never have mentioned his feelings ever in his life if he wasn't sure phoenix reciprocates. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tayterbean · 1 year

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FEBRUWHUMP DAY SIX

miles edgeworth

secrets revealed

It wasn’t your place - you knew that. But as much as you knew that, you just couldn’t allow yourself to stand by and watch it happen. You’d done it for too long already. After tonight, no matter the outcome, there would be no more.

You entered Miles Edgeworth’s office and closed his door behind you in the matter of a second. You looked up at him after, and he was glaring at you suspiciously, staring through his eyebrows.

You shook your head. “I can’t do it anymore,” you admitted, emotion overtaking you, “I can’t, and I won’t. I’m not going to just stand by and watch you destroy yourself - I can’t.”

He stayed silent, his glare growing angrier with each word you spoke. You were treading on very thin ice. One misstep…

“You won’t listen to me. You won’t try to help yourself, you won’t go to rehab, you won’t tell anyone else, you…” You scoffed. “Do you even want to stop?”

He held his gaze for a moment longer before abruptly standing. “I refuse to discuss this with you, Miss L/N.”

You came to stand in front of the door, preventing him from leaving. “Well, I refuse to leave until I say my piece. I’ve kept silent for you long enough, Edgeworth.”

“Y/N, I am not afraid to call security on you! I swear it, I-!”

“Stop it, Miles! Just… just stop. Just stop and look at yourself for a second. Can’t you see what it’s doing to you?”

He’d have to be blind not to see it, you thought bitterly.

Over the past couple of months, the prosecutor’s skin had taken on a paleness, a gray undertone that looked unhealthy in more ways than one. He’d become thin, losing his muscle mass and becoming a skeleton of the man he once was. His hair had become brittle, there were constant bags under his eyes, he was almost always shaking… all things the drugs had reduced him to.

Truthfully, it broke your heart to see him like this.

“My personal affairs and recreation are no concern of yours,” Edgeworth said lowly, bringing you back to the present.

“It is when what you’re doing is hurting you… Miles, I care about you, I care about you a lot. What you’re doing to yourself… it breaks my heart.”

“No, no. Don’t you dare… dare, pity me.”

“I’m not pitying you. It breaks my heart to see you this way because I care about you, but that isn’t enough to stop you.” You felt your eyes welling over with tears, but did your best to fight them back. “I can’t… I can’t let you keep doing this, Miles… I just can’t, so… So if you don’t tell him, then I will.”

He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, confused, but then raised them when the realization came. A second later, his eyes narrowed in angry suspicion. “You wouldn’t.”

“Yes, I would, and I’m going to. I refuse to sit by and watch this any longer than I already have.” A tear fell, and you let out a heavy breath. “I’m sorry… but my mind’s made up… Now, are you going to tell him or not?”

He stayed silent, giving you the angriest, most upset, most betrayed expression you’ve ever seen. It twisted your heart, practically mangled it, but you, somehow, we’re able to remain strong.

When you realized you weren’t going to receive an answer, you gave a simple nod. “Okay,” you said curtly.

And with that, you walked out of the office.

—————

You didn’t even have to wait a full day to make good on your promise, for the next morning, Phoenix Wright was in Edgeworth’s office, demanding answers.

You’d heard the yelling from your own office, and decided with a heavy heart that you had to do it then, or you never would.

“Edgeworth, look at yourself! Whatever you’re doing, it isn’t healthy and you need help!”

“Wright, this is completely out of line! My personal life is none of your business, not to mention that-“

Edgeworth abruptly stopped as you opened his office door, turning to look at you with a shocked expression. It only took him a second to realize, and once he did you could no longer bear to look at him. That look of his made you feel like you were among the lowest scum on the planet which, to him, you probably were.

Phoenix, on the other hand, was simply confused. With a sigh, you softly closed the door shut behind you. You gave no warning to what you were about to say; you simply looked at Phoenix and spit it out.

“He’s using drugs, Phoenix.”

After a moment, the attorney’s face turned horrified. “… What?”

You nodded grimly. “About four months now. I don’t know specifics - I think maybe heroin - but… but he won’t listen to me.”

You spared a glance at the prosecutor and instantly regretted it. That look… you’d never forget it, not as long as you lived. It was the most menacing, hate-filled, angry look you had ever seen anyone give another human being.

“No, no, that’s not true… Edgeworth, that’s not true, right?” Phoenix asked, looking at the prosecutor helplessly.

The latter remained silent, shifting only his eyes and giving his glare to the attorney. As soon as Phoenix saw that look, you could tell by his eyes that he knew. He knew, and he was pissed.

“Miles, how could you do this to yourself?! Why would you do this to yourself? Do… Do you have any idea how dangerous this stuff is? How bad for you, how-?”

“Stop talking, Phoenix Wright, before I make you.”

The attorney clammed up, shocked.

You shook your head. “Like you even could, Miles. Heroin doesn’t exactly make you strong, does it?”

You ignored the venomous look he was giving you and turned to Phoenix. You gave a shrug, fighting back tears once again. “He won’t listen to me,” you admitted, “but he’ll listen to you.” You lowered your voice, stepping closer and placing a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder. “Just get him into rehab… please.”

You didn’t wait for a response before taking your leave, wanting to be away from Edgeworth’s hateful eyes as quickly as possible. Once outside of the office, the tears began flowing, and there was no stopping them this time.

By the end of the day, Miles Edgeworth had been taken to a rehabilitation facility for his drug addiction. You had no clue what Phoenix said or did that you couldn’t, and that fact stung slightly. Well, more like burned an extreme amount, but this situation wasn’t about you. What mattered was that Miles was getting the help he needed… your feelings didn’t need to interrupt that process.

—————

Miles Edgeworth spent thirty days in a rehab facility, but it was ninety-three before you saw him again. Not because he didn’t want to see you, even though he probably didn’t. The truth was, you didn’t even give him the chance to avoid you - you were way ahead of him in that regard.

You’d started working remotely, only entering your office when absolutely necessary. You’d begun purposefully avoiding places where the prosecutor frequented. You eliminated nearly every possibility for him to see you, and as much as you tried to convince yourself that it was solely because you thought he wouldn’t want to see you, you could never fully discredit the truth. Which was, of course, that you felt too hurt and ashamed to even be in his presence.

You were sitting at your kitchen table, finishing up a report for the day, when someone knocked at your door. You didn’t think much of it - your neighbors were always asking to borrow things, and Phoenix also visited once or twice a week for no set reason.

You went to the door and opened it without a second thought. Your entire being, and even the world around you, froze when you realized who had come knocking.

“I’m… sorry for dropping in unannounced,” Miles Edgeworth said, avoiding eye contact with you, “but I fear it was the only way I could get to speak with you.” He looked up, giving a regretful, sad smile.

You stood there in complete shock for another moment before gathering yourself, forcing a nod. “Yeah, um… no, it’s fine. Come on in.”

You stepped inside and he followed you timidly, looking anywhere but at you. You seated yourself awkwardly atop your kitchen counter - for some reason, sitting higher up made you feel slightly more comfortable. Like you had some sort of control over what was about to happen, even though you absolutely did not.

After a prolonged, slightly uncomfortable silence, the prosecutor spoke softly. “I’m… I’m three months clean. Today.”

You couldn’t allow yourself not to smile. “That’s wonderful, Miles,” you said sincerely. “I’m really, really glad to hear that…”

He gave an attempt at an appreciative smile, but it seemed pained. Burdened, almost. “Yes, well… I’m afraid that does little to help soothe my conscience.”

You simply sat quietly, hoping he would continue on his own. Eventually, with a heavy sigh, he did.

“It’s no secret why I haven’t seen you around, certainly… And I’d like to apologize for that. For everything. For all the trouble I caused with my… recklessness.” He spat out the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. “I’m… on a better path now. I’m… coping.”

You felt that was the end of what he was going to say for the time being, but waited a few seconds just to be sure. Once the silence passed, you nodded. “As I said, I’m… I’m really glad to hear that, Miles. And thank you. Hearing what you have to say, it, um… it means a lot.”

Once you finished, he paused before looking up at you curiously. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed in confusion, as if he were trying to decipher you. “You… there’s something you’d like to ask me,” he said hesitantly, as if he still weren’t entirely sure. “Isn’t there?”

His abruptness caught you off guard, so for a few moments you could do nothing but stare. Once you collected yourself, you looked away, crossing your arms over your chest. “Uh, y-yeah, I guess,” you mumbled. You thought for a few moments about how to phrase what you had to say. After a brief silence, you sighed, and the words came pouring out.

“You only got help after Phoenix told you to,” you said softly, looking down in shame. “And I mean right after… So, I guess I’ve just been wondering why… why I wasn’t enough. Why me caring about you, wanting you to get help, wasn’t enough… And I know that’s so selfish to think, b-“

“It isn’t selfish,” the prosecutor interrupted softly, “not at all… It’s a valid question, and I’d like to try to provide you with an answer.”

You only nodded, using your sleeve to sheepishly wipe away at the threatening tears in your eyes. Edgeworth sighed, sauntering closer to the countertop as he spoke.

“I know my words don’t mean very much, but I can assure you the situation had nothing to do with you not being enough. In fact, it was very nearly the opposite.”

You looked up curiously, meeting his eyes for the first time in a while. You kept your gaze there as he continued.

“Wright, he… he has a way with words, unlike anyone I’ve ever met. He was able to get through to me even when I couldn’t get through to myself… and he did that through you.”

His eyes flicked up to yours, but he looked away before he started speaking again. “He got through to me how much I was hurting not only myself, but you, as well. How you had only been wanting to help me, and in turn I had practically abandoned you. How all you ever did was care for me, and I…” He trailed off, shaking his head with a pained grimace. “It pains me, to think of how I treated you, how careless I was… and for that I’m truly sorry. But I need you to know that you did nothing wrong, and you were always more than enough… I have no idea how long it would have taken me to get better if not for you.”

By that point, slow tears had started falling down your face - there was no more holding them back. You had no words to say, as you surely would have gotten choked up if you even tried to speak. The only thing you could think of to do was hop down from the counter and take the prosecutor in an embrace, which is exactly what you did.

Edgeworth was taken by slight surprise, but relaxed quickly and fell into an instinctual protective mode, one that was built into all humans, no matter their personality. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders gently, allowing you to rest your head against his chest. He was warm and smelled nice - clean, like how he used to before the drugs. It was a very reassuring smell.

“Thank you,” you said tearfully after a time. You let out a sigh of relief. “I’m just so glad you’re better…”

He tightened his hold on you slightly, pulling you closer. “Thank you… I don’t know if I would be, if not for you.”

And then, in a gesture that was so un-Edgeworthlike that you nearly gasped, the man bent down and placed a quick peck of a kiss to the side of your head.

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notactivehereanymorebye · 2 years

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do you have any favorite songs on any of your f/o playlists’s ? and if you’d like- what do they mean/represent to you!

ohh fun fun, thank u for this question!! i luv talking about my music hehe

one of my favorite songs ever ever ever is my baby's taking me home by sparks, and i heavily associate it with edgeworth and the comfort he provides me. it's a fairly simplistic song in lyrics, with it consisting only of the lyric "my baby's taking me home" until a bridge towards the very end of the song that re-contextualizes the repetition that follows. a relationship between two people who struggle to understand the world, struggle to find coherent meaning in places it is said to be, but see and understand the world in the same unique way, and thanks to that, find comfort in each other. "a rainbow forms, but we're both colorblind, but we can hear what others can't hear, we can hear the sound of a chorus singing, home, my baby's taking me home." it really resonates with me especially due to well.. being an autistic person who is fighting to understand the world, and edgeworth being in the same boat. rarely have i felt the same emotional connection and understanding that i constantly feel with him, and that's absolutely priceless to me. whenever i'm feeling really emotional about the way he supports me i always end up listening to this song.. i also feel incredibly lucky because i was able to hear this song live earlier this year!! it was very special to be able to hear such a personal song performed right in front of me!

another song i really like is hurt me by charly bliss which i associate with milo and edgeworth reflecting on and then overcoming the messier parts of their relationship. one of their biggest hurdles was definitely getting to the point where edgeworth felt comfortable enough to finally open up to milo about things like his trauma and insecurities, which he has an incredibly hard time voicing. it was one of the things that led to their breakup during the time of their first romantic involvement. edgeworth very much did not want to admit to anyone else that there could be anything wrong with him, but he knew (not in a way he could put into words, but more subconsciously) that being in a prolonged relationship necessitated that somewhere along the line. this led to him becoming even more emotionally distant until he decided to officially end things with milo until their reconnection later. this song, to me, represents growing and understanding and healing from all of that and trying to get to a point where edgeworth can actually talk about the stuff that negatively affects him. "you don't wanna hurt me" takes on a different meaning from both perspectives. for milo, it's an understanding that edgeworth closing himself off is a defense, not an attack. for edgeworth, it's the act of coming to understand that milo would never look down on him or use his 'weakness' against him. one of my favorite parts of the song is "i can feel the earth quake, you don't wanna hurt me, baby." if you're unfamiliar, earthquakes are one of the specific things that triggers edgeworth's ptsd. thus, i feel that lyric denotes a sort of breaking point. edgeworth being in a dire emotional state and finally being vulnerable and subsequently opening the door to love, comfort, and reassurance.

and a non-edgeworth favorite would be heart swells/pacific daylight time by los campesinos! this one finds its place on my shane playlist and it will never ever be leaving there, it's one of the songs that i have the strongest f/o mental associations with and whenever i listen to it i am immediately compelled to think about my relationship with shane .. shane helped me through an incredibly traumatic period of my life and this song i almost over-listened to while thinking about him and formulating little mental animatics. now that i actually know how to make animatics i'd love to sit down and make one someday!

sum honorable mentions i don't have as much to say about are strange overtones by david byrne, i'll come running by brian eno, matrimony II by tennis, and i know how to speak by manchester orchestra!

#god i infodumped hard LOL #thank u so much for this ask it kept me occupied for a whiiile

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apocalypse-tights · 1 year

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I posted 6,536 times in 2022

That's 3,368 more posts than 2021!

87 posts created (1%)

6,449 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@teophan

@rouxlskaardofficial

@wrightfamily

@tht1person123

@queermystic

I tagged 3,231 of my posts in 2022

#awesome art - 1,336 posts

#ace attorney - 537 posts

#cute animals - 233 posts

#fave - 155 posts

#pokemon - 122 posts

#kitties - 117 posts

#signal boost - 114 posts

#gif - 83 posts

#video - 77 posts

#kitty chat - 76 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#for like the first two times we saw him (well the second was manga only when he was talking to hatori) he was absolutely loaded up on snacks

My Top Posts in 2022:

Unintentionally but so, so perfectly took an in-game joke into real life- a friend who has enough secondhand Ace Attorney knowledge through me to be able to build entire AUs despite not having played the games himself... was completely unaware of the existence of Winston Payne.

In the past three years of constant infodumping, I never mentioned his name XD

22 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

One of my favorite things about ace attorney that has nothing to do with the actual narrative of the games is the fact that different in-jokes and characterization quirks always end up forming when you play with someone else. Be it a silly voice or some trait that a character gets because of ad-libbing one of you keeps doing, in my experience pretty much everyone has those little Things about their playthroughs I have different sets of these with different people I’ve played with, and it just makes it a really individual, personal experience every time, and it just feels very Human in the best way

And it’s fun and interesting to see or find out about other people’s! Hey reblog with your extremely specific ace attorney in-jokes- a couple of mine are “the judge is a dalek” and “manfred von karma is constantly eating gummy bears in court”

23 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

A. of course there’s a man named beef stroganoff and

B. shortly after this Ryunosuke addresses him as “Seaman Strogenov” and that is the WORST pair of homophones to be placed together

24 notes - Posted January 13, 2022

Hi my name is Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that’s how I got my name) with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like

80 notes - Posted March 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I think what gets me so much about the “that man” moments in Investigations and why it somehow feels so much gayer than if he just called Phoenix by name is like. the fact that it doesn’t need to be said. it is automatically understood, not just by the audience but also by the people around him. who else. who else would Miles Edgeworth be talking about. no one ever has to ask.

616 notes - Posted November 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #...that many posts i didn't tag?? oops

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musashi · 2 years

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I was rereading the ask you answered about all my AA questions (I honestly just really love reading your ramblings and thoughts), and I just realized you mentioned having kin answers for the question about Franziska's relationship with Manfred, so *chin hands* what would the kin answer be?

Also, feel free to talk about your kin answer for her relationship with Miles if it's any different from the answer you gave me originally! If you'd prefer to ramble about him in a separate post, that's totally fine

YES ABSOLUTELY ok so this is, to clarify, all kin memories/feelings that, while not contradicting anything in canon, are just my own personal experiences of events. this is just me being kin with franziska so i'm switching to first person and also putting it under a cut because i have a lot of feelings and also a lot of this is probably going to verge along the line of traumadumping because sgjklhfghgf it wasn't exactly the most peachy time. there's the warning time to go

all my kin memories are more or less ones of childhood--i lack a lot of memories for the events of the trilogy and onward and what i do have is not very pleasant.

ok, so like, papa. i read a lot of fanfic and people really like to use him as a catalyst in their writing to #cope, i think, i see him written as this outright monster of an abuser a lot but that's not really my experience. it's fine if that's how people wanna see it but it's not how i see it at all. papa's neglect was a lot more sinister, he moved in the shadows in the wicked things he did. he was careful not to let his mask slip, he only ever did once and it was catastrophic from years of perfect facade.

when i was little i loved him, with my whole heart, with everything i was. papa was a superhero! like i said in my initial post, that's how i viewed him. i was little and what i understood was that there were bad people and good people and the court system existed to weed out the bad guys and punish them. and papa fought on the side of justice, to get them what they deserved. he always told me that karma was this force that ran like a current through the universe, watching one's every move, remembering the sins and virtues of all it saw. and he told me to be proud that this force had chosen us to bear its name, like knights of retribution cast upon the earth. that was so comforting to hear. any time i was scared or sad or angry i just thought about how whatever was hurting me would get its punishment, because the universe remembered, and karma would not let me down.

papa was my hero and i always looked up to him, but i didn't want to be him and stand beside him until i met miles.

i barely remember a life without miles, i was only like 2 or 3 when he showed up. at this point i was a pretty lonely kid--i lived in this big mansion that absolutely nothing could fill. there are talks in canon of unseen von karmas who never get more than a mention or two but i did not know any of them, if they existed they were secrets papa kept close to his chest. in my lifetime it was just me and papa and all our servants in this old and empty house, and then suddenly there was miles edgeworth, and i latched onto him like a baby spider monkey and never let go.

miles was quiet and shy and sad and didn't speak german very well and so i whispered sentiments to him in bungled english and spoke with what i could. he was my first and only friend growing up. i think i have been annoying him since the day we met but he never told me to go away. i was so happy to have a friend, to have someone closer to my age in the house (we have a 7 year gap but i was a very precocious child) to have company when papa would work long days and disappear for weeks to deal with international cases. miles and i would lose hours in the library teaching each other our respective languages, and he showed love in how much time he spent with me, even though he almost never smiled. it took me a while to understand it wasn't about me.

miles had nightmares. ones he couldn't hide. miles had nightmares and i had rituals: i was the lightest sleeper imaginable, i could wake at the sound of a pin dropping seven rooms away, and every night i woke to miles screaming and crying and pushed myself off my bed and ran down the hall to his room. i entered without asking and he never made me leave even though he'd curl in on himself and try to hide. and i hugged him until he stopped crying, and i stayed with him until he was ready to go back to sleep. he leaned more and more into this as the years went on, and this ritual was every night. miles never slept a full night in the entire time he lived with me, and it broke my heart, and it made me so angry.

when i asked him what was wrong and what he dreamt about he never had an answer for me until he did. i think he knew i was too young to be forced to deal with his problems but i am a very forceful person so i got enough details out of him eventually. he told me that before he came to live with me something terrible happened to him, that someone hurt him deeply and took away things he can never get back. and my response to that was, of course, well, it'll be okay! because whoever hurt you will be punished. that's how the world works.

but miles wasn't comforted by that, and i didn't understand. he told me that no, they weren't punished, they got away scott free, the court let them go. and even if they had been sentenced to death or removed from society, it wouldn't undo what had been done to miles, it wouldn't balm the wound in his heart that ran so deep he couldn't sleep at night without waking up sobbing. and i... was so angry.

i was the kind of angry i can't really put into words, my heart like the lip of a bubbling volcano ready to go absolutely fucking nuclear and rend everything in it's path. how could anyone do that to miles? miles edgeworth, this sweet boy who barely spoke and held insurmountable love behind his sad eyes and who couldn't hurt a damn fly? how could anyone hurt him like that??? someone had to do something. someone had to protect him. and if no one else was going to do it, then it had to be me.

so i followed papa. i was going to become a prosecutor. i had to, it was my duty to the world, it was my duty as a von karma. no, putting away the worst of society wouldn't undo the horrible things they did--but maybe, just maybe, if i became good enough. if i became well known enough, vicious and unrelenting and to be feared, the worst of the world would quake in fear that one day they would cross me. maybe they would think twice, maybe they would hesitate to kill and maim and lie and cheat. if karma couldn't scare them, maybe Karma could.

i couldn't protect miles, but i could protect so many like him who still had the spark in their eyes i know he had, once upon a time. i was angry, and frustrated, and i hated feeling so powerless to fell all that hurt him. so i poured myself into law studies every second of every day and i passed the bar at 13 and i fought tooth and nail for my perfect future, where i would fight beside my papa, my hero, to strike down evil and give a voice to the voiceless.

at some point in that interim, i don't really know when, there was a shift, and miles started agreeing with me. miles started feeling this way, too--like this was something he could do to take control of his own pain, make sure no one suffered like he had. and papa was enamoured with miles when this shift happened, it's like all of a sudden all his attention went straight to my brother. papa had never shown much besides base level interest in my career as a prosecutor, but as soon as miles wanted to become one too it's like papa took it upon himself to guide his every move, share with him all the wisdom he had on the matter. he was never, like... encouraging or proud of us, really, but he had this way about him that still pushed us to work for that approval nonetheless. i can't really explain it, papa has Presence in and outside the courtroom. he like. speaks with his eyes, almost, he can say a thousand words to you without ever saying one.

from the time i was 6ish all the way to my teenage years i felt kind of lonely again, even though i was surrounded by people. i was jealous of all the attention that papa gave miles, it was hard to deal with but i just transformed it into more drive to be better. if papa wouldn't tell me his tactics like he would miles then i'd just go to every case of his i could and watch them myself. i'd become a genius just like him, i'd work twice as hard. i told myself that papa had to give extra special guidance to miles because he was an outsider and he couldn't be expected to catch on and intuit as much as i could. eventually it became a rivalry, me and miles, at least on my end. we didn't necessarily grow apart but we just kinda changed. i didn't resent miles per se but i just... felt left behind. we were chasing the same goal but he was leagues ahead of me and i didn't understand how or why. i was a von karma before him, and i wanted to be a prosecutor before him, and papa loved me before him, and yet he had passed me in all those regards it seemed. not only that but it felt like he didn't even look back as he did so. it hurt. i loved him so much, i wanted to walk this path with him, it was him who made me want to do it in the first place.

all these feelings were of no use to me, and they all turned into anger if i let them simmer for more than a few hours, so i prosecuted. i filled every second of every day with work and i never stopped moving. i picked up case after case after case and i tallied guilty verdicts and i moved. overwork, then and now, was a form of self-harm but was it really when i was so good at it? it had to be rewarding. (all of this was a horrible way of thinking, do not be like me.)

and then, when i was 17, the dl-6 case opened back up. it was the case that took miles' happiness away, the one that traumatized him into silence and nightmares all those years ago. finally, justice would be served. finally, the world would know exactly who it was who put the bullet in gregory edgeworth's heart. finally, i got to know the name of the monster that had been living in the shadows of my little brother's psyche for 15 long years. finally, i had a target for all my rage, my protective fire, my agony and powerlessness. finally, i had the name of the person i hated more than anything in this known universe, and the name on the case file said manfred von karma.

and what can i even say about that? i think i've written enough here that it's more effective to just leave my feelings on the matter blank. one can probably surmise how all that felt.

papa said nothing to me the last day i saw him. the state turned over his badge to me, it lives in a box tucked away in a drawer i only open when i am feeling brave. i cried at his grave, i cried in the detention center, i cried as i screamed at him that i loved him, how could he. i cry about him still though the old dead bastard will never deserve it. shortly after papa's execution, miles left what many thought was a suicide note and disappeared. my life fell apart in a few short months, i lost everything that had ever meant anything to me, and so i prosecuted. and when i wasn't prosecuting i was locked in my papa's empty house, his empty study, crying at his empty desk, pouring over the DL-6 case file and reading it compulsively, as though if i read it enough maybe the ending will be different, this time.

a lot of bullshit happened after that. i knew miles wasn't dead, or rather i was too stubborn to believe it. i was right because i'm always right. 2017-2018, the year immediately following papa's death, was the worst year of my life, i spent it in america around people i hate losing my perfect win streak to some foolish rookie who i falsely believed drove my brother to his death. that fool is family now, somehow, and i'm surprisingly alright with it. it took miles dragging my bleeding body to a hospital and me breaking down on him in the middle of a fucking airport to really break the dam on all my feelings and get me to just fucking cry out all that had happened and choose my path from there, but i kinda feel like all that is a different story for a different ask sfdgsfshg.

i don't remember as much from that point on, but i think miles and i went back to how we were--or closer at least--when we were kids. my worldview became more nuanced, and i learned to accept that it was okay that he knew more than me--there was no bigger force pushing us to compete anymore. miles could learn a lot from me, and he was eager to, but i could also learn a lot from miles, too. we both had our own merits and strengths. we were our own people, we could not be each other or anyone else.

most pivotal of all, at one point i tried to run away. i tried to leave miles in my dust, like he had always left me. but he wouldn't let me, this time, he refused to turn the other way and abandon me like i felt he always had. he chased after me and found me and hugged me and let me cry on him like he had always cried on me, and something in my heart leveled, then. i remembered, there in my brother's arms, why i chose to fight in the first place.

thank you for letting me talk about this. i love miles edgeworth so fucking much.

#wendy rambles #kin ramblings #UHHHH A LOT OF SHIT. HEAVY SHIT. WOO!#i love talking about this i just dont know if anyone cares dgfhfdhgf #cottagebore #wendy answers #forgetmenots and marigolds

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justagost · 3 years

Text

Face him head on - A Narumitsu Fic

So I got into the AA fandom recently and... I love Bratworth??? And I like seeing Bratworth/Feenie content? So I wrote this:

Basically, Post SoJ Edgeworth and Wright get teleported (with some Magatama incident) in the years where they were young, aka Bratworth’s and Feenie’s (Pre-Dahlia) years, but, Wright appears in the courthouse with young Miles, and Edgeworth in Ivy University with young Phoenix. So, the old counterparts, to get back together, make their young selves meet again.

I know this sounds complicated af, but I swear it’s a LOT easier to understand if you just read it

Spoilers for: Most of AA: Trials and Tribulation and Turnabout goodbyes

Warning: Mention of blood, fluff, and a bit of horny Bratworth for Older Phoenix and his fancy suit. Nothing explicit

Words count: 3.700

Enjoy~

Edgeworth paced the tribunal’s hall, his shoes clicked on the smooth pavement, Von Karma was to arrive soon for a trial and he was sure the man was going to want to meet him for a regular check-up on victories and progress. Miles wasn’t really ecstatic about it, but he had no choice, so he used this time to prep-talk himself, that was until a voice from a man he had just surpassed stopped him, “Excuse me, um… what year are we in?”

How could you not know the current year? “What a foolish question, you should be out of this world to not know.” He turned around with his eyes close, “We are well in two-thousand and–” but as he opened his eyes, his words were cut off by the sight of a well-dressed man in multiple shades of blue.

The stranger’s eyes widened, “M-Miles?” he stuttered, and Edgeworth flinched at the use of his name, making him forget all about the suit, “H-How dare you call me by my first name?! It is highly inappropriate and unprofessional, especially from a stranger” the annoyance from his own situation with his mentor arose and he turned around to leave with a “Hmph!” as he was stopped again: “What do you mean ‘stranger’ Mi- Edgeworth? It’s me, Phoenix!”

He scanned his memory for that name, but only one person came to mind- and it definitely wasn’t them. They were part of his past and also the same age as Miles, so it was impossible.

The man shifted behind him, “Really Edgeworth? Does the name ‘Phoenix Wright’ not ring any bells?”

Wright?

His breath hitched.

With an expression full of surprise, he turned back to the man and stared: the spiky hair, the ocean-deep eyes… an attorney badge?!

No, it wasn’t the Wright, it couldn’t be.

He shook his head, “There is no logical way you are the Wright I’m thinking about-” a soft smile welcomed his confused gaze, “But I am- “ He fished for something in his pocket, “Here” and opened his hand to present it to him, Edgeworth accidentally gasped out loud: Signal blue, worn out and slightly faded.

“H-how?” he let out a shaky breath, clutching his arm with the one that wasn’t carrying his bag, “You are my same age- yet you look much more mature-” and hotter, “And what are you doing in a courthouse? Why do you have a defence pin- no” he stopped himself, “You are trying to fool me. You are not who you say you are”

A deep sigh came from the supposed Wright, “I know it’s hard to wrap your head around it- but it’s me, from the future”

His confusion disappeared in an instant, replaced with anger, “What nonsense are you spouting?!” He almost took his leave for the third time, “You want proof, Edgeworth?” his words stopped him once again, as Phoenix shoved his hands in his pocket again, “Then there is proof!” he fished out a device he had never seen before, he deduced it was a cellphone, but much more technological: it didn’t have a keypad and it lit up to show an image with various people in it, just for it to change. The man pressed the screen and there was a calendar which showed the same date but another year– so far away from the current one.

“See? This is almost twenty years ago for me, of course I look older, but it’s me” He placed a hand on his chest for emphasis, “Here- I’ll even show there is an older version of you!” he clicked the screen again and a cellphone contact with the name ‘Miles Edgeworth’ was there: the number was his.

He still couldn’t believe it, but the longer he stared at the man, the longer he could see Phoenix Wright, the kid with the biggest brightest smile he had ever seen, something in his chest was bubbling at the memories of his childhood friend.

“Edgeworth I know this is confusing and very sudden but– you need to help me find my Edgeworth” those words deepened that feeling, my Edgeworth…

“If I’m here with you, that probably means he’s with twenty years old me– you have your car already, yeah?” He stuttered out a reply, “Then please Edgeworth, help me find him” Phoenix grabbed both of his shoulders and stared at him with his glittery eyes.

His instinct was to say yes, but the fury of Von Karma about making him wait would be inevitable… but those eyes… his touch…he was so close…

“Yes…” he panted out, his breath missing from the closeness of his childhood crush, and the next second, he was being dragged down the hall: Phoenix was holding his hand.

His face lit up and the fire within him started to crackle louder: the man was well-toned, the blue suit was perfect for him- made for him, and that light blue vest… made him wild, it made his sculpted chest and thin waist even more obvious, the gold chain to his pocket and his shiny attorney badge complimented the look: Miles had to look away in shame for thinking such thoughts.

Without realizing it, Phoenix had dragged him all the way to the parking lot, like he was more than familiar with the courthouse layout… which he guess backed up his pin. “You already have the red sports car?” he looked at Edgeworth with a serious expression, which made him quiver a little, “Y-yes!”

He was dragged again until they arrived at the car, he managed to fish out his keys and unlock it, Wright stole them from his hand, his skin warm against his left a tingling sensation, “I need to drive, you don’t know where we’re heading. I know you don’t like that other people drive your car, sorry, but it’s an emergency” He flushed again as he entered the passenger seat, the question of how he knew such a thing was answered by the fact that Phoenix knew him in his… timeline? World? Either way, any type of complaint died in his tongue, too overwhelmed as the man started the car and Phoenix’s cologne filled the air: it was fresh and pleasant, it complimented his looks just as the suit did.

While they were speeding somewhere, the car was silent: mostly because Edgeworth was overwhelmed with... Phoenix, everything about him was too much to process.

How the little boy in his memory became this handsome man, why he was a defence attorney, how he came from the future… how the butterflies in his stomach hadn’t stopped since his name was brought up.

Yes, Miles had a bit of a childhood crush on Phoenix, but he had to stuff away his feelings since Von Karma had subtly introduced him to daughters of powerful friends of his multiple times, and had expressed how ‘He could choose between marrying a proper woman or dedicate his life to his job’.

But seeing a mature, sexy version of Phoenix had reawakened that old fire he thought he had extinguished.

The man driving fumbled with that device again and then placed it on his lap, the beeping made him realize he was calling someone.

“Phoenix? Are you alright?” a voice that sounded awfully like his own replied, Wright picked up the device, “Miles! I’m on my way!” So this was the older him! And they used their first names! This meant they were friends!

A wave of happiness washed over him knowing they reunited after all this time.

“On your way?! Phoenix how do you know where I am?!”, Wright turned left using only one hand to steer, which was… hot…

Edgeworth looked away and realized how much the sight had affected him… he could feel his pants become a little tighter... “I awoke at the courthouse, not too far away from twenty years old you, I presume you must be at Ivy university with twenty years old me”

“Yes…” They accelerated a little as the confirm came in, “I’m glad I caught him as he was leaving class… I swear I saw… Her… in the distance” Wright’s grip on the wheel tightened, his face winced like he was in pain: Who was… her?

“I should be there in five minutes or so, bring young me with you at the entrance: visitors aren’t allowed inside” an okay arrived from the device, “I’m… not wearing the sweater… am I?” The question was so weird Edgeworth snapped his head towards Wright in confusion, why what he was wearing matter?

A sight came from the other line, “No, fortunately you aren’t… I think you haven’t started da-” he stopped his older version of him on the phone, “Don’t Miles…” the man driving the car looked at him for a brief2 second, “You’re on speaker”.

A mortified “Oh” came from the other line, “I’ll see it for myself, bye” he placed the device on his lap again, not before a concerned, “Drive safe Phoenix” came as a goodbye.

Silence fell again, and it stayed that way for a while, Edgeworth was becoming restless, Phoenix could tell by how hards he was grabbing his arm, so he talked, “Say… you had your first trial already, yeah?” He winced at the memory of that man falling backwards, with blood spilling from his mouth… that girl smirking…

He shivered and nodded, a hand softly settled on his shoulder, “I’m sorry to bring back the bad memory, but I need to find out at what time both you and young me are living in right now” he nodded and dared a peek at Wright.

His brows were furrowed in concentration: he was thinking: “How do I ask this…” he mumbled, “Um.. Did you make it on the news?” The question threw him off, “Uh… Y-yes… an article about me was released not too long ago” Phoenix nodded, “Alright, so young me is aware of you”

A confused “Huh?” slipped past his lips. Phoenix shook his head, “Young me saw that article, that’s how…” he paused.

Wright had seen the article? A chill went down his spine… they didn’t talk too well about him on there… it mentioned all sorts of bad rumours. Did Phoenix hate him now?

“No, I can’t say more than this, you’ll see for yourself once we arrive”

It struck him that he was about to see Wright, well, the Wright he spent that blissful year of school with… his Wright.

“Hey… don’t overthink this, I can assure you everything will be fine” A comforting smile came from the man, Edgeworth nodded.

Now that he had seen older him, he couldn’t think how twenty-year-old Phoenix would look.

_______________

Phoenix parked and scrambled out of young Edgeworth’s car, the man was walking so fast he had no time to register where they were, thank god for the massive sign saying “Ivy university”. So this is where Phoenix ended up huh.

They approached the entrance by the big stairs, and once on top of them, there they were: The older version of himself reminded him too much of his father, the glasses were– as best as he could remember – the same model. He was wearing a long jacket a shade slightly different than his, the cravat was at its usual place and the black vest, he realized, matched with Phoenix’s, different colour, but it looked like the same model.

A smaller boy was standing almost behind him, gripping the sketchbook to his chest, a red scarf hid his reddened face: he was looking directly towards him. His stomach dropped: that was Wright.

“Phoenix!” His counterpart ran into adult Wright’s arm, embracing him for a few seconds before pulling away and cupping his cheeks, “Are you ok? Is everything all right?” the man with the spiky hair smiled, “Yes Miles I’m ok”.

After a sigh of relief, his old self looked right at him and scooted away from Phoenix, a little blush lit his cheeks. An awkward silence fell in the middle of the chaos of students leaving school.

“So… how do we go back?” Wright asked, adult him looked down in thoughts, “I’m not sure… but Maya shoved the magatama on me as soon as it started to lit up” He grabbed the side of his jacket and pulled a shaped rock out of it, “I presume we’ll have to use this… although you’re much handier with it than I am” He gave it to adult Wright and then looked back at him, he looked away: he looked so much like his father it hurt.

“M-miles…?” A broken voice called his first name, both Edgeworths looked at the young boy with the spiky hair. He was about to say how childish it was to call him by his first name, but his heart dropped as he realized: Phoenix was crying, subtly sobbing in the scarf, “Why didn’t you reply to my letters?” Edgeworth gripped his arm, “Why did you suddenly disappear?” he cringed, “Why are you a prosecutor?” he choked out the final question, Miles internally cursed von Karma and that damned earthquake.

“I..-” he attempted to reply, but Phoenix threw himself at him, making his briefcase drop: “I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!”

The boy gripped him desperately, his first instinct was to shove him away, yell at him to stay back and disappear. Wright was part of his painful cursed past.

But the warmth of another body surrounding him… the closeness of his friend made him realized that he was the cause of his sadness: he had hurt Phoenix.

His brain screamed at him to free himself, but every inch of his body, touch-starved for years… and his instinct to protect him… they held his negative thoughts back from becoming true.

Adult Wright was holding that greenstone, absorbed in thoughts, but older him stared at his soul, smiling. Phoenix was a sobbing and shuttering mess, his suit was going to be ruined after this, but as if older Edgeworth read his mind, like this was a situation he’d been before, he whispered softly enough for only him to hear: “Don’t run, face it head-on”

After a few seconds of confusion, he almost physically recoiled as he realized what older him was saying: his suit getting stained, his pride being hurt, what von Karma taught him… they were all excuses to run away from an uncomfortable situation: this situation.

Face it head on… Phoenix’s feelings, all of the memories he reminded him of, the mistakes he had made, his hurtful past… He had to face them head-on.

But his feelings for Phoenix! The butterflies he got when a nine-year-old Phoenix smiled at him or grabbed his hand… the insecurity of preferring boys over girls that had started with the man in his arms-

Older him sighed and held out a hand in Wright’s direction, “Hm? Yes Mile- Hmf!” and grabbed older Phoenix’s tie, pulling him to… kiss him.

Miles’s eyes widened as he observed how Wright’s surprised expression melted into the kiss, his eyes closed and a hand crept up onto older Edgeworth for support: Edgeworth had told Wright his feelings, and he reciprocated them.

Every ounce of logic flew right out of the window and Miles hugged the still sobbing Phoenix tight, pushing him against his chest. He stiffened as a small gasp came out of the boy in his arms, he was just waiting for Phoenix to shove him away, to say that he hated him, to see his angry face… but Phoenix never moved away, actually, he whispered: “I missed you so so much…”

The gentle voice hit him straight in his heart, so he replied, “... I… missed you too…” and closed his eye as tears threatened to spill out.

___________________

They broke the kiss before it became too heated, panting, Phoenix, after recovering, asked, “What was that fo-” but he was cut off again as Miles took his chin and turned it to their younger versions directions, hugged as both of them cried. His husband smiled at the sight.

Edgeworth remembered how Wright told him, (when pretty drunk once after Edgeworth’s trial, and again, after Phoenix had almost died due to the bridge) how when he saw the ‘Demon prosecutor’ article, all he wanted was to hug Miles and ask him what happened.

Of course, Edgeworth knew that even if they had met back at that time, his phobia of the past and his repressed feelings toward men and Phoenix (because yes, they were two separate things), wouldn’t have allowed it, ever. Especially with all of von Karma’s hate for romantic relationships with ‘normal people’ in general, planted in his head.

He never told Phoenix what he wished would have been impossible, it wouldn’t have been nice. But as soon as he saw twenty years old Phoenix threw himself at twenty years old him, he knew exactly what thoughts were going on in his head. Denying young Phoenix of the hug would have hurt both older and younger Wright… and of course, his younger self too.

So, he thought to himself, that a little encouragement and reassurance wasn’t going to hurt. In fact, it was all worth it when his husband flashed that big soft smile of his at the sight.

After he stopped staring at the two young adults, he turned towards Miles, “I’m pretty sure I know how to go back: all we need to do is hold the magatama in our hands and think to walk back to Kurain village” he whispered, Miles nodded, “Thank god I caught it when Maya threw it at me” he replied, earning another smile from Phoenix.

They waited another minute before their younger selves untangled out of the embrace: Miles guessed their habit of long hugs was something that had always been there from the start.

After wiping their tears aways, Phoenix spoke first, “Alright, we are ready to return in our year-” Miles placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder, “Before we go, I’d like to speak to my young self… privately” Young Edgeworth looked away while older Wright nodded, “Ok… just, don’t say anything… risky” Miles flashed a smirk, “I have no intention to”. With that said, he walked towards twenty years old Edgeworth, “May I have a word with you?”, young him stuttered out a yes, and followed him a bit away from the Wrights.

__________________

“von Karma is going to be furious when you show up late, so say confidently that you were stuck in traffic. Don’t say that there was an incident unless you run into one on your way back, he will probably check” Young him recoiled by how detailed the plan was, “O-ok…” he gripped his jacket, older him smiled, “Keep Phoenix close, no matter what the consequences” he placed both hands on young Miles shoulders, “You like him, don’t you?” After a pause and a cringy expression, he slowly nodded, “Don’t be ashamed of it, he won’t judge you. Phoenix will be there for you if you ever need anything” The wide-eyes stare he received made him smile, “You simply have to allow him in, and trust me: you’ll never regret it”

Edgeworth realized that his wedding ring was in full display, and maybe the news wouldn’t ease his younger self’s nerves, so he shoved his left hand in his pocket, and spoke right after to cover up the perhaps too rushed action, “At first, it may hurt to explain your situation to Phoenix, but it will only be at the start. Again: if you allow him in, he’ll only be of help and support. You just have to face him head-on”

Young Edgeworth was still a little confused, but as he took a quick glance behind his older self (probably to look at Wright) he nodded, “I… I’m scared…”

Of course he was, hell, he himself was scared when Phoenix came crashing into his life, shuttering everything he had built up until then.

“I know, your first instinct is to run, but unless you want to hurt him, it’s better that you explain your situation first thing first”

After letting young Miles elaborate a little more, they went back to the Wrights, and each Edgeworth took their rightful place next to them.

“Well, I guess it’s time we head back” Older Wright broke once again the silence, “I hope you too keep in touch from now on” they looked at their younger version look at each other and gaze away as a flush crept onto their cheeks, “T-thank you for bringing him to me… me” Young Phoenix bowed, as young Edgeworth’s blush deepened.

“Let’s go or we’ll worry Maya and Pearl” Miles waved at the two and grabbed Phoenix’s hand, leading him away. After they climbed down the stairs, they disappeared.

Wright and Edgeworth were left standing next to the other, “So… that really really just happened, huh…” the boy with the spiky hair huffed, turning to face his silver-haired friend: “So uhh… sorry for–” “I’m sorry Phoenix but I have to go, now” he cut him off, startling the boy, Miles dug into his briefcase and pulled out his business card, the one von Karma had him make before he even became officially a prosecutor, “We have a lot to catch up on but– there is a very inpatient person waiting for me and I’m already–” a soft hand crept on his shoulder, pulling him out of the small panic he had gotten into when he intterrupted the other boy, “I understand” Phoenix took the card and brought it to his chest, “I’ll text you and we can see each other with less rush” he smiled, and that made Miles relax, “Just- promise me something… “ a small hint of pain in his eyes made him look like a lost puppy, cute, “Please answer me this time”.

Edgeworth realized that not answering his letters might have hurt Phoenix more than he thought, but he nodded, “I will, I promise” and after a quiet goodbye, he rushed to his car, speeding carefully along the road.

von Karma, as his older self anticipated, bought the excuse, not after a little scolding, of course.

He was thankful that they were walking while talking, and he didn’t have to pay actual attention to the conversation, because Miles’s mind drifted off to how sexy Wright looked with that blue suit, and how cute Phoenix was with the red scarf.

Yes, the childhood friend was going to be a constant thought from now on, distracting him from his work, but as older him said: he wasn’t going to run away, he wanted Phoenix back into his life, and no von Karma or murder case was going to deny him that wish.

#writing #fanfiction #ace attorney #ace attorney fanfiction #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #bratworth #feenie #fluff #wrightworth #narumitsu #wrightworth fanfiction #narumitsu fanfiction #phoenix x miles #phoenix x edgeworth #phoenix wright x miles edgeworth #bratworth x feenie

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rivalsforlife · 3 years

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

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

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

So the longer answer is this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#asks #soj spoilers #aa6 spoilers

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4ragon · 3 years

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thoughts/headcanons (if applicable) about langworth?

Okay. Alright. Listen. We all know narumitsu has my whole heart. But I have SO MANY thoughts about langworth. In particular, unrequited langworth, I have so many feelings about one-sided langworth. I know unrequited stuff isn’t everyone’s thing, but I do have a soft spot for certain one-sided ships in just about every fandom. There’s something about the tragedy of one-sided pining that I love. Not always, but for certain characters. It’s the good kind of angst. But never mind about that, onto the langworth.

So to start with, there is no way Lang isn’t deeply into Miles’s whole deal like. No one is going to call Miles Edgeworth “Pretty Boy” that constantly and not be into him. Come on. Miles is attractive and Lang is clearly so weirdly into him, even when he's being a constant obstacle.

They also just have such great chemistry? Lang is just such a fun rival, because he’s so weirdly antagonistic to Miles at every turn, and even by the end of the game where he goes out of his way to mention that he’s come to trust Miles he’s still cocky and arrogant and brash because he thinks he’s hot shit. (Man I love Lang by the way.)

There’s this one part in particular in AAI where Lang is like, “Hey. Listen. You haven’t changed my opinions on prosecutors or the legal system, but you’re alright.” And I just. Man, Lang’s whole character arc was about learning to trust Miles, how can he not be at least a little in love with him by the end? He doesn't trust anyone but his own men but Miles is maybe one exception even after he's been dealing with all this betrayal in his life! I love that!

And Miles clearly comes to respect Lang by the end of AAI 1 and 2. He knows Lang, knows how to argue with Lang, knows that Lang is just a stubborn asshole with a good heart. He says in AAI2 that Lang is good at what he does. And their arguments are great, because they're both equally stubborn assholes. Again, every single one of their interactions are so much fun, I can absolutely see the appeal.

One headcanon: I’ve always thought of Miles as demisexual/demiromantic. It takes an awful lot of closeness and trust before he would even think consider someone as a potential partner. And of course I think he’d reach that space with Phoenix, but I can very easily see him getting there with Lang too, if the situation worked out. I mean, Lang is a great dude, and one of Miles’s love languages is Heated Debate.

One thing that I do find interesting is that I don’t think Lang would’ve actually liked pre-trilogy Miles very much? A lot of the traits and qualities he associates with the prosecutors he hated were absolutely traits possessed by Miles Edgeworth. As much as Miles was always a good person deep down, he was still arrogant and obsessed with his own status before Phoenix “showed him the light” or what have you. Like a lot of what I think Lang likes about Miles came from Miles’s interactions with Phoenix (though I can’t decide if Lang and Phoenix would get along now that I think about it).

And I’m sorry if unrequited love is not your thing, but just the idea of Lang being very supportive of any Miles relationship, but with a constant undercurrent of “If you hurt this man in any way me and my men will break your kneecaps” just really gets me. He’s a good dude, he’d be jealous of course but he’d work so hard to never let it affect his relationship with Miles. He cares way too much about the happiness of the people he loves to ever put that on them.

Man. I have a lot of feelings about this. Sorry.

Uh a couple of headcanons to finish this post up:

Post AAI2, Lang made sure to put Miles Edgeworth on his list of important birthdays to remember. He also tends to remember most of Miles’s friends’ and family’s birthdays better than Miles does

Lang and Miles do keep in touch. Occasionally Lang will contact Miles about a case, though it is mostly a ploy to see what Miles is up to and/or show off

More often than not, when they do actually run into each other, it’s because Lang is working with Franziska. This annoys Franziska to no end

Lang thinks he’s kept a tight lid on his crush on Miles. Literally everyone knows about it, but he thinks he's subtle

#langworth #shi-long lang #ace attorney #miles edgeworth

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daddywright · 3 years

Note

I have only recently got into the ace attorney fandom, and this story was the first story I read, and I feel spoiled! I absolutely loved every chapter, so I'm gonna word vomit here and tell you everything I love about this!

"She offers him a smile. It’s small, tentative, but it possesses a strength that makes a hidden part of him twist and burn with quiet envy." the first time we see nick's wish to be as strong as mia!

Considering the fact that nick didn't have any prominent figure in his life, it makes sense that he would look up to gregory so much

"Phoenix looks up, and starts walking towards Mia Fey

He doesn't stop for two years."

THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MIA AND NICK HAD WAS PRECIOUS AND DESERVES MORE THAN WHAT THE FANDOM GIVES THEM

"Larry’s arms wrap around him, squeezing almost too tight" People forget that Larry and Phoenix were good friends too, and Larry would help his best friend

"Nobody believed him, nobody but Mia" Maya is what Phoenix is to Mia and I adore that

"He wishes, desperately, that he’d said it while she was still alive. I loved you. For everything you did." Not you absolutely breaking my fucking heart

Also the first AA game felt unnatural in the sense of how seemingly unaffected Phoenix seemed at Mia's murder so I'm really glad you wrote it this way

"Expensive. Thoughtful. Too much." SHUT UP NICK YOU DESERVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

Also quick break to mention how I absolutely fucking love your writing style and i wish I was literally half as talented as you cuz the last time I read something that made me feel this multitude of emotions was ocean vuong. And I practically worship Ocean Vuong. So now I worship you too

"You're a stranger to me // When will I stop hoping?" I never really realised just how badly nick musta been hurt by good ol' bratworth before this fic, but now that I have read it, it would have hurt him so bad

"Is this why you never answered my letters? Because I was a reminder? Because it hurt too much?" Honestly what happened to miles and phoenix's friendship hurts so much because it should have never happened, and miles didn't deserve that.

"Maybe Miles Edgeworth is not the man he thought he’d be, either." yo when I tell you this hurt I mean this huRT

Fun fact! My birthday is on the same day as DL-6 anniversary. Gregory Edgeworth died on my birthday. I feel horrible now

"monster. You were nine years old and he's a monster. " No one has made me feel this much emotion for what happened to Miles in a single sentence other than you. I commend you for that

"I love you," he says quietly. He has never said those words to anyone, except for Dahlia Hawthorne.

Maya sniffs in his ear, crushing him tight. "I love you, too."

He has never heard them back.

PHOENIX HAS NEVER HEARD THE WORDS " I LOVE YOU" COME BACK TO HIM ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME WHY NOW I'M SAD

"Tell me everything. Every detail—" Miles is worried bout nick and why wouldn't he? gods you're so gay miles but tbf if I knew someone like nick irl i'd go ballistic too

"He determined the motive for his own assault...with amnesia. Naturally." My man's smart af and he is king

"Is that what she thinks of me? That I'm like that? That I don't care about who the bad guys really are?" Gumshoe noooo you're hella precious! Also this particular chapter was so well written! loved this soo much!

Also taking a minute to appreciate the pacing! Rarely do I ever come across an author who just hits that sweet spot of perfect pacing and you did! so thank you!

Alright so here are a few thoughts that I felt capcom needed to do which you did for us!

no. 1 - Address the trauma phoenix faced with not only dahlia but also with mia's death

no. 2 - Actually fucking flesh out a good relationship dynamic between larry and phoenix

no. 3 - actually! have! phoenix! be hurt! in bridge to turnabout! istg my man would not have dropped from a burning bridge to a freezing river only to have a cold

AUNT FRANZY AND PEARLS MAN!

THEY CUTE

ok so I have a LOT of feelings for bridge to turnabout and HOO BOY BUCKLE UP

So I always thought that in this fic, miles must have felt fucking awful! I mean he very clearly hates who he was and what that has led to but that must have been doubled over with this case! Phoenix would have died if not for mia and it would have been indirectly miles's fault. I think about that alot

Like he said that he very much regrets whatever he did as bratworth in the phone call with gumshoe but i don't think he anticipated this. poor edgeworth

Also I think this was the final nail in the coffin for miles. Phoenix forgave him, after all the fucked up shit miles did, and that made that man go "how is this guy so fucking compassionate awwwww shit I'm in fucking love with this idiotic brave man".

my main thoughts were "holy shit phoenix must have been feeling awful." like to learn that you were in love with a person who turned out to be a murderer but then not a murderer cuz everything you felt about that was real and just...... it must have hurt. He never fell in love with dahlia. it was iris, always. and WHAT ABOUT MILES DURING THIS!!! Like to learn that the man you love was falsely led to believe that he was in love with a person he rarely met and then learn that his ex who is not murderous might still be in love with him because "that was real. that part was real." like damn. people just gloss over this

also I feel terrible for iris F in the chat for iris lads.

Dahlia literally haunting that courtroom scene. I felt mia's power. I felt her desperation. I felt everything and I am once again in awe of the absolute power your writing holds.

also godsdamn pearls had to go through all that shit huh. also FRANMAYAAAAAA THANK YOUUUU

I too, am a hoe confused as to what I should feel towards diego.

Ok anyways we jump to disbarment now

"He just winks at her and says Maya has other talents, and if Mystic Maya overhears, she puffs up at him like the fish from the aquarium she saw once, the one with all the spikes and silly eyes."

you know what constantly amazes me? your ability to change tones so effortlessly. When writing from edgey's pov, the language is sophisticated. precise. when writing from pearly's pov your language is simplistic, child-like. from phoenix's pov it's natural. grounded

"She never knew anybody who made faces like him, growing up in Kurain, and it’s one of the things that makes him special." Yo phoenix is the most amazing uncle ever and we all know it ok he's brilliant

I'M RUNNING OUT OF CHARACTER LIMITS

PEARLY CALLING EDGEY AT FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE I'M SOFFFFTTTT

“I think I did something really bad." trucy baby no it's not your fault

pearl and trucy bonding supremacy. my girls would fuck shit up

"She’d meant to do this properly, one day." Thank you for giving importance to maya's feelings. thank you for treating her like a real human being. thank you

“Everything that happened...for what? It’s only gotten people hurt. Pearly. Our mother.” Me. Me." I felt so bad for maya here. I wish I could tell you in precise words about how this exact framing of the sentence is what broke me. "me. me" maya deserved more, but mia did all she could

"What do scared kids need? ...Food." not you breaking my godsdamn heart again. phoenix just knows what's it like being a helpless child, and he'll be damned if he ever lets anyone face that again

“‘Course, Pearls,” he says reflexively, before frowning. “What for?” reflexively. if every man in the world could be like phoenix wright then the world would be worthy of the gods

"Another one?" give it 2 years edgey she'll be your daughter too

"after countless hours creating the man’s living space in his mind from the background snatches he’d seen in the man’s ridiculous video calls." NOT ONLY DO THEY VC FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT ALSO MILES ACTUALLY SPENDS TIME TRYING TO RECREATE HIS ROOM?? BECAUSE HE WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE IN IT??? good gods these bitches gay. good for them

"because just as day is light and night is dark, Phoenix Wright is an honorable man." damn straight. you love to see it (it being a 27+ year old man pining for another 27+ year old man)

also hey miles! how do you feel about the fact that the man you love changed his fucking major and degrees halfway through college just so he could see you again only for you to be incredibly rude to him and make him end up in jail! (i bully edgeworth cuz i love him)

"Wright finishes, shrugging like it’s nothing, like his commitment and belief isn’t the most extraordinary thing that Miles has ever faced." it's more than pining at this point. it's incredible faith and trust. Miles had someone who cared about him even after all those years despite him having changed so drastically, ofc he would be surprised. Miles loves phoenix and so do i.

also HOT DAMN YOU WRITING IS JUST * MWAH *

Also the whole segment where they kiss is just !!!!! miles wants! it's beautiful! THEY'RE IN LOVEEE

receiving poisonous bottles which your ex tried to kill you with. My man can't get a break huh

Miles being chivalrous and protective and absolutely stealing my godsdamn heart (and phoenix's too)!

Klavier being the absolute king that he is we stan

The hostage situation section? gods miles must have been terrified.

Phoenix not being able to promise pearly that he'd always come back home and miles hearing it and like... ouch. my heart. you didn't need to do that (but i love your for it)

GODS THE CLIMAX WITH KRISTOPH WAS SOOO SATISFYING AND LIKE MY MAN PHOENIX REALLY PUNCHED THAT BITCH HUH

klavier baby I am so sorry

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

and thus my comment ends. I believe I have almost used up all of my commenting limits and i leave with these few parting words : HOLY SHIT YOUR AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU!

also I made a playlist on spotify for this fic! here's the link : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3k8lRHiO8ZXQDLpiTUL7SN?si=fc3b35b4ab064867

gods this was long huh

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY....WHERE DO I BEGIN...THE FACT THAT YOU BROKE THE CHARACTER LIMIT ON AO3 AND MADE A PLAYLIST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

thank you so much for all the amazing things you said....i am crying on a Wednesday morning knowing my writing was appreciated this much. thank you!

#ask tag #long post #my fic #nymphietonkslupin

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askaceattorney · 3 years

Text

Manfred Von Karma Character Essay

Dear Dakadondon,

I’m going to give it a go on a character essay on my favorite villain, Manfred Von Karma. I haven’t been able to find any on him and I feel like he’s often overlooked as the nothing-but-evil villain when there is so much more to him than meets the eye.

When we are first introduced to Manfred Von Karma, he both is the final boss of the game and a foil for both Phoenix Wright and his rival, Miles Edgeworth. He represents the karma brought down upon Miles Edgeworth’s shoulders by his actions in the first game, thus his name “karma” or “ Karuma,” which means “karma” in Japanese. This works in the same way with Franziska Von Karma representing Phoenix Wright’s karma in AA2. Since we are focusing on Manfred Von Karma, he will be our main focus.

We are introduced to Manfred Von Karma as Miles Edgeworth’s mentor, but it is in AA2 we find out he is much more than a mentor. He was also a father figure of sorts to Miles Edgeworth. This relationship is often overlooked, even by the game itself. We are told by Franziska Von Karma how Miles Edgeworth was like her little brother, but nowhere in the game does it ever mention or demonstrate how Miles Edgeworth would be the son of Manfred Von Karma. Even the anime never truly focuses on that portion. As a result, we, as the players, are like Godot in how we miss the obvious red on white part of the case, and instead focus on the mentor and student relationship. Like anyone, why would we believe someone as twisted and vindictive as Manfred Von Karma would consider Miles Edgeworth as a son? Yet, this same man considered him the student under Von Karma? If Sebastian Debeste’s relationship with his father could be father/son and mentor/student, why wouldn’t the same also apply to Manfred Von Karma and Miles Edgeworth?

To understand this father/son relationship Miles Edgeworth shares with Manfred Von Karma, we first need to understand why it is overlooked or taken out throughout the game. After losing his father, Miles Edgeworth practically lost everything. If we are to assume his father was the only family he ever had in his life, then this would mean he became an orphan. He was alone without anyone to care for or love him. All of a sudden, this Prosecutor, who had gone up against his father in court, takes him in under his wing. He gives Miles Edgeworth food, a home, a little sister, a family, education and training to become a Prosecutor. Before, Miles Edgeworth only had his father, now under the Von Karmas, he has a family. Manfred Von Karma gave Miles Edgeworth much more than his biological father ever did, when we take into account the mentioned family of Manfred Von Karma than just Franziska: a niece, a possible extra sibling(s) and a mother.

In the head of Miles Edgeworth, he is not deserving of this. He mentally believes he is responsible for the murder of his own father. He isn’t deserving of a family, a home or any of these things. This is a similar mentality he will eventually have with Phoenix later on after Turnabout Goodbyes. In turn, we have Manfred Von Karma, who is simply using Miles and his genius to have as his own. He knows of his crime of having murdered this boy’s father and yet is willing to provide this boy with a better life. It feels off for Manfred Von Karma, if we were to assume he’s your typical devilish bad guy with no moral compass. Though, if we were to take AAI2 into account in how he praises his wife’s cooking, despite being an amateur, and was willing to defend Delicia Scone’s innocence for no other reason other than, “she is innocent,” we can assume he does have some form of moral compass. At the very least, he is capable of love for those he considers family and will protect those he considers innocent. If we are to assume that he does love his family, or at least is capable of such, we can assume that there was a tiny bit of compassion he had in taking in Miles Edgeworth. Even if we were to reason that Manfred Von Karma was simply using Miles Edgeworth to cover up his own crime, no one can deny that Manfred Von Karma could’ve made him into a Cinderella or killed him under his care.

Of course, many would disagree this man would have a heart, if only because the game seems to imply that Manfred Von Karma took in Miles Edgeworth to beat the dead horse that was Gregory Edgeworth. Except, that would imply that Manfred Von Karma believes in spirits and was so passionate that he was willing to raise a child with severe trauma, nightmares and phobias. To put it simply, raising Miles Edgeworth, for Manfred Von Karma, would have been a nightmare in itself. Not only because he’d be having sleepless nights from a child, then teenager being up in the middle of the night because of nightmares, but also having to calm him down every time an earthquake hit, perhaps having to deal with Miles Edgeworth’s fear of elevators and there are the effects of DL-6 that took a toll on Miles Edgeworth. Anyone who knows anyone that deals with severe trauma will tell you that each day, minute and second that person is still living is a miracle. This is something Manfred Von Karma would be having to face every morning and night. For Miles Edgeworth, he believes he killed his own father and is not deserving of anything. Perhaps being a Prosecutor is his way of punishing himself, but it is also a goal he strives for that was placed upon him by Manfred Von Karma himself. You could say that Manfred Von Karma gave Miles Edgeworth a reason to live.

Knowing this, it makes sense why Manfred Von Karma framed Miles Edgeworth for the murder of Robert Hammond. This wasn’t about him ruining Miles Edgeworth’s life or revenge against Gregory Edgeworth. This was Manfred Von Karma running away from his problems, from his own guilt. We see in Turnabout Reminiscence how quickly Manfred Von Karma was willing to leave an investigation unfinished the moment he loses control. If you were to fail that game, before Manfred Von Karma demands Miles Edgeworth and young Franziska to no longer proceed in the investigation, he will stop the investigation right away or Franziska will win. It’s only after he demands there to be no more investigation that he no longer stops the investigation, but instead it is Calisto Yew or Tyrell Badd, who at one point sends his security to kick Miles Edgeworth and Franziska out. This means that the reason Manfred Von Karma wanted Miles Edgeworth to stop the investigation was because he no longer had control over the outcome. This makes sense for his character, who also left IS-7 after the events of DL-6. He’s the kind of man to run away from his troubles. If Miles Edgeworth’s trauma was trouble for Manfred Von Karma that he can’t ever get rid of, he will proceed to get rid of Miles Edgeworth instead.

The problem with Manfred Von Karma framing Miles Edgeworth for murder is that this adds another problem. Miles Edgeworth is now the supposed son of Manfred Von Karma. Keep in mind this is a man who obsesses over perfection. To frame his own son for murder goes against being the perfect father. Aside from his own personal problems, Manfred Von Karma has no reason to get rid of Miles Edgeworth. Miles Edgeworth, while did suffer a few losses, is a valuable asset to Manfred Von Karma. He is Manfred Von Karma’s proud disciple and, if we were to assume he only has daughters, the only son he’s got. He is willing to throw away Miles Edgeworth, for what? Because of his own personal problems? Because he knows all of Miles Edgeworth’s troubles are caused by him? Because the only way to fix Miles Edgeworth is to admit that he was and is a terrible murderer and a criminal?

Much like how Manfred Von Karma represented the karma built upon all the deeds Miles Edgeworth had done, the same can also be said in reverse. For Manfred Von Karma, Miles Edgeworth is the result of his own karma. That karma will never go away and, so long as Miles Edgeworth continues to live in the Prosecutor’s circle, the karma of Manfred Von Karma will haunt him for the rest of his life, unless he decides to find closure. Whether that closure be through death or reconnecting with Miles Edgeworth, unless it is met, Manfred Von Karma will always be troubled by the karma he’s placed upon himself.

To describe Manfred Von Karma is someone that is obsessed with being perfect in every way to a fault. He has family, friends, people he loves and cares about, but is also a coward to face whatever troubles come his way. He is the opposite of Phoenix Wright, who is willing to face what he’s faulted and try to make things right. Manfred Von Karma represents a side to humanity none of us want to admit. We are very narcissistic and strive to be better than everyone else. Then, the moment we run into trouble where our true colors are shown, we tend to hide or run away like Manfred Von Karma.

When you consider the events of IS-7, it’s clear Manfred Von Karma made many mistakes in how he approached the case. He refused help from his detective, he continually tried to fight against the Defense that he was right, he used threatening tactics to force the Defendant to confess to a crime he didn’t commit, he overlooked other crimes that happened such as the two missing boys, and he changed the case file to the Defendant being the culprit - even though he accused him of being an accomplice to the crime. While he didn’t forge the Autopsy Report, he placed the blame of the penalty he received from his boss on the Defense, who didn’t do anything wrong. To add insult to injury, he orphaned and traumatized a child that now is under his care. Manfred Von Karma continually ran away from his issues, the vile acts that he has done. As a result, he refuses to acknowledge Miles Edgeworth as his son. If he can’t acknowledge it, why should the game?

Manfred Von Karma is one of the most morally gray characters in the AA game. He represents the worst of all humanity. He’s definitely not one to sympathize with, but not because we can’t, but because we don’t want to. I consider the best villains as those you could become at any point in time. Someone like Kristoph Gavin or Dahlia Hawthorne would be much harder to see in ourselves, since their circumstances came from other bad circumstances. Manfred Von Karma, I can see in anyone no matter the circumstances or life they live. So long as you believe yourself to be better than anyone else, you will always become another Manfred Von Karma.

Ironically enough, I do see a redemption arc in Manfred Von Karma, if he was to ever live after Turnabout Goodbyes. The reason is because, believe it or not, I did have issues with Narcissism about ten or so years ago. Of course, I wasn’t as bad as Manfred Von Karma, but I can also relate to him. As such, I also know that it only takes seeing yourself as better than everyone else to void yourself of all empathy or compassion for others. This also includes thinking your opinions are correct or others’ opinions are problematic. All it takes for a redemption arc is realizing where you’re wrong, apologizing, and making things right. Of course, you can’t erase your history, but you can make a better future, especially for those you have hurt. Luckily, we have Franziska Von Karma and Miles Edgeworth to demonstrate what Manfred Von Karma could’ve been.

- Mod Edgeworth

#dakdondondon #Mod Post #Mod Edgeworth #Character Essay #Manfred Von Karma

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aceredshirt13 · 3 years

Text

Narumitsu: A View of the Ship, and Its Shippers, from an Outsider

I may not ship Narumitsu/Wrightworth, but I also don’t really have anything against it. They’re very close, and go to great lengths to help each other, and it’s not hard to see having romance be a next step. It’s hardly that I don’t ship them because they’re men (lord knows I have other gay ships through the roof), and it’s also not because I ship either of them with other characters, because I actually don’t. My only real reasons for not shipping it are my fondness for aroace Edgeworth, and my fondness for having them just be friends that care about each other a lot. So this essay definitely isn’t criticizing the ship itself, or its plausibility as a romance in a general sense. This is more an expression of my frustrations with some of the interpretations I’ve seen by some Narumitsu shippers, and why I’m frustrated with them from the standpoint of someone who likes to write and imagine well-paced love stories, with a few mentions of hypocrisy that I’ve seen in the fandom and some things that feel vaguely homophobic or biphobic. Let’s jump in!

1. “Unnecessary feelings”

This one, I confess, drives me up a bit of a wall. Yes, out-of-context, the line about Phoenix causing Edgeworth to have “unnecessary feelings” could be interpreted as romantic - but in-context, I feel that interpretation doesn’t really make sense. I mean, he follows it up by saying that those feelings are of “unease” and “uncertainty” - because going against Phoenix in court has shaken him, and his long-held beliefs that von Karma had drilled into him, as well as the beliefs he’d held about himself. He has spent so long trying not to feel anything at all, because he thinks emotions are a weakness - an obstacle in the way of his constant, impossible reach for perfection (and for recognition from the mentor who he doesn’t know revels in never, ever recognizing him). He is conflicted, and scared, certainly, but in love? That seems like a bit of a stretch, particularly because of how incredibly short of a time he and Phoenix have known each other at this point - which leads me into my next segment.

2. Having them be in love in the very first AA game

So many of the Narumitsu takes I see act as if they’re either strongly pining for each other or practically dating in the very first game, despite the fact that prior to Turnabout Sisters, they haven’t even seen each other for fifteen years. Phoenix’s idealism and desire to “save” the Edgeworth he remembers is, though admirable, rather delusional - he hasn’t seen the man since he was nine. If I look back into the past, I am a decidedly different person than I was at age nine. (For example, I am significantly less likely to bite people I dislike.) The two spend almost the entirety of the first game in a vitriolic rivalry, with Edgeworth only very reluctantly accepting Phoenix’s help in Turnabout Goodbyes, and at the end of the game, though they understand each other to a much better degree, I wouldn’t say that they’re friends again, yet. The end of the game would be a great jumping-off point for their friendship - except it isn’t, because the combination of the revelations in Rise from the Ashes and the built-up trauma and self-loathing that the events of case 4 unloaded upon Edgeworth cause him to “choose death” (which I personally interpret as his genuine intention to take his own life, though for one reason or another, he did not succeed - I like to think Gumshoe was involved in stopping him - and he then went on his soul-searching year-long journey). Edgeworth isn’t even present for most of JFA, only returning in Farewell, My Turnabout to meet an understandably pissed Phoenix, and it is through working that case together that they manage to make up a bit more. I’d say it’s only at this point that they are able to actually start becoming friends, because before that, they just plain haven’t interacted enough - and friendship is key to having romance be the next step. So, for Narumitsu to be a decently-paced love story, the romance probably wouldn’t start until at least partway through Trials and Tribulations - and even then, that might be rather early. The seven-year-gap might be the best place to put it, but I often seem to see them portrayed as dating long before that, even though that seems rather unrealistic for all the reasons I’ve mentioned above.

3. Reasons why the fandom thinks Edgeworth is gay

Now, I am all for LGBT headcanons. They’re super fun, and I have loads. So I’m totally not bothered by folks saying Edgeworth is gay - I’m more bothered that the fandom seems to like to have a reason why they think so. If it were just that Edgeworth canonically shows no real interest in women (which is true - I use it as part of my aroace justification), then that would be all good, but a lot of the reasons people seem to think Edgeworth is gay feel... almost homophobic? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard him referred to as gay or “fruity” because of the way he walks, or the way he dresses, or the colors he likes, or the gestures he makes - and it’s not usually gay men saying these things. A lot of the people saying these things are LGBT of some variety, but being one kind of LGBT doesn’t mean you’re free to stereotype others - especially when it seems rather hypocritical. For example, Edgeworth got most of his fashion sense from Manfred, yet almost no one says the same things about Manfred - in fact, a lot of people seem to enjoy imagining him as both heterosexual and wildly homophobic. (Personally, I think the most wildly homophobic character is probably Blaise Debeste, but that’s just my opinion.) And I see many, many valid complaints about Jean Armstrong, and his stereotypical design and personality - yet some of these same people who hate how stereotypically he is treated turn around and stereotype Edgeworth almost identically? Why do you have to have a reason to believe a character to be gay, instead of just saying they are? I think Badd and Datz are both gay, but I’d hardly pick out superficial aspects of their appearance or personality to “justify” that belief.

4. People saying that Phoenix is gay

This one’s thankfully not as universal, but it bothers me nonetheless. Most of the fandom seems to think Phoenix is bi, which is rad - honestly, I think so, too. But I’ve seen people say on more than one occasion that he’s just gay - and unless you have a very, very convincing argument for compulsory heterosexuality, since Phoenix was quite in love with Iris while in college, this feels a whole lot like bi erasure. I see it happen with Mia a lot, too - with people saying she’s a lesbian rather than bi - or in other fandoms, such as people saying Sakura (from Danganronpa) is a lesbian in order to ship her with Aoi, despite her having a canon boyfriend that she cares very deeply for.

5. Interpreting every action that shows they care about each other as representative of romantic love

Perhaps this is the crux of my argument. As a franchise, Ace Attorney focuses deeply on emotional relationships and bonds. Certainly, the series is about love, as its many characters grow to care for each other greatly, but what variety of love that is - whether familial, found-familial, friendly, or romantic - is generally left ambiguous - and I like that about it. It both makes the in-game relationships emotionally deep and affecting without forcing love stories, while also allowing the players and the fandom to have a lot of freedom in interpreting exactly how the characters feel about each other. (It’s also a great way to make the games enjoyable, no matter what relationship you think the characters have, which is a good way to keep fans happy, I think.) So it can be frustrating to see people look at Phoenix running across a burning bridge to save Maya and say that it is unambiguously platonic/familial, but say that Edgeworth taking a jet to make sure Phoenix is all right after falling off said burning bridge is unambiguously romantic. Why is either more likely than another? Why could they not both be platonic, or both be romantic? (For the record, I don’t ship Narumayo either, but I don’t mind it, much like I don’t mind Narumitsu - I’m just using it as an example.) I find myself worrying that people interpret every show of affection between them as love because they’re men showing affection to each other, while men showing affection to women, or women showing affection to men or other women ends up not being perceived as such to the same degree. Are men not allowed to care deeply for each other without being in love? Because, if so, that’s playing into unfortunate toxic masculine stereotypes - men should be able to care and be affectionate without always wanting to date each other, just like women, and men with women, and women with men, and everybody else.

Some people take this a step further, and try to insist that Narumitsu is not just a popular ship, but canon or near-canon - to the point where several people have gotten into the game thinking they were actually dating. Some fans have begun accusing the writers of queer-baiting, or asking and demanding that future games canonize their relationship. But doesn’t that seem a little arrogant, in a series that values such deep yet ambiguous bonds? And why does it need to be canon? Aren’t fanworks valuable enough by themselves? Why must Narumitsu be proven, and defended, and begged for, rather than just pieced together and created and enjoyed?

Once again, I don’t dislike Narumitsu. I definitely see the appeal, and it completely makes sense to me why people like it - I openly admit that my not shipping it is not out of dislike or anger, but only personal preference. But I find myself wishing that, in some ways, the fandom treated it a little bit differently.

As always with these long pieces, if you wanna have a fun civil discussion, hit me up in replies, or DMs, or reblogs, or anything! I’d love to hear from you! Thanks for reading this far, and have a good day!

#red randomness #ace attorney #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #narumitsu #wrightworth #I also openly admit that sometimes I get frustrated just by how much I see of it??? only because it can feel a little overwhelming #but again that's just personal preference #and I highly doubt I would feel anywhere near as overwhelmed if it weren't for these qualms that I have with the Narumitsu fanbase #anyway that's my take on it #ace attorney spoilers

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reddiamondgamer · 3 years

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A Wrightworth Fic

(First proper Wrightworth fic that won't be just a one off drabble!)

A03 Next

_________________

If Phoenix had known getting hit by a car would speed up the reunion he'd been planning for months, he would've done it sooner. He was lucky that he hadn’t actually been hurt all that badly, only suffering a few scrapes and bruises, but it was enough to worry both his friends, Larry and Miles, who he’d been keeping in contact with ever since he left and finally met again.

Larry still somehow looked the same as he remembered, with the exception of the currently scraggly beard thing growing from his chin. His hair still resembled an angry cockatoo, his eyes still somehow glowed with the same happiness they always had, and his voice was still mildly shrieky when he got excited. Phoenix supposed it was good that no matter what happened in the world, Larry was still Larry, it was like a universal constant.

Miles, on the other hand, was most definitely not the same as he remembered. Yes, he still seemed to struggle a lot with emotions and was irritated by certain things the same way he was, but he’d grown, a lot more than he was expecting. He was dressed in a flashy mauve suit with a weird neck ruffle and a blue and gold waistcoat thing, if he remembered correctly. He wasn’t sure of any of the proper names of any of the fancy things Miles wore now, but he was sure that he’d become really really attractive, having to remind himself that he had a girlfriend.

“I don’t think he’s all here right now, man.” Larry spoke, pulling Phoenix out of his thoughts and startling him slightly. Right, Larry and Miles had been trying to make sure he didn’t have a concussion after getting hit.

“Uh, what were you guys saying?” Phoenix asked with a sheepish smile, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“We were saying, Wright, that we should take you to the hospital to make sure you have not lost your mind completely. Now, tell me if you are capable of remembering the basics, such as your name.” Miles explained and whoa, did he have a bit of an accent now? He must’ve picked it up while they were apart, noting that it definitely sounded like it was from Europe or something.

“You shouldn’t really tell someone their name then ask if they remember their name.” Phoenix argued, letting out a small laugh.

Miles’s eyes suddenly had a confident glint to them as he waggled his finger, winked, then blew out air, something clearly clicking in his mind. His actions shocked Phoenix and his cheeks felt slightly warmer for some reason, having never expected to see Miles do that.

“Ah, but I didn’t mention your first name, Wright, my request is still valid.”

“Phoenix, my name is Phoenix Wright and you, Miles Edgeworth, have too much confidence over something so technical.” He responded with what was meant to be a sigh, but turned into a laugh as he got up off the ground where he’d been sitting the whole time. He felt a slight dampness over the back of his pants thanks to the dewy grass, finally taking in his surroundings properly.

He was in a small field beside a busy road, right next to his college. There was a bit of trash crushed over the curb and a small dandelion blooming out of a broken cup, making him smile a bit. He took a picture of the sight so he’d remember to draw something similar later.

“Nicky’s back up and running! Now we can continue our fun day with Edgy!” Larry announced, his slight shriek to his voice making him and Miles both cringe.

“I must ask that you refrain from referring to me as “Edgy”, I have an actual name as you should know.”

“He’s got a point, Larry,” Phoenix started, watching as Larry’s face fell before continuing with, “let’s just have an awesome day with Miley.”

Larry’s face lit up once again while Miles made an expression that was somewhere between disgusted and shocked, bringing out a laugh from Phoenix. He grabbed Miles's hand, not noticing the faint blush that spread over Miles’s cheeks after or the way a golden string glowed around their joined hands as he led Miles to the place they’d decided to go first.

“What happened to the person that hit me? I didn’t see them or the car when I woke up.”

“I have,” Miles paused for some reason, like he was trying to figure something out in his head, “an acquaintance that is a detective, he is adequate at coming to my aid.”

"You've got a detective friend that's good at helping you out?" Phoenix held back his laughter, knowing Miles didn't like admitting some things so easily.

He watched as Miles grumbled and looked away, finally letting out a snort while Larry cackled. He felt a smile stretch across his face, his friends always making him feel like the world was perfect. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend his day, giving Miles’s hand a firm squeeze.

The walk to the arcade wasn’t very long, but it definitely had Larry breathless and ready to abandon the whole trip even though it’d been his idea. The cockatoo-haired man was dramatically laying on the concrete in front of the arcade building, which was called Patrick Cipant’s Arcade. Taking a closer look at the papers hung on the door, Phoenix could see that the arcade was hiring extra help for an upcoming gaming event that he knew he’d never understand, remembering that Larry, despite how he acted, was better with technology than him.

“Go on without me, I can’t make it!” Larry whined, his face red and shiny somehow. It wasn’t even that hot today since it was the middle of spring, there was even still a slight wind chill.

“Butz-” Miles started, but was interrupted by the snickering of a few passing children.

“Larry, get up, you’re literally five feet from the entrance.” Phoenix pointed at the door with an unamused expression.

Miles looked annoyed, but Phoenix could tell he wasn’t completely annoyed, noticing a small sparkle of amusement in his eyes, which Phoenix noted he had a marker in the exact same pretty shade of grey.

Phoenix froze when he realized he’d basically just called Mile’s pretty, shaking his head to get rid of that thought. He knew it wasn’t normal to think of a friend like that and he had a girlfriend that he thought was beautiful.

Apparently, Miles had noticed how he froze, feeling him pull his hand out of his grip and move it to his shoulder with a small squeeze following.

“Wright, are you also dreadfully exhausted and lacking any energy just like Butz here?”

“Uh, no, just had a really stupid train of thought, don’t worry about it.”

Phoenix looked at Miles then quickly tore his eyes away, wanting to just get rid of any and all thoughts about his best friend. He pushed Mile’s hand off his shoulder and headed inside the arcade, thinking he could distract himself by playing that new zombie VR game Larry had been raving about. He mentally swore that he wouldn’t let anything else come up from these weird thoughts and feelings, happy with where he was now in life.

#wrightworth #narumitsu #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #ace attorney au

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youngbounty · 3 years

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The Problem with Apollo’s Backstories

It’s very rare I see this. So far, I’ve only seen two posts on Tumblr about this, but I’ve noticed a few posts that make mention about Phoenix Wright having no backstory. Now, whether they were made as a joke to not be taken seriously or not is something I cannot confirm. That being said, it did bring up something that does come up often: the problem with Apollo Justice having too many backstories. The thing is, Phoenix Wright has just as many backstories as Apollo, yet no one seems to make mention of it or perhaps are not aware. It made me question how this is possible. Certainly, if Apollo’s three backstories stick out like a sore thumb, wouldn’t Phoenix Wright’s three backstories stick out too? Shouldn’t Phoenix also have the same amount of complainers about having too many backstories?

I am a true believer that there is no such thing as a bad idea, but bad execution. I think Phoenix’s backstories are an example of Apollo’s backstories done correctly. To understand this, I’m going to go over each of Apollo’s and Phoenix’s three backstories, and explain where Phoenix got it right where Apollo did not.

With Apollo’s first backstory in the game Apollo Justice, where Apollo is introduced as the main protagonist of this game, we find out that he used to work for Kristoph Gavin at the Gavin Law Offices before finding out he murdered Shadi Smith. Later on, we find out his bracelet matches Thalassa Gramarye’s in her picture, proving that they are mother and son. Through Zak, we find out that Thalassa was once married to a different man before he passed away, believing that her first born had died with him. This draws the connection between Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright as being half brother and sister. And… that’s it. This information does not effect Apollo, since we don’t know his life outside of this during the time of the game’s release, and he does not know that Trucy is his half sister. This backstory does draw a connection between the two long lost siblings, but without any knowledge to create a reaction, it feels empty and shallow. It wasn’t until the two follow-up games that we get more of Apollo’s character and development that fans of the game began to care enough to demand the two half siblings discover their long lost relationship they are not aware of.

For Phoenix Wright, his backstory is the all-knowing class trial back in his elementary school. On one school day, Phoenix Wright was accused of stealing lunch money from a student, due to being sick and being dismissed from school that day, leaving him without an alibi. This lead to a class trial where everyone, including the teachers, shamed him, even though Phoenix claimed it wasn’t him, then crying over the humiliation and shaming. Just when Phoenix was about to forcibly apologize to this student, the student stands up and makes the claim that, since no proof was given that Phoenix had taken the money, he is innocent until proven guilty. A second student also defends him, leading to the teacher deciding to pay for the lunch money that was stolen. From that moment on, Phoenix became friends with the two students that stood up for him: Miles Edgeworth whose money was stolen and Larry Butz who was the second student to stand up for him.

The first thing that makes Phoenix’s backstory different is it creates a motivation and relatability. This backstory tells the story of what motivated Phoenix Wright to become a Defense Attorney. He had befriended the two boys that stood up for him when he was accused of theft at school. One of those friends grew up to become the Demon Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, who is known for falsifying and withholding evidence. When Phoenix tried to contact him, he would not answer. So, Phoenix Wright became a Defense Attorney both to meet with him and save him. With this, comes with relatability. Phoenix is someone longing for the friend he once lost, something most of us can relate to – if you’ve ever had a childhood friend, whose friendship broke apart over time. This creates motivation for Phoenix and the players to wish for Miles Edgeworth to return back to being Phoenix’s friend again. With Apollo, on the other hand, his first backstory doesn’t give us anything to relate or motivate us to want him and Trucy to discover their real mother or relation. The mention about Apollo’s biological father does come up, but not until Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, which I will get into later. Because of how shallow and empty this backstory feels, it’s no longer Apollo was called a Gary-Sue when the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney first came out.

The second backstory for Apollo finally gives us something concrete. In this second backstory, Apollo had grown up with Clay Terran in a boarding school. We get a flashback of Clay crying because someone in his family died (I can’t remember who. Comment if you know). Apollo cheers him up with his “I’M FINE!” speech. This became a motto for him and Clay. From this backstory, we finally find out that Apollo had grown in a boarding school during his youth with Clay. We finally get a motivation and relatability from Apollo Justice to make us care and cheer for him. There’s just one problem… what does this have anything to do with Apollo’s connection to the Gramarye and his relation to Trucy? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That’s where Phoenix’s second backstory differs.

For Phoenix Wright, his second backstory tells that he began studying at Ivy University to study on law and art. From there, he met a beautiful lady named Dahlia Hawthorn at the library inside the courthouse. She gave him a heart-shaped bottle as a token of their love and they hit it off. Having dated Dahlia for nine months, he began showing off his little gift to all his friends at the university, even when Dahlia asked him to give it back. Just then, Phoenix came across Dahlia’s ex boyfriend named Doug Swallow, who met with him to warn him that Dahlia was not who he thinks she is. Angry, Phoenix pushes him, then finds him dead not long afterwards. He is arrested for murder, defended by Mia Fey – who is an already established character, in the tutorial first case of the third game of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Through Mia’s defense, Phoenix realized that not only did Dahlia’s gift turn out to be evidence used to poison Mia’s boyfriend, but Dahlia had also tried to poison him with his cold medication and was the one responsible for Doug’s murder.

Just like with Apollo’s second backstory and Phoenix’s first, this creates relatability and motivation. It creates a motivation for why Phoenix was angry at Miles Edgeworth during the second game, why he trusts Mia so strongly and why he would go to Hazakura Temple, once he sees someone that looks like Dahlia. This also reveals one of Phoenix’s major flaws as someone that considers betrayal and murder by poison inexcusable actions, much like how Apollo’s second backstory reveals how and why Clay’s death pushes him to distrust his colleagues. Unfortunately, what Apollo’s second backstory does not show is any connection to the first. With Phoenix’s second backstory, it connects back to the first and second game. It explains how Phoenix met an already established character, explains why Phoenix was cross with Edgeworth in the second game and follows where the first backstory left off with wanting to become a Defense Attorney to meet with Miles Edgeworth. Aside from Apollo growing up in a Boarding School, confirming that he is an orphan, and why he always shouts “I’M FINE!” we get no connection or follow-up from the first backstory. There’s no connection to his former boss, Trucy or the Gramarye’s. Thus, Apollo’s second backstory feels like a separate story from the first, whereas Phoenix’s second backstory feels like a follow-up to the first.

Apollo’s third backstory is that Apollo’s father, Jove Justice, came to the Kingdom of Khura’in to play music inside Durke’s home. One day, a fire arose and Jove Justice was assumingly murdered. Dhurke had miraculously saved Jove’s infant son in the nick of time before the rest of his residence was burned, hiding in the mountains with his eldest son, Nahyuta. From there, Dhurke had raised Nahyuta and Apollo in the mountain as their father, watching them grow up. Unfortunately, because of the laws in the kingdom where Defense Attorneys were prisoned with any client declared Guilty and Dhurke being an outlaw, he sent Apollo to the United States. From there, Apollo never saw or heard from Dhurke or Nahyuta again, believing all his life that Dhurke had abandoned him.

Again, like the second backstory, this gives us relatability and motivation. Leaving any family is something all of us feel saddened about. It also follows up with the relatability of Phoenix’s first backstory of being close with someone, only to grow apart from them with age. But, again, there is no connection between this backstory or the other two. What does this backstory have anything to do with Apollo’s connection with the Gramarye, relation to Trucy, friendship with Clay, growing up in a boarding school as a youth or his reasons for saying “I’M FINE!” all the time? NOTHING! There’s not a single callback to any of these, not even to reoccurring characters from the fourth or fifth game. Nothing on Kristoph Gavin, the Space Center, nothing. There is mention of Jove Justice being Apollo’s biological father, but do we get anything on Thalassa or the Gramarye’s? Even a tiny bit? Nope! Any connection with Jove Justice and the Gramarye’s to explain how he may’ve met the daughter of the famous Magnify Gramarye and they may’ve fallen in love? Nope! Again, I get nothing. It’s sad, because the story could’ve also added Thalassa into the mix as being Jove’s singing partner, a subtle picture of her and explaining why she might be so talented in singing. The fact that the second case does involve the Gramarye, I think, is a missed opportunity to draw a connection to Apollo’s third and first backstory.

For Phoenix Wright, his third backstory is in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, believe it or not. This backstory takes place during the seven years between the third and fourth game. Phoenix Wright was defending Zak Gramarye for the murder of Magnify Gramarye. During this trial, he presents forged evidence unknowingly, which Klavier Gavin reveals to be forged via the surprising Witness. From there, Phoenix is disbarred from law and his client Zak disappears from site. Trucy, who is Zak’s daughter, is left behind and Phoenix cannot find any living relatives, thus decides to adopt her as his own daughter. From here, he turns his law offices into a Talent Agency for his new daughter and takes the job as a piano/poker player. He befriends the only Bar Associate that voted him to be innocent, Kristoph Gavin, who had used his friendship to stalk and watch him.

Again, this creates relatability and motivation as someone losing their job for unfair reasons, entering fatherhood and being manipulated by fake friends. This also is a great follow-up to the trilogy itself and confirming everything that’s already established canon such as Phoenix considering poison and betrayal to be inexcusable, which is what Kristoph does. It establishes the relationship and connection with Trucy and even Apollo. Even as weak as Apollo’s backstory is, it is enough to give Phoenix a strong motivation to take him in as a student. With how strong this third backstory to Phoenix is and its connection to the trilogy as a whole, it makes me wonder why he wasn’t the protagonist of this story. Though, it does conclude what this third backstory does so well that all of Apollo’s backstories do not do: continue where the previous left off.

With every backstory Phoenix gets, it always continues where the previous left off. They connect well like a puzzle. Each piece matches well and never feels separate. With each new backstory, it continues where the previous left off. The second backstory continues where the first and second game left off and the third backstory continues where the trilogy left off. With Apollo’s three backstory, they feel so disconnected, it’s like trying to fit three unmatching pieces together, while ignoring the rest of the 197 puzzle pieces. Sure, the third backstory might’ve mentioned Jove Justice as Apollo’s biological father, but we don’t know anything about Jove or Thalassa, their relationship, how they met or anything. Was Thalassa the lead singer when Jove played, like she is as Lamoure? I don’t know. Even Apollo growing up at a Boarding School or how he went there is never explained in the third backstory. Did Dhurke send Apollo there and pay for his classes? I don’t know.

In conclusion, Apollo’s problem with his backstories are not that there are too many, but that they do not connect. Backstories must fit together in order to work. There has to be a cause and effect. Phoenix Wright has full backstories that have always connected perfectly like puzzle pieces. He has one of the strongest established backstories in Ace Attorney, alongside Miles Edgeworth, who technically has four backstories. That just goes to show you can’t have too many backstories. Although, you can have botched up backstories that do not match up that makes it feel like there are too many backstories.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to comment, whether you agree or disagree. I might make a follow-up to this to explain how Apollo’s three backstories could be fixed to where they feel complete. It really depends.

#ace attorney #phoenix wright #apollo justice #apollo justice's backstories #too many backstories

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goodluckdetective · 3 years

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Haunted!Phoenix Fic: Moth’s Wings

Ship: Pre-Narumitsu

Fandom: Ace Attorney

Characters: Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30669839

Rating: PG-13

Summary:

Based off my “Phoenix Wright is a little haunted” AU.

Edgeworth only asks him about the ghosts once, a full month before the Hawthorn trial.

What he doesn’t ask then while haunted him later in more ways than one.

Notes: This is a fill for a friend based on a bet @feministbatman. Also the Spiritualist movement tricks I’m talking about are very real.

Wright told him about the ghosts, after the Engarde trial.

Edgeworth didn’t believe him, not at first. Sure, he saw what Miss Fey could do but he considered it a parlor trick, and nothing more. He was a man of science, of reason. He’d taken thoughts of phantoms and banished them to the realm of childhood fantasies as soon as his father died. There was no communing with the dead.

Then he spent a day in Wright’s office shortly after the case and saw a pen lift up. As he watched, the pen wrote the following on a sheet of paper. He recognized the handwriting from years ago instantly despite the passage of time.

“I haven’t forgiven you for the bimbo comment. And I won’t forgive you for the note you left him either unless you shape up.”

It seemed Mia Fey’s sharp tongue followed her into the afterlife. He should have expected nothing less.Miles Edgeworth was many things, but he knew better than to contest the will of Mia Fey, dead or alive.

So when he returned to Germany, he kept up corresponding with Wright. They shared notes about their own respective lives a few times a week over text and once a month through a call. Edgeworth told him about German law (fascinating), shows he saw on occasion at the theater (hit or miss) and the exploits of his dog (perfect as ever). In return, Wright updated him about his own cases (absolutely ridiculous, like the man himself), the antics of the Fey girls (chaotic) and Gumshoe’s latest crush (hopeless).

Wright rarely brought up the ghosts, only mentioning them when they did something he thought Edgeworth would find interesting. Perhaps he knew enough of Edgeworth’s dislike of the supernatural to leave the matter be. Thus Edgeworth, surprisingly, was the one to bring up the ghosts on a more serious topic.

It was after a date he took in January, one he’d taken solely to get Fransiska off his case about being hung up on “spikey defense attorney’s.” The man she’d set him up with was nice enough: well spoken, nicely dressed, and charming, but the entire time Edgeworth couldn’t focus on anything besides how Wright looked much better in that shade of blue. He’d thanked his date for taking him to the Opera regardless, hoping to salvage a friend out of the incident, and when he next spoke to Wright, he told the man about the production. He left out the fact he’d gone as a date (for no reason, of course) and instead focused on the stagecraft of the show, something he knew Wright would know more about with his background.

Halfway into their conversation about set design, Edgeworth shifted the discussion to one plot point in particular.“It was about a man haunted by his deceased lover,” Edgeworth said, leaning back in his armchair. “They decided not to use a fog machine for the actor playing her, instead deciding to use techniques utilized by the Spiritualist movement. I believe it was meant to underline that the ghost may be a product of his own-Wright?”

Edgeworth cut off mid sentence at the sight of Wright’s face over the video chat. The man had gone terribly pale, a shade Edgeworth had not seen since the Engarde trial when Maya’s life hung in the balance. It radiated terror, a man clinging to hope by his fingernails, and to see it now was chilling.

“Wright? Is something wrong?” Wright shook his head, almost as if he was remembering Edgeworth was still there. That was also a rarity for the man; one of the things that endeared him to so many was his ability to make people feel properly regarded.

“Sorry. I uh-”Wright scowled and Edgeworth almost dropped his laptop as the man struck out with one hand and grabbed something. He pulled it back, a scowl on his face, and between his fingers, Edgeworth saw something pale and white. When it twitched, he was able to recognize the shape as that of insect wings, from that of a butterfly or a moth. He was about to remark that Wright struck him as the type to gently capture bugs to later set free when the wings vanished in a burst of tiny light. Wright opened his hand, palm showing no remains of the insect, and wiped it on his jeans like there was something to be cleaned off.

“Is that-” Edgeworth considered letting the topic drop, as his heart so wanted, but some part of him felt forced to press on from the pallor of Wright’s complexion.

“One of your ghosts, I take it?”Wright shook his hand, wiping it against his jeans again before turning back to look at Edgeworth.

“Yeah. Sorry about that. Been bothering me for a few days, but hopefully it will go away soon.”

Edgeworth frowned. “I take it this spirit is unwelcome.”

Wright’s smile was as tight as the wire he walked in the courtroom. Edgeworth could see his bluffing face on, the one he wore when stretched to a limit. What in God’s name could make Wright look like that now? “You could say that.”

“Wright-” Edgeworth started, then stopped, searching for the words he wanted to use. “Are the spirits you see...ever harmful to you?”

The plot of the Opera came back to him in a rush, the ghost tormenting her lover at all hours from beyond the veil. On that stage, it was merely fantastical, but now speaking to Wright, Edgeworth found himself off put at a possibility he’d never considered before. Wright always spoke of the spirits that visited him as welcome guests or at worst, minor annoyances. But was that truly the spectrum of those he encountered? Wright had made enemies in his career. Some of them gone to the grave.

Edgeworth remembered the lead of the opera lying dead on the stage after a year of the ghost’s torment and felt sick. Von Karma had been dead for over a year now. What if he had spent that time seeking vengeance against another defense attorney who’d ruined his perfect record?

“Nah,” Wright said, smile bright and beaming. “Unless you count annoying me with moths. And if it doesn’t let up I can always call in Maya for a good old exorcism.” Edgeworth’s frown stayed and Wright pressed on, voice gentle. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. I promise, Edgeworth.” He sat up straighter in his chair and tilted his head. “So tricks from the Spiritualist movement, huh-”

Edgeworth let the topic drop, and listened to Wright talk about cheesecloth coming out of noses and feet cracking under tables. He would have to take Wright’s word for it: he knew more about such matters than Edgeworth. And regardless, should Von Karma be tormenting his friend, he would have not done it with moths.

A month later looking over the file of Dahlia Hawthorne, Edgeworth would learn that he shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss Wright’s ghosts, both literal and metaphorical.

#phoenix wright #wrightworth #ace attorney #dahlia hawthorne #miles edgeworth #narumitsu #iz writes

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keruchan · 3 years

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(Slight Angst Ahead) Haikyuu x Reader

NOTE: This story will be focusing more on Kuroo & Bokuto so Kenma won't be mentioned here ><

Y/N was someone with a lot of inner demons. Their past was traumatic - growing up alone after their parents had passed on after an accident at the tender age of 7, even their relatives were not sympathetic. These people tried to make gain power over Y/N and controlled whatever they did. Eventually, Y/N became frustrated and started to harden their heart, refusing to trust any others who entered their lives. That was till they met the two who changed her life for the better in high school. Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou. The two of them were polar opposites - one who was always happy-go-lucky and cheerful, though sometimes (emo) when things don't go his way, the other who was witty and enjoyed teasing others. They taught Y/N to become stronger, to accept their past and move forward. Y/N too, started to become more happy and hopeful for the future.

For Y/N these two were a special existence. People they hoped who would stay in their lives forever. Falling in love with one of them was something that came naturally especially if you were with them more often. Kuroo was a person Y/N couldn't help but adore, one who worked relentlessly for his goals of winning nationals, how he was loyal to his friends and teammates. Even his teasing and comments were amusing to Y/N. The pair started to go out in their third year of high school, after Kuroo became captain of the Nekoma Volleyball Team.

However, life wasn't a bed of roses - Kuroo gave Y/N whatever support they needed to feel secure in their relationship. But Y/N wasn't used to being affectionate, and despite being lovers they never did what lovers do like holding hands or being alone with each other - in fact Bokuto was always with them! Kuroo was patient but even he had a breaking point. Why would someone who he was going out with never return any form of affection? He understood though, that Y/N just wasn't used to it. So he never pushed them and never asked for more, but deep down he was starting to feel insecure about whether he was good enough for them.

Days turned into months, it was April and Y/N's birthday was coming up. Kuroo knew how much she liked nature so he wanted to prepare a preserved flower (something like the image below - the resin flower from Vampire Knight).

He knew he couldn't do it alone, so he sought the help of a few classmates who were more experienced with making such creations. Even when Y/N asked how he was doing, Kuroo just replied that he was busy. Bokuto too, was kept in the dark. Apart from volleyball, Kuroo was spending more time with his classmates in order to prepare the perfect present for Y/N.

One day when Y/N walked past Kuroo's classroom, they noticed how he had been smiling brightly and laughing with them. "Did he ever laugh like that while he was with me...? I don't think I've seen him smile in a very long time..." Y/N shook such thoughts away. But the more they looked at Kuroo with others, the more convinced they became that Kuroo hadn't been happy with them.

"I must be the problem..."

"If Kuroo was not with me... he wouldn't be so burdened."

"I... don't deserve him"

These thoughts occupied Y/N's mind and they felt the only way to make up to Kuroo was to end their relationship.

Soon came the day Y/N dreaded. Their birthday, because that was the day they were going break up with Kuroo. The day felt terribly long, Y/N couldn't focus in class. All their thoughts were about how to talk to Kuroo, it's become awkward since they haven't spoken in a while.

After school, Kuroo swung by Y/N's classroom

"Hey babe! Shall we head home?"

Y/N nodded in slow motion. Kuroo looked at them worriedly, but decided not to ask until they were ready to share.

Their walk home was silent, no one had said a word. Once home, Y/N spoke up "Tetsu...I have to talk to you about something."

Kuroo picked up the hesitation in their tone. Whatever was going to be said was serious. He knew. And he had a bad feeling about it. The preserved flower he had hiding in his uniform's pocket started to feel heavy.

Y/N led Kuroo to their sofa and sat down, gesturing for him to do so. After Kuroo sat down, Y/N opened their mouth and started speaking

"We've been dating for a while haven't we"

Kuroo was stunned, this was the first Y/N had spoke about their relationship. He nodded.

"The thing is...I realized how much I've affected you." Y/N's eyes were starting to tear up

Kuroo stayed silent, how he wanted to stand up and wipe their tears away. But he knew, that he should let Y/N continue what they wanted to say.

"I...never gave you anything as your lover. Nor did I give you any form of security. In fact you were the one who gave me everything. And I... never reciprocated."

"No, please don't say that. I understand and I can wait." Kuroo stood up and grabbed a tissue before handing it to Y/N who wiped their tears. He wanted to keep a healthy distance so they would still feel comfortable.

"...I saw how happy you were with others. I haven't seen you smile in the time we've dated and I...just feel horrible. I don't deserve you and I know you deserve better. So... I think it's best for us to break up."

"I...no..." Kuroo was stunned. He didn't know how to respond.

"...Are you really breaking up with me?"

"For now... I... want to take some time to work on myself. Let me have the time to fully accept my past, my current self and my future. Till the day I can be confident that I can love you the way you loved me because that is just what you should have. "

This was the first Kuroo heard of Y/N's conviction. The first he had seen them being more positive without anyone's encouragement. While it hurt him, he understood what Y/N wanted.

".......I..... get it. Know that I'll wait for you."

"You know it's cool with me if you find someone else right?" Y/N chuckled. Their smile made Kuroo convinced that he made the right decision, to let Y/N go.

"Cheh, are my feelings for you that unmemorable?" He teased back to which Y/N shook their head vehemently. "But wait, I still have something to give you." Kuroo took out the flower from his pocket.

"Happy birthday Y/N. I hope you like this gift."

"Thank you Tetsu...Thank you so much." Y/N accepted the gift graciously.

"Hey Hey Hey! WHAT DID I MISSS?" An energetic voice echoed

Both Kuroo and Y/N jumped back in shock. "Bo... where did you come from?" Kuroo turned to his best friend

"Hello, the door was open you know." Bokuto pointed to the ajar door and shook his head in disbelief "This is why I cannot leave the two of you alone... Tsk tsk" (Imagine Bokuto reacting like Edgeworth pfft-)

Bokuto launched himself towards Y/N and Kuroo "Happy birthday boo!"

Y/N laughed, and so did Kuroo. "Thank you Kou!"

If you've made it till here, thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed my first story, keep reading if you're keen to know what happens <3

-Keru

Ending 1: The One

Time really does heal all wounds. Y/N had blossomed into a person no longer held back by their past. While Kuroo and them never got back together, Kuroo had found his soulmate. A beautiful woman named Alisa. She was always cheerful and supportive, someone who shone so brightly no matter what she did. A bundle of joy for everyone who knows her. Y/N was happy to see Kuroo with a grin on his face everytime the two were together.

Kuroo had found his happiness with Alisa. And so had Y/N.

With Bokuto, Y/N could wear their heart on their sleeve. He was always there to listen and support Y/N. More importantly, he taught Y/N how to love others unconditionally.

Ending 2: Forever and Always

After Y/N and Kuroo graduated from Nekoma, both of them headed to different universities. But they would still talk to each other frequently through FaceTime and met up at their favorite cafe to catch up. Bokuto had been busy with his career as a MSBY player, but he still stopped by whenever he could.

--Y/N and Kuroo met up at the entrance of the cafe--

"You look good." Kuroo smiled.

"Why thank you, you look good too. Is that the tie I got you last Christmas?"

"What can I say? It was a gift from my favorite person. I have to dress to impress, if you get what I mean." He winked

"Uh... Well..." Y/N's faced started to heat up.

"Haha, you're as red as always! Let's head inside. Our drinks aren't going to order themselves." Kuroo headed in with Y/N following behind.

The pair collected their drinks and headed over to the seats

"You know... how about we start over?"

"...What?" Y/N raised their hand to grab their drink but Kuroo reached out to intertwine his hand with theirs.

"About us. I said I would wait for you, remember?"

Y/N went silent and thought deeply about what Kuroo said.

"Well?" He tilts his head

"I... still don't feel like I'm know how to love. But..."

"But..." Kuroo leans forward

"If it's with you, Tetsu. I want to try."

Kuroo gives a grin.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that."

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #kuroo #bokuto

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